Chapter 15: Of A Most Odd Dance
The process was always going to be a little… strange. Especially when there was a third partner to take into consideration. But the kids were flexible enough to make just about anything work. Unwanted trappings notwithstanding and all. What came next was a remarkable learning experience. In more ways than one.
- Where I've Been, Entry 50
Tokyo-3 Municipal High School, June 8th, 2015
Shinji Ikari was not exactly savouring the idea of what would be coming next. Whatever that might be.
The mystery of it all was getting to him, but most especially, it was getting to Asuka. She seemed to radiate a heat throughout the school day, mostly kept at a low, yet still noticeable simmer. It had flared up during lunch when Chihiro tried to invite him to another table, and Asuka had given her an earful about 'team unity' for a few seconds before the girl moved back to her group of friends.
It seemed more than a little silly to him, to talk about unity after getting so soundly beaten down by the Angel. But there was something more to this. Everything about Asuka seemed to have been thrown off by needing to sit around and wait for… something.
Ayanami, on the other hand… she seemed calm. Composed. Downright unflappable, even. As much as Shinji knew that it was largely a product of her medications, Shinji couldn't help but wish to feel so cool and collected.
Coming out of school, Shinji wondered if the plan that Daniel mentioned had come together yet. He felt a creeping dread, the Angels looming over his mind and distracting him from his mundane schoolwork with the threat of ending the world.
Asuka expressed her discontent… well, in a way that was very Asuka.
"Not a peep over the weekend," Asuka groused as they met up with Rei and began walking home. "And we evenlivewith the people making these plans. Has Daniel told you anything, Wondergirl?"
"No, Soryu-Langley," Ayanami said calmly. "Daniel seems dedicated to keeping any details of the plans that the command staff are making from us. He seems to gain…"
"A sick satisfaction?" Asuka finished archly. "Yeah, it certainly seems like it."
Shinji simply sighed quietly and silently hoped that the adults had finished a plan over the weekend.
After several minutes of walking, however, all three of them had their phone chime, pulling out phones and seeing the texts that they'd just received from Daniel.
'Sorry, kids. You won't be going home today. Meet Misato and me at this address, 4th floor, room 472.'
Below was, as expected, an address. One that, with a little searching, revealed that their destination was indeed a different apartment a few blocks away from their usual abode.
"Odd start to whatever plan they've come up with," Shinji said rather absentmindedly.
He caught Asuka looking past him from the corner of his eye. "You use a flip phone, Wondergirl?" she said incredulously. "Come on. This isn't the 80s."
Shinji looked over and, as Asuka said, saw a grey, rather nondescript flip phone in Ayanami's hand. Ayanami regarded them both with her seemingly trademark level expression. "It is sufficient for my needs," she said.
Asuka sighed quietly. "Yeah, that whole spiel. We'll figure that out once we're done figuring out your clothes."
With that, they walked largely in silence to their new destination, Shinji unable to help but catch a glance at their apartment building as they passed it by.
"I wonder what they've cooked up for us to do," Asuka said as the apartment building passed out of sight. "Probably isn't quite as good as what it could be if I were involved, but I suppose we can make it work."
Shinji said nothing. Asuka probably just needed some space to vent. Him speaking up would likely do little to help things along.
Soon enough, the apartment came into sight, the mystery of the whole thing beginning to build as the trio made their way towards the waiting room.
Pausing before the door, Shinji and Asuka shared a glance. "Care to share a guess, rookie?" Asuka asked.
Shinji shrugged. "Not really. Only one way to find out now."
With that, Shinji rang the doorbell. It was silent for a few moments, then the door slid open, no one to greet them on the other side.
"Come in!" they heard Misato say, likely from the living room of the apartment. Shinji couldn't help but feel, for whatever reason, just a little uneasy at the rather sing-song tone in her voice.
Regardless, in they went, walking down the hallway and through a dining room/kitchen into the living room and finding… well, a sight that at least Shinji was sure that no one as fully prepared to see.
Daniel and Misato stood in the spaces between three beds, the rest of the living area suspiciously clear save for a couch, a few speakers, and some other equipment tucked in the corners, a television on one wall.
"Alright," Asuka said slowly. "What's going on here?"
"Welcome to your new quarters!" Misato said with a positively devilish grin. "You'll be here 24/7 for the next 2 and half weeks."
It was silent for a heartbeat, then for another. "What?" Asuka said incredulously.
"Misato…" Shinji said incredulously, "what on earth are you thinking?"
"We need all three of you in perfect synchronization to match and beat the Angel," Misato said firmly. "That means not just intense training, but synching up every portion of your life. For now, at least."
"We've also put together a training course centered around teamwork and acting in concert with each other," Daniel said picking up a tablet on the nightstand behind him and walking forward to them, turning its screen to them. "With its core training being a dance routine between the three of you."
Again it was silent for long, almost agonizing moments, Shinji trying to ascertain if this was some sort of elaborate prank, glancing from the tablet to Daniel's expression to Misato's expression.
"A dance routine?" Asuka said, her tone an almost deathly quiet that somehow scared Shinji more than if she was shouting. "We're going to beat the Angel with a dance routine?"
"Not the dance routine itself," Daniel said as he allowed Rei to take the tablet. "You'll still be fighting to the tune of the backing track, but the aim of learning the dance is honing your positional awareness of each other, you ability to anticipate the others' moves, and fully synthesizing the teamwork you learn through the rest of the course."
Shinji looked over at Asuka, who was clearly still unconvinced. "And the fact that there are three of us, Bruder?" she said archly. "I don't know what you're thinking, but most dances I leaned about require an even amount of partners."
"Actually," Misato said, "there's been more than a few styles of three-partner dancing that have cropped up since the Impact Wars ended. American three-heart tango and swing, European arrow waltzing, north Asian new age troika… Daniel had plenty of inspiration."
"And Ryoji," Daniel said meaningfully, glancing over at Misato, who glanced away for a moment. "I swear, something about this organization makes it a magnet for crazy ideas."
There was a moment's silence as Shinji and Asuka looked between Daniel and Misato. Finally, Asuka sighed. "Well," she said, "Daniel and Ryoji are nothing if not smart. I guess I'll go along with this."
"How did you come up with the dance routine?" Shinji asked.
Daniel and Misato looked at each other. "More than a few days of learning," Daniel said wearily, "for all involved."
Misato nodded, then started to walk past the Children. "Alright, Daniel will stick around a little while longer to answer any other questions you have."
She paused at the doorway, a winning smile on her face. "Your wake-up call is at 6:30. We'll see you then!"
With that, she disappeared from view, leaving Daniel to shoulder the scrutiny of the Children.
Daniel smiled somewhat sheepishly. "So… any more questions?"
Asuka sighed heavily. "No," she said, looking over at Shinji. "Just hoping everyone can keep up."
Shinji sighed quietly.'This is going to be a long two and a half weeks…'
. . .
Shinji found himself in a rhythm that, if it wasn't necessary to saving the world, he would have never even dreamed of. That it was remarkably embarrassing did nothing to help matters.
Up at 6:30, dressing at the same time (thankfully not within sight of each other) into their 'uniforms' — black leotards with separate colored shirts that roughly matched their Evas — at 6:35. Morning preparations from 6:40 to 7, when breakfast started, then at 8 sharp, their warmups and initial exercises started. Those lasted for two hours with a break at 9:30 until someone, usually Daniel but sometimes Ryoji or Eleanor, came in and started their dance practice at 10. After that ended at 1, they had lunch, then cooled down and could watch a channel that was unanimously agreed upon for an hour, and then it was into some relaxing group puzzles until dinnertime at 7. After dinner was a quick wash-up, then they prepped for bed, with lights out at 9.
There was no time for anything else, not even school, and a week passed with Shinji keenly aware that there were probably going to be… questions.
They'd finished their dance practice with a weary sigh shared between 2/3rds of their number, making their way to the kitchen to get their lunches and sit in front of the TV. Even with the program on which Shinji and Asuka had come to an agreement was for Ayanami's 'cultural development', Shinji couldn't help but think back to the last several days.
Dancing with Ayanami was surprisingly easy, actually. After he'd gotten over the initial embarrassment of the whole thing, he found that she fell into a predictable, easy-to-understand pattern, matching the steps almost perfectly once she'd learned them. Maybe it was just the fact that they'd gone on a few missions together already. Maybe it was something else. Either way, his part with Ayanami came to him easily now.
With Asuka… well, that was a different story.
Before he could ruminate on that particular topic, however, the doorbell rang. As all eyes turned to the entryway, Daniel rose from the couch and set a tablet aside as he walked to the door. "I'll get it," he said as he disappeared into the entryway. "You three just sit back and relax."
"As much as we can with all this," Asuka grumbled as she leaned away from the television, seeming to try at spying on the door.
Shinji successfully managed to stifle a sigh. She'd managed to make every step of the whole process remarkably difficult, for both him and Ayanami. A great majority of her stubbornness seemed to stem from the fact that Shinji, not her, was the one nominally in 'the lead' for the dance, the rest from the fact that she would never have planned something in this fashion.
Even still, as he heard voices making their way into the living area, she was trying to make it all work, even if it was to try and take the lead from Shinji. It seemed that was all that she knew to do. All she wanted to do. Why?
"What… the… hell?"
Shinji looked over, and he sighed once again as he saw Toji, Kensuke, and Hikari standing before them. The trio's expressions were nothing short of dumbfounded.
"The leotards weren't our idea," Shinji said, finding Asuka echoing him almost unsettling in how perfectly she was doing it. "You can blame Misato for that."
Toji and Kensuke recoiled in horror. "Dude, you're seriously putting up with this weird crap?" Toji said in a strangled whisper.
"That's almost selling it short," Kensuke rejoined. "Matching outfits like figure skaters? Really?"
"It's not like that!" Asuka and Shinji replied, one's tone angry and the other's embarrassed.
Shinji looked back to Daniel, who'd returned to the couch, to try and find some support, and found the man leaning forward with the ghost of a grin on his lips. "Like Shinji and Asuka said," Daniel said, drawing all attention to him, "this was not their idea in the slightest."
Before he could continue, his gaze shifted past them, and his grin widened slightly. "In fact, you can ask one of the main planners' why she would do this right now."
Shinji looked back to the doorway and saw Misato standing there rather sheepishly, beer in hand and Penpen by her side.
"I can, in fact, explain," Misato said to the visiting kids before turning her gaze to the Children. "You can even get a demonstration of what they do in a regular game. I think it's the speed puzzle today."
Shinji and Asuka sighed quietly as they, along with Ayanami, went to the low fold-out table with three flat disks with a series of opaque buttons that interconnected like a puzzle.
Shinji had no idea where Eleanor had gotten these things as he prepared for the test of reaction time that lay ahead of them. More likely than not, she'd built them from scratch.
His eyes darted between the disks as they activated, waiting to see which one would have a button flash with a color. His waiting paid off as one of Ayanami's buttons flashed blue.
He looked back to the same shape on his own disk, a clear, clean tone from all three disks telling him that they'd pressed the same button as closely to the same time as they could manage. A few seconds later, his eyes looked between the disks again, keeping his focus as best he could on the task at hand, instead of on the conversation that was going on across the way from them.
Glancing over at Asuka after getting another clean press, he could see she was having trouble focusing on the task at hand, her reaction time just that little bit behind. Something that might do them in as the pace of the speed puzzle quickened. The conversation was hard to ignore.
They made it through one rotation, then another one. Then another. Shinji's brow furled in concentration as he did his best to keep up with the almost blinking lights at this point, his gaze almost flying from board to board to board as he tried to keep up.
Then, at last, he heard a buzzer originating from his disk, blinking as he realized he missed the tile that had lit up on Rei's just to the left. It was hardly an unfamiliar failure, a mistake all of them had made before.
It seemed, however, that it was the last straw for Asuka as she stood and growled out a sigh.
"This is ridiculous!" she shouted, her hands balled into fists at her sides as she looked between Shinji, Ayanami, and the rest of the group. "This isallridiculous! I can't stand you two dragging me down like this!"
With that, like a crimson storm cloud blown by the wind, she was gone in seconds, the front door opening and closing as Shinji looked at the silent, somewhat embarrassed group with a quiet, defeated sigh of his own.
He saw Daniel look over at Misato with a particularly unamused expression, and she returned it with an apologetic grimace. "I guess you win my little bet…" she said somewhat weakly.
Daniel shook his head slightly. "Keep your money. I told you something like this would probably happen if we didn't build in some sort of break time to let them out of the cage for a little while."
He stood from the couch, stepping past the visiting children and coming to a stop in front of Shinji. "I know what I'm about to ask seems pretty crazy at the moment…" he began.
"You want me to go after her," Shinji said, grimacing at the idea. It was crazy. More than a little bit.
"Give her some time to cool down," Daniel said. "She needs to let off a little steam. But she'll probably hit that konbini that you guys like to go to after school, if my intuition's correct. Besides, I don't think she thinks very highly of me or Misato right now. She'll probably be a lot more receptive to a fellow pilot and a student of hers."
Shinji nodded slowly. It certainly made sense, at least.
"Mr. Theisman," Hikari said somewhat hesitantly, "are you sure sending someone related to her frustrations is really a wise idea? I can go and try to help bring her back if you need me to."
Daniel smiled slightly at her. "Thank you for the offer, Hikari, but I'm confident in Shinji's capabilities. He can make it work."
'Sure doesn't feel like it,' Shinji thought. But…
"Believe in the me that believes in you."
Even if he didn't believe in himself, Daniel was still sure he could do it. Maybe… maybe he could borrow Daniel's seemingly boundless confidence for a little bit. If nothing else, the entire mission depended on them synchronizing with each other to defeat the three parts of the Angel. Being down a member, especially one as skilled as Asuka was…
Shinji took a deep breath, made his way to the door, and pulled on his shoes. Opening the door felt… almost a little unreal. Like the outside world had become some sort of fantastical place.
But he stepped out into it anyway. There was a mission to complete.
. . .
It took a little time and a little reorienting from the unfamiliar location he had come from, but he made his way to the konbini that was otherwise a stone's throw away from their usual apartment. The sun was beginning to set, and dinnertime was going to be soon.
Even still, he took his time making his way to the store, giving Asuka as much time as he dared to let her anger take its course. Finally stepping into the konbini, he scanned through the rows and rows of snacks, instant meals, and fridges to find…
There she was, by the fridge filled with sodas, the door opened as she crouched in front of it.
Slowly, somewhat hesitantly, he made his way over to her, pausing beside her as he grappled with what to say.
Before he could come to any conclusion though, Asuka's eyes darted up to regard him for a moment. "What are you doing here?" she said, her voice still smoldering with annoyance.
"I was worried," Shinji finally said after a moment. "Wouldn't any student be for their Lehrerin?"
Asuka looked over at him as she stood, a soda in her hand as she closed the fridge door. "You're worried about me?" she asked archly. "I thought I trained you better than this. At least Wondergirl I could chalk up to the meds. You…"
She paused, sighing in exasperation and walking past him, leaving him somewhat shocked for a moment. After a moment of being left reeling, he turned, pausing for a moment to grab a soda and a snack, paying for it before catching up to Asuka as she walked down the street.
"If you need someone to vent to…" Shinji said after a moment. "I know we really haven't had a chance to really think or talk about much of anything else recently."
"Even if you're one of the reasons I need to vent, rookie?" Asuka said. "I don't know if you're brave or just kind of dumb."
Shinji sighed quietly. "It's not like it'll be anything new to me," he said quietly.
Asuka's sharp glare at him made him shrink into himself as they continued to walk, the pair turning aside, Shinji largely following Asuka, into a small park that was next to their usual apartment building. It was empty and quiet right now, likely due to everyone else having dinner around now.
They were silent until they came to the swingset, Asuka taking a seat in one as she opened up her snack and soda. As Shinji followed her lead, she looked over at him with an almost intense gaze.
"Is my training really that bad, rookie?" Asuka asked. "I mean, I know you got a rough start, but if you really aren't that confident that you can keep up…"
"It's not you or your training, I promise," Shinji replied. "But… you aren't wrong. I… I don't know how much longer I can do this."
Asuka shook her head. "Shinji, there isn't anyone who can just tag in if you decide to tap out. This is life or death!"
"I know that!" Shinji nearly shouted, somewhat surprised he'd said it so hotly. Asuka was apparently somewhat taken aback too, silent as he continued. "Iput Toji's sister in the hospital without even meaning to! You got to have the big, fun battle against the Angel in the water for your first time? I got to lose control, have Unit-01 go berserk while I passed out in the Entry Plug from the pain!"
The words were left to hang in the air between the two before Shinji blushed deeply and looked down at the ground. "Sorry," he said quietly. "I… don't quite know where that came from."
"Damn…" was Asuka's only quiet response for a moment. Then, she chuckled softly. "I guess we both needed to let something out loudly."
"Guess so," Shinji said quietly.
It was silent between them for a moment as they ate their snacks and sipped the sodas, simply taking in the quiet park, lit almost moodily by the sun beginning to set.
Finally, Shinji managed to gather the courage to look back at Asuka. "Your training does help, though," he said quietly.
As Asuka looked back at him, he continued. "I don't think I'd even make it this far with this whole thing if it wasn't for you trusting that Daniel… well, kind of knows that he's doing. And I'd probably be a whole lot worse at this if you hadn't taken the time to train me. So… thanks."
Was that really how he was going to try and get Asuka to come back? It wasn't the worst idea, but surely she wasn't just going to just be led back with some praise. Right?
Asuka finished her snack, slipping off the swing she sat on to look at the setting sun. "Well," she said firmly, "they gave us a crazy plan because they trusted we could do it. And I'm not planning to let Daniel down any time soon, and I'd like to see the look on everyone's faces when we actually pull this off."
She looked over at Shinji, and he found himself somewhat comforted by the defiant spark in her eyes. "C'mon," she said. "You've got some cooking to do. I don't want to go and see what Rei's cooking looks like. And neither of us want to see whatever Misato whips up."
. . .
Daniel and Misato sat in an adjacent apartment, watching a bank of screens intently as they ate takeout, Daniel sipping some Hakko ginger beer as Misato nursed a Yebisu.
The screens were linked to camera feeds of the three main areas; the sleeping area, the dining room, and the main training area.
Right now, they focused on the feed that showed Shinji, Asuka, and Rei eating their dinner, Asuka silently briefing the other two as Shinji got seconds for all of them.
"I've got to say, I'm impressed with Shinji," Misato said after a sip of her beer. "I thought you were going to have to get her for a little bit there."
Daniel shook his head. "Nah. Shinji's a quiet kid, but he's got it where it counts."
Misato nodded slowly, glancing over at Daniel after a moment. "Does Asuka know you left her something?"
"She'll see it," he said assuredly. "She's made the Tao something of a holy book since she started working alongside Shinji and Rei. Especially right now."
It was silent between them for a few moments more as they ate.
Finally, Daniel decided to break the silence. "So, I have a question about a touchy subject," he said nonchalantly.
Misato slowly looked back over at him, her expression carefully neutral. "And what would that be?" she said archly.
"What's up with Ryoji?" he asked. "I get there's some sort of bad blood, but everyone involved is pretty vague about it."
Misato's brow creased into a frown. "And what does that matter? Are you seriously trying to be my therapist?"
"I'm trying to be your friend," Daniel replied. "Whatever this is between you and Ryoji has got you all out of sorts. I'm not going to try and say you should get all buddy-buddy with him right off the jump, but you've got to untangle whatever's got him at the center of it."
"So I can finally get the deadweight of that numbskull off of my shoulders and live a happier life?" Misato said sardonically.
"So that you can fully focus on the mission," Daniel said, his tone dead serious. "This Angel is crazy enough already, and I think they're only going to get crazier from here. I get the feeling everyone is going to need their head in the game to stay on top of these things."
Again, Misato answered him for long moments with little more than a hard stare, then she closed her eyes with a somewhat weary sigh. "This better not get out to him," she said mulishly. "I don't want the idiot to get the wrong idea."
"You know I'm a man of my word, Misato."
Misato took a long draught of her beer, sighing slightly. "He probably told you a little bit of how I knew him," she said quietly.
"He told Asuka and I that you two were an item back in college when we first met him," Daniel replied. "Other than that, nothing much else about you two."
Misato grimaced. "He wasn't wrong there. We did our fair share of hooking up then. I was really starting to come out of my shell then, so I was just all over everyone. But…"
She fell silent, her expression becoming somber, and Daniel's expression darkened. "Misato…" he said quietly. "Did he… do something to you?"
Misato looked back at him, her eyes going wide. "No, no!" she said hurriedly. "Nothing like that. He's an idiot and a creep as a job, but he…"
She stuttered for a moment. "He wouldn't do anything to hurt me," she said quietly. "At least, not then."
Daniel sighed quietly in readily apparent relief. "Good."
A pause. "Did his family put you off, then? They must have been really crazy to make you go and join the military."
Misato shook her head. "No. He never really talked about his family then. Then again, I didn't do much talking on that front either. He…"
She trailed off, Daniel waiting for long moments to see if she would continue any further. Finally, however, he set the empty takeout container aside and stood, glancing at the Children finishing up dinner.
'I've gotten all I could and perhaps more,' he mused silently.
"I'm going to go debrief Shinji and Asuka, see if there's anything us adults can do for them after today," he said. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
With that, Daniel made his way out of the apartment, leaving Misato to silently ponder as she watched Daniel appear on the dining room feed after a moment, settling in with both Shinji and Asuka as they began their conversation.
Then, the apartment door opened from behind her. Misato looked back, wondering for a moment who would be visiting.
She stood and saluted as the visitor made himself known. "Sub-Commander," she said as Fuyutsuki returned the salute. "What brings you here tonight?"
"I'm here to provide the Commander with an update on the status on the current training regimen," Fuyutsuki replied, walking over to the screens and peering at the conversation that Daniel was having with Asuka and Shinji.
He was silent for a moment as he watched the interaction. "This is a… highly unorthodox method of training, Captain," he said. "What, exactly, prompted such a means of preparing the pilots for combat?"
"Well, sir," Misato said only somewhat hesitantly, "with the… well, we'll call it supernatural synchronicity of the Angel, the group that put this plan together decided that the best chance to try and match that synchronicity was through linking our attempt to a pattern that's easy to follow."
"A beat," Fuyutsuki clarified.
"Yes," Misato said. "When the Children go into battle after their training here, they'll have the song as a backing track for their deployment. Our hope is that the Angel can be matched and beaten by our pilots working together, even without a link to each other's minds like the Angel is theorized to possess."
It was silent for long moments. "Captain Theisman seems to be your touchstone with the pilots, I see," he said, his tone hovering on the edge of disinterest.
"Considering that two out of three of them basically had him as a guardian for a few years, one after the other, I'm not going to stop him," Misato replied.
Fuyutsuki hummed softly. "I wasn't aware that Theisman had such history with either of the pilots."
"It's made training the pilots the way we have been… well, much easier," Misato replied.
Fuyutsuki said nothing more, simply watching the feed intently.
. . .
Shinji settled back into his seat as a lull in the conversation Daniel had started came, Asuka standing from her chair at the dining room table.
"Alright," she said as she stretched, "I'm going to take the first shower. See you on the other side."
With that, she left the room, leaving Shinji and Daniel to simply enjoy each other's company, Ayanami having gone and laid on her bed. After a few minutes of silence, Shinji sighed somewhat wearily.
"I hope that this works," he said quietly.
"It will," Daniel said assuredly. "I think you guys are about to turn a corner with this whole thing."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Shinji replied. "I'm just ready to get back to normal. Even if it's Lehrerin Soryu's training." He sighed quietly. "Though I don't think it's going to be much different than this."
Daniel let the silence hang for a second. "You know, I can tell you a secret as to why Asuka is really busting down on you when it comes to training," he said, his lean towards Shinji almost conspiratorial.
Shinji arched a brow as he regarded Daniel levelly. "Because she thinks that I've got way too much catching up to do?" he said deadpan.
Daniel smiled slightly. "Because she trusts that you can take the pressure. Granted, she knows that I gave you a decent enough foundation, but only you can take that and run with it."
Shinji shrugged. "I guess," he said almost at a mumble.
"She likes you, too."
Shinji regarded Daniel with narrowed eyes. "She has a strange way of showing it, then," he said after a moment.
Daniel looked down at the table, sighing quietly. "To be as fair to her as I can be… it's really the only way she knows how to. The Evangelion is the only reference point she really has. I've helped her out some in that regard, but old habits are hard to break, after all."
Shinji was silent, looking down at the table and pondering Daniel's words as he continued after a minute. "She's made her life on being the woman without fear, capable of doing anything she sets her mind to and succeeding. She wants you to be able to claim that too."
"I figured she was just fine without the competition for the title of 'greatest Eva pilot ever'," Shinji finally said, distantly aware of the shower going silent. "Why would she want a competitor?"
"She doesn't," Daniel replied. "She wants someone she can be absolutely sure will understand. Someone who won't be afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"Who she is when she's alone," Daniel said quietly.
He was silent for long moments. "Shinji, there's a certain kind of comfort she's missing. A kind that I can't really provide for her. I know how weird this is going to sound, but she needs the kind of friend only you can be."
Shinji regarded Daniel with a hesitant expression, taking in the surety in Daniel's. "So, when the time comes, and it'll come soon, I'm sure… just be ready."
Shinji was silent, and Daniel gave him the space and silence to ponder what he'd told him.
After a moment, Asuka, dressed in her nightclothes with a towel wrapped around her hair, stepped back into the dining room, and Daniel saw his chance. "Well, Shinji," he said as he stood. "I'm glad we got to talk. Let me know if you need anything else."
He began to turn, then paused. "Actually, I can't believe I almost forgot this," he continued, chuckling as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a neatly wrapped package not much larger than his hand, handing it to Shinji.
Shinji took the package, unwrapping it carefully to reveal a CD case labeled 'Classical Compositions of Sagisu, Vol. 2'. Attached to it was a small, folded paper that Shinji gently pulled off and opened.
Daniel knew roughly what was on the note Shinji read, making his way around the table to read it over Shinji's shoulder.
'To Shinji,
This is the record Captain Katsuragi pulled the music you've been training from. Now you can listen in your own time! Good luck with your training!
- Big Sis Maya'
Daniel smiled slightly as Asuka regarded Shinji quizzically. "Big Sis, huh?" she said archly.
Shinji's blush was a marked shade. "It's a… well, it's something that's between us," he finally managed.
Daniel chuckled softly as he patted Shinji's shoulder. "Well, I'm glad you and Ms. Ibuki are getting along. I think you can't do much better for an older sister."
He made his way to the door, pausing as he looked back at the pair. "Good night, you two. And Shinji…"
He paused for a moment, Shinji looking up at him from the note. "Be ready."
As he disappeared from the Children's view, he heard Asuka speaking to Shinji. "He's right, Shinji. You'd better be ready!"
As he reached the door, Daniel smiled slightly.'Oh, little sister, you have no idea.'
. . .
Ribbing over the gift aside, the night progressed largely as Shinji had come to expect, settling into bed after the lights went out.
Unlike before, where he simply had slipped to sleep in silence, he had his phone with him, having found a digital code within the jewel case of the CD. He simply listened to the track they had spent the last week practicing to, one headphone in, his eyes closed. He had the music low, meant to help him drift to sleep. It was soothing like this, his stress from the day slowly melting away as he took deep breaths.
Deep breaths… deep breaths…
The sound of sniffling. "Mama…"
Shinji's eyes snapped open, and he looked over to see Asuka… hunched into herself, her eyes shut tight. Were those… tears?
"Mama…" she said again, softly. Fearfully.
Shinji was silent for long moments as he took in the seemingly impossible sight.'Is… is this what Daniel was talking about?'
Slowly, he paused his music, his mind shouting at him as he took out his earbud about how stupid this was and this couldn't possibly be what Daniel was talking about and a whirlwind of other things pounding in his skull as he steeled himself to do… something.
Finally, he decided on a course of action. "Asuka?" he said quietly.
He jumped slightly as Asuka's eyes snapped open, red-rimmed and unfocused. After a moment, she managed to focus on his face, her eyes going wide before she flipped over.
It was silent for long, almost agonizing moments before Shinji gathered his courage again. "Are… are you alright?" he asked quietly, his self-berating silent and instant.
"What does it look like, idiot?" Asuka shot back, her voice quiet and venomous.
Shinji had no reply he could give her. What else could he say?
"What was your mother like?" he asked softly.
Silence, a silence that left Shinji wanting. He sighed quietly as he turned over, putting a headphone in and wondering what he might do to make tonight up to Asuka as he pressed play on the music again.
Then, he felt a slight nudge on his hip. Then an elbow rather firmly planted itself. He started as he paused the music, turning back over to see… Asuka, sitting down with her back against the bedside.
"You asked me a question," she said rather pointedly, the venom of her last question diminished. "Do you want an answer or not?"
Shinji, still remarkably unsure of what to do, slowly got out of his bed, sitting down next to Asuka. "Yeah," Shinji said.
Asuka took a deep breath. "She was… kind. Happy. Very smart. I guess I get that last one from her."
Shinji nodded slowly, his brow furrowing in thought. It felt… familiar, somehow. He couldn't put his finger on it, and that little infuriation flared at the feeling. "She does sound nice," he said quietly. "If I may be so bold… what happened?"
He managed to catch sight of Asuka's head dipping down in the moonlight. "I don't really know. Something happened that I still haven't found out about yet." She scoffed softly. "Not that I haven't tried. But she…"
She swallowed. "She went mad. She couldn't recognize anyone."
She shrank into herself. "She couldn't recognize me," she whispered. "It went on until…"
She trailed off, the pair sitting together in silence. Shinji looked down at the floor as well, simply… being there for Asuka.
"So, what was your mom like?" Asuka asked quietly.
Shinji grimaced. "I'm going to be honest… I don't really remember. All I know is that something happened. Something so bad that I… made myself forget it. After whatever it was happened, Father got rid of everything that showed her. I didn't even have a picture of her face until Daniel found a graduation photo from her school for me."
"Man…" Asuka said quietly. "He really did that? Just… threw away remembering his wife like that?"
Shinji shrugged. "I don't get it either. Maybe something happened before she died. Maybe Father went insane for a moment. I don't think I'll ever know."
Shinji's jaw clenched slightly. "It's not like asking him is going to get me an answer any time soon, either."
He was prepared to stew in the feelings, as he had in the past, then his shoulders tensed as he felt a hand rest on one of them.
"I'm sorry, Shinji," Asuka said, Shinji looking over to see… a softness he hadn't ever seen in her eyes before. "There's a lot to say that about, I think. But I think I would have liked to meet your mom if you take after her more than your dad."
Shinji smiled slightly. "I think I would have liked to meet yours, too."
They sat there in silence for long moments, keeping each other company. Then, Asuka frowned slightly. "The window…" she said quietly.
Shinji frowned slightly in turn. "The… window?"
"Daniel left me a note while we were out in my copy of the Tao," Asuka replied. "Something about 'considering the window'. I couldn't quite get it at first, but… I think I'm starting to understand."
Shinji waited for some sort of explanation, but glanced over to see that she'd slipped off to sleep. After a moment, she slid to a rest against his shoulder. He wondered for a moment if he should move, allow them both to get back into their beds, but… the peacefulness of her expression seemed somewhat special. Like a magic spell he'd be foolish to break.
'Well…' he thought as he felt his eyelids beginning to droop. 'I guess one night's poor sleep for me won't be so bad…'
With that, he drifted off to sleep.