Neon Genesis Evangelion
Disclaimer:
I don’t own NGE, GAINAX and co. does.
A/N: Thanks
for the reviews!! I really appreciate them!
“I’ve been
followed?!’
Shinji
turned around as fast as he could as he heard the slightest sound behind him.
As he turned around, he saw a faint hint of a figure hide itself quickly behind
a tree. Shinji wondered briefly if it was just a figment of his imagination.
But he was too sure he heard and saw something.
‘Who would
follow ME?’
Shinji
moved slowly toward the tree. But something made him stop. ‘What if it’s
someone dangerous?’ But another thing made him move again. ‘No
matter, right? My father has security guards following us all around
Tokyo-III… Maybe it’s one of them?’
Shinji
picked up his pace toward the tree, no longer afraid it’s dangerous. ‘I’ll
probably make a fool of myself right now…’
But the
figure soon jumped from behind the tree, in Shinji’s eyesight, but only for a
split second, since it ran away immediately..
‘A.. Asuka?’
Watch and Try to Learn
- by TokehGecko
Chapter 3
Shinji
walked slowly back home, he was confused by the appearance of what looked like
Asuka.
‘Was it
really Asuka?’
Shinji
shook his head as he passed a pair that was kissing each other while they were
walking. Shinji looked sadly at them.
‘That… I
will never reach..’
A group of
friends were yelling and laughing with and at each other on the side of the
street as Shinji walked. His ears could detect the genuine joy emanating from
their laughter.
‘Why… why
would Asuka do… why would she even follow me? I bet it wasn’t Asuka, or she was
playing a sick joke on me, as always.’
Shinji
tried to recall any ‘nice’ memories of discussion between him and Asuka. Shinji
sighed deeply when he could only remember insults directed towards him, and
injuries he inflicted.
‘No.. Asuka’s only present to be the best here.. and to hurt me, I guess..’
If there
was one thing Shinji could never step in, it was dog shit. Shinji walked with
his eyes directed towards the ground. He could even avoid stepping on any ants.
if there were any… Second Impact… had been rough..
‘I doubt it
was Asuka… She would never do something like this… ’ Shinji sighed sadly.
‘Normally, she doesn’t even notice me, it’s like I’m not even present in the
living room sometimes.’ Shinji smiled sadly. ‘Especially on the battle
grounds.’
Shinji
continued his trek home, never bothering to think about the fact that it really
could have been Asuka.
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“Phew.. !’” Asuka breathed heavily, from relief and slowly
dissipating fear of getting caught.
‘I almost
got caught right there! Thank god he didn’t see me!’
Asuka had
run away as fast as she could when she saw Shinji approaching him in the park.
‘That jerky
brat has a good set of ears on him!’
After
running for about ten minutes, in the direction of their apartment, Asuka had
calmed down and found a great spot, in the shadow from a roof from an old
building. There was no need to worry about old pervert trying to sneak up on
her in the middle of the night. There were security guards watching her every
movement, after all.
‘Damn…. Now
I still haven’t seen it. It’s like I’m not allowed to see it.’
Asuka
noticed a small spot of dirt on her school outfit. Considering the small
puddles on the streets she had come across during her running, it had rained in
the afternoon. It seems she had run through too many puddles and now her dress
was dirty.
‘Not that
it matters… I have plenty of clothes..’ Asuka seemed
to pause about that certain thought. “Hmm, Hikari and I didn’t really buy a lot
today, however..”
As Asuka
was thinking about buying new dresses and other similar things, Shinji rounded
a corner and came in Asuka’s eyesight. Asuka quickly hid in the shadow the roof
created and watched as Shinji, ever so slowly, passed the spot where she was
at.
‘If I go
home now, and be quicker than Shinji, which is easy, he’ll think it really was
me in the park, and I have run straight back home. ’ Asuka paused, as she
balled her right hand into a fist, and leaned her face on it, leaning her right
elbow on her knee. ‘If I go home later than him, he’ll think I hesitated and
purposely went home later than him.’
Asuka rose
from her feet and leaned against a wall a bit. ‘I guess I’ll head over to
Hikari’s place, maybe I can sleep there. That way, I can always say I was there
all the time, should Shinji ask, if discovers some spine somewhere in his
body.’
As Asuka
began to walk toward away, and rounded the corner, she heard her name being
spoken.
“Asuka?”
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Shinji
walked forward in slow pace, he had grabbed his SDAT from his pocket, thinking
he could fix it during his walking. He rammed on it with his fist, softly, a
few times. But the ‘Play’-Button just didn’t seem to work. Shinji snarled at
the thing in his hand.
‘Jeez… I
don’t like this at all. Everything seems to backfire at me today.’
He decided
to bash at his SDAT one more time, hoping this time it would work he hit it a
little harder. But, Shinji, being the klutz that he is, dropped the SDAT to the
ground. It landed on a brick that made the SDAT bounce backwards. Shinji had to
turn around to grab it. When he had the SDAT back in his hands he noticed a
figure appearing a few meters ahead. And the light from the lantern displayed
it all perfectly.
“Asuka?”
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She didn’t
know how this happened… Ok, she did know, but she didn’t know it was going to
turn out like this. To think she wouldn’t be able to keep her countenance. Of
course Shinji asked her if she had followed him. And as a natural response, for
Asuka, her defences went way up. Somehow, Asuka could only recall Shinji’s
extremely sad face, as if he was about to cry, as he slowly turned around and
walked home. It seems Asuka insulted him greatly in that certain conversation.
‘Damn… I
didn’t want to see THAT look…’
Pity is
feeling that shouldn’t be expressed, Asuka always thought. If you feel pity for
another, he or she is just not worthy of living, for their pride had already
been wounded and it seems pity is only left after that. And to receive pity, is
just the same.
‘I don’t
pity Shinji…. I just don’t want to see THAT look anymore..’
Shinji’s
sad face repeated itself in Asuka’s mind. Her screaming and cursing at him, and
the facial change of expression in Shinji. Asuka turned around as Shinji walked
away from her. She took a run for it, in the other direction.
‘Damn…. _I_
made him look that way.’
But Asuka
never considered Shinji’s feelings… ever. Why should she now?
‘Hmm… It’s
partially my fault, I guess… But I shouldn’t let it bother me this much. Shinji
is an idiot who doesn’t deserve a second glance, especially not from me.’
Asuka
turned around in her bed and now faced the door instead of the wall. She
decided not to worry about Shinji anymore and let her thoughts wander toward
the subject clothes.
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Shinji had
walked to all the spots of Tokyo-III he knew where he could be at ease. Now,
though, the confrontation between him and Asuka haunted him.
‘I always
knew…. she hated me… I think.. But why did she follow
me? Was it to empathise on the fact she really did hate me? It couldn’t be
curiosity, no, not from her. But I didn’expect her to get so angry so quick. I
just greeted her, like anyone would greet another when he or she was familiar
to him or her. But, she slapped me… She slapped me twice, then she insulted me…
called me names.. a lot of
names.. I guess I shouldn’t have asked her if she had followed me. Stupid….’
Shinji
looked up to see a car drive by and an old man who waited for the car to pass
by, who started walking. It was already getting late, but Shinji chose to not
go home, sleep be damned..
‘Asuka…. I
don’t know why you hate me so much.. Why you have to
slap me all the time or why you have to insult me… But I don’t want to try and
understand you anymore…. It seems you slapped some sense in me… if it’s called
sense what I feel.’
After a
little while, Shinji knocked on a door, since the bell didn’t work, he
recalled. After ten seconds or so, the door opened.
“Uhh.. Hi, Ayanami.”
“Ikari-kun.”
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‘Jeeezz.. I’m alone…. Not that I
care… but the idiot isn’t home yet and Misato is working late..
again! And on top of that, the place is a complete
mess… Shinji had better come home and clean it all up..’
Asuka’s
eyes were almost closed as she stared up at the television. Nothing great was
on, but then again, it was already
‘Music
nowadays…’
Somewhere
in the back of her mind, Asuka worried.. She didn’t
want to, but it was undeniable.
‘Shinji
hasn’t come back yet… What if, he left Tokyo-III? No, for something like this,
he wouldn’t.’
Asuka bit
her lower lip.
‘He
wouldn’t.. I’ll bet he is on his way home right now…
In fact, I’ll just wait until he comes home and yell at him for coming in so
late!! Maybe I’ll even say he woke me up by slamming the door shut or
something.’
Asuka
decided she would wait… But sleep caught her, after fifteen minutes.. She didn’t have a happy look on her face, however.
And Shinji
never came…
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‘Well, I’ll
never understand either of them. No matter how hard I try to understand a little
bit of them, they do something that’s completely out of place. But.. Like I’m one to talk..’
Shinji
observed Rei as she sat on a chair in the living room. He himself sat on the
ground. He asked Rei if he could sleep here for the night. Rei simply nodded,
let him in and sat on the only chair in the apartment.
‘Odd,
really.. Now I’m here, alone with Rei in a very, grey,
room, I don’t feel uncomfortable. Well, a little bit, because of the silence.
But, I like silence, and I’m betting so does Rei.’
Shinji
frowned as he stared at Rei for a moment.
‘Now that I
think of it. We are somewhat… alike. Strange.. She’s
not very adept.. at living..’
Shinji thought recalling something Ritsuko once said. ‘Maybe I’m not adept at
living either.. ?’ Shinji frowned deeply. ‘Yeah.. In some ways… I’m even the same
as my father..’
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Asuka woke
up, slowly opening her eyes. The first thing she saw was a purple mess on the
floor next to her.
‘Again??
Damned Misato always goes for a few drinks after work..’
Asuka rose
from the small red couch, evaded a few beer cans Misato dropped and, strangely
enough, went to Shinji’s door..
‘Hmm, if
he’s awake, my excuse will be… “Make Dinner!” or something like that..’
To her
surprise however, there was no Shinji in Shinji’s bed.
‘Wha.. But where?’
Asuka
turned around and picked Misato up from the floor. Not entirely, but mostly
just her head.
‘Jeez, what
a horrible wannabe-mother you are…’
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A/N: Sorry,
but still not much angst.. A few things had to happen
otherwise it would simply be dumb to just put angst in the fic. So, next
chapter will be angsty, I promise!! If not, you can smack me a big one later on.. but.. not
too hard, of course..