Part II"Fire on High"--Friday/Early Saturday-- The remainder of Friday night passed rather uneventfully. Misato spent her time going through Ritsuko's paperwork, but it was doubtful that much was accomplished in that apartment, seeing as how Misato managed to celebrate completing each page by having another beer. Shinji and Asuka spent the better part of the evening in their rooms, doing their best to avoid each other. So far, their attempts had met with success. So somewhere around twenty after two in the morning, Shinji Ikari finally decided to risk stepping back out into the apartment. He was already angry at himself for spending all of Friday evening in his room. For once, he had planned to do something different, but it just hadn't worked out for him. "I'm going out there." he said to himself, then quietly slid his door open and peeked outside. It was dark, but there was some light coming from the kitchen. Shinji quickly realized it could only be Misato. Well, she was nothing to worry about. Even if Misato decided that now was the perfect time for him to sit down and tell her about his troubles, that he could take it in stride. So long as he didn't have to face Asuka just yet, everything would be cool. Come the morning, he would be ready to talk to Asuka. Stepping out of his room, Shinji slunk into the hallway and tip-toed down the hallway to the bathroom. On his way, he noticed the dark hallway was gradually becoming more well-lit. As he arrived at the bathroom door, he saw the source of this light in a yellow beam that was protruding from beneath the door to Asuka's room, and also spilling out the side. Shinji held his breath and pressed himself against the wall. Asuka's door was cracked open, and, leaning over, he peered inside. He saw Asuka standing in front of her bureau, admiring herself in the mirror. She had her infamous yellow sundress on, and a smile adorned her face, as she lightly spun herself around. Shinji withdrew for a moment and slowly let out his breath, then took in another sip of air. He had never seen Asuka like this before. She looked almost giddy, like a small child pretending to be grown up. Casually, Shinji wondered if she was thinking about Kaji. He turned back and peeked into the red-head's room again. She was now leaning forward, her arms extended on her dresser, smiling at herself in the mirror. How often had he seen her smile? They were few and far between, seemingly reserved for special occasions. She had a beautiful smile. Shinji blushed. The girl arose and spun herself around once more. "Spectacular." He whispered. He was right. Maybe in the grand scheme of things, this would only be a short moment in his existence, but he wanted to remember it. A corner of his mind reminded him to breathe, and he did, very carefully, for Shinji knew that if he was discovered, he was a dead man, plain and simple. Shinji silently wondered what would have happened had he peeked inside and found Asuka changing. He probably would have had a heart attack. Though there was no one around to be embarrassed by, Shinji's cheeks flushed a deep red, and for a moment he thought that he was going to get a nosebleed. Somehow, he managed to hold himself in check. It pained the boy to see such beauty, so close to him and yet so unattainable. As she spun, she was perfection. She was light, and beauty, she was the image in his mind. He had read in some novels what it was like to have experiences like this, to see something so perfect, beyond the reaches of this world. Mere words did it no justice. It hurt, to know that all he might ever have was a mental image in his mind. Had he not been so close to Asuka's room, he might have banged his head against the wall a few times. How was he ever supposed to win her? Was he destined to live so cruel an existence? To always look on helplessly as happiness lay just out of his reach, as it had for most of his life? It wasn't fair. Why? Why did it have to be her? He shook his fist at the ceiling as though he expected a response. Even after the Second Impact, there was still a great many women on the planet. So why, out of all the women on this God-forsaken planet, was he slowly but most assuredly falling for this one? Shinji chalked it up to his punishment for all those Angels he'd help to do in. But then, wasn't that a paradox? Because if he hadn't become an Eva pilot, Asuka never would have come into his life. Abruptly, Shinji cut off this train of thought. If he dwelled on it, he might never sleep again. What was done, was done, the only place to go now was forward. He took one last look at Asuka, who seemed quite pleased with herself. She jumped up onto her bed and flopped out across it, grinning into her mirror all the while, and making faces at it. She was happy. Perhaps she used her room for the same type of refuge from the world that he did. Inside of it, she couldn't be hurt. Shinji recalled his own feelings of private invincibility he felt within his room. He hadn't found much solace there when he had first arrived in Tokyo-3, but now it did feel like home to him. With much effort, he tore himself away from the scene in front of him and plodded back to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. He didn't care if it was the middle of the night, right now he needed a shower. Shinji ran the water, getting it to a nice, hot temperature, before removing his clothing and jumping in. The water was a bit hot, but after a moment it felt very relaxing. He let the stream fall over his hair, to make sure that he got the thorough experience. He then leaned up against the wall of the shower, letting the water run down his back and into the drain. Why? He turned his head upwards. "You could have given me something a little easier! One step at a time and all that! But nooooo, you send me out to go kill a bear with nothing but a pointy stick!" His words probably carried a little, but he was not overly concerned about Misato or Asuka hearing him. "She'll probably maul me." He added as an afterthought. With the door closed, it was rather unlikely. Slowly, Shinji sank down onto the floor, the water pouring over him. A feeling of hopelessness washed over him. Earlier, he had felt sure that with time, he could work his way into a position where he could convince her that as crazy as it sounded, the two of them could form a wonderful partnership. . .and something even greater. But now, taking one look at Asuka in all her glory, he felt that he could never pull it off. He reached for the bottle of shampoo that rested on the edge of the shower and squirted some into the palm of his hand. He rubbed it through his hair, some of it streamed downward, and a little got into his eyes. "Augh!" he began to feel the burning sensation, and instinctively ran his face under the hot water, which didn't feel much better, but it did begin to alleviate the irritation in his eyes. Shinji reached for the temperature control and turned the cold water up a bit. Too far, in fact, as now he felt a shiver run over him. Satisfied that the water was out of his eyes, Shinji turned the water temperature back up and leaned backwards, until his back pressed against the wall of the shower stall. Angered, he looked up towards the spigot that rained its liquid down over him. "No!" his face took on a determined expression. "I'm not going to give up before I even start! I. . .I mustn't run away! Not now!" The water spigot stared back at him, unchanging, still pumping out water with the same force it had been moments earlier. "Not this time! You hear me!" Yes, that was it. Look at things from a more logical standpoint. Asuka was not unattainable. Certainly, she was not going to be an easy mark. Where Shinji was concerned, a woman who threw herself at him wasn't an easy mark. But he could do this. He could. He would. He had too. For once in his life, he was going to take a chance. If he tried and failed, at least he would know that it wasn't because he was a coward. The time for hiding was over. If he was going to pursue Asuka, he was going to have to be willing to be hurt. More than once. Shinji stood up, turned the water off, and began drying himself. Yes, his path was clear now. Inwardly, Shinji knew that the real trial by fire would come when he was actually interacting with Asuka. It was easy to act brave by yourself, it was another thing entirely not to lose your nerve with others around. He needed a battle plan. As he ran the towel through his hair, the first wave came to him. Be nice to her. "Be nice. . .to Asuka?" Yes, be nice to Asuka. He didn't have to bow down and kiss her feet, no. Shinji blushed just a tad thinking of bowing down in front of Asuka and kissing her foot. No, he wasn't that far gone. Driving that picture out of his mind, he thought about how he should go about being nice to her. He could cut back on their usual morning banter. He could do her chores. He could compliment her. No, wait, strike that last one. If he complimented her, she might accuse him of staring at her and call him a pervert. He didn't want to ruin things before he started. Best to stick to the first two for the time being. He would make her breakfast everyday, even if it did cost him some sleep. From Shinji's point of view, every morning Asuka could leave for school with non-Misato food in her was a positive one. The same for him as well. Yes, these were things that Asuka could not possibly find something wrong with. "Don't forget lunch." An inner voice told him. True, he should make sure that he packed her a wonderful lunch everyday. Perhaps he could secretly learn to make some foods that stemmed from Asuka's homeland. With a slight smile on his face, Shinji climbed back into his clothes and headed for the kitchen. He had already screwed up his sleep schedule anyway, but from the looks of things, Asuka had as well. He decided that the best thing to do would be to stay up all night now, and go to bed tomorrow evening to get back on track. Asuka gazed upon herself in the mirror. A smile spread across her lips, parting them and revealing her white teeth. She hadn't really looked at herself in a long time. She had no need to. She may have been up on fashion, but it was not often that she found herself truly capable of enjoying it. Far too often she had had to abandon one of her more appealing outfits for a plug suit. The thought of her plug suit triggered the unpleasant memory of that ridiculous getup she had donned when she had gone magmadiving for Angels. Asuka repressed a shudder and centered her thoughts on something else. The volcano mission had largely been a failure. She hadn't been able to recover the Angel, and she had nearly lost both her Eva and her life in the bargain. If baka-Shinji hadn't gone in after her, it would have been lights out. Another less than appealing thought came to her, namely, would anyone have really cared? She had certainly gone out of her way to alienate just about everyone she had come into contact with in Tokyo-3. A corner of her heart secretly hoped that Kaji would have mourned her passing. Indeed, he probably would have, just not to the extent that Asuka would have liked him to. Misato would probably have been the most grief stricken, and that drew a snort from Asuka. "She'd probably drink herself under the table." But she would get over it. Granted, Misato knew things about her, and she was grudgingly the person she had played it the most straight with since she had arrived here. But was that enough? "No." Was all she could bring herself to say. It wasn't enough. But she had been living like this for as long as she could remember, so what did it matter? Though sometimes, while alone with her thoughts, she did wish she had someone to share them with, she knew that it could never be. She couldn't trust someone like that. She sighed to herself. She knew she never gave anyone half a chance to prove themselves, but what could she do? It was better this way. At least this way she couldn't get hurt, couldn't be left. Once, not too long before she had come to Tokyo-3, Asuka had made herself a list of all the people she felt she had hurt in some way. She had kept it hidden, taking out on occasion to go over all of the names on it. On the day she had departed, she ripped the paper into shreds and vowed never to look back. From that point on, she separated herself. There were two Asuka's now. The Asuka everyone knew and didn't love, and the Asuka that she only took out when she was sure that no one else was watching. The smile she wore ran away from her. She was slowly but surely losing touch with the private Asuka, the --real-- Asuka. Glancing around her room, to be absolutely certain that nobody was secretly spying on her, she let a few tears flow down her cheeks, but quickly wiped them away. She was scared. The real her was dying. It wouldn't be long now, maybe a year and a half or so, at most. But there was nothing she could do. The only thought that brought some comfort was the fact that in her line of work, there was no guarantee that she would be alive that long anyway. She stood up from the bed and steeled herself. She had felt sorry for herself long enough. She wasn't weak. She couldn't afford to be weak. She was too proud for that. If there was one thing she never wanted, it was pity. She couldn't respect herself if people pitied her. She was the designated pilot of Unit-02. She was responsible for defending humanity. Although she was fully aware that she was not the only Eva pilot, she liked to think that this was so. Life had taught her at an early age that she could not depend on others. She hadn't been that naive for a long time. Cautiously, apprehensively, she relieved her body of the yellow sundress. Asuka began rummaging through her dresser, trying to decide what she would wear that evening. No need for anything special, she had no intentions of leaving this apartment, not at this hour. She saw a pair of silk pajamas, but decided against them. Those were more proper for a special occasion, though Asuka could not think of any event she would ever be involved in that would warrant silk pajamas. She wasn't big on slumber parties, she much preferred the comfort of her own bed and her private thoughts late at night. Eighteen hours of her day belonged to the world, damned if she was going to give anyone the other six. That was the way things were meant to be, in her book. Now if she could just manage to convince both the Angels and NERV of this ideal, she would be all set. Asuka cursed herself for falling asleep earlier. Her sleep schedule was in enough disarray as it was, this incident certainly wouldn't help. What she wouldn't give for a normal, full night's sleep of eight hours, with no nightmares to haunt her, no Angel attacks to disturb her. It wasn't very fair. Life was not very fair. In fact, fair was a pretty useless term to describe things when it came to life and the world. If she wanted things to be fair, then she was going to have to wait until she was dead. Until that time, she would muddle through. So far, she hadn't been doing all that bad of a job. Selecting a simple white bathrobe, Asuka slipped into it, tying the band tightly around her waist. She reached under her bed, and, finding her slippers, shuffled them onto her feet, then proceeded to make her way to the kitchen. Maybe Misato was still awake. "Misato." "Grgggggzzzzzzzz." Came Misato's only reply. Shinji had found her passes out, her head on the kitchen table. "C'mon, Misato, get up! You can't sleep here! You need to get into bed!" "Huuuurrrzzzzzzz" Misato followed up her "statement" with a snore. Unnoticed, Asuka slunk into the kitchen and joined Shinji, which made the boy jump about two feet into the air. "Shhhhhhh!" Asuka shushed him, knowing that he was just about to shout from the shock. "What's wrong with Misato? Did she pass out?" "Uh. . . I. . .I think so. . ." A wolfish grin spread across Asuka's face. "Wunderbar." "Huh?" "Never mind, just stand back and watch an old pro." Asuka cleared her throat, then bent down next to Misato's ear and began whispering into it. "Misaaaaaatoooooooo" she whispered in an angelic voice that all but suited the expression on her face. "Grzzzzzz." "Ritsuko and Kaji came by to see yooooooou. . .I told them you were asleep." Misato snorted. "Yeah, so anyway, she and Kaji are going out all night together. Kaji said not wait up for them. You know, if it doesn't work between them, then Kaji says I'm all his. . ." Shinji resisted the urge to snort himself. Somehow, it sounded like Asuka was indulging in a heavy dose of wishful thinking, with a side of delusions to go with it. He only wished someone would feed her a piece of humble pie for dessert. "Huhwhazzatjerk?" Misato inquired all at once, opening her eyes halfway and partly lifting her head off the table. Shinji and Asuka exchanged a glance, each hoping the other had a translation for Drunkenese. "So, you're awake." Asuka observed. "You do realize that if you're going to get drunk and then pass out, your bedroom is a much more ideal location to do so, hmpf!" "I thought I heard you say something about Kaji. . .that jerk!" Misato quickly added. "Ooooh! Misato was dreaming about Kaji!!!" "I was not! I was just. . .dreaming about a board meeting and he was there. Yeah!" "Sure you were. . .now are you going to go to bed?" "What time is it?" Misato asked, putting a hand to her head. "It's. . .2:40" Shinji added. "2:40! What the hell are you kids doing up?! You have school in the morning! There had damn well better be an Angel attack!" "We have school tomorrow? No, it's Saturday tomorrow!" Shinji yelled. Asuka's face turned red. "Ach! Mein gott! How could I have forgot! Tomorrow is a Saturday session day!" "But. . .I took a nap and now I'm not tired. I kinda just woke up. . ." Shinji replied sheepishly. Asuka turned to Shinji and pointed a finger at him. "I did the same thing. This is all your fault, baka! If you weren't such a fool, this wouldn't have happened!" "I seem to recall you having a part in this!" replied Ikari, raising his voice. "What --are-- you talking about?" asked a puzzled Misato. "Nothing." The two children replied in unison. "I don't think I even want to know. Look, I don't care what you do, but I've got an early morning tomorrow, so whatever it is, no fighting! And if you are going to fight, then at least take it elsewhere." Asuka grimaced. "You want us to go out? At this hour? Are you insane?" "It's Friday night." Misato yawned. "Something will be open. Or do you think that you two can go a few hours without screaming at each other?" Shinji was about to accept this challenge, after all, it would give him a chance to implement the first phase of his little plan, but Asuka got the first word in. "You can't be serious! That would be like asking you to stop drinking!" "Hey! That's a cheap shot! All right, that's it, I want you kids out of here! Don't come back 'til breakfast!" "Misato!" Shinji protested. "What are we supposed to do for the next four and a half hours?" "Go bowling! See a flick! Find an all night arcade! Watch the grass grow! But whatever you do, don't do it here!" "You're serious!" Asuka gaped. "Yes, I am. Now shoo! Off with you! I have to be up in four hours! You can come back to get your things for school. Frankly, you should be thankful! Most kids would kill for their guardians to push them out of the house at almost three in the morning on a schoolnight!" Shinji couldn't respond to that one. She had a point. Toji would be envying him to no end come tomorrow morning. He sighed. "C'mon Asuka, I think they're doing an all-night movie downtown." Asuka surrendered to their sentence, but not to her companion. "Idiot! I can't go outside wearing this!" She gestured to her bathrobe. "Just hurry up, will you?" Misato said in a frustrated voice, taking a beer out of the fridge. "Scheisse." Was the muttered reply she received as Asuka disappeared into her room. "Um. . .Misato. . .are you feeling okay?" asked Shinji. "Yeah. Hey, Shinji?" "Huh?" Misato lowered her voice. "I. . .well. . .I kind of noticed that you two have been avoiding each other tonight. . .and I was wondering. . .did it. . .have anything to do with this afternoon? Shinji blushed profusely. "Augh! You mean. . .you saw. . .?" Misato nodded. "Shinji, you aren't having. . .you know. . .feelings for her. . .are you?" At this point, Shinji decided that it would be better to turn his face than let Misato see him blush anymore. He wanted to lie, but he knew that Misato would be able to tell if he was lying. "I knew it!" Misato tried not to get to excited. "You. . .you're not angry?" "Shinji. . .one of the reasons I brought Asuka here was because I knew that she would be good for you. Because she's so different than you, and so aggressive, I figured her presence would help you to become more assertive. But. . .I do confess. . .I was secretly hoping that this sort of thing might happen. It's really a good setup." "Misato!" Shinji yelped, then put a hand over his mouth and began whispering. "Then...this was all planned." "No. You can't plan things like this, Shinji. You just have to let them happen. All I did was provide an environment which. . .well, let's just say that you can plant a seed, and give it plenty of light, water, and fertilizer, but you can't make it grow. So, you're becoming infatuated with Asuka, eh?" "Well. . .y-yes." Shinji hesitated, but confirmed Misato's suspicion. "I have to tell you Shinji, in all honesty, that this isn't going to be easy." Misato sighed. "This is the flip side of the coin. You can't romance Asuka like you can any other girl." "I-I know." "And. . .she's liable to hurt you in the morning. Shinji. . .sooner or later you're going to have to tell her. . .and. . .well, just try to remember this. There are things about Asuka that you don't know. Things that I can't tell you, those are things that either she'll one day choose to share with you or she won't. But she might lash out at you. . ." Misato raised a hand to stop Shinji from interrupting her. "I mean much differently than she does now. . .just. . .if she ever says something very hurtful to you. . .something that really, truly hurts you. . .she probably doesn't mean it. You know. . .she's aggressive. . .she tends to push people away. So don't expect too much. You know, take it slow." "I. . .I understand Misato." "And Shinji?" "Yes?" "I know she can be. . .well. . .a bitch and all. . .but. . ." ". . . ." Misato placed a hand over Shinji's. "Don't leave her." "I won't." "Good. Now, go out there and let's see what you can sow." Misato raised her voice. "Asuka! Are you trying on everything you own in there, or what?" Asuka emerged from her room wearing her school uniform, and grumbling. "Asuka. . .that's what you're wearing?" Shinji inquired. "No, it's just an illusion. In reality, I'm strutting around naked." She replied sarcastically. Shinji couldn't seem to get a break from blushing. "Of course this is what I'm wearing, you baka! If we have to go to school in a few hours, we might as well be prepared!" "Oh." Was all he managed to say. Misato got out of her seat and reached for the top of the fridge. After shuffling a few different things around and knocking several empty beer cans and used instant ramen cups, she found what she was looking for. "Here." She said, giving several bills to Shinji. "Try not to have too much fun." With that, she all but pushed Shinji out the door. She attempted to do the same to Asuka, but the look she received from the red-head made her think better of it. "See you later." Misato said instead, and shut the door, with Asuka standing on the wrong side. "Well," Shinji began, "I guess she told us." Asuka stuck her tongue out at the door. "Come on, Third Child, let's go see what's going on in Tokyo-3." She grabbed the sleeve of Shinji's shirt, and pulled him down the flights of stairs. "Whoa!" Shinji managed to blurt out as he was hurried along. "What have I gotten myself into?" he asked himself as the two of them disappeared down the stairwell and into the night.************************************************************************Author's Notes-- Well, that was fun, wasn't it? You see, I told you there would be some character interaction this time! Yes, of course, there is more to come. Hey, hey, no groaning! If you didn't like it, then what are you still doing here? But seriously folks, I'd like to thank all of the readers out there who take the time to read this. Even you. Yes you! You know, the one sitting there reading this fic and not telling the author how you think he's doing! Well, what are you waiting for? The address? Ah, yes. Well, you can contact Malachite (that's me) at <ranger_writer@yahoo.com> There. Is that better? I think so.Preview of the next episode-- Well, I got the kids out of the apartment, didn't I? All you Rei fans out there, I'm not ignoring her, she just hasn't made her appearance yet. Maybe if you're lucky, you'll get to see Toji, Hikari, and Kensuke in the future as well. If I'm in a giving mood. (Please note: Lord Malachite just got home from work when he decided it would be a great time to put the finishing touches on this chapter, so he's in ultra-ego mode. It's not your fault). At any rate, Shinji and Asuka have a small adventure as they decide how they're going to amuse themselves for a few hours. No, not that kind of adventure, you perverts! And some other stuff will happen as well. Hey, I'm making this up as I go along, so your guess is as good as mine! It's all in 'Round Perdition's Flames Chapter 3-- "Who Wrote the Book of Love, Anyway?"************************************************************************The Legal Lambada--I don't have anything to do with Neon Genesis Evangelion. I didn't produce it, I didn't create it, and I don't pretend to have! This series is copyright by Gainax, A.D.V. Films holds the rights to the English Language Version. The author makes no claim whatsoever to any of the characters or the setting contained within this work, merely the situation in which they have been placed. Standard disclaimers apply. No substitutions, exchanges, or refunds. Batteries not included. Thanks you've all been a great crowd, don't forget to tip your servers on the way out. Amen.