"You don't actually expect me to BELIEVE that, you idiot?" Asuka snorted skeptically, staring across the kitchen table at Shinji.
"Now now Asuka! Be nice! Shinji is obviously under a lot of stress, so let's just listen to what he has to say and try to help him through it..." Misato insisted with a somewhat forced cheerful tone of voice, quietly kicking Asuka under the table. Asuka just yelped and shifted her glare to Misato instead.
Shinji sighed and rolled his eyes, taking a sip from the cup of tea in front of him. It had taken him fifteen minutes to calm down again, after Misato had helped Asuka pry him off her. All he'd been able to do was blubber and mutter 'someone else, someone else, someone else!' the whole time. It was rather embarrassing. But he'd regained his composure now, even if his emotions were still seesawing between wanting to cry and wanting to break out into song. ~~There's someone else! Even if it IS Asuka! Someone else!~~
But rather than cry, or sing and dance, or apologize, Shinji forced himself to keep his cool, and just sighed.
"You'll believe it soon enough either way. You remember yesterday like me and nobody else does. Do they?" He asked, suddenly hopeful. After a second the hopeful look slid from his face. "No. If they did they'd be here yelling at me too..." He muttered, sounding depressed.
"Really Shinji.. Are you trying to say you've lived through this day before? That sounds just a little.. Unbelievable..." Misato said gently.
Shinji completely ignored Misato, speaking directly to Asuka. "You remember fighting the big blob of an angel, right? With it's core floating around in the middle? And you remember me skipping class and breakfast and the synch test and everything, right?"
"You skipped class??" Misato demanded, shocked.
"Well, yeah, of course I remember all that! Twice, I think! Jerk!" Asuka crossed her arms and glowered at him, feeling a little defensive.
"And what's this about you skipping a synch test!" Misato continued as both pilots ignored her.
"Well then you know it's all true! You've gone through it already!" Shinji nodded his head firmly, crossing his arms again.
"Shinji! Pay attention and answer me!" Misato growled, beginning to lose her cool as her ward acted like she wasn't even in the room.
"That was.. Was just a dream or something! Or a sense of déjà vu! You can't go back into the past, it's impossible!" She shot back stubbornly.
"Impossible or not it keeps happening, over and over and over..." Shinji's eyes became a bit unfocused, a distracted look on his face.
"SHINJI! Answer me this INSTANT!" Misato finally snapped, slamming her hands down on the kitchen table and making it jump. Shinji's behavior was really stressing her out.
"Dummkopf! Why are you ignoring Misato?" Asuka demanded, ignoring the fact that she was doing the exact same thing and seizing on a change of topic. Not to mention something she could yell at Shinji for and get him to apologize over.
An apology wasn't in the cards however, as Shinji paid Misato's outburst no mind. Instead he stood up and slammed his own hands down on the table, shouting back at her angrily.
"Because I don't CARE about Misato! I care about YOU!" He spat out.
Both Asuka and Misato froze for an instant, staring at him. Asuka just blinked in shock, her cheeks flushing for a moment. It was hard to say if it was from embarrassment or anger. Her reaction made anger the safer bet however.
"Dummkopf! What do you think you're sayi..." She started yelling back, leaping to her feet as well, but Shinji interrupted her.
"SHE won't remember a damned thing tomorrow!" He pointed his finger at the stunned Misato, still staring straight at Asuka. "She doesn't matter! You're the only person.. the ONLY OTHER PERSON. . who seems to remember ANYTHING!" He broke off, breathing deeply, seeming to be blinking back tears.
Asuka just stared, at a loss for words as her emotions bounced all over the board. Misato took the lull to seize the initiative and grabbed it with both hands.
"All right, that's ENOUGH, both of you! We're all going down to HQ right now and having Ritsuko examine BOTH of you! Then we'll sort this all out!" She ordered, her voice resonating with command. Asuka nodded reflexively, while Shinji just snorted.
"Sure, sure. It won't help anything though." He muttered to himself. "It never does."
"But I'm only going for YOU." He pointed at Asuka before turning away and sullenly getting ready to leave.
The two women stared at each other and shrugged in unison, still not sure what to make of the third child's bizarre behavior.
*********
"So, you both say you've been feeling a strong sense of déjà vu the last few days?" Ritsuko asked as she shined a light into Asuka's eyes.
"Didn't I say that five times already?" Asuka huffed.
"Yeah, yeah." Shinji replied, sounding completely disinterested as he laid out on one of the medical beds, staring at the ceiling.
"So this examination should feel familiar, right?" Ritsuko asked calmly as she continued her work.
"Well... No, not exactly." Asuka squirmed a bit. "Now it's different I guess. I haven't come here before. But the other stuff, with Shinji skipping classes and synch tests and angels attacking, those were all the same!"
"But Shinji hasn't skipped any classes. I checked with the school to make sure." Misato replied from her spot leaning against the doorway, watching Ritsuko examine the two pilots.
"And we haven't had a Synch test for two days. The next one is scheduled for today." Ritsuko added.
"I KNOW that! Dummkopf!" she muttered to herself. "I told you! It's like it's this same day three times now! In a row! But TODAY!"
"So Today is the same as yesterday, but it's different?" Ritsuko asked, raising an eyebrow and shooting Misato a look.
"Well, yes! But no! Just little things change! Everything else keeps happening! ARGH!" Asuka threw her hands up in frustration. It had been a stressful day. Or days. Or whatever, and her temper was running hotter than usual.
"Told you it would be pointless." Shinji added, his voice tinged with a hint of amusement, earning him a smoldering glare from Asuka. The third child jus continued to stare up at the ceiling.
"Oookay then.." Ritsuko scribbled a few notes on a clipboard, then nodded and turned towards Misato. "All right. I think we'll start off by taking a blood sample. While the blood work is being run we'll run some MRIs and then..."
Asuka only paid half of her attention to Ritsuko, her focus instead on Shinji who had sat up on his bed and was staring at Asuka. Her eyes widened a bit in surprise as Shinji moved his lips without actually speaking... And matching every word Ritsuko was saying to Misato across the room, rolling his eyes as he did it.
*********
Asuka groaned and laid out on the exam room bed. Her whole body ached after the battery of tests she'd been subjected to. It had gone on for HOURS. The way Shinji just sighed and smoothly went through each exam was also a little creepy. He was usually doing what the doctor wanted before any orders were given. And sometimes mouthing their comments to Asuka as they spoke when no one else was watching. VERY creepy.
"Well, everything looks completely normal here..." Ritsuko was saying, flipping through a series of printouts. "No signs of contamination, physical or mental. Your exams all match your previous charts. I can't find anything that might explain your feeling of déjà vu..."
"I keep telling you, it's more than just déjà vu! It's the same day repeating itself! Why can't you..." Asuka broke off as Shinji sighed.
"Don't waste your breath." He shrugged. "Besides, we have other things to do now." He said calmly.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
Shinji didn't reply verbally. Instead he just raised five fingers and glanced at his watch for a few seconds. Then he slowly folded each finger, clearly counting down... 5... . 4.... 3.... 2.... 1....
“Angel detected inside defensive perimeter! All pilots report to your Evas! This is not a drill!”
"Gott damn it!"
*********
"Shinji, Asuka, the angel..."
"Is changing density and deflecting bullets! I know, I know, now SHUT UP so I can focus!" Asuka shouted into the radio, killing the HQ comm. channel before the bug eyed looks on Misato and Ritsuko's faces could register. "This SUCKS!" She growled, staring at the same blobby Angel yet again. Her patience was long gone, and her emotions were bubbling like cauldron.
"Tell me about it." Shinji replied with feeling, standing a short distance away. Both Evas were keeping their distance for the moment, content to watch the Angel knock over trees and bushes as it neared the edge of the city.
"Now what are we supposed to do?" Asuka grumbled to herself.
"We can just wait. It doesn't make much difference. And it takes less energy."
"Yeah, but we can't let that thing get to Tokyo 3! It could cause Third Impact!"
On the video screen Asuka watched as Shinji just shrugged, completely unconcerned. "Whatever."
Asuka stood there in indecision for a few moments. The final straw was when Unit 01 sat itself down on the hill like someone sitting in a park and having a picnic.
"Fine! I'll handle the angel myself! And this time I'll kick it's ass!" Asuka shouted before rushing down the hill at the monster.
"Whatever. It doesn't make a difference." Shinji radioed, but Asuka ignored him, focusing on the Angel.
By now the Angel had reached the edge of the city. The buildings limited Unit 02's mobility, making it harder to dodge the creature's attacks. But by now Asuka has some experience in predicting it's moves, and was mostly able to stay one step ahead of it. Mostly.
"AAHHHHH! OOPH!" Asuka grunted as her Eva landed in the middle of the street after a brief flight courtesy of Angel Air. She righted herself quickly before the monster could close the distance and take advantage of her position. The battle had been going on for some time now, and though Unit 02 was looking a bit worse for wear, Asuka was holding her own against the angel. To Asuka's surprise, a set of rails shot up out of the ground a few dozen meters behind the Angel, and Unit 00 suddenly entered the fray, zipping up to the surface and immediately reaching for the rifle that extended from one of the buildings to the side.
"Wondergirl, don't bother! Bullets just...." Asuka grunted as Rei opened fire, several of the rounds passing right through the Angel and striking Unit 02. "Pass through it..." she groaned.
"Sorry Pilot Soryu." Rei's monotone voice called out over the pilot band.
"Damnit Shinji, STOP LAUGHING!" Asuka shouted at the video display showing Shinji in Unit 01, laughing so hard he was about to cry, clutching his sides in his mirth.
"Grrr.. that's it! I'm taking this damned angel DOWN! Watch and learn!" She shouted, letting out a war cry as she sent her EVA charging towards the enemy, progressive knife extended, aiming for its core. Each step ripped up a chunk of asphalt at the buildings blurred in her peripheral vision. She was just a few feet away from the angel now, Shinji's laughter and Rei's questions over the radio drowned out by the sounds of her pulse in her ears.
Another second and she's make contact and show this damned angel who's boss and...
*********
Darkness....
Asuka shot upright in her bed and stared at the wall in the dim light.
"What the HELL???"
"I told you it was pointless." Came Shinji's tired sounding voice from across the hall.
"GOTT DAMN IT!"
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(Posted Sun, 23 Sep 2012 19:39)
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