Fr3quency
By ArchangelUK
I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion. However,
I do own a vast army of Ayanami clones which I will send against the evil
galactic trade empire, then maybe I'll try and take over the world with them.
Fly my pretties! FLY!
Fr1quency: Amplitude
Time seemed to drag; it was one of the founding laws of the universe that everything apparently seemed to have an opposite. North had south, the sun had the moon, fire and ice. Add to that angels and demons or perhaps angels and 'The Angels' and you had pretty damning evidence to the fact. Okay, so perhaps gravity was the odd one out but at this precise time Shinji Ikari fervently wished some kind of Anti-Gravity ray from the next messenger of God would blissfully shoot him off into space.
Space: where no one can hear you scream, or Asuka scream (at him) more importantly.
So, Shinji thought, if everything has it's opposite so must the fundamental laws of living. That would explain why time was running so slowly, if time flies when you are having fun then the reverse is also true - it must drag when you're not having fun.
Shinji Ikari was not having fun, far from it.
Misato Katsuragi held the beer can just in front of her luscious red lips and cast a trained eye over Shinji's tenseness. The Third Child in turn cast a weary and wary gaze up at his Guardian.
"You still don't like situations like this do you? When there are a lot of people?"
A lot of people was a somewhat ambivalent statement, Shinji decided. The room presently was hosting a party for the newly promoted Major Misato Katsuragi (JPS, TUW). The letters at the end represented the two conduct medals she had been awarded by Japan and the Tokyo-3 'Government' respectively. The Japan Peoples Star and the Tokyo Unsung Warrior to give their proper titles were awarded to those non-military individuals exhibiting courage in defending their country and city from adversaries. NERV could never be classified as strictly military and had a great number of personnel who had the TUW. All three pilots had been awarded the TUW previously yet all had refused the honour, even Asuka for reasons she refused to divulge. Of course if you were to ask Misato she'd say the letters JPS stood for after her name she'd say "Just Perfect and Sexy".
It should be noted that if you had asked Asuka what the letters TUW meant after Misato's name she would have said something like "Total Utter Wh-"
"Oh yeah!? What gives you the right to say that to me?"
"Because you're an IDIOT!"
"You can't say that to me!"
"I just did… IDIOT!"
"She-Devil!"
"I'll give you she-devil! There'll be a trident sticking out your backside when I'm through with you!"
"There they go again." Shinji muttered, as his friends began another internal fight between boys and girls. "It's not the numbers, I don't really mind that."
"Then what is it?"
"Why do they have to be so… noisy?"
A full scale war had broken out between the Aida-Suzahara coalition and the dreaded Langley-Sohryu-Horaki Axis forces. Over what exactly the latest bust up had occurred neither Shinji or Misato knew but as per usual the main protagonists were Asuka and Touji. It had to have been something incredibly offensive on Asuka's part this time though as Kensuke was on his feet screaming obscenities back at the red head. Unusual as the boy was the grounded and passive one who usually went for the acid tipped one-line verbal barbs that were his specialty. Kensuke Aida though was livid.
Hikari wasn't as angry; to see the Class Rep in full fury-mode was something akin to an Evangelion going berserk. Touji had only seen it happen once and he didn't want to see it EVER again. Hikari was backing up Asuka to the hilt though and PenPen seemed to be acting as the Horaki girl's knight in shining armour. Warking threateningly and looking to pounce on anyone who dared to threaten his beloved lady of the pigtails and keeper of the cutest smile the penguin had ever seen.
Shinji closed his eyes and tried to blot it all out but failed miserably, slowly and inexplicably his fingers began to tighten around his soda can.
"Your promotion," He glanced back to Misato, "Everyone seems happy for you but you don't seem very happy at all."
"More flexibility, more responsibility, a few more yen in the bank, these are all good things Shinji-kun."
Shinji decided not to point out the longer hours, more stress and strain that would also come with the promotion. "Hmm, so why did you join NERV anyway."
She shrugged, "I dunno. It's been a long time since I've joined, you know." Misato swilled the beer around in its can and Shinji resigned himself to the fact that he'd remain in the dark about it like oh so much else.
The noise grew louder as the argument grew even more heated, Shinji's ears began to hurt and he desperately tried to think of something, anything else to take his mind off the rumpus. A vein on his neck began to grow more prominently, his right hand clenching into a fist over and over involuntarily as the sounds of hostility assaulted his ears. All he wanted was peace and quiet intermixed with some normal conversation, was that too much to ask? Why did they have to be all so blasted immature? Slowly Shinji could feel the rage swelling up within him, instantly he closed his eyes and tried to shut it off to quell the flames flickering within him. He was succeeding at least until he realised Misato had said something to him and despite her being next to him he actually had been unable to hear her.
Misato saw the danger all too late, as Shinji's eyes hammered open his right eyebrow began to twitch violently and as Asuka and Touji let loose further verbal broadsides the young pilot's hand clenched so tightly she was sure he was breaking his own fingers. Slamming his fist and palm down on the table and pushing himself up like a rocket Shinji screamed at the top of his lungs,
"FOR GOD'S SAKE WILL YOU ALL SHUT UUUUUP!"
Silence and so time stood still for one almost inconceivable moment as though in shock itself, Shinji Ikari stood eyes ablaze with such anger, frustration and fury his own father would have winced at the severity. Of course that meant nothing to some people, especially if their name was Asuka.
"Jeez Baka, what crawled up your ass and d-"
"-I said QUIET!"
Asuka's mouth closed rather quickly, her teeth clicked against each other with the speed. The full focus of Shinji's anger had fallen on her for those few seconds and although Asuka would never admit to being scared of anything to anyone except maybe Hikari who knew of her fear of losing her piloting position she was scared. In fact she would go as far as saying the look Shinji was giving her terrified her and chilled her down to the marrow of her bones.
Everyone stared at Shinji wide-eyed, the look on his face was more furious they could ever remember. PenPen had hidden under the table between Asuka and Hikari thinking that was probably the safest place to be as surely the Third Child would never be able to out yell the Second or for one moment turn on the kind hearted class representative. However with Asuka put firmly in place he was beginning to doubt anywhere was safe in his apartment at the moment from Shinji's wrath.
Ding DongThe doorbell rang but nobody dared move all still cowering in the face of the young Ikari. The doorbell rang once more, twice in fact with added urgency and Shinji with an almost animalistic snarl got up and marched to the door, snatching his coat on the way.
"Shin-chan?" Misato squeaked out after him but there was only the whir of electronics as the door opened and closed again. The small group then heard footsteps heading back towards them and for a moment thought Shinji hadn't left after all. The air grew thick with anticipation and just a little tension but the Third Child did not return, instead through the door came the confused figures of Ryoji Kaji and Doctor Ritsuko Akagi.
"Um, do you mind telling us what the hell is going on?"
"Damn them!" Shinji growled as he marched away from the apartment, where to exactly he didn't care.
Why can't they just all get along? Is it completely impossible for Asuka to be quiet and polite, Touji not to insult everyone, Kensuke not to leer constantly and be continually sarcastic? For Misato to give a straight answer or Hikari not to boss everyone around?
He kicked an empty soda can on the path with great satisfaction and it skidded along the concrete only to bounce of a lamppost, which greatly protested at this treatment. The can bounced into the grass displacing the early evening dew in a great shower of water droplets. Shinji kept walking.
Twenty minutes later or so he began to hear the sounds of construction. More noise, more unnecessary noise, the sounds of industry and of machines. Grinding machines, crushing machines, pummelling machines, machines of steel and iron pounding the land to fit their masters desires and also pounding the inside of his head. Shinji flung his hands up towards his ears to cover them from the growing cacophony when all of a sudden his watch beeped signalling the half hour – and the noise abruptly stopped.
Silence, soothing silence washed over his aching brain and bathed his scarred psyche in blissful solitude. Not even the escape of his SDAT could feel anywhere near as comforting as this.
He sighed, except it wasn't just him sighing but someone else as well. Alert and wary he scanned his surroundings, there didn't seem to be anyone there. The sky was full of clouds blocking out the natural light and the phosphorescence provided by the man made lights had long since flickered into obscurity in this particular part of town. Shinji was well aware it wasn't uncommon for people to 'vanish' in dark places such as this yet he wasn't afraid for some reason, merely cautious. He did wish though he knew where it was he had ended up, he knew most of Tokyo-3 now but that was in daylight.
In response to his unspoken prayer the sky momentarily became clearer, moon and starlight illuminating the area above him. Looking upwards he was able to discern apartment blocks and as his eyes adjusted he saw a figure on a balcony looking back at him.
"Ayanami?"
To Be Continued...
ArchangelUK 0:o)