Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Re-Take ~After ❯ Re-Take ~After ( One-Shot )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

30 Kisses, 30 Ways: Shinji and Asuka
Themes: K#20 (The Road Home), W#23 (What You Say, What You Mean)
Title: Re-Take ~After
A.N.: I shall use this space to cover my own ass: Not mine. I'm attempting to get out of this writers block, so I'm gonna take 2 challenges at once: 30 kisses and 30 ways in one story. Hope you like. I'll update with another one shot if I'm still blocked, if not, expect the other chapter of 10 things briefly.
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During instrumentality an infinite number of worlds were created; from the Edo period to the end of the millennium. All of them different, all of them unique.
But all those worlds have one unifying rule in common; in every single one we met, and invariably, we fall in love. And sometimes we hurt each other.
And we connect to each other deeply.
Worlds made with both you and me in the center.
That's the single, unifying rule. (Retake 04)
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Somewhere in Berlin, past the colonial architecture, the buildings downtown that taste like century, that have an old, yet refined feel, that have been the hideaway for years to every bohemian, every artist, every lost soul, lies a bench.
 
Past that bench, the road goes on, long and windy, between the green big pines, across small hills, into the countryside.
 
Deep into the country side, in a city so small that it's name doesn't evoke anything, lies a house.
 
Inside that house, lies a girl.
 
She came to Berlin looking to escape the ghost that plagued her dreams, her very life.
 
She came from far east, where she used to room with a shy quiet boy and a young woman, who was sometimes more of a mother, more of a big sister, than a guardian.
 
She would call her names, raging from "Drunk" to "Slob".
 
And sometimes, depending on her mood she would mutter under her breath, coming with new and profane ways to mix and match her native German with English and Japanese.
 
The woman who was the head of the household would be all that and more, she would seldom clean, and her young charges would make sure she never cooked.
 
In hindsight, it's funny how sometimes you grow up to be exactly what you point out as character flaws in others.
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She woke up with a sigh, not needing to open her eyes to know that her small room was in dire need of cleaning.
 
She decided to put that thought out of her mind because she never liked cleaning after herself.
 
It also brought back memories, bitter sweet and painful; memories she had spent the better part of last year trying to out run.
 
However, sometimes, no matter how fast or how long you run away, these memories will never be at rest.
 
Mumbling, she got up from bed, her long nightgown brushing her feet. In front of her, in her kitchen table was a plate with her leftovers from the other night, a round piece of bitter bread and some sausages with a glass of water. In front of her was a framed piece of paper with some Japanese characters.
 
She glanced at it and again, fearing the memories it would betray, decided to focus on her meager breakfast instead. Sighing, she bit the piece of bread.
 
Seconds later, that piece of rock-hard bread flew out the window.
 
She closed the window, and then threw a glance at the rest of the furniture that compromised her household.
 
The computer desk was cluttered with books, pages, essays and what not, but amidst it all, a small CD caught her eyes. It contained saved messages; e-mails and memos form the time she had lived in the fortress city in Tokyo-3, but on this particular day, a line kept replaying over and over in her head and her eyes with a simple set of characters:
 
シンジ
 
In her mind, the fuzzy memories she had tried so hard to suppress became more defined, almost as if she had been watching them thru waxed paper, suddenly shimmering together, forming a silhouette of herself.
 
Herself, just as she had been back in those days, with that dreadful bluish green pinafore high school uniform, complete with the crisp white shirt and red string tie, white socks with a red band at the top and her black leather loafers.
 
She smiled at herself, and reached for her won hand, mirroring her other self in actions, her fingers interlacing themselves, a brief content smile appearing in both their lips.
 
It was the flickery, warm touch of the computer screen what brought her out of her reverie, and when she opened her eyes, the picture staring back at her shocked her.
 
She was there, smiling happily, her right hand forming a sideways victory sign poised over her right eye, almost like a mask.
 
The face to her left was smiling calmly back, even if her left arm was around that persons neck, pushing them both together, dark blue eyes, darker and bluer than any stormy nigh staring back at her.
 
Against her better judgment, against her won self control, the memories came rushing back, like a damn breaking.
 
Slowly, her hands came to her face, and her head sun into her arms, two salty streams escaping from her eyes as she remembered what she had left behind, her still smiling face mocking her from behind the LCD screen.
 
She sat there, not caring for the passage of time, softly sobbing by her self, al alone in her room.
 
When she stopped, she realized what those mails and that picture represented. Without a second thought, she grabbed her suitcase, and went to get her long coat; the air was still crisp and cold during this time of the year.
 
She walked briskly to the door, making up her mind, and deciding on going to-
 
All her previous thoughts came to a halt when she opened the door and found a familiar face, flustered and confused outside her boarding house.
 
They looked at each other and in that brief moment of silence, of uncertainty held in both their eyes, the whole world seemed to stop.
 
As always, he began talking, stammering in polite tones, explaining why he was in her neck of the woods. The whole time she felt her face becoming redder and hotter.
 
She blamed the scolding cup of coffee she had just drank, even when her mind mocked her, telling her it had been tepid at best.
 
It came to her as a natural defense; the posing, the tone of superiority as she explained to him her reasons for being outside and with all her current possession in her hand, until something caught her eyes.
 
There, glistening in the bright sunlight, sitting in her finger was a ring; a ring she had worn everyday, but had somehow felt so natural she had never, ever had taken it off, not for showering, not for sleeping, not for nothing.
 
Curiously, she lifted her left hand into the sky and in that moment, as he stood transfixed, seeing her hand against the sun, almost as if she were attempting to reach for something high above her, her mind played the same trick on her.
 
She saw her arm encased in a bright red jumpsuit with black trimmings for a brief moment, before her eyes focused back on the dark maroon of her coat.
 
The wind was softly blowing, and they were the only ones standing on the dirt road, her back to his, her thoughts her own.
 
And softly, she spoke.
 
"I promise you..." She began in her native tongue. "Until I die, I will touch no other man, except you."
 
She spoke almost in a daze, as if the words were an incantation, bringing back memories she had lost along the way.
 
"Until I die, I will speak with no other man except you."
 
"From now on, I'm yours. From the top of my head to the bottom of my feet; every single bit of me, without anything left out." She turned a little bit, watching him from the corner of her eyes.
 
"I can't remember the days I've spent with you, but that's not necessary anyway."
 
"I don't really know what love truly means, but..." She turned to stare at him, a quiet look of determination, and fierce resolve clearly on her face.
 
"If love means not to break this promise until I die, then I promise to always love you, and no other man, as long as I live..."
 
She placed her right hand against her left breast, feeling the soft rhythmic beating of her heart before finally vowing.
 
"By the honor of Asuka Langley Soryu."
 
The silence stretched from seconds to minutes, the soft wind rustling the fallen leaves, making the silence grow and become a huge distance between them.
 
Until Shinji decided to break it in his very won, natural way, fumbling for the small book that he had in his hands.
 
"Uh..." He began as he flipped back and forth the pages. "S-sorry...I-I don't know German...So could you-"
 
Before he had a chance to finish, he suddenly felt a light weight against his body, pushing him down.
 
He felt the silky strands of her red hair brushing against his nose.
 
He tasted her tears and her breath in her lips, pressed tightly against his, even as he felt his whole world being swept from his feet, his back coming in close contact with the very same dirt road they had both been standing in mere seconds before.
 
As the sky darkened slightly, and ice flakes began to fall towards the ground, the soft padding of a dog behind them mixed with the tears and the sobs, and the small laughter form them both.
 
The dog made his way to the bread piece that was on the road, not paying any attention to anything else other than the promise of food in front of him.
 
As his jaws closed against the bread and he turned to walk back the way he had come, his soft brown yes focused on the image before him.
 
Halfway covered in snow, Asuka Langley Soryu was on top of Shinji Ikari, softly kissing him, her red hair obscuring his features, but a content sigh emerging from them both.
 
In honor of Re-Take, Re-Take 2, 3, 4 and 0; Take and Re-Take ~After; all directed by the talented Kimimaru
 
Epilogue.
 
The fire was cracking peacefully in the chimney, and the little girl was snoring softly, calmly, from the couch; her red pigtails strewn around her; one was hanging on one of the couch's arms, the other brushing against the carpeted floor.
 
Slowly, she opened her eyes and got up halfway, always being watched from behind by the grown up, a steaming cup of coffee sitting in the table in front.
 
Behind the little girl, the Christmas tree was filled with light an spheres, tin foil going around it.
 
And as both her voice and the grownups floated thru the cold night air, everything was right in this world.
 
And thus, a legend unfolds...
A tale of a small miracle that is about to take place.
While taking place somewhere else, these events are real nonetheless...
(Re-Take ~After)
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Author's babble.
 
This small story is mainly my feelings put to words, after reading the latest installment of the Re-Take story. My knowledge of Japanese is minimal (Which is a fancy way of saying I know jack) Which is why the only words uttered come from the few pages that had been translated by yours truly at the RA and SAL image boards.
 
If you read it so far and found it an acceptable homage, then go over there and get the whole dou.
 
And keep your eyes opened for the translation done by the fantastic Anonymous Spore.
 
If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then get the whole series, if you look for it with enough interest, you will find it, if not, drop me a line and your e-mail and I'll send it your way.
 
Again, no beta has pre-read this, because some things just come to you during the long sleepless nights.