A.N.: I don't own Evangelion, Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Misato, ... you get the picture right?

Chapter 2 - On The Way

The pair walked down the main street towards the high school. They passed many side streets and were careful to avoid the yellow and black lines that striped large intersections and open areas of the road. They were marked with a large warning sign for a high-speed elevator.

He stared up at the large skyscrapers that marked the Tokyo-3 skyline. The new city was a modern marvel of engineering. He had heard that the designers made it a defensive city, capable of evacuation at a moment's notice and that it could withstand a nuclear blast in full lock down mode. Lost in thought, he walked right into the fiery red head in front of him who stopped at a crosswalk.

"Ouch, you idiot," she shot at him. "Why don't you look where you're going?"

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I was just…" he trailed off.

They waited for the signal to turn green to allow pedestrians to cross the street in all directions. The new city still waited to receive more population, so there were not many people around.

Asuka noticed that Shinji was quieter than he normally was.

"Hey Shinji…" Asuka began, "why so quiet today? Usually you are talking about some girl at school you saw."

"Huh? Oh… it's nothing," he responded. "And what do you mean 'I'm always talking about some girl'?"

"I'm kidding, stupid," she giggled. "But, I'm not stupid you know; I happen to know that something is bothering you."

"It's just this stupid dream I had, that's all…" he sighed.

"What was it about?"

"I… don't really know… It's very strange…"

She gave him a disgusted look. "You weren't dreaming anything dirty were you?"

A vision of his hands gripping her neck shot through his mind.

"No," he shot. "I just mean it was strange and didn't make any sense."

Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice calling from behind them.

"Hey, Asuka… Ikari… wait up!"

Shinji jumped as he recognized the voice of Rei Ayanami. His dream jumps into his head as he sees a pale head with her face smiling at him from over the horizon.

"Guten Morgen, Rei," greeted Asuka happily, as a small red-eyed girl joined her and Shinji. "Didn't see you back there."

"That's ok," she panted slightly. "I overslept again. That and I had to make my lunch again."

Rei's hastily assembled schoolbag had some contents spilling out. At the very top were a plain sandwich, and apple, and a bottle of water. Her light blue hair was unkempt with a few loose ends sticking out. Despite her poor belongings and appearance, she maintained a gallant personality and was the friendliest person at Toyko-3 Municipal High School. However, not many of the students associated with her despite her friendliness.

"How are you, Ikari?"

Shinji returns from the memory of his dream. "Oh… I'm alright… thanks, Ayanami."

"No he's not," Asuka interjected. "He had a 'stupid dream' that is preoccupying him. If you ask me, he must have had a frightening dream with some big, scary monsters that attacked him and…"

He saw the pale face again. "That's not it at all!" he interrupted hotly.

"Come on Ikari," Rei touched his shoulder, "we were just playing."

"Yeah, I know… but still… it was very strange."

Rei sighed. "Oh well. Hey, Asuka, where did Kaji and you go last night? Didn't you say he was taking you someplace?"

Asuka's eyes widened as she thought of her biggest crush. "Oh it was lovely. He somewhat just sprung it on me yesterday, but we went to this great sushi bar. He said he had reservations that would've expired if he didn't show up."

Shinji grew slightly angry at the thought of Kaji and Asuka alone for the evening. "Don't you think that those reservations were meant for someone else and not you?"

"I don't care," she smiled dreamily. "He picked me!"

"Don't you think he's too old for you? He's almost thirty, and you're only fourteen."

"You just don't understand do you," she pouted. "Kaji is a real man. You would not know one if you had a manual. Moreover, it is not as if I want him. I just wish I could find a man just like him."

"I think Ikari is a little jealous," giggled Rei.

Shinji's hands suddenly felt slightly damp. "What…?"

"What?!"

Shinji and Asuka look at each other with slightly curious stares.

"Humph," Asuka turned her head, folded her arms, and stomped ahead of Shinji and Rei. "You'll never be able to stand up next to Kaji."

"Whoa, hey wait up," Rei skips ahead to walk next to Asuka. She glanced back at Shinji with a look that said 'sorry, I guess it's in her nature'.

The girls continue their conversation as Shinji follows a few paces behind. Rei was slightly correct. The thought of Asuka going on a date with Kaji did make him slightly jealous. Ryoji Kaji was a very handsome bachelor and Shinji did envy him. He met Kaji a number of times when Kaji came over to the apartment to deliver something to his father. It seemed he would also try to talk to his father about some project his father and mother were working on, but Gendo would always hush him up claiming that it was not the place to discuss such matters. It seemed he was just as curious as Shinji.

But the thought of Kaji and Asuka caused a feeling to run down his spine. He imagined himself taking her to a five star restaurant, him spending all his cash to make her happy, taking her home, bringing her close so that he could smell the apple-cinnamon shampoo in her hair and…

"Stop it", he told himself. "I mustn't think that, she's my friend, and I wouldn't want to do anything to jeopardize our relationship."

A.N.: O Dirty Shinji. So if you haven't figured it out, these first few chapters, though they may be short (avg. 1000 words. i know, pathetic), they do give character background and set the stage for the later chapters. Right now, the draft is clocking in at a total of 11,507 words. Chapters 6, 7, and 8 are really long (6 is over 2,800 words and is unedited). I urge you to please be patient and faithful. It may seem if I'm ripping too much from the series or the movies, but the plot is entirely my own. Next post on Saturday.

Redstang: I started reading Girlfriend of Steel 2 after I had already written up to chapter 5. It is purely coincidental the it is similar. I did not intend for this to happen, I just find it funny that it did.

Next Time: Shinji has a conversation with Rei about her. What secrets is she hiding behind her sly smile and dark red eyes? Saturday on NGE: InEVA - A Mysterious Benefactor.