Apartment 302, Apartment Complex West

Tokyo-3, Japan

5 November 2016

Riana told Shinji to make himself at home while she grabbed some clothes and dashed into the closetlike bathroom to change. A month ago, just answering the door in her robe would have scandalized her, but Riana admitted to herself that she was getting less modest. She had changed into her plugsuit in front of Rei and Asuka several times without more than just a little blushing. She was not, however, ready to start changing in front of Shinji. There was also the fact that she had noticed Shinji trying to cover the occasional, involuntary glance at Riana's legs, rear and bust; Shinji might not be the most masculine boy in Japan, but he was still a boy.

She came out of the bathroom dressed in pants and a loose blouse. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Er…Japanese or English?"

It took a minute for Shinji to realize she meant which language they would like to converse in. "Ah, Japanese, please." He hesitated. "Your Japanese is better than my English."

"Sure. Just speak slowly, please."

"It's gotten a lot better. Your Japanese, that is."

"I know, right? I can't believe how fast I picked up the language. I'm even starting to dream in it!" She laughed, with a little nervousness. It was obvious Shinji was more than a little nervous; he was sitting in her one chair, at her computer desk, almost at attention with his hands on his knees. Well, this is great, Riana thought as the silence stretched out again, I invited him in here and now I don't know what to do with him. It hit her that Shinji was really one of her few friends in Tokyo-3, and with the exception of Misato Katsuragi and Rei—and Riana had no idea where, exactly, she stood with Rei Ayanami—all of her friends were male. She considered that maybe it was only natural: she had spent nearly her entire life surrounded by only females at the convent, so perhaps it was instinct, or hormones, or the fact that she had no idea what girls her age talked about that she gravitated towards people like Shinji, Kensuke and Toji.

Now that Shinji was in her apartment, though, it didn't feel right. Riana had a feeling that Shinji was doing it out of politeness, or out of fear that Riana would have an Asuka-like reaction if he refused. She wondered if he would have done the same for Rei. The two quiet ones seemed more alike.

"Ah…would you like tea, or coffee?" Whatever Shinji's reasons, or her own, she should at least fix them something.

Shinji shrugged. "Whatever you would like."

"Coffee, then. I've never made tea before." Riana got out her instant coffee and filters for the battered coffeemaker she had salvaged from a dumpster. It looked bad, but it made good coffee, without which she would probably have died long before Israfel showed up. She spooned in enough for two cups and switched the machine on. While the coffeemaker made burbling noises, Riana turned back to Shinji and leaned against the counter. "Sooo…what else has been going on since I've been out?"

Shinji once more looked hesitant, then spoke. "Well…Misato got promoted."

"Really? To Colonel?"

"No, Major." Shinji's expression was quizzical.

"I thought she already was one." Riana lightly tapped the side of her head and smiled. "Maybe I got a little brain damaged too."

"Well…you're an Eva pilot."

It took both of them a minute to realize Shinji had made a joke. Riana giggled, and Shinji grinned. It changed his whole face. The giggling turned into laughter. "Yeah, that's a good point!" Riana got out between laughs. "Holy crap, Shinji, we've got to be brain-damaged to keep doing this."

"Yeah." He scratched the back of his head, a little embarrassed. "Anyway, we…we had a party to celebrate. It was Kensuke's idea." Another pause. "We tried calling you, but there was no answer."

"They didn't let me out of NERV until this morning." It was Riana's turn to shrug. "No worries, Shinji-kun. I'm not much of a party person."

"Yeah. Me neither, but, you know…I had fun." Shinji smiled again. Riana liked his smile. "It was a real first for me. Just making all this noise, and everyone was happy. I used to think that kind of stuff was stupid. It just felt really good. Anyway, if we do it again, you…you should come over too. Horiaki-kun was there, along with Asuka and Misato and Kaji-san, and Kensuke and Toji."

"Not Rei?"

"She was doing synch tests in EVA-00. I guess it's operational again."

"I imagine Rei wouldn't be much for partying either." The coffeemaker made a chirping noise, and Riana took out the pot. She poured into two paper cups, since she didn't own any dishes. "Milk?"

"Uh, please."

Riana took a small jug of milk from the refrigerator and poured a little into Shinji's cup, then into her own. She actually didn't like milk in her coffee—she liked it black and bitter—but felt it might dishonor Shinji otherwise. "It's a little hot." Shinji took a drink, and nodded. Riana hoped that was approval.

"Shinji," she asked, daring, "do you…ever enjoy piloting your Eva?"

He looked into the cup. "No."

"Do you think I'm weird if I said I do?"

Shinji smiled slightly. "Not really. I mean, Asuka loves it. But she was born for it, I guess."

Riana took a sip of the coffee. "Maybe me too." At his look, she pointed to the picture of her parents and her grandmother, perched on the computer desk. "I found out recently that both my parents were soldiers. My gramma is too. I guess it's just the Arashikaze tradition. We've always just liked to fight. Maybe that's why Asuka and I get into it. We both like to fight."

"I don't," Shinji said. "I'm not a soldier. Not like you, or Asuka, or like Misato or Kaji-san, or even like what Kensuke wants to be."

"But you keep doing it."

"My father makes me."

Riana shook her head and took another sip. "I don't think Commander Ikari makes you, Shinji. You could walk away. I think you do it because it's your duty."

"I suppose." Shinji took a big drink, and Riana realized that this was not a subject he wanted to talk about. Great going, Sister Riana, she thought; her conscience apparently talked like Asuka now. "I just…don't like piloting the Eva," Shinji continued. "For him. For Dad."

Riana was taken aback. There was tension between father and son—everyone who spent more than three days at NERV realized that. "You hate him?" she blurted, and when he looked up sharply at her, Riana gulped and said the first thing that came to mind. "I mean, I could understand that. Your dad is kind of, well, an asshole." Her free hand shot to her mouth. "Oh, crap. I'm sorry, Shinji! I shouldn't have said that."

Shinji's smile came back, though it was more of a wan smile than a happy one. "No, that's okay. He is kind of an asshole."

"Well, don't tell him so! Asshole or not, I don't want to make him mad. He just confirmed this morning that I'm staying on with the Project."

"Oh." Shinji clearly didn't know whether or not to congratulate her, or to pity her. "That's…that's good."

"Yeah. Seems he was impressed that I'd do something incredibly stupid like charge an Angel with an Eva that wasn't made to fight one. So I guess I get to stay. They're going to be putting EVA-03A back together for me. I guess there was a delay with EVA-03's engine back in the States." Riana sighed, unable to stop smiling. "Feels good though, Shinji." She had to tell him. "I just felt…really alive when I was fighting the Angel. It wasn't fun, no, but it was just…I can't even describe it." She motioned with the coffee cup towards Shinji. "And then there's you guys. Hell, you, Kensuke, Toji, maybe even Rei—you guys are the only real friends I've ever had. The convent girls just sort of ignored me, or treated me like a pest. I like being here in Tokyo-3. It's, well, fun."

He nodded. "Me too, I guess." Their smiles were mutual. It was unspoken between them, but there was a bond now. Riana had heard tales from her mother on how soldiers fighting together became closer than siblings. They shared that bond because they had faced the same threat, the same hardships, the same situations that outsiders would never understand. Fighting men and women might not care about countries, or about causes, but they did care about each other. Maybe Rei felt the same way, maybe even Asuka, in her own warped fashion. Kazuko Bishamon would understand. Her grandmother certainly would, and so would have her mother and her father. Riana wished she could tell her father. I'm a warrior now, Dad. Just like you.

"You should talk to him," Riana suddenly said. "Your dad. Even if he is an asshole."

"Why?"

"If you don't, I don't think anything's going to change between you." Riana saw the look on Shinji's face, but she continued. "Commander Ikari…he's got a tough job, you know. Defending the earth and all."

"Don't defend him, Riana," Shinji said darkly, almost threateningly, which surprised her.

She stood her ground. "I'm not. But you should maybe try to talk to him." She looked down. "At least you still have your dad. Mine's dead."

Despite the billions dead from Second Impact, Shinji still looked surprised. "I'm sorry. What about your mom?"

"Dad died in Second Impact. Mom was hurt, but…she died having me." Riana drank more of the coffee. "Gramma raised me for awhile, then left me at the convent. But Gramma visits a lot. She told me—too many times," Riana laughed softly, "but she told me, 'If it's worth doing, do it now. There may be no tomorrow.'" She finished the coffee and threw the cup in the garbage. "I'm sorry, Shinji. It's none of my business. We have kind of a lousy job, but I guess…I guess I just want to see everyone be happy, as they can be. We might not have a tomorrow." The tension was too much, so she pointed towards the ceiling. "I even tried to make Rei smile."

Shinji chuckled. "Did you?"

"It's a work in progress."

He finished his coffee and carefully placed the cup in the garbage. "I should get going. Misato's probably wondering where I am, and Asuka's going to want her dinner."
"Hambagu?" During her brief sojourn at Misato's apartment, Riana had discovered Asuka's favorite dish.

"Hambagu."

She walked with him to the door—or tried to, because the hallway was so narrow he had to walk ahead of her. "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I didn't mean to give you a pep talk or something."

"No…it's okay." Shinji smiled back at her. "I…it's appreciated."

"Sure. Ja ne." He returned the farewell and Riana closed the door behind him. She could hear him walk away, and blew her breath out. "Geez, Riana," she said aloud. "Way to go sticking your nose into other people's beeswax. Oh well." She remembered another of Rissa Arashikaze's sayings: if you didn't want it to be said, you shouldn't have said it. It probably needed to be said, and anyway, she felt better after opening up to Shinji. He really was the only choice, Riana told herself. Rei would just have stared at her, and Asuka would have made fun of her.

Riana went into the bathroom to change into her pajamas, and saw herself in the mirror. She shook her head at her reflection. "Just admit it, you," she whispered. "You think Shinji's kind of cute. When he smiles, anyway."

At that moment, Riana Arashikaze resolved to make Shinji Ikari smile more often. A lot more often.