Extra Chapter: Filler number 1
Day Off
A/N: Well, here it is, just as I promised, to tide you over until I'm done butchering chapter 4.
This chapter will attempt to (emphasis on attempt) put back the funny that seemed to be missing during the second half of the last chapter…or was it the last third?
Speaking of which, did anyone catch the cameos in the previous chapter?
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It was a bright Sunday afternoon. The sun shines high in the sky as white clouds swam around it. Birds of many species roam the sky, enjoying their freedom. It is a good day to be out in the sun and frolic with nature.
Yeah, well, for the hippies in us, anyway.
Since there are no hippies in this story, let us focus on an underground facility owned by the defense force known as NERV, just three letters away from the reaction people usually get when one of their dudes in black approach you.
That said, I ask that you turn your attention towards a certain blue haired 14 years old girl who was currently putting on her clothes in the examination room of one doctor/professor/mad scientist.
Pick one.
"I take it that there is nothing wrong with me, doctor?", Rei asked the doctor in her dull, yet somehow attractive, monotone as she slipped her shirt's collar over her head. She's dressed in her usual school uniform (what else?).
"None at all, Rei. There are no serious wounds from your last battle. You were just exhausted from the pain you felt in the EVA. You can go home now", Ritsuko answered while jotting down the latest results of Rei's medical tests.
"Home?", Rei asked.
"Yes…is there something wrong?", Ritsuko asked, looking up from her clipboard as she said the last part. Rei shook her head.
"This is the first time I am dismissed at this hour. Is there something I should be doing at my residence?", she asked in reply. Ritsuko realized that her words were true.
Rei usually don't come back home until at least 8 in the evening on any given day, at which point she just sleep for the next 9-11 hours. Today was a Sunday, and it was only 10 in the morning.
"…Uh…honestly…I have no idea…why don't you go to Misato's and see if she's got something you can do", Ritsuko replied. Rei nodded and went out the door. Ritsuko sighed once she was out of the room. "Like I'd know what to do on a lazy sun…day…after…noon…", she said.
It was not ten seconds later that she started banging her head on her desk.
From her mumblings, we can string together her thought at the time, which goes something like: Ishouldhavkepthatgodamngirlhereforcompanyinsteadofhercloneshelatleastshecantalk. Forgive the lack of spacing…and coherence. Thought translators are notorious for spelling errors, and thoughts are, by their very nature, not easy to read.
-------- (Hell, that was quick…)
Shinji punched the freestanding sandbag in front of him. It was red in color, made of tough canvas and filled with silicone that has been treated to feel as close to human flesh as possible. The bag stood on a concrete base encased in metal. The pole was also made of metal which vibrated every time Shinji threw a punch or kick. The bag also produced a very loud bam every time it was hit by Shinji, drowning out most other sounds, like the sound of a doorbell.
That was the reason he did not open the front door of the apartment the whole 30 minutes the bell was ringing.
"I'm coming (not an innuendo)!", Shinji said loudly as he bound over the mess in the living room to reach the front door, his long scarf and ponytail flying behind him. He quickly unlocked the door and opened it. "…Ayanami?", he said to no one in particular when he saw the crimson eyed girl.
"Is the captain here?", Rei asked.
"Of course. She is not available at the moment, however", Shinji said with a small smile.
"Why is she not available?", she asked again.
"Alcoholic intoxication", Shinji replied shortly and looked over his shoulder at Misato sleeping on the couch in front of the TV, wearing nothing but her lacy black lingerie. Well, half-wearing, actually. I would say what can be seen exactly, but that would change the rating of this story to…what the hell am I saying? Anyway, back to fiction.
"…I see…", Rei said. Her face shows no emotion, but Shinji had learned to look straight into her eyes to see what exactly she feels. Right now, he saw a slight sense of disappointment.
"…Why don't you come in? I'll see if I can wake her up", Shinji said and opened the door fully. Rei nodded and stepped in. She decided against going in further than the shoe rack due to the large piles of…stuff on the floor.
Meanwhile, Shinji leaps over the stuff on the floor to a small, clean spot right next to the snoring Misato.
"Captain! Wake up! Ayanami is here!", he said as he shook her shoulder.
"Hmahhmnnnnglxptzzzzz…", Misato grumbled and removed his hand, then went back to sleep.
"Captain", Shinji called out.
No response.
"Captain!", Shinji called out again in a louder voice.
No response.
"Um…captain…", he called out for the third time.
Still no response.
Shinji sighed and slowly took in a deep breath. By the shoe rack, Rei stuck her index fingers into her ears.
"CAPTAIN MISATO!", Shinji roared. The exact decibel of this one was not known, but it created a mini-earthquake in the vicinity of the apartment.
"Wh…mh…what is it…uh…Shinji…?", Misato asked in a confused tone as she picked herself up from the floor. She was suffering a minor concussion from sonic waves, which does not help the hangover she got from last night.
How many cans was it again?
She stopped counting after 65.
"Ayanami is here, captain", Shinji replied, gesturing with his head to the blue haired girl covering her ears.
"Oh...okay…uh…what is she doing here?", Misato asked and put on a tank top and a pair of jean shorts which she pulled out from the mess of things under the couch.
"I have been sent here by professor Ritsuko", Rei said from the shoe rack, not moving an inch until Shinji cleared a path for her through the sea of…stuff, with a shovel.
"Ritsy? Why would she send you to my place?", Misato asked as she plopped down on the couch. Rei had made her way through the path Shinji made and stood in front of her.
"Professor Akagi said you might have something for me to do", Rei replied. Misato looked puzzled. She wondered why Ritsuko had not kept Rei back with her in the lab. She has wanted a colleague to talk with on Sundays, after all.
In her lab, Ritsuko Akagi sneezed.
"Ah, I see. This is your first holiday in a long time, isn't it?", Misato said and went for a bottle of beer on the table in front of the couch. Rei nodded as the former drained half of the can in one gulp. Rei nodded. Shinji, meanwhile, had resumed his sandbag routine, sending loud booms throughout the apartment. "Well…in that case…", Misato said and drained the entire can with another gulp. "Why don't you walk around with Shinji for a while?", she said and grabbed another can, emptying it in less than one minute.
"…Is that your order?", Rei asked while Misato drained 15 more cans of beer in the space of 13 minutes.
"Yeah…shhurrre…go get Shinji and go out! Have fun!", the latter slurred. The alcohol she had last night had accelerated her descent into stupor, and the shirt came off.
Rei nodded and used the shovel Shinji left beside the couch to clear a path through the mess as she headed towards the room where the loud booms came from.
"Pilot Ikari?", she called as she went inside the room and saw Shinji delivering a right front snap kick towards the sandbag's upper portion. He was dressed only in a pair of tough white gi pants, a black belt holding it in place at his waist. His back was towards her as his foot slammed into the sandbag with another loud boom.
"Yes, Ayanami?", he asked as he turned his head towards her, right foot still stuck on the sandbag. Rei did not reply immediately. She was too busy counting the small nicks and scars on his well-toned bare torso. "…Ayanami?", Shinji repeated when she stayed silent for more than 5 minutes. Her eyes registered a slight shock that was not present anywhere else in her face.
"…The captain has ordered me to get you to take me for a walk", she replied calmly. Shinji slowly lowered his foot.
"…She did?", he asked. She nodded in response.
"…Was she drunk?", he asked again. She nodded a second time.
"Again? Already?", he asked, knowing the answer before Rei nodded for the third time.
Shinji sighed and straightened up.
"Well, let me dress up a little then", Shinji said and walked over to a closet on one side of the room. He was about to take off his pants when he noticed Rei, who was still standing in his doorway. "Um…Ayanami?", he said.
"Yes, pilot Ikari?", she replied.
"Why are you watching me change my attire?", he asked.
"Why not? I have already seen all of your body, and you have already seen all of mine", she replied, loudly enough for Misato to hear.
"WHAT'S THAT! YOU TWO SAW EACH OTHER NAKED! W000T! You go, SHINJI!", she exclaimed loudly as she chugged down the 19th can. Rei quietly glanced over to where the captain was hollering. Shinji took this chance to quickly take off his pants and put on his outfit, hoping against hope that Misato will not remember any of this when she sobers up
. When Rei turned back to him, he was dressed in a pair of black jeans, a plain white shirt, and a black leather jacket with its collar turned up to cover the sides of his neck up to halfway up his cheek. Of course, this Shinji won't be complete without a long red scarf hanging down his back.
"Right, then. Shall we go?", Shinji said and quickly led Rei out of the room. They had not gotten halfway through the living room before they were stopped by a drunk Misato, who stood groggily in front of them, blocking their path to the front door.
"Oh, helr nho…you ARE not gooooing out like zat, grrll", she slurred and grabbed Rei's wrist. She proceeded to walk/stumble/crawl into her room with Rei in tow. Shinji could only flinch and wish Rei luck. There is no telling what the captain will do when she gets drunk.
She tried doing a strip dance the last time she did that, which was just yesterday. Shinji was saved from massive nasal blood loss because she could not find her own goddamn feet, not to mention her bra straps. He sat on the couch, inwardly praying for his copilot's safety.
"Ta-hic-DAH-BURP!", Misato announced loudly as she stepped out of her room with Rei in tow. Shinji's eyes widened when he saw the latter.
Misato had been playing dress-up with Rei as her doll, and the latter stepped out in a very short blue jean skirt, a white tube top which was almost short enough to be a bra (almost), and a blue jacket with design and patterns that look surprisingly similar to the one Misato usually wore, only sea blue in color.
"Whaddaya think, Shiiin-hic-jiii…?", she asked.
"Uh…", Shinji said softly.
"Welllll?", she asked again.
"…uh…", he continued.
"…"
"…uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…"
"Aaahh…forget it…juz' take her downtown, will ya?", Misato finally said after Shinji's 5 minute recital of the word 'uh'.
"Okay…", Shinji said in a daze as Rei led them out of the flat.
"…Is there something wrong with my clothes, pilot Ikari?", Rei asked without looking at Shinji while they were in the elevator, going down to get Shinji's bike.
"What? Your clothes? Um, no, no, you look perfectly fine! Yeah, great, really great…", Shinji answered nervously, trying to focus on anything but her cleavage, which was not easy given how readily visible it is. Plus, it's a small elevator.
"Why are you blushing, then?", she asked, turning to look at him.
"Uh…", Shinji began. His mind was currently trying to look for the best possible reason to give without making him feel embarrassed. He was spared the effort when the elevator doors opened a few seconds later. "Oh, look! We're here!", Shinji said in a high pitched voice and quickly walked out of the elevator, followed by Rei.
They walked up to a large black bike parked near a red Renault and Shinji quickly hopped onto the front seat and turned on the engine. Rei quickly got on behind him and wrapped her arms loosely against Shinji's waist. She was not touching any strange places, so Shinji did not react.
"So, where shall we go?", Shinji asked.
"I remember the captain saying something about going downtown", Rei answered flatly.
"Ah, yes. A good idea. I have never been in the entertainment districts", he said and revved up the engine. The bike slowly made its way out of the apartment block.
"…Pilot Ikari?", Rei called once they were cruising along the highway that would lead to the center of Tokyo 3.
"Yes, Ayanami?", Shinji answered calmly, his scarf and ponytail trailing backwards behind him.
"Why are we moving slowly?", she asked.
"…Is there a problem with it?", he asked back, eyes never straying off the road.
"I was merely curious why Combat Rusher has not exceeded 100 mph yet", she replied. Shinji chuckled lightly when he heard her answer.
"Well, we are not in a hurry today, so I thought it'd be more relaxing to move at a more normal pace", he answered.
"…I see", she said.
"By the way, Ayanami?", he called out.
"Yes, pilot Ikari?", she asked.
"We're off duty, so don't be so formal. You can call me Ikari, or Shinji, whichever you prefer", he said.
"…I understand…Ikari", she replied and tightened her grip around his waist slightly.
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"Fuyutsuki", Gendo called out from the large black table in his office. The called looked at him from a corner of the room. Let it be known that Fuyutsuki does not have a desk of his own. He can always be found standing by Gendo's side.
Yes.
He has mastered the ancient art of evil sidekicks, which includes standing for god knows how long in one spot without moving. Anyway, back to the story.
"What is Rei's status?", Gendo asked.
"The first child? It appears that she has gone out on a date with the third child", Fuyutsuki answered.
There was a sound of a chair and a person in said chair tumbling, followed by a thud to indicate said objects had fallen to the floor, and ended with Gendo poking his head out from under his desk.
"She WHAT!", Gendo shouted. The volume was nowhere near Shinji's level, but it was loud enough to tell where the genes came from.
"You heard me. Well, that's what captain Katsuragi said, anyway", Fuyutsuki answered. Gendo stopped seething and regarded Fuyutsuki suspiciously.
"…Was she drunk?", the latter asked.
"She was slurring…I guess that'd be the case", the former replied.
"…Well, there's nothing to worry about, then…", Gendo said as he returned to his 'badass' sitting pose.
"Yes. We have satellites watching the progress of their date. That way, we can make sure things will go smoothly", Fuyutsuki answered.
Insert previous sound effect here.
"WHAT! GET ME THE NIB!", Gendo shouted. NIB stands for NERV In Black, in case you're wondering. They were going to use MIB, which stands for Mother!$ers In Black, but they couldn't afford to get sued by…whoever filmed MIB.
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"Well, where should we go now?", Shinji asked Rei as they cruised slowly along the downtown streets on Combat Rusher.
"…I do not know. The captain has not given me any further instructions", she answered while scanning the commercial buildings around them.
"…I don't think there are supposed to be instructions. She told us to have fun, after all", he said. She turned to look at the back of his head with a questioning eye.
"What does having fun mean?", she asked. Shinji turned his head and looked at her in surprise over his left shoulder.
"You don't know what having fun means?", he asked back. She shook her head. He sighed. "That's when…", he began, but could not quite find the words to describe it. After a few minutes of 'ah…'s, 'umm…'s, and 'er…'s, he pulled over and parked the bike.
"Why have we stopped?", Rei asked as she and Shinji got off.
"I could not find any words to describe having fun, so I'll just show you", he replied and led them towards a 5-storey mall to their left. Behind them, several pairs of eyes behind sunglasses and several inches of leaves watched silently. These eyes followed the pair in the form of traveling bushes.
Back at NERV, Gendo watched their progress and made a mental note to get the NIBs camouflage training that does not involve Looney Tunes.
Meanwhile, Shinji and Rei went up to the second floor of the mall and walked into an arcade. Rei scanned her surroundings as Shinji bought them a pair of magnetic cards worth 10000 yen each.
"Ikari?", she asked as she stared at the card Shinji just gave her.
"Yes?", he answered as he looked for an available console.
"What am I supposed to do with this?", she asked.
"You put it in the slot like this", he replied and showed her how to insert the card into a card reader for a shooting game console titled Area 51 version 15.9 -with 120 percent more naked women! Of course, the intelligent ones know that since there is 0 naked women in Area 51, the sum total adds up to nil.
"…What do I do now?", Rei asked. Shinji pulled out the gun controller and handed it to her.
"Now we shoot!", he said and snapped into action, his right hand pointing the plastic gun sideways towards the screen. Rei followed his movements, holding the gun in front of her with both hands.
Both shot at the same time, hitting the same virtual enemy twice. The next one popped up, and they shot together, again, hitting the enemy at the same time, again.
They passed through stage one, two, three, and four easily, and their near perfect synchronization in shooting had drawn the people around them. It started out small enough, with 2 to 3 people, before the ripple effect began. After an hour, the whole arcade was watching as the duo plowed through every stage in all the co-op games easily.
In another half hour, they were kicked out by the management for being 'disruptive'. As in, they were racking up so much exchange points that the arcade was actually running out of stuff to give to them. They had to actually use a lorry to drag the whole thing out. Here's a tentative list:
40 pink elephants
20 skeleton mugs
13 'Arcade Geek' sweaters
10 pairs of 'Arcade Champion' gloves
100 key chains of assorted designs
Many, many more stuff that I can't think of, but are definitely there.
"…We were just kicked out of the arcade", Rei stated monotonously.
"…Indeed", Shinji echoed.
"…Was that supposed to define having fun?", she asked without turning to look at him.
"Nope. Let's try something else!", he replied.
"Such as?", she asked.
The rumbling from their stomachs answered that question.
"Right! It's decided then! Let's go and eat something!", Shinji said loudly and led the way on a hunt for food. It took them less than 5 minutes to find a ramen stall thanks to Shinji's sense of smell.
They did not waste any time ordering two bowls of ramen. One beef-chicken-fish-prawn-pork-etc. special for Shinji and one vegetarian special for Rei. He split his disposable chopstick and looked at Rei, who was looking contemplatively at the same disposable chopstick she just picked up.
"Something wrong, Ayanami?", Shinji said as he slurped up some of the ramen in front of him. She glanced at him.
"…What do I do with this?", she asked. Shinji once again gave her an unbelieving look. He took the chopstick from her, split it in two and handed it back to her.
"…", she contemplated while holding the 2 long pieces of wood in the middle of her right palm.
"Ayanami?", Shinji asked before Rei started to watch the way Shinji used his pair of chopsticks and tried unsuccessfully to imitate his hand movements. He gave a soft, amused snort and grabbed her right hand.
"Here", he said as he manipulated her fingers to get it to grip the two pieces of wood to form a pincer.
"This is how you hold it", he said and manipulated her fingers again to make the chopsticks open and close several times. "And that is how you use it", he finished and let her experiment on her own. She turned to look at him straight in the eyes. He returned her look with an innocently questioning one.
"…Thank you, Ikari", she said and smiled, the same slight smile he saw in EVA-00's plug. His face started to turn red.
"Uh…no problem! C, come, let's eat!", he replied nervously and took a bottle of red pepper on instinct. He spread it in his ramen without conscious thought and immediately dug in.
He wondered how the ramen's taste got so strong so quickly.
Meanwhile, our NIB dudes were watching and giving Gendo a minute to minute report. Here is a transcript of said report, from 5 minutes ago.
"And he walks out of the arcade. Looks like he had a good run, John"
"Indeed, Larry. Let's watch a slow motion replay. There. Did you see that right there? He went for the green creature"
"I see it, John. Beautiful double play right there. 2 shots each, all landing at the same time. I'd say they've got good chemistry going on, wouldn't you say, John?"
"I'll say, Larry. Let's follow up on their next activity. Oooh, did you hear that?"
"I sure did, John. It looks like the male is starting to go empty"
"Sure sounds like it, my man. They are heading for the ramen store as we speak"
"I see them, John. The one in blue does not seem to comprehend how to use a chopstick, does she?"
"Most certainly not, Larry. And look, the one in black is showing great companionship here by teaching her how to use a chopstick properly"
"Indeed. Oh, look, he's blushing. Well, back to you, G-man"
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"…Sensei…", Gendo called to the middle aged man standing to his right.
"Yes?", Fuyutsuki answered.
"Was John Madden and the crocodile hunter on our list of NIB trainers?", the former asked.
"Yes. I believe they are", Fuyutsuki replied.
"Cross them out", Gendo said shortly, followed by sounds of pen on paper. "And tell our agents to commence operation heartbreak", he continued. Fuyutsuki nodded and pressed a button labeled 'commence operation heartbreck-I mean-heartbreak'.
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Meanwhile, Shinji and Rei had finished eating and were currently towing their ridiculous amount of prizes around the mall in an attempt at finding something to do. They had looked into several stores, but the only things they bought were bathroom supplies and grocery. Rei had not spoken a word since they finished lunch, and Shinji has no conversational ideas in his head at the moment (Much like the author most of the time).
"Hey, you two!", a harsh voice called out to the pair as they exit the supermarket. Both turned towards an old woman sitting in front of a pillar. She was wearing a lot of clothing, so much so that only her eyes were visible behind a pair of black sunshades.
"...Us?", Shinji asked, pointing back and forth between himself and Rei.
"Of course! Who else? Come here!", the woman barked and motioned with her right hand for the 2 of them to come closer. Shinji looked at Rei. Her eyes show that she does not care one way or the other. He shrugged and they approached the woman together.
"How can we help you?", he asked once they were standing right in front of the table in front of the woman. She wagged her index finger.
"It is not how you can help me, boy. It is how I can help you", she said hoarsely from behind the layers of fabric on her face. Shinji frowned.
"…I'm sorry. I don't really understand-", he began, and was immediately cut off.
"Don't be so shy, boy! You're here for a love reading, aren't you!", the woman shouted. Shinji's face turned beet red.
"What! Love reading!", he shouted in defiance. Rei remained impassive, mostly because she had no idea what they were talking about.
"Of course! Why else would you approach my table?", the woman replied.
"You called us here!", Shinji said.
"Oh, yeah…Well! Anyway! No one comes here without getting a reading, so give me your palms!", the woman said and roughly pulled Shinji and Rei's palms. She began to inspect them and let go in less than 10 seconds. She sighed.
"…Is there something wrong?", Rei asked. The woman sighed again.
"Ah…", she sighed.
"…Ma'am?", Shinji called out with a hint of concern in his voice.
"…Ah…the tragedy! The tragedy!", she wailed. Shinji stared at her. "Such great irony! I read your hands for free only to discover a tragedy!", she continued to wail.
"…Uh…", Shinji said, not sure what to say.
"Listen, Boy! You! Must! Not! Pursue! This! Relation! Ship!", she exclaimed with a different bodily gesture after each exclamation mark.
"…What?", Shinji asked, his expression clearly confused.
"You heard me, boy! You must not date her! Or the universe is doomed!", she replied.
"But…", Shinji began, only to be interrupted once again.
"Doomed!"
"But, I-"
"DOOOOOOOOOOOOOMED!"
"Listen, we-"
"DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMEEEEEEDDDDDDDD……………………..!"
"…We're not dating", Shinji managed to finally say.
"DOOO-you're not?", she asked.
"I don't think so", he replied. "Besides, I don't believe in predetermined fate", he continued.
"…You don't?", she asked.
"Of course not!", Shinji roared. "With these 2 hands –clenches both fists and held them in front of chest, palm up-, and my burning spirit –places right fist over heart- there is nothing that I can't possibly accomplish! –looks and points with right index finger towards an invisible horizon, scarf fluttering behind him-"
"Oh. Ok then. Be on your way, then", she said and dismissed them with a flick of the hand.
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"And that concludes agent Ninny's report", Fuyutsuki finished. Gendo was speechless.
"…That's it?", he asked.
Fuyutsuki nodded.
"She spent an entire hour orchestrating her act just for that!", he asked again, rage clearly showing its horns in his voice.
Another nod from the oh so brave Fuyutsuki and Gendo screamed. A lot of people actually mistook this scream to be Shinji's in account for its sheer volume.
"…Shall we initiate –camera zooms in on eyes as he raised one eyebrow- plan B?", Fuyutsuki asked. Gendo collected himself and stood up.
"…Yes…Initiate –camera zooms in on eyes as he raises one eyebrow- plan B…", he said.
"Very well then. I shall make preparations for –camera zooms in on eyes as he raises one eyebrow- plan B…", Fuyutsuki answered and walked out of the room.
"…Have we sunk so low as to rip off another author's gimmick…badly?", Gendo asked to no one in particular. Unbeknownst to him, this question would evoke the author's wrath and activate the penultimate being's automated 'no common sense' reaction, which was to drop a frying pan right on his head, rendering him unconscious for the next 15 minutes, and giving him enough shock to make him forget all about the past 15 minutes.
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"So, is there anything else you need to get, Ayanami?", Shinji asked as he and Rei exit the mall and head for Combat rusher, a bag in each of their hands. The prizes they got from the arcade had been given away to a couple of kids who were regulars at the arcade but had never won a thing.
"No. I believe we can return to our respective residences now", Rei replied.
"Very well then", Shinji said as they got closer to the bike.
They had not taken 10 more steps before Shinji noticed that a group of people had surrounded them, and were closing in. Rei had noticed this too and Shinji motioned with his eyes for her to follow him to the bike, where they put all their stuff in a compartment under their seats. With that done, Shinji slowly turned around to face the people approaching them.
"You Shinji Ikari?", one of them, a punk wielding a metal bat, asked him.
"Indeed I am. Is there something wrong?", he replied. The punk sniggered.
"Nothing. We're just gonna beat you up 's all. Ya got 100000 yen on yer head, see?", he drawled.
'I do?', Shinji thought shortly before the punk rushed forward with his bat raised high above his head. Shinji's eyes registered this and quickly burned with his battle spirit.
There was a loud smack as the punk's head was jerked upwards, his lower lip slamming into his upper one, as he was thrown backwards by Shinji's nearly invisible front snap kick. The other aggressors watched, stunned, as the punk was thrown several feet upwards and backwards, landing in a heap with a loud crash. They turned their attention towards Shinji.
2 of them charged forward with knives in hand. Shinji quickly disarmed them with quick knife hand chops to the wrists and delivered a spinning back right roundhouse kick which caught one of them in the cheek and threw him against the other, causing them to land in a twisted heap.
"COME ON!", Shinji roared, causing the rest of the punks to flinch before they rushed towards him. Shinji rushed forward and met them with a barrage of spin kicks and punches. He was unaware that one of them, a large, burly punk, had separated from the group and approached Rei. He only took notice of it when he heard the large punk shout through the din of his battle.
"Hey, KID!", the punk roared. Shinji turned to look at the punk while delivering a spinning back fist at the last punk in the group. His eyes widened when he saw Rei being held in a rear choke by the burly man.
"AYANAMI!", Shinji called out and rushed towards her.
"Stop right there!", the man shouted as he tightened his grip on her neck, causing her to wince in pain. Shinji skidded to a halt a few feet away. "Now, you come here and play nice or I'll crush her neck", the punk said. Shinji looked desperately back and forth from the man and Ayanami's face. It was then that he saw her eyes.
They weren't the eyes of a scared girl.
They were asking him how to beat the enemy.
He nodded.
"Ayanami! Crush his foot!", he shouted. She did exactly that, lifting both legs up and bringing them down on the punk's left foot. The punk howled in pain and lowered his body in response.
"Now! Squat!", he ordered again. She followed, pulling the man further down, causing him to lose his center of balance.
"Now pull!", Shinji roared and rushed forward the moment Rei pulled the man's arm forwards and downwards, flipping him over onto his back with a loud thump. He did not waste any time to stand back up and was about to successfully grab Rei again when a black and white blur appeared in front of him. His eyes widened as he saw Shinji's furious eyes burning into his own.
"BURNING FISTS!", Shinji roared as he countless punches towards the punk, landing hits everywhere on his upper torso.
"OOOORYAAA!", Shinji roared a final time as he drove one last haymaker into the punk's stomach, shooting him back at least 10 meters before he hit the ground and rolled to a stop. Shinji straightened up and exhaled a long breath before looking at Rei.
"Are you all right?", he asked as he approached her and checked her neck for any injuries.
"I am fine, Ikari", she replied. He sighed in relief when he found no damage.
"Well, let us go home, then", he said. She nodded in reply and was about to get on combat rusher when her eyes wandered to a clothing store and stopped there.
"Please wait here, Ikari", she said and ran off quickly towards the store, leaving a confused Shinji behind.
She was back in less than 5 minutes with a small white paper bag in her right hand.
"What is it?", Shinji asked the panting Rei as she took out a kite-shaped piece of sea blue cloth. It has a slight sheen to it, which was accentuated by the setting sun.
"…Can you help me put this scarf on?", she requested. Shinji shrugged, not really understanding why she suddenly wanted to wear a scarf.
"Sure. Turn around", he said. She did as he said and he folded the cloth into an elongated triangle, which he proceeded to encircle around her neck and secure with a simple knot behind her neck. "There. Done", he said and got on the bike.
"Thank you", she said, following suit.
"No problem", he replied, a very light blush returning to his cheeks.
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"…So…plan B failed", Gendo said ominously from his desk.
"Pretty much, but we have confirmed that the 2 are not actually dating", Fuyutsuki answered. Gendo was silent as he pondered this.
"Very well, then. We'll return to normal operations tomorrow", he said. Fuyutsuki just nodded. All's right in the world for him. Things are back to the status quo other than a change here or there, which is how fillers are supposed to end.
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In her apartment, Rei looked out her bedroom window, looking at a boy in black jacket wearing a scarf tear off on a black bike.
A scarf encircled her neck, and she smiled for the last time that day.
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End Filler number 1.
I know. That last scene is missing a few sentences. Hell, maybe a paragraph, even.
But hey. It's filler.
Well, see you in the real next chapter.
