Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Neon Genesis Evangelion, nor any other aspects of it.


Opus Kouzo part #7


Kouzo stared at the form under his pen, slightly hunched over an old-fashioned wooden desk. Blinking his eyes, the old man finally gave up and sat back, massaging the bridge of his nose. "The more things change..." he sighed under his breath.

His office overlooked a medium-sized warehouse where, after much effort and pulling of strings, legitimate business was taking place amongst the stock shelves and conveyor belts. More than sixty percent of his staff had nothing to do with the Purge, and Shinji worked under the cover of being just another labourer.

Fuyutsuki grinned fractionally as one of the young ladies in his employ made an obvious ploy for Shinji's attention.

His amusement was interrupted by a voice from the doorway. "Cute, ain't it? I assume Asuka got his cherry, but it'd be good to see him find someone for himself."

Kouzo grunted. "Well, he'd might as well live life when he can. Still, it'd be tragic if a dashing young man of action had to leave someone special behind when a bigger cause called."

Kaji shrugged. "These things happen - makes the reunion all the sweeter, right?"

"You should know. Or is there a possibility that your reunion in particular went a little too far?"

"Heh. I think I see why Gendo kept you around all that time. A position of power can always benefit from a cunning linguist."

"Feh. Are you here to tell me something useful, or just practise your double entendres?"

"Mmm. Something interesting came from my Kyoto contact. SEELE is working very hard to track us down it seems, and by working hard I mean bribing hard. How solid are the people you got this cover from?"

The older man leaned an elbow on the desk. "I knew Ryoga before I got caught up in Gehirn, but that was an epoch or two ago."

"Not someone you'd trust your life with?"

"Not if I had an alternative."

Kouzo stared for a moment as Kaji leaned himself against the doorway in an uncharacteristic fashion. "We're being forced to trust people we don't really know." he said, his tone of voice betraying his lover's nuances.

"Hmmph. Neither Shinji or I expect to survive any longer than the laws of luck and chance allow. Frankly, I never expected us to get this far. That doesn't mean that you can't walk away - I of all people can understand if you find covert operations a bit old-hat by now."

Kaji flashed his trademark grin. "And yet, you're still here Sensei. But you're right; we all need an objective to keep us in the game."

Fuyutsuki narrowed his eyes. "You're going to sell me something, aren't you?"

Nodding curtly, Kaji replied as he moved to face him. "Yup. It's much easier when everyone is on the same page."

"So, what do you want?"

The former agent leaned forward on the desk, looking directly into Kouzo's eyes. "Do you know where Asuka is?"

He didn't blink. "No."

"Good. Does Shinji?"

Fuyutsuki frowned. "I'm not sure."

Kaji nodded. "I'll speak to him. I've tasked myself with protecting her while you two cowboys go poking guns at the most dangerous men on the planet. If you keep her out of it, I'll lend you two a hand when I can."

"You're protecting her? I see...both of you think of her as a daughter."

"Something like that. Okay, here's my top tip - there's an ex-US cruiser in Old Tokyo bay, now in private hands. You can guess who's. Happy fishing."


Thanks to those (few!) who review - the messages are appreciated and certainly spur on new chapters.

A side note: this story is a prequel of sorts to my oneshot "Shinji's Solution".