Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion. Eva is owned by others that make more money than I do (People like Hideaki Anno and Gainax, for example).
However, I DO own this story. I wrote it, for people to enjoy, not to plagiarize or sell for profit. Please do not claim it as your own, or try to make money off it. If you want to repost it, just send me an E-mail if you want to translate it or post it on your site.
Comments and Creative Criticism are always welcome. Please send all E-mail to: No flames - we are all better than that.
Thanks: Special thanks goes to numerous people. I appreciate all the help everyone gave me, and I appreciate their letting me pester them a lot. Special thanks to Sethra, Dav, Peorth and Kyokki.
Comments: I know, the hiatus is over, but the break was well worth it! It was more work than anything, so returning to writing's a nice return to the norm of being "lazy". 8P I hope to update quicker than I have in the past.
And now, WillZ presents:
Chapter 9: Clumsiness
The brown tortie sat on Rei's pillow, glaring at Kensuke angrily. The furball wanted attention at the most inopportune times, such as today while Kensuke was doing the laundry. He had stepped on her paw as she twined between his feet. He had been carrying a laundry basket when her yowl nearly made him jump out of his skin and dump the basket on the unfortunate creature.
"I said I was sorry," Kensuke said, trying to scratch her head. It seemed to ignore the attention. "What more do you want?"
He bet the kitty wanted "Mommy", but Rei was busy searching for provisions and other resources.
It wasn't a bad arrangement, now that he thought of it: Every other day, he stayed at their home doing the chores, while she roved for useful items in the southern and western areas of the town, while he scoured the north and east the following day while she was home.
Home. He thought he had never felt so much at home. When he had lived with his parents, it seemed they were always too busy with work to spend much time with himself, thus why he always stuck his head in a book, or would play "soldier" and other military games: It gave him an excuse to get away from the loneliness that home had to offer. The blue sky was where his feelings and thoughts could soar freely. When he was outside, he wasn't alone, since he had all of Mother Nature around him for company.
Then came Rei, and he felt as if a missing piece of himself had been found. He barely remembered her as the quiet albino girl from school; he kept seeing the smiling girl with rich, chocolate-brown hair and eyes he saw every day.
He brought himself back to reality. His thoughts needed to be on the cat. He needed to get in its good graces, or else, she'd slap him with her tail while he tried to sleep. The cat was a professional, too: she could send a well-timed slap of tail right as he was returning to sleep, without disturbing her "true" master.
As if on cue, Kensuke heard the soft rumble of the Vespa Rei had found a few houses over. The little machine had been a godsend, because their travels could be a lot quicker, especially if one or the other was in need of help.
He got up from the bed with as sigh. It seemed tonight was going to be nothing but broken sleep for him, after all. He looked over, to see the cat had already taken off to greet her.
He had a feeling that her meows would be in line with how mean "Daddy" was to her today. He just couldn't win, sometimes.
Rei pulled off her helmet, shaking the bangs from her face. Over the past weeks, her hair had grown longer, yet she hadn't really had any time to deal with it. Now that her hair nearly covered her eyes, she decided that it was time for a trim
Rei had just placed her helmet on the bench near Kensuke's when she heard the pitiful whine coming from the doorway. Her kitty was up on her hind legs, while her front paws reached for the doorknob, falling short by a few centimeters. From the way She was whining to Rei, The brown-haired girl could be certain that Kensuke had put the cat out in some fashion.
She knew Kensuke hadn't done it on purpose, but the cat seemed to be jealous of the amount of attention Kensuke seemed to garner. With a smile, Rei opened the door, holding open her hands as she bent down. The cat pounced, starting to purr loudly as Rei's arms closed around it.
"It's ok," Rei whispered, softly stroking the cat's back with slow, easy strokes.
When she looked up, she saw Kenuske looking at her. She smiled.
"You stepped on her paw again, didn't you?"
"How did…" Kensuke began, but Rei's giggle forestalled him.
"What this one doesn't tell you," Rei continued, not bothering to keep the laughter from her voice, "is that Mom usually steps on her paws when she does the laundry. She'll spend the rest of the time until Dad gets home complaining about the injustice of it all."
"The little sneak," Kensuke said, smiling. He felt a bit better that he wasn't the only one to get an earful from the cat. He reached down, and grabbed the affronted feline and started scratching her under her chin, which caused her to start purring.
The quiet between Kensuke and Rei stretched as they each searched for something to talk about. It seemed the more time they spent with each other, the more uncomfortable they were becoming, and it frustrated him to no end. He wanted her to talk more, to smile, and yet, she seemed to revert back to her old self at times. What was he to do to get her to smile or laugh or…
He sighed again. The whole thing was getting him nowhere. Maybe if he…
Maybe if he WHAT? This was what was frustrating him so much! He had no idea what to do next! Sure it looked easy in the movies and all, but he didn't think that those types of movies were how people were supposed to act, anyways! He decided to let it go for now. Their first job was to get themselves fed and self-sustained before he- they- could think about anything else!
Three days later found Rei pacing the floor, hoping that Kensuke would return soon. She had everything placed, and, if all went well… Well, she could feel her face flush as she thought about it.
Her outfit was nothing short of embarrassing, but considering that he was going to be the only one to see her like this, she didn't mind as much. Her backside was exposed, and she had to keep untying and retying the apron in the hopes that she could keep herself covered while having the freedom to actually cook and clean around the house.
Would this even work? Would it be even necessary? She read all the books she could find at that store, and, even while blushing, the letters in the back of some of those magazines seemed to offer some assistance.
So why was she trembling?
She looked into a mirror, fussing with her hair for a few minutes. She suddenly felt flush, and tried to ignore the red spreading across her face.
Did people really do THAT? She was afraid, and yet she felt eager at the same time.
She hoped Kensuke would arrive soon.
The feeling of fur brushing up against her leg brought her back to reality. Looking down, she smiled at the hungry feline before she reached a hand down to snag that audacious tail. The cat complained, and skittered off and Rei couldn't help but laugh.
It still felt foreign to her in many ways. She could remember how nearly robotic she had been, and it made her feel ashamed. How could she have let all those wonderful times just slip by, without ever really being a part of them? Would any of the others ever remember her when they reminisce about the past when they get older? The thought did nothing to ease the growing butterflies in her stomach; it actually seemed to transform them into combating elephants, if anything!
She needed to focus on the now. She HAD to make this work, or else... Or else... She didn't' know, but she could feel her frustration welling to the surface even now. She was so close! Now, all that was needed was Kensuke, and she could put her plan into motion.
Kensuke rifled through the remains of yet another gardening center, trying to salvage what he could of seeds, feed, equipment and manuals. He sighed. If things hadnt' been destroyed in the cataclysm, they were wet. If they weren't wet, they had been eaten by rodents. He did manage to find a few things securely stored in a padded cold cellar, but he wasn't going to get those until Rei came along with him. It would be foolish to get locked inside without any way of escape.
He took off his hat and wiped his brow with the back of his hand, smudging his forehead with dirt. Everything was covered in dirt from when the roof collapsed, causing the potting soil and other various soils to burst from their bags in what looked like a cloud of mayhem. Thankfully, this looked to have happened a while ago; no dirt particles hung in the air or danced thinly across the stray beams of sunlight entering through the broken windows.
Kensuke sighed. Now that he almost had a full load of supplies, he thought about returning home. Right then, all he wanted was a nice, hot bath, some supper, and to spend the rest of the night with Rei. He picked up the final few bags of seeds and plant food, and returned to the Vespa.
Kensuke put the key in the ignition, and turned it on. Nothing. He turned the key to the off, and tried again. Nothing. He looked inside the gas tank, even though he knew it had been filled recently. The tank looked to be about ¾ full. He then checked the gas lines and the plug wires, but those were fine, as well.
With nothing else to try, he started looking around for another method of transportation. He knew the search would be futile; the area they were in was too far away from most major methods of transportation used in the cities. He remembered that one of the nearby houses at least had a push wagon, so maybe that would do for now.
Annoyed, he set off towards the cart. If he was lucky, he might be able to make it back home to Rei before nightfall.
Rei paced nervously. It was now several hours since Kensuke should have been home, and she had no idea what to do. Usually he came in before their set search time, so that he wouldn't make her worry. She kept thinking that he might have hurt himself somewhere, or that he could have been trapped in a collapsing building or something even worse. She didn't know if Japan had bears, but if it did, she was all but sure they had made a meal out of him.
She looked at the sunset, then up the road, nearly crying in panic as she looked for him to come around the nearest corner, or to even hear the buzz of the Vespa's engine. The only sound was the droning hum of the cicadas, which didn't help her feel any calmer. She went inside again, grabbed the kitten, and held it, trying to calm herself by using the kitten as a proxy. If only… If only…
Rei paced again, this time stroking the kitten's soft fur as she did so. She went from room to room, looking out each window to see if she could see any signs of Kensuke.
Another hour passed, and she still didn't have any idea where he was. She wished she had thought of raiding the military base for communications hardware, but you couldn't undo the past, you could only look back on it and hope you didn't repeat the same mistakes again.
Another hour passed, nearly causing her to reach a state of panic. Kensuke was very pragmatic, yet what if he, in his time away from her, really THOUGHT about what transpired during Third Impact? He might hate her for taking away his Mother, Father and other family members along everyone else on the planet.
Was what he was feeling for her just a twisted repression of his hate for him? Had he been broken as badly as Ikari-kun and she only was realizing it now?
No – she knew he was being genuine with her by the subtle expressions and body language he used. He was an open person, and spoke his mind with an almost blunt manner. He was also more practical than people gave him credit for; if he didn't worry or care about her, why suggest a schedule for when they would return to the house each day? They had discussed the events of Third impact till she was almost sure he was sick of hearing it, but she couldn't get the guilt out of her mind.
She didn't want him to hate her. She wouldn't be able to bear it.
Should she go searching for him, or was it better for her to stay there in case he returned? She felt lost; even after all their careful planning in terms of emergencies and their searching methods, she felt lost and confused. Should she stay? Should she find him? Would she be able to find him, once she started? What if they missed each other totally and he started to worry about her absence upon his return home?
Her pacing increased, and several times, she barely kept herself from crying. She had hoped to treat him to a nice lunch, and maybe she could finally talk him into… She was too embarrassed to think about it! She could feel her cheeks flush at how forward she wanted to be with him! She shook those thoughts out of her head before she started her pacing once more.
Hopefully it was something minor, like he forgot what time it was, or maybe he found something really useful to the little farm he wanted to start. No matter how much she hoped it was something like this, the more her panic grew, as if she knew something wasn't right.
After writing a short note, she went looking more appropriate for searching and less… "comfortable" was the word she could fit in, though how anyone would cook anything in an outfit like that...
Blushing, she pulled on a pair of jeans before putting on a thick tee-shirt.
A crash outside startled her. Seconds later, she heard Kensuke swearing. Relieved, Rei jumped up from the chair she didn't even know she had sat in, dropped the cat to the floor, and raced outside.
What she saw made her want to cry. Kensuke was in the middle of the road, trying to pick up several gardening tools at once. He looked terrible; his face was a mass of smears and sweat tracks. His hands were red and blistered, and his clothing had several tears and stains from rust, dirt and greenish-blue plant food. She covered her mouth and stifled a sob before going over to him, nearly crushing him in an embrace.
"I was so worried!" she cried, still not releasing Kensuke from the bear hug. "I thought you were hurt, or killed or…"
"The Vespa died," He replied, smoothing her hair back "and it took some time to find some way to get the stuff back home."
She wasn't listening; she was kissing him repeatedly with quick, fast needing presses of her lips to his lips, his cheeks, and his forehead. She couldn't stop the tears, nor could she stop kissing him.
She pressed against him, and felt him take a step backwards. He slipped, causing her to crash into him as his butt came into contact with the tarmac. This didn't keep Rei from kissing him; she kept barraging him with kisses.
Suddenly Rei stopped, aware of Kensuke's hands on her breasts. She blinked stupidly, still staring at the offending appendages.
"S-s-s-Sorry," Kensuke mumbled, quickly placing his hands behind his back. He looked as if he wanted to die from embarrassment. She felt that way, but there was something else she felt, too – something…
Gently, she pushed at his chest, causing him to lie on the ground. She lay over him, her brown hair falling into her eyes, obscuring his reaction. She started kissing him again, but this time much slower; more determined than she had before. She felt his arms embrace her as she lay on top of him.
Rei moved a little, and pressed her lips to his once again. She could feel his hand caressing her cheek, and it made her feel as if she were on fire. She closed her eyes, savoring the gentle touch as it followed her jaw down to her chin. She felt his other hand also touch her chin, before Kensuke tenderly moved her closer for another passionate kiss.
A loud crash brought her back to reality. Seconds later came the piteous cry of a kitten. She opened her eyes, and saw Kensuke's face reflected the worry she felt. Still blushing, they both stood before heading into the house.
The sound of the kitten mewling piteously came faintly from the kitchen. As they approached, from the carnage laid out in the kitchen, Rei could see in her mind's eye the series of events that led up to the feline's plight.
The kitten must have tried to make its way to the counter, where the food she had been preparing should have been. She had left the lid to the trash can open so that the peels, etc. could be discarded while preparing the food, instead of after. The cat, believing that the lid was closed, had jumped up from the milk crate too the trash and landed inside the can instead of atop it.
The kitten then tried to jump back out, with no luck. It had shaken the can as it hit the side of the trash container. The lid then clang shut, but also caused the broom that was propped against it to fall towards the counter. The broom then hit the pan handle and knocked the food to the ground, tipping its contents to the floor.
"Damn," Kensuke whispered. Rei could only nod her head in agreement. It would have been an amazing, if comical, feet to have witnessed first hand.
Kensuke began cleaning up the mess, while Rei fished the pathetic furrball from its temporary prison. She reached in, and very gingerly pulled out the condiment-encrusted cat.
"Bad kitty," Rei whispered, still feeling a bit annoyed at the situation, "no kitty snacks for you." At least the feline and Kensuke were both all right. That was all that mattered.
"I'll take the kitty to the bath and get her cleaned," Rei sighed. "I'll let you know when we're through." She was not looking forward to dealing with an energetic ball of wet fur.
"Great way to kill my mood," She muttered, making her way to the bath. She took in an unwitting whiff from the befouled feline, and wrinkled her nose as a result.
"You smell so lovely," she said to the cat, still wrinkling her nose, "but we're still going to have to have you take a bath. Stop that," she added, keeping the kitten's tongue from grooming a paw "you'll get cleaned up soon enough. I hope you've learned your lesson."
She knew it was fruitless trying to talk sense to the creature, but she had to try anyway: If it kept the tortie from getting into mischief, then it was all for the good of everyone involved.
Right before she started the water, she heard Kensuke's shuffling step coming towards the bath. She put the kitten down, and headed towards the door to meet him. Opening the door slightly, she watched him stop in front of her. His face was beet red, and he kept glancing from herself to the floor and back. Puzzled, she looked down to see that the kitten had followed her, and was peeking through the opened door as well. It was rather comical to see.
"Um," Kensuke said, the blush still prominent on his cheeks. "Well, I… You see…" He began, before sighing. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. After exhaling, he pushed his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose, looking rather flustered.
As if she had picked up on his thoughts, Rei could feel a blush creeping up her cheeks in a wave of red-hot awkwardness.
"I was wondering," Kenuke said with an embarrassed tilt to his head, "If you would... Um… Could you… I mean…" He took another breath before continuing on. Rei felt as if her face were to catch fire any minute, and she felt as if she couldn't breathe. "I mean… I would like… For you… To me… Would you wash my back for me? Please?"
"Yes," Rei replied, smiling. She knew that everything would work itself out in its own time. She reached over and brushed his cheek with a kiss before taking hold of his hand to lead him to the bath.
OMAKE!
So, why so long for the update? It's quite simple: Real life takes its toll even amongst those of us obsessed with anime. I mean, how can we afford anime if we can't pay the bills?
With that being said: We shall now break off to see what Touji and Hikari are doing…
Pan camera to some distant farmland. There are cows and a few sheep grazing in the fenced-off pasture.
Zoom in on the house alongside said pasture. We see a bike for two, a tractor, and a basketball hoop.
The camera enters the house. There are clothes everywhere, and a distant thumping noise can be heard.
Hikari's voice: Oh,
Touji! YES! Right there!
Touji's voice: Just a little more!
The camera goes upstairs. There is now lingerie and underwear everywhere.
Hikari: I can't hold it any more!
Touji: Almost done! Just a little more!
The camera finally enters a room. There are Hikari and Touji, sweating in jumpsuits as they attempt to work a butter churn. Finally Hikari collapses at the base of the churner. Touji stops, panting.
Touji: I TOLD you it'd be great exercise!
Hikari: It doesn't matter! You said you'd do the laundry today!
Touji: Do I have to? I'd prefer to do this for a while longer.
Hikari, more to herself: Why did I ever fall in love with this goofball?
Touji: Huh?
Hikari: Nevermind…
