Chapter 8
I know girls, like Rei and Hikari. I have friends, like Toji and Kensuke. I don't have both in one person. Rei… she's my sister, much more than a friend. I imagine what it'd be like to have Hikari as a friend. She's sorta bossy. I don't like bossy people, but Hikari's also nice under that exterior. Maybe she'll become my friend.
I wonder about this new pilot. They mentioned a "she", so I know the pilot's a girl. Maybe we'll become friends. I really hope she could become buddies with Rei. Sis doesn't have any girls for a friend, just us guys. The new pilot's not from here, so can she speak my language?. Rei mentioned she was German. Huh, I guess my foreign language studies might finally pay off. I've never seen a German before. I wonder if she's cute… Oh, I shouldn't have such dirty thoughts. I'd kill someone if they thought of Rei that way.
I wonder when I'll meet Unit 02's pilot. Maybe tomorrow? Misato mentioned something about a field trip last night, a boy's only field trip with just me and my buds. Something about a helicopter too…
"Misato, let's go over this one more time." Shinji's hand twitches, though neither of them notices.
"Yeah, yeah… I can only drink one beer. I shouldn't let anything weird me out. Also, no jokes about your girlfriend being your girlfriend."
"Misato!" He blushes. That's so… ew.
"You are so easy to tease, Shinji." She snorts. "Watcha making for us anyway?"
Shinji focuses back on his cooking. "Just wait and you'll find out."
Someone knocks on the door. Shinji checks his watch. Yep, on the very second, she's on time.
Misato opens the door. "Hello, Rei! How ya doing?"
In contrasts with the woman's passionate tone, Rei says, "Fine, Captain Katsuragi."
"Come inside! Don't be so dull too."
"I am unable to follow your order."
Shinji shakes his head and smiles. This'll be a very odd night, but it still might turn out alright.
"Greetings, Shinji. I am honored to eat with you and Captain Katsuragi."
"Hey, I'm glad to."
"Come on, Rei." Misato tugs at her arm playfully. "Let's have some girl talk while Shinji wraps up dinner."
"Are we not talking now?"
"Ug, let's go to the living room."
As they leave the kitchen, Rei glances back at Shinji. He sees it in her eyes; she's confused. He motions for her to go on. It'll be alright, Rei. She nods.
"So," says Captain Katsuragi. She reclines in the couch, but Rei sits up straight. "How close are you to Shinji?"
"I am separated by a room, as are you."
She shakes her head. "No, relationships!"
"We are friends, and he is my family." Rei cocks her head. Why would Major Katsuragi ask questions she already know the answer to?
"Yeah," she sighs as if in defeat. "Cousins and all of that. What side of the family are you from?"
"Commander Ikari's side."
"Huh, dull family reunions, right?"
"I and the Ikaris are the only surviving members."
The major cringes. "Oh…"
"I am fortunate to have befriended Shinji."
"Yeah, it makes sense, you two being pilots and all."
Rei narrows her eyes. "Captain." She suppresses the urge for any more physical movement.
"Call me Misato," Captain Katsuragi interrupts.
"Misato." Her tone sounds… It's not annoyed, perhaps a bit displeased. "Shinji remains the only person who attempted to befriend me without a prompt. Our designation as pilots were non-factors in his decision."
"Are you sure you're just friends?" Major Katsuragi laughs and shifts closer to Rei on the couch. "You really are worked up when defending him."
"As I stated before, we are family." Twins, to be precise, though you do not know that, captain.
For a minute neither says anything. The woman seems to be suffering some form of torture due to the silence. She shifts her position several times while her legs bob up and down. Rei does not move.
Pilot Ikari walks into the living room carrying three platefuls off food. He sets it on the table, and Rei notes that all are vegetarian. Major Katsuragi rushes to the table. The Third Child pulls out a chair and motions for Rei to sit. She does, so he pushes it in for her. Then, he sits as well.
They proceed to eat, though eating does not properly describe the situation. As if a machine, Rei takes each individual bite with the utmost precision and care. Her brother made her this meal, so she does nothing to jeopardize the food's effect on her taste buds. Pilot Ikari eats, much like a normal but well-behaved boy of his age. The major shovels the food into her mouth and compliments the meal the entire time. When finished, she gulps down a beer.
"Shinji?" she asks. "Can I have another?"
"No."
"Please?"
"No."
She turns her attention to another target. "Rei, what do you think?"
"I defer to Shinji."
"Arg! You two are the most humdrum people in Japan." She crosses her arms and pouts.
He laughs. "And you won't get any more beers tonight, Misato."
Rei looks at pilot Ikari and Major Katsuragi. What is their level of relationship? One would assume that they would share a commander-subordinate comradery, but this is different. In many ways, he acts as the caretaker. Perhaps the major fulfills the role of an elder sister, but I am unaware of what that entails. I should observe an older sister interact with her sibling for further data.
Rei feels a peck on her foot. She looks down and sees a penguin standing next to her feet.
"Greetings, avian."
"Wark." He gawks at the newcomer to the Katsuragi household.
"Oh, he's Pen Pen," says the woman. "He's a-"
"Warm-water penguin. I am Rei Ayanami, Pen Pen."
"Wark." He eyes her in a manner far too suspicious for a normal bird. He looks at pilot Ikari then back at Rei. After completing a physical action akin to a shrug, he trots into the kitchen where his dish and fish await.
Should I inform Commander Ikari that this penguin may have surmised my relation to the Third Child?
The blue waters below rest in a peaceful lull. Like space, the ocean remains something man can only pass through, going to islands or continents. They fly over a small fishing boat. The owner takes sustenance from the sea and, in turn, feeds the people of Japan. They pass a flock of seagulls. Those birds too only pass through the ocean and base their livelihoods upon it. Shinji smiles. Under different circumstances, this'd actually be serene.
"Wow! A Mig-55D transport helicopter!" Shinji has never seen his friend more excited before. Even when talking about his Eva or battling Angels, his camera-wielding comrade still held some composure. This time, he's like a kid in a candy store. "I never thought I'd have the chance to fly in one of these hot mammas!" Hot mammas? "Man, it's really great to have an important friend like you, right Shinji?"
Shinji opens his mouth to reply over the helicopters propellers, but Misato turns around from her front seat. "I thought you must be getting sick of being cramped up in the mountains, so I thought it'd be kinda nice to invite you guys out on a date." I wish Rei was here, but someone has to be on standby. I don't think she'd be able to enjoy this either, knowing she left me behind. Hell, she wouldn't enjoy this at all. It's too… tumultuous.
"What? Are you sayin' this's really a date we're having, Misato?" Hikari would be so pissed to hear you right now, Toji. "And I bought this cap especially for today, just for you. I'll never take it off."
Shinji shakes his head. Would he look this bad too if he was head over heels for a girl? "So, where are we going?" He doesn't hide his boredom. Kensuke's been raving about military stuff while Toji tries every trick available to impress a Misato. Neither has been fun to hear.
"Oh, we're just taking a little cruise on that cute boat down there." She smiles, a certain type of smile. Oh crap, she planned something!
As if on cue, the clouds below them part, revealing the largest military armada in the world.
"Oh my gods!" screams Kensuke. "Five aircraft carries and four battleships. What a fleet!"
"That's your cute little boat?" Did you actually think Misato was taking us on a cruise ship, Toji?
"She's gorgeous. That's the pride of the UN Combined Fleet, the supercarrier Over the Rainbow. It's the last aircraft carrier built before the Second Impact." He could ramble just about its stats for an hour… Oh, that'd suck so much.
Shinji squints from the sun's glare as they land. Kensuke rants about the boat using cool every other word. His brain might be overloading…
Wait. Why would this fleet be here unless… As they step out of the helicopter, Shinji looks in every direction for some sign of Evangelion. He spies a transport boat with a massive sheet covering… Unit 02. We came out here to meet the pilot. He glances at Misato, stretching her back and groaning. I guess she wants me, or that pilot, to have more friends. That's nice.
Toji almost nocks over the brown haired boy. He scrambles behind the hat that he swore he'd never take off.
"Stop. Damn you! That's my special hat!" He sounds worried, way too worried over a simple hat.
A red shoe squashes the white and black hat, a girl's shoe. Shinji's gaze rises up past two pretty legs and a yellow sundress. She has one arm on her hip, as if cross. The other one hangs by her side. He focuses on her smirking face. Her red hair blows freely in the wind held back only by her neural clips. Her eyes look intense, as if analyzing enemies. Blue. Her eyes are blue, like Rei's hair.
"Well hallo, Misato. How have you been?" She knows Misato already? Her German accent slips through a bit, and it sounds a bit arrogant, though it might just be the pronunciation.
"Just fine. Goodness, you've grown some, haven't you?"
"Uh huh! And I'm not just taller. My figure has filled out as well." She seems especially proud about that last part.
"Let me introduce you. This's the designated pilot of Eva Unit 02, the Second Child. Asuka Langley Sohryu." Japanese and English names for a German? What?
A strong gust of wind forces its way by. Asuka's sundress flaps into the air giving a perfect view almost all the way to her chest. While her fit body is unquestionably… lovely for Shinji to see, he can't help but remember that embarrassing incident with Rei.
"Sorry!" he screams.
Three smacks follow his apology, one of which lands on his cheek. "Idiots!" she says.
"What did you do that for?" Toji shakes in anger.
"That's the viewing fee. Quite a bargain, don't you think?" She turns her attention to Shinji. "Oh, apology accepted to the one with at least some manners."
"It's overpriced, but that's alright. Here's your change!"
Toji pulls down his pants. Perhaps on purpose, perhaps due to fate… it doesn't matter. For some reason, the jock's boxers come down with his pants. Asuka looks horrified.
"Stop that, Toji!" Shinji steps in front of his friend to make some barrier between his nudity and the girl. He'd do the same for Rei anyway.
"Ha! I don't need your help." Asuka regains her composure. She flicks her hair back in a haughty manner. "It's not like was much to see anyway. My pinky is bigger than that."
Half way through pulling his pants up, Toji freezes. His face becomes redder than Asuka's hair. The girl doesn't seem to care, satisfied with the last laugh. She walks around the two up to Misato.
"So, which one is the famous Third Child? Oh nein…" She turns her gaze to Toji. "Not him!"
"Don't worry. It's him." She points to Shinji.
She squints. "Hmm, not much to look at, but you're less of a perv than most boys."
"Thanks?" he says not knowing if that was an insult or a compliment.
"You're welcome, Third."
Well, she complemented me. That's a start.
The Admiral makes odd noises, as if he's mulling over his situation. Shinji already doesn't like the man. Perhaps it's that he's the fattest man he's seen in the crew. Maybe it's his looks, as if sees himself as an adult among a word of children. It could also be his mustache. It's such a horrible looking mustache.
"NERV…" he says while inspecting Misato's ID card. "From your antics on the deck, I was quite sure you were the leader of this Boy Scout troop, but obviously I was mistaken." It looks like I was right to not like this guy.
"Thank you for all of your gracious hospitality, Admiral." She can keep a great poker face, but Misato must be furious on the inside. How often have I annoyed her without knowing? Nah, Misato's pretty open with me.
"Oh no, thank you for giving me the opportunity to babysit so many more children." Shinji could just about see his sarcasm.
"And we thank you for the transport of Eva Unit 02." She takes some papers out of her folder. "Here are the specifications of the emergency power supply."
"You've wasted a trip. I'd never approve of any requests to activate that toy while at sea in the first place!"
"Think of it as being prepared for an emergency. The Eva is quite valuable, sir." Still keeping up the mask, Misato?
"So valuable that the entire pacific fleet has to be pulled for guard duty? Exactly when did the UN recondition us into a bloody cargo service?"
His first mate speaks up. "I believe it was just after a certain organization was established."
"Guarding a toy! What a ridiculously grandiose assignment for the entire Pacific Fleet!" The Admiral appears as though he'd throw them all overboard if he could. He's European in descent. I can't tell anything more specific from his accent. German because Asuka? Maybe American or English? Bah, it doesn't matter.
Shinji glances at Asuka. Either she's used to the Admiral's asshole personality, or she's just as good at hiding her emotions. Right now, she acts like a happy, polite girl. He rubs his cheek. She's, of course, neither of those.
"It's not enough considering the importance of the Eva." She hands him another paper. "Sign these transfer documents please."
"Not until we reach port. That blasted machine and its pilot have been entrusted to us by the Third Branch in Germany. You can't just waltz in and do what you please, Captain Katsuragi. The ocean is our jurisdiction. You will follow our orders here." He emphasizes her rank.
"I understand." Her eye twitches. "However, I can tell you that in an emergency, NERV's military authority overrides yours."
Shinji smiles. She still put the Admiral in his place. He's an old man grasping at the last wisps of an older era. I guess this means NERV is the world's superpower? Am I the world's newest weapon of mass destruction? I guess so. How strange. Ug, more responsibility.
He hears a new voice. "Well, you're just as gallant as ever."
"Kaji!" Asuka squeals.
Shinji turns. A man with a ponytail saunters out of the doorway. One hand rests his pocket; the other waives. He has a perfect grin on his stubbly face and he never bothered to straighten out his tie. Who is that guy and what is he doing here?
He hears something fall. He sees Misato's folder on the ground. She appears close to barfing.
So, Misato knows both Asuka and this dude too? Why?
"How are you doing, Rei?"
"Fine, Commander."
Rei sits at a circular table. Spaced at one hundred and twenty degrees, the other chairs contain the head of NERV and the head of its research division. Doctor Ritsuko inhales on her cigarette again. The Commanders drink creates condensation on the exterior, for he has yet to touch his cold beverage.
They are alone, since NERV's private restaurant does not upon for three more hours. This did not stop the Commander from exercising his authority to dine early.
"I heard you made friends."
"Yes, the prospective pilots have grown accustomed to me."
"What about that girl… Horaki?"
"Yes, but we have only become acquainted. She has hidden emotion towards Suzuhara."
"Suzuhara… Why did you transfer his sister to our facilities?"
"It provided a solid mental benefit to the Third Child."
"I see."
He takes a sip, at last. The doctor crushes the butt of her cigarette into the ash tray.
"Oh Rei?" the faux blonde asks. "How do you view our efforts with Jet Alone?"
"We eliminated a drain on our resources without casualties. Success."
"Does he suspect anything?"
"No, nor has Misato told him."
"That still surprises me." She pauses to chuckle. "Oh well. Anyway, I take it my plan has been working?"
"Yes, I have grown closer to pilot Ikari."
"Good girl."
The Commander takes another sip and adjusts his glasses.
"Rei, one other thing."
"Yes, Commander?"
"I suggest you learn German, specifically hearing it spoken."
"Understood."
"Start with foul language. Also, you don't need my permission to eat."
"Oh."
She picks up some rice with her chopsticks and swallows.
Be safe, brother. Make it back before the Angel appears, please.
Before the door could close, the Mr. Kaji guy ran up and stopped the door. He and Asuka, who seems latched onto his left arm, then squeezed inside the elevator as the fifth and sixth passenger. Its max capacity must be three though.
Shinji's face squishes into Misato's… um, breasts. There's nothing he can do to move back. Toji and Kensuke are in his way. Hell, the only two who look happy are Kensuke and Mr. Kaji.
"What are you even doing here?" Due to all of her anger, she doesn't notice the boy who's pressed into her chest. Either that or she doesn't give a damn.
"Accompanying her," he says. "I'm on a business trip of sorts." What kinda business do you do?
"Talk about careless, I should've anticipated something like this."
"Hey!" both Misato and Asuka scream. "Watch where you're touching!" Oh shit! Sorry!
"I can't help it!" both Mr. Kaji and Toji say. There's four of us here and one of us is an adult, but how am I the most mature male?
They went into the mess hell. The place is so boring, but at least Kaji's here. He didn't accept her yesterday, but… but he was just being super polite! That's the reason!
That perverted, dumb kid sits across from her. He practically drools onto Misato. The nerdy one seems a few minutes from falling asleep. All the running around and filming must've tired out his tiny little nerd muscles. She sits next to Kaji who sits across from Misato. He's paying way too much attention to her. Doesn't he know how lazy she is at home? She was her guardian for a couple months, though she was the best, except for Kaji of course. He's the best guardian and will be the best husband.
Oh, and the Third Child sits on her other side. He's wide awake, yet he has the gall to not sneak glances at her. In fact, he seems focused on the two adults. Why? Isn't she worth watching too? Not that he's anything to look at anyway. She could've beaten him in an arm wrestling contest, at six no less.
"So, do you have a boyfriend right now?" he asks Misato.
"I don't think it's any of your business." She crosses her arms. You're right, Misato. It is none of his business. His business is ME.
"I'm hurt. Ow." Oh, stop flirting already! "So." He looks around Asuka to the Third. "I heard you're living with Katsuragi now." Scratch that wish. Continue flirting. Don't bother with him! Better yet, look at me, Kaji! Wait… He's living with Misato? Why?
"Yeah?" he says just as confused as Asuka. Why would Kaji bothers to ask him anything?
"Tell me something. Is she still… so wild in bed?"
Oh mien Gott im Himmel! Nein, nein, nein! My Kaji had… he did… with her!
She doesn't notice the twisted look of horror on her face. The man she loves was once in a relationship with Misato, the woman who'll be directing her in all of her upcoming victories? Fate can be so cruel to her!
Misato slams her fists down on the table knocking over the tea and coffee. "What are you implying with that?"
Without being phased at all, Kaji says to the Third, "No, she hasn't changed at all, has she, Shinji?"
"I guess?" he says. "How do you know my name?"
"Well, I ought to know you. You're pretty famous in the defense business. Well, for those who have enough clearance… You are the Third Child who piloted his first combat mission with no combat training!" I never heard such praise from you, Kaji! Why? Why!
"Oh, I was just, um, lucky." Idiot, accept the praise. I don't want my rival to be someone who's just lucky.
"Then luck is a part of your destiny. It's your talent." He stands up. "Well, I'll see you later."
Asuka follows the love of her life out of the mess hall onto to the deck. He pauses to overlook the ocean below. The boat cuts through the bland blue waters which makes it interesting to observe. Without Over the Rainbow, the ocean would be flat, inert. Instead, waves lap against the side of the deck. If someone fell overboard, then they'd be left behind in an instant… Hmm, I wonder if the Third can swim…
"So." Kaji leans against the railings. "What do you think of Shinji Ikari?"
Asuka props herself up on the rails. Her legs dangle in the sea breeze. "Oh, the oh-so-great Third Child? He's boring."
"And yet, I just got his sync rates. It was well over 40% on his first time in an Eva. It hit 99% during his last battle."
Asuka can't move. She can't even breathe. Her left eye twitches uncontrollably. He beat me? He's at 99%? Already! But he's an untrained, scrawny, pathetic little boy! I'm the one who has the training! How is he better than me!
"Oh, the First reached that same level too during the same battle."
Asuka wants to cry. If it wasn't for that promise, she would. If Kaji wasn't here, she would. In a matter of a few seconds, her synchronization superiority went from first to a disgusting, pathetic last. There… there has to be a mistake, a glitch. Maybe they put in the wrong scores. If she can't reach anywhere that high, then he couldn't either. Right? Right!
"I gotta go, Kaji."
She sprints back to the mess hall. He can't be better than her, and she can't let him ever think that either. She steps onto an escalator, but she hears their voices coming from somewhere else. She runs back up and checks the other one. There they are. She looks down at the four.
"Hey, Third Child," she sneers. "You're coming with me."
"Okay?"
She marches off forcing him to chase after her. He doesn't say anything, but she knows he's back there. She leads him to a small transport boat which takes them to her beautiful Eva. He sits two seats away from her, but they're the only passengers on the damn boat. He never bothers to look at her. That self-absorbed Arschloch.
They're lifted up to the deck. Asuka takes hold of the sheet covering her Eva and lifts it up. I'm better this way at least.
"That's a really interesting color. I didn't know it was red." That's all you have to say?
"That's not all what's different about Unit 02."
She stands in front of her unit, the best one. With a hand on each hip, she boasts, "Unit 00 and 01 were the prototype and test type respectively. The fact that Unit 01 synced so well with you means it must be broken; however, Unit 02 is a little different. My unit is the first real Evangelion! Created for actual combat conditions, it's the first production model."
"Oh, good."
She glares at him. "That's all you have to say?"
"Um, it's the best Eva? I don't know what else to say if we both know it's the best."
"How the Hell is someone so boring able to sync so well? I've seen rotten fruit more interesting than you."
"Uh…" He scratches his head. "I just had to win, you know? It's only during combat I sync well." He chuckles. "Combat's still the only time I generate AT fields."
Oh! So maybe mine will be much higher when I fight Angels too! That explains everything.
Both pilots almost fall into the pool of LCL around the Eva.
"An undersea shockwave?" She grabs his wrists. "Come on!" She drags the wimp to the railings. Something must be wrong, and it is. A destroyer explodes. The boats shoot at some undersea creature or machine.
"An Angel," the Third whispers.
"A real one?" This is my chance!
"This's really bad. We gotta go back and find Misato."
"Are you a baka? We're meters away from my Eva!"
Still holding his wrist, she drags him to her bag. Kaji was so smart when he told her to leave it by her Eva! Now, where to change? He's still a boy, so he'd gawk at me despite his manners. Towing him along, she looks for anything with an unlocked door. Instead, she finds a stairway. It's close enough.
"Just wait here a second," she says.
"Why?"
"Because I'm about to be naked!"
"Oh." He blushes. Good.
She stands under the stairs almost shaking in excitement. She rips off her dress, bra, and panties. Like hundreds of times before, she slips into her plugsuit. Not once does he peek. Am I not pretty enough to peek at? Jerk. She takes a breath. "Let's go, Asuka." It's time to prove I'm the best.
She takes out her spare suit. She finds the Third sitting there like a well-behaved schoolboy and tosses the plugsuit at him. He stares at it, not knowing what to do.
"Well, come on!" she yells. His eyes open wide, realizing what she wants him to do. "Don't just stand there. Get moving!" Yes, I sync higher than you, I'll know it's just me not being in combat yet and not being in a stupid old model.
He runs under the same stairway. In just a few seconds, he runs back up, trying to stretch out the fabric around his groin the entire time. I'll have to throw that one away when we're done.
"I'm getting in with you?"
"Do you think it's safer out here than with me?" She ejects the entry plug.
"Does Misato know about this?"
"I'll get her permission after the fact."
She climbs in. He does too a few seconds later.
"Um, where do you want me to sit?"
"Stand back there, but don't get any perverted ideas!"
"I won't."
The entry plug inserts itself into her Eva.
"LCL Fullung. Anfang der Bewegung. Anfang des Nervenanschlusses. Auslosung von Linkskliegung. Synchro-start, nun!"
Her Eva tries to start, but it fails and flashes red warnings.
"I can't think in German!" At least he knows about some of the Eva's odd quirks.
"Switch language to Japanese. Evangelion Unit 02, go!"
Within seconds, the Admiral yells at them over the comms to power down, but Misato screams out encouragement through the same channel. Ha! As if either of them could affect what I'm about to do.
"Hey, uh, isn't this B-type equipment? If we fall into the ocean, we're done for."
"Then we won't do that."
Asuka jumps off from the boat seconds before it's cut in half by the Angel. Ha! You would've died on that boat, Third. I saved your life already. She lands on a destroyer, able to bear their weight an instant before it'd sink. "Where's the Angel?"
"That way." She turns her head before he points in that direction. "We've got just 58 seconds!"
"I know. Misato!" She left the communication channel open for a reason. "Get the umbilical cable on the flight deck." She smirks. Time to show off. "Third, have you ever played hopscotch?"
"What?"
With each calculated jump, she lands on the ships which smashes their exterior hull each time. She hopes someone's recording this, because it'd look awesome.
"Eva Unit 02, coming in for landing!" She keeps her balance as the aircraft carrier rocks back and forth from her impact. Most of the planes fall off, but this boat won't sink from her weight. It's like a boxing ring. Now, all she waits for her opponent to show his ugly ass.
"Angel at 9 o'clock!" At least he's being a good lookout.
"Switching to external power." With seven seconds to spare, they've got their power. The Angel will reach them in moments.
"We don't have any guns."
"The Progressive Knife ought to do it." Let's gut ourselves a fish!
"It's gigantic." With just its topside surfacing, the opponent already dwarfs her Eva.
"The bigger they are…" She takes out her knife.
The Angel leaps out of the water and onto the boat. She can't get a good look at its features, but it's tan and nasty.
She drops her knife and wrestles with its head, the Angel's only weapon except for its size. Maybe I can twist it off. The deck under het footing collapses. They tumble overboard with the Angel. Like a cowboy at a rodeo, she clenches onto the enemy while it thrashes around. It swims through buildings, remnants of some coastal city that got flooded. Yeah, give yourself a headache while I take a ride.
Asuka gets jerked back. They're out of cable. "Verdamt." She tries to move, but it's like moving through wet cement.
"B-type equipment." Shinji sounds hopeless. What a wimp.
"Then do something with that 99%!"
"What?"
"Baka! You can sync too!" Plus, everyone will see I'll have the higher sync score. She feels another presence. Scared, lonely, and… horny? Pervert!
"What do we do?" he asks.
Before she could answer, the Angel opens its mouth. Rows upon rows of teeth glisten in the light. Behind all of the teeth lies its core. It clamps down on the Eva. Asuka clenches her stomach. It's not real pain! I haven't been stabbed through my stomach!
Something pushes her arms away. The Third crashed onto her lap! "Get off me you pervert!" She tries to shove him off, but he points ahead.
"Stop that!" Now, he's showing some spine? "We have to destroy the core!"
"We don't have any weapons."
The jaws clamp down tighter. Both of the pilots scream in more pain from the razor sharp teeth.
"Teeth!" they exclaim together unable to say more from the tabs in their torso. We have to use the teeth!
The Third and Second use all their might to take hold of a loose looking tooth. Inhaling sharp breaths and screaming in agony, they pull back with their left arm until it breaks free. They jab their arm foreword and pierce the core. The core glows.
It's gonna explode!
AT Field, baka!
They surround themselves with the orange shield the instant the Angel self-destructs. Her Eva launches upwards like a torpedo. They soar through the heavens before landing on Over the Rainbow's deck. Neither can stand, so Unit 02 collapses onto the ground and depowers. The cable got blown off during the explosion.
Still on her lap, the Third clenches his stomach.
"You're fine. Get off me!"
He rolls off.
"Was that?"
"You're thoughts?"
They look at each other. She brushes herself off where Shinji touched.
"Horny pervert."
"Sorry."
"Ug, let's get outa here."
"We're out of power. They'll have to do it manually." He sits up in front of her.
"Scheisse. If you touch me, Third, I'll kill you."
He holds his hands up, as if in surrender. "Trust me. I won't."
She crosses her arms and makes an exaggerated, annoyed expression. "Oh, so I'm worth lusting over but not worth touching?"
"What? No! I… It's not polite, and I don't want you to not like me. We're teammates now, right?"
"Unfortunately, yeah; however, I could do it all myself. Just be glad I allowed you the honor of killing an Angel with me."
He shakes his head, but doesn't say anything back. Asuka scoots to the side opposite of Shinji. I hope we can get out soon.
It takes almost one damn, boring, long hour. One hour! She sat in there with a person who might as well have been a living sack of potatoes. After their initial conversation, he said nothing at all. When they opened up, they were already in harbor. In fact, NERV had to fly in equipment just to get them out.
They had no opportunity shower, so the LCL will cake onto her hair and take hours of effort to get out. The stupid Third seems more concerned by his lack of clothes though. Who cares? He should to be glad that she allowed him to touch her stuff.
As they step off the ship and onto an escalator, her eyes open wide. This is Japan. She's never been here before, but Mama had many times. It's a strange people with strange customs and a strange writing system. She doesn't pay much attention to those two perverts who stare at her beautiful Eva. They're ogling at it too. Gross.
She hears them laugh. One shouts, "Nice figure!" She turns around prepared to defend her honor from the human swine, but they gawk at the Third. He tries to cover himself up with his hands as they mock him. The Third annoys me, and he has a higher sync ratio, but he sure knows how to choose lousy friends. Still, they set themselves up for this one…
"Nerd! Pinky!" Both boys stop laughing and turn to her. The jock in particular looks enraged, due to her pinky comment of course. "On top of being perverts, I didn't know you liked boys THAT way too!"
Asuka turns around as their faces turn redder than her plugsuit. She sees Misato and some blonde wearing a lab coat. They're driving off in a jeep. Kaji wasn't on board because he would've greeted me. Misato would know.
"Wait!" she calls out sprinting down. She knocks her hands against the jeeps hood. "Where's Kaji?"
Misato's face twists in anger at the mention of his name. "He took off in a jet in the middle of the god damned battle. He's probably back at headquarters by now!"
"He left me?" He rejects me, then he leaves me? Why? There… there must be a reason. He'd know why. He'll tell me when I see him.
"Here's something you'd like," the blonde says. "Oh, I'm Ritsuko Akagi, head of NERV's research division. You broke your sync record." Oh, my theory about combat is true. Good.
"How high?"
"Seventy-two percent. Shinji was close too. It hovered around sixty during the end."
"Wonderful. Soon, I'll be number one in sync scores again!"
"She may have looked cute, but she was a real bitch." Toji still hasn't gotten over the pinky comment. He begged Shinji several times never to mention it.
"Well, at least we won't see her again." Kensuke puts his video camera away. Class's about to start.
"Yeah, but Shinji'll be seeing her a bunch, right Shin-man?"
"Yeah? She wasn't that bad…"
There was something off about her. I talked to Rei about it. She hypothesized that we were syncing with the Eva and each other which explained the thought noise of hers. I still felt her emotions though, just a few and just for a bit. She felt… lonely I guess. It must be a curse of the Eva. We're forced to be pretty lonely people. But I have Rei, and she has me. Plus, there's Toji and Kensuke. I know Asuka doesn't have any friends yet, but I don't think she'll like Rei much. Ug, I don't know if I should stay far away from her or become her friend.
The door opens. Toji falls out of his seat. Kensuke looks close to tears. Shinji feels his heart skip a beat.
There she is, that girl. His teammate and co-destroyer of the last Angel. She strides on up to the blackboard with every boy but Shinji staring… not at her face. She pushes her hair back and writes her name on the board, using Western writing instead of Kanji.
She giggles. "Hello! I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu. Charmed, huh? I'm the pilot for Eva Unit 02!"
Toji and Kensuke glance at their friend. He gulps. This'll do it. Even the dumb students will connect the dots. Now, everyone will know both he and Rei pilot the Eva. Then, she'll be hackled by the mass of students. Thanks a shitton, Second.
Hikari stands up and bows. In a polite tone, she says, "It is a pleasure to meet an Evangelion pilot. Thank you for stating your identity to us, and please relay our gratitude to the other pilots, whoever they are."
Asuka's eyebrows crunch together for just a moment. Then, she nods. "Of course! Though, they're so dull. Those old fuddy duddies don't know how to be glamorous or interesting like me!"
Shinji smiles. He'll have to thank Hikari for her quick thinking and Asuka for being able to adapt the lie. He glances at Rei's empty seat. She'll still be safe.
Maybe I was wrong about Asuka. It's too bad the girls can't meet yet. I have to make sure they'll become friends… Why won't they tell me what Rei's doing? All she said was, "No harm will come to me, but it is classified. I will see you on Friday at the normal time and location."
He glances at the redhead. She took a seat close by his. She looks back at him. He nods; she smirks in return.
Misato's voice: "When a disastrous battle proves that Asuka and Shinji need to work on their ability to function as a team, Misato works out a plan to make their dysfunctions functional. Plus, the two girls finally get to meet! What could possibly go wrong? Drama ensues in the next exciting chapter, and of course there's going to be lots of fan service!"
Author's notes: I always held respect for this episode. The way they integrated Asuka and Kaji into the storyline was pretty much flawless in my opinion… So I had to repeat those results. To be honest, I was pretty much done writing this chapter four days ago, but I kept on coming back and tweaking it. In fact, Rei's dinner (and "introduction" to Misato) was only put in yesterday. I'm glad I did though.
Speaking about Rei, I hope I confused you a bit with her dinner with Gendo and Ritsuko. I said and insinuated a lot there.
Oh, before anyone could question what the Hell was happening between Asuka and Shinji during their combat with the Angel, I'll use their higher sync scores as an excuse. "But!" you say. "Asuka shouldn't have such a high sync score because she hasn't been affected by your POD!" Nah, she really wanted a higher sync score, so she got it from Unit 02. "Bah," you complain. "You gave Shinji and Rei such a stupidly high sync scores, especially this early in the series, just to affect Asuka." No again. Their sync scores had nothing to do with affecting the spitfire.
"Just please don't make this a Shinji x Asuka pairing fanfiction," some of you say. "It's so much fun to see the twin's interaction and a sideplot like that would be a distraction." Point taken, but I'll let their relationship evolve according to however the characters would act. In other words, I won't try to force anything on them. For example, Rei and Misato's conversation in this chapter was basically me letting the characters saying whatever they wanted to. Shinji and Asuka remain the only thing I'm not sure about. (I ironed out the ending, and I'm stoked about it! Now, I can start putting less vague foreshadowing in, because that crap's fun.)
Oh, here's a teaser for the next chapter. There's going to be a new POV character in it. I watched the episode (something I always do before I write anything in its prospective chapter) and decided that he/she would be the only one who could convey the gist of the scene. Why am I telling you this? Well, I stated that only pilots are POV characters, so I feel dishonest whenever I don't.
Thank you for all of your reviews (I really do appreciate them) and your continuous (hurray!) supply of favorites and follows.
Replies to comments:
Traitor of All Traitors, I'm glad to see that my last chapter kept up enough quality. It was a bit different from my other ones.
PrometheusDark, it's good to see you think Shinji and Rei are staying believable. It's also great to see that I've kept an Asushin fan interested in a fanfic that hadn't had the two even meet (until this chapter). I ended up smashing her pride with a jackhammer only to immediately build it back up again. I figured that'd be what Asuka would do. She was still infatuated with Kaji after the night he rejected her, so I figured she'd make excuses.
Freadi, well… Now, Asuka's here! Because she's Asuka, everyone will become quite aware of that fact too.
Guest, thanks for the compliment. Hopefully, this chapter has (or surpassed) the writing quality of my previous chapter. Also, I've never been fond of writing in past tense, but I honestly don't know why. I forced myself to like writing in third person, so maybe I could do so as well for past tense. Additionally, I find how you view the three protagonists interesting. Lastly, yeah… One of my least favorite things for me to see as a reader is those fanfics where the writer clearly stops giving a crap. I can say that I really want to know what happens next in my story, and I have to do is type it out. (I've been getting much more efficient at writing these chapters too which'll help.)
List of notable (enough for me) things that happened that aren't canon:
Rei had dinner at the Katsuragi household.
Shinji had a better introduction with Asuka.
Asuka and Shinji had a bit of mental "sharing" during their battle.
They defeated the Angel with its own tooth instead of two friggen' battleships getting shoved into its mouth.
Asuka revealed her identity immediately to the class but (with Hikari's sharpness) kept the other two's a secret.