+++++ 6th Angel + 5 : Friday (43)

School had largely been non-existent for him, a fact that he was both grateful for and irritated by. It was nice that the day could go past without adding drama, but he would have much preferred to be with Hikari instead of his classmates. Something had happened at the odd dormitory Shinobu lived in, meaning that she wasn't at school to visit with him during lunch. He tried not to feel pleased by that, as she had lingering dislike for both Rei and Yang and it was tiring to have to engage constantly as a peacekeeper. However, Yang herself was out with a head cold. He had tried to contact her during the first break, checking that she hadn't had something terrible occur, and was told by her mother that she would be fine with a little rest.

His lunch had been spent nearly silently, Rei calmly eating by his side and saying little. He felt no pressure to keep up a conversation, as the bluenette shared his view on the keeping of company: the presence itself can say a thousand words where the mouth delivers three. Though he knew that there were several odd looks sent his way, as most people would expect him to be engaged in the usual lively conversations he'd held, it wasn't unpleasant.

After the end of his class, while he was walking out to the vehicle that would take them to NERV for the day's tests, he set his pace to Rei's and allowed her to linger at her tasks. He wasn't blind, nor as oblivious as he had once been, and had picked up on her subtle cues that she wished for more time with him. The problem was, as ever, finding the reason and the means to give his time to her.

You could always invite her to dinner, Gentle offered softly. Perhaps something special, like you are making for your other ally.

The unexpected intrusion was fortunately timed, as he'd just sat down in his seat and could play off being startled as having sat upon something, That's…that's what I'm doing for Asuka, though. I should do something different, shouldn't I?

Amusement filled the voice's tone, It is special to the one who does not often receive such invitations from those she'd wish to spend her time with, is it not?

He couldn't come up with a counter to that. "Rei," looking across the bench seat to the albino pilot, he waited for her to turn and consider him. "I know that you don't want to come over tonight, so…how about you and I arrange for a dinner soon? Hikari will be out of the hospital in a few days, we could try and do something after she'll be free to visit with you as well."

She seemed to measure her response, "I would enjoy such an opportunity." After a slight hesitation, she surprised him, "Would it be possible to…perhaps include my current housemate? I believe that the Sub-Commander would enjoy the chance to build upon her relationship with you and I."

"That…sounds great," Shinji let his smile show. "I like that idea, Rei. I think I can come up with a menu that you'll like. I'll run it by you, and you can tell me if there's anything you wouldn't eat. I know that you're vegetarian, and I don't want to accidentally run afoul of any needs you have."

Rei's ever-tiny smile greeted his statement, then she returned to her contemplation of the world outside of the vehicle. Whatever thoughts traveled through her head, she intended them to remain for her own ends.

The rest of the trip was spent analyzing traffic patterns, as Akane adjusted her speed and direction depending on the actions of the two cars guiding them to their destination. Today, they were in the rear of the column, the two other sedans bullying a path through the afternoon traffic in the surrounding city. He could feel the agent's nervousness, as she disliked intensely having to rely on other drivers that she didn't feel were up to her own skill level. Every new car on the road created a hundred scenarios in her head, her reflexes tuned and prepared to engage in a variety of maneuvers to get him to NERV safely.

When, as usual, they arrived in the parking lot without any accidents or serious issues, he felt compelled to speak, "You do a really good job, Akane-san." He smiled gratefully for her when she looked back to him, "My few trips with Misato-san…I can tell the difference between you two. You don't feel every trip is a race, but you still want to get where you're going quickly. I feel safe in the car with you, and considering how little I travel in vehicles I think that's important."

"That's nice of you to say, kid." She grinned, shifting her body fully to speak with him, "If you want, when you're ready, I'll teach you how to drive. I know you don't have anyone else to turn to really, but it's a skill I've practiced a great deal. Gone to more than one school, and I have the certification to teach most of them now. You let me know, I'll make it happen, yeah?"

"I'd like that," Shinji nodded slowly. "If I have to get someone to safety, I shouldn't rely on there always being someone around."

"Too true," Mikoto agreed eagerly. "Always be ready to act, Shinji-kun. When things go pear-shaped, knowing that you can act means the difference between saving lives and joining the corpses."

His door popped open, revealing Idunn, "Everything ok in here?"

"We're good," Akane responded with a wave. "I just got a compliment, and I was offering to teach him how to drive. Not that he should need it, but it'd be safer if he could do it well in a pinch should the worst come to worse."

Standing up from the vehicle, he helped Rei climb out his side of the car, "Akane-san does a great job, Idunn-san. I feel safe in the car with her, and I really should learn from someone with that kind of skill. I can't accept being ignorant of my own safety any longer, and I have to start somewhere. Where better than with someone that you trust to do the job properly?"

The tall redhead appraised him seriously, "Is that what you want, Shinji?"

He held up a hand, trying to make it clear he wasn't mistrusting of the people protecting him, "I'm not asking to drive myself, just learn how to…for emergencies." Laughing, he gestured back to Akane in the driver's seat, "If she drove me around for the rest of my life, I'd be thrilled. It means I never had anything terrible happen, and no more emergencies happened either."

Idunn nodded as she closed the door, "Ok. Agents," she addressed the two from the rolled down passenger's window, "I want you to put together a lesson plan. Once you have that set, I'll look it over for approval, and we'll see what we can do to make it happen." Looking back to Shinji, she tilted her head as she tried to gauge how well that fit with what he'd wanted to happen.

"Thank you," a polite bow, a warm smile, and Shinji felt that another simple curiosity had been satisfied without causing anyone significant problems. The day had gone well so far, and he was feeling more and more confident in his ability to keep it moving that way. An idea popped into his head, "Rei, did you want to learn too? I can't imagine it'd be that much harder to teach two or three people. Right?"

"Easy enough," Mikoto answered. "Classrooms usually have at least a dozen students for the courses. Three is easy-mode."

Shaking her head slightly, she declined, "I will pass, thank you." Standing on her toes, she pressed a kiss to the same place she had taken to doing so upon, "I will see you for our synchronization test. Please exercise caution, there have been an increased number of female employees demonstrating carnal interest in your person. I do not wish a repeat of past incidents."

A round of applause for Rei Ayanami, ladies and gentlemen, Shinji silently sighed. Watching her flow around obstacles between her and her destination, he looked up to Idunn as a thought struck him, "I…had meant to ask."

The redhead turned from scowling after Rei to earnestly attending to her principle in a heartbeat, "Yes?"

"I…never told Rei-san what happened." He hated to infer that someone had leaked information, and while he wouldn't have minded letting her into his confidence, he had to mention the security risk. "I don't know who would have, but…is it really common knowledge now?"

"You…." Idunn's scowl deepened, "You never told her?" When he shook his head, she looked away, her eyes flicking as she sorted through her memories, "That was…a week ago. I noticed her statement, hard not to," she grimaced, "but I thought you had just shared with your friend. If you didn't…you're sure you didn't?"

"I wouldn't have," he admitted quietly. "I hadn't had a chance to talk to her, with…everything. When it rains around me, it tends to monsoon."

"I'll investigate," Idunn declared firmly. "When I find out who has the dribbles…." Gripping Shinji's shoulder, she smiled sadly, "Thank you, Shinji. I know it isn't easy to trust me, but I promise you I want to help. This sounds far too much like a security leak waiting to happen, and even if it's just unclassified personal information we can't be too cautious."

It was his turn to be confused, "I…I do trust you, Idunn-san. You've worked very hard protecting Hikari-san, Nozomi-chan, and Kodama-san. Without you, I don't know what I'd do." He turned his hands, showing they were empty, "I don't have your skills. And you haven't done anything bad, not that I know of. I'm lucky to have you around, and even luckier that you're easy to get along with."

"Paladin!" Noelle's call cut off Idunn's response, "Whatcha doin' here? Your Light's in the hospital, this is the garage for the lab-wing." Tying off her hair, she wore the jumpsuit indicative of a shift 'on alert'. "You got work stuff?"

"Good afternoon, Raffle," he bowed to the irascible blonde pilot. "I have a synch test today. I'd rather be visiting Hikari-san, but she's going through a few diagnostic tests with Rina-san and Maya-san. They're helping Doctor Charcot-Benoit, and I'd just be in the way."

"Noelle," Idunn frowned as the smaller woman hugged Shinji's side, "what is this I hear about my brother giving Shinji a gift?"

"Wasn't a gift," Noelle shrugged. "It was payment from a bet that someone lost. Paladin here won a footrace, first part of the payment was from Glitch through Vidar, second is on Feelgood once 'is Light can attend." She smiled up to Shinji, "Can't have a pig burn without yer lady there. That's just rude."

With a snort of frustration, Idunn raked her fingers through her hair, "Those knives are dangerous, Noelle. I would think you of-"

He felt the woman at his side stiffen. "Shinji," that Raffle used his actual name set him to preparing to separate the two women, physically if needed, "go get yer testin' done. I expect Tits is growin' impatient. I've a few things wot needs clearin' up wit' yer security chief." Slapping him on the ass, she pushed him into motion, "G'wan, get. We'll catch up later."

There was a momentary urge to try and unsnarl whatever had just happened, though it was quickly ruled by his more rational half that whatever he had to offer would likely just increase the volatility. Between his diminutive pilot ally using his given name and the look of anger growing on the woman who protected him, discretion and valor won out over hope and sincerity.

Without looking back, for fear of incurring the wrath of Noelle Minders, he moved rapidly into the facility proper. The knife might be dangerous? It's a knife. The concept seemed bizarre to him, Of course it's dangerous. It cuts things! Stabs, filets, dices, any way you look at it, it's only as dangerous as the person using it makes it. Nodding to a pair of employees that smiled and waved as he came near, he held the door to the elevator open for them, I hope that they don't get into anything. I…don't want to try and bet who'd win that fight.

"Excuse me," the voice of one of the women brought him back to his surroundings, "Mister Ikari?"

"No, please," he shook his head, "just Shinji, Miss. I haven't done anything worth calling me 'Mister' over." Trying to recall where he might have seen either of the ladies before him, he engaged the standard polite protocols, "Can I help you, somehow?"

Standing at about waist level, the moon-faced woman giggled, "I wanted to thank you, 'just Shinji'. My younger brother has suddenly shown a renewed interest in applying himself with his schoolwork, and my husband and I are grateful that he's actually trying again. He credited you, when I asked him, saying that if you can do well in school despite having to come here and defend the world at random, how could he do any less?"

Working through the roster of his class mentally, Shinji landed on one of the quiet students that had been teased more than once for having a rather round face, "Tsurumaki-san? He's got a very good grasp of the material, Miss. I think he just had problems asking for help because he's been being teased by a few students in 3-C. I had a few words with their Class Rep, then with their homeroom teacher. We're in High School, we shouldn't still be acting like children."

The other woman sighed, "If only we had a Class Rep like him, eh?" Standing near to shoulder-height on Shinji, she reached over and patted his arm, earning a scowl from one of the two agents shadowing him, "Yuuki-kun here has raised Yoshi-kun by herself, Shinji-san. Between her and her husband, they've done a fantastic job I think, but when I visited yesterday, he was actually asking Taru-kun questions." Laughing, she smiled to her confederate, "I thought it was kind of cute, how he used a couple of your kitchen utensils to demonstrate the points that confused him."

Shinji recalled explaining how air resistance was affected by the shape of objects, using a bowl, a plate, and a whisk as three examples. That his fellow student picked up on that brought a smile to his face, Good job, Tsurumaki-san. I'll have to remember to ask him how he's doing with it tomorrow during class. "I really believe he didn't need much help, if any, Miss. Your younger brother is very bright, and I think he'd make an excellent chemical engineer. His grasp of the geometric formulas used in our chemistry block is what prompted me to try a different way of explaining the physics problem. He may just not learn exactly the way the teacher instructs."

The elevator reached Shinji's destined floor, and the two women both waved cutely as he shifted past them. Thanking him again for his actions, they seemed just a touch nervous about the way the agents moved protectively with him. Once the doors were closed, Shinji turned to head towards his lockers.

"Toccando ciò che non è loro, vergognoso," the swarthy agent to his left muttered.

"Lui è irresistibile, Paola. Non puoi biasimarli per il desiderio," the lady to his right laughed charmingly. "How is your lady-love, Shinji? I hear she may be released from this hell soon."

"She's getting stronger every day, ma'am," he responded brightly. Whatever they had said was clearly not for his ears, and he wasn't going to be rude enough to ask about it, "I'm hoping that either tomorrow, or the next day, I'll be able to take her home. I miss her dearly, and I wish I could be there for her like she was for me."

"You are," the first agent assured him. "I've sat in with her more than once, and she speaks glowingly of you. She has nothing but pride in you and your good works, Tesoro. You are always and ever first and foremost in her heart, have faith in that."

"She is a strong woman, with clear eyes and a good sense of purpose," the second added. "I look forward to seeing your bambini, your babies. They'll be gorgeous."

Shinji blushed, "I…I don't know how much I'd add to that, ma'am." Stopping at the door to the lockers, he bowed, "I'll be out in a moment." Ducking quickly inside, he tried to avoid blushing any brighter as the two women rolled their eyes and looked at each other as if he'd gone daft. Babies. He sighed as he began to strip quickly out of his school uniform, I know that Hikari would want to have them…but will I be anything even close to a good father? …Will I be there for them? Looking at himself in the mirror, he groaned, Thinking about children…I don't even know if I'll live through the Angels.

The thought refused to be dismissed so easily, however. As he dressed himself in his work clothes, thoughts of what little girls would look like if he had children with Hikari, or Maya, or Kodama, or…Rei? Where'd that come from? Shaking off the odd thought, he pressurized his plugsuit and smacked his cheeks a couple of times, She's a friend. I don't even really think of her like that anymore. Sure…she's very attractive in a haunting kind of way, but…no. Friends. That's all.

Noelle's contention that even 'just friends' could still enjoy each other in sensual ways danced into view as he went to leave the lockers, and he found himself once more contemplating what blue hair and white hair might combine towards. Stepping back into the hall with a scowl, he turned and moved without the customary hesitation for his agents to form up around him. The two agents took their cue from him and projected the sense that not moving rapidly out of his path would end painfully for any of the employees they passed. Neither woman understood his irritation, as he'd entered the room in an excellent mood all things considered, but whatever bothered him bothered them.

Striding out onto the gantries, he caught sight of Maya working near Unit-01 with a couple of engineers and slowed, "Ma'am," he turned to the swarthy agent, "I need a few moments alone with Cap…Major Ibuki. Could you make sure nobody eavesdrops?"

"Right away," the woman sprang forward, speaking in hushed tones into her throat mic.

The second agent kept her voice lowered, "We good, Paladino? You seem agitated."

"I'm fine," he growled. "Please make sure nobody listens in, I need a little privacy, if that's possible here." The woman nodded, slowing down and eventually stopping at a reasonable distance to direct people away from him for a time. Once he reached Maya, she'd already stopped what she'd been doing and stood waiting for him. Scooping her up from the ground, he set her on the railing with a vice grip on her waist, "I'm sorry," he leaned in and whispered. "Can you mute this?" He held up his wrist between them.

A bit of manipulation resolved the problem, and the newly promoted Major placed her hands lightly on the back of his neck, "What's wrong, Shinji? You look fit to chew steel and spit nails."

Looking both ways, he leaned in and placed his forehead atop her shoulder, "It's her." He tightened his grip enough that Maya would have to lose her midsection to fall down, "I think she's messing with my mind, Maya. I'm starting to…someone mentioned babies today."

"O…k," she frowned, "there has been a lot of talk about the precursor activities to procreation of late. What does this have to do with your guests?"

"I was thinking about what they'd look like," he continued. "With Hikari, or…or you, or…uhm, or Kodama."

"With me?" She fought a losing battle against a blush, "W-well, that…is something I've sometimes wondered about too."

"But then…I wondered about Rei," he finally got to the main thrust of the matter. "Remember what I told you she said? In the room with the big magnet? What if instead of Rei, she's attacking me? Or both?"

"MRI," she reminded him absently, her mind already focused on the new problem. "Ok…ok, I'll check a few things while you're in the plug today, Shinji. It's just a synch test, and I have a few tests I wanted to run anyway since we know you can already go well above safe. I'll also check with Rei-chan. I'll look for any oddities in the spike trains, or maybe something in the amplitude response during gamma…never mind," she laughed. "I went too technical there for a moment. I'll check, we'll talk later, ok?"

"Thank you," standing tall he smiled down at her in relief, "I don't know why I waited as long as I did to trust you with the truth, but I shouldn't have." Lifting her up from the railing, he hugged her close, "Dinner tonight, will you be able to make it?"

"Wouldn't miss it," she returned the embrace. As he lowered her, she took his wrist and fixed the microphone, "There we go, all better." Drawing his attention to her actions, she flipped the switch to speak to the bridge, "We're ready, Misato." She stepped out of the way as Shinji waved the two support staff back to their posts, "Had a bit of a hiccup, should be able to get him rolling. Once the ladies arrive, we can start them. No need to wait for them, though."

"Roger," Misato's response was abstracted.

Muting Shinji's microphone, Maya smiled ruefully, "Colonel Katsuragi didn't get any sleep. She's going through the personnel roster and pushing people out of places they were unsuited for." Smiling as Shinji offered her a hand up onto the lift to his entry plug, she continued, "Misato, on the other hand, is just worried that everyone is going to hold it against her that she jumped over two ranks. She needs our support, Shinji. Not that I think you'd withhold it, mind. Just letting you know the situation."

"Thank you," he looked up to the bridge, seeing Misato directing traffic from her normal position confidently, just not crisply. "I'll…do what I can. I don't know how much influence I have over everyone," he turned to smile at Maya, "but I'll encourage people to support her as best they can. She works hard, harder than I do, and she deserves our support."

"She has the backing of the Engineers, sir," one of the two mechanics added confidently. "Colonel Katsuragi keeps an open mind when we bring up problems, and she's always been good at passing our recommendations to you when possible. We'll make sure our fellows support her as she grows into her new position, right Samson?"

"Too right, mate," the second man nodded firmly. "My husband works in finance, I'll make sure he spreads it around that Paladin trusts her. Watercooler talk is a good place to get the word out, you know."

Surprised that his word would carry even that much weight, Shinji bowed gratefully, "Thank you, both. Please, if there's anything I can do better…don't be afraid to come and speak with me directly. I may not have much power, but I'll do what I can to help."

"Doesn't have much power," the first mechanic laughed. "That's a good one, sir." Tapping in the code to open the plug up, he stood clear with a half-salute, "At your ready, Paladin."

"Just focus on the Eva, Shinji," Maya tapped her tablet, "leave the rest to me."

Shinji nodded, smiling hopefully, "Right." Entering the plug, he moved cautiously to his seat and tried to relax. The LCL quickly began filling the chamber, the monotonous sounds of liquid being pumped into the chamber as oxygen was sucked out lulling him into a semi-trance. He'd been through the process so often that his mind automatically began adjusting itself to what would happen next.

Babies. The word seemed fraught with hundreds of different meanings to him, inspiring fear, worry, anxiety…very little of the images that came to his mind would even be remotely considered pleasant. Is that how I view them? The liquid subsuming him created an odd echo as he forced the air from his lungs, I don't view taking care of Nozomi-chan that way, or Sakura-chan…I need to make more time to go and visit her. Is it just when they're little?

It's the humanity in you railing against the inevitable, Lover.

Shinji froze, You.

The alluring voice issued a throaty laugh, Who else, Shinji dear? It took me some time to adjust to what you've become, but I do hope you know that nothing will keep us apart forever. We're destined, pet. The sooner you embrace that, the happier you'll be.

"Go for A-ten," Maya's voice reminded Shinji of the impending test, and brought to mind an idea.

Why, though? He accepted he couldn't try and be tricky, it would not only be obvious but he also knew he sucked at it. You control space and time, you could create hundreds, thousands, of me! What's so special about me? The sense of filling Unit-01 followed the clank of the connection between man and machine, and he had to spare part of his mind to not gesturing when he 'talked'. I'm nothing, I'm just a human. You're beyond that…aren't you?

Misato's voice, the fire and the heat, floated about his ears, "Hey, isn't that number supposed to stabilize faster?"

You think so little of yourself, pet. The tenor of her voice changed, caressing his mind like an old, familiar, lover, Why do you believe yourself 'just' a human? Or even human at all? Have you not seen what I've helped you become?

"He's fine," Maya stated quickly. "I asked him to think about something specific, we're trying to determine why his synch ratio is so high." Her voice seemed to tickle, the incongruity of her lies against the trust he held in her creating an oddly disjointed sensation.

Rei walked past on the gantries, looking up at Unit-01 with a frown of concern.

Doesn't she please you? He could feel the feminine presence lay against his front, a mocking mimicry of his time in the bath with Maya, Her perfect flesh, her eyes, her submissive nature? He felt a caress along his cheek, Imagine how she'd pleasure you, pet.

"Oh…good idea, Maya!" He saw Misato pat Maya on the shoulder, "Let me know if you need any help, I'll see what I can do to juggle the resources for it your way. We've got to take care of him…only pilot I can really trust."

I don't want that, Shinji disagreed viciously. I just want to be loved, I don't care about any of the rest. He frowned, trying to concentrate on the presence in his lap without focusing on the likely point of contact between him and her, but also concerned that Misato would feel she couldn't trust Rei, if she didn't trust Asuka.

Maya shook her head, "I'm fine, Misato. He won't fall down, not if I have anything to say about it."

But she will love you, pet. She can't do anything else. The figure slid pleasurably along his front, They all will. Whichever of them you want. All you have to do is will it to be so, and it can all be yours. No more loneliness, no more sadness. You'd have their love for all eternity.

Shinji forced down a wave of revulsion at the thought of someone's will being stolen away, of Rei mindlessly appeasing his desires, I don't need that. Her love is not yours to offer, and I will maroon myself on the moon before I let you control her or anyone else. The vocalized thought of the moon caused him to suffer that same burst of images, only this time there was a captivatingly beautiful woman laying just before him, languidly caressing his leg from her perch.

Oh? Amusement simmered beneath her words, Are you certain?

"Not…to backseat drive here," Misato said nervously, "but that number's still climbing."

I am positive. Why would I accept something so wonderful if it wasn't freely given? He shook his head to clear away the odd fog, Would you want me to treat you like that? Like you were nothing more than a doll for my wants?

Maya mirrored Misato's nervousness, "Shinji, whatever you're doing, please stop." He felt the love she had for him woven into her words, "I need you to relax, ok? Your rate's too high and you're going to…." She paused, an audible sigh flowing through the entire bridge, "Thank you. We're working on our end to wrap up the data collection, ok? You'll be out of there soon." Her voice changed, her microphone supposedly muted, "Having him do synchronization tests for more than spot checks is dangerous, Misato. Repeated exposure might be what's causing his score to climb, and we can gain insight in my lab without putting him in Unit-01 for anything short of an Angel. We don't need to 'improve' his score, we need to cut it by at least half!"

You truly aren't him, the presence against him spun about, sitting astride his waist and curling her legs around his. …I could make more than thousands, Shinji. I could make countless copies of you, and it would be meaningless. I believe you might understand a little of the why, if you just think about the various conversations you've had on the topic. The sultry lilt was still present, but the active seduction was gone from her voice, I need your help, Shinji. You can do something that nobody else can, and if you will just give me this one little thing…I'll give you everything you could ever ask for. Anything at all, I will lay at your feet. Myself, this country, the world. Just…please….

The connection broke between him and Unit-01, his consciousness collapsing down into the human shell he occupied. The wave of dizzying vertigo hammered him a dozen times harder than it had even the first time he'd experienced it, and he lost control of his balance, falling over the control yokes and onto the floor of his plug. Nausea forced a gagging cough from him, destroying any hope of focusing on the odd mental conversation he'd been having.

He vaguely heard Misato's voice over the system's intercom, "Get him out of there, now!"

"I'm fine," Shinji croaked out. "I'm…fine…just," he flailed for the seat, trying to pull himself back up into it, "just give me a second."

Her retort was immediate, "Fine my ass-"

"Misato," he pulled himself to where he'd be visible on the camera, "stop." He knew he wasn't cutting a very dashing figure at the moment, his head wobbling to and fro, but he projected as much confidence as he could muster, "I…wasn't ready. The connection terminated suddenly, and I just…need a second." Laying his head back against the seat, he grimaced, "It's like waking up from a nightmare…disoriented, dizzy, and suddenly not where you were a second ago. I'll be fine, I just need to get my bearings."

The lavender-haired Colonel's eyes could chisel stone, "…You are going to go with Major Ibuki for a check-up. You will lay down at least one hour, and if she does not feel that you are fully recovered after that hour, I am ordering that she take you to Temple for a full physical. I don't care what plans you have tonight, do you understand me?"

"Shinji," Asuka's voice cut in, "I can take a raincheck, if you need." The hint of concern in her words was buoyed by the follow-on comment, "I don't want you to keep pushing it and not be able to hold up your end of the fight later. Dinner is every day of the year, Angels are a less common occurrence."

Coughing out the LCL from his lungs as the level dropped below his mouth, he tried to make himself understood, "I'm fine. I'll have dinner ready by seven-thirty, we'll have a good time, everything will be fine." You truly aren't him, he smiled at the words. "I think everything's going to start to be better for us. I just need to practice more."

+++++ 6th Angel + 5 : Friday (43)

Sitting once more in the shower attached to Ritsuko Akagi's old lab, Shinji let Maya do all of the work in cleansing him of the vile LCL. He'd frightened her, and the least he could do is let her work off her frustrations as she'd asked him to. That she wasn't wearing anything was, to his shame, something of a bonus. "And that's when you cut the connection," he shrugged. "I don't know if I'm back to only hearing her in the LCL, or if the connection's just stronger there, and while I've tried to ask Gentle and Dark…no response."

"Well…crabapples," Maya worked her fingers through his hair gently, taking her time and enjoying the bonding. "I cut your connection because you were pushing closer to three hundred percent, Shinji. You stabilized and dropped back down, but I didn't want to risk you shooting back up for whatever reason. It's not like we can talk openly about this, and I had to do what was best for you. Two hundred doesn't make sense according to our models, and I'm not being coy when I say I'm terrified of what will happen if you keep climbing. The little theory I understand seems to indicate that you might lose cohesion as a separate entity," she hugged him from behind, placing the back of his head between her breasts. "I don't want that. Even if it was to allow us to understand this voice better, I don't want to risk that. I'd never be able to face Hikari."

"It's ok, it's not like I'll never enter Unit-01 again," he reached up, intending to pat her wrist and missing. The soft flesh he met not being the hard bone he'd aimed for caused him to lock up, his hand remaining in place against the smooth surface, "I-I…."

With a giggle, Maya reached up and laid her hand atop his, "It's fine, Shinji." Smiling as she worked his fingers with her own, she let her other hand work soap across his chest, "It's just skin."

"I-it's not…it's your skin, Maya." With his brain once more having traction, he gently withdrew the offending limb, "I sh-shouldn't just…that." Coughing, and suddenly much warmer than he had been previously, he tried to ignore the thermal expansion occurring by changing topics, "I…uhm, I was going to wear something reasonably nice for dinner. But…I don't want to seem like I'm flirting or anything. Do you think you could help?"

"Sure," her hands caressed him, washing, touching, "so long as you understand that I'm going to choose what I think is best, and not necessarily what would be what you think is best."

"I trust you more than I trust me," he laughed. "I'd pick something she either hated or thought was trying to appeal to her, and it'd ruin the evening for everyone." Am I doing the right thing? He let the laugh die, "Maya…I'm scared."

"I'm sorry," she jumped back, "I-I didn't mean to-"

"No!" Shinji spun, trying to reassure her that he hadn't meant he was scared of her. Moving too fast while he was still dealing with the lingering dizziness, he fell off of the stool and landed on his back, bouncing his head off the floor. Going limp, he sighed, "I'm scared that I'm hurting everyone." Reaching up towards the ceiling with one hand, he gestured directly to Hikari's room, "Her. You. Everyone." Letting his hand fall, slapping the floor by his side, he pushed upright, "Here I am, nude, in a shower with a woman that could very easily be controlled into loving me. Could be screaming silently inside as she watched her body do things she hated."

"But…I can't be," helping him stand upright, Maya frowned cutely. "Remember? I can't be controlled, this 'Gentle' and 'Dark' said so. This is me, Shinji," smiling, she put his hand on her belly, "just like it was you in the bath." Her eyes, free of the pressure that Kodama exuded, simply echoed her smile, "Nothing bad. No dark terrors, or hypnosis. Just a silly lady falling in love with a silly man, hoping that he'll share his silly girlfriend with her."

Considering her statement, turning it this way and that to find flaws in the argument, he admired the soft curve of her stomach beneath his fingertips. "I should step aside," he sighed. "You and Hikari would be wonderful together, and what am I doing? I'm taking. Taking from both of you, from Kodama…from everyone."

"Because we're giving," Maya reached over and turned off the water. Looking up at him with a sad smile, she shrugged, "I'd be unhappy with only half, Shinji. Not of you, or of Hikari…but of both. If I only had Hikari, I'd miss you. If I only had you, I'd miss Hikari. I've spent a lot of time with you two here in the labs, and she has a great deal of potential. If I could only convince her to give up on teaching, get her to focus on computer science, I think she would outdo me in short order. A beautiful mind in a beautiful body, I'm kind of jealous. Now," pulling him towards the towels, she grinned, "as it turns out, we spent an hour in the shower. I think you're healthy enough, let's go work on dinner."

+++++ 6th Angel + 5 : Friday (43)

"See how simple it is?" Shinji set everything to a low temperature, ensuring that it would stay warm but not overcook, "The ingredients are a little different, but in the end it's just a matter of learning how to combine things."

Nozomi stood on a stool away from the stove and the possible splatter of oil, dressed in a powder blue A-line skirt with matching top, following along with everything he'd done to prepare the odd, foreign, dinner. "I think I understand," the youngest Horaki nodded, "but isn't it really dry? All of the flour sucks up the moisture, right?"

"The hardened outside seals the moisture of the meat in, Nozomi-chan," Maya walked back into the kitchen to pick up more for the table. "That's the purpose of frying, and why it's so delicious despite being terribly unhealthy." The newest Major of NERV wore a pair of billowing cream slacks, with a tan blouse embroidered with a single rose, "I wouldn't recommend eating like this all the time."

"Working out helps," Kodama offered, accepting the plates from her superior. "But only so much." Stealing a page from Hikari, she wore a shoulder-less denim sundress, something she noticed Shinji was having a hard time keeping his eyes from, "Your nii-san promised me that he wouldn't make this often, no matter how much people beg. I want everyone around for a long time."

Looking to the clock on the wall, Shinji wiped his hands down, "And I agree. I prefer to make meals that are good for us, because those can be just as tasty if you have the time to make them well." Helping Nozomi down, he smiled to Maya, "I'm going to go get changed. She should be here in a few minutes." Ducking off to his room, he paused only for a kiss from Kodama, who grabbed his undershirt to stop him from possibly escaping the well-intentioned attack before letting him go to his destination.

"Maya-nee-san," Nozomi asked quietly, "why are we helping the lady who hurt him?"

Maya considered the question, then decided to answer honestly, "Because…those memories haven't happened yet, and they may never happen, Nozomi-chan. Remember, Asuka-san doesn't know about any of this. She hasn't lived that life or done those things. We're just trying to build a friendship with a coworker. Hopefully we'll be able to guide her away from the memories you've seen." Guiding everyone from the kitchen area, she helped them take up positions in the conjoined dining room-family room.

"I'll try," she replied dubiously. "But if she is mean to him, I'm going to be rude."

"You won't have to," Kodama quickly fixed the barrette that had come loose from her sister's pigtail. "Because I'll toss her butt out of the house before you can."

"Let's all remember that we're here to support Shinji," Maya stated firmly. "He's developing his skills with leadership, we need to let him learn, or all we're doing is holding him back. None of us want that, right?"

"I wish Hikari-nee-san was here," Nozomi sighed. "She could help teach nii-san. She's been a leader her whole life!"

Kodama put on a brave face, "She'll be home soon, Sprout. We've just got to keep Shinji steady until then, ok?"

"Right." Nodding firmly, she stood taller, "He needs our help, so we're gonna do what we can for our family."

Stepping back into the room, his charcoal slacks and jade green collarless shirt in place, Shinji took a look at everything in the home one final time, "Ok…I think we're good. Can anyone think of anything we've missed?" A knock on the door cut off any replies, "Oh! Uhm…ok. Ok." His face betrayed a slight panic, before he mastered himself once more, "Ok. Friends."

Walking past the gathering of ladies, their heads following him in unison with a variety of looks on their faces, he opened the door and revealed his former housemate. Dressed in a neatly darned peasant blouse and skirt combination, and carrying a small backpack, Asuka gave him a quick appraising look. Pursing her lips, she nodded, "Excellent. I was worried I might have been underdressed, but you had the same idea I did."

Thank you, Maya. "Please, come in," bowing politely, he gestured her into a place she'd been often, in another lifetime.

"So formal," she teased. Stepping in and tapping her shoes free, she caught sight of the gathering of ladies, "Hello, Major Ibuki, Kodama." Pausing, she seemed to brace herself. Once more demonstrating a skill she'd shown before, she whispered without moving her mouth, "It's No-zo-mi, right?"

"Mmm-hmm," Shinji knew better than to interrupt an Asuka in motion.

"So that means," striding over, she crouched down to her haunches before the little lady of the house, "that you're the one in charge of this zoo. Your sister has told me a lot about you, Nozomi. She says that you were the one she trusted to make sure that Shinji did his homework."

"Pleased to meet you," Nozomi bowed politely. "Welcome to our home."

Shinji could sense Asuka's nervousness, the minute signs that none of the others would be familiar with indicating an issue he'd have to address soon to avoid an explosion. Surprising him, she responded with only a smile, "Thank you for having me." Swinging her bag from her shoulder, she dug inside and pulled out a heavy, wrapped, package, "Where I come from, it's common to offer a gift to the lady of the house when you visit." Extending it slightly, Asuka tilted her head, "It isn't much, but I hope you enjoy it."

Looking for permission from Kodama, she gently took the gift after a subtle nod, "Thank you, ma'am."

"Go ahead and open it, Nozomi-chan," Maya urged. "Where Asuka's from, it's expected."

"Right," Asuka nodded with a false smile. "I know that in Japan you do things different than I do, but it's ok to try new things, right?"

Tiny fingers took longer to manage the wrapping, but Nozomi soon had the paper free and exposed a thick, hardcover book. Slowly reading out the title from the furigana, she worked her mouth around the odd foreign name, "Gurimmu's Fairy Tales."

"It's in Japanese, with the original German on the opposite page," Asuka explained. "Hikari told me that Shinji reads you a story at night, from time to time. I thought you might like to hear something from another country, maybe use it to help learn a different language." Tapping the cover, she smiled the kind of smile that Shinji knew meant she was lying through her teeth, "I grew up listening to these stories. Every kid where I'm from knows them, or at least of them. You can be the one to have new stories for your friends, neat huh?"

"Wow," Nozomi's eyes lit up as she held the book close, "thank you, ma'am!" The chance at hearing new and exotic stories worked its charms over the youngest Horaki, her earlier concerns over Asuka's potential harm falling away.

"Please," Asuka stood up, "just Asuka. Or if you have to, Asuka-san."

"Go ahead and put your book upstairs, Sprout," Kodama patted her younger sister on the back. Waiting while her younger sister dashed off, she looked back to Asuka, "Thank you. That was very nice of you."

"We're all friends, Kodama. Your sister tells me you have a fierce protective streak, and I can appreciate that." Extending her hand, she lifted her chin, "Whatever happened the night we met, you were dealing with one sister in the hospital, another too young to deal with all the recent pain inflicted by life, and having no choice but to be the strong one. Take two?"

Eyeing Shinji, the eldest Horaki nodded. Gripping Asuka's hand, she accepted the gesture of peace, "Everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves. Thank you for keeping Hikari company."

"That's no chore at all," the redhead laughed. "Your sister has a very dry wit that I wouldn't have anticipated. Give her a quick second to adjust to a situation and she seems right at home. I think I see what Shinji saw in her, and why she's so taken with him." Turning back to the cautiously hovering Lead Pilot, she flicked her head towards the gathering, "Stop wallflowering, Shinji. There won't be any fireworks tonight if I have a say."

"S-sorry," he responded autonomically, approaching and placing himself equidistant between the three remaining women.

Shifting closer to Shinji, Asuka continued her campaign of socializing with her new 'leader', "So what are you doing here, Frau Ibuki? Looking to enjoy some downtime, or making sure that Shinji doesn't fall down after that weird hiccup during testing?"

"A little of both," Maya shrugged. "Shinji's response to Synchronization has become a challenge for us, and his health is obviously a matter of some concern professionally." Reaching over, she gently took Kodama's shoulder in her hand, "But, I'm mostly here because I enjoy his and the Horaki family's company."

"That's good," Asuka nodded. "We should all try and get along, after all, we all want the same thing," she gestured to Shinji, turning to him and winking.

Kodama nearly lashed out, barely restraining her anger at the woman's gall to try and move in on him even after everything she'd done. She would not stand for some upstart, foreign-

Asuka continued unawares, still facing Shinji, "A nice, healthy, husband for Hikari. If he's there for her, he's there for the fight. We all win if he's doing better than he has been, ne?"

Having noticed Kodama's anger growing, Shinji eagerly jumped on the topic of work as a means of avoiding discussions of the love polyhedron he'd been trying to extricate himself from, "Speaking of fighting, Asuka-s…Asuka, Maya-san said that your score went up today. Good job!"

Maya moved to back Shinji's play, reading his fears easily, "One and a half points, not bad at all, I agree."

"Well, I have to pull my weight somehow," the redhead laughed happily, her ego stroked nicely. "But, I can't know what I'm shooting for if I don't know your score, Shinji. How high have you managed? The number's been redacted from the data feeds."

"For good reason," Maya's 'command' voice attempted to shut down the topic. "Shinji's ratio is dangerously high. That's part of what caused his vertigo today, and it's why we don't want people competing for that mark. You are well over the necessary threshold and making strides towards improving, Asuka. If anything, we want Shinji to bring his score down."

"And I think that's more worrying, Frau Ibuki." Planting her fists in her hips, Asuka laid out her opinion, "If I shouldn't be doing something, I should know what it is. If it's dangerous, I need to know what to avoid. You can't keep us in the dark and expect us to comply!"

Shinji had to admit that from the perspective of a pilot, that was a very true statement. How many things had been kept from him the first time around? How much trauma could have been avoided with better communication? Interrupting Maya with a raised hand, he offered the truth, "I'm over two hundred and fifty percent, Asuka. Today, Maya and Misato say I approached two hundred and ninety before I stabilized."

Red hair fanned out as she snapped her head over to face him, a look of shock scrawled on her mien, "M-mein Gott en Himmel, Shinji that's impossible! You can't go over a one-to-one ratio, that's like being better than perfect!"

"I wish that were true," he shrugged. "My rate keeps climbing." Hearing the return of Nozomi, he slashed at his throat with his fingers, "We'll talk later, ok? Me and you. Pilot to pilot." Turning to face Nozomi, he put on his best smile, "Looking forward to bedtime, Nozomi-chan?"

"I looked in the book, they have stories about ghosts and wolves and frogs and all sorts of weird things!" Bouncing happily, she hopped over and bowed to Asuka, "Thank you very much Asuka-san. We don't have enough money to spend on new books, and having a whole big book of new stories is super exciting!"

"Why don't we serve dinner, Sprout." Kodama embraced Shinji as she passed, whispering, "I expect to be told the same information, Baby. I can't help if I'm kept in the dark."

Shinji nodded, a shallow motion to avoid drawing the little lady of the house's attention. "Please, Asuka, Maya, let's sit down. I agreed to let Kodama and Nozomi serve, since I demanded to cook everything myself." Pulling out Maya's chair first, he helped her sit before repeating the gesture for Asuka, "I'd do it all myself, but they convinced me that they were hosting too." Frowning at the setup of the table, he finally noticed that someone had set a place at the head, "Who's…sitting here?"

Maya answered gently, a firm undertone to her words, "You are. As host, that is your place, Shinji."

Asuka seemed momentarily confused, then understanding dawned, "Right. The father would usually…Toshiro Horaki, was it?" The side of her mouth curled up as she nodded, "Hikari told me what happened, I think that's wretched and I only hope that the driver stays in jail a long time." She looked over to the shrine dedicated to the Horaki Patriarch they'd kept in the living room, frowning, "It's sad, he was a better father than mine with how much love he's inspired in his daughters, for sure."

"Don't just stand there, nii-san," Nozomi called as she carried out a large plate of potato pancakes, "I can't serve you if you're not sitting down!"

Kodama stood behind her, holding the bowl of applesauce. Nodding in both encouragement and understanding, she looked down at the chair, then back to the man she loved. "You are hosting, Shinji. The host sits there."

I'm so sorry, Toshiro-san. Seating himself, he tried not to appear too uncomfortable, I swear, I'm not trying to take your place. Nobody could replace you in their hearts. "Well…uhm, I hope you enjoy dinner, Asuka. I…uhm, I don't have a lot of experience making this dish, and everything might have been a bit rushed tonight." Food was quickly distributed, Kodama and Nozomi making an extra trip for the meat and tea before seating themselves, and soon everyone seemed to be enjoying the meal. Shinji watched everyone carefully, looking for signs that anything they tried wasn't up to standard.

"So," Asuka dabbed at her lips with the cloth napkin, "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you ladies are terribly spoiled if this is 'rushed'." Laughing prettily, she gave the man at the head of the table a golf clap, "Bravo, Shinji. I am impressed."

Blushing at the praise, he inwardly thrilled that she was acting so…nice. "Maya and I went shopping yesterday for the ingredients, there's a deli that specializes in uncommon meat. We were able to ask for some veal to make into schnitzel. I thought to try the breaded kind…I figured you might prefer it."

"It's crunchy," Nozomi chimed in. "But really soft inside. Like salty meat candy."

"Try dipping the latke into die apfelmus," Asuka encouraged the table. "It's really good that way." The dinner moved along with Asuka answering questions about where she'd been, Shinji sharing stories about his schooling, and both engaging in a subtle dance of figuring the other out. Several times the vivacious redhead caught him directly mimicking her movements, and after the fourth such instance, she thought to comment on it, "You know…that's a very odd tic. I'm not sure I could explain it psychologically."

Maya's voice was almost too calm, "What's that?"

"Shinji," she answered thoughtfully. "He's subconsciously pantomiming everything I'm doing at times. Some sort of analytical mechanism perhaps?"

His jaw halted in mid-chew as Shinji realized that he'd relaxed enough around her to allow the odd unity training to surface, "I…uhm…."

"It's from the abuse he suffered," Kodama answered coldly. "Where he came to us from, the people there asked him to do all sorts of terrible things, alone or with only horrible people to work with. Eventually, he ended up doing exactly what they did to save himself. It was the only way to get them to stop threatening him."

"Schrecklichen Leute," Asuka scowled. "That anyone would treat a human like that is terrible," lifting her chin, she pronounced judgement on herself unknowingly, "that they would treat someone as kind as Shinji like that is unforgivable." She turned to Maya, "I've asked several times for him to receive better care, Frau Ibuki. I know that it isn't your decision that's holding this up, but is there nothing we can do?"

"There have been discussions," Maya worked around the topic, "about moving me into the home here. I have formal schooling in psychology, as part of my twin doctorates. I wasn't intending to go into the field, but I at least understand the fundamentals." Looking to Shinji, she shrugged, "The problem I have with that is I'm a little too close. I think of him as a…close friend, and that's a bad place to approach healing from."

"See?" Asuka gestured to Maya, "Just like I said, Shinji."

"R-right," he nodded. "Maya's here for the knives."

Asuka's smile widened as he recalled her words, "Exactly." Looking to Kodama and Nozomi, she spread her hands, "I'm not giving up. I will keep pushing where I can with the leadership, because I know you are both doing everything you can. Hikari says he moved into here a wreck, and I wouldn't describe him as a 'wreck' anymore. That's because of your family. So, hold the line and I'll try from my side." Looking back to Shinji, she gave him a friendly grin, "We'll find you someone that can tell you you're an idiot for going where they use knives, just like they told me."

Kodama asked, "Who's that?" Seeing an avenue into gaining information that had been denied her at work, she hoped that Maya wouldn't also block out the conversation.

"Frau Marlowe, a lady that I met a few years ago." Asuka tapped herself on the head, "She worked very hard to help me make sense of everything that was tangled up here. My mother, my 'father'," she made air quotes around the word, "everything. My sync rate jumped quickly after that. So much of what we do is all in our heads."

"Much of it is also physiological," Maya attempted to regain control over the conversation. "For example, Shinji's initial score was eighty-two point six. After everything with his accident, his score increased. We're still working on the why of that, but we think that there's a component we could be misunderstanding."

"That high?" Asuka blinked, taken aback, "Without training?"

"U-Unit-01 has always been finicky," Shinji attempted to demur with the same logic that Asuka had used the first time around to denigrate his performance as a fluke. "It was the last of the test models, not like your main production version. That's what I was told."

"Shinji," her gaze went flat, "you know good and well what my score is. Don't try and deflect praise just because you think someone else could do better. They're not you, you're you." Rolling her eyes, she looked to Kodama, "I swear, you tell him that he's the best at anything and he'd probably find a way to turn that into shame. Aboard the Fleet…."

Having successfully derailed Asuka into sharing a heavily-edited account with Kodama of what Shinji had managed, Maya relaxed. Each time the fiery pilot sang his praises, the beautiful German gestured to him as he looked down and away. Including Nozomi in the stories from time to time, she had a head full of steam and was moving well beyond the dangerous waters of her own past.

The problem, Maya felt, was that Shinji looked at her with eyes that indicated he knew she'd done something clandestine. He acted ashamed of his exploits, because to him they could have been performed better, but he would have questions for her later. And she really, really, didn't want to answer those.