Asuka got to school earlier than normal that day. Shinji would be a little mad that she had avoided their usual walk together, but she knew he'd get over it. In her hand was Misato's camera, prepped with fresh film.
It was one of the old polaroid models she was familiar with. The quality wasn't the best, but the fact that each photo she took was instantly printed into her hands made it perfect. She prepped herself, angling behind one of the clothing lockers.
Ayanami was always on time. Ahead of it, actually. She always preferred to arrive before the rest of the class so she could avoid meaningless socialization as much as possible. Come on… Any minute, she's going to walk in.
Checking her watch, Asuka read 8:05 AM. Their class began at 8:30. Another few minutes went by before the door swung open. She readied her camera, disappointed to see it was two girls she didn't recognize, probably from another class.
They were laughing and chatting loudly about something. Then they stopped. Asuka held her breath, thinking she had been spotted. "Hey, this is your locker, right?" One of the girls prompted the other, and she nodded. "Oh, right."
Peeking at them, the Eva pilot watched as the girl who spoke second opened up her gym locker, grabbing a schoolbag. "Good thing we came early. Let's go!" As soon as she collected her belongings, the two left, leaving Asuka alone again.
She sighed. The next one has got to be Rei… No more than two minutes later, the girl she was waiting for entered the locker room. Rei did a basic check around the room to make sure was alone before she began changing, but she wasn't thorough enough spot Asuka.
Efficiently, like a robot, she took off her uniform. First she slipped off her shoes, then undid her skirt, dropping it as she took the undershirt off over her head. Though she didn't realize it, Asuka's mouth began to water a little. She was too focused on snapping some embarrassing pictures to realize she actually appreciated the other girl's curves.
Managing to get a few revealing shots wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be. Rei didn't at all try to cover herself up thinking she was alone. Asuka kept the camera partially wrapped in her shirt to muffle the shutter noise as she clicked the button.
When she was satisfied, she slipped out of her hiding spot, walking along the opposite side of the wall, invisible to the other girl, before bolting out the entrance. Rei was surprised to hear the door open, and she peered over, suspicious about why nobody had come in.
Asuka reviewed her photos when she got out of the room. They were perfect for embarrassing someone. All four of them had shots of Rei's body, with nothing but her thin underwear and bra covering up, with a variety of poses.
This'll show that bitch! Pictures in hand, she headed to the other wing of the school. She knew the boys were never too hasty, and so she had ample time to do something with the photos without being seen.
She approached Kensuke Aida's locker. It had ventilation large enough to easily slip the photos through. Judging by what she had seen of him, he was the perfect candidate to receive them; stupid enough to not ask any questions, and excited enough to show them off to his peers.
Smiling as she stuffed the last image through, she relaxed. She walked back to the locker room with her bag, preparing to get changed herself. As she opened the door, Rei pushed past her, changed into her gym clothes. Still a little angry, Asuka gave her a haphazard shove with her elbow, sending her into the wall. Rei glared daggers at her, and she grinned back. "Oops."
"Let's go, man! Why're you so slow!? If we're late for another one of Mr. Ikeda's classes, he's gonna make us run fifty laps around the field!" Suzuhara pressured his friend as he struggled to get the right combination on his locker.
"I know, geez. I really shoulda' just took my gym strip home." Aida continued to work the lock as Suzuhara looked over, seeing Shinji walking to class already dressed. "Let's go, let's go!" "Yeah, yeah. I got it."
Aida finally pulled the lock out of the door, and it swung open. Both of them were surprised as a handful of pictures fell out, sprawling onto the floor. Instinctually, Aida picked them up, and examined them.
"Wait… WHAT!?" "What is it?" He showed his friend, who had the same stark reaction. "A-A-Ayanami?! When the hell did you take these?" Aida shook his head. "I didn't!" "Oh yeah, right. Who the hell else would've?!"
Suzuhara snatched a picture from his hand, beginning to go over it in detail. "God, these pics are insane! And this angle… wait, look at the door. Isn't this inside a locker room? Aida, you're such a pervert!"
He continued to deny his involvement. "Dude, I swear it wasn't me. I woulda shown you right away!" Aida reached for the picture in Suzuhara's hand, before he snapped it away. "Well, if it wasn't you, how did these get here, smart guy?"
"Someone must've put em' here." "And who the hell would do that?" "I dunno! But damn, I'm thankful. I never really looked at Ayanami like that, since she's always so cold and all, but she has a real figure…"
Suzuhara suddenly got serious. "Oi, you know what we have to do, right?" Aida blinked. "H-huh?" His friend leaned in. "We gotta…" He took a deep breath, focusing. "Show these to Shinji, man! You know he's crazy 'bout Ayanami. He's gonna lose his mind."
"Oh, you're right. We'll do it in first period." "Wait, first period?" The two stopped for a second, both simultaneously realizing they were still running late. "S-H-I-T! First period!" Aida ripped his gym bag from his locker, and slammed the door shut, pocketing the pictures as they took off for the locker room.
Shinji had been away from his friends because of the way the teams had been split during class. As it ended though, Aida and Suzuhara ran up to meet him. "Yo, Shinji!" They wrapped around on either side of him, patting his back.
"Oh, hey guys. What's up!" They giggled. "Great weather today, huh? Sun is out, but it's still nice and cool." Aida laughed as Suzuhara made conversation, causing Shinji to grow suspicious. "Eh, I guess." "Hey, you scored a lotta points in dodgeball. Nice going!"
Now he was really suspicious. Shinji had barely managed to be net positive in the game. "S-sure, thanks. Is there something you guys wanna tell me?" They stopped walking, and Shinji stopped with them. Aida and Suzuhara both looked at each other for a minute, before they nodded.
"Check this out, Shinji." Aida showed off one of the pictures. It was a clear shot of Rei, nude except for her underwear, with her arms stretched over her head as she took her top off. Shinji reluctantly grabbed it, before his eyes widened.
"W-what? Is that Ayanami?!" "Sshhh! Keep your voice down." "You guys were creeping in the girls' locker room?" "Nope, we just found em'!" Shinji glared in disbelief, a little angry. The photos were a lot more explicit than anything Aida had taken before, and it creeped him out.
"Wow…" "You like em', eh? We knew you had a thing for Ayanami since you got here." He choked for a second. "What? That's ridiculous. We… We're not even friends. I don't like her." "Oh, so you don't wanna buy one of these?"
"B-BUY ONE?!" Aida laughed again. "Hey, chill man! We'll give you a discount. Only six hundred yen!" Shinji shook his head. "I-I'm not buying that. What the hell do you mean 'discount'?"
"We already sold two to guys in another class. I'm keeping this one, but you can buy the last." Shinji's mouth widened, growing a little disgusted. He knew Aida and Suzuhara were bad, but not this bad. "I can't believe you guys are selling this stuff. If Rei finds out…"
"Calling her Rei now, huh? And you pretend you're not into her." He stopped to think for a moment, withdrawing his wallet. "You know what, fine. Give it to me. I'll buy it so at least this one doesn't end up circulating around the school."
Rei didn't usually look at the faces of other students as she passed by. She didn't care enough to. After all, why should it be any of her business to know how they were feeling? If she had looked though, she would've noticed more people than usual staring back at her.
It soon became apparent, even without meeting their eyes, that something was up with the others. As she entered the hallway on her way to the classroom, conversation seemed to quiet down. She could feel everyone looking at her. But why?
Then a boy stopped her. He was tall, probably a grade or two above her. "Oi. Looking good, Ayanami." She didn't say anything in response, instead just staring with a questioning look as she moved past.
She heard another boy whistle. Then another. And then, she caught wind of someone's conversation. "You know, maybe blue hair is sorta hot." Rei picked her pace up, shoving past the few others in the hallway, before she stepped into her room.
It seemed she had made a mistake, though. The entire class was already present, and they were all watching her. Even Shinji, who usually did his best to not make eye contact. Nobody spoke, not even the class rep, until Asuka got up.
"Well, if it isn't the class model!" She smirked, standing with her hands on her hips. "What?" Rei's tone was cold, but not as firm as it usually was. It took a lot to shake her, but she could feel her anxiety growing as the other students stared.
"Oh, so you're going to pretend you don't know?" Asuka, still a few feet away, took a picture out of her pocket, angling it so Rei could see it. It was of her changing that morning, with almost all of her body shown off.
"W-where did you get that?" Her tone was almost the same, though if you focused, you could hear anger in it. "Some boy in class C sold it to me. Nice pose." Rei reached for it, but Asuka pulled it back, catching her arm. "Ah-ah! This one's mine. Go buy your own, if you want one so bad."
She sat back down, and Rei stood still, staring at her with a terrible look. Her face was redder than Asuka had ever seen before. It wasn't long before the teacher entered the room, tapping on the chalkboard. "Settle, kids, settle! Class is beginning."
Having no other options, Rei returned to her seat. She was struggling to keep her composure as she continued to feel the class stare at her. The only exception was Asuka, who she could clearly see showing off the picture to her desk mate.
Asuka took her time, going over each aspect of Rei's body in the photo to the obviously interested boy next to her. She's so damned mad… I love it! And though she wasn't really aware of it, Asuka loved the picture, too.
Her day had been terrible. Rei was harassed multiple times in the hallway, with her body commented on by boys she had never met before. She felt violated, and still was clueless as to how someone took the photos, which had now made their way around the entire school.
She was relieved as she finally got to her locker. Soon, she thought, I'll be back home, and this day will be over. Breathing in, she went through the same mantra she usually did when stress or anxiety built up. Tomorrow will be better.
Just as she finished uttering it in her mind, she opened the locker door. Out of it, a huge pile of papers spilled. There were a few letters addressed to her from anonymous and named admirers, expressing their love for her physique.
Most of it was revolting, though. Papers with scribbles of ugly names on them, calling Rei a whore, a slut, and other derogatory words. They pooled on the floor around her feet, and she stood still, struggling to take it in. "Rei?"
A voice pulled her out of the trance. She turned around, seeing it was Shinji who said her name. She blinked at him, and he pointed at the paper on the floor. "Do you want some help?" She thought for a moment, and then nodded. Shinji bent down, picking up a portion of the hate mail, balling it up, and throwing it into the recycling bin. "Thank you." He nodded, smiling, as he grabbed more.