Chapter 2: The Money Store Part 1
A/N: Hey gang, were back, and starting to get into the meat of things. I'll have more to say at the end of the chapter, so stay tuned!
Rei was not the type of person to attract attention to herself, and this was largely by design, being the quiet and 'emotionless' person she was.
However, when she entered school and made her way to class 2-A, she turned more heads than usual due to a couple discernible differences. The main things that stood out were the SDAT and headphones, combined with her striding rhythmically to her destination.
The rumour mill was going to have a field day with this. The only other person in the school who walked around with an SDAT was Ikari, so people (poorly) attempted to fill in gaps.
More importantly, people were intrigued as to what the Ice Queen of 2-A found so enjoyable she brought it to school, considering she seemed to display little enjoyment in most activities.
Shinji and Asuka walked through whispers and chatters, exchanging looks of confusion. They entered their ever so familiar classroom to see their classmates chatting as they settled in, but also their co-pilot with music in her ears.
"Wow" spoke Asuka. "She's starting to look like you." The layers to such a statement were lost on the two of them.
"Hey, I'm just glad she likes it" replied Shinji, as the two made their way to their desks. As Shinji passed Rei, he paused for a moment to get her attention.
"A-Ayanami, how's the SDAT?" he asked with his usual nervous demeanour.
Pulling the earbud out of her ear, Rei gave a very slight smile "It is quite enjoyable. However, my knowledge of the English language is rudimentary, so I am unsure what they are saying in each song."
"Well, Asuka is really good at English, she could help you out!" the boy suggested.
"Perhaps I will consult Pilot Sohryu about the lyrics" Rei said with a nod as she put the earbud back in her ear. Track 3, 'Lost Boys' was drawing to a close, and Track 4, 'Blackjack,' began with its heartbeat percussion and droning synth at the beginning. Rei grew fond of this song quickly.
Class went on as usual, with Sensei Second Impact doing his usual routine to the chagrin of everybody, probably including the birds outside at this point. Thankfully, the Gods seemed to favour Toji Suzahara that day, as lunch seemed to come quicker than usual.
Asuka loudly received her lunch from Shinji, which she pretended to consider mediocre, even though she would deduct half her pay for his meals. Shinji was used to it all at this point, he knew her on a more personal level than the classmates due to the fact that they lived together, so a lot of her comments rolled off his back. He simply grabbed his own bento and ate with Toji and Kensuke while they idly chatted like most days.
This, however, was not most days, as the three of them watched the interaction that unfolded closer to the front of the classroom.
Rei was listening to her tape again, as the songs proceeded and she got to track 12, with the lines "Bitch please, you must be smoking rocks, real shit, for my people and it just don't fucker please..."
Perplexed, she paused the tape and thought about what Pilot Ikari said to her about Pilot Sohryu's talent in English. Seeing no reason not to, she stood up, pulled the casing the tape came in out of her schoolbag and approached where Asuka was sitting.
Asuka was eating with Hikari, talking about any random assortment of topics, when they were interrupted by a soft-spoken "Pilot Sohryu."
Craning her neck and noticing pale skin with blue hair, she turned slightly and said "What is it, Wondergirl?" with just the right amount of standoffishness in her voice.
"I am aware that you are proficient in the English language, so I require your assistance in translation" Rei requested, gesturing to the tape case in her hand.
"So, miss perfect decides to come to me for help? Of course the great Asuka Langley Sohryu can help? What'cha got" she accepted, making a spectacle out of even the littlest of things.
"What does this word mean? The word Bitch" Rei read out in English.
Leaning in to read off '12. Bitch Please,' Asuka smirked. "That means bitch please. It's a semi-common slang term in America" She said matter-of-factly.
Rei tilted her head "What is a 'bitch'?"
Asuka was mildly taken aback "You don't know what a bitch is? Why should I be surprised that they never taught Wondergirl to swear? But to answer that, a bitch is a girl who's unpleasant, loud, obnoxious, and so on. You see her coming and you think 'ugh, here comes this bitch'."
"Would you then be considered as such?" Rei asked with no malicious intent. Unfortunately, she might as well have triggered an N2 mine with her co-pilot's reaction.
"WHAT!? HOW DARE YOU SAY SUCH A THING! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY FACE YOU STUPID DO-" Asuka's outburst was interrupted by Hikari putting a hand on her shoulder. Up until this point, she was watching this exchange as if a flashbang had gone off 2 feet in front of her.
"Asuka, she probably didn't mean to offend you, please just calm down." She said with a tinge of fear.
The redhead let out a heavy sigh as she turned back to address Rei, but she was already back at her desk, headphones in as if nothing happened.
The Stooges were speechless.
Shinji and Asuka were not on classroom duty, so they made their way back to the apartment.
Usually, in such a scenario, Asuka would be going on about something that annoyed her that day whie Shinji kept his focus on the ground. She would go on about "Ugh, that teacher sucks!" or "That Keiko Nagara is such a suckup! Sometimes I wanna sock her in the jaw!"
Today was different, she didn't seem annoyed, even after the scene she made at lunch.
Shinji decided to speak up "I-I saw you and Ayanami talking at lunch"
Asuka let out a small chuckle "I taught Wondergirl how to swear today."
"What!?" Shinji's head whipped up and looked at her in shock.
"Yup, she didn't even know what 'bitch' meant, and the first thing she did was ask if I was one. Thank God for Hikari." she said recalling the Class Rep's defusing skills.
"Huh" The Third Child wasn't sure what to say, so he decided to change the subject. "We have more tests next week, right?"
"Of course, idiot! And like always, I'm gonna outclass you" She responded, pride fully intact, prompting a small eyeroll from her roommate.
"Rei, Section 2 reported you purchasing music from a store in the city."
Commander Gendo Ikari was a man who had a litle too much of that good old-fashioned power in his hands, as he had pretty much constant surveillance of everything going on at NERV, especially where his pilots went and what they were doing. He could care less about what the Second and Third Child were doing, as long as they didn't get themselves killed before they could be of use in his scenario. Rei was different, being the key to him controlling instrumentality, he tended to try and keep her from straying off of the path.
"Yes sir, I found some music that is quite pleasant" Rei answered him without a hint of deception.
Commander Ikari made sure to choose his words carefully, since manipulation was one of his strong suits "Such a thing is pointless and a distraction. If you allow such a thing to take too much presence it will only harm you. If it negatively affecs your sync rates or detracts from schoolwork, it will have to be confiscated. Understood?"
"Yes sir"
"Good. Dismissed." The commander concluded the conversation as Rei made her way to exit his esoteric-looking office and he turned to his sub-commander, Kozo Fuyutski.
"Is it really such a big deal if she listens to a little music, commander?" He asked, unafraid of the man most of NERV was unconfortable to be around in the open.
"She needs to be kept subservient if the scenario is to play out the way we want it to" Gendo answered.
"Taking it away from her might do more damage than letting her keep it. She may villainize you for confiscating her personal enjoyment" Fuyutski warned.
"She is not difficult to control, and Dr. Akagi is more than willing to do whatever I tell her to reel Rei in, even if that means upping the prescriptions. I know she cannot stand her." The commander stated with a smirk. Fuyutski sighed, wondering what Yui would do.
A few weeks of much of the same passed. More school, more sync tests, and Rei occasionally asking Asuka about more words, with Asuka more than happy to corrupt Miss Perfect with swear words.
Rei had expanded her vocabulary to include 'shit' and 'fuck,' to Asuka's amusement.
She potentially had a chance to use them properly when the pilots arrived at NERV one day and heard what they were going to be doing.
"This is ridiculous! Why do we have to do this naked!? Especially with that pervert in the room?" shrieked Asuka, indicating towards Shinji, who was just as uncomfortable.
"We need as clear data as possible for the simulation bodies" explained Dr. Akagi. "We can have him walk ahead, if that helps."
The three reluctantly agreed, and prepared themselves for the disinfecting process.
Aside, Rei turned to Asuka "This test could be considered 'shit,' correct?"
"Absolutely!" she replied, slightly amused at Wondergirl's delicate vulgarity.
None of the pilots expected to sit naked in the dark for however long, completely unaware that an angel attack happened around them.
However, Rei was content with being alone with her thoughts, especially after the new development in her life: Death Grips.
She was still unsure about what most of the lyrics meant, only really picking up on the swear words, because when one learns a new language, they always seem to learn the curing first, but she really admired the instrumentation, which was a far cry from any music she had heard in the past, most of it being classical, so hearing a song as intense, loud, and rhythmic as the last song on the tape, 'Hacker,' was very different than hearing a gentle viola piece.
Rei liked it a lot, and this slightest difference was starting to help her enjoy what was around her just a little more, especially with Pilot Sohryu being friendlier to her and assisting her with learning how to swear.
She only wished she had her SDAT with her to pass the time. Her wish would be shortly granted when the situation plugs were opened and the pilots were able to take (long) showers after marinating in LCL for some ungodly amount of time.
The past week had been a whirlwind for Shinji. From his surreal experience trying to cross-sync with Unit-00 resulting in him blacking out to having to meet with his father at his mother's grave, he was really feeling at his limit.
However, he was happy that Rei was enjoying her new music, although nobody knew what it sounded like, which was fitting for such a quiet girl. Even her music preference was a mystery.
His mind wandered back to his uncomfortable father-son bonding, with father's words about mother's grave being a marker with nothing underneath being a focal point of discomfort.
To expel his stress, he decided to grab his cello and play something. He was home alone, with Misato at a wedding and Asuka on some blind date. Pen-Pen wasn't the type to complain about noise, living with someone who screamed loudly after chugging beer in the mornings. Some cello would be a nice change of pace.
Shinji got so focused on the piece he was playing that he did not hear Asuka enter the apartment, clapping as it came to a close.
"Didn't know you played" said Asuka with a genuine smile.
"Well, I've been playing since I was 5, I don't have much talent though" He replied.
"Why continue?"
"Nobody told me to stop."
"Of course." She said with an eyeroll
Shinji thought for a moment "You're back early, I thought you would've had dinner."
"Ugh, that guy was so boring, so I slipped out while we were in line for the roller-coaster." replied Asuka without a hint of shame. "Can you believe he took me to a damn amusement park?"
"That's not very nice" said Shinji.
Asuka waved him off "Men of the world need to learn from Mr. Kaji! He's a real man!" This time was Shinji's turn to roll his eyes.
Some time later, the phone rang, and Shinji picked up. It was Misato explaining that she would be home late. "Hm, alright, bye!" he responded, hanging up.
"Misato?" came Asuka's voice, poking her head in from the other room.
"Yeah, she said she's gonna be back very late, and that we shouldn't wait up for her."
"Ah, is she coming back tomorrow morning?"
"Not sure, she's with Kaji"
This drew her Ire "Idiot! That's why!" angry that a man twice her age was probably going to do what adults do with someone his own age.
Rei sat on her bed, headphones in, music playing
"I got this pregnant snake, stay surrounded by long hairs, a plethora of maniacs and spiral stairs, make your water break."
She pondered what he could be saying, her loose grasp on the English language making it that much harder.
Rei made a decision, stood up with the SDAT in hand, put her shoes on, and exited her apartment.
Shinji was sitting in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, listening to his new Beethoven tape. One thing he really appreciated in comparison to the old tape was the sound quality. It made sense to him that a tape made more recently would sound better than one that was played for 10 years straight.
Asuka sat at the table, arms folded and her head resting on them. Her mind was moving rapidly as it covered. bunch of topics.
One constant was the idiot sitting a few feet away from her. Her blind date was a romantic disappointment, and she wasn't sure how she felt about her roommate, so her heart and brain were having a bit of a standoff at the moment.
Screw it, she thought. "Hey Shinji, wanna ki-"
Knock knock knock
Asuka's big move was interrupted by the untimely guest.
Shinji heard the knocking and got up to answer it. Misato had a key, so it couldn't possibly her, and sure enough, it wasn't.
It was Rei.
"Oh, uh, h-hey Ayanami. What's up?" he asked, unaware of the rage emanating off of the redhead in the kitchen.
Asuka was positively fuming. Of course Wondergirl shows up at this exact moment of all times.
"Pilot Ikari, is Pilot Sohryu home?" Rei asked.
"Y-yeah, lemme go get her!" He said, leaving Rei briefly at the door and quickly making his way to the kitchen to find Asuka pacing with her fists clenched.
"What the hell is Wondergirl doing here!? Did you invite her over? Are you two finally banging each other!? I knew it! Get out of my face!" She raged.
"Asuka, I didn't invite her, she asked to see you." Shinji said, in the same manner someone would approach a grizzly bear.
Asuka paused. "Wait, what? Wondergirl swings that way?"
This caused Shinji to get a little flustered "Uh, I don't think she's here for anything like that, why don't you go see what she wants?"
"Fine." She said sternly, pushing past him and going to the door. "What do you want, Wondergirl?"
"Pilot Sohryu," answered Rei, unreceptive to her hostile body language "I have been listening to the music on this tape and would like to gain a better understanding of what they are saying. Being the most proficient in English out of our peers, I believe you to be the person most qualified in such a task, I am requesting your aid."
Asuka switched from wrath mode to pride mode "Of course! I, the great Asuka Langley Sohryu can help you translate this thing so good, you'll understand it in your sleep! Come on in!"
Rei nodded, and the three pilots made their way to the kitchen.
A/N: Alright, things are getting somewhere! I knew I wanted to have Rei interrupt the disaster kiss, but was having some trouble with the Ireul attack and how it would play out. Like my other roadblocks, I just thought to myself "This fic is focused on Rei, so just focus on her." I have a handful of other ideas and how certain things will play out and what albums will play into them, but I won't say too much.
Also, little reference to Evangelion: Genocide thrown in there. Great fic by Rommel, go check it out.
Anyways, sorry if this chapter is a bit long or exposition-y, but I'm gonna be a but busy for the rest of the month so I hope this will tie y'all over.
Until next time!