It had been a couple days since Shinji's encounter with the Second Child on the UN fleet, but the memory was as fresh as if it had been moments ago. They had just met and he already admired her.
His friends, on the other hand, were of different minds. "Man, that Soryu chick was a real piece of work. She's pretty, but I really do feel bad for ya. Shin-Man. You have to put up with her at NERV." Toji said.
"I agree. It'd suck if, say, she went to school with us." Kensuke added.
Just then, the teacher got the classroom's attention. "Alright, we have a new student today."
In walked a familiar young lady, who gracefully wrote her name on the board in impressive English, cursive at that.
"My name's Asuka Langley Soryu. Charmed, huh?" she said to the class.
"Oh GODS!" Toji cried
Chapter 6: The Devil Went Down To Tokyo-3
A/N: Glad Asuka's introduction was well-received! I'll put review responses to that and the interlude at the end. For now, Asuka hijinks!
Asuka's arrival at Tokyo-3 First Municipal Junior High School instantly created waves within the student body. It seemed wherever she went in the school, she was followed by a cloud of whispers.
"Have you seen the new girl?"
"She's hot!"
"She transferred to 2-A."
"They're lucky!"
"I hear she's from Germany."
"She's foreign! Exotic!"
"What's up with the hair clips, though?"
She knew they were gossiping about her, but didn't mind it all. In fact, she relished in the attention, but would easily put any boy in a hospital for trying to make a move. The pile of love letters in her locker were enough.
Shinji walked across the schoolyard to get to his classroom, despite being early. He was lost in thought when a familiar face right in front of him caught his attention.
"Guten morgen, Shinji!"
He blinked a couple times when he realized it was Asuka. It had been a day since she transferred and they spoke very briefly. Unbeknownst to him, he was the only guy she cared to talk to, which drew the ire of guys jealous of him and girls jealous of her.
"Guten morgen...?" he said back, clearly struggling with the German, but adding a weary smile for good measure.
Asuka chuckled a little. At least he's not saying 'I love you' this time. Still awful at it though. "Well, looks like you have a lot to learn in terms of the proper language, Third. Not to worry! With me around, you'll get a great example of better piloting, and how to speak proper German!" She punctuated her words with a light flick on his nose. Shinji blushed at the contact.
"Sounds like fun," Shinji said, hoping she'd reciprocate his energy. "Oh, by the way, where are you living?"
Asuka pouted a little. "They've had me in this apartment on the Geofront. It's so plain! I wanna live with Mr. Kaji, but I didn't get an answer when I asked. Misato said she'd find a better place for me to live, whatever that means."
"Oh! You'll probably live in our complex! Misato and I have an apartment, and Rei lives next to us. You'll probably be next to her." he replied.
Asuka pondered for a moment. "Works for me. Speaking of the First, where is she?"
Shinji looked around, then saw Rei sitting on a bench, reading a book. He pointed her out, and Asuka strode over to her, catching the attention of students nearby.
Rei was fixated on a book about biology. Growing up, she was given a lot of books, so she had taken a liking to reading. Uncle Gendo, who she referred to as Commander Ikari in formal and combat scenarios, always made an effort to check on her wellbeing, and had gifted her this book, alongside others, on her birthday, which fell on March 30th.
Her attention on the book was diverted by a shadow that was cast over the words. She looked up to see Miss Soryu, whom she had met on Over The Rainbow.
Soryu is abrasive and headstrong, which has perhaps given her an attitude. She seems focused and determined, but is not the most pleasant, Rei had noted mentally after meeting her.
She saw Shinji standing behind her, so she decided it would be a good idea to engage. Rei always felt more comfortable with Shinji around, moreso after their talk post-battle against the Fifth Angel. After all, they were family, as he had emphasized. "Good morning, Pilot Soryu." she said to her new co-worker.
"Guten morgen, Ayanami!" the girl said almost theatrically with her hands on her hips. "I think we got off on the wrong foot. Let's be friends!" she almost announced, her volume generating a crowd.
After reading Ayanami's file, Asuka was half-expecting her to ignore and go back to reading her book, but to her surprise, she paused for a moment before replying "I agree. As pilots, we will be required to come to each other's aid. Therefore, I accept."
What Asuka didn't realize was that Rei had looked past her to where Shinji was standing. As he noticed her gaze, he nodded, which helped Rei make her decision. I trust Shinji's judgement. If he's willing to be her friend, so will I. The idea of making more friends has become more appealing to me since spending time with Shinji, Miss Horaki, as well as Suzuhara and Aida.
"Good!" Asuka said as she stuck out a hand, which Rei shook gently. She was proud of herself for managing to somehow befriend Ayanami. She had been at the school only a day was already filled in about how the girl had a reputation for being quiet and enigmatic, and also only talking to a handful of people.
What struck Asuka the most was that Ayanami primarily gave her attention to one boy, and she knew exactly who it was.
Across the school, during lunch, Kensuke was hard at work on his honest business venture. He and Toji waited, in an out-of-the-way part of the school, leaned up against a wall with a bag full of photos and negatives of a certain student who had quickly become the centre of attention. Between them was a sign that read "Photos of Soryu (the new girl!) 200 yen!" Somehow, there were plenty of guys lining up.
"I tell ya, Toj. This girl's mean as all hell, but if she isn't a great revenue source! It's a good thing these don't show off her personality, eh?" Kensuke said excitedly.
"Yeah, sure," Toji grumbled as he stood, leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "I'm only here for some extra cash. If we get caught, it's your battle, dude. I keep tellin' ya it's a bad idea, Ken." He didn't have the best feeling about it, especially when he knew how eagle-eyed the Class Rep could be. She was appreciative of him being there when an angel attacked on the boat, and he wasn't willing to waste that good will.
They were serving customer after customer, until a familiar face approached.
Shinji, who had gone looking for his friends, stood before them with a bewildered look on his face. "What...?"
"Ah, Shinji!" Kensuke said, taking his 'businessman' approach a little too seriously. "Care for a photo of your co-pilot?"
His eyes widened. "You guys are selling... pictures of Asuka?"
"Well, duh! We don't all have her on a first-name basis, like you!"
Shinji shook his head. "I dunno, Kensuke. I think this is a really bad idea. It's kinda rude, and what would happen if you got in trouble? Like, say, the Class Rep found out about this? She'd be pretty mad."
Toji fidgeted a little at the mention of their social authority, beginning to rethink his stake in the business. "Yeah. I, uh, wouldn't wanna get caught up in that, ya feel?"
Kensuke huffed. "Well, I'm gonna be the one making the big bucks here!"
Shinji simply put his hands up and walked away. As he was leaving Kensuke's post, he turned the corner to see Hikari, storming in his direction.
She slowed down to see him walking away, and gave him an accusatory look. "You better not have..." she began.
"Hey, I warned him. Toji too." He said, putting his hands up again. There. We're both saved.
He noticed Hikari blush a little, before assuming a firm facial expression. "Well, I'll have to commend Suzuhara when I see him!" she said, straightening out before continuing. "Thanks, Ikari." Shinji wondered what she was so flush about.
As Shinji got further away, he heard a distinct "AIDA!" in the distance.
Kaji walked into the esoteric fever-dream that was Gendo Ikari's office. He had been paged by the man himself, which came as a surprise. His duty had simply been to deliver Adam. He was given a small temporary apartment on the Geofront for the time being, but was intrigued when the commander called him in the next day. Coincidentally, he had also been contacted by some other parties who were interested in his duties: The Japanese Ministry of the Interior and SEELE, the former of which wanted him to spy on NERV, and the latter seemed to want to take advantage of that, giving him less of a reason for their interest, much like they would.
The man himself was seated at his desk, with Sub-Commander Kozo Fuyutski standing behind him. The elderly professor-turned-NERV official had captured the attention of the Ministry, who held suspicion for years over his willingness to join NERV. Now that the angels were attacking, the Ministry was putting more pressure on their employees to get information.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Kaji." The commander said, his tone ever-formal.
"Hey there. To what do I own this pleasure?" Kaji questioned.
"Due to your diligence in not only delivering the Second Child and Unit-02, but also the first human being, you have more than proven yourself a worthy hire. Therefore, I am willing to offer you the position of Special Inspector here at NERV, effective at your earliest convenience."
Kaji weighed his options for a brief moment, deciding aptly that this would be the perfect opportunity for himself, as well as other employers. "Deal." he said after ruminating for a very short amount of time.
The commander smiled a little. "Good. What is the earliest you can start?"
"How about tomorrow? Oh, and by the way, I'd appreciate it if you could accommodate me with a place outside of the Geofront." Kaji requested.
The commander nodded. "Granted. I'll have Section 2 escort you to the building, along with your belongings. They'll already have the memo on your new living quarters."
"Thanks. See ya tomorrow, Commander." Said the new inspector before sauntering out of Gendo's office.
When the man was out of earshot, Fuyutski cleared his throat. "I'll bet my degree there's more to that."
Gendo smirked. "Of course there is. I know he's also working for SEELE, I have eyes and ears everywhere. If there wasn't more, I would've had someone else deliver Adam to us. The intelligence department also picked up calls made to The Ministry of the Interior, so gods help us if those forces combine."
"What are you getting out of this?" Fuyutski prodded.
"Simple. I've read Yui's plan a thousand times, and to get to her desired endgame, as well as mine, I'll need to have NERV as prepared as possible. Part of that involves being able to understand and even interfere with SEELE's machinations, professor. I believe Mr. Kaji to be just what I need. I have a feeling he'll be moving in places he shouldn't be, even working outside of what his other employers ask of him. When the time is right, we'll gain his co-operation."
The old man tended to grow tired of his superior's multi-dimensional scheming at times, but he trusted Yui enough to follow her plan, and trusted himself enough to ensure it is followed. "It's certainly risky."
"There is no reward without risk, professor. That aside, the UN is pulling me away for a meeting regarding budgets and the reliability of having all three functional Evangelions in once place. It could be done remotely, but these bureaucrats want me there in person, so I'll be in London-2 for a few days, perhaps a week at most. I trust you'll be able to maintain things while I'm gone?" he asked his immediate subordinate.
"Absolutely. I just hope we don't get another visitor. Gods know my share of the paperwork is enough." Fuyutski responded.
Shinji approached Asuka at her desk after class. "Are you going to the Geofront?"
She nodded. "Yup. Got a message from Misato earlier that she's taking me to my new place, so I'll be busy with that."
"Alright, see ya later," he said before she watched him walk away, passing Ayanami's desk. "See ya later, Rei." she heard him say as he left.
It made her irrationally angry. The only one who isn't ogling me and he insists on chatting up that wooden plank of a girl.
Shinji met up with his friends in the schoolyard. Kensuke stood, his expression and his body language looking very downtrodden. Toji, on the other hand, was standing with his arms crossed, looking away.
"Hey guys," Shinji said. "What happened?"
"Class Rep busted him, gave him a real earful then ripped up all the photos right in front of him." said Toji, throwing a glance at Kensuke.
"All my hard work..." the boy lamented.
Toji clapped him on the back "Yer an idiot, Ken. Let's juts go to the arcade"
Much to Shinji's relief, a trip to the arcade was the just the pick-me-up Kensuke needed. He would've been inconsolable if Hikari had broken his camera, which she had apparently threatened to do, so a couple rounds of House of The Dead, and the Eva Otaku/Military fanatic was back to his usual self. In fact, he decided to put his camera to non-voyeuristic uses, filming candid footage of Shinji and Toji as they focused on various games, sharing laughs and conversations. Shinji made a mental note to ask him for a copy of the footage.
Shinji's thoughts about fun with his friends were brought to a screeching halt when he got back to the Katsuragi apartment and saw a small stack of DHL boxes by the door.
What's with those? Did the movers forget stuff from out old place? He wondered.
Stepping into the apartment, he took his shoes off and called out "I'm home!" but got no answer.
Hm, Misato can't be at work if we have these boxes...
He continued towards his room, where it had been practically stripped bare. He widened his eyes as he rushed to the closet, his mind racing with possibilities, such as them being ransacked by "the bad guys" from Mother's tapes, which would certainly have repercussions. His panic was brought to a decrescendo when he opened the closet and found the small TV with the tapes and letters next to it, just as he left them. Shinji let out a sigh of relief.
"And what's going on!? You better not be sniffing my panties in here!" an irate voice called out from the doorway.
Shinji snapped around to see Asuka standing a few feet away from him. "Asuka...?" he asked hesitantly.
"Well duh! Who else?" She boasted with a smirk.
"What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious? You've been replaced! Scrapped for the superior model! Much like that test-type of yours in due time!" She continued.
"What!? I thought Misato was moving you nextdoor!" He protested.
"Nope! She finally wanted to live with a girl instead of a little boy like yourself." Asuka said, almost laughing at him.
"Actually, you'll be living together!" Misato interrupted, entering the conversation unannounced, similar to a quirky neighbour.
Asuka spun around on her heel. "WHAT!? No way! Boys and girls don't live under the same roof past the age of 7! That's an undisputed fact!" She stated, turning her nose upward.
"Well," Misato said with a grin. "You're not just a boy and a girl, you're Eva pilots! Imagine if you were conventional soldiers! In my JSSDF days, I bunked, even shared tents with other men. They, much like little Shinji here, respected my boundaries! That was because they were decent enough to do so! Well, that, and the fact that I could kick any of their asses!" She finished, laughing heartily.
Asuka wasn't entirely convinced. "What if this one tries to do something to me, like, while I'm sleeping or something!?" She demanded, pointing at Shinji.
Misato patted her on the shoulder. "Oh, Asuka. Shinji's not that kind of person! On the contrary, in fact. It's like living in a hotel! He cooks like crazy, he cleans, and he still has the courtesy to hold a conversation."
Shinji rubbed the back of his head and looked down, a little flustered at his guardian singing his praises. "Come on, Misato..."
"Wait, cleans? As in, laundry as well? Oh no no no no no! By the vice of him being a boy, he's a pervert! Therefore, how can I trust him with things like my underwear?" Asuka protested.
"Will you do them then?" Misato asked, raising an eyebrow.
Asuka stormed off to retrieve another box, grumbled something about dealing with it later, while Shinji got to work moving the tapes. "Misato," he asked, getting her attention. "If Asuka's taking this room, where will I sleep?"
"What, not gonna put up a fight?" She prodded.
Shinji shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if she's comfortable, then I have no problem, really."
He realized he didn't choose his words carefully enough when he saw the grin spread across Misato's face. "Ooooooohhhhh, little Shin is such a gentleman~!" She cooed, strutting over and playfully ruffling his hair. "Oh, what an honour it is for Asuka!"
"Ugh, give it a rest, Misato!" Asuka said, returning with another box of things to put away.
Misato stuck her tongue out at the girl. "Oh, come on, Asuka. I'm just having a little fun!"
"Yeah, in the weirdest way possible, like usual."
Shinji got her attention again. "So, uhh, where am I gonna sleep?" he asked again.
Misato looked up to the left for a moment. "Oh! I know, you can take that spare closet! It's small, but it's spacious and can fit a futon!"
That worked for him. "Alright," He said before looking into the closet. "Oh, by the way, could you help me with this?" he asked, gesturing to the rather heavy TV, which had the VCR on top.
Misato nodded, and the two of them picked up the TV and VCR, taking them to Shinji's new room before coming back for the tapes. Asuka was too busy with her own belongings to notice or question it. Her immediate thought was that it was something either immature or perverted. Perhaps she'd ask him sometime, if she were bored.
Shinji, on the other hand, was concerned about Mother's words being discovered and taken away, so Misato fished out an old blanket, which wasn't comfortable enough to actually use, but big enough to cover the goods. On her end, Misato had a vague idea about the tapes. The commander had given her a basic description that Mrs. Ikari had left them for Shinji in case something went wrong with in the lab, and that the tapes were kept secret because of how personal they were. Beyond that she wasn't sure what was on them. Perhaps she'd ask him sometime, if she felt so inclined.
"By the way," Asuka said while she moved more stuff. "What's with the furnishing? You're telling me you don't have a couch?"
Shinji emerged from his closet-room, scratching his head. "Yeah, that's kinda weird. Our old apartment had a couch, I dunno what happened there."
Misato chimed in. "I called the guys NERV hired to move our stuff. Apparently they were moving furniture last, and they had to evacuate fully when Unit-01 launched. Never did get that couch back."
Asuka shrugged. "Eh. At least you have beanbag chairs, I guess, but you should really get a couch. The freaking room is huge!"
After Asuka's move-in debacle, Misato brought the pilots in for a sync test. They hadn't been in an entry plug since Over The Rainbow, and Rei's last time was the day before that. Typical Miss Ritsuko, pushy about her precious data.
Shinji de-pressurized his plugsuit and was happy to finally be wearing one made for his proportions. If he never had to wear one of Asuka's again, he'd be able to have children one day for sure, granted he wasn't snuffed out under the foot of one of these ghoulish beasts he kept facing.
Asuka strode past him, walking fast and leading with her chest. Her pride really seemed to shine through, but he recalled Misato's words.
"Women are crazy," and "Push back."
He'd try, but hell if he knew how. Perhaps talking to Mother would help him out.
Mother. That's right, He recalled. Asuka kept boasting about her superior sync rate, does she communicate with her Mother as well?
Shinji decided to ask her when they had some downtime. Perhaps some time in the next week, granted something didn't come up and redirect his attention.
He reached the test plug room, which now had three test plugs instead of two. Asuka was standing by impatiently, and Rei walked in behind him and reached her own plug.
Shinji shrugged his shoulders and walked over to his test plug, getting in.
He heard Miss Ritsuko announce the test was starting and did what he always did: focus on Mother and reach out to her.
Quickly, her voice arrived.
...Hello again, Shinji.
Hi.
It's been a while, I think. Busy at NERV?
Yeah, we also have another pilot now, so it's the three of us.
Ah, yes, I can see it n- wait a minute, is this attraction? My oh my, Shinji's got a little crush!
He felt his face heat up as he suppressed an embarrassed smile. Agh, stop. I just met her and, he sighed quietly. Fine, I think she's cute. Shinji was aware that Mother could read him like a book, so hiding things was near impossible.
I'll say! She's got those piercing blue eyes, contrasting with red hair. She has this look in her eyes that... Shinji heard her trail off. What's her name?
Asuka Langley Soryu.
Another pause. Asuka Langley Soryu? Oh, I think I know who that is! I was good friends with her mother!
Really?
Yeah! We went to the university together and were super close! She moved to the Third Branch in Germany but we stayed pen-pals! We must've written tons of letters back-and-forth! Oh, poor lady, I don't know what happened after I entered Unit-01, she must've found out about me. I wonder what she's up to now?
Well, Asuka is the pilot of Unit-02.
Unit-02? There's a third Eva?
Yeah, she was going on about Unit-00 and Unit-01 being the prototype and test-type, and how her'Eva was the production model. I didn't question it, I wasn't sure about anything, to be honest.
Yui pondered what he had told her for a moment, not communicating with him for a moment. Do you suppose... her mother is in Unit-02? Like I am?
Maybe? We fought an angel on the boat, so we both had to sync with Unit-02. During the fight, I felt something. It was a presence. only for a split-second. Something's there, but I'm not sure what.
Hm. Well, if you get the chance again, try reaching out to her?
How? I can't exactly visualize her. I have no clue what she even looks like.
Well... I'd say she looks a lot like Asuka, but older, obviously, and with long, blonde hair instead of red hair.
Blonde? How does that work?
Recessive genes, Shinji. Basically, when a man and a woman procreate, they have traits that-
Alright, alright, gotcha. So, Asuka, but blonde and older. Okay.
I might have put a picture of her that she sent me in the box. It's bound to be in there.
Okay, I'll look sometime.
Alright, good. Maybe they'll have you do a test in Unit-02. There you can- Yui cut herself off with laughing, much to her son's confusion.
Mother? What's so funny?
Don't worry about it! I just saw how Asuka calls you 'idiot.'
What's so funny about that?
Nothing, nothing.
"Alright, we're gonna end the test, now."
Well, you can tell me next time. See you later.
Goodbye for now, my son.
The test ended, and the entry plug went quiet. Shinji thought about his conversation with Mother. If Asuka's mother ended up getting sucked into Unit-02 as well, how could he even approach her about such a thing? He had certain feelings about Mother getting absorbed. Even though he got to communicate with her and see the messages she left for him, it still bothered him that he couldn't see her in front of him, and embrace her. Shinji also felt a mild dissatisfaction that he ran out of time to ask Mother for advice. Asuka seemed more temperamental, and if she felt any similar to him, it would prove tough to ask her. Shinji would have to brainstorm a while. The question he posed to himself before the sync test seemed to have an unclear answer, doubly so when she strode out of the test-chamber, seemingly with none of the serenity he had after sync tests.
Rei, on the other hand, was a lost cause in terms of finding out what was inside of her Eva. She had only described it as "angry," and if her mother was in there, that meant Mother's sister must've been a hostile person. After all, why would Rei lie to him?
Inside Unit-01's core, Yui processed the news about her son and his new colleague.
Oh my gods! That really is Kyoko's daughter!
Kyoko wasn't the braggadocios, short-tempered woman that her son's memories indicated her daughter was, but she definitely had that fire that came out from time to time. What really made Yui laugh is how the girl referred to Shinji.
She calls him an idiot! There's no way that's a coincidence.
Maybe the nickname Asuka had chosen was, in fact, coincidental, even sub-conscious, but what struck Yui about it is that when Kyoko met her husband, she would affectionately refer to him as "idiot."
The next day, Ritsuko was hard at work. After all, new pilot meant more to do, and sync test data was endlessly analyzable.
This was interrupted by a pair of arms slid carefully around her midsection. "You've lost some weight, Ritsy."
She recognized the voice right away as an old friend, so she decided to play along with his flirting, which seemed to be his medium of communication. "Is that so?"
"I would know it well. It's a shame you're due for a life of heartbreak." The male voice said.
"And how do you know that?" she asked.
"They say a woman with a mole in the path of her tears is destined to a life full of them."
"Are you coming onto me? I wouldn't do that if I were you, especially with an audience." she said, pointing forward.
There stood Misato, scowling through the window. She held her glare before walking from her spot at the window and into the room. Misato's glare caused Kaji's arms to return to their owner.
"You absolute whore! Oh, hey Rits," she said to her ex and best friend respectively.
Ritsuko stifled a laugh before turning to the whore in question. "Long time no see, Kaji. How have you been?"
"Long time no see indeed. Y'know, I've been myself, doing what I do best," he responded.
"And what you do best is annoy me! What the hell are you doing here!? I thought your business was done once you transferred the Second Child and Unit-02!" Misato barked.
"Good news, the commander told me yesterday that I'd be transferred here, and gave me the time to get settled in. Job title: Technical Inspector. That means we'll all be together again, just like old times, eh ladies?" Kaji responded, grinning.
Misato exhaled angrily. "Gods, this is the worst! First I have to deal with you on that damned boat and now I-"
Her rambling was interrupted by a familiar blaring.
"Never thought I'd be happy to hear that." She said as she shot Kaji one more dirty look before making her way to the bridge.
Shinji sat in class, bored again and focusing his thoughts elsewhere form Second Impact. Now that Asuka had moved into House Katsuragi, he was preparing lunch for one more, making three when he included Rei's food. She complained a little about the sheer amount of rice and fish, so he made a mental note to hit a few stores to change it up. After all, gotta make her feel welcome. No subconscious desire to impress her, as far as he could think.
They walked together to school, which drew a few stares, but both of them shook it off, and spent the day doing their own thing. Shinji forming his usual trio, and Asuka spending more time with Hikari after the girls appeared to hit it off on Over The Rainbow. Hikari had already been hanging out with Rei prior to Asuka's arrival, which meant the three of them formed a rather awkward-looking group. He could not begin to guess what they talked about, considering his two co-pilots seemed to be polar opposites.
Cool like ice, hot like fire, He mused internally. Toji and Kensuke had prodded him about living with Asuka, with the latter attempting to get him to sneak some photos. A smack on the head from Toji killed that idea. He had very particular words about Miss Soryu.
"Yo, Shin-Man," he prodded during lunch. "Has the Red Devil tried to sacrifice you yet?"
"'Red Devil?' That's a new one," Shinji said, laughing a little.
"Well, duh! It's, like, the most obvious name for her! She's got a pretty face, but those stupid clips she wears are like horns! Maybe that's what she uses to hide 'em!" Toji said with considerable passion.
"Alright, Toji," Shinji said with a wave of his hand.
As he stared out the window recalling his lunch banter about Asuka, he had no idea she was looking right at him.
For her part, Asuka was trying to decode what he was thinking.
He's so aloof! This is an Eva pilot!? She ranted to herself. Ayanami proved difficult to get to know. She seemed to talk like she was at a budget meeting for some mega-rich company at all times, which meant talking to her felt like a chore. Hikari didn't seem to mind, but it still felt so taxing. Asuka was also half, or maybe more-than-half, sure that Ikari and Ayanami were romantically involved, the way he would smile at her and give her food. The only damned boy in this school that wasn't trying to beam his eyes through her posterior or chest and it bothered her more than the imbeciles who did.
I'll find what makes him tick somehow, She resolved. If he's used to Misato, then he'll be a bit tougher to deal with, but I will come out on top! I'm a damn Soryu!
Both of their non-focus was broken by the bell signalling the end of the day. one 'Rise-bow-sit' later, they were exiting the school, navigating back to the apartment in hopes that the air conditioning had been left on.
After an awkward silence, Shinji decided to try and break some ice. "So, how's it been since you-"
His attempt at conversation was interrupted by the angel alarm.
Asuka had looked at him when he started talking, so he got a full view as her face shifted from neutral to über-determined. She let a sinister grin spread across her face. "Jackpot, Third! Let's get moving!" Asuka said as she broke into a sprint in the direction of NERV.
At least, she thought it was. Shinji shouted "Asuka, it's this way!" in the least threatening tone he could muster at such a volume. She didn't acknowledge her mistake, and sprinted towards Shinji, blowing right past him.
Shinji shook his head and followed her to headquarters.
They got to NERV, suited up, and got into their Evas considerably fast.
...Hey Shinji, what's going on? Mother's voice rang in his head as soon as he activated.
Hey Mother, the angel alarm went off, so Asuka and I darted over here.
Really? He could hear a teasing tone rise in her voice. Just met her and you're already running after her...
He blushed a little. It's... It's not like that! She just darted off, in the wrong direction at that! I had to point her the right way!
Ohhh, so she was chasing you, I knew you had your father's charms, my boy.
Shinji sighed, but before he could answer back, Misato came on the comms.
"Alright! So, the pattern blue was detected at the Kii peninsula, and the MAGI have a clear trajectory on it. It's coming towards the city fast, so Unit-01 and Unit-02, be ready to move out, and be ready to work together!" her voice rang, adopting the serious tone it took during combat.
"Roger!" they both responded.
"Evangelion Units 01 and 02, launch!"
They reached the surface, and immediately started scanning. The angel made their job easy when it rapidly approached, coming to a stop in a flooded, abandoned piece of land nearby.
"Alright, we don't know much about the angel right now, but for the sake of efficiency, work together to attack it!" Misato ordered.
"Pff, yeah right!" Asuka scoffed. "Like I'm gonna let this kid interrupt my Tokyo-3 debut! Besides, it's hardly fair! Outta the way, Third Child, let me how you how a real pilot handles things!"
Shinji furrowed his brow. "Asuka, we're supposed to work together here..."
Yui remained silent. If her son was going to learn anything she couldn't be constantly holding his hand, especially when talking to a girl.
"Oh, spare me! Like they really needed to deploy you as well! Honestly, all they really need is the best pilot!" Asuka boasted as she pulled her progressive glaive out from an armoury building and made her way over to the angel.
"Asuka-"
"Zip. Watch and learn, kid." she said once more before gracefully charging at the angel. She leapt into the air, creating an impressive arc as she brought the glaive right down the middle of the angel, splitting it in half.
Shinji could see her mock-polishing her nails, despite them being gloved as she kept a proud expression on her face. "Simple as that!"
He saw no problem in it. If she killed the angel, great! "Well, good job! I'm glad this was easy-"
Almost as if fate was determined to mess with the both of them, the two halves of the angel rapidly regenerated what seemed to be damaged tissue as they each grew into two smaller versions of the beast the Evas were just fighting.
"What the hell!? That's cheating! No way it can-"
She, like Shinji, was also interrupted by the angel. This time, one of the halves grabbed her Eva by the legs and spun it around, letting it soar with a momentum-built throw.
The other half charged quickly at Unit-01, tackling it to the ground and catching Shinji off guard. It lifted the Eva by it's torso, as if it weighed nothing, throwing it like a ragdoll in another direction.
"At 10:58:15 today, Unit-02 was attacked by the target when it split into two. Sub-target alpha threw it to a point 2 kilometres from Surugawan bay. At 10:58:20, Unit-01 was attacked by sub-target beta, and thrown into a hill near Tokyo-3." Said Maya as she went through her debrief of the failed attack, with visuals of the Evangelions in question being embedded in water and land came on the screen of the conference room.
"Yikes..." Ritsuko muttered to Misato.
Asuka was fuming. "This is your fault! You screwed up my Tokyo-3 debut!" she raged at Shinji.
"Excuse me? You went and pulled a dumb move!" He retorted in a moment of anger.
"Dumb move? I guess an idiot like you would know..."
Shinji rolled his eyes. "Hey, cut it out! You rushed ahead and gave us two targets instead of one!"
"Not like you did any better! You were buried in the damn hill!" she growled, which he just huffed at.
Fuyutski, who was not enjoying his time as acting commander, put his face in his palm. "Gods, what an embarrassment..." he lamented. "We have to redraw the damned maps..."
Maya continued her debrief. "At 11:03:00, NERV authorized the UN to attack, relinquishing their authority for the time. At 11:05:00, an N2 strike managed to burn off 28% of the angel's mass."
"They did?" Asuka asked, momentarily letting up on Shinji.
"Yes, and it's keeping the target immobile for the time being. Time we need to plan an attack," Answered Fuyutski. Shinji and Asuka began to start grumbling at each other again, which he caught swiftly. "You two! What is your duty?" He demanded.
"To pilot Eva?" Shinji answered.
"Wrong! Your duty is to defeat the angels. You put on a circus show out there, and unless you want a repeat, you'll need to work together! Cooperate!"
Asuka scoffed. "What!? No way I can work with this goofball!"
"Pilot Soryu, enough! That goes for you too, Pilot Ikari!" Fuyutski barked. Shaking his head, he silently adjourned the meeting and left the room.
"What's his deal..." Asuka mused.
Kaji, who was in the meeting, answered her question. "He's old, they have a weird way of doing things."
Shinji looked around the room. "By the way, where's Misato? Shouldn't she be here?"
Kaji grinned, knowing what she was doing at the moment. "She's figuring out your battle plan, kid. Don't wanna give NERV more combat bloopers, do you?"
Speak of the devil, and he shall have your angry ex-girlfriend storm into the room. Misato entered the conference room, looking defeated. She let out a sigh. "Kaji, I guess we're doing it your way."
Kaji smiled again. "See, Katsuragi? I knew you liked me for more than my looks," he said as he lightly caressed her cheek, which she reacted to by slapping his hand away.
"Don't push it," she growled.
Shinji and Asuka looked on in confusion. "Mr. Kaji's way? What's that?" asked Shinji.
Misato switched up fast, holding up the disc in her hand. "Well, since you two need to cooperate, we have a way that'll make you two more connected than ever."
Asuka gawked. "I am not having sex with him!"
"Relax, relax! We can't have you guys doing that, so you'll be doing the next best thing," Misato said with her hand up.
"What's that?"
"Dancing!"
A/N: Alright, Asuka's movin' in. I was a bit stumped a while for this chapter, but I figured it out and the ideas flowed. I hope it remained entertaining. Some noticeable feedback I got on the last chapter was that people enjoyed the humour, which I'm glad about. Bad humour can sour the experience, so whew.
The chapter title comes from the song "The Devil Went Down To Georgia" by The Charlie Daniels Band. I thought it'd be a good fit since Asuka is the Red Devil, after all.
I also made a reference to JPEGMAFIA in this chapter. "Cool Like Ice, Hot Like Fire" is the name of the song sampled in "Baby I'm Bleeding." I was actually gonna title this chapter "Hot Like Fire" but the name I chose just felt like a better fit.
Reviews!
Chapter 5
Greg242: Thanks! Glad you weren't let down.
skyf0x: The wiki said half German half Japanese, idk though so I might just retroactively fix that. Glad I didn't get sappy on ya, I do want the WAFF to be rewarding. And yes, the right hand thing was a line I smirked when I wrote. I'll admit I'm not the best at writing battles, so I'll put in the time for the future.
YourBlandestNIghtmare: Fun fact: I wrote the pep talk scene early on. Glad you liked that!
Hghg (guest): I can't read German but thank you big dawg.
TaloEmpire: Thanks!
Asushin fan: Hey Erik. I hope that's a good thing, hah.
ShotgunCaesar: Over The Rainbow doesn't give a whole lot. Maybe I could've added more. Like I said in response to skyf0x, battles aren't my strong suit, so as I progress those will be better and probably longer.
Interlude
YourBlandestNightmare: Kyoko/Shinji scenes will definitely be a lot of fun, especially later in the story
Asushin fan: I hope you like my take on Unit-02's core. I have more ideas for it for the future.
TalonEmpire: Next chapter!
spartanman2: Yes, it'll be neat to put in as well
skyf0x: Without saying too much, I know what I want to do in terms of Shinji having Eva knowledge over Asuka. It'll involve him struggling to tell her about it, moreso when he realizes how tough it'll actually be to talk about her mother.
Next time: Shinji and Asuka learn the importance of teamwork, and a lesson on walls in Chapter 7: BOOGIE!