James here. I would here like to clear up two issues addressed in reviews to preceding chapters. For one thing, this fic is not a self-insertion. It's a first-person example of what happens when your stable world is destroyed, granted, this world needs to be built first. Kojiro's personal successes are nothing more than a build-up for his fall, as is anything in the Eva series. Kojiro has flaws. He doesn't see them in himself, naturally, but events bring things into focus…
Secondly, the main character here is Shinji. He is still more important than any character. However, as this isn't third person, he isn't ever-present.
Thirdly, Kou. Kou is a very special character. His obvious flaws are a survival mechanism for… well, I can't say as of yet, just trust that his irrational and cocky behavior will be explained eventually.
Sayuri. Sayuri is a new character for this chapter. Withhold comments on her character for a few chapters until it is truly developed. Her interactions with Kou are the most important to notice in the next several chapters.
Finally, this is the new chapter. Enjoy.
Lamentations 0:7Caress
"Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom
you who live in the land of Uz."
- Lamentations 4:21
The next day flew by, boring
repetitive lessons, comments a la Asuka, and Shinji acting like a complete
wussy. Misato debriefed us about the
kidnapping quickly, made a report, and we heard nothing more of it. Within three hours life was back to normal,
and Walker Oden was still playing Playstation in our living room. He returned to school the next day. Yoko, Walker, and I packed our bags, passed
one last night at the apartment, woke early, locked the door, and went to NERV
HQ to gather with the rest of the group.
We were hastily bundled into Misato's car, and were notified that the
EVAs were already there, at an offshore platform in 1000 feet of water. Misato started the drive cheery and awake,
with a full case of beer sitting beneath Pen-Pen in the back middle seat of her
blue sports car. Walker sat in front,
leaving Yoko and I on either side of Pen-Pen.
* * *
Misato was passed out in the back seat. Walker was driving, and I was sitting next to him with Yoko on my lap. Pen-Pen and Misato had consumed a little too much of the case of beer. However, the penguin had a higher tolerance, and was just extremely nauseated. He was holding his head and squawking quietly to himself in the back seat, perched atop Misato's sleeping form. Yoko was nodding off to sleep as well, leaving Walker and I with the driving.
"Sure. The fucking coast is like twenty minutes from Tokyo-3, and we have to drive seven hours to get to a "special location!" Thank you, Misato!" Walker grimaced. Walker popped a beer.
"Dude, you're underage, you're drinking, and you're driving. Lessee, if you speed, than you can break three laws!" I yelled at him. He took a swig.
"Walker... Look, stop at the next little roadside restaurant, we can switch, I'll drive, and you can drink all you want."
"Sure, dude. Deal."
The restaurant wasn't top notch. Kind of middle class. We were hungry, and figured we'd have a bite to eat. The waitress was cute, short-cropped indigo hair. She took our orders, smiling. As she walked back to the kitchen I noticed Walker staring at her.
"She's prettyyyyyyyyyyy! I wish I knew a few more girls like that!" Yoko flashed him an angry look.
"Dream on, Walker," I said, throwing him a smile. He grimmaced. The cute waitress returned several minutes later, bearing a tray of food and drinks.
"Three colas, a cheeseburger, large salad, and a plate of nachos, extra everything!" She announced. Walker stared at the nachos like they were heaven-sends, however, they didn't prevent him from striking up a conversation with the waitress. He managed to let slip several crucial details, but I was indisposed to stop him, seeing as we were in a restaurant. By the end, she knew who we were, where we were from, and where we were going. We polished off the food quickly, Walker bid good-bye to the waitress, we paid the minorly exorbitant bill, and re-boarded Misato's car. Misato was coming around in the back seat as I started the engine. She sat up, and Yoko sat down next to her. As I was about to pull out of the parking lot I found the waitress knocking on my window. I rolled it down.
"Hey! Listen, you guys seem like decent enough people, how about taking a girl for a ride. You're heading to the coast, right?" I nodded, "well, my shifts over, and my dad, who owns the restaurant, says I can take some vacation time. I wouldn't mind a trip to the beach," I looked in the back seat, finding an approving gaze from Yoko, and a dazed look from Misato, "Please. Pretty please?" Asked the waitress.
"Sure, get in," I noticed she was carrying a small overnight bag and popped the trunk, "and put your bag in back." She dropped her bag in, closed the trunk, and sat down next to Yoko in the backseat.
"Well, I feel rude! I haven't introduced myself! I'm Sayuri! Who are you?"
"I'm Yoko Shinkeshi, and these are Kojiro Kai Li, Walker Oden, Misato Katsuragi, and Pen-Pen." She and Yoko struck it off well, chatting as we sped down the highway to the beach. We neared the town we were heading to, according to Misato, and I began to see a few more houses around. It was getting dark when we finally pulled up to the hotel, which was , truly, quite glamorous. Misato staggered out, straightened up, and acquired our room keys. Sayuri checked into a room of her own. Yoko, Walker and I were, again, sharing quarters. Walker to a shower first, leaving Yoko and I to stand on the balcony and look out at the ocean in the dark. A cool sea breeze blew in across my face, tousling Yoko's hair. I could hear the sounds of the barely visible waves crashing against the shore ten floors down.
I let Yoko take the next shower, and sat down on the bed. Walker was kicked back on the other. He yawned loudly, slid beneath the sheets, turned off the bedside lamp, and fell asleep, hand still upon the lamp switch. I lifted it back into his bead, and he rolled to the middle. I lay down and cleared my eyes, thinking about how easy life was before Eva, before NERV... Before Gendo... I almost drifted off, but Yoko opening the bathroom door wakened me. She was wrapped in a pastel green towel, and I attempted to look like I wasn't interested, staring at the wall as she pulled a blue nightgown from her bag and re-entered the bathroom. I realized I had held my breath the whole time she was there and released it. Several seconds later she emerged again, wearing the nightgown, and I went in to take a shower. After a long day in a beer-scented car, a hot shower felt nice. I unlike Yoko, had brought my pajamas into the bathroom the first time, and had left them on the counter. I dried off, changed into my pajamas, and exited into the bedroom. The lights had been switched off, and I felt my way to my suitcase in the dark, dropped my old clothing down and felt my way to the bed Walker wasn't in. I climbed beneath the warm blanket and closed my eyes to the dark, listening to the foreign sounds, the air conditioner, footsteps in the hallway, the ice machine down the hall. The sheets in the bed felt foreign, starched to an extreme, almost rough, as my feet slid slowly along them as I endeavored to get comfortable. I finally ended up on my side, facing the form I could barely make out as Walker in the dark room. Chilling air hit me from the air conditioner. Sheets rustled softly, and I felt Yoko's arms encircle me. I turned over in the dark to face her. I could hear her breathing and smell the shampoo from her hair. She pulled close to me, and, as my eyes adjusted to the dark, I could see her eyes glinting with some reflection. I became conscious of how close we were pressed, her chest rising and falling as she breathed, her breasts pressed against my chest. I could feel her hands pull me closer to her, and her lips found mine in the dark. We held it for a few seconds, and she pulled back. I ran my hands up her back, and she shivered, leaning her head upon my shoulder.
"Kojiro-kun..."
"Yoko-chan..." I saw the glint of her eyes stop as they closed, and she leaned in against me and fell asleep in my arms. I kissed her forehead, then surrendered to sleep myself.