L33Tness.
A term often the object of the vilest curses, or some weird form of awe. A descriptive term, used to connote something or someone with an amount of praise and admiration for what are called. "L33t 5k1llz", understandable to the saner-minded as "leet skillz". Loosely meaning "Elite skills".
The term originated on the Internet, creating a form of speech known as "Leet Speak". It is probable that it originated in the gaming communities, as a saying to describe one's performance in one game or another.
Outside of the Internet, which is often called "Real Life" by the frequent users of the World Wide Web, one would be hard pressed to describe someone as "L33t", yet it is surprisingly easy to identify those whose skills in gaming are lauded as such.
But "L33t" can be found in places one would never suspect...
-------
"Oi, Shinji! Have you heard?"
Shinji blinked, tearing his gaze away from the window as he turned to look at his bespectacled otaku friend.
"Huh? Heard what?" he answered, not having the slightest idea what Kensuke could be talking about.
The other boy sighed. He had lost count of how many times he had to rescue his friend from his own little world. "You remember that LAN Party I mentioned?"
Shinji hesitated, then nodded as he vaguely recalled a discussion he had had with Toji and Kensuke a few days earlier, although he didn't quite remember what a LAN Party was...
"I talked to a few teachers, and even to the principal...he gave permission to set things up and let us host this thing!"
Shinji warily eyed the other boy, who was practically dancing. "Explain to me what this whole thing is again?"
Kensuke stared at his friend, at that moment feeling an understanding with Asuka he had never felt, and probably never would feel again. Sometimes he too felt like shaking Shinji, to try to set that mind of his straight. "I told you a few days ago...we bring computers with us, hook them all up together, and game all day and all night! Well, maybe not all night..." he quickly added as he saw his friends raised eyebrow. "So, you in?"
"I don't know... Who else is playing?"
"Me, Toji, and a few other guys for now...we'll see if anyone else is willing to play."
"Just us guys, huh?"
"Yeah. Can you imagine any girls joining in on this?" he said then snorted. "They spend too much time with shopping, anyway..." The voice that responded to him sent a shiver down his spine.
"And what's that supposed to mean, stooge?"
Slowly, he turned to face the auburn haired pilot of Eva 02, who had apparently heard last few words. Figuring he couldn't be hurt more than he already would for that comment, he decided to press on. "The day I see a girl at a LAN Party, hell, even playing computer games, will be the day that I eat my own glasses."
Asuka's grin of pure evil would have made the Devil green with envy, and certainly enough to strike fear in the heart of Kensuke and Shinji who had been watching the conversation.
"You better like those glasses of yours raw, then... Anyway, which games are you going to have there? Doom 6? Quake 8? How about a few strategy games like Starcraft 4...."
Kensuke's jaw fell to the ground, disbelief etched all over his face. Not only him, almost all of the boys in the room were staring at the redhead, not believing what they had just heard. Some of girls were staring as well, while others hid their smiles...it was widely unknown that a number of the girls were into computers and occasional computer games.
"A-And what about the sports games?"
All heads turned around to look at the Class Rep as she walked through the room. She glanced around the room, noticing the stares, and blushed. "Yeah...there are racing games like Need for Speed 13...some combat games...anyone up for some Tekken 9?" she asked, a grin forming on her lips.
Asuka blinked at her friend. She knew she had a console at her home, but this surprised even HER. Who knew Hikari was a closet Gamer? Shrugging, she turned back to Kensuke. "Anyway, stooge. You should make a signup sheet or something, to see who is going to participate. And I will soooo beat you into the ground..."
Shinji spoke up as the redhead paused in her monologue. "This isn't or contest or anything, Asuka...you just need to have fun."
"No! This WILL be a Contest!" Kensuke threw in. "I don't know yet what we'll have as a prize, but from now on this is a Tournament!"
"You're on, stooge!"
Shinji could only shake his head, then slowly beat it on his desk.
-----
The next day Kensuke put up fliers all over the school where the students could sign up. Over the next few days, he had to extend their length as increasing numbers of students signed up.
Even more surprising was the fact that NERV had decided to sponsor the event, no reasons given, although Misato had mentioned to her roommates that the Commanders had talked about "reflex training", or whatever they could have meant. She didn't understand it either.
The contest, formally named the "Tokyo-3 LAN Tourney", was scheduled for the final weekend before summer break, and in the week leading up to the tournament the contestants rushed to hone their skills.
Asuka, despite her previous boasts, knew she needed to refine her skills, as she hadn't played in a while...Of course, she couldn't train all by herself, even if the computer bots were rather good...humans were always better.
"Shinji!" she called, as she came out of her room. She found him sitting on the living rooms couch, flipping through a magazine.
"Hey!" she yelled, slightly louder. Her outburst obviously startled the boy, as he jumped and pulled his earphones out, turning to look at the girl questioningly. "So, Third Child, are you preparing for the Tourney?"
Shinji shook his head. "Not really..." he continued as he saw the redhead's raised eyebrow. "I was going to participate had it remained just Kensuke, Toji and a few others...but two hundred people is a bit too much..."
"Bah! The more people, the merrier!"
"...and for the fact it's a contest now, not just to have fun. People are doing it for the prizes, not the enjoyment"
"Yeah, yeah, whatev-wait." She stopped in mid tirade, her brain processing this bit of information. "Prizes? What prizes?"
The Third Child remained silent; on one hand amazed Asuka hadn't heard of this, and on the other hand, wondering if he should say anything about it. Considering the glare she was giving him because of his silence, he decided to explain. "The Tokyo 3 mall heard about the tourney, and decided to chip in as well, must be helping for advertisement or something... Anyway, the first prize is a gift certificate of 100,000 yen to spend at their shops. The rest are..." Asuka's mind stopped registering his words as soon as she had heard the amount of money. With that much she could buy all the clothes she wanted...and anything else, for that matter.
Now, more than ever, she wanted to train for the Tourney.
"Okay, Third Child! Enough! You," she said, pointing a finger at him, "will be my training partner until then. And it's no use trying to wiggle your way out of this."
"But..."
"No buts!"
"...I'm no good at those type of games! Or any games, for that matter..." he quickly stopped talking as she held one finger up, glaring at him.
"That's all right, I just need to train against something that will offer only marginal resistance for now. Hey, tell you what. I'll call Hikari, and you can call your stooge friends to see if they want to get an online game going. I'm guessing we all need a workout."
"And Rei?"
"Wondergirl? I doubt she even has a computer, but you can try if you want..."
The first round was about to begin...
--------
A few minutes later, on the other side of town, Rei Ayanami hung up the phone. She had surprised Pilot Ikari by accepting his offer of training. She had been one of the first to sign up for the Tourney, and was ready to test her skills against others. Silently, she left her apartment, only to stop at the next apartment - number 403. Unlocking the door, she stepped inside, and flicked on the light switch.
The apartment might be considered the Valhalla of gamers.
The walls were lined with consoles. From old systems like the Commodore, passing with the turn of the millennium type consoles like the X Box and Playstation 2, to the latest 6th generation computing system, second only to the Magi. DDR machines. Old arcade games. Varying stages of computers, from the old x86 systems, to the latest AMD Angel. Years ago, the company had finally passed Pentium as leaders in the CPU branch, although the name of their latest chip, the Angel, was quite an overt display of bad taste.
Rei turned on one of the computer systems, relaxing into her chair. She opened up the chosen game, Quake 8, and logged in, using "Ayanami" as her handle. Soon, she entered the "Nerv HQ" channel.
--------
Asuka Wondergirl! I'm surprised you're actually here; I wouldn't have labeled you as a gamer.
Hikari Hello, Ayanami.
Ayanami I will try my best, Pilot Sohryu.
Shinji Tell me again why we're using our real names, and not any nicknames?
Asuka Baka, this is only training, there's no need for it.
Kensuke Easier identification, too.
Toji START THE GAME ALREADY!
Asuka Yeah yeah...
--------
The match began and it could soon be made out that the Eva pilots held the top positions. Much to his dismay, Kensuke was near the bottom - in fact he only had a lead compared to Hikari and a marginal one at that. Toji came in next, and Shinji held a comfortable third place, only a few points behind the leaders.
The other two spots were an entirely different matter. It had gone from being a game to a contest of wills. Currently, Rei held a one point lead on Asuka, as the redhead had stepped into Rei's line of sight. Comfortably hidden, the First Child had used the most efficient and direct method she knew to dispatch her enemy, and had sniped the now- irate Second Child.
Shinji could even hear the growls of frustration coming from her room, then a strangled yell. "That's it Wondergirl, you're DEAD!"
Asuka changed weapons, taking one of her favorite tools of destruction in the game - the rocket launcher. Anyone that crossed her path was summarily executed, barely having the time to react as she sent a volley of missiles their way. Her score rose to once more match Rei's, as she continued to search for the blue haired girl, ducking behind every available cover she could find.
A predatory grin appeared on her face as she discovered Rei, the blue-clad figure's back towards the Second Child.
She fired.
And screamed in anger as the game halted, the timer having come to an end with her missile just a few feet from her prey.
"SCHEISSE! GODDAMNED GAME! Just ONE kill and I would've won!" Asuka's and Rei's scores had matched perfectly. Same number of kills, same number of deaths. Knowing she was in a killing mood, Shinji wisely stayed out of her way the remainder of the night.
On the other side of town, Rei relaxed into her chair. One could only imagine the outrage the Second Child would be going through and a part of her couldn't help but feel sorry for the Third, who likely would prove the most convenient outlet for Pilot Sohryu's rage.
Still, she couldn't help allowing herself what most might call an uncharacteristic, if not altogether unnerving smile, and letting one word escaped her lips, as she stood up to leave the room:
"Owned..."
--------
"YOU! Come with me."
The voice tore Shinji out of his reverie as he lay on his bed listening to his SDAT. He blinked, then opened his mouth to ask "Why", but got rudely interrupted.
"No buts! Just come along!" she continued, glaring at him as if to dare him to refuse.
Resigned to his fate, She got up and followed Asuka out of the apartment. As they walked towards the city, he asked the redhead what their destination was. Her only reply came in the form of a dubious 'You'll see when we're there.'
Already suspicious, his doubts increased when they had met Hikari -who seemed to be expecting them...or at least the German girl- along the way. The freckled girl seemed puzzled at Shinji's but rolled her eyes after Asuka whispered something in response to the unspoken question."
Shinji wasn't the most deductive of people, but even he could see through Asuka's plan as they approached the mall. He was again going to be considered a porter, like he had once done on one of Misato's shopping sprees. He briefly considered trying to slip away, but then cast that thought aside as he really had nothing better to do. And besides, he knew that he'd only suffer for it later.
Tearing himself out of his musings, he noticed how the girls had stopped - apparently just to gossip. Asuka, however, seemed distracted, and kept glancing to the side. Following her gaze, he looked into the window of the shop they stood next to. The window belonged to a jewelry shop, a number of exquisite stones, rings, necklaces, and other baubles on display. One piece immediately attracted his attention, however.
It stood out from the others in its simplicity, and yet complexity. From a silver chain hung a small conglomeration of gems, on a circular shaped plate made out of a material Shinji couldn't guess at. It seemed that there were in total twenty-four gems following the whole circumference. At each point of the compass, instead of the usual diamond, there were different sets of gems. On the east and west points, a pair of sapphires shone, and on the north and south points, emeralds cast their darker glare. In the middle stood a slightly larger gem, this time a ruby. The whole contraption was smaller than most of the other items on display, yet it immediately caught attention of those who looked through the window. - "Hey, baka! What the hell are you doing? We're going to have lunch, so get moving!"
The yell had torn him out of his contemplation, turning to see that the girls had moved away. He did however notice Asuka shooting one last glance at the shop. Silently, he followed them; his gaze fixed on the redhead Eva pilot, and thought about how he could help, somehow.
As they came to the food court, Asuka perked up, having spotted something of interest. "Hey, could I interest you guys in some non-Japanese food?"
"What did you have in mind?" the freckled girl asked, curious.
"That." The other girl pointed towards a restaurant with a pair of...golden arches, it seemed.
"Fast food? Eh, why not..."
Before getting in the line, Hikari eyed the menu of the gaijin fast food restaurant the redhead had convinced them to go to. Unnoticed by her friend, Asuka stepped next to Shinji.
"Hey, I think I maxed out my NERV card here...do you have any money to spare?"
The boy almost rolled his eyes at the girl, not surprised she had gotten carried away with shopping. Nonetheless, he took out his wallet, and gave her what little he had.
"Thanks," she replied, taking the money. "Consider this payback for all the times I've saved your sorry butt."
Shinji was about to remark that he had saved her more often than she had saved him, but remained silent. It was probably a waste of effort anyway.
"Okay, I know what I want," Hikari stated as she turned around. "What about you?"
"I'll have a double cheeseburger with bacon, I think." The redhead replied, before looking around. "Hey, I'm going to go freshen up. Try to grab a table, Ok?"
"Sure." She took the money Asuka handed to her to pay for her share, then turned to the boy. "Shinji? What do you want?"
"Hm? Oh, it's all right, I'm not that hungry anyway...and I've got no money left." The boy answered, shifting on his feet.
"What?? It's almost two in the afternoon! You must be starving! I haven't seen you spend anything today either... Where'd the money go?"
Shinji hesitated before answering, his cheeks slightly reddening. "Asuka ran out of money, I gave mine to her..."
Hikari blinked. That did sound like the German girl, but still... "You should have something for yourself! I would have shared with her, or something..." she paused as the boy shook his head.
"No, really...I wasn't planning on eating anyway."
"Well, if that's how you want it..." she said, giving in to his refusal. She had not missed the blush, and that had gotten her thinking. "So, why do you let her push you around like that, anyway?"
Shinji's blush suddenly got a lot more distinguishable. "Wh-what?"
"Oh, you know! I've yet to see you refuse anything she asks you to do. Well, maybe 'ask' is the wrong word..." she noted to herself, before continuing. "Like just now, the money?"
Shinji was now as red as a tomato. "I-I don't know!" he finally stammered as a response. "Really...I don't know why."
Hikari only nodded, a slight smile on her lips. She had a rather good idea of Shinji's reasons- even if he himself was unaware of them. Suddenly she remembered something. "Oh! Shinji? Can you wait here in line? I forgot to get something, and the shop is right over there..."
"What did you forget?"
"A bento for...uh, my little sister. Yeah." This was slightly twisting the truth, as she did want to get the bento, but not for her sister - unless her name was Toji Suzuhara. She fished out some money so that Shinji could pay for the food, but Shinji shook his head.
"Let me get the bento, it's not like I'm going to be eating here anyway..."
"Are you sure?
Shinji nodded, accepting the cash Hikari gave him and memorized which bento he had to get, then walked to the store.
-------
In the washroom, Asuka stared at the mirror as she washed her hands. As she had left, the last thing she had overheard from the conversation was Shinji saying he had no money left. The baka had given her his last few yen? She also knew for a fact that he hadn't eaten since he had gotten up that morning, so he had to be hungry even if he had denied it. As she dried her hands she sighed, remembering how he always made lunches for the both of them to eat at school.
She figured that she could share a little bit with him. Maybe spare a few fries and give him a corner of her burger, if he'd see fit to eat Western food. Like he'd have room to complain; most guys at school would kill to share her lunch with her.
Leaving the washroom, she noticed a vacant table next to the line. She sat down, looking for Shinji and Hikari. Oddly enough, only Hikari could be found in the line. She was about ready to wave when she saw Shinji return, holding something in his hand. As she looked closer, Asuka thought it looked like...a bento? She frowned as Hikari took the bento, blushing, hiding it in one of her bags. Her glare turned back to Shinji...hadn't he said he didn't have any money? Then what the hell was this?
Why was he giving HER that?
Hikari immediately knew something was wrong when they arrived at the table after spotting Asuka. Her friend seemed...angry. More-so than usual. She blinked as Asuka snatched her food from the tray, still frowning -even glaring- at both Shinji and herself.
Asuka looked at the now-empty tray. "What, no food for the baka?"
Shinji opened his mouth to reply, but Hikari spoke up first. "He didn't have the money to." She replied, starting to frown herself.
"And I'm not hungry anyway..." Shinji mumbled, as his stomach growled.
"Huh. Your own damn fault."
The silence grew thick, weighing on the three young people sitting at the table. Finally, one of them couldn't take it anymore.
"Where are you going?" Asuka asked, as Shinji stood up.
"Home...I don't feel that good." He answered. In reality, he just needed some time alone. Turning away, he left the two girls to their lunch.
---------
A few hours later, back at the apartment, Misato called her two charges to the kitchen to discuss orders that had just arrived.
"Whaaaaat? Synch training again? I thought this was our day off!"
"I didn't say this was synch training," answered the mauve haired woman.
"It isn't? Then what kind of training is this?" the confused girl asked.
"I'm not sure, but it's definitely not sync training, Ritsuko told me as much. Anyway, get ready you two. We have to be there in about an hour."
Asuka glanced at Shinji, who had remained silent the whole time, and her raised eyebrow in an unspoken question. The boy shrugged, not having any idea what was going on either. They remained silent during the whole trip to HQ, finally ending up on the bridge, where Ayanami, Ritsuko, and the commanders were present. The blonde scientist had an annoyed look on her visage, whilst the sub-commander seemed almost...amused. The Supreme Commander's was in his customary stone-like countenance.
"Before you start asking any unnecessary questions," the Sub Commander started, amusement clearly distinguishable in his voice, "this is a training session, but not related to the Evas in anyway."
The two Children and their guardian blinked in confusion, wondering why they were here if not for Eva.
"We have heard of this...'tournament' that is taking place. We have monitored your performance, and found it severely lacking...thus, you will undergo an intensive training session. You will also be excused from school during this period of time. After all, the pride of NERV is at stake."
Shinji and Asuka's open jaws snapped closed once more, wide grins spreading on their faces, as they high-fived the other. "All right! No school for a week!" Rei, as usual, remained silent, although a slight upturning of her mouth could have been seen, had one known where to look.
Asuka paused her dancing jig, as a thought struck her. "But sir! Only the three of us?"
"Explain, Pilot Sohryu."
"Well, just us three against each other would be a bit...stupid. There aren't enough people to make it a proper training, and we'll surely have more people than that during the tournament games."
"Point. The NERV staff will help, as will agent Kaji..." he chuckled as Asuka almost bounced in place and added his final comment. "As will we "'We'?"
"The Commander and I, of course."
This time, every jaw in the room fell. "Well, you just need to train against things that will offer only marginal resistance, for the time being."
At this point, Shinji started laughing, his mirth growing as Asuka blinked, then glared at him. Unfazed, the Fuyutsuki went on. "And this old man still has a trick or two up his sleeve..." Unfortunately for him, his words were drowned out by a still laughing Third Child.
Reigning in her anger, Asuka asked one last question. "Which game will this be, sir?"
"Unreal Quake Tournament 2015."
"But...that's not even out yet!"
"This is true, we're in the finishing stages though. This will be the beta testing."
At this point, Shinji had stopped laughing, grasping the meaning behind the words. "Wha? NERV has been behind the series?"
"Actually, SEELE. Where do you think they've gotten all their funds? They've been doing it since the late 1980s. You don't REALLY think that Microsoft was started by a couple of Seattle-based college dropouts in their garage, do you?"
---------
Soon after the meeting was adjourned, the Children were led to their "training area", which turned out to be some sort of lounge. It was oddly familiar, but neither Asuka nor Shinji could place where this feeling came from. The room contained a dozen computers, six on each side of the room. Each computer was separated by some kind of small divider, in addition of being slightly slanted compared to the next computer, as the room seemed strangely triangular.
The Children, Kaji, the three bridge technicians and the NERV commanding officers all took their places, and soon the game was launched.
The Second and Third Children and their guardian had been amazed for a few moments when they first started, as the skins of their characters looked almost exactly like them, from Asuka's neural connectors to cans of Yebisu hanging from Misato's belt instead of grenades.
For the next several hours, cursing, yells of victory, swearing, and all sorts of exclamations were heard from every side of the room. The range of skill that was displayed could have baffled anyone. On one hand, the three Children remained in the top three positions, defying the supposed 'lack of performance' that had been mentioned. On the opposite end of the spectrum, stood Misato with an impressive amount of frags, and an even more impressive amount of deaths.
A mighty 0 for the former, and an incredible 137 for the latter.
Needless to say, the air in her corner was about to turn blue from all the cursing.
"Nothing personal, kid." Kaji had grinned at the purple haired Operations commander, after shooting her.
"Nothing personal here, either," she replied, before leaning around the divider, and smacking him on the head.
Ritsuko showed an amazing amount of skill, as she had foregone using the mouse entirely in favor of the keyboard. Had anyone watched, the movements of her hands would have been hard to follow, fingers striking the keys at a blinding speed. Thus it was no surprise that she was almost tying Shinji for fourth place. Of course, this was after Maya had noticed her using the Magi for the first part of the game. The nickname "HAL 9000" had been somewhat suspicious, not to mention the incredible scores.
The rest of the group were scattered amongst the ranking system, Gendo being only ahead of Misato and Fuyutsuki. Several times in the past few hours he had yelled in protest, something about his being the Supreme Commander of NERV, and that no one should be shooting at him. Oddly enough, each time he said that, the frequency of his deaths increased substantially.
He had even ordered Rei to protect him at one point.
Her answer had been a rocket in his face. "I am not your doll." She replied quietly.
The game finally ended, once again with Asuka and Rei in a tie. Gendo, for his part, dismissed the group, ordering them to come back the next day for more training, mumbled a quick admonishing of Ritsuko's "misuse of the Magi and government funds", then left in a huff. The rest of the group slowly filed out of the room, jabbing at each other's skill, or lack thereof. About ready to leave, Fuyutsuki approached Shinji.
"Very impressive performance, pilot Ikari...better than mine, I dare say."
"Sir? If you don't mind me asking..."
"Yes?"
"Since when do you game? I-I don't mean to offend, but...you don't strike me as much of a gamer..."
The old man smiled. "To tell the truth, since I met your mother."
"My mother??"
"She was quite the gamer, I'll have you know. She was a student of mine back when I was still a teacher. Very friendly, and kind...traits which I see were passed along to you," Shinji could only blush at the comment, which faded as the old man continued. "As were her gaming reflexes, I'd say. We partially credit your incredible skill for piloting Eva to that, you know... In any case, she often dragged me along for some gaming sessions."
"I...I didn't know about that... Thank you, Sir..."
"No problem, Shinji. In fact, I should show you the first game she showed me, which is still my personal favorite. And I still hold the NERV high score for it, too!"
"Which game would that be, sir?"
"Why, 'Dance Dance Revolution', of course!"
Asuka -who had been just a few steps ahead- started snickering as an image of Fuyutsuki dancing in the same garb she and Shinji had worn during the synch test. The laughter grew louder as the image suddenly fell over, clutching its hip in pain. She was still giggling as an irate Misato drove her two charges back home.
---------
The rest of the week flew by for the Children, as the boring hours of school were replaced by action packed gaming sessions. Every day a different set of games was played so that the pilots could have a well- rounded "education". The scores, however, varied immensely with each different genre.
For example, whereas Misato had the lowest scores in the action games, with a single exception she remained undefeated-even with the odds pent against her-in the strategy genre. NERV had, after all, hired the best of the best strategists on the globe. Her only loss had been when Gendo managed to lead all the players in the game towards Misato's base, the numbers overwhelming even her amazing tactics. His only comment was that this was "all according to the scenario..."
Thereafter the Major made an effort to rush the Commander to prevent a repeat of the disastrous incident. . Similar results came up in the driving simulations, with Misato and Kaji in the lead- mostly due to their reckless driving style having shoved everyone else off of the road. Not to mention that the rest of the group preferred to watch the two duke it out on their own, as it was much more entertaining that way.
---------
Finally, the day arrived. The school gym had been cleared, ready to make space for the two hundred computers that would be brought in the afternoon. All the equipment was ready and installed, waiting only for the participants. As the day dragged on, people started to flow in, setting their computers up.
Kensuke -being one of the first to arrive as well as being one of the organizers- was going around helping anyone who needed troubleshooting. He eventually spotted his friends after the hall had been already half filled, and directed them to a corner of their own. He abused a bit of his administrative powers to secure a private table for his friends, but considering who three of those were no one had voiced any arguments. As the last few people came in he walked towards a small stage that had been set just for that purpose and switched on the microphone.
"Okay everybody all set?"
A general yell of approval sounded through the room.
"Good. As you all know, this thing will be lasting for the weekend. You can choose to remain here and sleep wherever you can, or go home. I'd advise the second option, as the doors will be locked in order to prevent theft of anything. Remember to sign up if you want to participate in the contest, as the elimination rounds will be held today. With that set aside, let the first Tokyo 3 LAN Tourney begin!" He grinned as cheering sounded through the hall.
---------
The rest of the day passed on quickly, as everyone was having fun. All had gone smoothly, except for one incident where Toji had called Asuka a "Rocket Whore" for abusing the rocket launcher like she did. This had resulted in both her and Hikari smacking him upside the head, knocking him out as he banged his head on the table.
As dusk swept over the town the school cafeteria opened for a special occasion dinner- mostly for those students wanting to stay at the school for the night.
Shinji, Asuka, and Hikari found themselves in the line, though the two pilots were still debating whether or not to sleep back at the apartment. They just didn't want Misato's cooking, although the cafeteria food was only marginally better.
Shinji, being directly in front of the girls, couldn't help but overhear their conversation.
"No dates since that one time with the med student? I can't believe that. I probably couldn't list the number of guys who've asked you out..." Hikari admonished her friend. Not getting an answer, she started on a different tangent -one she herself was preoccupied about. "Say, Asuka....umm ...can I ask you something? Have you ever....you know...kissed anyone?"
"What? Of course not! Boys only want one thing! Besides, there's only ONE man for me. You know that." The other girl scoffed
"Are you seriously trying to tell me that you've never even KISSED anyone? A beautiful girl like you? Not even in college?"
"No! Some college guys are even worse!" She glanced at her friend then went back to eyeing the line. "Anyway, why do you want to know?"
"...Never mind..."
Asuka eyed her friend reprovingly. "Besides boys only care about one thing," the redhead repeated.
"You just said that a minute ago." Hikari looked at her friend, eyebrows raised. "And what would that be?" She asked, a hint of curiosity having crept into her voice.
"The looks. Boys are all so superficial. They only care for what's on the outside. And of course, that other thing. You know what I'm talking about."
A faint blush spread on the Class Rep's cheeks. She knew what the other girl was talking about. "Oh come on," she scolded. "I'm sure not ALL of them think that way."
"Name me one." Asuka stated, daring Hikari to go through with her claim.
Hikari hesitated for a second, her eyes glancing around finally setting on Shinji.
"Him?" she asked her friend, pointing at Shinji.
Asuka's face belied her doubt, and even anger on the subject.
"Oh come on...what's wrong with Ikari? He's always so sweet...and you can't deny he is cute.
While the finger pointing had gone unnoticed by the boy, the words hadn't been lost on him. His face lowered slightly as he felt a blush creep to his cheeks. He was extremely thankful no one could see his obvious embarrassment.
"Feh, he's a pervert," the redhead growled.
Then there was the kiss...she still remembered how at first it had been sloppy...but after the first few seconds, it had felt...nice. Much nicer than she had intended or wanted it to be. She was still angry and confused at the whole thing... Her whole body had felt a lot...warmer. Her cheeks had been on fire, and still were when Shinji had pulled away, gasping for breath. Not wanting him to see her like that, she had run away, and covered it by warning him never to do so again. She frowned, glaring at the boy in the line as she once more felt the heat on her face. "That wasn't even a real kiss..." she mumbled, trying to convince herself. "Stupid perverted baka tricked me into it..." Hikari, who had been listening, could only smile.
---------
"HEADSHOT!"
Shinji slumped back in his chair as he finished the match- the last shot having won him the bout- and the chance to go to the next elimination round. Bringing up the score screen he saw that he had already secured a qualifying position. He blinked as the screen blurred, then cleared, and glanced at the clock. It was already almost one in the morning.
Glancing around, he found most of his friends to be slumped on the desks and very asleep. Only Asuka still seemed awake, blasting away like no tomorrow, although she too was starting to show signs of exhaustion.
He got up feeling the need to take a walk and generally stretch his legs, when he noticed Hikari stir and open her eyes. She noticed Shinji looking at her. Their gaze met, he turned away and started walking towards an exit.
Quickly, Hikari stood up, blinking sleep out of her eyes, and followed the boy, catching up to him. "Going somewhere?"
"Just going for a walk, before I fall asleep, I guess..." he replied, yawning.
"Mind if I join you?"
"No, not at all..." he answered, confused as to why she would want to walk with him.
From her vantage point, Asuka watched them leave the gym, a deep frown marring her features. What was going on between the two? Adding this to last week's incident, she had started to get suspicious... hadn't Hikari said she liked the jock Stooge? Then what was she doing with Shinji?
Finishing off her opponent in the match, she went to the exit, intent on following the pair.
"Ikari..." Hikari started.
"Yes?"
"Thanks again for that thing last week...not the one I was going to choose, but it worked just as well."
"Ah... no problem, really."
"Say...how's it like hanging around with Toji?" she asked quietly, nudging a rock with her foot as they walked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" The boy asked, nearly pausing in mid-stride. Didn't she usually call him Suzuhara?
"I mean with how that stooge acts all the time...aren't you afraid it's going to rub off?"
"Oh...nah, it's just a show. He's actually a nice guy..." "Yeah ..." She blushed and stammered as Shinji stared at her with a blank look. "Err, I-never mind!" She was silent for a few moments before continuing. "So...um...has Toji said anything about liking anybody?"
"Uhm? I don't follow..."
"I...I mean I keep hearing him and Aida talking to you about liking someone," she explained, the blush on her cheeks growing ever stronger. "What about them?"
Shinji blinked. "Uh... nothing really. I'm usually the one they pester... The only girl Toji ever talks about is his sis..." He looked at Hikari again, seeing the disappointment etched on her face. Could she be...? "The bento was for him, wasn't it?"
Hikari froze in her tracks, her face similar to a deer caught in headlights. She then relaxed, bowing her head. "Is it that obvious?"
Shinji shook his head. "Not really, I only noticed it just now..." He looked up, noticing they had walked all the way around the school and were nearly back at the gym entrance. He paused, leaning against the wall, Hikari following suit. "I don't know about him...but as I said, he's a nice guy...just try it and see?"
Hikari nodded, a tiny smile on her lips. "Thanks, Ikari...for understanding..." She grabbed hold of his hand, and gently squeezed it. To the boy, it was... soft. Warm. Gentle. Anything but what he had expected from appendages that could deliver rather stinging slaps to his face. Focused on her hand gripping his, he almost didn't hear Hikari as she went on. "I can't see how Asuka can be so blind to that..." She trailed off as she noticed Shinji's bewildered look and released his hand. "Never mind..." Standing up, she brushed the dust off of her skirt and turned towards the door. She paused and glanced back at the boy. "Shall we go back in?"
Nodding, the boy stood up and followed her.
---------
Outside, Asuka slumped against the wall, the only thing supporting her at the moment. From the distance she hadn't heard what they were talking about, but she had clearly seen how Hikari had grabbed his hand, as well as his response to it.
That her own friend would do this...no. It couldn't be. But then, why had they been smiling like that?
Her shoulders slumped, her whole body weary, she decided to go back inside to sleep. Nevertheless she made sure she stayed as far away from the little group as she could. She didn't feel like she could talk to them right now, or even come morning.
---------
"Goo~d mo~rning Vietnam!" Kensuke yelled into the microphone when most people seemed to be awake. The reaction, however, was not what he expected; as he now had a sea of blank stares directed his way. "Never mind... Anyway, today is the second and last day of the tournament. The elimination rounds are over, and now the qualifying players will start their own matches. Let the best player succeed!"
The matches took on a notch of difficulty, as now it wasn't the time limit that counted, but who reached the kill limit first. If, however, the matches took too long the game would end after half an hour, with the highest score-holder being the victor. Every point counted and one could lose the advantage quite quickly if one didn't pay attention.
Which was why a certain red haired girl was struggling. She had a lot on her mind at the moment and couldn't focus entirely on the game. Her opponent wasn't even that good - he was even downright mediocre- but she just couldn't concentrate. Her mind kept wandering back to last night.
She shook her head to clear her mind and shoved those thoughts aside. Quickly, she finished off her opponent, winning the match with only a five- point lead.
She definitely had to get this sorted out, and soon.
---------
Lunchtime came around, signifying a break from the contest and the matches would resume after everyone had gotten something to eat. Thus the little group once more found themselves waiting in line, although Asuka was a few places ahead as she didn't feel like talking to anyone.
Rei stood behind Shinji, gazing first at the pilot of Unit 02, then Unit 01. Finally, she decided to satisfy her curiosity.
"Pilot Ikari?"
Shinji turned to face the blue haired girl, surprised to hear her voice. "Yes, Ayanami?"
"Why is pilot Sohryu angry?"
"She is?" Shinji turned to look at Asuka, but could only make out her mass of fiery hair.
"She has been avoiding everyone the whole morning and hasn't spoken with anybody yet."
Shinji stayed silent, not knowing what to say. He couldn't fathom why the red-haired girl was in such a mood, but it had lasted since the shopping trip. She'd been avoiding him and everyone in general since then. His reverie was interrupted as Rei spoke once more. -
"I will address the situation." With that, she made her way forward in the line. Surprisingly she met little resistance as she moved up the line-not that anyone was brave enough to confront the blue-haired pilot . Asuka had been watching Hikari and Toji. The freckled girl had brought a bento -and had given it to the jock- who was now sitting at a table digging into the food. Glaring, she had shifted her gaze from them to Shinji, to find him talking to the doll. This only served to fuel her ire as she once more glared at the couple at the table. "She has that jock," she mumbled. "Why was she with the baka too?"
"Why does it concern you if Horaki-san cares for Pilot Ikari?"
The voice made Asuka jump, as it had come without warning. She whirled around to face Rei. "NOW what the hell are you talking about, Wondergirl?"
Undeterred, the blue haired girl pressed on. "Is this what is referred to as 'jealousy'?"
Asuka's jaw dropped. "Jealous? Me? Of Hikari? Hah! She likes that jock! And why should I care about baka-Shinji?"
"Because you find that your feelings for Ikari are being challenged."
The redhead was at loss for words. Her feelings for Shinji? Did she really feel that way? No...she loved Kaji, not that wimpy boy. "She can have him for all I care -hell, she was even holding hands with him last night." She growled, before she could stop herself.
"Did you follow them?" Rei asked, stepping closer as her red eyes bore into Asuka's
"What? How did you know?"
"I was awake."
"And why do you care about this?"
The blue haired girl paused before answering, her voice firm with conviction. "Because I too... care for Ikari-kun. I do not wish to see him harmed in any way."
"Oh, so the doll cares for something?" Asuka asked with narrowed eyes as she sneered at Rei, then glared at her once more. "What if I was to tell you that Hikari and Shinji were holding hands last night?" She jabbed her thumb at the girl, without turning, as she continued. "They probably were swapping vows of eternal love or some crap!"
"How can you be sure if you didn't hear them?" Rei asked, then pointed towards the jock and the class rep who were busy eating and talking and seemingly enjoying themselves. "It seems that they are enjoying their time together. Ikari wouldn't infringe on that, nor does it seem to me either he or Horaki-san plan to form a relationship."
"And how the hell do you know that, Wondergirl?"
Rei slightly tilted her head sideways. "I do not know how I know. I just do."
Grunting in disgust, Asuka whirled around. What Rei had told her couldn't possibly be true... Yet, in all the time anyone had known her, Rei had never lied -why would she start now?
Turning her gaze towards Shinji, the German considered her next course of action.
---------
"Auuuugh! Damnit!"
Toji blinked at his friend. "Oi, Ken, what's wrong?"
"I just lost! Damnit all! I was almost in the semifinals, too!" the other boy answered.
"Hey, at least you didn't get beat in the quarter-finals," the larger boy grunted. "Who'd you lose to?"
"Some guy named Tux. Bloody good, he is."
" 'Tux'? That's the same guy who beat me! Wonder who the hell he is..."
"I'll have a chat with him..."
-------
AiDaMan Goddamn, Tux, you're good.
Tux Ah, thanks. I could do better, really.
AiDaMan No, seriously. I've only met a few people that got these kind of scores.
Tux Years of training, my friend.
AiDaMan Say, what's your real name? I'd like to know who my opponent is.
Tux Well...There are some who call me...Tim?
AiDaMan Uh...right...whatever.
-------
"Any clues?" Toji asked, leaning to peek at Kensuke's screen.
"Nope. He apparently wants to stay anonymous..." the other boy answered, leaning back in his chair.
"Oh...can he do that?"
"Yeah, unless he wins the tournament. Speaking of that, Asuka, Rei, AND Shinji are in the semifinals! And this Tux guy, too."
"Somehow I'm not surprised the three pilots are at the end. Who's against who?"
"Rei versus Asuka, Shinji versus Tux." Kensuke answered, tapping his finger on the table as he listed both matches.
Both looked at the two girls, then at each other. They started cheering. "GO REI! YOU CAN WIN!"
Their reply came in the form of a pair of empty soda cans -each catching one between the eyes."
---------
Worry was the main emotion coursing through Asuka at that moment -anger close behind it. Shinji had already qualified for the finals, and her match against Rei had started. Things, however, weren't looking too good. Asuka had a small lead, but she didn't feel as if it was justified. Rei, for some reason, seemed to be purposely doing worse than she could.
Asuka couldn't stand that.
------
RedReaper Listen to me, Wondergirl.
II What is it, pilot Sohryu?
RedReaper I can tell you're holding back. Don't. I don't want your pity. I want to beat you down at your best.
II Very well...
------
The pace of the match suddenly rose several notches. Asuka, to her credit, valiantly fought to survive and keep the small lead she had. But Rei's focus far exceeded Asuka's troubled and confused mind at the moment, allowing her to catch up and exceed Asuka's score.
The outcome of the match was obvious.
"Congrats, Rei! You're in the finals!" Kensuke cheered.
Asuka, feeling sick, turned towards her opponent. The red eyes met blue ones, seemingly...telling her to do something. She couldn't tell what, but the stare had a deeper purpose. Not wanting to put up with anybody and just plain feeling miserable, Asuka stood up to leave.
Shinji saw her, and was about to get up when she spoke to him. "I'm going back home...I don't feel that well."
He immediately started to worry. "Are you all right? Want me to help you?"
"No!" Asuka hissed, her back still turned to him. She didn't want him to see her like this. "Go and play against that doll. I don't care what happens," the redhead said, then walked out, on the verge of running.
"Asuka..."
---------
When she had returned home she immediately sought the refuge of her room. The events over the last few days had finally taken their toll, and the girl was quite thoroughly exhausted. However, before sleep could take her, her mind drifted back to what Rei had said about Shinji.
Rolling onto her side and closing her eyes, Asuka made up her mind.
She'd speak with the boy when he returned.
The next day Asuka awoke to find her roommate had never returned-opting instead to sleep over that Toji's place.
While she wasn't exactly happy with the idea, the girl simply waited for Shinji's return. Several times she had flat-out refused to speak with her guardian on the purpose-quite vocally in the last attempt. The redhead made it perfectly clear she intended to wait and speak with the boy.
Either that, or kill him for forcing her to sit around for so long.
The day wore on, finally approaching night. Still quite exhausted, the redhead went to bed, her mind unable to form a coherent sentence at the moment anyway. As her head hit the pillow, she thought she heard the front door open, but the lure of sleep was too powerful, enveloping her in its soothing darkness.
---------
When she woke up the following morning, silence greeted her. Misato was probably back at NERV HQ. Asuka was grateful that it was summer break, as she probably couldn't last the day at school considering the way she felt.
Sighing, she threw on some clothes and opened her door, ready to make breakfast.
On her way out, her foot struck something. Looking down, she noticed a small, gift-wrapped box in front of her door. Curious, she picked it up, closing her door and sat on her bed. She proceeded to open it, almost dropping it when the content was revealed.
The necklace. The one she had seen at the mall...the diamonds, the ruby, the sapphires, and the emeralds...they were right before her eyes. She had planned to use the money from the tournament to get it, but she had lost...yet, it was still here. In her hands.
Who could have possibly...?
Even as she asked herself the question, she knew. She stood up, marching towards her door. She flung it open, and was about ready to open Shinji's when she paused, looking back at her room. Making up her mind, she went back.
---------
Shinji lay on his bed, earphones in his ears though the SDAT was silent. Twice, he had heard the door opposite to his open -the second time quite forcefully. He sat up as the footsteps grew fainter, wondering what was happening. Was Misato home already?
He was answered as his door was opened, revealing his other roommate.
"So...you won the contest, did you?" she asked, the customary sneer in her voice.
Shinji blinked, not having expected this reaction, of all things. He nodded, waiting for her to continue.
She angrily walked towards his bed, stopping her face only a foot away from his. "Listen to me, Third Child. I don't need your pity. Not now, not ever!" She spun around, ready to hurry out of the room.
His voice stopped her. "A-Asuka...can I ask you something?"
She paused at the door, her back still to him. "What is it, Third Child?"
"I...I saw how you looked at that thing at the mall... You had this faraway look... Does it have a special meaning to you?"
Her hands on the doorframe, she leaned on it to support herself. "I...my mother. She used to have the exact same thing when I was little, before she...before she died."
"Oh..." the boy mumbled softly, looking at the ground. "Sorry."
"Don't apologizing, Baka! It's not as if it was your fault. And anyway," she said, trying to draw some strength from her words, "it was a long time ago..."
They were silent for a few minutes, still in the same positions. As Asuka started to move, Shinji asked the one question he had really wanted to ask.
"Asuka?"
"What now, Third Child? I don't have all day."
"Do you...I mean...would you want to go out with me sometime?"
Asuka blinked. Had he really said what she thought he had said? Had he, the wimp with less social skills than an average brick wall, the meek boy who apologized all the time, had SHINJI just asked her if she wanted to go out with him? She whirled around, her blue eyes boring into his own. "What did you say?"
Shinji gulped. "I-I said, uh... I, would you...would you want to go out with me sometime?"
He had. He had actually asked her out. Her brain screamed bloody murder, while the rest of her...the rest wanted it. She was tired. Tired of fighting against herself.
Just once, maybe, she could try to live normally, to relax. It couldn't hurt once, right? "What makes you think I'd accept?"
To his credit, Shinji didn't flinch. Instead, he pointed at her. "You're wearing it."
She looked down. She had totally forgotten to take the necklace off after she had tried it on... She looked at him again, then at the wall. He must have spent a huge part of the money for it...and for her? Why?
"Tell you what, baka...I'll think about it, okay? I can't promise any more than that."
Shinji nodded, a slight smile on his face as she left. Relaxing onto his bed, the smile spread a bit more.
She hadn't refused.
The End.
----- Omake: -----
"I'm ho~me!" Silence greeted the Major, as she entered the apartment. Weird, usually someone was home at this hour...Maybe they were in their rooms. Making a note to have a chat at dinner, she walked to her room, only to have PenPen run out. She blinked, then shrugged. As she walked in, she eyed her computer. Why was it on? And why was there a game running?
"Tux?" she said to herself, as she read the current nickname. "Who the hell is Tux?" -----
A term often the object of the vilest curses, or some weird form of awe. A descriptive term, used to connote something or someone with an amount of praise and admiration for what are called. "L33t 5k1llz", understandable to the saner-minded as "leet skillz". Loosely meaning "Elite skills".
The term originated on the Internet, creating a form of speech known as "Leet Speak". It is probable that it originated in the gaming communities, as a saying to describe one's performance in one game or another.
Outside of the Internet, which is often called "Real Life" by the frequent users of the World Wide Web, one would be hard pressed to describe someone as "L33t", yet it is surprisingly easy to identify those whose skills in gaming are lauded as such.
But "L33t" can be found in places one would never suspect...
-------
"Oi, Shinji! Have you heard?"
Shinji blinked, tearing his gaze away from the window as he turned to look at his bespectacled otaku friend.
"Huh? Heard what?" he answered, not having the slightest idea what Kensuke could be talking about.
The other boy sighed. He had lost count of how many times he had to rescue his friend from his own little world. "You remember that LAN Party I mentioned?"
Shinji hesitated, then nodded as he vaguely recalled a discussion he had had with Toji and Kensuke a few days earlier, although he didn't quite remember what a LAN Party was...
"I talked to a few teachers, and even to the principal...he gave permission to set things up and let us host this thing!"
Shinji warily eyed the other boy, who was practically dancing. "Explain to me what this whole thing is again?"
Kensuke stared at his friend, at that moment feeling an understanding with Asuka he had never felt, and probably never would feel again. Sometimes he too felt like shaking Shinji, to try to set that mind of his straight. "I told you a few days ago...we bring computers with us, hook them all up together, and game all day and all night! Well, maybe not all night..." he quickly added as he saw his friends raised eyebrow. "So, you in?"
"I don't know... Who else is playing?"
"Me, Toji, and a few other guys for now...we'll see if anyone else is willing to play."
"Just us guys, huh?"
"Yeah. Can you imagine any girls joining in on this?" he said then snorted. "They spend too much time with shopping, anyway..." The voice that responded to him sent a shiver down his spine.
"And what's that supposed to mean, stooge?"
Slowly, he turned to face the auburn haired pilot of Eva 02, who had apparently heard last few words. Figuring he couldn't be hurt more than he already would for that comment, he decided to press on. "The day I see a girl at a LAN Party, hell, even playing computer games, will be the day that I eat my own glasses."
Asuka's grin of pure evil would have made the Devil green with envy, and certainly enough to strike fear in the heart of Kensuke and Shinji who had been watching the conversation.
"You better like those glasses of yours raw, then... Anyway, which games are you going to have there? Doom 6? Quake 8? How about a few strategy games like Starcraft 4...."
Kensuke's jaw fell to the ground, disbelief etched all over his face. Not only him, almost all of the boys in the room were staring at the redhead, not believing what they had just heard. Some of girls were staring as well, while others hid their smiles...it was widely unknown that a number of the girls were into computers and occasional computer games.
"A-And what about the sports games?"
All heads turned around to look at the Class Rep as she walked through the room. She glanced around the room, noticing the stares, and blushed. "Yeah...there are racing games like Need for Speed 13...some combat games...anyone up for some Tekken 9?" she asked, a grin forming on her lips.
Asuka blinked at her friend. She knew she had a console at her home, but this surprised even HER. Who knew Hikari was a closet Gamer? Shrugging, she turned back to Kensuke. "Anyway, stooge. You should make a signup sheet or something, to see who is going to participate. And I will soooo beat you into the ground..."
Shinji spoke up as the redhead paused in her monologue. "This isn't or contest or anything, Asuka...you just need to have fun."
"No! This WILL be a Contest!" Kensuke threw in. "I don't know yet what we'll have as a prize, but from now on this is a Tournament!"
"You're on, stooge!"
Shinji could only shake his head, then slowly beat it on his desk.
-----
The next day Kensuke put up fliers all over the school where the students could sign up. Over the next few days, he had to extend their length as increasing numbers of students signed up.
Even more surprising was the fact that NERV had decided to sponsor the event, no reasons given, although Misato had mentioned to her roommates that the Commanders had talked about "reflex training", or whatever they could have meant. She didn't understand it either.
The contest, formally named the "Tokyo-3 LAN Tourney", was scheduled for the final weekend before summer break, and in the week leading up to the tournament the contestants rushed to hone their skills.
Asuka, despite her previous boasts, knew she needed to refine her skills, as she hadn't played in a while...Of course, she couldn't train all by herself, even if the computer bots were rather good...humans were always better.
"Shinji!" she called, as she came out of her room. She found him sitting on the living rooms couch, flipping through a magazine.
"Hey!" she yelled, slightly louder. Her outburst obviously startled the boy, as he jumped and pulled his earphones out, turning to look at the girl questioningly. "So, Third Child, are you preparing for the Tourney?"
Shinji shook his head. "Not really..." he continued as he saw the redhead's raised eyebrow. "I was going to participate had it remained just Kensuke, Toji and a few others...but two hundred people is a bit too much..."
"Bah! The more people, the merrier!"
"...and for the fact it's a contest now, not just to have fun. People are doing it for the prizes, not the enjoyment"
"Yeah, yeah, whatev-wait." She stopped in mid tirade, her brain processing this bit of information. "Prizes? What prizes?"
The Third Child remained silent; on one hand amazed Asuka hadn't heard of this, and on the other hand, wondering if he should say anything about it. Considering the glare she was giving him because of his silence, he decided to explain. "The Tokyo 3 mall heard about the tourney, and decided to chip in as well, must be helping for advertisement or something... Anyway, the first prize is a gift certificate of 100,000 yen to spend at their shops. The rest are..." Asuka's mind stopped registering his words as soon as she had heard the amount of money. With that much she could buy all the clothes she wanted...and anything else, for that matter.
Now, more than ever, she wanted to train for the Tourney.
"Okay, Third Child! Enough! You," she said, pointing a finger at him, "will be my training partner until then. And it's no use trying to wiggle your way out of this."
"But..."
"No buts!"
"...I'm no good at those type of games! Or any games, for that matter..." he quickly stopped talking as she held one finger up, glaring at him.
"That's all right, I just need to train against something that will offer only marginal resistance for now. Hey, tell you what. I'll call Hikari, and you can call your stooge friends to see if they want to get an online game going. I'm guessing we all need a workout."
"And Rei?"
"Wondergirl? I doubt she even has a computer, but you can try if you want..."
The first round was about to begin...
--------
A few minutes later, on the other side of town, Rei Ayanami hung up the phone. She had surprised Pilot Ikari by accepting his offer of training. She had been one of the first to sign up for the Tourney, and was ready to test her skills against others. Silently, she left her apartment, only to stop at the next apartment - number 403. Unlocking the door, she stepped inside, and flicked on the light switch.
The apartment might be considered the Valhalla of gamers.
The walls were lined with consoles. From old systems like the Commodore, passing with the turn of the millennium type consoles like the X Box and Playstation 2, to the latest 6th generation computing system, second only to the Magi. DDR machines. Old arcade games. Varying stages of computers, from the old x86 systems, to the latest AMD Angel. Years ago, the company had finally passed Pentium as leaders in the CPU branch, although the name of their latest chip, the Angel, was quite an overt display of bad taste.
Rei turned on one of the computer systems, relaxing into her chair. She opened up the chosen game, Quake 8, and logged in, using "Ayanami" as her handle. Soon, she entered the "Nerv HQ" channel.
--------
Asuka Wondergirl! I'm surprised you're actually here; I wouldn't have labeled you as a gamer.
Hikari Hello, Ayanami.
Ayanami I will try my best, Pilot Sohryu.
Shinji Tell me again why we're using our real names, and not any nicknames?
Asuka Baka, this is only training, there's no need for it.
Kensuke Easier identification, too.
Toji START THE GAME ALREADY!
Asuka Yeah yeah...
--------
The match began and it could soon be made out that the Eva pilots held the top positions. Much to his dismay, Kensuke was near the bottom - in fact he only had a lead compared to Hikari and a marginal one at that. Toji came in next, and Shinji held a comfortable third place, only a few points behind the leaders.
The other two spots were an entirely different matter. It had gone from being a game to a contest of wills. Currently, Rei held a one point lead on Asuka, as the redhead had stepped into Rei's line of sight. Comfortably hidden, the First Child had used the most efficient and direct method she knew to dispatch her enemy, and had sniped the now- irate Second Child.
Shinji could even hear the growls of frustration coming from her room, then a strangled yell. "That's it Wondergirl, you're DEAD!"
Asuka changed weapons, taking one of her favorite tools of destruction in the game - the rocket launcher. Anyone that crossed her path was summarily executed, barely having the time to react as she sent a volley of missiles their way. Her score rose to once more match Rei's, as she continued to search for the blue haired girl, ducking behind every available cover she could find.
A predatory grin appeared on her face as she discovered Rei, the blue-clad figure's back towards the Second Child.
She fired.
And screamed in anger as the game halted, the timer having come to an end with her missile just a few feet from her prey.
"SCHEISSE! GODDAMNED GAME! Just ONE kill and I would've won!" Asuka's and Rei's scores had matched perfectly. Same number of kills, same number of deaths. Knowing she was in a killing mood, Shinji wisely stayed out of her way the remainder of the night.
On the other side of town, Rei relaxed into her chair. One could only imagine the outrage the Second Child would be going through and a part of her couldn't help but feel sorry for the Third, who likely would prove the most convenient outlet for Pilot Sohryu's rage.
Still, she couldn't help allowing herself what most might call an uncharacteristic, if not altogether unnerving smile, and letting one word escaped her lips, as she stood up to leave the room:
"Owned..."
--------
"YOU! Come with me."
The voice tore Shinji out of his reverie as he lay on his bed listening to his SDAT. He blinked, then opened his mouth to ask "Why", but got rudely interrupted.
"No buts! Just come along!" she continued, glaring at him as if to dare him to refuse.
Resigned to his fate, She got up and followed Asuka out of the apartment. As they walked towards the city, he asked the redhead what their destination was. Her only reply came in the form of a dubious 'You'll see when we're there.'
Already suspicious, his doubts increased when they had met Hikari -who seemed to be expecting them...or at least the German girl- along the way. The freckled girl seemed puzzled at Shinji's but rolled her eyes after Asuka whispered something in response to the unspoken question."
Shinji wasn't the most deductive of people, but even he could see through Asuka's plan as they approached the mall. He was again going to be considered a porter, like he had once done on one of Misato's shopping sprees. He briefly considered trying to slip away, but then cast that thought aside as he really had nothing better to do. And besides, he knew that he'd only suffer for it later.
Tearing himself out of his musings, he noticed how the girls had stopped - apparently just to gossip. Asuka, however, seemed distracted, and kept glancing to the side. Following her gaze, he looked into the window of the shop they stood next to. The window belonged to a jewelry shop, a number of exquisite stones, rings, necklaces, and other baubles on display. One piece immediately attracted his attention, however.
It stood out from the others in its simplicity, and yet complexity. From a silver chain hung a small conglomeration of gems, on a circular shaped plate made out of a material Shinji couldn't guess at. It seemed that there were in total twenty-four gems following the whole circumference. At each point of the compass, instead of the usual diamond, there were different sets of gems. On the east and west points, a pair of sapphires shone, and on the north and south points, emeralds cast their darker glare. In the middle stood a slightly larger gem, this time a ruby. The whole contraption was smaller than most of the other items on display, yet it immediately caught attention of those who looked through the window. - "Hey, baka! What the hell are you doing? We're going to have lunch, so get moving!"
The yell had torn him out of his contemplation, turning to see that the girls had moved away. He did however notice Asuka shooting one last glance at the shop. Silently, he followed them; his gaze fixed on the redhead Eva pilot, and thought about how he could help, somehow.
As they came to the food court, Asuka perked up, having spotted something of interest. "Hey, could I interest you guys in some non-Japanese food?"
"What did you have in mind?" the freckled girl asked, curious.
"That." The other girl pointed towards a restaurant with a pair of...golden arches, it seemed.
"Fast food? Eh, why not..."
Before getting in the line, Hikari eyed the menu of the gaijin fast food restaurant the redhead had convinced them to go to. Unnoticed by her friend, Asuka stepped next to Shinji.
"Hey, I think I maxed out my NERV card here...do you have any money to spare?"
The boy almost rolled his eyes at the girl, not surprised she had gotten carried away with shopping. Nonetheless, he took out his wallet, and gave her what little he had.
"Thanks," she replied, taking the money. "Consider this payback for all the times I've saved your sorry butt."
Shinji was about to remark that he had saved her more often than she had saved him, but remained silent. It was probably a waste of effort anyway.
"Okay, I know what I want," Hikari stated as she turned around. "What about you?"
"I'll have a double cheeseburger with bacon, I think." The redhead replied, before looking around. "Hey, I'm going to go freshen up. Try to grab a table, Ok?"
"Sure." She took the money Asuka handed to her to pay for her share, then turned to the boy. "Shinji? What do you want?"
"Hm? Oh, it's all right, I'm not that hungry anyway...and I've got no money left." The boy answered, shifting on his feet.
"What?? It's almost two in the afternoon! You must be starving! I haven't seen you spend anything today either... Where'd the money go?"
Shinji hesitated before answering, his cheeks slightly reddening. "Asuka ran out of money, I gave mine to her..."
Hikari blinked. That did sound like the German girl, but still... "You should have something for yourself! I would have shared with her, or something..." she paused as the boy shook his head.
"No, really...I wasn't planning on eating anyway."
"Well, if that's how you want it..." she said, giving in to his refusal. She had not missed the blush, and that had gotten her thinking. "So, why do you let her push you around like that, anyway?"
Shinji's blush suddenly got a lot more distinguishable. "Wh-what?"
"Oh, you know! I've yet to see you refuse anything she asks you to do. Well, maybe 'ask' is the wrong word..." she noted to herself, before continuing. "Like just now, the money?"
Shinji was now as red as a tomato. "I-I don't know!" he finally stammered as a response. "Really...I don't know why."
Hikari only nodded, a slight smile on her lips. She had a rather good idea of Shinji's reasons- even if he himself was unaware of them. Suddenly she remembered something. "Oh! Shinji? Can you wait here in line? I forgot to get something, and the shop is right over there..."
"What did you forget?"
"A bento for...uh, my little sister. Yeah." This was slightly twisting the truth, as she did want to get the bento, but not for her sister - unless her name was Toji Suzuhara. She fished out some money so that Shinji could pay for the food, but Shinji shook his head.
"Let me get the bento, it's not like I'm going to be eating here anyway..."
"Are you sure?
Shinji nodded, accepting the cash Hikari gave him and memorized which bento he had to get, then walked to the store.
-------
In the washroom, Asuka stared at the mirror as she washed her hands. As she had left, the last thing she had overheard from the conversation was Shinji saying he had no money left. The baka had given her his last few yen? She also knew for a fact that he hadn't eaten since he had gotten up that morning, so he had to be hungry even if he had denied it. As she dried her hands she sighed, remembering how he always made lunches for the both of them to eat at school.
She figured that she could share a little bit with him. Maybe spare a few fries and give him a corner of her burger, if he'd see fit to eat Western food. Like he'd have room to complain; most guys at school would kill to share her lunch with her.
Leaving the washroom, she noticed a vacant table next to the line. She sat down, looking for Shinji and Hikari. Oddly enough, only Hikari could be found in the line. She was about ready to wave when she saw Shinji return, holding something in his hand. As she looked closer, Asuka thought it looked like...a bento? She frowned as Hikari took the bento, blushing, hiding it in one of her bags. Her glare turned back to Shinji...hadn't he said he didn't have any money? Then what the hell was this?
Why was he giving HER that?
Hikari immediately knew something was wrong when they arrived at the table after spotting Asuka. Her friend seemed...angry. More-so than usual. She blinked as Asuka snatched her food from the tray, still frowning -even glaring- at both Shinji and herself.
Asuka looked at the now-empty tray. "What, no food for the baka?"
Shinji opened his mouth to reply, but Hikari spoke up first. "He didn't have the money to." She replied, starting to frown herself.
"And I'm not hungry anyway..." Shinji mumbled, as his stomach growled.
"Huh. Your own damn fault."
The silence grew thick, weighing on the three young people sitting at the table. Finally, one of them couldn't take it anymore.
"Where are you going?" Asuka asked, as Shinji stood up.
"Home...I don't feel that good." He answered. In reality, he just needed some time alone. Turning away, he left the two girls to their lunch.
---------
A few hours later, back at the apartment, Misato called her two charges to the kitchen to discuss orders that had just arrived.
"Whaaaaat? Synch training again? I thought this was our day off!"
"I didn't say this was synch training," answered the mauve haired woman.
"It isn't? Then what kind of training is this?" the confused girl asked.
"I'm not sure, but it's definitely not sync training, Ritsuko told me as much. Anyway, get ready you two. We have to be there in about an hour."
Asuka glanced at Shinji, who had remained silent the whole time, and her raised eyebrow in an unspoken question. The boy shrugged, not having any idea what was going on either. They remained silent during the whole trip to HQ, finally ending up on the bridge, where Ayanami, Ritsuko, and the commanders were present. The blonde scientist had an annoyed look on her visage, whilst the sub-commander seemed almost...amused. The Supreme Commander's was in his customary stone-like countenance.
"Before you start asking any unnecessary questions," the Sub Commander started, amusement clearly distinguishable in his voice, "this is a training session, but not related to the Evas in anyway."
The two Children and their guardian blinked in confusion, wondering why they were here if not for Eva.
"We have heard of this...'tournament' that is taking place. We have monitored your performance, and found it severely lacking...thus, you will undergo an intensive training session. You will also be excused from school during this period of time. After all, the pride of NERV is at stake."
Shinji and Asuka's open jaws snapped closed once more, wide grins spreading on their faces, as they high-fived the other. "All right! No school for a week!" Rei, as usual, remained silent, although a slight upturning of her mouth could have been seen, had one known where to look.
Asuka paused her dancing jig, as a thought struck her. "But sir! Only the three of us?"
"Explain, Pilot Sohryu."
"Well, just us three against each other would be a bit...stupid. There aren't enough people to make it a proper training, and we'll surely have more people than that during the tournament games."
"Point. The NERV staff will help, as will agent Kaji..." he chuckled as Asuka almost bounced in place and added his final comment. "As will we "'We'?"
"The Commander and I, of course."
This time, every jaw in the room fell. "Well, you just need to train against things that will offer only marginal resistance, for the time being."
At this point, Shinji started laughing, his mirth growing as Asuka blinked, then glared at him. Unfazed, the Fuyutsuki went on. "And this old man still has a trick or two up his sleeve..." Unfortunately for him, his words were drowned out by a still laughing Third Child.
Reigning in her anger, Asuka asked one last question. "Which game will this be, sir?"
"Unreal Quake Tournament 2015."
"But...that's not even out yet!"
"This is true, we're in the finishing stages though. This will be the beta testing."
At this point, Shinji had stopped laughing, grasping the meaning behind the words. "Wha? NERV has been behind the series?"
"Actually, SEELE. Where do you think they've gotten all their funds? They've been doing it since the late 1980s. You don't REALLY think that Microsoft was started by a couple of Seattle-based college dropouts in their garage, do you?"
---------
Soon after the meeting was adjourned, the Children were led to their "training area", which turned out to be some sort of lounge. It was oddly familiar, but neither Asuka nor Shinji could place where this feeling came from. The room contained a dozen computers, six on each side of the room. Each computer was separated by some kind of small divider, in addition of being slightly slanted compared to the next computer, as the room seemed strangely triangular.
The Children, Kaji, the three bridge technicians and the NERV commanding officers all took their places, and soon the game was launched.
The Second and Third Children and their guardian had been amazed for a few moments when they first started, as the skins of their characters looked almost exactly like them, from Asuka's neural connectors to cans of Yebisu hanging from Misato's belt instead of grenades.
For the next several hours, cursing, yells of victory, swearing, and all sorts of exclamations were heard from every side of the room. The range of skill that was displayed could have baffled anyone. On one hand, the three Children remained in the top three positions, defying the supposed 'lack of performance' that had been mentioned. On the opposite end of the spectrum, stood Misato with an impressive amount of frags, and an even more impressive amount of deaths.
A mighty 0 for the former, and an incredible 137 for the latter.
Needless to say, the air in her corner was about to turn blue from all the cursing.
"Nothing personal, kid." Kaji had grinned at the purple haired Operations commander, after shooting her.
"Nothing personal here, either," she replied, before leaning around the divider, and smacking him on the head.
Ritsuko showed an amazing amount of skill, as she had foregone using the mouse entirely in favor of the keyboard. Had anyone watched, the movements of her hands would have been hard to follow, fingers striking the keys at a blinding speed. Thus it was no surprise that she was almost tying Shinji for fourth place. Of course, this was after Maya had noticed her using the Magi for the first part of the game. The nickname "HAL 9000" had been somewhat suspicious, not to mention the incredible scores.
The rest of the group were scattered amongst the ranking system, Gendo being only ahead of Misato and Fuyutsuki. Several times in the past few hours he had yelled in protest, something about his being the Supreme Commander of NERV, and that no one should be shooting at him. Oddly enough, each time he said that, the frequency of his deaths increased substantially.
He had even ordered Rei to protect him at one point.
Her answer had been a rocket in his face. "I am not your doll." She replied quietly.
The game finally ended, once again with Asuka and Rei in a tie. Gendo, for his part, dismissed the group, ordering them to come back the next day for more training, mumbled a quick admonishing of Ritsuko's "misuse of the Magi and government funds", then left in a huff. The rest of the group slowly filed out of the room, jabbing at each other's skill, or lack thereof. About ready to leave, Fuyutsuki approached Shinji.
"Very impressive performance, pilot Ikari...better than mine, I dare say."
"Sir? If you don't mind me asking..."
"Yes?"
"Since when do you game? I-I don't mean to offend, but...you don't strike me as much of a gamer..."
The old man smiled. "To tell the truth, since I met your mother."
"My mother??"
"She was quite the gamer, I'll have you know. She was a student of mine back when I was still a teacher. Very friendly, and kind...traits which I see were passed along to you," Shinji could only blush at the comment, which faded as the old man continued. "As were her gaming reflexes, I'd say. We partially credit your incredible skill for piloting Eva to that, you know... In any case, she often dragged me along for some gaming sessions."
"I...I didn't know about that... Thank you, Sir..."
"No problem, Shinji. In fact, I should show you the first game she showed me, which is still my personal favorite. And I still hold the NERV high score for it, too!"
"Which game would that be, sir?"
"Why, 'Dance Dance Revolution', of course!"
Asuka -who had been just a few steps ahead- started snickering as an image of Fuyutsuki dancing in the same garb she and Shinji had worn during the synch test. The laughter grew louder as the image suddenly fell over, clutching its hip in pain. She was still giggling as an irate Misato drove her two charges back home.
---------
The rest of the week flew by for the Children, as the boring hours of school were replaced by action packed gaming sessions. Every day a different set of games was played so that the pilots could have a well- rounded "education". The scores, however, varied immensely with each different genre.
For example, whereas Misato had the lowest scores in the action games, with a single exception she remained undefeated-even with the odds pent against her-in the strategy genre. NERV had, after all, hired the best of the best strategists on the globe. Her only loss had been when Gendo managed to lead all the players in the game towards Misato's base, the numbers overwhelming even her amazing tactics. His only comment was that this was "all according to the scenario..."
Thereafter the Major made an effort to rush the Commander to prevent a repeat of the disastrous incident. . Similar results came up in the driving simulations, with Misato and Kaji in the lead- mostly due to their reckless driving style having shoved everyone else off of the road. Not to mention that the rest of the group preferred to watch the two duke it out on their own, as it was much more entertaining that way.
---------
Finally, the day arrived. The school gym had been cleared, ready to make space for the two hundred computers that would be brought in the afternoon. All the equipment was ready and installed, waiting only for the participants. As the day dragged on, people started to flow in, setting their computers up.
Kensuke -being one of the first to arrive as well as being one of the organizers- was going around helping anyone who needed troubleshooting. He eventually spotted his friends after the hall had been already half filled, and directed them to a corner of their own. He abused a bit of his administrative powers to secure a private table for his friends, but considering who three of those were no one had voiced any arguments. As the last few people came in he walked towards a small stage that had been set just for that purpose and switched on the microphone.
"Okay everybody all set?"
A general yell of approval sounded through the room.
"Good. As you all know, this thing will be lasting for the weekend. You can choose to remain here and sleep wherever you can, or go home. I'd advise the second option, as the doors will be locked in order to prevent theft of anything. Remember to sign up if you want to participate in the contest, as the elimination rounds will be held today. With that set aside, let the first Tokyo 3 LAN Tourney begin!" He grinned as cheering sounded through the hall.
---------
The rest of the day passed on quickly, as everyone was having fun. All had gone smoothly, except for one incident where Toji had called Asuka a "Rocket Whore" for abusing the rocket launcher like she did. This had resulted in both her and Hikari smacking him upside the head, knocking him out as he banged his head on the table.
As dusk swept over the town the school cafeteria opened for a special occasion dinner- mostly for those students wanting to stay at the school for the night.
Shinji, Asuka, and Hikari found themselves in the line, though the two pilots were still debating whether or not to sleep back at the apartment. They just didn't want Misato's cooking, although the cafeteria food was only marginally better.
Shinji, being directly in front of the girls, couldn't help but overhear their conversation.
"No dates since that one time with the med student? I can't believe that. I probably couldn't list the number of guys who've asked you out..." Hikari admonished her friend. Not getting an answer, she started on a different tangent -one she herself was preoccupied about. "Say, Asuka....umm ...can I ask you something? Have you ever....you know...kissed anyone?"
"What? Of course not! Boys only want one thing! Besides, there's only ONE man for me. You know that." The other girl scoffed
"Are you seriously trying to tell me that you've never even KISSED anyone? A beautiful girl like you? Not even in college?"
"No! Some college guys are even worse!" She glanced at her friend then went back to eyeing the line. "Anyway, why do you want to know?"
"...Never mind..."
Asuka eyed her friend reprovingly. "Besides boys only care about one thing," the redhead repeated.
"You just said that a minute ago." Hikari looked at her friend, eyebrows raised. "And what would that be?" She asked, a hint of curiosity having crept into her voice.
"The looks. Boys are all so superficial. They only care for what's on the outside. And of course, that other thing. You know what I'm talking about."
A faint blush spread on the Class Rep's cheeks. She knew what the other girl was talking about. "Oh come on," she scolded. "I'm sure not ALL of them think that way."
"Name me one." Asuka stated, daring Hikari to go through with her claim.
Hikari hesitated for a second, her eyes glancing around finally setting on Shinji.
"Him?" she asked her friend, pointing at Shinji.
Asuka's face belied her doubt, and even anger on the subject.
"Oh come on...what's wrong with Ikari? He's always so sweet...and you can't deny he is cute.
While the finger pointing had gone unnoticed by the boy, the words hadn't been lost on him. His face lowered slightly as he felt a blush creep to his cheeks. He was extremely thankful no one could see his obvious embarrassment.
"Feh, he's a pervert," the redhead growled.
Then there was the kiss...she still remembered how at first it had been sloppy...but after the first few seconds, it had felt...nice. Much nicer than she had intended or wanted it to be. She was still angry and confused at the whole thing... Her whole body had felt a lot...warmer. Her cheeks had been on fire, and still were when Shinji had pulled away, gasping for breath. Not wanting him to see her like that, she had run away, and covered it by warning him never to do so again. She frowned, glaring at the boy in the line as she once more felt the heat on her face. "That wasn't even a real kiss..." she mumbled, trying to convince herself. "Stupid perverted baka tricked me into it..." Hikari, who had been listening, could only smile.
---------
"HEADSHOT!"
Shinji slumped back in his chair as he finished the match- the last shot having won him the bout- and the chance to go to the next elimination round. Bringing up the score screen he saw that he had already secured a qualifying position. He blinked as the screen blurred, then cleared, and glanced at the clock. It was already almost one in the morning.
Glancing around, he found most of his friends to be slumped on the desks and very asleep. Only Asuka still seemed awake, blasting away like no tomorrow, although she too was starting to show signs of exhaustion.
He got up feeling the need to take a walk and generally stretch his legs, when he noticed Hikari stir and open her eyes. She noticed Shinji looking at her. Their gaze met, he turned away and started walking towards an exit.
Quickly, Hikari stood up, blinking sleep out of her eyes, and followed the boy, catching up to him. "Going somewhere?"
"Just going for a walk, before I fall asleep, I guess..." he replied, yawning.
"Mind if I join you?"
"No, not at all..." he answered, confused as to why she would want to walk with him.
From her vantage point, Asuka watched them leave the gym, a deep frown marring her features. What was going on between the two? Adding this to last week's incident, she had started to get suspicious... hadn't Hikari said she liked the jock Stooge? Then what was she doing with Shinji?
Finishing off her opponent in the match, she went to the exit, intent on following the pair.
"Ikari..." Hikari started.
"Yes?"
"Thanks again for that thing last week...not the one I was going to choose, but it worked just as well."
"Ah... no problem, really."
"Say...how's it like hanging around with Toji?" she asked quietly, nudging a rock with her foot as they walked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" The boy asked, nearly pausing in mid-stride. Didn't she usually call him Suzuhara?
"I mean with how that stooge acts all the time...aren't you afraid it's going to rub off?"
"Oh...nah, it's just a show. He's actually a nice guy..." "Yeah ..." She blushed and stammered as Shinji stared at her with a blank look. "Err, I-never mind!" She was silent for a few moments before continuing. "So...um...has Toji said anything about liking anybody?"
"Uhm? I don't follow..."
"I...I mean I keep hearing him and Aida talking to you about liking someone," she explained, the blush on her cheeks growing ever stronger. "What about them?"
Shinji blinked. "Uh... nothing really. I'm usually the one they pester... The only girl Toji ever talks about is his sis..." He looked at Hikari again, seeing the disappointment etched on her face. Could she be...? "The bento was for him, wasn't it?"
Hikari froze in her tracks, her face similar to a deer caught in headlights. She then relaxed, bowing her head. "Is it that obvious?"
Shinji shook his head. "Not really, I only noticed it just now..." He looked up, noticing they had walked all the way around the school and were nearly back at the gym entrance. He paused, leaning against the wall, Hikari following suit. "I don't know about him...but as I said, he's a nice guy...just try it and see?"
Hikari nodded, a tiny smile on her lips. "Thanks, Ikari...for understanding..." She grabbed hold of his hand, and gently squeezed it. To the boy, it was... soft. Warm. Gentle. Anything but what he had expected from appendages that could deliver rather stinging slaps to his face. Focused on her hand gripping his, he almost didn't hear Hikari as she went on. "I can't see how Asuka can be so blind to that..." She trailed off as she noticed Shinji's bewildered look and released his hand. "Never mind..." Standing up, she brushed the dust off of her skirt and turned towards the door. She paused and glanced back at the boy. "Shall we go back in?"
Nodding, the boy stood up and followed her.
---------
Outside, Asuka slumped against the wall, the only thing supporting her at the moment. From the distance she hadn't heard what they were talking about, but she had clearly seen how Hikari had grabbed his hand, as well as his response to it.
That her own friend would do this...no. It couldn't be. But then, why had they been smiling like that?
Her shoulders slumped, her whole body weary, she decided to go back inside to sleep. Nevertheless she made sure she stayed as far away from the little group as she could. She didn't feel like she could talk to them right now, or even come morning.
---------
"Goo~d mo~rning Vietnam!" Kensuke yelled into the microphone when most people seemed to be awake. The reaction, however, was not what he expected; as he now had a sea of blank stares directed his way. "Never mind... Anyway, today is the second and last day of the tournament. The elimination rounds are over, and now the qualifying players will start their own matches. Let the best player succeed!"
The matches took on a notch of difficulty, as now it wasn't the time limit that counted, but who reached the kill limit first. If, however, the matches took too long the game would end after half an hour, with the highest score-holder being the victor. Every point counted and one could lose the advantage quite quickly if one didn't pay attention.
Which was why a certain red haired girl was struggling. She had a lot on her mind at the moment and couldn't focus entirely on the game. Her opponent wasn't even that good - he was even downright mediocre- but she just couldn't concentrate. Her mind kept wandering back to last night.
She shook her head to clear her mind and shoved those thoughts aside. Quickly, she finished off her opponent, winning the match with only a five- point lead.
She definitely had to get this sorted out, and soon.
---------
Lunchtime came around, signifying a break from the contest and the matches would resume after everyone had gotten something to eat. Thus the little group once more found themselves waiting in line, although Asuka was a few places ahead as she didn't feel like talking to anyone.
Rei stood behind Shinji, gazing first at the pilot of Unit 02, then Unit 01. Finally, she decided to satisfy her curiosity.
"Pilot Ikari?"
Shinji turned to face the blue haired girl, surprised to hear her voice. "Yes, Ayanami?"
"Why is pilot Sohryu angry?"
"She is?" Shinji turned to look at Asuka, but could only make out her mass of fiery hair.
"She has been avoiding everyone the whole morning and hasn't spoken with anybody yet."
Shinji stayed silent, not knowing what to say. He couldn't fathom why the red-haired girl was in such a mood, but it had lasted since the shopping trip. She'd been avoiding him and everyone in general since then. His reverie was interrupted as Rei spoke once more. -
"I will address the situation." With that, she made her way forward in the line. Surprisingly she met little resistance as she moved up the line-not that anyone was brave enough to confront the blue-haired pilot . Asuka had been watching Hikari and Toji. The freckled girl had brought a bento -and had given it to the jock- who was now sitting at a table digging into the food. Glaring, she had shifted her gaze from them to Shinji, to find him talking to the doll. This only served to fuel her ire as she once more glared at the couple at the table. "She has that jock," she mumbled. "Why was she with the baka too?"
"Why does it concern you if Horaki-san cares for Pilot Ikari?"
The voice made Asuka jump, as it had come without warning. She whirled around to face Rei. "NOW what the hell are you talking about, Wondergirl?"
Undeterred, the blue haired girl pressed on. "Is this what is referred to as 'jealousy'?"
Asuka's jaw dropped. "Jealous? Me? Of Hikari? Hah! She likes that jock! And why should I care about baka-Shinji?"
"Because you find that your feelings for Ikari are being challenged."
The redhead was at loss for words. Her feelings for Shinji? Did she really feel that way? No...she loved Kaji, not that wimpy boy. "She can have him for all I care -hell, she was even holding hands with him last night." She growled, before she could stop herself.
"Did you follow them?" Rei asked, stepping closer as her red eyes bore into Asuka's
"What? How did you know?"
"I was awake."
"And why do you care about this?"
The blue haired girl paused before answering, her voice firm with conviction. "Because I too... care for Ikari-kun. I do not wish to see him harmed in any way."
"Oh, so the doll cares for something?" Asuka asked with narrowed eyes as she sneered at Rei, then glared at her once more. "What if I was to tell you that Hikari and Shinji were holding hands last night?" She jabbed her thumb at the girl, without turning, as she continued. "They probably were swapping vows of eternal love or some crap!"
"How can you be sure if you didn't hear them?" Rei asked, then pointed towards the jock and the class rep who were busy eating and talking and seemingly enjoying themselves. "It seems that they are enjoying their time together. Ikari wouldn't infringe on that, nor does it seem to me either he or Horaki-san plan to form a relationship."
"And how the hell do you know that, Wondergirl?"
Rei slightly tilted her head sideways. "I do not know how I know. I just do."
Grunting in disgust, Asuka whirled around. What Rei had told her couldn't possibly be true... Yet, in all the time anyone had known her, Rei had never lied -why would she start now?
Turning her gaze towards Shinji, the German considered her next course of action.
---------
"Auuuugh! Damnit!"
Toji blinked at his friend. "Oi, Ken, what's wrong?"
"I just lost! Damnit all! I was almost in the semifinals, too!" the other boy answered.
"Hey, at least you didn't get beat in the quarter-finals," the larger boy grunted. "Who'd you lose to?"
"Some guy named Tux. Bloody good, he is."
" 'Tux'? That's the same guy who beat me! Wonder who the hell he is..."
"I'll have a chat with him..."
-------
AiDaMan Goddamn, Tux, you're good.
Tux Ah, thanks. I could do better, really.
AiDaMan No, seriously. I've only met a few people that got these kind of scores.
Tux Years of training, my friend.
AiDaMan Say, what's your real name? I'd like to know who my opponent is.
Tux Well...There are some who call me...Tim?
AiDaMan Uh...right...whatever.
-------
"Any clues?" Toji asked, leaning to peek at Kensuke's screen.
"Nope. He apparently wants to stay anonymous..." the other boy answered, leaning back in his chair.
"Oh...can he do that?"
"Yeah, unless he wins the tournament. Speaking of that, Asuka, Rei, AND Shinji are in the semifinals! And this Tux guy, too."
"Somehow I'm not surprised the three pilots are at the end. Who's against who?"
"Rei versus Asuka, Shinji versus Tux." Kensuke answered, tapping his finger on the table as he listed both matches.
Both looked at the two girls, then at each other. They started cheering. "GO REI! YOU CAN WIN!"
Their reply came in the form of a pair of empty soda cans -each catching one between the eyes."
---------
Worry was the main emotion coursing through Asuka at that moment -anger close behind it. Shinji had already qualified for the finals, and her match against Rei had started. Things, however, weren't looking too good. Asuka had a small lead, but she didn't feel as if it was justified. Rei, for some reason, seemed to be purposely doing worse than she could.
Asuka couldn't stand that.
------
RedReaper Listen to me, Wondergirl.
II What is it, pilot Sohryu?
RedReaper I can tell you're holding back. Don't. I don't want your pity. I want to beat you down at your best.
II Very well...
------
The pace of the match suddenly rose several notches. Asuka, to her credit, valiantly fought to survive and keep the small lead she had. But Rei's focus far exceeded Asuka's troubled and confused mind at the moment, allowing her to catch up and exceed Asuka's score.
The outcome of the match was obvious.
"Congrats, Rei! You're in the finals!" Kensuke cheered.
Asuka, feeling sick, turned towards her opponent. The red eyes met blue ones, seemingly...telling her to do something. She couldn't tell what, but the stare had a deeper purpose. Not wanting to put up with anybody and just plain feeling miserable, Asuka stood up to leave.
Shinji saw her, and was about to get up when she spoke to him. "I'm going back home...I don't feel that well."
He immediately started to worry. "Are you all right? Want me to help you?"
"No!" Asuka hissed, her back still turned to him. She didn't want him to see her like this. "Go and play against that doll. I don't care what happens," the redhead said, then walked out, on the verge of running.
"Asuka..."
---------
When she had returned home she immediately sought the refuge of her room. The events over the last few days had finally taken their toll, and the girl was quite thoroughly exhausted. However, before sleep could take her, her mind drifted back to what Rei had said about Shinji.
Rolling onto her side and closing her eyes, Asuka made up her mind.
She'd speak with the boy when he returned.
The next day Asuka awoke to find her roommate had never returned-opting instead to sleep over that Toji's place.
While she wasn't exactly happy with the idea, the girl simply waited for Shinji's return. Several times she had flat-out refused to speak with her guardian on the purpose-quite vocally in the last attempt. The redhead made it perfectly clear she intended to wait and speak with the boy.
Either that, or kill him for forcing her to sit around for so long.
The day wore on, finally approaching night. Still quite exhausted, the redhead went to bed, her mind unable to form a coherent sentence at the moment anyway. As her head hit the pillow, she thought she heard the front door open, but the lure of sleep was too powerful, enveloping her in its soothing darkness.
---------
When she woke up the following morning, silence greeted her. Misato was probably back at NERV HQ. Asuka was grateful that it was summer break, as she probably couldn't last the day at school considering the way she felt.
Sighing, she threw on some clothes and opened her door, ready to make breakfast.
On her way out, her foot struck something. Looking down, she noticed a small, gift-wrapped box in front of her door. Curious, she picked it up, closing her door and sat on her bed. She proceeded to open it, almost dropping it when the content was revealed.
The necklace. The one she had seen at the mall...the diamonds, the ruby, the sapphires, and the emeralds...they were right before her eyes. She had planned to use the money from the tournament to get it, but she had lost...yet, it was still here. In her hands.
Who could have possibly...?
Even as she asked herself the question, she knew. She stood up, marching towards her door. She flung it open, and was about ready to open Shinji's when she paused, looking back at her room. Making up her mind, she went back.
---------
Shinji lay on his bed, earphones in his ears though the SDAT was silent. Twice, he had heard the door opposite to his open -the second time quite forcefully. He sat up as the footsteps grew fainter, wondering what was happening. Was Misato home already?
He was answered as his door was opened, revealing his other roommate.
"So...you won the contest, did you?" she asked, the customary sneer in her voice.
Shinji blinked, not having expected this reaction, of all things. He nodded, waiting for her to continue.
She angrily walked towards his bed, stopping her face only a foot away from his. "Listen to me, Third Child. I don't need your pity. Not now, not ever!" She spun around, ready to hurry out of the room.
His voice stopped her. "A-Asuka...can I ask you something?"
She paused at the door, her back still to him. "What is it, Third Child?"
"I...I saw how you looked at that thing at the mall... You had this faraway look... Does it have a special meaning to you?"
Her hands on the doorframe, she leaned on it to support herself. "I...my mother. She used to have the exact same thing when I was little, before she...before she died."
"Oh..." the boy mumbled softly, looking at the ground. "Sorry."
"Don't apologizing, Baka! It's not as if it was your fault. And anyway," she said, trying to draw some strength from her words, "it was a long time ago..."
They were silent for a few minutes, still in the same positions. As Asuka started to move, Shinji asked the one question he had really wanted to ask.
"Asuka?"
"What now, Third Child? I don't have all day."
"Do you...I mean...would you want to go out with me sometime?"
Asuka blinked. Had he really said what she thought he had said? Had he, the wimp with less social skills than an average brick wall, the meek boy who apologized all the time, had SHINJI just asked her if she wanted to go out with him? She whirled around, her blue eyes boring into his own. "What did you say?"
Shinji gulped. "I-I said, uh... I, would you...would you want to go out with me sometime?"
He had. He had actually asked her out. Her brain screamed bloody murder, while the rest of her...the rest wanted it. She was tired. Tired of fighting against herself.
Just once, maybe, she could try to live normally, to relax. It couldn't hurt once, right? "What makes you think I'd accept?"
To his credit, Shinji didn't flinch. Instead, he pointed at her. "You're wearing it."
She looked down. She had totally forgotten to take the necklace off after she had tried it on... She looked at him again, then at the wall. He must have spent a huge part of the money for it...and for her? Why?
"Tell you what, baka...I'll think about it, okay? I can't promise any more than that."
Shinji nodded, a slight smile on his face as she left. Relaxing onto his bed, the smile spread a bit more.
She hadn't refused.
The End.
----- Omake: -----
"I'm ho~me!" Silence greeted the Major, as she entered the apartment. Weird, usually someone was home at this hour...Maybe they were in their rooms. Making a note to have a chat at dinner, she walked to her room, only to have PenPen run out. She blinked, then shrugged. As she walked in, she eyed her computer. Why was it on? And why was there a game running?
"Tux?" she said to herself, as she read the current nickname. "Who the hell is Tux?" -----