Okay, school is going to start soon. That means I'll have even more
trouble updating, and I am struggling to update any of this in the first
place. However, compared to several other authors, I actually do update
quickly. However, there is going to be a change in policy. For the next
two months, expect almost no updates. I want to get a few chapters written
before I start again. Now, on with the story.
Chapter 7: Interlude
Asuka woke up feeling warm all over. She did not want to get up.
"Asuka."
She didn't say anything, trying to fall back asleep.
"Asuka, we have to get up."
It was the we part that got her attention. She opened her eyes and saw that her head was rested on Shinji's shoulder. She nearly screamed when she remembered what had happened last night.
"Okay idiot," she said, "Ruining my morning like that. I was so comfortable."
"Sleeping with me?" Shinji said with a grin.
"Hentai!"
Misato's head popped into Asuka's room.
"I hope you two didn't do anything naughty last night," she said, a smile on her face.
"Misato, if you have to ask, you know we didn't," Shinji said, even though his face was red.
"Well, get up. Breakfast is ready."
Both of them froze.
"Y-you cooked breakfast?" Asuka asked nervously.
"Of course. I didn't want to disturb you two."
The two pilots groaned.
"You should have disturbed us," said Shinji.
"Hey, my cooking isn't that bad!" Misato said offensively, "Besides, Rei ate it."
"Is she in the hospital yet?" Asuka asked.
"No. As a matter of fact, she already went to NERV."
The two got up. Asuka went for her morning shower while Shinji tried to salvage an eatable breakfast.
"No peeking!"
Shinji sighed. Asuka would still be Asuka, even though there was no venom in the taunt this time. He looked at the breakfast that Misato had prepared. There was no way even he could salvage anything from this.
"Shinji! I have to get to NERV. You two behave yourself."
"Bye!"
After she had left, Shinji threw out the breakfast and started cooking anew. He did it quickly and made scrambled eggs with bacon and toast. Fortunately, they actually had the stuff. Asuka came out of the bathroom with a towel over her hair.
"So what did Misato cook?"
"It's in the trash," Shinji said, "I made something else."
Asuka looked around. "I assume she left?"
Shinji nodded. The two sat down and started eating.
"Not bad for an idiot."
Shinji didn't respond. Even if she was still teasing him, she wasn't doing it to hurt him. No. She was doing it because it really was just teasing, making fun of him for both their amusement and because her pride wasn't completely gone. Well, if her pride were gone, Asuka would be gone too. That was something he did not want to happen.
Misato drove like she usually did, and parked like she usually did. When she got out, she saw that Evans was waiting for her.
"What is it?"
"I've just received orders to leave NERV."
Misato was silent. She had an idea of what that meant, but didn't want to say it out loud.
"The Japanese government is going to launch an attack regardless of my advice. They think it's the only way to prevent the Third Impact."
"If they launch an attack, it might be what triggers the Third Impact," Misato said.
"That's what I told them. But they aren't listening."
"So are you going to leave?"
"No. They don't understand what is at risk here. I do. The fools in the Ministry are going to get us all killed."
"Who is going to attack?"
"The Japanese Special Forces," said Evans, "That would be my guess. I suggest you make preparations. The EVA units may very well be our last hope of surviving this.
"Or they might be the instrument of our doom," Misato muttered to herself.
Evans walked off and got in the elevator. He pressed the open button.
"You coming?"
Misato nodded and got in with him.
"Evans knows about the bugs in the building," Gendo said, "So why is he still talking of such things in the installation?"
"Perhaps he has a plan," Fuyutsuki suggested.
"Everyone has a plan. However, we do not know Evans'. That may prove troublesome."
"Should he be eliminated?"
"No. That will not be necessary. Whatever his plans are, they will not be able to interfere with the Instrumentality Project."
Gendo continued to stare off into the darkness. There was something troubling about Evans. Section 2 had found nothing incriminating about him, and he had risen to command that section. He now controlled NERV's intelligence and security department. That was not necessarily a good thing. However, he was going to disobey the Japanese government, so he must have a plan to at least partially thwart them in the attack on NERV.
"The scenario continues."
Fuyutsuki nodded.
"Anything new?"
Makoto spun around on his chair and saw Misato behind him.
"No Major. Everything's quiet."
"Good. How long do you think it'll stay that way?"
"They're going to finish draining the lake in less than a month," he said, "I'd say until then."
Just then, Evans came onto the deck. He walked over to Maya and hugged her from behind.
"Ryan!" she said in surprise, "You shouldn't be doing this. Especially in front of everyone."
"And why not my dear and beautiful Maya?" Evans asked with a mischievous grin.
Maya's face had become completely red. Misato rolled her eyes. This man was just like Kaji. Her trail of thought stopped. Kaji. Why did you have to die? Those thoughts invaded her head. As much as she wanted to push them out, she just couldn't.
"Major, are you okay?" Makoto asked.
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. Thanks for asking Makoto."
"No problem Major."
Evans finally let go of Maya.
"Major Katsuragi, here."
He threw a disk to her.
"What is it?" she asked after she caught it.
"Some other information I don't think you have. It might prove useful."
"Uh, aren't there bugs all around us?" Misato asked nervously.
"Oh yes. The commander will probably find out you have the information. But now, it doesn't even matter. None of us have the power or the will to stop it."
Maya had swerved around and was holding Evan's arm.
"Ryan, what are you talking about?"
"You don't have to worry about it," he said gently to Maya, "This is something the pilots have to handle, not us."
Misato was starting to wonder if this was the Ryan Evans she had met earlier. The man was just like Kaji. Kaji. She cleared her head of the thoughts. The point was that he could switch from being dead serious to a carefree joker. Like Kaji. Tears started to appear in her eyes. Makoto saw this and gave her his handkerchief. She nodded her thanks and walked out into the hallways.
"What happened to her?" Maya asked.
"Kaji Ryoji was killed."
Maya gasped. Shigeru and Makoto took this calmly.
"Why?"
"He was interfering with a certain organization's plans," he said, "That's all I can say. The other stuff, well, none of you have the authorization to know."
The others accepted this. It was nothing new, considering they did work for NERV.
"Anyway, care to join me for lunch?" Ryan said, turning into the carefree half.
"I can't," Maya said, "I have to finish these reports and send them to the commander."
"When are they due?"
"Five minutes from now."
"Ouch," said Ryan, "Well, once you finish them, come join me. I'll be there until two unless someone stupid breaks the vending machines again."
He then walked off, heading down to the cafeteria.
"Maya, how long have you been seeing him," Shigeru asked.
"Talk later," Maya said as she went back to typing. Makoto looked over her shoulder and saw letters appearing at an incredible speed.
"My God," he said, "Maya, that's incredible."
Maya didn't bother responding. The sound of the keyboard was heard on the deck as she tapped away. Shigeru and Makoto looked at each other. Both were wondering if she was going to break the keyboard.
Ritsuko looked at the DNA sequence. All of the errors had been corrected, and she could start the project now. However, the last time the dummy-plug system was built, they had years to do it. She had less than a month. She had an idea of what the commander was going to do, but how he planned to accomplish it was something she couldn't figure out.
"Damn you," she said to herself.
It was because of him that she was in this position. If only she had not fallen for him like her mother had. Perhaps she would have had a measure of freedom. However, that was in the past. She could not defy him. That would be suicide and she was not willing to die just yet. No. She would accomplish her goals before her death.
"The EVA unit being built in China has been completed," said Fuyutsuki, "I assume that is our objective?"
"Yes. Seele relies on the MP EVA units for their goals. Therefore, it is in our best interest to deny them the EVA unit. The Chinese branch of NERV reports to the Chinese government, the UN, and us. We can order them to deliver the EVA unit to us."
"Won't Seele try to stop it?"
"The old men can only do so much," said Gendo, "We'll get Unit 07. Do not worry about it."
Whatever you plan, I hope you know you're doing, Fuyutsuki thought. He personally did not place too much faith on the scenario. But Ikari had managed to get through many such scenarios without any trouble. Perhaps this time they would get lucky too.
Asuka was watching TV while Shinji was reading a magazine and listening to his SDAT player. Asuka looked at Shinji. That boy could put up a blank face whenever he wanted. It amazed her how easily Shinji could look like he wasn't thinking about anything. But then again, she really hadn't bothered to notice anything about him before.
"Shinji."
Shinji looked up and took out the earphones. "Yes?"
"I'm bored."
That instantly put him on guard.
"Uh, what do you want to do?"
"Remember the first time we kissed?"
"Yeah." How could I forget? You were holding my nose so I couldn't breathe. But it was nice.
"I don't think you enjoyed it too much, considering you couldn't breathe."
"It was okay."
"Okay! You kissed me, the great Asuka Langley Soryu, and it was only okay?"
Shinji cringed slightly, but relaxed when he saw Asuka smile.
"Want to try it again?"
Shinji froze. He wasn't completely sure what he should do. His brain was scared out of its mind, but his heart was telling him to go for it. Well, the heart was supposed to be wiser in matters of love.
"Sure."
"Took you long enough to decide," she said.
She walked over and sat down next to him.
"Don't close your eyes," she ordered.
Shinji gulped. He kept his eyes open as Asuka moved in. He tried to move in too, but he was shaking badly. After maybe five tense seconds, their lips touched. Both of their mouths were open and their tongues started exploring each other's mouths. For Shinji, it was like heaven. They were actually kissing, for real. Not like the first time, when he was too oxygen-deprived to enjoy it. This time, it was a real kiss, and he would make the most of it. Asuka was also enjoying this greatly. This was an important step in their relationship, or at least she felt it was. Her entire body was burning up and she swore her heart was going to explode. However, all of that paled in her enjoyment of this.
The door opened, but neither of them heard it. Rei walked in and saw the two. It was then that Asuka saw her. She screamed and pulled away from Shinji. Shinji spun his head around and saw Rei standing there, looking puzzled.
"Rei!" he said.
"Shinji. Pilot Soryu. What activity were the two of you engaged in?"
Shinji's face was now completely red. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to her. Fortunately, Asuka took command.
"Okay, first thing. Ayanami, if you stop calling me Pilot Soryu, I'll stop calling you Wonder Girl. My name is Asuka. Okay?"
Rei nodded.
"Good. Now, what Shinji and I were doing was called kissing. When two people like each other, they kiss."
"So if another woman liked Shinji, they would kiss as well?"
"They'd better not!" Asuka screamed. After a few seconds, she calmed down. "No. Shinji has to like her too, and since he likes me, he isn't going to cheat on me and like another girl."
The last part was delivered with a glare to Shinji. He just nodded.
"I'm not sure I understand."
"Look Wo-, uh, I mean Ayanami, it's simple. I like Shinji, and Shinji likes me. He's my boyfriend and I'm his girlfriend. That means we're kind of like a couple. That means we want to make each other happy, so Shinji won't kiss any other girl except me."
"Rei, what Asuka means is that we both feel the need to protect each other and we care for each other."
Rei nodded. She still didn't quite understand, but she accepted it for now. She went into Shinji's room since she was using it. After she had closed the door, the two let out a sigh of relief.
"That was tense," said Shinji.
"What, Ayanami catching us kissing?"
"Yeah. I don't think she understands it completely. How am I going to explain it?"
"Why do you have to explain it to her?" Asuka asked.
"Because I promised to try to help her experience emotions."
"Don't try anything funny," Asuka warned, "Tell you what. I'll explain to Ayanami what relationships are, and you can concentrate on the other emotions stuff."
"You're actually willing to do that?" Shinji asked, very surprised.
"Well, you are my boyfriend now, and you'd probably mess up telling her about relationships," Asuka said with a wink, "So I'll help you out here."
Shinji smiled. "Thanks Asuka."
End of Chapter 7
Well, more gets revealed. Now I just have to start writing other chapters. And if anyone is actually reading Tiberian Eclipse, Chapter 2 got corrupted on my co-writer's computer, so that is delayed for now. Oh, one other thing. I started an original fantasy fic called Fantasies of Life. I would like some feedback on it. It is moving slowly for one of my fics, and I'm trying to develop it. I really do need the reviews since so far I have had no feedback whatsoever.
Z98
Chapter 7: Interlude
Asuka woke up feeling warm all over. She did not want to get up.
"Asuka."
She didn't say anything, trying to fall back asleep.
"Asuka, we have to get up."
It was the we part that got her attention. She opened her eyes and saw that her head was rested on Shinji's shoulder. She nearly screamed when she remembered what had happened last night.
"Okay idiot," she said, "Ruining my morning like that. I was so comfortable."
"Sleeping with me?" Shinji said with a grin.
"Hentai!"
Misato's head popped into Asuka's room.
"I hope you two didn't do anything naughty last night," she said, a smile on her face.
"Misato, if you have to ask, you know we didn't," Shinji said, even though his face was red.
"Well, get up. Breakfast is ready."
Both of them froze.
"Y-you cooked breakfast?" Asuka asked nervously.
"Of course. I didn't want to disturb you two."
The two pilots groaned.
"You should have disturbed us," said Shinji.
"Hey, my cooking isn't that bad!" Misato said offensively, "Besides, Rei ate it."
"Is she in the hospital yet?" Asuka asked.
"No. As a matter of fact, she already went to NERV."
The two got up. Asuka went for her morning shower while Shinji tried to salvage an eatable breakfast.
"No peeking!"
Shinji sighed. Asuka would still be Asuka, even though there was no venom in the taunt this time. He looked at the breakfast that Misato had prepared. There was no way even he could salvage anything from this.
"Shinji! I have to get to NERV. You two behave yourself."
"Bye!"
After she had left, Shinji threw out the breakfast and started cooking anew. He did it quickly and made scrambled eggs with bacon and toast. Fortunately, they actually had the stuff. Asuka came out of the bathroom with a towel over her hair.
"So what did Misato cook?"
"It's in the trash," Shinji said, "I made something else."
Asuka looked around. "I assume she left?"
Shinji nodded. The two sat down and started eating.
"Not bad for an idiot."
Shinji didn't respond. Even if she was still teasing him, she wasn't doing it to hurt him. No. She was doing it because it really was just teasing, making fun of him for both their amusement and because her pride wasn't completely gone. Well, if her pride were gone, Asuka would be gone too. That was something he did not want to happen.
Misato drove like she usually did, and parked like she usually did. When she got out, she saw that Evans was waiting for her.
"What is it?"
"I've just received orders to leave NERV."
Misato was silent. She had an idea of what that meant, but didn't want to say it out loud.
"The Japanese government is going to launch an attack regardless of my advice. They think it's the only way to prevent the Third Impact."
"If they launch an attack, it might be what triggers the Third Impact," Misato said.
"That's what I told them. But they aren't listening."
"So are you going to leave?"
"No. They don't understand what is at risk here. I do. The fools in the Ministry are going to get us all killed."
"Who is going to attack?"
"The Japanese Special Forces," said Evans, "That would be my guess. I suggest you make preparations. The EVA units may very well be our last hope of surviving this.
"Or they might be the instrument of our doom," Misato muttered to herself.
Evans walked off and got in the elevator. He pressed the open button.
"You coming?"
Misato nodded and got in with him.
"Evans knows about the bugs in the building," Gendo said, "So why is he still talking of such things in the installation?"
"Perhaps he has a plan," Fuyutsuki suggested.
"Everyone has a plan. However, we do not know Evans'. That may prove troublesome."
"Should he be eliminated?"
"No. That will not be necessary. Whatever his plans are, they will not be able to interfere with the Instrumentality Project."
Gendo continued to stare off into the darkness. There was something troubling about Evans. Section 2 had found nothing incriminating about him, and he had risen to command that section. He now controlled NERV's intelligence and security department. That was not necessarily a good thing. However, he was going to disobey the Japanese government, so he must have a plan to at least partially thwart them in the attack on NERV.
"The scenario continues."
Fuyutsuki nodded.
"Anything new?"
Makoto spun around on his chair and saw Misato behind him.
"No Major. Everything's quiet."
"Good. How long do you think it'll stay that way?"
"They're going to finish draining the lake in less than a month," he said, "I'd say until then."
Just then, Evans came onto the deck. He walked over to Maya and hugged her from behind.
"Ryan!" she said in surprise, "You shouldn't be doing this. Especially in front of everyone."
"And why not my dear and beautiful Maya?" Evans asked with a mischievous grin.
Maya's face had become completely red. Misato rolled her eyes. This man was just like Kaji. Her trail of thought stopped. Kaji. Why did you have to die? Those thoughts invaded her head. As much as she wanted to push them out, she just couldn't.
"Major, are you okay?" Makoto asked.
"Huh? Oh, I'm fine. Thanks for asking Makoto."
"No problem Major."
Evans finally let go of Maya.
"Major Katsuragi, here."
He threw a disk to her.
"What is it?" she asked after she caught it.
"Some other information I don't think you have. It might prove useful."
"Uh, aren't there bugs all around us?" Misato asked nervously.
"Oh yes. The commander will probably find out you have the information. But now, it doesn't even matter. None of us have the power or the will to stop it."
Maya had swerved around and was holding Evan's arm.
"Ryan, what are you talking about?"
"You don't have to worry about it," he said gently to Maya, "This is something the pilots have to handle, not us."
Misato was starting to wonder if this was the Ryan Evans she had met earlier. The man was just like Kaji. Kaji. She cleared her head of the thoughts. The point was that he could switch from being dead serious to a carefree joker. Like Kaji. Tears started to appear in her eyes. Makoto saw this and gave her his handkerchief. She nodded her thanks and walked out into the hallways.
"What happened to her?" Maya asked.
"Kaji Ryoji was killed."
Maya gasped. Shigeru and Makoto took this calmly.
"Why?"
"He was interfering with a certain organization's plans," he said, "That's all I can say. The other stuff, well, none of you have the authorization to know."
The others accepted this. It was nothing new, considering they did work for NERV.
"Anyway, care to join me for lunch?" Ryan said, turning into the carefree half.
"I can't," Maya said, "I have to finish these reports and send them to the commander."
"When are they due?"
"Five minutes from now."
"Ouch," said Ryan, "Well, once you finish them, come join me. I'll be there until two unless someone stupid breaks the vending machines again."
He then walked off, heading down to the cafeteria.
"Maya, how long have you been seeing him," Shigeru asked.
"Talk later," Maya said as she went back to typing. Makoto looked over her shoulder and saw letters appearing at an incredible speed.
"My God," he said, "Maya, that's incredible."
Maya didn't bother responding. The sound of the keyboard was heard on the deck as she tapped away. Shigeru and Makoto looked at each other. Both were wondering if she was going to break the keyboard.
Ritsuko looked at the DNA sequence. All of the errors had been corrected, and she could start the project now. However, the last time the dummy-plug system was built, they had years to do it. She had less than a month. She had an idea of what the commander was going to do, but how he planned to accomplish it was something she couldn't figure out.
"Damn you," she said to herself.
It was because of him that she was in this position. If only she had not fallen for him like her mother had. Perhaps she would have had a measure of freedom. However, that was in the past. She could not defy him. That would be suicide and she was not willing to die just yet. No. She would accomplish her goals before her death.
"The EVA unit being built in China has been completed," said Fuyutsuki, "I assume that is our objective?"
"Yes. Seele relies on the MP EVA units for their goals. Therefore, it is in our best interest to deny them the EVA unit. The Chinese branch of NERV reports to the Chinese government, the UN, and us. We can order them to deliver the EVA unit to us."
"Won't Seele try to stop it?"
"The old men can only do so much," said Gendo, "We'll get Unit 07. Do not worry about it."
Whatever you plan, I hope you know you're doing, Fuyutsuki thought. He personally did not place too much faith on the scenario. But Ikari had managed to get through many such scenarios without any trouble. Perhaps this time they would get lucky too.
Asuka was watching TV while Shinji was reading a magazine and listening to his SDAT player. Asuka looked at Shinji. That boy could put up a blank face whenever he wanted. It amazed her how easily Shinji could look like he wasn't thinking about anything. But then again, she really hadn't bothered to notice anything about him before.
"Shinji."
Shinji looked up and took out the earphones. "Yes?"
"I'm bored."
That instantly put him on guard.
"Uh, what do you want to do?"
"Remember the first time we kissed?"
"Yeah." How could I forget? You were holding my nose so I couldn't breathe. But it was nice.
"I don't think you enjoyed it too much, considering you couldn't breathe."
"It was okay."
"Okay! You kissed me, the great Asuka Langley Soryu, and it was only okay?"
Shinji cringed slightly, but relaxed when he saw Asuka smile.
"Want to try it again?"
Shinji froze. He wasn't completely sure what he should do. His brain was scared out of its mind, but his heart was telling him to go for it. Well, the heart was supposed to be wiser in matters of love.
"Sure."
"Took you long enough to decide," she said.
She walked over and sat down next to him.
"Don't close your eyes," she ordered.
Shinji gulped. He kept his eyes open as Asuka moved in. He tried to move in too, but he was shaking badly. After maybe five tense seconds, their lips touched. Both of their mouths were open and their tongues started exploring each other's mouths. For Shinji, it was like heaven. They were actually kissing, for real. Not like the first time, when he was too oxygen-deprived to enjoy it. This time, it was a real kiss, and he would make the most of it. Asuka was also enjoying this greatly. This was an important step in their relationship, or at least she felt it was. Her entire body was burning up and she swore her heart was going to explode. However, all of that paled in her enjoyment of this.
The door opened, but neither of them heard it. Rei walked in and saw the two. It was then that Asuka saw her. She screamed and pulled away from Shinji. Shinji spun his head around and saw Rei standing there, looking puzzled.
"Rei!" he said.
"Shinji. Pilot Soryu. What activity were the two of you engaged in?"
Shinji's face was now completely red. He had no idea how he was going to explain this to her. Fortunately, Asuka took command.
"Okay, first thing. Ayanami, if you stop calling me Pilot Soryu, I'll stop calling you Wonder Girl. My name is Asuka. Okay?"
Rei nodded.
"Good. Now, what Shinji and I were doing was called kissing. When two people like each other, they kiss."
"So if another woman liked Shinji, they would kiss as well?"
"They'd better not!" Asuka screamed. After a few seconds, she calmed down. "No. Shinji has to like her too, and since he likes me, he isn't going to cheat on me and like another girl."
The last part was delivered with a glare to Shinji. He just nodded.
"I'm not sure I understand."
"Look Wo-, uh, I mean Ayanami, it's simple. I like Shinji, and Shinji likes me. He's my boyfriend and I'm his girlfriend. That means we're kind of like a couple. That means we want to make each other happy, so Shinji won't kiss any other girl except me."
"Rei, what Asuka means is that we both feel the need to protect each other and we care for each other."
Rei nodded. She still didn't quite understand, but she accepted it for now. She went into Shinji's room since she was using it. After she had closed the door, the two let out a sigh of relief.
"That was tense," said Shinji.
"What, Ayanami catching us kissing?"
"Yeah. I don't think she understands it completely. How am I going to explain it?"
"Why do you have to explain it to her?" Asuka asked.
"Because I promised to try to help her experience emotions."
"Don't try anything funny," Asuka warned, "Tell you what. I'll explain to Ayanami what relationships are, and you can concentrate on the other emotions stuff."
"You're actually willing to do that?" Shinji asked, very surprised.
"Well, you are my boyfriend now, and you'd probably mess up telling her about relationships," Asuka said with a wink, "So I'll help you out here."
Shinji smiled. "Thanks Asuka."
End of Chapter 7
Well, more gets revealed. Now I just have to start writing other chapters. And if anyone is actually reading Tiberian Eclipse, Chapter 2 got corrupted on my co-writer's computer, so that is delayed for now. Oh, one other thing. I started an original fantasy fic called Fantasies of Life. I would like some feedback on it. It is moving slowly for one of my fics, and I'm trying to develop it. I really do need the reviews since so far I have had no feedback whatsoever.
Z98