Disclaimer: see part 1
Children
Part 3
Killer's grace
By Random1377
There is something about risking your life with the same people all the time that forms a certain bond to them. This isn't exactly a profound or original thought, but as me, Asuka, and Rei ran onto the paintball field and dashed into our base, it occurred to me how close I had grown to them on a certain level... how I felt like I knew what they needed and how they would react.
It also hit me how they moved. I noticed it first with Asuka... the way she seemed to - I don't know, FLOW gracefully across the field... swinging her gun from left to right in a search for targets. It was present in Rei also, though subtler, as she held her gun down at her side... but ready to bring it up quickly if she needed too.
It was the air of someone who has killed before... someone who knows what it means to take life.
The feeling intensified as we entered the base exactly two seconds before it was peppered with paintballs, when Asuka's eyes immediately scanned the small area and found a partition to hide behind that offered her maximum cover with the best view of the remaining part of the field (and kept our flag in plain sight).
Rei selected a similar place, but one that did not offer a view of the field... it was purely defensive. As I ducked behind a plastic wall, I wondered briefly if the selection of hiding spots indicated something about their personalities... and I also wondered if I moved the way they did.
"Watch out, you idiot!" Asuka yelled, pumping two rounds into one of the members of the green team as he dove into the base and drew a bead on me.
"Why did we agree to this again?" I yelled as two more greens and a red tried to storm our position.
I put one of the greens down with a shot to the chest, and Asuka took the other two kids with quick, well-placed shots, "Because!" she said, smiling fiercely, "We can win!"
I didn't share her confidence.
We had started out playing simple, five on five games, trading players the whole time. Then Touji had muttered something about how the Children always seemed to do the best... things had deteriorated from there.
'Of course!' Asuka had said proudly, 'I could take the lot of you by myself!'
'Whatever...' Touji had said, 'you're good, but you're not THAT good...'
'Oh yeah!?' Asuka had yelled, 'tell you what: me, Wondergirl, and the hero here,' she had grabbed my cheek for emphasis (and not gently), 'will take all of you on.'
'What,' Touji had snorted, 'all five of us against the three of-'
'Uh-uh,' Asuka had smiled, putting her hands on the table and leaning forward until she was right in Touji's face, 'I mean ALL of you...' she gestured around the room, taking in everyone present, "AND we'll kick your ass, too!' She smiled, showing all of her teeth, 'Unless you think the twenty-two of you can't HANDLE the three of us... which, by the way, you can't.'
'Oh,' he had said, getting to his feet, 'you are SO on!'
'STAKES!' Kensuke had shouted, jumping up, 'We have to have some stakes!'
'I do not like meat...' Rei spoke up quietly from the corner, misunderstanding Kensuke's comment as she rose to her feet and prepared to leave. I thought later that this may have been deliberate... a way to get out of the game - after all, it had taken a week of constant, mind breaking discussions on the topic of why fun was a good thing to get her to agree to come at all.
To this day I'm surprised Asuka didn't slap her on the spot, 'Not steak like meat, you twit!' she had shouted, 'He means stakes like high-stakes... like a bet. You DO know what a bet is, don't you First?'
She had then turned to Kensuke, dismissing Rei entirely before she had a chance to speak, 'What did you have in mind?'
So that brings us back to the assault we currently faced. With these four down, we still had eighteen more to go... including Touji (who was a good shot, and dodged well) and Kensuke (who, it turned out, actually WAS a good tactician). I thought her optimism was unfounded.
Not to mention the stakes we had agreed upon now seemed VERY unreasonable.
"Ikari, get down." Rei said quietly.
I hit the dirt as a stream of yellow paintballs filled the air I had just vacated. "Thanks, Ayanami..." I said shakily. I had almost been taken out in the first few minutes because I was daydreaming.
She leveled her gun and pulled the trigger, catching another player in the mask as he rose up to shoot, "It is my position to defend you," she said simply, "I have not forgotten."
I frowned, a vague memory tickling my mind... but it escaped me before I could latch onto it.
"Ok," Asuka said, scanning the field (which was currently devoid of any players - them having all taken cover against Asuka's onslaught), "We'll sit tight until about half of them are out, then Wondergirl will defend the base while you and me go get the flags, green first, then yellow, then red last - got it?"
"I understand..." Rei said calmly, firing again as two more players tried to rush our position.
"I don't know..." I hesitated, "Rei could get hurt by herself, and-"
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Asuka cut me off, "SHE gets it! What's your problem? She not going to get hurt, that's what the armor is for, idiot!"
"Do you not wish to win?" Rei asked quietly.
"I..." I was at a loss for words. My innate desire to protect Rei warring with my need to please everyone.
"The doll understands," Asuka reiterated, pointing at Rei with her gun, "you better get your ass in line! I don't want to lose because you're too wimpy to let her do her job!"
"But-" Our plans were shot to hell as another player dove into the base.
Rei quickly put two balls of paint on his chest, effectively killing him... but he returned fire anyway, catching Rei off guard with a shot to the face.
Now, normally the facemask is a good piece of protective equipment... but occasionally, a shot can get under it and hit the bare skin - which is what happened now.
Rei gasped in shock as the ball smashed into her throat.
"You bastard!" Asuka screamed, covering him from head to toe in blue (our team color) as he jumped up and ran off, trying to cover every place at once. "What a dick!" Asuka fumed, "I should have their team disqualified..."
I hardly heard her as I looked at the pained expression on Rei's face through the mask... and the small line of blood running down her neck.
"Ayanami!!" I gasped, rushing over to her and reaching for her mask as I helped her sit.
"What are you doing?!" Asuka yelled, "Don't take her mask off, you'll disqualify us!"
I tried to say, "But Rei is-"
"She'll be fine!" Asuka shouted, "Now come on! I want to win this."
I hesitated, looking into Rei's red eyes, "But..."
"DAMNIT!" Asuka shouted, "If you like her so much, why don't you fucking marry her?!"
I looked from one girl to the other, trying to decide what to do.
Asuka's patience finally ran out, "FINE! I'll finish it myself!" I gasped in surprise as I felt two hard thumps on my back.
I reached back to touch the place that was now throbbing slightly, and my fingers came away stained in blue, "A-Asuka?" I whispered.
She leaned down and snatched my gun from me, "I won't lose..." she whispered coldly into my face, "do you understand me, Third Child? I will NOT!"
She rose, alternating fire between both guns as she saw three more people sneaking across the field, "Two dead people coming out!" She yelled, pressing her back against one of the walls, "Shoot them again if you want..." She met my eyes, "Go on," she said flatly, gesturing to the entrance to our base, "get your precious doll out of here... you both make me sick..."
I put an arm around Rei's slender waist, trying not to notice the way her breast pressed into my side, and helped her to her feet so we could make our way off of the field. I swallowed, "Good luck, Asuka..." I said quietly, hoping to make some sort of peace with her.
She never replied.
**
"Is something wrong, Rei?" I said, carefully swabbing her small cut with an antiseptic pad.
We were off to the side of the arena in a tiny alcove marked First Aid. Asuka was still playing, apparently having survived this long - and sending several more disgruntled players off the field. Rei had been staring at me with a barely visible frown since I had taken her mask off to check the wound she had sustained.
"Why did you question Pilot Souryu's command authority?" She finally asked, "Her strategy was the best for the situation... why did you not follow orders?"
I flushed, "You were hurt and I-"
She cut me off, "You became disobedient before my injury, Ikari..." she said quietly.
"I..." I looked away, getting a Band-Aid, before replying, "her plan would have put you in danger..." I answered, avoiding her eyes and putting the bandage on her soft skin, "I didn't want to see you get hurt."
"It is merely a game," she said, tilting her head to the side, "I was not in any true danger... and had I been, I do not see the benefit of your protection, as I am trained as you are to defend myself."
I blinked hard, feeling deeply hurt by her words.
She went on, not noticing my sadness, "Why did you not want to see me injured? You have seen it before..."
I looked up at her, unprepared for this question, "I didn't want to see you get hurt because... because I... care for you, Ayanami..." I stuttered.
"Why?" was her curious reply.
I was at a loss for words, "W-Why?" I repeated.
She just stared at me calmly, waiting for an answer.
"Well... I..." I scratched my head, wishing someone would rescue me from the hole I'd dug myself into.
My salvation came in the form of a very upset looking Touji, "MAN!" he said, sitting down next to me and dropping his mask on the floor, "It's just not fair! I had a clean shot at her and she..." he gestured with his hand, making a circular movement, "twists out of the way and nails me! I don't get it!"
Rei stood abruptly, "I must leave," she said quietly, "Ikari... I will speak with you another day."
As she walked calmly out of the building I frowned, not relishing the next time I would talk to her. -Well,- I thought, -at least I have SOME time to think up a good explanation - and maybe take my FOOT out of my mouth!! What is WRONG with me?!?! Why did I say that to her!? Stupid, stupid, STUPID!!-
I looked up and saw that Touji was watching me closely, smiling. "What?" I said, not liking the way he was looking at me one bit.
"So..." he said, obviously pleased with himself for the upcoming strike. I cringed internally, prepared for something bad. I wasn't prepared enough, "Shinji... my man..." he began, then dropped her voice to a whisper, "are you doing Ayanami?"
I jumped up, "NO! She was just hur-"
"Oh, come on!" he said, pulling me back down, "You can tell me! I saw you watch her walk out of here... there's DEFINITELY something going on between you two..."
"Between who two?" Kensuke asked, wiping a splotch of paint off of his face as he walked up.
I groaned internally, -Not the two of them...- I begged, -not now!!-
Touji smiled sympathetically, "Got you too, huh?" for a brief and shining moment I thought I had been forgotten. VERY brief... and VERY shining, "Shinji here is getting freaky with Rei - and he never told us!"
Kensuke looked at me, feigning hurt, "And here I thought I was your best friend! You're getting some and you don't even tell anyone! That's low, man!"
I jumped up again, yelling at the top of my lungs, "I am not sleeping with anyone!!" I looked around as approximately thirty-five teenagers (many of them members of my own class) began clapping and whistling. I got several calls of, 'Yeah, we know!' and 'It's ok man, you're young!' And I sat back down, trying to pull into my armor.
Kensuke gave Touji a high-five, "Damn, Shinji..." he said, pushing his glasses up, "you don't have to yell..."
I put my head in my hands, wishing that force of will could change the past, -Just five minutes back,- I thought, -that's all I ask...-
I was spared further humiliation (public humiliation, anyway... I knew I would never hear the end of it from these two when we were alone) by the overhead alarm sounding the end of the game.
I looked up to see Asuka walking calmly through a throng of gawking teenagers. Whither they were gawking because she had single-handedly trounced the remaining thirteen or so players, or because she was just so hot, I didn't know... I knew that I was staring for both reasons
I looked at the handful of flags in her hand, then up at her face - she was smiling, "Here, Third Child..." she said as she came to stand in front of me, "got you a little something." She opened her hand and let the flags fall at my feet.
"I..." she didn't let me say anything. She grabbed my arm and pulled me into an alcove off to the side.
"Next time, do what you're told!!" she said, the smile falling away as she pushed me up against the wall where no one could see, "we could have finished a half hour ago... but you had to get all noble!"
"Sorry, I..." she cut me off again as Touji and Kensuke slipped up behind her to see what was going on. Thankfully, they were the only ones.
"Save it!" She frowned deeply, "You better never, EVER pull any shit like that when we're in combat, got it?" I nodded quickly, "I'm outta here... I'm going to spend the night at Hikari's - I can't stand the sight of you right now."
I nodded as she turned and walked away
"Come on, man... it's not that bad..." Touji said reassuringly, "You've still got Ayanami." He winked as I shot him a glare.
"Yeah," Kensuke said, pushing his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose, "and besides, you guys won." He followed my glance, "Don't worry about her, man... she's got permanent PMS. Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving."
I just nodded, watching Asuka sling her bag over her shoulder and walk out the door. Though I was technically on the winning team, I most certainly did NOT feel like a winner...
Continued...
Thanks to JobFaust for pre-reading and catching some mistakes, I owe you one (one WHAT, I'm not sure... but one SOMETHING...)
Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com
Children
Part 3
Killer's grace
By Random1377
There is something about risking your life with the same people all the time that forms a certain bond to them. This isn't exactly a profound or original thought, but as me, Asuka, and Rei ran onto the paintball field and dashed into our base, it occurred to me how close I had grown to them on a certain level... how I felt like I knew what they needed and how they would react.
It also hit me how they moved. I noticed it first with Asuka... the way she seemed to - I don't know, FLOW gracefully across the field... swinging her gun from left to right in a search for targets. It was present in Rei also, though subtler, as she held her gun down at her side... but ready to bring it up quickly if she needed too.
It was the air of someone who has killed before... someone who knows what it means to take life.
The feeling intensified as we entered the base exactly two seconds before it was peppered with paintballs, when Asuka's eyes immediately scanned the small area and found a partition to hide behind that offered her maximum cover with the best view of the remaining part of the field (and kept our flag in plain sight).
Rei selected a similar place, but one that did not offer a view of the field... it was purely defensive. As I ducked behind a plastic wall, I wondered briefly if the selection of hiding spots indicated something about their personalities... and I also wondered if I moved the way they did.
"Watch out, you idiot!" Asuka yelled, pumping two rounds into one of the members of the green team as he dove into the base and drew a bead on me.
"Why did we agree to this again?" I yelled as two more greens and a red tried to storm our position.
I put one of the greens down with a shot to the chest, and Asuka took the other two kids with quick, well-placed shots, "Because!" she said, smiling fiercely, "We can win!"
I didn't share her confidence.
We had started out playing simple, five on five games, trading players the whole time. Then Touji had muttered something about how the Children always seemed to do the best... things had deteriorated from there.
'Of course!' Asuka had said proudly, 'I could take the lot of you by myself!'
'Whatever...' Touji had said, 'you're good, but you're not THAT good...'
'Oh yeah!?' Asuka had yelled, 'tell you what: me, Wondergirl, and the hero here,' she had grabbed my cheek for emphasis (and not gently), 'will take all of you on.'
'What,' Touji had snorted, 'all five of us against the three of-'
'Uh-uh,' Asuka had smiled, putting her hands on the table and leaning forward until she was right in Touji's face, 'I mean ALL of you...' she gestured around the room, taking in everyone present, "AND we'll kick your ass, too!' She smiled, showing all of her teeth, 'Unless you think the twenty-two of you can't HANDLE the three of us... which, by the way, you can't.'
'Oh,' he had said, getting to his feet, 'you are SO on!'
'STAKES!' Kensuke had shouted, jumping up, 'We have to have some stakes!'
'I do not like meat...' Rei spoke up quietly from the corner, misunderstanding Kensuke's comment as she rose to her feet and prepared to leave. I thought later that this may have been deliberate... a way to get out of the game - after all, it had taken a week of constant, mind breaking discussions on the topic of why fun was a good thing to get her to agree to come at all.
To this day I'm surprised Asuka didn't slap her on the spot, 'Not steak like meat, you twit!' she had shouted, 'He means stakes like high-stakes... like a bet. You DO know what a bet is, don't you First?'
She had then turned to Kensuke, dismissing Rei entirely before she had a chance to speak, 'What did you have in mind?'
So that brings us back to the assault we currently faced. With these four down, we still had eighteen more to go... including Touji (who was a good shot, and dodged well) and Kensuke (who, it turned out, actually WAS a good tactician). I thought her optimism was unfounded.
Not to mention the stakes we had agreed upon now seemed VERY unreasonable.
"Ikari, get down." Rei said quietly.
I hit the dirt as a stream of yellow paintballs filled the air I had just vacated. "Thanks, Ayanami..." I said shakily. I had almost been taken out in the first few minutes because I was daydreaming.
She leveled her gun and pulled the trigger, catching another player in the mask as he rose up to shoot, "It is my position to defend you," she said simply, "I have not forgotten."
I frowned, a vague memory tickling my mind... but it escaped me before I could latch onto it.
"Ok," Asuka said, scanning the field (which was currently devoid of any players - them having all taken cover against Asuka's onslaught), "We'll sit tight until about half of them are out, then Wondergirl will defend the base while you and me go get the flags, green first, then yellow, then red last - got it?"
"I understand..." Rei said calmly, firing again as two more players tried to rush our position.
"I don't know..." I hesitated, "Rei could get hurt by herself, and-"
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Asuka cut me off, "SHE gets it! What's your problem? She not going to get hurt, that's what the armor is for, idiot!"
"Do you not wish to win?" Rei asked quietly.
"I..." I was at a loss for words. My innate desire to protect Rei warring with my need to please everyone.
"The doll understands," Asuka reiterated, pointing at Rei with her gun, "you better get your ass in line! I don't want to lose because you're too wimpy to let her do her job!"
"But-" Our plans were shot to hell as another player dove into the base.
Rei quickly put two balls of paint on his chest, effectively killing him... but he returned fire anyway, catching Rei off guard with a shot to the face.
Now, normally the facemask is a good piece of protective equipment... but occasionally, a shot can get under it and hit the bare skin - which is what happened now.
Rei gasped in shock as the ball smashed into her throat.
"You bastard!" Asuka screamed, covering him from head to toe in blue (our team color) as he jumped up and ran off, trying to cover every place at once. "What a dick!" Asuka fumed, "I should have their team disqualified..."
I hardly heard her as I looked at the pained expression on Rei's face through the mask... and the small line of blood running down her neck.
"Ayanami!!" I gasped, rushing over to her and reaching for her mask as I helped her sit.
"What are you doing?!" Asuka yelled, "Don't take her mask off, you'll disqualify us!"
I tried to say, "But Rei is-"
"She'll be fine!" Asuka shouted, "Now come on! I want to win this."
I hesitated, looking into Rei's red eyes, "But..."
"DAMNIT!" Asuka shouted, "If you like her so much, why don't you fucking marry her?!"
I looked from one girl to the other, trying to decide what to do.
Asuka's patience finally ran out, "FINE! I'll finish it myself!" I gasped in surprise as I felt two hard thumps on my back.
I reached back to touch the place that was now throbbing slightly, and my fingers came away stained in blue, "A-Asuka?" I whispered.
She leaned down and snatched my gun from me, "I won't lose..." she whispered coldly into my face, "do you understand me, Third Child? I will NOT!"
She rose, alternating fire between both guns as she saw three more people sneaking across the field, "Two dead people coming out!" She yelled, pressing her back against one of the walls, "Shoot them again if you want..." She met my eyes, "Go on," she said flatly, gesturing to the entrance to our base, "get your precious doll out of here... you both make me sick..."
I put an arm around Rei's slender waist, trying not to notice the way her breast pressed into my side, and helped her to her feet so we could make our way off of the field. I swallowed, "Good luck, Asuka..." I said quietly, hoping to make some sort of peace with her.
She never replied.
**
"Is something wrong, Rei?" I said, carefully swabbing her small cut with an antiseptic pad.
We were off to the side of the arena in a tiny alcove marked First Aid. Asuka was still playing, apparently having survived this long - and sending several more disgruntled players off the field. Rei had been staring at me with a barely visible frown since I had taken her mask off to check the wound she had sustained.
"Why did you question Pilot Souryu's command authority?" She finally asked, "Her strategy was the best for the situation... why did you not follow orders?"
I flushed, "You were hurt and I-"
She cut me off, "You became disobedient before my injury, Ikari..." she said quietly.
"I..." I looked away, getting a Band-Aid, before replying, "her plan would have put you in danger..." I answered, avoiding her eyes and putting the bandage on her soft skin, "I didn't want to see you get hurt."
"It is merely a game," she said, tilting her head to the side, "I was not in any true danger... and had I been, I do not see the benefit of your protection, as I am trained as you are to defend myself."
I blinked hard, feeling deeply hurt by her words.
She went on, not noticing my sadness, "Why did you not want to see me injured? You have seen it before..."
I looked up at her, unprepared for this question, "I didn't want to see you get hurt because... because I... care for you, Ayanami..." I stuttered.
"Why?" was her curious reply.
I was at a loss for words, "W-Why?" I repeated.
She just stared at me calmly, waiting for an answer.
"Well... I..." I scratched my head, wishing someone would rescue me from the hole I'd dug myself into.
My salvation came in the form of a very upset looking Touji, "MAN!" he said, sitting down next to me and dropping his mask on the floor, "It's just not fair! I had a clean shot at her and she..." he gestured with his hand, making a circular movement, "twists out of the way and nails me! I don't get it!"
Rei stood abruptly, "I must leave," she said quietly, "Ikari... I will speak with you another day."
As she walked calmly out of the building I frowned, not relishing the next time I would talk to her. -Well,- I thought, -at least I have SOME time to think up a good explanation - and maybe take my FOOT out of my mouth!! What is WRONG with me?!?! Why did I say that to her!? Stupid, stupid, STUPID!!-
I looked up and saw that Touji was watching me closely, smiling. "What?" I said, not liking the way he was looking at me one bit.
"So..." he said, obviously pleased with himself for the upcoming strike. I cringed internally, prepared for something bad. I wasn't prepared enough, "Shinji... my man..." he began, then dropped her voice to a whisper, "are you doing Ayanami?"
I jumped up, "NO! She was just hur-"
"Oh, come on!" he said, pulling me back down, "You can tell me! I saw you watch her walk out of here... there's DEFINITELY something going on between you two..."
"Between who two?" Kensuke asked, wiping a splotch of paint off of his face as he walked up.
I groaned internally, -Not the two of them...- I begged, -not now!!-
Touji smiled sympathetically, "Got you too, huh?" for a brief and shining moment I thought I had been forgotten. VERY brief... and VERY shining, "Shinji here is getting freaky with Rei - and he never told us!"
Kensuke looked at me, feigning hurt, "And here I thought I was your best friend! You're getting some and you don't even tell anyone! That's low, man!"
I jumped up again, yelling at the top of my lungs, "I am not sleeping with anyone!!" I looked around as approximately thirty-five teenagers (many of them members of my own class) began clapping and whistling. I got several calls of, 'Yeah, we know!' and 'It's ok man, you're young!' And I sat back down, trying to pull into my armor.
Kensuke gave Touji a high-five, "Damn, Shinji..." he said, pushing his glasses up, "you don't have to yell..."
I put my head in my hands, wishing that force of will could change the past, -Just five minutes back,- I thought, -that's all I ask...-
I was spared further humiliation (public humiliation, anyway... I knew I would never hear the end of it from these two when we were alone) by the overhead alarm sounding the end of the game.
I looked up to see Asuka walking calmly through a throng of gawking teenagers. Whither they were gawking because she had single-handedly trounced the remaining thirteen or so players, or because she was just so hot, I didn't know... I knew that I was staring for both reasons
I looked at the handful of flags in her hand, then up at her face - she was smiling, "Here, Third Child..." she said as she came to stand in front of me, "got you a little something." She opened her hand and let the flags fall at my feet.
"I..." she didn't let me say anything. She grabbed my arm and pulled me into an alcove off to the side.
"Next time, do what you're told!!" she said, the smile falling away as she pushed me up against the wall where no one could see, "we could have finished a half hour ago... but you had to get all noble!"
"Sorry, I..." she cut me off again as Touji and Kensuke slipped up behind her to see what was going on. Thankfully, they were the only ones.
"Save it!" She frowned deeply, "You better never, EVER pull any shit like that when we're in combat, got it?" I nodded quickly, "I'm outta here... I'm going to spend the night at Hikari's - I can't stand the sight of you right now."
I nodded as she turned and walked away
"Come on, man... it's not that bad..." Touji said reassuringly, "You've still got Ayanami." He winked as I shot him a glare.
"Yeah," Kensuke said, pushing his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose, "and besides, you guys won." He followed my glance, "Don't worry about her, man... she's got permanent PMS. Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving."
I just nodded, watching Asuka sling her bag over her shoulder and walk out the door. Though I was technically on the winning team, I most certainly did NOT feel like a winner...
Continued...
Thanks to JobFaust for pre-reading and catching some mistakes, I owe you one (one WHAT, I'm not sure... but one SOMETHING...)
Feedback is always welcome at random1377@yahoo.com