'Round Perdition's Flames
Part VIII
"Confused"
"And you don't seem to understand.
A shame, you seemed an honest man."
--BOA
"Duvet"
--Saturday--
An innate feeling of sadness gripped Rei Ayanami as she maneuvered herself into the
entry plug of Unit-00. As though she had suddenly had her reason for existing yanked away from
her. This feeling was, in part, due to the greeting she had received from Akagi. Rei could not
help but notice that the doctor treated her as little more than a lab rat, whereas she seemed
much more enthusiastic whenever the Second or Third Child were present. She had made it
abundantly clear that she cared little for her. Ordinarily, Rei would not have given this
reaction a second thought. It was not her duty to enthuse the other staff members, it was her
duty to protect those that she had been ordered to. Yet this matter bothered Rei. Not so much
the fact that Dr. Akagi might not like her, but rather the effect it had on herself. Not all
that long ago, Pilot Ikari had made an attempt to bond with her. It was not an overly
successful one, although it wasn't to be classified "a complete waste of time" either. After
that, things had changed. Ikari had been sent with Major Katsuragi to deal with the dangerous
situation caused by the Jet Alone, and then he had gone on that trip out to sea, returning with
Unit-02 and its pilot. Herself, she had been off the active roster pending repairs and upgrades
to Unit-00. During this time, Pilot Ikari and his new roommate, Pilot Sohryu, had had their
share of ups and downs. Ultimately, though, the two had found a way to work together, at least
on the battlefield. There was something...intriguing about this.
The Second Child had extended a hand of friendship to Rei, one she had decided to
decline. She was not really one for personal relationships. Commander Ikari was the only person
who seemed to understand her. But Rei had learned in her childhood that people do strange,
irrational things. And so, she had decided to walk her own path. Occasionally, this path
crossed that of others. Rei accepted this and did not attempt to discourage them from walking
her path, although she made it known through her actions that she had no intention of altering
it. Some people, like Pilot Ikari, seemed fascinated by this. Others, like Pilot Sohryu, were
angered and frustrated by it. But she could not help it, it was the only way she knew how to
live.
And so, Rei Ayanami sat in Unit-00, contemplating what it was to be human, a neutral
expression on her face. She was participating in a simple simulation that could have enormous
repercussions on the future. And she did not care. She had lost something. Perhaps it was her
bond. She had always felt a bond to piloting Eva, but she was beginning to think that that was
no longer true. She knew that she wanted more than to just shuffle through the motions of being
an Eva pilot. Surely Commander Ikari expected more from her than that. Indeed, she should
expect more from herself. But what should she expect?
"My god! The sheer size of it!" Fuyutsuki wondered aloud.
"Indeed." The Supreme Commander responded.
"It's..........incredible."
"If you are feeling overwhelmed, Fuyutsuki, you may be excused."
"That's quite alright. So...you are certain that this will work?" Silence was the only
response the Vice-Commander received, as Unit-00 assumed various different positions with the
Lance. It looked as though the Eva were posing for a photo shoot.
Below them, Maya was working feverishly at her station, analyzing all of the data that
was being collected. Pleased with her findings, she turned to Ritsuko. "Ma'am, there are no
changes present within Unit-00."
"It doesn't seem like there will be any reaction then. That's good, it's always nice
when something goes our way around here."
"You can say that again."
"Sorry, I'm a woman of few words, Maya."
Ibuki giggled slightly and then turned back to her station. "I hear you're going to
dinner tonight?"
"And who told you that?"
"Well, you know, word gets around."
"Yes, I'll bet it does." Ritsuko wondered to herself who had ratted her out, Misato or
Kaji? "Even I get out of NERV HQ once in awhile. Maybe you should try it sometime. I'm sure
there's plenty of men crawling around the Geofront who wouldn't mind going out for a drink."
She winked, watching Maya squirm and blush profusely under her embarrassment. Payback, you have
to love it.
"I....."
Ritsuko sighed. "You're being shy again, Maya. You're never going to catch your
happiness that way.
Maya said nothing, sweating, and suddenly became very interested in her console. Ah,
youth. Ritsuko thought to herself. I wonder if I was ever that innocent?
"What's for lunch, stupid?" a grinning red-head inquired of Shinji Ikari whilst leaning
over him.
"Huh?" Shinji was roused from his daydream.
"Lunch. You know. Consuming of mass quantities. Why do you always have to be so weird?"
"I, uh....what are you talking about? I didn't make us lunch today Asuka.
Asuka pulled herself up to her full height. "What do you mean you didn't make our
lunches? What kind of an idiot are you?"
"Well, as I recall, somebody told me not to bother making our lunches today because we
were late."
"And you actually listened to that suggestion? Why didn't you try to talk me out of it,
baka?! Are you stupid or something?" Asuka whapped him on the head for his trouble.
Carefully, Shinji clinched his left fist and channeled his anger into it, so that he
could remain calm. "No, I'm not stupid Asuka. An example of a stupid person would be someone
who tried to contradict you. I live with you day in and day out. I'm not stupid enough to do
that."
"Well good for you, you're learning! So what am I supposed to do for lunch."
Shinji sighed. "Referring to our conversation in the kitchen this morning, I am advised
to point you in the direction of Miss Hikari Horaki."
"Oh yeah, she always has extra food sitting around. She cooks a lot for her sisters!
Thanks for reminding me! See you later, Shinji!" With those words, Asuka took off, in search of
something to fuel her motor of a mouth. After all, how could she keep dishing out all those
insults without some fuel? But there was one thought that still bothered her. He's
learning............
Shinji watched Asuka run off and turned his eyes skyward. "And so, another battle ends.
Shinji 3, Asuka 3000. I guess that rates better than my absolute zero a few days ago." He
sighed. "I should have kissed her that night when I had the chance......"
"And when did she ever give you the chance to kiss her?" Kensuke asked enthusiastically.
"Inquiring minds want to know!"
"Augh!" Oh God, had he actually said that aloud? "Ken-Kenuske? How long have you been
there?"
"Long enough to hear you reminiscing over lost opportunities. So spill, Ikari. When did
the Demon-girl ever give you the chance to get intimate with her?"
"It wasn't like what you're thinking!" Shinji then took a sharp look around him to see
if there were anymore spies out there.
"If you're looking for Toji, he's at the school store, buying his lunch. So hurry up and
let me in on the gossip, man!"
"Kensuke, if I tell you this, you can't tell anyone. Not even Toji! And I don't want
you selling the gossip for profit either?"
"Aw, c'mon! Where will the fun be?"
"I'm serious! I let you in on this and only you! You understand?"
Kensuke grumbled under his breath but reluctantly agreed. "It was late one night, the
last one of our Synchronization training. I was lying in my bed, listening to my SDAT player.
Then Asuka opened the door and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. I don't
remember how long she was in there, but when she came out, she laid down next to me and fell
asleep."
"No way! She slept next to you? What happened in the morning?"
"We......don't really talk about it......."
"Aw c'mon Shinji!"
"Hey, the deal was for one story, not two!"
"You're no fun at all!"
"Funny, Asuka tells me that a lot....anyway, while she was lying there, asleep, I
noticed how warm and inviting her lips looked. I'd never really looked at a girl like that
before, but this was......"
"Different?"
"Yeah. So, I leaned in to gently kissed her, and then she started calling out for her
Mother."
"Her mom?"
"Yes. And then all of a sudden I felt like a jerk, so I backed off. Then she rolled over
and that was pretty much the end of it."
"I'm sorry to say it, Shinji, but that's not much of a story."
"I'm sorry."
"I guess I shouldn't complain, considering the low cost. But what about the best part?"
"What best part?"
"You just said a few minutes ago that you should have kissed her when you had the
chance. Do you like her or something?"
"What?" Shinji blushed. "No, of course not! Not like that!"
"Then why did you say you should have kissed her?"
"Because she's always making fun of me! Taking that kiss from her would have made the
abuse worth it!"
"Oh, I see." Liar. He wouldn't ever do something like that. He wants her.
"Hey, you know what she's like."
"Unfortunately, although that's largely your fault." He wants her BAD.
"Guilt by association?"
"Yup."
"Well, at least you don't have to live with her. Have her abuse you on a constant basis.
Practically wait on her hand and foot. Because I'm too chicken to stand up to her and Misato
isn't there to reel her in. You don't have to do her laundry then listen to her complain you
didn't fold it right. You've got it easy."
"Yeah, I suppose I do." He wants to have like seven children with her! Damn Ikari,
you're really gone on her!
"So anyway, are we all still getting together tomorrow?"
"So long as you don't have to go and save the world again."
"Let's hope not."
"This sucks!" Misato Katsuragi expressed with her usual elegance.
"Didn't you already mention that?" Dr. Akagi taunted.
"Shut up! I need a change of pace around here. I'm always either filling out mindless
paperwork or trying to pull another rabbit out of my hat with the Angels. Why don't I get to
have fun at work for a change?"
"I don't know whether or not you've noticed, Misato, but NERV isn't exactly about fun."
"Well I say if we're going to save the world, we ought to be doing it with style."
"Style?"
"Yeah. Things are always too tense around here. How can we be expected to do our best
work when we're all carrying the weight of the world around on our shoulders. On top of that,
why should we have to apologize to everyone who gets a little inconvenienced by our operations?
Maybe we should just let the Angels rampage around unchecked. Maybe then the civilians would be
a little more grateful for everything we do!"
"Misato, maybe you should consider telling the Commander that you don't want to do the
paperwork anymore. It's making you.....irritable."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
"You heard me."
"Oh, right, I'll just waltz into Commander Ikari's office and tell him that I don't
really feel like doing the paperwork. I'm sure that would be just fine with him."
"Well, if you're not going to get him to stop sending it to you, then just do it and
stop pissing and moaning about it."
"Why don't you do it for a while, then? I've signed my name to countless forms already
too, half of which I couldn't even make out what the hell I was approving of. I'm running out of
generic apology letters that I can use, and I'm fresh out of good stories I can give to the
press without revealing all our secrets. PR is totally tapped out too. Not that the UN is about
to get off its ass and lend us a hand."
"Come on, I know what will help cheer you up. Look, I'm done with Rei until this evening
when the other children get here."
"So you're treating yourself to some time off?"
"Only an hour. Time is precious, you know, especially around here."
"Speak for yourself. I'm hoping for something to come up so I don't have to finish
this."
"You'd better keep on top of things, because we should have a complete briefing on
Unit-03 and Unit-04 heading your way in a week or so."
"So they're ready?"
"Pretty much. The Marduk Institute has begun searching for the Fourth and Fifth Child.
The Commander doesn't think they'll find them all that quickly, however."
"How long did it take them to find Rei and Asuka?"
"Both of them had been considered for a long time as part of Project E. It was at a
young age that Asuka was selected, if you recall."
"Yes, I was working with her, after all. And Rei?"
"Both Rei and Asuka grew up around NERV, Misato. Shinji and any subsequent pilots we
might find will be taken 'on the fly,' though. You know, if things had worked out a little bit
differently, it could have been Asuka piloting Unit-01 and Shinji piloting Unit-02."
"Somehow, I have trouble picturing that."
"Well, that's not going to happen anyway. I really don't think that Asuka could sync
with Unit-00 or 01, nor could Shinji or Rei sync with Unit-02. Judging from my experiment,
however, it does seem possible that Shinji and Rei could switch, although there would be some
rejection problems I'd have to work out."
"If it's all the same to you, I'm content to just leave things the way they are,
Ritsuko."
"Well, that goes without saying Misato. There's no telling what would happen if we just
went around switching the children from one Eva to another. We've already seen that the Evas
aren't exactly fond of that particular practice, so I'd say that we've pretty much achieved as
optimal a setup as we can hope for given the finicky nature of the Evas. Although we should
always be prepared, we never know what might happen in the times to come."
Misato stood up and gestured to the door. Some coffee would do both women a world of
good. "I sure wish we could." The Major sighed.
"Hmmm?"
"I'm worried, Ritsuko."
"About what?"
"Shinji....is slipping away from me again. I can tell."
"He isn't talking with you?"
"No, it's not that, it's just....he isn't being as open with me as he was being before.
I think it has something to do with what's coming."
Akagi looked distant for a moment. "Yes. It's the anniversary...."
"I know. I've tried to give him a little project to help distract him from it, but I'm
not entirely certain how well it's working."
"What kind of project?"
"Ah, but that would be telling."
Ritsuko made a mental note to herself to get Misato sufficiently drunk enough so that
she would reveal that information later in the evening. "Coffee break, doctor?"
"I'd be delighted."
"Shinji you are making us late!" Asuka yelled at her roommate.
"I'm sorry!" he replied clumsily, his books toppling off of his desk. "I didn't finish
copying the problems."
"Well hurry up, stupid! You know we have to get to Headquarters for our sync tests."
"I know, I know!"
"And I really don't feel like listening to that Dr. Akagi complain that we're late and
throwing off the schedule. Besides, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can take the test,
prove I'm the best, and get out. I'm starving!"
He did sympathize with Asuka on that point. Even he was beginning to fear rather hungry.
Apparently Shinji had overestimated the length of time popcorn stayed with the average human
body. Quite frankly, he was getting ravenous. And he wasn't looking forward to taking in large
quantities of LCL on an empty stomach. That always made him feel nauseous.
"Listen," Asuka said, getting angrier by the moment. "I may not be the best at working
with your primitive language, but math is something I understand to a fault. You can copy it
from me later, idiot."
"Alright, alright." Shinji promptly shut his notebook and began picking his books up
from off the floor, packing them into his bag. He looked around the now empty classroom,
occupied only by himself and Asuka. "Where's Hikari? Doesn't she usually stick around to make
sure people are doing their weekly chores around here?"
"Oh, I'm sure she's around somewhere. Why? You want her to give you a job to do?"
"Not really. Just curious, is all, and I figured you would know. She's your friend."
"Something you would do well not to forget. Just remember that if you ever cross me,
I'll see to it that she crosses you many times over, get the idea?"
"Yes ma'am!"
Asuka gave him a kick. "The day I become a 'ma'am' is the day we have a blizzard!"
"I don't know Asuka," Shinji said, picking up his bag and heading for the door. "I think
you'd look pretty neat dressed old world. Maybe something along the line of 'Whistler's
Mother.' "
Asuka's foot caught Shinji's butt in less than two seconds, which, the boy noted as he
winced in pain, was a new record. "How dare you say that about the most beautiful girl in
Tokyo-3!"
Shinji strongly considered informing Asuka that he wasn't talking about Rei, but then he
decided that at some point in his life he might want to procreate. So he moaned instead.
"Let's go!" Asuka demanded of him. After taking a brief moment to massage his aching
posterior, Shinji complied.
"I don't feel like taking a sync test." Shinji mused as he and Sohryu walked out of the
building and headed towards NERV.
"I'm not exactly thrilled with the prospect myself, you know! What a waste of a
perfectly good Saturday night! I mean, who designs these test schedules?"
"I think that they do them at regular intervals and this is just where this one fell, is
all."
"Hmpf. Stupid school. If we hadn't had to go in, we could've done the test this
afternoon and had a much nicer evening to look forward to."
"Well, we are going out to dinner later this evening."
"That's right!" Asuka suddenly shouted. "I bet Kaji will be there too! Hah! There just
might be some hope for this evening yet."
Shinji did his best to keep himself from scowling. He couldn't concern himself with
Kaji. He had no need to. If he were interested in Asuka, he would've moved in on her by now.
Besides, everyone knew he had it in for Misato. Shinji had to hand it to the guy, he was
perfect for Misato. If there truly was anyone that could reel the Major in without the need of
a superior rank, then Kaji was that person. He had even been known on occasion to cause Asuka
to settle down, a rare phenomenon that scientists would probably be studying for generations
to come.
Shinji looked over and noticed that there was indeed a spring in Asuka's step. It was
clear that she was now looking forward to this evening. She'd probably be really irritable
during the test today, screaming for Dr. Akagi to let her out so she could go and get ready for
dinner. He could almost hear the argument now. Let me out of here! Asuka, be quiet and
concentrate! I am concentrating! You're going to invalidate these results and then we're going
to have to do this all over again! All the more reason to let us out of here! Blah, blah, blah.
It was a classic case, nothing seemed more important to Ritsuko than her work, and nothing
seemed less important to Asuka than these tests. Asuka held a firm belief that the stupid tests
weren't important, it was her performance on the field. And barring their mutual difficulty
against the 7th Angel, due mostly to their inability to get along (at the time), she had been
bringing in results, though not without the assistance of Ayanami and himself.
"You seem happy." Shinji vocalized.
Asuka flashed him the tiniest of smiles. "Yeah, well, I do feel pretty good right now. I
can even get through these tests if it means I get to spend time with Kaji."
"You go out to dinner with me, I pay our bill, and you spend all your time with Kaji?"
"Now you're getting the hang of it. Just because you're paying the bill doesn't mean I'm
going to waste the evening with you! I had my fill of that last night, thank you very much."
"Well, then what does it mean?"
This time Asuka flashed him a wicked grin. "It means I'm going to order the most
expensive thing on the menu, stupid!"
"Then what the hell am I supposed to eat?"
"Bread and water?"
"Asuka!"
"Geez, relax, will you? Do you really think I would make you go without dinner?"
"Yes."
"Well, I wouldn't. Besides, if I did, then Misato would carry on about it for the rest
of the night. Although I'm a little bit hurt, Shinji. I wouldn't want you to go without
dinner."
"You wouldn't?"
"Of course not! Who would I have to pick on and wait on me if you were passed out from
hunger? That wouldn't do me much good, now would it? Honestly, you can be so selfish
sometimes!"
"Please tell me you're kidding."
Asuka gave him a look but said nothing. "Asuka?" Shinji repeated.
"Shinji," she stated, in a voice that hovered somewhere between amusement and dead
seriousness, "I told Misato shortly before I came here that I promised her nothing aside from
kicking some Angel butt. So don't expect me to promise not to make fun of you! You've been so
sensitive to it lately, are you feeling okay? Because if you're sick or anything I don't want
to catch it."
Shinji didn't really know what to say for a moment or two. Was Asuka genuinely concerned
about him? Was she just teasing him so more? Asuka could be so hard to read sometimes. "No, I'm
fine. I just have a lot on my mind lately, I guess."
Asuka stopped in her tracks, huffed out a breath, and turned to Shinji, with a very
frustrated look on her face. Trying her best not to sound angry, she said something Shinji had
been afraid she might at some point. "Then do you mind telling me what yesterday afternoon was
all about?"
"I, uh, I-I don't really know Asuka! I thought you said you didn't want to talk about
it."
"I don't. But you've been acting strangely ever since. There's no way you would have
tried the stuff you have been before yesterday...." Asuka's voice trailed off as realization
suddenly hit her. A realization that almost frightened her. "You-You're not afraid of me
anymore, are you?"
Shinji just stared back at her, saying nothing, and fidgeting like crazy. And for the
first time since she could remember, Asuka Langley Sohryu had no idea what to say or do.
***********************************************************************************************
Hello again everyone! It took me a little longer than I thought it would to get this chapter
out, but unfortunately I must admit that I have a lot of stuff on my plate right now, and most
of it doesn't taste very good, if you know what I mean. Anywho, you aren't here to hear about
my personal life, you're here to know about the status of "Round Perdition's Flames." Well, as
you can see, it's coming. I've been listening to all of your reviews, and I like what you have
to say. I dedicate this chapter to "Rhine rhine" (whom we affectionately refer to around the
Perdition workshop as "Whine whine," because this reader is always whining about when I'm going
to release the next chapter. Not that there's anything wrong with that, right? The best way to
get me off my lazy arse is to whine, beg, plead, bargain, etc. And so, I have now released
Chapter 7 unto you, which will probably be renamed to Chapter 8 because of Fanfiction.net's
fascist new chaptering system. I don't know about the rest of you, but I really hate this
system. It's annoying, it %&(%s up your story, and its "go to chapter" features suck royally.
If they're going to force me to Chapter the story, then the main link of the story should take
me to an html file with links to the individual chapters. That would make things look much,
much neater. It would also be much more user friendly, which is probably why they aren't doing
it that way. But oh well, the only thing I can do about it (aside from refraining from
submitting my story, which isn't going to happen) is piss and moan a lot and shake my fist. So
that's what I'm doing.
Well, at any rate, this chapter has now been submitted for your approval. What? You want more?
Well, you're just going to have to wait a while, now aren't you. I don't know when I'll see fit
to pen the next chapter. If you're lucky, and if I keep on top of my schoolwork while
maintaining some illusion of free time, and if I actually use said free time to write this
story, then you'll see something in two weeks or so. I hope you'll say it has been worth the
wait, because.......we're coming up on the big dinner! Woohoo! I know a lot of you have been
waiting for this, and I can now say with 100% certainty that we'll be there in the next
installment. And there was much rejoicing. Hooray! So what do you think? Will Shinji and Asuka
reach some sort of plateau? Am I just teasing you all? Will Kaji be subjected to an anal probe?
If you want to play my game, send your e-mail to:
ranger_writer@yahoo.com
With the subject: I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THE DINNER SEQUENCE!
I'll collect them all and whoever comes the closest will be credited when the next chapter is
released. And of course, everyone say it with me now, Review/C&C. I do read all the reviews I
get, and I even listen to people's complaints. I don't promise to do anything about them, but I
do listen to them. So keep those reviews coming in, dear readers, they are the only reward we
authors get!
Next Installment-What, you weren't listening a minute ago? It's the dinner sequence!
The necessary Legal Lingo Junk--In writing this story, the author is in no way attempting to
take credit for Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of the characters contained therein. This is a
work contributed to Public Domain, and the author has not been paid so much as a penny for this
story. Neon Genesis Evangelion is copyrighted by Gainax, A.D.V. Films holds the rights
(hostage?) to the English Language Version.
The author is not responsible for any bouts of insomnia brought on by reading this fanfic.
Part VIII
"Confused"
"And you don't seem to understand.
A shame, you seemed an honest man."
--BOA
"Duvet"
--Saturday--
An innate feeling of sadness gripped Rei Ayanami as she maneuvered herself into the
entry plug of Unit-00. As though she had suddenly had her reason for existing yanked away from
her. This feeling was, in part, due to the greeting she had received from Akagi. Rei could not
help but notice that the doctor treated her as little more than a lab rat, whereas she seemed
much more enthusiastic whenever the Second or Third Child were present. She had made it
abundantly clear that she cared little for her. Ordinarily, Rei would not have given this
reaction a second thought. It was not her duty to enthuse the other staff members, it was her
duty to protect those that she had been ordered to. Yet this matter bothered Rei. Not so much
the fact that Dr. Akagi might not like her, but rather the effect it had on herself. Not all
that long ago, Pilot Ikari had made an attempt to bond with her. It was not an overly
successful one, although it wasn't to be classified "a complete waste of time" either. After
that, things had changed. Ikari had been sent with Major Katsuragi to deal with the dangerous
situation caused by the Jet Alone, and then he had gone on that trip out to sea, returning with
Unit-02 and its pilot. Herself, she had been off the active roster pending repairs and upgrades
to Unit-00. During this time, Pilot Ikari and his new roommate, Pilot Sohryu, had had their
share of ups and downs. Ultimately, though, the two had found a way to work together, at least
on the battlefield. There was something...intriguing about this.
The Second Child had extended a hand of friendship to Rei, one she had decided to
decline. She was not really one for personal relationships. Commander Ikari was the only person
who seemed to understand her. But Rei had learned in her childhood that people do strange,
irrational things. And so, she had decided to walk her own path. Occasionally, this path
crossed that of others. Rei accepted this and did not attempt to discourage them from walking
her path, although she made it known through her actions that she had no intention of altering
it. Some people, like Pilot Ikari, seemed fascinated by this. Others, like Pilot Sohryu, were
angered and frustrated by it. But she could not help it, it was the only way she knew how to
live.
And so, Rei Ayanami sat in Unit-00, contemplating what it was to be human, a neutral
expression on her face. She was participating in a simple simulation that could have enormous
repercussions on the future. And she did not care. She had lost something. Perhaps it was her
bond. She had always felt a bond to piloting Eva, but she was beginning to think that that was
no longer true. She knew that she wanted more than to just shuffle through the motions of being
an Eva pilot. Surely Commander Ikari expected more from her than that. Indeed, she should
expect more from herself. But what should she expect?
"My god! The sheer size of it!" Fuyutsuki wondered aloud.
"Indeed." The Supreme Commander responded.
"It's..........incredible."
"If you are feeling overwhelmed, Fuyutsuki, you may be excused."
"That's quite alright. So...you are certain that this will work?" Silence was the only
response the Vice-Commander received, as Unit-00 assumed various different positions with the
Lance. It looked as though the Eva were posing for a photo shoot.
Below them, Maya was working feverishly at her station, analyzing all of the data that
was being collected. Pleased with her findings, she turned to Ritsuko. "Ma'am, there are no
changes present within Unit-00."
"It doesn't seem like there will be any reaction then. That's good, it's always nice
when something goes our way around here."
"You can say that again."
"Sorry, I'm a woman of few words, Maya."
Ibuki giggled slightly and then turned back to her station. "I hear you're going to
dinner tonight?"
"And who told you that?"
"Well, you know, word gets around."
"Yes, I'll bet it does." Ritsuko wondered to herself who had ratted her out, Misato or
Kaji? "Even I get out of NERV HQ once in awhile. Maybe you should try it sometime. I'm sure
there's plenty of men crawling around the Geofront who wouldn't mind going out for a drink."
She winked, watching Maya squirm and blush profusely under her embarrassment. Payback, you have
to love it.
"I....."
Ritsuko sighed. "You're being shy again, Maya. You're never going to catch your
happiness that way.
Maya said nothing, sweating, and suddenly became very interested in her console. Ah,
youth. Ritsuko thought to herself. I wonder if I was ever that innocent?
"What's for lunch, stupid?" a grinning red-head inquired of Shinji Ikari whilst leaning
over him.
"Huh?" Shinji was roused from his daydream.
"Lunch. You know. Consuming of mass quantities. Why do you always have to be so weird?"
"I, uh....what are you talking about? I didn't make us lunch today Asuka.
Asuka pulled herself up to her full height. "What do you mean you didn't make our
lunches? What kind of an idiot are you?"
"Well, as I recall, somebody told me not to bother making our lunches today because we
were late."
"And you actually listened to that suggestion? Why didn't you try to talk me out of it,
baka?! Are you stupid or something?" Asuka whapped him on the head for his trouble.
Carefully, Shinji clinched his left fist and channeled his anger into it, so that he
could remain calm. "No, I'm not stupid Asuka. An example of a stupid person would be someone
who tried to contradict you. I live with you day in and day out. I'm not stupid enough to do
that."
"Well good for you, you're learning! So what am I supposed to do for lunch."
Shinji sighed. "Referring to our conversation in the kitchen this morning, I am advised
to point you in the direction of Miss Hikari Horaki."
"Oh yeah, she always has extra food sitting around. She cooks a lot for her sisters!
Thanks for reminding me! See you later, Shinji!" With those words, Asuka took off, in search of
something to fuel her motor of a mouth. After all, how could she keep dishing out all those
insults without some fuel? But there was one thought that still bothered her. He's
learning............
Shinji watched Asuka run off and turned his eyes skyward. "And so, another battle ends.
Shinji 3, Asuka 3000. I guess that rates better than my absolute zero a few days ago." He
sighed. "I should have kissed her that night when I had the chance......"
"And when did she ever give you the chance to kiss her?" Kensuke asked enthusiastically.
"Inquiring minds want to know!"
"Augh!" Oh God, had he actually said that aloud? "Ken-Kenuske? How long have you been
there?"
"Long enough to hear you reminiscing over lost opportunities. So spill, Ikari. When did
the Demon-girl ever give you the chance to get intimate with her?"
"It wasn't like what you're thinking!" Shinji then took a sharp look around him to see
if there were anymore spies out there.
"If you're looking for Toji, he's at the school store, buying his lunch. So hurry up and
let me in on the gossip, man!"
"Kensuke, if I tell you this, you can't tell anyone. Not even Toji! And I don't want
you selling the gossip for profit either?"
"Aw, c'mon! Where will the fun be?"
"I'm serious! I let you in on this and only you! You understand?"
Kensuke grumbled under his breath but reluctantly agreed. "It was late one night, the
last one of our Synchronization training. I was lying in my bed, listening to my SDAT player.
Then Asuka opened the door and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. I don't
remember how long she was in there, but when she came out, she laid down next to me and fell
asleep."
"No way! She slept next to you? What happened in the morning?"
"We......don't really talk about it......."
"Aw c'mon Shinji!"
"Hey, the deal was for one story, not two!"
"You're no fun at all!"
"Funny, Asuka tells me that a lot....anyway, while she was lying there, asleep, I
noticed how warm and inviting her lips looked. I'd never really looked at a girl like that
before, but this was......"
"Different?"
"Yeah. So, I leaned in to gently kissed her, and then she started calling out for her
Mother."
"Her mom?"
"Yes. And then all of a sudden I felt like a jerk, so I backed off. Then she rolled over
and that was pretty much the end of it."
"I'm sorry to say it, Shinji, but that's not much of a story."
"I'm sorry."
"I guess I shouldn't complain, considering the low cost. But what about the best part?"
"What best part?"
"You just said a few minutes ago that you should have kissed her when you had the
chance. Do you like her or something?"
"What?" Shinji blushed. "No, of course not! Not like that!"
"Then why did you say you should have kissed her?"
"Because she's always making fun of me! Taking that kiss from her would have made the
abuse worth it!"
"Oh, I see." Liar. He wouldn't ever do something like that. He wants her.
"Hey, you know what she's like."
"Unfortunately, although that's largely your fault." He wants her BAD.
"Guilt by association?"
"Yup."
"Well, at least you don't have to live with her. Have her abuse you on a constant basis.
Practically wait on her hand and foot. Because I'm too chicken to stand up to her and Misato
isn't there to reel her in. You don't have to do her laundry then listen to her complain you
didn't fold it right. You've got it easy."
"Yeah, I suppose I do." He wants to have like seven children with her! Damn Ikari,
you're really gone on her!
"So anyway, are we all still getting together tomorrow?"
"So long as you don't have to go and save the world again."
"Let's hope not."
"This sucks!" Misato Katsuragi expressed with her usual elegance.
"Didn't you already mention that?" Dr. Akagi taunted.
"Shut up! I need a change of pace around here. I'm always either filling out mindless
paperwork or trying to pull another rabbit out of my hat with the Angels. Why don't I get to
have fun at work for a change?"
"I don't know whether or not you've noticed, Misato, but NERV isn't exactly about fun."
"Well I say if we're going to save the world, we ought to be doing it with style."
"Style?"
"Yeah. Things are always too tense around here. How can we be expected to do our best
work when we're all carrying the weight of the world around on our shoulders. On top of that,
why should we have to apologize to everyone who gets a little inconvenienced by our operations?
Maybe we should just let the Angels rampage around unchecked. Maybe then the civilians would be
a little more grateful for everything we do!"
"Misato, maybe you should consider telling the Commander that you don't want to do the
paperwork anymore. It's making you.....irritable."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
"You heard me."
"Oh, right, I'll just waltz into Commander Ikari's office and tell him that I don't
really feel like doing the paperwork. I'm sure that would be just fine with him."
"Well, if you're not going to get him to stop sending it to you, then just do it and
stop pissing and moaning about it."
"Why don't you do it for a while, then? I've signed my name to countless forms already
too, half of which I couldn't even make out what the hell I was approving of. I'm running out of
generic apology letters that I can use, and I'm fresh out of good stories I can give to the
press without revealing all our secrets. PR is totally tapped out too. Not that the UN is about
to get off its ass and lend us a hand."
"Come on, I know what will help cheer you up. Look, I'm done with Rei until this evening
when the other children get here."
"So you're treating yourself to some time off?"
"Only an hour. Time is precious, you know, especially around here."
"Speak for yourself. I'm hoping for something to come up so I don't have to finish
this."
"You'd better keep on top of things, because we should have a complete briefing on
Unit-03 and Unit-04 heading your way in a week or so."
"So they're ready?"
"Pretty much. The Marduk Institute has begun searching for the Fourth and Fifth Child.
The Commander doesn't think they'll find them all that quickly, however."
"How long did it take them to find Rei and Asuka?"
"Both of them had been considered for a long time as part of Project E. It was at a
young age that Asuka was selected, if you recall."
"Yes, I was working with her, after all. And Rei?"
"Both Rei and Asuka grew up around NERV, Misato. Shinji and any subsequent pilots we
might find will be taken 'on the fly,' though. You know, if things had worked out a little bit
differently, it could have been Asuka piloting Unit-01 and Shinji piloting Unit-02."
"Somehow, I have trouble picturing that."
"Well, that's not going to happen anyway. I really don't think that Asuka could sync
with Unit-00 or 01, nor could Shinji or Rei sync with Unit-02. Judging from my experiment,
however, it does seem possible that Shinji and Rei could switch, although there would be some
rejection problems I'd have to work out."
"If it's all the same to you, I'm content to just leave things the way they are,
Ritsuko."
"Well, that goes without saying Misato. There's no telling what would happen if we just
went around switching the children from one Eva to another. We've already seen that the Evas
aren't exactly fond of that particular practice, so I'd say that we've pretty much achieved as
optimal a setup as we can hope for given the finicky nature of the Evas. Although we should
always be prepared, we never know what might happen in the times to come."
Misato stood up and gestured to the door. Some coffee would do both women a world of
good. "I sure wish we could." The Major sighed.
"Hmmm?"
"I'm worried, Ritsuko."
"About what?"
"Shinji....is slipping away from me again. I can tell."
"He isn't talking with you?"
"No, it's not that, it's just....he isn't being as open with me as he was being before.
I think it has something to do with what's coming."
Akagi looked distant for a moment. "Yes. It's the anniversary...."
"I know. I've tried to give him a little project to help distract him from it, but I'm
not entirely certain how well it's working."
"What kind of project?"
"Ah, but that would be telling."
Ritsuko made a mental note to herself to get Misato sufficiently drunk enough so that
she would reveal that information later in the evening. "Coffee break, doctor?"
"I'd be delighted."
"Shinji you are making us late!" Asuka yelled at her roommate.
"I'm sorry!" he replied clumsily, his books toppling off of his desk. "I didn't finish
copying the problems."
"Well hurry up, stupid! You know we have to get to Headquarters for our sync tests."
"I know, I know!"
"And I really don't feel like listening to that Dr. Akagi complain that we're late and
throwing off the schedule. Besides, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can take the test,
prove I'm the best, and get out. I'm starving!"
He did sympathize with Asuka on that point. Even he was beginning to fear rather hungry.
Apparently Shinji had overestimated the length of time popcorn stayed with the average human
body. Quite frankly, he was getting ravenous. And he wasn't looking forward to taking in large
quantities of LCL on an empty stomach. That always made him feel nauseous.
"Listen," Asuka said, getting angrier by the moment. "I may not be the best at working
with your primitive language, but math is something I understand to a fault. You can copy it
from me later, idiot."
"Alright, alright." Shinji promptly shut his notebook and began picking his books up
from off the floor, packing them into his bag. He looked around the now empty classroom,
occupied only by himself and Asuka. "Where's Hikari? Doesn't she usually stick around to make
sure people are doing their weekly chores around here?"
"Oh, I'm sure she's around somewhere. Why? You want her to give you a job to do?"
"Not really. Just curious, is all, and I figured you would know. She's your friend."
"Something you would do well not to forget. Just remember that if you ever cross me,
I'll see to it that she crosses you many times over, get the idea?"
"Yes ma'am!"
Asuka gave him a kick. "The day I become a 'ma'am' is the day we have a blizzard!"
"I don't know Asuka," Shinji said, picking up his bag and heading for the door. "I think
you'd look pretty neat dressed old world. Maybe something along the line of 'Whistler's
Mother.' "
Asuka's foot caught Shinji's butt in less than two seconds, which, the boy noted as he
winced in pain, was a new record. "How dare you say that about the most beautiful girl in
Tokyo-3!"
Shinji strongly considered informing Asuka that he wasn't talking about Rei, but then he
decided that at some point in his life he might want to procreate. So he moaned instead.
"Let's go!" Asuka demanded of him. After taking a brief moment to massage his aching
posterior, Shinji complied.
"I don't feel like taking a sync test." Shinji mused as he and Sohryu walked out of the
building and headed towards NERV.
"I'm not exactly thrilled with the prospect myself, you know! What a waste of a
perfectly good Saturday night! I mean, who designs these test schedules?"
"I think that they do them at regular intervals and this is just where this one fell, is
all."
"Hmpf. Stupid school. If we hadn't had to go in, we could've done the test this
afternoon and had a much nicer evening to look forward to."
"Well, we are going out to dinner later this evening."
"That's right!" Asuka suddenly shouted. "I bet Kaji will be there too! Hah! There just
might be some hope for this evening yet."
Shinji did his best to keep himself from scowling. He couldn't concern himself with
Kaji. He had no need to. If he were interested in Asuka, he would've moved in on her by now.
Besides, everyone knew he had it in for Misato. Shinji had to hand it to the guy, he was
perfect for Misato. If there truly was anyone that could reel the Major in without the need of
a superior rank, then Kaji was that person. He had even been known on occasion to cause Asuka
to settle down, a rare phenomenon that scientists would probably be studying for generations
to come.
Shinji looked over and noticed that there was indeed a spring in Asuka's step. It was
clear that she was now looking forward to this evening. She'd probably be really irritable
during the test today, screaming for Dr. Akagi to let her out so she could go and get ready for
dinner. He could almost hear the argument now. Let me out of here! Asuka, be quiet and
concentrate! I am concentrating! You're going to invalidate these results and then we're going
to have to do this all over again! All the more reason to let us out of here! Blah, blah, blah.
It was a classic case, nothing seemed more important to Ritsuko than her work, and nothing
seemed less important to Asuka than these tests. Asuka held a firm belief that the stupid tests
weren't important, it was her performance on the field. And barring their mutual difficulty
against the 7th Angel, due mostly to their inability to get along (at the time), she had been
bringing in results, though not without the assistance of Ayanami and himself.
"You seem happy." Shinji vocalized.
Asuka flashed him the tiniest of smiles. "Yeah, well, I do feel pretty good right now. I
can even get through these tests if it means I get to spend time with Kaji."
"You go out to dinner with me, I pay our bill, and you spend all your time with Kaji?"
"Now you're getting the hang of it. Just because you're paying the bill doesn't mean I'm
going to waste the evening with you! I had my fill of that last night, thank you very much."
"Well, then what does it mean?"
This time Asuka flashed him a wicked grin. "It means I'm going to order the most
expensive thing on the menu, stupid!"
"Then what the hell am I supposed to eat?"
"Bread and water?"
"Asuka!"
"Geez, relax, will you? Do you really think I would make you go without dinner?"
"Yes."
"Well, I wouldn't. Besides, if I did, then Misato would carry on about it for the rest
of the night. Although I'm a little bit hurt, Shinji. I wouldn't want you to go without
dinner."
"You wouldn't?"
"Of course not! Who would I have to pick on and wait on me if you were passed out from
hunger? That wouldn't do me much good, now would it? Honestly, you can be so selfish
sometimes!"
"Please tell me you're kidding."
Asuka gave him a look but said nothing. "Asuka?" Shinji repeated.
"Shinji," she stated, in a voice that hovered somewhere between amusement and dead
seriousness, "I told Misato shortly before I came here that I promised her nothing aside from
kicking some Angel butt. So don't expect me to promise not to make fun of you! You've been so
sensitive to it lately, are you feeling okay? Because if you're sick or anything I don't want
to catch it."
Shinji didn't really know what to say for a moment or two. Was Asuka genuinely concerned
about him? Was she just teasing him so more? Asuka could be so hard to read sometimes. "No, I'm
fine. I just have a lot on my mind lately, I guess."
Asuka stopped in her tracks, huffed out a breath, and turned to Shinji, with a very
frustrated look on her face. Trying her best not to sound angry, she said something Shinji had
been afraid she might at some point. "Then do you mind telling me what yesterday afternoon was
all about?"
"I, uh, I-I don't really know Asuka! I thought you said you didn't want to talk about
it."
"I don't. But you've been acting strangely ever since. There's no way you would have
tried the stuff you have been before yesterday...." Asuka's voice trailed off as realization
suddenly hit her. A realization that almost frightened her. "You-You're not afraid of me
anymore, are you?"
Shinji just stared back at her, saying nothing, and fidgeting like crazy. And for the
first time since she could remember, Asuka Langley Sohryu had no idea what to say or do.
***********************************************************************************************
Hello again everyone! It took me a little longer than I thought it would to get this chapter
out, but unfortunately I must admit that I have a lot of stuff on my plate right now, and most
of it doesn't taste very good, if you know what I mean. Anywho, you aren't here to hear about
my personal life, you're here to know about the status of "Round Perdition's Flames." Well, as
you can see, it's coming. I've been listening to all of your reviews, and I like what you have
to say. I dedicate this chapter to "Rhine rhine" (whom we affectionately refer to around the
Perdition workshop as "Whine whine," because this reader is always whining about when I'm going
to release the next chapter. Not that there's anything wrong with that, right? The best way to
get me off my lazy arse is to whine, beg, plead, bargain, etc. And so, I have now released
Chapter 7 unto you, which will probably be renamed to Chapter 8 because of Fanfiction.net's
fascist new chaptering system. I don't know about the rest of you, but I really hate this
system. It's annoying, it %&(%s up your story, and its "go to chapter" features suck royally.
If they're going to force me to Chapter the story, then the main link of the story should take
me to an html file with links to the individual chapters. That would make things look much,
much neater. It would also be much more user friendly, which is probably why they aren't doing
it that way. But oh well, the only thing I can do about it (aside from refraining from
submitting my story, which isn't going to happen) is piss and moan a lot and shake my fist. So
that's what I'm doing.
Well, at any rate, this chapter has now been submitted for your approval. What? You want more?
Well, you're just going to have to wait a while, now aren't you. I don't know when I'll see fit
to pen the next chapter. If you're lucky, and if I keep on top of my schoolwork while
maintaining some illusion of free time, and if I actually use said free time to write this
story, then you'll see something in two weeks or so. I hope you'll say it has been worth the
wait, because.......we're coming up on the big dinner! Woohoo! I know a lot of you have been
waiting for this, and I can now say with 100% certainty that we'll be there in the next
installment. And there was much rejoicing. Hooray! So what do you think? Will Shinji and Asuka
reach some sort of plateau? Am I just teasing you all? Will Kaji be subjected to an anal probe?
If you want to play my game, send your e-mail to:
ranger_writer@yahoo.com
With the subject: I KNOW WHAT HAPPENS IN THE DINNER SEQUENCE!
I'll collect them all and whoever comes the closest will be credited when the next chapter is
released. And of course, everyone say it with me now, Review/C&C. I do read all the reviews I
get, and I even listen to people's complaints. I don't promise to do anything about them, but I
do listen to them. So keep those reviews coming in, dear readers, they are the only reward we
authors get!
Next Installment-What, you weren't listening a minute ago? It's the dinner sequence!
The necessary Legal Lingo Junk--In writing this story, the author is in no way attempting to
take credit for Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of the characters contained therein. This is a
work contributed to Public Domain, and the author has not been paid so much as a penny for this
story. Neon Genesis Evangelion is copyrighted by Gainax, A.D.V. Films holds the rights
(hostage?) to the English Language Version.
The author is not responsible for any bouts of insomnia brought on by reading this fanfic.