May The Best Girl Win
"The phones are not working" Rei says.
"I can't get through, even on my cellphone" Asuka adds angrily.
Shinji takes his Emergency Manual out of his bag and reads it. Rei does the same and Asuka ruffles through her bag to find hers.
"We need to find a way inside" Shinji says.
"Right, now before we begin, we should choose a group leader. Of course the leader is-" Asuka stops as she sees Shinji begin walking the other way.
"Hey! I said we need to-"
"It doesn't matter, we just need to get in" Shinji says, not turning around, He continues to walk, Rei and Asuka follow.
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"We can usually get there in five minutes, how long is this going to take?" Asuka says irritated. They had been walking for quite a while now. They come to a stop as another door stands in their way.
Shinji walks up to it and turns the lever to manually open the door, as he did to the one before. Rei and Asuka watch in silence. After the door is opened the three of them continue walking.
"So, Baka-Shinji, why are you so depressed?" Asuka says after a while, breaking the silence.
"I'm not depressed"
"Please, you're still hung up on Katherine?" Asuka says teasingly. She had asked Kaji who had recently come back to Japan. Rei looked at her, with a hint of displeasure.
Shinji continues to walk. He was surprised Asuka knew about Katharina, but it was bound to happen, most of Nerv probably knew.
"It's Katharina" He says.
"Oh I'm sorry" Asuka continues, "Did I get your girlfriend's name wrong?"
"She's not my girlfriend"
"Anymore" Asuka adds. She was glad to tease him. Shinji had been making her uneasy every since he got back. It was time she reclaimed her right to make fun of him. But of course, there is so much a boy can take. And the amount Shinji would take had been greatly decreased.
Shinji turns around abruptly and faces Asuka. For the first time since he got back, Rei and Asuka saw a hint of emotion in his eyes. Anger.
Shinji just glares for a while. He looked like he was about to say something but then Rei suddenly said
"Do you hear that?"
Asuka and Shinji both look at Rei and then hear a faint voice.
"It's Hyuga-san!" Asuka says enthusiastically as the voice approaches, "Heeey! Hyuga-san!"
Rei continues to listen, trying to make out what he was saying.
"There's an Angel approaching! Prepare for battle!"
"An angel approaching!?" Asuka says.
"I believe we should hurry, let's take a shortcut" Rei says calmly and begins to walk. Shinji silently follows and Asuka does the same after a moment.
-----------------
"So.... your favored by the commander huh?" Asuka says to Rei.
Rei remains silent and continues to walk.
"I guess that explains you acting so different. People that are favored are cocky"
Rei still holds her silence irritating Asuka, who runs in front of Rei and glares at her.
"Just cause your favored doesn't mean you can mock me!"
"I'm not mocking you" Rei says, "And I'm not favored.... I can tell"
Shinji continues walks past the two girls. He could care less about Asuka's dumb accusations and Rei's emotionless replies. Asuka sees that Shinji is ahead of them and starts walking again. Rei does the same. The rest of the trip to the Central Dogma was in silence.
-----------------
Ritsuko was doing what she could to help get the Evas ready. Makoto had recently arrived, informing them of the angel approaching. Gendo had gone to help with the manual preparations. She suddenly hears a crash and sees the three Children on the ground. Ritsuko could not hide her smile.
"You made it, the preparations are almost complete." Ritsuko says.
"Without any power?" Asuka asks.
"Yes, everything was done manually" Ritsuko responds. She then looks over at Shinji and adds "It was your father's idea"
Ritsuko was expecting some reaction. Perhaps surprise, perhaps pride, perhaps even admiration. But she received none. All she received was Shinji's cold voice saying "I see"
The three pilots got changed into their plug suits. They then boarded their respective Evas and manually launched. The three evas crawled through a duct and came to an opening. They then proceed to climb up. After a while some orange liquid drops onto the Eva 0's shoulder. It burns considerably and Rei realizes what it is.
"We have to dodge" Rei says, still calm.
"Huh?" Asuka say and then a large amount of the acid falls on her. She loses her grip and her Eva falls crashing into Rei's Eva.
The two evas fall and Shinji looks up to see them.
He drops his rifle and attempts to catch them but cannot withstand the weight and falls. But after a while he digs his hands and feet into the walls and stops the fall. The three then take cover in a duct.
The three Children open up their communication channels.
"The target secretes a strong acid, it's impossible to reach it" Rei says.
"We have no rifle" Shinji add quietly.
"There is a way" Asuka says after thinking for a moment, "We split up. Offense, defense and back-up. The defense defends the offense from the acid. The back-up retrieves the rifle and-"
"Forget it"
"What!?" Asuka yells enraged.
"I said forget" Shinji says, "we need to kill it, that's the plan"
With that he goes out of the duct and begins to climb again.
"Baka! Your gonna get hit!" Asuka yells.
"Ikari-kun" Rei says with a hint of urgency.
Shinji ignores both of them and continues to climb he sees some acid coming down and attempts to dodge it. It hits his left hand. It burns, but Shinji does not even flinch and continues climbing.
"What is he doing! Wondergirl, get the rifle and throw it up to me!" Asuka says.
Rei responds immediately and jumps down. Asuka goes out as well and waits for Rei.
Shinji had reached a considerable height now. He was almost there. Half his eva was covered in acid and his body burned and seared. Hissing sounds were heard from where the acid was on the Eva.
Rei gets the rifle and throws it up at Asuka. Asuka catches it and aims up.
"Baka! Move, I'll shoot it to death." Asuka says.
"Move where?" Shinji says calmly.
"I don't know! Just move! I can't hit it with you in the way!"
Shinji does not respond. He had reached the top. His whole body was in intense pain, yet he didn't feel it.
'I am Shinji Ikari, designated pilot of the Evangelion unit 1' He thinks to himself, 'My mission is to destroy the angels, and I will fulfill this mission by any means necessary'
Katharina's words echo in his head as he punches through the angel's AT-field. He then drills his hand into the eye that the acid was coming out of. He penetrates and reaches into the angel. The Eva's arm begins to decay from the acid but Shinji finds the core. He shatters it with his fist. The angel falls down and then explodes.
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"The pilot is alive" Maya reports.
"And the Evangelion unit 01?" Gendo asks.
"It is badly damaged" Ritsuko responds, "the acid ate through most of the outer armor. I'm surprised the pilot could even move after all that damage"
"Is it repairable?"
"Yes, but it will take time." Ritsuko says.
"Call the pilot to my office as soon as he is conscious" Gendo says and then walks out of the central dogma.
Ritsuko sighs and sits down.
"Sempai, what's wrong?" Maya asks.
"It's nothing much" Ritsuko says.
"Are you worried about the repairs? Hopefully we can finish before the next angel" Maya says.
"Actually it might be better if we didn't....." Ritsuko says and then gets back to work.
-----------
'I bet I'm in that same room, with the same ceiling' Shinji thinks before opening his eyes. He sees the familiar ceiling. And the familiar scent.
"And the same smell" Shinji says out loud to no one in particular. He sits up and looks around. It was completely silent. He figured someone would soon come storming in, reporting to him about the battle and it's aftermath. His father would probably also want to see him. But no one came so Shinji decided to rest. He laid back down and closed his eyes.
'I won, Kat' he thinks and then drifts off to sleep. Unfortunately the expression on his face was not a smile, but an emotionless mask so inhuman one would think he was unreal, except for the blood trickling down the side of his mouth from the gritting of his teeth.
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"Get to the point! I wanna go home already!"
The voice belonged to Asuka. The other two pilots were in an office with Misato. She had called them there to discuss the Third Children.
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, something is definitely troubling Shinji-kun"
"Yeah, Kassandra we know" Asuka says.
"Katharina" Rei says.
"Whatever, it's his problem. We have nothing to do with it." Asuka says .
"It is your problem" Misato says. She paces back and forth while drinking her coffee. "He is your fellow pilot, you have some responsibility"
"That's crap! He's his own person!" Asuka says, raising her voice.
"Well... he's your comrade and colleague"
"What are you suggesting?" Rei says calmly.
"He's obviously distraught over that girl in Germany, and I'm just asking the two of you to.... console him"
"Why-" Asuka begins but is interrupted.
"And the school dance coming up will give you both an equal opportunity to get closer to him" Misato says smiling.
Asuka finally knew what Misato meant by console, "Why do I, Asuka Langely Soryu, have to go out with that baka-loser"
"I never said anything about going out with anyone" Misato says calmly sipping her coffee.
"That's what you mean! Get closer to him and console him! Your asking us to be his solace!" Asuka yells.
"Does it require us to be... close to Ikari-kun in order to console him?" Rei asks curiously.
"Well, I don't just mean console. To be there for him when he needs you and-"
"How will we know when he needs us? He has not made an attempt to talk to anybody." Rei asks.
Misato was somewhat surprised with Rei's questions. She had not expected Rei to respond, but more Asuka.
'I guess Shinji-kun won't mind' Misato thinks as she tries not to smile evilly.
"You will know. Just comfort him."
"No" Asuka says firmly.
"Rei?" Misato asks as she looks toward Rei.
"Is this an order?"
"Yes"
"That I will do my duties. You said something about a dance?"
"Yes, it's this Friday. I will make Shinji-kun go, so I hope I can count on you to be there"
"I understand" Rei says.
Asuka suddenly starts laughing, "I don't think you quite cut out for this job, wondergirl. It requires emotions."
"I believe I know how to treat pilot Ikari"
This causes Asuka to laugh even more, "Please, you don't know the first thing about relationships."
"From my observation of your actions towards pilot Ikari, neither do you"
Asuka's laugh was silenced. She was dumbfounded that Rei was talking so much. She had a determined look on her face.
'Does Shinji really mean that much to her?' Asuka thinks. She turns to Misato and says "I'll be there too"
"I thought you weren't going to take this... assignment" Misato says carefully choosing the last word.
"I can't leave it up to wondergirl or the baka will commit suicide" Asuka says, "and his actions are affecting both of our piloting. He's going to drag us down, and I don't feel like losing to an angel."
"No so confident after Shinji-kun showing you up?"
"The baka got lucky"
Misato refused to argue. Shinji-kun's actions were unacceptable and highly dangerous. The commander may issue a suspension, to save the Eva-01 from being destroyed.
"Is that all?" Rei asks after a few moments of silence.
"Yes, good luck and may the best girl win!" Misato says teasingly.
"By the way, why do we have to do it? Wouldn't a non-pilot girl be a better candidate?" Asuka asks.
"You two are the closest female friends he has" Misato says.
"Whatever, we'll see what happens" Asuka says and walks out of the office. Rei does the same.
'Good luck' Misato thinks.
---------------
Rei and Asuka were walking down a residential street, each heading for their respective homes.
"I bet you don't even have anything to wear" Asuka says as they stopped at a light.
"My school uniform will be sufficient" Rei answers.
"It's a dance, not school" Asuka says.
"The dance is in the school" Rei says simply and then begins to walk again since the light changed.
"You know what I mean" Asuka says but in her mind she knew Rei probably didn't know what she meant.
Rei remained silent as she walked. Asuka and her parted ways at the next block.
--------------
Shinji was in his father's office. He stood infront of his desk and just stared. Gendo looked at Shinji for a long time and then spoke.
"Why did you work cooperatively and destroy the angel"
"Destroying the angel is my mission, and I will fulfill it." Shinji said.
"You're spontaneous actions will destroy the Eva-01" Gendo says, his chin resting on both his hands.
"I will not lose" Shinji says calmly.
"You will not be this lucky every time, you cannot always win" Gendo says.
"Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do?" Shinji says coldly.
"You are dismissed. I will not suspend you, but you must be more careful next time. Your actions during battle will be watched closely"
Shinji turns around and walks out of the office. He could care less what his father had to say.
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"Excuse me"
Touji and Kensuke looked up from their food. They were eating in the front yard of the school, against a wall. Shinji was on the roof as usual, so the two of them had been eating together.
"Oh, Ayanami, what is it?" Touji asks.
"....will you help me find a dress?" Rei says in the same monotone voice.
"What?" Kensuke says his jaw dropping.
"I said-"
"We heard you, he's just being stupid" Touji says giving Kensuke a look. "Is it for the dance?"
Rei nods.
"And is it for Shinji?" Touji asks.
Rei hesitantly nods again. Touji smiles and puts his hand on Kensuke's shoulder. "Of course we'll help you. Anything to help out you and Shinji."
"Yeah" Kensuke says, "We'll make sure he ends up with you instead of that devil bitch"
"We'll meet you outside after school" Touji says.
Rei nods again and walks off. True, she should have asked a girl, but the two stooges were her closest friend-like people besides her fellow pilots.
After Rei is out of sight Touji looks a Kensuke and gives him a big grin.
"This is his chance man! Shinji is gonna get with Ayanami!" Touji says.
"You never know, I don't think Shinji is the type to... get with girls"
"Hey, he's heartbroken over his German girlfriend, and now his Japanese friend wants to get with him. The kid is pimpin'"
Kensuke laughs and adds, "Now all we need that devil chasing after him and he can be a real ladies man"
The two friends laugh, uplifted by the thought of their distraught friend being normal again.
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"This one man! Trust me, I would much rather do a girl in this dress" Touji says.
"She's going to be dancing. This one is so much better. Plus it's blue and it will match her hair" Kensuke says holding up a blue dress.
"But what about this one! It's so much sexier. Shinji will have a permanent nosebleed when he sees this on Ayanami" Touji says as he points to a very revealing dress.
Rei just stands silently watching two boys argue over which dress looked "hotter". She personally thought one would look hottest in a dress that was hanging on the wall. It had long black sleeves and a long skirt. It was made out of a thick material and there was black fur-like material near the neck.
'Yes, I would definitely be sweating in that one' Rei thinks to herself, 'but if I had a choice I would pick this one'
Rei touches a dress that was hanging up next to her. It was a medium blue color. The skirt would reach her knees and there were no sleeves.
'It looks.... nice" Rei thinks, 'I like that color'
"Your lucky to have two boys fighting over you. You sure know how to have fun" a female employee says to Rei. Rei turns left and sees a brown haired woman. Her roots were black, and she was somewhat short.
"Oh no, they are not-" Rei starts.
"Which one looks better? Definitely this one right?" Kensuke says still holding up the same blue dress.
"No way! This one is so much hotter, don't you agree?" Touji says to the woman.
"Is it for her?" The woman asks.
The two boys both nod.
"Actually I think this one..." the woman says and takes the blue dress that Rei was looking at, "..would bring out her beauty a lot better"
The two boys look at the dress unamused.
"I still think min-"
"No way! This one is so much better!" Touji interrupts yelling.
"Try this on" the woman says handing the dress to Rei, "See how it fits the dressing rooms are over here"
The woman walks and the three kids follow. They come to a dressing room and Rei goes in to change.
-----------
"Definitely get that one" Touji says after he recovers from shock. Kensuke's jaw was still dropped.
"See, it brings out her eyes while matching with her hair. And it's perfect for her body style." The woman says.
Rei cautiously looks at herself. She had never worn clothes like this before. They were somewhat hard to walk in but she could manage.
"I like this" Rei says emotionlessly.
"Good, I can give you a good price" the woman says. Rei walks back into the dressing room to change back.
"It's normally twenty thousand yen, but I'll give it to you for half off." The woman says after a moment.
"Ten thousand yen!? That's crazy!" Touji exclaims.
"I can manage" Rei says as she walks out of the dressing room, once again in her uniform.
"But Ayanami, that's so-" Touji stops talking as Rei takes out her wallet and it is filled with 10,000 yen bills. Nerv pays her to pilot but she had never needed money before. She had no idea how much to bring so she figured she would bring everything she had.
"What?" Touji says in disbelief.
"Please pay at the register" The woman says and points toward the cash registers. Rei walks over two them with her dress in her hand.
"She's rich?" Touji asks Kensuke.
"I dunno, she probably gets paid for piloting"
"Wow, saving the world. I wonder how much they pay you for that.." Touji says dreamily as he walks toward Rei. Kensuke does the same.
---------------
"So for those reasons I just mentioned, you must attend the dance tonight" Misato says to Shinji who is eating in front of her. Asuka was taking a shower.
"Major Katsuragi, my absences in school have nothing to do with me attending the dance"
"Of course it does, you can make up all that time you neglected the school building"
Shinji does not say anything for a while and then mutters "Fine" He brings his unfinished food to the sink and then gets his bag from his room.
"I'm leaving, ittekimasu" Shinji mutters.
"Aren't you going to way for Asuka?" Misato asks.
"No" Shinji simply says and walks out the door.
Misato sighs and looks toward the shower. "Asuka, this might be harder than you think..." She says quietly.
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Shinji did not plan on attending the dance. But after a whole day of Touji and Kensuke nagging at him, he decided he should show up. If he didn't Touji would probably beat the living daylights out of him. They seemed pretty set on having him there.
"I'm not dressing up" Shinji says to himself as he walks toward the train station. His belongings had arrived from Germany a few days ago so it wasn't like he was incapable. He just didn't feel the need to. He wanted to go up to his lookout spot. He had recently discovered it while he wandered aimlessly. It was up in one of the mountains, but was fairly easy to get to. He would stay there for a while and then go to the dance. It didn't matter if he went late.
Shinji sighs as he walks into the train station. 'This is going to be a long night' he thinks.
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Yeah well that's all for now.
A/N: Hey, so what is Iron Maiden? Alright so let's see, I don't have much to say. Oh right I decided I am going to translate the German from the last chapter. It will be up soon. Well I think that's all. Oh, I decided the the pilots do get paid. I heard they actually don't but I think that's a bunch of ish so... yeah. Thanks for the reviews everyone!