Naota groaned. "Mornings suck," he thought, turning to get the sun out of his eyes. Something warm and soft tightened its hold around his midsection and his eyes jerked open. "Haru—no, Ninamori."
Turning his head around, he regarded the mess of amethyst currently residing mostly on his pillow. "Hey, she has kind of the same hair color as Misato," he thought idly, watching Ninamori breathe. "Shit! I have to get up so I can go with Shinji and Misato to meet the Second today. Damn, that means I'm going to have to wake 'Mori."
"Hey, Ninamori, wake up," Naota called softly, turning around and shaking the girl slightly. "Come on, you have to get up. I have to leave soon."
The girl didn't move, but snorted loudly once and continued sleeping.
"Ok, I didn't want to have to do this," said Naota, pinching his thumb and forefinger over her nose. In response, her mouth opened and she gave a loud sigh, but still didn't move. "You're so faking it."
Ninamori didn't respond, only twitched in her sleep.
"Should I?" Naota wondered, inching his own mouth closer to hers. "Didn't she say she wanted my attention anyway?" he rationalized, grinning. He leaned forward the rest of the way and pressed his mouth to hers. The response was immediate.
Ninamori had indeed been faking it. She shifted her weight, pushing Naota until she rested on his lap once more, the two separated by the thin fabric of his boxer shorts and not much else—Ninamori also slept in the nude, it seemed. Naota hadn't complained much, once he got over the initial shock and near nosebleed. Her tongue flicked across the roof of his mouth and she sighed softly, grinning. Finally, she pulled away enough to speak. "There are better ways to wake a person, Naota."
"'Mori," he wined, trying to sit up. Ninamori would have none of it. "Come on, I have to leave early to meet up with Misato and Shinji, remember?"
Ninamori pouted. "But Naota, you got my hopes up." She huffed, apparently sulking and thoroughly disappointed. "Ok, I'll let you go, but what are you going to do for me when you get back?"
"Whatever you want, just let me up or Misato will kill me!"
"Whatever I want huh?" Ninamori smirked.
Naota didn't know if he liked that look or not, but he'd already said it and he knew she'd make him stick to that. Finally, he nodded. "Yeah, just let me up."
"Ok," she said, hopping off the boy and walking into the kitchen.
Naota followed and found Rei sitting at the table, eating toast and drinking juice. She looked at him curiously for a moment, possibly deciding whether or not she should ask why her other female roommate got to run around in the nude now. "I'll explain later?" Naota asked, grabbing a piece of Rei's toast. Rei nodded. That would be satisfactory.
Walking back into his room, Naota dressed quickly, deciding to forego a shower, seeing as he'd taken one the previous night—a very, very cold shower. Remembering that he'd be taking a helicopter to the aircraft carrier, he thought it best to leave his hats at home. Swallowing the last of his borrowed toast, he left the room. He called out quick goodbyes to Ninamori and Rei before tuning to leave the apartment. As he neared the door however, a glint of blue in a shaft sunlight streaking in through one of the apartment's windows caught his eye. It was the Rickenbacker—Haruko's goggles wrapped around the handle.
"I don't really need to bring it," he thought, once more stepping towards the door. Something held him back though. Turning once more to regard the guitar, he shook his head. He just didn't feel right leaving it, so he picked it up and slung it over his shoulder. "Later guys," he called again, stepping out the door.
He met up with Shinji, Touji, Kensuke, and Misato as they were just leaving her apartment. Together, the five of them left the apartment complex and crammed into Misato's Alpine, Naota in front with the bass between his legs. Shinji and Naota buckled their safety belts at the same time. The ride to the airfield was exactly what they'd come to expect of Misato, though they managed to limit themselves to the occasional cringe rather than the outright screams of terror like the ones Kensuke and Touji seemed so fond of.
The helicopter ride was, thankfully, much less eventful and life-threatening. Kensuke babbled on and on about the helicopter they were riding in and the fleet of ships they'd be flying over. Shinji and Touji just listened, humoring their friend. Naota tuned them all out—at least until Touji tapped his arm and repeated the question he'd asked twice already.
"What was that? Sorry, wasn't paying attention," Naota grinned, shooting a look Kensuke's direction.
Touji resisted the urge to laugh. "I forgot to ask you the day I brought your guitar back. What's that thing on the back of it?"
Naota spun the guitar around so they could examine the back of it. He pointed to medium sized, raised circle and the handle protruding from it. "This?" he asked, getting a nod. "What's it look like?"
"Looks like a pull cord of some kind," said Kensuke, looking at it through his camera. Naota nodded.
"So what, it's gas powered?" Touji asked, confused. He'd never heard of a guitar that ran off gasoline, though his experience with musical instruments was very limited.
Shrugging, Naota grinned. "I have no idea. It doesn't put out any exhaust when you get it started, except for a bit of steam and hot air."
"So it's like a built-in amplifier?" Shinji asked. He'd never heard of this being done on any mass-production model before, so that meant that the Rickenbacker was definitely a custom model of some sort if that was the case.
"Something like that," Naota laughed. "I've only ever seen it played one way, so I wouldn't know."
"How so?" Misato asked, mildly interested. She was more of a car enthusiast, but the idea of an engine of some sort strapped to a guitar sounded relatively intriguing.
"Well, it was Haruko's—she mainly used it to bust open my skull… The only times I saw her use the thing after starting it, she usually wound up tearing through Medical Mechanica robots."
Kensuke's head jerked back from the window instantly. "Did you say Medical Mechanica?" he asked, getting a nod. "Aren't those the guys that had their main plant—somewhere in Japan, Mabase I think—destroyed in some freak accident?"
Naota, Shinji, and Misato traded looks. Finally, Naota spoke up. "It wasn't a freak accident. Medical Mechanica put themselves between Haruko and what she wanted, and came off the worst when push came to shove. At least, I think so. It was all pretty confusing there for a while, and I don't feel like telling it all again right now."
The two boys nodded and the pilot announced that they were coming in for a landing. "I wonder what the Second Child will be like," Shinji said quietly, visions of a girl with red hair and blue eyes dancing in front of his mind's eye.
…
The MIG helicopter landed and its passengers disembarked, thankful to be able to stretch their legs. Kensuke pointed his camera at everything in sight, taking in as much as he could—he was in Heaven. Naota popped his neck and shifted the Rickenbacker around to a more comfortable position, following Kensuke and thankful he hadn't worn a hat. Speaking of hats—Touji's had been blown off by the MIG's prop wash, and he was now chasing it across the flight deck. Shinji stretched his arms over his head, popping his back and grinning as Touji yelled for someone to stop his hat.
Touji's request was granted as his hat made contact with someone's shoe… and the leg attached to the previously mentioned shoe raised enough for the hat to pass under, and then ground down on it. Touji bent down and began yanking at his hat as the girl above him conversed with Misato. The hat wouldn't budge. Glaring up at the girl, he opened his mouth to tell her to get off of it, but stopped mid-word. A strong updraft caught her yellow sundress, lifting it well above her navel and exposing the fact that Asuka had chosen to go without undergarments that day—and that her hair was indeed naturally red.
Touji reeled back as the girl's palm made contact with his face. "What the hell was that for?" he yelled, rubbing his already reddening cheek.
"That's the viewing fee. Pretty nice huh?"
"It was a bit overpriced. Here, keep the change!" Touji growled, pulling down his track suit pants and boxers, flashing her. He was rewarded with another slap, and a cry of "pervert!"
Asuka turned her attention to Misato, ignoring the buffoon. "So, where's this Third Child I keep hearing about," she asked, casting a sidelong glance at Touji. "Ach, nein. Please tell me it isn't him."
"No Asuka, this is the Third Child—Shinji Ikari," said Misato, gesturing to Shinji beside her.
Asuka and Shinji's eyes locked, and Asuka opened her mouth to say something, but stopped.
"Don't talk to me like that you damn rookie!"
"Show off…"
"I'm not giving Ikari a free show!"
"ASUKA! ASUKA NO!"
"Asuka, I need you."
"I'd rather die than do it with you."
The Third Child straddles the Second, wrapping his thin fingers around her throat and squeezing, a mad gleam in his eyes. The Second Child reaches out with her un-bandaged hand, stroking his cheek. The Third releases his grip and his head drops to the Second's bosom where be begins to cry. The Second makes a face, mouthing something…
"You," they both muttered simultaneously. Shaking off her confusion and setting it aside to reason out later, Asuka leant in close to Shinji, her nose almost brushing his. "So, you're the infamous Shinji Ikari." Her breath was sweet against Shinji's face, as if she'd just gotten through eating something—strawberries perhaps.
Shinji grinned—no, smirked. "And you're the great Second Child, Asuka Langley Sohryu," he replied, equally quiet.
Beside the two, Misato and Naota watched in fascination. The two acted almost as if they knew each other. Of course, Naota knew this was entirely possible. Deciding it might be best if their cover wasn't blown on the spot, Naota spoke. "What's that make me, chopped liver?" he asked, getting a small laugh from Misato and drawing Asuka's attention—albeit reluctantly—away from Shinji.
"Who are you then?"
"Naota Namdaba, Fourth Child."
"Never heard of you. In fact, I wasn't aware they'd selected the Fourth."
Naota shrugged, thinking back to something Misato had said earlier. "You've been stuck on a boat for the past week, right? I was only just chosen."
Asuka frowned slightly, looking to Misato for confirmation. Misato nodded. "Uhhuh. He's telling the truth Asuka, he was only recently chosen as a Pilot, but he's been training with us for two or so months."
"I see," she said, glancing between Naota and Touji. Something didn't seem to quite add up to her, but she couldn't put her finger on it. Naota did it for her.
"Hey, at least it isn't Touji," Naota laughed quietly, so as not to draw the boy's attention. He was currently chasing his hat again, but Naota didn't want to risk it.
…
Asuka dragged Shinji across the deck of the ship transporting Eva-02. Glancing into an open door with a stairwell leading down, she decided that this would have to do. She ducked into the entryway, dragging Shinji along with her. Leaving him near the top of the stairs, she rushed down and ducked into the space directly beneath Shinji. Stripping down quickly, she pulled her plug suit from her bag and began pulling it on.
Above her, Shinji sat leaning against the bulkhead. "Are you done yet Asuka?" he called. Not getting an answer, Shinji peeked over the railing, down into the niche created by the stairs.
Glancing up at the same time Shinji looked down, their eyes locked once more. They stood frozen like that for several seconds before Asuka halfheartedly yelled at him to stop peeking, a blush creeping across her cheeks. "Gods, why did that turn me on?" she wondered, hitting the compression switch on her wrist. "Let's go Asuka."
…
Naota watched along with Misato, Kaji, Kensuke, and Touji as the fleet's attempts to take down the Angel failed repeatedly. In front of them, the Admiral growled. "Why won't the damned thing sink?"
"Because it's got an AT field and only an Eva can beat it, you old codger," Naota mumbled, loud enough for the old man to hear.
"What did you say, boy?" he asked, turning around.
"You heard him. Only an Eva can beat it," Touji grinned.
"Get off my bridge."
"Make us."
The admiral nodded to one of his crew, who approached the small group of kids. Naota stepped out in front, unslinging the Rickenbacker—Touji was close behind, cracking his knuckles, and Kensuke was taping it all. Grinning, Naota turned the Rickenbacker over, grabbing the pull starter. "Come on, I dare you," he said, pitching his voice intentionally low.
The subordinate took another step forward. One second later, a low whine issued from the bass as Naota pulled the cord. A second after that, a guitar-shaped hole stood out sharply against the bulkhead—daylight could be seen through it. Naota had swung the Rickenbacker one handed—it had grown seemingly lighter within the span of those two seconds—intentionally missing the crewman. The startled admiral said nothing more, allowing Misato to take over the operation from that point.
…
Shinji looked between the red female plug suit in his fingers and the girl clad in its twin. "Uh…"
"Don't stand there, get moving!"
"Here?" he asked, glancing around.
Asuka smirked. "Yes, here. Now hurry up."
Glancing down at the plug suit with a grimace, Shinji shook his head. "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to hate myself for this in the morning?" he thought, turning around and stripping. Stepping quickly into the suit, Shinji suppressed a groan. He had some guess as to just how horrible he'd look in this thing.
Behind Shinji, Asuka was admiring the view—though she denied that to herself vehemently. "It's only fair, he got to peek twice. He even saw my…" trailing off, she grinned, and then gaped. Shinji had almost lost his balance and fallen into the purple fluids below them, the result of a nearby shockwave. Closing her mouth quickly, Asuka turned around to hide her blush. "Yeah, I'd say we're even now," she thought, familiar warmth that she usually associated with Kaji spreading throughout her lower belly. "Fuck—and I have to sit in that damned entry plug like this," she thought, idly wondering what it'd feel like to touch someone through the suits... "Fetish gear, heh." She would find out sooner than she thought.
…
"Teeth?!" Asuka squealed, looking down into the gullet of the Angel.
"It's an Angel," deadpanned Shinji in the tone of voice one usually reserved for small children and idiots.
The two yelled, pain shooting through their midsections as the Angel bit into Unit-02, and Shinji was thrown forward in the plug, landing in Asuka's lap.
"Man, it just goes from bad to worse."
Asuka frowned. "Shut up, you pessimist. And get off my lap, pervert!" she growled, pushing at Shinji's head and blushing. It was distracting as hell because she was still aroused, and a part of Shinji's suit was rubbing her in just the right place.
"But we've got to free ourselves!"
Moments later, she was pounding on the Third Child's back. "Don't operate my Eva without my permission!" she grunted, each word coming in time to one of her fists pounding his back—also causing him to brush against her. Grabbing his head, she pushed harder. "I should probably feel guilty about beating Shinji up like this, especially in the middle of a battle, but damn that feels good."
"Shinji, do you understand?!" Misato called.
His voice strained because Asuka's fingers were currently wrapped thoroughly into his hair and she was throwing him around in her lap, Shinji answered. "I'll do the best I can!" he paused, noticing that Asuka's hips had just jerked and a part of her he was sure he'd seen earlier ground against him. "So that's why she's…!" He wanted to laugh, but knew that if he didn't keep a straight face he'd be busted.
"Reverse the cable!"
The Eva jerked hard and Asuka ground against him again, both of them yelling—but not for the same reason. "Hey! Are you rubbing against me on purpose? Cut it out dork!"
Shinji shook his head. "I'm not letting her blame this on me!" he thought, turning to regard the girl above him. "Are you complaining?!" he yelled, then quickly added, "We've got to open its mouth or we'll be fish food!" He didn't miss the small grin Asuka threw at him as he turned back around. "Can't have Misato finding out about this, huh?" he asked quietly.
Asuka went rigid. "He knows!" she thought, grinning wider despite her embarrassment. Deciding that she didn't really care, she laughed softly, so that only he could hear. "No Shinji, that would be bad."
Hearing someone on the bridge shouting, Shinji pulled on the controls. "It's stuck!"
"There's no time left!" Asuka growled, then leaned down and put her hands on top of Shinji's. Together, they changed the control configuration and braced themselves, then began to push together with everything they had.
"Open, open, open!"
"Open, open, open, open!"
Neither noticed the small gauge showing their sync ratio shoot through the proverbial roof as Unit-02 gave an almighty heave, throwing open the beast's jaws. The two battleships rammed down into the Angel's throat, opening fire on its core and self-destructing as planned, shooting Eva-02 straight into the air. As one, Shinji and Asuka landed the Eva gracefully onto the Over the Rainbow's flight deck—the Eva's battery dying seconds later.
The Children panted, their breaths coming and going in perfect synchronization. Asuka looked down at Shinji, who looked back up and both grinned. "We may have to do that again, Third Child," Asuka said slowly, her grin spreading.
Shinji laughed, sitting up. "Which part?"
"We'll figure that out later. Right now, let's get the hell out of here," she said, ejecting the plug. Shinji agreed wholeheartedly.
…
Eva-02 had been sitting on the flight deck for the past ten minutes. They were still over a half-hour out from port, and Naota had found the highest place he could outside to survey the damage around them. He let the Rickenbacker's strap flap in the breeze as he enjoyed the sea air. It seemed someone else had gotten the same idea.
Asuka climbed up onto the platform, spotting the Fourth Child instantly. For a moment, she paused, regarding him. Like this, he looked familiar… Recollection struck, as she remembered the cover of one of the magazines among her personal effects. "So," she called softly, walking up beside him. "It is you."
"Huh?" Naota asked, turning his head to regard the redhead.
"You're the boy on the magazine."
"What magazine?"
Asuka was confused. "You mean you haven't seen it? It's on the cover of last month's issue of some magazine—Rolling Stone I think."
Naota nodded, remembering. "Mamimi took that, right before she left… before they both left, actually. So it made it into a magazine? I guess that means she got a lot of money from it. That's good."
"What, are you kidding me? She had a whole section to herself, and most of the pictures there were of you and some robot called—"
"Canti. He lives with us."
"…Yeah, Canti," she said quietly, seeing the boy in a bit of a new light now. "So, what were you doing up here?"
"I was thinking of tossing this. It causes too much trouble," said Naota, raising the Rickenbacker.
Asuka shook her head. "Don't be stupid. It looks expensive, and besides, it was a gift wasn't it?"
"How'd you know?"
"Because if it weren't you wouldn't be up here. So, what was she like?"
Naota laughed, slinging the bass back onto his shoulder. "Like a force of nature run rampant. Haruko was just… insanity, pure and simple."
Asuka nodded, and the pair simply stood in silence. Finally, Asuka spoke again. "It looks like we've made it to port."
"Yeah." Naota turned, giving the girl a grin. "Thanks."
"For what?"
"Keeping me from doing something stupid."
"Don't mention it, Fourth. In return, I may ask for a small favor shortly."
Naota nodded, accepting that she wouldn't tell him what it was, but it probably wouldn't be anything beyond his abilities, so he wasn't worried. "Hey," he said as they made their way back down onto the flight deck. "Where's Shinji?"
Asuka smirked. "Oh, I'm sure he's hiding around here somewhere."
Once the ship got its gangway down, the pair made their way down it, catching up to Misato and Ritsuko, who were sitting in a Jeep. "Where's Kaji?" Asuka asked, jumping into the vehicle. Naota however, was drawn to a noise coming from his left—the direction of the port's highway exit.
"I know that sound," he thought, trying to place it. His eyes widened. "That's a Vespa," he said, drawing the attention of the three women in the Jeep.
Shinji—who had miraculously found and borrowed Naota's spare plug suit, since he had thought ahead to bring one—caught up to the foursome, along with Kensuke and Touji, who trailed behind him. They all spotted it at once. A yellow Vespa barreled around a corner, several military issue vehicles tumbling along behind it and crashing out into the harbor. The Vespa picked up speed, heading straight for their small group. "Isn't that—" Shinji said slowly, glancing to Naota.
Naota nodded as the Vespa squealed to a stop, its rider pulling off her helmet and pulling her spare goggles up so they rested atop her flyaway pinkish-red hair. "Haruko," he both greeted and answered.
"Hi Takkun. Miss me?" she asked, standing and pulling Atomsk's guitar from its place between her legs, shouldering it.
"What are you doing here?" Naota asked.
Haruko turned, noticing Shinji. "Hello again, Mr. Ikari. Have a nice boat ride?"
Shinji shrugged. "Could've been better. There was an Angel."
The oddity nodded, grinning. She was flustering Naota, and she knew it. "Yeah, those always suck."
"What do you want Haruko?"
Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes. "Kids these days—absolutely no manners."
The entire group—save for Haruko—jumped when Naota finally exploded, pulling off the Rickenbacker and smashing it into the pavement to get her attention. The ones who hadn't seen what the boy's bass could do cringed. It had left a small crater in the asphalt. "What the hell do you want with me!?"
Haruko sighed, pouting. "Now is that any way to talk to the ones you love, Takkun?"
"I—I don't…"
She grinned—that manic, predatory grin—and patted the boy's head. "As I told Mr. Ikari not so long ago Takkun: your head is the only one that works. I want him and you're going to get him for me."
"And what if I say no?"
"You won't. Listen to that part of you deep down that says to trust me—tells you to do whatever it takes to make me happy. That's the part of you I need right now, besides your head that is." She leaned down, cupping her hand over his ear. "Give him to me and I'll take you with me. I won't abandon you this time Takkun."
He looked up at her, his breath coming in short gasps. She was right—deep down, he really did want to do as she asked, and the idea of going with her wherever that may be was appealing. "I—but… Ninamori."
Haruko frowned slightly—this could be a problem. She hadn't expected the other girl to be able to get to him here in Tokyo-3… hell, even if he'd have stayed with her in Mabase, Naota had been too emotionally wounded to give the time of day, let alone fall for the advances of a fourteen year old girl. She hated that part of herself that could do—and had done—that to the boy, but it couldn't be helped. She needed Atomsk, soon—now preferably. He didn't understand just what was at stake if she didn't find the demigod. "Maybe if I tell him the truth…" she thought, but discarded that idea. That just wouldn't be her style.
"Don't worry about her," she said quietly, stroking the boy's hair. "I'm back, Takkun."
As the Rickenbacker slipped from Naota's fingers and dropped to the pavement, Shinji watched on with a mild sense of growing horror. Of the people here, he alone knew the most about the two in front of them. He knew Ninamori and Naota had grown much closer as of late, and he also knew a little more than Naota had let on about his past, simply by interacting with the two. He was shocked and a little frightened when Naota threw his arms around the woman, weeping into her shirt. Her grin softened from that maniacal one he had seen only a few times to the one he'd seen even less—while she had driven him around Tokyo-3. "She's really insane…"
Shinji managed to quietly convince the others to leave the docks. "They'll catch up with us later," he said to Misato as the group made their way to a NERV transport bus. He looked back, catching Haruko's eye. She waved for them to take off, pointing to the Vespa—indicating she would drive Naota home. Shinji nodded, stepping into the bus and relaying the message to Misato and Ritsuko, who started the engine and took off. "Just what the hell is going on?" Shinji wondered, glancing around. Almost everyone else seemed to be thinking the same thing.
…
Naota picked up the bass from where it lay on the street—not a scratch on it. Throwing it over his shoulder, he turned back to Haruko, who was leaning against her Vespa. "Things—it can't just go back to the way it was between us, can it?"
Haruko shrugged. "It could."
"It can't," he said, mustering the resolve that had been cut down to its knees only moments ago by this same girl.
"You've slept with her, haven't you Takkun? Was it fun?"
"Shut up."
"It was, wasn't it—doing it like one of these monkey-brained primitives?"
"I said shut up. She's not like that."
"Oh?"
"She's one of us."
"No, Naota. She isn't like me, and neither are you. It's why I can't stand humans, because they all think too slowly. You, you're an exception. You pretend, but you and I both know the truth. It's why you can use your N/O gate—why I need you. You're about three steps closer to being like me than the rest of the people on this dirtball of a planet. Maybe—and I stress that—she's almost as good as you, but she's nothing like me."
"I'm onto your games Haruko," Naota glared. "You keep saying things to confuse me, make me mad, keep me from thinking straight—whatever it takes to make me easier to convince to get you what you want."
She shrugged again. "Maybe."
"What happens if I take Atomsk for myself?"
"I'll eat you," Haruko grinned again, showing fangs this time—real fangs.
"Not if I eat you first."
Pausing, Haruko giggled… then burst into laughter. After catching enough breath to speak, the smiled innocently up at Naota. "Oh, you can eat me any time you want Takkun—all you have to do is ask."
Naota blushed, knowing he'd walked straight into a trap. "You know what I meant," he mumbled.
"You know," said Haruko, standing and walking up behind the boy. She threw her arms over his shoulders, tilting her head down to graze the skin of his neck with those same fangs she'd shown him earlier. "Doing it like a monkey might be kind of fun…"
"Shut up," Naota growled, trying to shake her off. He'd almost let her get to him once today—had come within a breath of giving in and letting her have whatever she could take, so long as she promised not to leave him behind again. "It won't happen again—I won't let it. I'll take Atomsk for myself if I have to, but you're not using me again."
…
Later that evening Naota arrived home exhausted—not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. Once he had recognized Haruko's attempts to throw him off balance for what they were, it was easier to shrug them off—but it didn't come without effort. He noticed the boxes outside the Katsuragi-Ikari residence, but didn't pay them too much attention. Behind him, Haruko whistled some inane tune. He didn't know why but he had offered to let her stay at his apartment—the same one he shared with two girls already. Maybe he was just a glutton for punishment.
Opening the door, he walked into the kitchen—waving a hello to Ninamori and going straight for the refrigerator. He didn't care what he found, as long as it was cold. Behind him, he heard the door close and Haruko slowly approach the kitchen. Ninamori stood and he could tell she was pissed. "You're back."
Haruko grinned. "Yup."
"Have you been toying with Naota's head again?"
Haruko grinned, knowing the girl had worded the question that way purposefully. "Maybe just a little."
Ninamori took a good, long look at Naota. He looked like he'd been through the wringer. "Right."
Shaking his head, Naota finished his drink. "'Mori, do you mind if Haruko uses your room?"
"…What?" she asked, turning to glare at him.
"You're not using it for much, right?"
"You mean I can…?"
Naota smiled—his first since Haruko had shown up. "Unless you'd rather sleep with Rei."
"There's someone else here?" Haruko asked, looking around. She saw his attempt for what it was and chose to ignore it for the time being.
"Canti and Rei Ayanami—she's one of the Eva pilots. She's the First Child."
"I see," Haruko grinned, rubbing her hands together.
Naota rolled his eyes. "I'm going to bed. You two behave yourselves—no blowing up the apartment, no guitars, no crashing the Vespa through the wall."
Haruko pouted. "Awe, you're no fun any more Takkun."
Shaking his head, Naota left the kitchen and stepped quickly into his room, closing the door behind him. He sat the Rickenbacker down in the corner, stripped down to his boxers, and climbed into bed. Maybe the apartment would still be there when he woke up.
Waiting until she thought Naota was asleep—or at least close enough to sleep not to notice what she said next—Ninamori cut to the chase. "He's mine Haruko. You had your chance and you threw it away."
Haruko frowned, standing Atomsk's guitar in a corner and sitting down at the table, where she picked up a piece of fruit from the bowl there. "You wouldn't understand."
"I don't want to. I just want you to understand—don't toy with Naota's feelings again."
"What are you going to do little girl? Eat me?" asked the alien, taking a bite from the apple in her hand.
Ninamori smirked. "You wish."
"Fine, fine—you can have everything below the neck but his head is mine."
"No. Both his heads are mine."
"Awe, poop. Can't we share?" Haruko asked, grinning.
Ninamori paused, images of the two of them sharing Naota flashing through her mind, made easier by the fact that she'd seen both in the nude on several occasions. Ninamori shrugged, sitting down as well. "I don't think he's the type. Besides, I thought he wasn't your type?"
"Naw, Takkun's my type—I just don't want him to grow that attached."
"You actually feel bad about what you're doing to him?" Ninamori asked, realization dawning.
"No."
"You're a terrible liar. You like him, don't you? You're just too wrapped up in your hunt for that god that you can't admit it."
"Shut up. I hate it when you humans think you've got a person figured out. Don't you get it yet? You can't even understand each other, what makes you think you can comprehend me?" Haruko asked, tossing the rest of the apple into the trash bin.
"Because I can see it with my own eyes. We're not that different, you know."
"Don't compare yourself to me. You might as well try comparing yourself to Atomsk."
"What will you do once you have him?"
Haruko paused, looking up from the table. "What?"
"When you get Atomsk's power, what do you plan to do?" Ninamori asked again.
"I—uh…"
"You don't know?"
"Shut up. I'm going to bed," Haruko growled, standing up and stomping from the room. Thankfully, she found Ninamori's room on the first try—it was the one closest to Naota's.
Ninamori grinned. "Score: one Ninamori, zip for the alien bitch." She stood and made her way quietly into Naota's room, locking the door behind herself. "I should try to cheer him up tomorrow," she thought, pulling off her clothes and getting into bed.
In her own room, Rei lay awake. She had heard the entire encounter since the front door opened. "Perhaps," she thought, rolling over onto her stomach. "Perhaps she is more human than she lets on."
Author's Notes: This's it folks—the beginning of the downward spiral into madness. Maybe. Things of note: Asuka moves into Misato's apartment about a week earlier than in Eva; yes, Ninamori is indeed sleeping with Naota, but somehow they've managed not to do it like monkeys (at least in this second version—in the Alpha version, yeah); Naota's attempting to use Ninamori to hurt Haruko somehow? (or maybe he just doesn't give a rat's ass); and finally... Haruko is insane. If you thought that was odd, wait until Asuka starts remembering things and comparing them to her own (altered) past as well as the present. Also, now that I think about it, FLCL was so chock-full of sexual innuendo that I'm probably watering it down in comparison, and Eva wasn't exactly "clean" itself. Luckily me though, I'm one of those people that hated most of D&R and EoE, so Shinji won't be violating Asuka at that point in the series. I'm amazed at the reviews so far. I would hardly call this "kick ass". Also... I'd forgotten or overlooked that 'Eri' was Ninamori's nickname or something, right? (Or was it Mamimi's? Damn, need to dig out the novels since I don't have a copy of FLCL on dvd handy.) If so, yeah, she matured a lot faster I think... which would (partially) explain her current behavior. And as I said in one of my previous notes, I'm working on a mucho hush-hush other story or two, so yeah... Besides, I'm one of those people that see something shiny, go "ooh, shiny!" and pay it attention for five minutes before finding the next shiny thing. I haven't really finished any of my other works because I'm constantly plagued with new ideas. You'd think that wouldn't be a bad thing, but when you're in the middle of something and suddenly you have three-quarters of an entire story completely different from the one you're on now running through your head, it's kind of hard to stick to just one. So I'm going to alternate. It may take two to three weeks to update this past chapter eight or so, but maybe I can. ...If I don't get distracted when someone writes something new and shiny. And now, seeing as it's like 4:30 and this coke bottle sitting on my desk is looking mighty entertaining for some reason, maybe I should sleep...