Sigh. It's not fair. I wanted to write a short two, maybe three chapter story and be done with it. It wasn't much but it was a dream. Now, much akin to dreaming of a muffin and recieving a wedding cake, it has grown out of all proportion. We've started to talk about feelings. FEELINGS DAMMIT. I don't do that kind of thing. It should not be taking this long -sob. So now I'm chained to this computer, like the prehistoric typing monkeys of old, reaming off idea after idea. Kill me.
For disclaimer see first chapter.
Kill me.
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The dark interior of the video arcade. There had been a time, Shinji recalled, when Asuka had vowed that she would never set foot inside the nest of 'sunlight fearing perverts'. In all honesty mental images of Asuka wielding two plastic handguns and laughing maniacally in front of a 'Time Crisis' booth had been all the encouragement Shinji needed to be thankful for her absense. However recently she had been dragging him to the arcade more and more. 'Dragging' being the operative word. Her fetish for videogames shone through abundantly when she demanded he take her to the arcade. She claimed that someone trained in an Eva should be able to hold his own in a virtual game. Which was true in a way. Even without the sophisticated targeting mechanisms provided by Unit 01, the boy was a pretty good shot, and fighting games were easy to pick up for someone who had to learn button combinations to operate a biomechanical war machine larger than a building. Shinji smirked quietly at the image of Asuka controling her Eva with a joypad. He got even more practice at home after his redheaded comrade had convinced Misato to buy an antiquated games machine. Now at least two nights a week were spent kicking virtual ass. Or having his virtual ass kicked. All in all he spent much more time with Asuka then he ever took the time to realise and most of it pleasent, except for her virulent German curses whenever he roundhouse combo'd her.
As the boy followed behind the bulk of the group he watched Touji and Asuka continue to argue/threaten to maim each other. He remembered the first time he had beat her. Not really a matter of skill as it was pushing button after button frantically, finally pummeling her into submission. He bit back a smile when he remembered her outraged face, glaring at the screen where her fighter lay bruised and broken. He had been sure she was going to suplex him or something but all she had done was glare at him and growl that she wanted a re-match. Despite all other changes to his life Shinji still didn't have the most fulfilling of social lives, and he had started to look forward to the nights he spent with Asuka. Not just because she merely provided company, but because he actively enjoyed her company. He enjoyed watching her smile with success, and looked forward to those times he would pound her and make her gape incredulously. She looked beautiful no matter which she was doing. He blushed at the thought, glad the low lighting of the interior hid it from view. His eyes flicked to his left, where the silent albino girl walked beside him. Having garnered looks of incredulous incomprehension initially from his two friends when he explained they were trying to show Rei what fun was, they had simply shrugged it off and decided to help out. Presently they were trouping through the arcade to the smaller niches at the back, where the games favoured by the Three Stooges and the Bride of Lucifer resided.
"Shinji...what is the purpose of this place?" The young man had to strain to hear the girl's soft voice above the laughter and sounds of virtual mayhem. Turning to watch her properly he saw her looking around her, examining each gaming cabinet and niche with curiosity.
"These are virtual games, Rei. People play them for fun." He was at a loss to really explain the concept behind a video game better than that.
"They are like our simulation training with the Eva?" The girl turned to regard him and her eyes showed none of the fear they had shown in the dressing rooms of the department store. Shinji sweatdropped slightly at her comparison before answering.
"In a way. The way it works is the same, but you do it for fun rather than to train." Shinji found it strange that he was able to talk to her so freely, something he had barely managed with the other Rei.
'Was it because of the way she acted in the store?' In a way it was hard to be nervous around someone who had seemed terrified of everything. The young Ikari wondered if she was like that with everything or just the unknown. 'It must be things she's never done before. She's always seemed confident at piloting, and in school. Actually it always seemed that she just didn't care, but I've never seen her afraid before.' The group had arrived at their prefered area and Shinji was treated to Asuka demanding a game against a Touji, who had made some comment about her inability to hit the broad side of an Angel. The others watched, Kensuke with his camera, while Touji got creamed brutally by Asuka. At the end of it the jock fell to his knees and moaned extravagantly about the Underworld cursing him, before Asuka threw her plastic weapon at him. After that the others split away, heading towards favoured games. Touj made for a flight sim, while Kensuke gleefuly headed towards a sniping booth. Asuka remained where she was and returned to making short work of pixilated alien scum. Rei, seeming unsure what to try hesitantly walked towards Touji who was now strapped into a fake cockpit, and finishing feeding his money into the machine.
Watching the boy manipulate the joystick and flight control levers dexterously, with skill brought through long practice, Shinji found his eyes drawn to the metallic gleam of Touji's left arm. Replaced by the best technology Nerv could provide Touji was able to walk once more and his arm gave him the majority of his capabilities back. It would never be as strong and his leg would never be as fast but it was the most they could do. Shinji saw Rei also examining the prosthetic arm as the plane Touji controlled banked and rolled to avoid enemy fire. His face a mask of concentration, Touji didn't notice their scrutiny.
"Come on Wondergirl, we're here for your benefit, so try something." Shinji turned to find Asuka behind him smirking at the blue haired introvert. Rei turned from her examination of the Forth Child's arm and considered. Finally she returned to the game Asuka and Touji had played first. Picking up the blue plastic handgun she briefly examined it before slipping her finger onto the trigger and looking at the screen with expectation. After a couple of seconds Asuka sighed and slipped 100 Yen into the machine prompting it to begin. Kensuke, finished in his sniping sim came to observe while Shinji guided Rei through the start up. By the time the girl had started the first level Touji had joined them as well, muttering sourly about mountains not getting out of his way.
The game Rei had selected pit the player against increasing hordes of rabid cyber-demon aliens, and continued until their complete demise or the player's character was decorating the screen in varying shades of red. Shinji wondered how proficient she would be considering her Eva training. The brightly lit screen dissolved into a dank corridor filled with shadows, a different level from the one that Asuka and Touji had played. Rei's character began edging forward, his movement determined by the computer, while all the player had to do was shoot. Abrubtly a face appeared taking up the majority of the screen, red gimlet eyes shining in a visage of rotten flesh and prompting two high pitched, schoolgirl like shrieks from the other two Stooges. With no expression, Rei pulled the trigger and blew the creature's head off. Slowly the screen brightened to show more of the enemy climbing out of nooks and crannies, some climbing out of coffins on the floor. As soon as they appeared however, Rei destroyed them, each with a headshot. In under a minute the level was finished. Rei turned back to her companions, to find Shinji and Asuka looking at her blankly, still in shock, while Touji and Kensuke were huddled in a corner in fear of the zombies and trying to look in every direction at once in the darkness of the arcade.
"How long have you been able to do that?" Asuka demanded finally finding her voice.
"Since I can remember."
"Well why the hell didn't you when we fought the Angels!"
"Few of the Angels had heads."
"Ah...ha..."
Touji snapped his fingers and disengaged himself from Kensuke, who was still hugging him in fear.
"Hey Shinji, isn't there a shooting game in the Winning Section?" He asked, refering to the area where games machines were kept that allowed the player to win money or prize tickets. Shinji nodded his head, looking confused. Touji always complained that they were rigged so never played them. An almost feral grin slunk onto his friends face.
"Why, what are you thinkin...oh no." Laughing maniacally Touji tucked Rei under one arm and sped off to the Winning Section, kicking up clouds of dust as he ran. Kensuke gave the other two a wan smile before following at the same pace. Vaguely the Second and Third Children could hear Touji screaming something about being a billionaire. Rei bore this with stoic eqinimity.
"Looks like it's just you and me then Third." Stiffening to the point of rigor mortis, Shinji slowly turned towards his redheaded...'friend', a sickly grin slapped across his face.
'Erm...Yay?'
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Shigeru snuck another look at Maya, who was walking at his side. The woman's cheeks were still a rosy red, and had been since they had started their lunch break together. Aoba wasn't sure whether to be overjoyed that they had this time to spend together or not. Relations between himself and the senior bridge bunny had become... interesting of late. Seeing the T-junction in the hallway ahead which led to the caffeteria approaching, Shigeru decided that the time to speak had come.
"Um...Maya?" He swallowed loudly when the cute tech turned to look at him, before switching her gaze to the floor then back to him again. "Uh..if you're not busy...would you like to go-" Aoba abruptly stopped, staring at the junction ahead. Maya looking confused and slightly frustrated followed his gaze, before unconciously grabbing the long haired man's arm in disquiet. Standing in the middle of the T-junction stood Gendo Ikari. Now clad in his Nerv uniform the man had his back to the two techs and was apparantly staring at a painting of a idilic landscape that hung on the wall. It was one of Misato's little additions to the decor along with the pale blue floors and soft pastel colours of the walls that had replaced the sterile white of the 'Gendo Era'. He appeared to have not noticed Maya or Shigeru and they were both content to have it stay that way. Slowly backing away from their occupied former superior the two of them flinched violently when his head suddenly whipped to the left, then the right, looking for all the world as if he were attempting to keep himself hidden from observers. After a couple more seconds of this Gendo,totally ignoring the third passageway directly behind him, reached out and plucked the painting off the wall and stuffed it into his jacket. This done he resolutely turned to his left and calmly walked towards the caffeteria. Goggling at the man the two Lieutenants leaned their heads around the corner of the junction, Maya's head directly beneath Aoba's. With the painting and the frame stuck inside his jacket Gendo appeared to have a rectanglular section coming out of his midriff, and was in all about as inconspicious as dropping an N2 mine on an All Faiths Church picnic. They proceeded to watch him as he turned the last corner towards the caffeteria, passing a fake potted plant on the floor at the turning. As they continued to stare a hand reappeared around the corner, grabbed the plant by it's plastic stalk and abruptly yanked it out of sight, leaving only a few plastic leaves to float to the ground. Before they touched the cerulian floor the hand whipped out once more and plucked them out of the air before disappearing again.
Still wide eyed the two techs relaxed against the wall they had been peering around, breathing out noisily. Suddenly Shigeru realised that Maya was still clinging to his arm and he smiled hugely as she blushed when she noticed too. Dismissing Gendo Ikari's blatant insanity and not giving her a chance to release him, he slipped his arm around her waist and began walking her towards the cafe.
"So, how about dinner on Friday?" He grinned again when she agreed, quietly giggling before going maroon again.
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"Looks like it's just you and me then Third." Asuka watched as he turned, looking as if someone was holding a gun to his head. That same flash of aching pain she felt before speared her when she saw his reluctance. 'Can't he even see me as a friend?' Swallowing discretely, she grabbed his arm and dragged him to a random booth to distract him. 'I want him to see me as a friend. I want him to see me.' She glanced sideways at the boy, watching him drag his free hand through his hair leaving it tusseled and boyish. 'And I want to see him.'
"C'mon baka. You still need to beat me at 'Battle Grade'. It's getting easier to kick your ass everytime." Veering away from the random booth she had been dragging him towards and nearly slamming him into it in the process, the gregarious teen ploughed her way through a group of couples, flushing when one guy made a quiet comment to his girlfriend about 'young love'. She didn't let go of Shinji's arm though. Yanking him into place next to her she slipped her money into the machine and began to pick her character. Shinji resigned to his fate, though not really complaining, did the same. After a few seconds Asuka selected her personal favourite, a lithe, disturbingly buxom russet haired woman wearing jean cuttoffs and tight shirt with metal plated gauntlets. Shinji never had the nerve to ask if the reason Asuka liked her was because they looked so much alike. Copying her, Shinji picked out the character he most often resorted to. Clothed in a ripped blue gi with long black hair tied in a ponytail his avatar did his pre-fight warm up, punching and kicking the air with virtual abandon. The match wasn't as uneven as Asuka had made out, neither of the two players landing any significant hits. Their health bars inched down, first one than the other slipping a fist or a foot past their opponent's defences. Asuka tried to move into a combo, but Shinji backpeddled quickly and took advantage of her dropped guard to punch her in the head slaming her into the wall of the arena. That move took a noticable chunk out of Asuka's vitality, and Shinji felt the urge to laugh when he heard her growl. Finally they were down to their last legs, his opponent having snuck in a few more punches than he and managing to equalise the battle once again. Shinji reflected on his earlier thoughts. He could see now how Asuka would react to either victory or defeat and while he thought she was beautiful either way, he much prefered to see her happy. Bringing up his guard a little too late the teen watched as Asuka's character smashed him through the far wall, leaving him thoroughly beaten. Erupting with joy Asuka leapt up and down, doing her little victory dance, eeirily echoed by her character on screen. He smiled watching her honest exhuberation at having beaten him. Seeing her honestly happy was a rarity, as she all to often hid behind a mask of indifference. Shinji had come to cherish the times when she was like this. Her eyes shone brightly and she looked like a little girl, overjoyed at simply winning a game.
'Well she probably would have won. It could have gone either way, but she's still better than me most of the time.'
Asuka, now calmed down from her 'victory', seemed unaware that she was genuinly smiling.
'He let me win. I saw him hesitate over the guard button. Does that mean he likes me? Why else would he lose when he knows I'm gonna make fun of him for it?' The possibility that Shinji might not be so far out of her reach was her real reason for celebration. Vaguely she thought that she should have been angered by the boy letting her win, but found that she couldn't muster the ire to care. Instead she grabbed his hand and began pulling him to another game.
"Winner pays for the next game, right baka?" Shinji sighed as he followed her, but did not complain. This was the rule they - well she - had established since they first started coming to the arcade together and although it had left him broke many times he thought it was fair in it's own way. Watching the girl in front of him, her red hair trailing behind her and a exited smile on her face he couldn't help but smile as well.
Neither noticed that she hadn't made fun of him the way she usually would, or that she was pulling him along by his hand rather than dragging him by the arm.
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Silently Gendo Ikari surveyed the hallway, slightly cradling a large bulge in the left side of his jacket.. His eyes dragged themselves from the pastel coloured walls, soft reds and pinks, to the sky blue floors. Fortunately there were no plants or paintings in this hallway. Suddenly his questing eyes spotted an indistinct box shape at the far end of the corridor. His stoicism never fluctuating, the elder Ikari approached the object, finally revealed to be a vending machine. Blinking with slow mechanical precision Gendo found it to be a vending machine with only two products for sale: Yebisu beer and Extra Strong Curry Flavoured Ramen. Upon closer examination the Curry Ramen packaging had the Nerv logo and a picture of Misato Katsuragi giving the peace sign and winking. Underneath the picture shiny silver script proclaimed 'NEW Nerv Brand Curry Ramen. Strong enough to kill an Angel'. After appraising the machine for a few more seconds, the silent man slipped a couple of coins into the machine and ordered a Yebisu. After retreaving the beverage he cracked it open, ignoring the foam that exploded from it's top and soaked his glove. Taking a pathetically small sip he intoned:
"I'm alive again. Woo." Whipping his head to the left he re-examined the corridor. "The machine may stay. The rest requires...Gendofication." With that he reached into his jacket and pulled out a 3 litre open can of white paint and a paintbrush. His eyebrow twitched behind it's sepia tinted lens when he found that the open can had spilt paint down him.
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Rei remained fixated on the screen, neither blinking for flinching as she terminated legion after legion of the snarling undead. She had progressed to the shotgun and had found it curiously satisfying, at least until the rocket launcher had been unearthed. The sensations she was experiencing were similar but different to those she dealt with when firing the same weapons in her Eva. The absence of life threatening dangers were obviously a factor, as was the impossibility of recieving any pain during this encounter. Rei fought the disturbing twitch in her lips as four of the zombie undead were liquidised by her rocket. Ignoring her infintessimal twitch was made slightly more difficult by the Forth Child capering in the backgound, hopping from leg to leg and clapping his hands over his head like a monkey, while screaming about buying Hokkaido with his winnings. Kensuke continued to record it all on his camera. Rei's ruby eyes widened a fraction as her character hefted a huge mechanical contrivance onto his shoulder and the words 'MINI TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPON FOUND' scrolled across the screen, a find much appreciated by the crowd that had gathered around to watch her. The twitch in her lips suddenly became much harder to control.
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Asuka proceeded to pull Shinji the length of the arcade, with him ending up paying for most of the games they played. However after winning a racing sim, by neatly nudging Asuka's car through a crash barrier and off a cliff, they both decided to get drinks and just wonder around the arcade for a bit. Despite his recent win Shinji payed for the drinks, and was rewarded by his companion with an enquiring look. It seemed she had expected him to hold her to her loss. Grinning sheepishly Shinji shrugged as he handed her a can of soda.
Asuka found herself smiling back at him, as she took the proffered can from his hand and fell into step beside him. Sipping her drink, Asuka remembered the feel of his soft hand as she pulled him along, and fought to contain her blush. It occured to her that the two of them wondering through the arcade alone would look like a couple, like that man from before had said. It might even be seen as a date. The rosy hue of her cheeks flourished. Strolling through the groups of happy people, most of them couples, she found that this thought did not upset her. Being seen by other people together didn't concern her at all, she was slightly stunned to realise. Looking at the floor ahead of her and biting her lower lip softly, she slowly shifted closer to the boy, till their hands were almost touching.
'Maybe he wouldn't want anything to do with me. Maybe all the people who think we are a couple will always be wrong. But right now I just want to pretend...'
Both teens flinched slightly when their knuckles brushed past each other, but continued to walk on, ignoring the contact. Hesitantly Asuka reached out to take his hand again, stopping when she was only inches away, before sighing quietly and withdrawing her hand. Breathing deeply Asuka allowed her hand to touch his once again as she stepped closer, until her entire arm was pressed against his. Feeling him tense initially then relax, Asuka continued to walk with him through the crowds, saying nothing to call attention to their touch. Abruptly Shinji began to laugh, startling Asuka. Wordlessly he pointed to their left, and moved to the side slightly to allow her to see. He had directed her attention to a dancing game, which she watched in confusion for a couple of seconds, before noticing the frantic figure gyrating wildly on the dance mat. Makoto Hyugga, having gone home and then traveled to the arcade, was dancing. Perhaps not the dictionary definition of the word 'dancing' - after all no dictionary associated swinging yourself round like a headless chicken having a seizure with dancing - but it appeared that that was the effect he was attempting to achieve. Shinji watched the girl hold her hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter at her colleagues spastic, rythm-deficient motions, before she noticed Shinji looking between her and the machine a little too knowingly. To her despair she flushed violently, while glaring at him, daring him to make a comment. She turned even redder when he smiled timidly at her. Suddenly Asuka was shoved from behind by a surge in the crowd of people, sending her stumbling into Shinji. Stumbling forwards, Asuka found her cheek against his shoulder and an arm around her waist to steady her and she froze, feeling the boy's chest rise and fall as he held her against him, out of the way of the roiling crowd. Slowly she moved her head and looked into his eyes.
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Shinji was frozen. After an uncharacteristic bout of chivalry, which had led to him paying for Asuka's drink, they had strolled genially around the arcade. Asuka's hand had brushed against his several times, and each time he fought to avoid jumping in fright. Finally when she moved so close to him that they constantly touched, he had forced himself to relax. After all in this crowd she probably just wanted to stick close and not get lost in the flow. So he chose to ignore the contact.
'This is almost like a date.' The thought came unbidden, and made him feel uncomfortably warm. He remembered that he had once wanted more from Asuka than just friendship, but had never expected anything to come of it. He didn't see that anything had changed, it was still totally unlikely, but he could dream for a while right? Since Asuka was already pressed up against his arm there was little more he could do, but he didn't shift away from her even though there was room to do so. Casting around for something to fill the suddenly awkward silence between them he caught a random blur out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to follow it and couldn't help but laugh when he saw Hyugga trying to do the splits on a dance mat. Seeing Asuka looking at him curiously he pointed Hyugga out. Seeing her dissolve into laughter warmed him and he relaxed totally, before flicking his eyes between her and the dance machines. 'I wonder which one she tried out. Can't believe she did that badly. If this is what Hyugga looks like now, God help someone who got a lower score.' He looked back to the girl one more time and saw her glaring at him half-heartedly, seeming to dare him to make a comment. Not bloody likely. No homicides today thankyou. He smiled timidly at her, to show he had no intention of saying anything and was startled when she sheepishly began to avoid his eyes. Suddenly she was thrust towards him, slamming into his chest. Stumbling slightly, his arm instinctivly wrapped around her waist bringing her closer to him. He held her like that a few seconds longer, keeping her out of the way of the people behind her. He felt her shift against him, and turned slightly to look into her eyes. Shinji was frozen. It seemed all he could focus on were her shining blue eyes and her rosebud lips. Vaguely he was surprised that she wasn't wailing on him and bouncing him off the floor enraged, but it all seemed far away, someone else's concern. He found himself inching towards her, saw her eyes widen a fraction, before echoing him. His arm was still around her waist and he noticed her hands on his chest, where they had fallen when she braced herself against him when she was pushed. 'Will it be like last time? Will it be different, without her hand holding my nose shut?' The two of them became closer... closer...
"S'cuse me young un's." Both children snapped out of their respective trances and swiveled their heads to stare at the man who had spoken. While they were not as close as before they still hadn't completely disengaged, mostly because they were surprised at the interuption. A wizened old man, with a thick mustache and a janitor's cap on, stood before them, smiling bemusedly.
Asuka completely disengaged herself from Shinji and clothslined the man, elbow dropping him once he was on the floor before ankle locking him for a couple of seconds while he howled in pain and screamed for mercy. Finally she German suplexed the poor man with the unfortunate sense of timing, before lifting the nearest gaming cabinet over her head and using it to crush what was left of him. Breathing deeply, Asuka slumped, her eyes still burning with rage. 'That'll teach him to interrupt me. Serves him right for such lousy timing. That outta show anyone else who wants to...get...past?'
Shaking her head abruptly she dispelled her daydream and found herself looking at the janitor's face, now closer to a rictus than a smile, with sweat apparant on his brow. Shinji tightened his grasp around her and edged them both out of the man's path, while he merely hurried past, glad to be away from the pretty girl who was glaring at him like he killed her kitten.
Glaring at the retreating man, Asuka abruptly realised that she was still snuggling up to Shinji. Quickly disentangling herself, she frantically looked for something to do or say to distract the boy. Quickly her eyes settled on a small photo booth, situated on the far side of the hall from the dance mats.
"C'mon Shinji. I want to try something." With that she darted off. Shinji stood stock still, before gently touching his lips with his fingers. Before the man had interupted... the soft brush of Asuka's lips... "C'mon baka!" Stapping out of his trance, Shinji hastened to follow after her.
"Coming!"
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"I will beat him this time. C'mon Aoba, double or nothing!" Makoto was muttering under his breath as he concentrated all his effort into putting his feet on the right pads at the right times. It seemed designed to enfuriate though. The combinations the game provided required you to have three feet! Or at least to be able to do the splits in mid air. Thinking about earlier in the day, with everyone laughing at his exspense didn't bother him so much. They were all worse then even he anyway. But all those early shifts! Makoto groaned loudly, both at the fate of his mornings and at missing another step. With renewed vigour he spun his body and swung his limbs, trying to whirl faster and faster.
The exact point where Hyugga's feet actually left the floor, he never quite remembered. It was all a blur really. When he came to, he was flat on his back on the dance mat, staring upside down at a small child. The young girl knelt next to his face and poked him in the forehead, before turning to her mother who was standing nearby.
"Mommy, is that man killing dancing?" Makoto smiled wanly.
"Yes, honey, he is." Hyugga snorted, then relaxed, letting his head bounce off the steel grating of the dance mat ring.
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"Pleeeaaaassssssseeee?" Maya Ibuki held her hands clasped in front of her face and made her eyes as big and shiny as possible as she pleaded. Shigeru sweat dropped and began to back away.
"Must resist the puppy eyes...must fight..." He muttered to himself feeling the eyes of Misato and Ritsuko on his back. He was pretty sure the tech that had replaced Hyugga, Shoji, was watching discretely as well. He groaned as Maya cranked up her pleaing a notch. He didn't think it was possible to make eyes that big and shiny. "Urge to fight fading...fading...rising!...gone." Aoba slumped his shoulders dramatically while Maya squealed in glee and clapped her hands. He heard the chuckles from the rest of the bridge crew. Brightening considerably after Maya gave him a peck on the cheek, he smiled as she skipped out of the room on an errand for Doctor Akagi.
"So you're going to see the 'chick flick' then?" Ritsuko sounded amused, remembering his adamant refusal when Maya suggested they went to watch a new film she had been wanting to see before they went to dinner. Misato was grinning ear to ear.
"Yeah, well...she really wanted to go and..." Shoji cleared his throat, making it sound disturbingly like the crack of a whip. Vein popping out on his forehead, Shigeru rounded on the tech. "WHAT YOU SAY!"
"Nothing." Squeaked Shoji from his foetal crouch under the console. Any futher comments/threats Shigeru might have been about to make were cut off by the sound of the door whooshing open. In stepped Commander Ikari, the left side of his uniform stained white, with a double barreled shotgun in his hand sliding what appeared to be tranquiliser darts into the chambers. He had a small painted wooden duck strapped to his head. The bridge crew looked at Aoba expectantly.
"Oh, no." The long haired man shook his hands in front of his face. "I said something stupid last time. You say something." With that he turned and sat at his console, surfing the net for someone to play Worms Online with. Misato sighed feeling it was her turn to take one for the team.
"Major Ikari, why are you covered in white paint?"
"What white paint?" Ritsuko sighed deeply.
"Fair enough. What are you doing with the gun?"
"I intend to hunt down my pawns. They cannot have gotten far."
"Of course you do. And the wooden duck?"
"Camoflage."
"Of course it is." Misato sighed, echoing her friend. With that Gendo nodded to the crew and left. Misato wandered over to one of the newly installed vending machines in the corner of the command centre. Slipping two coins in she ordered a couple of beers, one for herself and one for the doctor. As she made to turn away the image of Gendo Ikari chasing a life sized chess piece through the streets of Tokyo-3, brandishing a shotgun and a small wooden duck made her turn back and feed several dozen more coins into the machine. And ask Ritsuko for any small change she had.
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Having switched cabinets, Rei Ayanami was finding that there was a curious... satisfaction in sniping a pixilated terrorist through the head. Much more understated then nuclear yeild weaponry. Not that nuclear weapons didn't have a time and place, she thought, remembering the technicolour explosion that had taken place during her last gaming experience, but this was much more skillful. Touji Suzahara, who had long since fallen into a largly insensible slumber was propped against the cabinet and still occaisonally mumbling about being rich as Papa Smurf. There were some indistinct comments about Smurfette being 'hot for someone who looked frostbitten' as well. As soon as she was finished here, she would consider finding him medical aid. Kensuke was still present, recording her progress. Rei was now somewhat unsure as to whether this was by choice or if the young man's eye had simply fused to the camera and he was too embarassed to say anything. Putting them both out of her mind, Rei continued to concentrate on her game. She now found herself in a thin alleyway, slowly making her way forwards. She frowned slightly thinking about how impractical a situation this was to be armed with a sniper rifle. Abruptly a small...child ran past the mouth of the alleyway. Rei blinked. A message appeared at the top of the screen.
'Shoot me for the Evangelion powerup!' Rei blinked again, lowering her eye back to the rifle scope. Examining the...child running past the alleyway repeatedly, she recognised it as a super-deformed chibi Gendo Ikari, his face a rictus of wide-eyed pleasure and seemingly performing a steriotypical Russian dance. With disturbingly unmixed feelings about gunning down the man who had been a father figure for most of her life, Rei put a bullet between his eyes, whereby he spun around showing himself to be a 2D sprite and fell over.
'Evangelion powerup achieved! T-T-T-Time to die!' Rei tried not to blink, feeling strangely like she had been doing that to much lately, but remained curious. Edging to the end of the alleyway, her character peeked around the corner, seeing a group of 7 or 8 enemies hiding behind a burnt out car. They all looked difficult to hit even for her. Targeting the easiest of them in the group she pulled the trigger. Abruptly a giant blue foot crashed down upon the group turning both enemy and the car into digitised pancakes. Rei blinked again. That twitch had started to act up again.
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Asuka waited impatiently for Shinji at the photo booth, grabbing his arm and pushing him throught the curtain as soon as he reached her. Squeezing in with him, Shinji was forced up into the corner of the booth, his face splayed against the cool white plastic, as the volatile redhead put money in the machine and ran through the setup screens. Eventually he managed to reposition himself, so that he wasn't in immediate danger of dislocating a limb and sat next to Asuka on the small circular stool provided. The machine was set to take 10 pictures at 5 second intervals and since the interior of the booth was brightly lit, unlike the majority of the arcade, there was no need for the camera to flash. Trying to get in a position where his head would actually be in the shot, Shinji wondered why Asuka had chosen to try this. As far as the young Ikari's experience went this was a very 'date like' thing to do. He blushed lightly at the thought as he heard the soft click and whir of the camera taking a picture.
"Shinji..." Hearing her quiet voice, Shinji turned to face the girl fearfully. A secluded place like a photo booth was the perfect place to kill an unsuspecting pilot and leave the body. She didn't look angry, but he couldn't see most of her face because it was hidden by her hair. "Shinji...I know you let me win that game." Shinji blinked in surprise.
"Ah..I didn't-" Asuka's finger on his lips silenced him effectivly.
"I know you did." She still spoke softly and despite the danger he was almost certainly in Shinji was mesmerised by her voice. "Thanks baka...but don't do it again ok?" With that she leant over and kissed him on the cheek, before exiting the booth. Shinji sat stunned, eyes wide with incredulity, hearing the camera click a final time. Exiting the booth, he was greeted by Asuka standing a couple of feet away, with her arms wrapped around herself. As much as he wanted to go to her, there was nothing he could think of to say, so he stood awkwardly by the booth until the photo's came out. Picking them up by the edges with his fingertips so as not to cover them in prints, Shinji exmained them. The majority showed he and Asuka sitting talking. The last three though were perfect. One showed the two of them with Asuka's finger on Shinji's lips, another had caught Asuka in the act of kissing his cheek and the final one showed Shinji looking like lightning had just fried his brain. Smiling to himself he pocketed the pictures carefully.
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She heard him exit the booth after a pause, but she didn't turn. Hugging herself lightly as if she thought about what she had almost said. About what would have happened if she had told him how she had begun to feel for him rather than that she knew he let her win a game. If she had kissed him on the lips the way she had suddenly wanted to instead of turning to his cheek at the last minute. If things kept going like this...she would tell him. But not yet.
She couldn't tell him yet, no matter how much she longed to.
o
I know my attempt at naming a game - Battle Grade - was none to spectacular, but considering the Japanese have brought us such titular gems as 'Aikagi Nukumori to Hidamari no naka de' and the forthcoming 'Drag On Dragoon: Love Red, Ambivalence Black', I think we can let it slide. I shit ye not. As my final note today I ask anyone willing to take on an almost certainly boring and thankless task - I know you're out there! - to head over to and read the first chapter of my original tale of whimsy, and review. This chapter is still very fluid so expect changes based on criticism. Thanks kiddies. Now on to Part 5. DAMMIT ALL TO HELL!
Kill me.
PS. I'm thinking of renaming this fic because the direction in which I had originally intended to take it - which would have made 'Send in the Rei's' an appropriate name - has been totally sidetracked. Any suggestions will be considered. Or laughed at.
PPS. Kill me
