Economic EVA ch 2
Disclaimer on ch 1 and prologue.
Note: the ... s are meant as seperators between people's view points in the same situation while 000 is scene change.
Introductive Dealings
Shinji couldn't get the young redhead out of his mind, but for him, his mother told him that they'd be introduced later and he had went along with it.
It didn't occur to him that his mother was intentionally allowing the Sohryu family to view his posterior as he walked along, following his mother and advisors.
000
Now that's one fine hunk of ass Asuka thought to herself as she and her mother followed the Ikaris at a pace of leisure only to have her rational mind butt in a moment later just as she began to salivate. Hold it! Mein Gott, I haven't even met the guy and I'm drooling over him! Snap out of it Asuka!After a couple words spoken by the elder Ikari, the two groups sat down facing each other. Asuka facing Shinji, Kyoko facing Yui, advisors facing advisors. Once everyone was seated, Yui got started with introductions.
000
Shinji was not immune to beauty, especially when the object of his gaze bordered on more then just beautiful. One of his more pressing problems was the fact that the more attracted to the girl he felt, the harder speech became for him, especially if she was the other person he was talking to. However, with help from his mom in the form of a gentle nudge with the elbow and the momentary surge of confidence.
"H-hello, I'm Shinji ." He smiled to the young woman who seemed just as lost in thought as he was.
…
Asuka shook herself a little bit as he spoke, introducing himself while she noticed a bit of a blush to his face and felt her own face a bit warm as she followed up with her own introduction. "Nice to meet you Shinji." How about you and me go somewhere alone hmmm?- Hold it Sohryu! What are you thinking? Surely you can't be falling for him. "I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu." She introduced herself while refraining from divulging the internal mental battle she was having. With nothing else to say she looked down her hands in her lap nervously before glancing up and meeting Shinji's eyes before his mother voice carried through to her ears.
"-ji, to your right is Rei Ayanami, head of AIS, next to her is Ryoji Kaji, further down is Kaoru Nagisa, head of Nagisa NanoTech."
…
"Pleasure to meet you all." Shinji felt mildly nervous as the adults continued to talk about pleasant non business things as dinner was served and while they ate.
…
Rei glanced at th young man beside her, struck with a sudden comforting feeling that ate at her mind. What is this feeling I have, is this warmth I feel called comfort? She quickly dispelled the notion as she set about to eating her meal. She took several opportunities to observe those around her, noticing that the redhead's gaze seem to be pretty much glued to the young Ikari gentleman beside her.
Young Sohryu seems to gaze at Ikari obsessively in between bites when the subject of her attention isn't looking her way. Perhaps Sohryu has taken a liking to Ikari.
…
As the meal progressed, Kyoko was also observing her surroundings, albeit somewhat less due to the fact she was carrying a conversation on with Yui and the more mature advisors in her vicinity. However, she did manage to catch the young Ikari gazing at her daughter shyly, when Asuka herself wasn't looking.
Interesting that Yui's offspring is developing a crush on Asuka. This has potential, both positive and negative. Positive effects might lure Ikari to merge with SLS, of course, it can just as easily be the other way around, not that Asuka would bend to that level…
The strange thing was, as Kyoko and Yui passed idle banter through the evening atmosphere, Yui was thing along the same lines. The not so strange fact of the matter was that this "event" was essentially orchestrated by them both as a means to perhaps bind the two companies together, as they were working in the same base field of business.
This part was very confidential however, and could not be revealed to anyone, lest it reach their posterity's ears and they end up quite dead for the scheming they are doing.
…
Hikari Horaki was trying hard to fight off a blush as she also tried to fight her constant impulse gaze at the young guy across from her, Touji Suzuhara. She simply listened to the overwhelming male banter as she methodically consumed what was on her plate. It had been a long time ago that they had been classmates, and years later, she found herself again gazing at him intermittently as she ate.
Same old appetite I see. That hasn't changed.
His personality had changed however, the few years he'd been with Shinji as co-worker had mellowed the jock to a much more tolerable level as well as smartened him up a good deal. Beside the tall ex-jock, Kensuke Aida was no exception to change. he now had some stubble under his chin and spoke far less exuberantly of females as objects. Yet by her hearing, it seemed he was still into the military bandwagon, if not more so than before.
…
At the other end of the table, Katsuragi was having a rather stressful experience. Shoehorned between an old Love's advances and one of her supplier's wanting his money for products sold to her, it was very hard not to snap. Her company was already in debt up to its neck and no more banks were willing to lend anymore money due to her own reputation as an alcoholic.
She decided to ask the two really bigwigs for help.
"Excuse me, Ms. Ikari, Ms Sohryu, could I ask you two a favor?"
The two other women regarded her silently as the table noise quieted as if sensing this was a pivotal moment.
"That depends," Replied the elder Sohryu, "On just what the favor is." Across from her, the brunette Ikari nodded slowly in agreement. and then spoke.
"Ms. Katsuragi, due to the nature of tonight, your favor will be granted, but on several conditions. What is the nature of your request?"
Katsuragi sighed, to her it didn't matter anymore what the conditions were, she needed a bailout. "Well, I need to pay NNT for the products and supplies that were used on several expeditions back to antartica in the past few years. The running total is several million in US currency, about a billion yen really."
"A billion yen!" Both CEOs twitched at that, but remained calm as they nodded, Yui spoke up.
"Very well Misato Katsuragi, now for the conditions you must adhere to. First, you must cut your alcohol consumption by half."
Then Ms Sohryu spoke up. "Yes, and let's not forget Yui, that she has done these kind of things before," The elder Sohru turned her gaze to face Misato as the younger women flinched at the knowledge revealed, but there was no time to reply as the SLS owner and executive rammed her idea through. "So we send Asuka and Shinji to live with her and make sure she adheres to less alcohol consumption."
Yui stroked her chin thoughtfully and nodded, So much for Plan A. "That's an excellent idea Kyoko, that and the fact that Katsuragi Enterprises will be put under joint and equal control of both our firms if Ms Katsuragi doesn't keep to her end of the deal." She grinned almost ferally and then turned to her chief advisor, "Fuyutsuki, have the paperwork drawn up to pay Nagisa NanoTech on behalf of Katsuragi Enterprises."
Misato sighed resignedly as her mind grappled with idea. Great, just what I need, stuck up coddled children of company owners living with me. Oh well, not like I have a choice. "Very well." She said aloud. "I'll do as you wish."
Across for her, Kyoko did much the same thing, telling her advisor, Shigeru Aoba to have similar paperwork done. Then turned to her daughter, who seemed to be in shock. The mother touched Asuka's arm gently, "I'm sorry dear, this is the only way we could effectively make sure she kept her word."
(A/N: Tossed in a curveball didn't I? More curveballs coming in the future. Sorry that this seems a bit short, but that deal just threw out my plans with the rest of "the event"… In the meantime, will Misato find herself losing control of her company even in her own home? How will the two owners to be adjust to living together with Misato? Stay in touch and find out in the next chapter…)
