Everlasting Coda
By ArchangelUK

A/N: Once more a big gap between chapters, apologies but I was suffering from major writers block combined with the fact I realised I had to get a lot of events out of the way in this chapter before the next angel actually arrives. Naturally this chapter is truly huge as a result and is being sliced in two. Also this part should clarify the fact this is not a strict Shinji/Rei or Shinji/Asuka, in fact its more of a Shinji/??? if you really want to know. Who will be ???, I know but then again I'm not telling.

I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion. However, I do own this small diecast 54:1 scale blue Renault with female driver.
Micro Misato: *shouts and swears*

Part 8: Prelude Of Change

"Love is patient, love is kind. Is does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth.
[Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always preserves."
~ 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7 ~

[To Play]

The flow of water across rocky outcrops, a stream wending its way down a valley surrounded by trees, tall wavering grass and moss covered stumps. Water. A dragonfly skirts over the water's edge an electric blue blur as it dances over and around the plants and trees, a buzzing winged ballerina. It skims over the shimmering surface - but always, ALWAYS the water.

Shinji's eyes were closed, his fingers lightly pressed down the strings as he kept his old Sensei's words in his head. The bow moved in fluid strokes, each touch sending vibrations coursing down the wire, each and every vibration causing a ripple to expand outwards in the water - always the water. The music flowed from the cello just like he had been taught and he kept the notes crisp and clean yet retaining a freshness to the composition so it didn't choke on the dust of it's own age.

Unbeknownst to Shinji he had an audience, he was dimly aware that Pen-Pen was listening from within his fridge. The red crested penguin was, if Shinji had seen him in an almost trance like state and had he observed further he would have noted it was unnervingly similar to the one that Ayanami had seemingly fallen into. However, the door was closed as were his eyes and so that connection fell away into the forgotten annals of History. Sometime in the future Shinji would realise if he had made that connection then a lot of things that were would have never come to pass. Time, (much of such a valuable commodity, and so crucial to everything) would have been saved enough to buy the entire human race a better chance for a future.

Yet, at this precise moment it was not to be.

As I had said, it was unbeknownst to Shinji he had an audience though he was aware of the resident bird. What he wasn't aware of was the human presence standing in the doorway, the first indication he got of this was when his bow drew across the strings on the final note of the piece and he sighed in satisfaction. Clapping filled his ears, turning towards the source of the applause Shinji found himself looking at a smiling Asuka. The Second Child was dressed in the long turquoise dress he had seen her admiring in a Tokyo-3 shop window some weeks ago. He mentally gagged as he remembered exactly how much that dress had cost, but kept his facial expression surprised. Asuka ceased her applause and stepped inside the apartment;

"That was very nice Shinji." Shinji looked downwards slightly embarrassed, he still wasn't used to getting praise for anything - music or otherwise. Asuka walked over to the kitchen counter opened the 'food' fridge and removed a carton of milk from which she poured herself a glass. "I didn't know you played that as well."

"I started practicing when I was five." Shinji explained, surprised when Asuka handed him a second glass of milk. "Thank you, but I'm still not very good though - I have no talent at all..." He trailed off, Asuka laid down on her futon.

She sighed, "Well, perseverance wins the battle. I'm impressed!"

"I only started because my teachers told me to, but, I could've quit at anytime."

"So why didn't you?"

"Nobody... told me to stop I guess."

"Huh. I should've known." Scoffed Asuka and rolled her eyes.

"You're back early, I thought you had a date this evening?"

"Yeah, but he was more boring than you so while he waited in line for the roller coaster I took a train back here."

And he WAS boring, Kodama's friend he may be and he might very well have begged and begged Hikari to set them up but the medical student looked like Kensuke's scrawny kid brother acted like Touji's evil twin and had the emotional range of a stoic Rei Ayanami. Unsurprisingly this would be the last blind date she would ever, ever, participate in. Hikari owed her big time for what she put her through, no doubt she'd ask a whole ton of questions but as far as she was concerned the next Angel could squash 'Dr Stoogenstein' for all she cared. In reality it had been a relief to get home to where she at least could find some solace in her room, the fact she had come in to find Shinji busy playing his cello was an added bonus.

Shinji frowned, "That's kinda cold..."

Asuka glanced at him out the corner of her eye and sighed theatrically, "Kaji's the only real man in my life!"

She took a couple of seconds to examine his cello, as she expected it was in immaculate condition. The instrument itself was extremely old and she made a mental note never to do anything that might endanger or damage it. It was clearly made by a master; she knew few famous names when it came to instrument makers only the likes of Steinberg for pianos or the great Stradivarius for making violins. Rolling her tongue around in her mouth she tried to remember if he had made cellos as well but that knowledge escaped her. She could only guess at the price such an instrument would be worth.

Shinji put the cello back in his room, placing it down with care. When he came out Asuka was propped up on one elbow watching him. Shinji blinked, "Something wrong Asuka?"

"Oh nothing, I was just wondering where you got that cello from."

"As I understand it my father bought it for me."

"Oh." Asuka would have left it there, she could tell Shinji didn't want to speak of his father by the way his tone darkened, but there was a hint of doubt in what he said. "You don't seem too sure of that."

"Well, it just appeared where I lived one day delivered from Europe. I was only five at the time but I could tell it must've been very expensive; my teacher was as surprised as I was. I can only assume it came from him, there wasn't any note to say otherwise."

"Then, why do you play?"

"Huh?"

"If you hate your father so much why do you continue to play?"

"It's not that I hate him, it's just..." Shinji sighed and looked over towards her, "I don't know, I enjoy it I suppose - that's why."

Asuka smiled warmly, she felt almost proud of him. "Good. To play an instrument Shinji-baka is to enjoy playing, to enjoy playing to others and to enjoy playing something you or another person has written. It's like reaching out to the composer and literally shaking their hand, it's kind of like a respect I suppose." Shinji looked confused, she wagged a finger at him. "It's good that you play because you want to, because that's as it should be."

[A Floral Tradition]

"He's not bad is he?" Maya had said pointing to the stage with a salad fork, where a portly man was singing a traditional song almost in a gospel style. It was certainly original; indeed it was the most original thing they'd seen so far. The Japanese penchant for karaoke or bizarre forms of entertainment knew no bounds it seemed, they'd so far had a quartet of girls singing a song of good tidings to the happy couple despite the fact they already had done so before the meal had started. A well rounded man who had made a speech regarding well wishes and the steps to eternal happiness, which had sounded at the outset quite relevant.

"You must keep three bags in your heart, one for luck which will keep your wits sharp and your pockets weighted, one for generosity which will keep your address book full and your smile true and one for kindness by whom all are measured."

Of course the man then went on to add several more bags after a moments thought, and the audience started to call out more bags and more bags until there were so many bags anyone carrying them would suffer a coronary.

After he was gracefully whisked off the stage a small page boy no more than seven years old sung the theme tune to some old forgotten anime show that had got a second airing recently on television. It was a sign of the times that everything old was new again, retro was once again the cool thing and for the youth the most important thing in the universe wasn't a 100ft tall monstrous mecha but a small custard yellow mouse. The crowd had applauded politely and the boy took that as a sign they wanted an encore, he was ushered off the stage as quickly as he was ushered on to it.

The rotund man had now finished singing and received nothing short of a standing ovation, Ritsuko whooped and whistled while the man humbly acknowledged their thanks turning to his backing singer - his wife. Misato didn't cheer, she stood but did not clap nor did she smile as the man and his wife bowed to the crowd she looked down at the glass of red wine in her hand and saw her warped reflection in the liquid surface. Not liking what she saw she downed the contents in one then sat back down, as the celebrations continued around her she poured another glass.

If only she could be that happy...

The celebrations had now come to an end, all that was missing was the throw of the bouquet and that was to happen last of all. Ritsuko, Misato and Maya gathered around with all the other single women to see if they could catch it and by wishful tradition be the next lucky young lady to be married. Misato doubted that she could catch anything at this moment except maybe pneumonia from the terribly cold winds that were blowing around outside the hotel where the reception had been.

The groom Shigeru Tenkawa (or Lee as he was now) stood by his bride. Yukina Lee had been the university discus champion and it was well known that despite leading the family life now she had not given up on her physical studies. Naturally because of this the main bulk of the crowd seeking to be the recipient of the bride's flowers were someway back from her. The trio of ladies however were somewhat closer as were a few others who knew just how smart Ritsuko was and wanted to be in the correct place where it would land. A bunch of roses and carnations is not as aerodynamically designed as a discus and therefore as Ritsuko kindly put it would 'not be leaving this hemisphere any time soon'.

Yukina announced she was ready, "Five, four, three, two and a half, two and a quarter..."

"YUKINA!" The crowd yelled, making the bride giggle and hold up a silk-gloved hand to her mouth.

"Just teasing guys - one, ZERO!"

With an almost surreal grace the bride threw the flowers into the air, they flowed through the sky in a graceful arc. Immediately the rear guard realised their mistake and began to rush forward but they were all far too late, as the bouquet had already begun to drop. Down it fell turning over and over until the sheer weight of the flower heads pulled it out of its oscillations. Down into a vast sea of hands that rose up like a tsunami as they leapt into the air. Ritsuko swore as someone used her shoulder to gain a few more centimetres, the move was successful only in overbalancing the Doctor who agonisingly brushed a rose petal with her fingertips as she grasped for her botanic holy grail. The woman who had tried to gain height was pushed backwards and away by Misato's elbow which cheered her up immensely. Misato was one of the tallest there and if it weren't for the onrushing crowd slamming into the small of her back she would have been able to grab hold. Yet down she fell, as the tsunami crashed down on top of her, Ritsuko and Maya who being so small had had very little chance in it all. So the others fell on top of them in one great pile of limbs, which writhed around like some disgruntled stilettoed octopus. The bouquet bounced onto the floor, agonisingly out of reach of Misato's outstretched fingers to roll to a standstill in front of a pair of black shoes. A hand reached down and grabbed the projectile firmly but gently enough not to damage the stems, the victor with spoils now in their possession smiled at the heap of bodies.

"Unlucky ladies."

A chorus of groans both of disappointment and pain filled the air as the 'Bouquet Bundle' members extricated themselves from one another. The biggest groan was reserved for Misato though, the person holding the flowers... was Kaji.


[Flawed]

The First Child sat staring at her hands, something was wrong with them that had to be it. She had been studying Shinji's music solidly for the past seven hours; she had already mastered the piano. The instrument itself was rather rudimentary, she was surprised it had taken a whole three and a half hours to grasp the fundamentals. After all she remembered she had been able to play the prelude from Bach's Partita #3 In E For Solo Violin at a maestros level within eighty minutes of picking up the instrument. She could now play several piano pieces with some skill; the warm up exercises Shinji had given her had been entirely insufficient being surpassed within mere minutes of her first error strewn play of 'Three Blind Mice'. She had then set herself the challenge of playing Shinji's piece herself, and as she followed the music along a mood of annoyance settled upon her. Something was very wrong.

It wasn't that she had made a mistake (she followed the music exactly), but when she played the piece it simply sounded nothing like that which Shinji had played. The music seemed flatter, there was no life in the notes it was like the entire piece was there but dead, stone cold in the ground. So where as Shinji's piece had filled her with joy, her rendition left her depressed and frustrated. That was why she looked at her slim fingers with such contempt; they had denied her the chance to hear the music again.

"Rei."

Rei almost jumped out of her skin, she was sure the area had been empty and as she looked around she saw that was indeed the case. It then occurred to her that the voice had come from the internal communications system and she cast her eyes upwards towards the large black speaker.

"Yes?" She replied in her usual quiet monotone.

"Rei, please come to my office as soon as you can."

"Yes sir." It was Commander Fuyutski...


[A Kiss, Or Maybe Not]

Shinji was resting in his room, a pillow had been placed against the wall and he was leaning against it, his SDAT player soothing his brain with music that was loud enough to blot out all else around him. Pen-Pen, who had sought out the reason why Shinji had stopped playing had waddled into his room and was now lying on Shinji's bed with his wings folded behind his head. The position was unnervingly human and Shinji closed his eyes trying to ward off internal questioning as to whether a normal penguin could even physically do that. Asuka was sitting at the table, her head resting on her arm and her coppery red hair spilling down over her shoulders onto the flat pine surface.

She seemed lost in thought though every so often her eyes would flit from the ceiling to Shinji pause for a brief second then return to a point on the white surface she found most suited her mood. Shinji had taken to ignoring everything that was going on and Asuka was worried her actions had upset the boy - though she couldn't understand why. It wasn't like he knew the guy at all, and he was SO boring. Yet, if that was the case why was he acting like Asuka had slighted him somehow? Why did it seem like he was... disappointed with her.

Her eyes flashed back to the Third Child and she saw him lost in a myriad world of notes and harmonies. Mental blocks so well established nothing could penetrate them, an Angel could land in their living room do a Flamenco dance with a rose in its teeth and paint the entire apartment avocado green for all it was worth. Shinji wouldn't notice and wouldn't care either; nothing would get him out of this zone out. Nothing.

"Hey Shinji, you wanna kiss me?"

What had she just said?

What did I just say?

What did she just say?

"Wha-wha what?" Shinji yanked the headphones off his ears so quick he damaged the wire linking the right earpiece.

"Kissing, you know..." Asuka's mouth was acting on its own accord, her brain was not in control of it and there was seemingly nothing she could do to stop it. Electronic signals were screaming down the nerve pathways to halt it but without success. How on earth did that get through to Shinji? A teasing thought of Asukas pushed its way to the front of the jumble of emotions. Why on earth did I say that? Why am I continuing to say that? Why, oh why can't I stop! "Have you ever done it before?"

Shinji suddenly realised how a rabbit must feel when it's caught in the headlights of a car, all he could manage was a - "Yuh-huh."

Now this wasn't exactly an answer, there had been Mana of course who had been his girlfriend (kinda) and they had kissed (sorta) before he and she went their separate ways but this was different. This was Asuka.

A S U K A!

Touji would skin him alive.
Misato would kick him out.
Kensuke would disown him.
Rei would never speak to him again.
Hikari would have the whole thing around the school in a blink of an eye.
He'd never be able to go out again.
Rivers would turn to blood.
Seas would boil.
The sky would fall.
The Earth would spin off his axis into the sun.
This was Asuka Langley Sohryu and this was certain redheaded death.

So... why did he want to say yes?

"So let's do it!"

All of a sudden Shinji-bunny turned into Shinji-pedestrian and the car became a shining blue Renault with a purple haired driver.

"Mwaurgh?"

Asuka's mind screamed at her body's insanity, this was Shinji Ikari she was talking about. Shinji-baka, Shinji-hentai, Sir Stoogealot - Knight of the Three Kingdoms of Stooge! Shinji the wimp, Shinji the coward, er, Shinji the...

For a moment her mind paused as it thought some more; She knew better than that now, she knew the brave Shinji who stood up for his friends, ignored orders if they were wrong, stood up to his father and risked his life to save comrades and kept his promises. Shinji the talented, who could play music the likes of which could warm even the harshest critic's ice-encrusted heart and still pilot an Evangelion in his sleep. Shinji the kind-hearted, Shinji the honest.

She wanted this. She actually really wanted this, for the first time in her life she wanted to kiss someone not because of her childish ideals but because her heart wanted it. Asuka Langley Sohryu wanted, no, needed to kiss Shinji Ikari - she couldn't believe it herself.

Well done. A voice said in her mind. Maybe there is some hope for you yet child.

"What?" Shinji said again, still positive his ears were deceiving him. "But why?"

A good question, Asuka's mind despite the confusion as to where exactly that unfamiliar voice had come from took control of her body again and answered quickly with a smile.

"I've got nothing else to do." Damn. Damn it all. Her mind now back in control Asuka's pride had kicked back in with a vengeance, she saw Shinji's half-terrified half-confused expression shift to include the briefest dash of disappointment.

It wasn't because she wanted to; it was because she was bored.

Blinking twice and with a sad sigh Shinji's battered heart sank back into his chest to lick its wounds once more.

"Oh." He said and put his headphones back on again.

[Homeostasis and Transistasis]

The bar the NERV quartet had staggered into was perhaps not the best in Tokyo-3, it wasn't the most friendly, it wasn't the cheapest and it sure as hell didn't serve a decent drink. Yet as it was the only one open within a good ten miles Misato had decided that this would have to do. It also served food, and after all the celebrating the little band had decide on a late dinner before the drinking, though Misato had several beverages during this period.

The ladies were now sitting at the bar, Misato was next to Ritsuko and Kaji while Maya occupied the seat to her sempai's right. The NERV assistant was busy slurping her fifth Martini of the evening, Maya laughed overly loudly as the coctail umbrella swivelled around as she went to take a sip. Her mouth being filled with paper and matchstick wood instead of the vodka concotion. Misato rolled her eyes and finished off her own drink, a shot of something particularly vile but with a high enough alcohol content to be a viable alternative to her beloved Yebisu. (Which naturally they didn't have on tap, hence the no decent drink available.) Kaji had been drinking BOA, a low alcoholic alterative to Yebisu that Misato only drank when absolutely neccessary. Like when she had to be absolutely sober the next day or she didn't want to get too blasted and embarrass herself - her surprise promotion party was a good example.

Kaji chuckled, "The way you're downing that drink suggests to me you don't get out that much Maya."

Misato giggled, "Don't listen to him Maya, you'll get into bad habits."

"Such as?" Kaji asked curiously.

"Not shaving, acting all smarmy and superior, never doing any work."

"I do lots of work!" He protested vehemently and not for the first time that evening.

"Yes. Yes we know you do." Ritsuko's look immediately put Kaji on guard, it was one of those times where you knew she was saying something but actually referring to something else. The only problem with Ritsuko was that when she did say something but was referring to something else she made it painfully clear that she was doing it for a purpose. His hand drifted down to his pocket, wherein lay a small velvet bag from his brief excursion to Kyoto earlier that week, maybe this wasn't the time...

Kaji chose to put on his best schoolboy grin, "See, the good Doctor agrees with me. Maya could do well from learning from me, I'll take over as your sempai if you'd like Maya."

Maya raised an eyebrow; "Perhaps I should remind you Kaji that it was precisely that kind of suggestion that got you in trouble with me in the first place."

Misato laughed so hard she almost knocked her drink over, "She's not that drunk yet you know."

"Are you suggesting that I was suggesting?"

"Damn right."

The NERV Special Captain sighed, "I was perfectly serious. She could learn a lot from me and I'm sure I could learn a lot from her. I seem to remember me teaching you a few things in our college days Katsuragi and you certainly did some educating where I was concerned."

"That's because you never went to lectures." Ritsuko smiled and noticing Misato's beetroot face added, "And before you ask yes he was suggesting that time."

Misato got unsteadily to her feet and picked up her handbag, "Well I know it's getting late, but I have to go powder my nose."

"Making a discrete exit?" Misato's response was to stick out her tongue and waddle off in the direction of the ladies, the white heels on her shoes wobbling like a pair of waiters carrying a stack of plates far too high for them to handle.

High heels....

Ritsuko watched this and shaking her head turned to Maya. "You couldn't go and keep an eye on her could you?"

"Shure Shempai." The young tech mumbled, downing her Martini then slamming the glass down on the bar. "You!" She bellowed at the young bar hand, "Another drink!"

"Are you sure Maya?" Kaji asked but the withering look he got in response to his question removed all doubt from his mind about stopping her.

"A tequila slammer!" Maya barked then turned on her heel and tottered off after Misato.

Kaji balked, "Tequila slammers now?"

"What do you think I've been drinking for the last hour?" Ritsuko smiled.

"It's been a while. Since we've been out together I mean."

"She's drinking too much, she's losing her control." She commented.

"Misato or Maya?"

"Both of them. It's surprising, I've never seen Maya like this - so carefree and having fun."

"Sometimes you just have to drink to stay under control - all of us do." Kaji smiled but the smile seemed to falter, "We really should go out more often, after all there could be a time soon when we might never be able to again."

"Yeah, it's been good tonight."

"We should get Maya out more, she seems to enjoy it."

Ritsuko paid for Maya's drink, "Perhaps. If she'd want to."

"Oh, I think she would if you were there."

"You think so?"

"I think she's rather enamoured with you Doctor."

"Well you might say I'm rather enamoured with her, she's an excellent pupil and a wonderful friend."

"Perhaps I should tell Katsuragi to buy another dress."

Ritsuko scowled, "You're suggesting again..." Kaji held up his hands in innocence, but Ritsuko's expression showed no hint in acceptance or belief.

"Who's on duty shift tonight? Command wise I mean, after all if you and Katsuragi are here and so is young Miss Ibuki..."

"I think Lieutentents Aoba and Makoto are on tonight, Sub-Commander Fuyutski is in this evening as well."

"I see." Kaji looked at his watch, "What's taking so long? How much makeup does she have to wear?"

"Oh you know Misato, after all you're the one who used to live with her."

Kaji sighed happily, "Well, that was a lifetime ago, she didn't even own a set of heels back then."

Ritsuko ran a hand through her hair, "That's not the way we saw things back when were in school."

"We were kids Ritsu, that wasn't real, we were just children playing house - it was nice." The sight of Tokyo 3 at night from the window was beautiful, strategically placed lights illuminated the architecture and wherever the eye landed signs of life could be found. The reflections of the bar's neon display surrounded it like some neo-modernistic picture frame. For a moment Kaji reflected on the city, "But life's not that simple."

"Thank you Kaji." Ritsuko lips twitched upwards, she had the distinct feeling what Kaji had just said had cost him something rather precious. Some dream or wish he had been holding onto all these years, maybe just some hope, those had been happy years for them all and it would be easy to say Kaji and Misato were happier at that time than she had ever seen them since. "For being honest."

Kaji's mask of happiness returned, "To the ladies yes, otherwise, er..." He wiggled his hand indicating indecision making Ritsu chuckle.

"I doubt that."

"And I'm sorry if I flew too close to the flames there when I talked about Maya, but you know I'd much rather be burned by the heat of my passion for you."

"Shwould I bwiy you some fwireworks then?" Kaji's ears pricked up as he realised the dynamic drinking duo had returned from their 'powdering session', no doubt having a good gossip at his expense in the process.

"Hello!" He said warmly as Misato took her seat once more, for some reason though Maya continued to stand and after thanking Ritsuko for her drink (and downing it one) continued to stand even if she needed support from the bar itself.

Misato scowled at him, "Ah, you never change do you?"

Kaji smiled and leaned closer, "Of course I change! The act of living is an embracement of change."

"Homeostasis and Transistasis." Ritsuko announced, picking up her handbag from its place on the floor.

"Homgioh-what?" The major slurred and Ritsuko closed her eyes and sighed,.

"One is a force to maintain the present status and the other is a force for constant change. Anything that lives is composed of these two conflicting forces."

A wry smile tugged at the corners of Kaji's mouth, "Like men and women."

"We'll just be taking off now." The doctor stood up and along with Maya got ready to leave.

"Now?" Misato whined, glancing at Kaji out of the corner of her eye.

"Now." She nodded, "We have some work to do early tomorrow morning."

"Oh yeah." Maya frowned, "That encyclical pathways test on the Zero."

"Have fun you two!" Ritsuko winked at them then walked out of the bar arm in arm with Maya, the two work colleagues highly animated as the exited the door.

Misato sighed, "Maybe I should call Shinji then - if we are going to continue drinking."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Kaji said, and handed Misato his mobile.

[While My Guitar Gently Sleeps]

Time dragged when you're working the graveyard shift, Aoba and Hyruga had been working for eight hours, and their shift finished midway through the red zone the next morning.

"I swear this coffee gets worse." Makoto's face screwed up to the extent he appeared to be sucking on a lemon as he forced himself to swallow the caffinated liquid.

"That's actually freshly ground Colombian Red Bean coffee."

"Yeah, freshly ground when? 1982?"

Aoba chuckled, "Probably. You have it white right?"

"Yeah, I'm not one of these people who like it black as the ace and potent enough to decrease your life span seven years per sip."

"Well that's probably the answer. They use that 'Extra Long Life' milk in it, it's taken from the stores in storage bunker Twelve Forty Two Dash B. It's supposed to last twenty five years they say and still be drinkable even if exposed to radiation, but apparently that doesn't mean it's tasty."

The coffee was bad, that's not to say it was bad in the sense that say losing your keys was bad, or that Michael Jackson was 'Bad' or even Second Impact was bad - the coffee was bad - As in rancid. In fact if it had been exposed to radiation Hyruga surmised it would probably do it some good.

"You know what?"

"What?"

"This coffee might just be the next angel..." Hyruga scrunched up his nose, "It certainly isn't of this world."

The Central Dogma clock beeped as it reached the hour, the door did not open and the sanctuary of the relief officers coming to take over so they could go on a break didn't occur. Two had to be on the bridge section of Central Dogma at all times, it was regulation.

"They're late." Aoba commented unnecessarily, the tall man subconsciously practising fingering for a catchy riff he'd discovered the previous evening on his guitar. Makoto Hyruga looked despondently up from his workstation and shrugged, before turning back to the readout from Melchior.

"Internal tolerance up 0.026%."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"What do you want me to say?"

Aoba swivelled around in his bridge chair to face his friend, "You're supposed to be on edge as to what Major Katsuragi is up to, you know she's out with Captain Kaji right?"

"Yes." Hyruga cast his eyes downwards and tapped a command into his terminal, "I'm well aware of that."

"Well aren't you afraid she and he'll hook up again?" Aoba thumbed his hair behind his right ear, "I was looking forward to an evening of teasing you and watching you squirm."

"No."

"Why not? The last five months all you've seemed to talk about is the Major, hell, I've seen you catch yourself staring a few times. Why the sudden lack of concern?"

"Evolution."

"Excuse me?"

"Evolution, the Darwin theory my friend - the survival of the fittest. How could I compete with the likes of the Captain? I'm not debonair or handsome am I?"

"You're being a bit harsh on yourself aren't you Makoto?"

Makoto shook his head despondently, "No I'm not, I don't have a chance with her Shigeru, I never did."

"I don't know how you can-"

"-she... still loves him Shiegru. I can see it in her eyes, the way she looks at him, only one of her close friends would be able to tell you that. I'll always be her friend, but that's all I'll ever be."

"Dang." Aoba recoiled and turned back to his monitors, "You really know how to spoil a guy's mood."

"It's the truth. If she's happy then I'll be too - for her, but not for him." Makoto cast his eyes downwards and dejectedly muttered, "They always go for the rogues never the good guys." He sighed, "I'm gonna get some more coffee, screw the damn regulations."


[The Morning After]

Maya groaned and half opened her right eye, which was a mistake as a shaft of golden sunshine focused by the uneven nature of a window blind pierced her sensitive vision and buried itself into the back of her brain. She threw up her hands to block the offending light and groaned, as the rapid movement seemed to make the pain she felt treble and her stomach feel it was actually outside her body. The dim recollection of the interior of a toilet basin suggested this was most likely the case anyway.

Rolling onto her belly she grabbed the cushion she had been using as a pillow and covered her head with it protectively as though the foam and fabric could shield her from the effects of either a hangover or nuclear holocaust (whichever had actually occurred) and make it all go away again.

What had happened last night? It was something Maya was quite proud of to be able to handle her love of a good saki or two (dozen) so for her to wake up feeling as though she had been chewing on an old jumper for three hours and an N2 mine had gone off inside her skull was something relatively new. Rolling the other way this time she promptly fell straight off the sofa she had been sleeping on and onto the rather cold and hard wooden floor. A yelp of surprise followed by a groan sounded out in the room as Maya rubbed her head. A few more minutes in her foetal position and she felt brave enough to once again open her eyes. The sensation this time was less agonising than before but still pretty unpleasant, a dull throb of defiance still lingered.

Okay so her eyesight was hardly 20:20, more like -70:104 and the room may well have been spinning around like a top with shadows and blurs the only thing she could comprehend as she tried desperately to gain focus. However with time and patience things started to sort themselves out, twenty minutes after she first stirred Maya was able to discern three important concepts. The first was:

Unfamiliar ceiling...

The second:

What... What's that thing rubbing against my foot!?

And the third was:

Maya Ibuki where the hell are you?

Admittedly the first and third were somewhat based around the same concept but two was foremost in her mind at present, something furry was rubbing against her bare foot. She made to cautiously bring her knees upwards towards her chest thus getting her bare feet away from said fuzzy thing when something cold, wet and with a distinctly sandpaper like texture pressed against one of her toes. Squealing in fright the young woman leapt up into the air, a wave of adrenaline propelling her back onto the sofa that although seemingly solved the feet problem flung her poor alcohol soaked brain into the side of her skull and it groaned in protest. However scared Maya was, and she was pretty freaked out presently, she summoned up the nerve to open one eye with very little pain attached to see what it was.

There on the ground, slightly bemused and washing itself was a small grey kitten, which mewed at her in an almost nonchalant manner before resuming its wash. Maya gave a sigh of relief and got somewhat unsteadily to her feet. Still unsure exactly as to where she was she decided to investigate the apparently plush house she had ended up, hoping desperately she hadn't got picked up while drunk by some horrible smelly excuse of a person she stumbled forward making her way to a door. Leaning part against the wall to keep her upright, she turned the doorknob to find that it led into the kitchen.

"Good Morning Maya-chan."

Any drowsiness remaining vanished in an instant for young Lieutenant Ibuki, there standing at the cooker making breakfast was Doctor Ritsuko Akagi.

"I hope bacon is okay? I haven't had a fried breakfast in ages."

Wearing white panties, an apron - and nothing else.

"Mmm? Oh yeah, bacon's fine sempai."

This has to be a dream, some weird crazy... Maya couldn't resist looking the doctor up and down from behind, ...incredibly sexy dream.

"I've told you before Maya-chan there's no need to call me sempai out of work. Ritsuko's fine, though I'd prefer Ritsu."

She's asking me to call her by the pet name Major Katsuragi - Misato - calls her, but they've been friends years so what does that mean? Oh my God stop thinking that and say something!

"Gomen." Maya looked groggily around her, "Um, where am I and how did I get here?"

"You don't remember?" Maya shook her head, Ritsuko sighed and began to serve up breakfast. "Well I'm not surprised under the circumstances. What happened was I gave you a lift back here; I was going to drop you back at your apartment but we were both having such a good time we decided to make a real night of it. You challenged me to a variety of drinking contests before I bet you I could walk up that wall."

She pointed to one wall that seemed to have shoe marks on it, "I failed miserably as you can see, and the graze on my forehead is testament to that. Afterwards I don't remember that much but we seem to have gotten through several bottles of spirits."

"That's probably why my head feels like Units One and Two have had a tap-dancing contest on it."

"Probably." Ritsuko nodded, "Incidentally I cancelled the test on the Zero, it can be done another time when we can actually look at the buttons without them giving us migraines."

"Eurrgh, what time is it?"

"Eight in the morning and breakfast time so eat up." Maya groaned and slumped into a seat before poking at a rasher of bacon suspiciously.

"I wonder how Misato's doing?"

"Well we did leave her with Kaji, so I suppose the question is how's he doing."

The kitten ambled into the room and Ritsuko bent down to pick it up before giving it a small piece of bacon the tiny cat rapidly devoured, a big grin on it's feline face. It rubbed its tongue over a pointed tooth and nussled the Doctor's hand affectionately. Maya became lost in the little scene and soon looked down to find her plate surprisingly empty, she blinked in confusion not remembering eating one mouthful.

"That was - great." She said smiling, which was a half-truth considering she couldn't remember consuming the meal at all, the taste or anything and only going on the fact that if she was a quarter as good a cook as she was a doctor she must be brilliant in that as well.

"Thank you." She picked up the kitten and continued to make a fuss of it, "He's called 'Whisper'."

Maya stifled a giggle, "Yes, we've already met."

"Well time to get going I suppose, I need a shower and a change of clothes first though but Hyruga and Shigeru-kun must be tired."

"Yes they need some sleep." Maya tickled Whisper under the chin.

"I'll go and tidy myself up and see you in ten minutes."

Maya nodded and leant her head on her elbow, letting her mind wander as she stared at the kitten who had decided now was as good a time as any to take a nap. Its paintbrush like tail had wound tightly around the salt dispenser and his head was resting on his paws. Today was going to be a good day Maya thought and she kept that feeling inside her for the whole of that ten minutes waiting for Ritsuko, yes, a good day today. As she watched Whisper snooze away without a care in the world she smiled, a very good day and not half-naked doctors or tap dancing Evas would change it.

How wrong she would be...


To Be Continued...

Please review. In the next part : "I'm Home, I think...", "The Key to the Second Impact and everything that's happened since.", "A shadow?!", "MARDUKE said WHAT?", "We're going to fetch the next spare."

ArchangelUK 0:o)