I do not own Evangelion or any copyrighted material that may appear in this story.
Welcome back to the cruise. Hope you'll have an enjoyable time.
So without further ado, I present to you
Winning Her Heart In 7 Days
The Cruise – Day 2
"Shinji-kun…" Rei said in a seductive voice. "There is something that I have wanted to tell you for a long time."
"What is it Rei-chan?" The boy asked in a suave voice.
"I love you. I really do." The beautiful albino continued. "I loved you ever since I first set eyes upon you."
Shinji was astounded, albeit in a pleasant way. "Really Rei-chan?"
"Yes Koibito. I would never lie to the love of my life."
It took almost all of Shinji's determination to not scream out for joy. He then opted for a more debonair approach. "I love you too my beautiful. It seems we are a match made in heaven."
Now it was Rei's turn to look hesitant.
"Something wrong my love?" Shinji asked.
Rei chewed on her lip, making her look extremely cute to her love interest. "Become one with me Shinji-kun." Seeing the stunned look on his face, she decided to elaborate. "A relationship is never complete until consummation."
"Ok Rei-chan. I want our relationship to progress to the next level as well." Shinji replied tenderly and caressed her cheek.
Then, in a moment that seemed like an eternity to the both of them, Rei hesitantly tiptoed and puckered her lips. Their faces slowly moved closer and closer until there were just mere centimetres separating them.
"Rei-chan…" Shinji crooned and leaned forward to kiss her…
"ARRRG WHAT THE HELL YOU DOING?" Touji screamed and hit Shinji across the head.
The shyer boy fell from the bed as the shock of being hit jolted him to the waking world.
"Fuck I thought you liked Rei?" The jock practically shouted at the room's other occupant while Shinji said at the same time, "What the hell you hit me for?"
"You… kissed me!" Touji said in despair, his face slowly reddening.
"I WHAT?" Shinji's face was starting to heat up as well.
"Don't make me repeat what I said…" The boy in a tracksuit replied menacingly.
"I was dreaming about Rei! Honestly!" Shinji tried to defend himself. "It was an accident I swear!"
Touji glared at Shinji angrily, making the former EVA pilot sweat buckets. "That's the last time I'll ever wake you up man." He stood up and straightened his tracksuit. "Sorry bout hitting you I guess." Touji then helped Shinji up.
"Yea, an alarm clock would do much better." Shinji agreed. "Asuka always said that I do weird things before waking up."
"I agree with the Devil on that count." Touji replied. Looking at clock, he noted with delight that it was eight thirty in the morning. "Hey go get washed. Its breakfast time!"
Shinji agreed with his friend and headed towards the bathroom. However what was going through his mind was, "I wonder how Rei would react… she did get agitated when Touji almost administered the mouth-to-mouth after all."
Knowing that Rei had a tendency to do unexpected things, he decided that it was for the best that she did not know of that little accident.
Meanwhile in the girls' room…
"Rei!" Asuka called out. "Don't just stare at the ceiling, you'll have to dress up if you want to impress the Baka."
Rei regarded her for a moment. "I think Shinji-kun finds me attractive just the way I am."
"Tsk, tsk. That line of thought is dangerous Rei." Asuka leaned forwards and whispered in hushed tones. "He may think you're attractive now, but what if another more beautiful girl turns up?"
"Shinji-kun is not like …"
"Trust me. All guys think that way. Especially if the girl throws herself at him."
Rei was silent. "Shinji-kun is indeed attractive. There would be many girls vying for his attention. How can I stand out?" She thought.
Asuka then looked into her luggage, trying to find something that suits Rei. Her eyes then landed on a black dress (it looked strangely like the one Rei was wearing in Shinji's dream) that she herself had wanted to wear to the dance at the end of the cruise. "It would suit her exotic looks…but I really want to wear it to impress Kaji!"
The redhead's eyes unconsciously flitted towards the albino's pathetic wardrobe. "Then what is she gonna wear?" Asuka sighed. "I hope I'm not gonna regret this… but here, wear this dress for the dance ok?" Asuka then handed the dress to Rei.
"Thank you Sohryu-chan." Rei took the dress and headed towards the bathroom.
"Oh no no… Asuka said and stopped her. "That dress is for the dance at the end of the cruise!"
Rei reluctantly returned the dress to Asuka. "But you said I should dress up."
"And you should! Just… not this dress." The redhead then reached into her luggage and handed Rei a pink polo tee and floral printed shorts. "Wear this instead. Its less formal."
Rei nodded and took the dress. However just before she reached the toilet, she heard Misato call out, "And after you get washed, we'll put on some make-up!"
Not really knowing what make-up is, Rei merely nodded and closed the door. When she turned and faced the mirror, she was mildly surprised to see her cheeks flushed. "I am blushing, why is that so?"
The answer came naturally to her. "That would be because I like Shinji-kun. The thought of seeing him later excites me." She then hurriedly went through the cycles of daily cleansing thinking. "I should not be wasting time."
Five minutes after Rei entered the bathroom, she came out dressed and ready to leave. The other two women had other plans however.
"Hey you'll have to put on some make-up first." Misato shouted when she saw Rei heading to the front door.
"But I do not want to delay meeting Shinji-kun any longer." Rei replied.
"Man, you're desperate." Asuka taunted. "However, putting on make-up would make you look more attractive."
Rei hesitated. The thought to missing a few more minutes with Shinji was irritating but what Asuka said earlier made her a little worried as well. "NERV has many attractive women, I should be more operationally ready to compete for Shinji-kun's attention." She finally decided and sat down again.
The room's other two women smiled devilishly at the albino. It was not everyday that they get to experiment 'dolling' up someone that would not offer any resistance to whatever they were trying to do. Asuka dived for the mascara while Misato took the lipstick. "Its gonna be great!" they assured Rei.
Fifteen minutes later, the two women decided that they should go light on the make-up. The person staring back at them from the mirror looked like a ghost. The sight was not improved by the slight scowl that she was sporting. "I do not think this makes me look attractive." The 'ghost' replied.
"Point taken." Asuka muttered and proceeded to remove her make-up.
The redhead still could not believe that the Commander's doll had changed so much. She remembered a time when Rei would not even have eye contact with other people and now, she was sitting in front of a mirror waiting for the German to apply a second round of make-up.
"Hey, I have a love indicator test you know?" Asuka blurted out unexpectedly.
Rei stared at her questioningly. "Explain."
"Ok it goes like this – Visualise the person you like, well in your case, it would be Shinji. Done?" Asuka asked the albino.
"Yes."
"Good. Now think which of these four foods would be best associated with him. Curry, steamboat, sushi or hamburger."
Rei was confused. "I do not see how this will indicate how much I like Shinji."
"Just try it!" Asuka insisted.
Rei pursed her lips but said nothing. "Shinji-kun is a Japanese and therefore sushi should suit him best." Rei thought and was about to answer when another thought entered her mind. "He gives flavour to my bland life, the way the filling would enhance the flavour of a hamburger."
Finally, she answered. "Hamburger."
Asuka gave a slight whoop and hugged the shocked albino. "You know what? Hamburger indicates that you really like the person and the only reason you two are not an item now is because you haven't asked each other out!"
"Is that really so?" Rei asked, a slight smile appearing on her face. "What about the other choices?"
"Well, curry indicates that there is a 40 chance of you two being together, steamboat is 70 while sushi means that you two would never be together." Asuka replied.
Rei's smile became wider at that. "Hurry, we should ask Shinji this question as well."
Misato nodded. "Lets go! We would not want to keep lover girl here waiting do we?"
"No we do not. Lets go!" Asuka said happily.
As the three women left the room, Rei could not help but think, "It's a good thing I did not associate Shinji-kun with sushi."
Shinji and Touji were enjoying a quiet meal in the presence of hundreds of beautiful girls and a romantic ambience. The actions of the two boys proved how much they were enjoying themselves. Touji was wolfing down the fifth helping of his American breakfast while Shinji just stared at the entrance of the restaurant. Actually, only Touji seemed to be enjoying himself. Suddenly, the light-hearted atmosphere was interrupted by a redhead screaming, "SHINJI! TOUJI! WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU!"
Touji choked on his sausage.
"We're here." Shinji stood up, trying to ignore the irritated stares from the other passengers. "Honestly Asuka, you didn't need to shout."
"Well, it's faster this way." The redhead replied curtly.
Rei tentatively took a seat next to Shinji. "Good morning Shinji-kun."
"Good morning Rei-chan." The boy replied with a flushed face.
"I have something I want to ask you." The girl said, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Don't you want to have breakfast first?" Shinji asked. Actually, he thought Rei was going to ask about how he felt for her. While he was more than happy to confess, he wanted to do so in private and not in front of almost the whole of NERV.
"No. This question is important," she replied.
"Um… ok." The boy said weakly. "She does not even give me the chance to run away." He thought bemusedly.
"Think of someone you like, and think which of these four foods is best associated with that person. Curry, steamboat, sushi or hamburger." Rei said in a monotone.
"What?"
"Would you like Sohryu to explain it to you?" Rei asked.
"Nn…no. The question just caught me off guard that all." Shinji replied.
"What is you answer to the question then?' Rei asked. However, her facial expressions changed to one of hopeful anticipation, although not many people can tell the difference.
"I well… uh…" Shinji could not think properly. He was slightly disappointed that Rei did not ask him about his feelings but this ridiculous question was totally unexpected. The fact that Asuka and Misato were watching him eagerly did not help his nerves much. He glanced at Touji who was eating a hamburger. "Um… um… hamburger?"
Rei broke out into the biggest smile that he'd ever seen from her. She hugged him tightly and said, "You're my hamburger as well Shinji-kun."
"What?"
"According to Sohryu, choosing hamburger means that you like the person extremely much and would most likely be in a relationship with the person given the correct circumstances." Rei answered him and hugged him again. "I chose hamburger as well."
The timid boy smiled as he returned her hug. "Wow… lucky Touji was eating a hamburger." He thought.
Out loud, he said, "So I suppose we are an item now Rei-chan?"
The girl tightened her hug, making the boy feel slightly aroused by this open show of affection. "Yes we are."
Shinji breathed deeply, feeling his lungs with her sweet scent. "I'll never look at hamburgers the same again."
TO BE CONTINUEDI'll probably make a part 2 for this chapter since its still morning on board the cruise.
And I would like to say that the love indicator test is real. I found it in some obscure website that I cannot remember. Try it sometimes, although from experience, I can safely say that it is not always accurate.
Lastly please review!