Disclaimer: see chapter 1.
Folded Wings
By Random1377
Chapter 5
Horaki.
Of course it would have to be Horaki.
Rei closed her eyes as she dipped her head under the showerhead, wondering why she had even wasted time considering other alternatives. Horaki had vied for her friendship before – several times, according to Nagi – so it should be a simple matter of approaching the class rep and stating that she was now interested in being friends.
It was practically a done deal.
With that topic out of her mind, Rei turned her attention to the other task at hand – convincing the Commander to let her stay with Mister Kaji.
I will present it to him logically, she mused as she rubbed shampoo into her hair. I will have a guardian – not that I have ever required one, but it will take some strain off of Section Two. It will not interfere with Complementation, or EVA, so that will not be an issue. Hmm… it will be a complicated discussion, but I believe the Commander will see my side eventually.
Rinsing the shampoo from her hair, Rei considered the other bottle Miss Ibuki had purchased her on their little shopping trip.
Conditioner.
What a waste of time.
She had used it before, contrary to what Miss Ibuki seemed to believe, as she had given Rei instructions on how to use the stuff… but Rei simply did not normally see the need for 'shiny, lustrous, manageable hair,' as the bottle put it. Most days, she just washed, combed, and went about her business.
She did not even own a hairdryer.
With a sigh, Rei picked up the conditioner and squirted some into her hand. It would not hurt to be a bit more presentable, considering that she was seeking favors that day… besides which, she was guiltily enjoying the pressure of Kaji's shower. Her own tiny stall had never produced more than a sullen spritz, so by comparison, Kaji's was like standing under a waterfall.
I will need to see if mine can be repaired, she mused as she waited for the conditioner to do its job. It is not frivolous – greater water pressure means less washing time.
Once she felt that her hair was 'manageable' enough, Rei washed the conditioner out of it and stepped out of the shower. She dried her hair, as she usually did, and draped the towel over her shoulders, as she usually did, making her way – at a sedate pace – towards the bedroom, where the clothes Miss Ibuki had purchased her were waiting.
The results of this action, naturally, should have been foreseen.
"Hey," Kaji said as he looked up from his laptop, "What time do you have to go? I can give you a raaahhh! What the hell are you doing?"
Rei blinked as the man shot to his feet and whipped around, turning his back on her and flushing a most interesting shade of red.
"I am going to get dressed."
Without looking, Kaji stuck his arm out behind himself, waving a finger in Rei's general direction. "That," he sputtered, "that is what I'm talking about when I say you being here is not appropriate!"
Rei frowned. "I do not underst-"
"The towel goes around your body when you leave the bathroom," Kaji cut in sharply. "God damn it, I think my nose is bleeding…"
"Why would your nose bl-"
"Don't ask silly questions! Is that towel around you yet?"
"No."
"Get it that way!"
Realizing finally why the man was so unnerved, Rei slowly wrapped the towel around herself.
"I am sorry."
Kaji kept his eyes facing the other way, just to be sure. "It's not a big deal," he mumbled, "just… try to remember that there's someone else here, alright?"
"I will," Rei said quietly, wondering why the man was so bent out of shape.
He had seen her naked the day before, after all, and it did not seem to affect him that much then.
Still musing over this duality, Rei silently padded into the bedroom to get dressed.
On their shopping trip, Miss Ibuki had insisted on paying for everything, pooh-poohing Rei's repeated observations that she had money of her own and buying the First several outfits, including a new school uniform made of higher-grade material. Rei had never cared all that much what she was wearing, other than taking the time to ensure that it was clean and free of holes, but Miss Ibuki had been quite scandalized when the girl had picked out a simple rayon jumper and a cheap, low-thread count shirt.
Before Rei quite knew what had happened, her own selection had been replaced by a smooth, wool skirt and a shirt whose fabric was so tightly woven that Rei was sure it would hold water.
So wasteful.
Sliding into the shirt, however, Rei found that there really was a difference. Instead of coarse threads rubbing her skin, she found smooth, silky cotton cradling her almost as gently as LCL. Staring thoughtfully at the sleeve of the high-grade shirt, she idly wondered if she should not have taken Miss Ibuki up on her offer to stop at the lingerie shop.
Once she was dressed, finding her new jumper just as comfortable as the shirt, Rei made her way into the kitchen. "I would like to contribute to your grocery fund," she said calmly, wrinkling her nose ever so slightly as she found Kaji spreading mayonnaise on a bologna sandwich.
Kaji sighed, scraping the knife around the edge of the mayonnaise jar – a noise that somehow managed to send spikes of discomfort directly into the center of Rei's brain. "First off," he said lightly, "we're not sure you're even staying. Second off, I usually eat out, so anything you're gonna buy, it'll pretty much be for you anyway, so whatever. Third off," he tossed the knife into he sink, giving Rei a wry smile as he concluded, "do you always have to talk like that?"
"I am… sorry?"
"You sound like a robot," Kaji said flatly, "throw some contractions in every now and then, you know? That's, instead of that is… it's, instead of it is… stuff like that."
Rei smoothed a wrinkle on her skirt. "Someone at school complimented my manner of speech the day before yesterday," she pointed out quietly. "It is the way I have always spoken."
"It's."
"Pardon?"
"It's the way I've always spoken," Kaji said, emphasizing the differences. "You try it."
"I would rather not."
"I'd rather not… or better yet, I don't want to."
Glancing at her watch, Rei murmured, "I should be going… the train passes the closest station in thirty minutes."
"Eh, have a sandwich," Kaji shrugged, giving up on trying to get the girl to loosen up. "I'll take you."
Rei glanced at the table, frowning slightly as she noticed two small jars she had not seen when she first came into the kitchen.
"Did you… purchase those for me…?"
Kaji shook his head, taking a large bite of his sandwich as he replied, "Nah, I had them already… but you keep going on and on about disliking meat and whatnot, so I figured peanut butter and jelly would be about the only thing I've got that you could eat." He wiped a bit of mayo off of the corner of his mouth. "Is there anything else you can't eat? I have cereal, too, but I didn't know if you could drink milk."
"It is not that I cannot eat meat," Rei informed him, pulling two slices of bread out and setting them on the plate Kaji had thoughtfully provided. "I simply prefer not to."
"Oh?" Kaji said curiously. "Why's that?"
Carefully spreading peanut butter on her bread, Rei slowly replied, "I do not think you would like to know while you are eating. I will tell you another time, if you would like."
Regarding his sandwich for a moment, Kaji shrugged. "I have a pretty strong stomach, but I'll ask you later." Rising to his feet, he dug into his pocket with his unoccupied hand. "Here," he said, "found my spare key. You'll have to find your own way home from school. I'll be working late, so let yourself in."
Rei took the key and slipped it into her pocket. "I will have your written permission from the Commander waiting for you when you get home."
"A bold statement," Kaji mused, arching an eyebrow, "you've known the Commander longer than I have, of course, so maybe you can read his moods better, but I think you're in for more of a fight than you realize." Picking a fragment of bread off of his shirt, Kaji absently murmured, "How long have you known the Commander, by the way? I know that he used to be your guardian… have you known him your whole life? …did he know your parents? I mean, they must have died when you were very young – they're not even listed in the MAGI."
Closing the peanut butter and jelly, Rei truthfully replied, "Yes, I have known the Commander my entire life, and he had very close ties to my parents, though he does not speak of them much… and you are correct – they did die when I was very young. I do not even remember them."
While this was all fact, Rei neglected, of course, to mention that her 'parents' were really test tubes in a laboratory now long destroyed, and that Gendou Ikari was for all intents and purposes, her father. It was he that ordered her creation, it was he that reared her, and it was he that taught her the ways of the world, advising her to hold her secrets very close to her vest and trust no one but him.
In spite of this, Rei trusted Kaji… to an extent. He was kind to her, interested in her wellbeing, and gave her a sense of comfort she could not quite explain. She knew of the dual nature of his employ, of course – she had far greater security clearance than most people knew… but she was not about to advertise this fact.
Living with him, she knew, would be a complicated dance of incremental give and take coupled with partial truths and obfuscation.
…oddly, she was looking forward to it.
Kaji knew that the girl had managed to dodge giving him any real information, and slammed the door on asking about her parents by saying the Commander didn't talk about them much. He could not say, 'Hey, why not grill him about it – you're curious too, right?' Rei, as far as he could tell, was not, in fact, curious about anything, least of all her lineage.
The first round, it seemed to him as he watched the girl take a delicate bite of her sandwich, had been lost.
But the war is just beginning, he thought craftily. Even when the Commander says no, I'm sure I can get a few minor details out of you when we 'accidentally' bump into each other on the elevators. We're buddies now, you and I…
Pleased that something good would come of this whole debacle, Kaji finished his sandwich and gathered up his things, driving Rei to school with a feeling of triumph he had not felt since showing Misato the dangerous truth hiding behind Heaven's Door.
Yes, it was going to be a fine day.
( 0 0 0 )
Eating her lunch, which was peanut butter and jelly again (she would definitely have to do some shopping after she spoke to the Commander), Rei watched Hikari for an opportune time to speak to the girl.
I was not aware she was so… popular…
Other students clustered around the class rep's desk like flies drawn to a dollop of honey, generating an energetic buzz as they all talked and gossiped and laughed, a phenomenon Rei could honestly say she had never wanted to participate in. The frivolities of youth, as the Commander put it, were wasteful – especially to one such as her. They were distracting and pointless, he had told her, and served no purpose other than to waste time.
Finishing her sandwich, it occurred to Rei that that Commander had been subtly discouraging her from making friends her entire life.
His reasoning is sound, she thought, rising to her feet as the students finally left the class rep to her lunch. It would not do to have me distracted when the time for Instrumentality came… but I do not think that making at least one friend will be detrimental – and Mister Kaji was very clear on his conditions.
"Miss Horaki?"
Hikari looked up from her bento.
"Oh, hey Ayanami," she said cheerfully, "what do you need?"
Rei, who never beat around the bush if she did not have to, said, "I would like to be your friend now."
Unfortunately for her, she should have checked her surroundings.
"Were you ordered to?"
Glancing around, Rei found Asuka standing directly behind her.
"Souryu."
"So, Wondergirl," the redhead said dryly, "is that what happened? Did the Commander give you an order to make some friends so you won't be so damn boring?"
"Guys," Hikari said awkwardly, "people are staring…"
"So?" Asuka snorted. "Let them. I really want to know what Der First has to say."
"It does not concern you," Rei said dismissively, "I am talking to Horaki."
Asuka's face darkened, but before she could speak, Hikari whispered, "Ayanami… please, you're making a scene."
"But I-"
"Ayanami," Hikari cut in, her voice taking on an edge that Rei had not heard before, "please… I don't want to have this discussion with you, alright?"
"I… do not understand…"
"You wouldn't," Asuka snorted, turning away from the First and returning to her desk, "You're too stupid."
Rei lingered at Hikari's desk for a moment longer, but as the class rep completely ignored her presence, she was finally forced to walk back to her own desk and sit down. Understanding eluded her entirely. Horaki had tried several times to be her friend, hadn't she? Now when she wanted to reciprocate, Rei found herself denied – no, rebuked – by the brown-haired girl.
Why?
It did not make sense…
"Everybody rise," Hikari called out as the teacher returned, "bow… be seated…"
Rei remained in her seat, not out of lack of respect for their teacher, but out of simple, stunned confusion.
This was not the way things were supposed to go.
Hikari was supposed to say yes.
Slowly lowering her chin into her palm, Rei turned her head and glanced out the window.
She had much to think about.
Continued…
Author's notes: none.
Still not being pre-read.
Feedback is always welcome on any site with reviewing capabilities or by e-mailing me directly at random1377(at)yahoo(dot)com.