CHAPTER 5

MATERNAL PROGRAMMING

11:23 AM, SUNDAY

AKAGI RESIDENCE

"Hey Rei, do you want anything to drink?" Shinji said, opening the fridge and pulling out a canned tea.

"Do you have Iced Tea?" Rei said, petting the tabby that had just laid down on her lap. He retrieved the drink, and gently touched the back of her neck with it. She physically recoiled at the sensation.

"Hey, that's cold!"

They both gave a small laugh, as Shinji sat down.

"Hey Rei, good work out there today." Shinji said, uncapping his drink.

"Thanks, you did good too." She opened her drink and took a sip.

"So how long do you think School will be out for?" Rei asked gently, setting down the bottle in front of her on the coffee table.

"I don't know, But I think it will open up in a few days. Speaking of School, Have you made any new friends in the other classroom?"

Rei shook her head.

"None actually. It was easier to make friends in the old classroom, because you were there to help me. In this class, everyone kinda stares at me funny."

Shinji laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Well look on the brightside, No one will mess with an EVA pilot, and it's kinda like the anime. At least you don't look like a clone of the background characters."

This didn't make Rei feel any better for obvious reasons.

"I don't want to be different. Being different in Japan isn't a good thing."

She sighs and reaches for her drink but stops as her phone rings.

Gendo Ikari

Rei froze in fear, and quickly grabbed it, knowing what would happen if Shinji saw who was calling.

"I-I'll be right back Shinji, I have to take this real quick!"

He nods and Rei walks outside to answer.

"Hello?"

There was a brief pause.

"Disable Assured Compliance Ordnance, Revert to Inert Explosive."

Rei felt a tinge of an electrode in her brain for a moment, before feeling a sense of relief. but confusion soon came.

"W-Why did you disable it? I thought you didn't trust me."

"Because I have no use for it. But I must ask: Do not tell Him. He doesn't need to know yet."

Rei shakily nodded her head and said ok

"Rei, After you finish over at Dr Akagi's home, A Car will come by to pick you up. You will be transported to the Cranial Center for removal of the ACO."

She didn't know how to feel, she had mixed feelings about this.

"A-alright."

"Good, I will see you then."

The line then closed and she took a look at her phone in disbelief. Wondering how this is happening. Her whole existence with a bomb in her head, just to make her behave. She walked back inside to see Shinji watching TV.

" Sorry, I'm back. I just got a call from my doctor. It's just some stuff, nothing to worry about."

She looked around to see what else there was to do.

"Hey Shinji, don't you have a bunch of Video games upstairs?"

Shinji's head perked up at the question, before having a smile on his face.

"Yeah I do! I also have a bunch of music disks! Want to see?"

She nodded. Prompting him to get up and show her to his room upstairs. As they walked up the steps, Rei saw the photos of memories on the walls. There was a photo of them at Disneyland in the US, A photo of Shinji's elementary school graduation, and a photo of Shinji hugging a girl she hadn't seen before with red hair.

"Another person with a strange hair color. Maybe if I met them, we could be friends."

At the top of the stairs, Shinji's room was on the left. On the door, he had a sign saying "Keep out! Shinji's Gamer Lair!"

"Nerdy."

She smiled at that thought.

He turned the knob open and revealed a messy room. A poster for some JRPG was on the wall, a Computer resembling the MAGI sat under a desk, and a speaker system hung on the wall.

"Welcome to my room! It's currently a mess!" He gave a small chuckle.

"What do you prefer: Computer or Console?"

Rei gave it a quick thought.

"Surprise me."

Shinji smiled and pulled out a dark gray bulky keyboard, and set it down on the desk. He then began plugging in cable into it.

"A Keyboard?"

"A full computer, It was mom's before. Her father bought it for her for highschool. It's what got her into computers"

Shinji smiled and turned on his monitor, then flipped a switch on the computer. The monitor then showed a very blocky blue screen. He then turned it off, and began rummaging through a box.

Shinji then pulled out a cartridge from a box, blew into it, plugged it in, and turned it on. He handed her the chair and she reluctantly sat down, staring at the screen.

"Ready to play?"

Rei smiled and nodded.

5:12 PM

MATERNAL PROGRAMMING

EPISODE 5

"I've Got No Strings"

"Shinji, I'm home."

RItsuko took off her heels and set them on the rack. She heard noises upstairs along with laughter.

"Oh, I forgot Rei is here. Well I'm glad she is having fun with him. The Commander scheduled a surgery for her after this dinner. Too bad it's going to be vacuumed out. I was going to make a special dinner for them."

She walked over to the kitchen and began taking out ingredients. She automatically began to prepare the meal, but her mind was on something else.

"The Commander must've really been shaken up if he didn't even show up to the bridge today. He also just announced the cancellation of the dummy plugs. Something must be off, Mother just fought with him last night. He can't just change this suddenly without a very very good reason. There has to be a reason."

She perked her head up at the sound of the door opening.

"I'm home." Said the voice of a tired Naoko. She walked over to the kitchen, and sat down on a barstool. She sighed and pulled a notepad, scribbling down stuff.

"What happened to the commander?"

"He apparently is trying to right the wrongs. He blacked out after the sub-commander left him. Despite seeming like a cold bastard on the outside, he still has his humanity underneath. Hiding it like a coward." She said with a sneer, before sniffing the air.

"Fried Chicken? It's not Christmas though."

Ritsuko smiled and began seasoning the breading for the chicken.

"It's a treat for today's victory. And since there was little damage to the Evangelion Units, I can leave it up to the repair teams without me."

Naoko scoffed and Chuckled. She closed her notepad and gave a look of amusement at Ritsuko.

"Do you want to know what I found Shinji doing when I came home last night?"

Ritsuko gave a look of wariness.

"Please tell me he wasn't doing it again."

Naoko bursts out laughing, before Ritsuko joins in too.

"No, no, He wasn't. He was actually on a video call with Asuka. I just put a blanket on him."

Ritsuko chuckled as she began frying the chicken.

"I Honestly think he really likes her. I see him texting her alot."

Naoko turned to look at the chicken frying, and Had a look of surprise.

"Did you defrost the chicken?"

"No, Why?"

Naoko pointed to the now overflowing and bubbling frying oil.

"Ah! Shit!"

15 Minutes later.

"Again, I'm really sorry for this!"

Ritsuko said, placing her hands together and bowing.

"It's fine, And besides you tried at least."

Rei said, sitting down at the table. The food before them was carry-out from the local Chinese place. They grabbed their portions and began to eat.

As they ate, Shinji began to speak.

"So Mom, how was the rest of your day?"

Naoko looked up to face him.

"It was good. I heard you two had a lot of fun upstairs. Did you show her the computer?"

Shinji nodded.

"Yeah we even played a game called Arkanoid. I had to show her how to play though."

"Just like I had to show you how to even use it."

Rei and Shinji chuckled, causing Naoko to as well. They continued eating their meals, until the paper containers ran out of food. Chatting about events, and laughing at personal anecdotes.

Despite Rei being shy, she really opened up around Shinji and his adoptive family. Naoko and Ritsuko were always there for her if she needed help with girl advice, and Shinji was there for her as her best friend.

This was technically the 2nd time she had been to his house before. The first was a few years ago to celebrate her first successful Synchronization Test with Unit 00.

All was going well until a buzz came from the door. Rei Instantly knew who it was. She quickly pardoned herself from the table and went to go and answer it. There stood a Section Two agent, clad in their iconic Black suit.

"Miss Ayanami, We have been Tasked by Commander Ikari to bring you to NERV HQ."

Rei grimaced as she didn't want to leave so early. She walked back to the dining room and spoke.

"I'm sorry, I must leave now. But I am very grateful for your hospitality and allowing me to come over."

Naoko leaned over and saw who was at the door. She sighed and put on a smile.

"It's alright dear. You were a delight to have over. Please don't hesitate to ask to come over."

The three sitting down gave their goodbyes, as Rei left the house.

She got into the blacked out car and was carried off to NERV HQ.

"Thanks for having me over." She said to herself as they drove off.

Well for some reason, this chapter was very hard to write, and I don't know why. Anyways Thanks for the reviews! And I'm glad some notable people gave their reviews.

Please Pardon any Grammatical errors in this Chapter.

Til' time!

"And I promise there will be plenty of fanservice!"

-DerpymanMT