Disclaimer: I don't own NGE, Michael's Pub restaurant, Tristania, Iron Maiden, Depeche Mode, Slipknot, Cradle of Filth, Genesis/Genesis members, Microsoft/Microsoft Windows/MS DOS, Linux, Dr. Pepper, et al.
All companies/products mentioned in this story belong to their owners, respectively, save for those invented by the author's imagination.
Author's Note: Wow… this seems to have been graciously accepted by you guys. Honestly, I expected it to fail miserably because the premise is just so damn bad. This story has no point! And yet its popularity has been growing in just a week…. Amazing.
This has been co-written/co-edited by a friend of mine. Just about half
I'm planning on having my chapters be like days; where one chapter describes one day—except the opening scene of the chapter. I dunno, really; I guess I like opening these with therapy sessions.
Some of these 'adventures' are based on actual events, but the names, times, and places have been replaced with fictional creations. Yes, this sort of thing happens to us almost every day.
Now, on with the show…
Chapter 2: Tuesday
"So that… that pretty much sums it—um," Shinji stopped immediately, feeling the hands settle on his shoulders. "Doctor, what are you do—"
"Sshh, Shinji." She whispered, right next to his ear. The hands deftly worked out the tension in his shoulders, letting his head fall back in a completely relaxed state. "I do this for all my patients."
"Y-you do?"
A sultry laughter echoed into his head. "Only the ones I think really need it," she whispered back to him. "And trust me, Shinji," she continued, bringing her lips closer to his ear. "You need it."
"Mmm," he agreed, completely giving in to the seduction. He really had nothing to lose. "This is… nice…"
TUESDAY; 6:30 AM
IKARI RESIDENCE
---
"Ughh…" Shinji looked at his alarm clock, noticing it had yet to go off. He usually didn't stir until eight anyhow.
Then he noticed the arm across his chest.
Then the shoulder the arm was connected to.
Then the red mop of hair that was strewn about sheets, shoulder, and pillow.
"Asuka." His voice was barely audible, but full of disappointment. "Damnit…"
He started to get out of bed, hoping that he could get out of the house before the redhead awoke, only to be held firm by the arm that suddenly tightened around his chest.
"Is that disappointment I sense in your voice, Shinji?"
Hell.
"Why would I be disappointed, Asuka?" He turned his head to stare into the most menacing blue eyes on the planet.
TUESDAY; 7:12 AM
RUSH HOUR
---
Shinji nursed his injured shoulder as he kept up with traffic. Granted, he probably deserved the bruise on his chest, but it was a little much when she threw the lamp at him. Not to mention she was going to leave his apartment a wreck—or at least, it was a wreck when he left. Hopefully she'd be out before he got back.
He sighed and rested his head on the back of the driver's seat as his car came to a stop in the traffic. There was less of it today than normal, probably because he didn't usually hit the road until well after eight thirty or so. It was true that he hated the job, but given the alternative of this particular morning, he'd gladly take his cubicle over the burning inferno of the pissed-off woman that called herself his girlfriend.
---
"Hey jackass, get out of the damn way if you're gonna be so damn slow!" Shigeru slammed his horn again.
"Maybe you should let me drive to work." Makoto looked at his coworker worriedly. "You could die from being so stressed out."
Shigeru stared at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"It's just something I read in some magazine." He replied. "You know, stress can lead to bad cholesterol and heart attacks and stuff. Strokes… Aneurisms… Kidney failure… It's all related to stress."
"Ulcers!" Maya perked up from the back seat.
Makoto closed his eyes. "Yes, Maya. Ulcers too." He gazed out the window as the car stopped again. "The article was really interesting, talking about—"
"My aunt had an ulcer once." Maya suddenly said.
"Oh yeah?" Shigeru looked back at her in the rearview mirror.
"Yeah." She nodded. "It was kind of sad, really. She had to be hooked up to all sorts of tubes and machines and stuff."
Makoto frowned for being interrupted. "I don't think that was because of an ulcer, Maya." He said, turning to her from his seat in the front.
"How do you know? Were you her doctor?" She asked indignantly.
He sat back with a 'sorry I asked' look dousing his features. "Jeez, sorry."
"That's interesting, Maya," Shigeru said, his gaze never leaving the woman in the back seat. "I didn't know ulcers were treated by being hooked up to machines."
Maya shook her head. "No, those machines weren't for ulcers. She had chronic pneumonia before she died." Makoto sighed in the front seat. "It just so happened that she also suffered from ulcers for most of her life, as well."
"Huh," Shigeru said.
They rode on in silence for awhile.
---
"I only dream in black and white! I only dream 'cause I'm alive!"
Iron Maiden poured out of the speakers of a rather boring looking beige sedan. Kaworu sat in the drivers seat, an intrigued smile gracing his mouth as he listened to a CD he had found on his desk the previous day. Someone had left an unmarked disk on his desk which he had found after returning from his lunch break, but he hadn't had a chance to find out what it was until had gotten home.
Now was the first time he was actually listening to it.
He nodded his head to the beat as he sat in his otherwise motionless car. There was only one thought in his mind at that moment, which he decided to voice aloud to the empty interior of the automobile.
"This song… rocks."
---
"Say, Makoto," Shigeru didn't look at his coworker, keeping his eyes focused on the road. Makoto's grunt signaled his attention. "Weren't you burning a bunch of CDs yesterday?"
Makoto nodded. "Yeah."
"What were they for?"
"Oh, just a little philanthropy on my part." He said, off hand.
Shigeru creased his brow in confusion. "Philanthropy? You?"
Makoto shrugged. "Sure. You know how religious fanatics spread their 'word of god' stuff to everyone who doesn't want it?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, I decided I could do the world a favor by doing just the opposite. Instead of getting into pointless conversations about music with people who seriously have no idea what I'm talking about, I decided that it would be easier to educate them by letting them listen to the music." He flashed a crazed smile. "The thought occurred to me after we had that conversation about Cradle of Filth during lunch." He squinted. "I hate Cradle of Filth." He whispered to himself, clenching a dramatic fist.
Shigeru nodded. "But—how is that any different than shoving dogma down people's throats?"
"Easy;" Makoto replied, "It's their choice if they listen to the stuff or not. If they don't like it, they can throw it away without guilt."
"Ah."
TUESDAY; 7:58 AM
THE OFFICE
---
"Good morning!" The secretary cheerily chimed as Shinji strode through the lobby, heading for the bleak double-doors. In his mind, Shinji imagined that lobby-side of the doors would be what the Gates of Hell would look like when he saw them. Hell just wouldn't be Hell if the gates didn't resemble these doors—it was just a minor little thought that always occurred to him when he entered the office.
"Too late for that." He replied quickly, opening the Gates of Hell and stepping into the carpeted anti-paradise.
---
Shinji's worst fears seemed to have come true. He stared in shock at the figure of Rei Ayanami, her back to him, sitting calmly at her desk. No, at his desk, which was now hers.
The company had laid him off, and he hadn't been notified! They had already shifted the cubicle arrangements!
Panic broke out in Shinji's mind, beads of sweat forming on his brow as he stared at the woman blankly.
"Ikari?" Rei looked at him as she turned her chair. "Why are you staring at me?"
"Y-you're in my—my—" he stuttered to get words out. "You're in my cubicle." He whispered.
Her brow furrowed in a mixture of annoyance and confusion. "There has been no change in cubicle arrangements that I am aware of, Ikari. Your desk is over there." She nodded to the wall that her computer sat against.
He blinked. "Oh."
---
"You're here early, Shinji." Kaworu's melodic voice disturbed Shinji from his vague staring at the wall.
"Yeah." He sighed. "Well, you know… Asuka came over last night and never left."
Kaworu hummed his response. "You don't much get along with your girlfriend, do you?"
Shinji's teeth ground into themselves. "No, I don't. This morning she pushed me into a table, then on my way out she threw my favorite lamp at the back of my head." He rubbed his shoulder absently. "I probably pulled my shoulder when I tried to catch the blasted thing." He sighed, forlorn. "That was my best lamp; I loved that thing…" he muttered.
Kaworu frowned as he entered his cubicle, looking over his wall at Shinji. "Why do you stay with her if you do not enjoy her company?"
Shinji shrugged. "I dunno. I mean, the sex is usually good—when she isn't ordering me around. But other than that…" he trailed off. "Maybe it's something like you said yesterday at lunch. You know, the whole 'human beings despise change' thing?"
Kaworu nodded. "That would make sense." He sat down and booted his machine up, saying nothing further on the subject.
---
"Ikari," Shinji looked up at Rei's head, which stared down at him from above the cubicle wall.
"Hi Rei." He mocked enthusiasm, putting on the sarcastic façade that he enjoyed writing memos by hand.
"Would it be acceptable for me to borrow your stapler?" She asked, ignoring his peculiar attitude. "Someone has taken mine without my permission."
"Sure Rei. Anything you need." He looked across his desk, peering at his hole punch and tape dispenser. "Um," he said. "Well, normally it's right…here…" he opened a few drawers in his desk, searching through the contents. "You know, that's funny." He said. "Mine's gone, too."
He stood up and looked over at Kaworu, Rei's crimson irises following his movements. "Hey Kaworu,"
The bored albino looked up at him. "Hello Shinji."
"Do you have a stapler?" he asked. "Both Rei's and mine are gone."
Kaworu frowned as he searched his desk. "I seem to have lost mine as well," he replied.
---
"Hey, do any of you have a stapler?" Shinji peeked his head around the cubicle wall to spot Toji and Kensuke's empty seats. "Oh that's right, you're not here yet."
He searched the desks, but found that neither of them had staplers either.
---
"Now that you say that, you're right. I'm missing mine as well." Horaki got up from her desk and stared at Shinji. "Sit tight for awhile; I'll take this to my supervisor. She should know what happened."
TUESDAY; 9:10 AM
THE OFFICE
---
"Hey Shinji," Kensuke peered around the corner into his cubicle. "You know what happened to my stapler?"
Shinji shrugged. "It seems that the entire department has gone stapler-less." He said. "Horaki is looking into it, but she hasn't gotten back to me about it."
"Oh."
---
"I dunno about Rei," Kensuke said. "She just seems… weird." He thought for a moment. "She's almost like an emotionless clone-person. I could see her having a whole bunch of bodies just floating around in a giant tube-thing, waiting to be revived and to have her memories transplanted if she died tomorrow."
Shinji blinked. "Um…"
"Well, you know." Kensuke looked back at him. "She's odd, is all I'm saying."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Shinji replied. "But still, I can't help it. She's beautiful, and deceptively independent. I like that."
Toji scratched his head. "You sure you're not jus' fallin' for da whole 'grass is greener on da other side' thing?"
Shinji shrugged. "I dunno. I could be. Asuka's driving me crazy. I might as well be a slave to her, the way she's been treating me."
"Well then get rid of her!" Kensuke exclaimed. "If you despise being with the woman that much, then just stop spending time with her and end the relationship! You aren't living together yet, are you?"
Shinji shook his head. "No, fortunately. But I'm afraid of what would happen if I did manage to end the whole thing."
Toji furrowed his brow. "Why?"
"Well, she's been getting kinda abusive lately…" he started. "It's kind of frightening to be in the same room with her, she's completely insane."
Kensuke frowned. "Hmm… this sounds like she might come after you if you try to get out of this. You're welcome to crash at my place until things cool down, if you want."
"Thanks, but I don't think that's necessary." Shinji shook his head.
"Just a suggestion. I mean, you never know—she might just take a shot at you as you leave your house, or when you get into your car."
Shinji blinked. "If she owned a gun, I'm pretty sure more of us would already be dead."
Toji winced. "Yeah, he's got a point. Dat woman is crazy as hell."
There was a silence as they all sipped their coffee.
"I wonder what she sees in me." Shinji thought aloud.
Kensuke shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe she sees you as having a stable career—and paycheck. Maybe she sees you as the perfect house servant. Maybe she just thinks you're a good lay."
"The bigger question you must ask yourself, Shinji, is what do you see in her?" Kaworu had entered the kitchen unnoticed, and had been listening in on the conversation.
Shinji looked at him. "Well… The sex was the only worthwhile thing that kept me going. I mean, her personality is crap, and she's got more psychological issues than a cliché anime character. She's so high maintenance it isn't funny."
Toji refilled his mug with coffee. "Sounds like a succubus."
Kaworu chuckled.
"A what?" Shinji stared at him blankly.
"A succubus, you know?" An odd stare was the only response he received. "It's one a' dose demons that molests people in their sleep." He said. "They're usually pretty messed up lookin', and it was said dat they stole a man's soul when they raped 'em."
Shinji cringed.
Kensuke raised an eyebrow. "How do you know this stuff, Toji?"
Shinji rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Well," Toji started to explain, "it's like dis, really—"
"How is Asuka a succubus?" Shinji suddenly cut in. "She isn't messed up looking, she doesn't molest me in my sleep, and certainly hasn't stolen my soul!"
Kensuke frowned. "Hasn't she? She's got you on a leash three feet long, pal. You can't do anything unless it pleases her." He cocked his head as he cracked his neck. "I'd say that your soul was gone. Get rid of her and you might get your soul back—along with some dignity."
Shinji sighed as he nodded. "Yeah, you're right."
Silence reigned supreme once more as Shinji walked to the sink and rinsed out his mug. Kaworu, after noticing that it was unlikely there would be anymore said on the subject, took his leave from the kitchen and returned to his cubicle.
"Whoa—hey!" Shinji suddenly remembered something. "Isn't that meeting right now?"
Kensuke shook his head. "Nah, man. That's not 'till ten. It's only nine thirty."
Shinji let out a relieved sigh. "Oh, good." He thought for a moment. "Don't you guys have something to do?"
Kensuke shook his head. "Not really. I read through the big briefing thing on that 'Project E' or whatever it is last night. And this morning—get this—my computer won't run."
Shinji's brow creased. "Boot disk issue again?"
Kensuke nodded. "Toji's was the same way. It seems like the operating system license expired on us."
"So we need to reload the system?"
"Hah," Kensuke laughed. "If only it was that simple." He paused for a moment. "You see, we don't run Microsoft Windows or Linux. Shit, we don't even run MS-DOS on our machines. We've got BetaMax; some off-brand, no-name company supplying our operating system package, and it just so happens to be compatible with Microsoft's VB programming language." He rolled his eyes. "Though why we're still using that ancient thing is beyond me. Java's the wave of the present, and if we don't jump on the band wagon soon, we're gonna be left behind in the dust. Anyway—" he looked back at Shinji, "We bought BetaMax because they offered us a decent, affordable deal for the whole office… about eight or nine years ago. But, because of the deal, we had to buy licenses to operate BetaMax software, or the stuff wouldn't run correctly."
Shinji frowned. "Oh, that's right."
"And we can't renew da licenses because BetaMax went outta business two years after we bought da systems." Toji leaned against the counter. "So all a' our computers are gonna bite da dust within da next week or so."
"I'm sure the company will replace them quickly." Shinji replied, optimistically. "Besides, us not having computers isn't really our problem, we've got nothing to worry about."
"Yeah… nothing to worry about, until they decide that layoffs will save more money than actual computers." Kensuke shrugged and rinsed his mug out, placing it next to the sink. "I dunno what's going to happen, but I need to go get that Project E binder and make sure I've read through all of it. Something tells me that we're gonna need to be completely up-to-date on this crap."
Toji started to follow him, before he turned to face Shinji again. "Hey, you know what's up with da whole stapler thing? Everyone's missing theirs; it's really getting to be a pain."
Shinji shrugged. "Apparently, Horaki's looking into it."
"Great, now we'll never know what happened."
---
"Let me see you stripped down to the bone…"
"Rei, is that Depeche Mode?" Shinji looked at her as he was passing his cubicle, stopping in the doorway as he recognized the music.
Rei stopped typing and looked over at him, a smile playing in her eyes, though her face betraying nothing. "Yes," she said.
"You like their music?"
She nodded ever so faintly. "They are favorable."
"Huh," Shinji said. "I love their stuff. Do you have their album… ahh," he thought for a moment, "Violator?"
She shook her head as she turned her chair toward him. "No, I do not."
"How about Some Great Reward?"
She shook her head again.
He nodded. "Okay." He said.
---
"For chrissake, turn that down, will you?" Shigeru covered his ears.
Makoto looked at him. "Fine, jeez. It isn't that bad." He said. "You act like it's toxic."
"Well, some of us aren't addicted to that stuff, alright? I don't mind it, but just keep it the hell down! Your earphones are so loud I can hear 'em."
"What are you listening to, then?" Makoto adjusted the volume on his computer.
"Slipknot." Makoto burst out laughing. "What? Slipknot's hardcore!"
"Slipknot?" Makoto continued to laugh. "Slipknot's gay, dude! They can't play at all, so they hide behind the sheer number of people in the band. The lyrics are crap, the instrumentation is so bad it's laughable, and I'm not even going to mention how much goddamn merchandise they've got." He shook his head. "Slipknot isn't hardcore, dude. They're just a bunch of hacks that have their own clothing line."
"But I don't see your precious Tristania with their own clothing line." Shigeru mumbled.
Makoto chuckled. "That's because the audience of Tristania isn't insecure enough to assume they need their favorite band painted all over themselves just to be 'cool'."
Shigeru frowned, and turned back to his computer. He sighed, and let the silence return.
"Hey Maya, what are you listening to?"
The girl at the other end looked up, taking off one of her ear pieces. "What?"
Shigeru repeated himself. "What are you listening to?"
"Genesis."
"Oh."
"Yeah." She said enthusiastically. "Peter Gabriel rocks!"
Shigeru sighed.
TUESDAY; 10:08 AM
CONFERENCE ROOM
---
"Say, Shinji," Toji whispered to his friend while the conference was in session. There was enough background noise from the construction outside that they couldn't be heard by anyone else.
"Toji?"
"I've been meanin' to ask you if you were related to dat woman." He gestured to the brown haired woman at the end of the table. "You share da same last name."
Shinji stared at her. "I think her first name is Oui?"
"Oui? Dat's not right. In'it more like Youi?"
"Nah man," Kensuke leaned across the table. "It's Yui. Yui Ikari. She's our boss, sorta." He smirked. "She's got a Ph. D in ergonomics."
"I didn't know you could get a doctorate in that," Shinji said. "Wait, if she's got a Ph. D in ergonomics, shouldn't she be the supervisor of Human Resources?"
Kensuke shrugged. "I guess. Maybe upper management decided that she's better suited to supervising Engineering because we've got all the shitty equipment and complain the most about it."
Shinji was about to reply, until Toji tapped him on the arm. He turned toward the end of the table to witness the woman stand as if to make an important announcement.
"And these," Yui's voice rose above the construction to cut in at the appropriate time, "Are our new consultants." She said, motioning to a tall, elderly man in his mid sixties, and an average built bearded chap with orange tinted sunglasses. "We have decided to hire consultants to help increase our productivity." She paused, thinking. "Think of them as… guardian angels of work ethic."
Toji blinked.
Kensuke furrowed his brow in confusion.
Shinji winced.
"Please welcome Kuzo Fuyutsuki, and Gendo Ikari, everyone."
---
"I smell layoffs," Kensuke said as they exited the meeting. "And it smells like the cologne that saturates that Ikari guy's pours."
Toji grunted. "Yeah, well let's not talk about Mr. Ikari or his pours. Who's up for lunch?"
Kaworu looked over at him. "I am," he said.
"Yeah… Me too. There's nothing really here for me to do anyhow." Shinji rubbed his neck.
Kensuke nodded. "I definitely am. That meeting sucked the energy right outta me."
Shinji walked past Rei's cubicle, noticing that she had just sat down. "Hey Rei, you up for lunch?"
"I brought my own today, Ikari." She said softly.
"Oh."
TUESDAY; 12:41 PM
MICHEAL'S PUB
---
"Man, that is really weird." Kensuke said, between a fry and a gulp of Dr. Pepper.
"What is?" Shinji looked up at him.
"Kaworu and I both love Dr. Pepper," he said. "But that's not what's really weird." Shinji shot him a confused look while Kaworu simply smiled. "What's really weird is that both you," he nodded to Shinji, "Our boss, and that weird consultant guy Gendo all share your last name."
Shinji shrugged. "Probably coincidence."
"Did you know," Toji started, interrupting everyone's thoughts, "Dat Dr. Pepper is created with prunes?"
Kensuke blinked and Kaworu just nodded. "Yes Toji, that may be one reason for the richness of the flavor."
"I dunno. I just know it tastes great." Kensuke said.
There was a brief moment of silence as they continued eating, no one really knowing what to say or how to kick off a conversation.
Shinji broke the silence. "Say, does anyone know what our company actually does?"
Kensuke put his fork down. "What?"
Shinji looked from his half-eaten fish up to stare at Kensuke. "What does Nerv Technologies actually do?" He asked again. "I honestly have no idea." He looked at Kaworu for an answer.
Kaworu frowned as he considered the question.
Toji reacted first. "I think we… no, wait. Never mind." He said. "I don't know."
"Well, let's see…" Kensuke thought for a moment.
"What do the programs we create do?" Shinji asked.
Kensuke shrugged. "It's all real easy bullshit work, really. VB database designs, for the most part." He sipped his Dr. Pepper. "At least, that's all the stuff they've ever given me. Toji here's done some other stuff."
Toji nodded. "Yeah, da other day I got a project which wanted me to sync bank accounts with checks 'n stuff." He said. "You know, automatic deposit an' transfers; da works."
"That's dumb," Shinji said. "They already have programs like that, directly interfaced with the banks themselves. Why'd they make you create another one?"
Toji shrugged. "I dunno, man. Dat's jus' da way it is." He sipped his drink. "But it probably has something to do with da BetaMax OS. I dunno for sure, but I'm willin' t' bet dat they had some software based off a' BetaMax programmin'." He said. "You can't run a Microsoft program on a BetaMax machine."
"Hmm," Shinji made a thoughtful noise. They were silent for a moment as they immersed themselves in their own thoughts. "So I suppose that it's safe to say that we're a database related programming company?"
Kaworu shook his head. "No, I wouldn't say that." He said. "In the years I've worked here, I have yet to even touch database programming."
"Then what do you do?"
"Well, most of the time they've got me designing and building a better operating system—something that can replace BetaMax when the license expires." Kaworu sighed. "But they keep giving me miscellaneous projects that interfere with my main work. It's rather frustrating."
Shinji perked up. "So you're saying that the company has been planning to replace BetaMax with your OS?"
Kaworu nodded.
"But they keep waylaying you with trivial work?" Kensuke stared intently at him.
Kaworu nodded again.
"Dis is bullshit!" Toji exclaimed. "Our boxes are frying left an' right, and dis company's only got one guy working on da problem?"
Kaworu shrugged. "So it seems."
There was another brief silence.
"So," Shinji started again, "does anyone know what Ayanami does, then?"
"I believe she works on debugging and anti-virus programs." Kaworu answered his question as he picked up his Dr. Pepper. "She's also been helping me with the defragmentation and scan disk programs for the operating system, but she's always waylaid by miscellaneous projects as well."
"Huh." Shinji frowned again. "So it's pretty safe to say that we really have no idea what it is Nerv Technologies, Inc. does." He looked around the table to see the affirmative nods. "Then what the hell do we work here for?"
Toji shrugged. "Beats starvin'."
Kensuke was thinking. "Well, that's not entirely true." He said.
"What? Workin' here isn't better than starvin'?" Toji stared at him. "How'd you figure?"
Kensuke shook his head. "No, no. I meant the company's purpose 'n all. I'd agree that it beats starving." He paused, staring down at his almost-empty Dr. Pepper. "Well," he started, "We could be the head of a bunch of smaller companies that actually do things."
"What; like a conglomerate of programming businesses under one roof?" Shinji squinted in confusion. "But then we'd all have different names—not just 'Nerv Technologies, Inc.'. And besides, if we were all just a bunch of consolidated programming companies, why do we have marketing, sales, tech, and engineering departments? If what you suggested is true, we should all just be engineers or tech guys."
Kensuke made a thoughtful noise. "Hmm," he said. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."
"Maybe we do freelance programming work." Kaworu spoke up.
"What?"
"You know," he continued, "We get hired to program whatever someone wants programmed." He stared at his Dr. Pepper as he continued his thought. "I have heard freelancing being done by individual programmers—whether they are fully self employed, or even done on the side as an extra source of income—but I've never seen it done by a complete company."
Kensuke nodded. "I suppose it could work, in theory." He said. "We'd just be able to tackle more jobs, and jobs that are bigger than an individual freelancer could try." He shrugged. "It makes sense, I suppose."
"Wait," Kensuke suddenly said. "Wasn't Nerv Tech originally known as Gehirn Tech?"
"I think that's right," Kaworu agreed. "I believe Gehirn was a researching company."
"What did they research?"
Kaworu shrugged. "I do not know. It would make sense if it was a freelance researching business just as we are a freelance programming company."
Kensuke sipped his Dr. Pepper. "Yeah, I suppose that would make sense."
There were another few remarks of general agreement before they decided to pay their check and return to the office.
---
"Hey, Shin-man, where're you off to?"
Shinji turned back to his coworkers as they headed back to the office. The business park was small enough for inter-building foot traffic, but most people rarely ventured outside anyhow.
"I need to get something real quick," he said. "I'll be back in… I dunno, fifteen minutes."
Toji shrugged. "A'ight. Whatever, man."
TUESDAY; 1:38 PM
THE OFFICE
---
"Have you found your stapler yet, Rei?" Shinji stopped outside her cubicle with a bag in his hands.
She turned to him. "No." Her crimson eyes flashed from the fluorescent overhead glare.
"Well, we just went out to Michael's for lunch, and there's an office supply store nearby, so…" he pulled a stapler out of the plastic bag. "Here, you probably need it more than I do."
She took it from his grasp, hefting the weight in her hands. It was heavy enough to act as a paperweight, but light enough to easily manage. She experimented with it by stapling a stack of documents; producing a clean-cut punch and an easy discharge. It was, for lack of a better word, the perfect stapler.
"Thank you," she all but whispered, her gaze entranced by the sleek design of the stapling machine.
Shinji walked away, oblivious to the light pink tinge that graced Rei's luminescent cheeks.
---
"So what are you guys up to?" Shinji strolled into the shared cubicle of Toji and Kensuke.
"Oh, hey Shin-man." Toji was leaned back in his chair, feet propped up on the desk with a pad of paper in his hands.
"Yo Shinji." Kensuke was in similar fashion. "What's goin' on?"
"I'm sorry guys, but I had my schedule mixed up." Their project manager peeked her head around the corner of the cubicle.
Shinji raised his eyebrows and looked at Kensuke. "What's that?"
"Oh, hi Shinji. I didn't know you shared a cubicle with these guys." She looked around. "Where's your desk?"
He shook his head. "That really isn't important." He said. "What's going on?"
Horaki blinked, returning to her previous train of thought. "The meeting," she said. "I thought this morning's meeting was for Project E, but… It wasn't—as you could probably see."
"Yeah, we were wonderin' 'bout dat." He interjected.
She frowned. "The meeting for Project E is scheduled for tomorrow at ten o'clock. This morning's meeting was regarding the consultants—which, by the way, will be interviewing each of you in turn."
As she left, Kensuke wrinkled his nose. "I told you layoffs were imminent."
Shinji shrugged. "Eh," he said, halfheartedly. "If we're laid off, I'm sure we can all get new jobs across the street."
---
"Hey Shigeru," Makoto looked over at the disgruntled coworker.
"What?"
"Have you seen my stapler?"
"No."
"Huh." He made a noise of confounded annoyance.
Maya hummed the lyrics for a Phil Collins song in the background.
---
"Ah, there you are!" Manager Horaki's head appeared above his cubicle wall.
"Hello," Shinji replied.
She walked around to his doorway. "Ms. Ikari doesn't know what happened to the staplers, but she's formed a committee to look into it. They should have a written report on her desk by Friday." She looked at him as he stared blankly at the pad of paper in front of him. "Is there anything you needed?"
"A computer with a working operating system would be great," he said.
She brightened. "Well you should be pleased to know that a group has been formed to create a working OS without relying on one of the big-names like Microsoft or Apple."
Shinji's forehead creased as he considered this. "But what about compatibility issues?"
Hikari frowned. "I don't know about that, I just know a group has been formed to handle it."
"Are Kaworu and Ayanami on it?" He asked. "They've been working on that project for a few years, if I understand correctly."
She shrugged. "I don't know."
Shinji blinked, and retuned his gaze to the blank pad. "Oh."
TUESDAY; 6:37 PM
THE OFFICE
---
"Asuka listen to me, goddamnit!" Shinji hissed into the phone, praying that he didn't disturb anyone who was still in the office.
"You listen, you selfish bastard!" The cry came from over the phone, piercing his eardrums as he held the receiver away from his auditory receptacle. "We're through! Over! Done! You hear me?" He rolled his eyes. "We're done! I don't ever want to see you again!"
The sound of a loud 'click' signaled the end of the phone call. He sat there, phone in hand, staring at his blank computer screen. He slowly let his hand drift the phone back to its cradle, trying to make sense of what had just happened.
"Tears falling from the sky, words from a lullaby…Everything beautiful dies."
A rather melancholy song drifted from overtop the wall, bringing Shinji back to the realm of his cubicle. A smile tugged at his lips.
"Rei," he stood up suddenly, putting his hands on the top of the wall and looking down at his demure neighbor.
She looked up at him. "Yes?"
"Are you—" He was cut off as the dynamic duo approached his cubicle.
"Shin-man, what happened?" Toji leaned on the wall.
Kensuke joined him, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Yeah man, what's going on? Didn't you have a date with Asuka right about now?"
Shinji smiled mischievously. "Nah. We broke up."
Kaworu's head appeared above the wall across from him. "You should have heard the conversation." He said. "I can see now why she was such a pain."
"Yes!" Kensuke high-fived his friend. General sounds of approval were voiced by the remaining members of the party.
"We need to celebrate," Toji exclaimed.
Kensuke was the first to approve. "Yes! A celebration is in order!"
"Shinji, my man—to the pub!" Toji slung an arm around Shinji's shoulders, drawing him out of his confined, carpeted prison.
"To the pub!" Kensuke grabbed his wrist and threw him towards the Gates of Hell.
Shinji managed to stop himself. "Wait!" he looked back. "Anyone else want to come?"
"Nah man, we're the last guys here!" Kensuke said. "Everyone else left at five."
Shinji squinted. "But it's only five thirty or so now."
Kaworu chuckled. "You seem to have lost track of time, my friend." He nodded to the clock above the Gates of Hell. "You were on the phone for the better part of an hour."
Rei suddenly stood from her seat and grabbed her bag, apparently leaving the office.
"Rei—" She stopped abruptly at the sound of Shinji's voice. "You want to come have a few drinks with us? We're going down to Michael's to celebrate a victory."
She blinked as she regarded him.
"Alright."