Happy Halloween everybody. I'll tell all of my American and European readers right now that this isn't going to be the most halloweenyish thing you've ever read. I was trying to keep it in line with more of a Japanese Halloween. (Or, at least, my understanding of what a Japanese Halloween is.) Hopefully this will still suffice and be a little treat for you all on this day of tricks and treats.
I just realized that this is the second chapter I've posted on a holiday. Don't expect a Christmas chapter this year though. I'm going to have a significant Christmas story arc late in the story considering End of Evangelion takes place at the end of the year and the last scene is widely believed to take place on the first day (or at least the beginning) of the new year.
Also, as a note, this chapter is going to serve as an insert of sorts. I'm going to continue posting my updates at the end of chapter 7 as opposed to the end of this one.
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Now, review responses.
Seeking Professional Help: I'm very happy you are enjoying my story and find it entertaining. I'm also very happy that you like ass because there's going to be more ass in this chapter.
Satanic Park Of Madness: I honestly can't say for sure if Mari is going to show up at this point. It depends on a lot of things really. Anno is done directing the new Godzilla movie and last I heard, 4.0 is in production, so hopefully, it comes out sooner rather than later. The reason I bring that up is because I want to know how Mari works before I start writing her. I want to know how her mind works. I want to know what makes Mari act the way she does. That's very tricky to do with what we currently know about her. One of my goals with this story is to make sure the characters stay in character for the most part. Occasionally, I'll let them loose a little for fan-service or comedy purposes. But, overall, I want them to remain the same characters. Because of that, Mari would be hard for me to ensure I write correctly with how much I know about her, and it would be hard for me to introduce any scenarios that would drastically affect her as a dynamic character. However, as I mentioned in one of my other pre-chapter author notes, I do have a spin-off story to this one somewhat planned out and I would almost certainly have Mari in that one for sure. But, whether she shows up in this story is going to depend on how quickly 4.0 is released and how much it reveals about Mari. If I can learn enough about her quick enough, I'll try to make sure she's in this story.
I also haven't decided exactly how much I'm going to show of the convenience store lady. She is going to show up again, but by the time she does, people may or may not remember she even existed. They may have to reread a little to remember who she is. Anyways, I have her set to show up at least two more times. There's going to be another cooking chapter somewhere down the road where Shinji and Asuka have a barbecue on the lake Ashi shoreline. She'll show up in that chapter. And, then, theres also going to be a point where she shows up as a sort of motivating force for Asuka, though, in what context might be a little spoilery at this point.
And...yeah...I also totally have a chapter planned where Asuka is going to go crazy with a red Ducati on the streets of Tokyo-03. The idea is a favorite of mine honestly. But, I'll talk about that more once we get around to that chapter.
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Onwards to the chapter now!
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Text Guide
Standard Wording
"Spoken Dialogue/Speech"
'Internal Dialogue/Thoughts'
(Flashbacks)
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[Slash denotes scene transition for the moment; this may be changed in the future so as to become more visible.]
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Disclaimer: I do not own or profit off of Neon Genesis Evangelion, End Of Evangelion, or the Rebuilds of Evangelion. I do not own Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Sohryu, or any of the other characters/ideas from the Evangelion intellectual property collective. All licenses remain with the proper license holders. If asked to, I will formally remove this story from the hosting website.
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*Cruel Angel's Thesis and Eva intro starts playing*
Neon Genesis Evangelion
A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love
An Evangelion Holiday Special
All Hallows' Eve
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"Surprise!"
Asuka had crept up on Shinji while he was cooking and dug her fingers into his ribs as she shouted, making her presence known.
The little chef jumped in alarm and almost spilled the stir fry he was making with his sudden movement.
"W-what was that for!?"
He pulled the food off the stove and turned around to face the redhead.
She was dressed rather oddly. She wore a very short black strapless dress that had a purposefully tattered hem and had a neon orange ribbon tied around her neck. Long black satin gloves ran up almost the entirety of her arm and she wore tight black leather thigh-boots. Under the boots where black stockings with very thin orange stripes running vertically down them. A black see through veil was strapped around her cheekbones, starting at the bridge of her nose and running just past her jawline. But perhaps the weirdest part of the girl's attire was the absurdly large black pointed hat she wore.
"Maybe it was, I dunno, a surprise! That's kind of why I said surprise! Did you think of that, idiot Shinji?"
"What…what are you wearing?" Shinji asked as he inadvertently leaned away from the girl.
"A costume, you idiot! What does it look like I'm wearing?!"
"Like, I don't know! Something from some alien planet!"
"Alien?! What are you?! Stupid?! I'm a witch!"
"That doesn't look like any witch I've ever seen…"
Asuka put her veiled face in her hands and spoke, her short temper starting to take hold.
"It's a western witch. Alright? It obviously isn't something you'd be familiar with."
"Okay…" Shinji said, not able to retreat from the girl any further with the stove at his back, "And why are you dressed up like that?"
Asuka's face was wiped of expression, clean as slate.
"You…you don't know…It's Halloween…"
A thoughtful look appeared on Shinji's face.
"Oh…oh, yeah! I almost forgot. I never really celebrated it. So, I kinda wasn't thinking about that."
"You probably don't think about much, do you?" Asuka growled but then her expression grew a little softer, "Anyways, where's your costume?"
Shinji wouldn't dare say it out loud, but in his mind, he wondered if Asuka was thinking either.
'She accuses me of not thinking? I just told her I never celebrate holidays and she just asked me where my outfit is.'
"I, uh, I don't have…one…"
"What? What do you mean you don't have one?!"
"I don't…have one?"
Asuka sighed and turned around to sit at the kitchen table.
"You're totally hopeless. Just a clueless boy."
Shinji went back to cooking the stir fry and Asuka waited patiently for her lunch.
"Hey, Where's Misato? Is she still asleep? She's usually up by now," Asuka asked out of boredom.
"I'm right here!" Misato chirped, "I just got finished dressing."
Both Asuka and Shinji abruptly turned to face the woman who had just stepped into the kitchen. She looked even more ridiculous than Asuka.
"See, Shinji! Even Misato is dressed up for Halloween! What's wrong with you?"
Shinji shrugged before looking back at the extravagantly dressed woman.
She wore a short, velvety, bright, purple, tunic dress with large gold stripes running down it. She had long gloves, similar to Asuka's only hers were in a purple and gold checkerboard pattern that matched her dress. Misato also wore a set of thigh-boots similar to Asuka's, but once again, they were vibrant purple with gold lines spiraling up them to coincide with the rest of her clothing. On her face was a pearly white carnival mask with gilded gold lining around the edges of the mask. On the upper right side of the mask was a yellow rose, anchored in place just above and beside Misato's right eye.
"So," Misato smiled, "What do you think?"
Asuka stood up and approached the woman, examining every inch and detail of her absurdly purple outfit with unmistakable and undivided attention.
"What are you supposed to be?"
"A hellequin," Misato said with a smug smile.
"Hmm…It's not as whorish as I would have expected, but it's tendency to draw attention more than makes up for what it sacrifices in sluttery."
"Sluttery? Is that even word?" Misato asked with an inquisitive expression.
Asuka closed her eyes and shrugged, "Hell if I know," and then went back to studying the outfit.
Misato posed as Asuka circled around her.
"Ah-ha! There!" Asuka said as she pointed at Misato's ass.
"What about that? Is my butt too plump for you, Asuka?"
"N-NO! I-I MEAN YES! OR...GAH!" Asuka blushed some, "THAT'S NOT WHAT I WAS GETTING AT! But, right there; it's your true colors shining through! And I don't mean the purple by that! I mean, if you bend over just a little more-"
"You mean like this?" Misato asked in a teasingly innocent way.
Misato leaned over just to spite the redheaded girl with the view she was about to give her.
Asuka averted her eyes as hastily as she could and put her hands in front of her face as she saw the hem of Misato's dress start rising
"-GAH! NO! DON'T DO THAT! SEE? SEE? THIS! THIS IS WHAT I MEAN! EVERYONE CAN SEE YOUR ASS! GOTT, I HOPE YOU'RE WEARING SOME PANTIES THIS TIME, YOU PEVERTED WOMAN! It may not be as sexified as some of what you wear, but it's still sultry and disgusting!"
Shinji decided that now would be a good time to go back to cooking.
"Oh, come now, Asuka. If you bent over, your little dress would show off more than mine."
"THAT'S WHY I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO IT!"
Misato was starting to get just the tiniest bit annoyed with the girl. So she did what any good woman would do in a situation like this.
She nudged her butt into Asuka hips.
Apparently, the redhead didn't take this well. She fumed and raised her hand high above her head before slapping Misato across her ass hard enough that it made Shinji jump in surprise. With how vicious the slap sounded, it would probably leave a really dark red bruise.
"Ooh, I didn't know you were into spanking! Someone's kinky!" Misato cooed teasingly.
"IT WASN'T KINKY! …It was self-defense!"
Misato stood back up and straightened out her dress.
"Well, I'm probably gonna go see if I can find a bar or something around here, so I guess I'll see you kids later."
"Wait! Misato! Who's gonna take me trick-or-treating or if you're drunk?" Asuka asked in a slightly begging voice.
"Oh, Trick-or-treating? We don't do that here. I mean, the Yakuza used to hand out candy to kids before Second Impact, but…not so much anymore. Halloween is mostly just a dress up day here in Japan."
Asuka had a look of highly exaggerated horror on her face.
"You don't…trick-or-treat?" the girl sounded heartbroken for a moment but then huffed and folded her arms over her chest, "Hmph, you Japanese people are so weird! You sleep on the floor, you eat nothing but rice, and you don't give out candy on Halloween! How do you people stand to live like this!"
"It's just the way it is here, Asuka."
Misato made for the exit and Asuka sat back down at the kitchen table.
"Hey, Third Child, how much longer 'til lunch is done?"
"I just finished," Shinji said as he brought the stir fry over the table.
"Good, because I have an idea!"
Shinji looked at Asuka and after his synchronization training with her; he knew what she was thinking.
'Oh, no. She has that look again. She's going to force me to wear clothes I don't like. I just know it,' Shinji thought as dread set in.
He set a serving of the hot food down in front of the girl and then sat down in the seat across from her with his own bowl of food.
"So, I was thinking-" Asuka started casually.
'Oh, great! Here it comes,' Shinji thought depressingly.
"-we could get you a cape and a set of plastic fangs and then you could be a vampire."
Shinji paused, holding a slice of the stir fried pork suspended in front of his mouth, and very cautiously asked the girl, "Do I get any say in this?"
"Absolutely not!" Asuka said with a content smirk on her face.
Shinji dropped the beef slice back into the bowl and looked down at the table in defeat.
'She must be obeyed.'
"None at all? I wasn't going to decline. I just…wanted…to make a suggestion," Shinji said as he improvised his thoughts while he spoke. He really didn't want to play this game of dress up, but he knew that if Asuka wasn't going to give him a choice, then he really didn't have much of an option. So, he might as well try to make the best of the situation.
"Well, in that case, what did you have in mind?"
"Um…could we bring Rei along and get her an outfit too?"
"Freakazoid? I mean…I guess. It might give me an excuse to…get to know her a little better. She really doesn't seem that interesting though. She doesn't talk at all in school and she kinda makes me feel queasy. Why do you want her to tag along?"
"Well, she's my friend and maybe she'd have some fun with us. We are all fellow pilots after all. It couldn't possibly hurt for us to all bond together. Misato did have a reason putting you and me together when we had to defeat the seventh angel. Maybe we'd even become better pilots if we bonded more."
Asuka had a thoughtful look on her face as she chewed her beef and noodles. Her blue eyes darted around the kitchen, glancing at random things before she swallowed and answered.
"Better pilots, you say? Hmm…fine, she can come. But, I don't like her. You should see if you can get her to act more…normal."
Shinji nodded, but deep down, he knew that Asuka's definition of normal was probably not very average. And even if it were, Rei was not a normal girl in the first place. She would never be normal.
/
-A Trinity of Troublemakers-
/
"This is one ugly part of the city," Asuka said as she stepped off the train and into the dusty air of the western edge of Tokyo-3, "Who the hell would want to live here? Only a Freakazoid, I swear!"
Shinji sighed. He was getting a little annoyed at Asuka constantly calling Rei a freakazoid. Sure, it might've been a little true, but he still felt it could go without being said.
Overhead, dark gray storm clouds were forming and a strong breeze blew across the train station, kicking up dust from the demolished buildings as the two pilots made their way to the street. The scenery only served to hinder their eyesight with the sun behind the clouds and the grimy air being made thicker with gusts of wind carrying dust particles from the heaps of rubble. Even with Asuka wearing her veil, the air was so chock full of chalk the children found it a challenge not to choke.
The kids meandered down the street, Asuka kicking little pebbles and chunks of debris whenever her foot had the chance to. The wind kicked up and she raised her gloved hand to keep her fiery hair out of her eyes.
It was such a desolate part of the city. On the way to the train stop, everyone was wearing bright colorful costumes. But here? The haunted and demolished western edge of Tokyo-3 seemed like a ghost town. Quite suitable for the time of the year.
"Hey, Asuka?"
"What?"
"Misato said that, before second impact, the leaves on the trees would fall off and turn really colorful during this time of the year."
"Yeah? And what about it."
"It's just really strange to imagine. That's all," Shinji said as he looked at the dusty street, "I can't imagine what a tree would look like without leaves."
"You've never seen any pictures of the world from before second impact?" Asuka asked as she glanced at the boy and raised her eyebrow with a surprised expression.
Shinji shook his head and looked a little more content than he should have with his inexperience.
Asuka faced back forward, looking down the dark and dirty street, "Man, you must live under a rock. Yeah, if second impact hadn't happened, the leaves on the trees would be turning yellow and orange and red right now. Eventually, they'd fall off and the tree would be bare. Do they really not teach this stuff in school?"
"I guess they don't really have a reason to since it doesn't happen anymore…"
Asuka looked at the boy again.
"You know, maybe you should do you own research sometime. It'd certainly help you not be such an idiot, you know," Asuka finished and left it at that.
The two kids continued down the empty street. Shinji could see Rei's rundown apartment approaching on the hazy gray horizon.
"So, I guess that's her place considering it seems to be about the only standing building left in the entire district," Asuka assumed, lazily grumbling.
"Yeah, it's her apartment," Shinji said without looking up from the street.
The redhead and the timid boy arrived on the apartment grounds. Asuka glanced around, inspecting the decrepit building. Glass shards from broken windows lay scattered along the edge of the towering edifice. The walls were coated in a thick layer of pale bone-colored grime, dulling the color of the building significantly.
"Jesus Christ, this looks like some place straight out of a zombie apocalypse movie. Anyways, which one is hers?" Asuka asked with mild disappointment in her voice.
"Um, four oh two-"
Asuka looked for the nearest flight of stairs and started merrily skipping her way to them, the spirit of Halloween present in her every step.
"Hey, Asuka, wait!"
She abruptly spun around and faced him.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Well, you see…"
She looked at the boy curiously.
Shinji was going to have a hard time explaining this, but he knew that he should probably warn Asuka of Rei's…affinity for showers. But, how should he go about telling her?
"Hey, would you spit it out? We still need to get you and her costumes! We don't have time to waste!"
"Well, um, she likes showers…"
"Doesn't everyone?"
"Well…Rei...sometimes she's…she doesn't always have a lot of clothing on…"
"Wait! Are you saying you've seen her naked?"
"Well…"
"OH MEIN GOTT! THAT'S SO DISGUSTING! YOU'RE WORSE THAN MISATO!"
"Hey, I didn't say I saw anything!"
"THEN HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW, YOU PERV?!"
"It's not like I tried to!"
"You're so despicable. I can't believe Misato let you spend an entire week with me unsupervised!"
Shinji blushed some and sighed, hoping the girl would drop the topic sooner rather than later.
Shinji made his way up the stairs and Asuka followed behind him with an unsure look on her face.
The building and the walls of the stairwell blocked some of the dust from blowing into the children's faces. But, it was only a small degree of protection and the kids for once could smell something other than LCL in their nostrils.
Shinji arrived at the entrance to Rei's room and jiggled the door handle before twisting it.
"Hey! What are you doing you pervert? You can't just enter a girl's room unannounced! That's rude and lecherous!"
Shinji groaned. Asuka was right, but Rei was very bad at announcing her presence and knocking on the door would probably warrant no response from the girl.
"You could go in first just to make sure it's okay for me to enter," Shinji suggested innocently.
"Hmph, sounds like a much more preferable idea than you barging in!"
Asuka assertively pushed the boy aside and grasped the door handle before swinging the door wide open and marching into Rei's small room.
"Hey! Freakazoid Pilot Ayanami! You here!?" Asuka said as she trodded further into the abode.
Shinji looked down at the apartment courtyard below and braced himself for Asuka's shrill screaming which would probably be sounding throughout the apartment complex any moment now.
"EEEEEYYAAHHHHH!"
And there it was.
Asuka jumped out of the door as she accusingly pointed a finger at the confused looking blue haired girl still inside.
"WHAT ARE YOU? SOME KIND OF EXHIBITIONIST?"
"I do not believe so," came the quiet voice of Ayanami, "I did not possess knowledge of your arrival, Pilot Sohryu. I was simply cleansing myself."
"YOU…YOU! YOU'RE INDECENT! DISGUSTING! THIS IS WHY JAPANESE PEOPLE NEED LOCKS!"
Shinji put his face in his hand, Asuka's yelling really starting to get annoying once again. He walked up to the edge of the door and called out, "Rei, when you're dressed, can you come out here and tell us?" He then leaned inside to close the door to Ayanami's apartment, careful to keep his eyes averted and shut.
"Oh my god, what is with her?" Asuka asked in a harsh whisper.
"I tried to tell you she likes…bathing and that clothing doesn't seem to be the first thing on her mind after getting out," Shinji said much more nonchalantly than Asuka.
"She really is a freakazoid! Why would she do that? She doesn't even need a costume! She could just be a fucking slut for Halloween! Why did you have to bring her along, Shinji? Why? She's so weird!"
"She's not so bad once you get to know her. She's actually kind of funny."
"Oh, I bet! I bet everyone makes fun of her for being a total weirdo."
Asuka tried to sound angry and disgusted, but deep inside of her, she felt something nagging at her.
'He's already seen a nude girl besides me? How? He seems like such a loser. I've never even seen a real dick before and Shinji's already seen me by accident and apparently, this blue haired freak as well. This is wrong. This is so fucked up! I'm the one who should have more experience in this! I should have already had sex with Kaji by now but, instead…'
She turned to look at the boy, who was patiently waiting for Rei to finish dressing as he leaned over the railing overlooking the apartment courtyard.
The clouds had grown even darker in the few minutes they'd spent at the apartment and the wind had picked up as well, blowing the kids' hair around wildly.
The door to the apartment creaked open, and there stood Rei, fully clothed in her school uniform. The clothing made Asuka grimace in distaste.
"Rei!" Shinji exclaimed happily.
"Shinji…"
The boy trotted up to the blue headed girl and gave her a smile, to which she responded with one of her own, despite how slight it was. If Shinji hadn't been looking more intently, he wouldn't have noticed the grin.
"Hey, Rei, Asuka and I were going to dress up for Halloween and we were wondering if you'd want to come with us. It might be fun," the boy smiled at her again.
"Halloween?" Rei asked as she tilted her head some in question.
"Oh my god! Not another one! Am I really going to have to explain Halloween to her also?" Asuka complained as she threw her arms in the air, obviously frustrated.
"N-no," Shinji stuttered as her tried to calm the redhead, "Look, how about we just go inside and talk? It looks like it's about to rain out here."
The blue haired girl nodded obediently and led the way back into her apartment with Shinji following right behind her. Asuka took a few steps inside as well, but made sure to maintain some distance from the other two kids.
"Hey, Rei, do you still have any of that instant tea I got you a couple days ago?"
"Yes," she responded simply.
"Where is it?"
"It is in the same place you left it."
"Oh, well, I'll make some of that and I guess you and Asuka can get to know each other some," he said as he smiled at the little blue haired girl, before going into the barely functioning kitchen.
Rei nodded and then went to go sit on her bed while Asuka remained at the center of the small room, looking over the entire apartment as though it should be quarantined for biohazard and structural integrity reasons. The walls looked like they were about to fall to pieces, the floor creaked like Asuka was about to fall through it, and the entire room just seemed unclean. The cardboard box that Rei used as her trash bin was still littered with her bloodied bandages from weeks ago and the sheets of her bed where still stained crimson in places.
Asuka eyed the bandages with disgust, but it did give her an idea.
"Hey, I think I know what you can be for Halloween, Freakazoid."
Rei stared at Asuka, unblinking, unspeaking, and unmoving with the exception of her breathing.
"Well, aren't you curious at all?" Asuka asked in exasperation as she raised her arms in the air, exaggerating herself and trying to get some response out of the girl.
Rei only continued to watch the other girl.
"I guess making you a mummy for Halloween is a good choice," Asuka said as she flipped her hair back, "You don't speak unless spoken to and even then you don't say anything. I bet you'd make a good mummy. It's the same as what you're doing right now except that instead of saying nothing, you make groaning sounds and walk weirdly. I'm sure you'll be able to pull it off just fine."
A thunder strike sounded and still, Rei's pallid body made no effort to animate itself.
/
Gendo Ikari sat quietly at his large, dark, imposing desk. Like his son, he never celebrated Holidays. Not anymore. When he was still a child, that was a different story, but those years were long passed and the man he was today would give no indication that he ever knew of the word Halloween.
"Commander?"
"Fuyutsuki…"
"Captain Katsuragi came by again a few minutes ago. She still seems set on having a party tonight to accompany the occasion. I know that celebrations were never in your style but perhaps…it would do the staff some good…"
The Commander kept his hands laced together in front of his mouth, just like he always did.
"The Children especially," Fuyutsuki continued, "I know that they have a responsibility, but I think it would only serve to help them. I spoke with Doctor Akagi earlier. She seemed to agree that a celebration might improve their spirits and perhaps raise their sync rates a point or two."
Gendo shifted minutely in his throne and took a conscious breath.
"Fuyutsuki."
"Sir?"
"You know that I am not one to endorse such amusement. But you are an old friend of mine and Katsuragi is persistent in her request and has been a key to our success in recent times. If you think it best, I see no reason to prevent you from pursuing such frivolities so long as it doesn't pose any threat to security. Namely, the children should remain close to the Evas. Should an attack occur, I want them ready immediately."
A look of subdued astonishment plastered itself on the Subcommander's face. Did Ikari really just give him permission to host a Halloween party?
"Y-yes, Sir. I don't believe that should be a problem. They should all be down in the wreck room. We'd be able to launch the Eva's within minutes should the need arise."
Gendo remained quiet and Fuyutsuki bowed to the man before making for the door. There was a lot to be done. But, before he left the room, he turned and faced his superior.
"Thank you, Ikari," he said and bowed.
Gendo remained as imposing and still as always, a menacing glare reflecting off his glasses.
Fuyutsuki retreated from the room and reached for his phone after the door shut.
"Katsuragi?"
"Yes, Sir?" Misato's voice chimed through the static.
"The Commander just gave the okay. If you're going to do this, get the kids here."
"R-really? Thank you, Sir! Thank you!"
/
"Just stick this in your mouth, Idiot Shinji!"
"Gawh, grrawh," Shinji choked as Asuka tried to stuff a set of plastic fangs in his mouth.
"Come on! I swear! You're such a baby! It's not that bad!"
Rei had been watching the two struggling kids from the couch in the living room of the Katsuragi residence ever since they'd gotten back from the costume store. Shinji was trying to shake his head in futility as Asuka maneuvered her fingers in his mouth. She finally shoved the plastic mold onto the boy's teeth and released him.
"There! See? I told you it's not so bad."
Shinji swore that he could taste blood in his mouth, probably from his bleeding gums.
"It's too tight," he groaned.
"Oh, shut up! It's not like you're fucking someone. Anyways," Asuka said as she examined the boy, "now you're the perfect Dracula!"
Asuka looked over her work. She thought she'd dressed the boy up rather well given his struggling. She'd finally gotten his fangs in after she'd managed to get him to wear the long red cape along with the rest of his outfit. She couldn't understand why the boy was so averse to dressing up some, especially on a day like today.
The door of the Misato's apartment opened and in stepped the overly purple dressed woman in her hellequin outfit.
"I'm back!" She sung out to the apartment.
"Hey!" Asuka said as she pointed an accusing finger at the woman as she walked into the kitchen, "Didn't you say you were going to go get drunk or something? What are you doing here!?"
"There were no bars open, sadly. I guess everyone was out celebrating. Why does that bother you? Were you planning on doing something naughty?"
"W-WHAT?! NO! I was just getting these two dorks dressed up. It's a pain in the ass. I know that this idiot is supposed to be a vampire," Asuka said as she glared at Shinji, "But he didn't need to bite me so many times when I was trying to get the stupid fangs in his dumb face!"
Misato giggled some. She was happy these kids were hers, even if they were a handful sometimes.
"I-I didn't try to!" Shinji said in his defense.
Asuka's glare turned a little harsher and the boy silenced himself. She then looked at Rei, who was patiently and silently sitting on the couch.
"Now I need to find some way to get this mummy outfit on her. I really don't know how I should do it. Should I just wrap the bandages around her clothing or should I just strip her down? I really would rather not considering she's already shown herself off once already today. But she's even less animated than that turnip," Asuka said as she gestured to Shinji, "She probably doesn't even know how to dress herself."
"Oh, so you were doing something naughty while I was gone. I didn't know you liked girls, Asuka."
"I-I DON'T! SHE WAS BEING A STUPID EXHIBITIONIST. I didn't choose to see her nude!" she shouted as her face turned almost as red as her hair.
Misato giggled once again.
"Rei?" she chirped.
"Yes, Ma'am?"
"Would you come with me into my room?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Misato picked up the packaged mummy outfit and stepped into her room. She winked at the other two pilots as Ayanami followed the purple woman into her bedroom.
"Oh my god!" Asuka whispered in disgust and shock, "What is she doing? Is she really stripping her? That's so gross!"
Shinji chose not to say anything while Asuka stared at the door with a cringe on her face.
"She's probably feeling her up right now; the indecent woman!" Asuka huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Blood flushed into Shinji's face. Asuka was probably right. If anything, Misato had become more flirtatious since Asuka's arrival, as though she wasn't already a tease before then. She had indeed touched Rei in some odd ways before, not to mention what she'd already done with the timid boy, and she very well might be doing something inappropriate right now.
Shinji moved to the couch and sat down while Asuka stood astutely outside Misato's room. Today was turning out to be a very odd day for the pilots. What was normal anymore though? Every day was strange now. The Evas, the Angels, the huge underground cavern beneath the city.
The pilot themselves were all weird in one way or another also. Asuka seemingly got angry over the smallest things. Rei, despite the fact that she was one of Shinji's only friends, was still capable of freaking him out every now and then, though he'd definitely grown a little more use to it by now. Maybe he'd get used to Asuka also. She was slowly becoming more normal to him, in whatever strange sense of the word could be applied to an Eva pilot.
And then, there was Shinji himself. He was quite possibly the least odd of the pilots. He didn't interact with as many people as Asuka did, but he still found her strange despite that fact. He figured that he probably was the most normal of them all. But, even he was kidding himself. He was still alien to lots of things in his own way. He was a coward most times. Despite his popularity at school as an Eva pilot, he was primarily antisocial, though he had a few friends. That would be enough for most people to call him a freak.
He was well known, but everyone still managed to forget about him. He was constantly overshadowed by Asuka. Not that he minded it. He didn't want the attention. But it was still strange. Everyone knew who he was, but no one socialized with him. It was like some unapproachable air was constantly hanging around him and he wasn't sure what the source of it was.
And now he was here, living through another normal strange day with his fellow pilots where everyone was forced to dress up in some strange outfit. Not that much different from changing into a plugsuit now that he thought about it. Maybe today wouldn't be so bad for all of the weirdness that it was.
"Ta da!" Misato exclaimed as she slid the door to her room wide open to present a mummified Rei.
Her body was almost completely concealed in the off white wrapping that was spun tightly around her small body. Save for her left eye, her blue head, some of her lower breasts, and a bit of her midriff, nothing was exposed. Even her mouth was concealed behind the wrapping. Shinji could only just make out her lips.
"OH MY GOD! YOU REALLY DID UNDRESS HER, YOU PERVERTED WOMAN! LOOK AT HOW TIGHTLY THAT'S WRAPPED AROUND HER LEGS AND HER CHEST! THERE'S NO WAY THERE'S ANY CLOTHING UNDER THAT!"
"Well what did you expect? The wrapping wouldn't have worked with her skirt anyways," Misato smiled innocently.
"DIDN'T YOU AT LEAST LEAVE HER PANTIES ON? IT CERTAINLY DOESN'T LOOK LIKE IT!" Asuka cried as she inadvertently looked at the outline of the lips between Rei's legs.
"Of course not. She doesn't need a bra or panties in this get-up," Misato shrugged.
Asuka growled at the purple hair woman. She wanted to say something, but she didn't even know what she could say to her. It was almost impossible to shame or embarrass the woman as far as she knew. She eventually let it go and gave her attention to Rei.
"Okay, Freakazoid."
Rei simply stared silently with her one exposed eye.
"You think you'd be up for a little acting?" Asuka asked, trying to calm herself.
Rei still said nothing.
"Oh, come on!"
The mummy wrapped girl stared at the witch and still chose to say nothing.
"Okay, look, it's simple, just raise your arms like this and curl your fingers!" Asuka said as she positioned her arms in front of her as an example.
Rei mimicked the other girl and raised her arms as well.
"Yeah! Now we're getting somewhere! Okay, now walk over there," Asuka demanded as she pointed at the dining table.
Rei did as she was ordered and took a few steps towards the kitchen.
"No, no, no! I can't believe I have to explain how to walk like a mummy to someone. Make your legs straight when you walk!"
Rei straightened her legs and continued walking. After reaching the kitchen, she turned around and awaited approval from Asuka who was currently covering her face with her hands.
"Why is everyone here so hopeless?" she whined.
Her hands slipped off her face and to her sides as a blank expression overtook her face.
"Okay, look, Freakazoid. You have to walk like this. You see? Like this," Asuka said as she stiffened her legs, held her arms out, bent her back oddly, and began shambling her way towards Rei.
Rei observed Asuka intently. She thought it was absurd, but didn't question her orders. Rei mimicked Asuka to the best of her ability and began walking back to Misato's side.
"Yeah! There you go you little weirdo! Now moan when you walk."
"Mmmmmm," Rei said in a very unenthused way.
"What was that supposed to be?! Make it more menacing and cringeworthy! Something that'll send shivers down my spine!"
"Mmmmmmm."
Asuka once again let her face fall into her hands.
"Oh my god, you people. What is wrong with you? Yeah, that was cringeworthy, but not in the way it should have been!"
She sighed and looked at the little blue haired mummy who was awaiting her next set of orders.
"Okay, okay. Just try growling instead. Do I need to give you an example?"
Rei remained silent and Misato and Shinji giggled a little at Asuka's efforts to teach the girl what it meant to be a mummy.
"Grrrrrgh! Grrrrrah! Uuurrrgh! Like that, okay?!"
"Uurrrrrrrrrh," Rei moaned.
"Uuuuuuugh, better than nothing, I suppose. I guess that'll just have to do."
Asuka sat down at the kitchen table. All this instructing and yelling had really worked up her appetite
"Urgh, Misato, I know you said that you don't trick-or-treat here, but is there anywhere I might be able to find some candy?" Asuka asked exhaustedly.
The purple haired woman shrugged.
"You could try pestering Ritsuko. She always seems to have some dark chocolate stuffed somewhere in her lab coat. And some of the others down at NERV might have some snacks to spare. Either way, NERV is probably your best bet. At least there, you won't seem like a freak for wandering around and asking for food."
Asuka groaned in disappointment
"I guess…if there's really nothing better to do…then let's just go to HQ and make ourselves look like we're needy children instead of trick-or-treaters. So embarrassing."
Asuka got up from her seat and sulked her way over to the door followed by Shinji, Misato, and Rei who awkwardly mummy walked along with them.
/
-A Matter of Spirit-
/
"This sucks!"
Asuka examined one of the two small pieces of chocolate Doctor Akagi had relinquished to the group of mischievous kids. She held out her whole piece that she had refused to split with the rest of her company. The foil wrapping glistened under the bright white lights of the NERV wreck room. She glanced at the rest of her group, who were happily chatting on the couch across from the armchair Asuka had chosen to occupy, save for Rei, who remained quiet and attentive. Asuka just didn't understand how they were content to divide the other piece evenly among the three of them.
"This isn't Halloween! This isn't enough candy for me!" Asuka complained again as she looked back at the piece of chocolate in her palm.
The kids and Misato had already been around NERV thrice asking various workers for candy. And, in the end, Ritsuko was the only one who had any delectables on her. Asuka was disappointed to say the least. She'd at least expected to scrounge up a granola bar or some stale crackers.
Asuka stood up and glared at the rest of her quirky clique. She placed one hand on her hip and lifted her foot to rest on the coffee table between her and the couch her compatriots resided on.
"This is pathetic!"
Asuka then pointed at Misato now that she had everyone's attention.
"Misato! I want alcohol as a form of compensation for this disgrace! This is the worst Halloween ever!"
"Oh, come on Asuka. It's not that bad! We're still kind of in the spirit," Misato said with a slight frown.
"Then where's my candy?!"
"I'll buy you some on the way back home, okay? So, let's just chill out."
Thunder could just barely be heard above the Geofront and Asuka sat back down in the armchair.
"Hmph. It's not the same!"
"Don't worry, Asuka. I'm sure that tonight will turn out better than you expect," Misato said with a caring smile.
"I doubt it," the redhead replied abjectly as she folded her gloved arms over her chest.
Misato went back to talking with Shinji and occasionally Rei about some get together they had planned. Asuka looked back at the foil wrapped candy still sitting in her hand. It was probably starting to melt now. She might as well eat it.
She picked at the wrapping some until the chocolate was exposed. It had lost some of its shape after being stored in her palm for the past fifteen minutes, but it was still solid for the most part. She gently bit down on the small bar and tugged it out of the foil.
It was bitter, as expected of dark chocolate. She wasn't the biggest fan of bitter food, but she imagined she'd have to enjoy it for what it was.
'At least it's soft…' Asuka thought as her teeth sunk into the semi-melted bar of chocolate.
The doors of the wreck room flung open and in the doorway was Fuyutsuki. He was carrying one end of a long folding plastic table through the door.
"Uhhhhhmmmm, what is going on?" Asuka asked after she swallowed her chocolate.
Rei and Shinji looked wonderingly at the old man as he lugged the table through the door and Misato had a creeping smile growing on her face.
"Just a little celebration for everyone," Fuyutsuki grunted.
"Heheh, surprise!" Makoto cheered as he walked through the door carrying the other end of the table.
The two men grunted and unfolded the legs of the table before setting it down on the far end of the wreck room.
"Yeah! Time to party!" Shigeru shouted as he carried in a twelve pack of beer and his guitar case.
"Oh, please don't fall. Please don't fall!" Maya said as she carried an enormous bowl of red fruit punch in front of her face and made her way to the table to set it down.
"What is this?! Oh my god? Is this a party?!" Asuka asked, clapping her hands together excitedly.
"It certainly is," came the calm voice of Ritsuko as she stepped into the room.
Asuka turned to glare at the woman as she walked in, knowing she still had more chocolate hidden somewhere in that lab coat of hers. But, her glare softened as she the false blonde tossed something at her. Asuka masterfully caught the item midair, and then uncurled her fingers to look at it. In her hand was a milk chocolate medallion in gold foil.
Asuka looked back at the Doctor and saw her wink before carrying a huge bag of candy over to the table. There must've been at least five pounds of delicious sweets stuffed into that massive bag just waiting for Asuka to lay claim to it.
"He'hey, I'm not late to the party, am I?" came the cool voice of Kaji as he entered the room carrying two twelve packs of soda; one in each hand.
He was dressed sharply in a rich dark black suit with a dark gray collared shirt underneath and a bright red bow tie to top it all off. Though, despite how neat he looked, he had still failed to shave as Misato could quite clearly tell.
"KAJI!" Asuka gasped as she got out of her seat and rushed over to the man to embrace him.
"Did you set this up, Kaji? You knew I'd miss Halloween and you set this up all for me, didn't you?" Asuka said as she nuzzled her head into his chest.
Kaji leaned down and whispered in the girl's ear.
"Fuyutsuki is the one who got authorization to set this little party up, but Katsuragi is the one who convinced him to get permission. She wanted to do something special for you kids. She wanted to make sure you all got a chance to enjoy yourselves. But, don't tell anyone. She wanted her involvement to be kept a secret."
Asuka looked at the man somewhat lost.
"Misato…did this? Really?"
"It's our little secret though," Kaji said as he winked at the girl.
He made his way over to the table to relieve his arms of the burden of the carbonated drinks and Asuka trailed right on the man's heels.
Maya, Makoto, and Shigeru where all scrambling back and forth carrying all kinds of wires, speakers, and lights into the room, hooking them up to all kinds of extension cords and splitters.
"I do not understand, Shinji. What is happening?" Rei's muffled voice came from behind her mummy wrapping as she eyed the boy curiously and blinked.
"I'm...not really sure. I guess it's a party. That's what Doctor Akagi said. But, I really wouldn't know. I've never been to a party before."
"You two kids are so naïve," Misato squeaked in giddy laughter, "It doesn't matter what it is. Just enjoy yourselves."
The purple haired hellequin stood up and stretched, "I'll be right back. I'm gonna go get us some drinks. Don't do anything I would do," she said as she winked and went to the table to retrieve some beverages, some of which may or may not have been alcoholic.
Shinji had never been into parties. He'd never been into anything social. And, he probably wouldn't be into this either. But, as he watched more and more NERV personnel flood into the room with all kinds of snacks, drinks, board games, and glow in the dark Halloween decorations, he didn't feel so alone. He didn't feel so alien in his own skin. In fact, he felt oddly comfortable as a mild grin appeared on his face; happy that he could see others happy. Maybe, just maybe, he could enjoy tonight.
Rei examined her surroundings. She had never quite experienced anything like this before. The only time she had encountered this many people in a similar congregation was usually just before she was about to board her Eva. But this was very different. There was no sense of urgency, no impending feeling of doom. It was strange…and warm. There were no commands being issued over the radio, no bullets being fired, no LCL to inhale. Just simply a group of people doing what a group of people did...when there was nothing to do.
It was peaceful; the residual chatter, the smell of cheap food, the general lightheartedness that Rei was not familiar with. She didn't feel like she belonged here. She didn't particularly feel like she didn't belong either; these were her coworkers after all, but she most certainly didn't fit in. And so she continued doing what she was so very good at; being observant.
The overhead lights in the room flickered off for a moment, but shortly, a new set of more colorful lights sparked to life as Makoto plugged together two cords. Halloween Music began playing, strobe lights flashed, and the wreck room was transformed into a makeshift club in a split second.
"YEAH! WOOHOO!" Shigeru cheered as he high-fived Maya and Makoto.
"Okay, here's some drinks for you two, and I also got you some chips and stuff," Misato said as she kindly set the beverages and snacks down on the coffee table.
"Thank you, Misato," Shinji said as he bowed his head to her and Rei continued to stare at the woman.
"Oh, don't mention it, sweetie. Now, I've got a little prank to pull, so you two enjoy yourselves," Misato giggled before she pranced off in the direction of Makoto, Maya, and Shigeru.
Rei curiously reached for one of the chips on the plate and studied it intently. After being satisfied with her examination, she pulled aside some of the wrapping over her lips and slid the chip into her open mouth.
The girl's red eyes locked onto Misato. She was giggling with the trio of NERV techs. They all had looks of amusement and awe etched on their features. And one by one, they all nodded to the purple haired woman.
Rei then gazed at Shinji. He seemed deep in thought. He hadn't touched his food and his eyes seemed glazed over.
The boy was as mysterious to her as she was to him. He had gone out of his way to help her. This was something Rei rarely was able to get out of her mind. It made no sense to her. No one save for Commander Ikari had ever risked their wellbeing for her. And on top of that, the boy had made a seemingly very heartfelt bond with her during the assault of the fifth angel. Rei couldn't make heads or tails of it. Why would he try to rescue her and why would he make such a sorrowful recital at the idea of her dying? All it was was a simple goodbye on her part. What was it about that that had elicited such a connection from the boy?
Rei closed her eyes and sighed. The boy was not a mystery that would be solved tonight.
She opened her eyes and searched for Captain Katsuragi again. She spotted the purple hellequin pointing across the wreck room, seemingly giving some kind of mischievous order to the Trio of NERV Techs.
Makoto and Shigeru nodded at the woman again and they all chuckled a bit before they began pacing across the room inconspicuously through the crowd. Misato then spoke to Maya before she too walked off in another direction.
"Eeeee! What are you doing?!" came the voice of a surprised Ritsuko who was being dragged across the wreck room by Makoto and Shigeru.
The two men only laughed at what was about to come.
Maya walked back up to Misato with a chair and the two men forced Ritsuko to sit in it while holding her arms behind her to restrain her. Misato then crawled on top of the Doctor.
"Why, hello, Ritsuko," Misato purred in the cringing woman's ear, "Are you ready for all your wildest dreams to come true?"
"M-Misato! I'm a woman! T-This is inappropriate!"
"Gender has got nothing to do with love," Misato cooed into her ear as she stroked the doctor's face.
"Y-You stole that line from Ryoji!" Ritsuko yelped, recognizing those words as ones from long ago.
Misato's teasingly romantic advances came to a halt.
"I-I DID NOT! HE STOLE IT FROM ME! That's my line! It's always been my line!" she said as she stomped her foot on the floor in frustration.
"Really? I only ever heard you say it after he said it to that kid in the library as a prank in college!"
"Ooh, you're just asking for trouble tonight, aren't you, Doctor? But no matter."
Misato menacingly walked over to the party table and picked up an absurdly large bottle of rum.
"M-maybe I misspoke…" Ritsuko said as she swallowed with anxiety.
"Oh, yeah," Misato said with a wicked smirk on her face.
"Misato…I know what you're thinking. But think about your future here. You need to calm down…and put the alcohol back on the table."
"I don't think that's an option anymore, Doctor," Misato said in a seductive voice as she approached Ritsuko with the jug of rum.
"Misato, please. You can't do this. If you do, I swear, I will find some way to make you regret this," Ritsuko said as threateningly as she could manage with her trembling voice.
"Ooh, you naughty little girl. You act as though you're in a position to make threats. But, I'll show you who's really in charge here."
Misato then shoved the neck of the bottle down Ritsuko's throat and started emptying the entire bottle into the false blond. Ritsuko's eyes bulged out of their sockets in shock.
"Yeah, see? I knew you still had your old college self locked away somewhere in that little workaholic shell of yours. You still chug like a pro," Misato chuckled as she saw the bottle quickly emptying past the halfway point.
Ritsuko glared at Misato as best she could with the bottle down her throat.
"You know, you really should consider sucking more dick with chugging skills like these. I'd bet you could swallow a solid fourteen inches of throbbing cock if you tried."
Ritsuko's face became flushed, but Misato wasn't sure if it was because of the embarrassing flattery or the ridiculous amount of alcohol the doctor was intaking.
The last few drops in the bottle fell down the doctor's throat and Misato pulled the bottle out of her mouth. The doctor gasped for air. Misato dropped the bottle and scurried away to the other side of the room and with their work being done, Shigeru and Makoto released the doctor's hands as they slumped to her side.
Ritsuko slowly came to her senses as oxygen returned to her brain and lungs. She saw Misato giggling on the other side of the room and then noticed the bottle she'd left at her feet. Ritsuko reached down and picked the bottle up to read the label.
"Ugh, eighty proof. This is going to be one hell of a night," Ritsuko groaned.
Her grip tightened on the bottle.
"Misato…" she seethed through her gritting teeth.
She looked back at the Captain angrily and stood up before raising the bottle over her head.
"MISATO, YOU CRAZY PURPLE HAIRED BITCH! ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME FROM ALCOHOL POISONING?!"
Misato knew she was in trouble, but she couldn't help smiling.
Ritsuko was like a mad bull and Misato's smile was a red cape. She threw the bottle at the Captain as fast as she could. But, out of nowhere, Kaji stepped in the trajectory between Ritsuko and Misato, the bottle barreling towards his head.
"Oh, look, a little lost coin," Kaji said as he leaned down to pick up the minted piece of metal that conveniently appeared at his feet.
As always, things went Kaji's way. The bottle soared only an inch above his head and continued on its way to Misato.
Misato swung her hips to the side to avoid the airborne bottle and it shattered on the wall behind her.
"Hah! You missed! TWICE!" Misato mocked as she stuck her tongue out at Ritsuko.
Ritsuko growled, "You conniving little!"
She tried to regain control of herself. She was a civilized person; someone above provocation. She'd get her revenge in due time. She unclenched her fists and sighed before walking towards Misato.
"I'm not going to remember any of tonight because of you," she said as took her place next to Misato, "But I guess that's okay…"
Ritsuko leaned into Misato and hugged her.
"Aww, is the alcohol already making someone a little lovey-dovey?" Misato asked in an endearing tone.
"Shut up, Misato. Just let me enjoy this."
Misato tenderly hugged the woman back. NERV was trying to save the world. The constant terror; the thought of going through another impact. It was nice when they were able to forget about all that. Tonight was a special occasion for everyone at NERV, and so they would enjoy it to the best of their ability.
"Misato?" the quickly drunkening blonde groaned.
"Yes, Ritsuko?"
"I'm happy you're my friend."
/
"Oh mein Gott! Is this- Is this?!"
Asuka struggled to examine a foil wrapped ball of chocolatey candy in her hand as she sat on the floor in a dark corner of the wreck room.
She gasped.
"It is!"
She pulled the foil off of the ball of chocolate and admired it in awe.
"I never thought I'd see another Ferrero Rocher after leaving Europe."
She then gasped again.
"Mein Gott! If Doctor Akagi had one of these in that big bag of candy then…then that means…that somewhere in Japan…I can find these beautiful little things!"
Asuka set the candy on her tongue and smiled satisfactorily as she slowly bit through the outer layer of crushed hazelnuts and chocolate, then the wafer, and finally, the hazelnut core.
'I should ask Doctor Akagi where she was able to find these, because I definitely intend to eat them all the time after tonight.
She sifted her fingers through some of the candy she picked out of the bag. She really wanted to find a couple more pieces of the nutty chocolate. After running her fingers through the small mound of candy, she'd managed to find two more of the little chocolate boulders.
"Yes! Oh my god, I'm so happy right now! This is the best Halloween ever!"
The redhead jumped to her feet and started seeking out the generous candy-giving Doctor.
"Where is she? I need to know where she found these. I need these to grow up healthy and strong. I need these to keep me happy. I need them to stay sane! Hell, I need these beautifully crafted pieces of chocolate just to survive! I can't live without my beautiful Ferrero Rocher."
She then saw the doctor stumbling around, being held steady by Misato. Asuka merrily ran up to the doctor.
"Doctor Akagi!" Asuka yelped in her grating voice.
"Oh, who is it?" Ritsuko groaned as she held her hand in front of her face, trying to keep herself from getting too dizzy.
Asuka trotted up to the doctor.
"Miss Akagi, I was wondering if you could tell me where you found those Ferrero Rocher."
"The what?" Ritsuko slurred as she almost fell forward onto her face.
Misato laughed silently and mischievously as she pulled Ritsuko back up.
"This delicious candy you brought me. I was wondering where you found it."
"Oh god, the world feels like it's taking a shit on my life. What candy are you talking about?"
"Th-this one!" Asuka said as she excitedly held the little confection in front of the doctor's face.
"Oh, that one. Let me think for a second," Ritsuko groaned before she dry-heaved, "Damn you, Misato! The whole world is spinning and it's all your fault."
Misato once again stifled a laugh before setting the doctor down in a seat.
Ritsuko sighed and her tongue drunkenly flopped out of her mouth as she rested her head in her hands.
"Okay…okay…I think…I think I got that from that little cake shop on the eastern side of the city. It's the one with the silver curtains on the eastern shore of lake Ashi. They sell all kinds of little treats there. I think that's the one. If it's not, come talk to me on Monday if I'm not still hungover and I'll see if I can't think of some other place I might have gotten it."
"Oh! I know the one you you're talking about, Ritsu!" Misato said excitedly, "That's the same one Shinji and Rei are going to for their little date."
"Their date?" Asuka asked with a cringe, "That stupid Shinji is dating that Freakazoid?"
Misato winked at the redhead, "Well, it's not official yet. But, it totally think they should date. They're so cute together. Anyways, I think that this date is just a friendly playdate type thing. They're just gonna go out and have some fun!"
"Ooookay, you can spare me the mushy details!" Asuka said as she cringed harder, "Anyways, thanks doctor. I really appreciate it," the German finished as she skipped back to the couch Shinji and Rei were sitting at.
"Y-yeah, no problem," Ritsuko groaned again.
Asuka jumped back onto the couch and giggled a little.
"Trick-or-Treat!" she exclaimed as she tossed one of the Ferrero Rocher at the other two pilots.
Shinji's face turned an embarrassed red as he clumsily tried to catch it, but his fumbling hands knocked it into Rei's tightly mummy wrapped thighs.
"What is this, Unit-02 Pilot Sohryu?" Rei asked as she inquisitively picked up and held the fragile ball of chocolate between her fingers.
"That, my little Freakazoid, is my Halloween gift to the both of you. But, you're going to have to split it because I'm not giving up my other one. It's too delicious!"
Shinji managed to speak up, despite how embarrassed he seemed to be over his clumsiness.
"If you want, Rei, you can have the whole thing. I'm not really hungry."
The girl faced the shy boy and looked at him curiously.
"If that is what you prefer."
"Oh, of course. You really seem to like candy."
The girl nodded and stuck the piece of chocolate in her mouth.
"Heh, you fucking love birds make me so sick," Asuka grumbled to herself before tossing another one of the chocolate hazelnut candies in her mouth.
"It is…delicious," Rei said after she swallowed the chocolate.
"G-good! That makes me happy, Rei."
"Thank you…Shinji."
And as always, the two shared a special smiling exchange that only they knew.
/
The three pilots and Misato were back at the couch in the center of the room. Shinji and Misato had taken to feeding Rei a multitude of candies, most of which she'd never tried before. A large variety of decorated chocolate had been practically stuffed into the blue haired girl's mouth at every turn. She'd swallow, give her opinion of it, which mostly consisted of a small variety of factually descriptive synonyms that all basically meant sweet, creamy, bitter, or smoothe as opposed to an actual opinion; and then the next piece went in either by Misato or Shinji's hands.
Despite what her mostly literal and factual responses would suggest, Rei was quite enjoying herself. She simple couldn't understand how chocolate could have so many flavors. Once piece of white chocolate could taste vastly different from another piece of white chocolate by Rei's acute and precise observations and the sensory experience was extremely pleasing to the girl.
While Shinji and Misato had been stuffing Rei's face, Asuka had managed to snag a beer or two. At first, Misato had told Asuka to hand them over, but eventually decided that a couple wouldn't hurt so long as she disguised it and poured the contents into a party cup instead of keeping it in the bottle. It wasn't enough to really affect the girl anyways and so there was no harm done for the most part.
"Don't think you're going to get to do this all the time, young lady. I'm only letting you have it because it's a holiday," Misato said, the alcohol she'd drunk not quite slurring her speech yet.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Misato. Don't worry about it so much. You're the one who told us to enjoy ourselves. And that's all we're doing," Asuka said as she casually took a sip of the chilled beer.
Shinji wasn't a disobedient child. That being said, he was still curious about the bubbly drink in Asuka's hand.
"What's it taste like?" he asked shyly.
"I dunno. Like beer? Why don't you try some for yourself and find out, you idiot?" Asuka huffed.
Shinji sighed. He'd never be able to figure the girl out. He watched her pop another piece of candy into her mouth. She'd certainly managed to snag quite a large portion of what was available in the monstrous bag of treats that Ritsuko had brought.
Shinji cast his gaze away from the girl and to the last place he'd seen the doctor.
Ritsuko was still in the same dark corner she had been ten minutes ago and she still had Maya pinned against the wall as well. It looked like they were having quite the drunken make out session.
Ritsuko kissed up and down the shy NERV tech's throat and had managed to undo a couple of the buttons on her uniform. Maya wasn't nearly as drunk as Ritsuko was, but she must've had at least enough alcohol to bring her out of her usually more reserved shell. The Maya that Shinji knew would never be comfortable enough to make a display like that in public.
It was hard not to watch the two women as Ritsuko kissed and bit at the younger girl's lips while fondling her boobs and squeezing her butt. Especially for someone like Shinji, who, despite his encounters with his fellow pilots, was still rather inexperienced with intimacy.
Shinji finally forced himself to look away however when Ritsuko stuck her hand down Maya's pants. A blush appeared on his face that went unnoticed by all excluding Rei, who's observant composure was ever watchful.
"Well, kids, I think it's about time I get going," Kaji said as he appeared from the crowd behind Misato, who suddenly had a quickly growing scowl on her face.
"Aww, but, Kaji, why?" Asuka whined.
"Well, because I've got to get up in the morning, of course."
He gave a playful grin to the redhead and then approached Shinji and leaned down into his ear.
"Hey, little man. Make sure she doesn't drive, okay?" Kaji whispered to the boy.
Shinji nodded and then Kaji coolly walked out the door with his hands in in pockets.
Misato huffed and then chugged down a can of beer as she watched the man leave. Her face was getting very flushed from the combined efforts of her anger and the alcohol she'd ingested.
Fuyutsuki approached the troupe of kids next. By the looks of it, he was about to retire for the night as well.
"How is everything going for you three?" The man asked.
"Well…" Rei replied.
"It's uh, nice!" Shinji said before bowing.
"It's magnificent!" Asuka shouted with a happy and sweet look as she threw her arms in the air, "Thank you Subcommander!"
He glanced down at the cheerful girl
"I saw what you did earlier, Pilot Sohryu. But, I'll let it slide this time. And, I'm not the one you should be thanking. Anyways, I am the Subcommander and I have a responsibility to uphold, so I fear I must retire. I thank you all for your service and bid you all a good night."
The man then politely bowed and exited the room following Kaji's footsteps.
"Wait," Shinji said with a questioning look, "If Mister Fuyutsuki didn't set this up…then who did? I don't think my father would…"
"You Idiot!" Asuka shouted as she pointed at the boy, "It was obviously Misato! Who else could it be?"
Misato had a slightly surprised look on her face. She'd been very careful to hide her involvement from the kids. Though, she knew Asuka could be as observant as Rei when she wanted to.
"R-really?" Shinji asked as he turned to face Misato, "Misato, is that true?"
The woman sighed.
"Yeah, it's true. I don't know how you found out without someone telling you; probably that jerk Kaji. But it's true."
"Kaji didn't tell me anything. I just pieced it together. Doctor Akagi wouldn't do it. She's too absorbed in her work. And if the Commander and Subcommander wouldn't do it, then you're the only high enough ranking person who could set this up what with you being the Operations Director and all."
Asuka lied almost every word she spoke in that paragraph. But, deep down, she felt Misato did deserve some recognition for her efforts, and so she stuck by her story.
Misato took a deep breath.
"You're too smart for your own good, Asuka. I just wanted to make sure you kids had a chance to enjoy yourselves. You could die tomorrow and you'd never get a chance to experience this again. And, I care about you three. I just want you to be happy."
Hearing that, Shinji suddenly had an uncontrollable urge to hug Misato. It wasn't a very normal thing for Shinji to feel. But then again, it wasn't normal for someone to care for him at all either. Maybe coming to Tokyo-3 hadn't been such a bad call.
He wrapped his arms around the woman and a startled look appeared on her face. But she quickly hugged the boy back and also pulled Rei into the embrace as confusion was written across the blue haired girl's face.
Asuka wasn't one for such mushy receptions, but there was an open spot between Shinji and Rei, just enough space for her to slip in. And Misato had a begging look on her face which didn't make the choice not to participate in the hug any easier.
"Come on, Asuka. I did let you have some beer. And you're the one who gave me the idea to set this thing up in the first place."
A semi-awkward expression formed on Asuka's face, but Misato was being rather convincing.
"Mmm," she groaned as a blush painted itself across her cheeks, "Fine."
The redhead squeezed in between the other two kids and wrapped her arms around Misato.
The kids all experienced warmth that night; a heart beating next to their own. But soon enough, the world would tear that apart.
/
-Never a Dull Moment Around Him-
/
Fuyutsuki and Kaji had just exited the Geofront Terminal and arrived at the surface. Rain flooded the parking lot outside the train station and thunder repeatedly echoed through the atmosphere of Tokyo-3. The sky was darker than Kaji's black suit and the rain and fog kept the visibility low as the two men made their way to their respective cars
"So, any news on Seele?" The old man asked grimly.
"Same as usual. Everyone's mouths are shut and their eyes are open. You and the Commander will be the first to hear if I learn anything. Anyways, were the little presents I brought put to good use?" Kaji said as he rolled his head and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Ikari…has done what needed to be done."
"Good. I'm glad to hear it."
'What are these guys up to? This is much deeper than I'd thought,' the unshaven man wondered to himself as he shielded his eye from the falling rain and glaring lamp posts.
"Farewell, Chief Inspection Officer Kaji. I hope you have a good night"
"Yeah. G'night to you too, old man. Take it easy."
The two men parted ways and made for their own respective cars, the haunting darkness of the rainy Halloween night not much bothering either of them. There were more terrifying and hallowed things to fear.
.
*Eva credits roll and Fly Me to the Moon plays*
.
