APRIL 21st, 2015
NERV HQ, COMMAND CENTER
2:29pm:
"They requested air support almost 15 minutes ago, what's taking them so long?" Misato asked impatiently.
"They're picking up heat from the Angels elsewhere, one of them was actually taken down. They're currently trying to divert enemy fire." Makoto explained to the Major.
'Damn it. They're choking out there, we can't afford to lose anymore souls.' She thought.
"Just make sure they can aide Eagle Company soon, the Angels are basically obliterating them." Ordered the Major.
"Major Katsuragi! Where's the air support?! They're attempting to flank us from the-" *BANG* "-GOD DAMMIT!" Shiro yelled into his earpiece, the bullet ricochet extremely audible to anyone that was listening to his communication.
"Just hang in there, Captain! Air support's having a hard time getting to you! We don't know when they'll be able to reach you, but they're still on their wa-"
"We got a troop down! Repeat! We got a troop down!"
'Oh shit.' She thought. 'Oh no no no no... please, not another one...' As Misato worried, Shigeru tried finding who it was that had been taken down. He had a computer that kept track of each troops' vitals, all he had to do was find which one reported damage or the loss of a heartbeat.
Unfortunately, one of the suits' heartbeat was gone. A soul had been lost, and they'd have to send officials to their parent or guardian's home to tell them of their death. It wasn't something anyone from the bridge crew had to deal with, but the guilt was still great.
"If we lose another soul, we're pulling back." Misato said sternly.
"But Major, the Commander ordered Eagle Company to stand their ground for this battle! Won't you have to run this by him first?" Questioned Maya.
"I'll take the heat if it comes down to it. We already have 3 troops wounded and recovering over at a field hospital. If we keep ordering them to stand their ground like we have for the past few days, it'll only further weaken the company."
Maya nodded. "I agree, Major... but I don't want any of us to get in any trouble. What'll happen if you're court martialed?" She asked Misato.
"Well, that's a better outcome than having anyone else lose their lives."
Behind the bridge crew, the sound of an opening elevator was heard. Turning her head, Misato saw Ritsuko enter the bridge with an unexpected guest; Kaji himself, who had no real business being up there anyway. At least, in Misato's mind he didn't. She gave Ritsuko a greeting nod, while completely ignoring Kaji.
"Ah, the 'Katsuragi Cold Shoulder'! If only I had a dollar for every time you've given me one." He playfully remarked.
"Kaji, now's not the time." She said very seriously. Kaji could tell that something bad had just happened and refrained from making any more jokes. Looking over at Shigeru's stats screen, he saw that someone had just been killed.
"I... wasn't aware. I'm sorry, it won't happen again." He apologized, feeling very bad about his inappropriately timed joke. Nobody could see it, but Makoto had grinned at Misato's response to Kaji.
"Hi Makoto, Maya, Shigeru." He said as he approached the crew. They all waved in response.
"What are you even doing up here? The bridge isn't a place for tourists." She asked him.
"Ritsuko has something for me to read before my meeting with the Commander. Apparently he needs me to study up for the next task he's set up for me." Kaji explained.
"So, that cut on your cheekbone doing any better?" Asked Makoto, having seen that Kaji still had a bandage on his face.
"Eh, kind of. I'll tell you what though, my clumsy-ass should have heeded the 'wet floor' sign's warning." He said with a chuckle. Misato narrowed her eyes, having caught something strange about what Kaji had just said.
"Here you go, Kaji. This folder holds all the info you need. If you have any questions, just ask the Commander. I was told not to look at any of it, so I wouldn't be any help." Said Ritsuko.
"Well alright then. I should be heading out, then. I'll see you guys when I see you guys." He said as he turned for the elevator.
"Lieutenant Hyuga, take command for me while I'm gone, I have something to take care of downstairs." She ordered.
"Yes ma'am." Makoto complied, though he was wondering why she was in such a rush to take the same elevator as Kaji.
"Hold up!" Misato told Kaji. As the door closed, Kaji clicked on the floor he was headed to.
"So which floor do you get off at?" He asked Misato. She didn't answer, instead looking at him with a clearly upset face. Kaji realized this and backed away from the controls.
"Or you could just not say anything, up to you." He said facetiously.
"Why did you feel the need to lie about a mere cut on your face?" She asked him, raising her voice a bit.
"What? What are you talking about? I slipped and had a nasty impact with the floor, that's all-"
"Cut the bullshit, Kaji." She said, interrupting him.
"Woah, calm down! What are you getting so worked up about?" He asked her. She approached him and yanked his band-aid off, revealing his cut to be much deeper than he had said it to be. There was even a hint of a bruise surrounding the cut, which was now scabbed and a very dark color.
"Misato, what the hell?" He exclaimed, reaching to cover his recovering wound.
"You told me you got that when you were shaving. But all of a sudden, when you talk about it to the bridge crew, it's a completely different story?" She asked him, raising her voice in anger. He had been caught in his lie.
"It's just a cut, it's no big deal! Why are you making a big deal out of this?" He asked her as he took the bandage from her hands to try to cover the cut again.
"Because I'm tired of people hiding shit from me in this organization."
'That's right,' He thought. 'she's seeking the truth, just like me.' She had come clean to Kaji about her worries of being lied to, and having things hidden from her. She trusted him enough to tell him that, and he lied to her not too long after.
He was clearly hiding something, no one would lie about a mere cut to the face like that. Not only that, but a fall wouldn't have left such a bad cut. He had clearly gotten in a fight, as evidenced by the small bruises surrounding the healing scab.
And she knew there was something else to it, other than just some fist fight. Ritsuko had mentioned to her something about Kaji looking rather depressed as he left work the other day. She also described a bandage on his face, one that wasn't there when he entered HQ for the first time that day.
Kaji didn't have anything to say, looking down in shame as the silence grew more awkward. Misato finally clicked a floor to get off at, one that would let her off immediately. She had had enough.
"I'm off." She said rather harshly before storming off the elevator. Kaji could only watch as his ex-lover disappeared behind the closing elevator doors. He sighed, feeling extremely disappointed in himself.
'Damn it...' He thought. 'DAMN IT!' He thought again as he slammed his fist into the elevator's wall.
MISATO'S APARTMENT
6:27pm:
It had been Shinji and Asuka's last day synchronizing their daily routines. Unsurprisingly, only the first day had actually seen Asuka calm down and treat Shinji less badly. The only thing he wondered, was why it had turned out that way.
Almost every night after their synchronization, Shinji had gone to see Rei. He thought he had gotten the best of it; he got to cook food, exercise, even listen to music he enjoyed (and some new tunes that Asuka had introduced to him). And after all that, he got to see his crush.
He was of, course, too scared to admit to her of his crush. So he never got to ask her out as a result, his fear of rejection was far too great. Not only that, but Asuka had gone back to being mean to him. To his luck though, it was nowhere near as bad as before.
Misato had finally gone to work again that day, the two finally having gained enough trust from her to be alone together. But the usual happy-go-lucky Misato was strangely absent, in its place a much more reserved temperament.
Shinji was the most concerned out of the two, and even asked her what was up. She just shrugged it off with a smile, but it wasn't enough to stop Shinji from worrying about her.
Trying to take his mind off of it, he called up Rei to hang out again that night. Unfortunately, she had a meeting with Ritsuko and Gendo that would take up the remainder of her night, so she was unavailable.
He had resorted to playing music on his SDAT to kill time until dinner, laying on his bed as he stared at the ceiling. He wasn't sure what he thought of this habit anymore, yet he kept coming back to it. It bored him to death, but it gave him something to do.
This time, he was trying to keep his mind off of his deployment back to Matsuyama the following day. Although the past week had been very strange, there was something that brought him a lot of comfort about it.
He had gotten to know Asuka just a little more, and even though she was very grumpy around him (for reasons he couldn't figure out as of yet) she had definitely calmed down around him. That, and he had been hanging out with his newly-admitted crush.
All of that comfort, however, was soon to be gone. He was to be sent back to battle in the very next day, and the fear and paranoia was slowly creeping back into his mind. He thought he would've gotten used to it by now, but that was not the case.
And thus, he was back to listening to the same two tracks. Over and over again, the very repetition that bored him making him feel a sense of safety. Something to hold onto. Something to blind him from the cruelness of the world around him.
As he continued to space out in his own silent misery, he heard a knock at his door.
"Come in." He said, removing his earphones while he sat himself up on his bed. As the door slid open, he saw Misato emerge behind it.
"Hey Shin!" She said to him in a much cheerier tone. "Just wanted to let you know that Ritsuko invited me to dinner tonight, so I'll be out for a bit. I shouldn't be back too late." She told him.
"Oh, okay." He replied, beginning to worry a little bit.
Having gotten a better look at her, he saw that she was already clad in a dress and had applied makeup on her face. Her lavender perfume also quickly overwhelmed his nostrils. She looked ready to leave, meaning he'd have to deal with being alone with Asuka sooner than he had expected.
"Okay, I'll be going now. Byeee!" She waved as she left. He gave an unenthusiastic wave back as she closed his door, leaving him alone to think.
'Oh boy.' He began. 'I really hope all of this doesn't go to shit...'
7:36pm:
When she had left, all she could think about was the night out she was going to have with Ritsuko. It was supposed to be just like the good old days; they'd have drinks, eat some delicious food, and maybe even talk about guys.
But she couldn't have expected this, not from her friend, of all people. Arriving at the luxurious steakhouse at the far end of the 3rd District of Tokyo-3, she was more than ready to turn around and leave the joint.
"Misato, wait!" Ritsuko exclaimed as she spotted her friend nearly heading to the door, running over to her in order to stop her from leaving.
"Why is he here? I thought this was a girl's night out!" She complained to her old friend. The man she was talking about was none other than Kaji himself, who was the one who had actually set up this very dinner.
"Kaji called me up today and told me what happened between you two earlier today. All he wants to do is talk Misato, that's all!" She explained to the purple-haired woman.
"He's probably just trying to get into my pants. Hell, I wouldn't doubt it if he was trying to get it on with the both of us!" She whined, giving him a very determined death stare.
"Misato, all I want to do is apologize and to explain myself. Can you at least give me a chance?" He tried explaining.
"How do I know you won't just lie to me again?" She questioned him, not ready to trust him just yet. Kaji reached into his shirt pocket and pulled a hard drive out.
"Because I have something that can explain it for me."
Misato squinted her eyes, finally understanding that he really was trying to explain things to her.
"I know I fucked up, please let me undo my mistake. That's all I ask of you, Misato."
Having seen that he was truly feeling remorseful about it, she somewhat reluctantly sat down with the two. As soon as she sat down, Ritsuko gave her a choko cup and poured her some sake. Misato, of course, was quick to gulp it down.
"Misato, I just want you to know that I didn't tell you the truth because it's part of my job. You know I wouldn't want to lie to you like that on my own." He explained to her. Placing her small cup back on the table, she stared at him intently. She still didn't look satisfied.
"I don't know how I can explain this further, other than how we're all ordered to keep the truth about Second Impact to ourselves. If we leak the truth- well, you know what'll happen to us."
Misato was still angered at being forced into this conversation, but looked more understanding towards his situation.
"We all get orders from the Commander, and no matter how strange or shady it might seem, it's part of our job. Almost everyone at NERV has some top-secret bullshit they have to-"
"Can you tell me how you got that cut?" She asked him directly, not caring of his 'secretive' talk. Kaji sighed, not wanting to further lie or hide things from her but not wanting to risk losing his position. Most especially, he didn't want to face any legal repercussions.
"I just told you, I didn't tell you the truth beca-"
"Please! We're not at HQ, are we? Just tell me!" She demanded of him, gathering the attention of the other occupants in the restaurant.
Kaji sighed, placing two fingers on the bridge of his nose as he looked down in frustration. Misato grabbed the bottle of sake and poured more of it into her cup, wanting to kill any feeling that was bothering her.
"Misato, you oughta watch it." Ritsuko warned.
"If you two are going to drag me out of my own home for this, I might as well indulge." She snapped back at her blonde friend.
"I did have somewhere else to be, you know." She told Misato, referring to the multiple tests she and Gendo had to conduct on Rei.
"Well you should've just gone and done that then!" Misato bit back as she downed another gulp of the alcohol.
'Oh boy, another one of those nights...' Thought Kaji.
MISATO'S APARTMENT
8:53pm:
As usual, it seemed there was nothing good on TV for Shinji to watch. Maybe it was the fact that he was being deployed the day after, the fear clouding his mind and leaving no space for any kind of enjoyment. Or, maybe TV had really gotten stale in modern times.
But he didn't give up, he just kept channel surfing and prayed for something to keep his mind off of his growing anxiety. As he kept clicking away at the TV remote, he felt the cushions bounce just slightly.
Looking to his right, it was none other than Asuka herself. No surprise there, except that she looked rather... laid back. She had a very rare smile on her face, and she was moving in a very clumsy way.
"Hi Shinjiii~" She said to him. Raising an eyebrow, he wondered what the hell had gotten into her. Before he could say anything, he swore he could smell the unmistakable scent of beer, coming right from Asuka's mouth.
"Soryu? Have you been stealing Misato's beer again?" He asked her, looking very concerned. Asuka giggled.
"Maybe just a teensy bit, it ain't all that baaad!" She said, gesturing with her index finger and thumb the 'small' amount she had taken.
"Okay... you've clearly taken more than just a 'teensy bit', Soryu." He told her, looking very disappointed.
"Ugh! Jus' call me Asuka already!" She demanded, giving him a playful slap on the shoulder.
'What's gotten into her?' He wondered, thinking this kind of behavior was most unusual for someone who had so often berated him for the smallest of things.
"You should probably drink some water, you're drunk Sory- I mean, Asuka."
She giggled again. "There! That wasn' harrrd, was it?" She was slurring her words more and more.
"I'm getting you a cup of water, Misato could be home anytime now. You don't want her catching you like this." He said to her, not wanting to put up with her obnoxious behavior.
"Fiiine... But thank youuu!" Asuka replied, giggling further as she extended her body on the couch.
'Oh god, of course this had to happen on our last night over here. Leave it to me to take care of this mess.'
He grabbed a cup and filled it with water from Misato's pitcher, even adding some ice cubes for refreshment. Upon returning to the couch, he found Asuka had rested her legs on the back pillows. She was acting very strange.
"Um, here's your water Asuka..." He said rather awkwardly, not sure of what to make of her interesting choice of a seating position.
"You might not want to be upside down like that after having those beers, though."
She sat back up correctly and took the cup from him, taking sips from the cold refreshing water. As she did that, Shinji went back to channel surfing, much to Asuka's disappointment.
She sighed in an attempt to get his attention, which he ignored due to it sounding rather normal. She sighed slightly louder, still failing to get his attention. She sighed yet again, this time at a very unusual volume.
"You okay?" He asked her, wondering what it was that was so obviously bothering her.
"Nothing, I'm jus' sooo bored! There's gotta be something we can do to kill time!" Asuka explained to him.
"I wish there was. Not much to do around here... And it's not like we can go out anyway, at least, I'm in no mood to step out into that poison rain we have going on 24/7." Said Shinji.
"Haha! Yew're funny!" She said, giggling again.
'Funny? What was so funny about that? I just stated a fact...' He mused. For about 10 more minutes, the two watched as the TV's channels kept passing by, nothing of interest popping up at any single moment.
'For a teenage boy, he sure lets all opportunities pass him like it's nothing.' She thought to herself. Finally, Asuka was tired of waiting. Shinji was too naive to pick up on any of her hints, so she had to make her move.
"D'you wanna fuck?" She asked him directly, causing him to widen his eyes.
"W-Wha? I- Did you- Did I hear that right?" He asked, shocked beyond belief that his ears had just heard her ask him that.
"Woooaah! Haha, I did not just say that!" Asuka said, flustered by her own request.
"Um, I mean... geez, I'm flattered and all but I'm into-" Before he could finish his sentence, he found himself being straddled by Asuka.
"Asuka! What are y- Mph!" He felt her hands grab his face as she quickly pulled him into a kiss, his body unsure as of how to react at first. This was it, his first kiss. And he was not at all sure how he felt about it.
Of course, the excitement was there for the both of them. As she kissed him, he began to kiss back himself. Not sure if he was doing it right, he let her take the lead. And although part of him was very excited, he was very nervous.
She still smelled of beer, but it didn't faze him at the moment. He just let it happen, feeling the need to discover this part of himself. This went on for a few minutes, until she began to get just a bit more feisty.
She reached down for his private part, and that's when he really began to panic on the inside.
"Mm!" He let out, trying to get her attention. She didn't listen, instead trying to take his shirt off. "Mmm!" He let out again, this time a little longer.
After not listening for the second time, he had no choice but to pull back from the kiss. Their lips smacked as they pulled apart, leaving Asuka confused as to why he would want to stop.
"W-Wait, Asuka!" He said in between heavy breaths. "What?" She asked him, not understanding what was bothering him.
"I- I'm not... I mean... I- I like someone else." He said nervously, afraid he'd upset her greatly.
"So what? We're just fooling around!" She said as she leaned in for more. He backed his head up again, not wanting to go any further.
"No, please. I don't want to do this. I don't think I'm... into this." He admitted to her. Asuka frowned. There it was, the frown he hadn't seen for just a little while. She did not look happy.
"What? So you'd rather fuck that emotionless doll instead of me?" She asked, raising her voice quite a bit.
"I just like someone else! That's all! You can't get mad at me for that!" He tried reasoning, not wanting to upset her after all the progress they had made that week.
"Fine! You wanna hook up with a toy, you do just that! You fucking loser!" She yelled at him.
She quickly got off of him and headed to her room, just like she had a few other times earlier that week. At home, they had gone back to square one. The only respect he'd get from her was in the battlefield.
"Wait, I'm sorry Asuka! It's nothing personal, I swear!" He tried to explain to her. He heard her sliding door shut loudly, and decided it was best he left her alone. Being given some alone time, he tried to comprehend what had just happened.
'I was just kissed... by her?' He thought. 'Did that really just happen?'
As all those thoughts ran through his head, knocks had come from the front door. Looking over, he decided it was best he just take his mind off of what had happened and went over to open the door.
Opening the door, he found Kaji holding a drunken Misato.
"Hey Mr. Kaji. What's going on over here?" He asked the ponytailed man.
"What do you think? Misato just had a bit too much to drink... again."
Behind him, Shinji could hear footsteps running toward him.
"Kajiii!" Asuka's voice rang from behind the blue-eyed boy.
"Woah! Asuka's staying over? Shinji, you're a player!" Kaji jokingly remarked.
Shinji let him in so he could drop off Misato in her room, as she looked like she was in awful shape.
"Y'know Kaji, I don't think any of us would mind if you stayed over!" Said Asuka, trying to get him to stay over for the night.
"Sorry Asuka, no can do. You know how much I'd be mocked for wearing this to work?" He said, pointing to the suit he had taken to wearing for his night out at the steakhouse.
"Besides, Ritsuko's my ride home tonight. I can get home just fine." He assured her. Opening Misato's door, he put her down gently and covered her up, facing her on her side just in case she felt the need to hurl at any moment during the night.
"One of you, keep watch over her, yeah? I don't want her to get sick tonight. And bring her some water, she'll definitely need to hydrate." Kaji instructed the both of them.
"Oh come on! Don't leave just yet! Can't you hang out for a bit?" Asuka pleaded, running over to him and grabbing him by the arm.
"Sorry Asuka, I can't keep Ritsuko waiting downstairs! I've got to go."
As Asuka held onto his arm, something had stopped her. A certain scent. Lavender, the perfume Misato used for her special nights out. She let go of him as he approached the front door, feeling a deep sadness brew within her.
"Take care you two. Don't have too much fun, you hear?" He said with a smirk as he waved goodbye.
"See you around, Mr. Kaji." Shinji said as he waved back. After the door closed, he looked back over at Asuka, who looked very upset again.
She had been rejected by both Shinji and Kaji that night, or at least she thought she was. Shinji simply liked another girl, while Kaji had just carried Misato over to her apartment. But the scent having rubbed off on Kaji's suit lead her to assume otherwise. She took it personally from the both of them.
When she looked back at Shinji, she immediately frowned. She ran back to her room, and shut it loudly yet again. Shinji let out a sigh. Things were looking pretty bad again. He wondered if being sent back with Asuka had even proved useful at all.
For the rest of the night, all he could think of was hanging out with Rei again.