This is a work of fiction of Neon Genesis Evangelion. I do not have any ownership, stock, or connections to Gainax, Production IG, Studio Khara, Kadokawa, or Studio Kai.


NEON GENESIS SUPER CUB

Chapter 3

(Musical Reference: Impromptu Op. 90, D. 899, No. 4 in A-Flat Major: Allegretto by Frédéric Chopin)

Another boring day in school; the Ikari boy stared forward as his teacher droned about post Second Impact Japan. The Eva pilot would sometimes glance behind to his left at his blue-haired coworker. He thought about the words of the NERV second-in-command the night before and if and possibly how he could muster the courage to talk to Rei Ayanami about riding on his motorcycle. The bell rang soon afterward; Shinji was about to walk with his two close friends to go eat lunch when he was approached by their homeroom teacher.

"Mr. Ikari..." The boy gulped thinking he was in trouble for his passing glances and not paying attention. "Please see me after school." He left the conversation at that and walked away.

"Jeez," said Toji Suzuhara, "What was that all about?"

"I don't know..." The encounter made the pilot terribly nervous. The wait would eat at him all throughout that afternoon. Even the jabs from his friends about 'ogling' Rei at the swimming pool in her swimsuit at an upper area during PE couldn't ease his mind of the upcoming meeting with the older man.

The time finally came; Shinji went to the teachers' workroom to find his homeroom teacher. He was there and led the boy outside to his car. He opened the trunk to reveal a black cube shaped box about 45cm (around 18 inches) each size. "This, Mr. Ikari, is a luggage box for a Super Cub. I've watched you every once in a while and noticed you having trouble finding a place to put your helmet. This will take care of that, and I will include the lock and key. Take good care of this and your Cub."

With tools he borrowed from his teacher he removed the second seat, attached the bolts for the luggage box snugly, then placed the second seat into the black box. The boy bowed deeply towards his teacher thanking him for the gift; he would have to get something for him to show how grateful he was. Shinji then mounted his Cub getting a feel for the added weight of the luggage box and how it would affect his turns at intersections.

Since there were no harmonics tests for the next hour and a half he decided to drive around Tokyo-3 to test his ability to handle the weight shift of the box and seat together in the back. Practicing at a few intersections he didn't notice a big difference which was good. In his mind it meant that he was starting to get used to the feel of his motorcycle under him. Even though driving this was much different than piloting his Eva it still felt like the bike was an extension of himself, not unlike the robot he synchronized with and fought in.

Stopping at another intersection he looked to his left at a small electronics store; there was an item in the window that caught his eye. He decided to park his Super Cub next to the curb. He turned off the engine, flipped the kickstand out, and then took off his helmet and gloves which barely fit in the luggage box along with the second seat; he closed the lid and locked it.

The pilot walked into the shop and looked at the wide variety of gadgets crammed into the tiny space. There were camcorders, video and audio players, various sizes of television screens, surveillance equipment, electrical components... His otaku friend, Kensuke Aida, would feel at home at a place like this. He didn't let himself forget the reason he stepped into the store. The middle-aged, balding man with bushy eyebrows stood from his chair next to a small television playing some mid-afternoon police drama. "Yes... Can I help you, young man?"

He pointed to the item that caught his eye in the window. It was an SDAT and CD combo boom box. "How much for that?"

"¥17,900..." (* about $144), "...but no one uses the SDAT technology anymore so it's just been sitting there collecting dust. Tell you what. Just because you noticed it I'll sell it to you for ¥12,000 (* $96.77)."

He looked into his school bag at the money he earned the night before from his deliveries. It wasn't enough. Even though he could have easily used his NERV card like he did when he purchased his Super Cub he still wanted to be able to earn it. This was something he could use around the apartment. "When do you close tonight?"

"Huh?" The man had his focus back on his drama, the action building up with a car chase. "Oh... probably around 10 or 11. I always have night owls looking for things late."

"Would you be able to hold it for me until then?" The boy didn't want to sound desperate, but he did want the portable stereo.

"Can you put ¥3,000 to hold it?"

Feeling a bit confident at this ability the teen held out some money and replied, "Here's ¥5,000. I'll pay the rest of it tonight."

With a raise of his bushy brow he chuckled and said, "You've got it, kid. Are you going to work for the rest of it or something?"

"Yes, Sir. I'm going to deliver noodles later this evening."

His earlier chuckle erupted into a hearty guffaw. "I like you, kid! Go work hard! I'll see you later!"

The synchronization test was pretty normal; he went up by a point. Dr. Ritsuko Akagi seemed pretty satisfied by this and let the boy go for the afternoon. He thought about asking Rei if she wanted a ride back to her place, but thought better of it; he wasn't ready to pose that question just yet. Also, for some reason, she seemed like she was enjoying a conversation with his father of all people during the harmonics test. He didn't see the blue-haired girl afterward; maybe she's talking with him more. He pushed that thought out of his mind to focus on more immediate matters: that boom box.

He drove straight to the noodle shop to find the owner surprised and excited that the Cub owner came back so quickly! "Young man, you once again are a life saver! Thank you so much for coming back. You need any dinner before you start? It'll be on me."

"No, thank you, Sir. I'm alright." The Eva pilot beamed at the restaurant owner. "I'm ready to work and earn some money. I've got something I want to buy later."

"I completely understand. You let me know when you get hungry, and I'll have a hot bowl ready for you. Good luck out there and watch out for afternoon traffic! People aren't looking out for motorcyclists when they're trying to get home!"

The shift went just like it did the night before with three office deliveries that evening instead of one the night before. All gave generous tips for the inconvenience. Word got out around NERV and the bridge crew chipped in together to buy noodles and help their fellow employee as well which was completely unexpected by the pilot of Unit-01. The tips from the large deliveries, as well as his wages for the day, were more than enough to cover the rest of the amount due to the small electronics store owner.

The restaurateur thanked Shinji once again and offered once more a dinner. Shinji accepted and asked for one more which he offered to pay for Misato when she got out of work and figured would be hungry. Of course the owner declined the boy's offer and gave TWO more bowls at no cost.

"Just think of it as leftovers, young man!"

Once more many thanks were thrown at the delivery driver before he left quickly to make it to the electronics store before it closed.

A few minutes passed by the time Shinji made it to the electronics store. Sure enough it was still open, however its owner was fast asleep with his head laying on his arm, a kaiju show of some sort on the television that couldn't keep his attention. The meek teen quietly approached the counter not wanting to awaken the sleeping man. He had to do something, though; he had noodles in his delivery basket that were slowly becoming more cold and soggy. With a deep sigh he softly cleared his throat.

Nothing.

Under other circumstances the boy would have freaked out thinking he had found a dead body, but the biggest clue to the middle-aged man being alive was his light snoring. Shinji cleared his throat a bit more loudly.

The snoring man was not fazed.

The boy was getting desperate to pay for his stored item and get home quickly! He decided he had to open his mouth and speak up. Why did it have to come to this?! He searched in his mind for the words he would say. He didn't know the man's name, so that was out. He guessed 'Sir' would be a good place to start. The boy breathed in ready to make his presence known.

"Mitsuru-san, wake up!"

The Eva pilot screamed almost jumping out of his skin as he whipped around to look at the one who almost ended his life out of fear. The shop owner snorted loudly being woken by the commotion. They both looked at a mid-twenties man with spiky hair and square-framed glasses with a wide grin on his face trying to keep from laughing at the spectacle afforded to him.

"Lt. Hyuga?" Said the boy.

"Shinji-kun, what are you doing here so late? This really isn't a good place to be after dark." The NERV technician half-heartedly chided the Eva pilot.

"Oh?" The bushy eyebrows of the store owner raised at those words. "And what brings YOU here then, Makoto-kun? Need some more surveillance equipment for your girlfriend?"

The bridge bunny's face reddened deeply trying to fight back against the embarrassing onslaught. "She's not my girlfriend, Mitsuru-san! I'm just helping her out!"

The middle-aged man chuckled and responded, "Ah, but you'd like for her to be. Am I right?"

Hyuga couldn't fight back against that. With a sigh he drooped his shoulders. "Yeah, you're right."

"Well don't give up hope! You're still young. Work hard to get her attention!"

"::SIGH:: Yes, Sir."

"Very good!" The owner turned his attention back to the teen waiting and slowing his breathing from his brush with death. "I'm guessing you're here to collect the boom box?"

With a nod he responded, "Y-Yes, Sir." The Cub owner produced the money owed; the owner got the item from behind the counter.

"Shinji-kun," said the bespectacled man, "That technology's ancient! Don't tell me you paid full price for that."

"Don't worry; I made him a deal earlier in the day. He told me he was going to work for it, which I'm guessing he did based on the money here." He turned back to Shinji as he counted the bills. "So how to you know Hyuga-kun anyways? He's been coming to my shop since he started at NERV."

The boy decided to come clean like he did with Machi Koike earlier when he bought his Super Cub. "I'm the pilot of one of the Evas."

Those bushy eyebrows of his once more stood at attention. "Really? Then why are you paying for everything like this? We all owe you a debt of gratitude for saving our lives, kid."

"I know," said the Eva pilot. "But I want to earn it. My Super Cub is helping me with that."

With a smile Mitsuru spoke, "Well, you can't argue with that. Is there anything else I can get for you, kid?"

Shinji scanned the store walls quickly; he still had to get dinner home. He happened upon an item that actually looked useful. It was a backpack with thick foam padding that looked like it could be useful as a camera or equipment bag. Those movable compartments could prove to be quite useful. "I'll have that camera bag."

He paid for it and placed the purchased items in his luggage box.

(Musical Reference: 6 Impromptus, Op. 5: Impromptu VI by Jean Sibelius)

The ride home was not long as he parked at his unofficially designated spot next to where Misato would park; she was not home yet...perfect. He rushed up quickly with his items, leaving his helmet, gloves, and second seat locked in the luggage box. He got out two bowls and poured the contents of the to-go containers to make a nice dinner setup with light classical music playing softly from the SDAT tape in the boom box. A few minutes later a tired, worn out woman walked into her apartment with an equally tired lady with blonde hair. They both walked into the kitchen area and their jaws dropped at the food ready.

"Good evening, Misato. Oh, Ritsuko-san...I didn't expect you here. Luckily there's one more dinner!" The boy quickly got another bowl out and prepared a meal for their guest.

"Shinji?" The purple-haired woman was at a near loss. "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion, Misato. I just wanted to treat you since you work so hard for us. Thankfully I got another meal so you can have dinner with us as well, Ritsuko-san."

"Thank you, Shinji-kun. At least it's not Misato's cooking."

With a glare from the purple-haired director of operations the three settled down for dinner. After explaining where the food came from with his job and another stern talking-to from his caregiver/housemate the trio enjoyed some good time away from the hectic work at NERV.

The Lead Scientist of Project E gave Shinji an ID card to give to his blue-haired coworker. This meant he would have to drop by her place before her reactivation test with Unit-00. Maybe he would finally get the guts to ask her if she wanted to ride on his Cub.

He could only hope it would go well...


(AN): This chapter was more of an interlude that will build to something else next chapter. I'll be working on this as well as getting the next chapter of Brave New World ready.


COMING ATTRACTIONS
(Maybe...)

They like to roll dice. But a game with the wrong person puts long time friends Kensuke and Toji in hot water as they fight for their lives. Will they repay their debts, or will they lose their souls?!

A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL!

([NOT] A partnership between Gainax, Studio IG, Studio Khara, Studio MDHR, and Majestik Moose Productions.)

She was there at ground zero! Scarred to silence she doesn't speak to anyone until a boy figures her out using his special ability. Can he help her to speak again?

Katsuragi Can't Communicate!

([NOT] A partnership between Gainax, Studio IG, Studio Khara, OLM Inc., and Majestik Moose Productions.)