December 4th 2015, 15:33
It had come out of nowhere, Misato's invitation to visit Shinji with her. The Major had basically whisked her away after their morning set of simulation training, barely allowing Asuka to get a word in edgewise before they had set foot in the cranial ward. Despite the forcefulness of it all, though, Asuka didn't mind that much, she sort of welcomed the respite from the day, in fact. Mari had been particularly hyper all morning and even Rei had been quieter and weirder than normal for some reason, and, while Asuka had begun to grow used to her teammates' quirks by virtue of their cohabitation, the fourth of December had been different and chaotic enough from the usual routine that she had developed a bit of a headache.
In that sense, the silence of the hospital was a blessing, even if it meant dealing with the occasional warning looks of Shinji's nurse whenever she entered to check on him. Above all, however, it had been an awkward experience, being able to talk to the boy inside her head while standing next to his sleeping body, a serious and contemplative Misato just a few steps away. Not for the first time, and likely not for the last, Asuka considered telling her superior all about her and Shinji's shared situation, but chickened out in the end, much to the Third Child's noticeable disappointment.
He tried not to make it obvious, of course, but Shinji was a pretty terrible actor. Asuka herself wasn't much better, honestly, since she had already caught Misato stealing several glances in her direction. Obviously, she had noticed her brooding.
Not that being noticed had stopped Asuka from fretting even after the both of them finally finished their visit and resumed the trek back to the apartment. After all, Shinji did have a point: how much longer could they keep on existing as they were without any problems or side-effects? Humans were not designed with the possibility of having their awareness transplanted to another body in mind. Every single day, the likelihood that she could risk Shinji's well-being due to her own inaction nagged at the back of Asuka's mind, but that fear never proved enough to overcome the fear of what could happen to her should she speak up.
"It's fine," Shinji quickly reassured her, noticing the direction of her thoughts. "Misato couldn't help us, anyway."
'...I guess you're right.' Asuka found herself agreeing, despite really not wanting to. Then, with a deep sigh, and trying to keep herself from sulking at her own cowardice, she unlocked the door to the shared quarters...
"SURPRISE!"
...and almost fell on her butt out of sheer shock.
"Hey, Bluebird! You lied!" Mari exclaimed, putting aside a banner that said 'GO, PRINCESS!' and turning to her teammate. "You said you were going to surprise her with me!"
"I didn't lie to you," Rei calmly defended herself.
"Well, I sure didn't hear you, and I'm right next to you!" the Fifth Child protested, hands on her hips. "Come on, once more! But with feeling!"
The First Child silently blinked a few times, looking as if she didn't understand Mari's criticism. Then, and with something resembling a minimalistic sigh, Rei faced Asuka once again.
"Surprise." The bluenette 'shouted' in the most deadpan of voices. She then turned her attention to her partner in crime, Rei's usually non-expressive visage betraying some slight irritation.
"I... guess that will have to do," Mari lamely acknowledged, her face and shoulders sagging a bit.
"What's going on?" Asuka demanded when it became clear that no quick answer was forthcoming.
"What do you mean, what's going on?" Mari quickly turned to Asuka, her mood doing one of its usual one-eighties. "And turn that frown upside down! Why don't you give us a big smile, instead?"
"...Why?"
"Why?" Mari echoed, disbelieving. "Isn't it obvious, Princess? You don't turn fourteen every day!"
A second of stunned silence filled the room, the Second Child staring open-mouthed at her two teammates right as Misato quietly closed the apartment's door behind them.
"Wait, today is your birthday?" Shinji asked, just as surprised.
'I... guess?' Asuka replied, giving her watch a quick glance. 'Shit, I completely forgot.'
"H-Happy birthday, then! Sorry, I didn't know!"
'It's fine, Third. It's not like I remembered eith-'
"What are you doing just standing there like a stunned mullet?" Mari suddenly cheered, dragging Asuka by the wrist and towards the kitchen. "Come, come! It's time to ce-le-brate!"
"Hey, slow down!" the redhead protested, helplessly thrashing against the Fifth Child's iron grip. "Misatooo! Put a leash on her, will you?!"
"Not this time, Asuka."
"WHAT?!"
"She's got the right idea," Misato continued with a shrug. "We should all have fun today. It's special."
Reeling as she was from the betrayal, Mari had no further problems 'inviting' Asuka to sit in one of the kitchen chairs. A party hat was then produced from out of nowhere, neatly finding its way right between the Second Child's trademark crimson A-10 connectors.
"B-But-" Asuka quickly patted her head, feeling the foreign object as she struggled to find a way out of the situation. "Oh! What about the training?!"
"The three of you are here, so I see no problems," Misato swiftly shot down Asuka's protest, clearly signalling that she was in on the whole thing, as well. Defeated, the Second Child resigned herself to letting the last of her objections go without a follow-up, a somewhat anxious grimace spreading over her face.
"Why are you being so fussy, Princess?" Mari questioned, heading towards a carefully covered package in the kitchen. "It's almost like you have never celebrated your birthday before, or something."
"Of course I celebrate my birthdays! It's just..." Asuka shot back, her anxious expression leaving way for a hint of sadness. "...not like... this. And not with so many people. Usually it was just-"
"Kaji...," Misato finished for her, quickly catching on to the girl's meaning. Asuka's eyes then swiftly shot up, managing to catch a glimpse of pain on the Major's face before she pushed it aside.
"That's-…" Mari also paused with a frown, her hand hovering over the carefully wrapped package for a few moments before she forced a grin back in place. A shift that Asuka would have easily noticed had she only been facing the other way. "Well, look on the bright side, Princess! This year, you're celebrating your birthday with three more people! Isn't that amazing?!"
Having successfully grabbed everyone's attention once more, Mari purposefully strode back to the table and placed the package on top of it, taking a seat across from Asuka for herself. Rei quickly joined her, having been previously briefed on what needed to be done at that junction, and took one of the seats next to the redhead, a thoughtful-looking Misato flanking the Second Child on the other side shortly after.
Then, after a quick glance to ensure that everyone was ready, Mari carefully put her fingers around the wrapping. With a teasing smirk she held her position for a few seconds, waiting until she could tell that Asuka was about to let out an annoyed remark to pull up.
"TA-DAH!" Mari jingled, unveiling a small and circular chocolate cake. It was a simple thing, the brown tower topped with some strawberries and blackberries, but it looked appetizing nonetheless. The decorative red A-10 connectors on either side of it were more than enough customization, anyway.
"You did this?" Asuka stared at the cake from all angles, failing to hide her surprise.
"Well, me and Bluebird both, and sorry about the quality. I got a bit of help on the side, but I'm still not the best of bakers," Mari replied with a shrug, before cocking her head in the Rei's direction. "She isn't, either, by the way."
"...I successfully performed my assignment," the bluenette promptly protested.
"Yeah, yeah, Bluebird, I didn't say you did a bad job," Mari quickly offered as appeasement. She then grinned in Asuka's direction, passing the stunned girl a knife. "Actually, why don't we let birthday girl be the judge of that? Have a taste!"
And with the way Mari was looking at her, it was clear to Asuka that her tasting was not up for debate. After all, she really wouldn't put it past Mari to pull out a funnel at the first sign of hesitation and force-feed her like a goose, or something. Asuka therefore chose to wisely, but carefully, take the crimson connectors out of the cake and cut a small piece for herself, before biting a tiny bit of chocolate.
"It's..." she began, pushing the dessert around her mouth. It was sweet and actually tasted like chocolate which, while not amazing, probably earned the cake a passing grade. "...Pretty good."
A happy cheer immediately erupted from the other side of the table.
"YAY! Got it in one!" the Fifth Child brought her hands back to the earth and reached out for the knife, cutting what was left of the cake into four similarly sized pieces. "Time for everyone else to dig in, then! And with an extra for the Princess because she liked it so much, of course!"
Asuka's objections to the idea went predictably unheard, and the four women casually shared the chocolate goodness with some light conversation until there was not a crumb left to be found on the plate. Or rather, Mari talked about their trials with baking the cake while Rei and Asuka offered some comments from the side, Misato remaining surprisingly quiet throughout the whole ordeal.
Then, just as they had finished eating and were about to pick up the plates, the Fifth Child brought a finger to her head.
"Oh, by the way: since this was all set up on short notice, I don't have a present to give you. You know, because we haven't been able to leave the base since I arrived, pretty much," Mari said with an apologetic smile. "Sorry."
"It's fine. I don't really care about presents, anyway," Asuka easily replied, downplaying the Fifth Child's worries. In spite of her strong words, however, there was a tiny twinge of disappointment welling inside her.
"Is that so?" Misato suddenly cut in, faking some surprise. "So you mean you don't want what I have for you?"
"Eh?" Asuka promptly turned to face the older woman so fast that she almost left an after-image. "...You have a present for me?"
"Sure do! Just... don't set your expectations too high, okay?" the Major elaborated with an evasive shrug. "This is just my way of trying to make up for... you know, all that stuff I've been doing wrong. Remind myself of what I need to improve on."
Not looking Asuka in the eye, Misato put the wrapped package on top of the table. She did so quickly, almost as if it burnt her, and reclined back in her seat to inspect one of the room's far walls.
Now curious, the Second Child reached out to the small present. It fit snugly inside her open palm, the colourful wrapping giving no hints whatsoever as to what could have been within. Peeking at Misato and finding that she was still doing her best not to look, Asuka gingerly grabbed one of the small bits of tape and pulled it free, repeating the process on all of the others until the wrapping came completely loose. When she was finished, a small brown box remained.
Asuka opened the little box and peeked inside. What greeted her were a pair of A-10 connectors, white with a black line each.
Shinji's.
"They're the ones he was wearing when… you know," Misato explained, giving an awkward shrug as she tried not to look at her ward. "…And yeah, I'm aware it's a bit lame as far as exciting presents go, but I... thought you might want to have them on hand. For safekeeping. Until Shinji wakes up."
A heavy silence settled over the kitchen, Asuka trying to find Misato's eyes even as the Major did her best to avoid them. A chase that continued for several seconds, Misato nervously fidgeting in place and seeming to prepare for a reaction that... never came.
Instead, Asuka turned her eyes back to the small pieces of plastic in her hand, piecing their story together bit by bit.
'She must have been holding on to them all this time,' the redhead ultimately deduced.
"You... think so?"
'...Of course she did. You really are an idiot sometimes.'
"H-Hey!"
But Asuka's mind was already moving past Shinji's protest. Slowly but resolutely, the Second Child stood up and walked over to her troubled guardian, putting her arms around her.
"...Thanks, Misato."
"I… Eh... You're… welcome, Asuka," Misato managed, somewhat stiffly returning the hug. "But hey, that's enough of the downer talk! Did someone say karaoke?!"
A singular cheer came from the other side of the table and Mari dragged Rei to help her pick up and connect a strange contraption which Asuka figured was a karaoke machine. The Second Child watched them work with both curiosity and a bit of dread, but all throughout she remained joined with Misato. It was only when the other two pilots finished and the Major commented that they should go join them that Asuka allowed the older woman to break free.
Again, she felt a pang of guilt for failing to tell Misato the truth. But this time, there was also something else: a speck of courage that her guardian's selfless gesture had awoken.
'...Hey, Shinji,' Asuka thought, startling the Third Child who appeared to have been pensive.
"Uh... Yeah?"
After all, if Misato could set aside her own pain to try and lessen hers, what sort of person would she be if she didn't at least try to repay the favour?
'We'll talk with Akagi, I promise. Right after we're done with this training.'
-O]|[O-
"Thanks for the help."
Misato looked up to see that the Fifth Child had stealthily approached her. She had retreated to the back of the room a few minutes ago when Asuka had finally caved in to peer pressure and picked up the microphone, leaving the girls to their fun while she, as the only adult, spent her time thinking circles of problems both past and present. An effort that had obviously taken a greater part of her focus than she had initially expected, considering her failure to notice the faux-affable girl until she was right next to her.
"I didn't do it for you, but I can identify a good initiative when I see one," Misato stiffly replied, trying to keep the surprise from showing in her words. She eyed Makinami carefully, trying to discern if she, too, had a signal scrambler on her person, just like Ritsuko during their last talk. "I'm still keeping my eye on you."
"Oh, Major," Mari grinned, meaningfully putting a hand inside one of her pockets. "You're going to make me blush!"
With an annoyed huff, Misato ignored the bait and focused her attention on the other two Pilots: they were struggling with a song that required two singers, some J-Pop remix of a very old Sinatra classic, and Asuka had her hands full trying to get Rei to properly cooperate. Still, it was clear that the Second Child was enjoying herself, and they were doing a fairly good job for two girls with no actual voice training, too.
But more importantly, they were getting along. Something completely unthinkable a mere three weeks ago and a sight that would have made Misato crack a smile at any other time. But her mind was far too busy thinking to truly appreciate it, especially now that the Fifth Child had joined her. Something about the girl's recent actions and words had been bothering her for some time.
"Answer me something," she finally decided to ask the girl beside her, breaking her from her own trance. "Before. Why did you say 'three more people'?"
"Hmm?"
"You told Asuka that she would celebrate her birthday with three more people this year, but that's not right," Misato continued, conspiratorial. "It's just Rei, you and me here. Minus Kaji that would be two more people, not three. Did you fail basic mathematics?"
For a brief second, Mari looked back at her, her eyes not betraying a single thing.
"Right, that must have been it," the Fifth Child replied with her usual nonchalance. "I've always been a terrible student. You see, the teachers never liked me much, and my daddy and mommy always screamed at each other and made me feel very, very sad and unloved and-"
"This has something to do with what happened to Shinji, doesn't it?" Misato insisted, smelling blood. "Ritsuko figured something out and then told you about it."
"I really have no clue about what happened to the Third," Mari promptly deflected, throwing all pretence out the window as she turned to face the Major. "Besides, I wouldn't tell you even if I did. I don't owe you shit. You don't work with us, remember?"
Misato kept a stony face all throughout, not at all surprised by the girl's hostility given their previous interactions. Its mere presence still left an important and yet unanswered question lingering about, however.
"What's your problem with me?" the older woman demanded, her words bringing out a teasing smirk from Mari. "I'm sure that I've never met you before."
"That's for me to know and you to find out."
"I could start doing that right now," Misato confidently shot back, checking for body tells. "I caught how you reacted to Kaji's name."
The Major's vigilance was rewarded when she caught a minor clench of Mari's hand get through her façade of indifference. A very small thing, but that was proof enough for her.
"...So that guy wasn't lying. You really knew Kaji, didn't you?" Misato concluded, pressing on. "Is that what this is about? You think it's my fault that he's dead?"
"I think our most promising rookie agent in decades wouldn't have gotten himself cornered like he did if not for... extraneous circumstances," the Fifth Child flippantly stated, leaning back against the wall. "Make of that what you will."
"So that's a yes." Narrowing her eyes at the girl, Misato thought about arguing Mari's claims for a moment, but quickly decided against it. A big argument within earshot of Asuka was certainly not a good idea, and she wasn't certain that she could help herself while on the topic of Kaji. Instead, she mimicked the Fifth Child's posture and allowed a few seconds of silence to pass them by. "...You knew him well?"
The lull in the conversation extended for a longer period, against the backdrop of two singing voices that were not quite in sync. Again, Misato lamented how she should have been enjoying that show far more than she was.
"...Well enough." Mari ultimately replied, right when the older woman began to think that she wouldn't.
"Where from? You're a bit too young to be one of his lady friends."
"I stumbled upon him while in an op in Germany, poking his nose into stuff better left alone. I tailed him for a bit, liked what I saw and recommended him for recruitment, acting as the bridge that got him into our little family," the girl elaborated, no nonsense in her voice. "That was a few years back."
"A few years back?" Misato echoed, turning a quizzical eye towards her. "...How old are you, exactly?"
"Tsk, tsk, Major," Mari deflected with a mocking smirk, "Were you never taught not to ask a lady her age? I could add that to the list of things I have to pay you back for, you know?"
"So it's not just about Kaji, is it?"
Mari found herself blinking at the sudden question, her eyebrows coming together into a frown.
"...Damn, I'm full of holes today," the Fifth Child chuckled to herself. "This whole situation is seriously affecting my focus."
"Not something a spy should ever say, right? Are you going to hate me for that one too?"
"More than you can imagine."
"Hey, why are you two back there?" Asuka's far away voice suddenly intruded into their conversation. "You're not trying to weasel out of singing, are you?"
Two pair of eyes turned to face the front of the room again, from where Asuka was kneeling on top of the couch and inquisitively looking back at them. The song she had been singing had already finished, its sounds replaced with the catchy tune of the song select menu.
"Never even crossed our minds, Princess," Mari quickly denied as she seamlessly slipped back into character, her mask easily surviving the scrutiny of her team leader.
"Hmph. Whatever, I gotta use the toilet," the redhead declared, pointing at the couch. "You come back here, Glasses. It's your turn to sing."
"Hai~!" Mari agreed with her usual flourish, watching Asuka as she went on her way and disappeared through the door to the bathroom. Rei stood up from the couch not a second later, giving the Fifth Child a meaningful look before she walked in the same direction.
"...Guess she wants me to come, too. Diligent to a fault, that one," Mari commented to herself, shaking her head in amusement. She then threw one last look over her shoulder at the Major. "Why don't we leave the rest of this pleasant chat for another day?"
"Wait, one last question," Misato stopped her. "Are your mechanical pests as dangerous as I think they are?"
"If you already suspect enough to ask me that question, you shouldn't need to hear my answer," the Fifth Child replied, amused. "Does your military sense tell you that they would be a sound investment otherwise?"
"No, far too costly for a fancy gadget that only spies on people," the older woman agreed with a grim shake of her head. "I just find it curious that the people who think themselves our saviours are also willing to hold most of NERV HQ hostage."
"I'm sure you know how the saying about the times and the measures goes, Katsuragi. Besides, you're in a perfect position to ensure we never even need to consider that option."
"Funny," Misato scoffed, tapping the collar around her neck with a finger. "I don't think I have much of a choice right now."
"You will, and sooner than you think. Our preparations are almost complete."
The new information gave Misato pause, her mind comparing the facts she had gathered about the foreign infiltration team within NERV with the lacking, although still fairly powerful, defensive capabilities that HQ possessed against an outside invasion. The numbers as they were gave an overwhelming advantage to the home team, which did very little to ease the Major's worries.
"...ETA?"
"Sixty-five hours," Mari provided with a wide, almost devilish, grin. "Then things will finally become fun around here."
Misato couldn't help the tightening of her jaw, the Fifth Child's smile becoming even wider at the sight. Scenario after scenario passed through the Major's imagination, each one increasingly chaotic and damaging, as a taut ambience filled the backside of the room...
...and then a tired and very loud groan sounded from the other side of the makeshift apartment.
"HEY, MARI! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE ALREADY!" Asuka furiously yelled. "AYANAMI WON'T LET ME GO INTO THE BATHROOM IF WE'RE NOT TOGETHER!"
Both women looked at each other and raised an eyebrow in unison, the spell of a thousand conspiracies broken like a twig by the shouting of an angry, half-teutonic teenager.
"And I believe that's going to be everything from me, unless you feel like risking her fury?" Mari said with a knowing smile, visibly struggling to contain a chuckle. Misato, for her part, remained gravely silent, which the Fifth child took as her cue to leave. "Thought so. Ta-ta~!"
And with a casual wave, Mari Makinami stepped away to join her comrades, the Major's eyes following her every step of the way while she wondered to herself if putting a bullet through the back of the spy's head could possibly make their situation any worse than it already appeared to be. Misato swiftly squashed the thought, however, coinciding with Asuka's indignant demands being masterfully turned against her, the Second Child's miffed replies continuing soon after albeit for very different reasons.
No, she decided. Even if Misato Katsuragi had been the kind of person that would resort to murder as a way to fix her problems, the Fifth Child had wormed her way in far enough that doing so would do more harm than good. Whatever contingencies she tried to come up with would need to be deployed when all the cards were on the table, and most likely not a moment sooner.
Slowly and quietly, Misato made her way out of the apartment. She hated the idea of leaving what was probably one of Asuka's most important days early, but time was no longer a luxury that she had.
-O]|[O-
"Hey Asuka, the day's not over yet. Why don't you give us a big smile?"
Asuka tiredly raised her eyes to look at the Fifth Child. The evening had quickly caught up to the group after nearly a full day of celebrations and the redhead was very much liking the idea of dinner and an early bed by that point. Mari looked no worse for wear, however, Asuka preferring not to think which pit of hell the tireless girl had to be borrowing her fountains of energy from.
"I'm starting to get tired of smiling for no reason, you know?" the Second Child snapped back, her exhaustion making the comeback sound more like a whimper. "And where did Misato go?"
"She said she had some important stuff to take care of," Mari replied with a shrug. "Is it a big deal that she be here?"
"No, it's just..." Asuka paused, keeping the rest of her thought to a whisper. "I wanted to thank her properly, too."
"What was that?"
"Noooothing." Asuka drawled, her head falling on top of the desk with a light thud. She then turned accusing eyes to the Fifth Child. "…And how are you still so damn cheery? Don't you ever get tired?"
"Why, I'm just happy to count you among my friends! That gives me all the energy I could need!" Mari exclaimed with a teasing smirk, deflecting the glare with practised ease. "Maybe Piggy-chan will be mad that I stole you from her, huh?"
Slightly taken aback by the words, Asuka blinked in place for a spell. After all, due to Hikari not being the outgoing type, overt declarations of friendship weren't something that the redhead could consider herself experienced with.
It felt… strange. Nice, but strange.
"…Yeah, right. I bet she's too busy fawning over her boyfriend to remember little old me," Asuka quickly half-complained to drop back into character. "I guess I should be happy with getting a message out of her."
"Boyfriend? Horaki-san?" she heard Shinji ask with clear surprise. "When did that happen?"
A question that Asuka simply no energies left to address.
'Shush, Third. Maybe tomorrow.'
"That's not fair, it's not like she could have made it all the way down here, anyway," Mari chided, unaware of the conversation at the other end of the table. She brought a finger to her lips in thought. "Oh, and who's the lucky guy? Do I know him?"
"Trust me. You're better off not knowing Toji Suzuhara, moron extraordinaire." Asuka blurted before she could stop herself.
"WAIT, WHAT?!"
"Suzuhara?" Mari echoed, ignoring Asuka's scoff and subsequent wince. "Wasn't he the test pilot for Unit-03? The one that got injured?"
"…Yeah, he was," barely able to mumble her response, Asuka found herself wishing that she could plug her ears against the voice in her mind. Shinji's immediate pleas for forgiveness didn't help matters, either, as usual. "Why?"
"Oh, nothing. Just thought I should pay the guy a visit," the Fifth Child replied with a wide grin. "Wish him a swift recovery and all that!"
"I sure bet he'll want to recover quickly after five minutes with you."
"HEY!" Mari protested, with Asuka kicking herself for failing to plug her ears a second time. "That was uncalled for, Princess! Is that how you honour our bonds of friendship and camaraderie?!
"Bluebird!" she continued, turning her authoritative attention to the silent Rei Ayanami. "Say something to her!"
"Why?"
"Because friendship demands action in times like these! Or are you going to tell me that you don't enjoy our times together?"
"No. They are agreeable," the bluenette answered with a minute shake of her head. "…For the most part."
"Of course they are!" Mari ignored the last quip, pointing her finger at the First Child. "And that's why I need you to do as I will tell you!"
All the while, a pair of blue eyes followed the proceedings with wary attention.
"What the hell are you plotting now?"
The accusing finger shifted targets back to the miffed redhead.
"I am plotting your punishment! Retribution for the crimes of friendship dishonouring, name-calling and general moodiness during a good-vibe day! Your wrongdoings have been measured and judged, and the sentence has been decreed to be…" Asuka braced herself for anything during Mari's pregnant pause, her body tensing to bolt out at the first hint of foul play. "Punishment by tickles!"
But nothing could have protected her from the Fifth Child's feral pounce, Mari flying over the table and leaving Asuka no time to react. Her chair clattered to the floor and the two girls collapsed into a struggling pile, with Mari immediately getting to work on her so-called corrective measures.
"Hey, let go!" Asuka tried her hardest to defend her dignity, but Mari's fingers always managed to pierce through her defences and find her sensitive spots, extorting chortles out of her. But it was also at that point, between giggles, that the Second Child realised something else that made matters even worse. "S-Shit! Your hands are freezing!"
"Oh shush, you big baby! My hands aren't that cold!" Mari deflected, unrelenting. "I just have bad blood circulation!"
"Yeah! To your brain! Stop it, you idiot!"
"Oh, no, no! That won't do! There's still a lot of bad words coming out of that pretty mouth," the Fifth Child sang, redoubling her attacks. "Clearly, the rehabilitation program is not complete yet~!
And so, Mari's so-called 'rehabilitation program' continued to run for an entire minute, and then another, Asuka's helpless laughter echoing throughout the apartment without an apparent end in sight. All the while, Asuka kept on trying her hardest to break free, but the best of her efforts failed to achieve much of anything, pinned to the ground as she was.
"I… don't think I should be watching this." She felt her forced companion mutter to himself, clearly embarrassed.
'I don't care if you're watching! Just help me, Stupid Shinji!'
"How? There isn't much I can do from here!"
'Then figure out something!' Asuka demanded, caring little for how desperate she sounded. 'I'm dying here, dammit!'
"…No, you're not."
'I'm not?!' the redhead 'yelled', feeling how the Third Child's deadpan comments turned into a pained wince. 'I'm so doing this to you when you get back! That will show you, smartass!'
"I have a question," Rei suddenly inquired from her position at the table, making Mari pause mid-tickling and giving the Second and Third Children a much needed respite.
"Yeah? Shoot, Bluebird."
"Does your current activity fulfil Major Katsuragi's orders for team building exercises?"
A second passed in which both girls shared a look. Then, a feral grin manifested on the Fifth Child's face just as a look of sheer terror appeared on Asuka's.
"Oh, yes! You should totally participate!" Mari cheerfully claimed. "What's more, I order you to! In the name of friendship!"
"HELL NO!" came the loud objection from her victim right after. "Don't listen to the crazy moron, Ayanami! Get her off me!"
Shifting her eyes from one of her teammates to the other, Rei weighted both of the answers she had received within her mind. They were opposite to one another, contradictory, and since there was to be no outside interference in their training now that the Major was gone, deciding which of the orders she could trust would come down to her own analytical capabilities.
An analysis that barely took a second.
"What should I do, Fifth Child?" Rei purposefully rose from her seat, moving into position.
"You get the feet!"
"NOOOOOOOooooooo!" Asuka wailed as the bluenette expertly immobilised her legs, leaving her fully open for the nefarious Fifth Child to continue her torture. "L-Let me go, alreadyyy!"
"Not until you say the magic words~!" she teased as she made the redhead squirm in laughter with every touch of her fingers. "You just love having friends as good and supportive as us, don't you~?"
"Y-Yeah! I do! And I'm sorry for… everything I said, alright?!" Asuka finally caved in. "S-So just stop tickling me!"
"But of course!" Mari agreed, stopping the torment. But it was then that Asuka noticed, just as she was about to let out a sigh of relief, that Rei's pressure on her legs hadn't loosened up in the slightest. The redhead opened her eyes to find a toothy grin being directed her way. "…In a bit."
"WHAT?!"
And so the assault on the defenceless Second Child continued for what felt to her like an eternity, but in reality barely pushed past a few minutes before she was truly and finally released from her so-called punishment, Asuka taking a few deep breaths of the sweet oxygen her body was craving in order to calm her beating heart.
She then somewhat unsteadily sat up into an upright position and produced a murderous look that could have destroyed an Angel on the spot.
"Come on, Princess, don't give me that look!" the receiver of said death-glare tried smiling widely to defuse the ticking time bomb before her. "It was fun! We all laughed a lot, right?"
"You're. So. Dead," Asuka ignored her, every syllable out of her mouth dripping with enmity. With a firm movement of her head, she motioned at the unsuspecting girl before her. "Ayanami."
And before she could react, two pale arms had gently but firmly grabbed Mari by the shoulders, pinning her to the ground.
"Huh?!" she looked up at her captor, surprise evident in her eyes. "H-Hey… Bluebird? This wasn't part of the plan!"
"All activities must be undertaken as a group for the duration of our training," Rei explained, in what sounded like a somewhat amused variation of her usual monotone. "Those are our orders."
"Oh, I-I see," Mari remembered, swallowing tightly. "Et tu, Blueb-?"
But before she could finish protesting, the Fifth Child's eyes were brought to the front: Asuka had moved into position right in front of her, hands poised to strike and looking like the mirror image of a vengeful devil, if only her hair had been on fire. The helpless girl could swear she heard a low and unsettling growl coming out of the redhead, too.
"Uh… I surrender?" Mari tried one last time, hoping to escape the dangerous glint in Asuka's eye.
But her hopes were swiftly squashed when Asuka mirrored the same sort of smile that had tormented her not ten minutes ago, causing Mari Makinami to question her life choices for the 4th of December, 2015.
"Not. Happening," Judge, jury and executioner Sohryu put the final nail in the coffin of the Fifth Child's punishment. "Payback time."
And so ended the fourteenth birthday of Asuka Langley-Sohryu. With various pleas for help and forgiveness that continued well into the night.
It was still the best birthday celebration that the Second Child could remember.
A/N: Here's a lighter, more comedy based update to ease off all the drama and intrigue from last time. I wanted to tackle Asuka's birthday at some point in this story, and reading it during the editing pass I believe it came out quite well.
But is this the calm before the storm, I wonder...? ;)