From the author : Shinji and Asuka are on the case ! As our duo dives deeper into the mystery not only though racing but also though the shady secrets of NERV

don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion and Akira

Neon Genesis Evangelion belongs to Studio GAINAX and Hideaki Anno

Akira belongs to Kōdansha and Katsuhiro Ōtomo

"this" is speech

'this' is thought

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION HIGHWAY STAR

Chapter 18 : Our little mystery

"Ahh damn it , It's like Satan himself jacked off on me !"-Shinji said as he washed off the LCL from his body , it was another synch test and after couple of hours of sitting inside a tube with god's blood it got annoying for him , There was a difference between 10 or 20 minutes during the battle where the adrenaline took the "Disgusting" part out of it . And so Shinji quickly made his way to the showers as he washed the LCL off from his body . After getting out of the shower he put on his clothes . Since his bike was on a mechanical hiatus instead of his usual biker clothes he dressed up in his everyday attire made of Jeans white t-shirt and red duct taped NIKE sneakers with an addition of his jacket . As Shinji got out of the clothing room he made his way to the geofront train station . As he sat on the bench and watched the hours of leaving trains he noticed the sound of walking

"And that's why we much certain colors in our outfits , it makes us less 90s looking and-oh hey Shinji !"-Asuka said as she and Rei had runned up to the bench that Shinji was Sitting on

"Hey girls , so Asuka . Are you happy about losing again ?"-Shinji said with a smug grin as Asuka and Rei sat on the bench as the redhead showed him a middle finger

"At least I am consistent with my synch ratio and not jump around ! But i want to ask how you ri-wait , what are you wearing ?"-Asuka asked as she stared down his jeans

"My outfit ? i brought it from Neogoya ?"-Shinji asked as she stared down his ankles

"You know it's too small right ? Forget dinner , me and Rei were supposed to go shopping but you need new regular clothes . You are going with us !"-Asuka said as she pointed at herself and Rei

"But i was supposed to finish tweaking the bike and-"-Shinji was cutted off by Asuka

"Thats a no-no , You are going with us and that's finito !"-Asuka said as Shinji was looking for words

"Uh huh , REI SUPPORT ME !"-Shinji asked as Rei first looked upon Asuka and than at her brother

"Brother , Asuka is right , your clothes are to small for your body and your shoes are already falling apart"-Rei said as Shinji stared his shoes , since he spent his money on biker clothes he had only one pair of normal outside shoes , since he ran and parkoured a lot the shoes were starting to fall apart as he duct taped them .

"Ahh , fine ! But tonight we're going racing !"-Shinji said as the train finally reached the station as they got in and sat on the back . The ride lasted for 30 minutes as they finally got out of the train in the city center . After 10 minutes of walking he was standing in front of the Tokyo 3 mall . Even if he was a frequent visitor of the main mall in Neogoya he only went there when he needed some special groceries , or to the local Gamestop and Blockbuster since the shop owners were selling pirated ps2 games and putting VHS recordings on DVD's and CD's under the counter. As they got inside the building Asuka immediately changed into her shopping mode as they visited store after store . After getting himself new shoes Asuka and Rei were waiting outside the dressroom

"Hey Asuka ? Are you sure this looks good on me ?"-Shinji asked as he stared down himself at the mirror

"And what do you think ? I will help you choose it after all !"-Asuka said as behind the door Shinji showed himself a frown

"Because you said "You look like you are stuck in the 90s !" , This is a normal clothing attire in Neogoya , for god's sake we still use Televideo booths and pneumatic tubes"-Shinji said from inside the dressing room

"Well since you are here now you need to look more modern , and its my point of honor that i will make both you and Rei look way better , not to mention those clothes are so tight they look they are made out of rubber"-Asuka said as Shinji looked at the markings on his skin

"Fine, I'm going out !"-Shinji said as he walked out of the dressing room , This time with a more modern outfit . The light-blue jeans were replaced by more mature dark color , and instead of a white tight T-shirt Shinji was wearing a loose black one with his customized hair clips shining on his head

"Perfekt , now go take them off and head to the cashiers . You will find me and Rei in the women's section"-Asuka said as Shinji nodded and headed off to change back . After he paid for his clothes he made his way to the women's section . Shinji never understood why girls bought so many clothes for no apparent reason besides wearing them for once and putting them in the drawer and forgetting their existence for the next few years before retrieving them from the drawer and throwing them out because they are out of fashion . Most of the girls Shinji knew only had a few good clothes since orphanage kids mostly bit the poor . With other girls living in the neighborhood even with parents it was a rarity to see a girl wearing something Triple-A other than going out or if someone was lucky to get something for her birthday. Shinji made his way across the women's section, noticing a lot of women looking at various outfits . As Shinji made his way he noticed Rei standing in front in one of the dressing rooms

"So , Asuka is in one of the dressing rooms ?"-Shinji asked

"Yes , she is picking up a set of clothes that according to her "You will like it" -Rei said as it sended Shinji on a mind train 'Could she be wearing red lace lingerie ?-NO ! HALT ! NO HORNY !. Shinji managed to stop the blood pumping with his imagination .

"I'm coming out !"-Asuka said as she opened the door from the dressing room . This time wearing green sneakers, Purple biker pants and a white hoodie with a purple sleeveless bomber jacket with biker goggles resting on her neck

"So , what do you think ?"-Asuka asked as she spun around . Shinji meanwhile looked upon her as his "Ideal woman" was standing in front of him . 'Damn , damn thats hot'-Shinji's mind said as he soaked in the blood back to his nose

"Yeah great , you look great . Like really fitting the biker style"-Shinji said as Asuka's face showed a blush

"You see ? I told you I have a great fashion sense ! Now I'm gonna go change back and meet me in front of the shop . Asuka said as Rei and Shinji made their way out of the shop as they spent 10 minutes or so waiting for Asuka . Asuka finally reached them holding her bags

"Sorry , the line was simply too long , now what ?"-Asuka asked as Shinji looked at the second floor

"We can go to a fastfood place since we want to go racing tonight , so ?"-Shinji asked his comrades as the two girls nodded their heads . The trio got into an elevator as they rode to the second floor . After leaving the elevator the pilots made their way to the nearest fast food place that was Burger King . Shinji and Asuka both ordered a regular whopper and an oreo milkshake as Rei ordered the Vege version . As they waited for their order Shinji was looking at other teenagers . Even if he spent the last few months getting accustomed to acting and behaving like a teen from a normal middle class he still hasn't made much progress in changing . He was still himself and acted like himself . He always believed that going soft would get him killed . And now here he was hanging out with two girls and carrying their bags . It was the first time since he moved here he was thinking about it . As he stared down several tables he noticed a ponytailed man sipping a coffee

"Wait is tha-"

"KAJI !"-Asuka cutted Shinji off as she rushed to Kaji as Shinji picked up their order

"Oh , hello kiddos . Spending a nice day out ?"-Kaji asked as Shinji and Rei sat with their order as Asuka snuggled into Kaji's arm

"Yeah , one of the greatest street racers in the unground demoted to a carrier of clothes how the tables turn"-Shinji said as he sipped his milkshake, Kaji chuckled and patted Shinji on the head

"Ah relax ! You think I did not carry Katsuragi's bags back in college ? It starts from here and after that she already inserts her tongue into your mouth"-Kaji finished as he looked at Shinji and then at Asuka as their faces turned bloody crimson .

"H-hey ! We are friends ! Just friends ! I want a real adult man like you Kaji !"-Asuka managed to say as her words were more of a wobble than a normal sentence. Shinji stopped sipping his milkshake as he looked upon blushing Asuka 'Friendzone forever'-he thought as he returned to sipping his milkshake . Kaji got up from his chair and got close to Shinji as he whispered to Shinji's ear

"Relax , she only says that for her own reasons . Give it some more time"-Kaji finished as he walked away.

"How could he leave me like that ? He could at least buy me a coffee !"-Asuka said as she crossed her arms . Shinji meanwhile stared at Kaji who was talking on his phone . Thanks to a lot of experience he knew how to read people's moods and could see when a man is either lying or stressed .

"Wait for me here"-Shinji said as he took his bag with his new clothes as he rushed to the nearest toilet and changed into his new clothes in less than a minute and rushed back to his table . And as he sat back he noticed Kaji putting his phone down on the escalator.

"I think we're onto something , wait for me here"-Shinji said as he rushed to the same escalator that Kaji rode down. Shinji decided to follow him but a couple meters away so that he wouldn't be noticed . As he walked past multiple crowds of people he returned his thoughts back to the bugchip that mystery he and Asuka were searching for. Hiding from her Shinji was putting Kaji as one of the suspects. Shinji has thought about it since leaving Over the Rainbow that he could be WILLE's spy or something but it was just a guess . A random thought that came to his mind . Of course if he told that to Asuka she would probably lash out at him for calling out on her precious Kaji-san . Just to protect their relationship from falling apart and it was the only time he was thinking with his crotch instead of his brain . And since their partnership was working well Shinji didn't want to not only lose a friendship but also the yen's flooding into his wallet . Shinji tried to cover himself with people as he noticed Kaji was making his way to the restroom area . Shinji tried to rush across the whole mall to enter with the other side of the alley to the Restroom area to get the best possible angle to listen . The sprint took a minute or so and just as Shinji entered the alley he could hear Kaji talking with someone , he took out his phone and pressed the recorder

"You are late with the deadline Kaji"-The unknown voice said as Shinji imeditily characterised it with the Informator trope from or the noir movies that sometimes were shown on TV

"Ah relax for a bit , we are still early in this plan . Give him a bit more time , SELLE doesn't even know about it"-The voice that Shinji recognised as Kaji replied to the man . 'SELLE ? What the hell is SELLE ? Who's SELLE ? Or why is SELLE ?!'-Shinji's mind continued its mind chase as the two men continued their conversation

"The up's are getting irritated with him , either he will finally gets the information or the whole plan will be delayed"

"And what will happen within the next couple of weeks ? It won't be the end of the world"

"But we need the information from the top of NERV , we released Makinami . But still we need him if we want to start the phase 3 of our plan"

"And that means ?"-Kaji asked

"Ability to hack into MAGI and monitor NERV 24 hours a day. And knowing when Eva unit 05 is supposed to be absorbed"-the man finished as Shinji thinked about what he heard. 'What the hell is going on with this case ? SELLE ? Makinami ? Unit 05 ? I thought that only Units 00 to 02 existed ?'-Shinji chased for answers in his mind as his phone slipped a little bit causing it to stand out a little bit from the wall.

"Oh shit"-the unknown voice said as Shinji could hear the sound of loading a pistol . 'Bail out'-Shinji thought as he rushed out of the alley to the nearest elevator as a way to get himself out of sight. After getting back to the second floor he made his way back to their table to see irritated Rei and Asuka

"Where have you been, you idiot ? Nobody told you you shouldn't leave a lady alone ? Let alone two ?"-Asuka asked as she finished her food

"We should get going , i probably got us in trouble"-Shinji said as he took the final bite of his whopper and chugged down his milkshake

"What did you do this time ?"-Asuka asked as Shinji whispered to her ear

"We got the trail of the bugchip thing , but the guy I was eavesdropping on is probably looking for me with a gun"-Shinji said as he made his way to his chair and put on his jacket. Asuka already knew what to do and Also got up from her chair along with Rei . The Trio put back their trays and using the elevator made their way to the first floor and left the mall and took the walk to the station . 10 minutes passed and they were in the train as Asuka turned around from their seat to see Shinji and Rei

"So , what have you heard ?"-Asuka asked as Shinji plugged the SDAT earbuds into his phone and handed it over to Asuka . Asuka put the earbuds into her ears and pressed the play button. As the recording continued Asuka's face changed from curiousness to confusement

"K-Kaji ? Wait ? Why ?"-Asuka asked as she handed Shinji back his Phone and earbuds . The rest of the trip went silently as Shinji decided to relax a little bit and talk to Rei , since he didn't want to risk her life so he decided to hide it from her and told her that some vindicators found him . After reaching their station Shinji took their shopping bags and together they made their way back to the Apartment . Shinji noticed a bit of a shift and the way Asuka akted . She was way more introverted than usual and slowly retrieved back to her room . Shinji decided to head outside and work on his bike , after 30 minutes tweaking it around and finally putting on more stickers. This time the custom printed "UNIT 01" decals. After that he made his way back to the apartment and noticed Asuka's new clothes . 'I think i can cheer her up with something , its not ordinary to see your crush as a superspy'-Shinji thought as he took out the bomber jacket and got inside his room before litting the lamp and taking out a bag full of patches . After some time his upgrade to the jacket was finished with patches across the sides and the trademark HS logo on the back . Shinji put the jacket back in the bag and stood in front of Asuka's door . 'Ok Ikari , you calm a girl down . The wall of Jericho remember'-Shinji thought as he opened the door

"You should have knocked"-Asuka said as she scrolled her magazine

"Well , you would have told me either to get lost or "Screw you" ''-Shinji said as he sat next to Asuka . She chuckled as she putted down the magazine and sat next to Shinji who noticed the Magazine cover she was reading

"Wait , is that the new Issue of RIDE ?"-Shinji asked as he stared down the cover

"Yep , I found it in our mailbox . And look who's at the cover ?"-Asuka said as she pointed at the purple drawing of a biker with the green four-edged star on the back

"Wow , i wasn't expecting that"-Shinji said as he stared at the headline "The new Toge star ?" down and up. But there would be time for self-pride later as he focused on the main task

"So , do you want to talk about that ? About Kaj-"-Shinji was cutted off

"I DON'T GET IT ! Why is Kaji involved in any of that ? What the hell is SELLE ? Who the hell is Makinami ? Unit 05 ? It gets even more confusing !"-Asuka said in frustration as she put the pillow on her head .

"Well , we can focus on something else right now , how about going racing tonight eh ?"-Shinji said as Asuka took the pillow off her face .

"Well , ok . Give me 10 minutes and i'll go dress up"-Asuka said as Shinji left the room and made his way to his closet where he kept his biker equipment . Shinji finally got dressed and stood in front of his mirror

"Shinji ? Did you do something with my jacket ?"-Asuka asked as she took a look in her own mirror . 'Oh shitshitshitshitshitshit'-Shinji thought as he tried to make an excuse

"It looks better now , thanks"-Asuka finished as she stood in front of Shinji .

"Well , let's go !"-Shinji said as Asuka nodded and made their way out of the apartment. As the door closed Rei walked out of the toilet .

"Brother and Asuka are obviously hiding something from me , do they think that my level of intelligence is lower than average ?"-Rei said as she sat in front of the TV . Shinji and Asuka meanwhile broke every traffic rule imaginable as they found themselves on the highway .

"We're reaching the spot , hold on"-Shinji said as he pressed the throttle to the max and slid past every car on the way breaking every rule of culture on the road . As the next highway exit appeared in front of Shinji's goggled eyes. After leaving the Highway Shinji and Asuka noticed the parking lot that according to Shinji's intel was supposed to be the meeting spot. After couple of minutes the abandoned parking lot was filled with lots of bikes and a crowd of people .

"Im gonna get us signed , wait here"-Shinji said as he got off the bike and made his way . Asuka was looking around to see so many people with the boldness to ride at 250 km/h with just goggles and hope not to fall . But Asuka's attention focused on one of them . A boy probably 9 to 10 years old tweaking his mockup bike . 'Wow , it has to be so popular that even kids are taking out their bikes'-Asuka thought as another man . Probably the boy's father helped him push the bike to the starting line to see another mock-up bike . As Asuka watched she noticed the litup firecrackers as the two kids putted on their goggles and blasted off as the two bikes disappeared across the night road

"Watching the little ones eh ?"-Shinji said as he returned to Asuka who jumped off the bike and helped push it

"But those are just kids , some of them don't even look 10 ?"-Asuka asked as Shinji just stared her down

"And what's wrong with that ? I started as a 7-year old on a mock-up bike . It was before I could reach the HS And my uncle shifted the gears . Two years later thanks to probably testosterone my legs grew i finally could reach down and in the same time The Capsules were founded"-Shinji said as they pushed the bike to the starting line , Shinji got on and putted in the SDAT earbuds and putted on those his helmet

"Ok , now remember . Shift above 15000 rpm , Nitro only above gear 3 . And avoid over revving the engine as the poor thing is already fragile"-Asuka said as Shinji started the bike , showed the thumbs up and slid the visor down to cover his eyes . Asuka got to the side of the road as she watched the starting sequence . After the firecrackers went off Shinji and other 4 bikes speeded off to the first corner . After the bikes left the start/finish straight everyone returned to their bikes. Asuka sat on the bench that was nearby and decided to wait . As she watched other bikes, an explosion occurred several meters away that got Asuka's attention . 'Gott im Himmel , what the hell happened ?'-Asuka thought as she decided to join the group of onlookers rushing to see the explosion . After a minute of walking Asuka saw something that caused putting her hand on her mouth . The boy she saw earlier laying on the road with the bike wrapped on the guardrail like a burning fireball . The rider had severe bruises and burns , not to mention several broken bones . Asuka stared down as the boy was carried away by his father and a few volunteers . But in contrast to her all people had poker faces , even the boy's father. After the group left Asuka took a closer look at the burning bike . The kid was lucky to survive and that the bike didn't bend on his body . And then the worst hit her , that it could have been Shinji that burned alive . During a fight with an Angel she didn't have to worry since she could save him . But out there he is alone and can only count on his legs and arms . If she had felt something towards him more than a friendship , she didn't much time yet

A/N: Well another chapter comes to the close . Shinji took another step deep into NERV as more dangers come in the future , and the next chapter will be from Asuka's POV and the last one before the fight in . Until next time

NEXT TIME ON HIGHWAY STAR : Asuka fights her inner demons as the friendships she created will be put for a test