IceBlade28: After a long while and a recent bike ride along a riverbank, here is Chapter IV of Do You Really Know Me?. I like this fic far too much to just let it go.
Maya: Well, if the reviews are anything to go by, other people like this fic too.
IceBlade28: You're sweet. Let's get it started!
Do You Really Know Me?
Asuka sat on her bed, wearing her yellow sundress as she typed a few notes to herself on the laptop. Out of paranoia, she had changed the password constantly and even added a firewall or two, so nobody could find out what she was doing. Unless they took it to Ritsuko; and Asuka saw no reason why they would do that. She was just . . . easing them into a beneficiary relationship. A little love in their lives wouldn't kill them.
Asuka highlighted a portion of kanji and stared at it, before erasing a few words and changing them to suit her ideas. She grinned. The Third Child had the emotional range of nervous, scared, spineless, occasionally pensive and berserk, although the tale about Shinji and the Fourth Angel had probably been exaggerated. Besides, the whole 'berserk' thing really didn't fit Shinji.
Asuka grinned at her laptop and saved her work. Things would heat up soon enough. She just needed to find an excuse to get the First Child near Shinji. Speaking of the devil-
"Um, Asuka, I'm sorry to barge in like this, I just-" Shinji stammered, opening the door. Asuka whipped her head around and slammed the lid of her computer shut.
"You're sorry for barging in?! Well, you're right about barging in! Don't you knock, baka?! I could've been getting changed!" she shouted.
"But- you're in your dress," Shinji said. Asuka faltered a little, but her typical anger flashed back up soon enough.
"That doesn't matter!" she said, storming towards the Third Child. "Just get out!" she howled, pushing Shinji out of the room and slamming the paper door. She stood at the edge, watching Shinji's silhouette linger for a moment, before fading away. He'd gone.
Asuka breathed a sigh of relief. It was a little harsher than she would usually react, but if Shinji had read the document . . . things could've gone very badly.
Asuka flopped on her back and let her legs hang over the two-inch high rim of her 'bed'- in reality a sleeping mat with a blanket tossed over the top. Knowing Misato, to help Wondergirl and Shinji 'synchronise' with each other, she'd have Rei move her stuff from her apartment to live here. It was just the way Misato's mind worked. And if all three Children were under the same roof, then Asuka could soak in every uncomfortable silence.
Unless Misato kicks me out, Asuka thought. The Major had been acting strangely towards this mission; maybe Misato would kick her out. If she did, she'd stay with . . . who? Hikari and her family? Kaji?
Reluctantly, Asuka turned her fantasies of Kaji off. She needed to stay focused on making the emotional life of Shinji Ikari a living hell. Or something of the sort.
Asuka glanced at the door as a muted knock sounded. Unless Shinji had grown a few inches and had major hair extensions, it probably wasn't him.
"Come in Misato," she chimed happily, flicking the laptop to the corner of the room with her bags. Misato slid open the door and walked in.
"What're you so happy about?" she asked suspiciously. Asuka grinned.
"Nothing. A girl can be happy when she feels like it, can't she?" she said innocently. The Major would buy it as one of Asuka's frequent mood swings. And she did.
"Well, sorry to spoil your fun Asuka, but I've got some news about the piloting against the Angel," Misato said neutrally. Asuka frowned.
"What is it?"
"Well, you do know Unit Zero is still recovering from the damage done by the Fifth Angel, so . . ." Asuka's grin widened; in the back of her mind, she was still frowning.
"So I have to pilot in my unit?" Asuka said. "Oh gee. I feel sorry for Wondergirl; she doesn't get to fight the Angel," she said mockingly. Misato laughed.
"Close, but wrong. Unit Two is going to be piloted against the Seventh Angel . . ." Asuka froze. If Misato was hinting at what Asuka thought she was hinting at, then Asuka would have a particularly strong sulk going by the end of the minute.
"Rei is going to use Evangelion Unit Two. Ritsuko's already reconfiguring the data so it'll synchronise with her instead of you," Misato said. Asuka's eyes widened. The doll was going to use her Eva? But only Asuka got to pilot Asuka's Eva! It was made in Germany, wasn't it? A German should pilot a German Evangelion!
"It's already done, so you can't do anything about it," Misato said, cutting short the storm in Asuka's eyes. "Rei will also be moving in for a little while, so we can start the training early." Asuka mentally cheered. She'd read Major dummkopf's move perfectly.
"Try not to interfere, will you?" Misato said gently. Asuka continued to play the role of the downtrodden teenage girl, hanging her head and nodding. Misato knelt beside her.
"Hey," she said gently. "Cheer up. It's only this once; and there are definitely more Angel's out there. You'll get your chance." Asuka nodded again. Misato got to her feet.
"Can you do me a favour? Rei needs her stuff moved into Shinji's room, so I've already sent Hikari to her apartment. Can you give those two a hand shifting the boxes?" she asked. It'd put Asuka to work, at least.
"Fine, Misato," Asuka huffed, getting to her feet and storming out of the door. Misato sighed, and went to Shinji's room to give him a pep talk . . . of sorts.
-----
Hikari leant against the wall by Rei's door, sniffing. She'd just gotten a phone call from some Dr. Akagi person, who worked at NERV. Apparently her close friend, Yorishima, had been hit by a car on a street close to a NERV entrance. He was killed instantly. His family and close friends, including you, have been notified. There is a closed casket funeral scheduled in a few days. Thank you for listening.
It was a reminder that Tokyo-III was still a normal city. Sure, it could sink into the Geofront at a moments notice, and had gargantuan beings with impenetrable shields rampaging through on a regular basis, but it was weird to think that someone could still wind up dead from something as innocent as a car accident. To complicate things, Asuka should be there shortly, she needed to put her chin up, stop crying-
"Hey, Hikari- are you crying?" Asuka asked, trotting up the concrete steps. Hikari nodded, continuing to sniffle and stare at her feet.
"What happened?" Asuka asked, concerned. Matchmaking and general plotting would be put aside for the moment; Hikari was her best friend, and her comfort was the immediate, if temporary, priority.
"I just got a call . . . one of my friends- you know, um . . Yorishima . . . I just found out he died," Hikari whimpered. Asuka thought for a moment, before wincing. She'd noticed Yorishima around the classroom; sociable, cute, probably the only actual Christian left in Tokyo-III, always had a smile on his face. Actually, except for the cute part, he was a lot like a religious Shinji- but Yorishima had a spine.
"I'm sorry, Hikari. He was a nice guy," the Second Child said. I think, she added silently. Asuka didn't know him that well, but she knew Hikari and Yorishima had been close. He was basically the only guy who knew about the Class Representative's crush on Toji. That's not to say all the girls didn't know, but every boy in the class was clueless. It said a lot to Asuka about the gender in general.
"He was hit by a car, close to a NERV entrance . . ." Hikari said, wiping her eyes. Asuka frowned. There weren't usually any cars close to NERV entrances, unless you included car lifts. But what would Yorishima have been doing near a car lift?
"I'll look into this for you, I promise," Asuka said gently, making a mental note. Looks like she's going to be burning the candle at both ends. Hikari sniffed and put her arms around Asuka.
"Thank you," she said. Sometimes that was all that needed to be said.
"Let's get the First Child's stuff up to Misato's place, then; get this chore over with," Asuka grumbled. You were supposed to use boys to do the heavy labour- they were the ones with the brawn and no brains.
"You mean Ayanami?" Hikari asked, knocking on Rei's door. Asuka nodded. There was a muted slide and click, before the door opened and Rei stood at the entrance, in her school clothes. Asuka snorted with laughter, trying to keep it back.
"It's a Saturday, Wondergirl. Why're you wearing school clothes?" Asuka laughed. Rei glanced once at Asuka; for someone who shows very little emotion, Rei's sharp look sent a chill down Asuka's back and cut her laughter off in it's prime.
"Why is she here?" Rei asked Hikari, after her glance at Asuka. Hikari wiped red-rimmed eyes.
"Did Misato call you? She's organised for you to move in with her and Shinji, so you two can start synchronisation training. We're here to help you move your stuff," Hikari said, trying to be her chirpy self. It didn't work well.
Rei stared at Asuka and Hikari, trying to decide what ghost of an emotion would be best displayed at an event like this. She settled on what she considered to be indifference, opening the door wide and standing aside to allow an over-arrogant German girl and an emotionally unstable Japanese Class Rep. into her apartment with armfulls of empty boxes.
"You'll only need three," Rei said quietly, leading them into her apartment. Asuka's mouth hung open, and Hikari's attempted cheeriness walked off a nearby cliff. Asuka turned on the spot, allowing herself multiple views of the apartment. Sheesh, she thought. I've seen prison cells cheerier than this!
Rei walked into her room and opened a drawer full of white lingerie and socks, most of which were already folded. Taking an empty box from Hikari, Rei began placing her clothes into the box.
Asuka wandered over to Rei's filing cabinet, something which Asuka considered to be an oddity. You don't keep a filing cabinet in your bedroom! You keep it in the office! On top of the filing cabinet was a glass of water, and a pair of glasses with case. The Second Child frowned. Since when did Rei need to wear glasses? Asuka reached out and picked the spectacles up gingerly, holding them in two hands.
"Don't touch those," Rei said, her subdued voice sounding uncharacteristically firm. Asuka picked up the subtle change and smirked.
"Why? There's nothing to be embarrassed about wearing glasses, First!" she teased. Rei reached out and took the glasses cleanly from Asuka's hands, frowning darkly. Cleaning a half-fingerprint from a lense with the edge of her shirt, Rei placed the glasses into the case and slowly closed the clasp.
"They aren't mine," Rei whispered, holding the case close to her heart for a moment, before slipping them into a side pocket on her skirt.
"Freakazoid," Asuka said under her breath, before seeing a full box of bloody bandages lying against the wall. Ohhhhh, she moaned silently. That's anything but hygenic! This isn't the Middle Ages, Wondergirl! We have hospitals! More importantly, we have disposable bins!
Rei stripped her bed with alarming precision, folding the sheets and duvet nicely before placing them into a seperate box.
"Shall we go?" she asked neutrally, hefting a box in front of her. Hikari was desperate to say something about Rei's lack of posessions, but she kept it to herself, and the three girls trooped out of Ayanami's apartment and up towards the new residence of the Children.
-----
Shinji lounged on the sofa, allowing the world to drain away in the murmuring comfort of Vorspier, played by someone who knew what they were doing with a cello. He saw Misato pause by an open cabinet, and watched her pop and down a can of Yebisu without batting an eyelid. Typical Misato.
He didn't count on the Major walking over to the sofa and sitting next to him, facing him with a gentle look on his face. Shinji flicked the 'Pause' button on his SDAT and pulled the earphones from his ears.
"Did you want to talk to me?" he asked. Misato nodded.
"Shinji, I understand you're a little nervous about having Rei and Asuka under the same roof as you," she started. Shinji had already placed his head against the back of the sofa, a distant look in his eyes.
"But I'm going to be living here too; this is my apartment, after all," Misato said. "I'll help you and Rei synchronise with each other, so you can beat this Angel. Asuka won't be here very often, I promise." The words eased Shinji's doubts, but not much.
"I . . . I can't concentrate with Asuka around. It's like she . . . oh, I don't know," he said, unwilling to give words to his feelings.
"But with Rei?" Misato prompted. Shinji closed his eyes, and he smiled slightly. He remembered how he'd felt when Rei was beside him on the training mats, instead of Asuka. How she hadn't spoken, just breathed slowly and moved in time, how seeing her next to him, knowing this shy girl was beside him removed all the pressure and allowed Shinji to think clearly. How could he word that?
"With Rei, I . . . she . . it's easier," Shinji said. "I know this mustn't make any sense to you, but it does to me." Misato smiled.
"No, it makes sense. Asuka can be kind of intimidating."
"You can say that again," Shinji said, before realising he sounded a lot like a wimp. And realising that he actually cared if other people thought he was a wimp, if only a little.
"W-What I mean is-" he stammered, but Misato already had a devilish smile on her face.
"I guess I can be a little intimidating too," she said cheekily. "But maybe you like a woman with a little aggressiveness," she said, scooting closer to Shinji. Shinji watched the scene unfolding, unwanting to put up with Misato's teasing for the moment.
"Misato, I-" Misato watched the boy squirm, and she loved it. Teasing Shinji was fun, even if it was mean.
"Or maybe you like the mysterious kind of girl," she said, leaning back for a second. "I've noticed you giving Rei some interesting looks-"
"I am not!" Shinji defended, getting to his feet. "I don't need this! It'll be hard enough piloting the Eva without having some drunk nearly-thirty woman tease me all the time!"
Shinji fled to his room, and Misato froze in her position. Shinji was right. She was nearly thirty. Where had her life gone?
It didn't take long for her to remember. Yebisu, Kaji, college, and early memories she had blacked out with plenty of the first thing on the list.
Misato followed Shinji's route to his room, feeling a little guilty. Maybe she needed to take it easier on the teasing. She peered through the paper door; Shinji was lying on his bed with his arms under his pillow. There wasn't any sound coming from within, however, so Misato knew he wasn't crying.
"Shinji?" she said, opening the door. "Can I come in?"
There was a moment of hesitation.
"If you must," he said. Misato bit her lip at the heaviness in his voice, but she still slid open the door and sat beside him. Shinji's face was firmly scrunched in the pillow, and he acknowledged Misato's presence with a half-hearted grunt. Misato placed a hand on Shinji's head, smoothing his hair.
"Hey, I know I can be a little mean at times," she said softly. "But it's just a habit of mine. I'll keep it down if you want me to," she offered. Shinji rolled onto his side, allowing himself to see Misato's face.
"I just don't know what to feel," he admitted. "I mean, Rei and I are gonna be-"
"Hello Misato! We're back, with Wondergirl in tow!" came the chirpy shout. And judging by the sound after it, Asuka had slammed the door. Misato needed to remind her to take it easier on her door. Internally, Misato used one of her dirtier Japanese words. Just when Shinji was about to open up!
-----
Asuka had to work hard to keep her act up. Shinji and Wondergirl would be in the same house for an extended period of time. She felt like putting on a black cape and some vampire fangs and rubbing her hands together like some bad cartoon villianess.
Hikari dumped her box on the table in the kitchen, before returning to the living room where Misato had just walked in.
"Hey Misato," she said, hoping her eyes weren't still red from crying. They were, and while Misato picked it up, she also chose not to say anything. Hikari's business was Hikari's business, after all.
"Hi Hikari. Thanks for helping move Rei's stuff up to our apartment," Misato said, watching Hikari carefully. The freckled girl managed to work up a genuine smile; not bad, considering one of her best friends had died yesterday.
"Don't worry about it. I'm always happy to help, and I hope the coordination drills with Rei and Shinji go well!" chirruped the class reprasentative. Misato smiled back as Hikari walked out the door, and Misato happily noted that it was shut with a click rather than a boom.
"Rei, you'll be rooming with Shinji, okay? He's down this way," Misato said, flicking her head to show Asuka to follow them with her box. The redhead grumbled something in German, shifted her box and followed a semi-sober buxom Major and a crimson-eyed schoolgirl down a hallway. Down towards Shinji.
Asuka resisted the urge to don the cape and fangs again. Oh, the teasing and carefully-spiked words that could be delivered in such a situation! She had to think quickly, because Misato was already sweeping open the door-
"Shinji? We're here," the Major said, smiling gently as she walked in. Rei followed close behind, and spared Shinji a brief flick of her eyes before placing her box next to her sleeping mat and standing still. Asuka watched the interaction with the eye of a tactician, factoring every flick of the eye, the atmospheric changes, everything.
Shinji met Asuka's gaze; the redhead glanced at Rei then back to Shinji, even giving a cocky tweak of the eyebrows on the return. Shinji turned pink, clearly flustered, and Asuka smirked. One point to her.
"Well, I'd hate to interrupt any bonding time between these two lovebirds, so I'll just slip out, shall I?" she asked Misato in a casual, but completely audible voice. Asuka also managed to watch Rei out of the corner of her azure eyes. Was there any change?
Yes. Asuka wouldn't have picked it up if she wasn't straining to see it. The subtle tightening of the mouth, the little flicker of- was it doubt?- behind those crimson eyes. Asuka's remarks had impacted on the doll, at least a little. Perhaps there was something there. Something Asuka could work with.
Rei, meanwhile, was working to keep her usual face. The Second Child was teasing, being her usual obnoxious self. She did not know of the stimulant chemicals that were currently being secreted within her brain by her subconscious, the liquids that caused Rei's heartbeat to increase fractionally and increase the current hidden 'emotion' she was experiencing towards the Third Child. She believed others called it 'affection'. And nothing she had done could possibly be construed as affectionate towards Shinji. Exactly as it should be.
Or would have been, if Asuka hadn't picked up on that faint ghost that lingered behind Rei's eyes. Shinji, however, was a blushing, stuttering mess.
"Wh-wha? A-Asuka, since . . . what . . . I-I-I do not!" he stammered, his vocabulary enjoying a sunny vacation in an island south of Fiji. Misato would've chuckled if she hadn't hurt Shinji's feelings about ten minutes ago with her own brand of teasing.
"Alright Asuka, you've had your fun. Go work on your kanji studies in your room; I need to talk with these two," Misato said firmly. Asuka winked at Rei, savouring her small frown before turning tail and skipping out of Shinji's room.
Upon reaching her own room and making sure she was occupied, Asuka burst out laughing. Their reactions had been priceless!! What was more, they had followed her plan to the letter. There was nothing comparable to the thrill of seeing your plan fulfilled by the letter- or in this case character- with the gentlest nudge in that direction. The doll had a soft spot for Shinji, she was sure of it. Or at least the half-emotion that Rei felt.
"Well, Wondergirl," Asuka said aloud, opening her laptop and typing a few more characters. "I'm far from finished with you . . . I'll make a lovergirl out of you yet."
-----
In the middle of the debriefing by Misato, Rei felt a cold chill run through her chest and into her very soul.
She then sneezed.
"Bless you," Misato said graciously, before continuing on with her report.
IceBlade28: I've heard that when somebody is talking about you without your knowledge, you either feel a chill or sneeze. Going by experience, it makes sense to me!
Maya: There wasn't any Pen Pen in this chapter!
IceBlade28: Huh, I guess not. He'll make an appearance in the next chapter.
Maya: Well, you saw Asuka's first move this chapter; the next will feature Pen Pen as a happy cohort and the start of the synchronisation training. The next chapter will come quickly, we promise!!
IceBlade28: I've already got ideas for Chapter V. Thanks for reading, and a review would be great!