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A life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. There will be sleeping enough in the grave. -Benjamin Franklin
Last Child of Krypton
Chapter 6- Shinji's Day Off
Shinji Ikari awoke on his day off, which was, unusually, an actual day off since Misato would be away from NERV and didn't a gopher today, at the same time he always did, which made sense since he wasn't sure if he actually needed to sleep or if only wanted to because it felt refreshing. He'd certainly made due with not much this week, when he was fried by a gigantic particle beam, held up a heat shield against that same a particle beam, hung around NERV until Misato wandered home (she didn't remember that he drove her, which was good since he didn't have a license) then while Asuka was still recovering from her ordeal polished up on his German, flew from Japan to Germany at hypersonic speed, left her gifts on the table, fixed his costume, went to school, and finally came home eighteen hours later after stopping two bank robberies and helping a mother find her lost child in the shopping district, napped for four hours, and then went to school with Asuka when she was ready to go back, which was yesterday. The gifts he'd bought and the acclaim she found at school seemed to lift her spirits, which was good. All in all, he felt entirely justified in rolling over and sleeping for another hour, which he did, bringing the total to ten.
Speaking of particle beams, when he awoke, Asuka was in the kitchen, having slept in herself. She was still in her pajamas, a loose t-shirt and short shorts she word to bed, and was sitting in a chair, one leg propped underneath her, brushing out her hair. The A-10 clips were on the table. They'd given her new ones after the fight with the last Angel. In the morning sun her hair shone like beaten copper, and he swore he could almost see his reflection in it. He smiled a little stupidly when the faint scent of them told him that she'd put the flowers in her room, rather than leaving them here or putting them out in the living room.
"Breakfast," she snapped, "Hungry."
Sighing, he set about trying a new recipe he'd learned of, something called French Toast. He hoped that it wouldn't offender her, being German and all, but he was fairly sure it was just a name. She eyed him with some interest as he beat the eggs, mixed in the cream and fluffed them. The recipe called for French bread, a hard, crusty stuff that was different from what he was used to. He'd bought French bread, although it was in Germany of course, so if anything it should be familiar to her. Today instead of preparing differing breakfasts for all three, he decided to just make enough or everyone, and so quickly cut the bread into a sufficient number of slices with a deft, easy hand. The egg soaked bread was beginning to cook on his skillet when Misato walked out of her bedroom in a crisply pressed military uniform.
Shinji and Asuka both stared openly, more shocked than if Pen Pen had wandered out of his refrigerator and starting belting out Top 40 hits. Misato gave them both a wry look and popped open a can of cold coffee, gazing longingly for a moment at her supply of beer, and sat down at the table to await her meal. Asuka finished with her hair, looped it into a loose ponytail behind her, and busied herself silently reading the newspaper, drumming her fingers on the page.
"Are they ever going to get tired of this?" she said no one in particular, looking at a badly framed picture of Shinji ripping the door off a burning car.
Shinji glanced over her shoulder, skimming the article. Sightings of Superman all over Europe and Russia.
Uh oh.
Asuka read but said nothing, instead resting her chin on her fist until he placed a plate in front of her and she immediately perked up, eyes brightening. She picked up her fork hungrily as he placed a bottle of maple syrup, also covered in German writing, and powdered sugar on the table. Misato took her plate, eyed it warily, and took a bite after Asuka slathered her portion in butter and powdered sugar. She glanced at the bottle of maple syrup.
"What's that?"
"Maple syrup," Asuka said. "It's sweet."
Misato shrugged and let a small portion of the syrup ooze onto her plate, dipped a small bit of toast into it, and actually moaned when she tasted it.
"This is the best thing ever. Where did you get all this German stuff, anyway?"
"Oh," Shinji smirked, "Uh, air mail?"
Misato shrugged. "I hope you didn't blow your whole allowance on it."
"Air mail," Asuka said, tapping her fork on her plate. Her brows furrowed ever so slightly. Shinji cringed.
Maybe this was a bad idea after all.
Before she could say anything, the doorbell rang. Shinji sprang to his feet, which was fortunate since neither of his companions moved to do the same, and went to answer it. Outside the door he found Toji and Kensuke.
"Hey man," Toji said, "want to hang?"
"Hey, what's that smell?" Kensuke said, sticking his head into the apartment under Toji's shoulder.
"Come in, boys," Misato called.
Asuka groaned.
"Good morning, Misato," Toji said as he entered the kitchen, "Good morning, Great Satan."
Asuka chewed her French Toast a bit more forcefully than before.
"Hey, what's that weird toast you're eating?"
Kensuke paid no attention to the toast, instead staring quiet openly at Misato. Shinji cursed himself for not realizing the effect seeing his buxom guardian in a military uniform would have on him, and shoved a plate of food at him as a distraction. Kensuke's trance broke when he smelled it. He, too, grinned when he took a bite, and asked to sample the syrup.
The meal was surprisingly peaceful.
I guess I really can do anything, Shinji thought to himself, pleased.
SSSSS
Misato seated herself beside Ritsuko, who in her own dress uniform, the far less martial black high collared coat and skirt of Project E, looked anything but relaxed as she hunched over the table with her arms crossed, her pose reminding Misato of a petulant child. She smirked at her old friend and took a sip of water from one of the complimentary bottles that had been put out on the tables and leaned back in her chair. With a cough, Shiro Tokita, the head of development for the Jet Alone project, took center stage at the front of the auditorium, looking out over a sea of round tables in white linen cloths ringed by people in various uniforms of varying pomposity. His affectation of a labcoat prompted a snicker from Misato's companion.
"This is a waste of time," Ritsuko muttered to herself.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Tokita squeaked into the microphone, "Today marks a milestone in the development of military hardware. It is my great pleasure to present to you the future of humanoid combat drone technology, Jet Alone!"
"Who came up with that name?" Misato whispered. Ritsuko ignored her, and raised her hand. Misato groaned.
"Yes, Doctor Akagi? The head of Project E, as I recall?"
"Yes," Ritsuko called back from her seat. "You do realize that this lumbering joke of yours has absolutely no chance of stopping an Angel?"
"Because of this so-called AT Field, is that right?" the skinny little man smirked.
"How…"
"We'll see, Doctor, we'll see. Now, ladies and gentlemen, if I may direct your attention to the proving grounds at left."
Dozens of head swiveled in unison to the vast window that made up the entire wall of the auditorium. In the distance there was a huge hangar in the baking endless-summer sun, the corrugated door gleaming. With a rumble the door slid up slowly, revealing the machine inside. Much larger than an Evangelion, it was more squat, probably for balance, with long, segmented arms. It had no head, as such, looking out on the world through a single viewport mounted at the apex of its chest.
"Unlike the Evangelions, which depend on external power and have a limited operating capacity from an internal reserve, Jet Alone is equipped with a clean, efficient microscale nuclear reactor that provides up to six weeks of full power operating capacity without fueling or maintenance. A fleet of fully equipped Jet Alones could keep watch at all times, eliminated the destructive and wasteful lead time required for Evangelion launch."
Tokita gestured, and there was a low rumbling sound as five massive carbon rods slid free of the machine's body, rising up behind its back like the frill of some lizard. Ritsuko huffed and palmed her face, and Misato shared the sentiment; what idiot would mount vital operational components where they would be so vulnerable to being snapped off?
"Now, Jet Alone will tour a short circuit for us, demonstrating its AI. Unlike the Evangelions, Jet Alone requires no pilot, and is operated remotely from these terminals," he gestured grandly to the scientists behind him.
The robot began to walk, each step sending a reverberating thump through the hall, making the water in the bottles dance. It took one step after another, plodding along, swinging its big arms for balance, Tokita grinning. Then, it crossed the line marking the little course they'd programmed it to walk and continued on, towards the auditorium itself.
"I…" Tokita said, "why isn't it… Shut it down!"
SSSSS
Shinji sighed as he followed Toji and Kensuke into the arcade, Asuka having rebuffed the offer to join them; she'd made plans with Hikari, she told him, and would be home later. After she left, Shinji locked up and followed the two boys as they excitedly made their way downtown, a bounce in their steps. He languidly kept pace, bringing up the rear.
"I don't see why you're down," Toji announced to the air. "The devil would just ruin our fun."
Shinji didn't reply, instead following them to the first machine, a fighting game. Toji handily beat Kensuke, who accused him of being 'cheap,' and the victorious Toji demanded Shinji play, and so he stepped up to the game, on his own coin. He rested his hands on the controls and waited for the game to start. He eyed Toji warily as they chose their characters- Shinji had never played before, so he chose a big, burly looking fighter while Toji favored a schoolgirl in a ridiculous uniform for some reason. Shinji was a little surprised at how skilled he was, winning the first round easily. Toji hopped up and down in triumph, and a little smirk crawled across Shinji's face.
He had the controls down, now. Once he knew how they reacted to his button presses, it was easy. Toji was skilled, but Shinji was fast, beating his every movement by simply reacting too quickly. The match was over well before the time ran out, and after the second "You Win! Perfect!" Shinji shrugged and left to Kensuke, and started as he caught a glimpse of red hair beyond a few of the other machines. A quick glance through them revealed Asuka and Hikari dancing in front of a machine. He thought about it for a moment, made a few steps towards them, and then stopped, something in the distance, at the very edge of his hearing, catching his attention. He concentrated, bringing the distant sounds into focus through the din of joyful children and heartbeats and the buzzing wings of insects.
"So much for my day off," he sighed.
SSSSS
"What?" Misato demanded. "But-"
"This is not our concern," the Commander replied cooly through the phone, "I will not risk exposing an Evangelion to radiation. The matter is closed."
The line went dead as the Commander hung up without ceremony. Misato angrily shoved her phone back in her pocket and took her friend by the arm.
"Come on, we have to get out of here."
Ritsuko nodded and went with her, and they both stopped when they heard it, a rush of air that thrummed against the glass as something past them by. Not quite knowing why, Misato turned and gazed out at the machine, now only a few hundred meters from colliding with the building in which she now stood, waves of heat rising from its back as it threatened to melt down and explode. A hush fell over the crowd as they all watched in unison as the tiny blue-and-red shape rocketed up to the Jet Alone and punched it in the face plate, sending it reeling back a step.
Whirring, the machine took clumsy swings, as if batting at an insect, easily dodged. It began to chase after its attacker, changing course as he extended his buzzing circles a bit, drawing it away from the building. Misato ran over the command consoles, Ritsuko in tow.
"Can you shut it down?" she demanded.
"We're trying to get the authorization code for the emergency shutdown," Tokita replied hastily, running from one console to another.
"What? Why do you need authorization for that!"
"It's classified!"
Ritsuko palmed her face again.
An impact rippled through the floor and she turned and saw that now that the machine was facing away from them, Superman was taking the offensive, knocking it back a few feet with every step. Tokita went pale, dropping the phone in his hand.
"We have to stop him. If he ruptures the core…"
Misato's eyes widened. "Do you have a public address system?"
"Yes, but-"
"Shut up and give it to me!"
The man looked at her blankly for a second, and when another boom made the tables bounce, turned and handed Misato a microphone, then went to flip the switches to power it up. She flicked the switch.
"Superman! Listen to me! The reactor is going to melt down! You have to get the control rods back into the reactor! In its back!"
She looked and saw him react, having clearly heard her. He flitted behind the machine, which scrabbled to turn and nearly fell as it did, landing on one clawed hand before pivoting around, but he was fast. With both fists he slammed the first rod back down into the body of the machine and then moved on to the second, which fell with equal ease. By the third he had to push, and when he reached the fifth, it was visibly taking an effort to overcome the pressure and force the rod home. He was almost there when the other four slowly began to work their way out again.
"Are you kidding me?" Misato demanded, grabbing Tokita by the collar of his stupid labcoat.
"It's a safety feature!"
Superman saw the first rod going back up, released the one he held and went back to the first, shoving it all the way home. He stared at it intensely for a moment, prompting Misato to wonder what the hell he was doing, and then she blinked away as beams of intense light shot out from his eyes, drawing smoke where they touched the rod. With the first one done he moved onto the second and the third, the machine clawing more feebly at him as he sealed each one until at last with a titanic effort, pushing so hard it forced the machine to its knees, the last rod went home and he sealed it in place. Jet Alone waved its silly arms a bit, then teetered over to the side, Superman lifting off the back just in time. He gave a wave and sped off, low along the treeline, and disappeared as a cheer erupted all around Misato. She found herself joining in.
SSSSS
Shinji skidded to a stop a few blocks from the acarde, hurriedly changed behind a dumpster, and sprinted back- not so fast that anyone would take notice if they saw him- and pretended to be winded when he made his way back into the arcade. Kensuke fell in beside him, a stuffed toy under his arm. Shinji looked at it askance.
"Claw machine," he said, offering no further explanation. "Wanna try it?"
"No," he said absently, adjusting his glasses, "I've had enough of claw machines for one day."
"Did she enjoy the French Toast?" Kaji whispered in his ear.
He nearly jumped, rounding on the man.
"How did you do that? You snuck up on me. Me."
"I learned from the best," Kaji noted dryly, "I've got to run, but we need another chat when you're able."
SSSSS
Having won again, Asuka grew bored of the silly dancing game, though Hikari looked crestfallen at the prospect of no longer playing. They looked around the arcade, glad of the cool air blowing in from huge fans set all about the low concrete ceiling. She glanced at the basketball game and considered it for a moment, then changed her mind as she saw Toji and Kensuke appear, the latter carrying a pink stuffed bear in a frizzy tu-tu.
She didn't see that coming.
"Hey, look," Hikari said, tapping her shoulder. "Shinji's with them."
He was, standing there watching the other two play with his hands thrust in his pockets, slouching as Toji easily bested Kensuke at putting miniature basketballs into a hoop. There was always something odd in his posture, something like timidity but tinged with a weird sort of confidence, as if nothing could touch him. She caught herself staring at him, shook her head, and went on.
"You should talk to him," Hikari insisted, glancing at Toji.
Asuka snorted. "Why?"
"He likes you."
"How do you know that?"
"You said he gave you flowers and made breakfast."
"He gave Ayanami flowers, and he always makes breakfast."
Hikari rolled her eyes. "He gave you chocolates, too. From Germany. That must have cost him a lot of money, and he made the breakfast that you like."
"I guess," Asuka said. "Let's get out of here. I need some air."
Hikari shrugged, and trotted after her.