"Ha! Found it!" Asuka crowed exultantly, holding up a key briefly before fiddling around with the cuff links around her wrist. Misato had gone out, presumably to pick up the dual synchronization training equipment left back at the Geofront. The fiery redhead took the opportunity to ransack the Major's room in search of the key to her freedom.
Rei looked on as her companion worked her way free, an inscrutable expression on her face. Asuka pointedly ignored her.
Shinji peered through the open door curiously, holding a pan of well-cooked bacon and sausage links when Asuka pushed past him and headed to her room. Moments later, she came out wearing a rather casual outfit and brushing back her hair.
"Bye bye baka Shinji! Don't wait up!" Asuka called back cheerfully as she strode to the exit.
Shinji turned back to the sole occupant of Misato's room. Rei stood, holding her right arm in front of her, the loose end of the handcuffs still dangling off her slender wrist.
"Um… Breakfast, Ayanami?" Shinji asked weakly, as she exited the room. He wore his school uniform underneath a rather effeminate apron. Whereas the First and Second children were excused from classes while they underwent training that was "crucial to the safety and defense of Tokyo-3", Shinji intended to go to school after breakfast.
Rei stared briefly at the contents of the pan in Shinji's hands. "No, I am fine."
"Ah, s-sorry!" The Third Child stammered, suddenly realizing Rei's dietary preferences. He hurriedly rushed back to the kitchen and placed a plate with a couple slices of toast and a pad of butter in front of a seat at the table.
He gave her an apologetic look as he took his seat, suddenly feeling self conscious of the meager offerings. "Sorry."
"Thank you." She replied, calmly picking up a piece of toast with her left hand and taking a small bite out of it.
They sat in stifling silence, Shinji too preoccupied to eat much, pushed absently at his rapidly cooling breakfast.
"So… um. What are you going to do today, Ayanami?" Shinji finally asked.
Rei spared him a glance. "The Major has said pilot Soryu and I would stay here until we were capable of working together."
"But Asuka's not here." Shinji pointed out. "So how--" he trailed off.
Silence fell once again.
"I don't know." Came the quiet reply.
"Huh?" Shinji responded intelligently.
"I am unsure what I am to do." Rei admitted, shifting slightly.
"Oh."
Silence.
"Maybe… um…never mind." Shinji flushed and looked down at his eggs. When he looked up, he was startled to find crimson eyes staring at him intently.
"You managed to synchronize yourself with pilot Soryu." Rei stated.
"Yeah." The boy nodded slowly.
"How?"
Shinji shrugged. "I don't know… I guess I got to know her a bit… and… " He trailed off, fumbling for the words.
"You opened your mind to each other and were able to synchronize."
"I guess so." Shinji replied, a bit bewildered.
Rei frowned slightly, thinking to herself.
"But synchronization is impossible when their mind is closed to you." She mused, thinking of a certain purple eva.
"Asuka doesn't really talk about it, but I think something happened to her mother when she was little." Shinji's gaze was pulled down to his plate of food. 'And I can relate.'
"There's a lot she doesn't say but she's a good person… I think." He frowned. "She's kinda--" he paused.
"Impulsive." Rei provided coolly. "Contrary. And when she wishes to acquire something, she will do all in her power to do so."
Shinji blinked. "Um. Yeah."
"I see." Rei turned back to her toast.
***
"So how're the girls doing?" Ritsuko inquired as she and Misato walked down one of Nerv's many corridors.
"Actually, not as bad as I thought." Misato replied, slowing her pace slightly. "Asuka's pushy as always, but Rei's been pretty patient."
"hm." Ritsuko grunted noncommittally, a small frown appearing on her face.
"Actually, patient's not really the word." Misato went on, unknowingly mirroring Ritsuko's expression. "She doesn't argue, she doesn't fight back, even when Asuka is pulling her all over the place or making snide little comments. She's very… submissive."
Ritsuko snorted. "That's an understatement."
"She's hard to relate to. Maybe they would get along a bit better if she was a little more outspoken."
Good luck with that." Ritsuko said dryly. "That girl is the poster child for submissive, close-mouthed introverts that only want to pilot giant robots."
"I didn't realize there were many candidates for the position." Misato joked.
"No. Our little Rei-chan is quite unique." Came the ironic reply. Ritsuko was suddenly quite engrossed by the report in her hands.
Misato gave her friend a sidelong glance. "Something wrong R—". She was interrupted by her cell phone.
-BZZZZ- -BZZZZ-
"Katsuragi here." She spoke into the phone, her face suddenly serious. Her pace slowed to a stop as she listened through the receiver. An eyebrow twitched. "Got it. Yeah, that's fine. Katsuragi out." Misato put her cell phone away massaging the bridge of her nose with the other hand as Ritsuko gave her a questioning look.
She gave Ritsuko an exasperated look. "Someone's been digging through my underwear drawers."
"Kaji used to do the same thing, I recall." Ritsuko noted in an amused tone. "Shinji's about that age but I don't see how it's such a big deal that section 2 –"
"It's where I kept the key to the handcuffs." Misato interjected, looking irritated.
"Ah. Asuka?"
"They picked her up near one of her friend's house." Misato snorted. "Look, I've gotta run." She turned around and headed the other way towards one of the elevators.
"Good luck, Misato." Ritsuko called after her.
"Yeah, yeah. Feel free to lend a hand if you want, Rits." She turned a corner.
'Like I'm not busy already.' Ritsuko rolled her eyes and continued on towards her lab. As she entered she noticed she wasn't the only one present.
"Hm? Good morning Maya-kun." Ritsuko greeted the technician who sat typing away behind one of the lab terminals.
"G-good morning, sempai!" Maya responded coquettishly. A hint of color adorned her cheeks as she flashed Ritsuko a shy smile.
"I didn't expect to see you here till later." Ritsuko mentioned offhandedly as she took a seat at another terminal. A few deft finger movements brought the latest data from the Magi onto the terminal screen.
"Well I know you pulled another all nighter, so I thought I'd come a little earlier and help out." Maya replied, tucking a nonexistent lock of hair behind her ear, and leaning forward slightly.
"Mm…" Ritsuko absently replied as she frowned over some data at the bottom of her screen, now thoroughly engaged in her work. Maya deflated slightly, then her back straightened as she visibly steeled herself.
"Ano… Sempai? Have you eaten anything yet?"
***
Asuka bit off a curse as she missed a beat. She paused a moment to focus a glare at the display, before catching the rhythm of dancing lights with a determined vigor.
"Asuka, slow down, you're going too fast!" Misato said. She stood with her arms crossed, watching the girls on the sync pads with a critical eye.
"Why don't you tell Wondergirl to speed up, she's going too slow!" The German girl grit out snidely. Rei didn't respond other than to try matching her steps to sync with her red haired companion.
"She's trying to match your pace!" Misato retorted. "You keep speeding up!"
Asuka stood up and glared at her guardian. "Why should I have to work with her anyways!?." Rei, noticing her companion had stopped moving, straightened up pushing an errant lock of hair behind her ear as she did so. A light sheen of sweat gleamed off the skin of both the girls, attesting to the time both girls have been training.
"Because you're both Eva pilots. You're not here to show up each other, trying to determine who the best pilot is! You're trying to defeat the Angels!" Misato said hotly. "If you can't even follow orders, you have no place here."
Asuka snapped back angrily "I guess it's a good thing you have such a dutiful puppet then!" Rei's eyes narrowed.
"I am not a –"
"Shut! Up!" Asuka snarled, turning on the blue haired girl. "This is such complete bullshit! You're all against me! All of you!" Shinji blinked in surprise, not even having said anything during the whole altercation. Asuka stomped away, slamming the door to her room behind her.
"Damn." Misato sighed. She turned to the other two pilots. "Sorry about that you two." She gave them a wan smile.
"Major." Rei began, "Am I doing something wrong?"
Misato eased herself to the floor, leaning back to lay her head on the couch. "Naw, it's fine, Rei. Asuka's just... difficult. I mean, you and Shinji managed to sync your movements just fine, right?"
Shinji suddenly felt self conscious, feeling Rei's level gaze bore into him. He stared fixedly at one of the dance pads, trying to ignore the warmth creeping up his face.
"Just don't let her push you around. Hm... maybe we should remind her how well you two move together? She responded well enough when we catered to her sense of competition." Misato mused, rubbing her eyes tiredly.
"You think that'd work?" Shinji asked, sounding somewhat reluctant to show the temperamental girl up again. Rei stared at him for a moment, before looking back towards Misato.
"Maybe. Asuka's out to prove herself. It's not like she's going to give up being an Eva Pilot. Not without a fight, anyways." She checked her watch and groaned. She stood up. "Alright, let's give the fireball a little time to cool down before we try this again, okay?"
An angry thump of something being hurled against the wall in Asuka's room illustrated her point. Misato shrugged and walked out of the room, leaving two Children looking questioningly after her.
***
Asuka kicked another unoffending pillow, its trajectory sending a small lamp off its perch to clatter noisily on the floor before impacting heavily against the wall and dropping to the floor drooped over like a broken body. She wasn't angry, so much as frustrated, and took a small amount of satisfaction in venting it in a physical way.
A very small amount.
She grimaced. Hadn't she already gone through that synchronization training with Shinji-baka? Isn't she the one with the most training, the latest Evangelion model, the highest synch ratio? What makes things so infuriating is that she already knows Wondergirl and the Idiot can do it.
She knows Shinji has defeated more Angels than she has.
She knows Rei is more psychotically devoted to Eva than she is.
Instead of effortlessly proving to everyone that Asuka Langely Soryu is the best, why is it that she feels so...
She suddenly scowled. She could just feel him standing outside her door. Shifting from one foot to the other, a hand half clenched as though he was just thinking about whether he should knock or not. 'Mein Gott...'
"What?" She demanded. A guilty silence ensued.
"For crying out..." She threw open the door and leveled a glare at the Third Child. "What!?"
"I just wanted to see if you were okay." Shinji managed. Regardless, he took a step back.
"Everything's just peachy. Go. Away." The door slammed in the boy's face.
"She's trying her best you know." His voice came through the closed door. She snorted, letting him know she was listening. Skeptical, and venomously sarcastic, but listening. "You have to... uh... open your mind to each other to be able to synchronize."
"Are you retarded or something!? Why are you wasting my time telling me useless, clichéd drivel? 'She's trying her best?' 'You have to open your mind?'" Asuka mimicked mockingly. "If I want cryptic mumbo jumbo, I'll open a fucking fortune cookie."
"Sorry." Silence fell, the Third Child apparently at a loss for words but wanting to help resolve the situation, and Asuka still fuming. "Why... do you dislike Ayanami so much?" His voice finally asked.
Asuka could only roll her eyes in disgust. 'Really, you are the last person I want to talk to about this.' she thought mentally. She paused a moment, her eyes losing its flatness momentarily as she stared through the door where her fellow eva pilot had likely made himself relatively comfortable. "I'll humor you, Third." She remarked. "Why do I dislike her? She's a frosty little princess that acts like she's better than us, even though she has the lowest sync rate out of all of us. More than that, she takes her orders like a damned marionette. Never questioning, never a word of protest, and that really pisses me off!"
"I don't think she feels like she's better than anyone." Shinji's voice insisted. "And she has faith in my... the Commander. It's... weird, but I don't think she sees things the same most people do."
A pause. "That's cause she's a weirdo." Asuka snorted. "I've got brains, I got the skills, I'm the best damn eva pilot, and I've got the sync scores to prove it. I'm the one who's been specifically trained to kick Angel ass. Why the hell should I have to slow myself down for her?"
"But we managed." Shinji insisted. "I hadn't been trained to be an Eva pilot, and I'm not that smart. Even Ayanami's a more capable pilot-"
"That's cause she just does what she's ordered to." Asuka sat down on her bed. "You may be a gutless idiot, but at least you're you."
"But maybe she just doesn't know any better! Maybe-"
"Yeah, I get it, baka. She's not very good at it. Living. But if you think I'm going to dumb myself down and act like a good little doll, just so me and Wondergirl can play patty cake together, you and everyone else can go to hell!" She looked expectantly towards the doorway. Eventually, she heard the footsteps move away. She grabbed the nearest object, an alarm clock, and hurled at the doorway before flopping onto her bed and glaring at the ceiling.
***
She found Misato out on the veranda, the setting sun illuminating her profile in its contemplation of the Tokyo-3 landscape. After a moment, Rei joined her, standing a respectable distance behind behind her.
"You're not usually this talkative." Misato noted, turning her head and offering the girl a wry smile.
Rei tilted her head quizzically.
"Well, I assumed that's why you came out." the Major amended.
A moment passed. "Yes."
"What's on your mind?"
"I..." Rei began slowly, hesitant to contradict a superior. "...believe the dynamic between me and Pilot Sorhyu is different from that which exists between her and Shinji."
"Of course." Misato remarked offhandedly. "You're both girls, after all." She crossed her arms and leaned forward against the railing, an unopened beer can held casually between her fingers.
Rei blinked, clearly missing the rationale that was so obvious to the older woman. She tried another tact.
"I believe... demonstrating Ikari and my ability to synchronize may not elicit the same results as when the 7th Angel attacked." Rei stated softly. She felt her eyebrows knit together imperceptibly, feeling that there might have been more to it.
Misato paused a moment. "That's uncommonly perceptive, Rei." Misato said warmly. "And you may be right."
They both fell into a silent musing.
"Asuka's a headstrong girl." The Major cracked open the tab on her drink, but didn't bring it to her lips. "And she'll take any challenge head on to prove herself."
"But why is it important for her to be acknowledged? No matter the accolade, it will not help defeat the enemy."
"Human beings are social creatures, Rei. Air, food and water alone isn't enough to live, you need someone to acknowledge you."
"I do not understand." Rei replied flatly. Her eyes widened imperceptibly as Misato's eyes met hers, shocked at their intensity.
Misato held her gaze for a while before responding. "I think you do. You just don't realize it." she finally replied cryptically. She turned her body around, leaning back against the railing and giving her full attention to the azure headed girl. "We're partially a product of our environment. The things around us, the people around us often help shape who we are. it's not enough to wonder what made you what you are, it's also who made you what you are. Who acknowledges you? Who are you trying to please?" A distant look appeared on Misato's face briefly, before refocusing on Rei.
"Why do you pilot Eva?" The sun set Misato's silhouette aglow, the reddish gold light bright enough to make Rei squint, and throwing shadow over the Major's eyes and face.
"I have nothing but Eva." Rei responded, feeling the familiarity of the answer and taking a small measure of comfort in its simplicity, but even with her inexperience she could tell that Misato wasn't convinced. "Defeating Angels is my duty, and only by piloting Eva can I accomplish it." She pressed, her mouth feeling dry. "It... it is all I know." She suddenly felt queasy, a hollow feeling taking up residence in her chest as she said those words.
Misato looked unconvinced. "Could you change yourself if it was important enough? If someone wanted you to be, can you make yourself a stronger person? A different Rei?
Rei carefully considered the Major's words, trying to comprehend her meaning.
She seldom sought words of praise. She simply was what she was required to be, what she was made to be. A vessel imbued with a duty inextricably tied to Evangelion, and an expendable one at that. That boys at school consider her a quiet beauty was irrelevant. Hobbies, as once asked by the class representative, were unnecessary. Her state of being, her happiness, her opinions, as asked for by school mates, Nerv employees, and sometimes strangers were considered unimportant except how they impacted her in regards to Eva.
And yet, those eyes were filled with such intensity as heated LCL spilled out of the hatch. Brown and blue, Shifting, changing, filling with some transient emotion she could not recognize when she answered their query. Perhaps she would have felt embarrassed if her body hadn't hurt so much.
Misato nodded, having seen something in Rei's eyes, but did not say anything as she turned around. She tilted her face into the light letting her eyes squint painfully into the waning sun slowly plummeting to the earth, eyes watering almost immediately. She was all too familiar how the looming threat of Angel attacks had affected these pilots' lives. Raising the can up above her head, Misato brought it back down to her lips and swallowed the bitter brew, vaguely surprised as a slight frown briefly marred her pretty features. She really just couldn't see any other way.
***
"Well. That wasn't... worse." Misato said wryly. She waved them off the pads, deciding that was enough for one night.
"I hate this stupid thing." Asuka finally muttered, her first words since a sullen and silent supper. Shinji had retreated to his room shortly after eating, refusing to meet eyes with anyone, while the girls and their Superior resumed training.
Rei regarded her red-haired counterpart for a moment. "Again." She said, her eyes inscrutable.
Something flashed behind the Second Child's eyes. "Again?" She repeated. "You want to do it again?"
"Yes." The other girl stepped on to the dance pad and faced forwards. Asuka realized she had been staring when the blue haired girl's head turned and crimson eyes bore into hers. She flushed.
"Hmph, whatever." She strode up to the other pad, nodding to Misato who's mouth slanted in an bemused smile.
The two started off easily, their bodies moving in tandem as the lights lit up according to a slow and steady beat that gradually increased in tempo. A pair of right arms flew out to tag a light as the left hand crossed over, shifting enough body weight to allow them to hit two simultaneous lights with a knee in the middle, and the right hand reaching the lower outside, causing their body to pivot with the momentum. Sweat dripped down Asuka's brow as the lights came faster and faster and she had less time to react, and no time to coordinate her movements to her partner's. Finally sparing a glance up, she saw Rei facing her and grimaced, biting off a curse. She had missed a step. They had gotten turned around. She began to slow down when she realized Rei wasn't concentrating on her lights, she was staring at her. Never mind that the blue haired girl had missed a couple steps for her inattention. Red orbs bore down on her, watching, observing... Challenging.
Asuka's foot came down firmly, and she immediately found her groove hitting all the correct sequences backwards, though her eyes never left Rei's face. Something seemed to pass before the albino girl's eyes... was that acknowledgement?... giving her attention fully back to the training at hand. Asuka snorted, before whirling about, correcting her position with her back towards the other girl, not missing a beat.
They came to a close, not perfectly in sync, but with a marked improvement mirrored by the overly pleased smile on Misato's face.
"Good work, girls." Misato tossed each of them a small hand towel. "Keep it up, and we'll finish before you know it!"
"Wunderbar." Asuka deadpanned. She turned her head to her blue haired companion. "You almost kept up with me, Wondergirl." She started conversationally. "Though frankly, backwards or forwards, I'm still bet-"
"In fact," the Major cut in, "since the both of you did so well, we can forgo punishment for your lil stunt this morning." She twirled a familiar pair of cuffs on her finger for emphasis.
"I don't believe I have done anything meriting disciplinary action, Major." Rei stated. Asuka's eyes narrowed, while Misato gave the blue haired girl an appraising look.
Rei lowered her towel, and took a moment to to tuck an errant lock of hair behind her ear. There had been something different within those final moments of their exercise, a sense of exhilaration that coursed electrically throughout her body and left her feeling light and vitalized despite the ache of her muscles.
"I think you enjoy handcuffing young girls a little too much, Misato." Rei heard Asuka remark. "Not sure that's very healthy... Or moral."
"I think you two need to get cleaned up and go to bed before I change my mind." The Major's voice warned dangerously.
"Yeah yeah." Came the dismissive reply.
Part of it was the satisfaction from making headway in her training, and thus her duty towards Eva and the Commander. But Rei realized that this did not explain the... enthusiasm she felt welling inside of her.
"You coming, Wondergirl?" Asuka's voice caught her attention, and her eyes flashed towards the fiery girl, tapping her foot impatiently by the doorway.
Much of it seemed to lay with the contentious German girl before her. She found... an eagerness for what? Pursuit? Retribution? A contest of wills? The reason was beyond her, laying outside her scope of experience.
"Hello? Earth to Weirdo?"
It was irrelevant, Rei decided as she walked towards her companion. Her responsibilities deemed it necessary for her to be able to synchronize with the second child. That she found the means to that goal to be... enjoyable would not affect her ability to carry it out.
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Finally. After you, Princess." she shifted slightly.
Rei briefly considered the foot that had slid out unobtrusively across her path, and the course of action she would take.
'Yes.' She thought to herself. 'This would be very much like her.'
Slowly, deliberately, Rei ground her foot into the offending appendage.
And she liked it.
End Chapter
Uh. Finally? Had this chapter about 85 percent finished for a while, but was stuck and unmotivated for a bit. I always find myself wincing and feeling self conscious whenever I look back at my own writing with fresh eyes, and the first chapter of this story is no exception. I'm definitely feeling my limitations as a writer and have a renewed respect for those talented enough to pull off really interesting writing, and write consistently. Anyways, so we see introduce some character development, hopefully not too abruptly. I should note that this story was in great part a challenge to myself; to see if I could place characters in roles that run contrary to their outlying personality in a believable manner. Whether I'm succeeding or not, only you guys can tell. :P
I seem to have lost ahold of my beta during my period of non-writing, so parts of this is pretty rough. If anyone has anything constructive to suggest, I'd welcome it. Regardless, Thanks to Danakir Odeiron for his help, and his many distractions. ~grin~
SpikeyKun