Disclaimer Expansion: In addition to the normal disclaimers in the Prologue, I don't own, pretend to own, or intend to use for profit any of the movies or other trademarked products I reference in this FUN story (repeat – for FUN not for profit).
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x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- WAFF WARNING! BEWARE! -x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
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"We're The Band"
Chapter 5: Ramune and Ramen
Tokyo-3 Junior High School Dance Club
Shinji and Toji carried drinks for everyone over to where the girls had found a quiet spot in the gym to recover from the concert. They had lost Kensuke somewhere in the walk from backstage to the drinks table. The otaku was good at getting distracted by "bright, shiny objects", and his friends had gotten used to his vanishing acts since he would always turn up at some point.
Toji handed Hikari a lemon lime soda which she accepted with a bashful smile. Toji sat down next to her and where they shared a shy silence, quietly observing the interaction of the Three Children.
Shinji handed Asuka a cola, "For you, Asuka-chan. Rei, here's a Ramune for you."
Asuka barely stifled the giggle without being noticed by Rei whose complete attention was focused on the small bottle now in her hand. Rei also missed the small smile on Shinji's face. She tried to take a sip only to, as expected, have it blocked by the small marble within the neck of the bottle.
"Rei, there's a trick to drinking Ramune," smiled Shinji. Rei's only response was the "confused dog look" – her head tilted to one side, eyes wide, face serene and completely devoid of understanding.
"Why would there be a 'trick' to a drink?" responded Rei in an emotionless deadpan.
"Rei, you're dropping back into 'Wondergirl'-mode again," quipped Asuka. "There's a trick for the fun of it. That's why we wanted you to try it – to have fun with the drink and, now that you know the trick, you can feel a part of this."
Asuka had taken Rei as a bit of a project to help her integrate her new emotions and place context around them – at least some context other than destroying Angels and triggering Human Instrumentality. This little project did speak to some growth in Asuka and her ability to deal with the squirming insecurities. Asuka now looked at Rei more as a little sister instead of as a competitor for Shinji's affection that needed to be neutralized. In addition, the aborted Third Impact affected Rei, probably more than Shinji. Rei was no longer the emotionless doll persona that reminded Asuka of the most painful times in her life and now referred those lapses as "Wondergirl-mode". Of course, this process had been accelerated because they had been forced to share a room at Misato's for a couple of weeks during the renovation.
Shinji then proceeded to show Rei how to drink the Ramune and was rewarded with a bright smile as she finished her drink. Shinji sat down next to Asuka to drink his soda. As he watched students pair off to dance to the first of the DJ's songs, he noticed a couple of interesting things. The first was that Toji and Hikari had yet to move towards the dance floor. They remained sitting quietly next to each other with occasional whispers to each other and small smiles from Hikari. The second was that there was a small group of boys that periodically glanced over at Rei. Finally, one of them was pushed out of the little huddle and made his way over to Rei with frequent looks back to his compatriots. The boy managed to stammer out an invitation to dance with some nervous glances at Shinji since the stage incident regarding a misplaced hand and advance had now made its rounds throughout the male population.
Rei looked at Shinji with a questioning look that on the surface only seemed bland, but screamed for help in how to deal with the request. All she got was a small smile and a raised eyebrow to say, "It's up to you, but I would suggest you try it."
With a blush and a small nod, Rei stood to follow the boy out onto the dance floor. Shinji was brought back to the 'here and now' by a warm hand entwining in his.
"Shinji-kun, let's dance."
"Ummm . . . okay . . . but you know I'm not really that good a dancer . . . " responded a shaky Shinji.
"Shinji," was Asuka's exasperated huff. "You just need to relax, let yourself flow with the music, and follow my lead, ok?"
Shinji merely nodded his head and Asuka lead them onto the dance floor. Trance and J-pop pounded out of the speakers for a solid twenty minutes while they danced. To the bystanders watching the floor, Shinji and Asuka stood out. The most obvious things were Asuka's red hair and the extra space they received after their previous displays of aggression. What was not so obvious but readily apparent to casual study was that they danced well together by complementing each other. Asuka had a natural grace and enthusiasm that translated well to her dancing. Shinji had the energy and the ability to follow Asuka's lead. He seemed to always be in the right place to support a twirl, accent a move, or provide the space to highlight another move. It was more than their sync training. It was more than just the moves. It was an emotional connection that manifested in the dancing.
The tempo began to slow and the DJ brought out an obligatory slow dance. Asuka wound her arms around Shinji's neck as he wrapped his hands around her waist. They continued to dance in their own world where the faces of their friends moving in the background, Toji and Hikari, Rei and the fanboy of the moment, and even Kensuke with a newly found groupie, were noted in a back part of their mind but never truly breached the surface of their consciousness. It was a scene straight out of the movies. They stared into each other's eyes and slowly moved to share a kiss only to be interrupted by a loud throat clearing.
Brought back to the dance everyone else was in, they became aware of one of the teachers giving them the warning look that the administration did not want a repeat performance of their stage act – the school would be scandalized as it was when word of the kiss leaked out to the parents. Asuka's sharp reply was stilled by a gentle squeeze from Shinji's hands, his soothing presence saved the teacher from a tongue lashing that would have peeled the paint off the walls. Feeling lucky to have only escaped with a glare of death, the teacher moved on to manage the other young couples giving Shinji a backward glance of thanks.
"Why'd you stop me? They shouldn't be interfering and they need to learn that lesson," grumbled Asuka.
"Asuka-chan," responded Shinji, his hands continuing to rub soothingly on Asuka's back. "They're just trying to do their jobs. Japan has opened up a lot and become more tolerant of public displays of affection, but they still haven't reached the level of openness you were used to in Germany."
"Hmmph," was about all Asuka could muster. Her anger began to dissipate under Shinji's touch. She leaned forward and rested her cheek on his shoulder, her breath tickling his neck. Shinji caught his breath as her arms dropped down and gave him a stealth hug in the middle of the group of dancing teens. "I can't stay angry with you doing that."
"I know," came the slightly smug reply.
"Oh? Really? When did you get so knowledgeable in the ways of women? What else do you know about the fair sex, and don't tell me you got it from the other Stooges, the little hentais," came the veiled threat.
"Asuka!" blushed Shinji. "I – I – I really o – o – only know about you," stammered Shinji, digging the hole deeper with every stuttered syllable.
"So, you've been spying on me then?" was the quick response.
"N-n-n-no!" as more dirt left the hole and Shinji began to feel the heat of the Earth's core.
Feeling the tension in his back and the trembling of his arms, Asuka decided that he'd reached his limit and let him off the hook before destroying him for the evening. "Baka-kun, I'm teasing you. Relax for me, 'kay?" she said as she used the curtain of her hair to hide the fact that she gave him a little kiss on the neck which seemed to go straight to the pleasure centers in his brain and disconnected the higher thought functions leaving his body operating on what has been jokingly referred to as the "lizard" part of the brain.
"Heh, right . . . teasing" mumbled Shinji as the tension ebbed and the trembling halted.
Another 20 minute cycle of high energy dance music again slowed into another 'couples' dance. However, the mood on this one was broken by the sound of a resounding slap and the thud of a boy's body hitting the floor. A quick scan of the area showed Shinji still vertical which triggered a confused search that now centered on Rei. The boy at her feet rolled dazedly, unable to regain his feet.
"Pervert!" she said in a low menacing voice, and then stormed off to the quiet place where she and the group had shared drinks earlier.
Pride and a hint of a smile played out on Asuka's face in stark contrast to the surprise and shock on nearly everyone else's. Asuka released Shinji, gave him a look and a little jerk of the head towards the fallen boy, and went to over to find out the story from Rei. Shinji squatted down next to the boy who was starting to regain his senses. The boy's eyes widened in fear at the flat, emotionless eyes that greeted him, inches from his own. Shinji's eyes were like looking into the barrel of a gun only promising death of one sort of another and the kindness was the hope that it would be a quick, clean death. It was the same look used many times by another Ikari.
"Spread the word. Never again. Understand?" came the icy voice from Shinji.
A quick gulp and a nod.
Shinji accepted the apology and acknowledgement of future consequences in stoic silence. He stood and made his way over to his sister and girlfriend.
" . . . and his hand slid down to my backside, just like you had warned me they might do. So, I punished him for his forwardness," was the tail-end of the explanation from Rei to Asuka as Shinji walked up.
A satisfied look of pride came to Asuka's face - that look a teacher gets when a student has learned the lesson well and has proven worthy of advanced knowledge. "Good. We'll talk about this more tomorrow."
Hikari and Toji had also made their way to the small group to see what was going on. After some short explanations and consideration that the dance was nearly over anyways, it was decided that the group would go outside to talk about what to do next.
Tokyo-3 Junior High School Main Gate
The group had reassembled on this cool autumn evening. Even though the school year normally didn't begin until April, the school system had decided to start early to ensure that everyone was truly at grade level, much to the consternation of the student population. Since the dance had occupied what normally would have been club time and the small group had spent the better part of two hours dancing, it was now definitely dinner time heralded by the growling tummies of the teenagers, but it was overruled by the incessant ring of Shinji's cell phone.
"Moshi Moshi . . . Konbanwa Misato . . . ok . . . ok . . . yes, I have money . . . alright. See you at home," with that Shinji closed his phone. "That was Misato. She said that a UN officer just showed up to debrief her, so she's not going to be home in time for dinner and that we should fend for ourselves. She'll see us later tonight."
"Why does she always call your phone to pass along direction, Third?" snapped a testy Asuka.
"Pockets," was the simple reply from Shinji noting that Asuka always seemed testy when hungry.
"What are you talking about, Baka?" replied Asuka with the threat of a beating plastered in glowing neon from every syllable.
"I keep my cell phone in my uniform pocket and, therefore, always handy. You and Rei keep yours in your bags because your uniforms don't have pockets. So, when she wants an immediate answer, she calls me. Asuka, even Hikari calls my phone when we're out because you always bury yours in your purse," replied Shinji, internally pleased at his logic.
Asuka narrowed her eyes, and discovered a beautiful gem in the crystalline logic outlined by Shinji, "Good, then you are now my personal assistant and will handle all of my calls."
Shinji's smug appreciation of his logical prowess evaporated into the realization that he'd thought himself into a trap. Swearing off thinking for the foreseeable future, "I bow to the higher authority."
His stomach, however, would have none of it and growled its displeasure.
"Where are we going to eat?" prompted Hikari.
"How about that new American Diner?" was Toji's contribution.
"Dummkopf! Rei doesn't eat meat," snarled Asuka only partially happy at having acquired an assistant.
"Don't test me now, Devil!" came the heated response.
"There is no test. Only pain, Stooge," responded the raised fist.
"Hey! Hey! Enough!" intervened Shinji and Hikari. "Rei, why don't you choose?" asked Shinji as he tried to cut off the glares between Toji and Asuka.
"ummm, I heard about this ramen place from some of the other girls. It's supposed to be pretty good. They have a vegetarian bowl, pork, beef . . . you know, the usual."
General consensus reached, the small group headed down the street with Rei leading the way. She actually was singing 'her' song to herself. Shinji and Asuka followed with Asuka having acquired a firm grip on Shinji's arm allowing her to pull herself close to him. Toji and Hikari followed along holding hands and trying to act nonchalant about their public display of affection. The teens found themselves on a fairly busy street and sandwiched between a grilled mochi stand and the doorway to a basement reggae club, was a fairly large ramen shop. Sitting down at the counter and reading the menu posted to the wall, the group pretty much settled on the famous pork ramen except for Rei's vegetarian with Asuka, Toji, and Shinji all going for a gyoza add on.
As the teens enjoyed their meal, Shinji finally voiced what had been bothering him since they left the school. "So, did anyone see where Kensuke went?"
"No, but I think I actually saw him dancing with a girl," quipped Hikari, the only one of the group to halt eating long enough to respond.
"Oh. He's probably still at the dance, then. Well, if he wants to find us, that's what cell phones are for," was Shinji's assessment of the lost stooge. It wasn't that he wasn't concerned about having ditched his friend. To Shinji's way of thinking, it was more important that the otaku interact with a girl than go out to food with them.
It suddenly struck Shinji that Asuka had passed up a prime opportunity to hammer Kensuke. A glance at the girl caused her to swallow the noodles in her mouth and softly tell him, "It's no fun if he's not here to react."
Shinji nodded and took a thoughtful slurp of noodles while processing that latest tidbit of information.
All too soon, dinner was over and they found themselves standing outside wondering what to do next.
"Well, I need to be getting home," announced Hikari. "I'm probably going to get interrogated by my sisters on how the dance went. I'll see you guys later."
"uh . . . Hikari?" stammered Toji.
Surprised, Hikari stopped and turned towards Toji. "Yes, Toji?"
"Could I . . . uh . . . mm . . . walk you home?" sputtered Toji, fidgeting with his track suit zipper.
Blushing at the request and the fact that it was made in front of their friends, Hikari acquiesced with a small nod and smile. With that, the two teens began the trek towards Hikari's house.
"Shinji, we're bored. What are we going to do for the rest of the night?" spouted Rei in an alarmingly accurate portrayal of Asuka's familiar complaint. Asuka merely smiled her special smile for Shinji and nodded in agreement.
The smile hit Shinji like an N2 mine, just like it always did. His knees started to soften and his brain ground to a halt under the assault. The will to survive was strong in the young boy, though, and the learned response started to emerge. "Well, we could have a movie night, and I could make snacks," he offered.
"Only if we get to pick to the movie," countered Rei with a little nudge from Asuka.
Seeing that he was outnumbered, outgunned, and outmaneuvered, Shinji decided to cut his losses, "Fine, fine. I'll run by the store while you guys get the movie and I'll meet you at home."
Asuka and Rei shared a look of triumph much to Shinji's embarrassment. Turning to Shinji, Asuka decided to land the killing blow.
"Ok, that sounds like a plan Shinji-kun." Pulling him into a little hug, she then whispered into his ear, "You know what I like, don't you? Don't disappoint . . . " and she gave his ear lobe a little nibble before releasing him to race off with Rei towards the video store.
Shinji stood immobile for a moment with a shell-shocked look and familiar blush on his face. Slowly, the blush faded replaced by a broad grin. Shinji Ikari, Third Child, was hopelessly in love and now knew that in every part of his being. With a little laugh, he set off for the store because he knew exactly what Asuka liked to snack on when watching movies, but he was thinking that he might have some surprises as well.
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Author's Parting Shots: Yes, I know that I took the Ramune thing from RahXephon. I thought it would go well here to show some interaction between Rei, Asuka, and Shinji and lay the foundation for some additional info later.
Also, I tried to write this one without the crutch of having a song to provide structure and mood and was trying to give everyone a glimpse into what would probably be an average interaction of the characters. It turned out to be MUCH harder than I originally thought it would be. Sorry for the wait.
So, we're probably one more chapter away from a musical interlude, but I think I've got something that may peak your interest both for the movie they pick and some of the discussion when Misato gets home to tie you over until the next musical gig.
By the way, the ramen shop is an actual shop in Kyoto that I got to go to when I was there on vacation – it was the best!
Last minute update! I just found out from a friend of mine who is from Kyoto that he considers that ramen shop to be the best ramen shop in Kyoto and had been going there for years! Though he did say that the grilled mochi place is gone and has been replaced with the front for some sort of club.