It all starts with a simple question during a lecture on modern day literature.

"Psst. Hey, Shin-man." Toji whispers sharply from one desk behind him. Shinji looks at him with the corner of his eye, knowing better than to turn all the way around and attract the attention of the teacher. He gives a quick chin up nod.

"I'm gonna go have a smoke with my buddies from 02 after class, wanna come with?" Toji emphasizes by waving two fingers in front of his mouth.

"Ah, thanks but no thanks. I don't know if I'd like cigarettes." He does know, actually, but keeps it to himself. Shinji remembers that one time when he asked Kaji for one after a rough round of interviews regarding… that time. He distinctly remembers the shrill sound of Asuka cackling at his misfortune while he hacked out a lung. Man. That was probably the first time she laughed since-

"No man, not that kinda smoking." Toji says, snapping him out of the memory. He switches from the two finger motion he was using prior to an OK sign instead, pinching his fingertips together. "That kind of. Like blazing."

Shinji nods his head in faux understanding. "Ahhh…" Toji nods his head back enthusiastically in response, thinking he finally got through to him. "What's blazing?"

Toji runs his prosthetic hand through his hair, groping to find the words without making himself too obvious. But opts for bluntness instead. "Like- weed, dude. You game?"

Now the words dawn on him, weed is still illegal in Japan, unless you have a prescription. But Shinji's smelt the smell of skunk every now and then during trips to the mall to know that the rules are far more lax than how they used to be. He's also seen a few American stoner comedies where the protagonists would get high and get up to shenanigans. It honestly seemed like fun to him, but the social stigma behind it was enough to make him lose interest.

Well, that's not true. The first thing that popped into his head was Asuka's disgusted response whenever said characters would be smoking. "Potheads." She'd sneer and then pull out her phone. The idea of that sort of judgement tied an instant knot in his stomach.

Shinji darts his head to see if the red headed devil herself was listening. "Uh, I dunno. Why are you asking me?" He deflects.

Toji shifts closer in his seat. "To be honest, I would've asked Kensuke but he's not in today." He looks at the empty seat next to him. "Besides, I don't think he'd say yes anyways. Also, I feel weird going out there alone y'know?"

"I know what you mean." Shinji lies. "I guess I'll come with. I don't know if I'll try it though."

His athletic friend grins and rubs his hands together. "Trust me bro, you'll love it-"

"May I accompany you?" A soft voice whispers.

In unison, the boys whip their head to the left of the classroom, by the window, where the voice originated from. Rei looks at them blankly, waiting for a response.

Shinji doesn't know what's more shocking: the fact they've been made or her interest in the topic. "C-come with us?" Toji says bashfully.

"Yes. You mentioned smoking marijuana, would it be alright with your friends if I partoo-" Instantly, Toji switches from bashful to frantic as he tries to sush her. He scans the front row to see if Hikari, the class rep, heard them. Shinji's jaw hangs open, still processing what he just heard.

Toji scoots his desk closer to Rei, with genuine fascination. "I mean, yeah they wouldn't mind. We might need to give them some money if we end up smoking a lot. But, uh… What makes you want to try it?"

Rei looks at the ceiling to briefly ponder her response. "I must admit, I have entertained the thought of partaking in recreational mind expansion substances for quite some time. The prospect of losing brain cells in the pursuit of a brief serotonin burst seems to be a coming of age bonding method among adolescents. It is something I am very much interested in." Content with her answer she rests her hands on her desk and looks at Toji. "Why do you partake?"

Suzuhara rubs the back of his head. "Well. It makes me laugh and helps me loosen up."

Rei nods at his nugget of wisdom. "This is the response I was hoping for. Additionally," She looks directly at the still gaping Shinji. "I have not found any like minded individuals until now. I would feel much safer if my friends were there with me."

The former pilot's government appointed therapists didn't do much to ease their past traumas other than to check boxes off a list, but the Doctor was extremely useful in offering phrases such as Rei just repeated. While Shinji knew that wasn't from the bottom of her heart, his surrogate sister's words pull on a string. No more maybes. If they could survive the hell that was 2015 New Years day, and all the chaos afterwards, he could handle whatever was inside some dumb plant.

"Thanks, Rei." Shinji says with a smile. "We'd love if you went with us-"

"Went with us where?" A shrill voice calls out.

To the three's horror, they slowly turn their heads to look at Asuka Langley Soryu, the Destroyer leering over at them suspiciously on the right. Shinji glances at the teacher to see if they've been had but at this rate, Mr. Wantanabe had long since tuned out any sounds resembling a German accent.

Thinking back to her comments about the marijuana earlier made Shinji gulp, knowing she wouldn't be even remotely discreet if they tell her the truth. "Well…-"

"We're going to that Manga store over at Tokyo-02 to check out the new One Piece volume for Kensuke, cause he's got at home sick. He's a huge fan so we thought it would cheer him up. Wanna come with?" Toji bluffs with a masterful eloquence. Shinji turns his head in awe at his friend, normally most social interactions with him and Asuka are shouting matches that ended in near scraps, but it seems as though the years have changed the former meat head's temperament. Not only that, but he just told a half truth and made it impossible for her to agree by inviting her to do two of the things she hates: walking for long periods of time and One Piece.

Asuka raises her nose in disgust at those two simple words. "One Piece!?" Damn he's good. "Why would I waste my precious time with that... Oh god," She turns to Rei, "You too Ayanami?"

Mr. Wantanabe stops pointing at the whiteboard but doesn't turn to look at the commotion. "Was there something you wanted to add, Soryu?"

Asuka shrinks in her desk, she too was intimidated by the monotone, yet insanely intense literature teacher. "No, sir."

He turns his head briefly, "It's nearly the end of the day, Ms. Soryu. Try your best to pay attention." She nods her head meekly before looking back at Rei.

Rei shrugs in response, glad just to finally lose the nickname Wonder Girl. "I like One Piece."

She sneers and crosses her arms. "Degenerates." Asuka turns her silent, whispering wrath to Shini. "Hey Numbnuts," Shinji whips his head attentively at the command, "How are we supposed to have pizza night if you're going to be gallivanting around 02?"

Somehow feeling inspired by Toji's gambit, he raises his hands in mock defeat. "I promise I'll be back by… six thirty?" Shinji looks to Toji for approval and he swivels his hand in a maybe sort of gesture. "Seven. But of course if you wanna make sure we get back on time for me to bake, you can always come with us to make sure we don't… gallivant for too long." He feels a kick in the back of his foot, probably from Toji. Unless Rei went for a hook, but the metallic thunk of his prosthetic leg gave it away. Shit. Was that too much? Asuka looks up to the ceiling to consider.

OH shit, shit. Way too much. He looks at Toji who gives an abort mission sign with his hand. Asuka crosses her arms and huffs, looking at the projection lighting up the whiteboard.

"Just look for Attack on Titan when you're there. Volume 100 just came out." She points her finger at Shinji, "Six thirty, Blockhead." The three aspiring smokers sigh in relief, the one thing Shinji and Asuka still talk about might have just saved their evening. The trio looks at each other, Toji grins proudly at Shinji for the recovery, who beams at the praise. Then they both grin goofily at Rei, who darts between the two confusingly, wondering why they are grinning at her.

"OK, guys." Shinji says clearly for Asuka to hear, who perks up. "I guess we'll all meet at the fountain after class and then head to the MANGA store- ow!" Okay, that one was definitely Rei.

"Sounds good, Shinji." They all turn their attention back to the class.

"Manga store? Can I come too?" Mana Kirishima pipes up. Another kick to the heel. Shinji almost opens his mouth before-

"God no one said you can fucking talk, MANA." Asuka snarks, looking at the ceiling like she's above her. Earning a few giggles from her entourage. Mana hangs her head in shame.

"Soryu! Principal's office!" Mr. Wantanabe barks, still not turning from the whiteboard.

"But-" The teacher says nothing else, but whips his head to glare at Asuka with what eye-witnesses could only describe as "laser-eyes".

"O-okay."


"Toji, what are we getting exactly?" Shinji asks as the three glance through the short isles inside the gas station they pit stopped at.

"Visine." Toji says as he peers his head over the isles. He snatches a bottle of Aloe Vera while they pass through the drinks section.

"Oh, are you having allergies?" They stop at the medical isle, moving from bandages and ointments.

"No, dude. They're supposed to clear the red out of your eyes after you smoke. You don't want Asuka snitching on you when you're back home, right?" He squats down, his prosthetic leg creaking under the pressure. Shinji couldn't argue with that logic.

"Technically, they don't clear the red out of your eyes, Suzuhara." Rei interjects. She grabs some febreeze. "What they do is constrict the capillaries to hide the effect, so I would advise against using it frequently- or else they can burst. Or so I read."

Toji turns his head at her, fascinated. "Okay, Blue. What would you suggest other than that?"

"...Hydration is key." She mutters, peering back at the drinks section. Without warning she wanders off.

"Uhh, okay. You do that. Shin-man, you wanna go with her and grab some snacks after? And I'll grab the Visine." Shinji nods and follows her down to the nearby aisle. "Oh, also! Can you grab some shrimp and barbeque chips?"

"Sure thing!" Shinji responds. He turns back to go find Rei.

His pan back is interrupted mid way by the cashier's judgemental gaze. He stops in his tracks and locks eyes with the employee who does not relent either. "Does he know? Does he know that I caused the Third Impact? Instrumentality? Everyone passed through each other, they say they don't remember anything like that but maybe they were lying and they're still-"

"Hey kid." Shinji loses track of his internal monologue and realizes he is still looking at the mustachioed cashier. "You mind not walking there? I just mopped the floor." Shinji looks down and notices the floor has a shine to it, and right next to him, a yellow wet floor sign.

"O-oh, sorry about that, I didn't notice." He cringed at himself, he promised that he would stop saying that word so generously but then again, staring at someone is a good time to say it, if any. The man says nothing, but eyes him before glancing at Toji.

Wanting to get out of the store as soon as possible, Shinji slightly skeets on his way past the damp streak of floor towards the wall of drinks Rei was standing by. But her body wasn't faced to the fridges, but rather at him in her classic somehow oddly, confrontational wide armed stance. More than likely Rei saw that little interaction and was waiting for him. She cradles a bottle of two liter orange soda in one hand by its bottom. FANTA is spelled in English letters. Strangely enough it looks like LCL.

Shinji raises an eyebrow, "I thought you were getting water?"

"I had an impulse."

"Impulses are good."

Rei nods in agreement, "That's what Doctor Nguyen said. Also, I know your drink of choice is usually water."

Shinji chuckles, mostly for Rei's benefit but also to himself. He reaches for a large bottle on the bottom shelf. "On the money, actually. Well, I'll trade some with you if you like."

She nods again. "Agreed." Rei motions her head to outside the store, Toji was already outside with a small bag. "Let us not keep Suzuhara waiting."

He had to admit these little things gave him a sense of pride. Long gone was the girl who only did anything whenever she was ordered to. It was a long step by step process but it seems like Rei truly wants to get used to leaving her comfort zone. "Almost gives me hope," He thinks to himself as he follows her around to the snack aisle. Shinji quickly finds the bags Toji requested but opts not to get anything for himself, so he could save room for dinner afterwards. He turns to see Rei hugging a large bag of marshmallows in her hand, her favorite treat, as well as some fuzzy peaches. Another new quirk of Rei's, she has a sweet tooth.

"Ready to go?" She smiles at the bag and gives a quiet nod in response.


Shinji shivers, clutching onto his dull grey hooded jacket tightly to brace against the next gust of wind, he clenches his jaw to prevent another routine phantom pain. Cold winds in particular reminded him of being trapped in the Dirac Sea. The temperature had balanced somewhat in Japan after 2015's New Years Day. Courtesy of NERV's successors focusing on actually improving the world's climate as opposed to creating eldritch war machines that violated more basic human rights than the Geneva Convention.

It wasn't necessarily cold yet, but paired with the returning rains and humidity, the wind bites hard if you are not prepared. Maybe a new change in wardrobe is in order. The gnawing anxiety from traveling to an unknown place with the increasing anticipation of doing something socially taboo with strangers didn't help either.

"So, this stuff won't make me… see things, right?" He asks Suzuhara, who was typing something on his phone, he perks up but doesn't turn his head away from the phone. Is he letting his new friends know that they're on the way or is it Hikari asking where he is?

"Nah, you should be fine. These guys only smoke Indica so it's going to be a pretty mellow feeling." He goes back to typing a very long paragraph. Yup. Definitely Hikari.

Shinji breathes a sigh of relief, what he has running inside his head half of the time is far more than enough for him to see, but he furrows his brow at the new word. "Wait, Indica?" At this point, Toji is long gone, staring intently at the "Hikari is typing…" message. He feels bad for snooping, but the curiosity got the better of him.

Rei suddenly butts in between the two boys, who is snug is her large, sky blue jeans jacket/hoodie. Her favorite jacket of her own choosing from last year's shopping spree.

"There's two types of cannabis, Shinji. The one that Suzuhara refers to, Indica elicits more of what has been called a body high, while Sativa delivers more of a mind high."

Toji looks up from being called by his last name. "How the heck do you know about all of this?"

Another gust of wind rattles the trees in the empty street, and Shinji as well. "I've done thorough research to ensure that there were no adverse effects, and I have seen none that would lead to critical malfunction. Shinji, if you're cold you should tuck in your shirt." Rei reaches around Shinji and tries to tuck in the back of his shirt, who fusses like an upset child. "This will lead to back problems in the future."

"Okay, okay! I can do it myself." He jumps back and proceeds to tuck in his shirt.

"Then why haven't you done it prior?"

Toji groans loudly. "OK- guys. This…" He gestures to the pair, "You can't act like that in front of my friends or they'll eat you alive."

Rei cocks her head, "Are you saying your friends will bully us if we act immature? Have they bullied you in the past, Suzuhara?"

His face turns red and he stuffs his phone along with his hands into his pockets. "No- but. They just like to poke fun at things like that, you just don't want to give them too much ammunition."

"I see, you're worried that if we embarrass you, then you will be made fun of." She points her finger nonchalantly at him like it's a gun.

"No! No. I didn't say that. These guys are more… tough then the guys we know at school. These guys know dealers and stuff so they're the real deal. Just pllay it cool, okay?"

Internally, the gears begin to turn for Shinji as he starts to slightly panic. "I personally believe that being your natural self is far more impressive than pretending to be someone you're not, as Soryu is." Shinji hides a snort from Rei's comment, briefly taking him out of his panic, "But for the sake of your integrity, me and Shinji shall "Play it cool," as you say."

"Thank you. That's all I ask. They also might do some weird handshakes when they see us, so just follow my lead."

"I am well versed in secret handshakes, but as you wish."

Now it's Shinji's turn to butt in, "How much further, Toji?"

He pulls his phone out and looks at his navigation app. He points to a school with a wide field across the block, "You see that school over there? I think that's it."

"Wait w-were gonna smoke in a school? What if a kid comes up to us, or-or one of the parents see?" Shini stammers, suddenly looking around to see if there's any police cars.

"Relax, it's abandoned. Most of this district is, other than a few stores here and there."

Another sigh of relief and another gust of wind. Huh- Rei was actually right about tucking in the shirt.

Toji points to a large chain linked fence, there's a sign warning you to drive slowly in school zones on the top. "I think there's a gate we can use to cut through there." He jay walks across the road and the others follow suit, Shinji blocks Rei from crossing, making sure to look both ways before continuing. The street is empty, but she indulges his protective instinct.

When they enter the school zone past the field, they see a pair of round, metal tables beside the entrance of the school. Two figures can be seen waiting from across the field. There's a dozen trees that shelter the tables, with a stack of bricks making a short wall around each.

"I think that's them." Toji waves at them and they wave back. The long walk is tense, the two figures hold eye contact the whole way through, making the atmosphere feel almost like a western standoff.

Shinji clenches his fist, wishing he had his stress ball with him as they get closer.

One of them is leaning back on the table in a purple windbreaker with a green trim- Unit 01 merch from the upcoming, terribly deviated blockbuster- hopefully they don't recognize the pilot. Unlikely since the pilot's identity was never disclosed to the public, presumed dead from the JSSDF attack. Anyone that knew otherwise was forced to sign NDA's.

He has his bleached hair tied in a ridiculous man-bun. Shinji pulls up his hoodie at the thought of being recognized, the hood is tight around his head. The one next to the man-bun is far more taller, and sporting a flashy red bomber jacket, a buzz cut and a mean looking expression. He has his hands held together in front of his crotch, looking like a bodyguard for the shorter man. Intentionally or not. They both nod at the arriving trio.

"Yo, T-dog. Wassup man?" The two greet Toji with a sliding handshake that Rei studies intently. Shinji raises an eyebrow at the nickname and glances at Rei, who is already staring at him dead in the eyes to see if he finds the nickname as dumb as she does. Her eyebrows are slightly raised. Now, to the common man that would be a neutral glance, but for Rei that's the equivalent of holding back a fit of laughter.

Toji drops the bag of snacks onto the table. The boy leaning on the table looks at Rei up and down, "Who're you friends?"

He rubs the back of his head and smiles, "They're my really good friends from highschool, Rei and Shin-"

"Shin-man" Shinji corrects him in an attempt to hide association with being a former EVA pilot, but internally cringes. "Shin-man? Why the hell did I just say that? God they're going to make fun of-"

The internal monologue is interrupted by the shorter man's chuckles. "Heh-heh-heh… Shin-man. I fuck with that." Toji hides a beam. The short man touches his chest. "I'm Denki." He reaches over and does the handshake, but Shinji fumbles. "No-no, like this- there you go." Denki corrects him, then points to his tall friend. "My man's name is Akai." Aptly suited for his red jacket, Shinji notes.

Akai tilts his chin up at them and repeats the gesture to Shinji. "Wassup?"

"Not much, currently" Rei responds.

Denki chuckles again, leaning to Rei and attempts a gentleman meeting a lady sort of handshake. "Nice to meet you, Rei."

In a move that shocks the two heads, she repeats the handshake she noticed earlier. "What is up, Denki?" Toji covers his face, she follows suit by greeting Akai, which Shinji does too. All five of them stand still and an awkward silence ensues for about ten seconds.

Denki claps his hands together and rubs them. "Shall we blaze?" The three new arrivals nod their heads in sync. "Please, sit down." They do, but Akai keeps standing, his hands still in the same body guard position. Shinji looks up at him.

"You don't wanna sit?" Akai shakes his head at him with a pout. "O-okay."

Toji drums his fingers on the grated table. "So, uh. Denki, these guys never smoked before."

Denki pulls out a tube and some rolling papers and gets to work, "Oh, don't worry. I'll give 'em the rundown." He stares at Rei before emptying the tub full of powdered herbs into one of the papers. He nods his head at a stack of small rectangular paper. "Mind doing the filter, T?"

Toji nods and turns to Shinji. "You wanna make it into a zig-zag kinda W shape and then roll it into a tube." Shinji nods his head fast, not taking any of this in as he's still quite nervous. Toji passes it to Denki after he finishes, who adds it to the back of the paper.

Denki holds eye contact with Rei the whole time he licks the adhesive strip of the paper, "I could teach you how to roll after if you want."

"I have already memorized the procedure."

"Oh-hoh. Damn, okay. You can do the next one then." Denki replies. Rei nods. He grabs the tip of the rolled joint and flicks it back and forth.

"Is that to loosen the herbs for optimal airflow?" She asks.

"You catch on quick." He pulls out a lighter and clicks it underneath the joint, which makes Shinji jump a bit. "You wanna spin it while it lights so you burn all the sides too." He takes a deep inhale and passes it to Toji, who is on his left. He holds it for a few seconds. "So, uh… Rei." She looks at him but doesn't turn her full attention. He nods at Shinji. "This your man?"

She shakes her head. "No, he is my…." Shinji looks at her to stop her from saying she is one of his many cloned mothers. "...Maternal half brother." He lets out a sigh of relief.

Denki smirks and pulls out a vape, inhaling deep into it. "You...want a man?" He raises an eyebrow suggestively and makes a weird, fuck boy sort of laugh.

Rei doesn't break eye contact. Denki's heart skips a beat. Toji passes her the joint and she takes it without looking at him, she takes a deep inhale and blows it in Denki's direction. "Not really."

Akai finally breaks his silence, holding his fist over his mouth while he laughs obnoxiously. "Oh-hoooooooh shit!" He pats Denki on the back, who's trying his best to play it off but looks dead inside. "Buddy, there's shooting your shot, but that was a fuckin' airball."

"T-thanks for bringing snacks, T-dog." Denki mutters. A part of Shinji really wished Asuka was there to see the show, but knowing her, she would never want a part of this. He looks at Toji who makes a "no problem" gesture back to Denki, but glances at Rei and mouths "Too cool-too cool."

She catches on. "But that does not mean we cannot socialize. Platonically." Her arm is extended towards Shinji, he just notices this and looks to see joint staring right back at him. He hides a gulp, thankful his hood might have hid that and takes it, pulling very small sips from it.

"Uh-right. So how do you know T- No, no man." Denki says, Shinji looks up at him in confusion. "You can't just take bitch hits like that, you'll waste the weed." Shinji looks down in shame. "You gotta take a deep breath and hold it in." He looks at Toji, "Around the world?"

Shinji does as he says and tries to hold it in. "I don't think they're ready for that yet." Shinji begins to cough violently. Almost to a rhythm. Akai sways slightly to the coughs like it's a catchy song.

"Perhaps when we are more advanced." Rei offers, she pats Shinji on the back.

"That's good, Shin-man" Toji says, "The more you cough the higher you will get."

Shinji takes a gulp of his water. "Great."

"I was not aware of this." Rei says thoughtfully, "Then again, you would lose oxygen when you cough…" She stops and looks at her hands. "I am beginning to feel an effect."

Denki acts very interested. "Really? What kind of effect?" He rubs his hands together.

Rei still looks at her hands. "A buzzing sensation, it is traveling to my brain. Too early to yield any other information. I shall hold it until I cough when it is my turn."

Shinji begins to feel the buzz as well, almost as soon as she says it. "...Woah."

It goes from Akai to Denki. "As I was saying, how do you know T-dog?" Passing to Toji.

She takes a large drink from her large orange soda. "I was introduced to… T-dog by Shin-man when I first started school about two years ago." Rei takes the joint next and takes a four second puff and inhales. "I first met him formally when the two-" She does a series of controlled coughs, like someone tapping on a brake pedal and goes back to the topic with skipping a beat. "When they entered my apartment without me knowing while I was showering."

"Nice." Akai butts in, Denki shoots a glare.

"...It did not bother me at the time but now I would find that inappropriate. Regardless, we have all been through many trials together." Literally, many trials as eye-witnesses. But she didn't add that part. She looks down at the joint that is no more than just the filter. "Oh. It's dead."

Denki smirks and pushes the weed memorabilia towards her, going for the snacks while he waits for her to fumble and fail while he saves the day. Instead his jaw drops at the sight of her rolling it as naturally as if she's been rolling joints since childhood. In twenty seconds flat, there's a perfectly rolled joint being flicked back and forth at the tip. She offers it to Denki.

He shakes his head. "Nah, you take the green hit."

Rei looks back down at the joint, the redness in her sclera now matching her iris. She's still mechanical, deliberate, if slower. "The green hit." She turns to Shinji whose head is resting on the table, the same way he sleeps on his desk. "Shinj- Shin-man?" She mutters.

He slowly lifts his head from the table, his eyes redder than red and his mouth wide open as he looks at her. Denki chuckles.

"You good bro?" Denki says. Shinji looks up to see the whole group of four looking at him expectantly. He turns to Rei offering the joint which is right in front of his face.

He flashes a goofy smile. "Yeah… I feel like my brain is floating." Without thinking he takes the joint into his hands and inhales, but nothing pulls. He grunts in confusion and inspects the joint. Toji reaches for a lighter to pass to him.

"Remember to spin."

Shinji puts the joint in his mouth and tilts his head left and right as he lights it. Akai chuckles goofily at that. "Yeah…." He mutters. He pulls and holds, this time he doesn't cough as he passes it back to Rei. But Toji stops him.

"No-no-no, left is law, dude."

"Ohh… left is law…" He whispers as he passes it to Akai. "So, uhh. How do you guys know Toj- T-dawg?"

Denki keeps chewing his chips and looks at him. "Well, we were playing ball up in 03, know what I'm sayin'? And I see this guy with the handles and a robot arm and leg and I was like, damn! How the hell does he have a robot arm and leg so I go to approach him, know what I'm sayin'?" He looks at Rei.

She nods along, her face relaxed. Shinji looks at Toji, who's also listening to the story.

Suddenly, Shinji feels as though he can't hold his head up, let alone hold a conversation and plops his head back down. He feels a surge of nausea and calms it down by thinking of the rhythmic back and forth swaying of a swing set from his childhood.


He dozes off for a minute before deciding to stop being rude and looks back up. Denki is still talking to Rei, not even noticing that Shinji tapped out.

"Even though I'm 15, I'm still a man. I ain't got time for all these classes. I gotta make that bread, know what I'm saying?"

"Yes, I know what you are saying." She takes another gulp of Fanta and reaches for some of her marshmallows, smacking louder than Shinji ever heard the polite girl chew.

He groans and rubs his head, Toji offers him a bag of shrimp chips which he goes to town on.

"You good, bro?" Denki asks.

He nods aggressively while smacking on the chips, "Yeah, you just said that."

"Yeah, like an hour and a half ago."

"Oh… sorry." Shinji mumbles, then widens his eyes, dropping the bag and gripping the table. "It's been an hour!?"

Toji groans, "My shrimp chips, man…" Shinji fumbles for his phone and looks at his phone, its six o'clock.

"Well, more like an hour-forty five."

Rei blinks before looking at her phone slowly, "I was not aware that much time had passed."

"Aw fuck. I gotta cook for… fuckin' Asuka." He covers his face in his hands. "It's a forty minute walk back…"

Denki perks up, "Ooooooh, who's Asuka? Your girlfriend?" Toji points at Shinji and nods at Denki excitedly while taking some marshmallows that Rei offered.

"No! She's my-" What the hell were they anyways? "...My roommate."

"If she ain't your girl maybe you can bring her next time. I can… heh-heh... cook for her." Denki chuckles, leaning in. He rubs his hands suggestively.

That sobers Shinji up, if just enough for some fire to soar through him. Nobody fucking cooks for her except me. He shoots up off the table. "We gotta go." Toji shrugs and slides out of the table.

"Aw, so soon?" Denki pouts, looking at Rei.

She stands up, wiping the crumbs off her skirt and packing the rest of her snacks in the bag. "You know, in our built up comradery this past hour, I briefly entertained the thought of giving you a second chance for an advancement. But that comment about my friend you just made has hereby nullified that chance to non-existence."

Akai bangs on the table and wheezes, "Oh-hoooooooh shit!" Denki attempts to make a rebuttal, but is too high to respond.

Rei tosses the bag of snacks over the shoulder, her eyes still as red as the ocean once was during The Third Impact. She glances over her shoulder, suddenly taking on a husky voice. "But thanks for the blaze up, boys. We should do this again sometime." And with that, she walks off. Shinji and Toji hesitantly follow while Denki and Akai can only watch with slacked jaws.

Shinji waves to them half baked, "Nice meeting you!" They walk down the field.

Once they leave the gate, Toji practically jumps up and down and grips Rei's shoulders while he does so. "That was fucking AWESOME! Stone. Freaking. Cold!"

Rei looks down and smiles softly, "Indeed, no offense but your friends are quite foolish. It was satisfying to bring them down a notch."

Toji scoffs, "None taken, blue." He grips Rei and Shinji by the shoulders and pulls them close as they walk. "How're you guys feelin'?"

The bluenette looks at her hands again. "Very relaxed, I anticipated this feeling but I am pleased by the euphoria that accompanies it."

"Right? Guys this is honestly a blast, we gotta do this again sometime." Toji says, with Rei nodding in agreement. "How about you, Shin-man?"

Shinji whips his head at him, butting into his forehead at Toji's since they were shoulder to shoulder. "Huh? Ow!"

Toji rubs his head and laughs, Shinji joins too and Rei lets out the quietest of giggles. Which leaves the two boys looking at each other in amazement.

"I was saying how're you feeling? On a scale of one to ten?"

Shinji ponders this as they walk, "Like a….uh…."

"Don't think too hard."

"... An eight." Yeah. That's a good number. "I'm just blanking out a lot."

"Don't worry about it, next time we'll go get some Sativa next time so we can play video games or watch a movie."

Rei's eyes light up, "Yes! We could go Saturday and get an ounce for ourselves."

Toji rubs his head, "I dunno, It'll be expensive, and we gotta find a place to store an ounce. And didn't Asuka say she wanted to go to the mall Saturday?"

Rei lifts her finger, "We'll keep it in my apartment, I'm certain Ritsuko would not be able to find my hidden compartments throughout my room."

"Hidden compartments? Who the hell are you?" Toji exclaims. Rei doesn't say anything, only glances at him from the side of her eye and smirks. "Aw, shit. But what about Asuka? How are we gonna get rid of her?" They cross the street.

"No need, we will simply include her."

Shinji scoffs as he walks automatically, in almost a waddle. "Good luck with that, Asuka is gonna, well she's…" He mutters and his mind wanders off.


Toji suddenly grips his shoulders, "Shinji, wait!" He stops him from walking into oncoming traffic as a sports car zooms by.

Wait a minute, there's no busy traffic in Tokyo 02 right now…

Shinji looks around and recognizes the area there. "Wait, we're already back? It's been forty minutes?"

"Wow, you really are blanking out. You just kinda started muttering for a while, so me and Blue started talking about Hik- Don't worry about it." He looks at Rei who nods with a look of understanding. "I'm surprised though, you're actually really cool, Ayanami."

She shrugs, "I know."

What the hell did I miss? Shinji thought, but he stops when he realizes he's at his apartment block and still high as a kite. "Oh man, I gotta cook pizza tonight and I'm-" He pulls out his phone and stares at it, "...eight minutes late."

Toji pats Shinji on the back, "Don't worry, it'll be fine. Here just-" He rummages through his pocket and pulls out the bottle of visine, "Put these on. I'll do it for you." Shinji nods and lifts his head up while Toji aims the bottle down at his eyes. "Just- stop moving, dude. You can handle LCL but not a little bit of eye drops?"

Shinji holds still at that and waits for the drip to come. "Ah- it's cold."

"So are the deepest of plunges, Shinji." Rei comments, he turns his head at her.

"What does that even mean?" She shrugs but Toji interjects.

"I think she's saying, good fuckin' luck, dude. But don't worry, at the same time." Toji fist bumps the two and goes about his way.

"No pressure…" Shinji mutters to himself. Before they go anywhere else, as if customary, they bow to one of the trees in front of their complex. While what was once in the soil has been taken to a different resting place, they would never forget.

Rei leads Shinji to the entrance of the apartment and swipes her key card, it slides open as they enter. "I prefer that handshake far better."

"Yeah…" They enter the elevator and wait to go up their ridiculously high floors. An elevator instrumental version of Frank Sinatra's "Fly me to the Moon" occupies their thoughts in the meantime, Shinji was grateful. Ever since that time, he had a hard time riding elevators with his sister. It dings on floor 42 for Rei.

"This was fun tonight, thank you for letting me come." She turns to Shinji before she leaves, holding the marshmallows tightly to her chest.

He nods, "No, thank you for coming. You really broke the ice there."

She smiles and nods back, "See you at school."

"See you at school." The doors close on her but she stops it, making them slide open again.

"Shinji, wait!" Rei says, suddenly, very serious. She rummages through her bag and pulls out a bottle of febreeze and sprays him unceremoniously. "Be sure to take your jacket off before you get in. And wash your hands too."

He nods. "Thanks, Rei." As she walks off and the elevator lifts off, Shinji jumps at the sudden lift. It reaches the last floor, 50.

Shinji steps out, chips and water in tow, takes a deep breath and slides off his jacket before entering the belly of the beast.