I do not own Kamen Rider or Neon Genesis Evangelion. Those belong to their respective creators and not me. I am not making money out of this nor do I expect to. I am writing this because I enjoy it and because I like to see Gendo get screwed over. Then again, who doesn't?
Journey Through the Decade: Dark Rider Thesis
By Ten-Faced Paladin
Chapter 2: Shamshel
Tokyo-3 Arms Apartments had been repeatedly billed as a peaceful place to live and often as a relaxing spot for anyone who wished to live in the war zone which had become the city of the future in the last few days. People were still rebuilding their lives after the Angel of Water, Sachiel known publicly as the third Angel arrived out of Tokyo Bay and promptly went on the warpath for reasons unknown. Also for reasons unknown to the majority of the citizens, the Angel just suddenly blew up when it seemed that it had been besting the JSSDF. However, a small portion of the city knew the truth or at least suspected it. Four armored individuals who had rescued a little girl who had been caught outside calling themselves Kamen Riders had appeared on the same day as the Angel's attack. People suspected that they had something to do with the Angels' sudden destruction although a number of higher-ups in the JSSDF were claiming the victory for themselves.
In the political aftermath, Gendo Ikari ended up having egg on his face for being completely useless in the Angel's attack. His organization was specifically created to do combat with the Angels and safeguard humanity with its secret weapon, the bio-synthetic artificial humanoid Evangelion. Yet, his weapon hadn't been used at all before the Angel just seemed to destroy itself and his secret weapon was collecting dust for it. The backers of NERV were furious with the lack of action and were practically baying for the Riders' blood for interfering with their plans. However, his actions will be coming to light later.
Right now, Tokyo-3 Arms Apartments were fulfilling their promise of peace and relaxation.
"AHHHHH! I'M LAAATE!" three voices shrieked at once, breaking the vow of peace which the other residents had moved in for.
Smith Apartment
Lucy was sipping tea at the dining room table as she read up on recent history concerning subjects such as Second Impact and various events that came afterwards. Now and then she'd set the tea down in order to nibble on some toast before returning to her tea, utterly distracted by her literature. She wore a set of pajama pants and a halter top which hung loosely on her frame. She wasn't wearing anything on her head either, which allowed her small cat ear-like horns to be revealed sticking from her head. It was a part of her that Shinji and Naruto thought was awesome when they first met her when they were small and a part of her which Kouta thought was so kawaii and incidentally made her love him all the more, but these days her brothers didn't blink twice about it. Naruto was busy at the microwave, cooking his weekly breakfast of instant ramen. It was an agreement in the Smith household since Naruto arrived that since it was his favorite food and the only thing anyone would let him buy when he was small, Naruto could have ramen for breakfast once a week on any day of the week, but he had to eat breakfast with everyone else on the other days. At the moment Naruto was wearing a black tank top and his boxers along with a goofy nightcap that his former teacher Iruka gave him for his birthday.
"Ahhhhhh!" Shinji cried, tugging his school clothes on. "I'm late! I'm late! I'm late!"
Shinji was as previously stated, running late. The party at Misato's had run late into the night when at last she passed out in a drunken stupor next to Kasumi whom Ranma had to carry back to his apartment. Bonding had gone well between the four Riders, all of which declaring they were going to stop whatever Gendo Ikari had in mind before he had a chance to fulfill it. After all, a man like him never had the good of humanity in mind.
"Why aren't you two freaking out?" Shinji cried as he stole Lucy's unfinished toast (not that she noticed) and began stuffing his face.
"High school got damaged in the Angel fight," Naruto yawned. "We won't have to go until tomorrow."
"Awww!" Shinji groaned, choking down the last of his toast before gulping down a glass of milk before heading for the door. "Gotta go!"
"Hey! That was mine!" Naruto barked as his little brother slammed the door behind him.
"Hm?" Lucy blinked as the sound of the door snapped her out of her literacy induced hypnosis. "Did Shinji go to school?"
"You didn't notice?" Naruto asked.
"No, not really," shrugged Lucy. As if responding to her words, her Orga Phone came to life and flipped open, sprouting arms and legs from its sides as a digital face appeared on the screen. Wriggling out of her pocket, it began speaking.
Omega-kun (Lucy's Phone) began to chide her, "You should be more alert, Lucy-sama." He wagged a finger at her, causing Lucy to glare at him. At first he'd been a normal phone until a guy named Takada upgraded him. His main reasoning was that a cute girl like her should have to use such a regular boring phone when she could have a cool one instead. Omega-kun was a constant companion in Lucy's life, but he sometimes had a big mouth and ticked her off, causing him to get swatted by a vector.
"Right, right," Lucy sighed, ignoring her companion and returning to her book, making Omega-kun grumble.
Katsuragi Apartment
"I'm late! Ow! Shoot! I'm gonna get fired!" Misato whined as she busily chomped down on some half-cooked monstrosity which was supposed to be something instant but her lack of patience and cooking skills turned into something most people would find inedible, but Misato's stomach took daily.
She had woken up late and with a hangover so her mood was not good, but thankfully her panic was overlapping that at the moment. Since NERV hadn't taken part in the battle with the Angel, she didn't have to do any paperwork which was why she was allowed to have her little party and go home early. Of course now she was regretting it as she kept smoothing out her rumpled uniform as she gulped down the good she had created before tossing microwave sushi flavored burrito's to PenPen before she grabbed her purse, a beer, her keys and was out the door like a bullet.
Saotome/Tendo Apartment
"Shoot! MRF! Shoot! MRF! Shoot!" Ranma cursed as he gulped down food at a rate professional eaters would be envious of. "Stupid school with their stupid hours! I'm freaking 16! Why do I have to go to Junior High?"
"I'm sure it's for a good reason Ranma-kun," Kasumi replied as she took Ranma's empty plates and replaced them with full ones. It was so much easier to cook for two people rather than eight. It left her with so much free time after everything was said and done. She had heard Ms. Katsuragi's scuffling next door and worried if the woman was okay. Maybe she could check in to see if everything was okay or to feed that cute penguin she had with her.
"Okay! Done! Thanks Kasumi! Gotta go!" Ranma called before he booted for the patio and leaped over the railing, beginning his roof hopping journey to the local Junior High.
Outside
"Morning Misato-san! Bye Misato-san!" Shinji greeted as he tore past Misato who was busy trying to get into her car while juggling her things.
"Morning Shinji! Bye Shinji!" Misato absently waved as she finally got her car started and drove like a demon out of the parking lot, forgetting that her beer was still on top of the car and being knocked off by the movement.
Neither of them noticed Ranma leaping over rooftops in the direction of the local school.
Tokyo-3 Junior High
Shinji managed to get to the school in record time. He had barely managed to get inside the school gates before the teacher on duty began to shut them. Of course, Ranma had also arrived just as he stepped through the gate.
"You got here fast," said Ranma.
"Same to you. Father always made it a routine to get us to do exercise and raise our stamina. How did you get here? I didn't see you when I was rushing here," said Shinji, gasping for breath. He was more out of shape than he thought.
"Roofhopped here," Ranma answered as if he was discussing the weather.
"H-huh?" Shinji blinked. "Really? None of us can do that unless we transform."
"We do it all the time back home," Ranma shrugged, unaware of Shinji still gaping at him.
"…right," Shinji nodded, unsure if he should believe Ranma's words, but nonetheless took them as fact. "Let's get going. We have to get our paperwork and stuff sorted out before we can go to class. We don't want to miss anything."
"What a shame that would be," Ranma grumbled, rolling his eyes, following the younger Rider into the school.
The class of 2-A in the school was only about half to three-quarters filled, but it was the only second year class in the entire school. Most families were moving out after the fight with the Angel and reported that more Angels were going to be coming. Ranma had to admit that as far as classes went, this one ranked up on his 'unique' scale rather that the 'outright weird' and 'unbelievably freaking stupid' that most days at Furinkan ended up like most of the time. After being guided to the class by a girl named Hikari Horaki who was a brunette who wore her hair in pigtails and had freckles on her face, Ranma noticed that the teacher looked like he should have retired already. Hikari explained that all of the other teachers for the grade level had quit and left the city, forcing the school to pull the old man out of retirement. The students in the class seemed like a mix of interesting folks, but only a few stood out. One was a guy with glasses who was typing excitedly while another was a kid in a track suit who seemed bored. At the back was the oddity of the classroom, a girl with short blue hair and was covered in bandages with her eye covered and her arm in a cast and sling.
"Alright," the aged teacher nodded, making Ranma feel drowsy at the start. "Class, we have two new students. Please introduce yourselves."
"Right," Shinji nodded. "Well, my name's Shinji Ikari-Smith. I like classical music and I'm pretty good with a cello."
"Ranma Saotome," Ranma introduced as he scratched the back of his neck, comfortable with the situation after being through it so many times. "I like martial arts and good food."
"Right," the teacher nodded, putting one student to sleep, not that the old man noticed. "Please take a free seat wherever you find one."
Shinji decided to take a seat near the back, incidentally close to the bandaged girl he deduced to be Rei Ayanami. He had gotten her description from Misato and had been hoping to introduce himself to her. However he had no idea that she had been so injured from her accident. He knew she was injured, but totally mauled? Just what the heck happened to her?
Ranma looked to the front as the teacher was going on about mathematics, but somehow dragged into a speech about Second Impact. He was out like a light five seconds later.
Shinji pretty much zoned out as well, focusing on other things in mind. Gendo's plans for example. What was his angle? Definitely not the good of humanity. A man who cared little for his own child would not give a damn for total strangers or the world in general. The only way they could find out for sure was by breaking into his office and stealing the files. And the only one who could do that was a black beetle inside the organization, Shinji himself. He just had to wait for the opportunity.
In the natural scenery which surrounded Tokyo-3, a sight which most people would consider unusual was occurring. In this case, a silver veil appeared in the middle of the hills before it receded, depositing a single person onto the ground. He was wearing a leather jacket with dark jeans and sneakers. He kept a white hat on his head with a black shirt underneath the jacket. Gripped in his hand and tapping on his shoulder was a strangely designed gun which was black, blue, and yellow, otherwise known as the Diendriver. This person's face was a carbon copy for that of Ranma Saotome, but considering how he was one of Ranma's many counterparts, it wasn't too surprising.
He may have been Ranma, but for some reason he went by the name Kaitoh (Phantom Thief) which wasn't odd considering he dubbed himself a master thief and acquire of rare treasures
His past and how Kaitoh had gotten the Diendriver and was traveling to different worlds though would be a story for another day though. Right now, his role in this recent world was just beginning to unfold.
"The World of Evangelion," Kaitoh said. "Big robots fight big aliens for the Earth. This world definitely has a few valuable treasures…like Adam and Unit-01." He definitely knew more about this world than Decade and the Dark Riders. "Alright, time to scope out the sights, find some babes, and a hideout." He had plans to make. This world's treasures would be his and he wasn't going to let anyone stop him.
Tokyo-3 Junior High
Shijni glanced over to Ranma, who was just waking up as the lunch hour began. Somehow Ranma's stomach had been able to tell him exactly when class ended and when lunch began. Looking to his own lunch, Shinji decided to see if he could use this opportunity to connect better with his fellow pilot Rei Ayanami. Picking up his lunch, he walked over to where the injured pilot was eating a vegetable platter. As Shinji approaching, her single uncovered eye looked to him, but she made no other move to acknowledge his presence.
"Um…excuse me Ayanami-san, but may I sit with you for lunch today?" Shinji asked.
The bluenette girl blinked at him before giving a very small nod.
'OK, so far so good,' thought Shinji. He sat down with her and began to eat. Almost instantly, Shinji felt like he was being watched but ignored it. Being the only normal member of his family, relatively speaking, gave him a different perspective in life. He shouldn't really care what strangers thought of him. If they thought he was weird, so be it. He wasn't out to win anybody's approval save for those he actually cared for. Then again, maybe it had something to do with him sitting with Rei.
"Does it hurt?" Shinji asked. "Your injuries I mean."
"I have healed sufficiently enough for pain to not be a factor," Rei answered stoically, making Shinji blink. "So long as my wounds are not aggravated, that will continue to be true."
"O…kay," Shinji nodded.
"Why have you decided to sit with me Pilot Ikari?" Rei asked completely changing the subject.
"Um…I thought it would be nice if we got to know each other a bit," Shinji answered. "I mean, we both pilot Evangelions right? I thought it would be…" he tried to come up with a term that the apparently stoic and military-minded girl would understand. "…beneficial to both parties if we could have positive interactions like in becoming friends"
"How would becoming friends be beneficial?" asked Rei, possibly sounding curious, but her even tone of voice hid it well.
"Well, by becoming friends we can anticipate each other's actions better and be able to co-operate better in the case we're both deployed against an Angel," Shinji explained. "By better co-operation and teamwork on and off the battlefield, we'd be able to become better pilots."
"I see," Rei nodded. "Your theory holds merit, however if having friends allowed me to become a better pilot, the commander would have assigned me one."
"Excuse me?" Shini blinked. "You…you would expect him to assign you a friend if you needed one? Rei, you don't need him to tell you who to be friends with."
"Commander Ikari has provided me everything I needed my whole life," Rei calmly explained. "If I need a friend, he would assign me one."
'He's mindfucked her!' Shinji ranted internally as he realized that Rei admitted to being raised by his biological father. Now Shinji was glad that Gendo hadn't raised him. He would've ended up just as messed up as Rei. He recalled how reluctant he was to making friends outside his adopted father's circle. He basically grew up around unusual individuals who found kinship in each other. To think that Rei grew up without friends made him sympathize with her. "Rei, a friend is not someone assigned to you. A friend is someone you have a certain connection with, a bond. Friends care for each other selflessly no matter what and true friends are hard to come by. True friends are unconditional and will stand by you in both the best and the worst times of your lives. Friends are both people you want and need in life."
"I see," Rei commented, although the one second of uncertainty visible in her eye clearly showed that she didn't.
"You don't have to understand it now, but it will help you understand what you feel when you have finally found a true friend," Shinji added to the end of his argument.
"Very well," Rei nodded, filing Pilot Ikari's words away for future reference should the situation he described ever arise. However, if she applied what Pilot Ikari had told her, she could call Commander Ikari her friend since did share a bond with him and he did act selflessly towards her when he rescued her from a rampaging Unit 00. However, that bond had a condition since Commander Ikari needed her to complete his scenario. With that thought in mind, she could not call Commander Ikari her friend after all. She would have much to contemplate tonight.
Meanwhile Ranma was wolfing down his food at a rapid pace. However, his mind was in full combat mode as he considered what he needed to do in this world. With the Angels attacking, it was obvious what his first job was. He had to take the monsters down. Although according to Shinji and his siblings, Gendo Ikari, the commander of NERV was also someone to watch out for and definitely a possible threat. After hearing about the man, Ranma wanted to kick the guy's ass before he even met the man and no doubt the man wanted to have a few 'words' with the Riders for stealing NERV's glory in fighting the Angels. Well, if he tried anything then the only words Gendo Ikari would get would be 'Final Attack Ride: De-De-De-Decade' before he'd get a Dimension Kick up the ass.
"Hey! The new guy with the pigtail!" a voice cried out. Ranma looked up from his lunch to see the glasses-sporting kid coming for him with the jock in tow. The jock looked pretty damn bored with something, most likely something the glasses wearing kid was deeply into.
"What?" asked Ranma, half expecting for some kind of fight to break out even though he knew there was no possible way anyone would want to pick a fight with on his first day. Okay so there was Kuno on his world….and that Shark Orphenoch on Faiz World…and a few other notable mentions…when he thought about it, someone wanting a fight seemed pretty damn likely.
"Do you know anything about those Kamen Rider guys that showed up?" the suspected geek asked.
Ranma cocked an eyebrow and asked, "Why would I know anything about Kamen Riders?"
"Well, you and Smith are new here. It's kinda funny for people to be moving to the city after a monster attacks. Most people just can't wait to get out," the geek spoke.
Calmly, Ranma answered, "I'm not most people. I've been told that much."
"So, do you or don't you know anything about Kamen Riders?" the geek pressed.
"No," Ranma answered firmly.
"I don't believe you," the geek frowned. "You know something."
"Don't care," said Ranma, "And can you prove it?" Ranma's eyes narrowed dangerously and Kensuke could feel a very uncomfortable chill running down his spine when he saw that glare.
"But-" the geek began but was hauled backwards by his friend, the jock.
"Sorry about him," Touji apologized. "He's got conspiracy theories in the head."
"I can see that," Ranma noted.
"Well, I'm a bit curious about those Riders myself, actually," Touji admitted. "They saved my sister. Sure, my dad yelled at me for letting her out of my sight but it's a good thing those guys saved her. I can't imagine what would've happened if they didn't."
"Well, can't say I know a thing about them. Remember, I'm new here," said Ranma.
"Well, that's what I told him, but he won't listen," said Touji. "By the way, I'm Touji Suzuhara and my geeky friend is Kensuke Aida."
"Nice to meet you," nodded Ranma.
Lucy was dressed in a black tank top with a red pleated skirt along with black and pink striped stockings. She had her hair pulled into a braid and was wearing a cap to keep out the sun and to hide her horns. She also carried a purse with her. She had already turned the heads of many young men and some women, but any guy who tried to hit on her was politely turned down and the ones who were more determined got tripped by a vector as she made her getaway. The eldest Smith daughter had decided to venture about Tokyo-3 just for the heck of it since she didn't want to hang out in the apartment all day by herself.
As a child she'd toured many worlds with her beloved Papa and his friends, a team of heroes who called themselves the ChronoLiner Riders. They dedicated themselves to the protection of the Multiverse. She knew all of the members since they were present when Warren had adopted her and looked up to them. However, the one she looked up to the most was her Papa. At first she didn't trust Warren since she had numerous episodes of people pretending to be her friend but then betraying her but after he'd risked his life to save her, she began to open up to him more. It had taken a while, but she finally started calling him her Papa and she hadn't recalled being happier.
A wriggling from her purse caught her attention before Omega-kun poked his head out from her purse and spoke, "Lucy-sama, what are your plans today?"
"Kill time," she answered. She wished Kouta was here with her but that was impossible. She had a mission and she could not afford to become distracted. Maybe once things had settled down somewhat she could try to convince her Papa to let him visit. They hadn't had a date in what felt like ages.
Meanwhile, Naruto was looking for a good ramen shop. He was a ramen addict and Lucy once told him that he was far too dependent on ramen. He scoffed at that. Ramen had been what sustained him in his early years since it was the only food the director of the orphanage would let him eat, even if he had to make it himself…and once all of the other kids were served and finished eating. Granted there were a few disagreements with his new family over what they should have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner when he was younger, but it didn't mean he was addicted, right?
"You're thinking about ramen again aren't you?" asked Kivat II from his hiding place in Naruto's hoodie sweater, specifically the hood which hung at the back of his neck.
"So what if I am?" Naruto grumbled, knowing what was coming next.
"Must I remind you again that your mother specifically asked you NOT to gorge on ramen whenever you get the chance?" the second generation Kivat sighed. "You had some for breakfast already!"
"But I worked it all off during my morning training!" Naruto frowned. "I'm hungry!"
"Then go to a respectable restaurant then," Kivat retorted. "They have plenty of healthier foods and probably just as well done as that Ichiraku place you're always yapping about."
"We don't speak foul of the holy booth that is Ichiraku," Naruto frowned darkly, remembering the ramen stand that was his home away from home and his sanctuary that was his escape from the hell that was supposedly an orphanage.
"I hardly see how cooked noodles can compare to the gourmet cuisine I have been fortunate enough to partake in," Kivat huffed.
"You think gourmet cuisine is sucking the blood straight from a beautiful woman's neck," Naruto gagged. "One such woman being my mom if I recall!"
"It was my birthday and she gave me permission!" Kivat cried, actually blushing from the memory. Oh that half demon blood was like a fine wine. He had been giddy for hours after that! As such he vowed to taste the illustrious Raven Smith again one day. So far, he only managed it twice. Warren wasn't the jealous type…often, but the way Raven purred when Kivat bit her made the man's eyes darken just a bit. Well, Kivat did master the art of pleasing women with his teeth a long time ago.
"Whatever. We all know you're crushing on her," Naruto laughed. "Too bad she's married, ne?"
"Too bad," sighed Kivat.
Tokyo-3 Junior High
"The sub-commander has informed me that you and the commander share a biological bond," Rei spoke, attempting to understand Shinji's theory on friendship affecting her ability to pilot. To that end, she decided to initiate what many other employees at NERV would call 'small talk' which purpose was to get to know another person better.
Shinji's eyes narrowed. "That is about all we share, for how little it's worth to him," He recalled that day, ten years ago, when he had been abandoned like a piece of garbage. That day was a sore subject for Shinji. "For all I care, he's dead to me."
Rei immediately became offended and moved to slap him but then his intense gaze made her freeze. It was like Shinji was channeling Gendo. No, this was far more powerful. It was like Shinji was daring her to slap him. Keeping her reserve, Rei decided to ask, "Why would you think like that of your own father?"
"He's not my father. A father protects, raises and loves their children. He did none of this for me when I was growing up. A week after my mother died, he just tossed me away. He didn't even bother to come check up on me for ten long years and then he sends for me. The only reason I ever came was because people would need me," answered Shinji. "He may be my commander, but he will never, ever, be my father. My father is the one who raised me and cared for me. My father is Warren Smith."
Rei never knew. She never knew Gendo had done such a thing to his son. That was probably why he never bothered to mention to Rei that he had a son. To Gendo, such things were irrelevant to the scenario. As with most things a normal girl her age might experience, Rei was prohibited from taking part in such things because it had no use for his scenario.
"Gendo keeps people around as long as they are useful," continued Shinji. "Once our usefulness has ended, do you really think he'd let us stick around? He shows no gratitude, Rei. Once he gets what he wants we're chucked away like yesterday's garbage."
Rei could not find an argument to counter that. As a prime piece of Gendo's scenario, she was privy to the full details of what the operation would need. She knew exactly how far Gendo was willing to go to obtain his goals. She also knew how ruthless he could be when dealing with variables he could not afford or pieces of the scenario he no longer needed. The affair with the senior Dr. Akagi was one such incident which cost the blue-haired girl her first incarnation.
"Of course if Gendo hadn't tossed me away, I would've never met my new family. They did for me more than Gendo could ever do for me," Shinji finished.
"I see," Rei nodded. "I have learned much about you today."
"Do you think I could learn about you?" asked Shinji with unashamed curiosity.
Rei was slightly surprised by the question. Up until now no one had bothered trying to get to know her. As far as everyone was concerned she was the infamous Ice Queen of Tokyo-3 Junior High. "Why?" she asked.
"Well, I think as friends we could try to get to know each other," said Shinji. "OK, how about I start? My name is Shinji Ikari-Smith. My likes are my family, playing the cello and spending time with my siblings. My dislikes are Gendo, selfish people, narrow-minded people, and people who have fun hurting people. My dream is to protect all my loved ones." Back in Naruto's world, this was the standard introduction Genin teams made with their Jounin instructor, at least for Kakashi. He pointed to Rei, "OK, your turn. Name, likes, dislikes and dreams?"
"Rei Ayanami," the stoic girl answered, deciding to go through with this apparent exorcise. However, she didn't say anything else beyond that. She just seemed to continue with her lunch.
"No likes, dislikes or dreams?" asked Shinji, somewhat confusedly.
"Nothing comes to mind," Rei answered. That much was true. She didn't particularly like or dislike anything. The only thing she found what most would term enjoyable would be her private meetings with the commander. Anything normal people would call a dislike would have to be physical pain. Rei didn't have any personal dreams or ambitions beyond the commander's scenario and her desire to help him see it to completion.
'Mindfucked does not even begin to describe this situation,' Shinji mentally gaped. Not only had his father apparently stripped Rei of her emotions, but he denied her the various necessary aspects of human rights. He didn't allow her to grow attached to anything nor did he allow her to experience things and she was even denied the chance for her own future if he was reading her lack of dreams right. 'He will die very, very, slowly.'
Suddenly, Rei's cell phone began to chirp which she quickly answered. She didn't reply, only heard the voice on the other end before hanging up, "An Angel is approaching. We must report to NERV."
"Fine," sighed Shinji. "Let's talk more after we deal with this thing."
"It's a big purple dildo," deadpanned Shinji bluntly when he saw the image of the approaching Angel.
The fourth Angel was a massive, vaguely arthropod-like creature, with a long cylindrical body, a roughly shovel-shaped head with two eyespot-like markings, and eight retractable segmented limbs. Despite how intimidating and fearsome it was intended to be, it did resemble the toy in which Shinji had mentioned if only slightly. Most of the technicians and crew who overheard the comment couldn't help but snicker slightly. Misato almost burst out laughing despite the situation, but she managed to keep her air of professionalism up in the face of the commander who was the ice block he always was.
Ritsuko, blushing at the blunt comparison, said, "Regardless, it's a threat. You must subdue it."
"I got it," shrugged Shinji.
"Don't be so laid back, Shinji," warned Misato.
"It's either act laid back or panic, which would you prefer?" Shinji asked with a sigh.
As expected, the Third Child was inside Evangelion Unit 01 which had been deployed to combat the newest Angel. The young man was proving to be surprisingly skilled, having already proven his high synch rate and now by having the Eva move almost as easily as his own body. The Angel had stopped to consider this new opposition, not having seen it before nor had it been deployed against Sachiel when he attempted to reach their goal. To that end, this Angel didn't know anything about the Evas.
"Well, they got me in this thing, might as well see what it can do," Shinji sighed before gripping the control yokes and began moving forward.
The Evangelion 01 had just drawn its gun and was firing upon the Angel. The gun smoke had covered the Angel which had predictably thrown up its AT Field to protect itself. Orga just shook her head at the sight. Honestly, the JSSDF tried that approach with the last Angel, did they really think this one wouldn't have the same ability? At least Shinji in Eva 01 had decided to keep moving rather than stand still rather than becoming a sitting duck for the Angel to retaliate against.
"Should we help him? He is our little brother," said Dark Kiva.
"No, let's watch what he can do with that toy," declined Orga.
Dark Kiva frowned as he watched the battle between Angel and Evangelion on top of a building. The citizens had all gone to the shelters a long time ago which was good. Both Dark Riders had used the opportunity to transform and try to get to where the Angel would be approaching. Seeing Eva 01 deployed was a good enough indicator. However, Dark Kiva had made the same dildo joke about the Angel before Orga smacked him upside the head for being vulgar.
Both Dark Riders turned to see the familiar form of Decade landing on the roof with them, "Hey guys. Did I miss anything good yet?"
"They just started," Orga answered, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Aren't you the least but worried about him being in that hunk of junk?" questioned Dark Kiva. He had heard the story of what had happened to Shinji's biological mother when she attempted to start the machine up. He didn't want the same thing to be happening to his little brother.
"No," answered Orga. Her eyes then focused on a certain pair of boys on a hillside. "Hm? Shouldn't those two be in the shelter?"
"Huh?" Dark Kiva's Omnilens focused. Sure enough, there were two junior high boys hanging out on the hillside close to where the fight was taking place. "You're right."
"Aida? Suzuhara?" Decade blinked, his own lenses targeting the pair. "Just figures.
"Come on," said Orga. "Let's save those idiots before they get killed."
"Right, Nee-chan," agreed Dark Kiva.
"This is so cool!" Kensuke grinned, watching Eva 01 dodge strange energy whips that the Angel had created.
"Yeah," Touji nodded, nonetheless amazed by what he was seeing. "Don't you think they're getting kind of close?"
"All the better!" Kensuke grinned. "We'll be able to see the great details!"
"…you're an idiot," Touji grumbled.
A low whistle of amazement caught the pair's attention and they turned to see a figure sitting in the grass only a few feet away from them. One of the strange things about them was that they hadn't noticed the guy approaching. The second strange thing was that the guy was a dead ringer for their new classmate Ranma. "Wow. Never thought I'd get to see an Evangelion fighting so soon. Especially the prized Unit 01."
"Saotome?" asked Touji with surprise.
"Huh?" the hat sporting guy blinked, turning away from the battle and to the pair. "Oh, no. I'm not Ranma-kun. I just look like him. Name's Kaitoh."
"Oh. Did you come to see the Eva too?" Kensuke grinned, hoping to have found another Evangelion fan.
"See it?" Kaitoh grinned. "Heck, I came here to steal it!"
'Steal it!' both Touji and Kensuke openly gaped at Kaitoh as though he was mad.
"Are you serious?" questioned Touji.
"Of course, and let me show you how." Kaitoh drew out his gun and Diend Kamen Ride card. "Don't blink. This is going to be cool!" He slid his card into the slot on the side and pushed the barrel forward.
"Kamen Ride," the Diendriver spoke as Kaitoh pointed it up.
"Henshin!" He pulled the trigger.
"Diend!"
His emblem was shot up into the air as red, green and blue images zipped around him. The images converged onto him to form a suit of armor as his symbol turned into panels and docked into his helmet, filling his suit with color. The blue Rider shrugged his shoulders as if getting the proper fit of the armor and getting comfortable.
Kensuke and Touji openly gaped and the bespectacled boy nearly dropped his camera in shock. Of course, the bespectacled boy immediately realized that he had the camera and immediately began filming the entire event happening before their eyes.
"Ka…Ka…Kamen…" Touji stammered.
"Kamen Rider," Diend finished for him. "Kamen Rider Diend." He then drew three cards from the case mounted on the left side of his belt. "Now, for my next trick." He inserted the card into a slot on the side of his gun. Holding the bottom silver cylinder, he pushed and extended the barrel, revealing the back of the card he had put in. He then activated it with the trigger.
"Kamen Ride: Faiz!"
Shooting his gun, the Rider who was the bane of Orphenochs and ironically their king appeared in a flash of green, red, and blue. He was donned in a black bodysuit with silver armor on his chest and shoulders, with bits of metal on his hands and boots. Red lines traveled across his body in a strange pattern and his helmet had a pair of large yellow eyes. The copy of Faiz looked out at the Angel battling Unit 01 and took a ready stance.
"Next!" Diend slotted in his next card. "This might hurt a bit."
"Final Form Ride: Fa-Fa-Fa-Faiz!"
Diend's next shot hit Faiz right in the back, leaving a phi symbol in front of him before his body began to change. His arms folded onto his back as a trigger mechanism rose from his chest. Flipping over while his head was encased in a white metal box, Faiz's whole body was covered in the same material, his arms turning into what appeared to be a pair of scopes and the rest of his body becoming that of a gun. A shell with a gun barrel at the end covered his feet. Diend nodded as he watched the Faiz Blaster hover in the air. Taking his next card, he slotted it in.
"And finally!"
"Final Attack Ride: Fa-Fa-Fa-Faiz!"
Diend took aim with his Faiz Blaster. He was aiming for the Angel's core. At first he was thinking of immobilizing the Eva, but then that would turn it into damaged goods and Diend hated damaged goods. Treasures like Eva 01 had to be protected and cared for. Seeing the proximity that the Eva had to the Angel, he assumed that the AT field had been negated and would not be able to stop his next shot. So, taking aim, he looked to the Angels' core which was located below its 'chin' and making for a lovely target.
"Here we go!" Diend laughed, pulling a secondary trigger.
A beam of red energy shot from the scopes of the Faiz Blaster and struck the core of the Angel. Rather than damaging it, the beam turned into a spinning red cone. The Angel froze on the impact, but Diend doubted that would last long. Eva 01 seemed unsure of what to do next, but if it backed away then the AT Field would return and block Diend's next shot so he would have to act fast. Hitting the main trigger, Diend launched a beam of pure crimson photon energy which cut through the air directly towards the Angel. The blast struck the Angel's core and burrowed right into it, sending chunks to the ground. Naturally, the S2 organ the Angel possessed failed and started glowing. To Diend, that could only mean…
KA-BOOOM!
The Angel blew up in a blast as its S2 organ went into meltdown and self-destructed. Eva-01 went flying from the blast and skidded across the dirt on the outside of the city. Touji and Kensuke were knocked down by the force of the blast. Diend was likewise knocked back as the Faiz Blaster vanished from his hands. The blue Rider was the first one up to see his handiwork, a massive crater where the Angel used to be.
"Now THAT was a cool explosion!" Diend laughed, standing up and retrieving his Diendriver.
"Wow," Touji gaped at the destruction that the Kamen Rider next to them had unleashed.
"This…is the best day of my life," Kensuke grinned, eagerly filming the destruction.
"DIEND!"
Diend turned to see who had shouted at him and was pleasantly surprised to see Decade running towards him with Dark Kiva and Orga in tow, "Ah! Decade-kun! It's been a while! How have you been?"
"Been better," Decade frowned, reaching the Rider and the two schoolboys. "Just what the heck are you doing here now? I doubt there's anything here you'd want to steal!"
"Correction! There are two things in this place which will make excellent treasures for me!" Diend laughed. "One of which being that awesome purple mecha laying in the dirt over there!" He pointed out to Eva Unit 01 just to punctuate his point.
"He said he's gonna steal Eva 01!" Kensuke shouted helpfully as he filmed the Riders together.
"…I don't know how I should feel about that," Orga pondered. "On one hand it would leave the city mostly defenseless, but on the other Commander Ikari won't be able to use it in whatever plot he has going on."
"Dude, it's huge," Dark Kiva muttered. "How do you plan on getting it away from here? It's not like you can pilot it."
"I have many ways," Diend shrugged. Reaching to his case on his belt, he drew another card. "Well, I did my good deed for the day. I'm outta here." He then slid the card into his weapon.
"Attack Ride: Invisible!"
Diend vanished from sight, making his escape from the area.
"You know, that commander isn't going to be happy that his precious Eva didn't finish off that Angel," said Dark Kiva. Not that it was any skin off of his nose. The bearded jerk could use a little bit of humbling.
"I don't think I care," said Decade, rubbing the back of his head with a shrug. "Sides, he'll try to cover up Diend's involvement. The Eva was seen fighting it. Military types like him always do cover ups so people don't find out how badly they screwed up."
"True. Oh, and you two," Orga pointed to Touji and Kensuke. "Get out of here!"
"Wait," said Touji, looking to Orga. The black and gold Rider looked straight at Touji, letting him know that he had her attention. "My sister, Mari, she really wants to see you again. You're her hero. She won't stop talking about you to her friends and anyone else who will listen."
"I'm very flattered," Orga nodded. "I'll think about it. Maybe if the Angels don't attack for a while we'll see what happens."
Touji nodded appreciatively before he started dragging Kensuke away from the area, the otaku trying to film every second that he could. With the two civilians gone, the Riders decided to make tracks. Shinji had confirmed that NERV had cameras all over the city and surrounding area so they could see if any Angels were coming. No doubt they already knew about Diend's involvement. No doubt Gendo wasn't going to be happy about it.
NERV HQ
"Just what the hell happened?" demanded Misato. "One minute the Angel and the Eva were fighting and the next the damn thing blew up! Now tell me what happened!"
"Pulling up all views of the battle!" Maya reported, bringing up every camera which had been able to see the fight. On he main viewing monitor, several screens opened to reveal different angles of the battle. Well, the ones that hadn't been getting a close up of the Angel or the Eva and actually had something useful to report.
"Wait," Ritsuko frowned. "Bring up image 7-C."
Maya did so, enlarging the view of the image in question. The Angel and the Eva were quite visible, but then everyone noticed something off about the Angel's core. There was a red energy cone sticking out of it. Maya played the images and sure enough, they saw a red beam of energy pierce the core and cause the Angel to blow up in the Eva's face.
"Are we able to calculate just where that shot came from?" asked Misato.
"Sure," Ritsuko nodded, reaching a console and beginning to go through calculations with the MAGI. Pulling up a map of Tokyo-3, Ritsuko brought up a blinking red dot. "According to the calculations, the shot came from this position. Unfortunately, we don't have any surveillance equipment there so we can't tell who fired it."
"Bring up the closest camera that you can then," Gendo ordered stoically.
The technicians did so, finding the closest camera to the spot and bringing up the feed. The spot was visible and they could see three figures but no identifiable features could be made. However, when one of them suddenly transformed into blue outfit, it captured everyone's attention.
"Cool! Another Kamen Rider!" Shigeru grinned.
"They beat us to it again?" Ritsuko gaped in shock.
The Rider was then seen holding a large cannon. The image played to show the Rider firing a stream of crimson photon energy straight into the Angel's core.
Gendo scowled. Four Kamen Riders were bad enough, but now there were five of them, the fifth armed with a weapon capable of defeating an Angel
"Well, looks like we owe those Riders our thanks again," said Misato. She didn't care how the Angels were defeated, as long as they were destroyed.
"No," denied Gendo. "They are getting in our way and showing us as incompetent." He didn't want his scenario to be ruined. If these Riders proved to be more capable by defeating the Angels, they would lose the support of the UN and their funding. Gendo had to find these Riders and discover their identities, quickly.
Shinji grumbled as he rubbed his face to get the burning sensation out of it. The exploding angel had dealt some burn damage to the Eva's front and because of his high synch rate Shinji had felt the burning as well. The feeling was fading now that he wasn't inside and synched with his Eva anymore, but it still hurt when it happened. He didn't know who fired that shot which killed the Angel, but he was grateful for the backup. He was no glory hound out to prove how great he was to everyone else. Really, who would be as insecure as that?
In Germany, a red headed pilot sneezed loudly, mixing her spit with LCL inside of her Eva
"Verdammit!"
Rubbing his chest, Shinji saw Misato walking towards him with a somewhat bright smile.
"Good work out there Shinji," she smiled, congratulating the young pilot. "Too bad you couldn't get the kill shot, but good job taking it on. Only minimal damage to the city was done since you managed to take it outside city limits."
"Thanks I guess," Shinji shrugged. "I was planning on getting it out of the city. By the way, your rifle didn't really help all that much. I mean, the bullets couldn't get past the AT Field and when I got close enough to nullify it, I wasn't able to use it anymore."
"Uh…yeah," Misato smiled weakly, twiddling her fingers. "Well…you see…the guys in R&D kind of wanted to test how conventional weaponry worked in the hands of an Eva and Ritz kind of had a hand in making those guns so she wanted to see them put to use. She was the one who suggested them and the commander approved it."
"Right," Shinji sighed. So the doctor was looking for either bragging rights or used his fight as a field test. Oh well. "Speaking of guns though, who fired that shot which took the Angel out?"
"Oh! You wouldn't believe it!" Misato grinned. "It was another Kamen Rider! A blue one too. Oh, make sure you don't tell anyone though. The commander wants to try and claim the victory for NERV since he doesn't want the UN trying to cut our funding since we haven't killed a single Angel since they started showing up."
"Right…" Shinji nodded, unsurprised at his father's arrogance. Still…a blue Rider? Had his father sent someone to back them up? He didn't hint at it when they last reported to him about the situation. He'd have to ask his siblings about it later.
Smith Apartment
"So, this Diend guy is you from another dimension?" asked Naruto.
The three Riders not in NERV's employ were currently at the Smith apartment trying to learn more about the enigmatic Diend. Naturally upset at some of the stunts his counterpart pulled in the past, Ranma was all but happy to tell all he knew. Ranma figured the school day was shot now and just headed home, content to let the administration freak out about his disappearance until tomorrow. That secretary was mean anyway.
"Yup," the pigtailed martial artist nodded. "Born as Ranma Saotome, but he calls himself 'Kaitoh'. He's a master escape artist, thief and gunman. Oh, he's also a world class flirt so I'd watch out for him Lucy. He'll try to woo you off your feet."
"Hmph!" Lucy huffed, already not liking the sound of this counterpart to her friend. "I already have Kouta-kun."
"Won't stop him," Ranma sighed. "I've seen him woo married women and he's claimed to have bedded a few when he was feeling raunchy."
"Wow. Ero-sennin would love this guy," Naruto blinked. The Toad Sannin always wrote about hot married women being the ultimate forbidden fruit. He claimed to never have wooed a married woman unless she didn't tell him she was married or something like that. It didn't stop him from writing about it when he did find out they were married though.
"Who?" asked Ranma with a curious blink.
"Nobody," Lucy interrupted, not wanting to risk Ranma becoming infected by Jiraiya's perverse ideas. "The question I want to know is, is he dangerous?"
"Well…he won't fight someone unless he's provoked which usually takes attacking him or doing something downright evil," Ranma shrugged, recalling adventures with Diend in the past. "If you have something of extreme value like artifacts, grand pieces of jewelry, priceless artworks, or one of a kind Kamen Rider items and are able to replace them, then he'll be coming for them. He never steals from someone who can't afford to replace the item he takes."
"So he'll be trying to take Eva 01 and something else," Lucy nodded. "Well, if he's stealing them from Gendo then I won't complain. The bastard deserves as much grief as we can dish out for how he hurt Shinji."
"Nee-chan, language," Naruto reminded his sister, who nodded as she pinched her cheek.
"Well, Diend's a slippery one, but we'll have to try and get some straight answers out of him next time we see him," Ranma sighed. "If Gendo really is as bad as you all say he is, then I'll probably offer to help Diend rob the jerk blind."
"I second that!" Naruto grinned.
"Third!" Lucy nodded.
Ritsuko Akagi sighed as she took another shot of whiskey with her cigarettes. Definitely not the way to go if she wanted to extend her lifespan, but it did wonders for numbing the pain again. She had been called to Gendo's home to 'attend' to him yet again. Just like every other time, the sex hurt and he ended up calling his wife's name instead of hers like she experienced every time. He didn't even bother satisfying her.
So far the cover up had been working and everyone believed that NERV had won the day, but everyone inside the establishment knew otherwise. If they wanted to keep their jobs and possibly their lives, they kept quiet. After the whole mess Gendo requested (i.e. ordered) her to go to his house after her shift ended. The result was the usual disappointment as it always was.
Ritsuko knew she had fallen in love with Gendo. No doubt about that. That's why she followed him in the beginning, because of the promise of happiness he seemed to offer. Now though, it was mostly because she was afraid of him. She knew too many of his secrets and leaving meant putting her life in danger. Of course, she did hold onto the sliver of hope that she might be able to change him and have him fall in love with her. However, reality always reminded her that the man was obsessed with is wife to the point of wanting to end the world just to be with her. He even designed Rei to look like his wife in a little way. Still, that naïve hope remained no matter how often reality crushed it.
Of course, seeing Shinji made that hope twinge a little. The boy was mature, polite (to everyone but his biological father), courteous, and a downright gentleman. When they first met she had still been in that one piece she had been using to help inspect the Evas so it made her body a little bit more obvious that usual. The kid didn't even blink so either he didn't notice (which her feminine pride didn't like at all) or he didn't want to stare at her like a hormone crazed idiot, which scored points with her. If she were to have a child, she wouldn't mind one like Shinji or even his siblings. That just got her to become envious of Yui Ikari, having both Gendo's love and a son any mother would be happy to have, which in turn got her irritated with Rei since she was so much like the woman in appearance. That connected hostility only allowed her to be civil with the girl. Anything beyond that was impossible.
Not wanting to entertain hostile thoughts about the girl after another disappointing night, she turned her thoughts to the Riders. Now they were something her inner scientist could sink her teeth into. Their technology was incredible since their suits allowed them to take on Angels and actually win. The blue one with the bazooka managed to blow up an Angel by himself. Although, she doubted he could do it alone if Eva 01 hadn't negated the AT Field. Still, the payload that weapon unleashed had to be immense and the power to release it just as much so. What could power something on such a grand scale yet be so small?
"Here," the bartender put a glass in front of Ritsuko. She blinked and stared him.
"I didn't order this," she said.
"It's from that gentleman over there," said the bartender as he pointed a few seats away from her. She looked to see a young man. He wore a red blazer over a blue shirt with a black tie and black pants. He had on a red fedora. He held a glass to his lips and smiled to Ritsuko, winking. He then moved over and sat next to her. "Hello, gorgeous," he said to her. "What's a lovely goddess like you doing in a place like this?" Cheesy, but he was charming enough to make it work.
"Just thinking," Ritsuko said idly, deciding to make conversation.
"Oh, where are my manners? I'm Kaitoh," the young man introduced himself.
"Ritsuko Akagi," she said, humoring him. It felt nice to be flirted with. "Aren't you a bit young to be in a place like this?"
"So? The drinking age hasn't been lowered, has it?" he responded. "As long as I don't get drunk I'll be fine. My dad raised no fool."
"Hmmm," Ritsuko sighed, taking a sip. Oooh, she tasted some of the really good liquor in the new drink. The man knew his booze.
"Yeah, but enough about me," Kaitoh spoke. "I couldn't help but notice that you came in alone tonight. Normally a good looking woman like yourself would have some kind of lucky man on her arm. You also seem to have the world on your shoulders tonight. I thought I could lend a sympathetic ear and maybe make a new friend tonight."
"New friend. Right," Ritsuko snickered softly. The only kind of friends one made in a bar were the ones you were hoping to take to bed. Still, the younger guy certainly had the right charm and he couldn't have been an inexperienced virgin from what she could tell. She actually found herself temped to see where the night would go. Ignoring that temptation, she decided to see I that sympathetic ear was any good.
"Feels like the world's on my shoulders everyday," she sighed, exhaling smoke. "I work at NERV. Head Scientist you know. Supposed to be glamorous super job where you get to save the world from the Angels only everything is going wrong already. That and my boss is a king among pricks."
"Sounds serious," Kaitoh nodded, hailing for more drinks.
"As serious as it gets," Ritsuko sighed, lighting another cigarette. "Classified stuff I can't tell you about aside, my boss just can't seem to take a hint. He and I are…" She trailed off.
"Doing the nasty, bumping bumpers, the horizontal mambo, mating, doing it, and a whole bunch of other names for probably one of the most anticipated pastimes in the history of mankind?" asked Kaitoh with a snicker in his lips.
"Ha! That's the name, but I sure as hell don't look forward to it!" Ritsuko snorted. "The dick doesn't even last five minutes. Always moans about his dead wife and…and…he doesn't even pay attention to me. Then after the first time I feel like I have to do it now. I mean…he was so good to me before and now…now…" Ritsuko sniffed, she wasn't sure why but for the first time in a long time she finally had someone who'd listen to her and it felt so good to finally spill her guts.
"He's holding it over you," Kaitoh frowned.
'Among other things,' Ritsuko thought bitterly, wiping her eyes. "Yeah. Sounds about right."
"That alone is pretty serious," Kaitoh nodded. "And from how NERV is some kind of super organization, I can guess there's no one you can really report him to. He's just too high up in the political food chain."
"Bingo," Ritsuko huffed. The committee sure weren't going to do anything since they needed Gendo where he was and the UN was out since probably half of the people in there were doing the same to their secretaries. Resting her chin in her hand, she gazed at the younger patron of the local watering hole. "So, any advice for this poor unfortunate woman?"
"I'd say arrest the dickless bastard," Kaitoh grinned. "Because if he can't seem to get it up long enough around a woman like you and fails to make you happy, then he's breaking international law in my opinion. He'd probably be happier in a prison with lots of other men anyway."
Ritsuko snorted into her drink, almost choking on it in laughter, "-cough- Don't do that when I'm drinking!"
"What? Compliment you?" Kaitoh grinned.
"You flirt," Ritsuko laughed.
"Ah, finally got you to smile though," Kaitoh grinned.
"Probably the booze more than you," Ritsuko teased as she finished her drink. "Well Kaitoh-san, I think I do feel a little better. Since you're such a gentleman, how about buying us another round and listening to a depressed woman talk some more?"
"For a lady, anything," Kaitoh grinned as the bartender set down another pair of drinks. Raising his glass, Ritsuko met it with a more relaxed smile. "To new friends."
"Friends," Ritsuko nodded, feeling much more relaxed with the younger man. His charm certainly made it easier to do so.
And the night was still young.
The next morning…
"Um…" Ritsuko moaned as she slowly awoke. The feeling of a warm body next to her wasn't unusual. She felt that before. The feeling of being naked in a bed was again, not unusual. The soreness between her legs while unusually more intense than she was used to was not unusual. What was unusual was the sheer contentment and satisfaction that was humming through her body that morning. Opening her eyes, even though she really didn't want to, she looked up to see who her bedmate was. To her mild surprise, she saw the black haired younger man she had met the previous night.
"Morning, beautiful," he said to her.
Ritsuko's eyes snapped wide open. She sat up quickly and cried out, pulling the covers over herself. "Who-? Wha-? What did I do last night!"
"Me," Kaitoh answered. He reached over and stroked her cheek. "You seem tense, Ritsuko."
The blonde shivered under his touch. 'Oh he's so gentle…Wait! No!' her mind then snapped back to reality as she tried to recall what happened the previous night. The memories came back. She recalled how he'd taken her home and then…in bed together…he satisfied her, and made her moan and scream. "You were really good. Flexible too," he complimented. He leaned over and kissed her deeply. She was caught by surprise but didn't resist as she kissed him back.
Ritsuko sighed softly, leaning into her younger lover with a silly grin. Now this was what she wanted in a physical relationship. This was what she hoped to have with…that other guy. Enjoying the feel of bare skin against bare skin, she looked over to her clock…then her eyes bulged.
"Oh shit!" she hissed leaping from the bed in the buff, proving she was not a natural blonde while her legs feeling slightly like wet noodles but still solid enough to move. "I'm late for work!" She dove for her closet, grabbing a clean set of clothes before racing to the bathroom to get herself somewhat presentable. It was barely fifteen minutes later than she came back out before she froze. Her bed was completely made with clean sheets and the other ones in the laundry hamper. Her cat was already eating his breakfast happily with content meows. Shaking the shock off, she dashed to her kitchen, seeing Kaitoh fully dressed with a plate filled with an actual breakfast complete with a mug of coffee.
"Thanks! I'll eat on the way!" Ritsuko smiled before leaning in and capturing a very drawn out kiss from the younger man. "Mmm. Will I get to see you again?"
"Left my cell phone number on the fridge," Kaitoh smiled. "Call me if you need me."
"Okay," Ritsuko smiled, feeling much younger all of a sudden. "I'll leave my house key so you can lock up. Please leave it in my mailbox. Bye!"
Kaitoh nodded as Ritsuko dashed out the door. Grinning he picked up his own cup of coffee with a shit-eating grin, "Ah. What a woman." He took a sip and added, "And for the next phase of my plan."
Ritsuko had driven like a madwoman, in other words like Misato, to get to work on time. Thankfully, she was only ten minutes late and no one would call her on it. Well, the commander would but only if she had missed an entire day or something. As the Chairwoman of Project E, she could be a little more flexible with her hours if she wanted to. She just didn't have much to go home for beyond her cat and maybe some takeout. Of course, now that might change. The grin from that thought just didn't want to leave her face.
When Misato bumped into Ritsuko as they were traversing the many hallways, the purple-haired operations director noted how her pseudo-blonde friend was glowing. "Someone had a nice night," Misato observed. She knew that kind of grin anywhere since she often woke up wearing it back in college. "So, you met a guy at a bar, huh?"
"You could say that," Ritsuko nodded. "Even took him home with me."
"Oh? Well come on Ritz. Tell me the details!" Misato grinned, always happy to hear some gossip. When she wasn't doing paperwork or leading operations against Angels, NERV could be such a boring place and the hours played hell on her personal life. A little gossip always brightened her day.
"Well, I suppose," Ritsuko grinned, feeling like being the braggart at the moment. "I did meet him at the bar. I was feeling a little down lately and he felt like listening. He bought me drinks and listened to my complaints and such. He was a real gentleman I must say. Eventually though I was feeling adventurous and got him to take me home."
"And?" Misato asked hopefully. "Details! Was he any good?"
Ritsuko's grin got significantly bigger, "The best I ever had."
"Aw you suck!" Misato grumbled.
"Actually, we both did our share of that if I recall," remembering an absolutely delicious position she and her new beau tried out during their hours in the bedroom.
"Argh!" Misato groaned. "Why is it you get the apparent sex god while I get pecked by PenPen?"
"That sounds wrong," Ritsuko teased with a grimace.
"Oh shut up!" Misato scowled while sticking her tongue out.
"Very mature," Ritsuko giggled.
The two talked like they were teenagers again as they entered Ritsuko's office to try and see what work needed to be done. Of course Maya was there with the day's list ready and waiting for her. Ritsuko was feeling refreshed after her night and immediately set to work with a smile on her face. It seemed things were looking up for once.
To Be Continued…