Chapter 28 - Let's Try This!
Shinji looked across the table at Asuka, who seemed barely cognisant of his presence, as he ate his breakfast. Bleary-eyed, she lifted the steaming cup and took a sip, wincing in distaste before letting the hand holding it almost flop back onto the table. The liquid sloshed around, threatening to escape its container and scald its drinker's hand.
He probably didn't look much better, Shinji idly speculated. Yet another sudden and synchronised wake-up had led to yet another night-time kitchen meeting between the two of them. It was entirely likely that the disastrous test was to blame for this latest occurrence; it seemed to happen most whenever something happened involving the two of them dual-synchronising.
Practically the instant Shinji finished his last mouthful of breakfast, Asuka finally spoke.
"I've tried as hard as I can to make do, but I just can't take it anymore," she said, slurring her words a little. "If I drink one more cup of instant I'm going to puke. So if these interruptions to my beauty sleep keep happening..." She trailed off as Shinji smiled, remembering the last time that particular term had come up and the hell he'd gone through. "Oi. I don't want to hear it. If these interruptions keep happening, then I need some real coffee."
The smile dropped from Shinji's face as he blinked in puzzlement. "Real coffee?" He glanced at Asuka's cup. "Is that stuff not real?"
Asuka gave him a stare so old it belonged in a museum. "Have you ever had coffee, Shinji?" she asked.
"No," he admitted. "Well... I had some not long after coming to Tokyo-3 but... you know." With his inability to taste anything besides what Asuka made, the only noticeable thing he'd gotten from that cup was a need to go to the bathroom not long afterwards.
"Yeah, bit pointless then." Asuka raised her cup. "Anyway, this only wakes me up because it's so nasty my body's desperate to get me to stop drinking it."
"Why drink it at all then?" The only reason he still got coffee during grocery trips was because Asuka was drinking it. But now she was saying that she hated it?
"Because until today it's been this or nothing." She slid the cup across the table. "Not sure how your tastelessness works with beverages, but here. Drink up and... hopefully remember what it tastes like."
Shinji took the cup. The coffee was still hot; it burned as it went down, but he had no desire to try and savour the drink despite being able to actually taste it. He set the cup down after only a couple of sips and shuddered; he decided he was not a coffee person.
"Well I guess that answers that," Asuka remarked, taking the unwanted coffee over to the sink and tipping it out. "After school, we're finally going to get something much, much better."
XXX
The door to their apartment opened and Shinji walked through, carefully pushing off his shoes with his toes while trying not to drop the large box in his arms. Asuka was right behind him, carrying a smaller box and a bag. He manoeuvred his way into the kitchen and set his box down on the kitchen table, relieved to finally be rid of the awkward weight of the coffee machine. Asuka set down her box, containing a grinder, and the bag of coffee beans before gently shoving Shinji out of the way. He took no offence to this; he understood that she wanted to, in a sense, unwrap her present.
'Present' being a surprisingly suitable word, as Asuka practically tore the box open to get at the coffee machine inside. A piece of Styrofoam actually came loose and bounced off Shinji's head to his bemusement. But then Asuka turned gentle, reaching into the box and lifting the coffee machine out like it was a newborn child.
"Aaah..." she breathed, stepping over to the kitchen bench where she almost reverentially placed the machine down. "This is going to make mornings so much more tolerable."
Shinji quirked an eyebrow at her back. "If 'real' coffee is so good, why haven't you gone out and bought a coffee machine already?"
Asuka glanced over her shoulder at him. "I suppose part of it was laziness, and trying to adjust to instant coffee. Which obviously failed." She reached behind the machine, plugged it into the wall, and flipped the switch. The machine gave a soft beep as it started up. "Not to mention I'm not sure if you'd be able to enjoy the drinks coffee machines could make, and it didn't feel right to get something like this just for myself."
"Asuka..." Shinji sighed and shook his head. "You'll be the one getting the most use out of it anyway. I was able to taste that coffee before because you made it, and I'm still trying to work out how that works, but I doubt that...whatever-it-is will work with a coffee machine. Even if it does, the weather lately hasn't exactly been hot drink friendly."
"Yeah, you're probably right there." Asuka replied with a shrug. She immediately brightened up. "Oh well. The die is cast, the machine is purchased."
Shinji opened up the box containing the grinder, bringing it over to sit besides the machine. "Well at the very least I could learn how to use this stuff, right?"
"Oh?" Asuka turned an inquisitive look upon him. "Despite not enjoying coffee, you're still interested in learning how to make it properly?"
With a glance at the two machines, Shinji shrugged. "I may as well, there's no reason not to learn."
"Well then pay attention!" A hint of Asuka the Squad Leader crept into her voice. "I'm going to show you how to make real coffee!"
Several slightly confusing minutes later, a steaming cup of coffee was sitting on the kitchen table. Asuka leaned over it and inhaled deeply.
"Oh damn, I'd almost forgotten this heavenly aroma," she sighed rapturously.
Even Shinji had to admit that this coffee smelled much nicer than the one he'd suffered through that morning. "What are you waiting for?" he asked, pointing at the coffee. "Are you just going to let it get cold now?"
"Quiet you, I want to savour this!" Asuka snapped, hitting him with a mock glare before closing her eyes and taking another long sniff. "Aaahhh yessss..." She picked up the cup, blowing gently on the liquid, before raising it the rest of the way to her lips.
A sudden buzz from their apartment's doorbell ruined the mood. This time, Asuka's irritation was real as she glared through walls and the door at the offending person.
Shinji stepped around the table, heading for the front door. "Drink up, Asuka, I'll deal with this."
'This' turned out to be Rei Ayanami, still in her school uniform.
"Oh, uh, hello Rei."
"Good afternoon, Shinji," Rei replied with a nod. "Is everything well with you and Asuka? You ran off from school rather quickly when we were let out."
"Yes, Asuka just wanted to buy a coffee machine since-"
"Don't just stand there at the door, dummy!" Asuka's voice rang out. "Let her in!"
"Oh. Right. Sorry Rei, come on in." Shinji sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and stepped aside.
Upon returning to the kitchen, Shinji noted that Asuka was practically melting into her chair. "As I was saying," he said to Rei. "Asuka got sick of instant coffee and decided to get a coffee machine."
"...The caffeine appears to be having the opposite effect to its intended purpose, however," Rei noted.
Asuka hurriedly sat up straight in her seat. "Oh I'm fine," she said with a dismissive wave of a hand. "I'm just really enjoying this." She held up her cup and grinned at it, then took a long swig and set it down on the table. "You wanna try some, Wondergirl?"
"No thank you," replied Rei with a shake of her head. "I do not enjoy coffee."
"You too, huh? Shame, this is a damn fine brew."
"Besides, we must head to the Geofront soon for a sync test."
"Wait what?" Asuka pulled her phone out of her pocket and looked at it. Shinji did the same to see that there was an unread message. "Oh, they sent us a text. We probably just didn't hear it while we were in the mall. Man, they really sprung this one on us out of nowhere."
"They probably just want to make sure there's no lingering problems after what happened yesterday," Shinji suggested.
"Even though we and the Evas were out of the danger zone? Eh, whatever." Asuka snapped her phone closed and looked at Rei. "When do we have to leave, and is Misato home or is she still at the Geofront?"
"At the Geofront," said Rei. "And we will need to leave shortly."
"Alright, you mind doing me a favour? Go back next door and see if Misato's got a thermos hiding in the cupboards or something. May as well let her try the product of this machine out as well."
Rei nodded and left the apartment, returning a couple minutes later with a metallic flask in each hand. "I found two slightly different ones, and brought both for you to pick from," she reported.
"Two?" Asuka repeated, having just rinsed her cup out in the sink. She headed over to Rei, took the proffered thermoses, and examined them both. "Awesome, they can both be sealed. Now let's see if they can fit under the machine."
They did indeed fit; both of them were filled to the brim and closed up. Shinji took them both, then put his shoes back on and walked outside while Asuka locked the door behind them. A Section Two agent was waiting for them outside. He gave them a single nod and walked off to the elevator, the three pilots trailing in his wake.
Once they were in the black sedan, Shinji offered one of the thermoses to Asuka, but was somewhat surprised when she shook her head.
"Second one's not for me," she said. "Misato didn't come home with us, and I'll bet the good doctor hasn't slept since the attack. I figure both of them could use a proper pick-me-up, and I'd rather have someone coherent overseeing our tests."
XXX
As Asuka had expected, the heads of Project E and Tactical Operations looked just about dead when the teenagers finally reached the office they were currently working in. They were both slumped in their chairs; Doctor Akagi was angrily smoking a cigarette while staring at her computer while Misato was lifting a plastic cup of coffee to her lips. Kensuke was already there, and he gave them a wave as they walked in.
Asuka promptly marched over to their guardian and knocked the cup out of her hands. Brown liquid splashed over the back wall of the office. Misato opened her mouth to protest, but a thermos shoved into her face forestalled any argument. Doctor Akagi simply stared tiredly at the other thermos that was being offered to her for a few seconds, before wearily raising a hand to take it.
"What's this?" Misato asked, twisting the cap of the thermos to open it up. "More coffee?"
"I've had enough of whatever's making Shinji and I wake up in the middle of the night," Asuka explained. "I went out and bought the best coffee maker I could find so I didn't have to deal with still being tired in the morning."
"You won't accept sleeping pills but you're just fine with stimulants?" Ritsuko asked with a quirked eyebrow.
"There's a difference and you know it," Asuka retorted.
Misato sniffed at the opening of her thermos, and then shrugged. "Well, whatever. Coffee's coffee."
"Wait a second," Kensuke said, holding up a hand just as Misato was about to drink. He then pointed at her, or rather at her shoulder. "Am I seeing things, or did you get a promotion?"
Again denied a draught of her precious elixir, Misato stifled a sigh. "Yes, Aida. After yesterday's events, the Commander apparently decided I should get a promotion." She glanced at Ritsuko, who both shook her head and waved a hand in a negative response.
Whatever unspoken communication went on between the two adults made no sense to Shinji. He and Asuka moved closer to Misato to examine the new insignia; instead of the three stars and one bar, now it was a single star and two linked bars.
Asuka reached out and tapped Misato's shoulder over the bars. "You do realise we're going to have to celebrate this, right?"
"I suppose," Misato replied, with a surprising lack of enthusiasm. "But let's talk about that later." The missing enthusiasm returned as she raised her thermos in a salute. "Let's try this!"
One minute later...
"Rits I don't care how much it costs I want that crappy machine in the cafeteria replaced with whatever it is Asuka bought this stuff is incredible holy shit just put one in every office!" Misato happily exclaimed without a pause for breath. Her sudden hyperactive state reminded Shinji of when she had almost overdosed on caffeine right before Asuka arrived in Japan.
Ritsuko leaned away from Misato. "...Right... I'll... um... look into that," she mumbled, her eyes darting from the thermos still held to her lips to the person who had given her this volatile chemical. She gently set the thermos down on the table and nudged it away with the tips of her fingers. "Anyway... once Misato's come down off her high, thank you very much, we'll be starting with some standard harmonics tests and then proceeding with some simulation training."
XXX
Thankfully Misato managed to get her coffee buzz under control by the time the pilots were ready to start the simulation training. After a bit of discussion, Shinji decided that he wanted to get in some solo piloting time. He didn't know yet if the results from yesterday's aborted tests had been implemented yet, and didn't want to take any chances.
First came some sparring between the pilots; Asuka predictably did the best out of all of them, only losing in the final free-for-all round when Shinji and Kensuke declared a truce and ganged up on her. Even then she was able to hold off both the traitorous boys until, surprisingly, Rei also joined in by sneaking up behind Unit-02 and suplexing the red mech into a building.
What was more surprising was that Asuka, rather than getting mad at Rei, actually congratulated the bluenette on getting the drop on her as Unit-02 got back to its feet. Then, without any warning, Asuka headbutted Unit-00 directly in its eye. Reeling from the sudden attack, Rei was helpless as Unit-02 lifted its opponent vertically; Unit-00 was held upside down for several seconds before getting slammed back down to earth.
"Well I guess they're enjoying the training," Misato remarked as Asuka crowed while flexing Unit-02's arms.
However, the redhead had apparently forgotten about the other two pilots, as the purple and yellow Evangelions proceeded to clothesline her.
"As fun as this clearly is for them, we've got other stuff to do," said Ritsuko. She had relented and gone back to the thermos of coffee Asuka had given her, and while she had not turned hyperactive like Misato had, she was definitely feeling the effects. Perhaps she should see about getting the machine in the cafeteria replaced...
Unit-02 kipped up, immediately ducking under a punch from Unit-04 before giving a couple rib-rattling punches to its chest in return.
"Let's give them another ten minutes or so." Misato waved a hand at the screen. "They can't cut loose like this normally, and if anything I think it's bringing them closer together. They're certainly working as a team... sort of," she added as Unit-01 kicked at Unit-02, only to miss as Asuka stepped aside and let the foot pass by to connect with Unit-00. Rei immediately changed teams.
"Fine. Ten more minutes," said Ritsuko with a resigned sigh. "We are just doing this as part of a diagnostic anyway."
"Haven't found anything, have you?"
"Thankfully not. Another day or so and, apart from the Pribnow Box, it'll be like nothing ever happened."
"Good, we should be able to attend Yuki's wedding next week after all."
Ritsuko could hear the grin on Misato's face. "You just want an excuse to get socially shitfaced again. Was the beer hall not enough? Oh wait." She tapped a finger on her chin. "It's an excuse to go out with Kaji again instead, isn't it?"
Misato proceeded to descend into school-girl like spluttering, blushing and unconvincing denials.
XXX
"Alright Mister Aida," said Misato, levelling a stern look at the boy's comm window. "Since you've been so critical of how NERV handled its first Angel attack, let's see you do better."
"Wait, what?"
"We're sticking you in the same situation as what Shinji went through," she explained. "Of course, we can't remove your piloting experience, so we'll have to make do."
In the simulation, the launch catapult slammed to a halt on the surface; the locks disengaged and freed Unit-04 from the confines of the cradle. The simulacrum of Sachiel, the Third Angel, turned to stare at the newcomer.
Kensuke stared back for a second, then interlaced his fingers and stretched his arms out to crack his knuckles. "...Fine, let's do this!" he said as he took hold of the controls.
Unit-04 broke into a run... and promptly fell forward onto the road.
"W-what the heck just happened?!" Kensuke shouted in alarm.
Misato couldn't hold back a grin. "I told you we'd have to make do." She glanced sidelong at Ritsuko, who completely coincidentally had a hand over her mouth.
Unit-04 climbed back to its feet, just in time for Sachiel to latch onto its face. The purple Evangelion kicked at Sachiel and reached a hand up to its shoulder pylon, which opened to reveal that it was completely empty.
"Oh come on!"
Eventually, after Misato and Ritsuko had had some fun of their own, they allowed the Fourth Child to fight Sachiel on his own terms. This mostly involved distractions, decoys, and sneaking around until Unit-04 could get close enough to ambush the Angel and stick a knife in its core. During the engagement Kensuke also asked for, of all things, a cardboard box.
That request was denied.
The other three pilots were busy in their own simulations: Rei was doing a training session meant to improve her somewhat lacking melee skills, while conversely Shinji and Asuka were working to improve their effectiveness at medium and long range.
Finally, well past their normal dinner time, the teenagers were released from NERV and sent off back home. Misato dropped Kensuke off at his place, and he waved at the car's occupants as it sped away with a squeal of tyres. He ruefully shook his head at his superior officer's driving habits before heading indoors.
"Hey Ken," came a voice from the lounge room as he removed his shoes.
"Hey Dad," Kensuke called out in response as he walked into the lounge room. His father was half-sitting on the recliner in front of the television, his NERV coveralls removed down to his waist, eating from a take-out box. "Guess training took a lot longer than I thought if you're home before me."
"Yeah, and that's even after stopping to get this." His father raised the take-out box. "I got your favourite too; it's waiting in the oven."
"Thanks Dad."
Kensuke glanced at his father before heading into the kitchen. Both the lack of decent cooking skill in the Aida household, combined with the longer hours his father was having to work lately, meant that the man was starting to develop a paunch from all the fast food intake. The only thing keeping Kensuke from the same fate was school and, nowadays, NERV. He switched the oven off and took his dinner out, then headed upstairs to his room where he sank into the comfortable chair in front of his computer and pressed the power button.
Half an hour of web-surfing later, Kensuke's phone buzzed a couple of times; the signal for a received text message. With great effort he heaved himself out of his slouched position and reached out for the phone, knocking the -thankfully empty- fast food box onto the floor. He stared at it for a second before returning his attention to his phone, flipping it open and navigating to the messaging app. He didn't recognise the number, but the content of the message made it easy to determine the sender. It also made him wonder just how the person had acquired his phone number.
ART ROOM AFTER SCHOOL TOMORROW CAMERA BOY.
XXX
Time had slowed to such a glacial pace that Shinji would instantly believe an Angel was somehow involved, if the theory was put forth. He narrowed his eyes slightly at the teacher at the front of the classroom, wondering if the old man was said Angel in disguise. He certainly had an uncanny ability to lull an entire classroom of normally highly-active students into a torpor, and considering what the previous Angels had been capable of one with hypnotic powers wasn't exactly that far-fetched.
Bereft of anything actually interesting coming from the teacher, Shinji's attention wandered idly around the classroom. To his absolute lack of surprise, nearly the entire classroom was either asleep, about to fall asleep, or staving off the torture by focusing on something on their laptops. What was surprising was that Rei was among the latter, studiously tapping away at her keyboard and occasionally glancing out the window.
Shinji's own laptop was sitting closed on the desk in front of him; he just couldn't think of anything worth using it for. In front of him, Asuka seemed to be somewhere between the second and third options; while she was also using her laptop, her movements seemed lethargic even though she'd drunk her precious coffee that morning.
That just about clinched it for Shinji, and he made a note to ask Doctor Akagi if NERV could investigate Mr. Nebukawa. Ever since getting the coffee machine, Asuka had been so energetic she had practically been bouncing off the walls. Only supernatural powers or soporifics could possibly be the cause for her current state, and Shinji was positive that... well okay, fairly sure, that the old man wasn't sneakily drugging them.
When the bell signalling the end of the school day finally rang, Shinji could swear that the windows bowed out slightly from the collective sigh of relief. Hikari did the standard routine of "Rise! Bow!" and the classroom emptied almost completely in seconds. Only Shinji was left and, as he turned around, Kensuke was still sitting in his seat, staring at nothing.
A beeping sound came from Kensuke's bag, startling him out of his funk. He reached a hand in and dug around for a moment, then pulled out his mobile phone. Flipping it open, Kensuke stared at the screen for a second before sighing.
"Something wrong, Kensuke?" Shinji asked.
"Oh, it's nothing," Kensuke replied with a wave of his hand. "Just karma finally catching up to me, that's all."
"...Huh?"
Kensuke reached into his bag again, this time retrieving a smaller bag that he set on the table and unzipped. Upon seeing what was inside, Shinji let out an 'ah' of understanding. "That third year girl who's blackmailing you," he said.
"Yep." Kensuke gave a doleful nod as he slowly stood up. "Natsumi Akera. She's calling in that 'favour' now, so me and my camera need to get over to the art room to take that photo of her she wants for some reason."
"I feel so sorry for you," Shinji deadpanned. "I'll make sure to attend your funeral."
Kensuke raised an eyebrow. "Huh. I clearly saw you open your mouth, but I distinctly heard Soryu talking then."
Shinji let out a short chuckle in response before leaving the luckless boy to his fate.
XXX
Kensuke sighed as he trudged along the corridor, dodging other students and keeping one hand tight on the camera hanging from its strap around his neck. Occasionally a male student would notice him, or perhaps more specifically the camera, and raise a hopeful eyebrow. He resolutely ignored them and continued on. The art room was on the first floor so he went down the staircase, each footfall seemingly heavier than the last.
He didn't know what he was expecting to see when he slid open the door to the art room, but two other younger students in the room with Akera was most definitely unexpected. He stood stock still in the doorway, his free hand still on the door, blinking at the three black-haired students while they simply stared back. Just as Kensuke felt he was about to explode out of sheer awkwardness, Akera stepped forward to stand directly in front of him.
"Took you long enough," she said.
Kensuke blinked yet again. "It's... only been a couple minutes..."
She leaned forward. He leaned back. "A lot can happen in a couple minutes." Her voice was low; clearly she didn't want the other two students to hear. "Such as, oh... I don't know... me accidentally letting slip that a certain boy with a camera has been sticking it where it doesn't belong."
With his face flushing, Kensuke retorted, "Alright alright I get your point! But you can threaten me all you want, you're only getting one!"
"And I only want one. I'm not going to get greedy, and considering how popular your little business is-"
"Was," Kensuke corrected. "Horaki and Soryu shut me down a while ago."
"Horaki and who?" Akera glanced away for a second, her brows furrowing in thought. "Oh right, that redheaded transfer student. Well I was going to say that other people might consider getting some revenge on you one way or another, but I guess you managed to dodge that bullet."
"So what's happening now?" asked Kensuke, frantically trying to drag them both back onto the important topic. "And why are... those two here? Even when I was still in business I never did... guys..."
"If you had you could have doubled your potential customer base." Akera smirked. "But if you'd taken photos of these two without permission you'd be dead in the ground instead of here talking to me. They're my little brothers."
"...Oh." Now that he had a moment to look at the boys he could see the resemblance, as well as the fact that they were twins.
"Look, you're a pervert, there's no denying that," Akera went on. She pointed at his camera. "But you've clearly got talent with that thing. You managed to get a perfect picture of my best friend at the pool, right when she was about to dive in, from probably a hundred metres away without anybody noticing. I want you to turn that talent to something a lot less shady. You're going to take some professional shots of all three of us, so I can send it to our grandparents in Kyoto. They're too old to travel and haven't seen us in years."
"What about your parents?" asked Kensuke. "Don't you want to get them in the shot as well?"
Akera rolled her eyes, and Kensuke noticed the suddenly disappointed looks on the boys' faces. "Our parents are always too damn busy with work. They get home late, usually after the boys have gone to bed, and they're either gone or about to leave by the time we get up." Her voice turned bitter. "I've been practically raising my brothers myself for the last few years."
Kensuke sighed. "Let me take a wild guess. They work for NERV?"
All three siblings nodded. One of the boys said, "We don't even really know what they do there."
"Alright, well..." Kensuke rubbed a hand over his face in disbelief, momentarily dislodging his glasses. He adjusted them and took a look around the room. "This place isn't suitable for the quality you're asking for though."
"I know," said Akera. "I spoke to the film club president. They've got some outdoor work to do today, so he's letting us borrow their room along with the lighting and backdrops. As a matter of fact..." She glanced at her watch. "According to the president, they should be leaving in a minute. So let's head over there."
Kensuke nodded, and opened the art room's door. The school corridors were mostly empty at this point, the students either heading home or at their after-school activities. Akera led the way down to the other end of the main corridor where the film club room was situated. One student nodded at Akera as they passed, which she returned. They soon reached a door marked with a sign saying 'Please do not disturb. Filming in progress.' Upon entering the room, Kensuke hummed in approval. The windows were covered with blackout curtains and there were a couple sets of stage lights pointed at a conveniently already set up purple backdrop.
"Did the film club do this for us?" asked Kensuke.
"Nah, apparently they were filming some mockup advertisements or something," replied Akera. "Suits us just fine though, less work for us."
The two brothers set up a couple of chairs in front of the backdrop while Kensuke adjusted the angle of the lights, grumbling about how poor they would be for this kind of work. Akera then proceeded to fuss over the boys, straightening their uniforms and tucking away errant hair.
"Uh, don't you need a tripod?" one of the boys asked as Kensuke got into position to begin.
"Too much effort to lug it to school, not to mention keeping it somewhere," Kensuke replied. "Besides, my hands are steady enough."
The shoot began, starting with the two boys sitting down while Akera stood behind them with a hand on their shoulders. The siblings went through various setups for a while until the digital camera signalled it was out of space. Kensuke's arms dropped to his sides, the camera dangling from its strap around his neck, as he let out an exhausted sigh.
"All done then?" Akera asked, to which he nodded. "Nothing left for us to do?" A shake of the head this time. "Alright, I'll leave you to it."
As she turned to leave, Kensuke spoke up. "Wait, why did you ask me to do this?"
Instead of answering immediately, Akera glanced at her brothers and jerked her head towards the door. The two boys left, leaving her and Kensuke alone in the room. "You're asking why I'm using my leverage to get you to do something so... normal, right?"
"Well... yeah," Kensuke rubbed the back of his head. "I mean, I thought you were going to get me to take a photo of just yourself."
Akera quirked an eyebrow. "Oh?" She folded her arms and slowly walked up to him. "Are you saying you wanted to see me in something more... revealing?"
"Y-no! I-I mean, I wasn't hoping to see you like that," Kensuke babbled, his face reddening. "Um, not that I think you're ugly or anything but considering the photos I've taken and that you knew of my former business I thought your intention was to get me to take a photo of you like that for like a boyfriend or something and-"
"Yeah yeah, I get it," said Akera, cutting him off. As he sucked in a lungful of air, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Look, I wanted something like this done for my family, and if I'd just asked you normally you probably would have charged me for it."
"But this is just so... tame compared to what you're holding over my head," replied Kensuke.
"Are you saying that I should make you do even more?"
"Er... no, but-"
"I needed this done, and you were the best way for me to get it done. As far as I'm concerned, once I have those photos in my hand our deal is finished. Got it?"
Kensuke cautiously nodded.
"Good." Akera whirled around and started heading for the door. "I'll see you in the library tomorrow at lunch. Bring your suggestions for the best photos and we'll go through them then."
"Hold on!" exclaimed Kensuke, flinching slightly as Akera groaned in frustration and turned back around. "...Sorry. You want me to sift through these photos for you?"
Akera shrugged. "You're perfectly capable of that, aren't you? Like I said before, you've got talent. I trust you enough to pick them for us."
With that said she left the room, leaving a puzzled camera boy behind.
XXX
"And... yeah, that's what happened," said Kensuke.
The four pilots and their friends were in the cafeteria, escaping another hot and sunny day.
Toji leaned back in his seat, eyebrows raised. "So all she wanted was some family photos? Huh."
"She might have considered asking for more if we hadn't broken up your ring," Asuka noted.
"I do not see much of an issue here," said Rei. "Akera wanted something that Kensuke could provide. He provided it."
"It's like if... if somebody had a hundred thousand yen and just wanted a candy bar," replied Toji with a vague wave of his hands as he came up with the analogy. "The candy ain't worth nearly that much, but they're still gonna pay the hundred-kay just to get it."
"But why would they make such an unwise purchase?"
"Because they really want it."
"Your analogy needs some work, Suzuhara," Asuka remarked. "Having money isn't the same as having blackmail material on someone."
"Yeah... well... you try thinking of something better at a moment's notice!" Toji retorted.
Asuka shrugged dismissively. "I don't feel like trying to work out what's going through that girl's head."
"Well anyway," Hikari interjected. "It's been a few days now, Kensuke. Have you heard anything from Akera about the photos?"
Kensuke shook his head. "No. I'm choosing to believe that means she's happy with them. I'm not about to put myself back on her radar."
"Smart boy," Asuka snarkily remarked. "Maybe now you can focus more on your Eva training."
The five minute warning bell rang, signalling the end of the lunch period. Everybody got to their feet and began filing out of the cafeteria.
"Asuka!" Hikari called out over the hubbub. "Can I talk to you for a second? I've got a really big favour to ask of you!"
Asuka blinked at her friend. "Uh... okay..." She waved at the others to continue and slowed down to keep pace with Hikari, who was looking somewhat nervous now as she lagged behind.
"Um... so, there's this guy in Kodama's class," Hikari hesitantly began, her eyes looking anywhere but at Asuka. "He's been talking about you. Like... a lot."
Asuka sighed. Was this just going to be another fanboy? She already had to deal with far too many letters from 'secret admirers' clogging up her locker. Earlier in the year she had simply thrown them all out, since she couldn't read written kanji as well and didn't feel like wasting her time. But after Shinji had helped her out on that front she had, on occasions when she had nothing better to do, read a few of the less immediately insane-looking letters, and even they went no further than gushing about 'unsurpassed beauty' and other such purple rubbish.
It was clear that all they saw was the surface. Of course she was gorgeous, there was no denying that, but that was as far as the letters went. Well, that and occasionally obsessing over her being an Evangelion pilot. Even then, though, she could read between the lines and tell that the 'admirer' just wanted a trophy.
Just like those two harpies in Class 2-A that kept looking at Shinji, which she now knew about thanks to Rei's reconnaissance.
Hikari had still been talking while Asuka's mind had drifted off, but she caught the expectant look on the class representative's face when Hikari stopped talking.
"Ugh. Fine, I guess I'll go on this blind date," she grouched. It wasn't worth the effort to say no and then come up with a reason that would satisfy her friend. "Where and when am I supposed to meet him?"
Hikari's face lit up. "This Saturday, at the amusement park. I'll let Kodama know tonight so she can tell him."
Asuka raised a warning finger. "But if this guy ends up being just another pervert, he's going to get kicked so hard his granddad will be clutching his balls in agony."
A passing male student cringed and his hands twitched towards his groin.
"...Well... let's hope it doesn't get that far," Hikari weakly replied after a moment, as they arrived at their classroom with a minute to spare.
"Everything alright, Asuka?" Shinji asked as she sat down in front of him.
"Yeah, it's fine," Asuka said over her shoulder. "Just got a date this weekend."
"...O-oh... okay."
As the teacher came in to start the class, part of Asuka's mind wondered at Shinji's tone of voice. He'd sounded almost... despondent. She mentally shrugged it off. Shinji was probably just a little unhappy at being left alone on the weekend, but he could always visit another friend if he wanted some company.
It wasn't like there was anything important happening this weekend, anyway.
