Chapter 1 – Let's be good friends!

"Hello", a rather brash voice tinted with an odd accent sounded over the head of Rei Ayanami – who was, until now, enjoying her book in perfect peace. At least until someone cast a shadow on the pages. "You must be Rei Ayanami, the pilot of the prototype", the intruder continued.

Rei gave the red-headed girl in the school uniform a displeased look – and returned her attention to her book, deciding not to say anything. Most people learned that attempting to interact with her was an exercise in futility. Unfortunately for her, the newcomer did not belong to the set she could label as most people.

"I'm Asuka! Asuka Langley Soryu", the girl continued from her high vantage point, the school crowd slowly assembling behind her, no doubt awaiting her reaction as well. Rei's annoyance started to become perceptible to her. "I'm the pilot of Eva Unit 02. Let's be good friends!"

Rei realized that her usual strategy was not going to work here; interaction was clearly called for. She let out a sigh and spoke up: "Why?"

"Because it'd be convenient, in lots of ways", the annoying redhead replied and looked at her expectantly as if this was the most obvious thing in the world.

Aware of the futility of this conversation, Rei decided on an evasive answer. "If I'm ordered to, I will", she replied, well aware that a clearly pushy, possibly authoritarian type will respond well to an allusion to hierarchy and authority.

"Talk about odd", the intruder remarked – and relented in her assault.

Rei Ayanami was free to return to her book, which she did with the mild feeling of satisfaction – marred only by a faint awareness that this was not her last interaction with the annoying girl.

...

Asuka Langley Soryu did not take rejection well. Normally, she would have brushed the odd girl's behavior as a cultural issue or personal problem she did not care to pay more attention to – and moved on, disdainful of her, just as she treated the Third Child with disdain, waiting for the moment he would prove to be anything else than a wet blanket who got the Pilot status only due to his family connections.

But there was something about the girl that made Asuka think of her again and again.

'Who needs orders to be friends?' she mused as the teacher droned over some boring subject. 'It's really odd as an excuse, I could've come up with a hundred better ones on the spot. So, either she was insulting my intelligence… or she was serious. Okay', a mean smirk emerged on her face, causing at least two boys who were watching her to shiver both in fear and anticipation. 'She wants to play a game? I'll give her a game. She wants her rules? We'll see who's better at making the rules', the smirk grew wider, causing at least two more people to become seriously worried. 'But we'll do it properly', she decided. 'First step: intelligence gathering…'

...

Evening

"Hello Misato, got a moment? It's Asuka", the redhead started to talk as soon as she heard the 'Katsuragi here' on the other side.

"Sure, what's up?" the Captain replied. "I still don't have anything on your lodgings, sorry."

"Nah, not that", she dismissed it with a smile. Her current hotel room was adequate, and the only issue was her limited wardrobe; most of her stuff was stuck in storage or did not arrive yet – but that was not the problem on her mind right now. "Will you have time to meet me tomorrow afternoon? I need some questions answered, and I think we have some catching up to do", she requested.

"Sure, I'll give you a call once I'm off", Misato agreed.

"Thanks!" Asuka closed the phone – and resumed her 'annoyed-so-don't-come-closer-or-I'll-bite-you' attitude before returning to class.

...

The class was dragging. Asuka, since the moment she heard she was going to school here, wondered what the purpose of that was. After all, she was a college graduate, the minuscule language problems she had could be easily filled by a course, and she did not really need to socialize in her age group – especially that this age group seemed to be composed of perverts, gossip-mongers, idiots, dimwits, halfwits, jocks, empty-headed bimbos, nerds, aspiring alpha bitches, bland people – and Rei Ayanami, who refused to fit into any of the categories.

Asuka shook her head. She had a plan regarding her. She did not need her thoughts to stray towards the girl that often. She just needed to survive until the end of the class, get out of here without getting bothered by some idiot who failed to understand that 'tearing up a love letter in your face' is a few steps above 'throwing away your love letter' which in turn is at least a step above a simple 'no', and talk to Misato to gather some–

The buzzing of her phone interrupted her musings.

It was at least a minor offense for the student to check their phone during the class – but, due to Asuka being a Pilot and on-call every minute of her life, she had a dispensation. But considering that both Rei and Shinji reached for their phones at the same moment, she did not even need to open hers.

"Excuse me, sir", Shinji was the first to raise his hand. "We're ordered to leave on NERV business", he interrupted the teacher.

"Ah", the elderly man nodded after a momentary confusion. "Of course, carry on."

Asuka, for all her doubt about the whole suits-and-dark-glasses aesthetic of Section Two and their humorless demeanor, could only admire their efficiency. The moment the three left the school building, three cars were already waiting for them in the dedicated zone in front of the school – and as they approached, the operatives were making eye contact with the Pilot they were supposed to carry.

"Anything you can tell me?" she inquired the moment she strapped herself inside the car.

"Not much, Soryu-san", the man riding shotgun replied in a deep but unpleasantly scratching voice Asuka associated with long-time smokers. "We were ordered to bring you to Airfield Aleph, your Units are being transported there already. You and Pilot Ikari are to deploy as soon as possible and will be briefed later."

"Oh."

...

Asuka Langley Soryu was a person of many extremes. She claimed not to care what people thought of her, but her behavior was often drawing attention. She was loud and brash, but few people knew much about her. She was highly competent, but her teamwork ability was minimal.

Shinji Ikari just let out an annoyed sigh and grumbled words of protest under his breath as he heard "Ladies first!" after the newcomer told him to just cover her. He had to admit that her movements were indeed smooth, and her combat style seemed quite effective; a sight of Unit-02 bisecting the Angel in one fell swoop was a sight to behold.

Unfortunately, the Angel was anything but impressed.

The rest of the battle put a definite damper on her spirits.

...

The subsequent debriefing made things even worse, countered only by the information that she was going to move in with Misato, the second-best familiar face she had here. Her unabashedly expressed her preference to live with Kaji was disregarded; she expected that, of course, considering that Kaji could not openly admit his obvious feelings for her.

But as the entire day had been a rollercoaster of moods already, a final blow came from none other than Misato herself: "Looks like you're getting along well already", she said.

Asuka hoped she misunderstood her, but soon after, her hopes were dashed. She was not moving in with Misato to replace Shinji – she was going to be living with him, training with him, and – as it seemed – being annoyed with him. All. The. Time.

'Just… brilliant. Fuck me and my plans, right? Now I can't even…' she grumbled as Misato presented her inane plan, marking the beginning of a definitely hellish week.

...

Of course, Misato did what she could to make it even worse; Asuka could genuinely not say whether this woman was cruel, or just so insensitive. She used every opportunity to provoke her, tease her, and annoy her – and what was worse, she used Ayanami for that. Seeing the quiet girl synchronize with the idiot boy so easily was just too much.

'And him apologizing afterward – as if it was his fault, not Misato's – was so much him…' she sighed as she was trying to sleep instead of recounting the events of the last week for the nth time. 'He's useless. Okay, maybe not completely useless, but his landing…' she shook her head. 'That was an embarrassment. But at least he proved himself safe enough last night', she admitted. "So I guess I can live with him under one roof. Hardly perfect, but hey, beats living alone. As long as he doesn't try to peep at me or climb into my bed, I can tune him out. So, let's stick with being the servant – oh, sorry, "staff" – and focus on what matters', she decided, turning to her side.

Not that it helped much with her sleeplessness. 'God, I wish I could just drink myself to sleep like Misato does all the time…'

...

Sunday afternoon

"Hey, Misato", Asuka started as the Captain was opening her first beer. Shinji was out of the apartment, spending some time with his buddies. "Who is Ayanami, exactly?"

"Huh", her guardian's lips became a thin line. "It's not something easy to answer, you know", she admitted. "I can't tell you much."

"Come on", Asuka shook her head, her expression disbelieving. "She's a Pilot, so she's under your command. You know my dossier inside-out, why not hers? I'm not asking for military secrets, I just want to know why she's even more a recluse than your housekeeper is."

"My… what?" Misato shook her head after taking a few seconds to understand. "Asuka, he's your fellow pilot, don't call him that", she chastised the girl.

"Okay, okay", the redhead shrugged. "Than our Mitbewohner is", she decided on the neutral German term.

"Don't call him that to his face", Misato chuckled. "He'd think you're insulting him."

"And do what?" Asuka scoffed. "Frown at me?"

Misato let out a sigh. Those two were not exactly getting along the best, and she lacked the time and patience to sort that out. Perhaps keeping Asuka after the training was not her brightest idea – but on the other hand, the added pay was substantial and perhaps worth listening to an argument or two every few days. "That's his way of handling things", she replied. "Would you prefer he yelled at you?"

"It'd be at least some reaction… hey, you're changing the subject, aren't you?" Asuka narrowed her eyes at her guardian.

"Me? No way, it was you who asked about Shinji", Misato refuted.

"I asked about Ayanami", Asuka corrected. "What can you tell me about her?"

"Not much", Misato's face twitched. "Her dossier is limited, I'm not privy to details. She's the pilot of Unit-00, that you know. Administratively, Doctor Akagi is responsible for her just about as I am responsible for you and Shin-chan. So, if you want details, ask the good doctor, although I doubt she'd be willing to talk."

"You know this all is a bit… suspicious at best?" Asuka remarked.

"This is NERV", Misato shrugged. "Our food supply chain is classified, let alone details concerning pilots. She was there when I got employed, and when I tried to ask in the beginning, I was told she's not my responsibility beyond her duties as the pilot… and you know what such statement means."

"Yeah, 'keep your nose out of it'", Asuka shrugged and rested her chin on her fist. "So, I have to go bother the doctor or try to bug the girl herself, much good it would do", she sighed.

"Why so interested?" Misato turned the question around. "She's not exactly a friend material."

"I don't know why", Asuka lied. "And how do you know, have you tried?" she winked.

"Asuka… I don't go around making friends among teenagers", Misato shot her a tired glare. "She's just… an outsider. She talks to the Commander, sometimes, and to people she has to, which means mainly Doctor Akagi and her staff. Outside of that… she just is."

"Okay, I get it", Asuka nodded and fell silent for a while. A smile started to creep on her face as a plan started to form in her mind. "Hey, Misato, you said 'not your responsibility beyond duties as pilot', right?"

"Yes?" Misato raised her head from above the magazine she returned to as her charge fell silent.

"If I stay within that framework, will you do something for me?" Asuka asked with a very suspicious smile.

"Will I regret it?" Misato shot back immediately.

Asuka rolled her eyes. "Would you regret relations between your pilots improving?"

"No, I know you well enough that your plans sometimes end… interestingly", Misato remarked.

"Nobody ever died or got permanently injured", Asuka shrugged. "And nobody will this time, either. Will you trust me?"

"If you promise it doesn't get me court-martialed or otherwise put her, you, or me in trouble" Misato replied with a raised eyebrow. "What do you have in mind?"

"It's actually pretty simple…"

...

"I fail to understand the reason for this", Rei Ayanami stated matter-of-factly, her head tilted slightly. "This exercise seems unnecessary."

"It is not necessary, Rei. But I think it may be useful", Misato corrected. "Does it interfere with any of your duties?" she asked; to her knowledge, it did not – but as she told Asuka, she was not privy to many aspects of the First Child's life and duties.

"It does not", the girl replied. "Unless there is an Angel attack."

"Believe me, if there's an Angel attack, the whole thing is out of the window within seconds for everybody", Misato chuckled nervously. "Can I tell Soryu-san", Misato made sure to make the name recognizable to Rei, not sure about the level of familiarity they shared, "that she has the green light, then?"

"Yes, Captain Katsuragi", the girl confirmed, her voice carrying a hint of confusion.

"Thank you, Rei", Misato smiled at the girl, trying her best to hide her unease. "See you later, then."

"Goodbye, Captain Katsuragi", Rei replied, her monotone unchanged.

Misato breathed a sigh of relief as Rei left her office. Talking to her, while generally unproblematic as the girl agreed to virtually everything in the end, always gave her this odd feeling that she was conversing with a robot – or a doll. In fact, the latter was a common nickname for her, whispered among the personnel.

She always wondered why the girl was like that; reasons could be numerous, the problem was that none was too pleasant to think of. She thought of asking Ritsuko a question or two over a drink, or perhaps bribing one of her subordinates – but she knew all too well that asking too many questions would end up in one of two ways: she would be found out and at least reprimanded for being too nosy – or, which was arguably worse, she would get the answers she sought.

She shook it off. This was not her problem right now; Asuka had an inane idea that could actually work – and asked her a favor to make it possible, and she granted it, seeing it as an opportunity. The rest was in the hand of the crazy kid.

Once more Misato questioned the wisdom of having two children in the worst possible age under her roof.

As before, she could draw no good conclusion on that subject, except the number of times she smiled seeing lights in her windows as she returned from her work.

And suddenly, it felt enough.