Chapter 6 – What should I do now?

Asuka was, of course, quite familiar with the subtle yet important distinction between "going for a movie" and "going to the cinema"; after all, she had been on more than a few dates and movies were a common thing on those. But she was also quite sure that in this case the former case was supposed to apply.

And yet, she quickly realized that she was, right now, almost entirely unable to follow the plot. Rei's presence next to her might have been perfectly silent, entirely focused on the screen, and completely composed – but that presence was also indisputably affecting Asuka.

Granted – at the beginning of the movie, Asuka was still quite able to follow the events on the screen despite the initial distraction – but about twenty minutes in, when yet another brush against her hand happened, her focus became a thing of the past.

And so, Asuka was – despite her best efforts – unable to tell how it came to this, but it was clear that a few scenes later, her own hand was covered by another hand – and their fingers were lightly intertwined.

The skin that was touching her own was slightly cool, wonderfully soft – and felt almost like touching a live wire.

Except that the almost electric feeling was indisputably pleasant instead of painful.

'This was not part of the plan…'

...

To Asuka's growing confusion and distraction, Rei did not let go of her hand once the movie ended. She did not comment or suggest anything as they rose from their chairs; she simply did not let go and kept holding Asuka's hand as they walked down the stairs toward the cinema's exit. Stairs that have turned from a perfectly normal, well-marked route into a treacherous, far too long journey, on which Asuka managed to trip at least twice before reaching the door.

"Um… Ayanami?" Asuka tried when they stopped just outside the door of the exit corridor.

"Yes, Soryu-san?" Rei said in response, her eyes finding Asuka's.

Asuka almost managed to collect herself and bring some semblance of order to her mind – but she made the mistake of looking into those red eyes, and that act made her thoughts scatter again. It almost felt like locking their gazes made some circuit close, activating a device that significantly lowered Asuka's IQ; once it closed, she was happy to just stand there – and keep looking. People were walking by, either ignoring them or giving them appreciative looks before moving on.

After a few moments of eternity, Asuka managed to speak again: "We should go."

"Does this conclude our exercise?" Rei asked, her tone almost unchanged – but a part of Asuka's mind registered something akin to… regret? Regrettably, her mind was far too busy to follow that clue in any useful manner.

"Our… wait, our what?" she tried, her voice still unfocused.

"Our team exercise", Rei explained. "According to your previous statement, we are currently conducting–"

"Ah. Yes. Yes", Asuka shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment; once the circuit broke and she was no longer exposed to Rei's graceful look, she regained some of her composure, and the plan she devised returned to her mind. "I mean, no, no, no, not at all! We're still on it! Next step: food court!"

"I see", Rei replied – and the slight smile sounding in her voice made Asuka open her eyes to check whether she was not imagining it.

The spark of the closing circuit flickered again, along with the confusing conclusion that Rei was, indeed, smiling – if very softly. "Let's go", Asuka quickly decided – and started to walk, pulling Rei with her.

"Soryu-san", Rei spoke again, this time with much more than a hint of confusion in her voice.

"Yes?" Asuka replied as nonchalantly as she could, refusing to look back at the girl.

"I believe the food court is the other way", Rei stated calmly.

"Oh. Right."

...

Rei, in contrary to Asuka, was far from distracted.

'Physical contact continues to distract Soryu. This is unexpected; her non-Japanese heritage should have made her more comfortable with it than an average Japanese person would normally be. Therefore, it is logical to assume there is a different factor contributing to her distraction. I should investigate that direction; step one would be identifying a possible factor, step two would be the acquisition of a control group or creation of a control situation, step three would be conducting the observations of Soryu under both circumstances', she reasoned.

'Negative', she corrected herself immediately after only a moment of further consideration, 'it is difficult to identify the most probable factor solely from observation; asking her directly is not a valid option at the moment. Therefore, this direction of analysis has to wait until further information is collected. Moreover, it would also likely require me to break the physical contact with her. And this is a course I am not willing to follow unless the circumstances require it', she added an observation and immediately filed it under 'reasons uncertain' and 'requires further investigation'. Having done that, she continued her musings in other areas, only occasionally interrupted a few acts of correcting their movements; she was glad that she had memorized the plan of the building complex beforehand. 'Soryu acts in an unusual way. I must understand her reasons', Rei concluded.

...

A few mistaken turns and ponderings over the restaurant's menu later

The distraction of choosing, discussing, and ordering food – along with the fact that Rei finally let go of Asuka's hand, to both her immense relief and serious regret – restored a significant percentage of Asuka's wit. The said restitution was even enough to start discussing the movie.

"It was… enjoyable", Rei admitted carefully in reply to Asuka's question. "I found it unexpectedly cerebral for the genre you initially mentioned."

"Well, I chose something that was supposed to be an action movie that also had some social commentary", Asuka explained with only some effort to maintain her focus; she managed to squash the desire to take Rei's hand again and the fact that, once more, they were sitting on opposite sides of a table was helping to maintain the safe distance. "At least according to the reviews… it kind of turned out to be the reverse", she added with a sigh. "And yeah, The Dragon in the Sea did not sound exactly like a title for a serious movie", she added with some annoyance in her tone.

"I have assumed that studying for your college degree would have made you familiar with the works of Frank Herbert?" Rei asked, her tone a little bit more inquisitive than usual.

Asuka's eyes escaped to the side. "Well", she started, unpleasantly aware of her ears starting to burn again. "It's not that I had to read every book in existence for that, right? It was not an English Literature degree, after all, and I am not that much of a fan of him. I mean, he's good, really good, but this story… well, novel… that was a bit obscure. Well, quite obscure", she said, feeling that she was digging herself in deeper and deeper with every word coming out of her mouth. 'Go Soryu!' she growled internally. 'Keep going, and all she'd have to do would be putting some dirt over you and planting a few flowers!'

"I understand", Rei replied with a small nod, her expression still focused. "Your miscalculation in choosing the film is understandable, then", she added and paused, her face turning ponderous; she seemed not to notice the mix of annoyance and confusion on Asuka's face. "I enjoyed it, nonetheless. Did you enjoy it?"

'Not as much as I enjoyed being there with you' was the first reply Asuka wanted to give before forcing it back. "It was okay", she replied instead. "It sure was interesting."

"How did you like the depiction of psychology?" Rei asked – and Asuka froze for a moment.

'Wait, wait. That was a proper question', she realized. 'Not a reaction to what I did or said. Is she showing initiative?' she mused before trying to reply – which was, of course, anything but easy given what she remembered from the movie. "I'm not sure. It felt a bit… superficial?" she tried. 'It's a safe bet, I guess? Can someone come around and spill something on me – no, cancel that, I'd hate to waste a nice kimono so soon after I managed to get some grasp on those dumb long sleeves…'

"Unquestionably", Rei agreed with a small nod. "The depiction presented in original material was far more detailed and proved the author's familiarity with the underlying theories."

"Well, movie adaptations simplify things, obviously", Asuka confirmed with a sage nod, her tone still nervous. Suddenly, an idea appeared in her head: "Actually, Ayanami – how come you are familiar with the book? It's definitely not a required reading at any Japanese school I have heard of. I know you like to read, but this is… well. Obscure."

"You should be aware that I have not been attending the public school for long", Rei explained. "The major part of my education was handled by NERV and supervised by Doctor Akagi. Therefore, required reading lists have no effect on my education. I am familiar with the work because Doctor Akagi summoned the works of Frank Herbert during a discussion I had with her regarding ecology and its presence in culture. I became interested and read the corpus of his work."

"Were you… ordered to do that?" Asuka asked and immediately regretted asking that. 'Go Soryu! What if she thinks you're mocking her?'

"There was no need to", Rei, to Asuka's relief, replied without a hint of feeling offended. "It was a positive experience", she added, her voice gaining an unusual tone and her face acquiring an odd expression for just a moment.

"But… the entire corpus?" Asuka stared in confusion – and missing the minuscule change entirely.

"Correct. I did not have many activities to perform during my upbringing", Rei explained matter-of-factly. "And the NERV HQ has a well-stocked library."

"Well, I can imagine there'd be every single scientific journal there, including those that never existed in the open, but… science fiction?" Asuka chuckled with disbelief.

"I have inquired Doctor Akagi on that subject. It was confusing to me as well. She claims the literature was provided to stimulate my mental development, based on prior psychological research on the correlation between consumption of science fiction and intelligence levels in children of various ages", Rei explained. "But I am also aware that NERV employees are making significant use of it as well. I have reasons to believe that the NERV HQ library currently owns the most complete collection of science fiction genre in Japan."

"Well, every day we learn something new", Asuka chuckled.

"Yes", Rei nodded with unusual intensity. "This is correct. Regarding that, there is a matter I want to discuss–"

"Your orders, ladies" coming from the suddenly appearing waitress interrupted Rei's words – and Asuka cursed quietly at that disruption.

"Thank you", she quickly intervened, her annoyance perceptible in her tone for just a moment – and gone the moment she turned to Rei, looking at her order. "You know you didn't have to follow my example, right?"

"My familiarity with European cuisine is limited", Rei replied as she studied the content of her plate. "I have decided it was safer to rely on your experiences in that area. Conversely, you did not have to choose a vegetarian version of this… dish."

"It's called 'lecsó'… and you told me you don't like the smell or sight of meat", Asuka explained, hoping that Rei would not dwell on the matter too much. 'I am just being considerate!' she kept telling herself. 'You can call me many, many things, but definitely not inconsiderate!'

Rei raised her eyes at Asuka – and for a few moments, her gaze seemed almost confused. "I did. I am surprised you remembered that. Thank you", she offered a small smile.

"Don't mention it", Asuka waved her hand. 'Why is it getting so hot in here?' was her dominant thought right now. "Enjoy the food! I hope it is not too spicy for you!"

"Thank you", Rei replied and reached for the spoon.

...

"Ayanami…" Asuka probed after a few minutes of watching Rei eat; she almost wolfed down her own portion. "We were talking about reading", she continued, trying not to sound forced.

"Correct", Rei replied as she set her spoon down. "Do you wish to discontinue the subject?"

"Um… no? We got interrupted?" Asuka tried.

"This is correct. Do you then wish to continue on the subject?"

"Um… yes?"

"There is a matter I want to discuss", Rei picked up in reply. "It is, supposedly, linked to 'learning something new'. Why did you choose this food provider?"

"Prov–ah", Asuka shook her head. "Don't you like it?" she asked, a note of worry in her tone.

"Negative", Rei replied. "The food tastes well and the service is adequate."

"So… what's wrong?" Asuka asked, confusion obvious in her voice.

"I would not characterize it as wrong. I have merely been observing people engaging in similar activity as we are", Rei started – and Asuka had to squash the musings about whether she meant 'hanging out' or 'dating'. "More than eighty-two percent choose either fast-food venues or to-go food. Furthermore, everyone in this location is noticeably older than we are. This makes your choice of venue unusual. Can you explain your reasoning?"

Asuka stared at Rei for a few seconds, processing what she has just heard. "Oh. I see" was all she managed to say. "I mean… do you like this place?"

"Positive", Rei confirmed with a nod. "But this opinion does not help me understand your choice."

'Okay. Get a grip, Soryu', Asuka chided herself. 'She is not trying to trip you over, she's different from a regular girl enough and might actually be genuinely interested in an explanation. Answer this straight and maybe you're walking out of here without a massive mess-up on your hands… and without an overwhelming urge to throw yourself down all those levels' she finished on a morbid note and began to speak: "Well, a few reasons. First, since we're all dressed up and looking fancy, so I thought that we should have a fancy dinner, too. It fits, right? And, second, there's far lower risk of some dumb boy bothering us here."

"Do I understand correctly that you intend to attract intelligent boys?" Rei asked, her expression still unchanging.

Asuka stared at her in utter confusion. "What? Why?"

"You described 'bothering by dumb boys' as a 'risk'. This may, with a few further assumptions, indicate that 'bothering by intelligent boys' would be seen as an opportunity", Rei explained.

"No, no, no, no. I don't want any boys here", Asuka explained, shaking her head vehemently. 'I want you all to myself' was an unspoken thought that followed – that required some effort of will to remain unspoken. "This is our… exercise, nobody else's, right?"

"Correct", Rei nodded after a moment of pondering – but did not follow on that in any manner.

And Asuka realized that she would give a lot to know what was going on inside that pretty head of the girl in front of her.

...

'Soryu seems to desire exclusivity of my attention' Rei added to the pool of observations she was collecting. 'This is a factor consistent with the pattern of a team exercise. Yet, the progress of the entire encounter does not match any team exercise pattern I am familiar with. It is, in fact, closer to a social event template that Commander Ikari sometimes executes with me; those events seem to satisfy both his need for company and for exercising his care for me. But this would be illogical and unlikely on Soryu's part to have the same motivation as the Commander. She is in an entirely different position in relation to me.'

Rei took yet another look at the redhead sitting in front of her. The girl's expressions were far more pronounced than those of the Commander, and Rei could tell that she was behaving quite differently from her usual patterns. She succumbed to distraction more often, her heart rate was elevated beyond what would be expected of a person of her build during the current activities, her pupils were constantly dilated in comparison to her baseline – and her speech patterns were different from the patterns Rei observed previously.

And Rei, confused as she was, had to admit that she preferred this Asuka to one she saw at school – but, to her regret, she could not find a way to relay that information to the girl without breaking a number of social rules she was conditioned to follow. Thus, she defaulted to the second-best solution – deriving pleasure from the situation as long as it lasted and continuing her observations in both passive and active ways.

'Physical contact continues to agitate Soryu, she added to her notes. 'And yet, she does not avoid it, though, despite making such avoidance easy on my part. It is also pleasant to me, which is unexpected', she mused. 'Unexpected, but welcome' she followed with a thought – and performed the only logical action stemming from this conclusion.

'This did not go according to my expectations', she admitted to herself as she watched Asuka almost jump in reaction. 'The intensity of Soryu's reactions is fascinating. I must investigate further; she is sufficiently resilient to survive the excitement and further experimentation', she finally decided. 'I must understand. I must learn… her.'