Chapter 3

They met with a slap.
Asuka had put on her favorite sundress to meet her new commanding officer, Misato Katsuragi. What she didn't expect were the four idiots she had brought along. She watched from afar as the four climbed out of the helicopter. A geeky-looking one with a camera was looking around wildly. There was a dumb-looking one who started chasing his hat. The hat found its way under her foot. When a sea breeze kicked up and lifted her dress, revealing her white pants to the four idiots, a viewing fee had to be paid. She gave each of them a solid slap. Referring to it as a "bargain"

One of the four scoffed at this.
"A bargain for plain white?" Draven asked, "Maybe if they were red or something."
Asuka cut off the rest of his perverted statement with a second slap.

Her annoyance only grew on the ship's bridge after the official introduction had been made. Misato got into an argument with the ship's captain about releasing EVA-02 to NERV custody. The stubborn old man refused to do so until they were in Tokyo-3's harbor. It was then that her guardian, Kaji, entered the bridge.
Asuka grabbed onto his arm happily. The captain chided him for once again coming uninvited onto the bridge. Misato looked shocked for a moment and disgusted the next
"What are you doing here?" she asked
I was asked by NERV Germany to escort our ace pilot here to Tokyo-3," explained Kaji with a smile.
Asuka looked up at Kaji dreamily until Draven walked over to Kaji and extended his hand.

"Kaji, it's been a while," he said.

"Time flies," Kaji replied as he shook Draven's hand

"Hey! How do you know my Kaji?" Asuka demanded hotly

"Your Kaji?" Draven asked, a grin on his face, obviously fighting the urge to laugh

Kaji noticed Asuka's rising anger: "Maybe we should move this little meeting off the bridge."
"Yes, you should," said the captain angrily.
Kaji led the group to the mess hall.
Once the group got settled and had some food, Kaji turned to Shinji.

"So I finally get to meet the famous Shinji Ikari," he said.
"I'm surprised you know who I am," replied Shinji, looking a bit embarrassed.
"The boy who defeated an angel in his first battle, with no training," said Kaji. "That is quite impressive. Your name is being talked about all around NERV."
"It was luck," replied Shinji.
"Don't sell yourself short," said Draven. "That sniper shot was a work of art."
"There's been some buzz about you, Draven," said Kaji. "They were cheering for you at the Aegis Base when they got footage of your first battle."

"Aeguis base?" asked Shinji.
"Where I lived before transferring to the NERV base," replied Draven.
"Speaking of living, "said Kaji. "Shinji, I hear you're living with Misato. Does she still make a lot of noise at night?"

The reaction was immediate from Toji, Kensuke, Asuka, and Misato.
Kaji seemed to enjoy it, Shinji had no clue what he meant or ignored it, and Draven just grinned.

"What the hell are you talking about?" demanded Misato

"Wow, Shinji," said Draven. "First making a move on Ayanami, and now Misato, or is it the other way around?"
Shinji looked annoyed at his friend. "I haven't done anything with Ayanami!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SUGGESTING?" shouted Misato at Kaji.

Asuka stood up suddenly and, without a word to anyone, left the mess hall.
"I'd better go check on her," said Kaji with a smile and a slight bow to the others.

Kaji found Asuka leaning on the railing of the main deck.
"So what do you think of the Third Child?" asked Kaji
"It seems boring," said Asuka lazily.
"When he was in battle, his synch ratio jumped to 40% without training," revealed Kaji.
"No way," said Asuka.
"What about Draven?" asked Kaji
"Pervert, him, and his dumb wind-up toy," answered Asuka, irritated, remembering the well-deserved slaps she had given him.

"Don't be so quick to dismiss Danner," said Kaji. "I've seen trial runs in the US. It's an impressive machine, and as for Draven, he was practically raised in that cockpit."

Asuka turned to her chaperone surprised on her face
"Yes, Asuka," the man said, smiling. "Just like you."

Not like me. Asuka thought she was an elite, trained from a young age to be the greatest pilot ever. Her EVA was the pinnacle of technology. That pervert's toy was just a cheap imitation. Asuka left Kaji on the deck. She needed to do something.

"You two, come with me!" she ordered Shinji and Draven after finding them near the mess hall.
She leads the boys deep into the ship. It was in the large cargo hold that she guided them to a large figure almost completely submerged in water.

"Impressive, nice shade of red," Shinji had said when Asuka threw back the trap to reveal her EVA-02.
"Unit-00 and 01 are the prototype and test, respectively, but mine is the world's first real Evangelion!" she announced
"As opposed to imitation Evangelions?" asked Draven "We've already dealt with those. Well, Shinji and Misato have; I didn't get a shot at Jet Alone."

"I was talking about your imitation, EVA." Asuka snapped, walking up to Draven, her hands on her hips defiantly.

"You mean the Danner," said Draven. "I've fought two angels with it; how many have you fought?"

"It's not my fault these things only attack one place." said Asuka dismissively, "My EVA-02 could beat your wind-up toy any day of the week."

"Are you so sure about that?" countered Draven

He had inadvertently hit Asuka's greatest weak point. Her pride.
She stood right in front of him.
"You think you can take me?" asked angrily. "Dunno, but I'd love to try," Draven answered with a smirk.
That reply had earned him another slap—his third of the day. Asuka could just smell the perverted undertones of that statement.

The ship shook, throwing the three teens off balance.
"Great, now what?" asked Asuka

On deck, they looked at the rest of the escort fleet. There was something huge in the water. Two of the ships were destroyed.
"An angel?" asked Shinji. "Here?"
"That or someone woke Cthulhu," replied Draven. 'Either way, maybe you two should..."
Draven turned to see Shinji being pulled back the way they had come by Asuka.

"Alright then," said Draven to no one as he went to find Misato.

Seeing her chance to prove her skills, Asuka grabbed the Third Child and stuffed him into a plugsuit. The battle did not go as well as she had planned. They tumbled into the sea and were reeled in like a fishing lure. To make matters worse, Kaji hadn't even seen her triumph; he had left in a small jet. Misato would later tell her that Draven had been cursing the fact he didn't have his machine and not being able to join the battle.

The ship made it to Tokyo-3 soon after the battle. Asuka was still in her plug-on suit as she disembarked. She saw Shinji with his friends. The kid with glasses and the dumb-looking one were laughing at Shinji, who was in her spare plug suit, while the Draven was trying not to.
She'd have to keep her eye on that one, the pervert. As for the Third Child, he had proved himself somewhat competent. Those two might make a good backup team for when she started destroying Angels left and right.

Later on, at Misato's apartment Shinji Misato and Draven were relaxing after having dropped Toji and Kensuke off at home.

"So, what do you guys think of Asuka?" asked Misato, digging into her third beer after a very long day.
"She seems nice enough," said Shinji meekly.
"Defiantly, agreed Draven.
"Ooohh," said Misato. "Am I going to see you two fighting over her?"
"Wait, what?" asked Draven, confused.

Misato didn't seem to hear him. "Two friends fighting over a woman—ah, it's so romantic. What will it be? Swords? Pistols? Bare fists?"

"It's not like that," insisted Draven.
"She's been watching TV dramas again, "sighed Shinji.
"Again?" asked Draven. "What happened the first time?"
Shinji didn't answer; Misato was still gushing about guys fighting over women.
"I wish you guys would fight over me," she said dreamily.
"No way," whispered Shinji.

Unfortunately for him, Misato heard.
"What was that?" she asked angrily, leaning over the table. "Are you trying to suggest something's wrong with me? That I'm not worth fighting for?"

"I didn't mean it like that." stammered Shinji

"It's just," said Draven, jumping in to help his friend. "You're just way out of our league. On a scale of 1 to 10, you're an 11."

Misato sat back down, satisfied with the answer.
"Aww, you guys are sweet," said Misato, "but I'm not that hot. Look."
Misato raised her shirt to show off her scar, but the boys could also see she wasn't wearing a bra.

"I...don't think.." Shinji began his face turning red and averting his eyes.
"I think he means that despite the scar, you are still gorgeous," said Draven.

"You guys are the best!" said Misato, letting her shirt down. She hugged the boys to her chest drunkenly. She picked up her beer can only to find it empty.
"Oops, gotta go get more," she said, heading off to the kitchen.

"She's fun," said Draven, low enough for Misato not to hear.
"I warned you," replied Shinji.
"I'm still not sure if I envy or pity you, Shinji," said Draven, watching the door to the kitchen for Misato's return. "Speaking of women, what's up with you and Ayanami?"

"Nothing," said Shinji. He didn't look at his friend but glanced down at the floor.
"Do you want there to be?" asked Draven
"I don't know," replied Shinji. "It's just that I want to know her."
"Then talk to her," said Draven.
"It's not that easy!" said Shinji frustrated, "I don't know what to say."
"Start with hello," said Draven.
"And what makes you an expert on women?" asked Shinji hotly.
"My older brother was always going on about stuff like that," Draven explained. "Even though I was just a kid, he was still giving me advice for dealing with girls. He once said, 'A warrior's greatest comfort is a woman's embrace'. Naturally, I asked, What if the warrior is a girl?"

"What did he say?" asked Shinji.
"He never did answer that one," said Draven, laughing.
"Do you think I could talk to him." asked Shinji eagerly, hoping for some advice too.

Draven's smile faded. "I wish you could; I do. Unfortunately, he's been dead for about five years now."

"I'm sorry," replied Shinji. "How..."
"Did he die?" finished Draven. "That's something I'd rather not go into,"
"I'm sorry," said Shinji again.

The clock rang the hour; it was late.
"We have school tomorrow," said Draven. "I'd better get home."
He stood up, and Shinji walked with him to the door.
Shinji spoke up as his friend stepped out, "About the beam katana."
Draven turned, waiting for Shinji's answer.
"I'll do it," said Shinji.
Draven broke out in a wide smile. "Excellent; I was hoping you would. We have tests at NERV tomorrow after school, but the day after that, we'll head to my place after school, and we can begin."

"Great," said Shinji.

NERV HQ the following day

"How the hell do you get into these things?" complained Draven, struggling with a plug suit.
"You need to ease yourself into it," answered Shinji.
Commander Ikari had decided it was finally time to add Draven to the synch test. His reasoning, Draven's skills in the Danner were remarkable; if he could pilot an Evangelion, he would be a formidable opponent for the Angels.

"OK, now what?" asked Draven, having finally gotten the plug suit on.
"Hit the switch on your right wrist," answered Shinji.
Hitting the switch sucked all the air out of the suit, leaving it skin-tight. It was not a pleasant experience the first time around.
"I hate this thing," muttered Draven.

The boys exited the changing area and waited for the girls before heading to the test plugs. Asuka came out first. She wasn't happy to see the boys waiting for waiting fo her
"What perverted things are you thinking?" Asuka asked them for her hand, ready to smack which ever one said something.
Draven looked Asuka up and down and said, "Just that red is a better color for you than yellow."
Asuka relaxed her hand. "Of course it is you, idiot," she said quietly before heading for the test plugs.

"Maybe there are some benefits to these plug suits," Draven whispered to Shinji as he watched Asuka walk away.
Shinji silently agreed, but his attention was on Rei, who had just come out of the changing room. Draven turned to look as well.

It is normal for people to ignore Rei; she is accustomed to no one looking at her, so when she emerges to see Shinji and Draven waiting for her, it seems odd. Both boys were watching her, each with an expression she could not place. The Danner pilot smiled and greeted her, something to which she was not accustomed, before walking over to the second child standing near the test plugs.
Shinji was still looking at her; his expression was that of someone wanting to say something but unable to talk.
"Did you need something, Pilot Ikari?" asked Rei

It took Shinji a moment before he could say, "Ayanami, I was wondering if you'd like to get a soda or ice cream after the test."

Rei looked at him; she had never been asked something like that before. "Why do you ask this?" she said

"I thought it might be fun." Shinji said, trying hard not to trip over his words, "To spend some time with you outside of NERV."

"Fun?" Rei asked more of herself than Shinji. She knew the word meant leisure activities, things people did to relax and relieve stress. It was not something she had ever done or considered doing, but since Shinji had gotten to Tokyo-3, there were many new thoughts in her mind.
"Yeah, I've wanted to spend time with you. Maybe talk a bit." Shinji said he was fighting hard not to stammer or sound like an idiot.

He wanted to spend time with her. Why? This boy confused her.
"Alright, Pilot Ikari, we shall go have fun," said Rei quietly.

She did not expect her response to have such an effect on him. "GREAT!" he said. "We'll go once we're done with the test. And you can call me Shinji."

"Shinji," Rei repeated. "Very well, we should hurry now or we'll be late for our test."

They walked to the test plugs, and Rei noticed Shinji was moving as if he had an enormous amount of energy inside of him. Was this because she agreed to go with him? Rei was curious about Shinji; she had replayed the time he landed on her several times over in her head. Recently, when she thought about it, and when he cradled her just before his first battle a warm feeling came to her body. Since Operation Yashima, she found herself thinking about him more, to the point that he was in her dreams sometimes, but she didn't know why.

"We're ready," said Ritsuko, a monitor displaying all the children. "Filling the test plugs"
"Shinji was right; this is disgusting." muttered Draven as the L.C.L. filled his lungs for the first time.
"Quite complaining; you're a boy, aren't you?" said Misato.
"Being a boy doesn't make this any less disgusting," replied Draven.

The tests were over soon enough.

"Asuka still has the highest score," said Ritsuko, looking over the data.
Asuka beamed with her usual pride.
"Shinji and Rei are doing well; Shinji especially seems to have gained a sharp rise in his ratio."
Shinji smiled sheepishly. Rei looked at him. Was this a result of her agreeing to go with him?

"Draven," Ritsuko said, looking over the data, "has the lowest ratio, barely 3%."
Asuka laughed, "Well, what did you expect? He doesn't even have an EVA, just that little wind-up toy."
"What do I need with a synch ratio?" asked Draven, "I'm not an EVA pilot."
He turned to Asuka. "My toy, as you put it, isn't so little; I'd be happy to show you anytime."
Misato laughed, Ritsuko just watched with both amusement and annoyance, and Maya looked a little scandalized.

Asuka tried to slap Draven. "Pervert, what are you suggesting?"

An all-too-familiar alarm drowned out his reply. An angel was on its way.

"Wonderful," said Asuka. "Now I can show everyone my superior skills."

"You mean you can sit back and watch the Danner and I kick ass?" replied Draven as the two ran for the cage area.

"It would seem our time together will have to wait," said Rei to Shinji.

"Yeah, but it'll be worth it," Shinji replied as he walked to the cage area, not noticing the faint red that appeared on Rei's cheeks as she followed him.

"There go our defenders," said Misato.

"We're doomed," commented Maya.

END