Chapter 5: Normal Life...or as Normal as It Gets in Tokyo-3
What the hell is that thing?" asked Asuka
"Compensation," answered Misato.
"What did NERV do so wrong to deserve this?" asked Draven
The pilots were in the cage area looking at a new robot. About half the size of the EVAs is fairly unremarkable, with no neck and wide frog-like eyes. The robot's fiery red and orange paint job shone brighter than Asuka's Unit-02.
"It's compensation from China, an apology for their pilots going rouge," explained Misato.
"Oh, that's what they call it?" asked Draven sarcastically,
"They call it Heat Boy," came another voice.
The teens turned to see Ritsuko walking up to join them; her assistant Maya was right behind her as usual.
"Heat Boy?" asked Shinji "Why Heat Boy?"
"Because it's designed to withstand high temperatures," explained Ritsuko. "Sukuyu Industries somehow got hold of data from Operation Yashima. They built this machine to withstand high temperatures, using the Kunlun Mountains as a test site.
"Kunlun Mountains?" asked Shinji.
"What are you stupid?" asked Asuka. "Those are the largest volcanoes in China; several became active after the Second Impact.
"Thank you, Encyclopedia Brown," muttered Draven under his breath.
"Just because you're an idiot doesn't mean we all are. I graduated college after all," said Asuka, standing in front of the American in her usual confident stance.
A smile crossed Draven's face.
"Did you take astronomy? What can you tell us about Uranus?" He asked.
Shinji shook his head. He knew this wasn't going to end well.
Asuka answered, "It's an ice giant and the third biggest planet in our solar system."
Misato snickered; she realized the trap Asuka had fallen into.
Draven continued to smile as he walked around behind Asuka.
"Dunno about Ice Giant. It's as hot as the rest of you."
The sound of the slap echoed throughout the cage area.
"Pervert! Stop staring at my ass!" Asuka shouted angrily.
"Alright, that's enough; we have tests to get on with," said Ritsuko, amused by the bickering.
Three of the four gave a collective groan, with Rei staying her usual silent self.
The blonde doctor led them to the test plugs.
"I want to know how they got that data," said Misato, falling into step next to Ritsuko. "Classified data like that shouldn't be easily available."
"Probably bribes," Ritsuko said simply. "China's still a fairly poor nation; some people will do anything for money."
"What in the hell is NERV Intelligence doing?" Misato asked angrily, "They let sensitive data slip and don't inform us about things like China's robot.
"Commander Ikari was quite angry with them." Answered Ritsuko "He's called the head of intelligence to his office for a 'briefing' on his department's current status."
A humorless smile crossed Misato's face. "I'd love to hear that one."
For the first time, she was cheering for the NERV Supreme Commander.
In Shinji's mind, nothing was better than a hot shower after tests or a battle. Washing the L.C.L. off his body and out of his hair. He heard an irritated noise behind him and the sound of a plug-in suit hitting the floor. A moment later, Draven stepped into the stall next to him and turned on the water.
"Finally got the hang of the plug suit?" asked Shinji
The Americans gave a dismissive wave. "I think so. How do you make it look so easy, Shinji? I'll never understand."
Draven gave a wet cough and spat out some lingering L.C.L. He soaked his head under the shower stream for a few moments. "Now I just have to get used to the L.C.L. stuff. Can you imagine how long it takes Asuka to wash this junk out of her hair?"
Shinji smiled. "She's always complaining about it."
"Asuka complain? Never!" Draven said mockingly as Shinji laughed.
"She's going to kill you if you keep teasing her like that," warned Shinji.
"Speaking of cute girls," Draven continued, ignoring the warning, "Did you ever get a chance to spend time with Rei?"
Shinji shook his head. "I was busy doing the dance training, so we never got a chance to."
"So do it now, before the next angel shows up."
"I don't know where to go with her," replied Shinji.
"There's that new ice cream place that opened up. They have practically every flavor ever made and a few new ones," said Draven.
"She may not like ice cream," commented Shinji. "Or watching her weight."
Draven looked at Shinji and said, "Shinji, have you taken a real good look at Rei in her plug suit? One trip to an ice cream parlor will not hurt her figure if she's even concerned about that."
Shinji blushed, thinking of Rei in her plug suit. "You know Asuka would call us perverts for talking like this."
Draven let out a snort. "Which I call bullshit. She drools over Kaji because he's 'cool' and'mature'. Then he has the nerve to call us perverts when we look at Misato the wrong way."
Shinji chuckled.
Somewhere else in NERV, a certain blonde also laughs at the outburst.
"What's so funny, Rits?" asked a lavender-haired woman
"Just seeing how our pilots are doing," responded Ritsuko, listing into a headset.
"I thought the changing rooms were free of video cameras," said Misato sternly.
"They are, but the audio recorders are in place," explained Ritsuko.
"Still an invasion of privacy," muttered Misato.
"There is no such thing as privacy here at NERV; you know that, Misato."
"So what's so funny about the pilots?" asked Misato
"Well, nothing on the girl's side; Asuka's just complaining about the L.C.L. as usual; Rei isn't saying anything at all."
"As usual too," finished Misato. "So what are the boys talking about?"
"Girls," answered Ritsuko.
"Oh?" asked Misato, her eyes lit up with curiosity, "This I gotta hear."
Misato reached over and put the conversation on speaker so they could all hear.
"What about privacy?" asked Ritsuko, amused.
"It's just you, me, and Maya here; we can all keep a secret."
"No, you can't," answered Ritsuko.
"Shh, I want to hear this," said Misato.
The voices of the boys filled the room.
"Her offer still stands, you know," Shinji said.
"To move in?" replied Draven. "I know and I do appreciate it, but I think it's better if I keep my place."
"Why?" asked Shinji.
"It might get too crowded there," answered Draven. "You know, Shinji, if it ever gets too much, you can always move in with me. I have a spare bedroom"
"Oh hell no," said Misato.
"Thanks, but Misato and Asuka need me," said Shinji's
"Otherwise they would have to cook, right?" asked Draven with a laugh, "I think that's why Misato wanted me to move in; she liked the cooking I did when you and Asuka were dance training."
"She's not that bad," said Shinji.
"Man, if we could weaponize her cooking," Draven began.
Ritsuko started laughing as Maya tried her hardest not to.
"Hey, my cooking isn't that bad!" shouted Misato, glaring at the other two women.
"We wouldn't need the EVAs," finished Shinji grimly.
"Damn it, Shinji!" said Misato angrily, "I'll get you for that."
"I mean, Misato is great, and I owe her a lot," said Shinji. "She took me in when I got here; otherwise, I'd be living alone. She just can't cook."
"Misato is great." agreed, Draven, "I don't know what we'd do without her."
"I suppose I'll make that last comment slide." Misato grumbled
There was a brief silence, then they heard Draven ask, "What are you thinking that's got you so red?"
The women listened eagerly.
"Well," Shinji started, "I was just wondering what Misato would look like in a plug suit."
Silence.
"That," Draven said slowly. "Is this a very good question? I think I'd like to see that."
"Say, Ritsuko, old friend." Misato turned to the blonde scientist.
"No, Misato, I will not make you a plugsuit just so you can show off to a pair of teenagers," answered Ritsuko, predicting her question.
"Aw, you're no fun." pouted Misato
They heard the water shut off as the boys finished cleaning off the last of L.C.L. Their conversation continued as they got into street clothes.
"You know who I'd love to see in a plugsuit." Said Draven
"Ritsuko?" asked Shinji.
Draven paused. "Nothing against Ritsuko, but I tend to stay away from blondes."
"What's wrong with blondes?" asked Shinji and Ritsuko at the same time.
"Bad experience," Draven said simply. "Trust me, you don't want to know."
"I do," said Misato. "Was it an ex-girlfriend, or maybe a crush he had?"
"Who then?" asked Shinji.
"That cute Lieutenant that's always hanging around Ritsuko," answered Draven.
The women listening froze. Ritsuko and Misato turned to the younger woman, whose face was starting to turn red.
"LT Ibuki?" asked Shinji
"Yup," answered Draven. "She's cute and smart if she's working with Ritsuko."
"I never thought about it, but she's defiantly cute." said Shinji "Probably look amazing in a plug suit."
Maya's face went bright red as she listened to the teenagers.
"Hear that, Maya? You have some fans." teased Misato
"This is improper," stammered Maya as she tried to focus on her work.
Ritsuko touched her assistant's shoulder. "They're teenage boys, Maya; it's expected they talk about these things. I do find it admirable that they consider your brain as well as your body."
They could hear the door to the locker room open, and the boy's voices stopped, indicating they were heading home.
"Well, that was fun," said Ritsuko. "But we'd better get back to work."
"Yeah, I still have some reports to do before I go home," said Misato as she got up to leave.
"Oh, Misato," called Ritsuko. "Don't tease the boys about this. It wouldn't be good if they realized we were listening."
"You are probably right," answered Misato. "Still..."
A stern look from her old friends stopped Misato's comment cold.
Maya didn't say anything as Misato left. She was thinking about what the boys had said. There was a part of her that found pride in it. Misato was a woman who turned the heads of almost every male at NERV, as well as the heads of a few females. Sure, it was just a pair of teenagers, but that they put her on the same level of desirability as Misato was a compliment in its own right. Especially since they seem to prefer Maya over Dr. Akagi, who had her own following among NERV staff.
Tokyo-3 High School
Usually, her red eyes stared out the window, oblivious to the sounds and movement around her. Today was different. Rei's eyes focused on her classmates, and her ears focused on conversations around her.
For the last few days, she has observed boys at school and their actions towards the girls.
These observations were informative. When boys liked a girl, they wanted to spend time alone with her on a date. Shinji had not used the word date, but the ideas were the same.
Boys were also protective of girls they liked; she had witnessed a schoolyard fight between two boys because one had called a girl a derogatory name. This coincided with the actions Draven had taken during the battle with Godinner. Did this mean both boys 'like' her? Liking someone was a childish way (childish in Rei's mind anyway) of saying you had romantic feelings towards a person. Did both boys have romantic feelings for her? Then there was the act of becoming one, which Rei had always seen as the highest form of romantic expression. Did both boys desire her in this way?
Rei thought the best way was to ask them directly, but how does one ask something like that?
Her attention turned from her thoughts back to the boys in the class.
Pilot Soryu seemed like a popular discussion topic due to her appearance.
"She's here" One of them cried excitedly, and most of the boys in the class turned to the door.
Rei could see disgust in the eyes of the girls in the class.
The classroom door opened, and Pilot Soryu walked in with the class representative. The red-headed girl ignored the stares of the males as she took her seat. A few moments later, the door opened again, and four boys walked in. Collectively called "the Stooges" by both the Second and Class Reps.
Rei never understood why they were given this name. She had read about a comedy group long before Second Impact, but the boys acted nothing like them.
Just more of her insults. Rei's body tightened, anger swelling in her mind. The second child was always insulting or injuring the boys.
"That red-headed bitch" A girl to Rei's right whispered, "She thinks she's so great."
Seems Rei was not alone in her irritation with the German girl. She glanced over her shoulder to see two girls near the back of the room watching her fellow pilots.
"I hear Shinji lives with her," said another girl. "That poor guy, I'll be; she makes him do all the work."
True thought Rei, both Pilot Soryu and Captain Katsuragi were notorious for neglecting housework, leaving it all to Shinji or Draven when he stopped by.
"I'd be happy to rescue him from her," the first girl said.
"You can't cook either," her friend said, smiling.
"Yeah, but I'd find ways to repay him." answered the first girl.
"Fine, you can have Shinji; I'll take Draven," said her friend.
Rei tensed again. Did this mean she would have competition for the boys' attention? It would seem she must speak to Captain Katsuragi soon about taking action or else risk losing something that was quickly becoming very important to her.