MISATO'S APARTMENT
It was just a lazy afternoon for Misato and everyone's favorite warm water penguin. Asuka was out with Hikari and Shinji was at Draven's neither would be back soon so the apartment was uncharacteristically quiet
Misato was in her favorite lazing around clothes with a remote in one hand and her beer in the other. Ah, the perfect afternoon she thought.
So Shinji's talking about girls now Misato thought, remembering the conversation she overheard. And he wants to see me in a plugsuit, maybe nothing at all.
Her smile widened thinking of the fun she could have with that knowledge. I wonder if he's got a possible girlfriend pick out.
The doorbell interrupted her thoughts. "I don't suppose you can get that PenPen?"
"Wark"
"Fine I'll get it," said Misato walking to the door. Much to her surprise Rei Ayanami was standing there calmly
"Good afternoon Captain, am I disturbing you?" asked Rei as Misato opened the door
"Not at all Rei, Uh Shinji and Asuka aren't here"
"It is you I need to speak with" answered the blue-haired girl
Misato led the First Child into the living room. PenPen squawked irritably as she shut off the TV.
"Have a seat" said Misato
"Thank you"
"So what can I do for you Rei?" asked Misato
"Several recent events have left me unsure of what to do. I feel you are the one who can best help me" answered Rei
"I'm happy to help with anything I can," said Misato "So what's got you confused?"
"Boys," Rei said simply "More precisely the actions of Shinji and Draven"
Misato was not expecting that answer, Rei showing an interest in other people? in boys? Maybe she was just a regular girl after all it just took the right guy or guys to bring it out.
"So Rei, tell me what's been going on," Misato said eagerly
DRAVEN'S APARTMENT
A modest apartment, not as big as Misato's but bigger than Rei's one-bedroom accommodation. Two bedrooms, one of which stood empty, a living room, and a kitchen/dining area. The living room had all the basics, a sofa, a coffee table, and a T.V. hooked up with the latest gaming system. Games and movies lined the shelves, Shinji could only read a couple of them as most were in English.
"So did NERV get you this place?" asked Shinji
"Those cheapskates? hell no" said Draven "This place is part of the deal with Brandt Industries"
"Brandt Industries?"
"The company that built the Danner" answered Draven. "The owner got himself into a nasty bit of trouble with the U.S. government. Don't know the fine details myself, but since Brandt Industries is a major employer and the government didn't want to shut it down. So a deal was made. To avoid heavy fines and worse Brandt Industries turned over all anti-Angel weapons to NERV and provided pilot support. This building is owned by Brandt " explained Draven I'm still a NERV employee, so they pay my salary"
"So Rei could move into this building?" asked Shinji, thinking of the girl's disgusting living conditions
"Don't see why not. As long as she's a pilot, they wouldn't charged her rent or anything" replied his friend "I'll call a friend at Brandt, and ask him to check the details"
"Thanks"
"Trying to win the lady's heart by rescuing her from a lousy apartment?" asked Draven grinning "Or maybe you want a nice quiet place for the two of you to go?"
"Have you seen her place?" asked Shinji hotly. Draven shook his head "It's horrible, worse than Misato's before I got there!"
Draven let out a low whistle, he'd heard the stories about Misato's place "I'll call tonight," he said in a serious tone "It's one in the morning in the U.S. right now so I doubt my friend's awake"
Draven walked into his bedroom, returning a moment later with a long silver object, his beam katana.
"Now to the matter at hand," he said "For some basic sparring my apartment will be fine, if we get good and need more room, there is a roof access just down the hall."
Shinji nodded and withdrew his sword from his school bag and activated it. The beam hummed lightly, the blade had a faint purple tint.
Draven activated his, it had a faint blue color to it, "OK let's begin"
HIKARI'S HOME
The girls were relaxing in Hikari's room, after finishing up long put-off homework
"Spill it Hikari" Demanded the red-headed girl "What do you see in that Stooge?"
The Class Rep's face turned red "So you know huh?"
"Everyone does, even the Stooges, well most of them" explained Asuka
"Well," Hikari began "It's his sensitive side."
Asuka gave her friend a dumbfounded look
"He cares about his sister" explained Hikari "He does anything for her, and he does the same thing for anyone he cares about. Toji's put himself in danger for Kensuke at least once"
"I heard about that," said Asuka "They got in the middle of an angel fight"
"Yeah. From what I heard, Shinji couldn't move because they were right next to him. Kensuke said he thought they were going to die until a big blue robot came charging in"
"The Danner," said Asuka "That's the fight Draven arrived up for"
Hikari nodded. She hated thinking about what it would be like if that fight ended differently. She shook her head trying to get rid of those terrible thoughts.
"OK," she said to Asuka "Your turn. Who is it you like?"
"Kaji" Asuka said at once
"Asuka" her friend sighed, "You know, you don't have a chance with him"
"Who says so?" Asuka responded hotly "All I need to do is prove I'm the best then he's all mine"
Hikari shook her head. Asuka was one of the smartest people she knew but bringing up the unshaven man and her mind went straight to Fantasyland
"What?" the German girl asked "Did you expect me to say Idiot Shinji or Pervert Draven?"
Hikari studied her friend for a moment, then decided to play a little Devil's Advocate
"Maybe that's for the best," said Hikari "After all, if you were interested in them, you'd have a lot of competition"
"What the hell are you talking about?" Asuka asked
"Oh come on Asuka" answered Hikari "They're cute, protect the city, and don't act like entitled jerks. Of course, they're going to have fans. I'm not just talking about our class either. I've overheard my older sister's friends admiring them."
"What?" asked Asuka
Hikari put a sly smile on her face. "And some of them could give Misato a run for her money"
MISATO'S APARTMENT
Her beer was finished but Misato started drinking water, to keep her thoughts clear as Rei explained her dilemma.
"So that's the deal huh" Misato said when Rei finished "You having thoughts about the boys because Shinji asked you on a date, Draven's been very protective of you and both of them are nice to you."
"Yes" Rei replied simply
Misato sat back thinking. She had made a joke about the boys fighting over Asuka, maybe she was right just had the wrong girl.
"Hmm, well" started Misato "Having thoughts like that are perfectly normal. You're a teenage girl and two boys are taking an interest in you for the first time in your life.
"What should I do?" asked Rei
"Go have fun with Shinji, relax, and enjoy yourself," Misato said kindly.
"What about Draven?"
"Ask him how he feels about you" suggested the older woman "There are different kinds of love. Love someone has for family or friends or..."
"Lovers?" asked Rei finishing Misato's thought
"E-exactly" responded Misato
Rei stood to leave. "Thank you Captain Katsuragi you have been a great help"
"Anytime Rei, and you can call me Misato if you like, at least outside of NERV"
The women walked to the door, Rei paused before leaving
"What kind of love do you have for them?" she asked Misato
"Wh-what?" stammered Misato "Oh, they're like my family of course."
"That is good" replied Rei "I did not wish to compete with you as well"
Misato stared at the blue-haired girl "What would make you think that?"
"I heard Dr Akaigi suggesting such a thing"
"What did she say?" Misato asked angrily
"I believe it was 'I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up seducing either one of them'" quoted Rei
"Did she now?" replied Misato forcing herself to remain calm "Thank you Rei, don't worry I won't be doing anything with them"
"I would prefer to be included if you did," said Rei quietly as she walked out
"Sure thing..I..." Misato stopped Rei's words started sinking in" WHAT!" but the girl was already down the hall
Did Rei say she wants...she can't mean... Misato thought then again I never would have thought she would go after the boys. Now one other thing I need to do
Misato picked up the phone, she needed to yell at a certain blonde pain in the ass
When Shinji got home, he was sore. Draven had gotten in a few good hits during their sparring session, but so had Shinji. Draven's left leg was numb to the point he was limping a bit. Overall he was happy with his performance, the beam katana was sitting at the bottom of his school bag. Maybe he could handle this.
"Hi Shinji" Misato called out
Shinji found his guardian in the living room, remote in hand, PenPen at her side.
Misato glanced up at her roommate "Were you in a fight or something, you look beat to hell"
"Actually, I was...' Shinji paused, how do you explain you were sparring with a beam katana? "working out"
"Oh?" Misato smiled her curiosity piqued, "Working out huh? Trying to impress some girl?"
She shifted herself on the couch to lean over the armrest, allowing her shirt to hang down. The result was one of her favorites, Shinji struggled to keep his eyes on her face while they kept shifting downward.
"Or" Misato continued in her favorite seductive tone "trying to sweep me off my feet and into your bedroom?"
"N-n-o, nothing like that" stammered Shinji, he should be used to this but Misato had a way of getting a reaction from him every time.
"Why would you lower yourself by being seduced by this idiot?"
Shinji turned, to see Asuka had arrived home "I mean, honestly, Misato you can do far better than Shinji"
The lavender-haired woman sat back on the couch "I disagree," she replied "If he was about 8 years older, he'd be all mine, the hell with what Rei wants"
"What's Wondergirl got to do with this?" asked Asuka, wondering how much truth there was to the story Hikari had told her.
"She was here before, needed to have a serious girl-to-girl talk with me," Misato said proudly
"About?" Shinji asked Rei getting ideas from Misato worried him.
"Your date tomorrow, she asked for the name of some good love hotels you guys could go to"
Several blocks away in his apartment, Draven paused the game he was playing and looked around the room
"Odd," he said to himself, "Thought I heard Asuka shouting."
He listened carefully for a few seconds. Hearing nothing he returned to his game "I hate this street race" he grumbled
"Oh calm down Asuka I was joking," said Misato
"You don't joke about that kind of thing," said Asuka angrily
"You don't pay attention much, do you?" asked Shinji "Misato does this all the time"
"Why are you so worked up about it? Jealous?" asked Misato smiling
"Of the Idiot and Wondergirl, hell no!" replied Asuka, with that she stopped off to her bedroom
"What did Rei really want?" asked Shinji when Asuka was out of earshot
Misato turned back to the TV "Sorry Shinji, I can't tell you, a girl's gotta have some secrets. It's getting late so why not just order something for dinner, and grab a menu from the kitchen"
Shinji did as Misato asked, still a little worried. Rei was getting advice from Misato...just what was he in for tomorrow?
They agreed to meet in front of Rei's apartment building, the only stop in mind was the ice cream parlor but they planned to spend most of the afternoon together so there was plenty of time for other things. Shinji stood waiting for his first date, his heart was beating faster than normal, and he couldn't stand still. People passing by on the street gave him odd glances, Shinji wasn't sure because he was pacing back and forth or they knew he was a pilot. At 2 pm the door to the building opened, Shinji turned and gasped. Rei stood there in a blue sun dress similar to Asuka's favorite yellow one. Shinji's reaction to her appearance pleased Rei. She had bought the dress several days before the woman at the store had suggested a darker color to show off her pale complexion.
"You look wonderful Rei," Shinji said quietly, not used to seeing her in anything outside of School uniform or plugsuit.
"Thank you" replied Rei "Shall we go?"
They started on their way as a pair of eyes watched them from an ally across the street. Dressed in a plain t-shirt, jacket, blue jeans, and a hat to cover her red hair, Asuka moved from her hiding place to follow her fellow pilots.
What Hikari had said was still fresh in her mind. She wanted to know exactly what was special about the Idiot and Pervert that other girls were so interested in. She decided to follow Shinji and Rei and see for herself what was so great.
Asuka hid outside when they stopped at the ice cream parlor.
The owner of the place is a jovial, older man although not as old as NERV's Sub-Commander
"And what can I get for the lovely young lady today?" he asked a bright smile on his face
"I do not know" Rei replied quietly
"We've got every flavor you would want"
"She's never had ice cream before," Shinji said stepping up
"What?" the man asked eyes going wide. "Such a tragedy to deprive one so young of a sweet treat. Well young lady I suggest you start with vanilla, a simple flavor but always a favorite "
"I shall have that" answered Rei "Thank you"
"I'll have vanilla too" requested Shinji, paying for the two cones
"Idiot, just vanilla? How plain and boring. Wait Wondergirl's never had ice cream so it's simple and ...OK Shinji maybe you aren't as big an idiot as I thought" she whispered to herself, overanalyzing the situation in her attempts to figure Shinji out. Of course, he was planning to do something perverted with Rei. Hanging around the other Stooges all the time what else could he have planned?
"What are we doing?" a voice whispered in Asuka's ear
"Shh, following those two," replied Asuka, automatically
"Why are we doing this?
"Idiot, I'm watching to make sure Shinji doesn't do anything perverted with Wondergirl"
"I thought I was the Pervert and Shinji was the Idiot" the voice replied
Asuka turned swinging her fist. A strong hand caught her arm, and Draven stood in front of her.
"Hi," he said brightly
"What are you doing here?" demanded Asuka, embarrassed she had been found out
" I was just out enjoying the day when I saw you hiding here watching someone. It was either Misato and Kaji or Rei and Shinji, and since I know Kaji's not a big fan of ice cream it had to be Shinji and Rei"
"How did you know it was me?" asked Asuka, she had thought her disguise was good.
"Your ice giant gave you away" replied Draven smiling
Asuka swung again Draven stepped back to avoid the attack. "Oh come on, Asuka I was joking"
"Still a stupid pervert" replied Asuka settling for a punch to his shoulder
Asuka turned back, Shinji and Rei were nowhere to be seen "Damn it, I lost them!"
Draven looked up, Good he thought Asuka was not as stealthy as she thought herself to be. Shinji had noticed her following them soon after they left Rei's place and texted Draven for help
"Well since neither of us is doing anything, let's go have some fun" suggested Draven
"Hmprh," said Asuka "Are you asking me on a date? I don't date perverts"
"Not even ones that pull you from a live volcano?" asked Draven holding up his hands defensively "Look, no date, just two friends hanging out, OK?"
Asuka studied him for a moment, Her hopes of catching up to Rei and Shinji were gone but maybe she could use Draven to get the answer to her question
"Alright," she said finally "And I have a great idea of what we can do first"
"I think we lost her," said Shinji looking over his shoulder "I can't believe she'd follow us"
Rei didn't answer. Why was the Second Child following them? Was she trying to take Shinji out of spite or maybe curiosity? Until Rei was sure of her own feelings, she wouldn't let the German girl have either boy. The couple walked, eating their cones. The treat was like nothing Rei had tasted before, cool and sweet an added treat it seemed the inside of her cone was coated with chocolate. She usually ate bland and basic food, since it was little more than fuel for her life and her purpose. Thoughts beyond her purpose were now in her head, thanks partially to the young man walking next to her.
"Where should we go now?" asked Shinji. He was eager to keep Rei interested, after all, they had planned this afternoon for weeks.
Rei looked around a moment, then pointed "There"
Shinji turned to see a park. Toji hand mentioned the local park as a popular place for guys to bring their dates. It seemed strange for the park to be a popular place but if Rei wanted to go, he wasn't going to argue.
Draven was breathing heavily, his legs were sore
"I thought you Americans had more stamina than that," said Asuka smugly.
"Yeah well depends on what we're doing" answered Draven as he stepped off the dance machine.
Asuka had dragged him to a local arcade insisting they play the newest dance arcade game. He had performed well at first, their competition had drawn a crowd. As the music got faster Draven had begun to have trouble keeping up, and on the last song he had lost it altogether.
"Seems you need more practice" smiled Asuka "I'm sure Kaji's a killer on the dance floor
"I always thought you had killer legs" Draven replied "And for your information, Kaji doesn't dance, you can ask Misato about that one"
That remark earned him a smack on the back of the head.
"What?" he asked rubbing the sore spot "It was a compliment"
Asuka didn't answer. Draven wondered if she had hit him for the remark about her legs or that he knew things about Kaji she didn't.
"So now what?" he asked, trying to steady himself.
"That" Asuka pointed to a line of crane machines
Draven smiled "Ah now those are a specialty of mine"
Rei and Shinji had found a bench by the small man-made lake in the park. Birds swam along the surface. Shinji wasn't sure if they were ducks, geese, or something new that had appeared since Second Impact.
"Did you like the ice cream?" Shinji asked
"Yes," replied Rei "Thank you"
"I'm just glad you agreed to come"
"Why?" asked Rei
"huh?" Shinji said not understanding the question
"Why did my agreeing to come here make you so happy?" asked Rei "I could see it when I first said yes and now you seem happier than I usually see you."
"it's because.." Shinji paused, "I like being near you. After Operation Yashima, I've wanted to spend more time with you. I wanted us to have fun together because any day we could die in battle. I..."
Shinji could think of no more to say,
In the end, he didn't need to, Rei moved closer to him, rested her head on his shoulder, and held his hand. He was warm, and being this close felt good. Rei was starting to make sense of things but right now all she wanted was to sit with Shinji as long as possible.
"OK no need to show off just cause you won that thing," said Asuka. Looking at the chibi plush wolf Draven had pulled from the machine.
"I do have some skills," said Draven
"well let's see how well you do with this last one" retorted Asuka leading him into the booth.
Asuka had decided the last event of the day was karaoke. The place she had chosen was well known for its large selection of music, making Draven pay of course. The beauty of digital media was you could store millions of songs without the need for easily damaged disks. Each room had a computer hooked up to the place's central hard drive. Once in a booth all you had to do was search for a song and its information would be displayed, including lyrics, original performer, and little trivia that may be on file.
Asuka went first. She chose a song called "Sorairo Days"
Draven had to admit the girl could sing. Whenever this damn war ended Asuka would have no trouble finding a new career. Although in his mind going from "World Defender" to "Pop Idol" was a bit of a step down.
When Asuka finished she sat down next to Draven. The young man walked to the song selector and began to flip through the selections, occasionally trying the search instead. Finally, he found the song he wanted and selected it. Asuka called up the song's lyrics on the other screen. To her surprise it wasn't an American classic rock song nor was it one of the Japanese artists she knew he listened to like Masaaki Endoh. Music he often said, "got the blood pumping".
His choice was a folk song called "Darkest Hour" which was old even before Second Impact. Asuka listened she had to admit he was a capable singer, not as good as she was but he had potential. Halfway through the song she smirked, the idiot had screwed up the lyrics, singing completely the wrong thing.
It was getting dark as Shinji walked Rei home. He looked at the building with disgust. He hoped Draven would be able to get her into a new place soon.
"I enjoyed today," Rei said arriving at her door. "I would like to do this again"
"Yeah me too," said Shinji standing a bit awkward not sure what else
Before entering her apartment Rei moved forward and embraced Shinji
Shinji was surprised but didn't resist, he returned the hug. When they separated Rei opened the door to her apartment "I hope we can do more next time" she said before going inside
When the door had shut Shinji turned. He felt full of energy. Rei had enjoyed herself, she had wanted to do it again. He would plan a better date next time. Joy like this was rare for him, so he was savoring all of it. The walk back home went quickly
He arrived a few moments before Asuka, Misato was working late.
Draven walked Asuka to the door.
"I hope you're not expecting anything," said Asuka
"Of course not" answered Draven "We were just having fun today. Well did you have fun?"
"I suppose," said Asuka trying to sound bored "You did mess up at both dancing and singing"
"Did I know? The dancing sure but I thought my singing was good"
"You sang the wrong lyric," said Asuka smugly
Draven thought a moment "Oh you mean the one that goes.." he cleared his thought and sang softly" With her white silk scarf and red fiery hair, she knows there is no way I can deny her"
"Exactly," said Asuka "The lyric is 'black Spanish hair'"
The American smiled, He leaned forward and whispered into her ear "I know"
Without another word, he waved, then turned and left.
Asuka went inside confused. Has he purposely sung the wrong lyric? Why?
She saw Shinji working on dinner. Having time to kill Asuka went to her room to change.
She took her jacket off, the plush wolf fell from the pocket. Draven had insisted she keep it.
He wasn't as boring as she had thought but what made him and Shinji so special to those other girls? OK, he had some skill with crane machines, but his dancing was sub-par and why the hell did he sing the wrong line on purpose? She took off the cap letting her hair down around her shoulders. Asuka glanced at the mirror before going to see what was for dinner and froze.
Looking at her reflection she ran a hand through her hair "Red fiery hair" she whispered.
Asuka's face turned red as her hair "YOU PERVERT!" she shouted.
End Chapter 7