Shinji had never been so relieved to find himself home alone. Misato was still at work, and Asuka was probably hanging out with Hikari; he had time.
How had this happened? he wondered
Shinji set a plastic bag down on the kitchen table, and papers of various colors spilled out.
The incident with the Chainsaw Man was a few weeks ago, Shinji had thought it would have been classified top-secret and covered up by NERV, but somehow the entire school had found out about it. To make matters worse, no one had all the facts about what happened. Some say he and Draven had a brutal fight with the psychopath, ending in the man's decapitation Others say Asuka nearly lost her arm it was only saved thanks to a miracle of surgery. The only part they had right, was Asuka had been attacked and the boys had fought her attacker. Shinji never considered himself popular, so he was surprised to learn that he was now one of the most sought-after guys in the school.
The bag on the table contained an assortment of anonymous love notes left in his locker. Draven had chuckled lightly at the sight of it until a slightly smaller pile, spills out of his locker. Which led to his comment
"I thought this kind of thing only happened on TV."
"PenPen, You here?" called Shinji
A squawk from the fridge answered him
Shinji took the bag of letters to his room. He needed to hide or destroy them before Misato saw them. The boys had read through a few of them and it was clear it was not just girls in their class but all over the school. He even suspected one of Draven's was from a new assistant teacher. The notes ranged from sweet confessions of love to very explicit descriptions of what could happen if Shinji agreed to meet the writer at a certain address. Shinji didn't know Tokyo-3 even had love hotels.
He did not need Misato to find them.
A shadow on the bathroom door made Shinji pause. He threw the bag of letters on his bed before turning.
Misato?" asked Shinji. "Asuka?" he could see a shadow figure moving on the other side of the door.
For a moment Shinji debated returning to his room for his beam katana.
"Hello?" he said louder.
The door slid open, and Shinji's jaw dropped open
Erica wearing only a small towel stepped out.
"Hi Shin Ji," she said sweetly walking toward him
"Erica?" exclaimed Shinji "What are you doing here?"
"Why Shinji, aren't you happy to see me?" asked the blonde smiling.
Shinji took a step backward. He lost his balance and fell onto his rear.
"Aw, be careful Shin Ji," said Erica "I don't want you to damage anything...important"
Shinji didn't know why she was breaking up his name like that. Maybe she thought it was seductive.
The girl bounced closer to him, her towel slipped off and fell to the ground.
"Oh no" she pouted 'My towel"
Shinji could only stare as he saw 12that she wasn't wearing anything under it. He had never seen a naked girl in person before not even Misato
Her body was perfect, like someone out of those videos Kensuke had except there were no mosaics. Shinji had to admit Erica was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.
"So?" she asked seeing his stares "Do you like what you see?"
He couldn't answer, his brain would not work right.
Erica knelt down in front of him and leaned in close "So, what does seeing me like this make you want to do?" she asked. "I'll let you do anything you want"
He wasn't sure how long the silence afterward lasted.
"Shinji" Asuka called "Hey Dork, you home yet?"
Shinji hadn't heard the door open. Things were about to go from bad to worse. Asuka entered the hallway to see Shinji on the ground with a naked Erica practically on top of him.
"What the hell are you two doing?" asked Asuka, her voice quiet which usually preceded a burst of rage.
Shinji remained speechless, the only thing that could make this worse was if Misato came home.
Oh God, please don't let her show up . He thought
Asuka reached down, grabbed Shinji's collar, and pulled him away from the nude girl
"Hey," said Erica
"Shut up slut girl" snapped Asuka "I'm not about you and this pervert do whatever the hell you want while no one's home!"
"Oh? Did you want to watch?" asked Erica seriously
"What" exclaimed Asuka "Why the hell would I want to see what a slut and a pervert do together?"
Shinji felt it best to keep his mouth shut otherwise he'd be the focus of Asuka's rage
"I am not a slut" said Erica "A slut is a woman or man who is sexually promiscuous. I'm still a virgin."
"Not if you keep pawing all over this idiot," said Asuka
"Well that is the idea," commented Erica.
Asuka's eye twitched "I don't understand what's so special about this idiot."
"I'm not surprised" replied Eric coldly. She stood up to face Asuka eye to eye, crossing her arms across her ample chest. The flirtatious manner she used with Shinji is gone, replaced by a sterner tone.
"You're so superficial you can't recognize good guys even if they live under the same roof as you," she
"What do you know?" asked Asuka angrily "Kaji's the only real man in my life"
Erica let out a humorless laugh "And you call me a slut. Kaji's been with more women than even he remembers"
Asuka's hand came up fast in her trademark slap. Erica however was having no part of it, she caught the German girl's hand long before it reached her face.
"What do you really know about him Soryu? What has he done that is so bloody special except smoke and forget how a razor works? " asked Erica irritated with the other girl's obsession.
"He escorted me to Tokyo-3," said Asuka proudly
"Right, with an entire naval fleet behind him but when the enemy actually shows he leaves you high and dry" countered Erica
Erica smirked "We'll be going home eventually but we have goals to achieve before that. My sister will have her hands full for the next couple of hours, or at least I hope she will."
"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Asuka
"Think about it Soryu, if I'm here where do you think my sister is?" asked Erica still smirking
Asuka thought for a moment, if this bimbo was pawing over the Idiot then the other one had to be...
"The hell with both of you damn sluts" Asuka said angrily as she stormed out of the apartment
"Now that she's gone," Erica said "We can..." she looked around Shinji had vanished
The flirtatious tone returned to her voice
"I know you're here Shin Ji" she called "Come out, come out wherever you are."
Asuka stormed from the building
That damn bitch! Who the hell did she think she was insulting Kaji like that? Where was the other one? That was obvious and she wasn't about to let those two bimbos have their way. It was a pride thing, it wasn't like she cared about the Idiot or the Pervert
Asuka soon found the correct building and took the elevator to the top floor.
She pounded on the door "OPEN THE DOOR, YOU STUPID PERVERT!"
"I don't mind if you want to break my door down, but could you at least wait till I'm inside?" a voice asked
Asuka turned to see Draven standing in the hallway, Rei next to him. Both were holding bags.
"Where have you been?" she demanded "Where's that blonde bimbo?"
"Shopping" Draven replied simply "and I haven't seen Myna since school let out. What's wrong?"
"Idiot Shinji and his bimbo" said Asuka
Rei spoke up "You mean Erica is at your apartment?"
"She was practically on top of him when I walked in," said Asuka "That whore couldn't wait to get her clothes off."
There was the sound of a bag hitting the floor.
Draven moaned "Should have known."
"What?" asked Asuka
"This is just like what I went through with Myna back home," explained Draven
"Where did Wondergirl go?" asked Asuka looking around. Rei was nowhere to be seen, her bag was lying on the floor next to Draven
"She ran off as so as you mentioned Erica was nude.' answered Draven reaching down to pick up the fallen item "You may want to stay here for a bit"
"Hmprh" replied Asuka "So I can watch you and that airhead?"
"You're not watching anyone," said Draven digging into his pocket for the keys "Thanks for the warning."
Draven opened his door "Myna! I know you're here!" he said loudly "Come out now.
"No need to shout Darling I'm over here" Myna called back
Asuka looked at the living room area and saw the blonde sitting on the couch her perfect legs crossed.
"No hiding this time?" asked Draven casually
Myna ran a hand through her hair and smiled
"Ms Loud Mouth over there ruined my surprise" explained Myna sweetly
Asuka was about to shout back but Draven interrupted
"Don't blame her, ever since you got here I check this place very carefully whenever I come in and before going to bed." said Draven sternly "You pulled too many stunts back in the States"
"Aww do I make you nervous?" asked Myna giggling "Like some little kid looking for monsters under the bed?"
Draven let out a deep sigh "You weren't hiding under the bed, you were hiding IN the bed! I never did find one of my pillows. And I don't even want to think about that last time"
"I offered to replace the pillow" replied Myna with a wink and a gesture to her assets
"Myna..." Draven said wearily "Must you?"
"Yup," said Myna cheerfully "Until you finally give in and become mine or..." she glanced at Asuka "Someone else claims you"
Draven shook his head "I hope Shinji's alright."
Rei arrived at Shinji's apartment in record time. With Rei spending more time with the boys Misato had arranged for her ID card to also unlock their apartment. Mostly because Misato wanted to see Rei open up more but there was a little part of Misato that wanted to see if Rei was going to sneak into Shinji's bed one night. Rei swiped her card and pulled open the door. She heard a thud and the blonde girl saying something she couldn't make out.
Shinji had been able to sneak back into his room. Myna was still looking all over the apartment for him. He could hear her calling him, still breaking his name up as Shin Ji.
Suddenly there was silence. The girl's voice had stopped. Shinji leaned against his door, pressing his ear to it trying to hear what had happened. The bedroom door slid open and Shinji fell onto his back in the hallway. He opened his eyes to see Myna standing directly over him The boy's face turned a very deep red when he realized he had an excellent view of her...everything.
"So?" she asked smiling "Do you like it?"
"STOP" a new voice called
Shinji knew the voice right away but he had never heard her shout before. Looking over she saw a very angry Rei standing in the hallway
"Oh no" he whispered
Erica turned to face her rival "I knew you'd show. As soon as the Soryu ran out of there. Pity Shinji and I haven't had a chance to do anything yet"
"And you won't" insisted Rei
"Oh?" asked Erica "Plan on stopping me?"
"Yes" challenged Rei
Erica looked over at the blue-haired girl
"You know there is something I've wondered about you," she said
"And that would be?" asked Rei
"Does the carpet match the drapes?" asked Erica
Rei looked oddly at the blonde "I fail to see what my living quarters have to do with his"
Erica laughed. "No I mean does the hair on your head match the hair elsewhere."
Shinji decided to take advantage of the distracted Erica and crawl to a new hiding spot
"Oh no you don't," said Erica grabbing Shinji by the collar and dragging him back
"I'll be with you in a bit Shin Ji"
"Stop calling him that!" demanded Rei "The only hair I have is on my head, it is removed from elsewhere to help synchronization with the EVA!"
An image sprang into Shinji's mind. No, this wasn't the time to think about that.
"Hmm." Erica commented, "Still, you think you can handle Shinji better than I can?"
"I would do anything he asks of me" replied Rei
"So we're the same there at least, if nothing else" commented Erica with a glance at Rei's chest
"Enough," said Rei, She began to unbutton her uniform
"R-Rei what are you doing?" squeaked Shinji from the floor
"I will show you everything Shinji," said Rei "Then this one and I will be on equal terms."
"I dunno how equal we are" commented Erica
I could use an Angel attack about now thought Shinji as Rei threw her shirt to the floor and began undoing her bra.
Then as if Heaven was granting his request a familiar siren began to wail in the distance.
"Angel," said Shinji
"Guess we'll have to settle this later," said Erica lightly walking to the bathroom for her clothes.
"Yes" Rei agreed, her eyes narrowed "We will"
NERV HQ
"You want us to what?" asked Asuka in disbelief
"The Angel will attempt to land directly on Tokyo-3" answered Misato "Therefore we must intercept it before it hits the ground"
"Basically, catch it with your hands" explained Ritsuko
Misato could tell the pilots were less than thrilled, she didn't want to bring up the next part but it was still her job
"Regulations say you should each make out a will. Have you done it?" asked Misato
"I don't need one, I'm not dying today" Asuka replied sternly
"It would be pointless," said Rei
"I agree," said Shinji
"We mess this up everyone's dead anyway so why bother?" asked Draven shrugging
"Alright," said Misato sternly. "Get ready to move out."
"Catch it with our hands? And I thought diving into a volcano was nuts" said Draven as he and Shinji changed for battle
"Misato knows what she's doing," Shinji said "We should trust her."
Shinji was worried, Misato had never mentioned a will before. Was it possible they had a greater chance of dying today? Shinji was certain the AT field would protect the EVA pilots. But what about those without it?
"She's about the only one I do trust in this nut house" replied Draven "Aside from you and the girls"
"Draven," Shinji said "Why do you do this? You're not an EVA pilot, you don't need to risk your life"
The American turned, "Ask me again when this is all over." he replied
The six battle machines were set, each at a specific location. Commander Ikari had decided to allow Core Gunner and Volspina to aid in this battle. Shinji was anxious, he had wished for an Angel attack but this was over the top. Why couldn't be another like the first one he fought? Those first few Angles were simple direct combat. Although Shinji sometimes wondered if there were this many Angels why did they not just all attack at once? For that matter why do they attack at all?
Misato's voice snapped him out of his thoughts "Get ready... BEGIN"
"MOVE OUT," Shinji said loudly
Shinji charged this EVA forward, his radar showed he was closest to the Angel's true drop zone.
"SPREADING AT FIELD!" he shouted as he looked up. The Angel was huge, the biggest thing he had ever seen. Shinji raised his arm to catch the falling behemoth. The sudden weight was almost unbearable, and the EVA's knees threatened to buckle.
"Hang on Shinji, backup has arrived" he heard over the comm system.
Danner moved to shoulder most of the weight. Shinji could feel the strain on his knees lessen
"Get clear," Draven said as the other machine arrived on site. Core Gunner and Volspina joined the Danner in holding up the Angel
"Rei, Asuka!" shouted Shinji
Rei's Prog knife cut into the enemy's A.T. Field, she peeled it back like an orange rind.
Asuka's knife plunged into the large eye in the Angel's center.
The effect was immediate, like a giant balloon being deflated the Angel's body began to fall around them
Shinji heard Draven mutter his favorite swear just before the Angel's body exploded.
"Well done," said Misato as the pilots stood in their civilian clothes.
She smiled broadly at the children. They had proved themselves heroes again. If they kept this up maybe humanity stood a chance of surviving this.
Misato turned to address a communication that had come in from the South Pole.
"'Commanders. I'm sorry, my plan caused EVA-01 to receive damage"
"No, destroying Angels is an EVA's purpose" replied Commander Fuyutsuki
"I have seen the preliminary report" came the voice of Commander Ikari "Is the pilot of Unit-01 there?
"Yes," said Shinji
"Good work Shinji," said Commander Ikari "I look forward to your finalized report Captain Katsuragi."
"Yes Sir" replied Misato as the communication feed cut out.
Later that Evening
The night was cool but still pleasant. Shinji glanced up at the night sky, the moon was full and bright. It seemed so peaceful, if he didn't know better he would say all was right with the world
Misato's promise of a steak dinner had not been forgotten and the teens had already planned their destination. Shinji's thoughts were on earlier that day, the situation with Erica, and his conversation with Draven
"Shinji if you want to check out my ass, you just had to say so." Misato said "I'll make sure you get a good look once we get home"
Shinji looked around Draven had a grin on his face, Asuka looked angry and Rei had her usual neutral expression. Shinji had been staring straight ahead, as Misato walked in front of him when she noticed
"I-it not like that!" stammered Shinji
"Aw, why not?" teased Misato "You can stare at me any day."
Misato and Draven laughed, as Asuka grumbled something in German
Shinji decided to ask his question "Asuka, why do you pilot EVA?"
Asuka flipped her hair behind her, "To show the world how great I am" she said simply.
"What a shock," Draven said
"So what's your reason Pervert?" asked Asuka irritated
"To meet girls of course" Draven replied he ducked to avoid the slap Asuka had aimed his way
"Kidding, just kidding," he said raising his hands defensively
He jumped away from the fiery German.
"Truth is," Draven said "It's really all I have. With Micheal gone, there was nothing for me in the States anymore"
"Besides" he added, "If I did run away they would never forgive me."
"A ramen stand?" exclaimed a stunned Misato
They had arrived at their restaurant of choice
"We know how poor you are Misato, this will be fine," said Asuka
"And since you can order without meat, Wondergirl will be joining us"
The stand owner was happy to have such a large group and prepared their food quickly.
He reminded Shinji of the owner of the ice cream shop he had taken Rei to on their only date.
They needed to go out again, but he had to first deal with Erica.
"So your turn," Draven said to Shinji "Why do you pilot?"
Shinji chewed his food slowly. He had been thinking about that for a while now.
"Because there are people here I want to protect."
Shinji thought of what his father had said "Good work Shinji"
One little bit of praise in fourteen years.
Too little, far too late old man Shinji thought bitterly I fight for my own reasons now .
He glanced at the people around him. Rei sat quietly eating her food.
Asuka and Draven were arguing about something. Misato was trying to referee and not laugh at the same time
And you can go to Hell