Shinji stirred in bed, he didn't want to get up yet. It was Asuka's turn to make breakfast today so he could sleep in. Her cooking wasn't on par with the boys but she was improving. The bed was very comfortable, and Shinji enjoyed the peaceful morning. Something pressed against his back. Had one of his pillows gotten mixed up in the sheets last night? Did he toss and turn that much?
"Good morning Shin Ji." a voice whispered in his ear.
In his sleepy haze, Shinji thought he was dreaming. He felt breath on the back of his neck and a pair of arms around his chest. At that moment, he realized what was pressing into his back. With a shout of surprise, Shinji scrambled from the bed and landed roughly on the floor.
He looked back at his bed, laying there wearing little more than a thin, barely buttoned nightshirt was Erica. She smiled at the shocked boy.
"Come back to bed Shin Ji," she said sweetly patting the space he had just vacated. "I'll keep you nice and warm."
Shinji pinched his arm hard, hoping that this was just a dream that he could wake up from.
Where the hell did she come from? Shinji was certain he had gone to bed alone.
"Shinji, are you OK?" Misato called from outside his door. She must have heard his shout or the thud of his landing.
What was he supposed to say?
Before Shinji could open his mouth to answer the door slid open.
"Shinji, I'm coming in," called Misato
"What in the world?" asked Misato looking over the scene. Shinji was on the floor. In his bed was a barely clothed and well-endowed blonde girl she didn't recognize.
"Good morning Capt - er I mean Major Katsuragi," said Erica remembering that Misato had been promoted after the last Angel attack.
"You're Dr Meiru's daughter aren't you?" asked Misato
"Yup," said the blonde girl. "I'm Erica, Pilot of Volspina."
"Well Shinji I certainly hope you bought her dinner beforehand." said Misato "Although Rei will be disappointed she wasn't your first"
"Misato!" exclaimed Shinji,
"Oh nothing happened Major, at least not yet." answered Erica "Right Shin Ji?"
"Good to hear," said Misato brightly " I'm the only one who gets to seduce Shinji in this apartment"
With that, Misato took hold of Erica's arm and led the blonde girl out of the room, pausing only long enough for her to scoop up a bag on the floor that must contain some normal clothes.
"Get dressed Shinji," said Misato
Shinji watched as Misato led the girl out of his room, before closing the door he saw Asuka standing in the hall scowling at him.
He turned back into his room and started removing his nightclothes
"She's the only one that gets to seduce me?" Shinji muttered to himself "Maybe I should have taken Draven up on his offer"
Shinji found his friends less than sympathetic when he told them of this morning's experience while they walked to school
"Man, are you lucky" said Kensuke "I wish I could wake up with a hot girl in my bed."
"Ladies Man Shinji!" cheered Toji as he gave Shinji a hearty slap on the back.
Further cheers were silenced by an icy stare from Rei
"I tried to warm you" smirked Draven "Myna pulled similar stunts on me. You need to be careful with them, I check my apartment thoroughly every night."
"I didn't think it would be like this," said Shinji shaking his head
"Those two aren't bad just...enthusiastic," said Draven "And supremely confident in their appearance."
"I'll say!" said Kensuke enthusiastically "Their pictures completely outsell Asuka's."
The military otaku handed Draven a stack of sample pictures from his bag
Each showed Erica or Myna in a candid shot, some from the front, some from the back, and in various outfits ranging from street clothes to school-issued swimsuits.
"Normal single shots are 500 yen, a photo with both is 800 and the extra special one is 1500," said Kensuke
"Extra Special" repeated Draven He flipped through the photos till he came to one of both girls standing front to front, looking at the camera suggestively.
"They posed for this one, didn't they?" asked Draven "Do they know you're selling them?"
"Well they did ask for a 40% cut" admitted Kensuke sheepishly
"Yeah that sounds like Myna," said Draven
"Speaking of girls where is Hikari?" asked Shinji
"She wanted to walk to school with the Devil," said Toji
Draven let out an exasperated sigh "You know Asuka's not that bad."
"Right and I'm the next EVA pilot" counted Toji
"Keep it up and I'll get Hikari to pull back on the choke chain!" threatened Draven
"You saying I'm some kind of dog?" asked Toji angrily balling up his fists.
"You bark enough" Draven shot back, cracking his knuckles.
Rei watched the boys argue. What was it about the German that had Draven so captivated? It wasn't just looks. If all he cared about were appearance then he would not be resisting Myna. The blonde was far more attractive than Pilot Soryu and kinder too. For her part, Pilot Soryu seemed oblivious to the attraction She was still obsessed with Agent Kaji. Rei could feel her anger rising again. If the German insisted on being so blind perhaps it was up to Rei to force her eyes open.
Rei turned her thoughts to Shinji. The brown-haired boy and object of her affections walked next to her, as their friends argued. It angered her that Erica had snuck into Shinji's room, but the blonde girl's trick wasn't enough to win Shinji's heart.
She slipped her hand into Shinji's.
"Rei?" Shinji asked quietly looking down at their hands.
Rei gave a small smile and squeezed his hand. It pleased her greatly that Shinji didn't let go but held on firmly. This boy was not like others she had observed. He was not won simply by a large chest or suggestive actions. Rei was confident that Shinji would be hers. The only woman who could be a threat to her was Major Katsuragi. This fear was minimal as the Major was twice Shinji's age, had the age gap been smaller Rei would be worried.
NERV
Misato's Office
"I hear my daughter caused you some trouble this morning," said Dr. Meiru.
The two women were looking over the final details for a combat simulator. Commander Ikari ordered mock combat with all battle machines, and wanting no damage done to the actual EVAs in case of an Angel attack, a VR simulation would be used.
"She slipped into my apartment and Shinji's bedroom last night," said Misato taking a sip of coffee.
The blonde woman shook her head "I'm sorry Misato, that was my fault. I've always told them if they find a guy they like, do whatever it takes.
She let out a sigh "I've been spending too much time out at night and not enough home with my girls."
"Is that why Hyuga's been looking so tired lately?" asked Misato with her infamous smile
Dr. Meiru returned the smile "A woman does not speak openly about her nightly adventures," She gave a disgusted glance at the walls. "At least not in a place where the walls have ears"
"Well then we need to find a place without ears." said Misato "I'm kind of curious."
"You could have found out for yourself." said Dr. Meiru "He's muttered your name in his sleep."
"That...wouldn't be proper. I'm his commander officer you know," answered Misato
"Are you telling me you don't find anyone under your command desirable?" asked the blonde scientist
An image flashed into Misato's mind of this morning, except instead of Erica it was her who Shinji woke up next to. She imagines herself slipping her hand under his shirt and down into his..."
She shook her head to get rid of the image. What was wrong with her?
"Something wrong?" asked Dr Meiru
"No, my mind just went somewhere it shouldn't have" said Misato.
"Oh?" asked Dr Meiru "So there is someone."
"No," said Misato "it's just...well..complicated.."
"Maybe it's only complicated because you make it complicated," said Dr Meiru.
Misato considered that for a moment. She was having inappropriate thoughts about her fourteen-year-old ward and the son of her boss. That was complicated regardless of how you looked at it.
"Let's finish this," said Misato "We can save the personal stuff for after work, I know a bar nearby"
"Sounds good," agreed Dr. Meiru
The women turned back to their computer work.
"Amanda"' Misato said after a few moments "Do you know how to make a plugsuit?"
TOKYO-3
"We couldn't wait for the boys?" asked Hikari. Asuka had arrived at her house early that morning and dragged her to school before the others. Hikari liked the larger group and Toji had finally begun to warm to her, maybe he finally realized her feelings.
"So we could watch those blonde whores hang all over them?" asked Asuka "I saw enough of that this morning."
Asuka had filled Hikari in on the morning's situation. Hikari gasped when Asuka described the scene between Shinji and Erica. Asuka had taken the liberty of suggesting what exactly the two had been doing before Misato interrupted them.
"If Misato hadn't stopped them who knows how far they would have gone," said Asuka
"I thought Shinji liked Rei," said Hikari
"That pervert is probably trying to start a harem. He's already got two girls, and eying Misato. Who knows how long before he tries to add me to his sick little fantasy?"
"Shinji's not like that," said Hikari quietly. She knew the boy well enough. If Shinji wanted a harem of eager young ladies it would have been simple to find willing members.
The classroom door opened and closed quickly. The girl who had just entered said to her friends "They're coming!"
Most of the female heads in the class turned to the door, which opened a few minutes later as the four boys and Rei walked in. Asuka could see the looks on them as they watched Shinji and Draven while generally ignoring Toji and Kesuke. Some were glaring venomously at the quiet blue-haired girl when they noticed she was holding Shinji's hand.
"See" whispered Asuka "He's got her eating out his hand"
"I think it's nice," said Hikari her eyes jumped to Toji. She wondered when she and Toji would be walking like that.
Asuka growled a barely audible response. Part of the problem was she hadn't slept well and it was all those idiots' fault. Until recently her dreams, those she enjoyed, usually featured her in a beautiful flowing dress standing atop a green hill. A horde of dark-shaped monsters were charging towards her. A knight on a white horse in silver armor would ride in and slay all the monsters. When the knight approached he would lift his visor to reveal Kaji. Then it was off to his castle where they would make love. However, after the Chainsaw Man incident things changed. She was still in a dress watching a dark horde descend upon her. A knight appeared to kill the horde however he no longer wore silver armor or rode a horse. The knight was now on foot and dressed in blue armor. After killing the monsters he knelt before Asuka, long enough to kiss her hand. Standing up the knight then raised his visor. She would wake up just before seeing his face.
Asuka was not stupid, she had taken a psychology course in college.
Anyone with even basic psychological knowledge would know that the knight was inspired by the boys who both wore blue when piloting. But whose face was under the visor? Why couldn't she get Kaji back in her dreams?
"They're here," a male student said excitedly. Now every male head turned the door. When it opened, Erica and Myna strolled in.
"They probably wear a smaller shirt on purpose" Asuka heard one girl nearby mutter.
The girls walked directly over to Shinji and Draven. Myna went so far as to sit on Draven's desk, her shapely and toned legs hanging over the side. This gave the males of the class an almost view of her underwear although some debated if she even wore any. Many of the guys in the class stared, others looked hatefully at the American who seemed more annoyed than happy with the blonde
This is going to be a bad day. Asuka thought
NERV
In a room hidden deep in NERV, Commander Ikari stared into a large tube. The nameless girl floated silently inside.
"Status?" he asked
Dr Akagi looked over the data "Her progress is on schedule, if the Angels follow the predicted scenario she'll be ready by the time the last one appears."
"What's the status of the Dummy Plugs?" asked Ikari
"We've had to make some changes" responded Ritsuko. "Rei's mind is becoming full of unnecessary data we've had to stop using her."
Gendo Ikari growled. Those damn boys had damaged fourteen years' worth of work. If it was possible he would have had them sent away from the city or maybe simply assassinated. As it was he still needed EVA-01. The Danner was his wild card, it had proven itself powerful enough to battle the Angels. The old men of Seele were still not sure what to make of it. Their uncertainly played in Ikari's hands.
"I've thought of recalibrating them using cumulative data from all the pilots." said Ritsuko "It would make up the difference after filtering out un-needed data from Rei"
"You may proceed," said Commander Ikari, not taking his eyes away from the nameless girl
Just be patient, we getting closer Yui he thought
TOKYO-3 HIGH
The school had concluded for the day. Kensuke caught up with Myna, to give her the sisters' share of photo profits.
"Here's your cut of the week's sales," Kensuke said handing a fold of money to Myna.
"Thanks, Kensuke," she said happily " I need to get to NERV, they want to run all of us through some tests"
The blonde started to leave when Kensuke stopped her
"You know..." he started "Draven...I think he likes someone."
"Oh, I know" Myna replied lightly. "He's into that psycho red-head"
"You know?" asked Kensuke
"I'm not blind Kensuke," said Myna amused by his surprise "I realized it before I even got here."
"B-But how?" asked Kensuke shocked
"First rule of piloting a robot, 'Don't go into a dangerous situation with a machine you're unfamiliar with'" explained Myna "What does the idiot do? Jump into a volcano with an untested robot he's never been in before" She shook her head sadly "That dumb ass was either thinking with his heart...or lower down not his brain."
"Then why do you..."Kensuke began
"At this point," said Myna "It's more about Soryu. She gets too angry to be as uninterested as she claims. I think in her heart the feeling is mutual if she could just get past that damn Kaji obsession"
"What will you do when she does?" asked Kensuke
"There is a guy I'm considering, once everything is settled with Draven I'll move on" explained Myna
"Who?"
Myna smiled mischievously "Sorry Kensuke, a girl's got to keep some secrets. After all, I want it to be a surprise for him."
"Have you ever thought of a career as a photographer?"Myna added after a moment "You take some great photos""
The military geek blushed "All I want to be is a pilot."
"Well," said Myna "Who knows, you may get your chance someday."
Kensuke watched Myna leave the schoolyard Why couldn't he ever have a chance with a girl? Maybe he wasn't the hottest guy in class or the most athletic but that didn't mean he was a waste
NERV
"I think Ritsuko schedules these tests just to torture us" muttered Draven as he removed his street clothes.
"She says she needs the data to improve the Evangelions" responded Shinji
"Then why the hell am I here?" asked Draven
"So she can torture you" answered Shinji :
"Ha ha," Draven said sarcastically "Thought I was the smartass of this team."
"Can't let you have all the fun" countered Shinji with a grin.
Risuko's voice came off the intercom "Change of plans everyone. You're not going to need the plug suits for these tests.."
"Finally some good news," said Draven
"So just strip down" finished Ritsuko.
"Wait what?" asked Shinji
"Strip down, and remove all clothes, we need to test the reaction without interference from your pursuits" answered Ritsuko. "Don't worry the security cameras are off, we respect your privacy."
"They took that well," said Misato, as choice swear words both in English and German came over the intercom.
The boy's voice could be heard on the speaker
"It's not that bad," said Shinji "At least the cameras are off"
"You sound disappointed," said Draven "Were you hoping Misato was watching?"
Shinji had a response ready "You just want to show off for Maya."
"Boys' muttered Ritsuko shaking her head, the boys could be heard laughing. She noticed the looks on the faces of both Misato and Maya "I certainly hope no one in here actually wants the cameras on"
"Of course not Dr Akagi!" said Maya at once her face going red.
"What the hell are you suggesting?" demanded Misato. If I want to see Shinji bare ass I can do that at home was the thought that raced through her head. Damn it no, Bad Misato!
The pilots stood at the end of a long hallway, each in their own stall. It reminded Draven of the chutes the horses come out of before a race. He wasn't sure who was where, but was reasonably certain Shinji had come out the door to his left.
"Here we are, stark naked just like you wanted, "said Asuka irritated as she arrived at the corridor to the entry plugs.
"You will walk down this hallway and board the entry plugs, as I said before the cameras are off to ensure your privacy"
"Aw where's the fun in that?" a female voice asked.
Draven, swore under his breath "Dr Akagi" he said aloud "Why are Erica and Myna part of this test?"
"Same reason you are" replied Ritsuko
The chute doors opened "Proceed to the entry plug." ordered Ritsuko
Slowly each pilot started walking forward
"If you dare turn this way Draven and I'll murder you" called Asuka's voice from Draven's right.
"Right," Draven said meekly. It had just been the four of them he would have made a joke. Myna being there, complicated things.
"Now Soryu," asked Myna "Why would he want to look at your skinny behind when he's got me."
Draven said nothing, determined to keep his eyes focused straight ahead.
"My figure is perfect!" Asuka snapped
"Perfect for a ten year old maybe," said Myna.
"Shin Ji" called Erica "If you want to take a look, be my guest. Of course, it's nothing you haven't seen before." She was hoping to get Shinji to turn around to face her. As his back was to her and while she liked what she saw, there was so much more she wanted to see.
Rei too wanted to see Shinji's front, but not here. That sight was for a more private setting, preferably in her apartment, before she finally got him into her arms.
"He's seen what?" asked Misato not sure if she felt amused or alarmed."When the hell did that happen?"
"Those kids," said Ritsuko as she flipped on the intercom "Stop with the nonsense and get aboard the plugs!"
"Oh well," said Myna sweetly "But it's not like Draven and I haven't seen each other like this before. Those cold nights in the U.S."
"WHAT?" exclaimed Asuka. She stormed over the Draven who still staring straight ahead. She grabbed a handful of his hair and spun him to face her.
"Just what in the hell have you two been doing.?" she asked.
"Asuka" Draven said weakly finding it hard to keep his eyes focused on hers.
"Don't 'Asuka' me." the German girl yelled "What exactly have you been doing with this blonde bimbo?"
"She's making up things just to annoy you," said Draven "I've never done anything with her." It was all he could do to focus on those blue eyes. Whenever Asuka got worked up, she got a fiery look in her eyes. That look was the most beautiful thing Draven had ever seen
Ristuko's voice came over the intercom a second time
"You two! Have your lover's quarrel later, now get in the plugs!"
Ristuko's shout finally brought Asuka out of her rage. She realized exactly what was going on, that she and Draven were standing in front of each other, naked. On reflex her eyes looked him over, her hand was in a position to deliver a punishing slap.,
"I don't see why you're so upset Soryu, after you said you have no interest in him," said Myna, then looking over Asuka's shoulder as Draven "Mmhmm, just as I remember"
Asuka turned to confront the other girl, Draven made full use of the distraction and ran for the test plugs. Shinji took his friend's cue and sped up, not wanting to be the only guy left among the warring girls.
"Finally" muttered Ritsuko "Those kids will be the death of me"
In her frustration with the pilot's antics, Ritsuko failed to notice the small patch of mold that had begun to grow on the wall of the vat that held the EVA test bodies.
ELSEWHERE
Somewhere far from NERV and Tokyo-3 a young man sat waiting. The sounds of classical music fill the small room. The young man leaned back with his eyes closed as if absorbing the music through his very skin, a faint smile on his face.
A buzzing in his ear drew his attention. Had any human been able to hear and understand what was said they would have heard a voice say
"Brother, I have infiltrated NERV. Should I begin my attack now?"
The young man was silent a moment more before answering
"No Brother Iruel. You must act as a spy and inform us of the events within NERV."
"But," Iruel said
"It is alright Brother," the young man said gently "If we follow the scenario everything will work out perfectly. Now hide yourself and simply observe the ones we discussed"
"Very well, Brother Tabris" replied Iruel
Once there was silence the young man sat back to let the music sweep over him again.
END