Asuka rolled her eyes, not wanting to believe what she was hearing. It was the middle of the day, and the group of pilots and their friends were finishing up eating lunch together on the roof of the school. Hikari's boyfriend was busy stuffing his face with food she had given him that morning. Shinji was eating something similarly home-cooked, but the redhead knew it certainly hadn't been provided by Misato. Asuka knew all too well where her former guardian's cooking skills lay. The dork, Kensuke, wasn't eating anything per se but had several energy drinks. As for Rei and herself, they were eating store-bought sandwiches.
It surprised Asuka to see Rei eating Western-style food, and when she asked the girl about it, the blue-haired twit finally stated that it was an efficient source of calories. Asuka was beginning to wonder if the girl was a robot. But the latest thing that had gotten under Asuka's skin wasn't the dull tediousness of dealing with the First and Third Children; it was that she was even at the school.
"All I'm saying is that it's a waste of time having me be here. If anything, I could be teaching classes."
"Like anyone'd want to learn from you." Kensuke shot back almost immediately, causing Toji to snicker. While the jock didn't share the geek's vehement dislike of the redhead, he still found the girl to be abrasive and more than a little annoying. Hikari had asked him how he felt about her, especially concerning how she was possibly involved with Shinji losing his leg, but their friend didn't seem to blame her, so Toji was willing to follow his example. Neither had thought to ask Rei for her opinion; they would have been shocked if they had bothered to do so.
"Please. People learn from me every day." She pointed a finger at the other pilots, "These two constantly learn from my example. Isn't that right?"
Shinji muttered something non-confrontational under his breath and resumed eating. There was an inverse relationship between the amounts they spoke; the more Asuka did, the less Shinji would. This, coupled with his already non-confrontational manner, was a source of irritation to the girl. It seemed that no matter what she said, she couldn't spark anything more than an apologetic sheepishness from the boy. The warrior spirit she sought was nowhere to be found.
Rei, however, paid careful attention to everything her fellow pilot said while at the same time carefully giving the impression she wasn't listening. Every so often, she would respond to some comment or another. Sometimes, she could send the redhead into an incoherent rage, but at other times, she only prompted more acerbic statements.
That wasn't why she was here today, eating lunch with Ikari for the first time in a few days. While he hadn't commented on it or her avoidance of him for the past week, his friends saw he was happier that she had joined them on the roof. She was here because she wanted to ask him if he wanted to go to another dinner. Unfortunately, she wanted to ask him alone, and she could not catch him by himself. If it wasn't one of the other boys hanging around him within earshot, it was the Second Child.
Thus, it could be put down to irritation at what Rei said next, for it was not a carefully considered comment, and it certainly wasn't one of the short, monosyllabic responses she was infamous for.
"Yes, Pilot Sohryu has provided numerous insights into the social dynamics between adult males and pubescent female teenagers. Indeed, as a textbook example of the manners that one would resort to last to achieve any manner of romantic entanglement, she certainly stands head and shoulders above all others in our age group."
Not for the first time, Asuka wanted to smack the other girl. However, she grinned a predatory smile; this time, the girl left herself wide open for a counterattack.
"Actually, I think that'd be you. You couldn't get 'romantically entangled' with a rock." Asuka smirked at the girl as the trio's eyes widened. Toji started choking on his food, and Kensuke quickly came to his aide and pounded him on the back. Ignoring the pair, her eyes riveted on the annoying girl, Asuka continued the attack. "I don't think you'd even know where to begin with a boy, let alone a real man like Kaji." Despite her words being thick with venom, Asuka's tone was like spun honey as she ripped into Rei's unprotected flank.
Rei took a bite of her sandwich, looking as if she hadn't heard the verbal broadside. Swallowing her food, she turned to look at Shinji, who was trying to shrink down and vanish into the floor to avoid any crossfire. Perhaps unfortunately, but then again, perhaps not so; he was about to get tapped as a weapon in a different sort of fight than the one he used to.
"Ikari, would you like to have dinner with me this weekend?"
Shinji turned beet red as Hikari violently spit juice all over Toji and Kensuke, whose jaws dropped in unison. Rei continued on matter of factly, as if nothing out of the ordinary were occurring, focused entirely on Shinji. "I heard Lieutenant Ibuki and Dr. Akagi discussing the new menu at Rosewaters. It sounds... nice."
Shinji managed to sputter out an affirmative response as he wilted under the shocked stares of the other four teenagers. Having gotten an acceptable answer, Rei resumed eating, her cool gaze steadily meeting Asuka. Flabbergasted, her left eye fiercely twitching, she opened her mouth to try to continue the attack but was cut off as the bell signaling the end of lunch triggered its Pavlovian response in the group, sending them scrambling to bag up the remains of their meal.
If one were to squint while watching the red-faced girl as she stomped off to class, not waiting for any of the others, if one possessed an imaginative mind, one might be able to perceive steam rising off the girl's head. Indeed, everyone else was sweating profusely except Rei, who walked off to class as cool as a cucumber. Veteran Rei Watchers would, of course, be able to detect a decided spring in her step, lending the illusion to those with imaginative minds that the girl was skipping along on her way to class.
This, of course, was a complete impossibility, and anyone who thought they saw the girl doing such a thing put it down to being badly in need of a nap.
While broaching the subject with Ikari in this manner was not preferable, Rei was more than happy to take advantage of the hidden opportunity the Second Child had given her. It also meant that the dinner would be free of any unwanted interference on the Commander's part, which could have been a roadblock. It would be a non-issue as he had just left on his trip.
Having been given a blank check by Unit-00 towards her proximity with Shinji, as the boy had not been the issue behind her sub-standard performance as a Pilot, Rei had wasted no time resuming her experimental advances on him. This dinner should help cement her position in his heart and, with it, a second opportunity to learn more about what he thought and how he thought. It was evident she would have to utilize a more... intensive set of interrogation techniques.
There was, however, the issue of procuring the required uniform for dinner. She had been told that should they revisit the restaurant, they should dress by the accepted standards.
There had not been an opportunity for her to obtain such things since her conversation with the Commander, and she had severe (and entirely founded) doubts about Shinji having purchased any on his own.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Asuka cursed under her breath as she stared at the computer screen, resisting the urge to spin and throw her coffee cup against the wall. It had been her mother's coffee cup before it had been hers, the GEHIRN logo still as bright as the day it had been painted onto the white ceramic. It was probably the only one of its kind still around, the others probably having all been junked when the child organization NERV eclipsed its parent and cemented the future of mankind here in Tokyo-3 and away from Berlin.
The mug was all Asuka still had of her mother, apart from Unit-02. They had tried to take it away before. Several times. But she always managed to get it back. She would tell them that the drinks tasted better in it. That she wouldn't drink anything unless it was out of the mug. If that didn't work, she simply refused to work. She was a child prodigy, and she knew it. She also knew certain tricks to keep the harmonics experiments from working right. All she had to do was concentrate enough on hating them, and the experiments wouldn't work.
But those days were long gone, and now nobody dared to suggest she switch to a NERV mug. The old tricks of causing problems with the synchronization tests from working right had been pushed to the back of her mind over the long years, buried under new theorems, protocols, and doctrine.
Had the First and Second Children put aside their dislike for each other, they would have been surprised to learn they shared several interests. They just went about things in diametrically opposite ways due to the differences in their upbringing. Where Rei had been sure of the Commander's attentions, Asuka had been bounced around numerous times. So, where Rei modeled herself on her perceptions of the Commander, Asuka made herself impossible for the myriad caretakers to ignore. She made herself into a bright fire that drew the eye even in broad daylight.
The obvious dichotomy between the 'Ice Queen' and the 'Red Demon' aside, had they compared their notes on the Evangelions and how synchronization worked, they would have been even more surprised about their similarities.
But working together with the annoying blue-haired doll and the walking doormat that was the Third Child was the last thing on Asuka's mind. It was as far from her mind as something could get without coming back around the other way.
Maya looked up from her terminal at the sound of angrily muttered German. While she didn't speak the language fluently, she knew the latest addition to the Tokyo-3 Pilot Corps wasn't saying anything that should be repeated in polite company. Getting up and wandering over to the girl's station in the lab, she put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder, withdrawing as the girl pulled away.
"What's the matter, Asuka?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Asuka said with an annoyed huff, flicking her hair absently with a hand. "The MAGI cluster at Berlin won't release the latest test data and modification specs of Unit-03 to me."
"Oh? I wouldn't have thought you would be interested in another Evangelion."
"I'm not. It's just that Unit-03 is my Unit-02's twin. I want to know what type of tests and modifications they are doing to it so I can take those into account with our work here. However," she said with another dark glare at the computer screen, "those schwienhunden aren't cooperating."
Maya frowned at the screen herself. The girl had been granted a high-level access account to the Tokyo-3 MAGI, allowing her high-level access to the other MAGI systems. "That's odd. I'll push a request through and see if they send me the data, but you shouldn't have any issues." She made a notation on her clipboard to do just that before taking another look at the message displayed on the screen, which was a simple Access Denied, devoid of any valuable data.
"What tests are you currently running on Unit-02? Your test proposal list said you wanted to work on how the AT-Field is shaped and emitted, right? Are you done looking at the on-board power utilization systems?"
"For now. I know the labs in Nevada are working on new batteries, but I want to get back to the power issues later. We obviously can't have an on-board reactor system, but what about fuel cells? Has anyone looked into that sort of power source? I know I've just started focusing on this particular issue, but the umbilical cord is a mobility issue. One of the most important things in combat is maintaining your freedom to maneuver on the battlefield."
"That's one of the things they are keeping in mind over there, Asuka. But tell me more about your emitter tests..." Maya said as she pulled her chair over next to Asuka's.
"Well, I noticed it on accident. Unit-02's emitters are stationed mostly along the front, in the shoulders, and around the core itself." Asuka called up a diagram of her Evangelion and tapped a finger along the locations of the AT-Field emitters. "But I remembered looking at some of the recorded data from the battle before everything went pear-shaped because of the ECM interference, and it looked like Unit-01's AT-Field was shaped differently. Now, as a shield, it makes the most sense to be in front of you, between you and the enemy."
"But from what I saw, it looked like the Third Child was deploying his field in a sphere around him, at equal strength on all sides. But to do that, he should need emitters positioned to face backward, especially with the reported synchronization rate at the time. It fluctuated far too much for him to stabilize a spherical shield with only forward-facing emitters."
"So, out of curiosity, I pulled up the blueprints for Unit-01. If rear-facing emitters are on it, that design feature was never implemented with Unit-02. I wanted to see the notes on those tests, as they could come in handy in a fight, as we know that an untrained rookie managed to stumble his way to victory at the helm of Unit-01.
Maya already knew where the girl was going with this, having noted the change in security permissions on the Unit-01 files while helping Dr. Akagi with some system administration work. She wasn't sure why the files had been reclassified, as her Sempai had refused to speak on the matter.
"But the files you wanted are all restricted, right?"
"Exactly! So I wrote up a few tests to see how Unit-02 handles having the rear-facing emitters, both with the same amount as it currently has, and with additional rear ones supplementing the normal forward-facing ones."
"So why ask Berlin about test data on Unit-03, then? It looks like you're getting a lot accomplished here."
"Because I don't want to waste my time adjusting my tests and rerunning them later if I can get the data from them now. According to the MAGI, the Commander was the one who changed the security permissions on Unit-01's files, and he's not here for me to ask for access."
Maya tried hard not to laugh at the mental image of Asuka standing in front of the Commander in his office, hands on her hips, imperiously demanding access to the restricted files. While the fiery-tempered girl was more... brash... and verbal about things than many of the other NERV technicians, let alone the other pilots, Maya knew such a confrontation would only end badly for the girl. But the image was still... amusing.
"So, how is Unit-02 handling the modified emitter array?"
"I haven't added in any simulated enemies yet because right now, I'm only looking at how the strength of the field changes relative to the shape number and placement of the emitters.
With this batch of tests, I'm looking at a spherical shape for the AT-Field, but I think I'll be trying out a bell-shaped one for the next set. I'm sure you know that the simpler the shape of the AT-Field, the stronger it is, so it's typically emitted as an invisible wall in front of the Evangelion and not as a 'skintight' force field. Trying to map out and properly shield each plane and curve of the armor is a pain, even with the MAGI's help. It's inefficient when you can just throw up a wall between you and the enemy because, with the increase of the surface area of the shield, the power requirements go up. A sphere is the best shape to keep the surface area down, but with how large the Evangelions are, there will need to be a serious overhaul to how the emitters are placed or designed.
As she looked over the data displayed on the girl's terminal, Maya nodded and listened to the explanation. So far, everything looked to be properly thought out and executed, but then she noted an oddity in the data. She reached out and tapped it with a finger.
"What's this? It looks like there was a problem with the test yesterday."
Asuka harrumphed unhappily, glaring at the data entry. "I ran a modified batch of impact absorption and deflection tests against the usual shield deployment yesterday to set up a control and establish a base metric. Everything was running as smoothly as normal when, out of the blue, my Unit-02's connection to the MAGI dropped and then vanished. I had to go down to the cages and check the connections to see if the repair crews had dislodged anything, but they hadn't. I ran some connectivity and self-diagnostic tests down there, and while all the individual components tested out as good, it was like my Unit-02 wasn't even there in the cage!"
Maya frowned as she mulled this over. There wasn't anything in the data leading up to the dropped connection. She pointed to another data entry from later on, where the connection was re-established.
"It came back after an hour. What did you do?"
The girl's voice was exasperated as she explained. "I didn't do anything! Nothing we did changed anything. We cycled the individual processes, replaced the connection wires, tried connecting to the other Evangelions, which none of them would read as a connection was there, and tried different connection terminals. Everything!
I was about to go ask Sempai what she made of it because the MAGI kept telling me nothing was wrong, but then my Unit-02 showed back up again. I redid all the connection tests but got nothing new out of it."
"That is odd."
Asuka laughed. "Yeah, well, it wasn't the oddest thing about yesterday. I found the First Child sleeping in the Prototype."
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Hikari frowned at her boyfriend as she walked back into the classroom. Toji was sitting on top of their teacher's desk, idly kicking his heels against it as he waited for her to finish with the myriad after-school responsibilities that came with the position of class representative. She jerked her head as if to tell him to follow her and disappeared into the hallway. Toji hopped down from the desk and grabbed both of their bags, taking care to shut the door as he left.
She wrapped her arm around his, squeezing his hand as they left the school grounds.
"How did you do it?"
"How did I do what?" Toji responded, confused. He turned to look at the girl hanging on his arm, but she kept looking ahead as they walked.
"How'd you get Rei to come to lunch today? I didn't get a chance to call you yesterday, but you two obviously figured something out."
"Oh, god." Toji shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Yeah... about that. We followed Rei back to her place, and man, what a dump. But that's not even scratching the surface of the weirdness. We got waylaid by one of her spooks, and he told us she was going back to walk on the beach. Apparently, she's been doing that a lot lately. But he told us to look in the dumpster if we wanted to figure stuff out."
Hikari frowned, not understanding what he was saying, but nodded for him to continue.
"So we nip around the back of the building and open the dumpster. Well, there's not a lot of trash in it, so we're guessing she's the only one who lives there, which isn't that surprising. But there wasn't anything there."
"So the guard sent you on a goose chase? What exactly did he say?"
"He said if he wanted to figure things out, he would look in the trash."
"And there wasn't anything in the trash?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just trash. Mostly stuff like food wrappers and old leftovers. She seems to eat a lot of delivery."
Hikari slowly nodded. "She's not good at cooking. Well, she hasn't done much of it, at any rate. She did a good job with making lunch earlier this week. She never did come back over, though." She sighed, trying to put all the pieces together, but try as she might, she didn't seem to get a picture that made sense. "Maybe I should go talk to her."
Toji vehemently shook his head. "Yeah, no. The spook said we shouldn't return unless invited or on official business. I know I'm not going back there, and you sure aren't going there alone."
"What do you mean by that?" she asked, her tone souring. She let go of him, stopped walking, crossed her arms, and glared at him. "Do you think you can order me around? Besides, as a Class Rep, I'm allowed to visit students at home."
"Dude, Hikari, that place is a dump! It's way out there in the eastern block, in the projects. It's not a safe place to be! I got told by her security guy to not come back on my own, and I'm not going to go and let you walk over there by yourself."
"What do you mean in the projects? There are no slum areas in Tokyo-3."
"Yeah, there is. And Rei lives right in junkie central. I'm not kidding, Hikari. You know where she lives."
"I know her address. I've never been there, though." Hikari admitted, her sharp look softening slightly. "But now I think I need to go see this. The city's eastern areas are low on the work crews' priority lists. After almost every battle, they have to stop working on them to fix the defensive systems and the commercial and industrial areas."
Now, it was Toji's turn to look confused. "How do you know that?"
"My dad works in the Public Works Department of NERV, remember?"
"Yeah, and?"
"Public Works is responsible for dealing with the construction crew contracts. He complains about them sometimes during dinner."
"Oh."
The couple started walking again, but both were lost in thought, so they said little else on their way to Hikari's house. They stopped walking at the corner to her street to embrace and kiss each other goodbye, safely out of sight of nosy young and old siblings. Hikari sighed as she rested her head against the taller boy.
"I'll think of some official reason to go to Rei's place tomorrow. You can come along if you want."
He squeezed her protectively to assure her he was as set on protecting her as Shinji was on Rei.
"If you think I'm going to let you stroll over there, you're crazy."
She took her bag from him, and they parted ways.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Gendo looked up at the aide as the man purposely walked towards him. He sighed inwardly, knowing only a few things would prompt a messenger to come find him in the restaurant, to disturb him as he ate.
One of the nice things about being one of the most powerful men in the world was that people couldn't bother you with trivialities. This cut both ways, however, for it meant when someone did come to interrupt his late dinner, it meant that it was important, and he couldn't put it off to deal with later.
"You have a message, sir. From Tokyo-3." The man's voice was low enough so only Gendo could hear him. The slightly disreputable-looking man charged with saving the world was not the only powerful man to have graced the dining establishment, and the waitstaff was well-versed in keeping the proper levels of decorum and confidentiality.
"I suppose they need me to call."
"Yes, sir."
Gendo wiped his mouth with his napkin before folding it and tossing it onto his plate. He nodded to the messenger, who left with the same purposeful stride he had on his arrival. Standing up, Gendo nodded to the pair of Section 2 men who had been sitting at another table watching him and the crowd as they pretended to dine. One of them spoke into his cuff, and by the time Gendo had reached the main entrance, his armored car was waiting for him.
As he settled back in the seat, he fasted the seat belt before nodding to the driver.
"I'll be making a call."
The driver nodded in silent response as they pulled away from the curb. As Gendo pulled open the center console for the satellite phone, the driver began to drive lazily around the city, not so much as to lose anyone tailing them, as the men who would order such a thing had access to spy satellites, but to make it harder for laser-based eavesdropping devices from being able to keep a good bead on them.
The call connected without much of a wait, as the MAGI had slowly but surely stolen control of the majority of the communication satellites currently in orbit of the planet.
"Gendo."
"Fuyutsuki. What is it?"
"Rei and Shinji will be having a second date, apparently."
Gendo closed his eyes and leaned back into the seat, trying not to groan. He did not have the time to deal with this right now because of the required careful handling of the delicate situation. Still, at the same time, it wasn't something he could let go of on its own, lest the already burgeoning instabilities the two pilots' relationship sparking in his son go to seed completely. His plans called for using the Berserker and the Beast to upset and then hijack Third Impact, but he didn't want his son to lose control during combat because his sweetheart was in danger.
"Where are they planning to go?" he finally asked, reasonably sure what the Sub-Commander's response would be."
"Rosewaters again. According to the report, they plan on going this Friday."
"Have they purchased suitable clothing yet?"
"Not yet. I'm sure they'll do so; neither one will want to defy you." There was a pause at the end of the line, and Gendo could tell there was something else the older man wanted to say.
"What is it?"
"Well, are you planning on denying them this?"
"I was thinking about it, yes."
"Rei asked Shinji."
Now, that was food for thought. While he had considerably more insight into the girl's mindset than most others, the fact that she would be the one to initiate this event was surprising. He had thought his son had worked up the courage to try a second attempt at a so-called 'victory' dinner. Her worrisome antics in the medical wing while Shinji was in a coma aside, she was a very passive, subdued girl.
"What prompted this?"
"According to the report, the group that has sprung up around the pilots was having lunch, and it seems that Rei was goaded into it by Asuka."
Gendo found this much more believable than the introverted girl randomly asking the boy to dinner. The fact that she was interested in the boy could not have escaped Asuka. With the redhead's direct manner of dealing with people, it would only be a matter of time before the topic of the First and Third's relationship came up. It was foul timing that caused it to occur while he was gone, and just as foul luck, it would push Rei into action. That she was probably trying to take advantage of his absence from Tokyo-3 didn't escape his notice. He resisted the urge to smile at this; it was something he would have tried to do.
"I'll allow it. We'll see how they deal with this. But if anything happens before I return, keep an eye on them. You know what to do."
"I do, but I doubt we'll be able to use the same equipment. Repairs are coming, but things aren't scheduled to be completely online until much later."
They spoke quickly and naturally over the line, knowing neither referred to the defensive measures that ringed the fortress city. This level of rapport had been built over the years, allowing them to converse almost as freely over unsecured lines of communication as they did on the scrambled and encrypted lines between the MAGI hubs.
"Do what you can. Is there anything else?"
"Nothing that needs your attention. If anything else comes up, I'll let you know."
"Very well."
Vier, Drei, Zwei, Eins!
Shinji watched the clock with a dread that grew larger as each second passed. Each tick of the second hand seemed to be an eternity, and he imagined each tick to be like the sound of a heavy casket slamming closed. Typically, he was not one to obsess over the time, even when the teacher launched into yet another one of his stories about his life before Second Impact, but today was a special day. A day like no other in his life. He was both thrilled and terrified. Today, after school was over, he was to undergo a new trial, a tribulation unlike any other he had experienced prior.
Today, he was to go clothes shopping with Rei.
For most of his life, he had lived with distant family and then a tutor, and until quite recently, he had never had any friends his age. He had never really been concerned about the clothing he wore. By the time he had reached the age that most children were interested in such matters, his tutor had procured a few sets of the local school uniform, the seemingly timeless combination of black slacks and a white button-up. The tutor, himself somewhat withdrawn after the deaths of his family during Second Impact and in the resultant aftermath, dressed similarly.
Thus, Shinji grew up dressing like the man who ostensibly taught him. The man gave him a somewhat eclectic education, focusing on some areas while glossing over or skipping others.
When dealing with other people, almost always adults, Shinji had been taught to neither be seen nor heard. He spoke only when spoken to and was polite to a fault. Shopping was only for food and sundry supplies needed for the smooth running of the home of the two males, and these trips were carried out efficiently. The idea of shopping for clothing was a novelty to the boy, for the only clothing he had even now were the school uniforms and his plug-suits.
This novelty, when combined with the explicit order that was at the same time a vague suggestion by his father to go purchase appropriate clothing, was enough to spark feelings of apprehension and anxiety. Coupled with the fact that he was also going to be sharing the company of the girl with whom he was in an odd, ill-defined, and highly unorthodox relationship, that was something else entirely.
She had waylaid him before the beginning of school, homing in on him like a satellite-guided missile to isolate him in the corner of one of the stairwells. Having her quarry trapped, she proceeded to ask/inform him they would go find and secure clothing that was within the accepted social parameters for Rosewaters.
Shinji was smart enough to figure out that he and Rei would be modeling for each other. Modeling fancy, elegant, and expensive clothing.
True, he had not only seen her dressed in her plug-suit, which itself left little to the imagination as to the size and shape of things, but he also had seen her completely nude at her apartment.
And he had fallen on top of her and had groped her. While she didn't seem to mind or even think about it, as neither had brought it up, it had left a mark on the boy.
But as socially broken as he was, he still knew that the wrapping and presentation of the goods were just as crucial as the lithe, supple pale skin that seemed to almost glow under the proper lighting…
Shinji's head slipped off its resting place in his hand to slam onto the top of his desk, drawing the class's attention, except that of the teacher and, of course, Rei.
The girl was off in her own world, not watching Shinji or her other classmate's reflections and not paying attention to the teacher's long-winded diatribe. Her mind was occupied with a seemingly endless parade of Shinji Ikaris marching past her in different outfits, primarily drawn from what she could recall from their first date and the image searches she had performed last evening. While all the young god-slaying men were dressed suitably formal, not all were as fully dressed as others.
She had seen him in his plug-suit, had seen him, and had cuddled up to him while he was sans shirt during the party and its aftermath. They had gone so far as to share his bed, and she had even spent several hours sitting next to his nude and unconscious body, separated only by a few thin hospital sheets. That being said, her scientific curiosity about the rest of his body had not been enough to overcome her shyness and hesitation.
That this equation had yet to be balanced was among the things she constantly thought about. In a similar vein, she still needed to balance the groping equation.
Lunch was a quiet affair; with both Rei and Shinji obsessing over their planned extra-curricular activities, they were worse company than usual for their friends. The other two-thirds of the so-called 'stooge trio' could not get anything other than monosyllabic responses from the pair, and Hikari and Asuka had eaten lunch with another group of friends.
Kensuke crushed an empty can between two hands. "So, Shinji, the arcade got another mecha sim in yesterday, and the manager's talking about setting up a tournament for it. I was thinking maybe we could team up on it. You always do fairly well in the sims, and I think we could sweep the bouts."
"Eh," Shinji replied as he swallowed the last bit of rice before taking a swig of his drink. Unlike Kensuke's, his was merely canned coffee, not the highly caffeinated energy concentrate.
The bespectacled boy shot Toji a pained look, to which the jock only shrugged. Toji looked at Rei, who was also staring off into space, her eyes slightly unfocused.
"Eh... Rei... ah, glad you're eating with us again." Toji said with a nod and a half smile, half grimace. Ignoring the exasperated look of disbelief on his friend, he struggled on. "It might not have seemed so with yesterday's conversation, but we missed you."
"Mmmm," came the softly murmured response as the girl sipped her tea, having decided to experiment with new taste sensations. This new streak of bold behavior was tempered in she had only altered the drink portion of her meals. This morning, she had selected randomly from the drink display in the small convenience store, having closed her eyes, spun around three times, and grabbed the cooler until her hand closed around a bottle.
She usually drank a small variety of cheap green teas, hot and chilled, when she wanted a change from plain water. Today's selection, while a chilled tea, was as far as one could get on the other side of the tea spectrum: a robust black tea sweetened with sugar and milk. To Rei, it tasted as good as an imaginary half-dressed Shinji looked, particularly one in a pair of black jodhpurs and a bow tie.
Toji and Kensuke stared at the pilots, wondering if trying to engage them in a conversation was worth it, as usually neither was very talkative. Sighing, Toji shook his head and gave up, shoveling the last bits of his lunch into his mouth. After finishing his meal, he stretched, lying down and staring at the sky. The quartet would remain silent until the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and heralding the second half of the day.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Rei slowly walked through the store, staring at the mannequin displays and the clothes still on the racks. This was the fourth store she had been in, and she was by herself.
The plan, as she had explained to Shinji, was simple. Each would go through several stores independently, take stock of the available garments, and note which ones appealed to them. Then, they would meet up and discuss the merits and demerits of the items they preferred, and at that time, the other could make suggestions to the other on what they liked. From this deliberation, they would make an initial selection to try on, each modeling for the other, to narrow it down to the most desirable outfit.
Rei was so focused on the task at hand that she didn't notice Special Inspector Kaji's arrival.
Kaji coughed slightly into his fist, drawing the girl's attention. Smiling at her, he waved at the mannequin they stood in front of, a faceless torso and head, dressed in a slinky black dress.
"So what brings you here, Rei? I wouldn't have pegged you as being one for fancy dress."
She regarded the unshaven man for a few moments, staring blankly at him. She knew the man was a spy, having been present for several of the Commander and the Sub-Commander's discussions. She knew he was not generally to be trusted but that he could be trusted enough to be useful. She returned to the selections, resuming her survey of the available items.
"I require a suitable dress for a dinner, Inspector."
"Oh, you can call me Kaji, Rei. No need to be so formal with me." Kaji continued to smile, the lazy grin that seemed permanently affixed to his face, never shifting for a second. "A fancy dinner then, eh? I hadn't heard of any NERV functions coming up. Do you know something I don't?"
Yes.
"It is not a NERV function."
"Oh? A date, then? Who's the lucky man?"
"Pilot Ikari."
"Oh, good choice. A very handsome young man, if I do say so myself, even if he is on the quiet side." Kaji tucked his hands in his pockets and followed the girl as she slowly circulated around the store. "But, I suppose that contributes to his charm. The silent, stoic type. I was very impressed when I met him. The file picture really doesn't do him justice, you know. You can just get lost staring into his big blue eyes, right? Dreamy. I was planning on getting him to go out for some drinks and get to know him better, but I suppose that'll have to wait until after your date."
Rei eyed the man as she pondered the meaning of his last statement, running through the scraps of information she had overheard about the unshaven man and what she knew about such social events as going out for drinks. The result was both confusing and problematic. "Inspector Kaji, Pilot Ikari is a boy."
Kaji laughed softly. "Oh, Rei. You're so innocent, you know? True love knows no gender."
Rei felt her eye twitch violently. It was bad enough that she had to keep track of Captain Katsuragi and the Second Child's dealings with Ikari, but now it seemed she would have to watch out for Inspector Kaji as well. She did not have the time or patience to deal with this as the Commander would. There was too much at stake for her to risk letting this... person... jeopardize her experiments and upset her Science. Desperate times called for desperate measures. With this in mind, she decided on a bold power play that would clarify what she was about to the man.
"Pilot Ikari is also mine."
This statement sent the spy into gales of laughter, drawing the eyes of the two women behind the counter. They had noted the girl and the large man in the black suit and shades who had followed her when she entered. Tokyo-3 was a company town, and its inhabitants knew the uniforms of the Company muscle, even if they didn't know the pilots. If the handsome, unshaven man bothered the girl, her shadow could take care of it.
"Is he yours, Rei? I hadn't noticed a sign on him. Is he aware of this?" His laughter trailed off, and his smile waned slightly as red eyes coldly regarded him.
"Yes."
He chuckled uneasily as the girl stared at him, sending cold shivers of uneasy fear down his spine. "Ah, well, nothing but a misunderstanding then. I certainly wouldn't want to come between two young lovebirds."
…
…
"No."
Kaji's watch chimed to announce the passing of one hour into another. He somewhat casually raised a shaking hand to look at the watch.
"Oh, look at the time! I'm afraid I'll have to take your leave, Rei. It was an... enlightening chat."
He could feel her stare on his back as he left the store.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Rei carefully surveyed the other customers and the staff as she wandered around the store, pretending to look for more clothes for Ikari to try on. This establishment was more extensive than most others, selling nicer dress clothes, catering to both sexes. Due to this, the changing rooms were segregated and arranged, so they opened into a nook out of view of the main display areas. Confident nobody else was watching, she returned to the men's changing area.
She had found, throughout her intensive research, numerous cases where one person could inadvertently open such a changing room's door with the intent of offering an opinion or more garments for consideration and instead be treated to a full-on view of the other person, often unclothed, caught in the act of changing outfits.
Reactions to such events were varied. There were many possible outcomes, many of which involved physical contact between the two, often depicted as comical.
After all, she could not be faulted if the locking mechanism on the door was substandard.
Just as she was about to 'hand' Shinji a new jacket, a surprised voice sounded behind her.
"Rei? I thought that was you! What are you doing here?"
Momentarily frozen in shock, Rei was carried forth by her momentum, bumping into the flimsy door, which predictably gave way, revealing a very shocked Shinji Ikari, clad only in a pair of boxers, changing into a pair of pants.
He yelped as Hikari shrieked, and Rei made no sound as she crashed head-first into the startled boy's midsection, sending them both to the ground in a mess of limbs and clothes.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Asuka smiled as she ran a hand over the smooth gray skin of Unit-02's leg. She was inside the LCL-filled tank with several other technicians and Dr. Akagi. Unlike the others, however, she had forgone using the scuba equipment and was perfectly fine with breathing the LCL. The feeling of the liquid filling up one's lungs was an acquired taste, so to speak, and most of the repair personnel regularly used diving gear when working in the LCL.
Unit-02's leg was completely regenerated, the limb naked from just above the knee to the massive foot. They were running the final checks on it today before attaching the armor and cybernetic mechanisms, and Dr. Akagi had invited Asuka along to see the new limb.
The girl hadn't needed to be asked twice, jumping up from her chair in excitement and, being quite used to the sensation of having her lungs filled, had forgone the offered kit and had dived right into the tank, swimming effortlessly down through the goo.
Back in Berlin, she had enjoyed a relatively free reign where the Evangelion was concerned, the technicians and research personnel unprepared for the ferocity with which the little girl threw herself into the Evangelion Project. By the time anyone might think to raise warning flags, they were accustomed to having her around at all stages of development and utilization.
That free reign had ended somewhat with her arrival in Tokyo-3, the members of NERV Central unprepared for a pilot with a personality and an active interest in the other aspects of working with the Evangelions. It had taken her some time to earn the approval of the head of Project E and her immediate crew, but she had impressed them with her ability to learn, understand, and adapt the concepts and information given to her.
However, her drive to be the best of the best was not universally appreciated. Just as some people found her a breath of fresh air or an endearing young girl, others were as likely to find her brash and irritating. They dismissed the fact she had graduated with honors from college, the fact she more often than not knew what she was talking about, raising points she was still only a kid, she didn't act like a good, obedient kid should, and that her personality was all wrong.
Some of this could be attributed to culture shock, but NERV was a global company that employed people from all over the world. The individual sites had higher levels of employees recruited from their home country, but the higher level research, technical, and command divisions had a respectable swath of different cultural backgrounds. This was more pronounced at NERV-Central, as Commander Ikari had a habit of drawing the best of the best, the cream de la cream, to staff his headquarters.
Maya smiled at the girl as she surfaced, waiting with towels for the pilot and their Sempai. Maya herself couldn't stand the feeling of having fluid in her lungs, but luckily for her, she rarely needed to enter the tank, even with the optional dive gear.
"So how is the leg, Asuka?" she asked, handing the towel to the girl, who was busy expelling most of the fluid from her lungs.
Wrapping the towel around her hair, Asuka grinned brightly at the tech. "It's perfect! The armoring process shouldn't take long, so we should be ready in a few days. I think we'll be ready for free movement trials by the end of next week."
Ritsuko nodded as she climbed onto the catwalk, doffing the breathing apparatus and accepting the offered towel. "That's a good assessment. What else do you suppose this means?"
"We're going to run more harmonics tests than usual? And then hold the regular activation tests."
Ritsuko smiled again as she pulled her lab coat over her swimsuit. "That's right. I suppose we can kick off the tests tomorrow afternoon. Units 01 and 00 are close enough to completion, so we can hold their activation tests without issue. No sense in still putting them off anymore."
Maya noticed the younger girl biting her lip and the brief flash of what had to be nervous surprise flicking across her face. It was certainly out of place on the ordinarily confident features, but it passed so quickly that she was almost unsure she had seen it.
As the trio left the cage, Maya hung back to walk with Asuka, touching her lightly on the shoulder, noting the girl slightly shied away from the physical contact.
"What's wrong Asuka?"
Annoyance colored the redhead's features momentarily. "Oh," she said, her tone light and carefree, "nothing's wrong."
Maya, however, wasn't buying it; she knew what she had seen. "What's happening on Friday? You got something else planned?" While it was possible, it wasn't very likely, as the girl seemed to spend most of her free time working with the Evangelion or the MAGI. If she wasn't down there, she was chasing after the Special Inspector who had accompanied her from Berlin. From what little she knew of the man, it was very improbable the pair had anything planned for tomorrow afternoon.
"Oh, I don't. But the First and Third do."
This was news to Maya. She knew, as did most of the people who worked directly with the pilots; the pair were sweet on each other, but she knew both were shy and usually needed third-party intervention before they did anything. She doubted Dr. Akagi knew anything about this planned activity.
"They do? Maybe we should see if we can postpone the tests until another day. It can't hurt anything, can it?"
As much as it irritated the redhead, Asuka had to grudgingly agree with Maya's assessment. As frustrating as dealing with the other pilots was, she wasn't vindictive enough to want to actively interfere with their plans. That being said, she wasn't interested in actively trying to help them either.
"Not in the large scheme of things, no. But we shouldn't let personal life interfere with our duty, either."
"But it's so rare for those two to do anything. I think we can talk to Sempai into pushing the tests off." Maya said thoughtfully, wondering what the pair had planned.
"I guess…"
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Rei and Shinji sat quietly as Hikari spoke in urgent, hushed, but severe tones into her phone. Neither pilot could meet the other's eyes, and both were slightly blushing, with a mild red on Shinji and a faint rosy tinge on Rei. As for their friend, she had recovered from the shock a short time ago; the redness on her features was from outrage and not embarrassment.
"I don't care if you're in the middle of a basketball game, Toji. They were modeling clothing for each other! Fancy clothing! Neither of them knows what they're doing, and they shouldn't do that for each other anyway!"
Toji, being both a boy and generally uninterested in the whole subject, didn't understand the supposed importance of the situation or the supposed faux pas.
"Tell me again why this is important. I can't just leave the game, Hikari. Can't you call Kensuke or something?"
"Because it is! They're not supposed to see what the other is wearing before a date like this! And do you honestly think that Ken will be of any help?"
"Okay, okay. How about one of the Section 2 guys? I bet one of them can help Shinji. Look, I gotta go, I'll talk later, okay? Bye!"
Hikari growled as the boy hung up and slammed her phone back into her purse. She pointed at the pair of pilots.
"Don't move."
Hands balled into fists, she marched over to where a pair of suited men slouched against the wall, keeping an eye on the children. The duo straightened up when they realized she was headed for him. Hikari stared into expressionless black shades for a second and decided to cut to the chase.
"I don't suppose one of you can help Shinji get a nice suit for his date, do you?"
The men stared at her, trying not to laugh.
"Not our job, miss. Besides, do you think we're hired for our fashion sense?"
She only glared at him in response before spinning around and marching back to the bench where her friends sat. She was going to have to have words with people, and as soon as she found out who exactly that was, they would get an earful. Her eyes narrowed as she thought of Toji. He was going to get more than just words. Oh yes. If you want something done right, you must do it yourself. Ugh... this is a disaster! How am I going to fix this?
Hikari pointed at Shinji. "You are going to stay here until I get back. You," she said, nodding at Rei, "are going to come with me."
Shinji watched as the girls left him sitting on the bench. He was still watching the entrance to the store they had gone into when the bench shifted slightly as someone sat down. Turning his head, he saw Inspector Kaji's smiling expression as the man leaned back, looking to be the very picture of relaxation.
"Fancy meeting you here, Shinji. You do much mall shopping?"
"Ah... not really, Mister Kaji."
"Oh, it's just Kaji, Shinji. We're friends, aren't we? No need to be so formal."
Shinji didn't respond to this except by turning to watch the store again. He didn't know much about the older man, except Asuka thought highly of him and constantly compared people to him. While Misato had known him before, she did not share the redhead's glowing opinion of the unshaven man. He seemed friendly enough, but as Shinji knew, that was no guarantee the man was interested in him.
"So what do you think of her, Shinji?"
"Who?"
"Rei, of course! Such a pleasant young lady, don't you think?"
"I... I guess so." As much as Asuka liked the man, Shinji reasoned there was a reason Miss Misato didn't. He wasn't much in the habit of discussing his personal life with people he didn't know, regardless of how friendly they were. It was only just recently he felt no actual discomfort other than embarrassment when talking about things with Toji or Kensuke and, to a lesser degree, Hikari.
"I bet she's real popular at your school."
"Is that what Asuka says?" Shinji wasn't sure what the man was getting at but figured he'd ask. He knew the girls didn't get along, and the redhead had no reason to lie, but he saw no other way for Kaji to have any idea about Rei's popularity. Asuka was always going on about how much better her conversations with the man were compared to their lunchtime meetings.
Kaji was a little taken aback by this question. It had been a few days since he had last talked to the girl, and when they had, she never mentioned the other pilots unless he asked about them, and even then, it was rarely positive. In truth, he had expected another of the boy's half-hearted mumbled responses. He was stuck on how to deal with this unexpected turn, not wanting to tell a lie that was obviously false but not wanting to make it seem like he was making fun of the girl. While he was snooping around to see how much they were involved with each other, he wasn't looking to pick a fight.
"Oh, not so much. But I'm sure she's beating the boys off with a stick, right?"
Why does he keep asking about Rei? I know he can't be involved with Asuka like she says, but could he be interested in Rei? This is really weird. But what's the point of saying those things if he's not interested in her like that? Is he trying to see if I like her? But why?
"Not really." When the boy finally spoke again, his response was somewhat non-committal.
If anything, this seemed to please the spy more. "Oh? I don't see why not. I'm sure there must be a lot of guys interested in her."
"I guess."
Had Kaji been a spy of lesser caliber, he would have been pulling out his hair in frustration. It was hard to elicit information from someone if they were not a very talkative, and Shinji Ikari had never been accused of being a very talkative boy. However, Kaji was optimistic and would have continued on if he had not been interrupted.
"Shinji, come with me," Hikari said imperiously, her hands on her hips as she studied the boy intently, ignoring the unshaven man beside him.
Kaji raised an eyebrow as Shinji stood and moved to follow the girl, who spun around and headed off toward another shop.
Now, why did she come back out here so soon? I would have thought getting Rei situated would have taken more time than that…
Truthfully, his assessment was correct. As soon as the spy sat down next to Shinji, the Section 2 man watching him from the wall had rolled his eyes and sent one of the others to suggest to Hikari to get started on the boy. While there hadn't been any official orders concerning keeping the man from any of the pilots, the agents assigned to the First and Third children had been given a 'suggestion' that the unshaven inspector had no real business interacting with their charges. After watching the careful and considered way the spy had approached both children when they were alone, the senior agent of Mobile 10 decided Shinji needed to be removed from the situation, in a diplomatic and non-threatening fashion. Hikari had frowned at the black-suited messenger, not understanding what he was going on about, but had loaded Rei down with a few choice dresses and went to get Shinji started on picking out clothing.
For his part, he stared at the plethora of items his friend quickly piled into his arms, muttering under her breath, selecting some and leaving others by some unknown standard. While he could spot a few noticeable style changes between some of the pants, shirts, and jackets, he was at a loss to explain why other identical items were piled onto the stack.
When one of the attendants came over to see what was going on, Hikari conscripted the amused woman into the cause, spitting out a long laundry list of instructions, before telling Shinji in no uncertain terms to cooperate with the staff and darted out of the store back over to where she had left Rei.
The sales attendant called some of her co-workers over, and they shepherded the terrified and bewildered boy into the changing area.
When Rei stepped out of her stall, in the first of Hikari's choices, she found not only the class representative but four other women, three of whom she had seen working in the store earlier, and the last wearing a transparent plastic apron over her clothes. This woman made a tsking sound as she studied the untidy mop of blue hair, just as the others scrutinized the dress.
"Who does your hair, girl?"
Rei blinked, unsure of what the woman meant. Fortunately enough, Hikari was able to translate for them.
"Who cuts your hair for you, Rei?"
"I cut it myself." Rei studied the shocked expressions on the gathering's faces with idle interest. "Is this inappropriate?"
Hikari slapped a hand over her face, sighing.
I should have known. Didn't she tell me she used bar soap as shampoo? She hadn't even heard of conditioner until I mentioned her split ends. Did Shinji's father raise her like this on purpose, or was it an accident? Maybe Shinji's better off for having been shipped away like he was…
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Shinji crept into the apartment, taking care not to make any noise as he opened and closed the door. Silently sliding his shoes off, he tip-toed through the home he shared with his commanding officer, clutching his bags like a religious talisman to ward off evil.
It was late, much later than he had ever been out on his own business, and it was past the standard time Miss Misato usually stumbled off to bed. The lights were all off, and all was quiet. He breathed a sigh of relief as he passed the kitchen, glad he hadn't disturbed Pen-Pen, who was much more easily roused from sleep than his owner.
That feeling vanished as the sound of a beer can being opened filled the air, and the lamp in the living area switched on. Shinji swallowed hard as Misato downed the entire can, coldly glaring at him. Tossing the empty can to the side, the woman opened another can and set it on the table before her. Her murderous stare evaporated into a look of pure glee.
"Oh, Shinji," she purred, sounding sad, disappointed, and thrilled all at the same time, "Shinji, Shinji, Shinji. I'm hurt! Why didn't you tell me about your big date with ~Rei~?" She motioned to the couch, smiling like the cat that had eaten the entire aviary. As Shinji reluctantly sat down, she pushed the beer towards him and opened another for herself. "Tell your big sister everything. I want details."