Gendo Ikari looked up from the report he was reading, detailing Ritsuko's latest test findings on ADAM. So far, everything reported on by his spies inside the Berlin complex had checked out, meaning he could soon progress to the next stage in the scenario. His second-in-command and long-time co-conspirator grinned at him from the door. Gendo sighed, taking his glasses off and rubbing the bridge of his nose. To say nothing of his unofficial expertise in numerous other fields, one would think the extremely distinguished doctor of meta-biology and human physiology would have more decorum at his age. Still, the graying sub-commander took an almost perverse pleasure in the various social revelry that Gendo eschewed.
Take tonight, for instance. Captain Katsuragi, in one of her numerous attempts to lighten the sense of doom and gloom that often permeated NERV, had once again invited her chain of command to a party held at her apartment building. Once again, Kozo was intent on joining the drunken revelry, while Gendo would remain in his office, which was crypt-like enough without additional decorations.
This party was sure to outdo the last in size and insanity. Misato had seen how quickly the first had spread from her apartment to encompass the entirety of the NERV employee-populated building and had planned this one accordingly. All of the inhabitants of the apartment building were on board with the party and were going to open their doors. The city block had been filled with carnival-type stands, all tying into the Halloween theme. A huge bonfire had been prepared to derail any acts of arson before they were perpetrated. They would see how well this would work the next day. Gendo had no expectations of it working and had already ordered Section 2 to ensure easy access for the fire response teams.
Kozo, dressed like one of the stereotypical Eastern European vampires, looked resplendent in the aristocratic getup. His hair had been slicked back and combed into an impressive widow's peak, and the high-collared cape framed his angular face nicely. Like the rest of the clothing, the cape was no mere costume made from cotton and polyester. No, the cape was a heavy silk cape, the obsidian folds simultaneously drinking in the light and shimmering unnaturally. His white satin shirt was almost too bright under the vest of fine black wool, matched by his pants in the same midnight hue. A pair of pointed shoes, polished until they reflected like pools of black water kissed by moonlight, adorned his feet, but how comfortable they would be remained to be seen. Topping off the outfit was a heavy and ornate-looking medallion of gold and ruby, worn around his neck on a ribbon of red silk. Two fangs were visible in his mouth as he grinned and spoke.
"I see you'll be sitting this one out as well."
"Yes."
"The world won't end while you're not looking. You should take some time off and enjoy yourself." He paused, watching as Gendo rolled his eyes. "I'm not saying you should just drop everything and fly off to an island somewhere for a few weeks, but going to a Halloween party won't kill you. Besides, it'll be good for morale. Let you connect with the others."
"I don't think my presence will be a morale-boosting event for them."
"I'm not so concerned with them as I am about you. How long has it been since you've chatted with Rei? You even skipped going to see Yui this month. And it's been a while since you and Dr. Akagi-"
"I am quite aware of how long it has been since I've last seen Dr. Akagi. You do not need to comment on it."
Kozo smiled, finally getting an honest emotional response besides dry sarcasm from the Commander. Even if it was irritation, it was a starting point.
"My, my, a little testy, are we?"
Putting his glasses back on, Gendo glared at the insolent Sub-commander. "Just go to the stupid party, and can you please try to reign in the arson this time?"
Grinning again and moving surprisingly fluidly for a man in his early sixties, bowed deeply, effortlessly manipulating the cape as it pooled around him. Affecting a 'vampirical' accent, he spoke slowly as he rose from the bow. "I vill see vhat I can do, Commander."
Groaning at the theatrics, Gendo returned to the report. "Just see that you do."
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Misato stared critically at her reflection in her mirror. While she didn't care about winning the costume contest, she just had to beat Ritsuko. Her friend had been so smugly secretive about her costume, only offering cryptic hints about it. Kaji had been hanging around her office, dropping other hints about the scientist. She scowled, turning one way and then the next, inspecting her shapely figure from all angles. She looked good, but then, she always looked good.
The costume was a classic one, Misato being of the mindset that the classics were classics for a reason: they were hits with everyone. The French maid's uniform was heavily stylized, and while Misato doubted its usefulness to an actual maid, what with the plunging neckline and high hemline, the black uniform left just enough to the imagination. There were going to be children present, after all.
She ran a hand over the lacy trim, wondering if she should have gone for the ruffled version instead. The lacy version was definitely more seductive looking, but the ruffles on the other uniform had positively dripped with cuteness. Putting her hands on her hips, thrusting them out to one side, and tilting her head, she smiled.
No, the lacy version was the one to go with. Definitely.
Setting the small hat on her head at a jaunty angle, she skipped out of her room, shivers of excitement and anticipation running down her spine as she grinned.
There's no way that Ritsuko will beat me at the costume contest. No way at all.
She glanced around the living room, from the tables laden with food and drink to the karaoke machine already set up in the corner by the television and sound system that had shown up along with Asuka's belongings to replace her own modest one.
Great! Everything is perfect. Soon, NERV Operation Spooky Fun Time will commence, and everyone, Shinji included, will have a great time!
Grinning, her eyes brightened as her gaze again fell upon the punch bowl, filled nearly to the brim with a cheerful-looking orange liquid. Like before, the plan was to spike the punch after the younger girls had been taken to one of the Section 2 rooms for the night. Of course, Kodama had told Misato ahead of time that Hikari would be on the lookout for such suspicious and irresponsible activity on their part. Therefore, the devious pair of pranksters had enlisted the aide of an unlikely candidate: Lieutenant Maya Ibuki.
The three had met for tea one afternoon when Misato started planning the party. While it had taken a while to get the usually strait-laced young woman to see things their way, she had agreed the pictures of the sloshed teenagers from the first party had been amusing and, in a few cases, adorable. So, for the sake of improving the camaraderie of the pilot corps (which always seemed rocky at best), she would pour a modest amount of alcohol into the fruity drink. Misato knew the overly responsible Hikari would never suspect Maya, the quiet bridge technician, of nefarious activities. Besides, letting the kids live a little in a supervised setting wouldn't hurt. Ritsuko had blessed off on the plan; despite rolling her eyes so hard, Misato thought they would fall out of her friend's head.
The doorbell rang suddenly, pulling the raven-haired woman out of her reverie. Hurrying to the door, she smoothed out the white apron that hung over the racy mini-skirt and threw open the door with a wide smile.
"Hello! Ah, how are you Kodama?" Misato pleasantly asked the eldest of the Horaki sisters. The girls were all there, with Kodama wearing a witch's outfit and a knowing smirk. Nozomi, dressed like some overly cute creature from one game or another, darted in, as full of energy as only a young child looking forward to a night full of candy and fun can be. Hikari was dressed in a somewhat risqué (for her) costume, consisting of a yellow skirt ending at the mid-thigh (only a few inches longer than Misato's) and a tightly hugging white blouse with a neckline far deeper than anything she had ever worn before. A pair of tiny fluffy wings was built into the back of the shirt, and she wore a wig of long silvery hair that almost floated through the air. In one hand, she carried a large bag containing spare clothing for her and her younger sister.
"My, that is a fetching look for you, Hikari!" Misato said, eying the young woman, who blushed heavily as she stepped inside. "You'll do well in the costume contest!"
Hikari shook her head emphatically. "No, I'm not entering the contest." She hefted the bag after placing her shoes by the door. "Is Asuka still getting ready?" she asked, looking around the decorated and rearranged apartment with a critical eye on Nozomi, who was engaged in chasing Pen-Pen around the ample empty space in the center of the living room.
"Yes, she's still in her room. We'll keep an eye on Nozomi, so go on ahead."
Hikari narrowed her eyes at the pair. "I'll be keeping my eye on that punch bowl, Kodama."
Both older women laughed as Hikari marched down the hall to her friend's room. She tried to ignore their laughter and resolved to keep a strict watch on them and the punch bowl. She knew Asuka would be no help at all in this matter; the girl did not understand her stance on underage drinking. It seemed they did things very differently in Germany.
"Asuka?" Hikari called for the girl. She knocked on the girl's door, still slightly cringing inside, and she recalled that this used to be Shinji's room. She had never heard him complain about his eviction to the much smaller room, and neither Toji nor Kensuke had ever mentioned him having a problem with it, but it still didn't seem right. "Asuka, it's Hikari. Can I come in?"
"Yeah, come on in, but close the door quick." Asuka's muffled voice came through the door, sounding like she had something in her mouth as she talked. Sliding the door open, Hikari saw her friend sitting at her desk, wearing a robe with a towel wrapped around her head. Shutting the door again behind her, she set the bag down against the wall before sitting down carefully on the girl's bed.
"So, what's your big secret costume?"
Asuka popped her lips a few times, bending closer to the mirror before answering. "It's part of my master plan to get Kaji to forget about Misato!" she said, a grin on her face as she spun around to face the magical girl costumed Hikari. "And I've got a secret weapon as well." She winked and held up a glass vial partially filled with a clear liquid. "Lavender perfume. Weapons-grade material by itself normally, but I've done some additional tweaking. This makes Misato's stuff smell like old dishwater."
Hikari eyed the jar with interest. "Really? What did you do to it?" She knew Asuka was skilled in chemistry and that even the more outrageous statements about her scientific aptitude and abilities were not idle boasts.
Asuka's expression grew sly. "Oh, a little of this, a smidge of that... Let's just say that once he gets a whiff of this, he'll forget all about Misato." She clasped the vial to her chest, spinning around in a display of actual happiness. As she spun, the towel wrapped around her head fell off suddenly, sending her long hair, still damp, flying out in a fan behind her. Hikari's eyes opened wide as her jaw dropped, clearly in shock.
"Asuka! Your hair!"
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Toji and Kensuke nodded to each other, each eying the other boy's costume. Toji was wearing a suit similar to one of the famous race car drivers, his jumpsuit made of white leather but devoid of the endorsement logos plastered all over the regular driver's uniforms, including their helmets (Toji's was pure white), which obscured his features behind a lens of smoked glass. In fact, the only reason Kensuke knew it was Toji was because of the presence of his sister, Mari.
The younger girl was wearing one of the mass-produced costumes of the pilots, in her case, one of Asuka. While Toji had reservations about her emulating the pilots (for reasons he could not explain to the younger girl why he had initially refused to buy her the costume, such as the horrible trauma Shinji suffered before his eyes), he had to admit she looked cute. But, while he might be prejudiced, everyone they had run across on their way to the apartment had commented on her.
Toji, however, was at a loss to explain Kensuke's outfit. While the tuxedo was supposed to be elegant and dashing, the bespectacled boy looked a little uncomfortable. While it was generally agreed upon by the girls in their class that he was vaguely dorky-looking (and acting), his choice of costume did not help at all. Cocking his helmeted head to one side, Toji gave up trying to figure it out.
"So... You're going as a waiter?"
Kensuke glared at his friend as Mari burst into laughter. "No! I'm James Bond."
"Who?"
Rolling his eyes, Kensuke shook his head. "Only the most famous spy in history."
"C'mon, man, you look like a waiter."
Giving up on explaining it to his friend, Kensuke sighed. "Whatever. Let's just get to the party already."
Mari bounced up and down excitedly. "Nozomi Hikari and Kodama are all there!" She started skipping around in a circle around the pair, her limp just barely noticeable if you had known her before the accident. "And Mr. Shinji, Miss Rei, and Miss Asuka will be there!" she continued to chant in her sing-song voice, counting off names on her hands. She had originally wanted a Rei costume, the shy blue-haired girl being the first girl pilot (as enamored of Shinji as she was, the idea of girls dressing like boys and vise versa was icky, and thus had passed on a costume of the Third Child), but all of the ones in her size had been sold. While she liked 'Miss' Asuka well enough, "Miss' Rei had a special place in her heart.
The apartment door was already open in preparation for the many expected visitors and guests. There was no real worry about questionable people showing up, as Section 2 was checking people at the building entrances and, to a lesser extent, screening people entering the 'carnival' area. Mari caught sight of Nozomi and quickly joined her in the main room in front of the television. Hearing their shouted greetings, Kodama poked her head out of the kitchen, smiling at her sister's boyfriend.
"Hey, Toji, Kensuke. Hikari's with Asuka right now." She appraised their outfits, shaking her head slightly at the jock's, but raised a questioning eyebrow at his geeky friend. "Um... so you're dressed up as a butler?"
Grumbling under his breath, Kensuke shook his head. "No, I'm a spy." He pulled a smug face, and in a deadpan voice, he introduced his costume's namesake. "The name's Bond. James Bond."
Obviously still not getting the reference; the older girl just shrugged. "Well, Shinji hasn't poked his head out of his room yet, so you might want to see if he's done getting ready."
Sighing theatrically, Kensuke left for Shinji's room without further comment while Toji nodded to Kodama. Kensuke knocked on Shinji's door, calling to his friend.
"Hey, Shin-man, it's us. Can we come in?"
The only response that came was the door sliding open slightly, showing the dim room beyond. Kensuke pushed the door the rest of the way open, and the pair entered the small room, Toji sliding shut the door behind him. The room was about a third the size of his old one, and with the three boys, it felt somewhat cramped. Toji knew Shinji preferred to keep the door closed, as it was a barrier between him and the energetic (and somewhat intrusive) females he roomed with. Although the party was nearing, Shinji was still clad in his new usual attire at home, wearing black shorts and the blue t-shirt that had been a gift from Rei. The room's small window was open for ventilation, but it didn't do much to remove the smell of gun oil from the enclosed space. His 9mm pistol lay disassembled on the desk next to the lockbox it usually stayed in at the apartment.
"Dude, where's your costume? The party's gonna start in like an hour, man." Toji stated, sitting on the narrow bed. He pulled his helmet off, setting it down on the floor. "What are you going as? You never did say."
Shinji shook his head as he wiped down one of the pieces glistening in the dim light. "I'm not dressing up. I don't feel like partying anyway." He glanced at Kensuke, who was fiddling with his bow tie. "Umm... I get what Toji's supposed to be, but what are you? An undertaker?"
"Oh, come on! Undertakers don't wear tuxedos!" Kensuke cried, slamming his head into his open hands. "Is it really that no one's ever seen a Bond flick?"
"A what?"
Toji shook his head. "Don't ask. It's some spy thing. But seriously, you're not dressing up? It's freaking Halloween, man! You gotta dress up! It's tradition!"
"A dumb tradition..." Shinji muttered under his breath, not caring if they heard him.
Toji sighed, shaking his head again. He realized that he needed to get the Shinji train on the track to party town. Otherwise, certain female parties would be sure to want to have words with him and Kensuke. Sharp, pointed, and uncomfortable words. He didn't understand why involving his shy and reserved friend always fell to him, especially as the most strident of females lived with him.
"Okay, I wasn't going to say anything because Hikari told me not to, but she and Rei spent, I don't know, like the past two weeks working on costumes."
He made sure he had Shinji's attention before continuing. "Now, if Rei is dressing up for this party, don't you think you should too? I mean, even if it's something lame like Ken's waiter get up, you gotta dress up."
A thoughtful look passed over Shinji's features before he shook his head and continued to wipe down the pistol, slipping away from Toji. "I really don't like parties, though..."
Toji grinned, having been waiting for this argument and having just the thing to counter it. "According to Mari, Rei asked Hikari about the standard social norms for a Halloween party."
Shinji stopped halfway through assembling his pistol, staring at the wall for a minute before his eyes drifted to the small framed picture of a nervous-looking boy and a calm-looking girl in 'fancy' dress standing in the apartment's living room.
"Well, that does sound like Rei..." Shinji said, looking conflicted. Sighing, he finished putting the pistol back together and running through the functions check, his hands and fingers flying through the process with practiced ease before locking it away. "Okay, okay, now I have to come up with something..." he said, shooing them from his room. Somewhat dumbfounded about the enthusiasm of the sudden burst of activity from the ordinarily sedate boy, Toji and Kensuke moved back toward the living room.
"Well, that's done," Kensuke commented. "What do you think he's gonna dress as?"
"No idea, bud. I'm sure he'll come up with something, though."
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Rei carefully regarded the results of her latest experiment. It seemed so far to be a huge success, but it was much too early to tell. She needed external verification and validation for this. Still, unfortunately, the only peer review group she had (and the only member of that peer group whose reaction and opinion she cared about) would also be the subjects of the experiment's creation. This was, of course, very sloppy Science.
If only it had occurred to me earlier, I could have tested the results on my Section 2 escorts... It would not be perfect, nor, strictly speaking, would they be solid members of my peer group, but it would have been something. But it is much too late to run tests against them. If I am to arrive at the optimum time as prescribed by Major Katsuragi, I will need to begin my final cleaning cycle in a few moments and then dress myself to depart per the timeline.
She shot a final glance at the finished product, feeling her cheeks warm in anticipation of showing it off to Shinji.
I have no doubts that he will be impressed. Everything went according to the design schematics and blueprints. I need not doubt the rigorousness of my Science.
Crimson eyes narrowed as she moved through her apartment, taking care to deposit her shed clothing into the clothes hamper, which now inhabited one corner of her room, rather than leaving a trail of discarded garments behind her.
Not even Pilot Sohryu can stand in the face of my creation. Even she shall fall before the masterpiece I have created.
As she stepped forth from the shower, she regarded her dripping form in the bathroom's mirror, staring into the reflection of her eyes, concentrating as she always did now, trying to focus on the obsidian pools surrounded by blood-red. It only took a few moments out of her timeline and was a necessary deviation from the night's planned activities.
After a few minutes without any noticeable response from her reflection, she quickly grabbed her towel and moved back to the singular room that comprised most of her assigned living space. She regarded the heavily modified plug-suit and accompanying clothing and accouterments as she methodically dried herself off.
When Captain Katsuragi invited her to the party, she told Rei she should find a costume to wear. Rei, uncertain as to what she had meant, had merely nodded and left. Further research explained the history behind the seasonal holiday and provided several examples of 'traditional' costumes. What she had not been able to find out was the basis for selecting one costume over another. Rei had not been sure if there were specific reasons one would select a pirate costume or elect to go as one of the miscellaneous types of undead. Furthermore, there was the issue of the complexity of the costume, which apparently could range from very basic to horrendously complex.
So when she observed Hikari discussing the particulars of the costume she was planning on creating for the party, she again turned to the trustworthy Class Representative for advice and guidance.
Hikari had informed her friend that there weren't any real reasons past what appealed to the person unless they were part of a group dressing to a particular theme. Hikari had suggested Rei dress up as a character or archetype that interested her. The complexity was all up to the person putting the costume together, basically boiling down to how much work they wanted to do or how much money they wanted to spend.
Once the particulars had been explained, Rei knew precisely what she would be dressed as. No base archetype for her; no pirate, ninja, zombie, or robot would be sufficient for her. No, for Rei, there was only one thing that would suffice, and that was nothing less than the anthropomorphic representation of Science.
Of course, just because she knew what she would be doing didn't mean she knew what the costume would look like. She had her work cut out for her, trying to decide how to best depict the all-encompassing label of Science in a costume that would make it clear what she was and be aesthetically pleasing (to her sensibilities, at any rate).
It had been quite the agonizing process for the girl, but the end product was very satisfactory.
Smiling as she dressed, she studied her reflection in the hall mirror with a critical eye, checking for deficiencies. She found none, having practiced the donning and wearing of the costume several times since the final stages of assembly. She had experiments to run tonight and was not about to be hampered by a faulty costume.
Carefully packing the creation into its travel system, designed to maintain a specific thermal equilibrium and protect against shock and impacts, she left her apartment and headed for the security car to take her to the party.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
The party was already in full swing when Rei arrived, just as she had calculated. The wedge of black-suited men with serious frowns cut a path through the revelers in the carnival section to the apartment where the maid-suited mastermind lived with her two charges. Rei slipped through the door, leaving the uniformed men to their own devices, who promptly made their way to the designated safe room.
She froze as a miniature version of the second most interesting test subject barreled into her, latching onto her legs in a hug. Rei smiled tentatively down at Mari as the young girl gushed hyperactive greetings. That mission was accomplished; Mari released her hold on the pilot and careened off in a new direction, intent on doing some new activity.
A hearty and raucous laugh could be heard from the kitchen area, cutting through the noise of the party and letting Rei know where her purple-haired Commander was. Carefully holding the transport container in front of her with both hands, Rei stopped just inside the kitchen's entryway, blinking at the sight of two Misatos, one smaller than the other, the larger (and normal-sized) one dressed in the manner of a domestic servant with a relatively lax set of uniform standards and the other (smaller) in the Operations Director's typical attire.
Both were waving beer cans around in the air similarly to the other, the shorter one shouting out things in a parody of the larger one. When the focus shifted from her to Rei (standing behind her), Misato's clone spun around to see what the rest of the room looked at in dumbfounded and open-mouthed shock, revealing her to be Asuka.
As often was the case when confronted by something strange, Misato found her voice first. She plopped her beer down on the table and tilted her head to the left as she spoke about what was being thought by all present.
"That's... interesting, Rei. Very... different. What are you?"
Rei ignored the question, as she often did queries to herself, but instead lifted the transport container higher. "I have brought something for the party. Where should I place it?"
"What? Wondergirl brought something for a party?" Asuka asked before silently cursing to herself, having forgotten her new policy of not speaking to the albino in hopes of forcing the girl to ignore her.
Rei, for her part, noticed but did not seize upon the opportunity the pilot gave her, opting to conserve her unique brand of 'humor' for later. It was a tool to use in her experiments with the girl, and like an antibacterial medicine, if used too often, the bacteria in question could develop immunity. Instead, she looked around the kitchen for an optimum location to display her creation. Rei found a spot on the counter where a plate sat, now holding only crumbs from the pile of cookies that had been there.
Aware that all eyes were on her, she moved to the counter, not quite walking, but not quite prancing. Trying to put Captain Katsuragi's instructions about how to move to impress into action, she shot Pilot Sohryu a flat look. Placing the box down on top of the plate, Rei turned around, noting with distinct pleasure the results of her careful experimentation but also noted a distinct lack of her favorite test subject.
"Is Ikari here?"
Asuka rolled her eyes at the question she had just known would be forthcoming from the blue-haired annoyance, the dull boy being one of the only things the boring girl cared about. Despite all assurances from Hikari, her friend's stooge boyfriend, and plenty of others, she still had doubts that the pair hadn't been engaged in sinful and perverted activities before her arrival on the scene. Certainly, the way they almost doted upon each other sometimes didn't raise any flags with anyone at NERV. They all thought it was cute. Of course, at other times, they were both so awkward it made her teeth hurt.
It had completely escaped her that many of the same things could be applied to her pursuit of a certain unshaven spy. Likewise, so did the fact that, in all reality, the two pilots had a better chance with each other than she did with her prey.
Hikari nudged her helmeted boyfriend in the ribs with an elbow before she could open her mouth to deliver a scathing comment (forgetting her 'policy' of silence again). Underneath the cover of his darkened visor, he winced but otherwise made no sign of discomfort as he stood.
"I'll be checking on him then. Be right back." On his way out, he grabbed Kensuke by the arm, dragging him into the hallway.
Rei locked her arms behind her, one hand grasping the other arm at her elbow, and stood there in front of the box, silently inspecting the assembled persons. As before, the primary bridge crew was present, as were the Horaki sisters, Mari Suzahara, Captain Katsuragi, Dr. Akagi (who was not taking part in the tradition of going in costume), and a few other technicians, and two men who she knew belonged to the Section 2 department. Pilot Sohryu was, of course, present, and a few of the clique of girls the forceful girl had carved out for herself. One or two other boys from their class were also present, and they wore (accompanied by the girls who were less familiar with Rei) looks of incredulous disbelief.
All except Dr. Akagi were in costume, most appearing to be store-bought affairs, while some showed signs of being homemade or at least improved with self-constructed pieces. Her costume, by far, was the most extravagant and complex, having been the product of over a month of careful work.
Except for Captain Katsuragi, Rei's costume was the most revealing, and all agreed it was the most visually striking. The problem was that while everyone could figure out what each other was dressed as (even if nobody thought of spy when considering Kensuke), nobody was sure where to begin trying to figure out who (or what) Rei was. Even when dressing up in costume, it seemed the girl was set on defying explanation.
Her costume was a multilayer affair, one that incorporated one of her plug-suits (acquired from storage), a small white boy's school uniform shirt (acquired from Shinji's closet), a white pleated skirt with black trim, and a black tie (both purchased for this night). A pair of A10 connectors sat in her hair, although they were now unrecognizable as such, having been heavily modified. Unseen by the assembled group, a pair of black safety boots sat at the entrance to the apartment.
The arms and legs of the plug-suit had been removed to create a tight-fitting sleeveless affair with legs terminating at mid-thigh. Over this, she wore the almost as tight-fitting white collared shirt, now similarly sleeveless, and the skirt, which ended just above her knees. The black tie, done up in a Double Windsor knot, was loosely tucked underneath her collar, matching the black trim of the skirt and the tall black socks. Billowy faux arm-warmers, fashioned from the detached sleeves of the shirt, sat snugly on her upper arms, showing off her shoulders, flaring out at the wrists. The modified A10 connectors were placed carefully into her hair, and the small, streamlined shapes were now molded to hold two orbs on each connector, with a different colored LED emplaced in the center of each sphere.
Extrapolating from the looks on their faces, Rei was quite confident her costume would have a satisfactory effect on Shinji, one being that he would be extremely pliant and positively responsive to suggestions and offers of close physical proximity and even possibly to kissing. It had not escaped Rei's (or Shinji's, for that matter) notice they had engaged in (sometimes accidentally, sometimes not, and almost always in strange, roundabout ways) what was commonly called cuddling and, on occasion, heavy petting while having altogether skipped over any kissing. She was quite looking forward to the field research this night promised.
Rei was quite content to stand there in silence until Shinji appeared, but Asuka was not. Asuka hated the silence, hated the quiet stillness. She was a woman of action, so she surprised no one when she irritably threw back the rest of her beer and put her hands on her hips, glaring at the girl who had stolen her spotlight (again).
"Well? What'd you make, Wondergirl?"
"Not yet."
Rei's tone wasn't smug, as it lacked emotion. However, the strictness of her laconic response lent her the air of smug superiority without leaving anyone the ability to call her out for acting so smugly superior. To everyone who had become accustomed to her over the years, it was Rei being Rei. To Asuka, it was another infuriating verbal barb, one of a seemingly endless line of open-ended statements that Wondergirl used to attack her, full of ambiguous double meanings without leaving her any recourse for a response. What further enraged the fiery-tempered teenager was that nobody else ever picked up on them; worse, they thought it was hilarious when they did.
This was, of course, all done on purpose. Rei had become quite fond of the strangled sputtering noises that escaped from the German Pilot when her speech centers were shut down due to her inability to articulately vent her anger.
Toji and Kensuke returned to the kitchen, standing at the back, looking over the counter dividing the living area from the kitchen area. While Toji's expression could not be seen, Kensuke's was one of uncertain apologeticness. Fiddling with his bow tie, he answered the unasked question.
"Ahh... He's not ready yet."
Misato arched an eyebrow, her curiosity aroused. She had no idea what her wards had planned on dressing as, uncharacteristically refraining from spying on them, to be surprised on the day of the party. Asuka's portrayal of her was delightfully insolent, and something she would do herself, but Shinji's preparations had been supremely clandestine, while Asuka had been merely secretive about her costume. She would have sworn the boy hadn't even been working on a costume if she didn't know better.
They heard the front door open and then close, Asuka noticeably perking up, expecting to see Kaji stroll through the apartment to them. Still, the black-suited man who moved with a purpose through the apartment passed the group without comment, proceeding down the hall toward Shinji's room. They stood where they were, as if riveted in place, listening to muffled voices and then the man's footsteps as he came back down the hall and left with as much fanfare as he had arrived.
Silence reigned supreme in the Katsuragi household as the noise of the revelry in the rest of the building and outside trickled in. As a rule, the men of Section 2 who wore the black suits of the 'uniformed' groups kept interaction with the person to whom they were assigned to a minimum. (Nobody was sure just who was a member of 6 Group, the hidden 'plainclothes' division of Section 2, and thus the level of interaction with them couldn't be measured) To be sure, the men of Mobile Groups 4, 10, and 11 would ferry their charges around if the weather was bad, if they were in a hurry, or if they had several packages if they were asked. (Group 11 was asked more often than Groups 4 or 10) But for one of the black suits, going to talk to one of their charges in their home was most unusual. Each person was intrigued at this turn of events, unsure of the meaning behind this portentous action on the part of the 10 Group members. They could hear Shinji's door sliding open and closed, and then they waited with bated breath as Shinji's soft footfalls, barely audible, came down the hall.
When Shinji came into view, his costume, which could only be called that because it wasn't clothing he was regularly seen in, left people just as confused as Rei's.
Like Asuka's, it was comprised mostly of regular clothes, things worn daily but by other people. However, when Asuka also dyed her hair and copied the 'iconic' look of Misato Katsuragi, if Shinji was specifically aping someone, nobody knew who it was. He was dressed somewhat nicely in all black, in slacks, shirt, and tie. Over all this was a white lab coat, his hands tucked casually into the deep pockets. However, over the upper half of his face was the most outlandish component of his outfit, a large pair of black safety goggles and the large, completely opaque circular lenses hiding his eyes. Due to the placement of the pockets on the lab coat, he was standing up straighter than he usually did, his shoulders squared. His dark brown hair spilled over the goggles, drawing the eye up to them and away from the rest of his features. The button-up shirt and neatly done tie made him seem older, and due to the goggles, even his normally carefully neutral expression was now full of almost brazen confidence. Now, the slightly off gait he had become a swagger.
Just as Rei had prompted unusual, and in some cases, uncomfortable, reactions in the group, so did Shinji, although he evoked a wider variety of responses.
To his fellow students and Kodama, it was shock and disbelief. This... this guy was Ikari?
To the adult members of NERV, it was a surprise and a slight shivering of their spines (and souls), as on that strangely blank and at the same time almost arrogant face, the resemblance between father and son could be seen.
Nozomi and Mari simply thought he looked cool. Very cool.
Asuka saw hints of the extremely deadly and hyper-competent Evangelion Pilot who had appeared only once before to come and do battle with Gaghiel and, in his rage and blood-lust, do what was thought to be impossible.
Rei saw him dripping with Scientific Prowess (amongst other things, like Raw Sex Appeal), and while she didn't recognize what she was feeling, she wanted to stick her tongue down his throat and mount him (not necessarily in that order).
Naturally, the effect was largely ruined when he opened his mouth. "H-hello." He swallowed his nervousness, which didn't show up as much as an insolent smirk.
Narrowing her eyes at her fellow pilot, Asuka tore them from Shinji and back to Rei. "Now that the Third is here, will you show us what's in the box?"
"Weighted Transport Container." Rei softly corrected her, but she stepped aside to reveal the box. She noted with a thrill that Ikari's eyes (well, lenses) were fixed on her. She carefully undid the safety latches along the sides of the container and removed the top. Gasps of appreciation and sudden hunger filled the air as the product of careful work and experimentation came into view.
The cake, clearly homemade as no local store carried anything like it, was two layers tall, circular, and fourteen inches in diameter. It was covered in white cream frosting and topped at regular intervals by bright red cherries sitting on decadent thrones of frosting. A sprinkling of chocolate shavings sat in the center of the alabaster field in the center of the cake.
Asuka recognized it immediately but did not know what to think other than it looked beautifully done. She turned a sparkling gaze to the girl, who was a constant source of irritation, wanting simultaneously to hug and throttle her.
While the others did not recognize the specific type of culinary and confectionery delight sitting before them, the awe they felt was universal. All gazed upon its perfection with childlike wonder. Rei beamed at them (mainly at Shinji) in a rare moment of heavy facial expression, her cheeks pink with embarrassed pride.
Uncharacteristically, Shinji was the first to find his voice. "Ayanami... this... this is..."
"Schwarzwald Kuchen." Rei responded, her voice light. She had been correct, she told herself. Her worries had been unnecessary, for none among them could stand before her Science.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
It was well after midnight, and the block-wide party showed no signs of slowing down, let alone stopping. True to plan, after the two 'young ones' had collapsed into sugar comas and had been safely secured by one of the black suits, Maya had managed to circumvent Hikari's careful guard over the punch bowl, and the remaining members of the portion of the party in Misato's apartment soon were lightly buzzed.
Revelers came and went, moving from apartment to apartment, celebrating the holiday as much as they did, and feeling a general fellowship with one another as a united species against a universal enemy in a war they were winning so far. Again, the fact that almost everyone present worked directly for NERV helped immensely with this feeling of brotherhood. Costumes ranged through the entire spectrum of quality and type. Misato had won the adult costume contest, even though the person she had supposedly been competing against the most (Ritsuko, who had egged her friend on and on to see what she would wear to win) hadn't dressed up.
Despite no one being able to tell what she was, Rei had won the teenager contest because of her outfit's sheer complexity and uniqueness. When she explained what she was, Ritsuko laughed heartily and hugged the girl, surprising them both.
The Sub-Commander had shown up again, and as vampires were often depicted to prey on young ladies for blood, the distinguished-looking man had his pick of many a young NERV technician, whose hearts all went aflutter for the second most powerful man in the eastern hemisphere.
Trying to get a punch refill for himself and Rei, Shinji moved through the crowd towards the refreshments. Someone in a cheap ghost costume (a white sheet with two holes cut into it) handed him two cups as he stumbled forward. As he murmured his thanks with a slight smile (made more pronounced by his goggles), the ghost reached out through the sheet to ruffle his hair and push him back towards Rei, who was engrossed with inspecting a jack-o-lantern someone had brought up.
As he walked back out onto the patio, Rei turned and smiled warmly at him, encouraged both by the fruit-flavored rum in the punch and by the fact that it was Shinji. For his part, he smiled back, encouraged both by the rum in the punch and by the fact that it was Rei and by the fact he felt like someone completely different with the goggles on. He wasn't sure what it was (it was not, surprisingly enough, the rum, as this feeling of difference had started well before the first drops of rum hit the punch bowl), but somehow, with the goggles, he felt more confident. With the goggles, he wasn't Shinji Ikari. He wasn't quite sure who he was, but whoever he was, he was different. He handed the girl her cup of punch and sat down on one of the cushioned benches.
"So, what are you again, Rei? I'm sorry, but I still don't understand it."
Plopping herself down on the same bench, but not right next to him, Rei took a sip from her cup, relishing the fruity taste of the drink.
This is, as Misato would say, most tasty and adequate.
"I'm a Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System, Ikari. I'm what the MAGI are."
"The MAGI look like you? I thought they were those... those... big boxes in the command center."
Rei bit her lip, trying her best not to laugh. The Commander never laughed, but while she attempted to hold to the standard that her father kept, she failed. It was a light and bubbly sound, and she threw a hand to her mouth to try to contain it.
She failed.
Shinji stared at her, eyes still hidden but mouth open as Rei dropped her hand, smiling at him.
It was a combination of shared drunkenness, natural attraction, shared burdens and triumphs, high spirits, and Science that was responsible for what happened next.
Both moved towards the other, slightly tilting their heads, eyes closed, and lips parted in anticipation.
What happened after was entirely Kaji's fault.
Vier, Drei, Zwei, Eins!
Asuka moved through the apartment, then the floor, followed quickly by the building, and finally through the carnival, looking for her missing love. Hikari was in tow, but the class representative did not usually have a chance to let her hair down, so to speak, and was getting tired of trailing after her friend in what seemed to be a fruitless search. Besides, she had her boyfriend upstairs and wanted to get him onto the karaoke machine with her. She didn't know it, but her cheeks flushed, and she had already forgotten to watch the morally deficient adults for suspicious behavior.
"Asuka, is he even coming tonight? Maybe he has to work."
Asuka shook her mane of purple hair violently. She, too, was growing irritated with the fruitless search but wasn't ready to call it quits. True to form, the other members of her little clique had abandoned the pair, not being actual friends with the temperamental pilot as Hikari was. She tossed her hair again, still looking around, hoping to glimpse the elusive inspector.
"He said he would be here. Besides, this will be the party of the year; how can he not be here?"
It was hard for Hikari to argue with her friend's logic. From what she had heard from Asuka, the man wasn't a shift worker or a regular NERV employee but rather was a UN Special Inspector currently assigned to the Section 2 group as a liaison with the UN Intelligence organization. Furthermore, this would be the party of the year, outdoing the impromptu block party that had erupted as Misato's first party spilled out of the building onto the street. Things had not yet spiraled out of control, but it was only a matter of time. On top of these facts, the rum Hikari had imbibed was working its smooth magic on her logic centers.
"What did he say he was going to be dressed as?"
Asuka frowned, her buzz not lightening her mood at all. Sighing, she stomped back to the elevator, getting in after a few other people and pulling Hikari in before the doors closed.
"He didn't say. He might not be dressed up in anything; he's cool enough to get by just as himself."
Hikari couldn't argue that point, sharing Asuka's opinion where the man was concerned, having seen him a handful of times in the redhead's company. Even when she was sober, the man's presence struck a chord with her, just as he did with many women. However, unlike Asuka, she was not fixated on him.
The man in question was standing at the back of the elevator, smiling not his usual smirk but a genuine smile into a hand as he watched the girl, hidden in plain sight in his simple but effective costume. It was obvious to him what the girl was trying to do, but while he could choose to be flattered by the girl's infatuation with him, it worried him as much as it amused him the lengths she was going to entrap him to get him to reveal his real feelings. He would have to talk to Misato about it.
Tonight, however, was not the night for such gloomy thoughts! No, the mood this night called for was light-hearted if careful revelry. He had no idea how Misato had gotten the Commander to sign off on letting the pilots have booze.
So he carefully made his way to Misato's apartment, weaving into and out of the other parties running in tandem with the rest, sampling food, drink, entertainment, and ladies. He grinned again when he spotted Misato complaining good-naturedly to her oldest friend.
"I can't believe that you and that scruffy ruffian completely made up those stories about your costume," Misato said, with a frown and a beer in her hand. The hand without the beer traced an arc through the air as her irritation at being played so manifested as physical energy. "You never were going to wear a costume?"
Ritsuko laughed, helping herself to another cup of now heavily spiked punch. "Nope!" She grinned at the hurt expression on her friend's face but reached out to hug her. Misato didn't pull away but looked askance at the normally more reserved doctor.
"What's got you in such a good mood? You're normally a party pooper."
Ritsuko merely smiled again as she rubbed her head against Misato's shoulder. "I can't let my hair down ever? This is a party, Misato!"
Chuckling, Misato waved in greeting to the Sub-Commander, who swooped in with a dramatic toss of his cape. "Yeah, but I thought you forgot how to do that."
"Mmm... well, maybe there wasn't time for it before." Ritsuko released her friend and reached for her punch again. "All the Evangelions are in perfect working order, all of the pilots have acceptable synchronization scores, and nothing needs to be done to the interception, detection, or protective systems of Tokyo-3 or the Geo-Front. All the current projects are on schedule. I even got to sleep in my apartment topside this week. Life is good."
Misato laughed with Ritsuko, completely agreeing with her last statement. Indeed, things seemed to be going smoothly for once. It had been months since the previous Angel attack, and all of the vital systems that were instrumental in protecting mankind were operating at peak efficiency, apart from the pilots, who, by nature of the safeguards and limiters placed on their equipment, would never reach a one-hundred percent synchronization score with their Evangelion. All of the pilots had been maintaining respectable scores over the past few tests.
Things were looking up for them.
Asuka and Hikari came back in. Misato's clone looked none too happy, but Hikari seemed positively bursting with good spirits, searching now for her boyfriend, who at the moment was finishing up a turn on the karaoke machine with Kensuke (who had given up on explaining who he was) and Shinji. Thirsty after singing the unreasonably long song Kensuke had picked, Toji lowered his visor and made his way to the counter, where he ladled himself some of the festive punch.
"So you're the Stig then, yes?"
Toji turned to regard an equally expressionless ghost, who had wandered in shortly after Hikari and Asuka had returned. He nodded his blank visage but broke out of character (not that he had ever really been in it), responding.
"Yes! Ah, I'm glad somebody finally got it. I mean, everyone at least realizes what I am, unlike Ken, but no one knew who I was."
The ghost nodded, and an arm pushed out of the sheet to gesture at Kensuke, the tuxedo no longer looking neat and crisp but somewhat wrinkled. "I take it that your friend is not a wedding singer, then?"
Toji laughed, making a note to tell Kensuke that one. "No, he's supposed to be some famous spy. They made movies about him, I guess."
The ghost's arm disappeared back into its body. "A spy? Wouldn't a famous spy not be a very good one?" Despite the serious nature of the question, heavy with philosophical and practical meaning, the ghost's tone was light. This was, after all, a party. If some sources were to be trusted, the party of the year. It would not do to ruin it by being overly serious.
Toji, for his part, muddled through that idea reasonably quickly for a buzzed teenager. "You know, that's a good... point! I wonder if Ken thought about that..."
"A good question. What of your other friend? I'm afraid his costume has me at more of a loss than your spy."
Toji turned his gaze to follow Shinji, who seemed to be engrossed in one of those strange conversations with Ayanami that only he could coerce her into. They were over by the fog machine, and both were smiling. Small, shy smiles to sure, but smiles nonetheless, rarely seen on either.
"To be completely honest, I don't know. Some kind of mad scientist, I guess? I don't think he knows either. It looks cool, though."
The ghost seemed to agree, or at least the head bobbed like the person underneath was nodding. "It certainly does, but what of his demeanor? He seems more animated than normal."
Toji nodded in return. "Yeah, I think it's the goggles. I mean, they change how he looks and how he sees things. I mean, like, really. We can't see him as Shinji; he's someone else. Even to himself. So he acts different."
"That's an interesting point you raise."
Underneath his visor, Toji beamed. He knew that while he was smarter than he looked, it still didn't count for much. It felt good for some NERV tech (all of whom were geniuses at one thing or another, he had found) to complement him. "I think it's part of people not knowing who you are. You could be anyone, so they are forced to treat you differently. Like me, no one would know it's me under here."
The ghost regarded Toji for the briefest of moments before responding. "Ah, but there you are wrong. I know exactly who you are, Toji Suzahara."
While there was no threat in the ghost's voice, the fact that the ghost knew his name right off the cuff set off alarm bells in his brain. He backed away slightly from the ghost. His visor had been up when singing, but he knew there was no way for the ghost to have seen who he was when he had come in. Something was wrong. Shivers traveled down the boy's spine and he tried to spot Misato or one of the off-duty Section 2 agents who had introduced himself earlier.
"I don't think I mentioned my name."
The ghost seemed to ignore the change in the atmosphere between the two. Dark eyes stared out of the cutout holes in the white sheet, seeming to bore into the boy's soul. "You are friends with a boy named Kensuke and a boy close to a girl who can only be Rei Ayanami. That would make him Shinji Ikari, and that boy is friends with Kensuke Aida and Toji Suzahara." All of this was said in a simple, matter-of-fact voice.
"You figured out who I was just on that?"
"In my line of work, it pays to be able to put the little details together to figure out the big picture. To see how they all fit."
"What other details have you put together then?" Toji asked, still wary but slightly mollified by the ghost's explanation.
"Oh, mostly boring details. But something that I haven't quite figured out just yet is why a boy would be friends with someone who attacked him."
More bells went off in Toji's head, but he too could put a jigsaw puzzle together and thought it wasn't a NERV techie under the bed-sheet, but a Section 2 man. "Maybe the boy can respect the strength and courage of someone who isn't afraid to face him," he replied in what he thought was a casual, offhand tone but wasn't.
"I don't think Shinji Ikari thinks like that. But what's important is that you've worked out your differences and are now friends." As the ghost spoke, his tone lightened back up from the neutral levels it had been. Toji watched Kensuke make his way over towards the pair, either to grab Toji or to grab some refreshment. "And in my work, friends are important to have."
"And what sort of work is that?" Toji asked, unable to halt his curiosity despite the shivers still traversing his spinal column. Kensuke pulled up next to him, nodding to the pair as he grabbed a plate and began heaping food onto it.
"The defense business," Kensuke interjected, squinting at the ghost. "Mr. Kaji, right?" He laughed, continuing to pile snacks on his plate. "I gotta warn you, Asuka's looking for you something fierce."
The ghost regarded the pair for a moment before moving off. "Aptly put, Mr. Aida. Don't stop thinking, Mr. Suzahara."
Kensuke looked from the retreating ghost to his friend. "What's that all about?"
"Dude, I don't even know..."
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Lieutenant Maya Ibuki was not having a great time. She was having a good time, yes. Lots of people here were having a good time. Some were having a very strange time. But by far, the vast majority were having a legitimately great time.
Maya wanted to have a great time. The problem, however, was she was faced with a massive dilemma. One that spanned both ethical, professional, and legal boundaries.
She was torn between her feelings for two people. On the one hand, there was her Sempai, Dr. Akagi. She looked up to the woman both academically and professionally, the woman easily being one the most brilliant people alive. Maya also had stopped lying to herself about the other ways in which she looked at the woman long ago.
However, the problems there were that Dr. Akagi was married to her work and, at best, was probably involved in a clandestine affair with the new UN Special Inspector who had come over from Berlin. It wasn't her place to judge, but she wished it was with her and not him.
On the other hand, there was Asuka Sohryu, Evangelion Pilot and wunderkind. All the same things that prompted her attraction, affection, and dedication for Dr. Akagi were present in Asuka. She was even (slightly) more attractive than her Sempai.
The problems were that Asuka was also married to her work, was infatuated with the new UN Special Inspector, and was eight years her junior. She was the age of her legal majority, yes. Still, Maya wasn't sure how the sixteen-year-old pilot would react to any possible advances, the girl's ineffectual pursuit of Kaji notwithstanding. The age difference between them was less than the difference between her and her Sempai, but this fact completely escaped the otherwise analytical technician in her depressed and slightly drunken state.
Curse you, Ryoji Kaji! Curse you for interfering with everything, you louse!
She had hoped against hope when Captain Katsuragi approached her weeks ago with the plan to spike the punch, to get Asuka alone and find out what she could. Unfortunately, the girl had ignored the punch in favor of beer but was not drinking enough to make it safe to approach her. On top of that, Asuka was intent on finding where that louse was hiding.
Sighing, Maya threw back another cup of punch and stumbled past a person in a horrible ghost costume. She giggled, instantly recalling a pre-impact comic, popular in both the West and East, that had prominently featured such a costume on a character as similarly unlucky as she felt.
Maybe I should have dressed up like that. Stupid Miko outfit...
With a boldness born of plenty of spiked punch, she slapped the ghostly figure where she figured its rear was and was rewarded with a firm handful. Blushing, she grinned at the ghost as it turned around to look at her.
"Did... did you get any rocks?" She giggled again before sniffling and then starting to cry quietly.
The ghost regarded the sobbing technician for a moment, looking around to see if anyone else was paying attention to them. With a sigh and a shrug that seemed to scream, 'Why Me?', the ghost hugged Maya, patting her shoulder. Then, the ghost took her by the hand and led her down the hall towards the bedrooms.
After a moment's deliberation, Maya found herself propelled into a room with the ghost, who quickly left and then returned with a box of tissues, a glass of water, and a plate of cookies. It set them down before her, ruffled her hair, and left.
Maya stared at the door, not sure what was happening. Just then, the door opened, and the ghost pushed Misato in. She glared at the ghost, who pointed to the technician sitting on Asuka's bed before closing the door on them.
Misato glanced at the younger woman before sitting down herself. "What's wrong, Maya?"
"N..nothing... I think I'm a sad drunk..." Maya sputtered out, terrified at what Misato might say if she found out what feelings she harbored for one of her wards.
For all her faults and failings as a traditional and responsible adult role model and parental figure, Misato had gotten pretty good at telling when people were not being entirely truthful about their emotional states. She leveled a sympathetic but doubting look at Maya.
"C'mon, Maya, you can tell me. What's bothering you? It's no good if you can't have fun at the party, you know."
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Ritsuko stared at Kaji in open-mouthed horror. "No... it can't be..."
Kaji grinned, running a hand down his smoothly shaved face. "Oh, but it is."
"But... You've never shaved it clean!"
"Halloween, Ritsy-poo. All part of the costume."
Ritsuko eyed the rest of the spy's costume. "Misato will flip when she sees you. Asuka, too."
Kaji rolled his eyes. "Ah, so you noticed that?"
"Please. I work with the girl. You don't think we don't gossip about such things? But I think between the two of us, we've shocked poor Maya."
"Poor Maya indeed."
Ritsuko watched the faraway look that appeared in the spy's eyes. "You leave that girl alone, you hear? Both of them. Asuka's a naïve young thing, but Maya's a pure flower. You leave my pilot corps and my technicians alone."
Kaji laughed good-naturedly. "Asuka's probably the closest thing to a daughter I'll ever have. You need not fear for her from me. Now, as for Maya? I don't think she's as pure as you might think."
Ritsuko let the obvious probe pass. "And the rest?"
"I make it a point not to poach in the fields of those who drive cybernetic war machines."
The blond scientist laughed as she sipped her drink. "That makes Rei and Shinji safe, then. I don't think I'd like to see what would happen if someone tried to 'poach' the other, as you put it."
"Probably nothing pretty if they caught up with you inside their Evangelions. But you're not worried about the rest of your techs?"
"What? Aoba and Makoto?" She leveled a flat look at her second-oldest friend. She knew him well, or at least she had known him well. She didn't think his tastes ran that way, but still...
"Love knows no gender, after all."
She sighed. "What am I going to do with you? Ikari knows, by the way."
"Of course, he knows. He's at war with the real Illuminati. He knows everything."
"No, he doesn't. Not everything. A lot, but not everything."
"Oh?" Kaji shot her a sly glance and then nudged her with an elbow, following that up with a wink and a nod.
"Get off. I know that you know. I also know that you'll be discrete about it."
Kaji leaned back against the couch, confident just as she was that their conversation would not only go unnoticed amidst the chaos of the party but that neither one would betray the other's confidence where it was concerned.
"What use is an indiscreet spy?"
"No use at all. If you get yourself killed, Misato will never forgive you, you know."
"Not something I could live with, but it won't matter. I'll be dead, after all."
Ritsuko opened her mouth to say something, but the spy cut her off with a finger pressed to her nose. "Misato just showed up again, and that's my cue to vanish. If you'll excuse me?" He winked at her before donning his costume again and moving into the crowd.
Watching one friend disappear while the other approached, Ritsuko snorted in derisive laughter.
Men, she thought to herself, Men and the games they play with us. Her eyes settled on Hikari, teasing her now helmet-less boyfriend, before flicking uncertainly over to the least likely pair, Rei and Shinji, the former attempting to get the latter's goggles off his head. But what of the games we play on the men we love?
She glanced around for the cameras she knew were there, wondering if the man she loved was watching them.
Misato flopped onto the couch beside Ritsuko, who turned to look at her friend.
"Where have you been?"
"Oh, just taking care of a few things. I think Maya's got the hots for one of the other bridge bunnies."
Ritsuko started at this, Kaji's words echoing in her mind. Is that what he meant? Heh. I suppose everyone needs love like that. Maybe nobody is immune to such longing. Not even a flower as pure or as delicate as Maya. Keeping her voice carefully neutral, she looked around for her favorite (and most reliable) technician. "Really? Do you know who?"
Misato shook her head. "No, she wouldn't say, but she was all torn up about it. Didn't want to cause an upset or anything, in case the feelings weren't mutual or positively received."
Well, that does sound like Maya. She would be mindful of such things. But still, I wouldn't have pegged any of the other techs as being her type.
While her searching eyes did not find Maya, they did come to land on Shinji and Rei as they were now trying to sing a duet. Their efforts in this were hampered by slurring a few of the words, the fact that even with the microphones, they weren't very loud, and despite the minor changes of perceived personality imposed by the change of clothes and alcohol, they were still Shinji and Rei. Fortunately, none of the other partygoers were any soberer than they, so the awkwardness went otherwise unnoticed and uncommented on. It also probably helped that Asuka was nowhere to be found, probably off looking for Kaji.
As she watched the pair of pilots muddle their way through the song, the feeling of warmth that had blossomed when Rei had explained to the befuddled crowd that she was the anthropomorphic representation of a GlaDOS came back.
If even Maya is touched by the need to have and love someone and be so loved in return, where does that leave Rei? Is it just a byproduct of her heritage, or is it a real need? Is it fair to keep them apart when Gendo wants to push them together? Is it fair to try to separate them when they look like they want to be together?
She smiled as Rei seemed to trip and fall backward into Shinji, nearly knocking him down and taking the both of them to the floor. It does seem like she wants to push herself closer to him. But is it real or because he suggested it to her? And what does the boy want?
Half listening, half ignoring her friend as she chattered on about Maya and her speculations on who it was that the girl was interested in, Ritsuko continued to watch the unlikely pair as they made their way from the karaoke machine, handing off one of the microphones to the Sub-Commander. Seeing the very out-of-place smile on Rei's face, she shook her head.
I didn't think she would bake a cake off just a suggestion. That's far too aggressive for her.
Rei went out onto the balcony, not stumbling nearly so much now that Shinji wasn't near, prompting a sly, knowing grin from Ritsuko. Rei was not as buzzed as she might seem but was taking advantage of a handy excuse to come into physical contact with the Commander's son. Ritsuko sighed, deciding to give up on her interference with the pairing.
Maybe I can help her out some...
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Toji returned to the couch where his girlfriend sat waiting and handed her a drink. "Hey, Hikari, what do you know about that Kaji guy?"
Hikari, still watching Shinji and Rei muddling their way through the song, making sure they didn't bail out after all her hard work to get them up there in the first place, shook her head after a few moments.
"I don't know much except what I've heard from Asuka. He works for the UN, right? Shinji and Rei don't say anything about him."
Toji snorted. "Rei doesn't say much ever," he pointed out, "and Shinji is almost as bad as she is."
As much as she wanted to argue in defense of their friends, she had to admit he was right. While he wasn't being mean about it, it still struck her as rather insensitive. "So what makes you ask about him?"
"I dunno. I ran into him a while ago, and he just seemed... weird. Creepy, even. I mean, he knew who I was, and about me and Shinji's... ah..." Toji trailed off, trying to find the right word.
"Altercation?" Hikari prompted helpfully.
The boy shrugged, tacking the word onto his sentence. It seemed to work as well as any other, so he rolled with it. "Yeah... but that's not something we ever really talk about. I mean, we haven't even mentioned it to Asuka.
Their small group never talked about the unfortunate circumstances by which Shinji had become friends with Toji and Kensuke and, in a rather roundabout way, with Hikari after she found out what had sparked the unassuming and timid boy into violence. On top of that, none of them had even talked to Rei about it. It had been the subject of a pointed conversation between the three non-pilots and Misato one day about the repercussions that could have befallen them if it hadn't been decided that Shinji's improvement in both synchronization and general well-being was due to his decidedly higher levels of social interaction with the trio.
To be sure, Asuka probably would have been skeptical that the boy had to have been forcibly restrained by his security escort that day if she had not seen them try to do that same thing and fail spectacularly on the day of the second battle with Gaghiel. Of the other isolated incidents that Shinji never told anyone else about, the security footage never made it farther than the Commander's desk, but further proof of the boy's volatile nature was unnecessary. Where Asuka was like a burning oil well, a constant stream of flame, Shinji was a volcano, capable of long, dormant periods of inactivity, just waiting to erupt and destroy everything in his path.
But just because they never discussed it did not mean it wasn't a regular source of conversation amongst the various adults who knew about it. Hikari pointed this out to her boyfriend while silently cursing that the costume's wings were permanently affixed to her shirt, keeping her from snuggling up against him. She had not thought far enough ahead during costume design.
"Yeah... who knows what those security guys talk about when they're alone?" Toji looked suspiciously at one of the on-duty agents as the black-suited man stopped circulating through the room to talk to the bleached scientist who was in charge of the technical stuff at NERV, at least as far as the Evangelions and the supercomputers that ran everything were concerned. For his life, he couldn't see what Kensuke thought was so great about the spies who also worked as bodyguards.
"Hey..."
Toji turned back to Hikari, who was suddenly a lot closer than she had been a second ago, and as his head finished moving, it brought his mouth right into contact with hers, which prompted her to blush bright red but to carry on with her plan and pushed herself up against him. As his eyes went wide, she suddenly broke the kiss off and turned back to keep watch on the singing pilots; the only sign that anything had just happened was that both of them were blushing furiously.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Asuka was torn. On the one hand, the party was a lot of fun, especially once it had picked up in tempo, but on the other hand, she still had yet to see her missing paramour. Misato's beer, while somewhat good, wasn't quite to her taste. She missed the beer of her homeland, so she sampled some of the other drinks but couldn't get behind them, finding them uninteresting.
Hikari had abandoned the quest to locate Kaji to hang out with her jock boyfriend. She did promise to find Asuka if she saw or heard anything of the dashing man. If she had been sober, or if she hadn't been having as good of a time as she was, she would have fallen into a black mood at being abandoned and ignored in favor of others.
Hikari came up out of nowhere, a grin on her flushed features. She was smoothing out her blouse, and Asuka rolled her eyes at the sudden mental image of the thick-headed stooge pawing at her friend. It was not a pleasant thought, but Hikari had asked her not to say anything about her boyfriend. It was, in fact, one of the few areas in which the girl took a stand against Asuka.
"Asuka! Kaji's here!"
With laser-like focus and intensity, Asuka riveted her attention on her friend, and all other concerns were pushed to the back of her mind.
"Where is he? What's he dressed as?"
"Toji ran into him over by the drinks and food. He says he's dressed up like a ghost in a bed-sheet."
Asuka was quite taken aback by this costume. She had seen that ghost around at several stages of the party and even participated with and against him in a few of the contests downstairs. While the costume quality left much to be desired, it was ingenious, as she could not tell it was Kaji underneath it. The ghost had won almost every contest it had gone in for, meaning the silent person underneath was indeed skilled in myriad areas, which only helped cement the fact that it was Kaji in Asuka's mind. To her, the only person allowed to out-preform her in anything was the tall spy.
She smiled, and had he been there, Shinji would have had a PTSD-fueled flashback to the deck of the Othello, the predatory grin she wore now matching the one she had upon the arrival of the Angel. Spinning, purple hair flying out in a fan behind her, Asuka dashed down the hall towards her room, intent on retrieving the vial of 'improved' perfume, unaware Misato had seen it and confiscated it, thinking it as being some of hers that her ward had lifted from her supply. Of course, such a supposition was correct insomuch as Asuka's improved blend had indeed begun its life as Misato's perfume. As she ran, Asuka called back for Hikari to find Kaji and keep an eye on him. She had no desire for Misato to get to him first.
As her friend rushed down the hall for her 'secret weapon,' Hikari turned and caught sight of the ghost in a fortunate turn of events, the distinctive if simple costume being easy to pick out amongst the crowd of partygoers.
However, things were not going to go according to plan for Asuka. Just as she reached her room, her hand stretched out to slide open the door, only to find it opened from within. Her smile became a look of confusion as Maya filled her vision, mouth open in shock as she saw what she imagined to be an infuriated girl rushing to remove her from her room.
Her arms were windmilling, and she was trying to slow down so as not to crash into the technician. The normally quite athletic Asuka tripped and comically did just that.
The two young women fell to the ground in a drunken tangle of limbs and costume, Asuka inadvertently groping the simultaneously delighted and horrified Maya, whose arms in turn shot out instinctively around the pilot's waist, one hand slipping down to grab a hold of toned sixteen-year-old rear. Forward momentum being what it was, Asuka's head continued to travel even as the pair landed, their lips mashing together in a physics-assisted kiss. Two pairs of eyes shot open even wider before shutting closed in perfect synchronization.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Misato wasn't sure what to think about her friend feeding her boss cookies. While Kodama had mentioned something about having a preference for older men once, Misato hadn't thought that would put the Sub-Commander at the front of the line of partygoers the attractive older sister of her ward's class representative wanted to mack on. It was an unsettling thought.
One of the ubiquitous Section 2 men moved into her peripheral vision, helping himself to a beer.
"I thought you on-duty guys weren't supposed to be drinking." Her tone was amused, while her words were stern.
The bodyguard flashed a familiar-looking insolent grin at her as he lifted the can in a mock salute before taking a drink. She then noticed that while he was dressed in the suit of the intimidating security agents, his hair was drawn into a ponytail that was most certainly not allowed on the section's uniformed members.
Her smile disappeared as she reached out and plucked the reflective sunglasses from the man's face, turning into a scowl.
"Kaji?"
Kaji grinned at her again, taking a short bow before plucking the glasses out of her hands and donning them again.
"And what can I do for you, Misato? I somehow misplaced my invitation, but I'm sure it's here somewhere..." The spy made a show of patting the suit's pockets with his free hand.
"You... You shaved!" Misato almost couldn't resist reaching out to feel the smooth skin of his jaw, free of stubble now for the first time in quite a while that she could remember.
"Well, yes, otherwise, the costume wouldn't have worked out so well. Nobody pays any attention to the men in black suits, after all, but they are all clean-shaven for some reason."
Misato, remembering that she didn't like her ex anymore, crossed her arms and turned to leave. If he wanted to show up at the party, well, that was fine, but she didn't have to party with him. That part of her life was over long ago. She flounced off back towards the central area of the room, trying to get away from the irritating man.
Kaji grinned as he watched her leave. It was obvious she still had feelings for him, even if she wasn't willing to admit it to herself, Ritsuko, or anyone. As for himself, if there was anyone (or anything) he loved on a level that came close to his burning need to know, it was Misato. All the others were just pleasant company or means to an end.
So, of course, he followed after her, still chatting away at her, not so much adding fuel to the fire as actually setting fire to an oil well. Had either of them been a bit more sober, perhaps the ensuing firestorm would not have occurred.
Eins, Zwei, Drei, Vier!
Shinji could feel Rei's warm breath on his face, smelling of punch and cake and food, and a small part of him (a very, very small part that would soon be silenced) wondered how much of this was because of the alcohol he knew had to have been in the punch. He had figured it out soon enough after midnight when he had suddenly started feeling much warmer and when Rei's porcelain complexion took on a pink tinge. While he knew he could simply not drink the punch, it never occurred to him to do so. But as his eyes closed as he leaned in closer to her, the rest of him overruled that tiny section of his mind. There would be plenty of time later for recriminations and self-loathing, and if there was anyone without much faith in Shinji Ikari, it was himself.
But tonight, he wasn't Shinji Ikari, and whoever he was, he was going to kiss this beauty.
Rei, for her part, didn't want to close her eyes, as she wanted to observe every aspect of the much vaunted and often spoke of 'first kiss', but all of the research material she had come across instructed her specifically to close her eyes. Allowing that there most likely would be additional kisses later on to observe with her eyes open, she decided to keep them closed for this one.
She could smell him, smelling mostly of smoke from when they had gone down to the towering bonfire earlier but also of sweat and spilled punch. Indeed, the white lab coat now had an orange stain running down the front from when she had 'tripped' and fell against him. To her mild disappointment, there had been a decided lack of shirtlessness so far. This was due, she suspected, to the fact that they were both much more sober than they had been during the last party. She suspected this was so because they were not drinking the punch in quite the quantities they had then, expecting the drink to be spiked at some point during the night's festivities.
Because the pair had their eyes closed, they could not know what would happen. Even if one or both of them had been watching, it was doubtful that either would have noticed (fixated on the other as they were at this time). Even with eyes open, it was unlikely they would have been able to do anything to mitigate the situation. While Rei was as acrobatic as Asuka, Shinji was much less so, and they both had passed the buzzed stage into that slightly drunk gray area, where distances were a little off, and the things people said were suddenly a lot more important.
Kaji came flying backward through the window, helpfully propelled by Misato, who, in her defense, hadn't meant to throw him through the glass. Glass came showering down on the trio, and the two teens were pushed out of the way by a rapidly decelerating Kaji. All three escaped with only a few tiny lacerations, but Shinji's head met Rei's head in a fantastic example of how not to headbutt someone, and consequently, both were knocked out.
Both were quickly revived by a frantic Ritsuko, helped by her two very red-faced assistants (Asuka and Maya had come running when Misato's scream cut through the noise like a slasher through a sorority party). After being awakened, the shy couple was sent off to Shinji's room with ice packs and instructions to sit quietly and not do anything. They would eventually fall asleep there, sitting on opposite sides of the bed, neither having been able to work up the courage to make a second attempt at a kiss.
The party in Misato's apartment had ended tragically. However, it still raged on elsewhere, so many removed themselves (at the not-very-subtle suggestion of the Section 2 agents that came pouring into the apartment). Kodama left with Kozo, while Kaji, left alone, hurried out of the apartment by Ritsuko, who then sent a still hysterical Misato to bed. Kensuke was found already slumped over asleep in a corner with some suspicious-looking lipstick smudges on him; he would never be able to find out just who he had spent the last hours of the party with, although when he returned to school the following Monday, he found his popularity with several of the girls in their class had gone up. Hikari and Toji were also crashed out, having fallen asleep on the couch. When Ritsuko went to check on Misato after she looked in on the sleeping pair of pilots in Shinji's room, she found both Maya and Asuka were nowhere to be seen. They had escaped to another apartment and would return much later to collapse on Asuka's bed.
Sighing the sigh of designated drivers everywhere, she ensured all the glass was swept up and threw blankets on the sleepers. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number she knew she should have called much earlier.
"Yes?" Gendo's even voice answered. She heard the sounds of paperwork being sifted through in the background; he probably hadn't moved from the desk during the night. In truth, she was surprised he was still awake; he normally went to sleep around four in the morning, and it was already half past five. It seemed her gambit of trying to miss the Commander at his desk had not paid out.
"There was an incident, but no major injuries." She paused, wincing. "Rei and Shinji were knocked unconscious."
"So I saw."
Her grimace grew deeper, but she knew if he had seen it on the security cameras, he had also seen that the pair was fine. She opened her mouth to speak again but was cut off before she began.
"Will you be coming over tonight, or do you plan on staying there?" She thought his voice had the tiniest sliver of longing but put it down to her imagination.
"No, I'll be staying here. I'll give the two another preliminary check when they wake up."
"Very well. Let me know if there are any issues." The line disconnected with a beep. She sighed again and then moved off towards Misato's room to grab what sleep she could. She had a feeling there would be... repercussions... for what had transpired.
Gendo softly put the phone back into its cradle, a half smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Once again, his Science Director had met his expectations, acting just as he figured she would the moment the spy went crashing through the window. While far from ideal and certainly ending that part of the party on a sour note, he felt that the night had been a success overall. Whether or not anyone else shared his satisfaction remained to be seen, but Gendo had never much been one for crying over spilled milk.
Leaning back in his chair, his eyes flicked over to the crumpled white bed sheet lying by the door, where he had discarded it after returning to the office. Yes, he thought to himself, now eying the transport container cube on his desk with a note from Rei; the night had been a huge success. His half smile became a grin as he opened the cube, and the rich smell of chocolate cake filled the office.