Synchronicity, Part 1

Note, the parenthesis indicate languages other than Japanese, in this case, German.
Please Read and Review. I'd like to know what I'm doing right (to keep doing it), and what I'm I doing wrong (to correct it).

Tokyo-3
Katsuragi/Ikari Apartment
Present Day, Morning

Shinji was relieved to wake up feeling quite refreshed. He had feared the headache would return. No, not the German headache, the literal headache. About Asuka, well… he understood why she had been angry at him. He hoped his apology the previous day after classes had been enough for her. Although, to be honest, he wasn't completely sure. She had looked funny at him, but at least she accepted his apology with just a threatening warning. He sighed, and went to the bathroom, he didn't hear any water running, so Pen-Pen hadn't monopolized the shower (yet). Shinji hurried up, before the penguin could beat him to the punch (again).

While he showered, he began to think about Asuka. 'Funny… for two very similar traumas early in our lives, we sure went in opposite directions.' He smiled at the thought of how it would be had they gone the other way, it was just as impossible to imagine a shy and meek Asuka, as it was to imagine himself as brash and loud. 'At least I know my mother is in Unit-01. There might still be hope for her.'

He dried himself with a big fluffy towel, and jumped at the sound of frantic knocking on the door followed by Misato's urgent voice. "Hurry up! I really need to GO!"

Shinji opened the door, and a wild tornado with purple hair entered the bathroom. Misato pushed Shinji out before he could even speak.

A few minutes later, a very happy Misato sat at the kitchen table. She sighed noisily. "Ah… Glad you let me in, Shinji. It was a matter of life or death."

"You're… welcome? But I really didn't need to know." Shinji was busy preparing breakfast for the three. A simple omelet would do for starters, while the rice was ready. Plus a fish for Pen-Pen. And four bentos. One each for Misato, Rei, Asuka and himself.

"So, ready for your second day of arduous learning with Asuka?"

"I really don't know why is she with us." Shinji rubbed the back of his head, "I had assumed she would go to college or something, Misato. She really wouldn't need to repeat junior high."

Misato was busy draining her first beer of the day. "For the record, I agree with you, but Commander Ikari decreed she had to go to school with Rei and you. Something about 'socializing with people her age and fostering a sense of camaraderie between the pilots.' Personally, I think he doesn't want to have her outshining him."

Shinji's heart skipped a beat. Commander Ikari didn't do anything unless it would advance his plan. Why force a brilliant pilot to repeat her schooling..? He took a mental note to think about that later. Maybe ask the Phantom Stranger about it, if he found the chance; the mysterious man only appeared for a few minutes at most, but his advice had always been exactly what Shinji had needed. A soft knock on the door distracted him, and the lid of a bento almost escaped his hands. He barely caught it after several attempts. Misato smiled, Shinji looked like the worst juggler in the whole world.

"Good catch! You keep working on your lunches, that must be Rei." Laughing softly at her ward's averted predicament, Misato opened the door for the bluenette. "Hi, Rei! Join us! Shinji is about to serve breakfast!"

For a moment, Rei looked like she was about to say no, but then the smell of rice hit her. She closed her eyes for a second, enjoying the fragrance, and sat at the table. Shinji and Misato smiled at her look. "Thanks. Just some rice, please. I had already eaten at my apartment."

Shinji served her a generous portion.

Tokyo-3
In route from the Katsuragi/Ikari apartment to the First Municipal Junior High School

As they walked, talk had inevitably gone to the Second Child.

"I'll introduce you two before class. Is that okay, Rei?"

Rei sighed without changing expression. "Yes. I'll do my best to be her friend, as you want."

"That's all I ask, she will need our help and we need hers. Just imagine if we start bickering in the middle of a fight." Shinji knew he was playing somewhat dirty. Rei had been conditioned all her life to follow Commander Ikari's ultimate plan. Anything that put that goal at risk had to be eliminated, corrected or circumvented. While anything that could advance it, should be taken advantage of.

"Understood." Rei said after a few seconds.

Shinji was somewhat aware of the irony of him actually having a goal he was willing to sacrifice a lot for. But at least, his goal didn't require the murder of the whole of humanity, quite the contrary.

Any sacrifices he made would, hopefully, cost only him and him alone.

Tokyo-3
First Municipal Junior High School
Entrance, Before Class

Later, Shinji thought the introduction had gone better than he had dared to hope.

"Rei, you go ahead to the classroom, okay?. I'll catch up with you there." He had seen Asuka's red hair at the other end of the schoolyard, surrounded by a group of girls and some boys. Rei nodded and kept walking.

"(Hey, Asuka! Do you have a minute?)" He waved at her. Apparently, she was retelling how she had killed the Sixth Angel, mimicking the action with her hands. Most of the other students looked strangely at Shinji, he had never shown any clue that he spoke another language. Several girls looked like they were reevaluating their opinion of the soft-spoken pilot. Especially a couple from the English Club, who had joked that Shinji barely spoke Japanese as it was.

"(I'm busy, Third.)", annoyed at the interruption, she answered in German.

"(I'll be brief. Rei Ayanami is here; I'd like to introduce you before class. Just be a little patient with her. She has some difficulties with normal life.)"

"(Okay, I'll keep that in mind. I'll finish here in a minute.)" She waved him away.

"(See you there!)" He waved back and walked directly to the classroom. He didn't even notice the way the girls were looking at him. Asuka did.

The redheaded pilot resumed her tale. But spared a second or two to watch the Third Child as he walked away, wondering just what the other girls were looking at. '(Hmm… He's a bit skinny, but he has nice shoulders… Gnngh! No! He's a pervert! Stick to the plan, Asuka. You have to expose him later! Play nice now!)'

Back at the classroom, Shinji was talking to Toji, Kensuke and Rei when Asuka entered the room.

Shinji stood up immediately. "Hi, Asuka!" She smiled at him, while both Toji and Kensuke seemed to shrink in their seats.

"Shinji, hi. Won't you introduce me to your friend?" Of course, she had to control the situation, Shinji conceded.

"Sure. Asuka Langley Soryu, I'd like to introduce you to Rei Ayanami, the First Child and pilot of Unit-00. Rei, meet Asuka Langley Soryu, Second Child and pilot of Unit-02."

Rei stood up and bowed respectfully, a fraction less than Shinji would have liked, but Asuka didn't really notice the disrespect. She bowed too. "Nice to meet you, Rei. Let's be good friends, okay?"

For a fraction of a second, Rei's scarlet eyes flickered towards Shinji. He nodded minutely. Rei looked back to Asuka. "Nice to meet you too. I would like us to be friends too. What should we do?" and, remembering Shinji's classes about social interaction, managed to smile.

That surprised Asuka a bit, she had already heard about how stand-offish the First Child was. No doubt her own undeniable charisma was busy at work! "Well, we have a few minutes to talk before the class starts. Let´s go over there!" She pointed at where Hikari was arranging some papers for the sensei and Asuka literally dragged Rei behind by the hand. She almost sighed in relief. Having Hikari near would help her to get some social clues. And they were already, if not exactly friends, in better terms than mere acquaintances.

"Oookay, Shinji. Spit it. What are you planning?" Toji had his arms crossed and was looking at Shinji from narrowed eyes.

"Nothing! Nothing! I just thought it would be nice for them to be friends, that's all." He raised his hands conciliatorily.

"Really?" asked Kensuke, pushing his eyeglasses up his nose, "You set poor Rei in the way of the Red Demon. That can only end badly. They are like fire and ice."

"I hope not. I forewarned both about each other's character. I really hope it will be enough. After all, Fire and Ice were really close friends in the JLI."

"Sometimes I really don't know what are you talking about." Toji shrugged, "Anyway, I don't know why you bother, bro. Rei is okay, but the Red Demon…" Toji shook his head.

"Well… leaving aside that our lives literally depend on how well we do against the Angels, I really don't like having people bickering around me."

"Trying to tame the Red Demon? I'd like to see you do that! I have…" Toji checked his pockets, "500 yens and two collectible bottle caps that say you can't."

Shinji shook his head "No, no bets, okay? I want them to be friends, that's all."

"Something good might come from all this, Toji." Kensuke added, elbowing the jock in the ribs and patting his camera out of Shinji's sight. The young pilot missed the mischievous look that passed between the two. "And, I take the bet."

Shinji facepalmed. "You are not helping, Kensuke..."

Tokyo-3
GeoFront, NERV Analysis Room

Dr. Ritsuko Akagi sipped her already cold coffee, slowly. The data collected from the fight with the Sixth Angel simply made no sense. She was about to throw down the prints in frustration, when she felt a couple of hand massaging her shoulders from behind.

"Hello, Ritsuko." Ryoji Kaji, his smooth voice was unmistakable. But to her mild surprise, he stepped back. She was very familiar with his style. He tended to chase everything and anything with a skirt. "Still checking data, uh?"

The man leaned on the desk, putting a fresh cup of coffee near Ritsuko´s hand. "I know how you throw yourself into work, so I thought you would like a refill. I guess that one must be nearly cold."

"Thanks, you read my mind; I really needed one." Ritsuko rubbed the back of her neck, "What are you doing here?"

"Well… I just came to say Hi, and check on Misato. Have you seen her?" He sipped from his own cup.

"Yes, and in fact, she´s watching you like a hawk." Ritsuko pointed her thumb to the glass pane to her right. Misato Katsuragi had her hands pressed against the glass, looking curiously at the pair.

"Oh, yes; I see. Speak of the beautiful devil, and she appears."

Kaji opened the door, and waited until Misato had entered the room, dropping several folders on Dr. Akagi´s desk. "What are you doing here? I thought you would go back once you delivered Asuka and Unit-02."

"That was the original plan, but I received notice once I arrived here. I am to stay at Tokyo-3 until new orders. Say, would you like to go out, like we used to go back in college; the three of us. My treat, I am sure you know several good places to go."

Misato hesitated for a second. "Not this week, I am busy settling Unit-02 and Asuka; plus, I still have some paperwork pending from the Sixth angel attack… Maybe the next, but I don´t promise anything."

"Fair enough." Kaji shrugged, "Say, how is Asuka settling?"

"She had been staying in an apartment here in the GeoFront, but she will move to Rei Ayanami´s apartment later today. As soon as her stuff is delivered." Misato checked her watch. "I have to go, the delivery truck must be near and I have to sign off the delivery."

"I can give you a lift, if you want." Kaji offered.

"Thanks, but I would have to come back later for my car. See you later." She smiled at them as she left.

Once the captain was out of earshot, Ritsuko commented. "It seems you two are in better terms than I expected, Kaji. I must congratulate you."

"Thank the kids. There was some stuff going on back at the Over the Rainbow that put everything in a different perspective. I´m taking things a bit more seriously than back in college, this time. Misato is worth it." He raised his coffee like he was making a toast before drinking.

"Good for you, now go. Let me work, I still have a lot of raw data to process and analyze. Feel free to bring me more coffee later." She smirked.

"I will, Rits. See you." He bowed and left the room.

Tokyo-3
Ayanami/Soryu Apartment

"Good heavens! Just what did that girl packed?" Misato looked at the literal mountain of boxes DHU had delivered, and in fact, was still delivering. "My hand is gonna cramp if they bring more boxes!"

Rei Ayanami watched the procession of boxes with detached and mild curiosity. She directed the delivery men to put the boxes in the secondary bedroom. Ikari had suggested she used the main bedroom, and had helped her to decorate it. She had a couple of tapestries, showing classic illustrations of wildlife, birds and fishes. Plus a simple vase with some flowers. She liked the tapestries better, the flowers were starting to wilt.

The other bedroom had been kept empty, waiting for the arrival of the Second Child.

She didn´t take long to arrive. "Allo! Misato, Rei. Ah, my stuff!" She smiled at seeing the boxes. "I thought I would have to go in an emergency shopping trip. Have you seen the box marked ´number 27´?"

Rei pointed at the box. It was under two other boxes.

"Come, help me move the others!"

Rei looked at Misato for a second, before complying. Once the box she wanted was free, Asuka cut open the tape that sealed the top. "Good, good! All is right with the world!" She extracted a set of bottles from a well packed, smaller box inside and showed them proudly. "German shampoo and conditioner, First Child! Best in the whole world. But make no mistakes, don´t dare to use even a drop without my permission!"

"I had no intention of doing so." Rei answered, flatly, to the shock and surprise of Asuka; how could a girl deny the temptation of caring for her hair with the best quality beauty products? Remembering Ikari´s tale, Rei decided to use some misdirection. "I´ll be sure to ask." Asuka smiled at her.

A delivery man waved a tablet towards Misato. "Excuse me, Miss Katsuragi, where do we put the rest?"

Misato paled, and her hand got a cramp.

Tokyo-3
Katsuragi/Ikari Apartment

Shinji Ikari entered the apartment, took off his shoes and stepped in. "I´m home! Nobody in? Ok." He put his school bag in its place, and went to his bedroom. In the way, he noticed a column of boxes in the hall. "Wait, what?"

Rei came out the little room Misato used as a mini-warehouse. "Hello, Shinji. The Second Child has moved in with me, and we ran out of space for her stuff. Captain Katsuragi offered the use of this room. I came in to check the boxes were piled correctly."

"Ah, it's okay, Rei. For a moment I thought I had gotten into the wrong apartment."

"Pilot Soryu says she wants to do a little ´housewarming party´ later." Awkwardly, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I was not aware my apartment would need any kind of heating. Would it involve fire?"

Shinji smiled. "It´s just an expression. It means that she wants to start her stay at the apartment with a gathering of friends."

"Oh. Strange way to put it."

At that moment, Pen-Pen passed them by, on the way to the bathroom. He had a newspaper under his left wing, and a towel around his shoulders. "Wark?" he tilted his head questioning Shinji, and for extension, Rei.

Shinji looked at Rei, saying "Do you need to use the bathroom?", Rei shook her head. Shinji turned to the warm-water penguin, "All yours, Pen-Pen; go ahead."

The penguin nodded and went on his way.

"Do you understand him?"

"Actually, no." he shrugged, "But most of the time, the context is quite clear. I´m sure he understand us very well. He does the crosswords. With a pen."

Astonished, Rei stared at the bathroom door for a few seconds.

Author Notes

I got the bit about doing crosswords with a pen from a Tori Amos song; 'Happy Phantom'; it really doesn´t have anything to do with the plot, I just thought it was funny.