Disclaimer: Evangelion is owned by GAINAX.
SCRIBES OF TOKYO-3
By Eva On The Rocks
CHAPTER 3. CURIOSITY, THE CAT, AND THE KEYBOARD.
NERV HEADQUARTERS
In the office of Major Katsuragi, Maya Ibuki had just finished setting up a replacement monitor, the fact that the old monitor had met it's end from a bullet had not escaped Maya's attention.
Maya switched on the monitor and found herself looking at a website hosting something called fan-fiction. The page loaded was displaying New Stories.
Turning to check that there was nobody around, Maya took a seat at the Major's desk and began to read through the page.
New Stories:Queer Eye for the NERV Guy, by Yebisu Queen. (0 Reviews)
Asuka Strikes Back, by Red Devil 02. (1 Review)
Shinji Ikari and the Yebisu Can of Secrets, by Yebisu Queen. (8 Reviews)
Maya blinked, then decided to pass some time browsing the website before Doctor Akagi returned with more work.
Ryoji Kaji's office was in a reasonably tidy state, probably because Kaji spent so little time there doing any actual work - for NERV anyway.So when Ritsuko Akagi tapped on his door, she was surprised to see him sitting at his computer, clearly involved in the contents of the screen.
Ritsuko cleared her throat and Kaji spun around, the trademark smirk he probably considered 'lady-killer' plastered on his face.
"Ritsu, what a lovely surprise!" Kaji said. "As you can see, I'm hard at work and don't have too much time to chat, but I can always spare time for a gorgeous lady such as yourself."
Ritsuko rolled her eyes and walked towards him, giving Kaji no time to close whatever he was so interested in.
"A website?" Ritsuko had expected to see classified files on Kaji's screen. "Fan-fiction? What's this, hmm?"
"It's...umm..." Kaji shrugged.
Ritsuko leant forward, enjoying catching the rogue agent off-guard.
"Sort by category..." Ritsuko frowned. "And what have you selected here? Lemon?"
"Err..." Kaji let out a gulp. "Let me just close this-"
"What in the-?!" her eyes widened. "What is my name doing on there?! Is that Maya's name too? And Misato's?" Ritsuko slapped Kaji across the back of the head. "Kaji, just what in the hell-?!"
"I'm not responsible for this!" he protested, raising his hands.
"Oh, really?" Ritsuko stood back, arms crossed as she glared at him.
Kaji nodded, his expression becoming serious. "Really."
"I suppose you're aware that the Americans have aborted the test activation of Unit Four's S2 Engine and have removed it from the Eva?"
"Yes, I am," Kaji said, not even bothering to feign surprise, which bothered Ritsuko somewhat. "They felt there was a chance things could go wrong and have Unit Four set to run on the standard umbilical cable until such time as the S2 Engine is deemed safe."
"I thought you would at least pretend to know nothing."
"Could I fool someone as beautiful and intelligent-?"
"Are you aware that the Americans are transferring both Units Three and Four here within the next few weeks?" Ritsuko asked.
Kaji blinked. This was obviously news to him.
"The Commander isn't pleased with this development," Ritsuko said.
"Does it upset his scenario?" Kaji raised an eyebrow.
Ritsuko ignored that comment. "There will be a shortage of pilots."
"Surely there's some potential candidates at the local high school..." Kaji suggested, giving her a knowing smirk.
"So that visit to Kyoto proved informative then," Ritsuko said, smiling thinly and conceding the point. "It's for their own protection."
"Did Ikari send you down here?" Kaji asked, picking up a cup of coffee and raising it to his mouth. "I find your...loyalty to that man somewhat disturbing."
Ritsuko's eyes narrowed before she could stop them and Kaji gave her a knowing smile.
"Is that why you're writing that?" Ritsuko pointed at the monitor.
Kaji chuckled.
"I already told you, I didn't write it." He strode towards her, his face inches from her own as he spoke in a whisper. "You saw the website's address. Have a read of it for yourself when you have some time to spare. Just make sure you read what's on there before you report it to Ikari."
Ritsuko backed away, letting out a sigh. "Like I said before, Kaji, watch yourself..."
"You too, Ritsu," he said, giving her a wink.
Meanwhile, in Misato Katsuragi's office, Maya was staring at the monitor in shock.She had only had a chance to browse through a few stories, but she had been surprised to see her own name pop up a few times and, on occasion, with mention of her feelings for Doctor Akagi.
"How did they know?" Maya whispered, terrified that Ritsuko herself might find this website and read it for herself, then confront Maya and...
It wasn't just that though, Maya thought. There were other details amongst the fan-fiction that nobody should know. Details not only about the Evas, but about all of the people connected to NERV, as well as events that had already occurred and were possibly going to occur.
A lot of what Maya had read terrified her.
"But some of it was funny," Maya admitted to herself, trying to lighten her mood somewhat.
She clicked back to the New Stories page. The stories by 'Yebisu Queen' and 'Red Devil 02' had actually made her laugh out loud.
"Red Devil 02," Maya said. "Reminds me a little of..."
"Maya! There you are."
Maya let out a shriek and almost fell off the chair, Doctor Akagi's voice taking her completely by surprise.
"D-doctor Akagi!" Maya gasped, trying to regain her composure. "You startled me."
Ritsuko let out a soft laugh. "You replaced Misato's monitor, I see."
"Yes, I was just checking to see that everything was working," Maya nodded.
"I wonder what she was looking at that prompted her to destroy NERV equipment," Ritsuko said, walking towards the desk.
Maya stood up, resisting the urge to flee, watching as Ritsuko took a seat at the computer.
"Hmm." Ritsuko peered at the screen. "This is the second time I've found somebody browsing this website in the last twenty minutes."
"It was on Major Katsuragi's computer when I set up the new monitor!" Maya said, wishing her voice wasn't so unsteady. "I was just checking everything worked and-"
"Misato!" Ritsuko shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "I should have known that's where it started."
"Ma'am?"
"I caught Kaji looking at this site just a few minutes ago," Ritsuko explained. "Wait a minute, this website claims its last update was in 2004."
"That site's eleven years old?" Maya said. "But how could they know about...?"
"Maya?" Ritsuko looked at her, somewhat amused. "So, you were reading this fan-fiction too."
"Doctor Akagi," Maya said, taking a deep breath. "T-there's things on there that nobody outside of NERV should know."
Maya decided it was more important Ritsuko know what was going on than whether or not her secret crush was discovered. Between the lines of fan-fiction, there was just too much classified information out there for anybody with an Internet connection to discover.
"There's things on there that I shouldn't even know."
Ritsuko shut down the computer and stood back. When she spoke, her voice was low, barely above a whisper.
"Maya, this is something I need to investigate. For now though, I need you to keep this quiet. Tell nobody, you understand?"
"Y-yes, ma'am," Maya replied. "Of course."
"Have the night off," Ritsuko said. "Our workload is going to increase tomorrow, with Unit Three arriving soon, so rest up well."
Maya stammered out a goodbye and headed for home, her intention to visit that website again the minute she was in her flat, and hopefully utilise her computer skills to remove any material concerning herself.