Disclaimer:
Studio Gainax animation is the
sole owner to the rights of Evangelion.
I own no privileges to anything currently, (probably never will) and will
understandably remove, edit, or delete my writings if needed, rather than
getting into a mess dealing with copyright infringement. Everyone has enough of
their on troubles as it is.
The sun rose, there was fresh dew
on the grass, and the Penguin was hungry.
Scanning for his roommates,
Pen-Pen opened the refrigerator and removed his favorite beverage - a can of
Yebisu. To say the least, this was a very wise Penguin indeed. Seeing that
Shinji wasn’t up yet, he sadly realized that he couldn’t have his usual can of
fish to complete his breakfast, but either way, he still had his beer. Walking
back to his own fridge, he closed the door and drank to his little hearts
content. Luckily for Pen-Pen though, he had learned the skills necessary to
avoid a “Misato” degree hangover.
This was a good morning to have
a drink.
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Turning off his alarm clock about
a minute before it would normally sound, Shinji groggily pushed off the covers.
Squinting his eyes from the sunlight
entering through the window, the boy slowly rose from his bed, the feeling of
sleep still nagging at him.
After he had changed into his
school uniform, Shinji quietly headed to the kitchen to fix breakfast.
He smiled at the thought of seeing
Rei today.
He had barely slept any throughout
the entire night ~ images and thoughts of the blue haired girl continuously
going through his mind.
As he continued to recall the
events of last night though, he honestly could say that he had been thinking of
Asuka as well - the way she smiled at him before she went to bed; the way she
was staring at him while he was bandaging her foot - all this was still racing
through his head as if it had just happened a second ago.
Giving himself a smirk, this was the
first time that he actually wanted to go to class.
Shaking away his thoughts, he
shifted his concentration into deciding what he should make for breakfast. He
searched the refrigerator, not really finding anything besides the several
instant meals that Misato had bought. About to pick a random box though, he
somehow felt as if he should cook something more … ‘exciting’ today - something
that actually was appealing to eat.
The fridge door still open, an
idea popped into his mind.
He remembered that last night as
he was watching tv, there was a cooking show where they explained how to make
something called French toast. Looking through the refrigerator again and
seeing that he basically had the right materials, he started what he hoped to
be a different, but excellent breakfast.
Suddenly feeling a slight tug on
his leg, Shinji looked down to see his smaller roommate.
“Oh, good morning Pen-Pen. Are you
hungry?”
The penguin’s eyes seem to widen.
“Whaark!”
Grabbing some canned fish from the
pantry, Shinji opened the lid and placed its contents into the penguin’s food
bowl.
“There you go.”
Standing up again, he walked back
to the kitchen counter - not noticing that a beer can that had ‘accidentally’
fallen out of the fridge.
“Well, let’s see if I can actually
cook this.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quickly thrusting out her palm,
she smacked the alarm clock with enough force that could have knocked a person
unconscious. Unlike her last alarm clock, which had been … silenced forever
… the new one that Misato bought for her was made of titanium metal.
Sighing, Asuka reluctantly got out of bed and headed towards her closet.
'I didn't sleep much at all
last night.'
Picking out a clean uniform,
she quickly changed into it, giving herself a quick look in the mirror as she
did so. Her eyes immediately spotted the bandage around her foot.
Pausing for a moment , Asuka
smiled to herself.
‘Baka Shinji…’
Stepping back from the mirror
to get a full view, she quickly adjusted one of her neuro-clips and then picked
up her school bag. Opening the fushuma, Asuka idly headed towards the kitchen,
still wanting to go back to sleep. Tilting her head up though, she suddenly
detected a new aroma in the apartment.
‘Something smells really good…’
Quickly walking into the dining
area, she was surprised to find Shinji already eating.
About to say good morning, she
looked down to see what was on his plate…
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seeing that Asuka was in the
kitchen, Shinji smiled and gestured for her to sit down.
"Good Mor…"
Pausing in the middle of his
greeting, he scooted back in his chair as the redhead practically leapt towards
the table and started devouring her breakfast.
Just staring at her, Shinji was
unsure whether he should be glad that Asuka appeared to be enjoying her
breakfast or worried that she might get sick by the rate she was consuming it.
However, he didn’t want to risk irritating her, especially when he had the
whole day ahead of him.
Not being able to think of
anything else to do, he just decided to keep quiet.
After about of minute of silence,
or rather specifically just no talking, Asuka was audibly done eating. Looking
at his own plate, Shinji had only just finished half of his own meal ~ and he
had already been eating for ten minutes.
"Since when did you know how
to make French toast?" she asked.
‘Not the typical morning reply.’ He thought - but it was nice to hear nonetheless.
“Since last night while I was
watching tv. I'm glad you like it.”
Finishing the last of her drink,
she just nodded.
Looking at the other empty seat
where his guardian usually sat, Shinji wondered where Misato was.
“Oh, by the way, where's Misato? I
didn’t see her come home last night."
Asuka's face immediately turned
into a frown.
“She had an ... appointment …from
yesterday…”
"Whom did she have the
appointment with?"
Not picking up on her tone of
voice and also not too sure what she meant by ‘appointment’ Shinji was just
curious to ask, but as soon as the question left his mouth he instantly
regretted it.
“How the hell should I
know? She had an appointment okay?!”
Not to sure how he should respond,
Shinji opted to go for his usual reply.
“Um, sorry.”
Judging from her reaction, that
was not what she wanted to hear. Getting up from the table, she walked
over to Shinji so that her face mere inches away from him. Her eyes burning
into his, he saw an obvious glare of anger in them. However, there was
something else about that look that puzzled him ~ a look that he was familiar
with. Maybe …was it disappointment?
Not really thinking about it
though, Shinji was still scared out of his wits. Cringing at the thought of an
oncoming slap, Shinji lowered his eyes away from the redhead. After a few tense
moments however, Asuka just turned around and headed out of the dining room.
Shinji was confused once again.
‘What did I say wrong this
time?’
Picking up the table, he headed
towards the kitchen and with a frustrated sigh, began washing the dishes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The walk to school this morning
was about the same as the other day – Asuka was doing most of the talking,
every other sentence starting with “Baka”, and Shinji just staying quiet and
forcing himself to listen to her rhetoric dealing with perverts, school, and
sync tests. Not that he’d like to hear himself called names every few seconds
or listen to her complaints, but considering Asuka’s temperament and the sheer
pitch of her voice, it was hard for him to ignore her.
“I can’t believe that she would
actually go out with that stooge. He’s perverted as much as he is stupid.”
Shinji was wondering if Asuka
should really be saying all these thing about Touji. Yes, it was fairly obvious
knowledge by now that the redhead didn’t have the fondest feelings for him, but
he and Hikari were a couple now. Not really sure if he would want Asuka’s
ravings to be directed at him though, Shinji was hesitant to defend his friend.
“I don’t get what she sees in him
at all. Hopefully she’ll come to her senses soon enough though. I just hope
that pervert doesn’t do anything to her in the meantime…”
Silently hoping that he would make
it to school in one piece, Shinji decided that he should at least say something.
Yes, Touji was perverted; yes, he wasn’t very smart at times, but Shinji knew
that deep down, he was a good person; and it was probably because of that
quality that Hikari liked him.
“Well …Touji’s not that bad
actually.”
Stopping in mid-step, Asuka mouth
actually paused for once and she turned to look at Shinji, a bewildered look on
her face.
“Anta Baka?! He’s the worst guy
in the whole school. Even he’s more perverted than even you of …!”
Not noticing a small water pipe in
the middle of the walkway, with a slight gasp, both Shinji and Asuka fell down
in unison. Had this been the Olympics, they would’ve gotten a ‘9’ for
togetherness. The only reason they would not have received a 10 is the fact
that instead of them both falling on the ground separately…
…they fell on top of each other.
(Well, I guess some would have
considered that a 10 …… perverts… (^_^)
Still a bit dazed from the fall,
Asuka just laid there for a few moments, trying to clear the few remaining
stars from her vision. Most of the impact had been directed to Asuka however,
so Shinji for the most part was okay.
“You alright?” Shinji asked.
Asuka groaned. “I’ve felt better,
but this is nothing an Eva pilot can’t handle. Especially the greatest one of
them all.”
Even when hurt she still was
arrogant. ‘Some things never change’ he thought to himself.
Finally registering the position
they were in, Asuka cleared her throat to speak
“So, pervert; do you want to get
off me, or were you just getting comfortable?”
“Oh … sorry.” he said awkwardly,
his face facing flushing red from embarrassment.
Both of them getting up at the
same time however, their heads met with a sound similar to two bowling balls
being rammed against one another. Shinji reaching up to his forehead lost his
balance, and they both fell down on top of one another …again.
Black dots forming in their eyes,
they had failed to notice 3 separate figures now staring at them. All letting
out a small gasp, Hikari, Touji, and Kensuke were appalled at the scene, all
beginning to feel their breakfast start to rise back up to their throats. After
a few moments though, Kensuke’s mind kicked in first, and reaching for his
camera, he snapped off a few pictures.
This was more than enough to get
both Eva Pilots back to reality.
Turning his head around, Shinji
said the first thing that he could think of to explain their predicament.
“It’s NOT what it looks like!!!”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Shinji, how could you?!” Touji
began, his voice trembling. “You’ve betrayed us ……again…”
Finally standing up, Shinji
furiously started to think of a reply.
“You got it all wrong! I swear,
it’s…”
Suddenly shoved to the side, Asuka
walked passed him, wanting to take a more ‘direct’ form of action. Her eyes
flaring, she headed towards Kensuke.
Noticing this, the freckled faced
boy began running in attempt to flee the redhead’s oncoming wrath…
It of course … was just an attempt…
Within a moment, the German girl
flew over to him and grabbed his camera.
Giving it a hard tug, she forced
the object from Kensuke’s grip and stepped a few feet back from him.
“Hey, what are you doing?!”
Kensuke cried, his voice expressing obvious trepidation.
Asuka just grinned, a gleam of
reprisal in here eyes.
Rather amused at the scene in
front of her, Asuka slowly lifted the camera above her head, watching Kensuke’s
eyes follow it like a laser.
“You want to apologize now?” She
asked.
Nodding mechanically, his gaze was
still fixed on the camera. “I’m sorry!”
Smiling in triumph, she held it
out towards him.
However, just as he started to
approach her, Asuka lifted up the camera again, and in one swift motion…
…forcefully threw it to the
ground.
Landing with a piercing crack, the
lens instantly shattered; little parts of random debris flying out. His eyes
going wide, Kensuke ran over to the desecrated item.
Picking it up carefully, the look
of caution on his face was now replaced by misery. Distressed at the loss of
his prized possession, he sat down on the cement, just looking dejectedly at
the remaining pieces.
“What the hell did you do
that for?!” Touji shouted, finally recovering from the shock. While a bit more
discreet, Hikari also showed an obvious disagreement for her actions.
Asuka looked sideways towards him.
“I did him a favor.” She stated
pompously. “That’s what you perverts get for taking pictures of me.”
Sensing that this would degrade
into an ‘unpleasant’ argument, Hikari quickly placed a finger over
Touji’s mouth and shook her head.
“This argument is never going to
end - let’s make sure we get to school on time first okay?”
Glaring at the ‘red-death’ a
second longer, he finally turned away from her.
Letting out a sigh, he turned
towards Hikari and nodded.
“Yeah, I guess your right. Let me
help Kensuke a little and then we can go okay?”
The brown haired girl smiled.
“Sure.”
Seeing that Touji had conceded the
argument, Asuka curtly turned around and picked up her school bag.
“Let’s go Shinji! You’re making us
late!”
Hearing no response, she turned
around again.
Shinji wasn’t there anymore.
Quickly scanning the area, she saw a figure walking rather hurriedly down the
street.
‘What?!’ Asuka thought to herself. ‘He left without me!’
Hugging the briefcase to her
chest, she hurriedly ran after fellow Eva pilot.
Waiting till Asuka was out of
hearing range, Touji decided to relieve himself of a few choice words he had
for her.
“What is her problem!?’ Touji thought. ‘Can’t she ever take a joke?’
Pushing away his thoughts, he
looked down at Kensuke.
“I’m really sorry man; especially
since you just bought that camera last weekend.”
Kensuke sighed.
“It’s okay, I’ve had worse issues.
Besides, it’s really nothing…”
‘… out of the ordinary…’ He mentally added.
Continuing to look at the broken
camera, an idea suddenly popped into his mind.
“Thanks for the help Touji, but
both you and Hikari go on ahead.”
About to ask why, Touji just
nodded. ‘Kensuke probably has some personal reason’
“Sure Kensuke. We’ll see ya later
then! Don’t be late for school!”
Echoing Touji’s farewell, Hikari
also waved at him and then walked off.
Seeing that his friends were out
of site, Kensuke quickly stood up.
Giving the camera a firm shake, a
small plastic disk lightly popped out in front of his feet. Smiling to himself,
he picked up it up and placed it into his bag along with the main section of
the cracked camera. Jogging towards the school now, his smile continued to
grow.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The class was exactly the same as
every other usual day.
The sensei lectured, lectured
some more, paused, and then lectured again.
The students slept, slept a little
more, woke up, and then slept again.
Most things in the 2-A class at
Tokyo-3 Junior High continuously followed this pattern, and that would
have been the case today for the Eva Pilot of Unit One.
However, there was one factor that
deviated him from doing so.
Looking at Rei once again, this
was the first time Shinji could remember that he didn’t doze off during
class.
When he had first entered the
room, Rei turned away from her usual position to look at him. Both of them
giving off a slight blush, Shinji had decided to give her a quick wave. Looking
at him a moment longer though, the blue haired girl just turned around towards
the window again. Hearing a few of his classmates chuckle at this, Shinji
simply ignored them and headed towards his desk. Slightly puzzled as to why she
didn’t return the greeting, he somehow felt that Rei just plainly didn’t know
that she should have waved back. But that didn’t matter. Considering Asuka’s
present mood, if she had noticed them both wave at each other, he’d probably be
slapped for ‘trying to hit on innocent young schoolgirls’ .
Breaking out of his thoughts, a
message popped up on his screen.
[I’m sorry I have to do this
Shinji.]
Raising an eyebrow he looked
around the room to see who was messaging him.
Looking over in Kesuke’s
direction, he saw the boy nod at him.
[What are you talking about?] Shinji typed back.
There was a slight pause as his friend wrote a reply.
[Let’s just say that ‘the devil’
needs to be taught a lesson. Unfortunately it’ll involve you also. Just wait a
minute – keep your eyes on the screen – actually, you can keep your eyes on anyone’s
screen…]
Shinji immediately began to feel
uneasy.
‘What could he post to everyone
in the class that could anger Asuka?’ He
nervously thought. ‘I doubt that putting anything from our Eva battles will
really ‘anger’ her.
There was that one battl…’
An image suddenly popped up on his
laptop…
… an image of him…laying on top of
Asuka …
…in a very ‘suggestive’ position…
…an image that had been taken this
morning…
He felt his throat become dry.
The class gasped.
The class went silent.
Then … (needless to say)
…the class became total chaotic
hell …
…again.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Learning from yesterday’s
experience, Shinji was already in the process of trying to tune the class out.
However, that task was slightly difficult due to the sheer amount of noise
being produced by the student body.
‘And I thought that yesterday
was bad…’ He thought ruefully. ‘Heck,
this makes my first day seem like one of sensei’s lectures…’
Sighing, the stressed Eva Pilot
retrieved his trusty SDAT player from inside his bag, hoping that it could at
least help him relax a little. Closing his eyes, he put the earphones on
tightly and then quickly pushed the play button.
Nothing Happened.
Frowning, he down looked at the
status screen on the device.
Shinji shook his head in despair.
The batteries were dead.
Putting the player despondently
back into his pack again, he slumped his shoulders in defeat. Momentarily
startling him, a flash of red suddenly flew across the room.
However, not even bothering to
look, Shinji just rolled his eyes; silently hoping that Kensuke would be okay.
The questions and comments not
seeming to stop anytime soon, the Third Child thought he might as well answer
some of them being thrown at him. Looking up at the mass of people crowding his
desk, he waited for them to quiet down before responding.
‘I have nothing better to do’ He said cheerlessly to
himself.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Giving the screen a final look,
Rei gently closed her laptop. Blinking her eyes, she turned her gaze towards
the window again. The class had literally sprung to life in a second. She
wasn’t too sure as to why they did so, but guessed that it had something to do
with the image that apparently popped up on everyone’s screen. Recalling the
picture, Rei couldn’t really understand why it caused such a commotion.
It was just a scene of Shinji on
top of Pilot Sorhyu.
Sighing to herself, she wondered
why she didn’t seem to understand or react like anyone else in the classroom.
The picture was something that seemingly should have prompted some reaction in
her, but didn’t.
Still confused though, the lunch
bell suddenly rang and she decided to ponder about this later.
Looking at the reflection of the
class on the window, Rei saw Shinji quickly get up and seem to almost dash out
of the classroom. Having left so swiftly, the students surrounding his desk
however seemed to keep on asking questions. She wondered if they even realized
that he had already left. Soon following Shinji’s exit, Rei saw some other
student run out of the room chased by a flash of red. Giving the class a final
look, Rei slowly stood up from her desk and also made her leave.
Walking down the hallway, she
arrived outside in the courtyard and looked around for Shinji. She didn’t see
him in his usual spot, so concluded that he probably left the campus. Looking
towards the hillside by the lake, she suddenly spotted a figure headed in that
direction. Guessing that it was him, she wondered why he wasn’t having lunch
with his other two classmates like he usually did. Remembering the event during
class however, she could see that Shinji had appeared different, wanting to be
away from everyone else. She was not very good at determining feelings herself,
but could honestly say that he seemed … irritated.
Wanting to find out what was
troubling him, Rei quickly headed off towards the lake.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“You do remember what day it
is…”
A slight grin appearing on his
face, Gendo Ikari readjusted his red lensed glasses as he stood up from his
desk.
“Of course I remember.” He said
with a slight tone of amusement. “Have you lost your confidence in me
professor?”
The elder man smiled. “Not at all
Gendo… I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. And I’m sure that no one else would be
either.”
Giving a quick glance towards
Kozo, the commander then began walking towards the exit of the vast office, his
boots making a precise tap with each step.
“I never forgot
anything…especially the events that happened on this day.”
Slowly walking across the cold
black marble floor, Fuyutsuki nodded towards the commander.
“Of that I have no doubt. Rather I
just wanted to ask a favor from you.”
Gendo gave the gray haired man a
skeptical look.
“I never thought that I would hear
that line from you.” He said with slight surprise. “What is it?”
The sub-commander slowly blinked
his eyes, a feeling of nostalgia briefly passing over him.
“Say hello to her for me, and that
I wish she was still here.”
The room possessed a eerily calm
silence, both men momentarily recalling the past.
Entering a code on the door’s
keypad, Gendo turned around to look at his friend.
“I will.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Placing his lunch box beside him,
Shinji slowly laid down on the grass, positioning his arms behind his head as
he did so. Closing his eyes, he thought about the events that had happened
earlier. He couldn’t help but give out a slight smile though, realizing that
he’d be doing that quite often lately: thinking about the last couple of days.
He couldn’t really blame Kensuke for what happened; he did have a justifiable
reason for what he did, but to show that picture to the entire class ~ was a
bit excessive. If it had been any other day, Shinji probably would’ve just felt
embarrassed, but the fact that Rei saw the image and never turned around to
look at him afterwards, made him feel a bit distressed. She was probably angry
at him right now, he thought. Sighing, he decided that he should go back and
apologize. Opening his eyes as he got up though, he suddenly saw someone
hovering over him.
Surprised, Shinji fell back down
on the grass, his eyes still trying to focus on the figure above.
Seeing that it was Rei, his
thoughts instantly kicked in, and he quickly bowed.
“I’m sorry.”
Not hearing a response, he turned
up to look up at her again. She titled her head slightly to one side.
“For what?”
Shinji’s eyes widened. “For the
picture…”
Rei shifted her stance a little.
“I remember it, but why are you apologizing to me?”
Pausing for a few moments, Shinji
wondered if Rei was actually serious. Looking at her features though, he
honestly couldn’t detect any sort of annoyance he had expected from her. Was
she not mad at him?
“Because the picture showed me
laying on top of Asuka…”
A small frown crept into Rei’s
features. “But why would that make a need for you to apologize?”
Shinji moved his head back in
disbelief.
“Because usually when two people
are laying on top of each other, they…”
He began to blush.
“…well…nevermind…it’s just
embarrassing.”
Rei then sat down on the grass,
meeting Shinji’s eye level.
“But why is this action embarrassing to you?”
Shinji shrugged his shoulders.
“It well… just is.”
Rei kept her gaze on him,
considering his response.
“In that case, if I were to lay on
top of you, it would make you feel embarrassed?”
Shinji’s muscles tensed.
“Um, well … no it wou… I mean yes
it …um…”
Pausing to regain his composure,
Shinji just nodded his head.
“But why?”
Letting out a soft sigh, the male
Eva pilot figured that he would have to answer the question.
“Well, when two people are on top
of each other, they are usually engaged in … physical activity.”
Rei looked up in thought. “Is it
similar to our school exercises?”
Shinji studied her for a moment,
wondering if she was really serious.
“No, school exercises are hardly
stimulating, or romantic for that matter…”
Rei’s expression suddenly seemed
to brighten.
“So a couple laying on top of each
other leads to romantic and stimulating activity?”
Shinji silently prayed that she
wouldn’t ask for details.
“Well, not always. Rather, I think
that it’s a way for a couple to feel close to one another.”
The blue haired girl turned her
gaze away from him.
“So, are you and Pilot Sorhyu a
couple then?”
She had kept her usual tone of voice,
but in her eyes Shinji could read that she seemed somewhat hurt.
“No! That’s not it at all! We both
tripped and fell on each other. That’s it; and that’s the reason I was so
irritated about this.”
Looking up, understanding quickly
showed on her face.
“I see now. So it was all just an
accident then.”
He vigorously nodded, a feeling of
relief passing over him.
“I just hope that Kensuke will be
okay. Asuka’s probably giving him one of her Eva punches right now.”
The girl slowly nodded, her thoughts
drifting to the second child.
“Pilot Sorhyu does appear to be
rather violent at times.”
Shinji raised his eyebrows. “You
can say that again.”
Rei blinked at him. “Why should
I?”
“Never mind.” He said, smiling
indulgently.
Watching two birds suddenly
flutter down, they landed right between Rei and Shinji.
Giving the two Eva pilots curious
looks, they hopped onto Rei, both resting on her uniform. Not too sure what to
do, Rei just looked at them, wondering what they were doing.
As she reached out to touch them
however, they suddenly took off, flipping her skirt up in the process.
Shinji’s eyes widened.
Clearing his mind of oncoming
perverted thoughts, Shinji took a deep breath.
“Oh, by the way, have you had
lunch yet Rei?”
She turned towards him, shaking
her head. “No, I don’t bring a lunch.”
“Why not?”
Rei turned her head down,
seemingly embarrassed. “Because … I don’t know how to make one.”
Considering what she said, he at
first thought she was joking. However, Shinji knew that that was not the case.
He began to realize that there was a sincere innocence about her where things
that seemed obvious to other people, to her were unknown. It was a feature that
made her unique from everyone else. A feature that he found pleasant and yet
unsettling.
“Haven’t you ever eaten a
lunch here at school?”
She shook her head again. “No I
haven’t. Is there a reason I should?”
Shinji frowned. “Of course there
is! It’s not healthy to skip eating lunch.”
“But I’ve seen many students not
eat lunch before, even yourself.”
Shinji sighed. “But that’s not the
point Rei. The reason I skipped lunch before was because I either didn’t have
time to make it earlier that morning or was busy doing something else. But
those are the only times I would do so. It’s just plain weird for you to not
know how to make a simple thing like a meal.”
Realizing that wasn’t the best
thing he could have said, he wished he’d thought a bit more before speaking.
About to apologize, she suddenly
looked at him.
It seemed to take a moment for Rei
to find her voice. “If you have time then, could you show me how to make a
lunch.”
Surprised, Shinji just nodded his head.
“Sure, I’d be glad to. In fact… I can show you now.” Reaching for his lunch
box, he placed it so that it was in front of her.
“First, you would do something
like this…”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After about twenty minutes of
explaining what to do, Shinji had helped Rei create her first peanut butter and
jelly sandwich. Of course, he himself had to give up his lunch in the process,
but he wasn’t really that hungry in the first place. Shinji grinned at the
thought. Considering what he told Rei earlier about it being ‘not healthy to
skip lunch’, he couldn’t help but realize the hypocrisy of his statement.
Rei hadn’t even begun to eat her
sandwich yet, still somehow seemingly in awe that she was able to … make a
lunch.
Smiling, Shinji turned around to
look at the lake. The sun reflected all the ripples flowing through it as the
wind blew. He could see a perfectly clear reflection of the environment around
him as if the lake was an enormous mirror. It was truly a beautiful sight. It
was so tranquil, so much more relaxing than any other place in Tokyo-3. He
wondered why he hadn’t visited this area more often.
His hand brushing up against a
small stone, an idea entered his mind. Picking the object up, he held it gently
between his thumb and index finger, and slowly moved his arm back.
Quickly, with a flick of his
wrist, he threw the rock towards the lake. Making perfect contact with the
water, the stone hopped across the lake’s surface almost five times before
finally sinking in.
There was a stir of motion to his
right.
“How did you do that?”
Shinji turned around to look at
Rei. The female Eva pilot eyes were still trained on where the rock had skimmed
the water, her face expressing a look of wonder. He smiled.
“Come over here, I’ll show you.”
Nodding her head, Rei gently put
down her sandwich and walked over to where Shinji was seated. Picking up a few
more small stones, Shinji then stood up and then handed her one.
After explaining how to toss it,
Shinji suggested that Rei give it a try.
Nodding her head, she set herself in position and threw the stone
quickly towards the lake.
It immediately sank.
Her face expressed a sign of
confusion.
Seeing this, Shinji walked up
right behind Rei and reached his arm out to place his hand on hers, guiding how
it should feel to throw the stone.
“Don’t hold it too tightly, for it
unbalances the force of your throw. Also, use more wrist when you toss it ~
that should make it fly out more smoothly. Try it again.”
Waiting for her toss though, Rei
seemed frozen.
“Rei?”
She slowly turned around to look
at him, her face only a few bare centimeters from his. Realizing the position
they were in, Shinji immediately leapt backwards, blushing as he did so.
“Um, I’m sorry.”
“There is not need for an
apology.”
Raising her eyebrows slightly, a
realization came to her. ‘This must be
the feeling of embarrassment that Pilot Ik … no, that Shinji was talking about
earlier.’
Smiling at this new discovered
understanding, Rei moved her arms back a freely tossed the stone.
Flying through the air, it made
contact with the water, hopping across it once, twice, three … twelve times before submerging.
Shinji’s mouth hung slightly open.
He had never seen a rock skim the water that many times ~ and it was only Rei’s
second try at it.
“Wow! That was amazing Rei!”
She tuned around to look at him, a
small adorable smile on her face.
“Thank you Shinji…”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Both suddenly realizing the time,
Shinji and Rei at first tried to hurry back towards the school. However, seeing
that there was only half an hour left, added to the fact that they knew that
around this exact minute, the sensei would probably be talking about the
economic disruption of Europe, like he did every day, they decided to take an
early walk home.
Passing by a convenience store,
Shinji suddenly remembered a chore that Misato had told him to do earlier.
Stopping in front of the entrance, he turned towards Rei.
“Um, Rei, could you wait here for
a moment? Misato wanted me to buy some beer for her.”
She nodded. “I will wait here
then.”
“Thanks.”
Giving her a slight wave, he then
proceeded into the shop.
This was the first time that Rei
could recall being in this area. Looking around, she could see her apartment
just a few miles from where she stood, and it made her wonder why she never
came here before. It was only a few minutes walk from her place and she could
come buy her own supplies here, instead of asking the commander or going all
the way into the city. A bit further off in the distance, she could also see
Shinji’s own living quarters. Never really thinking about it before, she
actually lived rather close to him.
Breaking her train of thought, her
cell phone suddenly rang.
“Yes?”
“Rei, we need you down at the Nerv
complex now.”
Knowing that it was the
sub-commander’s voice, she mechanically nodded.
“I understand.”
Hearing the other end of the line
click, she placed her cell phone back into her school bag.
About to leave though, she
remembered that she was still waiting on Shinji. Sighing at the dilemma, she
decided that she would just have to write a quick note for him. Getting a
pencil and sheet of paper out from her bag, she quickly jotted down a few
words, and left it outside the door’s entrance. Quickly putting her things back
away, she turned around and then swiftly left for the center.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Rei?”
Walking outside, Shinji couldn’t
find any trace of the girl.
Turning around towards the store
again, he noticed a piece of paper hanging on the door with his name written in
large letters. Taking the note, he quickly read it.
[Shinji, I have something urgent to
attend to. I must leave now.
~ Rei ]
Raising an eyebrow, he wished that she could have been at least a bit more specific.
Placing the note in his pocket,
Shinji readjusted his hold on the three boxes of alcohol he was holding and
then precariously headed towards the apartment.
Receiving strange looks from
people as he passed by, he wished that Misato would be a bit more considerate
in choosing the decency of his chores.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sliding his card through the
access slot, he opened the door and entered the foyer. Not having the strength
to take his shoes off, he headed straight for the kitchen and dropped the
alcohol onto the table. Taking a deep breath, he swore to never carry more than
2 boxes of beer ever again.
Walking towards the fridge to get
a drink, the lights suddenly flickered on.
Startled, Shinji quickly turned
around.
“So it seems that Misato is making
you do all the chores again, isn’t she Shinji?”
“Kaji-san! What are you doing
here?”
A voice came from the other room.
“He’s trying to make himself
useful, but is failing miserably like always.”
Walking behind Kaji, Misato gave
him a playful grin.
“Captain Katsuragi, I’m offended that
you would even say such a thing.” The pony tailed man replied with a fake
defensiveness.
“Oh, I’m sure you are.”
Turning away from him, Misato’s
eyes immediately darted towards the table.
“Yay! You finally bought
the beer!”
Shinji gave her a quizzical look.
“What do you mean by I finally
bought it? It was just this morning when you told me to get some.”
Kaji smiled. “Don’t mind her, she
just finished off the beer that was still in the fridge.”
Shinji rolled his eyes. “Oh, I
see.”
“Hey down,” Misato began
defensively, “I’m not drunk yet.”
Kaji just laughed. “No one said
you were my dear.”
Smiling at the scene in front of
him, Shinji wondered why Kaji was here anyway?
About to ask him though, he seemed
to pick up on his change of expression.
“Well Shinji, as you asked me
earlier, I’m here to pick Misato up for the date tha…”
“It’s not a date!”
Looking down at the purple haired
woman, Kaji just smiled again.
“Of course it’s not; my mistake. I’m
here to pick up Misato to go on an … ‘errand’…to a new restaurant downtown.”
‘It’s a date’ Shinji thought to himself. “Oh, so were you guys just
leaving?”
Kaji nodded. “Yes, the reservation
I scheduled is at
Shinji raised an eyebrow.
“Couldn’t you just have told Asuka though?”
“Oh,” Misato began, “Asuka’s at
Hikari’s place right now, but she should be coming back soon. So, just tell her
where we are okay?”
Shinji slightly cringed. It would
probably be better if he didn’t tell the redhead where his guardian was,
or specifically who she was with. After today’s fiasco, Asuka was probably in a
bad enough mood already.
“Sure… I’ll tell her as soon as
she comes home.” He replied with feigned honesty.
Giving Shinji a goofy smile,
Misato looked back up at Kaji.
“You ready to go?”
“Of course Ms. Katsuragi.”
Walking back towards the door to
take his shoes off, Shinji took a quick look at the clock.
“Um, Misato-san?”
“Yes?”
“I thought you said your
reservation was at five?”
“Yes, it…Oh hell!”
Running into the foyer, both Kaji
and Misato hurriedly put on their shoes.
“I totally lost track of time! But
if I drive fast enough, we still should be able to make it. See ya later
Shinji!”
About to open the door herself
though, it suddenly slid open.
“Tadai…ma…”
Pausing in mid-step, Asuka froze
in front of the entrance.
“Hey Asuka.” Misato began. “Sorry,
but we need to go now. We’ll be back later tonight!”
Both rushing out the door, Kaji
gave a quick wave to both of the Eva pilots. “Don’t do anything silly while you
two are alone!”
“Wait, Kaji!”
“Sorry Asuka, maybe we can talk
later!”
Disappearing down the corner of
the hallway, it was only a few moments later when the infamous sound of
Misato’s driving made itself heard throughout the building.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“It’s just not fair! Misato
doesn’t deserve a man like Kaji!”
Shinji sighed again, regretfully
not being able to tune her out. He had tried watching tv, but that just added
to amount of noise already being generated by the redhead. Even though Misato
had left just ten minutes ago, by the rate Asuka was whining, it felt like it’d
already been hours. Of course, he’d never tell her that ~ Shinji would bet a
hundred to one that he wouldn’t be alive the following morning if he did.
“Misato is purposely trying to
drive him away from me, I know it!”
Shinji turned around to look at
her.
“You do realize that he is at
least a decade older than you right?”
She gave him a perplexed look.
“Anta Baka??!! Age has nothing to do with it! Heck, wasn’t your father at least
that much older than your mom when they married?”
Shinji frowned a little. Yes, she
did have a point there, but she could’ve been at least a little bit more
considerate in choosing her examples.
“Yes, they were.”
“You see! Of course your only a
perverted male, so I wouldn’t have expected you to understand at first anyway.”
Shinji’s frown increased.
“Then what about Kaji then? Isn’t
he a male too?”
“Of course he is, but he’s much
more mature and intelligent than you boys are.”
Rolling his eyes, he turned back
around. “Sure.”
“Hey Shinji.”
Taking a deep breath, he let
himself sink into the couch. ‘What now?’ He thought tiredly.
“Yes?”
“I’m getting hungry. Do you want
to go out to eat somewhere?”
“We can’t. Misato didn’t leave us
any money.”
“Oh yes she did.”
Shinji frowned. Turning to look at
the female Eva pilot, he saw her holding up Misato’s Credit Card.
“Wha…when did you get that?”
“It was laying on the kitchen
counter,” She said with a grin. “and logically it would be rude of us to
decline the invitation to use her card right?.”
Shinji gave off an exasperated
look.
“But Asuka, we really shou….”
“Unless you want to eat the
leftover curry rice Misato made?”
Considering the thought of another
leftover Misato dinner, he immediately got up off the couch.
“Let’s go.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taking the train, the Eva Pilots
eventually arrived at the restaurant district of Tokyo-3. Slightly nervous, Shinji silently hoped that
Asuka knew where she was going. He’d never been to this area before, and the
crowds of people around him almost gave him a feeling of chlosterphobia.
They’d
been walking around for about twenty minutes now and were not even past the
first section of restaurants. The redhead however seemed to be looking for a specific
place, so staying quiet, Shinji just followed.
“Hmm, I
could swear that it was around here somewhere.”
Standing
up on a bench, she quickly scanned the vicinity. Shinji was quite hungry now,
his stomach producing noises that made it quite obvious to anyone listening.
‘I
hope we find a place to eat soon.’
Seeing
Asuka suddenly raise her arm up, he looked towards the direction she was
pointing.
“There it is!”
Squinting
his eyes to focus on the sign, he quietly read the words to himself.
“The
Little
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Walking
inside the restaurant, Shinji was instantly impressed. Everything appeared to
be so unique and yet elegant at the same time. The whole structure, walls, and
floor were all made of beautifully painted wood, which was a large contrast to
the usually metallic appearance of Tokyo-3. The tables and chairs seemed to be
perfect reproductions of early Japanese furniture with a combination of a few
modern styles mixed in as well.
What
really attracted Shinji’s attention though, was the striking tree that was in
the center of the room. Surrounding it was a small garden and also beautiful
pond that had fishes swimming in it. Even with such a stylish environment
though, the way that the staff was dressed and the music being played made the
café have a casual aurora to it. It was a casualness that Shinji found very
comforting.
“Hey
Baka!”
Breaking
his line of thought, he turned towards his companion.
“Yes?”
“Do you
actually want to find a seat or were you planning to stand in front of the
entrance all day?”
Hearing
a few giggles in the background, he quickly headed towards the redhead. “Sorry
about that.”
She
suddenly gave him an accusing look.
“Pervert!
You were gawking at the waitresses weren’t you?”
Shinji
shook his hands.
“Keep it
down Asuka, and no I wasn’t!”
“Sure
you weren’t…but anyway, at least wait until we’re at a table first, and then
you keep peep more.”
Turning
around, she walked up to the attendant and asked if there was any space
available. Mentally counting to ten in his head, Shinji walked up beside the
female Eva pilot, his eyes now on the ceiling to prevent any further suspicion
from her.
“Yes,
there are still several spots left.” The waitress replied. Looking at the
couple, her view shifted from past the redhead to Shinji and back to Asuka
again. She smiled.
“A table
for two I’m guessing?”
Glancing
at one another, Asuka and Shinji both gave off a soft blush.
“Yes.
But it’s not like that. This ecchi’s just here because I had to bring him
along.”
Letting
out a slight chuckle, the waitress gestured for them to follow her. Stopping at
a table near the corner of the room, she gave each of them a menu.
“I’ll
give you guys a few minutes to decide on what you want. When you’re ready, you
can just give me a wave.”
Thanking
her, the Eva pilots took their seats. Coming right behind the first waitress, a
second one placed two cups of iced tea on the table.
“Will
this be okay with you, or would you like something else to drink?”
Taking a
sip of the beverage, Asuka shook her head. “No, this is fine.”
Looking
towards Shinji, he nodded in agreement.
About to
turn around though, the first waitress whispered something into her friend’s
ear. Both of them smiling suddenly smiling, they took another glace at the
second and third child. Walking up to them, she gave them a small grin.
“By the
way, I just wanted to say that you guys make a cute couple.”
Shinji
choked on his drink.
While
not having such an obvious reaction, Asuka’s face however immediately flushed
red. Not letting the comment go however, she glared at the laughing hosts.
“I told
you that it’s NOT like that!”
About to
continue her diatribe though, the waitresses quickly walked away from the table
before the redhead had a chance to.
“Wait,
you have to let me explain!”
Seeing
them still smiling, they were out of hearing range however, her defense falling
on deaf ears. Sitting back down with a defeated sigh, she took a sip of her
drink.
Shinji
in the meantime continued to keep his eyes on the ceiling, wondering whether
eating Misato’s cooking would’ve been that bad of an idea.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Even
though their first moments in the café had started off to be rather
embarrassing, the cooking more than made up for it. Shinji had ordered just a
simple bowl of
“Hey
Shinji, what’s wrong?”
He
turned to look at Asuka.
“Oh,
nothing.”
Glancing
at him a bit longer, she frowned.
“You
know Shinji, when you say 'nothing' in that
tone of voice you're practically screaming 'pay attention to me' at the top of
your lungs. 'Nothing' draws attention like evasive action.”
Blinking his eyes, Shinji could
swear that he heard that exact line before. The memory clicking into place, he
smiled.
“Your exactly like Misato. She
said the same thing to me also.”
His eyes
widening, he immediately wished he could’ve retracted his remark. Talking about
Misato around her was bad already.
Comparing
her to their guardian was … not the brightest idea.
The
temperature in the room seemed to suddenly drop a few degrees. Slowing making
his mouth work, he unconsciously leaned back in his chair.
“Um, wha…how…how did you find out about this café in the first
place?”
Saying the words as fast as he could, Shinji crossed his
fingers. Seeming to instantly change mood, Asuka’s eyes went up in thought.
“Hikari told me about it while at I at her place. We were
going through the five star restaurant catalog, cuz she wanted to find
someplace special to have dinner with that stooge.”
Breathing a discrete sigh of relief, he made a mental note
to think more before speaking.
“Um…are they going out on a date soon?”
She nodded, her face expressing an obvious dislike of the
idea.
“They’re on one right now actually. She was even wearing
make-up during… class today… ”
Frowning, Asuka suddenly remembered a thought that bothered
her earlier.
“By the way, where did you disappear to after lunch?”
Observing Shinji, she quickly noticed that his face began
turning red.
That was rather odd.
“Um, I uh…”
Interrupting
him, another thought occurred to her. “I didn’t see wondergirl either…”
That was very suspicious.
Seeing Shinji shrink down even more in his chair, she
raised an eyebrow.
“You wouldn’t happen to know where she was would you?”
“Hey Asuka, do you think we should get some desert?!”
She narrowed her eyes. ‘He’s trying to change the
topic!’
Rising from the table, she brought her face close to his,
glaring at him. Looking past Shinji though, she suddenly sat back down.
Seeing Asuka’s aggressive disposition suddenly halted, the
pilot of Eva unit one turned around to look behind him. He literally froze.
Walking into the restaurant, escorted by several of the staff, was his father.
‘What is ‘he’ doing here?’
It was rare enough to see his father outside his office,
but to see him walk into a restaurant that was not only outside the
“Why is your father here?”
His eyes still fixated on the center if the room, he just
shrugged.
“I have no idea…”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Running through the streets, two students from the 2~A
class tried to find a place to hide themselves from the sudden downpour of
rain. Only an hour ago, the sun had still been shining, with no clouds in sight
for miles. That however seemed to change in an instant.
Quickly entering a small grocery store, Hikari and Touji
both brushed some of the water from their faces. They had asked the cashier if
they had any umbrellas, and the man was nice enough to offer them his own.
Buying two warm drinks, the couple took a seat at a table.
Sipping the substance, Touji turned towards his girlfriend.
“Not exactly the best weather we’ve had so far is it?”
Letting off a slight giggle, she smiled.
“Not really, but that doesn’t dampen the time that we’ve had
so far. No pun intended of course.”
He slowly nodded, not seeming to understand her joke. “Well
then, I guess this rain’s not so bad after all. But still, I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“I should’ve checked the forecast a head of time,
especially considering that this is our first … well… you know …”
Hikari blushed. It seemed like Touji was still a bit
nervous with the idea of calling this a date as well.
“You don’t need to
keep on apologizing; it’s hardly your fault. Besides, I’ve had a great time so
far. If anything, we should worry about this rain. The store closes in ten
minutes.”
Putting down his hot chocolate, he nodded.
“Yeah, I wonder where … Oh hey, I know!”
“Know what?”
“Shinji’s place is just like a minute from here, we could
stay there until the rain stops!”
Her face showing a sign of surprise, Hikari grinned.
“Well Touji, I guess you actually do use that head of
yours.”
He gave her a arrogant look.
“You mean you didn’t know before?”…
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Could you get me some water Shinji?”
“Okay.”
They had been back at the apartment for a while now,
leaving quite soon after the commander had appeared. Not too excited about the
idea of staying any longer than they had to, the Eva Pilots had just asked for
take out boxes and then left. Asuka had finished her meal when they arrived
back, but Shinji still had yet to find his appetite. His thoughts were still
focused around his father, wondering why he chose to eat at that particular
café. He always had a specific reason for any place that he went to, and even
then, he rarely appeared outside the office. What really perplexed Shinji
though, was the fact that the whole time while he were there, his father had
eaten alone, but there were dishes on the other side of the table seemingly
meant for another person. Was he expecting someone? But then, his father had
immediately starting eating, as if not anticipating anyone else to come. Lost
in thought again, Shinji just stood staring at the kitchen counter.
“Shinji, are you getting my drink?”
Slightly jumping at the sound of her voice, he turned his
attention back to the task at hand.
“Yes, just give me a moment.”
Picking a cup from the Pantry, he filled it with water and
headed towards the living area. Something catching his attention though, he
suddenly paused in mid-step. The phone’s message box was blinking. Putting down the cup, he pressed the replay
button on the receiver.
[Hey Shinji it’s Misato! Well (burp) I don’t thi..unk that I’ll
be commin bak to’night. (burp) Serry ‘bout that. Take care of the … Asuka too.
Bu~bye!]
Shaking his head, Shinji picked back up the cup again. He
really couldn’t believe that woman sometimes. She was after all supposed to be
their guardian.
‘She sets a great
example for us…’
He thought sarcastically.
Suddenly, the phone rang. Keeping the glass of water in his
hand this time, Shinji picked it up.
“Hello?”
“…Shinji?...”
Eyes widening, he quickly lowered his voice.
“Yes Rei?”
“Could you come over to my apartment?”
Thinking about what she said, he felt his heart skip a
beat.
“Umm…why? … I mean, sure … I guess it’s okay, but what …”
Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself.
“Sure, but may I ask why?”
There was an awkward silence.
“Rei?”
“I don’t know why…just please come…”
Looking up at the clock, he pursed his lips.
“Okay, I’ll be over there in about half an hour.”
Listening more closely, he could swear that he heard her
let off a sigh of relief.
“…Thank you…”
About to reply though, Shinji heard the line click. Putting
the phone back down on the counter, he wondered why she wanted to see him so
urgently.
Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he quickly turned around.
“What’s taking so long?”
Slapping his forehead, he remembered that he still hadn’t
given Asuka her drink yet.
“Oh, sorry, I completely forgot.”
Giving the glass to her, he just noticed half it’s contents
were spilt on the floor. The redhead raised on eyebrow.
“You’ve been acting weird all day Shinji. Something on your
mind that I should know about?”
He hastily shook his head.
“Oh nothing, nothing. I’m fine really! Nothing to worry
about here!”
Asuka’s suspicions increased tenfold.
“Now Shinji, you wouldn’ be lying to me would you? If you
were I’d hate to think what I’d have to do…”
Standing like a scared child, he unconsciously backed away
from her.
“Of … of course I wou…wouldn’t.”
Forcing a smile, he could see that she didn’t believe him.
Preparing himself for another harsh round of questioning however, he was
surprised when Asuka just walked past him. Picking up a small towel, she took
Shinji’s hand in hers and began drying off the water that he spilt on himself.
Noticing that Asuka was standing only but a few inches from him, he felt
himself blush. Putting the towel down, she looked up at Shinji.
“I’ll let whatever happened today slide this time. I still
owe you for helping me last night.”
Feeling her own cheeks turn red, she didn’t even notice her
face was almost touching his.
The doorbell suddenly rang.
Both immediately turning around, their faces became
completely flushed.
Clearing his throat, Shinji let out a breath he’d been
unconsciously holding. “I’ll get it!”
Opening the door, he immediately felt water sprinkle on his
face. Quickly walking inside, Hikari and Touji gave him a quick wave.
“Boy, it’s raining like heck out there.”
The brown haired girl nodded in agreement with her
boyfriend.
“Yeah, it was just lucky enough that we near your apartment
when it started to pour.”
The couple placed their single umbrella in front of the
door, taking their shoes off as they did so. Giving them a quick look over, Shinji
noticed that Touji actually appeared to be wearing a dark green collared shirt,
with a pair of khaki slakes.
Holding back a laugh, it was the first time he could ever
recall his friend dressing in something other than a sport outfit.
Hikari was also wearing something special as well. Having
on a light blue dress, the design itself was both simple and elegant. Thinking
about it, it looked like a modified version of Asuka’s yellow sundress.
“Would you guys like something to drink?”
Hikari and Touji both shook their heads in unison.
“No, we just got back from dinner actually.”
Walking into the room, Asuka gave the couple a small wave,
glancing at Shinji as she did so.
Both of them felt their faces warm again.
Sitting down by the brown haired girl, Asuka focused her
attention on her best friend.
“How was it?”
Hikari gave her a confused look. “How was what?”
“The dinner of course.”
“Oh, it was really good. The food tasted excellent.” Hikari
said sincerely.
Touji’s expression however was quite the opposite. “and
expensive…”
Smiling, Shinji could sympathize with his friend. Since
Asuka had told him that she and the class representative were going through the
five star restaurant the other day, he could only imagine what it cost. If it
wasn’t for Misato’s Credit card, the dinner at the café would have wiped out
Shinji’s allowance, and then some. The redhead gave her friend a grin.
“So, how’s the date been so far?”
As expected, she blushed. “It’s been very … ‘exciting’…”
“What did you guys do?”
“Well, we went to see that new romance movie that came out
today.”
“Oh, the one that the girls were talking about in the
locker room?”
She nodded. “Yeah, it wasn’t as good as the previews made
it look though. But I still had a good time.”
“That’s nice. I guess that stooge can do something right.”
Hearing this, Touji suddenly threw her a glare. “Hey,
what’s that supposed to mean?”
Ignoring him, Asuka rose up from her seat. “Let me get
something to drink, then you can tell me all about it. Be right back.”
Disappearing from the room, Touji took his glare off the
redhead, curtly crossing his arms. Turning towards Shinji, a thought popped
into his head.
“So Shinji, she hasn’t killed you yet?”
Turning towards his friend, he gave him a puzzled look.
“What do you mean?”
Asuka at this time however was keeping her ears carefully
tuned on the two stooges.
“What else? Isn’t she angry that you kissed Rei?”
Eyes snapping wide, Shinji felt like a ton of bricks just
hit him
Shinji froze.
Hikari froze.
Asuka froze.
Touji … well …
…Touji kept on talking.
“Remember yesterday when the red-devil was sick? You kissed
Rei?”
Looking around the room, the jock suddenly seemed to
realize that something was wrong.
Thinking about what he said, he quickly put a hand over his
own mouth. Finally at a loss for words, he immediately felt sorry for
Shinji. About to apologize to him though, he decided that he should leave the
apartment first. Glancing at Hikari, she nodded in silent understanding. Both
taking each other’s hand, they headed towards the entrance.
“Oh gee wiz, look at the time, we better get going now! See
ya tomorrow…”
‘maybe…’ Hikari mentally added.
“Yeah, see ya!”
Opening the door, they hoped that the weather would be
better. Widening their eyes in surprise, the rain had actually stopped.
‘Maybe even the storm wants to get away from here…’ Touji thought amusingly.
Within a moment, Shinji and Asuka were again alone in the
apartment.
This time though, a disturbing silence lingered in the air.
His back turned away from her, the boy cellist estimated
that he had about five seconds before all hell broke loose.
He was wrong.
It was four and a half.
“BAKA SHINJI!!!”
The female Eva pilot suddenly becoming a blur of motion,
she picked up the nearest object and hurled it at him. Making precise contact
with his head, Shinji squinted his eyes in pain. Standing up quickly, he turned
around to look at her. To say that she was angry was a substantial
understatement. Glaring at him, her eyes expressed a look full of hate.
“Asuka, please let me explain!”
She slapped him.
Holding his check in pain, he knew that he’d have a bruise
there tomorrow.
“There’s nothing to explain you pervert! Kissing girls at
school is bad enough…but that doll???!!!”
His own anger rising, he kept his view focused on her. Rei
was absolutely no doll. Opening his mouth to speak though, he suddenly froze. Looking
more closely, Asuka still appeared mad but…
…her eyes appeared watery.
His own angry quickly dissipating, he winkled his forehead
in confusion.
“Asuka? What’s wrong?”
Narrowing her eyes even further, she pulled her arm out to
the side. Closing his eyes, Shinji prepared himself for the oncoming slap.
However, it never came.
Running to her room, Asuka violently slammed the door, the
whole wall seeming to shake with the impact.
“Go ahead and play with your doll. See if I care!”
The apartment now peculiarly quiet, the only sound he heard
was the air conditioning whirr.
He silently cursed himself.
He had never liked it when they had an argument, but what
happened now, made him feel just … miserable.
Yes, he had kissed Rei during class; yes, he had lied to
Asuka; but that oddly and honestly wasn’t what was really bothering him. It
might have been his own imagination, but these past couple of days, he could
swear that Asuka started acting different. Her comments were the same, and so
were her actions, but the way she said things, the way she looked at him just a
few moments ago, seemed to show a degree of affection that was never there
before.
Sitting down on the couch, Shinji turned to stare at the
ceiling, letting out a heavy sigh in the process.
‘I knew that I should have told her about it earlier, but I
never thought she’d react like this…’
Thinking about his own words, a sudden realization hit him.
‘Wait a second,’ why’ is she so angry anyway?’
Sitting up on the couch, he narrowed his eyes in
concentration.
‘Maybe it’s because that…no, it couldn’t be…’
He shook his head.
‘But there’s no other reason for it…is she…’
His mind felt as if was about to freeze up.
‘Is she…jealous?…’
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Glancing at the clock again, the blue haired girl gave off
a small sigh. It had been over an hour since she had talked with Shinji, and he
still hadn’t come yet.
She had thought about calling him again, but by what Miss.
Horaki had told her earlier that morning, it was inappropriate to call late at
night. Slightly irritated at this dilemma, she returned her view to the door.
Her back was starting to rather feel tired now, the bed not providing a very
comfortable sitting position. Wondering what was taking him so long, an unsettling
idea popped into her head.
Could it be that he was avoiding her?
Rather discomforted by this notion, she tried it ignore it.
However, the more she tried to block it from her mind, the
more the thought became fixated.
Thinking back to their telephone conversation, the younger
Ikari had sounded rather hesitant about coming over to her apartment.
Was he angry because she left without telling him today? Did he not see her
note that she left? Should she have called him back sooner?
Questions now flying through her head, she felt a shiver
run through her body. Placing her hands on her face, she began to feel her eyes
water.
“Does … Shinji … dislike me?…”
To be continued…