Rebuild of RP: The Evageeks take on Neon Genesis Evangelion

Lucretius · Posted: Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:32 pm Post subject:

OOC: Short filler post.

Saturday, September 5th

Kaworu was pleased with the Katsuragi woman’s reaction to his revelations. Lilin were so sentimental; now that she knew of the link between them, it seemed she trusted him implicitly. Fathers and daughters, brothers and sisters; Lilin made too much of these relationships. In the end, they were all alone.

Hugging her had felt interesting, warm. He hoped to have more playtime with her before the inevitable end. Was Katsuragi trying to be a parent to him? Did she believe that he needed her, that he needed anyone?

On his way to the testing area, Kaworu saw a familiar chestnut-haired young woman sitting on a bench by the vending machine, reading a spy novel. She was wearing the standard cream-colored jumpsuit, leaning back with her legs crossed in front of her. She had a Tupperware container next to her, from which she pulled a chocolate chip cookie, spilling crumbs onto her lap.

Kaworu had a few minutes to spare, so he seated himself next to her quietly enough so that she did not look up.

“Hello, Ms. Agano,” he said, grinning broadly.

Kaede flinched a little, folded down the page she was reading, and closed her book. Her face showed a mixture of friendliness, excitement, and fear. It was the face of a child playing at espionage, or cops-and-robbers. Her eyes darted nervously around the hallway, looking for the Section 2 agents she no doubt imagined to be around every corner, lying in wait for her and her alone.

“Oh! H-hi, Kaworu,” she said, smiling weakly. “Would you like a cookie?”

Kaworu nodded, taking the cookie she offered him. “Delicious,” he said, smiling warmly. “You know, I rarely ate human food before coming to this city. I lived off a special diet of pills I was given at the Institute. It was much less messy and inconvenient than real food, but also much less interesting. I’ve experienced so many curious things since coming here.”

Kaede frowned, genuinely sympathetic. “You poor thing! I’ll just have to feed you more often,” she said. “Baking’s my hobby. I made these cookies myself. I can bring in some more tomorrow, if you like them,” she beamed.

“It’s good to have hobbies,” Kaworu said, smiling placidly. “It distracts us from the pain of being alive.”

“That’s an…interesting way of putting it,” said Kaede, laughing nervously.

Kaworu grinned. “You think me odd, don’t you? Well, I am the product of an odd world. It is not the one you grew up in. It is the world of Angels and Evas, where humanity is obsolete. I’m afraid I must go now,” he said, standing up. “Enjoy your cookies, please.”

Kaworu whistled as he made his way down the hall, leaving Kaede staring wide-eyed at him from the bench.

Kaworu talks to Kaede.

GoatMan · Posted: Sun Aug 09, 2009 2:37 am Post subject:

Wednesday, September 9th, 2015, 0556 hours

Watanabe couldn't tell if he screamed out loud, or if it was only in his dream when he leaped from the bed, his body drenched in sweat. This was a different dream, one he was almost glad to have again. Rubbing at the scarred left ankle, the Child breathed slowly, evenly, reaching for his backpack. In the front most pocket, he retrieved his lucky charm: the missing rattle of the long-dead snake. Shaking it, he listened to the sound, reminding himself he had survived his cousins' stupidity two summers ago.

He would survive, he reminded himself. He would always survive.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the boy's breathing eased when Doctor Akagi opened the door. The room was still dark, the growing hazy light of sunrise allowing only hints of silhouettes to be made out. He had never seen the infamous Hello Kitty robe before, but had to admit, from what he could make out, it was precisely what Misato had told him to expect.

That's something I'd expect Katsuko to wear Raidon grumbled.

Ritsuko response to the (apparently noticeable) scream

"Bad dreams," Raidon answered, working at his ankle again. Ritsuko must have noticed the rattle, as she moved in closer to get a better look. "You saw my medical records," the boy replied, noticing the woman's interest. Tossing her the rattle, he stretched his leg, trying to warm up the joint. "That's what did it."

Ritsuko response

"Are you kidding?" Raidon asked. "I smashed it with a rock."

Akagi didn't have anything pleasant to say after that, and thus, changed the subject. Akagi about the latest "incident".

Raidon's mood suddenly shifted, his head turning to look away. "I hate them," he answered simply. "They hurt m-" he paused. "They hurt someone close to me just to get my attention. Then they attacked Asuka when she stood up for that person." Watanabe set the rattle back in its resting place, his hands tightening into fists.

The doctor went stiff as Raidon curled back up into the bed.

"I..." Watanabe cringed, running his hands over his temples. "Are you going to keep playing with my head, seeing how long it takes before the hallucinations drive me nuts, or are you going to autopsy me first?"

Ritsuko's quite offended response

Turning to look out the window as he lay on the bed, Watanabe clenched his teeth, his body frozen in place as he tried willing himself back to sleep. He would do anything to avoid this. "If you're just going to lie, get the f*** away from me."

Ritsuko cringed, refusing to speak. He didn't know why, but instead of leaving, she was moving cautiously towards the bed, something the boy was unprepared for. Her stiff, unnatural movements were odd. She almost looked as if she were trying to remember what to do when she finally sat beside him, and reaching out, set her hand on his shoulder.

The sensation was odd. Doctor Akagi trying to comfort him? When did this happen? He was skeptical, but as he tried to ignore her, he felt her hand trying to knead his neck muscles. When he felt her fingers reaching past his shoulder, his brain suddenly registered a threat, and tried to pull away.

Ritsuko response (physical responses also up to maj's interpretation)

"I want off the meds," he started. "I can't... I can't keep food down, I can't sleep, I can't think..."

Awaiting Maj's response

0704 hours

Watanabe found the run soothing, getting away from the apartment and the awkward discussion with Akagi. He was glad she wasn't going to be around the simulator for a couple days, focusing wholly on repairing 01 and 02. That would give him time to work on his training in silence.

The morning started out cool, the slight gusts of wind bringing the cold air from the surface of the lake into the city. Wearing only his jogging shorts, shoes and carrying his ID on a lanyard, he could enjoy the sun the way he was meant to, much like a reptile would bask in the heat...

Much like a snake, he reminded himself.

Glaring at the wristwatch timer, he picked up the pace, running as fast as he could for nine blocks before he had to drop back down into an easy jog. Class would be in session in roughly an hour, some students already on their way. Passing through the residential district, matching the pace of the slower cars, he noticed Kaito, Toji, and Hikari not too far away. Passing to their right, he gave each a nod, his feet hammering the pavement.

Approaching the NERV complex, he slowed his jog just enough to make it through the card-readers, and pass silently through the gate. Once he was in, however, the pace increased, his legs sending him back and forth, dodging personnel as he continued the run into the unused stairwells of the facility.

He was going to take Soryu's training regimen, and, for lack of a better phrase, run with it.

0927 hours

Two hundred push-ups, one-hundred chin-ups, 300 crunches, and a half hour of jump rope in the NERV gym later, he was interrupted during his final set of curls when a group of JSSDF soldiers entered the room. He had seen these men and women before, but not in the traditional white martial arts wardrobe. Setting the bar back on the bench, Raidon paused, studying them carefully.

The instructor stood in the front of the classroom, again in the same heavy garb, observing as each student used a defensive throw to disable their attacker. As Raidon movedin closer, a few of the students noticed him, but disregarded his presence. It was only after the hour long lesson that the instructor closed in.

"What are you doing here?" the man grumbled. He was stocky, maybe just under 170 centimeters, and built from years of training with the term "immovable object" in mind. in the classic style, his hair was cut high and tight, which led him to appreciate the boy's style.

"I'm a pilot," Raidon answered simply.

"I know you are," the man answered. "You're that psycho Watanabe the techs are all talking about." Seeing the boy's obvious reaction, the man did not go into further details. "But what are you doing here?"

"Physical training," the Fifth answered.

"But you pilot a robot," the man answered. "What kind of physical training do you need?"

Raidon glared at the man for a moment, then had his answer. "You make fighter pilots, helicopter pilots, and even flight officers meet physical requirements, don't you?" he asked. "But when do you ever expect them to flap their arms?"

The man's teeth clenched tightly for an instant, then retracted.

"I need to learn armed and unarmed combat," the boy explained, "if I'm ever going to be useful."

"So, why are you watching my class?"

"I need something non-lethal," Raidon answered without hesitation. The stories, the Child was already aware, had been circulating since last night. When the soldier in front of him grimaced, he knew the man understood.

"And what about when you have to kill them?" the man asked.

"I'm comfortable enough with guns," Raidon answered.

"Are you now?" the man started.

1217 hours

Three high capacity magazines and 2,000 yen later, Raidon found himself being measured for his aikidogi. Joining the unit for lunch in the cafeteria, Raidon was quiet, trying to avoid eye contact with NERV officers or technicians. The soldiers didn't seem to mind him after some time, but only because they did not have to work with him on a regular basis.

"So, what did you do to this kid?" the man, whom he learned was Staff Sergeant Kuroki, asked off-handedly.

"Compound fracture to her right wrist, attempted asphyxiation, and if they hadn't stopped me, severe cranial blunt force trauma," Raidon listed off coldly.

Those sitting beside the boy shifted uncomfortably.

"Before that, I totaled one of her friends' parents' cars," Raidon continued.

"And now, suddenly, you have this overwhelming desire to learn a non-lethal way to violently deal with an opponent?" a lance corporal asked.

"It seems the thing to do," Raidon answered, refusing to speak further.

1327 hours

After a physical exam and a stern promise from the boy, Kuroki was confused, finding himself sending a formal written request to a Lieutenant Colonel Katsuragi, requesting to handle Pilot Watanabe's training directly in all matters relating to land or amphibious warfare. As an odd request, the boy also suggested sending all necessary infantry training scenarios to a Doctor Akagi of NERV's technical division.

Simulator training commenced shortly after that, leaving off more or less where Watanabe had been before. This time, however, the target, he found, was not the one he found himself hallucinating over, but a crude, simplified marionette of a figure, almost the most basic of three-dimensional representations the MAGI could produce. Variations on its dimensions came and went over the day, but the theme stayed the same. Rather than simply killing the target, two directives were programmed into the latest simulation:

The top priority was the elimination of the target. Failing that, however, the secondary objective was to prevent the target from reaching a designated point in the simulated world.

For the sake of avoiding the issues before with the boy simply memorizing movements, random number generator functions in conjunction with a limited artificial intelligence, undefined weapon ranges, and changing waypoints tested the pilot's ability to quickly learn the limited options available to him, and exploit them at the earliest convenience.

1632 hours

Scrubbing the residue off, Raidon stumbled out of the shower, dressing into his running shorts and a plain white t-shirt, walking slowly home. It was on his departure that he encountered Misato.

Awaiting Misato interaction, upon approval from SSD

1831 hours

Dinner was quiet, both the doctor and Child avoiding conversation as much as possible. Retreating to his room immediately after dishes were washed, and kitchen cleaned, he went immediately back to the technical manuals. his several defeats throughout the day in the simulator led him to the conclusion he needed to know more about what the Eva series could do, and less about what the specific weapons could do.

After all, he considered, the Eva could be just as deadly with a hollowed out pipe against some targets as it could with a positron rifle.

2007 hours

Stretching, Watanabe found his legs had fallen asleep as he studied the technical manuals, jotting down notes in random pieces of notebook paper that served as over-sized bookmarks. He could now say, with a reasonable degree of certainty, how he was going to proceed tomorrow in the simulator.

He would follow their usual routine, but later switch it up to practice clearing computer errors, and implementing manual override procedures. If there was time, he would work on escape and self destruct procedures.

Setting the books aside, he moved to his laptop computer, and started sorting through his e-mail. He wasn't particularly surprised that no contact had been made with any relatives. He had hoped to avoid regular contact at all costs, in the event NERV tried something.

There were a couple old friends who finally replied after months of silence, who were completely unaware he had left the country, but the most important he found was a message from Yamada.

To: Watanabe Raidon
From: Yamada Kaito

Subject: Revision

Yo Raidon,

How about we meet up in the arcade tomorrow (I mean Thursday, not today obviously, haha) before doing revision. About 5ish?

See ya later,

Kaito

Rereading the message, it took a moment for him to remember the discussion before by coded messages passed back and forth. It felt like forever since he had bothered to talk to anyone.

The answer was obvious, however.

Kaito-kun,

Sure, we can give it a go. 1700 hours at the arcade will work. I will give a follow-up call to confirm our arrangement.

I may need to speak to a friend of yours, as well.

R. Watanabe

As he sent the message, there was another person which came to mind.

Kats-chan,

Sorry I've been out of it lately. It won't happen again. Thanks for Monday night. It meant a lot knowing you were there for me. I realize I haven't been much in the way of boyfriend material, particularly when I'm going nuts or spending all my time at my club activities.

So, I've come to the conclusion we need an actual, honest to God date. The fair has long since shut down, but every junior high kid I know of from the States takes their date to the local fair. Instead, we need something a little different.

I promise to dress up fairly nice, as I can tell keeping you from checking me out is near impossible unless I use a textbook.

I'll give you a call later,

R. Watanabe

There was one final message he realized he should send.

Asuka,

Thank you again for all your help before, and keeping me in check. I'm working on handling the situation so I don't screw anything else up. On a similar note, what is the current street value of atypical anti-psychotics these days?

Now I'm curious what Suzuhara would be like on Thorazine...

But I digress. Actually, I was going to say good luck this week, and not to be too rough on Ikari. Everyone already knows you're interested in him (by the way, the bento was quite tasty), except him, of course. I mean, for Chrissake, I'm on the autism spectrum, and even I can tell!

Just tell the guy straight out what you think, and quit worrying about the consequences. There's a reason that strategy often works, and why I always follow it: because no one suspects you'd be crazy enough to actually do and say what you mean, as humans are naturally lying sacks of crap. Besides, guys like chicks who are somewhat bold.

After everything's wrapped up this week, I'm dragging Katsuko on a date. However, I have no idea where to go that doesn't involve what I like, and would prefer the advice of someone who knows how to play the social game. I'm willing to fork out the cash for dinner if you drag Ikari along, as I still have all that money from the skateboard bet.

By the way, I have something of a good luck charm I should pass on to you for this week.

Sincerely,

Sparky

Raidon during Sept 9th, 2015, open to interaction with others upon request

Eric Blair · Evangelion Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Age: 26 Gender: Male

Asuka

Day 2
Waking up had always been a chore for Asuka; she was used to doing it, but it didn’t mean she liked it, especially at such an unholy hour; she was used to waking up to the smell of food already cooked, of standing up and ambling aimlessly towards the bathroom and fumbling around for the door handle.

The same door handle she was holding right now at the same time as Shinji was trying to open it.

Both teens turned to regard each other with narrowed eyes, both from just waking up and from annoyance, before both sighed at the same moment, and Shinji slumped his shoulders as he walked towards the kitchen with small, lazy steps, and if he or Asuka had been watching each other, they would have realized each one was copying their actions, making Pen^2 wark in confusion, as he looked at one and then the other, mirroring their stances, their breathing, the way they moved and even how they were yawning and stretching their hands over their heads while their other arm bent at the elbow, making it look like they were doing an inverted figure 4.

A few minutes after that, and now with Asuka fully awake, it seemed as if the connection had been broken, slowly but surely; Asuka got out, feeling refreshed and changed into the stupid ballet outfit, not really looking forward, but ready any way to start all over again.

“So, ready?” Asuka asked as she walked to the kitchen, while Shinji was finishing off breakfast, before Shinji nodded.

Shinji, if he has anything to say, I’m guessing he would go to take a shower and get ready himself.

Asuka sighed and focused on her breakfast, waiting until Shinji came and both began to eat, easily mirroring their moves, while one ate, the other swallowed, when Asuka reached for the salt shaker Shinji already had it in his hand, passing it to the redhead without looking up, and when Shinji was about to stand up to pour some coffee for himself, Asuka already had two mugs ready.

Even if she didn’t want to accept it, even if she was trying not to be freaked out by this, she was staring to understand Shinji; this was unnerving; it was like looking into a mirror, only the reflection wasn’t her… it was Shinji’s, and his eyes looked so sad and scared at times…

Just like when I saw ma–

Asuka shook her head, amazed when she saw Shinji doing the same as her, as if he were shaking the cobwebs of his head before he turned to look at Asuka with a questioning look in his head.

“We’re doing it again.” Asuka said at the same time as Shinji, before both children frowned hearing their voices equally modulated and mirroring each other in pitch and tone.

“Stop doing that.” Asuka told Shinji, even if Shinji was the one glaring at her, annoyance clear in both their voices as both teens got up and began to clear the table. “Honestly! It’s starting to get annoying!”

Asuka stopped talking, opening her mouth and seeing as Shinji did the same, before he frowned, almost expecting her to say something, making the redhead frown as well.

“Look, we are obviously getting better at this… synching thing.” Asuka muttered while Shinji simply nodded, both children staring at each other before Asuka let out a sigh; tired… exasperated… and it wasn’t even 10 a.m.

“What’s next on the list?”

Shinji picking up a list of chores and cycling through them.

“Whatever…” Asuka said in a low tone before she stood up, grabbing her plates and walking towards the small sink. “First we have to do the dishes, afterwards we clean the apartment and we do the laundry, ok?”

Shinji nodded, and both teens took their headphones, putting them on and hearing to the familiar notes starting, looped, playing over and over the tones, and the children began to move their head at the same time with the music before going to work in quick and efficient unison washing the plates; Shinji would wash, Asuka would dry, plates and cutlery passing effortlessly from one hand to the other, before they began to clean the rest of Misato’s apartment: Asuka would sweep while Shinji would dust, or Shinji vacuumed while Asuka mopped, both working in silence, almost afraid that any words uttered would break their concentration and their synch ratio; after cleaning the house, came doing the laundry, which both teens did in the same manner; one would pull the clothes out from the washer, tossing the still damp garments across the room while the other caught them in mid air, hanging them from the clothes-line, before both teens finished and walked back in.

“Ok, so now, let’s train with the videogame and afterwards we’ll use the mattress for about 2 hours, then we’ll have a break and the–”

"Wait, why are you in charge?"

Asuka turned to Shinji, frowning, not really wondering why this was an issue, but apparently for Shinji it was, judging by the way he was staring at her, and the look in his face, even if it was trying to be calm, Asuka could tell he was obviously not happy about it.

“It's only normal I'm in charge, I have more experience and I am a ranking pilot over you.” Asuka said, rolling her eyes at stating the obvious, while she began to set everything up for the testing again, while Shinji moved to his side, fiddling with his own set.

“Besides, this whole strategy is based around Precision, discipline and poise.” Asuka said as she did a twirl on the tip of her foot before stopping, staring straight into Shinji’s eyes.

"We're supposed to be syncing! You know? Equality?"

Asuka shook her head, grumbling softly to herself. Why is this idiot so intent on making this so hard?

“We are synching in equality!” Asuka exclaimed as she turned to Shinji, a smirk playing on her lips. “I'm just the first amongst my equals.”

"That's not the same thing! And there's only two of this in this mission, so being first amongst equals is meaningless anyways!"

Great, he was in one of those moods… Asuka thought darkly.

“No it's not! Even in a two man team, there has to a chain of command...simple but chain of command none the less!”

"What? When there's this few of us we should decide everything equally!"

What the hell is this idiot going on about? Equally!? This is not a democracy, this is a war! Asuka thought angrily, wondering if the idiot’s idea of equality was asking him first if she should move her right hand in and then her left foot out.

“Besides, you're assuming they will move at the same time!” Asuka asked again, for some reason not wanting to back down. “What if one lunges forth and the other covers? Or what if they both try to separate us and flank us?”

"Then we get out of the way until they act in sync again."

“Are you suggesting we run away?” Not. An. Option. Asuka thought with narrowed eyes as she stared at Shinji, daring him to say that again.

"No!" Shinji exclaimed. "We… move back to a more strategic position to consider our options!"

“Look, you idiot…” Asuka growled as she stepped from her mat into Shinji’s squaring off to stare at him. “This is not gonna work if one of us is thinking about covering their asses!”

"If we just rush in blindly, we'll get killed!"

There was something in the way Shinji said that, the trepidation in his voice, the way his eyes grew a little wider that made Asuka stop and look at the boy, before she looked away quickly, masking her face by quickly flipping her hair off her face.

“W-well of course! I learned my lesson with the fourth…” Asuka said angrily, more at herself than at anybody else before she looked down angrily and whispered. “And the fifth.”

"And the sixth." Shinji added still glaring at Asuka before he continued. "Now we finally have an advantage! We have information on what an Angel can do for once!"

“Ok fine! I get it!” Asuka said looking down, hurt about being reminded of her failure, staring at her hands angrily, clenching them before looking back up again “But that is precisely why we should hit them from the start! Maximum power! Top speed!”

Shinji stared at the redhead as if she had grown a second head, obviously not really sure of what she was trying to say.

"You just gave examples of them defending themselves! That’s what this whole argument is about; if they can defend themselves!"

“If you hit them hard enough and fast enough, they will have no idea of how to defend themselves.”

"Like what Misato wanted me to do the first time I was sortied against the Fifth Angel?"

“Would you stop bringing the fifth!? I get it!” Asuka shouted, eyes closed tight and slamming her foot as hard as she could on the floor, throwing her headsets on the floor and staring at Shinji who stared at her with an expression of surprise on his face.

“You and Rei were commended! I was demoted! No need to rub it in! I get it!”

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! I'm talking about when it fried my Eva before we did ANYTHING with the positron rifle!" Shinji shouted back, glaring at Asuka as he stepped up closer to her, making the redhead take a step back. "You know? ‘The Fifth Angel has appeared, sortie Eva-01, oh look, it seems to have become an oven and in a few short minutes we'll have roast Shinji!’"

The silence ensuing after Shinji’s scream was deafening, drowned by the sounds of cicadas chirping loudly, dully echoing against the thin walls of Misato’s apartment, both teens staring at each other in silence for tense minutes before Asuka finally looked away

“Yeah… Misato acted sloppily and you…” Asuka stopped short, before she remembered the screams, the anguish… the sense of failure at not being able to help.

I could hear you screaming and couldn't do anything to help you.

"I'm sorry, it's just..." Shinji said in a low tone, calming down, looking at his hand, frowning like he always did when he felt angry or anxious, like he wanted to say what was on his mind, but wasn’t able to process what he wanted to say. "I just…"

“Don’t…” Asuka said equally softly, making Shinji look away as both teens remained like that, standing in front of the other; their stance mirroring the other’s, before Asuka let out a sigh and spoke again.

“I should have been the one sortied instead of you.” The redhead began in a small, whispered tone before her voice began to grow faster, more frantic. “A-and Misato should have seen this! Send you behind someplace to cover you…”

Asuka stopped, her face marred by her frown, and her lips set in a snarl as she closed her eyes, trembling with rage and regret at everything, at feeling like this, at letting Shinji see how she felt.

She felt naked, and open and vulnerable and the worst part of it was that she knew it didn’t matter.

Because she felt all of this alone.

And so Asuka tried to rationalize it the only way she could; by masking feeling afraid and feeling worried by making it look like she felt displaced for not being sortied, by masking her true sense of dread for a teammate with a feeling of being responsible because she was the best.

“I… I could have taken the impact... My eva had more armor plates than yours… it could have given me some more seconds…”

She would have kept signaling more and more reasons why SHE should have been there instead of him, forever circling around the true reason of WHY she would have wanted to be there instead, if it weren’t for Shinji’s hand twitching, touching Asuka’s arm before retracting quickly, as if it had been burned by something imaginably hot, but his face held a quiet resignation topped on his ever present serious, melancholic face.

"It's not your fault; sometimes the pain doesn't go away right after I stop syncing… sometimes it follows me for a few minutes or a few hours… and… and I just don't want to get hurt again." Shinji said as he looked down, almost as if he were ashamed of admitting this was one of the reasons why he couldn’t do it, why he didn’t want to pilot.

Because the pain marked your mind and your soul.

Because sometimes you’re just too tired and hurting too much and you just want it to stop.

"Not like that…"

“You won't.” Asuka said softly, forcing her arms to remain at her ides, and making a supreme effort to not let her hands go up and touch Shinji’s own, or to give him a hug she so desperately felt she they both needed.

Instead, she stayed there, numbly, like a shell waiting for something to crawl inside to make it alive again, before her own mind spoke the words her mouth couldn’t mutter.

I'll be there to make sure you won’t.

"Do you feel like that sometimes? Like the pain is yours, not the Evas?"

Asuka looked up, noticing how Shinji kept looking at his outstretched palms, how his body seemed to tremble every time he remembered the pain being in eva represented; like a small piece of your mind, of your body and soul were chipped away, little by little, before…

“I-it felt like that with the fourth… and the fifth.” Asuka said while nodding, the pretense of the mattresses and the exercise long forgotten as they both simply felt like this was a more valuable exercise; baring your soul, your inner self for the other to see; letting the masks and the impostures fall, crossing over, nearing the gap, breaching the walls that seemed to fortify one another but still kept them alone.

"Even after you were out of the Eva?"

Asuka sighed softly, before she showed Shinji her outstretched palm.

“Notice anything?”

"Y-yeah."

It was faintly there, so faintly it could be mistaken for calluses on her hand, but Shinji could clearly see them, small crevasses, bumps and indentations that were similar to burn marks, scaring Asuka’s otherwise smooth palms.

“That was when I grabbed the fourth's whips…” Asuka explained before she lifted the side of her shirt and shows Shinji her ribs. “And here… I…”

Asuka saw as Shinji’s own hands came up, reaching forth, trying to touch hers before the redhead quickly withdrew them and looked away, almost embarrassed at displaying weakness, taking a quick step back to the comfort zone that was her mattress.

"The Fifth?"

“It's like a bad sunburn… you can barely see it…” she said, shrugging like she didn’t want anyone else to hear. “Guess I deserved it for being too hot headed and thinking you needed my help.”

Shinji remained quiet, and Asuka could almost see the words churning inside of him, mulling them over before the brown-haired boy finally spoke again.

"You were trying to do the right thing that's what matters."

There was something in the way he said it, like he was trying hard to cheer Asuka up that made the redhead snort and look away, feeling her eyes burning, stinging with unshed tears before she finally calmed herself enough to speak.

“Yeah, great help I was… I ended up being yelled at by Misato and Kaji and Akagi and demoted by your dad to back up…”

Even if it had happened a while ago, even if it had been corrected, the memory of what had happened still hurt, it was still sore for the redhead, like a scab that hadn’t fully healed, the mere mention of it was something that made Asuka confront the notion she wasn’t able to do it alone, wasn’t able to be as good as she thought she could.

"Better to help when you're not needed than to refuse to help when you are, right?"

Asuka turned to Shinji, frowning at his words, wondering if he was trying to tell her he would never offer help if he could, or if he was trying to tell her not to offer helping if she wasn’t asked.

Maybe this was Shinji’s own subtle way of saying he didn’t need or wanted any help, at least form her.

And for some reason, that made those words stung more than being demoted, making Asuka let out a sigh, debating between telling Shinji he was an idiot, or wondering if this was just another way for him to tell her he wasn’t interested in anything the redhead could offer, be it friendship, or something else.

“Let’s just focus on the rest of the synching…” Asuka said softly, turning back to the mattress and programming the settings for this session, trying hard not to show what she was feeling, maintaining a poker face even if she knew there was so much she could take before her temper finally managed to break free and come forth.

"I think we are synching…" Shinji’s words reached the German teenager’s ears, making her turn and give the Japanese boy a giggle despite herself, just as she was trying to dry her eyes.

“You're a moron sometimes, you know that?”

"How?" Whether Shinji was surprised or not, annoyed or not, or otherwise moved by Asuka’s words, he never showed it, instead keeping his normal face, guarded, almost afraid of showing anything that wasn’t anger, or fear or frustration.

“By doing this! Y-you piss me off and make me…” Asuka’s voice faltered, making her miss a beat before she finally looked at Shinji, shrugging, as if whatever she was about to say didn’t really matter. “And then you make me smile.”

And it's not fair you can do it so easily.

"Well, uh… If I'm making you smile after making you mad, I can't be that dumb, right? Imagine if I did it the other way around."

“You really are pushing your luck at trying to make me smile…” Asuka mumbled, rolling her eyes, but unable to hide the smile on her lips, making Shinji smile in return before the redhead’s normal face of clam, focused intensity came back, setting her lips and jaw in a strong, firm line.

“But I'll let you get away with it, this time... just don't expect me to call you Shinji-kun or anything like that... if anything I'll call you baka-kun.” Asuka said firmly before she turned to Shinji, seeing him still fiddling around with his own timer, unable to see anything in his face, but somehow his voice seemed more relaxed… gentler even.

Almost as if he was smiling.

"I'd be scared if you did."

“That better be a joke third.” Asuka said as she nodded at Shinji, determination clearly written on her face. “Ok, let's try it again then…”

"Yeah." Shinji agreed with a nod.

They would later realize this had been the beginning of the end of this training scenario, both teens reaching a 98% synch ratio by the end of the day.

Asuka and Shinji's training day 2. Things seem to progress.

Eternally Lost Zeppo · Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2009 2:15 pm Post subject:

Kaito

A hospital waiting room, blurred and out of focus as seen through the eyes of a boy who was half-asleep, three blurs stand nearby, one of them Kaito recognised as his father from the shape and what little detail he could make out of the clothes.

One of the other blurs spoke, it's voice sounding strangely familiar to Kaito as he dreamt, '...this is a one time offer. So what do you say? Try to bring them to justice by yourself, looking over your shoulder the whole way? Or do it kowing those bastards cannot touch you, or your family...'

A pause. The blur that was his father thought about this, then looked at the other blur, 'Where do I sign?'

Kaito blinked and they were gone, his vision cleared, mind fully awake. Kaito got up, heading towards his mother's room. Mai was standing outside the room, looking on worriedly through the glass partition and Kaito looked inside to see what was happening. Inside, he saw his father talking to a blonde-haired woman in a labcoat as his mother lay in bed, hooked up to IV drips and life support machines. It seemed a fairly amicable conversation from this side of the glass. There were a couple of others there in uniforms, he didn't recognise them as being from any military organisation he knew of.

The two uniformed people started preparing his mother to be moved, and Kaito suddenly felt very worried. He stepped into the room and confronted the uniformed people, "What are you doing?"

'We are transferring Mrs. Kurokawa to NERV's facilities in Tokyo3.' The blonde woman told him, 'She will be treated there from now on.'

"NERV?" The name was unfamiliar to Kaito at the time, it hadn't been such a matter of public interest back then. "But...Dad, what's going on?"

"I've arranged some special treatment for your mother, Kaito. It's alright."

Kaito looked to the blonde woman and asked, "C-can you help her? Can you make her better?"

The blonde woman smiled and said, "Don't worry. NERV has access to the most advanced medical equipment known to man. Your mother is in the best hands.' Something about the blonde's smile had made Kaito feel funny at the time. Back then he was just grateful that his mother was getting the special treatment, but there was something off about it, he realised as he awoke from the past.

Wednesday, September 9th 2015, 02:32hrs

Kaito blinked his eyes clear of what little sleep he had managed to get and looked over at his alarm clock. Half two in the morning. Damn.

Kaito sighed and retrieved the sheet of paper he had used for the coded message to Raidon from underneath the bag of sunflower seeds on top of his bedside unit.

"Yeah, you need a little work on this," the boy answered, handing back the page. Tapping lightly on his right temple, just below the scar, he made sure Yamada saw the cue. "The problem's all up here, though. If you want to work it out with me, I left my address below."

Kaito read the page, and decyphered the new message.

R. AKAGI
BLONDE DOC - REI & SASASKI
I LIVE W/HER

He put the paper aside again, staring blankly at the ceiling as the gears turned in his mind. The meaning behind the words and the tap on the head was clear. Whatever was going on with Raidon lately, it was something to do with the brain surgery they did on him. The comment about Dr Akagi indicated she was the one who was behind it. As he thought about it, snippets of old conversations came back to the surface as he went over everything he knew, putting it all together in his head.

"...having friends nearby after someone who I still don't trust cut into my brain for unnecessary, experimental surgery is something I would appreciate."

"Whoa, back up there. Experimental surgery? What are they doing to you in here?"

"I can't go into all the classified stuff. The basic answer is that they cut into my long term memory, and... implanted things. Some kind of way to speed up the training program, I don't know all the details, but I don't even feel like the same person anymore."

"Been having... flashbacks."

“Then, Raidon started saying weird things, like ‘What's wrong, old hag?’ and ‘You killed the First, but I can be replaced…’. He also said it in a voice that sounded rather uncharacteristic of him, almost like…well, like he was trying to sound like Rei… Come to think of it, Raidon and Asuka were talking on the way out of the school, and I heard Asuka repeat something Raidon had said…”

"A bad Rei." Kaito muttered the words under his breath. "Long term memory. Implants. Flashbacks." A picture was forming in Kaito's mind, he wasn't 100% sure, he would need to confirm his suspicions and to do so he'd need to talk to Raidon.

But even as he formed this thought, other memories came back to him, warning him.

"I don’t want to come here again and let you know that something happened to someone from your family kid; if someone could get hurt because you want to play truth crusader, you should reconsider your actions.”

"You should pick goals that are within your reach. It's just a friendly piece of advice."

"...are you willing to put your sister's life at risk...?"

"Going off on your own, worrying the people who...who care about you by trying to make yourself a martyr pursuing cases that are bigger than you...sound familiar?"

Idane-sempai's words were the clincher. He didn't want to worry or endanger anyone by pursuing the facts behind Raidon's problem. But that didn't mean he wouldn't try and help him. After all, whatever was going on, it had already caused Raidon to flip out and cause injury to both himself and someone else - well, worse than in any previous incident anyway - and unless something was done about it, it wouldn't be long before something went horribly wrong.

If his idea about the implants was right, he had an idea which might be of some help. It wasn't much, it might not work, but it was worth a shot. First though, he needed to confirm his suspicions, and to do that he needed to talk to Raidon.

Getting up and moving over to his desk, Kaito activated his laptop and sent an e-mail to Raidon:

To: Watanabe Raidon
From: Yamada Kaito

Subject: Revision

Yo Raidon,

How about we meet up in the arcade tomorrow (I mean Thursday, not today obviously, haha) before doing revision. About 5ish?

See ya later,

Kaito

With the message sent, he returned to his bed, and tried to get back to sleep.

Kaito has trouble sleeping as he considers Raidon's situation, and makes a decision to try and help...

**Sachi** · Posted: Wed Aug 12, 2009 10:55 pm Post subject:

Wednesday, September 9th, 8:07pm.

It wasn't until late that night when Katsuko finally made it home. As she removed her shoes at the entrance, she noticed something was off. Something was different. Looking around she tried to put her finger on what it was. Then she heard a grunt coming from the kitchen as she realized what it was: The kitchen light was on. Even when Katsuko was busy in the kitchen, she never usually turned the light on, either because it was during the day and the sun illuminated the room, or because she just didn't bother flipping the switch when she went in late at night.

Slinking her way into the kitchen, the green eyed girl nervously made eye contact with the man sitting at the table. How long had it been since she'd talked to him, how long since she'd even seen him? This man was different than the one in the photo on her bedroom desk. No, this man was much older, for the years were not kind to him, and far more ragged. Heavy bags hung below his eyes, easily visible behind his glasses and among the unshaven, but not quite bearded face. This man was not the "daddy" she used to call him, this man was simply Kiyoshi Kotonoha to her now.

"Hey." He muttered, slouched over a half-empty bowel of cereal.

Katsuko stood up straight and gave him a stern look. "You're up early."

"Couldn't sleep."

The teenage girl sighed, and made an attempt to go off into the hallway, but he stopped her.

"Where have you been?"

"I.. I was out with a few friends." She responded.

"You should leave a note if you're going to go anywhere, just so I know where you are." He slurped on his milk.

"Why bother? I'll be home by the time you'd ever see them."

"Regardless." He looked her up and down. "Are those bruises?"

Her eyes widened like a deer in headlights, she looked down and indeed saw that a few bruises were visible on her arms from that whole business with Michiko. "I-I fell." It wasn't a complete lie. "It's nothing."

He put his spoon down. "That's not what your school said. Why are you getting into fights at school?"

Katsuko rolled her eyes at him. "I'm not getting into fights at school. God, if you knew a thing you'd know me a little better than that!"

"Then tell me what happened." Kiyoshi's dull eyes looked right into hers.\

"Nothing happened. Nothing! Just some girl who hates those pilots from Ne--"

He interrupted her. "Pilots? What does that have anything to do with you."

"If you'd let me explain, you'd know." She paused, daring him to interrupt her again, but he remained silent. "The pilots of those giant robot things, and they happen to be in my class, and I happen to be friends with--"

"What are you doing hanging out with that type?"

"What do you mean 'that type'!? You act like something's wrong with them." He opened his mouth to say something, but Katsuko kept going. "You know what? It doesn't matter. It's none of your business anyways, it's not like you ever cared before."

"You know that's not true."

"Like hell. That's why you volunteered to work the night shift, that's why I haven't seen you in months, that's why you never bother to leave me even the smallest form of communication just to see how I'm doing. No notes saying 'Hi Katsuko! How was your day?' or 'Good morning Katsuko, good luck at school today!'. You never cared, you never loved me, you can hardly even look at me right now!"

Slamming his fists he stood up suddenly. "I'm your Father, and you know that I've always loved you."

"Not like you loved Yoko!" She yelled at him, but then threw her hand over her mouth, realizing what she just said. Her eyes began tearing up.

His stance was left shaken. "I.. I... You know that's--" But before he could finish she had already run into her room in tears.

Her back against the door as she slammed it shut, her legs gave out on her and she slid to the ground. Tears flowed freely down her face as she brought her knees to her chin. She knew she shouldn't have gone there, but she couldn't bring herself to apologize to him, because she knew it was true. Behind the sound of her sobbing, she could hear her father picking up his dishes and putting them away. And not much time had passed before she heard him going out the front door. And that's when sleep enveloped her.

--

A few hours later her eyes cracked open, dried tears trailed down her cheek. What time was it? She didn't know. The doorknob gave her support as she slowly brought herself to her feet, which still felt like they were going to give out at any moment. Her own words rang through her head relentlessly. She knew she couldn't get back to sleep now, those words would keep her up all night. So she sat herself down in front of her laptop and for the longest time just stared at the screen, replaying not just the fight in her mind, but also much older and much more painful memories.

Sighing, she went online and and noticed she had a message in her inbox. Half-expecting it to be Kiyoshi giving her a big apology letter, she opened it up and was surprised by what she saw.

Kats-chan,

Sorry I've been out of it lately. It won't happen again. Thanks for Monday night. It meant a lot knowing you were there for me. I realize I haven't been much in the way of boyfriend material, particularly when I'm going nuts or spending all my time at my club activities.

So, I've come to the conclusion we need an actual, honest to God date. The fair has long since shut down, but every junior high kid I know of from the States takes their date to the local fair. Instead, we need something a little different.

I promise to dress up fairly nice, as I can tell keeping you from checking me out is near impossible unless I use a textbook.

I'll give you a call later,

R. Watanabe

Her swollen eyes couldn't help but smile as she read this, and suddenly all thought of the bad parts of that day were wiped from her memory, and all she could think about was Raidon. She blissfully wrote her reply:

"Watanabe-kun,

That sounds like a lot of fun. n.n I don't care what we do, as long as I get to do it with you.

I'll... I'll try to wear something a bit more revealing, just for you. :") Of course, only if that's okay with you. I just want to try and do something special for you in return for all that you've done for me.

Can't wait to see you!

Katsuko. <3"

She read over her message again, making sure it was exactly as she wanted it, and hovered her mouse over the 'Send' button. A smile only made her blush that much more prominent. She held her breath and clicked. The message sent.

She couldn't help but smile the rest of the night, as she drew in her sketchbook pictures of bunnies, and flowers, and of course, her Raidon-kun.

(Katsuko comes home and gets in a fight with her dad, but then the message from Raidon makes Katsuko feel a lot better.)

Eternally Lost Zeppo · Posted: Sat Aug 15, 2009 7:48 am Post subject:

Kaito

Thursday, September 10th 2015, 17:04hrs

Kaito met Raidon at the arcade that evening as planned, and the two of them searched for a game to play while they discussed matters.

[Raidon suggesting one of the games.]

Kaito took one look and shuddered. What did people find so great about shooting games anyway?

"Maybe something else?" Kaito responded with the usual smile - though possibly a bit more forced than usual - and hoped his voice didn't sound too pleading, although in all likelihood it would go unnoticed by Raidon anyway.

[Raidon response.]

"I just...hey, a driving game, let's play that!" Kaito verbally dodged the question and walked over to the machine before Raidon could protest.

So, they put in their tokens and started to play, and as they played they talked.

"Okay, first of all, tell me what you've been experiencing."

[Raidon goes over the hallucinations he's been experiencing.]

"Right, now as I understand it, NERV have implanted memories in your head to help you train faster, giving you the combat experience of someone else. Maybe one person, maybe more. At least one of those being Ayanami."

[Raidon response, how'd he figure?]

"You pretty much told me yourself, remember? As for Ayanami, the bad Rei comment that Kensuke overheard was the clue."

[Raidon response, tries to elaborate on the experiment.]

"I don't need to know anything more, Raidon. Knowing as much as I already do could cause trouble as it is."

[Raidon offering his 'option' for defending Kaito's family.]

"Easy Raidon, easy. That's not necessary at this point. I don't want any trouble, all I want to do is help you deal with what's happening to you."

Kaito was dividing his attention between the game and his surroundings, keeping an eye out for any of Raidon's keepers who might wander by and attempt to eavesdrop. As such he wasn't playing to his best ability, Raidon didn't seem to be having any problems though.

[Raidon response.]

"I had an idea. I've read about cases of people with memories of past lives --"

[Raidon wonders what the hell Kaito's on about.]

A guilty little secret of Kaito's, when he was younger he had been a great believer in paranormal phenomenon, it was the reason he had grown interested in investigating things in the first place. He'd done research on various phenomenon, but never actually encountered anything personally. Then the shooting happened, and he became less interested in the paranormal and more interested in problems in the natural world.

"It's a similar circumstance. Anyway, these people were suffering emotional or psychological problems due to traumatic memories from past lives. Through hypnotherapy, they were able to resolve the traumatic event and move on."

[Raidon sceptical.]

"Look, it's the same principal. Maybe some sort of traumatic event from Ayanami and any other donors' lives are what's causing these hallucinations of yours? If that's the case, we might be able to use hypnotherapy to put it to rest. No more trauma, no more hallucinations."

[Raidon still sceptical.]

"I know it's a long shot, but it's worth a try, and it's about the only help I can offer. How about it?"

[Raidon reluctantly agrees.]

"Alright. Now, there are a few people in school who have an interest in hypnosis, but for something like this, I'll need to see if I can arrange a meeting with someone more experienced. I'll sort it out and get back to you with the arrangements as soon as I can."

[Raidon response, then asks if he can put him in touch with someone.]

"Who?" Kaito narrowed his eyes warily. What was Raidon up to now?

[Raidon tells Kaito he needs a hacker. A good one. He doesn't go into specifics.]

Kaito frowned. He didn't want to involve himself directly in this venture, whatever it might be, but Raidon had asked for his help, so... "Chojiro from 2D is pretty reliable, don't ask him to do anything directly related to NERV though, and don't tell him I sent you. If he asks, you heard of him through the grapevine. NERV has him over a barrel, anything linked to me or pertaining to NERV is likely to go direct to that Agent Kaji guy. Just tread carefully, okay?"

[Raidon's acknowledgement.]

It occurred to Kaito that he could have put Raidon in touch with the Three Wise Guys, but putting Raidon together with a trio of technowizards and conspiracy theorists was just asking for trouble. Chojiro, by comparison, was more low-key, less likely to create significant problems and unlikely to go near anything to do specifically with NERV ever again, not after recent events.

Afterwards they found a place to sit and do revision, Kaito chewing sunflowers seeds and trying not to space out while Raidon impatiently tried to explain how it all worked. By the end of the session, Kaito didn't find mathematics any less boring.

As he walked home from the revision session, he took out his mobile and made a phone call.

"Dad, if you're not too busy, can we meet up later? I'd like to talk."

Kaito and Raidon meet up, and Kaito tries to offer what little help he can without endangering himself or his family...

GoatMan · Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 12:57 pm Post subject:

Thursday, September 10th 2015, 0553 hours

Raidon bolted from the bed. Another nightmare. They were becoming routine, now, and he realized that was going to be a problem. He had already spoken to the doctor, and couldn't get off the rejection meds for at least another week.

If he didn't know better, he would have cursed science.

Running his hands over his scalp, Raidon stumbled to his laptop, checking e-mail before his daily routine began. Instantly he noticed a message from Katsuko.

"Watanabe-kun,

That sounds like a lot of fun. n.n I don't care what we do, as long as I get to do it with you.

I'll... I'll try to wear something a bit more revealing, just for you. :") Of course, only if that's okay with you. I just want to try and do something special for you in return for all that you've done for me.

Can't wait to see you!

Katsuko. <3"

Raidon blinked in disbelief. He didn't think Kotonoha would be the type to lure his attention, but he wasn't going to start complaining. Then again...

Kats-chan,

Sounds great. I'll start searching for something fun yet unorthodox to give a try. Out of curiosity, the lake has small sailboat rentals, doesn't it? I heard there's a nice island out there a ways worth exploring.

In regards to your wardrobe, anything outside of a school uniform is fine with me. You don't have to go showing stuff off for me, though, unless it's what you feel comfortable doing. I'm not into you just for your looks, but your brains and personality as well.

Mmm... yes, fleshy, tasty brains for all! BRAAAINS...

...That was a joke...

Asuka might tag along if I can convince her to drag someone out with her, and we can make it a double-date. I can tell she enjoys hanging out with you, and with our club, we don't exactly get out much. Don't worry, we won't paint the town red this time along.

Then again...

I'll give you a call later on after class,

R. Watanabe

Doing his best to avoid Ritsuko, Raidon ate in silence, and geared up for the day's activities. He had Aikido lessons starting today after some time in the sim, and hopefully he'd hear back from Misato about the proposed training regimen.

1102 hours

BOOM

he didn't expect these representations of Angels to explode in the simulations anymore, especially since he wasn't aiming for their cores. Rather, he was simply hacking at limbs, or finding other, interesting ways to disable them.

He also didn't expect to short out the LCL drain pump, or that NERV engineers would be so foolish as to build an entry plug without a method to drain the plug manually by gravity alone. After a tech reluctantly worked a manual release valve, Watanabe exited the plug, and caught his breath.

Lieutenant Ooi and/or Kaede response

"I want to try running some emergency procedures, next," the Child replied. "If I can't figure out how to get out of the plug or troubleshoot a malfunction, I won't even have to worry about fighting."

Reluctantly the staff agreed, and Watanabe entered the plug with the standard issue toolkit. It was a series of stainless steel tools, some coated in a thin layer of non-conductive materials, usually polymer resins. They normally sat in a small compartment just below and forward of the self-destruct arming switches.

That, he thought, was rather inefficient, as he would more likely need the tools than to blow himself up.

The previous two nights, Raidon had managed to get a general idea of the wiring harness layout of the entry plug. While he didn't have it memorized, the removable access panels on both the sim mock-up, and the real item had simplified diagrams for the various sub-systems.

As he ran through the tests, various synchronization errors, video input errors, and bad connections came and went. But the most challenging was the 1201 alarm. This was the indication the on-board computer and diagnostic system could not process all of the incoming data, and literally the only solution available was to bring the Eva to a complete halt, clearing the memory. This rarely ever happened in the simulator, but acting as a relay between pilot and the Magi, if the maneuvers of the Eva in conjunction with the pilot's inputs were too involved, reaction time could be reduced.

The solution came to him when trying to treat the 1201 alarm, and finding the computer had to work through clearing all previously saved data. Asking a technician, it made sense. If something were to happen to the pilot, rather than the Eva suddenly going limp, this time lag in clearing the data was meant to bring the unit to a controlled stop.

As an experiment, he tried manually clearing the memory. The computer instantly cleared, and signals received from the Magi were processed again at their normal speed. However, the simulated Unit-02 instantly collapsed to the ground like a puppet with it's strings cut.

What he needed, Raidon realized, was more memory to process "slow down" for the Eva until the primary memory could clear manually in the event of a 1201 alarm, and bring reaction time back to the specified quarter of a second. Oddly enough, there was no procedure for that.

He would have to talk to Ritsuko about that.

1632 hours

Walking slowly, methodically through the arcade, Raidon grunted. He was never good at video games, and he never really saw the appeal. But, this was the point of contact, and he would humor Yamada.

He remembered his promise to Katsuko, and reaching for his phone, dialed the number. It rang twice before she answered.

"H-hello?"

"Hey Kats-chan," Raidon greeted. "What's new?"

"Oh!" She haphazardly fixed her hair and skirt, as if he were actually there. "You remembered!"

Raidon tried to frown, but found his face wasn't cooperating after the latest dosage. Was it that common for people to forget about her? "Of course I remembered," Raidon answered, trying his best to inflect a cheerful tone. He didn't think it did anything besides make the girl wince on the other end, but he couldn't say for certain. "When someone says they're going to do something, they should do it, especially when that person is important to them." They were quickly getting off track.

"So, what's going on?"

"Oh, um... nothing much." Raidon paused, waiting for the girl to continue. He found himself waiting an unbearable... how long was it? As he started to form the words in his head as to what he would say to salvage the situation, however, Kotonoha spoke again. "I, uh, I just got your email.." Realizing she was going nowhere with this: "D-did you really mean that thing about 'fleshy, tasty brains'..?"

"I don't know, will the gray matter be cooked or served raw?" Raidon started, before chuckling. "No, it was just a joke, boss."

"Oh, okay. Just making sure. Hm..." Silence once again. "I like your idea about going to the lake, that'd be a lot of fun. Swimming is my favorite sport, if it's counted as one." She drifted off into awkward silence, embarrassed by her own comment.

Raidon cringed at the swimming comment, and found his left ankle start to itch again. He just had to remind himself there were no venomous snakes in Japan, no wacky cousins to call him a freak, and he doubted Katsuko would run off with the boat. Asuka might, but not her. "Okay, the lake it is," he answered.

"A-and it would be great if Asuka came too. I'm afraid that if no one else goes, I'll be too shy to do anything with you.."

Watanabe's foul mind processed the words, his face remaining blank. "Do anything, eh?" he asked. "Just how revealing an attire are you talking about?"

She gasped in shock at what she said. "N-no! Not like that! I.. I meant like, as in, talking or... or even being brave enough to look you in the eye without turning away all shy and blushing and stuff.." She mentally kicked herself for being such a klutz.

The Child froze, his brain processing the words the girl uttered carefully, taking several seconds to determine how to respond. "Kats-chan," he answered softly. "I was just teasing you a bit. Aspies aren't that dense."

"Aspies?" Katsuko asked.

Taking a moment, he wondered just how far in depth he should go into that conversation, but decided to let Soryu clarify if she were so inclined to play comedian on the outing.

"You are brave, Kats-chan," he continued, finding that his left hand was reaching instinctively for a person who was not there. "You stayed with me when I couldn't see straight. I want to spend time with you, and watch you be yourself."

Katsuko's response

There was more awkward silence. Why was it always like that? "Hey... if you want... before the date, want to get some more tutoring in?"

Katsuko response

Raidon's face pulled in stiff, unnatural twitches into his recovering nervous system's attempt at a natural smile. "Sounds good... I can be there around twenty-hundred hours."

Katsuko's 'huh?' response

"...I mean... eight o'clock..."

Katsuko's reply

"Alright, see you then..." The connection dying quickly, Watanabe tucked the phone away, and went back to his methodical patrol, stalking the people in the room like a waiting predator. He froze at a broken arcade game, a stranger catching his eye. Turning, he saw a figure in the dull screen staring back at him, the eyes cold, the face gaunt, and the hair...

He couldn't recognize himself.

1702 hours

The boy suddenly came around the corner, greeting him, and suggesting to play a game. Sighing, Raidon looked at the first thing he saw, a first person shooter with plastic handguns, and alien monsters. "Okay, how about this?" Watanabe asked.

Kaito visibly cringed, and hesitated for the longest time before speaking again. "Maybe something else?". Yamada had a smile on his face, but he was stiff, unnerved by the suggestion. The Fifth Child made a note to ask about that later on.

"Something wrong?" the boy asked.

"I just...hey, a driving game, let's play that!" Kaito verbally dodged the question and walked over to the machine before Raidon could protest.

It was a basic configuration, with driver seats, wheels, and shifters in front of two large screens, a throwback to the 90's that was still in operation, but quite popular. Inserting tokens, Kaito seemed indecisive at the track choice. Finding, however, that California's state route 88 was available, Watanabe jumped at the option, and found the perfect car: a 1990 IROC-Z Camaro

As the game began, Raidon selected the manual shift mode, eased onto the throttle, and worked methodically through the gears, finding Kaito's driving more exaggerated. Just a few seconds into the game, both Raidon and Kaito glancing over their shoulders, the conversation began.

"Okay, first of all, tell me what you've been experiencing."

"It's mostly revolving around this one woman," he started. "I think she's related to Doctor Akagi. At least she looks similar. She's... strangling me from a raised platform, and she snaps my neck." Pausing to take a hairpin turn, racking through the gears again, Watanabe looked over to study Kaito's reaction. "Those things I said when I attacked Michiko... I think those are what set the woman off. It took a while to figure it out, but there were mirrored surfaces in the dream. When I look back at my reflection, well... I'm not me."

"Right, now as I understand it, NERV have implanted memories in your head to help you train faster, giving you the combat experience of someone else. Maybe one person, maybe more. At least one of those being Ayanami."

Raidon winced at that, and ran his left hand through his hair. He hadn't told anyone yet, but he had already found traces of hairs similar in shade to those of the First Child. It unsettled him. "Yeah... Was it that obvious?"

"You pretty much told me yourself, remember? As for Ayanami, the bad Rei comment that Kensuke overheard was the clue."

"The training is getting a little more intense lately, so I'm recovering more. If I knew I'd be hooked up to a pain simulation machine in some kind of Pavlovian experiment, I probably wouldn't have gone along with it."

"I don't need to know anything more, Raidon. Knowing as much as I already do could cause trouble as it is."

Raidon snarled at that, and mashed the pedal down, shoving one of the simulated competitors in the game clear off the road into oncoming traffic. "If it comes down to it, Section Two is just a collection of people. People can still die, and it's something so simple, I could do it."

Kaito did not seem to enjoy this thought.

"Easy Raidon, easy. That's not necessary at this point. I don't want any trouble. All I want to do is help you deal with what's happening to you."

Yamada's driving was suffering significantly, the boy way back in 10th place, being hammered by the computer players, boxed in awaiting a pit maneuver. Clenching his teeth, Watanabe decided to have a little fun, and stomped on the brake, letting the other cars pass until Kaito and his assailants caught up. Coming alongside the simulations, Watanabe battered them off the road, ramming them mercilessly into an approaching semi, then kept pace with Kaito as a blocker.

"...Alight, what do you suggest?"

"I had an idea. I've read about cases of people with memories of past lives --"

Raising an eyebrow, the Fifth had to know. "Past lives?"

"It's a similar circumstance. Anyway, these people were suffering emotional or psychological problems due to traumatic memories from past lives. Through hypnotherapy, they were able to resolve the traumatic event and move on."

"I don't know, man..." Raidon grumbled. He wasn't going to say outright just what he thought about shrinks that practiced hypnotherapy. He was sick of shrinks, but it's not like he could trust an engineer with his brain.

"Look, it's the same principal. Maybe some sort of traumatic event from Ayanami and any other donors' lives are what's causing these hallucinations of yours? If that's the case, we might be able to use hypnotherapy to put it to rest. No more trauma, no more hallucinations."

"These shrinks, though," Raidon started. "The 'repressed memories' are stuff they put in people's heads. What if they f*** me up even more than I was before? Do you really want me running around in a giant mech blazing away at anything that moves because I can't tell what's real and what's not?"

"I know it's a long shot, but it's worth a try, and it's about the only help I can offer. How about it?"

Watanabe sighed, and pulled the IROC-Z alongside Kaito's vehicle, some random Nissan product that looked the same to anything else made in Japan. "Alright, let's do it."

"Alright. Now, there are a few people in school who have an interest in hypnosis, but for something like this, I'll need to see if I can arrange a meeting with someone more experienced. I'll sort it out and get back to you with the arrangements as soon as I can."

"I appreciate it, boss," Raidon said. Turning back to the game, he wondered if now would be the time to mention his other request. "Actually, I was curious if you knew of someone I could use for a job..."

"Who?" Kaito narrowed his eyes warily. What was Raidon up to now?

"I need a hacker," Raidon mentioned casually, not caring who heard him. It's not like anyone in this room would be smart enough to stop him once the safeties were in place. "I need someone who has experience with municipal servers, and that can be trusted for the right price."

Kaito frowned. He didn't want to involve himself directly in this venture, whatever it might be, but Raidon had asked for his help, so... "Chojiro from 2D is pretty reliable, don't ask him to do anything directly related to NERV though, and don't tell him I sent you. If he asks, you heard of him through the grapevine. NERV has him over a barrel, anything linked to me or pertaining to NERV is likely to go direct to that Agent Kaji guy. Just tread carefully, okay?"

"Right," Raidon answered. Why was it always Agent Kaji?

1759 hours

"It's not that hard," Raidon said for the fourth time, pointing out each step with the tip of a pencil as they sat in a cafe, working through the new material: logarithms and exponential functions. "It's like parabolic functions, with x-squared, except instead of the variable being the base, the variable is the exponent. So, any time the variable changes by one, the output changes by another factor of the base."

Kaito, however, wasn't quite getting it, gnawing on his sunflower seeds, dully working the problem out in his mind. Raidon grumbled. "You'd think I'd have to not get suspended to make sure you guys pass your bloody exams." Setting the book down, Raidon rose to his feet, and rubbed at the scar tissue of his right temple. "That's it, I'm getting the tutoring group together next week. We're going to hammer this out, or I'm sending you down the hill on my board."

Yamada winced at the thought, but said nothing as the session ended, and each went on their way.

Stumbling into the apartment, Raidon noted the doctor's presence, gave her a slight nod, and went through the motions of removing his shoes, and retreating to the bedroom, switching on the radio. He was still exhausted from exercise earlier in the day, awaiting the answer from Misato if he could participate in the infantry training.

Aikido, he found, was already appealing. He had never learned how to take an attack properly before, but it seemed the best place to start. At least the staff sergeant thought so, anyway. The soldiers found he learned way too quickly sometimes, and had a level of enthusiasm for the material that made them question his sanity.

Open to Ritsuko interaction

1956 hours

Knocking softly on the door, it took a few moments, but the hatch opened, revealing Kotonoha-san in... "Umm... hi..." Raidon answered, noticing the odd choice of pajamas for studying. "So..." his brain tried to continue, not processing much above the neckline. "...Right, math... yes, good, celibate equations for all..."

Katsuko response

The night proceeded much the same way as it had the night before, but with more number crunching than talk. It seemed Katsuko was a little more receptive to the material. As for Watanabe, though, he found himself having to shake his head out of a mindless daze, going back to points he was trying to explain not more than thirty seconds beforehand.

2307 hours

Yawning, Watanabe found his limbs stiff, and his body in an unusual orientation, sprawled on his stomach over the couch he had been introduced to the other day. Then there was the oddly warm, heavy mass of something wrapped in fabric that propped his head up in lieu of a pillow. "Oh..." he started, his brain not completely awake as his right arm poked the girl's thigh. "It's Kats-chan..." he finished, yawning as he started back to sleep. "She'd look good in a swimsuit... Too bad I'm not swimming..."

Had he been completely awake, his eyes open, Raidon would have seen the girl cringe and blush a brilliant, candy-apple red. "Wh-what!?" The loud voice caused Raidon to stir ever so slightly, but his mind continued to process only portions of the outside world. "Watanabe-kun, what do you mean I'd like good in a swimsuit?" She blushed again, not knowing if that was a compliment or something else. She shook her head. "And what do you mean you're not swimming?"

"...Incredibly hot..." Raidon continued. "Innocent look wins every time..." His brain froze, the other query registering somewhere in his subconscious as his brain lazily answered each question as if on a truth serum. "Lake in hailstorm and rattlesnakes equals bad... not swimming again..."

Now this really made her blush and she wasn't sure whether to hug him even closer or stomp back into her room and sleep there for the rest of the night. "And what's that supposed to mean?" She half-tease, half meant it.

The sounds of the outside world slowly drifted past his mind, and the boy returned to the world his dreams frequently visited, involving a woman he only knew as a resemblance of Akagi, and himself as a child-like Rei. Shivering at the sensations of his neck snapping, his arms instinctively moved to his scalp.

Somewhere in his conscious mind, however, as he felt a weight applied to his back just between the shoulder blades, he knew that Katsuko was nearby, and everything would be okay.

Raidon interaction with Katsuko, Kaito, and potentially Ritsuko on Sept 10th, 2015.

Eternally Lost Zeppo · Posted: Sun Aug 16, 2009 6:04 pm Post subject:

Daisuke and Kaito

Thursday, September 10th 2015, 19:23hrs

Kaito met his dad in the coffee shop he'd told him about and waited as the man bought coffee, returning with two steaming hot mugs, Daisuke's was a triple. Kaito's was decaf, but the boy hardly seemed to notice as he sipped at it, Daisuke noted with a satisfied smirk.

'So, you wanted to talk? That's new...' Daisuke said, starting the ball rolling.

'Yeah...is it okay?' Kaito said. Daisuke noted the way Kaito looked from side to side, in a gesture which clearly indicated Kaito was worried about bugs or other NERV personnel overhearing. So not a father-son chat then... Daisuke noted sadly.

'Yeah, it's safe.' Daisuke assured him.

'There's this kid in my class, Raidon Watanabe...' Kaito started, feeling awkward coming to his father like this. It had been a while since he had asked anything of the man.

'I've heard about him. He's the newest pilot, right? A real handful from what I hear...' Daisuke stated with amusement, trying to start off a rapport with his son.

'More so of late.' Kaito said, by way of agreement, while not exactly warming up any, 'A while back, he told me that NERV had put him through some sort of experiment brain surgery...'

Daisuke sighed, putting his coffee mug on the table with an audible clink, 'Damnit Kaito, we discussed this. Stay out of NERV's business.'

Kaito simply rolled his eyes at his father in annoyance, 'Would you let me finish? I don't know all the details, I didn't pry too deep...but he said something about them implanting things in his long term memory, stuff to help with his training. It was a logical assumption that what they would be implanting was memories. Combat experiences most likely. Don't know how many donors, but it seems that Rei Ayanami was one of them...'

Daisuke frowned at the boy, 'Again, I'm not seeing why you should be poking your nose--'

Kaito cut him off abruptly, his tone conveying worry, 'They're driving him crazy. He's having hallucinations, personality shifts. I think some traumatic memories from the donors are causing it. Dr Akagi doesn't seem to be helping, at least whatever she is doing doesn't seem to be working...'

The look Kaito gave his father stated his feelings clearly. Just like with mom...she told us she'd be in good hands, but she's still in a coma.

Daisuke understood the look and sighed, 'So, what did you want me for?'

Kaito's eyes narrowed, he was all business now. 'I need you to get in touch with a hypnotherapist, a professional one. Maybe hypnotic regression therapy can be used to help him put whatever memories are troubling him to rest.'

Daisuke frowned. The boy's idea sounded feasible, but still... 'I don't know, Kaito...I still don't think you should get involved here.'

Kaito gritted his teeth, as he was prone to do when he didn't have something to chew on, 'Look, my only concern here is the safety and wellbeing of my classmates, right now Raidon's condition poses a threat to that in more ways than one.'

Kaito sat back, and sighed deflatedly, 'At the present time, I'm not interested in NERV's agenda or what secrets their hiding.'

Then he locked eyes with his father, almost glaring, but not quite. 'Now, you came to me for help and I gave it, and I wasn't too hot on that idea either. Even putting aside the fact that we're family...you owe me one, dad.'

Daisuke held eye contact with the boy for a moment, then broke off with a wry smile, 'I'll see what I can do. No promises.'

Kaito returned the smile, 'Thanks dad.'

After that, yet another awkward attempt at an actual father and son conversation was made and ended in failure. Daisuke paid for the coffee and they both parted ways.

Daisuke frowned, wishing things between the two of them could be different, but knowing the boy would never forgive him for his part in what happened to Keiko.

Kaito meanwhile walked away, wishing his father wouldn't spend so much time working, and wishing things could be different between them as well, worrying that his father somehow blamed him for his mother's death.

Daisuke's phone rang, he took it out and answered it, "Yamada."

It was Kaji.

'Hey Dai, it's Kaji. Listen, I was wondering if you wanted to go out for drinks? I could really use an Asahi right now...'

'Yeah, I could go for some Asahi as well...' Asahi was code, of course. It meant Kaji had some info. Daisuke repeated the code word to indicate he had info as well, sounding tired as he did.

'I know a place...it's has good service and quality waitresses.' Which actually meant 'I have a secure location, it's clean'.

'Nice, so, where do you want me to get you?'

'The carpool...I'm getting shitfaced and don't want to drive back.'

Which meant that whatever it was Kaji wanted to talk about was pretty sensitive, and he couldn't trust that his car wasn't bugged. 'Alright, I'll see you there then.'

'See you soon.'

'Bye.'

Sorry Kaito, Daisuke thought to himself, feeling like a traitor for what he intended to do, but I don't want you getting into trouble.

Kaito goes to his father for help with Raidon's situation, but his father has other plans...

Eric Blair · Evangelion Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Age: 26 Gender: Male

Asuka

Day 3

‘Wake up Aka!”

Asuka mumbled in her sleep, rolling around and covering her head with her bedspread, before she heard the frustrated sigh and immediate gentle shaking following, almost as if whoever was trying to wake her up was afraid of doing so, or of the redhead’s violent reaction.

“Breakfast is ready! If you don’t come down to eat it, there’ll be nothing left for you but bread and milk.”

The shaking finally came up to a point when Asuka whined and woke up, glaring up at the shy but smiling familiar face that was now sitting next to her; the features were clouded by the darkness of Asuka’s bedroom and by the little girl’s own droopy eyelids as she began to rub her eyes and yawn loudly.

“Today’s the big day, Aka… you have to try your best.”

“I don’t wanna do those tests.” Asuka said angrily, looking down and grabbing a fistful of her covers. “They’re stupid and they make me feel weird.”

“I know, but you have to be strong. Remember your promise…” Asuka felt her head and hair being ruffled, before she was pulled into a hesitant, tentative hug, relaxing the little girl into the embrace before she looked up into her eyes, blinking rapidly.

For a moment, Asuka could’ve sworn they were as blue as heirs.

“Now, come on… up and at it.” Anita said, grey eyes dancing merrily as she lifted the bed covers and helped Asuka up, leading her to the bathroom down the hall of the house they both lived in.

It was the small noises of the morning that woke Asuka up, more than the flash of memory that had been her last dream, but for some reason, every time she dreamt of Anita, Asuka woke with a smile on her face. The redhead turned on her side and got up, yawning and stretching herself before she went to her usual routine of washing her face and taking a quick shower, the long, over drawn showers she used to take now nothing more than a memory.

As the redhead walked out of the bathroom, dressed in the stupid outfit, and mentally wondering if she could destroy it with fire once this stupid training was done, before she walked to the futon where she saw Shinji still sleeping away, shaking her head before checking whose turn it was to prepare breakfast today, realizing it was hers.

A quick snap on the pan and Asuka was quickly making up some omelets for breakfast, humming to herself the sing she had been made to remember after the three days of training, cutting quickly ham and cheese, finishing them with a flourish and setting them on the table before she walked back to where Shinji was still asleep, prodding him with her foot to wake him up.

“Wake up, idiot…” Asuka said as Shinji simply rolled a little, before he started to come out of his sleep, crossing her arms over her chest, staring down at Shinji until he finally opened his eyes. “Breakfast's ready.”

"T-thanks." The boy said as he shook his head, standing up and yawning,

“I… I just had a lot of time waiting for you…” Asuka said with a shrug, looking away quickly as she made her way back to the table. “It's not like it's my place to do breakfast or anything…”

"It's fine."

Both teenagers sat down and quickly beag the task of eating, both in synch, at the same time cutting, eating, savoring the meal in what could pass as comfortable silence between them both, until Shinji looked up, giving Asuka a thoughtful look.

"It's really good."

For some reason, this simple praise made Asuka feel like her cheeks were on fire, mumbling softly into her fork after taking another bite to eat.

“It's nothing special…”

"It's still nice."

Normally, Asuka would have taken the compliment, boasting herself and feeling like something as simple and small as a cooked breakfast meant she was the best, but right now, for some reason, she felt like she had to explain herself and her actions to Shinji.

“I mean, I can cook: I just…” the read head trailed off, before she closed her eyes, shrugging in the way someone tries to make something seem obvious and easy. “I just like it better when you do it.”

Shinji’s blush was perhaps all that Asuka needed to drop the act, before she quickly went to the sink and began to wash her plate and cutlery putting them away before turning towards Shinji, placing her hands on her waist and squaring her shoulders before nodding to herself.

“Now let's go to the synch!” The redhead began quickly as she walked to the mattress, programming it to retake the latest sequence while speaking to Shinji over her shoulder. “We got a 98 % yesterday… so we just have to get the 100% today.”

"That's two percent! We can totally do that."

Asuka turned to look at Shinji noticing how they were like a distorted mirror, one side showing a girl while the other one held a boy, smiling mirrored smiles, holding the same poise, even mimicking the way they were staring at each other, confident smirk firmly in place while their hands held the mattresses they used for training, unrolling them and setting in place.

“Wow… too confident?” Asuka asked with a smile, before she finished setting up her part at the same time shinji did, both turning around in the same moment to nod at themselves, before they proceeded with the training, left and right foot and hand dancing nimbly in synch with the music, lingering for the same amount of seconds on each circle, flying quickly to the other, over and over in an endless loop faster faster in advancing speed little by little inching up until at last it stopped.

Asuka truned to Shinji blinking, seeing his own questioning eyes; the circle near their right hand had been lit, and now remained frozen in place, making both teens stand up and take off their headphones, looking around quizzically before they heard a slight beeping noise behind them, making them turn around and read the reading on the training mat, before they realized the blinking number was saying they had reached 100%.

The silence was, paradoxically, deafening; Asuka could almost hear the soft, shallow pants of shinji’s breath, feeling his eyes widen like saucer as her own mouth began to stretch back into a small smile, little and delicate, like the first embers of a fire, before she turned to Shinji with a full blown, honest-to-God smile on her lips, as they began to jump up and down, hugging each other out of sheer excitement, as they shouted over and over.

"YES! WE DID IT!"

“YEAH!”

This went on for quite some time before Asuka stopped shouting and jumping as she realized how and what she was doing with Shinji, jumping away from him before coughing politely and extending her hand towards Shinji, speaking in a small tone.

“I mean uh…g-good job.”

"Right… Good job." Shinji mumbled as he took her hand, blushing lightly in such a way that it made Asuka blush as well, shaking their hands slowly, awkwardly at first before the synch took over and began to allow them to move much more fluid.

“So I guess we need to keep the synching.” Asuka said after a beat of two, looking at Shinji, before he looked back, nodding, as a tried smile appeared on his face, mirroring Asuka’s own.

"Yeah." Shinji said, nodding retrying the current settings at full speed, earning a 100% 3 times straight before both him and Asuka continued to do the everyday chores in synch, eating supper and dinner in perfect unison before they realized evening was already upon them, before the peace was broken by Asuka getting up.

“I’m gonna take a shower.” The redhead said simply before going to her room.

----- -----

When Asuka stepped out of the shower, she heard the phone ringing, before Shinji’s voice mumbled out, coming out vague and indistinct, forcing her to open the door and look out to her left.

“Who was that?”

"Misato." Shinji said with a soft sigh, putting down the phone before turning to look at Asuka. "She's out for the night."

“Really?”

"Yeah." Shinji nodded, as Asuka stepped again inside the bathroom as she began to get changed while she talked, putting on a short sleeved blue shirt as she pulled her white short shorts over her legs, before she stepped out, toweling her hair dry as she let the cold air from the night hit her still flushed skin, warm from the steam emerging from the bath.

“She's probably out hanging out with Kaji or something.” Asuka said as she walked to the kitchen and leaned to grab something to drink, shifting between bottled water, strawberry flavored mineral water, juice or a soft drink before choosing the mineral water, opening it and taking a long drink, before she looked at Shinji who had been looking at her with curiosity, almost as if he was trying to remember someth–

"Why are you wearing my clothes?"

Asuka blushed before she started coughing the water, surprise and shock visible on her face as she scrambled for an answer, or some plausible explanation; trying to read Shinji’s face, trying to ascertain if he was angry, or if he was asking her, but the tone in his voice and the look on his face was that of polite neutrality with maybe a hint of annoyance at the redhead, which made her face feel even more warm than the steam in the bathroom, as she tried to look for an out before blurting the first thing that came to her mind.

“Th-this isn't yours!”

"Yes it is!" Shinji said exclaimed in pretty much the same tone Asuka had spoken before, the synch still obvious between them both but Asuka could see in Shinji’s eyes much more than a questioning glance… it felt to her like he was asking Asuka why had she done something like that, why had she taken something from him.

“I uh… I brought this shirt from Kaji's!”

Why was she lying to him.

"Awfully small for him." Shinji deadpanned after a beat, still staring straight into Asuka’s eyes, and the redhead felt compelled to stare back, to not lose, to put up with him.

She had already opened herself so much, she had already said so many things she had never wanted anyone, least of all him, know…

But her mouth and her body were, apparently, not interested in backing her up, and Asuka felt like there was no need or pretense to keep up this lie, to keep up the charade that she hadn’t taken this shirt the moment before Kaji had taken her away to live with him under the commander’s order.

“Fine… it stuck inside on my luggage when I went to live with him…” Asuka said as she crossed her arms over her chest as she looked to the side, almost ashamed, but secretly scared that by saying this, he would be able to see past the delusion, past the aggressiveness and the front and realize the reason why Asuka had taken that stupid shirt with her, even as he waved his hand and was derisive to the German teenager.

“I didn't know whose it was, and it was a bit loose so I started using it to sleep…” The redhead said as she shrugged, before looking back at Shinji, straight into his eyes. “If you want it I can give it back to you…”

Shinji’s first response was to turn at Asuka and blink; his second response was to blink again… in fact he took about half a minute to be able to tell his body it could react in any other way that didn’t require the rapid movement of his eye lids, before his mind processed the image of a redhead teenager smiling at him, moving slowly, with a pause in her step and a careen on her hips as she began to lift the hem of the blue shirt that went just a little bellow her thighs, showing Shinji her white short shorts as she spoke in a sultry voice.

“Are you sure?”

"Y- yes?"

Asuka pouted cutely at Shinji, as her hands brushed against the sensible skin of her stomach, lifting the hem a little bit more, showing Shinji her navel, her flat stomach as the hands and the fabric went up more and more.

“Really? Because I'm not wearing anything underneath…” The redhead said in a breathless, little girl voice; the kind that hints at innocence and sweetness, that holds the attention and entices the listener to keep on listening, like a siren’s song driving sailors madly to the jagged rocks of the sea and Asuka could see Shinji steadily falling in the soft, soothing, almost hypnotic tone of her voice.

"Asuka… W-why?" Shinji asked blushing, shifting uncomfortably as his hand twitched, and Asuka smiled slightly as she saw Shinji’s hands try to go to the front of his legs, trying to cover himself before he thought better of it and instead chose to hide behind one of the chairs of the dining room, and Asuka could almost see his face, see how he seemed so flustered and aggravated that the redhead was sure Shinji would probably ask Misato why she had given them such revealing uniforms if he had the chance.

“Why what?” Asuka asked as she let go of the shirt, letting it fall down, covering her body before she looked at Shinji, smiling at him with a toothy smile while Shinji seemed to fumble with the words that were now held captive in his throat.

"Why are you being so… uhm…"

“Why am I doing this?” Asuka asked with a smile playing on her lips while Shinji would only nod as he mumbled something that seemed like a ‘yeah’, but faint and diffused, making her keep staring at Shinji’s eyes. “I felt like playing… it's just a joke Shinji…”

"It's not funny!"

Asuka smiled and shrugged, as she took another step towards Shinji.

“You know I would never do something like flashing you.” Asuka said as she kept walking forth, feeling like one of those wind up little toy soldiers, taking little steps by little steps, heart to heart beating softly, unanimously in deep synchrony, almost as if every beat was the cadence of a march, left then right then left again, before both she and Shinji would end falling down like a spent toy, torn apart small pieces by small pieces, never able to win, as their own personal battle kept waging on.

“I know you would never take advantage of me…” Asuka said softly, breathlessly, her clear blue eyes keeping Shinji’s dark own trained on her, while Shinji kept trying to form words around the cotton that seemed to be packing his mouth.

"W-well yeah, but…" Shinji mumbled as Asuka stood in front of him, smiling her small, impish smile with her hands tucked behind her back, looking innocent and unable to harm a fly, which made Shinji’s perceived danger of his redheaded roommate increase exponentially.

“Truth be told, if I thought for a second you were a real pervert, I would probably kick you and make you sleep by yourself…” The redhead said softly before she shrugged. “But you're…”

“You're not…” Asuka said as she paused for a beat before she continued, looking away, trying to look at Shinji who seemed to be trying to look at her face, before Asuka rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh, noticing his eyes seemed to be aiming low, prompting the redhead to look at the Japanese teenager, crossing her arms and standing indolently, staring at Shinji with a neutral expression on her face.

“Baka… my face is up here.”

Shinji’s face bounced up, almost as if it had been prompted by a spring before he made eye contact with Asuka, noticing the redhead wasn’t wearing her usual neural interface headset connector’s type A-10, letting her hair fall free, before she noticed Shinji’s look, making her give him a small, shy, nervous smile.

“What? What's with the look?”

"N-nothing." Shinji squeaked out softly, almost running out of breath, making Asuka touch her hair nervously, fearing the worst.

“D-did Misato put color in my shampoo?”

"No."

“Did Pen^2 pour beer in it!?”

"No!"

“Then what!?” Asuka shouted with exasperation as she ran her fingers nervously over her hear trying to see, or feel if something was out of the ordinary with her tresses before finally giving up and letting out a small whine of anger before Shinji finally spoke.

"I've just… never seen you put it down before."

“Huh? Oh...” Asuka said softly, before she turned around to look inside the fridge for some food, not because she wanted to hide the blush on her face or anything, before she turned towards Shinji, tossing him a bottle of water. “W-well I's only normal; my hair is wet and I don't like sleeping with them.”

Shinji caught it easily with one hand, while Asuka opened her own bottle, taking a quick sip of water before she caught Shinji staring at her again.

“Y'know… if you don't get a shower right now, Pen^2 is gonna go in, and you know how he leaves the bath afterwards…” Asuka said, making Shinji let out a small scream before he made a run for the bathroom, just as Pen^2 waddled out of his refrigerator and attempted to enter the bathroom, making Asuka giggle and pick up the penguin to prevent him from getting inside.

“You stay put, stupid bird.” Asuka said giggling as she began to set up the futons side by side, while waiting for Shinji to come out.

----- -----

Asuka had been waiting for Shinji to finish showering, entertaining herself in the meantime playing with her PSP, mumbling good-naturedly at Misato’s choice of synchronization software; it was challenging, but it was also addictive, and Asuka would begrudgingly accept that over the days, this had become equal parts guilty pleasure, and equal parts an ongoing, one-sided competition between herself and the machine, before she heard Pen^2 warking happily to the newest Tv cop drama the household pet was watching, before she remembered she had meant to check her e-mails before.

“No time like the present.”

The redhead wasted no time in saving her game and switching to the wi-fi browser on her handheld, bringing up her school’s e-mail login page and typing in her username and password, seeing the usual loaded crap of love confessions polluting her inbox, checking them out and labeling the whole lot as ‘spam’ marveling at how her inbox went from having close to 50 mails came down to 3; one from the school administration asking the redhead to cease and desist sending harassing e-mails to the student body.

“Should be telling them to stop cramming my inbox with marriage proposals or indecent requests.” The redhead muttered as she went onto the next e-mail, this one, even if it was from a boy, and even if it was from school, did manage to make Asuka sport a small smile when she recognized the sender.

“Sparky.”

It was true Raidon and her had gotten off on the wrong foot; rocky starts seemed to be the specialty for her, and Asuka could still remember the times she had met Shinji, or Rei, or Misato and Kaji…

Even Anita and I got off to a bad start. Asuka thought to herself morosely, before she read what else Raidon had to say, smiling a little before she began typing her response, breaking the paragraphs to give Raidon a small, swift taste of the Soryu wisdom

Sparkplug,

There’s not enough amount in the Nerv supplemental budget to give you enough [Thorazine] and curb your impressions on how daredevil equal being dashingly handsome; but Ka-chan at least seems to have eyes for you, so maybe she suffers from a Nightingale syndrome.

Asuka stopped ass he read the following paragraphs, the smile in her face slowly rescinding, like water being swallowed by dry, parched earth, there one minute before disappearing altogether, leaving behind mire as the only real proof it was ever there; making the redhead frown, not as a sign of annoyance, but more in introspective silence: Everyone already knew, apparently, that she had some sort of feelings for him; something that she had been trying to understand herself.

She couldn’t deny that there had been a connection of sorts, like seeing an old, blurry photograph through waxed paper; diffused, subtle images that were almost like a kaleidoscope; familiar and almost making her yearn to try and reach but not quite bringing herself to do so.

I'm on the autism spectrum, and even I can tell!

Was she really that obvious? Asuka had made a career out of internalizing her feelings, guarding them, keeping them under seven different locks and keys for fear of being left open, vulnerable… a quivering mess of tears and fears that could be summarized as a scared child yearning to be hold, to be looked upon and be recognized.

Asuka sighed before continuing typing.

I’ll keep your brilliant strategy in mind, I guess it might be worthy of taking a shot in case that idiot still doesn’t get a clue, however your idea of a date does mean I have to be there too… you are a boy and all boys are perverted idiots, so someone has to be there to defend Ka-chan’s honor. I’ll just have to drag baka Shinji along so I’m not the obvious third wheel.

Asuka faltered, looking at the bathroom door, a small, reddish hue coloring her cheeks, before she looked away. A date would be fun, she and Shinji had talked about going out to relax after this was over, being copped all this time in the same place had been a huge gambit from Misato; they would either be better teammates, or kill each other.

And for some reason, Asuka could still allow herself to smile and hope.

Thanks for the good luck, Operation “Dance like an angel” should start tomorrow at 13.00 hrs, so just swing by the cages to give me that charm of yours; not like I needed, but it’s not polite to shun people away, and I am a proper lady.

But thanks anyway.

Asuka Langley Soryu.

Almost as if he had been following a ridiculous script, Shinji exited in that moment the bathroom., dressed in a loose shirt and shorts as well, while Asuka finished sending the e-mail and walked towards the kitchen, feeling her stomach grumbling, deciding to make herself a sandwich., working in silence, spreading the dressing on the bread, trying to focus on the simple task, before she went to sit on the futons, turning towards Shinji, nibbling on the sandwich.

“Hey Shinji?”

"Yeah?"

“Did any of you… miss me? Like when I was staying with Kaji?” Asuka asked, the last part coming out in an almost inaudible whisper; softly, almost as if she were ashamed of even thinking of something like that, of wondering, of having these thoughts running over and over and constantly asking herself if she had ever really be needed here, if anyone had ever actually taken stock of her not being here.

Before Shinji let a sigh, going to the kitchen himself, and looking into the refrigerator as well,before picking out a pack of milk and going to the cupboards to pour himself some cereal on a bowl.

"Yeah."

“Really?” Asuka asked after a small while of keeping quiet, almost as if she was trying to make sure Shinji wasn’t just trying to humor her.

"Yes." Shinji repeated himself, just before he finished the rest of his cereal in silence and got up to wash his dishes, as Asuka kept staring at the point where he had been sitting, simply to focus her eyes on anywhere but his back, or how he was scrubbing his dishes in silence, drying his hands before making his way to the futons that Asuka had lined side by side, crawling into it and groaning blissfully as soon as his body touched the mattress.

“I mean…” Asuka trailed after a moment of silence she had spent looking at Shinji expecting him to continue, before she remembered Shinji didn’t like talking, or at least talking with her. “It's just that you were pretty much being your usual self when I was there… and uh… it's nice to know you're missed…”

The redhead turned to stare at the ceiling, mumbling the last words before she shrugged, as if saying this didn’t really have a special meaning behind her words, not realizing Shinji was facing her.

“I-it's nice bring needed even if it's because I speak too loud.”

"That's not why you're needed."

Shinji’s words came out as softly as Asuka had just spoken, and the redhead could feel his eyes on her; a part of her refusing to turn and stare into his eyes, while another part, a deeper, secret part yearned to do so, to turn and look into those deep dark blue eyes that were always able to hold her attention, enrapture her senses, and make her forget about things while simultaneously forcing her to look away with her face flushed and her mind in turmoil.

“I see…” Asuka said softly, smiling reflexively unconsciously mirroring Shinji’s own smile as he saw the German teenager opening up, little by little letting this small, fragile part of her out in the quiet moment she and Shinji were sharing.

“When I lived in Germany, I used to share a room with someone else…” Asuka began in a soft, wistful tone as she closed her eyes, smiling at the memories that began dancing in her head. “Her name's Anita… she's kind of cool…”

"…cool…" Shinji said, and Asuka wasn’t sure if he was saying that to echo her last words, or simply as an acknowledgement, so she shrugged it off and continued, undaunted, but with a more guarded notion.

Because it was obvious Shinji didn’t care about her memories, and it was obvious he didn’t want to bother with telling her to shut up, but for Asuka this was one of the small, happy memories she still had from Germany; memories of gentle eyes and happy smiles, of a shy, quiet girl who was by her side whenever Asuka needed someone to talk to, even if she was being bratty, or just plain difficult.

Because Anita had been there for her, cooking for her, making her smile, looking after her when Asuka had been sick, or just simply sitting next to her in the lazy summer afternoons of Germany where the only thing they did was eat freshly picked berries they would buy from the fruit merchants that set up shop at the town square.

And Asuka couldn’t help but smile a little at this.

“Yeah… she's a little like you; quiet and a little shy…” The redhead paused, before giggling to herself. “She would drive Kaji-san crazy because she would take his phones and tinker with them, so Kaji would call her Tinkerbell…”

Shinji smiled, uttering a small laugh as Asuka kept talking about Anita, about what she had done, and the fun things they would do, before Asuka stopped talking, staring at the ceiling, keeping quiet before she once again spoke in a very, very small voice.

“I miss her…”

"Understandable…"

But the redhead was no longer paying attention to Shinji, she was off in her own little world, miles away and in the past.

“When I was staying with Kaji i would imagine Anita was there with me, working late… that's why I would stay so late at Nerv; it was awful going to Kaji's place, knowing he wasn't there and it was just me…”

Because it meant going back to an empty house, and vacant rooms; it meant going to sleep by yourself, and waking alone, eating and living in silence and with not even a pet to keep one company; it meant going to school by herself, and coming back home alone… days feeling like years and that everything done was irrelevant to no one but herself, and sleeping at night by herself, feeling helpless and lonely and trapped in amber watching time slowly pass by, sinking as if she were in quicksand; days going on and on inexorably, inescapably… unavoidable empty spaces that were like traps of time were one could hardly even move or breath.

“You know what I'm saying?” Asuka said simply, as she turned to Shinji, staring into his eyes and hating herself for having to look for solace in him, when it was painfully obvious he had none to give to her.

It means that if I’m gone, no one will care.

"A little but it's been a long time since I had that feeling…" Shinji said softly, as if he were afraid of speaking louder than a whisper, making Asuka turn her head to her side, staring at the ceiling once more.

“How… what was that like? I mean when you came here…”

"When I came here? That wasn't anywhere near so bad. " Shinji said as if he had been contemplating the same circumstances, before his voice became cautious, as if he had realized he too was opening up and had decided it wasn’t worth the pain that doing so could bring.

"Coming here usually meant coming home to, if nothing else, a happy penguin." Shinji continued, and it was then that Asuka heard Pen^2 warking happily in synch with the laughter of the late night TV show the household pet was watching, as if he had been waiting for an opening, making Asuka turn to look at the bird who was sitting comfortable on one of the bean bag chairs.

“Well, I can see him as a real roommate…” Asuka said with a faint smile, as Shinji looked at the same place, chuckling a little before letting out a sigh, only this one was a different one; it was peaceful and content, the kind of happy sigh one makes at the end of a day, when you’re exhausted but you realize you had done what you can and should, and thus have earned the right to get a sound sleep.

"Yeah, exactly… so it's nice here."

There was a certain way, a very peculiar aspect in which Shinji had said those words that made Asuka keep quiet, wondering if she had once been like that, if that had been the reason why she had hated coming here in the first place; maybe she had grown accustomed to being around Kaji and Anita… maybe coming here had been a problem because it meant she was going to be back with Misato, after she had abandoned her.

Or maybe it simply meant she had wanted to have what Shinji had right now, a guardian that obviously looked after him, a house where he could come back at night to feel like it was a house and not some rented motel room; warmth, a sense of connection and the feeling of unity and family that never was.

“So, did you miss me?” Asuka asked after a beat, in part to fill the silent void, but also in part because, even if she had asked Shinji if she had been missed, she still wanted to know if he had missed her.

"Yes! I already said that!" Shinji said a bit too forceful, but blushing and looking away, almost as if it had pained him to be honest, like it was something he had never wanted to admit to himself, to accept to Asuka… almost as if he didn’t want it out in the open, between them both, perhaps afraid of the fact that this might change the frail sense of camaraderie that had began to form between Asuka and him.

At least Asuka hoped he’s feel the same as she did in this aspect, even if she knew that the time was fastly approaching when his feeling will stop, and she would go back to being bitchy Asuka, and he would go back to being meek little Shinji.

But in the meantime, Asuka gave Shinji an impish smile.

“Why are you getting so flustered about it? It’s not like you're embarrassed you missed the bitchy redhead girl, are you?” she said in that self-deprecating tone she used whenever referring to any of her more obvious attributes; be it the way she was, or how she would carry herself, or the color of her hair or eyes.

"Because…" Shinji said softly. "I would’ve thought you wouldn't have to ask."

It was a mere whisper, one that seemed too tired and spent before he turned, rustling in his side of the futon, but it sounded as clearly as if he had said it in his normal pitch, making Asuka sigh before she turned to her back, staring at the ceiling before speaking quietly too.

“I missed you too.”

But Shinji’s only answer was a mumbled gibberish, making Asuka turn to see him, before she realized he had fallen asleep without hearing, her.

“Hey… idiot… wake up…”

Silence was the only answer, accompanied by Shinji once again shuffling on his side, but not really waking up, making Asuka lift her head, resting it on her arm, and in the stillness of the night, she could barely make out his features, but it was there, unmistakably, undauntedly…

Shinji’s face was that of happiness, deep in a peaceful slumber that made him look even younger, a look that the redhead hadn’t seen in Shinji’s face before, making him look equal parts endearing and annoying, but in the back of her mind, and in her heart of hearts, Asuka could see that looks and what it did for her clearly.

It made Shinji ikari look somewhat cute.

The redhead shook her head, scowling, fighting against herself; because feeling like this meant she was quickly forgetting what this had been all about, feeling her hormones taking control, kicking away the logical, rational part of her mind, making her start to fall once again for a boy that she would normally think of as spineless and whining.

And it was a fall Asuka feared she would never recover from as she moved forward, little by little; creeping closer and closer as she began to hear words, mumbled under the Third Child’s breath.

“So you're asleep?” Asuka asked quietly, before she let out a sigh, resting her head back on her pillow before looking up, staring the ceiling, looking out in the darkness of the living room that was now alone, with only Shinji’s soft breathing to accompany her, before Asuka figured she could at least use this moment to finally come clean, finally open up.

“I'm… I'm scared, you know…” Asuka said as Shinji continued making mumbled, sleepy sounds, obviously, blissfully unaware to anything outside his dream. “I was scared coming here, because I didn't know anyone, only Kaji and Misato… I was scared living here because I didn't know you… and Misato was… she wasn’t like I remembered…”

The Second child paused, before she looked once more at Shinji’s back, closing her eyes and taking a small breath, holding it in before she let it out along with the words that had lately been just for herself and no one else, words that were simply but powerful because they held a part of herself Asuka had never intended to let out, to allow free to roam and be seen by any one.

“But more than anything, I was scared lately… scared you didn't want me back here; scared you realized I wasn't needed… scared I was sent back to Germany…”

Because she had promised herself she would never be weak, and acknowledging she had been scared was for her the ultimate sign of weakness, because heroes are never scared, they are always willing to do what needs to be done, and Asuka knew right then and there she had never been the dashing hero she had always thought she had been.

“I was scared of leaving this place, here… Misato and Kaji… all of you…”

Asuka whispered the last words laying on her side, staring at Shinji’s back; a look of sadness that seemed to defy understanding, impossible to explain but for the far away distant look in her eyes as they kept staring towards the boy and beyond him, subtle and unspeakable like the darkness covering her face, safe from being looked upon, safe from being seen.

A look that was, perhaps, the first glimpse at the real Asuka Langley Soryu, before she began to move without thinking, scuttling closer towards Shinji, not really stopping to think why; maybe it was the moment, maybe it was the natural attempt at feeling close to someone… whatever it was, Asuka found herself suddenly too close to Shinji, almost reaching to touch his back, thinking about running her fingers on the nape of his neck…

Before Shinji rolled to his side, facing Asuka directly

"Scared...?" The boy asked quietly as Asuka fought to keep her cool, feeling the familiar heat of a blush covering her face while Shinji kept his eyes close and his voice low, almost afraid of waking Pen^2 up. "Don't be scared…"

“B-but I mean… I'm not scared!” Asuka whispered angrily, hoping that Shinji wouldn’t chose this moment to open his eyes to see her blushing face as she raked her brain for an excuse, any excuse.

“I was just making a conversation! And if you were awake you should have told me!” The redhead grumbled in a flustered tone, turning around, before Shinji had the state of mind top open up his eyes. “You're such an idiot… making a fool out of me.”

She was tempted, so very tempted to turn around and hit Shinji before she heard him again, talking in that soft, wispy voice of his.

"Huh… so much ramen… where will we eat it all?"

“What do you mean ramen?” Asuka asked softly, turning back to face Shinji, givng him a weary look, while Shinji shifted a little, rustling in his sleep while Asuka peeked closer to Shinji, her breath hitching a little, catching itself, moving closer and closer, the Second Child started to hear the words clearer, seeing Shinji’s eyes closed, before the redhead whispered softly with a small smile playing on her lips.

“Baka.”

"Asuka… can't use eva… it's just ramen… overkill…"

“Huh?” Asuka said softly, blinking and taken aback by Shinji’s incoherent mumbling before she realized she was staring at him so close, feeling his breath on her lips making the redhead flush, almost hypnotized, as she saw the boy’s lips move, mumbling while Asuka kept leaning forth, staring at Shinji's lips.

How would you taste like? Asuka wondered while Shinji kept smiling in his sleep, licking her lips slowly while Shinji kept moving his lips before the redhead found herself practically hovering above Shinji, too engrossed to care about anything else, before she suddenly found herself, much to her horror, blushing hotly as she could only think of what it would feel like if she would kiss Shinji, right here, right now.

Before she could decide, Shinji’s words made the choice for her.

"Pen-pen… you made the ramen?" Shinji mumbled rolling over in his sleep, before he mumbled again. "Bad penguin."

Asuka simply stayed there, staring at Shinji, before looking away, rolling her eyes and going back to sleep before mumbling to herself with a big smile, throwing the covers over herself, before she sighed softly.

“Idiot.”

OOC. Day 3 comes to a near end, time to start preparing the actual Israfael battle

Eternally Lost Zeppo · Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:02 pm Post subject:

Daisuke

Thursday, September 10th 2015, 19:56hrs

Daisuke pulled over next to Kaji as he arrived at NERV's carpool. The other agent smiled by way of greeting. Daisuke merely gave a heavy nod in return, not feeling in the shiniest of moods at the moment.

'Alright,' Daisuke said, rolling down his window, 'Ready to go get drunk?'

'Wow...your car's not a dump...' Kaji said as he got in the passenger seat, 'did you vacuum it?' Or in other words, Are any bugs in the car?

'Cleaned all the junk out an hour ago...' Which was Daisuke's way of saying he was as sure as he possibly could be that it was clean in that sense of the word.

'Good...' Kaji said, then looked at him expectantly for a moment, causing Daisuke to wonder whether there was some code or signal or something he wasn't picking up on. This spy crap wasn't his thing. Not really.

'Ok, we need to come up with a better list of code words than just beer brands to signal if we have something or not...' Kaji sighed, 'I am *not* buying you an Asahi...'

Daisuke grinned a rare grin as he started up the car and drove out of the carpool and onto the streets of Tokyo-3.

'I'm a cop Kaji, we don't often have a lot of use for that stuff. At least not outside of undercover...anyway, what's up?'

'You mentioned you wanted me to keep an eye out for your kid...'

'Yeah?' Daisuke responded neutrally, already not sure he liked where this was going.

'He's just been yellow listed...means we have to keep him under surveillance.'

'...damn.' That was the last thing Daisuke had wanted for the boy.

'I also got a list of associates...the three wise men.'

Oh hell... Of all the things he had expected to get Kaito picked up on NERV's radar and it was something the boy had done on his behalf that put him in the spotlight.
So much for keeping the kid out of trouble...I've landed him smack in the middle.

'This is where it gets tricky...' Kaji smiled, and Daisuke knew that the other man had made some connection which hinted at his own involvement. He didn't trust himself not to give anything away by saying anything, so he just listened. Even that would be suspicious though.

'I reviewed the surveillance file on those "wise men",' Kaji explained, 'there's a blind spot, and he kept to himslef the whole time. Almost like someone knew how to circumvent our surveillance procedures, Dai...'

Kaji was looking at him pointedly now. The jig was up. 'What's going on?'

Daisuke considered carefully how he was going to respond, then replied, 'I asked Kaito for a favour, he came through for me...' Daisuke shut his eyes sadly, hating himself for putting both Kaito and Kaji in this position, 'Damn it, I knew it was a mistake to talk to the kid.'

'...Dammit, Dai!' Kaji yelled, losing his trademark cool for once, 'I told you I would handle it! Do you have any idea the position I'm in right now? Kaito is now a person of interest for Nerv...'

Daisuke sighed, and tried to explain his decision not to go through Kaji to access NERV's Thanatos file, 'I couldn't be sure you could get into NERV's files on Thanatos. Not at Violet level...I got careless.'

Kaji wasn't interested in why though, he was just mad at the results. 'Being yellow listed is just a formality before he gets red-flagged, you know it!'

'Shit...' Daisuke cursed under his breath. Once again he had brought trouble upon his family, all for the sake of his work. I screwed up again, first Keiko, now Kaito...

'Look,' Kaji said, calming slightly, 'I'll see if i can come up with a good reason...something to divert attention...maybe make up a bogus thing...make him look like he's trying to score some porn or something...that way, the review section will simply watch this, see my notes and go "kid trying to get some used panties without his father knowing.'

Daisuke thought about it. Maybe that would work. Maybe. Of course, there was still the matter of why he had wanted to speak with Kaji in the first place, which could only serve to complicate matters, 'This makes what I was going to discuss with you harder...'

'Huh? what's that?' Kaji asked.

'The Watanabe kid...he's been talking to Kaito.'

'Yeah, I know, they're class mates.' Kaji responded, not seeming sure of his meaning, so Daisuke clarified it further.

'About his condition...his more recent condition, that is.'

Kaji looked at Daisuke for a moment, then sighed, '...what did that kid do now?'

'He let slip about some experimental surgery, something about implants in his long term memory. The rest Kaito worked out himself.'

Kaji rolled his eyes, 'Oh, of course...this just keeps getting better and better.'

'He says he didn't dig too deep,' Daisuke added, hoping to put a silver lining on the matter, make it clear that Kaito was a good kid. His intentions were noble, even if his way of going about them was reckless, 'he isn't interested in NERV's agenda or secrets, his words. He just wants to try and help the kid.'

'Is your son, like, DNA coded to attract conspiration and classified info, or is it a hidden talent of his?' Kaji asked sourly. Daisuke wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he didn't say anything. 'Now I really need a beer.'

Daisuke sighed, 'I told him he should back off from this, he wouldn't hear of it.'

'Of course he wouldn't...' Kaji muttered.

'He said his concern is for the safety and wellbeing of his classmates, and that Watanabe's condition threatens that.'

Kaji didn't say anything for a while after that, his expression unreadable. They passed by a fairly nondescript bar, Daisuke would have passed it by entirely if Kaji hadn't pointed it out, 'Let's stop at this dive... I really, really need a drink...'

Daisuke found a parking space, then he and Kaji got out and headed into the bar, sat down and ordered. Kaji had a double scotch on the rocks, Daisuke had a Yebisu.

Kaji loosened his tie as his drink arrived and started to drink, while Daisuke nursed his beer. He was driving, so he needed to stay under the limit. 'You remember a while back one fo those secret experiments by the JSSDF?'

'Vaguely.'

'They began taking young boys from prison camps and training them to be strategic operators...they named the project "Bishop".'

Daisuke shook his head at that, 'Bishop...cute...'

Kaji went on, ignoring the interruption, 'The project was simple...a series of VR-like mission scenarios, compounded with extensive training for tactical response and action. Because who would suspect a 14 year old from carrying out a suicide attack, especially if he wasn't a raghead, right?'

'Right...' Daisuke wondered where Kaji was going with this...was this something he needed to get off his chest, something from the past. He knew Kaji didn't like to talk about his past that much, but then again, who did? Or maybe Kaji was hinting at something Daisuke should be aware of. Something to do with Thanatos, or NERV, or Kaito? Or maybe he was just making conversation...

'So anyway, once the public opinion got ahold of that, a media explosion followed. Camps and bases were closed, and the project was shelved...what the public opinion didn't know was that a few "bishops" were already deployed...that's the true story behind that "north corean suicide bomber boy" who immolated himself in a seoul suburb frequented by japanese nationals. That was what opened the gates for japan, Korea and USA to create a task force, that would eventually topple the jong regime.'

'Hell...' Daisuke muttered, trying to sound shocked and appalled at the whole story, but he'd seen too many dirty things in too many dirty places to be shocked by much of anything anymore.

'Somehow,' Kaji continued, [color=blue]'the research was passed on to a different unit...eventually, that unit sold it to a cival contractor.'

'...don't tell me, eventually it passed into NERV's hands, right?' Daisuke added, noting the similarities between Project Bishop and Project E. Using children as soldiers. It wasn't a new idea by any means, but it still made his stomach turn.

'That's non conclusive...' Kaji said dismissively, 'at first sight, I felt there were a lot of similarities with this project...but the candidate selection was screwed up. These boys were brainwashed into japan's own version of what a Jihad should be...modern day Samurai, 21st century kamikaze. I'm guessing whoever is behind this project is using some of those guidelines...but I can't be sure...'

He smirked, '...it's above my NERV paygrade.'

'The things we do to children...' Daisuke sighed, referring to his own failings as a father, to Project Bishop, to Eva, all of it.

Eventually he looked over at Kaji and smirked wryly, '...so, is the scotch helping?'

Kaji just sighed and shook his head, 'There's not enough booze in the world, Dai...'

Daisuke sighed as well. He looked at his beer and considered buying another. Instead he shook his head and took out the pack of sunflower seeds, chewing one to clear his head.

'Look, Dai,' Kaji spoke up again eventually, 'we just need to focus on what we're doing.'

'Yeah.' Daisuke agreed, chewing thoughtfully, 'Damn...I really screwed up, Kaji...'

'We all do sometimes...' Kaji said, whether to make him feel better or commenting from personal experience, or both. Daisuke couldn't say for certain.

'Look, I'll try to talk with Kaito...' Kaji offered, 'see if I can make him realize he's in danger doing this kind of stunts.'

Daisuke thought on this for a moment, then nodded. Maybe Kaji could get Kaito to listen, if he went about it the right way, 'Go easy, Kaji...right now he sees NERV as an...unknown variable, possibly a threat. He won't listen if he thinks it's them talking...or me...'

It hurt, knowing that his son was more likely to listen to advice from someone he barely knew than from his own father. How could he have screwed things up so badly?

Kaji sighed, 'Ok...I'll try...'

Daisuke and Kaji have a little off-the-record chat.

**Sailor Star Dust** · Posted: Fri Aug 21, 2009 8:15 pm Post subject: Spending Time in Preparation

Thursday, September 10th 2015, 5:00PM

Eating some curry-flavored ramen (though in her opinion, it wasn't as good as the way SHE made it contrary to how everybody else felt) inside Nerv's cafeteria, Misato let out a tired sigh. Tomorrow was the big day. The second battle with the latest Angel. If Shinji and Asuka still weren't coordinated with their training... It would be all over.

Mentally kicking herself for having to work all day to prepare for tomorrow, Misato at least hoped they'd be able to work things out. Winning the battle was important so everybody could survive, but those two children getting along was a big part of their personal survival in this case. If they couldn't get along for this operation, then how would they be excepted to fight together if all the Evas needed to be deployed? Or even personal interaction as being roommates?

Focusing on her meal to calm herself down, Misato noticed somebody else sitting at another table. With a smile, she picked up her tray of ramen and her Pepsi, sitting next to him.

"Hey there, Malcolm!"

Malcolm

The Lt Col let out a yawn. "I'm working all day today to prepare for tomorrow's battle... At least if Shinji-kun and Asuka mess up, we DO have backups in Rei and Kaworu, but..." She shut her eyes. "It's still worrisome." And looked away. Her voice went quiet. "To think that Third Impact happening is merely a breath away here... It's scary."

Malcolm

Nervously smiling, Misato scratched the back of her head, voice low. "Um, I'm not sure how to put this but... I'd like to tell you something I've been too afraid to let Kaji-kun know. You can pass it onto him if you'd like."

Malcolm

Looking to the right and left, noticing nobody else was sitting near them, Misato leaned in closer to Malcolm. A breast was lightly touching his left shoulder as she whispered in his ear.

"He knows there's something strange about Rei but... After that recent accident, when I checked on her? Something bizarre happened. I gave Rei a hug to reassure her, and... She..."

Misato gulped, shutting her eyes, still speaking in hushed tones. "I heard a voice in my head. It was weird. Female. Frightening. Whispering something in a strange language, Latin or Greek I think. I don't know what."

Shaking slightly from the memory, Misato straightened, noticing Malcolm appear somewhat uncomfortable... Or was that flustered? At her somewhat intimate contact.

Voice at a normal volume once more, Misato calmly continued, "You probably think I'm crazy. I would myself....if it weren't for the fact we work at Nerv."

Eyeing Malcolm carefully--a silent plea before finishing her words--Misato soon added, "At the very least, keep an eye on Rei for me, okay? Something about both her and Kaworu disturb me."

Nobody can know the truth about Kaworu-kun. They wouldn't understand, they'd just say I'm thinking with my heart, not my head. Even if he does turn out to be a traitor as an Angel... The Eva will deal with him when the time comes. I hope.

Finishing up her meal, Misato stretched her arms up, accentuating her breasts. This went noticed by Malcolm, of course. Grinning, Misato gathered her tray of garbage to discard.

Malcolm's remarks about whatever

"I have to get back to work now. If you need me, I'll be in my office all night. Take it easy!"

Malcolm's last comments if there's anything else he wants to mention

Placing her empty tray on top of a rack connected to one of the garbage cans, Misato winked a goodbye at the agent... and possible ally with investigating Nerv.

"See ya! ♥ "

***

Friday, September 11th 2015, 10:13AM

The Angel sirens going off only minutes earlier signaled the time had finally come. Standing in the Commander Center, arms crossed, Misato licked her lips in anticipation. But she managed a smirk despite her serious eyes.

"Here it comes! We won't fail this time! Deploy your AT fields as soon as the music starts. Then stick to the operation. Got it, you two?"

In unison, Shinji and Asuka replied: "Roger!"

"Detach external power cables!", Misato shouted after a moment.

Good. Things are all set. The Children are ready.

Nodding to herself after some confirmation of the Eva's status, a single word parted from Misato's lips: "Launch."

And so, the final battle with the 7th Angel Israfel began.

Noticing the kids were having trouble, Misato shouted, "Asuka, keep firing if you can!"

“I'm ok! I can continue with this!”

Oh no. The Angel was getting close to merging once more... She hoped the pilots could make it in time.

"Shinji-kun! Asuka! It's about to fuse in 5 seconds! Get ready to hit it when it's one unit again!"

Somehow, the pilots had managed to defeat it. Misato breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God for that. Now all that was left was to make sure Shinji and Asuka were okay.

Any of the Misato stuff for the hospital is referenced in Eric's Asuka post for the battle. This is all from Misato and Hikari until the next Angel will show up.

Anti-Goth · Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2009 5:56 pm Post subject:

Anita

[placeholder post, lol]

GoatMan · Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 2:53 am Post subject:

Thursday, September 10th, 2015, 0832 hours

Fuyutsuki

Kozo re-read the courtesy copy mail from Agent Kaji, bringing up the attached report file, and the included video clip. Moving the playback bar back and forth, he listened intently to the audio. Most of it was a hiss of pink noise, but in the background, he could distinctly make out the words he did not want to hear.

Typing frantically, he replied to two people of note.

To: Ikari Gendo
CC: Akagi Ritsuko
RE: Fifth Child
This is a dangerous gamble. Should we consider a replacement?

Kozo

Reviewing the report once again, he rested the cursor over the icons hesitantly, before filing them away in the derelict archival partition. There were so many operations and items he chose to leave locked in that darkest portion of his shadow. Rubbing at his forehead, the man considered the contents of the write-only disk partition. Even if he reformatted the disk, the contents could never be unlearned. His own mind would hold on to those secrets.

Particularly the file involving their "controlled" contact experiment eleven years ago.

Moving on to more important matters, he reviewed the latest data of the Angel. It had not stopped moving, but rather, moved so slowly as to avoid detection by less than the most sensitive of seismic monitors. The ultra-low frequency pulses ricocheting off of the solid earth surrounding the GeoFront went for kilometers until they tapered off into the background noise of the city's activities. As such, no one would notice it unless they deliberately searched for the right frequencies.

Knowing the rate of regeneration, and of all things pertaining to orange blood patterns, however, the professor knew precisely what to look for as the seismograph readings were displayed. "It's recovering faster," the old man muttered to himself.

Curious, he fitted the data to a least squares regression line. Failing that, he attempted a cubic regression line. Finally, an odd thought struck him, the man bringing up an interpolation based on a logarithmic curve. The match was almost perfect, only a few percent off in accuracy.

"The Angel will be fully regenerated an hour before we predicted."

Instinctively, he brought up a new e-mail draft, sending his conclusions first to the commander, with Akagi and Katsuragi courtesy-copied. Moving the cursor again over the send button, he froze.

Looking at the operation director's name, he closed his eyes, thinking back to the confrontation of his former student's spouse in the bowels of the research ship. Holding the delete key, the colonel's address was removed from the list, and the message sent.

Turning to the door, he thought about a former student, and the honest enthusiasm on her face as he tried to stifle the knots growing in his ulcer-riddled stomach.

Fuyutsuki reflection before the second sortie

**Sachi** · Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 5:49 pm Post subject:

Katsuko

Thursday, September 10th, 4:18pm

Kats-chan,

Sounds great. I'll start searching for something fun yet unorthodox to give a try. Out of curiosity, the lake has small sailboat rentals, doesn't it? I heard there's a nice island out there a ways worth exploring.

In regards to your wardrobe, anything outside of a school uniform is fine with me. You don't have to go showing stuff off for me, though, unless it's what you feel comfortable doing. I'm not into you just for your looks, but your brains and personality as well.

Mmm... yes, fleshy, tasty brains for all! BRAAAINS...

...That was a joke...

Asuka might tag along if I can convince her to drag someone out with her, and we can make it a double-date. I can tell she enjoys hanging out with you, and with our club, we don't exactly get out much. Don't worry, we won't paint the town red this time along.

Then again...

I'll give you a call later on after class,

R. Watanabe

Mirrors of green eyed over the email a few times, digesting every detail into memory. A trip to the lake sounded ni, everybody could use that sort of relaxation. But going to the lake meant she had to go swimming, and that meant she'd have to wear her bikini. Although she promised to be a bit more revealing, that's not exactly what she had in mind. But I suppose he'll be in nothing but trunks too. A devilish grin cut into her cheek, which was now a slight shade of red. I can always wear a skirt and button-down over my bathing suit. A soothing sensation surged up and down her spine as her chair reclined, a deep breath releasing a sigh from her lips. She could no longer hide her endearment, she wanted him, and she knew that he wanted her back. The warmth in her body felt like floating in a dream, one that she wished would never end. The only thing keeping her from forgetting where reality ended was Raidon's comment about brains. Something like that definitely wouldn't be in her dream world... or would it?

Her day of school had come and gone, like any other, but it seemed to fly by much faster than usual days. Perhaps because she actually had an interest in going to school everyday now, and no longer counted the seconds until the bell rang.

Her daydream was interrupted by a ring, almost causing her to fall out of her seat. She fumbled around on the floor until she found the phone.

"H-hello?"

"Hey Kats-chan," Raidon greeted. "What's new?"

"Oh!" She haphazardly fixed her hair and skirt, as if he were actually there. "You remembered!"

Raidon tried to frown, but found his face wasn't cooperating after the latest dosage. Was it that common for people to forget about her?"Of course I remembered," Raidon answered, trying his best to inflect a cheerful tone. He didn't think it did anything besides make the girl wince on the other end, but he couldn't say for certain. "When someone says they're going to do something, they should do it, especially when that person is important to them." They were quickly getting off track.

"So, what's going on?"

"Oh, um... nothing much." The phone went quiet. She tried her best to come up with conversation. "I, uh, I just got your email.." Realizing she was going nowhere with this: "D-did you really mean that thing about 'fleshy, tasty brains'..?"

"I don't know, will the gray matter be cooked or served raw?" Raidon started, before chuckling. "No, it was just a joke, boss."

"Oh, okay. Just making sure. Hm..." Silence once again. "I like your idea about going to the lake, that'd be a lot of fun. Swimming is my favorite sport, if it's counted as one." She drifted off into awkward silence, embarrassed by her own comment.

"Okay, the lake it is," he answered.

"A-and it would be great if Asuka came too. I'm afraid that if no one else goes, I'll be too shy to do anything with you.."

"Do anything, eh?" he asked. "Just how revealing an attire are you talking about?"

She gasped in shock at what she said. "N-no! Not like that! I.. I meant like, as in, talking or... or even being brave enough to look you in the eye without turning away all shy and blushing and stuff.." She mentally kicked herself for being such a klutz.

The Child froze, his brain processing the words the girl uttered carefully, taking several seconds to determine how to respond. "Kats-chan," he answered softly. "I was just teasing you a bit. Aspies aren't that dense."

"Aspies?" Katsuko asked. She wondered if he was referring to Asperger's Syndrome, which came to mind only because she remembered reading an article about it online.

Taking a moment, he wondered just how far in depth he should go into that conversation, but decided to let Soryu clarify if she were so inclined to play comedian on the outing.

"You are brave, Kats-chan," he continued, finding that his left hand was reaching instinctively for a person who was not there. "You stayed with me when I couldn't see straight. I want to spend time with you, and watch you be yourself."

"Heh, I'm not brave.." She awaited a response, but quickly feared this would upset him, so thought differently. "But, I did enjoy being with you, and helping out with whatever I could."

There was more awkward silence. Why was it always like that? "Hey... if you want... before the date, want to get some more tutoring in?"

She flushed a deep scarlet. "Y-you mean at my place?" There was something so delinquent about inviting a guy over to spend time in her room with, but at the same time it excited her and figured she wouldn't do anything too reckless. "Th-that'd be great." She smiled. "Is tonight okay?"

Raidon's face pulled in stiff, unnatural twitches into his recovering nervous system's attempt at a natural smile. "Sounds good... I can be there around twenty-hundred hours."

"Uh...?" Twenty-hundred hours? Does that mean he plans on being here in a few days from now?

"...I mean... eight o'clock..."

"Ohh!" She kicked herself mentally yet again, this time for her stupidity. "I knew that. Sorry.." She unconsciously went back to fixing her hair. "Alright, I'll get ready right away."

"Alright, see you then..."

The line went flat and she hung up the phone. She almost jumped with glee, but thought better of that and quietly cleaned up her bedroom, making it presentable for Raidon to come over.

7:56pm

Katsuko was rushing to get everything ready and in tip-top shape when she heard a knock that nearly made her heart stop. "He's here!" She panicked and kicked the rest of her dirty laundry under a blanket in the corner of the room. Making sure everything was presentable (which in her mind meant that there'd be nothing exploitable or that may cause embarrassment to her if he saw), unfortunately it wasn't but she didnt have the time.

Running to the front door and taking a brief moment to make sure her hair was all in place, and that her pajamas weren't in a funky position, she opened the door.

"Umm... hi..." Raidon answered, noticing the odd choice of pajamas for studying. The girl was wearing simple flannel pajama bottoms with a plaid design, and a black tank top. It didn't immediately phase her that this was a bad choice of attire when treating a guest such as himself. "So..." his brain tried to continue, not processing much above the neckline. "...Right, math... yes, good, celibate equations for all..."

It hardly occurred to her where he was looking for she was just too in the moment of him actually being here, and she just figured he was being his usual, jester self. "Y-yup! Please come in." She held the door open to let him in and closed it as he removed his shoes.

The night proceeded much the same way as it had the night before, but with more number crunching than talk. It seemed Katsuko was a little more receptive to the material. As for Watanabe, though, he found himself having to shake his head out of a mindless daze, going back to points he was trying to explain not more than thirty seconds beforehand.

11:07pm

She wasn't sure exactly when she fell asleep, and she wasn't exactly sure where either, but something beneath her started moving, stirring her awake.

Yawning, Watanabe found his limbs stiff, and his body in an unusual orientation, sprawled on his stomach over the couch he had been introduced to the other day. Then there was the oddly warm, heavy mass of something wrapped in fabric that propped his head up in lieu of a pillow. "Oh..." he started, his brain not completely awake as his right arm poked the girl's thigh.It was then when she realized that she had let herself fall asleep on top of Raidon. She almost fell off the couch in surprise that she'd let herself do such a thing. Did this count as actually sleeping with him?! She hoped not, they hadn't even had a first date yet.

"It's Kats-chan..." he finished, yawning as he started back to sleep. "She'd look good in a swimsuit... Too bad I'm not swimming..."

Her face flushed, luckily hid by the darkness of the night. Was he having naughty thoughts about her? "Wh-what!?" She clasped her mouth at how loud she said that; she lowered her voice greatly. "Watanabe-kun, what do you mean I'd look good in a swimsuit?" She blushed again, not knowing if that was a compliment or something else. She shook her head. "And what do you mean you're not swimming?"

"...Incredibly hot..." Raidon continued. "Innocent look wins every time..." His brain froze, the other query registering somewhere in his subconscious as his brain lazily answered each question as if on a truth serum. "Lake in hailstorm and rattlesnakes equals bad... not swimming again..."

Now this really made her blush and she wasn't sure whether to hug him even closer or stomp back into her room and sleep there for the rest of the night. "And what's that supposed to mean?" She half-tease, half meant it.

Silence.

Apparently he'd fallen back to sleep. Katsuko sighed, and brought her head gently down to that comfy place she found on his back and within a few minutes she was asleep as well.

(Katsuko reads Raidon's email and feels all's right with the world, and then he calls her up and they talk about their upcoming date. Then Raidon comes over to her place for another tutoring session.)

**Sachi** · Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2009 12:19 am Post subject:

Michiko

Friday, September 10th, 3:42pm

Her wrist hurt like a bitch. Despite coming out on top in the end, she still couldn't help but feel humiliated by those murdering scum. The sore in her hand felt almost as big as the brightly decorated cast surrounding it, signatures of all her friends taking up every inch, each giving a simple "Get well soon!" or "I <3 U!".

The cast had run out of space to write on by the first class period on the first day she returned to school with it. She felt a certain satisfaction getting all those people to shower her with so much attention so quickly. Surely she was still the most attractive girl at school, even with her swollen fiberglass hand, which probably even made people lust for her even more. The innocent, broken and frail look seemed to be a fetish to more than just a few.

Alas, the inconvenience of being handicap in such a way far outweighed the attention it attracted to her. She couldn't write, open doors, text, anything. She was amazed at how much she couldn't do with her right hand anymore, and she found it very unfair that this was happening to her, and not to someone else more deserving.

Michiko Nakada stumbled her way into her house, trying to balance all of her things in one arm while opening the door with the other. Another successful endeavor.

"Welcome home!" Her step mother proclaimed as Michiko passed by the kitchen. Yuuka Nakada, if there was anybody Michiko hated more than the pilots, it would not be her step-mother, but she'd be very close. Not even a year after Michiko's mother passed away, this women suddenly walks in and acts like she's always been here. "How was your day at school, sweetie?" Michiko shot a cold glare Yuuka and walked straight into her room, closing the door.

After getting dressed into street clothing, she called up her friend Asasuki and arranged plans to go hang out later that night.

(Short introduction to Michiko Nakada.)

GoatMan · Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 3:21 pm Post subject:

Friday, September 1th, 2015, 0837 hours

Raidon

Watanabe clutched the plastic bag with the snake's rattle in his gloved hand as he stood in the locker rooms, unaware of any other place to go. He had been waiting for two hours, as per Misato's request to stand by with Rei and Kaworu should something happen. While he didn't necessarily believe in the power of good luck charms, he had heard stories of perfectly rational men who became superstitious in battle before. Something about the rattle, about the reaffirmation of his desire for survival helped calm his nerves.

As far as Tech Division One and command were concerned, he was simply a hindrance with an ability to shoot straight. If they threw a rifle at him, they knew he would at least point the dangerous end down range.

Maybe, he considered, the training with the JSSDF would help change that perception.

At least, he considered, Asuka's e-mail and Katsuko's presence kept his spirits high. It was good to have people that thought of him as more than a nutcase.

“Shinji? Is that you?” Asuka asked as Raidon froze, his body unmoving. The girl's locker room was just beyond this partition? When did this happen? His face beet red, he looked back at the mirror in front of him, noticing more patches of light blue hair growing in.

"Hey boss," he answered, not turning his head until he knew she was fully clothed. At least, that was the term when it came to the plugsuits.

“Hey Sparky.” Asuka said coolly, putting on her accustomed mask of nonchalance while stepping out and crossing her arms over her chest, giving Raidon Watanabe her familiar smirk. “Today’s the big day.”

"Yeah," Watanabe answered. "Still, it's a little unsettling. Why the hell didn't they just use some nukes, and send Unit-00 out to waste the son of a b**** while it's just been standing there, you know? It doesn't feel right going out there without an edge."

“Well, I’m ready for whatever that thing throws at us, and I know Shi–Baka is too…” Asuka said, shrugging to herself before staring at Raidon. “So you mentioned a good luck charm, what is it?”

"A little gift from the Sierras..." he explained, handing her the bagged snake's rattle. "Killed it with a rock... well... after the bite..."

Asuka's dumbfounded response, and/or "you call that a good luck charm?"

"Hey, I lived, and somehow had the stones, pardon the pun, to kill the thing, right? That seems like good luck enough to me." He paused. "Mental note, if anyone leaves you on an island during a hailstorm, and you somehow manage to swim back to shore avoiding lightning strikes, don't take your eyes away from where your feet are going to be." He grinned. "Fate is never that kind."

More Asuka dialogue.

"Well, hang in there, and make sure you come back. You need to make sure Kats-chan doesn't let me get too touchy-feely." Raidon tried to smile, finding his face not cooperating, and again popped one of the white pills. "Stuff tastes like chalk..."

As the girl started to walk off, Watanabe suddenly recalled the prior day in the simulator. "Oh, Asuka, one last thing!" he started, quickly sprinting up to her with a wad of paper in his hand. "Something I noticed in the sim the other day... If the Eva starts to act a little sluggish and you start getting a 1201 alarm, you can bypass the primary bus through the targeting computer, and use that for additional memory." Handing the girl the three sheets of paper, he watched her stare in confusion at his scribblings and haphazard schematics, showing the targeting computer circled in red as a stand-alone system. "You can drop the reaction time down maybe a tenth of a second, though one-twentieth is a better estimate."

Asuka's WTF response

"The only trick is, you have to short out a connection or two, and reinitialize, so if you skip all of the safety procedures and do a hard reboot, you're looking at thirty seconds downtime. The good thing is, all the tools you need will be on your right rear access panel, just below the self-destruct."

At Soryu's awaiting look of shock and outright confusion, the boy couldn't help but ask. "So, now are you willing to attend a tutoring session?"

Soryu's glare seemed to confirm his suspicions that her pride would never get her to join in the complete anarchy that was a math or science lesson under him. Then again, the mischievous grin at least made him smile. "Idiot..." she said.

"Hey, you haven't seen me on fire yet..." he answered, and waved as she continued to the catwalk.

Ayanami and Nagisa both stood stoic on the platform, until orders were given for the girl to enter Unit-00. While the Fourth and Fifth sat beside the catwalk, Raidon still found himself focused on the conversation with Asuka, and the growing realization that humans, at least the odd ones, maybe weren't so terrible.

Nagisa response

"Oh, asked someone out on a date, trying to work out the details..."

More Kaworu questions

"Not really," Raidon explained. "I hear sailboats are rented near the lake. It could be fun to give it another try, as long as there are no snakes."

Nagisa's "why do lilin fear creatures they do not understand?"

"I don't think it's fearing something they don't understand, really," the Child answered. "Rather... it's more fearing what could happen to you, you know? It's like the water..." Raidon cringed for a moment. "The mystery and allure of the sea is fine and all, except for that part in the back of your mind where you know all the fun little ways you could die. But then again, that's what makes mankind special: their ability to overcome fear, and rationally approach a solution."

Fuyutsuki, 0936 hours

Kozo sighed briefly as he walked stiffly from the elevator to Ikari's side at the top command tier. His former student was rather quiet about the planned sortie. While he himself found it completely absurd, the commander found no need to comment either way to its lunacy or effectiveness.

Of course, the professor knew why he wasn't saying anything. It was, "all going according to the scenario", meaning that like men praying to a fabricated idol, they would interpret anything that transpired as the fate brought down upon them by the gods. "The bones don't lie," he muttered to himself as he walked into the man's office early that morning.

Now they were standing there, waiting for some sort of miracle to happen, based on convincing the two clashing pilots to work together. While it was sweet and all, trying to get them to cooperate, the sub-commander had his doubts. There was more tension between them than just a little rivalry, and he was not the only one able to see it. Many of the bridge staff had been placing bets on mankind's survival, much to the destruction of their own morale.

The agenda board in Tech Division One's maintenance bay was now permanently scarred with the code names of those gambling on judgment day, with the enlisted personnel being the only ones with knowledge of the participants' identities. The most common date selected, was of course, New Year's Eve.

Of course, from what little he knew of the Scrolls and of the nature of the world, numerology was never an accurate predictor. Rather, he guessed if something were to happen, it would be on an odd day that would somehow have a catchy ring to it, like how the Valentine's Day treaty, or September 13th, 2000 now stood out in everyone's mind.

Names of months and days just seemed to flow together nicely on significant days in humanity's minute history on this planet. Even August 29th seemed to just work for the change in the power play that was the Cold War.

1027 hours

The aging man turned away from the projection displays for a moment, adjusting his uniform, and taking a minute to pop the medication into his mouth before placing the vial back into his coat. His heart felt particularly stiff and sluggish that morning. September 12th, he considered, would make a very catchy date for the death of NERV's sub-commander, especially right after a battle that was won. It would be one of those peculiar ironies that plagued history.

1327 hours

Fuyutsuki

The sub-commander let out a hesitant sigh. It was infuriating how nothing went perfectly with these kids. However, the more important thing was to have medics dispatched to collect the Second, and make sure they didn't lose any other viable pilots while waiting for the Eighth to make its arrival.

Kozo mentally kicked himself, knowing that he was slowly modeling himself after his former student. Glancing at the man in spectacles, the old professor ran his hand over his scalp, and felt a slight chest discomfort. His left arm starting to ache, he instinctively reached into his coat pocket, and placed the nitroglycerin pill on his tongue. Trying his best not to falter, Fuyutsuki moved back to his place beside the glaring man, all the time his hand gripping the nearest railing.

"Those kids are embarrassing us again," he grumbled.

1642 hours

The need for any high ranking command staff over as the cleanup operations began, Fuyutsuki found himself in the gym several stories below the command tier. It was time for his preventative routine. Now in a pair of navy blue running shorts and a simple white collarless shirt, the man mounted the treadmill, adjusting the program to his needs. With the track brought down to zero incline, and a 10 minute kilometer speed selected, he started the belt, taking comfortable, confident strides.

It was then that he saw the Fifth Child running along the indoor track. Watanabe was ouright sprinting in comparison to the old man's sluggish walk. As the boy neared the line of treadmills, he reached for his wrist watch, a short beep heard over the noise of the motorized belt. Coming to a rapid stop, Raidon paced back and forth, letting his body relax for maybe a minute, before assaulting the universal machine to the sub commander's right.

"Sir!" the boy saluted, before seating himself at the forearm press station, setting a weight of 30 kilograms. Immediately the boy began shoving the padded armatures together, his face clenched in a savage snarl.

"Overdoing it much?" Kozo asked.

"No, Sir," the boy answered, grunting with each repetition.

The professor just glared back. "You'll break at the rate you're going," the man replied. "A crippled back-up pilot is not a sign of professionalism."

"Yes, Sir," the boy answered, finishing his first set. "Request permission to speak freely?"

Fuyutsuki rolled his eyes. So, that was how this kid was going to be. "Go ahead," he sighed, now passing the first hundred meters of his routine.

Taking up his position again, making the first repetition as the armatures were mashed together, Raidon's face did not relax. "Whatever happens, Sir, I intend to be ready."

Fuyutsuki cringed as he saw the Child relentlessly force the machine to bend to his will, particularly as the junior officers walked in from their shifts, intent to enjoy some recreation. Oh God, it's him," Satsuki Ooi grumbled, while Kaede face-palmed, and Aoba merely sighed. The Child simply cleaned the bench with the disinfecting spray, wiped away the excess, and moved to the chin-up bar, ignoring their stares.

The bar, Kozo noted, was of course next to the treadmills.

Finding he couldn't simply avoid the Child, the professor chose to bend the situation to his will. "The technical division tells me you spend most of your time in the simulators, working on some foolish notions."

"Yes, Sir," the boy answered, pulling the bar behind his neck while the professor sighed. "You disapprove, Sir?"

"Your primary concern should be synchronization," the man answered. "You have yet to pilot an operational Unit, and should stay with the prerequisites."

"Is that an order, Sir?" Raidon asked, noting how Lieutenant Ooi rolled her eyes, and went back to her set of leg presses.

Fuyutsuki sighed. "No, it is not an order, so long as you don't blow up any more expensive equipment."

"Yes, Sir," the Child answered, as he finished the last set. As he finished cleaning the bar, and just turned to leave, however, the Child stopped. "Sir, may I ask a question?"

"...Yes," Fuyutsuki grumbled.

"I am growing... concerned... about the specialized training with Doctor Akagi," Raidon began, finding himself to stutter. "It is revealing... very disturbing things."

The lieutenant had moved on to the smaller freeweights, but froze in her routine as she heard the conversation shift. Fuyutsuki and the boy both felt the eyes on them, and it was the professor who first gave the woman a silencing glare. Aoba and Kaede similarly went back to their equipment, disregarding the hushed whisper which emanated from the old man.

"Have you spoken to Doctor Akagi about this?"

"No, Sir," the boy answered. "She has been preoccupied with the latest Angel attack, as have others. It seemed... inconvenient to do so." Noting how the man was having difficulty keeping his attention on the Child as his feet struggled to stay on the belt, Raidon quickly mounted the nearest treadmill, set the highest incline possible, a comfortable jogging speed, and proceeded to run up the inclined machine on the balls of his feet. "There are also... physiological changes, Sir."

"Such as?"

The boy pointed effortlessly at his scalp. It was difficult to notice at first, especially in the fluorescent lighting. However, in the glint of the reflected light, Kozo noticed several small patches of pale blue hairs slowly cropping up amongst the boy's normal black buzz cut. He recognized that particular shade, and wondered just how much of the dummy plug's donor samples the doctor had used.

"There are... nightmares as well, Sir," the boy continued, finding not comfort, but a simple lack of scrutiny. "If I may ask, where did the memory samples originate?"

"It is beyond your clearance," Fuyutsuki answered. "However, I will bring this to Akagi's attention."

"Thank you, Sir."

Raidon and Fuyutsuki actions at the beginning of the Israfel battle, and interaction after.

Eric Blair · Evangelion Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Age: 26 Gender: Male

Asuka

Waking up, getting changed, and being driven towards Nerv was done in such a way, Asuka could almost remember it as if it had been a sort of dream, not even sure she had taken a part of it, not really wondering what was going to happen; the minute she had woken up on the day of battle, it was as if a red haze had fallen over her eyes, covering her mind, moving simply by instinct alone as Asuka was rushed along with Shinji towards Nerv’s Headquarters to prepare for the battle against the twin angels.

And now, the redhead found herself in the locker room, putting on her plugsuit, stretching the fabric of her gloves as she flexed them, taking in deep breaths in quick succession to calm her pre-battle jitters, before finally pushing the button to allow the built-in vacuum to do its job and mold the synthetic material to her body, feeling confident, like a knight putting on an armor before going out to fight a perilous dragon, before she heard a rustle on the other side of the locker rooms, frowning before she opened the curtain that was used as a partition to separate the “girls” section from the “boys section”.

“Shinji? Is that you?” Asuka asked as she peeked outside, before she saw Raidon standing there, looking equal parts apologetic and jealous of her, probably for being able to go out and prove her mettle while he had to stay here as back up, and Asuka couldn’t help but feel kind of sorry for her fellow pilot, knowing full well how bad it sat with her when she had been bumped down to back-up.

"Hey boss."

“Hey Sparky.” Asuka said coolly, putting on her accustomed mask of nonchalance while stepping out and crossing her arms over her chest, giving Riadon Watanabe her familiar smirk. “Today’s the big day.”

"Yeah…" The boy said simply, shrugging unaffectedly. "Still, it's a little unsettling. Why the hell didn't they just use some nukes, and send Unit-00 out to waste the son of a b**** while it's just been standing there, you know? It doesn't feel right going out there without an edge."

Well, he’s right about that, but still… this just means I’ll be able to show everyone how good I am both at piloting and training baka Shinji. Asuka thought to herself before she blinked, dispelling the thoughts and looking up again.

“Well, I’m ready for whatever that thing throws at us, and I know Shi–Baka is too…” Asuka said, shrugging to herself before staring at Raidon. “So you mentioned a good luck charm, what is it?”

"A little gift from the Sierras… Killed it with a rock… well… after the bite..."

“This is your good luck charm?” Asuka asked nonplussed, staring at the small see-through bag before shaking it, hearing a small rattling sound and opening it to extract something that resembled an organic triangle, made of deposits and fossilized scales that looked more like crystalline rocks, the crisp, sharp sounds of the rattler emerging with each shake the redhead gave it. “What the hell am I supposed to do? Wave it at the angel and scare him away, or pray for the rain to come?”

"Hey, I lived, and somehow had the stones, pardon the pun, to kill the thing, right? That seems like good luck enough to me."

Asuka looked at Raidon with annoyance, her eyes almost shouting her usual what are you? An idiot? at him as loudly as if she had uttered the words.

"Mental note, if anyone leaves you on an island during a hailstorm, and you somehow manage to swim back to shore avoiding lightning strikes, don't take your eyes away from where your feet are going to be. Fate is never that kind."

“Look, as funny and amusing as watching National Geographic is, I don’t really believe in this things, thanks for the charm and all, but…” Asuka faltered, looking apologetic at Riadon while putting the rattler away delicately, almost afraid of breaking the dry wood of the handle.

"Well, hang in there, and make sure you come back. You need to make sure Kats-chan doesn't let me get too touchy-feely."

Asuka saw as Raidon’s face made a weak attempt at a smile, coming more like a grimace of annoyance, as if the muscles in his face weren’t familiar with the concept of grinning, making the boy’s face look like one of those old theater masks with a smirk painted on it; artificial, from a certain light, but close to natural if saw under the correct circumstances, before Raidon grabbed a small shaker to pop in a white pill.

"Stuff tastes like chalk…" The boy said while Asuka simply shrugged and turned around to go to her entryplug.

"Oh, Asuka, one last thing!" Raidon exclaimed catching up with her, unfolding some papers and shoving tham at her, making Asuka frown.

"Something I noticed in the sim the other day… If the Eva starts to act a little sluggish and you start getting a 1201 alarm, you can bypass the primary bus through the targeting computer, and use that for additional memory." Raidon mentioned before Asuka unfolded the papers after giving him a look that screamed ‘what the hell are you talking about?’ while she kept on reading though the tight-spaced, single line scribbled annotations and schematics of the Eva targeting systems, circled in bright red.

"You can drop the reaction time down maybe a tenth of a second, though one-twentieth is a better estimate."

“What the hell are you going on about?” Asuka said while riffling through the notes, realizing that while some of his ideas were straight out of super robot and mechanized series, a couple of them were angled on the right track, just needing a bit more of polishing and actual knowledge of the system, as opposed to blind guessing of what each component did.

She did, however had to hand it to Raidon, in just a couple of months he was starting to understand more and more of the Evas; even if it wasn’t up to her own self imposed standard.

"The only trick is, you have to short out a connection or two, and reinitialize, so if you skip all of the safety procedures and do a hard reboot, you're looking at thirty seconds downtime. The good thing is, all the tools you need will be on your right rear access panel, just below the self-destruct."

Asuka kept looking at Raidon’s obviously pleased face and then back at his notes, before sighing and turning around.

“I don’t know, sparkplug… all this is just too di–”

"So, now are you willing to attend a tutoring session?"

Asuka stopped short, glaring at Raidon for interrupting her before she gave him an impish smile and walked up to him, running her hands over his still short cropped hair, even if it was somewhat larger now, enjoying Riadon’s growl of annoyance before turning around.

“Look, even if this idea of yours was doable, which it is at the cost of a very sophisticated computer, it would involve getting into the targeting system, and rebooting the whole damn thing… not at all easy as pie, plus, no one besides from you would be crazy enough to tinker with the self destruct panel, idiot…”

"Hey, you haven't seen me on fire yet..."

Asuka grinned at Raidon, before turning around and sticking out her tongue at him in a good natured fashion, walking past the technicians and getting into her entry plug, before the usual startup routine began, feeling the murky, cold LCL rushing inside the enclosed space, before the electrical current initializing the systems made everything glow and come alive, the cold sensation gradually becoming warmer, with a hint of familiarity from times long past, before Asuka opened her com-set, staring at Misato’s familiar face along side with Shinji’s; but while Misato was giving them both an encouraging smile, Shinji simply laid there, with a tense look on his face.

Misato if she wants to add/say anything.

“It’s ok, Misato… don’t worry; our unison is already perfect!” Asuka smiled brightly at Misato, giving her a thumbs up waiting for the operation to begin before she turned to Shinji’s face on her screen.

“You know the plan, right Shinji? We’ll launch with our AT field at full power and with maximum operational speed from the start!”

Shinji if he wants to add anything.

Asuka kept the smile as long as she could, before turning off the com-screen; then and only then did she let out a haggard breath as she clutched Raidon’s good luck charm in her fist tightly, hoping they were able to survive this one.

Preemptive post to start the battle sequence, gotta wait for Legendary and Lucretius to start the battle.

Eternally Lost Zeppo · Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:58 am Post subject:

Kaito

Friday, September 11th
16:09hrs

Kaito frowned at the sight. The arcade had served him well as a meeting place, a place of business for handling transactions between himself and the other classmates. Passing by the arcade that afternoon, Kaito was saddened to see that it had been somewhat demolished during the battle. It would be closed for business for a while until repairs could be made, but it might eventually re-open. Still, He shook his head, smiling softly, it's not good to get too set in one's ways of doing things. Time to move on...find a new place to handle business.

Kaito turned away and started walking down the street. A little way along he stopped, noticing the car cruising along behind him, reflected in the glass of a nearby phone booth. He recognised the driver and sighed, stopping near a food stand as the car pulled up next to him and parked.

'Hey Yamada...' Agent Kaji greeted him, 'how are ya?'

Kaito glanced over at Kaji and sighed. The agent simply smiled and got out, heading over to the food stand and buying a soda and some chips.
'I'm alright...' Kaito answered, keeping his guard up, maintaining his usual smile, trying to keep his true emotions hidden.

'Good... that's nice...' Kaji said in response. He didn't say anything again, and Kaito knew he was going to have to ask.

So he continued smiling, although more tightly than usual and spoke up, 'So...to what do I owe this pleasure?'

Kaji sighed, clearly not liking the facade, 'Can the talk kid...I'm here in peace...no official Nerv business, just a concerned collegue.'

'Concerned? What about?' Kaito asked suspiciously.

The agent pulled out a bunch of photographs and handed them to Kaito, who looked at the first couple and tried not to let himself go pale.

'Not your best angle, but then again, you were looking away the whole time.'

'Crap...' Kaito muttered, knowing how bad this was. He'd expected NERV surveillance, he knew they'd be keeping tabs on anyone in the pilots' class, but he'd thought he had been more careful. He was sure he'd shaken the main NERV security detail...

'Look, this isn't on the grid...yet...' Kaji sighed and went over to the stand again, returning with a pack of sunflower seeds and a cup of tea. It was only then that Kaito realised he'd been chewing at his lip in the absense of seeds to chew on. He accepted the bag and the cup of tea with a grudging sort of gratitude. 'Thanks...'

'Come, let's sit over here...' Kaji motioned towards a nearby bench, Kaito followed and sat down next to Kaji, chewing irately on one of the sunflower seeds as he examined the photos.

'Look,' Kaji told him, 'I want you to know I'm not here as a member of Nerv...I'm here to try and offer you a solution, kid... some advice...you're free to take it or leave, but just hear me out, ok?'

Kaito put the photos to one side, next to Kaji and nodded warily, 'Alright...'

Kaji lit up a cigarette. Kaito winced, it wasn't so much that he minded the smell of tobacco, but it reminded him of his mother and that made it...disconcerting.
'Before we begin... I want you to know something about our surveillance procedures...you were code blue, along with the other classmates fo Shinji and Asuka and the rest...that meant we were following in your moves both inside school grounds and outside, since your family is a part of Nerv. But I suspect you already knew that...'

Kaito nodded, 'Yeah, it makes sense...' ...and what you're building up towards saying is that now I'm slightly higher on NERV's list of surveillance priorities. Crap...

Kaji nodded also, 'Once you began to get yourself involved with Nerv more actively, you were placed under observation...in a way, you can call me your big brother...'

Kaito quirked his lip at that notion, but made no comment, 'But when you actively got involved by Shinji, you were yellow listed... so now Nerv is watching your every move...'

Kaito sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, suddenly feeling a pressure there.

'I want to help you, kid, really...' Kaji told him, '...but you have got to meet me half way.'

'Look,' Kaito said, trying to placate the man, testing to see if he could get the man to let slip what he'd been caught on, 'I backed off with Sasaki already...'

'Please Kaito...don't insult my intelligence, I'm not insulting yours...'

Okay...so he does know I've been doing other things. But is it about the Three Wise Guys, or Raidon?

'Besides, you were an accessory to aiding and abetting with Shinji.'

'He's a...a friend...' ' Kaito hesitated, realising he hadn't been able to honestly say that about anyone for a while until recently, 'Friends help each other out...'

Ok...' Kaji allowed, 'that's fair enough...then think of me as your friend trying to help you...Watanabe is...he's a pilot...'

So it is about Raidon... Kaito thought to himself.

'When he signed up, he knew the risks, and what we were expecting from him.'

'How did you...?' How did he find out I was...? Then it hit him, there was only one way he could know.

'Father...' Kaito sighed in exasperation, and tried to explain himself, '...look I was just trying to help. I didn't dig too deep, I told him that.'

'I know, but he's worried...' Kaji explained, 'Look, Yamada, you know how intelligence works...it's not one single report, it's the sum of all parts. Look at your actions, look at how they paint you, and ask yourself... how would you react to someone doing what you're doing?'

Kaito took a moment to think about it, from the perspective of a security agent, assigned to protect the pilots. One of the other kids starts getting friendly with his charge, that's fair enough, but better keep a closer eye on him. Same kid starts poking his nose into classified matters, now he's concerned. Why is he so interested? What's this kid's agenda?

'I'd...wonder why they wanted to get so close to the pilots, and why they were so interested in NERV's activities...'

'Yeah...' Kaji responded grimly, 'We security service types... we're like jealous girlfriends...we get angry when someone comes close to our guys, or sniffs to close to our turf.'

Kaito snorted at the metaphor, as Kaji continued to talk, 'I'm just telling you that I'm willing to help if it means you'll be discreet, but there are something even I can't help you with...'

Well...that was a surprise. Agent Kaji was offering to help him? Kaito quirked an eyebrow, suspiciously. Then he recalled a conversation he'd had with his father before...

"To be fair to Agent Kaji, I don't think he knows much about what happened either. He's a good man, Kaito, don't judge him too harshly."

Kaji seemed to think of something, then smirked, 'Think of me as 'deepthroat.'

Kaito vaguely got the reference, from an American TV show his dad liked, and tried not to show his concern as something occurred to him, 'Didn't he get shot?'

'He was careless,' Kaji quipped with a wink, 'I wear a vest and sleep with a gun under my pillow.'

Kaji chuckled, then became serious, 'Your dad's trying to do good by you, Kaito...'

Kaito sighed, shutting his eyes tiredly, '...I know.'
Then he smirked, remembering that he had leaked information on his father's activities to NERV previously and appreciating the irony, 'Turnabout's fair play I guess...'

'Don't punish him for being who he is kid...' Kaji told him, 'You're just like him...'

Kaito sighed, thinking to himself, So I've been told...

'He made a choice he felt would benefit you, and your sister...' Kaji pointed out.

Something clicked then. Kaito recalled his dream the previous night, or was it the night before, and knew then why that other voice had sounded so familiar.

'...it was you.' He realised, 'You were there...at the hospital...'
He shook his head, clearing it and responded to Kaji's comment, 'I know what he did for us...but he needs to take care of himself as well.'

'I'm doing that...' Kaji assured him, 'your dad and I...we go back some time.'

'Yeah, he told me you were a good man...he trusts you.' Kaito said, then after some consideration, he nodded and said, 'I guess if he does, I can learn to as well...'

Kaji sighed and stood up, handing Kaito a small phone.

'It's clean, but you can check it if you like.'

Kaito examined the phone briefly, then nodded. He would check it when he had the chance, just to be safe. It was only a sensible precaution after all.
'Use it only in case of emergency, the number it's programmed to dial is clean too...'

Kaji started to turn and walk away, Kaito called after him, 'Kaji-san?'

Kaji stopped and turned, looking at him expectantly, [Kaji's response.]

'I don't suppose my father told you? About my idea?'

[Kaji says no.]

'Hypnotic regression therapy. His case has some similarities to past life experiences, if there's some trauma from one of those memories causing these hallucinations of his, it might help put them to rest.'

[Kaji considers it, says he might suggest it to NERV, but mentions that he can't handle it personally, due to Raidon's dislike of him.]

'Why not ask da--Agent Yamada?' Kaito sighed, much as he knew his dad's motives were pure, he still felt annoyed that he'd gone to Kaji behind his back.

[Kaji says he'll see what he can do.]

With that, Kaji turned around and headed towards his car, looking back over his shoulder as he winked and gave one last parting comment, '...and stop messing with that cute chick who is your sempai, Yamada. Someone else might move in on your turf.'

Then the man smiled as he got in his car, started it up, and drove off, leaving Kaito flabbergasted. How the hell does he know about that...?

Kaito and Kaji have another little chat and part on slightly more amicable terms.

Eric Blair · Evangelion Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Age: 26 Gender: Male

Asuka

The feeling of imminence was all Asuka could feel right now; a feeling that was similar to a void in her stomach, inching forth, almost feeling herself jumping out from her skin just waiting for Misato to send both Shinji and herself out, clutching onto the snake rattler Watanabe had given her tightly in her hands.

I can win.

"Detach external power cables! Launch."

And just like that, the void expanded quickly and with a meteoric speed, travelling at speeds over 160 kilometers per hour, the lights lining and lighting up the shaft blurring into the movement before finally, what felt like seconds after Asuka saw the bright light of the sun in the sky, as felt her Eva suspend itself on the sky, looking down at the angel, once again reformed into one single entity, before she heard on the comm. Misato’s order to turn the music on and the screen flashed 62 seconds counting down as classical music began to be heard on the entry plug as both Asuka and Shinji reached the pinnacle of the launch, staring down at the urban area where the angel was currently located before flicking her wrist, extracting the progressive glaive and throwing it at Israfael after making a quick full body turn in mid air, ramming it down along side with Shinji’s, the weapons creating a stasis field cutting through the center mass of the angel, making him separate into the twins.

“Shinji! When we hit the floor we’ll have 5 seconds to get to the arms depot!” Asuka shouted to her teammate as they both executed the movement simultaneously, flawlessly; the synchronization exercises paying off from the very start before they both landed heavily on the ground, the asphalt of the streets cracking under the monstrous pressure of the two units as both Shinji and Asuka dived for their respective depots.

“Misato! Send the pallet rifles with the modified ammo!”

"Right!" Misato shouted before the depot doors opened up, and the rifles popped out, as Asuka grabbed her and quickly began to draw cover fire for Shinji as he did the same, both units moving quickly and efficiently, with practiced ease and rehearsed movements before Asuka noticed her angel’s eyes flashing and suddenly the ground in front of her exploded into tiny million pieces, making Asuka throw her rifle up in the air and cart-wheeled quickly, flipping towards her back, arching gracefully with each move as both Asuka’s and Shinji’s evas flipped as soon as their feet touched the ground, only for the space where they had been to instantly explode due to another eye beam from the targets, before both Asuka landed alongside Shinji onto the pressure point, making the barrier rise up in time to cover them both before once again popping out to fire again at their enemy, making both angels leap forth towards them, claws at the ready, rearing back to swipe at them, and Asuka realized they would be sitting ducks like this.

“Shinji! Move!” The redhead exclaimed as she pushed her teammate aside. “Misato! We need cover!”

Just as Asuka had shouted that last part, she saw the thick barrier sliced away as if it were made of paper, the claws of both angels descending as if it were in slow motion, before the German teenager realized her hand was still outstretched, hearing her own heart bumping loudly, deafly against her own ears, seconds feeling like hours before she felt the razor sharp claws make contact with unit 02’s arm, feeling the burning sensation of pain course through her body as the emergency lights began to flash inside the plug.

It was then that Asuka saw Unit 02’s arm hit the ground underneath, cut just below the elbow joint, and the redhead let out an agonizing scream as she felt the nerve pain hit her with full force, clutching her hand instinctively as she forced herself, willed herself to focus on the thought that this wasn’t her own arm, just the nerve feedback.

"Asuka, keep firing if you can!"

Focus. Asuka screamed at herself, the clock showing 30 seconds left as the redhead tried to make her inner voice be heard above Misato’s shouting, ordering the city’s defenses to fire a missile barrage to cover both Shinji and herself, trying to rise above Shinji’s yells for her, asking the redhead if she was ok, trying to move and force herself to continue the mission, despite her own scream of pain.

“I'm ok! I can continue with this!” Asuka breathed out furiously, feeling the red haze of anger and rage coming over, masking everything, as she made her unit stand up.

"Shinji-kun! Asuka! It's about to fuse in 5 seconds! Get ready to hit it when it's one unit again!" Misato said while the barrage of missiles and bubbles of explosions, bright orange and white and yellow in color became mixed with Shinji’s and Asuka’s bullets, exploding on contact before Asuka shot the last of her ammo before she opened a comm-link with Shinji, staring at him with intensity, purpose and determination.

“Shinji! Get ready for the last step!” Asuka shouted while the clock blinked 20 seconds down before she ran towards her angel as soon as the smoke cleared, next to Shinji, their synch clearly still present as the white and orange angels were distracted, landing a hook punch with a satisfying impact to its side, lifting both angels with the simultaneous punch while cracking a bit of the metalized shell before spinning around, following the hit quickly by a spin, ramming the heel in an axe kick, pushing both angels back with full force, expanding her AT alongside with Shinji to force the angels back and making them fuse together into the original form, twice as big and imposing.

“Shinji! He's one again! Let's do the finale!” Asuka shouted through the pain, keeping herself focused, centered, years of training showing up right here, right now before Shinji screamed as Asuka let out an angry shout at the same time, both Evas jumping high into the air, propelling themselves and then diving down at an angle, spinning down as if they were two red and purple colored drills.

Suddenly the Evas where no more, it was just her and Shinji, dancing and spinning, twirling and punching, rehearsing once and again, playing and smiling, shouting and screaming, anger and fear and rage all rolled into one as both Evas flied down feet first into a drop kick, as the heels made contact with the soft cores, a red light that seemed to freeze time appearing as the sphere cracked as the clock struck 5 seconds left, the momentum and speed of the fall giving both Shinji and Asuka enough impulse coupled with their AT fields to push the angel back fiercely against the nearby mountains, leaving behind a trail of destruction and broken pavement and buildings in their wake.

Just as the countdown reached 0; just as the explosion signified the angel was gone, giving Asuka enough time to look at the bright explosion that sounded like a small, sad cry of agony and anguish, like a melancholic melody that could only be uttered by an angel who lived, breathed and existed for music, before the stress and the pain finally managed to make the young German teenager fall unconscious, making her Eva fall on top of Shinji’s unit, toppling him down, making them both fall at the bottom of the new crater made on the mountain side by what used to be the Angel of Music.

Asuka wasn’t sure how long she had been knocked out, before she suddenly felt her whole world being rocked, as the centrifugal force and gravity push coming from her entry plug being ejected out made itself present, bringing her out of the sweet oblivion unconsciousness had taken her to as the plug landed heavily on the smoldering, scalding hot earth, feeling her arm in painful fire, as she groaned angrily and in pain.

Sure… Worry about your precious Shin-chan while I'm the one in pain Asuka thought gloomily, catching the last part of the conversation over the comm before sighing tiredly, grumbling in a tired sigh.

“I'm ok, Misato…” The redhead said sarcastically. “Thank you for asking…”

"Asuka?!" Misato shouted as Asuka pawned around angrily in the darkness of the entry plug, trying to activate the backup power to at least have some light inside.

"You're awake!?" Shinji asked with what could be either worry, confusion or annoyance; Asuka wasn’t really sure, and she was in too much pain to care enough about asking. " I thought you'd passed out!"

“Yeah, being ejected will make that.” the redhead said as she finally got some light, checking for visual images and realizing she had none, only the radio and the voices of Shinji and Misato to keep her company.

“Great leadership skills Misato, really…” Asuka grumbled as she kept her arm close to her body, cradling it and wondering when would the med team come, or if there had even been a med team sent to get her.

"Asuka…"

"Don't forget your place, *pilot*."

Shinji’s voice sounded tired, distant, almost regretful of saying her name, while Misato’s voice held an edge, visible, tangible… making the hurt in Asuka’s arm sting all the more, flowing out of her in hot, angry salty tears intermixing with the LCL before Asuka reached forth to the radio, turning it off after speaking for one last time.

“Just get me out of here to the medic section… I wanna see Kaji-san.”

The rush and the follow up was nothing more than a blur, partly because of Asuka blinking in and out of unconsciousness, partly because she was doped up on morphine; whatever it was, Asuka woke up feeling the pain a little bit subdued, moving her bandaged arm slowly before realizing it still hurt, just as Misato and Shinji showed up at her room.

"You okay?" Misato asked as soon as she opened the door, smiling shyly at Asuka while Shinji held in the back.

"Hi Asuka… you gonna be okay?"

“Hey…” Asuka said sully, noticing Misato staring out the door to a side obscured by the wall, before the older woman paled visibly, turning quickly around at Asuka, her smile becoming artificial, fake.

"Asuka, I'm glad you're alright."

The voice was warm, and the gentle, almost shy, tentative hug Misato gave the redhead made her think for a second she was being real, before she remembered the fake smile, the overly cheerful countenance…

Almost as if she wanted Asuka to believe she was really, REALLY happy she was fine.

“Yeah right…” Asuka scoffed, making Misato sigh sadly, but Shinji simply stayed there, staring at Asuka before he looked down, frowning.

"There's no need for an attitude." Misato began in a small tone; a tone that was calm, but that seemed to say ‘Please, give me a break…’ but that wasn’t what stopped Asuka from following her scoff with a sneer and a derisive look and a quick and biting remark.

"Stop it, Asuka."

It was Shinji’s quiet, angry voice, before the blue-eyed boy turned around, taking out his SDAT, and leaving the room, passing by the room and saying ‘Hi’ to Kaworu but otherwise quickly leaving without saying anything else.

“Look, I'm tired and in pain, I want to rest…” Asuka said slowly, turning around to show Misato her back, even if it meant her arm hurt like hell, and even if it meant she had to clench her jaw tightly, bitting her teeth and shutting her eyes to stop herself from crying from the pain.

"Okay."

“Is that alright with you, Major?”

"It's Lt Col." Misato said, and Asuka could just picture her face, looking down at her with a mixture of annoyance and sympathy only she could make Misato have before the mauve-haired woman spoke again.

"And of course it's alright. Rest well." Misato said softly, gently, almost as if she were afraid that her voice would break the small redhead girl in front of her before leaving the room.

While Asuka sighed and closed her eyes, trying to will the pain to go away.

More to come. PS Asuka won't be staying overnight in the med-wing in case someone drops by posting it at night; she will actually be woken up in a few hours after by Kaji on the same day.

**Sailor Star Dust** · Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2009 3:32 pm Post subject: The anniversary of Second Impact.

Sunday, September 13th 2015

15th Anniversary of Second Impact

1:30PM

The battle with the 7th Angel as well as it's aftermath had come and gone. Since then, work had returned to normal for Misato.

Well, it would have, if it weren't for the fact that...

Misato let out a breath. So today had finally come once again.

Father...

Misato bit her lip.

At least this year, she had a proper way of remembering instead of bitterly raising a toast of beer in his "honor" when night fell. She had to remember to do that--again--tonight. It had become an annual tradition for her once she had been revived from her state of PTSD, catatonia included, all those years back.

Quietly entering the boy's locker room at Nerv Headquarters, Misato eyed the locker near Shinji's.

Hesitating, she nodded silently to herself, as if to confirm that she was doing the right thing. ...And that she mustn't run away, as Shinji would say.

Leaving a small item in Kaworu Nagisa's locker, Misato just as quickly left the room. The sooner she focused on work--and later that night, beer--to forget about the fact Kaworu was related to her father, the better for her. Thinking about such things would only pain her in the end.

The item left in Kaworu's locker was a gold, 2-way locket.

The right side had a small color copy of an image: Misato--age 13-- standing in between her father and mother, the family was smiling. It was one of the few happy memories Misato remembered where her parents and Misato alike managed to get along... She'd hope so, considering it was taken for her birthday that year. On the left side of the locket, the words "Happy Birthday Kaworu. Love, Misato" were engraved.

In the back of her mind, as the day progressed, Misato would wonder whether or not Kaworu had appreciated the gesture.

Out of pain--and fear--Misato went out of her way to avoid seeing Kaworu at all that day.

Shot Misato post to keep things going. I intentionally didn't describe the shape of the locket, whether it's heart-shaped or whatever else. That can be left up to Luc.