Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Only In Your Eyes Am I Worthy ❯ Anything But Ordinary ( Chapter 15 )

Evangelion: Only In Your Eyes Am I Worthy

Author's Note: Let's see… Evil Flamer: You make me laugh. Thank you. Cahkarot: Make me some pie, boy! Glad to see you actually reading for a change, lazy butt. Nega Knight: Yes, those European Eskimo howler monkeys can get quite feisty when they're hungry. Luckily they're well fed by eating Evil Flamers. Aznkao: Maya is 24 years old and Misato is 29. At this point Shinji is 15 so yeah, it's a 9 year difference but a boy/young man sleeping with an older woman isn't that uncommon, especially in Japan. So it's not that strange… but given their reasons it's more understandable. Maya feeling rejected and lonely, Shinji feeling confused and hormonal, and hardly the picture of psychological stability… Also… what grade am I in? Haha… I'm almost 22 years old. And why should I use $10 words and alienate potential readers? Sure I could use a higher vocabulary level but I see no point in it. I try to keep my writing as close to conversational English level as I can without being grammatically incorrect (though sometimes I still make typos and have minor grammar problems but given my background with English, this is understandable.) Arsenal: Yes, Maya blowing Shinji WAS messed up. That was the point. Mariam and Evogirl: Yes, a number of my chapter titles come from song lyrics. Kudos on identifying one of them. teehee The others in this story are: I'm a Mess (Murmurs song), Tame from Fear and Numb From Sleep I Wake and then Routine Life is Calling Me Again are both lyrics from the Murmurs song "Carry Me Home". The Dark Night of the Soul is the name of a Loreena McKennitt song. The Trick is to Keep Breathing is the name of a Garbage song. Requiem of the Fallen… well I don't think I got it from a song but I do see that several bands have used it for album names or song names so take your pick there. And as you guessed, I'm all Mixed Up Feeling Cornered and Rushed is from a Tatu lyric. And if you care, this chapter's title comes from an Avril Lavigne song. Ok, that's all. Tralalala on with the story.

Required Disclaimer: No own. No money. No conscience. And no jelly donuts! Enjoy and ponder on the glory of GAINAX!

Chapter 15: Anything But Ordinary

Major Katsuragi rushed into the Eva control room, still straightening her uniform that she had obviously thrown on in a hurry. "Status report!? Where's that Angel?"

Lt. Hyuga shook his head as he read over the report from the MAGI system. "We've been having trouble isolating it. It seems to have disappeared. Perhaps it can cloak itself somehow."

Maya came rushing in moments later and manned her post. She glanced at Makoto's readouts to see what he had determined then turned to her own readouts. "According to these readings… the location of the blue light was in the developmental district. It was detected for 34 seconds then vanished. There is a minor amount of blue radiation still detectable and it's… It's approaching NERV headquarters! Wait… let me double-check these readings. Something doesn't seem right about this." The young newly made captain reported, sliding her chair out and going into the machinery of her panel.

Lt. Aoba discretely checked out the girl's shapely backside as she got into the machine then turned back to his own panel. "Pilots Ikari and Soryu have arrived and are almost to the pilot's locker rooms. They should be ready in a few minutes. Ah, there's pilot Ayanami as well." He reported, seeing readouts from security come up.

Misato nodded. "Lt. Ibuki?" She inquired, looking for a report.

The lights of the control panels flickered for a moment then returned to their normal brightness. "I need another minute. I… OW! Sempai, are you out there?"

"Akagi-dono hasn't… oh here she is now." The purple-haired major nodded in greeting to the blonde doctor who looked like she had seen better days.

"Maya-chan, is there a problem with the system?" Ritsuko inquired, kneeling down to look into the guts of the machine that Maya was fiddling with.

"Hai, there's a discrepancy due to… that problem we were having earlier. What does the panel say is the current location of the blue light detected?" The captain asked after poking her head out of the machine.

Ritsuko leaned forward and looked at the panel. "Inside NERV." She replied. Then she paused. "Actually there are two blue lights inside NERV and one approaching."

Lt. Hyuga swiveled in his chair to stare at the doctor in shock. "Three angels?!" He glanced at Misato for a moment but she had her gaze trained on Dr. Akagi so she missed his look.

"They're all low level. In fact... Maya are you setting the instruments to compensate for the… radiation fallout from that last angel attack?" The doctor inquired. What she really meant was, to compensate for the low level energy produced by Rei's S2 organ.

"I don't understand how we would get three distinct readings from fallout." Shigeru commented.

"One moment… OW! Ok, that should do it." Captain Ibuki said as she slid out of the machine and stood up, absently brushing herself off. She tapped a few commands into the console and a few moments later the Angel Alert lights ceased flashing. "I just ran the compensation algorithm again and the ghost angel signatures are gone." The girl reported with a smile.

Major Katsuragi didn't look convinced. "How do we know that you didn't overcompensate and an angel isn't approaching to destroy us all?" She asked.

Ritsuko and Maya shared a look. They both knew that Rei and now apparently Shinji were unconsciously generating noticeable AT energy levels, but they couldn't report that. "I calibrated the instruments myself, Katsuragi-shousa. Sempai, would you care to double-check my work?"

Dr. Akagi almost said no but then caught the expectant looks the others gave her. They were far too nervous to let it pass with only one check so she nodded. "Of course…" Grumbling, she got down on the ground and slid into the machine and checked the settings. Nodding in satisfaction she returned to her feet. "If anything, I'd say she set them to be a little more sensitive than I would have, so you should have no worries. A real Angel would generate more than enough energy to be detected rather easily." She informed them. <Unless of course, it was intentionally keeping its energy level too low to pick up… but it would have to be rather small to accomplish that. Such as the microscopic Angel that infected the MAGI system a while back… anything larger than a human running at minimal energy would be picked up.>

Relief showed in the eyes of the others as they turned to make last minute checks. "Katsuragi-shousa? Should Soryu launch?" Shinji's voice came over the intercom, his face appearing in a small vid-screen overlay.

"Negative, it was a false alarm. All pilots, stand down." She replied. Then she noticed Maya's new rank insignia. "Ibuki… were you promoted? I received no report about it… did you accidentally grab the wrong pips?" <If so… how did you get your hands on them, I wonder?>

Maya blushed at the sudden attention she received from the rest of the control room crew, though if she didn't know better she would think that Shigeru wasn't looking at her rank pips… "Hai, Katsuragi-shousa. I was promoted just a few minutes ago by Commander Ikari."

"By the commander?!" Ritsuko growled. She looked the younger girl over for a moment. "I see…" Without awaiting a response, she turned and left.

The newly-made captain blinked in surprise. "Sempai?" She took a few steps towards the door but was stopped by Misato.

"Were you given a reason for your promotion? And why was I not notified? And by the looks of it, Akagi-dono was not informed either." The major inquired with a frown.

Maya became a bit flustered. She didn't realize she would have to explain something she barely understood herself. "Um… ah… well. The commander said I have performed above and beyond the call of duty and felt I deserved the promotion. I don't know… if you want to challenge his decision, I will not hold a grudge over it." She bowed slightly and wondered if she was about to be demoted again.

The intercom buzzed and the commander's voice came over it. "Katsuragi-shousa, I promoted Ibuki-taii for the reasons she mentioned as well as some she did not. Anything beyond this is of no concern to you. Return to your duties. That is all." The voice was cold, typical of the commander.

Captain Ibuki blushed, looking up at the major with a downcast head, still feeling it best to appear as submissive as possible. She barely resisted the urge to chew on her bottom lip.

Misato huffed and started turning away. "Dismissed, captain." She stated simply before walking out, leaving the post-alert proceedings to the others since she was not needed.

Maya turned to smile apologetically at Shigeru and Makoto, both of whom were still 2nd class lieutenants. She felt sorry for them, wondering why neither had been promoted yet. They gave her a reassuring smile and turned back to their work. "Well, call me if you need me. I'll be in for my normal shift." She stated. After receiving nods from the men, she left. The captain looked for Dr. Akagi but realized soon after that she had left the base and likely didn't want to be bothered that night. With a heavy sigh, she went home. She saw Shinji on her way out and smiled at him and giggled once he was out of sight because he had blushed a dark red and seemed more flustered than usual. <Who was that boy with him? I don't think I've ever seen him before…>

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Shinji frowned, wondering how a false alarm could have occurred. Asuka grumbled as she slid out of the LCL of the entry plug. "Now I'm going to have to wash this Scheiße off for nothing." She grumbled. She shook herself a bit and looked at Shinji and asked, "What's your problem? You didn't even have to get into your plug."

The third child blinked and scratched the back of his head. "I guess I just find it odd that it was a false alarm. You'd think something would have had to happen to set it off..."

The German girl shrugged. "Probably like they said, fallout from that last angel attack and Wonder Girl's…" She cleared her throat when she saw his annoyed glare. "I mean Ayanami's Eva unit blowing up."

The young Ikari sighed. "I suppose. I suppose we should…" He trailed off as Rei walked into the room.

"The alarm has ceased. Is there no Angel attack?" The blue-haired girl inquired in her soft voice.

"Hello to you too, Ayanami."Asuka grumbled.

Rei fixed her red eyes on the German girl and did not respond.

Shinji coughed, gaining the attention of the two girls before any evil comments could be made. "Apparently it was a false alarm. We have been dismissed for now." He glanced up at the control room to make sure they weren't changing their minds.

"I see. I should return to my…" Ayanami stopped talking suddenly. She turned and seemed to glare at the door (or as close as she's ever gotten to a glare since the time she slapped the young Ikari for insulting his father) and waited a moment.

"Ayanami, I was thinking that perhaps we could…" Asuka started, but was cut off when the door opened and a stranger walked in.

All three pilots stared at the new arrival who smiled pleasantly at them. "Greetings. I am Pilot Nagisa. You may call me Kaoru. Is the attack already over?"

Shinji blinked. <New pilot? But… why?> "Yes… er… I mean no. It was a false alarm." He wanted to ask the new pilot all sorts of questions, instead he fell silent.

Asuka, however, wasn't shy like Shinji nor chronically quiet like Rei, and this spoke her mind. "Who the hell are you!?"

Kaoru smiled. "I told you my name just a minute ago. Pilot Soryu isn't it?"

The red-haired pilot growled and advanced forward, death in her eyes. "What is your purpose for being here? Did you come with a new Eva unit? I don't see it."

The silver haired boy shook his head, an amused smile splayed out on his lips. "Well, no. I believe new Eva units are still being built, if they haven't abandoned them, that is."

"Then why are you here? Two Eva units, four pilots. And one Eva is on permanent lockdown, so that makes 4 pilots for one Eva. It doesn't add up, ja?" Asuka looked him over, disgust in her eyes. She pointed at Shinji. "He's already been tested and can't pilot Unit 02 without getting himself absorbed." She pointed at Rei this time who was giving the new pilot a most peculiar look. "That one isn't even cleared for duty and likely can't pilot my Eva anyway. So you know what that means? There's nothing for you here."

Pilot Nagisa placed his hands in his pockets casually. "From what I have heard, you were only cleared for duty because there was no one else to pilot your Eva unit. That has changed now…"

She walked towards the boy, hands twitching, taking deep breaths, murder in her eyes. It was far more frightening then the explosions of rage she normally visited upon Shinji… a lesser man would have likely wet himself, or at least would have had to check to make sure he hadn't done just that afterwards. Instead, Kaoru looked calm and smug. The German girl grabbed his shirt and slammed him back against the steel bulkhead and pinned him there. "You will not touch my Eva unit. I am its pilot and you are nothing. I will kill you if you try to take over as Unit 02's pilot."

The red-eyed boy grinned. "Unbalanced, yes I can see that. Quite fascinating, really."

Asuka's eyes widened in fury and her fist reared back, intent on shattering the boy's nose and denting his face in. "Asuka-chan, perhaps now is a good time for you and Ayanami to get to know each other a little better, ne?" Shinji said suddenly in a soft comforting voice, resting a hand on the girl's arm that had been about to land on the new pilot's nose.

The second child blinked and looked at the young Ikari, surprise and affection shining in her eyes. <He called me chan… he really does care!> "Ja… ja." She turned her gaze back to Kaoru and leaned forward. "Mein Leben ist nur ein Haufen Scheiße, aber von Ihnen lasse ich mir das nicht nehmen." (My life is just a pile of shit, but you will not steal this from me.) With that she let the other pilot go and glanced upwards to make sure they hadn't seen her about to assault the other pilot but was happy to note they were too distracted to see or care. She turned to the first child and gave the girl her warmest smile. "Rei-chan… let's have a girl's night out and get to know each other a bit better, for Shinji-kun's sake. Ja?"

The first child looked a bit annoyed, though it was unclear whether it was directed at the red-haired pilot or at Kaoru, whom she was still looking at. "… I was going to ask Shinji-kun to walk me home."

"Oh, don't worry. I'll spend the evening keeping Ikari company." The silver-haired boy stated with a strange smile. "You two can have your girl-talk and we'll have a guy's night out, right Shinji-kun?"

The third child blinked, noticing the strange intensity between the new pilot and the blue-haired girl. <They sort of look alike too… almost like… siblings. The same red eyes…> "Eh… that sounds fine."

"Shinji-kun…" Ayanami began.

"Come on, Rei. Let's get out of here and have some fun. Come join me in the shower so I can wash this crap off." Asuka grabbed the soft-spoken girl's arm and started walking.

The first child glared at Nagisa as the German girl was dragging her out. She frowned slightly when she heard his voice in her head. <"I promise on my own life that your lover will come to no harm, sister. What happened before was… merely a test. Enjoy yourself, Ikari and I certainly shall."> Still uneasy but taking the boy at his word for now, she followed Unit 02's pilot to the showers, wondering why she was spending time with her comrade in arms.

"Do you and that Eselsarsch (jackass/donkey's ass) know each other?" Asuka asked as they walked into the girl's locker room. Rei sat down and stared at the wall as the other girl stripped off her plugsuit and tossed it into a wash bin. She took a step towards the showers and paused. "It's very hard to have a conversation with you, Ayanami, if you do not respond." <I'm trying, Shinji, but if she doesn't start answering me I might have to hurt her.>

"I do not know Pilot Nagisa. However, I did meet him before several minutes before the alarm went off." The first child finally responded, removing her own clothes for a wash.

The red-haired girl nodded in understanding. "Ah, so that's it. He hit on you."

Rei blinked. "Yes… I suppose he did."

Asuka smirked. <So… she can talk after all.> "Don't worry about it, boys always flirt with the pretty girls. They can't help it." She was answered with silence. "So what's on your mind, Rei-chan?" The German pilot inquired, figuring that should get a response of some type. <Trying hard… I haven't given up yet.>

The red-eyed girl looked up and fixed her eyes on the other pilot, contemplating. "What does it mean to kiss?"

The second child's eyebrows rose up in surprise. "Well, uh… it means the person really likes you. Did Shinji-kun kiss you, Rei?"

"He has not." The first child responded. She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Do kisses always convey feelings of interest and care?"

She was about to respond in the affirmative then paused as she realized some people had 'lying lips'. "No… not always. But for the most part, yes." Unit 02's pilot responded. "Why?"

At first she didn't respond, and normally wouldn't have but she realized that Shinji had wanted her to try to form a friendship with the other pilot. She had to try, she owed the boy. "Does that mean that you… like me?"

Asuka had just finished rinsing out her long red hair and froze. She leaned out of the spray and looked at the other pilot before running her fingers back through her hair to get it out of her eyes. "Eh… why do you ask?"

"Several months ago you kissed me. In this shower, actually. Does that mean you like me?" Rei inquired in an innocent tone.

"……… Yes." The second child replied. "I'm sorry if it bothered you."

"It did not bother me." The blue-haired girl responded thoughtfully. "It was… pleasant, from what I remember."

<Don't say it… don't say it!> "I could kiss you again, if you like." <Damn it, you said it! Laugh it off, laugh it off! What is wrong with you?!>

"That would be…" The first child paused in thought. She didn't notice the apprehension in the other girl's demeanor. "Interesting."

The red-haired girl stared in surprise then approached her. "Are you sure? May I… kiss you now, then?" <Of course not, not while we're nude. Or ever…>

"You may." Was the response from the red-eyed girl.

Asuka advanced the last two steps necessary to be in close proximity. She didn't see any discomfort in the other girl's manner, but then Ayanami was always difficult to read. She hesitantly raised her hand up to brush the girl's cheek then the German girl ran her fingers through the other girl's blue hair. She leaned slowly forward until their lips met. She held the kiss for several long moments, relishing in the soft lips of the first child. She backed away slightly and smiled. "Was it ok?"

Rei nodded. "It was pleasant. So that was a kiss…"

"More or less." The second child responded. She raised an eyebrow. "Though it would have been more pleasant had you kissed back."

Unit 00's former pilot looked interested. "Oh? Show me."

Soryu smiled. "Just try to get into it a bit… kiss back. Move your lips… something. If you don't like it, feel free to stop." She leaned forward again and their lips met. After several moments the German girl was going to stop in frustration, but Ayanami's lips moved slightly and the kiss took on a whole new dimension. The second child sighed into the other girl's mouth and deepened the kiss, pressing her back against the cool shower wall. Her fingers rose up again to slide through the other girl's short silky hair and after an indeterminate length of time, they parted. "… Wow." It was all she could say as further thoughts were impossible at the moment.

The slightest of smiles touched Rei's lips. "Indeed. If you are finished showering, perhaps we can find someplace to eat. I am quite hungry."

Slightly embarrassed by the strange response, Unit 02's pilot could only nod dumbly and finish up her shower in silence. She couldn't even figure out why she responded the way she did. She almost sighed in exasperation, because she knew this would be a topic she'd have to discuss with Dr. Kagame, as well as why the other girl's barely mild interest in the kiss hurt her feelings. "Let's go then." They dressed and left the NERV headquarters, heading into town, silent for the most part. It was a strange day indeed.

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And so ends another chapter. Next chapter: Look for another interlude, likely Maya unless I change my mind.