Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Between the Fiery Mind and Cold Heart ❯ Sudden Advances ( Chapter 1 )

Between the Fiery Mind and Cold Heart

Chapter 1 - Sudden Advances

Legend:

Word - denotes character's thoughts

<Word> - denotes sound effect

[Word] -denotes concept of setting, time

"Tadaima!" Shinji greeted as he opened the door of his family's residence. He dropped his bag to the floor and removed his shoes after closing the door. In the living room, his father was reading a newspaper. That's strange… wasn't that the same newspaper he read this morning? Man, he sure likes being updated on current events around the world, he thought.

"Otousan, how did work go in the office?" he asked his father.

"Nothing much. Work was fine as always. There came shipments of new biomedical machines in the office this afternoon," replied Gendo. His profession was a biomedical engineer specializing in handling medical machinery and technological equipment. Working for an international organization called NERV; he was content he could find new ideas in improving human health conditions through medical machines and equipment. NERV was an organization in charge of being the supplier and distributor of the many medical technology made in the world.

"What kind of new biomedical machines?" asked Shinji.

"Oh, that? They were blood gas analyzers, or medical machines capable of doing the painstaking tasks of analyzing the various liquids found in the human body, measuring/weighing them, and telling us how much of their quantity is."

An anime-style sweatdrop formed behind Shinji's head.

"Ah… souka. Where's Mom?"

"She's in the backyard tending to the plants."

He went to the backyard and greeted his mom.

"Tadaima, okasan." He kissed his mom on the cheek.

"Oh, Shinji dear! Welcome back! So, how's school?" she asked.

"School was ok, mom. The professor gave a lecture on English and, well, the rest of the day went by quickly."

"I see. Oh, dinner will be ready about an hour, so make yourself useful for a change ok? I've got some plants that need my special care and attention." She kissed her son's forehead and resumed to watering her plants.

Ah crap… nothing much to do. Hmm, I might as well clean up my room, he thought. He looked at the wall clock hanging in the living room. It showed 7:00 PM. He grabbed his school bag and shoes and headed upstairs into his room. Then, he proceeded to tidy his things up and clean them. There, all done, he thought to himself, while wiping off the dust from his hands. He lied down on his bed and looked at the ceiling.

"Familiar ceiling…"

An hour later, the family gathered at the dining room and ate their dinner. After done with the meals, Shinji volunteered to gather and clean up the dishes. After done with the dishes, he went to the bathroom to wash himself. He changed into his sleeping attire and went to bed.

Meanwhile, in the Sohryu residence next door, Asuka clutched her teddy bear against her chest while lying down on her bed. Wearing her sleeping attire, she stared at her room's ceiling. That baka… why does he have that look when he stared at Wondergirl during class today? Argh, I don't understand what he sees in her! Why can't he ever notice me a lot? I mean, I'm a lot better than she in some ways is, she thought

"Shinji…" she silently mumbled as she drifted off into slumber.

The next day, Shinji woke up and got dressed for school. After cleaning up breakfast, he kissed his mom and father goodbye. Another boring school day, he thought as he made his way into the school by his walking route. Entering his classroom, he let down his bag and opened up an English textbook as he sat down on his place.

"Morning Shin-man!" greeted Touji, as he gave Shinji a light slap on the back.

"Hey Touji. How did the arcades go yesterday?"

"Like heaven! Kensuke and me were playing this new arcade game of Ping-

Pong; you should have seen how realistic it was! You had to play the game with a provided paddle and try to concentrate on not losing sight of the ball."

"Hey, that sounds fun. What happened after that?"

"Ha! Thanks to my time in Athletics subject, I managed to beat the crap out of the computer. It was natural," he added with a small chuckle.

"Look who's talking, you finally managed to beat it after I gave some encouraging words about Hikari to you… you were tied with the computer 20-20 at that time," Kensuke added.

"Huh? What made you think of that?" Touji replied with a slight blush on his face.

"Ha, ha… give it up dude, we all know you have a major crush on the class rep!

It's pointless denying it… with the way she shows you… like giving you clean-up duty, pulling your ear if you swore, and what else…" answered Kensuke.

One could have sworn that the jock's face started to resemble that of a bright tomato after the remark.

"Ha, ha… come on Touji, why don't you ask her out? Sheesh, she's giving you so many chances for crying out loud!" exclaimed Shinji.

"Y-y-you think so?"

"Oh boy… how about it? Kensuke and me will help you out from a distance.

Why don't you go for it? Oh, there she is now," replied Shinji. He pointed at the Class Rep who walked inside and sat down on her place.

"B-b-but…" was all the jock could say as Kensuke and Shinji slowly nudged him to the class rep. Hikari looked up at him in surprise and looked down on her desk, blushing.

"Hey there class rep, how's it going?" he asked.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. What is it?" she answered with a small blush on her cheeks.

"U-um… I-I-I w-wanted to ask you if," he looked back at Kensuke and Shinji for help. They mouthed the words "go for it you idiot" and he continued, "if you want to go out with me to the movies tonight? If you don't want to, I understand,"

Her blush getting brighter, she replied "Iye… I… I would like to go out with you tonight."

A loud yell of happiness rang through the classroom as soon as the Class Rep's answers were absorbed in the jock's brain. "CHRIST YESSSS!" he exclaimed, jumping up with a raised fist in the air. He went back to his best friends, leaving the Class Rep's face bright red and etched with a smile.

"Well, I see our advice worked finally," Shinji said while Kensuke nodded.

"Thanks Shin-man! I don't know what to do if you hadn't said that to me… really, thanks," the jock exclaimed.

"Hey, man, I helped too!" exclaimed Kensuke.

"Of course! Sorry for not noticing your help!" Touji replied.

"What're friends for? We're just giving you a helping hand; however, don't screw up the opportunity with Hikari, ok?" Shiji asked. The jock nodded back with a smile.

With that done, Shinji looked around for his blue-haired classmate, Rei. He found her at the classroom's side, staring outside the window as usual. He stared at her with a longing feeling. As Rei gazed outside, she couldn't help feel being noticed by someone staring at her. She slowly turned facing at Shinji and noticed the way he looked at her; his eyes filled with taking in her entire self. She suddenly felt warm by his gaze.

Surprised at her looking at him back, he turned his head around quickly. Why is Ikari-kun staring at me like that? I wonder why, she thought. She gathered her thoughts and continued looking at him, whom then joined back chatting with the two stooges.

Just then, Asuka arrived and went up to Hikari. She noticed the class rep having a slight blush in her cheeks.

"What happened to you? What're you smiling at?" she asked.

"Oh! Asuka! What a surprise you came in! Um, that? I-it's nothing…" replied Hikari, stammering.

"Oh come on, I'm your best friend! Sheesh, just tell me what got you so bright and cheerful."

"Well… Touji walked up to me and asked me out to the movies tonight."

"WHAT! The stooge asking you out… don't tell me you like him!"

"Y-y-yes, I do like him, Asuka, and that's why I'm feeling happy today," replied Hikari with a continued blush.

"Humph! About time that stooge made his move! I swear it takes him as long as a turtle crossing the road to finally ask you out," said Asuka. She couldn't help but notice Rei staring at Shinji with a content look.

Humph… why is Wondergirl staring at Shinji like that? Shinji is mine, Wondergirl, you'll see, she thought. Noticing Shinji, she gave secretly a small smile at him and said, "Baka, so what are you and the stooges talking about?"

"Huh? A-A-Asuka! I-It's nothing much, a little of this and that," he replied.

"Oh great, speaking of the devil. Since when did you arrive?" asked Touji.

"Humph! Why you stooge… it seems that Baka-boy here didn't have the mind to wait for me! Where the hell were you?"

"I-I'm sorry, Asuka, but I couldn't wait for you, so I decided to go on ahead," replied Shinji, flinching at Asuka's voice.

"Sheesh! By the time I asked your mom if you were ready, she told me that you were already here at school… I had to run like hell for not being late!" Unfortunately,

Shinji took the brunt of her insults with a hurt look on his face.

The school bell rang, signaling the start of classes and saving Shinji from further insults of the red-haired German girl. As the professor walked in, the Class Rep performed her usual duties "Rise, Bow, and Sit", and the professor gave another lengthily lecture about History. 3 hours later, as lunch started, Shinji went to the cafeteria to receive his daily meal portion and went upstairs at the roof to join the two stooges.

"Ah… it's such a brand new day for me to enjoy the sun!" exclaimed Touji.

"Oh boy… Without our help you would just be standing there like a nervous wreck and stuttering your question," said Kensuke.

"Yeah, yeah, I know that. Thanks you guys."

"That's what friends are for, Touji, so stop being so grateful, ok? Let's enjoy the peace and food for the moment ok? By the way, where's Asuka?" Shinji asked. He didn't want her interrupting his lunch.

"She's with Hikari eating at the school grounds downstairs. Why you ask?" replied Kensuke.

"Nothing, just making sure where she is now."

"Aha, Shinji, you sly dog, what made you think of her? Was it her breasts, her legs, or curves?" remarked the jock with a mischievous smile.

"I-I-I-It's nothing like that! It's just the way she surprised me a while ago while I was talking with the both of you at class."

"Gee dude, you sure are easy to tease," remarked Kensuke.

Suddenly a voice sprang out from behind them, "Ikari-kun."

Surprised, the trio jumped and quickly turned around to see whom it was --- Rei.

"A-A-Ayanami! Jeez! You scared the lights out of us!" exclaimed Shinji.

"My apologies, Ikari-kun. I would like to ask you if it's possible that you come to my residence tonight?" she asked, her voice monotonous.

"Huh? Tonight? Well, sure."

"Thank you then."

She turned around and left. Had Shinji been more observant, he would have noticed the slight blush on her cheeks and her lips curving slightly upward.

"Man, she sure is weird," said Touji.

"Tell me about it, it's rare to see her ask YOU out of all people to visit her place!" Kensuke added.

"H-H-Honestly guys, I have no idea about that! I might as well go see why she wants me to come," replied Shinji.

Deep down, he thought to himself, I wonder why? Unless… nah, that can't be it.

Why asking me out of the blue to visit her place tonight? Hmm… With a sigh, he motioned his two friends to talk about something else while thinking about his enigmatic classmate.

Author's Note: Well, I finally managed to get in Chapter 1! So, what do you think? How will Shinji talk to Rei? What's with the sudden behavior from his enigmatic blue-haired classmate? Answers will be at the next chapter --- Startling Surprises.

I'll explain the part where Shinji and Asuka became childhood friends, which will tell you why she was expecting him to walk with her to school, in the later chapters of the story.

Please give me feedback so that I can go on, ok? Honestly, this story's going to be long… R+R please!