Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Evangelion - Three Futons ❯ Follow The Blue Rabbit! ( Chapter 2 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Magical Savior 
Daily life in the school. But, there is a cause of confusion... Will Lambtron ever find a mate?!
Anime/Manga: Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.13.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 3.4K | Status: Completed
Daily life in the school. But, there is a cause of confusion... Will Lambtron ever find a mate?!
Anime/Manga: Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Angst | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 05.13.2007 | Pages: 3 | Words: 2.5K | Visits: 3.4K | Status: Completed
*** Episode Nine Side story - 2. Follow the Blue Rabbit! ***
Morning came too slowly, and I couldn't wait for it. I was already up and making breakfast, getting ready for school. Another night without sleep.
Sigh. Battle was on the horizon, but that was no excuse for me to avoid my most hated enemy - mathematics.
I finished making a quick, peppery omelet for Asuka. It didn't work out quite right; came out scrambled. But the taste was the same... I started making eggs sunny-side up with toast for Misato, when they both woke up.
Ignoring Misato's normal morning routine of, 1. suffer painfully from the night before, 2. complain about the difficulties of aging, and 3. get a beer from the fridge and crack it, I tossed a piece of toast into the pan and "flipped in" the egg I was cooking to land on top of it.
Full rotation, yolk like gold. Perfect.
Guess that cooking class was good for something, after all. I let it cook a bit more so the toast could brown. Serving it with a piece of cheese, I placed it on a plate.
"Ahhh, yahoo!" Misato was in a good mood as usual, once she had a hair of the dog in hand and a fresh hangover-cure breakfast plate. "Morning, Shinji! Are you looking forward to today?"
Condemned prisoners don't look forward to executions, in general. I laughed nervously; there was no point in saying anything. Nothing would change.
What could I say? I cracked a couple eggs into the egg pan and started cooking them over-easy for myself. The rice cooker dinged that it was ready for me.
Stomp, stomp, complain. Asuka was saying something about me. Knowing what it would sound like, I didn't care what it was. Then, she walked to the bathroom with her uniform. Apparently, she intended to shower and change.
"Asuka," I yelled, "Your breakfast is gonna be ice cold by the time you get out! Besides, you took a bath last night."
She yelled back that it was necessary, sleeping in the same room as me. Oh, hell.
"What's that supposed to mean?! Look, we only have so much time. Even if it's still early, I don't like rushing!" For the love of omelets, it was too soon to get into this.
Misato finished her meal in a few easy bites and magically transformed into her professional, semi-casual work clothes.
Really, it might pass for something closer to fashion. No matter what she complained about, Misato wasn't that old. The hard drinking didn't help... Still, she was clearly under thirty.
How did she get away with not wearing a regulation NERV uniform? She was well-dressed; all the professional lines and creases were there, but... sigh.
It took a certain kind of woman to wear clothes like that to work. Their place of business was usually a street corner.
Not that it didn't look good, but I couldn't look Misato in the eye while she wore it. I could still see her as my superior. I couldn't look at her as family. Or my guardian. It wasn't right.
Red beret, ever-present squared silver cross. Short-waist red faux-leather jacket and matching purse. The red, tight skirt on a thick belt that went with it was not worn - even though it was mostly like a rain slicker, seeing her without it was like seeing her in underwear.
Close-cut Chinese style black dress with military rank on the nehru collar that hugged her body. Unprofessionally short hemline, but the weather was unbearable. Sometimes.
Summer never ended, anymore. The droning cicadas every day weren't a reminder of lazy days gone past. Because summer never ended, a new time never began. The world was broken and strange.
But... I'd grown up in this world.
"Shinji, I'm leaving now. I'll trust the two of you to get to school on your own and neaten up before you leave."
She walked past me briskly. Without even seeing them, I knew there would be three futons in a tangle, with a lot of work involved. A fifth sense (possibly the second one) told me that she-devil Asuka wouldn't be helping me.
Misato sang out, "Bye~!"
Busy with cooking, I nodded absently. I caught her easy wave and blown kiss from the corner of my eye as she headed towards the door. How did she go from being such a wreck in the morning to being like that in, what, five minutes?
By reflex I said, "Take care of yourself," just before Misato walked out the door and into Ayanami Rei.
"... Captain Katsuragi. Good morning."
I barely heard it, and I couldn't see it. Still, it was nice to be around Rei in the morning. Calming. I pulled out a chair at the kitchen table started eating my breakfast.
"Oh, Rei," Misato said. "Walking Shinji to school?"
I didn't hear all of it, but Rei's answer was a little long.
"That's fine, then," Misato replied. "He's almost ready, but it'll be few minutes before they need to leave."
Rei said something else, but I couldn't hear it over my chewing and swallowing.
"Sure, I guess, but I have to go soon. Really, Rei, call me Misato!" I heard Misato's purse jingle. I guess she was putting her arm around Rei, walking her inside.
I saw them from the table, and I felt like standing up. Doing nothing, I just worked on washing down my last bite of rice.
So pale. Hair straight, bangs barely coming down slightly lower than her eyebrows. Blue hair, lightly curving inward, cut rather short. Jaw-line length in the front, trimmed close to the nape of her neck in the back. It framed a face as clean as alabaster.
And just about as emotional, most of the time.
Did she dye her hair? I'd seen her hair up close - really close. I could believe it was natural... except for the fact that it just wasn't natural.
Rei had on her green pinafore school uniform, as always. I'd never seen her wear anything but school clothes or a flight suit, really. The only other way I'd ever seen her was...
Ayanami Rei looked at me very directly. Red irises. It always unnerved me. She was so... expressionless. "Good morning, Ikari."
"Good morning, Rei," I said. "Would you, umm, like some breas- breakfast?" I blushed, my thoughts interrupted.
"I'm not hungry," she said simply.
Her voice was so soft. It always carried exactly as far as it needed to go - and no farther. Eavesdropping would be a challenge.
Rei knelt in seiza in the living room. She gestured slowly that Misato should sit, also.
Hearing the shower cut off, I decided to reheat Asuka's breakfast. I didn't want her to yell at me for something that was her own fault. Still, this couldn't end well.
Straining to hear, I tried to listen as I cooked. It didn't work. Ayanami was just too quiet. I kept an ear open anyway, in case this involved me.
"Captain Ka <bang of pan> feel as though <gas stove WHOOSHes flaming> too much. Should you <shake omelet so it doesn’t stick> when they can't <scrape and stir on pan> ic?"
"Hmm. Maybe not. You could be right, Rei," Misato said. She paused. "But then, what should we do about it?"
I stopped cooking for a moment to hear her.
"It's simple. Today would be a good <crap, it's burning!> so that Ikari <What?! Shoot, almost dropped it!> and also provide a break."
Missed it.
I couldn't stop listening now that I knew this was about me. Or was it? I got a can of juice from the fridge. It didn't matter.
"I'm not so sure," Misato said. "Besides, how do you convince-"
Asuka walked in, loud and obnoxious as usual. Wonderful.
She gave her best, most imperious stance. Asuka looked less dignified with a towel over her red hair. Maybe it helped hide the horns.
"Well, if it isn't Wondergirl! What brought you here to MY house?"
Rei looked at Asuka. Asuka looked back. I tried to make myself invisible, but it wasn't going to work.
So... there was no escape.
"I walked here," Rei said evenly. She turned back to address Misato. "There is no need. Simply set it up later."
Asuka snatched the can of juice from my hands, popped the top, and proceeded to drain it. "Whatever," she muttered. She went straight to her breakfast and ate it western style, with a knife and a fork.
"Oh, Shinji. You must have learned a lot from those cooking classes," Asuka said.
"I... did? Well, Of course, I did." I paid attention. She... didn't.
Asuka swallowed and grimaced. "Yes, dumpkoff. You did. It takes real skill to both burn an omelet and leave it ice-cold. Mein Gott."
"Hey! At least I didn't light the classroom on fire!"
Misato yelled at both of us to knock it off, and she left. The door slammed behind her. I was instantly sorry. Why did Asuka keep trying to get on my nerves?
"Ikari." Rei stood, pushing herself up from the floor. She surprised the hell out of me. It was as if, until a moment ago, she wasn't even there. "I'm leaving. Come with me. I need to talk to you."
"What? Oh, yes. I mean, I'll be right with you."
I escaped as fast as I could. Futons be damned; I wasn't about to deal with that crap. Grabbing my bag, I ran.
Ayanami had vanished from in front of me, so I vaulted down the stairs and out to the road. She was waiting.
Rei held her book bag across her body in both hands, as though she had been standing for some time. She looked... well, she was Ayanami.
"I'm sorry," I said, by reflex.
Ayanami started walking, without looking at me. "For what," she said quietly. It didn't seem like a question.
"For... that, back there. I didn't want, I mean..." I tried to find words for it. I didn't want Asuka to insult me in front of you. I didn't want to be angry in front of you. I want to be important to you. For you to smile for me.
We walked. I said nothing, my head down. What did she want to talk to me about? We climbed a massive hill; the traffic lights along the road switched from red to blue as we passed.
Skyscrapers and high-rise apartments, unfilled. An urban center and infrastructure in full motion and function, with no one to serve. Trains I had ridden to NERV headquarters by myself. Automated convenience stores I shopped, no one behind the counter.
How lonely was this city?
There had been another evacuation, and people weren't coming back. Not until my work was done. All hope that their lives and jobs would still be here depended on me.
When would this place be truly alive?
The school was still open. Really, only because the students had nowhere else to go. Or their parents were NERV personnel. Some had clearance to stay.
Asking for permission to stay here? Crazy.
It was a long walk to get to school, but it wasn't too rough. A lot of uphill and downhill. We walked in silence. Well, Ayanami did - I started breathing hard around the third hill.
I felt bad for the teachers. On a teacher's salary, having to live here. In a city that, at any time, could become a battlefield.
There were no cars. There was no noise. We may have been the only people in the world. At least, as far as I could tell. My heart beat faster, mostly from the exertion of walking up and down along the road. Alone, with Ayanami Rei.
Psych testing, suitability to be a pilot, examinations. Instability, training, fighting... losing.
These thoughts were too big to deal with.
"It's Tuesday," Rei said. "Did you bring your notes?"
"I live in a giant fish tank," I replied, unthinking. "I'm tired of being watched all the time. I'm tired of... all of this. Yes, I have them."
Rei nodded. "Are you having problems with your class work?"
"Some," I admitted. "But I'm holding together. I mean, it's alright."
Clearly, this was not alright with Ayanami.
"Turn here," she said. "It's easier."
We were about to cross some rail tracks, instead turning to follow a road alongside them. I didn't really know where this was going, but I followed.
After a while, the road split into a high road for regular traffic and a low, thin maintenance road following the rails. We followed the low road until it came to an overpass.
Above our heads was just a thin bridge, but the railroad cut deep into the ground. It was almost like a cave. With high walls on either side blocking out the sun, it was dark. My eyes adjusted slowly.
It took me a moment to realize that the rails went down from one direction without actually coming back up. The maintenance road continued on. But where the rail went, was anyone's guess.
As we walked under it, Rei turned to me and said, "Stop. Here."
Morning came too slowly, and I couldn't wait for it. I was already up and making breakfast, getting ready for school. Another night without sleep.
Sigh. Battle was on the horizon, but that was no excuse for me to avoid my most hated enemy - mathematics.
I finished making a quick, peppery omelet for Asuka. It didn't work out quite right; came out scrambled. But the taste was the same... I started making eggs sunny-side up with toast for Misato, when they both woke up.
Ignoring Misato's normal morning routine of, 1. suffer painfully from the night before, 2. complain about the difficulties of aging, and 3. get a beer from the fridge and crack it, I tossed a piece of toast into the pan and "flipped in" the egg I was cooking to land on top of it.
Full rotation, yolk like gold. Perfect.
Guess that cooking class was good for something, after all. I let it cook a bit more so the toast could brown. Serving it with a piece of cheese, I placed it on a plate.
"Ahhh, yahoo!" Misato was in a good mood as usual, once she had a hair of the dog in hand and a fresh hangover-cure breakfast plate. "Morning, Shinji! Are you looking forward to today?"
Condemned prisoners don't look forward to executions, in general. I laughed nervously; there was no point in saying anything. Nothing would change.
What could I say? I cracked a couple eggs into the egg pan and started cooking them over-easy for myself. The rice cooker dinged that it was ready for me.
Stomp, stomp, complain. Asuka was saying something about me. Knowing what it would sound like, I didn't care what it was. Then, she walked to the bathroom with her uniform. Apparently, she intended to shower and change.
"Asuka," I yelled, "Your breakfast is gonna be ice cold by the time you get out! Besides, you took a bath last night."
She yelled back that it was necessary, sleeping in the same room as me. Oh, hell.
"What's that supposed to mean?! Look, we only have so much time. Even if it's still early, I don't like rushing!" For the love of omelets, it was too soon to get into this.
Misato finished her meal in a few easy bites and magically transformed into her professional, semi-casual work clothes.
Really, it might pass for something closer to fashion. No matter what she complained about, Misato wasn't that old. The hard drinking didn't help... Still, she was clearly under thirty.
How did she get away with not wearing a regulation NERV uniform? She was well-dressed; all the professional lines and creases were there, but... sigh.
It took a certain kind of woman to wear clothes like that to work. Their place of business was usually a street corner.
Not that it didn't look good, but I couldn't look Misato in the eye while she wore it. I could still see her as my superior. I couldn't look at her as family. Or my guardian. It wasn't right.
Red beret, ever-present squared silver cross. Short-waist red faux-leather jacket and matching purse. The red, tight skirt on a thick belt that went with it was not worn - even though it was mostly like a rain slicker, seeing her without it was like seeing her in underwear.
Close-cut Chinese style black dress with military rank on the nehru collar that hugged her body. Unprofessionally short hemline, but the weather was unbearable. Sometimes.
Summer never ended, anymore. The droning cicadas every day weren't a reminder of lazy days gone past. Because summer never ended, a new time never began. The world was broken and strange.
But... I'd grown up in this world.
"Shinji, I'm leaving now. I'll trust the two of you to get to school on your own and neaten up before you leave."
She walked past me briskly. Without even seeing them, I knew there would be three futons in a tangle, with a lot of work involved. A fifth sense (possibly the second one) told me that she-devil Asuka wouldn't be helping me.
Misato sang out, "Bye~!"
Busy with cooking, I nodded absently. I caught her easy wave and blown kiss from the corner of my eye as she headed towards the door. How did she go from being such a wreck in the morning to being like that in, what, five minutes?
By reflex I said, "Take care of yourself," just before Misato walked out the door and into Ayanami Rei.
"... Captain Katsuragi. Good morning."
I barely heard it, and I couldn't see it. Still, it was nice to be around Rei in the morning. Calming. I pulled out a chair at the kitchen table started eating my breakfast.
"Oh, Rei," Misato said. "Walking Shinji to school?"
I didn't hear all of it, but Rei's answer was a little long.
"That's fine, then," Misato replied. "He's almost ready, but it'll be few minutes before they need to leave."
Rei said something else, but I couldn't hear it over my chewing and swallowing.
"Sure, I guess, but I have to go soon. Really, Rei, call me Misato!" I heard Misato's purse jingle. I guess she was putting her arm around Rei, walking her inside.
I saw them from the table, and I felt like standing up. Doing nothing, I just worked on washing down my last bite of rice.
So pale. Hair straight, bangs barely coming down slightly lower than her eyebrows. Blue hair, lightly curving inward, cut rather short. Jaw-line length in the front, trimmed close to the nape of her neck in the back. It framed a face as clean as alabaster.
And just about as emotional, most of the time.
Did she dye her hair? I'd seen her hair up close - really close. I could believe it was natural... except for the fact that it just wasn't natural.
Rei had on her green pinafore school uniform, as always. I'd never seen her wear anything but school clothes or a flight suit, really. The only other way I'd ever seen her was...
Ayanami Rei looked at me very directly. Red irises. It always unnerved me. She was so... expressionless. "Good morning, Ikari."
"Good morning, Rei," I said. "Would you, umm, like some breas- breakfast?" I blushed, my thoughts interrupted.
"I'm not hungry," she said simply.
Her voice was so soft. It always carried exactly as far as it needed to go - and no farther. Eavesdropping would be a challenge.
Rei knelt in seiza in the living room. She gestured slowly that Misato should sit, also.
Hearing the shower cut off, I decided to reheat Asuka's breakfast. I didn't want her to yell at me for something that was her own fault. Still, this couldn't end well.
Straining to hear, I tried to listen as I cooked. It didn't work. Ayanami was just too quiet. I kept an ear open anyway, in case this involved me.
"Captain Ka <bang of pan> feel as though <gas stove WHOOSHes flaming> too much. Should you <shake omelet so it doesn’t stick> when they can't <scrape and stir on pan> ic?"
"Hmm. Maybe not. You could be right, Rei," Misato said. She paused. "But then, what should we do about it?"
I stopped cooking for a moment to hear her.
"It's simple. Today would be a good <crap, it's burning!> so that Ikari <What?! Shoot, almost dropped it!> and also provide a break."
Missed it.
I couldn't stop listening now that I knew this was about me. Or was it? I got a can of juice from the fridge. It didn't matter.
"I'm not so sure," Misato said. "Besides, how do you convince-"
Asuka walked in, loud and obnoxious as usual. Wonderful.
She gave her best, most imperious stance. Asuka looked less dignified with a towel over her red hair. Maybe it helped hide the horns.
"Well, if it isn't Wondergirl! What brought you here to MY house?"
Rei looked at Asuka. Asuka looked back. I tried to make myself invisible, but it wasn't going to work.
So... there was no escape.
"I walked here," Rei said evenly. She turned back to address Misato. "There is no need. Simply set it up later."
Asuka snatched the can of juice from my hands, popped the top, and proceeded to drain it. "Whatever," she muttered. She went straight to her breakfast and ate it western style, with a knife and a fork.
"Oh, Shinji. You must have learned a lot from those cooking classes," Asuka said.
"I... did? Well, Of course, I did." I paid attention. She... didn't.
Asuka swallowed and grimaced. "Yes, dumpkoff. You did. It takes real skill to both burn an omelet and leave it ice-cold. Mein Gott."
"Hey! At least I didn't light the classroom on fire!"
Misato yelled at both of us to knock it off, and she left. The door slammed behind her. I was instantly sorry. Why did Asuka keep trying to get on my nerves?
"Ikari." Rei stood, pushing herself up from the floor. She surprised the hell out of me. It was as if, until a moment ago, she wasn't even there. "I'm leaving. Come with me. I need to talk to you."
"What? Oh, yes. I mean, I'll be right with you."
I escaped as fast as I could. Futons be damned; I wasn't about to deal with that crap. Grabbing my bag, I ran.
Ayanami had vanished from in front of me, so I vaulted down the stairs and out to the road. She was waiting.
Rei held her book bag across her body in both hands, as though she had been standing for some time. She looked... well, she was Ayanami.
"I'm sorry," I said, by reflex.
Ayanami started walking, without looking at me. "For what," she said quietly. It didn't seem like a question.
"For... that, back there. I didn't want, I mean..." I tried to find words for it. I didn't want Asuka to insult me in front of you. I didn't want to be angry in front of you. I want to be important to you. For you to smile for me.
We walked. I said nothing, my head down. What did she want to talk to me about? We climbed a massive hill; the traffic lights along the road switched from red to blue as we passed.
Skyscrapers and high-rise apartments, unfilled. An urban center and infrastructure in full motion and function, with no one to serve. Trains I had ridden to NERV headquarters by myself. Automated convenience stores I shopped, no one behind the counter.
How lonely was this city?
There had been another evacuation, and people weren't coming back. Not until my work was done. All hope that their lives and jobs would still be here depended on me.
When would this place be truly alive?
The school was still open. Really, only because the students had nowhere else to go. Or their parents were NERV personnel. Some had clearance to stay.
Asking for permission to stay here? Crazy.
It was a long walk to get to school, but it wasn't too rough. A lot of uphill and downhill. We walked in silence. Well, Ayanami did - I started breathing hard around the third hill.
I felt bad for the teachers. On a teacher's salary, having to live here. In a city that, at any time, could become a battlefield.
There were no cars. There was no noise. We may have been the only people in the world. At least, as far as I could tell. My heart beat faster, mostly from the exertion of walking up and down along the road. Alone, with Ayanami Rei.
Psych testing, suitability to be a pilot, examinations. Instability, training, fighting... losing.
These thoughts were too big to deal with.
"It's Tuesday," Rei said. "Did you bring your notes?"
"I live in a giant fish tank," I replied, unthinking. "I'm tired of being watched all the time. I'm tired of... all of this. Yes, I have them."
Rei nodded. "Are you having problems with your class work?"
"Some," I admitted. "But I'm holding together. I mean, it's alright."
Clearly, this was not alright with Ayanami.
"Turn here," she said. "It's easier."
We were about to cross some rail tracks, instead turning to follow a road alongside them. I didn't really know where this was going, but I followed.
After a while, the road split into a high road for regular traffic and a low, thin maintenance road following the rails. We followed the low road until it came to an overpass.
Above our heads was just a thin bridge, but the railroad cut deep into the ground. It was almost like a cave. With high walls on either side blocking out the sun, it was dark. My eyes adjusted slowly.
It took me a moment to realize that the rails went down from one direction without actually coming back up. The maintenance road continued on. But where the rail went, was anyone's guess.
As we walked under it, Rei turned to me and said, "Stop. Here."