Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Sausages, It was a Tuesday ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

 

 

Sausages, It was a Tuesday

 

 

By Lord Raa

 

 

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Chapter 4

 

 

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Disclaim-me-do: Eh, Dirty Boy!

 

 

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Ritsuko sat thinking about files stored on the memory card in her computer. `Why would mother leave them there? What's on them? What're they for?'

 

Deciding to access the word processing document first, she looked at the last edit date on it and frowned. `That's the day she killed herself.'

 

Upon being prompted for a password, she rubbed her eyes, trying to guess at what her mother would use as a key.

 

When her mind drew a blank, she decided to remove the card and try at home. `No sense in risking that bastard finding out.'

 

 

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Gendo sat in his office with Fuyutsuki, the latter standing to the right of the desk.

 

“So what was Captain Katsuragi able to find out about Dr. Akagi's motives?” the older man asked.

 

“She found out absolutely nothing, Sensei. Other than the Third Child plays the cello. I still don't know why the `good doctor' would take him in if she's not using him sexually. That's why I ordered her to pass on the relevant skills to her assistant, in case she started to cause trouble.”

 

“I hope that you won't have to use such an insurance policy, Ikari,” Fuyutsuki said, flexing his hands to maintain circulation. “Dr. Akagi's skills are quite valuable.”

 

“Valuable, but not irreplaceable. No one is.”

 

 

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At school, Asuka kept stealing glances at Shinji, unsure of what to make of the situation between them. She had apologised, but so had he. And he'd given her lunch.

 

`I thought the girl was supposed to give the boy she liked lunch,' she mused on the peculiarities of Japanese culture. `Wait! Does that mean he likes me?'

 

Asuka jerked up in her seat, attracting the attention of the rest of the class.

 

“Is something the matter, Miss Sohryu?” the teacher asked, not enjoying having his lessons interrupted.

 

“I just thought that I had a message on my phone,” Asuka lied.

 

“And is that the case?”

 

“No, sensei.”

 

“Then perhaps I'll be allowed to continue,” the old man said in a tone that was both stern and mocking.

 

The class snickered before the opening of the door distracted them.

 

“Apologies, Sensei,” the blue haired girl bowed to the man. “I have only recently finished my duties at NERV.”

 

“Very well, Ayanami. Take your seat and maybe, just maybe we can finish the lesson.”

 

But luck was not on his side as the bell for recess rang.

 

“Class dismissed,” the grey haired man sighed in resignation.

 

Asuka quickly grabbed Hikari and whispered that she needed to speak with her immediately.

 

After the two made their way to a secluded spot, Asuka showed Hikari the unopened bento that Shinji had given her as she tried to word what happened to the class rep.

 

“Where did this come from? I didn't see you with this earlier,” Hikari observed.

 

“Shinji gave it to me as an apology,” Asuka said, angry and confused at the same time.

 

“Didn't you apologise to him?”

 

“Yes!” Asuka insisted. “But he gave me this to say sorry for upsetting me. What's going on in that head of his?”

 

“Perhaps he likes you,” Hikari suggested.

 

“That's ridiculous,” Asuka dismissed that idea. “Maybe that idiot is using this as part of his plan to get back at me.”

 

“Really?” Hikari glanced at her friend. “Then let's look at this bento, shall we?”

 

The class rep unwrapped the lunch and wasn't surprised to see normal and possibly delicious-looking food neatly laid out. “See. What were you expecting? Dog turd fried rice?”

 

“I don't know,” Asuka whined with a shrug. “You know what idiots he hangs around with. God only knows what plans they put in his head.”

 

“Why are you so upset, Asuka?” Hikari tried to get to the root of the problem.

 

Asuka sighed before answering. “It's because he ruined my apology.”

 

“I don't think that was his intention, Asuka.”

 

 

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At NERV, Ritsuko was showing the basics of MAGI maintenance to a slightly star struck Maya.

 

“Maya, are you getting all this?”

 

“I-I think so, Sempai,” the younger woman blushed at the attention.

 

“Right. I think we should call it a day on this,” Ritsuko sighed, rubbing her eyes. “I've given you a lot to take in and if I try to teach you any more, you'll just get confused.”

 

Maya nodded, her mind was feeling quite leaden at the advanced concepts she was learning.

 

“Let's get something to eat, Sempai,” Maya suggested.

 

“Yeah, that's a good idea. I want to see what Shinji made me for lunch,” Ritsuko said absently.

 

“Shinji makes you lunch?” Maya asked, hoping that she had been given an idea how to win the heart of the blonde scientist.

 

“Yes. It was very kind of him,” Ritsuko replied, retrieving her meal from the fridge. “So, shall we go to the canteen?”

 

Maya wanted to stay where they were and eat their food off each other, but was too shy to consider saying that in anything other than her wildest fantasies and so nodded.

 

But she did take a good look at Ritsuko's behind when she lead the way to the eating area.

 

 

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Elsewhere, Shinji was again the subject of much discussion. First he arrived with someone other than Asuka or the woman identified as Misato. Secondly, his absence yesterday and scene between him and Asuka brought more questions than it answered. Especially since Shinji had made a big deal about being left alone.

 

“Oh man, does that mean that Ikari actually likes the Devil?” Touji asked his counterpart.

 

“I hope not. Hey,” Kensuke snapped his fingers.

 

“What?”

 

“I've just had a thought!”

 

“About what?”

 

“Is Shinji's all kiss-kiss with the Devil, then he won't mind if we ask out Misato-san,” Kensuke reasoned.

 

Touji, being the idiot he was, saw no flaw in that logic.

 

“That's right! Ikari, your sacrifices mean a lot to us,” he said with tears of appreciation welling in his eyes.

 

Of course the two lecherous cretins completely missed that the fact that Shinji was no longer living with Misato, they no longer had a legitimate reason to visit their lavender-haired goddess.

 

 

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Rei sat away from the student body, disguising her pondering the latest development in the life of the Third Child with an open book on her lap.

 

While she found the boy intriguing, she was unsure of what to make of his shy attempts to cultivate a friendship with her and the relationship between him and Dr. Akagi. Commander Ikari had not given her orders on the matter, so she was currently just observing the situation.

 

A shape moving away from the crowds caught her attention.

 

Upon closer examination, she saw that the cloth covered object was a familiar face, steering clear of the other teenagers

 

“Ikari-kun?” she asked.

 

 

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Shinji was avoiding the rest of the students, having heard some of the rumours that were doing the rounds after his gift of lunch.

 

Rumours like Asuka was his leather clad mistress and he was her love slave. Insinuation like Shinji did have romantic feelings for Asuka, and he had taken a bold step.

 

Yes, Asuka was very pretty, intelligent and she often knew what she wanted and these were good traits that he found attractive. But she was also angry about a lot of things and didn't seem able to help him without either a snide remark or a backhanded comment and frequently damned him with faint praise.

 

He just didn't know what to do about the redheaded girl. And when in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable situation like this, he did what came naturally - he moved away from the source of the conflict.

 

He thought he had managed to escape for the time being, but was startled when he heard his name called out.

 

“Ikari-kun?”

 

Shinji jumped back, apologising to Rei. “I didn't mean to bother you, Ayanami-san.”

 

“It is all right, Ikari-kun. I am not disturbed by your proximity,” Rei spoke in her normal monotone. “May I ask why you are here and not with Suzuhara-kun and Aida-kun?”

 

“I need a little space,” Shinji confessed in a small voice.

 

“And you are not looking to spend time with me?” Rei questioned, closing her book.

 

Shinji stammered, trying to find the right words.

 

“Am I making you uncomfortable?”

 

“No,” Shinji answered with a blush.

 

“That is good. Why do you require a degree of separation from the rest of the students?” Rei continued her questions with only the occasional blink.

 

“S-s-something happened at Misato-san's house,” Shinji stammered out.

 

“I am aware that the Second Child assaulted you and you are now under the care of Dr. Akagi,” Rei informed her fellow pilot, slightly unnerving him at the same time. “Has she made amends for the incident?”

 

“She apologised this morning before class,” Shinji replied, his gaze seemed glued to his shoes.

 

“I fail to see why there is a problem with you associating with your friends.”

 

“It's not that, Rei,” Shinji whined. “It's that everybody in class saw me give her lunch.”

 

“I was unaware that your responsibilities still included the provision of sustenance for Pilot Sohryu,” Rei commented. “I still fail to see the relevance of this fact.”

 

Shinji blushed heavily as he tried to explain the meaning behind teenagers giving each other food.

 

“I see,” Rei saved Shinji some face. “This custom has some significance as a courtship ritual between members of the opposite sex. Are you attracted to Pilot Sohryu, Ikari-kun?”

 

“She is pretty,” Shinji admitted to the blue haired girl. “But, I don't think she likes me.”

 

“Her verbal and physical abuse suggests that she does not care for you,” Rei pointed out. “In the unlikely event of the opposite being the case, I do not believe that the Commander would approve of such a relationship.”

 

“Father,” Shinji responded in a barely audible whisper.

 

“There are other females in Tokyo-3 that could provide companionship if that is what you desire, Ikari-kun.”

 

Shinji blinked. `What is Ayanami-san suggesting?'

 

“I will speak with the Commander when we finish our Synchronisation Tests,” Rei announced in her usual voice.

 

“That's ok, Ayanami-san,” Shinji insisted. “I don't want you to go through any bother for me.”

 

“In that case I shall not.”

 

The bell that marked the end of recess rang out.

 

“This has been a pleasant and informative conversation, Ikari-kun. I would like to engage in one again in the near future,” Rei said as she stood up.

 

 

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At the NERV canteen, Ritsuko was enjoying the bento Shinji had made for her.

 

“It's a bit early for lunch, isn't it?” Misato asked, slipping in the unoccupied chair next to the blonde.

 

“I was hungry,” Ritsuko shrugged. “Plus Shinji's a good cook.”

 

“I know,” Misato said as she sipped her coffee. `And you took him away from me,' she added silently.

 

Maya remained silent, but was very tempted to direct death glares at the purple haired woman that interrupted her quiet time with Ritsuko.

 

“So, how're things at Chez Katsuragi?” Ritsuko asked between bites of rice. “You managing to keep the garbage at bay?”

 

Misato's eye twitched. “I'm coping.”

 

“That's good. I was afraid that you'd try to poach Shinji as a once a week cleaner or something equally daft.”

 

Maya smiled as she considered that idea. `That means that me and Sempai could be alone in her apartment.'

 

“You make it sound like I'm a complete slob and that I'm incapable of looking after myself,” Misato huffed at her old friend.

 

“It's not nice when people make those sorts of accusations is it, Misato-chan?” Ritsuko smiled evilly.

 

Misato would have complained but remembered the similarities of these circumstances and yesterday's.

 

Ritsuko finished her lunch and stood up. “Maya, write up your notes, then prepare for the afternoon's Sync Test. I'll see you later, ok?”

 

“Yes, Sempai,” the short haired woman nodded happily.

 

“Misato,” the blonde nodded.

 

“Ritsuko,” the captain nodded back.

 

 

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In her office, Ritsuko locked the door and sat at the computer. Putting her hand in her pocket for her lighter, she pulled out the memory card she found earlier.

 

“Ah, yes, Mother's files. Let's see what they say.”

 

When the card was accessed, the bottle blonde remembered that the files were password encrypted.

 

“Damn. What would she use?” she asked the empty room. “Let's see, she died on this day, perhaps she knew that something was wrong. Let's try that as a clue.”

 

The scientist started typing in words and phrases that were synonymous with things not being right.

 

“Off the mark - failed. Problematic - failed. Goddamnit - failed. Tits-up - hey, it worked.”

 

Ritsuko read the contents of the file. `Hmm, this is a diary entry.'

 

 

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To be continued…

 

 

Well, this was re-read by Chi Vayne and written over the space of a couple of days. With four chapters in less than ten days, I'm just banging this one out, aren't I?

 

Are there any questions?

 

Well, I have one: during the writing of this story, I and my pre-reader have had several omake ideas. The thing about these are, they are could be very funny (if I can write them “correctly”) and might take away from the rest of the story. Would you like to read them? And if so, do you want them at the bottom of the chapter or as a separate chapter at the end?

 

Oh, and if you do email me, please put “Fanfiction” in the subject line as I am receiving a metric butt-load of spam at the moment, and I wouldn't want your message to get deleted by accident.