Darkstalker- Shinji: A transition [Episode 112437]

As she entered the school gates Asuka came to a halt, pausing to take a few gasps of breath. Then she glared at Shinji who was standing beside her with a puzzled expression on his face. His persperation free face, which was attached to a body that was breathing in a completely normal manner. Asuka opened her mouth, then snapped it shut and turned to walk into the school.

'Weird,' Shinji thought as he looked after her. 'I'm not wiped out at all by that run, I think Asuka was pushing it extra hard to loose me or something. . .' His nostrils twitched, 'Ah, Hikari. . .' Blinking he turned and looked at where the Class representative had just entered the school gates behind him. 'What? I smelled something nice, and I knew It was Hikari, Come to think of it, I don't think that what I've sniffed from Asuka is a new perfume. . .'

His face a mask of uncertainty, the Third Child walked into school.

---

Gendo Ikari looked through the papers on his desk. He raised his head slightly and looked over his sunglasses at Ritsuko. "Is there anything you feel the need to point out?" he asked, then raised a hand to push his glasses back over his face.

"There is a small footnote regarding the second and third child, Major Katsurogi apparently suspects there may be some sexual tension between them that needs watching. I doubt it's important, but there's a slight chance Misato might request separate quarters for the Children."

"The Major can deal with it." Gendo commented dismissively as he rested his head before his interlocked hands, gazing through his sunglasses at the blonde doctor. 'Calm, but she takes after her mother too much to hide that hopeful-longing expression from me. So, should I?. . . Yes, it's important to keep the frequency unpredictable.' "So, Ritsuko, how is your schedule in 20 minutes?"

Ritsuko's breath caught, and her cheeks briefly colored at the sound of her first name. "I. . . I'll have to rearrange. . . Would 45 minutes be all right?"

"Yes, come back then." Gendo replied with a dismissive tone.

Ritsuko turned to the door, pausing to smooth her skirt before opening the door and walking out.

With a sigh, Gendo sat back in his chair, taking off his glasses with one hand while using the other to briefly massage the bridge of his nose. 'Making sure she stays on my side, and preventing prostrate cancer at the same time,' he though, his mouth twitching in a half smile.

"Hmm, and Shinji's noticing his fellow pilot?" he commented, his mind drifting back, past the second impact.

Gendo had been only a little older than Shinji when he started trying to act on his awakening interests. Initially his luck was not much better than his other acquaintances, however he found that he came away from each date with a much clearer understanding of exactly what he had done wrong and an increasingly instinctive grasp on what he should do.

'Heh, If I had made notches on my belt it would have fallen apart by the time I left for college.' He thought with a smirk. Then his smirk softened. 'And College is where I met Yui.'

He had been introduced to Yui near the beginning of the year, and had gone on a date half expecting her to be bouncing on his manhood by the end of the evening. However as his attempts were rebuffed again and again, he had found himself increasingly fascinated by the girl. He couldn't say when he stopped trying to seduce her, but as time passed he became increasingly caught up in her presence, her conversations, the music of her laugh. . .

Shaking his head Gendo glanced at the clock. "No, Ritsuko has an important role in bringing Yui back to me, and I'll have to keep her happy with her role."