It had taken only a few seconds for Asuka to collect the pillow and blanket. When Shinji saw her coming back from her room, he gently put Hikari down on the living room's sofa. Asuka quickly slid the pillow under her head and covered her unconscious friend with the blanket. A few adjustments later, Shinji and Asuka were sure that the class representative was comfortable.
"Will she be all right?" asked a worried Shinji. He couldn't help but think that this was his fault somehow.
Asuka tried to reassure Shinji "Oh, it's just a little fainting spell. The shock must have been too much for her" She smirked, deciding to tease him "Poor Hikari... Overwhelmed by your charm and cuteness..."
Shinji blushed and spluttered "You... You think so!?!" He briefly entertained the idea of Hikari being interested in him. He found out that he wasn't adverse to the concept. She was cute, serious, smart and you could count on her to point out you were doing something stupid.
Asuka frowned when she realized Shinji was taking her joke seriously. Her jealousy flared up "Dream on, baka-Shinji... Hikari's not that stupid!" *I hope...* mentally added her suspicious self "So don't get any funny ideas about her, okay?"
"I... I'd never do that!" Besides, he was already involved with two women. He also would have to deal with an official relationship with Ayanami sooner or later.
Shinji really didn't want to fall in his father's manipulative web but he didn't want Rei to be punished for failing or discover what sort of back-up plans Gendo Ikari would come up with in that case. Adding Hikari in the mix would be stupid and thoughtless of him.
And with his new appearance... Well, Shinji wasn't eager to pass as a college student/young adult with a Lolita complex, Ayanami being the exception because of the politics involved.
*One thing is sure. Asuka won't like this one bit, I'm sure of it* he thought *She'll tease me to Death and what will Misato think? I'm doomed...*
Asuka watched Shinji being his eternal embarassed and clueless self. As boys her age went, he wasn't half-bad, to be considered. While he wasn't up to measure to Kaji yet, he could be trained and she looked forward to teach him "Say, Shinji, I've been thinking. Would you..."
Asuka couldn't finish her request as the doorbell loudly rang out. Shinji sighed "Who can it be?" He left Asuka's side and went to the doorway.
The second children had a pretty good idea of who it was "No, wait! Don't..."
Too late. Shinji opened the door. It was Rei, Kensuke and Touji. Rei seemed fine but his two friends looked like they had run the whole time from school to the appartment. He couldn't have known that they had tried to arrive before Asuka but failed.
Kensuke straightened his glasses and got a good look at this man he didn't know "Hey, who are you, mister?" Touji saw Shinji and reacted the same way "Yeah, I've never seen you before"
Rei was silent but a faint blush was visible on her cheeks as she drank of the sight of the new Shinji Ikari. Security videos and photographs were one thing but they didn't give Shinji justice in her opinion. Her body wouldn't move, her mouth and throat felt dry, her heartbeat was accelerating and she felt goosebumps all over her body.
Shinji was in a quandary. He hadn't planned on seeing Touji and Kensuke so soon. He didn't know how to give them the news yet "It's a long story. Come in and I'll explain..."
Touji and Kensuke entered, giving him suspicious looks all the way to the living room. Then Shinji noticed someone was missing "Er... Ayanami, won't you come in?"
Rei blinked and regained control of herself "Yes..." The First Child entered and Shinji closed the door behind her. They went to the living room where they found a comical if a little disturbing picture.
Touji was pointing a trembling finger at the still form of Hikari Horaki "HAAA! Devil-Girl! What have you done to the class-rep!?"
"I did nothing, monkey-brain! She just fainted, that's all!"
"You say she fainted..." said Kensuke "Why? How? When?"
"I don't know! Ask her when she wakes up, you idiot!" retorted the angry Asuka. Everything was going according to her plans and the stooges had to come and spoil them! "As for when, it was one or two minutes ago..." From there, it degenerated into a shouting match.
Shinji sweatdropped at his friends' antics. Rei merely threw a quizzical glance at the whole scene, not understanding what was happening.
That was the moment Misato chose to come back from the kitchen, drinks in hand. It had taken her much longer than she anticipated to find non-beer and non-alcoholic beverages in her fridge "Ho, Asuka, you're back! And Shinji's friends too..." Her eyes were looking for only one person though "I've got our drinks, Shin-chan!"
Silence fell in the room. Tuoji and Kensuke looked alternatively at the smiling Misato and the guy they didn't know. There could be only one conclusion...
Touji screamed "AAAAAAH! This Shin guy is Misato-san's new boyfriend! Misato-san, how could you!?!" To see the woman, no, the goddess he saw as the perfect woman involved with some guy who looked like a young model (further crushing his ego) was a blow to his meager but still existing hopes.
Kensuke joined his friend in his suffering "NOOOOOOOO! Now Misato-san's lost to us!!!" The two boys were wailing in an overly dramatic fashion "How could Shinji let this happen!?!"
All these loud voices were bound to wake up someone "Ooooh... I had a weird dream. I saw Ikari-kun transformed into a total hunk..." Hikari stood up and spotted the cause of her earlier fainting "Oh... my... kami...! It wasn't a dream!?" She felt her legs weaken again.
"Ikari-kun..." The cold voice of Rei Ayanami surprised everyone "Are you involved with major Katsuragi in an improper relationship like Suzuhara and Aida are implying?" To her surprise, her reactions at the possibility were stronger than she thought they would be.
Misato stammered "Wha... What!? Its' not..." To say the accusation caught her off-guard would be an understatement. Especially when it was founded on facts.
Touji still hadn't put the pieces together "So your name is Shin and you're... Shinji's older brother! That must be it!"
Shinji, for his part, was at a loss to deal with the situation. So he took the nextbest option, the one who who had always gotten him out of trouble.
"Um... Guys... It will sound ludicrous but I'm Shinji. I had this little incident in the EVA and... I'm sorry..."
See other episodes by Jamil Nate
(Posted Mon, 29 Dec 2003 23:11)
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