My computer has developed an 'entertaining' habit of randomly just going BLIP-off, so I'm posting an hour or two later than I would have liked. But here we go, the first and possibly not only KSK side story. As some of you speculated from the preview, yes, this is set shortly after they began, and well before Asuka's birthday. In fact, this is before even Kaworu's arrival and the scene on the school roof where Kensuke introduces them to his friends.
Art?
KSK #1: Honesty
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Kensuke put the cans of soda on the tray with the glasses of ice, and picked it up. He sighed briefly for a moment before he turned for his room.
'Why am I doing this, again? I could be out with any of six different girls right now, all of whom sounded pretty eager to see what Rei has them thinking I can do. Instead I'm... doing something I know isn't going to result in anything but time and money spent on girls I know are... not interested in 'this or that'. I thought I'd decided I kind of wanted an actual sex life?'
He sighed again.
'Because Rei would be disappointed in me if I acted like that, and like Hell am I going to do anything that might... blow their cover. I'm not that kind of jerk. So I'll help them out as long as they want.'
He pushed the door to his room open, where he'd left Miki-san and Sakura-san looking at some of his photography folders on his computer. "Hey, I've got the drinks for... what?"
Both girls turned in silence from his computer screen, where a large, well-framed shot of Chihiro Tanaka changing her shirt in the girl's locker room was displayed. Miki-san pointed at the screen. "Aida-san... what is this?"
"I... I can... it's not..." Kensuke stuttered.
Sakura-san walked over past him and closed the door. She firmly pushed him towards the bed and pressed him down until he sat. "How about you explain why the Hell you've got a
bunch of folders of pictures of girls from school that were rather obviously not taken with permission?"
Miki-san stood up to loom over him next to Sakura-san. "
And explain why there aren't any of us."
Kensuke swallowed. "Ch-check the file dates. I haven't taken any pictures in weeks."
Sakura-san poked him in the head. "That does not answer either of our questions. Talk."
"I used to...sell beauty shots of girls from school for cash," Kensuke admitted quietly. "Because I'm a stupid horny teenager, good with cameras, and needed some way to make money. But I stopped."
"Uh huh. Sure," Miki-san growled. "Because you'd suddenly realized taking shots of your classmates while they were changing was
super-creepy?"
He avoided their eyes. "It was... Rei."
"Huh?" the two girls said in unison.
"She... we started talking, after we'd been... um... doing stuff. I mean... crap, this sounds worse. Let me... start from the beginning." He looked up at them, pleadingly.
Miki-san frowned at him. She shot a look at Sakura-san, who shrugged. "Alright, but this better be good."
Flashing him. 'Cuddling baselines'. A halting, mutually awkward but also mutually enjoyable first kiss. A little more. Helping 'draw fire' away from Shinji and Asuka.
Sakura-san scowled at him. "Great story. Is that what you think you're doing with us?" she growled menacingly. "Playing games?"
Kensuke shook his head. "I... am not. Like, with the pictures? I had to
explain them to Rei. She didn't get why I took them or why boys wanted them, at first. So I... told her. And then she just... looked disappointed in me. Asked me if I would like it if she'd been taking advantage of me that way. And... I just... couldn't do it anymore. I just kind of... realized how... it looked when you're not a stupid teenage boy who's horny and greedy." He looked at the floor of his room. "I haven't taken a picture of a girl since then. Or sold any."
Miki-san snorted. "Congratulations on your belated epiphany that girls are people too. Not so fun when you think of it being done to you, is it?"
Kensuke looked up at her, frowning himself. "Is it?"
Miki-san looked confused, then unsettled. "What are you talking about?"
"Rei showed me what I was doing wasn't right. Talked about how respect for each other was critical in a relationship. And respect for everyone, since you never think about how much everyone else is like you. So I'm trying to make up for the way I used to act." He nodded at his computer. "You asked why there aren't any pictures of either of you?"
Miki-san exchanged another look with Sakura-san. "Yes, and?"
"I know why you're here. I know why you asked me out," Kensuke said. "And I... don't mind. It's... the right thing to do."
"What are you talking about, Aida-san?" Sakura-san said.
"There aren't any pictures of you two in my stuff because... I took one of you last year."
"Which of us?" Sakura-san pressed.
"Both."
They both went pale. "Y-you..." Miki-san began.
He nodded. "I was... kind of snooping around the back of the school, since I know there's some places you can see into the classrooms where the girl's teams change. And I... saw you two. Kissing."
They looked at each other again. "Well... shit," Sakura-san said.
"You took a picture...but then what?" Miki-san prodded. "Just... deleted it?"
Kensuke nodded. "I took pictures to sell because I was horny, stupid, and greedy. I'm a sneaky perv, but I'm... not that kind of jerk. I knew that if I showed that picture to anyone, you'd both be outed, your parents would freak out, they'd break you two up, and your lives would be ruined. I... couldn't do something like that. So I deleted the pic, and deleted every other one I had of you both. And then I just kept my mouth shut."
"Why?" Sakura-san pressed.
Kensuke looked at her like she was crazy. "Why? I told you, because I'm a greedy perv, but I'm not going to ruin your lives and your relationship for some quick cash and laughs!"
They looked at each other once more. "Who else did you tell?" Miki-san asked.
"No one."
"Bullshit. I know how boys
love this kind of thing. 'Girl on girl is sooooo hot!'" Sakura-san mocked. "Who else knows about us?"
Kensuke glared back at her. "I didn't tell
anyone. But... Rei knows."
"What?!" Miki-san blurted. "You just said you-"
"And I didn't!" Kensuke defended. "Rei asked
me about you two. She already knew about you being a couple, somehow. I had to explain about... why you had to hide it. I... Rei is just... really naive about such things, I guess. But she said she figured you two out just from... watching you for a while. I don't know. She's good at things like that."
"And...she... wait, she set you up with this huge rep to deflect girls away from Ikari-san, and... then she told us about you?" She looked at Sakura-san. "Wait, if she knew about us, why did she...huh?"
"I told you, I knew why you were here. So you could both be seen 'dating' me for a while, and keep everyone thinking you both were into boys." Kensuke sighed. "And I said I'm fine with it. Making up for when I was a jerk, helping you both out, you know... it's the right thing to do. And I don't want to disappoint Rei. She just has this...
stare when you do something that... lets her down."
He shrugged, looking away again. "Rei said she started... 'experimenting' with me because I was a good person and she knew I wouldn't... do anything to hurt her on purpose. I just... look, thanks to her coaching and help, I've gone on more dates in the last two months than in my whole life. I'm... I've never gotten so much attention from girls. Two months ago I hadn't even kissed a girl, or anything. Now I'm... half the school is convinced I'm as good as Shinji. I feel incredibly lucky that Rei decided I was worth help. I can't..." he waved his hands. "I dunno, feel like I should... earn that? Live up to the guy Rei thinks I am? So..." He shrugged again. "So I pretend to date you both for a while, your reputation as regular girls who are just close is secure, and then you 'break up with me' and go on, safe. And I'm...alright with that."
"You... wait right here," Sakura-san said. "Sayaka, let's... talk outside."
The blueheaded girl nodded, and followed her friend out of Kensuke's room.
He could hear a murmured conference out in the hall. It went on for a few minutes. He sat down at his computer and started poking at the keyboard, a thought coming to him.
The two girls came back in. Miki-san sat at the desk chair, and Sakura-san resumed her position looming menacingly over him.
She eyed him carefully. "So let me get this straight: You've known Sayaka and I liked each other for nearly a year, and cut out taking pics of us just in case you might accidentally expose us, and dropped the rest of the 'sneak pics' once Ayanami-san explained to you that was still uncool?"
Kensuke nodded.
"And then, in full knowledge we were just dating you as a smokescreen, cut off every other girl in school that wanted to ask you out to run a fake relationship with both of us at once, with an open ended timeline, just because... Ayanami-san would be disappointed in you if you didn't?"
"Because she'd be disappointed I didn't live up to who she thought I was, who she... kind of showed me how to be," Kensuke amended. "My reputation is... just a reputation. It's half rumors and glow thrown off Shinji, and... I feel weird not... being the guy Rei thinks I am, ok? She... everything we did together was great, but it only even started because she judged I was a good guy. Not... not living up to that feels... wrong." He shrugged again. "And you two have been... well, if not exactly friends of mine, you were never mean to 'that nerdy guy with the camera' the way some girls were. I know how much getting outed could hurt you, too, so... I want to help."
Miki-san gave him a skeptical look. "How do you go from 'creeper taking shots of girls changing' to 'good guy ditching his cash flow and all the dates to help two lesbians hide their relationship'?"
Kensuke looked at his hands. "Rei is... persuasive. Do you have any idea how good it feels to have someone believe you are a better person that much? Rei did. She made me believe it too. I... don't want to lose that feeling, or her faith in me. So if I have to push to live up to it, I will."
Miki-san looked at Sakura-san, who considered for a moment, then nodded. "Ok. I can accept that," the redhead said. "And... told you so, Sayaka. He's not kidding. He really is what Ayanami-san said."
Kensuke blinked at them. "I'm what?"
"A gentleman. In-training, at least. And... worth us trying this on."
Still confused, Kensuke tried again. "Trying what? I'm... willing to go along with just about anything you two want, but I kind of need to know what we're doing if I'm going to play along right."
"We want to... um... stop pretending."
"Er....what?"
Miki-san fidgeted a bit in the chair. "We... we're together, but... um... we're both still... curious, ok? And Ayanami-san said you can be trusted to... restrain yourself."
Kensuke eyed her warily. "You... want me to ah... 'experiment with' like Rei did? To... try it out?"
Sakura-san nodded. "Is... that alright? She...kind of hinted that you were... more than just the reputation. And... well... it's not like you're exactly ugly..."
"Gee, thanks," Kensuke muttered.
"Alright, alright, you're kind of cute!"
"So are you two," Kensuke shot back, a tentative grin returning to his face. "I... guess we can? I... it worked for Rei and I, I suppose."
"No taking shots of us without permission, though!" Sakura-san demanded. "Rei told us you... did that for her."
He nodded at his computer again. "I um... yeah. I also hid those better. I notice I left you two looking at a my
regular pictures, but you somehow ended up in files that definitely were not public, speaking of privacy issues."
Miki-san blushed a bit. "Er..."
Sakura-san left off looming over him and dropped onto the bed to sit next to Kensuke. "Told you he'd notice. Ok, so we're all going to be open about privacy and stuff from now on? And... real?"
Kensuke smiled. "If you two... want to, yeah. I can. I guess you can start calling me 'Kensuke'."
Sayaka grinned. "Then we're Sayaka and Kyoko now. And you're going to love meeting my dad, mister military geek."
"I want to start now," Kyoko said abruptly.
Kensuke looked at her, surprised to see her blushing hard. "Start?"
"...Sayaka and I've kissed plenty of times. I want to see if... a boy feels different," she mumbled, looking down. She raised her head. "That's... something we've wondered."
Kensuke swallowed nervously. "Oh... Um... ok?"
"Hey, I'm not getting left out of this," Sayaka chimed in. She got up from the desk and sat down on the other side of him, close enough Kensuke could feel the warmth of her leg against his. "We insist on equal time, Ken-chan."
"Ken-chan?" he said, his voice only a little unsteady. A lot unsteady. Eep.
Kyoko's hands were surprisingly soft and gentle as she took hold of his head and turned him back to face her. "Get used to it. She's playful like that. Sayaka and I share. We've shared our toys since we were little, and we share everything else too. So... it's kind of right that we share our first kiss with a boy, too."
Sayaka's hands were warm on his back. "So you give her a good kiss, and... I'm next."
"Um... I hope I make you both happy?" Kensuke mumbled, not quite believing this was really happening.
"And that's why we're sure you're the right guy for this," Kyoko said, and pulled his lips to hers.
