But it's not Friday anyway.
Advice and Trust [NGE]
- Location
- Anywhere I won't die, USA
I'd be okay with an update anytime. Idk though, that's just me.
The Englanderish
Schrödinger's Kuudere Kitty Caliph(a)
- Location
- Califat de Chats
StorymasterQ
Chief of Weaponized Tropes First Division
- Location
- Denpasar, Bali
It's Friday somewhere in the continuum.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
...I wouldn't mind getting more KSK omakes.
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
If/When I get to that, the next scene might be a bit of That Camping Trip, though of course with the cut-away/fade-to-black well before any shenanigans start.
Right now, I'm struggling with Rei and Kaworu having a tense confrontation in his apartment. Emotions are running high. I'll post before bed.
- Location
- Canada
Go to /r/wholesomememes
That helps even the worst moods.
- Location
- Illinois
Chapter 10.5
- Location
- National Capital Region, USA
Someone order some hope? Here you go!
3300 words of Rei and Kaworu having some post-Arael words. Misato launches a ship, and gives it some help. She also has to pretend she didn't hear something Rei didn't mean to say that loud.
For @BlackThief12, @Gulping, @Preier, @Drgnfst, @Sidways Straxus, @Chaos Ronin, and @Projectile. Sorry this took so long.
Art?
@Jackie also suggested a very fitting song for this chapter piece:
Chapter 10.5
Choices and Sacrifices
+++
Ritsuko watched Rei walk slowly ahead of her. The First Child was noticeably slow and stiff. She'd needed another dose of tranquilizers and painkillers on waking this morning. Ritsuko's scans had revealed her AT-Field was a little better, but still ragged and thinned. Rei had twitched and flinched from everyone they'd even come within shouting distance of on their way up from her lab. Ritsuko had done her best to clear the route, but she couldn't make it completely empty.
It had taken them half an hour to reach Misato's office. Rei was sweating heavily. "Too... too many... get me... inside," she said weakly. "Please."
Ritsuko nodded, and opened the door.
Misato looked up from a desk still buried in paperwork, her eyebrows rising further as an even more pale than usual Rei followed her in and took a seat in the corner, sweating. "Rei, you look… not so hot. Ritsuko, what's going on? Is she alright?"
"No, she's not," Ritsuko said, pursing her lips. "She is… I've done as much as I can here, though. She needs lots of rest and quiet, away from people unless she knows them well. Here." She proffered some pages to her friend. "I've included detailed instructions for her treatment, but right now, as an official order as the Chairwoman of Project E and Rei's doctor, you, Major, are hereby ordered to escort the First Child to her residence and see to her disposition for the rest of the day."
Misato's eyebrows couldn't get any higher, so they shifted to mild suspicion. "You're… ordering me to take the rest of the day off, see Rei home, then tuck her in?" she asked, taking the papers. "Usually you ask me if I'm drunk."
"You can see Rei is shaky," Ritsuko said evenly. "Take her home, and read the treatment regimen I've handed you carefully. It's thorough, detailed, and contains key things you need to know about Rei's condition. It's also medical-confidential, so don't go showing it to everyone."
Something in Ritsuko's tone caused Misato to pause halfway through flipping up the cover sheet. She shot her friend an inquiring look.
Ritsuko just gave her a carefully blank return expression. "Yes, you get 'the rest of the day off'. But it's not quite a vacation. Rei is still on a lot of painkillers, at her own request. That Angel really did some damage to her with its beam, and rest away from people is essential." At Misato's sharp look, she added. "The painkillers are at her own request, so if she's fuzzy and more quiet than usual, that's why."
Misato's sharp look did not fade away. "What about the Fifth Child? Am I taking him home too? He was hit with the same thing, but he's been in the Geofront hospital, not... wherever you've been."
Misato blinked. Ritsuko had opened her mouth, closed it, and then slowly turned to look at Rei. Rei had stared back at her and nodded. 'Did she just check with Rei if this was ok?'
Ritsuko turned back to Misato. "You can… pick him up too. Follow the same regimen for him, plus any other medication the hospital staff have prescribed for him. He wasn't hit as long or as deeply as the First Child, but he's probably still in a good amount of pain from it."
"Why was he treated differently?" Misato asked, just a bit of edge in her voice.
Ritsuko hesitated.
"Is there something I should know about one of my Pilots, Doctor?" Misato pressed.
"...Yes."
Misato blinked. She hadn't actually expected an answer to that. "...alright, what?"
"He… was sent to us by… NERV-Berlin. We have reason to believe he might be… informing to parties we don't want to have data on my private labs," Ritsuko said carefully. "So he was treated only on the upper levels of the Geofront. Rei, of course, has full access and trust."
"Asuka came from the same base. We haven't treated her like a possible spy," Misato pointed out.
"We have had no reason to be as suspicious of the Second Child. She's well known to us. The Fifth Child is… not. And we have… specific reasons to think so of him."
Misato's lips twisted. "Reasons you still can't tell me, I see. Fine. Alright, I'll pick him up too. At least he'll be easier to deliver home this time."
+++
The Fifth Child was waiting by the entrance of the Geofront hospital as they pulled up, once again dressed in his student uniform. He gave them his familiar smile as Misato rolled to a stop. "Hello, Major Katsuragi, Ayanami. It is good to see you. I understand you are to take me to my new lodgings?"
"We sure are. Hop in, Kaworu-kun!" Misato affirmed.
He opened the passenger door, and made to get in the front seat.
"It is alright if you sit in back, Nagisa. I will not mind," Rei said quietly.
He froze, and looked at her again. She gave him a tiny nod. Without breaking eye contact, he lowered the seatback and got in the backseat with her. "To what do I owe the honor?"
"Your defense of me during the battle. And because we are friends. Your presence no longer irritates me."
Misato eyed them with mild amusement as she put the car back into gear. "Friends? And asking him to sit next to you? I thought you didn't want anyone near you. Rei, have you got a boyfriend?" she teased.
"No."
Deprived of any toeholds for further teasing, Misato let out a tiny sigh of disappointment, and drove them to the surface train terminal.
A long, silent train ride later, they were on the surface and heading for Misato's apartment building. Rei suddenly leaned forward and tapped Misato on the shoulder. When Misato gave her a quizzical look in the rear-view mirror, Rei tugged at her earlobe and swept her eyes around the interior of the car. Misato's eyes widened a hair, but she nodded. "Clear this morning, Rei."
"Nagisa was sent by SEELE, but is not following their orders anymore, Major Katsuragi. He is on our side. I will vouch for his trustworthiness," Rei said, as cool as ever.
Misato's eyebrows climbed all the way up again. "Jesus, Rei..." Her eyes shot to Nagisa's. "...alright, anything to say, Nagisa-san?"
He nodded, his smile dimming a bit. "I was sent by them, yes. I have decided that I do not want to follow their orders. I like my friends here much better than them. I will not do anything to harm anyone here. In fact, that favor I wanted to ask of Ayanami is related to that."
Rei stared at him. "What favor?"
"It is about that promise you made me earlier. But that is best discussed when we are alone, yes?"
Rei blinked at him for a moment. Then she paled. "No."
Misato blinked again at the sudden shock and anger in Rei's voice. "Rei, what fav-"
"Do not ask, Major. Please. Do not ask. It is... highly personal. Nagisa and I will discuss this, and why it is stupid later."
Misato subsided, but still looked worried. "Rei... are you sure you two aren't dating?" she half-joked. "And why is it that you know he was sent by SEELE, and you didn't tell me until now?"
Rei left off glaring at Nagisa to look forward again. "It was... related to other matters we are still unready to disclose, Major. I am sorry. It is... more things that both Commander Ikari and SEELE will kill to keep hidden. We are both still very wary of... revealing any of it. I promise, we will as soon as we can but... not yet. Not now."
Misato's lips tightened. "Rei, if he can give us current intel on SEELE, we need that. What we have is too old to rely on."
"I will tell you what I can, Major Katsuragi. I do not know very much. I was kept... very isolated," Nagisa said. "Rei and I are very much alike, in that."
"The Commander believes us to be actively hostile, as well, so we cannot be seen to be publicly friendly or having private conversations," Rei said. "Can we arrange for some time at Nagisa's lodgings with you in attendance, Major? Your presence can act as a nominal peacekeeper while he and I speak."
"You want me to hang around to provide cover, but not listen in or quiz him about SEELE?" Misato asked, snorting. "You ask a lot of my trust, Rei."
Rei nodded. "And I ask it because it is important, and you know that my loyalty lies with Shinji and Asuka, and hence you. I will not allow the Commander or SEELE to harm them. Nagisa is an ally in that cause."
Misato sighed. "Alright, I can buy you a few minutes on the excuse of inspecting Nagisa-san's new apartment, and let you talk without me listening in for a bit. I'll expect all the info you can give me once we get to my place, though."
"Will that take long?"
Misato barked a laugh. "Oh, Rei, you're going to love this part."
+++
Rei glowered at the familiar apartment building. "I am certain this is someone's idea of a joke."
"You rightly demanded he be moved out of that tiny closet they'd stuffed him in, Rei. And you had no objections to us moving you in next to your friends," Misato teased. "And most of our building is empty anyhow. So moving the Fifth Child in to the same building makes sense, yes? He's not right next door to us like you are, but he's just a couple floors down now."
Misato led them up to heretofore empty apartment on the second floor of the building already home to her own apartment, and handed Kaworu a keycard. "Here you go, Kaworu-kun, your new home."
He swept his card through the slot, and smiled as the door opened. "I'm home," he said with mild irony as they entered.
An even more sparsely filled apartment than Rei's greeted them. Misato took a seat at the kitchen table, one of the few pieces of furniture, and waved at them. "Alright, you've got 5 minutes, then we have to go upstairs. Asuka and Shinji are going to eat me alive if I suddenly show up without you, Rei. Kaworu-kun, your stuff should have been delivered already. It's probably in the bedroom."
Rei grabbed his hand and towed him out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom. Misato didn't even try to hide the smirk as they sped past and around the corner.
Rei headed right for the master bedroom, pushed him inside, and slammed the sliding door shut behind them. She got right to the point. "No."
Kaworu looked up from the bare futon, violin case, and pile of three boxes that represented the sum total of his worldly possessions. His expression was calm. "You promised me you would."
Rei nearly poked him in the face with her pointed finger. "And you promised me you'd fight!" she hissed. "That you wouldn't just give up! That you... wanted more than just to be a passing friend!"
"I'm a danger to everyone I care about just being alive! It's too risky! I've seen it in too many visions! I can't stop myself and the Call takes me, and even when I fail, I might kill Shinji, or you! I can't..." He faltered, drifting to silence.
"And all of that was true when we made that promise, Kaworu! What is-..." She stopped. "...The Angel. The Angel showed you that, didn't it?"
He nodded, looking down at his shaking hands, unable to speak.
She grabbed him by the collar, pulling him closer. "You think it didn't show me something just as terrible? It showed me you! Making me kill you, down there! I don't want to do that!" Rei said tightly, right in his face. "And then it showed Shinji and Asuka, the two people I love more than anything, hating me, spitting anger and threats at me because of what I am! I would rather die than let them feel like I betrayed them!"
"I know! I feel the same! I'd rather die than let myself... fail you. And that's what it showed me! I couldn't stop myself, and tried to fight my way into the heart of the Geofront! I... I killed Shinji when he tried to stop me!" Tears were running down his face. "And then... then Miss Soryu... told me to let the world die, rather than live without him. You all hated me, and everyone died! I can't... I can't face that! You promised! You have to kill m-"
"I don't want you to die!" she screamed in his face. "You stupid, stupid fish! You're not a bad person! You're my friend! I like you! You're just like me! You know what else I saw because of that Angel?"
He numbly shook his head.
"I remembered Lilith! I remembered being her!" she hissed at him from centimeters away. "I remembered what happened, why we are so different, why the Seeds were sent out, and why our two Seeds ended up here and we ended up in this situation!" She stopped, breathing heavily.
He waited. "...and why is it?" he asked quietly after a moment.
Rei's cheeks pinked slightly. "Because... because you're an idiot!"
"What?" Blank confusion.
"Nevermind! We'll talk about those memories later! I am not killing you! Not as long as there's any hope!"
"It's the best way! The safest!" he insisted. "I don't want to... to have to watch myself kill you, or him, or her one day because I can't stop it, because Tabris takes over and Kaworu Nagisa turns out to just be a dream! You have to!"
"I do not want to kill a friend! And that's you! And you're mine! I felt what you were doing in the car, shaping your AT-Field to buffer mine! You kept me from getting hurt while we drove! You tried to shield me in that fight! You think I'm attractive and you're kind to my loves! You're good!"
"I'm weak!" he pleaded. "Every day, the Call is pounding at me, telling me to... to kill everyone! I saw what happens when I give in! The Angel and my visions say the same thing! I have to die!" He wrapped his arms around himself and shook. "It... I felt so good when Miss Soryu and the Class Representative came to see me. They were worried about me! And all I could think of was the voice in the back of my head telling me to wipe them out, purge the planet of their lives! And you! I don't want to hurt you! I like you! Thinking about you is about the only thing that deadens the Call for even a minute!"
"So do that!" Rei blasted at him. "Think of me, and keep alive!" She looked at the small pile of boxes containing his stuff. She let go of him, and tore the top off the first one, digging through it.
"Here!" She pulled out the small, flat box she'd given him and thrust it into his hands. "Tonight, when you're alone, use this! This is hope!"
He took it and started to open it.
Rei flushed and almost slapped it out of his hands. "What are you, stupid?! Not right now! Later! When you're alone, and the night is long. When I can't be here to talk sense into you, or you start... thinking stupid things. Use that. Just... don't talk about it."
He clutched the box tightly, like it could save him from drowning. "I'll... I'll try. I wish... I didn't have to be alone tonight. I can tell it's going to be...bad."
"I'm four floors up. We'll be able to sense each other all night. Just... hold on," Rei told him, once again stepping close. She put a hand on his cheek. "I know how bad that Angel made me feel. I know it was the same for you. Don't... let it beat you, Kaworu. I want to see you in the morning. We have more personal matters to discuss."
He didn't reopen his eyes until her hand fell away. "Alright... so what do we tell Major Katsuragi?"
+++
Outside, in the kitchen area of the thin-walled apartment, Misato chewed on the shout she'd heard that she couldn't ignore. ''I don't want you to die!' she screams? Rei screamed? Rei? Jesus, Rei, what are you holding back from me? Then again... Kaji's said similar things about them gunning for him. Fuck, I hope we all live through this...'
The sound of the bedroom door sliding open heralded the two Pilots returning to her area. Rei looked less angry (and wasn't that a thought all by itself!), and Kaworu looked... oddly blank, like he wasn't sure how to feel.
"Personal matters settled? Ready to tell me what you have on SEELE?" Misato probed.
They sat down across from her. "Yes, Major," Kaworu said. "As much as I can for now."
"Alright. You both need to tell me anything that even feels like it's time-sensitive as things happen, though. I will not be happy if I find out you knew something that could have prevented it after someone gets hurt."
The both nodded.
"And let's do this fast," she continued. "We can't stay too long before Section 2 notices, and..." A small smile finally returned to her face. "There's two people upstairs who really want to see you both. You especially, Rei."
Rei smiled. "And I them. Let us begin, then."
+++
"I'm home."
The familiar, soft voice making the traditional greeting might as well have been a starter's pistol. Asuka and Shinji were off the couch and running for the door like it was an Olympic sprint. Rei barely made it into the dining area before they both nearly tackled her off her feet in perfect synch. "REI!" they both said joyfully.
If either of them were worried at the slight shiver Rei gave once she was safely wrapped in their arms, no one said anything. Misato just shook her head watching them, unable to even think of breaking the moment with a tease for once. The look on all three of their faces was too happy.
Misato shot a look at Kaworu, standing next to her. He was watching the three with a wistful, slightly bleak expression. 'Aw, come on, kid. Even I can tell you like her. And you need this too. Time for some patented Misato magic!'
She carefully stepped just behind him, aimed, and gave him a precisely calculated shove between the shoulder blades. He stumbled forward, arms flailing, until he bumped right into the back of Rei. His arms automatically wrapped around her, putting the First Child at the center of a four-person hug.
Rei's eyes had popped open when he knocked into her, but she made no objection to his joining the group. She just closed her eyes again, and repeated, "I'm home."
Misato smiled. 'You don't want him to die, eh, Rei? And SEELE is just the sort of gang to try killing one of my Children to 'send a message'. Guess I'll have to keep him alive too, just like my own idiot death seeker, until you figure out how you feel.' She sighed. It was barely 1300. 'My apartment is surrounded by snipers, my boss is plotting to end the world, so are his bosses, and I have no idea when the next giant monster from space is going to attack. I think it's beer-o'clock.'
The Children were still in a tight group as she turned to the beer refrigerator.
- Location
- Canada
If ever there was a reason for beer-o'clock...
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Suuuuuuuuuure. Totally on Adam for not noticing.
Asuka: *thumbs up*
Hoo boy. That's something Misato's going to do some digging about.
1. Misato Magic=literally throwing the couple at each other.
rofl:2. Daaaaaw.
At least you can toast the happy quartet.
Rumetheus
My God, it's full of stars!
- Location
- USA
Beat me to it. Sigh. The Asuka channeling is strong in Rei.
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The relationship between Rei and Kaworustupid fish is adorable.
Ranma-sensei
Sorcerer
- Location
- Citrix Receiver
- Pronouns
- Weatherdependent
More like passing fish.
And character development like this is why killing Kaworu is a hard decision to make.
Asuka: "You go, girl!" *cheers*
'They'
'too'
I don't think I quite follow this part of the sentence... what?
'to a heretofore'
'they'
Ouch! You sure you don't mean 'pointing'?
Turing Decidable
𝕘𝕒𝕣𝕗
- Location
- Belgium
- Pronouns
- He/Him
And that's how you shut down Misato.
Asuka has been a bad influence.
A really bad influence.
A short distance away from the apartment, a pigeon suddenly burst into LCL.
Misato's car has two doors. You have to pull the back of the front seat down to get to the back seat.
So that's where those pictures went.
Just one look at the first picture in the stack will be enough to make Kaworu go "Adwho? Never heard of him!"
Second picture... well, he won't have enough blood left in his brain to stay conscious, so the Call won't be an issue.
". . . bit premature, no?"
Ranma-sensei
Sorcerer
- Location
- Citrix Receiver
- Pronouns
- Weatherdependent
DocMatoi
Theoretical Lover of Girls
- Location
- within 2 hours of the White House
- Pronouns
- They/Them
- Location
- USA
So, taking translation conventions into account, she totally just called him a baka, didn't she?
Rei and Kaworu, sitting in a tree, C-U-D-D-ohcraphowamigoingtomakethatscan...
Ultra Sonic 007
Trying to keep things simple~
- Location
- Colorado
...what pictures? I can't recall Rei taking pictures of the nature you imply.