"God, I hate the morning after." you muttered in a language,
Probably German, just guessing.
Well, she could also speak English, I suppose.
Staring back, defiantly, Rei glanced over to the kitchen before turning to face you.
"Last night, you called me Angel." Rei said, declaratively. "Why."
Rei definitely noticed... hm. Would she have told this Shinji about herself? This soon? Rei has been Piloting for 4 years at this point. Well, getting stuffed into an Entry Plug and
trying to activate an Eva, anyhow. Canon she never got Unit-01 to work until after Shinji arrived, and Unit-00 didn't start until a few months before that, and immediately berserked. So Rei might have years of Unit-00 talking to her in her head, or just a few months. Considering Rei 1 was ah... feral and somewhat
homicidal, I'm not sure how much we
want her to have been whispering to Rei II.
But either way, Rei knows what she is, and knows that Asuka shouldn't, but seemed to. So we need to factor in that she's already possibly suspicious of us. As much as she makes us flinch, we do not want her as an enemy. More than anything else, saving the world and stopping SEELE depends on making sure Rei chooses against them in the end. So we need her favorably inclined to Shinji and anyone else opposing them.
"I understand." Rei said carefully. "I think all of us pilots have that to some degree, then."
Rei's hinting at her own... alterations? Has she picked up some of Rei 1's... violent tendencies? Eep.
Or is she reaching out, hinting that Asuka's not the only one with nightmares or the future? Canon Rei didn't dream, at all. Nightmares would be a very unhappy new experience for her. This needs careful exploration. We
need to talk to Rei one on one at some point soon.
You just creased your brow. "I wasn't in my right mind." you said carefully. "I can't remember any of it."
But she just saw Asuka flinch right now. So that excuse won't fly on that, and Rei probably noticed the evasion. Rei's not stupid.
Stradivarius?
with a pair of bolt cutters.
"Why do you have a pair of bolt cutters?" you asked numbly as the head of them surrounded your door chain.
"I found them." Shinji replied, setting them carefully. "Rei, a hand please?"
Rei blinked at him, but soon enough she was helping cut your door chain. Realizing that shopping was inevitable, you sighed as they broke into your house.
"Let the records show I do this under great duress." you muttered as you grabbed your purse.
"So am I." Shinji muttered dangerously.
He came back with those cutters
fast. He had them on hand. He
expected something like this. Ok, a Shinji who is not taking 'I want to hide in my shell, go away' as an answer. Definitely one way his Eva-whispers have changed him. Likely a part of why Rei is living there too. What else has changed about him, though? He's more willing to push out of his normal comfort zone, but what's the root of it? Compassion, attraction, anger, protection? Some or all of the above? He made sure to bring Rei with him, too, not just do this solo. I think he's trying to team-build, whatever the motivation.
[X] A-10 Clips. You're a pilot, but it's not obvious. The question is, do you want to be a Pilot at school?
[X] Earrings. Jewlery is the heart of a girl.
[X] Makeup. You normally don't do makeup, since it takes time and your skin is already in danger of going to shit, but you might want to try.
We're making a first impression here. People are going to
see us, regardless of whether they talk to us or not. So we want to go
visual: Makeup, earrings, and A-10 clips. Dress confident to feel confident. Hell yes, we're a Pilot. That will both impress people and make it clear that we've got at least some association with Shinji and Rei. Being a Pilot is partly a shield for Asuka, but it's also a bond to others, and right now she needs that bond to Shinji and Rei. No one else at school is going to have the slightest chance of understanding what Eva-combat is like. It's establishing an identity that strangers can orient to, since the class will already have worked out how to react to a Pilot with Shinji and Rei. This is easing our path and showing who we are. If we don't, 'What's with the eyepatch? Are you a pirate or something?' will be the first question. A-10 Clips means we can attribute it to Piloting. End of awkward questions.
Tools and knives are useful, but this is a first impression day, and we can make tools our regular carry when it's not Day One. People won't see what we have in our pockets. (And Asuka is 100% able to take care of herself without weapons, oh god. Even in Manga-canon, Asuka is a skilled martial artist, able to effortlessly take down three thugs twice her size with ease.
This Asuka could take down Solid Snake.)
A Band Vest is neat, but probably get shot down by Japanese school dress codes. A book is a too easy route to slip away and try to hide behind, which we just had Shinji show us is not an option today. Pity we can't sneak the Class Ring in as part of the earrings and jewelry set.
