Katsuragi Misato, morning.
"Oh-h... I'm so thirsty."
The girl's hands, with obvious effort, slowly and sluggishly groped for support and lifted the body. A cloudy gaze from under the hair that had fallen over her face, squinting, surveyed the pillow.
"This is the last time I buy this beer... Damn, I'm so thirsty..." Then the girl's gaze fell on the bottle of mineral water. "Shinji, I love you!!!"
A few seconds later, when the desert in her mouth had receded a little and her head had cleared, Misato suddenly froze and opened her eyes wide.
"Damn..." "This... I was yesterday... with Shinji..." "Oh-oh-oh!..."
The fingers of her left hand clutched her hair and for a few minutes, Katsuragi completely forgot about the pain in her head and the tormenting thirst, completely immersed in her memories.
"What a fool..." The brown-eyed brunette groaned, dropping her face into the pillow when the picture of what had happened was fully restored to her memory.
But no one cancelled physiology and therefore, despite her condition, after just a couple of minutes, the girl trudged to the toilet.
Her head was empty, and her soul was sad, only images of yesterday's conversations flashed through her memory. She came to the kitchen in this state. And then she stopped, feeling something wrong on the periphery of her consciousness. Only after a few seconds did the girl realize what was wrong with the room. The kitchen was empty, but most importantly, the already familiar ready-made breakfast was missing from the stove, without which almost not a single morning had passed for about a month and a half.
The girl sighed and looked at her watch – 7.22
"It's weird... Shinji is usually already up..."
The gloomy state would not let up, still in a daze, Misato automatically made herself some coffee and plopped down at the table. A heavy sigh echoed through the room.
- Eh... Sin... Why aren't you at least twenty?..
The coffee was gone, and the kitchen was still quiet. The clock showed 7:43, and in the depths of gloomy melancholy that had overtaken the girl, a touch of curiosity began to appear. After sitting with an empty mug for a while longer, Misato shook herself, suppressing the melancholy mood, at least trying, and getting up from the table, went to Shinji's room. Already approaching the door, the thought "If only..." sluggishly slipped through her head, but Katsuragi did not have time to finish it, as she had already pulled the handle...
Shinji and Rei were lying together. The girl had her nose trustingly buried in the boy's chest and was snoring rhythmically, while he was hugging her tightly, pressing his face to the top of her head. The sheet was crumpled at the level of the teenagers' waists and barely concealed their half-naked bodies.
Misato stared at the scene for a long minute, trying to comprehend what she had seen. Then she slowly closed her eyes and shook her head, but the scene did not disappear. The black indifference, quiet at first, but accelerating with each passing moment, began to crumble like a storm rising in her soul.
"Well, sooner or later it had to happen... After all, that's what it was all leading to..." This was the last thought that was born under the influence of the indifference that had been overwhelming the girl since the morning, and then panic flooded her consciousness. "Damn! I'm finished!" Fortunately, the sheet was crumpled and revealed quite a lot to Katsuragi's gaze, only this fact allowed the girl to calm down a little and pull herself together.
"Nothing happened... If there was something, they would be completely naked..." Misato's heart was pounding wildly, and there was not even a hint of the melancholy that had tormented her just a second ago. "Exactly, nothing could have happened. Rei is wearing Shin's T-shirt, he's not completely naked either, is he?..." Unfortunately, the sheet was covering the very spot where the presence of clothing had suddenly become so interesting to the head of NERV's operations department. The fact that the guy was shirtless was normal, he always slept like that, but Misato had no idea about the underwear. "Too bad..." flashed treacherously through her head.
"What are these extraneous thoughts?!"
"But we need to check..."
"What nonsense?! How can I check this?!"
"But we have to..."
"No way! Shinji will wake up and!.."
"Well... he's been hinting for a long time... and if it was, then..."
"DAMN!... Damn! Damn... Why am I not 17?..."
"On the other hand, you wouldn't give him 16, more like 17. And if you judge by his behavior, then he's over 40!"
"But physically He's 16!"
"Yeah, and with such opponents, he might not live to be 18... just like you won't live to be 30, so is there any doubt?"
"We've come to this point, I'm pushing myself to corrupt minors..."
"It's still a question of who is seducing whom!"
"Shinji is a bastard! What have you done to me!?... But I need to check, or the Commander will kill me."
"But what if it did happen?.."
"NO! I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT!"
The entire internal dialogue did not take even ten seconds, although it was accompanied by a monstrous intensity of emotions and a furious beating of the heart. Having frozen, the girl, suddenly sweating, began to slowly approach the futon, trying to literally walk on tiptoe.
"I'm an idiot! DUUURA! Why did I have to get drunk yesterday of all days?.. Bastards! They took advantage of my weakness!.. I'll rip you both off! NO! I can't, Sin will immediately turn around on this topic, and then it's not far to action... Damn it! I hope nothing happens!" The distance was gradually decreasing. The pilots didn't move. "Just don't wake up! Just don't wake up, Sin, I beg you!" Misato begged, slowly leaning towards the sheet, and at the same time towards the boy's body. "Really... really... really badly!" Her fingers touched the white fabric. "Sin, I beg you!"...
The fabric lifted... "Phew-ph-ph... The panties are in place." A relieved sigh almost escaped the girl's chest, but was mercilessly interrupted:
"Misato," came a cold, but rather quiet voice from the side.
"A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a!!!"
- If you're so interested in seeing me naked, you could have just said it straight out, I don't mind. But now isn't exactly the right moment for a striptease.
***
Misato slowly, very slowly turned to me. I had never seen so much pain, suffering and shame on her face. Red to the tips of her ears, beads of sweat rolling down her temples, and the expression itself... An indescribable palette.
"I even feel sorry for her. Why did I even show that I wasn't sleeping? I hope she doesn't feel bad..."
- S... Si... - the captain tried to squeeze out something, but clearly didn't know what, and the sounds were clearly difficult. "Damn, she's on the verge of hysteria. Any more and she'll break down."
- Shh... - I quickly interrupted the girl, at the same time giving my face the most calming expression, that is, without any smirks, irony, mockery or even hints of them. At the same time, mentally reproaching myself for mentioning the striptease. - Don't wake Rey. Let's talk later, okay?
Katsuragi didn't immediately realize what I had said, but then she nodded nervously and a little twitchily, swallowed the lump in her throat, and quickly retreated from the room. Even too quickly. In fact, it was more like a panicked flight.
"We'll have to calm him down somehow, and it's best not to touch on this point at all. Eh... Okay, we'll see later."
I closed my eyes and buried my face in Ayanami's hair again. Rei stirred slightly, settling herself more comfortably, but did not wake up, only awakened a wave of tenderness and affection in me. And... something else... very interesting. Her right hand slowly ran along the girl's back, and I listened to the sensations.
"Yes, definitely..." There was a slight, but no less obvious excitement in my body. "Very curious. And why now?" I took a deep breath, sincerely enjoying the smell of heavenly hair, while listening to my emotions with all my might. "Interesting... And yet, what a mystery you are to me, Rey."
My eyes closed and after a while I dozed off again, lulled by the sound of Ayanami's quiet breathing. Although I didn't stop watching my surroundings through my sleep as usual.
For the second time, I was pulled out of my sweet half-sleep by a long ring at the door followed by a rumble in the kitchen. And if the author of the ring was in question, then the creator of the rumble became immediately obvious, filling the apartment with a short, quiet, but very capacious speech on the topic of uninvited guests who - quote: "hang around arm in arm".
Opening my eyes, I enjoyed the muffled grumbling of Misato for a few seconds, who, apparently, was already heading for the front door. And I was not the only one who woke up - Rei's breathing changed from the very first sounds and now the girl was simply lying with her face buried in my chest. But then the angel's disheveled head began to rise and after a couple of seconds I looked into ruby eyes slightly clouded from sleep.
- Good morning, kitten. Did you get enough sleep? - "Hmm. And the reaction hasn't disappeared, I really want to kiss this sleepy miracle. Something is clearly wrong here, it looks like some unintended influence of her energy background on my own. Probably due to the difference in the nature of the fundamental energies. Something like a resonance of souls. It's a pity that in my current state I can't study the process. Very pity."
"Yes," she blushed. "It was very nice."
From the corridor came the sounds of a door opening and a ringing female voice speaking in slightly raised tones, very likely from excitement, but it was still impossible to make out anything other than individual words, the background noise of the awakened city coming from the open window interfered. Then Misato's vague remarks and responses to them were heard. "I think I already know who it is that has come to visit us..."
"We need to get up..." we said this at the same time and looked at each other in surprise for a second, after which I smiled and, unable to restrain myself, kissed Rey on the nose and began to get up.
- Sin, come out of your den, they've come to see you! - Katsuragi proclaimed from somewhere in the depths of the apartment. If I knew her a little worse, I wouldn't have paid attention, however, if it weren't for the morning incident, she would have definitely come here herself, and would have also rewarded me with the obligatory smirk, but now she was clearly moving away, and there were notes in her voice that weren't typical for her.
"Right now," I pull up my pants and nod to Rey, who is standing up, pick up my usual shirt and walk out the door.
In the hallway, Hikari was waiting for me, shifting uncomfortably, as expected. The girl was holding a school bag in her hands, and she was dressed in a school uniform. Naturally, there were no Kensuke or Suzuhara in the vicinity. When she saw me, she was happy for a moment, but then she stopped short when she saw a scar across her chest. It had almost healed, so I didn't use bandages or plasters anymore, but I made an excellent impression, and I didn't cover myself with a shirt on purpose.
- Hello, Hikari. Have you come to drop off your homework? - the voice is even, the look is calm with slight interest, the hands casually begin to pull on the shirt. In general, a strong dissonance with the picture of a severe injury.
- I-Ikari, what's wrong with you!? - the girl asked in fear, not listening, looking at my torso with wide eyes.
"I cut myself shaving," I answered with a completely honest face. From the kitchen came a shrill grunt, accompanied by attempts to drown in a glass. Who would have doubted that Misato would eavesdrop?
"S-sorry, I didn't mean to... If it's none of my business... I'm sorry," the girl was desperately embarrassed and even bowed, glancing sideways towards the kitchen.
"It's nothing," I fasten a few buttons. "So why did you come?"
- Oh, yeah... You weren't at school for a long time and I brought you some printouts of your homework, - the class monitor reached into her school bag, which turned out to be completely filled with sheets of paper. - Here, - about half of the pack migrated into my hands.
- Thank you, - I weigh the pack in my hands. - Would you like some tea? I would offer breakfast, but I haven't cooked yet. You were tired when you came here.
- N-no, I mean yes, well, I mean...
- Let's go, and at the same time you can tell me what's new at school. Or are you in a hurry?
- Well... I still need to pass on the assignment to Ayanami... By the way! You know where she lives, right? You used to come to school together. The school documents have some strange information, it says that she lives in an unfinished area on the outskirts of the city, but I was there once, there aren't even any stores and there's no public transport. Can you help?
"Hmm..." I drawled, backing away from the rapid linguistic attack. And at the same time studiously ignoring the quiet grunts from the kitchen. Misato was clearly enjoying the show. "No problem, just not necessary."
- Why?
I silently turned sideways to the girl and nodded towards the end of the corridor from where I came, where the door was just opening and Ayanami came out to us - the home version, that is, in my black T-shirt, and that's it, only slippers still on.
- A-A-A-Ayanami? - Horaki blurted out, dumbfounded.
- Yes, did something happen?
"The head girl brought us printouts of our homework," I explained, looking at the girl.
"I see," Rey came up close and, having examined the stack in my hand, turned expectantly to the headman.
"You-you live together?!" Hikari stammered in confusion.
- Yes.
- But... How?
"Okay," the headman considered my answer for a couple of seconds, then shook her head and continued with a note of accusation in her voice:
- But Shinji came out of the same room! Do you sleep together?!
"Yes," the answer shocked the girl. For about a minute she tried to think of something to say, opening and closing her mouth, and looking from me to Rey, it should be noted - completely unperturbed me and Rey, but it didn't work out:
- But... But, how is this?..
"That's very nice," Ayanami added to the conversation, with a completely serious face.
- But, you... you...
- If you're wondering if we've had sex, then no. We just sleep together. - "I'm going to die now, or worse, I'll laugh shamelessly, I need to change the subject!" - And maybe you should give Rey her assignment?
- A-a-a-a-a-a-a... - came a pained sound from the kitchen, along with muffled blows.
"Don't pay attention, we were talking about assignments," I reminded the girl who jerked at the sound.
- A... Y-yes, right now, - Hikari, blushing so much that the freckles on her face were no longer visible, dug into her school bag. The girl's movements were a little jerky and she fiddled around longer than the first time, and it looked like she was doing it consciously, wanting to prolong the pause. But then a new stack of paper left the leather suitcase and passed into Rei's hands. And the class president froze in front of us, not knowing what to do with her eyes and hand, or what to do with the paint on her face.
- Well, since the formalities are settled, maybe we should go to the kitchen? What kind of tea do you like, black or green?
- I... Green. But...
"Let's go," I turned in the indicated direction, "otherwise we've been standing in the corridor for five minutes already."
- O-okay, I'll sit.
So we went to the kitchen. Horaki was clearly uncomfortable, very uncomfortable, but she held on. Rei was calm, she just followed my example and put the sheets of paper on the nightstand in front of the entrance. As for me, surprisingly, the current situation didn't bother me much, my thoughts were more focused on the question - "Did Misato cook breakfast and am I hungry enough to risk it?", upon reflection it turned out that I wasn't hungry enough and that made me happy. In the kitchen, Misato met us, already fully dressed in her everyday "uniform", with a cup of coffee in her hands and a sarcastic expression on her face. The stove was empty. "Good..."
- Misato, did you cook anything?
"No, but I had some leftover noodles," the girl replied contentedly, taking a sip of coffee. "Thirteen more packs!" This was said with some special pride, although there were still unusual notes in her voice.
"I sympathize... Horaki, sit down, everything will be fine now," the class leader nodded uncertainly and quickly sat down next to Rei, holding her briefcase tightly on her knees.
- Pff... How caring you are today, Shin... - Katsuragi drawled, imitating her usual behavior, but as soon as I came closer and turned on the kettle, she finished her coffee in one gulp and quickly got ready: - Okay, I won't bother you, I understand - it's youthful, well, I'm off. Bye-bye! - the girl waved her hand and ran out into the corridor. Hikari watched her in amazement, apparently only getting more nervous, and as the captain disappeared, she even drew her neck into her shoulders a little and hunched over.
"Ikari, who is this?" the girl decided to break the silence when the sound of a door closing was heard from the hallway.
- Katsuragi Misato, my guardian.
"And yours... Sorry, it's none of my business," she became even more embarrassed, staring at the table.
- It's nothing, there's no secret, - I pour boiling water into the teapot with tea leaves. - My mother died eight years ago and right after that my father left me, before coming to Tokyo-3 I lived with my uncle and aunt. Would you like cookies or sweet sandwiches? There is jam and chocolate paste.
- I... Cookies.
"Relax," I put a cup in front of her, smiling slightly. "Better tell me what's new at school."
- Well... - the headman gathered her courage for a few seconds, watching me put a plate of cookies and tea for myself and Rei on the table, but still managed to pull herself together, although her voice was slightly trembling at first: - Something really happened here. Remember that day when you had a fight with Suzuhara, we were all sent to shelters, so, imagine, these two, well, Kensuke and Suzuhara, just went and climbed to the surface to watch the fight of this huge robot! It's good that nothing happened, but you have to be such fools?! Then they were caught and can you imagine, this Aida even dragged his camera there to film the fight! They took the camera away from him, and they themselves were released only after a day, now Kensuke whines about it every day. It's good that Suzuhara came to his senses... – the girl fell silent for a moment and continued more calmly: – And again, several people left, their parents don't want to live in a city that could be attacked by such monsters...
- I can understand them... - I stretch out, taking a sip from the cup. "I wonder, if all my classmates are potential pilots, then how do they let them leave the city? However, it is not difficult to keep track of them, and considering that most of the locals are somehow connected with NERV, they will not escape the control of the office. But still, the acrobat brothers are good, it was not for nothing that I offered Hikari to stay." - By the way, what did these extreme sportsmen say about the robot's fight? Did they even see it and how did it happen?
"They say they saw it, but I'm unlikely to be able to tell you well, you'd better ask Kensuke later..." Horaki shyly hid her nose in her cup, looking away.
- Come on, tell us, we're interested.
- O-okay... But I warned you, I'm a bad storyteller!..
In general, I didn't learn anything new - the "robot" was cool as the mountains and pompous as a space marine, although I didn't understand where the second came from, apparently Kensuke perceives the world on his own wavelength. Horaki told the story not so badly, especially considering that she spoke from other people's words. Honestly, throughout the entire conversation, I tried hard to feign interest, naturally with an adjustment for my manner of behavior. Because, paraphrasing one great Georgian - "You weren't there, comrade Ikari, do you understand me?", so I will deny everything to the very end and play the role of an innocent teenager, and if Gendo wants something different, let him publicly give me up himself.
Rei watched our conversation with curiosity, but did not try to butt in, but only shifted her interested gaze from one face to another. In general, we talked for about an hour, after which the noticeably relaxed class leader began to get ready for business. We said goodbye calmly and without incident. In general, the whole performance at the beginning of the conversation had only one goal - to make a bookmark for Aska, because as I remember, she and Hikari should become good friends, so let the class leader wind up the red-haired imp on the topic of the depraved Shinji Ikari, and it is not difficult to imagine what Ryzhik herself will think up after such a winding up.
The door closed behind the girl and I turned to Rei, who was standing slightly behind me. All sorts of nonsense was spinning in my head, the main theme of which was the desire to have fun and I saw no reason to deny myself this. Especially since Misato had so kindly given us a day off.
- Hmm, - I come up close to the girl and gently hug her, burying my face in her blue hair. Rey hesitates for a few moments, but then she leans forward and hugs her too. "How good..." - Remember you said that I'm an important person to you?
- ... - silence and... - Yes... - came from below, barely audible.
- You are for me too, - I lean over and gently lift her chin. Ruby eyes look at me with surprise, her face is pink, I can even hear the sound of her heart beating faster.
Kiss.
To begin with, simple, one might even say almost childish, without any special tricks with the tongue, just lips and everything very, very tenderly. I have no goal to excite her right now and drag her into bed, I just need to please her, and that's not difficult. "Only I hope I don't fly away... Well... She doesn't know how to kiss at all, but how nice it is..."
As luck would have it, nirvana was interrupted by the ringing of a mobile phone coming from my room. Only one receiver was ringing, which meant it wasn't the appearance of another Angel. "But still... how untimely."
I break the kiss and slightly move away from the girl, but do not break the embrace. Ray, opening her eyes, casts a quick glance back, then at my face, and ignoring the ringing, presses herself against my collarbone, burying her cheek. The phone rings for about another minute and then goes silent, all this time we stand motionless, they hold me, and I do not break away. Another ten seconds of silence and the second mobile starts ringing. I realized this because the sound was a little different - more muffled, as if the receiver was covered with something. Alas, but the hope that it was not a work-related call was shattered with this second call, and I really wanted to believe that someone dialed the wrong number...
"Is that your phone in your briefcase?" I ask distantly, touching the top of Rey's head with my nose.
Slow nod.
"So they called me first – I have a phone next to my pillow..." I sigh. "Misato won't leave you alone..." Rei nodded again and added:
- Yes, Dr. Akagi would have called me first...
We stand. We are silent. The phone is ringing off the hook...
- We need to answer...
- Necessary...
The call stopped. Ten seconds later, the landline in Misato's room began to scream. "I can feel the beautiful captain is furious right now..."