"RPM - acct 3/5" WRITER'S NOTE: Figure this one to take place about... at least after episode 12. MUCH thanks to 'Scriviner' who helped me figure out how to end this thing. -rpm DISCLAIMER: Gainax owns these characters. I'm just using them, without permission, in a non-profit manner. Please don't sue me I'm poor. ---------------------------------------------------------- http://www.uh.edu/~rpm/fanfic.htm ======================= Neon Genesis Evangelion -Vacation- ======================= Vacations were few and far between for EVA pilots. Actually, the word few would be a rather generous overstatement. This vacation, for example, was only their second one. They picked a rather nice spot for it. The location was, by helicopter, only 10 minutes away from NERV headquarters, just in case they were needed. Wherever an EVA pilot went, it could never be far away from NERV headquarters. The trees were everywhere, creating a sea of green leaves swaying in the wind. There were ruins of an old shinto temple, unattended for probably a couple of decades. It overlooked a grand lake, as clear as the air and as deep as space. The sun shone brilliantly over it all, creating a grand scene which would bring a tear to any artist's eye. Asuka hated it. "Aaah, there's nothing to do here!" she whined. Shinji, seated at the picnic blanket that they'd laid out under a tree by the lake, wisely stayed silent and sipped his tea. Unlike her, he rather cherished serenity, peace, and quiet. "Whose idea was it to bring us here?" grumbled Asuka. "I wish at least we could've asked Hikari to come with us." Shinji, on the other hand, wished he brought his earphones. Lacking that, he just admired the wonderful and grand view of the lake and tried as best as he could to tune Asuka out. "Hey! Are you listening to me?!" It was an impossible task. "Why do you have to complain so much all the time?" whined Shinji. "It's a beautiful place, can't you appreciate that?" "What, you mean sit there like an idiot and sip tea all day?" sniped Asuka. Shinji scowled, turned away from her, and muttered, "I just don't understand what your problem is." "Feh. Like an idiot like you would understand." She stomped off in the direction of the lake, where Rei was sitting. She didn't know why she bothered. It was better than being alone, certainly. "Hey Wonder Girl! What're you doing?" asked Asuka. Rei took a moment to look at Asuka emotionlessly. "Looking at the water," she said. Asuka frowned again. "Don't you find that boring?" she asked. "No," said Rei. They stat there in silence. Of course, with Asuka, this wouldn't last forever. "Great," she mumbled. "Stuck with Wonder Girl and her sidekick Moron Boy." Asuka stomped a few feet away, gathered a small pile of pebbles, and began tossing them across the water. TOSS-skip-skip-skip-plop. Ah, still had the touch. Asuka continued to launch pebble after pebble, then got the nagging feeling she was being watched. Her suspicion was confirmed. Rei was, if only a bit passively, watching her. "What? You've never seen anyone skipping stones on the water?" asked Asuka. Rei shook her head. "It's easy. You take a stone, kind of flat like this one, and fling it just like this," said Asuka. She flung the stone. TOSS-skip-skip-skip-skip-plop. Rei silently picked up a stone, looked over it carefully, and looked at the lake. TOSS-skip-plop. "Oh, don't worry," said Asuka arrogantly, "it takes time to learn how to do it well." TOSS-skip-plop. "You'll get it sooner or later," said Asuka in a not-exactly-comforting way. TOSS-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-plop. Asuka narrowed her eyes. "Showoff." Rei hinted of a slight frown, then went back to watching the water. "Don't tell me you really enjoy just staring at the water," grumbled Asuka. "No, not really," said Rei. "Then why the heck don't you do something else?!" Asuka yelled. "Like what?" asked Rei. "I don't know... something that makes you smile!" "Smile?" asked Rei. "Yes, smile!" said Asuka. "Sing! Dance! Play! Whatever! Anything instead of just sitting there like a rock! Doesn't anything make you smile?" Rei thought about this for a moment. "Commander Ikari." Asuka sighed. "Yeah, that's right, you're the commander's favorite little girl." "And Shinji," said Rei. This little revelation derailed Asuka's train of thought. "Shinji... HE makes you smile?" asked Asuka incredulously. Rei glanced briefly to the tree where Shinji was still resting. Asuka glanced with her. "Yes, Shinji," said Rei flatly, hinting of no emotions at all. "Oh-ho, so you two ARE an item after all," said Asuka smugly. "No, we aren't," said Rei, still emotionless. "So what'd he do to make you smile?" wondered Asuka. Rei simply looked Asuka in the eyes, and said, "he asked." Asuka blinked, not quite comprehending. "He asked? He asked _what_?" "He asked me to smile." "Okaaaaay, right." Asuka tossed up her hands in frustration. Looked like Wonder Girl really was an emotionless robot after all. Meanwhile, back at the tree, Shinji was feeling a little paranoid. At first he was worried that Asuka was picking on Rei. Then they started skipping stones together, which struck Shinji as being very weird. Then Asuka seemed to get mad and started gesturing angrily again, but then they started talking. And then they were looking at him and talking. It was enough to make a kid feel paranoid. If only to find out what they were saying, Shinji got up and joined them. "What's going on?" he asked. Asuka's grin was not of the friendly kind. In fact, it reminded him too much of some carnivores. "So," she said in a teasing manner, "you asked Rei to smile for you? How sweet." Shinji, being who he was, only managed to stutter incoherently and blush. "You try to kiss her in her sleep too?" asked Asuka. "N-no! Don't be ridiculous!" "Sure, you pervert." Asuka was feeling much better. Yanking Shinji's strings around tended to do that for her. Idly, she took a stone and skipped it across the water. Skip-skip-skip-skip-splash. Rei followed suit. Skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-splash. Asuka sighed. Being a bit of a follower more than a leader, Shinji tried his hand at stone tossing as well. -Splash-. Rei blinked while Asuka snickered. Shinji just wanted to hide somewhere. He really missed his tape player. Asuka enjoyed the moment of Shinji-humiliation, then frowned as the amusement of the moment drained away. Back to square 1, with nothing to do. At the same time, possibly by coincidence, or perhaps their synchronization training, they all laid back on the grass. "Hey, Shinji," said Asuka. "Hm?" "Do something for me?" "Um... sure," said Shinji nervously. "Smile for me?" Shinji's eyes bulged slightly, and he turned to stare at Asuka. She met his gaze and didn't flinch. Then she started laughing. "AHAHAHAAA! Oh-ho! 'Smile for me?' AHAHAHAAAA!" Shinji scowled and turned away. "I don't see what's so funny," he grumbled. "Ah, Shinji, I kinda like you," said Asuka whimsically. "Uh-huh," said Shinji sarcastically. "If for nothing else, than for your entertainment value," continued Asuka, still giggling. Silence once again settled in on the group, aside from the sound of the waves of the lake, or an occasional snicker from Asuka. "Hey, Wonder Girl," said Asuka, still reclining on the grassy ground, "I never did hear your reasons for being an EVA pilot." "It is my link," said Rei. "Your link..." said Asuka. "My link to other people." Asuka blinked. "Other people? What other people." "Everyone," replied Rei. Asuka took a deep breath. "Whoever they pick for the fourth child, please let them pick a normal one." "Why do you have to be mean all the time, Asuka?" whined Shinji. "What? All I'm trying to do is get familiar with my fellow pilots," said Asuka. "You could be more nice about it," meekly suggested Shinji. "You saying I'm rude?" asked Asuka. "Exactly." "Hey, Wonder Girl, am I rude?" asked Asuka. Rei thought about this for a moment. "I wouldn't know." Shinji looked disappointed at that answer, while Asuka remained smiling. They stayed there, in perfect symmetry and silence, forming an odd three-pointed star in the grass, not particularly enjoying things, not really hating things, but just _being_ there. It didn't last. "This whole nature appreciation thing isn't as bad as I thought it'd be," mumbled Asuka. "Gets kinda... relaxing after a while." "Nature is the art of God," said Rei. Shinji and Asuka stared at her for a moment. "I... ah... guess it is," said Shinji. "Yeah, something like that," said Asuka. "Nice to get away from our lives for a little bit." "Reality and life are not the same," said Rei quietly. Asuka frowned. She wasn't sure, but she had a nagging feeling she was being quoted at. There had to be some retaliation. "Life is a journey, not a destination," she finally said. There. That put things in balance. Shinji had a nagging feeling something was going on. Rei and Asuka were getting philosophical suddenly. "Hey," said Asuka, nudging Shinji with her foot. "Hm?" He had a bad feeling. Whenever Asuka was involved, something humiliating was bound to follow. "Your turn," said Asuka. "Huh?" "I said, it's your turn," said Asuka. "My turn to what?" asked Shinji, genuinely puzzled. "Say something deep," said Asuka. "Philosophy girl already went, so did I. It's your turn." "Since when did we start this?" asked Shinji. He looked at Rei for a sign of something, anything. She just looked at him and shrugged. "C'mon, quit stalling," said Asuka, "or are you incapable of deep thought?" "Okay, okay, give me a minute!" said Shinji. He thought briefly on school, on historical figures, on a few plays and stories he read. Things were looking rather blank. He'd have to wing it. How hard, he wondered, could it be? Rei does it all the time. "I..." Suddenly, three sets of cellular phones went off. At the same time, a streak of white blazed across the skies. "Saved by the bell," said Shinji. "An angel," said Rei. She watched the white streak fly towards Tokyo-3, frowning. "I'm not forgetting this," said Asuka. "Your turn next! Come on, it's showtime!" A helicopter lowered into a clearing nearby, raising the leaves and dust in a whirlwind, tossing the forest into disarray. Three children entered the center of the turbulent winds, then were off into the sky. Their voices could be heard, though, fading away into the wind. "Um... every day is a winding road?" "Oh please, do better than THAT!" -end-