Monday, 20 May 2013

Story: Tainted Cube: Like Me For Me

Here we go, I hope you enjoy this.


Being the chief scientist for an organisation like NERV was - no pun intended - nerve wracking. Many responsibilities rested upon one’s shoulders, and given that the fate of the human race was very much dependent upon NERV doing its job correctly… Well, didn’t that just say everything that needed to be said? There were many divisions within the organisation. Engineers, technicians, medical staff, accountants, soldiers, janitorial staff, administrators, construction teams, the list went on for quite a long number. For an organisation with such a weighty responsibility upon their shoulders it is inevitable that the heads of any single division must bear some of that terrible weight. Even if their highest duty was making sure the vending machines didn’t run out of bottled water, the staff here absolutely had to feel the tension and it only got worse the closer to the top you got.

Within NERV itself there were only two people actually and properly above Ritsuko Akagi in the hierarchy (though Misato technically outranked her on tactical matters). Pressure wasn’t quite the right word. Nor was stress or overwork. Anyone complaining of that? Complete wimp in her eyes. After all. Look at that thing. Great big city-destroying monster out to wipe humanity from the face of the planet, or more accurately damn near obsessed with performing an activity which would cause the extinction of the human race as a side effect. The military was powerless against these things. They regenerated far too quickly and their A.T. Fields were virtually impenetrable.

In steps NERV. The one and only organisation on the entire planet with a weapon that could defeat it. Evangelion. A gigantic metal monster with the power of a god waiting to be tapped. It alone could stand up to the Angels. The ultimate product of mankind’s determination, ingenuity and hard work.

Backpedaling away from its enemy like it was a circus act.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, <i>shit</i>!” Shinji Ikari said quite clearly over the intercom as he barely dodged the incoming strikes from the Angel’s whiplike arms. This was not going quite as well as it ought to. A blow across the chest sent Unit 01 stumbling ungracefully backwards into a heap on a hillside.

Which was right when her phone triggered with a message from the MAGI. A pre-programmed response warning her that now of all times <i>that</i> had to happen. The perfect opportunity to perform an analysis on this bizarre event, now of all times! Misato and the others were capable of performing without her input. There was nothing for her to do in this battle.

“Excuse me,” she said. “There is a matter I must attend to personally.”

Nobody acknowledged her. Either respect for her position, or was she simply so unimportant at the moment that they simply did not care either way? Who could say? Ritsuko hurried off towards the MAGI, a supposed room for maintenance containing a hidden secret. A section dedicated to a single task. The compilation of data on a particular topic. Kept separate from the main parts of the system, so that she could more easily perform whatever calculations were necessary without certain outside elements discovering details of which they should not be aware.

All it took was to attach her laptop, and her analysis could proceed unhindered. Though it must be said, for this energy to release at such a time… Was there a connection to the Angels, somehow? Or perhaps the activation of Evangelion? Where was it even originating this time? This was but the third occurrence of this bizarre energy spike and she would be damned if she let a single opportunity slip by without learning something!

Without a drop of warning the laptop’s monitor dimmed entirely save for a single blinking white line? What? What happened?! Had there been a power surge of some sort? Perhaps a malfunction in the laptop? No, that shouldn’t be possible. What was happening here?!

The white line moved forward on the screen and a series of characters appeared one after the other, revealing a phrase that left Ritsuko Akagi utterly baffled: “I want to be liked for who I am.”

The message blinked on the screen for a half minute before the screen flicked back into life and she could resume her analysis. What a strange, inexplicable event. Ah! The energy was still building! Point of origin? The entry plug in Unit 01! Good, this narrowed down the field of investigation quite a bit. Also, pretty terrible given the likely implications. Any abnormalities detected within the plug? Well, for that much she could hardly rely upon a computer no matter how advanced. She scanned the readings and stopped much quicker than she’d expected to.

“Three life signs in the plug?” she said. “What the hell is going on up there?!”

Just like that the mysterious energy mysteriously vanished. Just as quickly and inexplicably as it came, it went away again. Moments later, the MAGI sent another message informing her that the Fourth Angel had been destroyed. Step by step the mystery deepened. Step by step, she would resolve each new question. She could do nothing less. Her job demanded it of her.

And beyond stress, responsibility or pressure, Ritsuko Akagi was pretty damn great at her job.

<hr>

It’s a difficult thing to admit you were wrong. Evolutionary response. Admitting you were wrong is the same as admitting defeat. Admitting defeat means being weak, which means lowered chances of finding a mate before the one that defeated you. That’s all pride ultimately boils down to. A need to determine one’s superiority over others. Whatever an individual’s intentions there still lurks deep within a drive, an urge to pass on one’s genes to the next generation.

Not that any of the three boys were particularly aware of this. All Toji knew was that it sat in his gut like a damned rock. After all, look at the little twerp. Sitting there. Checking out the girls with such subtlety that the only reason he’d even noticed was that he was trying to work up the nerve to apologise for punching the pilot in the face.

“Are you going to apologise, or just continue staring at him like you want to have him for lunch?” Kensuke asked, earning him a rap on the back of the head for his troubles.

“Fine, fine!” Toji finally said. “I’ll go and apologise already.”

He stepped forward with his shoulders hunched and said, “Hey. ’Sup?”

“Oh, good, you’re apologising,” Shinji said. “I was afraid you were going to try eating me with a side of coleslaw.”

“Don’t be so damn stupid!” Tojo said. “It’s gonna be a side of broccoli!”

Shinji rolled his eyes at the rather awful joke, but heck! It did its job. It broke the ice, which made saying sorry a little bit less bitter in his mouth. Toji sat down as Kensuke approached and Shinji stole another glance towards the girls. Toji followed his gaze. Ayanami. Eh. Not his kinda chick, but he could see why someone might be attracted to her.

“Listen, I’m sorry about the other day,” he said. “It’s just -”

“I wonder if people perceive the colour red the same way,” Shinji suddenly said. “Is there any way to really know what anyone else sees when they’re watching the same sunset as you? But I suppose it also extends to personalities as well. Multiple people can come away from the same person with different impressions, none of them remotely matching how the person sees themselves.

“In which case, who is the real person? What others see, or how they see themselves?”

Huh. Was he being screwed with right now, or was this mumbo jumbo supposed to be taken seriously? “Uh… Well, I guess none of them?” Kensuke answered. “I mean, wouldn’t it be better to say a person is the sum of what everyone including themselves perceived them as? Something like that, I guess.”

Shinji just smiled faintly and turned around to face the two of them. “Sorry, I was just thinking out loud about how pointless it is to apologise for something like that. No matter how we may try, humans are never rational beings. We can only behave based upon what we know at a given time, and sometimes we let our emotions get the better of us.

“In short: Apology accepted.”

Both Toji and Kensuke sat in silence, staring at this strange pilot. Upon him rested all of their lives. If not for seeing his stubborn brutality in confronting the Angel, they would be rather a lot more concerned all of a sudden. The silence was broken by the sound of girls giggling behind them, and all three boys turned around, in Toji’s case with a slight shudder. He’d been getting this nasty feeling of being watched all day. Probably the pilot’s bodyguards, keeping a close eye on the two blockheads that kept getting their noses stuck where they shouldn’t. Well. If nothing else, they’d gotten the chance to apologise. Maybe having someone around his own age group to confide in would be the sorta thing he could find useful to keep himself stable. You know?

“Say, what do you guys think of the girls?” Shinji innocently asked. “Do you have a favourite?”

Ah, now this was a topic of conversation he felt a little more comfortable with! With a slightly lecherous grin and a glance over to where the girls were enthusiastically stretching out in preparation to run, both Toji and Kensuke mentally compiled a list of attributes to discuss.

<hr>

“Don’t look now, but those three boys are looking over here again.”

Hikari sighed in frustration as the girls all around her took a rather shameless opportunity to either adjust their shirts to flaunt a little more navel or cleavage, or pretended to touch their toes. It wasn’t like she didn’t understand where they were coming from. The three boys each had their own particular charm about them. Shinji was rather innocent, nice and a pilot. Toji was an athletic jerk with a heart of gold, and Kensuke’s energetic enthusiasm was downright contagious. Even so! All of a sudden deciding to flaunt themselves to the trio in such a manner was downright inappropriate!

Not to mention they were being rather half assed about it. <i>This</i> was how you got a boy’s attention!

“Rei, could you help me with something? I think I might have pulled something in my back… Just rub right there…”

Hmph, look at those other girls jealous they didn’t think of something so basic. There was a reason she was class president, and it wasn’t because she lacked intelligence! Besides which, they only wanted Toji for his muscular, sexy body that could make a woman wet at twenty paces. She wanted him for his sexy body <i>and</i> for who he actually was. World of differ-

Oh god! It was like Rei’s hands had melted right into her body and were triggering the pleasure centres all at once. Hikari felt her body suddenly go slack and start to twitch as her nervous system simply overloaded from sudden inexplicable euphoria.

<hr>

The woman standing in front of him created a rather distinct first impression, a fact that she used to her advantage quite often. She was loyal, fiercely determined, shrewd, intelligent. In short, the exact qualities they had been searching for. As for her physical attributes, she was a rather tall woman with blonde hair that flowed down her back like a waterfall. She was presently standing at attention, and doing her uniform absolutely no favours in the process. It almost looked as though if she took a deep breath buttons might fly everywhere! In spite of which Gendo had seen her fight firsthand, and knew that if he had encountered someone like her in his younger days he might well have given up fighting a great deal sooner than he actually had. She had a distinctly European expression to her, and every bit of her indomitable willpower was etched into her strikingly beautiful face.

“Captain Charlotte, reporting for duty!” she said, giving a salute that caused a rather distracting, jiggling sensation beneath her clothing. From reading her file he learned that she was quite aware of the effect and employed it deliberately. A strategy Gendo found rather distasteful, but he did not doubt its effectiveness for a moment. It was her specialty, one might say.

“Your instructions are simple,” he began. “You are to investigate unusual sexual matters occurring within Tokyo-3 that cannot be explained by mundane means. Particularly those involving NERV staff. You are permitted to recruit any member of staff for the purposes of this investigation, so long as it is reasonable to do so. In particular, you are to observe dramatic alterations in behaviour or physical appearance that cannot be explained in a mundane manner. Report only to myself, Fuyutsuki or Doctor Akagi. Only those within the team you assemble are to be made aware of the investigation. Do you have any questions?”

Anyone else might have asked why they were given such a strange task, but not Sergeant Charlotte. So far as she was probably concerned this was the same as Christmas come early. She didn’t show a bit of it but Gendo had seen her psychological profile. This woman was eager to begin immediately, and god help anyone that got in her way. There wasn’t a remote chance she might enquire about such matters, and there was therefore no reason to tell her of the MAGI’s latest, quite frankly bizarre analysis of the mysterious energy pulse.

“No, sir! I shall prepare my list of preferred personnel at once,” the busty woman declared with another jiggly salute. Gendo merely nodded his dismissal and then she turned on her heel to march out of the room in a manner that was perfectly military, yet still managed to make it seem like she was a stripper approaching a pole.

So who should he be feeling more guilty for? The people she focused upon for the purposes of her investigation? Or the personnel she recruited into her investigation team? After a moment’s consideration the commander finally settled on the idea that both were equally worthy of his lamentations. It seemed to him as though every day found a new manner in which this position could rob him of a little more of his humanity.

“Sub-commander, please close your mouth. It would not be dignified if you were to begin drooling on the carpet.”

His old mentor obliged with a slight wince that made Gendo feel a little further guilt at his unnecessary tone of voice.

“I have to say, Commander. This is quite a surprise. I would not think a woman like that would make it so far in any military.”

Nor did Gendo. At first. But then, Fuyutsuki had not had the opportunity to read the files quite yet. No. He had been rather preoccupied with other matters, while Gendo personally attended to this one. He slid one across the desk and said, “Page five. The India investigation. It will enlighten you a little on the kind of woman we are dealing with.”

The file was flipped open and the old man quirked an eyebrow. “I see,” he said after a few minutes of careful reading and rereading. “Is this tenacity quite common for her investigations?”

“No,” Gendo answered. He felt another twinge of guilt with his next words. “That was a particularly relaxed investigation.”

“I see,” Fuyutsuki repeated. The two of them were silent for a moment, and Gendo had to wonder what horrors were passing through the sub-commander’s mind right about then. Were they worse than his? Better, perhaps? “You’ve set a monster loose upon this city. You realise that, don’t you?”

Gendo did not bother replying to that one. Of course he knew. But the question with which he had to grapple was simply this: Would a worse one be unleashed upon the city if he did not act? At the very least he had a leash for this one. At the very least, he could rein her in before she did anything foolish. For the time being… For the time being, it was time for him to create a few distractions for the would-be saviours of mankind. Let them paw at the threads he would dangle before them. Let other matters distract their attention, just as he would let other matters distract him from the waking nightmare that his life had become.

<hr>

It was strange how quickly he had come to think of this bizarre building as home. Even though he lived with no less than five girls, even though he had to deal with piloting a giant robot to save the city from equally giant monsters. Even though all of that. God, what a weird life he led.

Still. It was certainly a relief to be home from school. Though he was fairly certain his bodyguards were keeping their usual eye on him he couldn’t shake the feeling someone else was watching him throughout the day. No matter. If anyone even looked like they were gonna try something, one of those three would turn that fool inside out and back again long before they got anywhere.

“Welcome home,” Honami said, leaning against the wall just outside with that insufferable curiosity-inspiring smirk on her face. Shinji tried not to stare too long at her, even though she was wearing the kind of casual clothes that seemed to beg for attention. “Have a fun day at school?”

“When does anyone ever have a fun day at school?” he replied, suspecting but uncertain of whether she was on duty for observing him today. He could never tell. All three of them masked their presence far too effectively for him to know which of them was watching him, save when he was at home and they didn’t seem to bother. Honami chuckled slightly as Shinji entered the threshold to the building - and laughed a little louder when he dove to the ground in avoidance of the giant, razor-sharp pendulum.

“Cute butt,” Honami said, prompting Shinji to glare back at her. The girl walked right through the pendulum and flicked a switch. “Sorry, meant to mention. I’ve invented 3D holographic projectors. You like?”

The only reason he nodded was to prevent her from showing him what other things she’d invented over the course of the day. Give him the choice between being stuck in Honami’s lab for an hour and an Angel attack, Shinji’d be in his plugsuit before you could blink.

He still intended to seduce her one of these days, but… Not until he’d worked up the courage. Or she pounced on him, because for all he was scared shitless of her he wasn’t sure he had the fortitude to stand up to a relentless assault on her part. Girl was a bit nuts, but hotter than the sun and knew exactly how to direct it. Resist that? It’d be like resisting gravity. You’re good for a little while if you put some effort into it, but eventually it pulls you back in.

Which led to his problem of the moment. Shinji was kinda horny. He’d been a bit too preoccupied to go on the pull lately and seeing those girls in bloomers stretching out all over the place and helping each other with the kinks in their muscles… Yep, definitely got him eager for a little action, and where better to start than with the five girls he lived with? Well. Obviously not Honami, but one of the others certainly!

On his way to his room Shinji had to pass by Rei’s. Quite the next-door neighbour. Quiet, keeps to herself, had an erotic allure he’d never encountered the likes of before. Probably introverted. It would take a hell of a lot to bring her out, and he wasn’t quite in the mood for patience at the moment. He wanted action tonight if possible, which meant Rei was right out. Shinji set his school gear on his bed, stared at the wall separating his room from Rei’s, and strode out into the main building to look for the others, maybe get a little something to eat.

The kitchen was the natural place to start, and he soon found Chisato standing in front of a counter cutting up vegetables. The very image of a housewife, the embodiment of charming innocence that just so happened to have the ability to shoot a fly out of the air at twenty paces. No, really. He’d seen her do that. Just walked twenty paces away from the fly, turned around and shot it out of the air with a water pistol.

“Hello, Shinji,” Chisato said, greeting him with a smile that could warm a blizzard. “How was your day?”

“A lot brighter now that I’m home,” he said. “And knowing you, you’ve probably been working yourself too hard again. Right? You really should learn to relax a little bit, let me do the cooking tonight.”

Chisato gave a playful giggle. Huh? Well, he’d never heard her do that before. He could swear she was blushing, and that body language…

“You’re such a nice boy, Shinji,” Chisato said. Could it really be this easy? The bedroom eyes, the unintentionally suggestive body language. “Always thinking about what others need.”

As much fun as seducing a cute girl might be, being seduced was so much more fun. They were both here, they both wanted the same thing, so why go slow when it would be much more fun to get on with things? Apparently she had much the same thought, as Shinji found himself being pushed down onto a chair with Chisato straddling his waist. Now this was what he was talking about! Time for a little action! Time for -

“Chisato? Are you in here?”

- Sumie to interrupt them. Damn it all! Not now of all times! If Sumie caught the two of them like this, that martial arts chick would probably tweak one of his limbs! Pilot or no! This was the absolute worst thing that could happen right now, and he had to get out of here before -

“Hello, Sumie,” Chisato sweetly said, calm and innocent in a way that absolutely didn’t reflect on how Shinji himself felt at that moment in time. “Was there something that you needed?”

Shinji turned around towards the door, and indeed there she was staring at the two of them with her arms folded across her chest. So this was it. This was how he was going to die. Not to an Angel. Just because he was too damn stupid to make a play in the kitchen.

“You should be more careful,” Sumie said, walking past the two of them as Chisato pulled herself to her feet and dusted her apron down. “It’s all well and good being a sharpshooter, but the rest of your body has the grace of an old footstool.”

“Oh dear,” Chisato said. “Has Honami still not fixed that?”

“No, she hasn’t,” Sumie nearly snarled. “In point of fact, I think she may be making it worse because she thinks it’s funny watching me very nearly fall over, but that’s quite besides the point! I do hope you didn’t hurt our charge with your clumsiness.”

Chisato patted Shinji reassuringly on the head while Sumie carefully prodded him for injuries. Way to cockblock; she should give up martial arts and win a few gold medals there instead. As for Chisato, she got right back to cooking without casting a second glance in Shinji’s direction. Maybe it had all been in his head? Ugh… He’d have to try again later on. At the very least Sumie didn’t seem to think he’d done anything weird, which was a small relief. And her powerful (if tiny) hands were surprisingly gentle at probing for injuries. Sort of soothing, almost.

“Oh, yes,” Sumie said while gently prodding Shinji’s ribs for signs of injury. “I forgot to mention. Honami will not be home for dinner. She said there was something else needing her attention right now.”

<hr>

This was his secret location, a place where he could let his imagination run free and wild without people casting judgement or disdain upon him for his interests. That was the way people were, he felt. So uptight, so unwilling to cut loose and have a little fun! Gotta fit in with the crowd, gotta avoid drawing too much attention to yourself by being the nail sticking up. But here? Nobody came here. Nobody ever came here. Why should they? Unless they wanted to cut loose like him. In which case they could either join in his fun time or find their own damn place!

“Boom!” Kensuke yelled, exuberantly running through the field while pretend enemy fire burst into pretend life all around him. “Enemy base in sight! Initiating phase three!” He mimed drawing out a grenade, pulling the pin with his teeth and let it fly, picturing the arc as it sailed through the air right into the middle of a group of enemy troops. “The path is cleared! Onward!”

The bespectacled boy ran forward, laughing to himself all the while. It was always so much fun playing soldiers, even if by himself! Even the recent experience with the Angel and Unit 01 hadn’t changed that for him. Not in the least! Sure, it was kinda scary at the time but when it was over with the fear just sort of evaporated away, and -

Kensuke was quite inexplicably upside down, having stepped inside a rather expertly crafted snare. Wait a minute, what? And who was that applauding him in an obviously sarcastic gesture?

“Not bad, not bad at all!” said a drop-dead gorgeous woman in a tiny pair of jean shorts and a tank top said, materialising out of what seemed like thin air. “I’m Honami, by the way. One of Shinji’s bodyguards. Wanna screw?”

“… Sorry, I think I misheard you,” Kensuke said. Luckily, he had a Swiss Army knife hidden away. He was easily able to use it to cut through the snare and land in a rather undignified manner at the feet of the woman that was even more drop-dead gorgeous now that all his blood wasn’t rushing towards his head. He took her proffered hand and found himself being pulled into a kiss that fogged up his glasses.

“No, you really didn’t,” she said. “Let’s just say I have an interest in guys with an active imagination and an interest in the military.”

… Well, who was he to argue with the girl flipping her tank top over her head and using it to bind his wrists in a single fluid motion? Hold on, run that by him again she did what just before crushing his face into her big soft breasts and thinking is hard let’s just stay in this safe warm place for a few hours.

“Funny, really,” Honami said. “Supposedly smart guys stop being quite so smart the second they get a hint of titflesh. Then I get their dick inside me, like <i>so</i> and they become <i>really</i> stupid.”

“I can see why,” Kensuke sighed. He didn’t know when her shorts had disappeared and didn’t much care as his dick was engulfed entirely by the warmth and wet of her cunt. It was hard to care for much of anything as she started to bounce atop him, his awareness shrinking to the tight sensation about his dick and the heavy tits pummeling his face.

Sex. Was. Awesome.

Especially when all you had to do was sit there as an exceedingly hot girl fucked herself atop you. He could hear the steady slaps of her toned ass cheeks impacting with his thighs. She’d pulled back, her hands on his shoulders and he got a wonderful show of her boobs wildly rolling and gyrating upon her chest as she watched him with a satisfied smile. He was sure he had some sort of absurd expression on his face. Again. Did not care in the slightest. This felt too damned good!

Then it got better.

Honami’s breasts were suddenly pressed around his face as she repositioned herself, her small feet digging into his hips as she climbed up onto the chair. His dick was briefly withdrawn from her pussy’s tight embrace before her pelvis ground down and he was blessedly back inside. She started to roll her hips and the sensation around his member was almost entirely different and all the more pleasurable for the newness of it. He had little time to focus on the particular way her wet, constricting passage was squeezing his dick because he was suddenly being force fed one lovely puffy nipple, the voluminous, soft flesh of the rest of her tit squashing against his face. As Honami wrapped her arms around the back of his head and seemed intent on feeding as much of her breast into his sucking and licking mouth as possible, he started to asphyxiate but in a totally good way.

And what a way to go!

His orgasm came crashing across his system and before he knew it, his dick was spasming and unleashing loads of his cum deep within Honami’s suddenly very tightly clenching pussy.

<hr>

Nobody likes bureaucracy. She knew that. She understood that. She could handle that. Dismissing it as time-wasting red tape, rolling their eyes at all the forms they had to fill in, looking desperately for shortcuts or loopholes to speed up the process. They viewed people like her as stuffy, boring suits that enjoyed tormenting others with petty little wastes of time.

Mitsuyo Morita knew better. She didn’t enjoy it; who could possibly enjoy being inflicting misery on another person? And it may seem like a waste of time to other people but to her, to people on her side of the red tape it was anything but! If one did not proceed through the correct channels, if one did not provide the correct information then the entire system would devolve into chaos! Red tape? Such an appropriate name! The very systems and organisations of humanity relied upon red tape flowing through it like the human body needs blood! The bigger the organisation, the worse the red tape can seem!

And her job? Administrator. One of the less understood and even less seen vital components of NERV. Mitsuyo was one of the cells of NERV’s heart, keeping the flow of forms and data regulated. Taking them in. Sending them to the correct location. Ensuring data was entered correctly into the MAGI. They would process requests for supplies, ensure the correct payments were made to the correct people at the correct times. Keep it flowing. Keep it moving. The job did involve staying out of the hair of the people with the more stressful work that defined NERV as an organisation, but they wouldn’t be able to pull it off without administrators.

Which honestly suited her fine. Mitsuyo pushed up the glasses on her cute little nose and smiled to herself among all the paperwork and supplies. Truth be told, she was rather a wallflower. Extended personal contact wasn’t really her sort of thing. Not entirely easy with this body or this face. Every guy she met seemed to want to hit on her, and it just made Mitsuyo feel awkward…

The door flew open without warning and Mitsuyo found herself in the rare position of meeting someone bustier than herself. A tall, striking woman, with eyes that made Mitsuyo feel like she should be cowering before her. A blonde-haired captain.

“Is there something I can do to help you?” Mitsuyo asked with a small bow.

“Impressive specimen,” the captain said, lifting Mitsuyo’s chin with a single finger and turning her face as though inspecting her. That really wasn’t comfortable! She should ask for this woman to stop, but couldn’t summon it out of herself. All she could do was whimper a little to herself. “Between the glasses, that face and that body you create quite the elegant example of the beautiful, shy nerd. Couple this with your work record and you make the perfect recruit! I am Captain Charlotte of the special division, and you have just been drafted for a very special mission!”

“D-Drafted?” Mitsuyo asked, very nearly fainting. “Drafted into what? D-Do you have the proper paperwork to draft me?”

“In order: Yes, drafted. An investigation into any signs of unusual, unexplained activity. And here is a signed form, given to me by the Commander granting me the authority to compel staff such as yourself into assisting the investigation!”

In a matter of seconds Mitsuyo’s eyes took in the paperwork, compared the signature and instructed her brain that she should probably swallow rather nervously. The proper channels had been passed through already, it seemed. This strangely enigmatic woman had every single right to draft her, and she absolutely could not complain about it because - as previously stated - the correct channels had to all appearances been walked along.

“B-But how could I possibly help?” she whimpered. “I’m just a lowly admin. I can’t possibly -”

“Nonsense!” Captain Charlotte loudly declared, slapping Mitsuyo’s back, very nearly driving her to her knees. “Any woman of intelligence with a figure like that can accomplish anything she likes in the world. Particularly one with as strong a work effort as yourself! Now! Your first instruction! You will use your access to the staff records to help me build a team as per the following restrictions -”

Escape really was impossible, wasn’t it? This woman seemed like the sort that kicked up a storm wherever she went, and made it blow in whatever direction she bade. Perhaps if she simply followed instructions, followed the path the Captain set out for her, maybe she just might get through unscathed.

<hr>

It was a few weeks later. Dinnertime. So far as Shinji was concerned things were going great. Super. His synch rating was up, he was doing well in school, getting on with people, making friends, passing tests. He was also completely surrounded on all sides by girls, girls, girls.

Let’s take a look for a moment. Just a bit of a closer look at what he had to deal with here. There was Misato. Drinking again. Barely wearing anything and drunkenly flirting with everything with a pulse. To her right was Chisato, lovely as always. Radiant. Beautiful. Irresistible innocence. To her right was Sumie, who was probably quite dangerous to lust over for extended periods but still rather attractive as she sat there demurely in her training hakama. Then there was Honami sitting on Misato’s left, sitting silently and smugly and periodically catching Shinji’s eye to deliver a smouldering look that sent shivers down his spine. To her left was Rei, silent and mysterious as ever. Did she ever wear anything other than her plugsuit or school uniform? That allure was there either way, and he kept catching himself looking at her even though there was plenty to go around, and -

And he was blue balling pretty damn hard right now. Really hard. It was sort of like they were used to him, so they didn’t really notice all that much if they accidentally flaunted themselves in front of him. No way would they do it deliberately, of course; if a girl wanted a guy’s attention she could be much more obvious about it in his experience.

Now, that may sound awesome in theory. In theory it was indeed rather spectacular being granted the opportunity for a little accidental boobage or any amount of female flesh one could wish to see. In theory. Now. In terms of the scientific community once something is a theory it means that there’s a shitton of evidence in favour of it, which is sort of the case here as well if a shitton of evidence means “most guys would think living with this many hot girls that don’t really care if the guy sees their bodies would be awesome”. Which a scientist would not consider evidence of anything but that a bunch of guys have never actually had that experience but would really quite enjoy it.

Unfortunately this was not a scientific theory. This was the sort of theory that generally doesn’t pan out. This was the sort of theory which was in fact dead fucking wrong. See, Shinji considered himself quite a player. He could probably work his way into any of their beds individually, given a few weeks to work them over. The girls did all seem to generally like him. Even Sumie, who hated him at first and still kind of treated him coldly, could actually talk with him about just about anything non-perverted and they’d get on pretty great.

The trouble was… they all lived in the same damn house. Trying to seduce any one of them was like trying to herd cats. Kinda need a little privacy for this sort of deal. Sure, maybe eventually he could convince them into a threesome if he was lucky and there was enough liquor in the house, but generally speaking that’s not likely to fly the first time with someone. Even Shinji didn’t think he was that good!

But they kept. On. Interrupting. Just as he was getting somewhere with one of them, giving Chisato or Misato a shoulder rub the likes of which would turn their knees to jelly for weeks or trying to get Rei to smile at a joke or god help him trying to convince Sumie she’d look cute in a dress or even trying to pin down Honami for a conversation that didn’t involve psychological torture… And it would all blow up in his face time and time again. Either they’d interrupt one another or -

“Wark!”

“Aw, are you hungry, Pen-Pen? Here, have some fish!”

Or the damn penguin would waddle into the room and <b>why did they have a pet penguin in the first place</b>?! The worst part of this case of blue balls was - and this was the killer - Kensuke was very obviously getting regular mind-blowing sex, denying he was having regular mind-blowing sex but doing it in such a way that it was obvious to anyone with half a brain that he was having regular. Sweaty. Mind. Blowing. Sex. If Shinji didn’t get laid soon his balls might just well burst.

<hr>

A few hours later, Rei was reclining in the hot spring with naught but a towel over her body. Her sensitive, aroused body. She could feel every fibre of the towel’s fabric, every wisp of steam, every drop of water all around her.

And it was making her wet.

Rei attempted a smile at her private joke but couldn’t quite pull it off. She was too distracted by her newfound emotion to experiment with others that she was already partially familiar with. Lust. Was it like this for other humans as well? If so, how were they able to function? It was taking a considerable amount of discipline to keep herself sane and rational. If this was but a tenth of what normal humans had to go through regularly, it was a wonder they were remotely sane.

“Well, well! Hello, Rei!” Misato said, slightly tipsy as was usual for her at this point in the evening. “Whatcha thinkin ’bout? No, no, don’t tell me. It’s Shinji again, right? I swear. That boy is so cute sometimes, the way he keeps on hitting on each of us… I almost want to let him go as far as he likes sometimes, you know?”

Rei knew exactly what she meant. Though gave no external indications that she even heard Misato. She certainly reacted when Misato snaked forward, however, and seized her still far too sensitive breasts and - ah! Ah! AH!

“If you want to keep a man’s attention, you’ve got to use these!” Misato said as Rei squirmed in her grip. Oh! It was just like before! It felt so good being touched like this, so much better than touching herself!

“Misato is a little crude in her methods, but she has a pretty accurate assessment,” Honami said, embracing Rei’s arm in between her cleavage. “Honestly, Rei, you should try to cut loose a little more. You would think all this time living with Misato would have made you a little more open, eh?”

“Oh, you can’t blame me for trying,” Misato said, mercifully releasing Rei’s breasts and allowing her to breathe again. “Rei is just the kind of girl that would prefer to keep to herself. Isn’t that right, Rei?”

“Yes,” she said in between short bursts of breath. All of a sudden the air seemed much warmer than it had a few moments ago. Perhaps it would be better for her health if she left now, lest these two resume their playful behaviour. “Please excuse me.”

“Aw, don’t be like that, Rei,” Honami said. “It would be so much nicer for everyone if our pilots got along better, you know?”

Perhaps it would. But Honami clearly did not understand the idea of emotional attachments interfering in what was more important. No matter how much she may physically desire it, Rei could not allow herself - could not permit herself - the luxury of surrendering to these (wonderful) feelings. This was a need that would have to go unfulfilled. This was a need she would have to ignore until such a point that her work was done, which would almost certainly result in her own eradication in any event.

“That girl absolutely needs to get laid,” Honami said just as Rei left the bathing area. “It’d really help her open up.”

Such a thing did not matter. Instead, Rei decided to return to her room and spend the rest of the night doing what she did every night. Lock the door. Strip naked. Bury her face in her pillow. Masturbate until she was asleep, and maybe even beyond that. It was the only reason she hadn’t pinned Shinji beneath her and taken what these new instincts had instructed her was the only rational course. Rei strode into her room -

And dropped her towel at the sight of Shinji Ikari, standing in her room and looking at her dresser. The intruding housemate turned around, and Rei gasped. Not at the realisation he was looking at her naked, but at the thing he was holding. His father’s broken glasses. A reminder of the day the commander had rescued her from the activation test. A reminder that however cold he may seem, beneath that was the beating heart of a tortured hero. Rei strode forward to pull the glasses from out of his reach - and found herself tossed off balance by Shinji’s breath passing her neck. The two of them collapsed to the ground, and Rei felt herself powerless to move.

His hand was on her breast. Correction. His hand was clutching her breast. Before with Misato it had overwhelmed her systems, sent her into a near-orgasmic fit but when Shinji did it the feeling was different. Not orgasmic, but something else entirely. A different kind of bliss she had never dreamt possible.

What would happen now? Would he attempt to kiss her? Would he realise their position and retreat? She knew he was a covert pervert, they all did. It just didn’t seem to bother anyone. The other girls liked him for who he was, but did Rei feel the same way?

“Rei? Are you in there?” Chisato called through the door. “Please, come quickly! We’ve just received word that an Angel has been spotted.”

<hr>

Look at the two idiots over there. They knew they were being watched. They had to know they were being watched. Had to. After the stunt they pulled last time there wasn’t a chance in hell they were being given the minutest opportunity to escape. For their own safety. For the safety of their new friend Shinji. For the sake of the city.

Not that the two of them were likely to even want to leave the bunker given that all around them, the girls of their class were “accidentally” finding themselves pressed up against them. Or falling into them. It really was quite shameless behaviour, and Hikari was really annoyed she hadn’t thought of it first!

“Oh, Kensuke! Please go out with me!” one of the girls finally said. One of them worked up the courage? Amazing!

“Sorry, you’re nice and all, but I’ve already got a girlfriend.”

“Wait, you do? When the hell did that happen? Come on, you gotta tell me all about it!”

Anyone with eyes should have been able to see that. Then again, Toji wasn’t exactly the most empathic person out there. He pulled Kensuke into a headlock, and half the girls swooned at the sight of two of the class hunks about to wrestle.

Now or never time. Hikari pushed her way through the crowd and leaped into Toji’s chest. Clinging on like she might float off into space if she let go for a single instant.

“Darling, there you are! I was so worried you snuck out again! Don’t scare me like that <font size = 1> and play along, idiot! It’ll get those girls to leave you alone!”</font>

“Eh?! Y- you were dating the class president?” the girls all screeched in unison, flirting forgotten in a haze of fresh gossip. The things she did for peace in the classroom! “This isn’t true, is it, Toji?”

“Uh…” Toji began, glimpsing down at Hikari as she glowered up at him. “Yeah? I mean, sure!”

So he wasn’t such an idiot after all, then. The girls filtered off, shooting daggers from their eyes at her, but she could deal with that. They still had a shot with Shinji, but woe betide whichever girl wound up being his girlfriend. A hell would descend upon them the likes of which they would not reckon with.

“Thanks for that,” Toji said. “It was a little weird the way they kept on looking at me like I was a piece of meat… Uh… You can let go now, if you like?”

Right. Right. Of course she could. Hikari made a big show of rolling her eyes. “Well, obviously! It’s really shameless the way they’re trying to use the two of you to elevate their own status. ‘We got to ride in a giant robot with Shinji!’ And all of a sudden… Ugh, it just makes me sick.”

“It’s not exactly helped that Kensuke’s been acting really weird lately,” Toji whispered to her. “I mean, look at the way he keeps staring at the ceiling and sighing! I didn’t even know he had a girlfriend or anything!”

Yes, actually. There was something a little peculiar about the way Kensuke wasn’t really saying all that much. Now that Toji brought it up. Usually he’d be yammering on about something or other, maybe making some snide comment about the two of them dating or enthusiastically congratulating Toji on scoring a girlfriend. Something like that. This was really not like him, though it did seem peculiarly sexy for some reason she could ill explain.

Without warning the entire bunker shuddered and shook. A strong pair of arms swept around Hikari’s shoulder and she found herself being firmly pressed up against Toji’s chest and gripping on for dear life.

“Everyone okay?” someone yelled. “Don’t worry, Hikari, I think it’s over. You can let go now.”

… Who was Hikari again? Oh right. “I’d rather stay here a little longer,” she said, resolving that once this attack was done with she would absolutely have to make that little lie about being his girlfriend real and official as quickly as possible.

<hr>

Sumie did not think of herself as a complicated person by quite the stretch. Since she could remember her family had put her through her paces, drilled into her the need for discipline and a thirst to better herself. Day in and day out she pushed her limits further and further inch by inch, sweat by sweat, blood by blood if need be. She had no time for frivolities, no time to waste. All that mattered to her was becoming stronger so that she could protect the weak.

Which made her wonder which of the two people in this room was the weak one and which was the strong. Herself or the unconscious boy lying on the bed nearby. It hadn’t really hit her until today what he must have to go through whenever he enters the plug. With a bare minimum of training he had to pilot a giant robot into battle with beings so powerful the military could not scratch them. This was his third battle. For her this sort of thing was what she lived for: The battle! Protecting those that could not protect themselves! Were she remotely suitable for piloting she would have volunteered in an instant, but instead -

Something like that can help make it possible to re-evaluate someone. Sumie was rather convinced he was a pervert. The kind of person she usually hated that sought their own gratification above other things. And yet he was a hero who protected a city full of people. How could such things exist in the same person? Surely it was a contradiction? Surely she should not enjoy his company so much, and surely her heart should stop beating quite so quickly in her chest when he was nearby.

Sumie shifted to attention for reasons that might have baffled anyone else observing her, at least until Shinji sat bolt upright a moment later. Her ability to read body language was serving her well, as always… And it had been telling her something else these last few days that she rather wished she had not noticed at all.

“What the hell hit me?!” Shinji gasped. He looked like he’d just woken up from a nightmare. What sort of nightmares would someone in his position have? Surely they must be worse than most. “The last thing I remember, I was heading out in Unit 01 to fight an Angel, and then -”

“Pilot Ikari!” Sumie saluted. An unnecessary gesture, but she couldn’t help herself. “It is my understanding that that the Fifth Angel prepared some form of an energy blast that struck Unit 01 just as you were leaving the launching area! The Angel is currently attempting to drill down into the Geofront, and will take several hours. During this time the command staff are being led by Misato Katsuragi in determining the best means to defend ourselves.”

Shinji calmed down quite visibly and flopped back onto his pillow. “That’s a relief,” he said. “If anyone can find a way to beat that blue diamond bastard, it’s Misato.”

Responsibility. Duty. Bravery. These words and words just like them crossed through Sumie’s mind as she stepped towards the bed. Her eyes drew like a laser beam towards a particular point on the bed, prompting what she hoped was a seductive expression. She was quite uncertain what that would look like. “You really are a pervert, aren’t you?”

The pilot nervously looked down at the rather prominent bulge underneath his sheet. “No, no, it’s not what it looks like,” he waved his hands around enthusiastically.

Sumie simply rolled her eyes, whipped the sheet off the bed and straddled his waist. “The evidence is rather clear, pilot. We have been rather cruel to you, haven’t we? A brave pervert like you surrounded by five attractive girls. It’s obvious your mind isn’t where it should be. Therefore, it is my duty to relieve your tension.”

Yes. That was the only reason she was kissing him right now. Because he had to be able to concentrate. She had heard stories of bullfighters having sex before a performance to help sharpen their senses, and it did make sense that if he was a big bundle of hormones then he would be unable to concentrate. It was her first kiss, of course: In her estimation it probably showed. The boy seemed to have a much better handle on what to do, or at least it felt like that. For the first time in recent memory Sumie allowed herself to follow the lead of another person.

“Are you sure about this?” Shinji asked. “What if someone walks in?”

A flick of her wrist later, and Sumie had undone all ten buttons on her top. “There isn’t a human alive that can sneak up on me,” she replied. “If anyone comes along that corridor, I shall hear them long before they arrive.”

“If you say so,” Shinji replied to her breasts. His hands crept up her sides in the same way a starving man’s eyes roamed over a warm meal. “Who am I to argue?”

In all honesty she hadn’t really considered her position as carefully as she should have. It was a little awkward for both of them to remove their trousers from here, but somehow it felt wrong to create sufficient distance. They ultimately managed, and somehow she was still straddling him on the bed without either of them wearing a single stitch of clothing. The memory was a bit of a haze, really, and why shouldn’t it be when compared to what happened next?

It felt both strange and wonderful as it entered her. Filling her in a way she hadn’t dreamed of and forcing her to make short gasps of overwhelming pleasure. So, this was what Honami was always going on about? All of a sudden that girl’s attitude towards men made a great deal more sense! It felt like her insides were melting! It had only been a short while and yet she could already feel sweat pouring off her brow. That never happened to her! She was so fit, so healthy -

“So tight,” Shinji grunted. His hot breath against her neck made her feel even weaker all over. His hands on her breasts were hardly helping matters. Sumie could barely even think. Just react on instinct. Mindless rutting instinct that compelled her to hump wildly against him like some kind of animal in heat.

That comparison very nearly acted as a cold shower on Sumie. She was not an animal in heat! She was a human being. A rational, thinking person. So start behaving like one already! Take stock for a moment. Her breathing was ragged. Her muscles were being put through a kind of workout she’d never experienced nor dreamt of before. Therefore, she should definitely continue what she had started! What was more, it seemed to her that Shinji was attacking her most vulnerable points. Not with intent to harm, but intent to please. He was lovingly licking or kneading or rubbing the most sensitive areas of her body.

It had never occured to her until right this moment, the moment she had to bite into a pillow to prevent herself from screaming the whole damn place down from her very first orgasm, that sex was just a whole other form of combat. Even as Shinji’s hot cum spurted into her, she somehow didn’t regret losing just this once. But in the future she would absolutely overcome and triumph!

Sumie rolled off the bed, smiling the most genuine smile she had in years as she did so - and caught sight of a certain blue-haired pilot standing quietly in the corner of the room, staring impassively at the pair of them. Sumie stumbled out of bed but rolled to her feet in a rather humiliated salute. “Pilot Ayanami!” she very deliberately did not stammer out, even if her body was trying to make her do so. “P-Please forgive my - My -”

“A plan has been decided upon,” Rei said. “Please report to Misato Katsuragi when you are prepared.”

… So this was it, then? Her reputation was ruined now. But that should have been impossible. Nobody had been able to sneak up on her like that in years! Not even her old mentor could do it these days! Even caught up in the passion she should have heard something! The girl staring past her at Shinji Ikari with unblinking red eyes must move quieter than a ghost! Sumie was dressed again in record time and silently accompanied the two pilots towards the meeting room which, of course, was above her pay level to enter. She was protection when they weren’t fighting for survival against giant robots, after all. Nothing more than that.

There was a presence approaching her. Sumie pretended not to notice. The intention was not hostile, even if the person herself was very large and projected a domineering aura. “Well, aren’t you a peach?” the voice said. “You seem even more alluring than your system file indicated. Sumie Mashita! I am Captain Charlotte, and on authority of the commander I have permission to recruit you into my elite unit.

“Welcome aboard!”

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