Story: Asuka the Lab Rat

Ugh! Some people are so rude! Couldn't that noisy drunken lech tell she was trying to get some sleep? That snoring was like a chainsaw! It honestly sounded just like Misato had collapsed right onto her bed. Didn't she know that the health of the young depended on their sleeping schedule? Come to it, didn't she know that kind of snoring was probably an indication of something seriously wrong with her breathing, possibly her sinus? Almost certainly brought on by that excessive alcohol drinking!

Well. She was awake now. Certainly wide awake enough to think of a few insults she'd probably not voice in Misato's general direction, at least not externally. Not within earshot of the world-weary woman. Even though she honestly believed she could take anything thrown at her, some things even the great Asuka Langley Sohryu didn't want anything to do with.

Trouble was... Boredom! So bored! The other two were still asleep, so she didn't have anyone to talk to. Sure. She could wake them up, but... Actually, come to think there really wasn't any good reason not to do exactly that. Although as she slipped out of her room with a playful smirk the thought did occur to her: How exactly did she know for certain that Shinji was lying face down in his pillow while Misato had poor little Penpen's beak trapped in the sleeve of her tanktop?

Eh. Probably nothing. Just the sort of mental image the two of them gave off, she supposed. Still. It was a pretty vivid mental image. In fact, now she was certain that Shinji had rolled over onto his left side with his knees tucked into his chest. That was the kind of dorky position he'd be in, but there was no way her prospective mate was -

Her prospective what now? Scheiße, Asuka! You really are half asleep, aren't you? All those little whispered things from the other students were starting to eat away at your sanity! Honestly now! Shinji? That spineless dork? Just for that she was going to wake him up by kicking him in the chest. Demand a little breakfast, then demand he kiss her feet for the privilege of, of...

Smell. There was a strange smell coming from Shinji's room. Her initial reaction was ew, gross! Weird thing though? In spite herself she took another whiff and found it pleasant. Almost distractingly pleasant. Sort of like walking through a bakery where all the chefs were buff, naked except for aprons and holding all manner of treats on a tray ready for her to snatch and gobble up. All the chefs in the room would be lined up in front of her. Smiling passively and letting her do whatever she wanted. Even if it meant running her finger over their very masculine chests, sneaking kisses or even reaching underneath their apron for a feel of Shinji's great big -

Asuka snapped out of that daydream in a flash, yes sir! Daydream? Daymare was more like it! No, no, no! Do not want! Third was just a spineless wimp that got the job because daddy set the position aside for him. Well. That plus the fact that in spite of receiving no training he was a natural at killing Angels. He had the physical fitness to at least partially keep up with herself and Rei, who had trained a hell of a lot longer than he had. He also had housework skills, wasn't too bad on the eyes and -

Oh boy, how hot was it in here today? Gotta fan herself down, wipe that sweat from her brow and focus on what she was doing. Waking up m... ma... Shinji! Waking up Shinji! Which meant going into that room, which meant opening that door, and taking a great big hit to the face of that wonderful aroma that left her smiling a great big goofy smile and kneeling on the floor before she knew what was happening.

"Guh!" Asuka intelligently said, just before shaking it off and pulling herself back to her feet. Okay. Get in there. Creep up on your tiptoes and stomp his chest until he wakes up. "Maybe ask him to air out his room while I'm at it," Asuka groused. She didn't like that smell one bit! And she certainly wasn't considering waking Shinji up by doing anything lewd to him in his sleep. Nope! That would be gross. Right! And now here she was standing right by his head and -

And he wasn't adorable! Not even a little! There was nothing even remotely desirable about that - That sleeping boy! Still. She crept down for a closer look. Nope. Nothing cute at all. Certainly not nearly handsome enough to consider taking him as her mate. The smell was strongest here. Made her feel light headed. Kind of nice. Kind of -

"Huh? Asuka?" Shinji mumbled. Ack! His eyes were opening, and she was this close to his face! Asuka scrambled backwards away from him. "Wha...?"

"Oh! Oh, good! I don't need to wake you up, then!" Asuka harrumphed. "I hunger! Bring me food and I might spare your life!"

"... 'Kay..." Shinji sleepily mumbled, getting up to his feet and stumbling sleepily out of the room. Now, it was an important thing to note that the reason Asuka was holding her hands out in a grabby-grabby motion was not because she was imagining what it would feel like to squeeze Shinji's tush. Nope! She was imagining throttling his stupid spineless neck! That's right! Haha!

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"Interesting..." Ritsuko said, eyes greedily absorbing all the data even as it was automatically sorted and compiled. "Heightened senses, it seems. Judging from those reactions, I'd say she's probably especially vulnerable to sexual pheromones used to indicate arousal towards specific targets. Hypothesis: Since she is not yet used to this new sense, Third's physical attraction towards her confused her own interpretation of what her new sense was telling her."

Now she was leaning forward in keen interest. In essence Asuka had tricked herself into thinking she was developing an attraction towards that boy... Then again, maybe she already was attracted to him? It would fit her personality profile. Rejecting him so long as she feels that he is rejecting her, but unconscious confirmation of mutual attraction might make a mind like that go haywire.

There were a few other possible interpretations she could utilise here. After all. It was a sense being heightened to beyond normal human limitations. It could be something as simple as she's sensing that Third is her most suitable mate, or - Well. Too little data to judge properly. That's why this was the hypothesis stage. And it was also why she'd set this scenario up so that Asuka would have no alternative but to come down here for a little checkup.

Ritsuko knocked back some coffee and grinned darkly to herself. Oh yes, Asuka. Observing your reactions during these tests will prove quite, quite interesting and ultimately of tremendous benefit to the whole of humanity. You should feel quite fortunate. Some geniuses don't even get the chance to be this useful. Let's see where it goes from here!

1. Asuka's new senses are tested.
2. Somehow Asuka works out what's really going on and decides to mess with Dr Akagi.
3. Before that, how does Asuka react to meeting Rei?
4. Asuka vs Asuka's libido! Who will win?
5. Something else