31_days fic: A short-ish but sweet chapter
This came out a bit longer than I intended, but I was having so much fun writing it that I just sort of let the characters kick back a little. I haven't written much involving Shinji, only because my Grigori character really doesn't spend a whole lot of time with him, but I thought it would be fun to throw the two of them together. I think he sounds a bit more extroverted here than he usually does, but I'm chalking this up to her easy-going if quirky personality (and the fact that she vaguely reminds some folk of his mom...).
Title: "Downtime Guidance"
Day/Theme: Sept 21) antebellum innocence
Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Character/Pairing: Shinji Ikari, Ryoji Kajii, OFC
Rating: PG
Author's Note: Mostly just a cute chapter: I might include this in the full length version of "Neon Enoch
Evangelion", aka the ambitious NGE project, but I might not. Still, it was too sweet not to include. Takes place probably during Episode 9, when we see a little "downtime" among the NERV staff (Huyuuga reading manga; Aoba playing "air guitar" -- love those guys!!)
A "down" day at NERV headquarters. Sabia let herself relax a bit, typing code for a Babelfish-like translator for Enochian to English, though she realized she would have to consider an Enochian to Japanese version. In between coding, she had EvE Online running in another window, her mining Hulk lasering through an asteroid field, while her corp mates yattered about their plans to sneak up on a rival corp's storage in a deadspace complex.
A private chat offer from Enniel popped up on the screen; she accepted it.
Enniel Prussoe>You're on early in the day. Are they letting you goof off or do you have no work to do?
Elayse Marovaque>It's been quiet, but I thought I'd get a load of Plagioclase ore while I work on that Enochian Babelfish program.
Enniel Prussoe>Ahh, a harmonious balance of work and play.
Elayse Marovaque>I'm surprised you're on this early. It must be seven in Cambridge?
Enniel Prussoe>Yes, we've got those tedious spreadsheets printing up
Elayse Marovaque>Virtual Busman's holiday.
Enniel Prussoe>Pardon?
Elayse Marovaque>An international financier playing the intergalactic stock market in an MMO.
Enniel Prussoe>Ha. Ha. Very funny. ./snarkasm
Enniel Prussoe>Any luck with that bit of research I asked you to do?
Elayse Marovaque>Nothing to speak of, and Commander Ikari is away in the Antarctic, the last I'd heard.
Enniel Prussoe>I'll have to test a few leads I've run down there
At that moment, the door to her office popped open and the Commander's son peered in. The boy started slightly and backed away.
"Oh, um, I-I'm sorry, Miss, I, uh, was looking for Misato's office and I, um, took a wrong turn," the boy stammered, going red in the face. "I didn't mean to bother you, um..."
"It's all right, Shinji-san: I wasn't really busy," Sabia said, saving her work and setting her AFK status. "These corridors are really twisty and it's easy to get lost. Would you like me to walk with you while you find your way?"
The boy shuffled his feet and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Um, yeah, sure, that would be... uh, nice."
She got up from the desk and stepped out into the hallway; the boy stepped aside from her, almost tripping over himself. Sabia gave him a gentle smile.
"So, uh, do you work for my father?" he asked.
"Sort of: he asked me to come here, but I'm working more with Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki," she said.
"Oh, uh, yeah, that tall guy who's always with my father: he seems kind of mean," Shinji faltered.
"He can be a bit stiff, but he's really a good guy, when you get to know him: he just gets impatient with younger people, or so it seems," Sabia said. He must take after his mother, she thought. He's easier on the eyes than his father, even this young.
"So, uh, what do you do here?"
"Well, it's kind of complicated and it's a rather secret project, but I trust you to keep this on the low-down," she said. "You see, there's been these odd voices turning up on some of the sound recordings from the Angel attacks, and it appears that some of the Angels are speaking in a very old language we call Enochian."
"Voices? What? I-I haven't heard anything. I mean, things get pretty noisy during an Angel attack, but I know I'd hear something coming from an Angel. I mean, they're so big, you'd hear them, wouldn't you?"
"That's where it gets interesting, since these voices are usually at ranges that are hard for the human ear to hear. It's as if their voices aren't meant to be heard in a world like this."
"But you can understand what they're saying?" he asked. "They can talk?" An odd look crossed his face, as if had somehow dawned on him that there might be more to the Angels than what he'd been told.
"In a way, yeah, they can, though their language is something that isn't used much, if at all, among people," she said. "I'm sorry if all this is going over your head: it's something we're still trying to figure out."
"That's okay: you're good at explaining stuff, not like Ritsuko. Half the things she tells me, I don't have a clue what it's all about."
"Mm, you've got that right, though I haven't dealt with her as much as you do," Sabia said.
An awkward silence fell between them and she realized Shinji was eying her quizzically, as if he were trying to place something and wanted to speak up, but he didn't dare. At that point, Kajii came slouching around a corner. "Found our little lost puppy, Sabia?" he asked. "Misato sent me to rescue him."
"I'm taking that to mean she wanted you out of her hair," Sabia said, coolly.
"Found yourself a hot date, Shinji? You've come up in the world, seeing a foreign woman now, and the Vice-Commander's ladylove, no less. Careful, the old goat might have you demoted for treading on his territory," Kajii teased.
"Oh, uh, it's nothing like that," Shinji stammered, but through his nervousness and embarassment, she detected a bit of a pleased smirk. For all his annoying tendencies, Kajii is probably the closest this kid has to an older brother or an uncle to look up to, she thought.
"Well, I'll let you take this from here, Kajii," Sabia said, turning away.
"Worried your gentleman friend will think you've thrown him over for a younger model?" Kajii teased.
"Not at all: there's nothing going on between the Vice-Commander and I, so there's no chance of him getting jealous," Sabia replied coolly. Why are you letting him get under your skin? she asked herself. He's not much different from Othmar and you can handle Othmar's teasing... "If you'll excuse me..." she said, turning to walk away.
"One thing to bear in mind, Shinji, when a woman tells you there's nothing going on between her and another man she's been eying when she thinks no one can see, it usually means there's something going on, even if it's in the most preliminary stages," Kajii said.
"I heard that," she muttered.
"Oh, I know you did, even if it *wasn't* meant for your little ears," Kajii retorted.
Title: "Downtime Guidance"
Day/Theme: Sept 21) antebellum innocence
Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Character/Pairing: Shinji Ikari, Ryoji Kajii, OFC
Rating: PG
Author's Note: Mostly just a cute chapter: I might include this in the full length version of "Neon Enoch
Evangelion", aka the ambitious NGE project, but I might not. Still, it was too sweet not to include. Takes place probably during Episode 9, when we see a little "downtime" among the NERV staff (Huyuuga reading manga; Aoba playing "air guitar" -- love those guys!!)
A "down" day at NERV headquarters. Sabia let herself relax a bit, typing code for a Babelfish-like translator for Enochian to English, though she realized she would have to consider an Enochian to Japanese version. In between coding, she had EvE Online running in another window, her mining Hulk lasering through an asteroid field, while her corp mates yattered about their plans to sneak up on a rival corp's storage in a deadspace complex.
A private chat offer from Enniel popped up on the screen; she accepted it.
Enniel Prussoe>You're on early in the day. Are they letting you goof off or do you have no work to do?
Elayse Marovaque>It's been quiet, but I thought I'd get a load of Plagioclase ore while I work on that Enochian Babelfish program.
Enniel Prussoe>Ahh, a harmonious balance of work and play.
Elayse Marovaque>I'm surprised you're on this early. It must be seven in Cambridge?
Enniel Prussoe>Yes, we've got those tedious spreadsheets printing up
Elayse Marovaque>Virtual Busman's holiday.
Enniel Prussoe>Pardon?
Elayse Marovaque>An international financier playing the intergalactic stock market in an MMO.
Enniel Prussoe>Ha. Ha. Very funny. ./snarkasm
Enniel Prussoe>Any luck with that bit of research I asked you to do?
Elayse Marovaque>Nothing to speak of, and Commander Ikari is away in the Antarctic, the last I'd heard.
Enniel Prussoe>I'll have to test a few leads I've run down there
At that moment, the door to her office popped open and the Commander's son peered in. The boy started slightly and backed away.
"Oh, um, I-I'm sorry, Miss, I, uh, was looking for Misato's office and I, um, took a wrong turn," the boy stammered, going red in the face. "I didn't mean to bother you, um..."
"It's all right, Shinji-san: I wasn't really busy," Sabia said, saving her work and setting her AFK status. "These corridors are really twisty and it's easy to get lost. Would you like me to walk with you while you find your way?"
The boy shuffled his feet and rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Um, yeah, sure, that would be... uh, nice."
She got up from the desk and stepped out into the hallway; the boy stepped aside from her, almost tripping over himself. Sabia gave him a gentle smile.
"So, uh, do you work for my father?" he asked.
"Sort of: he asked me to come here, but I'm working more with Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki," she said.
"Oh, uh, yeah, that tall guy who's always with my father: he seems kind of mean," Shinji faltered.
"He can be a bit stiff, but he's really a good guy, when you get to know him: he just gets impatient with younger people, or so it seems," Sabia said. He must take after his mother, she thought. He's easier on the eyes than his father, even this young.
"So, uh, what do you do here?"
"Well, it's kind of complicated and it's a rather secret project, but I trust you to keep this on the low-down," she said. "You see, there's been these odd voices turning up on some of the sound recordings from the Angel attacks, and it appears that some of the Angels are speaking in a very old language we call Enochian."
"Voices? What? I-I haven't heard anything. I mean, things get pretty noisy during an Angel attack, but I know I'd hear something coming from an Angel. I mean, they're so big, you'd hear them, wouldn't you?"
"That's where it gets interesting, since these voices are usually at ranges that are hard for the human ear to hear. It's as if their voices aren't meant to be heard in a world like this."
"But you can understand what they're saying?" he asked. "They can talk?" An odd look crossed his face, as if had somehow dawned on him that there might be more to the Angels than what he'd been told.
"In a way, yeah, they can, though their language is something that isn't used much, if at all, among people," she said. "I'm sorry if all this is going over your head: it's something we're still trying to figure out."
"That's okay: you're good at explaining stuff, not like Ritsuko. Half the things she tells me, I don't have a clue what it's all about."
"Mm, you've got that right, though I haven't dealt with her as much as you do," Sabia said.
An awkward silence fell between them and she realized Shinji was eying her quizzically, as if he were trying to place something and wanted to speak up, but he didn't dare. At that point, Kajii came slouching around a corner. "Found our little lost puppy, Sabia?" he asked. "Misato sent me to rescue him."
"I'm taking that to mean she wanted you out of her hair," Sabia said, coolly.
"Found yourself a hot date, Shinji? You've come up in the world, seeing a foreign woman now, and the Vice-Commander's ladylove, no less. Careful, the old goat might have you demoted for treading on his territory," Kajii teased.
"Oh, uh, it's nothing like that," Shinji stammered, but through his nervousness and embarassment, she detected a bit of a pleased smirk. For all his annoying tendencies, Kajii is probably the closest this kid has to an older brother or an uncle to look up to, she thought.
"Well, I'll let you take this from here, Kajii," Sabia said, turning away.
"Worried your gentleman friend will think you've thrown him over for a younger model?" Kajii teased.
"Not at all: there's nothing going on between the Vice-Commander and I, so there's no chance of him getting jealous," Sabia replied coolly. Why are you letting him get under your skin? she asked herself. He's not much different from Othmar and you can handle Othmar's teasing... "If you'll excuse me..." she said, turning to walk away.
"One thing to bear in mind, Shinji, when a woman tells you there's nothing going on between her and another man she's been eying when she thinks no one can see, it usually means there's something going on, even if it's in the most preliminary stages," Kajii said.
"I heard that," she muttered.
"Oh, I know you did, even if it *wasn't* meant for your little ears," Kajii retorted.