31_days fic: To be linked to the community later
I finished this one just now and it was too cute to save for later...
Title: "Reunions Not Looked-For"
Day/Theme: Oct 3. There are no strangers under cherry blossoms
Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Character/Pairing: Kozou Fuyutsuki/OFC, Ryoji Kajii
Rating: PG
Author's Note: This actually goes smack in the middle of the fic I posted on October 2nd, but I cut it out since I didn't want to upset the haiku-like symmetry. I was reluctant to include this in the second part of "Neon Enoch Evangelion", aka the ambitious NGE project, mostly because I was reluctant to bring a certain character back from Instrumentality, but a discussion on (yep!) the Eva Geeks forum made me reconsider.
"What are you thinking of?" he asked at length.
She did not respond right away, but a slow smile crossed her face and she shook her head, as if inwardly laughing over some private joke before she looked up at him.
"Did you say something, Kozou-san?" she asked.
"I asked you what you were thinking of."
"You'll laugh: Kajii's damn melon patch in the GeoFront."
"We told him it wasn't exactly permitted, and the grounds-keeper's crew was less than pleased to find the plantation, but we couldn't stop him from taking up gardening, either. It kept him from being underfoot, but only to some extent," he said. "What about them?"
"Well, I was thinking about this one time, I was taking a walk in the gardens. I didn't see one of the runners and I got my foot caught in it. I faceplanted right in the dirt. He happened to be there, watering them. I think he would have accidently on purpose sprayed me with the hose if he thought he could get away with it."
Fuyutsuki chuckled softly. At that moment, he spotted something dark on the surface of the sea several yards out. Sabia must have detected something as well: she took off like a shot down the beach, practically running across the surface of the LCL. He had to scramble to keep up with her. She stopped short staring at the figure floating on the surface, face upward, grinning at them.
"Well, two of the last faces I saw in life have come to greet me as I come back from the dead," Kajii said. Blood still stained the front of his shirt, but no wound showed through the rend in the fabric.
Sabia turned to Fuyutsuki. "Can we push him under and drown him?"
"That doesn't happen with LCL," Fuyutsuki replied, momentarily wishing it did.
"Oh, why the long faces and scathing comments? I figured you'd both be glad for an old familiar face. Well, I suppose I can always sink back into Instrumentality," Kajii said. Then with a mock groan of despair, "Goodbye, cruel world..."
"Don't be absurd," Fuyutsuki said, cutting in. "Can you walk at all?"
"I'm feeling rather shaky, but it's better than feeling rather dead," Kajii admitted.
"Or are you just fishing for me to help you to the shore?" Sabia said.
"And you saw right through me with those Grigori eyes of yours, my sweet," Kajii said.
"It doesn't take the eyes of a Grigori to see that," Fuyutsuki said, slipping an arm under Kajii's shoulder and helping him to the shore. Sabia followed them at a short distance, but Fuyutsuki could tell she was regarding Kajii askance.
"So, who else has come forth from the depths?" Kajii asked, somewhat serious.
"Only a handful of people connected to NERV have returned thus far, including Miss Sohryuu and the younger Ikari," Fuyutsuki replied.
"What of Katsuragi?"
"She, too, is among the ones who awakened."
"Do you think she will be glad to see me, or do you think she will also want to throw me back into the sea?"
"I think you'll have to find that out when you meet her again, face to face."
"If I were a betting woman, I'd wager she wouldn't be too pleased," Sabia said.
"Or are you speaking for yourself, m'dear?" Kajii teased.
"Not likely: I've found someone else who's more my type, so no dice," Sabia replied.
"Oh, and what exactly *is* your type? Someone who appreciates harp music?" Kajii twitted, unfazed by her coolness.
"Someone mature, experienced, responsible, an intellectual as well as a man of conscience," Sabia replied, looking sideways over Kajii's shoulder at Fuyutsuki.
"Aha, so the rumors I started as a joke have become true after all," Kajii said, darting a glance at Fuyutsuki. "Didn't know you had it in you to land one of the prettiest girls at NERV; I just hope you can keep up with her, old man: she's ravenous."
"Quit that nonsense before I drop you headfirst into a ditch," Fuyutsuki retorted, letting Kajii's weight slip from his shoulder just enough to give the exhausted young man reason to keep quiet.
Misato and Huyuuga had their heads together over the terminal in what had been the hotel's reception area, the two of them still trying to establish a satellite link. Misato looked up just as the three of them entered.
"What -- who the hell?!" Misato cried, facepalming. "Throw him back where you found him!"
"I wanted to, but I couldn't in good conscience," Fuyutsuki said, as Kajii straightened up and limped to the desk.
"My love, you wound me, and I came back from the jaws of death just to see your face," Kajii said.
"Maybe I should leave you two to fight it out," Hyuuga said, getting up and heading for the hotel parlor.
"Urggh, I am, but have you any idea what I went through because of what happened to you?" Misato snapped.
"Get him a clean shirt and something a little warmer while you're on your way out," Fuyutsuki told Hyuuga. Sabia twitched at his sleeve, catching his attention.
"A moment in private?" she said, keeping her voice low, her eye on Misato and Kajii as they bickered, though it seemed the bickering masked something much deeper.
Fuyutsuki drew Sabia aside, noting the concern in her eyes. "What's on your mind?" he asked, in a low voice, leaning down to her.
"Do we tell them what I did to Kajii?" she replied, answering his question with another.
"Not unless Katsuragi-san should start asking questions."
Sabia folded one arm diagonally across her chest. "But should she find out what I am, what then?"
"She'll have to get past me to do anything to you, plus you're well-equipped to ward off an angry woman. And if she does try anything, she has no reason to: you've never given us any cause for alarm."
Sabia's eyes widened as she peered past his shoulder and a blush crossed her pale face. Fuyutsuki followed her gaze: Misato had pulled herself up onto the desk and knelt there, her arms about Kajii, weeping tears of relief as she pressed her face into his neck. Kajii held her tenderly, stroking her hair and speaking to her in a low, reassuring voice, tears in his own eyes.
"I think we had better give them a private moment of their own," Fuyutsuki said.
Title: "Reunions Not Looked-For"
Day/Theme: Oct 3. There are no strangers under cherry blossoms
Series: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Character/Pairing: Kozou Fuyutsuki/OFC, Ryoji Kajii
Rating: PG
Author's Note: This actually goes smack in the middle of the fic I posted on October 2nd, but I cut it out since I didn't want to upset the haiku-like symmetry. I was reluctant to include this in the second part of "Neon Enoch Evangelion", aka the ambitious NGE project, mostly because I was reluctant to bring a certain character back from Instrumentality, but a discussion on (yep!) the Eva Geeks forum made me reconsider.
"What are you thinking of?" he asked at length.
She did not respond right away, but a slow smile crossed her face and she shook her head, as if inwardly laughing over some private joke before she looked up at him.
"Did you say something, Kozou-san?" she asked.
"I asked you what you were thinking of."
"You'll laugh: Kajii's damn melon patch in the GeoFront."
"We told him it wasn't exactly permitted, and the grounds-keeper's crew was less than pleased to find the plantation, but we couldn't stop him from taking up gardening, either. It kept him from being underfoot, but only to some extent," he said. "What about them?"
"Well, I was thinking about this one time, I was taking a walk in the gardens. I didn't see one of the runners and I got my foot caught in it. I faceplanted right in the dirt. He happened to be there, watering them. I think he would have accidently on purpose sprayed me with the hose if he thought he could get away with it."
Fuyutsuki chuckled softly. At that moment, he spotted something dark on the surface of the sea several yards out. Sabia must have detected something as well: she took off like a shot down the beach, practically running across the surface of the LCL. He had to scramble to keep up with her. She stopped short staring at the figure floating on the surface, face upward, grinning at them.
"Well, two of the last faces I saw in life have come to greet me as I come back from the dead," Kajii said. Blood still stained the front of his shirt, but no wound showed through the rend in the fabric.
Sabia turned to Fuyutsuki. "Can we push him under and drown him?"
"That doesn't happen with LCL," Fuyutsuki replied, momentarily wishing it did.
"Oh, why the long faces and scathing comments? I figured you'd both be glad for an old familiar face. Well, I suppose I can always sink back into Instrumentality," Kajii said. Then with a mock groan of despair, "Goodbye, cruel world..."
"Don't be absurd," Fuyutsuki said, cutting in. "Can you walk at all?"
"I'm feeling rather shaky, but it's better than feeling rather dead," Kajii admitted.
"Or are you just fishing for me to help you to the shore?" Sabia said.
"And you saw right through me with those Grigori eyes of yours, my sweet," Kajii said.
"It doesn't take the eyes of a Grigori to see that," Fuyutsuki said, slipping an arm under Kajii's shoulder and helping him to the shore. Sabia followed them at a short distance, but Fuyutsuki could tell she was regarding Kajii askance.
"So, who else has come forth from the depths?" Kajii asked, somewhat serious.
"Only a handful of people connected to NERV have returned thus far, including Miss Sohryuu and the younger Ikari," Fuyutsuki replied.
"What of Katsuragi?"
"She, too, is among the ones who awakened."
"Do you think she will be glad to see me, or do you think she will also want to throw me back into the sea?"
"I think you'll have to find that out when you meet her again, face to face."
"If I were a betting woman, I'd wager she wouldn't be too pleased," Sabia said.
"Or are you speaking for yourself, m'dear?" Kajii teased.
"Not likely: I've found someone else who's more my type, so no dice," Sabia replied.
"Oh, and what exactly *is* your type? Someone who appreciates harp music?" Kajii twitted, unfazed by her coolness.
"Someone mature, experienced, responsible, an intellectual as well as a man of conscience," Sabia replied, looking sideways over Kajii's shoulder at Fuyutsuki.
"Aha, so the rumors I started as a joke have become true after all," Kajii said, darting a glance at Fuyutsuki. "Didn't know you had it in you to land one of the prettiest girls at NERV; I just hope you can keep up with her, old man: she's ravenous."
"Quit that nonsense before I drop you headfirst into a ditch," Fuyutsuki retorted, letting Kajii's weight slip from his shoulder just enough to give the exhausted young man reason to keep quiet.
Misato and Huyuuga had their heads together over the terminal in what had been the hotel's reception area, the two of them still trying to establish a satellite link. Misato looked up just as the three of them entered.
"What -- who the hell?!" Misato cried, facepalming. "Throw him back where you found him!"
"I wanted to, but I couldn't in good conscience," Fuyutsuki said, as Kajii straightened up and limped to the desk.
"My love, you wound me, and I came back from the jaws of death just to see your face," Kajii said.
"Maybe I should leave you two to fight it out," Hyuuga said, getting up and heading for the hotel parlor.
"Urggh, I am, but have you any idea what I went through because of what happened to you?" Misato snapped.
"Get him a clean shirt and something a little warmer while you're on your way out," Fuyutsuki told Hyuuga. Sabia twitched at his sleeve, catching his attention.
"A moment in private?" she said, keeping her voice low, her eye on Misato and Kajii as they bickered, though it seemed the bickering masked something much deeper.
Fuyutsuki drew Sabia aside, noting the concern in her eyes. "What's on your mind?" he asked, in a low voice, leaning down to her.
"Do we tell them what I did to Kajii?" she replied, answering his question with another.
"Not unless Katsuragi-san should start asking questions."
Sabia folded one arm diagonally across her chest. "But should she find out what I am, what then?"
"She'll have to get past me to do anything to you, plus you're well-equipped to ward off an angry woman. And if she does try anything, she has no reason to: you've never given us any cause for alarm."
Sabia's eyes widened as she peered past his shoulder and a blush crossed her pale face. Fuyutsuki followed her gaze: Misato had pulled herself up onto the desk and knelt there, her arms about Kajii, weeping tears of relief as she pressed her face into his neck. Kajii held her tenderly, stroking her hair and speaking to her in a low, reassuring voice, tears in his own eyes.
"I think we had better give them a private moment of their own," Fuyutsuki said.