2010-04-23 - I've Just Made a Huge Mistake

If she hadn't beaten up on Rei the day before, Asuka Langley Sohryu WOULD be wearing her favorite yellow sundress. But because she couldn't trust that doll to tell everyone what she had done to her, there was no way she was going to go home and face punishment from Misato! It didn't matter what reason, what excuse she offered; Misato would side with Rei, anyway!

So instead of going home to the Katsuragi residence, she spent the night at Hikari's. And instead of socializing with her friend, she spent the better portion of the night on the class rep's computer, trying to find some way to get in contact with Leo Stenbuck, and complete the circle of revenge.

She sent him an e-mail, expressing how absolutely urgent it was that he get back in touch with her. He replied, and the two of them agreed to meet in Tokyo-03 the next day.

Instead of her yellow sundress, Asuka's wearing clothes commandeered from Hikari. She wears a white, sleeveless blouse and a light blue skirt. White sandels finish off the outfit.

She stands next to the statue of Hachiko, her hands clasped behind her back; she attempts to contort her face into something cute and innocent--the same way she did for Kaji. Though after a few minutes of this, her expression just shifts into one of boredom.

Asuka's expression is stuck on 'boredom' for a good fifteen minutes; Leo is... a little late, despite having agreed to the girl's suggested meeting time. No matter how much he tries, though, he can't bring himself to feel bad about it. He has a job that entails more than going to school and, occasionally, ensuring that a combat mission against an extraterrestrial threat dissolves into friendly fire. It was enough of a pain in the ass managing to even /make/ the meeting, let alone make it on time.

Twenty minutes after the arranged meeting time has passed, Leo finally shows up, approaching the statue of Hachiko with quick, purposeful strides. He's in full A-LAWS uniform, and a large, gold-plated revolver sits in a holster on his right hip. The uniform greatcoat's duster and the long tails of the strip of increasingly faded white cloth tied around his head billow out behind him as he walks.

It basically looks super sweet.

Leo lifts a hand in greeting as he nears Asuka, and comes to a halt in front of her. "Asuka, right?" he asks, folding his hands behind his back. Without waiting for a confirmation, he gets right down to business. "What's all this about?"

"Asuka, right?"

Immediately, Asuka's face perks into a smile--something rarely seen from a girl whose lips are almost always pulled into a scowl. "Oh, Leo!" she says, in a sing-songy voice. "I didn't realize you were there!"

If there's any one thing Asuka can give Rei credit for, it's that Leo is pretty good looking. Even in uniform. He might even look better in that gettup than he does in regular civilian clothes. It just depends upon his fashion sense. Even if he is awful at selecting his own clothes, Asuka's sure that she can fix that problem with time. Handsome boys needed to be dressed in handsome clothing!

Asuka's hair falls over her shoulder as she wraps her arms around her; they're situated just under her breasts, an attempt to draw attention to her ample bosom. "I just heard about you and Rei. I know that we're not that good of friends... but if there's anything I can possibly do for you, please promise me you'll let me know!"

Asuka's scheme goes down just as planned. When she folds her arms under her breasts, Leo's eyes track downwards and linger there for a few beats; after a moment, he proceeds to looking at, well, the rest of her.

Mentally, he marks her down as a 7.

Once he's carried out the wishes of his dark hormone overseers, he lifts his eyes back to Asuka and gets around to actually parsing what she was saying. Heard about him and Rei, huh...? A dark look flashes across the young Captain's face, and he drops his eyes back downwards... this time, all the way to the ground.

"Yeah," he says, simply. "Thanks... I appreciate it." It is, technically, the truth, but... why's she reaching out to him like this? It isn't like they're friends. Shit, they've only even spoken a few times. And didn't she say it was urgent he come here...?

After a few beats, Leo exhales pointedly and once again lifts his eyes back to Asuka's. "Is that... it? Or...?"

Just a 7?! If Asuka knew she was ranked anything below an 10, she'd have a full-fledged freakout. Especially if Rei happened to be ranked higher than she was!

Asuka, thankfully, is no mindreader--so there won't be any arguments over her rank in the looks department today. But it wouldn't take a mindreader to know what that look on his face meant. Rei gave off that same vibe just the day before. Those two probably still had the hots for each other, didn't they?!

Well, she'd make Leo forget all about that little bitch Rei! And then she'd trot him in front of her arm in arm just to get her back for that remark about Johnny! And maybe after all that was over, she'd keep him. Just because. She certainly couldn't do much better than an elite member of the A-Laws, after all!

Asuka clasps her hands behind her back. "I thought that maybe -I- could take you out for lunch or something, to get your mind off of things." She smiles charmingly. "It's really a shame that we aren't closer, with the two of us working together as much as we do."

To Leo Stenbuck, Rei is definitely a 10.

"Uhh..." Leo makes an indecisive face at the mention of lunch, and unfolds his hands from behind his back to dig the right one into his pants pocket and withdraw (and squint at) his phone/PDA/generic futuristic information technology tool, /fuck you this is the future./ Does he really have the time...?

Just as he's going to put it back in his pocket, it suddenly vibrates, and emits a tinkling chime (that might be familiar to Asuka... if she were a Newtype) as Leo receives a text message. He blinks in obvious surprise and lifts it up to look more closely at the screen. He purses his lips, glances up at Asuka, and then looks back down at his phone. Nnn...

"Sorry, uh, one sec, work thing," Leo mutters, typing furiously at his phone's holographic extendo-keyboard for a moment. He types pretty fast; he must have awfully deft fingers.

Nyoro~n.

It takes only a few seconds for Leo to finish... doing whatever he was doing, and then he stuffs his phone back in his pocket. "Sorry about that," he says, flashing Asuka an apologetic smile. "Uh... lunch, you said? I guess I have time for that..."

Score one for Asuka Langley Sohryu! She'll show Rei how this is done.

"There's actually a good place not too far from here," she says, reaching for the boy-pilot's hand. "C'mon, I'll show you!" And as she moves forward to lead the way, she makes sure to let her breast brush against his arm.

She passes right by the spicy Korean BBQ place she maliciously dragged Rei and Shinji to a few days before (she hated that crap anyway!) and headed straight for the nearest sushi place. There weren't many places like this back in German, but she acquired a taste for sushi upon landing in Japan a few years before.

She doesn't relinquish her grasp on the boy's hand until they're inside, and even then, reluctantly. The last thing she wants is to come across as too pushy! She's supposed to be there for him, as the good girl friend he can depend upon, until he falls madly in love with her! THEN she'll make her move.

"Two please!" Asuka chimes in, and the two are escorted to a table near one of the restaurant's many wide windows. A simple flower in an equally simple vase separates the two.

"You were pretty good in that last battle," she says. Truth be told, Asuka can't even remember WHAT he did in the last battle; she was so focused on her Angel opponent and on that stupid Johnny Domino to notice him in the field of action. "We really should try to work together next time."

Asuka pages through her menu.

Leo's a little surprised when Asuka grabs his hand and takes the lead - not to mention when she all but crams her tit into his arm as she passes him - but he's content to let her drag him along. He's already gotten a taste of... well, this sort of thing, in spending time with Louise. She can be very... 'bossy', let's say, too.

Leo even closes his hand around Asuka's, as opposed to simply deigning to allow her to drag him along by the hand. Clearly an expression of his barely restrained animal lust.

/Clearly./

Leo remains silent until they're seated, and occupies himself just sort of idly scanning their surroundings, as much watching out for threats as he is actually sightseeing. Once they've been seated, and Asuka makes her statement, Leo blinks rapidly as if coming back from being zoned out, and flashes the redhead another weak smile.

"Thanks," he says, picking up his own menu and glancing down at it. "I guess we should. I usually... try to stick by myself, against the Angels. You know, to split up its attention." And to keep the rest of you from getting in my way, he adds mentally.

He hesitates, and then gives a slight shrug and asks, "So what's up with all the friendly fire, anyways? I mean, I know Domino's kind of..." Rather than actually say the word 'asshole', Leo just gestures vaguely with his menu. "... but..."

His hand felt so nice in hers, too! Not worn and calloused, like some of the other male pilots! Asuka, for one, is a woman who can appreciate proper hand care, unlike that doll Rei Ayanami!

"The Evas were created for fighting the Angels," she says proudly as she folds up her menu. "That's their sole purpose! Not for battling against other people like the other units on the battlefield." Asuka clearly takes pride in being one of Nerv's three Evangelion pilots. "I am the pilot with the highest sync ratio. If there's any one of us to partner up with, it'd have to be me!" What she doesn't mention is that Shinji Ikari happens to be catching up to her in the ranks--something that Asuka plans to take care of in short order!

And just after she so proudly rambled on about her being an elite pilot to save the world from the Angels, he has to bring up THAT!

"He was the one who attacked me last time," she says. Clearly Asuka is on the defensive when it comes to this topic of conversation. "I always work well with my co-workers! He's just always getting in my way!"

Hopefully Leo doesn't find out how well she worked with Rei the day before.

Hopefully in-/deed/.

The good news is, Leo seems willing to take Asuka's statement at face value... at least the one about Johnny Domino. "Figures," he grunts, without looking up from his menu. "Well, if it happens again, you should probably-" Leo cuts off mid-sentence, brow suddenly furrowing.

He /could/ advise Asuka to be the bigger man - or... woman, he supposes - if it happens again, but... that'd mean there was at /least/ one more (probably) effective combatant on the field, and that makes his contribution that much smaller.

He needs to impress Gendo as much as he can... and he can do that more effectively if Asuka and Johnny are shooting at each other instead of the Angel. It isn't like they're ever in any real danger; most of the recent Angels barely even have defense mechanisms beyond what they use to attempt to penetrate the Geofront.

"Actually," Leo begins again, leaning a little closer to Asuka across the table. "You know what? If he does it again, you should just kick his ass. He'll never learn unless you do, right? Besides, the guy's a douchebag."

When the waitress finally scrambles up to the table, Asuka orders a soda and a selection of various different sushi; she's not stuck on just one particular type. A minute later, the waitress returns, places their drinks on the table, and Asuka gets back to sipping away, listening to Leo as he dispenses his advice.

The truth is, Asuka Langley Sohryu, who has been pining over Kaji Ryoji for nearly half a decade now, is beginning to crush a little on Johnny Domino. It all started when she noticed one small similarity between the two. In an attempt to prove herself wrong, she treated the pilot of the Chimera the same way she did her beloved Kaji, only to learn that the similarities she THOUGHT she saw between the two were actually there.

Now she wasn't sure HOW to act around him. Was her schoolgirl crush an act of betrayal to Mr. Kaji?! What about this date with Leo?! No, she musn't think about it!

"I think that's a brilliant idea," Asuka says, throwing her hair back over her shoulder. "I shouldn't let him boss me around just because he's older than me. Besides--" Asuka leans over the table, giving Leo a clear shot of her cleavage. "If it were at your suggestion, I'd do ANYTHING."

/Hint, hint./

Leo's selection of sushi delights is not quite as broad - nor as exotic - as Asuka's, and for a beverage he orders (after some obvious internal deliberation) some sake. When the waitress attempts to card him, his response is to curtly explain to her how it's his job to get shot at so aliens and terrorists don't kill her.

When she's still hesitant, he just sighs and gives her a ten space dollar bribe. That does the trick just fine.

When Asuka leans forwards and places such emphasis on the word 'anything', Leo's eyes drop to her cleavage again... but only for a moment, before he shoots a conspiratorial glance around the room. For a brief moment, he suspects he may be on Neo-Punk'd.

But... maybe this is just some sort of karmic repayment for what he did for Louise last night?

"... anything, huh?" he asks, leaning forwards again and folding his arms on the table. "You should be careful about saying stuff like that. I mean... I can think of a lot of things I wouldn't mind... 'suggesting'," he points out, with a grin.

W-what?! Asuka's eyes widen momentarily--just for one brief second--at the boy's response. Was getting with a guy really THAT EASY?! If she had known that all it would take was a cute outfit and a few carefully-timed fanservice shots, she would have done this ages ago!

She was expecting things to be a lot harder than this! Especially since she ALWAYS did this sort of thing around Mr. Kaji, and she never got so much as a reaction!

"Well," she says, twirling her straw. "I'm pretty open-minded for a girl my age, if I do say so myself."

Oh, Asuka-chan; it doesn't even really take that much!

"Iii dunnooo," Leo says with only partially fake uncertainty, tilting his head to the side. "I bet I can think of a couple things you'd think were a little too, uh..." He trails off, and finishes his sentence with a vague shrug.

"Sooo," he continues mischievously, after only a brief pause, "I'll tell you what. You say you're open-minded... why don't you tell me the craziest thing you can think of that I could ever suggest?"

Leo flashes Asuka a broader grin, and busies himself pouring a cup of sake to give her time to think.

"Well, if I just had to say one thing, probably... [censored] [redacted] [censored] [censored] in the [redcated]. Though a quick [censored] would probably work, too."

Asuka says this all cheerily, without missing a beat. The waitress, who had been busing a nearby table, drops her entire tray on the floor; the dishes shatter. Asuka turns and regard the woman with her cold gaze, then rolling her eyes, casually flips her hair over her shoulders.

"They hire anyone these days, don't they?"

The waitress isn't the only one who's shocked. Leo stares at Asuka, eyes wide. He was still in the process of pouring his sake when she spoke, and he continues to do so while he stares at her, even after the cup fills up and begins to overflow onto the table.

He comes to his senses before he manages to waste /all/ of the sake, and sets the little carafe bottle thing down slowly, his eyes still fixed on Asuka. His mouth tightens into a line, and he nods several times... and then picks up his cup of sake and downs the entire thing in one go.

Without even setting the cup down, he turns in his seat, and lifts the hand with the cup in it. His other hand disappears into his pocket, digging for his wallet. "Check!"