2023-08-24: Interlude (1.11: the road)

• Log: 2023-08-24 Interlude (1.11: the road)
• Cast: Shinji Ikari, Kaworu Nagisa, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Shikinami Langley, Mari Makinami Illustrious
• Where: OCU Japan
• OOC - IC Date: August 24, UC 0097 (2023)
• Summary: Summer vacation is drawing to a close, so the Evangelion Children take a small trip to enjoy their time together while it lasts. Part one of three.

---

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Summer is nearing its end. Summer vacation, even more so. With the Tenth Angel finally nullified, or at least as close to it as NERV is willing to accept, there's a small window of time for the five Evangelion Children who remain in Japan to enjoy themselves before school starts up again.
        
        "Why not take a day trip? Or even an overnight trip!" Misato had suggested to Shinji. "You guys deserve it! Just... don't go too far, all right?"
        
        After all, there's no knowing when the next Angel might attack. They deserve a trip, and they deserve a trip together, but nowhere so far away that they can't be immediately recalled. (You know Section 2 will be watching, too.)
        
        But Shinji, knowing all that, had thought it was a good idea. (In particular, he'd like to do something to help Kaworu take his mind off that strange, wolf-like Evangelion and its pilot. He doesn't say it, but Shinji has noticed he seems a little more distracted recently.) He'd suggested an overnight trip to a nearby mountain, something he'd talked about a little with Kaworu not too long ago--get some fresh air, enjoy the solitude of the wild outdoors, and go stargazing with a much clearer sky.
        
        So now the five of them are packed into a rental SUV, driving a few hours to one of the mountains a little further away than the ones that immediately surround Tokyo-3. There's three sections of the SUV: the driver's seat and shotgun, the middle seats, and the back-back seats, with a tiny bit of trunk space for their things, from personal backpacks to sleeping bags to folded-up tents and of course to the all-important telescope that Shinji borrowed from Kensuke. Kaworu volunteered to sit back there with everything to make sure everything stayed in place and didn't break or anything.
        
        This is important, because behind the wheel today is one Mari Makinami Illustrious.
        
        Shinji has experienced Misato behind the wheel when mad. He screamed a lot back then. Mari drives like that, only all the time, or at least all the time during this trip so far, which is more than enough for him. He's in one of the middle seats, safety belt buckled and clutching Kaworu's hand, which is reaching up for him from behind, for dear life. It's a little better now that they're on the highway, but it's still alarming how fast they're zipping past the other cars.
        
        Deeply. Deeply. Deeply alarming. If they'd been getting tailed by any unmarked black vans at any point, they sure aren't now. (They'll catch up. Section 2 knows where they're going.)
        
        "A-Ayanami... a-are you feeling okay? You're not getting motion-sick or anything?" he wonders to Rei wherever she's seated. Worrying about someone else helps keep him from feeling motion-sick himself. (He doesn't ask Asuka or Kaworu because he honestly can't imagine them ever getting sick in any situation, and Mari is some sort of demon so clearly she's fine.)

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.

"No," Rei says. "I don't think I do."

A parsimonious answer to Shinji's question, but perhaps more than is often the case.

Rei is sitting in the middle row next to Shinji. She is weating a camisole-cut romper made of black fabric, vigorously appliqued with yellow-orange and dusty-pink tropical flowers in a rather systematic pattern, along with a pair of ankle-high walking shoes. A change of clothes, including a jacket against the cool of the mountains, rests in the back, near her ever-present black nylon medicine bag.

She has had her hands folded in her lap, and she has, for the most part, been watching the scenery go by until she was spoken to.

Rei's head turns then, to look at Shinji. "Have you ever gone to this place?" As she speaks, there is a brief flurry of aghast, terrified horns protesting to the murderous aggression of their driver. "It's far nearer than the Moon, yet I have never gone there."

Another mountain is visible from the direction of where Rei is sitting, though she isn't looking at it: the black bald melted face of a certain mountain, now well and thoroughly cooled. She did go to that mountain, of course, but under less pleasant circumstances.

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.

Asuka's usual 'Pass!' at the idea of a day trip became a grunt of neutrality when Shinji suggested it. She certainly doesn't seem ENTHUSIASTIC but she's not opposing it either.

Ordinarily she'd INSIST upon driving, but unfortunately - Asuka burned her hand in a kitchen accident which she told Shinji was ACTUALLY an accident she had while working out and sprained her wrist-

-there's an ace wrap bandage covering her hand and wrist, don't question it!

Which resulted in the following-

"There's absolutely NO WAY I'm trusting that Catty Four Eyes to drive the trip for us! It's not going to happen! You know it's all going to just turn into some scheme-!"

Cue Asuka SULKING in shotgun for the first thirty six minutes of the drive, arms crossed. Except in times when she has to brace herself to prevent from flying around within the confines of her seatbelt.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? WHO TAUGHT YOU HOW TO DRIVE, PENPEN OR ONE OF THOSE STUPID SELF HELP BOOKS YOU HOARD?" She yells at Makinami, oblivious to the fact they're no longer being tailed.

Shinji asks Rei about motion sickness, Asuka glances over her shoulder, then back forward. For a time she says nothing.

At Rei's answer though, "You make it sound like you should have, but most places you 'can' visit fit under that criteria."

Mari's driving isn't QUITE yet to where Asuka would reach over and take the wheel, but she's considering it.

Strongly.

<Pose Tracker> Mari Makinami Illustrious has posed.

Losing a Tail - It's Easy as One-Two-Three!

                One! Spot the tail!

Do you see an ominous, unmarked car behind you with tinted windows that are probably bullet proof? Do a couple quick, spontaneous turns to see if they try to follow!

"Oh! This is a short-cut!"

Bonus points if you swing completely into an opposite lane to do so!

                Two! Measure the distance!

A tail hates to seem conspicuous. Make them seem conspicuous by slowing down and speeding up!

"Oh wowwww look at that view~"

*SOUND OF HORNS BLARING AND VIOLENT SWEARS AS MARI MAKINAMI ILLUSTRIOUS JAMS THE BREAKS TO TAKE IN THE BEAUTY OF NATURE AND/OR THE MELTED MOUNTAINSIDE*

If they're forced to match your pace, you've got yourself a tail! So how do you ditch them?

Three! Have no measurable fear response!

Survival instincts just get in the way! The most efficient way to dodge a tail is to have a careless disregard for if you're going to see tomorrow!

"Time for a u-turn!"

Dollars to donuts, they'll care more about their continued livelihood than you!

If you've followed our advice, then--

                ~* Congratulations! You've ditched your tail! *~

Now, was Mari aware they were being tailed and purposefully drove like the devil was at the wheel to lose said tail through that easy one-two-three process, or was it just happy serendipity?

WHO TAUGHT YOU HOW TO DRIVE, PENPEN OR ONE OF THOSE STUPID SELF HELP BOOKS YOU HOARD?

"Hu hu. I'm self-taught, of course!"

... The squinted half-lid of her gaze and the smugness of her broad smile says 'either are entirely possible.'

It's the dawn of a new era; embrace the Beast of Possibility.

The hellion automotive stylings of Mari Makinami Illustrious are as difficult to endure as they are expedient; eventually, the group earns a respite - coincidentally only a little bit after they have thoroughly ditched their tail for the time being - that comes in the form of a small, out-of-the-way rest stop, consisting of a simple, self-service gas station and a convenience store with an impressive selection of goods - including some tourist trap souvenir flare - and an especially friendly, eager-to-chat elderly store clerk.

He has a lot to say about the state of the world and melting mountains, let me tell you.

That Mari happens to provide this respite by literally jerking the wheel of the SUV and jamming the brakes such that they go into a full on spin-out that sees them stop, with the smell dangerously heated rubber, just outside the convenience store is no nevermind, of course!

"Aah, I'm tuckered out! Break time~."

They're all alive, after all -- AND they get some personal time to themselves, by complete coincidence!

How is that NOT good driving?

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        If Shinji had an inkling of the influence he has over Asuka, he'd boggle over it. As it stands, when she claimed she hurt her hand at the gym, he took it at face value. Why would she cook? She has him.
        
        (He hasn't really thought about how that sounds, either, despite the fact that they're dating. Somehow, it's more comfortable that way.)
        
        "Do you need any medicine...?" Shinji asks Rei, though he suspects if she does, she's already got it covered. She's always taking so much medicine. Her question gets him to focus a little. "Um--no. I've been to a few of the other mountains around Tokyo-3, though..."
        
        There was that mountain they all went to last year to clean that temple--and there was that mountain he ran away to, early in his piloting career, if one can call it that. He wouldn't want to go back there. Too much steam; they'd have a terrible view of the stars.
        
        He isn't wearing anything special himself--gray baseball cap, blue jeans, red and white sneakers with ankle socks, and a blue and white windbreaker for when they're at the top of the mountain. When they get out of the air-conditioned SUV and the summer mugginess assails them, he'll zip it off for the plain white T-shirt underneath.
        
        Kaworu, for his part, is wearing an off-white T-shirt with a single green stripe across the chest, over which a black jacket with the sleeves folded up and matching jersey pants that end an inch or two over his ankles. His sneakers are mostly black too, and he doesn't wear socks at all. Kaworu isn't bothered by weather, no matter how muggy or breezy it is.
        
        "M-Makinami-san, can you slow down a little?" he pleads with the driver. "If Asuka tries to grab the wheel...!"
        
        He can already see his life flashing before his eyes, and he's only imagining it.
        
        Kaworu, as he holds Shinji's hand, takes in the view of the black-glass mountainside with a faint smile. There are a few mountains like that in the Hakone region now. Despite Mari's sweeping into the opposite land and abrupt stops and speed-ups and truly egregious U-turns, he's merely swayed to the physics of her driving. After a while, he chuckles mysteriously. Shinji hasn't noticed, but perhaps Mari will.
        
        It's the moment she finally, decisively loses their tail, after all.
        
        "Perhaps so, but it's far easier to visit another location in Japan than it is the Moon," Kaworu remarks mildly to Asuka of Rei. "There is a certain irony in having been to the Moon before a mountain a few hours' drive away."
        
        A rest stop approaches. Mari JAMS the breaks and sends all of them into a tailspin into the parking lot. Are all of you wearing your seat belts? You should be. Even Kaworu is.
        
        Shinji screams and screams and screams and opens the door and falls/melts out of the SUV to embrace sweet, sturdy land. It's a miracle he doesn't puke.
        
        Kaworu steps out behind him, hands tucked in his pockets as he strolls out, cool as you please. "Are you all right, Shinji-kun?" he wonders gently.
        
        Shinji claps a hand to his mouth and doesn't reply. People need to not talk to him right now, kthx.
        
        Kaworu's smile turns rueful, and he kneels down next to him and strokes his back for a time. "Perhaps we should pick up some drinks," he suggests, looking up to Rei and the others.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.

"It's alright," Rei tells Shinji, with a certain faint warmth in her voice, like a sunbeam on a winter evening.

Asuka is answered, after some thought. "There are infinite 'places where one could be,' and finite time..." The thought seems complete to her, and she lets it rest in her mind.

Rei tilts to the side as Mari swerves, then tilts to the other side just as easily. Her hair moves but she remains completely poe-faced throughout, as she so often does. HONK HONK HONK HONK wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Rei really is relaxed about this. Is it just because she had to ride with Section 2 when she was a bit younger?

Then they reach the rest station and Rei opens the door to step out of the vehicle. She sways thirty degrees to the side but then rights her ship, pausing for a moment to look at the horizon. Then towards Shinji, who's clearly more distressed. She comes up behind him at much the same time that Kaworu did.

He beat her to it. Rei looks up at him, and holds her silence.

"Yes," Rei says, before turning around and taking a step forwards -- which seems to center her and allows her to actually walk forwards. Mostly. It's a bit like she's just gotten off a ship on heavy seas. Either way, she makes towards the shop entrance.

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.

"WATCH THE ROAD YOU MANIAC! YOU CAN'T ENJOY A VIEW IF YOU'RE DEAD!"

"STOP DRIVING LIKE THIS IS EVA! THIS SUV DOESN'T HAVE AN A.T. FIELD!"

"OF COURSE YOU ARE!" Re: Self-Taught - furious exasperation! "YOU'RE GETTING A FAILING GRADE!"

It's an installment of the Flustered and the Furious here on this Japanese road, and indeed it's the most flustered they have seen Asuka, perhaps she really does value her life - or theirs enough to get this upset.

Re: Asuka grabbing the wheel from Shinji, "AND? IT'D BE AN INSTANT IMPROVEMENT IF I DID!"

Asuka is getting almost none of said view, because her eyes have been on the Catty Four-Eyes the whole time, which is POSSIBLY part of the intention, who can say?

Kaworu points out the irony of their life as Eva pilots perhaps, in so much as them conducting far flung missions while having little experience even travelling close to home.

"I don't really see the point. See one mountain? See them all." Yet, it's a calmer tone at least than she's had this whole trip. Rei's own answer...

"... Yeah? And how much do you intend to see with that 'finite time'?" Is her question to her.

And at the rest stop, when she's jerked forward, Asuka makes a low sound of frustration under her nose, "NNNNGHHHHH!" She takes several deep breaths then gives Mari this dark look.

The door opens, and is slammed shut instantly. She sees Kaworu assisting Shinji's effort to acquaint himself with the ground, and so she just stands there, arms crossed, looking away.

Instead her eyes trace Mari after a time, and...

"... You slammed the brakes that hard just to make a stupid pun didn't you?"

Is that... what she's really concerned about in this situation?

<Pose Tracker> Mari Makinami Illustrious has posed.

Much like any reasonable rendition of the FF Saga,

things only -really- got good that one time Mari started Tokyo drifting.

Mari, of course, takes all criticisms of her driving in stride, with a hapless shrug and a breezy, noncommittal, "C'mon, c'mon! We all made it in one piece, right?" to Asuka, before taking a glance to the back seat to peer at Shinji hectically screaming and spilling out of the SUV like he was about to discorporate into LCL at any moment. She nods firmly to herself.

"--Right!"

With that, Mari leisurely kicks open her door and hops out with a refreshed, pleased sigh. Wearing a breezy, white, long-sleeved shirt striped in black and a knee-length off-purple skirt striped white along the right side, she looks more ready for a casual day out and about town rather than hiking, but - well - that's why god (lilith) in all their infinite wisdom created changes of clothes. As it is, it doesn't seem to impede her flexibility all that much as she plants a palm against the roof of the SUV and hoists with a "yohp~!", sliding her way across to come to a smooth landing near Asuka, Kaworu, and the struggling Shinji. Asuka eyes her. Makes her accusation. Mari guffaws and waves a hand through the air dismissively, as if the very idea was simply

"That's nyansense, your highness."

that. ... simply nyansense.

yep

She casts a wink Asuka's way at this, and, as she makes her way past, she offers simply and easily,

"Have you ever seen even a single mountain the same way twice, princess?"

whereupon she offers the crouched Shinji and Kaworu a -dual finger gun- (complete with a double 'byewww!'!) before strolling her leisurely way towards catching up with Rei.

"Drinks sound wonderful! Something to raise Puppy Boy's spirits, I say!" And, as soon as she's made her way to Rei's side, she opens the door to the convenience store for them all with a nimble flourish and offers the shorter girl a simple question.

"So -- what convenient food and drink does Vanilla Bean want to experience this finite day~?"

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Shinji is, technically, in one piece, yes.
        
        He at least has the chance to return Rei's--perhaps not quite a smile, but there's something like it in her demeanor. He's known her long enough now to be able to tell the difference, and it always makes him happier to see it.
        
        ...Even if it is right before a triple-wheelie into a gas station/convenience store parking lot. He absolutely doesn't have the brain to explain to Asuka why her grabbing the wheel while Mari is driving would lead to the two of them fighting over control and definitely crashing the car.
        
        Kaworu considers Rei, and then Asuka, as they take in Shinji and how he's gone to his aid first, and how both of them opt to do other things instead--Rei to head inside, Asuka to fold her arms and look away.
        
        He doesn't comment on it, any more than he commented on Asuka believing all mountains are the same--patently false--or her question on what Rei will do with her finite time--worth considering.
        
        Truly Asuka is a most vexing individual, even now.
        
        Kaworu chuckles at Mari decrying Asuka's accusations of wordplay with... more wordplay. It's very her. His gaze shifts to Asuka... and once he catches her eye, he gives her a slight nod--and then rises to his feet, tucking his hands in his pockets, to stroll after Rei and Mari.
        
        Shinji pants for a moment longer, then looks up plaintively. "Kaworu-kun--?" he all but whimpers, not yet realizing who he's been left with.
        
        ...It is a kindness, surely. It's meant to be a kindness.
        
        ...However Asuka handles him, he'll stagger up to his feet and follow the others in time. He doesn't want to look too pathetic for too long. Some ginger ale would be really good right now, too.
        
        Kaworu only browses the aisles without picking anything, hands in his pockets as he smiles faintly. No one in this group will push him to pick something to eat or drink only to sate appearances rather than appetite. A magazine with a variety of crossword puzzles does catch his eye, though. Something to pass the time while they're in the car, perhaps?
        
        ...
        
        It might be difficult to complete while holding Shinji's hand, though.

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.

When the Second asks her a question, Rei doesn't answer immediately. She might think she's being ignored, but she's answered in due time: "What I can."

"Yes," Rei confirms to Mari. Who opens the door - a portal to air conditioning, and a range of refreshing beverages within. "I'll look around, and decide." A non-answer to a question from Rei...? But perhaps her actions will answer the query.

Rei was given a mission and a mission she will undertake. Visiting the drinks section, Rei selects five beverages, although they get curled against her chest and are not immediately visible in their full glory and detail before she approaches the counter. "These," Rei says.

After this, Rei's attention is momentarily drawn towards the display of periodicals, comic magazines, media chips and other novelty and entertainment item for those travelling the hard roads of Japan and Area 11. Perhaps those truckers are heroes, who bring supplies and cargoes to strange and obscure places...

The report on travel beverages.

REI AYANAMI, a thin yogurt beverage, notorious for its claims to be refreshing and with a composition not unlike that of the water within the human body. But cold.
ASUKA SHIKINAMI LANGLEY, a sugared carbonated soda with a sort of cherry-citrus flavor. The label promises generous rewards in a popular video game. The color matches that of Eva-02 quite closely.
SHINJI IKARI, twofold: a small bottle of water, and a Rainbow Blend canned coffee.
MARI MAKINAMI ILLUSTRIOUS, a Britannian beverage: half lemonade, half cold black tea, perfect for the summer.
KAWORU NAGISA, a larger water with a subtle orange-peel infusion.

The supplemental report on travel snacks.

Rei purchased a five-pack of those break-em-in-half popsicles. They are various colors of tropical juices.
She also got a small packet of wasabi-dusted peanuts. (It was convenient, and wasn't squid.)

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.

Asuka listens to Rei's response, then looks out the window, then before too long, it's just a murmured, "What's the point of that?"

Perhaps for how far she's come, she doesn't believe Rei or her have much time left anyway. After all, there are a finite number of Angels.

Fortunately Mari easily distracts her from such morose thoughts quite easily, "That's your opinion! At this rate we're going to have to stop at a clinic to get Baka Shinji some X-Rays!" She says as she juts a finger at the screaming Shinji.

Watching Mari slide across the hood like a character out of an anime doesn't do much to improve her mood.

"Tck-!" Asuka's injured fingers and eyelid twitch at her wink, and she looks up at the sky as if searching for an escape from a Catty Four-Puns.

(There is no escape)

"... the same way twice?" Asuka looks back, eyeing her as if wondering what her point on the matter is. Then she racks her brain on answering, "Flew over the same stretch of the Alps a few times on combat missions."

Asuka herself is wearing a breezy T-Shirt, with denim skirt, and sneakers. She has a red jacket in the car, but she's not wearing it right now. It's the summer after all, it just gets cold at higher altitudes.

Still, Kaworu manages to catch her eye, and sees the nod, then- slowly, she steps up to Shinji, and wordlessly takes his hand with her uninjured one.

"Come on. I want to walk around for a bit first."

Honestly it's just her intention to help him take a breather from Mari's driving. Get his bearings, not look so pathetic because he's escorting Asuka around - or rather Asuka's forcing him to escort her around.

Either way it's a few minutes before she shows up behind the others holding his hand before she takes her drink from Rei... and then there are slurping noises.

Rei did good. Good enough that Asuka doesn't complain about her choice, and for Asuka a lack of complaint might as well be a perfect score.

<Pose Tracker> Mari Makinami Illustrious has posed.

Flew over the same stretch of the Alps a few times on combat missions.

"The same way?"

Mari offers little more than that, after. As if to simply let Asuka work out the implications on her own -- whether it be a flat denial of whatever Mari might be trying to say, or something else entirely.

Was the experience the same both times?

To Mari Makinami Illustrious, the answer is as obvious as the chaotic nature of this world she loves so much.

For her own part, Mari seems content to be left to her own devices. She doesn't dare try to influence Rei's decision on the drinks one way or another, instead offering a simple, "oho! The Vanilla Bean has taken on the flavor of indefinition~" to her non-answer, sounding pleased as punch for it.

For the most part, though? Mari just explores, hands behind her back, all but skipping from place to place as she moves from one corner to the store to the other as if intent to learn every nook and cranny of this place as best she can in the short time she has.

She pirouettes past Rei, offering a double thumbs up and a "you're doin' great, kid!" as she goes.

She leeeeans in over Kaworu's shoulder as he ponders puzzles, hands gripping shoulders as an anchor point as she advises, "They always had the trickiest words," before leeeaning past to pluck up a magazine. And a tourist brochure. And an oldschool (smart-paper) map. And three other magazines.

She leaves Asuka and Shinji to their own devices, merely observing with a brief, warm smile.

And at last, she can finally be found after Rei's made her purchases, making her own and chatting up the clerk in a ardent but respectable debate on the merits of new pop sensations versus the enduring, classical power of Minmay espoused by the elderly clerk. The clerk bemoans the way music used to be with the worldly experience and knowledge of someone who lived through the decultural hayday; she must just be very well-read, of course.

Mari bravely champions Sheryl Nome (and promising up-and-comer Ranka Lee!) in the face of overwhelming nostalgia.

It's by the time she brings up the merits of Fire Bomber that the clerk decisively "pffffffft"s her right out of the store.

(she, for the record, dearly loves minmay for personal reasons; she just loves spirited debate more)

And so it is that MAri emerges outside just in time to pluck up her drink that Rei got her; in her free hand, several big bags of magazines and brochures and something else. She clamps down on the cap with her mouth, somehow, distressingly, popping it open with a smooth twist before taking a drink and heaving out a refreshed sigh.

"Aaah, that hits the spot!"

This, of course, is emphatic approval from Mari. She even seems proud, for some reason. Because Rei managed to pick such fitting drinks for everyone?

The world may never know -- especially because she takes this moment to stealthily slink into the shadows just as Asuka and Shinji reemerge from the store. And as Asuka indulges in that drink...

... a glasses-glinting fiend pours forth from the darkness behind her, her smile a knife as she leeeeans in and whispers with so delicate a touch,

"It's so exciting to see her highness indulging in extra-Eva pursuits~"

before her fingertips just ever-so-lightly tap against the back of Asuka's bandaged hand, and JUST LIKE THAT

"Alright! Batteries - recharged! Next stop -- imminent!"

Mari is nonchalantly sauntering off to the car once more, pulling off her glasses to replace them with her other acquisition:

a pair of red-rimmed sunglasses that read, around the lenses,

                        G R O-O V Y

s-should she really be driving without her glasses whoops she's already in the driver's seat and turning on the SUV oh well

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Shinji gratefully accepts Rei's selection of drinks. ...He does still swing inside quickly to pick up a family size pack of fun-sized individually wrapped mochi, though. On top of all of them getting to snack, he'll have plenty left over to give as souvenirs to Misato, Tohji, and Kensuke when they get back. True, they're not going that far away, but he likes the idea of being able to bring back souvenirs for them because he went on a vacation.
        
        When Asuka approaches, Shinji looks up at her, keenly aware of how lame he must look. Even so, she doesn't say anything, only taking his hand with hers and saying she wants to walk around.
        
        "...Yeah, okay," he says, and it sounds subdued and unenthusiastic. The way his fingers curl around hers, and the way he walks a little closer to her as they go around the parking lot, will tell her otherwise.
        
        By the time they're done, he's feeling better, and he hopes so is she. When they stop back at the SUV and he gratefully accepts Rei's selection of drinks, he looks at Asuka.
        
%"How's your hand doing?" he wonders. "Maybe we should ask Kaworu-kun to drive. It must be tough for you with that hand, but Makinami-san..."
        
        He doesn't finish that though. The way the blood drains from his face says it for him. Fortunately, he can busy himself with his water bottle--he'll save the canned coffee for when he knows he isn't going to be subjected to Mari's driving for a while--and cover that up with a long drink.
        
        Kaworu will enjoy his drink too. He might not have been expected to get a drink, but he'll accept something that Rei gifts him just the same. He smiles at Mari when she weighs in on that magazine. "Oh, do they? That sounds promising," he replies, and keeps it to purchase. He'll join in on that conversation with the clerk about old vs. new musical talents; he gives equal purchase to all, but if he's taking a side in this debate, he'll let the clerk take Minmay and Mari take Sheryl while he touts Ranka Lee.
        
        ...It's too bad the clerk doesn't properly appreciate Fire Bomber. If he has to choose, Kaworu has to say his favorite is Basara Nekki.
        
        And so they too return to the car, and Kaworu accepts his drink from Rei. As Mari reclaims the driver's seat as a matter of course, he looks to the others.
        
        "Shall we be off?" he suggests, as if there's nothing to dread.
        
        Shinji makes a small noise of distress as he stares at Mari and her G R O-O V Y glasses, but ultimately relents. He's glad he saved that canned coffee after all...

<Pose Tracker> Rei Ayanami has posed.

"There isn't one," Rei replies to Asuka, without much thought.

Rei and Asuka have come, perhaps, to a modus vivendus; to a point of mutual distaste but a peaceful one. A boundary of alienation which nevertheless may suit them both, and which can be reached across. For to choose a drink among many, in company of others, is no great thing. Perhaps some things are the seeds of the future.

Mari approves... but would Mari approve of anything, simply because she did it? Rei cannot quite quantify the idea, but perhaps that is one of the secrets of how well they get along, despite a gulf easily similar to that between herself and the Second Children. A sort of unconditional and gentle acceptance. Active, and welcoming.

Rei can feel the shapes of these things, even as she does not feel, or even see, the shape of the glasses that Miss Four-Eyes is donning.

Because she isn't looking at her right now. She's handing the others their drinks.

Two of them for Shinji, held in the same hand - the can of coffee resting like an entry plug between ring finger and pinky with the water bottle held more conventionally. "We're going on mountain roads," Rei tells Shinji. And after a moment's consideration, she amplifies: "I don't think she will be able to maneuver that way."

To Kaworu, she surrenders the water with both hands - it's a little unwieldy in terms of the bottle's shape, squared-off for some reason. After that - "Yes," Rei says. "It's time to go."

As they all get in, Rei positions the empty bag in a location where it can be used to hold garbage, largely from the front if necessary. (Rei's estimation is that the litterbugs in the front seat are the greatest risk of such things, even if the risk, she would admit, is not high.) This takes a few seconds, of course; time enough for others to come aboard.

As the car comes back to life, Rei turns slightly and leans forwards, abruptly moving over Shinji. Reaching past him in a brush of one elbow against his midsection as she grasps something and pulls it forwards, over him -

Click! The seat belt.

Rei then affixes her own, settling back.

Did she put it on before?

<Pose Tracker> Asuka Shikinami Langley has posed.

Asuka doesn't answer Rei again. In her eyes, there has to be a point to everything. Yet another demonstration of how they have come to that mutual distaste yet peaceful accord.

"What's that matter?"

Was her response to Mari at the time, but now she's thinking about it. As for her conclusions...

... well maybe she's keeping them to herself for now. Shinji doesn't seem enthused of course, which is met with a grind of her teeth at first, but by the time they get back-

"Not bad." She says of her hand, "In fact I'm considering that maybe I should take over the whe-"

'It's so exciting to see her highness indulging in extra-Eva pursuits~'

All thoughts of saving them from Mari's Tokyo Drifting are lost in the sudden interrupt.

"What? It's just-" 'Holding hands' she might have said, but the fact that she was about to say that bugs her, even as she changes it, a touch red-cheeked, "-none of your business what it is! There's nothing Extra-Eva about it!"

What is she saying it's a workplace romance? Is that REALLY what she's saying?

Well either way she's too embarrassed to protest Mari taking the wheel again.

sight of her and her G R O-O V Y glasses though snaps her back to the horror of reality, "Wait..."

Asuka looks at her drink as if her mind was rapidly assessing the fluid dynamics of having a drink while Mari is driving. The horror quickly dawns in her eyes.

The worst case scenario, no drink could possibly remain intact with Mari's driving unless fully enclosed in a sealed Nyaa-proof environment. Even in cupholders, the writing on the wall is there. A car, with them all doused in their respective sticky beverages.

"Everyone cap your drinks before she punches it!"

And Asuka PROMPTLY tries to do that.

<Pose Tracker> Mari Makinami Illustrious has posed.

Would Mari approve of anything, simply because Rei did it?

If Rei chose it, there might be very little Mari would not ultimately approve of. After all...

The most important part is the first one.

Refreshed by a vigorous, three-way debate with Kaworu and the store clerk (she likes to think everyone won, which also means anyone choosing a stance of superiority also lost, which she likes even more), and further emboldened by Asuka's flustering response to her carefully-delivered coo of a Weapon of Mass-Asuka Destruction, she all but bounces her way into the driver's seat. She only pauses briefly to look over her shoulder, and offer Shinji and Asuka the biggest, pearly-whitiest of grins.

There's nothing Extra-Eva about it!

"Oho, mixing business and pleasure? The princess is most skilled indeed~. Be careful, young pup!"

And with that, she hops inside, taking one last sip of her drink before she sets it aside, and screws tight the cap. Beaming bright behind her G R O-O V Y shades, her eyes are squeezed shut with the berth of her mirth, which probably isn't the -best- thing in the world for someone who intends to drive's eyes to be doing --

But fortunately, it doesn't stay that way for long. As the others pile in, as Rei puts that cautionary seatbelt on for Shinji (really, wise), Mari idly fidgets with the on-board music player, sifting through digital track titles she took the time to pre-load before the drive in search of something very specific. Her eyes widen as she finds it. Joy effuses her very being.

"Bingo!"

She loads up the track. And as she does, she announces:

"Prepare yourselves, for we journey now into past the boundaries of civilization, where only wild hearts may roam...!"

She looks sidelong at Asuka, as realization dawns on her. She flashes her a wink.

And the Second Child has just enough time to get out,

Everyone cap your dri--

Before Mari SLAMS on the gas in perfect time to let the hellacious squeal of tires accompany the heavy metal riffs of a very specific song that begins its guitar solo accompaniment to their chaotic peel out of the parking lot.

        BGM: "MY FRIENDS" - Fire Bomber https://youtu.be/6aDy0L69AOk?si=F0L6hjBveatCJViP
        For Kaworu. And all their screaming friends~

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Shinji says nothing when Rei points out they'll be reaching a mountain, and thus mountain roads, eventually. He doesn't think that will actually stop her... He silently decides to refrain from snacks.
        
        A blush steals over his face when Mari mentions Asuka's extra-Eva interests, and Asuka interprets that as meaning him. "W-wait, what are we talking about?" he stammers, just in case he's wholly misunderstood what's going on. It also conveniently shuts out all conversation around anyone but Mari taking the wheel again until it's too late.
        
        However that gets answered, he quickly returns to his seat, only pausing to let Kaworu get in the very back. When he sits, he shuts the door--and then Rei buckles him in for him. He shoots her a wide-eyed glance, more startled than anything else. Her proximity wasn't expected, but it's not unwelcome, either.
        
        If anything, it prompts a vague, half-formed memory of his own mother--whose face and voice he has long since forgotten, but who he thinks (imagines?) had a smell oddly similar to Ayanami's--buckling him into the child seat in a car. It fades as soon as he comes, leaving Shinji wondering if he actually experienced it or if his mind is playing tricks on him.
        
        "Thanks," he tells her with a small smile. Because either way, it reinforces a growing impression to him that Rei is motherly. Maybe one day he'll tell her she'd make a good mom, and it won't be awkward or weird.
        
        Then Asuka gives her warning.
        
        "--oh shoot!" he utters, realizing what she means. He scrambles to put the cap back on his water... an instant too late. Mari punches it to the sound of Fire Bomber's hit song My Friends, the water bottle flies up, and Shinji--and possibly Rei--get a sudden shower.
        
        He's too busy clutching his seatbelt for dear life to groan about it. At least it was just water... As dismayed as he is at getting drenched, he really is glad he decided to leave the coffee for later.
        
        Kaworu, for his part, only smiles and hums along. It might not be Basara's impassionate vocals, but Mylene's sweet voice is worth listening to, too.