2023-08-14: Lying in Wait

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<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Yesterday's DecuFes event was a lot of fun, actually. It's a shame Shinji missed a bunch of it thanks to sticking with Kensuke while he did an emergency recharge of his camcorder's battery, but he got to see Tohji do his hip-hop freestyle solo and Kensuke got to record it, so it was worth it.
        
        It was good to see Kaworu enjoy himself too. Shinji's been worried about him--well, he worries about his friends a lot of the time, in fairness. But he's been worried in particular about Kaworu after the defeat of Duma. He'd been in such intense pain--or maybe he'd been afraid. The person showed shown up in that creepy bestial Evangelion had been his almost-assassin. If it were him, Shinji doesn't know how he'd function.
        
        That's been on his mind a lot the past couple nights. So it helped him out a lot, too, really.
        
        After the four of them had returned to Tokyo-3 and split up to head back to their respective homes, Shinji had gone straight to bed. The trip to and from Tsutsujidai is a really long one now, and as much as he loves his friends, socializing for that long really tires him out. He gets up early with a yawn and a bleary look at his phone clock; then he slips out of bed, SDAT in hand, and heads to the kitchen to start prepping breakfast.
        
        There is a problem. Shinji had meant to pick up more miso on the way home. He realizes, when he opens the fridge's middle door, that he'd completely forgotten.
        
        Stamping down a surge of panic, he thinks of his options. There's a 24/7 convenience store not too far away. He won't have time to make the dashi, but he could pick up stock there, too. There's still plenty of pickled vegetables, and he can put the rice on to cook while he's out--the rice cooker will keep it warm--and he can put the tofu in the tofu press and let it drain while he's out, too. Yes. This can still work.
        
        Quickly and quietly, Shinji starts that initial prep, then gets dressed and grabs his wallet and keys, which he shoves in the pocket of his cargo shorts, and a cloth shopping bag. From there, he hurries out of the apartment, out of the complex, and down the road.
        
        It's really peaceful at night, he reflects as he slows to a walk and listens to his music on low volume. Everything's so still. Part of that is that 99% the city is underground, of course, but even so.

<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.

That lonely moment in the dead of night presents a perfect opportunity for a certain kind of person.

Abruptly, Shinji isn't alone; it's not until he passes under a street light and the shadows shift accordingly that this becomes obvious, though. A long, dark shadow seems to engulf Shinji from behind and to one side, projected by the street lamp.

"Ah, Shinji-kun," Alexis says, the teal panels of his mask and the fire behind his head the only things that stand out in the darkness. "I'd been meaning to properly make your acquaintance in private." He's seen him with Alouette before, and obviously Shinji had fought against his kaiju on multiple occasions, but he's never properly met Shinji one-on-one.

"I assume you're going for late night shopping? Ah -- I should consider that myself, actually," he continues, perfectly content to act as if he's any other casual acquaintance and not the one who's repeatedly hurt those near and dear to Shinji. "Akane-kun was so fond of asking for items from the convenience store at the last minute."

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Shinji almost passes through that street light without noticing. Almost. But then there's a flicker of movement, and his heart leaps into his chest and he whirls around, ripping one of his earbuds out of his ear. Any hope that it's nothing dies the instant he sees the the source of that shadow.
        
        He freezes up. It was terrifying the last time Alexis caught him out in town, but back then, Alouette had been with him. Now he's all alone. He realizes only now that he'd forgotten to grab his phone, too. And naturally, Alexis is blocking the way back home.
        
        He only barely takes in what Alexis is saying. It's still enough to make anger and fear surge up inside him. He has no idea what to do--his legs are shaking too much for him to run, and he has no illusions that he could fight the Hyper Devil off.
        
        So he does the only thing he can do: he growls, "What do you want?"
        
        It's only thanks to his anger that he can keep his voice mostly still.

<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.

Alexis remains jovial even if it becomes acutely obvious that he's uspetting Shinji. (Indeed, maybe that makes the joviality that much more fun.) "Oh, don't worry -- this is strictly a hello! I have no interest in upending things at the moment. I have plenty of other activities to keep me busy, you know."

Nothing is ever 'strictly' a nice gesture with Alexis Kerib, though. He pauses for just a moment to let Shinji process, then continues, "I know I'm primarily Kaworu's friend, at least in relation to you, but that really makes it all the more important I stop by."

Another pause -- this one briefer.

Then he continues, "He really is quite fond of you, you know..." He considers making a joke of it -- but no, Shinji's already upset; there's no reason to poke him further. Instead, he continues reading out Kaworu's dirty laundry, because he's such a nice guy. "I just think it must be nice to have such a stalwart friend."

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        "Like I'd trust anything you have to say," Shinji shoots back, voice still low and hostile. Still, while he doesn't drop his guard, he does settle down a little. He knows he can't call for help from Asuka or Misato, and there's no way he'd yell for help and drag some poor random person into a confrontation with the literal (Hyper) Devil. If Alexis claims this is just a 'hello': "But fine," he concludes, clipped.
        
        Of course, naturally Alexis immediately starts pushing his buttons by bringing up Kaworu and call him a friend. "He's not your friend," he snaps, shoulders tensing, "and I'm not your friend, and you're not our friend, either. I know you're just here to try to mess with my head."
        
        ...Of course, knowing that doesn't make him immune to it, either.
        
        The acknowledgement of how much Kaworu likes him leaves him a little uncertain at first. As much as Shinji hates himself, there's no denying after all this time how much Kaworu likes him. As a friend. You know. Not as anything else. They're both dating other people anyway there's nothing like that between them
        
        "Maybe you'd have friends if you stopped being so evil," he replies flatly.

<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.

"I suppose that's fair, given our circumstances," Alexis muses, translating along behind Shinji, keeping perfect pace with him. "Certainly I've never given you reason to. Still, I hoped we could at least have a pleasant conversation, even if you are free to discard everything I say."

When he's pressed back on about Kaworu, though... "I've known him rather longer than you, you know." Alexis muses to Shinji, before breezing along. "And -- Hm... oh, that would be nice, I suppose."

He doesn't linger on the topic of whether or not he has friends; instead, he asks Shinji, "Insisting Kaworu-kun isn't my friend makes me wonder just how well you know him. I imagine there's plenty he doesn't share with you -- that's hardly the mark of good friendship, as far as I'm concerned. Unexpressed feelings, and all that..."

He continues along with Shinji, then, saying nothing further for now.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Shinji absolutely doesn't want to keep heading to the convenience store with Alexis in tow. However, he wants to lead him to his home even less, and just standing around here isn't going to help anything. Carefully, he hits STOP on his SDAT, shows his earbuds in one pocket, and grudgingly resumes his walk to the store. He does not like the way Alexis 'translates' rather than 'walks' at all.
        
        He snorts when Alexis says it would be 'nice' to have friends. It'd be nice, but he's not going to stop being evil. His talk that he's known Kaworu longer than Shinji has... doesn't put him on edge, since he was already there, but it does nothing to take him off edge. A lot of Kaworu's past is a mystery to him. He knows about the 'Earth' (someone he still hates), and he knows he used to live on the Moon, and he knows his birthday has always been overshadowed by Second Impact, and that's about it. From the things Kaworu has said about Alexis, Shinji suspects it's true they've known each other a long time, but he doesn't know the details. He knows that there's a lot Kaworu can't tell him, and they have that understanding.
        
        But privately, he's long wanted to know more.
        
        So when Alexis says that keeping secrets is a mark of poor friendship, he nettles. "What would you know? Even if you have known him a long time, that doesn't mean you're friends. Even if you were, it'd only be because Kaworu-kun's so nice." He pauses. "Why are you trying to talk to me about him, anyway?"
        
        Alexis had tried to talking to him about Kaworu back then too, that day he and Alouette had been out shopping. Shinji barely remembers it; it was such a stressful moment, compounded by Alloy trying to make some kind of weird deal with him that he still doesn't understand and, now that she's returned to her homeland, probably never will. But maybe her doing that was the only reason why Alexis hadn't kept going on about Kaworu.

<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.

"Is it not normal for two people to talk about a mutual acquaintance?" the alien asks, his tone one of at least seeming legitimate curiosity. "We certainly have very little else in common, I think, so it's the natural point of discussion."

He breezes along. If there's more, he doesn't feel the need to linger on it; in favor of talking about -- well, the thing at hand. "Though I suppose it's also for your sake. I think it's important to have a good sense of how you relate to your... friends." He lingers on that word just a moment, yet again.

"You think he's nice, though. I suppose he is. He was willing to sacrifice Akane-kun for your sake in a heartbeat; he cares terribly deeply about you. I wonder why, given you'd only known each other for that brief moment at the time -- this was last February. Ah, 0096, not 0097." A beat passes, before he clarifies, "Such a 'sacrifice' wasn't even necessary, mind you, but he was nevertheless quite willing to do anything for your sake, even so soon."

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        That they have little else in common is true enough, and it makes Shinji mad to acknowledge that even only to himself, so he keeps his mouth shut. He might sound like he's actually curious, but he's just looking for a way to hurt you or Kaworu-kun. Or both, he tells himself. Don't trust him.
        
        Still, he can't help himself. When Alexis pauses that little bit on 'friends,' as if there's something false about it, Shinji says hotly, "Stop it. Stop implying things about Kaworu-kun. He's a good person, and maybe there are a lot of things about him I don't know, but I do know about how you hurt him, and I'll never forgive you for that!"
        
        But naturally, Alexis does not stop implying. Or rather, he shifts from implying from outright stating. Shinji rears back a step in surprise at the information. "What?" February of last year? They really had only barely known each other back then. Recovering his wits, he shakes his head, then insists, "You're lying. And if you're not lying, you're making it sound--different from how it really is."
        
        As he keeps speaking, he gains more ardor: "I know you're trying to drive a wedge between us because--you're sick and twisted and ruining other people's lives makes you happy. Well, it's not going to work! I trust Kaworu-kun more than anyone. I definitely trust him way more than you! Even if there's things he hasn't told me, I know it's because he has no choice! And I'd rather he not tell me things he's not allowed to say than lie to me, anyhow!"
        
        But there is a note of shameful curiosity there. He's sure Alexis is twisting things around. He's sure listening to him even a little is playing into his hands. But if it's even a little bit true... then why?

<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.

The teal panels on Alexis's face all blink on again. "Drive a wedge between you? I really don't think you have the right impression of me. I think if you get to know each other better, you'll be stronger than you are now," he muses to Shinji, at the idea he might want anything but Kaworu and Shinji's happiness.

"You really are such fascinating partners for each other, though. He really does fear losing you so badly. I imagine he was quite happy when you defeated that copy of Akane-kun's mountain kaiju in Tokyo-3..." He trails off a moment, then muses, "Though perhaps not? It's frustrating when someone beneath you becomes more talented than you yourself are. Perhaps a self-sufficient Shinji-kun isn't to Kaworu's liking... you'll really have to forgive me. A lot of time has passed between us -- sometimes it's hard for me to be certain what Kaworu-kun might be thinking right now..."

... That's enough for Alexis, it seems; his path begins to deflect off from Shinji's just slightly. "Forgive the rudeness of my speculation, then. Perhaps I should excuse myself."

He doesn't rush to do so, though.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        "I think I do. That's what you did to Shinjo-senpai and everyone who cared about her," Shinji shoots back, Alexis's insistence on playing the role of kindly weird uncle emboldening him.
        
        ...but a part of him thinks Alexis does have a point. If he and Kaworu could get to know each other better, they would be stronger. At the same time, he doesn't want to drive Kaworu off by forcing his hand...
        
        He makes a face at Alexis's transparent bid to continue to undermine their friendship. It's at least as much at how it works a little. Shinji is less talented than Kaworu by far. By this point, he accepts that Kaworu's feelings are sincere, but he can't for the life of him figure out why. With Asuka, it's one thing; he saved her when they were swallowed up by Jophiel, and that was a turning point in their relationship. He doesn't really get why she would date someone like him, but he knows that's when their relationship started getting better. But Kaworu was always nice to him. Of course, Kaworu's nice to everybody, so maybe it's just him, but...
        
        Oh. He's overthinking again. He shakes his head sharply and replies to you'll have to forgive me with a curt, "I really don't."
        
        He moves to leave. Shinji suspects he's trying to suss out whether he'll take the hook or if he's wasting his time. And he knows the correct thing to do is tell him to get lost, or at least not stop him. But... ('He really does fear losing you so badly,' Alexis claims, and Shinji hates how that makes him happy, a little. He hates how it makes him happy knowing that's something the two of them have in common.)
        
        "Why are you so obsessed with Kaworu-kun?" he wonders, guarded. "Are you scared of him?"

<Pose Tracker> Alexis Kerib has posed.

Alexis stops his deflection away from Shinji when Shinji chucks that question at him. It's a question he hadn't expected -- something about himself. He'd been prepared for Shinji to ask about Kaworu, but...

... this one gives him a little pause. He has to actually think about what he's going to say next -- is he obsessed with Kaworu? He hadn't seen himself that way, certainly; on the other hand, Kaworu is one of a small handful of people who were already known to him...

The flame at the back of his head flickers, a beacon in the night's light. "It is difficult for a child to understand nostalgia," he reflects aloud to Shinji. It's all the answer he's willing to give -- and perhaps it's already too much, at that.

He continues his retreat. Eventually, he's able to round a corner around a bus stop, at which point he vanishes into nothingness.

<Pose Tracker> Shinji Ikari has posed.

        Nostalgia?
        
        That's a weird one on Shinji, and not knowing what to make of it, he says nothing. He never really thought of Alexis as an 'adult,' but this answer casts him in a new light. What exactly that light is, he's not sure. Later, it'll occur to him that if Alexis and Kaworu really did know each other a long time ago--and Kaworu has said things to make Shinji think it might well be true--then it'd make sense.
        
        But on the other hand, it might just be more of the Devil's lies. Shinji decides to keep it to himself for now. Asuka often calls him 'Stupid Shinji,' but if he got caught up in the words of someone known for at least twisting the truth around, he really would be stupid.
        
        When Alexis leaves, he doesn't stop him, only glaring at his back until he's sure he's really gone. Even then, he only puts one earbud back, and constantly looks over his shoulder at shadows as he resumes his careful trip to the convenience store.

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