Standing at the front of the class with her sparkling smile gleaming, Mana Kirishima beamed at him as Shinji sat in his chair, paralysed by fear.
"Oh my god, really!?" Toji cried, echoing the sentiment of all the boys in the class. The girls had started whispering and giggling with each other at the sudden new development.
"Another girl!?"
"I thought he was engaged or something to Rei?"
"He's got three girls on the go!? At his age!?"
"What about Asuka? She is going to flip..."
The girl in question could hear nothing of the gossip floating around the class. All she could hear was the sound of her rapidly raging pulse.
Rei, on the other hand, was sat stock still in her chair by the window, in shock and looking very dazed.
"Shinji...? You feeling okay?" Misato asked gingerly, aware that he was probably going through an internal meltdown. Mana kept up her radiant smile as she took a step towards his table.
"He's probably just surprised."
"Let me slap him! Just once! It won't even hurt...!" Toji was furiously shouting from his chair as Hikari tried her best to keep him under control. She was beginning to consider taking a page from Asuka's book and putting him into a headlock.
"It's been about eight years Shinji." Mana had stopped in front of the visibly shaken boy.
"Do you remember me?"
Something inside him snapped. Standing up as fast as he could, he bolted for the classroom door as fast as humanly possible.
"SHINJI!"
Misato's shout of surprise went unanswered as the poor boy literally leapt over tables trying to get away.
"OH NO YOU DON'T!"
Mana's cry echoed around the classroom as she lifted up her arm. It was only then Rei, who had started recovering from her stupor, noticed that Mana was wearing a cerulean bracelet.
Just like the one she wore.
Seconds later, her attention was diverted to the fact that Shinji was now enveloped in a bubble-like prison, stopping the panic-stricken boy from escaping.
"Shinji... " Mana purred flirtatiously as she began to walk towards the entrapped boy.
"You mustn't run away."
"SOMEBODY SAVE ME!" Shinji shrieked in a voice that could only be described as the embodiment of blood-curdling terror as he banged from the inside of the bubble fruitlessly.
Needless to say, the whole class was in shock. Even Asuka, Rei and Misato, who were used to seeing this kind of supernatural science, were left dumbfounded.
"I've waited a long time to see you again." Inside the bubble, shackles materialized around Shinji's arms, locking them behind his back. A collar with a chained leash appeared around his neck.
"W-w w-what the hell is this!?" He looked down at his new accessories, utterly terrified. The bubble around him popped, and he dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Picking up the leash, a grin that would have a yandere running for the hills replaced her sweet smile from moments before.
"I've told you this already, but I'll tell you again." Mana stood over him, her figure a hundred times more intimidating than Asuka's could ever be. Somewhere in his brain, a little voice quietly muttered that her black-lace panties that were peeking out from under her skirt were rather daring, but it was drowned out by the rest of his brain shrieking from the horrifying smile she was giving him.
"You mustn't run away."
---
"What's their status!?" Yui yelled to the room. Maya, Shigeru and Aoba all jumped to attention, alongside Satsuki, Kaede and Aoi on their various terminals. Furious typing could be heard around the control room, overlooked by Gendo Ikari in his trademark pose, leaning on his interlocked fingers.
"Shinji's been kidnapped, and is being held hostage in a... bubble-like prison?" Satsuki looked at her monitor in confusion. "I don't understand what's going on at all..."
"You're telling me. Who is this girl?" Kaede looked at the video footage displaying one of the school's corridors, keeping track of the red-headed girl holding Shinji hostage. Her eyes suddenly widened. "Oh shit!"
All of the monitors in the room suddenly flashed.
"Explosion detected! Major damage to the school exterior on the third floor!"
"Are the kids okay!?"
"No injuries! Asuka and Rei are in pursuit of Shinji and the mysterious girl."
Yui gritted her teeth as she watched the ongoing battle on the giant main screen. It seemed like she knew the girl from somewhere, but the memory was proving to be elusive.
"Do you not recognize her, Yui?" The gravelly tones emanating from Gendo slightly surprised her. He wasn't usually in such a somber mood.
"What, do you?" She turned around to face her husband.
"Eight years ago. She was the survivor."
The memories flooded back to her, each more heartbreaking than the last. Turning to face the screen again, her eyes were glued to the girl's face, now recognizable to her.
"But... why? What's she doing?! And why does she have a bracelet!?" Gendo's eyes appeared colder than ice as he peered over his orange-tinted glasses.
"Our friends have managed to pull the rug from under our feet once again."
Alarms were blaring all over the school. The students had been evacuated and the perimeter had been surrounded by police and the military. Helicopters buzzed angrily overhead, occasionally blocking out the sun which was beginning to set, turning the sky an ominous crimson.
Misato was outside with the students, making sure everyone was safe, whilst occasionally glancing back at the school, panic-stricken.
"We have identified a potential terrorist threat on the school premises. Do not enter the school or surrounding area for any reason until further notice."
The school PA system was echoing what was also being broadcast outside to the civilians and students milling around the school gates. Asuka smirked as she continued running around the school corridors.
"Her first day here and she's branded as a terrorist. That's certainly an achievement."
She continued running down the corridors, her eyes peeled at every corner and doorway she came across. Judging from the giant hole that tore a large chunk away from the third floor corridor, she had come to assume that Mana wasn't taking any chances.
It was kill or be killed.
As she came up to the next corridor's corner, she suddenly heard footsteps. Slowing down to a crawl, she tiptoed her way towards the corner, her back pressed against the wall. Her hands were shaking, causing the bracelet to rattle.
"Come on Asuka... GO!" Clenching her teeth, she jumped around the corner and raised her bracelet arm's palm to attack. She was faced with Rei, in exactly the same stance.
"Jesus! I was ready to blow you to hell..."
"I can see that. Better luck next time, I suppose." Asuka was this close to giving the sarcastic girl a slap in response but decided against it for the moment. "I assume this means you've had no success finding him either."
"What do you think, genius..." Asuka sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. They had lost contact with Shinji a while back, after Mana had nearly obliterated them both.
"We better stick together from now, and watch each other's backs. Splitting up was a good idea, but we're more likely to end up killing each other if we're jumping at shadows..."
"I agree." Rei nodded. Suddenly, Rei jumped forward, catching Asuka around the waist and pushing her to the ground. "Watch out!"
Another explosion tore through the windows they had been standing next to not a second earlier. Sparkling glass showered over them as the windows buckled. Shards cut into the both of them, leaving a nasty cut on Asuka's face and a similar wound over Rei's arm.
"She... is so dead... Owowowow..." Asuka twinged in pain as she stood up. Helping Rei to her feet, their eyes met. Nodding together, they began running towards the staircase.
"She's outside!"
---
"You've suddenly gone incredibly quiet Shinji"
"I doubt you'd be overly conversational either if your captor was a maniacal pyrotechnic who had you locked in a dark gym storage room."
He couldn't really make out much in the dark, but he was well aware that Mana was straddled on top of him. When he squinted, he could just about make out the mischievous grin on her face.
"I'm pretty sure this is every teenage boy's dream, isn't it? To be underneath a hot girl in a dark room?"
"I see you're not aware of your own narcissism."
Mana just smiled even more as she leaned in closer to his face, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"But I am aware that I'm way cuter than Asuka or Rei." She whispered into his ear. A raging flush rushed across his face, and he was rapidly becoming aware that his trousers were becoming painfully tight across his groin.
His nerves were on fire as he struggled to look for a response. It was true that he found Mana incredibly cute, and her bold, daring behavior was not exactly unwelcome.
But he was also aware that if he didn't do something soon, Asuka and Rei would find them both in this compromising situation. He was sure they would destroy the school between them if that happened.
"I can't really deny that you are incredibly cute, putting aside the fact that you are a terrifying person." Shinji started talking as he began to struggle against his shackles. Whatever Mana was doing with her bracelet was cancelling out his ability to use his own.
But he had a theory.
For whatever reason, it seemed that the bracelets reacted to emotion. Not only that, but using them for extended periods of time would leave the user exhausted.
His plan meant that not only would he have to try something risky, it was dependent on Mana being somewhat already tired.
And having her wrapped around his neck, breathing heavily into his ear was making it really hard to put his plan into action.
Mana giggled, tightening her grip around him as she continued to whisper into his ear.
"I'm glad that you think so, Shinji. I've been waiting for you to say something like that for a very, very long time."
Something about the way she said that didn't sit well with him. It almost sounded... sorrowful.
Leaning up slightly, Shinji was met with her eyes. Eyes that seemed almost ready to cry.
"Shinji... Did you miss me?"
Something was definitely off now. Where did all of her energy suddenly go? Why did she look like she was ready to have a mental breakdown? A million more questions rushed through his mind, but he realized he didn't have the time to think about it too hard right now. He had to do something before Asuka caught them together like this.
"Mana..." He felt his shackles crumble underneath him. He hadn't done anything to set himself free, so it must have been her own doing.
"Save me Shinji... You have to save me..." She whispered again, this time her voice trembling. Before she had the chance to break down, Shinji wrapped his arms around her back, twisting his body so that he was now on top of her. He had somehow ended up straddling her, their positions reversed.
"Mana, what's going on? Who do you need saving from?" Shinji had her bracelet arm held firmly with his right hand. But it seemed unnecessary at this point. It didn't look like she was going to fight back anymore.
"Promise me you'll save me... From them." He was just about to ask who they were. But with her free hand, Mana grabbed the back of Shinji's head, bringing him down closer to her face.
"You saved me back then. I know you can do it again." She smiled, a single tear streaming down her face. Closing her eyes, she brought herself closer, kissing a suddenly incredibly shocked Shinji.
Her lips felt soft. That seemed to be the only thought that was running through his mind. Or it had been, until the door of the gym storage room blew open, revealing a horrified Asuka and Rei. Breaking off the kiss, Shinji sat up suddenly, painfully aware that he was still straddling Mana.
"I know you wouldn't believe me if I said it's not what it looks like, but can you at least believe that she started it?"