Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy – One Shots Chapter 9: One Shot 9 – The Festival, an evangelion fanfic

Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy
One Shot – The Festival

For All My Readers – どもありがと

May 1, 2019 – Tokyo–3 Senior High School, Class 2–A

Summer was coming up soon, and the school festival was on the horizon. Last year's festival was cancelled due to a heavy monsoon that came through the area, which soaked the ground so much, the fields looked were mud for over a month. This year however, the forecast was clear and plans for the festival were going forward. Each classroom was assigned to come up with a theme for the week–long festival, so, even with school over for the day, Hikari had kept the class late to decide on their class's theme for the festival.

"Ok… just to be clear." Hikari said as she reviewed the list written on the board. "The suggested themes for the festival are a yakisoba restaurant, a haunted house, college prep, or…" Hikari sighed deeply. "A cosplay café…"

"Sounds about right, Class Rep!" Toji said loudly.

"As long as no one else has any ideas, we can vote." Hikari said calmly.

"I think we're good Class Rep!" Toji said excitedly.

"Yeah, Hikari, I'm ready to vote!" Mari said happily.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Asuka muttered.

"So, all those in favor of the yakisoba restaurant?" Hikari asked as seven girls raised their hands, including Rei. "Ok, seven…" Hikari wrote the results on the board. "Ok, now the haunted house?" Three girls raised their hands, including Asuka. "Only three…" Hikari updated the results. "College prep?" Hikari asked a she raised her hand. "One." Hikari said curtly as she angrily slammed the caulk into the board to write the result. "And now… who wants the cosplay café…?" Hikari asked exasperatedly as all thirteen boys and Mari raised their hands. "Fourteen…" Hikari sighed. "Seeing as the first vote has resulted in an unfortunately clear majority… Class 2–A's theme for this year's festival will be… a cosplay café…"

"Yeah!" Toji shouted excitedly.

"Bitchin'!" Mari said exuberantly.

"We're gonna have the best class theme!" Kensuke said.

"It should be fun." Shinji added.

"Shit…" Asuka muttered.

"Ok… so seeing as Suzuhara came up with the idea… all planning is now his responsibility." Hikari said coolly. "Delegate tasks to whomever you'd like."

"No problem, Class Rep!" Toji said. "I already have some swell ideas."

"Can I help pick out the cosplay?!" Mari asked excitedly.

"What the hell, why not?" Toji said.

"Now that this is all settled." Hikari said as she erased the board. "Everyone can go home. Toji, please have a plan ready in the few days that I can bring it to the student council so they can approve funds for whatever you're planning…"

"Sure thing!" Toji said brightly as the rest of the class got up and left.

–––

A few minutes later, they were piled into the Kuga as Shinji drove home. Just as Shinji pulled out of the parking lot, Asuka turned to Shinji and punched him in the arm causing him to jerk the car towards the guardrail.

"Asuka, what the fuck are you doing?!" Mari shouted. "He's fucking driving!"

"Yes, please don't kill us, Asuka." Rei said. "I have a book I'd like to finish reading."

"I'm so pissed at baka Shinji right now." Asuka said. "You are such a fucking idiot!"

"What did I do?" Shinji asked.

"You voted for the cosplay café!" Asuka shouted. "Seriously, why would you do that?!"

"I don't know, it seemed like it would be a good idea." Shinji said. "It's basically what we do for Halloween."

"This isn't going to be us choosing our own costumes for Halloween!" Asuka said. "We're going to be dressed in skimpy costumes, forced to dress like French maids and sexy bunnies!" Asuka grumbled. "Or even worse… nekogirls!"

"They wouldn't…" Rei mumbled.

"Oh they would, wundergirl!" Asuka said. "Men are all perverts!"

"Asuka, we've been over this." Shinji said. "We're not all perverts."

"Well, maybe not you… but the rest of them are!" Asuka protested.

"I don't want to be on display…" Rei said.

"Rei, it's not going to be as bad as Asuka makes it sound." Shinji said. "You enjoy when we get dressed up for Halloween."

"But that's for a holiday." Rei said. "For this I think I would have rather preferred something a little more… subdued…"

"Huh?" Shinji asked.

"Baka!" Asuka said. "I think she means she doesn't want to be a sex object!"

"Overreact much, princess?" Mari asked.

"I'm not overreacting!" Asuka said. "We're gonna be dressing up in skimpy outfits, especially if that stooge Toji is in charge of it! I know he's a pervert!"

"Come on, I voted for it too." Mari said. "And pervert or not, it sounds like it'll be a lot of fun, princess!"

"You voted for it because you're an idiot!" Asuka said. "Why would you want to do that?"

"It's a chance to show off my figure, princess." Mari said. "I know with me there, we'll be a very popular clasrrom to go to…"

"You're just as perverted as the rest of them." Asuka grumbled.

"How lewd…" Rei muttered.

"It's just a bit of harmless cosplay." Mari said nonchalantly.

"It is not just cosplay when perverts are in charge!" Asuka retorted.

"Come on princess, you need to relax." Mari said. "If you're so worried about it, just think of it as a chance to show off your figure."

"I do not want a bunch of perverts ogling my figure!" Asuka said.

"Come on, they'll love you…" Mari crooned. "You love the attention…"

"I only like one person ogling me, four eyes!" Asuka said.

"Well… " Mari said. "You still love the attention…"

"I do not!" Asuka retorted.

"Yes you do." Mari said. "You like being the prettiest girl in school."

"She is to me…" Shinji said.

"Kiss ass…" Mari muttered.

"Baka, you're so clueless!" Asuka said.

"What did I do now?" Shinji asked. "You'll look good in whatever costume you wear."

"Baka, why are not being more upset about me being paraded around in skimpy outfits?" Asuka asked. "You're the only one who's supposed to see me like that!"

"Asuka… it's a school fair." Shinji said. "Toji can't have you dress up inappropriately, and Hikari will stop him before he does anything… stupid."

"Oh… I uh… I guess you're right…" Asuka said. "Hikari has him on a leash…"

"On a… leash?" Rei asked. "That's figurative I hope…"

"Oh yeah, it's an expression." Asuka explained. "All she has to do is threaten to withhold sex, and he'll do anything she wants."

"So we won't be… over exposed?" Rei asked.

"I guess not…" Asuka said.

"See, you overreacted again, princess." Mari joked. "You gotta work on that."

"Bite me." Asuka said.

"Tell me where, princess." Mari said

"Just stop you two." Shinji said. "I think you've fought enough for today."

"Not quite yet." Mari joked. "We haven't filled or quota."

"Don't tell me what to do, baka." Asuka said coolly.

"I'm not, Asuka." Shinji said. "I just don't like when you two argue."

"I'm not particularly fond of it either, Asuka." Rei added.

"Oh fine, I'll stop." Asuka said in a huff. "But don't think I'm done complaining about the festival. If that stooge messes anything up, he's never gonna live it down."

May 10, 2019 – Tokyo–3 Senior High School, Class 2–A

It was early on Friday morning, and Shinji was settling into his desk. As he unpacked his bag, Toji and Kensuke wandered over with grins on their faces.

"Morning guys." Shinji said.

"Morning Shinji." Kensuke replied.

"Hey buddy." Toji replied.

"What's up?" Shinji asked. "Cause if it's about the trig homework, I can't let you copy it again. The teacher almost caught you the last time."

"Forget about the stupid homework." Toji said. "I got something way more important to show you…"

"How can it be more important than homework?" Shinji said. "Aren't you worried about your grades?"

"I have other things to think about, buddy." Toji said.

"I'm afraid of what you're about to show me…" Shinji muttered.

"Don't be, buddy." Toji said. "See, me and Kensuke have been thinking the past few days about what everyone should be dressed up as."

"Oh…" Shinji replied. "Why does that matter to me?"

"Because…" Toji said as Kensuke pulled out a sheaf of paper. "We've been working on some solid ideas."

"What's all this?" Shinji asked as he slipped through the pictures of what looked like their classmates in various, somewhat erotic costumes. "I mean… seriously?"

"These are what you might call design sketches or concept art if you will." Toji said.

"I was up the last few nights drafting these sketches with Toji's input." Kensuke said.

"We uh… wanted your enlightened opinion, pal." Toji said.

"Yeah, so what do you think?" Kensuke asked.

"What are these even for?" Shinji asked as looked intently through the sketches.

"For the cosplay café, obviously." Toji said.

"Ok…" Shinji said. "So, why these costumes exactly?"

"Well, I was thinking about what costume would best suit their image." Toji said. "Like we thought for Rei, well, she's got that demure innocent thing going on… so I was thinking she could be like an English maid or something."

"Um…" Shinji muttered.

"And I thought for Hikari that with her whole bossy attitude thing that she could be like a librarian or a school girl or something." Toji said. "And Mari… well, I know I'm not supposed to say she's a bimbo, but she's got these… uh…"

"Huge tits." Kensuke said as Shinji glared at him.

"So she'd be goo in basically anything without much covering her." Toji said. "People would love to see that, so like a two piece bathing suit or something was all I could come up with. And as for Asuka… well, what do you think of this?"

Shinji looked at the picture they had of Asuka and raised his eyebrow. "That doesn't look like something Asuka would wear…"

"She's got a rockin' body like Mari, so I figured she should wear a tight unitard or something like that."

"That's not a good idea…" Shinji said. "She would not like this at all, and neither would Rei…"

"What about Mari?" Kensuke asked.

"Well, she might like the plan, but she'd probably rather choose her own costume." Shinji replied.

"So, what do you think of the plan…?" Toji asked.

"I don't think Sakura would like how either of you are talking." Shinji said. "Would she?"

"Huh?" Toji said. "Why would she care about this?"

"Yeah…" Kensuke said nervously. "Why would it matter to her?"

"Oh, she'd have her reasons." Shinji said as he noticed Asuka walk into the room. "But if Asuka catches you with this shit, she'll kill you."

"Shinji, how would she catch us?" Kensuke asked.

"Yeah, the redheaded devil isn't even here." Toji joked.

"You know I don't like when you call her that." Shinji said. "It's not nice."

"How will she know?" Toji said. "Are you going to tell her?"

"No…" Asuka said angrily from behind Toji and Kensuke, making both of them jump, and then shake with fear. "I can hear it all for myself from the two stooges bragging about it…"

"Shit…" Toji muttered.

"Oh boy… when I tell Hikari about how perverted you're being, she's gonna kill you…" Asuka muttered. "But you know what's even worse for you right now, stooge?"

"I… I don't really want to know…" Toji said anxiously.

"Yeah, me neither…" Kensuke agreed.

"Well… if there's anything I can't stand in this world, it's when people draw perverted pictures of me…" Asuka said in an unnervingly calm tone.

"Per… perverted?" Kensuke asked as his voice cracked.

"Yeah, that's right…" Asuka replied as she reached between them and snatched the picture right of Toji's hands. "And do you know what I do to people who do that?" Asuka asked a she ripped the picture to shreds.

"Please don't tell us…" Kensuke said.

Asuka leaned in and whispered in their ears. "I kick them in the dick…"

Toji and Kensuke bolted out of their chairs, sending them flying across the room and ran out so fast, they forgot to take their concept art with them.

"Having fun?" Shinji asked.

"Oh yeah." Asuka said. "I could mess with them all day, it's just too easy."

"Well, I think you got the point across." Shinji said.

"Well, I don't see any piss stains, so I didn't quite get the point across I wanted to…" Asuka mused.

"Well, I'm sorry about you having to see that." Shinji said. "I wasn't… well expecting them to put so much thought in."

"Oh, I can believe their perverted minds went into overdrive." Asuka said. "What I can't believe they actually wanted your opinion though…"

"Maybe they think I want to help plan it out." Shinji said. "But they know I'm not… you know… like that."

"Well… not outside our room anyway…" Asuka joked.

"Asuka, don't talk about that in public!" Shinji whispered anxiously. "That's private…"

"You are so adorable when you're flustered." Asuka said as she caught herself. "Hey, don't use that cute flustered look to distract me from my anger, baka!"

"It always works so well though." Shinji said sweetly.

"Arschloch…" Asuka muttered.

"Hey, don't take out your frustration on me." Shinji said. "I'm not the one making the decisions here."

"I know, it's those two stooges." Asuka said.

"I just don't know why they're trying so hard to make this so…" Shinji began.

"Lewd?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah, lewd." Shinji said.

"Because they're perverts." Asuka said. "Occam's razor, baka."

"Yeah, yeah, the simplest explanation." Shinji said. "Still, how are you going to stop them from going overboard?" Shinji asked.

"I'll have Hikari beat some sense into Toji." Asuka said. "Why do I have to do someone else's work?"

"And Kensuke?" Shinji asked.

"Oh, that's easy too, baka." Asuka said. "He's dating Sakura after all… so we'll just hang that little secret over his head."

"That's going to get old at some point." Shinji said. "Toji's going to find out eventually anyway."

"Yeah, maybe." Asuka said. "And when he does, it's going to be glorious…"
–––

After school, the kids were all back at the apartment. Asuka kept glaring at Toji and Kensuke while they did their homework in relative quiet. As they began finishing up their assignments, Toji put his work down to say something.

"Hey, uh, Shinji." Toji said. "I need to uh, ask you a favor."

"What is it?" Shinji asked.

"Well… uh… the student council approved funds for the cosplay café, but I don't really have a plan for what we're serving…" Toji explained.

"And…" Shinji asked.

"And I need your help, buddy." Toji said. "Can you come up with a menu or something and like cook it or whatever?"

"Seriously?" Asuka asked. "You want him to do three days' worth of cooking and panning on his own?"

"Well… I mean, I know he can cook good." Toji said. "He's the best cook I know."

"Excuse me?" Hikari asked.

"What, he is!" Toji said defensively. "You're a great cook too, babe, he's just… better."

"Is he always such an idiot?" Asuka asked.

"Well, not always." Hikari said. "But it's endearing."

"What did I do now?" Toji asked.

"I believe you insulted Hikari by saying onii–chan is a better cook." Rei said.

"I said she was a great cook!" Toji aid defensively.

"Man you're thick headed." Asuka said. "Did you even consider asking her for help with the food?"

"I… uh…" Toji muttered.

"Well…?" Hikari asked.

"Can Shinji help you plan out the menu and cook and everything?" Toji asked. "I only know how to make curry, but we need more than that…"

"I don't see why not." Hikari replied. "I mean, I'm glad you remembered I could cook…"

"Look, Hikari, I'm sorry." Toji said. "I should have asked you first, but I figured you wouldn't help cause my idea for the theme beat out your idea…"

"You thought I would hold that against you?" Hikari asked.

"Well… yeah…" Toji replied. "I know it was dumb, but you seemed mad about it…"

"I wasn't mad…" Hikari replied.

"Come on, freckles, that's a reasonable explanation." Mari said. "I mean, you must have been pissed off college prep wasn't chosen."

"I wasn't pissed." Hikari said. "I was just disappointed."

"Well, why didn't you offer to help him, freckles?" Mari asked. "You know he can't cook, or plan… or…"

"I get your point." Hikari replied. "I guess I shouldn't have just left him alone."

"So you'll help?" Toji asked.

"Yeah, me and Shinji can work out a workable menu." Hikari replied. "And I guess we can prep the food, right?"

"Yeah, we can use the kitchen here and load everything into the cars and bring it in." Shinji suggested.

"That could work…" Hikari said. "But we can't cook the food and then pack it all… that's too much, even for us."

"I can do that." Mari said. "I'd like to help."

"I would also like to help." Rei said.

"I can help cook." Asuka added.

"You can?" Hikari asked.

"Yeah, Asuka's a great cook too." Shinji said. "We could use all the help we can get."

"Yeah." Hikari said. "With all of us, we should be able to handle this."

"What about those two?" Mari asked. "They can pack the food too, they aren't cripple or anything, are they?"

"Well, we're sorta the ones in charge…" Toji began.

"If you want my help, you're both packing the food." Hikari said. "Boss or not."

"And if Hikari's not doing it, I ain't helping either." Mari said.

"Yeah, same here." Asuka said.

"I also won't help if they all back out." Asuka said. "You'll be on your own."

"Fine, fine, we'll help." Toji said. "Can't upset the balance."

"But what about the costumes?" Kensuke asked. "I mean, we're doing a cosplay cafe, but we don't have any costumes for the girls."

"Well, what about the boys?" Asuka asked.

"Now that you mention it, why aren't you getting costumes for the boys?" Hikari said.

"Yeah, that's not fair." Mari said.

"Well, us boys were gonna be the guys in the back making up the orders while you girls were up front taking care of the orders and everything." Toji explained.

"Well, that's bullshit!" Asuka said angrily.

"Yeah, all the girls are being forced to dress up!" Hikari snapped. "Some boys need to dress up too!"

"Well, that's gonna throw off everyone coming in…" Toji said. "Plus none of us boys are that good at remembering orders anyway."

"How do you even know that?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah, stop bullshitting us." Mari said.

"What, we want people to come for the views and the food." Toji said. "That requires certain… criteria… to be met."

"Like what?!" Asuka asked angrily.

"All the servers to be girls." Kensuke said.

"Well… I mean, that's kinda the point of a cosplay café…" Mari mumbled.

"Fine, then one of the boys needs to dress up as a girl." Asuka said. "And it needs to be convincing."

"Yeah, but who could that be?" Hikari asked. "All the boys look like boys."

"Well… there may be one…" Rei said.

"Who?" Hikari asked.

"Onii–chan." Rei replied.

"No." Shinji said. "I don't want to dress up like a girl."

"Well, either you do it, or the cosplay café is off." Asuka said.

"Do I have to?" Shinji asked.

"Well, you're the guy we're looking at, puppy." Mari said.

"What am I dressing up as…"

"How about a school girl?" Toji suggested.

"Yeah, but we can't buy a costume for that." Kensuke said. "It's not in the budget…"

"Oh, I think we can figure something out…" Mari said. "I have an idea…"

"Oh dear…" Shinji muttered. "I've got a bad feeling about this…"

"And what about the rest of the costumes?" Hikari asked.

"Well, the others girls have picked out what they wanted already." Toji said proudly. "We just need your decisions, ladies."

"Seriously?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah, here's the costumes that are still available." Toji said as he pushed a list to them.

"The ones we have the budget left to buy anyway." Kensuke added.

"This is seriously it?" Asuka asked. "There's like five choices here!"

"Yeah, this is what happens when you're last to pick." Toji said.

"And we didn't want any duplicate costumes either." Kensuke added. "That way everyone's got a unique costume they picked."

"That's… oddly kind of you two…" Hikari said.

"Actually, considering what they've done so far, it's positively sweet of them." Mari joked. "What's the catch?"

"No catch, the pictures on the list are what the costumes are." Toji said. "Hikari convinced me that not everything needs to be… so over the top."

"Why didn't you let us pick first?" Hikari asked. "We're your friends after all."

"Well, one of you seemed that thrilled with the idea of it, so I just didn't want to cause more trouble than I was already in." Toji explained.

"Besides, the others girls came up to us asking about the costumes, so we really never got a chance to properly ask you."

"Oh, that's just great…" Asuka muttered. "This is what I have to choose from…"

"It's not that bad, princess." Mari said. "There's like seven things here. Hell, I'll even pick last so everyone else gets what they want."

"That doesn't make this any easier…" Asuka muttered.

"Well, we're just going to have to suck it up and do it." Hikari said simply. "Shinji's agreed to dress up, so we've got no excuses anymore."

"Still, I don't have to be happy about it." Asuka retorted as they looked over the list.

May 15, 2019 – Tokyo–3 Senior High School

Another school day had ended, and today, the kids had nothing planned for the afternoon. Mari had been waiting until the end of the day to tell her roommates something she'd been hiding the entire day. When Mari walked in that morning, she spotted an advertisement for the festival that she wanted to bring up, but had been unable to do so with the amount of work everyone was doing to prepare for the festival. So, as they were piling into the car, Mari grabbed a folded copy of the flier she had taken off the wall to show everyone and burst out excitedly, unable to contain her idea any longer.

"Hey guys, look at what I saw this morning!" Mari said excitedly, starling Shinji.

"You found your common sense after all this time?" Asuka asked.

"Common sense is neither common, nor a sense, princess." Mari quipped. "You of all people should know that."

"Arschloch…" Asuka muttered.

"Anyway, here's the flier for it." Mari said as she passed it up to Shinji and Rei.

"A battle of the bands?" Shinji asked. "Mari, I don't think we're qualified to do anything like this, and we don't even have a band…"

"Yeah we are." Mari said. "We can all sing, and I know you can play like… two instruments."

"But we have the cosplay café to worry about." Shinji said. "We need to be there for that."

"It's only for one song, puppy." Mari whined. "Besides, it'll be fun!"

"Is there a prize involved?" Asuka asked.

"Free buffet tickets for the karaoke bar we go to." Mari said happily. "So we'll be able to eat free… and everything tastes better when you're not paying for it!"

"Hmm…" Asuka muttered. "Well, I can play guitar…"

"You can?" Shinji asked. "You never told me that before."

"You never asked." Asuka replied. "I mean, it's not as good as you playing the cello, but it's decent."

"And I do drums or the bass guitar, so we're covered there…" Mari said.

"What about you, Rei?" Asuka asked. "Can you play anything?"

"I do not think I'll participate." Rei said. "Singing hasn't been enjoyable for me for… quite some time…"

"Really?" Asuka asked.

"Yes, I also can't play an instrument, so I would be of no use." Rei said.

"Oh… that's too bad…" Mari said sullenly. "You're sure?"

"Very." Rei said curtly.

"Well, what about you, puppy?" Mari asked. "Are you in?"

"I mean, if you and Asuka are on guitars, then I guess I could do the keyboard…" Shinji said. "I think I still have the one I used to practice on."

"You think?" Asuka asked.

"I'll have to check the basement." Shinji said. "It's been a while."

"Yeah, I'll have to look for my guitar too." Asuka said. "I haven't seen it since I moved here."

"So, you're going to need to practice, princess." Mari joked.

"We're all going to need to practice." Asuka snapped back. "It's not like we all play our instruments for fun."

"No… I'll have to find a bass guitar like my old one…" Mari said.

"Where's your old one?" Shinji asked.

"No idea." Mari said. "Last time I had it, it was when I was working on Project Alcion. It could be anywhere by now."

"Well, maybe it's with all the personal belongings Misato was able to get for you." Asuka said. "I mean, there was a pile of crap they brought downstairs…"

"I guess we'll have to look later." Mari said. "But who's doing vocals? I'd like to…"

"I will." Asuka said.

"I'm out." Shinji said.

"Quitter." Asuka joked.

"No, I'd just rather have one of you sing." Shinji said. "You're both really good."

"Well, what if we each did a song?" Asuka asked. "That way we don't fight over it."

"Sounds fair to me." Mari said.

"So, we're really doing this?" Asuka asked.

"Looks like it." Shinji replied. "We must be crazy."

"Well, it's no different than the Halloween contest we did." Mari said. "And we won that."

"I know, but this is going to be a lot more difficult than dressing up." Shinji said. "We're really going to have to try to do this right."

"We will, baka." Asuka said. "If we can defeat giant, Angelic beings, we can win a little battle of the bands."

May 19, 2019 – Comfort 17 Apartments

It had been a rough few days for the kids. It had taken them the four days since Mari brought up the festival's battle of the bands to search through their belongings in the basement and find their respective musical instruments. While Shinji had kept his cello in his room well cleaned, the keyboard he had was in its case stacked under a load of stuff he'd taken from his old home in Atsugi. Asuka also found her guitar in its case, and all it needed was to be re–stringed and it would be good to go. As for Mari, after an extensive search of her stuff, she had found her bass guitar, outside its case, needing to be both cleaned and re–strung. So as they had finally found their instruments, now they needed to plan out everything else.

"So how are we doing this, four eyes?" Asuka asked.

"Why are you asking me?" Mari asked.

"Well, it was your idea to do this, wasn't it?" Asuka retorted. "So, you're in charge, for whatever that's worth."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Mari asked.

"That you're the one in charge." Asuka replied. "I'm pretty sure you can handle the responsibility."

"Oh, well then…" Mari said. "We need to pick a song or two, that is if you still want to switch off being the vocalist or not."

"I'm not sure." Asuka said. "It might be a nice idea, but do we really have time to learn the chords for two songs?"

"I don't know, I'm not a musical expert." Mari said. "We don't want to over extend ourselves… but we also should both be able to sing."

"Well, if we have to cut a song, I won't sing." Asuka said. "It was your idea, so it's only fair if you sing."

"Are you absolutely sure, Asuka?" Mari asked. "I don't mind…"

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, Mari!" Asuka snapped. "I'm fine doing backup vocals."

"I don't see why we can't learn two songs." Shinji said. "We've still got two weeks."

"You're crazy." Asuka said.

"Nothing's impossible if you try hard enough." Shinji said.

"Well, we could practice every day after school." Asuka said.

"And we could practice at school during our break periods." Mari said.

"If we do all that, maybe we can pull it off!" Asuka said excitedly.

"So… what songs would we sing?" Mari asked aloud.

"I don't know." Asuka said. "You have any ideas?"

"Well, I have a couple." Mari said. "For me at least."

"Oh, so I have to come up with my own song?" Asuka asked.

"Well, you have to choose your own song." Mari said. "We're not creating two songs just for kicks."

"I know that." Asuka said. "But I have no idea what to pick." Asuka turned to Shinji. "Baka, do you have any ideas?"

"I don't have any ideas, Asuka." Shinji said. "Sorry…"

"Oh, don't be sorry." Asuka said. "I'm singing, I need to come up with a song myself."

"Well, I think I'm going to do a Katy Perry song." Mari said. "There are a couple I want to do, but I think I can narrow it down."

"Then maybe I can sing something from Paramore." Asuka said. "This could work."

"Well, we still need a band name." Shinji said. "Something like The Pilots."

"Nah, that's boring as all hell." Mari said.

"And a little predictable." Asuka added.

"So do you guys have any thoughts?" Shinji asked.

"How about Two Girls, A Boy, and a Penguin?" Asuka asked.

"That's too long." Mari said. "We need something short… something that is… us."

"How about The Dead Angels?" Asuka suggested.

"Or what about The Instrumentality Project?" Shinji said.

"Still too long…" Mari lamented, and then it clicked. "I know what would be perfect!" Mari said excitedly. "How about The Evangelions?"

"Seriously?" Asuka asked. "That's your suggestion?"

"Well, who else could use that name?" Mari asked.

"I don't think anyone else could." Shinji said.

"So are we agreed?" Mari asked.

"Yeah." Shinji replied.

"I guess that's ok…" Asuka said. "It's… well… the best one we've got."

"Then let's jam." Mari said happily.

May 31, 2019 – Comfort 17 Apartments

After finally getting their songs down perfectly with very little time to spare, the kids had gone out shopping right after finishing practice to pick up all the ingredients they'd need for the cosplay café's menu. As they got back, they saw their three friends waiting for them in the parking lot. With the seven of them there, they were able to move all the groceries in one trip and immediately set to work prepping the food.

"I think we bought too much food." Mari said as she packaged the food in Tupperware containers to put into the fridge.

"No, we probably didn't buy enough." Toji said. "This thing is going to be a fucking success!"

"Yeah it is!" Kensuke said supportively.

"Well, no matter how much food we bought, there's a load of stuff here to cook and pack." Shinji said.

"Yeah, so less talking and more working, peons!" Asuka snapped.

"Asuka, that's not nice!" Hikari said.

"Well, they're doing the grunt work." Asuka said.

"Still, peons is a little harsh…" Hikari said.

"I could have said peasants." Asuka joked.

"Jesus…" Hikari muttered.

"Asuka, the rice." Shinji said.

"Oh, right." Asuka replied as she went back to focusing on what she was cooking.

"Well, at least the classroom is set up." Hikari said. "We've got the desks set up like tables, we've got dividers up."

"The coolers came just after you left." Rei said. "And the microwaves shouldn't short out the power."

"Are you sure?" Hikari asked. "We can't lose power tomorrow."

"Yeah, we'll lose business if we lose power!" Kensuke said.

"We tested them all at once." Mari said. "Nothing shorted out so we should be fine."

"And the menus?" Toji asked.

"Some of the other girls designed them, they're back at in the classroom." Shinji said. "They look really nice."

"So, then we're all ready for tomorrow." Toji said.

"Seems like it." Kensuke replied.

"No we're not!" Asuka said. "You guys are slacking on the packing up the food! If you don't hurry up we'll be here all night!"

"We're going as fast as we can!" Mari said.

"It's not fast enough." Asuka said.

"Yeah guys, we're running out of counter space." Hikari said.

"We will try to pick up the pace." Rei replied.

"Good, cause I'd like to be able to sleep before tomorrow morning." Asuka muttered.

June 1, 2019 – Tokyo–3 Senior High School, Class 2–A

It was still early, and the kids had gotten to school before the festival had opened. Once they and their classmates had carried all the food inside, Toji procured the costumes everyone was going to wear. The rest of the girls in the class were content wearing the costumes, because it was for the festival. While the other girls had gotten changed, Asuka stared at the package containing her costume.

"I don't like it." Asuka said. "I've made a horrible decision."

"No you haven't, princess." Mari said. "Now suck it up, and let's go get changed."

As the girls left to get changed, Shinji went to help unpack the food, but was also grabbed by Mari and dragged with them.

"Don't think you're getting out of your costume experience, puppy." Mari said playfully as she tapped her bag. "I've got you a cute little costume right here."

"Mari, I hope it's at least tasteful…" Shinji said.

"As tasteful as the rest of the costumes are." Mari replied.

"Oh boy…" Shinji muttered.

"Does he have to come in there with us?" Hikari asked. "It's a little weird…"

"Don't worry, he's always on his best behavior in a locker room." Asuka said.

"Oh, fine…" Hikari relented.

A short time later, the five of them emerged in their costumes. Rei was dressed in a sailor fuku outfit, Hikari was dressed up as a shine maiden, Asuka, much to her chagrin, was in a skimpy bunny outfit with fishnet stockings and what amounted to a very tight and revealing looking one–piece bathing suit complete with cotton ball tail, and ears to match with a collar and bowtie around her neck. Mari was happily dressed as a nekogirl, and had a long tail, and had on even less clothes than Asuka did, which showed off her ample figure nicely, and a small choker with a heart on its front. Shinji on the other hand reluctantly left the bathroom looking downtrodden. He was dressed up in a jet black wig that fell to his all the way down his back with a powder blue hairband, a white blouse with a school's emblem, with a green tie, and a maroon and navy blue plaid skirt. He also had on black thigh high stockings and black shoes.

"Oh, my old school uniform looks great on you!" Mari said. "You look adorable!"

"How can that be the same uniform?" Asuka asked. "He's… well… uh, he doesn't have tits, four eyes."

"I got a smaller shirt for him." Mari said happily.

"It looks decent." Hikari said "Very passable."

"Just what I wanted to hear…" Shinji mumbled.

"You look nice, onii–chan." Rei said.

"Thank you guys." Shinji said. "Now, can we get back before we're late?"

"Yeah, come on." Asuka said. "We should have customers by now!"

The five of them re–entered the room to all the other girls wearing their own cosplay costumes with varying degrees of coverage based on the girl's own preferences. As they all gathered menus and serving trays, and the food was laid out ready to be re–heated, it was time to begin the festival. Kensuke peeked his head out the door just before they opened to get a look at the crowd.

"We have a line!" Kensuke said excitedly as he closed the door behind him.

"Seriously?" Mari asked. "Already?"

"Yeah, already." Kensuke replied. "There' like ten people out there."

"Well, let's open up!" Toji said. "Come on guys in back, ladies up front."

"Hey, Shinji dressed up for this!" Mari said.

"Yeah, well we need him in back." Toji said. "He's gotta direct everyone."

"Oh, that's right!" Hikari said. "Shinji is in charge in the kitchen."

"What about those two stooges?" Asuka asked.

"We have managerial duties to attend to." Toji said.

"Yeah, goofing off and doing nothing more like." Mari muttered.

"We should get ready." Rei said. "We have to open."

"Right, right." Hikari said. "Ok ladies, places!"

Shinji followed the boys to the back while the girls lined up near the door, ready for it to be opened. "Welcome everyone!"

June 2, 2019 – Tokyo–3 Senior High School, Class 2–A

The first day of the festival had gone well, and the café had used up most of the food that had been prepared the night before. So, after a long day serving the food up, the gang had spent the previous night prepping more food for the next day. Now, back in their cosplay one again, they had the second day of the festival to contend with. However, business had slowed down a bit from the previous day, so Toji had an idea.

"Hey, Asuka, Mari, can you take this sign around the festival a few times?" Kensuke asked as he handed them a simple homemade sign that said "2–A COSPLAY CAFÉ" in bold capital letters.

"Why would we do that?" Mari asked.

"Yeah, that's dumb." Asuka added.

"To drum up some business." Toji said.

"Do we have to wear the costumes?" Asuka asked.

"Yes." Toji replied bluntly as Kensuke handed the sign to Asuka.

"That was a dumb question, princess…" Mari quipped.

"Fine…" Asuka muttered. "But I'm taking Shinji."

"Whatever, we're not that busy anyway." Toji replied.

"Yo, baka, let's go!" Asuka said.

"What?" Shinji shouted back.

"We're taking a walk!" Asuka shouted in reply.

"In the costume?" Shinji asked.

"Yes!" Asuka shouted. "No more that cute as of yours, schoolgirl!"

"May I come as well?" Rei asked.

"Sure, the more cute girls that go, the more customers we'll get." Toji said excitedly.

"Ok, so what are doing?" Shinji asked.

"We're walking around school with this." Asuka pushed the sign to Shinji. "Guess what you get to carry."

"The sign?" Shinji asked sarcastically.

"Very good." Asuka replied in kind. "Now let's go."

As the four of them walked quietly around the school, with Asuka leading the way, Shinji carried the sign at the back of the group, hoping no one would recognize him. However, as they waked, they heard a lot of murmuring, which got Shinji worried that someone recognized him in his schoolgirl cosplay.

"I think someone recognized me…" Shinji muttered.

"Don't be so paranoid, baka." Asuka said. "They're just looking at our bodies, its nothing new or even surprising."

"But the whispers…" Shinji said.

"Are about how you're the cutest of the four of us…" Asuka said tersely. "If they only knew…"

"It figures Shinji would get all the attention." Mari mused. "But he does make a very cute girl… kinda ironic actually…"

"Ironic how?" Asuka asked.

"Almost as if he was designed a girl, but made into a boy." Mari joked.

"Mari, stop it!" Shinji said in a high pitched voice.

"Oh, relax puppy." Mari said. "I'm only joking."

"It's hard to tell with you sometimes." Shinji said.

"You mean all the time." Asuka quipped.

"Well, I'd hope so." Mari said. "Otherwise I'm doing it wrong."

"So what are those boys saying about onii–chan?" Rei asked.

"Well, how she's the most beautiful girl in the world, and that she must be an exchange student because they've never seen her before." Asuka said. "That's the general idea anyway."

"Hang on, is that why you brought me along?" Shinji asked.

"Well, yeah." Asuka said. "I wanted to see if anyone would notice that you're actually a boy."

"Why would want to do that exactly?" Shinji asked.

"Well… for two reasons." Asuka said. "One, I wanted to know who people would pay more attention to, you or the rest of us." Asuka smirked. "And two, I wanted to see your reaction when I told you."

"Asuka, that's not very nice!" Shinji retorted weakly.

"Yes it is!" Asuka said. "And I'm trying not to laugh right now because all these boys think you're a girl!"

"Asuka, that's petty hilarious!" Mari chortled.

"I'm not seeing the humor in it." Rei said.

"Because he's a boy dressed as a girl…" Asuka explained. "And all the boys like how pretty he is."

"So it's ironic humor…" Rei replied.

"Yeah." Asuka replied.

"Oh, that is funny." Rei said as she giggled. "Onii–chan does make a fairly convincing girl."

"Well, if he put on a blue wig like your hair, you'd look like twins." Asuka joked.

"Would we look that much alike?" Rei asked.

"Why don't we find out tonight when we go home?" Mari suggested. "We can buy a wig, easy. We just have to find the right color…"

"I'm not liking this discussion very much…" Shinji muttered.

"Oh, stop being a buzzkill, baka." Asuka snapped. "Now let's get back to the room, I think we've walked around long enough."

–––

After getting back from their walk, business began to pick up again, with many people asking where the "super cute girl" in the schoolgirl outfit was.

"Wow, and here I thought the buzz from that would die down…" Asuka muttered.

"What do you mean?" Hikari asked. "Are they asking for… Shinji?"

"Yeah, they are." Asuka replied.

"I don't really have it in me to break their hearts about it…" Hikari said.

"Well, right now, that's the least of my worries." Asuka said as she pointed to the door as Misato walked in. "That is."

"When has Misato ever been a problem?" Hikari asked.

"Whenever we go out, she always finds some way to embarrass the hell out of us." Asuka replied. "So… I'll go take her order…"

"Good luck." Hikari replied as Asuka walked over to Misato.

"Good afternoon ma'am, how can I help you?" Asuka asked.

"Oh, don't act like I'm some stranger, Asuka." Misato joked. "We live together."

"Don't start anything, Misato." Asuka said in a hushed tone. "I mean it, we're trying to work here."

"I'm not going to do anything." Misato said.

"I find that highly unlikely." Mari said as she walked over. "Figured you could use an extra set of hands with this customer, princess."

"Yeah, I probably could." Asuka said.

"Mari, put on some clothes!" Misato exclaimed.

"Really, you're judging what I wear?" Mari asked.

"Well, as a concerned parent, yes, I am." Misato replied.

"Please don't." Mari said. "I picked the costume cause I knew I'd look great in it."

"Mari, you could have picked something else…" Misato said.

"So, what are you doing here, Misato?" Asuka asked.

"Yeah, spill." Mari added.

"What's the big deal anyway?" Misato asked. "I haven't seen hide nor hair of you guys the past few weeks, between your festival preparations and doing who knows what with those poor instruments, I just wanted to see you… is that so bad?"

"Is that the real reason you're here?" Mari asked as Misato's stomach grumbled very loudly. "Cause I'm guessing it's not entirely true."

"Are you implying that I'm lying?" Misato asked.

"I said not entirely true, miso." Mari replied. "I believe you, but it's not the only reason."

"Well… you know, I haven't been able to eat in my own kitchen the last two nights, and considering this festival goes into tomorrow, I'm guessing I won't be able to eat in there tonight either…" Misato explained. "MY stomach doesn't seem to handle the food I can cook myself anymore, and I'm tired of takeout, so I wanted to come here and eat a whole bunch, ok?"

"Yeah, we're using the kitchen again tonight." Asuka said matter–of–factly. "Shinji has way more to cook."

"Wait, you can't handle that gross food you used to make anymore?" Mari joked.

"No, I can't." Misato said curtly. "So, can I order?"

"I don't know, can you?" Mari asked.

"May I order now?" Misato replied.

"Yes, what would you like?" Asuka asked.

"One of everything on the menu, please." Misato said.

"Seriously?" Mari asked.

"Yes, seriously." Misato said. "I haven't had a home cooked meal in days, but I'm sure as hell having one now."

"Ok, we'll go get all that for you." Mari said sarcastically.

Mari and Asuka walked to the kitchen area and saw Shinji and the rest of the boys busy at work. "Shinji, we need one of everything for a very special customer." Asuka said.

"Why are they special exactly?" Shinji asked.

"It's miso, puppy." Mari said.

"Wait, one of everything?" Shinji asked.

"Yeah, double time it too, she's hungry." Asuka added.

"Alright…" Shinji said as he got to work heating up several plates of food. As he gathered the food for the girls to take, Shinji grabbed two plates himself to try and help them out. "Well, you don't have enough hands, and I may as well say hello…"

"I'm not going to say no to your help, baka." Asuka said.

"Neither am I." Mari added.

The three of them walked up to the impatiently waiting Misato and laid out all the food in front of her.

"Here you go, ma'am." Asuka said.

"Thank you." Misato replied. "And thank you young… lady…?" Misato peered at the costumed Shinji as he remembered he was still dressed as a girl. "You're not a girl… Shinji, is that you?"

"No…" Shinji muttered.

"Holy shit, it is you! I almost didn't recognize you with the long hair!" Misato said loudly. "But what's with the Catholic schoolgirl look, Shinji?" Misato joked.

"It wasn't my choice…" Shinji said as his face turned bright red.

"Well… you do make a cute girl, Shinji–kun." Misato said sweetly.

"im going back to the kitchen now…" Shinji muttered. "Nice seeing you Misato…"

"So, who picked out the outfit?" Misato asked.

"I did." Mari said proudly.

"Nicely done, Mari." Misato said. "He makes a pretty convincing girl."

"Well, I'm still not sure if that's a compliment to him or not…" Asuka said.

"Well, I don't know." Misato said. "How do you feel about Shinji being the prettier one in the relationship…"

"He is not!" Asuka snapped.

"I'm sure he's not but you should see your face!" Misato said with a mouthful of food. "Oh my god… I missed this so much…"

"What, pigging out?" Asuka quipped.

"No…" Misato said as she finished chewing. "Freshly cooked food…"

June 3, 2019 – Tokyo–3 Senior High School, Class 2–A

The last day of the festival was finally here. After another night of pre–cooking food for the next day, the kids were back in their costumes again, ready for another long day of work. Toji and Kensuke were hopeful that business would be even better than the day before, where they ran out of food half an hour before they were set to close. With all the work they were doing, Shinji, Asuka, and Mari almost forgot that they had a show to do until Hikari reminded them. Hikari went over to Asuka and Mari after they severed several people their food and pulled them aside.

"Hey guys, don't you have to get ready?" Hikari asked.

"Shit!" Asuka shouted. "Baka, four eyes, we gotta go!"

"Go?" Mari asked as she dropped an order off at a table. "I'm in the middle of something, princess…"

"What?" Shinji shouted from the kitchen area.

"Battle of the bands! Do you not remember?!" Asuka shouted back. "Come on, let's move, we're gonna be late!"

"Oh, that's right!" Mari replied.

"Baka, let's go!" Asuka said.

"Let me just finish putting this together." Shinji said as he came out with two plates of food in his hands and served it to two waiting customers. "Ok, I'm ready to go. Can we change first?"

"There isn't time." Asuka replied. "We have less than ten minutes."

"But…" Shinji protested.

"Less talking more running, baka!" Asuka snapped.

"Right!" Shinji said as the three of them ran off towards the stage.
–––

As the three of them got to the courtyard, the saw the stage ahead of them and stopped at the back of it in front of someone with a clipboard.

"Name?" The stage manager asked.

"Makinami… Mari…" Mari panted.

"Right, The Evangelions." The stage manager said. "You're the last act, and you're on in ten. Any changes to your set?"

"Nope… just two songs." Asuka replied, slightly out of breath.

"Alright, your equipment is back stage, you're be able to set up once the stage clears." The stage manager said. "Good luck."

"Thanks…" They all replied.

"Ok… so we've only got a couple minutes before we go on." Asuka said.

"At least we're on time." Mari added.

"But we can't change, can we?" Shinji asked.

"No, we're all stuck in these ridiculous cosplays…" Asuka grumbled. "So no more complaining, baka!"

"I'm not complaining, I'd just prefer to not be in a skirt… on stage…" Shinji muttered. "Where people could see up…"

"Oh relax, no one's going to see anything." Asuka said. "You're standing farther back than us. Someone would have to be under you to up your skirt."

"If you say so…" Shinji replied.

"I do say so." Asuka replied. "Now come on, we have to get set up so we can out there and do this the right way."

"I know…" Shinji muttered.

"Hey puppy, just remember you agreed to wear the schoolgirl outfit so the rest of us would dress up." Mari said. "It could be worse you know."

"Huh?" Shinji asked.

"You could be dressed like Asuka, and then you'd have something to worry about." Mari quipped.

"Ok, you're on in five minutes." The stage manager said as she strolled back over. "The curtain will be down so you can get in position, and then you sing your hearts out."

"Yeah, no pressure…" Mari muttered.

–––

As they were called on stage, the three of them stood nervously behind the curtain waiting for it to shoot up. Shinji was cracking his knuckled nervously while Asuka cracked her neck and Mari hopped from one foot to the other trying to stay calm.

"We can do this." Mari kept muttering.

"Yes, we can." Asuka said. "Now be quiet, you're making me nervous!"

"We'll be great, guys." Shinji said. "We've practiced enough, so we'll be fine."

"Your voice isn't reassuring me…" Asuka muttered as the curtain began to rise.

"And now last but certainly not least…" The MC said as the curtain raised up. "Our final act, from Class 2–A… The Evangelions!"

"Looks like we don't have time to argue anymore…" Mari said as she stepped forward with Asuka to their mics. "Hello everyone!" Mari said happily, trying not to sound overly nervous. "Are you ready for a show?" The crowd cheered in agreement. "Alright, then how about we count it down!" Mari replied enthusiastically.

"Three… two… one…" Shinji counted down.

"Let's jam!" Asuka said excitedly as they started to play an upbeat pop tune and Mari began to sing.

This was never the way I planned
Not my intention
I got so brave, drink in hand
Lost my discretion
It's not what, I'm used to
Just wanna try you on
I'm curious for you
Caught my attention

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chap stick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

No, I don't even know your name
It doesn't matter
You're my experimental game
Just human nature
It's not what, good girls do
Not how they should behave
My head gets so confused
Hard to obey

Us girls we are so magical
Soft skin, red lips, so kissable
Hard to resist so touchable
Too good to deny it
Ain't no big deal, it's innocent
I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chap stick

I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

The crowd cheered loudly as they finished the song, with Mari taking a quick bow. "Alright, who wants to hear more?!" Mari called out loudly as the crowd cheered in response. "Sounds like they want another one, Asuka!"

"Well, let's indulge them!" Asuka shouted as they began playing a pop/rock tune and it was Asuka's turn to sing.

Can't count the years on one hand that we've been together
I need the other one to hold you
Make you feel, make you feel better
It's not a walk in the park to love each other
But when our fingers interlock, can't deny, can't deny, you're the worth it

'Cause after all this time
I'm still into you

I should be over all the butterflies but I'm into you, I'm into you
And even baby our worst nights
I'm into you, I'm into you
Let 'em wonder how we got this far,
'Cause I don't really need to wonder at all
Yeah, after all this time
I'm still into you

Recount the night that I first met your mother
And on the drive back to my house I told you that, I told you that I loved ya
You felt the weight of the world fall off the shoulder
And to your favorite song we sang along, to the start of forever

And after all this time
I'm still into you

Some things just, some things just make sense
And one of those is you and I
Some things just, some things just make sense
And even after all this time

I'm into you
Baby not a day goes by that I'm not into you

The crowd cheered again at the end of the song with Asuka taking a bow. "Thank you everyone!"

"You've been a great crowd!" Mari said happily.

"Well, that was one hell of a set!" The MC said. "Give it up for The Evangelions!" The crowd cheered again as the curtain closed. "Now if we could have the other bands come back on stage in just a moment, we'll have the audience vote!"

Shinji, Asuka, and Mari appeared from behind the curtain while the other six bands walked back on stage and lined up along the stage facing the audience nervously.

"Ok… you guys know the drill by now." The MC said. "Pull out those phones and get ready to text the number on the screen with your choice."

While the audience texted rapidly on their phones, the kids whispered nervously amongst themselves waiting to find out who won.

"How do you think we did?" Shinji whispered.

"You played perfectly, baka." Asuka whispered back.

"Yeah, and our guitar work was great too, princess." Mari said. "Overall, I think we did great. We could win this thing…"

"Because I sang…" Asuka muttered.

"Or it was because of both of us, princess." Mari said. "You weren't the only one singing…"

"We can argue about this later…" Asuka said. "Cause we have a competition to win."

"And the results are in!" The MC said proudly. "Well over a thousand votes were cast, and the numbers pretty darn close, but there is a winner, and it's The Evangelions! Step forward and take a bow ladies!"

"Ladies…?" Shinji whispered.

"Looks like that costume is holding up better than we thought…" Mari said quietly.

"I wonder if it had anything to do with us winning…" Asuka muttered.

"Let's not talk about it right now…" Shinji whispered.

"Yeah, because the pretty girl just gets all the attention, right?" Asuka quipped.

"Asuka, please stop…" Shinji muttered.

"Why should she?" Mari asked as they joined hands and took a bow.

"Yeah, it's way too much fun busting your balls." Asuka said.

"Congratulations kids, you did well!" The MC said. "Do you kids have anything to say?"

"Yes!" Mari said exuberantly. "Thank you all for voting for us to win! It's really awesome you think we're that good!"

"And when you're done here, swing by Class 2–A's cosplay café for a snack before you head home!" Shinji called out.

"Seriously?!" Asuka whispered angrily.

"What, think of the business we'll get for winning…" Shinji replied.

"You know… he has a point…" Mari whispered.

"Not you too…" Asuka whispered back.

"Yeah, come to the cosplay café where you get a meal with a view!" Mari joked.

June 8, 2019 – Tokyo–3 Senior High School, Class 2–A

At the end of the week, once class was over, and the festival almost an entire week past, Hikari kept the class after school to share some exciting news. There had been a celebratory party that day for the last hour of class in honor of the festival's overall success, so everyone was anxious to get home to continue the party off campus.

"So, everyone, on behalf of the student council, thank you for actively participating to the success of the school festival." Hikari said. "Now, I may not have liked the idea of a cosplay café, but everyone that came to the festival did."

"What do you mean?" Mari asked.

"What I mean is, out of all the stalls that sold stuff, we made the most profit." Hikari replied proudly.

"How much?" Toji asked.

"Well, the figures from the student council treasurer say we made a profit roughly five times more than what was spent." Hikari replied happily.

"Damn…" Asuka said.

"I guess the cosplay worked…" Kensuke muttered.

"Hell yeah!" Toji exclaimed loudly. "See, it wasn't such a bad idea if we made money off the deal."

"We didn't make any money, the student council did." Hikari explained.

"Wait, we don't get none of the money?" Toji asked.

"Nope, it goes straight to the student council fund if it's ever needed, like for next year's festival." Hikari explained. "So that's a plus for us."

"Yeah, now can we do the same thing next year?" Toji asked.

"We can decide that then, as a class." Hikari replied. "Other than that, we can all had home for the weekend." Hikari smirked. "Except for Suzuhara and Aida. You two are on cleaning duty…"

"What for?" Toji asked.

"Because, I assigned you for today." Hikari said.

"Yeah, but there's a huge mess in here." Kensuke moaned.

"And there's a party!" Toji exclaimed.

"Well, it's your turn." Hikari said slyly. "If you hurry up, you can make it before the party's over." Hikari leaned over and kissed Toji. "See you later, stud."

As Hikari left the room with everyone else, Toji and Kensuke stood there dumbstruck. As they left the school grounds and got to the parking lot, Asuka turned to Hikari to ask her something.

"You know, I remember it being Rei and I's turn to clean the classroom." Asuka said. "Not that I'm complaining you changed it… but why did you change it?"

"Oh, just a little payback for them being lazy." Hikari chuckled. "And maybe a bit for making me dress up too…"

"Seriously, freckles?" Mari asked. "After they made all that money for the school?"

"Well, it was still dishonest of them to trick all the boys into voting for it." Hikari said. "Though mainly I thought they should finally do some work considering they just sat around a lot during the festival… they're gonna be cleaning the room every other day for a month because of that."

"Oh, Hikari, that's so devious…" Asuka chuckled. "I like it."

"Well… they do deserve it." Hikari said devilishly.

–––

Later that night, while Shinji and Asuka were cuddling in their room, Asuka needed to tell Shinji something important.

"Hey, Shinji, you were a good sport this week." Asuka said.

"About what?" Shinji asked.

"Dressing up like a girl." Asuka said. "It really meant a lot, even if you didn't like it."

"Well, we couldn't let the café fall apart…" Shinji said

"Still, you always do what's right no matter the cost." Asuka said. "It's something I admire in you Shinji…"

"You're the same way, Asuka." Shinji replied. "You wore that bunny outfit and didn't complain that much either."

"Well, then I guess we're both awesome." Asuka said.

"Asuka, being a good person has nothing to do with being awesome…" Shinji said.

"Stop ruining the moment, baka!" Asuka snapped playfully.

"I wasn't ruining the moment." Shinji said defensively.

"Well, you kinda did…" Asuka muttered.

"I love you, Asuka." Shinji said sweetly. "Because you're a great person."

"And there you go salvaging the moment…" Asuka replied. "I love you too, baka Shinji…"

A/N: I do not own Evangelion or any of the characters, GAINAX and the other distributors of NGE related material do. I am simply using them as a backdrop for my fanfic.

As for the songs used in this chapter, I don't own them either, and they're listed below in order of appearance:
Katy Perry – I Kissed a Girl (2008)
Paramore – Still Into You (2013)

Timelines are very important to me! So, this one shot takes place over two years after the end of Episode VI, a little over eight months since the previous one shot, and nine months before the start of Episode VII.

Not much to discuss on this particular one shot. It's your basic, almost clichéd, anime festival of sorts, complete with girls in cosplay, a few perverts coming up with ideas in between nosebleeds.

The idea for this one shot isn't very original, I did get the idea for it from the Shinji Ikari Raising Project manga, Stage 59 and Stage 60 where they participate in a school festival. It's not quite from the original source material in the show, but it's a fun bit of slice of life that I really felt like writing to balance out the end of this one shot series. While I did take a lot themes from it, I molded it to fit the context of this story, and I hope you've enjoyed it.

As for this being the ending of the one shots… yes that is true. This is the last one in this series. However, there are still two more Christmas one shots coming in December (2018), plus a lot more main story is left to go, so there won't be any lack of NGE: Legacy for quite a while at least. And I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all my readers for their continued support. It's always wonderful to see that the story is viewed on a regular basis.

As I said before, and will always say at the end of anything, please leave comments, as I would like to try to improve the story going forward any way I can. And, hell, constructive criticism is a good thing.

つづく