The morning commute for me this morning had been a bit more lonely than usual. I’ve become accustomed to having my fellow friends/co-workers ride alongside me as we venture towards NERV headquarters but none were to be seen today. There were other people on the train of course, but none that had any familiar faces, I let aloud a sigh to myself as I sat all by myself on the train. I laid my head against the window, watching the view from outside the train. The thought that kept me from going into a darker headspace was the image of Ritsuko awaiting my arrival. I started to smile at the idea of it, and noticed in my reflection I even started blushing a little bit. This left me feeling rather confused and conflicted. But I paid it no mind as the train came to my stop and I walked through the subway station to NERV headquarters.

I was impatiently awaiting for Maya to arrive so I could have my research finally begin. There was a reason I knew she’d be the perfect test subject for me, she definitely has a crush on me. It may be something she might not now, but is definitely gossip around NERV. The way that she becomes so incredibly eager everytime we fight an Angel, her large noticeable smile whenever I enter the room. It’s so painfully obvious. I of course love her company, she’s a very sweet girl and I know one who definitely takes her job very seriously. I fiddled with my pen in my office as I heard that same mechanical door sound when it opens and closes. I heard the sound of a woman's foot steps in boots becoming louder and louder. Just then, I see that same sweet familiar face that’s always a highlight of my day. Maya Ibuki poking her head through my door with that sweet brown hair of hers as well as those chocolate wide eyes.

“Good morning Ritsuko.”

“Good morning Maya.”

“Um, do you know where the rest of my coworkers went? None of them were on the morning commute with me today.”

“I believe they decided to take today off, none of the scanners could pick up any traces of an Angel today.”

“Oh that’s nice.” (Damn, wish I would’ve known that earlier, I could’ve been at home sleeping instead) “What if there’s another microscopic Angel?”

“Oh, you did hear about that didn’t you?”

“Not much, I knew a microscopic angel went inside Asuka’s body, but I don’t know how they resolved that.”

“Misato took responsibility for that mission. We had Rei shrink down to enter Asuka’s body undetected and was able to efficiently get rid of the threat.”

“Wow, she was able to do that all on her own?”

“Sounds like it.”

Maya started imagining getting to embark on a mission like that, but being able to go inside of Ritsuko instead. Imagining her red lipstick mouth opening up and swallowing her whole, having her body become the size of a building, helping her reach the hardest nooks and crannies to reach. Maya’s heart started fluttering and her face started to get red.

“You feeling okay? Your face is getting red.”

“Oh no I’m fine, I was just getting over a cold was all.”

“Alright if you say so.”

“I’ll be right back I gotta go to the bathroom.”

“Take your time.”

I hurried myself to the bathroom, increasingly panting as I slammed the door open. My entire body was trembling and my heart was pounding so hard. Why did my mind wander to such a lusty place in front of my superior? I looked at myself in the mirror and saw how incredibly blushed my face was. I started to turn on the faucet and cool my face off with the water. Do I like Ritsuko, more than a coworker? It would explain so much to me. I gripped onto the table in the bathroom and put a stop to everything. Me and her have known each other a long time, there have been flings in the NERV headquarters. Everyone knew of how shameless Misato and Kaji were about it, so why can’t I try it for a change? I took a deep breath and told myself, ask her out on a date when you go back there.

The sight of Maya running away with a deep blushed face was nothing short of comical to me. The girl clearly had feelings for me but wouldn’t admit it to herself just yet. I knew I had my own personal proposal even more ready then I initially thought. Theres no way she’d say no to an opportunity like this. Especially seeing how flustered she got when I mentioned Rei’s mission to her. I watched as Maya came back through the door with this sort of pseudo confidence.

“Maya, I had something I wanted to ask you.”

“G-g-go ahead.” (Is she gonna ask me out?)

“I’ve been working on this shrinking gel experiment for well over a month now. You’ve definetly got the knowledge about the Rei mission. But, what I’m curious about is finding out how well could this stuff works on a human being. Would you b-”

“YES!!! I would absolutely be willing to go ou- help you with your research” (What am I thinking? This is better than going out on a date!)

“Excellent, just so you know this will take up a total of a week for me to extract any sort of useful information for the experiment. You’re fine with that right?”

“Absolutely, whatever helps further progression for mankind.” (I don’t even care about any of that, I just wanna be small and close to you, Ritsuko.)

“Great! Now I want you to sign here for a written agreement that you agree and consent to the terms of this experiment.”

I signed immediately the moment the paper reached within my grasp. I wanted to start immediately.

“You know, you should read what it says, I know you like being around me but I’d feel guilty if you didn’t at least have the slightest clue as to what you’ll be doing in this experiment.”

“Believe me, I’m ready for anything.”

I felt a smile come through, although in reality it was a smile of deviance.

“Perfect, let’s get started.”