Asuka dove into the water and shot off as fast as she possible
could. She had already lost twice already to Rei today and she wasn't
about to make it three times. She was halfway across the pool in a few
seconds. In a short time she was pushing off against the wall again but
by this time she saw just how far ahead of her Rei was. She tried to
pick up speed but knew she was too late. Sure enough when she hit the
wall and got up Rei was already standing there.
"Again." Asuka said. "I'm not going to give up until I beat
you." Rei nodded again and got back into the water. Asuka braced herself
up against the wall. Then she yelled. "GO!" The German girl pushed off
of the wall with all of her might and shot off down the lane.
This time Asuka didn't bother looking around for Rei. She just
kept her mind on her task and on keeping up at her fastest speed. She
hit the wall in record time and was once again pushing off to try and
gain some headway in their race. Once again she didn't try to look for
Rei or find out where she was in the race. She just kept concentrating
on the wall at the other end. Finally at long last she felt her hands
touch the wall.
Asuka looked to Rei's lane and realized Rei was a few feet
behind her. But that didn't make her at all satisfied. In fact it made
her angrier than she had been. She knew Rei could swim faster than she
was currently. She didn't have to be told that Rei had lost the race on
purpose. When Rei brought her head up the first thing she heard was.
"You did that on purpose!"
"You have won." Rei said as she climbed out of the pool. "Let's
go, we barely have any time left to get dry and get dressed."
"But you lost on purpose!" Asuka said as she climbed out of the
pool. "That doesn't mean I've beaten you it just means I won."
"That is what you were after was it not?" Rei asked as they both
walked into the locker room. "You said you wanted to win."
"I wanted to regain my pride by beating you fairly!" Asuka
yelled. "Then you go and lose to me on purpose. Do you have fun shaming
me?" When Asuka noticed Rei wasn't looking at her she grabbed the girl's
shoulder and jerked her around to look her in the face.
"What did I do wrong?" Rei asked. Asuka looked into Rei's eyes
and realized the girl was only confused. She let go of Rei and sighed.
She now felt guilty over reacting the way she did. "If you let me win it
isn't a fair race. It's only fair if we both try our hardest. Do you
understand?"
Rei nodded and went back to getting dressed. Now Asuka was
really starting to feel guilty. It wasn't a feeling she was used to nor
did she ever want to be used to it. As Rei began to get dressed Asuka
noticed that she had forgotten to dry her hair. Without thinking Asuka
grabbed Rei's towel off of the floor and brought it up to the girl's
pale blue hair. Then she began to dry Rei's hair for her. After a few
seconds she realized what she was doing. But Rei hadn't done anything to
stop her so maybe she should continue or at least finish what she
started. So she went on instinct and continued. She could swear that she
heard Rei sigh. Then Asuka noticed Hikari looking at them and
immediately stopped.
"What are you doing?" Hikari asked. Asuka realized she had been
staring at Rei once again and had to force her attention back to her
lunch.
"Nothing." Asuka said quickly. "What did you think I was doing
ogling a boy?" Asuka was trying to change the subject. Hikari always
noticed things that she shouldn't.
"No worse." Hikari said. "It looked to me as if you were ogling
Rei. Strange how the light plays tricks on people." Asuka nearly choked
on her food.
"What!" Asuka said as she patted her chest to try and get the
food down. "I wouldn't do that you should know better."
"Well you should know better than to tease me about Touji."
Hikari said. "And what about the towel and the locker room, pray tell."
"I tease you about Touji because there is a relationship there!"
Asuka said. She didn't comment about the incident with the towel.
"There isn't." It was Hikari's turn to nearly choke on her food
as she tried to protest. "Why would you say such a thing?"
"Because its true." Asuka said. She nearly sighed with relief
that they were off the subject of Rei. Really she had been staring at
her now that she thought about it.
"No it isn't." Hikari said. "And even if it was it still is with
the right sex. You and Rei are kind of the same in that department."
"O just shut up." Asuka said. "What do you know about that?"
Right now she was wondering whether or not to just get up and go sit by
someone else. There was an empty seat by Rei...hmmm...no can't do that
not with Hikari watching.
"I notice you've sure spent a lot of time around her. Drying her
hair for her what next. Are you going to dress her in the morning?"
'Now that's not such a bad idea.' Asuka shook her head. She had
to concentrate. "No I wouldn't do that. Look lets talk about something
else.
"You stop teasing me about Touji and I'll stop teasing you about
your little girlfriend." Hikari said. "Do we have a deal?"
"No here's the deal!" Asuka said through her gritted teeth. "You
never talk about this again or I'll do worse to you than I did to that
boy a week ago."
"Alright already don't get mad I'm just playing." Hikari said.
"You'd think I touched a nerve there. Maybe I am pretty close to the
truth."
"Stop it already." Asuka said. Hikari began to laugh at her. The
irony of the situation didn't escape Asuka either. But she was never one
for irony. "Come on get off it. I'm not sure Touji would like the way
you treat your friends."
"You think so?" Hikari said as she immediately stopped laughing.
"You think he wouldn't like..." Then she noticed Asuka laughing. "Hey
stop that! I mean it! Hey are you listening to me!"
Asuka was once again lying on Rei's bed listening to the pale
girl read. She needed it after today. Really this was one time she could
relax and not worry about people judging everything she did. She knew
that here she wasn't being watched or being compared to or challenged by
someone. The only problem really was the squalor Rei lived in. Really
how could she stand it? Who had given her this apartment? Even before
Asuka moved in with Shinji and Misato she had lived in a nicer place
than this.
Then Rei stopped reading. "Why did you stop?" Asuka asked. "I
know it was the end of the chapter but the story is in a rather tense
moment don't you think."
"That was the end of the book." Asuka nearly fell off of the bed
upon hearing that. "But there are two more in this trilogy. Then there
are several other series that have the same characters. I've totaled it
at about 17 books."
"17 books?" Asuka said. Then she smiled. "I think we can do it."
Rei merely nodded as she walked over and grabbed the second book in the
trilogy. Then she walked back over to Asuka.
"Are you alright?" Rei asked. Asuka looked up and shrugged her
shoulders. "I mean with Hikari-san. Usually you two are friends. Why
were you fighting during lunch?"
"Oh we weren't fighting." Asuka said. So that was what Rei was
asking her about. "It's just how Hikari and I act around one another. We
tease each other. But its not because we're fighting its because we're
friends."
"You mean like you and Ikari-kun." Rei said. 'Now I understand
why Asuka acts the way she does towards Shinji Ikari."
This time Asuka did fall off the bed. "What!" She cried as she
climbed back onto the bed. "What do you mean 'like you and Ikari-kun'!
He's a pervert and a wimp! That's why I tease him."
"He's not a wimp." Rei said. Asuka noticed her eyebrows form a
small glare. Then it disappeared as Rei asked her next question. "And
what is a pervert?"
"A pervert is well..." Asuka said as she tried to explain what a
pervert was. "Someone who is obsessed with all things involving sex.
Someone who stares at naked women and tries to um tries to..."
Rei nodded her head. "Oh I see." She said. "Well he did see me
once or twice and he tried to touch me once as well." Asuka couldn't
believe it but Rei was blushing.
"What do you mean he saw you and tried to touch you once." Asuka
said. "Do you mean he tried to grope you?" Asuka held her hand in the
air and mimed crabbing something.
"Well I'm pretty sure it was an accident." Rei said; still
blushing. "We both fell over and he landed on top of me. His hand went
to my breast by accident."
"I'm so sure that it was an accident." Asuka said. Already her
mind was beginning to formulate about what she would do to Shinji when
she got home.
"So I guess if that's what a pervert is he is one." Rei said.
"But I still don't say he is a wimp." Asuka couldn't help but laugh at
Rei's statement.
"Really wonder girl you are impossible." Asuka said. "You know I
doubt you ever will really understand. But then again I'm not sure I
want you to."
"What do you mean I will probably never learn and you're not
sure you want me to?" Rei asked. "What do you not want me to
understand?"
"That's what I mean." Asuka said. "You're just so innocent
really. You don't look at people and see all of their faults. You don't
judge people. Am I making sense?"
"No not really." Rei said. "But I don't think I'm supposed to
understand." Really right now Rei was wondering just how confusing this
friendship was going to turn out to be. Then she remembered what Asuka
said about friends teasing one another. "Asuka, you said that friends
tease each other and play games with each other. Does that mean that I
am not your friend?"
"No of course you're my friend." Asuka said. "Your just a
different kind of friend. You're not the giddy type like Hikari. You're
the well good friend type if you know what I mean."
"Is that what they refer to as...girlfriends?" Asuka had to stop
herself from falling off of the bed a second time at that statement.
After getting balanced she looked back up at Rei and yelled.
"What do you mean girlfriends? You had better not be implying what I
think you are!"
Then she noticed Rei was smiling. "You said friends tease each
other." Rei said; still smiling. 'My goodness,' Asuka thought. 'Now I
know why Shinji says she looks beautiful when she smiles.'