Some Do Not Like It Hot

Chapter 10: School Is Still (Not) Out

"So, what are we gonna to do if Asuka goes nuts?" Kensuke asked, cautiously. "I mean, you know what his temper's like, and we don't wanna get hurt..."

"Plus, we don't wanna hurt 'im either." Touji added

Absent-mindedly playing with her pigtails, Hikari briefly thought the problem over before coming up with an answer.

"Just try and calm him down, and don't escalate anything." she responded, twiddling one of her hair beads. "Don't try and take him on- it'll just make him more argumentative. If he does flip out-"

Before she could finish, the sharp peal of the school bell echoed through the building, a raucous and unwelcome reminder that the monstrously dull lessons were to resume imminently.

The trio jolted a bit as the noise shattered the quiet of the disused hall.

"...Oh no, I've lost my train of thought now." Hikari sighed. "Just... Just be careful, OK?"

The two boys nodded almost in sync. "We gotcha." Touji said, confidently.

The class rep grinned, and hopped off of the vault horse. "I'm sure I can rely on you. I know I'm always giving you grief, but... you're good guys," she said with a slight blush. "Just... don't screw up, OK?"

The pupils slowly filed back into the class, and proceeded to take their normal seats, feeling the vitality drain from their very souls at the prospect of yet another lecture on whatever the teacher remembered was in the textbook. Fortunately, the teacher was once again exceptionally late, and thus they were left with a fair bit of time to talk amongst each other and generally relax.

Shinji hobbled along to her seat next to Touji and Kensuke's seats and slowly sat down, placing the crutches by her side. As she did so, however, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She tentatively turned round, a little startled, to see Hikari, Touji and Kensuke standing behind her.

"Say, um, Shinji?" said Kensuke, somewhat nervously. "We, umm, had an idea..."

"We were thinking," cut in Hikari "that it might be better if you spent your... er, transformed time with me and my friends."

Shinji's eyes widened, a look of befuddlement creeping onto her face.

"Eh?" she blurted, confused by this out-of-the-blue announcement. "B-But... why? Have I...done something wrong?"

Hikari sighed, rolling her eyes. "No, Shinji, you've not done anything wrong. We just think it might help if you spent time with some other girls, that's all." she said, matter-of-factly. "I know this must be... difficult for you, and I want to help any way I can. It is my job as class representative after all!"

Touji nodded in agreement. "Don't worry, we've all talked this through. It's jus'... Y'know, us being guys an' all, it'd probably be better for ya spendin' some time with Hikari."

"We'll be right there if ya need our help, though." interjected Kensuke. "You can always count on us!"

Shinji hesitated for a moment, before weakly nodding. "O-Ok..." she mumbled, still a little confused. "Thanks for looking out for me..."

Hikari smiled, and walked over to Shinji. "No worries. I just hope Asuka's going to take this well..."

Asuka flung open the door of the classroom and waltzed in. He had needed to visit the lavatory before returning to class, and so was a little late. Fortunately, as per usual, the teacher was a lot late, so there was nothing to worry about.

He strolled over to his normal seat, "accidentally" shoving a few other students out of the way in the process, and was about to pull his chair out and sit down when he noticed something was off. Someone was already sitting in his place.

He rolled his eyes and cracked his knuckles. Time for an eviction he thought to himself.

He tapped the offending individual on the shoulder, clearing his throat as he did so.

"Oi! You!" He snapped, his usual crabbiness in full swing. "This is my seat. Get out of it before...before..."

It was about this point that he noticed that it was in fact Shinji who was sitting in his usual seat. It was also about this point he noticed the frosty glares he was receiving from Hikari and her friends.

"Shinji? What are you doing in my seat," he growled impatiently.

"Um well, Horaki-san thought it might help…" Shinji trailed off, squirming in the chair.

That set Asuka off. "Just because you're having difficulties doesn't mean you can disrupt the natural order of things! I was so gracious to help you earlier, but that doesn't mean you can have freebies all the time, Third Child!"
Toji and Kensuke hurried over, not at all influenced by the glare Hikari was giving them, no sir. "Look Asuka," said Toji, "we were thinkin'. Since Shinji's hangin' out with the Class Rep, maybe you could hang with us, ya know?"

This only served to incense Asuka further. "Oh great, the stooges to the rescue. 'Oh, Asuka's a boy now! He can't handle it, let's be friends!' You think I'm that weak, huh?! You think just because I was a girl I don't know how to do this? Well let me tell you buster," he fumed, advancing on the hapless duo, "you're dead wrong! And another thing –"

"Pilot Soryu."

"WHAT?!" Asuka roared, head snapping to look at the interloper.

"I understand it," replied Rei.

"What?" asked Asuka in befuddlement.

"It is… unsettling." Rei glanced at his crotch and squirmed uncomfortably.

"Y-yeah. It is..." seconded Asuka.

Rei was uncertain how to proceed from here. However, the thought remained with him… 'Rei, you mustn't attract unwanted attention to the situation, is that clear?' 'Yes sir.' He sought to mollify the other pilot, but could not come up with an appropriate direction. However, the Second Child had told him his garb was strange, and also expressed an interest in the recreational purchase of clothing in the past…

"Pilot Soryu, perhaps… Would you like to go shopping?"

"Wh-what, like right now?"

"If you desire."

Asuka regained his confidence and grinned. "You know what? Yeah, let's do it. Screw this place. You know, you're not so bad, Boy Wonder."

"Holy mercantile, Batman." Rei deadpanned. However, his mouth belied himself with a faint smile.

"Bit of a stretch, Rei, bit of a stretch."

There was stunned silence in the classroom as they walked out together.

"Did… that just happen..." queried Kensuke.

"Rei… wanted to go shoppin'..." stated a stupefied Toji.

They glanced at each other, and then simultaneously dropped into a crouch with a startled yelp.

"What is it? I thought that went pretty well..." said Hikari.

"Asuka called her Rei," exclaimed Kensuke.

"An'… an' they were smilin' at each other!"

"IT'S THE APOCALYPSE!" they both wailed.

Hikari rolled her eyes playfully. "Oh, knock it off, you knuckleheads." she quipped. "Though... that was a bit out of left field, I will admit..."

"Aww, c'mon," said Touji, cautiously standing up and shifting over to his desk. "That was so far outta left field it emerged from a totally diff'rent plane a' spacetime!"

There was an awkward silence.

"Yeah... you do have a point there..."

"Well, I think it's just nice to finally see them getting along..." interjected Shinji, who had finally broke her silence after spending the last minute or so sitting with her jaw dropped.

Suddenly the door swung open and the decrepit teacher shuffled in, even more tired looking than normal. He slowly trudged over to his desk, before sitting down in his wobbly desk-chair.

"Mnk, hello again..." he croaked, adjusting his glasses. "For this lesson, we will... w-we will... gnnrr..."

Hikari put her hand up. "Sir, are you OK?" she said, with a tone of concern that was not entirely sincere.

The teacher shook his head. "I... I... Oh, that was it... no, no it wasn't... Oh bugger it, I can't be bothered... just... Do whatever, I'm going home... I think I forgot my pills again, nng..."

With that, he got up again and ambled out of the door, muttering about beta-blockers and herbal tea as he did so.

All eyes in the room turned to Hikari. For a few seconds there was a very, very awkward silence.

"Well, seeing as our teacher is… otherwise occupied, the assignment is…" She sighed, having dealt with far more unexpected occurrences during the day. "… Forget it. Free study."

Of course, this phrase was naturally interpreted by everyone to be break time.

The entire class breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, Shinji, how are you feeling?"

With the lesson off, everyone had retreated to their groups of friends, re-arranging the classroom in the process. Hikari and her companions were all seated in a circle, with Shinji between the class rep herself and Shoko.

"I, uh, I'm feeling better, Hikari..." she replied, sheepish as ever. "I'm just glad Rei was there to calm down Asuka..."

Shoko clapped her on the shoulder. "Ha! I know the feeling!" she chuckled, heartily. "I thought he was gonna explode when Touji and Kensuke suggested he sat with them!"

"Yeah...I'm not sure what they were thinking..."

They all giggled a little, with the exception of Shinji and a slightly embarrassed looking Hikari.

"Anyway," continued Hikari, smiling gently. "Aside from that, are you feeling well? You look like you're wincing a little."

Shinji nodded, blushing. "Y-Yeah... My back hurts... This was my first time trying to dress myself like this and... I f-f-forgot to put on a bra..."

There was a round of wincing and mumbling from the gaggle.

"Yeesh, no wonder you're in pain!" said Shizu, a somewhat portly girl with her hair in neat buns. "You can't go around like that, you know?"

"Yeah. You've gotta look after yourself a bit more." interjected Ji-Yun.

Hikari shook her head, sighing. "Oh dear, that's not good... I think I have a spare in my bag if you'd like to borrow it..."

Shinji's eyes widened, and she blushed even more. "E-Eh? B-But I can't just wear your- I mean- and I don't even know how to, well-"

Hikari laughed, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it. If you want, I can help you put it on!"

"Eh? Really?"

"Of course! We're both girls, there's nothing to worry about!"

Shinji stammered for a few seconds before sighing with relief.

"T-Thank you...I hope it doesn't seem weird or anything, it's just-"

"There's nothing to worry about!" replied Hikari, still chuckling. "I can understand your... lack of experience. Just... follow me."

She stood up and lead Shinji out of the classroom, her friends struggling to contain their laughter.

"Umm...Are you sure about this?"

The two girls stood in the girls' changing room, Hikari rummaging through her bag trying to find the extra bra she had packed with her.

"There's nothing to worry about," said the freckled girl, reassuringly. "We should be a similar, erm, size, and I've got lots of spares at home. It's no problem- ah, found it!"

She yanked the generic white underwear out of her bag, straightening the garment out and unclipping the back.

"Well Shinji." she said, calmly. "You're going to need to take your clothes off."

There was brief silence so awkward that a bus enthusiast would have felt uncomfortable in its presence.

Shinji gulped, shuddering a little. "A-Are you sure?" she stammered, nervously. "I-I mean... Can't I just take my top off?"

Hikari shook her head. "Trust me; these uniforms are a nightmare to get buttoned back up at the top again. It's easier for both of us this way."

Shinji hesitated, still uncomfortable at the prospect.

"... Alright..." she said, trembling a little. "Just... don't laugh, OK?"

Slowly, she grabbed the hem of her skirt and lifted it up, dragging the whole uniform up and over her head before dropping it and reaching back to the wall for support.

Hikari struggled to hold in a giggle. "I'm sorry, but... whose panties are those?"

The mousey-haired girl looked down at her backside and went a deep red. She'd forgotten about the underwear she was wearing: a rather embarrassing blue and white striped affair.

"Asuka let me borrow her clothes, and... this was the least outrageous thing I could find." she sighed.

"Yep, that sounds like Asuka..." Hikari chuckled. "Don't tell her - him, sorry - I said this, but Asuka has horrendous taste in fashion."

She held up the bra, and walked towards Shinji.

"Anyway, let me help you get this on!" she said cheerily. "Now, turn round, sit down on that stool and put your arms up over your head."

Shinji reluctantly did as she was told, sitting down uneasily on the stool and raising her arms.

Hikari gingerly slid the straps of the bra around Shinji's wrists and pulled the garment down her arms and to her chest. The mousey-haired girl shivered a bit as she did so.

The class president smiled as she pressed the cups of the bra against Shinji's modest breasts. "Hey, you... have a nice chest," she giggled.

Shinji smiled, weakly. "T-Thanks..." she mumbled sheepishly. Though she wouldn't admit it, the feeling of Hikari's delicate hands on her breasts was... strangely exciting.

Carefully, Hikari took the hook and eye tabs of the bra and pulled them together, before clipping them in place.

"There!" she said cheerily, dusting off her hands. "That should be a perfect fit. How does it feel?"

Slowly, Shinji stood up and turned to face Hikari. For a few seconds she wobbled a little, but she soon regained her balance.

"I..." she gasped, suddenly elated. "I feel much better! It's so much easier to stand now!"

"Excellent!" replied Hikari, grinning. "Do you think you can walk?"

"I'll try..."

Shinji began to step forwards, slowly but steadily. She managed one step, two steps, three steps, four steps. On her fifth step she nearly lost her footing, but she soon righted herself.

"I... I can walk!" she exclaimed, delightedly. "Thank you so much, Hikari!"

Without warning she ran towards Hikari and hugged her, nearly knocking her over in the process.

Hikari yelped with surprise, yet she couldn't help but smile. She reciprocated the hug, chuckling a little as she did so.

"Oh... sorry." said Shinji, breaking off. "D-Did I weird you out or something? I didn't mean any-"

"Hey, don't worry about it!" said Hikari reassuringly, winking. "Between you and me, I think you're really cute like this..."

Shinji's eyes widened, and she started awkwardly looking at the floor.

"You... You think so?" she said, unused to such compliments.

The class president nodded, giggling a little. "Oh, Shinji, you really are so sweet sometimes!" she said, playfully. "Anyway, I think you'd better get dressed; I'm pretty sure turning up to class in your underwear is a uniform violation."

"So, what do you wanna buy first then, Wonderb- I mean, Rei?"

Asuka and Rei strolled along the pavement in the general direction of the city shopping district. The sun was high in the sky and there was a pleasant summer breeze blowing, taking the edge off the heat a little.

"I was considering purchasing some loose denim trousers and a light shirt, and maybe some fashionable shoes." responded Rei, as monotonously as ever. "Perhaps a shirt with a humourous image tampographed on the front for the purposes of eliciting mirth in passers-by."

Little did Rei realize that he was already drawing quite a bit of mirth in passers-by, as androgynous as he was, it was still quite clear he was a boy wearing a girl's uniform. Of course, even if he had realized he probably wouldn't have cared.

Asuka rolled his eyes. "So, uh, loose jeans, a silly shirt and some trendy shoes, huh?" he said, still getting used to Rei's bizarre speech patterns. "Hmm, that could get kinda expensive... How much money do you have?"

Rei looked at Asuka with the faintest hint of a smirk. "Would you believe me if I said I had on me the annual gross domestic output of a small Eastern European country?" he asked, completely seriously.

The ginger boy shot him a suspicious glance. "... No, I wouldn't. Why?"

"Excellent." said Rei, giving Asuka a brief clap. "You have passed the gullibility test."

Asuka stared at his companion, completely bewildered. "... What?"

"Anyway, in answer to your question, I currently possess no currency upon me at this time." responded the pastel-haired loon. "We may find the purchase of clothing difficult, unless we resort to bartering internal organs."

"Hmm. That could be a problem." said Asuka, who wasn't particularly in the mood to lose any vital body parts. "Say, why don't we go home and-"

"You middle-schoolers ain't goin' anywhere!"

The two boys froze at the barked command, slowly turning around. Behind them was a huge throng of girls - at least 30 of them - all in long-skirted black sailor uniforms and with a variety of crazy hairstyles, including perms, dye jobs and other things that made them look like they belonged in an 80s pulp movie. Some of them were armed, clutching wooden poles and kendo swords. At the head of them was a monstrously tall girl with a red armband, and a black eyepatch with a red eye embroidered onto it. In her hands was a piece of lead pipe, and she had a cigarette clamped in her mouth.

"We're the Tokyo-3 division of the Women's Advanced Neo-Delinquent Alliance, or W.A.N.D.A. for short!" growled the enormous girl, twirling her pipe. "And you punks just crossed into our territory!"

Rei and Asuka glanced at each other, fearfully.

Oh, bugger.

A/N:

Once again I apologize for the long wait. I hope I can get the next chapter out faster, but...I doubt it. Hang on in there guys!

Thanks to my faithful betareader Kajou Takumi for helping me get this finished!

Next time: Drama! Fighting! Female bonding!