DISCLAIMER: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion or its associated properties. All copyrights belong to their respective owners.

Seated in Kyoto University's Metaphysical Research Room No. 1, Kouzou Fuyutsuki found himself impressed with the paper written by Ms. Yui Ikari. The paper's thesis concerned the molecular arrangement of the substance known as 'primordial soup,' from which all life on Earth supposedly emerged.

The theory has been around since the 1920s, when both the Russian biochemist Alexander Oparin and the British biologist and biostatistician J.B.S. Haldane arrived at it independently of each other. Kouzou was familiar with the work of both men, of course, and pleased to see that Ikari had referenced both in her paper.

The part of Ikari's paper that really got his interest, however, was the key proposition: that by amending the molecular composition of the primordial soup via electrical charges, it would be possible for an individual submerged in this primordial soup to receive oxygen and be physically and mentally protected from external stimuli.

One application of this proposition that Ikari outlined was the possibility of a 'link' being made between a person's mind or soul and another person or machine, provided that one or the other was immersed in the primordial soup. A person who relied on prosthetic limbs, for instance, could acquire greater motor skills if this theory could be applied correctly. This was one example among many presented in the paper.

Kouzou, being a seasoned academic, could not help but be critical of some aspects of the proposition that Ikari advanced. For one thing, while Ikari's chemical formulae seemed accurate, he remained unclear on exactly how the primordial soup's molecular composition could be so arranged as to bring about the 'link' between the souls of two people. For another, he doubted that any soul could 'link' with a machine. And in neither case could he find a satisfactory answer in Ikari's paper.

Those quibbles aside, however, the middle-aged professor was impressed. Ikari had explained that as oxygen was a key element in primordial soup, being able to oxygenate the fluid to permit breathing was theoretically possible - and her calculations to illustrate this didn't allow room for argument. Furthermore, the protection from external stimuli such as hits and jolts that the primordial soup can give a person seemed to parallel the way that cerebrospinal fluid acts as a shock absorber for the human brain.

As to those areas where he had doubts, he surmised that this was the reason Ikari had sought him out. After all, such questions touched on his own field of expertise - metaphysical biology. They were not the type of questions that a bio-engineer was trained to deal with.

'Smart young woman,' Kouzou thought. 'Half of being clever is realizing what you don't know, and seeking the help of those who know what you don't. Taue told me that he had mentioned me to her, but is it possible that she knew he might be a means of getting in touch with me? After all, departmentally it would not have made sense for a bio-engineer to directly seek me out, so...'

This train of thought was suddenly halted by a gentle knock on the door of his research room. Somewhat annoyed at this interruption, but as always never betraying his real mood, Kouzou politely called out: "Come in."

Through the door came a young brunette with a bob haircut and a pretty face with pale blue eyes shining out of them. Her shapely figure was not entirely concealed by the white lab coat, pink blouse and short black skirt that she was clothed in, while the shy smile she wore on her face only enhanced the attractive figure that she cut.

She was a sight that left the grey-haired, 43 year old Kouzou Fuyutsuki speechless. He was both thankful and wishful - thankful that he was seated so he did not fall over from looking at her, and wishing he was 15-20 years younger. The career academic was made aware of his more primal urges as a human being for the first time in a very long time. While outwardly he was impassive, inwardly he was anything but.

"Professor Fuyutsuki," the young woman began, her voice as gentle as her appearance. "Please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Yui Ikari."

Kouzou was verklempt. This attractive young woman was the same brilliant mind that had written the paper which impressed him, the same student who sought his expertise. He could hardly believe his luck, until...

'Remember,' he mentally reproached himself, 'she is a student, and you are a professor at this institution. You cannot abuse your position for your own personal whims. It is a mistake you have seen several of your colleagues make over the years, and which rightly earned them your own disdain. You can and will be better than that.'

Squashing this unexpected internal conflict between his suddenly awakened desires and his sense of responsibility, Kouzou greeted the young lady: "Delighted to meet you, Ms. Ikari."

Yui beamed at this. Meanwhile, searching for something to continue the discussion and distract his mind from other thoughts he'd rather have not had, Kouzou lifted a journal from the desk he was seated at.

"I read your paper." Kouzou began. "I found a couple of things questionable, but it was a stimulating paper." He again mentally reproached himself, this time for thinking that her paper was not the only thing about her he found stimulating.

"Thank you very much," Yui replied pleasantly, clearly unaware of the emotional upheaval she had unwittingly stirred in the respectable-looking professor seated before her. Kouzou's exemplary self-control was serving him well.

"Yui Ikari, wasn't it?" Kouzou asked, maintaining his decorum despite his personal urges.

"Yes," replied Yui.

'Well, you sought me out for a reason,' Kouzou thought. 'Let's see if we can establish what that reason is.'

"What are your plans for the future?" Kouzou asked. The professional nature of the dialogue helped him to compose himself, and kept him from saying anything stupid which betrayed the sudden infatuation Yui had awoken within him. "Are you going to find work? Or do you intend to join the research lab here?"

While this line of inquiry was framed as objectively as possible, there was no doubt in Kouzou's mind which option he hoped Yui would choose. She clearly was an exceptional talent as a researcher on the basis of her paper, she was gentle and polite on the basis of the conversation they were currently having, and she was very beautiful on the basis of his eyesight. Overall, she was someone he was keen to have stick around, and what she said next would hopefully confirm whether she would or not.

"I haven't thought that far ahead yet." Yui replied, disappointing Kouzou's hopes for clarity on her intentions. "And besides, aren't you forgetting a third option?"

This last remark left Kouzou verklempt again. He had no idea what third option this attractive, intelligent young woman could be referring to. All he could do was look at her blankly, waiting for her to explain what this third option was.

"I'm also considering a domestic life." Yui answered finally. "Of course, that's only if I can find someone nice."

The older man looked at her thoughtfully, but kept any thoughts he had to himself. Leaving aside the fact that she was a student and he a professor, she was also at least 20 years younger than him and someone he had only met less than five minutes ago. And while he felt he may be smitten with her, Kouzou knew it wasn't wise to assume that she felt the same way about him.

Instead of following up on this statement about domestic life, the conversation turned back to the research paper. As Kouzou suspected, Yui had sought him out because her knowledge of metaphysical biology was "not what it could be," as she put it. She was delighted that he had read the article, and took his constructive criticism to heart.

"I felt that those areas were among the weakest in the paper too," Yui admitted, "so when Professor Taue mentioned you I hoped that we could meet." She paused, then started awkwardly: "Would you mind if I called on you again?

Kouzou smiled. The young woman's earnestness about her work won his respect, and her shyness touched his heart. While he would not admit it to her, he knew for certain that he was smitten.

"Certainly," Kouzou replied warmly. "I'd be delighted to meet with you again."

A broad smile creased Yui's pretty face. "Thank you, Professor Fuyutsuki. I really appreciate that."

"No problem," replied Kouzou. "To tell you the truth, I'd rather continue this discussion now. Unfortunately, I have a departmental meeting to attend in ten minutes."

"That's fine, Professor. I have a lecture to go to shortly anyway." She smirked, then added: "I think I'll enjoy it as much as you will enjoy your meeting."

Kouzou laughed at that. "Dare I ask who is giving the lecture?"

Yui giggled. "Better that I not say, Professor Fuyutsuki. I'd best go, thank you for your time today."

"No problem, Ms. Ikari. I'll speak with you soon."

With that, she bowed and left the room. Leaving Kouzou feeling better about having gone to Kamogawa, and with much to ponder - after the pointless departmental meeting he would be forced to endure for the next hour, of course.

To be continued...

Author notes: Have made a few edits to this one, to make it more natural. Feedback is welcome, of course.