.hack//EVA: Catharsis: Smoke and Mirrors
Disclaimer: In this universe in the quantum foam, I do not own or in any way shape or form hold a claim to the .hack series or Neon Genesis Evangelion.
" " denotes speech
'italics' denotes thought
'bold' denotes location names
'bold italics' denotes skill use
Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Classroom 2-A
For most people, the only two certainties in life were death and taxes. This was no exception to the residents of Tokyo-3, who not only had to worry about everyday crimes like drive-by shootings and muggings, but other hazards like being trampled underfoot by an Eva, or having an "Angel" come down and decide that their building needed to be demolished. And if that wasn't enough, maintaining each of the Evangelions usually ended up costing as much as the dietary needs of a small nation. Thus, suffice it to say that the words "tax cut" weren't even up to being argued by any political party at this point.
Of course, this was only the case if one was a legal adult. As a student, life was much worse much of the time, as in addition to these things, there was the additional factor of school, where one worked without pay in what was normally a very tedious and tiresome environment. The former teacher of classroom 2-A had not been the exception, but rather the rule -- with such a low payrate, it was a wonder why any of them would choose the job to begin with. Perhaps it was due to the tenure that came with the position, and the minimal expectations? It certainly wasn't for the great benefits, as demonstrated by how many of them engaged in slightly less than legal activities, which is incidentally how Morganna could afford to furnish her apartment so well.
And so it was that we find the Three Stooges sitting in their usual classroom, with Kensuke and Touji gathered around Shinji's desk in the moments before class started.
"I'm just glad that we don't have to deal with that demon girl anymore," the jock said, while glancing around to make sure no one else was listening in, paranoid that Hikari might be watching. The Class Rep was prone to swooping down upon him whenever he was doing anything that even hinted at being inappropriate, but surprisingly, she wasn't there at the moment, which Touji took to be a minor miracle. "She was…something else."
"Yeah, at least we'll never have to see her again," Kensuke chimed in, though he couldn't resist a sly jab at Shinji's situation. "But you can't avoid meeting her because of your job…though from the looks of it, you're trying to add another one to your harem. What, Ayanami and Hakubo not enough for you?"
As Shinji relapsed into one of his patented tomato-red blushes, his cheeks shining like bad sunburn, the class door opened, and everyone's attention was drawn to three—no, four figures entering the room.
The first was the silver-haired Reimeiki (Lycoris), the second the vaunted teacher named Yumi Aranami, who had a habit of wearing black, the third the class rep, and the fourth—
Touji, Kensuke, and Shinji did a collective double take at the sight of the fourth figure walking to the front of the classroom: Asuka Langley Soryu, Second Child, fireball extraordinaire, time bomb waiting to explode, and new source of teasing for poor poor Shinji.
From the corner, Rei Ayanami regarded her with interest, noting how closely the Second Child resembled a certain PK in The World, and how vibrantly…red…the Second was. Red was, after all, the color that she hated…and all the more so because of a certain Eris, whose irrational actions posed a threat to all around her. If the Second resembled the PK in more than form, which was likely, then her presence was no benefit at all for anyone's scenario.
Tokyo-3 1st Municipal Junior High School, Entering Classroom 2-A
As for Asuka Langley Soryu, she was not exactly happy about having to attend middle school once again. Verdammt! She was a college graduate, and this was just a waste of her time…or so she told herself, though admittedly her kanji could use a little bit of work. After getting settled in at NERV, getting her measurements for some kind of "enhanced" plugsuit (she couldn't but find that mildly perverted, no matter how hard she tried), and being informed of her new living quarters in NERV's barracks, she was mildly annoyed to have to deal with other, most likely immature perverts.
Or so she had thought as she was being dropped off at the Municipal Junior High School, noting its quaint appearance that seemed not at all appropriate for a post-modern fortress city. It seemed so…plain…much as she expected from this country, so different from her beloved Deutschland. Though it seemed that she wasn't quite alone in being from the fatherland, as the teacher and one of the students, the silver-haired girl that she had met on "Over the Rainbow" knew the German tongue intimately.
The teacher had surprised her, not being a boring old lecher or a lavender-haired bimbo as one might expect (maybe she'd been watching too much anime?), but rather a woman of obvious refinement, who seemed almost…noble, like a warrior queen of sorts. That and there was something about her that was just a little frightening…like the look that a raven might give you before croaking "Nevermore."
They had talked for a while on things in Germany, in her native tongue, and in the process, some of the expected work for the class had been mentioned. To Asuka's shock, much of it curriculum revolved around the Epitaph of Twilight and The World, two things that she thought she would have no trouble with at all. Until, of course, Morganna had brought up an attempted disruption of her class at Θ Hidden Forbidden In Heat, which caused her a great deal of worry, as she had been that PK. And if this meant that those idiots Arano and Aruna, or worse, the bitch Tomoyami were here…things would probably not go well.
"Nothing wrong with a bit of discord," the teacher had said, eyes glinting in amusement. "It keeps things interesting and everyone on their toes. I am often reminded of how root cause of the Trojan War was the fact that the gods kept Eris from their table. Wouldn't you agree?"
There was something…knowing about that tone, and Asuka felt herself reeling mentally.
Does she know who I am? But that's…impossible…right?
Yumi Aranami then explained the main reason that Reimeiki was here, as she would be working as Asuka's partner for now. As much as the Second did not enjoy the company of those who looked liked dolls, this was at least offset by her German heritage and the fact that she had offered friendship so readily.
"Hello, Soryu-san," the silver haired one had said, with a faint smile on her lips. "My name is Reimeiki Hakubo, and I think you remember me from Over the Rainbow. Lets be good friends!"
Asuka was slightly taken aback by this, but agreed after a moment.
"Well, I guess you're better than that lecherous oaf, who wanted to flash me," she replied to the sound of a peal of laughter from the other.
"Suzuhara does usually act without thinking," Lycoris allowed, with a chuckle. "But I know he means well…he takes good care of those he cares for."
"You sound almost like you like him," ribbed Asuka, never one to pass up an opportunity for verbal dominance.
"No, that would be Horaki-inchou's job," Lycoris demurred, eyebrows rising and falling once. "You'll enjoy meeting her again, I think…as long as you respect her authority in class. She's very much like you…like a shadow to a flame, particular about your appearances."
The silver-haired girl trailed off, leaving Asuka to deal with her thoughts again…
Shadow. The class representative of 2-A. Hikari. The light. This is getting curiouser and curiouser—
At that moment, the teacher broke in, her tone wryly amused.
"Well, everything seems to be sorted out, so if you would follow me, you can introduce yourself to the rest of the class, though I hear from Reimeiki that you've met some of the others before, including one of the two other pilots."
With that, the instructor opened the door of the conference room, outside of which waited Class Representative Hikari Horaki, as was usual policy when encountering a transfer student. Blue eyes flashed against brown, as the temperature dropped precipitously. This was Hikari's domain now, and she had the power to utterly destroy anyone she didn't particularly care for. Yes, she took her duties seriously, but that didn't mean that her personal feelings never got in the way, as anyone who had seen her interacting with Touji knew very well.
"Good day, Soryu-san," the Class Rep said icily, as she took in the unwelcome presence of the arrogant redhead. "Do try not to abuse anyone else on your way to the classroom, will you?"
"I had no intention of doing so, Horaki-inchou," Asuka replied, her voice taking on rather sub-arctic qualities as well. One could almost imagine a virtual fight scene, with John Williams' "Duel of the Fates" playing in the background…
The two remained locked in a battle of glares, neither willing to give an inch in the battle for dominance as the others looked on, amused. Morganna was always interested in the interaction of human beings, and teenagers tended to be more extreme than most…in this case, acting like two rivals mentally sparring for territory.
Someone in the main office must have accidentally triggered the PA system at that moment, for "Duel of the Fates" came on over the speaker system, causing the Class Rep and the Second Child to jump apart with nervous laughter.
"I think we all got off on the wrong foot," interjected Lycoris, a smile in her eyes. "Why don't we try this again…Hikari-san, this is Asuka Langley Soryu, the Second Child. Asuka-san, Hikari Horaki, the Class Representative."
Almost unwillingly, but feeling bound by the rituals of greeting, they extended their hands and shook, gauging the other from every slight indicator.
"Ladies, that was supposed to be a handshake, not a duel to the death by palm," Morganna noted acerbically, causing another round of strangled-half-laughter to emerge. "If you want to settle things later by a duel in The World, feel free, but at least refrain from open hostilities in my classroom."
Cordial though it was, the two rivals could feel a threatening undercurrent in their teacher's voice, and this time shook hands with a little less animosity. Seeing this, the former Goddess of The World nodded and smiled…everything was going according to plan.
"Why don't we head to the class now?" Morganna said, beckoning for them to follow her, which they did, falling in line readily enough, though Lycoris slowed down for a moment to talk to Hikari.
"Hikari-san, for the next week you and Rei-san will have to work with Shinji-kun in The World," she noted, with a twinge of sadness and of envy. She was slightly worried that he would be spending large amounts of time in the company of the First Child…but she put herself at ease. Shinji had come back for her, after all.
The Class Representative nodded as the door opened and one by one, the four filed into the classroom, until at last it was the Second's turn to strut to the front of the classroom, glancing idly about to see if there was anyone she recognized.
Ah yes, the idiots from Over the Rainbow, she sneered mentally as her eyes fell upon the Perverse Idiot Duo of bespectacled geek and rough-hewn jock, sitting together watching her with suspicion. Its funny, its almost as if they recognize me from somewhere else…or they're just blown away by my beauty. Well, they are males, so the second is likely…they should be lucky that I'm even in the same room as they are.
Her gaze flickered across the Third Child, and the two met one another's gaze evenly, a nod being exchanged between them. After the fight with the Sixth Angel, and seeing that his reputation in battle was actually well deserved, she was willing to begrudge him a little bit of respect. Perhaps he wasn't quite the equal of the great Asuka Langley Soryu, but he knew what he was doing…and he had a bit of a spine, though something about his fighting style nagged at the edges of her mind. It was as if she had seen it before, somewhere…but she dismissed that with an almost imperceptible shake of the head.
Then her eyes fell upon the First Child, and eyes of crimson met those of azure…this look was, if it was possible, colder than the one she had shared with the Class Representative. For Asuka recognized in Rei Ayanami all of the frustration and rage she had known in The World…she was, after all, a bluenette, and the very image of Skadi, the Macabre Dancer that had meddled with her in The World, doll of dolls, who had dared to pity her.
There was a long, uncomfortable moment in the classroom, as tremulous emotions began to well up within Asuka's heart, mirrored only by a dispassionate stare from Rei Ayanami that…seemed almost tinged with pity. But though Asuka seethed inside, the warning from Ms. Aranami was enough to have her stay her hand for now…there would be time enough later for what she wished.
She looked away and put on a false smile with which to charm the boys of class 2-A into doing what she wished. They might be perverts, but at least they were predictable…put a pretty girl in front of them, and they would fall over themselves to do her will.
"Greetings," she said, avoiding the face of the First Child, and instead concentrating on those she knew might be more susceptible to her charms. "I am Asuka Langley Soryu."