NGE SENIOR YEAR
Part Two: When You Dream
Written by: K-Ley Katsuragi (sailor_mercury_@crystal-tokyo.com)
[Bevan's Door Productions, May 2000]
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any rights to Neon Genesis Evangelion or it's characters. What's the
point of saying that? If I owned any rights to NGE do you really think I'd be publishing my
fics on a dodgy homemade Geocities site? However, I do own the ACC's. But no one is really
going to use them so what's the point in claiming ownership?
STANDARD PRE-FIC WARNING:
WANRING: THIS WARNING IS MISSPELT!
All the pre-fic warnings in Part One apply to Part Two. Can't be stuffed writing them all out
again.
--
*** NGE Senior Year - Part Two: When You Dream ***
This was all a bad dream, Asuka decided calmly. She had just thought she'd woken up, gotten
dressed, grabbed a piece of toast for breakfast, ran to school and had an argument with Shinji.
In reality, she was still at home in bed.
"Miss Soryu?"
Asuka looked up.
"You know, it helps if you actually confer with your partner," Miss Haruna said sarcastically.
Asuka, too dazed to hit back with a retort, nodded. Her brain on auto-pilot, she stood and
crossed to the back right hand corner of the room where her partner sat. She sat down, facing
her partner across the desk.
"So," Kei said awkwardly. "What do you think we should do?"
--
Asuka Langley Soryu -
Okay, little known fact. Tokyo-3 High is pretty much like hell, the only notable difference
being I'm pretty sure hell is hotter, and at least if you're in hell you're already dead so
it can't get much worse.
Let me back up and explain. First period today - Health and Human Development. As if that fact
isn't bad enough. I don't even know how I ended up in that class. I certainly didn't choose it.
Anyway. We were given an assignment today. As if that fact isn't bad enough. Assignments cut
way too much into time I could be spending on other things. Like shopping.
Anyway. Miss Haruna decided we had to work in pairs. As if that fact isn't bad enough. I don't
work well with others. Big surprise, huh?
But the worst part of it all, the CROWNING insult is who I got partnered with.
Kei Yamaguchi.
I'm starting to think I must have done something really bad in a past life and I'm being
punished in this one.
God must really hate me.
--
Kei Yamaguchi -
Miss Haruna is obviously a sick, sick woman.
Assigning partners is one thing. Assigning partners who she KNOWS don't get along is another.
And I know she knows we don't get along. We had an argument in class yesterday.
The ironic part is the conversation I had with Blake last night. He said something about,
"School unity is gonna be put on hold if you argue with Tokyo-3 people." To which I replied
something like, "That shouldn't be a problem. As long as Asuka and I stay out of each other's
way, it should be fine."
Good call, Kei. Good call.
--
Shinji had gotten to know Asuka quite well over the years. Not surprisingly, really. Living,
working and going to school with someone over four years had a tendency to do that. He knew
her well enough to know what she was feeling when she was feeling it. When she was happy,
when she really smiled, her whole face lit up. If she was really happy, when she smiled,
sometimes a tiny dimple in her left cheek would appear. When she was worried, she had a
tendency to bite her lower lip. When she was hurt, her eyes would grow dark with determination.
But Shinji didn't need this sense that had been four years in the making to know what she was
feeling now. In all honestly, Blind Fred could see what she was feeling.
Asuka Langley Soryu was angry.
Hikari, Shinji, Touji, Kensuke and Rei watched their friend warily as she bit into a carrot
stick with more savageness than was needed. She chewed. She swallowed. Then she turned to
glare at her friends.
"What are you all staring at?" she snapped.
The group searched for the right response - one which wouldn't involve impaling on carrot
sticks. Rei sighed.
"You," she said bluntly.
"Why?" Asuka demanded, slightly thrown off by Rei's blunt honesty.
Shinji decided to step in. "Because you're clearly pissed off about something and we want
to know why."
Asuka's blue eyes narrowed. "Fine," she seethed. "You want to know why I'm angry? I'll tell
you."
"I have to work with Asuka on a Health assignment," Kei fumed. She was shifting in her seat,
which Blake knew was a bad sign. For some obscure reason, Kei could never stay still when she
was angry.
"Please tell me you're not serious," Blake said, though he knew quite well that she was indeed
serious.
"Of course I'm damn well serious!" Asuka said, irritated. "Does it look like I'm joking?"
Shinji immediately wondered why he even bothered to ask that question. Probably, he figured,
because his brain couldn't articulate a better response.
Hikari stepped in, voice soothing. "Is there anyway around this?"
"Not if I want to pass Health," Kei responded in answer to Blake's question, pouring M&M's
into her hand and picking out the blue ones. "Which I'd like to do. You know, it's only the
rest of my life that depends on my final grade this year."
"But you've already graduated once before," Kensuke pointed out. "What does it matter if you
fail?"
Asuka snorted derisively. "Oh, I'm sure Misato would just love that. Not to mention NERV PR.
I can just see it now, blazoned across newspapers - Eva Pilot Too Stupid To Pass Twelfth
Grade."
"I think you're overreacting," Touji informed her.
"Overreacting? Overreacting?" Kei demanded, anger seeping into her voice.
'Uh oh,' Blake thought, looking at his friend uneasily.
"Let's see you get assigned to do a Biology assignment that counts for one third of your
grade with Rei and see how much you overreact!" she snapped.
At the stricken look on his face, Kei quickly became contrite.
"Sorry," Asuka apologized upon seeing the shock on Touji's face. "I didn't mean to be that
harsh."
"Don't worry," he responded, grinning. "Years of it has made me thick skinned."
That comment caused a small smile to appear on Asuka's lips.
"So, what are you going to do?" Hikari asked.
"What can I do?" Kei sighed, pushing a pile of blue M&M's across the table to Blake. "I'm
just gonna have to make the best of it, aren't I?"
"It could lead to a beautiful friendship," Blake suggested, eyes twinkling.
"Don't count on it," Asuka said dryly. "I'd rather poke myself in the eye with a burnt stick."
"Well," Rei said, a hint of sarcasm to her tone. "At least we know you have your priorities
straight."
--
Excerpt from the Tokyo-3 High Oracle -
There is a spirit in Tokyo-3 High these days. It's not the school spirit we usually feel. It's
not the incredible and deserved pride for our academic and sports teams, some of the best in
recent memory, perhaps the best in school history. No, the spirit that fills the halls and
yards is one of negativity. A spirit that wants to tear us down, and for what?
Rivalry? Principles? So say many who have kept the flame of dissension between the two schools
burning bright despite numerous attempts to dispel it. I would like to ask them, what do they
think this is? A war zone?
No one will dispute the fact that the beginning of this year has been difficult for everyone.
But continuing the anger and resentment, and claiming it to be about principles is not only
wrong, but dishonest. It's not about principles. It's about resentment.
But it's not enough for these people who are still harboring this resentment to bring down
themselves. They also feel the need to bring down the whole school, with harsh words and
bitterness. Is all we've worked for to make this school what is about to be ruined by
resentment?
In short, yes. It's surely inevitable that if this keeps up, we will be the keepers of our
own demise.
This is not the kind of spirit we should be feeling here at Tokyo-3 High. This is called
bad attitude. And it's one thing we don't need around here.
--
"I don't like this at all."
The words Hikari spoke weren't particularly incredible, nor were they particularly profound.
But the displeasure on her face spoke volumes.
Touji merely nodded, encouraging her to continue.
"Monday was supposed to end all this!" she continued, her tone a cross between annoyance,
anger and desperation. "Kei and I decided to share the position and that was supposed to end
all this stupid rivalry! But it didn't! Why did we bother? What the hell was the point?"
Her tone fast sliding into a whine, Hikari slumped in her seat, a picture of despair. She
reached up and started pulling a lock of hair viciously.
Touji shook his head and gently took hold of her wrist. "How many times do I have to tell you?"
he asked patiently. "I swear, one day you'll end up bald from that habit."
A small grin crept on Hikari's face as she let go of her hair.
"And, while we're at, why did you bother? What was the point?" Touji leaned across the table
intently, dark eyes serious. "Hikari, let me tell you this. Every single student at our school
respects you and Kei. Any preconceived notions they may have had about either of you flew out
of the proverbial window on Monday."
Hikari was staring at Touji, but not for the reason he thought. "Preconceived? Proverbial?"
He rolled his eyes. "I do go to school, too, you know."
Hikari grinned.
Touji continued. "Why did you decide to share the position in the first place? Tell me that."
Hikari blinked. "I told you the other day."
He shrugged. "So tell me again."
Hikari traced invisible patterns across the table surface. "Because if only one of us had the
position, then only fifty percent of the school would have leadership. And that wasn't good
enough. Everyone in this school deserves to have a leader they can talk to."
Having said that, Hikari looked up to meet Touji's eyes, which were looking at her with a
somewhat triumphant look.
She smiled. "Thanks."
--
Hikari Horaki -
I've known Touji for a long time. Years in fact. We practically knew each other when we were
in diapers. But I never really KNEW him, you know? I knew he was there, but never took much
notice. He was just a lug who played a good game of basketball, and that was the extent of his
mastery in the world.
Then, in eighth grade, all that changed. After his sister got injured, he became a different
person. He tried to keep up that whole tough-guy façade, but it was pretty easy to see past
it. It occurred to me that Touji was human, and that not only did he feel things, but he felt
them deeply.
Over that year we became friends. At first we only ever hung out because of Shinji and Asuka,
but over time that changed. You ever have a friend of a friend? Someone you can hang out with
when your mutual friend is around, but if said mutual friend is absent there's a whole lot
of awkwardness?
That's how we were.
We evolved though. Became friends with each other. And I'd readily call him one of my best
friends.
I'd also like to call him more than that, but that's beside the point.
The point that I'm trying to make is, he's a good friend. And I know him pretty well, I guess.
But he still manages to surprise me.
Like today. I was feeling pretty hopeless about the whole mixing-of-schools thing. And he knew
exactly what to say to me feel . . . what's the opposite of hopeless?
Hopeful. He knew how to make me feel hopeful again.
I don't know what that means. I don't know what it means for us.
I'm not going to be ridiculous and say it's love. But it's definitely something.
--
"I have an idea."
Asuka glanced at Rei. "Tell us more, Wondergirl."
Rei ignored the sarcasm and continued, facing Asuka across the table calmly. Shinji watched
the scene uneasily, praying this wouldn't evolve into an argument.
"You don't want to work with Kei," she stated quietly. "So why don't you just do separate
assignments?"
Asuka blinked, seemingly surprised by this logical reasoning. Misato, meanwhile, hand around
the perpetual beer can, looked between Rei and Asuka with confusion. It occurred to Shinji
that Misato knew neither of Blake or Kei or the election.
"Who's Kei and why don't you want to work with her?" Misato asked bluntly.
Shinji rolled his eyes. "Nothing like the direct approach, Misato."
Misato's eyes shifted to look at Shinji. "Can you blame me?" she demanded. "You two have told
me nothing about your lives since the beginning of the year! I'm still here, guys, you know.
I'd still like to know."
In a rare display of diplomacy, Asuka intervened before Shinji could respond. "It's no big
deal, Misato. Kei's a girl who I don't get along with. I'm supposed to do an Health assignment
with her."
Misato tilted her head quizzically. "Why are you working with her if you don't get along with
her?"
Asuka scowled. "Because Miss Haruna is an evil twisted woman spawned from Satan."
Misato nodded, attempting - and failing - to look sage. She had no idea what was going on.
"Back to me," Rei interrupted, her tone so matter-of-fact Shinji burst out laughing.
Asuka looked exasperated. "What about you?"
"My idea," she reminded her.
"What about it?" Asuka wanted to know, refusing to accept that Wondergirl had indeed had a
good idea.
"Are you going to use it?" Rei asked.
Asuka shrugged noncommittally; Shinji smirked. In his eyes, that was a good as a yes.
In Misato's eyes, too, it was as good as a yes. She shook her head. "Asuka getting advice
from Rei - and accepting it," she stated. "The world must be coming to an end."
"I've been thinking," Blake said thoughtfully.
"Must have been painful," his mother cracked from the other side of the table.
Kei grinned. Blake rolled his eyes.
"What about?" Kei asked, standing up and beginning to clear the table.
"Kei, honey, how many times do I have to tell you?" Raine asked patiently. "You're a guest.
You don't need to clean up." She smiled serenely. "That's what Blake's for."
Blake sighed with resignation.
"I don't mind," Kei insisted. "Anyway, I think after five years, I hardly qualify as a guest."
Blake realised that as man of the house and Kei's best friend, he should probably help. This
realisation explained why his mother was glaring at him.
Blake leapt to his feet and took the dishes from Kei's hands. She lifted her eyebrows. "I
don't need help to take a bunch of plates to the kitchen, Blake," she pointed out.
"Oh, sorry," he said, with mock apology. "Just thought you might not be sure of what you're
doing. You know, the way you have someone else to clean up after you at home."
Kei glared and grabbed the plates from him. She tossed her hair behind her and stalked into
the kitchen.
Raine gave her son that plainly said, "Do you have a death wish?" Blake took the point and
hurried after his friend.
"Sorry," he apologised.
Kei took her time turning around the face him; when she did, her arms were folded over her
light blue tank top. "Sorry for . . ." she prompted.
"I'm sorry for teasing you about the fact that you're a spoiled princess," Blake said
solemnly.
Kei gave him a look that was downright poisonous. Her eyes were so cold that Blake took a
wary step back.
"Sorry," he said meekly.
Kei sighed. "God, Blake, why do you do that?"
He shrugged helplessly. "I don't know."
She folded her arms more tightly, a strictly defensive stance. "You know I hate it when you
do that."
He nodded. "I know."
"So why do you do it?"
"I don't know."
Kei leaned against the counter, a good sign despite the iciness still in her eyes. "Because
you're brain-damaged, juvenile and mentally challenged?" she suggested coolly.
Blake nodded. "Those are all good adjectives," he said seriously.
Kei smirked slightly. "How about immature and reality impaired?"
"And lovable?" he hedged, smiling winningly. "Maybe just a little?"
Kei narrowed her eyes. "You're pushing it, flame boy."
Blake smiled, but kept his eyes on her face, gauging her reactions, knowing he was on
probation.
"Tell me your idea," she said, changing the subject so abruptly Blake blinked with surprise.
Before he could respond, Kei waved a dismissive hand. "You said before you'd been thinking.
I'm assuming that means you've had an idea. Tell me about it."
"It's about your problem with Asuka and the Health assignment," he explained.
Kei tilted her head slightly. "I'm listening."
"Why don't you just do separate assignments?"
Kei opened her mouth to discount his idea and immediately closed it, finding no obvious
problems with it. "That's pretty good," she admitted. "How'd you come up with that?"
He smiled. "It's a gift."
--
Blake McDermott -
Here's a brain-sprainer for you: Why do I say stuff to Kei that I know will piss her off?
I do it a lot. After all, I know her well enough to know how to piss her off in two seconds
flat.
The easiest way to go about it is to casually mention something about money, servants or
being spoiled.
I still don't understand why she hates to talk about that. Why she's embarrassed about her
family's status.
Most people - normal people - would love to have what Kei has. Most people would love to
rub it in people's faces.
But not Kei. I've never really understood why.
But I guess everyone has something they want to hide, right?
Everyone has their secrets.
--
"Shinji, come on, hurry up!"
Shinji's first thought was that his watch had stopped. It must have. He obviously thought it
was much earlier than it was. He glanced at it, then looked up to see the wall clock
displaying the same time. Shinji frowned slightly. He turned to look at Asuka. He looked
back at his watch. Looked at the wall clock. Looked at the clock on the microwave. And looked
back at Asuka.
"What are you doing dressed?" he asked, brow furrowed as he tried to puzzle out this
particular conundrum.
Asuka rolled her blue eyes. "Because it's illegal to go to school naked," she said wryly.
It was Shinji's turn to roll his eyes. "You know what I meant. What are you doing up and
dressed already?"
Asuka shrugged. "New responsible tendencies," she told him airily.
Shinji nodded, unconvinced. "Uh-huh. And maybe you want to catch Kei before class to tell
her of the new plan?"
"Maybe I do," she conceded.
Shinji stood up and shook his head. "I swear, I've spent years trying to get you to leave on
time. One assignment with a girl you don't like and you're suddenly the eager beaver."
Asuka was clearly tired of this conversation. She clapped her hands. "Come on, let's go.
Less talk, more action."
Shinji sighed. "I've gotta go get my bag, OK?"
Asuka nodded her approval and headed out the front door. Shinji darted to his room, grabbed
his bag, and darted out again. On his way to the door, he passed Misato, whose lips were
curved in a smirk. As he passed her, she imitated cracking a whip.
Shinji turned an interesting shade of red and hurried out the door.
--
Misato Katsuragi -
On the surface, it almost seems that things between Shinji and Asuka haven't really changed
much since they were fourteen. I mean, she still orders him around. He still complies.
But things have changed. It just takes more observation to see that.
The way it used to be was that Asuka ordered Shinji around to do things *for* her. Now she
orders him around to do things *with* her. And he used to comply because, I think, he was a
little scared of her. Now he complies because he wants to. Because he wants to do those
things with her.
They won't admit it, but they like spending time with each other. The question is, why?
'Why' is a word I don't particularly care for. If you ask me, it's bad company, and serves
only to make simple things more complicated. But I feel compelled to answer it in this case.
Why? Because they're in love.
They think that they're masters of deception, that no one knows about these fuzzy feelings
they're harboring.
The truth of the matter is, everyone knows except for them.
I won't pretend it's not frustrating, because it is. It's frustrating as hell.
But on the upside, it's kinda funny, too.
--
8:36am and counting. Asuka stood in a slightly crowded Tokyo-3 High hallway, hands on hips,
blue eyes scanning for one Kei Yamaguchi.
Meanwhile, not very far away - about five meters away at the other end of the hall, to be
exact - stood Kei, arms crossed, light blue eyes coolly scanning the pedestrians for her
'partner'.
At 8:38am, just as Kei was giving one last sweep of the hall and Asuka was starting to feel
seriously irritated, their eyes met. Contemptuous looks appeared in full swing as they
closed the space between them.
"I need to talk to you," Asuka stated firmly. Her words probably would have had more impact
if Kei hadn't uttered the exact same words in the exact same tone at the exact same time.
Awkward silence followed. Kei felt it her duty to fill the silence. "I think we should do
separate assignments," she said, maintaining the razor-sharp edge to her voice though she
wasn't quite sure why.
Asuka concealed her surprise. "So do I," she shot back, voice hard though she wasn't quite
sure why. She paused. "And I think we should meet with Miss Haruna before class to talk to
her about it."
Kei offered her opponent a cold look. "So do I."
"Fine," Asuka said, making an effort to say it harshly.
"Fine," Kei returned, in an almost echo of Asuka's tone.
The girls turned their backs on each other and walked away.
A dark-haired girl, noticed neither by Kei or Asuka, leaning against her locker, watched the
two girls depart.
"Man, this school is weird."
Miss Haruna raked a hand through her shoulder length hair. "Let me get this straight, girls,"
she began, eyes shifting from Kei to Asuka. "You want to do separate assignments - thus
increasing your workload?"
Kei and Asuka nodded.
"Why?" their perplexed teacher queried.
"Because I don't like her," Asuka answered somewhat bluntly. Miss Haruna appeared taken aback
by her honesty; Kei merely nodded.
"And I really don't like her," Kei said.
Miss Haruna turned thoughtful eyes to the ceiling. "Asuka, can you tell me the full name of
this course?"
Asuka scowled - teachers who asked questions they knew the answers to fell somewhere between
telemarketers and boy bands on the list of things she hated. "Health and Human Development,"
she answered with exaggerated politeness.
Miss Haruna smiled, letting Asuka's sarcasm slide. "Yes. Health and Human Development. And
it would please me immensely if you two would develop as humans to learn to work with one
another."
Kei eyed the teacher before her warily. "When you say it would please you immensely, does
this mean it's optional?"
"No. Bottom line, girls, you don't work together, you fail. Got it?" Miss Haruna leaned
back and observed the two girls' faces, combinations of anger and shock. "Life isn't always
about working with who you like, girls. Think about it."
Kei had never been a fan of silence. Silence served only to bring up things that would rather
be forgotten, and make things more difficult by reminding one of things they'd made a
concentrated effort to forget.
Kei and Asuka had spent, at last count, thirty-seven minutes of Health and Human Development
in complete silence. Thirty-seven minutes of silence was starting to make Kei edgy.
She sighed deeply. "Look, I don't like you, you don't like me. But can we try and figure out
some working arrangement? Because I'd really like to pass this class."
Asuka looked up from the piece of paper she'd been drawing some abstract, intricate design
on. The expression on her face could only be described as amused. "Why? It's only Health,"
Asuka stated matter-of-factly, her logic being that if the class is boring, it doesn't count.
Kei rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, easy for you to say."
Asuka cast her partner an indignant look, despite the fact she wasn't quite sure what she
was being indignant about.
"You couldn't fail a class if you tried."
Asuka fell silent, unsure whether to be insulted or not. "What is that supposed to mean?" she
asked finally.
Kei crossed her arms, a trait which was beginning to become apparent to Asuka. "Please.
There's more chance of Blake eating a live piranha than you and Shinji and Rei ever failing
a class."
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Why? Because we're Eva pilots?" When Kei nodded, Asuka uttered an
exasperated sigh. "Oh, for God's sake," she began, but Kei cut her off.
"What? You never heard the phrase, if it looks bad, it is bad?" Kei smiled, but there was
no humor in it. "In your case, it's if it looks bad, it's bad for NERV."
Asuka eyed the other girl. "You're a cynic," she stated flatly.
Kei gave a serene, if not somewhat insincere smile. "I prefer the term realist."
Asuka tossed her hair behind her, wearing the insolent look she'd perfected so well over
the years; a look that Kei would have loved to have wiped off with her text book. "Whatever,"
Asuka said, standing up.
"Where are you going?" Kei asked.
"Anywhere but here."
--
Asuka Langley Soryu -
Contrary to popular belief, I'm not stupid. I know I have to do this assignment because I
know I have to pass Health because if I don't pass I'll fail senior year.
I know all that.
But, really, how can anyone expect me to work with that girl?
--
Kei Yamaguchi -
You know, I actually hoped that this year would be one of those ludicrously happy times
that you see on movies-of-the-week. I didn't realise I was hoping until just recently,
and that made me mad. Because hope is a nasty habit that I thought I'd kicked.
I think I've figured out this whole system. You hope for the best, you get the worst.
You hope for the worst, you get the worst.
Goddamn it, I don't want to figure out the goddamn system. I don't want to sit here and
philosophize.
I just want to pass. Is that too much too ask?
--
"Shinji!"
Shinji was far too preoccupied to acknowledge the cry for his attention. He was busy pulling
things out his locker in search of his graphics calculator. He knew he had one. He was almost
willing to bet that Asuka had it. Why he'd told her his locker combination was beyond him.
"Shinji!"
This call, roughly at the level of a sonic boom, caught Shinji's attention. He looked up to
see Blake looking at him.
"Hey," Shinji greeted him.
"Hey," Blake responded. "What's up?"
Shinji shrugged. "Not a hell of a lot. What's up with you?"
Blake shifted his weight to his other foot and adjusted his backpack. Nervous habit. "I just
wanted to talk to you about Asuka."
That grabbed Shinji's attention; he rested a hand on his locker door as he looked at the other
boy quizzically.
"About the assignment she and Kei have to do," he continued.
Shinji grimaced slightly. "What about it?"
Blake shrugged. "I think Kei's a little pissed about the progress of the assignment - or lack
thereof."
Shinji nodded slowly, swinging his locker door back and forth. "Why isn't Kei asking me
instead of you?"
Blake sighed deeply, and adjusted his backpack again. "Look, if Kei finds out, she'll kill me.
We have this no-helping-unless-requested policy. But I'm worried, okay? Because if Kei doesn't
pass Health, she'll fail twelfth grade, and she can't pass without Asuka. And I don't want to
see my best friend fail."
"Fair enough," Shinji stated calmly. "What's it got to do with me?"
Blake shrugged helplessly. "You live with the girl. You've been friends for a long time. I
was hoping you could talk to her."
Shinji held up a hand, calling for Blake to stop talking. "I'm not going to," he said.
Blake raised his eyebrows. "Why not?"
"It's not my place."
Blake worked to keep his irritation in check. "So you're just gonna let the two of them fail?"
"She'll do the assignment," Shinji assured Blake, shoving his hands in his pockets. "She's
not too keen on failing. She's just stubborn."
Blake narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Stubborn, huh?"
Shinji gave a long-suffering nod. "Oh, yes. So very stubborn." He paused for effect. "As a
mule."
"Maybe Kei can use that to her advantage," Blake mused.
Shinji looked at Blake with high skepticism. "The day Kei manipulates Asuka is the day I eat
my hat," he declared.
"Where have you been?" Kei asked suspiciously.
Blake opened his mouth and promptly closed it. Saying he'd been asking Shinji for help would
be translated by Kei into, 'Please use your Math text book to belt me round the head'.
Blake wasn't a masochist.
"Talking to my History teacher," he lied, taking great interest in the buttons of his shirt.
He had a problem with lying convincingly when he was looking in Kei's eyes. Yep, his buttons
were exactly the same as he remembered - blue, plastic, the third one coming slightly loose.
Surprisingly, she didn't call his lie. "Well, you're here now," she said glibly, in a way that
made Blake look up with suspicion. His radar was on and was telling him something loud and
clear - Kei wanted something.
Sure enough, the next words out of her mouth were, "Can you do me a favor?"
Blake lifted an eyebrow. "Gimme one good reason," he said.
She looked up at him through her lashes, big blue eyes pleading. "Please?" she asked.
Blake laughed and shook his head. "Kei, I believe you've confused me with someone who is
actually suckered in by the patented Kei Yamaguchi pout."
Kei's face instantly transformed from pleading to annoyed, smart enough to know when someone
was convinced or not. "You are such a brat," she responded, scowling.
"I try," he said, smiling.
Kei ignored him. "Look, I found out there's a new girl. She's in all of your classes except
for Bio. Be nice to her and help her, okay?"
"I don't play well with others," he said dryly in response.
Kei stepped forward, all five feet of her now totally in his face. "Am I gonna have to get
demanding?"
"Too late," he cracked.
"Blake."
"Okay, okay."
As soon as he said that, Kei left, leaving Blake alone with the knowledge that once again
Kei had suckered him into doing something he didn't want to do.
"I hate when she does that."
--
Tokyo-3 High Oracle Poll #1
- What should new funding be spent on at Tokyo-3 High? -
Asuka Langley Soryu -
The development of a test to distinguish the evil teachers.
And a laser weapon to vaporise said evil teachers.
Shinji Ikari -
Something that will stop polls like this one.
Touji Suzahara -
New lockers. Really big ones.
Kei Yamaguchi -
A different podium on the stage. Damn, that thing makes me feel short.
Kensuke Aida -
The radio station. More of it, I say.
Blake McDermott -
A Biology textbook that makes sense to the general public. Hell, I'd even settle for a Biology
teacher that makes sense.
Rei Ayanami -
Why even bother asking? The money will end up being spent on a new couch in the teacher's
lounge or something.
Hikari Horaki -
Did you know the last time we had this kind of survey they spent the money on the teachers?
How unfair is that? Why don't we get a student's lounge?
--
On his way to History, something caused Blake to stop in his tracks.
This something was in the form of a dark-haired girl cursing as she struggled with a
combination lock.
"You worthless piece of junk," the girl grunted, slamming the lock with her palm. She
winced - evidently, she'd forgotten that whacking a piece of solid metal at full force
was bound to hurt.
"Goddammit," she seethed. She stepped back. She studied the lock.
And she kicked it.
Not surprisingly, it closed.
Blake had the sickening sense that this unfamiliar yet very irate girl was the new girl he
was supposed to play Welcome Wagon to.
The girl spun around. "What are you staring at?" she demanded, shaking her hair back.
Blake shifted nervously. "Uh, you're the new girl, right?"
The girl's expression changed from angry to stricken. "No," she responded, looking downright
miserable. "I've been in classes with you since eighth grade. I guess you just never noticed
me."
Blake's eyes widened at the unprecedented social faux pas. Thankfully, a smile crossed the
girl's face.
"I was just kidding."
Blake sighed with relief, and extended his hand. "Blake McDermott."
She took his hand and shook it. "Kami Yatami."
"We're in a lot of classes together," he explained. "Just call me the official Tokyo-3 High
welcoming committee."
Kami tilted her head slightly. "I think I'll just call you Blake. I have a syllable limit.
You just broke it."
Blake grinned. "So, want to go on the official tour?"
Kami shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
"I so do not have your calculator," Asuka insisted.
"You so do," Shinji argued, drawing himself up to his full height, which wasn't a particularly
intimidating height in comparison to Asuka's. He had maybe half an inch on her - half an inch
missed by most due to Asuka's penchant for platform shoes.
"Why would I need it?" Asuka asked, exasperated. "I have my own. I don't need anything from
you, Third Child."
"I don't know, Second Child," Shinji shot back, sarcasm dripping from his words. "You tell
me." He paused, pretending to think. "Maybe because you're a heinous psycho klepto?"
Asuka took a step closer to Shinji; to his credit, he didn't back away. Before she could
exact revenge, a voice interrupted them.
"Shinji. Asuka," Blake acknowledged, lifting his chin.
"Blake," Asuka nodded. She looked at Kami. "Girl I don't know."
"This is Kami Yatami," Blake explained. "She's new."
Asuka didn't look particularly interested in Kami or how new she was. "How'd you get sucked
into taking her around?" she asked bluntly.
Even Shinji was surprised at her complete lack of tact. "Asuka!"
Asuka shrugged. "What? It's a reasonable question."
"You'll have to excuse Asuka," Blake said to Kami. "She suffers from what we in the business
call a complete deficiency of subtlety. Which is a nice way to say she's about as subtle as a
sledgehammer."
"Really?" Kami responded, feigning shock. "I hadn't noticed."
Shinji smothered a laugh.
"Kami, this is Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley Soryu," Blake told the girl.
Kami nodded. "It's nice to meet you." She paused. "I think."
"So what brings you to Tokyo-3 High?" Shinji questioned.
"A bus," Kami responded so guilelessly that Shinji stared at her in surprise for a few seconds,
before laughing.
Kami smiled as she watched Shinji laugh, a smile that was not missed on Blake. He raised a
suspicious eyebrow and glanced at Asuka, who looked none too pleased. Blake's other eyebrow
rose to meet the other, forming what Kei liked to call, the 'The Plot Thickens' face.
"She's in our legal class," Blake informed Shinji.
"That's cool," Shinji said, causing Asuka's look of displeasure to deepen. "I'll guess I'll
see you fifth period then."
Kami smiled sweetly. "I'll see you then."
Blake and Kami headed off, leaving Shinji alone with an inexplicably annoyed Asuka.
He shifted warily under her glare. "What?"
"You know that video we watched in Science last year about apes?" Hikari asked the group at
large, brow furrowed slightly.
The group nodded and murmured confirmation.
"Does anyone else have a serious sense of déjà vu?" she continued, watching the displays of
juvenility in the cafeteria.
Asuka nodded sagely. "Yes. Yes I do."
"Who's that?" Rei asked suddenly, changing the subject so quickly Shinji had the feeling she
hadn't even been in on the last subject.
Hikari craned her neck to see where Rei was looking. "Must be the new girl I heard about,"
she said.
Shinji nodded and swallowed. "Her name's Kami Yatami," he volunteered.
"She's cute," Kensuke observed. "What else do you know about her?"
Shinji shrugged. "New girl."
Kensuke nodded. Couldn't argue with that.
"I should probably go introduce myself," Hikari acknowledged.
"Just another day's work for student body president?" Asuka questioned sardonically, searching
the table for a straw. Unsuccessful, she plucked one from Shinji's hand and stuck it in her
can of Diet Coke.
Shinji sighed resignedly.
Hikari tossed her hair back and lifted her chin with mock haughtiness. "It's a tough job,
but someone has to do it."
"Want me to come with?" Touji asked, glancing at Hikari, missing the knowing look Shinji and
Kensuke exchanged.
She smiled. "Yeah, sure," she responded, eyes on him, missing the suggestive look Shinji and
Kensuke exchanged.
"I'm coming, too," Kensuke announced. "I want to meet this new girl." He looked sideways. "You
coming, Rei?"
She shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
Kensuke, Rei, Hikari and Touji left, leaving Shinji and Asuka alone. Asuka watched them
depart.
"New girl mania," she stated, not sounding particularly enthused.
Shinji lifted an eyebrow. "Worked for you when you were the new girl," he pointed out.
Asuka glared at him. "Oh, shut up."
Asuka was thinking. Thinking very hard. That's what Health and Human Development was all
about - thinking. Thinking about all manner of things.
The problem was, what Asuka was thinking about was, in all likeliness, not a part of Health
and Human Development.
She had a song in her head. She had no idea what the song was, how it went or who it was by.
In fact, all she knew was the very first line.
She used to bring me roses.
She used to bring me roses . . .
She used to bring me roses . . .
It was starting to seriously get on Asuka's nerves.
As the unknown song was getting on Asuka's nerves, Asuka was getting on Kei's nerves.
Of course, the phrase, 'Getting on Kei's nerves' implied that Asuka had not previously been
on Kei's nerves. A more correct phrase would be 'Asuka was getting on Kei's nerves even more
so'.
Kei took a deep breath. Enough was enough. There was only so much a girl could take.
Time to put the plan into action.
"I saw this coming you know," Kei said, breaking the silence, making sure her tone and
expression hit ubër-bitch levels.
Asuka looked up. "Saw what?"
Kei shrugged, making a concentrated effort to look like a complete snot. "This. You act as
if you're not doing the assignment because you don't care, but that's so not true. You're
not doing it because you're scared."
"Excuse me?" Asuka demanded, hands on hips.
"You can't handle working with me," Kei said, leaning forward, bitchy as all hell. "What is
it, Second Child? Scared I'm smarter than you?"
"I am not scared of you," Asuka shot back acidly. "And I know I'm smarter than you."
"I don't think you do," Kei smirked. "You're worried that someone who's not a blessed Eva
pilot could be better than you. And that scares you. So you think that if you don't do the
assignment, no one has to know." Kei lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Tell you what,
Asuka. I'll do the assignment all by myself. No one has to know. It'll be our little secret."
Asuka's brain was having quite a time processing exactly what had just occurred. In it's
most basic form, Kei had pretty much suggested that Asuka was avoiding the assignment because
she was scared that Kei might be smarter than her.
Kei's lips curved into a smile as she recognised anger on Asuka's face.
"Listen here, Miss-I'm-So-Superior-To-You," Asuka began, eyes narrowed. "I am not afraid of
anything, least of all some five foot nothing bimbo."
"I'm sure you're not," Kei responded condescendingly.
Asuka's temper rose. She hated being patronised.
"Fine," Asuka said, standing up, glaring down at Kei. "We're going to the library. And we're
going to do this assignment. And I am going to prove to you that not only am I not afraid, but
that I'm way smarter than you!" At that, Asuka executed a crisp turn and flounced out of the
room.
Kei slowly rose from her seat, smiling. "Kei one, Asuka nil."
--
Asuka Langley Soryu -
Looking back, I see now that Kei completely and totally rolled me.
I guess I was just feeling a little . . . unreasonable, to put it lightly.
Okay, when being honest, might as well be honest.
I was pissed.
I don't even want to go into why. Though I'll tip you off that it has something to do with an
ingratiating new girl.
I think I've said too much. Back to the point.
The point is, Kei rolled me. She knew what I was feeling, and used it to her advantage.
I should be mad. But you know the funny thing?
I'm not. In fact, I have more respect for her than I ever did.
I guess it doesn't get any stranger than that.
--
Kei Yamaguchi -
I have only one thing to say.
Go me.
--
Strictly speaking, Touji was not a library person. In fact, the only way anyone could
adequately describe Touji using the word 'library' in the same sentence would be to say,
"Touji was a stand-outside-and-mock-those-who-came-out-of-the-library-person."
This was one of the reason why Touji being in the library after school was odd.
Another reason was that he wasn't there for any particular reason. He wasn't reading. He
wasn't studying. He wasn't researching.
The only thing he was doing was sitting. And thinking.
That was why Touji was sitting in the library after school. He generally took to the park
near his house for solitary thinking. Lately, however, he seemed to run into Hikari there
quite frequently. Which was odd, when he thought about it, because there was another park
closer to Hikari's than that one.
Strange, that.
It wasn't that Touji didn't want to run into Hikari. Not at all. He just didn't want to run
into her while he was thinking about her, for fear she might affect any rational thinking on
his behalf.
However, having been thinking rationally for just over two hours, Touji's mind was starting to
wander.
It wandered to creative writing class, a class he considered to be the bane of his life, and
also a constant reminder of how incapable he was of thinking rationally in Hikari's presence.
Touji Suzahara's Personal Rule #28 - Never pick a class in order to pick up a girl.
Sound advice. Too bad he didn't take it.
There was an assignment due in creative writing the following Monday. Mr. Konichi's exact
words played in his head.
"I want you all to write a one-page essay on loss. And I want it creative, not maudlin."
Kensuke, who had a surprisingly extensive vocabulary, had informed Touji that maudlin meant
'hopelessly sentimental'.
Touji scowled. Loss was sentimental. What the hell did Mr. Konichi want?
Kami had no apparent reason for being in the library. She couldn't even pass off her presence
as being there for studying purposes. The teachers of Tokyo-3 High were either too kind or
too lazy to give her homework yet.
The only reason Kami had for being in the library was that she didn't want to go home.
She sighed deeply, earning her a look from the librarian who probably wanted nothing more
than to kick Kami out so she could go home and watch her soaps.
Kami resisted the urge to make a face at the woman and instead busied herself scanning the
library with partially-curious, partially-hopeful eyes.
She was surprised to see another person sitting in the library. Closer inspection revealed
he was one of the people she'd met during the course of the day. Further inspection revealed
that he wasn't doing a hell of a lot. Kami's brow furrowed slightly. Who sat in a library after
school and did nothing?
The answer, it appeared, was obvious: Her, and this other guy.
Kami considered her options. She was already bored to the point of tears. At least talking to
the guy would help pass the time.
She took a breath, stood up, and crossed the room.
"Hi," she began apprehensively. _Nice line, Kami. Very original._
Touji looked up, mildly surprised. "Hi. Kami, right?"
Kami nodded. "Touji, right?" she asked, not letting onto the fact that she had to look down at
his notebook for help. She had a terrible memory for names.
Touji pushed a chair towards her with his foot. "Have a seat," he offered.
Kami took him up on the offer.
"So how do you like it here?" Touji asked brightly. Predictable line. He knew it. He cringed.
Kami grinned. "I haven't seen much of the city, but school wise it's okay. Different, but
okay." She paused. "A bit more animosity than I'm used to, though."
Touji nodded. "Understandable, though."
Kami shrugged. "Probably. If I understood it, I'd be fine."
Touji's eyebrows drew together as he looked at Kami quizzically. "Blake didn't explain it to
you?"
Kami shook her head. "No, not really. I've been kinda trying to piece it together myself."
"There are some things you must know as a Tokyo-3 High student," Touji stated. He paused.
"And this is one."
He proceeded to explain the whole situation to her. Several minutes later, Kami was staring
at him with wide green eyes.
"Well," she said finally. "That was slightly more complex than I anticipated." She shook her
head. "And Shinji, and Asuka and Rei? I mean, I guess I can see Asuka, and Shinji. But Rei?
She seems so . . . delicate." She shook her head again, and noticed Touji was looking at her
with a bemused smile. "What?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Touji assured her. "It's just been a long time since I saw anyone get
wowed over the piloting thing."
"It's pretty wow-worthy," Kami replied.
Touji nodded in agreement. "Oh, totally. It's just that most of everyone I know is used to
it by now."
Kami tapped her finger on the table thoughtfully. "So is there anything else I should know?
Any dirt worth dishing?"
Touji shrugged. "No, not really." He paused. "We're all amazingly dull individuals. I mean,
the only thing I haven't told you is that Kensuke is our resident DJ."
Kami looked at him quizzically.
"He runs the Tokyo-3 High radio station," Touji explained.
Kami looked surprised. "You mean the guy in the mornings who plays songs and yabbers on
sounding real slick is Kensuke?"
Touji laughed. "Slick is right." He composed his face into a sleazy look, winked at Kami and
said, "Heyyy, you're listening to Tokyo-3 High Radio, all rockin', all the time."
Kami laughed.
The librarian shushed.
"Sorry," Touji called in apology to the snarky librarian.
"We wouldn't want to disturb the studying masses," Kami called dryly.
Touji laughed.
The librarian glared.
"Do you wanna get out of here?" Kami asked.
"Good plan."
Outside, Kami glanced sideways at Touji. "Okay, so really, what were you doing in the library?
Because, no offense or anything, but you don't exactly strike me as the library type."
"None taken," he assured her. "I'm not a library person by any standard."
"So why were you there?" she pressed.
Touji pondered this question thoughtfully. "Agonizing," he finally answered cryptically.
Kami smirked. "Girl troubles?"
Touji's mouth fell open to the point where Kami was surprised he didn't graze it on the
concrete. "How did you know?" he demanded.
"I could tell," she responded rather unhelpfully. "So what's the problem?"
Touji shrugged. "Nothing particularly incredible," he admitted. "Like the girl, don't know
if she likes me, yada yada yada."
"You're wasting your time," Kami informed him bluntly.
Touji stared at his companion in muted surprise.
"She likes you," Kami continued. "Stop worrying."
Touji searched for the ability to speak. "How do you know? You don't even know who I'm talking
about."
"Hikari, right?" Kami asked without skipping a beat. She didn't wait for a response - it was
more of a statement than a question. "I may be new, but I'm not stupid. She likes you. And
you can bet she's sitting wherever right now agonizing over whether you like her."
Touji turned to Kami with a smile on his face, a smile he couldn't keep down. "Really?"
"Really," she confirmed.
The next day, in a moment of predictability, Touji ran into Hikari at the park. He thought
about how odd it was that she was there so often, and thought of what Kami had told him last
night.
Coincidence? He thought not.
"Hey," he greeted her.
"Hey," she replied, awarding him with a heart-skipping smile.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Not much." She paused, and looked up at him, trying to keep her face neutral. "I tried
calling you last night. Your phone was off," she said, trying to sound as if she didn't
really care. It was a lie. She cared quite a lot.
"I was at the movies," he explained, acknowledging the curious look on Hikari's face and
not handing over any more information, in perfect accordance to:
Touji's Suzahara's Personal Rule #13 - Never volunteer any more information than is necessary.
"With your sister?" Hikari asked.
He shook his head. "With Kami."
Hikari's brow creased slightly. "Kami?" she echoed.
"The new girl," he reminded her.
Hikari's brow creased more deeply. "You talked to her for maybe five minutes at lunch.
How did you end up at the movies with her?"
"I ran into her after school," he explained. "She's actually very cool."
Hikari had a sudden urge to bang her head on the trunk of the jacaranda behind her.
"You and Asuka and Rei should hook up with her," Touji continued calmly, which Hikari
thought odd considering she felt like hyperventilating. "I think she'd like more friends,
and she's really nice. I think you'd all get along."
"Really?" Hikari asked weakly.
Touji clapped his hands together. "I have an idea!" He paused for effect - effect that was
lost on Hikari who was only just remaining to grip onto reality. "Come on!" He grabbed her
wrist and dragged her off.
Hikari, who was still dazed, did the only thing she could - follow.
And try her best not to scream with frustration.
"Touji!" Kami exclaimed, opening the door to her rather stately home. "And Hikari," she
continued. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Just thought we'd swing by," Touji said cheerfully. "Thought you and Hikari should get to
know each other a little better. Wanna do something?"
"Something sounds good," Kami replied with a smile. "Got anything in mind?"
"Nah, not really," Touji admitted. "Just thought we could walk around and find something to
do."
"Sounds cool," Kami said. "Wait a second while I get my wallet and stuff."
She darted upstairs and down again in what seemed like thirty seconds; to Hikari's immense
annoyance, she didn't fall down the stairs or contract Lyme Disease in that thirty seconds.
"OK, let's go."
Walking down Kami's street, Touji prodded Hikari. "Why don't you call Asuka and Rei?" he
asked.
Hikari was quick to comply - she could do with a little moral support. While she was waiting
for Asuka to pick up, she heard Kami.
"I didn't know Kei lived around here," she said in surprise.
"Kei!" Touji called.
Kei turned around, blue eyes wide. "Oh, hi Touji. Hi, Kami. Hi, Hikari," she said quietly.
"You live just down the road from me," Kami informed her. "I'm at 337."
Kei looked at the house she'd just come out of, a fairly stately one at that. She nodded.
Touji resisted the urge to comment on the size of Kei's house; his gut instinct told him Kei
wasn't at all comfortable with them knowing where she lived.
"What are you doing?" Touji asked, carefully steering the conversation away from Kei's house.
"Oh, I was just going to Blake's," she explained, seeming relieved that the direction of the
conversation had changed. "We're just gonna hang out or something."
"Did you guys want to hang out with us?" Kami offered. "We're gonna do something."
Kei smiled. "Something sounds good. Mind if we drop in by Blake's?"
Hikari cringed. Asuka, Kei and Blake doing 'something' together? It was a clear recipe for
disaster.
"Hikari? Hikari!"
Hikari tuned into what Asuka was saying. "What?"
"So do you want to meet somewhere or what?" Asuka asked, the exasperation in her voice
indicating this wasn't the first time she'd asked.
"Oh, no, we'll swing by," Hikari offered. "Tell Shinji, okay?"
"Okay. See you then."
Hikari looked down at the phone in her hand, wondering whether or not to call Rei. On the
one hand, Rei and Blake within meters of each other had 'uncomfortable' written all over it.
On the other hand, Shinji would either call Rei or call Kensuke who would call Rei.
Hikari sighed. She dialed Rei's number; she picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"
"Hey, Rei," Hikari greeted her, trying her best to keep the sense of gloom from her voice. No
point in worrying the girl. "You busy?"
"No, not really. Just doing homework."
"Want to come out with us?"
"Did I mention I was doing homework?" Rei paused. "Doesn't that say 'yes' all by itself?"
Hikari laughed. "Okay, cool. We'll come by your place soon, okay?"
"Okay. See you soon."
Rei wasn't quite clear on how she'd ended up in a coffeehouse with her friends, Kami, Kei . . .
. . . and Blake.
When Hikari had called, asking, 'Want to come out with us?', Rei had naturally assumed that
the 'us' she spoke of was the 'us' she had become accustomed to over the years - Shinji,
Asuka, Kensuke, Touji and Hikari.
Since when had Kami, Kei and Blake become part of the 'us'?
He was staring at her. Rei could feel it. He was staring at her, and every time she glanced
in his general direction, he looked away, pretending as if he'd been looking at the Sailor
Moon cell on the wall.
Did he think she was stupid?
Apparently he did.
Rei wasn't listening to the conversation. She couldn't, not while he was staring at her with
an intensity that bored holes into her.
It was starting to seriously get to her.
Not only that, but if anyone asked her opinion on whatever it was they were talking about,
she was screwed.
After she glanced in his direction, and he looked at the Sailor Moon cell for what she guessed
to be the thirty-sixth time, her patience snapped.
"That's it," she declared to no one in particular.
The conversation halted as all eyes turned to her.
She placed her hands on the tabletop and leaned forward slightly, looking Blake directly in
the eyes. "Look, I am sorry I destroyed your school. And I am sorry you found out the way you
did. But I am not sorry for keeping it from you. Do you want to know why? Because you spouted
to me how much you despised the Eva pilot who crushed your school, without bothering to learn
the facts. Did you bother finding out who the pilot was? Did you bother finding out what
really happened that day? No. So I am sorry that I destroyed your school, and I'm sorry you
found out the way you did. But I'm not sorry that I kept it from you. And if you can't handle
that, it's your problem, not mine."
Rei leaned back, feeling a proverbial weight lifted from her shoulders. She dared to look
around at the faces of her friends. The flavor of the day appeared to be shock, apart from
Asuka who looked impressed.
"You're right, you know."
Rei turned shocked eyes to Blake. "What did you say?"
"You're right," he repeated. "I don't know if you know this, but after I found out you're a
pilot, Asuka came over to my house. And she gave me quite an earful on the subject. And until
then I didn't even give a thought to how you might have felt about destroying the school. I
never once thought of the pilot as a person." He swallowed. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was
so harsh when you didn't deserve it. Because none of it was your fault."
Rei gave a small smile that most who didn't know her well wouldn't have noticed. Shinji
noticed, and noticed too the lightness in her eyes that he hadn't seen for quite awhile.
"Thank you," she said with quiet sincerity. "I needed to hear that."
Shinji, Asuka, Kensuke, Hikari and Touji exercised enormous self control by not pointing out
that they'd been saying that since day one.
A silence followed; Cruise Director Touji took it upon himself to fill that silence. "Well,
this is odd. A distinct lack of animosity." He paused. "Even Kei and Asuka are being oddly
well behaved."
Kei smirked. "Which is funny, when you think about it. Considering I totally rolled Asuka
the other day."
"That you did," Asuka agreed, voice so void of any harsh tones that Shinji wondered briefly
if he'd mistakenly ordered a cup of hallucinogens instead of a Mochaccino. "I fell for that
turbo-bitch routine hook, line and sinker."
Kei grinned. "I have to say I was a little disappointed. I expected more of a challenge from
you."
"Normally I would present more of a challenge," Asuka concurred. "You caught me on a bad day."
"Well, there's always next time."
Asuka glanced at Kensuke who was leaning forward intently. "What?" she demanded.
"I'm waiting for the part where you try to gouge Kei's eyes out with your spoon," he explained.
"I see your plan. Trying to lull her into a false sense of security. I'm on to you, don't you
worry."
Asuka stared at him, shaking her head as if she thought that would help her brain compute what
Kensuke had just said. "What?"
"I think he's attempting to express his confusion at the civility you are exhibiting," Rei
explained.
Asuka smiled, but it wasn't the general brand of smile they were used to from Asuka; this
one was more complex. "Well, it occurred to me that you can't be hostile forever."
Kensuke fell off his chair - could it be? Asuka renouncing hostility? Had the world gone mad?
Asuka, having guessed that at least one person would relocate from chair to floor, barely
blinked an eye. "You can try," she continued. "But sometimes, in some cases, it's maybe better
to put the hostility aside."
Touji tapped his spoon on the table thoughtfully. "So, there's hope for us yet?"
"I said in some cases," she shot back without skipping a beat. "You are not one of those
cases."
"Damn," he said ruefully.
"Funny how things turn out, huh?" Touji said conversationally, what he'd just said not
actually registering till several seconds later. _Nice line, Touji. Very Brady._
Hikari shot him an odd look. "How do you mean?"
"The way things all wrapped up nicely," Touji explained. "For the first time since this
year began, no one is fighting. Isn't it a nice change?"
"Hope it lasts," Hikari replied optimistically, gazing wistfully down the street. "I am
so over the whole school rivalry thing."
Touji nodded. The two walked in silence, not uncomfortable silence but reflective silence.
Before long, they reached Hikari's house.
"Well, see ya," Touji said lamely, wondering when exactly his vocabulary had dwindled to
caveman standards.
"See ya," Hikari echoed, heading to the front door. As Touji watched her leave, she turned
abruptly and retraced her steps till she was standing near him again.
"Oh, by the way," she said lightly. "You dropped this."
She dug into her jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She handed it to him; it took
him a total of 1.6 seconds to recognize it.
A receipt. A receipt from when he bought the campaign buttons.
Touji's vocabulary dropped from caveman standards to non-existent. The only thing he could do
was stare. And whimper internally.
Hikari calmly gauged his reaction. Several agonizing seconds later, a brilliant smile lit up
her face.
Touji drew every remnant of courage in his body together to look in Hikari's eyes. He expected
to see embarrassment, maybe pity.
He didn't.
He saw happiness, hope.
Confidence and relief surged through Touji's veins. He opened his mouth to say something to
her. Unfortunately, his vocabulary was still on long service leave.
The lack of speech left Touji with a decided lack of options. He weighed them up. He
considered them carefully. And he went for option two.
He lifted her chin gently. He lowered his head.
And he kissed her.
Inside the Horaki home, Hikari's older sister watched the scene taking place out the front
with a smile.
--
Hikari Horaki -
Now THAT was worth agonizing over.
--
Touji Suzahara -
Things I've Learnt In The Last 24 Hours
1. Kami Yatami is one smart girl.
2. Hikari is even more beautiful than I thought.
3. I'm hopelessly, pathetically, nauseatingly in love.
--
Widely known facts: Caffeine is a natural stimulant. In some people, it causes very noticeable
reactions. In others, they barely feel it.
Little known fact: Blake belonged to the former category - a strong short black had the boy
hopping.
When one is feeling the effects of caffeine, some things do not go well with it. Anxiety was
one.
This explained why Blake felt like his head was going to explode.
He was pacing, and had been pacing for so long he was mildly surprised that he hadn't worn a
track into the rug. His hair was sticking up in all directions, the result of agonized fingers
clawing their way through. He was mumbling to himself at a speed that would have had most
questioning his sanity.
He was trying to think rationally, but it was difficult. He took a deep breath, and recalled
a tip that generally helped him think through things.
Break it down.
Okay. In it's broken down format, the situation was as such:
- He had liked Rei
- He'd had a fight with Rei
- He'd made up with Rei
- He possibly still liked Rei
Rei featured heavily in his dilemma. His dilemma was such: Did he still like her? And did he
still like her enough to want to date her?
He would have constructed a Pros and Cons list, but his brain was so fried, he wasn't sure
if he remembered how to work a pencil.
He couldn't focus. His thoughts were jumbled and he couldn't get a hold of them. In fact,
as far as he could tell, there was one thing his mind could focus on.
And that, for some unknown reason, was the Sailor Moon theme.
Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight . . .
"Oh, for the love of God!" Blake flung himself onto the couch, looking positively maniacal.
He was going to turn on the TV. He was going to tune into some pre-scripted white trash talk
show. He was going to escape from the human race for a few hours. He was going to . . .
He was going to kill whoever was ringing the doorbell so damn insistently.
He stalked to the door and flung it open, making a decision that if the person on the other
side was someone offering him a pamphlet on reaching spiritual enlightenment via a diet of
lentils, he would beat them unconscious with a lamp.
He was so surprised by his visitor that his face got stuck in a half-scowl, half-sneer
expression. A 'snowl'.
He sent a message to his face muscles to rearrange themselves into a somewhat more socially
acceptable expression. "Kensuke, hi."
Kensuke eyed Blake coolly. "Maybe you've made up with Rei. And maybe you're gonna date her
or whatever. But if I find out you've so much as considered hurting her, I won't hesitate
to stop you. I don't care if I have to call in some old favors. You're not gonna hurt her
anymore than you have."
Kensuke clearly hadn't swung by for a chat; having said that, he turned and left. Blake
swallowed his surprise at the 180-degree turn the normally conciliatory Kensuke had taken
long enough to get the last word in.
"Sure you don't want to come in?" Blake called with mock politeness. "We have apple cake!"
Kensuke continued walking.
Blake shut his door and leaned against it. He shook his head. "I really need to start finding
out how these people are getting my address."
Something was amiss. Something was askew. Asuka was sure of it.
She had the distinct, annoying sensation that everyone at her table was withholding some
secret.
Asuka's problem, besides the fact that people were keeping things from her, was Kami. There
was nothing really wrong with her. In all honesty, she was a hell of a lot less irritating
than most of the school. And it wasn't that she'd pulled a turbo-bitch act on Asuka. In all
honesty, she was quite nice. The problem with Kami, as far as Asuka was concerned, was that
everyone liked her. Everyone including . . .
Asuka bit into her apple. She didn't want to think about it.
Asuka's Tips For Relative Sanity #12 - When you don't want to think about something for
whatever reason, think about something else.
It was one of Asuka's favorite tips, one she followed like the Bible.
She looked at Shinji, who was concentrating on not making eye contact with her. Either
that, or he'd found the face of Mother Theresa in his lunch. Obviously, something had
occurred between now and this morning that made Shinji nervous. Asuka didn't quite know
what - besides classes and a brief talk with his French teacher, as far as she knew, his
day had been fairly uneventful. Her blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. He'd been suffering
from serious nervousness around that dippy French woman - did that have anything to do with
it?
Asuka's attention turned to two people who were usually far from silent, the unofficial
social directors of the group. Hikari and Touji. Being oddly silent. Asuka's eyes narrowed
again. Was it her imagination, or were they sitting a little closer together than usual?
Asuka glanced at Rei. Her silence didn't bother Asuka as much as the others. It wasn't
particularly unusual for Rei to be quiet. On the other hand, it was particularly unusual
for Kensuke, who was sitting across from her, to be quiet. The boy had a mouth the size of
Arizona. She wasn't sure what had Kensuke so silent. She hadn't talked to him since he'd
called her asking Blake's address. She wondered if that had anything to do with it.
Asuka was growing exceedingly tired of wondering.
"Right, that's it," she announced, frustration thick. "Is there a bizarre strain of
voice-losing bug going round or something?"
Hikari blinked into focus. "Huh?"
Asuka folded her arms across her chest. "You do realise that that's the first thing you've said
all lunchtime, don't you?" She charged ahead without waiting for a response. "I don't know
about you, but I'm not particularly enthralled by quadratic equations and soliloquies. So when
lunchtime finally rolls around, I like to get social. Which is a little difficult, when you're
all participating in some vow of silence ritual!"
"I was . . . I was thinking," Hikari murmured in response.
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh." She turned her eyes to Shinji. "And what's *your* excuse,
Mr. Catatonic?"
Shinji's head snapped up, as if he'd just realised Asuka was talking.
Which he had.
"Uh . . ."
"Brilliant," Asuka responded dryly. "Brilliant response right there. Let me write it down."
Shinji opened his mouth in hopes that his mouth would surprise him and offer a witty response.
No such luck.
Asuka heaved an exasperated sigh. "None of you have said a word all lunchtime!"
Silently, Hikari held her left wrist out to Asuka, showing her the pink and silver watch
adorning her wrist. Asuka registered the time, did a double take and grabbed Hikari's wrist.
She looked up at the white school-issue clock to check that Hikari's time was right.
Asuka leaned back, not bothering to conceal her surprise.
Unbelievable. It was only five minutes into lunchtime.
It had felt like at least ten times that.
"Hey, there's Kami," Shinji spoke up, constructing a real sentence for the first time since
lunchtime began.
Asuka had a serious urge to punch something.
More specifically, to punch someone.
She'd settle either for Shinji or Kami at this point.
"Kami!" Shinji called.
Asuka no longer wanted to settle. She wanted to hit Shinji. Very, very hard.
Kami, who was busy talking to Blake, didn't hear.
"Shinji's calling you," Blake pointed out, nodding in Shinji's general direction.
Kami turned to see Shinji angling his head in that 'Come join us' manner.
Kami hesitated - mostly because she'd just received the 'Come join us' head gesture from
Blake.
"Come sit over here," Kami proposed, looking at Kei and Blake hopefully.
The two exchanged wary glances.
"Oh, come on," Kami wheedled, grabbing Blake by his sleeve and pulling him up. "It's not
gonna kill you."
Somewhat reluctantly, Kei and Blake crossed the room to the table which seemed to have employed
a silence policy.
A series of mumbled greetings occurred. Could the situation be more uncomfortable?
Asuka decided her best option was to continue the line of conversation that had been
occurring a minute or two earlier.
"So why are you so damn quiet?" Asuka asked Rei.
Rei blinked. "Don't look at me. I'm always this quiet."
Asuka considered this carefully. "True, true. Kensuke, on the other hand, is exhibiting
uncharacteristic silence. What's all that about?"
"I pulled a muscle in my jaw," Kensuke deadpanned. He cast a pointed look at Blake before
looking back at his lunch.
Asuka frowned slightly. "Fine. You know what? If you're all gonna sit there and be silent, then
that's fine. Don't expect me to make any effort." She folded her arms across her chest and sat
back.
Shinji sighed. "Oh, come on, Asuka. Don't lose it over the fact that we haven't said much."
Asuka's eyes widened with mock surprise. "He speaks!"
Kei blinked and finally spoke up. "What the hell is up with you people?" she asked, brow
furrowed with perplexity.
Asuka shrugged. "Don't ask me. I've got no idea why the hell none of them are talking."
"We're not not talking," Hikari contradicted. "We just . . . haven't started talking yet."
Asuka nodded doubtfully. "Uh-huh. So did you wanna start now?"
Hikari shrugged. "Whatever."
Asuka uttered a growl of frustration and proceeded to break everything within breakable
parameters on her tray.
"Well, that was constructive," Touji drawled.
Shinji clapped sardonically. "Way to start with the irritable one, Touji. Great plan there."
Asuka, to her credit, had started them talking without knowing it.
Kensuke stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Unless . . . maybe Touji *likes* being beaten up by
the German princess," he suggested.
Hikari's eyebrows rose; Touji cast an embarrassed sideways glance at her.
That embarassed sideways glance was not missed by Asuka, who became immediately suspicious.
Asuka's suspicion preoccupied her to the point where she didn't bother whacking Kensuke
around the head for his comment. This, in turn, made the others suspicious, and Touji
exceedingly nervous.
"Hikari, come with me," Asuka commanded, standing up. "I need to buy a drink."
Touji, who's nervousness was reaching all new highs, swallowed. "You have one," he pointed
out, struggling to stay still.
Asuka eyed him coolly. "But it's flat," she told him slowly, a knowing smirk touching her lips.
"Hikari, come on."
Touji sent his brain a request to help him stay conscious.
--
Touji Suzahara -
How's this for an embarassing fact?
I'm scared of Asuka.
But come on. Who wouldn't be? Not only does she pack a potent punch, she has absolutely
no qualms about using it. Consider the source.
The thing that makes me the most nervous at the moment, though, is her finding out about
me and Hikari.
Not that we'd admit it, but Asuka and me are friends. Kind of. I mean, I like hanging out
with her, even if I do sometimes score some prime bruises.
Asuka's a good friend to have. She's very loyal. And very protective.
Enter my nervousness about her finding out about me and Hikari.
Hikari is her best friend. And Asuka's very protective of her. And I know that probably no
one will be able to match the standards Asuka has for her best friend.
So here I am, sending a plea to God or the ruling forces of the universe or whatever:
Please, please, please, let Hikari be able to handle whatever Asuka throws her way.
--
Asuka wanted so much to ask point-blank if there was something going on between Hikari and
Touji. But she kept her mouth shut and quietly observed as she and her best friend stood in
line. She took note of Hikari's uneasiness. She took note of the way she kept fiddling -
with her hair, her jewellery, her clothes. She took note of the way she kept casting quick
looks back at the table.
Busted? Asuka thought so.
"Let me guess," Asuka began, twirling her hair thoughtfully. "On the way home from the
coffeeshop on Saturday?"
Hikari spun around, eyes wide. "What do you mean?" she asked warily, resisting a major urge
to look back at the table. She had a feeling that would be a dead giveaway.
Asuka tilted her head and smiled. "Oh, come on, Hikari. I've known you for long enough to
know when something's up. And I've known Touji long enough to know when something's up, too.
Do the math, chuck in the extreme lack of space between you when you were sitting down and it
all adds up to something pretty damn suspect."
Hikari sighed. "You're not gonna leave me alone till I spill, right?"
Asuka smiled broadly. "You know my style."
"Promise you're not gonna lecture?"
"Promise."
Hikari took a deep breath. "You were right. He walked me home on Saturday and . . . yeah."
She smirked slightly. "A piece of paper fell out of his pocket at the coffeeshop. It was a
receipt for The Button Hole. You know where that is, yeah?"
"I *knew* he ordered those buttons!" Asuka exclaimed.
Hikari pushed her friend. "How did you know?" she demanded.
"Because I'm me," Asuka responded, matching Hikari's tone. "I see these things. Anyway, it
doesn't matter. Continue, please."
"You wanna continue afterwards?" an annoyed junior working behind the cafeteria counter
demanded. "You're holding up the line."
Asuka absently handed him some money and motioned for Hikari to continue.
"So just as I was about to go inside, I turn around and say, 'You dropped this'. You should
have seen his face. He looked like he was ready to pass out."
"So then what?" Asuka asked, compelled.
"He kissed me." Hikari's entire face lit up at the memory. As the stars faded, she looked at
her best friend expectantly. "Okay. Hit me with a million and one reasons why he's not
good enough for me."
Asuka looked thoughtful for a moment and shook her head. She offered Hikari an enigmatic
smile. "Nope."
She wandered back to the table, leaving Hikari by herself, contemplating what the hell had
just happened.
Asuka slid into her seat, folded her hands on the table, looked Touji square in the eye, and
said matter of factly, "Way to score my best friend."
Touji choked.
All eyes turned to Asuka, shocked and curious. So caught up were they in shock and
curiousity that no one moved to help Touji, who had turned a rather interesting shade of
purple.
"Don't worry. I'm okay," he wheezed with some difficulty.
Still no one bothered to offer assistance.
By this point, Hikari had made her way back to the table, to be greeted by the sight of one
rather smug best friend, six slack jawed friends and one dying boyfriend. Hikari hurried over
to Touji's aid. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, concerned. She gently patted his back.
Touji took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He'd have shot a glare at Asuka if he wasn't
paralytic with fear. He looked up and met her eyes somewhat fearfully.
Asuka held his gaze coolly for what seemed like hours. Finally, she offered a tiny smile.
Touji's lungs regained their ability to breathe.
Hikari took Touji's hand.
"What the hell did I miss?" Rei demanded, her volume, her tone and her words surprising not
only the people at her table but the people at surrounding tables.
"Besides your CAT scan?" Asuka asked mildly, twisting the lid off her bottle of water.
Rei let the barb pass, still focused on Hikari and Touji. "When did this happen?" she wanted
to know.
"Saturday," Touji informed her, wearing a impossibly perky 'new-relationship' smile.
Rei shot Kensuke a look; he shook his head. Smiling, she held out her hand. Sighing, he
reached into his pocket, dug out some money and handed it to her. Silently, Rei counted the
notes before shoving them into her wallet.
"We made a bet," she explained. "He bet me that if the two of you admitted your feelings in
the next two months, it would only be due to intervention on his part."
Kensuke cast a forlorn look at Rei's wallet. "I had plans for that money."
Rei shrugged lightly and patted her wallet. "I hope this has demonstrated to you the evils
of gambling."
Kensuke considered that carefully. "No, not really."
Again, Rei shrugged, the tiniest hint of a smirk on her lips. "Doesn't worry me. I can always
do with extra money."
The topic of conversation drifted from Touji and Hikari to Rei's plans for Kensuke's money.
Both Hikari and Touji breathed sighs of relief. Any concern they might have had about the
reactions they were going to receive from their friends had just been put to rest.
--
Asuka Langley Soryu -
Both Hikari and Touji expected me to openly oppose their new relationship status.
To be honest, I expected me to openly oppose their new relationship status.
I meant to, you know. I did. But when I saw how happy Hikari was, I couldn't.
She's my best friend. And I knew that I couldn't oppose anything that made her smile like
that.
They're happy together, okay? Who am I to say no to that?
Do you think I'm turning soft?
Nah.
--
Misato opened the door, placed her hands on her hips and smiled broadly. "So," she said,
grinning.
"So what?" Touji responded warily.
Her grin widened, she shook her head and she turned and headed back inside.
Touji shook his head and followed her. Halfway down the hall, she spun abruptly, startling
Touji.
"How's it feel to finally get four years worth of crushing off your chest?" Misato asked
glibly.
"Been talking to Shinji and Kensuke, huh?" Touji predicted dryly.
Misato laughed.
In the living room, Touji eyed Kensuke and Shinji archly. "I don't know if over-sharing is
one of the seven deadly sins, but it should be."
The two shrugged helplessly.
Misato sat down, drumming her fingers on the table and smirking. "Seriously, though. How
does it feel?"
Touji wore a smirk of his own. "Wonderful. Shinji, you should give it a try someday."
Misato laughed.
Kensuke clapped.
Shinji choked and turned a remarkable shade of red.
Asuka stepped into the living room, oblivious to prior occurrings. "What are you stooges
laughing about?" she demanded, leaning over to pick up Shinji's drink. Shinji, too busy
trying to breathe, didn't notice.
"Nothing," Kensuke responded, smiling innocently.
Asuka shrugged, drank half of Shinji's soda and shook her hair back. "Yeah, okay, whatever.
I'm going over to Hikari's. I'll probably see you guys later."
The four listened to Asuka leave the apartment. The second she was gone, Shinji, now fully
recovered and eager to change the topic, turned to his friends.
"Anyone notice Blake's odd behavior today?"
Touji nodded. "He barely said a word all lunchtime. Odd considering the fact he's meant to
have made up with Rei."
Kensuke attempted to look like he hadn't threatened Blake.
Misato blinked. "Who's Blake?"
"Long story," Shinji explained.
Misato shrugged, and turned to the TV.
"What do you think it is?" Touji asked.
"He's scared," Misato contributed, not looking away from the TV.
Touji, Kensuke and Shinji exchanged glances.
"What?" Kensuke asked.
"He's scared," Misato repeated, intently channel-surfing. "My understanding is this. He liked
Rei. He had a major falling out with Rei. He's now made up with her, but is unsure where to
go from here or where exactly he stands."
Shinji gaped at his guardian. "How do you know all this?" he demanded.
Misato tossed her cell phone to him. "Speed dial number one."
Shinji pressed buttons for a few seconds before looking up. "NERV Security? Misato!"
"Hey," she defended herself, turning away from The Bold and The Beautiful. "It's not like
you guys tell me anything. I have to find out somehow."
Shinji shook his head.
"So . . . he's scared?" Touji asked.
"He's scared," Misato confirmed. "Trust me."
Blake wasn't sure why a very attractive woman in a NERV uniform was standing on his front step.
From the look on his mother's face when she'd came to get him, she didn't know, either.
"Uh, hi," he began apprehensively.
The woman smiled brightly. "Hi. I'm Major Misato Katsuragi. I'm Shinji and Asuka's guardian."
Blake swallowed. "Okay. Did you want to come in?"
Misato smiled graciously and stepped inside. Blake led her to the living room and turned
to face her awkwardly. "Look, I'm really sorry for fighting with Shinji that time but -"
Light dawned in Misato's eyes. "So that was you," she acknowledged.
Blake cursed inwardly.
She smiled. "I'm not here to talk about Shinji or Asuka. I want to talk to you about Rei."
Blake cursed inwardly again.
"What about Rei?" he asked innocently, sitting down and gesturing for Misato to follow suit.
Misato sat across from Blake. "I'm not Rei's guardian. But I am her commanding officer. And I
do my best to keep an eye on her. I mean, she's a very independent girl but sometimes she's
a little . . . I guess you could say naive." Misato stopped, realising she was approaching
babbling levels. "Anyway, I just wanted to ask - what are your intentions towards Rei?"
Back at the Katsuragi apartment, Touji tossed the remote control and caught it again. "I can't
believe you asked Misato to go talk to Blake."
Kensuke snatched the remote off Touji and started throwing it from hand to hand. "I can't
believe she agreed."
Shinji calmly watched the remote control, knowing that pretty soon one of his friends would
drop it and most likely end up breaking it. "Well, you know Misato. She'll try anything at
least once."
Kensuke shot Touji a suggestive look, the two of them forgetting the airborne remote control.
It landed several feet away, hitting the floor, breaking the battery cover into several
black plastic pieces.
Shinji reached across and picked up the pieces. "Anything except what you two are thinking
of," he continued.
"Damn," Kensuke said ruefully.
"To be honest, Major Katsuragi, I don't really know," Blake admitted.
Misato pulled her long hair over one shoulder. "What do you mean, you don't know?" she queried,
leaning forward intently.
Blake shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. We have a strange relationship."
It was Misato's turn to shrug. "Just the basic routine," she responded. "Boy meets girl,
boy finds out girl destroyed his school, boy hates girl, boy realises girl isn't to blame.
But the final part, the interesting part, is up to you. What's it going to be, Blake? Boy
dates girl? Boy moves to Utah?"
Blake looked at Misato suspiciously. "Have you been drinking?"
Misato considered the question carefully. "To be honest, I don't even know anymore."
Blake smothered a laugh.
Misato angled her head slightly, studying Blake with thoughtful dark eyes. "You like Rei.
You just don't know how much you like Rei. So can I make a suggestion in regard to this?"
Misato charged ahead, not waiting for a response. "Just ask her out. Do something fun. Like
mini golf."
"Mini golf," Blake echoed doubtfully. He was having a little trouble conjuring up the image
of Rei running after a little plastic ball on Astro-Turf.
"Tell her it's mathematical," Misato replied dismissively. "She'll buy that. Just do something
fun with her. Take it from there."
Five minutes later, Blake was shutting the door behind Misato, mind working overtime.
He shook his head.
"I really, really need to finding out how these people are getting my address."
--
Blake McDermott -
I have a date with Rei. All because I took the advice of some crazy woman who rocked up on my
doorstep.
Maybe I should thank her.
Then again, maybe I shouldn't. The date hasn't occurred yet. For all I know it could blow up
in my face.
I think I'm beginning to see what Kei's talking about when she says I'm a pessimist.
--
Rei Ayanami - A Plea To The Forces of the Universe or whatever
I've had more than my share of bad luck lately.
I refuse to go over it again.
Things are starting to look up, though. I'm going out with Blake tonight.
This could, of course, be the catalyst for something far more severe than anything else that
has occurred lately. Knowing my luck, it most likely will.
This is why I'm sending out a plea to the controlling forces of the universe. Please let this
date go ahead without any problems. No sudden bouts of chicken pox. No explosions. No
earthquakes.
Just a simple date without any drama. Is that too much to ask?
--
"Oh, yeah! He shoots! And he . . . "
"He misses," Rei continued with a grin. "And Rei continues to lead this battle of the mini
golf."
Blake squared his shoulders and blew his nails in an attempt at suavity. "Yes, well you do
realise that I'm letting you win here."
Rei laughed and shook back her hair. "Okay, get ready for this shot," she advised Blake,
pointing towards the spinning multi-coloured blades of the highly tacky plastic windmill
before them. "Off the mat, around the bump, through the middle and straight into the hole."
She got ready to tee off, but just as the club was about to strike the ball, her brain
registered the fact that Blake had whispered something to her.
"You must find the jade monkey before midnight."
Rei jumped, the club hit the ball at a wacky angle and it bumped and bounced it's way across
the Astro-Turf, laying itself to rest about a foot before the blades.
"Nice dribble!" Blake commented enthusiastically, clapping.
Rei spun around, eyes narrowed. "You cheater!" she exclaimed.
"What?" Blake asked innocently. "I was merely informing you of your mission."
"To find the jade monkey before midnight?"
"Ssh!" Blake hissed, darting suspicious glancers at the other mini-golfers. "They'll hear you.
We have to act completely natural." He pointed at a boy waiting for them to move on to the
next hole. "Yeah, that's right buddy. I'm on to you."
Rei grabbed his arm. "Stop it," she giggled.
Blake realised this was the first time he'd heard Rei giggle. It was nice to see her so . . .
so normal for a change. Normally she seemed weighed down with deep-seated trauma or
something. He liked seeing her so lighthearted.
"What do you say we ditch this game and go get something to eat?" she suggested.
Blake's eyebrows rose suspiciously. "I think you're a little worried I'm going to catch up to
you, Miss Ayanami. I think you're a little worried I'm going to win this game."
Rei's hands rested on her hips. "What, do you want to play and see who wins?"
Blake slung his club over his shoulder. "No, not really. Let's get something to eat."
--
Blake McDermott -
I had a really good time out with Rei. She was so incredibly lively and fun. It was great.
But something didn't quite feel right.
It took me awhile to figure out what it was exactly.
When I figured it out, it freaked me out totally.
The time that I had with her was good. But not good like being with Talia was good. Good like
being with Kei is good.
After all this, I like Rei as a friend and nothing more.
And that's really annoying.
--
Rei Ayanami -
I cannot believe this.
After weeks of trauma regarding Blake, I have finally come to a conclusion.
I only like him as a friend.
Does anyone else see the events of the past weeks a complete waste of time?
--
Shinji looked at Asuka and Misato expectantly. They were concentrating waaay to hard on the TV,
considering their choice of viewage - "Stars of the Eighties: Where Are They Now?"
The doorbell rang again. The two showed zero sign of having heard, which made Shinji
highly suspicious. He found it doubtful that anyone could miss the distinctive 'ding-screech'
sound of the doorbell.
It hadn't been quite the same since Asuka had tried to put her fist through it last year.
Shinji sighed. The least they could was pretend they were going to answer it.
He rolled his eyes and stood. On his way to the door, he heard a distinct 'high-five'
sound and Misato proclaim, "Oh, yeah! Score one for us!"
Shinji sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. If Hikari, Rei, Kei or Kami was at the door,
suicide was definitely going to be the order of the day. That was the problem with living
with two members of the female species - the serious lack of testosterone.
Shinji opened the door, and upon seeing the visitor sighed with relief. He grabbed his arm
and dragged him inside.
Blake blinked. "Ookay," he said slowly, looking at Shinji oddly. "Enthusiastic reception."
"I'm being outnumbered by women," Shinji explained.
"You're always outnumbered by women," Blake reminded him. He paused. "And I gotta tell you,
it doesn't sound too bad."
Shinji sighed and clapped Blake on the shoulder. "Oh, my young friend, you are so, so naive."
Blake eyed Shinji. "I'm two months older than you," he pointed out.
Shinji rolled his dark blue eyes. "You're really spoiling the moment here."
Blake laughed.
Shinji grinned. "So, what can I do for you?"
"Actually, I was kinda hoping I could talk to Misato."
Shinji snorted. "Yeah, right."
"Seriously."
Shinji's jaw dropped. He gaped at Blake, silent.
Blake smothered a laugh. "Can I talk to her?" Blake prompted.
Wordlessly, Shinji pointed to where Asuka and Misato were laughing hysterically at some
tragic eighties video clip. Shinji frowned. What the hell were they singing? Karma karma
karma karma karma chameleon? Shinji shrugged. The eighties had produced many a
questionable item. Misato being one.
Blake watched the scene before him wordlessly, Asuka and Misato practically hyperventilating
with laughter. He was beginning to see why exactly Shinji was feeling the strain of being
'outnumbered by women'.
Somewhere during the hysteria, Misato spotted Blake and made a concerted effort to calm down.
"Blake, buddy!" Misato exclaimed. "What's up?"
Blake shifted uncomfortably - possibly due to the fact that Asuka was very not-subtly
listening to every word exchanged.
"I, uh, took Rei out earlier," he mumbled, running a hand through his thick hair.
"Way to go," Asuka commended him, somewhat dryly.
Misato rose a speculative eyebrow. "And?" she prodded.
He shrugged. "Nothing."
Asuka narrowed her eyes in a poor attempt to look sage. "I see you are a man of many words,"
she observed sarcastically.
Blake did his best to ignore her.
Misato looked at him reproachfully. "What do you mean 'nothing'?"
"I mean nothing!" he exclaimed. "It was just like hanging out with Kei."
"So . . . you're saying hanging out with Kei is nothing?" Asuka asked petulantly.
Blake spun around, eyes wide with amazement. "You are so annoying," he stated bluntly.
Asuka smiled serenely.
Misato smirked at the display. It was a rare individual who could tell Asuka to her face that
she was annoying. It was an even rarer individual who was not beaten unconscious after telling
Asuka she was annoying.
"Where'd you take her?" Misato queried, head angled slightly.
"Mini golf."
Asuka laughed.
"Well, maybe that's why," Misato observed. "I mean, mini golf is cool and all, but it's hardly
the most romantic setting. You know? Maybe you should take her out again. Somewhere a little
more formal."
Blake absorbed this, nodding slowly. For an amazingly odd woman, Misato Katsuragi had
good advice.
"Heard you had a date with Blake," Touji commented. He paused. "A date with Blake. That kind
of rhymes."
Rei nodded. "How did you find out about it?" she questioned evenly.
Touji shrugged and glanced at his girlfriend. "Word gets around."
Rei wasn't stupid. She knew what the glance meant.
Asuka.
"How'd it go?" Hikari asked, tilting her face up to the sun. It was the first really sunny
day they'd had in a long time.
Rei sighed and leaned forward conspiratorily. Very un-Rei like.
"It was good," she began, choosing her words carefully. "It was fun."
"But . . ." Hikari supplied, eyebrows drawn together slightly.
Rei lifted her slender shoulders slightly in a shrug. "But that's all. It was fun. It just
felt like we were hanging out. It didn't seem like a date."
Again Hikari and Touji exchanged glances, but this one was more complex. It made Rei seriously
uneasy. "What?"
Hikari pushed her hair off her shoulders, obviously stalling for time. "Its just . . . if there
was nothing there, I kinda think that nothing ever will. It's either there or it isn't."
"Well, that was direct," Touji said dryly.
Hikari ignored him.
Rei sighed. "Yeah. I figured as much."
"Man, this is lame," Hikari commented, stretching her arms over her head.
"Totally," Kami agreed, bending to tighten her shoelace. "I've seen people in comas who are
more lively than this."
Hikari and Kami sighed and surveyed the soccer field. A few girls were sitting on the grass,
talking. One was scaling one of the goals. Taura was filing her nails. The rest were standing
around looking as uninspired as possible.
Hikari rolled her dark eyes and rested her hands on her hips. "Oh, come on," she stated. "This
is ridiculous." She spotted Kaya, the one girl besides Hikari and Kami who had been remotely
interested in the game. Kaya had the ball tucked under her left arm, looking out at the field
bleakly.
"Hey, Kaya!" she called. "Over here!"
Kami had to laugh. Hikari threw herself into anything and everything regardless of how
interest-free anyone seemed.
Kaya blinked her wide eyes in surprise, then grinned. She dropped the ball on the soft grass
and kicked it towards Hikari. Hikari stopped the ball and started dribbling it down the field,
brown ponytail bouncing as she yelled out encouraging phrases.
Hikari and Kaya's enthusiasm awakened the rest of the PE class. Several of the girls picked
themselves off the ground. Taura put her nail file away.
Kami pushed herself off the goal frame. For the first time it looked the like her team might
actually need her to the goalkeeping thing.
Kami watched as Kaya and Hikari bounded around the field, psyching up the rest of the team with
stupid, improvised cheers.
"Let's go Green!
Go for your dream!
We're the best soccer team!" Hikari shouted, her ponytail bouncing.
"Let's go Red!
Kick that ball!
Keep on going,
If you fall!" Kaya countered, rattling off the rhyme from the top of her head and giggling.
Kami laughed. Too bad Tokyo-3 High didn't have a cheerleading squad. Hikari and Kaya had
buckets of school spirit.
Kami frowned slightly. She hadn't thought of cheering in months.
"Kami!"
Kami snapped out of her trance and looked up to see a black-and-white ball flying at her.
Automatically, Kami's arms shot up to block the ball. But she wasn't ready and when the ball
hit her, she stumbled. Dizzy with pain, she sat on the grass, staring at her wrist in
wide eyed amazement.
Hikari was by her side in under ten seconds. "Are you okay?" she managed to ask between
breaths.
Kami shook her head weakly. "I think my wrist is broken."
Hikari dropped to her knees. "Are you sure?" she asked, brow wrinkled with concern. "It's
not like, sprained or something?"
Again Kami shook her head. "I had to take First Aid back home," she explained. "I'm pretty
sure it's broken."
Kaya, who was listening in, turned to face the rest of the class. "Someone get a teacher!"
she ordered. "Now!"
'One upside of breaking my wrist is getting the rest of the day off,' Kami conceded silently
as she pushed open her front door with her right arm. Thankfully, broken wrists were nothing
new to Kami - she'd experienced her share at her old school.
She headed for the kitchen and lifted the phone from it's cradle to check the message bank.
"You have one new message," Kami said, bored as she repeated the familiar words along with the
recording. "To listen, press one."
Kami pressed one.
"Hi Kami, Michiru. It's Michael here. I hope I have the right number. Anyway, I just wanted to
let you know that I'm in town and I really wanted to see you. Kami in particular. I mean, not
that I don't want to see you Michiru, but . . . I'm babbling. Look, give me a call, okay?
0413 861 221. Or just drop by. I should be in . . ."
It took Kami awhile to figure out who exactly was calling. Michael who?
It struck her like a freight train.
Michael. Her father.
Michael? Her father? He was in town?
Kami rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. You have to be kidding me."
"Now, technically you don't need guardian approval as you will legally be an adult by the
time you leave," Mme Peron explained to Shinji as she tugged at the bottom of her pale pink
shirt. "But I'm assuming you've talked to your guardian about this."
Shinji felt his face redden as he nodded. Why didn't he just hang a sign around his neck that
said, "I'm a liar!"
Mme Peron seemed oblivious to his discomfort. "Okay, great. Well, this is pretty much the last
step. I just need you to sign here and it's all good. Everything that goes on between now
and then is just bureaucracy."
She pushed the neatly stapled papers across the desk to Shinji, a pen clipped to the top of the
page. The pen tip rested perfectly on the dotted line.
Shinji frowned. _Gee. No pressure._
He unclipped the pen and poised over the stark dotted line. This was it. This signature would
guarantee a lot of things. A year in France. Priceless experience. And most likely, him
being able to pick and choose his career.
He frowned slightly. It was also going to lead to heaps of other things.
Misato being furious.
His friends feeling a little hurt as to why he never told.
Leaving Asuka.
The frown deepened. It wasn't like he was really with Asuka. He was seventeen. He had nothing
tying him to anything. He was free to do what he wanted.
"Shinji?" Mme Peron prompted. "Are you having second thoughts?"
"No," he answered decisively, putting pen to paper and scribbling his name.
There. It was done.
He was seventeen.
He was free to do what he wanted.
It was about damn time he realised that.
Part Two: When You Dream
Written by: K-Ley Katsuragi (sailor_mercury_@crystal-tokyo.com)
[Bevan's Door Productions, May 2000]
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any rights to Neon Genesis Evangelion or it's characters. What's the
point of saying that? If I owned any rights to NGE do you really think I'd be publishing my
fics on a dodgy homemade Geocities site? However, I do own the ACC's. But no one is really
going to use them so what's the point in claiming ownership?
STANDARD PRE-FIC WARNING:
WANRING: THIS WARNING IS MISSPELT!
All the pre-fic warnings in Part One apply to Part Two. Can't be stuffed writing them all out
again.
--
*** NGE Senior Year - Part Two: When You Dream ***
This was all a bad dream, Asuka decided calmly. She had just thought she'd woken up, gotten
dressed, grabbed a piece of toast for breakfast, ran to school and had an argument with Shinji.
In reality, she was still at home in bed.
"Miss Soryu?"
Asuka looked up.
"You know, it helps if you actually confer with your partner," Miss Haruna said sarcastically.
Asuka, too dazed to hit back with a retort, nodded. Her brain on auto-pilot, she stood and
crossed to the back right hand corner of the room where her partner sat. She sat down, facing
her partner across the desk.
"So," Kei said awkwardly. "What do you think we should do?"
--
Asuka Langley Soryu -
Okay, little known fact. Tokyo-3 High is pretty much like hell, the only notable difference
being I'm pretty sure hell is hotter, and at least if you're in hell you're already dead so
it can't get much worse.
Let me back up and explain. First period today - Health and Human Development. As if that fact
isn't bad enough. I don't even know how I ended up in that class. I certainly didn't choose it.
Anyway. We were given an assignment today. As if that fact isn't bad enough. Assignments cut
way too much into time I could be spending on other things. Like shopping.
Anyway. Miss Haruna decided we had to work in pairs. As if that fact isn't bad enough. I don't
work well with others. Big surprise, huh?
But the worst part of it all, the CROWNING insult is who I got partnered with.
Kei Yamaguchi.
I'm starting to think I must have done something really bad in a past life and I'm being
punished in this one.
God must really hate me.
--
Kei Yamaguchi -
Miss Haruna is obviously a sick, sick woman.
Assigning partners is one thing. Assigning partners who she KNOWS don't get along is another.
And I know she knows we don't get along. We had an argument in class yesterday.
The ironic part is the conversation I had with Blake last night. He said something about,
"School unity is gonna be put on hold if you argue with Tokyo-3 people." To which I replied
something like, "That shouldn't be a problem. As long as Asuka and I stay out of each other's
way, it should be fine."
Good call, Kei. Good call.
--
Shinji had gotten to know Asuka quite well over the years. Not surprisingly, really. Living,
working and going to school with someone over four years had a tendency to do that. He knew
her well enough to know what she was feeling when she was feeling it. When she was happy,
when she really smiled, her whole face lit up. If she was really happy, when she smiled,
sometimes a tiny dimple in her left cheek would appear. When she was worried, she had a
tendency to bite her lower lip. When she was hurt, her eyes would grow dark with determination.
But Shinji didn't need this sense that had been four years in the making to know what she was
feeling now. In all honestly, Blind Fred could see what she was feeling.
Asuka Langley Soryu was angry.
Hikari, Shinji, Touji, Kensuke and Rei watched their friend warily as she bit into a carrot
stick with more savageness than was needed. She chewed. She swallowed. Then she turned to
glare at her friends.
"What are you all staring at?" she snapped.
The group searched for the right response - one which wouldn't involve impaling on carrot
sticks. Rei sighed.
"You," she said bluntly.
"Why?" Asuka demanded, slightly thrown off by Rei's blunt honesty.
Shinji decided to step in. "Because you're clearly pissed off about something and we want
to know why."
Asuka's blue eyes narrowed. "Fine," she seethed. "You want to know why I'm angry? I'll tell
you."
"I have to work with Asuka on a Health assignment," Kei fumed. She was shifting in her seat,
which Blake knew was a bad sign. For some obscure reason, Kei could never stay still when she
was angry.
"Please tell me you're not serious," Blake said, though he knew quite well that she was indeed
serious.
"Of course I'm damn well serious!" Asuka said, irritated. "Does it look like I'm joking?"
Shinji immediately wondered why he even bothered to ask that question. Probably, he figured,
because his brain couldn't articulate a better response.
Hikari stepped in, voice soothing. "Is there anyway around this?"
"Not if I want to pass Health," Kei responded in answer to Blake's question, pouring M&M's
into her hand and picking out the blue ones. "Which I'd like to do. You know, it's only the
rest of my life that depends on my final grade this year."
"But you've already graduated once before," Kensuke pointed out. "What does it matter if you
fail?"
Asuka snorted derisively. "Oh, I'm sure Misato would just love that. Not to mention NERV PR.
I can just see it now, blazoned across newspapers - Eva Pilot Too Stupid To Pass Twelfth
Grade."
"I think you're overreacting," Touji informed her.
"Overreacting? Overreacting?" Kei demanded, anger seeping into her voice.
'Uh oh,' Blake thought, looking at his friend uneasily.
"Let's see you get assigned to do a Biology assignment that counts for one third of your
grade with Rei and see how much you overreact!" she snapped.
At the stricken look on his face, Kei quickly became contrite.
"Sorry," Asuka apologized upon seeing the shock on Touji's face. "I didn't mean to be that
harsh."
"Don't worry," he responded, grinning. "Years of it has made me thick skinned."
That comment caused a small smile to appear on Asuka's lips.
"So, what are you going to do?" Hikari asked.
"What can I do?" Kei sighed, pushing a pile of blue M&M's across the table to Blake. "I'm
just gonna have to make the best of it, aren't I?"
"It could lead to a beautiful friendship," Blake suggested, eyes twinkling.
"Don't count on it," Asuka said dryly. "I'd rather poke myself in the eye with a burnt stick."
"Well," Rei said, a hint of sarcasm to her tone. "At least we know you have your priorities
straight."
--
Excerpt from the Tokyo-3 High Oracle -
There is a spirit in Tokyo-3 High these days. It's not the school spirit we usually feel. It's
not the incredible and deserved pride for our academic and sports teams, some of the best in
recent memory, perhaps the best in school history. No, the spirit that fills the halls and
yards is one of negativity. A spirit that wants to tear us down, and for what?
Rivalry? Principles? So say many who have kept the flame of dissension between the two schools
burning bright despite numerous attempts to dispel it. I would like to ask them, what do they
think this is? A war zone?
No one will dispute the fact that the beginning of this year has been difficult for everyone.
But continuing the anger and resentment, and claiming it to be about principles is not only
wrong, but dishonest. It's not about principles. It's about resentment.
But it's not enough for these people who are still harboring this resentment to bring down
themselves. They also feel the need to bring down the whole school, with harsh words and
bitterness. Is all we've worked for to make this school what is about to be ruined by
resentment?
In short, yes. It's surely inevitable that if this keeps up, we will be the keepers of our
own demise.
This is not the kind of spirit we should be feeling here at Tokyo-3 High. This is called
bad attitude. And it's one thing we don't need around here.
--
"I don't like this at all."
The words Hikari spoke weren't particularly incredible, nor were they particularly profound.
But the displeasure on her face spoke volumes.
Touji merely nodded, encouraging her to continue.
"Monday was supposed to end all this!" she continued, her tone a cross between annoyance,
anger and desperation. "Kei and I decided to share the position and that was supposed to end
all this stupid rivalry! But it didn't! Why did we bother? What the hell was the point?"
Her tone fast sliding into a whine, Hikari slumped in her seat, a picture of despair. She
reached up and started pulling a lock of hair viciously.
Touji shook his head and gently took hold of her wrist. "How many times do I have to tell you?"
he asked patiently. "I swear, one day you'll end up bald from that habit."
A small grin crept on Hikari's face as she let go of her hair.
"And, while we're at, why did you bother? What was the point?" Touji leaned across the table
intently, dark eyes serious. "Hikari, let me tell you this. Every single student at our school
respects you and Kei. Any preconceived notions they may have had about either of you flew out
of the proverbial window on Monday."
Hikari was staring at Touji, but not for the reason he thought. "Preconceived? Proverbial?"
He rolled his eyes. "I do go to school, too, you know."
Hikari grinned.
Touji continued. "Why did you decide to share the position in the first place? Tell me that."
Hikari blinked. "I told you the other day."
He shrugged. "So tell me again."
Hikari traced invisible patterns across the table surface. "Because if only one of us had the
position, then only fifty percent of the school would have leadership. And that wasn't good
enough. Everyone in this school deserves to have a leader they can talk to."
Having said that, Hikari looked up to meet Touji's eyes, which were looking at her with a
somewhat triumphant look.
She smiled. "Thanks."
--
Hikari Horaki -
I've known Touji for a long time. Years in fact. We practically knew each other when we were
in diapers. But I never really KNEW him, you know? I knew he was there, but never took much
notice. He was just a lug who played a good game of basketball, and that was the extent of his
mastery in the world.
Then, in eighth grade, all that changed. After his sister got injured, he became a different
person. He tried to keep up that whole tough-guy façade, but it was pretty easy to see past
it. It occurred to me that Touji was human, and that not only did he feel things, but he felt
them deeply.
Over that year we became friends. At first we only ever hung out because of Shinji and Asuka,
but over time that changed. You ever have a friend of a friend? Someone you can hang out with
when your mutual friend is around, but if said mutual friend is absent there's a whole lot
of awkwardness?
That's how we were.
We evolved though. Became friends with each other. And I'd readily call him one of my best
friends.
I'd also like to call him more than that, but that's beside the point.
The point that I'm trying to make is, he's a good friend. And I know him pretty well, I guess.
But he still manages to surprise me.
Like today. I was feeling pretty hopeless about the whole mixing-of-schools thing. And he knew
exactly what to say to me feel . . . what's the opposite of hopeless?
Hopeful. He knew how to make me feel hopeful again.
I don't know what that means. I don't know what it means for us.
I'm not going to be ridiculous and say it's love. But it's definitely something.
--
"I have an idea."
Asuka glanced at Rei. "Tell us more, Wondergirl."
Rei ignored the sarcasm and continued, facing Asuka across the table calmly. Shinji watched
the scene uneasily, praying this wouldn't evolve into an argument.
"You don't want to work with Kei," she stated quietly. "So why don't you just do separate
assignments?"
Asuka blinked, seemingly surprised by this logical reasoning. Misato, meanwhile, hand around
the perpetual beer can, looked between Rei and Asuka with confusion. It occurred to Shinji
that Misato knew neither of Blake or Kei or the election.
"Who's Kei and why don't you want to work with her?" Misato asked bluntly.
Shinji rolled his eyes. "Nothing like the direct approach, Misato."
Misato's eyes shifted to look at Shinji. "Can you blame me?" she demanded. "You two have told
me nothing about your lives since the beginning of the year! I'm still here, guys, you know.
I'd still like to know."
In a rare display of diplomacy, Asuka intervened before Shinji could respond. "It's no big
deal, Misato. Kei's a girl who I don't get along with. I'm supposed to do an Health assignment
with her."
Misato tilted her head quizzically. "Why are you working with her if you don't get along with
her?"
Asuka scowled. "Because Miss Haruna is an evil twisted woman spawned from Satan."
Misato nodded, attempting - and failing - to look sage. She had no idea what was going on.
"Back to me," Rei interrupted, her tone so matter-of-fact Shinji burst out laughing.
Asuka looked exasperated. "What about you?"
"My idea," she reminded her.
"What about it?" Asuka wanted to know, refusing to accept that Wondergirl had indeed had a
good idea.
"Are you going to use it?" Rei asked.
Asuka shrugged noncommittally; Shinji smirked. In his eyes, that was a good as a yes.
In Misato's eyes, too, it was as good as a yes. She shook her head. "Asuka getting advice
from Rei - and accepting it," she stated. "The world must be coming to an end."
"I've been thinking," Blake said thoughtfully.
"Must have been painful," his mother cracked from the other side of the table.
Kei grinned. Blake rolled his eyes.
"What about?" Kei asked, standing up and beginning to clear the table.
"Kei, honey, how many times do I have to tell you?" Raine asked patiently. "You're a guest.
You don't need to clean up." She smiled serenely. "That's what Blake's for."
Blake sighed with resignation.
"I don't mind," Kei insisted. "Anyway, I think after five years, I hardly qualify as a guest."
Blake realised that as man of the house and Kei's best friend, he should probably help. This
realisation explained why his mother was glaring at him.
Blake leapt to his feet and took the dishes from Kei's hands. She lifted her eyebrows. "I
don't need help to take a bunch of plates to the kitchen, Blake," she pointed out.
"Oh, sorry," he said, with mock apology. "Just thought you might not be sure of what you're
doing. You know, the way you have someone else to clean up after you at home."
Kei glared and grabbed the plates from him. She tossed her hair behind her and stalked into
the kitchen.
Raine gave her son that plainly said, "Do you have a death wish?" Blake took the point and
hurried after his friend.
"Sorry," he apologised.
Kei took her time turning around the face him; when she did, her arms were folded over her
light blue tank top. "Sorry for . . ." she prompted.
"I'm sorry for teasing you about the fact that you're a spoiled princess," Blake said
solemnly.
Kei gave him a look that was downright poisonous. Her eyes were so cold that Blake took a
wary step back.
"Sorry," he said meekly.
Kei sighed. "God, Blake, why do you do that?"
He shrugged helplessly. "I don't know."
She folded her arms more tightly, a strictly defensive stance. "You know I hate it when you
do that."
He nodded. "I know."
"So why do you do it?"
"I don't know."
Kei leaned against the counter, a good sign despite the iciness still in her eyes. "Because
you're brain-damaged, juvenile and mentally challenged?" she suggested coolly.
Blake nodded. "Those are all good adjectives," he said seriously.
Kei smirked slightly. "How about immature and reality impaired?"
"And lovable?" he hedged, smiling winningly. "Maybe just a little?"
Kei narrowed her eyes. "You're pushing it, flame boy."
Blake smiled, but kept his eyes on her face, gauging her reactions, knowing he was on
probation.
"Tell me your idea," she said, changing the subject so abruptly Blake blinked with surprise.
Before he could respond, Kei waved a dismissive hand. "You said before you'd been thinking.
I'm assuming that means you've had an idea. Tell me about it."
"It's about your problem with Asuka and the Health assignment," he explained.
Kei tilted her head slightly. "I'm listening."
"Why don't you just do separate assignments?"
Kei opened her mouth to discount his idea and immediately closed it, finding no obvious
problems with it. "That's pretty good," she admitted. "How'd you come up with that?"
He smiled. "It's a gift."
--
Blake McDermott -
Here's a brain-sprainer for you: Why do I say stuff to Kei that I know will piss her off?
I do it a lot. After all, I know her well enough to know how to piss her off in two seconds
flat.
The easiest way to go about it is to casually mention something about money, servants or
being spoiled.
I still don't understand why she hates to talk about that. Why she's embarrassed about her
family's status.
Most people - normal people - would love to have what Kei has. Most people would love to
rub it in people's faces.
But not Kei. I've never really understood why.
But I guess everyone has something they want to hide, right?
Everyone has their secrets.
--
"Shinji, come on, hurry up!"
Shinji's first thought was that his watch had stopped. It must have. He obviously thought it
was much earlier than it was. He glanced at it, then looked up to see the wall clock
displaying the same time. Shinji frowned slightly. He turned to look at Asuka. He looked
back at his watch. Looked at the wall clock. Looked at the clock on the microwave. And looked
back at Asuka.
"What are you doing dressed?" he asked, brow furrowed as he tried to puzzle out this
particular conundrum.
Asuka rolled her blue eyes. "Because it's illegal to go to school naked," she said wryly.
It was Shinji's turn to roll his eyes. "You know what I meant. What are you doing up and
dressed already?"
Asuka shrugged. "New responsible tendencies," she told him airily.
Shinji nodded, unconvinced. "Uh-huh. And maybe you want to catch Kei before class to tell
her of the new plan?"
"Maybe I do," she conceded.
Shinji stood up and shook his head. "I swear, I've spent years trying to get you to leave on
time. One assignment with a girl you don't like and you're suddenly the eager beaver."
Asuka was clearly tired of this conversation. She clapped her hands. "Come on, let's go.
Less talk, more action."
Shinji sighed. "I've gotta go get my bag, OK?"
Asuka nodded her approval and headed out the front door. Shinji darted to his room, grabbed
his bag, and darted out again. On his way to the door, he passed Misato, whose lips were
curved in a smirk. As he passed her, she imitated cracking a whip.
Shinji turned an interesting shade of red and hurried out the door.
--
Misato Katsuragi -
On the surface, it almost seems that things between Shinji and Asuka haven't really changed
much since they were fourteen. I mean, she still orders him around. He still complies.
But things have changed. It just takes more observation to see that.
The way it used to be was that Asuka ordered Shinji around to do things *for* her. Now she
orders him around to do things *with* her. And he used to comply because, I think, he was a
little scared of her. Now he complies because he wants to. Because he wants to do those
things with her.
They won't admit it, but they like spending time with each other. The question is, why?
'Why' is a word I don't particularly care for. If you ask me, it's bad company, and serves
only to make simple things more complicated. But I feel compelled to answer it in this case.
Why? Because they're in love.
They think that they're masters of deception, that no one knows about these fuzzy feelings
they're harboring.
The truth of the matter is, everyone knows except for them.
I won't pretend it's not frustrating, because it is. It's frustrating as hell.
But on the upside, it's kinda funny, too.
--
8:36am and counting. Asuka stood in a slightly crowded Tokyo-3 High hallway, hands on hips,
blue eyes scanning for one Kei Yamaguchi.
Meanwhile, not very far away - about five meters away at the other end of the hall, to be
exact - stood Kei, arms crossed, light blue eyes coolly scanning the pedestrians for her
'partner'.
At 8:38am, just as Kei was giving one last sweep of the hall and Asuka was starting to feel
seriously irritated, their eyes met. Contemptuous looks appeared in full swing as they
closed the space between them.
"I need to talk to you," Asuka stated firmly. Her words probably would have had more impact
if Kei hadn't uttered the exact same words in the exact same tone at the exact same time.
Awkward silence followed. Kei felt it her duty to fill the silence. "I think we should do
separate assignments," she said, maintaining the razor-sharp edge to her voice though she
wasn't quite sure why.
Asuka concealed her surprise. "So do I," she shot back, voice hard though she wasn't quite
sure why. She paused. "And I think we should meet with Miss Haruna before class to talk to
her about it."
Kei offered her opponent a cold look. "So do I."
"Fine," Asuka said, making an effort to say it harshly.
"Fine," Kei returned, in an almost echo of Asuka's tone.
The girls turned their backs on each other and walked away.
A dark-haired girl, noticed neither by Kei or Asuka, leaning against her locker, watched the
two girls depart.
"Man, this school is weird."
Miss Haruna raked a hand through her shoulder length hair. "Let me get this straight, girls,"
she began, eyes shifting from Kei to Asuka. "You want to do separate assignments - thus
increasing your workload?"
Kei and Asuka nodded.
"Why?" their perplexed teacher queried.
"Because I don't like her," Asuka answered somewhat bluntly. Miss Haruna appeared taken aback
by her honesty; Kei merely nodded.
"And I really don't like her," Kei said.
Miss Haruna turned thoughtful eyes to the ceiling. "Asuka, can you tell me the full name of
this course?"
Asuka scowled - teachers who asked questions they knew the answers to fell somewhere between
telemarketers and boy bands on the list of things she hated. "Health and Human Development,"
she answered with exaggerated politeness.
Miss Haruna smiled, letting Asuka's sarcasm slide. "Yes. Health and Human Development. And
it would please me immensely if you two would develop as humans to learn to work with one
another."
Kei eyed the teacher before her warily. "When you say it would please you immensely, does
this mean it's optional?"
"No. Bottom line, girls, you don't work together, you fail. Got it?" Miss Haruna leaned
back and observed the two girls' faces, combinations of anger and shock. "Life isn't always
about working with who you like, girls. Think about it."
Kei had never been a fan of silence. Silence served only to bring up things that would rather
be forgotten, and make things more difficult by reminding one of things they'd made a
concentrated effort to forget.
Kei and Asuka had spent, at last count, thirty-seven minutes of Health and Human Development
in complete silence. Thirty-seven minutes of silence was starting to make Kei edgy.
She sighed deeply. "Look, I don't like you, you don't like me. But can we try and figure out
some working arrangement? Because I'd really like to pass this class."
Asuka looked up from the piece of paper she'd been drawing some abstract, intricate design
on. The expression on her face could only be described as amused. "Why? It's only Health,"
Asuka stated matter-of-factly, her logic being that if the class is boring, it doesn't count.
Kei rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure, easy for you to say."
Asuka cast her partner an indignant look, despite the fact she wasn't quite sure what she
was being indignant about.
"You couldn't fail a class if you tried."
Asuka fell silent, unsure whether to be insulted or not. "What is that supposed to mean?" she
asked finally.
Kei crossed her arms, a trait which was beginning to become apparent to Asuka. "Please.
There's more chance of Blake eating a live piranha than you and Shinji and Rei ever failing
a class."
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Why? Because we're Eva pilots?" When Kei nodded, Asuka uttered an
exasperated sigh. "Oh, for God's sake," she began, but Kei cut her off.
"What? You never heard the phrase, if it looks bad, it is bad?" Kei smiled, but there was
no humor in it. "In your case, it's if it looks bad, it's bad for NERV."
Asuka eyed the other girl. "You're a cynic," she stated flatly.
Kei gave a serene, if not somewhat insincere smile. "I prefer the term realist."
Asuka tossed her hair behind her, wearing the insolent look she'd perfected so well over
the years; a look that Kei would have loved to have wiped off with her text book. "Whatever,"
Asuka said, standing up.
"Where are you going?" Kei asked.
"Anywhere but here."
--
Asuka Langley Soryu -
Contrary to popular belief, I'm not stupid. I know I have to do this assignment because I
know I have to pass Health because if I don't pass I'll fail senior year.
I know all that.
But, really, how can anyone expect me to work with that girl?
--
Kei Yamaguchi -
You know, I actually hoped that this year would be one of those ludicrously happy times
that you see on movies-of-the-week. I didn't realise I was hoping until just recently,
and that made me mad. Because hope is a nasty habit that I thought I'd kicked.
I think I've figured out this whole system. You hope for the best, you get the worst.
You hope for the worst, you get the worst.
Goddamn it, I don't want to figure out the goddamn system. I don't want to sit here and
philosophize.
I just want to pass. Is that too much too ask?
--
"Shinji!"
Shinji was far too preoccupied to acknowledge the cry for his attention. He was busy pulling
things out his locker in search of his graphics calculator. He knew he had one. He was almost
willing to bet that Asuka had it. Why he'd told her his locker combination was beyond him.
"Shinji!"
This call, roughly at the level of a sonic boom, caught Shinji's attention. He looked up to
see Blake looking at him.
"Hey," Shinji greeted him.
"Hey," Blake responded. "What's up?"
Shinji shrugged. "Not a hell of a lot. What's up with you?"
Blake shifted his weight to his other foot and adjusted his backpack. Nervous habit. "I just
wanted to talk to you about Asuka."
That grabbed Shinji's attention; he rested a hand on his locker door as he looked at the other
boy quizzically.
"About the assignment she and Kei have to do," he continued.
Shinji grimaced slightly. "What about it?"
Blake shrugged. "I think Kei's a little pissed about the progress of the assignment - or lack
thereof."
Shinji nodded slowly, swinging his locker door back and forth. "Why isn't Kei asking me
instead of you?"
Blake sighed deeply, and adjusted his backpack again. "Look, if Kei finds out, she'll kill me.
We have this no-helping-unless-requested policy. But I'm worried, okay? Because if Kei doesn't
pass Health, she'll fail twelfth grade, and she can't pass without Asuka. And I don't want to
see my best friend fail."
"Fair enough," Shinji stated calmly. "What's it got to do with me?"
Blake shrugged helplessly. "You live with the girl. You've been friends for a long time. I
was hoping you could talk to her."
Shinji held up a hand, calling for Blake to stop talking. "I'm not going to," he said.
Blake raised his eyebrows. "Why not?"
"It's not my place."
Blake worked to keep his irritation in check. "So you're just gonna let the two of them fail?"
"She'll do the assignment," Shinji assured Blake, shoving his hands in his pockets. "She's
not too keen on failing. She's just stubborn."
Blake narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Stubborn, huh?"
Shinji gave a long-suffering nod. "Oh, yes. So very stubborn." He paused for effect. "As a
mule."
"Maybe Kei can use that to her advantage," Blake mused.
Shinji looked at Blake with high skepticism. "The day Kei manipulates Asuka is the day I eat
my hat," he declared.
"Where have you been?" Kei asked suspiciously.
Blake opened his mouth and promptly closed it. Saying he'd been asking Shinji for help would
be translated by Kei into, 'Please use your Math text book to belt me round the head'.
Blake wasn't a masochist.
"Talking to my History teacher," he lied, taking great interest in the buttons of his shirt.
He had a problem with lying convincingly when he was looking in Kei's eyes. Yep, his buttons
were exactly the same as he remembered - blue, plastic, the third one coming slightly loose.
Surprisingly, she didn't call his lie. "Well, you're here now," she said glibly, in a way that
made Blake look up with suspicion. His radar was on and was telling him something loud and
clear - Kei wanted something.
Sure enough, the next words out of her mouth were, "Can you do me a favor?"
Blake lifted an eyebrow. "Gimme one good reason," he said.
She looked up at him through her lashes, big blue eyes pleading. "Please?" she asked.
Blake laughed and shook his head. "Kei, I believe you've confused me with someone who is
actually suckered in by the patented Kei Yamaguchi pout."
Kei's face instantly transformed from pleading to annoyed, smart enough to know when someone
was convinced or not. "You are such a brat," she responded, scowling.
"I try," he said, smiling.
Kei ignored him. "Look, I found out there's a new girl. She's in all of your classes except
for Bio. Be nice to her and help her, okay?"
"I don't play well with others," he said dryly in response.
Kei stepped forward, all five feet of her now totally in his face. "Am I gonna have to get
demanding?"
"Too late," he cracked.
"Blake."
"Okay, okay."
As soon as he said that, Kei left, leaving Blake alone with the knowledge that once again
Kei had suckered him into doing something he didn't want to do.
"I hate when she does that."
--
Tokyo-3 High Oracle Poll #1
- What should new funding be spent on at Tokyo-3 High? -
Asuka Langley Soryu -
The development of a test to distinguish the evil teachers.
And a laser weapon to vaporise said evil teachers.
Shinji Ikari -
Something that will stop polls like this one.
Touji Suzahara -
New lockers. Really big ones.
Kei Yamaguchi -
A different podium on the stage. Damn, that thing makes me feel short.
Kensuke Aida -
The radio station. More of it, I say.
Blake McDermott -
A Biology textbook that makes sense to the general public. Hell, I'd even settle for a Biology
teacher that makes sense.
Rei Ayanami -
Why even bother asking? The money will end up being spent on a new couch in the teacher's
lounge or something.
Hikari Horaki -
Did you know the last time we had this kind of survey they spent the money on the teachers?
How unfair is that? Why don't we get a student's lounge?
--
On his way to History, something caused Blake to stop in his tracks.
This something was in the form of a dark-haired girl cursing as she struggled with a
combination lock.
"You worthless piece of junk," the girl grunted, slamming the lock with her palm. She
winced - evidently, she'd forgotten that whacking a piece of solid metal at full force
was bound to hurt.
"Goddammit," she seethed. She stepped back. She studied the lock.
And she kicked it.
Not surprisingly, it closed.
Blake had the sickening sense that this unfamiliar yet very irate girl was the new girl he
was supposed to play Welcome Wagon to.
The girl spun around. "What are you staring at?" she demanded, shaking her hair back.
Blake shifted nervously. "Uh, you're the new girl, right?"
The girl's expression changed from angry to stricken. "No," she responded, looking downright
miserable. "I've been in classes with you since eighth grade. I guess you just never noticed
me."
Blake's eyes widened at the unprecedented social faux pas. Thankfully, a smile crossed the
girl's face.
"I was just kidding."
Blake sighed with relief, and extended his hand. "Blake McDermott."
She took his hand and shook it. "Kami Yatami."
"We're in a lot of classes together," he explained. "Just call me the official Tokyo-3 High
welcoming committee."
Kami tilted her head slightly. "I think I'll just call you Blake. I have a syllable limit.
You just broke it."
Blake grinned. "So, want to go on the official tour?"
Kami shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
"I so do not have your calculator," Asuka insisted.
"You so do," Shinji argued, drawing himself up to his full height, which wasn't a particularly
intimidating height in comparison to Asuka's. He had maybe half an inch on her - half an inch
missed by most due to Asuka's penchant for platform shoes.
"Why would I need it?" Asuka asked, exasperated. "I have my own. I don't need anything from
you, Third Child."
"I don't know, Second Child," Shinji shot back, sarcasm dripping from his words. "You tell
me." He paused, pretending to think. "Maybe because you're a heinous psycho klepto?"
Asuka took a step closer to Shinji; to his credit, he didn't back away. Before she could
exact revenge, a voice interrupted them.
"Shinji. Asuka," Blake acknowledged, lifting his chin.
"Blake," Asuka nodded. She looked at Kami. "Girl I don't know."
"This is Kami Yatami," Blake explained. "She's new."
Asuka didn't look particularly interested in Kami or how new she was. "How'd you get sucked
into taking her around?" she asked bluntly.
Even Shinji was surprised at her complete lack of tact. "Asuka!"
Asuka shrugged. "What? It's a reasonable question."
"You'll have to excuse Asuka," Blake said to Kami. "She suffers from what we in the business
call a complete deficiency of subtlety. Which is a nice way to say she's about as subtle as a
sledgehammer."
"Really?" Kami responded, feigning shock. "I hadn't noticed."
Shinji smothered a laugh.
"Kami, this is Shinji Ikari and Asuka Langley Soryu," Blake told the girl.
Kami nodded. "It's nice to meet you." She paused. "I think."
"So what brings you to Tokyo-3 High?" Shinji questioned.
"A bus," Kami responded so guilelessly that Shinji stared at her in surprise for a few seconds,
before laughing.
Kami smiled as she watched Shinji laugh, a smile that was not missed on Blake. He raised a
suspicious eyebrow and glanced at Asuka, who looked none too pleased. Blake's other eyebrow
rose to meet the other, forming what Kei liked to call, the 'The Plot Thickens' face.
"She's in our legal class," Blake informed Shinji.
"That's cool," Shinji said, causing Asuka's look of displeasure to deepen. "I'll guess I'll
see you fifth period then."
Kami smiled sweetly. "I'll see you then."
Blake and Kami headed off, leaving Shinji alone with an inexplicably annoyed Asuka.
He shifted warily under her glare. "What?"
"You know that video we watched in Science last year about apes?" Hikari asked the group at
large, brow furrowed slightly.
The group nodded and murmured confirmation.
"Does anyone else have a serious sense of déjà vu?" she continued, watching the displays of
juvenility in the cafeteria.
Asuka nodded sagely. "Yes. Yes I do."
"Who's that?" Rei asked suddenly, changing the subject so quickly Shinji had the feeling she
hadn't even been in on the last subject.
Hikari craned her neck to see where Rei was looking. "Must be the new girl I heard about,"
she said.
Shinji nodded and swallowed. "Her name's Kami Yatami," he volunteered.
"She's cute," Kensuke observed. "What else do you know about her?"
Shinji shrugged. "New girl."
Kensuke nodded. Couldn't argue with that.
"I should probably go introduce myself," Hikari acknowledged.
"Just another day's work for student body president?" Asuka questioned sardonically, searching
the table for a straw. Unsuccessful, she plucked one from Shinji's hand and stuck it in her
can of Diet Coke.
Shinji sighed resignedly.
Hikari tossed her hair back and lifted her chin with mock haughtiness. "It's a tough job,
but someone has to do it."
"Want me to come with?" Touji asked, glancing at Hikari, missing the knowing look Shinji and
Kensuke exchanged.
She smiled. "Yeah, sure," she responded, eyes on him, missing the suggestive look Shinji and
Kensuke exchanged.
"I'm coming, too," Kensuke announced. "I want to meet this new girl." He looked sideways. "You
coming, Rei?"
She shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
Kensuke, Rei, Hikari and Touji left, leaving Shinji and Asuka alone. Asuka watched them
depart.
"New girl mania," she stated, not sounding particularly enthused.
Shinji lifted an eyebrow. "Worked for you when you were the new girl," he pointed out.
Asuka glared at him. "Oh, shut up."
Asuka was thinking. Thinking very hard. That's what Health and Human Development was all
about - thinking. Thinking about all manner of things.
The problem was, what Asuka was thinking about was, in all likeliness, not a part of Health
and Human Development.
She had a song in her head. She had no idea what the song was, how it went or who it was by.
In fact, all she knew was the very first line.
She used to bring me roses.
She used to bring me roses . . .
She used to bring me roses . . .
It was starting to seriously get on Asuka's nerves.
As the unknown song was getting on Asuka's nerves, Asuka was getting on Kei's nerves.
Of course, the phrase, 'Getting on Kei's nerves' implied that Asuka had not previously been
on Kei's nerves. A more correct phrase would be 'Asuka was getting on Kei's nerves even more
so'.
Kei took a deep breath. Enough was enough. There was only so much a girl could take.
Time to put the plan into action.
"I saw this coming you know," Kei said, breaking the silence, making sure her tone and
expression hit ubër-bitch levels.
Asuka looked up. "Saw what?"
Kei shrugged, making a concentrated effort to look like a complete snot. "This. You act as
if you're not doing the assignment because you don't care, but that's so not true. You're
not doing it because you're scared."
"Excuse me?" Asuka demanded, hands on hips.
"You can't handle working with me," Kei said, leaning forward, bitchy as all hell. "What is
it, Second Child? Scared I'm smarter than you?"
"I am not scared of you," Asuka shot back acidly. "And I know I'm smarter than you."
"I don't think you do," Kei smirked. "You're worried that someone who's not a blessed Eva
pilot could be better than you. And that scares you. So you think that if you don't do the
assignment, no one has to know." Kei lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Tell you what,
Asuka. I'll do the assignment all by myself. No one has to know. It'll be our little secret."
Asuka's brain was having quite a time processing exactly what had just occurred. In it's
most basic form, Kei had pretty much suggested that Asuka was avoiding the assignment because
she was scared that Kei might be smarter than her.
Kei's lips curved into a smile as she recognised anger on Asuka's face.
"Listen here, Miss-I'm-So-Superior-To-You," Asuka began, eyes narrowed. "I am not afraid of
anything, least of all some five foot nothing bimbo."
"I'm sure you're not," Kei responded condescendingly.
Asuka's temper rose. She hated being patronised.
"Fine," Asuka said, standing up, glaring down at Kei. "We're going to the library. And we're
going to do this assignment. And I am going to prove to you that not only am I not afraid, but
that I'm way smarter than you!" At that, Asuka executed a crisp turn and flounced out of the
room.
Kei slowly rose from her seat, smiling. "Kei one, Asuka nil."
--
Asuka Langley Soryu -
Looking back, I see now that Kei completely and totally rolled me.
I guess I was just feeling a little . . . unreasonable, to put it lightly.
Okay, when being honest, might as well be honest.
I was pissed.
I don't even want to go into why. Though I'll tip you off that it has something to do with an
ingratiating new girl.
I think I've said too much. Back to the point.
The point is, Kei rolled me. She knew what I was feeling, and used it to her advantage.
I should be mad. But you know the funny thing?
I'm not. In fact, I have more respect for her than I ever did.
I guess it doesn't get any stranger than that.
--
Kei Yamaguchi -
I have only one thing to say.
Go me.
--
Strictly speaking, Touji was not a library person. In fact, the only way anyone could
adequately describe Touji using the word 'library' in the same sentence would be to say,
"Touji was a stand-outside-and-mock-those-who-came-out-of-the-library-person."
This was one of the reason why Touji being in the library after school was odd.
Another reason was that he wasn't there for any particular reason. He wasn't reading. He
wasn't studying. He wasn't researching.
The only thing he was doing was sitting. And thinking.
That was why Touji was sitting in the library after school. He generally took to the park
near his house for solitary thinking. Lately, however, he seemed to run into Hikari there
quite frequently. Which was odd, when he thought about it, because there was another park
closer to Hikari's than that one.
Strange, that.
It wasn't that Touji didn't want to run into Hikari. Not at all. He just didn't want to run
into her while he was thinking about her, for fear she might affect any rational thinking on
his behalf.
However, having been thinking rationally for just over two hours, Touji's mind was starting to
wander.
It wandered to creative writing class, a class he considered to be the bane of his life, and
also a constant reminder of how incapable he was of thinking rationally in Hikari's presence.
Touji Suzahara's Personal Rule #28 - Never pick a class in order to pick up a girl.
Sound advice. Too bad he didn't take it.
There was an assignment due in creative writing the following Monday. Mr. Konichi's exact
words played in his head.
"I want you all to write a one-page essay on loss. And I want it creative, not maudlin."
Kensuke, who had a surprisingly extensive vocabulary, had informed Touji that maudlin meant
'hopelessly sentimental'.
Touji scowled. Loss was sentimental. What the hell did Mr. Konichi want?
Kami had no apparent reason for being in the library. She couldn't even pass off her presence
as being there for studying purposes. The teachers of Tokyo-3 High were either too kind or
too lazy to give her homework yet.
The only reason Kami had for being in the library was that she didn't want to go home.
She sighed deeply, earning her a look from the librarian who probably wanted nothing more
than to kick Kami out so she could go home and watch her soaps.
Kami resisted the urge to make a face at the woman and instead busied herself scanning the
library with partially-curious, partially-hopeful eyes.
She was surprised to see another person sitting in the library. Closer inspection revealed
he was one of the people she'd met during the course of the day. Further inspection revealed
that he wasn't doing a hell of a lot. Kami's brow furrowed slightly. Who sat in a library after
school and did nothing?
The answer, it appeared, was obvious: Her, and this other guy.
Kami considered her options. She was already bored to the point of tears. At least talking to
the guy would help pass the time.
She took a breath, stood up, and crossed the room.
"Hi," she began apprehensively. _Nice line, Kami. Very original._
Touji looked up, mildly surprised. "Hi. Kami, right?"
Kami nodded. "Touji, right?" she asked, not letting onto the fact that she had to look down at
his notebook for help. She had a terrible memory for names.
Touji pushed a chair towards her with his foot. "Have a seat," he offered.
Kami took him up on the offer.
"So how do you like it here?" Touji asked brightly. Predictable line. He knew it. He cringed.
Kami grinned. "I haven't seen much of the city, but school wise it's okay. Different, but
okay." She paused. "A bit more animosity than I'm used to, though."
Touji nodded. "Understandable, though."
Kami shrugged. "Probably. If I understood it, I'd be fine."
Touji's eyebrows drew together as he looked at Kami quizzically. "Blake didn't explain it to
you?"
Kami shook her head. "No, not really. I've been kinda trying to piece it together myself."
"There are some things you must know as a Tokyo-3 High student," Touji stated. He paused.
"And this is one."
He proceeded to explain the whole situation to her. Several minutes later, Kami was staring
at him with wide green eyes.
"Well," she said finally. "That was slightly more complex than I anticipated." She shook her
head. "And Shinji, and Asuka and Rei? I mean, I guess I can see Asuka, and Shinji. But Rei?
She seems so . . . delicate." She shook her head again, and noticed Touji was looking at her
with a bemused smile. "What?"
"Oh, it's nothing," Touji assured her. "It's just been a long time since I saw anyone get
wowed over the piloting thing."
"It's pretty wow-worthy," Kami replied.
Touji nodded in agreement. "Oh, totally. It's just that most of everyone I know is used to
it by now."
Kami tapped her finger on the table thoughtfully. "So is there anything else I should know?
Any dirt worth dishing?"
Touji shrugged. "No, not really." He paused. "We're all amazingly dull individuals. I mean,
the only thing I haven't told you is that Kensuke is our resident DJ."
Kami looked at him quizzically.
"He runs the Tokyo-3 High radio station," Touji explained.
Kami looked surprised. "You mean the guy in the mornings who plays songs and yabbers on
sounding real slick is Kensuke?"
Touji laughed. "Slick is right." He composed his face into a sleazy look, winked at Kami and
said, "Heyyy, you're listening to Tokyo-3 High Radio, all rockin', all the time."
Kami laughed.
The librarian shushed.
"Sorry," Touji called in apology to the snarky librarian.
"We wouldn't want to disturb the studying masses," Kami called dryly.
Touji laughed.
The librarian glared.
"Do you wanna get out of here?" Kami asked.
"Good plan."
Outside, Kami glanced sideways at Touji. "Okay, so really, what were you doing in the library?
Because, no offense or anything, but you don't exactly strike me as the library type."
"None taken," he assured her. "I'm not a library person by any standard."
"So why were you there?" she pressed.
Touji pondered this question thoughtfully. "Agonizing," he finally answered cryptically.
Kami smirked. "Girl troubles?"
Touji's mouth fell open to the point where Kami was surprised he didn't graze it on the
concrete. "How did you know?" he demanded.
"I could tell," she responded rather unhelpfully. "So what's the problem?"
Touji shrugged. "Nothing particularly incredible," he admitted. "Like the girl, don't know
if she likes me, yada yada yada."
"You're wasting your time," Kami informed him bluntly.
Touji stared at his companion in muted surprise.
"She likes you," Kami continued. "Stop worrying."
Touji searched for the ability to speak. "How do you know? You don't even know who I'm talking
about."
"Hikari, right?" Kami asked without skipping a beat. She didn't wait for a response - it was
more of a statement than a question. "I may be new, but I'm not stupid. She likes you. And
you can bet she's sitting wherever right now agonizing over whether you like her."
Touji turned to Kami with a smile on his face, a smile he couldn't keep down. "Really?"
"Really," she confirmed.
The next day, in a moment of predictability, Touji ran into Hikari at the park. He thought
about how odd it was that she was there so often, and thought of what Kami had told him last
night.
Coincidence? He thought not.
"Hey," he greeted her.
"Hey," she replied, awarding him with a heart-skipping smile.
"What's up?" he asked.
"Not much." She paused, and looked up at him, trying to keep her face neutral. "I tried
calling you last night. Your phone was off," she said, trying to sound as if she didn't
really care. It was a lie. She cared quite a lot.
"I was at the movies," he explained, acknowledging the curious look on Hikari's face and
not handing over any more information, in perfect accordance to:
Touji's Suzahara's Personal Rule #13 - Never volunteer any more information than is necessary.
"With your sister?" Hikari asked.
He shook his head. "With Kami."
Hikari's brow creased slightly. "Kami?" she echoed.
"The new girl," he reminded her.
Hikari's brow creased more deeply. "You talked to her for maybe five minutes at lunch.
How did you end up at the movies with her?"
"I ran into her after school," he explained. "She's actually very cool."
Hikari had a sudden urge to bang her head on the trunk of the jacaranda behind her.
"You and Asuka and Rei should hook up with her," Touji continued calmly, which Hikari
thought odd considering she felt like hyperventilating. "I think she'd like more friends,
and she's really nice. I think you'd all get along."
"Really?" Hikari asked weakly.
Touji clapped his hands together. "I have an idea!" He paused for effect - effect that was
lost on Hikari who was only just remaining to grip onto reality. "Come on!" He grabbed her
wrist and dragged her off.
Hikari, who was still dazed, did the only thing she could - follow.
And try her best not to scream with frustration.
"Touji!" Kami exclaimed, opening the door to her rather stately home. "And Hikari," she
continued. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Just thought we'd swing by," Touji said cheerfully. "Thought you and Hikari should get to
know each other a little better. Wanna do something?"
"Something sounds good," Kami replied with a smile. "Got anything in mind?"
"Nah, not really," Touji admitted. "Just thought we could walk around and find something to
do."
"Sounds cool," Kami said. "Wait a second while I get my wallet and stuff."
She darted upstairs and down again in what seemed like thirty seconds; to Hikari's immense
annoyance, she didn't fall down the stairs or contract Lyme Disease in that thirty seconds.
"OK, let's go."
Walking down Kami's street, Touji prodded Hikari. "Why don't you call Asuka and Rei?" he
asked.
Hikari was quick to comply - she could do with a little moral support. While she was waiting
for Asuka to pick up, she heard Kami.
"I didn't know Kei lived around here," she said in surprise.
"Kei!" Touji called.
Kei turned around, blue eyes wide. "Oh, hi Touji. Hi, Kami. Hi, Hikari," she said quietly.
"You live just down the road from me," Kami informed her. "I'm at 337."
Kei looked at the house she'd just come out of, a fairly stately one at that. She nodded.
Touji resisted the urge to comment on the size of Kei's house; his gut instinct told him Kei
wasn't at all comfortable with them knowing where she lived.
"What are you doing?" Touji asked, carefully steering the conversation away from Kei's house.
"Oh, I was just going to Blake's," she explained, seeming relieved that the direction of the
conversation had changed. "We're just gonna hang out or something."
"Did you guys want to hang out with us?" Kami offered. "We're gonna do something."
Kei smiled. "Something sounds good. Mind if we drop in by Blake's?"
Hikari cringed. Asuka, Kei and Blake doing 'something' together? It was a clear recipe for
disaster.
"Hikari? Hikari!"
Hikari tuned into what Asuka was saying. "What?"
"So do you want to meet somewhere or what?" Asuka asked, the exasperation in her voice
indicating this wasn't the first time she'd asked.
"Oh, no, we'll swing by," Hikari offered. "Tell Shinji, okay?"
"Okay. See you then."
Hikari looked down at the phone in her hand, wondering whether or not to call Rei. On the
one hand, Rei and Blake within meters of each other had 'uncomfortable' written all over it.
On the other hand, Shinji would either call Rei or call Kensuke who would call Rei.
Hikari sighed. She dialed Rei's number; she picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"
"Hey, Rei," Hikari greeted her, trying her best to keep the sense of gloom from her voice. No
point in worrying the girl. "You busy?"
"No, not really. Just doing homework."
"Want to come out with us?"
"Did I mention I was doing homework?" Rei paused. "Doesn't that say 'yes' all by itself?"
Hikari laughed. "Okay, cool. We'll come by your place soon, okay?"
"Okay. See you soon."
Rei wasn't quite clear on how she'd ended up in a coffeehouse with her friends, Kami, Kei . . .
. . . and Blake.
When Hikari had called, asking, 'Want to come out with us?', Rei had naturally assumed that
the 'us' she spoke of was the 'us' she had become accustomed to over the years - Shinji,
Asuka, Kensuke, Touji and Hikari.
Since when had Kami, Kei and Blake become part of the 'us'?
He was staring at her. Rei could feel it. He was staring at her, and every time she glanced
in his general direction, he looked away, pretending as if he'd been looking at the Sailor
Moon cell on the wall.
Did he think she was stupid?
Apparently he did.
Rei wasn't listening to the conversation. She couldn't, not while he was staring at her with
an intensity that bored holes into her.
It was starting to seriously get to her.
Not only that, but if anyone asked her opinion on whatever it was they were talking about,
she was screwed.
After she glanced in his direction, and he looked at the Sailor Moon cell for what she guessed
to be the thirty-sixth time, her patience snapped.
"That's it," she declared to no one in particular.
The conversation halted as all eyes turned to her.
She placed her hands on the tabletop and leaned forward slightly, looking Blake directly in
the eyes. "Look, I am sorry I destroyed your school. And I am sorry you found out the way you
did. But I am not sorry for keeping it from you. Do you want to know why? Because you spouted
to me how much you despised the Eva pilot who crushed your school, without bothering to learn
the facts. Did you bother finding out who the pilot was? Did you bother finding out what
really happened that day? No. So I am sorry that I destroyed your school, and I'm sorry you
found out the way you did. But I'm not sorry that I kept it from you. And if you can't handle
that, it's your problem, not mine."
Rei leaned back, feeling a proverbial weight lifted from her shoulders. She dared to look
around at the faces of her friends. The flavor of the day appeared to be shock, apart from
Asuka who looked impressed.
"You're right, you know."
Rei turned shocked eyes to Blake. "What did you say?"
"You're right," he repeated. "I don't know if you know this, but after I found out you're a
pilot, Asuka came over to my house. And she gave me quite an earful on the subject. And until
then I didn't even give a thought to how you might have felt about destroying the school. I
never once thought of the pilot as a person." He swallowed. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry I was
so harsh when you didn't deserve it. Because none of it was your fault."
Rei gave a small smile that most who didn't know her well wouldn't have noticed. Shinji
noticed, and noticed too the lightness in her eyes that he hadn't seen for quite awhile.
"Thank you," she said with quiet sincerity. "I needed to hear that."
Shinji, Asuka, Kensuke, Hikari and Touji exercised enormous self control by not pointing out
that they'd been saying that since day one.
A silence followed; Cruise Director Touji took it upon himself to fill that silence. "Well,
this is odd. A distinct lack of animosity." He paused. "Even Kei and Asuka are being oddly
well behaved."
Kei smirked. "Which is funny, when you think about it. Considering I totally rolled Asuka
the other day."
"That you did," Asuka agreed, voice so void of any harsh tones that Shinji wondered briefly
if he'd mistakenly ordered a cup of hallucinogens instead of a Mochaccino. "I fell for that
turbo-bitch routine hook, line and sinker."
Kei grinned. "I have to say I was a little disappointed. I expected more of a challenge from
you."
"Normally I would present more of a challenge," Asuka concurred. "You caught me on a bad day."
"Well, there's always next time."
Asuka glanced at Kensuke who was leaning forward intently. "What?" she demanded.
"I'm waiting for the part where you try to gouge Kei's eyes out with your spoon," he explained.
"I see your plan. Trying to lull her into a false sense of security. I'm on to you, don't you
worry."
Asuka stared at him, shaking her head as if she thought that would help her brain compute what
Kensuke had just said. "What?"
"I think he's attempting to express his confusion at the civility you are exhibiting," Rei
explained.
Asuka smiled, but it wasn't the general brand of smile they were used to from Asuka; this
one was more complex. "Well, it occurred to me that you can't be hostile forever."
Kensuke fell off his chair - could it be? Asuka renouncing hostility? Had the world gone mad?
Asuka, having guessed that at least one person would relocate from chair to floor, barely
blinked an eye. "You can try," she continued. "But sometimes, in some cases, it's maybe better
to put the hostility aside."
Touji tapped his spoon on the table thoughtfully. "So, there's hope for us yet?"
"I said in some cases," she shot back without skipping a beat. "You are not one of those
cases."
"Damn," he said ruefully.
"Funny how things turn out, huh?" Touji said conversationally, what he'd just said not
actually registering till several seconds later. _Nice line, Touji. Very Brady._
Hikari shot him an odd look. "How do you mean?"
"The way things all wrapped up nicely," Touji explained. "For the first time since this
year began, no one is fighting. Isn't it a nice change?"
"Hope it lasts," Hikari replied optimistically, gazing wistfully down the street. "I am
so over the whole school rivalry thing."
Touji nodded. The two walked in silence, not uncomfortable silence but reflective silence.
Before long, they reached Hikari's house.
"Well, see ya," Touji said lamely, wondering when exactly his vocabulary had dwindled to
caveman standards.
"See ya," Hikari echoed, heading to the front door. As Touji watched her leave, she turned
abruptly and retraced her steps till she was standing near him again.
"Oh, by the way," she said lightly. "You dropped this."
She dug into her jacket pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She handed it to him; it took
him a total of 1.6 seconds to recognize it.
A receipt. A receipt from when he bought the campaign buttons.
Touji's vocabulary dropped from caveman standards to non-existent. The only thing he could do
was stare. And whimper internally.
Hikari calmly gauged his reaction. Several agonizing seconds later, a brilliant smile lit up
her face.
Touji drew every remnant of courage in his body together to look in Hikari's eyes. He expected
to see embarrassment, maybe pity.
He didn't.
He saw happiness, hope.
Confidence and relief surged through Touji's veins. He opened his mouth to say something to
her. Unfortunately, his vocabulary was still on long service leave.
The lack of speech left Touji with a decided lack of options. He weighed them up. He
considered them carefully. And he went for option two.
He lifted her chin gently. He lowered his head.
And he kissed her.
Inside the Horaki home, Hikari's older sister watched the scene taking place out the front
with a smile.
--
Hikari Horaki -
Now THAT was worth agonizing over.
--
Touji Suzahara -
Things I've Learnt In The Last 24 Hours
1. Kami Yatami is one smart girl.
2. Hikari is even more beautiful than I thought.
3. I'm hopelessly, pathetically, nauseatingly in love.
--
Widely known facts: Caffeine is a natural stimulant. In some people, it causes very noticeable
reactions. In others, they barely feel it.
Little known fact: Blake belonged to the former category - a strong short black had the boy
hopping.
When one is feeling the effects of caffeine, some things do not go well with it. Anxiety was
one.
This explained why Blake felt like his head was going to explode.
He was pacing, and had been pacing for so long he was mildly surprised that he hadn't worn a
track into the rug. His hair was sticking up in all directions, the result of agonized fingers
clawing their way through. He was mumbling to himself at a speed that would have had most
questioning his sanity.
He was trying to think rationally, but it was difficult. He took a deep breath, and recalled
a tip that generally helped him think through things.
Break it down.
Okay. In it's broken down format, the situation was as such:
- He had liked Rei
- He'd had a fight with Rei
- He'd made up with Rei
- He possibly still liked Rei
Rei featured heavily in his dilemma. His dilemma was such: Did he still like her? And did he
still like her enough to want to date her?
He would have constructed a Pros and Cons list, but his brain was so fried, he wasn't sure
if he remembered how to work a pencil.
He couldn't focus. His thoughts were jumbled and he couldn't get a hold of them. In fact,
as far as he could tell, there was one thing his mind could focus on.
And that, for some unknown reason, was the Sailor Moon theme.
Fighting evil by moonlight, winning love by daylight . . .
"Oh, for the love of God!" Blake flung himself onto the couch, looking positively maniacal.
He was going to turn on the TV. He was going to tune into some pre-scripted white trash talk
show. He was going to escape from the human race for a few hours. He was going to . . .
He was going to kill whoever was ringing the doorbell so damn insistently.
He stalked to the door and flung it open, making a decision that if the person on the other
side was someone offering him a pamphlet on reaching spiritual enlightenment via a diet of
lentils, he would beat them unconscious with a lamp.
He was so surprised by his visitor that his face got stuck in a half-scowl, half-sneer
expression. A 'snowl'.
He sent a message to his face muscles to rearrange themselves into a somewhat more socially
acceptable expression. "Kensuke, hi."
Kensuke eyed Blake coolly. "Maybe you've made up with Rei. And maybe you're gonna date her
or whatever. But if I find out you've so much as considered hurting her, I won't hesitate
to stop you. I don't care if I have to call in some old favors. You're not gonna hurt her
anymore than you have."
Kensuke clearly hadn't swung by for a chat; having said that, he turned and left. Blake
swallowed his surprise at the 180-degree turn the normally conciliatory Kensuke had taken
long enough to get the last word in.
"Sure you don't want to come in?" Blake called with mock politeness. "We have apple cake!"
Kensuke continued walking.
Blake shut his door and leaned against it. He shook his head. "I really need to start finding
out how these people are getting my address."
Something was amiss. Something was askew. Asuka was sure of it.
She had the distinct, annoying sensation that everyone at her table was withholding some
secret.
Asuka's problem, besides the fact that people were keeping things from her, was Kami. There
was nothing really wrong with her. In all honesty, she was a hell of a lot less irritating
than most of the school. And it wasn't that she'd pulled a turbo-bitch act on Asuka. In all
honesty, she was quite nice. The problem with Kami, as far as Asuka was concerned, was that
everyone liked her. Everyone including . . .
Asuka bit into her apple. She didn't want to think about it.
Asuka's Tips For Relative Sanity #12 - When you don't want to think about something for
whatever reason, think about something else.
It was one of Asuka's favorite tips, one she followed like the Bible.
She looked at Shinji, who was concentrating on not making eye contact with her. Either
that, or he'd found the face of Mother Theresa in his lunch. Obviously, something had
occurred between now and this morning that made Shinji nervous. Asuka didn't quite know
what - besides classes and a brief talk with his French teacher, as far as she knew, his
day had been fairly uneventful. Her blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. He'd been suffering
from serious nervousness around that dippy French woman - did that have anything to do with
it?
Asuka's attention turned to two people who were usually far from silent, the unofficial
social directors of the group. Hikari and Touji. Being oddly silent. Asuka's eyes narrowed
again. Was it her imagination, or were they sitting a little closer together than usual?
Asuka glanced at Rei. Her silence didn't bother Asuka as much as the others. It wasn't
particularly unusual for Rei to be quiet. On the other hand, it was particularly unusual
for Kensuke, who was sitting across from her, to be quiet. The boy had a mouth the size of
Arizona. She wasn't sure what had Kensuke so silent. She hadn't talked to him since he'd
called her asking Blake's address. She wondered if that had anything to do with it.
Asuka was growing exceedingly tired of wondering.
"Right, that's it," she announced, frustration thick. "Is there a bizarre strain of
voice-losing bug going round or something?"
Hikari blinked into focus. "Huh?"
Asuka folded her arms across her chest. "You do realise that that's the first thing you've said
all lunchtime, don't you?" She charged ahead without waiting for a response. "I don't know
about you, but I'm not particularly enthralled by quadratic equations and soliloquies. So when
lunchtime finally rolls around, I like to get social. Which is a little difficult, when you're
all participating in some vow of silence ritual!"
"I was . . . I was thinking," Hikari murmured in response.
Asuka rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh." She turned her eyes to Shinji. "And what's *your* excuse,
Mr. Catatonic?"
Shinji's head snapped up, as if he'd just realised Asuka was talking.
Which he had.
"Uh . . ."
"Brilliant," Asuka responded dryly. "Brilliant response right there. Let me write it down."
Shinji opened his mouth in hopes that his mouth would surprise him and offer a witty response.
No such luck.
Asuka heaved an exasperated sigh. "None of you have said a word all lunchtime!"
Silently, Hikari held her left wrist out to Asuka, showing her the pink and silver watch
adorning her wrist. Asuka registered the time, did a double take and grabbed Hikari's wrist.
She looked up at the white school-issue clock to check that Hikari's time was right.
Asuka leaned back, not bothering to conceal her surprise.
Unbelievable. It was only five minutes into lunchtime.
It had felt like at least ten times that.
"Hey, there's Kami," Shinji spoke up, constructing a real sentence for the first time since
lunchtime began.
Asuka had a serious urge to punch something.
More specifically, to punch someone.
She'd settle either for Shinji or Kami at this point.
"Kami!" Shinji called.
Asuka no longer wanted to settle. She wanted to hit Shinji. Very, very hard.
Kami, who was busy talking to Blake, didn't hear.
"Shinji's calling you," Blake pointed out, nodding in Shinji's general direction.
Kami turned to see Shinji angling his head in that 'Come join us' manner.
Kami hesitated - mostly because she'd just received the 'Come join us' head gesture from
Blake.
"Come sit over here," Kami proposed, looking at Kei and Blake hopefully.
The two exchanged wary glances.
"Oh, come on," Kami wheedled, grabbing Blake by his sleeve and pulling him up. "It's not
gonna kill you."
Somewhat reluctantly, Kei and Blake crossed the room to the table which seemed to have employed
a silence policy.
A series of mumbled greetings occurred. Could the situation be more uncomfortable?
Asuka decided her best option was to continue the line of conversation that had been
occurring a minute or two earlier.
"So why are you so damn quiet?" Asuka asked Rei.
Rei blinked. "Don't look at me. I'm always this quiet."
Asuka considered this carefully. "True, true. Kensuke, on the other hand, is exhibiting
uncharacteristic silence. What's all that about?"
"I pulled a muscle in my jaw," Kensuke deadpanned. He cast a pointed look at Blake before
looking back at his lunch.
Asuka frowned slightly. "Fine. You know what? If you're all gonna sit there and be silent, then
that's fine. Don't expect me to make any effort." She folded her arms across her chest and sat
back.
Shinji sighed. "Oh, come on, Asuka. Don't lose it over the fact that we haven't said much."
Asuka's eyes widened with mock surprise. "He speaks!"
Kei blinked and finally spoke up. "What the hell is up with you people?" she asked, brow
furrowed with perplexity.
Asuka shrugged. "Don't ask me. I've got no idea why the hell none of them are talking."
"We're not not talking," Hikari contradicted. "We just . . . haven't started talking yet."
Asuka nodded doubtfully. "Uh-huh. So did you wanna start now?"
Hikari shrugged. "Whatever."
Asuka uttered a growl of frustration and proceeded to break everything within breakable
parameters on her tray.
"Well, that was constructive," Touji drawled.
Shinji clapped sardonically. "Way to start with the irritable one, Touji. Great plan there."
Asuka, to her credit, had started them talking without knowing it.
Kensuke stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Unless . . . maybe Touji *likes* being beaten up by
the German princess," he suggested.
Hikari's eyebrows rose; Touji cast an embarrassed sideways glance at her.
That embarassed sideways glance was not missed by Asuka, who became immediately suspicious.
Asuka's suspicion preoccupied her to the point where she didn't bother whacking Kensuke
around the head for his comment. This, in turn, made the others suspicious, and Touji
exceedingly nervous.
"Hikari, come with me," Asuka commanded, standing up. "I need to buy a drink."
Touji, who's nervousness was reaching all new highs, swallowed. "You have one," he pointed
out, struggling to stay still.
Asuka eyed him coolly. "But it's flat," she told him slowly, a knowing smirk touching her lips.
"Hikari, come on."
Touji sent his brain a request to help him stay conscious.
--
Touji Suzahara -
How's this for an embarassing fact?
I'm scared of Asuka.
But come on. Who wouldn't be? Not only does she pack a potent punch, she has absolutely
no qualms about using it. Consider the source.
The thing that makes me the most nervous at the moment, though, is her finding out about
me and Hikari.
Not that we'd admit it, but Asuka and me are friends. Kind of. I mean, I like hanging out
with her, even if I do sometimes score some prime bruises.
Asuka's a good friend to have. She's very loyal. And very protective.
Enter my nervousness about her finding out about me and Hikari.
Hikari is her best friend. And Asuka's very protective of her. And I know that probably no
one will be able to match the standards Asuka has for her best friend.
So here I am, sending a plea to God or the ruling forces of the universe or whatever:
Please, please, please, let Hikari be able to handle whatever Asuka throws her way.
--
Asuka wanted so much to ask point-blank if there was something going on between Hikari and
Touji. But she kept her mouth shut and quietly observed as she and her best friend stood in
line. She took note of Hikari's uneasiness. She took note of the way she kept fiddling -
with her hair, her jewellery, her clothes. She took note of the way she kept casting quick
looks back at the table.
Busted? Asuka thought so.
"Let me guess," Asuka began, twirling her hair thoughtfully. "On the way home from the
coffeeshop on Saturday?"
Hikari spun around, eyes wide. "What do you mean?" she asked warily, resisting a major urge
to look back at the table. She had a feeling that would be a dead giveaway.
Asuka tilted her head and smiled. "Oh, come on, Hikari. I've known you for long enough to
know when something's up. And I've known Touji long enough to know when something's up, too.
Do the math, chuck in the extreme lack of space between you when you were sitting down and it
all adds up to something pretty damn suspect."
Hikari sighed. "You're not gonna leave me alone till I spill, right?"
Asuka smiled broadly. "You know my style."
"Promise you're not gonna lecture?"
"Promise."
Hikari took a deep breath. "You were right. He walked me home on Saturday and . . . yeah."
She smirked slightly. "A piece of paper fell out of his pocket at the coffeeshop. It was a
receipt for The Button Hole. You know where that is, yeah?"
"I *knew* he ordered those buttons!" Asuka exclaimed.
Hikari pushed her friend. "How did you know?" she demanded.
"Because I'm me," Asuka responded, matching Hikari's tone. "I see these things. Anyway, it
doesn't matter. Continue, please."
"You wanna continue afterwards?" an annoyed junior working behind the cafeteria counter
demanded. "You're holding up the line."
Asuka absently handed him some money and motioned for Hikari to continue.
"So just as I was about to go inside, I turn around and say, 'You dropped this'. You should
have seen his face. He looked like he was ready to pass out."
"So then what?" Asuka asked, compelled.
"He kissed me." Hikari's entire face lit up at the memory. As the stars faded, she looked at
her best friend expectantly. "Okay. Hit me with a million and one reasons why he's not
good enough for me."
Asuka looked thoughtful for a moment and shook her head. She offered Hikari an enigmatic
smile. "Nope."
She wandered back to the table, leaving Hikari by herself, contemplating what the hell had
just happened.
Asuka slid into her seat, folded her hands on the table, looked Touji square in the eye, and
said matter of factly, "Way to score my best friend."
Touji choked.
All eyes turned to Asuka, shocked and curious. So caught up were they in shock and
curiousity that no one moved to help Touji, who had turned a rather interesting shade of
purple.
"Don't worry. I'm okay," he wheezed with some difficulty.
Still no one bothered to offer assistance.
By this point, Hikari had made her way back to the table, to be greeted by the sight of one
rather smug best friend, six slack jawed friends and one dying boyfriend. Hikari hurried over
to Touji's aid. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked, concerned. She gently patted his back.
Touji took a deep breath. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He'd have shot a glare at Asuka if he wasn't
paralytic with fear. He looked up and met her eyes somewhat fearfully.
Asuka held his gaze coolly for what seemed like hours. Finally, she offered a tiny smile.
Touji's lungs regained their ability to breathe.
Hikari took Touji's hand.
"What the hell did I miss?" Rei demanded, her volume, her tone and her words surprising not
only the people at her table but the people at surrounding tables.
"Besides your CAT scan?" Asuka asked mildly, twisting the lid off her bottle of water.
Rei let the barb pass, still focused on Hikari and Touji. "When did this happen?" she wanted
to know.
"Saturday," Touji informed her, wearing a impossibly perky 'new-relationship' smile.
Rei shot Kensuke a look; he shook his head. Smiling, she held out her hand. Sighing, he
reached into his pocket, dug out some money and handed it to her. Silently, Rei counted the
notes before shoving them into her wallet.
"We made a bet," she explained. "He bet me that if the two of you admitted your feelings in
the next two months, it would only be due to intervention on his part."
Kensuke cast a forlorn look at Rei's wallet. "I had plans for that money."
Rei shrugged lightly and patted her wallet. "I hope this has demonstrated to you the evils
of gambling."
Kensuke considered that carefully. "No, not really."
Again, Rei shrugged, the tiniest hint of a smirk on her lips. "Doesn't worry me. I can always
do with extra money."
The topic of conversation drifted from Touji and Hikari to Rei's plans for Kensuke's money.
Both Hikari and Touji breathed sighs of relief. Any concern they might have had about the
reactions they were going to receive from their friends had just been put to rest.
--
Asuka Langley Soryu -
Both Hikari and Touji expected me to openly oppose their new relationship status.
To be honest, I expected me to openly oppose their new relationship status.
I meant to, you know. I did. But when I saw how happy Hikari was, I couldn't.
She's my best friend. And I knew that I couldn't oppose anything that made her smile like
that.
They're happy together, okay? Who am I to say no to that?
Do you think I'm turning soft?
Nah.
--
Misato opened the door, placed her hands on her hips and smiled broadly. "So," she said,
grinning.
"So what?" Touji responded warily.
Her grin widened, she shook her head and she turned and headed back inside.
Touji shook his head and followed her. Halfway down the hall, she spun abruptly, startling
Touji.
"How's it feel to finally get four years worth of crushing off your chest?" Misato asked
glibly.
"Been talking to Shinji and Kensuke, huh?" Touji predicted dryly.
Misato laughed.
In the living room, Touji eyed Kensuke and Shinji archly. "I don't know if over-sharing is
one of the seven deadly sins, but it should be."
The two shrugged helplessly.
Misato sat down, drumming her fingers on the table and smirking. "Seriously, though. How
does it feel?"
Touji wore a smirk of his own. "Wonderful. Shinji, you should give it a try someday."
Misato laughed.
Kensuke clapped.
Shinji choked and turned a remarkable shade of red.
Asuka stepped into the living room, oblivious to prior occurrings. "What are you stooges
laughing about?" she demanded, leaning over to pick up Shinji's drink. Shinji, too busy
trying to breathe, didn't notice.
"Nothing," Kensuke responded, smiling innocently.
Asuka shrugged, drank half of Shinji's soda and shook her hair back. "Yeah, okay, whatever.
I'm going over to Hikari's. I'll probably see you guys later."
The four listened to Asuka leave the apartment. The second she was gone, Shinji, now fully
recovered and eager to change the topic, turned to his friends.
"Anyone notice Blake's odd behavior today?"
Touji nodded. "He barely said a word all lunchtime. Odd considering the fact he's meant to
have made up with Rei."
Kensuke attempted to look like he hadn't threatened Blake.
Misato blinked. "Who's Blake?"
"Long story," Shinji explained.
Misato shrugged, and turned to the TV.
"What do you think it is?" Touji asked.
"He's scared," Misato contributed, not looking away from the TV.
Touji, Kensuke and Shinji exchanged glances.
"What?" Kensuke asked.
"He's scared," Misato repeated, intently channel-surfing. "My understanding is this. He liked
Rei. He had a major falling out with Rei. He's now made up with her, but is unsure where to
go from here or where exactly he stands."
Shinji gaped at his guardian. "How do you know all this?" he demanded.
Misato tossed her cell phone to him. "Speed dial number one."
Shinji pressed buttons for a few seconds before looking up. "NERV Security? Misato!"
"Hey," she defended herself, turning away from The Bold and The Beautiful. "It's not like
you guys tell me anything. I have to find out somehow."
Shinji shook his head.
"So . . . he's scared?" Touji asked.
"He's scared," Misato confirmed. "Trust me."
Blake wasn't sure why a very attractive woman in a NERV uniform was standing on his front step.
From the look on his mother's face when she'd came to get him, she didn't know, either.
"Uh, hi," he began apprehensively.
The woman smiled brightly. "Hi. I'm Major Misato Katsuragi. I'm Shinji and Asuka's guardian."
Blake swallowed. "Okay. Did you want to come in?"
Misato smiled graciously and stepped inside. Blake led her to the living room and turned
to face her awkwardly. "Look, I'm really sorry for fighting with Shinji that time but -"
Light dawned in Misato's eyes. "So that was you," she acknowledged.
Blake cursed inwardly.
She smiled. "I'm not here to talk about Shinji or Asuka. I want to talk to you about Rei."
Blake cursed inwardly again.
"What about Rei?" he asked innocently, sitting down and gesturing for Misato to follow suit.
Misato sat across from Blake. "I'm not Rei's guardian. But I am her commanding officer. And I
do my best to keep an eye on her. I mean, she's a very independent girl but sometimes she's
a little . . . I guess you could say naive." Misato stopped, realising she was approaching
babbling levels. "Anyway, I just wanted to ask - what are your intentions towards Rei?"
Back at the Katsuragi apartment, Touji tossed the remote control and caught it again. "I can't
believe you asked Misato to go talk to Blake."
Kensuke snatched the remote off Touji and started throwing it from hand to hand. "I can't
believe she agreed."
Shinji calmly watched the remote control, knowing that pretty soon one of his friends would
drop it and most likely end up breaking it. "Well, you know Misato. She'll try anything at
least once."
Kensuke shot Touji a suggestive look, the two of them forgetting the airborne remote control.
It landed several feet away, hitting the floor, breaking the battery cover into several
black plastic pieces.
Shinji reached across and picked up the pieces. "Anything except what you two are thinking
of," he continued.
"Damn," Kensuke said ruefully.
"To be honest, Major Katsuragi, I don't really know," Blake admitted.
Misato pulled her long hair over one shoulder. "What do you mean, you don't know?" she queried,
leaning forward intently.
Blake shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. We have a strange relationship."
It was Misato's turn to shrug. "Just the basic routine," she responded. "Boy meets girl,
boy finds out girl destroyed his school, boy hates girl, boy realises girl isn't to blame.
But the final part, the interesting part, is up to you. What's it going to be, Blake? Boy
dates girl? Boy moves to Utah?"
Blake looked at Misato suspiciously. "Have you been drinking?"
Misato considered the question carefully. "To be honest, I don't even know anymore."
Blake smothered a laugh.
Misato angled her head slightly, studying Blake with thoughtful dark eyes. "You like Rei.
You just don't know how much you like Rei. So can I make a suggestion in regard to this?"
Misato charged ahead, not waiting for a response. "Just ask her out. Do something fun. Like
mini golf."
"Mini golf," Blake echoed doubtfully. He was having a little trouble conjuring up the image
of Rei running after a little plastic ball on Astro-Turf.
"Tell her it's mathematical," Misato replied dismissively. "She'll buy that. Just do something
fun with her. Take it from there."
Five minutes later, Blake was shutting the door behind Misato, mind working overtime.
He shook his head.
"I really, really need to finding out how these people are getting my address."
--
Blake McDermott -
I have a date with Rei. All because I took the advice of some crazy woman who rocked up on my
doorstep.
Maybe I should thank her.
Then again, maybe I shouldn't. The date hasn't occurred yet. For all I know it could blow up
in my face.
I think I'm beginning to see what Kei's talking about when she says I'm a pessimist.
--
Rei Ayanami - A Plea To The Forces of the Universe or whatever
I've had more than my share of bad luck lately.
I refuse to go over it again.
Things are starting to look up, though. I'm going out with Blake tonight.
This could, of course, be the catalyst for something far more severe than anything else that
has occurred lately. Knowing my luck, it most likely will.
This is why I'm sending out a plea to the controlling forces of the universe. Please let this
date go ahead without any problems. No sudden bouts of chicken pox. No explosions. No
earthquakes.
Just a simple date without any drama. Is that too much to ask?
--
"Oh, yeah! He shoots! And he . . . "
"He misses," Rei continued with a grin. "And Rei continues to lead this battle of the mini
golf."
Blake squared his shoulders and blew his nails in an attempt at suavity. "Yes, well you do
realise that I'm letting you win here."
Rei laughed and shook back her hair. "Okay, get ready for this shot," she advised Blake,
pointing towards the spinning multi-coloured blades of the highly tacky plastic windmill
before them. "Off the mat, around the bump, through the middle and straight into the hole."
She got ready to tee off, but just as the club was about to strike the ball, her brain
registered the fact that Blake had whispered something to her.
"You must find the jade monkey before midnight."
Rei jumped, the club hit the ball at a wacky angle and it bumped and bounced it's way across
the Astro-Turf, laying itself to rest about a foot before the blades.
"Nice dribble!" Blake commented enthusiastically, clapping.
Rei spun around, eyes narrowed. "You cheater!" she exclaimed.
"What?" Blake asked innocently. "I was merely informing you of your mission."
"To find the jade monkey before midnight?"
"Ssh!" Blake hissed, darting suspicious glancers at the other mini-golfers. "They'll hear you.
We have to act completely natural." He pointed at a boy waiting for them to move on to the
next hole. "Yeah, that's right buddy. I'm on to you."
Rei grabbed his arm. "Stop it," she giggled.
Blake realised this was the first time he'd heard Rei giggle. It was nice to see her so . . .
so normal for a change. Normally she seemed weighed down with deep-seated trauma or
something. He liked seeing her so lighthearted.
"What do you say we ditch this game and go get something to eat?" she suggested.
Blake's eyebrows rose suspiciously. "I think you're a little worried I'm going to catch up to
you, Miss Ayanami. I think you're a little worried I'm going to win this game."
Rei's hands rested on her hips. "What, do you want to play and see who wins?"
Blake slung his club over his shoulder. "No, not really. Let's get something to eat."
--
Blake McDermott -
I had a really good time out with Rei. She was so incredibly lively and fun. It was great.
But something didn't quite feel right.
It took me awhile to figure out what it was exactly.
When I figured it out, it freaked me out totally.
The time that I had with her was good. But not good like being with Talia was good. Good like
being with Kei is good.
After all this, I like Rei as a friend and nothing more.
And that's really annoying.
--
Rei Ayanami -
I cannot believe this.
After weeks of trauma regarding Blake, I have finally come to a conclusion.
I only like him as a friend.
Does anyone else see the events of the past weeks a complete waste of time?
--
Shinji looked at Asuka and Misato expectantly. They were concentrating waaay to hard on the TV,
considering their choice of viewage - "Stars of the Eighties: Where Are They Now?"
The doorbell rang again. The two showed zero sign of having heard, which made Shinji
highly suspicious. He found it doubtful that anyone could miss the distinctive 'ding-screech'
sound of the doorbell.
It hadn't been quite the same since Asuka had tried to put her fist through it last year.
Shinji sighed. The least they could was pretend they were going to answer it.
He rolled his eyes and stood. On his way to the door, he heard a distinct 'high-five'
sound and Misato proclaim, "Oh, yeah! Score one for us!"
Shinji sighed heavily and rubbed his temples. If Hikari, Rei, Kei or Kami was at the door,
suicide was definitely going to be the order of the day. That was the problem with living
with two members of the female species - the serious lack of testosterone.
Shinji opened the door, and upon seeing the visitor sighed with relief. He grabbed his arm
and dragged him inside.
Blake blinked. "Ookay," he said slowly, looking at Shinji oddly. "Enthusiastic reception."
"I'm being outnumbered by women," Shinji explained.
"You're always outnumbered by women," Blake reminded him. He paused. "And I gotta tell you,
it doesn't sound too bad."
Shinji sighed and clapped Blake on the shoulder. "Oh, my young friend, you are so, so naive."
Blake eyed Shinji. "I'm two months older than you," he pointed out.
Shinji rolled his dark blue eyes. "You're really spoiling the moment here."
Blake laughed.
Shinji grinned. "So, what can I do for you?"
"Actually, I was kinda hoping I could talk to Misato."
Shinji snorted. "Yeah, right."
"Seriously."
Shinji's jaw dropped. He gaped at Blake, silent.
Blake smothered a laugh. "Can I talk to her?" Blake prompted.
Wordlessly, Shinji pointed to where Asuka and Misato were laughing hysterically at some
tragic eighties video clip. Shinji frowned. What the hell were they singing? Karma karma
karma karma karma chameleon? Shinji shrugged. The eighties had produced many a
questionable item. Misato being one.
Blake watched the scene before him wordlessly, Asuka and Misato practically hyperventilating
with laughter. He was beginning to see why exactly Shinji was feeling the strain of being
'outnumbered by women'.
Somewhere during the hysteria, Misato spotted Blake and made a concerted effort to calm down.
"Blake, buddy!" Misato exclaimed. "What's up?"
Blake shifted uncomfortably - possibly due to the fact that Asuka was very not-subtly
listening to every word exchanged.
"I, uh, took Rei out earlier," he mumbled, running a hand through his thick hair.
"Way to go," Asuka commended him, somewhat dryly.
Misato rose a speculative eyebrow. "And?" she prodded.
He shrugged. "Nothing."
Asuka narrowed her eyes in a poor attempt to look sage. "I see you are a man of many words,"
she observed sarcastically.
Blake did his best to ignore her.
Misato looked at him reproachfully. "What do you mean 'nothing'?"
"I mean nothing!" he exclaimed. "It was just like hanging out with Kei."
"So . . . you're saying hanging out with Kei is nothing?" Asuka asked petulantly.
Blake spun around, eyes wide with amazement. "You are so annoying," he stated bluntly.
Asuka smiled serenely.
Misato smirked at the display. It was a rare individual who could tell Asuka to her face that
she was annoying. It was an even rarer individual who was not beaten unconscious after telling
Asuka she was annoying.
"Where'd you take her?" Misato queried, head angled slightly.
"Mini golf."
Asuka laughed.
"Well, maybe that's why," Misato observed. "I mean, mini golf is cool and all, but it's hardly
the most romantic setting. You know? Maybe you should take her out again. Somewhere a little
more formal."
Blake absorbed this, nodding slowly. For an amazingly odd woman, Misato Katsuragi had
good advice.
"Heard you had a date with Blake," Touji commented. He paused. "A date with Blake. That kind
of rhymes."
Rei nodded. "How did you find out about it?" she questioned evenly.
Touji shrugged and glanced at his girlfriend. "Word gets around."
Rei wasn't stupid. She knew what the glance meant.
Asuka.
"How'd it go?" Hikari asked, tilting her face up to the sun. It was the first really sunny
day they'd had in a long time.
Rei sighed and leaned forward conspiratorily. Very un-Rei like.
"It was good," she began, choosing her words carefully. "It was fun."
"But . . ." Hikari supplied, eyebrows drawn together slightly.
Rei lifted her slender shoulders slightly in a shrug. "But that's all. It was fun. It just
felt like we were hanging out. It didn't seem like a date."
Again Hikari and Touji exchanged glances, but this one was more complex. It made Rei seriously
uneasy. "What?"
Hikari pushed her hair off her shoulders, obviously stalling for time. "Its just . . . if there
was nothing there, I kinda think that nothing ever will. It's either there or it isn't."
"Well, that was direct," Touji said dryly.
Hikari ignored him.
Rei sighed. "Yeah. I figured as much."
"Man, this is lame," Hikari commented, stretching her arms over her head.
"Totally," Kami agreed, bending to tighten her shoelace. "I've seen people in comas who are
more lively than this."
Hikari and Kami sighed and surveyed the soccer field. A few girls were sitting on the grass,
talking. One was scaling one of the goals. Taura was filing her nails. The rest were standing
around looking as uninspired as possible.
Hikari rolled her dark eyes and rested her hands on her hips. "Oh, come on," she stated. "This
is ridiculous." She spotted Kaya, the one girl besides Hikari and Kami who had been remotely
interested in the game. Kaya had the ball tucked under her left arm, looking out at the field
bleakly.
"Hey, Kaya!" she called. "Over here!"
Kami had to laugh. Hikari threw herself into anything and everything regardless of how
interest-free anyone seemed.
Kaya blinked her wide eyes in surprise, then grinned. She dropped the ball on the soft grass
and kicked it towards Hikari. Hikari stopped the ball and started dribbling it down the field,
brown ponytail bouncing as she yelled out encouraging phrases.
Hikari and Kaya's enthusiasm awakened the rest of the PE class. Several of the girls picked
themselves off the ground. Taura put her nail file away.
Kami pushed herself off the goal frame. For the first time it looked the like her team might
actually need her to the goalkeeping thing.
Kami watched as Kaya and Hikari bounded around the field, psyching up the rest of the team with
stupid, improvised cheers.
"Let's go Green!
Go for your dream!
We're the best soccer team!" Hikari shouted, her ponytail bouncing.
"Let's go Red!
Kick that ball!
Keep on going,
If you fall!" Kaya countered, rattling off the rhyme from the top of her head and giggling.
Kami laughed. Too bad Tokyo-3 High didn't have a cheerleading squad. Hikari and Kaya had
buckets of school spirit.
Kami frowned slightly. She hadn't thought of cheering in months.
"Kami!"
Kami snapped out of her trance and looked up to see a black-and-white ball flying at her.
Automatically, Kami's arms shot up to block the ball. But she wasn't ready and when the ball
hit her, she stumbled. Dizzy with pain, she sat on the grass, staring at her wrist in
wide eyed amazement.
Hikari was by her side in under ten seconds. "Are you okay?" she managed to ask between
breaths.
Kami shook her head weakly. "I think my wrist is broken."
Hikari dropped to her knees. "Are you sure?" she asked, brow wrinkled with concern. "It's
not like, sprained or something?"
Again Kami shook her head. "I had to take First Aid back home," she explained. "I'm pretty
sure it's broken."
Kaya, who was listening in, turned to face the rest of the class. "Someone get a teacher!"
she ordered. "Now!"
'One upside of breaking my wrist is getting the rest of the day off,' Kami conceded silently
as she pushed open her front door with her right arm. Thankfully, broken wrists were nothing
new to Kami - she'd experienced her share at her old school.
She headed for the kitchen and lifted the phone from it's cradle to check the message bank.
"You have one new message," Kami said, bored as she repeated the familiar words along with the
recording. "To listen, press one."
Kami pressed one.
"Hi Kami, Michiru. It's Michael here. I hope I have the right number. Anyway, I just wanted to
let you know that I'm in town and I really wanted to see you. Kami in particular. I mean, not
that I don't want to see you Michiru, but . . . I'm babbling. Look, give me a call, okay?
0413 861 221. Or just drop by. I should be in . . ."
It took Kami awhile to figure out who exactly was calling. Michael who?
It struck her like a freight train.
Michael. Her father.
Michael? Her father? He was in town?
Kami rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. You have to be kidding me."
"Now, technically you don't need guardian approval as you will legally be an adult by the
time you leave," Mme Peron explained to Shinji as she tugged at the bottom of her pale pink
shirt. "But I'm assuming you've talked to your guardian about this."
Shinji felt his face redden as he nodded. Why didn't he just hang a sign around his neck that
said, "I'm a liar!"
Mme Peron seemed oblivious to his discomfort. "Okay, great. Well, this is pretty much the last
step. I just need you to sign here and it's all good. Everything that goes on between now
and then is just bureaucracy."
She pushed the neatly stapled papers across the desk to Shinji, a pen clipped to the top of the
page. The pen tip rested perfectly on the dotted line.
Shinji frowned. _Gee. No pressure._
He unclipped the pen and poised over the stark dotted line. This was it. This signature would
guarantee a lot of things. A year in France. Priceless experience. And most likely, him
being able to pick and choose his career.
He frowned slightly. It was also going to lead to heaps of other things.
Misato being furious.
His friends feeling a little hurt as to why he never told.
Leaving Asuka.
The frown deepened. It wasn't like he was really with Asuka. He was seventeen. He had nothing
tying him to anything. He was free to do what he wanted.
"Shinji?" Mme Peron prompted. "Are you having second thoughts?"
"No," he answered decisively, putting pen to paper and scribbling his name.
There. It was done.
He was seventeen.
He was free to do what he wanted.
It was about damn time he realised that.
