"Misato-san..." I began. She glanced at me. "I guess you have...read my file. Is that right?"
"Yes," she replied with that soft voice of hers, looking at the sunset before us.
"So then...you know."
After a brief silence she quietly repeated,
"Yes."
We were on an official "refreshing trip" to a hot springs recreation area with Misato, her pet penguin Pen Pen and Shinji. The boys were on the other side of a large gate, and for sure Shinji wasn't enjoying as wonderful company as I was. I had helped him with his physics homework earlier that day, revealing him that I couldn't read all the kanjis. In fact I had revealed him a lot more than that, I had been wearing a bikini. The boy had been doing his homework beside a swimming pool! One more reason for me to claim he was odd.
I glanced at Misato, and noticed a remarkably big scar on her side.
"In the Second Impact," she explained before I asked.
"Oh." I sensed she didn't really want to talk about it. And who would have?
"I was wondering... about my file..." I started again with the same subject. "Was there... anything... about Angelika?"
I was surprised to see her smile mildly.
"A few facts, yes. And the same facts about all the friends you ever had, I suppose."
"Oh." She hadn't really answered my question. I wondered if she knew that. "And just that? Just a few facts and that's all?"
She gave me a brief look.
"Well, if you mean the nature of your relationship, I know about that. Or, let's say that I read it between the lines."
"Which means that the big authorities, like, don't have a clue?"
"People are blind to things they don't expect to see," she replied quietly.
After another silence I quietly asked her,
"So what do you think of that?"
"None of my business," she just replied. "And one of these days... Oh, well."
"What?"
"I shouldn't be telling you anything about it, you know. It's classified information I really shouldn't trust you with, mostly because I might lose a lot of things - amongst which my job - if anyone finds out."
"You just awakened my curiosity you know," I said, half playfully, half accusing. "You shouldn't tell me anything about what exactly?"
She shook her head.
"About... About me and Ritsuko," she finally said, looking at the sunset. It was actually almost dark already.
"Dr. Akagi?" I assured. "Whoa."
"We should head back, it's almost dark," she replied and rose to her feet. "Come on."
-------
First thing in the morning I was late for school and so the teacher had a great reason to yell at me once again. Then it occurred that I hadn't done my homework, because, as I told him, the exercises were stupid. He proposed that maybe it was me who was stupid, and promised to take it up with Misato. "Fine," I said and took a seat without his permission. The other students took cover at this point.
The next lesson was gym. While changing, the girls were talking about arranging a birthday party for Hikari. Everyone was excited about their friend turning fourteen – well, everyone except Ayanami of course. She was silent and kept her usual distance. There was more than one reason for that I liked gym lessons, and one of them was that I got a chance to throw glances at that mysterious girl. I know she has a thing for water, but rather she reminds me of ice, I thought. Her pale white skin looked even whiter, if possible, in the black swimsuit.
"...Isn't it so, Asuka?"
"What?" I had to ask. My thoughts had been wandering far away from the discussion.
Hikari looked at me like I was a little odd.
"We should invite everybody, right?" she repeated the question.
"You mean the boys aswell? The jerks of this class?"
She blushed.
"I was planning on inviting Toji... and I don't think he'll come unless Shinji and Kensuke are invited, too..."
"Oh come on, I have to spend all my time with that stupid Shinji, can't I get just one minute of rest?" I protested.
"Then who shall we invite?" asked Yuriko, another classmate. "The class isn't actually crowded. If we don't invite the boys, then there will be just the three of us and Hikari's two little sisters."
I gave a sigh.
"All right then, let's invite the boys, too, if you like. It's your party after all. Can I bring Kaji with me?"
Later that day, after the school, I was reading a book in Misato's kitchen, and we were home alone with Shinji. Misato had gone to a meeting, or then for a date she preferred not to tell us about. Shinji was listening to his usual music, and my book was in German just to make him irritated, or curious, I wasn't that sure myself.
"Don't you ever get bored of that?" I suddenly asked him.
"Of what?" he asked, removing one headphone from his ear.
"The music. The same old songs."
"No," he replied. "I like them. Why?"
"Ah, well, just wondering." After a brief pause I went on: "Shinji-kun, would you like to kiss me?"
I enjoyed the effect my words had. He nearly choked, seemingly forgotten how to breathe.
"No! Um, I mean, uh...you're nice and all, but..."
"But? Have you ever even kissed a girl before?"
"Um no not really," he muttered.
"So then, it's about the time," I told him.
"Why?"
"How about because I'm so bored," I offered.
I stood up and walked over to him.
"Have you washed your teeth?" I asked him.
"Yeah of course..."
"Close your eyes," I ordered, and he did so.
And we kissed, or rather, I kissed him.
"Your breath tickles," I complained and took a firm grip of his nose to prevent the tickling.
"Um, Asuka, I..." he gasped.
I released both his nose and his lips and dashed to the bathroom. I just had to wash my teeth.
"How stupid things people do just out of boredom," I murmured.
Shinji was maybe going to say something, but he got interrupted by the soft hissing of an opening door. Misato was home.
"Hi kids," she greeted us. "I'm beat. Shinji, can you bring me a beer, please?"
"Uh, sure," he said.
"Has he always been like that?" I asked Misato.
"Probably," she replied. "I haven't known him much longer than you, though."
My first week in Japan had come to a Friday, and I had got acquainted with everyone – everyone except the only one I really wanted to know. Everyone except Rei.