Rebuild of Third Genesis

Twelve

Maya Ibuki awoke to the sound of two women arguing, off in the distance. The brown haired woman sat up in her bed, looking around the NERV housing suite tiredly. Then with a yawn she got up, dressed in a old shirt and shorts, and grabbed a robe before seeing what was going on.

Two young ladies were in the hallway not far from her door, arguing while dressed in pretty much nothing at all. "You used up the hot water!" the girl with glasses yelped, scowling.

"I did not!" the slightly mousier looking girl shot back defensively, still damp from the shower.

"Would you two please quiet down?" Maya demanded sleepily.

Both women rounded on her as the glasses wearing girl demanded, "Damn it, does this place even have decent plumbing?"

"You're lucky we have pluming," Maya shot back before adding, "the hot water tank kicks in again after a few minutes."

"Sorry, miss," the mousier girl said, then her eyes widened, "Captain Ibuki? Oh geeze, I'm sorry we woke you!"

"You're Mana, right?" Maya yawned, "And you're Mari. Keep in mind most of NERV's staff is in these buildings, it'd be best not to piss them off."

"Too late," a voice growled from farther up the hall. All of them saw Misato looking sleep rumpled and pissed off, her almost purple hair standing up slightly as the sexy woman stood there in her usual night clothes.

"Oh crap," Mari winced, standing straight and trying to look at attention. Mana went pale, visibly trying to hide behind Mari if possible.

"Sorry, ma'am," Maya said to Misato, sighing.

"Not your fault," Misato sighed, running a hand through her hair, her tank top riding up to flash some underboob. Her bikini panties were black, and everyone was trying not to gawk. She shook her head, "I need some breakfast."

With that she walked off, leaving silence in her wake. "That's the boss?" Mari noted after a moment, "I think I like it here already."

"Mari!" Mana yelped.

"The shower should have refilled by now," Maya noted, "take your turn and keep it down, please." With that she walked back to her own suite, yawning tiredly. She made her way back to the bed, pausing a moment as she looked at the woman in the bed there.

Ritsuko Akagi laid on the bed, her blond hair spread out on the pillow, her arm curled around where Maya had been sleeping beside her. She stirred, looking up at Maya sleepily as she asked, "What happened?"

"The new girls found out about our off and on hot water," Maya said gently. She reached out, running a finger through the blond hair as she hesitated, then asked, "Senpai, why now?"

Ritsuko sat up, her nightie hugging her body as she looked at Maya fondly. "Why did I decide to sleep with you?" she asked.

"Well, yes," Maya blushed.

Ritsuko's hair fell into her eyes, giving her a softer look. "I... it's kind of hard to explain," she admitted. She looked at Maya as she said, "You know, I've been aware of how you felt about me for awhile."

Maya blushed slightly, "I thought so."

"I don't think I'm worthy of you, Maya," Ritsuko admitted, "I've done... some very questionable things, for NERV and Gendo. But I just couldn't stay away."

"I'm glad," Maya kissed her gently. "But you'd better be serious about this. I know I am."

Ritsuko kissed her back lingering, "Hmm, so am I." She hesitated, looking outside at the Sun rising over the edge of the crater where Tokyo-3 now sat and sighed, "I don't suppose we could just go back to bed?"

"I think Misato has plans," Maya made a face, "besides, the kids woke her up too. I bet you she's gonna be cranky."

"Oh, lovely," Ritsuko sighed, rubbing her eyes tiredly. She sighed, "Uhm, I don't suppose you could make us some breakfast? I'd volunteer, but I burn water."

Maya laughed softly, "Sure, but you get to help."

"Very well," Ritsuko sighed as she got up to follow Maya.

Meanwhile, Misato yawned as she stumbled back into her own suite, knowing the odds were poor she'd be able to get back to bed. Asuka stumbled out of her room, while sounds from Rei's smaller room indicated she was stirring too.

"What the hell was that about?" Asuka growled sleepily, her hair messy and having forgotten her eyepatch. The sightless eye stared straight ahead, no matter how she moved. It was kind of eerie looking, really.

"Our new guests from NERV Berlin," Misato told her dryly. "It seems your countrymen don't like our off and no hot water."

Asuka snorted with amusement. She turned around as she noted, "I better get dressed, I doubt we'll get any more sleep."

"Wark!" PenPen complained bitterly, the penguin clearly annoyed over being waked up.

"Yeah, yeah," Misato chuckled, going to the fridge and getting out a tin of sardines. She calmly popped the key and opened the tin, then unceremoniously dumped it into a dish.

The Penguin gave her a look at how messily it was dished up, then PenPen began to scarf down his food. "Wark," he grumbled, eating.

Rei Ayanami emerged from her room, thankfully dressed in a old shirt and a pair of shorts. She had originally just skipped night clothes, nearly making both Misato and Asuka choke on their morning drinks. Thankfully she quickly caught on it wasn't a good idea, and now always wore clothes.

"Good morning," Rei smiled gently.

"What's good about it?" Misato grumbled as she got a alcohol free beer out of the fridge and slammed it back. It tasted awful, but she was determined to try to change her ways, damn it!

"That's a rhetorical question, right?" Rei asked, still smiling as she studied Misato thoughtfully.

"Yes it is," Misato admitted, "I just hate getting up early." She snorted quietly, "Especially after a late night like yesterday."

"You and Maya got the Berlin people and brought them back here, correct?" Rei asked curiously, sitting on the counter by where Misato was leaning.

"Yeah, it was a late flight too," Misato sighed tiredly, taking another can out of the fridge and popping it open. She tossed it back, then nearly choked. "What the hell, iced coffee?" she gurgled, staring at the can in annoyance.

"Uhm, that's mine actually," Asuka noted, coming out of her bedroom dressed in her NERV uniform. The trousers and shirt hid her scars, not a incidental consideration, plus it gave her a sense of security too.

"Get some cans that look different than my beer ones," Misato ordered dryly. Though admittedly, the caffine was helping wake her up faster.

"Yeah, yeah," Asuka carefully grabbed one of her coffee cans and drank it. "Are we all going into NERV today?" she asked curiously even as Rei sipped some water.

"Yeah, more damn meetings," Misato made a face, "we're integrating staff from NERV Berlin and other bases the UN is shutting down, plus I need to talk to our new UN Inspector too."

"I thought you got along with her pretty well?" Asuka asked, picking up the misgivings in the older woman's voice.

"Satoko Shinden and I got along well when she was a UN relief manager," Misato smiled slightly, "I have no idea how well she'll take to being elevated to becoming my boss."

"She is not your employer, correct?" Rei blinked, tilting her head to the side questioningly.

"Well, not technically," Misato conceded, "but the UN has taken over the funding of NERV. If she wants to, she can make things hard on me."

"So just use that unresistible charm on her," Asuka teased.

Misato rolled her eyes, "Asuka, you are just asking to do the dishes tonight." Rei bit back a giggle, and Misato hid her own smile as Asuka pouted.

"Considering we usually get take out, that's a empty threat," Asuka noted. She smiled slightly as she said, "Who wants breakfast?"

"Is it going to be burnt again?" Rei asked innocently.

"Probably," Asuka laughed.

"Bring it on," Misato chuckled, heading off to get dressed herself.

Later that afternoon Misato sighed tiredly after a very packed morning. She had met with Satoko Shinden, which had honestly gone better than she expected. Satoko seemed to understand the condition NERV was in and the resources they would need, if they were going to make a serious attempt at being a planetary protection agency.

'Of course, we'll see how cooperative she is once the bills to rebuild Unit-2 come in,' Misato mused. She noted it was time for another meeting, so she tidied her desk while waiting for the knock. A few moments later it arrived, and she yelled for them to come in.

Satsuki Ooi lead the way inside, the tall brown haired woman smiling warmly, while behind her Aoi Mogami looked a bit more nervous. "Thanks for seeing us," Satsuki smiled, shaking Misato's hand.

"No problem," Misato said, shaking both her and Aoi's hands, "I'm thinking of asking you to take my old spot here at NERV."

"I'd be honored," Satsuki admitted, smiling slightly. More seriously she said, "There's some things we need to talk about first... it's possible you'll end up firing us both."

"Ominous," Misato noted, waving both women to the nearby seats. She sat down too as she asked, "Tell me more."

"It's kinda complicated," Aoi admitted, "while working with Satsuki, we found power indicators showing activity beneath NERV Berlin, activity that shouldn't have been there."

"When we went down to check it out we found," Satsuki looked like she was searching for the right words, "clones. Specifically, clones of Asuka Soryu Langley."

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Misato breathed out, shaking her head. "Please tell me you destroyed them."

"We did," Satsuki confirmed, glad the Misato's reaction seemed to match her own.

"But apparently two clones from that project were altered, and released into society," Aoi said quietly, "for we think the last two years or so."

"Who...," Misato started, then made a face. "Don't tell me: Mari and Mana?"

"Yes, ma'am," Satsuki nodded glumly, "and to be honest Aoi and I weren't sure how to handle it. Tell them they're clones? Keep it a secret? I don't know."

Misato sighed, "Tell me about it..."

To be continued...