Chapter 15: Out of Body Experience
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Kaji: Okay, now that we got rid all evidence of 'it', we can resume our trip to the store
Hikari: Yep, any one else coming?
Beat up Kensuke and Touji: Yeah, sure, why not?
Hunter: There are some things I need to get, so I will come as well
Rei: I have obtained a list that the Commander wishes for me to get the contents of
Iak: I'm good
Shuri-Shara: So am I
Ninetri9: Okay, see you later!
Everyone leaves
Asuka: Good grief, the things I saw
Keevan: I'm underage; I shouldn't have seen any of that
Kaitos: Eh, you'll survive
Ninetri9: Might as well start the story before anything else weird happens
Shinji: Urgh, what happened?
Asuka: You fainted
Shinji: Oh right
Ninetri9: Alright, here goes, I do not own NGE, Gainax does. I do own all original characters though, and if there is any resemblance to real people or other characters, it is merely coincidental
Kaitos: Hey, where's Pen and Misato?
Ninetri9: And what is that smell?
Sai: Coughing Crap, that woman's brewing something in the basement
Kaitos: What! That's where I do my experiments!
Ninetri9: I have a basement? You're doing experiments in my basement?
Asuka: Hey, the doors locked!
Shinji: Misato, open the door!
Misato: No way, if you're not going to get more beer, than I'll just make my own!
Ninetri9: Aw great, now I can get in trouble for illegally brewing beer in my basement
Shinji: That's a law?
Asuka: Either way, the author is still in a heaping helping of trouble
Sai: I got an ax, let's get in and stop her!
Kaitos: Don't break my stuff!
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School
Rei was walking to class, the same emotionless mask on her face as always. Upon entering, she took note that neither Asuka nor Shinji were there. She had not really believed that they would be back, especially after the events of the last twelve hours. Taking her seat by the window, she took a look around the classroom, which is when Rei noticed that Hikari was walking up to her
"Ayanami-san" Hikari began, "do you know where Ikari-san and Asuka-chan are?"
Looking at her, the blue-headed girl said in a monotone, "No, I do not"
Nodding, Hikari turned to leave when Rei grabbed her elbow. She turned back and raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
"You have a list of the students' addresses and phone numbers, correct?"
The pigtailed girl nodded, "I do, is there someone you're looking for?"
Rei nodded, "I need Keevan Markan's phone number"
Slightly confused, Hikari went to her desk and came back with a printed paper. Putting the paper before Rei, she watched as the blue-haired girl scanned the paper and then give it back.
"Thank you"
"Uh, you're welcome" Hikari said nervously
She sat back down in her seat in time to see Touji and Kensuke enter the classroom.
"Hey, rep, what's up" the jock called out
Shaking her head, she replied, "Just a bit confused is all"
Pushing his glasses up his nose, Kensuke asked, "What about?"
Hikari then looked towards Rei, who was staring out the window. She then told the two about the weird conversation she had with Rei.
Both boys were now staring at Rei as though they had never seen her before.
"Yikes," Kensuke said, "Never knew that Rei was into little boys"
He then fell forward as Hikari had smacked him across his head. Resuming her seat, she noticed that Keevan had just entered the classroom.
"Markan-san" she called out
Turning, the boy looked inquisitively at her, "Yes, class rep?"
"Are you and Rei going out?" Touji interjected
His glasses falling off his face, Keevan began stuttering as Touji held his side in mirth and his head in pain. Hikari glared at the crouching jock before returning her attention to the red faced boy.
"Ignore them. Are you friends with her?"
Fumbling for his glasses on the floor, Keevan muttered, "Sort of"
Finding his glasses, he reached out only to grasp empty air as another hand came down and picked them up. Squinting upwards, he gulped as he saw a blur of blue, then his vision cleared to see that Rei had gone and put the glasses back on his face. The others were looking on in something akin to shock.
"May I speak with you, Markan-san?" Rei asked
Gulping, Keevan readjusted his glasses before nodding in the affirmative. Helping the boy up, Rei then lead him over to a corner in order to speak privately. Standing there staring at the last spot they had seen Keevan and Rei like statues were Hikari and the two stooges. They were still like that as Sai walked into the room.
Noting the vacant stares, the computer genius decided to be a little mischievous. Sneaking around the trio, he gently, but firmly, pushed Hikari into Touji. Stumbling, she grabbed the first thing she could reach, which unfortunately was a statuesque Touji. Losing his balance, the jock let Hikari pull him down to the ground.
They fell to the ground, with Touji on top of Hikari, his arms on either side of her to support him. Both of them were momentarily frozen again as they stared one another in the eyes. They would have stayed that way, but they heard someone coughing above them. Jumping back to their feet, both of them were the same shade of deep red as they murmured apologies to one another.
Kensuke was beyond shock, in less than ten minutes he had gone through a major mental breakdown. Slumping to the ground, he lay there impassively until Sai came and tried to snatch his laptop.
"Hey, hands off the merchandise!"
He looked up to see the bright haired boy struggling to not laugh out loud.
Letting a snicker exit his mouth, Sai said, "Just checking to see whether you were still with us or to send you to a mental institute"
Meanwhile, Rei had dragged Keevan to a corner of the room and was asking him questions.
"So the other pilots are fine, as well as the Major?"
The boy nodded nervously, "Yeah, they should be fully recovered by the end of the day"
Rei only nodded in response. Looking up, she saw that Touji and Hikari were in a position she herself had once been in. She noticed, however, that Sai was hovering around them, as though making sure something went right.
Turning back, she said, "Batu-san is also one of your friends"
The rookie Avatar nodded in defeat at the astounding mental abilities of the First Child.
"Very well, after school, I wish to visit the Sohryu and Ikari and check upon their status"
Keevan frowned as he thought this over. He was about to respond when Sai interrupted him.
"Of course you can, we'd love guests!"
Eyes wide, Keevan whispered to Sai, "What are you doing? We aren't supposed to do this!"
Arching an eyebrow, the older boy replied, "Relax, Iak won't mind…much"
Keevan sighed in defeat, "Fine, but you are taking the blame"
"Deal"
With that, the bell rang for class and everyone, except Rei, scrambled for their seats. The teacher came and the day began anew as the teacher began his droning lecture about Second Impact.
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Avatar Base
It was late afternoon, the sun's rays casting shadows through the window of the slumbering pair. Both Shinji and Asuka were lying in their beds, recovering from their adventure on the mindscape. From one of the beds came a slight groan as a small patch of red moved from beneath the blanket. Rising from the covers was a very drowsy red-head.
At the same time there was movement from the other bed as a brown-headed boy crawled from under his sheets. Sitting straight up, he yawned as he rubbed his eyes in an effort to wake up.
Mein gott, I feel so refreshed! I thought that I would be in more pain from my wounds
Asuka then realized that she felt no pain at all from her side. She felt where she was cut and was surprised to find that there were no bandages or any pain. Opening her eyes, she looked down at her side to find something very wrong.
On the other bed, Shinji was wincing slightly as he held his side in pain. He was groaning as he sat up. Feeling hair fall onto his face, he looked up to see strands of red hair falling across his face. Confused, he looked up to see that he had a full head of red hair.
Slowly the duo turned towards the other side of the room and to each other. Asuka saw herself in bed with a confused look on her face and Shinji saw himself staring at him in shock.
It was such a peaceful day in the building before it was shattered. The ninjas were on patrol, so they were spared an ear battering. Sai and Keevan were still in school, so they too were saved from a great deal of pain. The rest of the occupants were not so lucky. Their eardrums were still aching from the twin screams coming from the pilots' room.
Opening the door slightly, Misato poked her head in, "What's going on?"
She saw that both Shinji and Asuka were up against the walls next to their beds, looking as though they were about to have a heart attack.
"Hey, are you two alright? You look like you've seen a ghost"
They slowly pointed at one another as their mouths began to open and close without saying anything. Confused, Misato thought that maybe they were surprised to be in the same room, but that couldn't be it.
Iak appeared behind her while rubbing his ears in an attempt to clear the ringing that persisted in his head.
"What's wrong?"
Misato opened the door completely to show the pair was still wordlessly pointing at one another. Cocking his head sideways slightly, the winged man stepped into the room and looked from one teen to the other. He then waved his hand in front of the pair, and finally received a reaction from them.
"Now, tell me, what is wrong?" Iak asked the pair
Both said in unison, "He/She is in my body!"
Confused, Misato turned to Iak for an explanation. He was looking first from one to the other.
Looking towards Asuka, he asked, "Shinji?"
Receiving a nod, Iak turned to Shinji and asked, "Asuka?"
"No shit Sherlock"
Misato was now in shock, from what she had just witnessed, it was apparent that Shinji was in Asuka's body and she was in his body. She then began to giggle, which soon turned to chuckles. Hearing the laughs, Shinji and Asuka turned to see that Misato was leaning against the doorway clutching her sides as she began to laugh long and hard.
Asuka, in Shinji's body, jumped up and shouted, "What are you laughing about!"
Their guardian slowly got back to her feet as she wiped tears of mirth from her eyes.
"Sorry, but this is hilarious!" she then turned to Iak, "Seriously, where were you when we were doing our synchronization program for those two!"
"Misato!" they said in unison
Iak rubbed the back of his head as he watched Misato teasing the kids as they tried to get her to stop. Deciding to stop them before it escalated, he stepped between Misato and the kids with raised hands.
"Stop" he said in a tone that brooked no arguments
They all stopped, so he continued, "Lets get something for you to eat, and then we can discuss what happens next"
Iak then stepped out of the room, leaving the switched teens and Misato to follow. In the main room, Rikku was rubbing her ears like Iak was earlier. Looking up, she saw the group enter.
Speaking louder than necessary, she asked, "You find out what happened?"
Nodding, the winged man stepped towards the kitchen, with Rikku joining the people behind him. She saw that Asuka seemed to be more uncomfortable than normal, and that Shinji seemed to be seething in anger. Knowing what the two were actually like, this was extremely odd.
Shinji was feeling extremely uncomfortable. Neither he nor Asuka had the chance to change, so he was still wearing Asuka's school uniform. The breeze between his legs was not something he was accustomed to. Taking a look towards his old body, he saw Asuka was staring at him with a look that warned him from any thoughts of perversion.
Seating themselves at the table, they were served traditional Asian foods. Iak sat down and watched the others seated around the table.
Seeing no one move, he said, "Eat, or we can begin our discussion"
Overcome with curiosity, Rikku asked, "What's going on?"
Misato, chuckling slightly, said. "Shinji and Asuka have switched bodies"
Eyes widening, she saw that this indeed was the truth. Asuka had been acting far too shy to be normal, and Shinji had a look of near unrestrained rage that was contrary to his normal disposition.
Finally understanding the situation, Rikku began to chuckle along with Misato as the two teens became more red-faced.
"Shut up!" both teens shouted in unison
This only caused them to laugh even harder. Iak watched passively as he heard the door leading outside open
"Tadaima" called the voices of a weary Keevan and a slightly more energetic Sai
"Who's with you?" Iak asked
Confused, Misato and the pilots turned in time to see Rei come into the kitchen right behind Keevan and Sai. The reactions were various from the people at the table. Rikku and Iak were neutral, while Shinji, Asuka, and Misato were in various modes of surprise.
"R-Rei" Shinji stuttered (When I mention Shinji, the boy in the girl's body and vice versa, just in case you didn't understand)
"Aw great, now Wondergirl is here to mock us as well" Asuka said sulking
Rei, although she didn't change expression, was confused. The boy had called her the name that Asuka always insulted her with and the girl was acting as shy as Shinji would. It didn't make any sense, so she looked to the others for an explanation.
Iak was looking towards the two she had followed, "I thought we said no 'guests'"
Keevan was sweating bullets as he nervously shuffled his feet. His friend Sai, however, stepped forward confidently.
"Relax, we got this all covered. We took a circular route before making a few jumps to throw off all pursuit by Section 2. Also, she has no idea where this place is"
Rei decided to correct his statement, "We are on the northern edge of Tokyo-3, in the original Fifth District, corporate building abandoned one year before Second Impact"
Everyone stared at her in surprise except Iak, who looked back to a slack jawed Sai. Weakly smiling, the computer expert bowed his head in shame.
Rei looked over Shinji and Asuka and took note of subtle differences from each person. The boy was tapping his toe in irritation that was unlike him, and she was unnecessarily smoothing her dress, as though to make sure it stayed in place.
Misato decided to break the tense silence by saying, "Well Rei, I hope that you won't tell anyone of this location"
Tilting her head towards Misato, the blue-haired girl replied, "I will not do so, unless ordered to"
This seemed good enough for the woman as she nodded in slight relief. She then embarked on a series of explanations to the passive girl. When she got to the part about Shinji and Asuka switching bodies, the two in question were bright red
"Misato" Asuka said through Shinji's gritted teeth, "can you please stop"
Smiling mischievously, Misato replied, "But it helps to have everyone on the same page"
Shinji placed Asuka's hands onto the table as he sighed. Noticing this, Asuka frowned.
"What's wrong, baka?"
Turning red, he muttered something softly.
About to ask him again, Rikku told Asuka, "He needs to use the bathroom"
There was silence as Shinji and Asuka turned deep red, though for different reasons.
With a face full of rage, the former red-head shouted, "You better not be thinking anything perverted!"
Chuckling, Rikku got up, "Don't worry, I'll make sure Shin-chan won't do anything"
She then led a red faced Shinji towards the bathroom. Before they got to far however, Shinji fell back and landed on his/her back.
"Ow, didn't expect that" Shinji said as he got back up.
Surprisingly though, Asuka didn't react at all. Although the five feet restraint of their spell was still in effect, the mind links did not seem to be effective.
Keevan raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Oh, I forgot about the spell. I was going to tell you guys about it but I forgot"
Rikku helped Shinji back up as she looked expectantly at Asuka. Getting up, she/he followed them to the bathroom.
When they left, Misato was cracking up again while Rei and her classmate travelers sat with her.
Iak asked Keevan, "What about the spell were you going to tell us?"
Embarrassed at his lapse, the boy mage said, "Well, after your romp through the mindscape, I decided to do some psychos scans for any mental or spiritual damages"
The black Aerolan nodded for him to continue. Taking a deep breath, Keevan did so
"Something from the spell was affected during the whole mind jump and when you touched Asuka's spirit"
Iak looked thoughtful at this, "I suspected something may have affected the spell"
Misato decided to interject her thoughts, "I'm actually wondering why they don't seem to sense one another"
Keevan reached into his bag searching for something. Not finding it, he became frantic until Rei held his crystal ball in front of his face.
"How'd you-"
"It fell out at lunch time when you were being questioned by those girls"
Flushing at the memory, Keevan took back his crystal as he thanked her. Waving his hand over it, the ball began to pulsate in shades of red and purple. To Misato to randomness if the colors made no sense, to the other Avatars it made more sense, but they still had difficulty understanding.
"When I did my check on them this morning, I noticed a sort of reverberation from the mind link, or rather, an inversion of mind waves. At first, I thought it was an aftereffect from stress by their recent adventure. It makes more sense now that I see what has happened to those two"
Iak, Sai, and even Rei were nodding in understanding of his explanation. Misato, however, was looking lost and asked for an explanation.
Seeing a chance to redeem himself, Sai decided to answer, "He noticed something weird from the two. From Asuka, he noticed Shinji's mind waves, and vice versa"
Making a grunt of understanding, Misato nodded and decided to accept the information given to her. Returning to the kitchen was a smirking Rikku and two very red-faced teens.
Catching her eye, Misato asked Rikku in a teasing voice, "So, what happened?"
Before the Aerolan could say anything, however, the teens in question said loudly in unison, "Nothing!"
Smiling broadly, Rikku opened her mouth to have it covered by both Shinji and Asuka. With a knowing glance, Misato decided to wait till later to get the story.
The teens removed their hands as Asuka demanded, "When can we get back to our bodies?"
Keevan frowned in concentration as he rolled his now clear crystal ball across the table
"I don't think I can do anything about it"
Before the teens could protest, Iak asked, "I could take them back into the mindscape and then bring them back under more controlled conditions"
Waving his hand frantically, Keevan said, "Way too risky. It was sheer luck that you ended up in your own body. The Matrices were stringent to begin with, but now it is so risky that you could easily end up in either one's body, but with more permanent results"
Asuka and Shinji paled at his revelation. Pensively, Iak got up and began to pace around the kitchen.
Looking towards Asuka, Shinji could just feel the fear emanating from her. The link they had was weaker, although their restraints seemed to be as strong as ever. Gently placing a slim hand on Asuka's, he tried hard to send her comfort. Gripping his/her hand, Asuka turned to him/her with a small smile.
(I have no idea how to use he, she, him, and her in these cases. Help me by sending suggestions)
Misato took note of the two, but made no outward appearance of noticing. Inwardly, she was smiling in happiness and pride. After all the hectic the two have been through, they were becoming closer. She didn't know if all the things that happened were coincidence or some elaborate scheme to bring the two together, but she was glad for it.
Asuka was feeling warm while holding Shinji's hand. She didn't know if it was because Agric was no longer in her head or if it was because she was in his body. Either way, she began to feel better knowing that he was there for her.
While Iak was pacing, the other Avatars were deep in thought.
Keevan looked up and tapped Rikku on the shoulder, "I may have an idea"
Even though he said this quietly, everyone heard and turned to look at him. Feeling the spotlight, Keevan swallowed nervously under the gaze of everyone else
"Um, well I was thinking…" he trailed off
Impatient Asuka asked, "What were you thinking?"
Biting his lip, the mage said, "We could always call Mimara"
Rikku and Sai cringed slightly as he said this, while Iak looked thoughtful. Nervously rolling his crystal across his hand, Keevan looked from one person to the next.
Curiosity overcoming her, Misato asked, "Who is Mimara?"
Keevan answered, "She's the Second Council and my teacher"
Iak finally spoke up, "Last I heard, she was in AR-3alpha, sector b4. I don't think any communication other than snail will be able to reach her"
Shinji asked confused, "Snail?"
With a look of someone who knows everything, Sai said, "Slow moving communication, mail. The area Mimara is in is too far from our position for regular transmissions"
Sneering, Asuka said, "What about relaying her message, sending to one world to another to reach her? Bet you didn't think of that?"
Matching her tone, he replied, "Maybe I should have said that temporal mechanics in other realities make relays impossible. Imagine sending a message thirty years into the past, then have that passed on to another world six millennia ahead of it. Bending from these transfers would never make it to her in the time that she was in"
Losing her smug look, Asuka turned and pouted, much to Misato's amusement.
"What are you smiling about?"
Chuckling softly, she replied, "I just never new how cute Shinji was when he looked like that"
Both teens blushed at her comment. For the moment, they had forgotten they were in each other's body
Placing a hand on each pilots' shoulder, Iak said, "Okay, we send Mimara a message. At best, we can expect her in a few days, at worst, a week"
"A week!" Asuka and Shinji shouted at once
"Yes, there is no way we can do this any faster, and in any case we can't force her to do this"
Rei was watching the proceedings with interest. Taking a look at her watch, she sat up, causing people to jump in surprise. Apparently they had forgotten that she was still there.
Bowing slightly, the blue-haired girl said, "I must be going now. If one of you would please transport me home"
Starting, Sai opened his laptop and rapidly typed on it. Immediately, a portal opened in the kitchen.
"That'll take you directly to your apartment"
Bowing in thanks, Rei stepped towards the portal, "I will see you later"
She then disappeared into the portal, which closed immediately after her.
Sighing, Keevan got up from the table, "Alright, I'll send the message now"
He left the table, with Sai following him up to the door. The computer kid was stopped by a hand placed firmly on his shoulder.
"Let's go, we need to reinforce the reasons why we have rules"
Iak then pushed Sai towards the stairs leading to the roof. Shaking her head in amusement, Rikku looked to the remaining people. Shinji and Asuka both had looks of slight depression and embarrassment, while Misato looked on with an amused look.
"Well, let's eat up, this stuff won't eat itself you know" the female Aerolan said
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Ninetri9: cough Misato!
Shinji: Where are you Misato!
Asuka: Damn, that bitch had to set fire to the damn house
Kaitos: Oh no! All my data, it's gone!
Keevan: Wait, I think I see her up ahead!
Shinji: Misato, are you all right?
Misato: cough Yeah, I'm fine
Sai: What happened?
Misato: I was Cough trying to brew some beer, cough when something exploded cough
Keevan: Ahhh!
Ninetri9: What happened?
Keevan: Something just touched my leg
Pen-Pen: Wark!
Asuka: Pen-Pen!
Shinji: He must have bumped into you in all this smoke
Sai: cough Let's get out of here before we die of suffocation
Misato: I agree cough
Kaitos: Man, it's going to take forever to fix my stuff
Ninetri9: Forget that, no more 'experiments'
Keevan: I feel a little dizzy
Misato: It feels like I just had a dozen cans of beer
Asuka: Oh, heh, I'm so dizzy
She falls on Shinji
Shinji: blush Asuka, are you alright?
Asuka: Never better!
Kaitos: Oh dear, I think the fumes had alcohol in it
Ninetri9: Keevan just fell asleep on the couch
Asuka: Oh Shinji, you're so cute when you blush
Shinji: Asuka!
Misato: Aww, how cute!
Ninetri9: I better end this before it gets too…intimate. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Send in your opinions and I'll get back as soon as I can
Shinji: Hey, let go of my pants!
Asuka: giggle Playing hard to get?
Sai: Down girl
Misato: Oh my…