Chapter 17: Adjusting to Life
Hello again, Ninetri9 back with another chapter. The 'humor' is still out of town, and will be for a while, but they will return...someday.
Prereading done by YouarenotasrandomasI
Disclaimer: I do not own NGE, Gainax does. And you must know by now about my characters
On with the show...
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Avatar Base
The trio of teens had just arrived at their destination. They were standing outside a door in a dusty and dark hall. Hikari was looking about nervously, unsure of what was going on. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw that Shinji had placed his hand on her shoulder
"W-what's g-going on?" Hikari stuttered, "W-where are w-we?"
"Relax"
Taking a deep breathe, the frightened girl slowly calmed herself, although she was still nervous.
Asuka came up and said, "Okay, Horaki-san, you're about to find out a lot"
Shinji nodded, "So you better keep up"
Growing confused, Hikari noted that the two seemed to be acting like each other, Asuka was being docile while Shinji was being assertive.
Noting the inquisitive look on her face, Asuka said, "Before anything else, there is something you should know"
She looked to Shinji as though for permission. They nodded in unison and turned back to Hikari. The girl was feeling more lost with each passing second.
"Okay, don't freak, but me and Shinji switched bodies" the boy said
Frowning slightly, Hikari looked first from one to the other. She then shook her head
"I don't understand"
Placing a hand on the door, the boy, who was supposedly Asuka, said, "If you don't believe us, then let's talk to someone who will make you believe"
Opening the door, he pushed her in. Looking around, Hikari noted a messy, yet homey room. To her left was a hall that had doors on either side. What were confusing were the doors on the right side of the hall. They all seemed to lead to the hall, but there were no doors on the outside. There were stairs at the end of the hall, of which someone was coming down.
The person revealed to be a girl about the teens age with blonde hair and green eyes. She was wearing a blue dress with short sleeves. Over that was an unzipped green vest.
"Hey, what's up?"
Remembering her manners, Hikari bowed and said, "Hello, I hope I'm not intruding"
Hearing soft laughter, she looked up to see that the other bowed back, "No problem, by the way, my name is Rikku Naori"
Smiling, Hikari said, "Nice to meet you Naori-san, my name is Hikari Horaki"
Also smiling, Rikku replied, "Please, call me Rikku"
"Then you can call me Hikari"
The brunette turned to see that Shinji and Asuka were staring at Rikku as though they had never seen her before.
"R-Rikku, you…Where are your wings?" the girl said
Hikari looked confused, but then her eyes widened in shock as Rikku took off the vest and revealed a large set of brown wings.
"Like it? Made it from the cloths that our cloaks are made of, makes hiding these wings very easy, so now me and Iak can go out in public"
Looking in amazement, Hikari held out a hand and lightly touched one of the winged girl's wings. It felt real, and it twitched slightly in response to her touch.
Giggling at the look on the stunned girl's face, Rikku lifted a wingtip and touched Hikari's nose, "Yes, they are real"
Turning to the pilots, Hikari had a look of belief on her face, and said so, "I believe you"
"That helps"
Everyone turned to the door to see that Keevan and Sai had just came in
"Tadaima" the duo said
Noticing the astounded look on Hikari's face, Keevan led the girl to a couch in the room and helped her sit down. Sai immediately went to one of the many terminals that were in the room and began to work without looking up at the others.
"Don't mind Sai, he has an important project to do" Keevan said, "Would you like some tea?"
Nodding dumbly, Hikari looked on with dazed eyes as Shinji and Asuka sat down next to her.
"As you see, Keevan and Sai are in relation with our current dilemma" Asuka, in Shinji's body, said
When Keevan returned with the tea, Rikku joined them and they proceeded to tell Hikari everything that had happened. She listened in rapt silence as they described the events that led up to this point. After, Shinji and Asuka looked at the silent girl nervously, waiting for her opinion.
After a few moments, Hikari took a deep breathe, "Wow, that is amazing"
She then turned to the teens and said, "So that explains everything that has happened recently"
Grinning ruefully, the brunette bowed to Shinji and Asuka saying, "I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions"
Asuka replied, "Eh, no big deal"
Just then the door opened and Misato came in, "Hey everyone"
She looked up in surprise as she saw Hikari sitting in the main room with the others.
"What's going on?"
And again a whole sequence of events was retold to the woman once she joined them at the table. This time it was Hikari and Rikku who recounted, while Keevan went to the kitchen for more tea. Asuka smelled something and traced the source to her old body and the body she was currently in.
Rikku had also noticed and said, "When was the last time either one of you bathed?"
The two looked at each other before turning a very deep red. Misato was laughing at their red faces while Hikari looked on with part disapproval and part amusement.
Snickering, the pilots' guardian said, "I have got to see how they resolve this"
The window to the outside opened and everyone turned to see Iak stepping through.
Hikari was once again wide-eyed, "I saw you at school"
He bowed, saying, "My apologies, I did not mean to frighten you so"
He straightened and noticed the smell of unclean bodies. Without looking, he knew that it was Shinji and Asuka. A glance showed that they still have not figured a way out of this odd predicament. Looking to Rikku, Iak saw that she had a look that usually meant something bad for him, or people around him.
The blonde woman got up, "We are not going to allow people to get into such unseemliness. We are taking a bath now"
Shinji and Asuka were staring at her in disbelief, then confusion. She had said 'we', is she going to join them?
Iak said, "Oh no"
They turned to him, but his attention was on Rikku, "This involves me, doesn't it?"
Eyes wide, the teens saw that the female Aerolan was nodding. They both cringed at the thought of bathing, not just from sheer embarrassment of washing someone else's body, but with other people present. Holding her sides, Misato was desperately trying to hold in her laughter while Hikari looked scandalous at the thought.
She got up, saying, "How can you even think of such perversion?"
Rikku sighed, "Then how about girls bathe together and men bathe together?"
This made the girl confused, "Um, how?"
It could have meant that Shinji in Asuka's body bathing with Rikku and vice versa, or it could mean Asuka in Shinji's body bathing with Rikku and vice versa. Either way, it seemed to be not right, no matter how you look at it.
Seeing the frustrated look on Hikari's face, Rikku said, "Since no matter how you look at it, it will seem wrong, we'll all bathe together"
It was amazing how red a human face could get, both Shinji and Asuka were as red as unit-02. Rikku grabbed Asuka and proceeded to drag her, as well as Shinji because of the spell, with one hand and Iak with the other. In the main area Misato was rolling around laughing while Hikari was being reassured by Keevan that nothing perverted would happen.
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Bathroom
Inside, it was quite spacious, like a public bath house. There was a large bath that looked capable of fitting up to five people at a time on one side of the room. Along another wall was a shelf containing multiple cleaning utensils and supplies. The teens were astounded at the size of the room and it showed on their faces.
"Um" Shinji began, "how do you get such large rooms, especially on one building level"
Iak replied, "Spatial bending; Keevan's spells in combination with some of the tech that Sai has"
He turned and saw that Rikku was filling the tub with hot water. The steam that rose caused visibility to drop. Soon, all that could be seen was steam; no one was able to see more than a few inches ahead of them.
"I see, we don't see anything, nothing perverted happens. So the baka hentai won't be seeing anything he's not supposed to" Asuka said in relief
"Neither will you" Iak said out of nowhere
Jumping in surprise, Asuka turned to see a black wing pass by her. Flushing at his insinuation, she took off the boy's uniform Shinji worn almost all the time. At the same time, Shinji was red as he took care to touch as little skin as possible while undressing.
Soon enough, Shinji and Rikku were in the tub, mostly because the boy turned girl looked ready to faint if in the nude for a prolonged time. Shinji kept seeing the look on his old face when Asuka told him to not touch anything. That, however, doesn't help get clean, so Rikku was in the tub to do the job. Every once in a while, Shinji jumped from whenever she tickled him.
Asuka was having a much easier time, although she still was red faced from embarrassment. Iak washing no more than three feet from her didn't help either. Eventually, she got to the spot she least wanted to wash. When she reached 'it', she found it, for lack of a better word, up.
Feeling something against 'her' leg, Asuka looked down to see a bucket of water
"It helps if you don't think about it"
Asuka looked up to hear Iak dumping a similar bucket of water over his head. Following his example, she nearly swore when the cold water hit her. Shivering slightly, Asuka turned to see that the steam was beginning to dissipate. Hurrying up, Asuka quickly rinsed and wrapped a towel around the waist. She saw that Shinji had followed suit as soon as he saw the steam dissipating.
"Oh you babies," Rikku said, "here"
She handed the two each a stack of clothes to change into, "Now get along you two"
Still a furious red, Shinji asked, "What about you two?"
Rikku said, "Still need to wash the wings, and it's so hard to reach back there"
The last part was said to a blank faced Iak, who held up a towel in his hand.
"You really want to be out of here when this starts" he said in a wry tone
Leaving the 'lovebirds', Shinji and Asuka changed left the bathroom. Looking at one another, they were surprised at what they wore. Shinji was wearing a blue button blouse over a white shirt with a green skirt that reached the knees, and Asuka was wearing loose jeans with a white t-shirt with some weird logo on it.
"Well?"
Misato was sitting with Hikari and watching them, "What happened?"
Blushing a deep red, they said in unison, "Nothing!"
Hikari asked, "Where are Iak and Rikku?"
Asuka pointed a thumb towards the bathroom, "Those perverts are still in there"
Slyly smiling, Misato said, "Wished it were you and Shinji?"
Again in unison, the teens shouted, "NO!"
Deciding to stop them before things got broken, Keevan said, "How about some tea?"
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Nerv HQ
Gendo was sitting at his desk looking at one of the few Section 2 agents that were still on their feet. With barely more than a handful, he was going to seriously need to think up of some strategies.
"Are the tracers still functioning?" he asked in a monotone
Nodding, the agent replied, "Yes, we have pinpointed their location"
Smiling slightly behind his hands, the Commander than said, "Are the new stun grenades ready as well?"
Receiving a nod, he continued, "Attack tonight, when they are off guard, and capture them"
Bowing, the agent left, pulling out a walkie-talkie to make preparations.
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Lab
Ritsuko was working at one of the terminals when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes. Looking surreptitiously, the doctor noticed a few suited men running past the door. Intrigued, she slipped to the door and listened in on what they were saying
"The attack is in seven hours, we need to prepare"
"Yes sir"
The men then ran out of earshot and Ritsuko straightened. She was confused, what would Section 2 be attacking? Looking at her desk, she saw the folders of everything they had on the travelers and made an obvious conclusion. The agents were to attack them, wherever they are.
Remembering that Misato was being tailed by a few agents, Ritsuko decided to contact the woman and find out what was going on.
"Hello?"
"Misato, it's me"
"Oh Rits-chan, how are you?"
Even across the phone, the doctor could hear multiple voices in the background
"Just wondering where you are"
Irritation lacing her voice, Misato replied, "My apartment, where else?"
"Your apartment was destroyed in a fire recently; the entire building has been burnt down, so I don't think that that is where you are"
Nervousness can be heard as the other woman responded, "I'm with some friends"
"Traveling friends?"
Not receiving a reply, Ritsuko continued, "Not to worry you, but Section 2 is preparing for some attack tonight"
"Really?" there was worry and fear in Misato's voice when she said this
"Yeah, in about seven hours"
"Thanks for the update"
"Okay, here's the deal, I know you, Shinji and Asuka are staying with the travelers, and Section 2 knows about it. Now, I want to meet with those same travelers, to learn from them. Is it a deal?"
"You need not worry about us" a new voice came over the receiver.
Not recognizing it, Ritsuko said, "Really?"
"The locators have been removed, and are now far from our location. If you require meeting us, however, we can at a set location and time"
Frowning, Ritsuko didn't say anything as she thought through her options. Making up her mind, the doctor said, "Alright, when shall we meet?"
The phone hung up at that point, causing her to frown at the rudeness. Then a card landed in her lap. Looking up, Ritsuko saw the remnants of a portal disappearing. Feeling excited, she picked up the card and saw that it had a time and location written on it. Making sure to securely hide it, the doctor began to resume her work.
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Avatar Base
"Trackers!" Misato yelled
Holding a hand out, Iak said, "I have taken the liberty of removing the bugs and moving them elsewhere"
His hair was still slightly wet, having just come out of the bathroom with Rikku when Ritsuko called. The female Aerolan was drying her hair while watching the two.
"Relax," Rikku said, "he's got it under control. Those agents will be on a wild goose chase, in Tokyo-2"
Everyone looked at them when she said that
Misato giggled a little when she said, "I would love to see the looks on their faces when they find an empty apartment"
Everyone laughed slightly at this. Hikari looked at her watch and saw how late it was
"Oh dear, it's so late, my parents must be worried" she said frantically
Iak smiled slightly as he said, "Don't worry, we got that covered"
She, Misato and the pilots were looking at him inquisitively.
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Horaki Residence
A pigtailed brunette was currently playing with a little girl while attempting to cook dinner. The upside was that both parents went out earlier for a night out. Shara sighed in desperation as she tagged off with her brother in the bathroom.
"I told you we should have gone back after that incident" Shuri was saying as he changed to look like Hikari
"Alright already, get off my case" the irritated kunoichi said
"Hey, Hikari, dinner's burning!"
"Crap"
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Avatar Base
"So, if you want, you may stay the night" Iak said to Hikari
Asuka made a squeal, saying, "Sleepover!"
Shinji said, "Can you not do that in my voice?"
Misato giggled, "But it sounds so cute"
"Misato!"
Rikku giggled as she got up, "Keevan, wanna help me cook up some dinner?"
The boy mage nodded and went with her to the kitchen, followed by Hikari.
"May I help?"
Nodding, Rikku motioned her to join them, "Sure, the more the merrier"
Iak just sat down and drank the tea that was still left there, and Sai continued to work, oblivious to his surroundings.
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Horaki Residence
"Hey, Hikari, are you alright? You've been acting weird ever since you came back from school"
Shara was once again Hikari, and was washing the dishes when the older girl came into the kitchen. Dredging deep into her memories, the girl remembered that her name was Kodama.
"Oh, yeah, I'm fine, nothing to worry about" Shara replied as Hikari-like as possible
Kodama frowned slightly, but was interrupted when Nozumi came into the kitchen.
"Oneesan, come play with me!" she said to Kodama
Dragging her from the kitchen, the littlest girl gave a conspirator's wink to Shara. Smiling slightly, she gave thanks for her brother for the timely assist
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Avatar Base
Everyone, with the exception of the ninja's and the cloaked man, were seated around a newly enlarged table, eating dinner. On the table was a variety of Japanese, Aerolan, and, surprisingly enough, European dishes
"I learned to cook from my mother in my reality's England" Keevan explained to a delighted Asuka
Shinji looked at the food that was piled up on her plate and heaved a sigh. Asuka was unconsciously going to abuse the body she was in by eating so much. He had heard numerous times that Asuka missed the proper European meals, and while he was glad that she was happy, he had misgivings about the way she was going through dinner.
Kaji had finally arrived back just as dinner was being served, breathing heavily in exertion.
"Hey," he said in between breaths, "why is it that I always seem to be so out of the loop?"
Rikku replied, "You left before we could tell you anything, and we were busy"
The rough-faced man got his good humor back quickly after that, and was now sitting at the table next to Misato.
"The two of you look nice" he said to Asuka and Shinji grinning, "'Shinji', you should dress like that more often, and 'Asuka', that color really brings the color of your eyes out"
The emphasis on their names made both pilots turn red as the majority of the table laughed.
As dinner ended, everyone began to leave the table to do various activities. Sai continued to work on whatever he was doing on one of the terminals, Keevan was washing dishes with the help of Hikari, Rikku sat with Misato and was conversing with her, Iak disappeared, and Shinji and Asuka had gone off to their room.
Inside, Shinji and Asuka took the time to properly unpack the stuff they brought with them. The problem was that they were going to be going through each other's stuff for a few days, and so it led to a few arguments
"I hope you're not thinking what I know you're thinking" Asuka said, hands on her borrowed body's hips
Sighing, Shinji replied, "I'm not, so stop bugging me about it"
The point they were at was undergarments, and Asuka was pointing out where she was putting them. The former red-head was more than sure that Shinji would do something perverted with them given the chance. Shinji was attempting to tell her that he would never do something like that. They continued to argue as they completed the sorting of clothes.
Outside, Misato and Rikku were going into the topic of relationships.
"So you and Kaji are back together, or is it still on shaky ground?" the blonde Aerolan asked
Shrugging slightly, the purple-haired woman replied, "Still a bit shaky, but I don't think I'll ever be with that idiot"
Smiling in a sly way, Rikku leaned in, "Then you were crying on his shoulder that day, because?"
Flushing, Misato replied, "What about you, Iak doesn't seem to be the affectionate type"
"He can be a little cold, but I think he's loosening up"
Misato than asked, "How'd the two of you get together anyway?"
Rikku then put a thoughtful expression on her face, "We kind of bumped into each other"
The truth of it was that she literally fell on top of Iak during one of his brooding sessions.
"From what Shinji told me, your kind doesn't take kindly to his coloration, so how did you two get together?"
Flushing slightly, Rikku looked around for any eavesdroppers. She then leaned in and whispered to Misato
"It wasn't love at first sight, you must understand, we were like cat and dog"
Misato nodded, understanding the feeling
"Well, he and I were always fighting really. Every day it was pretty much the same, we fought. Then one day, it just clicked, and the two of us were together" Rikku said with finality
The purple-haired woman knew that the girl was not telling something, but decided not to pry. She could always try and get some information from Iak. And as though by magic, that very person came into the main room
"Hey, we were just talking about you" Misato called out while Rikku flushed
Turning his head, Iak tilted his head inquisitively, "Yes?"
Rikku got up, "Um, well it's late, so I think I'll be going to bed"
She then all but ran down the hall. Iak sat in her vacated seat and poured some tea that was set on the table. For the moment, both persons were quiet, while Sai continued to work behind them
"So, I heard that the two of you have had a rough beginning, care to talk about it?" the woman said
Not looking up, Iak only replied, "It is as she said"
Looking through slanted eyes, Misato asked, "Really?"
Not rising to the bait, Iak only finished his tea. He then got up and walked down to the hall. Turning, Misato noticed that Rikku appeared to be waiting for him. The two shared a small kiss before the two continued down the hall
Sighing, Misato began to wish for a relationship like theirs. Then she felt arms wrap around her shoulder. Looking up, she saw that Kaji had a smile on his face. Returning the smile, Misato placed a hand on one of his. It seemed she did still have feelings for the rough-faced man.
In their room, Shinji and Asuka had finally finished with unpacking. They were now about to get ready for bed. Now came a new problem, changing into their sleepwear. Asuka didn't have much problem, so long as she didn't look down, but Shinji was beet red as he tried to figure a way to change without making Asuka mad at him.
Finishing changing into Shinji's standard sleepwear, Asuka turned to see that Shinji still had not changed out of the clothes. Knowing that he wouldn't be able to do anything, she got up and walked over to the former boy.
"Here, let me help"
She then realized that Shinji was not wearing a bra, "Pervert, there had better be a reason for this"
Blushing fiercely, Shinji stuttered as he tried to answer. Hands on her borrowed hips, Asuka waited for his hentai reply. What he said made her jaw drop
"I don't know how to put one on"
He was blushing really hard at that point, and had Asuka's eyes pointed down in shame and embarrassment. Asuka was looking at him in amazement. She had expected something hentai-like, not some honest to god truth. Composing herself, she sighed
"Alright, but you had better watch closely, because I'm not going to show you twice"
And so, the former female began to teach Shinji how to out on a bra. Soon enough, they were both ready for bed, and Hikari joined them. By that time, Shinji was now wearing an extra long shirt and a pair of short pajama pants, reaching the knees. Hikari was borrowing one of Rikku's, and it was apparent because of a pair of slits in the back.
"Nice, maybe I should get a dress in that style" Asuka said admiringly
Hikari blushed slightly, "I don't know, maybe if there weren't these slits it would be nice"
The two then went into a discussion about clothes, of which the boy in a girl's body didn't understand the majority of
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Horaki Residence
Groaning, Shuri collapsed on the bed as he changed back into his regular form. Lying next to him, Shara had also collapsed onto the bed.
"Might as well get some sleep" the elder said
Nodding in reply, Shara closed her eyes and soon fell into a deep sleep. Before closing his eyes, Shuri made sure to set the clock to wake them with enough time for the two to prepare. Groaning again, he promised himself to always stick with the responsibility given to them, or else they might end up in another situation like this.
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Nerv HQ
Gendo was angry, but let none betray his face. He had just gotten the report from the agents who went out to capture the travelers and possibly find the missing Major and the pilots. They had arrived at the location, only to find an abandoned building, dust filled rooms, and a locator silently transmitting from a tabletop on top of a note.
On the note, nothing was written. All that there was on it was an image of a pair of wings shaded in black. It indicated that the person was indeed with the travelers, as well as showed that they were very prepared.
"Have the agents return to their posts; then start recruiting more" the Commander said neutrally
Fuyutsuki had been around Gendo long enough to know when he was annoyed. He hid the small smile that was in his face as he said he would. Whatever plan he made was falling flat on its face, and the sub-Commander was quite glad. Now Gendo won't have otherworld help in his twisted schemes.
Hidden in the shadows, unbeknownst to the pair inside, a figure in black disappeared into the darkness. The hooded figure continued on, using his own personal transport, to a location outside of the Geofront.
And he stood there, waiting for dawn, lost in thought.
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And so ends another chapter. I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed this. Please R&R, and I'll get back as soon as I can with another installment