Chapter 21 : Normality? Yeah Right!

Hey again! I'm back with yet another chapter for this story. Read on, and enjoy. Later!

Disclaimer: I do not own NGE, Gainax does. I do own all original characters, and if there is any semblence to characters of other stories or real people, it is coincidential

Shinji and Asuka were on their way back to school. This time though, they were both in high spirits because they were back in their own bodies. Asuka was actually humming and smiling as she skipped along

Upon arrival to the school gates, the red head turned to Shinji with a stern look on her face, "Alright baka, remember, not a single word about the past few weeks"

Sighing, the boy replied, "Hai, Asuka"

"And one other thing," she said in a deadly tone, "If I catch you snooping in my head, I'll kill you, understand?"

Gulping, Shinji nodded in compliancy. Satisfied that she got her message through, Asuka smiled and patted him on the head as if he was a well behaved pet.

"Good, now run along like a good boy"

Class 2-A

Hikari was sitting on her desk when the door opened. Looking up, she saw that Asuka had entered the classroom. Alone. With a broad smile on her face.

Sitting in her seat behind Hikari, Asuka stretched out her arms and legs with a relieved sigh

"Um, Asuka-san"

"Yeah"

"You're back to normal I see"

Smiling broadly, Asuka replied, "Yep, and I am glad for it"

At that moment, the door opened again, this time with Shinji entering the room. The real Shinji, seeing as how Asuka was back in her own body.

"Ohayo Shinji-kun"

Turning, the boy waved and was about to reply when he was grabbed by his collar by Touji.

"Excuse us ladies" Kensuke said as Shinji was being dragged to the far corner of the room.

In the corner, Touji was already interrogating the bewildered boy, "Alright Ikari, spill. What have you and the red devil been doing for the past few weeks?"

Flushing, Shinji replied, "We didn't do anything"

Joining them, Kensuke retorted, "Yeah right, the two of you have been stuck together like glue for so long that people think you've been going steady"

Recovering, the other boy replied, "Wait, no! It's not like that!"

While the stooges were locked in interrogation, Keevan and Sai entered the room. The tech Avatar went to his seat and immediately stuck his head in his laptop and began to type on it. The boy mage also took his seat, but was watching the people around him with interest.

A few moments after them, the teacher came in. The standard routine went by, and soon everyone was sound asleep. There were a few exceptions, but they were doing anything but listening to the old man. Hikari and Asuka were currently on a chat room, seeing as how there was nothing else to do.

Rep: So Asuka, what happened? How did you two return to normal?

RedChamp1: Long story. Short version-some witch put us back

Rep: Witch?

RedChamp1: Yep

At her desk, Asuka was grimly recollecting what happened last night.

Flashback

"Why did you let that hentai into my head!?!"

The red-head was being held back by Rikku who was having a bit of a hard time holding the pilot. Shinji was cowering behind Iak, while Sai had the pretense to barricade himself in his room before the explosion.

"Relax Asuka," Rikku said while struggling to hold the red-head, "I'm sure Mimara has a good reason"

Meanwhile, Shinji was receiving the verbal tirade in surround sound. He was hearing both physically and mentally everything Asuka was shouting. In some ways, what she thought was impossible to understand since she thought it in German, but the undertone was unmistakable

Mimara was calmly looking through the bookshelves as Keevan nervously hid behind her. It seemed like hours before Asuka finally stopped shouting, though Shinji was still hearing her mind throwing curses around. Turning, Asuka gave him a death glare, causing him to shudder.

I know you can hear me dummkopf, so you better GET OUT!!

Shuddering, Shinji turned his gaze away and attempted to not read Asuka's thoughts. The red-head could hear Shinji's thoughts as he attempted to stay out of her mind.

Okay, don't think about Asuka. Clear my mind, don't think about her, don't think about her, don't think about her, she's really cute when she's angry… damn, hope she didn't hear that

Fighting the urge to blush, Asuka turned to Mimara and demanded, "Fix this now"

Finally turning to face the red-head, the masked woman replied, "No"

Before she could go into another tirade, Mimara continued, "It is not because I don't want to, but rather because I can't because of special circumstances"

At this everyone turned to look at her curiously. Looking down to Keevan, the masked woman asked, "Do you have the original spell that bound them together?"

Nodding, the boy reached to the restricted section of the shelf, negating the field around it and pulled out a scroll.

"Here it is"

Opening it, the woman waved a hand over it, causing the letters on it to levitate. The sigils and markings glowed in various colors, red being predominate

"There is something about the spell that prevents me from disabling it completely. Although I can force the spell to stop, I would be causing irreversible harm to both of you"

She then gestured and the sigils rearranged themselves. Looking at them in a thoughtful way, or what seemed to be thoughtful seeing as how no one could tell what she was thinking due to her mask.

"There's a clause here that I don't understand," she said, "Keevan, what is this?"

Looking at it, he shook his head while saying, "Sorry, I don't know. Shuri-Shara might, they-"

"I see," Mimara interrupted

Now calmed down, Asuka asked, "Well, get them and ask what it is"

The woman didn't move, instead tilting her head back as though in recollection.

"How to say this," she mused, "The spell is one of the few spells that I've seen that is unbreakable"

"Um, so then what will break the spell?" Shinji asked in a nervous tone while Asuka had a shocked look on her face.

Rikku said, "Remember when Iak first told you about the conditions of separation?"

They did, and both of them flushed bright red. The original conditions called for them to confess true love and share a kiss, or to share a bed.

"Still there" Rikku said, with traces of amusement on her face.

Despite the protests and pleadings, there was nothing Mimara could do without harming the pilots

Present

RedChamp1: Let's forget about it for now, ok?

Rep: Alright

Rep: So, how's Shinji?

RedChamp1: Same as usual

Rep: That's good

Rep: Did you hear about the costume dance party this coming Saturday?

RedChamp1: Really?

Rep: Yeah, there's also going to be a costume contest afterwards

RedChamp1: Heh, another chance for me to show who the best is

Rep: Later, they'll be coming up to announce who is going to be the judges

RedChamp1: How'll they be choosing?

Rep: Lotto

Meanwhile, Shinji, Touji, and Kensuke were also on a chat room. The other two were trying hard to pry information from the brown-haired boy. Seeing that he wasn't budging, they changed the topic of discussion to the dance.

SportStar: Yeah, Sai told me that they were going to randomly choose five students to be judges

1Ltfreak: I wonder who they will choose.

Lost1: Who knows?

SportStar: There's going to be different categories: Best Female, Male, Group, and Single

Lost1: Should we enter the competition?

1Ltfreak: We should probably wait till they announce who'll be judges

SportStar: Makes sense

Just at that moment, the principal's voice came over the PA.

"Attention all students, we have just completed the selection, and will now be announcing who'll be judges for the upcoming costume dance"

At this, people began murmuring excitedly amongst themselves. Whoever was judge would be the most popular person in school.

"The first judge is Taichi Mutou of class 2-F. The second judge, from 2-E, is Marik Todoke. The third judge is Kurosaki Kenpachi. The fourth and fifth judges are in class 2-A, Keevan Markan and Shinji Ikari"

At the last announcement, all eyes turned to the two boys, both of whom had sunk so that only their eyes were level with their desks. Already there were a few people thinking up of a plan to get some brownie points to win the costume contest.

Why me? Both of them at the same time

Asuka was looking around in slight disgust. She didn't like people who did anything to win. Turning back to her laptop, she sent a message to Hikari.

RedChamp1: Look at them, all plotting on how to get Shinji to vote for them in the contest

Rep: Don't forget Keevan

RedChamp1: Right

Rep: Are you actually more worried about Shinji?

Asuka flushed lightly as she quickly typed back a reply

RedChamp1: NO WAY!!

RedChamp1: I just don't like people who do anything to win

Rep: Alright, whatever

RedChamp1: So, what are you dressing up as?

Rep: I'm not entirely sure. You?

RedChamp1: I will be going as Éclair

Rep: Oh, from that anime Kiddy Grade?

RedChamp1: Yep

Rep: I don't know

RedChamp1: What? You don't think I can pull it off?

Rep: Sort of, see, that character is your complete opposite

RedChamp1: Well then you haven't seen my great skills in acting

Hikari only rolled her eyes as the bell rang for break. Getting up, she looked to see that there were already a few girls trying to get Shinji's favor. At the same time, she saw that Asuka was looking at the group with a red face.

"Come on Hikari, let's go" the red-head said, pulling her friend out the room

Shinji was being mobbed by girls who were trying to impress him. Keevan, once he heard he was a judge, had used an invisibility spell and was now waiting for the bell to ring so they could go home. It was most unfortunate that the mage could not help Shinji, but the pilot was able to squirm out of it and exit the classroom.

In the hallway, Shinji was moving, hoping to escape notice until class resumed. He was about to go around a corner when he sensed Asuka's thoughts coming from around it. He was about to turn the other way when he heard them talking.

"What's wrong Asuka?"

"Nothing"

Contrary to what she was saying, Shinji knew. Although he wasn't listening to her thoughts, he knew her enough to tell that something was troubling her.

Knowing what would happen if she knew he was near, he was about to leave when Hikari spoke up again, "It involves Shinji, doesn't it?"

Feeling the blush across the connection, Shinji heard Asuka say, "What?! Why would I be having problems with that baka?"

Hikari was shaking her head, "Oh Asuka. You're confused aren't you?"

"About what?"

"Your feelings"

Feeling her blush again, Shinji heard Asuka reply, "I-I don't understand"

"You like him, right?"

Asuka choked a little, "W-who? There's only one man in my life, and that's-"

"Not Kaji," Hikari interrupted, "you and I know that he's in love with Misato. I'm talking about Shinji"

Unable to control himself, Shinji let himself listen to the red-head's thoughts.

Damn Hikari. What the hell is she doing? If she keeps this up, I can't keep pretending that I hate Shinji, and that I really-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the bell, so that whatever Asuka was thinking was cut off. Realizing that she would be coming in his direction, Shinji quickly ran down the hall, entering the classroom just before Asuka came around the corner.

Entering, the red-head felt a brief moment of anger and some other emotions as she saw that Shinji was being bugged by some girls. Resting her head on her desk, Asuka once again tried to get a hold on her emotions. It wasn't that she didn't want to feel them; it was that she didn't know what to do with them. Resolving herself to talk with Rikku or Misato about this, she looked up and continued the rest of her day.

Woohoo! Another chapter done! R&R, and I'll get back as soon as I can.

Later!