Chapter 27: Classes and Life's Little Lessons

Hello again, and welcome back to Deviance from the Norm!!

Disclaimer: Say it with me: I do not own NGE, Gainax does. All OC's are mine though, and any similarities to real people or characters of other stories is coincidental

Preread by YouarenotasrandomasI

The Next Morning

Shinji and Asuka were walking to school, holding hands and talking. When they reached the gates, they found that Kensuke, Touji, and Hikari were waiting for them.

"Stooges," Asuka said to the boys, "Ohayo Hikari-chan, how are you?"

Smiling back, the brunette replied, "Ohayo Asuka, I'm alright"

Meanwhile, Touji smacked Shinji in the back, saying, "Congratulations Shinji, I would never have thought that you would have the courage to ask the red devil out on a date"

"Um, thanks," the boy replied, "But I would appreciate it if you didn't call her that"

Kensuke only said gruffly, "I still can't believe that you're dating the evilest girl in the school"

"What was that?"

Grinding her fist into his head, Asuka asked the four-eyed stooge again, "What did you say I was?"

"N-n-nothing!" Kensuke cried in pain

Releasing him, the red-head hugged Shinji and told him, "You must be jealous because you don't have a girlfriend"

Snorting, the single stooge replied, "Like I'd want a demonic girl or the rep for a girlfriend"

"Ohayo"

They all turned to see that Sai had arrived, "You gonna stand there all day, or you coming in?"

Hikari dragged Touji into the building with a depressed Kensuke following. Just as Shinji and Asuka were about to follow, Sai pulled them to the side.

"Hey," the tech told them in a low tone, "Not to worry you two, but Iak and Rikku have gotten jobs here"

Shocked, Asuka demanded, "What the hell are they doing getting jobs here?"

Shrugging, Sai headed for the school, telling them, "I don't know, but you might want to hurry. They start today"

Class 2-A

The class was buzzing with rumors about the new history teacher they were to have. Half of them believed that it would be another old geezer, but there were a few hopeful for some younger woman. Shinji and Asuka on the other hand were wondering which of the two Aerolans would be their teachers. The answer came as the door slid open.

There's always a class clown, one who attempts to humiliate every teacher in the school. In this case, the boy had set an eraser on top of the door, which would fall and land on the first person to open the door.

As the door opened, the eraser fell and landed on a mop of black hair, much to Asuka's and Shinji's surprise. Patting his head where the eraser had landed, Iak looked more like a slacker goofball than his normal stoic self. He wore semi-casual clothes, and his long hair looked as though he just got up from bed and was sticking all over the place. The scar on his face was missing, and he had contacts that gave him green eyes.

"Oh, that's original," he muttered, dusting himself off, "but that's to be expected"

Stepping behind the podium, he cleared his throat and said, "Ohayo, my name is Tsubasa Ryuu, and I will be your new history teacher. First off, I would like all of you to know that I am not teaching Pre- or Post-Second Impact crap"

The students began muttering amongst themselves. Half of them were glad to finally get to hear something other than constant dribble of Second Impact, the other half groaned at the prospect of actually having to work.

"So," he said, getting everyone's attention again, "We'll begin with Western history"

After that, the class listened attentively as he began to tell them about how the western civilization began around Mesopotamia. They took notes a few times, but listened more often than not. For the first time, there was something interesting to learn.

When the bell rang, ending the period, Iak/Tsubasa told them, "Homework will be to read pages twenty to forty of the textbooks that you obviously have used as pillows more often than not"

When he left the classroom, Shinji and Asuka followed him, catching him at the next corner.

Turning to them, he asked in his relaxed demeanor, "Greetings, how may I help you?"

"Ano," Shinji began, "Iak-san?"

"Hai," Iak replied, reverting to his normal self, "I know, why am I here?"

Hands on her hips, Asuka demanded, "Well, are you going to tell us?"

"My fault"

Turning around, they saw that Rikku had appeared behind them, "You see, I convinced him for us to get jobs here"

Both teens stared at her, both surprised that the person in front of them was the blonde Aerolan they knew. She had dyed her hair, so she now had brown hair. On top of that, she was also wearing contacts, giving her brown eyes.

"Now that you know, here's something else for you to know," leaning towards them, Rikku told them, "I'm your new English teacher, and I think that class will be quite 'interesting'"

With that, she told them to get back to class before the bell rang. The pair I.M'ed, trying to determine what Rikku meant with her ambiguous words. Two periods later, Shinji and Asuka found out what she meant by 'interesting'. Since Shinji was dating Asuka, and they knew that Rikku and Iak was a couple, they didn't really realize that the boys would be falling head over heels for the Aerolan. Almost as soon as she came in, nearly all the boys were drooling over her, with Shinji and Touji being the only males unaffected.

(For any sections that involves Rikku and an English class, italics will mean that they are speaking another language, mostly English)

"Good morning class," she said in English, "I am your new English teacher, Tsubame Ume, and it's nice to meet you all"

The boys drooled as they dreamily watched her begin her lesson. Truthfully, only the female half of class, as well as Shinji and Touji, were actually trying to learn anything. Near the end of class, Rikku/Tsubame made an announcement, which crushed the hopes and dreams of the male populace

"Okay class, that's it for today. Oh and boys, I'm already taken"

There were a few boys who nearly cried at her revelation, which caused her to roll her eyes in exasperation, "Hormones. For homework class, read and translate the first five pages of chapter 4"

Asuka couldn't help herself, she was laughing at the distraught looks on the boys' faces. Giving the teacher thumbs up, the red-head got up and dragged Shinji out for lunch. On the rooftop, Asuka was able to really laugh out loud

"Ha ha ha, did you see the look their faces," she said between bouts of mirth, "they all are such hentai bakas!"

Smiling along with her, Shinji told her, "It's probably not nice to make fun of them"

"Please, if those boys used their brains they would have known she was way older than them"

At this, he put on a thoughtful look, "Hey, how old are they anyway? Normally Iak and Rikku seem to be our age, yet here they seem like their in the twenties"

Taken aback at this thought, the red-head replied, "I don't know, but maybe we could find out," smiling, she continued, "Give them a birthday party or something"

Shinji then realized something, "Hey, Asuka-chan, isn't your birthday in two days or something?"

"Sheisst, I almost forgot!"

"How could you forget your own birthday?" he teased gently

Seeing the saddened look on her face, Shinji instantly regretted saying anything. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he was pulled into a hug by the red-head.

"Gomen," Shinji said, "I didn't mean to-"

Shaking her head, Asuka buried her head into the crook of his neck and replied, "Don't worry Shinji, you didn't know"

Patting her back, he asked, "What's wrong then?"

"I've never had a real birthday, not since my mother died," she said, a few tears in her eyes

"Then I'll give you one"

Looking up at Shinji, Asuka looked inquisitively as she asked, "What?"

Smiling, he repeated, "I'll give you a real birthday then"

Shocked, Asuka replied, "You don't have to Shinji-kun, it's not a big deal"

Shaking his head, Shinji contradicted her, "It is, and I want to"

Smiling now, the red-head hugged him tightly, saying, "You're the greatest Shinji-kun, you know that?"

"Not as great as you, Asuka-chan," he replied, running his hand through her hair gently

Down in the trees, Shara made gagging noises as she listened to the sweet talk going on above her. Shaking his head in exasperation, Shuri tapped her on the shoulder.

"Sister, stop," he admonished, "What they talk about isn't something you should make fun of"

"Blah blah," Shara mocked, moving her hands in a puppet talking way, "I can do whatever I want"

Sighing, he rubbed his head as a small spike of pain laced through his head, "Whatever, just, keep it down, my head hurts"

The concerned look on Shara's face was alien to her personality, "Headaches?"

Nodding, the ninja accepted the aspirins that she gave him and downed them, "I guess I need some more sleep, otherwise this headache wouldn't be a problem"

Now the kunoichi was sighing, "Geez Nee-san, you really can't do anything without me"

Throughout the day, the number of rumors concerning Shinji and Asuka had increased two-fold. Many could see that they were a couple, but they weren't convinced that they were. The blazingly hot-tempered red-head had dated and dumped many boys on the first date, so what made the quiet and shy Shinji different? There were many questions directed towards them, mostly to the boy, due to many people being afraid to talk with the 'red devil'.

By the end of the day, Asuka decided that enough was enough. Grabbing Shinji and dragging him with her to the front of the class, and wrapped her arms around him.

"That's enough with the stupid questions," she announced, "I am the official girlfriend of Shinji, and here's the proof"

With that, she kissed Shinji in front of the entire class. Quite a few boys fell out of their seats, and nearly everyone's jaws dropped. Pulling apart, Asuka smirked at the shocked looks on everyone's faces. They resumed their seats, Shinji feeling very embarrassed about what Asuka did in front of the whole class

Everyone was muttering and pointing at Shinji and Asuka as the pair passed by at the end of the day. Although Shinji was feeling uncomfortable at all the attention that they were garnering, he followed his girlfriend's example and tried to ignore them. They left the building with everyone staring and pointing at them

"Don't worry Shinji-kun," Asuka told him, resting her head on his shoulder, "They'll point and spread rumors, but it'll die down after awhile"

Smiling at the girl next to him, Shinji replied, "Thanks for the advice; I'm just not quite used to getting so much attention"

Squeezing him, she said, "I thought you grew a spine"

"I did," he replied indignantly, "I'm just not used to this sort of thing yet"

Closing her eyes, Asuka told him, "Don't worry, I'll be there to help. So, what are you planning for my birthday?"

Smiling, Shinji said, "I have a few ideas"

Despite her pleas and even the puppy dog eyes, the red-head was unable to get Shinji to tell her his plans. Deciding to just let him have his surprise, Asuka quieted and laid her head on his shoulder as they headed home.

In front of the door, they gulped, remembering that Misato promised them the 'talk' once they return from school. Upon entering, they saw that she was sitting on the couch with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Hello you two," she said in her normal tone that was marred by her scary smile

"Um, we have a lot of homework, so we'll have to talk later," Asuka said in an attempt to get away

Grabbing the pair, she put them on either side of her and trapped them by draping an arm around their shoulders. Misato then looked up in time to see that Sai, Keevan, Iak and Rikku return.

"Tadaimas," Sai said

Upon seeing that, Misato was smiling and Asuka and Shinji were looking flushed and uncomfortable, the tech grabbed Keevan and said, "We'll be on the roof, call when you're done"

"Hey," the mage asked as Sai dragged him away, "What's going on?"

Sai attempted to explain by telling him that he needed to wait till he was older before he'd tell him. The Aerolans also turned to leave

"Iak-san, Rikku-san," Shinji called out desperately, "help us!"

"Oh no, I can't," Rikku told them, "I have to prepare for tomorrow's lesson"

Coughing, Iak said, "I have fallen behind on my training, I must make up for it"

"Wimps!" Asuka called at their retreating backs

"Now, now Asuka," Misato said soothingly, "you can talk with your friends later, but for now, we have to talk"

For the next three hours, she kept them there and told them the facts of life. When Rikku dared to peek out into the living room when it had quieted down, she saw Misato pass by with a satisfied smirk. Sitting on the couch, Asuka and Shinji shared a blush as red as Unit-02's paint job.

"Hey," she said, "how are you?"

"Fine," Shinji said in a very quiet tone

Nodding, Asuka added in a squeaky voice, "Yeah, nothing wrong"

Nodding in understanding, Rikku said, "Yeah, it was as bad as that when Iak and I had that lecture"

Both looked up, with Asuka demanding in a still shaky voice, "Why didn't you try to help us?"

In a sage tone, the Aerolan replied, "It is a part of life, and the two of you are entering adulthood. You must have knowledge so as to not make mistakes"

"Or," she said in a teasing tone, "does this mean you would've preferred to have Iak and I give you the talk"

"NO!" the two shouted frantically

She chuckled when they shouted, causing Asuka to remember to ask, "Hey, how old are you two anyway?"

Winking, Rikku replied, "Old enough"

"Is it safe yet?"

Sai peered around the corner and saw that Misato wasn't there. Sighing in relief, he moved to one of the terminals and sat down in the seat

"Man, I was sure that Misato'd be talking longer" he said, scratching the back of his head.

Stepping past them, Keevan appeared, followed by Iak who asked, "Anyone up for hot dogs tonight?"

"NO!"

Iak smiled slightly as Rikku laughed. Keevan stared on confused and was led into the kitchen as the rest of the inhabitants came into the living room.

SEELE HQ

A table with which a group of old men sat, with Gendo sitting one end, fingers interlaced in front of his face. Standing behind him, hands clenched behind his back, was his second in command, Fuyutsuki

"This is not in the scenario," one of them said loudly, "The arrival of these 'Avatars' will ruin everything we planned"

"Ikari," the one with the long nose said, "what are you doing in effect of these interlopers?"

In his neutral tone, the Commander replied, "I am doing everything in my power to locate and capture the anomalies"

The head of SEELE Keel, who had been silent up to this point, then asked, "Ikari, you wouldn't, perhaps, be attempting to use the Avatars?"

Eyes hidden behind the glare in his glasses, Gendo answered, "I believe we may be able to use the Avatars to our benefit"

"No!" another old man said, "they are too much out of our grasp, we cannot risk the chance that they might be able to stop our scenario"

"Already they have delayed the activation of Unit-03," the long nosed one cried out, "This is costing us too much, and the delays will only upset the scenario even more! They must be dealt with immediately!"

In a level tone, Gendo told them, "Worry not; Section 2 is already attempting to capture an Avatar. Even now, they are looking up on a possible undercover Avatar"

In an equally level tone, Keel replied, "See to it. Once you have captured this one, we can use him to force the others to leave, and allow us to proceed with our plans"

There was a moment of silence before the head of SEELE said, "Coincidentally, as a result of the interference, the Second Child and the Third Child have formed a relationship. We cannot allow this to continue"

"Agreed," yet another old man said, "Ikari, have you plans, he is your son"

"Do not worry," the Commander said coldly, "I have plans"

"Very well," Keel said, "This meeting is over for now. Ikari, you had better have results the next time we gather"

"Of course"

With that, the lights illuminating Gendo and Fuyutsuki shut off, and the two men disappeared. The men allowed a few moments of silence, in case Gendo had not left yet, before they conversed

"With this new development, we need to make changes," Keel said, "I believe we may need to send someone to be our inside man"

Scoffing, the long nosed man said, "What chance of that? After Kaji died we have had no one sending us information. On top of that, Ikari will be onto us, he'll be watching for the knife in his back"

Smirking, Keel assured them by saying, "I believe I know someone who will be sufficient"

Another spotlight appeared, illuminating a fourteen year old boy with gray hair and red eyes. He was smiling as everyone turned to look at him, humming Ode to Joy

Behind the names:

Ryuu: Dragon

Tsubame: Swallow (bird)

Tsubasa: Wing

Ume: plum blossom (Symbolizes devotion in Japan)

For the Japanese enthusiasts, above is a little Behind the Names, where I tell you what the names mean. Anyway, R&R, and I'll get back to you all as soon as possible

Later!