Disclaimer: See initial chapter
JEnathan - ^_^ I'll do my best.
Chapter Three - Friends
The light hum of the lightsaber resounded in the ears of the fiery-haired apprentice as she steadily went through her kata. It has been three days since their return and Asuka found a time to practice her lightsaber skills on the rooftop of the building complex they lived at. Since that first day when she began learning about the Force from Qui-Gon, Asuka enjoyed lightsaber practice. Although there were other aspects to the Force, this was her favorite activity by far. She liked how her grace and skill came through as she practiced, drawing in and sensing the living Force around her. It was like the times when she had trained to be an Eva pilot in Germany. Without the worry of competition or being the best, just the fact that there was something that she was good at, something few people could do.
Something that was important...
She just wished there was a way to utilize her skills more. Not that she was looking for a fight or anything, but she didn't want to feel like the training was for nothing. And as if on cue, she felt a tremor in the Force, just behind her. Ceasing in her movements, Asuka turned around to see Rei standing in front of the exit and dressed in a plugsuit the same as Asuka (it had become a habit of the three to train in them). Asuka made a distinct note of her right hand, which was holding her newly made lightsaber.
"May I?" the azure-hair girl quietly asked.
Asuka grinned, knowing exactly what she was asking for. "Do you even need to ask, Wondergirl?"
Rei blinked once and then brought her weapon forward, activating the sapphire blade of light it as it rose. Asuka lifted hers up to meet with Rei's, the energy blades sparking lightly on contact as they crossed, blue to red. Colors that were more than just coincidence to the two. They were their personalities as well. Vibrancy to serenity, volume to quiet.
Fire to ice...
Asuka made the first move, whirling her blade back and bringing it quickly down overhead. In the same moment, Rei brought her saber back and up, catching the strike and deflecting it downward before bringing it back up in ready position. With a hum to herself, Asuka went at it again, this time attacking from the other side. Rei took a step back and repeated her action, deflecting the attack, but not returning with one of her own.
'Naturally...'
The spar continued on, with Asuka attacking rapidly and Rei defending herself against them. It wasn't like sparring with Shinji, where he would start defensive and then return with attacks of his own. Rei always stayed the defender, holding on and centering the Force through her calm. The German girl could remember when that annoyed her; infuriated her. But now, she found took it as a challenge, even seeing it a bit as a game, to try to work through Rei's defenses. It helped Asuka to come up with more elaborate and creative strategies, knowing Rei would be doing likewise. In the long run, it was a game to see what would happen first; Asuka tiring out or Rei's defense being penetrated.
It was oddly fun...
But that wasn't the only enjoyment she got out of this. It was also interesting to see Rei show more in her facial features while concentrating on blocking Asuka's attacks. Asuka well knew that Rei wasn't the emotionless doll she had taunted to her years ago. It was simply that Rei was unsure on how to display them openly. And Asuka would do what she could to help her with that.
She owed her after all...
That may have been an understatement, considering that she, in a Dark Side enforced madness, killed her. Even now, she didn't fully understand how she was alive now. It had been explained to her, sure, but rebirth was still a difficult concept to take in for her. So Asuka decided to simply accept the fact, regardless of whether she fully understood it or not. And even though Rei would say she didn't owe her anything, the fact remained that Asuka felt otherwise. And so, she did whatever she could to help Rei to fit in with others more. What she didn't expect was that what was once an obligation (albeit unnecessary) turned into something Asuka never expected.
A friendship...
They still had their disagreements and opposing natures, but Asuka could truly say that Rei was someone she could trust. And it always surprised her to know that that fact was mutual. A fact that was being reinforced now in their spar. Whatever new techniques they learned or tactics they came up with, they continued to learn from each other, all the while trusting each other with their lives. This wasn't the same as when they were piloting Evas, when that had to trust each other simply to survive. This was a much more welcome desire, where they simply could.
Five minutes into the spar, the two finally stopped, both breathing heavily. Asuka had managed to slip through Rei's guard a few times, but Rei managed to move quickly enough to regain it, which cost a bit of energy considering Asuka's relentlessness. Taking a deep breath, Asuka closed her eyes, drawing in on the living Force for replenishment and she could feel Rei doing the same. Opening her eyes, Asuka grinned.
"I'll get you to fight back one day, Wondergirl."
The blue-hair Jedi quietly replied. "We'll see."
Asuka blinked as she caught a glimpse of a hint of a smile on Rei's face. Her grin broadened, taking in what she saw as two things. A pass at humor and a purposeful challenge. Hooking her now-deactivated lightsaber to her side, Asuka mentally nodded.
'I accept your challenge...Ayanami Rei.'
It was at that point that the two felt another tremor in the Force and both of them turned to see Shinji coming through the exit in his normal clothes. That alone told them that he wasn't up here to spar with them, but upon seeing his solemn expression and sensing his mood through the Force, they knew something was up.
"We're needed at NERV." he announced. "Misato's called for a meeting."
"We're here, Commander."
Turning away from the window, Misato sat down at her desk, vaguely looking up at the group of five standing before her. Ritsuko stood just behind Maya, with the three Children on the opposite side. Although Ritsuko kept her face a steady calm, she was quite worried about her friend. Misato looked as though she hadn't gotten much sleep lately. And while that wasn't an uncommon occurrence with her, she could just see an underline of misery in her eyes, which she worked to hide in professionalism.
"I called you all here to inform you that we will be receiving some important visitors soon. Akiza Koharu, and James Halberd, the Japanese representative and the Secretary-General of the UN."
Maya's eyes widened and she was the one to ask. "Why?"
"From what I've been told, it's a sort of informal inspection. A tour of the facility. Generally, they want to see the operations that go on here."
"But you suspect more."
This comment came from Rei, causing Ritsuko to blink and look over at her. Even though she knew of the training Rei and the other Children had undergone with Qui-Gon, there were some things she still never expected and Rei speaking out voluntarily was one of them. Misato on the other hand, didn't seem to find this strange at all and merely answered the girl.
"I suspect that this is just another way to put pressure on NERV to determine whether there should be a reason for it to remain. I'm sure you're all aware that NERV was created solely to fight the Angels. Now that they are gone, there no real reason to keep NERV operational. However, there are still resources here that would make it necessary to keep it going, the greatest of these being the science department. I would bet that they would focus their attention there and on the Evangelions. That being said, I want you all to do what you can to make it look good." She paused for a moment, and then worked up a brief smile. "If nothing else, we can show off our resident geniuses."
Ritsuko drawled. "Right..."
Misato continued. "Also, I want a synch test ready for when they arrive. That's where you three come in. According to the reports, you three are doing quite well in your synch tests. If we can hold a demonstration of some kind, it may impress them enough to put thoughts of disband out of their minds." Another pause and science advisor could see an almost-sigh come from the Commander, but it was stopped short. "It goes without saying that a lot may be counting on this. So everyone be on your best behavior, got it?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"Dismissed."
With that, the group turned about and began to leave, slowly at first but soon they all filed out, save for Ritsuko, who had lingered behind the others and soon stayed behind altogether. Turning around, she saw her friend resting her head in her hands. Quietly, she made her way back until she was standing in front of the desk.
"Commander?"
"Meeting's over, Rits." she mumbled back. "Just Misato."
"Misato." she started over. "When was the last time you've had a break?"
The lavender-hair woman shook her head. "I don't know. At this point, I don't even know what a break looks like."
'I suspected as such' she thought. "Well, I suggest you take one. I know you have a lot on your plate now and as important as this position is, you shouldn't burn yourself out."
"This coming from miss workaholic herself." Her eyes widened at her own statement and she quickly threw in an apology. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. You're right." Taking a seat across from her weary friend, she went on. "It just means I know what I'm talking about." When Misato didn't move, the scientist tried another tactic. "Seriously, get some rest. You look like crap."
Misato snorted humorously. "Thanks a lot, Ritsu-chan." She lifted her head up, but her eyes remained closed and she shook her head. "But I can't. I still have a lot to do before I could even think of resting."
Ritsuko sighed mentally. So far logic wasn't enough to convince her friend to rest (it rarely did) and humor didn't get her to budge either. So it was time to pull out her trump card. Letting concern filter in her voice, she pressed on.
"They're worried about you, you know."
This got her to open her eyes. "Hm?"
"The Children. They're worried about you." 'And now the coup de grace'. "Especially Shinji."
Ritsuko watched as her friend's face faltered and felt a bit guilty on manipulating her this way. But that guilt was squashed when Misato soon moaned out pitifully.
"You don't fight fair, you know that?"
Chuckling, Ritsuko nodded in agreement. "Yep." Rising up, the faux-blond placed a hand on Misato's shoulder. "Rest, Misato. I promise to help hold the fort while you do."
Misato looked up at her at gave her a smile; an honest one this time. "Okay, you win." With that, Misato rose up, with Ritsuko backing away to let her go. Accompanying Misato out of the office, Ritsuko was soon met with a side glance, a brief one, but one in which Ritsuko saw the old carefree Misato again for a moment.
"You're still a rotten cheat, but...thank you."
"Sure. What are friends for, right?"
"Bored?"
"Bored."
"Invasion bored?"
"Nope."
"Angel bored?"
"What are you two talking about?"
Turning around from their posts on the bridge, Lieutenants Makoto and Shigeru looked and smiled to see Maya coming in behind them.
"Hey Maya. Long time, no see."
"It hasn't been that long..." she started to protest. But after a moment of thought, her brows narrowed in memory. "...Has it?"
Makoto shrugged. "Well, if you have to ask, it must be."
After NERV reestablished itself after the invasion, the three of them were reassigned to their original positions and jobs, or at least Shigeru and Makoto were. With Ritsuko unavailable, the science department needed a new head. Maya entered for the position and after nearly a month of testing and training, she was given the position. While the two lieutenants were happy for her hard-earned success, it just wasn't the same without her with them.
The Bridge Bunnies...
"So what brings you among the commoners?" Shigeru joked.
"Real funny." she snorted as she sat down in her former seat, (which just happened to be occupied). "Just letting you guys know what's up."
The two listened as Maya told them of the guest they were having as well as the importance of the visit. Generally, Maya didn't have to tell them much; simply informing them of the visitors. But she let them know of Misato's concerns as well, knowing that the two of them (especially Makoto) would do their best to help their new commander. It was also a way of keeping the two lieutenants in the loop of things, not wanting to seem to hiding something. Discretion was necessary in their line of work, sure, but secrets in NERV had done more harm than good and she didn't want them to go through that; not again; and not like Dr. Akagi.
"Guess things are going to pick up here again, huh?" Makoto whistled.
Shigeru nodded in agreement. "That's an understatement."
Settling back a bit, Maya couldn't help, but feel a little nostalgic at the moment. It was just like old times when the three of them would simply talk about things, sometimes serious, other times, not so much. Although she liked her position as chief of the science department, there were moments like now that she wished she was here with them. She had resolved to see them whenever she could, but her work kept her occupied, and in all honesty, there was no real reason for her to see them at all these days.
Well, one reason actually...
"Look on the plus side." Maya smirked after a minute. "You guys won't be bored anymore."
The two of them gave her a nasty glance as she rose up from her seat. "Well, I better go. I have work to do." Her smirk rose as she walked away. "No sense in distracting the underlings."
"Wha...? Hey! That's not funny!"
They were her friends...
'I have a bad feeling about this.'
Asuka slowly turned to the young man beside her as she heard his open thought through the Force. After their meeting with Misato, the Children began making their way back home from NERV, choosing to walk instead of taking the usual transport. Each of their minds were occupied with the earlier meeting with the commander, but it was Shinji's thought that came in loud enough for her to hear. But she
"Nice to know I'm not the only one that thinks so."
Blinking out of his thoughts, Shinji turned to her. "Huh?"
Asuka shook her head with a brief chuckle. "Honestly, you're like reading a book. And that was before I was trained as a Jedi." She then became solemn. "And like I said, we're all thinking the same thing anyway, right?"
She glanced over at Rei, who gave a slight nod before answering. "Yes. Something doesn't feel right about this inspection tour. ...A shadow."
The German girl felt her face tense up at her words. She had learned long ago that Rei was the most perceptive of the three of them, sensing things more strongly or with more certainty than either she or Shinji. So to her, for Rei to say what she did, meant there was something. And the last time Rei said words to that effect, they had to deal with an invasion attack on NERV as well as coming close to having the world end from another Second Impact.
"I wish I knew what. Misato's doing so much now; I just want to help her."
Looking back at Shinji, Asuka just couldn't help but smile. Here they were talking with a foreboding of doom in their minds and he couldn't help but worry about their guardian. Not that she wasn't, but Shinji seemed more intent on it. Perhaps that was his strength in the Force, she realized and mused. His empathy...
"Don't worry about it." she reassured him, brushing a stray hair to the side. "She may be a slob, but Misato's no slouch."
"And she is quite perceptive." Rei added. "She will be ready to take action when the time comes."
At this, Asuka turned to Rei again, with her eyes narrowing in inquiry. "It sounds like you're expecting something that will need action."
"Perhaps."
Asuka didn't even try to hide her frown. "Very enigmatic, Wondergirl."
Shinji looked out in front of them, his eyes becoming distant. "I guess the only thing we can do is wait."
"Patience..." was the sigh/drawl from the red-hair Jedi, while her frown remained on her face."My favorite subject."