Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ The Swim of Things ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

The Swim of Things

By

Ret Nuh

 

It was a rather chilly day in the middle of January and Rei was just plain miserable. While the fact it was below freezing and there was snow on the ground made the outside condition seem desolate and bleak to her that is not why she was miserable. Not even the super thick study books that were sprawled out in front of her on her desk were even that bad. She had finally moved passed all the feelings that had to do with her advance situation and just accepted it now, at least what she was doing wasn't as hard as Asuka. But what was making her miserable was that she was sick. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her nose was all stuffy, her eyes were watery, and she felt run down.

 

But unlike in the past when she would have stayed home she couldn't anymore. She may have had a cold but she wasn't sick enough to stay home by Misato's standards, which were so much different than her personal standards. In Misato's defense though, Rei's standards for being too sick to go to school were even less than Asuka who in turn started complaining at a sniffle. So there she was with a box of tissues on her desk having to suffer thru class. But her cold was only half of it as her classmates found this odd. This was in fact the first time many of them had ever seen her be sick. Sure they had seen her injured before but never sick. And to make matters worse every time she sneezed she could hear snickers around the room. Her classmates weren't laughing at her so much as it was the natural reaction to the way she sneezed. To Rei it was just a sneeze but to everyone else it was so much different.

 

This all started for Rei on the way to school today. As usual she was riding the bus with Asuka and Shinji going to school when she let out a sneeze. This garnered more attention to her than she noticed at first until she saw Asuka looking at her peculiarly.

 

“What the hell was that?”

 

Rei looked back at her confused as she had no clue what Asuka was talking about. Rei then sneezed again. This time she saw Asuka snicker at her. Since she was sick Rei was a touch on the grumpy side “I do not see what is so funny about me having a cold. I didn't make fun of you last week when you had one.”

 

“This has nothing to do with you being sick” Asuka answered. “It's your sneezes.”

 

“What about my sneezes?” Rei asked as Asuka was making no sense to her, not that Asuka ever really did.

 

“Well, they are really…” and for a lack of a better word “… Cute…”

 

“How can a sneeze be cute?” Rei interrupted.

 

“The actual sneeze isn't what's cute” Asuka answered. “They just sound cute… and also familiar. I swear I have heard that kind of sneeze someplace else.”

 

Now Rei was no longer looking at Asuka confused, she was looking at her like the girl was nuts. She turned to look at Shinji and asked him “Please explain your girlfriend to me?”

 

What Rei didn't know was that Shinji himself was biting his lip in order not to chuckle at her sneezes. They weren't just plain cute, they were Keiko level cute. It was so much different from anyone else's sneezes and was very much like the giggle she emitted any time Asuka snuck up and tickled her sides. Since he had to answer Rei he couldn't bite his lip anymore and his answer was delivered with a jolly type smirk. “You sneeze like Osaka from Azu Manga Daioh.”

 

Asuka let out a “That's where I have heard that sneeze before.” She then laughed as she told Rei “You sneeze like an anime character.”

 

Rei responded with a quick “I do not!”

 

“You do to” Asuka said back while giggling. “I didn't think real people sneezed like that.”

 

Rei let out a sigh and looked at her two traveling mates. “You two are odd.” And then just like on command Rei sneezed again. This time both Shinji and Asuka giggled at her for that. She shot them an evil glare but as she was staring at them trying to get them to shut up she noticed Shinji and Asuka weren't alone in their reaction. There were others on the bus with smirks and masked chuckles. Rei's evil glare instantly disappeared and she looked down at the floor of the bus while her flushed cheeks turned an even darker shade of red. And Rei spent the rest of the bus trip like that and couldn't wait to get off the bus and away from the weirdo's who were on it with her.

 

Unfortunately there was nothing weird about the people on the bus. Rei sadly found this out when she walked into the classroom and sat down at her desk. She let out one sneeze and everyone looked at her. And to make it worse some girl let out a “That's so Kawaii!” The rest of the class agreed and there was laughter. And that was just how class went today, she even caught the teacher smirking a couple times. This was definitely something she thought was a curse.

 

By lunch time she had enough of all this and she found a quiet corner where she called Misato. She begged, pleaded, implored, beseeched and almost cried in an effort to go home. Misato wasn't hearing any of it though. If Rei was healthy enough to complain and whine like that she was healthy enough to stay in school. Rei even sneezed for Misato so she could see just how bad her situation really was.

 

The answer she got though was “So you got a cute sounding sneeze. It's not like it's the end of the world.” Rei let out a rather pathetic sounding moan after that making Misato think she was hanging around Asuka too much. “Listen Rei, you need to start dealing with issues like this. I know you don't want anyone to know about that part of you as you have a certain image that you portray but you really are a cute girl.”

 

“I don't want to be cute” Rei answered sounding almost like she was whining.

 

“Why not?” Misato questioned. “Do you realize just how many girls would kill to have a body like yours along with a very attractive face.” Misato got dead silence after that for about a minute. “Rei honey, are you there?”

 

Rei was totally caught off guard by Misato's statement. Sure she sort of knew she had a pleasing figure but she never thought of herself as attractive. She looked very different from everyone else so she always thought of herself as an oddity that most people would rather avoid in that sense. “Y- you're wrong.”

 

Misato let out a soft chuckle as this was typical girl self-depreciation at it's finest. Rei truly was like every other girl on this planet. “Sweetie I know what I'm talking about. You're just going to have to accept it.” Misato heard a sigh on the other end of the line after she said that. “It's not like that's a bad thing.”

 

“And it's not a good thing to me” Rei answered her. “My life is easier when people simply ignore me.”

 

“Easier, yes” Misato answered her. “But it may not be better.” From the silence she got after that Misato could tell Rei was confused about what she just said. “Here let me explain it another way. While Asuka has always been a bit confused about life in general she used to have a semi-stable footing in what she was doing since coming back from 3rd I. Now since she started dating Shinji she doesn't know if she's on foot or horseback most of the time. I have even caught her sitting around just staring off into space with a totally confused look on her face as she is trying to think things out. She never really did that before. But while she is much more confused now about what is going on she's also so much happier. I have seen her smiling more in the past couple months than I have seen her smile in all the time I've known her.” And to relate this even better to Rei Misato added on “And the same thing goes for Shinji.”

 

A straightforward and logical answer was a hard thing for Rei to argue. Plus it was true, Rei could easily tell those two were much happier now. Rei was also wondering right now how Misato got her talking about things like this considering the call she made was only supposed be about her being sick and wanting to go home. The more Rei thought about it though the more she realized that lately the conversations she was having with Misato while washing the dishes had been more serious in nature. That little trickster of a guardian she had was trying to teach her a lesson again. It wasn't a lesson she particularly wanted to hear though so she gave Misato a yes ma'am and then said bye to her as lunch was going to be over soon so she had to go.

 

Misato on the other hand knew what was going on. There was still a good fifteen minutes left during the lunch period so she decided that the nice little chat she was having with Rei could wait till after dinner when the girl was a more captive audience.

 

The rest of that day went pretty much like how it started. Rei sat there being miserable, getting little snickers every time she sneezed, and thinking about how she would much rather be at home right now.

 

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Since Rei managed to get through class she decided she might as well go to practice too. But when she got there the coach made her go sit down and watch. The last thing he wanted was for Rei to sneeze during a routine and fall off the balance beam. Since he wasn't going to risk Rei hurting herself he told her to watch the other girls and see if anything they did looked interesting to her. Heck maybe she would take an interest in some of the other events.

 

Rei on the other hand was really starting to like her gymnastics coach.

 

While sitting on the mat watching the other girls practice Rei heard a familiar voice behind her. “That coach is way too soft on you.”

 

“I think Coach Ando's coaching methods are very exemplary” Rei said back informing Misato that her opinion was very much different from the one that Misato had stated. She heard Misato let out a little chuckle at that but at the same time a little one walked up to her and looked at her funny. Rei had to turn around and look at Misato if it was all right for Keiko to be by her when she had a cold.

 

“Don't worry about Keiko” Misato told her. “Who do you think was the one that brought this cold into our little family?”

 

Rei didn't need to give an answer to that one. The answer was standing right in front of her now looking at her. She gave Keiko a friendly look and asked nicely “Do you want something?”

 

Keiko in return pointed out on the mat and asked “What doin?”

 

Rei looked out at where Keiko was pointing at and answered her. “That is called floor exercises.”

 

To Keiko it looked like something very different, it looked like someone was playing with some very pretty and colorful ribbon. She of course wanted to play with the ribbon too. After asking Misato if it was ok Rei got up and grabbed one of the ribbons off the pile and brought it back to Keiko. Keiko of course loved it and started running around in front of her mommy waving it. As long as it kept Keiko occupied Misato didn't really care, it was just better if the little girl had something to distract her.

 

Another familiar sounding voice was then heard “She's pretty good at that.”

 

Keiko in return turned towards the voice and said “Funny stooge.”

 

That made both Misato and Rei smirk a bit. No matter how much you told Keiko otherwise Kensuke's, along with Touji's, name was stooge. Neither of the two boys minded it so much as Keiko was after all only a baby. If you wanted to place blame on anyone for the name it should rest solely on Asuka's shoulders. Then again she didn't care if you did blame her for that. Misato though made another attempt. “Honey, his name is Kensuke.”

 

Keiko responded with “Stooge.”

 

“No, Kensuke.” Misato repeated.

 

This time Keiko's “Stooge!” came out more defiant. Misato let out a little breath after that and didn't press the issue any further. Maybe when she was older and not so prone to temper tantrums she could fix this. Misato looked over to Kensuke and then shrugged her shoulders while saying “I tried.”

 

“It's ok” Kensuke replied. “It's not like she's the only one Asuka got to call me that.” As he said that though he heard another form of his name called out. This one was much worse considering whom it was coming from.

 

“Oh Ke-kun.” And even before Kensuke could tell Kaede not to call him that she was standing in front of him flouncing herself off. She looked down at Keiko and kidded. “Hey! You know the only love children you're allowed to have are with me.”

 

Kensuke responded with an astonished “Geeze Kaede. Don't talk like that when she's standing right there.”

 

“It's not like she knows what I am talking about” Kaede answered stepping a bit closer to him in a total violation of his personal space. She then said quietly “If you're up to it we can try to make one tonight.”

 

You could physically see the shiver that ran down Kensuke's spine when Kaede said that. He was so embarrassed he didn't even have a comeback. Luckily for him though the coach told her to get back to practice and to stop pestering the audience. As the overaggressive girl walked off Kensuke sighed out loud to himself while rubbing his temple “Once... Just once… why can't some other girl talk to me like that?” He then felt an arm wrap around his shoulder.

 

“Feel like you are up the creek without a paddle, huh?”

 

He looked over at Misato and added a sad “…and the canoe.”

 

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Later on during practice a tall grayed haired gentleman showed up. He walked over to Misato and sat down next to her. Misato asked him “So how did your little meeting with Asuka go?”

 

“Not bad” the gray haired gentleman answered. “Well at least it wasn't until I told her she wasn't getting the highest grade in some of her classes.”

 

Misato smirked at that. “That's something that hasn't happened in a very long time. It should be good for her.”

 

“It's not like she is doing bad considering the circumstances” Professor Fuyutsuki replied. “In fact most of the students in my classes rarely get above a B.”

 

“But for a person who always got A's a B is the worst thing possible” Misato told him.

 

“Well if she wants an A she will have to work for it” he told her. “That girl is too exceptional to be given special treatment.”

 

“I couldn't agree more” Misato said and then heard one of Rei's sneezes from in front of her. She also heard a slight chuckle beside of her so she gave Kensuke a slight rap over the back of his head as it was rude to laugh at something like that. While Kensuke grumbled Misato turned her attention back over towards Fuyutsuki. He had a very odd look to his face and was staring at Rei.

 

Rei noticed this too and she sighed softly “I know. I sneeze like an anime character.” She had already heard this so many times that she was starting to grow dead to the comment.

 

Fuyutsuki though surprised her as he quickly corrected. “Never let anyone tell you that again. I haven't heard a sneeze like that in over a decade.” The good professor then looked at her with what almost looked like very sad eyes. “That sneeze belonged to a great woman who gave up everything to help us all.”

 

Kensuke was looking at the professor like the old geezer had finally gone senile but both Misato and Rei understood what he was talking about. Rei's genetic makeup was that of a woman that both of them knew Fuyutsuki truly missed. While Gendo may have thought that everything Fuyutsuki did was for him he never knew the truth. Everything that Fuyutsuki did was actually for Yui Ikari. He loved her just as much as Gendo did but he had a much more stable mind and when she sacrificed herself he knew and accepted why. It was for the greater good and the only way she could protect her son.

 

Rei could see the sadness and longing for a lost love in his eyes. “I'm sorry if I made you remember something you did not wish to.”

 

Fuyutsuki shook his head no at her. “Never be sorry for that Rei.” He then walked down towards her and whispered something to her so other ears could not overhear. “And never be sorry about where you came from. She truly was a great person.”

 

This was something that Rei had already known. Interestingly enough she had always known it. And after she met Shinji she understood why. Rei actually blushed a bit, although you couldn't really tell due to her cold, as she told him “I won't… and thank you.”

 

Professor Fuyutsuki smiled back at her and then with a little chagrin told her “But I believe she was much better at the floor exercises than she was at the beam.” That little bit of knowledge surprised both her and Misato. Fuyutsuki chuckled to himself a bit before he further explained. “A little known fact about your biological mother Rei. She actually came to college on a gymnastics scholarship, not academics. Although I never understood why because she was one of the smartest persons I have ever met. Personally I would have given her both.”

 

Rei smiled at that and sort of joked back at him “I have a feeling you would have given her a lot more than that if you could have.”

 

That caused Fuyutsuki to start laughing out loud. “If the commander only knew.”

 

Misato finished that statement for him. “If he did you would have been shot.”

 

“Too true.”

 

Rei then looked at the two and rolled her eyes at them. Those two just simply knew too much. In fact both of them, along with Kaji, could be sitting around playing cards and talking about the past but what they would talk about was almost a foreign language and just about no one, including Rei, could understand them. In fact there had been a time when she came over to watch TV with Shinji and Asuka and Fuyutsuki had come over along with Maya and Makoto to play cards. She was told by Asuka not to even bother trying to overhear what they were talking about as it would just go over her head but she did anyway. It was then that she realized that while she did know a lot about some things she also knew next to nothing in the grand scheme of events. Apparently she had been kept in the dark by the commander concerning a lot more things than she had figured on.

 

Also she should have listened to Asuka that time as after only ten minutes she was as confused as Kensuke looked right now. Of course you couldn't blame Kensuke for being confused as while he remembered and knew more than the average person, he still didn't know anything about the truth. Along with that Fuyutsuki and Misato were discussing old things in something Asuka had always referred to as “partial talk.” I.e. they would only say enough of a statement for the other to know the rest and then talk back and forth to each other like that. It was a good way to say and comment on things without anyone knowing what you were talking about.

 

After about five minutes of this Kensuke looked over at Rei. Rei though told him “Please don't ask me. I don't know what they are talking about either.” She then went back to playing with Keiko who was having a lot of fun with the ribbon she had.

 

It was at times like that when Kensuke wished he still had a full time job. It was fun looking at all the girls and stuff but he was kind of bored. He looked across the gym and saw that Hikari was busy talking with another girl while watching Touji practice so there was no point in going over there either. He stretched out his arms after that and let out a big yawn.

 

“If you're bored you could always do some studying.”

 

And as quickly as that statement was delivered Misato was already back in her conversation with Fuyutsuki. Kensuke turned his head slightly and gave Misato a little glare. Misato totally ignored him though and he shook his head and wondered to himself `How in the world did I ever find that woman sexy?'

 

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Near the end of practice Misato was sitting next to a blonde haired kid who was zonked out on the bench. She was sitting there wondering how much one of those ribbons cost as she was pretty sure she was going to have to buy the school a new one. It wasn't just that Keiko seemed to love playing with it, it was that now Hikari had come over. Not only did Hikari tell her she was so cute looking with it she had also braided the ribbon into the little girls hair. While Keiko didn't exactly have long hair because she was only around 20 months or so, her hair was long enough for a cute multicolored braid job that resulted in Keiko being able to run around and have the ribbon streaming behind her. Misato could easily predict exactly what the tantrum was going to be when it was time to go home. She was also a bit worn out and she really wanted to avoid it. Maybe the gymnastics coach would be nice and let her borrow it and bring it back tomorrow. By then the novelty of it would have worn off and she could return it without much of a fuss.

 

Luckily for Misato the coach didn't have a problem with what Misato asked and she was able to drive home with a relatively quiet car as Keiko had tired herself out and Rei was tired from the time she got up. When Misato got home she was sort of expecting a grumpy Asuka as she knew the meeting with Professor Fuyutsuki didn't go exactly as Asuka had planned but instead she was greeted by pretty much unawareness. Asuka was just sitting on the couch with Shinji, looking off towards nothing in particular and had a puzzled look on her face. Misato was really tempted to just leave this situation like it was as she didn't want to incite the redhead in any way but despite her better judgment she walked up to the back of the couch and asked “Is something wrong Asuka?”

 

Asuka shook her head snapping herself out of her daze and looked up at Misato “Huh?”

 

“What happened this time that got you all confused?”

 

Asuka pointed back to the boy she was sitting against and said “Baka boyfriend boy back here spoiled my good grumpy mood by asking me a serious question.”

 

“Ah poor Asuka” Misato jested. “What did he ask you? Whether you want to get married right away at 18?”

 

“You wish” Asuka sassed back. “Actually while I was complaining about my classes he asked if I liked any of them. Then he asked what career field I was going in to.”

 

“Well?” Misato asked as that was a damn good question by Shinji.

 

“I don't know” Asuka answered. “I have been giving it a lot of thought and I just don't know what I want to do.”

 

Misato made her way over to the front of the couch and sat down by Asuka while telling Shinji that he should start on dinner. Shinji went off and did what he was told and Misato started asking Asuka some questions. “So do you like any of the classes you are taking?”

 

“They are ok, I guess” Asuka answered. “But I think I might want to try something else next year.”

 

“Are there any fields that sound interesting to you?”

 

“Not really…” Asuka then stopped to think for a second. “… truthfully I never really thought of what I wanted. The classes I took when I was younger were always assigned to me so I never got to pick what I wanted to do.”

 

Since Asuka seemed to be open to suggestions right now Misato started listing some. “How about a researcher? You know, something to do with the sciences.”

 

Asuka shook her head no at that. “While I like the sciences I know I would get bored being cooped up in a lab all day. Plus considering I was a lab experiment to some people I don't think I want to go back into anything similar with that kind of life.”

 

“Ok then” Misato said moving on. “How about some type of engineer?”

 

“No” Asuka answered. “I'm not really interested in machines, computers, and the such.”

 

“That's not all there is to engineering” Misato told her. “There are many other types from civil engineers to agricultural and also types like environmental.”

 

That sort of caught Asuka's interest and she thought about that. “If I decided on an engineering route it would have to be one in which I would be outside and actually working in the field. I like to see things first hand.”

 

Misato told Asuka to hold on to that thought for a second and got up to get a notepad and pencil. She was going to record down which fields Asuka sort of liked and then give that list to Professor Fuyutsuki so he could pick more appropriate classes for Asuka in the future. After recording what Asuka just said she pressed on with other field choices. “How about a lawyer? Trust me you have the arguing skills for it.”

 

Asuka smirked at that. “I'd rather be the judge. But I guess you would have to start somewhere.”

 

“Very true” Misato answered. “You're not going to get your dream job right off the bat.”

 

“I know” Asuka answered but then asked something that she had always wondered. “What degrees did you get in college?”

 

“I got an advanced degree in law enforcement” Misato told her. “Then I joined the military and studied tactics. For a while I thought I was going to be a peace or military officer.” Thinking further Misato then threw out another suggestion. “What about forensics? With your smarts you could probably get very far in that career.”

 

Asuka quickly shook her head no. “Nothing to do with death. I have had too much of it already.”

 

A very understandable statement and one that Misato didn't press. It also eliminated anything in the medical field so she switched over to another one. “How about a business woman?”

 

“Hmmm??? I could just see it now. I would have all the qualities that would make me seem like a young go getter destined for an executive role.” Asuka then dropped the other shoe on that statement. “But since I'm a girl they would all think I'm a bitch.”

 

Misato breathed out a little sigh. Asuka had a good point as some double standards survived third impact as well. And considering the country they lived in Asuka's point was even stronger. “I'm not going to argue as it would be a fight, but please don't discount it so quickly. With tenacity comes rewards.”

 

Asuka snickered at that. It was definitely a phrase straight from the mommy handbook. But it was also a good point so she let Misato write down business woman on the sheet. It would be something that was at least worth a trial class or two. “I wonder how well I would function in a cubicle society?”

 

“You would absolutely hate cubi hell” Misato told her. “That's why you got to be strong and push ahead so you can get an office really fast.” Misato then leaned forward and whispered something to Asuka. “This may sound a bit stupid but one of the factors why I joined NERV was they were putting me in a position of command and giving me my own office.” Asuka just shook her head at Misato for that. But at the same time she knew she could find a lot more adults who would agree with that line of thinking than she couldn't. Misato then threw out a suggestion that she herself was very happy with. “How about being a housewife?”

 

The answer to that was quick and precise. “Not a chance in hell!”

 

“A c'mon” Misato teased at first but then turned a little more serious as she added “I have never been happier with my life than right now.”

 

“Don't even go there” Asuka told her. “You're just trying to be evil and put thoughts into my head. That's the last thing I need right now.”

 

Misato did much more than just smirk at that, she had to laugh. She also had to push it further. “Just think about the conception part of that then. I `m sure Shinji is.” This joke didn't work out as well as Misato wanted it to as she was sure Shinji was listening in on them but he wasn't. He was basically busy tending to an obnoxious child who wanted a snack and a penguin who was right beside her. “Crap... He isn't even listening.”

 

“Serves you right, trying to be a temptress like that” Asuka said. She then looked over at Shinji “But I don't think you're wrong.”

 

“Oh has some interesting things been happening while you two are alone?” Misato asked as her curiosity had been peaked.

 

“No, not really. But lately he has been looking at me differently.” She then looked closer at Shinji while he was busy tending to other things. “He tries not to get caught but I've noticed. He's looking at certain parts of me that I know he wants.”

 

“I certainly don't blame him” Misato said. “Patience is a virtue but even to the best of males there's no such thing as total virtue when it comes to the female body.”

 

Asuka raised her eye brow at that. “I take it you're trying to tell me he wants me?”

 

“That's such a crude way of saying it” Misato answered. “But yes.”

 

“What makes you think I don't want him?”

 

“I don't think that at all” Misato answered back and then looked over at Shinji. “I get the impression you want him very much. Almost so much that it over rides your own mind.”

 

Asuka sat there for a minute and thought about that. There was some truth to it but it was also not exactly correct. “There are days that I want to surrender to my body but whenever I think like that I get really nervous. Sometimes to the point of nauseousness.”

 

Misato chuckled at that softly. “So you still get worried sick about being intimate. Why doesn't that surprise me?”

 

“Were you nervous the first time you and Kaji became intimate?”

 

“Oh God yes” Misato told her. “I mean it wasn't till about two hours later before I stopped shaking. Slowly but surely though I got over it and that's when it really started being something special.”

 

Asuka let out a sigh after that. A lot of girls at her school always joked or remarked about how losing their virginity was nothing special but she just couldn't believe them. And after what Misato told her she knew this was going to be a bigger thing to her than normal girls. She looked over at Misato and let out a rather pathetic whine “Why can't I just be a normal girl?”

 

Misato smiled and told her “Because you're special. And I don't think anyone else would want you to be any other way… Although a little less whining and little more maturity would be nice.”

 

“You wish” Asuka repeated. “I like how I'm and I think I'm going to keep it that way.” Asuka then got a curious little look on her face “But I wonder if he would like it if I…”

 

“You don't even have to say it” Misato said cutting her off. “The answer is yes. But the bigger question is how will you like it?”

 

“Maybe I will give it a shot tomorrow” Asuka answered. “Umm… are you going to go to Rei's practice again?”

 

“I was planning to. Why? Is that a problem?”

 

“Nope” Asuka answered. “I just wanted to make sure we are alone for a bit.”

 

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Sadly for Asuka her plans did not happen. But this time it wasn't because she wussed out or anything like that, in fact it wasn't her fault at all. Situations just occurred and because of it Misato was not able to go to Rei's practice and that in return didn't provide the privacy time that Asuka wanted.

 

The reason though why Misato didn't go to Rei's practice was because Rei didn't even go to it either. While the cold that had been sweeping through their family was almost over as Rei was the last one to catch it, it was going out with a bang. In the middle of the night Rei stopped the cute little sneezes and developed a rather nasty sounding hacking cough. And that wasn't all as her temperature was up too and Rei was so fatigued she couldn't even find the energy to get out of bed.

 

The only good point about all of this was that Rei wasn't going to have to suffer thru another day a quiet giggles every time she sneezed. She very quickly realized though that she would have rather had a day like she went through yesterday than what she was going thru right now. Nothing like a nasty cold at its high point to set a mind straight.

 

While Misato may have had different standards for the staying home from school because you're sick than her, this unfortunately was enough for Misato to keep her home. But as tough and demanding as Misato was, she was a real softy when you really were sick. And she wasn't the only one as Kaji took a sick day to help out Misato. Basically Misato was going to take care of and watch over Rei today but that would be kind of difficult due to the fact that she had to do the same for Keiko. Keiko was fine and all but because she was a young one it didn't matter if she was sick or not, you always had to watch over her. So that was Kaji's job for the day, watch over his little daughter. Discounting the whole diaper changing thing this was a job he liked much better than his real one.

 

It had been an hour since Asuka and Shinji had left for school. Rei was lying in bed and Misato was placing a fresh damp cloth onto her head to help her fever come down a bit. Rei let out a weak “I'm sorry.”

 

“For what?” Misato asked.

 

“For being sick” Rei answered barely above a whisper.

 

“Oh sweetie, it's not your fault” Misato told her. “These things happen to everyone. Now just close your eyes and go back to sleep.”

 

“But I have caused so much disruption today” Rei replied. “And I made Kaji take a day off work.”

 

“Please” Misato commented. “He's as happy as he can be to be home right now. And truthfully when you are a grownup, sick days aren't to be used on yourself. You use them when your kids get sick. Just about everyone deals with it so it's no big deal when someone calls in sick because they have to take care or help take care of a sick child. Now just close your eyes and get some rest. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere.”

 

There was a very soft “Thank you” after that and Rei drifted back off into sleep.

 

When Rei woke back up she found Misato sitting in exactly the same place as before. In a chair that she had placed right next to Rei's bed. Also Misato was reading one of Rei's books. She turned her head slightly and whisper asked “You like those books too?”

 

“From time to time” Misato answered. “I used to read them much more often when I was younger but I don't seem to have the time anymore.”

 

With a weak little sigh Rei told Misato “I like the fantasies they provide.”

 

“As you should” Misato replied. “A lot of these books are written by women expressing their dreams and desires. I have often wondered if you would be good at writing something like this.”

 

Rei sat up a bit and looked at the compassionate woman taking care of her. “I can not write about something I know nothing of.”

 

Misato didn't want to stress Rei in any way so she guided her back down into bed and gave her a reassuring kiss on the forehead while telling her “You will someday though, you will.” Misato then got up and redampened the cloth on Rei's forehead with cool water to help her relax.

 

Misato's kind act and words were the thoughts that Rei fell back to sleep with. And even though she was sick she had some pleasant dreams.

 

\\\\||||////

*********** OOO ***********

////||||\\\\

 

It was near the end of February and Rei was relaxing after just finishing up a routine on the balance beam. They had just had a tournament yesterday and they did pretty well so the coach was allowing them to take practice lightly today. Then again since it was Friday he really didn't have a choice. Plus you could add to the distraction of his girls was that the temperatures were now starting to steadily rise and that meant spring was around the corner. There was no more snow on the ground and more than likely they wouldn't see anymore till next year.

 

That made Rei very happy. Not only did it mean no more of that frigid white stuff it also meant Asuka couldn't nail her with a snowball anymore. While Asuka only threw them at her in jest they were just so darn cold and the way they slowly melted on her skin sent shivers throughout her whole body. The worst thing about it was that she couldn't even really retaliate as if she actually threw one back and hit Asuka, it did nothing. The girl would just shake it off and get another snowball of her own as apparently that was the whole point of a snowball fight. Not in a million years would she ever understand why normal people would want to go do something as strange and odd as throw snowballs back and forth at each other. All it took was for her to get hit once and she was out of there and in search of someplace warm.

 

But she wasn't always alone in this thought as if she was around her friends Hikari would be right beside her. She was a lot like Rei in this matter as she freely allowed the boys and Asuka to partake in this winter sport, sans her. Plus the most common spot for a snowball fight was outside Rei, Shinji, and Asuka's apartment complex and Rei and her could watch the festivities just fine from one of the apartment windows. But all that stuff was over now and the weather was getting warmer.

 

As Rei stretched out her arms a bit she heard an unexpected voice.

 

“Hello Rei.”

 

Rei turned around and saw that Shinji was there sitting next to Kensuke. “Why are you here?”

 

“Asuka has a meeting with Professor Fuyutsuki so I thought I would wait around here till she gets done.”

 

“The professor must really be working her over” Kensuke commented. “I don't think I have ever seen Asuka study as much as I have than over the last couple months.”

 

“That's because her classes are really hard” Shinji answered. “I took a look at one of her textbooks once and I didn't understand a word of it.” Shinji then laughed a bit at himself as he added “I didn't even understand it when she tried to explain it to me.” Personally Shinji was very proud of Asuka. He knew she was very smart but she was even exceeding his notions.

 

“What was she trying to explain to you?” Kensuke asked.

 

“I have no clue” Shinji answered and then looked over at Rei. “Ask her, she understood it.”

 

Rei sort of turned her face from them and answered “No I didn't.”

 

Shinji sort of looked at Rei funny for that. Rei was obviously lying. He knew this because they were at Rei's place when Asuka tried to explain it to him and while he didn't understand Rei clearly did as she started asking questions. And these weren't simple questions either, they were a bit on the complex side. Shinji was thinking of pressing the point but then he realized something, Rei didn't want to be put on the same level as Asuka even if she was able to be. Asuka had the temperament to put up with the genius girl taunts and would just throw anything said to her back in the other persons face. And depending on who it was she could be downright nasty about it.

 

Rei though wouldn't do anything. In fact anytime anyone questioned her on what she was studying she always downgraded it to a more normal level. If she was studying upper level calculus she would say she was studying trigonometry. If she was studying quantum mechanics she would say she was only studying basic physics. And when it came to the English portion of tests she would lie and say she wasn't trying to solve the problems, only that she was trying to understand what the problem was asking. The girl had an almost complete understanding of the English language. The only thing she would get confused with is when Asuka used American slang, and even then she could sometimes figure it out.

 

The reason she did some of those things was probably due to the fact that she was starting to get a new nickname. It had finally gotten around school that everything about Rei was in fact natural so the `Goth Girl' name started to die. Unfortunately a new name was born in its place. It was a name she hated even more as all it did was set her apart from everyone else. Right now only the mean spirited girls called her it and even then it was only whispered behind her back. But Rei was worried if she let her classmates know just how much further advanced she was than them the name `Freak Girl' would spread.

 

Shinji knew he should not let Rei belittle herself like she was doing but he also understood why. He let out a little sigh and dropped the subject. Personally Shinji was thinking Rei was lucky Misato hadn't shown up today. If Rei had said what she did in front of Misato, the woman would have jumped on that quicker than a heartbeat. Misato was a woman who forced you to live up to your potential but at the same time she didn't understand high school life very well so she didn't always understand the full ramifications of what she had the kids do.

 

After that Rei sat there and just let everything be silent. Well at least till Kaede showed up and went after her favorite flirting target.

 

Kaede walked very closely up to Kensuke and bent over a bit so if he wanted to he could see down her uniform. “Hello Ke-kun. Let's go someplace private and we can do some stretching exercises.”

 

“No thank you” Kensuke said diverting his eyes away from some very nice looking cleavage.

 

Of course that only made Kaede get even closer. “It would be really fun.” She then ramped up the temptation by saying “And I stretch best when I'm naked.”

 

“Kaede please…” Kensuke told her as this was starting to get too far already.

 

“Please what?” Kaede asked and then answered her own question “Please have hot and steamy sex with you all weekend.”

 

Kensuke exclaimed “Kaede!!!” loudly after that last comment. That was definitely too much to be saying out loud.

 

“What?” Kaede replied and then started to act all pouty as she told him “I'm only trying to have some fun with you.”

 

“Well not everyone here likes that sort of fun” Kensuke replied.

 

Kaede challenged him on this point “Who cares what I say?”

 

Kensuke looked around quickly and said “Well Rei doesn't like this kind of humor.”

 

Rei though got up and replied “Please leave me out of this.” And then she walked back towards the balance beam as it was free for her to practice more.

 

Since that failed Kensuke looked over at Shinji with a look that asked him to save him from this predicament. Shinji though was much like Rei and he wanted nothing to do with this. He already had a love life he could barely handle himself, the last thing he needed was to get involved in someone else's. “I'm going to go over and talk with Hikari now.”

 

And as Shinji too walked away Kensuke cried out “Some friends you people are!”

 

Kaede though took this as a nice gesture from the two people and she reached down to grab Kensuke's hand. Luckily for Kensuke the coach intervened at this point and told Kaede to stop goofing off. She smirked at Kensuke and told him “Maybe next time” as she walked away.

 

Kensuke let out a huge sigh of relief after she was gone. He was growing even more unsure whether this was a game or not concerning Kaede. In the past he could have easily accepted her offers but now… just too many things had happened for it to be. He then let out a sigh as he was starting to debate showing up at practice anymore.

 

****^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^****

 

A while later during the sport teams practices Asuka showed up. Naturally she made her way over to where Hikari was sitting with Shinji. “What's up?”

 

“Nothing really” Shinji answered. “How did your meeting go?”

 

“Ok I guess” Asuka answered. “Professor Fuyutsuki thinks I could be trying harder but whatever.” She then noticed Hikari gave her a little look. “Stop that you. I'm going to get enough of those kinds of looks from Misato at dinner tonight.”

 

Hikari chuckled a little at that. The reason she gave Asuka the look in the first place was she knew Asuka wasn't trying her hardest anymore. Something had happened that made that competitive spirit in Asuka, when it came to grades, settle down a bit. She still remembered the shock when she was hanging around Asuka one day when the girl got an e-mail stating she got a B on a quiz. She expected Asuka to flip out but all Asuka said was “Eh... it's not that important.”

 

Asuka then looked over at Shinji “So you ready to head home?”

 

“Yup” Shinji answered and the two took off. While they usually rode a bus to school in the morning they always walked home afterwards, well unless the weather was really nasty, then it was permissible to take the easy way. Asuka always said this was to get some extra exercise as it helped to keep in shape but basically you could translate it to she just liked going on long walks with Shinji. It was a time when it was just the two of them and they could talk. Plus on nice days they could stop off at a park along the way and sit under a tree with each other. It was the general simplicity of it all that attracted both of them to this kind of activity. Nothing complex or thought out had to happen, they could stroll along at whatever pace they wanted, take whatever detours seemed nice, and talk about anything in particular.

 

Truthfully most of the time a transpiration of the broken curfew rule happened it was because they took too much time getting from one place to another on foot. But as long as they called ahead Misato didn't really mind. And actually it wasn't her rule at all that they had to be home by midnight, it was the city's. To curb crime and potential violence a general rule for all those under 18 was put into effect that restricted them from being on the streets after midnight. While most teenagers complained non stop about this oppressive rule very few parents would listen to the complaints and most of the time the children were given the `Live with it' answer.

 

When the two got home they said hi to Misato and Keiko and Shinji quickly threw together a winter stew while Asuka got ready for her massage. The upgrade in Asuka and Shinji's relationship was taken place with this event. And due to the more advanced nature of the massages they had to take place in Asuka's room now, with the door closed. While Misato did not care about what they did, hell under certain conditions they could be having sex on the couch for all she cared, there was an impressionable one around and she didn't want the massages taking place in public anymore. And after turning the stove down to a simmer and letting dinner cook till meal time Shinji walked over to Asuka's room and shut the door behind him.

 

The inside of Asuka's room was dimly lit as the shades were drawn and a thin red scarf was thrown over the lampshade to create a tranquil atmosphere. Along with this were two scented candles that perfumed her room to smell like an aromatic garden. And on the bed laying face down was a very beautiful girl with long flowing red hair and bathed in an alluring red glow of light. The only thing she wore was a towel that laid loosely over her waist area, actually she had a pair of panties on too but that didn't need to be part of the picture. Shinji walked over to the bed and kneeled upon it as he grabbed a bottle of lotion and applied some warming liquid to his hands and the small of her back causing a pleasurable warmness to overcome Asuka even in the state of undress that she was in. He then began a more sensuous type of massage as he rubbed the oil all over her back and massaged his fingers around most of her body and down her legs. Asuka let out a purr of approval and over the next half hour Shinji made all of Asuka's problems disappear as the new style of massage felt so incredibly good.

 

The first time this kind of massaged happened though was a more embarrassing event. Like before the massage was taking place on the couch at a time when Asuka and Shinji were alone in the place. But the two may of got a little carried away as when Misato came home from one of Rei's practice with her little one she heard a rather sensual sounding moan. She quickly clapped her hands over her little ones ears. “Ummm… you two, I don't mind you doing that sort of thing but could you move it over to one of your rooms? I have Keiko with me.”

 

Asuka was surprised by the presence of Misato and asked “What are you doing home already?”

 

“What do you mean already?” Misato giggled. “It's actually pretty late.” While she was saying that she carried Keiko over to her highchair and gave the child a cookie. Misato then walked over to the couch “Ohh is that all you two are doing?”

 

“Well what did you think we were doing?” Asuka asked sounding a bit offended.

 

“Oh relax Asuka. It's just that from the doorway the only thing I could see was Shinji crouched over you and considering that sound you made I just thought of the obvious.”

 

Both Shinji and Asuka turned red at the implication. They knew what the obvious clearly meant when referring to Misato's accusations.

 

She smiled again at the two's embarrassment. “But since you are half naked Asuka could you please do that sort of thing in your room now?”

 

Asuka let out a meek “O-ok.” Shinji then got off her and stumbled a bit while turning away so Asuka could wrap the towel around her whole body.

 

Misato couldn't stop laughing at this scene. Asuka was standing there dressed in a towel and Shinji was right beside her with his back turned. And even though they couldn't see each other they both had the exact same expression. Red faced, looking down at the ground, and a definite hand caught in the cookie jar face. The funniest thing about this was that in Misato's opinion they weren't even doing anything that deserved that kind of expression. She figured she guessed wrong about that little talk she had with Asuka about her going further and that the two weren't as advanced as she thought. It was clear that while Shinji may have had a big lead off of first base he wasn't quite to second yet.

 

Finally after Misato stopped laughing she told the two to go have fun. But as the two bashfully made their way over to Asuka's room she added “Oh and Shinji, make sure you massage her under the towel too.”

 

Asuka let out a flabbergasted “MISATO!!!” and quickly closed her door to get away from the chuckling lady.

 

While the under the towel thing never happened as they weren't ready for that yet, actually Asuka wasn't even ready to turn around and lie on her back while in that state of undress, other things had. Like when Shinji finished massaging Asuka, she tried to return the favor. Tried being the operative word. Most of the time after Shinji got off her bed and turned his back so Asuka could get up and put her bra back on along with a shirt she would tell him to turn back around. Then she would take of his shirt and start to rub his shoulders for a second or two. While Asuka did know how to give a proper back massage most of the time she failed in her attempt as she would start to kiss Shinji on the neck. This in return always got Shinji to kiss her back and it was only a matter of minutes later before Asuka would have Shinji lying down on her bed while she laid right on top of him. The funny thing is that Shinji never complained about the lack of a massage. If Asuka wanted to make out with him instead he was perfectly happy to oblige the beautiful girl.

 

On this particular situation Asuka was again teasing him by kissing his neck. Shinji in return was trying to get her to kiss him on the lips but she playfully kept moving her lips away. Soon enough Shinji found out why as he felt a pleasurable feeling on his neck. A couple seconds later though he realized what was happening. “Asuka! What are you doing?”

 

“Stop being such a silly boy. You know what I'm doing.” Asuka answered being delightfully coy.

 

“But that's my neck.”

 

“Well, where else am I supposed to leave a hicky?” Asuka questioned him and then returned to her task. But she stopped short of it and only left a little one on his neck. It was just big enough where you could only see it if you looked closely. But Asuka wasn't done with her boyfriend yet as she added “I suppose I could be creative” and she started kissing her way down his chest.

 

Shinji was basically powerless to stop his beauty. She was making him feel way too good for that. And a couple minutes later Shinji had a blush to his cheeks as Asuka left a large hicky on his chest. She was obviously proud of what she did as she had a devilish smile plastered on her face.

 

She also did something else as she pulled the collar on an already loose t-shirt and slipped one of her bra straps off her shoulder presenting an enticing area for Shinji to return the favor. And return he did, in fact Asuka didn't even have to ask him as he went for the area the second she presented it. This little bit of aggressiveness on his part made Asuka's body shudder in a very good way.

 

****^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^****

 

After leaving some rather nice marks on each other Shinji put his shirt back on and the two of them left Asuka's room. Shinji walked into the kitchen to check on his stew and Asuka sat down on the couch and started reading a book as she waited for it to be dinnertime. Eventually Asuka got some company. Personally she wished it was Keiko paying a visit but the little girl was very content over in her little corner of toys. Her visitor was Misato.

 

“So how did your meeting with Professor Fuyutsuki go?”

 

“Like you don't already know” Asuka replied dryly. She knew all about Misato's checking up on her. More than likely Misato had already gotten a full explanation from Fuyutsuki only seconds after her meeting was over with him.

 

“Well at least I'm giving you a fair chance to explain your part” Misato told her. “I could just jump to conclusions about you not living up to the level I expect and impose actions.”

 

“I know, I know” Asuka said. “I should be trying harder but…”

 

After a couple seconds of Asuka not adding on to her statement Misato asked “But what?”

 

Asuka looked down at the ground at this point. Misato wasn't going to like her answer and she knew it. “In order for me to get top grades in classes like that I really have to work hard.” Misato nodding a yes to that didn't make what she was going to say any easier. “But I don't really care about school and grades as much as I used to.

 

The look of disapproval was quick and sharp as was Misato's answer. “You better start caring again real quick then.”

 

“I would” Asuka said trying to placate her disgruntled guardian. “But in order for me to achieve my best I would have to give up something I refuse.”

 

“And what would that be?” Misato answered in a way that made her still sound cross.

 

Asuka looked over at Shinji as her answer. “What you don't understand is how much time I put into my schoolwork when I was young. I mean I had no friends, no real family, and I didn't really have a life. I was either in training or I was studying. It was the only way I could keep my mind occupied and away from thoughts I didn't want to think.”

 

Misato lightened up after Asuka explained that. Basically Asuka was saying if she wanted to do her best she would have to give up everything. She never realized just how hard Asuka worked to get as smart as she was. She placed a hand on Asuka's shoulder and said “Sorry Asuka. I guess I didn't understand.”

 

“That's ok” Asuka told her. “I never have really told anyone just how much I used to work at being a genius. I guess I always wanted to make people think I was super smart and never even tried. Even though the truth was that I worked my ass off.” Asuka then looked back over at Shinji. “I think that boy has had a detrimental effect to my priorities.”

 

That kind of got a guilty smile out of Misato. If you ever studied her transcripts from college you could easily see when she was dating Kaji and when she wasn't just by looking at her grades. That was the problem with lovers, they just seem to change your priorities. “Well in this case I can understand. Just try not to let your grades slip any further, ok?”

 

“I won't” Asuka assured her. “But I have a question.”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

“Do you know how to cover up a hicky?” Asuka blushed as she asked that.

 

“You mean the one you left on Shinji's neck?” Misato laughed. “Don't bother, it's barely noticeable.”

 

“Actually…” Asuka said and pulled the neckline of her shirt down a bit to reveal the rather large hicky she had right above her left breast. “I guess we got carried away and… well…” Asuka blushed even more “… I'm kinda worried about changing for gym class tomorrow.”

 

“Personally I would flaunt that bad boy” Misato kidded her.

 

“Yeah, well… that's not exactly a smart thing to do in high school.”

 

“Ah who cares what others think” Misato told her. “You two are plenty old enough to be doing that kind of thing and if your classmates are too immature to understand that well, screw them.”

 

“Actually” Asuka explained. “We'd probably be seen as immature. Hickies are so junior high.”

 

“Really?” Misato asked surprised. “They weren't back in my day.”

 

Asuka gave her a smart ass look for that and told her “You're such a grown up.”

 

“Hey! Take that back.” Misato demanded.

 

“Nope” Asuka teased her. “That was an official grown up line you just said. I guess you will just have to become a more stereotypical type parent now.”

 

“Like Hell!” Misato replied. “I never was a proper woman and I ain't going to become one now.”

 

“What's wrong with being a proper woman?” Asuka continued to tease.

 

“Proper women can only dream of having a sex life like mine” Misato answered with a wicked smile.

 

“God, you are such a hentai.”

 

“Jealous?” Misato asked.

 

Asuka was ready for that comment this time and she surprised Misato by saying “Yes!”

 

“Why you little brat” Misato started. “I think you might be right. You are too smart for your own good so put that book down and either play with Keiko or go flirt with Shinji while he finishes up with dinner.”

 

“I better go flirt with Shinji then” Asuka sassed back. “Because if I don't, a hussy like you will.” Asuka then leapt off the couch and ran towards the kitchen while laughing.

 

Misato though challenged her right back from the couch “You know I will… and Asuka. Remember, you better sack him quick. Because once he's legal, he's fair game.”

 

“You wish” Asuka yelled across the apartment. This in turn resulted in a sly comeback from Misato. Of course Asuka would then tease right back and the two would trade off like this. Shinji had learned long ago to not even bother listening to the two of them. Sometimes the two of them just liked to tease each other and as long as neither girl turned on him he was fine with it. Usually the one who suffered most from this was Rei as if she was still around after Keiko was down for the night she would be subjected to talk that was bluer than her hair. Although even she couldn't resist giggling a time or two as neither girl knew the meaning of the word quit so it would just keep going till it was finally bedtime.

 

****^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^****

 

Asuka was sort of right about what she said about the hicky. It was noticed and some girls did snicker at it but for the most part no one really cared. Shinji actually caught more crap on the boy's side but even then it was no big deal. Hell the boy wasn't even talking about it so there was no real fun to be had. Eventually this turned into just the latest thing in their developing relationship and they went on with their lives like normal.

 

Well as normal as their lives could be that is, for later on that week Asuka showed up with Shinji after school again and she decided she wanted to show off. She actually did this once last year too but its only purpose was to make her look good and to tease the gymnastics coach. She walked up to the parallel bars when they were empty and started to do a routine on them. It was a rather good routine and the girl even did a nearly perfect dismount that left the coach's jaw hanging.

 

The thing about Asuka is that she was actually very good at gymnastics and probably could have been near the top of the team in that sport too but she had one little problem with it. She hated the politics of it. A lot like Rei she was trained in gymnastics at a very young age but unlike the blue haired girl the German branch developed her all around. They even put her in tournaments to show off their perfect creation. There was probably some sort of bragging rights thing going on among the various commanders of the Nerv branches and while Asuka didn't know about it back then she was probably being used as a tool to get the German branch more money. She was superior in piloting, brains, athleticism, and fighting. If she knew then what she knew now she probably would have used her Eva to turn inside out her trainers and the chiefs of staff at Nerv.

 

As for the actual gymnastics thing, it was fun to her. But she had been in the sport too long and she knew about the ugly side of it. Even at the lowest levels the best girl didn't always win. There were always back door deals and certain girls were favored over others. If you were a girl who was expected to win you didn't have to try as hard as the unknowns. All you had to do was your basic routine and since you were expected to be the best you got high scores for it. If you were a girl the judges didn't know they would be much more critical and not give you as good as scores even if you did better because the judges themselves didn't want to get criticized for overrating a nobody and making the top girl lose. Asuka had fallen victim to that one too many times and that was the reason she wouldn't join the team. It wasn't so much an ego thing as much as it was unfair and she wasn't going to participate in something like that.

 

After her little performance she walked over to Rei. “So what did you think?”

 

Rei looked straight at her “I think you were showing off.” The fact that Asuka only smirked at that comment instead of talking back was proof of it. “You do realize that now the coach is going to bug me to get you to join the team again?”

 

“So” Asuka answered. “It's not going to do any good. I have been judged and played games with enough in my life already. I'm not going to subject myself to that crap again.”

 

“It is not that bad” Rei told her.

 

“Bullshit!” Asuka said back. “I have gone to a couple of your tournaments. They've screwed you over at least three times so far this year.”

 

“I don't feel like I was improperly judged.”

 

“Well you were” Asuka informed her. “In fact you should have won that last tournament. You were way better than the girl who did.”

 

“That girl was last year's national champion” Rei said. “I thought she did a very good job.”

 

“That's my point” Asuka argued. “You did better than her. But since you weren't supposed to and the judges didn't know who you were they gave you a lower score.”

 

There might have been some truth in that but it didn't actually bother Rei. In fact the less she was known the more enjoyable the competition was to her. The only thing worse than thinking that though was saying it. The coach almost broke down and cried when Rei said “I don't care about winning or losing. I only want to enjoy myself.”

 

Asuka on the other hand dropped her head in utter defeat. “Why do you refuse to learn how things really are?”

 

“For the same reasons that you refuse to believe that everyone is not like you” Rei answered back with a little smirk.

 

Asuka let out a little laugh at that and went over to the stands to sit by Shinji. She looked over at him “Misato may be right. I think that girl has been hanging around me too much.”

 

“Define too much.” This smart ass request also had a follow up of his own personal opinion. “I would say a micro-second is too much.”

 

“Shut it stooge” Asuka told Kensuke and then threatened “Or I will shout out that you want Kaede in the worst possible way.”

 

“You wouldn't dare!”

 

Rei, who was listening in on them, knew that was about the dumbest thing he could have said and she headed off in the opposite direction as she saw a sadistic grin appear on Asuka's face. And two seconds later there was mass chaos in the gym. The gymnastics coach even needed to get help from the two basketball coaches to restore order to his team.

 

During this chaos Asuka discretely slipped away with Shinji. While it was fun to create things like this it was best to disappear before it ended, otherwise someone might mistakenly think that this whole debacle was her fault or something.

 

Normally Shinji would have looked at Asuka with a little disapproval for what she did but right now she was giving him the really cute `I am an innocent little girl' look and he found it hard to concentrate on anything else. Plus Asuka had told him that she might want to stop off at the park on the way home for a little while. That of course meant she wanted a little `just us' time as she had enough of showing off and Shinji wasn't going to neglect Asuka of any of that time.

 

Of course this time usually stretched on for quite a while and Asuka got a dirty look from Rei again when she and Shinji finally got home, as not only did she majorly disrupt practice but this was also Asuka's night to make dinner. But since she was not around Misato came to Rei for the job. The I will pay you back later she got for the look meant next to nothing to Rei as Asuka had already banked at least 20 of those times.

 

(A/N: And this is the end to chapter 10. I don't think this chapter was anything more than an attempt to move the story out of winter and into spring where I can have more interesting things happen. And I can tell this chapter is sort of boring as I proof read the thing twice and I still don't remember what I wrote. Then again I pretty much free wrote this chapter without planning so that may be why. Oh well at least the next chapter is more interesting so it should make up for this boring one. I Re-re-edited. Changed a few words around. Fixed some grammar. Broke up some of the bigger blocks of text. And expounded on some parts to make them clearer. Basically gave this a good once over to improve its quality.)