Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ The Swim of Things ❯ Chapter 30 ( Chapter 30 )

The Swim of Things

By

Ret Nuh

 

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Maybe mysterious forces were at work here or maybe not but the first person Rini and Kotono ran into was Asuka. She was standing outside the lodge putting on a pair of downhill skis.

 

“Ohmygawd, ohmygawd, ohmyGAWD!... You will never believe what me and Kotono just saw!” Rini said with a hyper high-pitched voice, absolutely excited about finally being able to tell someone.

 

“The abominable snowman” Asuka chuckled as Rini was way too excited for her own good.

 

“Way rarer than that” Kotono said with large gleaming eyes. “I mean I never would of believed it if I didn't see it with my own two eyes.”

 

“Yeah, Totally!” Rini added on. “Rei and Kensuke… WERE KISSING!” The two girls then squealed all teenager girlish and jumped up and down as this was ginormous news.

 

But they stopped soon after as they noticed Asuka's reaction. Instead of joining in and being all giggly she took a deep breath and sighed greatly. There was even a little negative “for the love of…” and a rubbing of the temple by the redhead. Instead of excited, Asuka actually looked aggravated. And that wasn't a good thing at all. It's not smart to piss off a girl who can kick your ass in so many different ways.

 

“Okay you two, tell me everything you just saw. And also who else you've told about this.” This wasn't a request at all but very clearly an order.

 

Both Rini and Kotono were feeling very intimidated by Asuka's attitude as it was very much looming over them. It was obvious she wasn't happy about this news. Nervously Rini started. “You- you're the first person we told…”

 

“Oh thank god” Asuka interrupted. “I don't want to think what would happen if you told everyone else already.”

 

“Did we see a bad thing?” Kotono questioned. Something was obviously not right here.

 

“Yes and No” Asuka answered as there really wasn't a straight forward answer to that question. “It's more like you saw something you shouldn't of.”

 

“What do you mean?” Rini asked as she was getting quite confused.

 

Asuka went with honesty as she thought it would be the best approach to fixing this matter. It was way too late to make something up to explain away what the two of them saw. “The truth is Rei and Kensuke are dating and have been for a while now. The flip side to that is no one's supposed to know. Not even me.”

 

“But you do?” Rini said even more confused. Kotono was in the same state as well. It was obvious that Asuka knew about the two of them and for some time now.

 

“But they don't know I do” Asuka answered making the situation even more complicated. “That makes it alright.”

 

“Wait... I don't get it” Kotono said interrupting right before Asuka went into a more detailed explanation. “You know what you're not supposed to know and they don't know because you never told anyone you know?”

 

“Uhhh…” Asuka had to think about that question for a second to make sure she understood it. “…yeah. That sounds about right. And also you can't say anything either.”

 

“WHA????” “NOWAY!” Rini and Kotono didn't like that response at all. This was huge and Asuka just told them they couldn't say anything. That was an impossible request.

 

“Sorry but that's the way it is” Asuka told them. “You're not allowed to tell another living sole. Especially Rei and Kensuke. They want everyone kept in the dark about their dating status and as much as I don't like it I have to accept it.”

 

“So you want to tell everyone too?”

 

“Of course I do” Asuka answered Rini. “But I already know what I want is not what I'm gonna get. Rei and Kensuke want their privacy and considering they kept their mouth shuts when Shinji and I first started dating I owe it to them. Which also means I have to death threat you girls to secrecy about what you saw.”

 

“No Fair!” Rini cried back with Kotono adding on “How can we not tell anybody?”

 

“You just can't” was Asuka's answer. “I know, it majorly sucks. But that's the way it is.” Asuka was not surprised in the least to see Rini and Kotono start to pout about that. These were two of the biggest gossips in the school and they just got silenced.

 

“Why can't we?” Rini then asked. If she had to keep her mouth shut then she at least wanted to know why.

 

“Because it might ruin their relationship” Asuka answered. “At first I was skeptical about those two but now I know they're a good match. And I don't want to say something that screws everything up. Do you?”

 

That was a huge guilt trip Asuka just sent the both of them on. Rini had been getting help with her work from Rei for a while and so was Kotono now. Usually Rini and Kotono studied together so when Rini would ask Rei a question Kotono was close by. Over time that led to Kotono trying to ask a question too. To her surprised Rei answered her. And over the last month or so this had been happening more and more often to the point where Kotono felt comfortable walking up to Rei and asking her a question, politely of course. This led to both cheerleaders thinking of Rei as nice and somewhat of a friend. And one of the primary rules of friendship is you don't stab your friends in the back.

 

“This is gonna be hard” Kotono whined.

 

“Yup it is” Asuka said back. While it wasn't as hard for her to keep her mouth shut as it was in the beginning there were still days she really wanted to ask Rei about it. “But you guys are going to keep quiet about it, right? Because quite frankly I'm serious about you not saying a word to others.”

 

Both girls nodded their heads yes to that. They didn't want to be mean to Rei and Asuka was absolutely serious about her wanting them to keep their mouths zipped.

 

Now that the situation was taken care of Asuka showed that she was in fact curious about what the two girls saw. “So what exactly did you see?”

 

This was an escape to both girls as while they weren't allowed to talk to others about this at least they could gossip with Asuka. “Well we were on that Sugarland trail when we got to the top of a big hill…” Kotono started.

 

“What were you doing on that trail?” Asuka asked. “That's an intermediate one.”

 

“It is?” Rini questioned. “I thought the Husky one was since sled dogs are tough and all.”

 

That bit of logic completely escaped Asuka. “Ah... no. Husky is the other easy one and Sugarland Mountain is an intermediate level trail. Didn't you see the trail markers indicating that?”

 

“Trail markers?” Rini said looking at Asuka confused. She had no idea what Asuka was talking about.

 

“Yeah, trail markers. You know those little signs along the trail with different wiggly lines on them.”

 

“Oh, is that what those thing are?” Kotono said as she remembered seeing a bunch of them.

 

Sometimes these girls were a touch too ditsy for Asuka and she explained the whole way they worked before telling them to get back to the story. Hopefully if they knew how the sign system worked they wouldn't get stuck in a situation like this again. Or worse yet catch Shinji and her doing something.

 

“When we got to the top of the hill I saw them down there” Rini said getting back to the story. “It was like a scene out of some story. They were so close to each other while kissing next to a waterfall. It was so cute.”

 

“I would so totally like a boy to do something romantic like that with me” Kotono added on.

 

“Well that didn't her long” Asuka chuckled.

 

This elicited two “Huh?”s from her fellow cheerleaders so Asuka explained what she knew. “Rei's taking a Japanese Mythos class at the college this semester. And she was telling me that there's some story or another that says if you kiss someone by that waterfall you will be together forever.”

 

“Really?” “That's so cool!”

 

“Eh” Asuka said back as she didn't really believe in that sort of stuff. “Rei also said that just about every waterfall in this country has stories like that surrounding it. Urban legends and that type of stuff. But I do find it funny that she's trying it out. Those two must be further along in their relationship than I thought.” In her head Asuka also added on `I might have to pay that spot a visit with Shinji.' Rei doing something like that meant those two were pretty lovey-dovey now as no way would Rei do that if she wasn't serious. Yes it was just a silly story but the implication behind that story was quite serious and Rei was not a girl to take such implications lightly.

 

Rini and Kotono both giggled all girl like at that as Asuka did have a look of interest in her eyes. And legends like that were so awesome to try out. In fact so awesome they even felt a little jealous of Rei as they might have wanted to visit that spot with a boy they liked. Sadly Rini was single at the moment and Kotono's boyfriend was in a different class, and in fact not even on the same Japanese island as her right now as his class went down south.

 

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It was night time on Tuesday, at around roughly 11:00 pm. Some girls were still up gabbing with each other, working on their reports, or reading and some were asleep already. Being out on the trails today tuckered many of the girls out so some went to bed early. The teacher was one of them as she didn't have nearly as much energy as her young students. A person who did have that kind of energy though was sleeping too. Asuka was going to go out in the morning with Shinji tomorrow so she decided to turn in early. On one side of her was a brown haired girl diligently working away on a report she was nearly done with and on the other was a blue haired girl with her nose buried in a steamy novel, front cover bent over so you couldn't tell it was that kind of book naturally.

 

It was a nice peaceful situation actually. That was until the peaceful atmosphere was shattered by a horrifying and sickening scream. Everyone who was asleep was instantly awakened. Those who were doing other things stopped immediately and looked over at the source. They had to as the scream itself terrified them horrifically. Very few of them had ever heard anyone scream like that before. It was like a scream of someone dying. And not just dying but dying in some atrocious manner, like say being ripped to shreds by a pack of vicious creatures or the such.

 

And that is exactly what was happing inside of Asuka's night terror. She was reliving her death at the hands of the harpies. While her life was drastically better now it didn't stop her from having night terrors from time to time. Memories as horrible as those don't just disappear. And after she woke herself with that tortured scream she found someone right by her telling her. “Everything's fine now. The war is over, there's no more fighting.”

 

Asuka just sat there on her futon with her eyes tightly shut while breathing rapidly. For the first couple of seconds she was too afraid to open her eyes and see the truth. She had to let those words she heard process through her still racing mind. And the reason those words worked at all was because they were the words of a teammate.

 

Rei knew all about horrible night terrors. How could she not? Just like everyone else involved with the Evangelion program she had them. So when Asuka screamed like the way she did Rei knew exactly what to tell her to get her to calm down quickly and realize it was only a dream. They were the same things she had told herself many times. She also knew she had to get Asuka out of the room quickly as everyone would want to know what was happening but at the same time they couldn't tell anyone anything. Plus out in the hall Rei knew she would find the person that would truly help Asuka. The only thing separating the boy's room from the girls was a wall and she was sure everyone on that side heard the scream too.

 

And she was right. Asuka immediately fell into the outstretched arms and simply asked Shinji to hold her tightly until she felt better. Shinji was there for her now so everything would be alright. But don't get me wrong, this wasn't only a one sided deal. Shinji had his fair share of night horrors and needed to be comforted afterwards too. In this relationship of theirs they supported each other now.

 

And in this case they had a little extra help. Rei noticed some boys were trying to see what was happening so she walked over to the door and indignantly shut it on them. This was none of their business.

 

“What the hell…” one of the boys started to say as he wanted to know what was going on.

 

“Leave them alone” Kensuke said back. “It has nothing to do with you.”

 

“But that was Sohryu who screamed.”

 

“Yeah we all heard” Touji spoke up. “And that's why Shinji's out there. Now leave them the fuck alone.” Along with Touji supporting a slightly menacing look the boys at the door also noticed about half of the other boys in the room also were glaring at them. They were of course the Marduk children. They knew Asuka used to be an Evangelion pilot and if she screamed like that she probably had a damn good reason to. And for the sake of their own psyches it was for the best that they didn't know why.

 

In the girl's room it was Hikari who had everyone silenced. At first the teacher was going to go see what was going on but she was stopped by a head shake from her class representative. And when she asked if Hikari was sure that she should stay out of this Hikari nodded yes to it. She was rather worried about her student but at the same time she knew this was one of those special circumstances in which she wasn't allowed to protrude. As for the other girls in the room, they quickly noticed that the girls belonging to the special group weren't saying anything. In fact they were going so far as to pretend it never happened. That was the clue that they should too. Asuka just had a nightmare and that was the end of the story.

 

Hikari herself did want to check out what was going on but she figured she should wait till later. She knew what was going on out in the hall and that it was best to let Shinji or Rei help her out. They were the only ones with the personal experience to be able to do it. On one hand she hated not being able to help her friends but on the other, in order to be able to she would have had to grown up in a living hell that just got worse and worse the closer you got to third impact.

 

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After about fifteen minutes Asuka was finally able to get herself back together. This had its good points and its bad. On the good side she wasn't freaking out anymore but on the bad she had created quite a scene. And not only for herself either, Shinji would most likely have to deal with questions when he went back into the boy's room. But that is what he had to do as if he stayed out of the room with her any longer it would garner even more questions and some people trying to spy on them again.

 

While it was nice that she was looking out for him Shinji told her not to worry. He never gave out answers to the guys anyway so why would he start now. He then gave her a little kiss and told her good night. And he was true to his word as when he went back into the boy's room he walked straight over to his futon and crawled in it to go to bed, ignoring every question that was asked of him but one. Mrs. Amano's husband asked if everything was ok. Shinji nodded his head yes at him and that was that. All the other boys who asked questions got skunked. This led to a lot of grumbling at which Shinji just shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Why do you always got to play the fucking silent type?” one of the boys then asked. “Answer at least one question in your lifetime.”

 

While greatly over exaggerated the boy did have a point and Shinji conceded to that fact. He didn't answer one of their questions but he answered why he didn't answer questions more often. “I've learned the more answers I give the more questions I get asked.” This wasn't said in a smart mouthed tone as Shinji wasn't being a badass but more along the lines of trying to avoid the whole talking situation entirely.

 

Touji laughed out a “You got that damn right!” showing he too had much experience in the real life category. And after that both of them stopped talking and went to bed.

 

Over on the girls' side Rei went back in and whispered something to her teacher and Hikari and then left again. She was going to stay up with Asuka for a while and talk to her.

 

“You don't have to do this” Asuka told Rei as she sat down on a comfy couch out in the lobby. It was late so everyone else was in their rooms and the place was empty.

 

“It's ok” Rei responded while stoking some hot coals in the lobby's fireplace. The fire in there hadn't been out for long so all it took was some stirring and a couple logs to get it going again. “And besides, I won't be sleeping anytime soon either.”

 

Asuka looked at Rei while the girl sat down in a comfy chair nearby. “Sorry.” She knew why Rei wouldn't be able to sleep. That scream of hers definitely triggered some memories Rei had and the girl was too afraid of going to sleep right now out of fear of having a night terror of her own.

 

“It's not your fault” Rei replied and then sighed. “If we were able to stop ourselves from having dreams like that, life would be much easier.”

 

Asuka had to nod her head at that. “How often do you have them?”

 

“When I first came back, every night.”

 

“Same here” Asuka said.

 

“But over time it has been less and less. For a while I was having them about once a week but over the last few months I have only had a couple.”

 

“That's good” Asuka commented. “I'm about the same way.” There was more to this that Asuka didn't say. The amount of night terrors she had went down drastically when she started sharing a bed with Shinji. And so did Shinji's. This told Asuka that Kensuke was more than likely a permanent guest in her friend's bed now. Asuka then stared into the fire for a bit before letting out a sigh. “Maybe someday far out into the future we will stop having these dreams altogether.”

 

“Maybe” Rei said back. She would very much like that but at the same time wasn't counting on it to happen. By the sigh she could tell Asuka was thinking the same thing too and only said what she did to instill hope.

 

The two then sat there staring into the fire together. Each delving into their own thoughts while watching the flames flicker away as they danced upon the logs in the hearth.

 

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While sitting there silently watching the fire with Asuka, Rei's mind started to contemplate a certain issue. Since dinner time she had wanted to ask Asuka a question but at the same time she couldn't because it would reveal a secret. Then again when she thought about it maybe it wouldn't. Asuka knew something she wasn't supposed to and Rei was plainly aware of it. At first she was worried when she first figured out Asuka knew about Kensuke and her but since then she had relaxed. Asuka never said a thing. And Rei had even seen the red haired girl hold her tongue several times when she could have. Even during that last conversation Asuka could have said the reason she was having less nightmares was because she was with Kensuke now. Companionship tended to have a calming affect on people. But she didn't. And while sitting there thinking Rei found her thoughts circulating around another set of questions. Maybe Asuka should have said something? Maybe concerning her friends, her relationship should be out in the open? She was sure all of them knew already so there wasn't any real reason to hide anything from them. And maybe, just maybe, she wanted to talk about certain things now as she had many pressing questions swimming around in her mind.

 

Showing great trust in Asuka she asked the question she had from dinner time and stirred that five hundred pound gorilla that had been sitting in the room. “How do Rini and Kotono know about Kensuke and myself?”

 

“Because you two got sloppy” Asuka answered with a smirk. Inside her mind though she was exceedingly ecstatic to be able to answer that question. Months and months of anticipation flew out of the window and keeping that torturous silence about everything was finally at an end.

 

“Huh?” Rei answered a touch on the confused side. She figured they had accidentally overheard something like Asuka and Hikari talking.

 

“Using their usual ditsy logic they mixed up which trails were which” Asuka explained. “This led them to take the wrong trail where they stumbled on two people kissing by a waterfall.”

 

Rei let a frustrated little “Damn!”

 

“See, sloppy” Asuka said in proof of her previous statement. She continued on in a kidding voice. “I mean what were you thinking? The whole class was on the trails. The chance of you two getting caught was pretty high.”

 

Rei let a sigh at that. “I'm a sucker for romantic tales. I had to try the legend out.”

 

Asuka chuckled at that because Rei actually blushed. Getting caught was obviously completely Rei's fault. She also had to ask “They didn't say anything to you?... Because I clearly told them to keep their traps shut about what they saw.”

 

Rei shook her head no. “During dinner they were looking at me and then at Kensuke. And they kept doing it over and over.”

 

“Dumkopfs” Asuka slighted. Those two may have been friends but that was incredibly stupid. “I swear the word subtlety is completely lost on those two.”

 

“Don't pick on them too much” Rei argued back. “The fact that everyone else does not know already means for the most part they're keeping quiet.”

 

“Yeah… I guess so” Asuka commented as that was better than nothing. “But to tell you the truth, you couldn't have gotten caught by two worse girls in our class.”

 

“I know… But you do think they will be able to keep quiet?”

 

“It's gonna kill them but they will” Asuka answered. “They both like you so they're not going to stab you in the back.”

 

Rei let out a little “Thank god” as she was genuinely worried about that. In the future she might have to give them a little extra help to thank them. She also had to give them something else according to Asuka.

 

“Of course you will have to talk to them about you and Kensuke now. Trust me on this, those two will pry and pry and pry some more until you give them some tidbit of inside info. Not to spread around or anything but just simply because they have to know.”

 

“Too curious for their own good?”

 

“Extremely” Asuka answered.

 

“Then they're just like you” Rei teased.

 

But Rei was right as Asuka said back “Also Extremely… I was wrong before. There is a worse girl that could have found out. ME. And since it's out in the open between us I want to know everything. From how you two got together up to what kind of kinky fun you're having now.”

 

Rei smiled at Asuka. Since the girl kept her mouth quiet for so long some stories was the least she could do to pay her back. But she did have one reservation. “Can we do it somewhere else though? Even with the fire it's cold in here.”

 

“Yeah, I think they turned the heat down because it's nighttime or something” Asuka said agreeing as it was a touch chilly. “You got anyplace warmer in mind?”

 

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Rei in fact did have a warm spot in mind, well that is if the place was empty. This lodge had many amenities including a natural hot spring. But that was a small spring outside in the cold, coed, and didn't offer much privacy so there was no way you were going to get Rei into that thing. But the man made indoor version of a hot spring, that was a little slice of heaven to her. And with it being so late at night the bath was delightfully empty.

 

Or at least that is what Rei first thought as no more than two seconds after she indulged her way into the wonderfully steamy water did she hear someone rattling around in the changing room. She gave a grumpy look to Asuka as she didn't want anyone to disturb them. Asuka though smiled back. “I thought I would make things easier on you.” Rei looked at her confused for a second before seeing it was Hikari who was coming out to join them. “Now you only have to tell the story once.”

 

And as Hikari eased her way into the water she asked “Hope you don't mind?”

 

“Not at all” Rei smiled. She wondered who Asuka text messaged while they were undressing. She looked at both girls who had undeniably the most curious faces she had ever seen and asked “So where should I start?”

 

She got an enthusiastic dual answer. “The Beginning!”

 

Rei giggled at that answer for a second before starting. This talk was a long time coming and even she was relieved that the time and place was finally found for it to happen. “It's hard to say when it really started because it sort of just happened. One day we were friends, then good friends, and then sometime later there was more.” This relationship started more like Hikari and Touji's than Shinji and Asuka's. Not much of a grand event. “The first time I started noticing the more part was after Mr. Mitsuishi funeral. The trip back from the funeral was a long ride and I could've taken a train home but I wanted to ride back with Kensuke. At the time I told myself it was only because I wanted to keep a friend company because I knew Kensuke would have been depressed riding back by himself…” Rei sighed to herself as she shook her head. “But I was so wrong. It was me who couldn't stand to be alone.”

 

“I can understand that” Asuka said compassionately. Telling yourself something was a certain way to hide from the fact it wasn't was a defense she herself was very familiar with.

 

“I even asked him a really weird question on the way back” Rei continued. “I don't know why but I felt I had to ask him “Why do people have to die?””

 

“That's a pretty natural question to ask after a funeral” Hikari told her. And with a somber voice she added on “I know I asked that question a million times after my mom's funeral.”

 

Asuka had nodded her head in agreement as all three girls were on the same page regarding that question.

 

“You know what he told me though?”

 

Hikari shook her head no while Asuka asked “What'd he say?”

 

“He told me something his mother told him after his grandma died” Rei answered. “To let those that are alive know that they have to live.”

 

Like the time on the back of the bike silence took over the situation as those words swirled around in the girl's minds.

 

“Kensuke's mom was pretty smart” Asuka said finally breaking the silence minutes later.

 

Rei nodded her head yes to that, along with Hikari, and continued on with her story. “I just kept thinking about that over and over again the whole way back. Asking myself if I was truly living or sitting on the side of the road of life watching everything go by. The whole time not even realizing what I was doing to Kensuke.”

 

“Doing to Kensuke?” Hikari asked as she didn't understand what Rei meant.

 

“He told me this later on but apparently I was doing more than simply holding on to him while he drove. I had wrapped my arms around him tightly, rested my head against his back, and was basically hugging him from behind the whole way back.” Rei still felt a little silly about what she did and was sort of blushing as she said that. But it wasn't a bad thing as her acting out with her emotional guard down was what really got them together. “I mean poor Kensuke thought I was really depressed as he couldn't imagine me doing something like that. And that's why he decided to come up to my place after we got back. He told me he was worried about me.”

 

“So were you holding on to him because you were depressed or because he was Kensuke?” Asuka asked. That was the foremost question in her mind right now. And how Rei answered that question was quite important to her. It would tell her many things about Rei's and Kensuke's frame of mind back then.

 

Rei sat there in the pleasantly warm water and thought for a minute. The answer wasn't going to be as one or another as the question so she wanted to put how she felt in the right words. “Kensuke stayed with me for most of that night and we shared stories about Mr. Mitsuishi. I was just him, Dai, and me. And I had no problems with that… at all. In fact I was very comfortable talking to him. And after he left I crawled into bed because I was tired. But I couldn't sleep. I was replaying a lot of the things that had happened and I ended up asking myself questions like what you just asked me Asuka.”

 

“So you didn't know back then?” Asuka asked.

 

“Not so much “didn't know”” Rei answered. “More along the lines of conflicted. I told myself it was because I was depressed but a part of me kept saying no to that. And it was really hard to silence that part because I started to realize how much we hung out together. It started to become clear to me that in some ways I was reaching out to him.”

 

Asuka chuckled at that. “You were smitten with that boy and didn't even know it.”

 

Rei nodded her head yes. “It took a long time and a lot of thinking for me to come to terms with that. But all the evidence was there. Yes I was hugging him from behind on the bike because I was depressed. But even if I was depressed I would've never done that if I didn't have feelings for him first. Plus how many times had you both heard Kensuke teasing Li Mei last summer with fake relationship talk about us two?

 

“He was getting her pretty good near the end of summer with that stuff” Asuka laughed.

 

“And how did I react when he would do it?” Rei questioned.

 

“You would usually smirk and warn him not to push it or he would get it from Li Mei” Hikari answered. She then thought about that answer a second longer and realized something. “You know, now that I think about it, you never had a problem with what he was saying.”

 

Rei blushed as she admitted “I sort of liked it even.”

 

“Did he know you liked it?” Asuka asked.

 

Rei shook her head no. “But at the same time, what he was saying might have been a touch of wishful thinking. I don't know if I was giving out some vibes but he told me that back then was when he started thinking about me as more than just a friend. For some reason he found himself thinking about me more often and maybe even liked the idea behind some of the jokes he played on Li Mei.”

 

“So you two getting together was more a mutual thing rather than one of you asking the other out?” Hikari asked.

 

Rei nodded yes to that. “I sort of wish something big and grandiose happened between us because it was really weird for a while when it was just the two of us studying. We weren't together and neither of tried anything but at the same time it was uncomfortable because we both had feelings for each other. And we both sort of knew those feelings were mutual. It made every little thing awkward. Sitting at the same table studying, accidentally touching hands reaching for an eraser, stretching my legs under the table and bumping it against his. Everything that used to be innocent was now awkward.” Rei then looked at both Asuka and Hikari and admitted “I was even scared sometimes.”

 

“I can imagine” Asuka said understanding her. “Love can be a gut wrenching experience.”

 

“Tell me about it” Hikari said. “When I saw Touji for the first time after Third Impact I was scared to death. I had all these feelings for him but I didn't know if he shared them with me. I mean I thought he did but there was some doubt. I didn't know if I even wanted to talk to him or not.”

 

“I was also afraid of what would happen if we did go out. Kensuke was a really good friend and I didn't want to lose that” Rei added on.

 

“Actually when I first figured out you two were dating that's why I didn't want it to be true” Asuka said. “I was so afraid of what would happen to our group of friends if something went wrong.” Hikari nodded her head along with that. She didn't have as big of a problem with the two dating when she figured it out but that thought did cross her mind.

 

And it was a valid concern as Rei didn't blame either girl for thinking that. “That's why it took a while for us to get together. We had a good thing already. We had fun studying together, riding around together, hanging out and talking to each other, and everything else. We both found ourselves asking the same question. Did we like each other enough to risk losing that?”

 

Obviously the answer was yes or they wouldn't all be soaking in this hospitably tempered bath right now. “So what pushed it over the edge?”

 

Rei answered Asuka's question in a way that surprised both Asuka and Hikari. “Jealousy.”

 

“What?”

 

“Remember when some of the girls on the swim team were giving me a hard time about “ruining their hentai”?”

 

“Yeah… that was so stupid” Asuka said shaking her head. Complete overreaction by those girls in her opinion. Kensuke had to study, not waste his time on a bunch of girls who only wanted attention and nothing else.

 

“Well in my head I was mad at them for thinking that he was theirs to start with” Rei admitted. “And then when Yuriko asked him out later on, I was incredibly happy he turned her down.”

 

“You little devil” Asuka laughed. “So was any of that relationship stuff I was kidding about really happening?”

 

“To tell you the truth” Rei replied. “I don't know. At that time it was like we were and we weren't together. I was completely confused.”

 

That together but not together bit wasn't all that hard of a thing to grasp, especially for Asuka. “So basically he wasn't yours yet but was definitely your turf and no other girls were allowed on it.”

 

A touch crudely put, and probably more true to the way Asuka viewed Shinji right after 3I, but correct. “A week after that happened he actually apologized for it.”

 

“Why?” Asuka asked with Hikari adding on “It wasn't his fault that Yuriko asked him out.”

 

“I told him that too but he said he felt like he was cheating on me in some way…” Rei smiled as she said the next part. She couldn't help it, what happened next was one of the greatest things that ever happened in her life. “Then he told me he liked me.”

 

“And that's when it was official?” Hikari asked.

 

“Yes” Rei answered, still smiling. “It was very hard but I admitted I liked him too. I was too afraid if I didn't say anything back one of those other girls might step in a steal him from me. I just couldn't let that happen.”

 

“Ahhhh… that's so kawaii” Asuka teased. “So was your heart all doki-doki?”

 

“Very funny” Rei deadpanned. “And remember, I was there when you and Shinji got together. It was nothing near your emotional instability levels.”

 

“Well of course it wasn't” Asuka said right back. “You're not a spazz like me and can actually think when things get emotional.”

 

Rei did giggle a little bit at that shot Asuka took at herself. Hikari did to before she asked. “Why did you keep it a secret?”

 

“We didn't know how everyone would react” Rei answered. “Plus like you and Shinji we wanted to get used to being together first before we said anything.”

 

“Fair enough” Asuka said. There was no way she could argue that point without sounding like a hypocrite.

 

“So how come you waited so long before telling us?” Hikari followed up. She wasn't taking this as an insult at all but was generally curious of the real answer.

 

“Because of the reactions of people” Rei answered. “Kensuke and I already get a lot of under the breath gaijin and freak girl study buddy chants and it would only get worse if they found out we were dating.”

 

“You're still getting those kinds of slurs?” Asuka asked raising an eyebrow.

 

“Yes… and I'm not going to tell you from who as I already heard what happened to one of them.” Rei then stared directly at Asuka. “I don't approve of that sort of thing.”

 

Asuka got the evil eye from Hikari for that as well. She didn't approve of Asuka's actions either. “Ah c'mon he had it coming” Asuka said in her defense. “And it wasn't just because he was a bigoted asshole that I whacked him. The sheisskopf was shooting his mouth off about Shinji and me being mutts and I didn't like that.” Asuka's way of showing her displeasure was to hit the kid upside his head using her full force and while wearing Shinji class ring. She damn near gave the kid a concussion.

 

Before Asuka went any further with her thoughts, and got riled by them, Rei went on with her reasons. “And then there is Kaede…” the only thing else she could do after that was sigh.

 

“That's trouble in the making” Asuka commented. “Why's she so stuck up on him?”

 

“It's the memory that she's stuck on according to Kensuke” Rei answered. “She remembers how good it was back when they were little and she wants that back. But she doesn't understand that Kensuke can't give what's missing back to her.”

 

“Trapped in the past of her memories while living in the present, not fun.” Asuka felt a little sympathetic for Kaede now, not that it did any good. Kensuke was with Rei and that's the way it was going to be. If that girl made waves, no matter how bad she felt for Kaede, Asuka would always side with Rei.

 

“So I understand why you don't want to tell others but how about us?”

 

Rei looked at Hikari. “Your way of tiptoeing around issues usually tells people more than you think.” Rei was a little worried about telling Hikari that as it wasn't supposed to be an insult, even if it did sound that way.

 

Hikari did worry Rei some as she definitely winced at that comment. But it wasn't because she took it as an insult, it was because Rei was on to something there. “I think I may have screwed up” Hikari said apologetically.

 

“You?” Asuka said surprised while Rei gave her a questioning look.

 

Hikari nodded her head yes. “Kensuke's actually Mai's type and they share a lot of interests but she has stayed away from him because I may have clued her in on what was happening… But she sorta thought you two were a couple from the start too.”

 

“Really?” Rei asked. “She must be really good at keeping secrets then. I didn't even suspect she knew.”

 

“According to her she has had a lot of experience at it when she went to that all girls school” Hikari said.

 

“So who else do you suspect knows?” Asuka then asked.

 

Rei looked at Asuka weird for that. “Don't you want to know why I didn't tell you?”

 

“You don't need to tell me what I already know” Asuka scoffed. “Let's see, I have busted Shinji and myself, flipped off the class for making stories up about us, yelled out that I was still a virgin last year, and now I probably say more than I should whenever someone challenges our relationship. If I were you I wouldn't have told me either.”

 

Both Rei and Hikari giggled at that. Asuka was a very smart girl with a lot of talent and abilities. But she was well aware that those things flew out the window when her emotions went on a rollercoaster ride. While emotionally stressed she tended to say things she very much regretted. That was just the type of girl she was.

 

Rei continued on. “I could tell you two knew so that means Shinji and Touji know. Misato and Kaji know because we talk to them when we have questions.”

 

“Telling them was a really smart thing to do” Asuka interrupted.

 

“Don't I know it” Rei replied. Those two had helped out more behind the scenes than anyone would ever know. “I think Yuma knows too. She always gets embarrassed when she talks to me when I'm around Kensuke. Almost like she thinks she is interrupting something.”

 

“I wouldn't doubt that” Asuka said reaffirming that thought. “Yuma's a bright girl who thinks a lot more about relationships than most people know.”

 

“Now if she could get over her shyness issues….” Hikari said leading on.

 

With both girls looking at her Rei declared “Not a chance. I have enough troubles handling my own shyness issues.”

 

Asuka and Hikari let the issue drop right there as Rei looked very uncomfortable. It was probably too early for Rei to be giving advice to other people. Plus now that all that other stuff was out of the way they could get down to the nitty-gritty. “So how serious are you two?”

 

That question from Asuka was no surprise to her at all. Rei knew it was coming from the first second she told Asuka the truth. “Actually the answer is very” Rei started out. “We've tried to slow down a couple times but it never works. Sometimes I worry about that.”

 

“What do you mean?” Hikari asked as she wanted a clearer explanation before she gave any sort of response.

 

Rei gave a longer explanation this time. “At first we did take things slow. Nothing more serious then a little kiss here and there or maybe a hug. Sort of like what you would do with a boy after the second or third date. But that changed after the Culture fest. The dance was very much a big date for us and afterwards we started to make out… and got very comfortable being that intimate with each other.”

 

“That's actually when I figured out you two were dating” Asuka said.

 

“Same here” Hikari added. “That dress was a touch too nice to be wearing around Kensuke. Especially since it was chilly out.”

 

Rei sighed again. “I worried I was saying too much by wearing that. But I just wanted to look pretty for him.”

 

“Been there, know the feeling” Asuka replied and then encouraged Rei to keep going.

 

And she did. “We were doing good staying at the making out level until the sectional meet during swim season. Sure there was an innocent touch or two but I did something in the heat of making out that I wasn't supposed to. I used the word love for the first time.”

 

“Looks like I'm not the only girl who slips up when emotions get high” Asuka teased.

 

“Very much so” Rei agreed. “It may have slipped out but I really did mean it and so did Kensuke when he said it back. Next thing I knew I had my top off.”

 

“Well someone here is a touch on the easy side” Asuka said with more teasing. “One little I love you and you give him a free pass to second base.”

 

“It get's worse” Rei admitted. “After the finals we moved on to oral. Everything was feeling too good and it was hard to stop.”

 

“So are you a virgin still?” Asuka asked. If things were going as fast as Rei was indicating then there was a good chance she wasn't.

 

“Somehow yes” Rei answered. “I mean we have seriously thought about it and discussed going all the way but we keep worrying we're going too fast.” This was the biggest reason why Rei now wanted to talk to Asuka and Hikari. She had all these questions swirling around in that pretty little head of hers and needed help with the answer. “We're going too fast aren't we?... I mean it doesn't feel like we are to me but your relationships moved so much slower. And I want my relationship with Kensuke to be like yours with Shinji and Touji.”

 

The other two could tell Rei was really distressed about this. That girl almost never rambled on about anything, but she just did there, and with noticeable fluster to boot. “It's really hard to compare relationships” Hikari started. “My relationship with Touji is nothing like yours with Kensuke. One of the big reasons we waited for so long was because we were both still young when we started going out. I know a lot of girls lose their virginity early now days but I guess I'm old fashion. I wanted to be a little more grown up and sure about everything before I took that big of a step.”

 

“And the relationship between Shinji and me took so long because of a lot of emotional hang ups. Shinji and I had to get past those first before we could go all the way” Asuka added on explaining her relationship. “You and Kensuke don't have those same problems. You two are older than what Hikari and Touji were when they first started dating and you guys are way more mature and have fewer issues than Shinji and me.” Asuka then asked her magic question as truthfully there was another person Rei should have discussed this with first and she wanted to make sure Rei had. “Have you ever talked about this with Misato?”

 

“Many times” Rei replied. “She has said that we're moving fast but that's not a real issue. She has said it may be due to that fact we're both love starved.”

 

“That's certainly true” Asuka commented.

 

“You really think I am?” Rei asked. Part of her was saying she was and another part was saying she wasn't that big of a putz. Personally she wanted to know which part was right.

 

Asuka nodded yes to that. “Just look at the stories you like to read. You have no problems listening to Hikari and me talk about sex and that sort of thing. And you were pretty aggressive about Shinji and I getting together because it instilled hope in you that you could find someone. I think you have been looking for someone longer than you realize. And now that you found him you find yourself trying to make up for lost time.”

 

Rei looked at Asuka funny for that. “You sound like Misato.”

 

“That's because a lot of what I just said are things she's told me over the last couple years” Asuka told her. “But to give you a solid answer, No, I don't think you're going too fast. I think you're going at the speed of your relationship. Some are fast, some are slow, and some are in between. There's no real path to follow when it comes to them.”

 

“Have you ever talked to Misato about being more public with your relationship?” While Hikari didn't think they were going too fast she did have some reservations about them going all the way. Most of them centered around that question.

 

“A couple times” Rei answered. She sort of said that in an off handed way though, almost like she didn't want to say anything more about it.

 

“This is going to sound a little mean but it's not supposed to” Hikari began. “I don't think you should go all the way with Kensuke until you go public with your relationship.”

 

Rei sunk in to the bath a little more until the water was just at her lips. And sounding very frumpy she told Hikari “You sound like Misato too.” It was hard enough hearing that opinion from Misato, hearing her friend say it too didn't make things easier.

 

But it only got worse for Rei as Asuka thought about it for a second and said. “I'm sorry Blue, but sorta I agree with Hikari. A public relationship is very different from a private one.”

 

Rei hated hearing that and she blew a couple bubbles in the water as she sulked about the answer. What she hated the most was that Asuka, Hikari, and Misato were right. But she didn't want to have a public relationship. She liked things the way they were right now. Going public could change that.

 

“When exactly were you thinking about going public with your relationship?” Asuka asked noticing the apprehension.

 

Rei didn't want to answer that question as it would make her sound immature. But she didn't have a choice as Asuka asked the question again and indicated that this conversation would end if Rei didn't fess up. Meekly she answered “After graduation.”

 

What she got back was exactly what she knew she would. Two looks of disappointment. “You can't be serious?” Asuka asked while Hikari chimed in with a “There's no way I can say you're ready for sex if you're still too afraid of what others will say. And I don't think what you're doing is very fair to Kensuke either.”

 

“I know that!” Rei said back almost shouting. She knew this wasn't fair to Kensuke at all. Hiding this had to be putting great pressure on her boyfriend and she knew that the hiding was all her doing. Kensuke was babying her, maybe a little too much, in that he wasn't going to say anything to anyone until she was ready. He was waiting on her and she knew it.

 

Rei blushed horribly after her outburst and sunk back into the water, going so far as to completely submerge her head for a couple seconds before coming back up. This time she was a little more calm. “I know it's unfair to Kensuke. And I know you are right about being public. And I even know that it might be good for our relationship and make it stronger if we got through others knowing.” That little tidbit of advice was courtesy of Misato. “But I'm scared of the change. I like the way things are now and I- I don't know what's going to happen. I want to be with Kensuke but I don't want anything bad to happen…”

 

Asuka put her hand on Rei's shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. This issue was a biggie with Rei as both Asuka and Hikari saw that she was tearing up about it. She knew what she was supposed to do but was too afraid to do it. “It's going to be okay” Asuka told her in a calming voice. “Change is scary. Trust me, I understand that all too well. But if you don't change, you can't move forward.”

 

“She's right” Hikari said compassionately. “And you already have done a lot of changes. If you hadn't we wouldn't be here right now. You're happy you changed and Kensuke's in your life now right?”

 

Rei nodded her head yes to that.

 

“I know you think it's risky but don't you want to be closer to him?” Hikari continued on.

 

Rei nodded her head yes again.

 

“Then you have to take the risk” Asuka finished. “Without it, you can't have the reward.”

 

Things then turned silent as the other two let Rei think about everything for a couple minutes. This was a big, big decision and not something Rei should be answering with a yes or no instantly. But before Asuka and Hikari would say yes to whether they thought Rei should go all the way with Kensuke they had to know the answer.

 

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

 

After roughly fifteen minutes of sitting in that oversized warm and relaxing bath Rei let out a big breath. She had made her decision. “You will not approve if I don't say yes, correct?”

 

Both Asuka and Hikari nodded yes to that.

 

Rei expected that. She also knew that was Misato's stated opinion as well. And the opinions of these three women meant more to her than any other women out there. These were the people she trusted and knew would not be telling her these things unless they truly cared about her wellbeing. Rei sighed “Why can't I be right in my beliefs?”

 

“Because that's not how life works” Asuka grinned. “I swear its only goal is to mess with us as much as possible.”

 

“I agree” Rei said and made her decision while listening to Hikari chuckle at that. She would have a talk with Kensuke in the morning. But she did want to lessen the outcome as much as she could as she told Asuka “Could you have Rini and Kotono maybe not tell everyone everything they saw?”

 

Before Asuka could answer that question Hikari jumped in with a question of her own. “Just what exactly did those two see anyway?”

 

“Rei and Kensuke kissing by a waterfall” Asuka tittered while Rei blushed.

 

“That certainly sounds romantic” Hikari giggled.

 

While blushing even more Rei nodded a definite yes to that. It was very romantic in fact and she loved it.

 

“What are you getting so red for?” Asuka teased. “It was only kissing. If just that sends you in a tizzy you're going to be in for a rough time tomorrow.”

 

“They just said kissing, right?” Rei asked.

 

“Yeah” Asuka said and noticed Rei wasn't done turning red. Asuka began to realize Rini and Kotono may have seen more than they thought they did. A very curious “What else did they see?” followed that realization.

 

Asuka wasn't the only one who was curious as Hikari was looking at her with the same chestier cat grin. “They probably couldn't see more because of our coats but…” Rei may have been embarrassed to be admitting this but both Asuka and Hikari could see she also had a little sparkle to her eyes. “… Kensuke's hands were under everything.”

 

“Everything, everything or snow pants everything?” Asuka needed clarification so she could tell just how good the kiss was.

 

“Everything, everything” Rei divulged. “And my hands may have been as well…” Rei sort of sunk back in the water up to her nose as she blushed horribly. She just admitted doing some very naughty with her boyfriend.

 

“Wow!” Asuka laughed. “You are SO LUCKY those two didn't notice what you guys were really doing.”

 

Rei nodded a yes to that while still mostly submerged in the bath. Thank god for heavy and bulky winter jackets.

 

“I can see why you wouldn't want Rini and Kotono saying they saw you two doing that” Hikari stated. In her own relationship with Touji they weren't very forthcoming in how intense it was when it came to the general population of the school. Sure most of the kids suspected Touji and Hikari were having sex but no one, other than the trusted few, had proof of it. “So what exactly do you want them to say?”

 

“Because they will be the ones saying it” Asuka stressed. “Once you tell them they can there will be no stopping them.”

 

Rei came back up from the water. “Why'd I have to get caught by the worst gossips around?”

 

“Because, like I said, life likes to screw with you.”

 

“I agree” Rei said again. “Is it possible to tell them that they only found out about our relationship from us? I don't like the idea of them spreading around even what they think they saw.”

 

“Piece of cake” Asuka said. “Those two don't care about specifics at all. As long as they get to break the scoop that you two are dating they'll be happy. Even if that means concocting up a lie.”

 

“That's for sure” Hikari scoffed. This was going to be gossip and so rarely was gossip beholden to the facts. “But none of that is important right now” Hikari grinned devilishly “So what exactly were your hands feeling?”

 

That deep blush returned immediately as Rei gasped “Hikari!”

 

“Oh don't you go playing the embarrassed girl routine on us now Blue” Asuka started with the same pixyish grin Hikari had. “We want to know everything.”

 

“This is going to be a talk about …sex… now, isn't it?” Rei asked nervously as she could tell that's where the two other girls were leading.

 

“Oh yeah” Asuka grinned. “You up for it? Or are you going to wimp out and leave all the talking up to Hikari and me… again?”

 

Rei shook her head disapprovingly at Asuka for that taunt. “Asuka Langley Sohryu do you really think you can trick me into saying something I don't want to with such a simple ploy of the mind as that?”

 

“Well…..” Asuka said looking away. That was pretty low level in dealing with Rei. If she wanted to goad a reluctant Rei into this kind of a conversation she was going to have to do a whole lot better than that.

 

Luckily Asuka really wouldn't have to match psychological wits with Rei. As embarrassing of a talk as this could be a part of Rei wanted this. She always wanted to be a more active part of Asuka and Hikari's girl talks. Now she could be. “At least one of my hands was behaving” Rei continued. “It was only feeling his back.”

 

“That's sweet” Asuka started out nicely before she switched to a teasing interrogative voice. “But where was that other hand? You can still have a lot of fun with only one hand when it comes to guys.”

 

“It may have been…” Rei got very quiet as she confessed the truth. “…down below.”

 

While that answer was revealing in that they were doing something sexual, it didn't answer what exactly. “So were you fondling his balls or feeling up his dick?”

 

Rei let out another gasped “Hikari!...”

 

But before she could get very far Hikari looked strait at her. “You know Asuka and I don't mince words when we talking about sex. So you can't either.”

 

“And no acting like you are above using vulgar terms” Asuka added on. “If you two are as far along as you have said then just by the simple act of giving him blowjobs you are already way more perverted than someone too pure to be using that kind of language.”

 

“You two are really aggressive” Rei said as she was almost intimidated right now.

 

Hikari nodded her head yes to that as it was the truth while Asuka asked “So which was it, balls or dick?”

 

And there went any decorum Rei thought she could infuse into this situation. She was going to have to speak at their level if she wanted to talk about this sort of thing. “…feeling up his dick.”

 

“So you got caught jerking him off while kissing” Asuka laughed. Now she didn't feel so bad about getting caught herself.

 

“I wasn't going that far” Rei responded quickly. “I'm not as big of a pervert as you. I was just feeling him while we kissed. I would never go that far… outside.”

 

“It's not nice to tease a guy like that you know” Asuka said back.

 

“Who says I did finish the job” Rei argued back. “I just did it somewhere more private.”

 

“Wait…a… second…” Asuka said as she developed a giant grin on her face. “You guys did something in a cabin too… didn't you?”

 

“Well did you ever think that maybe you weren't the only person Misato told a story to about when she and Kaji visited this lodge?”

 

“I… ahhh….” Asuka was caught there.

 

“So that's where that whole idea came from” Hikari laughed.

 

Rei nodded yes. “At least I had enough sense to finish it quickly. You guys had to be in that cabin for a long time.”

 

“Well we got carried away” Asuka blushed.

 

“As usual” Hikari chuckled. “You two are horrible about controlling yourselves.”

 

“Well it was supposed to be quick as I only planned on giving him a blowjob and then him licking me out… but the next thing I knew I was bent over the table begging for more.”

 

“That's such a wonderful feeling” Hikari smiled. She could understand what happened perfectly. She actually was a little jealous of Asuka for doing something so bold. But on the flip side was the reality of what happened and that was what was stopping Touji and her. Getting caught was not something she would even risk.

 

“Isn't it?” Asuka replied in an almost dreamy way. That sexual escapade was one hell of a memory. “I mean in the beginning I was telling myself we better stop and that we were going to get caught but then, POOF, every one of those thoughts vanished and I was like, I want this and I want more.”

 

Rei's cheeks reddened at that explanation.

 

“You better get used to stuff like that if you want to have sex” Asuka warned her.

 

“It's not that” Rei explained. “It's just that… if Kensuke did that to me… I might have…” Rei blushed horribly again.

 

“You wouldn't be a virgin right now” Hikari giggled.

 

Rei nodded her head yes at that. “I want to know those feelings so badly.”

 

“You will” Asuka assured her. “And the more you have them the more you want them.”

 

“Just don't expect to be having them right away” Hikari added on giving her a little heads up.

 

“Huh?” Rei answered not understanding.

 

“Listen to the girl” Asuka told Rei. “Those first few times were not the greatest.”

 

“I don't expect them to be” Rei replied, each word getting quieter than the last. She had heard enough stories to know that. With a touch of trepidation she asked “So how much does it actually hurt?”

 

“Hard to say” Asuka said back. “Some girls say they barely felt anything while others say it hurt a lot. I think I fell somewhere in between. It certainly didn't feel good the first time but it also didn't make me scream anything out in pain. Just a little wince at first and some unconformability after that.”

 

“For me I let out a little ouch and that was it” Hikari said explaining her experience. “It didn't hurt for very long and sex was more me getting used to Touji putting himself inside me than anything else. Things were a touch too tight in the beginning.”

 

“Has Kensuke put any of his fingers inside of you yet?” Asuka then asked.

 

The way Asuka asked that was unlike the way she had been asking about the previous sexual stuff. It was very much like she was going somewhere important with it and not just curious. Rei nodded her head yes.

 

“One or two fingers?”

 

“One of course” Rei answered. “I am a virgin after all.” Rei was almost insulted over the accusation that she would be loose enough for two whole fingers to be shoved inside of her already.

 

“Nice touch of attitude there Rei” Asuka said as not long ago she was just like that concerning Shinji and herself. “But you really should have him try to put two fingers in you.”

 

Rei was looking at Asuka very skeptical so Hikari tried to explain a little better why Asuka said that. “Think about it this way Rei. How thick is one finger? And then think about how thick a dick is.”

 

As that size difference ran through Rei's mind she started to get worried.

 

But there was more as Asuka said. “Also think about length. I'm pretty sure he's longer than his finger, and trust me on this, he will want to put it all the way inside you the first time. They all do.”

 

Rei gulped as she saw Hikari nodding along in agreement to that.

 

“That's why I'm saying let him try two fingers. It still isn't going to be enough to get you ready but it might make it so the shock isn't so great. I wish I had done that with Shinji.”

 

Asuka very much had the look of experience on her face after she said that so Rei did not take it lightly. She also picked up on something else. Neither girl's first time was all that good. “So I shouldn't be expecting any bit of magic, should I?”

 

“Nope” Hikari said in a sorry way. Hikari would love to tell Rei she came her first time but that was not the truth.

 

“If you keep you hopes low enough maybe it won't be so bad” Asuka added on. “I mean Shinji and I aimed for the top right away and it was a disaster. We shaded the room, put on some romantic music, lit a couple candles, hell Shinji even bought a couple roses and put the petals on my bed. And none of that did diddly-squat. Right from the start it was like, wait… is that supposed to happen? Is this what we're supposed to do? This doesn't feel right. And a whole bunch more crap like that. That whole this is our first time romantic shit was completely forgotten about as we tried to figure out what in the hell we were trying to do in the first place.”

 

“Oh, I remember that doesn't feel right very well” Hikari said. “It took almost a week before it really started to feel good. A lot of learning needs to happen first. It's not just stick rod A into slot B.”

 

“That's for sure.” Asuka said in complete agreement as it was the same way with her and Shinji. Magic didn't just happen, it took work.

 

Almost like Rei was telling this more to herself she repeated the lesson she just learned. “Keep expectations low and don't expect everything to go right at first.”

 

Both Asuka and Hikari nodded yes to that with Hikari adding on “And take it slow.”

 

“Yeah” Asuka said nodding her head. “You want to listen to that part.”

 

“Take it slow” Rei said to herself again. “Got it.” Then she looked at both girls. “It's worth it, right?”

 

Asuka answered with a resounding “Oh Hell Yes!” while Hikari started laughing at how emphatic Asuka answered that question. “It's so gawd-damn worth it, it'll blow your mind.”

 

“Really?” Rei asked. “Because I think Kensuke has blown my mind a couple times already… some of the things we already are doing are just so…..” instead of finishing that sentence Rei blushed very hard.

 

“Sounds like fun” Asuka replied. “But what exactly are you two doing?” Lesson time was clearly over again as Rei noticed the return of the curious voice.

 

“What do you guys do?” Rei asked nervously as she didn't have the guts to go first.

 

It was only fair for one of them to start out so Hikari went first. “Touji's really into titty sex. Most of the time when I blow him off all I do is suck on his head while I use my boobs to stroke him. He really gets off on it.”

 

“No surprise there” Asuka teased. “I let Shinji take pictures of me… A LOT of pictures.”

 

Rei looked at Asuka strangely. “What do you mean “Pictures”?” She could tell by the way Asuka said that she wasn't talking about friendly lovey-dovey pictures you show to your friends.

 

“There are several memory cards of digital pics locked away in a safe in my closet that I don't want anyone other than Shinji and me to see. And they aren't simple boudoir pictures either. I didn't heed Misato's advice and let Shinji have some fun with a camera. The result is there are pictures of me in every state of undress, pictures of me in only god knows how many positions, pictures of us before sex, during sex, and many pictures of me after sex.”

 

What struck Rei the most was Asuka seemed very proud of what she said. There wasn't even the slightest bit of blush to her face. At least Hikari blushed a little when she admitted to what she said. Of course that meant this wasn't only a one sided thing. Someone was getting off on having her picture taken just as much as the one taking the picture. And what exactly did she mean by many pictures of her after sex? That was a rather puzzling question and surely couldn't be referring to what she was thinking it was.

 

But it was as Asuka could read Rei's mind clearly. “Yeah, I'm a dirty girl. Those shots are cream pies.”

 

Even before Rei could ask out an unbelieving you got to be kidding me, as that was rather kinky, Hikari responded with a serious “You're still letting him come inside you without protection all the time?”

 

“Of course I am” Asuka answered back. “I love the feeling.”

 

“So do I, but that's dangerous” Hikari said. She knew what it felt like to have Touji come inside her but he wasn't always allowed to do that. Birth control to her was a combination of monthly shots, knowing her cycle, and having Touji put on a condom when she was most receptive. “Aren't you even the slightest bit worried about getting pregnant?”

 

“How many time do I have to tell you? No.” Asuka replied. This wasn't the first time they had this conversation. “That's what the birth control's for.”

 

“You know, I have asked my doctor about what you said. She told me it isn't a hundred percent protective.”

 

“Of course she didn't” Asuka said right back. “She'd be a fool if she did. If she went around telling her patients that, some of the girls would go around thinking it's a license to fuck as many different guys as they want. Then she would have a bunch of girls with STDs.”

 

“I think there's more to it than just that” Hikari argued back.

 

To Hikari's complete surprise Rei disagreed with her. “But that IS the real reason they tell people that. It's too dangerous sociologically to say it's a hundred percent effective.”

 

“What?” Hikari was completely confused now.

 

“You should listen to her Hikari” Asuka said. “Rei knows more about the new birth control than anyone else on this planet.”

 

“You do?... How?”

 

“Modern birth control is based upon medication I was given before third impact” Rei informed the brown haired girl soaking in the big bath next to her. “It is completely effective.”

 

“And it's not like that stupid kind that says it stops your period only you still get period like symptoms every month” Asuka griped. “Now that kind of birth control is a joke.”

 

“So you were taking some sort of birth control before third impact too?... and the stuff I'm taking now is the same thing?” Hikari was more than just a little bit worried about that. Rei had told her in the past why she was so skeptical of medicine was because of all the things they pumped into her body before. If this was one of those things she was worried about even taking it.

 

“Heavens no” Asuka said right off the bat. “What we're taking now is BASED off of what Rei used to take. Definitely not the same thing. If it was, I wouldn't be taking it.”

 

“The dosage is very different as well” Rei said. “What would add up to a yearly dose now was only half of what I was taking on a daily basis.”

 

“That sound dangerous” Hikari said with concern.

 

“More like lethal” Asuka corrected her friend.

 

Rei agreed. “That is what some of my medicines were for. To simply keep me alive from the overdoses of other medicine.”

 

“That's horrible!” Hikari exclaimed.

 

“Yes it was” Rei replied completely agreeing with her friend. “But all that is part of a past I try not to remember. And at least some good came from some of the medicines I was on.” Yes she was still a little mad about being a guinea pig back then but it was tempered by the fact that modifications to most of those drugs she was on turned out to have beneficial medical affects in the healthcare field. At least she wasn't a guinea pig for nothing.

 

“So are you really telling me you trust birth control so much that you and Kensuke aren't going to be using a condom?... Ever?” Hikari moved back to the question at hand as she could tell Rei didn't like where the conversation was headed. The past was not fun to talk about.

 

“I see no point in it” Rei answered. “We're devoted to each other and both virgins so there are no diseases we have to worry about. And as long as I get a shot monthly I won't get pregnant.”

 

That was almost word for word from what Asuka told her the other times Hikari argued this with her. Considering the source she had a hard time arguing any point against Rei. That girl would know more than anyone else about this particular medicine. Then again the counter argument was still there. Pregnancy. And that was no small thing. “Are you guys completely, absolutely, positively sure you won't get pregnant?”

 

“Yes” both Rei and Asuka said back.

 

“Like so sure that you would even let your boyfriends come inside when you are at the peak of your cycle and most likely to get pregnant?” That right there was Hikari's main concern.

 

Both Rei and Asuka said “Yes” again, but not without giggling. Their friend was definitely breaking from her previous stance and you could see the gears grinding in her head about what that meant.

 

One more skeptical look was aimed at both girls from Hikari. This was too good to be true and she had a hard time believing it.

 

“Do you really think I wouldn't be using a condom if it wasn't perfectly safe?” Asuka replied to the skeptical look. “Even if it was a one in a billion chance I would use a condom because fate likes to fuck with me and I would be that one girl in the world who got knocked up. But I'm not pregnant now and have no plans to be for quite some time.”

 

“You know she has a point” Rei laughed.

 

“I suppose” Hikari said dropping the issue. She wasn't sold on this just yet and wanted to think about it some more.

 

And since Hikari dropped her issue the conversation was centered back onto Rei. “Your turn Blue.”

 

“My turn?” Rei asked nervously. She sort of was hoping they forgot about her.

 

“You're not getting out of this after I admitted to being a camera sex freak” Asuka told her. “And I will even one up it and admit to making a porno DVD with Shinji.”

 

“You don't have to sound so proud of doing that” Rei told her as it was a touch intimidating. And not just for the obvious reasons. There might have been a private reason or two to go along with it. She let out a big breath and finally fessed up to something she thought was perverted. “Kensuke and I trade oral favors under my kotatsu.”

 

Asuka wasn't impressed though. “No duh. That's pretty much expected of you Rei.”

 

“Well….I…. Uhhh” Rei stuttered as there was more to it than just that but she wasn't sure she wanted to admit it. “That's no more expected than what Hikari talked about.”

 

“Fair enough” Hikari replied back and then upped the ante. “Touji and I are into minor bondage. Nothing too bad but I do have a pair of handcuffs or two in my room.”

 

Asuka laughed at that as she had actually seen the handcuffs before. “They're fuzzy and pink. How she gets someone as macho as Touji to where those I will never know.”

 

“And that's exactly how I get him to wear them” Hikari told her. “All his life he has been seen as the big kid who can do whatever he wants. When in reality he wants someone who can control him sometimes.”

 

“So you pussy whipped him into wearing the cuffs” Asuka teased.

 

“Among a bunch of other things I do with my pussy, yes” Hikari teased back. “And it's not like he's ever struggled to get away after I cuff him to my headboard. In fact he usually wants to watch me bounce up and down as long as possible.”

 

“You know, Shinji get's into moods like that too” Asuka said. “Not that I'm complaining, mind you.”

 

“I'm sure you wouldn't be” Hikari giggled. Then both girls looked back at Rei. They wanted more than just her admitting to trading oral favors under a table. That was minor league and both suspected she did more than that. Those novels of hers had to be giving the girl much kinkier ideas.

 

This time Rei didn't hold back. She very much was feeling like some sort of newbie that didn't know anything at this point and wanted to show the other girls she could be sexy too. “I have a vibrator. One of those little egg shaped ones.”

 

Her bold statement get met with two plain looks though. “Got to do better than that Blue” Asuka told her. “I have one too and so does Hikari.”

 

“You do?” Rei said surprised. She was hoping the vibrator would be her trump card. Make her sound all adventurous and the such.

 

“Yup” Asuka replied. “Touji bought one for Hikari once, then told Shinji how much fun it was to use, so he went out and bought one for me.”

 

“So Touji and Shinji bought your toys for you?” Rei asked.

 

Both girls nodded yes.

 

“I actually had mine before I got involved with Kensuke” Rei told them.

 

“You did?” Hikari said surprised with Asuka adding on “You got guts. I always wanted one but was too chicken to go out and buy it.”

 

“I didn't exactly go out and buy it” Rei said as she didn't want the girls getting that kind of impression. “I sort of ordered it online and had it delivered to me… And I used Misato's name but my address.”

 

“That's brilliant” Asuka laughed. “I wish I'd thought of that.”

 

“So you two don't think it was wrong of me to have one? Even though I didn't have a boyfriend?” Her two friends were awfully accepting of this.

 

“No” Hikari said. “You're a girl and girls have needs. So what if you got something to help you out with the chore.”

 

“So do you do anything special with it now that you are with Kensuke?” Asuka asked. “I know they can be used outside of sex to give one hell of a massage.”

 

“Tell me about it” Hikari chimed in. “I've got a tight spot right between my shoulder blades and when Touji rubs that area with the vibrator it's like heaven.”

 

“My thigh muscles” Rei said about herself. “All those splits on the balance beam take a toll.”

 

“Short trip from pleasure to naughtiness for you then” Asuka giggled.

 

“I don't mind” Rei admitted. She also admitted to something else, specifically the whole truth of what happened under the kotatsu. “Kensuke is a very visual person so when I try to give him a blowjob under the table he always lifts up the blanket so he can watch. And that lets in the cold air, which isn't nice when your naked. So one day he thought up a solution and bought a new video camera that can hook up directly to the TV. Now he puts the camera under the table so he doesn't have to lift up the blanket to watch.”

 

“Now that's hot” Asuka proclaimed. “I knew you had some perversion in you somewhere. Letting your boyfriend watch you blow him on the TV while you are doing it under a table. He's got to love that.”

 

“Actually there's a little more to it” Rei blushed. “He likes to watch me play with myself using the vibrator so he puts the camera between my legs and watches me do that while I suck on him.” After Rei said that she turned as red as she could and sunk down into the water again. She couldn't believe she just admitted all that.

 

“Shinji would really get off if I did something like that” Asuka said getting big eyes. “I'm so fucking stealing your idea.”

 

“If I tried something like that with Touji he would probably pick the table up and throw it across the room… and then ravish me.” While Hikari said that last bit her whole body shivered.

 

“You so get off on his strength” Asuka laughed.

 

“It's my thing” Hikari smiled.

 

“Muscles are nice” Rei said coming back up. While not bulky Kensuke did have an appealing body definition to Rei.

 

“Another thing that's nice is your chair” Asuka said out of the blue. “You have to be doing naughty things with that. And if you're not, I'm taking it away from you on grounds of wasting a awesome opportunity.”

 

“It's staying right were it is” Rei said with a touch of force. “The first place Kensuke ate me out was on my couch. Then it was under the kotatsu. And the third, while I was getting a massage in the chair. It feels amazing…” Rei went quite dreamy after that. That chair was more beloved now than it ever had been.

 

“So what about the naughty forbidden setting?” Asuka then asked.

 

“It's not forbidden anymore…” Rei smirked. “…but still rather naughty.” There was more to it as well as Kensuke was a curious boy who liked to experiment with Rei's sex button. “Sometimes I can barely handle it”

 

“Too intense?” Hikari asked.

 

“Really?” Asuka questioned. “I mean I have played around with that mode a couple times in that chair recently and it didn't feel that strong to me.”

 

“The chair by itself, no” Rei answered. “But sometimes he has me lean forward and traps my clit between the vibrating nodule and my vibrator. That's when it get's intense.”

 

“I would imagine so” Hikari commented. Just having one vibrating thing pressed up against her clit was stimulating, two would probably have her jumping out of her skin.

 

“That sounds like torture” Asuka added on.

 

Both Rei and Hikari looked at Asuka for that one. Considering she absolutely purred out the word torture there was no way it meant something bad. It sort of sounded like she knew what Rei was talking about.

 

“You didn't come over and borrow my chair?” Rei asked apprehensively. It would be kind of gross if she did.

 

“Of course not” Asuka stated. “I would never do something like that. Your place is your place and I would never do anything with Shinji in it. That's just wrong.”

 

“How do you know that feeling then?” Rei asked suspiciously.

 

“Well… I… Uhh…..” and Asuka started to blush while trailing off.

 

Rei found out the answer though from Hikari as she mouthed “Someone has more than one vibrator” while pointing at Asuka.

 

Both Rei and Hikari started laughing while Asuka sort of sunk into the water. She couldn't help it if toys and costumes and sensual oils and cameras made her hot. They were just so much fun to play with. And the more fun and hot it got the more Shinji wanted to play with her. And the more Shinji wanted to play with her the hotter and more fun it got. A voracious cycle she loved to get trapped in.

 

Asuka had to do something to escape this embarrassing situation so she turned the table back onto Rei with the ultimate question. “So do you spit or swallow?”

 

Rei gasped a nervous “Asuka!”

 

“What?” Asuka said back casually. “It's no big deal what you do.”

 

“W- what do you do?”

 

Asuka rolled her eyes a little at that. Rei was being too timid again. “Fine, if you want me to go first I will. But you really need to stop getting so embarrassed about the simple stuff. For the most part I swallow. It's cleaner that way and Shinji gets a kick out of seeing me do it.”

 

That made Rei feel better about what she did. “I swallow too.”

 

“So you don't mind the taste?” Hikari asked.

 

“It's not as much of a matter as liking the taste” Rei started out trying to explain herself. She didn't want to come off sounding like some cum guzzling whore. “It's just that I don't pay much mind to it.”

 

“That and it doesn't taste nearly as bad as LCL” Asuka chuckled. “If I can grow up tasting that shit most of my life, a little shot of cum is no problem.”

 

“So that stuff really tasted that bad?” Hikari asked.

 

Rei wholehearted agreed with Asuka's head nod. The first time she gave Kensuke a blowjob she was worried about the flavor and that she would insult him by spitting it back out right away. But when he came it wasn't as nearly as bad as some of the girls in class gossip made it out to be. In fact it wasn't even close to LCL in the bad flavor category, and if she could gulp that stuff down Kensuke was no problem.

 

“So what do you do?” Rei then asked Hikari.

 

“She cheats” Asuka laughed.

 

“Hey, if my boy likes to shoot it on my tits more than in my mouth I'm not going to complain” Hikari said right back. Avoiding the whole question entirely by letting him do that wasn't exactly a bad thing. Her boy found that kind of thing sexy so why not indulge him in the fantasy. “But if he does cum in my mouth I usually spit. But if some goes down the back of my throat I don't freak out or anything. I can go either way.”

 

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

 

The girl's conversation in the bath lasted for another hour after that. They traded sexy ideas about what they liked to do, talked about how they sometimes felt when they did those things, and even talked some more about Rei and Kensuke going all the way. All in all it was a good old fashion girl talk that relaxed their minds and allowed them to get back to sleep once they got back into the room. Well for a little while that is. A half hour after everyone was asleep Asuka woke up again. She sent a quick text message and walked out of the room. She walked down the hall, past the bathrooms, and straight towards the lobby once again.

 

She found someone tending to the fire. “I figured you would be here.”

 

Shinji smiled at her and then sat down on the couch. “I just thought you might want to talk for a bit.”

 

Asuka sat down on the couch and leaned against him. “I don't need to talk. Only held.” She wasn't as over her night terror as she was letting on.

 

Shinji smiled at his lover and wrapped his arms around her while pulling up a blanket to cover them both up.

 

Asuka laid her head onto his chest and listened to his clam and steady heartbeat. The soft repetitive beating soon lulled her frightened mind to a serene state and she was able to fall back to sleep. And this time it was a restful sleep as she felt safe and secure in Shinji's arms. Nothing could hurt her in this place. Time would help heal her old wounds but it was companionship that would sooth her soul till time did its job.

 

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

 

When it was time to wake everyone up for breakfast Mrs. Amano noticed one of her students was missing. And not only her but her husband called to report one of the boys missing too. “Does anyone know where Sohryu and Ikari are?”

 

Most of the replies were drowsy “I don't know” and the such. But then Hikari remembered she got a text message during the night. She was too tired to look at then but she had a feeling it might solve the question. It read - S&I left early for ski trip. Tell Teach.- “Asuka and Shinji are already on the trails” Hikari told her teacher.

 

“Guess they wanted to get an early start” Mrs. Amano said to herself and then called her husband to explain why Shinji was gone.

 

After getting everyone roused from their futons they headed for the dinning area for some breakfast. But to get to the dinning area you had to go through the lobby first. There were other residents of the inn milling around but also a pair that wasn't supposed to be there. Two people who said they were off skiing were actually sleeping on the couch. One with her head lying on the other's chest and the other with his arms wrapped around her. Quite a cute scene actually.

 

But the scene was interrupted as the girl got tapped on her shoulder. “Unless this is some new kind of skiing I don't know about you generally have to be awake to go skiing Miss Sohryu.”

 

Asuka blinked her eyes a couple times before even noticing that sarcastic comment came from her teacher. “… too early.” And Asuka laid her head back down on Shinji's chest.

 

“I beg to differ” Mrs. Amano chuckled as she tapped the girl on the shoulder again. It's not like she didn't feel the girl should be getting some extra sleep after last night, but the lobby was not the best of places to be doing it. And her cuddled into her boyfriend wasn't exactly an allowable thing, even if it was cute. This was a SCHOOL fieldtrip and adult stuff like that was generally prohibited.

 

Without even opening her eyes Asuka searched around with her hand and found Shinji's wrist. She then raised it above the covers and said “It's only this time.”

 

“What time?” Mrs. Amano replied as Shinji wasn't wearing a watch.

 

A drowsy “the time on the watch” was Asuka's reply.

 

“I see no watch on Mr. Ikari's wrist.”

 

A sleepy “Huh?” was Asuka's reply. She then felt up Shinji's wrist. There was definitely supposed to be a watch there. She had set the alarm on it herself just last night. In a barely wake tone she asked her boyfriend “… Shin-kun… where's your watch…?”

 

Shinji muttered something that sort of sounded like “I don't know.” It was hard to understand him though as he was still closer to being asleep than awake.

 

The true answer to that question came to them as mysterious beeping sound got closer and closer. It was the sound of Shinji's alarm going off. “It's six o clock already?” Asuka whined.

 

“No, it's 8:25 am already” her teacher informed her.

 

“No it isn't” Asuka said trying to open her eyes. “I set the alarm to go off at six.”

 

“And it has been going off since six” a voice different from her teachers said.

 

Asuka turned her head towards the sound of the second voice. “What're you doing up so early for Blue? You should be sleeping.”

 

Rei shook her head in disappointment and sighed. She then explained it again. “It's not early. It's almost 8:30 am and time for breakfast.”

 

“That can't be right” Asuka said finally starting to truly wake up. “I set the alarm to go off at six. And it just went off now.”

 

“No” Rei corrected her. “It went off at six and then you tried to throw it into the fire to turn it off.” Rei had retrieved the watch from the fireplace. If it hadn't been for the screen in front of the fire Shinji's watch probably would have died a slow smolder death.

 

That was an odd conclusion to come to right away so what Rei said must have been based off of prior knowledge. “I take it she's done this before?”

 

“As far as I know, six” Rei answered her teacher. “She has a habit of throwing the alarm clock against the wall if it goes off when she doesn't want to get up. So far she has broken six clocks.”

 

“I've broken a hell of a lot more than that” Asuka said back. When she was truly comfortable she hated to be woken up.

 

As sleepy sounding as Asuka said that everyone couldn't help but tell there was also a touch of bragging going on. And this caused most of the kids who stuck around to see what was going on to chuckle.

 

It was those numbered extras that really woke Asuka up. It wasn't just Mrs. Amano and Rei there but a good dozen or so of her classmates. “Schisse…”

 

Asuka then started to nudge Shinji as he had fallen back to sleep already. “Wake up Shinji… we overslept.”

 

A drowsy “w-what?” was his answer. He was then flashed awake by a camera phone. “Uh……….???”

 

“Why'd you do that Rini?” Asuka complained.

 

“Because” Rini giggled. “I'm gonna send this picture to everyone.”

 

“Like you have time to do that today” Asuka said stretching herself out before getting up off of a blushing Shinji. He didn't actually appreciate getting caught in this predicament. But he didn't have to worry too much as what happened next would cause everyone to quickly forget about him and Asuka.

 

“And what else am I gonna do?” Rini chuckled.

 

“Spreading gossip” Asuka answered. She then looked over at Rei.

 

Both Kotono's and Rini's eyes went big. They knew what Asuka was talking about if she was looking at Rei. But at the same time they weren't allowed to talk about that. This was getting confusing for them again.

 

But Rei knew the look she was getting from Asuka. And it wasn't only Asuka giving her that look but Hikari too. A secret was supposed to be spilled. Rei let out a big sigh and then walked up to Kensuke. She whispered something in his ear.

 

That simple task floored the students who were watching all this. It was very obvious something was happening because Rei got very close to Kensuke and that whole whispering thing right into his ear meant those two were much closer than anyone had previously thought.

 

“Are you sure?” Kensuke asked. Rei had just said she wanted to go public with their relationship.

 

Rei nodded her head yes and started to blush. This was about as an uncomfortable situation as she thought it would be.

 

“Ok Bella” Kensuke smiled.

 

Rei blushed even more at that name because everyone said it back questioningly. Bella was Kensuke's pet name for her. Well almost everyone. Mai let slip a little “I knew it!”

 

Rei also noticed that both Kotono's and Rini's fingers were trembling above their text messaging pads on their phone. They were about to tell the world. But what she wanted them to tell the world was different from what they saw so she quickly pulled them aside and told them what to say.

 

Both girls quickly agreed to say whatever Rei wanted them to. They would do anything to be the first to spread this news around and soon the morning atmosphere was interrupted by everyone's cell phones going off indicating they got a text. The secret was out of the bag.

 

(A/N: And that's the end to this chapter. Quite late in the release of it but sadly you people will have to get used to the delays. Life's moving fast and I don't have as much time as I used to. And it's only going to get more hectic for me in the future. Don't worry though, I will finish this fic. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and till next time, bye bee. 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.)