Those Who Hunt Elves Fan Fiction ❯ Paths Not Taken ❯ Paths not taken ( Chapter 1 )

Paths Not Taken

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A TWHE fic by AZ

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Notes: this was a plotting option for the Those Who Hunt…Eva? fic setting. Ultimately, this was not how it ended, as Forms of Battle and Road of Forks took the place of this idea sequentially.

This assumes that TWH_E events occurred as written, and would have taken place after that work.

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Ritsuko staggered, feeling disoriented and dizzy. Instinctively, she managed to catch herself, at least to the point where she just staggered like she was drunk until she felt something hit her shoulder. The red-headed elf hunter slapped her arm against it, finding it to be a wall. Blinking and shaking her head to try to clear the disorientation, she let herself sag against the wall. “Ugh,” she breathed, eyes adjusting from the flash of fey light that had engulfed her when the Serat was cast again.

“The Serat!” she breathed, her mind clearing at the memory. After their return to the elf world from the alternate Japan, they had - once they had gotten themselves back in order from the events in the other Japan - gone hunting spell fragments once more. Unlike the first time, where the imploded spell had broken in to six pieces, this time it had broken into hundreds of pieces. Ritsuko suspected that it was a case of most elves wanting them to go home and leave them alone, but hadn't said anything. Annette and Gabs had helped Celsia cast it, so it was not likely a casting error this time, though Junpei had certainly not helped any with his usual stupidity.

“Airi? Junpei? Mike?” she called out, using her off-hand to rub her eyes, hoping it would help her eyesight clear faster. No answer greeted her call. A tingle of worry spiked through her when she didn't get an answer. Calm down, Ritsuko, she told herself, if it worked this time, we should all have been sent back to where we were first kidnapped; or so Celsia said, she reminded herself.

Ritsuko began to pat herself down. School uniform, school bag, gun belt, carbine, shoulder bag. I still have what I had when they started casting the spell. Is that good or bad? she wondered. The spots were mostly gone from her eyes now, and she looked around. “Where the hell am I?” she wondered.

She was leaning against a slightly-more than head-high wall, with buildings - regular buildings! - inside some sort of enclosed area. Her ears picked up the sounds of cars, people and music. Her breath quickened. “God, please let it be real,” she nearly sobbed. Get a grip, Ritsuko, she ordered herself harshly. You already know that none of that proves you are back in your Japan, so calm down, and think! First, check your condition.

Ritsuko did a quick, but thorough self-check. Her worn, thread-bare uniform was present, same for her battered school bag, her well-used gun belt, pistol and mags were present and accounted for, she had her carbine slung over her shoulder…wait, this isn't my G-36, it occurred to her. Unslinging the rifle, she found she was looking at the flat-top M-4 she had `acquired' in the other Japan. Glancing at the mag well, she grimaced, seeing the bisected fig leaf emblem and the word `NERV' under it. Habitually, she dropped the mag, verified it was loaded, checked the chamber to verify it was hot, reseated the bolt carrier group and reinserted the mag, thumb tactilely verifying the carbine was on safe.

Feeling a tickle of unease at the unexplained change in what she had been carrying, she nevertheless continued her self-check. The leather shoulder bag she had picked up in the elf world was still slung cross-body on her. Peeking inside, she found the rifle mags, pistol mags, and various items from the elf world - like her gold coins, precious stones and jewelry she had accumulated over the time in the elf world - were all there, but not the grenades, C4, detonators, night vision goggles or other tech items she had found over the course of her first elf-hunting stint. I had G-36 mags in here, along with my combat kit, but now those mags are gone, in their place are the mags for the M-4, and the rest of the stuff is gone. What would cause that? I left this carbine and the mags for it on Mike. Where is my Mike…? No, focus, Rit-chan! she once more ordered herself harshly.

Pushing the questions aside for the moment, she checked her gun belt, discovering that the pistol she had first had was missing, though the USP she had liberated from NERV was in her holster. The sheath knife was present and the one she had first found in the elf world. Frowning, she touched her head, verifying her hair was still in her preferred arched pony-tail with a blue ribbon holding it in place before she looked down, seeing her worn-out sneakers on her feet. Ritsuko ran her hands over her body quickly, but everything felt normal.

“Airi? Junpei? Mike? Celsia?” she called again, though not as loud as she could have. Her memories of the other Japan were still fresh, even after a year and a half since her return to the elf world as the other Japan teetered on the brink of annihilation. Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Hikari, please have won, she silently begged as she had so many times since that day she had abandoned them.

Sucking in a deep breath, she smelled the almost-forgotten smells of a modern city. Exhaling, she looked around. She didn't see any sign of her friends anywhere. Once again, she fought to control her emotions as they wanted to run wild in a hundred different directions. Her hand slipped into her school bag, pulling out her cell phone. Trying to power it up had only given her a battery level warning message. I know it had a pretty good charge in it before the spell, thought Ritsuko. Shaking her head, she dismissed the question of what might have happened as something for later.

Straightening, she slowly began to walk toward where she suspected a street was, looking around as she did so. This seems sort of familiar, she mused. Reaching the corner of a building, she peeked around the corner, scanning the area. The sun was nearly set, even though it had been mid-morning when the spell was cast. In the fading natural light and the brightening artificial light, she suddenly realized where she was. “I'm at school!” she breathed, starting to sprint toward the front gate before abruptly stopping. “But is it my school?” she breathed, forcing herself to think. Looking around, she was pretty sure that it was her school; or one laid out like she remembered it. Pursing her lips, she turned and swiftly walked toward the main classroom block. I landed behind the field supply building, which is not where I was kidnapped from, so there might have been a problem. Again, she thought. Nearing the building, she glanced to the right, seeing the gate was closed and locked. This late, it makes sense. No biggie - I can climb over the fence easily enough, she thought, smiling. Reaching the building, she slipped inside, looking around.

It is coming back to me, she thought as her feet guided her to a shoe locker. Glancing in the locker, she spotted a pair of shoes. Reaching for them, she paused, frowning. Closing the locker, she moved over to a low end-row and quickly grabbed a pair of guest shoes. With her foot-gear changed, she moved along the hall, toward the second-year floor. As she reached the second floor, she hear footsteps in the hall, and her instincts had her ducking back and around into the cover of the stairwell. Why am I hiding? part of her started to ask before she realized she was holding the carbine in low-ready. Memories of the other Japan returned again. Ritsuko hunched a bit deeper into cover, finger resting on the trigger guard of the rifle.

From the second year hall, she heard the measured steps pause a time or two, hearing the sound of classroom doors being opened then shut. Wasn't there a janitor or night guard? she wondered. I should remember if there was, shouldn't I? she worried. But then, it has been four years; and they have been very hard years, she reasoned, grimacing a little. From her hiding spot, she saw a male pass the head of the stairs, wearing a dress shirt, a suit jacket over his shoulder as he ambled along. Ritsuko weighed her choices. As she was weighing the pros and cons of various choices, the speakers in the school chimed for the time. Glancing at her worn watch, she realized it was way out of sync. Figures, she thought fleetingly.

Discretion being the better part of valor, she remained in cover until the footsteps vanished. Moving up the stairs as if she were invading an enemy base, she was surprised when the lights went out, leaving her in mostly-darkness. They are locking up for the night, it occurred to her. She hurried a bit more, her support hand reaching into her bag and feeling for the small flashlight she carried. Finding it, she looked and listened before clicking it on briefly to check the bulletin board. The school ranking were posted there, and she figured it would be easy to find out if this was really her school or not.

“Hello? Who's there?” she heard a voice call. Ritsuko immediately killed the light and dashed down the hall as quietly as she could. Behind her, she heard footsteps on the stairs she had been on. Reaching the next to last classroom, she slid the door open, slipped in and closed the door, immediately moving to the window and opening it. Looking out the window, she confirmed the walkway was there before she hurriedly maneuvered through the window, easing herself down to stand on the metal roof of the covered walkway that lead to the gym. Using a hand to close the window, she ducked down as the hall lights came back on. Stepping quickly, she moved to the edge, glanced over to verify she was clear, then lightly jumped off the roof, tucking into a roll as she landed and immediately coming up and sprinting for the gym.

Instead of going for the door, she circled to the back, finding the window she remembered even as she pulled her sheath knife free and swiftly but carefully defeated the simple latch. Sheathing her blade, she settled her gear before grabbing the frame and vaulting into the room. Landing in the empty room, she eased the window closed again, listening.

Ritsuko was feeling a little reassured that things were mostly as she remembered. Moving through the girl's locker room, she found herself in front of a locker. Taking a breath, she clicked on her small light, half-covering it with her hand as she worked the combination lock. It clicked open, Ritsuko holding her breath as she opened the door. In the locker, she spotted two field uniforms, a school swimsuit, field cleats, sneakers for the gym and a couple of sports bras and panties along with the clean towel and bath basket. Swallowing roughly, she checked the tag on the bath kit. A strangled sound came from her as she saw the name written there: Inoue R.

Her hand came up to her mouth as she nearly staggered back to brush against the row of lockers. I…I might be home, she thought in a daze. A moment later, she shook her head. “Not conclusive proof,” she murmured harshly. She had been screwed over too often the last four years to allow herself to be unrealistically optimistic. Sucking in a deep breath, she once more forced herself to think.

Ok, so at this point, there are indications that I am either back in my world, or one very similar. So, first things first, I need to recon to see if this is my world. To do that, I need gather info. Assuming this is my world, walking around with a carbine and pistol belt would get a lot of attention. Could I claim they were air soft or for cosplay? Maybe, but if the police ask to inspect them, that would be a problem. Ok, so they need to be either stashed or concealed well. What do I have to work with? she wondered.

Realizing she was still not clear, she snuffed her light, and once her eyes were adjusted to the low light provided by the emergency exit sign, she slipped out of the locker room and ghosted to the main entry, where there were some windows that looked over the classroom block. Looking at the second floor, she saw the lights were back out. Carefully, she checked as much of the building and grounds as she could before deciding to give it a bit more time. Moving inside the gym, she went to the bathroom.

Done with the pit-stop, she once more checked for any sign of lingering staff, guards or students. Again not finding any, she moved back to the locker room. Her locker was still open. Positioning her light on the top shelf, facing the back, she used a sports bra to position it so only a small amount of light was released, and began to formulate a plan.

Half an hour later, Ritsuko clicked off her small light, closed and locked her locker and picked up her school bag and shoulder pack, which now sported a rolled up towel sticking out of the edge of where the flap cover closed the bag. It looked a lot like how many sports club members transported gear. If one didn't look too closely, it gave off a very tennis-racket-handle impression. Guess it is for the best that I ended up with the M-4, since it can separate into two pieces. Even better is that this one doesn't have an A2 front sight, mused the red-head as she checked one more time before exiting the window again, her sneakers on her feet and the guest house shoes tossed in the corner of the locker room near where lost-and-found stuff ended up.

Ritsuko landed silently on the grass, slid the window more or less shut and then strode toward the corner near the front gate. It surprised her how easy it was to climb over the wall, swing herself over and drop lightly to the street. As she straightened from her landing and turned to walk off, she saw an elementary student staring at her, open-mouthed. Ritsuko smiled at him, gesturing for silence. “Shh. Don't tell anyone, little brother,” she said, ruffling his hair as she breezed past him. Even if he did, he had no way to know her name, and her uniform matched the school, so really, what was the problem?

Memories that had been fading steadily returned as she moved toward what she sincerely hoped was her home. Forcing herself not to think about what she would do if it wasn't, she focused on her optimistic prayer that this really was her world. Before she knew it, she was nearly running along the streets. It wasn't until she was entering the train station that it occurred to her that she might not have a way of paying the fare. Checking her hurried pace, she dug in her school bag, find her worse-for-wear student notebook where she kept her rail pass. “Shit, what is the date?” she muttered, seeing the expiration date on the card. Is four years in other dimensions the same as four years here? she wondered.

Never one for needless subtly nor for hesitation, she all but grabbed the nearest person and asked them rather politely given her mental and emotional condition right then what the time and date was. The guy - a college-age or close young man - gave her a strange look, but checked his smart phone and told her. She thanked him, quickly setting her battered watch, glad it was an old wind-up type with the window. For a moment, she tried to remember exactly when she had been kidnapped, but couldn't be sure of the exact date any more. Too much has happened since, part of her thought. But, I don't think too much time has gone by, if my rail pass is still valid, she thought happily, hurrying into the station, swiping her pass and smiling as the guards retracted. Hurrying to the right platform, she glanced at the train schedule.

“Last train, but I would run home if I had to,” she murmured to herself. Six minutes later, she was on the busy early-evening train. Four years of elf-world madness made the normal Tokyo train experience feel nearly alien to her. Ritsuko forcefully pushed those thoughts and emotions aside. Rusty from time away from this world, she was caught off guard when a hand cupped her ass. Ritsuko jerked, turning her body to spot who was stupid enough to grope her. She was pretty well bracketed, but neither of the two men behind her were responsible, as they had both hands up, one on the ring, the other just raised. Ritsuko's sharp eyes caught a hand disappearing between the two men.

“Do that again and I will tear your arm off and beat you stupid with it, perv,” she snarled tightly, spotting the guy behind and slightly to the side of the two men immediately behind her. The man recoiled as if she had pulled her gun on him. Ritsuko glared harder, growling a little. The man tried to scramble further away from her. With a final warning sneer, Ritsuko turned her attention back to the train's progress. The two men directly behind her were sweating a little. Minutes later, the train arrived and she stepped off, striding away without a backward glance. She had been out of sight for about a minute when a female police officer working the station was alerted to a suspected groper having a medical issue in the car. She found the suspect on the floor of the car, exhibiting signs of a heart attack. After she had gotten him off to the hospital for treatment before questioning, she began to look at the camera footage to see if she could figure out what had happened to him.

Ritsuko started jogging when she was half way home. The last block she flat-out sprinted, getting curious looks from those she roared past; not that she even spared them a thought. Nearly skidding to a stop, she was breathing hard as she faced the modest gate to her home, but it had nothing to do with her run. Seeing a slight tremble in her hand, she made a fist a couple of times before pulling out her tarnished, worn key and letting herself inside the walled yard area. Glancing to the side, she saw her mom's car in its spot. Her heartrate doubled instantly. The young woman forced herself to do a quick breathing exercise before stepping to the front door. Licking her lips, she slid her key into the lock, and slowly turned it, half expecting it to not work.

The door lock clicked open. Fighting off an attack of nerves, Ritsuko opened the door. “Mom,” she nearly breathed, hating how weak and uncertain she sounded. Her vision was slightly blurry, so she hurriedly brushed the back of her hand over her eyes. “I'm home,” she called out a bit louder.

“Hello?” came a voice from the living room. Ritsuko made a strangled sound, dumping her bags and ignoring her shoes still being on as she nearly leapt to the door to the living room. Seeing a woman just rising from the couch, Ritsuko could no longer control her emotions. “Mama!” she screamed, rushing at the woman and all but tackling her onto the couch.

“Ugh!” grunted the woman, caught off guard by the sudden attack. “Wha…Rit-chan?” she managed, half-sprawled on the couch, wrapped up in a nearly-bruising hug.

“Mama,” Ritsuko all but sobbed, hugging her tightly, tears soaking her blouse. Eri Inoue knew instinctively that this was her daughter, and she obviously needed her. Wrapping her arms around her daughter, she hugged her back, making soothing sounds as she rubbed her back and sides. For nearly fifteen minutes, there were no words between them. Gradually Ritsuko eased her hug, her tears slowing, then tapering to nothing.

“I…I'm finally back, mama,” managed Ritsuko.

“Welcome home, sweetie,” smiled Eri, giving the top of her daughter's head a kiss on instinct. “Where have you been? We were so worried about you,” she said gently. To her surprise, her daughter gave a nearly-insane giggle.

“If I told you, you would have me committed to the nearest nut-house,” she said. Eri frowned a little as she considered that.

“Perhaps, but I still want to know where you have been. Mothers are like that,” she replied instead, getting a more-normal giggle from her daughter, who slowly eased back from her, but never let go of her.

As Ritsuko straightened up to sit normally on the couch, Eri gave her an intense visual inspection. She is taller now. And she's pretty toned and cut, too, Eri cataloged, one hand absently caressing Ritsuko's still-wet cheek. Where did that scar come from? And why does her uniform look so worn-out? the mother continued her inspection.

“Mom,” managed Ritsuko, swallowing roughly, “how long have I been gone?” she asked the big question right away.

Her mother studied her for a moment. “Just over three weeks, Ritsuko,” she said. “We contacted the police after no one had heard from you in a week. Your friends were very worried. They said you were with them one sec, and the next you were gone without a trace. Sweetie, what happened to you? Where have you been all this time?” her mother asked.

“I…it's complicated, mom,” Ritsuko said. Eri caught a full-body shiver from her daughter. “The things I have seen…done…mom, I don't know I can tell you,” admitted Ritsuko, starting to tremble. Eri immediately hugged her daughter back to her tightly.

“You can tell me anything, sweetie, you know that,” she gently admonished Ritsuko.

“You won't believe me,” Ritsuko said, sounding desperate.

“Try me, Rit-chan,” Eri replied firmly. “I will always be on your side,” she added, her tone allowing no doubt whatsoever.

It took Ritsuko several minutes to get herself under control again. “If you are sure,” she swallowed. “Gotta get something; and some water,” she added, slowly rising and moving toward the front door. Eri stood as well, her hand not leaving Ritsuko's hand as she followed her daughter to the front door - which was still open - and watched as Ritsuko kicked off her sneakers before grabbing two bags - one her school bag and another one Eri didn't recognize. Her sneakers are practically worn to pieces, and her school bag looks like it has been in a war zone for years. What is going on? Eri wondered, her eyes noticing details. My Rit-chan is thinner, and there are more scars on her, but she has only been gone a few weeks. As Ritsuko straightened up with the bags, Eri realized her daughter's hair was a good ten centimeters longer; and in need of a trim.

Still holding her mother's hand, Ritsuko dumped the two bags on the couch before stepping into the kitchen and grabbing a big glass. Filling it with water, she drained it completely before refilling it and moving back to the living room. Eri fished up her phone and texted her husband one-handed as she would not release Ritsuko's hand for anything. The text was terse, short and to the point.

Emergency. Home now.

Not bothering to see if she got a reply, Eri focused on her daughter. Sitting on the couch, Ritsuko slowly seemed to lose strength, ending up slumped on the couch, both hands holding her mother's hand. Minutes of silence passed, Eri patiently waiting. “You will think I am crazy,” she murmured at last.

“Tell me anyway, Ritsuko. I will decide if I think you are crazy,” came the crisp answer. Ritsuko hummed softly for a moment, staring at nothing. Eri waited patiently.

“I was pulled into another world,” Ritsuko whispered, studying her mother's face intently. Eri didn't react. “I have spent three years hunting elves, and one year…” she fell silent, shivering again.

“I believe you,” stated Eri calmly, giving her daughter a smile.

Ritsuko blinked. “How could you believe me?” she asked, confused and stunned.

“Many reasons, sweetie,” came the calm answer. “First and foremost, you have never lied to us. For another, you are a good three centimeters taller. Your uniform is thread-bare and you have healed scars you didn't have before. Finally, I know you, my precious Rit-chan, and no matter how unlikely or incredible it sounds, if you said you were taken to a different world, I believe you.”

Eri almost laughed at the expression Ritsuko made, but didn't. Whatever her daughter had endured, it had hit her harder than anything had ever hit her before, and Eri was her mother. Ritsuko was back to hugging her mother tightly and crying a little. She is stronger now than before, confirmed Eri, feeling how tightly her daughter hugged her.

More time passed before Ritsuko released her mother again. Reaching for her glass of water, she took a long, but slow drink from it, trying to organize the chaos in her mind and heart. Before she could start, the door banged open and her dad rushed in.

“Dear, what….?” he began, only to see his daughter sitting next to his wife.

“Rit-chan is home, dear,” Eri said. Ritsuko nearly threw her glass of water aside as she ran at him.

“Dad,” was all she said before she collided with him wrapping him up in a hug.

“Ugh!” grunted her father, trying to catch his balance after the impact. What the heck? Since when is my daughter this strong? he wondered. Eri rose, stepping over to the entry way and closing the door, turning the lock.

“Our Rit-chan was just about to tell us what happened to her, dear,” Eri said, using one hand on Ritsuko's should and one hand on her husband's arm to guide them to the couch. Once the two were seated, Eri paused to pull Ritsuko's cell phone from her bookbag.

“Battery is dead,” Ritsuko said, her mind elsewhere.

“That is what chargers are for, sweetie,” smiled Eri easily, plugging the phone into the charging cord that was kept near the couch. Setting it aside, she sat next to her daughter, pinning Ritsuko between her and her husband. “Now, I believe you were about to tell us what happened to you, no matter how crazy it may sound, yes?” prompted the mother firmly.

Ritsuko picked up her glass of water again, taking another long, slow drink. “So far, dear, I have learned she got pulled into another world and apparently hunted elves. Something else happened during that time, but she hasn't gotten to what yet,” re-capped the mother.

“That is a gross over-simplification,” mumbled Ritsuko, clasping the glass of water.

“Tell us from the beginning, Ritsu,” suggested the father, feeling a knot of dread in his gut. Ritsuko took several deep breaths, trying once more to organize her thoughts and emotions.

“I was coming home from school with the girls, like always, and then I was falling on grassy ground in a strange world, along with two other people and ton of stuff from this world,” began Ritsuko, eyes staring at the glass in her hand, but not seeing anything in the here-and-now. For the next hour, her parents were dead silent, nearly stunned senseless. “With the pieces back together, we decided to try once more to come home. Celsia, Annette and Gabs cast the spell, and then I was back at school, behind the maintenance and field equipment shed. Once I was reasonably sure I was in my world again, I came straight home,” she finished, a shiver running through her.

“That is…wow,” her father managed. Ritsuko gave him a strained, unsteady smile.

“Crazy, right? But I can prove most of it,” she said, reaching for the bag she had the elf world. Pulling out the bag of gold coins, she carelessly scattered them across the coffee table. Producing the M-4 lower, she tapped the NERV markings. From her school bag, she pulled out a pair of worn notebooks, patched and taped, and from one, she pulled out some pictures, also carelessly sprawling them over the table.

“Are those…?” her father breathed, seeing the gold and gems glitter in the light of the room.

“Real? Yes. There are several different kingdom coins in there, but they are mostly gold coins, with a few silvers. That is a diamond, that is a ruby, over there is a nugget of silver, that is another diamond, the neckless is sapphire, emerald, ruby and diamond in gold and silver chase work, the M-4 is NERV issue, obviously, as is the USP. I had a G-36 and PSG-1, but they are probably wherever Mike is. Oh, god, I need to find him…!”

“I am sure he is fine wherever he is, sweetie,” her mother headed her off at the pass, giving her a soothing rub on her back. Ritsuko covered a yawn with a hand. “For now, you need a bath and some sleep. We have more to discuss, but it can wait for morning,” ordered the mother.

“But, I…” began Ritsuko.

“Inoue Ritsuko, you are to take a bath and go to bed,” ordered her mother. “In the morning, we will talk some more.”

Ritsuko looked like she wanted to argue, but then just sighed, nodding as she slowly rose from the couch. As she was about to step into the bathroom, she paused, looking back at her parents. “I…I missed you so much,” she said, her voice unsteady.

“We won't disappear,” her dad assured her. Ritsuko was very obviously relieved to hear that.

“We love you, sweetie,” her mother assured her.

“I love you, too,” Ritsuko said entering the bathroom. The two heard the tub start to fill. The two parents turned to each other, about to speak, when their daughter poked her head back out of the bathroom. “Oh, and please don't touch the guns. I will take care of them when I get out, and they can be dangerous if you don't know how to handle them, ok?” her head disappeared back into the bathroom.

“Ok, sweetie,” came Eri's answer, even as her mother began to go through the two bags. Finding more of the same, Eri picked up the two worn notebooks, swiftly identifying the older one. Cracking it open, she immediately recognized her daughter's handwriting and began to read.

“Dear, what do you think?” asked her husband, having been examining the gold, gems and the M-4 lower.

“I think our girl needs us,” said Eri, eyes never leaving the book. “She got hit hard, several times, but has managed to stand back up every time. I am so proud of her,” Eri said, smiling warmly.

“I meant about the police and school and the rest. We obviously can't tell them what she told us,” he pointed out.

“We will figure it out tomorrow,” Eris said, still avidly reading. Her husband leaned over to look at the notebook.

“What is that?” he asked. His wife glanced at him, turning the book to the side so he couldn't see what was written there.

“It's her diary, dear, so you can't read it,” decreed Eri. Her husband frowned.

“You are reading it,” he argued.

“I am her mother, so it is entirely different,” smirked Eri. “Girls have secrets, dear, and boys are not allowed to know them,” she lilted. Having had this conversation with her before, Ritsuko's father snorted and dismissed the issue. “Take a few days off starting tomorrow,” added Eri. Her husband was already nodding.

“Figured that part out when I got your text,” he said, sending a few more texts before moving to where he kept his laptop. Firing it up, he sent some emails and moved a few files to a company share. With that done, he made two phone calls and spoke with one of his underlings and one of his superiors. “Got three days clear,” he said.

“Good job, dear,” came the distracted reply. Looking over, he saw his wife sending some texts before dialing a number. The conversation was short, focused and pretty intense. “I am taking a week off starting tomorrow,” she said, casually setting her phone aside.

It was not too much later when Ritsuko emerged from the bathroom, a towel around her body and another around her hair. Yawning behind a hand, she moved to the table. Her parents watched silently as she put the M-4 back together with the ease of someone who has done it a lot, made sure it was loaded and ready, then swept all the gold and gems into her pack. Yawning again, she headed for her room.

“Sleep well, Ritsu,” her father called after her. He got a sort-of wave from her.

“If you need anything, just call me, sweetie,” her mother called after her.

Some sort of mumbled response that might have been `ok, mom' was the response. Ritsuko entered her room, leaving her door mostly open. Five minutes later, her mother went to check on her, seeing her daughter sound asleep on her futon, two damp towels on the floor, and not a stitch of clothes on her. Shaking her head, her mother got her tucked into bed, finding Ritsuko had her pistol in her grip and would not release it. Leaving it at that, Eri kissed her forehead before exiting her room, sliding the door mostly closed.

Back at the table, she picked up the notebook again and began to read. The father picked up the photos and began to slowly work through them, studying the pictures carefully. When he finished, he looked over to see his wife glued to the book. Trying to get her attention to ask if she was going to bed, he realized she wasn't going to stop until she had read the entire book. Giving her a kiss on the cheek, he headed to bed, to be rested when dawn came. Eri remained on the couch, reading intently and studying the sketches and doodles closely.

-

Ritsuko opened her eyes, blinking as she looked around. What happened to my tent? And where is Airi? was her first thought. A moment later, as her mind came into focus, she leapt out of her futon, threw the door open and ran to the kitchen. Seeing her mom at the range, fixing breakfast, Ritsuko exhaled in relief, even as she hugged her mom tight. “Not a dream,” Eri heard her daughter murmur even as she hugged her daughter back.

“Good morning, sweetie,” she said as Ritsuko slowly released her. “Breakfast will be ready in a bit, so you should put some clothes on, wash your face and get ready,” ordered the mother. Ritsuko nodded, giving her mom's shoulder one more gentle squeeze before turning back to the bedroom. Eri watched her naked daughter go, frowning at the marks on her body even as she realized her daughter was looking more like an athlete than she had before. Just before Ritsuko reached her room, her father came out of the bathroom.

“Morning, dad,” Ritsuko said, yawning. Pausing for a moment after her yawn, she leaned into him to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Uh, good morning, Ritsu,” he said. His daughter entered her room again, closing the door most of the way. The husband made his way to the kitchen. “Dear,” he began.

“I am not surprised,” Eri cut him off. “After what I read in her diary, it makes sense she would react like that.”

“What do you mean?” her husband asked. “She was just walking around naked,” he muttered, not wanting Ritsuko to hear.

“Her priorities have shifted, yes,” Eri replied calmly. “But it is just family here, and she is still not quite awake. Brew some coffee, would you, dear?” The man of the house did so, still muttering under his breath. His wife just shook her head. “Dear, you have seen her naked before,” she stated.

“Not like that, not in years,” he muttered.

“Don't keep dwelling on it,” suggested his wife. “And don't say anything about it to Ritsuko unless she brings it up first,” added the woman.

“Yes, dear,” he sighed.

The door to Ritsuko's room slid open and their daughter exited the room, a pair of thin silk short shorts on, as well as a tiny top that left her belly bare. A towel was over her shoulder and her small bathroom basket was in her hand. Her father twitched at her clothing choice, but said nothing. Four minutes later, Ritsuko entered the kitchen area again.

“Morning, dad,” she said, giving him a hug before zeroing in on the coffee maker. Pouring herself a cup, she leaned against the counter as she sipped it, standing close to her mother. Her father noticed that her nipples were clearly visible under the shirt.

“Morning, Ritsu,” he replied, swallowing. “I think there is time for you to dress while Eri finishes up breakfast,” he suggested.

“It's already done,” Eri cut in. “Sweetie, help me dish it up.”

“Ok, mom,” Ritsuko agreed easily. In less than two minutes, the family was at the table and ready to eat. For most of the meal, Eri studied her daughter closely while her husband tried hard not to look at his daughter. As Ritsuko was enjoying her second cup of coffee, Eri moved forward with her agenda.

“Sweetie, I read your diaries. Both of them,” she stated, sipping her tea. Ritsuko froze for a moment. Exhaling softly, she looked at her mom.

“And you probably have questions,” stated Ritsuko.

“Naturally,” her mother confirmed. “But I want you to know that I am proud of you, Ritsuko. So is your father,” she added, her husband nodding, even though he had no clear idea of what the two women in his life were talking about.

“I did what I had to,” Ritsuko said, exhaling a little shakily.

“What did you do?” he father asked.

“That isn't important right now, dear,” her mother cut that off. “She can tell us when she is ready.”

“No, mom, it is important,” Ritsuko said, setting her cup down and looking at her dad. “Dad, I have done many things I am not proud of; several of them outright criminal acts in this world and the others. But,” she paused, “it was the only way I could come home, and we all agreed. I…” she paused, shaking her head a bit. “We all made it a point to try to be as efficient as possible, as reasonable as we could, but things still happened. My only regret is that I abandoned friends who needed me.”

Silence fell for over a minute after this flat statement. “If I understand what I read, those friends you feel you abandoned wanted you to leave so you could come home to us. I will never fault you for that, and I think they wouldn't either. Especially that young man you were so enamored with,” Eri said, smiling wickedly at her daughter.

“Young man?” blinked her father. “Ritsu, did you…date someone while you were away?” he asked, his tone tight.

Ritsuko and her mother both couldn't keep from giggling.

“Maybe,” Ritsuko replied, blushing a little.

“Who is this boy?” demanded her father.

“Shinji,” Ritsuko replied, smiling more. “But you would never be able to beat him up, Dad. Not even with an army,” she said, her tone fond, warm and happy. Standing, she stepped over to her bag, finding the pictures and flipping through them before handing him one. “Shinji is the young man between me and the other read-head,” she said, almost smugly. Her father stared at the picture of the young man.

“What is his family name?” he nearly growled.

“Ikari,” said Ritsuko, scowling a little. “Which reminds me,” she muttered to herself.

“That can wait, sweetie,” her mother said, as if she knew what her daughter was thinking. “Right now, we have to make some decisions and take care of a few things,” she said.

“Like what?” Ritsuko asked.

“Like telling the police you are back, for starters,” her mother said. Ritsuko twitched.

“Yeah, that….might be a problem,” admitted Ritsuko.

“How so?” wondered her father.

“Dad, how do you think the police would react if I told them what I told you and mom, about being in a fantasy world and another Japan for four years while only three weeks passed here, about me having real guns, and magic and elves? I'd be lucky to just be locked up in a nut house,” she snorted. “Not that I would blame them; I lived it and still can hardly believe it most time,” she sighed, dropping onto the couch. She frowned.

“We will tell them that I fell in love with a boy and ran off with him, but it fell apart after a few weeks and I came back to my senses,” she said, nodding to herself. “It is plausible and even somewhat true by some definitions,” she mused.

“What? We aren't telling them that, they would think you were some silly little…tart!” her father exclaimed.

Ritsuko gave a humorless laugh. “You wanted to say `slut', didn't you, dad?” she asked, a mirthless smile on her lips.

“No,” he denied, even though that was the word that almost came out.

Ritsuko sipped her coffee. “That might actually work,” she said to herself. “They would think I am sixteen, and if I said I was seduced by Rokubungi Gendo and then dumped after he slept with me, they would likely look for him. Yeah, that could make things a lot quicker,” she said. “If I told them he kidnapped me and raped me…? No, that might be too much to keep straight, and the details would be too easy to mix up,” she mused.

Her father was gaping at her casual plotting. “R…Ritsu,” he protested weakly. His daughter met his gaze, and he shivered. Eri, having read her diaries, knew who and what Gendo was, and how her daughter hated, loathed, despised and reviled him for what he had tried to do.

The sharp hardness in her, the shadows of darkness in her eyes, they were never there before, were they? her mother wondered. She felt pain for what her daughter had been put through, but she had told her the truth - she was proud of her. “Setting that aside for the moment, I want you to come to the doctor's office with me for a full, complete physical, Ritsu,” stated her mother.

Ritsuko frowned. “That's reasonable, I guess,” she allowed. “But let's clear up this police thing first; get that ball rolling,” she said. “Where is my phone?”

“I would prefer if you waited just a bit longer, sweetie,” her mother said. “Dear, clear the table while Rit-chan and I have a talk, will you?”

“If you insist,” he replied, unenthusiastic and somewhat distracted. Ritsuko studied him for a moment before standing back up and stepping over to him, hugging him from behind tightly.

“Dad, I love you,” she said quietly. “But I can't be the girl you remember from three weeks ago any more. I'm sorry that you will not like some of the things you will probably learn about what happened, and I'm sorry that this is likely to be very hard on you, but I can't change what has happened, and part of the reason I survived and came back is because you and mom were waiting for me, and did such a good job raising me to be who I was when I was kidnapped to the other world. Just remember that I love you, and I am glad you were my dad,” she said quietly, her voice shaking a bit.

“You will ALWAYS be my precious daughter,” he replied immediately. “Nothing will change that, I promise Ritsu,” he assured her. She hugged him tighter, making him grunt softly. Did she spend time body-building wherever she was? he wondered just before Ritsuko let go of him and returned to the couch where her mother was waiting, settling close to Eri as her father cleared the table.

“So,” Ritsuko said, flattening a small tremor in her voice, “we need to tell the police I am back, get a physical, I need to contact my friends and find Airi,” she said, grabbing the small notepad she spotted on the coffee table and beginning to jot down lists. Eri smiled a little at the familiar act. She dared to hope most of her daughter was still in the young woman she had become.

“Yes,” began Eri, only to have her husband interrupt.

“Who is this Airi person?” he asked. Ritsuko actually laughed briefly at his time.

“She is not a boy, dad, so you can calm down,” she replied, amused. Eri shared a giggle with her daughter as her husband made some sounds but no words. “You probably already know of her,” Ritsuko said. “Komiyami Airi, Oscar-award winning Hollywood darling, Broadway legend and the finest actress in this world and a few others; though I may be biased after so long with her,” Ritsuko said.

“That Airi?” gaped her father. Ritsuko nodded, once more reaching for the photos. She found one taken in the Zoo - the apartment that Misato and her pilots had shared - and casually tossing it to her dad. “She is the one with her hand on my shoulder, though I shouldn't have to tell you that,” Ritsuko said. Her father studied the picture. How did I not see it before? he wondered. “Though, that is a thought,” Ritsuko said, looking around for her phone. “Mom, where is my phone?” she asked.

“I have it,” Eri said calmly. “If you wanted to check to see if there was any news of her vanishing for a few weeks, there wasn't,” Eri said. Ritsuko frowned. “Celebrities do that fairly regularly, and Komiyama-san is more private than many of her peers, so it was not big enough news to be reported on; yet anyway.”

Ritsuko studied her mother for a long moment. “You checked when you read the diaries,” stated Ritsuko. Eri nodded. Ritsuko sighed softly.

“Let's keep on track,” Eri gently steered her daughter back to the matters at hand. “What exactly did you plan to tell the police?” she asked directly. Ritsuko frowned as she considered the question.

“I will tell them I met a guy, fell for his lies, ran off with him on a fling, then - when he got bored with me - I came to my senses and returned home,” she decided.

“And you plan to tell them the guy was named Rokubungi Gendo?” Eri asked.

“Yes,” Ritsuko nearly hissed. If that roach is on this rock, I will step on him before he can try to kill everyone again, she thought furiously.

“Who is this Gendo?” he father asked.

“A psychopath bent on sacrificing the human race to bring back his wife,” snarled Ritsuko, fists clenched. “I will never understand what Yui would see in that demon, nor how he and Shinji could be related!” she muttered angrily.

“He was related to the boy you dated?” her father asked. “And who is Yui?”

“Gendo was the sperm donor and Yui was Shinji's mother. Brilliant scientist, from what I gather, but absolute trash taste in men,” she snorted.

“You seem to like her son just fine,” lilted her mother, giving her daughter a knowing smile. Ritsuko blushed.

“Um, yeah, Shinji was great,” Ritsuko mumbled, breathing a bit fast. Eri saw how flushed Ritsuko was and how her nipples were nearly tearing through the thin top. She still has it this bad even after a year and a half away from him? My little girl really did fall in love hard, thought the mother, recalling how she had felt the first time she fell head-over-heels for a boy. It did cause her some pain to know that her precious daughter still felt she had abandoned the boy she loved and knew she would never see him again. But, she kept the promise she made him, and came home to me. For that, I thank you, Shinji, she thought silently. Glancing at her scowling husband, she could only shake her head slightly. “Back on track,” began Eri.

“We are not saying anything about the guns, and I don't want anything being said that would raise questions. I don't care what they think of me, and if they think I am a romance-addled high school girl, all the better,” Ritsuko said, pushing the memories of Shinji and the rest from her mind for the moment. She could feel how warm she was in her lower belly and knew she would need to get some relief soon.

“Are you sure you shouldn't tell them about the guns?” her father asked.

“Yes. I will likely need them and they are hard to get in Japan,” she said, frowning again, more notes jotted down.

“Sweetie, they are illegal,” Eri prodded her.

“I don't care,” came the flat, firm response. “I will make them look like airsoft, if necessary,” she added casually. “Don't worry,” she added, glancing at her mom, then her dad. “If it becomes a problem, I will take responsibility. As far as anyone will ever know, you two had no idea I had them or any of the other supplies. Fair enough?”

“Ritsu,” began her father slowly.

“It's fine,” Ritsuko said. “After what I have been through, the threat of prison here is a joke,” she grunted. She thought that she heard her dad muttering something about yakuza, but ignored it. “We might as well knock the police task out today,” she added, pushing forward.

“I have asked for an appointment with our doctor for this afternoon, and she has an opening,” Eri said, getting a nod. “So, what about school?” the mother continued.

“Three weeks? I should be able to make up the course work, and can probably get the absences smoothed over,” mused Ritsuko. “My attendance has been excellent and my grades really high, so they shouldn't make too big of a fuss.”

“But do you want to continue going to school?” asked her mother softly. Her dad joined them on the couch as his wife asked their daughter if she wanted to continue school.

“Of course she does,” he said. “She has friends there and there are those colleges offering her scholarships,” he began.

“Good question,” Ritsuko said, pursing her lips.

“Ritsu, what are you thinking? High school is necessary…!” her father began, aghast at the thought his daughter was thinking of dropping out.

“Dad, I am four years older than my friends now,” reminded Ritsuko. “I have not opened a text book in four years, and honestly….my world has changed in ways I can't even describe,” she said softly. “I have lived among elves for three years, for god's sake! School was always something I thought about at different times, but never for the school. It was my friends I thought about. The school in the other Japan was just a holding ground for Children to feed to the Evas, and even then, I only cared about the pilots and my friends. Do I need to bother with school again?” she asked herself, tucking her legs under herself as she tapped the pencil against the note pad.

“Your friends have been gathering up your bulletins and assignments this whole time,” Eri noted.

“Of course they would,” murmured Ritsuko. They are my friends, but how much common ground is left between them and me? she wondered. “This is not a pressing matter for today,” she ultimately decided. “But finding Airi is,” she said.

“Do you have a way of contacting her?” Eri wondered. Ritsuko frowned.

-

“Miss?”

A shaking of her shoulder woke Airi. Her eyes flickered around her. There was a light, then I was here, she recalled. Looking at the person shaking her, she realized he was in a uniform of the private security company that her last studio had hired.

“Yes?” she asked, buying time as she looked around and did a fast self-assessment. I am wearing my costume from the elf world, including the sword, I have my bag with my kit and laptop, and I seem to be back in my world. But, is it really my world this time?

“Sorry to wake you, but this is private property, and you have to leave,” he said. Airi glanced around, catching sight of a building with a number on it. Movie lot, she recalled, remembering the studio after-party she had been leaving when she got snatched.

“Yes, my apologies,” Airi said, rising and giving him a smile. “I was supposed to meet an associate here, but fell asleep. How embarrassing,” she fell into character.

“An associate?” the guard asked. “You work here?” he asked.

“I finished a project here recently and was supposed to catch up with a production assistant about a rumor of a new project from the studio,” Airi said easily.

The guard frowned, then looked closer at her. Airi gave him her professional actress smile. And right about…now, she thought, seeing him jerk and straighten. “My apologies, miss Komiyama! I didn't recognize you in that outfit,” he groped for an excuse for not recognizing the most recognizable actress in recent history.

“Yes, well, that is the point, as I would hate to have rumors of my visit to get out. Some would say I was trying to steal the lead of the new project, which is just not true. I am sure you understand,” she prompted, moving toward the gate to the movie lot.

“Why would you need to steal a role? I cannot imagine the studio not offering it to you, whatever the project may be,” the guard said earnestly.

“That is nice of you to say,” she cooed sweetly, “but I already know I have a reputation among certain segments of the studios, so if you could keep this little visit a secret, that would be so nice of you,” she played him like a fiddle. “Just a secret between us,” she enticed.

“I can do that,” he said. He sort of reminds me of Junpei, Airi thought.

“Thank you, dear,” she said as the two reached the side gate. “Oh, it looks like I forgot my purse,” she sighed. “I don't think I have the money for a cab, either,” she `thought' aloud.

“I can get one of the studio chauffeurs to drive you home, Miss Komiyama,” the guard said.

“You can? Oh, you are my life-saver!” she gushed, leaning over to give him a chaste kiss on the cheek. He nearly swooned. So easy, she thought smugly, giving nothing away on her face. Ten minutes later, she was in the back of a blacked-out SUV being driven to her house. It was a half hour drive in good traffic, but L.A. never had good traffic, so she knew she had some time.

Sitting in the back of the studio car, she organized her thoughts. I believe this is my world, finally, but I need to know how much time has passed. The guard recognized me, and nothing was said about my being absent, so I think not too much time has passed. I don't know if Rit-chan or Junpei made it, so I at least need to try to find Rit-chan, but how? I think she gave me her number, but did her cell phone even survive? I believe I know what ward she lived in, but not her address. Should I hire a private detective to find her, or just fly to Japan and wing it?

Wrapped up in her thoughts and building mental to-do lists and prioritizing things, the time it took to be driven to her home flew by. Before she knew it, she was stepping out of the car, and being greeted by the guard at her main gate. It took her two full seconds to remember his name and greet him as he opened the smaller foot gate. Airi breezed by him with a wave, moving to her house quickly.

Reaching the gate, she found her maid waiting by the open front door. “Welcome back, miss Airi,” the woman greeted her.

“Thank you,” Airi said.

“May I take your bags?” asked the maid.

“No, I have them,” said Airi, not willing to part with the laptop in her bag for any reason. “Are there any messages?” she asked.

“Several hundred,” the maid replied. Airi thought she might have caught a trace of irritation in the maid's voice. “You have been away for over three weeks, miss Airi,” explained the maid.

“Yes, I was researching a potential role,” Airi said. “Have there been any messages from a woman named Ritsuko? Probably by phone, likely from Japan?” Airi asked.

“No such message has been received, miss,” the maid answered. “Your mail is on your desk,” she added. Sighing softly, Airi detoured to her office - such as it was - and found that as she had feared, there were likely a hundred letters stacked and organized. You know what? To hell with this for tonight, she decided.

“Bring me a bottle of red wine from my reserve, a light snack tray and then call the spa, my stylist and my doctor. I need appointments with them as fast as possible,” she said, exiting her office and heading for the patio behind her house. While a nice mansion, it was not needlessly over-large, as Airi did not do much entertaining and valued her privacy more than most of her fellow entertainers.

“Yes, miss,” confirmed the maid. Airi settled in one of the outdoor chairs, glad of the mild weather. Touching some controls near the arm of her chair, she lit the fire pit, turned on the carefully-arranged lamps near her chair and started the soft background music she liked when relaxing on her patio. Pulling the laptop from the bag, she let the bag slip down to the pavers. Briefly, her fingers traced over the embossed blood-red bisected fig leaf, her lips thinning a little.

Opening the laptop, she powered it up and logged in. After a few minutes, the maid dropped off a large silver tray with the light snacks and red wine on it before departing. Airi confirmed her script was there, and all the stolen data and info was intact. On a whim, she tried connecting the laptop to her internet connection. To her mild surprise, the laptop connected. I suppose I should be glad that without the MAGI, this is not too dangerous, she thought idly, pouring herself some wine and sipping before reaching for the snacks.

By the time she had finished the light snacks and a glass of wine, she was ready to get some rest. Tomorrow would be a busy day for her, as would the many to come after it.

-

Airi woke just as the sun broke the horizon, sitting up in her bed. She looked around, sighing softly. “I think I miss seeing Rit-chan in the mornings,” she muttered to herself, getting out of bed. The upper-thigh-length silk robe did little to hide anything. Covering a yawn with one hand, she paused, seeing herself in the full-length mirror beside the door to her rather large walk-in closet. Critically, she studied herself as she slowly turned side to side. Could be worse, Airi, she told herself about what she saw, entering the bathroom.

A half hour later, she exited the bathroom, towel drying her hair, and entered her closet. Twenty minutes later she exited her closet, dressed in a simple yet nice dress that was half-way between casual and half way between nice. Her shoes were flats and she had a small purse and a floppy hat in one hand. Exiting her bedroom, she moved to the kitchen, finding her maid was already fixing a basic breakfast, coffee ready for her.

“Morning, miss,” her maid greeted her. “You have a nine am appointment with your stylist, your doctor opened up a noon slot, and the spa is booked for three pm. I presume you wanted the full treatment?”

“Yes, excellent work, and thank you,” Airi nodded, sitting at her breakfast table.

“I contacted your normal driver, and he will be here at seven sharp with the usual sedan. Also, your therapist called about your next session,” the maid said, still finishing off the breakfast preparations as she talked.

“Therapist,” sighed Airi. “Phone, please,” she said, holding out her hand. A moment later one of the cordless phones was placed in her palm. Glancing at the screen, she saw the number for her therapist was already entered. She pressed the button to dial, and a moment later, she was talking to the secretary of her therapist. “This is Airi Komiyama. I just wanted to call to let you know that I will not be needing any further sessions. Yes, that is correct. Please be sure to thank him for his time, but I believe my issues have been resolved. I understand, but I am quite sure. Yes, you as well. Good day,” Airi ended the call, setting the phone aside.

“Your breakfast, miss,” the maid said, placing a plate, glass and saucer before her.

“Thank you, Rosita,” she thanked the maid.

“It is my job, miss,” the maid said simply.

“Nevertheless, thank you,” Airi said. “I have recently had the opportunity to see myself in a mirror of sorts, and some of the things I saw I did not care for, so I am going to change those parts of me. One of them is to be a better person; and a better employer,” she smiled to herself.

“Is the miss feeling ok?” asked the maid, sounding a little suspicious. Airi laughed lightly.

“I am,” she confirmed. “Please note that I said be a better person, not a nicer person,” she pointed out easily. “I assure you, Airi Komiyama is no less a bitch now than before; might even be more of a bitch in fact,” she nearly purred. “But that does not mean I cannot be a better person and employer,” she added, her tone back to introspective.

“I…see,” her Hispanic maid replied, sounding confused and a bit suspicious. Airi just smiled and started to eat her breakfast.

Between bites, Airi asked to be brought up to speed on what had happened while she was away. The rest of her breakfast was filled with Rosita bringing her up to speed on everything. Four times, her phone rang, and Rosita had to pause to answer it. The very first call had been an agent wanting to pitch a project to her. She had signaled Rosita to say she was not available, and the maid had smoothly taken a note while refilling Airi's coffee. Another call had been from a producer she had worked with when she was just getting started in Hollywood and was desperate enough to take less than appealing roles, who wanted to have her reprise one of those roles in a reboot. Airi knew the movie had bombed hard, and been panned even harder by critics - excepting her role, which most critics had said was the only thing worth watching the dumpster fire for - so she knew the producer must be very desperate. She had personally told him she would never reprise that role in any measure and wished him a good day before hanging up on the desperate man.

Rosita had seemed relieved to see Airi being a bitch for some reason.

When she was done with breakfast, she had headed to the study with the last of her coffee, positioned her shredder, and attacked the mountain of letters and other items on her desk. Since she had long since learned to have an accountant handle getting her bills paid and finances in order, she only had to deal with some minor items in the mountain. It surprised her how much of what she had been doing before now no longer interested her in any way. Many calls and emails were made, canceling things, declining other offers, ending services and subscriptions.

With her desk more or less clear, she gave her accountant a call, and quickly verified that all was well there, with her personal worth having grown steadily as always. She had made a few changes to things she had set up, re-adjusting her spending habits and having the accountant make changes accordingly. The accountant had seemed a little puzzled by the abrupt changes and the nature of the changes, but she was a celebrity, and the accountant had several celebrity clients, so they just rolled with the punches. They were glad, however, that at least one of their clients had some sort of fiscal responsibility.

With that done, she was just in time to walk out the front door as the car and her personal driver pulled up. Climbing into the back, she had gestured, sure that her reliable maid had already given the driver the itinerary. The sedan was tinted, but otherwise not remarkable. Even so, Airi had habitually lay down on the rear seat as they approached the gate and only sat back up after they were a couple of blocks away. As usual, her driver was not one for small talk, which she appreciated.

Her stylist, however, was one for talk, and the man gossiped with her and tried to learn how her hair had gotten into such a state in just three weeks. Airi had artfully dodged any real answers, and played verbal checkers with him while he restored her preferred look to perfection. Thanking him, she had exited the salon and found the driver just stopping in front of her, the rear door being opened by him so she could slide right in without breaking step. The car was pulling away even as she reached for her seatbelt.

She had been early to her doctor's office, but hadn't minded sitting in the semi-private waiting room for a bit, busy with her phone. She was called into the doctor's office twenty minutes early. Her personal doctor had blinked when Airi told her she wanted a full physical including blood work, but had done as requested. Again, Airi had refused to say why she wanted the testing, hinting it was in preparation for a new project. As a Hollywood doctor - if not a private one - the woman didn't bother to dig too deep, pulling the necessary samples and examining Airi carefully.

After the exam and the recommendations from her doctor, Airi had headed back outside, finding that once again, her driver was just stopping. She hurried to the car and they were off, heading for the spa. The spa was a member-only spa that Airi had developed a preference for after being introduced to it by a fellow actress years before. It was extremely exclusive, and very expensive, but provided the very best services. Airi had been booked for the full package, and that was a three hour process. Among the things she got was a whole-body skin treatment, deep massage, pedicure and manicure, hydrotherapy, sauna, massage, wax and trim, oil massage, yoga time and chiropractic work.

Feeling better than she had in years, she had her driver head home, arriving only an hour or so before sundown. Entering her house, she had changed into a robe and headed back out to the patio. Firing up the NERV laptop, she had made a copy of her script and moved it to a share on her home network. With that done, she had sent a few emails, and made a couple of calls to people she knew. She had been a little coy with the two she called, saying she had a project she was interested in, and wanted to see what they thought of a small sample. Being who she was, they had immediately said they would be happy to take a look. She had sent them a synopsis and the script, reminding them that they were under NDA and the script was her property, though she never quite got around to telling them she had written it as well.

With that ball rolling, she had turned her attention to her biggest concern. After some research and a few more calls, she had hired a private investigator with an excellent reputation for both success and discretion, given him all the info she had and had him start looking for Ritsuko and Junpei. As the last of the sun set behind the horizon, her maid had dropped off the bottle of wine and a small snack tray for her before asking if there was anything else. Airi had told her she was done for the day, and Rosita had wished her a good day, leaving her in her back yard, glass of wine in her hand.

“I miss Rit-chan,” Airi sighed a half hour later before getting up and heading for her den, where she decided she would watch a bit of TV before going to bed.

-

Junpei sighed. “This sucks,” he muttered.

“What sucks?” asked a voice. Junpei turned to see one of his fellow laborers beside him. “You got a three week vacation, ya bum!”

“I told you, it wasn't a vacation,” Junpei said. “I got hijacked to some fantasy world with elves, then to another Japan, then back to the elf world before finding my way back here. I finally got to meet Miss Airi, and that was sweet, and I guess that Ritsuko was pretty cool to run with, but the fantasy world didn't even know what curry was, the food tasted weird and worst of all, they were geocentric idiots!”

“Yeah, yeah,” his co-worker waved him off. Everyone he had talked to when he reappeared after three weeks without a peep had either decided he was even more reality-impaired than he had been before or was a very poor liar trying to cover up whatever he had been doing. But, one of the advantages of having your father run the construction company was that he wasn't fired, and he still had a means of income. Junpei had been a bit curious to be introduced to a brother his age who he had never met before, but none of that concerned him. He had to find a way back to Miss Airi, who he was sure was desperately waiting for him.

But, he had to eat, so he had to work. And there were some new dojos around who hadn't heard of him and who claimed to have invincible art styles, so he had to see if they were invincible or not. So, here he was, working on the job site in Nagoya again, like the last four years had not happened.

“The least you could have done is get some souvenirs for us, or pictures of the elf chicks,” his co-worker added, finishing up his meal. “Anyway, time to get back to it, Junpei,” he said.

Junpei finished the last two bites of his curry bento and rose, returning to the job site. He could at least forget his woes for a while as he worked.

-

“It is obvious you spent time with a famous actress,” Eri said as the two exited the police station, having just finished up their statement to close the missing person report that had been opened on Ritsuko after her disappearance.

“What do you mean, mom?” Ritsuko wondered.

“The way you hammed it up for the report, sweetie. If I didn't know better, I would swear you really had fallen for some guy, run off for a few weeks, gotten dumped and run back home like a normal teen,” Eri said. Ritsuko laughed softly.

“So I am not normal? Oh, well, guess I can't argue that. But I am just an amateur; Airi could have told them she was the empress of the moon elves and they would have believed it whole-heartedly. She is unreal, mom, the way she can sell any performance and take on any role,” Ritsuko said.

“Well, now that the police think you are a romance-crazed girl of somewhat poor judgement who is also a little easy, how about we go by the doctor's office?” Eri suggested.

“I am anything but easy, mom,” Ritsuko said quietly, frowning. “But, yes, let's get me checked out,” she said, forcing her tone lighter.

Ritsuko had spent two hours with the family doctor, getting a full physical and lab sets at her mother's insistence. It brought back bad memories of her testing at NERV, though her doctor was much more considerate. Still she bore up under the exam like a trooper, mostly because she wanted to make sure she was in good shape after all she had been put through.

With that done, her parents had taken her to one of her favorite restaurants for a meal. Ritsuko had felt nostalgia at eating there again, and ended up telling them about her run-in with the `dark judge' elf and the `Denny's' in the elf world. Her parents listened intently, though they were obviously missing a lot; her dad more than her mom thanks to her mom reading her diaries. As they were finishing up their desserts, they were interrupted by an indignant voice.

“Ritsuko Inoue! How dare you show back up without calling us?! I am texting the others right now!”

Blinking, Ritsuko turned to see a girl in her school uniform snapping a picture of her and working her phone furiously. It took Ritsuko a couple seconds to place the face and name.

“Saeko, hey,” she said, her emotions roiling at the sight of one of her closest friends. “I was going to hit you all up, once I got some things taken care of…” she began.

“Silence! You have been found guilty of making your friends worry and not contacting us immediately! You are hereby sentenced to interrogation, bullying for your crimes and reparations in the form of souvenirs!” decreed Saeko. Ritsuko laughed softly, shaking her head.

“You haven't changed a bit, Saeko,” she said fondly. Saeko looked at her friend more closely.

“It was three weeks. Did you think I would change that much?” she wondered. “And are you taller, Ritsu?”

Ritsuko slid out of the small booth, standing in front of Saeko before hugging her tightly. “Probably,” Ritsuko said, releasing her friend a long moment later. Saeko was frowning a bit more, her hands poking at Ritsuko's waist.

“And when did you start body building, girl?” wondered her friend.

“I didn't,” Ritsuko said, patting Saeko's head. “It is a long story, and this is not the place for it,” she said, her tone making Saeko frown.

“What happened, Rit-chan?” she asked, her phone chirping.

“A lot,” sighed Ritsuko, seeing Saeko busy with her phone, pausing only to snap another picture of Ritsuko.

“Hmm, the others think you might be a fake. They could be right. What was the last song you sang when we all karaoke last time?” demanded her school friend.

“Geez, you would ask that,” snorted Ritsuko. “Let's see…I think it was `Enter Mission'?” Ritsuko tried to recall. “It has been a long time since then,” she muttered, seeing from Saeko's face she had not been correct.

“Three weeks?” challenged Saeko, thumbs busy again.

“Three weeks and four years, Saeko,” Ritsuko said, sighing. “Listen, this isn't the time for this conversation,” she said, seeing her parents watching her as well as a couple of other customers. “Let's meet up this evening. Let the others know, maybe eight tonight?”

Saeko was studying Ritsuko's face intently. “Where?” she asked.

“Our place,” Eri cut in smoothly. Ritsuko nodded.

“My place,” Ritsuko confirmed to Saeko.

“Sleep-over at Ritsuko's, got it,” said Saeko, working her phone. Moments later, chirps came from it. “Ok, everyone is onboard. Tonight at eight at your place. Expect hell!” declared the school girl ominously before making her exit. Ritsuko shook her head slightly.

“Been there, done that, Saeko,” she muttered, taking her purse when her mother offered it.

“Well, I believe a bit of shopping is in order, since we now have a sleepover at our place,” Eri smiled at her daughter. Ritsuko snorted.

“Funny how that happens,” she replied dryly as they exited the restaurant.

“So, how much of what are you going to tell them?” Eri asked her daughter.

“I honestly don't know, Mom,” admitted Ritsuko. “Maybe as much as they can handle of the lighter stuff,” she mused aloud.

“You aren't going to tell them about Shinji?” giggled her mom. Her father frowned at the mention of the boy he suspected had deflowered his daughter. “I believe that is the lightest of the stuff, is it not?”

Ritsuko blushed. “M…maybe,” she managed. “Anyway, let's get the shopping done and get back. They will probably be early and rowdy,” she said, a bit forcefully.

“Of course, sweetie,” Eri smiled serenely.

Just over two hours later, they were home, all of them carrying bags of one type or another. Ritsuko had replaced a lot of her clothes, as she found her old ones were a bit tight and small on her now by and large. Bras and panties were the main thing she had replaced, but also tops, skirts, dresses, shorts, jeans and tee-shirts. She and her mother had had a good time shopping, and the two had burnt through a significant amount of money even before they had hit the store for some snacks and groceries for the sleepover.

Getting everything put away, Ritsuko had seen her dad reviewing the receipts. “I should have thought of that earlier,” she sighed, getting his attention.

“Of what, Ritsu?” he asked her.

“Of how much money we blew. In the other worlds, it was never really a problem; well after we decided to be more creative with how we got money in the elf world. The other Japan was on NERV's dime, so I tried to spend as much as I could, just to fuck with the bastard,” she nearly growled.

Her father blinked at her cursing.

“Anyway, I have a lot of gold and diamonds, but there isn't a good way to change them to yen without getting asked a lot of questions or going through the black market. But, I will figure out something and pay you back, Dad,” she promised, giving him a soft smile.

“Don't worry about it, Ritsu,” he assured her, stepping over to her and giving her a hug, “we are hardly poor, and it has been a long time since you bought normal things,” he smiled at her. Ritsuko had to laugh at that.

“True,” she admitted. “But I learned to support myself and the importance of being self-reliant while I was…away. Working at Elf Burger really drove that home,” she snorted sourly.

“Elf Burger?” her father wondered.

“Think McD's but in a world with elves and magic,” answered Ritsuko, her tone curled and sour. “I finally understand how people who work in fast food places can just snap,” she added.

“I take it you decided to find better work opportunities,” interjected Eri.

Ritsuko glanced away. “We found a way to get the funds we needed for operations,” was her evasive answer. Her father, remembering the words she had said before, felt a bit uneasy.

“Ritsu, you didn't become a bank robber or criminal, did you?” he asked.

Ritsuko sighed softly. “Depends on who you ask,” she was all she said. “I'm going to say it didn't involve sleezy or hentai work. It really doesn't matter beyond that,” she said quietly, scowling to herself a little.

“Dear, please make sure the extra futons are clean,” Eri said to her husband, the man nodding.

“Uh, right, Darling,” he said, almost glad to be done with the uncomfortable conversation with his daughter. As he left, Eri stepped over to her daughter and rubbed her back.

“You don't have to force yourself, sweetie. And even if it were sleezy or hentai, all that matters to us is that you made it back to us in one piece,” she said.

“I know, Mom, but…it is going to take a while to shake the last four years off,” Ritsuko said, patting her mom's arm. “I will be ok,” she said, more to herself than to her mom.

“I know you will be, sweetie. We will always be here for you,” she added. Ritsuko hugged her mom briefly.

“Let me give you a hand,” she said, heading for the kitchen. It was barely a half hour later when the doorbell rang. Ritsuko opened the door to see all five of her group waiting, small overnight bags in hand, all of them giving her the stink-eye.

Ritsuko sighed, seeing they were a half-hour early. “Come on in,” she said, stepping aside. “Let's just get this over with,” she added sourly.

“This will be a long interrogation,” promised Yuki, tossing her long black hair.

“And expect a lot of bullying for such a dick move, girl,” added Masumi.

“This will cost you so many souvenirs,” promised Kaede.

“Uh huh,” Ritsuko replied. “How about I give you each a gold coin and we call it even?” she suggested blandly.

“Well, I guess gold is acceptable,” Saeko said, the others nodding. Ritsuko's smile turned positively evil.

“Excellent, we are agreed,” she began.

“Sweetie, none of that,” Eri said, shaking her head. Ritsuko's friends looked between the mother and daughter.

“They already agreed, mom,” Ritsuko denied the subtle objection.

“You were serious?” wondered Atsuko. “How did you get gold coins?” she asked.

“Long story,” Ritsuko said, closing the door behind the last of them.

It was past midnight, and the five girls were unable to sleep, listening to Ritsuko's soft, steady breathing as the red-head slept easily, surrounded by her friends. After the supper Eri had prepared, they had demanded answers. Ritsuko had given them an edited version, but had not been coy about what she had shared. Naturally, the girls had challenged her. Her giving them each a gold coin, showing them the pictures and some video clips she had taken with her phone as well as the diaries had shut them up; and shaken them up a bit as they were confronted with her healed scars, growth, other evidence that their friend was not insane or lying.

Of course, sharing her photos, videos and diaries had let to another issue. Seeing several pictures with Ritsuko and Shinji in them, it had taken her friends about one minute to notice something. “Hey, guys, look at how our Ritsuko is hanging all over this guy,” Atsuko said. The others were instantly focused on that.

“I am not hanging all over him,” protested Ritsuko.

“Yeah, you are. She's never been like that with guys before,” Yuki confirmed.

“Look at her expression, she practically drooling!” giggled Masumi.

“Oh my god! I think she fell for this guy!” Kaede squealed. Ritsuko felt herself blushing a bit.

“She isn't denying it,” breathed Saeko excitedly. “Tell us about this boy, Ritsuko. Now!” commanded the other girl.

Ritsuko saw her mother watching and listening with a soft smile on her lips. Knowing her friends, she decided to cut this off fast. “He is named Shinji. We dated,” she said simply, trying to ignore the many, many memories of how much more than `dating' they had done.

“Quick, the diaries! Search for anything about a `Shinji' and read it out loud!” commanded Saeko. Ritsuko actually smiled at that, making no move to stop the girls from grabbing her two diaries.

“Knock yourself out, girls,” she said, a touch of smugness tinting her tone. The girls had - until then - only seen pages with Japanese writing and some sketches. Having seized the diaries, they started at the beginning, but quickly found that their friend was a step ahead of them as they ran into German, English and some strange encrypted code. “Feel free to read anything you can read,” Ritsuko smirked at them before going to get some more tea.

“You have grown a mean streak, sweetie,” murmured her mother. She, of course, knew how to decode the encrypted sections. They had been the hardest of all for her learn about, as none of the sections were pleasant. Still, she had read them all a few times to make sure she knew what her daughter had been through. A couple of the sections had made her feel a little nauseous.

“Some things are too personal,” Ritsuko murmured in reply. Eri hummed.

Ritsuko had not told them much of the other Japan, why things had ended how they did or done much more than tell them a little about the group of friends she had made in the other Japan. Her friends had tried all they knew, but nothing worked on her, and they eventually realized they would not get the juicy gossip they wanted so badly that night; if at all. Ritsuko finished telling them what she had decided they were safe knowing, and waited.

Of course there were questions. Many of them she just flatly declined to answer. Others, she did answer. Some she deferred to a later date with conditions on them as well. But one question she had been expecting and dreading came up pretty quick. “What about school? Are you coming back?” asked Saeko quietly.

Ritsuko sighed. “I don't know yet,” she admitted. “It's…”

“I think we get the picture, Ritsuko,” Yuki said. “But even if you are a twenty year old, I think you should finish your high school education,” she smirked a little.

“You fail to understand the core issue,” murmured Ritsuko, staring unseeingly at the ceiling. “And I don't know how to explain it to you, either,” she sighed.

“School no longer fits you, is that it?” Atsuko said. “You have been living like an adult for four years, cut off from all of us and your family. It only makes sense you would be wondering what point there is to wasting more time in school.”

“I guess that is accurate enough,” Ritsuko said. “I also have things I need to do, things to be checked,” she added, the dark malice in her tone making her friends flinch. Eri inhaled softly, hearing that tone.

“You sound incredibly pissed about something, Ritsuko,” Masumi said.

Ritsuko was silent for a long moment. “Some things can never be forgiven,” she nearly growled.

“True,” Eri said firmly. “But would you level the consequences on an innocent person?”

Ritsuko's lips thinned as she bit back a sharp retort. After a heartbeat, she spoke. “If that person is like the other one was there, then they are not innocent,” she stated.

“Who?” began Saeko.

“That does not concern you,” stated Ritsuko flatly. “This is between me and them,” she said, breathing a little hard.

“And Airi, yes?” Eri asked, reminding her daughter of the woman she had spoken so highly of.

Ritsuko blinked, considering that. “Yes, Airi as well,” she admitted. “Need to start on that tomorrow,” she muttered to herself.

“Who is Airi?” asked Masumi.

“You know her,” Ritsuko said, suddenly smiling.

“Um, I don't think we do,” said Saeko, glancing at the others.

“Actually, pretty sure you do,” replied Ritsuko blandly, smiling widely. “In fact, you wouldn't shut up about her latest movie,” hinted the red-head.

“What are…you can't mean Komiyama Airi,” denied Saeko.

“Indeed, the very one,” Risuko said, giggling at their expressions. “How could you not recognize her from the photos?” she heckled them. The other girls nearly fought over the photos again.

“Now that you mention it, that does look like her. That outfit, though….” Atsuko said several minutes later.

“She is an Oscar-winning actress with a mountain of academy awards - she can wear what she wants,” Ritsuko said primly.

“I thought you weren't impressed by her,” accused Saeko.

“I knew she was a good actress,” Ritsuko said. “But after four years with her in an elf world and a different Japan, well, I am impressed beyond all meanings of the word. I wouldn't have made it without her; and, much as I hate to admit it, Junpei and Celsia. Ugh! I just admitted Junpei was useful. I really am at a low point,” she sighed.

The remark had kicked off a tangent and when it wound down, the girls were all sleepy and got arranged for the night. Ritsuko had drifted off to sleep almost immediately, but her friends couldn't because of what they had learned.

-

Airi greeted Rosita as she came down to breakfast. The actress was working her way through the social media accounts she maintained. Unlike most celebrities, she had been very careful to keep her `official' social media accounts focused on her work, and not whatever trend or project or political leanings were running through Hollywood at the moment. She had other accounts under aliases that she used when she needed to either make waves or to interact with her main to get things moving or cool things off.

She usually had scheduled posts on these accounts so that no matter what, posts would be made when her main was silent, to lessen the chance of some stalker spending the endless hours needed to determine that these other accounts went silent when her main did. To further cloud the waters, she had a habit of having the alias accounts wander around - none of them focused on her main account as the primary content. Her other social media stuff was tightly locked down, with only the most benign content ever put on line, to say nothing of shared publicly. Airi Komiyama valued her privacy quite a bit more than her fellow stars, who were somewhere between egotistically-insecure and outright attention whores.

Nearly four weeks of material was taking her a bit to work through, but she had also decided to take a chance that Ritsuko - who she knew was not much for social media - might hit on the idea of checking for Airi's accounts and reaching out in some way.

“Miss, you have two messages this morning,” Rosita said, handing the message pages to her. Airi scanned the messages, discarding one and putting the second by her tablet, which she was using to check her social media shells. She made sure to run both through VPNs so that it looked like one was being used from Australia and another from New England. Her maid began to set out her breakfast.

The house phone rang as Rosita was placing the toast next to Airi's plate. Answering the phone, her maid glanced at Airi, who motioned for the phone, since she had heard the name of the caller. “Airi, I ended up reading that project you sent me last night. I have to say, you are not afraid to take risks these days,” the producer said.

“Oh? I had not been aware I have changed my habits,” Airi replied calmly.

“Don't get me wrong, there is so much to work with in that script it is nearly insane,” her producer friend assured her. “In fact, there could be four or five blockbuster scripts in this thing. Obviously, this is written to be a vehicle for you as the lead, which makes sense, but I have to say I am not finding it easy to picture who could possibly play opposite you and support you in this project as written. I think we should have some script writers work on this, clean up the project, maybe break out the elements that need to be a separate project, and we should have something to pitch to the studios within three months.”

“I am sure we could, but then it would not tell the story I want it to, and this is my personal project,” Airi reminded him. “Also, as I noted before, this an early draft, and I have not yet finalized the ending yet. I shared it to gauge the potential in this.”

“I hear you, Airi,” the producer said, “but let me repeat that this has a ton of potential in it, and with some work, I feel we could be ready to start shooting in six months, a year at the outside, on a major studio budget. But, it does need work. I don't know if we could get a Studio behind this as it sits now. How about I give those screen writers a call and get this moving, Airi?” pressed the man. Airi could easily hear his desperation to get this project locked up in his production studio.

“Tempting,” Airi said, “but I know enough about this business to weigh options carefully. I have another friend looking at it, and I want to see what they think. Also, the studios are already in production on major projects, and I do not want this project to be compromised by lack of time and focus on it from the Studios and directors. Also, as you noted, casting will be a complete bitch for this; excepting the lead, of course,” she lilted.

“Yeah, this is written for you, no doubt,” the producer agreed. “And you do have a point about the directors who are available for new projects right now. All the best ones are very busy with projects. Who did you have in mind for directing?” asked the producer.

“Who it is will be far less important than their skill and vision in this project,” Airi said. “This is a project that will be quite the challenge to shoot as it must be to deliver the story it intends to deliver, and far too often, established directors have narrow fields of vision in projects, having been shaped by past successful projects and by habits in technique and handling.”

“Hmm. That is a thought,” the producer mused. “And that is another reason to break this up into at least three projects, maybe five. There is a lot in this thing, Airi, and frankly, I think this might be beyond the vision of any director currently working. There is also the issue with tone and genre. I thought this was fantasy at first, but then it started heading into action/military, before moving through comedy to hit drama, before heading back into fantasy and then suddenly it was drama, sci-fi and psychological horror. It jumps around a lot, Airi, and I know I don't need to tell you that multi-genre projects are a hard sell because it requires actors and actresses who can pull that off. Frankly, there aren't many with the chops for this project, Airi.”

“I am fully aware, but the story requires the changes to convey the situation the cast is in in this project. Never sure of what is coming, sometimes winning, sometimes losing, always on the lookout for signs of what is coming next, but never getting those signs and having to roll with the hits…there is no way to tell the story as it should be told without this in the plot,” the actress replied before sipping coffee.

Her friend sighed. “I do hear you, Airi, but I think that trying to present this as written will be impossible to sell to the studios. It should be either broken up into smaller projects - maybe a series? - or be re-worked to focus on core elements to preserve audience engagement and immersion. I'm telling you this because you asked for my thoughts, Airi,” he said.

“And I do appreciate your input,” Airi replied smoothly.

“Ok, let's just look at the issues with casting,” sighed the man, knowing that tone of voice. “For example, you have `Jiro' as the male protagonist, but in an almost support role to your character along with the supporting female lead `Ritsuko'. Don't get me started on her,” the man nearly groaned, “'Jiro' starts as a fan-boy martial arts master but has a lot of scenes where they have to be creative, funny and caring in a frat-boy way. Who would you say is a potential fit? For the martial arts, there are several who can do the moves, yes, but their range is too narrow for this project's character. I can think of a couple of actors who can pull off the on-the-fly problem solver stuff believably, but they are weak in the sort of martial arts moves this guy does as his main shtick. And then there are the scenes where he is actually more like a drama or romance lead. Again, not able to think of a single actor who can pull off all of that and make it worthy of being played opposite you. Can you?”

“Actors, no, not really,” Airi replied. “But, there are a couple of people that may be able to pull off the role,” she teased him.

“Really? Do they have names?” asked her producer friend. Airi was sure that he was grabbing for a pen and paper.

“Certainly, but you have never heard of them, as they have not been in any movies or TV spots or commercials or anything. Also, they are not American citizens and at least one of them is not too good with English,” she smirked as she baited him.

“Hong Kong, maybe? Perhaps Korea? China?” he fished.

“Hmm, that will be my secret for now, and I have to see if they can actually bring the character to life,” she toyed with him. “I have someone in mind specifically for the role of Ritsuko, but I have to convince her to try acting,” she added a moment later, feeling gleefully evil.

“You do? She's never acted before, right? And you think this is the project to cut her teeth on? Wow,” the man breathed.

“I have never met anyone who impressed me more in my whole life,” Airi stated with complete honesty. “But, I will have to convince her to try being an actress, so no point in bothering with names right now,” she teased.

“You know that she will have to fight off the competition to get the role, right? Once word gets out that you are looking at a personal project, every agent in Hollywood will be beating down your door to pitch their client, and nearly every actress in your group will want in on it, too, given your track record for producing massive hits. Think she can hold her own against them?” the producer prodded.

“Oh, my friend can hold her own against far worse than that, I can assure you,” came the reply. “But again, this is my project, and I am going to be extremely picky about who plays the roles, as well as who directs and how the script is executed,” warned Airi.

“If that is the case, you may have a very hard time finding a Studio to take on this project with you,” warned her friend.

“Perhaps,” Airi replied. “One of the reasons I am not rushing is that I am considering the viability of producing this myself,” she shared.

“What?” blinked the man on the other end of the phone. “Airi, you can't be serious! A low budget for this would be about three hundred million. Locations like described are going to be tough to find, and the amount of CG and special effects are nearly mind-boggling. And then there is the sheer size of this beast! Shot and edited to fit your script, you are looking at a run time of over two hours already. Film crew and editing will burn up several dozen million alone.”

“I have no doubt,” Airi agreed firmly. The man was silent for a long moment.

“You asked for my opinion, so I will just say you have a monster of a project here, with tons of potential, but it needs major work to move. When you are ready to move on it seriously, give me a call, ok?”

“Sure, and thank you for your opinion. I have another call now, so I will talk to you later. Bye bye!” she nearly lilted, ending the call.

Rosita was giving her an inscrutable look.

Airi laughed softly. “I told you, I am still a bitch,” she said, holding out her cup so she could get a refill of coffee.

-

“What is this?” asked Ritsuko, seeing a stack of paper set at her place at the table.

She had awoken a little earlier than usual, and after carefully working her way out of her room without stepping on any of her friends, the young woman had hit the bathroom. Emerging, she found her mother waiting for her. “Trouble sleeping?” her mom had asked.

“No, not really,” Ritsuko replied. “Just felt like going for a jog. I got used to doing that in the other world,” she explained. “Not that this is a good place to job in,” she frowned.

“Do you miss the elf world?” Eri guessed. Ritsuko sighed.

“Sometimes, in some ways, yes,” admitted Ritusko.

“Well, we do have that gym membership,” Eri reminded her. Ritsuko smiled.

“Yeah, we do,” she recalled. As a high schooler, she got plenty of exercise, so never really used it, but one of the perks of her mom's company was that the employees got discounted membership at a local gym, and her mom and sometimes dad used the membership. Her mom because she liked staying in shape, her dad more for stress relaxation and as a form of date with his wife. “I should have time for a quick run,” she said, spotting the clock.

“I am going with you, of course,” Eri stated. Ritsuko had smiled.

“Yeah, I figured you would,” she giggled softly. “Gonna grab some clothes and my other shoes,” she said softly, carefully re-entering her crowded room. Eri quickly grabbed what she needed, murmuring to her husband that they would be back and to keep an eye on Ritsuko's friends while they were gone.

Ritsuko managed to get her stuff and reach the door before Yuki caught her. Putting her hand over Yuki's mouth before the girl could make more than a single sound, Ritsuko had whispered that she was going for a run with her mom and would be back soon, and they should sleep a bit longer, since they seemed tired.

Before Yuki could get her mind working, Ritsuko and Eri were gone. It took them about fifteen minutes to reach the gym, and after signing in, the two had changed and headed to the treadmills. There were already a couple men and some women on the treadmills. Finding a pair side by side, Ritsuko had set hers to the right speed and settled in as her mother did the same. Conditions by years of doing it, Ritsuko settled into a long-distance pattern, her mind turning to other things.

Focused as she was, she was startled by someone patting her arm. Almost missing a step, she caught herself before she could trip, hopping off the treadmill and turning to her mom, panting a little. “What?” she asked, not realizing she sounded a little irritated.

“It is about time your friends will be waking up,” her mother said, panting. “And you have already run ten kilometers.”

Ritsuko blinked. “Oh. Guess we should get back,” she said awkwardly. Her mother nodded, the two hitting the showers quickly before changing back into their regular clothes and heading home.

Opening the door, Ritsuko found all five of her friends waiting, staring at her disapprovingly. “It's too early for those looks, girls,” she said, sighing softly.

“You have a record of disappearing,” snorted Saeko.

“One time,” countered Ritsuko. Eri patted her shoulder as she moved through the press of girls.

“I'm going to get started on breakfast,” she announced to the group in general. “Do you girls need bentos for school?” she asked Ritsuko's friends, though her eyes were on Ritsuko.

“We will grab something on the way,” Saeko answered for them. “You are coming to school with us, aren't you?” she nearly challenged.

“I don't know,” began Ritsuko before seeing Atsuko pointing to a stack of paper on the table where she usually sat.

“All your missed assignments, organized and ready, along with the handouts,” pronounced Atsuko.

“Don't worry, we adjusted them,” added Yuki. “With this, there shouldn't be an issue with you coming back to school, right? Besides, even if you decide not to keep going, you need to go to school to tell the staff, right? So, we decided you should come to school for a few days, see if it works out or not.”

“You all decided?” snorted Ritsuko, absently leafing through the papers. “I am sure as hell not going to tell them where I have been,” she muttered.

“Say it was a medical issue,” shrugged Masumi. “Something that didn't hospitalize you, but prevented you from coming to school for a while. Maybe some testing and you were waiting for results. Just a suggestion,” she smiled.

“You are a bad influence,” Ritsuko snickered. “But, yeah, I guess that works,” she mused, frowning a little.

“Good! We have your spare uniform laid out, so go get changed while we help your mom with breakfast, then we can go to school like normal,” Saeko pronounced.

Ritsuko was of two minds about it all, but found herself surrounded by her friends, as they hurried to school, her battered book bag over her shoulder, her friends herding her along, pausing only to grab some food for lunch from a convenience store they passed.

Reaching the school, she had paused at the entrance, just staring at the school for a long moment. Yuki and Atsuko had both taken one of her arms in their hands and pulled her in; not unlike a pair of officers hauling a suspect into a police box. Ritsuko had sighed before shaking them off.

To say her return to school had caused a few ripples was an understatement. The class rep had tried to lecture her, but Ritsuko had not been in the mood, and after a few moments of the red-head staring at her, the class rep had given up and retreated. Some of the people she knew in class greeted her, curious about her nearly-month long absence, but she dodged the questions skillfully.

Hearing the bell, she settled at her desk, finding it hard to get comfortable. She missed Mike, Airi and even Celsia and Junpie. She missed her guns. I think I miss the freedom, she realized. Feeling a poke on her shoulder, she blinked, realizing they were taking role and she had apparently been called. “Hai,” she said, giving a half-wave. Blinking, she found she didn't recognize the teacher standing at the front of the room. “Hey, what happened to Ootomi?” she murmured to Masumi, who sat behind her.

“Oh, right,” the girl said, seeming to recall something. “The weekend after you vanished, Ootomi and the nurse - Satsumi - ran off together,” she shared eagerly.

“Aren't they both married?” Ritsuko wondered.

“Yeah. It turned into a bit of a scandal,” giggled her friend quietly. “We have had a sub since, even though they said they were interviewing for a new teacher and nurse,” shared her friend.

Roll call completed and the teacher finished marking attendance before calling for attention. “I am happy to announce that the vacant position for homeroom teacher has been filled. Please welcome your new homeroom teacher,” the temp said, gesturing to the door. Ritsuko glanced over to see what kind of teacher they had gotten, only to freeze as she saw the new teacher.

“I am Ikari Gendo, and from today on, I will be your homeroom teacher,” the new teacher said, glare from the windows hiding his eyes behind his glasses, beard neatly trimmed and the spitting image of the Commander of NERV minus the uniform and gloves. Ritsuko's mind and emotions were in chaos.

Gendo was talking, but Ritsuko wasn't hearing what he said, her breathing heavy and her jaw clenched, her right hand feeling for her pistol or knife. Not feeling it - and vaguely recalling she had not put it on for some reason that eluded her at the moment - her hands skittered across her desk, searching for a weapon. Finding a pencil, she gripped it tightly before spinning it in her hand into an icepick grip. Through the eye into the brain, through the soft palate into the brain, stab to the heart, stab in the neck…yeah, this will work, she thought grimly, starting to shift her chair back so she could stand up and dispense justice.

“Ritsuko, what's wrong?” a voice whispered, a hand landing pretty hard on her shoulder. Masumi gave her friend a shake. Ritsuko turned a look on her that made her recoil.

“Is there something wrong, miss Inoue?” Gendo asked. Ritsuko's head snapped back around, her face set in a murderous expression.

“Rokubungi,” she nearly spat. “Wasn't that your name originally, Rokubungi?” she managed, her control of her rage slipping. Gendo frowned.

“Have we met before, miss Inoue?” he asked.

“Depends on your perspective,” hissed Ritsuko. Masumi grabbed both of her shoulders, Saeko, Atsuko, Yuki and Kaede nearly jumping out of their seats and swarming Ritsuko.

“Our friend is not feeling well,” Yuki said over her shoulder.

“This is her first day back in a few weeks, and it looks like she isn't recovered yet,” Kaede added.

“We'll take her to the nurse,” Masumi said, the five of them nearly dragging her out of the room, Ritsuko never breaking her death-glare at Gendo. The man felt a tickle of fear in his spine, but pushed it down and brought the room back into order.

Meanwhile, her friends were nearly fighting Ritsuko down the halls. “What was that about, Ritsu?” hissed Masumi quietly. “You looked like you wanted to kill that guy.”

“More than anything,” Ritsuko nearly purred.

“What did he ever do to you? This is his first day here,” Yuki reminded her.

“He is…was…it's complicated. But the entire world owes him a horrible death,” snarled Ritsuko. Saeko frowned.

“Him, or someone who looks like him?” she asked. Ritsuko froze for a split second. Her expression eased just a bit.

“You make a good point,” murmured Ritsuko. I have to find a way to get in touch with Airi! Our world is definitely infested with a Gendo, she thought furiously. Memories of NERV played in her mind, though memories of Shinji were mixed in, which softened her anger.

Her friends made it to the nurse's office without having to resort to violence, which was something they were glad for. Sliding open the door, they expected the room to be empty. Instead, there was a brown-haired woman checking the supplies. She turned to look at them. “What seems to be the problem?” she asked, looking the girls over; especially Ritsuko, as she was being all but restrained by the other five.

“Um, who are you?” asked Yuki, confused.

“I am the new school nurse, Ikari Ritsuko,” answered the woman.

“Ikari?” blinked Saeko.

“Akagi,” Ritsuko said, her expression darkening again even as a vile smile began to spread across her face. The woman frowned.

“Have we met, miss…?”

“Inoue,” came the dark answer, her grip on the pencil tightening again.

“Are you related to our new homeroom teacher, Ikari Gendo?” Masumi wondered.

The woman nodded. “I am his wife, yes,” she confirmed.

“You are? What about Yui?” demanded Ritsuko. The older Ritsuko frowned.

“You mean my step-sister? She doesn't get along with Gendo,” she began before forcing herself to focus. “How do you even know her name?”

Ritsuko's expression had relaxed a little. “Lucky guess. Is she working on degree in bioengineering?” pressed Inoue.

“Bioengineering? She changed majors to metaphysical biology halfway through. But again, how do you know that?”

“I said it was just a lucky guess,” Ritsuko said, her murderous expression gone, but a look of intent concentration in its place. “You ever think of working for GEHIRN?” asked the woman.

“Never even heard of that company,” admitted Ritsuko.

“Good. Keep it that way,” Ritsuko nearly ordered. “And you are certain that Yui does not in any way like Rokubungi?” she pressed.

“I am sure of that,” Ikari Ritsuko replied.

“You said step-sister. So Yui's father married your mother, Naoko, so you and she took Yui's family name, right?”

“How do you even know…?!” began the older woman, getting spooked and angry.

“Don't take that tone with me,” Ritsuko warned ominously. “Have you been approached by the SEELE group?” she asked, absently twirling the pencil in her hand. Her friends were speechless, trying to make heads or tails out of this conversation and how Ritsuko would even know these people.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, young lady,” came the clipped reply.

“Very well,” Ritsuko said, her eyes hardening. “Piece of personal advice for you: keep a tight eye on your husband, and anyone who wants you to work for GEHIRN or SEELE is not to be trusted.” With that, Ritsuko shrugged off her friends and turned to leave.

“What the hell?” breathed Saeko, giving chase to Ritsuko, who was striding away, pencil still grasped in an icepick grip. The others hurried after her, worried she was going back to the classroom.

“I'm done here,” Ritsuko said as they caught up to her. “This won't work, but I thank you all for what you did for me, and for being my friends,” she said, her tone oddly calm and relaxed. Ritsuko passed a teacher coming out of the teachers' staff room. “Excuse me,” she said, putting her hand in front of him. “I need a moment of your time,” she said, herding him back into the staff room.

Getting a piece of paper, she swiftly wrote out a notice of resignation, signed it and formally handed it to him before leaving without waiting to hear what he was trying to say. She headed right for the front gate, not looking back. Her friends decided they were skipping today, as it was obvious to them that Ritsuko needed them more.

Her friends were surprised how fast Ritsuko was moving, only able to catch her at the gate to the school, which was closed of course. Almost without breaking stride, Ritsuko jumped up, grabbed the top bar and side-vaulted over the gate, one hand grabbing her uniform skirt as she cleared the top, the red-head landing gracefully in a half squat before smoothly rising to her feet and turning toward the train station.

“Ritsu, wait!” Saeko nearly snarled, kicking the gate control box cover even as Masumi duplicated Ritsuko's gate vault stunt, though with a bit less grace. Saeko punched the gate control button as Kaede followed Ritsuko's and Masumi's lead, vaulting over the gate even as it ground open. Saeko let the gate open a third of the way, hit the button to stop it, tossing her head to Yuki and Atsuko before hitting the button to close the gate again, the three barely sprinting through the gap before the gate closed. After all, they were not a bunch of hoodlums who would leave the gate wide open when they cut class, even if they were in a hurry. The three hurried after the rest of their gang.

Masumi, with Kaede close behind, caught up to Ritsuko half a block from school. “Damn it, wait up, Ritsu!” yelled Masumi, grabbing Ritsuko's shoulder. She was a bit surprised when Ritsuko shook off her hand, spinning to face her, her right hand by her hip and an expression of anger like she had never seen from her friend before on her face. Masumi raised her hands in a calming gesture. “Easy, Ritsu,” she said, Kaede stopping beside her. Ritsuko blinked at the two.

“What are you doing chasing after me?” she asked them her expression relaxing.

“Because we're your friends, idiot,” snorted Kaede.

“And it is pretty obvious you need us,” added Masumi. Saeko, Yuki and Atsuko arrived at a run, Yuki and Atsuko breathing a little hard.

“Look, I really do appreciate it,” began Ritsuko, only to be cut off by Saeko.

“You have an odd way of showing it,” she snorted, glowering at Ritsuko.

“And since when were you that fast?” wondered Yuki.

“We decided to be friends with you on our own, Ritsu, and only we can decide if we want to stop being your friends,” Atsuko stated.

Ritsuko sighed. “God, you are a bunch of stubborn…!”

“Learned from the best,” smirked Saeko.

“So, we obviously need to talk,” Kaede smoothly slid back into the conversation, “and I think this is not the place,” she added, gesturing to the middle of the sidewalk they were on; as well as the attention they were gathering. Ritsuko scowled at the gawkers.

“Yeah, I suppose so,” she said, turning on her heel and moving toward the station again. Her five friends followed her closely. Ritsuko felt her phone buzz. Pulling it out of her skirt pocket, she saw it was her mom calling. “Which one of your bitches sold me out?” she sighed, though a small smile played at the corners of her lips.

“Me!” came the unified answer from Saeko, Yuki and Atsuko.

“I was going to, but was too busy playing track-and-field star,” came the droll remark from Masumi.

“Same,” agreed Kaede. “Seriously, when did you get that fast?”

“Chasing elves, you know that,” murmured Ritsuko, connecting the call. “Hey, mom. Yeah, so I am heading home right now. Yeah, it didn't work out. Yes, I will explain it to you when I get home. Love you. Bye,” she finished the quick conversation before ending the call. She kept her phone in her hand as they were nearly to the station and her rail pass would be needed. Her mind busy, she hadn't realized she had started to scowl again until Masumi nudged her shoulder.

“Ritsu, whatever is bothering you, we will figure something out,” she promised, getting nods from the others.

Ritsuko snorted mirthlessly. “You need to be careful making claims like that,” she said before sighing. “I need to talk to Airi,” she muttered to herself.

“The actress, right?” Atsuko said.

“Yes,” confirmed Ritsuko sounding a bit exasperated.

“Easy,” pronounced Atsuko. “We just need to get her your number so she can call you.”

Ritsuko swiped her rail pass, not even breaking stride as she moved through the turnstile. “Easy, sure,” she replied sarcastically. “I know Airi does not have any listed numbers, and I know she uses answering services to screen her calls, as well as having house staff who typically guard her phones. Only makes sense with idiots like Junpei obsessed with her,” she smiled a little at the end.

“Poor Ritsu, so innocent in the ways of the world,” purred Atsuko grandly.

“Hardly innocent,” Ritsuko said, glancing at the train schedule as she moved to the platform she needed, the other following like they were tied to her.

“Yes, we still need to hear all the details of your deflowering,” Saeko whispered archly to her.

“Perverts,” grunted Risuko, even as memories flooded her, making her blush.

All her friends cooed at her blush. “I as I was saying,” Atsuko said, “you never were one for social media, were you? Well, it makes a useful tool for situations like this.”

“You will not put my number on her social media, Atsuko,” warned Ritsuko ominously. “Or my name, either,” she added, scowling at something the others were sure was not them or this time and place.

“Hey, I am a social media veteran, Ritsu, show a little faith,” sniffed Atsuko disdainfully. “What you do in situations like this is post a message that only she will understand,” lectured her friend, working on her phone. “Ok, so she has her main account, which has been updated earlier today, so she is looking at it. Probably uses other accounts as well. Can't know which is which, so let's just hit the biggest target. Now, what is something only she would know?”

“And is safe to put in front of the world, you deviant stripper,” giggled Yuki.

Ritsuko rolled her eyes, but thought it over. It took her until they arrived at her stop to figure something out. Atsuko dutifully typed it into the comment section and posted it. Ritsuko was a little dubious about the idea, but was desperate enough to try anything to get in touch with Airi.

Arriving back at her house, Ritsuko saw her mother and father waiting for her in the doorway of her house. She found herself smiling as she let her friends through the gate behind her, pausing to hug her parents tightly for a moment before moving into her house. In moments, she was sitting on the couch, between her parents, her friends arrayed around the living room, all of them waiting expectantly.

“So, mom, you read my diaries,” began Ritsuko.

“Yes, and I feel there is a lot you didn't write, given what I hear has happened. Let's start with what happened in school today,” she said firmly, arm around Ritsuko's shoulders.

Ritsuko frowned, organizing her thoughts. “The problem with having spent years in multiple worlds is that it tends to blur the lines between here and there, now and then, if there is a big enough event to cause…emotional reactions,” she grimaced. “That fucker Gendo qualifies on all levels!” she spat angrily.

Her father blinked at her cursing even as he wondered who Gendo must have been. “You said the world owned him a horrible death,” mused Yuki. “I gather there is a reason. But you also agreed that this was not the same person; at least in principal,” noted the girl.

“I am almost afraid to ask for specifics on what happened in school,” her mother said gently, rubbing her daughter's shoulder.

“The new homeroom teacher is Ikari Gendo, and he is the spitting image of the Bastard King,” Ritsuko said, baring her teeth. “Right down the glasses and asshole attitude. I saw that face again, and wanted to mag-dump on it with my rifle,” she nearly purred with malice. “But, this is Japan, so I didn't have it. Not even my pistol, which I have not been without in years. But I did have a pencil,” she smiled a cold, nasty smile. “It would have done the job with a little effort.”

Her friends were starting at her. “You…you mean you were going to…?” breathed Kaede.

“March up to his smug face, drag him over the damn desk and kill him? Yes. Hell yes, in fact,” Ritsuko stated in a clipped, tight tone that made more than one of the other people in the room shiver.

“You obviously didn't, though,” noted Eri, squeezing her daughter's shoulder. “What happened?”

“My friends,” she paused, gesturing to the others and giving an unwilling half-smile, “managed to bring me back to my senses before I could. But I found out he is this world's version of Gendo. And it gets worse; well, for me and Airi,” she added, scowling again.

“How so?” wondered Eri.

“We got a new school nurse, too. Ritsu apparently knows her and her sister; and not in a good way,” offered Kaede. Her mom looked to Ritsuko.

“Apparently this version of Gendo married this version of his main tool, Akagi Ritsuko. That bitch's first words to me in the other world were `I believe we share a name'. I have honestly thought of changing my name,” she said.

“Ritsu,” began her dad, sounding very uncomfortable, “what could have possibly made you react this way to just seeing these people?”

Ritsuko closed her eyes for a long moment, slowly inhaling a deep breath, holding it, then letting it out slowly. “There is no way I can possibly describe what I witnessed, felt, saw and did in that other Japan, Dad. The pain, the insanity, the hopelessness, the terror….I know it is clich�, but you weren't there, and that means you will never understand.”

“But Airi Komiyama will, correct?” her mother said. Ritsuko nodded.

“Yeah. I need to talk to Airi, get some sort of plan or at least perspective,” she mumbled to herself.

“Until we can get Airi to call, how about you fill us in on whatever your mother apparently knows about what went down there?” suggested Saeko. “It obviously did a number on you. Share the weight, Ritsu,” she said, the other four nodding.

“You don't know…” began Ritsuko, hugging herself.

“Not unless you tell us, no,” Atsuko cut her off. Ritsuko was silent for nearly two minutes, her expression troubled. Finally, she looked over to her mother, as if looking for something. Eri smiled at her daughter, using the arm that had been over her shoulder to stroke her hair.

“If you are ready,” was all Eri said.

“I don't know if I can tell them everything,” Ritsuko said quietly.

“Then don't tell them everything,” Eri replied easily. “I know your father would probably appreciate you not telling him everything,” she snickered, giving her husband a look. He twitched at the teasing. Ritsuko giggled.

“I will try to spare him, mom,” she promised.

“Ritsu…” began her dad, only to have his wife lightly slap his shoulder with her hand, signaling him to be quiet.

“Last chance to change your minds,” Ritsuko said to her friends, her tone serious and unhappy. “This…isn't pretty,” she warned.

“We are your friends,” Saeko said, getting nods from the others.

“You are idiots,” breathed Ritsuko, but took another deep breath. “Our first attempt at returning to here was after we got the six spell fragments. That much you know. You know the spell failed and we along with Celsia were dumped into a different Japan.”

“Where you found your boyfriend,” chimed in Yuki. Masumi nudged her for interrupting.

“Yes, where I met Shinji,” Ritsuko said, smiling even then. “But there is a lot I didn't tell you; and I won't even be telling you everything now. But, to help you understand my reaction to finding Gendo, let me just hit the highlights. It starts right after we were taken into custody by NERV,” she began

“Taken into custody? You said you were questioned by them,” her dad couldn't help but interject.

“We arrived right after an angel attack, Rei was sent to deal with Mike, and Section 2 goons grabbed us. We were stripped naked - and yes, Atsuko, I am fully aware of the irony of that - before being locked in cells for a day or so. We were let out one by one to be lab rats for Akagi Ritsuko. And I do mean lab rats. I have never been treated that way before. Full exam, full testing panels, everything. That set the stage for my feelings about Akagi,” she snorted.

“While bad, that…” began her father again.

“Don't interrupt dear,” his wife cut him off. “There is a lot more, isn't there, sweetie?”

“Yes. Here are some highlights,” Ritsuko said, telling them about a lot of what she had endured there, learned there and done there. By her third `highlight', her friends were looking a little queasy, and her dad was pale. Ritsuko pushed on, her tone detached, cool and clinical. She had paused a time or two to let her friends get their stomachs under control or to adjust to the mental shock. Grimly she continued her stories of what she had experienced.

An hour later, she fell silent. “Those were just some of the more relevant things,” she said. “There is more and some of it worse, but that should give you an idea of why I acted like that,” she said. “Excuse me, I need a drink,” she said, getting up and stepping into the kitchen to see what they had.

“My god,” her father murmured. Her friends were almost huddled together. Ritsuko found some tea, poured herself a glass and moved back to the couch, sitting down between her parents again, only to have them nearly grab her in a double-hug.

“Hey! I have a full glass,” she protested.

“Y…you said there was worse things you experienced in that other Japan?” Saeko managed. Ritsuko nodded.

“And in the elf world, though that was not nearly the same kind of `worse',” confirmed the red-head. “Lately, I wonder how Millia and the other elves are doing, since we left.”

“Do you feel like you abandoned them, too?” her mother asked.

Ritsuko slowly shook her head. “We had to leave, mom. And I made that promise with Shinji, too, so…” she left the rest unsaid.

“Your boyfriend was Shinji Ikari, right?” challenged Masumi. Ritsuko nodded. “They were related, right? Shinji and Gendo?”

“Yes. Shinji was Yui's son with the bastard as sperm donor,” she replied, scowling.

“Which explains your interrogation of the nurse,” Kaede noted.

“That wasn't an interrogation, Kaede,” Ritsuko said, frowning as she stared at her glass of tea. “Trust me, that was just a nice conversation,” she muttered.

Everyone in the room but Ritsuko felt a chill at her casual statement. Silence fell for a few minutes.

“So, um, what was that about GEHIRN and SEELE?” fished Atsuko.

“You don't need to worry about that, Atsuko,” Ritsuko said. “To say that they were the ones that set the Bastard King up as the head of NERV and the Human Instrumentality Project should tell you all you need to know. Serves those wrinkled old mummies right that both The Whoreson and his whores betrayed them along with the rest of humanity.”

“Why do I think you know more about them than you let on?” Yuki asked.

“They are not your concern,” repeated Ritsuko, her tone harder. “None of you,” she admonished. “Besides, they may not even exist in this world,” she added.

“But you think they do, since both Gendo and his wife are here,” challenged Saeko.

“Maybe, but they may not be the wanna-be gods here they were on the other world,” Ritsuko mused, sounding almost introspective. “Before, the rat bastard was married to Yui, Doc Mengles and her mother were the whores, and SEELE was the cream of the shit-stack of rich and influential people in the world, scared of dying and wanting to be gods. Here, they may not even exist, even if the other two do. It did sort of surprise me that here, it was Akagi who married the Plague Rat. Also, Yui and Akagi were never linked in the other world. Here they are step-sisters.”

“Were you hoping that this Gendo had married Yui, since it would have given you a chance to get with Shinji again? Isn't that why you asked if the nurse was absolutely sure that Yui didn't like Gendo?” Atsuko wondered. Ritsuko twitched. “You did!” she squealed with evil delight.

“No, Atsuko, you sicko,” sighed Ritsuko. “My concern was to stop them before they started if they were active here. If the price was never getting to meet Shinji again, well, I would be twenty years or more older than him, so I doubt he would be interested anyway,” she nearly mumbled, red in the face.

“You are too honest to try to play it off, Ritsu,” snickered Kaede. “Even if you are just now thinking about it, you are tempted, aren't you? And you would only be sixteen years older than him,” she argued.

“You forget, I spent four years in the other worlds, so even though you think I am sixteen, I am twenty biologically,” reminded the redhead before sipping her tea.

“You said this Misato was with Shinji before you, and was twice age. Doesn't that mean he wouldn't mind you being twenty years older than him?” Yuki took her swing.

“Misato was fourteen years older than him, Yuki, and…look, it just doesn't matter anymore, ok?” Ritsuko cut herself off, shaking her head. She felt and heard her father twitch. “Something wrong, dad?” she asked him, a half-smile on her face.

“This boyfriend of yours was after a woman twice his age?” he managed. Ritsuko hummed.

“That is not untrue, but it was more she was after him. Wasn't the only one, either,” she mused, smiling. “Asuka, Rei, Hikari, Maya and I all wanted him.” She snickered at a thought. “Man, if his two stooge friends only knew, they would turn to dust with envy!” she laughed out loud. “Maybe I should have baited them with it, just to watch them eat their own livers,” she snickered.

“He cheated on you?!” her father burst out, outraged.

“No! Shinji wouldn't do that,” snapped Ritsuko immediately. Her mother touched her shoulder, Ritsuko turning to see Eri giving her a gentle smile. Ritsuko was once more reminded why she loved her mother so much. “Shinji and I had a relationship that was independent to his relationship with the others, dad,” she said, facing her father squarely. “I know this bothers you, dad, but remember: what happened with Shinji was my choice entirely. Everything was because I decided to do it. And while I do have regrets, none of them are about being with Shinji, no matter the situation. That goes for the other girls as well,” she warned.

“Oh my god,” breathed Saeko, “did you hear that?!” she demanded of her friends. They all nodded. Ritsuko blinked.

“Crap,” she muttered.

“It's ok, dear,” Eri said to her husband. “This was always going to happen,” she said calmly, patting Ritsuko's head. “In fact, it had to happen if I am ever going to be a grandmother,” she sniped. Her husband jerked at that remark.

“Eri!” he began.

“My father acted much the same way, sweetie,” Eri ignored her husband to speak directly to her daughter. That tidbit shocked her husband.

“What? But your father always wants us to visit and he always wants to play golf with me, or talk about sports, or give me advice on investing. He always liked me,” he protested.

“When he found out about us, he was furious that his precious Eri had been `dirtied' by some `horny boy of no merit',” Eri smiled sweetly at her husband. “He had almost gone looking for you to beat you to a pulp, you know,” she added.

“But, when you introduced me to your parents, he greeted me politely and asked me about my career plans. After the wedding, he treated me like his own son!”

“To be fair, dad, after the wedding, you were his son,” Ritsuko interjected gleefully. “Grandpa was always kind of exuberant,” she recalled.

“The reason he treats you like he does is because of Ritsuko,” Eri explained. “Mom had a talk with him after he found out we were together, and got him straightened out before I introduced you to them, too,” she added.

“Oh, god, did you tell them I was back?” Ritsuko realized her grandparents might not know she had returned.

“That first night, sweetie,” confirmed her mom.

“I need to visit them soon, make sure they are all right,” Ritsuko said to herself.

“You don't need to worry about them, Ritsu, though they are always happy to have you visit,” her dad said. “No wonder the first thing dad Hachi always asks is if Ritsuko is with me,” he mumbled. Eri and Ritsuko both patted his head.

“There, there,” Eri said soothingly.

Ritsuko's friends were having a whispered conference, eyes on Ritsuko the whole time. Knowing this behavior, Ritsuko began to organize her defenses for what she knew was coming. Fortunately, before her friends could launch their first attack, her phone rang.

-

Airi was almost done catching up on everything when she decided to take a break. Glass of wine in hand, she moved to the patio, the stars overhead. She had one of her tablets with her, and on a whim, she brought up her social media main account, intending to do a generic post. Seeing several new comments, she idly scrolled through them, flagging, banning, replying and deleting as necessary. Seeing one of them, she almost deleted it before she took a second look.

A first-time commenter had made a comment that seemed at first glance to be spam or gibberish, but her subconscious had hit on some key words that would not mean anything to anyone else but her. `Long-ear' was a slang from the elf world for elf. `Pichi-brand TP' was something that did not exist in this world, but was their source of toilet paper during their second tour in the elf world. `Panda-dog' was what they called Celsia when she was stuck in her dog form. `Colleena School of Dance' really only fit one thing in her mind. Seeing the last bit of gibberish - `3 Unit Support Association membership' - she smelled Ritsuko all over this.

“But how does she intend for me to contact her?” wondered Airi. Below the list of gibberish was a set of numbers and letters, then a second string of letters and numbers. Frowning, she tried to think like Ritsuko. A moment later, she realized it was a simple cipher key. Grabbing a piece of paper and a pen, she quickly deciphered the bottom string, finding it to be a phone number with country code. Airi double-checked the accuracy before deleting the comment. Grabbing one of the cell phones she had for private calls, she dialed the number. After a few clicks and a couple of rings, she heard the other party pick up.

“Moshi moshi, Inoue,” came the familiar voice of her partner.

“Hello, Rit-chan,” she said warmly.

“Oh, god, Airi, I have never been so glad to hear your voice!” came the immediate reply.

“You as well, Rit-chan. Are you ok?” asked Airi.

“Yeah, as well as can be expected. You?” she asked in turn.

“Back home, as are you, I hope,” confirmed the actress.

“Yes! Back home at last,” Ritsuko chirped. “But, Airi, we need to talk. There is a Gendo in our world. Also an Akagi,” she said, her tone dark.

“Yes, we do need to talk,” Airi said. “I am booking a flight to Tokyo right now.”

-

“Don't you have homes to go to? And school tomorrow?” Ritsuko asked her friends, sounding vaguely exasperated.

“Yeah, but this is more interesting,” Saeko said, smiling at Ritsuko.

“You will turn into a bunch of delinquents or Garyu gang girls if you keep cutting class and staying out overnight,” Ritsuko snorted.

“It is the bad influence of our friend Ritsuko,” chirped Yuki, just returning from the bathroom in the Inoue home.

“You dad already said we can stay,” added Kaede.

“Like he could have said no,” snorted Ritsuko.

“You mom did invite us to stay after miss Airi called,” Masumi reminded her. Ritsuko rolled her eyes. My parents are push-overs, she thought fleetingly.

“Besides, we are here for emotional support of our friend who got kidnapped to an elf world,” smiled Atsuko.

“You are a nosing around for gossip and exploiting me to get a chance to meet Airi,” Ritsuko replied drolly. “I know you girls, remember?” she reminded them. “Did you even tell your parents where you were staying tonight?” she asked.

“Yes!” the five chorused in sync like kindergartners.

“God damn it,” Ritsuko whispered to herself. Her friends giggled.

“You aren't getting away, Ritsuko,” proclaimed Saeko. “You might as well tell us all about Shinji and you.”

“And where the other girls fit in,” added Yuki eagerly.

“Would you want to talk about your sexual escapades? Well, neither do I,” Ritsuko began.

“My first time was with a friend of my brother,” Saeko said immediately. “I had a crush on him, and when he was studying late with my brother, I managed to seduce him. We did it twice that night,” she smiled.

“And I recall he never spoke to you again, because he was worried you were underage and the little sister of his friend,” Ritsuko sniped. Saeko shrugged, unrepentant.

“Still counts,” she rejoined.

“My first time…” began Yuki.

“I know, Yuki,” Ritsuko cut her off. “No need to talk about it,” she added.

“Well, I managed to lose my v-card while you were away,” said Atsuko smugly. Ritsuko glanced at her.

“Oh? And how did you manage that?” she asked, suspicious.

“And why are you just telling us now?” Kaede demanded.

“Because we had to support Ritsuko,” Atsuko said.

“Uh huh,” grunted the girl in question.

“Was it that guy you were crushing on for the last year or more?” guessed Masumi. Atsuko nodded. “What did you do to land him?”

“It took some time, but when the opportunity arose, I let him know I was willing, and things progressed from there,” Atsuko said, trying to sound aloof and experienced.

“Like Saeko, he is now avoiding you, isn't he?” Ritsuko said, staring at the wall, a small frown on her face.

“Life is but greetings and partings,” philosophized Atsuko. “So tell us how much better you were at it, miss perfect, since you are going to all judge-y.”

Ritsuko sighed. “I am not being judge-y,” she said quietly, eyes landing on the journals, sitting on the corner of her small desk. She was in tee shirt and panties, having taken a bath earlier, which, she realized, was her mistake as it left her parents alone with her friends and her friends were nosey bitches at times and not above manipulating her parents to let them stay over again.

“Come on, Ritsuko,” said Masumi, “we just want to know more about what happened, and well…to be honest, we were not sure you were into guys,” she said. Ritsuko snorted.

“Well, now you know,” sighed Ritsuko. “If it will get you off my back and let me grab some sleep before Airi arrives tomorrow, I will tell you.”

“Score!” purred more than one of her friends. Ritsuko sent them an annoyed look.

“There is so much that is involved in how it happened that I don't have the time nor inclination to rehash it, but Shinji managed to show me enough to interest me, and with the situation, well, I ended up deciding to sleep with him,” she said. “Girl could do a lot worse than the guy saving the world, right?” she said, not really asking.

“Damsel in distress was never something you did well, Ritsu,” pointed out Kaede. Ritsuko snorted.

“No, I suppose not,” she smiled a sharp smile.

“So what did he show you that interested you?” lilted Atsuko.

Ritsuko gave a private sort of smile, absently looking at her hands. “He showed me he was worth it,” she said.

“Quit dancing around the question,” cut in Saeko impatiently, “was he hung? Was he good?”

“You all are horny sluts, you know that, right?” Ritsuko replied.

“Yeah, yeah, answer the question,” Saeko waved a hand dismissively.

“Fine. He was well-equipped, knew how to use it, and was emotionally available. We had a lot of chemistry, and he never once left me unsatisfied - sexually and emotionally both,” Ritsuko said, smiling to herself. “He was like that with all of us,” she mused, lost in memory.

“All of you? So he was playing the field!” crowed Masumi.

“You were sharing your boyfriend with other girls? And you dared to call us sluts!” sniffed Yuki.

“He wasn't playing the field,” Ritsuko nearly snarled. “He was doing everything he could to hold himself and the others together, to keep his anchor so the Eva didn't swallow his mind whole! Stop talking about him like he is some normal boy, because you don't know shit about what was going on there!”

Her friends twitched back at her hot reply. “Easy, Ritsu,” said Saeko, hands up.

“This is why I didn't want to talk about it,” Ritsuko said. “As much as I told you before, there is ten times that much more, and most of it worse. You don't…look, you will never be able to understand, but what Shinji and I shared was separate from what he and the others shared. Asuka, Rei, Hikari, Misato, Maya - they needed the bond with him even more than I did. I keep saying it, but you will never understand because you didn't live it. I did; perhaps too much,” she said, more to herself than to them. “One of the things I didn't tell you was what piloting meant to the Children. See, the Evas were not just bio-mech monsters. There were souls bound in them as well as being part Angel in their biology. When synching with them, the pilots are essentially opening their minds and souls to the Evas, and the Evas can be hungry. Once, Unit 1 - Shinji's unit - literally absorbed him into it. And I do mean absorbed. All that was left was an empty plug suit, floating in the entry plug. He broke four hundred percent, and got taken by his Eva. It was more than a month before we got him back. And do you know what it was that brought him back? His bonds to his fellow pilots, Misato and I. Rei's bond to him and Asuka is how she managed to come back time and again from death.”

Her friends were staring at her.

“When piloting, the higher the sync, the better control you have; at least, until you lose control and the Eva either eats you or you are mentally contaminated and they put you down like a rabid dog,” she nearly snarled. “But, the higher the sync, the more the sword cuts both ways. Above eighty percent, the pilots start to take physical damage as their Eva units do. Shinji has been burned, Asuka has had acid poured over her, Rei has died in the plug, and Hikari,” Ritsuko bared her teeth, tears gathering at the corner of her eyes, “Hikari was torn to pieces when synced at over one hundred percent fighting the MP Evas. I still hear her screams before she managed to trigger her Unit's self-destruct. Shinji and the others had decided to trigger Third Impact with Shinji as the catalyst and Rei as the sacrifice. It was an all-or-nothing gamble. And I abandoned them when they needed me most, running back to the elf world to try getting home again, like their fight wasn't my own,” she managed hoarsely, angrily wiping her tears away with the back of a hand.

“It wasn't your fight,” said Kaede. “You said that Shinji told you to go so your parents wouldn't have to wait forever. You didn't abandon them, Ritsuko,” she said firmly.

“It feels like it,” Ritsuko said, heaving herself off her bed so she sailed over where Masumi was sitting, landing between Yuki and Atsuko, whom she hopped over and out her door in nearly one move. “I need some air,” she said, closing the door to her room on whatever her friends were saying. Turning toward the bathroom, she splashed cold water on her face for a few minutes before looking at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were a little red, but most of the evidence of her crying were gone. Exiting the bathroom, she found her mom waiting for her.

“Mom,” she began, but Eri shook her head, hugging her.

“Love can be a bitch, can't it, sweetie?” she murmured to her. “And I am absolutely certain than Shinji would rather you be here than there. Absolutely certain,” she repeated. Ritsuko made a few soft sounds before managing to answer.

“Probably, but I like to think he misses having sex with me more,” she managed. Her mother giggled softly.

“How about a little exercise, sweetie?” she asked. Ritsuko nodded roughly, easing back from the hug. She saw her mom offering her a skirt, and quickly stepped into it. The two slipped out of the house, headed to the gym, and Eri learned her daughter could run twenty kilometers while lost in thought as if it were nothing. She had managed to get her daughter off the treadmill and into the pool for a bit before some calisthenics and sauna. After a shower, the two returned home, finding the others asleep. Ritsuko had just shaken her head, laid down on the couch and fallen asleep in minutes. Eri had kissed her daughter's cheek then headed to her bedroom, where she had gotten into bed, waking her husband as she did.

“Is she ok?” he asked.

“She will be, I am sure,” Eri replied. But she hurts bad right now, she didn't feel like sharing. “And dear, I wouldn't say anything about her affair with Shinji. She is still recovering from it emotionally,” warned the mother.

“I gathered that much,” he sighed, hugging his wife. “Besides, I have to go back to work in the morning,” he muttered.

“Do your best, dear,” his wife said cheerfully.

-

A knock on the door woke Ritsuko. Blinking, she found it was morning. Hearing the knock again, she got off the couch and headed to the door, wondering who it could be. Behind her, she heard her parents and friends stirring. Glancing at the small door monitor, she blinked, throwing open the door.

“Good morning, Rit-chan,” smiled Airi. The actress was dressed in a simple sundress, sandals on her feet, hat on her head, and a bit of makeup on to make her look less like herself.

“Airi!” breathed Ritsuko, grabbing her partner into a hug. “You should have let me know what flight you were on,” she began, basically pulling the older woman into her house like a trapdoor spider.

“I got an earlier flight,” said Airi calmly, rubbing Ritsuko's back as she hugged her. In fact, Airi had called in a few favors and gotten the use of a private jet from a friend and had been in the air less than an hour after she had called Ritsuko. She had Ritsuko's address from her private detective, and had decided to just go to the house.

“Sweetie, who is it?” her mother called emerging a moment later.

“It's Airi,” Ritsuko said, releasing the hug. This announcement had caused her friends to nearly erupt out of her bedroom and bathroom. Ritsuko had smirked a little seeing most of them were still in bed-head mode and sleeping outfits.

“Ah, Komiyama Airi,” Eri greeted the actress. “I have heard a lot about you. Thank you for taking care of my daughter,” she said.

“Nonsense,” Airi replied easily, “Ritsuko took care of me and the others as much or more than we took care of her.”

“That is not how she tells it, but nevertheless, we thank you, miss Komiyama,” her father said, emerging from the master bedroom, adjusting his tie as his wife started breakfast.

“Your parents are somehow just how I imagined you from what you told me while we were over there,” Airi said softly.

“Yeah, I'm lucky they are my parents,” Ritsuko said, smiling fondly at her parents.

“What language is that?” Saeko wondered, not having understood a word. Ritsuko blinked, realizing that Airi and she had been speaking Elvish.

“Just a language we picked up during our travels,” Airi replied easily and very convincingly.

Seeing her friends intently watching them, Ritsuko sighed. “Sorry, Airi, my friends turned out to be fans,” she said to Airi.

“It is a high recommendation of them to be introduced as friends of your, Rit-chan,” Airi assured her.

“So, yeah, introductions,” Ritsuko said, “Saeko, Masumi, Kaede, Yuki, Atsuko,” she pointed to each in turn, “this is Airi. Airi, my friends,” she completed the quick introductions.

“A pleasure,” Airi replied professionally.

“My mom and dad, Airi. Airi, my mom and dad,” she continued. Airi inclined her head, Eri doing the same.

“Wow, she really is miss Komiyama,” breathed Yuki. Ritsuko gave them an annoyed look.

“Just get it over with,” she grumped. “Sorry, Airi, I didn't exactly plan on this mess,” she said, once more in Elvish.

“It comes with the territory, Rit-chan,” assured Airi, also in Elvish. Ritsuko patted Airi's shoulder briefly before giving it a gentle squeeze. Her friends were lining up for autographs, making Ritsuko roll her eyes, which caused Airi to laugh softly.

Eri kept a casual eye on Airi as she and Ritsuko worked on breakfast for the group. Airi was holding court in the living room, easily and professionally managing the friends of her daughter; as well as her husband, who seemed to be wanting to talk to her about their time in the other worlds, but was getting less than nowhere without even realizing it.

There is no question that she is a professional actress; and a very skilled one, the mother considered even while engaging in small talk with her daughter as the two worked close in the kitchen. It is also clear she is no more interested in talking about the other worlds than Ritsuko is. I suspect she will keep on avoiding that until she and Ritsu can talk privately. Eri considered that it might be that Airi and her daughter wanted to coordinate their stories, which would indicate that they were hiding a lot. Considering what she had learned from her precious daughter and by reading the diaries she had kept, Eri was not sure she wanted more details. But, I am her mother, and that means I need to know, part of her thought, even as she recalled what she had heard Ritsuko say to her friends the night before, her angry tone slicing through the wall between her bedroom and the master bedroom where she and her husband were working on falling asleep.

“All right, enough with the celebrity hour,” Ritsuko ordered. “Food is up and you all have to go to school,” she said, helping her mom bring the food to the small table. Eri saw Ritsuko give a cup of coffee to Airi, who nodded before sipping it. It did not surprise her that her daughter made the coffee exactly the way the actress liked it. “Dad, you and girls sit and eat, since you have to be out of here pretty quick. And I recommend you girls at least try to tame your bed-heads before running to school,” she ordered, obviously used to being in charge.

Her friends blinked even as they sat at the small table - two of them having to eat off corners of the table - seeming to realize for the first time that they were in no way ready to go to school, and time was ticking by. Eri got a cup of coffee as her daughter swiftly wrangled her friends and dad through a meal, setting plates and cups in front of them before pausing to take a sip from Airi's offered cup of coffee. Nodding, she handed the cup back to Airi, who sipped from it casually as Ritsuko continued to prod her friends through eating and getting ready for school.

Her father finished eating, standing and grabbing his suitcase before kissing his wife on the way to the door. “Dad, have a good day at work,” Ritsuko said, stepping over to him and kissing his cheek while handing him a bento. “Made a lunch for you,” she said before immediately returning to pushing the last two friends to finish up. Eri smiled at her husband's confused glance at her. Silently, she shook her head. The man of the house gave Ritsuko one more look before heading out the door.

Saeko - having nearly eaten the basic breakfast in one bite - finished getting ready, emerging from Ritsuko's room in her uniform, hair fixed, finishing up her morning self-check even as Masumi exited the bathroom even as Kaede stepped in, joining Yuki at the sink. “Borrowed some of your perfume, Ritsu,” Saeko shared casually, seeing Ritsuko clearing the last of the dishes while Airi said calmly on the couch.

“Ok,” was all she got from Ritsuko.

“So, I was thinking,” Saeko began.

“I thought we talked about that and how dangerous it was for you to try things you aren't used to,” came Ritsuko's teasing rejoiner.

Saeko ignored her friend's dig. “If this Ikari couple are what you think they might be, it makes sense for us to keep an eye on them. I had thought I should try to talk you into coming back to school, but I realize that is not happening,” she continued her thought.

“Just seeing that smug face makes me want to kill him horribly and desecrate his corpse,” bit out Ritsuko. Airi reached out, placing a hand on Ritsuko's thigh as the red head settled next to her on the couch.

“Figured that part out already,” nodded Saeko. “With that in mind, I think we - meaning your friends - should be your eyes and ears in school.”

“Saeko, if they are up their old tricks, they will kill you or worse,” began Ritsuko.

“Perhaps not, Rit-chan,” Airi interjected calmly. “Think about it carefully. There are no Eva in this world, so being watched by a group of girls in his homeroom class should not trigger any meaningful action by him. Same for the ghoul,” Airi referred to Gendo's wife Ritsuko in her role as school nurse. “After your little outburst the other day, I think - if anything - he will be cautious about doing anything reckless to your friends for fear of your retaliation.”

Ritsuko opened her mouth to replay, then paused, her expression turning thoughtful. For several moments, she was silent. “And if he turns out to be reckless?” she asked quietly after several long moments.

“Then we deal with it as it unfolds,” Airi said quietly, giving Ritsuko's bare thigh a squeeze. “We have gotten a lot of practice at that, have we not?” she gave her younger partner a half smile, which won her an involuntary snort of laughter.

“Yes, we have,” admitted Ritsuko.

“What are you talking about?” asked Masumi, arriving in the room as Atsuko passed Yuki in the doorway to the bathroom, nudging Kaede over at the sink.

“We're going to be Ritsu's eyes and ears at school to keep an eye on the Ikari issue,” Saeko filled her in. Masumi's eyes lit up.

“Cool!” she nearly squealed. Ritsuko shook her head silently.

“So, how are we going to set up the intel dumps?” Ritsuko began, clearly talking to herself.

“Obviously, we will be coming to check on you after school every day,” stated Saeko, getting nods from the others as the final ones reached the living room.

“You will have homework and other things going on,” began Ritsuko.

“You have a history of disappearing if we don't keep an eye on you,” stated Kaede, arriving as the last one.

“It was one time,” protested Ritsuko.

“Still a history of disappearing,” dismissed Atsuko, nods from the others backing her up.

“Whatever,” sighed Ritsuko. “I will come up with something later, but for now, you know my cell - use it. And now, you better run to make the train,” she reminded them, the group checking their phones before rushing off. The front door to the house closed, leaving Ritsuko, Airi and Eri sitting in the living room, coffee cups in hand.

“We obviously have some things to take care of, and choices to make,” Airi said after a moment of silence. Ritsuko nodded, setting her coffee cup on the coffee table before grabbing the pad of paper and the pencil that was kept there. Her mother smiled to herself.

“Let's start a list and figure it out once we have an idea of the scope of the issue,” Ritsuko said.

For the next hour and a half, Eri mostly just watched and listened as the two nearly mind-melded in front of her. They wandered back and forth between Japanese, English and Elvish, almost as if it were accidental, but Eri knew better. The list on the pad grew, shrank and expanded as the two freely discussed and dissected the issues.

“Mom?” Ritsuko's voice interrupted her thoughts. Eri blinked, seeing both Ritsuko and Airi watching her.

“Sorry, what was that, sweetie?” she asked.

“Just wanted to know if you were ok. You have been zoned out for the last page or so,” Ritsuko said, intently studying her mom.

“I am fine, sweetie,” Eri said. “Just watching you and Airi. It is clear you have a well-established partnership,” the mother shared. “And that you and she trust each other fully,” she added.

“Airi has been down in the mud and blood with me too many times to doubt her,” Ritsuko said quietly, glancing at Airi. The young woman's mother sincerely hoped that Ritsuko was being metaphorical with the mud and blood part, but suspected she was not.

“Since we are on the subject, you are welcome to stay with us, Airi,” Eri offered.

“Thanks for offering, but Airi already booked a room at the Imperial,” Ritsuko said, Airi nodding. “Airi has a habit of enjoying luxury hotels and resorts,” grinned the red-head.

“True,” Airi said. “Besides, it is wise to have multiple bases,” she added, glancing at Ritsuko, who nodded.

“Are you going to be staying at the hotel with Airi?” asked her mother.

“Sometimes,” Ritsuko replied, again getting a nod from Airi. “We are going to be busy, and it will be best to have an alternate place if steps need to be taken.”

“No reflection on your hospitality, Eri,” assured the actress. Eri made a dismissive gesture.

“I understand completely,” assured the mother. “So, what is next for you two?”

Ritsuko and Airi looked at each other for a long moment.

-

Junpei considered the unconscious men around him, frowning. “Is this all you had?” he asked them, sighing. “Man, I was thinking there would be a challenge here, given how much bragging you guys have been doing, but what a let-down.”

He was standing in the middle of a dojo that had been making a lot of claims and winning dojo challenges around town. It was a MMA-type style, which was versatile and quick, so Junpei had spent a paycheck to challenge them. The three-dozen-and-change members had burst out laughing, while the head of the dojo said that they did not do dojo challenges against a single person. Junpei had smiled, told them he had never been defeated by any dojo and was going to kick all their asses, take their sign and add it to the stack of signs he had already collected, but if they were still too nutless to face him, then he would just tell everyone they were scared to fight all-against-one.

It was a tactic he had found worked well with certain kinds of dojos, and within two minutes, the students were swarming him, and he was pounding them down like nails. When the senior students were knocked out, he had locked gazes with the master and gestured to him to step up. The master couldn't really say no, since none of his students had even managed to hit this gorilla in white leather. Scowling, the master had stepped onto the mats. Two minutes later, Junpei was frowning at the carnage.

“Rapier and Gabs were a lot better than all of you put together,” he muttered, taking the sign from over the dojo door. On the way out, he kicked the public sign, shattering it. As he headed back home, his cell phone chirped. Checking the phone, he found it was an alert from Airi's social media account. Blinking at the message, he tried to puzzle out what it might mean. After a few minutes, he was pretty sure it was a message to him specifically from Airi. After all, `muscle-headed dork' was one of her pillow names for him, and who else knew he was a `Wizard of leg techniques' but Airi? Well, Airi and Rit-chan, but still.

“She is telling me she wants me to come find her,” he realized, having finally deciphered the message. “That bit about being glad I made it home and wishing me a successful life must mean she is desperately searching for me so we can be married!” he smiled at how smart he was.

It wasn't until he had tossed the dojo sign on top of the third head-high stack of dojo signs in the corner of the small room he lived in that it occurred to him that Airi hadn't given him any hint of how to get in touch with him.

-

“I don't know, Airi, I still think it will only encourage that twit to keep bothering you,” Ritsuko said as the two were riding the train. Airi hummed.

“I do not disagree, Rit-chan, but you know that we own him at least a `good luck' message as confirmation after the times he has saved us and for being the perfect fall guy and tool for us,” smiled Airi. Ritsuko snickered.

“Ok, I won't argue that,” she conceded.

“So, where are we going again?” asked Airi, seeing the shoulder bag that was slung cross-chest on her partner. Ritsuko was not wearing her uniform that Airi was so used to seeing her in, as Ritsuko had said that she was not going back to high school and therefore had no reason to keep wearing the uniform. Instead, the red-head was wearing a just-shorter-than-knee-length denim skirt with a short-sleeved blouse that Airi agreed looked very good on her, her hair still in her pony-tailed look, and sneakers on her feet.

It had not really surprised her to find that Ritsuko's closet had more skirts and dresses than pants. Her partner had once told her that she had always been girly, hobbies aside, and felt comfortable in skirts and dresses, even though she also had no issue wearing combat fatigues or jeans if the situation called for it. Airi had also noted the accessories and perfumes and personal care products on Ritsuko's dresser. It mildly bothered her that Ritsuko had never mentioned any of that when they were in the other worlds. Not that my Rit-chan really needs the makeup or skin-care products to look beautiful, she thought. But, it was nice in a way to know that when she had been kidnapped to the elf world, she had pushed the issue of not having any of that with her aside as irrelevant.

“You wanted to verify them yourself, right? I remembered there are a couple of spots where you can do that without being seen,” Ritsuko said even as the train stopped at the station and the two got off. Ritsuko led her partner toward her school, but crossed the street and entered a building diagonal from the school proper. Moving through the shop, Airi watched as Ritsuko casually moved into the back, which gave access to the utility stairs. Bypassing the door alarm and fire alarm, Ritsuko had led her partner up to the roof, where she had used a small piece of hard plastic about the size and shape of a credit card to keep the door from self-locking behind them.

Moving to the corner facing the school, she had reached into her bag, pulling out a familiar pair of binoculars. Using the optics, she had checked the school, verifying the position was good. Handing the binocs to Airi, she had indicated where the actress needed to look. “Second floor, third room from this end of the main classroom block, next to last set of windows. You are looking him in the face,” she said, her tone tight. Airi did as directed, taking a moment to locate the target. When she focused the powerful binoculars, she sucked in a breath.

“Yeah, I know, right?” came Ritsuko's quiet voice.

“It is uncanny,” Airi said, studying the target. Her memories from the other Japan rushed back, along with anger, hate and a touch of fear. Airi pushed those aside, much as she knew Ritsuko had managed to do, though she was sure the younger woman had had to work far harder to push the memories aside. “I see why you were going to drag him over the desk by the teeth and beat the gerbil out of him when you first saw him,” she said, her tone touched with humor.

Ritsuko snickered. “Wow, Airi, that was a surprisingly lyrical way to put it, but please don't insult gerbils like that.”

Airi laughed softly. “Very well,” she agreed. “What class is he teaching?” she wondered.

“First period for me was math, so he should be teaching calculous,” Ritsuko said, her gaze sharpening. “What is the fuck teaching?” she asked intently.

“Math,” Airi replied in a calming manner. “It is just that in the other Japan, he was known mostly for being the husband of Yui, the Commander of NERV and the biggest asshole in human history. The old newspaper articles and magazine articles did say he was an accomplished scientist, but never in what field, as it was always overshadowed by his marriage to Yui. He was, as far as anyone knew, always an assistant to smarter, better scientists; like Yui, Naoko, Ritsuko and Misato's father.”

“Politician, figures,” spat Ritsuko, venom in her tone. “Probably teaching the math wrong,” she muttered, clencing her fists.

“Do you want to re-enroll to make sure he is?” Airi replied blandly.

“No. I would end up shooting him within a day, if I had to look at him that much,” Ritsuko said. “I actually thought of this spot and the other one because it would be the best place to snipe him from with the M4. If I had the PSG, well…” she trailed off, smiling coldly.

“Are you going to shoot him, Ritsuko?” Airi asked directly.

“Would you try to stop me?” asked the younger woman in turn.

“No. I would pray that I would not need to stop you,” Airi said. “You have always been a very self-disciplined young woman, usually cheerful, kind and compassionate, as well,” she said.

“Not so much anymore; at least in some areas,” mumbled the red-head.

“I have every faith and confidence that the Ritsuko you were before NERV is still in there,” Airi said, lowering the binoculars and reaching out to squeeze Ritsuko's shoulder. “Which window is the nurse's office?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Can't see it from this side. Gotta move to a different spot,” Ritsuko said, glancing away from Airi for a moment. Airi stepped closer to Ritsuko, hugging her for a moment. Ritsuko patted her arms after a moment. When Airi loosened her hug, Ritsuko tucked the binoculars back into her bad before leading Airi back to the stairs and to her second hide.

The hide Ritsuko had located on the diagonal corner was not a building, but a corner of a small park, with a spot behind some hedges where one could get a view into the nurse's office. The angle was not ideal, and only a third of the room was visible, but the third that was visible had the nurse's desk in it. Ritsuko checked the view, finding the former Akagi to be sitting at the desk, apparently working on paperwork. The desk was situated with the chair to the wall, allowing the nurse to monitor the beds in the room as well as the medicine cabinet while working at her desk.

“The angle is not ideal, but I bet I could put lead on target,” she murmured, handing the glasses to Airi. “Ground floor, just in front of the covered walkway to the gym, the two windows past the curtained ones,” she directed her partner. Airi found the windows and adjusted the glasses.

“That's her; well, a version of her,” confirmed Airi.

“Right down to the mole,” muttered Ritsuko, resting her elbows on the low park fence, which was mostly to keep young kids in the park boundaries. Behind and to the side of the two women, some pre-kindergarten children played under the eyes of their mothers, while on some benches on the other side, some old people sat, enjoying the fresh air.

Airi studied the woman for several minutes. Finally, she lowered the binoculars and handed them back to Ritsuko, who one-hand tucked them into her bag. “Thank you for showing me this, Rit-chan,” she said to her partner.

“No problem. I figured you would understand my reaction better if you saw them in person,” Ritsuko said, staring out over the city. Silence fell for several minutes. “We going after Yui and the others?” she asked quietly.

“I have some feelers out, trying to determine if SEELE, GEHIRN, Fuyutski or the others are similarly represented in our world, but so far, nothing.”

“The files said GEHIRN was in Germany,” noted Ritsuko quietly. “It was where Yui first paired up with Kyoko Sorhyu.”

“You obviously know the relationships,” Airi noted calmly. Ritsuko nodded. “Are you planning a trip to Germany? Perhaps you feel you owe it to Asuka?”

“Shinji doesn't exist in our world, so the odds are high that Asuka won't, either. And certainly not Rei,” Ritsuko quietly shared. “But Asuka had a rough childhood, and her father was only a little better than the Rat Bastard. I might feel that checking on the off chance that there is an Asuka is worth a trip and beating some sense into her father if the one here is like the one there,” admitted the red-head.

Airi studied Ritsuko. Gendo should be grateful he didn't find himself on the receiving end of Rit-chan's rage. She is truly good at holding a grudge, thought Airi. Not that she herself didn't want to kill Shinji's father; it was just that Ritsuko had a particular axe to grind with him and would not be kind or quick about it if she could help it. “Perhaps you are correct,” the actress mused. “But are you ready to leave your parents again so soon?” she pressed.

Ritsuko's expression tightened a little.

-

“Ritsu? Are you in there?”

“Yeah, Dad,” Ritsuko answered. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, Airi sitting at her desk. Her door was closed, which is why her father was asking if she was in her room. It had been a long time since either of her parents would enter her room without asking. It was just safer for everyone.

“Can I come in, Ritsu?” he asked her.

“Yeah,” answered Ritsuko, her mind on her work. Her dad opened her door, seeing his daughter sitting on her bed, dressed in a thin tank-top mid-riff shirt and a pair of small, loose shorts, hair loose down her back, a stack of gold coins, diamonds, rubies and other precious stones in front of her. It was clear she had been sorting and counting the coins and gems. “What did you need, dad?” she asked, glancing at him.

“Do I need a reason to want to see my daughter?” he asked, stopping just inside her room. “Miss Airi,” he greeted the actress. Airi was sitting in the fairly small chair that Ritsuko kept at her desk, dressed in an understated sun dress, a glass of wine in her hand. Airi inclined her head to him, but said nothing. It had not escaped him that Airi was not overly talkative with him and his wife. While not anti-social or snobbish or shy, she nevertheless was very clearly there to talk to Ritsuko. That the two often spoke in elvish also worried him.

“No, but your daughter gets suspicious when you randomly want to see her when you saw her at dinner not a half hour ago,” smiled Ritsuko, peeking at him playfully. Seeing his look, she giggled softly. “What did you need, dad?” she asked him, more serious.

“Your mother and I were talking last night,” he began.

“Is that what you call it? Sounded more like post-coital pillow talk to me,” she replied, snarky and arch. “Seriously, when did you two get so loud when going at it? You woke me up twice,” she noted, her tone a bit sour. Of course, both time, I ended up masturbating because their noise made me remember Shinji, she left unsaid.

“You and Shinji were much louder,” Airi sniped at her in elvish. Ritsuko blushed even as she shrugged.

“We really enjoyed having sex together,” she dismissed, also in elvish. “But I still think Asuka and Hikari were louder than me when they were having sex with Shinji,” she added.

“Perhaps,” allowed Airi.

Her father was looking a little uncomfortable at her question. “Um, sorry if we woke you,” he offered. Ritsuko shrugged.

“You were talking, and….?” she brought it on topic.

“We want to go on a short family vacation, see mom and dad, maybe a visit to some place you wanted to go?” he suggested. Ritsuko considered that.

“You and mom already took time off last week,” she noted. “When were you planning to take this mini-vacation?” she asked calmly, one hand absently tracing gold coins. “Oh, and this is for you,” she said, tossing him an envelope. Opening it, he found it stuffed with cash. “For the clothes I bought,” she said, eyes back on the hard currency before her.

“Ritsu, I told you…” he began.

“I am an adult, dad,” she said quietly, “I pay my own way,” she added, unconsciously glancing at Airi, who gave nothing away in her expression or body language. “So when were you two thinking of taking this little mini-vacation?” she prompted.

“Well, whenever you feel up to it, I suppose,” he replied.

Ritsuko hummed softly, eyes on the glittering prizes before her. Her dad only realized it when she shifted, but she had her pistol tucked under her rear on side facing away from the door. “Are you thinking of going somewhere?” he asked her.

“There are things I need to do, yes,” Ritsuko said, turning to look him in the eye. “I have already told gramps and granny that I would be visiting soon, and I think this weekend is a good time,” she answered.

Her dad frowned a little. “Are you taking miss Airi with you? Maybe planning to introduce them to your grandparents?” he half-suggested.

“Perhaps,” smiled Ritsuko.

“Well, we could all head down this weekend, visit them then maybe camp out like we used to. Maybe check out that theme park you liked so much?” he suggested.

Ritsuko snorted. “Truthfully, dad, I am burned out on camping after three years of it, and theme parks will never be the same after the elf world, so I think I will have to pass,” she declined gently.

“I see,” he replied quietly, his eyes noticing her passport was on the desk, not far from the bottle of wine Airi had shared with him and his wife at dinner. It was very good wine, though his wife had like it more than him. Ritsuko, he had noticed, had not had any; though she also made no comment about it. “Ritsu, are you going to leave with Airi?” he asked her directly.

Ritsuko sighed. “Probably. For a bit anyway,” she allowed. He swallowed.

“Well, um, be sure to keep in touch,” he managed, turning for the door. Ritsuko leapt off the bed, grabbing him in a tight hug from behind.

“This doesn't have anything to do with you or mom or me not loving you two,” she said, hugging him a little tighter, making his chest hurt a little. “I love you both more than you will ever know. But there are things I need to do, things that I need to confirm. And I can never go back to the girl you remember. I'm sorry, dad, but I can't be the Ritsu you knew and loved so much.”

“All I want is my daughter to be happy,” managed the man.

“I am working on it, dad, promise!” she swore before release him. “Talk to mom about this; she might be able to explain it to you better,” sighed Ritsuko. “And I mean talk like normal talk, not going at it like weasels,” she added, her tone playfully nasty.

“But we like talking like that more than talking normally, Ritsu,” he came back at her, forcing a bright laugh from her.

“Well, can't say I disagree,” she rejoined, smiling a wide, hungry smile. Her dad twitched as he left her room. Yeah, you don't want to tease me like that, dad, she thought smugly.

“So you have decided,” Airi said softly.

“There was never really a choice, Airi,” Ritsuko said.

-

“This is the place?” asked Ritsuko, studying the somewhat-dilapidated group of building behind the fence. Airi nodded.

“All the information we have points to it, yes,” she said. Ritsuko took a breath before slowly letting it out. “Ready?”

“Yeah, let's do this,” Ritsuko said, the two moving toward the rickety gate at the main entrance. Approaching the tiny guard shack, they spotted a rent-a-guard half-dozing in the tight shack. She glanced at Ritsuko, seeing her partner eyeing the area with a critical eye. Touching her arm, she shook her head minutely. Ritsuko, she had learned, had a tendency to act much like they had in the elf world and the other Japan: that being forcefully. She could only be glad that Ritsuko was currently without a gun; something the red-head was not a fan of, but was tolerating it well enough.

As they came close to guard shack, the guard stirred. Ritsuko stepped forward just a bit. The guard seemed to wake a bit, stepping in front of them, right hand out in the universal `halt' gesture. “Anhalten. Dies ist eine eingeschr�nkte Forschungseinrichtung. Kann ich Ihnen helfen?”

“Ja, wir sind hier, um mit Doktor Ikari �ber eine private angelegenheit zu sprechen. Sie sollte uns erwarten,” Ritsuko said, eyes on the guard. Airi gave him a pleasant, but distant smile. Airi was dressed in a tailored business skirt outfit, while Ritsuko was wearing a utilitarian skirt and top, hiking boots on her feet, sunglasses over her eyes and a cap on her head, braided hair resting against her back.

“Ich verstehe. Ihre namen, bitte?” the guard replied.

“I am Doctor Horaki,” Airi said in English. “She should be expecting me after our last phone conversation.”

The guard seemed to be conversant enough in English to understand what Airi said. “Einen moment, w�hrend ich verifiziere, vermisse.”

Airi inclined her head briefly as the guard picked up an old, battered phone and pushed some buttons. Ritsuko was sweeping her eyes over the facilities, studying the layout and gathering recon information. A moment later, the guard stepped back out of the small hut. “Sie erwartet dich. Bitte gehen sie zum haupteingang, wo sie von einem mitarbeiter getroffen werden.”

“Arigato,” Airi replied, following Ritsuko as she stepped through the small foot-traffic gate the guard opened. The guard had pointed out the main entrance - which looked as run-down and ill-maintained as the rest of the site - when he had told them they were expected. Ritsuko kept he eyes moving as she walked across the cracked concrete and asphalt drive and parking lot.

“Ready, Airi?” she murmured.

“Of course,” came the aloof reply, making Ritsuko smile.

“I would say the same, but I don't have any guns, and just this knife might not cut it,” she murmured, hand ghosting over the combat knife she had hidden in the waistband of her skirt.

“If we play our roles, it won't be needed,” Airi reminded her. She had no doubt that Ritsuko would have preferred to roll up on this place with Mike and all her guns. Reaching the main entrance, they tried the door, only to find it wouldn't open. Ritsuko swiftly spotted the damage to the frame and tried the other door, which opened with a metallic groan and squeak.

“So, where is the staffer who should be greeting us?” murmured Ritsuko in elvish, looking around. Not seeing anyone, Airi debated if they should wait or move deeper on their own. Each had their advantages and drawbacks. Seeing Ritsuko suddenly spin to face a pair of fake potted plants in the run-down foyer, she looked closer, spotting a small form hiding behind the plants.

“And who are you?” Airi asked sweetly, determining the person was likely to be a child from the size. Ritsuko carefully squatted as well.

“Shh!” hissed the child. The two exchanged looks. Just then, they heard footsteps coming from one of the halls.

“I don't have time to play with you, sweetie,” a man's voice was heard. “I promise I will play with you later, but right now, I have to work. You know that, right?” he pleaded. The small form tucked deeper into the fake plants. Ritsuko realized it was a young girl, maybe ten years old or so. Glancing at Airi, the two women straightened up, turning to face the hall they could hear the man's voice from. Ritsuko moved so she was blocking direct view of the plants, making Airi give her a curious glance.

A man wearing a lab coat over a teeshirt and shorts came into view. Spotting the two women waiting, he tried to improve his posture and bearing as he approached them. “Ah, you must be doctor Horaki, and miss….?”

“Wakirihara,” Ritsuko said. “I am Doctor Horaki's assistant,” she said, her tone cool and crisp.

“I see. Well, welcome to K�rper Labor und Forschungseinrichtung if you speak German, Body Lab and Research Facility if you speak English, and `work' if you are me,” he gave them a smile he probably felt was charming and engaging. “My name is Kaneda, and I will show you to doctor Ikari, though I warn you, she is in the middle of an experiment, and tends to get lost in her work.”

“No surprise,” came Ritsuko's quiet remark, her emotions conflicted.

“I see,” came the somewhat confused reply. “If you will follow me, I will take you to her before resuming my search for a certain young girl who is playing hide and seek,” he said.

“A young girl? What would a child be doing here?” Airi asked.

“My daughter,” he replied. “I spend a lot of time here, and since her mother is no longer with us, it is easier to just take her to work with me,” he started.

“Easier on who?” muttered Ritsuko, only to see Airi twitch a hand.

“Sorry, didn't quite catch that,” Kaneda said. Ritsuko waved it away.

“Go on ahead Airi, I will catch up once I visit the bathroom,” Ritsuko said.

“Are you sure…?” began the man, only to meet her gaze. “I am sure you will be fine,” he dismissed his protect. “The best bathroom is down the hall to the left, second corridor to the right, fifth door on the left. It is a shared bathroom,” he warned her. Ritsuko once more flipped her hand.

“It's fine,” she said, appearing to glance at her boot before kneeling and messing with the ties.

“Shall we be going?” Airi hinted, the man leading her off down the hallway he had appeared from. Once they were out of sight, Ritsuko turned to face the young girl.

“Well?” she said. The girl slowly - silently - emerged from the hiding spot.

“I will show you where the bathroom is,” she said, as if that was what Ritsuko has been asking, heading off in the direction Kaneda had indicated. Ritsuko followed her.

“What is your name,” Ritsuko asked.

“It's Katsuragi,” answered the girl. “Misato Katsuragi!”

Ritsuko nearly tripped on nothing, hearing that. Even as she caught herself, her eyes snapped around to study the girl more closely. Even much younger, Ritsuko immediately saw that this was the Misato Katsuragi analog in their world. Misato gave her a curious look.

“Everything ok?” she asked

“Fine, Mi-chan,” she replied automatically, using the nickname that Shinji had sometimes used for his Misato. “So, your dad drags you around with him for work?” she asked.

Misato nodded. “I pretty much live out of a suitcase most times,” she said, Ritsuko hearing the dissatisfaction in her undertone.

“Must make having friends hard,” the red-head said. Misato shrugged, but didn't answer that.

“Here is the bathroom,” she said, indicating a door. Ritsuko nodded, stepping inside and finding a rather worn and dingy bathroom with a toilet and urinal and a sink. Traces of graffiti could still be seen, along with many cracked tiles and dents and dings to the stall. Turning to the sink, she found that someone had glued a small mirror above it to replace the broken larger mirror. Seeing her expression, she closed her eyes, took a couple of deep breathes, then splashed cold water on her face before flushing the toilet and emerging to find Misato waiting for her.

“Say, Misa-chan,” she slipped in a term she had heard Asuka mutter in her sleep, “Would you have any interest in being my friend?”

-

“Ritsuko, please calm down,” Airi said calmly, the red-head pacing angrily in their posh hotel much later that evening.

“I'm trying, Airi, but…” she shook her head, forcing herself to sit in the other chair in the nook in their suite. “That is Misato. You saw it, too. The instant you laid eyes on her, you knew she was Misato; in this world, anyway. And so far, it is matching up with what we learned of the other Misato in their world. Her dad is an asshole, she is growing up more or less alone, and it is about this age that the other Misato was dragged to Antarctica by that fuckup and had her life ruined!”

“They don't know anything about Antarctica,” said Airi calmly. “Also, there may not be anything there in this dimension,” she reminded her. “Their research, though somewhat parallel, is not on the same course.”

“I know,” sighed Ritsuko, frustration in her tone. “Then there is the issue with the other Misato having been roommates in college with Ritsuko, but here Ritsuko is the same age as Yui, Misato is about to turn eleven years old, the Genocidal Shithead is married to Akagi, and correct me if I am wrong, but was Yui interested in Fuyutsuki?”

“It certainly gave the May-December vibe, didn't it?” Airi murmured. While Airi had been giving another Oscar-level performance of a high-level research scientist, both she and Ritsuko had noticed the small actions and casual touches between Yui and Fuyutsuki that suggested to both very heavily that either Yui was trying to seduce him or he was grooming her to be his little fuck toy. Because Airi had much greater familiarity with Fuyutsuki in the other world, she was inclinded to believe it was mutual, but Ritsuko - never a fan of NERV command - was cynically sure he was a perverted old cradle robber.

“Also, did you see how Kyoko was acting around Kaneda? Pretty sure those two are playing footsie, too,” Ritsuko said. She wondered what the analog of Asuka would like here with Kaneda as her father instead of the German guy; or if Kyoko just had not met the sperm donor yet. “Mi-chan mentioned some things that make me pretty sure that they are shacked up, though Misato doesn't quite get that yet,” she frowned.

“Speaking of Misato, Rit-chan,” Airi delved delicately into the top that had most likely let to her partner being in such an agitated state, “what possessed you to become friends with her?”

Ritsuko pursed her lips. “It was the right thing to do,” she said a moment later. “Also, this way, I can more or less monitor her movements and if she says anything about Antarctica, I can head them off at the pass, so to speak,” her tone was grim and dark at the end. Airi was not surprised that Ritsuko had multiple reasons for her actions.

“Is the main reason being that you feel it is the right thing to do?” asked Airi, sipping some wine.

“Yes,” came the immediate answer, Airi relaxing at the no-hesitation reply. She is still in there, the teenager I met that first day in the elf world, she heaved a silent breath of relief.

Ritsuko had shown up at the lab with Misato, the two talking easily. Kaneda has started to say something, but a cold stare from Ritsuko shut him up. Something about Ritsuko obviously made him a little uneasy, as he tended to try to avoid her for the rest of the visit. Misato stuck with Ritsuko though the entire tour, the discussion of the research, the theory they were working on proving, some back history and the ramifications of what success would mean to the world.

Airi, though not a scientist by any means, had bluffed it so perfectly that they had never figured it out. Her reading of the HIP and EVA files as well as stolen GEHIRN and SEELE documents had let her fake it when combined with her natural talents as an actress. None of the four had suspected a thing.

Before leaving, Ritsuko had given Misato her contact info - all of it. Phone, email, address, and more or less forced Kaneda to swear to buy his daughter a smart phone that very night. As they had left, they had seen a beaten-up motorcycle leaving as well, making Ritsuko smirk a nasty smirk.

“I hope you know what you got yourself into,” smiled Airi, pouring a little more wine into her glass. “Pre-teen girls and cell phones can be deadly,” she teased.

“After what we went through, what she went through over there, I have no fear,” Ritsuko said, her phone in hand.

“I suppose this is as good a time as any to talk about what we are going to do, going forward,” Airi said, reaching over and offering her glass of wine to Ritsuko.

“Come on, Airi,” began Ritsuko, smiling a little.

“You are only sixteen on paper, Rit-chan, and this is a rather good lite wine,” Airi said. “Unless you want to start with beer to be ready for Misato?” she teased. Ritsuko snorted a laugh, taking the glass and a single sip. Handing it back, she shrugged.

“Guess I am not refined enough to appreciate wine, Airi,” she shared.

“It is not the drink, but what it signifies,” Airi replied quietly. “So, what are we going to do going forward?”

-

“I'm back,” Ritsuko said, stepping through the door to her parent's house. She was busy with her phone, but glanced up when she didn't hear an answer. Frowning, she ignored her phone - it was on silent mode anyway - and listened. Mom's car is in the parking spot, and dad shouldn't be in the office today, she reviewed mentally. Slipping off her shoulder bag, she eased off her sneakers and stalked forward silently, slowly and steadily clearing the entry hall and working toward the living room and kitchen area. Of all the times to not have my pistol on me, a part of her thought absently. She had just gotten back from a trip to Italy with Airi, Airing having to fly home to the U.S. to take care of some things. They had been fishing for more pieces of the puzzle for the last five months, but it was looking like they might not be facing SEELE or GEHIRN or NERV or genocidal possessive maniacs; for now at least.

Cutting the pie around the corner into the living room, she caught a flash of movement, light and a `happy birthday!' cheer. Ritsuko had already tucked back around the corner, hand jerking the knife from her skirt waistband even as she crouched, arms up in defensive posture, knife held ready in her dominate hand. Her friends rounded the corner, seeing her panting harshly, knife in hand, teeth bared. “Fuck!” she bit out, slowly straightening. “Don't do that,” she bit out, tucking her knife away.

“Um, sorry, Ritsu,” Saeko apologized for the group.

“We wanted to surprise you for your birthday,” explained Kaede unnecessarily.

“Birthday?” blinked Ritsuko, checking her phone. “Oh,” she said tonelessly a moment later.

“You forgot your birthday?!” demanded Atsuko.

“Been busy,” Ritsuko said, breathing deeply for a moment.

“We know. Germany, Spain, Brazil, Israel, Australia, back to Germany, then to Italy. What you are trying to do, build enough air miles to fly to the moon?” asked Yuki.

“Just…checking things,” said Ritsuko, straightening. Looking over her friends' heads, she saw her parents watching. She stifled the urge to roll her yes. “I'm back,” she said to her parents, moving through her friends to hug her mom and dad. “Tell me there is more to eat than cake,” she added, seeing the living room decked out for a birthday party. “I'm hungry,” she said.

Masumi had been checking the auto-camera they had set up. “What is this?” she wondered, seeing the image the camera had captured automatically. Instead of the deer-in-headlights look, or a startled look, Ritsuko was only half-seen, ducking back around the corner, one eye glowing red in the picture, which was slightly out of focus due to her reaction speed. “I don't think that is normal,” she opinioned as the other looked at the picture.

“It's just the usual camera issue with AF,” dismissed Ritsuko, she was working her phone again. “Mom, did those test results come in from last time?” she asked, mind elsewhere.

“Yes, you just need to set an appointment,” said her mother.

“Doing it now,” Ritsuko said.

“Tests? Appointments?” her friends wondered collectively.

“Nothing to worry about,” Ritsuko dismissed the concern casually. Her mom handed her a plate heaped with food, and she fell on it like a starving lioness. “What has been going on with the two parasites?” she asked her friends, still busy with her phone. “Did they take some days off five weeks ago? Miss class?” she asked.

“No,” said Saeko, sounding curious about why Ritsuko would ask that. Kaede had retrieved the shoulder bag Ritsuko had and started going through it.

“Hey! You forgot our tribute!” she declared grandly, point an accusatory finger at Ritsuko. “You have been all over the place and not one souvenir for us! Unacceptable! Inoue Ritsuko, you have been found guilty of ignoring your friends - again! - and are hereby sentenced to bullying and reparations in the form of spending the coming holiday week with us, doing what we always do!” the other girls made sounds of agreement.

Ritsuko didn't react beyond a distracted grunt. A few moments later, she nodded to herself at whatever she saw on her phone and turned to her friends. “I travel light and fast, girls, and customs already think I am a drug mule or smuggler, so I had the souvenirs sent to your homes from the originating countries.

Masumi had found Ritsuko's passport and flipped it open. “Wow, you are not kidding,” she said. Ritsuko had traveled overseas with her parents before being kidnapped, so her passport had stamps in it from those trips, but there were new ones building rapidly.

Ritsuko's cell phone rang, the red-head glancing at the screen before answering it. “Hey, Misa-chan. Is everything ok? It is well after midnight where you are; or were. Did you get dragged off by that irresponsible idiot again?” she asked.

“Nothing is wrong, Rit-chan,” came the answer from Misato. “Just wanted to wish you happy birthday; at least, I think I got the time zone correction right,” offered the eleven year old girl.

“Thank you, Misa-chan!” replied Ritsuko easily, “in fact, I had just arrived back when my other friends surprised me with a party,” she shared, her friends miming outrage at her description of them.

Misato giggled. “Did they survive?” she asked. Ritsuko laughed.

“Yes, yes, they are fine,” she assured the young girls. “Speaking of, is your cell signal good where you are?” she asked

“Um, yeah, it has that LTE thing you said to look for. Why?” she asked.

“Video chat invite inbound, Misa-chan!” Ritsuko said, tapping her phone. A moment later, she was smiling at her phone before turning the camera around, the others seeing a purple-haired girl in a thin teeshirt under what was probably covers. “Let me introduce you,” Ritsuko said, moving along the line and including her parents at the end. Shortly after, Misato had startled and the call had been ended abruptly. Ritsuko frowned, swiftly punching out a text.

“Ritsu, would she be….?” asked her mom. Ritsuko nodded, eyes on phone.

“This version of Misato Katsuragi, who was the commanding officer of the Pilots and Tactical Ops director for NERV. Other than a variance in her age and peers, her history is lining up with the other Misato. But I will not let it end the same way this time,” she vowed, her tone darker, eyes on the phone. “If I don't get the all-clear reply in ten minutes, I'm heading back there to get her,” she added.

“Ritsu,” began her father.

“Dad, don't,” Ritsuko said quietly. “It has to be this way,” she added. Before he could think of what to say to that, her phone signaled a message, and Ritsuko let slip a sigh of relief. “The idiot just checked on her unexpectedly. He has threatened to take her cell phone before, so maybe I should…suggest how bad a choice that would be,” her smile was sharp, cold and hungry, fingers once more tapping her cell phone screen. After a moment, she set her phone aside and finished up the last of the food. “Mom, is there more of that?” she asked.

“Of course, sweetie,” Eri replied, taking the plate and stepping into the kitchen.

“Thanks, mom!” Ritsuko chirped happily. “And I don't see a knife to cut the cake. Can you bring me one?” she asked.

“Ok,” Eri agreed.

“Don't you have a knife already?” asked Saeko.

“Yeah, but you don't want to eat anything this has cut,” giggled Ritsuko.

“I was going to ask you how you fly with that,” her father interjected.

“I don't. I lock my emergency bag in a public locker at a bus or train station before going to the airport. For flying, I keep a…different knife,” she said, obviously editing herself.

“Ritsu!” her father gasped. Ritsuko sighed before turning to face her father directly.

“Sorry if that surprises you, dad,” she said quietly. “But between being law-abiding and being alive, I will choose alive every time.”

“Dear, we can talk about that later,” her mother backed her up, handing her a fresh plate and a knife. Ritsuko took the opportunity to kiss her mom on the cheek as she leaned over her shoulder to put her plate and knife in front of her. Eri giggled softly, absently caressing Ritsuko's hair.

Ritsuko grabbed the knife, and with quick, sure cuts, she sliced the cake into even pieces, enough for them all. From her skirt pocket, she produced a cigarette lighter and lit the candles before blowing them out. “Eat up, guys,” she said, digging in to her more substantial meal.

“What did you wish for?” grinned Atsuko.

“World peace,” grunted Ritsuko, but none of her friends could quite believe that claim.

“So, um, this Misato was cute,” her father groped for something to say, “I put her age at about eleven?” he said. “She reminds me a bit of you at that age.

“Good eye, dad,” Ritsuko said between bites. “Though I don't know if you should say things like that about other young girls,” she giggled nastily. Before he could come back with anything, Ritsuko waved her chopsticks. “She should turn out like this in a few years,” she said, one hand working her phone. Finding the picture she remembered, she carefully adjusted the zoom before showing him and her friends.

“Those can't be real!” insisted Saeko, crossing her arms over her breasts.

“Yeah, they are depressing, aren't they?” agreed Ritsuko. “But they are real, and every bit as perky, firm and tight as they look,” she signed. “And this is after almost a decade of her drinking enough beer to flatten a platoon,” she added, her tone going softer as she visited memories from the other Japan.

“Is that why you forced yourself on her?” asked Yuki.

“I did not force myself on her, Yuki,” sighed Ritsuko. “She needed a big sister and I was there, nothing more. You may remember I like guys?” she added, her tone a bit barbed.

“Hmm, so you say,” came the playfully-suspicious reply from Kaede. “You could be on both teams,” she teased wickedly.

Ritsuko laughed. “If I were, you girls would be stepping all over each other to get with me,” she bragged.

“My god, she has!” squealed Atsuko. Her dad sent her a panicked look.

“No comment,” denied Ritsuko easily.

“Dear,” her father nearly begged, looking to her mother.

“Sorry, dear, but any information gained from a girl's diary is not to be shared with boys,” Eri replied primly, Ritsuko's friends nodding along emphatically. “Don't worry, dear, even if it is true - and I am not able to confirm or deny! - it won't stop us from being grandparents in time,” added the wife.

“True,” agreed Ritsuko casually. Eri reached over and patted her husband's hand soothingly.

“There, there,” she cooed sweetly.

“Since it is my birthday, I think I will do a little karaoke,” Ritsuko said, her friends immediately all over the idea. Before they could suggest a karaoke place or find the small machine the Inoue family had, Ritsuko held up her hand. “There is no soundtrack for this, and you won't understand the words, but I feel like singing a song I learned in the other world,” she said, momentarily looking at her phone before standing and stretching a little.

“Is it an elf song?” guessed Masumi.

Ritsuko nodded. “Mil-chan was - is - and excellent singer even for elves. She liked this song, and over time, it grew on me,” she prefaced the work. Taking a deep breath, she began to sing in elvish, her mind back in the elf world, sitting around a campfire with Millea singing the song after a meal and a frustrating day looking for spell fragments.

Hours later, after Ritsuko was in bed and her friends sleeping over, Eri and her husband were lying awake in bed. “Dear, do not be alarmed, but I think our precious Ritsuko is going to be leaving the nest soon,” Eri shared. She felt her husband twitch.

“What makes you think that?” he asked, sounding a little desperate.

“A lot of things. For one, she is twenty one years old now. Other considerations are that she has been through things that she cannot forget, she has become an adult long before her return, she has obviously out-grown the nest, and….” she trailed off, considering if she should say this to her husband or not.

“And?” he asked a moment later when she didn't complete the sentence.

“Tonight, she said `I'm back', instead of `I'm home'. I think she no longer thinks of this place as her home. Maybe as a favorite place, but I think no longer `home'.”

Her husband wrapped her up in his arms tighter, pulling her to himself. She soothingly stroked his back and sides. “I don't want her to leave,” he said softly against her breasts. Eri smiled a small, bitter-sweet smile.

“Me, either, dear, but all children grow up and leave the nest eventually; well those that are not NEETs, hikikomori or complete and abject failures of their parents,” she smirked. “Our Ritsuko is none of those things. She has grown, matured and become self-sufficient. As parents, it is our job to let her go when she is ready to leave the nest. And we will,” she warned her husband.

“But she hasn't even finished high-school,” he protested weakly.

“Ritsuko has always been very smart and a terrific self-learner. Did you notice that she has learned a lot of new skills in the time she has been away? Besides, I know that you are already very aware that the main thing you learn in high school is social interaction, and I think it is safe to say she has that down cold. She was always friendly, outgoing, cheerful and kind. Though I do admit some of that was lost, she is still our little Ritsu under it all. If we try to keep her here, as if she were still our teenage daughter, it will only cause more problems for everyone.”

“What kind of career can she have, though?” worried the father, shifting his face against his wife's breasts.

“Any job she wants,” Eri replied, playfully tickling his neck. “Just as a short list off the top of my head,” began the mother, “she could be a translator since she speaks four languages at level four or native, three of them human tongues. She could join the JSDF with her skills and experience, though I doubt she will do that unless they make it part of the contract that she gets to fight in tanks or be Special Forces. Given her ability with organization and communication, she could make a highly capable personal assistant, executive secretary or senior department head at any of a dozen companies and you know how vital it is that a senior secretary, assistant or department head be capable. Ritsuko has traveled extensively, both in this dimension and others, and she seems to find travel enjoyable, so any job in tourism is hardly out of her reach, though I suspect she would be a safari guide or expedition leader more than a tourist worker.”

Her husband managed a weak snicker at that. “Probably,” he agreed.

“She is strong with math, science and technology. It would take extremely little for her to land a good career in a company R&D department or testing department. From reading her diaries, I know that she has become exceptional with guns, so she should have no issue finding a job in that niche, either as an instructor or a program head. Law enforcement would not be a bad fit for her,” added the wife.

“Somehow I think she leans a bit more toward Yakuza,” he said, snorting delicately.

“You might be surprised,” smiled Eri. “There is one final career that doesn't require anything she does not already possess,” baited the wife. “She could become a mother and housewife.”

Her husband twitched before laughing a little. “I would almost pity the man who tries to make her a housewife,” he admitted.

“It has its charms,” Eri murmured, finger-combing her husband's hair. Silence fell for several minutes.

“Those damn elves stole four years from her and us,” he bit out acridly. “I want them back! I want my teenage Ritsu back!” he nearly snarled. “Ritsuko said that she got hijacked by that crap spell, beat the supposedly `invincible' threat in minutes and then had to waste four years trying to get home. I want those years back,” he repeated bitterly.

“We all want that, but life isn't fair and we will never get them back,” a quiet voice startled both. Turning to the door, they saw Ritsuko watching them in the dark. “I wasn't eaves-dropping, but I heard you from the hall when I went to the bathroom. For the record, the spell was not supposed to summon anything, let alone people and items from a different dimension, and trust me - the elves wished they had never used it,” she snorted darkly. “Celsia, Anne, Gabs, Rapier, Millea - they all worked as hard as they could get us back. It just didn't work out. There is no way to change what has been, so obsessing over it is pointless.”

Ritsuko sighed. “Mom, dad, I am eternally grateful that you were my parents, and that you raised me so well. If I ever get custody of Misato, I will bring her by and you can dote on your younger daughter. Or,” she paused, smiling a little in the dim light, “you are welcome to have another kid. You two sure do practice enough,” she giggled, sliding their door shut.

“Hmm. I take it we have woken her up?” Eri surmised. Her husband nodded.

“I cannot believe that conversation just happened,” he groaned in embarrassment. Eri hummed.

“Since she recommended it….” purred the wife, her tone warm and hungry as her hands moved to her husband's groin.

-

“Welcome, Rit-chan,” Airi smiled, hugging the younger woman. Ritsuko hugged her back.

“Airi, it is good to see you again,” Ritsuko said, even though they had last seen each other less than a month before. She saw a Hispanic maid extend her hand.

“May I take your bags, miss?” she asked.

“I only have one,” Ritsuko said, offering her bag.

“Rosita, Ritsuko will be staying in in the room closest to mine,” Airi said. “Rosita, Ritsuko. Ritsuko, Rosita,” Airi introduced the two.

“Miss Ritsuko,” Rosita gave an abbreviated curtsey.

“Nice to meet you, Rosita,” Ritsuko gave the maid a bow by habit.

“How is the jet lag?” Airi asked, guiding Ritsuko into her home.

“Not too bad,” Ritsuko said. She had arrived in LAX and found a sedan waiting with her name written in Japanese on a placard held by the driver. She had confirmed that the man was waiting for her, and gotten into the back. The driver had smoothly and skillfully navigated the press of traffic and driven a fairly unusual route. When they reached a gated community, he had requested she lay down in the back seat, and Ritsuko had, remembering Airi talking about paparazzi and scandal-hounds. A few minutes later, he told her they were good, and she sat up a few moments before Airi's house came into view.

While elegant and fancy, it was not stupid big and meant to brag or entertain. Instead, it gave her the impression of being a place of safety and relaxation for her actress friend. The driver had gotten out and opened her door, holding her pack out to her. Ritsuko had taken it and stepped toward the front door when it opened, and Airi was smiling at her.

“How about we relax for a bit and start tomorrow?” Airi suggested, guiding Ritsuko to the patio area. The sun was sinking low in the horizon, but the weather was nice. Ritsuko looked around the area, smiling.

“Let's get changed and relax,” Airi said, tugging her toward a small deck house not far from the modest pool and hot tub.

“Let me get my swimsuit,” began Ritsuko.

“I have one for you already, Ritsuko,” smiled Airi, stepping to the small hut, which turned out to be a rather cozy changing room. Without hesitation, Airi and Ritsuko stripped, Airi pulling out a small black and teal bikini before handing Ritsuko a similar one in dark grey and jade. Ritsuko eyed the suit.

“Isn't this a bit much, Airi?” she asked.

“Trust me,” smiled Airi. Shrugging, Ritsuko put the suit on, finding it was a good fit and comfortable, if far from modest. Emerging, the two had settled on the loungers, Rosita bringing them some frozen drinks. Half an hour later, Ritsuko was nearly dozing off, but perked up, hearing a chopper getting louder. Starting to sit up, she felt Airi press her shoulder back down.

“Trust me,” Airi repeated herself. Ritsuko did as asked, relaxing even as she spotted the helicopter - a Bell from the look of it - darting toward them. She squinted a little and identified a man half-out of the passenger compartment, holding what she surmised was a camera with a HUGE telephoto lens.

“Paparazzi,” grimaced Ritsuko.

“Indeed,” Airi murmured.

“If I had my PSG-1, I would spray his brains over the canopy,” she muttered, starting to move her hands to cover herself.

“Relax, Ritsuko, this is necessary,” Airi said. Reluctantly, Ritsuko did as asked. She trusted Airi because Airi had proven she was trustworthy during their years in other dimensions. “That is a designer bikini you are wearing, by the way. If you were to try to buy it - and you can't - it would set you back about three hundred bones,” noted Airi casually.

“What?! There is barely enough to this thing to make an eye-patch,” snorted Ritsuko.

“Fortunately, they were not trying to make an eye-patch,” snickered Airi, getting an involuntary laugh from Ritsuko.

“Is this a publicity thing?” Ritsuko asked after a moment of thought.

“Yes, but also not in the way you likely think,” Airi said. “Celebrities have an understanding with fashion designers and electronic gear makers and certain other organizations. They give us free samples, one-off designs and the like, and we let ourselves be photographed and seen in them, using them, or doing shill bits,” explained Airi.

“Well, that is sort of what I thought, Airi,” Ritsuko pointed out.

“Yes, because you have a quick, agile mind,” smiled Airi, signaling for Ritsuko to turn over even as she herself did. Trusting Airi, Ritsuko rolled over, adjusting what there was of the bottoms after she settled on her stomach. Seeing a subtle gesture from Airi, she tossed her head so her ponytail fell to the side, leaving her entire back bare. The helicopter buzzed around for a few minutes longer, then left.

“Half expected to have to take a swim in this thing,” Ritsuko sighed, turning back over onto her back and once more adjusting the top and bottom - such as they were - of the swimsuit.

“It was not meant for swimming, as I am sure you are aware,” smiled Airi, Ritsuko shrugging.

“So, what did I get wrong about that?” Ritsuko asked.

“I expect by tomorrow morning, my friends in the production houses who I have shown my rough script to should be trying desperately to get ahold of me to ask who you are and if you the girl I said I was trying to talk into becoming an actress,” began Airi.

“I'm no actress,” scoffed Ritsuko.

“Perhaps, perhaps not,” demurred Airi, “the point is that I will not be available for any of them for a few days at least. This whets their appetite and curiosity, you see. By tomorrow evening, the production side of Hollywood - meaning the studios and the casting agencies and the producers and the guilds - will be in a complete panic as they try to find something - anything - to explain who you are, why you were seen relaxing at my house wearing a designer swimsuit and what this could mean for the rumors of a personal project of mine that somehow got leaked,” smiled Airi.

“Gee, wonder who started that rumor?” giggled Ritsuko.

“They will, of course, start reaching out to foreign studios and while they chase that rabbit hole, we will be seen at a few social engagements, where neither of us will give anything away. This will further solidify the theory that you are my understudy, or prot�g� or a new talent I have decided to exploit. There will also be the tabloid rumors of us being lesbian lovers, or you being an alien, or other such idiocy. We will never even answer any questions on those fronts, which will cool them off while focusing the studios and producers on the project angle. I know at least two production companies will immediately decide you are the one the script was written for as the support actress, but because they are fairly insecure, they will try to verify you have acting chops before they will commit. Of course, your film history is zero, and your actress history is zero as well. This will push them into considering that I might be training up a prot�g� or starting the transition to production as my famous looks fade,” Airi said, sighing tragically.

“Your looks are not fading, Airi,” Ritsuko said calmly.

“It is irrelevant to the plan in any event,” Airi didn't argue nor did she agree. “As I was saying, as they realize there is a new player, they will begin to get paranoid about my silence, and it will drive the producers into a bidding frenzy, making it easier to get what we want.”

“God, Airi, you really can be a manipulative bitch,” Ritsuko said in amazement.

“Lot of practice in Hollywood, Rit-chan,” smiled Airi.

The two were silent as the sun set, neither moving. Eventually, Airi spoke again, rousing the half-asleep girl beside her. “Are you ok with producing a movie or movies based on what we went through?”

Ritsuko considered that. “Yeah, I think I am mostly over it,” she said. “Besides, this was the plan from the beginning, wasn't it?” she asked.

“Yes, but I value you far more than more money, more fame, more Oscars. If you are not ready…”

“Ready or not, now is the time to strike, and more resources means more reach, right?” Ritsuko said quietly. Minutes passed in silence under the faintly-visible stars. Ritsuko caught some soft pop! sounds. “Those were gunshots,” she observed. Airi sighed.

“Yes, they were. Sounds like Thousand Oaks, maybe,” noted the actress. A couple more pops! were just barely heard.

“Don't suppose you have any guns,” Ritsuko murmured.

“Sadly, no,” Airi said. “Before it was never anything I was concerned with, but now, I am learning how much red tape and nonsense there is in this place,” she replied.

“Bad as Japan?” Ritsuko asked, a bit curious.

“Probably worse, but in different ways,” Airi replied. “This subdivision is gated and part of the HOA fees are for armed guards,” she added.

Ritsuko hummed, but didn't say anything. Airi knew what she was thinking though, and after four years seeing her work, she had to admit her confidence in the armed guards ability to protect her was thoroughly shaken. It was another five minutes before they heard the hint of sirens far away.

“Guess later is better than never,” grunted Ritsuko. Minutes passed, Ritsuko staring at the light pollution obscuring the sky. “In the elf world, the stars were much brighter and clearer. And even in the other Japan, there was a much better view of the stars,” she noted in Elvish. “I don't think I like this city,” she said.

“I am not sure I do anymore, either,” agreed Airi.

-

Ritsuko could not believe how good four hours at a spa could make her feel. Her mom and her went sometimes, true, but that and what she and Airi had just had was night and day difference. Full-service did not begin to describe it. Full body massage, full body skin treatment, pedicure and manicure, three or four different soak and hydrotherapy cycles, with more massages in between, followed by a session with a stylist and a professional wax and grooming before a final sauna/cold plunge/scented oil massage cycle and she felt like a totally new woman. Catching Airi's faint, smug smile. She sighed.

“Ok, you win,” she admitted.

“Thank you, Rit-chan,” Airi acknowledged graciously. The actress was mildly disguised to avoid most of the hassle of fans and paparazzi, but had explained before they left her house that morning that they did need a few of the sharper, smarter fans and paparazzi to spot them. And Ritsuko had caught a few people snapping cell phone pics of them and a few people with camera trying to blend into the crowd. Airi - well-practiced and experienced in her craft - kept the two of them just out of reach of any close-encounters or ambushes.

Ritsuko, keeping her attention mostly on the crowd around her, didn't realize where they were until Airi ushered her through some ornate tinted glass doors and into a shop she had not been sure actually existed. The foyer was a big, and for a clothing store, mostly empty, with barely a dozen gowns and dresses on displays that were velvet-roped off. Airi seemed to recognize a couple of the other shoppers, greeting one politely and vaguely warmly, and the other with a professional distance and undertone of condescending superiority. Neither she nor Airi wasted time on any further interaction, Airi spotting one of the staff, who gestured to her.

Before she knew it, she was stark naked, arms above her head, wrists crossed as two women and a man swiftly measured her in ways she didn't think possible. Seeing Airi giving her a reassuring look, she said nothing, silently waiting. The man measuring her might have bothered her before NERV, but not now. “Now, darling, please walk to the wall and back,” another man standing back and studying her like she was some sort of puzzle said. Airi was standing next to him, murmuring to him.

“Trust me, Rit-chan,” Airi said softly in elvish, “Just walk casually to the wall and back.”

“I hope this is necessary, Airi,” Ritsuko replied in Elvish even as she started to walk to the wall maybe fifteen yards away. For a fitting room, the room was huge and very strangely set up. There were various lights set up on articulated mounts being worked by unseen staff, as well as mirrors spaced regularly to offer full views of her from various angles. It mildly annoyed and pleased her both that she was not self-conscious about this. For some reason, her mind flickered to Shinji, and she found herself smiling a little hungrily, unaware she had begun to put a bit more sway into her gait on the way back.

“Airi, darling, you have brought me a masterpiece!” the man gushed, distracting Ritsuko from her thoughts just before she reached the spot she had started from. “Her build and presentation are just screaming for a gown worthy of them, the way she moves is so fluid that I won't even have to compensate for cut or fit. A true masterpiece. Where have you been hiding her, darling?” he asked Airi.

“That is my secret,” smiled Airi. “There are a few things I specifically want from this gown,” she said, gesturing the man closer. “Rit-chan, pose again, please?” he added in elvish. Ritsuko resumed her arms-over-head-wrists-crossed pose. Airi pointed to a scar on her side. “This must be covered by the gown. Cosmetics will not do - it must be covered by the gown. Same for this scar,” she pointed to one on her thigh. The man was nodding, tapping his chin in an almost feminine manner. “As for the design, I want you to take to the very edge, but do not go over the edge, understood?” she asked. He nodded, still studying her. “In style, I want her look top-shelf, but not like a cheap, common top-shelf. She should fit in with the other attendees, but also stand apart from them. With me on this?” Airi went on. The man nodded.

“Yes, I am beginning to see it,” he murmured, staring intently at her. “Turn in a circle for me, darling,” he said to Ritsuko. She did so. He hummed and nodded, stepping left and right as the overhead lights moved and adjusted at some sort of signal she didn't see. “Yes, it is getting clearer,” he muttered. “Put your right hand on your right hip, palm flat, let your left hang loose and tilt your hips to the right,” he said to Ritsuko, who smothered a sign and did as he asked.

“That's it! I see it! Pads and pencils, quickly,” he yelled to some assistants, who dashed over, one with a large sketch pad on a folding easel, blank page ready, another with a box of colored pencils. The man grabbed one pencil and began to furiously sketch before dropping it and grabbing another, working like a man possessed. Ritsuko started to move. “Don't move!” he ordered. Ritsuko froze, eyes going to Airi, who sent her a reassuring smile and nod. Ritsuko held still for the next ten minutes. Finally, the man relaxed and sighed. “That is the gown in roughest form. There is much work to be done, and colors to be adjusted, but I think you will agree it meets all your requirements, Airi,” he said, gesturing to Airi.

“Oh, my,” Airi smiled. “You do not disappoint, as always, dear,” she smiled. Frowning, Ritsuko moved toward the pad, only to have Airi intercept her.

“It will be a surprise for you, Rit-chan,” lilted Airi. “Let's get you dressed, we have more to do,” she said, guiding her younger partner to where her clothes had been placed when she stripped more than a half hour ago. Slipping on her panties and then the sundress she had chosen for the day, Ritsuko stepped into her sandles before turning to see Airi was once more over with the man, who had just sent the page from the sketchpad off with an assistant.

“I hate to rush you, but I need that ready by the date,” Airi was saying. The man nodded, making notes on a tablet.

“I will make her our top project, and it will be done on time,” he said. “With such a rare and perfect specimen, I could do no less!” he sounded almost aroused. “Is she a model? Maybe a foreign model? She looks Japanese, but that was not Japanese you were speaking,” he noted absently, busy with his pad.

“I decline to answer,” lilted Airi playfully. “Girls like their secrets after all,” she said.

“Aw, not even a hint?” he pouted. “Does her weight stay steady?” he asked

“Yes, she is a fit and healthy woman,” Airi confirmed. “Oh, and before I forget, I will need a gown for myself as well. It should complement her gown, but not look like they share the same root. Color should be matched to me, but not clash or distract from her colors. A gown of the usual pattern will be fine for me, just adjust the cut as necessary,” she finished.

The man glanced at her. “Researching a new role?” he fished.

“You will have to wait and see, darling. Love you, but we must be off,” Airi declined an answer and after a couple of air-kisses, she and Airi departed the shop.

“The spa trip makes more sense now,” Ritsuko noted drolly. “What date are we looking at?” she asked directly.

“The social event of your big reveal as Mystery Woman,” Airi smiled. “For now, we are back to stealth and have some practice to do at my place,” she added.

“Good. I like this place less and less,” Ritsuko murmured in Elvish.

-

Airi's prediction has been spot on, in terms of how her scheme had played out. Ritsuko was the Mystery Woman, everyone was in a tizzy and it seemed like Ritsuko's phone and accounts would not stop blowing up. She returned a few calls, but was playful and coy with the few she did call back regarding who Ritsuko was, why she was staying with Airi, what Airi was planning to do, and if any of the rumors had any truth to them.

In fact, Airi was on a call right then with a friend in a production house. She had listened to a bit of the conversation, and even without Airi's experience in Hollywood, she could smell the desperation of the man to get a commitment from Airi on her project. He had been offering what she was sure were unheard-of `signing bonuses'. He had already offered her carte blanche control of the entire process, final approval on all script revisions, casting and location decisions, three veteran screen writers with proven records dedicated to her project exclusively and final approval on both movie studio and directors.

Ritsuko thought it was a pretty good offer, but Airi was kiting him along with inhuman skill, so maybe it wasn't? Airi was the veteran of this place, and Ritsuko respected and trusted her, so she was letting Airi handle all of this, being a support role for her. She thought of all the times in the elf world where Airi had been the lead and she was support, and every one of those had worked out well.

What Airi had meant by `practice' was dancing, Hollywood social customs, general who's-who in so much as who was to be treated as an enemy, who was neutral, and who was nominally on Airi's side and finally who to just ignore. Thankfully, Ritsuko was a fast learner with a good memory, and certainly not inexperienced with dancing. Airi had praised her fast learning and skill development, saying she had expected nothing less based on her experience with the girl.

Ritsuko had found Airi's private exercise room the morning after she had arrived, and had been a regular in there, running the treadmill harder than it had ever been run, using the like-new weight machine and taking advantage of the large yoga/dancing mat area. She had found and rigged a modest sand bag in a space made by rearranging the treadmill, weight machine and bike machine. With that set to her liking, she had taken to a daily exercise session as it helped her deal with stress and she liked being in shape.

Looking at the clock and listening to Airi still verbally dancing with the person on the phone, she had grabbed four cold water bottles, gestured to Rosita to tell Airi where she was going and headed down to the exercise room. The Latina maid had nodded, giving her a smile. She and Ritsuko got along well.

Reaching the room, she had changed into a jog top and small, tight exercise shorts before lacing up a pair of her running shoes. Taking a moment to settle her ear buds and start some music on her cell phone, she set the treadmill to her usual pace and incline and got started. As usual, she lost herself in thought as she jogged steadily. Hearing the machine ding at her, she glanced down, seeing her seven kilometers had been reached practically before she knew it. She was breathing deeply, sheened in sweat, but wasn't sure if she was ready to stop or not.

“Miss, you shouldn't over-do it,” a voice said, making Ritsuko jerk and nearly fall off the machine. She caught herself with one hand on the rail and rotation vaulted clear to avoid a fall, but collided with someone, which made her hit the floor next to the treadmill.

“Ugh!” she grunted, some of her wind having been knocked out of her. Realizing it was a male voice she had heard, she bucked her hips hard, pressed with her hands against the floor and kicked back, landing on her feet at the base of the treadmill, arms up in a defensive posture. She saw a guy of indeterminate age getting up from the floor.

“Who the fuck are you and what are you doing in here?!” she snarled, eyes darting around for a weapon. With few choices - oh, how she missed her guns and knives! - she grabbed one of the one-kilo dumb bells and tucked her arm behind her back to conceal it. “I asked you a question, perv!” she yelled, setting her feet. The man stood, holding his hand out defensively.

“Woah, easy, miss,” he said, stepping back a bit. “Please put down the dumb bell down, I am not a pervert or trespasser,” he began.

“Exactly what one would say,” snorted Ritsuko, bringing the dumb bell into view while staying half-square to him. “And I might need this to cave your fucking skull in in a few seconds if you don't answer my questions now,” she bared her teeth, primed for a fight. The man, meeting her gaze after traveling up her body, gulped, waving his hands.

“I'm Andy, a personal trainer to the stars. Miss Airi is one of my clients, she requested my services, and since I have worked with her many time before and was running slightly late due to traffic, I let myself in, only to find you, miss…?” he hinted. This woman really would bludgeon me to death without a second thought. Who is she and why are her eyes so scary?!

“Personal trainer to the stars? Like I believe that bullshit,” Ritsuko bit back, staring at him like a rabid dog. “Pretty basic trick for a stalker or paparazzi to claim that after breaking in. Why didn't you announce yourself? Or use the front door?” Ritsuko challenged. “Airi never said anything to me, either. You are a stalker or paparazzi,” she nodded to herself.

“I have a business card,” he began moving very slowly. Ritsuko cocked the dumb bell back.

“Your hands leave my sight or you move a muscle, I cave your skull in and throw your corpse in a hole so deep God couldn't find it,” purred the red-head.

Just then, the door that led to the main house opened and Airi stepped in, already undoing her dressing gown to change. “Sorry, Rit-chan, I was…” she stopped, seeing the stand-off. She closed her gown again. “Andrew, I was not aware you had arrived. Rosita didn't inform me you were here, so I presumed you were delayed in traffic,” she said, her tone cool.

“I was late, so I came straight here,” he replied, gulping a little. “I found miss…Rit-chan?...here working out instead,”

“Don't call her that,” Airi ordered him curtly.

“What should I call her?” asked Andy, managing his best charming smile at Ritsuko. Her eyes narrowed.

“Call her `miss',” stated Airi. “And now, please wait outside while I change.”

“Of course, Airi,” he agreed, moving to the door that led to the side of the house. Airi turned to Ritsuko.

“Sorry, Rit-chan, I was going to mention it at breakfast, but that call got out of control for a bit and when I was done…” Airi apologized. Ritsuko put the dumb bell back on the rack.

“Not your fault, Airi, he let himself in,” Ritsuko waved it away. Airi swiftly got changed into her yoga pants and exercise top as Ritsuko started her weight cycles. Her goal was tone, not mass in her muscles. She smiled a little as she watched her `girl ab' six pack grow more defined each time she did a curl, before fading into faint-but-visible as she relaxed.

Ritsuko habitually watched Airi's back by keeping an eye on Andy. After a brief talk with him, he began to build an exercise program for Airi, as well as writing out a list of what she suspected was food items. She noticed that he kept looking over at her, and she scowled each time he did. She had just finished her workout when Airi went to give the list of food items to Rosita, leaving her alone with Andy in the workout room. Ritsuko was wiping herself off with a towel.

“Miss, I have to say, you are quite the specimen. If you like, I can help you get a workout schedule that will give you better definition, better cardio or better mass - whichever you want,” he offered. “Guaranteed or your money back,” he added.

Ritsuko studied him, frown on her lips and a fist on her hip. He was hardly hard to look at. As a trainer, he was in excellent shape. And he was pretty handsome, too. Light brown hair in a trendy cut, well-groomed, light brown eyes, perfect teeth, very balanced and rugged facial features, perfect tan, muscled chest with enough definition but not too bulky, narrow waist, chiseled abs, developed thighs and calves with the same perfect balance of mass and tone, and an ass she bet she could bounce a baseball off of. Still, she felt nothing but disinterest for him.

“Listen, gym-rat, you made a bad first impression and a worse second one,” she said, her tone cold and to the point. “I am sure that line and grin and body works on desperate starlets or actresses less discerning than Airi, but get this straight: I don't like you, I don't trust you, and if I think for even a second you are doing something that will damage miss Airi's reputation or standing or threaten her safety in any way, you will vanish, never to be seen again. Same goes for me - if I even think anything bad that may happen is somehow your fault, you are done. Am I being crystal clear on this? While we are on the subject, hand over the key or card you used to enter this estate and this room.”

“Miss, I was given those by miss Airi,” he began.

“And I am taking them away. Keys. Now.” she demanded, hand out.

“Miss, you don't have…” began Andy, easing back a little.

“Andrew, give me back the key and card, please. From here on, you will ring the bell at the gate, Rosita will let you in at the front door and tell you when you can come down here. I understand this was an unfortunate encounter, most likely not intentional on your part, but with the situation being what it is, I am tightening my security. Rosita has your check upstairs. Good day,” Airi cut in from the steps that led upstairs.

“Ok,” Andrew said, reaching into his pocket, Ritsuko's eyes tracking his hand. He took an unusually long time to dig a key and card out his pocket, pulling his nylon field shorts tight over his groin, silhouetting a not-insignificant dick. He met Ritsuko's eyes as he handed the car and key to Airi, only to see her sneer and giggle.

“You poor thing, so little to work with,” she cooed. The young man blinked, stunned, until Airi cleared her throat. Shaking himself free, he headed up the stairs, where Rosita was waiting to give him his payment and escort him out of the house.

“That was cruel of you, Rit-chan,” Airi smiled at her. “He is not under-size, and you still did that.”

“He pissed me off,” shrugged Ritsuko. A thought occurred to him. “You and he didn't…hook up, did you?” she asked, half-curious, half-abhorred. “I heard about that, famous actresses shacking up with their trainers, or stylists, or bodyguards, or whatever, but you are Airi Komayami, not some no-talent wanna-be….”

“Rit-chan, I am human, too,” Airi said, stepping over to put her hand on Rit-chan's shoulder. “And you know I seduced Kaji to get a lot of that intel we have now. And yes, we had an affair for a brief time while preparing for my first blockbuster role. It is why he had a key,” admitted Airi.

“Saying you `seduced' that man-whore Kaji is like saying you got water wet,” snorted the red-head. “Creep even made a pass at me, though I am not sure he was serious, considering…” she shook her head. “I'm not one to judge you, Airi,” she dismissed the topic.

“For what is worth, he wasn't bad in bed,” Airi said, the two moving up the stairs to the kitchen area, where Rosita was finishing up a brunch for them.

“But I am sure he was no Shinji,” murmured Ritsuko. Airi touched her arm.

“Ritsuko, we cannot change the choices we made, and no one - certainly not him! - would want you to pine after something you cannot have. And though I know it will upset you, Shinji himself was not perfect.” Ritsuko started to snap back, but forced herself to stop and think.

“No, he wasn't, Airi, but it sure felt like it,” she admitted.

“The heart feels what the heart feels, Miss,” Rosita said, meeting her gaze. “But that does not mean it cannot feel more than one thing,” she said before beginning to serve up the meal.

Ritsuko frowned. “How does Rosita know about Shinji?” she wondered.

“You can be quite loud when tending to your needs,” Airi replied, smiling teasingly at Ritsuko. The red-head had the decency to blush.

“My god, Rosita, I am so sorry…!” she apologized to the maid.

“No es nada. Los primeros amores son dif�ciles de sacudir, se�orita. Hablo por experiencia,” the maid replied in Spanish. Ritsuko frowned a little as she worked on translating that. She had decided to try to learn Spanish as well since she had the chance.

“No, nothing, first, love, difficult, miss, speak, experience,” she picked out words she had learned. “You said it was nothing, that first loves were difficult to something and you spoke from experience,” she asked, looking to Rosita. The maid smiled.

“Si,”

“I will learn Spanish yet,” smiled Ritsuko.

“Back to the point,” Airi said, “never feel that I will judge you if you choose to date. You are a healthy girl, and you have needs. You are not - cannot - cheat on Shinji. I am absolutely sure that if Shinji learned you had started dating, or even just having affairs, he would not only be completely supportive of you, but cheer you on. So, do not feel like you are forever tied to him. After all, he has deeper ties to Asuka, Hikari, Maya, Misato and Rei than anyone else. He cherished those bonds, and would want you to have the same kind of bonds as well.”

“I know, but…” Ritsuko sighed. “I feel like the bond we had was the one that was meant to be for me, you know?”

“Fate?” Airi asked, quirking an eyebrow. “Come now, Ritsuko, you know better than that, I believe,” she said. Ritsuko sighed. “Besides, you have started a bond with the Misato in this world. If she is anything like the other Misato….” smiled the actress.

Ritsuko considered that before groaning softly. “I need to get custody of her fast,” she muttered.