Subject: [FFML] [Ranma][NGE][HPL][AMG][Fusion][Fanfic] Sic Semper Morituri - Chapter 45 Massaging the Situation
From: "Daniel Jess Gibson" <dan_s.comments@worldnet.att.net>
Date: 5/30/2005, 12:51 PM
To: "FFML Post" <ffml@anifics.com>


[Ranma][NGE][HPL][AMG][Fusion][Fanfic] Sic Semper Morituri - Chapter 45
Massaging the Situation

Disclaimer:
I do not own any of the characters from Ranma 1 / 2, Neon Genesis
Evangelion, Ah My Goddess, or the Lovecraft Cycle involved in these
stories.

C&C, MSTs are welcome
E-mail: dan_s.comments@worldnet.att.net
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ftp://ftp.cs.ubc.ca/pub/archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma/Sic-Semper-Morituri/

http://www.cs.ubc.ca/cgi-bin/ftp/archive/anime-fan-works/Ranma/type/Sic-Sem
per-Morituri
(these are the original versions)

What has gone before:
     About Book 11 of the Tankoubon Manga, Akane and Soun Tendo throw Ranma
out of the house.  Nabiki, in the guise of a wish, follows him.  They meet
EVA pilots Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Soryu Langley and Jeffrey
Davis.
     With the return of NERV Tokyo from the Great White Space, everyone is
celebrating, except Asuka who realizes their enemies are taking a direct
interest in the pilots.  Nabiki and Rei are returned to Tokyo separately,
Rei by express, Nabiki aboard the Spruce Goose with cargo for the EVAs.
     Shinji, Asuka, Toji and Hikari meet with Yumiwashi.
     Rei locates and confronts Jeff on the anniversary of Samuel's death.
She remembers her feelings on the death of Yui Ikari, and how she arranged
Naoko Akagi's death.  Jeff wants to be left alone, Rei decides he needs to
talk about events, and doesn't take no for an answer.  Including revealing
how he killed her years earlier in Boston.
     At the welcome home party for Nabiki and Rei, the Azores mission is
revealed.  Ranma will move in with Asuka and Sammi.  Three shoggoths, once
fragments of Ritsuko, fight and are defeated by combining Ritsuko, Ranma
and Jeff, there are some side-effects as the trio's personalities
temporarily bleed into each other.  Among them: Jeff, under the influence
of Ranma, confronts Belldandy sending her, then her sisters, into a tizzy,
Keiichi managed to defuse it.  Ranko, under the influence of the others,
gives Jeff the passionate kiss from the bet he lost to Asuka at the
carnival.  Then Asuka and Jeff tickle Nabiki remorselessly.  Rei begins
calling Asuka mein Grossfeldmarschall {Groae}.  All the pilots are giddy
from recent events.
     To help Misato and Hiro's relationship, Asuka, Rei and Shinji throw
together a Sunday in the park picnic.  Asuka invites Keiichi, Belldandy and
Megumi.  Megumi volunteers her services and Belldandy's as caterers.  They
work through the night to get everything ready.
     The baseball captain Usagi and her allies are introduced, and what
they worship before their softball games.
     The picnic is a success until Usagi and Yuki decide to test the
pilots.  Ranma easily intercepts the batted ball, but transforms and must
leave.  The picnic ends.  Asuka and Ranma are sulky after the failed
picnic.  Asuka also has a letter from Anna reminding her of home, to which
she can never return.
     With the aid of a narrow board and two sawhorses, Asuka begins
teaching Ranma both sword fighting, and how to teach.  Only he believes his
first class with the others was an unmitigated disaster.
     Asuka contracts Keiichi and his sister to construct several bicycles
for the pilots.  She shoots a bug and has her second clash with Skuld.
     All four senators from Wyoming and Massachusetts begin investigating
the Boston incident and Misato's part in it.  Admiral Simson scrambles to
begin his own investigation of what has been happening in NERV before and
after the war.  Shinji and Rei console and watch over Misato.
     Asuka and Ranma wash each others hair, Shinji washes Rei's.  They
discuss children while doing this.  Asuka doesn't want the responsibility,
Rei appreciates her advice.
     Aboard the Bennington, Jeff meets with one of his patrons and receives
an update on Sharon.  Nabiki is coming to realize the differences in the
way the military treats her and the other pilots.
     Major ggreg and Adam Smith arrive, to cover their `spying` on NERV,
they will teach Nabiki and Jeff about explosives.  Ritsuko investigates the
unusual way Jeff syncs with the EVA, she is terrified by the contact.
Later she realizes the spirits power the EVAs.  Nabiki and Maya train to
operate firearms.
     Jeff and the Scholarly Dragon teach Nabiki about control of her
dreams, the Scholarly Dragon prevents a dream attack by Usagi and company.
     Admiral Simson asks about Jeff siccing the Senators on Misato, he did
so because the Navy stonewalled his investigation.
     Nabiki adds hand-to-hand training with the rifle.
     Nabiki discusses Hiroko's death with several of her instructors.
Ritsuko looks over Jeff and Nabiki as Nabiki comes under dream attack.
     Joma and Ritsuko discuss the desires of made things for their
creators/users.
     The pilots and guards reminisce about the events of the previous weeks
with Belldandy, Sora and Megumi while taking a cooking lesson.  The day
ends with a bug attack on Keiichi's home being destroyed by the pilots and
their guards.
     Usagi and company summon a strike force of Dark Young, dholes,
shantaks and Hunting Horrors.  For a short time the EVAs and the pilots are
caught off stride.  Once they regained the upper hand they never released
it.  Ranma used baseball techniques, Shinji uses Ranma's accidental attack
on him to lure the enemy in close.  Rei guides Asuka to restrain one dhole
until the Navy, Shinji and Ranma can arrive to finish it and the other one
off.
     The Twins watches the summoning and draws its own plans against the
EVAs, pilots and NERV.
     The pilots go over Misato's head to participate in rescue operations.

Have I inadvertently said some evil thing?
Phocion - Plutarch, Apothegms, Phocion, sec 10

Pippa Passes - Robert Browning

The Year's At The Spring
July 19, 1947
     "The important element is that you can disrupt the opponent's
concentration," Ranma told the rest of the pilot and guard students as they
sat on the roof around him.
     "Horseface," Asuka said while shaking her head, "Don't do Asuka
impersonations.  Use your own words."
     "Insults," Rei pointed out, "That tactic would be of little value
against our opponents."
     Sammi watched the pilots going through some of the less pleasant
aspects of Ranma's martial arts techniques.  She suspected that Asuka and
Ranma had had a long discussion last night.  She was impressed by their
efforts.
     "I think that Horseface is teaching us how to deal with fighting more
human enemies."  Asuka came to Ranma's rescue, again.
     She seems to know how to keep the tension at the right level, Sammi
thought.
     "You may also find that the techniques - " Ranma almost stumbled over
the argument, "There may come a time to use these against our enemies.
Like Shinji and I tricked our enemies last time."
     "I think you should understand the more playful insults you often use
aren't appropriate," Sammi added, she knew Rei would need the
clarification, "These are intended just to hurt your opponent.  They also
will hurt if they are used on you.  So don't even think about using them on
each other."
     "Should we reserve that for appropriate opponents?" Rei asked.
     Shinji smiled brightly, turned to Tomiyo.  "Cthulhu, your mother is
stale sashimi, and your father dresses you funny."
     "Oh I may cry!" Tomiyo exclaimed as he reeled from the `blow`.
     "You wouldn't cry if they tear-gassed you in a diced onion factory,"
Erin told him, "It's probably genetic."
     Rei glanced at Ranma then turned to Juri.  "You should cease hiding
your feelings for `Nab-chan` by modeling her desired behaviors on Raccoon,
it's a futi - "
     "HEY!" Ranma protested as he stood, towering over Rei.
     "I think some of them have the general idea," Sammi said as she pushed
Ranma back down, "Although I think we should work on that later.  Guards
with protectees.  Rei, you with Shinji and Tomiyo.  I know this may seem a
little odd, but it's all part of a complete, combat system."  She drew
comfort from this too.  The master of martial arts, this boy/girl who made
martial arts the core of his whole life, couldn't communicate that love to
others.  Without help, Sammi thought, smiled at Asuka.
     "Ah, I think you all get that.  Let's start our warm ups," Ranma said
and began the basic stretching exercises.  Sammi let herself feel the flow
of her body, but kept her mind on any external threats.  It lessened the
grace of her movements, but her first job was defending the kids.  The
`katas` that Ranma and Asuka had developed went smoothly.  This time Ranma
walked among the students, adjusting minor imperfections, asking questions,
all under Asuka's ever-present, but unobtrusive eye.  The practice went
without any serious hurdles.
     Other that Rei asking ten thousand detailed questions, which even
Asuka and Ranma together couldn't answer, Sammi thought as everyone filed
downstairs to get showered.  She wondered if this was helping the other
pilots as much as it was helping Ranma.  She also wondered if Ranma
realized the subtle lesson Asuka was teaching him, that he was part of a
group.  Their survival and success were as much his responsibility as
anyone else's.  Asuka was the most skilled pilot, although she'd be hard
pressed to match Shinji or Ranma in an EVA battle.  She had taken over the
role of war leader, which changed the dynamics.  Sammi hoped it would be
enough when Ranma or Shinji caught up with Asuka's phenomenal sync rate.
While she was steadily improving, the two boys were improving much faster.
Sammi was actually hoping that Asuka was plateauing, a sync rate over 200%
was dangerous, and Asuka was already there.
     Breakfast was an interesting affair: Asuka smirking, Ranma seeming to
find every flaw in the lesson and his teaching technique.
     "So what did you learn from that?" Asuka asked, picking at her food,
the picture of innocence.
     "What do you mean?" Ranma asked defensively, "Wasn't I supposed to
answer all of Rei's questions?"
     "Were you?" Asuka asked, "Why did you answer them?"
     The Socratic Method, ask questions to get the student to engage the
problem, Sammi thought, then glanced at Erin, who was ready to intervene if
Ranma overreacted.  She was ready herself.
     "Because she asked," Ranma replied, not hiding his growing
frustration.
     "Is that the only reason?" Asuka asked, "Note, I have not spoken a
single insult.  I want you to answer my questions, even if the answer is 'I
don't know'.  The key is: _you_ have to understand, and especially
understand yourself."  She paused, smiled as Ranma frowned, "What one thing
must a martial artist master above all else?  Something you have
predominantly _failed_ to master?"
     "I don't know," Ranma replied with a glare.
     "A martial artist must master themselves.  You don't even _understand_
yourself," Asuka accused while stabbing in his direction with her
chopsticks.
     "Oh yeah?!" Ranma retorted.
     "Wondergirl may be right . . . "  Asuka looked at her hands.  "Huh,
that hardly hurt at all.  She asked if Ranko acts that way because she
wanted to show Ice Princess how Horseface wants to be treated."
     "I . . . Uh, I . . . "  Ranma paused, frowned.
     "Why do you do it then?  I'd be bouncing off the walls trying to
answer a question there's no answer to!" Asuka shouted.
     "Because I'm not doing it!" Ranma shouted back.
     "Oh, Ranma," Asuka chided as she smiled at Sammi and Erin, "Did you
know your nose crinkles up when you lie.  It's so _CUTE_!_"  She left the
table with her dishes.  Leaving Ranma contemplating homicide.
     "If she weren't a girl!" Ranma announced.  He was angrily clenching
and unclenching his fists.
     "Maybe she's training you to hit girls," Erin suggested between sips
of her coffee.
     "Why Erin," Asuka said as she glided by, collecting the others'
dishes, "How perceptive of you."
     "Well, when I'm a girl, I'm prettier than you."  Ranma expected _that_
would be the critical shot.
     "All that means is . . . " Asuka whispered the rest in Ranma's ear, he
started getting redder and angrier, then turned white as a sheet as Asuka
moved away.
     "They wouldn't," he said in a barely audible voice, his eyes vacant
and staring.
     Asuka smiled.  "We should get Ranko a new hairstyle, something
fetching."
     "NO!" Ranma gasped, he looked from Erin to Sammi and back, his eyes
pleading.
     "And quit trying to convince her to wear bras," Asuka added
thoughtfully, "Guys, well those kinds of guys, really like that pokey look,
especially in cold weather and cold water."
     Now Ranma was staring daggers at his roommate.
     "Such is the cost of being the sexiest and the most beautiful girl in
school."  Asuka sighed.  "I'm glad it's a burden I don't have.  Being the
wittiest, the most intelligent I can bear.  Being . . . well a bundle of
rampaging sex appeal, that isn't what _I_ want for _my_ life.  But I can't
make your choices for you."
     Ranma's fists were opening and closing spasmodically, but he was
clearly terrified.
     "Ranma," Erin said, "When it comes to insults, Ancient American
Wisdom: 'don't bring a knife to an artillery duel.'  Besides, by ignoring
the facts and appearances, you are making yourself vulnerable."  She gave
Asuka a warning glance.
     Ranma nodded, relaxing slightly as Asuka entered the kitchen.
     "And before you feel too comfortable, Asuka," Erin said, "You have a
meeting with Commander Ikari and Admiral Simson."
     "What?!" Asuka shouted, "Why?"  Now she was panicking.
     "It seems the Morisato house got an interesting lawn decoration.  An
EVA footprint," Erin told her.
     "I never got anywhere _near_ there," Asuka protested as she looked
from one person to the next.
     "True," Erin admitted, "There was also no tread on the footprint.
Which means it was probably made as an AT field projection.  As the local
expert, you're also the chief suspect."
     "That's ridiculous!" Asuka insisted as she stormed out of the kitchen
to the dining room.
     "Oh, I agree," Sammi said, nodding enthusiastically, "But we can't
show favoritism."
     "What about Wondergirl?" Asuka protested, still looking from one to
the other for support, "She doesn't need an EVA."
     "She was in the control center, when she wasn't in the ready room."
Sammi sipped her coffee.
     "She could have run out there, and run back," Ranma said meditatively,
"She really doesn't like that Belldandy.  I think Rei hates her more than
she hates me.  But it is out of character for Rei."
     "Oh," Asuka shouted defensively and planted her fists on her hips to
confront Ranma, "But it is in _my_ character?"
     "Yeah," Ranma said, "Rei woulda just killed'em, you'd give a warning."
Ranma turned nonchalantly away from her.
     "I - DIDN'T - DO - IT - !" Asuka exclaimed at Ranma.
     "You still have to talk with the Admiral and the Commander," Erin told
her.
     "It's not fair!"
     " 'Life isn't fair', someone told me," Ranma commented.  He could
barely hide his nervous smile.
     Asuka glared at the back of Ranma's head, she did not see the worried
expression on the boy's face.  Then she smiled, all sweetness and light.
     Get to the shelters, this one is going to be bad! Sammi thought.
     "I completely forgot that - Ranma - asked for a new hairstyle.  I
think that's something we need to work on this afternoon.  After I get
back."
     Any hint of Ranma's previous self-satisfied look disappeared, like a
snowflake on a griddle.
     "No Asuka," Erin said, "We were supposed to pick up that equipment for
the advanced training.  The last part is in, and we should pick it up."
     "You mean the - martial arts stuff?" Asuka asked, then a truly
predatory smile lit her features.
     "I do indeed," Erin said, smiled, not quite matching Asuka's.  Sammi
hadn't the faintest idea what they were talking about.
     "What martial arts stuff?" Ranma excitedly demanded, his caution of a
moment ago thrown to the wind.
     "Special training gear," Saint Asuka said beatifically as she adjusted
her halo, "Your technique has proven to have a _major_ vulnerability.  One
we simply must close.  So I ordered some special training gear and
protective gear."
     "You mean like a steel cup?" Ranma asked worriedly, his hands drifting
towards what he considered Asuka's likely target.
     "Oh no," the beautiful pilot cooed as she patted Ranma's cheek,
"Nothing so dreadful.  And you'll thank us later."  Asuka actually skipped
down the stairs humming a jaunty German tune.
     "I'm _dead_ ain't I?"  Ranma watched the girl disappear from sight,
then he hung his head.
     "Ranma, the life of a martial artist is fraught with peril," Erin told
him, earning a frown from him.
     "FRAUGHT?" Sammi asked, "That's what I fraught you said."
     When Erin nodded, Ranma began, "Giant, alien monsters from before
time, other martial artists, Misato's cooking, that is the life of a
martial artist," Ranma intoned as if it was his death haiku, "Smiling
Asukas, no one should have to face."
     "Ranma," Erin chuckled, "She isn't planning to kill you!"
     "Because it would be too merciful!" Ranma moaned as he put his head on
the table.
     Erin grew stern, "Quit whining like a little princess.  You may have
noticed, but for all she's done . . . she's gone out of her way to help
you.  I would think _a_man_ would show a little appreciation.  Or stand up
for himself and say 'no more'."
     Kraznyzamok Secret Technique - Diminished Expectations, Sammi thought
as Ranma matched Erin's sternness, Although it works on _all_ the pilots.
"Ranma," she cut off his reply, "If you are ever going to beat Asuka in one
of these duels, you are going to have to do something _completely_
unexpected.  Something she would think you'd never do.  Otherwise, her
superior word skill will continue to beat you.  And if you use the insults
you supposedly used the first time . . . you and I will go a few rounds,
and we'll see who really is the better combatant."
     "I don't hit girls," Ranma mumbled.
     "Then I've already won," Sammi said coldly.
     Ranma slunk away from the table.  Sammi waited until she heard his
door close, before she turned to Erin.  "What is it?  This 'equipment',"
she made it sound ominous.
     "Guard-pilot privilege.  Asuka was right," Erin said, "It is a major
weak point, one that desperately needs correcting.  It's non-fatal,
inflicting mainly pride damage.  Although Ranma won't see that initially."
     "Hence my need to know, so I can work on him."
     "No, better you be surprised," Erin told her as she stood.  She headed
downstairs to corner Asuka, then the pair headed off to NERV.  Sammi hoped
that Asuka didn't get into any serious trouble.
     One more mystery, Sammi thought, Like the 'Ghost of Tokyo'.
----------------------------------------
And Day's At The Morn
     "Whiney boy!  Whiney boy!  Gonna run off and cry?" echoed off the
walls of Misato's apartment.  The recipient's jaw tightened slightly.
     "Where'd you get that hair?  Where'd you get those spooky eyes?"  A
narrowing of eye and clenched fists came in response.
     "Rei-san," Tomiyo said, "Try that again, you haven't mastered the
changing up and down in tone.  For simplicity, just put special emphasis on
the word most important to the insult."
     "Sensei," Rei began, "The emphasis changes the entire meaning."
     "So pick the meaning that will most likely get the results you want,"
Tomiyo explained, "Typically the part that hurts or angers your opponent
most, so it makes them less effective in combat."
     "Where'd you get _that_ hair?  Where'd you get those _spooky_ eyes?"
Rei asked Shinji.
     Tomiyo nodded, turned to the other `combatant`, "Shinji."
     "I bet your dad cares about _me_ more than you!" Shinji accused.
     Rei sniffed, covered her face with her hands, made another small
sniff.
     "Oh, Rei-san," Shinji stammered, "I . . . I . . . I'm so - sorry.  I
didn't - "
     Rei's hand darted out, touched Shinji's nose.  "A victory," Rei said
quietly, "Mein Grossfeldmarschall was most specific about additional
tactics."
     Shinji frowned as Rei stood and smoothed her dress.  She went to the
patio door and stood, staring out of Misato's apartment.  "Insults are
meant to hurt.  Yet I have been Mein Grossfeldmarschall's target, and
Shinji-kun - and `Horseface`."  She put her hand on the window she was
staring out of.  Tomiyo realized she was also watching him and Shinji's
reflection, while still looking outside.
     "Only those she cares about.  Others are ignored," Rei said quietly,
even for her.
     "What are you getting at Ayanami-san?" Tomiyo asked, he'd been warned
Rei tended to jump between thoughts without ever mentioning the
intermediate steps, perhaps not even realizing she'd made the jumps in
logic.
     "If she insults, she cares.  But the insults do not pain . . . as the
Fourth's do."  Her brow knitted for an instant, as if she were wrestling
with a thought she couldn't fit into her view of the world.
     Shinji looked ready to speak, Tomiyo waved him to be quiet.  He
suspected that Rei was working up to her next statement.
     "A certain level indicates affection, a higher-level hostility."
     "And you want to know how to tell the difference?" Tomiyo asked.
     Rei turned to face them, and nodded once.
     "It depends on context.  Who is saying what to whom, when and where."
He saw Shinji's disappointment and suspected it mirrored Rei-san's nearly
unreadable dissatisfaction.
     "When Roku-kun says something to the Fourth when a male, it means one
thing.  When he says the same when the Fourth is female, in the same
circumstances, it differs," Rei said, "Also, the Fourth, in varying
genders, speaks to Roku-kun, it differs synchronistically."
     "What specifically bothers you Ayanami-san?" Shinji asked.
     Rei sighed, "The Fourth demands to be male, yet the . . . "
     "Ranko," Shinji interjected.
     Rei nodded once.  "_She_ does not act like a male with Roku-kun, she
acts very female.  She even smells female when with Roku-kun."
     "Smells?" Tomiyo asked in confusion.
     When all Rei gave was a nod, Shinji added, "Rei-chan's senses are very
sensitive."
     Tomiyo wondered exactly how a female smelled different from a male,
besides the obvious perfumes and colognes, etc., and how it could change in
an instant while still in a female body.
     "So, why the difference?" Rei asked.
     "I don't know," Tomiyo admitted.
     "The reasons could be comfort, utility or advantage," Rei said,
working through the problem.
     "You think she's more comfortable with being a girl?"  Shinji didn't
seem to find that believable.      "Does that action have a utility or
advantage?" Rei asked.
     "If she was trying to drain all the knowledge out of him, maybe,"
Tomiyo said, "That would be an advantage."
     "The lessons are a side effect of _her_ behavior," Rei told them.
     Tomiyo and Shinji glanced at each other.
     "A tool," Rei explained.
     Tomiyo thought about that and smiled.  "Why would someone who keeps
saying 'I'm a guy' use a female form and flirt so much to get . . . what?"
     "Comfort," Rei said, as she returned to Shinji's side and took his
hand as she continued, "_He_ does not get it from Nabiki-kun as he - _she_
gets it from Roku-kun."
     Tomiyo could hardly believe his ears, and that _Rei_ had noticed it
first.
     "They are dating," Rei said by way of explanation, "Seriously."
     Shinji merely shook his head.
----------------------------------------
     The photo the slide projector showed was clearly the right size and
basic shape for an EVA footprint.  Asuka sat in her chair and watched the
slide show.  She hadn't changed her initial opinion.  It couldn't possibly
be hers or any other EVA, but she already knew that.  Her defense against
her doing it by AT field manipulation was also set.
     "Well Pilot Langley?" Gendo asked as the lights came up, revealing the
rest of the conference room and the four occupants: Gendo, Asuka, Erin and
Admiral Simson.
     "I hate to admit it."  Carefully applied arrogance, she thought.  "I
never got close enough to the place to do that.  My manipulations are all
close range.  I don't know what my closest point of approach was, but I'd
guess about three kilometers maximum."
     "Two point six kilometers," Erin said from her place at the conference
table.
     "You're saying you can't affect targets at that range?" Ikari stared
at her, very different from his son.
     She wasn't lying, trying to lie while Ikari and Simson were both
staring at her, would have been too difficult.  "Not that I know of.  All
my attempts have been a few hundred meters, I've tried longer distance, all
to no effect.  All my constructions have also been limited by line of
sight, I've never managed to create anything beyond visual range.  The only
one who can do that is Ho - Pilot Saotome, and I'm not blaming him.  The
subtlety of the application would require me, Pilot Ayanami or Pilot
Davis."  She paused while considering.  "Perhaps Pilot Tendo, but that's
moot in any case.  The only other possibility would be Pilot Saotome and a
shovel."  Asuka managed not to gulp or shout, both bad things to do right
now.  The two men stared at each other, then at her.  Long, probing stares.
Asuka wondered if her clothes had suddenly become transparent, she felt
stripped naked before that penetrating, dual gaze.
     She had told them the truth, cooperated to the best of her ability,
even kept her temper in the face of such false accusations and slander.
     "Tests indicate a tremendous weight was involved," Simson said, "Do
you have any other possible suggestions of something that could create
ground pressure similar to an EVA's?"
     "No.  Except Miss Ayanami can manifest an AT field without an EVA."
     "She was under observation the entire battle, and afterwards," Ikari
said coldly.
     Raccoon might have returned and done it, or the Scholarly Dragon, she
thought.  "I have no other explanation," she said, desperate to keep her
temper in check.  I _didn't_ do it, she wanted to shout at them.
     "Please wait outside Pilot Langley, Miss Carter," Simson ordered.
     Asuka opened her mouth to protest, but shut it at the warning glance
from Erin, so she kept silent as they trooped out.  Asuka guessed Erin
could practically feel the steam coming off her.
----------------------------------------
     "I believe she's telling the truth," Ikari told Simson once the doors
were closed and locked.
     "Great," the Admiral lamented as he leaned back, "Another mystery."
     "Like the Ghost of Tokyo," Ikari agreed as he took his seat.
     "That's just someone playing bagpipes," Simson retorted.
     "In places no one can get to?  No one has ever seen the piper?  One
that knows every time NERV has a major victory?  My prime suspect is
approaching the Panama Canal.  I'll believe in the Ghost."
     Simson considered Ikari's words.  Their Scots-ancestored pilot had
been _his_ likely suspect as well, but the concert a few days ago seemed to
have eliminated him from consideration.  "I'm willing to believe Pilot
Langley's protests of innocence.  The question is, what do we do?"
     Gendo considered.  Simson appreciated the man's deviousness, but he
wasn't good at hiding things from Simson.  Gendo Ikari always
overcomplicated things, and that drew attention to itself, once you knew
what to look for.  But for isolated applications, the man and his
tendencies were very useful.
     "Leave her out there to stew for an hour, then call her in and refer
to her as _Miss_ Langley, instead of Pilot Langley.  Add a week of house
arrest.  Since she doesn't go out much, it isn't much of a real punishment.
The name change will worry her far more," Gendo said.
     "Agreed," Simson said, "The Russian situation.  It has been growing
steadily more serious, not just the provocation in Europe, but at Tunguska.
We'll need contingency plans to intervene."
     "The Vladivostok end of their railroad is incomplete, so we will have
to land the EVAs at the Baltic or Arctic ports," Gendo commented after
checking his notes.  "I am more concerned about the Severn Valley
situation."
     "We'd better have contingency plans to intervene in both locations
simultaneously," Simson said.
     "Our luck couldn't possibly be that bad," Gendo countered.
     "But our enemies _are_ that clever," Simson said blandly and enjoyed
the look of horror that replaced Ikari's normally implacable expression.
Ikari wasn't as immune and unflappable as he wanted people to believe.
     "But by all reports, the Tunguska situation is stable, at least for
the moment.  We have drawn up plans to intervene.  The S2 engines would
allow the EVAs to march the entire distance to the Tunguska site, from
Vladivostok, Sevastopol, or Arkhangelsk.  That would mean Pilots Langley
and Tendo," Ikari said, "I'm more concerned about the Severn Valley
situation.  There have been too many unsubstantiated rumors that have
lately received substantiation.  There may be as many as seven Angels in
that one region."
     Simson nodded.  He'd let Gendo feel clever, it was necessary to keep
the man working at peak efficiency.
     "The Coral Sea cannot support all four EVAs, and you saw the damage
Unit 04 did to Bennington," Gendo pointed out.
     "Perhaps one of the British armored deck carriers, or simply dispense
with the flight deck entirely, the hanger deck seems unaffected.  The
U.S.S. Hawaii only really has room for one EVA.  The same is true of
Alaska, or any of the battleships."
     "So you wouldn't want the Hawaii to take one, Coral Sea take two,"
Gendo suggested, "And leave one here as a reserve?"
     "With the cult who summoned those creatures still extant, it would be
unwise to leave the base undefended," Simson agreed, "There's also the
question of Unit 03, that one is in England.  Would an experienced pilot
have a better chance against it than the novices the British lost?"
     Simson watched Ikari consider the possibilities.
----------------------------------------
     Asuka fretted and fumed in the waiting room, and she paced, getting
madder and more worried with each passing moment.  Erin had the odd feeling
the commanders were letting her hang like this on purpose.  Asuka was
already imagining worse fates than would be likely.
     "Maybe they'll strap you to a chair," Erin offered as she watched from
her seat, "Have Rei do a complete work up in Unit 02, while you have to
watch.  Or worse, monitor her progress and efficiency."
     Asuka's entire posture and expression implied she'd been struck a hard
blow to the head.  "They . . . they wouldn't!?  Would they?" Asuka asked
worriedly.
     "Maybe they'll let you off with a written apology."
     "I DIDN'T DO . . . anything!" Asuka said as the doors opened.
     "You did make the threat," Simson said as he motioned them inside.
Gendo had remained behind, seated at the conference table, glaring at her
over his steepled fingers.  "I managed to convince Commander Ikari that
house arrest and a personal, unofficial, reprimand would be sufficient,
Miss Langley," Simson confided to them.
     The last part stung Asuka more than the rest.  Erin saw the pattern,
Gendo got to be the bad guy in control, Simson as the barely adequate,
moderating influence.  It was an effective ploy.
     "For the next two weeks, you are to remain in your apartment, except
for the practice sessions when you will be permitted to be on the roof with
supervision," Gendo intoned as The Voice of Doom.
     Erin noticed they didn't mention tests, none were scheduled anyway,
not until Dr. Akagi returned.  Nor had they mentioned battle, that omission
would let Asuka's own imagination punish her far more than anything else.
All they were doing really was giving her the impression of punishment, and
plenty of time to think about it.
     "As I said, the period of confinement is two weeks, there will be no
reduction in pay during that time.  You made the threat, if you hadn't, we
could have ignored this anomaly and blamed the recent Angel attack," Ikari
continued in his act as a completely heartless monster, "Since the
occupants believe an EVA was involved, we have to smooth things over."
     "Yes, Admiral," Asuka said, only the grip Erin had taken on her
shoulder kept her from saying more.  Erin could feel the girl shaking with
rage.  It didn't keep her from _glaring_ at Commander Ikari.  In reply, the
man let her see his slight grin.  Asuka bristled at that.
     "What about sync tests?" Asuka asked through gritted teeth.
     "What part of 'remain in your apartment' did I fail to make clear?"
Ikari asked coldly.
     "An Angel attack?  You wouldn't let Wondergirl use my EVA!?"
     "Good day, Miss Langley," Admiral Simson said as he pointed to the
doors, then closed them and the conversation.
     Hearing that, Asuka turned around and headed away from the doors and
out of earshot of those behind it.
     "They'll let Spineless use _MY_ EVA!  He'll make it as weak as he is!"
Asuka shouted, "I'll have to have the L.C.L. flushed and have the whole
thing steam cleaned!"
     "Your fault really," Erin said, "In the future, don't joke about the
EVAs stepping on people's houses."
     "I didn't step _on_ or _near_ anyone's house.  I'm innocent!  I'm
being falsely accused!" Asuka shouted.
     "Congratulations, Joan of Arc," Erin said, "It happens.  It'll give
you more time to spend with . . . "  Erin sighed.  ". . . Ranma."
     "Oh joy," Asuka grumped, "Just kill me and get it over with."
----------------------------------------
Morning's At Seven
     Ranma noted that Asuka had arrived back at the apartment in her usual
`good` mood, and immediately retreated to her room.
     "You feeling okay?" Ranma asked as he walked in on her.
     "Don't you knock?" Asuka asked, lying face down on her bed.
     "Sure, 'knock, knock; Horseface go away!'  I just didn't feel like
going through all those steps."  He squatted next to the bed.
     She rolled so her back was to him.
     "Whatever it is -"
     "It _IS_ that bad Horseface!  Now go away."
     When she moved, he could see how her motions indicated she was
hurting, physically hurting.  "I just thought -"
     "If you touch me, I'll scream so loud your ears will melt."
     "You can't keep ignoring this."  He'd gotten his hand close enough to
read her ki flows.  He really wished he hadn't.  Everything was all snarled
up, frayed, constricted and strained to near breaking, between her chest
and knees.  He couldn't sense more than that, but just scanning those
abnormal mangles was maddening.  Just leaving them there when he might have
helped seemed inhumane.  He didn't hate _anyone_ enough to leave them in
that kind of pain.
     "Yes I -"  She interrupted herself by leaping up and dashing to the
bathroom.
     He followed her at a very leisurely pace, he wanted her to be finished
throwing up when he arrived.  He wouldn't have put it past her to throw up
on him to get him to leave.  Although it sounds like she isn't managing
that, he thought.  "Problems?" he asked.
     She was half bent over the sink and had the water running.  But rather
than retching, she was soaking a wash cloth in the water.  Then she wiped
her face with it.  "No, I do not want to talk about this to a boy," she
told him, the force of her scowl was ruined by her ashen color and look of
real pain.
     He reached for the water.  She switched the water to full hot before
he could get his hand under it.  "Whatever your shape, 'I am a guy',
remember?" Asuka said angrily, staring at him with bloodshot eyes.
     Ranma wished she couldn't turn _anything_ he said back on him.
     "You may have a girl's body part of the time, but it's perfect, no
cramps, or other little defects," she said bitterly, "Your breasts will
probably never sag.  Heck if you _did_ get pregnant you'd probably pop the
kid out after 10 minutes of labor, no stretch marks and you'd get your
figure back in a day or two.  _Real_ women don't have those advantages."
     Ranma was more than a little confused.  Never imagined somebody saying
I'm _not_ a girl would offend me, he thought.  "Are you mad I'm not a girl,
or that I am?" he asked, trying to hide his anger and worry.
     "You _are_not_ a girl.  No matter what you've got Raccoon convinced
of.  You tell everyone you are a guy.  And you're too perfect to be a real
girl," Asuka said, being bent over the sink holding on through the dry
heaves took a lot of force out of her argument.  "Hell, you're too perfect
to be a normal guy either," she muttered under her breath.
     "Do you know how nuts that sounds?" he asked, "I'm not because I'm not
and I'm perfect?"
     "The bottom line," she told him through clenched teeth, "Is you don't
know enough to help, so go away."  She waved, dismissing him
     "It's just, I thought -"
     "No," she shouted at him, paused as pain wracked her, "You didn't
_think_, you reacted like Pavlov's dogs, you don't even know how you were
conditioned, you assume you're thinking when it's all programmed.  Poor,
weak, little girl, big hero go help.  Well _BUG_OFF_ big hero, girly
problem - no can help."
     Ranma decided he didn't want to argue anymore.  She didn't want his
help.  'I don' want anyone's help!' he thought angrily.  "Do you want
something to eat?" he called back, about the limit of the revenge he'd
inflict on her.  Instead he walked upstairs where Sammi was doing more
paperwork at the dining room table.
     "Who is Pavlov, and why am I one of his dogs?" Ranma asked as he sat
down and put his chin on the table.  He kind of missed the lower Japanese
tables, where you sat on the floor.  It was weird being up so high and
still sitting.
     It wasn't often he managed to shock Sammi, but he'd managed it this
time.  "Hang on a moment," she told him as she stood and headed for the
upstairs bedroom she used as a store room/private office.  She returned
with a book, Ranma could guess the title was German from the extra dots and
squiggles on the Romanji.
     "Pavlov wrote about a way of training," Sammi said as she opened the
book and showed him a picture of a dog getting fed when a bell rang and
drooling, and the same dog drooling when just the bell rang.  "The dogs
were trained to expect food when the bell rang and they reacted when the
bell rang as if food was coming.  What did Asuka say?"
     "You didn't hear?" Ranma asked miserably, "I could see she was
hurting, I offered to help and she yelled at me and called me Pavlov's
dog."
     "What exactly did she say, her exact tone and expression?" Sammi
asked.
     Ranma smiled mirthlessly, stood up, bent over and proceeded to exactly
duplicate Asuka's entire performance, at a greatly reduced volume.
     Sammi watched carefully, he'd expected to surprise her.  That she
wasn't, was a little disappointing.
----------------------------------------
     Ranma held up the card.  He was doing his best not to gloat as he
faced his latest opponent over the dining room table.
     Asuka stared at the card.  "Man," she said.
     "Four."  Ranma turned the card over, letting her see the Romanji, "The
box has four sides," he added helpfully.
     "What about the two curves inside?" Asuka asked angrily, "That makes
six."
     "They don't count."
     "Thank you," she said sourly, then grinned and held up a card.
     She would pick one that has l's and r's, he thought.  "Rerner," he
spoke in Japanese, "Learner."  I think, he added silently, all he was
receiving was the blank stare of doom.  He had a few moments to avoid the
dire fate she was planning for him for getting it wrong.  "Lernel."  Nope.
"Lelnel."  Nope.  "Relnel?"  Oops.  "Rernel?" he said.  The gaze of doom
was eroding whatever confidence he had had.
     Asuka smacked her face with her hand.  "Can't you properly pronounce
l's and r's?"
     "Yeah," Ranma said defiantly.
     "So you were just trying to irritate me?" Asuka asked sweetly.
     "No," Ranma said fearfully.
     "Then you were lying to me?" Asuka continued in the pleasant tone,
that oh-so-sweet grin on her face.
     Ranma wondered whether _any_ girl being nice to him, especially a
pretty one, would always be a harbinger of doom.  He raced for an answer,
some words that would get him out of this disaster.  He was proud that he
found one so quickly.  "I can properly pronounce r's and l's, I just can't
tell which is which."  He sat back, sweating more than he would have after
an hour of sparring.
     "The word is pronounced 'lerner'.  With the l, the tip of the tongue
touches the back of the top teeth.  The r, the tongue arcs towards but does
not touch the center of the palate."
     "Let me see."  Ranma walked around the table and stared into her mouth
as she repeatedly made the r and l sounds.  He knew Asuka didn't enjoy this
one bit, but it was the best way for him to learn.
     He looked close from various angles, he wished he could skin her lips
back the way Ranko could with Raccoon, that was a big help.  Asuka would
fry me alive if I did that, he reminded himself and kept his hands to
himself.  He felt his own mouth and tongue form the shapes that Asuka's
mouth had made.  "L, l, l, l.  R, r, r, r," he said, "Lerner."
     "About time," Asuka said, "You know how much I hate you doing that
weird bit."
     "I told you that's the best way to learn," he told her.  And I never
touched you, he knew not to add.
     "For you," Asuka admitted, "I heard, and I agreed to let you do it.
That _doesn't_ mean I have to LIKE IT!"
     "I just remembered something," Ranma admitted, "Raccoon made me write
the thing, while pronouncing it, several times.  Maybe you should do that
too.  Get used to the shape, the sound, the appearance all at once."
     "That sounds like one of his ideas," Asuka groused as she stood up.
     "Where are you goin'?" he asked.
     "To get some scratch paper," Asuka called over her shoulder, "Maybe
your nails are tough enough to carve the table top, but mine aren't."
     Ranma smiled, it was nice beating 'Brains Unlimited' like this.  Of
course it grates, her constant digs about me getting a much better teacher,
and her having to 'soldier on' with a poor one, meaning me, Ranma thought.
He also expected some kind of retribution, eventually.  Ha, I can handle
anything, he thought dismissively.
----------------------------------------
     Asuka looked at the weapons that Erin was passing out.  Ranma,
henceforth known as the victim, waited for her on the other side of the
door, on the roof.  He wasn't expecting all of them.  The pilots and guards
had assembled at the stairway to the roof.
     "We need the goggles?" Wondergirl asked as she fitted them.
     "Yes," Asuka told her, "This is very important training for Horseface.
We're counting on your marksmanship."
     "Jawohl, Mein Grossfeldmarschall," Wondergirl said.
     "Are you sure about this, Megorofeld-chan?" Spineless asked.
     "Yes," Asuka told them, accepting her weapon, checking that it was
fully loaded as she led them upstairs, the pilots and their guards.
     "Wait!" Sammi told them as they reached the last door, all that
separated Horseface from his fate.  "Everybody remember your situational
awareness.  There's reloads all over the roof.  Ready?"
     They nodded.  Sammi threw open the doors and they charged.
----------------------------------------
     Ranma heard the doors open and the cries of 'Banzai!', 'Charge!' and
others, as his `friends` came at him with goggles and - "Squirt guns!?" he
shouted and began dodging the spurts of water.
     "Soak him!" Asuka shouted as she fired.  Rei was kneeling and firing
steadily.  Shinji charged screaming, firing randomly.  Erin was trying to
emulate Rei-the-sniper.  Tomiyo and Juri were using the Shinji approach,
trading volume of fire for accuracy.  Sammi, the traitor, was carefully
setting another squirt gun and a thermos on one of the short chimneys, then
walking away casually.  Even Ranma understood that there was a 20-meter
diameter `kill zone` around the bait.  Sammi just waited for her quarry to
come to her, with a big grin on her face.
     "No fair, no fair!" Ranma shouted, outnumbered and nearly outflanked,
dodging continuously and frantically.
     "It's training!" Asuka shouted at the desperately dodging martial
artist, "If you can't dodge water, you're in trouble."
     "How noble," Rei said, nailing Ranma's sleeve, but not him.  He
stripped off his shirt to avoid the transformation.  He wasn't afraid of
it, not as he once was, but it was a point of honor to put it off as long
as possible, than he not fail.
     Rei's next shot got him in the back.  Sammi called a halt.  She picked
up the spare squirt - rifle, from the size of it, and the thermos.  He was
a him again, and he fitted the goggles over his eyes.  He couldn't figure
out a good place to carry the thermos, so he set it down in a place where
he could get in and get out fast.  He also discovered the rifle was empty,
although jugs of water dotted the roof.  I'd wondered about those, he
thought as he started towards the nearest one.
     "Now that you're a boy again," Sammi said, "And such a cute one."  He
blushed with embarrassment.  "You can use your weapon to hold us off," she
said as she got safely out of range, "Cry Havoc and let slip the Dogs of
War!"
     Ranma figured it was a signal to start, so did everyone else.  Ranma
sprinted towards the jug of `ammunition`.  Again he was dodging like mad.
Rei beat him to the nearest jug, and he had to use the chimney, the
sawhorses and even the others as defenses while he tried to reach another.
Once he'd loaded, he tried shooting back, but his accuracy was terrible,
and even hitting them didn't dissuade any of his attackers.
----------------------------------------
The Hill-side's Dew Pearled
     It seemed like hours later.  Ranko was laughing so hard her ribs hurt.
She'd been transformed back and forth so many times she'd lost count.
She'd also watched a few ambushes of the others.  Rei had been lining up a
perfect shot on Ranma, when Asuka had shot her in the back.  Soaking wet
Rei hit Ranma, then proceeded to concentrate on 'Mein Grossadmiral' for
quite a while, hunting her mercilessly.
     Ranma had concentrated on Sammi, who was the most dangerous once Rei
and Asuka were out of the picture.  They had stalked each other, or rather
Ranma had tried, with everyone hunting him it was difficult.
     But it felt good, Ranko thought, And Asuka was right, I need practice
dodging water.  She thought it was ridiculous, until some of the less
likely shots nearly got him, or her after the first shot hit.  Either
Raccoon's spell wasn't perfect, or it was fading, or something.
     "Well Horseface?" Asuka asked, she was soaking wet from her duel with
the damp but not drenched Rei.  _Nobody_ had intervened in that battle, on
either side.
     "Yes, very good training," Ranko admitted.
     "You need to practice your shooting," Asuka teased the other redhead,
"Even Spineless hit more often than you did."
     "It was _very_ satisfying," Rei said, with a strange gleam in her eye.
Asuka still frowned.
     Sammi laughed at the other dampened-to-soaked participants.
     "I stayed dr - oh NO!" Juri said, then ran away as the new primary
target of the evening, though no one had more than a few shots left.
Ranko, rifle long empty, still joined in the chase.  Asuka shouted orders
to coordinate the motley group's attempt to surround the once dry guard.
Rei had recovered the thermos which was still nearly full.  Ammunition was
more important than Ranma/Ranko's transformation.
----------------------------------------
     Admiral Simson was working late in his office.  The investigation into
the last battle was getting nowhere.  The summonings of the forces involved
would require multiple human sacrifices or dozens of large animals, or
hundreds of cats and dogs sacrificed.  None of those were things that
should have been easy to hide, but someone had managed.  The only
conclusion was that none had occurred.  That only left the possibility of a
ceremony of hundreds of members, which also hadn't occurred.
     "Admiral," his yeoman said as he stuck his head into the office, "On
your line."
     Simson welcomed any distraction.  He knew he was missing something,
but he didn't know what.  He picked up the phone.  "Yes - yes, sir.
MacArthur and the Emperor.  Yes, sir.  I'm sure the pilots will want to
meet them.  Thank you for the heads up, Senator.  Good news about the
Kentucky, sir.  I'd enjoy hearing about that tomorrow."
     He hung up the phone, then shook his head and considered how to break
this to the kids.
     Ramsey stuck his head in the office.  "Problems?"
     "Only some VIPs want to meet the kids," Simson waved the man in to sit
down.  "We also are getting a second carrier, sort of.  They've decided to
complete the Kentucky as an EVA support ship.  U.S.S. Bluegrass State, they
don't know the designation yet."
     "Well, all they need are the engines and the armored deck, the rest
can be taken care of easily," Ramsey said.
----------------------------------------
July 20, 1947
     Ranma walked up the stairs to morning practice.
     "Ranma," Asuka called in a sweet singsong tone.
     Ranma winced before he turned around, he instantly knew he was in
serious trouble.
     "I have some good news for you," Asuka said breathily, tugging at the
collar of her shirt, which was unbuttoned a lot more than it usually was,
at the top and bottom.
     Now Ranma was thoroughly mystified.  Terror returned, hot on the heels
of confusion.
     "I know what you really want, what you really neeeed," she said as she
walked towards him, her hips swaying.  Ranma felt his mouth go dry, he
couldn't tear his eyes away from her.
     "I'm not heartless," she told him as she pouted and ran a finger over
his chest.  Ranma backed up suddenly, and accidentally closed the door
behind him.
     "I've been watching you . . . watch me.  Somebody else might
misunderstand."  She leaned close, pressing against him as he tried to
press backward through the door.
     He knew the injuries from walking through a steel fire door wouldn't
compare with the injuries he'd suffer when Asuka came to her senses.  Some
part of his mind told him this was an excellent opportunity to scan her ki
flows.  Then he did a quick inventory of all the points of contact, and
suddenly couldn't remember how to spell his name.
     "I know it isn't really me you're looking at," she whispered in his
ear, her fingers drawing designs on his chest.      "That's not true I -"
Ranma's protest was cut off as Asuka carefully put her hand over his mouth.
     "I know what you think of me."  She stepped back, relieving the
pressure on Ranma's body, and even more on his mind.  Until she stood and
stretched.  Ranma noted places where her shirt and shorts got very tight,
or failed to cover her at all.  "I should be so jealous of Ice Princess,
you seem to warm her up, get her all melty," Asuka said as she slipped her
hands under his shirt and around his waist.  "But I can teach you things,
things that she'll be so happy that you know.  Things she'll be sooo happy
when you show her you know."  She smiled and rubbed her nose against his.
     Ranma wasn't sure how the door was staying in the frame, considering
how desperately he was trying to back through it.  It wasn't that Asuka
scared him - Yeah, acting like this she doesn't scare me, he admitted to
himself, She _terrifies_ me!
     "But I will insist you learn some important things as Ranko too.  You
know how she feels about Raccoon.  She just loves when she can make him
smile.  What I'll teach you will definitely make him smile."  Asuka's hands
in his shirt were massaging his stomach and chest, and they weren't
relaxing him at all.  Only the heavy construction of the door and the fact
he didn't hit girls was preventing him from retreating.  Although he was
doing his best to back up and deflect the roaming hands.
     "You've been such a good boy lately," Asuka crooned, looping one leg
around his and pulling it further out.  "You've done all I've told you
without complaining.  I'm going to let you be _bad_.  I'm going to give you
a chance I wouldn't give most others."  He was glad she'd unwrapped herself
from him.
     Ranma gulped, as Asuka wrapped her other leg around his other leg and
pulled it out of position, the only reason he hadn't fallen was his own
superior sense of balance, Asuka's arms around his waist, and her chest
pressed against his.  His breathing was faster because of nervousness, he
was aware of the effect his breathing and hers was having on their contact,
which completely disrupted his mental balance.
     "I know you don't feel that way about me.  I know there'll never be
anything - personal about this," she told him as her lips brushed his ear,
"But I do beg you to be gentle, and patient, think about me a little."
     "Ah, hamta, kanbanata . . . " Ranma said intelligently.
     "See," Asuka whispered, "A quick thrust isn't the end of it.  It takes
more, your girl form will learn that too."
     If Ranma could have gotten his legs or arms to work, he would have
jumped straight up, despite the concrete ceiling above him, and run for his
life.  His mind was a mass of fog and cobwebs.
     "I don't mind just being a teacher, no matter what it costs me."  She
leaned closer.  Ranma focused on her eyes and the mischief there, trying to
blot out all the rest of her that was close to him.  "I can even tell you
the greatest knowledge.  Knowledge that will please Ice Princess and
Raccoon, when you show it to them."  She smiled, showing a dazzling set of
white teeth, all Ranma could think of were sharks.  "Maybe you can show it
to both of them at once."
     Ranma couldn't even frame the question.  His suspicions about this
knowledge were enough to utterly destroy any ability to think he might have
had.
     The swift knee from Asuka blew away the cobwebs and gave him all the
focus he lacked.  A second knee he failed to dodge or parry increased that
focus to the sharpness of a scalpel.
     With the insides of his thighs smarting, and the certain knowledge
that Asuka hadn't missed with either blow, he heard her warning clearly.
"There's no such thing as cheating in a real fight, just winning and
dying."  She stepped away, her tone and demeanor returned to normal teacher
mode.  "You need to learn to hurt girls, I could have killed you,
Horseface.  And for your information . . . "  She paused to make sure she
had his undivided attention.  "Any girl who acts like that right from the
beginning, is going to do exactly what I almost did, either physically or
to get something out of you.  Your instinct to run away is exactly the
right one."  She stepped away, returning to her normal persona.  "Pick up
your sword and your jaw, we're going to try to work on your reticence about
hurting girls, and to improvise some other uses of your weapon.  Let's go."
     Ranma stepped aside to let her open the door to the roof.  "So none of
that . . . stuff -"
     Asuka laughed at him.  "Horseface, if I was lying there bleeding to
death, I wouldn't want you manhandling me.  If I ever got slightly romantic
with you, I'd probably throw myself off the building when I came to my
senses."
     For some reason that made Ranma feel a lot better.
----------------------------------------
     Ranma held his scabbard, he was using it like a short staff, which he
knew how to use.  Asuka was thrusting with the hilt of her weapon.  The
weird part was, he couldn't dodge, only block or parry.  It felt unnatural.
"Why are we doing this?" Ranma asked, batting the wooden pole away.
     "If you dodge, you protect yourself.  This occupies the enemy, and you
can protect those behind you," she told him as she feinted low, over
feinted high and actually carried through a low attack.
     Only his speed allowed him to counter.  "Sneaky," he commented, "Since
I need to hit girls, when do I get to attack?"
     "Not today, this is defensive, learning the parries and the other uses
of your weapon, Anything Goes, right?  Later I'll teach you some of the
uses of the sabre-halberd.  It's a lot more than a sharp piece of iron a
long way off.  You may even need to talk to Mirei about some of the
techniques in softball, about using the bat."
     Ranma parried an all-or-nothing attack with a swift wrist thrust.  As
the weapons clattered off each other, Asuka cried out and dropped to her
knees.  Ranma started forward.  She didn't call a halt or - he thought and
jumped back, Or drop her weapon.  "You're still holding it!" Ranma said
reproachfully.
     "I didn't call a halt," Asuka told him, grimaced as she clenched and
unclenched her hand.  "Now I am."
     Ranma set the scabbard aside, and ignored Asuka's protest as he took
her injured hand.
     She clawed at his face and pulled back.  "Never!" she hissed at him,
"You haven't earned the right."
     He backed up, stammering an apology as he moved.  The others would be
arriving, and he didn't have time to analyze all this.  A little while ago,
she was crawling all over him, now she would have torn his eye out for
holding her hand.  He could tell there was no damage to the hand, but he'd
have to check it up to the elbow to make sure it wasn't the tendons.  He
knew her pain had been real, and severe.  He wished she'd let him help her.
     "Now, do you feel like actually doing some work?" Asuka asked as she
stood, she acted as if nothing had just happened, "We'll work on the
sabre-halberd.  If you've ever used a nagitana - "
     "Naginata," Ranma corrected, got a glare, he shrugged.
     "Then you have a better idea how to use it."
     "Including that sword-trapping trick?" Ranma asked.
     "Eventually," Asuka told them, "Mainly, you need to learn what happens
if someone gets too close or if there isn't enough space to use this.  It's
an open-field weapon, a lot like your art.  In a confined space, you have
to be more careful."
     "Yeah."  Ranma chuckled as he lifted the sabre-halberd, felt the
balance, and swung it a few times to get the feel.
     "The key is improvisation," Asuka said.  Ranma thought she sounded
wistful.  "In dealing with the length of the weapon, and the assumption
that the whole thing isn't a weapon."
     Ranma nodded.  "So who taught you this?" Ranma asked.
     Asuka looked sour.  "Guess.  Stupid mage who was a natural with a
sword.  But a knight who couldn't wield one . . . I thought he invented
this thing," she grumbled.
     "Ah," Ranma said sagely, taking an unobtrusive step or two away from
her.
     "Most of the Talhoffer lessons can be applied.  What you don't know is
how much lighter this is compared to what it should be, the haft is
thinner, stronger wood, the metal is lighter.  This is a weapon that uses
speed, more than mass, to deliver the blows."
     "Girls aren't as strong," Ranma said.
     "Define _strong_," Asuka ordered.
     Ranma plotted a strategic withdrawal, despite the fact he had her
weapon in hand and she was unarmed, he still felt distinctly outmatched.
"I didn't - " Ranma began.  A splash of water changed him to her.
     "Now you practice as a girl.  Feel the difference and understand that
the strength is different.  Women lack the mass, but the endurance is
different," Asuka told the dampened girl before stalking off a short
distance, "And you _still_ can't dodge water."
     "I think I could have figured that out."  Ranko wrung out her shirt.
     "Start with the stances, feel the difference between a sword and a
polearm."  Asuka slapped her own face.  "_SLOWLY_!_" she shouted, "Slowly,
Horseface, slowly.  Let your muscles feel the changing balance, also, go
through the stances holding the haft at the head, the midpoint and the far
end.  _Slowly_._"
     Ranko grumbled, but she did as she was told.  She didn't see the point
of moving slowly, but she could tell how the weapon moved swinging it at
normal speed.  The difference among the various distances along the haft
amazed her.
----------------------------------------
     Ranko watched as everyone trooped down from the roof, tired, sweaty
but pleased by their progress.  She was glad of all the lessons, she wholly
understood why Asuka had instructed `Horseface` 'learn each stance, each
attack' before he went on.  Because it _was_ so simple.  Less than twenty
basic stances and maneuvers, and each one was an end or a beginning point
in the 'flow you think is so important,' she'd told him sarcastically.  The
flow would come, the path it took was entirely up to him and the others.
Only the end points mattered.  In an odd way, she could understand Asuka
hadn't been teaching him a martial art, she'd been teaching him how a
master teacher simplified things, and how another expert could teach those
simplified lessons.  Despite the numerous, small successes that resulted
from him teaching the others, it was an extremely humbling realization.  He
was the expert Martial Artist, but he had been completely incapable of
sharing that with anyone.  Not the grace, nor the joy of mastering your
body, nor the confidence of knowing you couldn't be physically challenged.
     While it was his alone, it was worthless to the others.  In a way,
_he_ was worthless to the others.  That was perhaps the worst realization
of all, that as long as his techniques were secret, they were worthless.
If he shared them with the others, he'd lose absolute control over what
they did with them.  Only by risking `freeing` them, did he achieve what
they were meant to do.
     And gain what? she wondered, Not disciples or students.  They'll never
completely give themselves over to Martial Arts.  It would be just another
tool to each of them.  Part of that she recognized as pride, she saw
herself reduced from an artist to a merchant or master technician.  The
others had seen it, even if they didn't understand it.  It was why they
tried to teach him their scientific language and way of thinking.
     Because scientists were the chiefest technicians, the ones who
understood instead of just making use of, she thought, glancing around at
the others, they'd done their practice, now it was over until tomorrow.
For him it was never over.
     They thought I could _understand_ Martial Arts with my head, instead
of my soul.  Hope, they didn't want to take mine away, she thought as she
caught up with Asuka at the base of the stairs.
     "What do you want, Horseface?"  Asuka faced her, hands on her hips.
     "Retribution," she said, glad she picked the right word.  With all
these witnesses . . .  she thought.
     Asuka paled, then glanced over Ranko's shoulder.  "That can't be!
Ranma don't look."
     She looked, then heard the sound of running feet.  Now it was Ranma's
turn to smile.
----------------------------------------
     Ranma began gently massaging Asuka's hand.  He ignored the others
clustered around them in the living room.  He didn't _want_ this to be
private, and not just to humiliate his roommate.  He could feel the slight
disruption, and that there was more.  But I doubt this is a serious injury,
he thought, But I can feel it's the tip of the iceberg.  There's a lot
more, and she's hiding it.  He continued up her arm to the elbow, making
sure the tendons were free and undamaged.  He also watched her eyes, he
could feel the tension in her, his instincts told him she was one step from
attacking him.  Why she felt that way, felt that way towards him, that he
couldn't fathom.  The decision to do this in front of an `audience` was
clearly the right one, although staying a girl might have also been
helpful.
     "That's . . . "  Asuka seemed lost for words, she was _trying_ to be
nice, "That's nice."
     "Your hand?" Ranma asked carefully.  She slowly clenched and
unclenched her hand.  Then thrust her other hand at him.
     He bit back the retort, 'Oh, _now_ you want my help.'  He _had_
learned a few things.  Her other arm was as tense as the first.  The others
around them waited and watched.  From all their reactions, he might as well
have been surrounded by paintings of fascinated people.
     "This is what I was offering, as much or as little . . . " he told
her.
     "I wasn't joking earlier," Asuka told him as he finished, "I don't
want beyond what you've done.  Ever."
     "Why not, I won't do anything."
     Asuka drew up as if to shout at him, she glanced at the others, then
she relaxed.  She didn't want to be the entertainment.  "I just don't,
accept that.  I won't be explaining it any time soon."
     "It's not like I'm -"
     "_NO_!_" Asuka shouted right in his face, "Just drop it!"
     Ranma held up his hands to surrender.  "Okay.  It doesn't make sense
to me."
     "There - are - things - you - don't - have to understand . . .
understand?" Asuka asked angrily.
     "No.  Do you feel up to more language practice?" Ranma asked, this
time he enjoyed it.
     "Yes," Asuka said as she pushed her way through the crowd, still
grimacing.  Her kanji knowledge wasn't progressing as fast as his
understanding of German.  She kept insisting that he had a better teacher
than she did.   I wish I had a decent teacher on the subject of Germans, he
thought.
----------------------------------------
The Lark's On The Wing
July 21, 1947
     Ranma had been watching Asuka all morning during practice.  Maybe the
others haven't noticed it, he thought as they all trooped downstairs, But
it's pretty obvious.  Asuka was in a great deal of pain.  She hid it fairly
well, but it was obvious to Ranma that she _wasn't_ getting better.  She's
probably getting worse, he thought morosely, She's definitely worse this
evening.  He wished he could ask Rit-chan about this, he was just too
embarrassed to ask Sammi or Erin.  And forget asking Asuka, he thought, I
can just see that: 'Hey Asuka, how long do you get cramps like this?'  All
I'd get to see is how far Asuka can kick me.
     He watched her move, hiding the stiffness from the cramp or cramps.
The pain in her other muscles as she pushed those to the limit, even
without having to compensate for the cramps, and disguise that she was
hurting.  When he'd gotten close enough to examine her ki, however dimly,
he'd been sickened by the tangles and snarls centered on her gut and
spreading through all her major muscles.  He wasn't even sure how she could
be alive with that kind of damage.  He easily understood why she was in
pain.  He still couldn't understand why she wouldn't let him help her, or
even just rest.  Theoretically all the cramps would go away in a few days.
Complete rest for a few days would have helped immensely, and given her
body time to heal, even if she didn't heal as fast as he did.  Her hands
and arms had been messed up, and he'd helped her.  He could at least treat
some of the problem.
     Aside from _where_ the core of the problem is, he realized, he knew
enough anatomy from Rit-chan's talks to know what was probably the focus of
the problem.  But I don't need to touch her _there_ to help a little, he
thought in frustration, But she won't let me help, even a little.
     He'd learned a lot, he had another way of dealing with some problems.
I don't have to find an enemy to hit to solve this, he thought, I can do
this with a touch and a little work.  But she won't let me.  Why not?  She
lets me walk around with sharp weapons, she lets me swing at her, but she
won't let me touch her.  She'd rather have me punch her that just hold her
hand . . . that's completely nuts.  Then he thought about how _he'd_ prefer
if she just beat him with a stick while he helped, rather than having her
shy away and bear her pain, like she had been doing.
     It bugged him that somebody, anybody, was hurting that badly.  He
didn't like harming people.  He hated when a girl was crying, and Asuka
should have been howling in agony.  She's tougher that I figured, he
admitted, I almost wish someone would just _order_ me to help her, and
order her to let me.  She couldn't really object to that, could she?  What
could she do to me for both of us following orders?  Chop you into little
bite-sized bits and feed you to the sea gulls, that's what.  He didn't
think that would be as bad as continuing to watch her and doing _nothing_.
----------------------------------------
     Asuka was practicing, practicing the moves of the sabre-halberd and
practicing ignoring the sharp twinges and dull aches her body was plaguing
her with.  She also ignored the light rain, a `soft day` the English would
call it.  The city had been spared any typhoons, this one was landing well
south of Fujiyama, so all they were getting here was a persistent drizzle.
     She hadn't added the macelike counterweight to her sabre-halberd
before.  I need to work on my strength, she thought, I'm out of practice
and out of shape for using a weapon.  She felt the muscles tighten in her
guts.  No! she thought.  She hated what happened this time of the month,
this month had been the worst of all, Why does this happen to me? she asked
silently, It's not like.  I'll ever have kids, why do I need that stuff?
If I can hang on for a few more minutes, I can go to bed.
     She forced herself to straighten up and continue the exercise.  She
gritted her teeth and forced herself to keep working through the pain.  I'm
not going to give in and look foolish -
     Asuka's cry of pain drew Ranma, Sammi and Erin.  She cried out again
as Sammi caught her and prevented her fall, and accidently touched her
abdomen.
     I won't pass out, I won't pass out, I won't pass out! she silently
repeated to herself as she reflexively curled into a ball.  Pain was the
only thing real to her right now.
----------------------------------------
     Ranma had rushed toward Asuka as she fell.  He let Sammi and Erin get
there ahead of him.  He glanced around to make sure they weren't under
attack.  He couldn't see anyone or anything that could be an attacker.
     "Ranma, come here!" Sammi's tone brooked no argument.
     He knelt next to Asuka as the girl squirmed slightly, Erin held
Asuka's hands, her knuckles were white, although she was refusing to cry
out further.
     "Right here."  Sammi pointed to Asuka's lower abdomen, even the chance
of contact caused Asuka to writhe.  He didn't like anyone being in that
kind of distress, and he knew, cramps _hurt_, especially when you kept
moving the way Asuka kept doing.
     He was terribly nervous about touching a girl, down there.  He wished
the rain were colder, then he would be a girl for this.  Even if he
wouldn't be touching her . . . parts, which would deservedly get him
beaten, any touching Asuka where he'd have to do any good . . . he'd have
to sleep with one eye open for the rest of his life.
     "I can get to - " Asuka said as she tried to stand.  Instead, she
turned white and her eyes rolled up in her head as she collapsed.  Ranma
hoped that would convince her not to try to stand up when she revived.
     "Ranma, it's medical," Sammi reminded him forcefully, "And I'm making
it a direct _order_, for both of you."
     Ranma could see Asuka with her eyes and lips clamped shut, if that
wasn't a clue to her feelings, the tears at the corners of her eyes and the
slight shake of her head were a dead give away.  He wanted to be elsewhere.
"I'll get some cold water - "
     "Ranma," Sammi said sternly, "Quit stalling, she's hurting a lot and
we can't move her without making it worse."
     You got your wish, he cursed silently, Little good will it do you.
     Ranma tentatively reached out his hands, looked at Asuka's face before
he made contact, on the sides, just where the ribcage stopped.  He'd never
seen a look of terror on Asuka, or any of the pilots to match what he was
getting from her now.  It cut him worse than if she'd kicked him . . .
anywhere.  He hated this, I'm trying to help, he wanted to shout at her,
Can't you see that?
     "It will start out hurting worse."  He wasn't sure if he was offering
an explanation, or an apology, or an excuse.  Asuka looked like she would
have run away, if she could had stood.  But then he got the throat clearing
and the stern gaze from Erin and Sammi, he was disgusted that he couldn't
do anything except obey.  He knew it was for the best, But . . .? he
couldn't answer his own unspoken question.
     He touched her, eliciting a mewling cry.  He felt trapped, there was
no good answer here.  None that he could see.  He felt the extent of the
cramps, and the damage.  Asuka had the problem long before, and she'd been
ignoring her body's warnings, to force herself to go on.
     What are you trying to be stupid?  Trying to match me? he didn't say,
the instant he thought of it he nearly winced at the conjecture of six feet
screaming at his shins.   Why are you trying to match me?  Do you like
hurting yourself?  Another phantom shin attack.  Why are you doing this?
Hurting yourself.  Should I expect to be a math whiz in a week? this
thought elicited little presumption of attack, and Asuka had opened her
eyes.  As he worked the side muscles loose and was working towards the
center, he asked the last question, got a look of pain and shame as the
only reply.  He decided he'd shut up, she was overreacting.  It's not as
though I could do anything without Erin _and_ Sammi stopping me, he
thought.
     He was having to press fairly deep to get at the source of the pain.
He also let his ki seep through his fingers into Asuka, orderliness in to
bedlam, more `fuel` so she could heal herself.  He clearly sensed the
damage over Asuka's entire body, it sickened him.  He smothered the flash
of anger.  You've been hurting yourself to keep up with me, you don't
_have_ to do that, he wasn't sure if he was silently cursing her, or
himself, You'd even stated that I am beyond normal, so you _knew_ you'd
never really be able to keep up.  Not just because you're a girl, but
because I _am_  the best, stronger, faster, more athletic than `normal`
people.  I never expected to match you or Raccoon with your Math or
Science.  He felt a growing anger, at himself, at this mess, at Asuka for
getting him into this mess.
     Why do you think you have to match me with Martial Arts? he asked
Asuka silently.  He was also worried about an expectation one of the girls
would hit, slap, punch or kick him for what he was doing, it was
_extremely_ disturbing that it wasn't happening.  Worse was Asuka just
lying there like a corpse, staring at the sky.  She'd stopped squirming
almost immediately, he doubted it was a good thing.  It's like she just
gave up, he thought, That's not like her.
     He lifted his hands off Asuka, her knuckles and face were white.  She
had no expression on her face, not pain or embarrassment, she just stared
straight up at nothing, not even looking at the clouds above.  The rain
made it look like she was crying, but he knew she wasn't even reacting that
much.  "I'll have to do the legs as well," he told Sammi, "It was leg
cramping that made Asuka fall in the first place."  He knew that the
muscles in the thigh and back of the leg were the initial problem, but
Sammi had made him fix the real problem first.
     If I don't do the whole leg Asuka really will kill me, he reasoned,
watching Sammi and Erin for some sign of approval or denial, lack of
condemnation or a rebuke, something.  He got a nod from Sammi, Asuka just
lay there.  It would have been better if she'd bit her lip or squeezed her
eyes shut or screamed at him.
     Ranma began to work on Asuka's legs, working from the outside of her
hip down to her ankle.  First one leg, then the other.  He felt the cramps,
the tiny muscle tears, and bruises that Asuka had been ignoring.  He lacked
the skill to manipulate ki to actually heal the damage, but he could
reinforce the efforts of Asuka's body to repair its own wounds.  There
might be a way of learning those techniques, but not yet.
     As he finished, he noted that Asuka had `revived` from her corpse-like
appearance and impersonation.  He thought he'd earned enough credit to
press the issue, "I asked a question, I expect an answer.  Why are you
doing this, to hurt yourself?  I could give you a list of your injuries,
injuries you've been ignoring.  Should I expect to be a math whiz in a
week?"
     "No," Asuka said softly, but said nothing more and gave no reaction as
Erin picked her up.  Ranma had intentionally worked her muscles until they
were practically putty, she needed rest and it was easy enough to arrange
that.  He'd helped her, maybe saved her from permanent injury, but he felt
awful for doing it.  He didn't know what Asuka would do to him, but somehow
it couldn't be as bad as leaving her hurting like that.  He told himself
that, but somehow it rang false to him.
     As he stood watching Erin carry her away, Sammi caught his shoulder.
"Let her go, she's frightened enough."
     "I didn't do anything wrong I -" I followed _your_ instruction, he
didn't add, Because I agreed, and thought it was right and necessary.
     "She's embarrassed because she got caught, she's frightened because
she was afraid of being raped."
     He almost broke his vow not to hit girls, right then and there.  He
restrained himself from punching Sammi for even suggesting he'd do such a
thing.  "I - WOULD - NEVER - !" he couldn't say anymore, his rage was
making him dizzy.
     "Ranma, she knows that, the same way you know a couple cats could
never be a match for you in a fight.  But fear isn't rational."
     Ranma felt a flash of fear at the mere mention of the word.  He shook
his head to clear it of the rage and fear that filled him.  They'd set him
up, they knew about it and still made him . . . .  When he began, he had no
idea why Asuka felt the way she did, he'd assumed that it was her disgust
with everything Japanese in general, and him in particular.  Like Raccoon's
disgust with Ranma.  If I'd known I . . .  the thought died away, he didn't
know what he would have done, caught between need and orders on one side,
and a teammate's fears on the other.  He just wished he hadn't done what he
just did.  Now he tried to think of a way to make it up to her, and nothing
came to him.
     "She has been playing the game of 'nobody is better than me.'  Now
she'll have to pay for it.  Better in small sips than to drink the whole
bitter draught all at once.  Rei commented 'the Commander needs the
disparate skills', I think she's right, none of you can do _everything_,"
Sammi told him.
     If that's supposed to make me feel better about what I've done, it
doesn't, he didn't say, instead Ranma nodded and headed back to the
apartment, Sammi walked behind him.  "I didn't mean to let her get hurt,
she's a - "  He stopped, visions of Sammi tossing him off the building
shouting 'I'm a girl too.'  He hastily searched for another word.  "She's
no Martial Artist, not like I am."  Why am I making excuses? he asked
himself, Why do I _care_ what you think?  Asuka wanted to teach me to hurt
girls, so did the rest of you.  Well congratulations, I learned.  He felt
physically filthy and unclean in spirit.
     "I don't think there's anything on this planet that's a Martial Artist
like you are," Sammi joked.
     It didn't make him feel like laughing.  He'd done the right thing,
then found out he'd done something awful.  He didn't like being tricked
that way.
     Ranma glanced at her, her expression indicated she'd caught his clumsy
recovery from nearly choking on his own foot.  He decided to keep a lid on
how he really felt.  "So what now?  Soak her in a hot bath for an hour or
so then bed rest?"
     "How bad was the damage?" Sammi asked, finally getting serious about
it.
     "Not bad, but it was all over the place," Ranma replied.  Sammi didn't
ask _how_ he knew, she never seemed to ask how any of the pilots did the
weird things they did.  He wondered about that.  He also noted she hadn't
asked how he or Asuka felt about what had happened.  He expected that kind
of callousness from Misa-chan or Gendo.  It worried him, when it came from
Sammi.  I guess I can't trust her either, he thought sadly, he'd liked her,
now she'd done this to him and Asuka.  He couldn't understand.
----------------------------------------
     Rei hadn't figured out exactly what the pair had been doing.
Watching, as she had been for the last few days, from another nearby
building, she'd seen and heard Mein Grossfeldmarschall go down.  From her
interpretation of Mein Grossfeldmarschall's biography, especially the
elements not in the `public` one, she could guess the likely outcome of the
events she had seen.
     And what do I do? she considered, No enemy action would eliminate her
usefulness to the Commander's plan so effectively.  She watched until they
had taken her inside.  She had much to think about.  She hoped Shinji-kun
would have some ideas.  She just couldn't figure out how to let him know
about the problem, without forcing him to act to solve it.
----------------------------------------
The Snail's On The Thorn
     Asuka grimaced as she lay there in the tub in her bathroom.  Just a
big carrot in the soup, she grumbled silently, Ranma to the rescue of poor,
little Asuka.  She wasn't happy about breaking down that way.  It was a
reminder she wasn't in as good shape as she needed to be.  She also
couldn't get the image of those two girls in Berlin out of her head.  The
platoon of Russian soldiers had caught them while Asuka and Anna were
hiding on the roof high above.  Neither girl was much older than Asuka was
now.  The Russians had dragged the girls and their father off the street.
Asuka and Anna had watched the soldiers tease, kiss and grab the girls,
beating their father while he watched.  Their screams had become pleas,
then they'd torn the clothes off one and taken turns with her.  Her screams
had returned, and the soldiers had enjoyed it.  When she abruptly stopped
screaming, they'd thrown the body out into a burning building, almost two
hours later her sister followed her into the fire.  Then the Russians had
done the same to the father, although they threw him in the fire alive.
     She and Anna had stayed on the roof, where they were hiding, through
the day, not daring to make a noise and draw any attention to themselves.
They had listened to the laughter and the screams that seemed to go on
forever.  Asuka had gotten pneumonia from that, but it was better than
being raped to death.  She'd been unable to prevent Horseface from putting
his hands on her.  That it felt so good, so soothing, he had a real talent.
That it made the pain go away and she wanted it to continue was a betrayal
of her by her own body.  What would . . . could I have done if he went
further? she asked herself.  She'd already realized Sammi and Erin hadn't
stopped it, hadn't cared about _her_ feelings.
     That Horseface had a perfect opportunity to do something perverted,
and he hadn't, didn't change anything.  She'd been so terrified that he'd
do something that she lay there helpless.  She couldn't even scream her
protests or get away.
     Of course the only thing Horseface is worried about is cats, Asuka
thought ashamedly, He doesn't have to worry about anybody taking advantage
of him.  The laughter of the Russian soldiers and the screams of the
Berliners they'd caught were still seared in her memory.  Even before that,
she'd never wanted the trouble of kids, or having to wait hand and foot on
a husband.  She wanted to be her own person, those events made it clear,
that anyone strong enough could take that decision from her, in any of a
dozen ways, from crippling to rape to murder.  And Horseface was more than
strong enough to do any of them in any order he chose, she couldn't
intimidate him the way she had with Spineless, although encouraging his
feelings for Ice Princess helped.  But she couldn't seem to get Ice
Princess on the right track to keep Horseface fully occupied.  Maybe I
should work on the Raccoon-Ranko aspect, she considered, smiled at that, It
would also be good revenge.  Asuka had been able to divert him with martial
arts, which he cared about more than anything else.  Then he'd offered so
innocently after she could barely move.  He'd even taken his female form as
if that made any difference.  She'd turned him down flat, and every time
after that.  He never got the message.  He'd even cornered her with
everyone watching, and did whatever the Hell he wanted, making her seem
like a poor sport for not taking advantage of his `kind` offer.
     She thought of Tatewaki Kuno, her husband in that weird dream.  How
she'd pushed him away, diverting him easily with visions of Onna Osage, his
pigtailed girl, or Akane, his tigress.  Until Kaji had left, taking with
him the pigtailed girl, and Akane had been affianced to Ryoga, who was much
less tolerant of any improper attention anyone paid to Akane: Kuno,
`Nabiki`, anyone.
     Suddenly she had been alone, and very lonely.  The Tatewaki who had
found her, was so different from the idiot who relentlessly pursued Akane
and the Pigtailed Girl, it was like night and day.  He hadn't displayed any
of his hallmark, if not trademark, inanities: the typical, stupid things,
or made any of the stupid pronouncements about honor and his nobility  Like
the ones Horseface is so fond of, Asuka thought and shivered at the
comparison.  He'd simply sat down with his back against hers, offering a
windbreak and a source of warmth in the chill air.  She didn't remember how
long they'd sat there, while Kuno talked of his mother, and the feelings of
anger and betrayal at her `abandoning` him and his sister.  His father's
growing madness and obsession, and his own realization that his sister and
indeed he himself were traveling the same road.  He had not asked for her
help, had not offered his, but the plea and the offer had still been made.
The biggest clown in Nerima had gone from slapstick to pathos, and the
cold-blooded mercenary had found a warm, protected place.
     Their first `date` had been to conspire against his father, the
principal.  Their second had been to escape the principal's wrath, when the
plan had worked a little too well.  Kodachi had been an . . . interesting .
. . chaperone.  The `Mad, Ribbon Girl` had been as desperate for affection
and approval as her brother.  Asuka's honor had been protected the first
night by Kodachi coiling around her like one of her ribbons, and falling
asleep.  Asuka never figured out how even a Nerimaniac could bend and twist
that way, let alone fall asleep in that position.  Tate' had stayed away,
standing watch on the off chance that their hidey-hole was discovered.
They passed the night that way, in the morning Asuka had taken the next
watch, Kodachi the afternoon.  As they awoke for the next watch, Tate and
Asuka had been mortified to find Tate's head in Asuka's lap, and her
sprawled on his broad back.  Of course there was Kodachi, with her halo
askew, so both took it as her machinations, rather than anything else.
They'd spent the second night talking about swordsmanship and chemistry.
Neither Kuno sibling had imagined that the Mercenary Ice-Bitch of Furinken
not only had an interest in subject of their fascination, but a fair number
of opinions and ideas of her own.
     College, Tokyo University at the Kuno siblings' mutual insistence,
then as exchange students to a number of German universities at hers, had
been an experience.  Removing the Kunos from the pressure of Japanese
society, and more importantly, placing them where psychiatric drugs and
treatment were acceptable, had healed both of them.  The constant presence
of the pair had also made her feel safer, their habitual contact, slowing
growing more often and more intimate had brought her to the point where she
could act spontaneously with Tate, and accept `Da-chan's` frequent
ambush-hugs without freezing up.
     But today she'd just been lying there, her panic and her pain
paralyzed her completely.  As fast as he was, as high up on her leg as he
was rubbing . . . and he didn't do anything.  As uncouth as he was, he'd
been respectful, professional even.  But that didn't make it right, he
hadn't asked, had completely disregarded her repeated requests and
warnings.  She couldn't have made it more clear and comprehensible, and he
acted as if he hadn't understood.  Or worse, he had understood and just
hadn't cared.  She shivered with fear again.  Just thinking about it again
appalled her.  She didn't know if he wasn't really like that, or if he was
biding his time, or if he'd follow orders to. . . .  She couldn't imagine
Simson giving those orders, but Gendo might, especially if he needed new
pilots, or something to experiment on.  She had thought all those things
about Horseface, never gave him the benefit of the doubt.  Now he'd
discounted all she'd told him, It's all my fault, she thought.  She
grumbled again as she sank deeper in the water.
     Asuka noted Horseface's arrival.  He, or rather `she`, was carrying a
plate and was actually trying to be `cute`.  As if that would fool me,
Asuka thought.  She couldn't defend herself, so she waited to see what he'd
do.  Erin had set her in the tub fully clothed, so there wasn't much for
Horseface to see.
     "What are you doing?" she asked the he-in-she's-clothing.
     "Rit-chan said cramps are often caused by a lack of Po - Pot -"
     "Potassium," Asuka supplied.
     "Yeah, that stuff.  And Raccoon mentioned bananas are loaded with Po -
ta - shi - uh - " Horseface knelt down beside the tub.  On the plate were
two chopped up bananas and a set of chopsticks.
     "I'm - " the piece of banana at the back of her mouth ended
conversation as she reflexively swallowed it.  Horseface's look of triumph
as `she` twirled the chopstick across her fingers didn't make Asuka feel
any better.  "You know feeding someone is a very intimate act," she cooed,
then winced inwardly, she should not be giving him any ideas.  All she got
was another chunk of banana in the back of her mouth.  She was glad he'd
made the pieces so small that she could swallow them without chewing or
gagging.  She frowned at `her`, got a beatific smile in return.
     "Thank you," Asuka said, covering her mouth with her hand, "I'll eat
the rest myself later."  The `cute` act was wearing.  The faux girl was
bloodcurdling.  Asuka didn't want to spend any more time with him than
absolutely necessary.
     "Well, I'm not leaving.  You're supposed to stay in there for at least
another 80 minutes.  Sammi also suggested I make sure that the water stays
as hot as you can stand."
     "And what will you do if I - don't," her voice cracked before the last
word.  She could guess what he _could_ do, whether he would or not was
another question.
     "I'm not going to hurt you," Horseface insisted, acting like he
actually believed it.
     Not that _that_ makes a difference, Asuka thought angrily.  "Because
you're a martial artist and the code conveniently forbids it?"
     "Yeah."
     "And who makes the code?"  A piece of banana delayed her next point.
"All the teachers and scholars of Martial arts, correct?"
     Two pieces of banana before Horseface answered, `she` seemed to think
this was all some kind of game.  "Yeah, that sounds right."
     "And you'd never do anything against that code - "  More banana.  "And
if they mandated you _had_ to do something, you'd do it, right?"  Asuka
arranged the elements her attack, and Horseface didn't see what she was
arranging.
     "Yeah, sure."  Horseface seemed a little confused now.
     She let Horseface drop in a couple of pieces, these she actually
chewed before swallowing.  She had him, he just didn't know it.  "So if all
the practicing martial arts teachers decided on some new code, your honor
would require you followed it?"
     "Of course," `she` said, as if it were as obvious as the Law of
Gravity.
     "How many Martial arts teachers, legal ones, are there in Japan do you
think?" Asuka prepared to close the trap.  One strike, straight through the
heart.
     "Hundreds, I dunno."
     "Since Ice Princess left, there is precisely - one - his name is
Saotome Ranma."  She let that sink in.  "So you decide for all martial
artists what the code is.  So you can justify _any_ action you care to
take, by declaring it as something a martial artist has to do.  Now tell me
why I shouldn't be afraid?  Why I should trust you?"  Asuka settled back in
the water, letting Horseface stew even as she was.
----------------------------------------
     Ranma sat back on her haunches and set the plate aside before she
dropped it.  She felt awful, as if she'd been betrayed again, but this
time, the only `betrayer` were her own words.  Asuka had laid out her
`case` so clearly, even Ranma could easily follow it.
     "I - " she began, fell silent.  She felt sick.  Asuka wasn't accusing
her of anything, exactly.  Just stating that Ranma's honor as a Martial
Artist was no defense against anything.  No reassurance to the others, no
proof of his goodness or restraint.
     'I would never do that.'  'Because you're a Martial Artist?'  But I
define what a Martial Artist is.  That's why those guys at the college
wanted to spar.  They weren't just testing their skills, or mine, they were
testing _me_, to see if I was worthy to carry the mantle of Japanese
Martial Arts.  What I say goes.  'Ice cream after lessons.'  There will be
ice cream after the lessons, Ranma thought, more afraid of the implications
of that than any of the enemies they'd faced.  It also explains Raccoon's
and Asuka's behavior, Ranma thought, in horrified realization.
     "When did you think of this?" Ranma asked quietly.  How long have you
been afraid of me? she wanted to ask.
     "About the time you announced you were a martial artist," Asuka told
Ranma, "I don't know if I closed the loop for Raccoon, or if he'd already
figured it out."
     Ranma sat down harder than she'd wanted to.  She couldn't deal with
the hurt she felt, the confusion.  So _that's_ what he's scared of, and
you.  I talked about honor.  You'd already figured out it all looped back
to me.  _I'd_ decide what was honorable and what wasn't.  You didn't call
me an idiot or a hypocrite, because I might `smite` you as unbelievers.
And it would all be `honorable` because I'd done it.  'I would never do
that because I'm a Martial Artist', it must have seemed funny, and at the
same time you were terrified.  She bowed her head, she wanted to curl up
into a ball as Asuka had, but it wouldn't make the pain go away.
     "Do you really think I'd do something like . . . like what Sammi said
you were afraid I'd do," she whispered, "You just shut down there.  Did you
really think I'd hurt you?"
     Asuka had moved to the far side of the tub, as far as she could escape
in the condition Ranma had left her in.  "You _could_ that's the more
important . . . and who could stop you?  Not you, if your . . . honor
required something you'd _have_ to do it.  Not any of the rest of us, you
can out fight any of us."
     "I would _never_ - "  She'd been shouting, she took a moment to center
herself and continue.  Asuka cringing when she'd shouted had been like a
knife in her gut, worse than any insult or injury she'd ever suffered.  "I
would never do something like that," she said as softly as her raging
emotions permitted.
     "Why?" Asuka asked tiredly, "Because you're a martial artist, because
you're a girl?  We already discussed the first, and you're always saying
'I'm a guy.'  What better way to prove it?" she asked, paused long enough
for those thoughts to seep into Ranma, "So what guarantees have you really
given any of us?"
     "You don't accuse anyone else of that."  Ranma could barely keep her
temper in check.
     "Then you haven't paid attention," Asuka said as she laid back, her
tone was emotionless, like Rei's, as if she'd given up, she couldn't win so
she'd just keep going, "What would Toji or any of the rest of those idiots
do if they caught Ranko alone in the shower?"
     Ranma shuddered, she'd overheard the fantasies often enough.  Some of
them made her want to go take a bath in boiling water, just to feel clean
again.
     "Then why do you trust Raccoon and Kaji?"
     "I _don't_ trust Kaji," Asuka said coldly, some of the old ferocity
creeping into her voice.  "Jeff . . . 'Such things aren't done.'  He's
convinced that being a Harvard man makes you some kind of plaster saint, so
he tries to live up to that.  He'd kill you or torture you, but he'd never
be so gauche as to enjoy it or be impolite."
     "How is _that_ better?" Ranma asked.
     "Because if he asks, you answer, and if you are killed, it will be for
the greater good.  If you are an innocent, he'll see to your survivors."
     "You talk like . . . he's . . . done - he _has_ hasn't he?  And you
watched!?"      "One life for hundreds, the man volunteered once he
understood, and the shot was clean, but he did it.  But that's off the
topic."
     Ranma shuddered at that, she'd seen Raccoon in action, that way she
didn't need a reminder.  "How does that matter?" Ranma asked quietly.
     "The standards are internal rather than external."  It was more like
listening to a record than having a conversation for all the life or
emphasis Asuka put into her statements.  Even the teachers weren't this
repressed.  "That's character, not honor.  You are always appealing to
something outside to control yourself, 'I won't do that because . . . '
follow the trail and it means you won't because you haven't given yourself
permission, and you've never given me or anyone else any reasonable
assumption you won't _give_ yourself permission."
     One good thing about Asuka, Ranma thought morosely as she sat there,
She's always willing to lecture.
     "Then you could drown me in this tub," Asuka continued in the same
emotionless tone, "And never worry a bit, because `honor` demanded it."
     Ranma's immediate retort of 'I wouldn't do that!' died in her throat,
but Asuka had pointed out aspects that she'd never considered.  He'd been
so furious that Sammi would even consider such a thing.  Then Asuka had
piled on, in a most horrifying way.  With it all laid out in a way Ranma
could grasp instantly, she couldn't deny how all the pieces fit.  They were
wrong about him, but his behavior, especially today, had just reinforced
their mistaken belief.  Ranma knew she'd rather take a kick in the guts
than believe someone was afraid of her.  Shinji's cringing act had driven
him crazy, Nab-chan acting the same way had nearly cut out his heart.  A
cold-blooded killer got nervous around him.  The Invincible Asuka Soryu
Langley, who'd take on anyone and anything . . . was afraid . . . of what
he _might_ do.  No matter how unlikely, she thought sullenly.  She sat
there, staring at the patterns in the ceiling tiles, trying to make some
sense out of it.  The patterns gave no answers and couldn't make her
thoughts fall into any pattern or structure, no questions she could ask so
she might understand _why_ this had happened, no focusing past the pain she
felt.
     She had learned enough to understand the difference that Asuka had
pointed out, not that Ranma _would_ do this terrible thing, or even that
it's likely, but that he _could_.  Asuka and the others wanted certainty,
or failing that predictability, Ranma gave neither.
     "What am I supposed to say?  To tell you I won't?"
     "There's nothing to say that would do that," Asuka said flatly, "You
can't just wish away that you do whatever honor demands.  What the rest of
us want or need isn't just treated as unimportant, it's immaterial.  I've
told you not to touch me.  But you had orders, so it was okay.  For you.
You even barge in here because you assume you can help, never considering
that since you made sure I can barely move, it's the _worst_ thing your can
do."
     That Asuka was continuing to tell her all this in a quiet, reasonable
tone, hurt worse than if she'd been screaming at her.  "You were hurt!" she
said, desperately trying not to shout.
     "I wouldn't care if I was lying there bleeding to death," Asuka said
reasonably, "I still wouldn't want you touching me, especially where you
did."
     Ranma was disturbed by her lack of vehemence and venom, she hadn't
yelled at or insulted her.  She was simply stating her opinions.  She
doesn't want to _offend_ me, she suddenly realized.  "That's crazy!" Ranma
exclaimed.
     "Fine, ignore it then, go back to doing whatever you want, it's not
like I could stop you in any case."  Asuka closed her eyes, and lay there,
unmoving.
     Resignation, Ranma thought, I never thought I'd _ever_ see her give
up, on anything.  She put the plate where Asuka could reach it and left
Asuka's room.
     Guys don't cry, Ranma thought as she felt the tears streaming down her
cheeks.  She threw herself on her bed in her room, and sobbed at the
indescribable pain she felt.  She desperately wanted Nab-chan or Raccoon
here, someone who could explain this, someone who could make it right or
understandable.  Someone who could make it hurt less.
----------------------------------------
God's In His Heaven -
     Sammi stood on the stairway.  She'd called to Ranma as the girl had
rushed by.  Either Ranma didn't hear her or didn't want to talk.  Erin came
out of Asuka's room.  "She's sleeping, fell asleep in the tub.  So I moved
her," Erin told her, sighed and ran her hand through her hair, "She did eat
the rest of the banana."  She shook her head in frustration.
     "That's some comfort," Sammi told her fellow guard, she didn't feel
like a guard right now, she felt like an accessory.  She found that her
ability to see both sides hadn't served her very well.  She knew Ranma was
completely trustworthy, she knew how Asuka feared, and that Ranma's
goodness would be obvious, even to Asuka.  She hadn't thought things would
turn out so badly.  She hadn't counted on Ranma's integrity not being
perfectly obvious to the others.
     She didn't know what had gone wrong.  Yes I do, she thought sadly, All
the pilots have trouble communicating, with the world, with each other.  I
thought I had it all set up perfectly, that it would make everything
perfectly clear.  Yeah, clear as a brick wall.  She didn't know how to set
things right.  She also knew that she might have permanently damaged
Asuka's relationship with Erin, and with Ranma.  She didn't want to even
consider how Asuka and Ranma would react to her after this incident.
     "So, what do we do?" Erin asked.
     "We let them sleep.  Maybe we can think of something in the morning,"
Sammi told her.  She could see her failure, she hoped she could find a way
out of this.  With Asuka's, Rei's, Nabiki's and Jeff's minds and memories,
I ought to be able to figure out something.
----------------------------------------
July 22, 1947
     Asuka wasn't in any shape to participate in the morning practice.
Ranma felt like panicking.  She'd always been there, backing him up.  He
didn't feel secure enough to press forward, without her presence and help.
It was irritating, but it kept him from getting into more trouble.  His
meeting in dreams with the Meliorist hadn't been helpful, informative, but
not helpful.
     'Ranma, fears aren't rational,' she'd told him, 'Somebody's fear of
small furry creatures who couldn't possibly hurt him/her, for example.'  It
put Asuka's reaction in a proper perspective, but the Meliorist couldn't be
more helpful.  'I wasn't in Berlin as a 12-year-old like she was.'  It
wasn't helpful, but he couldn't get her to explain it more completely.
     He wished he could ask Erin or Sammi about it, but he could see how
uncomfortable they were about the subject, and he didn't want to hear about
other things, like what Asuka had brought up.  Talking to any of them felt
more like walking through a minefield.
     The practice went without any serious problems.  All he did was go
over the basics again.  He silently cursed his own cowardice for not
advancing everyone, for not introducing some of the new concepts he had in
mind.
     But without Asuka, Megorofeld-chan, backing me up . . . worse that she
doesn't trust me . . .  Ranma considered, he didn't want to complete the
thought.  He hated how much that hurt.  It wasn't that she was _trying_ to
hurt him, she had been trying to explain her own fear.  Tell me how bad I
hurt you with my arrogance and stupidity, he thought, And expect me to deal
with it and go on with the lessons.  Great, now she's confident of my
abilities, confident I can hurt her or the others at will.  He _hated_ that
he had anything to do with it.
     Breakfast was quiet.  Asuka was to remain in bed.  So _he_ brought her
breakfast, and while he'd cut everything into small pieces, she'd fed
herself.  They didn't talk.  A quiet, complaisant Asuka was like a
violation of the natural order, like gravity working backward or something.
He also could see from her expression and movement that it was probably an
attempt at an apology, he could only hope she took his actions and silence
the same way.
     He did know she wasn't apologizing for what she'd said or done, but
that he was hurt by it, and she couldn't fix that either, probably mostly
the last.
----------------------------------------
     As he was leaving Asuka's room, he felt a lot better.  Her 'Thank
you', that would have counted as subdued even from Rei, had him feeling
like he was walking on a cloud.  He still wished she'd just yell at him,
hit him, hurt him in a way he could understand and deal with.  The fact she
refused to, that she was frightened to, hurt terribly.
     "You mope anymore," Sammi said as he walked near her, "You'll sink
through the floor."
     Okay, Ranma thought angrily, You started this fight.
     "Do you know what happened to Asuka?  Why she's so scared of guys?
Especially me?" he asked, and watched Erin and Sammi squirm.
     "Yes, we know," Sammi said, "We could guess what she'd feel, we - I -
guessed wrong.  I'm sorry."
     "Then you ordered me to take . . . to do what she hated even though
you knew how she'd react?"  Ranma felt his anger rising.  "So now she hates
me, or she's afraid of me, which is worse."
     "She will still work with you," Erin said, her tone implied it sounded
lame to her.
     "Is it necessary that everyone like you.  That's normal at your age,"
Sammi sounded like she was trying to divert him.
     "That makes it all better?" Ranma asked.
     "No, but it is something you would have eventually had to deal with,"
Sammi told him.
     "Well, thanks.  Thanks for using us to hurt each other.  I always
figured Misato or Gendo would do it, but you two idiots beat them to the
punch!  Did it ever occur to you that with Asuka trying to teach me to hurt
girls, your little scheme would screw up?  Maybe I should tell her I still
can't hit girls, or maybe now I can!"  He raised his fist and both women
drew back.  Ranma returned to his room and locked the door behind him.
----------------------------------------
     Rei heard the knock on her door, the Commander had not informed her of
any special circumstances, so she ignored it.
     The Fourth entered and called to her, "Hey, Rei, you here?"
     She ignored him, he was coming towards her anyway.
     "Didn't you hear me?" the Fourth came out of the hallway, "I - uh!"
And retreated back down the hallway.  "I didn' see, I didn' mean - I'm
sorry - I - I - I didn't know you were naked."
     Rei wasn't amused by either the noise or the franticness.  She saw no
reason to wear uncomfortable clothing in the privacy of her own apartment.
She also knew that Nabiki-kun and Shinji-kun had mentioned her preference
to the Fourth.
     So he should have expected it, she thought angrily.
     "Can you put some clothes on?" he asked.
     Rei didn't even bother to answer.  He stumbled in, covering his face.
She considered tripping him as he stumbled, but decided against it, it
would only prolong his stay.  She stood there, waiting to discover why he
was bothering her.
     "I need your help.  Are you dressed yet?"
     "No," she told him, she wanted him to leave, doing anything that
accelerated that process would be done.
     "Geez, Rei!  Gimme a break!"
     "No," she told him and wished he'd leave.
     "I need your help," he repeated, uselessly, she'd heard him the first
time.  She waited.
     "I talked to Asuka about something, now she's not talking," he said.
     She waited, staring at him with his hands covering his face.  It
irritated her that he felt no burden about walking around naked as a
female, yet when any other female tried it, he began this irritating
behavior.  It was another in the long string of double-standards and
hypocrisy that so typified the Fourth's behavior.  The glaring
inconsistencies were the most galling part of his entire personality,
demanding of others a level of action he never attempted to match.
     She was curious about exactly what he'd done to Mein
Grossfeldmarschall, she had her suspicions, but she wasn't going to ask
_him_.
     "You've talked with Admiral Simson about things," he finally
continued.
     "Yes."  She saw no reason to deny the truth, or restate what was
common knowledge.
     "Well I need to talk to him.  Can you come with?"
     She stared at him.  "I will consider it," she told him.
     "Oh, you need time to think about it, I understand."  He backed
towards the door, bumping along the wall towards it.
     I did not say that, Rei fumed at his obtuseness.  At least he was
leaving.  "You can see the Admiral yourself," she told him, weighing
telling the truth over his continued presence.
     "I want you to go with," he replied.
     She considered simply refusing, but decided to consider his request.
"When I have made it, I will tell you my decision," she told him.  Then he
was to the door, and managed to get outside without maiming himself.  She
was annoyed by the performance, a MARTIAL ARTIST! who could walk across a
wobbling board, yet who couldn't navigate a hallway with his eyes covered
was a further example of his foolishness.  Logically you would master
walking a hallway before graduating to harder procedures, building one
ability on the next.
     She made sure the door was closed before she completed her breakfast
preparations.  She would call the Admiral and decide, based on the man's
schedule.  She had her own project to work on, assisting the cause of the
problem did not compare with repairing the effects.
----------------------------------------
     Ranma fell in alongside Rei, and she accelerated slightly to stay
ahead of him, he sped up to keep up.  She sped up.  So he was at a dead run
by the time they arrived at the Admiral's house for dinner.  He was panting
with the effort of the sustained sprint.  Rei was staring at him, fresh as
a daisy, not even breathing hard.  She simply stood there, not even
knocking on the gate, going inside, or calling to the Marines inside.
     She glanced at her watch, then returned her stare to him, as he
wondered if he was going to die.
     Rule One, even I can't outrun `Wondergirl`, he thought as he panted,
bent over with exhaustion.  His side ached, his legs ached, he'd always
considered he was in excellent shape, but Rei had kept just ahead of him,
no burst of speed he'd been able to dredge up had let him pass her.
     "What - was - that - about?" he gasped between breaths.
     She answered with a stare.
     "Aren't we going in?"
     "We are early," she replied.
     "Why'd you run so fast then?"
     "I was not running fast," Rei replied.
     "You outran me," he insisted.
     "You aren't fast," she told him.  As she stood there, seemingly immune
to the exertion that had nearly done him in, he tended to believe her.
Besides, he thought, I don't have the breath to argue.
     When he recovered, he rang the bell.  A Marine, who'd been standing
there watching everything, opened the door.  Ranma could tell how badly the
man wanted to smirk or smile, but his neutral expression might as well have
been carved in stone.  Rei kept staring at Ranma.
     "Ladies first," Ranma said, remembering that much of the lectures
about manners.
     "Danke schon," Rei thanked him, in German.  Ranma couldn't remember
the correct reply.
     Rei walked through, Ranma followed.  He wondered how many of the other
Marines had listened to, and understood, the entire exchange between them.
Rei paused at the front door another steward was holding open.  She removed
her shoes and set them outside as she stepped inside, Ranma hastily did the
same.  There were no slippers for guests.  An older woman, with gray hair,
walked into the entryway.  She said something he didn't understand.  She
realized he was confused, she pointed at her feet, she was wearing shoes.
Rei turned and recovered her shoes, and his, handing them to him as she put
hers on.
     "Her Japanese is poor," Rei told him.
     He nodded, then followed the hostess into the dining room.  The smells
were food-like, but very alien to what he was used to.  The Admiral was at
the dinner table, waiting for them.  The woman said something to Rei, who
bowed and thanked her.  Stewards seated both pilots.  The first course was
salad, he'd never eaten a bowl full of raw sliced vegetables on a bed of
lettuce, but he recognized what it was.  He remembered the lessons,
glancing at Admiral Simson and mimicking his method of eating.  The bread
and the main course, noodles with a sauce that looked like clotted blood.
It almost smelled the same.  Ranma couldn't remember having eaten anything
like that.
     Rei got a separate dish of stuff, it smelled very different and Rei
ladled it onto the noodles with relish, well, relish for her.
     "Spaghetti," Simson said.
     "Linguine," the lady replied.
     "I can't pronounce either of them," Ranma admitted.
     "Tomato paste and spices, Miss Ayanami's has no meat, ours does," the
Admiral said, "My wife, Susan, practically had to put the cook under arrest
to get into the kitchen."
     Rei and Susan were chatting, it sounded like English and German.  Rei
was as shy as always, but Susan had a talent for drawing her out.  Ranma
heard Susan mentions Shinji several times, each time, Rei blushed slightly.
     "I . . . well, Asuka told me not to touch her, but she was really
hurting and Sammi ordered it so I - " Ranma blurted out.  "You already know
all this, don't you?"
     Rei reached under the table with her foot and tapped his ankle.  "Tell
them anyway.  Opinions and emphasis."  She turned to Susan and said
something.  "He learns best through contact and repetition, non-verbal
communication," she translated for him.
     Ranma frowned then explained the most important part.  "Asuka told me
not to touch her, then I was ordered to because the cramps paralyzed her,"
he said, stared at his hands in his lap, "She told me she'd rather bleed to
death than trust me to touch her again."  He then described what he knew
about Asuka's injuries.  Rei seemed to be giving Susan a running
translation.  Susan and Admiral Simson listened silently, nodding
occasionally to encourage him to continue.  The food was forgotten.
     As Ranma finished.  "I read her biography, today.  I didn't understand
a lot of it, but none of it explains what happened, why she reacted like
that."
     Susan and the Admiral discussed the subject, in English, from Rei's
expression, she couldn't understand.  He'd heard Asuka and Raccoon talk
that way, it was practically a private code.
     "Asuka had a very bad experience in Berlin, while she and Anna were
dodging the Red Army.  It would probably have been better if you had
refused the order and instead called a doctor to deal with the problem,
especially after she told you specifically, twice."
     "I realize that," Ranma said, "Now."  He glanced around, noted Rei
translating again.  "I thought it would be all right . . . how do I fix
it?"
     Admiral Simson glanced at his wife, she told Rei something.  "You
can't, you betrayed her confidence . . . trust.  Like many others have,
she's never forgiven them for that.  Not even her father."
     Susan said something else.  Rei translated, "You will have to live
with it."
     "But I didn't do anything wrong!" Ranma protested.
     "You followed orders," Simson told him, "That's not the same as not
doing wrong.  You decided to avoid displeasing Miss Kraznyzamok, and
ignoring what Miss Langley specifically told you.  You did what you `knew`
was right, rather than acceding to Miss Langley's wishes.  You didn't trust
her, now she doesn't trust you.  Now you're going to have to live with the
consequences of that decision."
     Ranma was going to say something, but he noticed Susan was talking,
Rei listening.
     Rei began translating, "A woman, which you sometimes turn into, can be
very fearsome . .  fearful of being attacked . . . violated that way.  Only
trust of a man prevents that fear of him.  You ignored her request.  Why
should she take your word that you would go no further?"
     "On my own," Rei added, "There was no reason beside yourself to take
the action you took."
     "What was I supposed to do?"
     "Let her suffer," Rei said.
     "And just leave her in that state?" Ranma protested.
     "Allow her to either change her mind, or recover on her own," Rei told
him sharply.
     "Miss Ayanami is correct," Admiral Simson said, "You `proved` you
don't respect her, and you'll do as you wish.  That's a terrible thing for
someone like Miss Langley, who has never had much control over her life."
     "Except among the other pilots.  Now that is lost," Rei added while
she translated for Susan.
     "True," Admiral Simson agreed, "It's a situation where you couldn't
have pleased everyone.  You had to choose, I'd suggest you chose badly.  In
the future, consider who is going to be guarding your back in combat, and
think about keeping these people happy.  You can't fix it, but you can
decide not to make the same mistake in the future.  You need to consider
the consequences of actions before you take them, and consider which
consequences you can live with."
     "So she's afraid of what I will never do."
     "What you could do," came through Rei from Susan, "Have you ever been
so frightened you cannot . . . could not - think correctly, even
afterwards?"
     "I told her yes," Rei added.
     Ranma frowned at that, picked at the food which had grown cold while
they talked.  "So there's no way to reassure her I wouldn't . . . "  He
couldn't use the word, but the others seemed to understand.
     "There is a great difference between certainty about an impossibility,
and fearing a rare inevitability," Rei said.
     "Like getting struck by lightning.  You don't live your life in fear
of it, but you don't stand out in an open field with a lightning rod in a
thunderstorm," Admiral Simson `translated` Rei's statement, "Ranma, you
have to understand, every single one of the pilots can do things no
ordinary person can do.  The only guarantee the rest of us have is your
word.  Do you believe you could stop either Miss Ayanami or Mister Davis if
they got orders to kill you?"
     "Not a chance," Ranma admitted.
     "So why wouldn't they?" Susan asked through Rei.
     Ranma glanced around.  "I don't know, I think they wouldn't," he
admitted.
     "So you act to make sure they don't get those orders," Admiral Simson
said.
     "I haven't thought about it," Ranma admitted.
     "Asuka did consider, asked you not to," Susan added, "You are going to
have to consider things like that.  That people who look at you in awe may
also be afraid of you.  Most people have to plan for what people can do,
not what they're likely to do.  You can't assume just because you _think_
the enemy doesn't have a submarine in the area.  You can't proceed as if it
is a certainty."  The Admiral frowned at her example.
     "I don't like it," Ranma said.
     "Like it, no, live with it, yes," Admiral Simson said.
----------------------------------------
All's Right With The World
     Asuka lay in her bed, she was getting tired of resting.  She heard the
door to her room open and close.  She glanced over and saw Wondergirl
standing there.  Asuka turned her back on the other girl.  Wondergirl
ignored the clue and sat on the bed next to her.
     POKE.
     Asuka ignored Wondergirl touching her.
     POKE.
     Asuka ignored her.
     POKE.
     Wondergirl water torture, Asuka thought.
     POKE.
     One-thousand, she silently counted, Two-thousand, three-thousand,
four-thousand, five-thou -
     POKE.
     Asuka restarted her count, One-thousand, two-thousand, three-thousand,
four-thousand, five-thou -
     POKE.
     One-thousand, two-thousand, three-thousand, four-thousand, five-thou -
     POKE.
     "Would you cut that out!" Asuka told her.
     "No."
     Asuka tried to ignore Wondergirl.
     POKE.
     "EEE-NOUGH!" Asuka shouted as she jumped out of bed at Wondergirl.
Unfortunately, Wondergirl caught her around the waist and began spinning
around.  Asuka watched her room whirl around her as Wondergirl held her
tightly around the waist, singing a song.  Even her growing nausea and
dizziness couldn't dim the beauty of the strain Wondergirl sang as she
spun.
     Asuka couldn't believe Wondergirl could maintain the speed she was
managing, without getting too dizzy to stand or hitting anything as Asuka's
limbs were drawn straight out.  Once Asuka was too dizzy to move or
complain, Wondergirl slung her head-first under the covers.  Asuka couldn't
figure out how she avoided crashing into the foot of the bed, or getting
severe rug burns from the sheets.  Asuka lay there, wondering how darkness
still managed to spin.  She thought she could hear the little swirlies in
her tightly closed eyes.  Wondergirl sat on the bed next to her.
     POKE.
     Asuka kept her head on the mattress, unwilling to raise her head and
enhance her vertigo.
     "Same gap, what are you?" Asuka managed.
     POKE.
     "An escapement?" Asuka completed her question.
     POKE.
     Ignore.  Ignore.  Ignore.
     POKE.
     Ignore.  Ignore.  Ignore.
     POKE.
     "ARRUUGH!" Asuka shouted as she jumped up to attack, not bothering to
disentangle herself from her bedding first.  She managed to uncover her
head as she crashed into Wondergirl and went crashing down on top of her.
She found her lips pressed tightly against Wondergirl's.
     "Oh ick!" Wondergirl said in a monotone as she pushed Asuka away,
"Sour Kraut germs."  She marched straight into the bathroom as Asuka picked
herself up off the floor.  "Bleech!" she heard from her bathroom.
     I _kissed_ Wondergirl, eewwww! Asuka thought.
     "No Sulfuric Acid!" Wondergirl called from the bathroom, "Hydrogen
peroxide must suffice."
     Asuka threw off the covers tangled around her and marched into the
bathroom where Wondergirl was gargling.
     "What are you doing?" Asuka demanded.
     "Step 7, subsection 3," Wondergirl told her, after she spit out the
water she'd been gargling with.  She fished a notebook from her skirt
pocket.  She scanned it and showed it to Asuka, flipping through the plan.
Over a dozen of the pages were covered with Wondergirl's precise Kanji.
Asuka might as well have been looking at Egyptian hieroglyphics.
     "That doesn't tell me anything."
     Wondergirl replaced the book in her skirt pocket.  "You are more
effective when you are angry."
     "So you threw together a plan to make me angry?"
     "It required all night and day, and extensive research."
     "Is it working?" Asuka asked sweetly, smiling so widely her cheeks
hurt.
     Wondergirl stared at her, considering her question.  She pulled the
notebook out, consulted a particular page and ran a finger down the page.
All the while Asuka's cheeks went from smarting to stinging to real pain.
  Then Wondergirl dropped to the ground hugging Asuka's knees.  "Whip me,
beat me, make me invade Moscow in winter."
     "GET AWAY FROM ME!" Asuka shouted as she pulled away.
     Wondergirl let her go, as she stood she let out a sniff.  "My liebling
hates me, I'm _so_happy," Rei continued to deliver such lines in her
typical bland tone.
     Asuka made an inarticulate snarl and returned to her bedroom, throwing
herself down on her bed in disgust.
     Wondergirl wandered in a moment later, picked the bedding off the
floor and dropped it over Asuka.
     "Poke me again, I'll break that finger off and feed it to you!" Asuka
threatened.
     "I dislike meat," Wondergirl reminded her.  Once Asuka had snarled
again, Rei added, "I also have seven others," Wondergirl said as she sat
next to her on the bed.
     No poke and no comments came.  "Oh no, the silent treatment!" Asuka
exclaimed in mock-horror, "I'm so scared."
     Wondergirl stared at her.
     And stared at her.
     And stared at her.
     And _stared_ at her.
     "Why don't you go pester Spineless or Horseface?" she asked as she
turned her back on Wondergirl, who got up and walked to the other side of
the bed to face her as she sat down, and stared at her.
     And stared at her, and stared at her.
     Asuka rolled over and Wondergirl got up to move, Asuka rolled back,
Wondergirl reversed course.  Asuka turned, Wondergirl changed course.
     Asuka flipped back and forth, with Wondergirl seemingly content to
keep up the game until doomsday.  Asuka settled for lying face down with
her head buried in the discarded covers.  Wondergirl sat besides her,
saying nothing.
     Asuka sighed, a stone couldn't outwait Wondergirl, she knew _she_
certainly couldn't.  "What do you want?" Asuka asked in resignation.
     "For you to be angry, so you can again be happy."
     Asuka sat up and was about to launch on the girl about how stupid that
was, suddenly she just didn't have the energy.  She flopped back down,
staring at the wall opposite the foot of her bed, not really focusing on
anything.  "That isn't it.  Did Horseface tell you what happened?"
     "Yes, I read the reports of Anna Alice about the escape from Berlin,
and your subsequent rescue.  I also discussed the problem with Susan
Simson, the wife of Admiral Simson."
     "And what conclusion did you come up with, besides making me angry to
make me happy?"
     "That upon being sufficiently aggravated, you will tell yourself the
solution," Wondergirl told Asuka, "You have called me aggravating, and
Roku-kun when he tells jokes.  I had hoped the combination would prove more
rapidly effective.  Knock.  Knock."
     Asuka floundered at that, she'd forgotten what a keen observer
Wondergirl was.  But she tended to put ideas together in a very skewed
manner.
     "Who's there?"
     "Knock.  Knock."
     "Wondergirl that's not how it works, you - "
     "I'm deaf," Wondergirl interrupted, "Are you aggravated enough?"
     Asuka considered hitting the girl, but worried what response
Wondergirl's script would call for.  Probably getting naked and doing
something extremely embarrassing with or without Asuka.  "Anyway.  What do
_you_ think is the problem?"
     "You expect the Fourth to rape you if ordered to."
     Hearing it stated that plainly shocked Asuka for a moment.  She
nodded.  "That's the crux of it.  You might be able to stop him with your
AT field.  What am I supposed to do?"
     "_WE_," it sounded strange Wondergirl strongly emphasizing any word.
"Cease trying to convince him that this - " Wondergirl drew her Scholfield.
"Is an effective weapon.  You will keep yours with you at all times."
     "You're saying be ready to shoot him at all times?  What about
comrades in battle and all that?"
     "Would you survive his attack?"
     Asuka shuddered, drew her legs against her chest.  She remembered the
roof in Berlin, and then how helpless she felt on the roof a day or two
ago.  "I'd rather not."  Even destroying their enemies didn't make her feel
as unclean as the thought of that happening to her.  She could beg and
plead, and she knew it wouldn't do any good, she already had seen it
wouldn't.
     "Then treat it that way," Wondergirl said clearly.
     "That's pretty harsh, even for you, Wondergirl," Asuka told her.
     Wondergirl got up and walked into Asuka's line of sight.  "Is your
life valuable to you?"
     "Of course."
     "Then it is your responsibility to defend it."
     "Because we're all necessary for Gendo?" Asuka asked disgustedly.
     "You are necessary for the Commander's plan," Wondergirl told her,
paused, considered, "You are valuable to the other pilots, even the
Fourth."
     "So I should forgive and forget?" Asuka asked sourly, "Is that it?"
     "No.  But allow him to learn," Wondergirl told her, "Perhaps it was
foolishness."
     "I'd figure _you_ would be calling for vengeance."
     "Romans 12: 20," Wondergirl said as she turned away and stood.  She
collected a bible off of one of Asuka's bookshelves.  She opened it to the
correct page as she returned, holding the book open to allow Asuka to read
the passage.
     " 'If your enemy is hungry feed him, if he is thirsty give him drink,
for by doing this, you will heap burning coals upon his head.'  Bury him in
burning coals, eh?" Asuka asked Wondergirl, who nodded once.
     "My fee," Wondergirl said.
     "What's that?" Asuka asked.
     "Recompense," Wondergirl said as she sat next to Asuka.
     Asuka sat up to face her.  "I know what a fee is, Wondergirl.  You're
charging me for your advice?"
     "Was the advice worth a critique?" Wondergirl asked.
     Asuka parsed the sentence.  "Constructive criticism, that's what you
want as payment?"  Asuka waited for Wondergirl to nod once.  "On what?"
     Wondergirl gathered Asuka into her arms.  Asuka froze a for moment,
then relaxed as Wondergirl laid her chin on Asuka's shoulder and began
stroking her back gently.
     "Is this appropriate for comforting both males and females?"
     "For Spineless."  Asuka put her arms around Wondergirl's shoulders.
"If he does something like this, yes, it's fine."
----------------------------------------
     Ranma stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out what to do, trying
to figure out what if anything to say.  He'd done what he thought best and
right, and _everybody_ told him it was wrong.  Even he saw how it was a
mistake, one he'd never make again.
     He'd seen Rei come in.  He'd half-expected her to chop him into bitty
pieces, but she'd just given him the sickest, most exaggerated smile he'd
ever seen from _anybody_.  Creepy, he thought that didn't even cover
it,Unearthly, monstrous, yeah, evil.  He'd retreated back into his room,
and wondered if Raccoon left a shielding spell on the place, one that could
stop Rei-the-Mad.  Now he was thinking, planning, and not really getting
anywhere.  His first instinct was to apologize, but the lessons 'Say
Nothing' kept ringing in his head.  It was more than that he did the
_wrong_ thing, he just failed to do the _least_ wrong thing.  It was the
idea that Erin and Sammi had ordered him that really bothered him.  They
should have known better, shouldn't they? he asked himself, Were they
trying to get me to start questioning orders?  Or did they make a mistake,
one that I'm caught up in?  He also remembered what the Scholarly Dragon
had told him, that there was one of their enemies who would grant one
request as payment for 'getting out' of the war.
     Ranma was wondering if the offer could be trusted, the Dragon seemed
to think so.  And if so, Ranma thought, What would I have to do to live up
to my end?  Would what I wished for even work?  If I wished it never
happened it might mean Asuka got killed in Berlin or that she'd died on the
rooftop yesterday.  Or I could wish that she wouldn't be mad at me, and she
would stay in that near-corpse state like when I touched her.  None of
those sound very good.  He couldn't figure out even if he did wish, how
could he word it, and could the `god` be trusted, and could the `god`
understand how to do what he asked?  Also, if he only had one, did he use
it here, or hold onto it?  It was unfair that it was all so confusing.
     If it was a fight, he'd know what to do, but he hadn't had any choice,
they'd ordered him.  Worse, he'd seen the need, and had agreed with the
directive, basically.
     I'm supposed to follow orders, he thought glumly, Then Admiral Simson
said I'm only supposed to follow _lawful_ orders.  But those _were_ lawful
orders, weren't they?
     He rolled off the bed and into a handstand.  It was crazy, he told his
body what to do and it did it, he didn't worry about what it _might_ do.
But that's what Asuka was afraid of, what I _might_ do.  To her, he
thought.  He hadn't done what she was accusing him of with Nab-chan;
Raccoon hadn't ever tried it with Ranko, but both seemed unconcerned.  He
wasn't afraid Raccoon would force Ranko to . . . So why is she so nervous
about me?  Not Shinji and not Raccoon, it's not fair, he thought, It
doesn't make sense. He stared at the walls as he held his handstand.
Neither the room nor the universe gave him any answers.
     Damned impolite, he thought as he changed to one hand.


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