--
wroberts@tvi.cc.nm.us
``Literature is the lie that tells the truth...''
--Dorothy Allison
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I look up from the rack of tapes as the room suddenly shakes,
then shakes again. ``What's going on?'' The man behind the counter
shrugs disinterestedly, so I guess it isn't another Angel. I go back
to perusing the tapes again, wonder about the people who would make
DAT copies off of twelfth-gen copies of old vinyl disks. For some
things I could see it, I doubt there is an intact copy of _Cheap
Thrills_, and the original wasn't too high fidelity to begin with; but
I don't see the point to Bach's third performed on March second 1982
by the New Mexico Symphony. Where the heck is New Mexico anyway?
'Kinda think it was absorbed into New New South Wales(sp) when the
British bought a new homeland in the Americas.
I pull a copy of
_Extra Terrestrial Live_ off the shelf and
aproach the cashier just as another shock hits. The bottles jump; one
of them bounces off the edge of the counter, shattering, showering me
with broken glass and its contents. The old guy looks up at me,
blinks, and speaks for the second time since I'd entered the music
shop.
``Sorry 'bout that. That all you wanted?'' he nods at the
tape in my hand.
``I was also looking for anything by Big Brother and the
Holding Company.''
``A child with taste. Such a rare thing nowadays. I've got a
copy of
_Big Brother and the Holding Company_, you have it?'' I shake
my head, rather awed, for the news on usenet is that all the copies
had been lost. ``And I've got reprints of those two posters.'' I
hadn't thought he'd seen me gawking, since I've worked really hard on
learning how to hide such things.
``Wow.'' I can't say any more for a moment, ``How much?''
``I shoulda made sure those bottles were stored a little more
stablely, so you can have 'em, if you want.'' A copy of _Big Brother
and the Holding Company_? And one each of those posters? He pulls
out two long rolls and a DAT tape, and hands them over. I sputter
inarticulately for a moment. ``Don't mention it. Sorry about that
bottle.'' I walk out with a skip to my step, spin just outside the
door to attempt to say thanks again.
The store is just
_gone_. In the spot where it was is this
tattoo parlor, of all things, and I suddenly notice something in the
window. If my retinal patterns have changed Akagi-hakase is going to
be quite upset with me. Nothing to be done about it. I spin in place
and start for home. Three paces later I realize what had been poking
at my conciousness since I got splashed, the lack of feedback from
something that normally moved when I walked. I stuff the tapes into
my pants pocket, checking un-obtrusively, then brush my free hand across
my shirt. Akagi-hakase is going to have coniptions(sp?), and if my
retinal patterns have changed I can only hope that my fingerprints
haven't.
I manage to beat the rain home, and slip into my room to
contemplate the best arrangement of my new posters. Come to think of
it, these are the first posters I've ever owned. Too bad Misato
doesn't have a DAT deck. . . No, she needs her sleep, so I couldn't
play it at the volume it deserves anyway. I pop the tape I've had in
my player for the last several weeks; it's very calming, but I don't
think that it is helping any. I pause for a moment, contemplate the
two tapes in my pocket, grabbing first
_ETL_ then
_BBHC_, then finally
settle on
_ETL_, for I don't want to risk being disappointed right
now. I put the earphones on, hit play, then adjust the volume up to
the edge of too loud while I continue to look at my walls, wondering
how I should place my new treasures. I at last decide and exit my
room to look for the sticky-tape. I find it the same moment I hear
the doorbell ring.
I open the door on two familiar faces. ``Hello, what're you
up to?'' I ask, shutting off the tape and stuffing the earphones in
my pocket with the player.
``Hoping for shelter from the rain.'' Kensuke.
``Come in.'' I wave them in, the roll of tape in my hand.
They enter and I shut the door behind them.
``Thank you for letting us take shelter from the rain here,
Shinji.'' Touji this time.
``Misato-san wa?'' Kensuke again.
``'Probably still sleeping, she had to work late last night.''
``Yeah, her job is hard.'' gurmble gurmble, I want to hang up
my posters. Ah well, the chores of a social life.
``Keep quite, don't wanna wake her.'' Kensuke.
``Hey, you lot. What are you doing here?'' Asuka's home.
``Hiding from the rain.'' State the obvious, in case it isn't.
``I'm sure. I'm changing, so if you peep I'll kill you.''
Asuka can be
_so_ charming.
Touji says something to the unkind side of `who'd wanna look
at you'; Kensuke mutters about her being too self-consious; then both
of them notice that Misato is awake. She greets us, reminds me that
there is a harmonics test this evening then reminds Asuka. I suddenly
remember what happened earlier, grab her by the hand.
``Misato-san, I need to talk to you, in private.'' I drag her
off to her room; she follows willingly enough. I wedge the door to
her room closed, then drag her to the closet at the far end of the
mess, up against the outside wall.
``I went shopping today, and something terribly weird
happened.'' I take a deep breath, continue, ``I got splashed with
this liquid, and this happened.'' I press her hand against my left
breast, and her eyes get really big.
``How?''
``No idea. It's even better, though,'' I pull her hand
downward; she fights me a little bit until she realizes that she isn't
going to feel what she thought she would, ``see what I mean?''
``I'd like you to help me check a couple things.'' She looks
at me quizzically, so I explain. ``I want to make sure that my
retinal patterns and fingerprints are the same. It's going to be hard
enough getting people to believe I'm me if they match; I don't want to
think about trying if they don't.'' She nods emphaticly.
``Let's get that dealt with now, if you don't mind.'' I shake
my head,
``Fine with me.'' She waves me towards the door, which I
un-wedge and open. The three people falling in were un-expected, for
I'd thought I'd made enough noise to warn them back. I run to my
room, grab my jacket and hurry to catch up with Misato. I needn't
have, for Kensuke is stalling, congratulating her on her promotion. I
check and realize that he's right, and wonder when it had occured.
``Ja, ittekimasu!'' Misato calls for both of us.
Riding in Misato's car isn't that bad. Riding in Misato's car
with Misato driving, on the other hand, can be really scary.
The gate takes my ID and lets us in, and Misato drags me down
to Akagi-hakase's lair.
``Ritsuko, Shinji-kun is wondering if his fingerprints or
retinal pattern have been changed by piloting EVA.'' Decent excuse to
check. I'd actually wondered that occasionally. Ritsuko clucks at
me, says that there is no reason to think that it would, but she'll
check to reasure me. Fourty seconds and several flashes of bright
light later I have my answer. Retinal pattern and fingerprints
unchanged.
_That_ makes me breathe a little easier.
``Akagi-hakase, that wasn't why I wanted to check, actually.
Here.'' I grab her hand and press it against my breast. Her eyebrows
rise and she slides one knee up my thigh, presses slowly but firmly.
``When did this happen? It didn't show up in your last
post-flight physical.''
``This afternoon.'' She turns away and fusses about in the
pile of medical pariphenalia(sp) next to the retinal scanner, pulling
out an all too familiar syringe. She slots a fresh vial into it,
holds out her hand. I oblige her quietly, placing my forearm into her
hand. She slips the needle into my arm and presses the vial down onto
it in the same smooth motion, stands still as my blood flows, filling
the sample container.
``Well, I'll be able to tell you if your DNA has changed by
tonight, and the extent of the changes by the end of the week.'' She
looks happier than I have seen her in, blessed, since I've known her.
``Try not to let this spread too far.'' She must have seen the face I
made at that, for she elaborates, ``Knowledge of what happened.''
``OK. Thank you for your help, doctor.'' She smile at me,
and I have another question pop up, ``What am I going to do about PE?
I'm not as well endowed as you are, but it'll be rather obvious
anyway.''
``As long as you're dressed I don't think it will be much of a
problem.''
``The showers at school are manditory and communal.'' She has
the grace to color at that.
``I'll write you a note excusing you from PE for a NERV
related reason. I'll send it to the school by morning, OK?''
``Totally.'' The urge sweeps through me before I can fight
it, and I bounce up onto my toes and kiss her on the cheek. My face
warms as I whirl and run from the room.
No homework today. I change into my plug suit; the air
conditioning in NERV headquarters, like almost everywhere else, is set
too cold for my taste. I lean against the back wall of the controll
room, playing
_Godzilla_ over and over again. I know it's bad for the
tape, but one can't get an optical digital audio system anymore. Hmm,
come to think of it, as a NERV employ. . . asset, I may be able to
finagle one somehow. I'll have to look into that. I let the tape
play through to the end, then rewind it and run it again. Misato is
talking to me, can't hear what she's saying. I turn the tape off,
pull the plugs.
``What were you just saying? I got a new tape today so I had
the volume up as loud as I dare.''
``Asuka and Rei are here, the test begins in fifteen
minutes.''
``OK.'' I leave the control room, wondering again what the
plug suits are made of, for mine is skin tight, still comfortable, but
looks almost the same in the mirror.
The test, as always, is totally strange. This time something
is hovering just outside of me, trying to gather the courage to talk
to me. I try thinking louder. `Hey! Whoever you are! If you want
to talk to me, TALK ALREADY!' The presence backs off, but that is the
only responce. A few moments later I feel the familiar separation as
the test ends, and Misato's voice flows through the LCL.
``Shinji-kun, you did well.''
``What do you mean?''
``Your sync was 9 points higher today.''
``But still 50 points lower than me.'' Asuka grumbles.
``Impressive, a nine point gain in ten days.'' Ritsuko rubs
it in.
``Nothing great!'' Asuka's getting obviously angry. Doesn't
she realize that anger lowers one's sync ratio?
Once we are out she corners me. ``How glad you are to be
praised.''
``Asuka, being angry lowers one's sync ratio. Don't be so
upset.''
``I'm going home, baaaka.'' That could have gone better. Oh
well, maybe it will sink in.
``Bai bai!'' I call after her retreating form. Maybe I'm
just acting like I think a girl should act. That could definately be
it, and I think I like this `me' better. Hun.
I pull my clothing on over my plug suit, wait for Misato by
her car.
``Congratulations on your promotion.''
``Thank you,'' She says, continuing, ``but I'm really not
that happy with it.''
``I can understand, I think. Today while I was being praised,
it just made me sad, for it was really upsetting Asuka.''
``Do you mind that?''
``Yes.''
``It's because you are always looking for approval.'' That
would definately fit. I can't ignore others, but I don't always need
them to tell me how to feel. I can't always let others tell me how to
feel.
Why did I let the rook me into coming along to this? Oh,
yeah, Misato-san asked me. Ore no baka. Did I just refer to myself
with `ore?' I do believe I did. The doorbell interupts my musings,
and I look up to see Kaji-kun and Akagi-hakase at the door. Misato
and Asuka chorus something about suspicion, and my feelings of
ambivalence towards Kaji crystalize into antipathy. I ponder that for
a moment, thinking about why I should dislike him, nailing down a few
little clues, but nothing to explain the big picture. I start paying
attention to the conversation just in time to hear Akagi hakase say
that both the commander and subcommander are out of the contry.
``The commander?''
``Ikari-shirei is in antarctica.'' I suddenly realize that I
had referred to him as Ikari-shirei as well.
I stay out of sight at the back of the command center,
listening to them discuss the new enemy. It's dropping either pieces
of itself or an AT field, I'm not quite sure which, from orbit. This,
of course, leaves great big holes in the ground at the impact point.
Misato orders the evacuation of Toukyou-3, because the risk is
too great, even I can see that.
Now Ritsuko is arguing about the probability of our success.
One in ten thousand, she says. That is sure to raise our spirits.
Hopefully not from the dead. I have to speak up.
``How well will we fight without Headquarters? Magi may be
backed up, but without the hardware she won't run nearly as
effectively. All of the spare parts and extra EVA armor is stored
here. Misato's plan is the only one.'' I unbutton my shirt as I
speak, glad I hadn't taken off my plug suit. I leave my civilian
clothes in a pile on the control-room floor and start toward the
stairs to the EVA cage. I turn at the top of them. ``I'll be back
for my clothes after this, or we'll all be dead, so please leave them
there, OK?'' Maya-san giggles.
``Hai!'' Maya-san's voice is a lot lighter than it had been.
We listen to Misato's briefing, and Asuka brings up a couple
of the points Ritsuko did. I keep quiet, for my input can't help
things. Misato says we can back out.
``No need. Either we win, or it makes no differnce. The
Angel gets here in about two and a half hours, right?'' Misato
doesn't reply, there is no need.
``I'm not going to die.'' Asuka, worried.
``Nor me.'' Rei, calm.
``When this is over, I'll invite you out for steak.'' Misato,
almost certainly promising more than she can deliver.
``Rei doesn't eat meat.'' I feel the need to point that out.
Things are a lot better now than they were before second impact, but
people still starve, and eating meat still contributes. I've always
backed down at the thought of all the confrontations vegitarianism
would require. Peoples' lives. Like the reason you pilot EVA,
Shinji-kun. Decision.
``The Angel's ECM is keeping us from getting a fix.'' Maya's
voice, worried.
``Magi can't give us an exact point, so this is the predicted
range.'' The huge blotch appears on the screen in front of me.
``That big?'' Asuka's voice, very worried.
``With the target's AT field it can annihilate Headquarters
entirely.'' Ritsuko's voice.
``'Cause of that, the EVA are to be placed at these points.''
They appear on screen, and I start towards my designated spot.
``What are these points based on?'' Rei, curious.
``Intuition. Mine.'' Misato, trying to sound sure of
herself.
``Ano,'' I pop a frame up on Asuka's screen.
``What?'' She replies, staring at me with mild annoyance.
``Asuka, why do you pilot EVA?''
``To show my talent to the world, of course.'' Her reply
seems so terribly sad.
``To show your existance?'' I ask, for that it what she seems
to be saying.
``That may do.'' I'd known Asuka was hiding some problems,
but this one is too much. How can they make someone who values
herself so little pilot one of these? Maybe there is such a dearth of
pilots that they have no choice, but the dearth of EVA is at least as
bad.
``Why don't you ask that girl?'' She asks me, breaking me
from my thoughts.
``I already did.''
``You two are such close friends.'' She sounds sad about
that.
``Perhaps. If you didn't pick on her I think she would like
to be your friend.''
``Who would want to be friends with that . . . person?''
``You would.'' Maybe I'm pressing too hard.
``Why do you pilot EVA, Shinji-kun?''
``I only just decided, so I may be wrong, but I think it is to
protect everyone. No one protected me from the time my mother
disappeared until Ayanami protected me during the attack on Ramiel. I
may not be able to do much, but I can pilot EVA.''
``You are a fool.'' Her calm words tear through my defences,
make me reply before I think.
``And what does that make you, who pilots EVA for the fame of
it? You could easily die in any of these attacks, you know that? Do
you want to die? There are easier ways than waiting for an Angel to
kill you in your EVA.'' What am I saying. All communication between
the EVAs is monitored. If she goes off the deep end someone is going
to kill me, I'm sure. No, they won't kill me, 'cause they'll only
have two pilots, they'll just make me wish I was dead.
``I'm . . . '' Asuka cuts me off before I can even finish the
first word.
``You're right. Since getting killed inside an EVA is so
difficult, maybe I want to live. Protect me too, if you want.'' She
sounds so fragile. I settle into the waiting after she cuts the
sound.
``Shinji-kun, You asked me yesterday why I joined NERV. My
father thought only of his research, nothing else. I hated him for
it.'' So like my father. I nod and say `un' to show I heard, and she
continues, ``He didn't watch out for me, our family, but people say he
was sensitive. Yet, he was so weak that he was always trying to
escape reality, our family, just like a kid. I agreed with mother
when she divorced him, 'cause he had always made her cry. Father
seemed so shocked that I had to smile. In the end he saved me, at the
cost of his own life, from the Second Impact. I couldn't tell if I
loved him or hated him, only that I had to defeat the Angels that
killed him, either to avenge him or be free from his spell. I joined
NERV to do that.''
Nigechau dame da. ``Misato-san. Thank you.'' I look down
for a moment, contemplating my plug suit over my navel.
``Ibuki-san?''
``You can call me Maya, Shinji-kun.'' She replies.
``Can you put my sync rate up where I could see it? Someplace
kinda out of the way like where the battery counter pops up?''
``Yeah, why?'' She sounds puzzled, but I can hear the clatter
of keys and the display pops up, just above where the battery counter
does when the umbilical is cut.
``Autofeedback.''
``Oh.'' Her voice shows that she isn't just saying that to be
nice, but actually caught what I meant. I can hear Misato asking for
her to elaborate while I watch the numbers, 56.75, 56.76, 56.89, 58.5,
63.60, 64.55, 65.50, 66.45, 67.40, 68.35, 69.30. The normal
stretched feeling of piloting EVA changes, loses its strangness. At
the same time my range of vision has broadened, from barely 180 to
almost 270 degrees, but is still binocular, or perhaps simply
multi-ocular. How does Rei cope with having an eye on the top of her
head? I check the sync ratio again, not bothering to look, just
knowing that it is up to 74.67, 74.69, 74.68, fluxing randomly between
the three numbers. I shift position, cocking my hips so I can rest my
left leg, all of my weight supported on my right while I fold my arms
behind my back under the umbilical. I let my perceptions drift a bit
more, past familiar people, at least one of whom waves at me and yells
`hi!'; past all the poeple left in Japan; up to where the familiar
feeling, for it feels like myself, presence of the Angel in orbit. It
starts to fall, and I start running, watching where it will hit, while
Misato starts to give orders.
``All EVA Units to start position!'' She calls out quickly,
continues after a few moments, ``The target's trajectory is based only
on the optical observations, so Magi will direct you until the Angel
is within thousand kilometers of impact. After that it's up to you.''
She pauses again, and I reach where the target will hit, unless it
changes course, ``Operation start!''
The other two arrive quickly, and I brace for the impact,
shaping my AT field to concetrate the impact on a single point,
syncing it to the target's, so that the impact will rip a nice round
hole in the target's field.
``Asuka, Rei, when it hits my AT field, take it out quickly.''
``Why, can't you hold it?'' Asuka, snide.
``I'm not even going to try. I'm just going to rip it's AT
field open right there,'' I point at the spot, ``and it's core will
be right above that spot.'' Nigouki nods, and draws it's prog knife.
Rei, I'm happy to notice, already has her knife drawn, and is in
position.
Thirteen seconds later by the internal clock it is all over,
sync rate at 79.82.
Ten minutes later I'm shocked at the way I feel as the sync
shuts down, totally bare, weak, powerless. I stay in my plug suit,
LCL dripping from my hair as I walk to the command center.
``Radio contact re-established. Connection from Ikari-shirei
in Antartica.''
``Put it through.''
``Good job, Katsuragi-sansai.'' Father's voice.
``Thank you, sir.''
``Is Shogouki's pilot there?'' That is one of the things that
I hate about him.
``Yes.''
``I've heard the story, You did a good job, Shinji.''
``Eh? Yes.'' That was a shocking thing to hear.
``Ja, Katsuragi-sansai, I leave the rest to you.''
``You must keep your promise.'' Trust Asuka to think that
Misato would forget. She might pretend to do so, if we didn't remind
her, I admit.
``Alright. I've drawn big bills from the bank, so I can pay
for a full-course dinner, even if it is just before payday.''
``I know how much you have, so take it easy. Rei said that
she'd eat ramen with us.'' Asuka soothes Misato, something I hadn't
expected her to do.
Rei orders, ``Garlic noodle without pork for me.''
``A large shark fin with baked pork for me.'' Asuka orders.
``Shark fin with baked pork.'' The shopkeep hands her her
order.
``Kitsune udon.'' The shopkeep hands it over with remarkable
speed, while Misato continues to peruse the menu.
``Oh, Misato.''
``What?'' she asks.
``I've decided not to eat meat anymore.''
``Why?''
``For most of my life I haven't, and Rei's courage made me
realize that I needed to stick up for myself a little more.''
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next part follows.
------------------------------ cut here ------------------------------
``Misato-san?''
``Yeah?''
``We're not on call the next couple days, right?''
``No, you're not. Why?''
``I've decided to go get my stuff, so I'm gonna be absent from school
for the next couple days.'' Misato looks at me like I've got a third eye on my
forehead.
``What a stupid thing to do!'' Asuka rants at me, ``I mean, I've
finished off college, but you need to learn this junk!''
``Two days won't damage things that much. I assume you don't want to
come with me, then.'' She shakes her head emphaticly.
``Well, then, I'm off.'' I pick up my bag, put my dishes in the sink,
put my shoes on, then walk out the door. I'll ask Rei too, just to see. Which
train does she take, anyway. . .
I wait for her to get off the train, walk up to her when she does.
``Ayanami-san, would you like to help me move my stuff to Misato's
apartment?'' She pauses, thinking.
``Where is your stuff, and how long will it take?''
``Kyoutou, and about two days.'' She stands there for a moment,
expressionless, then smiles her tiny smile.
``I'd like that, Shinji-kun.'' I have to smile back at her.
``Do you need to get anything from your apartment and do you have your
plugsuit?''
``No, and why do I need my plug suit. I have it, though.'' Her
expression shifts to curiosity.
``I'm planning on borrowing a friend's motorcycle to haul my junk, and
I'm not sure if I have a set of leathers that will fit you.'' She smiles
again, just the faintest bit broader.
``I've wanted to ride a motorcycle.''
``I'll buy your ticket for the train, then.'' We walk to the ticket
counter, and I purchase two tickets on the shinkansen.
We sit down to wait for the train, and I fish out my DAT player, pop
_ETL_ out and feed it
_BBHC_. I start it playing dig the fourth volume of the
_Five Star Stories_ manga out of my bag, start to read, and notice after a page
that Rei is just staring at the wall. I stop the tape and pop the earphones
out.
``What is wrong?'' She shakes her head.
``Nothing. Why do you ask.''
``You look so bored. Can I loan you a manga?'' She nods, suddenly so
shy that even I can tell. I dig the first volume of
_FSS_ out, and hand it to
her. Soon she is buried in the story, and I put away volume four to
concentrate on my tape.
She's on the third volume by the point that the train gets here, and I
have to tap her on the shoulder when it comes time to board.
She's read all of them three times by the time the shinkansen reaches
Kyoutou.
``We're here,'' she looks up at me, ``I'll call my friend who I want to
borrow the bike from to see if we can't bum a ride.'' She nods, and stands as
the train slows to a stop. We disembark together, slip through the crowd to
the bank of phones. It takes four rings for her to answer.
``Yello?'' Yep, it's Ranma all right.
``Ranma-chan!'' She's never let me call her `Obasan,' or any of it's
synonyms, ``It's me, Shinji. I was wondering if I could talk you out of a ride
home for me and my friend.'' There is a slight pause as she either checks what
she's supposed to do today or consults with her spice, then she replies.
``Sure. How much junk do you have with you?''
``Not much. Two school bags between us.''
``I'll bring Beemu-chan, then.'' Beemu-chan is an old BMW with a
sidecar, named, according to Ranma, after one owned by a Morisato Keiichi.
``You took the shinkansen, right?'' I make an afirmative noise, and she
continues, ``I'll meet you in front of the station in about thirty minutes,
then.'' We exchange a last few pleasantries, and I hang up the phone.
``You'll get to ride a motorcycle a bit sooner than you might have
expected. Ranma-san's bringing her motorcycle with the sidecar, and she'll be
here in about a half hour. Said she'd meet us out front, so . . .'' I wave her
towards the door, following a few paces behind her, admiring her
self-consiously. I've always worried about how proper it was to watch someone,
despite Ranma telling me repeatedly that admiring someone is fine, even letting
them know that one admires them is fine, only pressing the matter and acting
like I have a right to do anything more than admire is wrong. Asuka doesn't
help, I must admit. She finds a seat on a convieniently protruding bit of
building, pats the space between her and the wall. It'll be a bit tight, but
she must know that, so I sit there, brushing the wall on one side and her hip
on the other.
``Trade?'' I proffer my DAT deck, holding out my other hand for the
manga she has. She nods, taking the player as she hands me volume four. I
turn to page 120, and by the time Ranma arrives I'm a three pages into the
sleeve notes. Rei pokes me in the side, and I look up to see Ranma pulling up
to the curb.
``That's her. I'll take the sidecar, if that's OK.'' She smiles just
a hair brighter than the last time, and my heart almost stops. Goddess.
``That would be perfect.'' Ranma tosses me my helmet before I can
respond, and I leap to catch it, the starburst pattern in reflective tape still
sharp after fourteen years. I make sure that Rei has my spare helmet on right,
then climb into the sidecar while Rei climbs on behind Ranma, wrapping her arms
about the woman's waist. Ranma politely doesn't do what she would have had I
been alone, and drives away with all three wheels on the ground at a fairly
sedate 45 KPH. The two of them chatter animatedly about motorcycles, riding,
Ranma, and Ranma's spice. Rei seems totally shocked by the fact that Ranma has
two legal, female, spice.
``How did that happen?'' Rei asks.
``I fell in love with both of them, they each agreed that they
could deal with the other, we lived together for a while, and then we all got
married. It was a little bit of a strange ceremony, I must admit.'' Rei makes
a rather strange contemplative sound. I pass it off as nothing.
``We're here. Rei-chan, you can get off. Shinji-chan, I expect you
for dinner tomorrow night, OK?'' I nod, then ask.
``Can I borrow your GoldWing? I need to move my stereo and what little
other junk I've got to Toukyou-3.'' She looks worried, so I continue, ``Look,
I didn't drop it last time, or run it over, up, or off any curbs. And I'll be
on the highway, which will make things easier.'' She doesn't look too
convinced, but finally nods. She pulls Beemu-chan into the garage, takes her
helmet off, and sets it on the gastank before walking back out under the
closing door.
``Don't forget you're coming to dinner tomorrow night, and I will be
quite upset if you trash the GoldWing.'' I hug her, once again ever so glad to
have her as a friend and surrogate parent.
``I won't.'' She kisses me on the forehead, and sends me upstairs with
a slight push.
``This is my apartment. I've had it all to myself for pretty much the
last ten years.'' Rei looks at me and tries to echo `ten years,' but doesn't
send enough air past her vocal chords for it to be audible. I giggle at the
sight. ``Ranma-san and her spice pretty much took over, raising me like I was
their own. I sometimes worry about what would have happened if they hadn't. I
need to check my email, then I'll make dinner, OK?'' She nods, and I pull
_BBHC_ from my pocket, then feed it to the DAT drive on my stereo. With a
quick whirring noise it is copied onto the 800 TB drive, and then syncs with
the main archive, spreading my copy of
_BBHC_ across the globe in the forty
seconds it takes me to log in.
``Isn't that a little dangerous?''
``What? Having the DAT set to auto-copy?'' I can feel her nod, even
half-engrossed in the email I haven't touched for days. Ten messages down,
thirty-nine to go. ``I've got it set up so that it can't execute anything it
drags off, and it bit-buckets anything that isn't proper audio data or meta
data. Combined with the fact that I have the console physically locked up,
it's pretty safe.'' A few minutes later I've finished, and the stereo is done
syncing. I pop the PCMCIA controller card from the ancient Toshiba Libretto
that I use as a control console. Rei looks at it in wonder, modern devices
don't come in such a small form factor.
``It was my mothers. She left it, her motorcycle, and this appartment
to me when she died. I first got into music when I was 8, because of this. I
joined Archive less than six months later. Now I'm one of the four Japanese
Archive mirrors.'' She looks impressed, something that I hadn't expected at
all.
``Ichijou Miyuki.'' I blink at her in shock.
``How?''
``She's the only one of the mirrors that runs off of a .ac.jp address,
she dropped out of sight from 2004 until 2009, and your speach patterns are
slowly getting closer to her writing style.'' She walks up to me, presses one
hand against my cheek, ``If you get uncomfortable you can tell me to stop or
slow down.'' She pushes me towards the open door to my bedroom, pressing her
belly against my crotch.
``Shinji-kun, what happened to you?'' I stammer for a few instants,
then she continues, ``I'd guess this has something to do with you showing that
you have a backbone. Don't worry, I'm not disappointed to find this out.''
She kisses me on the lips for emphasis, and I stumble over my own feet; her
tounge slipping between my lips takes too much CPU for me to keep walking. She
falls on top of me, just inside the doorway to my room. She takes it as an
opportunity to pull my uniform shirt off, unbuttoning it quickly, one-handed as
her other hand slides up my undershirt, cupping my breast, nibbling lightly at
my neck. Blessed Eris, but that feels good. I gasp encouragement, wiggle out
of my shirt as best I can without dislodging her from on top of me.
[rest of scene chokki in the interests of getting this out quickly]
[and avoiding that `lemon' tag, even though the sex is rather important]
[to the flow of the story. I'll just pretend it got written. --S.]
My alarm, sensing at least one warm body in the room, goes off at
six-thirty in the morning. I wake to the most deliciously warm weight on top
of me, muzzily wrap my arms about it, wake up a little more as I realize that
it is Rei, her head pillowed on my breast and the tip of her strap-on pressed
to my belly near my navel. She blinks at me, far more awake than she has any
right to be.
``Morning, Shinji-chan.'' I blink at the change in honorific, decide
that I like it, and smile up at her. ``We should take a bath,'' there is a
little bit of regret in her voice, but she kisses me lightly on the lips and
stands; walking from my room, her strap-on bobbing ridiculously with each step
she takes. I lever myself up off the futon, glad we'd had enough sense to lay
it out last night before things got too far, and follow her towards the
bathroom; decide at the last instant that I need to drain my bladder
_now_,
rather than after a bath.
I slip on the toilet slippers and use the toilet, open the door to see
Rei waiting. I shed the slippers quickly, and she puts them on and closes the
door. I walk to the bathroom, start the tub filling, notice her harness hung
on a hook, her strap-on on the floor next to the shower. I fill a bucket, and
douse myself with warm water while I wait.
It's just starting to get cold when she walks through the door,
dropping down behind me to nibble on the back of my neck, causing me to arch my
back, pressing into the carress of her teeth.
``Not now, after our bath.'' The regret is obvious now.
``Then we'd have to take another bath, wouldn't we?'' She presses
herself against my back, nods her head against my shoulder. ``So either we go
ahead now or we put it off for a while. I don't know about you, but I don't
think we need to have sex to prove that we love each other. It's the other
things, being willing to hold hands or kiss in public, the knowledge that the
other will back one up when one needs it, and be there when things aren't going
as well as they could.'' She hugs me tight, compressing my ribs slightly with
the force of her grip.
``I was worried,'' she pauses for a long instant, ``that you didn't.''
She pauses for another moment, ``Love me.'' I reach behind me to wrap my arms
around her, pull her firmly against me.
``I worried the same.'' I'm shocked to find tears flowing down my
face, I'd thought they'd all dried up a long time ago. Rei lets me go, shifts
me around so I'm crying onto her shoulder, and holds me for quite a while. I
calm down at last, murmur, ``hontou ni arigatou,'' ever so softly, just barely
loud enough for her to hear me.
``Dou itashimashitte,'' she replies, almost as softly. ``We still need
to wash,'' she says in a louder voice. I nod silently, and the mood shifts, as
both of us get the same contemplative look on our faces, and things break down
into a tickling match. Rei manages to pin me, and tickles me to the point that
I turn green. Kimochi ii yo. She somehow knows to stop at that point, so I
don't end up dry heaving on the tiles, just pleasantly queasy. I'm too far
gone to move, so she washes us both quickly, efficiently, scrubbing my back
with the force that only another person can apply. I've recovered a little bit
by the time she finishes rincing me off, so I scrub her back, the faint moans
of pleasure warming my soul. I sluce her down and we slip into the tub, I'd
missed bathing with others ever since I'd gone to Toukyou-3. I admit there is
something different about having a bath with someone who isn't old enough to be
one's grandmother, and who hasn't been bathing with one since one was four.
It's very nice, actually. I lean into Rei's embrace, warm and more comfortable
than I have been anywhere except an Eva cockpit in months.
After about a half-hour's soak we climb out, dry off, carefully not
watching each other for fear of temptation. I leave the towel draped about my
hips as I walk out to th living room, plug the stereo back into my Libretto,
Misako, and check my email. There are four dozen `Oh my goddess, where did you
find
_this_?' mails, and a couple from my net.friends in reply to the mails I'd
sent the night before. I process-mark all of the `Omg' mails, and reply to all
of them at once, `I picked it up in a record store that wasn't there. You
wouldn't belive me if I elaborated.' a few of them will press for more, and
I'll probably tell them, but that can wait for a bit. I mail the Archive
maintainers, telling them that I'll be moving the server, and it will be down
for a day or so, and when it comes back up it will be at 6e.4b.tokyo3.jp.nerv ,
and that I would try to arrange a proper alias for it, when I have a chance.
I check to make sure that there isn't anyone connected to my stereo and
downloading things before I send it the shutdown command, watch while it
unlinks from the net; kills off all the processes; unmounts both of the 5.25"
full-height SCSI-5 drives, the 400 TB that was so large just four years ago,
and the 800 TB that I'd replaced it's partner with a year and a half ago; and
powers down the optical vinyl player, the speakers, and the DAT drive. I frob
the main power switch when it flashes `rebooting.'
Next I pop the two PCMCIA cards, coil the cable about them, and try to
stuff Misako into my pocket, only then realizing that I'm still only wearing a
towel and Rei is standing behind me, already in her plug suit. I quickly dig
my plug suit out while Rei posilutely radiates amusement, not that anyone who
didn't know her would be able to tell. I slip Misako and the control cable
into one of the inside pockets, then drop the towel to put on my plug suit. I
hit the switch and it squinches down tightly, squashing my breasts flatter, not
that they aren't almost flat normally, but they are appallingly tender. That
done I turn back to my stereo.
I unscrew the external SCSI cable from the back of the stereo,
disconnecting first the speakers from the DAT drive, then the DAT drive from
the vinyl player, then the external drive box from that, finally unplugging
everything from the wall. I unfold the stereo's handle, picking the box up,
again impressed at what DEC had managed to cram into a package the size of a
VAXStation 2000. Near as I could tell, in fact, they had just used a
VAXStation chassis. I set it on the floor, bound across the room in a single
leap, and pull the boxes stacked in my closet out.
``Rei, the speakers should be stuffed into this box, the inserts only
accept them one way.'' I toss the mid-sized box to her, then lob the boxes for
the external SCSI drive case, the DAT, the vinyl player, and my stereo in that
direction after she catches it. I walk back carrying the MicroVax that I had
used for the archive server before I got my stereo, because I haven't been
practicing and I'd crush any of the boxes if I landed on them. It only takes a
few moments to pack both the ancient Sun drive box and my stereo safely. I
hook the Vax up, turn it on, then go off in search of the tape as Rei puts the
top insert into the speaker box. It takes me a few moments to find it, and
when I return Rei has packed the DAT and is working on the OVP. I start to
tape the boxes shut, and Rei asks me when I'm on the third one,
``OK, now what?'' She's both a lot more animated and a lot happier
than I've ever seen her, and the way she phrases the short question suddenly
clicks with other things, and congeals into a question.
``Amano Lantis-chan?'' She nods, and her behavior last night suddenly
makes a lot more sence. We'd both been very discreet about our real lives,
other than that we were about twenty, female, and that most of the things we
did or said were true to our real selves. Finding out Lantis-chan was male
would have been shocking, but this I could deal with pretty well. I finish
taping the box I'm working on, then reply to her question.
``We need to finish taping the boxes, pack my clothes, and clean up the
place before we leave.'' She nods, picks up the second roll of tape, and we
finish the last two boxes. I lead the way into my bedroom, pull out my old set
of leathers. They're in fairly good shape, I just outgrew them.
``Try these on. If they fit and you want them, they're yours.'' I
can't help watching as she slips them on, she's not a lot smaller than I am, so
they fit tightly, but the black and Gundam blue suits her better than it ever
did me. I fish my current set out, with black, grey, and white dazzle pattern
that I think suits me a little better. I finish zipping up the zipper, only to
find Rei watching me closely.
``Thank you,'' she says, her voice small, she's always had a hard time
saying that, so it means even more than it would have before I realized that
she is Lantis-chan. I kiss her lightly, my lips just brushing the hollow where
her jaw joins her throat, and she clutches me tightly, sagging against me, like
I would have collapsed when she nibbled at my throat last night, had I not
already been flat on my back on the floor.
``You'll need it. Problems come most often when one isn't prepared for
them.'' She nods, firming her knees and straightening.
``So, what else do you have to pack?''
``Not much, my clothes, the keys to the Fairlady need to be left with
Ranma, and . . .'' Rei cuts me off excitedly,
``Fairlady? As in Nissan Fairlady?''
``Yeah, she's a 240ZG, Mako-neechan gave her to me on my fourteenth
birthday. Said that she'd gotten it a long time ago, and that she thought I'd
take good care of her. She taught me how to drive, but I can't get a license
for another couple years.'' My being a NERV asset, an `international agent' to
quote Misato, suddenly occured to me. Rei notices the sudden gleam in my eyes.
``What are you thinking? If it's that you could probably get away with
driving it now, you should remember what happened to Misato-san's car.'' That
dims the excitement a bit, but I still start packing franticly. Her voice
turns contemplative as she continues, ``That doesn't mean you couldn't drive
about
_here_, now does it?'' I shake my head, and she starts packing as well,
helping me squash my closet-full of fancy Chinese clothes into the two
suitcases that I have. I set aside four garments, two of which no longer fit
me, but I couldn't bear to throw away. We each close a suitcase
simultaneously; I glance up to make sure the closet is empty.
I strip out of my leathers, put on the pair of pants I'd left out for
me, tie the ankles and waist, then put the shirt on, button up the frogs and
turn back the cuffs to show the white lining. Rei has the other set on, nearly
identical, but a little bit smaller, the black lightly greyed from repeated
washings. That had been my favorite outfit from the time I recieved it at ten
to when I finally grew out of it, and I'd made sure that I didn't damage it.
Rei smiles at me, a smile so broad that it was almost normal.
``Coming?'' She nods, and I slip out the door, snag two sets of keys
off the hook by the door, stuff one into my shirt-pocket, and lock the door
behind us with the other. She follows me down to the garage, and I point out
some of the vehicles.
``That's the GoldWing,'' I point to the huge motorcycle in the middle
of the row of bikes, ``the Hawk is mine,'' I point out the green and silver
painted bike on the end, ``and the Fairlady is in the other room.'' I lead her
through, slip between the bumpers and the wall as I work my way to her,
explaining what each car is as I pass it, ``This one is a '67 Subaru, this is a
'50 splitwindow beetle, '57 Kharmann Ghia, '64 Fairlady 240ZG,'' I slip up the
driver's side, unlock the door while Rei walks around to the passenger's side.
She slips into the passenger seat, and points inquisitively with her chin at
the other three cars in the room. ``Next over is a Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, an
old Triumph Spitfire that wasn't running as of the last I heard, and the last
one is a lighthouse windowed '50 Studebaker Starliner Coupe. Most of the parts
in the Starliner are replacements, though. I think she's got a rotary out of
an RX-7 in her right now.'' I start the engine, hit the button to open the
garage door, make sure that the mirrors haven't been moved, and turn to make
sure Rei has her seat belt on.
``Rei, buckle up. I'm not
_likely_ to get in an accident, but if I do
and you're not wearing your seatbelt, it could be rather bad.'' She nods,
putting on the seatbelt. I back out into the driveway, hit the button on the
remote again. As soon as the door's closed all the way I pull back into the
non-existant traffic, keeping carefully to the speed limit as I point out some
of features of Kyoutou, making a note to myself to bring Rei back when I have
time to show her about the city, and Nara would be a lot of fun too.
``How long will it take us to get to Toukyou-3?''
``About four hours. Guess we'd better get back, then.'' I manage to
get us back after only another half hour, if we work at it we can still get on
the road before ten. I pause in the driveway, waiting for the garage door to
open, then park Miria carefully in her spot.
``Does she have a name?''
``Miria?'' She looks puzzled, pats the dashboard. ``Yeah. Sorry I
forgot to mention it. Mako-neechan named her.''
``Nice name,'' she says as she climbs out, ``after the Zentraedi
pilot?'' I hadn't thought of that, but it makes sence.
``Tabun.'' She nods as I lock Miria's doors, then follows me back into
the motorcycle room. I move the pile of helmets off of the trailer, make sure
the tires are at pressure, then back the GoldWing around, stopping with her
possitioned to head out the door easily. It's only nine, so I don't expect
anyone to be by, and it should be safe. I hook up the trailer, then lead the
way, propping doors along the way. A half hour later we're changed, all of my
stuff is packed, and I realize that we haven't eaten.
``Asagohan o tabenai no?''
``I'm starving, now that you mention it.'' I knock at Ranma's
apartment door, get no responce as I more than half expected. I key in, hang
Miria's keys on a free hook, then proceed to raid the rice-cooker, noticing the
sign on it, `Shinji-chan, I fixed more than normal, so you'd better feed your
friend too, --Ran.'
I fish out a pair of rice bowls, hand one and a set of chopsticks to
Rei, set mine down next to the rice-cooker, rinse the scoop, then hold out my
hand for Rei's bowl.
``How much?''
``Full.'' I manage to fill her bowl in two scoops, then hand it back
to her.
``The soy sauce is by the sink.'' She takes it and splashes it
liberally. Such a girl after my own heart. Three scoops of rice later I have
my bowl full, and, closing the cooker, I reach for the shouyu.
We down three bowls each, emptying the cooker, so I wash it along with
the bowls.
``Yoush, we're off.'' Rei nods, and I pull the GoldWing's keys from
the hook. I quickly run about making sure that all the doors are locked, then
join Rei at the GoldWing. She climbs on behind me while I steady the huge
'cycle, attaches the intercom to her helmet like I showed her, then we wait as
the engine warms. I put my helmet on, make sure the straps are tight, look
behind me to make sure that Rei has her's on before testing the intercom.
``Rei, can you hear me?''
``Fine. You?''
``Loud and clear.'' I slowly pull out into the driveway, make sure
that the trailer is clear before I hit the button to close the garage door.
Moments later we're pulling onto the freeway, and I momentarily regret taking
the GoldWing. It does have a huge engine, bigger than the split-window, but it
isn't as fun to ride it with another person. Now that I consider it, that's
probably a good thing, since I haven't ridden a bike in months, and the trailer
really mucks with the Hawk's suspension.
We chatter about the kinds of things we said we would have to if we
ever met in person, and I feel even closer to her when we finally arrive in
Toukyou-3 than when I realized that she is Lantis-chan. She's actually started
talking like Lantis-chan, too, which gives me some hope that she'll be a little
bit more assertive now.
It takes longer than I would like to cart all of my junk up to Misato's
apartment, since one of us has to stay to watch the stuff while the other one
carries. I take the first load, my stereo and the expansion box. I can feel
Rei's amusement as I waddle slowly under the thirty-seven kilo mass. I find a
clear spot in my room, moving several boxes aside, and plug my stereo into the
ethernet drop and the expansion box, hooking both to the wall power socket.
Rei will take the next load, and I contemplate telling her as I walk
back. I decide to trust her.
``Rei, we can get the rest of it in one load.'' She looks at me like
I'm a little off my rocker, but doesn't protest as I lock the trailer to the
GoldWing's rear wheel. I pick up the two suitcases, and hold my arms for
either the DAT and the OVP or the speaker box. She puts the speaker box in my
arms, it doesn't weigh as much, and picks up the other two. I open the door
when we get to it, and she doesn't notice that I didn't touch it physically.
She does notice the elevator button, though, since I make no effort to hide
it.
``How?'' She blinks when her load suddenly becomes lighter.
``To quote my teacher, `the Force is strong.' I've been in training as
a Zanji mystic for a long time. You've seen
_Star Wars_, right?'' She shakes
her head, and I'm rather appalled. ``Zanji is a lot like the religion of the
Jedi, only with Zanji the Force is viewed as being neutral, with no difference
between a dark and light side. One is judged on what one does with the Force,
rather than how one does it.'' I continue the explanation as we ride the
elevator up, and finish setting up my stereo, daisy-chaining the power cords
for the speakers, DAT drive, and OVP back to the drive box.
I flip the power switches, and everything beeps happily and comes back
on line. I slip the control cable's PCMCIA cards into my stereo and Misako,
then redo the /etc/hosts, /etc/resolv.conf and /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 files. I
re-run /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1 and telnet to my old address. `Miyuki's Vax, running
Ultrix 4.1\nLogin: ' it prompts. I login as root, rewrite a couple of the files
about the archive, saying that the main site has moved and giving the address.
``OK, that's done. Now we just need to take the Goldwing back and get
back in time for school tomorrow.'' Rei giggles at me and I look up at Asuka,
who is glaring at me for some reason that I can't quite place, and has been for
the last couple minutes.
``What are you doing?'' Goddess, but her voice grates when she wants
it to.
``Moving my Archive server.'' She blinks at me, stares at the DEC logo
on my stereo, and looks up at me again.
``YOU ARE ICHIJOU MIYUKI!?!?'' She almost makes the room shake, and if
this was a Star Trek episode the ceiling would have fallen in.
``Like my mother before me.'' She whirls and runs from the room. For
the final test, to make sure that everything is working properly I queue up the
Stones' `Paint it Black', followed by `Ball and Chain' off Big Brother and the
Holding Company's
_Cheap Thrills_ album. I wonder why she ran as I start them
playing, re-arranging the speakers while `PiB' plays. I tweak the placement of
the boxen while I check to see if she could be one of the women I've
net.flirted with. If she is I don't know what could be so awful, since the
only person I ever got past net.flirting with was Lantis-chan.
``Ittekimasu!'' I call from the door, but Asuka doesn't answer. I
guess she's still sulking, so I lock the door before heading down the stairs as
fast as I dare, which is quite a bit faster than the elevator. By the time I
reach the bike Rei has unlocked it, stuffing the lock back into it's slot on
the trailer's top, and has her helmet on. I hadn't even noticed her filching
the GoldWing's keys. I take my helmet when she hands it to me, and the keys.
I back the GoldWing out, she handles a little bit funny, almost like the
trailer isn't empty. I pass that off as being paranoid. Rei climbs on behind
me, and we pull out into the street again. Only 1445, so we'll arrive before
dinnertime.
We make good time, and I admit that I speed a little bit, about 25 KPH
over the limit from when we got out of Toukyou-3 'til the outer limits of
Kyoutou.
We pull into Ranma's driveway at about 18, 1803 by the GoldWing's
clock. I park it in it's spot, unhook the trailer, and come to the conclusion
that it isn't empty.
``Rei, we have a hitch-hiker.'' Her eyes positively light up.
``Can I tickle her?'' She uses `ore' to refer to herself.
``OK. I'll hold her down for you.'' She smiles when I use `ore'
myself, and nods at my suggestion. I open the trailer, and sure enough,
there's Asuka. Unfortunately she isn't in any condition to be tickled.
``Fuck. I didn't know the trailer was so well-sealed.'' Scooping
Asuka up in my arms, I lift her easily out of the trailer, setting the trailer
in the corner where it goes, not bothering to hide my use of the Force. I pop
the lock into the hallway and walk quickly to Ranma's door, Rei at my side,
very concerned about what is happening.
I knock four times on Ranma's door, the `emergency' code.
****
Now, from here the format will get a little weird, with two versions
being written for certain parts, but not for others ^^
This is because the evil Idea hit me that this could work equally well
as a follow-up to two of my Ranma stories, SM 1/6, my unreleased, due to it
being largely unwritten, Ranma-Sailor Moon fusion; and Final Attempt's sequels.
You have been warned.
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