[Ranma][NGE][HPL][AMG][Fusion][Fanfic] Sic Semper Morituri Chapter 37 -
And In What Spirit was the Tool Created?
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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mper-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.
All of the pilots react to the disaster surrounding the destruction
of Cthugha and his cult in there own ways. Rei and Shinji try to support
Nabiki. One of the SEELE members is killed in Osaka, and Natsumi Matsuda
witnesses the entire event, Jeff and Misato are sent to investigate.
Asuka takes Ranma to Tokyo University, meeting Belldandy and Keiichi.
Then they return to enjoy the carnival set up on the school grounds.
Asuka in Unit 02 destroys an assassin of Nyarlathotep's cult. In the
aftermath, Ranma, Rei and Asuka, make efforts to draw Nabiki out of her
shell.
The S2 engines are tested, and NERV Tokyo vanishes. Nabiki and Rei
escape and land outside Roswell, NM., they must deal with the aftermath
and loss at NERV Las Vegas. NERV Tokyo, in the Great White Space, with
the base is the Outer God Ghroth, on the Outer God's surface is the device
that brought the base there, the trapped and intermixed spirits of the
victims of Angel Malaise, including Toji's sister. Ghroth awakens and
takes revenge on the Pilots and especially Nyarlathotep. The NERV crew
develops a plan to return them home.
Toji visits an unusual woman's kitchen, and gets a commission. The
other pilots all suffer nightmares. Rei summons the Meliorist and the
Scholarly Dragon to effect a rescue. She also contacts another self who
just died. Shinji escapes on his own, the Scholarly Dragon helps Asuka
escape, Ranma has to rescue himself from his nightmare.
With the return of NERV Tokyo, 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 Grosse {Gro�e} Feldmarschall. All the pilots are giddy
from recent events.
Jeff gives Asuka the blade to a sabre-halberd, and asks her to teach
Ranma to use his sword. Asuka begins the lessons from Talhoffer
immediately.
All the others pack up for their moves, either to new quarters or
aboard the carrier.
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.
The cruel-tyrant-sergeants they watch 'im 'arf a year;
They watch 'im with 'is comrades, they watch 'im with 'is beer;
They watch 'im with the women at the regimental dance,
And the cruel-tyrant-sergeants send 'is name along for "Lance"
'E learns to do 'is watchin' without it showin' plain;
'E learns to save a dummy, an' shove 'im straight again;
'E learns to check a ranker that's buyin' leave to shirk;
An' 'e learns to make men like 'im so they'll learn to like their work.
The 'eathen - Rudyard Kipling
July 15, 1947
I've Known a Lot of People Ride a Dam' Sight Worse
"Okay Horseface, much more complicated. Sword: Iron Gate to
Underhau/below cut powerful, scabbard High Guard to Above thrust, your
opponent is taller than you, recover to the Left and Right Oxen Guards,"
Asuka called out across the building's roof to him.
Ranma made the attacks, it made sense to attack high and low
simultaneously, the blade could deliver a cut or thrust, but the scabbard
could only really thrust. He could see the logic of the maneuvers, and
she also had been right, mastering the stances let him easily flow between
them. He finished with the blade and scabbard on either side of his head
facing across and down, a little like the horns of an ox. Starting and
stopping this way was unnatural, but it was -
"BEHIND YOU!" Asuka's shout made him instantly pivot, scabbard in
High Guard, sword at Plough or waist Guard, ready to attack high or low.
There was nothing to attack or defend against.
"That was sneaky," Ranma commented, not really a complaint, just an
observation.
"You took the correct guards automatically and were prepared to shift
or attack," Asuka said, a _slight_ note of satisfaction in her voice, "The
blades are becoming more natural to you, you didn't drop them and take up
the weeping cranefly stance or some other nonsense . . . like you did the
last three times."
Hence the _slight_ note of satisfaction, Ranma groused inwardly.
"So I'm not as intolerably bad as I was," Ranma said, hopefully
taking the insult away from her.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Horseface. Your swordsmanship was
just bad, it was the rest of you that was intolerable."
"Gee, thanks," he said, decided against muttering anything about
'Megorofeld-chan', she seemed to have very good ears.
"All right, now go through each guard and perform an above and below
cut, and a low thrust left and right, and a high thrust left and right,
recover to the guard between each stroke, unless you've run through all
the strikes, then recover to the next guard, I want right _and_ left Oxen
Guards, pause for a moment as the attack strikes home, then continue.
Start with the sword in Iron Gate, the scabbard in High Guard and go
through them, then switch hands and the sword starts at High Guard and the
scabbard at Iron Gate."
A standard kata, Ranma thought, In other words.
"Yes," was all he said. The movements began, it frustrated him that
teaching him was so effortless for Asuka, she even gave him a kata that
covered all the moves, how they would have to be used with his paired
weapons. He didn't let that frustration affect his movements, or she'd
make him start all over again, or she'd pick out a few maneuvers and make
him go through them. She never said exactly which maneuver was wrong, but
there was always room for improvement in even his best efforts.
As quickly as he began, he was done. He almost dreaded the next
words.
"Again, slower this time."
"Yes," she said, then muttered, "Sensei Sour Kraut."
"I heard that, now you blew it, start over. If you can't talk and
practice at the same time, quit doing one, your choice which."
Sometimes I wonder why I agreed to this, he thought as he started
over, a relentless perfectionist made an irritating sensei. Because she
was a girl he couldn't just challenge her and prove he was better. He saw
her duplicating the various moves with her sabre-halberd, including a few
moves she hadn't taught him yet. Probably McBane or the other guy, Ranma
thought as he went through the maneuvers, he knew her efforts did not
distract her, if he wasn't perfect, she'd see it. And he'd have to go
through it again, the whole thing, if she really got mad, she'd make him
take a half-hour, go through the kata as if it were a Tai Chi meditation,
instead of a combat art.
The presence of the sawhorses and the 15-foot long 1" by 8" filled
him with some expectation, and dread. She'd steadfastly refused to say
what they were for.
Maybe she's going to let me challenge her, and that's the 'fighting
strip', he wasn't happy with that thought, the sword and scabbard were one
thing, but he wasn't sure he could avoid hurting her if he were that
limited, At least not without resorting to my regular martial arts, he
amended.
"Okay, that was acceptable," she told him, "Don't bow!" she shouted
as he started to. "Salute, that's a sword in your hand, a sword's
dangerous no matter who wields it. A skilled wielder makes it more
dangerous to the enemy than himself."
The sword salute was another trick the Meliorist had taught him, by
kicking him in the face when he bowed the first time, and trying to every
other time after that. He didn't mind the bruise, but he couldn't figure
out why he couldn't get rid of the red paint on his dreamself's forehead.
He was pretty sure the mark didn't say anything, but if Asuka knew all
those languages, it might. He snapped to attention, brought the blade up,
and then resheathed it. No 'fancy-stuff' here either, it was
disrespectful.
She pulled the sawhorses out, he didn't offer to help, 'If I wanted
your help I'd ASK!' still rang in his ears.
"Grab the other end of this," she said as she lifted the 1" x 8".
They set it on the sawhorses.
"Not that way Horseface!"
I can't even set a board down right, Ranma lamented.
"Set it on the narrow edge," Asuka ordered.
Ranma was a little more worried, the board was badly warped and
twisted, footing on the wide part would be a problem, more so for Asuka.
Just walking on the narrow edge . . . if she was going to challenge him
like that, he would bow out, until he got more training. He wobbled the
board easily with his finger.
"Okay Horseface, I've got a treat for you."
When she said that while they were training, he looked forward to the
`treat` as much as he looked forward to Misato's cooking.
"You always talk about balance." She wobbled the board, "Now you get
to show off. I want you to put the sword down, jump up here." She
wobbled the board again.
Ranma's dread grew with each clunk of the board, That thing would
fall over from a strong breath, he thought.
"I'll hand you the scabbard and you go through the entire exercise up
here," she told him.
She's nuts, he thought.
"Advancing with each attack like I taught you," she added.
She's insane, he mentally added, set the board back up as it fell
over.
"When you get to the end, pivot, like I taught you."
She's completely mad, he thought.
"Then switch hands and do it again," she told him.
She's completely gone around the bend! he thought.
"If you fall off use your usual tricks to avoid getting broken, not
if you think you're going to fall, only if you - are - actually -
falling."
Completely off the deep end! Ranma thought as he wobbled the board
again.
"It's balance training. Only now you have to stabilize what you're
standing on too."
She's a genius! Never thought otherwise, Ranma thought as he hopped
up, and landed on the sawhorse as the board tipped him off.
"You can have breakfast as soon as you do it once," Asuka said and
smiled as she reset the board.
An _EVIL_ genius! Ranma thought as he stepped onto the wobbly board,
and walked from one end to the other without toppling it, then reached
down for the scabbard . . . and fell off.
"Do it slowly, like I taught you." Asuka smiled as she helped him
up.
"Yes, Sensei."
"And don't get hurt." She was still smiling.
"Yes, Sensei."
"I don't want to have to explain it to Sammi."
"Yes, Sensei."
"And be cheerful, this is a great opportunity."
"Yes, Sensei."
"And hurry up a bit, I can smell Sammi's blueberry pancakes from
here."
Ranma accepted the scabbard without a word and just walked down the
board a few times. Keeping his insulting thoughts about Sour Kraut
Senseis entirely to himself.
----------------------------------------
Asuka breezed into the apartment, she smiled broadly at the smell of
blueberry pancakes. Erin was there, polishing off a large stack. She
held the door for Horseface, he hadn't managed to complete the exercise,
but she knew he wouldn't the first time. She'd developed it to give him
something to do while she went on her errand today. All she had to do to
glue him to that board was suggest they make it easier, like let him try
it on the wide edge.
Then the baka won't quit until he's mastered it, she thought
triumphantly, as she headed towards the dining room table, That will keep
him out of my hair for a couple of hours. She knew that no physical task
was beyond Horseface forever, as long as the training didn't kill him,
he'd eventually master any task. She still had one more string to her bow
to keep him busy today.
"That smells great, Samantha," Asuka said happily, "Did you make
enough for Horseface? He gave up, and he's a little depressed."
"I did not quit! You called a halt!" he replied.
Right on cue, she thought, took the stack of pancakes to the table.
"It's okay Horseface, there are some things beyond you," she told
him, with real sincerity, "There's no shame admitting it. I can set up
something easier."
You'd think I just insulted his mother, she thought about his
purple-faced, bugeyed expression.
"I - WILL - DO - IT - MYSELF," he was practically vibrating with
fury.
"But it's no good unless Ranko can do it too," she said, slathering
more deep concern on the sentence than she did butter and syrup on the
pancakes, which were . . . completely gone.
She glared at 'chipmunk-cheeks' Horseface, who chewed once or twice,
and swallowed.
"Delicious, Sammi," he said.
"How do you know," Sammi said as she set down another stack in front
of Asuka, "You didn't even taste them."
"I have fast taste buds. I can do everything fast," he said proudly.
"That explains why Ice Princess thinks she still a - "
"ASUKA!" Sammi cut her off.
Asuka returned an innocent smile. "I didn't say anything."
Sammi and Erin glared at her. Then Sammi got a smile like Asuka's.
Now Asuka was worried.
"Didn't you promise to give him a wash and trim?" Sammi asked, her
smile didn't falter.
Swing and miss, Asuka thought as she looked a little sheepish.
"Well, I thought I'd ask Spineless and Wondergirl over, let ole'
Spineless help give her a cut that doesn't look like a forgotten rat's
nest."
"Are you going to let Ranma wash -?" Erin began.
"NO!" Asuka shouted, realized she'd blown it, and lost another stack
of pancakes. At least this time Horseface stole the whole plate and was
slowly enjoying them.
"Wouldn't do it anyway," he said between bites of _her_ blueberry
pancakes.
Relief filled Asuka, his stupid code of honor might force him to
suggest something like that. She realized _showing_ that relief had been
a mistake.
"That's not fair," Erin said flatly.
Ranma's head came up.
"Very dishonorable," Sammi added from the kitchen, "Getting a gift
like that and not giving anything in return."
Asuka searched for a way to get him off the hook, without appearing
to, anything to erase that dawning look of 'I am going to be honorably
stupid' that spread across his face.
"I'm disappointed in you, Saotome-san," Sammi said sadly, "But I
guess I expect too much."
At that, Asuka knew she was doomed, 'Kraznyzamok Ultimate Technique:
Reduced Expectations', Horseface had no defense and seemed unwilling to
develop one.
"Okay, I'll do it," Horseface said reluctantly.
"Do I get any say in this?" Asuka asked archly.
"No," Sammi told her, "And Asuka, we're out of pancake batter."
"_AUUUURRRRRGHHH_!_!_"
----------------------------------------
"Well Asuka, she did have all those others in the oven," Erin told
her as they drove through the Navy Base.
Asuka grumbled in relative silence, she knew taking on three-to-one
odds was a bad idea, but she'd been ambushed efficiently, and she hadn't
seen a way out.
The storage area was off the beaten track, but the Navy guarded it,
so Asuka had some of her less critical stuff stored here, rather than at
Sammi's place. She needed something, so they were at the outlands of the
Base getting it.
"Here it is," Asuka said as she pulled the bag of tools from the back
and unlocked the shed, while Erin scanned the area.
Inside was an old bicycle, most of the parts were good, except the
frame. It was too small for her now. She ran her finger across the spiral
crack that marred the frame, it couldn't be fixed, but she felt that
throwing it away was impossible. Besides all the other parts were
excellent. They should be, she had worked them over to perfection. She
had a lot of memories tied up in this bike. It seemed ironic that when
the Americans got Unit 02, they'd found the bike alongside the Unit and
sent it to her. She'd always wondered what exactly the broken bicycle had
meant. Had they broken it, or had it been broken and they sent it anyway?
If so, why?
She could have gotten Admiral Simson to look into it, but it seemed
like such a trivial thing to bother about, when what she really wanted was
to be able to ride it again. She detached the front wheel and carried it
and the rest to the jeep., relocking the shed door when she passed
through.
"That's it?" Erin asked.
"That's it," Asuka told her as she climbed into the jeep. "The new
school is too far to walk, besides, teaching Wondergirl to ride a bike
will give Spineless something to do for the rest of the break."
"Ah, match making," Erin said as she climbed aboard the jeep and
started it, "What about the others?" She put the jeep in gear.
"Let them make their own arrangements," Asuka said, not really
looking forward to the next step.
Come on Asuka, she told herself, If _Horseface_ can learn new thought
processes, so can you. In her heart of hearts she hated the plan she'd
developed, almost as much as she hated being a general instead of being a
knight errant. She liked getting her hands dirty, doing real stuff
instead of training and leading others. Grow up, who _else_ is going to
do this? she chided herself.
----------------------------------------
Ranma balanced, very gingerly went from the Left Oxen Guard to the
Oberhau/'above' cut, it was a harassing cut, just using the wrists and
hands. A medium cut using the elbows landed him on the roof, on his head,
four times in a row. Forget about a powerful cut, Ranma thought, he knew
he wasn't _that_ stubborn or stupid. I thought ole' Sour Kraut had a mean
streak 100-meters wide, he thought as he stepped forward and the board
teetered warningly, Boy was I wrong about that. He completed the move and
returned to Left Oxen Guard, with the blade beside his head, he began and
above thrust to the left as he stepped forward. She's got a mean streak
10 MILES wide, he thought as he watched the blade inch forward, he was
keeping his balance better, but he wasn't anywhere near being able to go
through the entire exercise without falling. He'd given up starting over
from the beginning when he fell, he'd just get up and do that move over,
and move on to complete the entire exercise, then he'd start over. The
thrusts generally tripped him up, especially the thrusts across from left
to right or vice versa, and he didn't know why. Yet.
He withdrew the blade to the left Oxen Guard, then slowly thrust high
to the right. The board trembled under him as he stepped forward.
Oh Ranma it's too hard, I'm sorry for making it so hard, he thought
angrily, and that anger almost pitched him off the board. He controlled
his balance, first physical, then spiritual. She knew, she knew exactly
what she was doing. Tricking me again, he thought, this time he didn't
catch himself in time. He landed easily, stared at his nemesis and set
the board on its edge again. He was looking forward to the time he could
reduce this thing to kindling. He hopped up on the sawhorse, and stepped
on the board. Stopped, set it back up on its edge _AGAIN_!_ and stepped
up more carefully.
He kept all the thoughts away and tried to complete this stupid
exercise.
----------------------------------------
I've Known a Lot o' Fellows Go a Dam' Sight Worse
Misato had gotten up, showered, inhaled a breakfast that Shinji had
put in front of her. He hadn't said anything, merely looked at her with
the gaze of vague disappointment. Her teasing about Rei hadn't had the
desired effect. He'd actually asked why _she_ was so lonely, then
retreated into the kitchen. The horrible, awful, scraping noises he made
with the pans had prevented her from charging in after him.
Besides, she had to go to work. With Ritsuko and Maya gone, she knew
she could at least make a dent in the endless reports she was supposed to
be keeping up on. Most of them were trivial, some few were important, and
it took most of the day to separate one from the other, so at the end of
the day she had a handful she had to read thoroughly, and no time left to
read them all. She sometimes envied Ritsuko, who was a generator of this
endless paperwork, rather than a recipient.
"Misato-san?" Shinji knocked at her bedroom door, "There's some men
out here to see you."
Misato opened the door and followed him, she was presentable, lacking
only her shoes. The men were waiting politely outside the door.
"Miss Katsuragi?" the nervous Japanese man among the group of
overconfident Americans asked.
"Major Katsuragi," she replied, they all looked very nervous, she
wasn't about to invite them in.
"Yes, Major. You were a lieutenant in the Imperial Army, Katsuragi
Misato," the man said politely. He seemed a little ashamed, the others
seemed expectant.
"Yes." She'd put all that behind her when she went to work for NERV,
hadn't she? She was growing worried. The men seemed like they'd scatter
if Shinji said boo, let alone her. "What's going on?"
The man handed her a piece of paper. "You're being subpoenaed to
appear before a select committee of the United States Senate for crimes
against the United States during wartime. The information is all there."
The men turned to leave.
It took a few seconds for the events to crystallize in her mind, when
they did. "I'm _WHAT_!_?_" she shouted.
----------------------------------------
Imperative radio transmissions had called Admiral Simson into his
office with some urgency. He'd wanted to inspect some of the new defenses
around the NERV base, but Captain Ramsey, General Tomlinson, and General
MacArthur had called him, all demanding to know what was happening and
that he should get back to his office and find out. Not for the first
time he wished that radio communication were more reliable, he could have
found out what put a bee in everyone's bonnet on this otherwise beautiful
morning.
"They're in your office, sir." His yeoman snapped off a salute that
would have been appropriate on a parade ground. "The Senators."
Senators, plural, he thought as he returned the man's salute and
headed through his office door with a feeling of dread. Senators, four,
unhappy, definitely plural.
"Gentlemen," he said pleasantly, closing the door behind him, "To
what do I owe the honor?"
"In April of 1945, there were a large number of brutal murders and
assaults in the Boston area." The senior Senator from Massachusetts, a
member of the NERV select oversight committee, set down a file folder on
Simson's desk, he opened it with the flourish of a magician doing a trick.
There were photos, photos of dead people mostly, a few of huddled
survivors. Simson had seen enough civilian refugees to recognize the
traumatized faces, these people had seen something too terrible for them
to understand.
"Their source was this building." Another photo. "The murders and
attacks came to an end when an explosion destroyed the building and
scattered the people operating there," the senator continued in a no
nonsense tone, "I think you recognize two of them."
Simson stared at a picture of a much younger Gendo Ikari and Misato
Katsuragi walking down a Boston street, both in civilian clothes. Spies,
saboteurs, he thought. He desperately wanted a drink right now.
"We know Operation Paperclip has protected Mister Ikari, like von
Braun and others," the senior Senator from Wyoming said patiently, "We are
curious what an enemy agent responsible for the murder of dozens of
American citizens is doing working for the most important operation,
supposedly in the history of mankind. One who operated behind the lines
in civilian guise."
"I would have thought you'd be curious too," the senior senator from
Massachusetts said blandly.
"I'll call the JAG, and get some answers," he said, wondering what
idiot would blindside them like that.
"Very well, we'll have copies of our interview and photos sent to
you. A joint investigation might be messy, but I think we can cooperate
with each other," the senator said while the junior senators collected the
photos. "We'll see ourselves out, we'll be in touch."
The Admiral managed to recover enough of his manners to open the door
for them. They filed out, he sat at his desk, looking at the one photo
they'd left behind. Big as life, Misato and Gendo, and a Boston street
sign. He knew labs could doctor photos, but one fake photo wouldn't stir
up four senators to make them fly all the way to Japan.
He switched on his intercom. "I want the JAG, Gendo Ikari, Misato
Katsuragi and Captain Ramsey in here, right now." He didn't yell, it
wouldn't do any good.
He barely acknowledged the 'aye, sir', he was staring at the picture.
He'd heard about 'The Boston Slasher/Boston Vampire', he'd put it all down
to wartime hysteria, or some nut. It was time to do some research of his
own. He could get that started while he waited for the others to arrive.
----------------------------------------
Asuka got out of the jeep and waited for Erin to stand alongside her.
"This is the address?" she asked.
"This is where they said," Erin looked at the wall surrounding the
complex.
"A pagan temple," Asuka said, "Something about this doesn't feel
right."
"We can go to the Navy yards and get what you need done," Erin
suggested.
Asuka nodded, she almost agreed, "No, part of the responsibility of a
pilot is not to cut ourselves off from . . . from `normal` people." Asuka
sighed about that.
Normal people, not that pilots are normal, maybe we weren't normal to
start with. She squared her shoulders and marched towards the gate,
pushing it open easily. Inside, a red and white collection of balls and
tubes, like a snowman with a wide, red hat stood as a scarecrow, then it
moved.
"That's cruel," Asuka said, "Making a monkey wear a metal suit like
that in this heat."
"Maybe it's a machine," Erin suggested, "Like the EVAs."
Asuka rolled her eyes. "A machine that tiny? Not likely." She
walked across the paved walkway, she moved fast enough to prevent it from
intercepting her and Erin. She heard shouting approaching them, Asuka's
hand closed on her pistol, in the holster concealed as a pocket in her
skirt. She was ready to draw and fire, if necessary. Erin had braced
herself to protect her charge. "If it's too big, we run for the jeep,"
Asuka said, knew that Erin would pick her up and carry her if she felt it
was necessary.
It came around the corner of the building, it looked like a rabbit.
That almost looks like one of Spineless's little nightmares, Asuka
thought. Then she saw Skuld and Belldandy chasing it, shouting as they
ran. Skuld had a long, metal croquet mallet, and missed several times as
her target bounced around randomly. Asuka could see the murder in the
younger girl's eyes.
Asuka waited until the creature had doubled back, jumped on and off
of Skuld's head, and the two girls crashed into each other as Skuld turned
and Belldandy didn't. Finally with a clear line of fire, Asuka drew and
fired.
"I think that's overkill," Erin commented as the creature `popped`.
"A .45 is overkill on a rabbit," Asuka commented, she was worried
about the thing's appearance and how it died, she was sure it had _eight_
legs, not four. She had Belldandy and Skuld's full attention, the two
stared worriedly. Asuka made sure her pistol was reholstered and out of
sight before she started walking towards the pair. "I'm looking for
Keiichi and Megumi."
"You - you - you - you sho - sho - shot it," Skuld stammered.
"I'm sorry, chasing it with a mallet, I didn't think you wanted to
take it alive." Asuka glanced to the pavement where the blood should have
been, there wasn't any.
"No of course not." Belldandy stood, smiled. "Please come in and
have tea."
"Are they here?" Asuka asked.
"No," Belldandy told her, "They should be back in a few minutes."
"What do you want?" Skuld demanded.
Asuka turned and smiled. "Isn't she just sooo cute, such a charming
little girl."
"I'm not a kid!" Skuld shouted at her, "You aren't much older than
me!"
"However, I'm _much_ more mature," Asuka said as she smiled, "It
isn't the years, it's the mileage."
"You don't know me," Skuld answered loudly.
"Please don't fight," Belldandy tried to placate.
"Oh, I don't fight, but I do enjoy an argument." Asuka smiled at
Skuld. "And you don't know me either," she added coldly, glaring at
Skuld.
"Oh, here they are!" Belldandy said brightly waving to the two
approaching people.
"We should get the bike," Erin suggested, rested a hand on Asuka's
shoulder.
Asuka reluctantly broke off the staring contest, was even more
irritated by Skuld's triumphant look.
"Mister and Miss Morisato, I was wondering if you'd be interested in
another paying job?" Asuka asked, "I need some precision mechanical work
done."
"Sure," Keiichi said as he followed Asuka out to the jeep. Megumi
followed out to curiosity.
Asuka pulled the bicycle out of the back of the jeep.
"I've never seen a bicycle like that," Megumi said.
"We've had derailers for years." Asuka smiled. "I built this one,
made the gears and picked the parts for the rest of it. Well, the other
pilots are going to need bicycles, and this one needs a new frame. A more
appropriate size and without the crack. I'm a lot taller than I was when
I build it 4 years ago." Asuka had heard Skuld approach, she shifted
slightly to block the girl's view.
"You can use all those gears?" Megumi asked.
Asuka nodded. "Twenty-one speeds, the rear cluster has five racing
gears and two `granny gears` for climbing hills." She shifted again to
block Skuld's view.
"Large balloon tires?" Keiichi asked.
"Yes, the frame can be custom, but as many parts as possible should
be standard and easily available," Asuka said.
"There aren't that many bicycle suppliers," Keiichi said quietly.
"If you have to use plumbing supplies, do so. If you need to get
parts at the PX, contact me," Asuka said, shifted again to block Skuld,
who began hopping up and down to see what they were talking about, "The
main thing we need is durable, reliable transport. Use your imagination."
Asuka glanced at Megumi. "You have the resources." Asuka noted with
satisfaction that Skuld seemed to have given up.
Megumi blushed.
"Now, how much earnest money do you need to get started, I'll need
the first in two weeks, the remaining five can wait until just before
August."
"Forty dollars?" Megumi asked hopefully. Her brother looked shocked
at her effrontery.
"You're getting in a rut," Asuka said as she handed over the money.
"We have to get all the materials," Megumi said, more to Keiichi than
to Asuka.
It seems someone around here has a grip on logistics, Asuka thought.
"What a piece of junk!" Skuld had climbed into the jeep to look down
on the bicycle.
"Of course, that's why it needs repairs," Asuka said sweetly, smiling
all the time.
"I could build a better bike than this!" Skuld announced.
"Of course you could," Asuka said sweetly, "But I was 10 years old
and I was going to college, not sitting around doing nothing." Keeping
her smile was beginning to hurt Asuka's cheeks.
Skuld started to stick her tongue out.
"WASABI TONGUE GRAB!" Asuka shouted as she reached.
Skuld covered her face with both hands as she retreated, glaring at
Asuka.
Asuka turned to Erin. "I'll have to apologize to Horseface," she
said, "That actually works."
"Mein Grosse Feldmarschall is wise," Erin replied.
Asuka frowned, then glanced at Keiichi, who was staring at the forty
dollars in his hands. "Does he always react to money that way?"
"He's not used to people paying," Megumi explained, "And especially
not in advance."
"If he doesn't deliver, I'll have my EVA step on his house," Asuka
said shrugged, "I don't have to worry really."
"Step on _OUR_ house?!" Skuld shouted.
_Our_ house? Asuka thought, glanced at Keiichi and then at Belldandy
who was approaching, I guess the family doesn't approve of him marrying
outside his own race. Or maybe they're different religions, maybe she can
convert or something. Or maybe they're in a common law marriage. Asuka
filed that away for later.
"Purely by accident," Asuka replied, smiled at her, Asuka slapped her
hands together. "Too bad, but I haven't had to do it, except to one
Angel. Should I make an exception?"
"Asuka," Erin chided, "You've never done that on purpose. You've
only stepped on individuals, and you _kicked_ that Angel, clear off the
planet."
"Well that is true," Asuka said, considering, "But never in malice."
"You're joking?" Megumi asked worriedly, "Aren't you?"
"Officially, yes," Asuka said gravely, "Nobody's really irritated me
that much. The amount of paperwork for doing that is unbelievable." She
smiled at Skuld again. "But I've been really bored lately, I could make
an exception, just for you." She smiled at Skuld's glare.
----------------------------------------
I've Known a Lot o' Fellers Shoot a Dam' Sight Worse
Ranma made the thrust, stepping into it as he was supposed to. He
decided he didn't have enough board left before he reached the end, so
he'd have to turn. He was feeling very good and proud of himself. This
was the second time through, and the kata was nearly done. Getting all
the way through a kata perfectly once, could be luck; getting all the way
through twice, was obviously skill. He hadn't fallen once and the moves
came more easily.
I'll have to try it again with the medium cuts, he thought as he
paused before turning, All the way through with one hand, then the other,
twice. I'll beat this yet. Nothing can stop me now. He made his turn
without falling.
"Lunch."
Ranma was fourteen feet off the ground when he realized it was just
Sammi. Next he realized he'd never land back on the board and complete
his practice, he wasn't absolutely sure he'd land without breaking
something, either the board or one of the sawhorses. He twisted his best
to avoid them, but it looked bad.
Then his fall stopped. He glanced at Sammi who'd simply reached out
and plucked him out of the air, and was holding him at arm's length. She
didn't look happy.
"You scared me out of a year's growth!" she told him angrily, "What's
wrong with lunch?"
"I didn't see you, or hear you," Ranma said, it was the truth, and
that worried him.
You might be able to spare a year's growth, Ranma thought as he hung
limp in her grip. Sammi was nice, but she was still built to the scale of
a bull, possibly a bull elephant. How did she sneak up on me _again_!_?_
Ranma wondered.
"I'm beginning to wonder if your fear of - well, them, is because
you're so much like them." Sammi considered.
"WHAT!" An insult had never offended and horrified Ranma more in his
life.
"Well, you're nervous as one, and you jump, just like them. You act
like you don't need anyone, but you have to be the center of attention.
You hate water - "
"For a completely different reason!" Ranma protested.
"You are always ready for a fight, or food, or a - well not that.
Probably because you're still a juvenile. Of course Rit-chan accepted you
immediately, and she's wanted another one since her last one ran away from
her."
"I am not a c . . . ca . . . ca - one of those!" Ranma protested as
he hung there.
"Well, you seem to have mastered their bonelessness," Sammi said, "I
didn't say you were one, I said you're like them. That's a big
difference."
Ranma relaxed a little. "Well, that's okay then. Can you put me
down?"
"Aren't you afraid you'll land on your feet?" Sammi asked, "That's
really like them."
"No," Ranma said, them Sammi tossed him into the air and scooped up
the sword and scabbard. As he neared the ground . . .
"Raccoon's pregnant."
Ranma managed a very uncatlike landing, dead squid would have been a
better description. "He's a guy," Ranma said patiently, as he tried to
regain his feet and his dignity.
"I never said the kid was yours." Sammi was headed for the stairs.
"So, what's for lunch?" Ranma asked.
"Tunafish."
"Sammi!" Ranma complained.
"Would I lie?" Sammi asked, "We can get you a saucer of cream, if
you'd like."
Ranma hung his head and walked after her.
----------------------------------------
Belldandy watched her younger sister, they sat together in the
garage. Skuld was drawing designs in the dust with her toe. Belldandy
knew Skuld was trying to ignore her.
"Skuld," Belldandy gently admonished, "You shouldn't have done that."
"She was treating me like a kid! She called me cute!" Skuld rallied
weakly, "Besides, I took it off before anyone noticed."
"It was not a polite thing to call anyone," Belldandy said, "Writing
it on them is . . . impolite."
"Little sister do something again?" Urd ambled in, yawning, "Called
you cute, a capital offense."
"Your boyfriend's friends were here," Skuld complained, "They wanted
something built. Like we're a shop or something."
"Well," Urd drawled, "K-1 still has to fix the roof from your last
little experiment."
"That would have worked if you hadn't interfered!" Skuld confronted
her oldest sister.
"I think you're jealous," Urd yawned at her outrage, "She gets to
work with that mecha, design new weapons, gets all that praise and
adulation, and she's really smart and pretty too, not just cute. You're
jealous."
Skuld gulped like a fish out of water. Turning purple and white in
alternating patterns.
"MORONS!" Skuld shouted as she ran off.
Belldandy glanced at Urd's face with the word 'MORONS!' printed on
it. "She did that to them."
"I knew that," Urd said, touching her face as if she could rub the
word off.
"You shouldn't tease her that way," Belldandy commented. She saw Urd
frown and walk away. Belldandy shook her head, looked at the patching
that had barely kept the rain out of the garage. Skuld had wanted the
fireworks to be special, but she just hadn't counted on Urd's `help`. She
glanced at the damaged bicycle. She could feel that the girl had loved
building it far more than riding it, although she loved that too.
Belldandy also knew it had hurt her to admit she needed help, to do
something that she had enjoyed so much, but couldn't do now.
Belldandy knew the major difference between the two, between Skuld
and Asuka, was freedom and discipline. Skuld could do what she wanted, so
she 'puttered' as Keiichi called it, worked on whatever she wanted, she
didn't have to finish things. Asuka only had time and resources to do
what she had to do, and she had to complete things to externally imposed
deadlines and conditions. So Asuka's results were cruder, but anyone else
could use what she built. In that way she was more like Keiichi's sister,
Megumi, more practical. Those two built for others, Skuld strove for
perfection for herself. Belldandy smiled, then frowned, Asuka had also
brought up the cooking lessons, and asked Megumi to arrange a time when
Sora could attend.
Belldandy shuddered at being close to one of - them. Demons were
easier to understand, they had turned their backs on Heaven out of
selfishness. But - those - the Nephilim's Heavenly parents, had done it
for lust, or love, of humans. As I have, she thought miserably. She
dreaded the possibility that she would have to choose between Heaven and
Keiichi. That girl - was a constant reminder that others had faced the
same choice, and had chosen wrong, but believed they'd chosen correctly.
----------------------------------------
Simson glanced over at the occupants of the conference room. The
stenographer simply wrote what was said, hiding all her feelings behind a
mask of detached professionalism. Katsuragi was sitting in a chair,
practically catatonic, with her legs pulled against her chest and her chin
on her knees. Simson wondered whether the panty flash was subconscious or
just carelessness. Gendo Ikari looked truly shocked for the first time
Simson had ever seen. Ramsey was glaring at both with murder in his eye.
"I had no idea," Gendo said plainly, putting the folder aside with a
shaking hand. Simson had found the entire file, it was carefully
arranged, indexed and footnoted, as if it were the most boring bit of
literary criticism, instead of describing the deaths of 246 people and the
brutal assaults on some 600+ others.
"Yet you knew about the other deaths. Yet, you continued," Simson
said quietly, he had gone past the screaming stage and out the other side.
He also suspected if he raised his voice, Ramsey would tear Katsuragi and
Ikari apart with his bare hands, and Simson wouldn't have the heart to
stop him.
"Our information was that we could have halted the entire process
that began with the Nagasaki and Hiroshima incidents." Gendo didn't even
steeple his fingers, and his stare lacked any trace of its usual force.
"It appears we were wrong."
Simson picked up the folder, "'Evidence suggests if the creature had
been freed, the entire metropolitan areas from Boston, Mass. to Richmond,
VA. would be depopulated.' That's a Hell of a miscalculation. But it
would have bought time for the Japanese to shore up their defenses,
possibly knocked us out of the war for six-months to a year. You are
claiming that it wasn't your intention from the first?"
"The EVAs weren't ready, and your security prevented us from
determining the extent of your preparations," Gendo said quietly,
"Desperate measures were called for."
"And the innocent civilians, just collateral damage?" Ramsey growled.
Gendo pursed his lips for a moment. Simson knew what he wanted to
say, some comment on the firestorming of Japanese cities. Less than a
thousand versus the tens of thousands of Japanese killed. "Against the
millions or billions who would benefit? We were at war. If I had to kill
a thousand Americans to save tens of millions of Americans, and billions
of others. I saw the cost as acceptable. When we discovered our error,
the project was shut down."
"And you and your staff retreated to submarines or flying boats to
return to Japan," Simson said, "That part of the operation the Senators
and their investigators uncovered, you even brought back your dead, or
some of them."
"It was felt necessary," Gendo replied.
Simson glanced at Katsuragi, she hadn't spoken or moved. "When we
captured you, why didn't you extend the Operation Paperclip protections to
your entire staff?"
And what _other_ secrets and screwups are you hiding from us? Simson
didn't add, the atmosphere was tense enough as it was. He had trusted
people going through Gendo's papers. He just hoped Gendo hadn't hidden
everything of consequence in the Magi computing engines.
"I was in no position to negotiate," Gendo said flatly, "I would like
to know where the security leak is."
"In Boston, someone put together all of this back there. They even
have a charming picture of you two strolling along a Boston street." Part
of his anger was about the attack on his country, but he knew it was war
and the U.S. of A. had the OSS. The other part was the rank
unprofessionalism, their team hadn't followed basic security procedures,
it explained the criminal incompetence of the NERV Security forces.
"What do we do?" Gendo asked.
"Major, no Miss, Katsuragi will submit to the subpoena, she will be
relieved of duty for the duration of the investigation. I intend to get
to the bottom of this. You will instruct your staff to cooperate with
both the senators' and the Navy's investigations, which includes your
records Commander Ikari. Are there any other little lapses, of memory,
procedure or facts you'll like to share?"
"I will have to review my records," Gendo said quietly.
Simson noted that Gendo lacked the usual smothered anger at the
world. Gendo had suddenly realized the world could kick back, and it
might resent being hated for things it hadn't done.
----------------------------------------
I've Known a Lot of Fellows Stalk a Dam' Sight Worse
Asuka, Rei, Erin and Shinji breezed into the apartment. Ranma looked
up from the tunafish salad.
Well Asuka's breezing, Ranma thought, The other two are blushing.
"You're late," Sammi said, "Ranma ate all the lunch."
"That's okay," Asuka said, "Say Horseface, are you ready for that
wash and trim I promised. I have to show Spineless how to wash
Wondergirl's hair." She touched the blushing girl's hair. "She needs a
little work here don't you think?"
Some instinct told him to move his leg. He felt the passage of
Sammi's foot through where his shin should have been. Think, he
understood the message.
"Won't that mean I have to wash your hair?" Ranma asked innocently,
"A girl having a boy wash?" He watched her grimace, then dodged another
foot, thought desperately. "Well, maybe have Ranko do it, then we'll both
be girls." He carefully watched her expression soften, slightly.
"Very well." She glanced at the other two, screwed on a smile.
"Doesn't that sound nice?"
"No," Rei said truthfully. Shinji mumbled something Ranma couldn't
make out. Asuka's smile became a little more wooden.
"That's good, 'cause it will be wonderful," Asuka made it sound like
a command, "I'll get the stuff we need. Sammi, should we use the kitchen
sink?"
"Let me set it up," Sammi told her. Erin, Asuka and Rei headed into
Asuka's room. Shinji just stood there.
"You're getting very clever," Sammi chirped.
"Thinking's easy," Ranma replied.
I just have to learn to expect when people kick me in the leg, he
thought morosely.
Asuka returned with Rei in close pursuit, they headed upstairs.
"We'll use the kitchen sink, okay Sammi?" Erin followed a moment later
with a stack of towels.
"Of course, you'll need a chair," Sammi said, "Right?"
"Yes."
Sammi set one chair so Asuka could lean over the breakfast bar and
sink from behind, another chair in the kitchen so the `victim` could have
their head over the sink.
"Come on Horseface, after the board, this should be easy," Asuka said
sweetly. Ranma couldn't hear any of the trickery she normally had, as she
attached a flexible hose and sprayer to the faucet. He glanced at the way
Rei and Shinji were standing. He decided Asuka was trying not to scare
those two off.
Ranma sat up in the chair and leaned back, Erin draped a towel over
his shoulders.
"We need to move him up and lean him back some," Asuka said.
"I'm fine, I can do this," Ranma said. It was a bit uncomfortable,
but it wasn't a real problem.
"Yes, of course _you_ can," Asuka said agreeably, "But that's you, I
picked that board because I knew it was impossible for normal people. So
it would be an enjoyable challenge for you."
Ranma sputtered for a few moments. "I worked on that for HOURS!" he
shouted. He fell silent as Sammi lifted the chair, by grabbing one leg in
her hand and lifting. With her other hand, she slid several thick books
beneath the legs, then she set the chair down.
Asuka leaned forward and stared down at him, her upside down smile
looked appropriate to him. "And you felt really good at the
accomplishment?" Asuka asked, "Right?" there was no levity in her voice,
despite the humor.
Ranma frowned at her. She smiled and withdrew.
"First make sure the water is warm but not hot," she told the others.
Ranma felt the water through his hair, she also untied his pigtail.
"Don't let the water get in his eyes. Especially when there's shampoo
involved."
Ranma tensed as Asuka began working her fingers through his hair.
"Gently, gently," she chanted softly, "Work the water around and through."
Her careful work relaxed him again. "If the hair is really dirty," Asuka
said, "a tiny bit of shampoo just to wet everything more."
Asuka's fingers gently massaging his scalp relaxed him more, he tuned
out her words, closed his eyes. He was a little surprised she didn't
shout at him or douse him with cold water while she ringed. She washed
his hair with something that smelled like lemons and she let it sit for a
few minutes, then rinsed it out and washed it again with regular soap, let
it sit, then `washed` it with just water until every trace of shampoo was
gone. She talked to the others the entire time, Ranma tuned out the
words, relaxed, tried to feel the motions of her fingers and hands.
He was sitting up as Asuka came around the counter and she carefully
dried his hair with the same strong gentle motions of her fingers. Again
it nearly put him to sleep. He was too relaxed to worry about the other
shoe dropping, when Asuka would stop being nice and he'd pay the price.
"Sammi, I think you'd better take him downstairs and let him sleep it
off," Asuka said, "Okay Spineless, up in the chair."
"Yes, Megorofeld," Spineless said.
"Oh, by the way Spineless," Asuka continued happily, "I arranged for
a couple of bicycles, you can teach Wondergirl how to ride." Sammi picked
up Ranma, he knew protests were useless, so he didn't bother. Shinji took
his seat. Ranma hated to admit it, but he kinda liked when Sammi carried
him around like a little kid, cradled in her arms. It was a heavy-duty
reminder that someone big and powerful was looking after him, looking out
for him. He had a sneaking suspicion Sammi might have held her own
against one of those hunters that went after Rit-chan. She was even
stronger than Rei, was halfway decent with martial arts, and was as sneaky
as Raccoon and Nab-chan combined.
He knew there had to be something weird about enjoying being helpless
for a little bit, but he knew he couldn't fight Sammi, and neither could
anybody else. She'd done it the first time to forestall arguments, now he
thought she did it because they both enjoyed it. It was a teasing he
completely understood and accepted.
"I cannot ride a bicycle." Ranma watched Rei climb up on the chair
behind the sink.
"What? You'll dissolve, or turn into a blob of orange goo if you sit
on a bicycle? That's why Spineless can teach you, so we can ride our
bikes to school together," Asuka replied.
Ranma waited until they were downstairs before he squirmed out of
Sammi's arms. "What's gotten into her?"
"Nefarious plan," Sammi suggested as she escorted him into his room.
He lay down and took a quick nap with a towel still wrapped around his
head.
----------------------------------------
"Gently Wondergirl, gently. Let the chemicals and time do most of
the work," Asuka told her.
"Jawohl, mein Grosse Feldmarschall," Wondergirl agreed. Asuka
decided not to hit her for her effrontery, after all she was _trying_ to
teach the girl to have a little spirit. Spineless couldn't decide if he
was in heaven or if he should be embarrassed to death.
"Now rinse," Asuka told her, "Use the water to keep the shampoo out
of his eyes. You don't want to hurt those pretty eyes, now do you?"
Asuka watched both of them blush until Rei's face was practically normal
color. "Keep rinsing, yes squeeze out the water at the ends, keep
rinsing, I'm going to check on Horseface. Oh, if he falls asleep, it's
not an insult, part of the fun is relaxing the recipient."
"I understand," Wondergirl told her.
I bet you do, Wondergirl, Asuka thought, But you don't really.
Asuka headed downstairs to Horseface's room. He was instantly awake
when she opened the door, and instantly suspicious when she quietly closed
it behind her. "Relax, Horseface, I'm not going to ravish you and make
you unsuitable for marriage." She smiled at his frown. "So you mastered
the board, I'm extremely pleased."
"It was all a trick," he complained, "You tricked me, that's why
you're pleased."
"And how is that different from any other martial arts master, I
tricked you into pushing yourself harder than you thought possible." She
smiled broadly. "Correct?"
She waited for him to sit up, his frown deepening to a scowl as he
realized she was right.
Good, next step, she thought.
"So, are you ready to teach those two a little martial arts?" she
asked.
"They won't accept," he said morosely.
"Oh they will." She smiled, holding her hand at Plough Guard she
made a thrust at his face and withdrew to High Guard before he could slap
her hand away. He dodged, of course, but that wasn't the point. "How
many moves was that?"
"One." Then he paused, sat there and thought. She forced herself to
keep a placid expression and demeanor, but she could feel the whole
universe in a balance, or at least all her work, which was the important
part of the universe. She watched Horseface get more and more confused as
what he `knew` crashed violently into what she'd taught him.
"Three: Plough Guard, thrust to the face, to High Guard," he said in
a thoroughly mystified voice, as if someone had just told him the secret
of the universe, and it not only didn't make sense, but was clearly wrong.
"So, how many moves?" Asuka kept her excitement out of her voice.
"Three," he replied with irritated confidence.
"So, and you had plenty of time to analyze those moves on the board.
I bet even _you_ had to move slow to start out."
"I got better," he protested.
"Did - you - an - al - yze - the moves?" she hammered each enunciated
syllable at him.
"Yes," he replied in the exact same tone.
"Good, now you can teach the others a little basic knife work." She
turned and headed for the door.
"Wait a second," Ranma said as he stood up, "Why don't _you_ teach
them? You taught me!"
"Me, teach martial arts?" she said as if he'd suggested moving manure
with her tongue, "That's _your_ job Horseface, don't slack off because
you're lazy." She had the door closed behind her before he could reply.
She was smiling happily and heading up the stairs a moment later, with
Horseface in hot pursuit.
She was happy to see that Wondergirl had moved on to the next step,
either on her own or with a little prompting from Erin or Sammi. She
headed to the kitchen, not giving Horseface a chance to protest. "I
managed to talk Horseface into giving you some tips on using the prog
knife and the sonic glaive," she told Wondergirl and Spineless, "Don't
hurt his feelings by saying 'no', he's worked very hard on figuring out
how to teach better." She turned to him. "Right Horseface?" She smiled,
Horseface looked like he'd just walked into a post.
"You will attend, of course," Wondergirl said. Asuka wasn't sure,
but Wondergirl might actually have been angry.
"Of course." She patted Wondergirl's shoulder reassuringly, "I might
even learn something." She glared at Horseface, implying she'd better.
Horseface hung his head, Erin and Sammi just exchanged glances.
"We can have fun," Asuka said.
"All will make merry, under penalty of death," Erin murmured in
German. Sammi laughed.
Traitors, Asuka thought, frowned at them.
"After the last rinse," Wondergirl began, "There is only the drying?"
"Yes," Asuka said, "If his hair were dirtier, or smelled of L.C.L.
then you'd do the other washes."
"Yes," Wondergirl said as she shut off the water and walked around
the counter, accepting a towel from Erin.
Asuka watched as Wondergirl carefully dried Spineless's hair, she was
glad she didn't have to tell her not to rub until it all came off, and she
changed to a drier towel without having to be asked or told.
"Do you want Shinji-kun to wash, or the Fourth?" Wondergirl asked.
Might as well take my medicine, Asuka thought.
"My hair's longer, it'll take a while. What do you want to do?"
Asuka asked.
"I wish to discuss children," Wondergirl said, "Having them, raising
them, their purpose."
Asuka blinked, now she felt she'd walked into a post, then knocked
the anvil atop it loose. "Uh . . . what does that . . . have to do with
this?"
"If it is going to take a long time, then that is the time to discuss
it," Wondergirl said, as if it were all patently obvious.
Asuka couldn't fault Wondergirl's directness, she was surprised that
Spineless hadn't beaten a hasty retreat. He was clearly Wondergirl's
first choice, and if he wasn't careful, maybe a drunken Misato's. That
thought made Asuka's skin crawl, but she remembered how Misato teased both
of them about having kids, as if it was the most important thing in the
world. Yet Misato was well past the age most Japanese women got married
and had families. She'd even heard some Japanese girls got married even
younger than Asuka. She shook her head to clear it, and realized Erin was
leading her to the chair.
She glanced up and saw Horseface with the sprayer, wetting down her
hair. She was _fairly_ sure he wouldn't do anything untoward, especially
after Wondergirl's little comment. Wondergirl was watching what Horseface
was doing, she seemed oblivious to how uncomfortable she'd made Asuka and
the others.
"What about a manicure?" Erin asked Sammi, "I mean look at those
nails, it looks like she fixes machines for a living."
Sammi clucked her tongue. "Disgraceful. Something must be done."
"My nails are fine!" Asuka shouted back, "I don't _like_ nail
polish!"
It always chips and peels off when you are working on something, she
thought angrily.
"Well we have to show Rei and Ranko how it's done, don't we?" Erin
was giving a perfect impersonation of the very bubbly, brainless bimbos
who'd first convinced Asuka that polished nails were for girls who were
decorative, instead of useful.
"Of course we must," Sammi breathed in the same stupid voice.
Asuka knew when the pair outmatched her. She folded her legs under
the chairs and vowed the first mention of a pedicure was going to earn the
suggester a free foot massage, when she tapdanced on their skull.
----------------------------------------
"What do you think of children?" Rei asked mein Grosse Feldmarschall.
While she watched the Fourth washing her hair, and Sammi and Erin
carefully clipping and filing her nails. Considering that mein Grosse
Feldmarschall had described the process as relaxing, it seemed to be
having the opposite affect.
"Why would I want kids?" mein Grosse Feldmarschall asked, "It's not
like I _have_ to have them."
"I can understand not now," Sammi said, "But not ever?"
"What's so hard to understand?" mein Grosse Feldmarschall asked, "You
and Spineless may find them as fascinating as you find each other, but not
me. Ask Horseface, he probably doesn't want kids either."
"I'm a guy," the Fourth responded.
"How does that preclude you from being a father?" Sammi asked.
The Fourth stopped, considered. "I guess it doesn't. I always
figured I'd be a Martial Artist."
"What?" Erin asked, "Until you died? No family, no heirs?"
"Well what about Commander Fuyutsuki and Cap - Major Katsuragi," the
Fourth said, "They don't have kids."
"The Commander does," Rei pointed out.
"Ah, that's a good example," mein Grosse Feldmarschall said angrily,
"He dumped him off on someone else as soon as he could. He didn't raise
ole' Spineless. Birthing them is easy, raising kids is the hard part."
Rei nodded. "Is that why you don't wish to have children?"
Mein Grosse Feldmarschall turned to face her. "Look, you and
Spineless may be planning your nest and old age together, fine. I made a
fool of myself about Kaji, my mistake. Horseface here, he can't figure
out if he's interested in girls, or _just_ martial arts."
"HEY!" the Fourth protested.
"But the boys around here are all immature louts who can't be
trusted, and they don't get any better when they get older."
"What of Roku-kun?" Rei asked.
Mein Grosse Feldmarschall turned back. "He's the worst," she said
quietly.
Rei was confused, the two seemed to get along, when they weren't
teasing each other, and even that was affectionate. She looked at the two
older women.
"Well, that writes off half the human race," Sammi commented.
"If you have to marry someone to be someone, fine," mein Grosse
Feldmarschall said, "Don't assume I have to. I'm fine - by - my - self."
"Should we leave?" Rei asked, she wondered why mein Grosse
Feldmarschall seemed so offended.
"That isn't what I meant Wondergirl, and you know it. Horseface
wants to be a wandering martial artist, nobody tells him he can't live on
his own."
"Nabiki-kun would," Rei corrected.
"Uh, can we change the subject?' the Fourth asked
"No," Rei answered, "I believe, from what she has said and done, that
Nabiki-kun desires a home and children with him. You have no such
desires?"
"I can get a home of my own," she answered. "Look, Wondergirl,
you've made your decision. You want kids, probably with Spineless."
Rei blushed, glanced at Shinji-kun who was blushing worse than she
was.
"You're looking at a 15 to 20 year non-concurrent commitment for each
one, everything is second to those kids. You put your career second,
vacations, education, everything. Then if they turn out okay, you may not
have had anything to do with it, and you have to let them go. All you can
be is proud of the adults they've become. If they don't turn out okay,
you spend the rest of your life trying to fix it or beating yourself up
for what you did or failed to do. I . . . " her voice faltered, "I
already have enough to worry about."
Rei thought she sounded frightened. Of what? Rei wondered.
"What she said is true," Erin said, "I grew up in a big family, when
my mom died, my older sister and I looked after five other kids. From
toddlers to a little younger than me. We never really got a break until
the youngest was in school. I sometimes think I joined the Navy to get
away from my family. I still visit them, but I don't _have_ to go and
stay there. I'm only 23, I do eventually want to settle down and have a
family of my own. However, I wanted some experiences of my own first.
You kids are already having more 'experiences' than I ever wanted."
"I think you can guess why I never got married," Sammi chuckled, "But
I don't think any of you should make hard and fast plans. People change
when they grow up." She concentrated on mein Grosse Feldmarschall. "Boys
eventually grow up too, some even become men."
Only because Rei was looking right at her, did she see mein Grosse
Feldmarschall mouth, 'No, they don't.'
----------------------------------------
I've Known a Lot o' Men Behave a Dam' Sight Worse
Ranma stood atop the board, moving slowly, the kata was one of his
simplest. But he had to move slowly, or the board would pitch him off,
again. He'd run through the entire sword `kata` without a fall. He
wasn't doing this kempo kata, he was studying it, where the moves started,
where they landed, where they returned to. It was such a simple process,
he didn't know why he hadn't figured it out before. He had superb
balance, so even though most people couldn't have even stood on this board
and remained upright, he could move. The key was he _had_ to move slowly.
He had to take the time.
It was a completely alien way of thinking. As if each move wasn't
part of a greater whole, as if a person could shred a battle into dainty
pieces. When he'd told Asuka, she'd simply said 'quanta' and not laughed
at him. He didn't understand her explanation of cutting things into the
tiniest pieces, but here he was, trying to do exactly that. Trying to
find the `truth` by slicing something into little pieces, and looking at
the separated pieces.
He moved through the kata, to the end, pivoted and started it again,
walking in the other direction. Each move started, stopped, then the next
which started where the last left off. He tried to fit them into the
categories Talhoffer used. They didn't fit, Anything Goes was too
complicated, too many variations. But in a few days, he could at least
start with the first layers. He continually had to remind himself he'd
been trained for a long time, probably as long as Asuka had studied
science, as long as Raccoon and Rei had studied what they were.
The hardest part was trying to stand outside himself and study his
own moves. The movement _was_ him, trying to deny that, to watch the
movement instead of _being_ the movement was almost impossible. He had a
feeling he wasn't doing it very well. He hated the idea of asking Asuka
for help, but he was beginning to get the feeling he was going to have no
choice. He'd probably have to ask Sammi, and maybe Tomiyo as well.
That was humiliating. He was the expert, he could have beaten all of
them. Yet he was going to have to beg for their help to get what he
needed.
The world hates me, Ranma thought. The splash of cold water seemed
to confirm his suspicions.
Ranko landed on the sawhorse as the board tipped over. "At least you
waited until I was near the end." She wiped her damp hand on her shirt.
"How did you know it was me?" Sammi asked, smirking and setting aside
the now empty tea cup.
"Because nobody else could get so close without me noticing," she
said, sighed, "Now you're going to tell me some grand revelation, right?"
"One!" she shouted in an offended tone, "Two at least. First, you're
going to have to practice as a girl as well, most of a man's weight is
above his waist and men are generally stronger; most of a girl's weight is
below her waist, and girls are typically faster. If you're going to teach
Rei and Shinji, and Asuka, you need to be able to compensate for that."
Ranko let her head sag, it was almost too complicated now, adding
that made it worse. "What's the second?"
"Second, there was a story about a man borrowing a tool from a
neighbor on an early morning, he spent the entire walk to his neighbor's
worrying about how his neighbor would react badly to being awakened so
early. By the time he arrived at his neighbor's, who was already awake,
he pounded on the door and told him he could 'keep his damned tools,' and
stalked away. I figured you were up here winding yourself up, expecting
all of us to laugh at you for asking for help."
"You won't laugh at me," Ranko perked up.
"No, of course we will. But we will quit laughing behind your back
for _not_ asking," Sammi said happily.
Ranko shook her head. I can't win, she thought.
"I must say I _am_ disappointed in you," now Sammi sounded angry.
What did I do this time? Ranko thought helplessly.
"We've been waiting dinner for over ten minutes - "
Ranko didn't hear any more as she raced for the stair way. I almost
missed dinner, I don't believe it, she thought as she ran, I must really
be distracted.
----------------------------------------
Shinji glanced over to Rei-chan, as they worked in Misato-san's
kitchen. Rei-chan seemed very nervous. "I like your hairstyle," he told
her.
"Thank you," Rei-chan said quietly.
They hadn't agreed on how to restyle her hair, so they had just
washed it, trimmed it, and had Shinji brush it out. He'd been surprised
that Asuka hadn't made all kinds of embarrassing comments, just put the
brush in his hand and told him 'fifty gentle strokes'. He done it, then
Rei-chan had asked him to continue, he'd done over a hundred. Then he
realized Asuka had been staring at him, not saying anything, not angry,
just - staring.
"If you want," he offered, "I can come with you during your lessons."
He couldn't understand why she blushed so. She nodded, the only answer he
suspected he'd get. "Do you know why Misato-san is so late, was there
something special scheduled today?" Shinji asked, Rei-chan seemed to know
everything about NERV operations, but she rarely talked about it unless
directly asked.
"No. The Commander was not available," Rei-chan said quietly, "There
was nothing special that should have occurred."
That leaves unscheduled disasters, Shinji thought, But then why no
alert, why didn't they call the pilots?
Misato slouched in, she paused at the door to remove her shoes.
"Welcome home, dinner will be ready shortly," Shinji tried to sound
cheerful, he thought he sounded sick.
"Bath, sleep," Misato mumbled as she walked through the dining room
for the bedrooms.
He glanced at Rei-chan who seemed as lost and confused by this
behavior as he was. "She didn't even get a beer."
"Should I offer to wash her hair?" Rei-chan asked.
Shinji froze at the possibility of a Misato explosion at Rei-chan.
"You can offer, but be ready for her to refuse."
Rei-chan nodded and headed towards the bedrooms, and walked into
Misato's, closing the door behind her. Shinji stood there, his warning
unspoken on his lips. He didn't know what to do. He doubted Misato-san
would hurt Rei-chan, but as odd as she was acting, anything might happen.
He heard the sound of a chair dragging across the floor. He headed closer
to the door.
I'm getting as bad as Nabiki, he thought as he stood close to the
door, eavesdropping. His thought about Nabiki seemed accurate, he'd heard
that noise before, when Nabiki was crying her heart out after Hiroko's
death. Shinji dithered for a moment, then shook his head. I know what to
do, he thought, I did it for Nabiki for over a week.
He returned to the kitchen, shut off the cooking dinner and carefully
prepared some tea and snacks, then returned to the bedroom. The scene he
found also followed the pattern. Rei-chan knelt with Misato-san's head in
her lap. Rei-chan looked very uncomfortable, but she stroked Misato-san's
back with one hand while touching her head with the other. Rei-chan was
glad of his appearance. Having a fellow pilot sobbing this way was one
thing, having the chief tactical officer sobbing was something else
entirely. Shinji set the tray where he could reach it, and sat down next
to Misato-san and set one hand on her heaving shoulders. He was still
convinced it wasn't enough, but he had seen it work slowly on Nabiki.
Without a better idea he followed the pattern. He didn't press the tea on
Misato-san, it would get cold, it frequently had, but it never seemed to
matter.
----------------------------------------
Shinji closed the door after Rei-chan had walked through with the
tray. They returned to the kitchen.
"Who would do something like that to Misato-san?" Shinji was
horrified, she'd been relieved of command and was facing not just a
criminal investigation, but possibly a war-crimes tribunal.
"Any of her victims," Rei-chan said, "Many died in that operation."
"What do you know about it?" Shinji asked. He saw Rei-chan hesitate.
"If it's secret, don't tell me, but . . . please tell me what you can."
"I was badly injured," she said.
"You were there?" Shinji couldn't believe it. "What happened, can
you tell me?"
"Many people died," Rei-chan told him, "If we had succeeded, NERV and
the EVAs would not be necessary."
"Oh," Shinji said, he was still confused, but Misato-san had been
trying to do a good thing, but people died. People died when the EVAs
sortied. "Does Raccoon know you were there? Maybe he knows what
happened."
"I told him, he was not aware of everything. He was aware of the
killings," Rei-chan told him. He considered telling Admiral Simson about
this, then he remembered how badly Misato-san and Raccoon got along.
Maybe it's better he isn't here, Shinji thought, I can't imagine what
would be worse, that he'd refuse to help, or that he'd help and Misato-san
would hate him more.
"Should we ask Admiral Simson and Captain Ramsey what's going on?"
Shinji asked.
Rei-chan considered. "Yes, in the morning, after practice. We
agreed to attend the Fourth's martial arts training."
I guess that's as close as Rei-chan gets to a sneer, Shinji thought,
But I agree with her. What difference would a couple of days make?
"It is the polite thing to do. With Asuka, Sammi, Erin, and Tomiyo
there too, he'll probably behave."
"We will see." Rei-chan started washing the tea cups.
"Do you . . . want to stay the night," Shinji managed without
stuttering, "To see if Misato-san needs us. I think she might."
"I will inform the Commander of my location. What sleeping
arrangements? Will I sleep in your bed?"
Shinji couldn't even phrase or signal a denial.
"While you sleep in your previous room," Rei-chan referred to the
huge walk-in closet. Shinji relaxed.
"What would you like?" Shinji asked.
Rei-chan stared at him, he could feel his blush rising, like the
mercury in a thermometer, he figured he'd get a nosebleed when the blush
reached that point.
"I will sleep in your bed, and so will you," Rei-chan said.
Shinji felt the entire world swaying. He didn't know how he was
remaining upright in the earthquake, or why he couldn't get his legs or
mouth to move.
"I will sleep two hours while you keep watch, then you will sleep two
hours while I keep watch. Nabiki-kun attempted suicide, that must be
prevented. If she uses the bathroom, you will wake me and I will
accompany her."
Shinji felt the room shifting, but for a very different reason. Now
he was afraid. Rei-chan had brought up something he hadn't considered,
hadn't remembered until she reminded him. "Do you really think she'd . .
. ?"
"It does not matter, if we can prevent it," Rei-chan said firmly.
----------------------------------------
Simson stood by the window of his office and looked over the
preliminary reports from the day's `interview` with _Miss_ nee Major
Katsuragi. They hadn't informed her about her rights against
self-incrimination, nor had she been afforded an American legal counsel,
until the JAG pointed out that such behavior would be grounds for appeal
anywhere the U.S. Justice system held sway. At the moment that included
Japan.
He looked over to Ramsey who had controlled his anger, or at least
hid it better. "Politics, here I am feeling good we might get a
war-criminal off on a technicality. What does that make me?"
"The case would have to be above board and airtight if they were
planning on going through with this," Ramsey said, "The JAG seems to think
that any case against her would be very shaky."
"The JAG is thinking like a lawyer, a couple of stars on your
shoulder and you start having to see things a lot wider, politics, law,
your men, supplies, everything," Simson paused, "I'm sorry Captain, it's
been a long day. How did the debriefing of those kids go?"
"No problems, nothing unusual, other than in patriarchal Japan they
managed not only to take over their school government but get funding for
a girls' sports team. My guess is that this Usagi and her friends are
dyed-in-the-wool baseball fanatics. That's practically all they talked
about."
"Keep on it," Simson said, "We got blindsided once, then again. Have
a seat Captain." Simson sat behind his desk, glared at the reports his
people had turned up in the past few hours.
"Maybe it's a good thing, Admiral," Ramsey said as he sat down,
"We've got the leverage to investigate a few things on our own.
Considering the man who holds Gendo's purse strings is right here, we can
ask him to tighten those strings, if `Commander` Ikari doesn't cooperate."
"It does give a possible explanation why they didn't deploy Unit 00
in the Hiroshima incident. Miss Ayanami might not have been in the
country, some of the NERV personnel didn't make it back until the war was
over."
"Are you planning on questioning her?" Ramsey asked.
"No, she may be artless, however, she can keep a secret better than
even the cleverer pilots," Simson said and smiled, "If she ever opened up,
we might get a complete picture of what happened, who knew what when, and
then we could make sense of this all. Speaking of distractions, what
about that Hiro Takemono?"
"His story checks out, sir, and he's got one more character witness.
One I think you'll trust."
"Who?"
"Me, sir." Ramsey waited for Simson's intrigued glance. "I was
coordinating air support for a British advance in Burma. They'd been
trying to come to grips with a Japanese column. Both of them came in
contact with a bunch of Tcho-Tcho's and a few 'something else's. The
Brits called for support, but their transmission of their coordinate got
garbled. Most of us heard the same thing, but we weren't sure, not sure
enough to call in an air strike and naval gunfire. Suddenly this voice
comes over the radio, the authentication codes were correct, and the voice
was perfect American English. One of the radio operators guessed Kansas.
Turns out it was Kansai, but it was my decision. The coordinates were
exactly where we thought the Brits were calling for. Nevertheless,
Admiral, I _knew_ there were no Americans anywhere near that place.
Stilwell wouldn't have permitted it. But I sent the planes in, bombs,
rockets, napalm, strafing. The Brits were so grateful, the planes even
chewed up the Japanese." Ramsey chuckled. "If I'd kept my mouth shut, I
might even be an Admiral and Knight of the Bath, Mountbatten himself shook
my hand."
"But you went on about Tcho-Tcho's and it got out you responded to
Japanese `disinformation`," Simson said.
Ramsey nodded, "They were pressuring me to accept a permanent rank of
Captain and retirement. Then I heard about NERV and some of the things
there and . . . "
"And I got saddled with a disgraced Captain who hadn't learned to
keep his mouth shut."
"I have since, Admiral. However, when I heard Mr. Takemono's voice,
I even asked him point-blank if he could do regional accents. He got this
weird look in his eye and repeated the entire exchange. My part and his,
in the appropriate dialect. I may discuss it with him privately, later."
"Well, this may be a distraction from all the other investigations
going on. I don't think they intended it as such. Put some friends out
as additional eyes on the girls and Mr. Takemono. The military can
concentrate on plumbing the depths of NERV," Simson said.
Especially that tank that ended the world, Simson thought.
"I already found one disturbing piece of information. A sergeant
Rokubungi who was in Nanking during the massacre. That's too much of a
coincidence."
"SEELE versus the 'Deathless Chinese'?" Ramsey asked, "That makes
sense. Go into a city full of sympathizers, kill all the suspects, you'll
probably get most of them. If thousands of innocents die, well too bad."
Simson nodded. "Get some sleep Captain, I think the next few days
are going to be very busy for us."
Ramsey stood and left, Simson turned back to the window, watched the
stars for a while before he too left.
He missed the small dark figure who thoroughly examined the papers,
then put them all back exactly where they had been.
----------------------------------------
July 16, 1947
I've Known Some Pet Battalions Charge a Dam' Sight Less
Ranma had been up for a couple hours now, but he hadn't come out of
his room. He had been studying. After Rei and ole' Spineless went home
and after dinner, he'd gone back up on the roof to practice. Asuka had
handed him a broomstick and a Marine's fighting knife, and let him go with
a smile and a nod.
He'd faced Great Old Ones, yet still, a smiling Asuka frightened him
beyond anything except - one of the furry ones. For hours he practiced,
first with the knife, and then with the broom stick . . . and he fell down
a lot. Then a dose of water and she did the exercise with the sword,
where she fell down a lot; the knife, where she fell almost not at all;
and the broomstick, when she fell down more than she wanted to, but only
because the evening breeze had come up and the board fell over on it's own
a few times. But at the end, he and she, could do the exercise without
error with any weapon that came to hand, short, medium or long. She and
he had studied the movements in detail, she and he knew what was important
and what wasn't. As well as what was different for girls and boys,
different balance, different strength.
He'd returned to the apartment, and asked to look over the Talhoffer
book, Asuka had smilingly turned it over. He discovered it had many
pictures, but the words were all in German. Then Asuka had pointed out
the pages of translation. Pages filled with Asuka's neat hiragana
handwriting, with katakana for highlighting. He did notice there wasn't a
single kanji character on any of the ten pages of translation. A stark
reminder of the debt he now owed, the best way he could repay, and the
general perversity of the universe. To settle a debt to Asuka for
training him in Martial Arts, he would have to teach her to write.
Ranma heard the others arrive. Asuka greeted them: Shinji, Rei,
Tomiyo, Erin, Juri, and Misato; she and Sammi took them to the roof for
warm up and stretching exercises. He stayed in his room. He hadn't even
faced them, and he could already feel the fear sweat crawling down his
back like a bug.
"What am I afraid of?" he asked himself.
Screwing up, came the immediate answer, I've got a second chance. I
don't want to mess this up.
"So I won't," he said as he walked out the door, up the stairs,
across the roof. He let a little of his natural arrogance out, the
appearance of confidence. The Meliorist had been relentless in teaching
how you appealed to students, novices and veterans. Making him repeat her
lessons in his own words. Hours of 'skull work', as well as a little
knife work, and reminders to keep it simple. 'Teach only the basics, and
if they all got it, the lesson was over. Then you teach it to them again,
practice, repeat.' She made it sound easy. Walking across the roof in
the early morning light, it seemed anything but.
They arranged themselves in a semicircle around him, each one
reaching out with a hand to open the gap between them. Something he'd
forgotten to tell them to do. Each also had a broomstick and a scabbarded
knife, another thing he'd forgotten to provide. He glanced at Asuka, she
kept her eyes straight forward, refusing to look at him, smile or show any
expression at all.
He slipped his toe under his broomstick and flipped it up into his
hand. The Meliorist had been very clear, 'Don't flaunt your skill, but at
the beginning give everyone a quick lesson why you are the teacher.'
Clear, but contradictory. Asuka was walking towards him now, carrying her
stick and knife. She stopped a few paces away and turned her back to him.
He hadn't the faintest idea what she was doing, so he went on with what he
had planned.
"There are four stances in Talhoffer: the Iron Gate." He took the
stance, so did Asuka.
Oh, front and side views, Ranma thought, Something _else_ to
remember.
"The Plough." He took the stance, so did Asuka. "Oxen Guards, left
and right." He took the stance held it for a moment, then switched to the
next. Asuka followed right along. Ranma felt the sweat beading on his
face now. "High Guard." He took the stance and so did Asuka. He chided
himself for his nervousness. He and the Meliorist had gone over this, his
'lesson plan', it was obvious Asuka knew all that too, she was covering
the holes neither she nor the Meliorist had pointed out to him.
Demonstrating the improvements, rather than telling him about them.
Worse, she wasn't teasing him about it, wasn't embarrassing him. That
almost guaranteed payback ten times worse later.
He swallowed before speaking again. "We will practice the stances
with the stick, the knife and with our fists."
Oh crap I forgot! he thought, moved to cover his lapse.
"The stances are the beginning and end of all attacks, but they are
just points you move through on the way to the next move."
I blew it! Ranma thought, Asuka'll never let me live that down.
----------------------------------------
Ranma lay face down on his bed, a pillow over his head. "I can't
believe how bad I screwed up!" he moaned. He heard the door open and
Asuka walk across the floor.
"That isn't how you do it, Horseface," she whispered to him, "You're
supposed to have your face _in_ the pillow."
"Thanks," he told her, not moving the pillow, "It's nice to know
someone still thinks I'm an idiot."
"I never doubted you were an idiot, you just gave me more proof," she
said quietly.
"I already know how I screwed up," Ranma said, "And so do you."
"True." Asuka flopped down across his back, staring at the ceiling.
"But that's not why you're an idiot. You got a couple things out of
order, you forgot a few minor points. But that isn't it. You're an idiot
because all those mistakes you're moping about, only you and I know you
made them, everybody else was pleased how well things worked out. Sure
Sammi and I had to keep things going at a comfortable rate, and only Sammi
and Tomiyo got all four stances correct by the end, but your moping is
your real mistake. That is your only mistake." She stood up. "Don't
forget, we still have McBane and Hope to work on. No slacking off just
because you're teaching a morning class. I'll just have to concentrate on
the evening lessons."
Outside there was a rumble of thunder. Ranma raised his head, looked
at Asuka. She seemed amused rather than angry. "Thanks, I guess."
"You're welcome," Asuka told him smiled, "I don't have to guess at
all." She left.
Ranma couldn't bring himself to believe her.
----------------------------------------
Sammi watched Asuka tromp up the stairs to the dining room.
"Problems?" she asked.
Asuka fixed her with a glare that would have killed a lesser being.
"Did you see _anything_ wrong with the lesson this morning?" Asuka asked
in a barely controlled voice.
"Should I get a pillow for you to scream into before I answer that
question?" Sammi asked, got a frown. "It was rough, like any new
teacher's first class. It was better than the ones he was teaching at
Ritsuko's. Overall it wasn't too bad for a beginner."
"He - is - down - in - his - room - moping." Asuka was practically
steaming from the heat of her rage. "'Oh it all went wrong, everything's
bad, I'm going to disembowel myself honorably.' What happened to all that
arrogant self-confidence that even a
_COMPLETE_AND_TOTAL_SCREW_UP_WAS_PERFECTION_ITSELF_!_?_"
"Fire in the hole, fire in the hole," Sammi said, "On this site was
once the mighty city of Tooo - Kyoooo. The explosion that created Nerima
harbor was of unknown origin, but the survivors in Yokohoma walked around
for the rest of their lives with bleeding ears, shouting 'What?' at
everyone."
"Is that supposed to help?" Asuka flopped down in the chair opposite
her.
"No, not really. You're just so _CUUUTE_ when you're angry."
Asuka cleared her throat and put her head on the table. "Insane
morons surround me. What did I ever do to God to deserve this?"
"You are our shining beacon to the better, more thought-filled life,"
Sammi pronounced, patted Asuka's shoulder.
"If you really want to pour golden light on everything," Asuka said
without raising her head, "You might want to pour some on Horseface."
Sammi let that lie for a little while. "What about the cooking
lessons for Rei?"
"Thursday evening," Asuka said to the table, then she raised her head
and looked out the window at the growing storm, "I think that Belldandy is
looking for a polite way to back out. I also suspect that paying her is
out of the question. So what's rare and expensive in Japan, and I can
have Wondergirl pick up at the PX for cheap as a 'Thank You' present."
"I think 'Wondergirl''s new name for mein Grosse Feldmarschall, is
quite accurate. Don't you think Rei knows about the customs?"
"There's a big difference between knowing and applying the knowledge.
I don't think those two like each other. Wondergirl wouldn't do it for a
calculated insult, but Wondergirl's surprised me lately. And no jokes
about the world ending. I worked to that end, I'm . . . pleased how it's
turned out, and how quickly."
"So that's why you don't kids," Sammi said, "You've already got
them."
Asuka growled, but said nothing intelligible.
"Well, Dr. Frankenstein," Sammi said in German, "You have created
better than you expected. What are you going to do now?"
"I have this image of a kingdom of fairy-tale castles and magic,
talking mice."
"Ah, a search and destroy mission," Sammi said, "I understand. Will
you be blowing things up yourself, or calling down artillery?"
----------------------------------------
"We thank you for coming again, Miss Katsuragi, and your
cooperation," the translator said politely.
Misato just felt numb. The questioning yesterday had gone on for
hours. She hadn't consciously remembered half the details they'd pried
out of her. She hadn't known about the death and destruction that the
operation had caused. She hadn't cared, neither now nor when it happened.
To say the senators had been unhappy about that was a colossal
understatement.
She took the chair and glanced at the wood paneled room. Her lawyer
had told her she could refuse any question. But she'd already divulged
enough to get her hung, like a piece of meat, not hanged like a condemned
prisoner. She'd wanted to destroy the Angels. That was _all_ she cared
about during that time. She and the Commander knew the EVAs were a
longshot. What they had been doing was supposed to be guaranteed.
Yesterday, they revealed that it had all been a lie. The monster they
were trying to release was no savior, it was just a monster.
"Miss Katsuragi, Commander Ikari has not been forthcoming on much of
the information and testimony you gave us," the translator changed the
senator's accented English into flawless Japanese.
Why am I not surprised? He's immune to prosecution, Misato thought,
Throw me to the wolves and get away. She smiled bitterly. It's a good
tactic, she thought. Then she returned to a blank expression.
The senators didn't appear to have noticed the lapse. "So they have
had to go to other sources for corroboration. They agree with your
testimony to a high degree of accuracy. We thank you for your
candidness."
"You're welcome," Misato said woodenly. She thought it was amusing,
she'd always hated having to be clean and pure and better. Now she was a
war-criminal, somehow this wasn't what she wanted now. She was disgraced,
dishonored, only trial and punishment awaited her. They had executed
officers for lesser crimes than hers. They were still executing officers
and soldiers for such crimes. 'I was only following orders' was no longer
a defense. She doubted 'I thought I was saving the world', would cut much
ice with them either.
She pursed her lips while the old men and their staffs shuffled their
papers. She was determined to go down with her head held high, if they
wanted the scalp of an officer, they would get an officer. Inside, behind
her mask, there she would allow her world to fall apart.
"Just a few questions more I'm afraid," the translator converted the
oldest of the men's words, he managed to retain the kindly tone.
Misato wasn't deceived she knew these were politicians, they were
after very specific goals and could smile or act to get whatever they
wanted.
"The travel papers and ration books you used in the 'States. You
said you obtained them locally, and their authenticity was never
questioned."
"That is correct," she answered, "They looked and felt exactly like
the correct ones issued by the American government."
There was silence and hurried conversations. Misato looked outside,
yesterday it had been bright and sunny. Today it promised to be a storm
to remember. Neither seemed a proper metaphor for what was happening to
her.
----------------------------------------
Kaji tried to block the door to the NERV Security offices. "I must
protest."
"Protest to MacArthur," Ramsey replied, "Move or be moved." He
pushed Kaji away and went through the doors. Ramsey's 'battlegroup' was
an odd affair, a mix of clerks, typists, and combat troops.
The records of NERV Security were worse than he'd feared. As much as
he hated paperwork, records made sure people didn't _have_ to keep making
the same mistakes. They seemed to want to, but he could attribute that to
their failure to read the records and warnings.
Another team was going through Katsuragi's office. He'd taken one
look at the mess and wondered if tossing in an incendiary might not be
simpler. Simson and MacArthur were confronting Gendo and Fuyutsuki to get
their records of the time. He could remember Fuyutsuki's shocked
expression when they'd revealed what they were doing. Of course a squad
of Shore Patrol kept the Commanders from their offices, to keep them from
hiding or destroying anything special or incriminating.
Kaji was approaching him. "I am not under criminal suspicion," he
protested.
If you _wanted_ to attract my attention you hardly could have given
me a better opening, Ramsey thought.
"This is not the last vestige of the Werewolves or the Kempeitai's
last outpost. This entire operation is run by the United States
Government under the oversight of the United States Navy. Now we have a
handful of senators wondering just what the Hell we're doing out here. I
want answers to the same questions. If you think we're being ogres,
remember we are the Office of Naval Intelligence."
Kaji winced but fell silent.
A few minutes later one of the clerks approached, "Captain, these
records are incomplete. What's Japanese for 'Swiss Cheese'?" He gave
Kaji an angry glance. "We have events we know happened, that don't appear
in the daily reports."
Ramsey rubbed the bridge of his nose and wondered how bad his
headache was going to get today. "Assemble all you can, mainly we need the
pre-surrender records. What they were doing and why. I've got to arrange
people to question the staff."
"Better you than me," the clerk joked and saluted.
Ramsey headed out, he was going to start with Mister Kaji Ryoji,
including his prolonged absences. It would be interesting to remind him
that his `secret` activities were a good deal less secret than he thought.
They'd see what that rattled loose.
----------------------------------------
Ranma tried a medium cut with his scabbard, felt the board wobble
beneath him. He ignored the warm rain that slickened everything. He
lowered the blade and tried to retain his balance and keep the board
upright. He managed it, then spotted Asuka walking through the rain
towards him, seemingly unconcerned that she was being soaked to the skin.
She carried a broomstick and climbed onto the sawhorse. Taking an
Oxen Guard right, the weapon beside her head and diagonally across her
body.
"I don't fight girls."
"You are defending yourself." she made a high thrust.
He started from Iron Gate to an Oberhau cut, then . . . onto the
roof. Ranma looked at Asuka wobbling on the sawhorse, using the stick to
retain her balance. "What are you trying to prove?"
"That you - " She dropped the stick and started windmilling her
arms. He rushed forward and caught her waist, holding her balanced.
"That you learned something," she told him, as he took his hands away and
braced for the attack, her expression indicated something bad was going to
happen. "And that sometimes you assume your way into wrong thinking."
She put her hands over her head and did a forward roll into a handstand on
the sawhorse. Then she dropped off the side, landing correctly and bowing
to the adoring crowd that wasn't there.
"You tricked me," Ranma said angrily.
"Only because you've been tricking yourself," Asuka said, "I tricked
you into no longer tricking yourself."
Ranma wanted some revenge. "Are you up here to remind me I need to
help you with your kanji practice?" Ranma asked.
Asuka made a face like he had sentenced her to 30 days of Misato's
cooking. "If you want, we can also work on your German, so you can read
your notes and Talhoffer yourself."
Ranma figured he'd pulled out a tie on this one.
"Get back up there," Asuka told him, "You still need practice on
recovery against real attacks." She picked up the broom stick and climbed
back onto the sawhorse. Ranma walked to the other sawhorse and stepped
down on the board, balancing carefully as he walked forward. Asuka thrust
and her attack was knocked aside, but Ranma was too busy retaining his
balance to follow through on his own attack. Once he was stable, Asuka
attacked with a medium cut he parried and made a half-hearted attack on
the stick, he couldn't reach Asuka, on purpose.
Again she waited until he stabilized, then attacked again.
"You - could - attack - now," he said as the board bucked and tried
to throw him off.
"Later," she replied and clamped the board between her ankles, "One
step at a time." She released it when both he and it were stable.
----------------------------------------
Shinji sat in Misato's room. He was wondering if this was going to
become a pattern. Although he thought Rei-chan looked cute with
Misato-san asleep in her lap. Rei-chan wasn't happy about being drooled
on. He handed Rei-chan some tea while they worked out how Rei-chan was
going to get out. Her back was against the wall and Misato-san was too
heavy for Shinji to easily move without waking her. She still had her
hand on Misato's back, staring down at her.
He refilled the cup with hot tea and handed it back to Rei-chan, and
sat back waiting. He wondered why this was happening. What he could do
to help. Rei-chan sipped her tea and remained patient. He envied her
calmness in the face of this. He wanted to either fix this or run away.
He couldn't do either.
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