Neon Genesis Evangelion Higher Learning Strike Fiss, 2000 Thirty-Third Lesson: Perfect Attendance Shinji panicked slightly when he tried to sit up...and couldn't. His world came rushing into his eyes and mind. Back at home...looking up at the roof...but he felt too warm. Heavy. It wasn't until a soft, sleepy moan escaped from his chest that he realized Asuka was sleeping half on top of him. "A..." he swallowed hard. "Asuka..." She continued sleeping peacefully, but rolled off him a bit, letting him breathe again. "Mmm mmm..." He sighed and lay back against the bed, looking back up. Another peaceful night. One more he didn't have to drown out his thoughts with music. A smile escaped his lips as he realized he could get used to this. This...what was this? He looked down at the silky mess of red hair against him as she cuddled up to him for warmth. Was this love? Was there more? Was he wise in his decisions? He remembered being so ready to leave it all behind...ready to leave, even without Asuka. But that seemed like a lifetime ago. So much had changed. Would he leave now? He wondered. No. He would stay and protect the ones he loved. Asuka most of all...but he thought of Toji and Kensuke. Rei and Misato. Kaji, Sensei Kaoru, even his Father... Without his help, they would all die. He couldn't pretend that wasn't the case anymore. Not after what he had seen and heard and felt. And he knew he might forget this...but for now...as his mind was clear and fresh...he knew he had found his reasons. The reason that was humming softly in a dream against his chest right now. He looked up. Her birthday would be coming soon. He would have to get her something special. Maybe he and Pen-Pen and Misato could pitch in and cook her an authentic German dinner for the night, and they could all have a big party. Asuka was always complaining about Japanese food...yes...he decided that would be a wonderful present. But... What about... A warm feeling washed over his body as he remembered Asuka kissing him that night after his birthday. He realized, though, that it might not be limited to that next time. What about...what Kaji had talked about? His eyes widened as he remembered some of the conversation. No water...? Images of Asuka in the bathtub, however, washed over his mind, and he instantly disregarded that information in light of the effect it had on his mind. A small grumble from Asuka wasn't heard as Shinji realized just what all this meant. The consequences, the ideas, the problems already rushing into his worrying head...but also the unmistakable attraction he had to the idea. It wasn't until the object of his desires blinked herself awake and frowned up at him that he noticed. "Shinji..." she yawned. "What the hell is so lumpy in your bed?" Shinji blinked, looking down. "Er..." Right about the same time, Asuka realized she was snuggled around his torso, with her stomach pressed against his... "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!" The two of them fell out of the bed on opposite sides. Shinji was already apologizing before he hit the ground. "ARHG! Gomen! Gomen! I didn't..." Asuka gasped, poking her head up from behind the bed. "Uhm....no...it's okay...just..." she blushed. "You mean that happens even when you're just sleeping?" Shinji nodded quickly, even though he was perfectly aware that he had not been sleeping. "Uhm...yeah...we just call it morning wood." He swallowed hard. "Sorry..." Asuka smiled softly and slid back under the covers. Shinji finally noticed that she was only wearing her underwear, and his blush returned. "Well, okay, so long as you weren't trying to hump me in my sleep." She frowned playfully. He swallowed hard and slid back in as well...the 'problem' no longer a problem. "Besides, I want to be awake when you do." Asuka winked. Shinji promptly fell out of bed again. "BAKA!" she sighed. "I was just kidding." Shinji, however, was promptly passed out on the floor with a huge nose- bleed. Luckily, to Shinji's credit, they managed to get to school on time, but only after he made Asuka promise not to tease him like that when he wasn't expecting it. Asuka did not promise. She seemed to be smiling a lot, actually. This made Shinji nervous. But, they did get to school in one piece, and were greeted by some of the widest eyes they had ever seen. Shinji wondered why everyone was so surprised, but then he realized he had missed a month of school. What really puzzled him was the way that Hikari acted. She ran up to Asuka, broke into tears half the way over, and literally jumped at her in a running hug that almost toppled them both over. Almost like Asuka had been missing too... Toji's friendly bear-hug knocked Shinji out of his reflective mood, and he gasped. "HEY! Shinji! The man! How does it feel to be back in the land of the living again?" He smiled weakly. "Uhm...it's good! Though it really didn't seem like I was gone for so long." Kensuke walked over and gave his friend a hug as well. "Don't worry, I taped all the interesting bits while you were gone! You haven't missed much. Most of this month has been book reviews anyway. The Sensei told us that we had to get some work done for the start of the new school year coming up, but said we should be back to the fun stuff soon." Shinji smiled. "Good! I'd like to get back to work, I guess." He turned around to Rei's seat. "Where's Ayanami?" "Not sure. She hasn't shown up for the last week." Toji shrugged. "Probably off helping NERV get your ass back out here." He smiled. "Ooh, and my Sync Ratio is much higher now! I hear I'll be able to spar with you soon!" he punched Shinji in the shoulder. "Think you're up to it?" "Hai hai!" Shinji smiled enthusiastically, though he rubbed his shoulder painfully. "So how has Hikari been?" Toji turned bright red. Kensuke grinned. "Oh, they're doing JUST fine. Sensei Kaoru caught them making out in the..." Toji's hand came around Kensuke's neck and squeezed. "If you value your life, you'll shut up." He grumbled. Kensuke smiled and nodded, even though he couldn't breathe. Shinji laughed, knowing he'd probably want to show him the video later. "So..." he looked over at the two girls. "How's Asuka been?" Toji blinked, and then sighed. "Man...she didn't show up for school all last month. I only saw her once or twice even inside of NERV." Kensuke's smile faded and he put on a genuine look of friendship. "She was worried about you, man. I think that's probably the only time I've seen the Red Devil show so much concern for someone else." Shinji blinked. "She...just stayed at home?" "I wouldn't even say that, man." Toji sighed. "It was like she wasn't even herself when I saw her. She just seemed so...calm. No spark in her." He smiled though. "But it looks like she's back to normal." He motioned over to the current laughing and giggling fit that Asuka and Hikari were sharing. He turned bright red. "I bet they're talking about me..." he grumbled. Shinji smiled a bit, but was still surprised. "Well, that's good...so long as she's okay." --- two weeks earlier --- Maya rubbed her temples, lying back against the chair back that was still cold, despite the fact she had been there all day. She hadn't had an opportunity to rest yet...only now allowing her critical habits to take a small breather. Ritsuko had gone home long ago, thanking her on the way out for staying and helping with the work, and assuming she would leave a few moments later. The younger woman sighed to herself. Why did she work like this when Sempai wouldn't even notice? What did it matter that three hundred lines of bug-free code were written now, or later? Sempai could probably do that level of work in minutes. Not the hours that she took. She looked up at the monitors. Unit-01 stared blankly back at her. It's face covered once more with it's purple grimace. She assumed it was because she worried about Shinji too. That the extra effort each day would save him a week trapped inside of Unit-01. Maya just wished that Sempai was there to appreciate it too. A small smile crossed her lips as she looked around the office. Ritsuko would often let her student use her office when it wasn't too much of a burden. She looked up, then around the office, looking for...something...that might be watching. With a guilty little smile, she put her laptop on the desk...stood up, and walked over to the other side of it. Ritsuko's chair was nice...cold, but soft leather and nicely padded and conforming. A brilliant design. Professional and proper, just like the woman herself. Maya hesitated only for a moment before silently sliding into the chair, relaxing against the back as it tilted just enough to add to the comfort. "Ahhh..." she sighed, out of genuine exhaustion. "This is nice..." It was still warm from her Sempai's stay. She sighed and melted into the feel of the material, letting all her cares dwindle away to the fantasy. What if it was Her who was holding her right now... "Mmmm...." "Doctor Akagi?" Maya yelped and jumped out of the chair at the sound of someone else's voice, gasping in horror. Luckily, it was only Asuka...not the commander or...heaven forbid...Sempai herself. The redhead blinked as she came into the room, seeing a very startled looking Project Vice-Supervisor. "Uhm...Ibuki-san?? Why are you here?" "I...I..." she forced herself to calm down. "I was just helping with Sempai's work load." She smiled, pointing at her laptop. "How can I help you, Asuka-chan?" Asuka let herself into the office and sighed, looking at one of the monitors. "Oh...I was just wondering how that extraction program thingy was coming." Maya blinked, then looked over at the clock. "But...it's Oh-Two- Hundred Hours. Shouldn't you be at home?" Asuka blinked, a little surprised to hear the time. "Uhm...well...I guess...but..." she shrugged. "I dunno...I've just been restless." The older woman smiled softly, knowing exactly what that was like. "Well...I'm done here...did you want to go down to the Eva cage with me? I have to do some readings before I go home tonight." In reality, she would probably just sleep in one of the lounges tonight, get freshened up and wear with the last of the three fresh uniforms she had in her personal locker when it was the next afternoon; but that seemed like a nice enough thing to say to the poor girl. Asuka smiled slightly and nodded her head. "Sure!" she paused. "You don't mind? I know that Commander Ikari said that..." "Forget what that old dirt bag said." Maya grinned evilly. "Come on, it's the least I can do. You've helped us with so much testing. It wouldn't be fair if you didn't have a chance to visit Shinji-kun." Asuka smiled and nodded. "Thank you...uhm..." "Ahh, you can just call me Maya. Everyone does." Maya smiled happily, grabbing her stuff and turning off the lights as they walked out the door. "Why are you here so late anyway?" Asuka asked as they reached the end of the hall and boarded the elevator. "I saw you here when I got here this morning...but I had a nap back at home." She frowned. "Don't you get tired?" "Not really." Maya smiled...then betrayed herself by yawning. Asuka raised an eyebrow. "Uhm...okay...sometimes." Maya smiled nervously. "But it's really not that bad. You children have to do a lot of physically exhausting things at NERV. I mostly just sit and type, so long days aren't bad." "Yeah...but don't you get sick of it here?" Asuka sighed, looking at the elevator ticker as it clicked away the floors. "Doesn't that Ritsuko ever bug you?" "Sempai??" Asuka nodded. "Yeah. She's creepy. And she always looks at me and Shinji like we're pieces of hardware to throw around." She sighed. "I even feel sorry for Wondergirl..." Maya frowned and blushed terribly. "Rits-Sempai is a brilliant, driven woman! She would never think such nasty things about you or the other Children!" She lowered her voice again when she noticed Asuka's surprised look. "Uhm...wh...what I meant was that she focuses on what will keep you children alive. Even if she seems cold sometimes, she's not." Asuka nodded slowly. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to insult her..." she said quietly, shaking her head. "I mean...I guess I know all that...she's trying to save Shinji after all. Even when it might be easier just to forget about him." The door opened and the two exited into another hall. After a short walk, Maya entered her security card and code, letting the final metal door slide open. The Eva Cage was dark, with only a few small emergency lights illuminating the walk-way. "We're ready to start testing the code for the procedure soon." Maya said as they walked down the metal plank. "It will still take us another two weeks before I think we'll be confident enough to try, but I'm certain that it will work." She smiled. "Shinji-kun is in very good hands here. Ritsuko will make sure he's okay." "So...does everyone know by now?" Asuka sighed as she followed. "Know what?" Maya blinked. "Well...uhm...me...and Shinji..." Asuka said, blushing. Maya's eyes widened, and she smiled. "Well, you've been hanging around NERV all day, asking for updates every few hours. I think people are noticing you care for Shinji, yes." Asuka groaned. "It's okay. People here are very professional." Maya sighed. "I doubt anyone will hold it against you." She shrugged. "Maybe I'm just exaggerating. I think most people think that you are just worried for the sake of your fellow pilot." "Maybe." Asuka smiled. "So, what about you?" Maya blushed. "Uhm...well...not really..." "Oh, come on." Asuka chuckled in a more friendly tone. "I know why you're here so late...you want to impress someone!" Maya shook her head. "N...Of course not!" "It's one of the bridge crew! Isn't it!" Asuka grinned evilly. "Come on...you gotta at LEAST tell me that much..." She shifted nervously in her outfit. "Hai..." Asuka's eyes narrowed and her grin became two times as wide. "Ooooooooooooh! I bet it's that Shigeru guy." Maya shook her head. "Asuka-chan...I'm embarrassed enough as it is. Please...I can't tell you, okay?" Asuka's smile faded a bit and she nodded. "Okay, okay...but I still think you Japanese are way too conservative about this kind of thing. I mean, you could save yourself a lot of trouble if you just tell him that you like him." Maya sighed and walked over to the controls. The lights came on around Unit-01 and she shrugged. "Maybe...I don't know." She smiled nervously. "Besides, you kids work us too hard to have relationships. You should be honoured." The redhead nodded and walked over, watching the older woman work. "Do...do you mind me helping out? I mean...maybe I can help make this go faster." Maya blinked, the concept of having a disciple of her own having never crossed her mind. "Uhm...well...maybe if you wanted to help Ritsuko and I with some of the code checking. Sempai might have to ask the commander, but..." she frowned. "Don't you have school or something?" Asuka shook her head. "Maya...please...I can't concentrate. I need to help before I go crazy. And I don't mean sitting in LCL when you guys just want me to feel useful...I want to help you get Shinji out of that thing." She looked over at Unit-01 with a scowl. "She took him from me, and I want her to know PERFECTLY well that I want him back." Maya sighed, then nodded. "Okay...but...you do realize that Eva isn't something to give up it's people so easily." Asuka blinked, then suddenly looked very pained. "I...I know." Maya wasn't expecting such a reaction and had to take a double take. Asuka normally was so bright and vibrant. A flame that seemed impossible to put out...and yet...tonight...Maya saw her fading...flickering...fighting to try to stay just at her level best. "Hai...then let's get you up to speed." Maya nodded, then ushered Asuka over to the panel. "This is what we're doing. Basically, we're just checking the..." Asuka listened intently, knowing she was in good hands. Maya at least knew love. A rare commodity, it seemed, in the Eva project. "Stand! Bow!" --- present day --- Sensei Miyazaki walked in the door with his usual smile and nod to the class, and sat down in his desk. "Thank you, class. So, before I get started..." he blinked, doing a double take at the students. They all blinked back. Including Shinji and Asuka. Kaoru cleared his throat. "I want Miss Langley and Mister Ikari to stay after school so I can unload a month's worth of homework on them." He smiled warmly. "But otherwise, I'd like to say it's good to have them back amongst us hard working students." The class all smiled happily at the two, who both blushed and sunk in their seats. Asuka looked over to Shinji. "A month of homework?" He smiled. "You should have been working instead of all worried over me, Asuka-chan." She frowned and stuck out her tongue. "Show's what you know. I helped bring your sorry ass out of that gooey..." "Would you like to make that two days detention?" Kaoru interrupted as the class giggled. Both Children shut up and smiled innocently. "That's better." Kaoru sighed and smiled. "Now, if only we can get Rei here, we can start on our next class project. Next person to see her tell her she has to come tomorrow. Okay?" "Hai!" the class nodded. "Good." He smiled evilly. "Because this next one is going to be a lot of fun." The students all blinked, then began to get worried. Rei wouldn't have been very presentable at the moment in public anyway. Perhaps it was best that she wasn't at school. Floating in a pool of LCL in your school clothes wasn't very practical, so Rei always did it naked. However, instead of her usual peaceful, calm expression, Rei seemed to be shivering slightly. Almost as if she had been crying. But not tears of pain...nor hate...nor anything else. She had not felt pain in such a long time, it was new to her. A few days ago, she had heard Ikari-kun's retrieval had been successful. She had been so happy to see him again. And it scared her. It downright frightened her what that meant. Rei had tried to think it over, calming herself in the pool that Ikari-san had provided for her Purpose. It always used to calm her... But now, she just felt alone in it. Naked, alone, and where the memories could reach her. Memories like her concert. Rei had started to hum to herself that week. In the LCL, it sounded strange, but to her ears, it was clear as day. It echoed through her skull and her chest as the oxygen pulled from the goo around her passed through her body and made music. Symphony 9, it was. The simple...almost childish...melody kept touching her mind with it's friendly warmth. Mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm, mmm-mmm! Each note she would hum in perfect tune and timing, letting them soar higher and louder...feeling a wave of power wash around her as she did. She shivered with delight as if a cool breeze would blow across her skin in this lukewarm liquid. It was wonderful. And that's when she began to cry. She looked up at the ceiling, so very far up...echoing past the LCL's surface. "I don't want to be replaced..." she whispered. "I don't want to be expendable..." Had she been in air, the tears would have not dissolved so quickly. "Why don't I want to?" Rei asked herself over and over. Each time, the voice inside her head could not answer. It tried...it tried to say this was all her imagination, that it was nothing but idle thoughts. But the feeling would not go away. Joy. Remembering how wonderful it would be able to see Shinji again. Even...even if he would be with Asuka. She loved to watch him smile. Wondered how he did it so effortlessly. Wondered why he didn't do it all the time with the joy he must certainly have. Commander Ikari never smiled. Not like Shinji-kun. She missed him. All last month. Only now, though, she realized how much she missed him. How much she enjoyed his presence. She turned her attentions to School, remembering Sensei Kaoru. How he would smile so easily and effortlessly. Genuine and happy to see her. To see her work and talk. Glad that she was part of the class. Even Asuka...she could see and hear concern in her eyes and voice when trouble was about. How she would try to protect and work with her...even if Asuka was always yelling and trying to seem mean and unreachable. Toji-kun. She loved to see him and Hikari talking. It made her smile. Knowing that she helped create a little bit of joy. Certainly someone worthless could not do this? Was she not worth something? Did a worthless person have friends? Would not her friends be sad if she died? Commander Ikari could simply make another. Her friends could not. They would miss her. She would not remember these things. That morning, Rei Ayanami began to live. Small, LCL footprints were left in her wake as she went to dry off. After all, it would be silly to show up at school naked, she thought. As she did, she began to hum Air. To be continued... ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to the Author's Notes section! Fissy here, with a special thanks again to all the readers who voted at the Tako Balls awards. ^_^ And I'd just like to mention that there is NOTHING going on between Misato and I. After all, my girlfriend would kill me. :P On that note...a special dedication goes out to her for the "Best Kiss" award. To the very sweet and wonderful Senie, the love of my life, and inspiration for pretty much any quazi-romantic moments I have. ^_^ Arigato, Sen-dono! Aishiteru. Back to the story, I'll be expanding the events that lead up to Shinji's extraction a bit more, so don't worry. Sure, that "let's just skip a month" was cheep, and we should all bitch at Anno for that. So, just so you know, I will add a bit more to it. ^_^ Also, Rei is NOT going to suddenly transform. I just wanted to get her started on the next plot arch that I have planned. :P All in all, HL should be on track. I may not get up to 50 lessons, but either way, it will not be rushed, and be a great story. :P So people say... And now, because you've all been such wonderful peeps... OMAKE TIME! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- two weeks ago --- Maya slid into the chair slowly, quietly...not wanting to risk being caught in her Sempai's place. It felt so nice...the soft leather melting against her body and back. "Ahhh...Sempai...you have such wonderful taste in furniture too..." Her thoughts were cut short when her hand felt something by the right arm. She blinked and felt along the material, finding that it had a few small buttons. "What on earth?" she blinked, then, looking around, decided to press the first button. The back of the chair suddenly fell back, scaring the hell out of Maya, but she laughed as she realized it was just an automatic recliner. "Oh my! This is a nice chair! It's full of surprises." She blushed happily. "Mm...just like my Sempai..." Her finger wondered to the second button, and she pressed it. Sure enough, the chair sunk down a bit, and a leg-rest extended out from the base, gently picking Maya's feet off the floor and letting her straighten out and relax. "Wow...this is so nice!" Maya yawned happily. "No wonder Sempai spends so much time in her office." Wondering what the third and final button could possibly be for, she decided to press it. Maya's eyes went wide as the entire chair began to vibrate. She blushed bright red. "Oh....my...." -- three minutes later -- Asuka was walking down the hall. Her eyes were low and sullen as they had been for the last two weeks, but she walked with a purpose. She had come to the office area to check up on Ritsuko, and see if she could help out with the recovery of her darling Baka Shinji. She raised her hand and was about to knock on the door when she heard the low hum of something vibrating. Asuka shrugged it off and was going to open the door when she heard... "Oooh! YES! YEESS! SEEEEMMMPPAAAAIIIIIIIIII!!!!" Asuka fell over, gasping. "Uhm...maybe I'll just go home tonight..." She ran. --- the next morning --- Dr. Ritsuko hadn't gotten much sleep that night. Gendo had called her up twice and asked if she wanted to "entertain" him. She had refused, knowing it would be another long day at the office anyway. She needed her sleep. A smile crossed her lips as she thought about her special chair. Maybe she would tell Maya to go get coffee, lock the door, and spend some 'quality time' with that third button. Gendo be dammed. Mankind was at the mercy of it's own technology. That chair could do more for her than Gendo ever could. As she opened the door to her office, though, she gasped. Behind her desk... EMPTY! A small, wooden stool replaced her wonderful chair. She ran over to it, gasping. "What...Where?!??!" there was a small note on it. Ritsuko picked it up and opened the neatly folded letter. A shaky hand had written it, but she recognized the writing as Maya's. "What on earth!?!?" Dear Sempai, If you are reading this, you no doubt notice that I have left. Forgive me for taking your special piece of furniture with me, but I have discovered that an inanimate object could give me more love and pleasure than you ever could. We're running away together, and will probably be getting married in the Bahamas by this afternoon. -Your former admirer, Maya. P.S.) Thanks for nothing, you frigid bitch. Ha ha ha ha! P.P.S.) "Chair-y" sends his regards. Ritsuko gasped, looking up at the heavens. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" --- somewhere in Tahiti --- Maya and her new husband are lounging out on the golden sun-soaked beach, both in skimpy swimsuits. A blue, two-piece for Maya, and large, makeshift boxer-trunks for Chair-y. "Mmmm...I never knew sex with furniture could be so fulfilling..." she murmured, kissing the chair's material. While it's physically impossible, passers by would swear they saw the chair smiling. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- God damn I need more sleep. :P As always: e-mail: strikef@bigfoot.com homepage: http://www.studioshinnyo.com or http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/9110 Strike Fiss, Studio Shinnyo 2000. Khattam-Shud, EOF.