Neon Genesis Evangelion
   Higher Learning

  Strike Fiss, 2000















Thirty-Seventh Lesson:  "Dates"











Asuka sat up in bed, completely silent.  She could hear the speaker 
begin to charge with the tiny bit of electricity it would need to sound 
the alarm clock...and reached over Shinji to pull the plug before it 
did.

Not yet...she though.  She had to think for a moment.  Morning would 
wait patiently.

She sighed, looking down at the sleeping young Ikari.  He seemed so 
calm...so calm like he did not have a care in the world.  Why would he?  
He had his woman in his bed next to him...faithfully by his side.  
Whenever she was in trouble, he would come ripping through the Angels 
to save her.  

She felt sick.

She hated feeling sick.

Even worse...she didn't want to feel like this.  She didn't want to 
think like this.  She knew it was probably just her period coming up, 
and her birthday this week, and all the stress over the last month...

No.

Asuka Langley Sohryu did not make excuses.  Even if they were true...

She felt sick.  


...


Papa! 

Why is papa sleeping like that?  

Momma?

You aren't my Momma...

Why are you with Papa!


...

There was a shudder as she forced back the memories.  Physical effort 
seemed to be required as they pushed back...stronger than before...but 
she succeeded like always.  

Still, she could see Shinji in that same pose...  Her father...had been 
sleeping like that...the same sleepy smile on his face as a new woman 
warmed the sheets next to him.

As she looked herself over, she was startled to find herself 
not...herself.  Nobody else in particular...just not...her.  Her skin 
felt gray and cracked, like an old photograph as it bled it's colour to 
the day's sun.  She felt like a memory...alive...but still a memory 
that would be forgotten as soon as her body was no longer there to warm 
the covers.

Her hair drooped over her face as she watched Shinji with rapt 
curiosity.  "What happens when I'm dead, Shinji?" 

The sleeping boy just continued on doing so, oblivious to the whisper. 

"Will you find someone else to sleep next to you?" she leaned down 
almost...predatorily...caging his chest with her hair.  "Perhaps Rei?  
I'm sure Rei would love to find out what it's like to sleep with 
someone...to be pressed against someone all night long..." a small 
whimper caught in her throat.  "To want to have you...but..."

She sat back up as Shinji breathed in sharply and rolled to her, still 
asleep, but now nestled into her lap.

Asuka was a bit startled by this.  Not that he was touching anywhere 
too sensitive, or in an awkward position...but he seemed so comfortable 
with her next to him.  Still, Asuka mused it would not take much for 
Rei to be sitting here, cradling his head as he slept. 

Or Misato.  Or maybe any of the half-a-dozen girls she had noticed once 
or twice paying too much attention to him.  

"Will you be like Papa?" she whispered as he slept.  "Finding a new 
face if I go?  Or maybe Kaji-san?" she let out a long...tired sigh.  
"Leaving Misato behind as you find your next conquest..." she leaned 
down a bit, whispering into his ear.  "It's in your blood, I bet...you 
Ikari men are quite the lady-killers..."

A long pause.

"I hate feeling like this..." she said to herself, loud enough to start 
her bed companion on the rise to consciousness.

Shinji woke up after a moment, just in time to see Asuka walking off to 
get dressed.  He smiled sleepily and was about to say a hello when she 
closed the door behind herself. 

He blinked, then sighed, stretching out on the bed, trying to force 
himself to wake up a bit more before he had to stand.  "Asuka..."








Maya smiled brightly as she gave the Sub-Commander a brief salute.  
"Good morning, Sir!"

Fuyutsuki smiled, his leather features turning into a look of warmth.  
"Good morning.  How's the scans on Unit-01 progressing?" he asked, 
taking a sip from his coffee mug.  

"Very well.  Ritsuko-sempai and I will be trying a new micro-particle 
detection array from the German branch.  The specifications on the 
sensors are quite amazing.  Almost twice as sensitive as the ones we 
have!" Maya said.

"That's good.  Hopefully we'll be able to release the lock on the Eva 
soon." He said.  "As much as the thing scares the hell out of me, it 
still saves our butt." He smiled.

Maya nodded, then gave him a look.  "Sir...if..."

"Go on?" he blinked.

"If you don't mind me asking, there was a rumour you had been..." she 
blushed and laughed.  "Kidnapped just yesterday."

He raised his eyebrow and smiled.  "Really?   Who said that?"

Maya blushed and stammered.  "Uhm...well..."

He laughed.  "It's okay, Ibuki-san.  I was just kidding." He finished 
off the rest of his coffee and looked around the otherwise empty lunch 
room.  "Quite frankly, if someone thought I was worth kidnapping, I'd 
be quite flattered."

She laughed and bowed.  "Yes sir...I suppose I'd feel the same way.  I 
would have assumed either the Commander or, in my case, Miss Ritsuko 
would be more valuable than us."

Fuyutsuki smiled and nodded...then leaned in and winked.  "Of 
course...that's what we'd have them believe, right, Agent Maya?"

She blushed and smiled brightly.  "Hai hai, Dark Leader!"

He chuckled then nodded.  "Well, I'm off to the main bridge.  See you 
there."

Maya watched him walk off, smiling.  She always felt so nervous around 
the other Bridge Crew, except for the Sub-Commander.  He seemed to be 
the one with the most common sense; at least compared to the Commander.

After retrieving two cups of coffee...one with double sugar, 
black...and one with one cream, one sugar for herself, she started off 
to the Eva cages, where Sempai would be working at getting the new 
sensor array ready.  

She was quite a bit shocked to see Ritsuko slumped over in her chair, 
holding her head tiredly as she looked at the screen.  She looked 
almost like she had been here all night...but Maya had seen her go home 
the night before...

"Sempai?"

Ritsuko almost fell out of her seat, literally yelling as her 
apprentice spoke up.  Maya almost yelled too.  "Maya!  PLEASE don't 
scare me like that!" she gasped, completely white.  

"G...Gomen-nasai!" Maya bowed nervously, then rushed over to set the 
coffees on the desk in front of them.  As she leaned over her boss, she 
realized that she was still shaking.  

"Sorry..." Ritsuko breathed out, relaxing a bit.  "I had a rough 
night..." Any further explanation was cut off by the coffee cup being 
lifted to her lips.  

Maya shivered slightly as she sat down, trying not to look at the older 
woman.  She looked horrible...and she didn't want to start thinking 
about what might have happened last night...

Gendo...

...no....she had to keep focused.  Sempai would need her to be calm and 
collected until she...recovered. 

"Th...did...did the new sensors come in?" Maya asked, forcing herself 
to focus.  

Ritsuko seemed to smile a bit as she asked...probably just as relieved 
to get down to business.  "Yeah, the technicians installed them this 
morning.  We should be ready for our initial zeroing scans right now."

"Sounds great, Sempai!" Maya smiled, swivelling in her chair to start 
typing in the commands.

Ritsuko sighed to herself and eased herself back down in her chair, 
rubbing her eyes.  

Maya noticed finally.  "Sempai?"

"Yes?"

"Where are your glasses?" she blinked, regarding her older companion in 
a new light.  She looked so different without them.  The air of 
crispness seemed gone...almost melted away.  She looked so warm and 
friendly.  In fact, Maya would even dare say she looked even prettier 
than usual...if it wasn't for the dark circles under her eyes and the 
ghostly white of her skin. 

Ritsuko blinked, then smiled a bit guiltily.  "They broke.  I'll have 
to get a new pair today."

"Ahh."  Maya smiled, then returned to her work.








Misato had been a bit nervous all night.  She didn't sleep very well, 
that was for sure.  Being locked up at NERV while something outside was 
happening...she didn't even know if the Sub-Commander had been found 
yet.  Her shift didn't start for another four hours, and she didn't 
dare go near the phone.

It could be bad news.

"Kaji...you baka..." she whispered to herself.  All at once, all her 
worst fears seemed to cloud through her brain.  Half of them ending 
with his running off with another woman...half of that remaining was 
him rotting away in a prison...and the rest involved Last Rites.  

"I can't call..." she whispered.   "If I do, they'll tell me he's dead 
or something..."

The phone rang.

Her heart almost stopped...then sped up.  "Oh God..."

It rang again, doing what phones do.

She crawled out of her futon...not really messy anyway, since she 
hadn't slept in it much.  Her phone rang once more.  Three times a 
charm, she sighed...then picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Major!" Came a voice much too cheery to fit her mood.  "I hope I 
didn't wake you..."

She grumbled to herself.  "No, Kaoru, you didn't." a long sigh.  "What 
do you want?  I'm a busy woman, you know..."

A long pause, then a sigh on the other end.  "Never mind...I'll just 
find someone els..."

Misato cringed.  "Fine, fine...sorry.  What's up?"

Kaoru coughed on the other end.  "Uhm...well...I wasn't sure..."

She groaned, then allowed herself a small smile.  "Spit it out, man.  
I'm sorry for snapping at you about Shinji.  I promise I'm not mat at 
you."

"Oh..." his voice brightened considerably.  "Well, then!  I was 
wondering if you wanted to come to a convention with me."

"A convention?" Misato blinked, sitting back down on the floor.  "What 
do you mean?"

"Seems that the principal of the school likes me, and wants me to 
prepare a speech for the other teachers of the district.  I'm just on a 
lunch break right now, so I thought I'd ask."

Misato sighed and smiled.  "Well, I am working tonight...what time is 
the thing?"

"After ten."

Misato looked at the clock.  "I don't know...if I can make it..." she 
sighed.  "I'm working a bit late..."

"Can you call in sick?" the Sensei asked hopefully.  "I'm serious, this 
will be a nice chance to get out, and maybe pay you back for all the 
weirdness that happened there..."

Misato sighed, trying not to worry about all that Kaji had been saying.  
"I don't know...I mean, NERV does owe me a sick day or two...but..."

"Fancy dinner...free bar..."

Misato desperately had to resist the urge to jump at the mention of 
free drinks.  Old habits die hard, she grumbled to herself.  
"We...uhm...I...I dunno...I guess...maybe I can..."

The phone was suddenly yanked from her hand, scaring the living 
daylights out of her.  She stumbled back to see Kaji, alive, but 
covered in dirt and looking like hell...standing over her, holding the 
phone.  

He smiled into the receiver.  "Sorry, Misato is busy tonight," and hung 
up the phone.  

Misato, normally, would have been yelling at him, but she was too busy 
kissing him, holding on for dear life, and not even sure why.








School was rather normal that day.  Sensei Miyazaki seemed to be in a 
strange mood, and they basically worked on the system of taxes and what 
would be spent in their modified Tokyo-3.  It was still better than 
normal work, so nobody complained, and it was actually a nice way to 
spend a class. 

Everyone looked up, a bit surprised as the final bell rang.  Kaoru 
smiled at the class and nodded.  "Have a good weekend, children.  We'll 
finish up the project next week, so if you have any more ideas, be sure 
to get them ready for your final presentations on Wednesday."

The class bowed and rushed out, laughing and calling after each other 
as they went.  

As Rei passed the teacher's desk, though, she stopped.  Kaoru looked up 
tiredly, shuffling his papers around.  "Yes, Miss Ayanami?"

She looked at him for a moment.  "You are working on a speech?"

He blinked, then looked down at his papers and laughed.  "Yeah, I 
suppose I am.  I have to give a talk tonight in front of the regional 
conference."

Rei smiled brightly...surprising Kaoru a bit.  "That sounds nice."

"Well, it was going to be nice." He sighed, forgetting himself a bit.  
"But I can't find a date.  It seems your Director of Operations is busy 
for the night."

Rei nodded, then raised an eyebrow.  "May I come?"

Kaoru blinked.  "What...to the conference??"

She nodded and smiled.  "Hai.  If you do not have a date, may I join 
you to observe your speech?"

He blushed.  "Well...I don't know if students are allowed..."

Rei blinked, then bowed her head.  "I understand."

He sighed, watching her leave...but then smiled.  "Sure!"

She turned, surprised. 

"I'm sure they'd let you in.  I mean, what better way to help explain 
my way of teaching than to have a student present?"

"It does seem to be a logical idea." Rei smiled softly.

Kaoru nodded and laughed.  "Thank you, Miss Ayanami.  Once again, 
you've offered your company to me when normally I'd be doomed to be 
surrounded by four walls...or people who act like walls anyway." He 
looked at his watch.  "I'll meet you at the Loop-Line station Three.  
Say, around nine o'clock?"

"That is acceptable." Rei bowed happily.  "Oh...uhm...is it formal?"

He blinked, then nodded.  "Yes."

"Good!" Rei grinned.  Miyazaki blinked and got slightly worried as Rei 
rushed out. 

"Oy...that girl is getting spooky." He laughed...then grinned a bit 
evilly.  "I bet Gendo's just shitting his pants..."

With that, he packed up his things and left.







"The kids will be home soon..." Misato moaned out softly as Kaji rolled 
off of her stomach, propping himself up next to her.  The futon...and 
indeed the entire room...was now thoroughly messed up.  

"So?" he smiled, leaning down to give her a tender kiss.  "They can 
watch..."

"Hentai..." Misato grinned sleepily.

"You weren't complaining..."

"I was a hentai too back then." Misato defended, all the while 
grinning.

"What about now?" He blinked.

Misato sighed, thinking of an answer as she ran her hands through his 
hair.  "I'm a much more...refined...hentai."

Kaji chuckled, and let out a long, content sigh as he descended back 
between her breasts, resting there for a moment.  "Did I ever tell you 
about the melons I'm growing??"  

Misato laughed softly, letting his head lift up and down with her 
chest.  When she noticed him not laughing, though, she was a bit 
surprised.  "You...you're not kidding?" she smiled.  "Kaji the 
gardener??  Oh my...is there anything you DON'T do?"

He looked up at her, smiling.  "I don't look a gift horse in the mouth.  
That's for sure."

"What do you mean?" Misato blinked, a little surprised at the tone of 
his voice.  

"I was dead." He whispered.

Misato's eyes widened.  "W...what do you mean?"

He shook his head, and with a long sigh, he sat up in the blankets next 
to her.  "Something saved my life last night..." he looked down at her 
and smiled sadly.  "I'm living on borrowed time right now."

Misato sat up and hugged him tightly.  "You are NOT dead.  You are here 
and very much alive."

He sighed, feeling the cares and worries of the world melting away.  
"Maybe you're right..."

"I know I'm right." She pouted...then, wanting to change the subject, 
smiled against his ear.  "Now...why don't we get dressed.  You can tell 
me about these melons you're growing."

Kaji blinked, then smiled.  "How about if I show you?"

"That sounds like a date." She nodded, giving him a long kiss that 
slowly pushed them back down under the covers.  

"What about the Children?" Kaji whispered as Misato crawled up on top 
of him again.  

"Maybe they'll be late coming home." She murmured into his chest.

"What about the melons?" Kaji offered.

"Mmm..." Misato took his hands and placed them on a rough equivalent of 
'melons'.  "These will do for now..."








Shinji followed behind Asuka, watching her walk.  Normally he 
didn't...but he didn't have much choice in the matter tonight.  She was 
just strutting home, on a mission to just get there.  She wasn't even 
talking to him.  Normally she'd at least tell him if something was 
bothering her...quite loudly too.  

But she was so distant.  

So, Shinji took a chance, did some mental calculations in his head, and 
began searching for what he needed.  

Ahh...yes...the first tool of any secret agent. (or so he assumed)

"Asuka...come with me." He stated loudly.  

She stopped then spun on her heel.  "What??" then frowned. "What are 
you talking abo...HEY!"

Shinji grabbed her by the wrist and began to pull her across the street 
when it was safe to do so.  She was too surprised to stop him, and 
ended up following without his lead.  

"What's going on, Baka?" she demanded as they ran into a small mini-
mall.

"This is important." He said, huffing and puffing.  "Follow me!"

She sighed and followed quickly.  Her anger was slowly moving to 
curiosity.  "Fine, just hurry up."

He skidded to a stop.  She did as well, almost running into him.  He 
looked at her and pointed into the shop.  A very surprised Coffee-Shop 
owner was behind the counter.  

Asuka blinked, then sighed, walking inside.  Shinji smiled and walked 
in after her, going to the counter.  "Uhm, two hot-chocolates, please."

The man smiled and began to fix up their drinks as Shinji sat down at 
one of the secluded tables.  Asuka was already there, staring out the 
window.  "What are we doing here?" she grumbled.

"We're going to have a cup of hot chocolate together." Shinji said 
sternly, trying to seem as confident as he could.

She raised an eyebrow at him and sighed.  "Why?"

"Because we have not done that yet, and I thought it was about time we 
did." Shinji shrugged.

Asuka blinked.  She tried to recall a time they shared hot-chocolate 
together, but realized he was right.  It seemed too ordinary to worry 
about, though.  "Uhm..." she blinked again.  "Why??"

He smiled as the two cups were set before them, and handed the man the 
last of his pocket change, glad he had guessed the price of the drinks 
fairly accurately.  "Arigato."  

Alone again, Asuka waited for him to answer her question.

He didn't.  Shinji just sipped his chocolate.

Asuka sighed, then dipped her finger into her own mug, having a taste 
as she glared at him, still waiting.  "Well?"

"Well what?" He blinked.

"Why did you think it was about time we did this?" she sighed, a bit 
angry at his evasiveness. 

He just smiled.  "Why not?"

Asuka crossed her arms in protest...but Shinji just kept sipping his 
drink. 

After a while, she sighed, gave in and figured she may as well take 
advantage of a free cup of coco.  Shinji smiled warmly as she had a few 
sips.  

"Gomen...just it seemed like you needed...this." He shrugged, looking 
around.

Asuka sighed, leaning back in her chair.  "Well...I don't." she looked 
into her mug. 

He sighed and nodded, lowering his head slightly.  

Asuka looked up from her mug.  "But thanks, anyway..."

Shinji smiled.  "You're welcome."







Maya smiled as she returned with a third cup of coffee for them both.  
Sempai was looking much better now, though she still looked a bit white 
in the skin.  Maybe it was cold in here...she couldn't tell right now. 

"Here you go, Sempai!" she smiled, glad that Ritsuko didn't jump this 
time.  She had been a bit worried about it before, but once they had 
started working, everything seemed back to normal.

"Arigato, Maya." The blond smiled a thanks, and picked up the cup 
casually in her right hand.  

Maya blinked, surprised once more that day, when Ritsuko let out a 
sharp curse, and quickly picked up the mug with her left hand instead.  
"Sempai??"

She blinked, as if just realizing what she did.  "Oh, sorry, Maya." She 
laughed.  "Just hurt my arm a bit last night."

Maya blushed despite herself.  "H...how did you do that??"

Ritsuko shook her head.  "Oh, I dunno...probably knocked it into a wall 
when I was getting ready for bed, or maybe I just slept on it weird.  
It's no big deal."

"Are you sure, Sempai?" Maya asked, rushing over to her side to see if 
she could tell what was wrong.  "You shouldn't be typing if your hand 
is sore..." she said with genuine concern.

Ritsuko smiled nervously...a lump suddenly caught in her throat.  "It's 
nothing, Maya.  I just ignore it and it doesn't hurt."

The lump in her throat might have not caught anyone else's attention, 
but Maya heard it loud and clear.  Still, her sense of duty told her 
not to question her Sempai...her friend...her...whatever else.  Ritsuko 
would know what to do.  She always knew what was best.  Maya shouldn't 
worry...she can take care of herself...

She smiled slightly, then nodded.  "Hai..." and placed a gentle hand on 
her friend's shoulder.  "I'll just..."

Ritsuko cried out in pain, causing Maya to almost jump backwards.  Her 
hand did, leaving Ritsuko's shoulder as fast as it came.  "Ahh!  Shit!" 
she gritted her teeth, trying desperately not to show the pain, but 
failing miserably.  

Maya just shook, completely frightened.  At first, she hadn't seen 
anything...but now...very slowly...a red spot was expanding out on 
Ritsuko's white lab-coat.  "SEMPAI!!  You're bleeding!"

All of a sudden, Ritsuko broke.  "LEAVE ME ALONE!" she yelled.  The 
force of her words literally threw Maya back.

The poor young woman just shook, fallen on the floor as she watched the 
blond scientist curl up in her chair, holding her shoulder in obvious 
pain.  Her entire body was shaking...not out of pain, however, rather 
of her silent sobs.  

"I know..." Ritsuko shivered.  "I know I'm bleeding...I'm sorry...I 
didn't mean to yell at you...I just..."

Maya could barely breathe as Ritsuko broke down further, crying openly.  
Something she had never imagined she would ever see...nor ever hoped 
she would.  She started for the door, scared out of her wits...

But before she could leave, her hand stopped.  She saw herself pressing 
the door panel, closing the automatic metal shield.  A few technicians 
looked up, unconcerned at the action, then returned to their duties 
around the Eva Cage.

Maya walked back to Ritsuko slowly, kneeling besides her.  "Sempai... 
it's okay...I...I'm here for you..."  Her soft, shaking voice was still 
so much more confident sounding than Ritsuko's hitching sobs.

And it seemed to help. 

Ritsuko cried for another few minutes, but eventually she began to 
slow.  The chairs were discarded after a moment later, and Maya found 
herself holding Ritsuko in a warm embrace, trying to comfort the 
shivering Doctor.  

"I..." Ritsuko sobbed against Maya's shoulder.  "I didn't want you to 
see this..." she shook her head.  "I'm sorry..."

"I don't mind." Maya replied, doing her best to sound strong.  "Nobody 
else will see...I shut the door...just let it out."

Ritsuko's body shook a few more times, but she seemed to be comforted a 
bit.  "I hate feeling like this..." she whispered into her friend's 
shoulder.  "I hate knowing what I know...doing what I do..." she buried 
her face in Maya's cloth shoulder, ignoring how soaked it was already.  
"You don't deserve this..."

Maya was a bit shocked to hear that.  The words were different, but the 
meaning was clear to her...at least in her mind.  She was a bit worried 
when Ritsuko lifted her head and slowly crawled back up to her chair, 
turning away from her as if in shame.  

"You don't deserve to be around a horrible person like me." Ritsuko 
whispered, hunched over like a rag doll in her chair.  The bleeding on 
her shoulder had stopped, but she still looked to be in pain.  "You're 
too good for this, Maya..."

Maya just sat there, ignoring the tears that were coming to her face.  

"If you were smart..." Ritsuko hissed suddenly.  "You'd leave this 
place...leave it before Eva gets her hands into you and tears you 
apart..." 

"Sempai..."

"Or before HE gets his hands on you...and squeezes you for every last 
drop you're worth before tossing you away as garbage..."

"Sempai..."

"I'm horrible..." Ritsuko whispered, staring blankly into the 
wall...then smiled a strange, cold smile.  "...and yet, I can't even do 
that right...I can't even please him..."

"Sempai...please don't do this..." Maya whispered, barely above a 
breath.  

Ritsuko closed her eyes and let her head rest on the cold computer 
terminal.  "Your Sempai is a horrible, horrible woman.  She is weak, 
and cold...she is too heartless to love anything anymore.  Most of all, 
she is nothing more than a tool now..."

The feeling of something wet against her back startled her.  

Ritsuko slowly turned around...now feeling the arms around her body, 
and the strange warmth that was washing through her senses.  Maya clung 
to her back, sobbing quietly.

"Sempai...you are not horrible..." she whispered, shaking.  "Whatever 
you've done, you make up for in your brilliance...your passion..."

Ritsuko just sat there, completely stunned as the younger woman poured 
out her heart.  

"A tool could never earn respect..." Maya cried.  "Like you have mine!  
Someone horrible could never do so many good things!  Help create Eva 
and the Magi...and so much more!"

"M...aya...?"

Maya never stopped.  "Someone heartless...could never be loved... 
like...I..." she buried her face in Ritsuko's coat.

The next part was too muffled to hear.  Ritsuko felt it, though.  









Kaji lead them as they walked through the Geofront's forest.  Misato 
followed, still with a content smile on her face.  Kaji mused he would 
probably have one on his lips as well, if he hadn't been so confused by 
the last twenty four hours.  

"Tell me, Katsuragi..." he mused out loud.  "Do you believe in 
reincarnation?  Or maybe that...I don't know...like we've lived this 
life before?"

"God...I hope not..." she sighed, following him up along the lake-side.  
"This one is too fucked up."

"Agreed." He smiled, but then took on a more serious tone.  "But...what 
if it was?"

"So what if it was?" Misato shrugged.  "We would never know.  I doubt 
we'd care, either."

"Are you so sure?" Kaji said, looking back at her briefly.  "With all 
we've seen and heard of...even you must know that there's really no 
such thing as impossible anymore." He turned back and kept walking.  
"You saw Hell on Earth...the incarnate of Adam.  You can't say you 
don't entertain possibilities that this world isn't as simple as it 
seems."

Misato frowned slightly.  "So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying we've been here before, Misato." But then, he smiled.  
"Well, not here..."

They finally reached a patch of undisturbed earth, a small haven in the 
expanse of the Geofront that seemed so pristine and pure...despite the 
fact it had been put there by mankind.  Misato recognized the area, but 
she hadn't been here herself...it was too much out of the way to allow 
frequent visits.  It seemed perfect for Kaji, though.

"I've been having the worst case of Deja-Vue I've ever had all this 
week." He said, walking over to a small bush and parting it with his 
hands as he knelt down.

Misato followed him, kneeling also, and letting her hands drape across 
his back.  "You too?"

"But..." he smiled over to her.  "This morning...when I woke up in that 
dark room, still alive, that feeling was gone.  Like I was starting 
something new." He sighs.  "It disturbs me that...perhaps in some other 
set of events, I should be dead."

Misato hugged him tightly.  "Don't say that."

"But...I didn't tell you what saved me." Kaji said, leaning over and 
patting a ripe, full watermelon on it's blotchy green skin.

Misato smiled a bit jokingly.  "...God came down and stopped the 
bullets?" she chuckled, reciting a line from an old 1990's movie.  

He groaned.  "No." he smiled.  "But I do think there was an angel 
watching over me."

Misato frowned...then blinked.  Kaji just nodded.  

She shivered slightly and leaned into him as they sat down next to his 
melons.  "What's going on here?"

"I can't be sure." Kaji shook his head.  "And maybe that's a good 
thing."  He paused, then quietly dug something out of his pocket, 
placing it in Misato's hand.

"What's this?" she asked, looking at a small microchip that was encased 
in an anti-static film.  

"Nobody thinks I'm still alive." He whispered.  "Not for another few 
hours...maybe days if I'm lucky.  I'm not supposed to be able to give 
this to you.  Nobody will be watching you right now.  It is right now 
that I CAN give this to you without worrying that it will be taken 
away."

Misato sighed, then smiled.  "Well?  What is it?"

"Project E." he said softly.  "Start to finish.  The Angels, the Evas, 
even the Children.  You'll find the real versions in there...as best as 
I've found."

Misato gasped, quickly putting the chip in her coat.  She had a small 
pocket on the interior with a zipper, and sealed it in there.  
"Everything?"

He nodded.  "It's pass-worded, though."

She blinked.  "What is it?"

"Something I should have said to you...long ago." He said, staring off 
into space for a moment as Misato watched him.  Kaji finally took a 
deep breath and turned to her.  "I love you."







As the artificial sun set in the Geofront, the twilight gave way to a 
new beginning for a pair of old lovers.  It closed a tiring day for two 
younger ones, and found comfort in two very old friends.  










To be continued.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey hey!  Fissy here.  I bet you're all about to say:  "Hey, Fiss, how 
come you're a lazy bastard?"  Well, I will answer that with a simple:  
"HEY!  I'VE BEEN BUSY!"  ^_^ 

Sorry people.  I'm tryin here.  

However, I hope you enjoyed Lesson 37.  A few more loose ends tied up 
now, and just in time for an Angel.  <grins> Hehehe.  I'm so evil. 

And it is late, and I just woke up, so I think I'll start on Lesson 38.  
Who knows, I might actually get it done for the weekend to make up for 
all my slacking off.  Would that be good?  Yesss, I thought so.  

A few questions and comments to be addressed:

-Yes, I know that NERV has AT Field sensors in their base, and they 
should have gone nuts and deployed Evas when Kaji was mysteriously 
saved. ...  or should they.  Heheeheheh.  
-Yes, I know that Shinji is still acting a bit embarrassed when Asuka 
is nice to him...even after they've been cuddling in the same bed for a 
month or so now.  But, really, Shinji isn't about to go from his 
previous Gendo-mentality of "I can't believe anyone can love me" to 
"Wow, she loves me!" just like that.  He'll probably be a bit strange 
all his life.  But, hey, that's half the fun.
-Maya and Ritsuko.  Yes, Ritsuko knows now.  Of course, what happens 
after that is up to them.  Hentais.  <laughs>  No, don't worry, I won't 
just drop the subject.  I can still have lots more character 
hell...er...Development.  :P  So it should be fun.

And, finally, I'd like to ask why no less than half a dozen people 
think I've died and will never update my website when it's been any 
more time than 2 weeks.  Especially when most fanfics come out on a 
MONTHly schedule?  

Grrr.

I mean, I personally don't mind if you can't take time out of your busy 
life to check my website...of course, that's why I have the mailing 
list in the Introduction section of my site:

http://shinnyo.twu.net/list.html
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/9110/list.html

Every update I send out a 'heads up'.  So if you don't enjoy checking 
for non-existent updates, just subscribe.  ^_^  



Okay, and besides that, I'd like to thank people for the guesses, 
comments, and complaints.  ^_^  I really do love it all, so don't 
hesitate to e-mail me!  Whee!  

No Omake tonight, gomen, but my brain isn't working in a 'goofy' mood 
at the moment, and I want to use that to get started on more writing.  

 Ja na!  -Fiss






  e-mail: strikef@bigfoot.com
homepage: http://www.studioshinnyo.com
mirror 1: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/9110




Strike Fiss, Studio Shinnyo 2000.  Khattam-Shud, EOF