Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction / Those Who Hunt Elves Fan Fiction ❯ Those Who Hunt...Eva? ❯ Chapter 19

Part 19: Dive Like You Mean It!

It was late when the plane landed in Okinawa. With the sun setting, the group didn't get to see much as they deplaned and headed for the hotel they were staying at. The teachers had been surprised when Rit-chan boarded the plane, as they had been told she wasn't going. Of course, when she had settled in the first-class section and invited Hikari and Aki to join her, they had protested. The mention of Commander Ikari's express orders silenced them. The flight crew had told her that the seats for the school were back in business class. Rit-chan had crisply informed them that she was not going to be ordered to go somewhere by a lunatic and not fly first class. She had gone on to inform them that as she was NERV personnel, they could take up any grievances with either Commander Ikari, or Operations Director Katsuragi, both of whom were currently busy with more important matters and would probably be ill tempered if disturbed. The flight crew knew better than to mess with NERV. Especially so since they had gathered that since she was under Katsuragi's command, she must be a pilot, and the last thing they needed was a pissed-off, psychotic teen in a multi-story tall bio-mech monster out to get them.

At the hotel, she had been told that there were no rooms available. Rit-chan, not being the meekest girl around, slammed her palm down on the table, lunged over the counter and grabbed the hapless desk-jockey's tie, which she used to drag him over the counter so she could speak to him face to face. Staring into this frightening girl's eyes, he had mentioned that there might be an opening in one of the bungalows or the penthouse. Rit-chan had released him, with the understanding that there best be an opening in one or the other, or it would be bad for his health. As he frantically punched keys, his manager walked over and informed her that she was to please refrain from such actions in the future, or they would have to have her escorted out. Rit-chan felt her trigger finger itch. Pulling her NERV card out, she held it up for his consideration. After his face lost some color, she asked him if he understood the situation. He nodded. The clerk asked her if she wanted the Presidential Penthouse Suite, or the poolside bungalow. After considering it, she chose the suite. The manager bowed and handed her a key, and told her that the key was for both the elevator, and the door to her suite. Rit-chan had smiled and thanked him, grabbing Hikari's arm and pulling her along, Aki trailing the duo curiously. The rest of the students present gaped at the three as they entered the elevator.

The penthouse proved to be elegant and spacious. Since it covered most of the hotel roof area, it sported a small private hot tub, a modest pool, helicopter pad, and golf tee-shot netting. Inside was a living room about three times the size of the entire apartment she was used to, a bedroom twice the size of the whole Katsuragi apartment, with a bathroom as big as the Zoo. The bar/kitchen area was half the size of apartment, and there was enough stocked alcohol to render Misato comatose in no time; not an easy feat with her tolerance. The three wandered around the suite. Hikari poked around and found a small pad next to the refridge, with the instructions to jot down what the resident wanted, and it would be kept stocked and fresh. Smiling a bit, she jotted down a few items, just to see if they would do it. Aki noticed and called out some more suggestions. Rit-chan added a few. In the master bedroom, they considered a bed as big as the balcony of the Zoo. "That's got to be the largest bed I've ever seen." Commented Rit-chan.

"Yeah. Pity you're here alone." Smiled Aki. "Just think if that hot hunk of Shinji were here with you."

"Aki!" gasped Hikari.

"Oh, like you wouldn't jump his bones in a heartbeat if you were here with him." She scoffed. Rit-chan had tossed her pack to a bedside settee, and was poking at the pillows and checking the sheets.

"Hey, guys. I think these are goose-down pillows and silk sheets." She announced. Both girls hurried to her side. After checking the pillows and sheets, they agreed.

"I've never even seen silk sheets before. Let alone slept on them." Said Hikari.

"Yeah. They're supposed to be really good for having sex." Added Aki. "To bad you don't have someone to try them out with, Rit-chan."

"My god, would you stop it with the sex talk?" begged Hikari.

"Let's move on, shall we?" asked Rit-chan, secretly agreeing with Aki. If Shinji had been here, then who knows? But, he wasn't. So, time to focus on something else. The three walked out into the living room again, observing the huge HDDTV and hulking receiver, the plush kidskin leather overstuffed recliner and sectional couch in front of it, as well as the remote to close the blinds and control practically everything else in the suite. Outside, they inspected the pool and hot tub, agreeing that the view was excellent, allowing them to see the ocean only a few hundred yards away and a few stories down. As they were making golf jokes by the tee green, the phone chimed, and they walked back to answer it. It was the front desk, asking if they would like a maid to come collect the grocery list and make any adjustments necessary. Rit-chan told them to come on up. A few minutes later, a maid appeared at the door to the suite and bowed, asking what she could do. Rit-chan handed her the list and asked her to make sure that on one disturbed her when she was in residence, unless she specifically asked them to. The maid bowed and moved off. The hallway outside her door only had three doors on it: her door, the elevator door, and the emergency fire escape. Rit-chan checked the fire escape, making a note to double secure it before she went to bed that night.

Back in the living room, the three sat down and just stared at the room. Rit-chan got up long enough to retrieve her pack, which she began to root through, setting her USP and four back up magazines out, along with her holster and combat binoculars, combat knife and four grenades - two each high explosive fragmentation and concussion. Aki raised her eyebrow at the hardware. "Expecting a war, Rit-chan?" she asked.

"A girl needs to be prepared." Shrugged the teen, finding three small chunks of plastic explosive, detonator and condoms in the center of her pack. When the condoms landed on the table, it immediately sparked comment from her friends.

"Condoms? Why do you have condoms, Rit-chan?" asked Hikari.

"So when she has sex, she doesn't get pregnant or catch a disease. Honesty, Hi-chan, you took health, right?" teased Aki. She picked one up and studied it. "Of course, these aren't the best kind, you know. They're not lubricated and they don't have spermacide in them. I can show you some much better ones, Rit-chan."

"How would you know better condoms, Aki?" asked Hikari. Aki shrugged.

"Get real, Hi-chan. I never said I was a virgin."

"They aren't for fucking; at least not that kind of fucking." Explained Rit-chan. "You use them to protect the fuses for demolition charges, so they'll light underwater or mud or so forth. If you use the lubed kind or those with spermacide in them, then the fuses might as well be left uncovered."

"Talk about your explosive climaxes." Giggled Aki. Hikari laughed as well.

"Guaranteed to blow their minds." Agreed Rit-chan. The phone chimed again. Rit-chan touched the answer button. It was Touji and Kensuke, wanting to come up. It seems that the teachers were looking for them. Rit-chan looked at her friends and shrugged. Sweeping her inventory back into her pack, she tucked the USP into her shorts, added an over-shirt to conceal it, and moved out of the suite. "Let's see what they want." She said, entering the elevator and pressing the lobby button. As the elevator descended, she told the girls that they were welcome to come see her whenever they wanted. They both eagerly accepted her offer. When the doors opened, Touji and Kensuke were waiting, disappointment on their faces. Following the two, they gathered around the teachers, who were passing out final room assignments, as well as schedules for the coming week.

In the indoor pool at NERV, the pilots were swimming. Well, Rei was swimming laps, going all the way underwater as if it were nothing. Asuka was in the changing room still, and Shinji was doing physics on his laptop. Asuka appeared in a red and white bikini and dove into the pool, making a lap before climbing out and approaching Shinji. Taunting him for his studies, she easily solved a physics problem for him, telling him it was easy for a college graduate.

"So, you can't read the questions in Japanese?" he asked, puzzled by her ability to solve the problems clashing with her low grades.

"Yeah, my kanji is weak. Japanese is so messed up. Why can't you people use a normal alphabet instead of these mini-pictographs?" she huffed. "Next question?"

"Thermal expansion is…" began Shinji. Asuka interrupted him.

"In simple terms, Baka, things get bigger when hot, and smaller when cold. For example, if I put my hands on my breasts, would they get larger or smaller?"

"I don't really know, Asuka." Began Shinji. Just then, he heard a faint splash, and caught sight of Rei's white one-piece suit as she easily slipped out of the water.

"The answer is that the difference in temperature between Asuka's breasts and her hands is negligible, so her breasts would neither enlarge or shrink if she were to place her hands on them." Supplied the blue-haired First Child, draping her towel over her shoulders and sitting across from Shinji. Asuka glowered at her, then moved off toward the deep end.

"Thanks, Rei-chan." Said Shinji to the other girl.

"It was my pleasure, Shinji." Smiled Rei. The two were interrupted by Asuka, now wearing scuba equipment, rolling into the water. Rei considered the Second for a long moment, then turned back to Shinji. "I wish to speak to you, Shinji. About Asuka, and some others." She said softly.

"Hey, can we come see your room, Ritsuko?" asked Kensuke eagerly as the students began to move to their rooms. Hikari and Aki were with Rit-chan, who was headed for the elevator to her room.

"You should get your stuff straightened out, Aida. Tomorrow is a big day." Said Hikari.

"Aw, come on, please, Horaki?" begged the two boys.

"Better beg Rit-chan; it's her room." Noted Aki.

"It's up to you two. If you think it's ok, then it's fine with me. I need to talk to you two, though." Supplied Rit-chan, her eyes reviewing the schedule of events for the weeklong trip.

"Well, I don't care one way or the other. You, Hikari?" declared Aki.

"I don't know." Hedged Hikari.

"We're beggin' ya, Hikari-chan." Said the two, kneeling before the three girls. "For Shinji? Please?" they added.

"How is this going to be for Shinji? He's not even here." Observed Aki.

"We can tell him that you had nice digs for the trip, and you know that that will make him feel better about your having to go, right, Inoue?" pressed Kensuke. Ritsuko ignored them.

"That's dirty, you two. Well, if the other two are ok, we'll let you come up to see the place. But if one little dirty thought comes out of your mouth or you act stupid, you're gone! Got it?" decided Hikari.

"Yes, yes! We'll be on our best behavior!" they promised.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Muttered the class rep, as Rit-chan smiled.

"Man, it's so unfair!" complained Kensuke as he and Touji rode the elevator down to the main floors. "How come she gets such a cozy love nest, and we gotta be four to a room down here?"

"But remember the price of that room. She's gotta deal with the Devil and the Demoness. Thanks, but even that nice a room ain't worth that!" countered the athlete.

"True, I suppose." Mused Kensuke. "Still, did you see that place? Talk about living the good life. I wonder what they're doing right now?" The two exchanged looks. "Skinny dipping in the hot tub?" suggested the glasses-wearing otaku.

"Or maybe wrestling on that room they call a bed. Man, the thought of them doing that…" both boys were soon in hentai land.

Upstairs, the three were relaxing and planning for Aki's photo shoot, as well as going over the schedule again. Rit-chan checked her watch, then grabbed her NERV cell phone, checked a number, and dialed from the room phone. After a few rings, she spoke with Airi briefly, letting her know she was settled and asking about her friends. After a conversation about five minutes long, she hung up and dialed another number, where she left a message. With that done, she rejoined the group, where Hikari and Aki were discussing the scheduled scuba diving lessons and open-water dives.

"Looks like they have us set for classroom instruction, followed by two check-out dives in the local bay. Then, they are going to take us out the following day for four dives on historical locations around the island. I make it to be a full ten hour day on the water day after tomorrow." Said Aki, studying the schedule.

"Yeah. I've never been in the ocean, let alone scuba dived. I hope I can do it." Mused Hikari.

"Scuba is nothing." Assured Rit-chan. "You'll do fine, Hi-chan."

"And it's not like you aren't a powerful swimmer. Hell, the only ones who can keep up with you in the pool are Rei, Asuka and now Rit-chan." Agreed Aki, smiling at Hikari.

"I hope so." Worried Hikari. "But if it's so simple, why are we going to be spending four hours in a classroom?"

"Because you need to learn to think, that's why. Most of the instruction will seem stupidly obviously to you, but it will be necessary for most of the school kids. And you do need to learn how to read a dive chart and plan a dive." Rit-chan stretched and walked over to the bar, where she retrieved a bottle of water from the refridge. "You want anything?" she asked her friends as she motioned to the refridge.

"Water for me, Rit-chan." Called Hikari.

"Got a fruit juice in there?" asked Aki. Rit-chan tossed Hikari a cold bottle of water before she turned and rooted around in the newly delivered foodstuffs.

"Looks like we got some fruit punch, some orange juice, a little grape and cranberry juice, and some vegetable juice. What's your pleasure, Aki?" reported Rit-chan, waiting for the girl's answer, her hand poised over the drinks.

"Hit me with some fruit juice." Chose Aki. Rit-chan selected a bottle of the fruit juice and returned to the couch where her friends were. Aki nodded her thanks as she opened the bottle and sipped. "Mmm. This is good stuff." She noted.

"Scuba is well worth the minor inconviences." Continued Rit-chan from her earlier point. "I'm looking forward to diving again."

"Let me guess: you're scuba certified?" smiled Hikari.

"Yeah. I'm certified for open water, night diving, compass navigation, cold water and saturation diving. I was working on my wreck diving certification before…well, anyway." She sipped her water. Before Celsia's spell hijacked me. "I'll probably attend the class session anyway, to keep you company."

"You've been a busy girl, Rit-chan, to have done all this by age sixteen." Commented Aki. Ritsuko shrugged.

"Child protégé and all that shit." She said, her mind still on her friends and family she hadn't seen in more than a year. "I'll buddy up with you for the dives, Hi-chan. We need to find a fourth so we can dive as a group."

"Sure. What about Motoko Iguchi, from class D?" proposed Aki. She really doesn't want to talk about whatever brought her here; a lot like Shinji, Rei and Asuka. Thought the tall girl.

"We can decide that later, guys." Said Rit-chan. "Right now, we need to discuss your upcoming photo-shoot and make plans for you to attend it uninterrupted."

"That's right! I need to call him to find out the time and place!" gasped Aki, rising and headed for the door.

"Where are you going, Aki?" asked Rit-chan, frowning. "There's a phone right there, and your bag is in my bedroom. Remember?"

"Oh, right. Is it all right if I use your phone?" asked Aki for confirmation.

"Knock yourself out, girl." Smiled Rit-chan, draining the last of her water and tossing the empty bottle in to the trashcan. As Aki dug out the number she had been given and called the photographer, Rit-chan drifted to the large sliding glass doors that opened on to the rooftop pool, hot tub and tee green. Looking up at the bright, clear stars, she lost herself in thought.

"Where's supper, Baka?" demanded Asuka, coming out of the bathroom in her familiar oversized tee shirt.

"It'll be ready in a couple of minutes, Asuka." Came his answer from the kitchen. Asuka sighed as if a few minutes wait was pure torture, promptly flopping down on the couch and flipping channels on the TV.

"God, who watches this crap?" she wondered. Growing bored, she tossed the remote to Pen Pen, who immediately selected an animal show about penguins and their mating rituals. "Fucking hentai bird." Accused Asuka. Pen Pen waved his clawed flippers at her in a gesture she was sure was the penguin equivalent of flipping her the bird.

"Wark!" he shot back at her. Stupid bitch, calling me hentai when she's shacking up with the Food Giver every morning! Still, he seems to enjoy her company, so I guess I should let it go. Pen Pen was content to let things happen as they would as long as his minor deity Food Giver was unaffected. Asuka glowered at him, but he was engrossed in the action on the screen.

"I'm gonna call Hikari." She decided, rolling off the couch and grabbing the phone. Seeing a blue-haired rival sitting sedately at the table, she bared her teeth in anger before turning back into the living room. Airi stepped out of Misato's room, dressed in a fashionable silk shirt and satin sleeping shorts.

"That smells wonderful, Shinji." Said the actress, smiling at the boy.

"Thanks, Airi." He smiled back.

"Rei-chan, you look good in those clothes." She complimented the First Child.

"Of course she does; they're my clothes after all." Interjected Asuka irritably. "Baka, do you have Hikari's cell number?"

"Uh, yeah. It should be in my phone's recall list." He answered. Asuka walked into the kitchen, primary phone in hand, eyes searching.

"Well, where is your phone, Baka?" she demanded.

"I had it a minute ago." He mumbled. "And I know I had it when we got here, so that means…"

"Your cell phone is in your room, on top of your desk, next to your SDAT player." Rei informed him quietly.

"Th…thanks, Rei-chan." Said a surprised Shinji.

"I won't even ask how you know that, Wondergirl." Said Asuka disdainfully, headed for Shinji's room. He heard his door slam open, signaling her invasion of his room. Just then, the sound of a phone ringing in Misato's room reached their ears. Airi rose swiftly but gracefully and stepped to Misato's room to answer her phone.

"Rit-chan?" The redheaded elf stripper shook herself out of her thoughts, hearing Hikari repeat her call.

"Yeah, what?" she asked, blinking at the sudden intrusion on her thoughts.

"Are you ok? You've been staring at the stars for more than a half hour now." Asked Hikari.

"Just thinking." Smiled Rit-chan. I have got to be careful to maintain my focus, or I might break down. This is why I didn't want to be away from Airi; she's my strength in this. A thought occurred to her. "Hey, do you guys want to go for a dip in the tub, or maybe the pool? The stars are lovely out there."

"Um, sure. I am a little stiff from the plane trip down here." Agreed Hikari.

"I love a dip in the hot tub. Pity there isn't any cute guys to soak with." Laughed Aki.

"If there were, we'd never get you to wear a swimsuit, either!" teased Hikari.

"Are you trying to say that if Shinji were here you'd wear your swimsuit?" countered Aki. Hikari blushed.

"O…of course I would!" she stammered.

"At least for the first few minutes." Retorted Aki. "Then you'd probably trip him and take what you want!"

"Any you wouldn't?!" yelled back Hikari, her face as red as Asuka's Eva. "I've heard you repeatedly tell me and Asuka that you wouldn't mind having him. If I recall, you called him `that hot hunk of Eva Pilot', didn't you?"

"Hi-chan, if he were here, I don't think that any of us would wear their swimsuits." Aki declared. "Since it's just us, we don't have to, you know." She grinned wickedly.

"Uh, I'm not so sure about that." Hesitated Hikari. They heard the glass doors slide open and saw Ritsuko walk out to the tub, which she dipped her toes in, then made a few adjustments on the control panel. Walking back into the living room, she headed for the bedroom.

"Tub's ready, guys, so either get changed or strip down. Either way, it's tub time!" she said as she entered her bedroom, leaving the door open behind her. Hikari followed her to the bedroom, going to her pack and rooting around for one of her swimsuits as Rit-chan, her swimsuit already selected, slipped out of her clothes and into the neck-tied bikini top and matching high-hip bottoms, both in cobalt blue. Hikari blushed as she noticed the way that the fabric of the top clung to Rit-chan's shapely top. Turning her head away, she pulled out her own bikini, a lime green number with racer-style top and relatively conservative panty-style bottoms. Rit-chan had stepped into the bathroom while she was changing, and emerged with three of the really big, fluffy soft towels.

"Come on, Hi-chan. Let's go relax." Said the older girl with a smile, holding out a towel to the brown-haired girl.

"Ok. But isn't Aki going to change?" asked Hikari, seeing Aki's bag next to her bag. From outside, they heard a splash. Rit-chan smiled at her shorter friend.

"Something tells me that she opted for the natural swimsuit choice. Are you ok with that?"

"Guess I'll have to be." Said Hikari, giving the older girl a weak smile.

Touji walked down the hallway of the hotel, three ice buckets in hand, looking for the nearest ice machine. "Stupid pussies." He sneered, remembering the weak performance of his two would-be roomies to the ice-in-the-shorts test of manliness. He had gone for six minutes, and even chick shit Kensuke had made it to four minutes. The other two boys hadn't even made the two-minute mark before they had desperately started to dislodge the ice cubes from their underwear. "Hell, without Kodo or Igani here, there's no competition for me." Spying the ice machine, he altered course toward it. "Wonder how long Shinji could go?" he mused, filling the first of the three buckets with ice.

"Touji-chan?" came a voice from his left. Looking over, he saw Tomoko standing there with an ice bucket in her hands. Her hair was loose down her back, a tee shirt and knee-length shorts comprising her outfit.

"Oh, hi, Tomo-chan." He smiled at her. Memories of his night with her and Naoko made his dick stiffen. "What's up?"

She held up the ice bucket. "Getting ice, of course." She giggled. She considered his three ice buckets. "Is the air conditioning in your room broken or what, Touji-chan?"

"Nah, that's for the two losers I got stuck with for roomies." He said, smiling wickedly. "Penalties, you might say."

"Penalties? For what?" asked Tomoko, leaning against the wall by the ice machine as he continued to fill his buckets scoop by scoop.

"Let's just say that they weren't…man enough to beat me." He said, his tone boastful. Tomoko gave him a lascivious smile.

"I can imagine, Touji-chan." He felt his dick go from semi-erect to steel in a heartbeat. "So, what are you going to do with the ice?" she asked, her voice still soft as velvet.

"I'm gonna give `em Christmas Packaging!" he said proudly.

"What is that?" asked Tomoko, her voice back to normal and curious as hell.

"Heh. You fill their shorts with ice, then, after about a minute, you make them run naked down the halls. It works best if there are girls to see them." He laughed.

"Wouldn't that…oh, I see!" she laughed with him. Once they had both calmed down, he finished filling the last of his three buckets, and began to shovel ice into her bucket.

"So, what's your ice for, Tomo-chan?" he asked. Tomoko looked around, making sure that no adult was near.

"Well, Shiori in class C is in my room, and she snuck out while they were giving out the schedules and lecturing us on proper behavior, and found a `friend' to get her some beer and a bottle of Champaign. You can guess from there what the ice is for." She whispered.

"So, Shiori is in your room?" asked Touji, mentally picturing the dark-haired girl from the class down the hall. While not as pretty as Asuka or Rei or Ritsuko, she was pretty hot; and the fact that she let boys touch her from time to time made her a lot more appealing than either Goddess of NERV or the gun-toting nightmare of paintball. "Who else?" he asked.

"Well, there's me, Shiori, Reiko from Class B and some mousy girl named Atsuko. But she won't be staying very long." Grinned Tomoko.

"Why not?" asked Touji, uncertain why the girl wouldn't be staying.

"Because we're moving her to Horaki's room so Keiko can come stay in our room." Smiled Tomoko, winking at him.

"Keiko? Isn't she the one…" he began.

"That slept with Kodo the night we got together." Finished Tomoko. She looked Touji over, thinking. "Say, Touji…" she began, "why don't you come hang with us after your little fun with the two in your room? We're going to play strip poker and five-card royal for penalties. It should be as fun as that get-together at Kodo's place."

"Sure! Count me in!" he agreed instantly. Tomoko laughed at his eager acceptance.

"Just think, four hot girls, and you." She leaned over and kissed him on the lips briefly. Another thought occurred to her. "Hey, who else is in your room?"

"Other than those pussies from class C, it's just me and Kensuke." He said. "But I don't know if those class C losers will still be there after the Christmas Packaging."

"So, Ikari isn't in with you?" she asked, seeming a bit disappointed.

"Uh, didn't you know? None of the Pilots got to go." He said, frowning.

"Well, I saw them talking with you and the others at the airport, then we boarded and I was busy until just now. I assumed that they came along." She shrugged.

"Nah. They have to stay in Tokyo 3 in case of Angel attack. Poor bastard; this trip would have been great for him. Did the school ever decide about Kodo and Shodoki?" he asked.

"Still suspended. Kodo called me the night before we left and told me that he and my Shodo-kun might be back after we return." She frowned. "Hey, Touji? What happened in there?" she asked.

Touji shivered. "You really don't want to know, Tomo-chan." He said.

"Come on! At least tell me where you and others were that week!" she pleaded. Seeing him waver, she stepped closer to him and purred in his ear. "I'll make it worth your while, Touji-chan." She then slid her tongue along his ear, making him shiver.

"Well, ok." He relented, imagining what she might do to make it worth the risk. "But you gotta swear that you don't tell anyone, or they might make all three of us disappear, got it?" he said, looking into her eyes, his entire bearing dead serious. She nodded.

"Swear." She confirmed. Touji glanced around, making sure that no one was near.

"Kodo and Shodo used chloroform to knock out Ayanami and Horaki. They planned to get Inoue, Sohryu and Shinji as well, but it didn't work out. All five of them were packing real guns with real bullets, and when Shinji came through the door, he had his gun out and was going to blow Shodoki's head clean off before doing the same to Kodo. He actually shot at Kodo, but Ritsuko was wrestling him, so the bullet missed him by a small margin. Asuka took out Shodo and was pinning Kodo down when Misato entered the room. I…can't tell you what happened next, but we all wound up at NERV, and I spent the night getting the going-over from the Section 2 goons. Shodo and Kodo were put in isolation tanks, then taken to see the Commander. Because I had warned Shinji about the chemicals, I got off with a warning from the Vice Commander, but the other two had to see Commander Ikari." Touji shivered.

"Commander Ikari? Is he related to Shinji?" asked Tomoko.

"Yeah. His father. But the bastard treats Shinji like some disowned beggar! He chewed me out once, and I'd rather die than have that happen again. The man's a stone-cold killer. Probably crazy as well." He muttered darkly. Tomoko was considering what she had heard.

"You sold your friends out?" she accused.

Touji snapped his eyes to her eyes. "No!" he hissed. "I saved their lives, Tomoko!"

"How…" she began, but he held up his finger for silence.

"Here's the way it would have played out if I hadn't warned Shinji. Either the other three would have figured it out and come in with live ammo anyway, or they would have been knocked out. If they were knocked out, then Kodo and Shodo would have had to kill them all, or when they came to, we'd be put to bed with shovels courtesy of Section 2. But, if they killed them, then this whole planet would die when the next angel appears. They are the only three pilots and only three Evas we have right now, Tomo. Since I couldn't see this turning out good, I figured that the best way to save them was to warn Shinji and hope for the best." He sighed. "At least we're all alive, right?"

Tomoko thought about it. "I guess. But would Shinji have killed…"

"Absolutely." Answered Touji instantly. "I know you all think he's a weak little shit, but…well, just remember that he's killed more Angels than anyone. All I can say is that there is a reason he's the lead killer of the Eva pilots."

"Hmm." Mused Tomoko. She glanced down the hall. "Well, I gotta get back. Remember, come see me once you humiliate your roommates. Room 344 is the one. Knock twice, then once, then twice, or we won't let you in." she started back to her room, but paused after only a couple of steps. "If you happen to want to, you can invite your other friend, Kensuke, to come as well." She said teasingly. "See you soon." She tossed over her shoulder as she moved off toward her room again. Touji jogged back to his room, eager to finish his current entertainment so he could go see Tomoko.

"One more time, please?" asked Aki, treading water in the pool. Rit-chan was sitting on the edge of the pool, breathing deeply, while Hikari was laying on her back by Rit-chan.

"One more? What do you plan to do, swim to Tokyo? We've done over a hundred laps, Aki!" said Rit-chan, exasperated. "No more tonight. I said we should relax, not go for time trials."

"Please, Aki, enough is enough!" managed Hikari, sitting up. "My muscles are killing me!"

"Aw, you're no fun." Pouted Aki, leisurely stroking to where her two friends rested and lithely pulling her frame from the water. "Don't you know that you always sleep better after a workout, and that muscles that are warmed up relax better?" The tall girl smiled down at her two friends. Rit-chan rose and helped Hikari to her feet.

"So, let's soak in the tub, then veg a bit. Agreed?" she said, helping Hikari into the tub. Aki slipped in beside Hikari and Rit-chan eased into the hot water across from the two girls. Laying their heads back against the padded rim of the tub, the three girls watched the stars and moon for a bit.

"I wonder what Shinji-chan and Asuka and Rei are doing right now?" mused Hikari.

"Victory is mine, Third Child!" roared Asuka as her virtual character tore the head from Shinji's virtual character. "Who's your daddy, Bitch!?!"

"Hopefully not you, that thought is…disturbing." Said Rei so softly that only Shinji heard her over Asuka's made gloating.

"Say something, Wondergirl?" she snapped, glaring at Rei, who sat calmly next to Airi on the couch, serving as the gallery for Asuka's destruction of Shinji in video game combat. Rei considered the Second Child carefully.

"No." she said after a brief pause.

"Thought not, Wondergirl." Sneered Asuka. Flopping down next to Shinji, she hit the buttons on her controller to restart the battle. "Oh, Shinji…" she called sweetly. "It's time to die again!"

"They're probably studying or watching TV or sleeping." Guessed Aki.

"More likely they're at NERV for more of those tests they're always having." Offered Hikari.

"Unlikely. Unless there is an attack…" Rit-chan left the thought unfinished. Silence reigned for several minutes. Then, Rit-chan spoke again. "Hey, Hi-chan, can I ask you something?" she asked.

"Sure, Rit-chan." Said the Class Rep.

"How much do you know about the Pilots? I mean as people." Asked the Elf hunter.

"Not much really." Frowned Hikari. "Ayanami has been in the same class as me, Touji and Kensuke for the last three years, but I don't know a damn thing about her. All she does is sit there, look out the window, and get perfect scores. It's kinda creepy, really. Shinji arrived a few months ago, and he got off to a rough start with everyone. He's still kind of withdrawn, but at least he's friends with Touji, Kensuke and me. It seems like he's known Rei for years, but they only met a few months ago. Asuka, well, you've seen for yourself. Ego aside, she doesn't like to talk about her past; only her present and future." Mused the brown haired girl. "Come to think of it, she only talks about one thing that isn't in the present, and that's how she wants to be with Kaji. Everything else is all about the present."

"So, you don't know more than anyone else does, then." Confirmed Rit-chan.

"Why ask, Rit-chan?" questioned Aki. "You live with them, don't you?"

"It's not that; it's another issue. And guys, let's not discuss this in Tokyo 3 or around anyone here, ok?" asked Rit-chan.

"What are you up to, Ritsuko?" asked Aki bluntly, sitting forward so she was face to face with the older girl.

"I'm just trying to get a clear picture of this place, that's all." Deflected Rit-chan.

"What do you mean, `this place'? It's not like you can be from anywhere else, is it?" asked Hikari. Aki was still all but nose-to-nose with the redhead, her eyes locked to the elf hunter.

"You're not from here, are you, Rit-chan." She stated.

"What do you mean, Aki?" asked Hikari.

"Where are you from, Rit-chan? And why is NERV all over you?" continued Aki.

"I'm not an Angel, if that is what's bothering you. I'm just a normal girl." Assured Rit-chan.

"Aki, what the fuck are you talking about, god damn it!?" yelled Hikari, standing in the tub and grabbing Aki's shoulder. Aki glanced at Hikari.

"Follow me on this, Hi-chan. There's an angel attack. Shinji and Asuka show up with Rit-chan in tow the next day. Rit-chan seems to be completely unfamiliar with history and events and life as we know it, but she knows Tokyo as well as anyone. She has a NERV ID card, a NERV scramble-capable cell phone, and carries a gun, yet she isn't a pilot. Add it all up with the way she's asking about the Pilots and the complete lack of a back story, and what do you get?" explained Aki.

"You…think she's an…alien?" asked Hikari, barely believing that Aki could think such a thing.

"Possible, but unlikely. Truthfully, I'm not sure what she is." Aki admitted.

"Is this going to be a problem?" asked Rit-chan levelly. Aki considered her, her face serious as Hikari looked a bit concerned. Abruptly Aki laughed.

"Hell no! I honestly don't care what the situation is with you and Airi. Shinji trusts you, and that's good enough for me." Rit-chan sighed in relief. Aki heard her and laughed more. "Worried, Rit-chan?" she teased. "Or were you thinking that I was making a move to blackmail you?"

Ritsuko smiled. "Actually, I'm crushed that you aren't trying to seduce me into telling you the truth." Aki smiled at her. Abruptly, she lunged forward and pressed her lips to Rit-chan's. Even as Hikari gasped in stunned surprise, she eased back, grinning.

"Who says I'm not?" she asked mischievously.

"Ah, I knew there was a reason you're naked." Replied Rit-chan evenly. "But it's not nice to play favorites, you know. Hi-chan might get jealous." Hikari was beet red. Aki turned to her, grinning.

"You're right. Better make it up to her." She agreed, leaning over swiftly and giving her classmate a light kiss. Sitting back down, Aki stretched her arms and back. "You don't seem upset or nervous about me kissing you, Rit-chan." She noted. "Are you…into girls?"

"No." answered Rit-chan. "At least, I don't think so."

"So, I'm guessing that you've experimented?" pressed Aki, grinning at her across the water. Hikari was silent and still blushing.

"A bit. But with my hobbies, there wasn't time or inclination to do more than some cursory experiments." Answered Rit-chan. "And you?" she returned.

"About the same. I had a girl who asked me out on a date, and I thought she meant like a normal outing with a girlfriend." Shrugged Aki. "Well, it turned out she was meaning the kind of date I go on with guys."

"You mean you…that's awful!" gasped Hikari.

"What?" asked Aki innocently. "She was a nice girl, and I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I played along a bit and let her down easy. You act like I slept with her or something."

"Did you?" asked Rit-chan. Aki grinned.

"Well, it kind of worked out like this…" Aki's story lasted a good twenty minutes.

Touji finished tossing the last of the bags of his two ex-roomies out into the hallway, where the two boys stood shivering. "Sorry to see you go, guys. I was gonna show you a new game, too." He grinned evilly. The two boys grabbed their things and made off as swiftly as their semi-frozen genitals would allow. Touji closed the door after them. "That was fun, eh, Kensuke?" he said amicably to his long-time friend.

"Says you, Touji." He grumbled. "My dick's still numb! Who the hell thought up such a stupid game?"

"Aw, is your dick feeling neglected?" teased Touji.

"You better not be offering to warm it up, Touji." Warned the glasses-wearing geek. "I'm not into that kind of stuff. Well, if you were Misato or Ayanami, maybe." He allowed. Touji smacked him upside the head.

"Moron! I'm not interested in your inchworm! And you got about as much chance with Ayanami as you do of spontaneously learning to fly!" he yelled.

"Hey! You never know!" yelled Kensuke in return. "She's quiet, smart and the pilot of the prototype, so we have a lot in common. Maybe she just hasn't worked up the nerve to tell me how she feels."

"Nah." Dismissed Touji. "She knows how she feels, and how she feels about you is how she feels about everyone but Shin-man."

"And you know that, how?" demanded Kensuke pugnaciously.

"Kensuke, you couldn't get her to spit on you if you were on fire. She probably doesn't even know you exist as anything other than an annoying distraction for Shinji." Laughed Touji. He tossed his bag onto his newly liberated bed and stretched, checking the clock. "Coming or not, Kensuke?" he called out, snagging his room card and opening the door.

"Coming where?" asked Kensuke.

"To see some people." He smiled.

"People? What people?" wondered Kensuke, moving toward the door as he put his room card into his pocket.

"Girls." Whispered Touji as the door shut behind them.

"Man, that felt good." Yawned Hikari as she finished drying off. After getting out of the hot tub, the three had swiftly showed the chlorine off and then taken seats in the living room. Aki had donned a pair of silk pajamas not unlike Hikari's, and Rit-chan was in her tee shirt and panties sleeping attire. Hikari herself was in her silk Chinese-cut pajamas. Right now, Rit-chan was sitting with her legs tucked under her, sipping another bottle of water. Hikari fished out a bottle of the fruit juice and joined the other two in the living room.

"I wonder if they are really going to do room checks like they said." Aki was saying. "There isn't much point, as most of us are legal anyway, and with so many people going to see friends, it's kind of stupid, don't you think?"

"I think I'm supposed to help the other class reps check." Murmured Hikari, looking for her copy of the rules that had been passed out earlier.

"Bag that shit, Hi-chan. The others will do what they want anyway, and as long as the teachers can say that they checked, everyone will be happy." Suggested Aki. She took a sip of her soda, sighing in contentment as she set it back down on the glass coffee table. Rit-chan was idly playing with the remote for the TV and entertainment system, seeing what she could do with it. Right now, she was channel surfing, seeing if anything looked familiar or interesting. Suddenly, the picture on the TV was a close up of two people fucking like mad. Over the theater sound system, they heard the woman panting and groaning and begging for more, as the man grunted and gasped.

"Well, we get the porn channels." Announced Rit-chan drolly. "Stay or surf?" she fielded the question.

"We can't watch that!" gasped Hikari, making Aki chuckle. "We're girls!"

"True, but what does that have to do with watching porn?" asked Aki.

"But…but!" began Hikari, her face heating up.

"Think of it as sex education better suited for the real world, Hi-chan." Explained Rit-chan. "And you can learn a lot from watching it, both good and bad. This one is pretty generic, don't you think, Aki?" asked the elf hunter.

"Yeah. Now that you mention it, I think I've seen this one before, too. If the guy suddenly pulls out and flexes like a body builder as he cums, then it's the same one my last boyfriend tried to imitate." Aki chuckled.

"That has disaster written all over it." Observed Rit-chan with a smile. On the screen, the man suddenly pulled out, jumped to his feet and flexed like Mr. Universe, yelling some trite, worn-out expression of manly vigor as he blew his load; mostly all over himself.

"Yep, that's the one. And that's pretty much what happened." Laughed Aki.

"He must have been a real lady killer, that one." Rit-chan retorted.

"That's why I dumped him that night!" chortled Aki, rolling on the couch. Hikari was watching the freeze-framed image of the event.

"Does it always look that way?" she murmured.

"What? Sperm? Yeah, pretty much." Noted Rit-chan.

"But there wasn't any of that when I…" she snapped her mouth shut an instant too late. God Damn, Hikari! She mentally roared, when are you going to think before you speak?!? Both of her friends were looking at her.

"Hi-chan, have you been hiding things from me?" asked Aki in a dangerous voice.

"Of course not!" denied Hikari instinctively.

"You said that there wasn't any cum when you either had sex or jerked off a guy." Stated Aki. "Which bring us to the real question: who was it?"

"And when is also of interest to us." Added Rit-chan.

"If it was Suzahara, I think I'll be very upset." Threatened Aki.

"Especially if it was within the last two weeks." Noted Rit-chan.

"You're wrong!" she stated desperately. Rit-chan had a blank look on her face. Aki was leering at her.

"Need I remind you that I know where you're ticklish?" she threatened the other girl. "Talk!"

"I…" began Hikari.

"It was Shinji, wasn't it?" stated Rit-chan, her eyes back on Hikari. Aki crowed with triumph.

"Good choice, Hi-chan!" she cheered. "So, tell us all the details! Was he good? Did you come? Tell, tell!"

"How…did you…know?" she asked in a small voice, blushing from her scalp to her bellybutton. Rit-chan shrugged.

"A matter of looking at all the facts; that, and intuition." She explained modestly.

"Enough with the boring irrelevant stuff!" commanded Aki. "Details, Hikari! Now!" In spite of herself, she felt herself smile. Before she thought about it any more, she was telling them of her spontaneous plan to thank Shinji.

In room 344, Kensuke sat at the makeshift table, studying his cards. Across from him sat Touji, grinning at his childhood friend. On either side of the table sat the girls, watching avidly. Oh, man! Thought the young man, How the hell do I find myself in these kinds of situations?! Nervously, he shifted his legs, as if to reassure himself that his shorts were still there. He and Touji were playing to see who got to go one-on-one with the winners of the girl's game. He was normally a match for Touji in cards; sometimes better if Touji was having a hard time concentrating. But, with four nubile young girls in the room, scantily clad in shirts and shorts, he was a wreck mentally. So, he had lost all but his underwear and shorts after only a half hour. The jock was down to his shorts, socks and tee shirt. Tomoko was leaning against him, studying his cards. The dark-haired boy grinned at his brown-haired friend. "Well?" he asked happily.

"Uh, give me…one." Said the nerd, tossing one of his cards onto the discard pile. Touji slid him a fresh card. Please, please, please, be a king; or at least a higher club! Begged the boy. Turning the card over behind the screen of his current cards, he fought not to giggle. At last! Kiss my ass, Touji Suzahara! The Ken-man is back in the game! "You?" he asked as innocently as possible.

"Nah. You've already lost, Kensuke." Smiled Touji. Kensuke smiled back.

"You wish. Let's see `em." He challenged.

"Losers before winners, sucker." Chortled Touji.

"How about this, then, old buddy?" asked Kensuke urbanely. He laid his hand out on the table. "Two pair and an ace."

"Not bad, Kensuke." Nodded Touji appreciatively. Kensuke whooped in celebration. "But not good, either." Finished Touji, laying his hand out, revealing a royal flush. Kensuke froze at the sight of the cards. Tomoko giggled, as did the other girls.

"Pay up, otaku!" chanted the girls. Kensuke blushed, but stood and took off his shorts, revealing his underwear. "Oh my god! He's got on tighty-whiteys!" blurted out Reiko, her hand over her mouth.

"I didn't think anyone wore those any more!" laughed Shiori.

"What does Touji wear?" wondered Keiko. Before Kensuke could tell her, Tomoko answered.

"Boxers." She said, smiling. The other three girls looked at her.

"Really?" they asked, a whole conversation in those words.

Tomoko smiled a wicked smile. "Oh, yes in deed!" she confirmed.

"What's the deal with boxers over briefs?" wondered Kensuke aloud.

"You're kidding me, Hikari." Accused Aki from where she was leaning back against the arm of the couch. "You're just not used to seeing them, so it just looked that big."

"Actually, she isn't exaggerating." Disagreed Rit-chan. "Shin-chan is well equipped."

"We'll get to how you know that in a minute, Rit-chan." Promised Aki. "Hi-chan, show me with your hands how big you think he is."

"Well, it was about like this." Said the brown-haired girl, holding up her hand, her thumb circling toward her fingers, but not quite closing the gap, which was about a quarter of the circle's circumference. "And it reached from my clit to a little past my bellybutton." She announced. Aki whistled appreciatively.

"And you were going to have him put that in you? You're a virgin, right?" she wondered.

Hikari blushed. "Well, technically, since he didn't…take my cherry. But I don't consider myself one; we did plan to have sex, after all." Rit-chan was silent, her face blank. Hikari drained the last of her third bottle of juice and stretched. "Mmm. Too bad that my sisters interrupted when they did. We could have gone all the way if they hadn't of come home then." Mused the girl. She looked over at Rit-chan. "Hey, are you in there, Rit-chan?" she asked. Rit-chan blinked.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about something, Hi-chan." She said. Ever the gentleman, eh, Shinji-chan? She thought to herself.

"Do you know who he was practicing with, Hi-chan?" asked Aki.

"Practice? What are you talking about, Aki?" asked the girl.

"You said he was very good at getting you off, right? Well, that's not normally a guy's forte; they usually have to practice a lot before they get good at getting a girl hot." Said Aki. "So, you think it might be that Misato woman his buddies are always drooling over? Or maybe it's Ayanami?" she surmised.

"Could be Asuka for all we know." Joked Hikari. Aki shook her head.

"No, not her; she'd kill him if he touched her like he was touching you." The three laughed at that, but were interrupted by the phone ringing.

"Who could that be?" wondered Hikari. "Who has this number, anyway?"

"I gave my number here to Airi and Misato, but they would call on the cell phone anyway. I guess we'll have to answer it and see." She picked up the phone.

"Inoue." She said crisply. Her two friends watched and listened. Rit-chan continued her conversation. "I see. No, I am not to be disturbed, understood? Good. That won't be necessary. No. I don't care who says what, if they try to come up here, they - and you - will regret it, is that clear? I fail to see how that is my problem. Oh? I see. Yes, I think that will be agreeable. Good night to you, as well." The phone clicked into its bracket. Rit-chan smiled.

"Who was it?" asked Hikari.

"Oh, it was the front desk. Seems some of the teachers wanted to come up here to `check up' on me." Rit-chan smiled an icy smile. "Apparently, two of the teachers felt that they should stay here with me, as a kind of chaperone or something. Since I'm picky about who I spend time with, I declined their offer. Stupid fucks ought to learn not to crowd me; it makes me irritable."

"So, what was agreeable?" asked Aki. Rit-chan smiled.

"Oh, nothing much. Just that no one that I don't walk through personally or call down and identify in advance will be allowed up here." Said Rit-chan, sounding quite happy. "So, what do you want to do next, guys?"

Touji sighed in pleasure as Tomoko's hand stroked his rock hard dick through his boxers. Tomoko was naked and laying against his right side, with Shiori on his other side and Reika behind him, his shoulders resting against her hips and his head pillowed on her breasts. The four watched as Keiko bobbed her head up and down on Kensuke's dick. With the alcohol consumed, the girls were feeling pretty uninhibited, and while they were playing cards, Reika had dared Keiko to beat her in a masturbating race. The loser had to do whatever the winner said. By the narrowest of margins, Reika had beat Keiko, and she promptly ordered Keiko to give the `poor virgin otaku' a blowjob, which she was currently doing.

Kensuke was panting, trembling, and drooling a bit as her head bobbed up and down. Only four minutes in, and he was about to explode. Keiko was slurping away happily, her head moving faster and faster on his dick, when he suddenly moaned and went limp. Keiko held her head still for a moment, then raised her face from his groin, smiling. Kensuke was leaning back against the wall, his eyes closed and his breath ragged. Tomoko grinned at her friend. "Hey, Keiko!" she called out "Give him a kiss!" Keiko giggled and nodded, leaning over him, her lips locking on his.

"She didn't swallow, did she?" asked Touji, seeing Kensuke's eyes snap open as Keiko's tongue transferred her cargo to his mouth. He began to squirm, but she grabbed his head with her hands, dropping her body onto his, pinning him in place as she methodically pushed all the cum from her mouth to his.

"Nope." Confirmed Tomoko. "She rarely does. Usually she just spits it out or lets them blow on her chest or face."

"As if she thinks that's not as bad as swallowing." Sniffed Reiko dismissively. "Four minutes, and he blew. What's his deal? Doesn't he jack off or something?"

"Yeah, but it's nothing compared to the real thing." Touji defended his friend's performance. Tomoko laughed.

"Well, I can say that you did significantly better your first time. You made it until I came; if I didn't know you were a virgin that night, I'd have sworn that you were experienced." She said.

"You matched Tomo your very first time?" gasped Shiori. "How did you do that? Tomo-chan is a nympho!"

"And you're not?!" shot back Tomo. "I've seen you in action, Shiori, and if anyone is a nympho here, it's you!"

"Aw, she's defensive; how cute!" squealed Shiori.

"Well, Naoko was helping me." Noted Touji. Shiori raised an eyebrow.

"A three-some? With Naoko? I'm impressed. When was this?" asked the longhaired pillow. Tomoko shrugged.

"The day before the war." Keiko released her grip on Kensuke, who was coughing and making retching sounds. As the shorthaired schoolgirl sat back, she smiled.

"Aw, you didn't like my kiss! I'm hurt!" she teased.

"Hey, Keiko!" called out Reiko, "Looks like part of him did!" she pointed to Aida's semi-erect dick. "Why not just finish him off?"

Keiko rose from the bed and walked to the bathroom. "No thanks; I've had my turn. One of you can do it if you want." She said, heading for the toilet. Kensuke had stopped coughing and was looking hopefully at the three girls with a glassy-eyed look. Shiori, Tomoko and Reiko traded looks.

"Well, shit." Said Reiko. "He's just too pathetic-looking like this. But I won't fuck him. Ever had a tit-fuck, Kensuke?" said the girl, rising from Touji's side and stepping across to where Kensuke sprawled. The boy shook his head, unable to speak. Reiko smiled. "Well, many say that I am the queen of the tit-fuck. But, if I do that for you, you need to do something for me." Kensuke nodded. Reiko smiled. "Good boy." She cooed. Pulling him so that was flat on the bed, she straddled his face, smiling down at him as she lowered her hips to his mouth. "Play pony for me." She directed.

"God, she's so kinky sometimes." Observed Tomoko, her hand slipping Touji's dick out of his boxers, then, with Shiori's help, ridding him of his last piece of clothing. As Tomoko's mouth closed on his throbbing erection, Shiori twisted around to slip her tongue into his mouth. Touji settled in for a repeat of the night at Kodo's place. On the other bed, Reiko was writhing as Kensuke learned how to please a woman, his tongue busy, and his dick fully erect again.

"Hey! Don't start without me, Tomo!" cried Keiko as she emerged from the bathroom.

Airi had turned in about an hour ago, and Asuka was still beating up on Shinji on the console game unit. Rei was sitting silently beside Shinji, which placed him between the two girls. On the screen, Asuka's car roared past Shinji's, nearly forcing the male pilot into the rail. "Slow, slow, slow!" yelled Asuka, "Just like your Eva!"

"Unit 1 is no slower or faster than Unit 2." Stated Rei quietly. Asuka just growled.

"And once more, Asuka Langley Sohryu is victorious!" she crowed as her digital car slashed through the gate a full five seconds before Shinji's car. "Man, talk about no challenge! I need a better competitor!" Shinji tossed his controller to the floor, his hands sore. Lying back on the floor, he yawned.

"I'm tired." He said.

"Baka, go get us some drinks!" ordered Asuka, pulling out the disc that she had just been playing and looking for a new game in the sparse stack of disks. Shinji sighed and rose to his feet, stretching his shoulders as he did so. Rei watched him go, starting to rise as well. "Going somewhere, Wondergirl?" asked Asuka, her tone a bit stiff and curled.

"Yes." Replied Rei, standing. Asuka smiled.

"Have a safe trip home, Wondergirl." She smiled nastily.

"I was instructed to spend the night here." Replied Rei calmly, ignoring Asuka's spiteful barb.

"Humph. Dolls always do as they're told, too. Right, Wondergirl?" jabbed Asuka. Rei ignored her remark as Shinji returned with some glasses.

"I have water for Rei, juice for me, and soda for Asuka." He announced, handing out the glasses. Asuka selected a disc, her expression thoughtful behind the screen of her hair. Deciding on her course of action, she slipped the disk into the machine, but didn't close the lid yet. Sipping her soda, she studied Rei and Shinji covertly. Rei was daintily sipping her water, and Shinji was sitting on the couch, his juice in hand. Rei was sitting beside him, close enough that she was all but in his lap. Asuka frowned.

"So, where are you sleeping, Wondergirl?" she asked casually.

"With Shinji." Answered Rei calmly. Asuka growled.

"Pervert!" she snapped. "You're sleeping in my room, got it, First?" she gritted out.

"You desire to sleep with me, Asuka?" inquired Rei, her tone disinterested. Shinji felt a fight coming on.

"Hey, I'll just sleep on the couch, ok?" he said, trying to defuse the situation.

"Quiet, Baka." Ordered Asuka. "Tell you what, Wondergirl." She began. "We'll decide who sleeps where by playing a game. Whoever wins the tournament in Steel Soul XIX decides the sleeping arrangements, deal?"

"Agreed." Said Rei softly, slipping off the couch and sitting where Shinji had sat most of the night. The wood is still warm from his body heat. Noted the First Child. She picked up the controller. Asuka tossed the rest of her drink down and grabbed her controller, closing the lid and waiting for the game to load.

Shinji got a cold feeling in his stomach. Asuka was the queen of SS XIX, and she had been playing it most of the night, while Rei had probably never even learned how to play. But why would she agree to Asuka's terms if she thought she would loose? He wondered. The game finished loading and Asuka selected the Tournament mode, which brought up the list of characters for the players to choose from. Since there were eighteen different regular characters and three hidden characters, each with their own profile, the tournaments were long and very difficult, as the character that the players selected were only the start of the tournament. With the first character selected, the two would fight a best of three round. At the end of the round, the winner could choose to keep or trade their character, while the loser was forced to trade characters. Once every one of the eighteen regular characters had been defeated, the tournament was over, with the player with the most wins declared winner. So, there was a minimum of eighteen, three round matches to the tournaments.

Asuka selected her favorite character, a somewhat top-heavy Amazon with platinum-blonde braids, armed with a huge sword and wearing the traditional chain-mail bikini. Though the character was classified as a strength-optimized character, she was also the fastest of the `strong' characters, with the second-best agility in the same category. Her attacks were powerful, she was nimble, fast and large. Her primary weakness was that she only had a handful of combos, and they were only three moves long at best, most of them being a one-two combo. It was this character that so often rendered Shinji's character into dog food.

Rei browsed the list, eventually selecting a character classified as `agile', with the optimization on speed. The character was a small, compact girl wearing a halter-top and spandex pants, carrying a pair of short swords. The fastest of the agile designated characters, she was also the third strongest, and the most defensive of the entire list. Her attacks were somewhat below average in strength, but her combo list was two screens long, and about a dozen of them were more than ten hits long, as well as being able to repeat them endlessly if the player were good enough to repeat the combo precisely over and over.

From talking with his friends, he knew that very few people ever used this character, as her combos were difficult to use. Still, for players wanting to dodge around and win on points alone, she was a fairly good choice. Shinji felt that their choice of characters was a reflection of their Eva's abilities and their piloting style. Asuka lived for the attack, while Rei preferred to work defensively. Shinji wondered just what his style was, as he had no idea why he chose to act as he did in battle. His thoughts were derailed by the start of the tournament, which was a single warm-up match. Asuka smirked and moved in, her character executing its best one-two combo, an attack that could deplete the entire life meter of Rei's chosen character in a single hit. Pity for Asuka that Rei's character slipped out of the way, then nailed her to the ring wall with one of the longest combo attacks her character had, followed by two of the shorter attack combos. Asuka gaped as her character fell dead at the feet of Rei's.

"You've played this before!" she accused the blue-haired pilot.

"I have not." Denied Rei. "I have, however watched you and Shinji-chan play it for most of the night."

"He never pulled off that combo with your character, so how did you do it so perfectly?" she groused.

"I read the combo list when I selected my character." Answered Rei as the first battle of the tournament got going. Asuka gritted her teeth. This was going to get ugly.

Rit-chan stretched and looked at her half-asleep friends. "Come on, guys; let's crash for the night." She yawned, helping Hikari to her feet as Aki blinked from her half-doze and worked her way to her feet. With the aid of the elf hunter, the three made it to Rit-chan's room-sized bed. Depositing Hikari there, Rit-chan walked back out to the other room and dowsed the lights, checking to make sure the doors were locked before returning to the bed. Hikari was moving toward the chair where her bag was, muttering something about going to her room, but Rit-chan took her arm and guided her back to her bed, slipping the sheets and covers back before helping the sleepy girl into bed. "Just stay here, Hi-chan." Said the elf hunter, seeing Aki was settling into bed as well. "Plenty of room, and we'll start again tomorrow." Yawned the girl, turning off the light, and heading for the bathroom.

Finished with her business, she flushed the toilet and killed the lights, heading for bed. She felt that perhaps she was missing something, but couldn't bring herself to care, other than making sure that her trusty USP was on the bedside table, along with her combat flashlight and back up magazine. Sliding into the bed, she marveled at the feel of the silk sheets. They were cool, soft and absolutely sensuous to her bare skin. If Shin-chan were here, I don't think I could resist the urge to enjoy him. She thought to herself before falling asleep.

"Player two, Tournament Victor." Announced the game. Asuka slumped back as Rei set her controller down. Shinji was staring at the two. The Tournament had been the highest scoring one ever, far above the next highest. Rei had played ruthlessly, and Asuka had been out for blood as always. Five times Rei had had to switch characters for a turn or three, while Asuka had been through twice that number of forced switches. She had tried selecting the same character as Rei was using a time or two, to see if that could help her win. Still, it had been a narrow victory. Each girl had several flawless victories.

"Heh. Not bad, Wondergirl." Allowed Asuka, unwillingly smiling at Rei. "You're a lot tougher than Baka."

"You are a dangerous foe, Asuka." Returned Rei. "It is good that we are on the same side in real life."

"You know it, Wondergirl." Agreed Asuka. She stood, feeling her bones shift after so long on the floor. "Well, I'll see you in the morning." She said, heading for her room.

"The terms were that the winner designated the sleeping locations, were they not?" stated Rei. Asuka stopped and turned to look at Rei.

"Yeah, and you won. So, you're sleeping with Shinji, right?" she asked, frowning a bit.

"I have decided that we will both sleep with Shinji tonight." Stated Rei, standing as well. Asuka blinked.

"Excuse me? Did you just say that we were BOTH going to sleep with him?" she asked.

"Correct, Asuka. Do you prefer to sleep in your room, or his?" asked the First Child of the Second Child.

"I'm not having sex with Baka!" cried Asuka indignantly, starting to build up to an explosion of anger.

"I did not say that we would engage in sex with Shinji; just that we would both sleep with him tonight." Clarified Rei. "Unless you are too self-conscious?" she baited. Bull's eye.

"My room. Now." She gritted out. "Baka's bed is too small." Turning on her heel, she stalked off. Rei turned to Shinji.

"I am sorry if this is not what you wish, Shinji-chan. I am only trying to make you happy." She whispered to him. He stood and hugged her.

"I may die tonight, but at least I'll be with two gorgeous women." He smiled. Rei returned his smile with one of her own. Her lips locked to his for a long moment before she gently pulled away and led him toward Asuka's room. Stopping by the bathroom, he told her that he would be along in a moment, stepping into the bathroom. When he had finished his piss break, he took a deep breath, slowly exhaled and studied his reflection. "I mustn't run away." He mutter. Opening the door, he stepped to Asuka's room, pausing before the door, hesitant to open it. Before he could slide the door open, Asuka did so.

"Well? Coming to bed or not?" she asked, her tone a bit angry, but also a little excited. Behind her, he saw Rei dropping her bra to the floor before slipping her panties off. Shinji felt Asuka grab his shirt and drag him into her room. "Stop gawking and get ready for bed." She directed, closing the door. Rei, nude, slipped into bed without comment. Checking to make sure that her door was latched, Asuka reached under her night shirt, slipping her shorts and panties off before she turned for the bed. Shinji had taken off his outer clothes, and was in his boxers, his back to Asuka. Flipping the lights off, Asuka stepped over to Shinji, her hand closing on his mouth, silencing him as her other hand tugged his boxers off. As she worked the cotton boxers over his hips, she felt his semi-hard dick getting harder and harder. In the dark, Asuka grinned, an idea forming in her mind. Giving his mouth a cautionary squeeze, she grabbed his hand and guided it under her shirt to her bare sex. His sudden inhalation made her smile more. Reaching down, she touched his member, feeling it at nearly full erection. Surprising her, he turned and tugged her shirt off, then pushed her toward the bed.

"Let's sleep good, ok, Asuka-chan?" he said softly. Asuka wondered why she felt so excited and giddy as she slipped into bed, feeling Shinji do the same beside her. Bumping into Rei's naked frame, she frowned, then rolled over on top of Shinji, feeling his rock-hard member push into her belly as she did so. Now what do you think you'll be able to do, Wondergirl? Thought Asuka smugly, snuggling into Shinji, shifting so his member was buried between her legs, pressed against her wet slit snugly. As her head settled to his shoulder, she felt his arm close across her back, gently pressing her closer to him. She giggled silently. Like I thought! She exalted mentally. A soft sound come from beside the two, and a moment later, she felt a warm, soft form press gently against her and Shinji's side. So sorry, Wondergirl, but I got here first! A second soft arm crossed her back, resting across her waist. Asuka debated rather or not to say anything about it. But while she was considering the possible outcomes of speaking, she became aware of another sensation. Between her legs, there was a steady throbbing, which was making her clit steadily more and more excited. Pressed full length between her soaked lower lips, Shinji's penis was keeping time with his heartbeat, causing the maddenly pleasant sensation in Asuka's sensitive groin. Unwillingly, she began to hump her hips in time to the heartbeats. Of course, this made Shinji's heart beat faster, so Asuka humped more and more energetically, her excited sex producing copious lubricant, soaking Shinji's hard member and both of their hips. Asuka, thoroughly aroused, lifted her head from his shoulder and locked her mouth to his, her tongue fiercely dueling with his.

Craving greater stimulation, Asuka shifted, letting her legs slide to either side of his hips, her body trunk rising a bit from his, though her mouth stayed locked to his mouth. With the superior leverage and better access angle, the German girl swiftly got into a comfortable rhythm, Shinji's erection slipping along the length of her sex smoothly and easily. Both she and her lover were panting now, still kissing as breath allowed them. Asuka was near enough to an orgasm to taste it, but she couldn't quite reach it. Frustrated, she shifted position, seeking a more advantageous angle. A hand slid down her belly and between their legs, seeking her soaked groin and the rod of steel between her vaginal lips. Finding the object of their search, the hand closed over his member and with a swift twist and tuck, brought it between their two bodies. Asuka lifted her hips as the member settled into it's new position, where it could slip over her clit directly as she rubbed her hips over his. Asuka immediately resumed her grinding, feeling her first orgasm crest inside her, then crash over her like a wave. Body stiff, she rose up, silently screaming her pleasure.

Taking advantage of her rising off him, Shinji moved his hips a bit, feeling the tip of his turgid member press into her soft, soaked nest. His hands settled onto Asuka's hips, steadying her as she wavered in an invisible tornado, her entire body shaking. A moment later, he felt another hand close on his well-lubricated shaft and begin to slowly stroke it, rising his excitement level to near-burst. Asuka began to settle back down, her relaxed body slowly impaling itself on his member. Once more, his head pressed into her virgin passage, the wide flange feeling incredibly tight as the last of his tip entered her. Asuka, still riding the last of her orgasm, gasped as she felt herself stretch to accommodate his member. Is he…planning to go all the way with me tonight? She thought, still a bit dazed from her previous orgasm. The pressure his penis was exerting on her inner passage was delightfully erotic, and she craved more of that contact. Suddenly, she felt a sharp sting in her passage. He's at my hymen. If he breaks it, then I won't be a virgin anymore. The thought scared her. If I let him have my virginity, then that means that I must love him. But, I can't love him.

"S…Stop." She pleaded, her voice so soft she barely heard it herself. To her amazement - and not a little disappointment, Shinji heard her.

"O…of course, Asuka-chan." He whispered, moving his hips back and away, his tip freeing itself from her sheath. Once more, she just isn't ready. Thought the pilot. I will wait for her to be ready. He resolved, feeling his member throb in frustration. Another part of him had another thought. She may never be ready, stupid. He mentally threw that part of him a severe ass-whooping. If that's the case, then so be it. Even if she never is ready for more than we have now, then I will still love her. He resolved, feeling his dick begin to hurt from the strain of not being relieved. The hand that had been assisting him was still gently stroking his shaft. Feeling an arm across his side, he deduced that it was Ayanami. Beside him, Asuka shifted, her body pressing to his.

"Shinji, I…" she couldn't finish the whisper.

"Shh. I know, and it doesn't matter. I love you, Asuka. Get some sleep, ok?" he reassured her, touching his lips to her cheek. Asuka slid her hand to his member, feeling it's steel-hard state. Her fingers brushed against Ayanami's briefly, and Rei covertly slid her hand away. Asuka assumed that the hand had belonged to Shinji.

"I can't just leave you like this, Baka." She said softly.

"I'll be ok, Asuka." He reassured her.

"Of course you will be, Baka-chan. I'll see to that." She smiled in the darkness before slipping down in the bed, her hair sliding along his bare skin, triggering excited Goosebumps on his chest. She paused when her cheek touched his slippery, well-lubricated member. "Just remember, Baka, this is a special occasion, so don't go thinking this will happen again." She warned him, before running her soft tongue along his shaft, then engulfing the sensitive head in her warm mouth. Shinji felt that the service she was giving him more than made up for not getting to have sex with her. Unseen in the dark room, Rei too commemorated the occasion with a rare act of her own: she smiled a full smile.

Morning sun streamed in through the windows on the suite, waking Rit-chan first. Sitting up carefully, the oldest of the three teen girls rubbed her eyes and yawned. To her right, Hikari had a large pillow hugged to her chest, face buried in it, her back having been pressed against Rit-chan's warmth. To her left, Aki was sprawled out on her back, sleeping comfortably. A small bit of drool was at the corner of her mouth. For some insane reason, Rit-chan was suddenly reminded of how Junpei and - to a lesser extent - Celsia slept. She giggled softly before starting to move off the room-sized bed. Once that was done, she slipped into the bathroom and tended to her normal morning routine. Once that was done, she exited the bathroom, still in her sleeping shirt, and stepped quietly out onto the deck, pausing to take several deep breaths of the damp, thick ocean air. Revitalized, she stretched her arms and limbs before she began her morning workout. Half way through, heard the glass door slide open.

"So, there is a secrete to her perfect physique." Mused Aki, her tone light and cheerful as she set her cup of steaming coffee on the veranda's patio table. The tall girl was dressed in a one-piece suit of a moderately revealing nature, her mid-shoulder-length hair pulled back into a single ponytail low on her neck. "Morning, Rit-chan." She greeted the hunter.

"Morning, Aki-chan." Returned the older girl easily, finishing her crunches and standing as she stretched some more. "You always up this early?" asked the red-head.

"Depends on how late I was up the night before." Replied Aki. "You do that every morning?" she asked, meaning the exercises.

"Yeah. Keeps me in shape, and all." Acknowledged Rit-chan. "You?"

"Run every other day. Usually two miles. Why?" returned Aki. Rit-chan contemplated the half-risen sun, which was painting the sea a red-gold color.

"Today a run day for you?" asked the other girl after a moment.

"Yeah, I think so. What's up?" asked Aki, draining the last of her coffee. Rit-chan smiled at her.

"We've got a whole beach to ourselves, why not give it a look?" Aki's grin matched Rit-chan's.

"Not a bad idea." She approved. "Do we wake Hi-chan or not?"

"Well, we have the time. I think we should ask her, and if she wants to sleep, let's let her. Besides, I have to get changed." Noted the older girl, motioning to her oversized sleeping shirt emblazoned with the NERV logo. Aki smirked.

"Aw, don't want to advertise?" she teased.

"No thanks. I'm particular about who sees me in what." Smiled Ritsuko in return. "You good in that suit?"

"Yeah. I bought this one with this in mind; well, this and classes. It's very supportive." Agreed Aki. The two re-entered the suite. Rummaging in her bag, Rit-chan swiftly found what she was after and slipped into the sports bra and lycra jog shorts. Once they were settled to her liking, she reached back into her bag, retrieving a set of small, sharp knives in thin sheaths, which she tucked one each into her top and the waist of her dark charcoal gray shorts. Aki watched silently as the girl then retrieved her NERV cell phone, checked the battery charge and messaging screen, then pulled out a length of soft cloth, which she used to tie the phone securely to the outer side of her left bicep. Stepping to the bedside table, she picked up her USP, slipped the magazine out of the well, cracking the chamber back to verify the gun was chambered, then reseated the magazine with a soft smack. The USP went in to her holster, which she secured to her shorts-clad right thigh before she slipped on a loose, thin wrap to hide the gun.

"Paranoid, Rit-chan?" asked Aki drolly. "Why check the gun? It was loaded last night, it will be loaded today."

"Assumptions can get you hurt or killed. For all I know, someone might have tampered with it while we were sleeping, or maybe I cleared it while I slept. Who knows? Rather than think you know, know you know." Answered Rit-chan, jogging in place to make sure that her weapons load-out wouldn't come loose as she jogged. Having done this before, the job was done right, and everything stayed in place. Sitting on the bed, she leaned over to Hikari and gently shook her. After a couple of more shakes, the brown-haired class rep awoke.

"Wha…oh. Good morning, you guys. What's up?" she yawned.

"We're gonna go jogging on the beach. Want to come?" asked Aki.

Another yawn. "What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Day time. You don't have to come, Hi-chan. We just thought we'd ask." Clarified Rit-chan. Hikari stretched her arms over her head.

"I've never jogged on the beach before. Gimme a second to get ready, ok?" she answered, throwing the sheets back and moving off the bed.

"Take you time." Assured Aki, stepping into the cavernous bathroom. Hi-chan nodded as she dug through her pack. In short order, she had a one-piece swim suit in hand a one of her bikinis in the other. "Um, which do you think would be better. Rit-chan?" she asked the older girl.

"Either is fine, Hi-chan. We're going to come back here after we jog, so who cares?" she answered casually. Hi-chan considered the two, then gave a small smile and tossed the one-piece back to her bag, setting the bikini on the bed as she slipped out of her pajamas. Once her bikini was on, she began to gather her hair back to put it in the twin pony tails she normally wore. "Why not let it alone, Hi-chan? We're on vacation, right?" offered Rit-chan.

"But you and Aki have your hair back in ponytails." Protested Hikari.

"We both wear ours longer than you, Hi-chan. We do this to keep it from getting tangled. You don't have that worry." Noted the other girl. Hikari shrugged.

"You talked me into it." She smiled. Aki stepped out of the bathroom.

"Ready to go?" she asked.

Airi awoke to the smells of another good breakfast. Shinji-chan can really cook. Noted the actress to herself. If we had him with us while we were chasing elves, we would have certainly been in a much better mood most times. Rit-chan is ok with the basics, but Junpei and I can barely boil water right, and Celsia…well, I won't even go there. Rising from the bed, she stepped out of Misato's and her room, making for the kitchen. In the kitchen, she found Shinji working at the stove. He was wearing a pair of shorts and a tee shirt, apron tied firmly to his front as he stirred the eggs, checked the bacon and sausage, watched the rice, and prepared the toast. Airi paused to watch him for a bit. For someone who is so out of their depth in combat and life, he shows remarkable potential. She thought to herself. As the boy pilot started to prepare some fish for Pen Pen, he noticed her standing there.

"Oh! Good morning, Airi." He said politely. Airi smiled.

"Good morning, Shin-chan. Breakfast smells wonderful." She said, entering the kitchen to sit at the table and watch him work. Pen Pen, smelling own breakfast, exited his room, patting Shinji's leg in greeting as he retrieved his morning beer. Shinji nodded to the flightless bird while talking to Airi.

"Thank you. Coffee will be ready in a bit, if you want it." He offered.

"That sounds good, actually. At least, as long as it isn't Misa-chan style." She amended.

"No, Misato's the only one that drinks it that way. We have a rich Swiss style, as well as good old flat black. What's your pleasure?" he asked, peeking into a cupboard. Airi had to bite her tongue to keep from playing that line back at him.

"Swiss sounds good." She answered in stead. "Where are the girls?" she asked, changing the topic. She noted a fractional freeze as he answered.

"Uh, they're still resting." He answered carefully. "They should be up soon." He added. Deciding enough was enough, Airi gave in to temptation.

"Wore them out, did you?" she asked conversationally. Shinji froze.

"What makes you think that?" he asked, his tone striving for casual, but failing spectacularly to achieve its lofty mark. Airi gave him a smile.

"Call it woman's intuition, Shinji." She said. "Or a good set of ears, either one." She tossed out as an after thought.

"We weren't that loud, were we?" he muttered to himself. Airi laughed.

"You're right; you weren't. Got you!" Shinji blushed. Suddenly, he felt Airi's arms enclose him in a hug. "Don't worry, Shin-chan. I can keep a secret, and I happen to think this is a good thing, all things considered." She said softly into his ear. "I'm going to freshen up. See you at breakfast, Shinji-chan." She added, releasing him from her hug.

Touji awoke to find himself in the middle of a girl sandwich. Tomoko was snuggled up to his right side, and Keiko was entangled with his left arm. He blinked, then looked over to the other bed in the room. Reiko and Shiori were spooning with each other, and Kensuke was no-where to be seen. Still, the dark haired boy had to pee, so he began to work his way out of the embrace of Tomoko. Aside from some sounds of discontent at being deprived of her warmth, the long-haired girl showed no signs of waking as he finally stood and stepped to the bathroom. As he did so, he spotted his friend, sleeping on the floor next to the bed that Shiori and Reiko slept on. Totally nude, his body had several hickies on it, as well as some other mementos of his night of lost virginity. Touji shook his head. "Amateur." He muttered, stepping into the bathroom to pee. As soon as he was finished, he eyed the shower, deciding that he really should take one. As he ran the shower to get it warm, he selected a fresh towel and set it within easy reach, then turned his search to finding soap and shampoo.

"Here, use mine." Came a soft voice from the door. Shiori stood there, a small bottle of body wash and shampoo in her hands. Over her shoulder was a towel, and she was still yawning.

"Uh, sure. Thanks." He said, accepting them as he stepped into the shower. Shiori paid a visit to the toilet as he scrubbed himself down. Finished, she slipped into the shower with him.

"You were something else, Suzahara." She noted as she too began to clean herself off. "I can see how you managed to match Tomo-chan for your first time." Unsure how to answer that, he stayed silent. "We'll have to do this more often, stud." Giggled Shiori. Touji tried not to stare at her as she began to wash her groin free of semen and girl cum. She caught his occasional glances. "Most of this is yours, Touji-chan." She said in a sultry voice.

"Most of it?" wondered Touji. "You mean you actually agreed to let Kensuke fuck you?"

"If you can call what he did fucking, yeah, I guess so. He blew his load almost before I knew he was there, then fell asleep. Good thing we had you to keep us company." Purred the girl, pressing herself to his back.

"Hey! Quit hitting on him when we're asleep, Shiori!" came a voice from the bedroom. Tomoko was up. Entering the bathroom, she sat to relieve her bladder, eyeing the two as she did so. "Still, I can understand; we showered together when he did me the first time, too." Touji finished up. As he washed the last of the soap off him, his stomach growled. The two girls laughed.

"You gonna feed that or not, Touji?" asked Tomoko, standing back so he could exit the shower, toweling off as the other girl entered the warm spray.

"Hey, I'm gonna get Kensuke back to our room before any of the teachers find us here, then go get some breakfast. See you there?" he offered.

"Of course. We'll get Keiko and Reika cleaned up." Agreed Tomoko before ducking her head under the spray. Touji finished toweling off, dressed in his clothes, then tossed his wet towel over Kensuke's face. Moments later, the boy was awake.

"Wha…who? Touji? Uh?" he began, his mind still thoroughly scrambled. Touji smiled at his friend before he tossed the other boy's clothes in his face.

"Morning, sleeping beauty. Get dressed and move it; we gotta be gone before the teachers start to check up on us." Ordered the larger boy. Kensuke dressed on auto-pilot. As soon as he was decent, Touji muscled him out of the room and down to their room. Kensuke yawned.

"Hey, did I really score last night?" he asked his old friend, his tone hopeful.

"Yeah. Congratulations, Kensuke. You are officially a man now. Grab your stuff and let's go see what's for breakfast." Ordered the athlete. Kensuke collected his ever-present camera and grabbed his wallet, then followed the other out of their room.

"Don't I get to shower too?" he asked, seeing Touji's still-damp hair.

"Shoulda got up earlier, wimp." Responded Touji, entering the elevator and pressing the button for the lobby. Kensuke groaned.

"I'll grab one before we get into the class room stuff for the dives." He promised himself as the elevator opened onto a sight to wake the dead.

Ritsuko Inoue, Hikari Horaki and Aki Wakirihara were at the front desk, in skimpy clothes and obviously heading for the entrance that led to the beach. Touji and Kensuke traded looks, knowing that breakfast could wait. As the three girls walked out the door and down the wood walkway to the pure sand beaches, the two hurried to catch up.

"Hey! Ritsuko!" called Kensuke, grinning like an idiot. "Did you sleep good?"

Without turning to them, she answered. "Yes."

"Ow!" pouted Kensuke. "You're acting like Ayanami. What's wrong?"

"So sorry, boys." Interjected Aki, stepping into the soft sand. "We're busy now, so excuse us."

"Going for a walk on the beach?" surmised Touji. "How about if we join you?" The girls reached the tide line, where the sand was firmer, yet still somewhat soft. Hikari stretched a bit as Aki and Rit-chan took several deep breaths.

"What do you say, Rit-chan?" asked Aki, ignoring the two. "That point, down past the jetty?" Rit-chan studied the distance.

"Looks a little short. We'll probably need to go a bit past that group of boat houses down there, then back." She determined.

"You got it. Ready, Hi-chan?" asked Aki.

"Yeah, guess so. I'm still not fully awake, so let's go easy at first, ok?" replied the class rep. The other two girls nodded agreement.

"Hey, we'll come with you!" interrupted the boys.

"Whatever. But if you fall behind, you're gone, got it?" warned Aki, as the three girl took off at an easy lope, headed for the far points of the beach. Touji grunted, then started jogging after them. Kensuke moaned his fate before taking off after his friend and the girls.

"Wish Shinji were here; he's good at distance events." He muttered, not realizing that all three girls shared that wish with him.

Breakfast was interesting to say the least. Shinji was careful not to act differently toward Asuka and Rei, both of whom seemed to be acting entirely normal. Still, knowing that Airi knew, he was wondering if they were as obvious as he felt they were. Still, not a word or gesture from the actress betrayed that she knew that the pilots had spent the night together. As the last of the breakfast was cleared away and Shinji tended to the dirty dishes, Asuka stretched her arms, then asked the question on everyone's mind. "So, what do we do today?"

Kensuke was wonder what he had done to anger God this way. Laying on the soft sand of the beaches of Okinawa, he fought to regain his breath, seeing the three girls and Touji moving steadily down the beach in a swift jog. "How far are they going to go, anyway?" he panted. He studied the way that Touji was moving and in that moment, he hated his friend. "Damn jock." He muttered, seeing the way that the taller kid moved. Having lost the physical challenge, he fell back on his strengths: mental ability.

"They'll have to come back this way, so I'll rest up and catch them on the return leg." He decided, absently checking his camera over. Inspiration hit him. "And while they're coming back, I'll get some good footage of them. Should sell pretty good, as long as I get enough jiggle in it." He began studying the lighting and angles, and soon he had the perfect spot picked out, his camera ready, waiting for the return of the girls. And, presumably, Touji as well. "Hmm. Might have to edit it a bit if he's in the frame." Mused the brown-haired boy.

It was a little less than a quarter of an hour later when he saw the figures approaching him. Sitting up, he focused the camera on them and began recording. Sure enough, the girls were jogging back, Aki in the lead with her longer legs, flanked on either side by Hikari and Rit-chan. The tide had changed and was moving in, so the girls occasionally ran through the surf, water spraying from their feet as they ran. Farther back, he spotted the form of Touji. Seems the boy was running low on energy. "Probably should have eaten before this little jaunt." Grunted Kensuke, concentrating on filming the girls. As they got closer, he grinned as he noted the movement of Aki's breasts and Rit-chan's. Hikari's breasts didn't move a lot, but still presented a lovely picture of the feminine form. You know, I should put the song from that old movie with this footage. He thought. With the girls rapidly closing the distance, he knew that he would have to resume jogging soon, but had decided to let them pass him so he could get a few ass shots of them. Something caught his eye about the way that Rit-chan moved. Her form is perfect. The economy of her movements, the smooth motions, the balance; it's perfect. I wonder if she did track in her old school? The girls zoomed past him, none of them even glancing at him, concentrating on their exercise. He filmed their shapely rears until Touji came even with him. Regretfully, he stopped filming and rose to his feet, joining Touji in the jog back to the hotel. The girls were steadily opening the gap between them.

"Well, that was a good workout." Panted Hikari, catching her breath by the main entrance to the hotel. "I need to be in better shape."

"You're in fine shape, Hi-chan." Disagreed Aki. "You kept pace with us easily enough."

"Ha! I thought I was going to have a heart attack there at the end." Snorted Hikari. "How far was that, anyway?" she wondered.

"Sorry about that, guys. I didn't know there was a cove there." Apologized Rit-chan. "It worked out to be close to five and a quarter miles."

"Don't sweat it. We all made it, and we'll be sitting on out asses for the next few hours, so it'll be fine." Aki waved the apology away. "Still, I have to say that your form is excellent, Rit-chan. Do you run track or something?"

"Only when chasing elves." Grinned Rit-chan, her tone telling them that it was a private joke. "But, to the point, no, I wasn't on the track and field team at my…old school. But, I was a pinch runner for them, and the coach of the Track team taught the girl's PE classes too. She was a gold medallist in two Olympics before she married and settled down, so we got very professional instruction."

"What were her medals in?" wondered Aki.

"Gold in the marathon, gold in the 1500 meter relay, silver in the triathlon, bronze in the pentathlon her first Olympic, Gold in the marathon, gold in the 1500 meter relay, bronze in the triathlon, silver in the pentathlon her second go around. An accident in her training cycle closed her Olympic competition before she could try for a third time." Answered Rit-chan.

"Did she hurt her legs or something?" wondered Aki.

Rit-chan giggled. "Not exactly. Her boyfriend tried a new brand of condom, and she got pregnant. Since they were going to get married anyway, they just moved the schedule up." Aki laughed with her.

"That must have been irritating!" she offered. Rit-chan shrugged.

"Couldn't say. But she said that was the most pleasurable accident she ever had." Said the red-head.

"No argument there, Rit-chan." Agreed Aki, still chuckling.

"How old was your teacher, Rit-chan?" wondered Hikari.

"Twenty six. Why?" asked Rit-chan.

"Well, the last Olympic games were held a year before Second Impact, and that was fifteen years ago, so…" Began Hikari, but was silenced by Rit-chan's hand on her bare shoulder. Looking up to Rit-chan's eyes, she saw a dead serious look in them.

"Don't, OK, Hi-chan?" said the girl, dead serious. "Just…don't. Please."

"O…ok, Rit-chan." Agreed Hikari. What is she trying to say? Wondered the class rep.

"Come on, let's get some food." Said the strange girl, her tone forced to lightness as she turned for the entrance to the main area of the hotel.

"Wonder what's for breakfast?" wondered Aki, heading for the dining room. Hikari followed the other two, still wondering what Rit-chan had been trying to warn her about.

To say that the dining room was busy was an understatement. The students from their school were everywhere, noisy and busy as the first full day of their school trip got under way. Surveying the food and the noisy environment, Rit-chan shook her head. "I don't think so." She muttered, turning away from the crowd. Aki and Hikari stared at her curiously. The elf hunting teen walked over to the elevator and entered, holding the door open for Aki and Hikari. "Well?" she asked, tilting her head a bit. The two girls entered the elevator with her.

"Where are we going, Rit-chan?" asked Hikari.

"Two words for you: room service." Answered Rit-chan with a smile. Aki smiled too.

"You know, they say that this hotel has excellent chefs." She offered.

"Order whatever you like. It's on me; or more accurately, on NERV." Smiled Rit-chan.

"Aren't you worried that NERV will get upset about the amount of money you're spending here?" asked Hikari.

"That fucking shit-head should have thought about that before he ordered me to come here." Said Rit-chan darkly. "It's not like I work for the sick madman." She added, her tone very dangerous. "Hitler wanna-be." She snarled. Hikari, used to Asuka's explosions of temper, desperately tried to think of a way to defuse the girl. Fortunately, Aki was there to help.

"Are you hypoglycemic or just starting your period, Rit-chan?" asked the tall girl easily. Rit-chan blinked.

"Guess I'm just a little tense. Let's eat." She said, her temper vanishing as swiftly as it had built. The door opened and the three entered Rit-chan's castle, Rit-chan snagging the phone and punching up room service. "What do you want for breakfast, guys?" she called out.

"What do they have?" countered Aki.

"Whatever we order." Replied Rit-chan, smiling.

"What took you so long, Touji-chan?" cooed Tomoko as he and Kensuke sat at the table the girls had claimed, plates piled high with food.

"We had a detour on the way." The jock explained.

"Yeah, a five mile detour." Muttered Kensuke, digging into his food.

"Not like you ran it or anything." Retorted Touji, shoveling down his own food.

"Am I the only one here who's lost?" asked Reiko rhetorically.

"We went for a jog. It turned out to be more like gym class." Clarified Touji between bites.

"Damn, those girls can run." Observed Kensuke, draining half his glass of juice before shoveling more food into his mouth. Touji grunted.

"Which girls?" asked Tomoko curiously. Touji paused, knowing how the girl felt about Rit-chan, Hikari and Aki. Kensuke, however, didn't know of Tomoko's special dislike for the girls in question.

"We jogged with Inoue, Wakirihara and Horaki." He answered. "I got some good footage, too. I bet it'll sell like hot cakes!" Tomoko stared at him flatly.

"What's so great about them?" she muttered. Touji frowned a bit.

"Hey, Kensuke, don't you need to get more food?" he asked his friend pointedly.

"What? I've still…" he began. Touji reached over and poured his drink into his plate. "Touji!" complained Kensuke.

"Now you need more food. Get me another fruit punch while you're up." Ordered Touji. Kensuke sighed gustily and stood up, departing for the serving line. Once he was out of earshot, Touji looked Tomoko in the eye. "You gonna tell me what exactly you have against them?" Tomoko looked away.

"They're a bunch of up-tight bitches." She said reluctantly. "Everyone thinks they're so special and beautiful, just because they're pilots. All the boys want to be with them, but they act like they're too good to stoop to so low a level as to accept any of the attention. Just look at Inoue: she's in the fucking presidential penthouse while we're stuck four to a room down here. Stupid bitch."

"I hear what you're saying, Tomo, but I have to say that I think that you're painting the whole group for the actions of one. Red Devil is the Queen of Hell, but I don't believe for a moment that you think that Shinji acts self important or shows off. Ayanami either, for that matter, as she is out of school more than in it. Inoue was ordered to come here; she hadn't planned on it, and she's spending the money of NERV like there's no tomorrow as her protest to the Commander. As for Horaki, it's just her job to be a hard-case in class; she's the inchou for God's sake! She's really a nice person outside of class." He observed.

"What are you, their fan club president?" snapped Tomoko.

"No. But I want to make a challenge to you." He replied calmly.

"Oh? And what's that?" she asked, sipping at her drink.

"Sometime today, go up to Inoue and ask her if you can go up to her lair. When you're there, tell her what you just told me and listen to what she has to say. If you don't come back agreeing that she's not as bad as you think, then I'll agree that they're bitches. Fair enough?" challenged Touji.

"What makes you think that she'll invite me to her penthouse?" challenged Tomoko.

"Because she will. Hikari and Aki may or may not be there, but either way, she'll let you up there." Smiled Touji, sure that he was reading Rit-chan more accurately than she was.

"Sure." Shrugged Tomo. "Why not?"

"Excellent." Smiled Touji. Kensuke returned with more food and the drink for Touji. Reiko studied Touji for a long minute.

"What is it that you know about Inoue that we don't, Touji-chan?" she asked sweetly.

"What makes you think that I know anything more than you do?" wondered Touji.

"You're mighty sure of yourself for one thing." Replied Reiko.

"That's true. Come on, tell us what you know about her!" seconded Shiori.

"It's nothing much, really. It's just that she gets along with all three pilots and Misato, so she can't be too much of a bitch, and certainly not a goody two shoes." Answered Touji.

Kensuke gave snort of agreement. "You said it, brother!" he agreed fervently.

"You've lost me again, Touji." Admitted Tomoko. "What does living with the pilots and this Misato person have to do with her not being a bitch or a goody two shoes?"

"Well, to put it delicately," began Kensuke, "she wouldn't have been ordered to live with Misato if she were a tee-totaling bible reader."

"What are you saying, exactly? What is the deal with this Misato person?" pressed Keiko.

"She's the Operations Director of NERV, which means that she's Shinji's and the other pilot's immediate superior, as well as being Shinji's guardian. According to Shinji, she lives off of beer and has the housekeeping skills of a week-dead rat." Elaborated Kensuke.

"You're not serious." Stated Tomo. "You're saying that Shinji's boss is also his guardian who has a drinking problem and lives like a slob?" Both boys nodded. "She can't be that bad; she's the one running the battles against the angels, right?"

"Yeah. But Shinji wouldn't lie. And from what we've seen on the rare occasions that we can talk ourselves past Shinji in the mornings, he's actually understating things." Affirmed Kensuke.

"You said she was Shinji's guardian." Noted Keiko. "Isn't she also Sohryu's guardian, and Ayanami's? They're pilots too, you know."

"Well, from what we can tell, she's only the guardian of Shinji. There's this guy named Kaji who is Asuka's guardian, but he's never around. And no one knows who Ayanami's guardian is." Answered Touji.

"Oh. I see." Said Keiko. Just then, the teachers began to call for the students to finish up and report to the conference hall for the assignment of groups for the scuba instructions.

"What about this one?" asked Shinji, pointing to a poster. The three pilots were at a theater, having decided to go see a movie, then some shopping. Airi had asked if they wanted her along, and they said it was up to her. Airi decided that with Misato out of town, she had a better chance of digging around at NERV without interruption. The actress harbored no doubt that Misato was watching her closely, even though the two were nominally on the same side. So, the actress had dropped them off at the largest theater in town and moved off to NERV to do some research.

"Are you kidding, Baka?" laughed Asuka. "That's a suspense movie that the girls at school say is about as exciting as a chess game!"

"Kensuke said it was a good portrayal of the covert-ops profession." Defended Shinji.

"Little freak would say that." Growled Asuka. "Choose another." She ordered. Sixteen screens and he picks a movie recommended by Aida! She thought to herself.

"This one is supposed to be funny." He hesitantly offered, pointing to a poster two down from the first. Better not tell her it was Touji that said it was so good.

"Wayans Brothers? Isn't that a classic by now?" wondered Asuka. "I don't know. Let's see what else is available first and let this be a fall-back choice." The three moved down the row of movie posters.

"Well, this one looks good." Approved Asuka, stopping and indicating a poster. "How about it?" she asked Shinji. Shinji studied the poster.

"Sure. Whatever you like is ok with me, Asuka. How about you, Rei?" he asked the silent girl.

"I will watch what you watch, Shinji-chan." Said the girl softly.

"Good. It's decided, then. Come on; first screening is in twenty minutes and I want a good seat." Directed Asuka, headed for the ticket booth. "Three, please." She said, sliding a wad of bills across the counter and taking the tickets. The three entered the lobby and Asuka veered over to the snack bar, grabbing a huge tub of popcorn, some sodas and a few boxes of candy. Somehow, Shinji ended up carrying most of the junk food. Entering the appropriate theater, the three pilots surveyed the dimly-lit room.

"Gee, wonder if there are any seats open?" said Asuka sarcastically. With nearly three hundred seats available, there were five other people in the theater. Two were sitting together in the third row from the front, their heads leaning together, apparently asleep. Two more were making out in the back of the theater, and one lone nut sat by himself by the wall in the middle rows of seats. "Follow me, you two." Directed the Second Child, heading for a row about two-third of the way back from the screen, and on the opposite side of the room from the lone nut. Selecting her row, she moved into the seats, settling in the center of the row. Shinji settled next to her, and Rei sat by Shinji. Once their drinks were settled and the food stowed, the three pilots settled into the seats and waited for the previews to start.

The classes for Scuba had been boring for Rit-chan, although she did learn that they would be using dive masks with built-in communication sets, similar to the mark 19 rigs used by commercial divers back home. Still, it simplified the instruction significantly. She had been informed that there would be a pool check out on real equipment, then two introductory dives in the ocean today, and four instructional dives the next day. So, with lunch having been eaten an hour ago, it was finally her group's turn in the hotel pool, which had a 25 foot deep diving section, which was set up for the school to use as it's check-out area. Having been divided into six groups, the students had cycled through the instruction seminar during the morning, with each group moving from the instruction room to a test room, where they took the written test on the principals of diving, then they were moved to the pool, issued gear and ordered to run a test course. When they finished the pool section, they were free to relax poolside while they waited for the rest of the school to finish up. Most of the students who had completed the course were splashing around in the water, but Rit-chan and Hikari were sitting at an umbrella-shaded table, sipping cool drinks as they watched Aki leisurely swim around the pool. "My, Aki's certainly energetic today, isn't she?" observed Hikari as Aki began another circuit of the pool.

"She's running on nervous energy, Hi-chan." Explained Rit-chan. "As her photo shoot gets closer and closer, she'll get more and more energetic until about five hours before we leave for the shoot. Then, she'll more than likely be a nervous wreck." Rit-chan sipped her water. "Listen, Hi-chan, for the next few days, I'm going to make sure that I'm partnered with her for her little outbursts of mad exercising. If you're tired or busy, just bow out and don't sweat it; I'll keep watch on her. So, don't go feeling that you have to go running, swimming, walking, shopping, clubbing or anything else that will pop into her head unless you want to. Agreed?" Her gray-green eyes slid over to Hikari.

"If you insist, Rit-chan." Said the class rep. "But it's not like I'm some sickly kid or anything. I can keep up pretty good. After all," she grinned, "I'm pretty healthy myself."

Rit-chan nodded. "Indeed you are, Hi-chan." She murmured. The two were silent until a dripping-wet Aki approached them, taking the third lounge chair for herself. While they had eaten breakfast, Hikari and Rit-chan had changed from their running clothes to more conventional swimsuits, both one-piece this time. Hikari's was a rich, deep green with black trim, while Rit-chan's was a medium blue. As this was considered a class activity, both suits were somewhat modest, though nowhere near as modest as the swimsuits they used at the school. Rit-chan's suit was high-cut at the hips and was very cloth-conservative on her ass, while the top was generously low-cut, the back of her suit nearly even with the crests of her hips. Hikari's was a little more conservative, but not by much. Aki was still in her suit from earlier, since it met - barely - the schools written guidelines.

"Hey, guys." She smiled, draping her towel over her shoulders before laying back in the chair. "What are you drinking?"

"Water for me." Answered Rit-chan.

"Ice tea here." Answered Hikari.

"Do you think they have frozen drinks here?" asked Aki, peering up at the cloudless, blue sky.

"The bar had daiquiris listed." Noted Rit-chan.

"Yeah, right by martinis, mai tais, and Singapore slings, but under the `no alcohol under 21' sign." Added Hikari. Aki sighed. "You weren't planning on having a loaded one, right, Aki-chan?" she insisted.

"No, I suppose not." She muttered.

"Good girl." Affirmed Hikari, patting her friend's shoulder. Aki snorted disdainfully.

"Gee, Hi-chan, I'd wag my tail, but I don't have one." She noted dryly.

"Says who?" shot back Hikari. "From the looks the boys have been giving you in that suit, I'm surprised that your butt isn't on fire."

"So, let's go strut our stuff, Hi-chan. I bet the boys will pop a nut if they see all three of us together." Retorted Aki easily. Hikari was silent. Just then, Rit-chan's cell phone rang.

Junpei held the phone away from his ear, wincing as he ended the call. "Thanks for nothing, Kaji." He said darkly to his friend. Kaji shrugged.

"Hey, you asked for her number, not me." He defended himself. "Is she usually that…touchy?" wondered the spy. Junpei shrugged in response.

"Only when she's on the rag. She and Airi both get really flaky when they're PMSing." He said dismissively. "How about your Misato chick?"

"Depends on how bad it is, but she's no picnic to be around when she's on her period." Replied Kaji. "Better Shinji than me, though. He gets her and Asuka both. Akagi says that Misa's and Asuka's periods have synchronized now, so the poor bastard gets it twice as bad each month. Personally, I'm surprised that he's still alive."

"From what I've heard here at NERV, this Asuka girl is ragging all the time." Noted the male elf hunter. Kaji chuckled.

"She can come off that way, but she's not really like that all the time. She can be sweet and nice." Unbidden, the ride from Germany to Japan with the UN Pacific fleet came to mind. She had been very nice then, stripping naked and all but throwing herself at him in his cabin the day before the incident with the sixth angel. Even though he had been her guardian for the last several years, the sight of her naked had surprised him because of how much she had matured physically. Her invitation for him to fuck her brains out had been nearly impossible for him to resist, especially as she was stroking his cock through his pants while she made certain lewd suggestions. The one thing that kept him in control of his dick was the thought that when Asuka inevitably bragged to Misato about having sex with him, the purple-haired ex-girlfriend and Captain of NERV would doubtlessly shoot him on the spot; and probably desecrate his corpse for good measure. And brag she would, especially to Misa-chan, as they have known each other for a few years and are pretty friendly. Guess that ever since the orders for her eventual deployment to Japan came down, she's been working on getting to know her new boss especially well.

"Hey, spy-boy Kaji." Interrupted his current buddy. Kaji blinked away his former thought train.

"Yes, Junpei?" replied the spy smoothly.

"Do you really think that we can see Celsia? Miss Airi said that this Commander guy was keeping her locked up tighter than Dyal's ass." Said the white leather-clad fighter.

"Dyal? Who is that?" asked Kaji, sure that he had heard Junpei allude to that name before.

"She's the elf cop that Airi tricked into drinking that potion stuff that turned her into a giant naked elf. You know, the one that went on a rampage and trashed most of her city?" explained Junpei.

"Ah, yes, you told me that one. Sleep spelled you, did she?" agreed Kaji. Over the time he had had his new roommate around, he had heard a lot of the back story of the group of strangers, and while most of it made little or no sense to the spy, he knew that Junpei - though given to misinterpreting most things involving Airi - would not lie about what he had done. And, if the impossible is not a lie, then it can only be the truth. And truth was Kaji's Achilles' heel. "Well, I'm pretty certain that we can at least see her, maybe even talk to her for a bit. You see, I have an ace up my sleeve." Smiled Kaji cockily. Junpei just grunted, watching the city flash by outside Kaji's convertible sport coup. Soon, they were racing into a NERV car access point, which took them to the car-train that would lower then and the car into the Geofront proper and NERV HQ.

Airi was sitting in a break room at NERV HQ, chatting with a new friend, one of the chief maintenance engineers for the Eva series. She had decided that she would work her way up through the techs to the E Project control staff and then to the bridge crew, so as not to arouse too much suspicion. On the pretense of doing some busy work for Vice Commander Fuyutsuki, she had been spending her time lately charming the techs, lulling Section 2 into a routine, and pumping her new friends for useful info nuggets to put in place in her steadily building understanding of this place. Which is why she was sitting in a semi-comfortable plastic chair, at a cheap folding table in a large room crowded by vending machines of every type, listening to a mid-thirties geek babble on about his role in Eva maintenance. Suddenly, her ears caught a glimpse of a solid gold nugget of info. "Excuse me, but did you just say that Unit 1 has it's own separate maintenance crew?" she asked.

"Oh, yes. They are a special crew, under my department, but they don't report to me; they report directly to Doctor Akagi. My four crews work on Eva Units 0 and 2, and we'll work on Units 3 and 4 when they get here from America." Confirmed the man, sipping his coffee and looking at her with a pathetic look of total infatuation.

"That seems odd to me, that Unit 1 isn't under your professional care. I mean, I'm no expert like you, but and Eva is an Eva, right?" she prompted smoothly. The chief tech's head bobbed up and down as she spoke like a bobble-head toy.

"You're exactly right, Airi-chan. I've said the same thing time and again myself, but the Commander won't hear of it! The official word is that the Test type has had so many modifications and adjustments during the test stage that it can't be maintained like the others. But I don't buy that for a minute!" he crowed. Leaning over toward her, he looked around warily before whispering to her, his tone almost scared. "You know, I've heard that Commander Ikari spends a lot of time in Unit 1's cage, and has even gotten into the entry plug a time or two, before they assigned his son to the unit."

"I've heard that rumor too." Agreed Airi, her voice also low. "But it's just a rumor, isn't it?"

"Oh, it's no rumor, Airi-chan." He whispered urgently. "I've seen him in there twice myself. He just stands there, staring at the monster, as if he were trying to communicate with it. It's fucking creepy."

Waste not, want not. Thought Airi. And this is too prefect an opportunity to waste. "Commander Ikari isn't a pilot, is he?" she asked, her tone carefully groomed to sound curious, but innocent.

"Not that I ever heard." Said the tech, still leaning over the table, invading Airi's personal space. The actress ignored the intrusion - for now, at least. "Come to think of it, when I was a wet-behind-the-balls newbie, they had just finished building Unit 1. I was still in training at the time, so I wasn't there, but they say that the first person to pilot it was Doctor Ikari, the one who masterminded this whole thing. Anyway, the Doc went in, and something went wrong. She was killed, or so they say. Either way, she never came back, and her body was never recovered. No one else got into the unit until about seven years later, when the First Child showed up. She was the only one to pilot it until the Third Child came." He said, his tone thoughtful.

"If no one piloted it during that seven years, what did they do with someone so skillful as yourself and your men? Surely you didn't just sit around playing cards?" angled Airi artfully.

"Oh, we were working twenty hour days on Unit 0 then, getting it reworked and doing odd research experiments on Unit 1. But no one was allowed to enter the plug or to mess with it's cryostasis. Oh yeah, we were also working the bugs out of the Geofront construction, too."

"I see." Murmured Airi. This all seems to lead back to Yui Ikari. I have got to get my hands on her file. Her phone beeped, breaking her out of her trance of thoughts. "Excuse me, please." She said cutely, smoothly slipping away from the tech, putting her cell phone to her ear. "Komiyama here." She said sweetly. "Oh, hello, Junpei. No, I would be happy to meet you for lunch. Where are you? I see. I'm on my way. That's sweet of you Junpei, but there is no need to wait for me. No, thanks all the same, but I'll find you. Bye now." Turning to the tech, she smiled a fake apologetic smile. "Well, it seems I'm back on the clock now. Sorry, but I must go now." And the actress was out the door, leaving a love-struck tech behind. It was a full five minutes later when he stopped day dreaming about Airi and blinked at the empty cup of coffee in his hand.

"Guess I better get back to work as well." He said disheartedly, rising from his seat and exiting the room, his empty coffee cup landing on the pile of empty cups overflowing the trash can.

The movie wasn't half bad, but Shinji wasn't paying close attention to it. As the previews had ended, an usher had moved through the theater, waking the two people at the front of the theater, escorting the lone nut out, and briefly interrupting the two people trying to strangle each other with their tongues. Ten minutes into the movie, the couple at the front of the movie had gotten up and moved out of the theater. Shinji hadn't seen them come back. Twenty minutes after they departed, the three Pilots had heard soft sighs and muted grunts from the back of the theater, which got louder and louder. Soon, the Pilots could hear the two talking dirty to each other. Asuka's face had gotten redder and redder as they got louder and louder. Abruptly, the Second Child had jumped to her feet, spun to face the two and yelled at them to get a fucking room before she put a shoe so far up their asses that they'd be tasting floor wax for a year. Needless to say, her outburst had been a bit of a mood breaker. The man - whom Shinji had estimated to be not much older than them - had been understandably upset, and his retort had threatened to generate an explosion of the kind that only Asuka could create. While Shinji had grabbed Asuka's shoulders to keep her from jumping over the row of seats to get to the two, Rei had calmly asked if they were filming a porno. Her bizarre question had caught them off guard, and Shinji had managed to get Asuka back into her seat as Rei pointed out that sexual intercourse was usually conducted in a private room, unless one was creating a pornographic film to generate extra income. Her serious tone and thoughtful observations had creeped the girl out, and she had rapidly adjusted her clothing and pulled her boyfriend from the theater when he and Rei began to discuss how much revenue might be generated by filming them having sex, then selling the film. Rei had settled back into her seat, the three of them now the sole occupants of the theater.

Shortly after that incident, Shinji had felt Asuka take his hand in hers, her fingers interlacing with his. Glancing over, he saw that her eyes were firmly fixed on the screen. Her free hand methodically fed small candy into her mouth from a bag in her lap. Shinji chose not to press his luck any more than he already had. It was not even a minute later that his other hand was taken in Rei's soft grip, her fingers also interlacing with his. Glancing to his other side, he saw that Rei was also watching the screen, but when she felt his gaze on her, she looked at him and gave him one of her small smiles, gently squeezing his hand with hers. All was well in Shinji's world as he turned his attention back to the movie. His viewing was interrupted by Rei pulling his hand over to her lap, where she pressed it to her bare thigh, having slipped her sundress up enough to bare her thigh. Oddly, Shinji felt a sense of contentment when his hand rested on her silky-smooth skin. From beside him, he heard Asuka munching on her candy.

An indeterminate time later, he heard Asuka sigh, then an empty bag hit the floor of the theater. "Damn it, I'm out." She muttered. A slurping sound came from her side as she sipped her drink. Shortly after, he felt her release his hand, her now-free left hand searching for more snacks. The large communal tub of popcorn had ended up in Shinji's lap so all three could snack on it, and it was this that Asuka decided would be her new snack. Taking a handful from the half-empty tub, she began to eat the popcorn puff by puff. Resigning himself to losing her hand, he began to withdraw his right hand, only to have it seized by her right hand. "Uh uh." She murmured, pulling his hand to her belly, where she pressed it to her lower belly. Shinji gulped as he realized that he could feel her warm skin though the thin, sleeveless shirt she wore. Her right hand stayed on his right hand, pressing it gently to her belly. As she kept eating the popcorn, she moved his hand down a bit, then back up, slipping their joined hand under her shirt, so his palm and fingers rested just below her bellybutton, his finger grazing the waistband of her skirt. Shinji loved the feel of her sleek belly, and began to slowly rub it with light, caressing touches. Asuka practically purred from the attention. The movie went on.

Shinji was getting thirsty when he felt a straw press against his lips. Rei had her drink in her hand, holding it so he could drink. Nodding to her, he sipped from her soda, glad for the refreshment. When he released the straw, Rei silently placed her cup back in the cup holder on her armrest. Her hand still held his to her thigh, though in the last half hour or so, it had migrated to the juncture of her thigh and her hip. He felt a bit of silk under his fingers and surmised that she was wearing silk panties. The thought stirred his dick. On his other side, Asuka was fishing out the last of the popped popcorn, leaving a few unpopped kernels in the bottom of the bucket. Her search in the tub was making for an odd feeling of foreplay as the tub was resting over his hardening dick. Finding the bucket to be empty, Asuka took it off his lap and placed it in the empty seat next to her. His hand was still on her lower belly. Bringing her oil and salt-covered fingers to her lips, she seductively licked the salt and oil off her fingertips, covertly watching Shinji as she did so. When her fingers were clean, she casually let her hand fall to his lap again, feeling it brush against the semi-hard dick. On the screen, a good love scene was unfolding.

Shinji couldn't concentrate on the love scene because Asuka's hand was resting right on his dick, which was getting harder and harder. Glancing to his side, he saw that Asuka had her eyes on the screen, seemingly oblivious to where her hand was. Soon, she was lightly caressing him through his pants, which was both very nice and very mean. Rei for her part was still holding his hand to her bare skin. Shinji cautiously ran his fingertips along the silk of her panties, watching for a reaction Rei glanced at him and gave him a subtle nod, her legs easing open more as she shifted back in her seat, her body turning toward him a bit. Shinji ran his hand slowly toward her waiting sex. Asuka's hand was now caressing his entire length, which was rock hard. The hand she had claimed and placed on her belly was slipping lower and lower. Shinji eased his fingers back so they slid over the outside of her skirt, but Asuka gently pushed his hand back up, then pressed his fingers under the waistband of her skirt. Pushing his hand down, he soon felt the soft material of her panties.

The group moved off the busses in even lines, seeing the dock jutting out into the clear water, several boats tied up at various intervals. Rit-chan spotted a pair of boats at the end of the dock with the flags for scuba diving on their masts. With the classes assembled, the teachers directed them to the two boats. The students all proceeded to move down the dock with some semblance of order, stopping before the two boats. Rit-chan looked them over and nodded to herself. Not a bad choice. She approved. Both boats were catamaran style, with wide, easy-to-use dive platforms, plenty of deck space and excellent stability.

As the teachers directed the students to board by classes, Hikari and Aki stood with Rit-chan, watching the elf hunter scan the ships and look over the entire dock area. "Something wrong, Rit-chan?" asked Aki.

"No. Looks good. Why do you ask?" replied Ritsuko Inoue.

"You're scoping this place out pretty good. Guess its habit, huh?" explained Hikari.

"Pretty much." Dismissed the older girl.

"I wonder where we're going for the final two check-out dives?" wondered Aki.

"We'll find out when we get onboard. I'm betting that they will be fairly shallow, and much closer to shore than what we will cover tomorrow." Surmised the teen. Indeed, the boat crews told them when they were loaded that they would be doing a dive on a sunken temple sight, which sat in about forty feet of water, followed by a move to a location where there was a flooded coastal town, which had been sunk by the rising tides of Second Impact. The town was going to be in about sixty feet of water. They expected to get back at the hotel just before sunset. Once a few questions were fielded, the boats cranked their motors and headed out of the bay and toward the first open-water dive that most of the students had made. Rit-chan, experienced diver that she was, sat relaxed on a seat at the side of the boat and watched the afternoon sun play on the water. A flash of light caused her to spin toward the opposite row of seats, only to see Kensuke lowering his camera.

"Easy, Inoue." He said defensively, raising his hands in a gesture of calming. "It's just a picture for Shinji." He soothed. And who ever else I can sell it to. He amended silently. Rit-chan said nothing, turning back to her contemplation of the ocean. Beside him, Touji frowned.

"You think maybe something's wrong with her? She seems…kinda out of it, doesn't she?" asked the jock.

"Maybe that phone call wasn't good news." Surmised Kensuke, remembering the poolside incident a bit before they had departed. "Man, whoever was on the receiving end of that barrage has got to be feeling pretty low."

"Yeah. I'm impressed. Some of the things she said I wouldn't have said dead drunk and angry." He approved.

"You're not kidding!" agreed Kensuke. "Half of those words I've never heard before, and I bet she went through at least four languages, too." Kensuke was grinning like an idiot, his mind filled with highly-unrealistic future events. "She's awesome." He said dreamily.

"Bet she could out-curse the Red Devil." Suggested Touji idly. "Still, I'm surprised that the teachers didn't say something about her behavior. You know if it had been us, we'd be nursing rug burns on our asses for that kind of language."

"Would you have gone near her after that outburst?" challenged Kensuke, looking skeptically at his friend. "Remember, she carries a gun and works for NERV."

"You got a point, I guess." Decided Touji after some introspection. Shortly, he smiled again. "Did you see how badly Hikari blushed? I bet she's never heard anyone cuss like that."

Kensuke laughed with his friend. "You know it! I bet she doesn't even know what half those words mean."

Sitting beside Aki, Hikari had heard the exchange. You have no fucking idea, Aida. Kodama curses like a drunken sailor when something bad happens, and since Asuka came to school, my vocabulary is growing like a weed. I was blushing because she was so good, it embarrassed my best effort without trying to. Thought the inchou. She felt Aki nudge her side. Turning to her friend, she saw the tall girl motion to Rit-chan with her head. Looking over to her other side, she saw that Rit-chan had her head leaned back, the sun on her face, eyes closed, her expression grim.

"What's wrong, Rit-chan?" asked Hikari, touching the other girl's arm gently. Rit-chan opened her eyes and looked over at her two friends.

"Nothing, I suppose. I just have this tense feeling in my chest, and I can't shake the feeling that something is happening back in Tokyo 3." Said the older girl. "More specifically, I can't shake the feeling that Asuka-chan, Shinji-chan and Rei-chan are in danger." Her tone was so soft and low that Hikari barely heard her over the roar of the wind and the engines. Hikari's hand took Rit-chan's hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"They're always in danger, Rit-chan. They pilot the Evas, after all. But don't worry. Miss Katsuragi will be looking out for them, and Asuka is an ace pilot. Ayanami keeps coming back, no matter what, and Shin-chan will do whatever it takes to protect his friends. I promise that they will be safe and sound when we get back."

"I hope so too." Murmured Rit-chan. Just then, the boat slowed and the two deck hands began to ready the anchors.

"Wouldn't you know it?" snarled Asuka, sitting next to Shinji in the train car, headed for NERV. "It was just getting good, too." She added. Shinji couldn't have agreed more. With his hands busy with the two girls, he had forgotten the movie, and was concentrated on the reactions he got from the two girls, adjusting his attention as necessary, determined to see them both cum. It was only a few minutes after Asuka unzipped his pants and freed his dick that the three pilots phones had rung. Asuka had answered for them all, cursing as they were directed to report to Operations immediately. Rei had seemed a bit irritated as well. Still, she had slipped his member back into his pants as they stood to depart.

Now, they were on their way to NERV for god knew what reason, and he had a neglected penis and the girls were left hanging as well. "If this is some kind of drill, I'll kill the bastard who came up with it." Promised Asuka angrily. I was enjoying Shinji's fingers, too.

With a soft grunt, Aki pulled herself and her scuba gear from the ocean, pausing at the top of the short dive ladder to let most of the sea water drain from her buoyancy compensator as she tossed her fins onto the deck in front of her seat. Hikari was stowing her scuba gear, and Rit-chan was next on the ladder, followed by the first person of the next group. "Man, diving is harder work than it looks, eh, Hi-chan?" commented Aki as she unsnapped and unvelcroed her gear, letting the tank and BC slip off her back and to the deck.

"Yeah. My legs feel like I just swam across Tokyo bay. Still, did you see those fish? And the coral and sea life on the buildings was incredible!" she enthused.

"I know; I'm definitely going to do this more when I get the chance." Agreed Aki, hearing the splash and drip of Rit-chan coming back on board.

"Well, the good news is that all day tomorrow we dive. Bad news is that we won't be able to just enjoy the scenery." Joined Rit-chan, slipping her gear off and stowing it with minimal trouble. As she removed the gear, she retrieved her USP from where she had clipped it to her shoulder pocket on her BC and stepped over to the small water spigot, rinsing the gun off before towel drying it.

"Isn't that bad for guns?" asked Aki, wondering why the girl had taken the gun diving with her. Granted, most of the students had no idea that she was armed, and those who noticed tried their hardest to forget. "To be in salt water, I mean."

"Nah. I could leave this at the bottom of the bay for a week, drag it up, then bury it in the sand and it'd still fire perfectly every time. USPs are very hearty guns. Still, I am going to thoroughly clean it tonight." Replied Rit-chan, finishing her towel drying of her gun, which went back on her thigh, covered by her wrap. Sitting down in her seat, she fished a cool bottle of water from out of her pack, twisting the top off and taking a swig. "Ah. Much better." She murmured.

"Hey, you guys want to go check out the night life when we get back?" asked Aki tentatively.

"Sure. We'd love to." Replied Hikari promptly.

"After we get cleaned up a bit. I want to wash the seawater off myself and clean this suit for tomorrow. Good enough?" corrected Rit-chan.

"I was going to change first, anyway." Agreed Aki. "Hey, Hi-chan, what's left on today's schedule?"

"We're supposed to head back to town and return to the hotel. There, we're going to be split into groups again for an hour and a half of lectures on the history of Okinawa and Japan in general. Then, supper. After that, we've got an hour to ourselves, then bed check." She recited from memory. "Oh, I'm supposed to get with the other inchous for a meeting with the faculty right before supper, but it shouldn't be long. Can we see what you want to see in the hour before bed check?"

"Of course not!" cried Aki. "Hi-chan, we've got three clubs to scope out tonight alone, as well as a couple of shops and a really good sea food restaurant I heard about. We're going to be out until at least midnight, if not two am!"

"Aki! I can't break the rules like that!" hissed Hi-chan, scanning the boat for any teachers. "I'm the class rep!"

"Don't sweat it, Hi-chan. I'll run with her. You do what you have to do. Neither Aki or I want to make trouble for you." Said Rit-chan softly, subtly reminding the brown-haired girl of her earlier statement.

"Still, these clubs are supposed to be hot!" said Aki, her tone leading. "And the sea food place is supposed to be world-famous for it's fish dishes."

"I could just tell the teachers flat out that you are assisting me on official NERV business, and let them figure out what to do." Offered Rit-chan helpfully.

"But what if they call NERV?" hedged Hi-chan.

"Yeah. Right." Scoffed Aki. "First of all, Rit-chan here has the only access number for that place. Second of all, do you really think that they'll risk talking to Commander Ikari about your activities; or Captain Katsuragi, for that matter? Finally, if they did call, no one would give them the time of day." Disagreed Aki.

"Or, they would be redirected to Airi, who is…covering for Misato while she's…working." Mused Rit-chan. It went without saying that Airi would have her back if they did call.

"Maybe…" wavered Hi-chan.

"You have to live while you can, Hi-chan." Said Rit-chan softly, looking out over the water.