Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Second Coming ❯ Higher Education ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter Eight: Higher Education

 

Days passed without incident. Tests and evaluations ensued at the NERV complex, and I spent more than a few hours wandering it to learn the layout and design adequately. (And by 'wandering' I mean through the spaces I was permitted to access, not blundering my way into Terminal Dogma or something like that.)

School became more and more interesting as days went on. It was almost like a second childhood - well, who am I kidding? That's exactly what it was. I was able to go back and do things differently, with the knowledge and experience of my adult life, in the body and existence of my now-teenaged self. Of course, some things differed by necessity - I got to learn what the girls did with their spare time, instead of the guys, for example. All in all, I gained a number of friends and acquaintances, and relished the whole experience completely.

No Angel attacks took place, but I had kind of expected that - even considering the disparity of the fight with Gaghiel. As mentioned, the only time I saw an Eva was during sync and harmonics tests.

It was at the conclusion of one of those test days that I happened across Rei Ayanami inside the NERV complex. I was already changed back into my school uniform (for lack of anything better to wear home), and she was in her plugsuit, heading towards the Cages.

"Oh! Ayanami," I said with a smile as we nearly bumped into one another.

She stepped back slightly and stared at me.

"I've been meaning to seek you out," I said, filling the gap.

"Why?" came the soft, almost monotonic answer.

"To introduce myself," I said, holding out my right hand. "I'm Jill Thomson, the Fourth Child."

"I know who you are," Rei replied, not moving.

"Well, yes, but.. we haven't really met," I explained, "so I kind of thought that it would be.." I shrugged.

"I have a sync test to attend," she added. And you are in my way, was the unsaid portion.

"Oh.. sorry," I said, stepping aside and letting my hand fall to my side. "Good luck."

Rei walked past me without another word, not even looking back or acknowledging my well-wishing.

Frowning a little, I turned back to my locker and finished up, my thoughts torn.

That was spectacularly disastrous, I decided. But do I write off further contact, or try again some other time?

I couldn't figure out why failing to strike up a friendship with Ayanami surprised me, nor why it was so important to me that I try in the first place.

 

About a week after, at school, things started getting interesting again. I was somewhat popular, though well within Asuka's shadow, if you get my drift. I don't know how much of it was the 'gaijin factor', as I called it, and how much was legitimately Asuka's and my personalities endearing people to us. Whatever it was, we were liked, which buoyed my spirits somewhat.

Asuka's spirits, on the other hand, needed a jumpstart sometimes. One day, as we were at our shoe lockers, Asuka opened hers and yelped as a virtual avalanche of envelopes - love letters, obviously - spilled about her feet.

"Whoops," I giggled, cracking a wide smile. "Somebody's obsessed."

Asuka grumbled and ground a few of them underfoot. I couldn't comprehend why she was upset; wasn't attention what she craved most of all? That part always confused me about her.

As I unlocked my locker, I felt the door pushing against my hand pressure ever-so-slightly. Before I could react, the little door popped open and a torrent of envelopes - though nowhere near as large as Asuka's landslide - tumbled to the ground around me.

"Whoops," she said in a mocking tone.

 

First and second period were spent attacking the mountain of letters. Of special concern to Asuka were the boys who had written to both of us, simultaneously, as if one wouldn't hear of the other soon enough. She demanded the privilege of handling those personally. I 'let' her (yeah, right), and tossed out the majority of the ones that were left over. There were a handful that were genuine enough and/or of sufficient care and composition that they would deserve personal attention - later, though. I was just getting settled into being Jill, and having to merge onto the romance superhighway at the same time was too much for my brain to handle.

Third period was study hall, which was nothing to write home about, as the saying goes (not that I could in the literal sense, anyway). Fourth period, as always, was phys ed, but today was different - today was the day in rotation when the girls took over the outdoor pool.

I shouldn't have been so worked up over the one-piece, dark swim suit issued to all of us. It was less complicated than a plugsuit and probably left more to the imagination than the latter, truth be told. But something about being one of many that the male half of the class down below on the sports courts were leering and hooting at was, shall we say, a bit disconcerting.

"Come on, Fourth!" Asuka tugged at my elbow at one point. "I want to challenge you to laps."

"Is that a sheet of negatives in Suzuhara's hand?" I asked, craning my neck to peer through the fence.

"Never mind that! We'll deal with him later. Get in the pool!"

It wasn't lost on me that Rei was sitting not five feet from where I'd been clinging to the fence, trying to get a look at what the 'stooges' were up to. That was her pattern: Sit idle and motionless when not called on to do something, and then simply do as requested when the time came.

Or as ordered, I thought as I caught a glimpse of her during my out-lap in the pool. Sitting as still as ever, she simply waited her turn - or so I thought, up until the point I saw her eyes dart about, watching what was transpiring before her - coincidentally, watching me.

She's observing everything, I realized. Drinking it in.

"Hah! I won!" Asuka crowed as we bobbed to the surface a few moments later, back at the starting end of the pool.

"Only by a meter or two," I shot back. I wasn't feeling very competitive, but considering the injuries I'd sustained before 'waking up', I was defensive of my physical ability.

"Next victim - I mean, challenger!" Asuka demanded, and I swam to the ladder to climb out while another girl took position on the starting block. As luck would have it, climbing the ladder put me within about five feet of Rei once again.

She glanced at me briefly as I ran my hands through my hair to shed excess water. Suddenly, I heard, softly: "You would have defeated her, given one more lap."

I looked over to Ayanami, but her head was again sunk down between her knees, in the fetal/indrawn position she'd adopted, back to the fence, her gaze back towards the pool in general once more.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rei," I smiled, lingering for a moment to see if she reacted - which she did not. I turned and headed back to join the rest of the group once more.

 

I met up with Hikari and Asuka that afternoon, after classes.

"Wanna hang out for a while?" I asked brightly. Something in me was really quite agreeing with being active and involved with school and classmates. As mentioned, I was more than a bit of an introvert my first time through school, so the second chance was something I intended to do right.

"Actually, I.. have plans," Hikari said, edging away and glancing to Asuka. "Sorry."

"Me too, actually, Fourth," Asuka shrugged. "Maybe tomorrow."

"Oh," I said, shoulders dipping slightly. "Okay."

"Oh, don't be like that," Asuka snapped, jokingly. "It'll do you good anyway. You shouldn't get into the habit of being a clinger-on."

"A Klingon?" I quipped, intentionally 'mishearing' my friend. "I don't have the forehead for it."

"Ah, weggehen!" she demanded, rolling her eyes. I laughed and waved, turning away to walk home.

 

Partway home, I spotted a blue Renault pull up and stop in front of one of the convenience stores on the route.

What the hell, why not, I said to myself. I could use some soft drinks. I kept on walking that way and went inside the store when I arrived.

As I went to the cooler for a couple of bottles of orange soda, Misato was on the other side of the store with a hand basket, filling it with various items. She already had two large bottles of pop - sorry, that's soda, cola, etc., for you non-Canadian readers, and some bags of potato chips and similar goods; at present she was picking through the candy aisle at random, taking some Pocky here and a couple of gumdrops there, and so on.

I went to get some chocolate bars, which were on the aisle adjacent to where Misato was shopping. As I was crouching down to pick up my favorites, I said, "Looks like you've given up entirely on cooking when it's your turn, Captain."

"Wha??" came the response from the other side of the shelving.

I stood up to my full height, popping my head over the aisle. "Afternoon, Misato," I smiled.

"Oh! Jill," she said with surprise, seemingly trying to slip the basket around behind her, out of my view. "What brings you here?"

"Two tired feet," I joked. "I'm on my way home from school and I wanted something to snack on before supper."

"Oh really," she said, craning her neck to look at what was in my hands. "Orange drink and chocolate bars?"

"Eh, it keeps me going," I shrugged, again smiling. "You look like you're buying for the whole brood."

"I.. oh! I am," she said, giving up on trying to hide the cache. "I'm pretty sure none of it will go to waste."

I smiled and nodded. "You certainly have a lively bunch there." I leaned on the top shelf slightly and edged closer. "Can I ask a question of you?"

"Uh.. maybe?" she said.

"It's about Ayanami."

"Oh." Misato seemed to shift gears mentally. "Tell you what. I'll drive you home, and we can discuss this in the car. Okay?"

"Why, thank you," I smiled. "That would be great."

 

So, after we both paid for our items (mine being just under a thousand yen, Misato's bill checking in at around seven times that much), I joined Misato in her car - remembering to get in the passenger (left) side, luckily enough.

"I like this car," I said, watching Misato choose a gear with the manumatic shifter. "You obviously take pride in it."

"It's like we tell you lot about your Evas," she smiled. "Respect that with which you work, and it will serve you well."

"True enough," I grinned. "Anyway, if you don't mind.."

"Yes.. Rei," Katsuragi nodded. "What's troubling you?"

"I tried to befriend her the other day in the change room at the Cages," I said. "She was.. she didn't reject me, I don't think, or tell me to go away, but she didn't really react to me either. Just kind of carried on with what she was doing."

Misato was nodding through most of my explanation. "Rei is.. quiet," she tried to explain. "Personal. Keeps to herself. That's her way."

"Should I try to talk to her again?" I asked.

Misato smiled and paused while she shifted gears. "That's something you'll have to decide for yourself," she finally said.

So much for that idea. "All right," I said quietly.

"I know that's not much of an answer, but that's one thing I've promised not to get involved in, is other people's relationships. It's not my business."

"Fair enough," I shrugged. "Thanks, Misato."

 

I spent the evening on my own, watching anime and eating my meager stash of candy bars and soda pop. Going to bed later on, I would dream of suddenly being a HiME at Fuuka Academy, then, just as I was about to defeat an Orphan, shifting to being a resident in a dormitory with a hapless college hopeful as its manager. This kind of traipsing through various anime and other favorites such as Highlander and Firefly happened before that night, and would happen again, I was sure. It was interesting to say the least, to think about it the next morning as my waking mind took over.

In any case, the next morning, I returned to "real life" in the so-called "Evangelion world". Asuka and I were walking to school, chattering in German, as she insisted; saying it would help my diction. I didn't tell her of my dreams, nor ask where she'd been or what she'd done the night before; neither were anyone's business but the people enduring them.

"Aah! Hallo, Shinji! Guten morgen," Asuka said, approaching our classmate and co-worker.

"Oh! Uhm.. guten morgen," Shinji said hesitantly, smiling a little.

"Why so gloomy this early?" Asuka groused at him. "You're being greeted by the most popular girl in school! So be happy about it," she said with a smirk.

"All this and humble too," I quipped to Shinji, ribbing Asuka as I did so.

"Ach! Hush, Fourth," Asuka shot back jovially.

"Good morning," I greeted Shinji properly, and he nodded and returned the favor.

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask this," Asuka cut in, still on her own set of tracks. "We have the Second, Third, and Fourth Children here. Where's the First?"

"What?" Shinji said, caught off guard.

"The First Child," Asuka sighed, shaking her head irritatedly. "She does go to this school, doesn't she?"

"Oh," Shinji said. "Ayanami.." He turned and looked in a specific direction; apparently either he'd seen her already that morning, or she had her routine down to a predictable pattern. Asuka followed Shinji's glance and located the blue-haired pale girl sitting on a bench down below us, reading a book.

"What timing!" Asuka said, hopping up on the cement wall of the walkway. "Time to introduce myself."

"Be careful, Asuka," I said, chasing after her via the stairs as she deftly skipped down the concrete. She stopped before Rei, adopting a pose possibly better suited for a fencer or swordsman who had gained the high ground.

"You must be Ayanami," Asuka said.

Must I? I imagined an alternate response from Rei. I'd really rather like.. to sing!

(Yes, I know it doesn't make sense. It's not supposed to. That's what my brain is like. Deal.)

"Yes," Rei said quietly, looking up from her book.

"I'm Asuka. Asuka Langley Sohryu, the pilot of the first production model. What do you say we become friends?"

"Why?" came the response I fully expected.

"Because it'd be convenient, for one thing," Asuka said with a grin. "Lots of reasons."

Rei looked at Asuka for a long moment, then closed her book. "I am listening," she said.

If I could have shaken my head and made the "audiaudiaudiaudi" sound typical of old Saturday morning cartoons, I would have. What.. the fuck? This isn't how this is supposed to go.

It hadn't even hit me yet that Rei had essentially turned me down, but was willing to buddy up with Asuka at the mere suggestion. Speaking of Asuka, she'd jumped off the cement pillar and sat down on the bench beside Rei. "What're you reading?"

Rei held the book up, showing the cover. It was The Art of War.

"Studying for battle?" Asuka asked.

"I find it interesting on a number of levels," Rei answered, turning it over to look at the cover again.

"A lot of it is common sense, when you get right down to it." Asuka flipped her hair and added casually, "You do a lot of reading?"

"I suppose," Rei responded, still looking at the book's cover.

I was frozen in place, unsure of what to do. Should I step in and (re)introduce myself, and risk breaking up the moment - one that was vital, I was sure, to Rei's evolution? Or do I stand back and watch, letting them do their own thing?

The question was, of course, answered for me a moment later. "Fourth! Come here," Asuka demanded when she remembered I was standing there. She gestured to the spot on the other side of Rei. "Have you ever read this?"

"Not really," I replied. "I read bits and pieces of it one time off the Internet."

"It should be experienced in full to be appreciated," Rei commented.

"As with everything," I agreed. Asuka watched as Rei looked at me, then nodded once definitively.

"I heard you two already had a run-in," Asuka said to Rei and me. I nodded a little nervously, and was sure a huge sweatdrop was forming on the back of my head.

"Yes, actually," I acknowledged. "By the way, Ayanami, sorry for, um.. the other day."

"There is nothing to apologize for," she said plainly, looking directly at me. After a long moment, in which I stared back with a surprised expression, she looked back down at the book.

There it was. I wasn't being shunned as I'd thought. It was just Rei's personality, even odder than I'd expected.

"What?" Asuka was asking. "What happened 'the other day'?"

"Oh, nothing much," I said dismissively. "We happened across one another in the Cage, and I kind of.."

I trailed off as Rei put the book away and stood up, walking away from us. Asuka picked up on my confusion and said, "Hey! First Child! Where are you going?"

Rei said, without turning around, "Classes are beginning," and kept on going.

I stood up quickly, and Asuka followed me at a more casual pace. "Wow," she murmured. "That is amazing."

"What is?" I asked.

"Her, Fourth," Asuka said, nodding towards Rei. "I finally met someone weirder than you."