Because I'm feeling generous. Or because I want to torture you. Take your pick.
Given my plans, it'll be a while before this one comes out, although I have a lot of it written. And there's no guarantee that the scenelets below won't undergo some sea changes, or even be deleted, before I release the final version. Just so you know.
Enjoy.
-- Bob
* * *Misato stuck her hand out. "Captain Misato Katsuragi, NERV."He took her hand and shook it. His grip was warm and dry. "DougSangnoir, sensei and sole proprietor. What can I do for you,Captain?"Behind her, the door banged as the last of the student/parentpairs left the storefront. "Well, I'm the guardian for a coupleof kids who need a bit of specialized physical training. I couldprobably take them through it by myself, but since you're hereand we live just upstairs... well, I figured, why not get aprofessional to help?"Sangnoir nodded. "Makes sense. So you wanted to find out myrates and hours, talk about the regimen you want to set, stufflike that?""Yes." She nodded in return, and then the next step suddenlycrystallized for her; whether she had known it consciously ornot, it was what she had known she would do. "But first I wantedto test you -- to see if you're up to the task."A delighted grin broke across his face. "You want to spar withme, to see how good I really am?""If you don't mind." Seeing that grin, Misato suddenly grewnervous. "I have a little training myself.""Not at all. Let me just lock up the front door and put out the'closed' sign." He stepped through the door and into the room,then waved her on into the dojo proper. "There's a dressing roomthrough the door in the far wall, and a few spare gis." Heglanced her up and down, a quick professional appraisal."There's one in there that should fit you." * * *She seemed hardly a human being, she was so quiet and still; sheactually reminded me of a couple of androids I'd encountered,back home, and without thinking about it, I dropped intomagesight just to make sure I was looking at a living being andnot some kind of automaton.And got the surprise of my life.Her aura -- hell, let's be frank, after my experiences in theprevious worlds I'd visited -- her *soul* was strangely thin andtaut, as if it were being stretched and drawn by somethingoutside of her. But that wasn't the surprising thing. It wasthis: Within that pale envelope of lambent gold, three strandsof colored light twined and flowed around each other. The lasttime I had seen an aura like that, I had been helping a fallengoddess regain her place in Heaven. Whoever this child was, shehad Celestial blood in her."Sensei?" That soft whisper again, and I realized that I hadbeen frozen in the moment of watching her aura. I metaphoricallyshook myself back to awareness, smiled at the girl, and bowedagain, this time deeper. Much deeper."I would be honored to be your teacher, Ayanami-san," I said. * * *"But I *want* to run away!" he wailed."I don't blame you," I replied. "You're fighting some of thegodawfulest things I've ever seen, and I've seen some realwinners in my time. Anyone who wouldn't be afraid of them is afool.""But Asuka and Rei aren't afraid of them!""Asuka is stupidly overconfident," I declared with a convictionborn of intimate self-knowledge. "See 'fool,' above. AndRei..." I paused and thought for a moment. "Rei is...different. She may not experience fear in the same way as you.I'm not sure."Look," I continued. "Imagine a pair of twins. One is normal.The other has a nerve disease so he can't feel pain.""Okay," Shinji ventured, scrunching up his face with the effortof visualization."Now imagine that someone they love is trapped in a burninghouse. They both run into the worst part of the flames to rescuethat person. Which one is the more brave -- the one who can'tfeel the fire burning him, or the one who *can* but keeps ongoing anyway?"Shinji's eyes widened a hair. I think I was starting to getacross to him. "The one who can feel the fire," he said slowly,thoughtfully, and I nodded."Now imagine they're not twins, but triplets. And the thirdtriplet has a nerve disease, too -- only it makes him feel pain*more* than normal. He runs into the fire to rescue a loved one,too. Now who's the bravest?""The one who gets hurt easiest," Shinji answered withouthesitation.I took a swig of my soda. "And that, teishi, is the lesson fortoday. Rei is the triplet who feels no pain. Asuka is thetriplet with normal senses. And you, teishi, are the sensitivetriplet. Because you do not run from the fire, no matter howmuch you want to, no matter how much you know you will be burntand hurt, *you* are the bravest. Because you know what willhappen to the ones you love if you let the pain -- the *fear* --master and control you, you do not let it. You instead draw onit for strength."His head snapped up and he gave me a look of utter shock andsurprise. "But...""Major Katsuragi told me once that you're the best of the pilots.I don't think that this is a coincidence at all." I tipped thecan up and sucked down the last of the soda. Then I stood andtossed the empty can at the recycle bin, bouncing it off twovending machines and the back wall before it dropped in with therest. "Think on that for a while, Shinji. We'll talk more afterthe next class, okay?""Sure," he said softly, his eyes already distant as he gatheredup his gear and headed for the door. *Good. I think I've gottento him,* I grinned to myself. * * *Asuka swore in German under her breath, then waved a hand toencompass the whole of the apartment. "I mean, look at thisplace! Doesn't whoever you live with ever clean up?" A thoughtstruck her. "Hey, who *do* you live with?"Rei's puzzlement grew more obvious. "Live with? What do youmean?"Asuka stamped her foot and swore louder. Why did Rei insist onacting so dumb? "I mean, who's your guardian? You know, likeMisato is supposed to be taking care of Shinji and me -- althoughif you ask *me* it's more like *we're* taking care of *her* butthat's not important now so never mind." Asuka drew a deepbreath. "Who did NERV assign you to live with? Who's takingcare of you?""No one," Rei replied softly. "I live here alone."Asuka stared at her for a few seconds in disbelief. "Alone?Really alone?""Yes.""You're kidding. Really, really alone?""Yes." Rei blinked once. "Why should the repetition of 'really'make any difference in my answer?""Never mind that." Asuka dismissed Rei's question with animpatient wave. As she glanced around the dim, dirty room, shefelt a familiar anger growing in her breast. Not at Rei, but atthe faceless bureaucracy of NERV that dropped her into this...this... cesspool of an apartment and didn't even see fit to setsomeone to watch over her. How dare they! Rei was only barely afriend, but scheisse! Asuka couldn't see this and not care. Forall that she was weird, Rei was nice in her own way, and weird ornot she shouldn't have to live like this.A decision suddenly crystallized for Asuka."Pack your things, Wonder Girl," the redhead suddenly barked,startling Rei into an involuntary flinch. "You're moving out.""But I have not been assigned new quarters by NERV..." Reiprotested."Screw them!" Asuka declared. "You're moving in with us. Now.""But...""No arguments. We can put you on the spare futon in my roomuntil we get you a proper bed, and there's plenty of space in mycloset. And if we run out, there's even more in Shinji's. Grabsome of your clothes and your bathroom stuff -- anything elseyou've got, we can come back for later. But you're movingtoday." * * *"The Magi confirm Blue Pattern... no, cancel that. The Magi have*upgraded* the threat level on the woman in Terminal Dogma to...*White* Pattern?" Hyuuga looked over his shoulder at Ritsuko andIkari. "What the hell's a *White* Pattern?" he demanded. "Whatwould be *worse* than an Angel?"Ritsuko blanched, and worked her mouth soundlessly. Behind andabove her, Gendo Ikari stood suddenly. "Impossible!" hebellowed, and behind him, Fyuutsuki momentarily winced. "Nothere, not now! There is nothing in the scrolls to even suggestthis!" * * *
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
Given my plans, it'll be a while before this one comes out, although I have a lot of it written. And there's no guarantee that the scenelets below won't undergo some sea changes, or even be deleted, before I release the final version. Just so you know.
Enjoy.
-- Bob
* * *Misato stuck her hand out. "Captain Misato Katsuragi, NERV."He took her hand and shook it. His grip was warm and dry. "DougSangnoir, sensei and sole proprietor. What can I do for you,Captain?"Behind her, the door banged as the last of the student/parentpairs left the storefront. "Well, I'm the guardian for a coupleof kids who need a bit of specialized physical training. I couldprobably take them through it by myself, but since you're hereand we live just upstairs... well, I figured, why not get aprofessional to help?"Sangnoir nodded. "Makes sense. So you wanted to find out myrates and hours, talk about the regimen you want to set, stufflike that?""Yes." She nodded in return, and then the next step suddenlycrystallized for her; whether she had known it consciously ornot, it was what she had known she would do. "But first I wantedto test you -- to see if you're up to the task."A delighted grin broke across his face. "You want to spar withme, to see how good I really am?""If you don't mind." Seeing that grin, Misato suddenly grewnervous. "I have a little training myself.""Not at all. Let me just lock up the front door and put out the'closed' sign." He stepped through the door and into the room,then waved her on into the dojo proper. "There's a dressing roomthrough the door in the far wall, and a few spare gis." Heglanced her up and down, a quick professional appraisal."There's one in there that should fit you." * * *She seemed hardly a human being, she was so quiet and still; sheactually reminded me of a couple of androids I'd encountered,back home, and without thinking about it, I dropped intomagesight just to make sure I was looking at a living being andnot some kind of automaton.And got the surprise of my life.Her aura -- hell, let's be frank, after my experiences in theprevious worlds I'd visited -- her *soul* was strangely thin andtaut, as if it were being stretched and drawn by somethingoutside of her. But that wasn't the surprising thing. It wasthis: Within that pale envelope of lambent gold, three strandsof colored light twined and flowed around each other. The lasttime I had seen an aura like that, I had been helping a fallengoddess regain her place in Heaven. Whoever this child was, shehad Celestial blood in her."Sensei?" That soft whisper again, and I realized that I hadbeen frozen in the moment of watching her aura. I metaphoricallyshook myself back to awareness, smiled at the girl, and bowedagain, this time deeper. Much deeper."I would be honored to be your teacher, Ayanami-san," I said. * * *"But I *want* to run away!" he wailed."I don't blame you," I replied. "You're fighting some of thegodawfulest things I've ever seen, and I've seen some realwinners in my time. Anyone who wouldn't be afraid of them is afool.""But Asuka and Rei aren't afraid of them!""Asuka is stupidly overconfident," I declared with a convictionborn of intimate self-knowledge. "See 'fool,' above. AndRei..." I paused and thought for a moment. "Rei is...different. She may not experience fear in the same way as you.I'm not sure."Look," I continued. "Imagine a pair of twins. One is normal.The other has a nerve disease so he can't feel pain.""Okay," Shinji ventured, scrunching up his face with the effortof visualization."Now imagine that someone they love is trapped in a burninghouse. They both run into the worst part of the flames to rescuethat person. Which one is the more brave -- the one who can'tfeel the fire burning him, or the one who *can* but keeps ongoing anyway?"Shinji's eyes widened a hair. I think I was starting to getacross to him. "The one who can feel the fire," he said slowly,thoughtfully, and I nodded."Now imagine they're not twins, but triplets. And the thirdtriplet has a nerve disease, too -- only it makes him feel pain*more* than normal. He runs into the fire to rescue a loved one,too. Now who's the bravest?""The one who gets hurt easiest," Shinji answered withouthesitation.I took a swig of my soda. "And that, teishi, is the lesson fortoday. Rei is the triplet who feels no pain. Asuka is thetriplet with normal senses. And you, teishi, are the sensitivetriplet. Because you do not run from the fire, no matter howmuch you want to, no matter how much you know you will be burntand hurt, *you* are the bravest. Because you know what willhappen to the ones you love if you let the pain -- the *fear* --master and control you, you do not let it. You instead draw onit for strength."His head snapped up and he gave me a look of utter shock andsurprise. "But...""Major Katsuragi told me once that you're the best of the pilots.I don't think that this is a coincidence at all." I tipped thecan up and sucked down the last of the soda. Then I stood andtossed the empty can at the recycle bin, bouncing it off twovending machines and the back wall before it dropped in with therest. "Think on that for a while, Shinji. We'll talk more afterthe next class, okay?""Sure," he said softly, his eyes already distant as he gatheredup his gear and headed for the door. *Good. I think I've gottento him,* I grinned to myself. * * *Asuka swore in German under her breath, then waved a hand toencompass the whole of the apartment. "I mean, look at thisplace! Doesn't whoever you live with ever clean up?" A thoughtstruck her. "Hey, who *do* you live with?"Rei's puzzlement grew more obvious. "Live with? What do youmean?"Asuka stamped her foot and swore louder. Why did Rei insist onacting so dumb? "I mean, who's your guardian? You know, likeMisato is supposed to be taking care of Shinji and me -- althoughif you ask *me* it's more like *we're* taking care of *her* butthat's not important now so never mind." Asuka drew a deepbreath. "Who did NERV assign you to live with? Who's takingcare of you?""No one," Rei replied softly. "I live here alone."Asuka stared at her for a few seconds in disbelief. "Alone?Really alone?""Yes.""You're kidding. Really, really alone?""Yes." Rei blinked once. "Why should the repetition of 'really'make any difference in my answer?""Never mind that." Asuka dismissed Rei's question with animpatient wave. As she glanced around the dim, dirty room, shefelt a familiar anger growing in her breast. Not at Rei, but atthe faceless bureaucracy of NERV that dropped her into this...this... cesspool of an apartment and didn't even see fit to setsomeone to watch over her. How dare they! Rei was only barely afriend, but scheisse! Asuka couldn't see this and not care. Forall that she was weird, Rei was nice in her own way, and weird ornot she shouldn't have to live like this.A decision suddenly crystallized for Asuka."Pack your things, Wonder Girl," the redhead suddenly barked,startling Rei into an involuntary flinch. "You're moving out.""But I have not been assigned new quarters by NERV..." Reiprotested."Screw them!" Asuka declared. "You're moving in with us. Now.""But...""No arguments. We can put you on the spare futon in my roomuntil we get you a proper bed, and there's plenty of space in mycloset. And if we run out, there's even more in Shinji's. Grabsome of your clothes and your bathroom stuff -- anything elseyou've got, we can come back for later. But you're movingtoday." * * *"The Magi confirm Blue Pattern... no, cancel that. The Magi have*upgraded* the threat level on the woman in Terminal Dogma to...*White* Pattern?" Hyuuga looked over his shoulder at Ritsuko andIkari. "What the hell's a *White* Pattern?" he demanded. "Whatwould be *worse* than an Angel?"Ritsuko blanched, and worked her mouth soundlessly. Behind andabove her, Gendo Ikari stood suddenly. "Impossible!" hebellowed, and behind him, Fyuutsuki momentarily winced. "Nothere, not now! There is nothing in the scrolls to even suggestthis!" * * *
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
![[Image: smile.gif]](http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smile.gif)
![[Image: tongue.gif]](http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/tongue.gif)
![[Image: frown.gif]](http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/frown.gif)
"I was an Otaku before those kids came along and changed the meaning of the word."