Mana Kirishima watched the attack on the room's monitors, nearly holding her breath as the two Evangelions swept forward in perfect synch. In a well coordinated assault they battled the split Angel, each one moving as if piloted by the same mind, then in a final move each shattered the core of the Angel and destroyed it. "Well," Mayumi Yamagishi, the pilot liason in the Jet Alone project said wryly as she shut the recording off, "that could have gone better for our project." The brown haired, glasses wearing scientist sighed as she turned from the image to meet Mana's worried glance. "I'm very sorry," Mana said quietly. Mayumi walked over to where Mana sat in a steel chair and patted her on the shoulder, "It's not your fault, Mana." She knelt by her side as she added, "We at the project understand that you did your best." "I never expected a Angel to be able to spilt like that," Mana admitted, hiding a shudder as she remembered the creature splitting then pounding ruthlessly on Jet Alone. Mayumi squeezed her shoulder gently before letting go. "Neither did we," she said quietly, "and we should have. The Angels have been very unpredictable so far and we should expect that to continue." "Does that mean I'm not fired as a pilot?" Mana asked her, looking up at the older woman hopefully. Mayumi shook her head, "Of course not. In fact, we were worried you wanted to quit after the beating you took." Ignoring her bruises Mana stood, wincing slightly as she said forcefully, "No, it makes me even more committed to stopping the Angels." "I'm glad," Mayumi nodded as she moved away. Taking on a more business-like tone she saiud, "Continue to study the footage, we'll be discussing the material more later." "Yes, ma'am," Mana nodded. Quietly she asked, "How soon will Jet Alone be ready for pre-launch testing?" "A week or two, so rest up while you can," Mayumi answered before she left the pilot debriefing room and walked down the halls of the military facility not far from Tokyo-3. She reached her office and went inside, sitting behind her desk as she activated a communication device that was built within. The image of a older man quickly appeared in front of her, his eyes hidden behind a futuristic visor as he studied her grimly. "Miss Yamagishi," Keel Lorenz said flatly, "I hope you have good news for me." "Kirishima is willing to continue to be a pilot," Mayumi answered a bit nervously, "and Jet Alone should be repaired within the month." "Good," Keel nodded slightly. His manner serious he continued, "SEELE has contributed a great deal of money into this project, we expect results." "Sir," Mayumi stiffened nervously. "We no longer trust that Ikari and NERV fully serve our needs," Keel said grimly, "and the Evangelion has proven a difficult tool to master. We need a alternative if things go badly, and for now that alternative is Jet Alone." "We'll do our best, sir," Mayumi nodded. "See that you do," and with that Keel signed off. Mayumi sat back with a sigh as she picked up her phone and dialed. "How long can I serve two masters?" she wondered aloud as she waited for it to connect. "Kaji," the man's smooth voice answered after a moment. "Hello, lover," Mayumi smirked, "I've got more news for you." 0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0 "So, are you and Asuka getting along better?" Toji Susuhara asked as the group of students lounged together near the windows. "Having to live together until we fought the Angel was tough," Shinji Ikari admitted, the black haired woman sitting on the window's ledge. "I envy you," Aida Kensuke sighed. "I dunno," a thoughtful looking Toji surprised him by admitting, "sure Asuka is beautiful, but she's a real spitfire." Rei Ayanami watched them talk, then Shinji looked up and met her gaze. "Excuse me," Shinji said as she got up, walking over to Rei's side. "Shinji," Rei nodded, a faint smile teasing her lips. Shinji sat down in a empty chair, her black hair tied back neatly. "I almost wish you had been put there with me," she admitted softly. "Oh?" Rei asked. "I flubbed the landing after the fight," Shinji confessed a little sheepishly, "and Asuka started berating me for it." She sighed as she continued, "Is it my fault we were too exhausted to practice that bit?" Rei actually chuckled softly at that then continued, "I'm just glad you made it through all right, Shinji." "Me too," Shinji agreed. Outside in the hall Asuka Soryu Langley paused as she saw the other girl walking up the hall towards the classroom. "Kirishima," she nodded tersely. "Asuka," Mana nodded. "I won't forgive you spoiling my debut," Asuka said coldly, "don't forget that." Mana sighed as Asuka shoved by her, heading into the classroom. 'Just what I need,' she thought as she followed her in, 'a vendetta by a mad Evangelion pilot.' Entering the classroom Mana took in the scene, quickly assessing what was going on. Shinji and Rei were talking, while a visibly stiff Asuka was taking her seat. Over in another corner Toji, Aida and the class rep were talking together, too. 'Asuka looks angry,' Mana noted, 'is it because Shinji and Rei are together?' "Hello, Mana," Shinji smiled as she passed to her own seat." "Ikari, Ayanami," Mana nodded, once more struck by how nice Shinji could be. 'Of course,' she mused, 'nice guys finish last.' Asuka was already in her seat, occasionally tossing a smoldering glare at Shinji and Rei. 'Does she think no one notices?' Mana wondered as she sat down. Hanging up her bookbag she got out her books even as they waited for the home room teacher to arrive. "All right, class," the somewhat creaky older man soon arrived, "we'll be discussing international history, both before and after Second Impact. Please turn to page..." Shinji found herself tuning out the teacher, especially as she found herself thinking of what she had just learned. During her period of enforced confinement with Asuka the pilot had been astonished at Shinji's ignorance, and had spent some time educating her. 'Like telling me that Second Impact wasn't a meteor strike like I thought,' Shinji mused, 'but instead humanity's first encounter with a Angel.' An expedition to the arctic had lead to that encounter, and one of the scientists there had been Misato's father. 'I wonder what that must have been like?' she silently questioned. "Miss Ikari!" the voice demanded. "Sir!" Shinji jerked, realizing the teacher had asked her something. The old man looked amused, "I don't suppose you could answer the question?" Shinji felt her cheeks burn as Toji, Aida and the others gave her sympathetic looks. "No sir," she sighed. "Then you get to write a essay tonight on," he paused thoughtfully, "reformation of authority after second impact. Three pages, double spaced." "Yes sir," Shinji sat down with a sigh. "All right, who wants to answer the question... Miss Langley?" he offered. Asuka stood gracefully, despite the bruises she probably still had from the earlier fight. "In the aftermath of Second Impact, there was a broad breakdown in civil order, mostly brought under control via martial law and United Nations efforts." "Exactly," the teacher nodded wisely. 'As expected of a college educated woman,' Shinji admitted. 'In some ways, she's far ahead of us all...' she mused. Add to that Asuka's origins as a elite sperm and egg and Shinji found herself wondering if they'd find anything at all in common. 'Bleh!' Asuka stuck her tongue out at Shinji while their teacher was writing something up on the board. 'On the other hand, it's nice to see her do something so normal, too,' Shinji thought to herself wryly. Mana had to cover her mouth to contain the urge to giggle as she watched the two pilots. 'These people are nuts,' she chuckled as she pretended to study. Not to mention nearly laughing at the perplexed look on Rei's face... "Miss Kirishima , what are you giggling about?" the teacher demanded. 'Busted,' Mana sighed. "Nothing, sir," she answered flatly. "Well, if nothing amuses you, a report should make you joyous. Same length as Ikari's," he said as he turned back to the board. 'I think school is worse than fighting Angels,' Mana sighed as she went back to work.
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