Misato Katsuragi fought back a sigh as she finished up her
packing. 'This has to be the most harebrained scheme that they've come
up with yet,' she mused. Still, she knew that the pilots could use a
break, that being the only reason she was actually going along with
it.
Grabbing her bags from the top of her messy bed Misato stepped
into the cluttered living room to find Asuka and Shinji standing
there, a large bag resting beside each of them. "Are you ready to go?"
she asked cheerfully.
Asuka made a face, "I still think this is pretty silly."
"Yeah," Shinji murmured softly.
Misato fought back a sigh once again. "Maybe it is," she
surprised them both by agreeing, "but we've all got our orders from
the commander himself." She shrugged quite expressively, "We're going,
if we like it or not."
Asuka scowled but admitted, "I guess you're right."
Shinji smiled up at Misato shyly, and once again Misato found
herself wondering how anyone could be so utterly without
self-confidence. 'I guess having a dad who sees you only as a chess
piece doesn't help,' she thought. She quickly grabbed Shinji, putting
him in a headlock, "And you are going to have a good time, got it?!"
"Lemme go," Shinji laughed, "all right, all right!"
Asuka watched them, a slight smile on her face as she shook
her head. "If you two are done, could we please get going?"
Misato moved towards her threateningly, "You want some, too?"
"No, no," Asuka waved her hands as she backed away. She
grabbed her bag and bolted out the door, "I'll meet you downstairs."
"You're in a good mood," Shinji noted.
"Guess I am," Misato admitted as they went out together. It
was kind of nice to get away from work for a few days. She wished she
could have brought Pen-pen along with them, but Makoto had promised to
feed and care for him regularly.
They left the building to find a small van waiting for them,
side door open for passengers and the back open for baggage. Ritsuko
Akagi leaned up against the side, and sitting in a composed, self
contained way in the back seat was Rei Ayanami.
"Rei's coming along too?' Shinji blurted, a bit of a flush to
his cheeks.
As the two got nearer to the van they heard Asuka talking to
Rei, "Why are you coming on this little trip, Wondergirl? I thought
someone as perfect as you didn't need vacations."
"The commander thought it would be good for me," was Rei's
calm answer.
Misato shook her head slightly. "Rei, you get a window seat,"
she ordered crisply, "Shinji, you get in next, Asuka, you get in after
him."
"Nicely done," Ritsuko commented as the kids got in with a few
soft grumbles.
"Lots of practice," Misato smiled back as she made sure the
bags were all loaded up in the back. Shutting it firmly she made her
way around to the passenger's side door while Ritsuko climbed behind
the wheel.
"Did everyone grab their breakfast before you left?" Ritsuko
asked as they pulled out.
"I made sure my two were fed," Misato said dryly.
From the back Asuka could be heard saying quite indignantly,
"I am NOT hers!" Misato chuckled softly at that, but didn't say
anything.
"I had something already," Rei quietly said.
Ritsuko made a face, "Not only did I have a breakfast but..."
She reached down, pulling out a carefully wrapped package, "Maya made
me a bento, just in case."
Misato had to laugh. "I can so see that," she chuckled,
thinking of the earnest young officer who had such a painfully obvious
crush on Ritsuko.
They drove on silently out of Tokyo-2, and Misato found
herself listening to the conversation going on in the back seat as she
looked over at Ritsuko. The blonde scientist drove well, using the
same sort of skill that she applied to all of her tasks. The blue eyes
were narrowed slightly, the finely shaped lips pulled up in a little
smile.
"What?" Ritsuko didn't even look away from her driving as she
quietly asked, "Is there something on my face?"
Misato actually felt herself blushing a bit, though she didn't
quite know why. "Sorry," she made herself smile, "I guess I was just
spacing out a bit."
"Just don't think too hard," Ritsuko smiled slightly, "this is
a vacation."
Misato turned to look out the window, still feeling a slight
flush to her cheeks. She had known Ritsuko for years, since they were
roommates back in school. Sharing a room meant that they had seen just
about everything of each other, but she had never felt something like
this.
'I haven't been laid in a while,' she reminded herself firmly,
'that must be it.' She looked over at Ritsuko, "So what's the plan?"
"We've got three days booked at the springs," Ritsuko
cheerfully related, "we'll get checked in tonight, maybe even have
enough time to quickly visit the springs, too. Then tomorrow we'll
check out all the place has to offer."
"However much that might be," Asuka said dryly.
"It might not be that bad," Shinji offered. Asuka sighed
loudly in reply.
Quietly Rei added, "I've never been to the hot springs
before."
"It's very relaxing, soothing both body and mind," Ritsuko
said firmly.
"Or boring, depending on how you look at it," Asuka scowled.
"Asuka," Misato's voice had an odd, almost singsong quality as
she said, "remember we're all under orders."
Asuka kept on frowning, but otherwise didn't add anything
more.
It was nearing twilight when they moved through the little
town up to the hot springs itself. The old woman beamed as the five of
them got out, then hurried over to Ritsuko's side. There was a
whispered consultation and the oddest look appeared on Ritsuko's face.
"What's wrong?" Misato moved from supervising the unloading of
the baggage.
"They only have three rooms left," Ritsuko frowned slightly,
"not the five that were originally booked for us."
Misato looked over the three pilots, then back at Ritsuko. "I
don't see much option," she shrugged, "Shinji in one room, and we
ladies share the other two."
"That's going to go over well with them," Ritsuko looked over
at Rei and Asuka thoughtfully.
A wicked little smile teased Misato's lips. "Put them
together," she offered, "it might help them get along a bit better."
"If they don't kill each other," Ritsuko said dubiously.
Checking the time the group was broken up into their rooms,
and Misato had to shake her head slightly as Asuka tried to start a
fight with Rei as they walked back to their room. She opened up the
room, sighing in relief as she saw the two futons laid out on the
floor.
"Misato," Ritsuko came into the room behind her. Misato looked
back at the slim blonde, and was a bit surprised to see the anxious
look on her pretty face. She took a breath, "There's something I have
to confess..."
Misato smiled slightly, waiting. Softly she asked her, "Were
you going to tell me that you read part of my journal?"
Ritsuko looked at her in shock.
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