Minmei carried another serving of food over to the table, casually setting the trays out as she flashed a smile at Shinji. "Is there anything else I can get you?" the black haired young woman asked the table full of pilots. "Thank you," Hikari murmured, her brown haired tied back, "we're fine." Over at the other table a female voice growled out, "Watch the hands!" "Uh oh," Minmei rushed over to the other table to find Aida looking stunned as the green haired young woman pinned him against the wall, her eyes flashing, "Miriya, let him go," Minmei said patiently. Miriya hesitated, then stepped away. "He grabbed me on the bottom," she glared at the blonde haired boy coldly. "I didn't mean to," Aida protested weakly. "Pervert," Minmei scolded him. Shinji Ikari shook his head with a sigh, his black hair falling into his eyes as he followed her over. "Sorry," he gave Minmei a wry smile. He dropped his voice a bit to ask her, "When did Miriya start doing part time here?" "She wanted to pay back my aunt," Minmei answered quietly. A slight smile teased her lips, "She's quite popular because she's so tough." "Huh?" Asuka blinked, having been eagerly listening in to the conversation. Minmei chuckled, "All the guys seem to have decided she's a challenge." "Dog," Miriya growled to a customer up by the front counter, "sit down and be silent, or you will face my wrath!" The diner stopped trying to chat her up, sat down and timidly ate his meal. "See what I mean?" Minmei shrugged. "Aida, you all right?" Shinji asked him curiously. "What a woman," Aida sighed, rubbing at his throat. "What a fool," Rei murmured calmly, eating her food steadily. Asuka smiled at Rei impishly. "We'll stick around for the wake," she said softly, "then head back home together." "I'm still a little surprised that we're having a party," Rei admitted. "Not exactly a party," Asuka mused, "more of a celebration of Toji's life, I think." She looked back at the morose Hikari, "Though I don't think she'll be celebrating anything for awhile." "Some more sake, please," Hikari yelled, nodding approvingly as Miriya brought her another of the small bottles. Maya Ibuki sat up by the front counter, sipping sake and watching the party from a distance. Her black hair was messier than normal, her uniform more than a little wrinkled. The eyes that were normally so clear were now red rimmed from tears. "It wasn't your fault," the quiet voice came from behind her. Ritsuko Akagi sat down beside her, ordering a drink and a small meal. A battered overcoat was over her uniform, and she too had a tired, almost exhausted look on her face. "I should have given the warning sooner," Maya said quietly. "Gendo was still trying to figure out what was happening with the barrier system," Ritsuko answered, "there was no way you could have known." Her voice turned bitter, "I shouldn't have agreed to activating the system in the first place." "All of Gendo's test data was good," Maya pointed out tiredly, "there was no way that you could have known." "And yet here we are blaming ourselves," Ritsuko sighed. She tossed back a saucer of sake, "The burdens of command, I suppose, hindsight is always twenty-twenty." "So what happens now?" Maya asked. Ritsuko looked off in the distance, her expression carefully blank. "I got the heads up from a friend in Earth HQ," she finally said, "we're being exiled." "What?" Maya asked softly. Ritsuko smiled grimly, an expression entirely without humor. "We were a political embarrassment already with our return from space with an island of officially dead civilians aboard," she quietly explained. "And the barrier explosion finished it?" Maya asked. "It's considered too dangerous to have us on Earth," Ritsuko reported bleakly, "I think the Captain will be getting the official orders in a few days." "Misato," Maya sighed sadly, thinking of their black haired leader, the intense, driven woman who had shepherded them home from the edge of the solar system to here. "Is she going to be all right?" she asked softly. "Last time I checked," Ritsuko sighed, "Misato took a few beers home, but I don't think she'll let herself get too drunk." In the background several of the pilots had begun to exchange funny stories about Toji. The young pilot seemed to have been well loved by his fellows, even though more often than not he was a bit of a short tempered screw up. "How long have you known the captain?" Maya asked Ritsuko curiously, taking another drink of her sake. Ritsuko turned, blonde hair falling into her eyes. "We met in college," she revealed, "and were even roommates together." Maya felt a surprising flash of jealousy. "Roommates?" she echoed. Ritsuko chuckled softly. "Don't worry," she reassured her girlfriend gently, "Misato was way too busy chasing boys to be worried about me." "Sorry," Maya blushed cutely under Ritsuko's warmly amused gaze. "What was she like, anyway?" she found herself asking. "Busy screwing everything with two legs," Ritsuko's eyes twinkled. "You'd be surprised how often I came home to find the 'do not disturb' sign on out door..." Behind them another pilot was regaling the group with the time in basic training where Toji had taken a bet to sneak into the girl's showers and steal panties. Of course he was caught and the whole squad had pretty much taken revenge on him. "So what did you do?" Maya asked. "I usually found a willing lady to let me share her room," Ritsuko confessed. "I pretty much used university to sow my wild oats." Maya blushed faintly, "Me, too." At Ritsuko's curious glance she explained, "I had a girlfriend or two and joined the gaysoc." "That was wild?" Ritsuko raised an eyebrow. "It was for me," Maya answered honestly. Ritsuko chuckled softly. They sat there a bit, listening to the stories and conversation, then she sighed, "I'm not looking forward to reassigning the pilots after all this." "Hikari won't be happy about having a new wingman," Maya agreed glumly. "Do you think we should break that wing up?" "No," Ritsuko said forcefully, "not unless they request it, anyway." Maya nodded her agreement. "It would be like breaking up the Angels of Death," she nodded to Rei, Asuka and Shinji. "Not quite that bad," Ritsuko smiled faintly. Hesitantly Maya looked up at Ritsuko, "I don't..." she paused, "want to be alone tonight." Ritsuko slid her hand over to cover Maya's, squeezing it comfortingly. "Me, too," was all the answer she needed to give.
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