Shinji Ikari stepped out, the black haired young woman looking visibly nervous as she said, "And pilots regularly wear this?" The blue and black plugsuit hugged her slim body from head to toe, making it quite clear that Shinji was a girl. Ritsuko Akagi smiled to herself slightly, the blonde haired scientist looking faintly amused. "If it makes you feel any better," she explained, "the plugsuit needs to be skintight to help conduct your thoughts and nerve impulses to the EVA." "Right," Shinji was blushing faintly as she walked around the small changing room, trying to get more comfortable in the unusual clothes. She reached up to touch the two blue devices on her head, almost looking like cat's ears, and added, "I'm going to look ridiculous." Ritsuko's lips twitched, but she didn't let herself react. "Come on," she said instead, "I think Misato wanted to see how you looked." The white labcoat she wore over the standard gray NERV uniform looked good on her, though she didn't draw as many glances as Shinji. "Right," Shinji sighed softly, the two of them leaving the lab where Shinji had been fitted with the new set of clothes. 'Shinji seems less stubborn around me or Misato,' Ritsuko found herself thinking about what had happened earlier, 'but she's remarkably stiff necked where Gendo is concerned.' The two of them had barely talked during their walk down the hall together, just ignoring each other while Ritsuko had tried her best to make conversation. Misato Katsuragi looked up, her eyes lighting up as she saw Ritsuko and the blonde scientist smiled back. The black haired officer shifted her glance to Shinji and grinned, "Well, at least I won't be mistaking you for a boy in that." Shinji went beet red at that. "Gee, thanks," she sighed. Misato got out of her chair by Ritsuko's desk to give Shinji a good look as she said, "You certainly look batter in one of those things than Ritsuko did." "Eh?" Shinji blinked. "Misato!" Ritsuko blurted. Misato looked like she was fighting back a chuckle as she explained, "Ritsuko had to wear a plugsuit during the testing stages, it was pretty funny..." A blushing Ritsuko walked over and firmly put her hand over Misato's mouth. "Love, she does not need to hear about that," she said firmly. Shinji couldn't help but smile at that comment. There was a soft sound from the doorway and Shinji looked up to meet the most startling red eye. Rei Ayanami stood in the office doorway studying them thoughtfully, her expression oddly unreadable. Bandages still covered part of her face, her arm was in a sling, but there was an odd feeling of strength in her. "Dr. Akagi," Rei said in her cool tones, her schoolgirl's uniform fluttering slightly from the air-conditioning, "the Commander asked to see you." Ritsuko made a face, "Probably wants Unit-00 reactivated as soon as possible." She walked over to the door as she added, "Misato, can you get Shinji back home? This might take awhile." "Right," Misato nodded. Rei was about to leave as silently as she came when Shinji spoke up, "Ayanami-san?" Turning back to look at Shinji Rei asked, "Yes?" Shinji hesitated under her gaze then took a breath, "I'm glad to see you feeling better." Rei stood there a moment, almost as if she was surprised by what Shinji said then quietly answered, "Thank you." Without another word she was gone. Shinji blinked a few times once Rei was gone, her expression mildly confused. "Is Ayanami always like that?" she finally asked. Misato smiled from where she was leaning up against Ritsuko's desk, "I'm afraid so." She pushed off and ran a hand through her hair, "Come on, let's get you changed back into street clothes, we've got other errands to get done." "Right," Shinji said, clearly relieved to soon be out of the tight plugsuit. "You'll get used to it," Misato chuckled. Soon Shinji was changed and sitting in the passenger side on Misato's latest car, another sleek sports model. Shinji made an odd squeaking noise as she grabbed the dashboard, the car squealing through a tight turn. "So where to next?" she asked, keeping her eyes partially shut. "I've got to finish registering you for school," Misato answered her as she casually kept an eye on the road, "do you want to come along?" Shinji nodded slightly, body stiff from fear as she admitted, "I guess it would be a good idea to take a look around." Her red shirt and black skirt weren't too stylish, but Shinji wasn't too worried about making a splash anyway. 'Besides, compared to Misato I couldn't,' she admitted. Misato was wearing a little black dress that was just this side of sinful, high on the thigh and with a plunging neckline. Along with her red jacket she made quite a image, an almost deliberate sort of sexiness that Shinji almost envied. "What?" Misato looked at her curiously, "I don't have something on my face, do I?" "No, no," Shinji shook her head, smiling wryly. Misato turned back to the road, her lips curling up slightly. "Don't worry," she said confidently as they finally reached the school, "you'll fill out eventually." Shinji felt her face go red again, but decided to keep her mouth shut as they screeched to a stop in the parking lot. Misato bounced out confidently as Shinji was peeling her cramped fingers from the dashboard, sighing in relief that they were finally there. "I'll be inside dealing with paperwork," Misato said as she cheerfully waved to the young men and women who were staring out the windows at them, "take a look around and see what you think." "Right," Shinji sighed, watching her stride off. Leaning back from where the brown haired young man had nearly been hanging out the window watching Misato Toji shook his head, "God that woman is a babe." "Out of our league," the blonde haired boy sighed. "Aida, Toji," Hikari scolded them both, "pay attention." "Hey, that girl is heading towards the building," Aida noted, adjusting his glasses. "Think she's a new transfer?" Toji asked as they reluctantly turned away. "That would be kind of strange," Hikari conceded, "most people are moving away after that last attack, not coming here." "Hey," Aida brightened, "maybe she's the pilot of that giant robot!" "There's no way that they'd ever put a kid into a giant robot," Toji loudly scoffed, but he did sound thoughtful. "Oh come on," Aida protested, "you know it's been an open secret about Ayanami." "Ayanami isn't...," Hikari hesitated before letting herself say, "exactly normal. This new girl looks pretty average." "Yeah," Toji nodded slightly, "but if she is the pilot... I owe her." Aida smiled to himself slightly, taking another peek at the girl who was standing out front looking nervously at the buildings, "You know, she is sort of cute." "Then you'd better hope that she's a military otaku," Hikari muttered, "or you're going to have no chance with her." "Hey!" Aida protested. Toji smiled slightly, "She's got a point." "Oh, big help you are," Aida muttered. There was a loud clearing of a throat from the front of the classroom and all three looked up guiltily to see the teacher regarding them wearily. "Toji and Aida I can understand," he said with a dramatic sigh, "but Hikari too?" "Busted," Toji whispered with a smirk. "Shut up," Hikari hissed back.
Back to Altered Destinies Index - Back to Neon Genesis Evangelion Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction