"Where the hell is my daughter?" Dr. Naoko Akagi demanded, the black haired woman barging into the office of the commander of GEHRIN without waiting for permission. She glared at her superior, "Well?" Yui Ikari looked up from her paperwork tiredly, the brown haired woman giving her a cross look. "Do you seriously believe I'm going to answer that?" she asked mildly. Naoko met her gaze defiantly for a moment, then she finally had to look away. She slumped tiredly in the guest chair, the side of her face still marked by a livid bruise. "Is Ritsuko all right?" she asked instead. "Do you care?" Yui asked softly. "Of course I do!" Naoko burst out. "Misato tells me she's fine," Yui answered as she looked at her guest curiously, "if still quite angry with you." Naoko flushed slightly. While talking with Yui she had taken a harsh tone with her daughter's safety, but unbeknownst to her Ritsuko had been listening in. Irrationally upset she had slapped her to the ground then fled before Naoko could explain. "We need a pilot..." Naoko started. Yui fixed her with a look, "You aren't going to attempt to draft Ritsuko? Because if you do I will oppose that." "No, trying to force a pilot wouldn't be wise," Naoko answered a bit stiffly, "however, I have another pilot candidate in mind." With that she pointed to one of the files already sitting on Yue's desk. Yue flipped the folder open, studying the black haired girl. "She's kind of young," she noted, seeing her age listed as fifteen. "Maybe, but her youth may actually make her more compatable," Naoko countered, "and she's a volunteer." Yui frowned but nodded reluctantly. "All right," she said, "let's call in your prodigy, Miss Maya Ibuki." Meanwhile, Ritsuko Akagi and Misato Katsuragi watched as a very unusual transfer student was introduced to their university classes. The professor pushed up her glasses, "Our newest transfer is here on a accelerated program, having graduated highschool at fourteen." She gestured to the girl at her side, "This is Maya Ibuki, please make her feel welcome." "Thank you," The black haired girl bowed, blushing furiously. Dressed in a another school's uniform she looked rather embarrassed to be standing under their gaze, her short black hair scruffy and unevenly cut. "She's a high school graduate?" Ritsuko murmured from where she sat near Misato. Misato blinked as she whispered back, "Guess you can't tell by looks alone." Maya stiffly walked to a open desk, sitting not far from where they were. She got her books out and seemed to follow the work easily, despite just jumping into the class. All in all she seemed like a good addition to the class, at least so far. One of their fellow students joined them as they left class for lunch, the gangly young man looking oddly out of synch without his usual cigarette. "So what's the prodigy like?" Kaji wondered, scratching as his stubble covered chin. "Dunno," Misato answered honestly, "we've barely met." "I thought you'd be more interested," Kaji gave them both a sly smile, "or haven't you heard the rumor she may be interning at GHERIN?" Ritsuko looked up at him in surprise, "Seriously?" "It's from a pretty reliable source," Kaji winked, not mentioning that he'd gotten that little tidbit by sleeping with a older but attractive woman working at GHERIN. Misato still looked dubious but Ritsuko was frowning slightly as she murmured, "Maybe I should look into this." With that Ritsuko strode off and with a smile Kaji slid closer to Misato. "How about we...?" he purred. With a elbow to the gut Misato sent him staggering backwards as she firmly said, "Not a chance." Leaving the gasping man to his own devices Misato walked away, taking care to hang back a bit from Ritsuko. Ritsuko hurried along, though if someone asked she couldn't have explained why she was looking for Maya. Part of it was curiosity, and maybe Ritsuko also wanted to warn her about her mother... "Get back here, you little..." a voice growled. "Help!" Maya yelped and Ritsuko hurried to race around a corner. The tall young man menacing Maya was smart but crude, having used his physical power to dominate any of the weaker students. "Let her go," Ritsuko ordered with a scowl, seeing the big man clutching Maya's neck with a large hand. "Make me," the bully scoffed. Without thinking about it Ritsuko drew on the self defense classes her mother had made her take. Lunging forward she grabbed the thumb of the gripping hand, making him yelp in pain and release Maya. As he lunged at Ritsuko she slipped away and grabbed his arm, shifting her center of balance and using a simple throw to send him crashing into a wall. Maya gaped at Ritsuko, "You..." Ritsuko grabbed at her hand, "He's not going to stay down forever, let's go! "Ri... right!" Maya followed, her eyes bright with surprise and other emotions. "Eh?" Misato blinked as both women ran by her, then heard the bully's rage filled groan. Quickly, she decided running with Rits and Maya was a good plan. "What did you do?" she said as soon as she caught up to Ritsuko. "Knocked a bully on his ass," Ritsuko admitted as they went into a deserted classroom to buy themselves some time. "I guessed," Misato puffed, catching her breath. She looked at Maya, "You all right?" "Yes," Maya answered, looking at Ritsuko with a expression that could almost be called adoring. Or maybe enraptured. 'Well, well, well,' Misato thought, hiding a smile. "I'm glad," Ritsuko sighed, "though my poor impulse control may have just made you a lifelong enemy today." Maya sighed quietly, "It's nothing new, Miss...?" Ritsuko looked sheepish, "Oh, I'm Ritsuko Akagi. And the madly grinning woman over there is Misato Katsuragi." "Madly?" Misato looked amused. "Wipe that smile off your face, we're in serious trouble if he catches us," Ritsuko pointed out. "Oh," Maya looked surprised, "I'm sure you could handle him again." Ritsuko gave her a odd look. "No," she shook her head, "I got lucky catching him by surprise. Round two, we're in trouble." Just then they heard the welcome sounds of the principal, yelling, and security guys going to work with tasers. "Should we look?" Misato asked. "Can't hurt," Ritsuko said as they pushed the door open. Outside, the security forces were pulling the now stunned bully away, who was still grumbling about girls beating up on him and his rights being violated somehow. All three women breathed a loud sigh of relief as he disappeared around a corner, then silently decided to return to their classroom. "Who was that guy?" Maya asked tentatively. "Susuhara," Misato answered her promptly, "a big lug who usually thinks better with his fists than his brains." "Ah," Maya nodded. When they reached the classroom Maya quickly pulled the door open, "Here, Ritsuko-senpai." "You don't have to call me that," Ritsuko blushed. "Let her," Misato smirked, "it's harmless." Ritsuko gave her a frown, but decided it was better not to argue. 'And I never did get the chance to talk to her about mother or GEHRIN,' she thought glumly. "Why were you looking for me, Ritsuko-senpai?" Maya wondered as they all headed back to their desks. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about," Ritsuko admitted. "REALLY?" Maya's eyes shone happily. Ritsuko gulped, "We'll talk after class." She looked over at the chortling Misato, "nd stop laughing." "I can't help it," Misato chuckled. To be continued... Notes: Yes, that's Toji Susuhara's dad. Poor kid.
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