There was a soft splashing sound as Ritsuko did a last rinse of her hair, then looked into the mirror. It had taken a bit of bleach plus a lot of hair die but her natural black colored hair, a inheritance from her mother, was gone. Instead a brassy blonde looked out the mirrored surface, though admittedly a blonde with black eyebrows. 'I wonder if I have enough time to do the eyebrows too?' Ritsuko wondered, combing her still damp hair back with her fingers. "Ritsuko, is everything all right in there?" Yui Ikari asked worriedly from the other side of the closed bathroom door. Ritsuko had headed in there a half a hour ago after breakfast, and other than splashing water they hadn't heard a thing. Ritsuko smiled wryly as she thought, 'I suppose she was worried I'd hurt myself.' Aloud she called out, "I'm fine." Opening up the door she smiled up at the older lady as she gestured dramatically, "See?" Yui's mouth dropped open in surprise before she could get herself back under control. Ritsuko's hair had been dyed a white-blonde you'd never find in nature, one that was almost unbearably stunning. "Uh...," Yui started, her simple blouse and dress pants looking oddly out of place on her.. "It looks a bit much, huh?" Ritsuko asked Yui with a unusually relaxed smile, considering the situation. "Well, yes," Yui admitted, feeling a little worried about how the girl might take her honest opinion. Surprisingly a smile burst to life on Ritsuko's face. "Good," she said firmly, "my mother is going to freak when she sees it." 'She may act like an adult a lot of the time,' Yui mused, 'but clearly she's still a teenager.' Aloud she said, "That she will. So does this mean you're coming back to GHERIN with us today?" "Yes, I think I will," Ritsuko nodded firmly. "Awww," Misato noted as the black haired young woman arrived with her phone, "we were going to use the camera in this to send Naoko a photo and listen to her scream." She wore casual jeans and a muscle shirt, her usual red jacket tossed on over it. Ritsuko shrugged as she said with a wicked smile, "It'll be more satisfying to see her reaction face to face." Misato frowned, "But you'll also be within range of her, too." "I punched her out once," Ritsuko smiled grimly, "I can do it again." "No punching if you can help it, please," Yui said to her quickly, "you know I can't stand the sight of blood." "Must make it hard to be a doctor," Ritsuko replied, not quite sure if she was being serious or just joking. "Why do you think I'm a theorist?" Yui winked. "All right you two, break it up," Misato sighed. "Keep it up too long and we'll never get to GHERIN," she pointed out. "And you want to go, why?" Ritsuko had to ask. Misato grinned, "To watch the mayhem unfold, naturally." "Oy," Yui sighed. Thankfully, Yui was behind the wheel as they set out to GHERIN. Ritsuko had quickly discovered that while Misato could indeed drive, she tended to break all kinds of traffic laws and speed recklessly. Yui, on the other hand, was a efficient and careful driver, the only problem being her tendency to occasionally drift off in thought. "Look out for the curb!" Misato yelped, bringing Yui back to reality to swerve them aside. She gave Ritsuko a look, "Still don't want me to drive?" Ritsuko puffed out a relieved breath as they reached the lab complex, "No comment." "I'm hurt," Yui sighed as they headed into the buildings, moving through the access routs from the city into the geofront beneath it. "I still can't get used to this," Misato admitted as she looked up at the rock ceiling arching high above them. "I'd have thought you'd be used to it by now," Ritsuko noted. "No, not me," Misato said as they moved to Yui's office first. Yui smoothly took her place behind the desk, calling up her schedule and checking project status reports. "Hmm," she murmured as she flipped through files, "Naoko is going to attempt a entry plug test with the new girl, Maya." "Is that safe?" Ritsuko asked, frowning worriedly. Once upon a time she wouldn't have asked that sort of question, but that was back when she still trusted her mother to look out for her welfare. "Yes, but not at this point," Misato said flatly, having done a fair bit of reading on the subject. "We'd want animal tests first, I'd think." "Not possible," Yui said as she got up, grabbing her labcoat and pulling it on. She looked at the girls, "Coming?" "Of course," Ritsuko followed, "but why are animal tests impossible?" They headed down the hall to a elevator as Yui answered, "The systems we're testing will require human brain waves to operate... a animal subject just won't do." The ride down to the testing labs was tense as each considered what might be waiting for them and what they might do. "Let Yui take the lead," Misato advised Ritsuko softly. "I'll try," Ritsuko smiled slightly. "You know my mother, though...." "We all know," Yui agreed as the chime signaled their arrival. Briskly Yui strode out of the elevator as she asked, "Naoko, I thought we were just planning synchronization tests." "That's where we'll be starting," Naoko began before she trailed off, seeing Ritsuko following behind. "You...," she started weakly, "what have you done to your hair?!" "Like it?" Ritsuko smiled as she patted her blonde locks. "You look like a floozy," Naoko yelped. "I think it looks nice," Maya Ibuki offered, the younger woman standing nearby dressed in just the form fitting plugsuit. "Who asked you," Naoko growled at her fiercely. "Hey!" both Yui and Ritsuko glared at Naoko, "Don't talk to her that way." Misato fought back a chuckle as Naoko took a half step back and Maya blushed. "Isn't it rushing things a bit?" Misato asked, giving Naoko a withering look. "It's perfectly safe," Naoko answered flatly. "Then why not put yourself in a plugsuit and try it out yourself?" Misato challenged, fighting back a smile as Naoko blanched. Ritsuko frowned slightly, wondering why her mother had tried so hard to talk her into doing that too. 'Did she really think it could hurt me?' she thought, once more feeling a deep disappointment in her parent. Naoko tried to look somewhat more dignified as she said, "The optimal projected age for using the system is in their teens." "Does that mean you couldn't do the tests?" Ritsuko pressed. "No," Naoko conceded reluctantly. Misato looked at Maya impishly, "We're going for lunch. Wanna come along?" Maya had a trapped mouse look as Misato and Ritsuko led her out, "Yes?" "See you later," Ritsuko gave them a false cheery wave as the three women tromped out of the lab. "Do you have to help undermine me?" Naoko hissed angrily to her superior. "I didn't have to help," Yui said to Naoko dryly, "the girls were managing perfectly fine against you on their own." Naoko growled incoherently. "And why did you let her dye her hair?!" she added. "Why should I stop her?" Yui shrugged, rather enjoying her colleague's discomfort. She gave her a pointed look, "And why haven't you tried the tests on yourself, first? It would at least make the young ladies more comfortable." "I'm not used to thinking about making my test subjects feel more comfortable," Naoko said stiffly. Yui gave her a almost sympathetic look, "Maybe you should think about it." With that she turned to go, adding, "If you wish, we can re-schedule the tests for later." "That might be for the best," Naoko admitted as she watched Yui leave.
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