"You don't have ANY other clothing?" asked Misato.
"My school uniform, gym clothes, and swimsuit were sufficient for all required functions," stated Rei in her quiet voice. Her forehead furrowed ever so slightly as she considered the functions of a girlfriend. Other clothing options would seem to be of use in such a role.
"That won't do," said Misato, a gleam entering her eyes.
Ranma shrugged. Didn't have anything to do with him. "I'm gonna go practice some. Y'all do what you want."
"We'll be a little late, so why don't you fix dinner?" asked Misato, revealing that she had other motives.
"Yeah, yeah," said Ranma, figuring it was probably the only way to avoid the barely edible sludge Misato tended to fix. It was nearly as bad as Akane's sort of thing.
Oh well, at least he knew Akane and them were doing well without him.
"We may have to rearrange things," said Fuyutsuki, standing and facing a display in Gendo's office.
"Indeed, this was not foreseen," said Gendo, not liking it. "Did she shield herself with an AT field?"
"That was my thought as well," said Fuyutsuki.
"She shouldn't be able to do that," said Gendo. "When Asuka arrives, I was planning on placing her with Katsuragi."
"There isn't that much room," pointed out Fuyutsuki.
"If it becomes a problem, I'll have someone attend to it," said Gendo. "For now, I have other matters that are more pressing."
Ranma was just finishing up with something he'd thought a clever idea. By making extras and sticking them in the freezer - he had an alternative on nights when Misato's efforts were particularly loathsome.
"So, what do you think?" said Misato as she came in the door.
Ranma winced without turning around. That was one of THOSE questions. No good answer really. Lots of wrong answers.
"This feels... strange," confessed Rei.
Ranma debated potential answers before turning around, figuring he'd stalled enough. He ended up staring, however.
Rei was wearing a black pants-turtleneck combination that offset her pale skin dramatically.
"I'd say from that reaction, we have a 'win'," said Misato.
Rei sat back on the bed and considered the way the day had turned out, not feeling particularly sleepy despite the late hour.
She had been trapped, the flames gouting outward as something caught and burst. She had realized what it had been from a glimpse of the mechanism. There had been an incendiary device built into the wall, most likely from long ago. Conclusion: her apartment had been rigged to remote-detonate sometime in the past. It had been those hidden incendiaries which had accelerated the fire to the extent it had.
Ranma Ikari had not known of the device or that he was even to be there. He also had only been in the area only recently. Conclusion: Ranma Ikari had charged into the fire without knowing why the flames had developed to that extent, regardless of the heat level.
Then he'd done... something. Something with his own AT field, much like she could do except he'd practically radiated cold. The air had exploded around them, blowing out the remaining windows and tearing holes in the walls even further.
Then Ranma had slumped, whatever he'd done had apparently exhausted him and hurt in some way.
Ranma Ikari had not only risked his life to save her own, but he had personally endured pain and suffered for her sake.
Rei was used to thinking of herself as disposable. Replaceable. A tool to be used. Thinking of someone who would go to such lengths for her left her confused.
A glance towards the case with the glasses in them, retrieved from the aftermath of the fire did not evoke the same reaction it had previously. This was also noted for later contemplation.
Rei simply willed herself to sleep, thinking that it would be easier to understand these things with some rest.
Ranma was a little confused himself. He KNEW that Rei was one of several, that she wasn't exactly human. He knew there was an excellent chance she was only getting close to him because of his "father" ordering something to that effect. She might end up as an enemy if he tried to avoid that whole "goo ending". He'd reacted to her getting surrounded by the fire as if she was simply a normal girl.
He'd worked out that chi and the AT fields were similar, and that he couldn't do everything he could back home. He had to invent new techniques because a few old ones just wouldn't work. As back home, he tended to work out his new techniques on the fly when he had his back against the wall. Or in this case surrounded by fire. He'd ended up doing something like the soul of ice and something like the dragon ascension spiral, but it had HURT forcing things out like that. Instead of a tornado, he'd lost control of the spiral of ice and fire and ended up with something like a bomb blast.
Now Rei was next door to his own room. Keeping secrets was gonna be REAL hard now.
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(Posted Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:42)
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