From: mew3point14@doramail.com (Daniel Snyder)

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful bride. She knew love, and she 
knew what it was to be loved. But she was proud, too, and resolved not 
to give herself to anyone.

"On day of her wedding, she was dressed in her most beautiful gown and 
surrounded by everyone she loved. But she frowned, because she was proud 
and she had only half-chosen her husband-to-be. Although she knew him by 
the word of others, she had never seen his face.

"'Smile and love your husband,' they all shouted, 'smile and love your 
husband.' And the longer she did not smile, the louder they shouted, and 
the more impatient everyone became.

"Finally, she swallowed her pride and smiled weakly. In that moment, her 
bridegroom came to her. She saw him for the first time.

"He was beautiful to look upon, and charming in his bearing. Willingly, 
she smiled then. Willingly, she married him.

"What was the name of the bride?"
--
Hyuuga Makoto knocked twice on Kaji Ryouji's door, then opened it 
without permission. As he had predicted, the room's occupant was upset. 
Kaji was scowling into the pages of a girlie magazine. "Good afternoon," 
Makoto said pleasantly. "How are you feeling? I stopped by to share the 
news...we're out of a job."

Kaji gave a curt nod. "I heard this morning. Someone had the grace to 
leave a note out for me."

He tossed a piece of paper, folded into thirds, in Makoto's direction. 
The boy bent to pick it up off the floor, and opened it to reveal a 
short note in flowing, looped handwriting. Although the message was in 
Japanese, it was written in a cursive Latin font. It said, "The vote of 
no confidence has passed and has been approved by the administration. 
Michimoto Wakamugi."

Makoto read the missive twice, then folded the paper back up and handed 
it to Kaji. "This is our Michimoto-san?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Kaji replied. "The same Michimoto Wakamugi whose letters we've 
been receiving for the past three years. He's here on campus, Makoto-
kun, and over the course of five days he's managed to get signatures 
from almost all of the student body on a petition endorsing our removal-
-AND get the vote approved by the administration, which should have 
taken days. It's Monday today, which means that the administration must 
have processed the paperwork first thing, which means that somehow he 
got it to be everyone's top priority. I can't figure out how he managed 
to do it. Unless he has the administration in his pocket, there's simply 
no way."

Makoto thought about the problem for a little while before he tossed out 
another question. "Why is Michimoto doing this? Why, after however many 
years of writing us letters, does he suddenly have us tossed out?"

Kaji sighed. "Well, try looking at it from the other perspective. Why 
did he start to write me in the first place? Then Ritsuko, then you. Why 
did he write any of us? Why did his letters sound so strange? Like 
jokes, almost. Why were they all in Romaji? Honestly, I can't make heads 
or tails of it all."

There was another long pause before Makoto spoke again. "It seems to me 
like it's all more than a coincidence. He started writing to us as they 
were finishing up Akumafune. He shows up just after Ikari gets control 
of Shekhinah. I've got a gut feeling like Ikari's all tied up in this 
somehow. What do you think?"

The older boy was silent for a few moments before he nodded slowly. 
"Yes, yes...you may have something there." He put down his magazine and 
gave Makoto his full attention. "We need Maya to ask Ikari. To get Maya, 
of course, we need Ritsuko's support. Let's see what we can do on that 
front."

"OK."

"The only other issue," Kaji concluded, "is what we want to do about the 
picnic this weekend. Do we want to go campaigning, or not? I suggest we 
use the opportunity to take a straw poll of the student body, what do 
you think?"

"I think that that's a great plan," Makoto replied. "Maybe, that could 
even be our leverage with Akagi. She recruits Maya to find out what 
Ikari's connection is to Michimoto-sama, we help her organize, campaign, 
too."

Both boys stood in unison. "We'll rendezvous at the library tomorrow 
after school," Kaji said. "Until then, chin up, Makoto."

"You, too."

_That wasn't what I meant,_ Kaji thought, allowing himself a smirk as 
his guest departed.
--
"Holy cow, yes, she's a babe!" Touji yelled at Shinji. It had been 
Suzuhara Touji's first day in class since the disastrous Duel, and even 
though he wasn't able to walk, the former secretary had been able to 
attend class in a motorized wheelchair. His entourage journeyed with him 
back to the hospital: Ikari Shinji walked on his right, Aida Kensuke 
videotaped the procession from in front. A step behind the wheelchair, 
Ayanami Rei walked along, keeping pace with the electric cart's advance. 
Aoba Shigeru trailed her disconsolately.

Touji continued his voluble critique. "See, Shinji, there's a lot of 
different kinds of babes in this world. There's big babes, small babes, 
short babes, tall babes, and they all got their places. Kirishima-
sensei, she absolutely ska-REEMS Teacher Babe. She is the kind of babe 
who dresses up all nice and pretty and lets you know she has a thing for 
frilly underwear and maybe spanking. Collectively, we are pretty lucky 
dogs."

Shinji glanced over at his friend. "Are you sure you aren't making a bit 
much of this, Touji?"

"Eh-eh."

"He's right, Shinji," Kensuke said, dashing quickly around the 
wheelchair's path to capture Shinji's reaction at the closest range. 
"See, you got to anticipate. You got to have hope. Otherwise, how are 
you going to keep your head together every day?"

"Anticipation becomes better than fulfillment," Shigeru muttered. Nobody 
was looking at his face as he spoke.

They had arrived at the infirmary. Since his status had been upgraded to 
one of partial mobility, Touji was scheduled for only one more night 
before his return to Nagamara Dormitory. Physical therapy was to remain 
an important part of his lifestyle, but he was no longer bound to the 
building where sicknesses were contained.

Inside the atrium, the small group spread out as Touji awkwardly aligned 
himself with the elevator, backing out and turning in again and again 
until he was perfectly aligned. Knowing that it would only be a matter 
of practicing, he was patient until the very moment his backside touched 
the far elevator wall. "OK," he said, "I need someone to press the 
button for me. Shinji, would'ja do the honors?"

Shinji returned to Touji's right side and pushed the 'up' button. Once 
the doors had shuddered into place, Touji asked, "So, how's Rei taking 
it?"

"Eh?"

"You're in a class with a certified babe, and you're clearly her 
favorite student."

His eyes fell to the floor. Shinji said softly, darkly, "I don't want to 
talk about it."

"You don't want to talk about it, or you don't want to think about it?"

Just as the doors opened, Shinji declared, "Both, really." He stepped 
out of the elevator to give Touji room to get out. Rei, Kensuke and 
Shigeru had taken the stairs, and they followed Touji and Shinji down 
the hall to Touji's room. The small group had arranged a series of 
tables and chairs between the doorway and Touji's bed: with a hand to 
steady him at the start, he could walk on his own across the room. It 
was a walk of small steps, quick clutches, and ears that felt the air 
around him. He walked the distance alone; and then, just to show them 
that he could, he made a full lap of it. Suzuhara Touji was rebuilding 
himself.

When the others had gone, Touji took Shinji aside. "Seriously though, 
Shinji. What about you and Rei and Kirishima-sensei?"

"Nothing's happened between us."

"OK, I believe you already. But what about you and Rei?"

"It's complicated," Shinji said evasively.

Touji leaned back on the bed, resting his weight on his left arm. 
"Shinji, now it ain't like you to be this tight about anything. 
Somethin's really on your mind, isn't it?"

Shinji made a fist and pressed the tips of his fingers against the palm 
of his hand. "I don't understand myself," he admitted. "I don't 
understand what I'm feeling inside, or why. I don't know how I should 
feel. And...no offense, OK?"

"None taken."

"Are you sure? The thing is, I don't know what I should do, or who I 
should talk to, or what I should say to them," Shinji said. He added a 
moment later, "Sometimes I think it's between me and Rei, sometimes I 
think I should tell someone else. I just don't know, Touji."

"Well, if ya need someone, I'm right here. You know that?"

"I guess, yeah." Shinji took his leave, off to visit his sometime-
teacher and friend Fuyutsuki.

Touji tried to think through the situation and break into his friend's 
mind. Perhaps it was simply a problem of scale, but Touji had trouble 
figuring people out by any means other than his gut instinct. He had 
been right about Kensuke making a good friend. He had been wrong, too, 
like about what kind of a person Ikari was inside. Suzuhara Touji had 
largely muddled through his personal life, and he was growing frustrated 
with the method. He liked people. He liked being around people and 
interacting with them. Having his social life disappear in the infirmary 
had given him some perspective. The boy had resolved, shortly after his 
confinement, to understand people, and yet, the circumstances that had 
followed had been anything but enlightening.

It was the chief factor of these circumstances that interrupted his 
thoughts. Five then ten delicate fingers wrapped around the frame of his 
door, followed along behind by a head of ruddy hair and a blind blue 
eye. Sohryu Asuka Langley slipped into the room, still resting a 
shoulder against the door frame for security. "Who was that?" she asked 
with embers, not fire, in her voice.

"The people from school," Touji replied. "Shinji, Kensuke, Rei, Shigeru. 
You know. My crowd."

"The usual gang of idiots," Asuka said as if commenting on abstract art. 
She took a ginger step away from the door and held out her hand, palm 
up, fingers slightly curved. "One of the girls brought me a book today. 
Why don't you read it to me?"

"Who all brought it? Hikari?"

Asuka shook her head. "One of the girls a year younger than 
us...Takatsuki, Shiori's her name, I think. She came here wanting to 
know if there were any games for blind people to play at the picnic."

"An' what didja tell her?" Touji asked. He eased himself up off the bed, 
clutched at the table for support, and began the delicate walk to his 
visitor. Left hand, right foot, right hand, left foot.

"I couldn't think of anything," Asuka said. "Pathetic, isn't it? I've 
got a bachelor's degree, I'm a polyglot, I can balance a budget in my 
head and I can't think of one thing I'd like to do at a picnic." He was 
a few tens of centimeters from her, and she put out her hand a little 
further, expecting his touch. "Well, it's just a picnic. I don't need 
picnics. What I need to do is learn how to read Braille and get back to 
my studying."

"Oh, come on now. You've got to get outside every now and again," Touji 
said. There was no trace of a teasing tone in his voice. "You'll get a 
whaddaya call it, vitamin D problem, if you're not outside often 
enough."

"Rickets," Asuka remarked as her hand touched Touji's chest. She shifted 
her weight and stepped into an embrace with great care, trying against 
her nature to be smooth, and to move up against him like a feather's 
fall. "I know all about rickets, so you don't have to bore me with your 
talk about it. Dull boy."

"Uh-huh." Touji slipped his one arm around Asuka, caressing the point 
where her shoulder met her arm.

They held the pose for a few long moments, like the dawn could hold a 
chorus of brass, like eggs in a nest would touch each other when a 
storm's winds slacked for a moment. Then Asuka said, "Touji, I left 
Shiori's book on one of the tables in here. Read to me, now." She pulled 
herself away to let him search.
--
"EXTRA, EXTRA! Read all about it!"

"Today's feature article--Doctor Love answers all your relationship 
questions!"

"Miss S. A. L. in Feuervogel writes to us, 'Dear Doctor Love--I've just 
started seeing a boy as more than a friend, and I want to look nice for 
him. What's the latest fashions you recommend?"

"Dear Miss A--Sounds like you're keeping something from the good Doctor 
here!"

"I wonder, I wonder...do you know what I wonder?"

"What's the point of trying to reach out to someone if it's not _you_ 
doing the reaching?"

"Doctor Love knows that honesty is the key to a relationship."

"Honesty and communication."

"Honesty, communication and intimacy."

"In answer to your question, I recommend black."

"Indoors, black will hide your figure and draw attention to your face. 
Outdoors, black will make you stand out."

"Black is a sexy color!"

"I also recommend white."

"White is a slimming color. Wearing a white dress will make your waist 
look trim and your hips thin."

"White looks pure and vestal!"

"So, for the look this year, wear both black AND white."

"Something like a checkerboard, perhaps."

"You can sprawl out on your bed and play chess on your tummy if the date 
goes well!"

"I also recommend platform shoes."

"With those high lace-up tops! They look so sexy, and they'll push your 
bottom out!" 

"Unless you're completely blind, of course. In which case, you'll trip 
over your own two feet in them."

"This is Doctor Love, signing off for this week's column."

"Thank you, Doctor Love!"
--
Fuyutsuki Kouzou, dressed in a brown paisley bathrobe, looked up from 
his copy of _Foucalt's Pendulum_. A noise had come from without, through 
the thick double-doors of his bedroom. It was the sound of a 
conversation being put on hiatus. A moment later, three people came into 
the room. Ikari Shinji was first, holding the door for Ohtori Kanae and 
then Ayanami Rei.

"Good afternoon, sensei," Kanae said with a cheerful smile. "I happened 
to run into Ayanami-san and Ikari-san on my way over to see you. I 
brought you a few get-well cards from the senior class." She held up a 
cute little bag tied up with ribbons.

"Thank you very much," the older man replied as he took the gift and set 
it on a credenza. He took Shinji's and Rei's cards as well and set them 
aside. The three visitors pulled up chairs from around the room and 
Fuyutsuki poured large glasses of sun tea for each person.

"Kanae-san is my favorite student I never taught," he said by way of 
introduction. "We'd met--you don't mind if I tell this story? We met 
because her mother had read one of my books, and relayed a question to 
me through her. Kanae-san didn't care much for my answer, and so we 
spent an afternoon discussing the problem."

"I simply couldn't believe what he had to say about the rises and falls 
of different sects of Christianity. Principally, the distribution of 
Gnostic Christian sects over time and space: Dualistic Gnostics, 
Manichaeans, Ophites, even the Phibionites. I refused to believe that 
none of these orders had any influence on the modern Church as it's 
known around the world today. Sensei's hypothesis was that because the 
mainline Church--that became the Catholic Church--had a centralized 
hierarchy, it was able to flourish while the other orders didn't last. I 
still don't buy it," Kanae added distastefully.

"She spent a lot of time in the library doing her own research," 
Fuyutsuki put in, smiling. He asked Shinji, "How are things in the 
class? Is Kazami Tatsuya-sensei keeping order?"

Shinji sighed. "I...I don't like the sudden change," he said, trying to 
be polite. "We're studying geology now, and...I don't know what to 
think. Sensei keeps talking about the First Impact, where the Moon was 
formed by a collision, you know, between the ancient Earth and an object 
about the size of Mars. But we can't ever seem to get beyond that. Maybe 
it's me, but I feel like he thinks that everything about life on Earth 
relates back to that one event."

"Then be critical, Shinji," said Fuyutsuki. "What do you think, in all 
honesty?"

"Well, I guess...it's responsible for a lot of things...but I..." Shinji 
was well aware how quiet the room was around him. He felt alone beneath 
the fading light that came in through the window overhead. Even with a 
dry mouth, he still was reluctant to drink more tea before he had 
spoken; before he had spoken enough to earn his sensei's respect, and by 
extension, permission to quench his thirst.

"I don't think...I don't think it's everything. No. It's not enough. 
There's too much to life on Earth to blame one incident at one point in 
time. I guess you'd also have to think about organic molecules and 
such."

He glanced around the room. Fuyutsuki and Kanae were both smiling 
politely and seemed deferential to his position. Rei stared at him with 
her relaxed face, the one where a smile was kept in the waiting. The 
host turned to her and asked, "Rei-chan? What do you think of Kazami-
sensei?"

Rei's answer was immediate. "He uses his time to give us a large 
quantity of information. My husband Shinji says that this is a sign he 
is very learned. I have endeavored to make the most of this."

Fuyutsuki chuckled, somewhat patronizingly. "I meant, what is your 
opinion of the man?"

The girl glanced at Shinji for encouragement before she said, "I think 
that one class period per day is an adequate exposure to him. The people 
that I talk to and I all agree that if you want more of something, that 
is good, and if you want less of it, that is not good, or bad, as it is 
called sometimes. As for Kazami-sensei, I have him for one period every 
day. Sometimes it is good, and sometimes it is bad. I think that the sum 
is 'adequate.'"

The other three in the room were silent, weighing Rei's words. They were 
also slightly shocked by what was, for Rei, a loquatious outburst. When 
nobody had said anything for a half a minute, Rei asked, "What do you 
think of Kazami-sensei, Fuyutsuki-sensei?"

The older man chuckled. "I think he's adequate as well. You're 
absolutely right with that, Rei-chan."

Rei lowered her eyes, tightened her lips, and leaned forward in a bow. 
"Thank you very much, sensei," she said solemnly, then quickly glanced 
to Shinji again.

The pair soon left. Fuyutsuki asked Kanae to remain behind on the 
pretext of discussing ancient history. But when they were gone, he 
instead asked, "How are Ikari-san and Ayanami-san fitting in?"

Kanae shrugged. "Well enough, I suppose. They're still afoul of the 
Student Council, or most of it. But the Student Council's been recalled. 
Did you hear?"

"Yes, it was in the paper this morning," Fuyutsuki replied, gesturing to 
a folded newspaper on the floor by his bed. "And that's what I wanted to 
ask you about. Has anyone brought up the subject of Rokubungi to that 
boy yet?"

She shook her head. "Anybody could, now that they don't have the power 
of the rules behind them. But frankly, I don't think anyone's interested 
in dragging it out into the light. Why? Were you?"

"I was kind of hoping someone else would. As his homeroom teacher...and 
a man who knew Rokubungi, once upon a time...I feel a certain 
obligation. You know?" He heaved a tremendous sigh and settled back onto 
his bed. "I pity Shinji-kun, Kanae-chan. And I'm scared on his behalf. 
There's no prescedent in the history of the world to what his father's 
done, and only God knows what's going to happen when he finds out."

"Well, I for one am optimistic," Kanae said as she moved a chair to his 
bedside. "After all, he's managed to fit in to life here at Feuervogel. 
I would have thought an angry mob would have torn him limb from limb 
long ago."

"Wish I'd never come to this damned campus..."

"Don't. I've regrets of my own, and I don't want to touch them now," she 
said softly as she patted his hand. Her fiery eyes stared at his tired 
old watery ones. "Tell me all about Justinian, one more time. Tell me 
about his reforms and his embracing the Christian cult."
--
Nights were quiet again in Akumafune Dormitory. Ayanami Rei no longer 
cried for Shinji. She thought that there was nothing to cry for--he was 
back again, and healthy. He was showing a renewed interest in school. 
The girl didn't realize that she wanted more. She wanted to see smiles 
on Shinji's face, and take kisses from his lips. That was the way they 
lived once upon a time. The past was immutable--with all those memories, 
why should she desire something more? Why indeed?

After his return to class, the same day that the new teacher had 
debuted, she had asked the boy a simple question: "Why do you look at 
her the way that you do?" Shinji had spent much of the day looking at 
their new teacher, Kirishima Mana, in the same way he had looked at Rei 
once upon a time. Rei had never seen Shinji look at anyone else in that 
way--what was the reason? Why two people, and no more?

Since that day, Shinji had done many things: he had practiced his cello 
and kendo, he had done homework, he had helped her cook and clean. But 
he had not answered Rei's question. He talked some, and listened 
attentively to her when she spoke. They practiced conversations, and no 
answers came out of his mouth; no looks--those looks that gave her such 
pleasure and anxiety--came to his face anymore. Or, if they did, he 
quickly hid them away.

Rei could not see the guilt that weighed down on Ikari Shinji. The boy 
saw how deeply his life was torn. There was Ayanami Rei, whose soul 
cried out for shelter and whose body, every moment, drew him towards 
her. But Rei was as untouchable as a rotting cadaver. There was 
Kirishima Mana, who was everything Shinji admired. She was a leader, 
strong, intelligent, beautiful, mature, quick-witted and careful. She 
made him feel important. But she was twice his age, and his own teacher. 
The woman was utterly beyond his capacity to accept into his life.

Ikari Shinji saw himself, and he knew that he was making wormwood of his 
heart. He wondered how many people he would hurt in his headlong rush 
away from the decisions and frameworks that lay in front of him.
--
The nights that passed with no choices made were still, and the 
throbbing of human hearts could be heard from the depths of hidden 
pathways, labyrinths cut by corporeal human logic. Geography and timing 
made the difference. If someone had been there, then, things would have 
been different. A third person, at one instance, might have been a 
catalyst.

At that moment, Horaki Hikari was alone in her room, crying. She was 
allowing herself the masochistic joy of self-pity.

"The...whole thing...started Saturday afternoon, after class," she 
sobbed. "Kirishima-sensei had been on my case because I hadn't been 
checking up on Asuka. I, I didn't think it was my job. After all, I'm 
the class rep, and all, I shouldn't be responsible for stuff that's 
outside my watch.

"So I go over to the infirmary, and...I...I was walking past Touji's 
room, when I heard Ikari talking with Touji. He was telling him about 
the new teacher, and I thought, that's fine, you know, whatever. Then 
Ikari breaks off and says, 'Hey, Touji, what's that you're playing 
with?' And...and all innocent, Touji says, 'Oh, it's one of Asuka's hair 
clips. She left it here earlier.'

"And Ikari says, 'Oh,' and just goes on like it's nothing. Like it 
doesn't mean anything! I'm standing out in the hallway still, slack-
jawed, and they just keep on talking like it means nothing!

"So I go to Asuka's room, and she's lying on the bed, and I can't tell 
if she's asleep or just thinking or what. And I'm all, you know, 'What's 
Touji doing with your hair clip?' She doesn't do anything, she just lays 
there and says, 'Who's there?' loudly enough for me to hear it. I come 
inside, and I say, 'You know who this is!' and I walk over to her bed.

"Then...then...she's opened her one eye now, and she's not wearing an 
eyepatch or anything over that...you know. She rolls her head over 
towards where I am, and she says, 'I know that smell...that smells like 
Hikari...that...'"

Hikari steeled herself and went on. "She said, 'That smells like old 
dried-up pussy.' I swear to God, that's what she said. I was too 
horrified to do anything for a few seconds. And then Asuka goes on, 
'That's Hikari, old dried-up pussy and bitch shit.' And then, on top of 
everything else, she gives me this creepy smile, like she was going to 
jump out of bed and just..."

The girl had started to sob again, sobs of frustration and rage. "I hate 
her! I hate that bitch! Ever since I've known him, I've been trying to 
make that boy into a halfway-decent boyfriend. I've been helping him 
with his homework, and I've been sticking up for him in class, being 
good for him, and then SHE comes in and steals him! HER of all people, I 
thought she was my goddam best friend! I never, ever made her do one 
thing for me, always made sure that we were EQUALS, and then she stabs 
me in the fucking back first chance she gets. THAT IS FUCKING GRATITUDE, 
ALL RIGHT!"

Michimoto nodded appreciatively. "It is only human nature to take pride 
in one's creations. You, who have been the mighty sun of God, shining 
down on all, giving them energy while remaining aloof from their cares, 
have now fallen like Icarus into the depths of the ocean. Submit to your 
own nature, and you will walk with God. Come with me."

In a daze, Hikari raised her rosy eyes and cheeks to look at Michimoto. 
"What do you mean?"

"Pride. You know everything that there is to do. I've come over to bring 
you what you need." Michimoto stood and gently, but firmly, grasped 
Hikari by the wrist. He led her, entranced, to the door. "There's a 
revolution calling you," he said as he swung it wide open. They stepped 
through, and he closed the door firmly behind them.