Special thanks to Anthony Lum, Octavian and Mark Severino for helping this poor story teller with his grammar.

Thanks to my pre-readers : Eric McGinnis, Anand Rao, Lord Talon, James Lee, K Yee

Everyone has Octavian to thank for the added locker room part at the end. He suggested and this humble writer thought it was a great idea and added one. Also you should thank K Lee for the scene after that. With his suggestion for more detail, I've added another scene as well.

Why? Oh why are people making me write more? LOL.

Evangelion/Ranma 1/2 : Past/Future Chapter Three
Created by Long Ngo
Started April 18, 1998
Finished April 22, 1998
Revised April 30, 1998
Revised May 9, 1998
Revised May 10, 1998

      "Class, please give a warm welcome to Saotome Ranma. He has just moved to Tokyo-3. Mr. Saotome, would you please tell the class a little about yourself."

      *I'll be heading home soon so making some friends here is not a good idea,* Ranma thought. "I'd rather not," Ranma replied and went searching for an empty seat. As he was looking for a seat, he sensed almost every pair of eyes in the classroom looking at him. Scanning the room, Ranma noticed only the girl with short blue hair near the window had not directed her eyes towards him like the rest of the class. Instead, she was staring out the window. Seeing an empty seat behind her, Ranma decided to sit there. As he walked to the back of the classroom, he could hear the familiar whispers : He's so handsome; He's the one that took out Toji; I, for one, am not going to mess with him; I think I am in love; What a jock. Without looking, Ranma knew the last comment was from Asuka. Sitting down, Ranma started to look out the window as well. *So I'm in the future.* Ranma thought. If the conversation with Shinji hadn't convinced him nor the incident with Ritsuko and Misato, the newspaper he picked up did. Seeing January 28, 2015 as the date on the front page, he could not deny the fact any longer . There was an interesting article about the upcoming 15th anniversary of Second Impact. After reading a bit of the paper, Ranma took out the the booklet that Ritsuko handed to him earlier and discovered that Second Impact was the day that billions had died and was somehow linked to the Angels. That was what made this so confusing. He had used the Naban Mirror once to travel to the future but had never heard about Second Impact. The lunch bell startled Ranma out of his deep thoughts.

      Shinji had been surprised twice today. The first time was seeing Ranma beat Toji so easily and the second time was the response Ranma gave the teacher after being introduced. Shinji made a mental note to ask Ranma about the second incident at lunch, having worked out the cause of the first one being Ranma was good at martial arts.

      Asuka was mad. No, she was furious. Before Ranma arrived, she was the center of attention. She was the most popular student at this school. At least here, she had beaten the unbeatable Third Child. Now, even that was taken away from her. Now she had to compete with someone else. Looking around, she noticed everyone was talking about Ranma. She didn't want to think about what would happen when they all find out that Ranma was going to be the next Eva pilot. At first, Asuka was happy thinking there might soon be a normal Eva pilot besides her. Looking at Ranma, she was not so happy anymore. She wanted a normal pilot not a popular one. The fact that Ranma was not looking her way for the full effects of her glare to work infuriated her even more. She was going to give Ranma a piece of her mind at lunch.

      Toji sat at his desk, a little peeved at the morning events. *How could I have lost that easily?* Looking up, Toji saw the teacher introducing the boy to the class. The anger had long since dissipated after talking to Shinji after the fight. Shinji explained that Ranma was trying to get away from Asuka and wasn't looking where he was heading. He also found out Ranma's name and that he would be the Fifth Child. Also, the look on Asuka's face everytime Shinji mentioned Ranma made it a little easier. In his book, anyone that made Asuka that mad can't be too bad. Also making friends with Shinji and even having a real conversation with him was not an easy feat. It was considered spectacular. Looking at Ranma, he decided to talk to him at lunch, when the bell rang.

* * * * *

      Hearing the bell ring, Asuka jumped out of her seat and stalked toward Ranma. "Ranma, you numbskull. What did you think you were doing running off like that when I was talking to you?"

      Ranma could not believe it. Trying to get as far away from Asuka, Ranma had picked a seat on the opposite side of the classroom but she had to come over here. *Can't she get a hint?* "Argg, stop bothering me you uncute tomboy." *That usually stops Akane from ranting.* Ranma tensed, bracing himself for some physical punishment. What happened next was not what Ranma had expected. Instead of hitting him, Asuka just continued her verbal assult. Ranma started to hit his head on the table. Physical pain he could understand but not this verbal abuse.

      After seeing Asuka walking towards Ranma, Shinji got ready to come to Ranma's aid. Usually he would back away from confrontations which involved Asuka but after seeing Ranma call Asuka an uncute tomboy, which was not a good idea, then start hitting his head on the table, he knew he had to do something.

      Toji saw the look on Asuka's face as she advanced toward Ranma. *Boy is he going to get it,* Toji thought. Toji was not going to do anything because of what Ranma did to him this morning, but changed his mind as he saw Shinji following Asuka. After hearing Ranma call Asuka an uncute tomboy and then preceded to hit his head on the table repeatedly as Asuka's voice went up a few more octaves, Toji could not take it anymore and went to help Ranma as well.

      *An uncute tomboy?* "Argggg, you stupid jerk! Who do you think you are calling me uncute! I'm the most popular girl here! Tomboy? Tomboy? Why you..."

      *My head. I was wrong. This is the worse than Akane's mallet and the headache at the hospital. At least they stopped after a few moments. Does this girl ever breathe?* Looking up at the clock, Ranma noticed that there was still 25 minutes left for lunch. Ranma then noticed the girl in front of him was looking his way. More precisely, she was staring at him with those red eyes of hers that seems to look directly into a person's soul. Her gaze never wavered the entire time. *She reminds me of someone,* was all Ranma had time for before she turned her head and stared at Asuka. Following her gaze, Ranma also saw Shinji and the boy from the morning approaching him. Soon there was a three way tongue lashing with Ranma in the middle. Looking back at the girl in front of him, he could see that her center of attention was back towards him. Ranma decided to study her as she seemed to be studing him before the outside world came crashing down on him once again. "Argg!!! I'm out of here." Grabbing his lunch, Ranma looked for the fastest escape route and found the window. Getting up, Ranma leaped out of the window to the dismay of everyone in the classroom. Soon a huge crowd was rushing toward the windows.

      The arguement between all three Eva pilots stopped as they heard Ranma's shout, right before he leaped out the window. Running to the window that Ranma had used to exit the school, all three were again surprised to see Ranma doing a ten point landing from his three story free-fall. *Is he human?* they all thought. No one noticed the expression of surprise on Rei's face after seeing Ranma's stunt. After this morning's incident, which she had a clear view from her seat, she was a little curious as to how a boy could move so fast. Now seeing him leap safely from the third floor, Rei wanted to know how he was able to do what he did. *Maybe Commander Ikari could explain.*

* * * * *

      "I can't believe it," Ranma yelled in frustration. "Why can't she leave me alone? I even kept my mouth shut for once. What does that reward me with? Nothing. She just kept on going and going." *For once I wish Ryouga, Mousse or even Kunou were here. At least with them I would have someone to help me vent this frustration and I don't have to worry about hurting them.* Seeing a tree, Ranma started to take his frustration out on it. Needless to say, the poor tree wasn't looking so good soon after. The few people that did see it just gasped and slowly walked away when Ranma glared at them. *I'm heading home.*

      Moments later, three kids were running outside. Asuka, Toji and Shinji were all looking for Ranma. Each had their own reason for finding him.

      Soon, Rei had also entered the school yard and headed for her usual place under the tree. Today, she didn't have a book to read but rather some questions that needed answering such as how Saotome-kun had been able to leap out of a three story window and not be hurt. Nearing the tree, Rei stopped. By the looks of it, the tree had seen better days. By simple deduction with the facts at hand, Rei knew that Ranma had passed the way after his incredible escape. "At least the tree was still up," Rei softly spoke.

      The dyanmic trio finally gave up the search for Ranma. They had spent the past 10 minutes going through the entire school grounds with no luck. Wanting to talk to the other Eva pilots about the Fifth Child, the exhausted teens headed towards Rei.

      "Wonder Girl , have you seen that stupid moron that called me an uncute tom..." Asuka as well as Shinji and Toji had suddenly stopped after seeing the tree.

      "Rei, what happened to the tree?" Shinji asked.

      "Yeah!!" Toji couldn't help but put in his two cents as well.

      "Saotome-kun, " was all she said.

      "What? He did that to this defenseless tree? Which way did he go?" Asuka wanted a piece of Ranma.

      "I do not know."

      "Come on Wonder girl, you don't have to hide him."

      "I do not know where he is," Rei repeated herself. *Why wouldn't Asuka just leave me alone. She needed to think about the day's event and with her standing there, she could not concentrate. Was this the reason why Ranma was hitting his head on the desk then later jumping out the window?*

      "Fine then. You can have the lunch he made for me and Shinji. I just know he put something in it, right Shinji? We'll eat the ones you made." Tossing the lunch onto Rei's lap, she dragged him away. Toji soon followed the departing couple.

      "See you later Rei."

      "See you later Ayanami."

      Not looking up, Rei opened the lunch and took a bite. Her eyes widened just a bit as she finished her first bite. "This is good," Rei exclaimed in her normal tone of voice to no one. As the bell rang, Rei noticed that she had finished most of the meal. Rei rarely ate and when she did, she did not eat much but today was turning out to be unusual. She really need to talk to someone about Saotome-kun. *Who are you Saotome-kun,* Rei thought before heading back inside.

* * * * *

      "Argg, I do not want to go back to school," Ranma muttered. Still he had promised Ritsuko that he would wait for Shinji and Asuka after school so that they could take him to Nerv. If nothing else, he kept his promises. Heading to the gate of the school, he heard the bell rang and waited. Soon, he could see Asuka and Shinji. They were being followed by the boy he met in the morning and the strange blue-haired girl that sat in front of him in class.

      Shinji was worried. Ranma had not returned to class after lunch. As he left school, he saw Ranma and waved to him.

      Seeing Shinji wave, Ranma waved back. He soon stopped as he saw Asuka looking at him. *She's evil.* Jogging up to the group, he decided to make amends with the big kid seeing as how he and Shinji were friends. "Hey Shinji intoduce me to your friends."

      "Oh sorry about that. Ranma meet Toji the kid you beat up before school." That comment got Shinji a light punch.

      "Sorry about this morning Toji. I was having a rough day." Ranma eyed Asuka for a second after the statement. "No hard feelings?"

      "Yeah. You have to teach me how you did that someday. Never seen anything like it."

      "Sure, I'm one of the best." Ranma couldn't help from bragging just a little. Asuka said something in a language Ranma did not understand.

      "After seeing what you did you must be."

      "And this Ranma is Ayanami Rei."

      "Hey Rei! You remind me of someone from back home but you're much more friendly." Ranma smiled at her.

      "Thank you Saotome-kun," Rei replied. Rei decided to take Ranma's statement as a compliment. So far the new student has baffled her to no ends.

      *More friendly? Rei?* Shinji, Asuka and Toji thought.

      "Call me Ranma, all my friends and my enemies do." Ranma replied cheerfully. The reactions from his statement varied. Rei showed no emotions while Shinji, Toji and Asuka were shocked.

      *Enemies?* all four pilots thought at once.

      For the second time today, Rei did something unsual, she initiated a conversation. "Why are you doing that?" Ranma had just leaped on top of a fence and was walking on it with what looked like no effort at all.

      "Oh, forgot you don't know me that well. This is balance practice. My old man taught it to me when I was really young."

      Rei nodded, the answer being satisfactory.

      "So where are you and Toji heading, Rei?" Ranma was curious. For the past 10 mintues they were going the same route.

      "They are heading to Nerv Headquarters just like you, idiot. Here I though Shinji was the dumbest person I knew." Asuka was starting to get on Ranma's nerves again.

      "Is your name Rei? No! So stop bothering me you uncute tomboy!"

      Seeing where this was leading, Toji and Shinji tried to restrain Asuka. "Rei, why don't you lead Ranma to headquarters and we'll be right behind you." Toji suggested.

      "Thanks guys."

      Rei was silent again. So, Saotome-kun was an Eva pilot like herself. So far Saotome-kun was the only other boy besides Shinji to call her by her first name. It had taken Ikari-kun over 6 months while Ranma had assumed that they were friends. "Why did you do that?" Rei asked.

      Ranma stopped and looked at Rei. "Do what?"

      "Why did you call her an uncute tomboy?"

      "I don't know. Habit I think. She is so annoying."

      "Is that why you jumped out of the window?"

      "Yes. I couldn't stand Asuka another second."

      "Why did you not use the door?"

      "Becasue the window was faster and that way she could not follow me." Ranma had finally figured out what was bothering him. He had not once seen Rei smile. Heck, he had not seen her express anything other than the cool uncaring facial expression he usually sees on Nabiki's face. Yet, Ranma knew Rei was not cold-hearted like Nabiki was sometimes. Trying to break the ice, Ranma tried something he did about two years ago to turn a possible enemy into a very close friend. "Rei?"

      Sensing Saotome-kun wanted to ask her something, she turned towards him.

      "Why don't you smile more? It makes you look kawaii."

      Rei was shocked. She had never meet someone like Saotome-kun before. She did not know how to respond. Always, people have tried to avoid her. The only exception was Commander Ikari and Ikari-kun and now Saotome-kun. Of the three, only Saotome-kun had called her Kawaii. She didn't know what else to do but smile. It was the only reaction that she had ever learned from Ikari-kun and it was also what Saotome had asked. "Thank you Sao..."

      "Ranma, call me Ranma."

      "Thank you Ranma."

      "No problem. So how much farther do you think we have?"

      "At out present speed about another 10 minutes to the train station and then another 10 mintues till we reach Nerv Headquarters."

      "This is taking too long. Knowing Asuka she'll be here any second now." Leaping from the fence onto the ground next to Rei. "I don't want to put up with Asuka anymore than I have to. She is almost as bad as Kodachi." Ranma shivered a little. "I know a faster way."

      Rei was curious. This was the most direct route to the train station. Before she could ask Ranma what the faster route was, she felt Ranma picking her up.

      "Hold on tight. I see Asuka coming."

      Rei, looking over Ranma's shoulder, also saw Asuka. She was mad and stomping towards them. Following Ranma's instruction, Rei held on firmly to his neck.

      Shinji and Toji were curious. *Why was Ranma holding Rei?* Asuka was mad and did not care why. She wanted to give that jerk a piece of her mind.

      "You are right Ranam-kun. I see Asuka nearing." Rei could see Ranma smile as she used his first name.

      "Now hold on." With that Ranma leaped onto a nearby roof and started to perform one of his favorite past-times, roof-hopping.

       Before Asuka could reach Ranma, she stopped to see him leap up to a nearby roof and started to sprint, leap, sprint, leap continuously across the various rooftops. Asuka stared in shock at what until today she thought humanly impossible. She was not the only one.

      "Toji, did you just see what I saw?"

      "Which part? The part where Ranma was carrying Rei, the part where Ranma leaped on top of that two story house or the part where he was leaping and sprinting across the rooftops?"

      Rei could not believe what she was witnessing. Measuring the speed and height of his leaps, Ranma was traveling at rates surpassing Olympic althetes. This was also the second time Rei was this close to another boy. The first time was when Shinji had accidently fallen on her after her bath. What she felt then was something of discomfort but right now she was enjoying herself. Something she rarely felt outside operating the Eva. After 4 minutes they reached the train station. After Ranma put her down, Rei turned to face him. "Thank you." With that simple statement, Rei smiled. She wanted to show her appreciation and thought that maybe a smile was what Ranma wanted. Rei was rewarded with a smile in return and a single word which made her blush. Ranma was evoking feelings she never thought she was capable of experiencing.

* * * * *

      The instant Ranma and Rei stepped inside Nerv, red lights flashed all around them.

      "We must hurry, an Angel is attacking."

      Not knowing what was going on Ranma nodded and started to follow Rei.

* * * * *

      "Maya, give me a status report," Misato ordered.

      "Pattern blue. It's an Angel."

      "What is the status of the Eva pilots?"

      "Asuka, Shinji and Toji will be here in about 10 minutes. Ayanami and the new pilot, Saotome, are preparing now."

      "What did you say? You're not seriously thinking about sending Ranma out there, are you?"

      "Commander Ikari's order. Also, the other pilots are not here."

      "Entry plugs for Unit 00 and Unit 03 have been inserted," Maya informed.

      Ranma was assigned Toji's Eva because of the 4 pilots, Toji was the newest and least experienced. Ranma's Eva arriving tomorrow.

      "He has never piloted an Eva before," Ritsuko pointed out. She did not know what it was but there was something special about Ranma. He brought something out of you. Also, Ranma was her responsibility and unlike some people she took her responsibilities seriously.

      "Neither did Shinji but you still made him pilot Unit 01," Misato countered.

      Looking at Unit 03, Ritsuko hoped Ranma the best of luck.

* * * * *

      Ranma looked at the suit they gave him. He hated wearing uniforms but was told that he needed to wear it to sync with the Eva. *Sync? Whatever that was.* Anyways the suit was too large for him. "Can't believe a place like this couldn't even give me the right size uniform," Ranma muttered to himself. "And here I am agreeing to wear one of these stupid looking suits." "Rei. Can I ask you something?" *What a strange locker room.* Ranma could see Rei undressing through the semi-translucent divider between the two locker rooms. At this point, Ranma was also trying to hold off a nose bleed. He never had any girl undressed in front of him before and although it was just a shadow, his mind was creating images not all to innocent.

      "Yes."

      "I think this suit is too big for me."

      "One size fixs all."

      "What do you mean?"

      Walking around the divider, Rei was about to show Ranma how to activate the suit when he turned around. "What is wrong?"

      Ranma had expected Rei to help but he did not expect Rei to come over. Seeing Rei's current state, Ranma's face picked up a shade of red as he turned around. "You're naked!" Ranma stammered. She was use to seeing a female body, his own, but not a stranger's. Sure he had seen Shampoo's and Akane's, but was usually in pain a few seconds late for it to ever register in his mind. Ranma was now trying to stop his nose bleed. *I will not act like Ryouga.*

      "Is that a problem?"

      "Yes!"

      There is a button on yout left wrist, push it and the suit will adjust itself to you. Walking back to put on her suit, Rei wondered why Ranma had acted like that. Shinji didn't that behave that way the one time he saw her naked.

      "Thanks Rei." Ranma was still blushing. A few moments later, Rei walked out of the locker room dressed in her plug suit. "Rei?"

      "Yes?"

      "You really do look kawaii."

      Moments later, Ranma and Rei were running towards the Evas.

      "I can't believe I actually said Rei was Kawaii in front of her and in the middle of a crisis. Man, I feel like I was in one of those soap opras on television. Nearing the Evas, Ranma stopped. He knew he was suppose to pilot a robot but the thing in front of him was huge and ugly. Why could be look more like one of those robots from one of the animes.

      "Is something wrong?" Rei asked. She still couldn't get Ranma's statement out of her mind. *Was she kawaii?*

      "It's huge!"

      She was about to say something when Rei heard Major Katsuragi ordered them into the Evas.

      The Angel had just passed through the protective layers separating the Geo-Front from the outside world.

To be continued.