Wow, I've been busy. Moving to Pharmacy School in three days can be a pain. Still, two chapters at once is a good thing, right?

I own nothing. In fact, I am so far in the whole it isn't even funny. Sue, and I'll put you in the hole with me, got it?

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

"You have GOT to be kidding me? That is physically impossible!" Hikari exclaimed. The class rep had managed to drag the Ikari scion out to the mall in his alternate form, allowing the shapely bluenette to borrow a plain shirt and skirt combo. Shinji had kept the complaints to a minimum, remembering the onetime Ranma-chan commented on how Akane's clothes fit on her during laundry day.

"Hey, you don't believe that my baking is that good?" she pouted, pulling off an unbelievably feminine look that made the Class Rep sweat drop.

"There is no way that a piece of cake could make a girl orgasm, even one as closeted as Ayanami!"

"Then you won't object to joining us for dinner tonight and finding out," at the brunette's startled look, she added, "I'm making Devil's Food Cake."

Hikari opened and closed her mouth several times, and then exclaimed, "But I couldn't! I mean, I wouldn't want to intrude . . . "

"You wouldn't be. In fact, if tonight's plan is to work, you'll need to stay the night."

"Wh-what plan?" Hikari choked out, both terrified and intrigued.

"You are going to come over and ask Asuka if you could have a sleepover at our place. I'll be inviting Rei, so you will need to keep Asuka down until dessert. When everyone retires for the night, I'll go to my room, sneak out an hour later, and then go demolish Rei's apartment building," she succinctly explained.

Her hand snapped out just in time to keep Hikari from shouting and attracting attention; anticipating her complaint, she hissed, "Misato has already tried to use official channels to get her removed to a nicer area, but the Bastard King keeps blocking it. This way, he won't have any choice but to allow it. If I cause enough damage to the surrounding area, which is uninhabited (I've checked), then I may even get him to authorize her moving in with us."

Hikari glared at her, "Are you sure it's uninhabited?"

"The homeless population of Tokyo 3 dropped to near nothing after the first three battles," Shinji said darkly, "Section Two did the rest."

Hikari didn't know what to say about that, so she decided to step back and change the subject again. "You were only in that other world for nine months, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"How did you master both martial arts and baking within that time?"

Shinji winced, "Technically, I'm not a master in either. To be a master in the Saotome Ryo, I'd have to beat Genma, which I haven't done yet. As for baking . . ."

Hikari noticed his hesitation, "Well?"

"Tendo Kimiko-san left five books of her notes and special recipes to her daughter Kasumi. Kasumi, having no time to pursue it, passed them on to me. The first book tells all about her basic techniques: using ki, special ingredients, and care to bring out the best in her baking. That I memorized right off the bat. The second and third books were her recipes, and I memorized about twenty recipes out of about five hundred. The last two . . . were her Ougis."

"Ougis?"

Shinji nodded solemnly, "Her special techniques. I didn't want Kasumi to know this, as she would feel honor-bound to take it up and toss her dreams away, but her mother's baking art is old. It was meant to be passed down from mother to daughter, as it had been for generations. There are recipes for pastries that can give a man super strength, unlimited stamina, the ability to read the future . . . it's powerful. However, the ki control requirements are insane. I'm nowhere near that level. I'd be considered the art's master because I'm its only living practitioner, but I'm still a student myself."

"Wow . . . " Hikari was gobsmacked, "so all of these recipes were passed down from ancient times?"

She shook her head, "Only the Ougis. A true master or mistress in the baking arts would be required to create her own baking legacy. There were a few that came from the distant past, but most of the third book had recipes inspired by the other countries, added during and after the Occupation. At this point, the only recipe that is truly mine is one for chocolate chip cookies, and I'm still working on it."

"Still, that's pretty impressive," Hikari noted.

Shinji nodded, "Which is why you are going to try the highest recipe I have mastered tonight."

Hikari eeped, "Do I really have to?"

"Are you still planning on dragging me into the ladies' underwear section?"

The class rep scowled, "It's not proper for you to be running around without proper underwear and support."

"Then you have to."

The middle Horaki daughter winced at that curt remark, but let it be, hoping that her friend and shopping companion would forget about it later.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Hikari was starting to realize that this shopping trip was going to be much different from what she was used to. It started off simple: whenever she shopped, she went from the basics on up: in other words, Shinji-chan soon found herself in Victoria Secrets.

Hikari, despite being rather conservative at school, had a flair for sheer and lacy panties and bras that would have Happosai jumping for joy. She did, however, understand that the boy-turned-girl would enjoy simpler items. So after teasing her with a few choice selections, they left the store with several plain white panties and several stretchy tank tops that could also pass inspection on Shinji-kun.

That's when things got odd. As they left, a bright red Shinji-chan spotted a few displays in a Gothic clothing shop. In the end, rather than taking the neo-girl into several choice stores and using it to tease her mercilessly, she ended up standing next to a bluenette girl decked out in black Jeans with chains, a tight black rock T-shirt, two spiked bracelets . . . and a spiked dog collar.

"Why are you dressing like this again? I thought you weren't one for female fashion," the class rep asked awkwardly.

"It's funny that you haven't asked where all the money we're using is coming from," Shinji-chan quipped, out of the blue.

"Huh?" Hikari blinked, stunned at the odd 'evasion', "Asuka and I use her NERV card whenever we go shopping . . . "

"And the apparently male Eva pilot would be buying women's clothes because . . . "

Hikari paled, having forgotten all about that little detail, "Um . . . "

Shinji took pity on her, "While scouting Rei's neighborhood, I found a small fighting circuit. Basically, I've made about five hundred-thousand yen from jumping in and kicking ass. It's not quite illegal, and I didn't maim or kill anybody, but it's not something normal people from the good side of town would want to see."

As Hikari nodded, half worried for her new friend and half ashamed that she had neglected to think of how to pay for their purchases, she went on, "Anyways, a lot of the people there were dressed like this, and there were a fair amount of girls with wild hair colors who looked kind of like this. I figured if somebody from school recognizes you and wonders who I am, I could pass as your gothic punk rocker cousin or something."

The pigtailed brunette just stared at her, "You've really thought this out, haven't you?"

She shrugged, "Ranma-nii-san and Genma gave me martial arts, Kasumi gave me baking, and Nabiki gave me her planning skills. I guess you could say everyone in Nerima gave me something." She then grabbed Hikari's hands and walked her towards one of the more popular clothing stores, "Now we've bought everything I need, and all you've got is underwear. I've still got plenty of cash, so why don't we get you a few things . . . "

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Several hours later, both girls were sitting at the mall's dining area, eating. Hikari was in shopping heaven; Shinji-chan really did have a lot of money, and was quite willing to let her use it. It also helped that the bluenette was far more open to new things, allowing Hikari to purchase several mangas that she was into (Asuka never saw the point in the odd books/comics, so she had to hide them whenever she came over), as well as a couple of cosplay costumes from specialty stores (she was a closet otaku, it seemed).

After thanking Shinji profusely, the two of them settled down to eat a late lunch. Hikari blushed at how Shinji-chan got them a massive discount by use of her feminine wiles, and then marveled at how her friend's food politely vanished in record time.

"Hey Horaki!"

And then it all came crumbling down. Hikari paled and winced, having forgotten why she usually went shopping with Asuka.

Shinji-chan noted two large girls walking towards their table. Both were decked out in ripped black Jean pants and black biker jackets. The one on the left sported short blonde hair, while her compatriot had spiked black hair. Neither of them looked like they were here for a friendly chat.

"Who are they?" Shinji asked the pale girl.

Hikari winced again, "Mika and Yue. My sister Nozomi got into a fight with their kid brother and they've been harassing me ever since. They aren't stupid enough to mess with Section Two, which is why I usually shop with Asuka here."

"Want me to take care of them?"

"No!" the class rep hissed, "Last time I tried to do anything about them, Nozomi came home with a black eye and a broken ankle!"

"Then on to plan B then," the bluenette chirped. Grabbing as many bags as she could in one hand, she grabbed her half full plate with the other and flung it at the two girls.

Hikari didn't see what happened after that, as her friend had grabbed then rest of the bags, shouldered them, and then yanked her away at a fast pace. They were soon a hall away, in front of a small bank housed within the shopping mall.

Shinji let the girl go and glanced backwards to ensure that they weren't followed, "We lost them."

"What . . . did . . . you . . . do . . . that . . . for?" Hikari wheezed.

"I just made myself a target, one that those two will regret picking on," the neo punk girl replied.

The brunette nodded, recalling her friend's martial arts skills. She was about to say something when the wall beside the bank exploded in fire.

BOOM!

Hikari was pushed back by Shinji, who started in shock at the devastation while she covered her friend. As the two girls stood there four thugs in black masks ran out of the bank. One of them noticed the two girls, and tapped on the closest thug's shoulder. Shinji couldn't make out most of the resulting argument, but she did get the last bit.

"Kill all witnesses!"

As the second thug raised his gun on them, the bluenette burst into action, sprinting with surprising speed towards him. Before he could shoot, she was there, slamming a front kick into his chest while knocking the gun out of his hands.

The other two gunmen yelped and tried to aim at her, but she was then in the air, slamming her booted heels into one's nose breaking it. The other got a round kick to the side of his head. Both were knocked out.

The first gunman, the leader of the group, stood there, stunned as his partners went down, hard. When the punk fighter came after him, he screamed and ran. He didn't get far before she landed on his back, driving his chin into the ground and his mind into sweet unconsciousness.

Hikari blinked at how the neogirl just took out four gunmen out without an issue, "Wow, you really are good."

Shinji-chan just pouted, "You mean you really didn't believe me Hikari-chan?"

Hikari giggled, "Oh hush, its one thing to hear about, but something else to see in action, you know."

The two girls turned only to notice Mika and Yue, covered in food, staring at Shinji as if they had seen a ghost. Hikari flinched, but Shinji just walked over to them, putting a bit of sway into her step. Only a foot away from the blonde's face, Shinji placed her left hand on her hip and held the right one in front of her breasts.

"The name's Horaki Nabiki, punk fighter extraordinaire. Now," she curled her right hand into a fist, cracking it as she did so, "what's this I hear about you messing with my two favorite cousins?"

The two bullies fainted, wetting themselves in the process.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Two hours later, Hikari and a now male Shinji walked towards the latter's apartment, the former still in a jubilant mood, "I mean, all you did was crack your fist, and they wet themselves! Not only will they not mess with me, they can't even show their faces at the mall anymore!"

"And with these pictures," Shinji waved a disposable camera in the air, "we can ensure that they won't be able to leave their houses without abject humiliation."

Both teens laughed, having stashed their shopping purchases at Hikari's house and exchanged them for bags full of groceries. The laughing stopped, however, when they walked into the apartment and heard . . .

"It appears that this mysterious girl managed to beat down four of the notorious Mikazuki brothers, who have been wanted for murder, rape, robbery, and arson for the last seven years. Noted for their habit of killing any and all witnesses, this brave, mysterious young woman managed to take them down without even breaking a sweat."

Asuka was staring at the TV as it replayed security footage of the fight earlier. Thankfully, the camera was fixed, so it did not get a shot of Hikari. Beside her, PenPen sat, beer in hand. Noticing the return of the Bringer of Delicious Fish, he warked, raising his beer in a toast.

"We would like our audience to be on the look out for this man, Mikasuki Sanada. He is the de facto leader of the gang, and is notorious for the rape and murder of the daughters of several up and coming officers and detectives."

A rugged and scarred face appeared on screen, a sneer etched just underneath half of a nose. Hikari gasped in horror, alerting the redhead on the couch to their presence. "Oh hi Hikari, what are you doing here?"

"I ran into her while I was shopping," Shinji replied for the brunette, who was still coming to terms with just who they were nearly killed by, "Since I invited Rei over again for dinner, I thought it might be nice to have one of your friends over as well."

"Ah . . . " To be honest, Asuka wasn't sure what to say about that. Say what you will about the new and improved Ikari Shinji, but he confused the hell out of her.

Shinji left the two girls to their talk and walked into the kitchen. After double-checking on the cake (which he had hidden in PenPen's mini fridge (he had to hide his beer somehow, or else Misato would have drank it all), he started on making eggplant parmesan.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Five sat at the table that night, Rei having walked in and joined Shinji in the kitchen not half an hour after he returned. She helped him prepare the garlic bread, also freshly baked that morning.

Hikari had drawn Rei and Asuka into a conversation about a school report on economic policy (one of the few classes they had that didn't involve lectures on the pre-SI era) and had quickly gotten the fiery redhead and subtle bluenette into a 'polite' debate about the guidelines. Asuka was passionate about the topic, and had quickly stated her position, but Rei had a habit of poking holes into her logic, forcing Asuka to come up with a better argument. Hikari kept it polite, drawing Rei to speak more and keeping

Asuka from biting the bluenette's head off.

"Hey Third, what do you think about it?" the Second Child finally asked, having argued for keeping the government out of the economy. Rei (who was supporting active government intervention) said nothing, but also looked his way.

Shinji, realizing that this was their way of seeing who he agreed with, shrugged, "I'm for the middle path. Somebody needs to keep an eye on quality and illegal operations, but there are too many restrictions as it is. If you can't predict what the economy will do before it happens with perfect accuracy, how can you expect to control it?

Asuka scowled at his deflection, but Rei simply nodded, seeing his point. Misato just rolled her eyes, as she wasn't much of an economist in the first place.

PenPen said nothing, having deflected two cups of water and a can of beer from ruining his master's night. The bird was still wet, but that delicious fish was worth it!

Shinji, having seen that everyone else was just about done eating, grinned and left the table. When he returned, he had to hide his grin at Asuka's sudden blush, Hikari's pale face, and Rei's attentive stare. Placing the Devil's Food Cake on the table, he smiled Kasumi's smile no. 12, used the last time Kasumi had tried her hand at making this particular cake, "Anyone want dessert?"

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Hikari came to slowly the next morning, her head only slightly fuzzy. The time between dessert and bedtime was blurry, but Shinji was right-it was orgasmic.

She sat up, only to nearly jump as she heard a rather feminine moan from behind her. She glanced over to find Asuka, topless but partially covered by her white sheets. Her lips were slightly parted, her face was flushed, and Hikari could smell her arousal in the air.

It wasn't just Asuka's arousal though, and Hikari was horrified to note that, though her pajamas were completely on, they were soaked through.

She nearly sprinted out of the room, toiletries and change of clothes in hand, only to bump into Shinji-chan. The boy turned girl was wearing a white apron, and was covered with flour and dough. Hikari flushed brightly, but the busty bluenette just waved it off and told her, "I have some danish and cinnamon rolls in the oven. If you can keep an eye on them, I'll be out of the shower in five minutes. I'd offer you first dibs, but I'm expecting company soon, and I really need to be male for when it arrives."

Hikari realized who he meant, so she didn't begrudge him the four and a half minutes he needed to take a shower, wrap himself in a robe, and swap places with her. Her shower, of course, was noticeably longer.

She came out, towel wrapped around her slim form, only to jump as a harsh rapping sound was heard on the front door. They knocked again, and Shinji walked out of the kitchen and went to answer it.

It was the Commander.

Ten minutes later, all six of them were sitting around the kitchen table. Asuka was dressed, but acted rather reticent, refusing to look at anyone. Rei was the same, but Hikari had noted how the quiet girl had blushed at seeing Shinji as she left her room (Gendo had already been sat down in the kitchen, so he didn't notice). She herself had quickly gotten over her earlier embarrassment, partly because he had brushed it off, and partly because she had found a sixth piece missing from the cake that morning.

Misato, however, was all business. "Is there a problem, Commander?" she nervously asked.

The man just gave her his patented stare, "The First Chld's residence collapsed this morning, destroying several neighboring buildings in the process."

Rei stiffened, concerned, as Hikari and Misato gasped and Asuka murmured "Mein Gott . . . "

Shinji was nonplussed, "I see."

"You aren't surprised?" the older Ikari noted placidly.

"I've seen the place before when I went to give Rei her new ID card, just before the Fifth Angel attacked. Place was a shithole, one that should have been torn down a decade ago." Shinji replied, matching his father glare for glare. The female in the room instinctively shivered.

Gendo finally nodded, "Ayanami stayed her last night."

"She was showing signs of a fever, and I wasn't about to let her return to that pitiful excuse for an apartment ill," Shinji replied, his face still sporting the glacial stare that mirrored his father's expression.

Again they glared at each other, and Hikari noted how Rei seemed to blush while looking out of the corner of her eye at the Third Child.

Suddenly, the man shifted uncomfortably, and then turned to Misato, "Would it be acceptable for Rei to be stationed here until new housing arrangements can be made?"

Misato jumped, "Um sure, I mean we don't have much room but . . . "

"I can sleep on the couch until larger accommodations can be supplied," Shinji supplied, "The building here is largely unoccupied, and there are twenty or so four bedroom apartments, one of which is only three doors down the hall. If NERV could supply the manpower to help us move, it would only take us a day to switch."

This caused Gendo to, surprisingly enough, blink, "You've researched this?"

The boy just smirked, "I considered moving into another apartment when Asuka came blitzing into our lives. Never got around to it, but I did do the research."

"What?" Asuka yelped, half furious, half stunned.

Shinji shrugged, "You slapped us for an accidental peek at your panties. I was reluctant to find out what you'd do if I accidentally walked in on you in the bath."

Asuka nodded, partially in shock that Shinji, even before his spine magically appeared, had enough motivation to look into something like that. Gendo's thoughts, however, were on something completely different.

Shinji had changed. His actions, thoughts, and behavior had changed radically, and that meant that his Plan had to change with him to encompass such alterations. Having Rei living with the Third Child would give her a point of observation, someone who could monitor the boy and give him important information.

"Then it is settled," the man intoned, "movers will be sent tomorrow morning to assist in the transfer. I will handle the paperwork." he noticed the astonished look on the faces of Major Katsuragi and the Second Child. His son's visage looked pleased, but that was partially expected.

He lacked the range of sight to see Rei's startled blush though.

It should be said that, while the Ice King of NERV had a good understanding of emotions and how to manipulate them, he had no idea that Rei was just now starting to develop them. Whether it was a boon or a curse would be anyone's guess.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

UP NEXT: The pilots and their guardians move. We flip over to school, where Horaki Nabiki has made a name for herself. Asuka finds herself confused on whether to erupt or vault on girl power. Enjoy!