NGE: vault of the fallen

CHAPTER 14

"i did not expect to have a talk on philosophy today yet here we are, you are perfectly correct of course, first minister" Dr. aoi said

"i am aware, you do know you and Dr. gengo aoi have the same last name" i said

"he is Dr. gengo i am doctor kiriko, less confusing that way" Dr. kiriko responded, before clearing her throat

"right with that out of the way, who here of the riders, besides the first minister has never ridden a dragon before" kiriko asked, only a small handful rose their hands

"right now i am gonna address the dragons, who among the dragoons has yet to be ridden or even worn a saddle" kiriko asked this time almost all of the dragons rose their hands

"figures, the dragoons with any training or experience have already been snatched up, alright, this class is purposefully even, so riders, dragons find partners and pair up" Dr. kiriko called, to my surprise, asuka walked up to me

"hey shinji, your mine now" she said, i blinked

"you sure" i asked

"if i weren't do you think, i'd walk up to you" she said 'act like i used to, up until he actually get's on my back' she thought knowing full well shinji wouldn't accept her unless he recognized her, and acting like a completely different person, wasn't recognizable

"alright, if your sure" i said

"of course i am, baka" asuka said 'yep, that's asuka alright, but what is she doing here, i'd accept her to take on the role of a rider despite her status as a dragoon, here we are i guess

"right your first lesson will be saddling your dragon partners, dragoons remember to remain as still as possible your riders don't want to hurt you" Dr. kiriko called as the dragons all transformed to the surprise of no one asuka was a beautiful crimson colored dragon, with piercing forest green eyes, and a crest on her head that reminded shinji of her EVA

shinji then moved to saddle her following Dr. kiriko's instructions to the letter, especially when dealing with the bridle, the stirrups shinji used were the japanese tsubo abumi

"now that your dragons have been saddled it is time to mount them, note that dragons are not horses, you can place your weight on them and it won't hurt them or cause them to topple over, so i would recommend pulling yourself into the saddles as opposed to jumping, as dragons are a bit bigger in scale then horses are" kiriko said, that was an understatement, but asuka had used her long neck to bend her head around to her side, as if telling shinji to use her head as a step stool

"you sure" i asked, she snorted, in response

taking that as a yes, shinji placed his left foot onto her head lifting himself up off the ground placing his right foot into the stirrup he pulled himself into the saddle, as asuka's neck straightened out

most other dragons were like asuka they didn't help their riders mount them as she had, so it took longer for some to get onto their dragon's backs

"now that everyone is mounted, dragons are to note that at this mount, you need to place your faith in your riders, to guide you, if you listen, they will have no reason to harm you, if you don't your rider may get a bit rougher until you do listen, you can't communicate in your dragon forms, so your just gonna have to trust your riders, on that same note however riders, your dragons can still give you signs to back off, you need to watch and listen for those signs as well" Dr. kiriko said as she began to talk the riders and dragons alike through basic command cues, once she did so, also showing them through using her own dragon, tatsuya as an example, before she sent her riders to practice

asuka forced shinji into action by immediately jumping into the air and forcing him to learn through trial and error something she knew he was good, at because if he weren't he would be dead, and his EVA would be utterly destroyed, she was right to, shinji eventually got control of the situation and her as a result, though he did voice his annoyances aloud at being thrust into the thick of it, asuka couldn't here him do to the air currents

eventually, through the signal of the instructor's dragon's roar, everyone had come back to the ground, as kiriko gestured for them to dismount

"right, class is almost over, so it's time to remove the saddles, note some dragons may intend to bond with particular riders, and so may not allow you to take off their saddle, if so just pay attention and take notes" Dr. kiriko said, as she walked over to a random dragon, since she didn't intend to remove her own dragon's saddle, she walked the class through step by step on removing the tack, asuka had pulled away, shaking her large head, informing him she had intended to keep it on, so he simply paid attention like his teacher told him to

"right, with that class is dismissed and i will see you next week" Dr. kiriko said, the class was held weekly mostly do to how many dragon riders there were, and the vanguard academy wasn't the only school, like it there were several, vanguard academy however was the most elite, so everyone still went there, shinji watched in surprise as asuka, morphed back into her human form, despite having a dragon saddle on

"the saddle and bridle are enchanted, so riders don't have to constantly equip and unequip their dragons" asuka explained

"i see" i said

"did you enjoy it" she asked, suddenly feeling very self-conscious

"what" i asked

"did you enjoy riding me" she asked

"i'm not-" i started but was cut off

"just answer the question, just give me a yes or no" she snapped

"yes" i said

"would you accept me as yours" she asked, i blinked

"in a heartbeat" i said

"good" she said