AN: Finally, after a long time, I decided to re-do this. I'd like to thank Himonky for the ideas given, and Supershayde, for helping me out with writing this over the phone.

I hope you enjoy this.

Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion. So don't sue me please.

The sun set in Tokyo 3, reflecting over Lake Ashino in its descent. It sparkled and shone with thousands of different shades of light, and was observed by one inhabitant of the city, while mulling over his thoughts. He felt alone, yet he didn't mind it. He felt used but that was okay. He had a sad, broken smile on his face as he listened to his S-DAT player with Beethoven's "Mondschien Sonate" cassette in it. He thought of many different things as he looked over the lake from his apartment balcony. He thought of the things he had felt in the entry plug of Eva-01 when he was swallowed by the Twelfth angel. He thought of Touji's sister in hospital because of him. He thought of Touji in hospital without an arm and a leg because of him and his father's actions. He thought of Misato and her personal demons. He wondered why she hadn't told him about Touji being the pilot of Eva-03. He thought about Rei and how she was gradually warming up to her surroundings, and slowly but surely, becoming more human than a soldier of his father. He thought of the time he had pulled her out of the superheated entry plug after operation Yashima, and cried, and saw her one and only smile. This inevitably made his lips twitch in an upwards direction and make him feel less broken than he did. But while thinking of Rei, another of the women in his life came into his train of thought, and as if by magic, the small smile disappeared, and if anyone looked into Shinji Ikari's eyes, they would have seen the most concentrated form of pain and sadness and longing.

The next person to enter his train of thought was Asuka Langley Soryu.

He thought of all the time they spent together in the same house, the food they shared, the class they went to together, and all the things that should have brought him closer and closer to her. Instead, all he could feel was a gaping abyss between him and the object of his desperate longing.

He thought of the synch training that they had endured to destroy the Seventh angel. He thought of the bond they had developed over that period of time, and yet, how quickly it had dissipated. He thought of the Tenth angel, and how between the three of them, they protected the city. And after that, the dinner in which he discovered the reason, his drive to pilot. This should have brought him and Asuka closer, but she was still so far away from him. He thought of the Ninth, and the first time they all worked as a team, instead of individuals fighting one common enemy for personal gratification, and the time all three had spent on that hill, thinking. He even thought about the first day he met her, and how they both worked together to defeat the Sixth angel. Yet she was still so distant, so cold to him. Women were truly far away.

He sighed heavily as he stepped back inside his apartment, the sun having set, feeling the cool air conditioned air wrap around him, relieving him of the unbearably hot and humid air of the ever present summer. He turned his S-DAT's volume down, so as to be able to hear anyone who wanted his attention, and proceeded to go to his room, to lay on his bed. However, he didn't go past unnoticed. As he walked into the hallway that had his door in it, Asuka caught a glimpse of the face of the Third Child, and somehow, on a subconscious level, it disturbed her deeply.

'I wonder what is up with that baka. Probably just feeling sorry for himself again.'

But she was troubled by the look he had on his face. It made her feel sorry for him. And that was one of the things the Second Child hated. But she knew that look. She woke up with it some mornings. It was the look of extreme sadness and longing and despair. She'd try her best to make it disappear, and it always went away. But seeing it on Shinji meant that maybe he felt like her. Alone.

And that wasn't something she was going to stand for.

She headed towards the Third's room, intent on finding out why he might feel like her. And stopping that from happening.

AN: Hope you liked it. Review and tell me what you think of this rewrite. I'm already working on the second chapter, so I'll update before the week is over.

Thanks,

Alejandro.