This is all your fault.
Asuka sat in the waiting room, her yellow dress smeared with dirt and blood, not all of it hers.
They had taken Mari back about 20 minutes ago, and there had been no one to check on her. She stared ahead, her eyes glazed over, no emotion on her face.
A slight flinch as a truck horn sounded outside the hospital walls.
She raised her arm and looked at her palm, the skin still raw from the cement. A small trail of blood ran down her hand and dropped to the floor.
She looked up as the automatic doors slid open with a hiss and her mother walked in. Yui and Gendo Ikari trailed behind her, all of their faces blank.
"Mamma!," Asuka yelped as she ran to them, her bare feet clapping quietly on the tile, "I'm so sorry!"
Kyoko Soryu turned to her daughter and tilted her head to the side, frowning.
It should have been you.
"Y-You're not mamma...," Asuka whispered as she tried to to stop, her feet tangling together and sending her tumbling.
Her mother opened her arms, her frown growing deeper. She reached out and grabbed Asuka, pulling the girl into an embrace.
Asuka stiffened up, her breath short and sharp, as her mother wrapped her arms around her and squeezed.
You can't escape it.
"Please... Not again...," Asuka whimpered as she felt Kyoko's fingernails dig into the skin on her back, small spots of blood welling up.
Asuka screamed as her mother squeezed tighter, her bones beginning to creak.
"P-please! Let me go!," She cried, tears running down her cheeks, "Mamma! It hurts!"
Kyoko continued to squeeze and Asuka could feel her spine starting to give in.
You must atone, Asuka.
She started kicking her legs, her toes making solid contact with Kyoko's shin. The older woman screamed, a vile, horrible sound, and let Asuka drop to the floor.
She landed in a heap before pulling herself up.
Kyoko looked down at her daughter, her eyes an inhuman shade of red.
The doors behind her slid open again, and they all turned to look.
Shinji Ikari stood in the doorway, his hands balled into fists. He looked to his parents, their eyes unreadable behind matching pairs of amber glasses.
His gaze shifted from them to Asuka and then to Kyoko.
"You will stop this," he spoke, the words echoing around the room.
"This is none of your concern, boy," Kyoko snarled, her voice far too low, "She killed Mari. She must be... Disciplined."
"This concerns me more than you could ever imagine," he growled back, his eyes narrowing, "She had nothing to do with Mari's death, and you will not lay a hand on her."
He lunged forward, Kyoko grinning.
"Yui... Gendo... If you please..."
Shinji ran flat into his father, the elder Ikari taking his son by the neck and throwing him against the wall.
"Shinji!," Asuka screamed, reaching out for him, "Mamma! Stop! Please!"
"Shut up, girl," Kyoko snapped, her eyes glowing, "You will watch this."
Gendo held Shinji firmly by the throat with one hand as Yui walked up and punched him in the stomach, a pained howl coming from the boy.
She punched him again and again, each hit cracking the drywall a little more.
"A-Asuka...," he gurgled, "Run... Please..."
Kyoko laughed, a high pitched, terrible thing. She raised her hand and Asuka watched in horror as the fingers started to grow, the bones cracking and stretching as each digit elongated into some horrible mockery of a human hand.
"Silly child... You cannot save her. Not from this," She growled, "Yui... Stop."
Yui Ikari stepped away from her son and crossed arms behind her back.
Kyoko walked over to Shinji and ran her fingers-turned-talons across his chest, the fabric of his shirt burning and falling away.
She leaned in close to the boy and lowered her voice.
"I have grown tired of you," she whispered, "I assure you, she will fall. And you can do nothing to save her."
Shinji managed a chuckle, Kyoko's smile faltering slightly.
"You don't get it, do you?," he growled, a small trickle of blood running down his chin, "It doesn't matter if she falls. It doesn't matter at all because..."
He turned to look at Asuka, the redhead's eyes wide as saucers.
"...because I'm going to be there to catch her if she does."
Kyoko screamed and thrust her hand forward, the talons ripping into Shinji's chest. He threw his head back, his mouth open in a silent scream.
Asuka let out a shriek as the boy writhed in pain, Kyoko slowly twisting her hand. There was the sound of bones snapping as she found her target.
"Ahh... Here. We. Go."
Her hand clenched down on Shinji's heart, a pained gurgle the only sound escaping his lips as the woman yanked her hand back.
She withdrew it from his chest with a wet ripping sound, Shinji's head lolling forward.
Kyoko walked over and squatted down in front of Asuka, the girl trying her hardest not to scream.
She held the heart out in front of Asuka's face and inspected it for a moment.
"See, Asuka?," she whispered, "He couldn't save you. Not from this."
She squeezed, the organ making a wet popping sound as it burst, splattering Asuka's face with blood.
"Now, there's no one to keep us apart."
Kyoko dropped the ruined heart and wiped her hand on her shirt before turning to her daughter.
She reached out to the girl, the horrible hand wrapping around Asuka's throat.
"Die"
Kyoko squeezed.
*?*?*?*?*?*?*?*?*
Asuka woke up, screaming. Her hands were wrapped around her own throat and she quickly released them.
Her breaths came in short, sharp bursts as her lungs hitched and bucked. She brought her hands up to cover her mouth as her bedroom door flew open, the thin wood cracking under Shinji's grip.
He stood in the doorway for a few moments, panting, before running across the small room and grabbing the girl by the shoulders.
"Asuka! Wake up... Wake up!," he said, "You're alright. I'm right here..."
Asuka looked up at him, her vision blurred.
"Sh-shinji?," she whimpered, her voice threatening to fail her, "You... She killed you... I...I..."
He tightened his grip on her shoulders and gave the girl a little shake.
"It was a dream, Asuka," he whispered, locking eyes with her, "I'm alright, see?"
He patted his hand against his chest for good measure as Kaji and Misato Ryoji ran into the room, the latter fumbling for the light switch.
The small bulb coated the room in light, and Asuka had to squint against the glare.
"What happened, Asuka?," Misato asked as she kneeled next to the two teenagers, "Was it that dream again?"
Asuka nodded slowly, her bottom lip quivering slightly.
"Y-yes...," she whispered, "Mamma... She killed Shinji... She.. Oh God..."
Shinji wrapped his arms around the girl, pulling her close. She latched onto his shirt, burying her face in her chest as her entire body began to shake. She let loose with one good sob, Shinji tightening his grip ever so slightly.
"Shhhh... It's okay...," he whispered, burying his face in her hair, "I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere."
Misato reached out and began softly rubbing the sobbing girl's back as Kaji walked over and laid his hand on his wife's shoulder.
For an indeterminate amount time they stayed like this, the only sound that of Asuka's muffled sobs.
Seemingly an eternity later, she gently extricated herself from Shinji's embrace, the boy not completely letting go.
"T-thank you...," she whispered, looking at the three smiling faces around her, "I... I'm sorry I woke you up..."
"Oh, shush...," Misato spoke as she leaned forward and wrapped the girl in a hug of her own, "It's fine. You know that. We're always right here."
"Yeah, Asuka. It's fine," Kaji chimed in, "Besides, it's not like I was getting any toni... Ooomph!"
Kaji nearly doubled over as Misato elbowed him in the stomach, hard.
Asuka had to chuckle, Kaji rubbing his gut while Misato sat with a forced smile.
"There now...," Shinji spoke up, gently rubbing Asuka's shoulder, "Better?"
The redhead nodded, wiping at her face as her tear-stained cheeks glistened in the light.
"Yes," she replied, her voice steadying, "I... I'm still sorry I woke you all up again... I..."
Before she could finish, Shinji reached down and took Asuka's hand, pulling it up to his face. He placed a feather-soft kiss on the knuckles, holding the hand there for a few moments.
He let her hand fall back to her side as he looked at her, smiling warmly.
"It's not a problem."
He sat there for a few moments, smiling, as Asuka stared at him, her cheeks steadily growing redder.
He turned to the side, Misato and Kaji grinning from ear to ear.
"What? What'd I do?"
A raising of eyebrows.
"Oh... Ohhh...," he stammered, tapping his fingers together, "I...I uhhh... Sorry, I think..."
Kaji reached over and clapped the boy on the back.
"Nah. It's all good," he said before turning to Asuka, "So, you think you'll be alright?"
After a few moments with no reply, Misato brought her hand up and snapped her fingers in Asuka's face.
"Earth to Asuka..."
The girl jumped slightly, averting her eyes from Shinji before looking to the older woman.
"Wha... Oh.. Yeah...," she stammered, "I'll be fine."
"Well good," Misato replied, patting the girl on the hand, "In that case, we should all get back to bed. We have work in the morning, and I'm pretty sure your mom wants you to visit her at NERV in the morning, Shinji."
The boy nodded and stood from Asuka's bed. He went to walk out when he felt a tug at his hand.
He turned and saw that Asuka was firmly gripping his hand, her red fingernail polish shining brightly against her pale skin.
"Ummmm... I kinda need that," Shinji chuckled. Asuka's face flashed bright red for a moment and she dropped the appendage.
"Oh... Sorry...," she stuttered, looking down at her mattress.
Shinji grinned and gave the girl a short, tight hug.
"Goodnight, Asuka."
With that, he turned and left the room, his footsteps padding quietly on the wooden floors.
Misato and Kaji stood, him wrapping his arm around her waist.
"Alright, we're going to turn back in," Misato said, yawning, "If you need us, you know where we sleep. Don't be afraid to come and get us, okay?"
Asuka nodded her head once and Misato smiled. She leaned down and kissed Asuka on the forehead before walking out of the room, Kaji in tow.
She flicked off the light as she watched Asuka lay back down and shut the door.
They walked down the hallway and back into their room, nestling themselves back into their bed as they tried to take advantage of the few remaining hours before sunrise.
Kaji, as usual, was out like a light. He snored softly as Misato rested her head on his chest, a worried look in her eyes.
That's the third time in two weeks..., the woman thought to herself, She still hasn't told us exactly what that dream is about. I know it has something to do with Mari's death, and her mother, but...
A soft sigh.
But she still won't talk about it more than that. Maybe Shinji cou...
Misato smiled warmly, the boy's small gesture from earlier coming to mind.
Hmmm. Shinji and Asuka... Something about that just works. Too bad neither of them have realized it yet.
She rolled over and tucked her hands under her pillow. Kaji, in the infinite awareness that often accompanies REM sleep, sensed her movement and mimicked it, his arm securing itself tightly around her waist.
She let out a contented sigh as she pressed herself against him.
She quickly slipped into a deep sleep, her face calm.
Her dreams were fleeting, like ghosts. They danced across her vision, never staying for more than a few seconds.
One, however... One vision stayed.
The same one that had been haunting the woman for the past two weeks.
The day she received the call from the hospital...
M-Misato...
Mari's dead...
So, here's"The Last Night." I wasn't planning on publishing this until "Promises" was finished, but it has been eating at my brain so hard these past few weeks that I just had to get the first chapter done.
And, here it is. Hopefully, the rest of the story will be as good as I hope this chapter is.
So, read, review and enjoy.