[A/N] I know this one isn't garnering as much interest as the other multi-chaptered fic I have begun to work on, but I just couldn't help myself in writing some more for this one. It's just too addictive!

[Edit] Nothing major, just missed out a line break in the middle.

[Edit #2] Same as previous chapter.

MADE A GIRL CRY

CHAPTER TWO

"…and he told me to call him Toji instead of Suzuhara! What do you think that means?"

"I think it means it's time for you to go to bed, Hikari."

Hikari curiously glanced over to the digital clock on her bedside table, flashing the numbers 22:58. Hikari wasn't really allowed to stay up any later than ten thirty at night, so she had to whisper down the phone to Asuka. Her excitement was hard to contain, however, and a few whispers cracked into tiny squeals as she relived the evening. Toji – Hikari still couldn't believe it – and Hikari had cleaned the classroom up in no time at all, their time alone only brief, something over which Hikari would have lamented if she weren't going to be spending tomorrow with him. Hikari had even let him go on ahead, claiming she still had her own responsibilities left (she didn't – she just wanted Toji to get home so he could get some sleep) and finished up the cleaning herself.

Hikari ignored Asuka's plea to finally hang up and go to sleep, continuing, "…What should I wear? Do you think I could ask Kodama if I could borrow some of her makeup?"

"Hikari," Asuka's tone was stern, "Just relax. Be yourself. Don't bother with all that junk. If he likes you, he'll like you for who you are. And if he doesn't like you for who you are, then he's an idiot, and he'll get my fist in his face!"

Hikari giggled at that. Asuka may have been simultaneously the scariest and most fascinating girl Hikari had ever met, worlds away from the fourteen she claimed to be and more mature and wiser than any adult she'd ever met, but she was the greatest friend she had ever had. Though Asuka made no effort to hide the annoyance in her voice, Hikari knew that Asuka would always be on the other end to answer phone calls no matter what time it was. Now that the time had passed eleven, Hikari realised it was time to hang up their hour long phone call. Asuka had been very patient, letting Hikari ramble about Toji for as long as she felt necessary, but Hikari knew it was time she would have to make her own decisions regarding her crush.

"I'm sorry for talking so much, and if I bothered you!" Hikari rushed out the apology, still intoxicated on the glee from the fact she was going to be spending Saturday afternoon with Toji. The fact… it still didn't feel real. I'm just tutoring him, helping him with homework, nothing more, Hikari tried to convince herself, but it did nothing to fan away her happiness and nerves. As Saturday began to draw closer, the nerves did start to dominate the happiness. It hadn't really dawned on her when she offered Toji just how nervous it would make her. She'd never been alone with Toji longer than half an hour, an hour at best. In fact, she'd never really been alone with a boy at all, let alone a boy she had a crush on. She hadn't even run it past her older sister Kodama yet. And she also hadn't asked her father if it were alright yet, though she was sure he would understand as long as they stayed out of her bedroom… But I'm just tutoring him! The blush rising to her cheeks were quickly batting away any thoughts that she wasn't going to take advantage of their alone time, at least a little bit.

"Goodnight, Hikari," Asuka's sharp voice snapped Hikari back to reality.

"I'll speak to you tomorrow," Hikari smiled into the phone, having no doubt that she would definitely be back on the phone talking to Asuka in twenty four hours' time. "Goodnight, Asuka." Asuka hung up first, almost immediately after Hikari said her name, but Hikari had known Asuka long enough now that it was just the way she was.

Hikari often wondered what Asuka liked about Hikari, considering how different the two were. There were a lot of other girls just like Asuka – pretty, tall, slim, developed – though both Hikari and Asuka knew that a lot of them were envious of Asuka, often spreading nasty rumours and gossiping about her to 'fill the gaps in their own sorry, pathetic lives', as Asuka had put it. Maybe it was more due to the other girls' prides that Asuka wasn't friends with them; come to think of it, Asuka didn't really have any other friends. She didn't seem to get along with the quiet Ayanami girl, despite working alongside her in the Eva piloting trio, and Hikari was never sure where Asuka stood with Ikari.

Though they lived together, Asuka would confess to Hikari in their night time phone calls that they often see-sawed between cuddles and kisses and arguments and snubbing one another until the other couldn't take it (usually Shinji) and apologised, only for the cycle to repeat. It seemed tiring, how the two would tip-toe around one another. It was obvious to everyone and not just Hikari that there were feelings between the two – not just the superficial, lustful attraction most boys felt towards Asuka, but a genuine bond that stemmed only from sharing their lives together in situations that could tear them apart forever, a bond not many people ever experience. Hikari knew her feelings for Toji were miles away from their feelings, and she knew she was in the same sort of situation in that she felt too shy, too embarrassed to sit Toji down and talk about it. Maybe if, no, when they got closer through tutoring… no, it's not like that!

Hikari covered her face with her pillow, hiding her blush and grin from nobody but herself and nothing but the darkness engulfing her room. Hikari felt tired, the weight of the week's duties inside and outside of school sneaking up and pressing down on her, but there was no way she could go to sleep; all she could think of was him. Now she understood why they called it lovesick – the nerves, the excitement, the anticipation of seeing him again were stirring up into one big cocktail of emotion that resembled nausea.

Trying to calm down as best she could, Hikari let out slow and steady breaths, closing her eyes and lying back on her pillow. She let her body sink into her futon, and she let her arms wrap around her kitty cushion. She fell asleep to the wonderings of how it felt to be held by a boy, by him, by Toji.

Hikari always woke up early; she couldn't recall a day when she didn't. Even at weekends, she was often awake and out of bed by eight, usually to prepare breakfast for herself, her two sisters Kodama and Nozomi, and the weekends off work meant the addition of her father's company in the morning. However, she had woken up this particular Saturday at half six, right when the sun began to crack through her curtains. She knew it wouldn't bring one o'clock any closer – in fact, it would only drag it out farther – but she just couldn't help it. The excitement she felt mirrored that of the excitement of Christmas morning.

She just couldn't wait any longer to see him. Part of her wanted to call him, just to wake him up and hear his voice, but the guilt nagging at her eventually stubbed that idea into the ground when she remembered just how tired Toji looked on Friday. Another part of her wanted to maybe just text him, asking if he could possibly make it any earlier – she would just put it down to needing to run some errands that afternoon and it couldn't be helped. Texting him wouldn't wake him up, as long as his phone weren't on loud, but he would still see it before he was due to come over.

Still, she couldn't fight her worry for him, deciding to lock her phone and place it down onto her desk after her trembling fingers hovered over his name in her phone. He had text her the previous evening, around seven, presumably the sort of time he would have gotten home from school. It was only a short text, one that skipped all the 'hi how are yous' and the formalities, and just read, 'This Hikari?'

Even though the text was so brief that it would be impossible to analysis or interpret any subliminal messages, Hikari still found herself taking longer to reply than she probably should have. Any longer and Toji probably would have thought he had been duped, given a fake number and address. She had picked up her phone, replying almost five minutes after he had texted her; a minute spent trying to work out what to say, two minutes spent thinking about the best way to say it (should I put an exclamation mark? Should I put two?), and the final two minutes spent wondering if she should even reply at all.

'Yes, it's me!'

Toji didn't reply until much later, it seemed, as her phone had not buzzed again that night. She spent some time worrying over it, wondering if she had done something wrong, until Asuka reassured her that Toji had probably just passed out early. Asuka truly was a genius, as Hikari noticed the next morning that a third message highlighted with a green box had been added to their conversation, sent at 2:05: 'Cool. See you later'. Hikari didn't know why such a simple text made her cheeks heat up; maybe it was just seeing his name at the top of the conversation that held a lighter to her face. Maybe it was the combination of his name and the fact she would be seeing him later in her own home. Maybe it was just him, simply and purely.

11am. Hikari wasn't sure where the time had gone, but it was moving quicker than she had anticipated.

After rushing around all morning cleaning the house from top to bottom, including cleaning downstairs twice just in case she missed anything (though her meticulous personality rendered it unlikely), as well as preparing a cooked breakfast for the four of them, Hikari still thought she had enough time left to just sit down and take a break. She had finished the majority of her homework the night before, but left some questions unsolved in the hopes that she could use them to run through them with Toji and help him complete the same questions on his own homework sheet.

Hikari wasn't new to tutoring. Her younger sister Nozomi often went to Hikari for help with her homework, and had done ever since the death of their mother when Nozomi was only young. They were all young, too young to have their mother snatched from them, but Kodama and now Hikari were stepping into her shoes perfectly. Sometimes Mr. Horaki would make a point of walking past or looking at his two older daughters twice, before commenting with a sincere yet wistful smile, 'Just like your mother, beautiful inside and out.'

What Hikari was new to, however, was tutoring someone in her class, her own age. She had sometimes helped friends out if they needed guidance with their homework, as it was a duty that fell under the umbrella of being a Class Representative. Sometimes 'friends' would go behind her back and outright copy her homework, using her kindness and taking advantage of it, whereas others would be genuinely grateful that Hikari took time out of her busy schedule just to help a classmate out. Still, she had never constantly tutored someone, especially not a boy. It felt so weird and new and exciting all at the same time.

Maybe now was the perfect time to warn her father and sister (Nozomi wouldn't care nor see it as anything other than what it was) of the guest she had coming over that afternoon.

11:30am. Toji had seen this time not from behind his eyelids more than he wanted to admit.

Most teenage boys were still asleep at this time, especially on a Saturday; he wanted to join them, but sleep seemed to be refusing to come to him as of late. The only person Toji knew that would be awake at this time on a Saturday was Shinji, but it wasn't like he exactly filled all the criteria of what Toji thought to be a normal teenage boy. Not that he was abnormal, just… different to Toji. It was probably why they gelled so well together, him; Kensuke, and now Shinji. How Shinji managed to forgive Toji after his anger got the better of him, Toji would never understand. He just wanted to forget it ever happened, like how Shinji had managed to forget and befriend Toji, but it was one of the memories haunting him. Just one more reason why Toji was struggling to sleep at night.

The first reason was, of course, his little sister. Sakura was only in the second grade, and she was all he had left as a memory of their late mother. Ever since their mother had died, Toji had taken it upon himself to care for her, to protect her. When he first started middle school, many of the other boys, particularly the older ones, had laughed at him, calling him names and insulting his manhood just because he cared so much for his little sister. It got so bad that Toji jumped at the chance to move to live with his grandfather in New Tokyo-3, even though he'd heard horror stories about it being a potential warzone. He transferred schools, and for the first few months he kept to himself, sitting at the back of the classroom. In a way, he was kind of like Shinji, and that was probably another reason why they clicked so well – they were more similar than they thought.

Keeping to himself meant Toji never had to let strangers in. He never had to confide in anyone and make it known that he adored his little sister, as if it were a problem to be embarrassed about in the first place. It wasn't until he and Kensuke Aida had designated class duty together when Toji opened up and made his first friend in New Tokyo-3. They, too, were more alike than had previously thought, and Kensuke didn't judge Toji for his protection over his little sister – he didn't even ask for reasons why. He just accepted it. That was more than Toji realised he ever needed.

But then his little sister got hurt in an Eva incident, causing his protective side to grow whilst his hate and resentment for the Evangelions and their pilots were also nurtured in the process. Part of him felt guilty at not insisting they stayed in Osaka and just handling the bullying by himself (most probably with his fists), feeling guilty in case it was his enthusiasm about wanting to move to New Tokyo-3 that eventually led to Sakura's injuries. He thought he had lost her. He had never been so scared in his life.

All his fears and anger manifested into one unhealthy concoction Toji could only express through his fist when he punched Shinji the first time. Toji was convinced the meek, 'woe-is-me' attitude Shinji portrayed was all an act; it had to be, because there was no way someone as pathetic and weak-willed was behind the controls, though he could believe the pilot was so spineless as to involve innocent people and harm his little sister. Shinji's acquiescence and the fact he muttered, 'I'm not piloting it by choice, either' only insulted Toji even more. In hindsight, Toji knew he had acted impulsively and shouldn't have hit Shinji so hard. It wasn't until he saw Shinji in the cockpit (or the entry-plug, as he had heard it being called by Kensuke a few times) and how he suffered when Toji's cold attitude began to thaw. The guilt still ate away at him, and Toji didn't think it would stop anytime soon, even if Shinji was the second person he had ever befriended.

Toji had lied to Hikari yesterday; Sakura was making great progress and recovering well, that was true, but it was going to be a while until she would be discharged. It broke his heart, having to be told about the countless amount of surgeries she had to undergo, though the numbers were starting to go down now. Most of her days were spent lying alone in her hospital bed, covered in bandages and stitches. Toji made sure to visit her any time the hospital allowed, and Sakura was always so happy and smiley just to be in his company. She was so positive, offering Toji life advice wiser than anything Toji had ever heard before. And she was just a second grader! Toji was so proud of Sakura, so proud to share the name Suzuhara with her, and he felt so foolish that he let it embarrass him back in Osaka.

Swoosh. The ball fell effortlessly through the hoop, the net swinging back and forth. Toji often came to the basketball court on Saturday mornings, sometimes Saturday afternoons if Kensuke or Shinji were busy, just to get away from life and all it had thrown at him so far. After the hospital, the basketball court was the second place Toji visited the most. He liked that it was always dead, abandoned just like most places in New Tokyo-3. No one wanted to live in a warzone. Toji didn't want to, not after seeing the ugliness that it could bring first hand, but it did offer some beautiful moments of solitude.

Because Toji was so preoccupied with worrying about his little sister, his grades were slipping. That was his biggest concern next to Sakura's welfare. Sakura assured him that it would be okay if he brought his homework to the hospital, and they could work on it together; Toji was sure Sakura was so smart that she probably could provide some help, but he just didn't want to push that on an eight year old already balancing the weight of the world on her shoulders. She had enough to worry about without Toji's worries, too, no matter how many times Sakura tried to convince him that she didn't mind. She said she just wanted to not see the dark circles under his eyes the next time he visited. It was getting harder to promise when the teacher warned Toji that if his grades didn't improve by the next semester, then he risked having to repeat the year. The teacher even said that because Toji wasn't an Eva pilot, he didn't really have an excuse, and Toji believed that. Then again, Toji also believed he was going to disappoint his father and grandfather if he didn't work harder. Maybe he was just slacking and being lazy, but juggling schoolwork and worrying for Sakura whilst caring for his father and grandfather was just proving too difficult for Toji. He hadn't bothered to explain that, because it wasn't like it would make the teacher any more sympathetic towards him. Toji wasn't exactly the most respectful student, nor was he exactly the biggest contender for student of the year.

But Hikari… Hikari Horaki was a new breed of perfect student. Toji was so curious to find out how Hikari was able to balance taking on the motherly role and look after not just her younger sister but also her older sister and father as well as keeping on top of her duties as the Class Rep and excelling in her studies. In a way, Toji felt guilty at accepting Hikari's offer to tutor him; surely she had enough on her plate without adding him to her list of concerns. But that was why she was the Class Rep in the first place – she cared for everyone, wholeheartedly and sincerely, to the detriment of herself. Even if she was nagging everyone, especially Toji himself, a little too much to the point where her voice was grating on his ears, Toji could see her heart was in the right place. It was rare to find such genuine kindness in a world so torn up by Angels and Evangelions.

Toji watched the ball fall through the hoop one more time, letting it bounce twice as it hit the ground before picking it up and heading back home. Getting to Hikari's a little earlier than scheduled surely wouldn't hurt either of them.