NERV Angel Shelter, outskirts of Tokyo III

"Hey Shinji…"

Asuka strained her eyes in the dimly lit shelter and could make out the boys form lying down, his chest gently raising and lowering as he slept. Asuka couldn't sleep; she was in a constant battle between wanting to sleep, having too many thoughts and needing to use the bathroom. The only problem was that she was comfortable and warm and outside the blankets they had been able to get from the shelters stock it was certainly not comfortable or warm.

"Yes Asuka?"

Shinji opened his eyes to reply to the girl, he was glad she had spoken to him. He wasn't able to sleep, the events of the last 48 hours were flying through his head and he was scared that if he did go to sleep when he woke up she might not be there.

"Do you think the others will come back?"

Asuka immediately regretted asking the question, it was packed full of emotion and it was the sort she didn't like to show. She would never say she was emotionless, she had emotions but Asuka liked to pick and choose the ones she would display. Ones that made her look weak, especially in front of the likes of Shinji, were a big no.

'Damn Instrumentality… messing with me like that that I…'

"I hope so…" he finally replied with his voice registering barely more than a faint whisper.

"What do you mean you hope so? What sort of answer is that?" It was an attempt at least, some sort of facsimile of the old Asuka before Instrumentality.

Shinji was a little bit taken aback by the tone of the response. He looked over at her and in the darkness could see her eyes locked onto him.

"Well I… I hope people come back. They have the choice to at least… I think? That's what I wan-, that is what I was told."

'What am I hoping to achieve with this?' She questioned herself. This was the first conversation they had had with one another since returning and waking up on the beach. Since then it had been a sequence of "Are you alright?", "Is that alright?", "Where are the facilities in this shelter?" and "Maybe we should go to sleep now?" and she couldn't forget the "How disgusting!" at the start of the day either.

Asuka was caught in a state of flux wanting to show the new Asuka that had come to terms with herself. To show a new Asuka that no longer needed to be horrible towards people and proclaim how great she was to get attention. This new Asuka had cast pride aside, and was ready to introduce new things like compassion and openness.

She berated herself internally, 'This is so dumb, I hate this so much. I wanted to come back, I accepted all that had happened and thought maybe I could be a different person but… that's stupid because that is who I am, I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu. I'm the best damn pilot NERV had to offer. I have pride and ambition and… I really have to pee.

"Uhh Asuka…"

His words snapped her from her thoughts and so in kind she snapped at him, "What is it Shinji?"

"You said that last bit out loud."

She tried her best to cover up her embarrassment and fixed her best glare on him, "Well… I do and I forgot where the bathroom was in here so, why wouldn't I say that out loud?"

"Sorry I thought you… it's over there…", he pointed towards the door at the opposite side of the room. He then watched as she hopped out of the blankets and made her way to the room leaving him alone with his thoughts.

'Asuka… I don't know what to do but I'm going to try my best and I'm going to try to help you. I know you probably hate me right now and I don't blame you but…' He stopped himself, he knew that Asuka didn't hate him but his mind was a mess. 'I need sleep… we'll figure this out tomorrow'

He lay back down and shifted onto his side as he heard the girl return from the bathroom and lie down in the makeshift bed beside him. He quickly went through his mind thinking of something to say before they made another, possibly futile attempt at sleeping.

"Asuka…"

"Yes?"

He shifted again, this time sitting up and looking over at her. Shinji wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say, he wanted to say something reassuring not just for her but for himself, "People will come back, I don't know when but they will, they just need a little bit more time than us."

Asuka smiled and stifled a laugh as a realization suddenly hit her, "It makes you think doesn't it…"

Shinji wasn't sure why Asuka was laughing, maybe it was what he had said, it did sound stupid after all, "What does?"

She stopped laughing and climbed out of the makeshift bed, she pulled her blankets closer to Shinjis and lay back down next to him. He could see her face properly and up close for the first time since being on the beach. Her eye was fixed on him and he was sure her bandaged one would be as well. Finally she spoke again,

"If the other people need more time than us, maybe we aren't so fucked up after all."

He smiled and didn't say anything but slowly closed his eyes. In the darkness he could sense her hand through the covers searching for something. Eventually it found its target, his hand and she intertwined her fingers with his, she had removed her plugsuit gloves some time ago and her hand was cold but something about the gesture sent a wave of warmth through his body. He wanted to reply to her but his eyes were growing heavier and finally after what seemed like hours of trying, with pain in their legs and a myriad of thoughts to dwell on. With no idea of what tomorrow might bring be it good or bad they finally fell asleep.

Earth's Orbit

Yui Ikari surveyed the planet Earth, its vibrant greens and blues mixing to a deathly red focused around Japan, the site of the Third Impact and where her son Shinji had awakened along with his fellow pilot Asuka. Yui was exhausted, existing in a state between our reality and the next she only had a limited time before she would cease to exist here and continue her journey.

'I have done what I can to restore the Earth for you Shinji, it won't be easy for you and Asuka and there is a chance you won't see your friends and loved ones again but the Earth is at least alive. The rest of the world… they'll only know this as the culmination of the Angel Attacks, Earths victory but also the day Earth lost a significant part of a country. Only the residents of Tokyo III will remember Instrumentality.

I'm sorry I couldn't do more, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you any of my plans, where I'm going or anything but I couldn't even tell my husband. SEELE had to be stopped, Third Impact had to go this way, and I know you've been through so much pain because of it… because of me but hopefully now things will move on.'

With those final thoughts Yui's vision of the Earth started to become blurred, a warm white light enveloped her and the question entered her mind,

"Are you ready to embark on the rest of your journey?"

'…I am ready.'