Chapter 3 Rejection & Regret

It was dark and eerie, the oxygen he inhaled was thick and tainted the scent with smoke and blood. Shinji made his way through the chasm, using his palms and the end of his fingers as guides through the darkness.

He soon came upon one of the many sides of said chasm and followed it endlessly looking for a way out.

Shinji continued his never ending journey until he was stunned and blinded by a shimmering light coming from his left. The light was so intense it lit up the entire chasm, it was massive. Shinji smiled as it appeared that his journey was finally over and began walking towards the light.

Shinji got closer to the light, it was blinding yet it inflicted peace and tranquility, somehow he felt his problems dissuading with each step he took. A faint cry was heard throughout the chasm, it was a woman's cry.

Shinji didn't make out who the woman was, but whoever she was it made him nauseous to hear her cries.

As Shinji looked away from the light to see where the sound was coming from, the chasm started morphing. The ground shook heavily as the walls that encrusted the chasm began to crush each other and were forced to make what seemed like a narrow cave with two paths to follow.

Shinji looked to his left where the shimmering light was and saw the peace and tranquility he'd always wanted, behind the light he saw something that intrigued him, it was a young woman, and she looked similar to Rei however the only real difference he could spot was the color of her hair.

The woman was holding a small boy in her arms, it would appear it was her son, soon afterwards a figure started approaching the woman, it was Gendo. The approaching man looked at the woman with passionate eyes, eyes Shinji had never seen before, and he proceeded to kiss her. Their lips met in passion as their as both their tongues battled over dominance.

'What? Gendo? Is that… Is that my mom?!' Shinji thought as he gazed at them.

The three of them were all smiling and they looked like a happy family, however that soon came to a halt. The woman kissed her child on the forehead one more time and handed him to Gendo.

"Take care of Shinji" she said to him as she let go of him.

Gendo's smile had dissuaded and the cold relentless eyes Shinji knew were back. The moment he had the boy in his arms he started vanish into thin air. As he dispersed the woman let out some tears and looked at Shinji.

"My son" she whispered.

"Mo.. Mom?" replied Shinji as his eyes leaked tears.

Shinji didn't question where he was, what he had seen, or why it was happening, all that mattered was that he would get to see his beloved mother again.

Shinji wiped the tears and made his way towards her. He took three steps forward and heard the faint cries again, similar if not identical to the ones he had heard earlier.

Shinji stopped as he looked to the other end of the newly formed cave. It was dark, it frightened him, but there was a faint light, it was similar to the one he had seen in the other end. The light was emerging from the silhouette of a girl crying, the light was more intense in her abdominal area.

Suddenly the crying stopped, the girl looked at him, a smile forming on her lips. It was Asuka.

The next morning

Shinji woke up covered in sweat, it had been another dream. He'd been having strange dreams for a few days now and they usually involved Asuka, however he didn't know what to make of them, so he just gave them no thought.

As his eyes adjusted to the morning light, Shinji looked straight at the ceiling, even though it was the same pattern around the whole house, he could still tell his and Asuka's apart.

Bored of staring, he tried to sit up but found it effortless as he realized that he couldn't move his right arm or legs, curious to see the cause he glanced down and found a red headed girl sleeping happily on top of him.

The girl's head was on his chest and she was using both her arms as pillows and anchors to keep him from moving, not only that but her right leg extended across to keep his legs tied down as well. Shinji had never had a girl sleep on him like this, but he liked the feeling, and he enjoyed it even more since it was Asuka.

Shinji looked at her chiseled face and caressed it, she was truly beautiful. Moving the end of his fingers through her hair he started to delve in thought.

Shinji was glad she had no nightmares and had snuggled with him, but he was also worried about what her reaction would be when she woke up, he didn't want her to misinterpret the situation.

For a moment Shinji thought about sneaking off, but his plan was foiled the second he made a slight movement and Asuka involuntarily grabbed onto him tighter, so Shinji having no other choice was forced to wait it out.

He tried falling back asleep but was unsuccessful, his body had simply slept too much already, it was weary of resting. Shinji didn't mind it though, he just kept caressing Asuka without hesitation.

As time elapsed more sunlight creased its way into the room showing the messy wasteland it truly was. Shinji looked around shocked as he asked himself how it was possible for Asuka to live under in these conditions.

'Hasn't she ever heard of cleaning?' he pondered.

'If she let me, I cou-' Shinji's thoughts were broken up by a yawn coming from the red head.

Asuka's eyes meekly opened and looked around, everything was fuzzy. Last night had felt strange, she hadn't slept that well since, well… since ever. Hesitant to get up she closed her eyes and tried to fall back asleep.

Shinji stayed silent as anxiety ran through his whole body. He had begun to worry as the girl moved around on top of him but luckily she didn't become conscious of his presence.

Asuka noticed her bed felt different, it was softer, and over all more comfy. She squirmed around a bit to get into a better position and while in due process she heard a moan coming from beneath her, however she didn't pay too much attention to it and continued trying to sleep.

Shinji had felt uneasy again, Asuka's squirming was making him feel strange, he was experiencing the same heat from yesterday as she made friction with him. Every time she moved, he felt an extraordinary kind of pleasure he had previously never felt from anyone other than himself, he couldn't help but let out a dim moan as she finally settled.

'My bed just moaned' she thought as loach consumed her and focused back on sleeping.

'Wait a minute… My bed just moaned!' she finally processed after a few seconds.

She opened her eyes with haste and sat up quickly to find a blushing Shinji underneath her.

Asuka noticed she had been rubbing against his groin and her cheeks turned light pink momentarily. Though she would never admit it to him or anyone else, surpassing her disgust was a feeling of flattery at seeing Shinji moan in pleasure because of her, it somewhat boosted her ego.

'What's the baka doing in my room? And why am I on top of him?! ' she questioned herself.

Asuka stared at the boy confused, she wanted to beat him senseless, she was sure that there was some tainted meaning behind the situation she was in, but still, she also wanted to kiss him relentlessly.

The boy looked recovered from his illness, she was pleased to see that. There were a wide variety of emotions coursing through her, and the way she was sitting on him wasn't helping.

Asuka felt warm and moist between her thighs, and every time she moved the slightest she couldn't help but shudder a little. Why was he making her experience this? And why did it feel so pleasant?

Shinji was breathing slowly and trying to think of anything but Asuka, having her on top of him made him feel good, she felt really warm, every time she moved the least, he felt that pleasure again.

Both of them stared at each other as the room became hotter, and the air became saturated as their inhalations deepened.

Asuka couldn't think straight, to her that fact that she was enjoying this was appalling! She had to put a stop to this.

"Wha… What are you doing in my bed you perverted freak!" she yelled.

The blushing boy found it hard to communicate properly as the red head pinned down his arms.

"Asuka!… It's not… errr… It's not what you think" he barely managed to say.

She raised one arm and prepared her palm for a slap across his face. Shinji saw this and tried effortlessly to convince her other wise.

"Asuka wait! I can explain-" started Shinji as he felt the first of many slaps sting his cheek.

"Owww!" he groaned as he held his cheek "don't hit me! I'm tryi-" the red head slapped him again.

"Do you resolve everything with violence?!" Shinji asked furiously as he held his most recently impacted cheek.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I guess I should just lie here and let you rape me?! Drecksau!" she said indignantly as she slapped him again.

'I'm so sorry Shinji' she said mentality as she slapped him once more, it wasn't as hard as the others, but the sound resonated in the room.

Hearing the echo of the now distant slap made Asuka feel sick with herself, something in her had changed in the last few days. She wasn't enjoying hurting him like she did before, she felt revolted by her actions.

The boy and her had recently been getting closer, Asuka had actually started to care about him, something she really regretted but couldn't help.

Asuka's eyes glossed as fluid accumulated, tears were forming in their corners ready to be released.

Shinji felt the sting of the slap, but that wasn't what hurt him the most. From the corner of her left eye a tear had slid down her cheek. It saddened him, this wasn't at all what he wanted, he would've preferred the brutal beat down than see her shed a single tear.

'He's not doing anything! Why is he just looking at me!?' she asked frantically in her mind.

'I can't let him get through!' she screamed internally.

Asuka raised her hand to slap him again but stopped as the boy said something.

"I'm sorry Asuka, just… just please don't cry" he said regretfully as his eyes became watery.

With that avowal he had disarmed her, she didn't know what to do, it was like he knew exactly what to say to get into her head and make her feel confused all over again.

Asuka lowered her arm and brought both hands to her face, Shinji could see more tears sliding down her cheeks, but she did her best to conceal the matter.

Shinji didn't mind the physical abuse he had received but he was agonizing seeing her in distress. He sat up and embraced her in a hug but it was of no use, she kept hiding behind her hands.

"Asuka, I don't like seeing you like this" he said lowly, a few tears making their way down his cheeks.

Shinji slowly tried to remove her hands from her face to talk to her but an almost immediate rejection came as she pushed him back.

"Yeah right! Ohh! Poor miserable Asuka, I'm going to comfort her so she likes me" she ridiculed him as she wiped her tears.

"It's not like that at all Asuka" he said quietly.

"I care about you. Let me help yo-" the room became quiet as the sound of the slap overtook it.

Shinji didn't say anything, he was far too stunned. The slap had transcended physical pain, it penetrated him on an emotional level, he had exposed himself when he reached out to her and she had rejected him. Shinji's gaze was now empty, he felt lost, he didn't understand.

Did he miss something? Did he read the signs all wrong? Had he screwed up? All these questions running through his mind

Shinji had gotten rejected a second time by the same person and although she was right on top of him, he felt that loneliness from before all over again.

"Please get off me" he asked her trying to keep his voice from cracking.

Asuka didn't budge, she stayed on top of his lap staring at him unresponsive. Shinji was holding his tears back, but as time progressed he felt more and more build up and it was getting harder to contain them.

Shinji wasn't sure how much more he could take from her, he had known from the start this would cause him pain, but he didn't think it would feel this horrendous. Shinji felt betrayed, he felt he had been deceived by the person he had started to trust, but most of all he felt angry he should've known better than to trust someone.

Shinji's mind was in limbo, all he knew was that he had to leave that place behind, he had to escape that nightmare he was living.

Shinji pushed her off, got up and started heading towards the door, his back now being turned towards Asuka he set his tears loose. He concealed it pretty well but the occasional sniff was heard.

She was still in catatonic state as she looked at his figure walking away, inside her mind Asuka was engaged in a battle with herself.

'No don't leave me!' she begged him mentally.

'It's just better this way' a voice inside her replied.

'No it's not! I need him! I… I think I like him!' she shouted.

'You've become weak! This is why mom didn't love you! And you pick him of all people?! You disgust me!' the voice mocked.

'I'm not weak!' she hoarse.

'Are you that desperate for attention that you turn to him!?' a different voice confronted.

'Shut up!' she yelled.

'You need to focus on being a pilot! Not messing around with some idiot!'

'Bu… But he cares for me' she said.

'No he doesn't! No one cares about you but me!' the voice commented.

'And who are you?' she asked curiously.

'I am you, I am the great Asuka Langley Sohryu, remember me?' the voice asked.

'Yes' she replied.

'Of course you do, you're a shadow of what I once was!' the voice lectured her.

'It's… It's true, I've become weak' she finally thought in defeat.

'But I won't be weak anymore… I'll do what I have to' she finished.

'Good! Do it for both our sakes' the voice finished.

Asuka hesitated as she noticed him trying to hide the fact he was crying. She felt hatred building up towards herself for what she was about to do, but for her it was the better of two evils, it was this or something far worse in the future.

"Hey! Come back here scheisskopf!" Asuka yelled at him through anger as she crawled towards him and pulled one of his legs making him trip.

"Oww! Let me go!" he demanded as he struggled with the red head's hand on his leg.

Asuka held onto him tightly, she knew what she had to do. 'I'm so sorry Shinji! It's better for the both of us like this' she thought as she looked at him.

Shinji stopped struggling and looked away from her penetrating gaze, he didn't want her to see him crying. The boy wiped his face and began to restrain the tears again as he looked back at her.

Without wasting any time Asuka let go of his leg and crawled on top of him before he could even react. Her head moved closer as she whispered something in his ear.

"I… I hate you. There is no way…" she hesitated "There is no way a girl like me Woul… Would ever end up with someone like you" she said blankly while feeling a strange pain inside her.

Shinji had just been decimated, it's amazing what a few words can do to a man. His neck had tightened and he was finding it hard to breathe as he reviewed the words over and over in his mind.

'Why did she have to say that?!' he questioned his mind.

'Wasn't it enough she rejected me earlier?!' he asked grudgingly.

'Why!?' he thought as his frustration was building up.

'Why would you fucking say that to me?!' hate arising from the frustration.

'WHY!?' yelled a furious Shinji in his mind.

'I fucking hate YOU!' Shinji thought as he looked at her once more disgusted by her behavior.

He couldn't hold back anymore and let his tears out. She had crossed the line and he was starting to hate her sight, he was starting to hate her.

"Fine" he said in a quiet but irate manner as he shoved her off and got up.

Shinji walked towards the door and wiped his tears on the way, upon reaching it he then turned around and gave the red head a smirk.

"If you truly feel that way, I won't bother you anymore" he said smoothly and soon afterwards walked out the room.

As he walked out the room he slid the door shut, immediately afterwards he heard her discharge phrases in German he could only guess were insults aimed at him.

Shinji felt worse than how he did a few nights ago when Asuka had gone on a date with one of Hikari's friends. At least back then she hadn't crushed his feelings entirely, now the words she had said still haunted his thoughts and he felt a pit in the bottom of his stomach every time he recalled them.

Shinji stood behind her door for a couple of minutes thinking while some tears managed to find their way down his cheek, he didn't fully understand how such a lovely morning had turned out so destructive towards him. He didn't want to be around her, not anymore, he needed to leave.

Shinji walked into his room, stripped off the clothes he had on, got a towel and then headed into the bathroom. As he closed the door behind him he got a glimpse of himself on the mirror, both his cheeks had the imprints of hands on them and his left cheek also had a small cut, but it was nothing serious, at least compared to the emotional damage he had sustained.

After cleansing the wound, he took a cold shower. He got Goosebumps as the first drops of cold water made contact with his skin. It felt as if he had been dreaming the whole fight and the cold water was waking him up.

He stood inactive for a few minutes, letting the cold water coat him as his mind raced. He felt stupid, Asuka had been unapologetic with her words, and he still couldn't get her out of his mind. Despite her crushing his feelings, he cared for her but that didn't mean he was going to allow her hurt him any longer, the best thing he could do, was forget about her.

Shinji needed to be distracted to prevent further thinking of said topic. He proceeded to close the faucet, dry up and exit the bathroom.

When he stepped in the hallway he looked over at Asuka's room, it seemed every time they fought the hallway grew in length creating a void between them, a void Shinji had tried to close the very same morning but failed miserably.

After a moment, Shinji looked away from her room went straight into his to get dressed. Soon after he finished changing he saw the shirt and jean he'd wore when he first kissed Asuka. The sight angered him as mixed emotions started flowing through him again, not being able to stand it any longer he closed the closet, grabbed his SDAT, his wallet, his cell phone and headed out his room.

Shinji walked over to the kitchen to prepare breakfast and noticed a small note on the counter from Misato.

Sorry guys had to leave early in the morning to finish some paperwork, I'll see you later. Don't do anything naughty!

'Never going to happen, don't worry' he thought as he read the last part.

He shrugged at the note and left it on the counter before preparing a quick meal for himself and pen-pen. When finished he sat down by the kitchen table to eat, however his appetite had shrunk and he found himself staring at the food.

Shinji couldn't explain the sudden loss of appetite, this had never happened to him, but to be fair, he'd also never experienced a heart break either.

Shinji picked up his breakfast and placed it in the microwave oven, he also left a note on the kitchen table for Asuka.

Asuka breakfast is in the microwave oven

'No point in throwing out perfectly good food' he thought.

Shinji finished tidying up the kitchen and headed out, he stopped by the hallway to glance at Asuka's room one more time, there was no sound emanating from there.

'One day I'll be on the other end of the spear' he thought as he continued walking towards the front door.

Shinji left the apartment and headed of into the city, the streets were packed, he saw a lot of teens his age, even some from his school.

Shinji had been walking for around thirty minutes when he heard his phone ring. He pulled the device out his pocket and answered.

"Hello?" Shinji answered.

"Hey Shinji, what's up? Didn't see you at school yesterday, everything ok?" asked a voice he immediately recognized as Touji's.

"Yeah I was feeling a bit sick…" Shinji confessed.

"Oh I see, well are you doing something today?" his friend asked.

Shinji didn't know what to respond, he wasn't particularly enjoying walking around aimlessly, much less alone, but he wasn't sure he wanted his friends to see him in the state he was.

"Well I'm not sure, it's… complicated" Shinji responded.

"Listen Shinji there is a girl that's been asking about you, she's from 2-B, rumor is she likes you! Shinji you sly dog!" his friend said teasingly.

Shinji blushed at the thought, he wondered who it was.

"Oh… amm… well I… I don't know… I didn't think anyone liked me" Shinji said timidly.

"Nonsense! Listen she's going to be in the theaters by the mall today with some friends, we should go" his friend said trying to convince him.

"Errm… Listen… I do-" he mumbled.

"Is the Eva unit-01 pilot really chickening out?" Touji asked mockingly.

"What! No way!" he shouted.

"Really? Because that's what it seemed like for a second" he taunted.

"Fine I'll go…" Shinji said reluctantly.

"Great! We are all here now so hurry up!" Touji said joyfully.

"Wait what? You're already the-" Touji had hung up.

Shinji stayed motionless trying to recap what he had just gotten himself into, he was intrigued about the girl but why would she like him? And why was Touji already there? He figured it was some sort of prank, but anything was better than walking around depressed all day.

After a few seconds he shrugged and headed towards the mall.

Back at the apartment

Asuka had started pouring tears the minute she heard the front door close, she felt horrible about what she had said to Shinji, but she had convinced herself it was her only choice.

It took her a few minutes to stop sobbing, she didn't want to feel like this, but she knew it was temporary. Her idea was that if she pretended she didn't care in time she would indeed, not care, and thus the great Asuka Langley Sohryu would return as she originally was.

Not wasting anymore time sulking Asuka got on her feet and made her way to the bathroom. As she walked inside she noticed the garbage can filled with tissues covered in stains of blood.

'What a weakling' she thought and chuckled.

"Well, it only serves that perverted freak right. Hmpft!" she said out loud as she slid the door shut and undressed.

She stepped in the shower and turned the knob, suddenly a loud shriek was heard throughout the apartment building. Asuka's heart beat had increased as she cowered in a corner of the shower. The water was freezing cold.

"Shinji you IDIOT!" she screamed at the top of her lungs as she trembled.

Asuka stood idle in the corner trying to muster enough courage to jump in, she hated cold water, and her guess was that this had something to do with Shinji's revenge for breaking his heart.

Finally after a few minutes of internal debate, she felt ready to jump into the cold water. Another loud shriek was heard through the apartment.

A few minutes passed and Asuka didn't mind the cold water anymore, at first it had felt like needles pelting her skin, but now, it felt refreshing, like she was washing down her problems with the frosty water.

After a few minutes she turned the knob to close the faucet and stood there dripping wet thinking about him. She felt confused again, earlier she had convinced herself she was doing the right thing, now she wasn't so sure she had.

"Of course I did the right thing… I… I'm the great Asuka Langley Sohryu… I don't need him" she whispered doubtingly.

Asuka then looked at the basket with tissues covered in blood. She felt a little remorse for slapping so hard and lowered her head.

'I… I did what I had to do' her mind stated trying to comfort her.

Asuka now feeling reassured of her actions stopped worrying and dried herself up before exiting the bathroom. As she walked over to her room she snuck a peek at his and remembered how she had taken care of him the day before.

Asuka began to feel strange again and decided to look away, however it was far too late, she had already recalled how she felt when she had been so close to him, that warmth she felt, how her heart had started beating faster and how his lips had seem so tempting.

Asuka was feeling warm again, she clenched both legs as heat emanated from her private region.

'No! Stop it! He's a nobody!' she screamed in the inners of her head as she rejected everything she feeling.

Asuka needed to leave the house immediately, everywhere she looked there was something that reminded her of him. She quickly got dressed and called Hikari.

The phone rang several seconds before someone answered.

"Hikari?" said Asuka questioningly.

"Hey Asuka!" her friend answered happily as it was a rare thing for Asuka to call her.

"Hey Hikari" Asuka replied.

There was an awkward silence between the two.

"So…" Hikari started "can I help you with something Asuka?".

"Err… Yeah… Want to go to the mall or something?" she asked her friend.

"Sure! That'd be great" her friend said getting excited.

Asuka smiled as she heard her friend getting excited about going to the mall.

"Well how about we meet up in an hour?" Asuka said in friendlier voice.

"Alright, but where do you want to meet up?" her friend asked curiously.

"Hmmm… Let's meet by main fountain in centre of the mall" Asuka finished.

"Okay see you then Asuka!" Hikari said as she hung up.

Asuka put her phone down and heard a grumble from her stomach.

'Scheisse I'm starving' she thought as she headed towards the kitchen.

Asuka noticed something on the kitchen table as she entered the kitchen, it was a note.

Asuka breakfast is in the microwave oven

'Well at least he isn't completely useless' Asuka thought and smiled.

She headed to the microwave oven to get her breakfast and saw another note by the counter.

'What is this? Leave a note day… Geez' she thought frustrated as she read it.

Sorry guys had to leave early in the morning to finish some paperwork, I'll see you later. Don't do anything naughty!

The idea resonated in her mind and she started to feel hot again, in her mind there were all these images of him and her, doing things, things they shouldn't do.

"Stop it! You don't like him! He's a dork and a wimp!" she reminded herself by yelling loudly.

That being finished she took her breakfast out and ate. The food wasn't bad, but it definitely didn't live up to the standards Shinji had, still the red head ate it in less than a minute.

'Thank's for the Scheisse food Shinji…' she thought.

She left the plate in the sink and headed to the bathroom to brush her teeth, it took her about five minutes to finish readying up. Before leaving she took some money from Shinji's stash and said goodbye to pen-pen who was snoring on the sofa.

The Katsuragi residence was now void of all humans.

Meanwhile at the Tokyo-3 mall movie theaters

Shinji had been reluctant to come at first, a lot had happened that morning and he felt awful, however he saw this as a means to get his mind of the red head. She had been pretty clear there was no scenario where she and Shinji could be together and the more he thought about it, the more he was beginning to believe her.

It took him several minutes to get from the entrance of the mall to the movie theaters, but once he got there he couldn't find his friend Touji. As he roamed around the area looking for his friend Shinji heard someone call his name.

"Shinji over here!" shouted a girl.

Shinji quickly turned around and saw a girl by the entrance to the movie theaters. He swore he had seen her somewhere before, but wasn't sure where.

The girl's light green eyes glistened, and her bangs which were combed in order to partially conceal one eye swayed left and right as she drew near him.

Shinji found this girl to be extremely attractive, he found it hard to believe that he couldn't remember someone like her, it just didn't make any sense. The girl's gaze was firm and piercing, she didn't take her eyes off him for a second as she closed the remaining distance between them.

When she was finally close enough to him she greeted him, after all this whole time they had been staring at each other and not said a word.

"Hello Shinji Ikari, I've been dying to meet you" she said with a smile as Shinji blushed at her comment.

"Me?" He asked surprised.

"Yeah silly!" she responded and giggled "You're Tokyo-3's hero, everyone wants to meet you" she refined.

"Oh… Umm… Thank you" he said shyly.

"No, thank you Shinji, for doing what you do" she said placing her hand on his shoulder.

Shinji felt himself blush again "have… Have we met before?" he asked her trying no to sound rude.

"Oh forgive me! I'm Asami, I go to school with you and it was me that told Touji to invite you" she replied and giggled once more as she took her hand off him.

"Yeah, I knew I had seen you somewhere before" he confessed now feeling more comfortable to talk.

"I'm in 2-B, I see you most times during lunch break. You're always with that other pilot, the one with red hair" she added.

Shinji looked down as he remembered what she had told him that morning.

'I'll never be good enough for her, I just need to move on' he thought.

Asami had noticed his attitude changed when she mentioned Asuka but didn't say anything.

"So… do you know where Touji is?" Shinji said changing subjects.

"Yeah him and the rest entered to see a movie already" she replied ominously.

"Oh… How come you're still here?" Shinji asked curious to know.

"You ask silly things, I was waiting for you Shinji" Asami said and her cheeks turned pinkish.

Shinji found it difficult to reply, and he was pretty sure his cheeks were rose colored too but finally after a few seconds of timid stares and blushed cheeks Shinji broke the silence.

"Well, I'm here now" he said smiling.

"You sure are! Come on let's go inside!" Asami said eagerly as she grabbed his hand and led him inside the theater.

As they approached the ticket line, Shinji noticed the movies on display. There wasn't particularly anything that interested him, so he gave Asami the pick.

"So what do you have in mind?" Shinji asked the beautiful brunette next to him.

"Well… I like the horror film about the haunted mirror, it seems intriguing" she responded sincerely.

"Ok let's watch that one then" Shinji replied smiling.

It took them about five minutes to get their tickets and another ten to get some refreshments, Shinji having not eaten breakfast that morning ate most of his snacks as they walked to their screening room.

Upon entering their screening room they noticed that they were the only ones there, this made Shinji feel a little uncomfortable but he didn't say anything. They sat down on their designated seats as a message popped on the screen.

The movie will begin momentarily, please turn off all your electronic gadgets and enjoy the film

Doing as the message said both teens turned of their phones and waited quietly until Asami spoke out.

"It's cold in here Shinji" she said as she crossed both arms over her chest.

"Oh… I'm sorry. What can I do?" Shinji asked innocently.

"Here just… let me…" Asami said as she removed the armrest between their seats and cuddled up to him.

"Hey… Wha-" Shinji started saying before Asami cut him off.

"There we go, I'm not cold anymore" Asami said smiling at the young boy whose cheeks resembled tomatoes.

The brunette had placed one hand over his chest and rested her head against his shoulder.

"I don't think tha-" Shinji was beginning to say before the movie began.

"Shh Shinji, no talking during the movie" Asami said admonishing him before letting out a few giggles.

Shinji gulped and tried to concentrate on the movie, but something about her reminded him of Asuka, and he liked that.

Some time later in another part of the Tokyo-3 mall

Asuka had met up with Hikari by the fountain and they were now browsing the different shops the mall had to offer, to Asuka it was like Christmas because with Shinji's stash she was happily buying everything she desired.

As they left the fourth shop they had visited that day Asuka's stomach growled hungrily, Hikari noticed and suggested they'd better eat lunch before continuing their shopping spree, Asuka agreed and they headed to the food court, after all it was already one in the afternoon.

Once arrived at their destination they discussed what to eat and settled on European, the only problem was that there few European restaurants in the mall, and the lines were pretty extensive.

After standing in line for what seemed like an eternity they both ordered their meals and sat down by a nearby table.

"Tokyo-3 needs more European restaurants" sighed Asuka as she rested her legs on an empty chair next to her.

"Yeah… So Asuka did you find him?" Hikari asked changing the subject.

"Find who?" questioned Asuka raising an eyebrow at Hikari.

"Shinji, you were looking for him yesterday remember?" Hikari said trying to remind her.

"Uggh! Can we just not talk about that baka" Asuka requested as her face showed disgust for the topic.

"What happened?" Hikari asked worriedly.

"Shinji was being stupid again, that's what happened" Asuka said frowning.

"Hey…" said Hikari as she took Asuka's right hand "we're friends, you can talk to me about these things" she finished and smiled at Asuka.

Asuka stayed quiet and looked away, she had completely forgotten about him until now. She was feeling that pain again, the one from this morning. If she kept thinking about him, she would break down and cry, she had to change the subject.

"I'll tell you but first you have to tell me about you and Touji" Asuka teased and smirked.

"What!?" Hikari answered "Asuka listen the-" she was cut off by Asuka.

"Come on everyone knows you two have a thing" she said teasing her more.

"No! it's not like that.. I just make him his lunch" said Hikari who seemed upset now.

Asuka noticing her friend's reaction tried to cheer her up.

"You know he likes you right?" Asuka asked her friend smiling.

"Do.. Do you really think so?" Hikari asked hopeful the answer would be yes.

"No.. I know so, everyone knows Hikari. Me personally I don't see what you see in him" Asuka confessed.

"Well, it's hard to explain.." Hikari replied as she scratched her head trying to figure out how she could explain.

"Tell me about i-" Asuka covered her mouth before she could say anymore.

At this Hikari stopped scratching her head and had a scheming look in her eyes.

"What's the matter Asuka? Having the same problem with Shinji?" Her friend teased as her and laughed.

"Shut up! I don't like that twerp!" Asuka hoarse at her friend who just kept laughing.

"I never said you liked him" Hikari said mocking her voice.

"I don-" Asuka stopped as she saw the very same person of the topic walking around with another girl.

Hikari noticed her friend stare deeply at something behind her, she turned around and saw Shinji holding hands with a girl she didn't recognize, they were waiting in line to order some food at a nearby restaurant.

A few minutes earlier in the Tokyo-3 movie theater

Shinji and Asami had stepped out the screening room after the movie was over, to his surprise he had really enjoyed it, but he thought it shouldn't have been classified as a horror film, more like a psychological thriller.

Even thought she had cuddled up to him in the seat, nothing else had really happened, they watched the movie silently and discussed the rather strange ending afterwards.

Shinji didn't understand, he had that beautiful girl so close to him, yet he hadn't experienced the same things as when it had been Asuka, but when he thought of Asami as Asuka, everything changed, he experienced the warmth, and his heart beat faster all the strange sensations and feelings were back. Asami of course had noticed this, and asked him if he was ok, to which he responded by blaming the movie saying it had scared him. She giggled at his confession and then continued cuddling with him.

As they stepped outside the cinema Shinji turned on his phone and called Touji. The phone rang several seconds before someone finally answered.

"Hello" answered his friend

"Hey it's Shinji" Shinji replied.

"Oh hey Shin-man! Soooo? How was the date?" Touji asked teasingly.

Shinji looked over at Asami, blushed and then looked elsewhere.

"Shut up Touji! Where are you?" Shinji asked irritated.

"Calm down Shin-man, we're at the arcade, we've been here a while actually…" Touji responded.

"Ok well, we're going to eat something and we'll see you there" Shinji said.

"Oh? Another date is i-" Touji's phrase cut off by the sound of Shinji hanging up.

Shinji hung up and then turned to Asami.

"They're at the arcade, if you want we can go eat first before joining them" Shinji offered.

"Ok, lets go" She said as she grabbed Shinji's hand and led him to the food court.

It took them a few minutes to make it to the food court and once there they saw how cramped it was, most of the restaurants had long lines behind the register, but the longest lines could be seen in the European joints.

They both looked around wondering where to buy.

"What are you hungry for Asami?" Shinji asked.

"I'm really not sure, whatever will suffice" Asami said smiling.

"Well then let's just go to the place with the shortest line" Shinji suggested.

"Hmmm… they all seem the same to me" Asami noted.

"No wait! Look there!" Shinji said pointing to a restaurant with an eight person line.

"Come on let's hurry!" Asami said as she began running and tugging Shinji behind her.

Shinji almost fell at her first tug but managed to keep up until they reached the end of the line. He was surprised there weren't more people making the line, it was definitely the shortest one in the food court.

'I hope the food here is good' Shinji said mentally.

As they got nearer to the register Shinji noticed Asami relatively quiet.

"Are you ok Asami?" Shinji asked the brunette next to him.

"Well.. I.. I just… I want to ask you something Shinji" she said timidly as he looked into his eyes.

"Go ahead Asami, I'll do my best to answer it" he smiled as he said this.

"Is there something between you and Asuka?" Asami asked troubled.

Shinji's smile was gone, he wasn't sure how to respond even though Asuka had given him the answer to that question the very same morning.

Shinji's lips trembled as he said "no there isn't".

"Ok, because there is something I want to give you Shinji" Asami said cheerfully.

Shinji looked up to meet her gaze, they were both standing really close to each other. He didn't understand why he was feeling this pleasant to be around a girl he'd just met a few hours ago, but he didn't mind it either.

"What is- hmmhmm" Shinji's sentence ended in muffled words as he Asami kissed him.

In a matter of seconds it went from a superficial kiss to a deep kiss, both explored each other's mouth thoroughly as their tongues rubbed against each other and swapped saliva, muffled moans could be heard from each of them as they continued.

From a distance the two girls on a shopping spree saw the exchange of saliva, Asuka didn't say a word, she just kept looking, it seemed the kiss was becoming more passionate as time progressed.

Asuka saw when Shinji placed both hands on the girls face and took charge of the kiss, she could see they were both enjoying it. Her eyes became watery and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Not being able to handle watching anymore Asuka stood up wobbly, her hands trembled as she picked up her shopping bags and made the occasional sniff as she began to walk away.

"Asuka wait!" Hikari said standing up and reaching for her.

Hikari pulled Asuka into a comforting hug and Asuka embraced it. She stood there, her head buried in her friend's shoulder as her feelings resurfaced once more. She had lied to herself, all this time, she really did care for him, and now it was too late.

Her sobs died down, Asuka was enraged, and she felt anger coursing through her body.

"Don't look anymore Asuka" Hikari warned her.

She disobeyed and looked once more, the kiss had already been broken off and Shinji was holding her hand while they waited in line.

"It's not like I care!" she shouted at her friend while the last of tears slid down her cheeks.

"Asuka calm down! Please!" Hikari begged her.

"I.. I don't care about him" she yelled again in tears as she broke off her friend's embrace.

"Asuka here" Hikari said wiping her friend's tears "let's just go somewhere else" she proposed as she walked away with a broken down Asuka.

Back at the line, Asami and Shinji were getting ready to finally order their food. Neither of them had noticed the spectacle produced by the red head on the other side of the food court.

Shinji was confused, it didn't occur to him why on earth Asami would give him THAT as a gift, it confused him even more the fact she seemed so calm about it.

"Asami?" Shinji said quietly.

The brunette turned her head to look at him directly in the eyes.

"What is it Shinji?" she asked giggling.

"Umm.. Wha.. What was that all about?" he asked her nervously.

"Shinji are you really that silly? Do you honestly not know?" Asami said sounding sincere.

"Well.. I.. uh… Should I know?" he asked confused.

"Shinji I.." Asami took a deep breath "I like you" she confessed blushing.

Shinji felt the heat in cheeks, but he wasn't sure what to say, he felt attracted to Asami and he liked her personality or at least what he'd seen up to now, but Asuka was still on his mind.

There's no way a girl like me could ever end up with someone like you

Shinji was determined to forget her, and he had to admit he'd felt good being with Asami, he had to admit he was beginning to like her.

"Asami.. I.. I.. think I like you too" Shinji admitted as his cheeks blushed and she pulled him in for another kiss this one more passionate than the previous.

Author's notes: Ok, this was really long chapter, it was originally around 40 pages in MS Word so I decided to cut it and make chapter 4 a direct continuation including some parts from the final pages of chapter 3.

On that note, you might get a new chapter every two weeks, my semester just started and it's time to put my nerdy pants on. Thanks to those who offered to read my drafts, I will include your Nick names or names if you wish in the next one.

About this chapter: From Asuka's POV. Asuka has a persona, it's the one we are first introduced in the aircraft carrier, we'll call it "The Great Asuka Langley Sohryu". Why do we call it persona? Because it's not the real Asuka, the real Asuka is little girl that has very complex family issues, similar to the ones Shinji has.

What happens in this chapter? There seems to be indication that Asuka does like Shinji, not only in this story but in the show as well. In this story what prevents the two from really bonding is always her persona. Shinji had been reaching out to her, and he'd gotten rejected twice now.

Asuka's persona is ultimately what keeps the two from being shipped right here, good thing too because then it'd be boring. Remember we have to remove Asuka's persona and get rid of Shinji's… well there is a lot to work on. I really only saw two ways of making that persona crumble, putting Shinji in a life threatening situation or making her realize what it would be if Shinji stopped paying her attention. In both cases the term "Never know what you have until you loose it" comes to play.

Asami, I know most of you are probably wondering why she appeared so fast, and who the hell she is or why in the fuck she kissed him like that but it's explained in the next chapter which has some parts the original chapter 3.

I appreciate any review and thank you all for reading, this has been a really fun hobby.

Yours truly,

JCM.