NOTE: This chapter takes place immediately following chapter 1; "Thunderstorm". There was some confusion about that so I figured I'd put this little notice up here for first time readers

Chapter 9: Synch tests


The next morning...

Asuka awoke, her eyes snapping open as her alarm began beeping noisily.

Ugghhhh... Not enough sleep..., she thought to herself as she slowly sat up in her bed and rubbed her forehead, What kept me up so late?...

She turned and threw her legs off the bed, only to have her feet impact with a warm lump on the floor.

"What the...", she asked quietly as she leaned over to see exactly what was under her feet. She saw what appeared to be a bundle of blankets and sheets. She went to grab at them when she noticed the bundle moving up and down, as though it were breathing. She immediately recoiled, stifling a scream as she did.

She looked around the room to Ayanami's bed to make sure she hadn't woken the girl, and reached back down to the bundle. Grabbing hold of one of the corners, she counted to three and yanked.

Her eyes grew wide as she caught sight of what was under the blankets.

"Baka? Shinji?", she was barely able to restrain herself, "What in the hell are yo..."

She paused as the events of the previous night came flooding back. The thunderstorm... Rei's nightmare and her subsequent breakdown, and... Shinji...

A single tear made its way down her cheek as she remembered everything that had transpired. Curious, she rearranged herself so as to be able to reach down to the boy. Slowly, she moved her hand towards the boys' ear. She noticed the earbud of his SDAT player was plugged firmly into his ear as she brushed aside the small tuft of hair in her way and saw the scratch that her nails had left there.

"Shinji... I... I'm sorry...", she whispered quietly, wiping at her eyes with her other hand.

Suddenly, Shinji shifted and began mumbling. Asuka quickly withdrew her hand and laid back down, her heart racing.

Close... Too close...

After a few tense moments of staring at the ceiling and trying to slow her heartbeat, she noticed that Shinji was no longer mumbling. She slowly rolled over and, slowly leaning forward, dared another look at the boy. She froze when she caught sight of his eyes, which were open... And staring... At her.

"Sorry about what, Asuka?", said Shinji quietly, a small smile on his lips.

Crap crap crap! This is not good..., Asuka thought quickly, trying to come up with an answer but failing to do so. She lay there, staring at Shinji for several moments before he became uncomfortable.

"Ummm... Asuka? You alright?", he spoke up, a slight tone of concern in his voice.

Asuka, finally broken of her mental deadlock, immediately reverted back to her default demeanor.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, BAKA-SHINJI?", she bellowed as she threw back her covers and jumped out of bed, "What are you doing, trying to take advantage of a sweet, innocent girl, you pervert?"

Before Shinji could respond, he found himself being dragged by his feet into the hallway. He tried to break free but the redhead had an iron grip around his ankles. He finally managed to form a coherent response and voiced his protest quite loudly.

"Asuka...! What the hell did I do?", he yelled as she dumped him in the hallway before re-entering her room, "Answer me, dam.."

He was cut off as Asuka threw his bedding into the hallway, catching him squarely in the face.

"Ummphh! Asuka... What is wrong with you?", Shinji yelled, throwing the blankets back at her. He began to say something else when she slapped him.

"What is wrong with me?", she yelled, placing her hands on her hips, "I'm not the one sneaking into girls' rooms and trying to take advantage of them!"

"But I...", he tried to respond before being cut off yet again, this time by Asuka's door slamming firmly in his face. He stared at the door for a few moments, before shaking his head and making his way back to his room.

As soon as the redhead was safe behind the door, she immediately dropped to her knees.

Dammit Asuka!, she whispered angrily to herself, her hands wringing the hem of her nightshirt, Every time you have an opportunity to show Shinji you actually care, you go and fuck it up! Why can't you just tell him, damn you! Just tell him yo...

"Asuka? Who are you talking to?"

The redhead froze in mid sentence, her head snapping around to find the source of the question sitting up in her bed, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"I.. I wasn't talking to anyone!", Asuka yelped as she felt her cheeks go red.

Not again! Come on, Asuka... Stop thinking out loud!

"But... I heard you talking...", said Rei as she shook the last vestiges of sleep from her mind, pausing as she noticed Shinji's SDAT player laying on the floor behind Asuka.

"Was... Was Ikari-kun in here?", she asked, her eyes growing slightly wide before she also remembered the events of the previous evening. She smiled warmly as everything came back to her, "Oh... That's right..."

"Well, I'm sure glad you're taking all this in stride!", Asuka yelled at the blue-haired girl, "I, for one, am not exactly comfortable with the thought of what he might have done while we were asleep! You know how boys our age are! Perverts, the lot of them!"

"But, Asuka...", Rei spoke up, confused, "If I remember correctly, you were the one who was adamant about him staying in here with us last night..."

Asuka froze for a moment as the memory came back.

Crap... She's right, she thought to herself, I did beg him to stay in here after we'd all calmed down... And then I had to go and throw him out this morning like I usually would. No wonder he was so confused...

Rei was about to say something when there came three quick knocks on their door, followed by said door being flung open. Asuka was about to scream at Shinji for having no sense of courtesy when she noticed the purple hair and the distinctly feminine bathrobe on the intruder.

"Good morning!", Misato chirped cheerfully, her hair still damp from the shower, "And how are my girls this beautiful day?"

"I am wonderful, Misato", Rei responded, smiling warmly.

"I'm good", Asuka added quickly before getting up and heading for the bathroom.

"What's up with her?", Misato asked as she heard the shower turn on.

"I am not entirely sure, Misato...", Rei replied, "I woke up to find her sitting on her knees in front of her door. It appeared as though she may have been crying at some point."

"Crying? Do you think it might have been related to last night?", Misato asked, her eyes squinting as though in thought.

"Well, I did find Ikari's tape player on the floor behind her", Rei added, "I inquired as to why Shinji would have been in here before I recalled the events of last night. Asuka seemed to be upset that Shinji had been in here with us all night."

Misato tilted her head, a quizzical look on her face.

"But wasn't she the one who practically demanded he..." she half asked, half stated.

"Yes. I brought up that fact, and she seemed to go into a daze for a moment", Rei continued, "I was going to ask what was the matter, but that was when you opened the door."

"Hmmm...", was all Misato could think to say at the moment.

That girl... I don't think I'll ever truly understand her, she thought to herself, Now I understand how poor Shinji feels...

Shinji... Asuka... No... It can't be... I mean, I know she can be a bit of a flirt, and Shinji is a very caring person, but...

Her thoughts were interrupted as Rei spoke up.

"Misato?"

"Yes, Rei?"

"You don't think that... Asuka might have romantic feelings for Shinji, do you?"

Misato looked at Rei, shocked at what she had just heard. She still wasn't completely used to Rei being so open, so this statement caught her completely off guard.

"Well... I.. No.. I don't...", Misato stammered before regaining her composure, "To be honest, the thought had crossed my mind, but I guess I just brushed it off... But now that you mention it..."

She was about to continue when she became aware that the shower was no longer running.

"Now that you mention what, Misato?", Asuka asked, still toweling off her hair as she squeezed past her into the room, "What were you guys talking about?"

Misato and Rei looked at each other, their eyes growing wide.

"Ummm... Nothing, Asuka!", Misato yelped quickly before turning and exiting the room, "I'd better go get Shinji up so we can have breakfast."

"Okkayyyy...", said Asuka suspiciously before turning to Rei, "Alright, Wondergirl, Spill it. What were you two talking about?"

Rei began to stammer, trying to make up something to tell the redhead. Failing to do so, she resorted to Plan B.

"Oh... Hello Asuka, I need to go take a shower!"

With that, she jumped from her bed and ran past Asuka and towards the bathroom. Shinji walked out of his room as she did so and nearly knocked into the girl.

"Sorry, Ikari-kun!", she yelped as she ran into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Neither of the other Children saw how red her face had become.

Phewww... That was too close..., she thought, wiping her forehead and smiling broadly before turning on the water.

Shinji, still reeling from being dragged into the hallway and slapped by Asuka, stood in the hallway looking after Rei, his head tilted to one side.

I don't know why I'm still so confused, he thought to himself, I should be used to nothing around here making sense...

He chuckled at this and turned to head towards the kitchen. He stopped when he caught site of Asuka peeking down the hallway, her hair still in a towel.

Their eyes made contact for a moment before Asuka ducked back into her room and slammed the door. Shinji swore for a moment that he had seen a slight blush appear on her cheeks, but he dismissed the thought and headed into the kitchen.

In the time it took Rei and Misato to take their showers and get dressed, Shinji had managed to fill the apartment with the most wonderful assortment of smells. Bacon sat sizzling in a frying pan while sausages occupied another.

Asuka caught a whiff of this and quickly got dressed. As (wonderful) annoying as the boy could be (at least to her), there was no denying that his cooking skills were second to none. If not for him, she would have no doubt been forced to choke down whatever culinary abominations Misato would have prepared.

"Hmmph... At least he's good for something...", Asuka muttered quietly as she put on her house slippers and headed for the kitchen.

She found Misato and Rei already chowing down as she entered the dining room and sat down.

"Good morning, Asuka", Shinji spoke cheerfully from his post at the stove before turning around, a plate of food in his hand, "Here ya go... Just like you like it."

Thanking him with her customary grunt, Asuka dug in. She had to stop herself from moaning out loud in delight at the first bite. For some reason, today's breakfast was especially delicious. She was about to say something when Misato beat her to it.

"Shinji...", she spoke up, "Did you do something different this morning? I mean, your cooking is always good... But this... This is extraordinary!"

"I agree, Ikari-kun...", added Rei, "You have truly outdone yourself, wouldn't you agree Asuka?"

"Yeah.. It's pretty good...", came the subdued reply.

Rei and Misato looked at Asuka, and then to each other, their eyes both saying the same things.

Something's definitely up with Asuka... Maybe her and Shinji sho...

They didn't have long to think, however, before Shinji came over to the table. He placed his plate beside Asuka's and sat down beside her. Completely oblivious to the deep shade of red her cheeks had turned, he began eating.

The rest of the meal went by in a slightly uncomfortable silence until Misato looked at the clock and cleared her throat.

"Well! I suppose you three should finish getting ready. There's a full day of synchro tests ahead of you, and we need to be at NERV in about an hour or so."

"Yes, Misato", came the reply in unison from the three Pilots.

As Misato got up from the table, she took one last look back at the table and saw how Asuka and Rei were sitting, both arms in their laps, faces looking at their empty plates.

Poor kids... They've got so much on their plates... Far more than anyone their age should have to deal with... I just wish we didn't have to ask so much from them...

NERV HQ

Uggghhhhh! I hate these things!", Asuka whined loudly as she sat fidgeting in her plug, "When are we going to get to the combat simulations, huh? I thought you said we were going to be doing those first thing, Misato."

Maya Ibuki grinned at this and turned to look at the Major sitting next to her.

"Bend the truth a little, did we?", the 1st Lieutenant asked, giggling slightly.

"Well, you know Asuka... It's hard enough making her follow orders as it is", Misato replied, an equal sized grin on her lips, "I knew if I had told her the complete truth, she would have probably never even come in today. It is technically their day off, after all..."

"Well, that may be...", Ritsuko added as she walked into the room, "But, after the whole Unit 03 debacle, Asuka's synch scores have been steadily declining. We need to figure out what's causing these drops and do something about it."

"Well, duh... I know that, Ritsy...", Misato responded as she looked at Maya and rolled her eyes, unbeknownst to Dr. Akagi, "I just think that maybe they deserve a day off. We've been doing this everyday for the last week and a half. Between this and school, I think the kids deserve a break."

Ritsuko purposefully wedged herself between Misato and Maya before she replied.

"Well then it's a good thing you're not the lead scientist in charge of analyzing all this data, isn't it? Otherwise, when the next Angel attacks, we'd be sending out only two and a half Evangelions."

Misato looked up at the bottle blond and saw the fake smile the woman had put on. She leaned back in her chair and stuck her tongue out. Maya saw this and began giggling.

"What? What's so fu...", said Ritsuko before she noticed where Maya was looking. When she turned to look for herself, she found Misato's face concealed by a manila folder.

She frowned before a beep from the console caught her attention. She reached up and pressed the general coms button.

"Alright you three, you're done for now. Excellent work."

This was met with excited groans from all three Pilots as they engaged their individual plug ejection sequences.

Ritsuko walked over and typed a series of commands into the terminal and waited while the program collected and collated the Pilots' synch data into an easily understood readout. Ritsuko stood looking over the printout for a few moments, her expression slowly changing from one of approval to one of concern and then to one of outright disbelief.

Misato watched this from her seated position, waiting for Ritsuko to speak up. When it became obvious that she was going to need a little prodding, Misato spoke up.

"Ummm... Ritsuko? There anything you want to tell us?", she asked, stifling a giggle as Ritsuko jumped slightly at the sound of her voice.

"Wha? Oh... Well, the results of the synch test are right here, and I'm not sure whether I should be pleased or disappointed...", she responded uncertainly.

"Wellll... In that case, lemme see then!", Misato exclaimed as she snatched the paper out of Ritsuko's hands.

"Hey! Wai..."

Ohhh... Wow...", Misato spoke slowly as she looked over the results, "Shinji's score is... Is phenomenal! 93.6%? That has be a record or something. And Rei... Her score has jumped 8 points since last time. But... Then there's this..."

She pointed to the name at the bottom of the page. Ritsuko immediately knew to whom she was referring to.

"Yes... Asuka's baseline has dropped yet again", she spoke up, the disappointment in her voice coming through loud and clear, "It's only by three points this time, but, still..."

"Her score was only 49.7%", Misato finished the sentence for her.

"But... How can she even pilot with a score as low as that?", asked Maya.

Ritsuko was about to answer when the door to the control room opened and the three Pilots walked in, fresh from their showers.

"As low as what?", Shinji asked as he took a seat at one of the terminals, Asuka taking the seat next to him as Rei stood on, still toweling her hair.

"Well... We've got the results back from the synch tests...", Ritsuko spoke up slowly.

Asuka visibly sank at this. She knew exactly what Ritsuko had to say, and she wasn't looking forward to it. Even while she was in the simulation plug, she knew she wasn't doing as well as she should have been. There was this intangible yet distinct feeling of distance from her Eva that she was definitely uncomfortable with, yet, nothing she did could shake it.

She had tried clearing her mind every time before she entered the simulation... It hadn't worked. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the memories of the past few weeks.

Unit 03...(Shinji...)

The hospital...(Shinji...)

The lake... (Shinji...)

The promise... (Shinji...)

A single tear threatened to make its way down her cheek before she wiped it away. She sniffled slightly and turned to look at Shinji.

That... Baka... Why can't I... DAMMIT!

Shinji heard the sniffle and turned to look at the girl. He moved his hand to place it on hers, but figured that it probably wasn't the best time.

Not right now..., he thought...

The two pilots turned back to Ritsuko as she continued reporting the results of the tests.

"I'm not sure how to put this, ummm...", the usually confident and well spoken doctor struggled to say, "But... Well, these scores are a little strange."

"What she means to say is that the scores are definitely interesting", Misato spoke up, "Shinji, you managed to break 93%, and in doing so breaking several records."

Shinji visibly brightened at this, but instantly felt a sense of unease come over him.

Ritsuko said the scores were strange, but mine were phenomenal... What can she mean by...

Asuka... Oh no... This isn't going to be pretty...

"Rei, your scores are up eight points since last time", Misato continued, "Your baseline was up to 75.6%. Well done."

A heavy silence fell on the group as Misato paused at the last name on the list. She rubbed the back of her neck, visibly uncomfortable.

"Ummm... Shinji, Rei..", she spoke quietly, "Could, umm.. Could you two leave the room for a minute? I would like to discuss this with Asuka in private."

Shinji obediently stood up and started for the door, only to be pulled back. He looked down and saw that Asuka had taken firm possession of his arm.

"N..No...", she spoke quietly, barely above a whisper, "I want... I want them to stay..."

"Asuka... Are you sure?", Misato asked, clearly stunned.

"Yes... I want them here...", she replied, pulling slightly on Shinji's arm. He looked up and over to Rei. She looked back to him, uncertain as to what she should do.

Shinji bowed his head for a moment before looking back to Asuka. She looked up at him, a distinct look of pleading on her face.

Shinji... If there is ever a time for you to have a backbone... Please, for my sake, let it be now...

Shinji let out a sigh and smiled warmly.

"Okay, Asuka...", he said, "I'll stay."

Asuka's eyes grew for a moment and she had to restrain herself from throwing herself at him and enveloping him in a hug.

"In that case, I will stay as well, Asuka...", Rei spoke up from where she was standing. She made her way over to the other two and sat down on the other side of Asuka. Shinji joined the two girls in sitting, Asuka never letting go of his arm.

Misato and Ritsuko stood, stunned at what had just transpired. Luckily, at least one of them were able to regain their composure and continue.

"Well then...", Misato spoke, perhaps a little too loudly, "Now that that's over, shall we continue?"

At this point, she reached over discreetly and pinched Ritsuko on the butt, eliciting a frightened squeal from the woman. The three Children jumped slightly at this and stared.

"Waddya say, Ritsy? You wanna wrap this up and tell Asuka her score?"

"Ohh.. Yes..", the blond doctor replied, rubbing the small welt on her rear as she did so, "Well, Asuka... Your scores, well... Your scores have been steadily declining these past few weeks, and today was no exception..."

Asuka involuntarily tightened her grip on Shinji's arm at the news.

"Just how low was it?, she inquired, afraid of hearing the actual number.

"49.7%"

The three Children all gasped simultaneously. Asuka tried to find a response, but found herself unable to get anything out. She was floored. The Great Asuka Langley Soryu... With a synch ratio of 49.7%? She hadn't had a score that low since the first time she had set foot in an Eva.

How is this possible? What the hell is wrong with me... Oh God... If I can't pilot...

She snapped back to reality when Shinji spoke up.

"But, Misato... How can that be possible? She's had more training than any of us!"

"We don't know, Shinji...", she replied, "Like I said, her scores have been steadily declining ever since the incident with Unit 03. The best we can figure is that there is some sort of mental... Disturbance, for lack of a better word, that is causing a disruption in the connection between Asuka and her Eva. We're not sure what it could be, though..."

"Well, maybe if you had asked...", Asuka grumbled quietly.

"Wait.. What? Asuka... We've been asking you if anything was wrong ever since we first started noticing your declining synch scores!", Misato retorted, slightly perturbed, "Every time we ask you, you tell us it's nothing. But, now we can see that it is obviously something. This score is an all time low across all three pilots. Shinji had a higher synch ratio when he fought Sachiel, and he had never set foot in an Evangelion before then!"

Shinji flinched at the mention of his first time in an Eva.

Not necessarily the best choice of words, Misato

But... Maybe she needs to hear this...

"Asuka...", Misato continued, "There is obviously something on your mind... Please... Just tell us what it is, and maybe we can help you resolve it. I've been asking you this for the last two weeks... So please... For your own good... Just tell us what's wrong..."

Shinji felt Asuka's hand tighten on his arm momentarily before she stood up.

"I don't know, okay!", she yelled, "I don't know what's wrong with me! Don't you think that I would have told you if I actually knew what I needed to say?"

Misato was about to reply when Asuka made a break for the door, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Asuka!", Shinji yelled after her, jumping up to follow her. He was stopped at the door by Misato clearing her throat.

"Shinji, I don't think that's the best thing to do at the moment..."

Shinji placed his hand on the door to the lab and lowered his head.

Come on, Shinji... For one time on your life... For her sake, have a backbone...

"I don't care, Misato...", he spoke quietly, the edge in his voice quite obvious.

Misato was quite pleased with his response, though she would never show it outwardly.

That's right, Shinji... Do this for you... Do this because it's what YOU want... Do this... For her...

Shinji turned around to continue arguing, but caught his tongue when he saw that Misato had managed to move across roughly 20 feet of floor space in the matter of a few microseconds and done so silently. She now stood before him and began speaking, her voice barely a whisper.

"Shinji...", she paused and smiled coyly, "That's what I wanted to hear."

Shinji looked at her, shocked, for a few moments before she continued.

"Go after her... She needs you... Don't let her convince you otherwise. Can you do that for me?"

A sudden look of indecisiveness crossed Shinji's face for a moment, but he quickly replaced it with one of dogged determination. He looked Misato dead in the eye and nodded before turning and running out of the room and after Asuka.

After the door had shut again, Misato smiled broadly.

Way to go, kiddo...