Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

Chapter 10

Balance Issues

The large laboratory was bathed in shadows, the only source of light was the super computer and there was only one message on the screen... "Error!"

It was incredibly painful to hear it.

Misato made it her life mission to exterminate the beings known as Angels, she was obsessed with it. So much that she was willing to send children to the battlefield so that they could kill her demons for her... It is necessary and there is no other way; that was what she told herself so that she could sleep at night, and yes, it was necessary the world was at stake. What really scared her was that she didn't hesitate as much as she should. She knew that she was possibly going to send Shinji and Asuka to their death the next day. Misato always thought that at the end of the battle there would be a sense of accomplishment. In the end, however, she was still Misato Katsuragi, the woman who drank herself to hell and back, she was still the woman who used to drown herself in men...

Shinji was the reason she kept pushing forward, he was the reason why she fought the need to run into a bar, drink all the alcohol in the place and take some random guy home with her. In the few months that they spent together he had changed her life in a way no other human being had. That was why she didn't want to see him go, she was being selfish again, but what of it?

And now she was, dare she say it? Happy. The Angels were gone and she was working so that their little improvised family could continue to exist. Asuka was awake and despite her attitude the redhead was a part of that family, Misato knew that deep down the redhead wanted to stay too. So why? Why did she have to find out that she would have to ask Shinji to pilot... That thing again?

"Major Katsuragi," Misato stopped glaring at the error message and slowly turned to face her superior "Until then we'll still need you to perform your duties and take care of the pilots. It's actually convenient that you've filed for the adoption of pilot Ikari. Don't leave him completely in the dark but it would be best not to tell him that he might have to pilot again."

"Yes sir..." frustration washed over her like waves along with an almost uncontrollable rage, she knew that it was wrong, and she knew that Shinji would probably break again. Asuka on the other hand might be happy to pilot, but after the last battle Misato was worried about what might happen... "Are you really sure? I would rather not-"

"That is exactly why I think you shouldn't tell them everything. It might not even happen," Fuyutsuki said emphasizing the word 'everything' "It might just be a bad joke and the worst thing the children will have to worry about is their next math test or their next date."

"Yes sir." even if the commander was trying to be reassuring it was clear that there was no way it would just be a bad joke... The Evas were already on stand-by and the UN doesn't just authorize such a massive budget for their repair without some kind of evidence.

"You seem exhausted Misato, please go home and rest." Ritsuko said looking far more exhausted than the major. Misato opened her mouth to protest but nothing came out, it would be useless to argue... Misato saw the commander walk away towards the door and decided it would be best to follow him and just go home sink her sorrows in some fresh beer.

xxx

Men and women rushed pass him looking for a last minute meal. It was always busy before dinner, there were a lot of people who didn't have time to cook after work, so they dropped by the store looking for some noodles or other kinds of instant food. That was why he never really went there at that time, but at the moment he just needed a place to think. Shinji kept staring at the cereal boxes, he had been doing that for a while.

A trip to the closest grocery shop usually took less than twenty minutes, yet he had been there for nearly half an hour. There was a reason for it though, he didn't know how to face her, he had told her to stay but the truth was that he didn't have any right to ask that of her, he didn't even understand Asuka's feelings at the moment. Asuka was a strong person and she would never allow others to see her as the victim, but the truth was that she was indeed the victim, the victim to his weakness... It was his fault that she was hurt, it was thanks to him that she would never feel anything her arm again.

'What right do I have to ask her to stay? Does she even want to stay while I'm here? I am the reason... Because of me... ' Shinji started doubting if he did the right choice by listening to Hikari's advice, no matter how sweet the class rep was Shinji doubted she had any kind of experience with this sort of things. Who would want to live with the person that caused them so much suffering? In a way he was afraid Asuka might even try to hit him. That was another thing that was getting to him; it wasn't like Asuka to act so calm, she would kick him in the face if he even dared to look at her funny...

He sighed. 'The bear in those cereal boxes sure looks happy...' It was time to go home, Misato should be back soon and he needed to get dinner ready.

Shinji bought a few items he knew were starting to run short and exited the store. He started to head home but something grabbed his attention, on the other side of the street was a girl wearing a school uniform.

"Rei-chan?" no matter how many girls there were wearing school uniforms at that time he was sure only one had light blue hair. The albino seemed to have noticed him too and started walking in his direction.

"Hello, Shinji-kun." the red eyed girl greeted him with her usual tone.

"Rei-chan, hi." Shinji greeted the albino trying to sound as normal as possible hoping that she would not see how he was truly feeling. Luckily the bluenette was immersed in her own thoughts and failed to read him, unlike Shinji who could see faint signs of confusion in Rei's face. "Something the matter?"

"I need to address major Katsuragi." her response was curt and final, much like the old Rei would have answered him. But at this point Shinji felt kind of strange to receive an answer like that from the albino. He would not pry further into her busyness, after all he was already mentally drained from his one-sided conversation with Asuka and asking someone about their intimate busyness was definitely a challenge the young cello player was not about to take. His social skills were limited and he was happy with just being friends with Rei, he wasn't about to destroy what he had built with her.

"Well I already bought what I needed and Misato should be back soon," Rei looked him in the eyes finally giving him her full attention. "So why don't we go to the apartment together and wait for her?"

The albino seemed to take her time to process the suggestion and examine Shinji's face making him blush lightly at the attention he was receiving from her. Eventually Rei, satisfied with the proposal, nodded and waited patiently for Shinji to lead the way.

Shinji and Rei walked a while in silence passing several shops and people until they reached a deserted street. It was already dark and the only things providing light were a small vending machine and a street lamp that was flickering, fighting to stay lit. Then he heard the almost angelic voice of his quiet companion.

"Shinji-kun..." he stopped in front of the vending machine, and looked back at Rei. She was again looking him straight in the eyes with an unreadable expression... But what was going on the albino's head was the last thing on his, because he was in a daze as he watched Rei illuminated by the faint light provided by the vending machine. It almost looked like she was under the moonlight. Her skin was pale as snow and her eyes glowed in a beautiful red. To say she looked beautiful would be an understatement.

'W-wait what are you thinking Shinji!' he thought suddenly coming out of his daze. It wasn't a crime to admire one's beauty but Shinji knew all too well that Rei was different, she might be beautiful but she was... Rei.

"Yes?" he responded curtly realizing he had been just staring at the albino for a while.

"You are acting strangely. Is my presence bothering you?" Shinji stared at her for a few more seconds and couldn't help but wonder... Was her presence bothering him? No. He was exhausted, scared to go home where Asuka was probably waiting to deck him. But he wasn't bothered by Rei's presence, if anything she was helping him, giving him support without knowing just by being there like a friend. He was still thinking about Asuka that was probably why the albino tought he was nervous.

"N-no, Rei-chan. I'm just a little tired..." Shinji looked away and tried to avoid a long and problematic conversation. He was indeed tired, if he was forced to put his frail social skills to the test again... No, right now just communicating seemed like a hard task so using 'social skills' was impossible. "Hmm... It's already getting late so let's hurry." Rei didn't seem satisfied with that so he paused and turned to face her again "It's almost dinner time and I'm cooking so... hmm s-since you're waiting why don't you stay for dinner? I-I mean... O-only if you want to of course!"

xxx

"What do you think sir?" the fake blond lit a cigarette and put it in her mouth "Misato cares a lot for Shinji. She cares for all of them, but mostly Shinji... I don't know if she will be a good soldier this time."

Fuyutsuki watched as the scientist blew a cloud of smoke and sighed. Misato was pretty outraged after she found out about SEELE and all the secrets that were kept last time, so much that her friendship with the good doctor was starting to fall apart. But he didn't need Misato to be a good soldier, he needed a pilot! And not just any pilot, he needed Ikari. Rei was capable of piloting but she never got great synchronization scores. Asuka, despite all the ruckus she made about being the best pilot, was easily surpassed. Then she crashed... And burned.

Shinji on the other hand, against all odds, became Nerv's ace pilot. It was his almost irrational chemistry with Unit 01 that allowed him to perform the impossible several times; Beating Sachiel the 3rd Angel with absolutely no training. Saving Nerv from certain annihilation at the hands of Zeruel the 14th Angel. Saving Rei from a virtually invulnerable Armisael and even more amazing, destroying the entire Eva Series preventing Third Impact in the process. Even if the others proved to be useless as long as they had Ikari there was a small glimmer of hope left for mankind.

This mission required a prepared Shinji Ikari. If Misato told him the plan all at once or if she gave him hints it was up to her, but Shinji was a fragile boy and if he was thrown into the battlefield without warning after he had been released from the chains of Eva... He would break. If she just told him everything out of nowhere he would also break, of that the commander was sure. But then, at least, he would have time to convince himself that there was no other way and hopefully he would be ready to pilot when the time came.

"We'll just have to hope that the major knows what the right choice is." he saw Ritsuko flashing worried glances at him as if he had said something out of this world.

"I think that its not th-" Ritsuko's eyes widened in shock and she dropped her cigarette.

At first the commander didn't get what had happened but after following her gaze he saw something on one of the screens of the computers that had been left on. It was small, but it was there.

"Success probability: 0,000000000000000000001%"

"Now this is... Surprising."

xxx

The redhead took her time to process the words of the idiot. There was no mistaking it, that had been a forced, yet honest, request for her to stay. Despite how much he feared her and how much guilt she brought upon him he still was dumb enough to ask her to stay. It was irrational, truly an action worthy of the idiotic Shinji. So why was she pondering it?

Was there a reason for her to stay? No matter how much she thought she couldn't come up with a reason that satisfied her. She should just say no and get on with her life away from Tokyo 3 the place where she was humiliated over and over again, the place where she was hurt more than once... The place where she met friends who despite her pride and competitive nature kept pushing to be friends with her... The place where an idiot who loved to cook and play the cello would take everything she threw at him and still tried to be her friend...

There was more bad than good when it came to her memories of Tokyo 3. But in the midst of all the pain and constant humiliation there were slight shards of light that made her think 'Should I stay?'

That brainless idiot was really a pain. His words, if anything, should infuriate her. Wasn't he the one who hurt her pride the most? Wasn't he the reason why she 'lost' her arm? Wasn't he the person who surpassed all her years of training in a few months? She was angry at him, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to hate him. She had tried, ever since he surpassed her she became more hostile and wanted nothing but to see him gone... Still, she couldn't say that she hated him...

Asuka sighed loudly. She should be ignoring him, she should be punching him, she should have kicked him out of her room at the hospital every time he dropped by. Instead here she was wondering what she should do because he asked her to stay.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to stay but... She wasn't sure if she wanted to leave either... 'Hikari would be making some kind of bad joke about me liking that idiot right about now...' Asuka glared at the invisible Hikari and looked at the clock. It was really starting to get late.

The redhead looked at the empty apartment and wondered where that stupid penguin was... That thing seemed only to show up when it wanted. As she cursed Penpen for leaving her alone the front door opened and Shinji walked in carrying a couple of bags. Asuka watched as he looked outside for a moment and then made his way inside. Confused at why he did that she decided to ignore his strange actions.

"It's about damn time you id-" as she was about to greet him in her normal fashion the redhead saw someone else entering.

"A-Asuka..." Shinji was looking at her as if trying to predict what her next move would be, but Asuka's attention wasn't on him, she was glaring at the girl standing next to the blue eyed boy.

'What the hell is the doll doing here?' she growled mentally.

Wondergirl had never 'dropped by for a friendly hello' unless Misato requested her to help with mission preparations, so why the hell was she here.. With Shinji of all people?

"Good afternoon Soryu-san." Rei greeted her politely.

"Rei needed-" she saw that Shinji was about to intervene and give some excuse for Rei's presence so she stopped him. Asuka didn't want to hear what the reason was, she was just pissed that he had gone out after trying to spit out some pretty speech and now was back with the doll... For some reason she couldn't explain her blood was boiling.

"Whatever! It's not like I care!" she growled menacingly "Just get dinner done, you've wasted enough time taking night walks with Wondergirl."

"I... N-no! I got late because there was a line-" he kept trying to explain and Asuka kept getting angrier, if he didn't want to shut up she would just have to do it for him.

"I told you I didn't care didn't I?" without giving Shinji a chance to come up with more useless explanations or apologies Asuka went to the living room and switched on the TV effectively ending the conversation.

Several minutes went by and the redhead couldn't help but be curious about what Wondergirl and Shinji were doing. They went to the kitchen after Shinji mumbled a silent "I'm sorry"and hadn't left since then. Misato's apartment was small... Pathetically small. But still Asuka couldn't tell what was going on in the kitchen.

'Stupid Japanese apartments...' she thought annoyed herself for thinking about such a stupid thing 'I wonder what's going on in there...'

Finally giving in to her curiosity she got up and peeked on the two social outcasts. Her eyes widened at the scene unfolding in front of her eyes.

Her body was stormed by a wave of emotions that she didn't quite understand, all she knew was that she needed to stop it... And, as if being pushed by an invisible force, the redhead dashed inside the kitchen.

xxx

Shinji was cutting the vegetables. For some reason Asuka was really angry, and he was sure it was his fault... Had his little act of bravery earlier been that bad? It wasn't like he was trying to irritate her, on the contrary he was trying to make her feel more comfortable with 'joining the family' like Hikari had told him.

Shinji slumped his shoulders and sighed 'Things might appear calm but... But the truth is that she is still angry about what happened to her because of me.' There was no way Asuka was just going to let something like that slip by. She might have been trying to keep it all inside because she didn't want to admit that it was because he wasn't there that she lost, but deep down he knew she hated him...

"Shinji-kun..." Rei called his name disrupting his increasingly depressive train on thought.

The bluenette had been sitting at the table quietly watching as Shinji started cutting the vegetables, so it surprised him when he turned around and found Rei standing up staring at him. "Y-yes, Rei-chan?" he replied weakly.

"May I be of assistance to you?" the albino asked looking at the knife in his hands with interest spread around her face... To others it might look like she was just staring but Shinji could see what others couldn't when it came to Rei.

"Sure. I-I mean if you want to..." he stuttered, his shy nature kicking in "But do you know how to cook, Rei-chan?"

"I do not have experience handling sharp instruments..." Rei seemed to ponder her next words carefully as she further examined the knife "And I have never tried to prepare a meal before."

"W-well it's easy..." Shinji left the knife near a cabbage and moved to let Rei have a crack at it. "You just have to- Agh!"

Tripping on his own foot almost like a bad comedy movie Shinji tried to grab something for support but ended up taking Rei down as he fell down helplessly.

Dejá vu...

Looking down at the red orbs Shinji could only think about how much the incident reminded him of when he went to deliver Rei's new Nerv card. Here he was again looking at the beautiful albino in the eyes as he held himself above her only by a few inches... He could hardly think anymore, he was so close he could feel her breath and that wasn't helping him in the least.

Rei didn't move, much like the first time she was just lying there looking at him, her cheeks slightly pink due to the proximity... 'Slightly pink?' he thought his head starting to go into overload. Why didn't she just push him off? Or at least told him to move? It would help a lot because the way Shinji was now his brainwaves were holding steady at 'Panic Mode' and thanks to that his body had long since stopped taking orders from his malfunctioning brain.

'T-This isn't good!' he kept mentally yelling at himself to back off and apologize repeatedly to Rei but all sorts of strange things were happening at the same time with his body... His limbs seemed like they were made of rubber. His heart was beating so fast Shinji was afraid it might burst out of his chest. He could feel his face getting hotter by the second, right now he wondered how much did he resemble a tomato... And the worst part was that his face seemed to be getting closer to hers...

'W-w-w-w-what?' Shinji watched as Rei slowly closed her eyes. 'If things keep going on like this...'

Then, out of nowhere Shinji was thrown off the albino by what he could only identify as great red wind.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO WONDERGIRL?" looking up in confusion Shinji saw what many would consider the face of death. Asuka was glaring down at him with a threatening expression, almost as if she wanted to rip his already racing heart out of his chest "YOU PERVERT!"

"I... I-I'm sorry! I didn-" there was no way he could explain how his body suddenly became deaf to his orders, and even if he could he was sure Asuka would just dust it off as the excuses of a pervert.

Surprisingly Shinji wouldn't have to explain anything.

"Soryu-san, that was a situation created by random misfortune. There was no way Shinji-kun could have prevented it." Shinji was too busy concentrating on the redhead, waiting for her to snap and hit him so he failed to catch the brief look of irritation Rei threw at the redhead. If Shinji had been paying attention he might have noticed it thanks to how easy it had gotten for him to pick up the albino's feeling, but to Asuka it just looked like Rei was looking at her with the same stoic expression as always.

Followed Rei's words there was a short moment where Shinji could swear he saw sparks jumping between the two girls.

"I'm sorry Rei-chan... I-" Shinji tried to calm things down but his attempt failed miserably as Asuka glared at him until he lost his words and Rei spoke once again fueling the redhead's anger even more.

"It is nothing you should apologize for Shinji-kun..."

"Seriously? I mean, I couldn't care less about what that pervert does with whom but you should at least show me some gratitude for saving you!" Asuka barked her face now red with anger.

"I did not need saving..." Rei replied calmly.

Shinji wondered why the redhead was so angry at Rei... Him it was natural, she seemed to be angry at him by default but Rei hadn't done anything...

"I'm home..." suddenly Misato's voice reached them and Shinji could only thank his guardian for the unintentional save.

Author's Notes:Come on... Admit it! You thought I was dead, right? Either that or you were probably thinking I gave up on this story. Well I'm glad to inform you that I'm alive and I don't plan to drop this or any other story! Don't know if this will make you happy or angry but oh well, guessed I should warn you all just in case. Anyways enough with... ← This.

Regarding this chapter I was planning on making it much bigger but I ended up shrinking things a little. From now on I'll be focusing on the pairing and on the main plot of course. I won't be rushing things specially when it comes to the pairing but expect to see a little more interaction.

On to real news... I am officially closing the voting poll. Let me just ask a quick question concerning this poll. Was I a fool by thinking that every character would have an even amount of votes by the end? Apparently, yes. Rei and Asuka were in the lead since week 2 or so and poor Misato and company were left hanging... The results were clear, Asuka vs Rei. I was going to chose one of the pairings on the lead, since there were only two, and with similar amount of votes no less, I voted for Rei. And so this is now officially a ShinjixRei story. So off you go people who hate ReixShinji pairings and who are mad at me... I'll make it up to you with a ShinjixAsuka story so don't be too angry.

From now on updates will be made more regularly since I already dealt with what delayed me this time, so yeah... You won't have to wait for a month.

Okay, now that I'm done with the boring stuff let's move on to the thanks.

Many thanks to those of you who reviewed and kept on waiting for me to update this! Another big thanks to the epic OST of Chaos;Head (the game).