NERV Berlin, the day before.
.
He was being annoying again.
For some reason, he just had to bring it up. How he'd actually found out was a mystery. An annoying mystery.
She didn't know if he was actively trying to get on her nerves, or if it was an accident. But honestly, she didn't really care either way. Annoyances didn't tend to go well when the Second Child was involved.
.
"Care to repeat that, Nagisa?"
The target in question shrugged, unruly silvery grey hair bouncing with the movement.
"I'm not sure why repeating myself is even necessary. Surely I said it clearly enough the first time?"
A pair of vibrant blue eyes stared.
The boy sighed.
"Fine, if I must. I'd said that you looked rather… irritated, to say the least."
Not quite enough to satisfy. The girl planted hand on hip, a single eyebrow swooping up.
"... And I'd suggested that perhaps it was due to the unavailability of a certain pilot who you appear to have a rather close bond with. But given the emotional state I've seen you in during the times that you have been with her, I don't see how mentioning it is in any way in-"
The words of Kaworu Nagisa, Provisional Second Child, were cut off in an instant as the red-headed girl most definitely violated his personal space.
Neon Genesis Evangelion:
(Not) the End
Chapter 011: Sie sind (Nicht) ein Dummkopf
"Three things, Nagisa," hissed Asuka Langley Sohryu, nose to nose with the other pilot.
"One; shut the hell up. Two; shut the hell up. And three-"
"Does three involve you yelling at me to 'shut the hell up'?" asked Kaworu, head tilting. "Because that would say marvels on both your tenacity and repeatability."
Asuka's eyes narrowed.
"Nobody likes a smart ass, Nagisa."
It was then that Kaworu made the second worst mistake of his life.
"You do."
Elsewhere in NERV-Berlin, a ponytailed man winced, and looked away from the security camera monitor.
"Yeah… just gonna focus on something else," he muttered, turning away.
Half an hour and several blows later...
.
Two giants stood on an empty field, one red as blood, the other grey as ash, identical in almost every other way.
Kaworu licked the last bit of blood off his lip. That last punch had caught him a little off guard.
"Are you sure this is necessary?" he asked. "Perhaps you're simply overreacting."
"And perhaps you're simply a dummkopf, but that won't stop me from kicking your skinny, provisional arse across the field," Asuka replied in turn, the red giant folding its arms.
The grey one rubbed the bridge of its face in exasperation.
~Why must my birthplace be in Germany of all countries?~ thought Kaworu. ~I could have gotten along with any of the other Children, but Ms. Sohryu seems determined to make this entire process irritatingly difficult.~
The two armoured titans launched themselves at each other, drawing knives from their shoulder fins.
~I mean, I certainly don't have anything against the country itself… but blaming it all on her… well, that's not exactly fair, even if she is a little-!~
The red one struck first, driving a blade through the grey one's left eye. Grimacing, Kaworu swung down with a hammer-fist, but Asuka dodged, relinquishing the knife to the other Eva's skull as she skipped away.
"Hah! Take that!"
"I'm not out of the fight yet," the boy replied coolly. "Eva Mark.02, launch Shredder Missiles!"
The grey giant's shoulders unfolded, exposing several racks of spike-tipped projectiles. With a roar of fire, every single one launched, all homing in on Mark.02's opponent!
Of course, when you work with someone for two years, you tend to pick up on their habits. There was next to no doubt in the Provisional Second's mind that Asuka would get past his missile smokescreen with minimal damage. But that left him with at most half a minute free.
Mark.02 retracted the blade of one knife, and lobbed it into the fray. The red Unit-02's own shoulders opened, firing off missiles in a bid to start a chain reaction.
As explosions ripped across the field, nearly destabilizing the simulated terrain, Kaworu yanked out the knife in his Eva's eye, purple-red blood pouring down its face.
"Nice try, Nagisa! But not good enough!"
Her Unit-02 was glorious. Even with other thoughts distracting her, and the Provisional Second having the social skills of a dying starfish, the Evangelion always shone bright.
She rushed out of the holographic smoke, ramming an elbow into the Mark.02's solar plexus! The next blow slammed into the side of its head with a crack, downing it.
Assured of her own victory at this point, Asuka raised her Progressive Knife…
.
And then the screen went dark.
The girl blinked, staring at the words that displayed on the surface of the simulated Entry Plug:
"WARNING. PATTERN BLUE DETECTED. SIXTH ANGEL IDENTIFIED."
For a second, the girl was silent.
.
And then she spoke.
"...Soll das eine verfickte Verarschung sein?"
Well, any good mood she might have had was gone. Good job, 'Sixth Angel'. Asuka stood in the Eva hanger alongside Kaworu, waiting for instructions.
"..."
"..."
Kaworu's tongue slithered out of his mouth, running over the busted lip. Asuka huffed, and looked away.
It wasn't that she wasn't justified in her actions- at least, not in her mind. But there was a small chance that she might have overreacted just a little bit. The girl winced, as her conscience finally started to call foul.
~Verdammt, stupid four-eyes. You're starting to rub off on me,~ the redhead thought.
.
"...So."
The boy turned, attention caught. Asuka coughed.
"I… have come to the conclusion that punching you... might not have been the best idea I've had. N-not that my ideas are bad; this one was just… less good."
A corner of Kaworu's mouth turned up slightly.
"Sohryu… would you care to repeat that?"
Asuka leveled a glare at him, and crossed her arms.
"Don't push your luck, Nagisa. All I'm saying is that I won't be aiming at your face anymore." The Second Child turned away again, mouth screwed up. "Besides, all I'd accomplish if I did would be hurting my fist, and there's no way that your stupid face is worth it!"
~Honestly, how long does it take for NERV to narrow down the Angel's trajectory? Am I deploying or not?! ~
The silence continued for a few minutes, before she finally got an answer. The Angel's destination was not in Europe. It was, once again, Japan.
~... Verdammt.~
"At least I'll be transferring in a few months," Asuka said to herself, drumming her fingers on the desk. "At this rate, I'll have to be in Japan in order to get a shot at an Angel."
~Plus,~ said her subconscious, chiming in with a tone that the Second Child would never have used nowadays. ~There's always-~ "No, shut up," Asuka muttered, shoving that particular thought back into the depths. She didn't need those sorts of things distracting her.
.
"... Stupid cat-faced weirdo. "