Author's Notes: I had intended for the fanfic to extend until 20 or so chapters, but I seem to be running out of material. I came up with an arc that would end the fanfic by the 16th chapter, but it seems like I'm willing to extend this fanfic up to an 18th chapter. This chapter is one of the added materials. It's very description-heavy in contrast to the last chapter, which was very dialogue-heavy.

No omake for this chapter as it will ruin the serious mood.

DemonSanctuary Sen – the bunny girl costume was based off Haruhi, seeing as Asuka and Haruhi are fairly similar in terms of personality (tsundere).

Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion and am writing this fanfic for pure enjoyment.

CHAPTER 14: THE DARKNESS, PART I

Shinji found himself in an unfamiliar setting. The air seemed difficult to breathe as if it was dense. Everything smelled like blood. How disgusting. Shinji tried as hard as he could to keep the contents of his stomach from spilling forth from his mouth. His hands unwittingly grasped at the white handles in front of him. It reminded him of the controls to the games that he, Touji, and Kensuke would play at the Game Center.

Shinji: Where the hell am I?

Shinji watched his arm let go of the handle. His fist clenched and unclenched. His fists were covered in white gloves made of a tight yet comfortable material. This same fabric covered the rest of his body, but he couldn't really feel the presence of the material pressed against his skin.

The focus of his eyes shifted from his fist to the surroundings. It was like he was watching the world through someone else's eyes. Shinji could tell that the front of what looked like a cockpit was clear, and through it, he could see what looked like a hangar. It seemed like the kind of hangar that Kensuke had once showed him during their summer to a military base. The only thing out of the ordinary was this red stuff that encrusted the walls. Looking towards the back of the cockpit, Shinji could discern that it was a tube that extended far behind his seat.

Examining the seat that he was sitting on, he could see a familiar red leaf, the logo for NERV. Below the logo were several letters that he couldn't make out in the darkness, but he was pretty sure what it said. As if it were reacting to his thought, his fingers ran across the lettering just below the logo. He could feel the lettering that spelled out NERV embossed on the chair.

NERV. It was where his mother and father worked so much at. So much that they were rarely home to take care of him. The thought of his father brought out a memory of his father standing distantly with a cold, apathetic look on his face. The thought of his mother, however, brought out no memories at all.

Shinji: Why can't I remember what mother looks like?

Again, Shinji tried to hold back the contents of his stomach as he felt an immense pressure push down on his abdomen and watched the scene in front of him change into a blur. Shinji was extremely confused, associating such a massive pressure to an increase in G-forces due to rapid vertical acceleration. However, it seemed his body reacted calmly as it rested his hands on the control sticks.

Shinji's arm came up to shield his eyes from the brightness that engulfed the cockpit as whatever he was in rose out of the ground. Strangely, Shinji felt like he possessed another pair of limbs that came out of his back. Shinji looked forward out the cockpit window, bewildered by the fact that he could see the sun clearly without straining his eyes. Somehow, the window filtered out certain spectra of light, so he could see the sun in such brilliance that no other human could without damaging their retina.

The cockpit dimmed a little has a shadow obstructed the sun. A group of birdlike humanoid figures took flight in the sky. For a while, Shinji thought he had been transported to an alien planet before realizing that just below the figures, lay the smoldering ruins of Tokyo-3, ravaged by a tragic battle. The flying forms reminded Shinji of how vultures would circle the skies over their carrion.

A glint of red flashed in the beaks of the flying forms. He could see that in each beak of the vultures, there was a red piece of flesh. It was fresh carrion, dripping of blood. Shinji could even seen entrails sticking out of one of their beaks. He ignored the disgusting sight of bleeding flesh as he focused on one of the vultures that held a head-shaped piece. As the piece came into view, Shinji saw the head of a strange red monster, which looked surprisingly human if it weren't for the extra eyes.

Red. The color reminded him of someone. Someone that he cared a lot about.

The remembrance of his red-headed companion brought pain to his whole body as he convulsed. His hands tried to tear at his hair. His head was buried in his knees as he cried in a fetal position. A constant beeping sound started to go off in the background like an incoming missile warning. Suddenly, his head tilted back and his mouth opened to scream, "ASUKA!"

Shinji's eyes shot open to a half-lit room. His body was still convulsing from the dream. Sweat dripped from his forehead. Quickly gaining composure, Shinji got himself to stop shuddering.

Shinji: The dream... it was so real.

Shinji pondered whether he had a bout of lucid dreaming, something that he heard a lot about. In the end, he concluded that it was definitely not lucid dreaming as he had no control over his dream. He was an unwilling participant to the horror that unveiled in front of his eyes.

From the amount of light, Shinji could tell that it was some time just after dawn. In the background, the constant beeping of his alarm clock was still going off, reminding him that there was no time for him to continue idling in bed. It was time to go to school. Resisting the urge to continue sleeping, Shinji slipped out of his blanket only to shiver from the chilly air. He had neglected to close the window last night, and now, his room was frigidly cold. Strengthening his resolve, Shinji began his morning routine as he headed towards his closet.

Asuka walked along the street that would take her to Shinji's apartment. She took careful steps, making sure she didn't step into a pothole and twist her ankle like the month before.

Asuka: For a capital city, the sidewalks sure are in disrepair.

The sound of leaves crinkled under Asuka's careful footsteps. A melody of red, yellow, and orange piled up under each tree that lined the sidewalk. September had came and passed, and autumn was in full swing in October.

It had been more than a month since the dance. Asuka silently chuckled when she thought of how initially jealous she was of Rei. Rei Ayanami had turned out to be quite the interesting girl. Although she was often reserved, she was quite the talker once people got to know her. Somehow, she was even able to get a genuine conversation out of Shinji that didn't involve games or the perverted things that Kensuke and Touji liked to talk about. The usual table where Hikari and Asuka ate together was soon joined by Rei.

True to her word, Rei did try to help Asuka win Shinji's affections, but like Hikari, Rei didn't have much experience with dating and teenage romance so she was little help. Despite that, Rei tried her best to support Asuka. They never would have imagined Shinji to be so oblivious to Asuka's feelings, but Asuka's occasional outbursts towards Shinji didn't help. It was something Asuka tried to work on during the past month, but it was hard to change such an ingrained part of her personality, especially when the Stooges loved to do things that provoked her.

She thought about all the memories she shared with Shinji over the past month. The many hours that she spent doing homework with him at his apartment. They would both sprawl next to each other on the living room floor. Sometimes when she was pretending to focus on paper in front of her, she would catch a glimpse of Shinji looking at her. She liked the glances that she caught Shinji giving her, because it made her feel special. Unlike the other boys in her class who just wanted to get into her pants, Shinji looked at her because he was genuinely attracted to her and cared about her.

One time, she had fallen asleep on the couch, watching a movie with Shinji. The next morning she found herself covered with a thick blanket. She was touched that he was so concerned and slightly surprised that he didn't try anything naughty, but she knew he was still too afraid of her to try something like that. Sometimes, she wished that Shinji could become bolder and make a move on her, but that was wishful thinking.

Asuka arrived in front of the door to Shinji's apartment, a place that she had been more and more familiar with because of all the classes that they shared. She knocked twice and was surprised to hear shuffling on the other side of the door. Her mother had left early to work on a special project with Shinji's parents, which meant that the shuffling had to be attributed to Shinji. The door swung open, confirming her suspicion. Shinji stood in the doorway, fully dressed in his school uniform, with a piece of toast in his mouth and his school bag clutched in his hands.

Taking the toast out of his mouth with his free hand, Shinji said, "Hey Asuka, let's go." Shinji twisted the lock on the other side of the door and closed the door behind him, turning the knob to check if the door was indeed locked. Satisfied, Shinji turned towards the elevator, leaving Asuka still in shock at the door.

"Hey, wait a minute!" yelled Asuka to Shinji as she scurried after him. They both got into the elevator and began their descent to the first floor of the apartment complex.

"Explain to me why you're up so early," asked Asuka, surprised that Shinji could get up by himself without her intervention.

"I woke up to a dream," mumbled Shinji as he took bites out of his toast.

"Oh? A dream? You're not having hentai dreams about me, are you?" said Asuka in a sultry voice. To her surprise, Shinji didn't blush, and instead, he just shook his head.

Asuka: Must have been a serious dream.

"What kind of dream was it then?" asked Asuka, now extremely curious as to what kind of dream would get Shinji in such a serious mood. When she didn't get a response, she prodded him in the chest and said, "C'mon, you can tell me."

The elevator reached the first floor, and the door slid open. Shinji didn't make an attempt to exit the elevator, but when Asuka made a move, Shinji slid in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulder.

"In this dream... I'm not sure, but I had a feeling that you were hurt... or maybe dead," explained Shinji. His face expressed the severity of his statement. Asuka was scared at how serious he was being, even though it was just a dream. Shinji let go of her shoulders and exited the apartment complex.

Shinji and Asuka walked in silence towards school. They usually conversed a lot on their way to school, but after what Shinji said, Asuka didn't know what to say in return. Her first reaction was to make fun of Shinji for being so serious about a silly dream, but doing so would only serve to drive Shinji away. She wanted to reach out and hug him, but the way he looked, it seemed like he was so fragile that he would shatter when she touched him. It pained her to see Shinji this way, especially when she had no idea what to do. They stopped at an intersection, waiting for the walk signal to light up. When it did, Shinji began to move forward until he noticed that Asuka had not budged.

"What's wrong?" asked Shinji. Asuka's hand grabbed his hand rather than his wrist as she usually does and began tugging him in a different direction. For the first time during the day, Shinji blushed; he was surprised at the softness of her hand and the intimate manner that she was holding his hand.

"Let's go this way. We have plenty of time for the scenic route," explained Asuka as she winked at Shinji. Shinji nodded in compliance and followed her lead.

End Notes: Short chapter. It was going to be shorter, but I felt I could fill it with other stuff so that it wouldn't end up being the shortest chapter of the series. That title is reserved for Chapter 6.