Lying down, wrapped in the warm embrace of his futon, Shinji Ikari looked over at his refrigerator as if it was a harbinger of disaster. From his perspective down on the floor, he felt powerless. It was like looking up at lumbering electrical giant. It was almost as if the appliance was judging him; its ceaseless humming berating him for leaving it barren for so long.

Not without reason, Shinji then tilted his head over to the door.

No food. I... have to go outside...

The fact that it was still daytime made this admission extra painful. It wasn't immediately obvious that the sun was up, what with the curtains smothering the window, but the small amount of natural light that did seep through was indicative enough:

This wasn't the time to leave the house.

But... he had to, really. It was either brave the gazes of strangers going about their day, or wait some hours until the streets emptied to a satisfying degree. With his hunger getting increasingly worse with each passing minute, however, the latter option didn't seem quite feasible.

Why didn't I just go to the convenience store last night?

He knew the answer, of course. He had been gaming, neglecting practically every worldly concern other than relieving his bladder.

...He had some dignity left, after all.

Throwing the covers off in frustration, Shinji forced himself upwards. The sudden motion left him feeling lightheaded.

The store is just a few blocks down the street. No big deal.

Getting up, Shinji grabbed some jeans out of the pile of dirty clothing next to his bed. The young man knew the wrinkled clothing would only draw more attention to his unkempt self, but he lacked another option. Laundry, after all, was just one item on a longer list of things having slid into neglect.

Walking towards the door, Shinji hesitated before stepping down into the cramped entranceway. He stretched, as if to free his muscles of restraint. He took a deep breath, stepped down, and slipped on his shoes and jacket.

Placing his hand on the doorknob, Shinji froze in realization.

"Almost forgot..."

Retreating back into the apartment, he retrieved an old cassette player from under the covers. The headphones got caught in the blanket as he picked it up. Shinji sighed heavily; it was little things that really got under his skin. In fact, the steps he had took back into his cozy room left him feeling defeated, and his thoughts urged him to crawl back into the futon.

It's probably still warm.

He shook his head in frustration. The lightheadedness hit him again, heavier this time.

I'm going to die of starvation if I keep this up.

The short walk back to the entryway felt laborious, but in the end, Shinji managed to open his front door, though not before putting on an old baseball cap.

"Just keep to yourself. You'll be fine." Shinji muttered a bitter reminder to himself, pulling the brim of the hat down, obscuring his face somewhat.

Stepping outside, the harsh sun wasted no time beating down on him relentlessly, as if to make him feel even more unwelcome. With his gaze squarely on the ground and his music blasting, however, Shinji had managed to form an effective barrier between him and the outside world. His hands in the pockets of his jacket, he began walking down the apartment complex's shared walkway. The two-story building was fairly small, outdated and unremarkable, but the rent was cheap and that was what mattered.

Barely having taken three steps towards the stairwell that led below, Shinji's music-fueled trance was broken. He bumped into someone, the sudden contact causing them both to stumble. Perhaps it was bound to happen with the absentminded way he was navigating, but Shinji was surprised just how quickly things had gone awry.

After righting, Shinji went to apologize but was thrown for a loop when he saw who it was that he had collided with. His eyes started from a long head of red hair, down to a pair of striking blue eyes, and finally a bright yellow sundress.

She's...

I'm staring.

"I-I'm... ah..." Shinji began, stumbling over his words. He suddenly realized just how close he was to this girl.

As if social interaction wasn't already enough of a problem for him, he noticed the girl's initially surprised expression had given away to anger.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The woman cut him off, pushing him away. "Watch where you're going!"

"I..." Shinji whispered out, shaking slightly from anxiety. "Uh... I-I'm..."

"What?" She asked, leaning forward. "Speak up!"

"Hey, take it easy, Asuka. You're scaring the poor guy..." A deeper voiced pleaded, pulling Shinji's attention to his left.

There was a man next to her as well, he realized, currently leaning against the door of the room adjacent to his. He was tall and handsome, and clearly older than Shinji. His dark brown hair was messily tied into a short ponytail, and he had patchy tufts of facial hair strewn across his chin. In stark contrast to the venomous gaze of the redhead, however, this man's eyes were much more gentle and apologetic.

"Sorry about my friend here, she's having a bit of a bad day. She of all people should know we all zone out, occasionally." The man continued, smiling slightly at the girl. His voice was deep and velvety smooth, giving his voice a weight that naturally kept his attention.

"Are you alright?" He continued, looking concerned.

"Uh..."Shinji replied, or attempted to, rather. He had a feeling he was gawking.

The redhead sighed, and rolled her eyes. "Jeez... what are you, mute? You just gonna stand there and stare? You know, for a Japanese person, you sure suck at apologizing."

Shinji's stomach sunk, paralyzed by her nasty tone.

Why did I leave my apartment? Why?

Turning on a dime, he started walking back towards his door.

"Where are you going? You owe me an apology!" The girl called out to Shinji, causing him to again freeze in place. "Just say 'I'm sorry'! It's not that hard!"

"Leave him alone, Asuka." The man urged her, now more stern. "Let's talk, alright?"

"Ohh, so now you want to talk?" The girl turned back to the man, with a sassy swing of her hips. "Then talk! Tell me the truth. Who's that girl inside?"

"I've been telling you the truth... there is no girl."

"Then let me in!"

This... is a welcome distraction...

Walking away as stealthily as he could, he turned back to the man, and they met eyes. The man smiled, and quietly urged him away with a subtle gesture.

Slipping away, Shinji carefully opened the door of his apartment.

"Oh, what? You're just gonna run away?" The girls' voice called out to him. "Spineless guys like you really piss me off."

Though trying to be quiet, the squeaking of the door apparently recaptured her attention. Shinji froze in place again. In the heat of the moment, he wasn't quite sure whether he had stopped out of fear or anger.

"Oh, he stopped." The girl noted, plainly. "Did you decide to grow a pair and apologize?"

Adn with that... something seemed to snap in Shinji's mind.

"I'm... I'm sorry, okay?!" He said, gripping the doorknob tightly.

"Wow! Would you look at that? Was that so hard?" The girl said in a mocking tone.

"...you angry foreigner bitch."

A phrase, intended to be muttered only under the most sheltered of breaths, was spoken more than audibly in an unfortunate moment of transparent frustration.

...and with that phrase, despite the shrill shouting and insults that attempted to follow him, Shinji slammed the door of this apartment.

It was only once Shinji was back inside of his apartment, that he once again remembered why it was that he left in the first place. Perhaps in his abject terror the hunger had subsided, but now that he was once again alone with his thoughts, he felt his appetite return with a vengeance.

Of course, with his less than couth exit, Shinji was not prepared to return back outside. Not that he was really prepared to begin with, anyway.

This always happens...I should have known.

Shinji was a hikikomori and had been for over a year. Even if hunger could force his hand and make him venture out, he rarely did so during the day. Today's debacle had only cemented that rule in his mind further.

With girls like that walking around... What chance do I have?

Slipping back into the comfort of his futon, Shinji waited stubbornly for the current wave of hunger to subside. He was even beginning to drift off, before the sound of the door closing shut next door pulled him back into reality. He was all too familiar with that grating, creaking sound. Before, it used to signal to him that his neighbor Kensuke had returned from school, or whatever else the night owl was up to. It used to make him feel less lonely, if only a little.

Used to.

The apartment unit next to his had been vacant for almost a year. Kensuke had moved, leaving Shinji with one less person to talk to in a time where that number was already nearing zero. The empty room his friend had left behind was an eery reminder of a drastic turn that had happened in his life; one that ultimately left him largely unwilling to leave his room at all.

Hearing that door creak and close shut again... made Shinji feel oddly nostalgic, not to mention hopelessly curious.

A new neighbor?

He could hear more sounds coming from the adjacent abode too, but they were barely audible from where Shinji was lying. That wasn't really a problem, though. He knew, ashamedly from experience, that the walls between the two apartments were far from being thick, bastions of privacy. There was a particular spot near the bathroom wall where some piping, like noise to the bridge of a cello, amplified and resonated everything happening next-door ever so slightly. Enough to listen in, at least.

This discovery had... purer origins than Shinji knew anyone would assume, but eavesdropping was still eavesdropping. As such, he felt some guilt in using this knowledge to gain some insight into this new neighbor of his... but not nearly not enough to stop him.

This might just be what they call rock bottom.

He crawled over to the wall, taking the blanket with him as if to hide in shame. Pressing his ear against the wall's weak point, he listened in.

He could hear a conversation, but it was too muddled to make out much. One voice was easier to make out than the other, not to mention... recognizable. The dark, deep voice sounded awfully close to the man who had stuck up for him, earlier. The other voice, on the other hand, was noticeably muted and feminine. So quiet, in fact, that Shinji could barely make it out even with the wall's reverberation.

Too quiet to be the redhead. Another girl?

Shinji racked his brain a bit, recalling the earlier scene he had literally stumbled upon.

So... that redhead must've known about the other girl inside. That must be why the older guy was blocking the door like that. He was trying to stop her from Some kind of lover's spat, maybe? It's like I just stumbled upon one of those TV dramas...

Shinji chuckled to himself at his theory, but it somehow made him feel like he was more alone than usual.

Regardless... I'll have to thank that guy later. He seemed really nice. We could even be friends. Who knows, he's older, mature... maybe he could...

Shinji covered his face with his hands and groaned. It wasn't every day that he was thrown into a social situation like that. He was getting a bit carried away in the exhilaration of... well, interacting with others.

I'ts reached that point, huh...

...

Oh.

The thinking had distracted him. The wave of hunger had seemingly quieted down. Falling backward onto his futon, Shinji did his best to seize the opportunity to drift off to sleep.

It was only after the sun had gone down that Shinji dared go back outside. Usually, he'd wait until past midnight, but by this point he felt like he was practically starving. Shuffling like a zombie over to the convenience store, he finally got ahold of some food.

...and some beer, purchased with half-baked hopes of giving it to his new neighbor as thanks for helping bail him out earlier. Failing that, he knew, he could always just drink it himself.

I guess the ideal situation would be... if we could drink together... Shinji thought with a mix of hope but equal self-disdain.

...Who am I kidding?

As per his usual routine, Shinji made his way over to a nearby park where he enjoyed eating. For some reason, the atmosphere of nature made the convenience store food taste better, if only a bit.

And so, Shinji sat on a bench and ate hungrily. At first it was quite relaxing, but soon enough he remembered exactly where he was. Students from the nearby university were approaching down the paths in groups. Many were talking animatedly, happily. The sight made Shinji feel horrible.

Shit... I forgot... night classes must have just ended... Shinji realized nervously, double-checking his pants for his cassette player. I have to go... too many people.

Walking over to a nearby garbage can, Shinji threw away the foods packaging. Sighing heavily, he turned around to make his escape. But instead of the clear path to sweet solitude that he envisioned, upon turning around he was met with an all-too-familiar face.

It was the redheaded girl. Though Shinji noted some differences; she was wearing a fashionable overcoat, though wthe same sundress from earlier. was peeking out from underneath. She was wearing glasses too, and clutching a bag with the university's insignia.

She's a student here? But I've never.

Shinji soon realized that he was staring. His stomach dropped; it was already too late. The girl had already taken notice of him, and her expression did nothing to make Shinji feel better. In fact, her sour face only did the opposite.

"Wuh... what the fuck are you staring at?" She asked, bewildered. "Are you stalking me or something?"

"I..." Shinji replied, feeling a sense of horrible deja-vu. "I was hungry."

Shinji pointed at the discarded bento box in the garbage, as if to help him explain.

"What?" She looked at him with a mix of confusion and disgust. This mix of emotions, though, soon turned to an obvious anger. The girl had seemingly come to a realization. "Wait a sec... I'm sorry, what did you call me before you slammed that door, again? Angry foreigner bitch, was it? Remind me."

Shinji's stomach turned into knots, as he too remembered the full events of earlier.

Oh god...

"I-I'm sorry?"

The girl walked up to Shinji and shoved him roughly. The action shocked him, understandably, and he fell down onto the ground.

"You think you can just apologize for that? I-I should beat the shit out of you! I bet I could too, you little shrimp." The girl snapped at him, though clearly a little bit flustered.

Shinji waved his hands in front of him, shaking his head furiously. "I'm sorry! Really! I don't know why I said that!"

"Oh, fuck off. Don't give me that." She answered venomously, before kicking him in the leg. "At least own up to your words, you coward."

The girls angered expression subdued slightly as she noticed a passing group of students staring at them. They were whispering amongst themselves, but stopped and continued walking down the path once they realized her attention was on them.

The girl groaned as she watched the group of students leave. Holding her head with her hands, she sighed. "I'm... just proving your point, aren't I? Angry foreigner bitch? No wonder Kaji... Fuck."

Shinji got up from the ground, and dusted himself off. Slouching noticeably, he made reluctant eye-contact with the girl. "I..."

"Look... just get lost, alright?" She cut him off, shooing him away. "I'm having a bad... week. And.. guys like you bring out the worst of me, goddamn spineless... shit!"

Shinji almost complied, but couldn't help but feel a bit concerned. Fidgeting in place, he stayed put.

"Um.. are you okay?" Shinji asked. "I-I shouldn't have said what I said earlier... a-and I should pay more attention where I'm going."

The girl looked at Shinji with exasperation. "Did you just ask if I was okay, after I physically assaulted you? What's wrong with you, just go."

Shinji shrugged in return. "I-I just wanted to see if I could help."

The girl laughed, but it didn't sound joyous in the slightest.

"I get it, okay? You don't like seeing a girl all flustered and pissed, right?" She responded, glaring at him. "Cause you think you're responsible, and you probably think of yourself as a nice guy, right?"

"Uh..." Shinji sounded out, at a loss for words at the girls cynical analysis.

"Well guess what. I'm not nice.." She continued. "I am a bitch, and I am angry. I'm jetlagged to shit, I'm hungry, and I wish I hadn't come to this goddamn country. I made a bunch of stupid decisions and... fuck, why am I even still talking to you?"

The girl started walking past Shinji, practically stomping out her frustrations on the pavement. Part of him wanted to let her go, and forget everything that happened on this messed up day. But there was also part of him that wanted to reach out and right some wrongs. Soon enough Shinji got an idea which side was currently in the driver's seat.

"Hey, do you... love that guy?" Shinji blurted out, turning behind him at the departing girl. "The guy next door?"

The redhead turned around with a cutting scowl. "What, you think we're friends now or something? Where do you come off asking something personal like that?"

"You... b-but you were shouting all that personal stuff just now." Shinji replied, tilting his head in confusion. "I-I'm sorry, I just..."

Her expression, to Shinji's surprise, actually softened a bit. "I, well... fair enough. I'm not making things easier talking to you like this. And you know what? Talking was a mistake. Goodbye."

The girl recommenced her departure, sighing.

"Well... I'm a hikikomori." Shinji called out to her, practically grasping at the conversation. "I'm not much better."

"W-what?" She replied, stopping in place. "You're a what-now?"

Oh dear lord... what am I saying?

"I-I almost never leave my room, and I... spend my days sleeping and wishing I wouldn't wake up; playing video games and reading manga until I force myself outside to buy junk food." Shinji explained. "Y-you're the first girl I've talked to in years. I freaked out when I saw you.. l-like you were an alien or something. And... I don't think you're exactly wrong when you call me a coward... I am pretty spineless, it's why I hide away in my room."

"I..." The girl turned in place. "Why are you telling me all this?"

"Well... you were saying all that stuff earlier... about being a, erm, an angry bitch." Shinji shrugged rigidly. "We all say stuff we regret. T-trust me, I know... I j-just think you shouldn't have to embarrass yourself alone, y'know? F-figure I'd put us on even ground, so we might both regret this conversation later..."

"W-what?" The girl locked eyes with Shinji, and a smirk creeped onto her face. "You're... pretty strange, you know that?"

Shinji avoided her glance at that moment, but still returned the smirk nonetheless.

"Who am I kidding. Of course you know you're strange. But... that actually did kind of make me feel better, somehow. But maybe that's because what you said was way more embarrassing..."

Shinji chuckled awkwardly, and the girl followed suite.

"S-sorry. What's your name?" She asked, facing him fully.

"I-Ikari Shinji."

"I'm... Asuka. " The girl reluctantly matched his reply. An awkward silence filled the air, as she seemed to be deep in thought.

"Look, I don't know what... this is?" The girl began, pointing at herself then at him, then repeating the motion several times. "But if you don't mind, could you... keep an eye on that guy next door for me? Make sure he's not doing anything stupid?"

"Uh, I can do... that." Shinji replied, smiling.

To Shinji's surprise, the redhead smiled back. "Yeah? Thanks. Well... uh, goodnight, Shinji. And good luck with that, uh, 'hikikomori' thing too, I guess."

As the girl walked away, Shinji couldn't help but wave at the girl, even though she had long stopped looking behind her. She was walking away briskly, with a somewhat of a spring in her step.

The whole conversation, consisting of more words then Shinji had probably said in months, left the young man feeling lightheaded; but in a good way, to be sure.

She called me by my first name... Asuka...

Asuka.

The walk back to his apartment, Shinji had trouble not obsessing over the conversation with Asuka. The feeling he had, that he managed to have a conversation with a girl, let alone one that didn't end in him slinking away in shame or fear, was intoxicating. That being said, it wasn't as if he had reached some great revelation. He had managed to self-deprecate enough for a girl to take a pity on him. Or, at least, that was how he saw it.

And who knows if I'll ever see her again. He thought. Such is life, I suppose.

And yet, life had enough of a sense of humor to have him run into her twice on the same day. With serendipity like that, it was hard for Shinji to say what he could expect from now on, even if his daily, boring routine led make some educated guesses. Still, he felt feel exhausted as hell, and wanted nothing more than to return back into the sweet silent embrace of his room. He had bought extra food, too, just so he wouldn't have to venture out for a long while.

Still, Shinji had to pause for a moment once he was in sight of his apartment block. The lights inside his neighbor's room were still on, despite it being fairly late.

Shinji looked down at the beer cradled in his arms.

I'll... give it a shot, I guess. Something tells me I might have some good luck today.

He climbed the stairs to his apartment, and soon found himself in front of the door next to his own. After completing a useless ritual of walking away from the door, and then returning in a sad stubbornness, Shinji finally found it on him to knock. Maybe it was the social success from earlier giving him the extra push, he figured.

Soon there was clear movement, stirring from inside, and footsteps appropriately followed, approaching the door.

So he is home... hope I didn't wake him. Shinji wondered, worried.

But nothing followed those initial sounds of life, though Shinji knew he had at least made it to the door. He knocked again.

More shuffling around from inside; it sounded close. Shinji could almost feel himself being scrutinized through the tiny peephole.

"U-um... I brought some snacks, or uh, b-beer, rather. I guess." Shinji's voice called out, hoping the man might be listening. His voice had cracked horribly, causing him to cringe. "Sorry. J-just as thanks for earlier, or, I don't know... what am I saying?"

My god, I'm sweating. What is the point of this? He probably just thinks I'm weird...

But just as Shinji turned to retreat to his room, the door swung open, nearly hitting him in the face. He shouted in surprise, jumping backwards, and nearly dropping the beer.

"Ikari?"

Shinji heard his name being called. But it wasn't the man calling it, but a girl. In the doorway was a girl with light blue hair, and piercing red eyes. Perhaps most striking to Shinji, however, was that she was wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt, barely reaching below her nether regions.

"U-uhhhh... Hi?" Shinji asked. "You... you know my n-name?"

The girls eyes locked onto him curiously, before turning to the items in the boys hands. "Food?" She asked.

"Yes?" Shinji replied simply, mesmerized by her otherworldly stare.

The girl grabbed the beer and the bag of extra food. Caught more than a bit off guard, Shinji didn't even have the presence of mind to question it.

"A-actually... the food is... mine..." Shinji drawled off. "B-but wait. Hold on. How do you know my name? Ikari?"

The girl looked at him yet again, with a hint of confusion. But there was soon a brief flash of fear. "I have to go. I can't talk."

The girl closed the door.

...

...

WHAT.

In the end, Shinji had retreated back into his room, lacking even the resolve to try and recover his lost food. Not only was he now wholly confused, but also had to face the prospect of venturing out yet again for nourishment.

Shoving his head into his pillow, Shinji groaned heavily.

At least I'm not hungry at the moment... Shinji thought, sleepily.

Closing his eyes, Shinji found himself visually fixated on the girl's haunting gaze and strange hair. Her strange demeanor only raised more questions, as well.

I guess I just met the 'other woman'... If my suspicions are correct. Shinji realized. She was almost naked, that girl...

"So my next door neighbor... is cheating on Asuka... with that girl?" Shinji repeated to himself. "Is that why she told me to keep an eye on him?"

Something just didn't sit well with Shinji, even when laying all this information out in front of him.

Sitting up slowly, Shinji rubbed his temples. "But... is he even dating Asuka? She never did ever tell me if she loves him... but why else would she be so mad at him? And why... why does she know my name?!"

Ruffling his hair in frustration, Shinji sighed heavily.

What the hell did I just stumble upon...

As far as the young man was concerned, this was way too much for a shut-in to have to deal with...