Interlude 1: Hot Springs, Warm Hearts

Hot Springs Onsen, Several Miles from Mt. Asama

Shinji took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air as he stepped out of the van that Daniel had rented, and looked around at the vast, lonely surroundings that framed the singular quiet bathhouse in front of them. It was a familiar place. Larger than he first remembered. Then again, the last time he had come here, he was still coming down from literally submerging himself in lava. He couldn't entirely blame himself for being a little spaced out, really.

Speaking of submerging in lava, he thought as a hand gripped his, he smiled slightly as the person he so happened to save came up from behind him, Asuka squeezing slightly as she came to a stop beside him.

"Well, I must say, Shinji," Asuka said, and Shinji didn't even need to look over to see the smile on her face, "it's good to see this place again."

She sighed dramatically. "Oh, so many good memories." she continued, as the others extricated themselves and made their way over. "Like wondering where your blood went when you heard Misato and I." she said, a smirk on her face as she looked over at Shinji

Shinji reacted much as he did then, blood running to his cheeks and parts unseen as he opened his mouth for a moment, then shut it with an embarrassed look. "Asuka…" he finally managed, slightly sullenly.

"Oh, Shinji." Asuka said, rolling her eyes even as her smirk began to turn into a smile. "You're still almost as easy to tease as you were back then."

Shinji nodded as he looked over at Daniel and waved goodbye, watching for a moment as Daniel got back in the van and started to drive away in order to take his mind off of the embarrassment that burned his face.

After a moment, he smiled slightly as he looked back at Asuka while they all walked in. "Back before you figured out that I'd realize most of what you were saying would be true?"

Asuka opened her mouth, then closed it as she began to blush slightly as well. "Good point." she said quietly.

Shinji smiled slightly and softly chuckled at the rare sight of a flustered Asuka. "Look at that. I guess I can almost give as good as I get, now. Seeing as I've learned from the best."

Asuka harrumphed. "You may be getting better, rookie, but you still have a long way to go before you can take the best of the best." she said with no small amount of confidence and a knowing smirk.

Shinji nodded slowly. "Yes, dear." he said patiently, his smile growing slightly.

Asuka nodded in satisfaction. "Good to hear."

As the Children all signed in, they found, to their delight, that there were three private baths, usually reserved for those who wanted to be alone or for couples. All three were booked for the party with no small amount of satisfaction, and the couples went their separate ways.

. . .

Shinji happened to finish preparing first, easing into the delightfully warm water with a slight wince, then a contented sigh as he sat down on the opposite edge.

He was alone for the moment, with nothing but his thoughts in perhaps one of the most relaxing places on earth. He quietly relished the fleeting moment with his eyes closed and a slight smile on his face.

Such was the state of things for what felt like a little eternity when a not entirely unwelcome voice interrupted his train of thought. "I do hope you're thinking about me with that smile on your face."

Shinji opened his eyes, and for a moment, his breath was gone again, just like it had been so many months before, as Asuka stepped into the water, making her way over to him and sitting down.

Shinji's eyes were still wide with wonder when Asuka gently poked him. "Earth to Shinji. Did my scintillating beauty finally melt your brain fully?" she said with a small smile.

After a moment of processing, Shinji blinked. "A little. I was just wondering how I got so lucky to have someone as beautiful as you love me."

Asuka smiled broadly as she snuggled into Shinji's side. "Of course, my dear rookie. Lucky is putting it lightly."

Her smile dimmed as she paused for a moment. "We're both lucky, really."

Shinji nodded silently, and his thoughts, as much as he tried to stop them, turned to what they had watched in the Infinity Box. He put his arm around Asuka's shoulders and squeezed gently. "That we are." he said quietly.

It was silent for a moment.

. . .

Kaworu and Rei were equally quiet, sitting together and taking in the warmth of the bath.

"This is quite pleasant." Rei finally said after a moment. "I can see why Asuka spoke so highly of this place."

Kaworu nodded. "Indeed. This place seems more…" he trailed off as he searched for the words.

Rei decided to brush against his soul slightly for a moment, causing him to blink as she looked at the concept that Kaworu was trying to codify. "I believe the best word for that would be… connected?" she said slowly.

Kaworu nodded after a moment of pondering. "Yes. Connected. With the rest of the world. A world created by Lilith."

Rei nodded. "Yes. And I quite prefer this world." she said, smiling slightly.

"As do I." Kaworu replied with his own slight smile.

They were silent again for a moment, then Kaworu hummed.

Rei looked over at Kaworu, a raised eyebrow the biggest indicator of her puzzlement. "What is it?" she said.

"You are connected to Lilith, am I correct?" Kaworu said, and Rei blinked at the sudden non sequitur.

"Yes…" Rei said slowly. "In some form like you are with Adam. Why do you ask?"

"Well…" Kaworu replied. "Have you ever tried talking to her?"

Rei blinked. "No, not as of yet. Why?"

"I…" Kaworu said, trailing off. "Well, seeing as Adam- Kadmonel is currently in the possession of the Theismans, I wondered if I could speak to him as they did."

Rei pondered for a moment. "I do not see why not. I'm sure Daniel and Eleanor would acquiesce to such a request."

"Indeed." Kaworu replied quietly.

After a moment of silence, Kaworu looked over at the pensive Rei. "Would you try talking to Lilith?"

"Perhaps." Rei said quietly. "There are… undoubtedly many souls that I would have to sift through before finding hers within the body we have in Terminal Dogma, but it is possible. Perhaps even probable."

Rei's brow furrowed, and her lips quirked in slight annoyance. "Now, that's enough talking for right now, my scribble. Right now…" she sighed quietly. "I just want some peace."

Kaworu nodded. "Certainly, Rei."

Rei smiled, which caused Kaworu to smile in turn, and it was quiet again.

. . .

Hikari and Toji sat across from each other, a slight blush in their cheeks as they silently regarded the other. The reality of what, exactly, the date had entailed hadn't truly hit them until the exact moment that Asuka booked the three private baths.

"So," Toji finally started haltingly, "how are your sisters?"

"Well, Kodama's doing fine with her school work in the university in Tokyo-2." Hikari replied. "And Nozomi is…" she chuckled softly. "A handful, as I'm sure you're aware."

Toji chuckled. "Yeah, she is. Especially when her and Sakura get together. It's basically an explosion."

The both of them quietly laughed at the image of the two rambunctious younger children, and the memories of only a few of their antics.

After a moment, it fell silent again. "Yeah," Toji said into the silence, "it's too funny."

It was silent again, and now it stretched on for minutes as Hikari and Toji grappled silently with what to say next.

"Hikari…" "Toji…" they said at once, then they blushed slightly and chuckled awkwardly.

"You go ahead." Toji said with a slight stammer.

"No, no, you go first. Please." Hikari insisted.

After a moment with an almost defiant look, Toji sighed quietly, his expression becoming pensive. "Do you ever…" the water splashed quietly as his hands came out of it, and he seemed to grapple with the question as if it were a physical thing in his hands. "Do you ever envy the others? Shinji, Asuka, Rei, Kaworu? How… together they are?"

Hikari pondered the question for a moment. "Well… yes. But… they've been through so much together. They were on the front lines of the Angel war before we ever got involved, and even then, we didn't do much, exactly. They've seen and done things we couldn't have done before now. They're… different."

"Different?" Toji said, indignation creeping into his voice as he sat straight.

"Not in a bad way, Toji." Hikari said, putting her hands up. "Just… they're not entirely like us."

She paused for a moment. "But… that's war, I guess."

She paused again, then scrunched up her face. "Oh, that sounded terribly insensitive, didn't it?"

"Maybe." Toji said with a shrug. "But it's not wrong. And really, we're catching up to them."

Toji paused as he looked down. "For better and worse."

Hikari looked at Toji with growing worry. "Toji… are you okay?"

Toji sighed quietly. "Well, there's upending my entire life in favor of active combat against massive aliens while piloting a giant mech powered by my mom's soul, learning what's basically magic to protect myself against threats I can't squash with said mech, all on top of figuring out what the hell I want to do with my life now that we're dealing with people-sized aliens that don't want to turn us into orange juice."

Toi looked up at Hikari. "Really, at this point, I'm just trying to find what's even par for the course." he said with a rueful smile.

Sympathy was etched on Hikari's face. "Oh, Toji…"

"You help, though." Toji continued, a hand raised towards Hikari. "You and Shinji and the others, and even poor old Ken who we sort of left out once things started to get wild. And honestly… I don't know where I'd be without you."

It was silent for a moment before Hikari smiled slightly. "I'm glad I can help, Toji." she said quietly.

Toji smiled in return. "Yeah. Now, wasn't there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Yeah, actually." Hikari replied, pausing for a moment before blushing slightly. "It actually has to do with us changing."

"What do you mean?" Toji said slowly, caution creeping into his expression.

"Nothing bad." Hikari said. "But… I was wondering something."

"Such as…" Toji said slowly.

Hikari looked Toji in the eyes as her blush deepened. "Would you… would you be interested in…"

Her blush deepened even further as her voice became a whisper. "Moving in together soon?"

It was utterly silent, save for the lapping of the water as Toji processed the bombshell that Hikari had just dropped on him. "Uh…" he eloquently said after his brain finally started to function again.

"Toji?" Hikari asked with a worried look on her face. "Did I say something wrong?"

"No!" Toji blurted, then he blushed as he realized how loud he had been.

"No." he said much more quietly. "You didn't, I promise. It's just… I may have been starting to wonder the same thing actually. Maybe not quite as soon as you may have been thinking, but… soon."

"Oh. Okay." Hikari said quietly.

It was silent again for a moment as they regarded each other.

"So…" Hikari started. "How soon were you thinking?"

"Well, that depends, really." Toji replied. "How soon were you thinking?"

"Maybe…" Hikari started, trailing off as she cupped her chin thoughtfully. "A few months from now?"

"A few?" Toji said. "Shoot, with how much of a loving pushover my dad is, we could move in within a week."

"Well, that may be the case." Hikari replied. "But then there's my father."

"Yeah." Toji said quietly. He had met Bunzaemon Horaki early in their relationship. He was a quiet, kind man, but he was also stubborn when he wanted to be. And when it came to his daughters, he could be quite stubborn.

"But, I mean, you can talk to him, right?" Toji asked. "You are kind of his favorite, after all."

"Maybe, but…" Hikari began. "With Kodama off at university, and Nozomi so young, he counts on me to keep things in order around the house. I can't just drop that without a good reason."

"Yeah…" Toji said. "That's fair."

It was quiet again, then Hikari sighed as she stood, Toji trying very hard not to focus on where exactly his blood was going as she walked over to his side and sat back down.

"I'll figure it out." Hikari said as she leaned on Toji's shoulder and closed her eyes. "We'll figure it out."

"Yeah." Toji replied quietly after a moment. "Yeah, we will."

. . .

After a moment of startled attention at Toji's apparent outburst, Asuka and Shinji shook their heads slightly. "Wonder what's on the jock's mind." Asuka pondered.

"I don't know." Shinji replied. "Must be something pretty crazy if he's reacting like that."

Asuka nodded. "Yeah." she said. "Yeah." she repeated, quieter this time.

"Asuka," Shinji said, concern evident in his voice, "what's wrong?"

Asuka sighed after a moment of silence. "I…" she started. "What am I going to be?"

"What do you mean?" Shinji asked.

"I mean, look at what the world is coming to." Asuka said, sitting up and looking over at Shinji. "We have… magic. Interfacing, Expressions, it's all just magic, really. And the Angels, for the most part, are dead. Even with the rest of the MP-Evas and this Marlowe Child, after we win that, and we will win that…"

Asuka shook her head. "What comes after? We don't have a 'normal' life to return to. Hell, we didn't even have a normal life in the first place. So… what's next?"

Asuka's face scrunched up in frustration as she looked at the slightly rippling water at her reflection. "I don't know. I should know. I hate that."

Shinji looked at Asuka sympathetically as he put his arm around her shoulders and pondered quietly for a moment.

"Asuka…" He began, pausing as she looked up at him, still frustrated. "If there's anyone who could figure out what happens after, it's you."

"Really?" Asuka said with an arched eyebrow. "The one whose entire life was dedicated to piloting an Evangelion? A machine that won't work when we get our mother's souls out of them?"

She smiled wanly. "I admire your optimism. Really, I do."

Shinji smiled back. "Well…" he said, pondering on his response for a moment until he happened upon a question that he had been asked long ago.

"Asuka," he said, "why do you pilot the Eva?"

Asuka blinked as she looked up at Shinji with wide, somewhat disbelieving eyes. "What?"

"Why do you pilot the Eva?" Shinji said again patiently. "I'm pretty sure it isn't because you want to be noticed anymore. The press did a good job of that."

Asuka's disbelief became disgust for a moment. "You got that right."

"So, why do you do it?" Shinji asked again.

It was silent for a moment as Asuka pondered. "Well… I do it to protect you." she said softly. "To protect my friends, my family. This world."

"And do you think you could do that without the Eva, should it come to it?" Shinji asked quietly.

"I mean, I think I could. I'm pretty sure I could." Asuka said, equally quiet. "But when it comes down to actually knowing… well, the jury's still out."

It was silent again for a moment. Then Asuka scoffed quietly. "You know, I can't say that I ever expected you to ask me that question. Though I guess turnabout is fair play, in the end."

"I mean, you asking me that question helped me find my reason to pilot, to do what I did. I don't see why it couldn't help you possibly find out what to do." Shinji said with a small smile.

Asuka snorted softly as she smiled. "Well, let it never be said you aren't a clever rookie. And all mine, too." she replied, snuggling against Shinji.

Asuka looked up at a sky that bled orange and red. "Would you look at that?" she said softly. "We have a great view of the sunset. Together, now."

"Yeah." Shinji replied, looking out at the sun as it set, old memories running through his mind. "Together."