I do not own either of these series. If you wish to flame me on any subject, or at any level, then I welcome the very fires of Hell. Oh, and I like to follow the manga of Evangelion for some things, and the series for others. Also, I'm going to follow events to a certain extent and this is in the Evangelion universe. There will be no Negaverse monsters romping around. I'm doing this in order to challenge myself back into my Cowboy Bebop story.

My Purple Haze

A Sailor Moon / Evangelion crossover

Part Three

The activation was over and, much to the displeasure of Shinji, successful. The group strolled out of the control room. Asuka was almost as disappointed as her male comrade, but on a different point.

"That was kinda boring," she said as they left. "I suppose," Shinji murmured. Asuka looked over at him. "Why so gloomy all of the sudden?" she asked. Her voice was soft toned. Shinji was surprised, but knew that answering her while she was like this meant that she might do it in the future.

"I didn't die."

Asuka raised an eyebrow. "What in the world are you talking about? You weren't in any danger in there," she said.

"I know."

Asuka crossed her arms in front of her chest and grunted.

"Shinji, you are one selfish creature!"

"Huh?"

She unfolded her arms and leaned close to his face. It was enough to cause him discomfort and pink blush spread across his cheeks. "You wish that you would die, so that you would no longer feel guilt, so that you would no longer feel pain," her tone began to rise in volume, "You don't consider the pain your death might inflict on others. You don't even care, because it's all about you!" Her point was emphasized by stamping her foot on the floor and clenching her fists. She narrowed her eyes and then leaned back.

"You're a helpless case," she muttered and started down the corridor towards the elevator. He watched her go.

"Oh! Shinji! There you are!" came a voice from behind him. He turned and saw Ritsuko standing there with a smile. "I'm glad I caught you. There's someone I'd like for you to meet," she said.

A form came from behind her with the soft step of a tender kitten. Black hair gleamed a blue crown of light to the top of her hair. Her ivory skin and strange violet eyes contrasted her dark hair. She was no longer in her plug suit, but had changed into the girl's uniform of the school Shinji attended. Her hands were clasped together behind her back.

"Shinji, this is Hotaru Tomoe. Hotaru, meet Shinji Ikari, the son of the commander and the Third Child."

A light smile brushed her features. "Nice to meet you, Shinji," she said. Her voice was soft, gentle like Rei's, but with warmth in it. She had a nice name as well, named after the rare and beautiful firefly.

"Nice to meet you as well, Hotaru Tomoe," Shinji said.

"Ah, now I'm glad I did this. I wasn't sure if you knew each other at all, considering Hotaru is in a grade below you. Despite that, you two are the same age," Ritsuko paused for a moment, "Shinji, would you mind showing her where the lounge is? You two can grab a bite to eat there and talk about something. I wish that I could do it, but I have to file reports. Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah, sure, Ritsuko."

Their feet echoed across the halls. Shinji glanced over at her. Her face was calm, and a little bright. She was humming an unknown tune as she walked.

"Were you scared?"

Hotaru looked over at Shinji with a confused look. "What do you mean?" she asked, keeping her eyes on him as she walked, a dangerous activity considering all of the compartments and things jutting out from the walls.

"During the activation test, were you scared?"

"Why?"

Her question to his made him think that he may have been alone in his fear and reluctance, for two pilots had given him the same answer. "Did they not tell you what could go wrong?" he asked. She shrugged. "Guess not. Besides, no stuff happened. It could've, but it didn't. I could turn into a duck and quack all the way to the lounge, but I won't," she said.

She was an optimist. This was such a rare quality to have in the times occurring around them. She was almost a fairytale here.

"But I wasn't meant for this."

Though, even in times of light, there are shadow. He felt it bleed through. He looked at her again, and her eyes had grown nearly vacant, as if she was reliving a memory lost somewhere in her mind and she had just now reclaimed it.

"What do you mean?"

"I wasn't meant to pilot an EVA unit. I was meant for something else. But it's gone now."

"What is?"

Abrupt, she smiled brightly. "Oh, nothing," she answered, "Now, where is that lounge? I'm starving!"

She skipped a few steps ahead of Shinji, avoiding his questions and his eyes. He thought she was like Rei, but he was wrong. She certainly spoke more syllables than his red-eyed companion did. However, she was unlike Asuka as well. She was kinder, subtler. She was another enigma for Shinji to never solve.

Shinji smelled cinnamon coming from the nearby lounge. The NERV crew must've run out of normal coffee and was brewing up one of those special flavor blends. Whatever had happened to make them do that, the smell of cinnamon certainly drowned out the smell of any food the lounge may have been serving. He approached the room with an apathetic feeling about the things that he might eat there. He stopped a moment and watched her walk in. She pivoted on her right foot and turned to him. He watched her as she looked at him, raising an eyebrow and raising her hand as if to reach to him. Her eyes were perplexed at his halt. Her lips parted.

She lives inside a monster.

I suffocate inside the seams of one.

"Shinji?"

"Coming."