VIII. When Four Hearts are Bound by Fate

After several weeks Asuka had finally graduated from being bedridden to trying, largely in vain, to regain her lost muscular strength.

When the Fifth Child found her, she was struggling up off the floor, cursing violently across several tongues, trying to support herself on atrophied legs. When she finally arrived at her feet, clinging to a metal bar to stand, she turned her attention to the boy at the door.

"What are you looking at?" she demanded.

Kaworu took several steps into the physical therapy room. "So. Are you the fabled Second Child?"

"That's me," Asuka said, tossing her head back in what she hoped was a casual manner. "What about it?"

"I am Nagisa Kaworu," the boy said, "the Fifth Child. For the moment, I have assumed command of Unit 02."

"I've heard of you," Asuka said, her hackles rising. "Even down here in the medical wing we do hear about some of the stuff up at Big Important Headquarters. I knew full well there was another Child taking control of my mech."

Kaworu smiled lightly. "Good. Then perhaps we can avoid any awkward introductions."

"'Asuka' will be fine," she informed him. "Just don't get too comfortable in Unit 02. I'll be back fighting Angels before you even get your first synch scores back."

Kaworu resisted the urge to bait her, to tell her that several synch tests had already been occasioned, and he had vastly outperformed her in every possible way. Instead he said, "If you ever do get your strength back, do you really think they're going to just dump you back in an Eva? You'll be a back-up pilot at best. A back-up to me, you see?"

His inflection never seemed to change, nor did the infuriating half-smile on his face.

"Is that so!?" Asuka fumed. "I'll have you know that NERV happens to need as many pilots as it can get!"

"Of course," Kaworu said. "I'm just saying that you'll be back-up. Even if more Evas are produced, they'll be assembly-line units with dummy plugs for brains."

"I'll be happy if I never have to lay eyes on those metal bastards," Asuka said, turning up her nose.

"Well, just work on getting better for now," Kaworu said, adopting a slightly patronizing tone. "I'll bet you'll be back in an Eva before you know it. I look forward to…working with you." He sniggered, deliberately loud enough for her to hear.

"Why you—!" She let go of the pole and began to shamble toward him, a look of pure hatred on her face. She had not gone a full two steps when her legs collapsed under her and she came crashing to the ground.

Kaworu smiled slightly, bent down and reached out his hand. "Help you up?"

Asuka snarled and slapped away the proffered hand. "Arschloch."

"My my," he said, clucking his tongue. "I believe I've just been insulted. And here I was being very chivalrous. Well then, I guess I'll just let you get up on your own."

He turned and walked toward the door. "Later," he said, waving a hand over his shoulder.

Asuka stared furiously at the door where Kaworu had been standing. She tried futilely to rise, before she surrendered to gravity and dissolved into tears.

****

Shinji was walking along one of the nameless corridors that populated the NERV headquarters. He saw Kaworu approaching from the other direction and turned to walk with him.

"Ah, Shinji-kun," Kaworu said, smiling.

"Kaworu-kun," Shinji said, reciprocating the expression. "Where did you go?"

"I was just to see Asuka," he said, no change evident in his face.

"Really? How is she doing?"

"Quite well, I'd say," Kaworu replied. "She's got a lot of fight in her."

Shinji laughed. "Yeah. That's true."

They must have really gotten along if they're already on a first-name basis, Shinji thought, recalling his own meeting with Kaworu.

"Now where are we going?" the Third Child asked.

"Nowhere particular," Kaworu replied, seeming to look into the air before him. "I thought perhaps a shower. I would like to feel clean again."

"Nothing here is clean," Shinji muttered. Kaworu gave him an odd look but said nothing.

The showers were empty, only the sound of hissing water to detract from the silence.

Yes, Kaworu thought to himself, remembering his encounter with Asuka. She is quite a fighter. It is good that she is gone for now…she could cause quite a bit of trouble if I had to work past her to achieve my goals. He paused. But…it would be a shame to destroy her. She is…fun.

"Kaworu-kun?" Shinji said. Kaworu started, but then looked over at Shinji, the question not off his lips. "Thinking…?"

"Yes," Kaworu said simply. "I was thinking that it must take quite some strength to pilot an Evangelion. You have much strength, Ikari Shinji-kun."

"What?" he said, blushing slightly. "No, I don't, I…"

"You do," Kaworu said confidently. "You are Ikari Shinji, the Third Child, are you not? You have been selected to pilot an Evangelion, have you not?"

"Yes, but…but I only do it because everybody tells me to."

Kaworu smiled softly. "Listen to me, Ikari Shinji. You are more than a mere doll. The Evangelion will not allow itself to be piloted by just anyone. There is something in you that the Evangelion knows about. That is why it allows you to control it. Other circumstances are irrelevant."

Shinji stared at Kaworu for a moment, unsure what was being said.

Kaworu laughed, sensing his predicament. "You must know about mumonseki—the Gateless Gate. 'On the great way there is no gate, but a thousand paths to choose from. Find the gate and you may walk alone between Heaven and Earth.' You can choose your own path, Ikari Shinji-kun, and nothing can stop you from deciding which one you want at any time, and taking that path."

"I'm an Eva pilot."

"Then so be it," Kaworu replied. "For now, you pilot Evangelion. But when all the Angels have died, you will yet live, Ikari Shinji-kun. Do not forget that."

Shinji looked as though he were about to say something but stopped himself, and Kaworu turned off his shower, leaving to dry himself.

Shinji sighed and turned off his water as well, reaching around the door for a towel.

They both emerged from the changing rooms at the same time, in their pressed school uniforms.

"Then, I will be on my way," Kaworu said, stopping as he was about to pass Shinji. "But do not forget, Ikari Shinji-kun. Nagisa Kaworu loves you, and this makes you human."

"What about Nagisa Kaworu?" Shinji asked, not looking at the other boy. "Does it make him human, too?"

"Can he receive love?"

Shinji hesitated slightly. "Ikari Shinji loves Nagisa Kaworu. D-Don't forget that…Kaworu-kun."

Kaworu laughed lightly. "Then…I am human. Insofar as I have both loved, and been loved."

"Is that really what it means to be human?"

"Yes."

Kaworu walked out of the room without another word.

****

Misato sighed and lay back in her bed. Shinji was staying with the Fifth Child, and Asuka was still in the hospital. Misato had not been allowed to visit her at first, and even though the appropriate clearances had now been granted, she had been so busy as to prevent her from ever actually seeing Asuka.

She heard the soft tapping of tiny feet come slowly from one room to the next, finally entering her door. PenPen's little silhouette became very large, cast across the floor and onto the bed by the light behind the door.

"Hello PenPen," Misato said, smiling slightly. The bird waddled into the room and held its flippers up to her, squawking once or twice. Misato almost laughed and nodded, hefting PenPen onto the bed next to her. He immediately grabbed up what was probably more than his share of the covers, but Misato decided she didn't mind.

"Just a little companionship," she murmured. "That's all I ever wanted." The penguin said something halfway between a squeak and a yawn, then rolled over so his back was to her.

"But…" she sighed. "I guess maybe…I never really found it."

PenPen said nothing: he was asleep.

****

Gendo sat at his desk, Fuyutsuki in his usual place behind him, holding a page of readouts and numbers.

"This boy's synch rates are incredible," Fuyutsuki said, pointing to a column labeled '5' on the paper. "It's almost as though he can set the synch rate to whatever he pleases."

"Yes," Gendo nodded, showing no emotion. "He was a very good choice for an Evangelion pilot. But I still have my doubts."

"Then I'm sure they are well-founded," Fuyutsuki replied. "But we can hardly call SEELE on such an excellent pilot. It would seem too suspicious. Perhaps…as though we knew something we were not supposed to."

"I don't know what you mean," Gendo said innocently. "I'm merely a prudent commander working on gut instinct."

Fuyutsuki nodded. "Of course."

"Kozo," Gendo said seriously, his demeanor visibly changing. "The Time of Trials is coming to an end. But you see, it is impossible that our trials will end upon the death of the seventeenth Angel. I do not claim to know all of what is coming. But I can guarantee you that we will not expect it, and we will have to adapt quickly to fight it."

Fuyutsuki shifted uncomfortably. "For now, we should concentrate on the matter at hand."

"The Angels," Gendo said. "Yes, of course. One problem at a time."

****

Asuka limped through the hospital ward, supported by crutches. She was faintly mystified by the sensation that her legs simply would not work, but for the moment she was forced to shift from one to the other with each step, each time summoning all the energy she had to continue standing.

The hospital wing of the NERV base was reasonably populous, but Asuka managed to fend off whomever she saw with a killing glare.

With terrible suddenness the hallway rang with the screeching of alarms.

"Level One Alert in progress," a calm voice reported over the loudspeaker. "An Angel has entered the base."

"What!?" Asuka shouted.

Without warning the entire building began to quake violently, sending Asuka tumbling to the ground with a loud curse. Personnel appeared from all their hiding places, swarming around Asuka. She heard soft, even footsteps pass her head, then stop.

"Here."

A pale hand reached down to help her up. Grudgingly Asuka took hold of it, and Rei lifted her to her feet. Asuka grabbed up her crutches, struggling to balance as the building continued to rumble.

Asuka was about to say something to Rei, when she looked up and realized the other girl was gone.

The voice on the speaker never ceased, constantly bringing new announcements, or repeating old ones.

"The seventeenth Angel has arrived…all personnel please assume battle stations…"

Asuka felt herself distancing from the situation, until suddenly the language blaring from the loudspeakers meant nothing to her. She listened to it, not a word registering with her brain.

"Juu-shichi no shito ga tsuita. Minna-sama wa…"

Suddenly something shook her out of her reverie.

"The Angel has entered Terminal Dogma. Repeat: The Angel has entered Terminal Dogma."

"It's the end of the world," Asuka moaned, and the general mood seemed to agree with her.

As suddenly as it had come, the rumbling stopped, and utter silence reigned over the base. Asuka was hard-pressed to hear even a breath from the people around her.

The silence seemed to go on forever, extending into infinity. Asuka's own shallow breaths grated on her ears, as though the Angel would hear her alone and come to kill her.

The voice came over the speaker again, splitting the soundlessness. "Attention NERV personnel: The Seventeenth Angel has been defeated. Repeat, the Angel has been eliminated. This concludes the Level One Alert. All personnel please return to your normal duties."

Activity slowly filtered back into the NERV base, but Asuka stood where she was, stunned.