Disclaimer: thuuph!

Author's note: These next couple of chapters is going to take a little time to write. (Real life is calling me again..... got to go beat it to death) Anyways this chapter is going to be about the people back at Tokyo-3, they need some screen time. Well I really appreciate your comments and suggestions and please keep them coming. Still need feedback on how to work with Asuka, this chapter will have her in it a lot. And also I know she had a rough life but for me there was always something about the way she acts was scratching me in the back of my mind, so I decided to exploit it for all it's worth. And thanks to Marneus for the separation suggestion I completely forgot about that. I'm also looking for any feedback on the last chapter. And I think that's about it so enjoy and R+R.

Chapter 8 Have you ever seen.....

Hikari's eyes fluttered open as the sun's rays shown on her face; with a yawn and a stretch she rose out of bed to start her day. She first showered and did her normal morning ritual, and then she dressed in her normal clothes and ate her normal breakfast. She sighed 'Normal' it felt good to think it, normal. Yes that's how she felt happy and normal. She started on her way towards school with a happy smile on her face and a tune in her mind.

'I'm happy, really happy. No more angels.' her smile faded 'but the Evas are still here, and they're still fighting. Why? Didn't we defeat the enemy, who is our enemy now? No! Today is a good day and I won't let _this_ bring me down' with a determined look in her eyes her smile returned and she was happy again. When she finally made it to school she saw her friend waiting for her.

"Hi Asuka!" she called.

"Hey Hikari" she turned at the sound of her name.

"Where's Shinji?"

"Humph, him and Wondergirl went off for a vacation and left me here" she said with a huff.

"Shinji and Rei? Really?"

"Ya but its on official business, we're getting a new pilot or something like that"

"Oh ok. Do you know who it is?"

"No, but I hope it's another girl at least someone I can talk to at work" she said with a sigh.

"What about Rei?" Asuka eyebrow went up at the sound of Rei's first name.

"Rei? You mean Wondergirl? She doesn't count..... as a person" the last part was said with such a low tone that Hikari couldn't hear.

"What?"

"Nothing lets go," she said as she turned on her heal to go inside.

"I'll..... be there in a sec"

"Humph fine"

'Well that was rude. Why is she so mean today?' a frown grew on her face "She's never this bad"

"Yeah she is" Hikari turned to see Toji and Kensuke walking up the steps.

"That's not a very nice thing to say!" Hikari said in an annoyed tone.

"Well she is, at least with us she is" Aida stated. All Hikari could do was frown in disagreement. She looked at Suzahara and grew a little worried; he seemed tired and was looking down at the ground trying to fend off sleep. He looked up noticing her gaze and gave her his small smile. Hikari began to blush immediately.

"Suzahara..... I thought you said you were going to the hospital today?"

"I didn't know whether or not you got sensei's permission"

"Well I handled everything with him and you're..... good to go" her blush was growing. Aida could only look back and forth between the two teens; with a whistle he turned and left the two alone.

"Uum..... thanks." they stood in silence for a moment then Toji spoke again "Thank you for all your help Hikari" 'ASK HER DAMN IT!!!'

"Uum no problem, my pleasure" 'NOW STUPID ASK!!!!!'

"See you later then" he smiled again then turned to leave.

"Yeah....." she watched him go in a trance till he was out of sight; the school bells broke that trance. "Oh crap" She hurried inside.

************************************************************************

The hot Nevada sun was shining down on the Nerv team as they searched the base that once housed an Evangelion, bringing them false hope.

"Nothing" one of the team members said.

"What's that Jack?"

"Didn't find anything in here," Jack answered.

"Me neither"

"How you two doing?" An attractive woman asked as she approached.

"Hey Susan, not to good haven't found anything" Jack answered.

"I hate my job"

"Ah come on Brian that's not a very good way at looking at it"

"I know, but I can't help it. Body recovery is just not what I consider fun"

"Hey have we checked down here yet?" Jack said pointing down a corridor.

"Don't think so" Brian blinked.

"Well lets go then," Susan concluded.

"Do we have to it's lunchtime" Jack whined.

"Do you think with anything besides your stomach?"

"Yeah"

"Oh never mind lets go" The three made their way down the darkened corridor.

"Is it just me or is it getting hotter" Brian tugged on his collar.

"Yeah it does feel warmer" Susan confirmed. The three kept going on their way. Soon they came to a rather large door. "What's this?"

"This is the door to one of the Eva hangars," Jack said while pushing up his glasses.

"I'll start trying to get some readings" Brian acknowledges and set his bag down.

"Jeez it's hot" Susan commented while tying her over shirt around her waist. She looked up to catch Jack staring at her "WHAT!"

"Uuk nothing" The two heard snickering coming from Brian's direction.

"And what are you laughing at!!" they both said in unison.

"Nothing, nothing at all" Brian's laughing died off "Look at this door"

"It's melted" Jack said. He tried the handle. "And it feels like it's been welded shut"

"I'll call back to ops" Susan concluded.

************************************************************************

Maya was enjoying her morning at Nerv. She had her coffee and her reports and nothing had gone wrong today..... yet. She was humming as Aoba entered the bridge carrying his morning supplies.

"Good Morning Maya-chan" he said with a smile.

"Good Morning" she said with an equally sunny smile.

"Today feels like it's going to be a good day"

"Yes it does and it's about time....." she was interrupted by another person entering the bridge area. Hyuga came in and looked rather pissed. "Uum you ok?" Maya ventured but Hyuga just waved her off. He was a wreck his uniform was crisp but his hair was a mess and he had bags under his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Aoba ventured this time.

"The Major's paperwork....."

"Ooh" the other two replied in unison.

"Mounds and mounds....." he looked like he was about to break down.

"I tell you what, tonight we'll go out just the three of us," Maya said cheerfully.

"....."

"Uum....."

".....zzzz" he was asleep. Maya's face faulted and Aoba just laughed.

"Lieutenant get him to the bunks and let him sleep it off" Fuyutski said chuckling.

"Yes sir, c'mon" Maya said lifting the sleeping Lt.

"Mmmm soft.....nice" Hyuga had a stupid smile on his face. Maya's was blushing. And Aoba was still laughing.

"Aoba what's the status on the second branch?" Aoba kicked into his normal mode as he heard the sub-commanders question.

"The casualty search team still hasn't found any traces of human remains, but they did however find a door leading to one of the hangar bays welded shut. They are currently attempting to get it open"

"Good keep me posted. What about the preparations for the new Eva and its team of maintainers"

"All preparations are complete.....sir?"

"Yes?"

"Why the new maintainers?"

"It's how the Americans work..... they are not the trusting type"

"I see....."

"You are right to be concerned about this situation but in our current state we are at a bit of a disadvantage if Seele decides to attack again. Don't worry."

"Yes sir"

"I'll be in the break room if anything _important_ comes up"

************************************************************************

"It seems that we under estimated Ikari once again" the counsel of Seele members was discussing the new change of events. "Now Ikari has won the U.N. over and has given them permission to establish troops inside" Seele 1 seethed.

"Yes, with these U.N. forces so close by it will be hard for us to punish him" Seele 4 responded.

"We will for go vengeance upon Ikari and instead focus on our main objective"

"What? But all the angels are gone and Third Impact failed, how can we perform the ritual?" Seele 5 asked.

"If divine will denies us our rightful path then we will force it!"

"But how?"

"Plans are already in progress, but it seems we have another problem, the U.N. security counsel has declared us a terrorist organization. We need to lay low until our time has come. I trust you will work your contacts in favor for us?"

"Yes" Seele 2 responded.

"Good that concludes this meeting" and with that all Seele members disappeared from view.

************************************************************************

Toji Suzahara made his way through the halls of the Nerv with his stomach growling every step of the way. "Aww man this is becoming a real pain" he complained to no one in particular. He rounded the corner to see to his relief the break room. "Thank god" he continued inside fully intended on eating enough for three men. While he was collecting his food he bumped into a somewhat normal face "Oh uum hello" Fuyutski looked up from his coffee and paper and regarded the boy for a few seconds.

"Hello, your Toji Suzahara?"

"Uum yes sir, and your the commander?" Fuyutski just chuckled at the boys remark "Or not"

"No I'm Sub-Commander Fuyutski, pleasure to meet you Fourth child" Suzahara mood darkened slightly at the sound of his title. "What's wrong?"

"I'm a little..... worried about piloting Eva again. If I remember correctly what happened last time I piloted" he flexed his arm in response.

"Aw yes don't worry about that happening again. Your status as a pilot is considered to be active but only as a spare you will most likely not get your own Eva"

"Good"

"Will the Sub-Commander of Nerv, Professor Fuyutski, please report to the Command Bridge" The loud speaker interrupted their short conversation, at this Fuyutski grumbled.

"Well I must go, oh Dr. Akagi will probably want to run you through some tests when she gets back but don't let it get you down ok" He patted him on his shoulder as he walked by "Lord knows we have enough depressed pilots" He was halfway out the door when he called over his shoulder "Give my regards to your sister"

"Does everyone know my business around here?" Toji said a little annoyed.

************************************************************************

*Beep*

Hikari was a little surprised when her computer beeped at her. She opened it to find a message sent from Aida.

[You got a thing for Toji don't ya? ] Hikari's face turned bright red in an impressive amount of time.

[ I don't know what you're talking about ]

[Yeah sure ]

[ I DON'T!! ]

[ He's got a thing for you too, you know that? ] Sensei looked up as he heard a noise from Hikari's seat.

"Horaki is there a problem?" Hikari stood up and bowed.

"No sensei. Gomen" She sat back down redder then before if that was possible. She waved off a look from Asuka.

[ What do you mean? ]

[ Wow that was funny ]

[ Shut up! ]

[ Ok calm down and I meant what I said; he's got a thing for you. He's just shy to admit it ]

[ Toji shy? ]

[ Tell me about it, right now I'm just giving him a helpful push ] Hikari didn't answer.

[ Well do ya or don't ya ]

[ What? ]

[ Have a thing for him ]

[ That's none of your business! ] She shut her computer before he could answer.

'I knew it' Aida laughed to himself

Lunchtime came and all the students retreated to the safety of not being in the classroom. Asuka and Hikari made their way to their normal spot.

"Well are you going to do anything about it?"

"I don't know, what if Aida was wrong?"

"You got to take a chance sooner or later"

"But....."

"No buts, I really don't see what you see in him but you got to risk it if you want it"

"I'll think about it"

"Fine think about it, but don't take to long else Wondergirl will try to land him"

"She won't" Hikari stated rather quickly. "And why would you say a thing like that"

"Because that bitch is always trying to one up everyone, thinking that she is so _perfect_"

"That's not a very nice thing to say Asuka, what gives you the right to judge some one like that" Hikari was getting mad.

"I can judge who I damn well please"

"....."

"WHAT! Are my comments about your new friend pissing you off?"

"YES!" Asuka was taken back by the quiet girl's sudden outburst. "You know what, maybe some people are right about you" Hikari turned from her a started to run in another direction.

"Fine, I never needed anyone and I will _never_ need anyone" Asuka started to eat her lunch with a fake smile on her face.

***********************************************************************

Five people were huddled around Brian as he tried to cut his way through the door. The reinforced steal was not making it easier on him. They were all standing around him in radioactive protective suits just in case, and the heat was not helping the situation.

"Still negative readings" Jack called.

"Check the temperature" Brian said not turning from his work.

"I'll get it" Susan said cheerfully. She bent over to go through Brian's bag in search of the thermostat, revealing the fact that these suits were still a tight fit on her. She turned around to see everyone even Brain staring at her..... and she could swear she saw nose bleeds. "WHAT!!!"

"Nothing!" they all said at once snapping their eyes to the door.

After a few minutes Brian was making good progress and soon he announced he was done. Him, Jack, as well as a few others latched onto the door with crowbars as they tried to wedge the door open. Once they finally got it opened a crack a burst of hot air rushed through the opening scorching everyone near. They all backed away yelling a few curses.

"Anyone hurt?" one person yelled.

"No but damn that's hot"

"Very hot" Susan said as she stared down into the thermostat.

"Well lets get it all the way open" They all returned back to opening the door wider. Once it was opened enough they found the light still on inside. "Must be the emergency lights" They all stepped inside and walked to the end of the hall. Their eyes grew as they saw what was awaiting them.

"My god" Brian said in a whispered tone. Susan screamed and threw her face into Jack's chest, where he in turn hugged her close while staring at the horror in front of him.

"Get Ops on the radio now!"

***********************************************************************

"And then do you know what he did? He _pinched_ my ass!"

"He was tired, people do weird things when their tired"

"This better be good" Fuyutski was rubbing his temples in circular motions when he entered the bridge.

"Yes sir" Aoba tapped out a few commands on his keyboard "The search team has finally made it into the hangar....."

"And....."

"And this....." he typed out the last of the commands. The view screen switched to one that would disturb any man.

"Have a complete study done, find out what happened to them. I want everything videos, pictures, tests everything"

"What going on?" Maya's interest was piqued.

"Nothing that you should see" Fuyutski stepped between her and the view screen.

"Huh?"

"I like you to give me an update on the Eva's conditions" he turned and left before she could answer "I'll be in the office upstairs"

"Yes sir..... what was that? I gave him the latest report earlier today"

"He just doesn't want you to see this that's all"

"Well let me see it"

"No, I don't want you to see it either" Aoba said rather darkly.

"Why not..... is it that bad?" Aoba answered by nodding his head "Oh"

************************************************************************

Hikari was not feeling good at all; her little out burst with Asuka had earned her the cold shoulder for much of the day. Not only that she was fighting a battle in her head. She was trying to decide what to say to Toji. Before she knew it the day was over, after performing her duties she set off for home.

'Maybe Asuka and Aida are right I should just risk it' she wanted to tell him but like all human beings she was afraid to drop her defenses. "Oh forget it"

"Forget what?"

"Eek!" Hikari was starting to hate that. She turned to see Suzahara again "TOJI STOP THAT!"

All he could do was laugh lightly "I'm sorry"

"It's..... fine" she said with a smile creeping across her face. "So how's your sister?"

"She's fine, she's a strong one maybe stronger then me" he frowned at his last comment.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, don't worry about me"

"I'm going to worry about you if I want to" Hikari blurted out before thinking.

"You..... worry about me?"

"Uuk....." she just realized what she said. "Uum....." she couldn't think, blush was starting to glow off her.

"Well I....." 'SAY IT, SAY IT YOU DIPSHIT!!!!!' ".....uum oh the hell with it" Hikari just looked at him confused. "I like you"

Hikari was frozen in place she couldn't move. Her mind was mush, her heart was stopped all together, and her mouth was clamped shut. Toji looked at her, he just laid himself out unprotected and fully vulnerable to her..... and she was speechless. "Uum...."

"It's alright....." he stood up "..... I'll see you later ok" he turned to leave. He maybe got three steps before he couldn't move anymore. Two arms clamped around his waist halted his retreat. He turned around and saw the pleading eyes of Hikari.

"I like you too" was all she could say. The two remained like that for a long time.

**********************************************************************

Maya, Shigeru, and a rather messed up Makoto were sitting in Misato's apartment. Their plans to go out were cancelled due to the lunch that Hyuga deposited in the toilet. Misato asked Maya to look after the house and Asuka, so now her and her two friends was enjoying a quiet night..... as long as Asuka didn't come out of her room or Hyuga go into the bathroom.

"So what was that anyways?"

"What?" Aoba asked trying to sound innocent.

"Don't give me that! What was it that you showed the Sub-Commander and not me?"

"You don't want to worry about it trust me" a sound of violent vomiting could be heard in the background.

"Look I don't like being handled like a kid alright!"

"Alright!" Maya sat back satisfied and waited patiently.

"We..." Aoba looked at her with a look of guilt. Maya grew worried. "... found out what happened to the _people_ in the second branch"

Author's note: I gotta admit this is not a very good chapter but I was running on empty towards the end. Relatively short compared to my last chapters. Asuka fans don't worry; I'm not going to kill her off or anything. I'm thinking I will develop the bridge bunnies more later. Oh well tell me what you think.