Started May 27, 2001
Finished June 17, 2001

- - - - -

There is no hunting like the hunting of
man, and those who have hunted armed men
long enough and liked it, never care for
anything else thereafter.
--Ernest Hemingway

* * * * *

The Game: Knowledge
Chapter 2

Red Horseman

To the untrained eye the pair of young adults would seem at home in the
crowd of businessmen and women. After all they easily threaded their way
through the bustle, while talking on phones and carrying attaché cases. The
black business suits were also the norm for their type and were not out of
place. The lie would be exposed if a person watched the pair closely. They
never separated from each other more than five feet and stayed on a path that
went past several prominent companies. A closer inspection would spot the
bulges under the pair's left arms that tailoring didn't cover up completely.
After an hour of walking the pair stopped off at a small street-side restaurant.

"So was that Kenji?" Shinji asked Asuka after they had ordered from the
menu.

He hadn't needed to change his appearance at all for their task but Asuka
was another story. Asuka still stood out with her height, being four inches
under six foot, while Shinji couldn't help but smile at her appearance. She had
dyed her hair dark brown with auburn highlights in it, while her sky blue eyes
were now hidden beneath gray contacts, in addition a pair of silver wire-
rimmed glasses rested on her nose. The most striking effect was the makeup
Asuka was wearing. The red lipstick and nail polish combined with a hint of
blush on her cheeks made Asuka look different from her usual self, but when
Shinji had commented on her looks Asuka had made a quiet remark about looking
too much like her mother.

"Yep," replied Asuka before she sipped at some water. "I can't believe
that pervert is our contact. He bought up all my pictures back in school." She
set her water down and gazed at him. "Did you spot anyone?"

"Two stood out like the NERV security branch and I spotted others that
might have been," Shinji reported. He wasn't cut out for this kind of stuff and
had told Asuka that when she had first suggested it. He had been reluctant to
take on an organization that had been running things from the shadows for years.
But like Asuka he had grown tired of running and having no future, so here they
were going after a former schoolmate that possibly could help them with
obtaining certain items. "But with everyone dressed the same my imagination
might have been playing tricks."

"What about you?"

"Four NERV or SEELE agents that were so obvious they were meant as decoys.
I also spotted a few others that seemed out of place." Shinji caught the quiet
sigh from her. "Anyone that they think could help us probably has been under
surveillance for a long time and that is even more true if they are also
friends of Kensuke or Touji, even Hikari."

"Are you sure we can pull this off Asuka?"

"Yes. We need to do this Shinji." She smiled at him to reassure him. "And
once we get over this initial hurdle it'll go smoother." What remained unsaid
was that she -hoped- things went well.

"So what time are we meeting him?" The answer was a couple minutes in
waiting as the waitress approached with their orders.

"About two hours after complete darkness." Asuka broke apart her
chopsticks and took a bite before continuing. "It'll give us time to look
around the neighborhood."

At that Asuka went quiet and the two of them ate the meal they had ordered
minutes ago. Since entering the restaurant neither had relaxed completely and
the staggered seating meant that both avenues of approach were being watched.
Coming into a large metropolitan area meant the risks of being recognized
increased. Both their faces and physical descriptions had been aired and
published throughout the world after they had been on the run for a year.
Makeup and dye could only go so far in hiding their identities. Neither noticed
a pair of men watching them nor the equipment they put away as they left.

- - - -

That night the pair approached a house outside the city that looked
immaculate in it's appearance. Gone were the business suits and in their place
were jeans and T-shirts with windbreakers to cover the pistols. They had sat
on a hill a short distance away and had surveyed the crowded neighborhood
through binoculars and had seen nothing out of place. No cars with tinted
windows were in side streets or people loitering in the general vicinity.

Walking along the wall Asuka and Shinji made their way to a gate and an
intercom system. Looking around quickly Shinji knelt down and cupped his hands
to boost Asuka over the gate. As soon as she was over, Asuka opened the gate
from the inside and let him in. Shinji looked over at Asuka, who nodded and
reached into her windbreaker and pulled out her pistol. Her position on the
right of Shinji would allow her leg to hide it and gain her quicker entrance.

Shinji glanced at her with a final worried look before reaching for the
buzzer. Now would be the time to be taken if anyone were to be waiting, since
the walled yard effectively trapped them. As the buzzer sounded the pair heard
some noises as a person approached the door, it should be Kenji Higashi who
would open the door. Swallowing Shinji tensed and prepared to do his duty,
which they had worked out beforehand.

"Can I help you?" A quiet male voice asked as the door opened. "How did
you.."

That was all the man was able to get out before Asuka slammed the door
open. Shinji had had enough time to see that it was their contact before Asuka
struck. She pushed him against the wall, with the pistol under Kenji's chin
and an arm pressing against his chest with her weight, stopping him from
moving. Staring Kenji in the eyes Asuka felt a little sympathy as she saw fear
in his brown eyes. The closing of the front door signaled Shinji was in and
Asuka saw him from the corner of her eye as he disappeared. The sounds of doors
opening confirmed that Shinji was doing everything to the plan.

"Come on, who are you guys? What'd I do?" Asuka cursed to herself as
Kenji's questions showed that her attention had drifted.

"Be quiet," stressed Asuka in a voice that expected compliance. Asuka
didn't dare look at her watch to see how long Shinji was taking with his
search.

"It's clear." Shinji was still tense as he reported minutes later. "The
house is empty, even the small attic."

Asuka sighed and smiled a smile of relief at the news. For all her bravado
and confidence she had been worried that hunters would be waiting for them.
Stepping back from Kenji Asuka lowered her pistol, but didn't engage the safety,
allowing him to step away from the wall. Kenji looked at the pair while he
tried to stop shaking out of fear. Asuka knew that they weren't intimidating
physically and so had opted for speed and surprise. Motioning with her head
Asuka indicated that Kenji should take the lead. He nodded and led them to the
kitchen where a kettle was steaming.

"Look can you tell me what's going on?" Kenji asked as he poured three mugs
of tea. He did it out of courtesy and needed it to calm his own nerves. "It
doesn't look like you want to hurt or rob me so."

"Some schoolmate you are Kenji." Asuka had taken the lead as was normal.
"Can't even remember the most popular girl in school." A slight frown.
"Anyways didn't Kensuke tell you we would show up?"

"You are Asuka?" Kenji's eyes widen as she nodded. He then looked at
Shinji. "Then you're Shinji." Shinji smiled.

"Kensuke said you'd be showing up, but not when. Said I owed him a favor
from school and that I couldn't turn it down." Getting over his shock Kenji
was entering his business mode, the illegal one. "So what do the two most
wanted people on the planet want from me?"

Asuka leaned forward, elbows on the table with her hands folded in front of
her. She smiled the same smile that she had shown Shinji when she had told him
what she wanted to do. It had the same effect on Kenji as he swallowed and
leaned away from Asuka.

"You are going to help provide us with what we need." She paused, taking a
sip of the tea. "Or you will find yourself out of business quickly when we
leave."

"Fine," stated Kenji. He was still in shock at seeing a virtual gold mine
in his kitchen but knew he wouldn't be around to collect if he roused their
suspicions. "So again I ask you what you need?"

"A lot of stuff, but do you have a more secure place to talk."

Kenji drained the last of his tea and stood up from the table. Again Asuka
and Shinji took up position behind him as he walked off. Kenji led them down a
hallway to the back of the house and stopped at a blank wall except for a light
switch. The plate popped off, after Kenji touched a corner, to reveal a keypad
into which Kenji punched a code. The trio waited until the muffled sound of
bolts releasing was heard. A slight crack appeared and Kenji pushed the
concealed door open to show an alcove with stairs. Asuka and Shinji shared a
look at this but kept quiet.

After closing the door Kenji started walking down the stairs to the
subfloor. The sight that greeted the following pair was not what they had been
expecting. Instead of a small dark, cold area the space was well lit and
expansive, it was half the size of the house above them. The furniture and
living area that took up a quarter of the space offset the array of computers
and electronics. The other part was filled with weird combinations of items.
Weapons were on racks next to filing cabinets and a wide variety of printers,
printing presses and machining tools stood on tables.

"What can I help you with now?" Kenji asked while booting up one of the
computers. The others had text flowing across the screen that neither Asuka
nor Shinji could guess at what they were doing.

"The usual," explained Asuka as she walked around the space looking at
different things. "Passports, IDs, visas, and any other false papers we can
think of in different identities. Equipment such as guns and maybe lightweight
body armor would work."

She stopped and looked at Shinji, who slid his backpack off. Opening it he
pulled out a square flat container.

"We also need this decrypted."

In his hand was a disc of some sort. They had found it at his aunt and
uncle's house after they had left Tokyo-3. The house had been ransacked and his
relatives killed, but the small hiding spot contained the disc, enough money to
last months and some papers. Shinji had been grief stricken when he had walked
in on the bodies and almost stopped, but Asuka being her usual self had to
remind him they had to be quick or they would be caught. As he held out the
disc the memories came back, clear as the day he had seen them.

"This goes no farther than you," Shinji flatly told him.

Kenji grinned at Shinji as he reached for the disc.

"You can trust me."

"Famous last words," interrupted Asuka. Shinji hadn't released the disc
yet. "Trust is never given, only earned." Kenji sighed at hearing that.

"Fine I promise that no one else will learn of this." He looked at the
pair. "My suppliers will only know of my request not my customers, okay?"

Shinji finally released the disc to Kenji's possession. Kenji placed the
disc into the reader, waited a short time and whistled at what the initial
assessment told him. Turning to the pair he smiled at the challenge in front
of him.

"This is going to take a while to crack so I hope you don't mind staying
here a short time."

"How long?" Asuka asked with a frown.

"Worst case two weeks and it will take around a week to get all the
documents you need. Any equipment is going to take longer, body armor a minimum
of two weeks."

"Fine."

All Kenji did was nod before he got to work. He spent close to a half-hour
typing instructions and modifying software on his computer before the task of
decrypting the disc began. "What are your birthdays and those of your parents.
Rei's also if you know." The pair did so and the numbers were inputted to the
computer. "Any nicknames for the two of you and Rei plus full names of close
friends or relatives."

Again the pair gave the required information and answered following
questions for almost ten minutes before Kenji started the program. He didn't
explain anything, instead pulling out a notebook into which he started writing.

"It must be an interesting story of what has happened to the both of you
with the 1 billion yen bounty on each of your heads." The pair ignored that
part instead each had split and was looking at different things. "It's amazing
that you two even survived this long."

"And why is that amazing?" Asuka tartly asked.

"Well for one thing, you." Kenji spun around and pointed at Asuka. "You
had spent a year catatonic, in rehabilitation and catching up with everyone.
Also a lot of your drive had seemed to disappear back then, though you seem to
have gotten it back. Did you know that those boys who dated you before were no
longer interested in you? The devil had turned into a shallow image of herself.
People were no longer afraid of you or didn't you wonder why more people picked
on you. You became like Shinji at times, withdrawn." A moment passed as he
wrote. "Also there was the fact that even after everything you still didn't
like accepting help from anyone."

"So I wasn't interested in those idiots," Asuka commented, not wanting to
remember the times after her depressed state.

"On the other hand, him." Kenji jerked a thumb in Shinji's direction. "He was
the perfect example of depression. He just became indifferent to everything
around him unless it concerned you or Rei. Didn't care what others said even
when his friends stuck up for him. Everyone expected you to go off the deep end
and kill yourself but you never did." He stared hard at Shinji. "You know how
many potential girlfriends you lost because of your attitude. Not to mention
that your interest in Asuka was obvious to everyone except her.

"I didn't know." Shinji glanced over at Asuka and saw her shoot him a
look. Kenji didn't notice and continued.

"That's why I said it was amazing you two survived this long. The
independent girl and the depressed boy, a mismatched pair if I ever saw one. A
lot must have changed for the two of you to be working and living together."

Kenji went silent and looked at the list he made before opening a book.
Asuka walked over to Shinji and whispered in his ear, waiting for his
acknowledgment. After receiving a nod she walked over to the washroom and
entered. Shinji pulled up a chair and sat on Kenji's offside. This allowed him
to watch the stairs and the man at the computer desk. Shinji waited quietly and
looked in greater detail at the surrounding environment.

"So how is she?" Came the quiet question after a few minutes of silence.

"What?" Shinji rolled his eyes as he had expected the question. He had been
asked that by Touji and Kensuke many times and it was an immature topic to him.

"Asuka. How is she in bed?" Kenji turned around and was grinning.

"Don't know," came the nonchalant answer. Seeing the look of disbelief from
Kenji Shinji explained. "Sex has not been one of our top priorities. There is
more to Asuka than her body, which all the boys could never understand."

"But you've been with her for seven years," Kenji stated. "You've must have
thought about it. Plus in the last five years you two must have shared a bed at
some time."

"Maybe or maybe not, I'm not going to say."

"Have you seen her naked, at least. Asuka was the best looking girl in
school so I think I'm justified in asking as would any guy." This last part had
even more pleading in it then before. "She looks even better now. So come on
you can tell me."

"Just drop it will you Kenji. I hear enough of it from Touji and Kensuke."

"But.."

"Shinji's right," Asuka interrupted the conversation with a frown. "It is
none of your business." She came to stand on the other side of Kenji. "How are
your mom and sister?"

"Dead." He spun around angrily. "SEELE killed off anyone that could be
trouble. My family thought you two were our only hope and so were killed for
being sympathetic. A lot of people died for either not going along with SEELE's
plans or caring about the both of you."

Again the space became quiet as neither party had anything to say after
that matter. Shinji looked at Kenji with sad eyes knowing how he must feel
about bringing up a hurtful subject. Looking at Asuka he saw a similar look on
her face and he had to smile at her empathy for the man. Kenji didn't notice as
he continued making notes and writing things down for some time. He finally
left the pair stating that he had to get some sleep and do stuff for work.
Before he left Kenji told them to stay in the basement in order not to draw
attention.

"I'm going to take a bath, okay." Asuka told Shinji after they had unpacked
the little clothes they had brought.

Shinji nodded and sat on the bed watching Asuka walk away and enter the
bathroom, closing the door behind her. Sighing as he heard the water start
Shinji opened his bag and pulled out two empty magazines along with a box of
hollow points. Taking an empty clip he started thumbing rounds into it lost in
the monotony of it. Pick up a round, feed it into the clip and repeat. Shinji
kept doing this to keep his mind off the sounds of splashing water behind him.
Soon the two empty clips were loaded and he started emptying the clip in his
pistol and the spare.

"Stop brooding will you," Asuka told him sharply.

Shinji jerked his upwards and saw Asuka standing in front of him. Looking
down again he saw that not only had he done his weapon's maintenance but also
Asuka's. Smiling sheepishly at her Shinji grabbed the small first aid kit out
of his bag and turned to Asuka. Her wound was healing quickly now that the
infection was disappearing but they still had to watch it.

"I wasn't brooding, okay." Shinji missed the look from Asuka as he quickly
worked from experience.

"Sure you weren't." Asuka pulled her shirt on and leaned over to look him
in the eyes. Tapping him on the forehead she continued. "That's all you ever
did back at Misato's and she let you get away with it. If you had a tape player
and music now you would be laying on your back looking at the ceiling."

"You saw me!"

"I'm not stupid, of course I knew what you did. Ran away to your room when
reality did something to you and you wanted to escape." She answered in a
mocking tone to his statement.

"And what did you do? Always yelling at me and mocking me then running to
your room if it didn't go your way." Shinji shot back. The hurt look on Asuka's
face stopped him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

A look of worry crossed her face. Something was wrong with Shinji since he
hadn't snapped back at her in months. "Haven't I shown that I'll listen to
what you say. Am I not your friend?" She sat down next to him.

"Of course you are." Shinji looked down from her gaze. "It's just things
that I have to work out for myself. Sorry."

"Okay," Asuka replied quietly. She spotted the lie and dropped the subject
not wanting to push. As Shinji got up to shower he turned to her.

"You think we can trust Kenji?"

"I'd like to trust him but anything could happen. Remember Akane Shimizu?"
Shinji shuddered at the name of the former NERV technician and friend. She had
turned them in for greed and they barely escaped because they had spotted the
trap. Akane had ended up dead in the ensuing firefight and escape. "We can only
really trust each other. Sucks doesn't it?"

Shinji frowned but nodded at her statement. Too much trust had almost cost
them their freedom. Even Kensuke and Touji could be suspect his mind had told
him many times. A shake of his head threw that thought away and again he looked
at Asuka. "Can you take first watch?" A smile came to his lips. "I don't want
to brood."

"Sure."

Shinji nodded and left Asuka to her own thoughts. When Shinji left the
bathroom the lights were off, except for the glow from the computer screens and
a desk lamp. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he spotted Asuka in a chair
silhouetted by the light. Gone was the confident woman as her features were
softened and relaxed. The perpetual young girl who had been forced to mature so
early seemed to show through at times like these. The sad eyes, how Asuka
absent-mindedly played with her hair, and the quiet melody coming from her
lips. Shaking his head Shinji quickly got into bed not wanting to disturb her
peace, not noticing a pair of blue eyes staring at him as he fell asleep.

- - - -

"So they've arrived?" An older man's voice issued from the phone a distance
away.

"Yes, sir. No problems were encountered at the house." A smile came to the
soldier's lips. "They're really good at this stuff now."

"Remember your job and make sure nothing happens. Those two need to remain
free for now."

"Understood, sir." The soldier heard the other person hang up and he did
the same to return to watching the house.

- - - -

A week went by slowly for the pair as they waited for the program to do its
job on the disc. During that time they stayed in the house but not in the
basement as that would have been a disadvantage if anyone came. Instead they
had kept guard in the living areas of the house and discussed what their plan
of action would be once they received what they needed. What had come out was
that they would have to wait until the disc was decrypted and hope it contained
information to help them in their endeavor. Currently that was what they were
waiting to find out.

"Will you hurry up," Asuka exclaimed. The beeping in the background had
been going on since noon and it was driving her crazy.

"I thought you gained some patience," stated Kenji. He looked over at
Shinji for support but all he did was smile. Sighing Kenji looked over the lines
of text. "Okay looks like we hit the jackpot. No hidden codes or viruses and all
files are accessible, though things could change."

Despite his confidence Kenji ejected the disc and put it in a laptop that
had the same program. The pair behind him waited nervously to see what
information would present it self to them. Blinking in surprise as the media
player responded to some instruction, Asuka and Shinji leaned forward in order
not to miss anything. Though they had been expecting something like this it
still caught them by surprise.

"Hello Shinji," stated Gendo in a quiet voice. "I think you know what has
happened if you have gained access to this disc. I'm not sure how you reacted
to the news, whether in joy or sadness does not matter to me. You were always
letting your emotions control your actions. At times it worked to my advantage
while at other times you screwed up a lot of plans. Your mother always said
that you would be an emotional person."

"If you are looking for me to say that I love you or are proud to have you
as a son you will have to be disappointed. I hardly know you and that was both
our faults. Your dreams and wishes were invisible to me except that you wanted
acceptance from me. I only cared about completing my goals and you never gained
the courage to confront me or talk to me."

A real smile crossed his lips. "Even your teenage love interest was known to
me and if I had known about the real prophecies I would have used it against you.
Don't get me wrong I did love you when your mother was alive but when she died."
Gendo paused as if pained. "Again you know what happened."

"Everything I have done since that day has been to be reunited with Yui and
make us a family again. Many people have died at my orders and others were
blackmailed to get their cooperation. I don't ask for forgiveness for my actions
since you would not give it for many reasons. Mr. Suzuhara and Ms. Soryu, being
a couple. Yes, those events were known and needed to happen to carry out my
plans."

Shinji looked over at Asuka and saw her go pale at the news of her rape.
He also couldn't help but feel sick at the coldness of his father. "There is a
lot that I had done in order for my plan to become real and during that time I
have made enemies of some powerful people." A smirk appeared on for a moment.
"They must have finally gotten tired of seeing who was master and whom was
servant."

"It is the nature of humans to question and explore the unknown. You will
have to acknowledge the fact that many of your questions involving your mother,
EVA, and myself will never be answered. You're an adult now and you must look
forward instead of back, unlike me. You can't dwell on the past or it will consume
you. If you want clarification ask Ms. Soryu about what happened to her and her
past." Shinji was surprised that his father was stating that he would be with
Asuka then realized it was just a lucky guess.

"This disc has all the information I know about the members of SEELE and
where they can be found. Also various bank accounts and caches are loaded onto
this disc but that is for later. If Ms. Soryu is with you than the next part is
for her while the third is for Rei, if she was able to escape."

Gendo paused and Shinji thought that was the signal that his father was going
to speak to Asuka. It wasn't as Gendo stared at the camera. " The logical argument
says that you should kill yourself so SEELE doesn't gain the means for Third
Impact instead of fighting them. You are my son but most importantly you are Yui's
son and she wouldn't want to see you die and neither would I."

The adults in the room were quiet as they absorbed what they had heard so
far. Kenji had heard rumors of Gendo but this was the first he had heard words
from the man.

"Cold bastard wasn't he?" The glares from Asuka and Shinji quieted him.

"Ms. Soryu," again that quiet voice grabbed their attention. "Or Asuka as
you liked everyone to call you, I know you even less than my son. If you are
with my son than you and he have gone through more changes to draw closer to
each other. You will have learned that humans are social creatures that need
each other for support and to live."

"Your being here also shows that you realized the foolishness in trying to
live alone and how fake that reality was in the face of all the pain you had gone
through. If you don't believe me look at the year after your 'sleep' state and whom
you are with now." Asuka winced as Gendo smirked. "That closeness is what is needed
for the prophecies to be carried out."

"Like my son I would have used you to fulfill my goals because you held no
other purpose in my plans. Out of all the Children you were the most expendable
in everyone's plan. What happened to your mother and yourself was all known and
planned by SEELE, but not me." A sad smile surprised everyone. "I met your
mother once and you take after her in many ways, even the bad. You were to have
a certain mindset and emotions that would allow their version of Third Impact
to succeed or what they thought was their version."

"What I do know about you and your emotions is that you will want revenge.
Though he is your father Mr. Soryu is also a minor SEELE member and not a full
decision maker so you could start with him." Again Shinji looked over at Asuka.
This time she was shaking and mumbling under her breath. "You don't have to
believe me again but go through everything that has happened concerning your
father and his actions."

Gendo looked like he was waiting for an outburst from the girl. "Revenge is a
good thing if properly carried out. I would tell you to do the same as Shinji and
kill yourself but it would be empty words. If you do succeed in taking out SEELE
than you have more luck than I. Shinji probably does not know about your past, but
on this disc is everything you will need to come to terms with it."

Again the room was quiet but as the next speech from Gendo to Rei started,
Shinji reached out and stopped it. Asuka just looked at him with a knowing look,
while Kenji sat there puzzled.

"You're not going to see what he had to say to Rei?"

"No." Shinji's voice was devoid of emotion.

Kenji pushed on. "She's dead so she will never know or find out we watched
it."

"What my father would have told Rei is private. She would have respected
our privacy so we will respect hers." Kenji had to lean back as Shinji got in
his face with anger apparent on his features.

"Fine." He turned his around and opened up a directory of the disc. "What
do you want to look at next? SEELE, accounts or other information."

"The money." Asuka finally spoke up.

When Kenji pulled up the files containing the back accounts their eyes grew
large. In the dozen or so accounts was more money they had ever seen in their
lives. As they looked at more information Asuka and Shinji saw accounts spread
throughout the world in various names. Shinji briefly wondered where his father
had gotten the money then decided he didn't want to know. Asuka saw the money as
help in their quest.

"My god. You've had this disc for five years and never knew what was on it,"
exclaimed Kenji not even paying attention to the pair. "With this much money you
could have complete surgery and come out looking different. They would never be
able to find you."

"That would be a lie." Asuka brushed her hair back. "I could never look
myself in the mirror again. What we've looked like has partially defined who we
are and if we throw that away what does it say about us."

"Anyways," interrupted Shinji. Asuka's words were true but he didn't want
to discuss that topic. "Who would we have gone to, to get the disc decrypted?
Kensuke has been watched closely, while if we went the illegal way we would
have been turned in and the disc lost."

"Hey I'm illegal," joked Kenji. He swallowed and got back to work on the
accounts and the means of drawing funds. The pair hardly spoke to him except to
ask questions or give instructions of what they wanted done. As he finished up
the last account Kenji looked at the clock and saw it was late. As he stood up
he felt pain shoot through his joints as he went over to a machine and fed some
blank cards into, waiting patiently for it to finish.

"Here use these for shopping or whatever." He turned and walked away.
"You'll have to call and make sure the accounts are activated."

With that the final comment he climbed the stairs, opening and closing the
door at the top. As the sound of the door closing faded, Asuka stood up and
walked over to the bed and fell on it looking up at the ceiling. To Shinji it
looked like she was drained of energy and emotion from a hard ordeal. Grinning,
but not feeling happy or joy Shinji realized he felt the same way as he reached
the bed and sat down next to Asuka.

"No tears?" He quietly asked her. His fingertips lightly brushed the back
of her hand as he looked at her. Shinji had expected some reaction at the news
she had heard from his father.

"No. You too?"

Her hand came up and touched his cheek moving down to his chin and cupping
it in her palm. He felt the heat rise as he blushed from her gentle touch and
saw Asuka blush also as he moved their hands together. If it wasn't for the
pain that he saw in her eyes or the hurt he felt in his heart Shinji would have
enjoyed the moment. Shaking his head he lay beside her, neither of them speaking
for a time.

"I won't cry," Shinji whispered. Disentangling their hands Asuka propped
herself up to look at him. "Not until this is over, will I cry."

"You know I once made a promise like the one you just made. It was after a
bad time in my life." Shinji looked at her, as this was news to him. "I wasn't
able to keep that promise and it was but one part that almost destroyed me."
She held him with a gaze. "You will cry and so will I. There is nothing wrong
with it."

"I know but."

"It hurts not hearing those words?" Shinji looked at Asuka. "Not hearing
your father say that he loved you or was proud of you."

Closing his eyes Shinji explained, "Yes, it hurt. My whole life I wanted to
hear my father say those words to me, I love you my son. With everything
happening with EVA it changed from love to making him proud of what I did." A
shaky sigh came from him. "I hardly remembered my mother so he was the one that
mattered to me, I was stupid."

"Death can do a lot of things to people. Some continue on, others deny the
fact, while more let the past define their futures." Asuka couldn't look Shinji
in the eyes as she said the last. As she was lost in thought that when Shinji
rested his hand on hers again Asuka jerked a bit.

"You -were- the last type." Asuka nodded at his statement.

"What about hearing that my father considered you expendable?"

Asuka calmly replied to his inquiry. "Oh it hurts my pride a little, after
all they had spent years molding me. Now it doesn't matter." A long silence
settled over them. "I sort of knew that once I piece things together. The
Eighth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Angels showed he didn't care about
me. I was just cannon fodder to the man and if I died so what."

"I know I never asked," Shinji gazed at Asuka. "But what was all the things
my father said about your past." The way her face blanked caused Shinji to stop.

"I shouldn't have asked."

"No. It has do with my mother and childhood." Asuka finally looked at him.
"I know you must have been curious about why I fell so hard and fast with the
last Angels. It's nice that you have been patient and not bringing it up, but
I'll have to ask that you wait a while longer and trust me. Once this is over
I'll tell you everything, okay?"

Shinji nodded. "So who should we start with?"

"We'll decide once we leave."

Asuka fell silent and stood up walking over to her bag to pull out her
sleeping clothes. She wasn't in the mood for a long bath and decided to go to
sleep as soon as possible. Stepping into the shower Asuka just stood there
letting the hot water cascade over her shoulders and down her body. As the heat
turned her skin a darker pink Asuka started to wash but her eyes were blank,
lost in thought.

Despite her show of not caring about what Gendo said it still hurt. Far too
many times in her life Asuka had thought that people cared about her or she was
important, only to have reality shoved in her face. To hear that she was a
nobody for all her accomplishments made her feel lost and a child again. Before,
that acknowledgment had been her downfall into self-loathing and pity with her
becoming catatonic as an end result.

There had been people that had cared about her for just being herself.
Misato had cared about her despite the hatred Asuka had shown her and still
tried to show that being the best was not the only thing in life. Kaji had
accepted her crush on him but he never led her on, doing his best to be a
support for the girl when she needed it. Grudgingly Asuka even admitted that
Rei had been a friend in the end, listening to her when Hikari was not around.
They had all left her alone except for one.

As she brushed her hair, Asuka knew that hearing she was expendable and
unimportant would not weaken her. She knew Shinji would never think of her that
way and vice versa. It would force them to work harder to win their freedom from
the hounds SEELE had set upon their trail. As she pulled on her shirt Asuka
thought of their plan of action and how they would carry out SEELE's downfall.

Smiling Asuka came to the realization that though they had been sharing the
decision making for years Shinji was letting her be the leader. It made her feel
better that he still trusted his life to her decisions. As she stood there
looking at the man on the bed, feelings and emotions suddenly welled up in her.
Shaking her head, Asuka couldn't let those out knowing they would interfere,
they always came at the wrong times.

"Not now damn it!" Storming over to the bed she crawled into it, forcing
Shinji to stand.

"You got first watch."

- - - -

Asuka blinked as she stepped out of the bank to the bright day outside. She
still felt tired and angry as she had had a restless night. Asuka had shrugged
off Shinji's inquiries about herself and outlined the day's activities to him.
They had decided to split up for once in order to complete their tasks faster.

"Stupid Shinji," Asuka muttered. The bright day, lack of sleep and her bad
mood made Asuka want to hide from life.

Sliding her sunglasses on Asuka looked at her watch and set off for the
restaurant they had designated for their meeting place. Despite her bad mood
Asuka couldn't help but smile as she neared the restaurant after a few minutes.
They were finally prepared to start after years of being chased and weeks of
preparation. After eating they would pick up everything from Kenji's and
disappear again. As she walked past a narrow passage a hand grabbed her,
pulling her off the street, glasses sent flying.

"You don't know how much trouble you two have been," spoke a tall dark man
as he covered her mouth. "Where's Ikari, bitch?"

Asuka shook her head like she didn't know, purposely avoiding looking in
the direction of the restaurant. For her troubles the man slammed her into the
wall, making her head hit the wall with force. Blinking Asuka tried to buy time
for her head to clear.

"Don't play games Ms. Soryu. I saw the both of you leave that house this
morning." As he talked the man ran a hand over her breast. "If you don't talk
I'm might have some fun before getting rough."

When he had finished speaking the man pressed his fingers into her side. As
she whimpered in pain and almost fell, Asuka felt the new skin split open.
Continuing to press his fingers into her wound the man just stared at her.
Feeling warm blood slide down her skin, Asuka nodded and looked hard in the
direction of the alley. Trying to block out the pain Asuka readied herself for
the moment to strike.

Now.

The man barely moved his eyes off of her and was shocked when she struck.
Dropping low, one hand grabbed his wrist and pulled the arm straight, while her
other palm came up under the elbow. As it hit Asuka could hear ligaments and bone
breaking as the joint was forced in a direction it was not designed to move. Not
stopping as the man screamed in pain Asuka continued her attack.

The man reacted, but not fast enough to the attack. Ignoring her split lip
Asuka kicked the man in the crotch while pushing him farther away. Punching him
in the stomach as he bent over in pain Asuka gave no quarter. A series of fast
punches and kicks kept him off balance until Asuka delivered a blow to his
throat, then slammed the base of her hand into his nose. The man's eyes popped
open and he fell to the ground quietly.

Breathing hard and holding her side Asuka barely gave the corpse a second
glance. He had been dead when she crushed his throat, but Asuka pushing his nose
into his brain quickened his death. Leaning against the entrance Asuka ignored
the looks of passerbys and pulled her hand away from her side. The shirt had
soaked through, covering her hand in sticky blood. Growing lightheaded Asuka
stumbled towards her destination in desperation.

A pair of arms caught her as she fell to the concrete.

"Asuka what happened?" asked Shinji in a scared whisper.

Looking up at him Asuka smiled lightly wanting to reassure him. It was
false as her eyes closed from shock, but not before she whispered.

"We have to leave."

* * * *

Sorry for the delay but 12 hour shifts do not lend themselves to creativity
and writing. I know very little seemed to happen in this chapter but I wanted
to give work more on Shinji and Asuka. I hope it worked, especially
Gendo's little speech involving his insights on the pilots. The following
chapters will move at a faster pace in plot and action. Hopefully all the
detail is not a pain since I like detail.

About the last part with Asuka's wound tearing open it can happen, I should
know. It is very painful and bloody compared to a cut but with adrenaline hitting
her system, well. Also about the encryption I know that modern security companies
hold competitions involving hackers to see how fast their encryptions will hold.
Usually they last less than a week so two weeks would seem reasonable for Gendo's
disc. If the MAGI encrypted it would be impossible for normal computers to break
and Gendo would know that.

C&C will be welcomed, as I need it to improve.

Dragon Pyre
caspar@nervhq.org