Sacrilege

by ACGS

Chapter 15. Another Angel encounter and more mysteries surrounding the Evas. Jonathan disobeys orders, but gains something much more valuable to him than praises. Pen-Pen becomes a thief. Please R&R!

13. Chapter 12

I realize that Jonathan seems to be 'perfect', however, I do not ever plan on him being perfect, and his faults will show soon. I'd also like to point out that as normal human behavior people try to be as perfect as possible at first and it is only until later that a person's faults are discovered, if that person is good enough at hiding them. Also, the reason why in one chapter Jonathan and Asuka seem to be at each other's throats and the next they are cuddling is because time has passed and I was too lazy to write a chapter about what happened between those times.

Chapter #12

"Finally!"

"What, Asuka?" Jonathan asked

"Today I'm supposed to go in for a Sync test with Unit two."

"And what's so great about that? I've been getting used to these Sync tests, but they're so boring."

"I haven't been with my Unit two for over a month! It took them extra time to repair it. But now it's finished and they need to do a Sync test."

"What are you rambling on about now?" Shinji asks as he enters the kitchen.

"Shut up Shinji, go find Rei or something."

"I'm not dependent on Rei."

"We believe you, and you aren't dependent on air either, are you?" Asuka said sarcastically

"Come on, at least I don't have her over for breakfast every morning."

"If she didn't live so far away then you would, besides, Jonathan lives next door."

"Right, right, I forgot. You know, you're not the only one who's having a Sync test today."

"Yea, but you hate your Eva and I haven't been in mine for over a month."

"I'm just here to get my toast. I'll be in my room if you need me."

"Like anyone would need you."

"Rei would, and the world."

"I don't see any Angels out the window, so I doubt the world will need you. Rei isn't anywhere near here, so she doesn't count."

"Fine, fine."

Jonathan watched as Shinji took his toast and went into his room. Jonathan took a bite out of his toast and turned to Asuka.

"Asuka, doing the Sync test means using the plug suits, right?"

"Yea, unless they've changed it on me."

"That means I get to see you in your plug suit finally, humm…"

"Humm… what?"

"Humm…Asuka, darf ich, bitte, seine…um…plug suit, anziehen?"

„Nein!"

„Warum nicht?"

„Ich werde nackt sein!"

„So?"

„Ausserdem, ich kann das selbst anziehen."

"Okay, okay, don't get your panties in a bunch."

"You'd like that to much."

"Ist da ja eine problem mit das?" Jonathan asks with a smirk.

"Yes, there are lots of problems with that, and stop talking in German. I like German, but we're in Japan. Remember, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So, when we're in Japan, we must speak Japanese."

"Okay, so, when are you scheduled to go in? I have to do a Sync test today."

"Um…sometime after noon."

"Ah…good, that's when I'm scheduled as well."

"Duh, we always do the Sync tests together; they wouldn't do the tests individually. Either way, I guess we'll see each other in plug suits."

"Don't you get any ideas now, Asuka."

"What do you mean? I'm not like that."

"Sure you aren't."

"So, do you have any homework to do?"

"Yea, some, do you have any?"

"No, I'm actually smart."

"Being smart and finishing quickly are separate things."

"You're right, how about I come over and check my work?"

"I'd like that, besides, then I can copy. I trust the work of a college graduate."

"I never let anyone cheat off of me."

"You never know, you may slip in your old age."

"I'm fourteen." Asuka says blandly.

"Ah, yes, that is true, but isn't your birthday coming up soon?"

"In like a few months."

"So see? In a few months you'll be fifteen."

"That's not old."

"Okay, okay, but you might get distracted and that will leave me with the perfect opportunity to look off your paper."

"Ha, ha, just clean up your place, it's like a hurricane hit it. I don't want to do homework in a dirty place."

"Fine, fine, I'll clean it up." Jonathan said as he stood, "Just please don't linger, mein Liebling."

"Now don't start with that."

"Aber, es ist wahr. Du bist mein Liebling. Asuka, du weisst das du reizend sein, wann du erröten."

"Stop talking in German! Just go and I'll be over soon."

"Okay, okay, but first…" Jonathan leaned over and kissed Asuka, "I just needed to do that."

"Stop and go, quickly, before I change my mind."

"I'm gone, I was never here." Jonathan said as he walked out the door.

"Wow that was pretty…disturbing."

"Shinji?! What do you mean; it's not even close to you and Rei."

"Please, I don't want to hear anymore, just get your stuff and leave. I'm not looking forward to that Sync test and I really don't want to be angry with anyone I don't need to be." Shinji says, surprising himself with the display of oddly Asuka like behavior.

"Fine, I'm going, I'm going."

Asuka walked into her room and began gathering up her school books and papers.

'Well, I guess Shinji may have a point. I remember back in Germany when Jonathan and I first met; I can't believe I acted that way. Now things are so different... well, I guess things can't get much weirder than piloting giant robots to save the world. Humm…I have an idea. We'll just see if Jonathan can figure it out.'

Asuka found all of her things and walked over to Jonathan's door. She fumbled with her books and papers so she would have a free hand to knock on the door when it slid open.

"Hey, I was beginning to think you might've died."

"Ha, ha."

"You can put them on the table, that's were I was starting to work." Jonathan said as he closed his door after Asuka walked in.

Asuka set her things on the table and looked around at Jonathan's room. Soon she was caught in Jonathan's embrace. She put her plan into action. Asuka didn't do anything; she just let Jonathan hug her. For a minute he held her until he began to catch on.

"Asuka, is something wrong? You just seem to be standing there."

"Ha, I wondered how long it would take you."

"What do you mean?"

"I just acted that way to see how long it would take you to notice."

"Oh…"

Jonathan hugged her harder and this time Asuka returned the hug. Jonathan let go of her and kissed her softly. He stopped and picked her up.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to figure out how much you weigh. Besides, it makes it easier to do this…" Jonathan said as he walked over and set Asuka down on his couch.

"You're lucky; you have your own place."

"The only reason I'm lucky is because of you." Jonathan said as he sat down next to Asuka.

"Oh, stop it."

"It's true, and nothing can stop truth except for lies. You're not lying, are you?"

"No, I never lie."

Jonathan put his arm around Asuka and kissed her softly.

"Okay, if you never lie, then answer me this; did you like that?"

"Damn it, okay, you got me, yea I did."

"Good, I don't want to do anything bad to my precious Asuka."

"Stop that."

"Okay."

Jonathan began playing with Asuka's hair. He then put his other arm under Asuka's knees.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough."

Jonathan lifted Asuka and sat her on his lap.

"Asuka, I'm glad that we haven't had to fight an Angel yet. I want you to be at full performance when you fight and without an arm isn't exactly what I'd call full performance."

"I'm glad too, but I also like the fight; except when my arm gets ripped off."

"As long as my Eva still functions, I promise nothing like that will happen again."

"Don't go out of your way if it means compromising the mission. I got that arm ripped off because I didn't follow Misato's instructions."

"Right, so, follow Misato's instructions, logged in memory. I'll never forget."

"Okay, which problems are you working on?"

"The damn literature, why does Japanese have to be so hard? Deutsch ist sehr besser."

"Ich stimme ueberein, aber wir mussen Japanisch gut sprechen und schreiben und lesen."

"Okay, so, let me get my book."

"Jonathan, why do you like me?"

"I think it's obvious. You're cute, you're smart, you pilot a giant robot, there are lots of reasons."

"I know, but without all that, why do you like me?"

"Well, because I just…you know, I think certain people are drawn to each other. It's kind of obvious between Shinji and Rei, but I really don't know what their attraction in each other is. Shinji says he wants to protect Rei, but that's something I want to do for the world, that's why I'm an Eva pilot. I honestly don't know about them. I haven't a clue about Touji and Hikari, but I think Touji almost depends on her. He can be very irresponsible sometimes, and I think he likes Hikari because she helps bring balance into his life, which normally is pretty chaotic. I think Hikari likes Touji because he brings a level of danger and excitement with him. Asuka, I like you because we share a lot in common. We both are from Germany, we both speak German, hell, our personalities are nearly the same. Just something about you makes me like you. Maybe I want to find out more about you. You know, I've been quite fascinated with you for a long time. After all that you've been through you still manage to keep on going. I admire that. That may be one of the reasons. I have great admiration for you. Even when thinks look bleak, you still keep on going. Shinji's told me about all the Angels and the battles with them. Asuka…I haven't told you this before, but, do you remember when I told you about knowing what it's like to lose a loved one?"

"Yes…I remember."

"Well, when I was only five or six, do you remember the rebellion that tried to take over the German government? Well, my father and mother were enlisted in the German military as well as in NERV. My mother wouldn't go, she refused to leave her work at NERV, I still don't know what that was. My father agreed to fight and joined an army unit. In Munich there was an attack by the rebels and my fathers unit was called in. He was gunned down by one of them. I read all the reports. He was shot three times in the legs before getting shot in the chest and stomach several times. He was taken prisoner and then shot in the head five times. He…he said he would be back…" Tears were beginning to well in Jonathan's eyes, "just before he left he told me that he would be back. I waited and waited, but he didn't come back. I was about eight when they finally told me what happened. I…I never got to go to the funeral. They wouldn't even tell me where he was buried." Jonathan finally broke down in tears, "Why…why did he have to die? He said he would be back."

"Jonathan, its okay, Jonathan."

"It's not okay, Asuka. He died doing something he shouldn't have. He could have stayed at NERV, but he died fighting for our country's 'honor' and 'government'. Why did he die, Asuka?"

"He died doing something noble. I'm sure he took down many of the rebels before he died. If he had lived I'm sure he would have been given the Iron Cross."

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes, he gave everything he had for his country so you and your mother could live. Do you think that you would've lived if they hadn't been defeated? He died a hero, Jonathan, he was a good man."

"Thank you, Asuka. Asuka, after he died, I…I had a void I my heart. I became cold, trying to forget about him. It didn't work and the more I tried, the more I remembered and the more I hurt the people around me. Being with you doesn't make it hurt as bad. It's still there, it'll never go away, but it isn't so bad when I'm with you. I think that is one of my reasons, Asuka. I want the same for you. That's another of my reasons. I don't want you to hurt."

Asuka held Jonathan as best she could.

"Jonathan, I feel the same way as you do. My mother…she died when I was very young, and I hated the world after that. I didn't need anyone, I don't want to need anyone, I want to be alone. But when I'm alone, it just hurts more. Jonathan, I'm sorry I treated you like that in Germany. I was angry, I wanted to hurt someone."

"I knew that, that's one of the reasons I liked you. I wanted to make you feel safe enough so you wouldn't need to hurt someone."

"Jonathan…did I ever tell you about Kaji?"

"Um…no, you haven't."

"Well, I stayed with him for a while before I left for Japan. I thought I was in love. He was so cool, I could forget about my mama when I was with him. He left just as I arrived here. For a long time I thought it was my fault. Now I realize it was just a silly crush. Besides, he was nearly twice my age."

"Asuka, do you think this is a silly crush?"

"Jonathan, Kaji made me feel good, but he was never interested in me. I…I really like you. I feel the same way with you, but you actually return my feelings. I think I like that a lot more. I don't think this is a silly crush."

"Good, because I was afraid that I would regret doing something like this." Jonathan leaned over and kissed Asuka again.

"Jonathan…I hate it when I feel helpless."

"You aren't helpless."

"Being held like this, acting like this, it makes me feel helpless."

"You can change that."

"You're right." Asuka stretched her arms around Jonathan's neck and brought his head down for a kiss.

"Asuka…" Jonathan mumbled in between Asuka's lips, "Asuka…"

"What is it?" Asuka said, releasing him from her kiss, but keeping her forehead touching his.

"Oh, nothing, just that you're about to snap my back in half."

Asuka looked behind Jonathan and realized how hard she had been hugging him around his sides.

"I'm sorry; I didn't know how hard I was hugging you. I really didn't mean to."

"It's…no…big……problem…" Jonathan leaned back down and kissed Asuka. She squirmed a little, then relaxed. For what seemed like an eternity they sat like that, neither of them wanting to stop. Asuka began sliding towards the couch and ended up nearly laying on it. Jonathan was still holding her, but she was also holding him. Jonathan was the one to stop first.

"Asuka, shall I move? I don't want to hurt you, and I know what this looks like."

"Sometimes you care about others too much."

"That's not always a bad thing."

"But sometimes it is."

"Asuka…" Jonathan leaned back down and kissed Asuka again. Now she really was lying on the couch and Jonathan was lying on top of her.

"Asuka, we really need to stop. I fear I may do something inappropriate."

"Jonathan…you're right. But you need to get off first."

"Oh, yes, quite right."

Jonathan let go of Asuka and started to get up when he fell back down onto Asuka.

"Um…"

"Jonathan…" Asuka was growing agitated.

"Asuka…I can…um…hear your heart beat."

"I'm sure. Please get off."

"Right, right, sure, sure." Jonathan said as he put his hand out to push up with. Unfortunatly for Jonathan, his hand didn't land on the couch.

"Jonathan, please stop fooling around."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. Um…your not to large…hey, I think I know what size bra you wear now… oops, sorry, didn't mean to do that. I'm getting off now, I'm getting off."

"Jonathan, I like you, but please don't do that again."

"I'm sorry, so, um, what were we doing before?"

"You were whining about the literature."

"Oh yea, I hate literature."

"Yep, just like that."

"So, um…what did you get for this question?"

Misato was not ready to go to NERV today. She was never ready to go to NERV.

'At least I don't have to go yet.' Misato thought.

"Hey, Misato," Asuka said cheerfully, "so, are you ready to go?"

"It's time already?"

"Yea, I wouldn't forget. I'll get Jonathan, you get Shinji."

"Okay, Shinji! Get out of your room! It's time to go!"

"Already?!"

"That's what I said, yea, it's time to go."

"Okay, I really hate these, Misato," Shinji said as he walked out of his room, "Where's Asuka?"

"She's getting Jonathan."

"Oh, so, we're going to pick Rei up, right?"

"Yep, after I get all three of you in the car, we'll go down to Rei's."

"Yay!"

"So, Asuka, you seem really hyped up about this."

"Well, yea, I'm always hyped about using my Eva. Just don't follow me, Jonathan; the boy's changing room is over there."

"Oh, you're no fun."

"Some things in life are fun, and some are not, this is just one of those non-fun times."

"Okay, but don't spend too much time in there, you wouldn't want to be late to your Sync test."

"That's not what you mean and you know it. You just want to see me in my plug suit."

"No one said it couldn't be both."

"Argh! Sometimes you're just so perverted!"

"I am not!"

"Then why would you want to see me in a plug suit?"

"Because when we pilot the Evas it's kind of hard not to see you in a plug suit."

"So you're interests lay only in piloting Eva and nothing else?"

"If I said yes, then I would be lying."

"Ha! Like I thought, you're just being perverted."

"Believe what you want, I'm going to change and get this over with. Sometimes you're so hard to deal with."

"If you don't like it then you can just go back to Germany."

Jonathan huffed and went into the changing room where Shinji and Touji were.

"Boy, is she always so…mean?"

"Yep."

"Yea."

"God… and today started out so well."

"Well, Asuka just has some kind of power to ruin a good mood."

"Yea, you're right Shinji. So, how's Rei? I haven't talked to her for a while."

"Rei's…okay. It's not like she's really changed that much, at least not publicly." Shinji added.

"And Touji, what about Hikari?"

"The class rep? She's fine, but she's always on me to do that stupid homework. Shinji's lucky; Rei doesn't bug him whenever he has homework."

"How long do you think it'll take today?"

"I don't think it'll be any longer than normal," Shinji said with a shudder, "but Asuka may have to stay longer. I know it took them extra time when I did my Sync test after Unit one was finished being fixed."

"Well, we'd might as well get this over with, right?"

"Right, I want it to be over already, but I think Ritsuko likes messing with us." Shinji said.

Jonathan laughed, "Yea, I think you may be right. She's always so wrapped up with the Evas I think her sense of humor may have slipped."

"Let's just get this over with." Touji said impatiently.

"Sure, sure, right after you." Jonathan said with a fake bow.

Touji huffed and left the dressing room with his plug suit on. Shinji soon followed and finally Jonathan left. Jonathan walked slowly down the hall towards the testing rooms to see if he could find Asuka, but it was to no avail. Jonathan gave up and went into the testing room where Ritsuko and Misato were waiting.

"Um…okay, I'm here."

"Go get in the entry plug, you know the drill." Misato said.

"Ritsuko, why do we always have to do these?"

"We need to monitor your Sync ratios. If any of you get too low, then we need to know before an Angel attacks."

"Oh…alright, I'll get in."

Jonathan walked out and around to his Eva. He could see the other Evas hooked up and waiting for Ritsuko to begin the test.

'They seem so…human like, but at the same time seem so alien. They're just weird.' Jonathan thought as he slipped into the entry plug.

/"Alright, now that Jonathan's in we can start the testing." Ritsuko said.

/"Hey, Dummkopf, where were you? We've been waiting forever." Asuka's vid screen popped up on Jonathan's HUD. For a second Jonathan was speechless at the sight of Asuka in her plug suit, then his pride kicked in.

/"It's not my fault Ritsuko decided to wait for all of us today; besides, I had other things to do." Jonathan lied.

/"Like you have anything more important to do."

/"Okay, okay you two, I want the video and audio feeds cut between their Evas. We need to focus on doing this Sync test, not on fighting."

"Yes ma'am we'll do that immediately." Aoba said as Maya and Makato began cutting the feeds.

/"Okay, you all know the drill. Just relax and we'll get this over with much faster than if you don't. Try to clear your minds." Ritsuko said.

/"Hey, if any of you get your Sync ratios above seventy-five, then I'll take all of you out to eat." Misato said cheerfully to the children.

"Misato, you know they've gone above that, right?" Ritsuko said.

"Yea, I know, but at least it'll make them want to get higher, rather than just think that it's another test."

"I guess you're right. You just don't want to cook, is that right?"

"Yea, it's supposed to be my turn tonight."

"You still are horrible at cooking, eh Misato?"

"Shut up!"

"How are the Sync tests going, Dr. Akagi?" Gendo asked.

"The children are performing quite well, commander. We've only started, but all the children are above fifty now."

"Good, we can not afford for the children to be inoperable if and when an Angel attacks. I will be expecting the full report at my desk when you are finished, Dr. Akagi."

"As always, Commander."

Gendo turned and left as quietly as he had come. Everyone in the room breathed a sigh of relief. He had snuck up on them and it was bad enough when he didn't do that.

"Do you find it just a little bit interesting that the Angels seem to be putting more and more time in between their attacks?"

"I don't find anything the Angels do interesting. They are a vital and volatile part of our plans. They must come, but they must not win. The more they delay, the more our window closes. It is up to them, however, when they come, but know that they will come. We just need to be prepared for when they do."

"Preparation can only go so far, as we well remember."

"Yes, it was unfortunate that all our safety and fail safes failed and caused Yui to be lost. But we must remember that that is the whole reason why this plan has been devised, Fuyutsuki."

"And SEELE? If they find out then they will shut NERV down and take away the Evas. Then how will our plans be realized?"

"It is simple, Fuyutsuki, they will not find out."

"We should only hope."

"Hope is what makes us human, at the end of it all that is all we have."

"Damn."

"What's wrong, Misato?" Shinji asked

"Oh, nothing, Shinji, I may um…need some of your money for food this month."

"What do you mean?"

"Um…that dinner, it kind of ran a little steep."

"Great, I knew it was too good to be true. Sure, I'll give you some money, besides; I don't think I have enough things to spend all the money on."

"Good, thank you Shinji. I'll make sure Asuka leaves you alone tonight."

"Misato, you don't know how much that's worth to me."

"Just try to have some fun tonight; you did well at the Sync test. I'll go and tell Asuka not to bug you. Why don't you get Rei? I'm sure she'll be more happy here than alone at her apartment."

"I'm not so sure about the happy part, she never seems to be happy."

"Oh, come on, Shinji. We all see the way she acts around you. She likes you, and she seems happy with you. Be glad for that. Even if you can't pilot Eva, you can still say you were the first one to get her to show some emotion. I know what she was like before you came, she's definitely changed."

"Thanks, Misato; you know just how to cheer people up sometimes."

"That's my job: make sure you don't spiral into depression and don't pilot your Eva." Misato said cheerfully as she left.

"Hey, Misato, do you want me to leave the door open? I'm going to get Rei."

"Yea, leave it open, I'll only be next door."

"Alright, see you later."

"Bye."

Misato watched Shinji walk down the stairs and leave towards Rei's apartment. Misato smiled and walked over to Jonathan's door. She knocked and waited for an answer, but she didn't hear any. She knocked again and put her ear up to the door. She heard faint giggling coming from inside. Misato expected the worst. She slowly opened the door and looked around. The living room was dark and she could see the light coming from the bedroom. Misato's fears rose. She heard giggling again, but louder.

"No, stop, don't, please don't, stop" She heard Asuka say before a muffled scream. It wasn't very loud, but it was loud enough for Misato to hear. Misato began to expect maybe something else; maybe Jonathan had snapped and was going to kill Asuka. Misato drew her pistol and walked slowly across the room. Her foot landed on something soft and she looked down. She could see a sock sticking out from beneath her foot. She scanned the floor again and she saw the sock's mate and another pair of socks. Misato again heard muffled giggling and she continued across the room. She put her back to the wall next to the doorway into the bed room and saw a pillow fly out the doorway. She heard Asuka laugh a little, then head a large thud sound. This was followed again by more giggling.

"Don't do it, no, keep it away." She heard Asuka say before another muffled scream.

That was it. Misato knew she had to do something and fast, after all they were only fourteen. Misato jumped into the light and held the gun up. Before she realized it, she was knocked down by a pillow, the gun sliding out of her reach. She stumbled to her feet and put her guard up. She looked into the room and found Asuka lying on the floor with her arms outstretched and Jonathan standing on the bed above her with a pillow poised ready to be thrown. Misato's mouth dropped, then she began to laugh. This stopped Asuka and Jonathan's game and they turned to see what Misato was doing.

"Um…Misato, what are you doing?"

"I…" Misato struggled to stop laughing, "I thought…you two were…I'm okay now…okay, okay. I thought you two were doing…something else."

Jonathan and Asuka looked at each other and said simultaneously, "We weren't doing anything like that."

"Good, good. Asuka, Jonathan, why are your socks out there?"

"Oh, it's easier to move without slipping on the carpet when you don't have your socks on." Asuka answered as she got off the ground, "So, what do you want?"

"I wanted to tell you not to bug Shinji tonight. He deserves at least one night left alone. Oh, yea, Rei's coming over so why don't you come back over and do something with them? Jonathan can come too."

"Sure, I'll come over in a little bit. Is Rei already there?" Asuka asked.

"No, Shinji just left to get her."

"Okay, I'll come over in a little, bye Misato."

"Bye Asuka, Jonathan." Misato said as she left, still holding her side from laughing.

"So, what do you think?" Jonathan asked as he stepped off his bed.

"Think about what?"

"Doing what Misato thought we were doing."

"Um…sure, I guess we can live a little."

Jonathan walked over to Asuka and kissed her passionately before picking her up and setting her on his bed.

"Hurry back." Asuka said as Jonathan walked out of his room. Asuka stretched her arms and legs out and put her head on the last pillow still on the bed. She was exhausted, but she thought she still would have enough energy in her. Jonathan came back with his hands behind his back.

"So, what do you have back there?" Asuka asked as she sat up.

Jonathan answered by bringing his left hand around in front of him. In his hand he had two forks.

"And the other hand?"

"Well, let me sit down first."

"Okay, okay."

Jonathan sat down next to Asuka and showed her what he had. It was a brown box.

"Ha, ha, just open already."

Jonathan opened it, revealing two pieces of German chocolate cake, "I thought you might want something sweet."

"Yep, I don't know why Misato was so uptight. Sometimes she worries me. Is there anything wrong with a piece of cake after dinner?"

"No there certainly isn't."

"I'm surprised you were able to get some German chocolate cake around here."

"Shinji helped me find a place that sells it."

"I guess he can be helpful sometimes."

"Here, take your piece and fork."

"Okay, jeez, hold on. I didn't know you were rushing."

"Hey, I just didn't want you to think I was hording it."

"I wasn't." Asuka says before taking a bite out of her cake.

"So, how do you like it?"

"It's pretty good, but nothing beats German chocolate cake from Germany."

"That is true, but most things can't beat the original from Germany."

"It's true. Remember, it was the Germans who created modern rocketry; it was the Germans who made the first jet plane. The Germans have done many, many things to bring the world into the place it is now." Asuka took another bite out of her piece.

"Ah, yes. And it was also Germany that produced you."

"Oh, stop it."

"I merely made a statement."

"You were flattering me."

"Statement, flattery, sometimes the line can be pretty thin."

"Oh, just shut up and finish your cake."

"Okay, okay." Jonathan stuck the last bite into his mouth.

"Um…Asuka," Jonathan said after he swallowed his bite, "You have a little…"

Jonathan leaned over to Asuka and brushed a small piece of cake off the side of her mouth.

"Just a little piece."

Jonathan put his hand on the back of Asuka's head and kissed her slowly.

"What was that for?" Asuka asked when Jonathan stopped.

"You had some cake still on your lips and I didn't have a napkin."

"You're a liar."

"Okay, you found my bluff, but you really did have a little bit of cake still around your mouth."

"I can believe that, but I'd rather just wash my mouth with some water."

"Fine, fine, I'll just wash these and throw this away so we can go over." Jonathan said as he left for the kitchen

"Good idea, that's probably one of the only good ideas you've had all day." Asuka said as she turned on the water in Jonathan's bathroom.

"The cake was a good idea." Jonathan said from the kitchen.

"So it was." Asuka said as she walked into the kitchen, "Will you hurry up?"

"I'm washing as fast as I can."

"Well, you can come over when you're finished. I'm leaving."

"Okay, don't let the door hit your butt on the way out."

"Ha, ha," Asuka called over her shoulder. She heard the water turn off as she began to cross the living room. She found her socks and put them on as she stumbled over to her shoes. She leaned down to pick up one of her shoes when Jonathan suddenly pulled her shorts down.

"What are you doing, Dummkopf?!"

"Making you upset."

Asuka pulled her shorts back up and took a swing at Jonathan. He dodged back and came back closer. She punched at him, but he caught her fist with his hand. He brought her into an embrace and kissed her gently. He could feel the force in her arm begin to drain away and eventually her arm fell to her side. Jonathan slowly brought his hands down Asuka's sides and he quickly pulled her shorts down again before he jumped back to dodge another punch.

"Baka! Why'd you do that again?" Asuka said as she pulled her shorts up.

"I wanted to. Come on, no one else saw anything. Let's go over to your place now."

"Fine, fine, but don't tell anyone, especially Shinji and Misato. I don't think Rei would care either way, though..."

"You're probably right." Jonathan said as he put his shoes on.

Asuka put her shoes on and made Jonathan go first so he couldn't try anything else. They got to Asuka's apartment after Jonathan locked his door to find the door open. Asuka pushed past Jonathan to see what was going on. On the floor Misato was holding a bloodied rag and someone was sitting in front of her. Misato's back was to Asuka, so Asuka couldn't tell who it was. Shinji was going back and forth between Misato and the sink giving Misato clean rags and washing the bloodied ones.

"Misato, who's that? Is it Rei?" Asuka was trying to keep herself from going hysterical, "What happened, did she hit her head?"

Misato was in tears, "No, it's not Rei, Asuka, it's... Kaji."

"Kaji?!"

"Yes, when I came back he was sitting at the table holding his side when he passed out. I don't know what happened, but he's bleeding pretty badly."

"I'll call the ambulance and the police." Asuka said, almost in tears herself.

"Don't!" Misato yelled, "If I know Kaji as well as I think I do, he'll probably be in more trouble if they come."

Kaji began to stir in Misato's arms.

"Hey, babe, how's Pen-Pen doing?" Kaji managed to say along with a little laugh, "Hey, Asuka, how's it going?"

"K-K…Kaji?" Asuka said, trying to hold back her tears.

"Kaji, what happened to you?" Misato said, still holding his wound.

"They shot me, I don't know how bad it is, but I think it's only a graze. Listen, none of you are safe. No one at NERV is safe, especially you all and Ritsuko." It was only now that Asuka noticed Rei, "SEELE, there're planning something. I don't know what; they found me before I could find out. You're not safe at NERV either. SEELE aren't the only ones planning something. I don't know which one is better, but I do know that SEELE doesn't need anything except the Evas. If they need to then they'll kill all of you. I don't know if Gendo needs or wants to keep the pilots alive, but I don't think he'll look to kill any of you."

"Kaji, don't talk so much, you need to conserve your strength." Misato said.

"Please, try to stay with NERV, but be careful, Gendo may have something else planned. Hey, Shinji, later, I'll give you some tips with how to handle Rei correctly, okay. Is that alright with the major?"

"Yes, of course, just try to conserve your strength. I think the bleeding may be subsiding."

"Misato, can I stay here for a while? If I go to the government then SEELE will get me. I can't go to NERV; they're looking for me as well."

"Kaji, you don't have to worry, we'll keep you safe."

"Kaji," Asuka said, "nothing they have can stop my Eva, you'll be safe."

"Asuka, I don't know how true that is, we may need all of you and your Evas. Something very wrong is being planned, and I don't know if anyone will be safe once it is enacted." Kaji says, his face turning very serious even though he had been injured so badly.

"Asuka, Jonathan, Shinji, help me get Kaji to my bed, he can rest there."

They nodded in unison and helped Misato pick Kaji up and carry him to her room. Kaji had passed out again and it was hard for Misato to hold the rag and Kaji. They sat Kaji down on the bed and Misato stayed with him.

"You children try to get some rest or something; I'll keep an eye on Kaji."

"Misato, I think it would be best if Rei stayed the night."

Misato was appalled at Shinji for being so selfish. She looked up at Shinji and began to say something, but she saw in his eyes that he meant for Rei to be able to help Kaji. He didn't know Kaji that well, but he knew he wanted to help anyway he could. Shinji wasn't being selfish and Misato could see that.

"Yes, Shinji, she can, Jonathan can stay as well, I think we may need all of you to keep an eye on him."

"I'll get my sleeping stuff." Jonathan said as he left for his apartment.

"Um…I guess…Asuka, can Rei borrow some pajamas from you? And the bed roll?"

"Kaji will need the bed roll to lie on. He's in pain and we need to keep him as comfortable as possible." Asuka replied, "Yea, Rei can use one of mine, follow me, Rei."

Asuka's voice seemed almost mechanic, very distant. Her eyes had lost the normal bright glow they held and were now melancholy. When she moved her arms swayed lifelessly and she looked like she would have kept on going into the wall a few times. Shinji was about to go help her try and figure out how to get her out of that mood, when Kaji grabbed his shirt. Shinji almost didn't notice; Kaji's grip was very weak. The faint tug cued Shinji and he turned to face Kaji.

"Shinji…you may be the most in danger. Stay close with Rei; she may be able to help you. Your father, I don't know what he's planning, but it has something to do with you. Remember; do tell anyone this, especially your father. I may die if you do."

Kaji then passed out again. Shinji stumbled backwards, trying to let what Kaji said sink in.

"You'd better go, Shinji. If I need anything, I'll make sure you're the first to know."

"Thanks Misato, I don't know what's going on here, but if it has to do with my father, it can't be good."

"You really shouldn't think so poorly of him, Shinji. If he hadn't called upon you, I don't know if Rei would've been able to defeat those Angels before Asuka came."

"You're right, Misato. I won't be mad if you wake me up, you know. Anything at all, I'll do my best."

"Can you heal Kaji's wound?"

"Now, now, Misato, I'm no miracle worker."

Misato and Shinji laughed for a while at that.

"Misato, do you think he'll be alright?"

"I hope he was right when he said it was only a graze. If there aren't any bullets or shards in him, he should be fine, but it'll take some time. Tomorrow I'll get Ritsuko to come over."

"What about Kaji? Who'll be around to watch him?"

"Hum…you and Asuka. I'll write a note saying that you guys caught a cold or something and can't come to school. Then I'll get Ritsuko to 'check' on you two. She'll help Kaji, she's known him as long as I have and she might know more about this than we do."

"Okay, but I want Rei to stay as well."

"Right, right, but we'll have to drive by and get her clothes. To make it convincing and until Kaji gets better, you'll all have to stay here. I guess Jonathan can just go back and forth; it's not a big problem. Rei can bring a bed roll to sleep on since Kaji's going to be using our extra roll."

"Yea, your right. I'll try to cheer Asuka up, she seems really sad."

"She really did seem to take a liking to Kaji. I'm sure she's probably taking it really hard. Just do whatever it is you normally do, she seems to be happy whenever you do that."

"Okay," Shinji began walking out again, "Misato, remember, anything."

"Shinji, drink a beer for me."

"I'm going to have to draw the line at that, Misato."

Misato and Shinji laughed again and Shinji left. Misato looked back to Kaji and her emotions finally broke free. She began to cry softly on her bed. Shinji was going to ask Misato something, but he saw her crying and closed the door quietly. Shinji walked to Asuka's room and opened the door.

"Shinji?! Close the door!"

"Okay, okay." Shinji says as he ducks behind the door.

"I didn't mean for you to get in here!"

"I'm not looking!"

"We're trying to change in here!"

"So I could tell! Just get it over with!"

"Come on Rei, hurry up………….Okay, you can look now Shinji. What do you want?"

"I wanted to snap you out of it and it looks like it worked."

"You…what? Heh, thanks Shinji. I was getting pretty depressed out there. It's just really hard to see Kaji like that."

"I know what you mean, but Misato said that if she needed anything that she'd get us, so you'll have plenty of time to help him. Oh, yea, we aren't going to be going back to school until Kaji's better. You, Rei, Jonathan, and I will be staying here playing sick. Misato will write us a pass, but Ritsuko is supposed to come over to check on Kaji."

"That's good; she's a doctor after all."

"Rei, you'll have to sleep in that tonight, but tomorrow we'll take you to your apartment and get some of your clothes and a bed roll for you to sleep on."

"Okay, Shinji," Rei yawned, "I am…I'm tired, may I go to sleep now?"

"Um…sure, come with me." Shinji and Asuka were a little startled to see and hear Rei yawn; they'd never seen it before. Jonathan opened the door and dropped some pillows, blankets, and a bed roll on Asuka's floor. Shinji led Rei out and into his room where he closed the door. Asuka took the bed roll that she'd stolen from Shinji and brought it to Misato's door. She opened the door and saw Misato crying. She decided Misato didn't want to be disturbed, so she just set the roll on the floor next to the door and closed the door before returning to her own room where Jonathan promptly closed the door.

"So, what'd I miss?"

"Well, we're going to be staying home until Kaji gets better, you too. Misato's going to write us a pass to get out of school, so we'll be able to take care of Kaji while Misato is at NERV."

"So you mean I did all that homework for nothing?"

"Yep."

"Damn you, fate!" Jonathan mock screamed, "So, where do I lay my stuff out?"

"Over there." Asuka pointed to the wall.

"That's cold, why don't I just sleep with you? Shinji and Rei get to, so why not?"

"Because I actually care."

"Come on, I'll…give you some German chocolate."

"Yea right."

"Okay, how about I do your homework for a week?"

"Heh, sure. I'll bite. I'll let you sleep in my bed with me if you do my homework and your own for a week. Why not, for every night, you have to do an extra three days of homework after tonight."

"Hey, that's almost a bargain. Okay, let's shake on it." Jonathan extended his hand to Asuka's. She took it and they shook.

"Now I don't want you to get any ideas."

"I won't do anything you don't tell me to do or that I've done before that you've not approved of."

"Fine." Asuka turned to her bed when Jonathan pulled her nightgown up and let it fall back down her, "What're you doing?!"

"Something fun; well, fun for me at least."

"Don't do that again. I mean it."

"Alright, just get on the bed already, I'm tired."

"Oh excuse me; shall I bring you some tea and crumpets as well?"

"No, just yourself is enough."

"Ha, ha." Asuka laughed sarcastically as she pulled the blanket up and slid underneath it. Jonathan grabbed it before it could fall and slid in after Asuka.

"Don't get so close, oh, damn, the light. I'll get it." Asuka got off her bed from the foot of it and turned it off. She knew her room like the back of her hand, so it wasn't that hard to negate. She slipped back under the blanket when she felt Jonathan's hands on her.

"Jonathan, get your hands off those." Asuka said as she tried to keep her anger down.

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean."

"I don't know what you're talking about, oh; you think I'm touching your breasts? I am not." Jonathan said defiantly.

"Then why did you just squeeze them?"

"I did no such thing."

"Then who did?"

"Maybe you're imagining it."

"That's it," Asuka lifted the blanket off Jonathan and herself, "See, now you can't deny it." Asuka was right; there was no way to get out of this one. Jonathan took his right hand off and wrapped his right arm around Asuka's side, bringing her closer.

"Why don't you put the blanket down? It'll get cold, and we're supposed to be pretending to be sick."

"Fine, fine." Asuka let the blanket fall back down and Jonathan held her as close as he could.

"Asuka, don't worry, Kaji will be okay. From what you tell me, he should be bouncing around by tomorrow."

"I wish you were right. Please let go, I want to sleep and I need you to be at full health to do work around here. Hurting you won't aid that, but I may."

"Okay, rest well. I don't want you to have bags under your eyes. But can I just have one kiss before we go to sleep?"

"If it'll get you to shut up and let me sleep, then sure." Jonathan let Asuka slide back a little and he brought his lips to hers. He held her like that for a long time before Asuka finally broke contact. "Good night, Jonathan, don't you get any ideas, and don't wake me up unless there's something wrong with Kaji."

"I wouldn't…well, maybe I would dream about it, but I won't do either of those, on the honor of our fatherland and my Eva."

Asuka laughed a little and turned around before falling asleep. Jonathan turned the other way and drifted off to sleep soon afterward.

"Rei, what do you think Kaji meant?" Shinji said as he got his bed ready.

"I do not know, Shinji. If Commander Ikari is planning something else, then I don't know what it is. He may be." Rei said as she slid over to the wall on Shinji's bed.

"I wonder who shot Kaji, or what he was doing to get him shot. I thought he was in Germany." Shinji said while he got in after Rei.

"So did I. Shinji, why do you need me to stay over here? I think three people should be enough to care for Kaji, and Dr. Akagi is coming over. Why would you need my help?"

"Rei, Kaji told me something. He said that I was the most in danger. I don't know what kind of danger, but he seems to think that you may be able to…protect me, if I get in trouble. Maybe Kaji's delusional from the pain, but I don't want to take any chances. Besides, it means we don't have to go to school, and it would make the workload less with you around. And I like it when you're around."

"Good night, Shinji."

"Rei, try to get some rest." Shinji said as he hugged Rei slightly and tried to drift off to sleep.

"Shinji, do you…like it when I hug you?"

"Rei, whenever you do, it just makes my day. Whenever you do anything like that, it makes me very happy. I just want you to be able to do what you want to do, and if you want to do that, then it's fine by me. If you don't want to, then you don't have to, I won't force you."

"Thank you, Shinji." Rei said as she returned Shinji's hug, "I hope tomorrow Kaji will be feeling better. If the bleeding has stopped, then he should be fine."

"How do you know so much about this?"

"I…I don't know, I just…I've known for a long time, since before I can remember."

"Okay, well, we'd better get to sleep; tomorrow we'll need all of our energy to help Kaji out. Good night, Rei."

Rei smiled a small smile. It was becoming more frequent, but it still startled Shinji a little to see her smile. Even while Kaji was here, and even just now, she still had been acting emotionless, but now she seemed to be letting up her normal outer appearance. Shinji liked that and was a little sad when she drifted off to sleep, the emotionless visage returning to her face. Shinji almost woke her up just to get her to show any emotion, even if it was anger, but he decided against it. Shinji held Rei close and fell asleep, wondering how Rei was going to protect him from something no one else could.

"Shinji…get up, Shinji." Misato said groggily.

"Huh? What is it Misato?" Shinji asked just as groggily.

"Get up…come on, get up…"

"Misato, I am up, what's wrong?"

"Can you…watch Kaji for a while? I need sleep…"

Shinji released Rei and looked at his clock. It read 4:13 in bold red numbers.

"Um…sure Misato, is he alright?"

"Kaji's okay, he's sleeping."

"That's good; let me wake Rei up so you can use my bed to sleep on."

"Thanks, Shinji; wake me up in a few hours…"

"Okay, Rei, wake up, come on, wake up." Shinji shook Rei gently.

"W…w…what's wrong Shinji?"

"We've got to watch Kaji, Misato needs sleep."

"Alright, can you let go?"

"Oh, oops, sorry." Shinji said as he let go of Rei and slid off his bed.

"Thanks, Rei, Shinji, I'm going to…go…to…sleep………now…" Misato said as she fell onto Shinji's bed. She was asleep before she landed.

"Boy, we'd better cover her up."

"It would be advisable."

"Rei, stop talking like that."

"Okay, I am…I'm sorry, Shinji. Could you help me with the blanket?"

Shinji nodded and together they pulled Shinji's blanket out from under Misato and laid it over her. Shinji yawned and let his arm fall around Rei's shoulders.

"Rei, why don't you check on Kaji? I'll make some tea."

"Okay, I'll stay with Kaji, and you can bring the tea in. I'm sure if Kaji's awake then he will want some."

"Good plan."

Rei gave Shinji a small hug before Shinji kissed her quickly and left for the kitchen. Rei smiled to herself and went to check on Kaji. He was lying on Misato's bed with his arm over his chest and a rag over his wound. Rei looked around and found a clean rag on the floor and switched them out. The second rag didn't grow bloodied, so Rei figured it was a good sign. Kaji's eyes fluttered open slowly and he managed to put his hand on Rei's head.

"Rei…thanks... you know, Shinji really likes you."

"Yes, he loves me."

"Oh, really? I didn't think he'd be able to tell you." Kaji smiled, but then lapsed into pain as his movement disturbed his wound. He calmed down and resumed his smile, "Rei, you know that Shinji doesn't know about what Gendo's planning, right? And you also know that you may have to protect Shinji from him. Are you sure that you will be able to stop Gendo?"

"He is not as strong as I; he does not pilot an Eva."

"Yes, you're right, but will you be able to fight him off? He was the first one you liked being with, will you be able to forsake him for Shinji? I hope you can, I hope Gendo doesn't do anything to him, but you must discover for yourself if you will be willing to cast one away for the other. If Gendo goes to destroy Shinji, you will have to make that choice. You will have to destroy one and save the other. Figure out which one you will save now, for it may be too hard a decision if that time comes."

"Kaji…how do you…"

"Hi, Kaji, it's good to see you awake. You want some tea?"

"Some hard liquor would be better, but beggars can't be choosers. Sure, thanks, Shinji."

"You're welcome, don't strain too hard. Ritsuko should be coming over today to check on you, so just wait until then. She's a doctor, so you'll be alright. Try not to do too much; you'll need all of your strength."

"Shinji, come closer, my child."

"Um…what is it?"

"Shinji," Kaji said at a whisper, "tell me, how far are you with Rei?"

"What?!" Shinji yelled, "Why does everyone want to know?!"

"It's a simple question, Shinji. Please, I fear my time on this planet may be short." Kaji fake coughed.

"We haven't done anything."

"And how many nights have you slept with her?"

"Don't say it like that! Just because we've slept in the same bed doesn't mean we've done anything."

"Okay, okay, I won't ask anymore... today." Kaji added with a pained smile.

"Kaji, you need to rest, it is early in the morning." Rei said.

"Yea, remember, you got shot, you need to rest."

"Fine, fine, keep your secrets to yourself; I'll just go to sleep, like I never existed." Kaji said, pretending to be hurt.

"Just go to sleep, will ya?"

Kaji laughed a little, then fell back to sleep. Shinji let out a sigh of relief and gave Rei her cup of tea.

Jonathan woke up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He looked at Asuka's clock, 6:47. Jonathan normally didn't wake up this early, even when they had school. Asuka was still asleep, but Jonathan was planning on changing that. Jonathan wrapped his arms around Asuka and hugged her from behind, but she stayed limp. Jonathan smiled an evil, mischievous grin and began tickling Asuka's sides. She moved a little, but then went limp again. This didn't waver Jonathan's resolve, however. He turned Asuka so she was facing him and he began moving his hands up and down her sides. Asuka again moved a little, but still didn't wake. Jonathan was beginning to get agitated. He placed his hands on her butt and Asuka's eyes popped open.

"I knew it would get you up."

"Just what are you doing?"

"I'm waking you up."

"You could've let me sleep, or at least used a conventional method."

"But, it just seemed like the right thing to do. Besides, you wouldn't wake up, no matter where I put my hands. I tried everywhere, well, almost everywhere. I really didn't get below the waist."

"I think my butt is below my waist."

"Well, other than there."

"Can you get your hands off?"

"Okay, I guess I did succeed in my mission." Jonathan let go of Asuka's butt, but then wrapped his arms around her back.

"You just don't know when to quit."

"Not with you."

"You should quit while you're ahead, or while you still have a head."

"You wouldn't, you like me to much."

"I never said I liked you."

"If you didn't like me, then how would I be able to get away with something like this?" Jonathan kissed Asuka swiftly. She relaxed and put her arms around Jonathan.

"Jonathan, what do you think the next Angel is going to be like?"

"Well, I've never fought an Angel, so I couldn't tell."

"I thought you had read all the reports."

"I have, I don't know what it'll look like. From what I understand, they've pretty much been completely random in appearance except the one that attacked that nearly killed you."

"It couldn't have killed me, I was with my Eva."

"Yea, but what if it had sunk the ship you were on? Even then, your Eva couldn't function underwater and the Angel could have torn you apart. Who knows what it'll look like, maybe it'll be a dust mite. Maybe it'll be a planet, who knows?"

"I wish I knew. We'd better check on Kaji, he might've woken up."

"I don't want to leave, besides, Shinji and Rei can keep an eye on him. It's early and he might wake up if he's asleep. You wouldn't want him to be in pain, would you?"

"You're right. I'm just glad he's not dead. That would be…terrible. I don't care who it was, I'd kill them."

"Even if it was me?"

"Especially if it was you."

"That's cold."

"Well, unless you had a really good reason. In that case, I'd just hate you for all of eternity."

"You really liked him, didn't you?"

"I still do like him, but not the same way. I don't know why he went back to Germany. I…I was really sad after that. I thought he was the love of my life; that nothing could come between us. Well, something obviously did. I…you know," Asuka blushed a deep crimson, "sometimes I had dreams about Kaji that started like this."

"I…guess that's understandable. I can't really say the same about you…well, once, but it didn't end well."

Asuka pulled herself closer to Jonathan, "How did it end?"

"Well, after we went to sleep, a giant fly burst through the wall and ate you. The worst part was that it held me down and made me watch it. Then it flew around the city and ate all the pilots and Hikari. It made me watch it eat everyone. Then it ate me. It was horrible."

"That does sound horrible. What about the Evas?"

"We couldn't get to them in time. Asuka, I don't know what I'd do if something like that happened."

"I think you'd probably do the same thing. It's kind of hard to do anything when you're pinned down by something stronger than you."

"Asuka, I promise I won't anything bad happen to you. No matter what, I'll do all I can to save you."

"Jonathan, I hope that the day where I can't save myself won't come, but it makes me happy to know that you're looking out for me." Asuka kissed Jonathan swiftly.

"You know, I hope you have good dreams like the ones with Kaji again, just with it being me in Kaji's place."

"You're perverted."

"If you loved Kaji as much as you say you did, then I want you to feel the same way with me. I won't leave you."

"Jonathan, you don't know how much that means to me, and how hard it is to believe."

"Asuka, I won't lie like my father did, I won't leave you behind like Kaji did. I…really, really like you."

"That's reassuring."

Asuka rolled on top of Jonathan and brought the blanket over their heads.

"What are you doing, Asuka?"

"Just shut up, you're always talking, you need to just shut up sometimes and observe with your eyes."

"Okay, if you say so."

Asuka squeezed Jonathan in her embrace as hard as she could muster, which threatened to cut off Jonathan's ability to breath.

"As…Asuka, ple…please let…let go…I can't…breathe."

"Oh, oops, I didn't mean to."

"Asuka, don't be sorry, I may have to smack some sense into you if you start actually being sorry for your actions."

Jonathan returned Asuka's embrace, but not as fiercely. He began to let his hands wander again and they found Asuka's butt once more, except he got underneath her pajamas this time.

"Don't you…"

"What, squeeze? Okay, I'll just squeeze harder."

"Hey…I didn't mean that…"

"So, you'd rather me not?"

"That's…right…"

"Why don't I massage then?"

"No…don't do anything there…"

"Okay…" Jonathan's hands wandered out and found their way back up to Asuka's back.

"Now, there's acceptable."

"What about the other side?"

"No, don't, you pervert…"

Jonathan ignored Asuka's insults and his hands found their way under her pajamas and bra.

"Get your hands away from those."

"What, do they hold some secret? Let's see then!"

"No!"

Jonathan lifted Asuka's nightgown up around her shoulders and pulled her close. Jonathan used all his willpower to keep it at a playful state, not anything farther.

"Hum…nope, no secrets, I'm so disappointed."

"That's surprising; I thought for sure you'd pass out."

"Well, you obviously don't know me very well. You know, you really don't need this nightgown thing, I'll just…" Jonathan began to lift the nightgown over Asuka's head when her hands grabbed a hold of the gown. They struggled back and forth, but Jonathan finally won out when he tickled Asuka's side. He threw the nightgown on the floor out of Asuka's reach.

"Now, isn't that better?"

"No, it isn't."

"That's not good, I guess maybe this is a little confining…" Jonathan said as he began undoing Asuka's bra.

"Hey!" Asuka nearly screamed as Jonathan took it off and held it above Asuka's reach, luckily his arms were just longer than Asuka's.

"Ha, ha, come on, try to get it." Jonathan said as he jumped out of Asuka's bed, still holding her bra.

"That's it, I hope you like pain."

Asuka jumped at Jonathan, but he side stepped and Asuka missed, hitting the floor instead. Jonathan laughed and Asuka got to her feet. She began chasing him around her room, but every time she got close enough, he speed up, or dodged. Then the door opened.

"Um…Rei, I think I should just leave and pretend I never saw any of this."

"Wha…? Shinji?!" Asuka said in mid step, "Don't look, you pervert!"

"I'm not, I'm not!"

"Hey, Shinji, I thought you liked Rei, I thought she was your girlfriend. Don't you be cheating on her, especially not with my girlfr…ahhhh, Asuka, yea, especially not with Asuka."

"I am not. If I'd known you two weren't being attacked or something, I wouldn't have come. I'm leaving, just know Kaji's fine. Don't look, Rei, come on…" Shinji's voice trailed off as he walked down the hall hurriedly.

"Um…here you go, Asuka."

Asuka grabbed her bra and put it on quickly. She took her chance and grabbed some clothes which she quickly put on.

"Don't you ever do that again."

"I can't promise that, but I can promise that Shinji won't be there."

"That's not very reassuring."

"No, but this is." Jonathan embraced and kissed Asuka passionately.

"How do you always get out of trouble with me like that?"

"By doing this." He kissed her again.

"Ah…that's right. You'd better get your clothes on, in your apartment, please. I'm going to check on Kaji."

"Okay, aber, mein Liebling, don't spend too much time there if he's asleep. I may grow jealous." Jonathan said as he left the room.

"Hi, Asuka, Kaji's fine. Misato's asleep though. She woke me up at like four. She's passed out on my bed. She was up all night watching Kaji." Shinji said as Asuka came into Misato's room.

"Well, that's good. Where's Rei?"

"Oh, she's getting something in the kitchen."

"I didn't see her in the kitchen."

"Maybe she's in the bathroom."

"Yea, you're probably right. What time should we get sleeping beauty up?"

"Well, it's seven, so I think we'd better let her sleep in another thirty minutes."

"Yea, alright. Do you think Kaji's really hurt?"

"I don't think he's going to die. If Ritsuko comes, then he should be fine. From what Misato's told me, she's going to come as fast as she can. We can only hope. I don't know how to fix bullet wounds."

"I don't either….It makes me so mad! I wish I could help him, but I can't do anything. Even Misato thinks so. If she didn't, then she would've got me up at the same time as you."

"Asuka, that's not true. Didn't you see how happy Kaji was when he saw you? Besides, you'll have a lot of time to help him. If you want, I'll just leave you alone in here. The rags are over there. But, he's stopped bleeding for the most part."

"Thanks Shinji, but you don't have to leave….Shinji, why do you love Rei so much?"

"Um…well…that's to say…um…I really don't know. It's a lot of reasons. She's just so…she seems so vulnerable. I want to protect her, to keep her safe. I feel really happy whenever she's around me."

"Oh…is it like that for everyone?"

"I don't know…why do you want to know?"

"I was just wondering!"

"Alright…has Jonathan said he loves you?"

"No!"

"Have you?"

"NO!"

"Then, why did you ask?"

"Well…I wanted to find out if Jonathan loves me…he acts like he does, according to what you say."

"Asuka, I don't think I'm your best resource for this kind of thing."

"I hate doing this, but who else is there?"

"Um…Misato?"

"Yea, right, she's really a reliable source. Shinji, you're the only person I know who really loves someone else."

"What about Hikari?"

"I can't ask her, besides; I don't think she really loves Touji."

"You never know unless you try."

"I…I just can't ask her. Please, Shinji, I…damn it…I need your help. I need to know."

"Why don't you ask him yourself? That's what Rei did. I really didn't know if I loved her until she told me that she loved me, then I knew."

"Okay…Why am I asking you?"

"Asuka, if you really like him, and he really likes you, then no matter how you ask him, you'll both understand. Just try to do it quickly, I tried to tell Rei like three or four times before, but I always got cold feet, so to speak. It's best to just get it out."

"Shinji…thanks, even if you suck at piloting and playing an instrument, thanks."

"Well, your welcome, and I do not suck at playing the cello or piloting Eva!"

"Shinji, you're so much fun to tease." Asuka said as she messed up Shinji's hair before leaving the room. Rei came in soon afterward.

"Hi, Shinji." Rei said before she hugged him.

"Well, hi yourself. You know, Rei, probably one of the strangest conversations of my life just took place. I hope I didn't screw her up too much... Rei, do you still love me?"

"Shinji, do you still breathe air?"

"Okay, I get it. Well, I still love you." Shinji said before he kissed Rei gently. Rei actually returned the kiss. Shinji put his hand on the back of her head. Rei let go and looked at the floor.

"Shinji, I…"

"What's wrong? You can tell me."

"I…Kaji said…no, it's nothing. I love you, that's it."

"Are you sure? If there's something wrong, I want to help. Do you want to tell me?"

"It's really nothing, I'd…better check on the tea."

"Rei, I won't stop loving you. I promise."

"It's nothing."

"Alright, you're so weird sometimes."

"Is anything not?"

"Rei, you always know what to say. I guess you're right."

"Shinji, I think we should wake Misato up now."

"Yea, she'll need the extra time to wake up. I'll get her some coffee; you can wake her up, okay?"

"Okay… Shinji, I…who would you choose; me or your father?"

"What do you mean?"

"If you had to choose one of us to live, and the other to die, who would you choose to live?"

"I would…I would let you live, Rei. My father hates me; he probably wouldn't even care if I died, just as long as my Eva was alright. I would choose you; he would probably say the same thing. Why does he hate me so much?"

"I do not think he hates you, Shinji. He just has trouble telling you that he doesn't."

"Well, if he likes me or not, I still would choose you. He hasn't done anything good for me except for introducing me to you. That and meeting Misato, Asuka, Touji, and Jonathan are the only good things that have come out of this. You'd better wake Misato up now."

"Shinji…okay, I will wake Misato up."

Rei left the room and Shinji went into the kitchen. Shinji began to make the coffee when he heard the door open. He turned to see who it was. At first, Shinji didn't hear anyone. Paranoia began to rise in Shinji's brain. What if it was the people who shot Kaji? Did they come to finish him? What about himself? Would they kill him? And Rei, Asuka, Misato, would they kill them too? Shinji didn't know what he was going to do, but he had to do something. He had to at least slow them down, maybe he actually might be able to force them out long enough for everyone to get out. Shinji walked over next to the open door, his back pressed against the wall. Asuka came out of her room and looked straight through the door. A frightened look came to her face and what looked like a black box or heavy vest was thrown at her. She caught it and looked over it. Then Shinji watched as a fountain of crimson exploded out of the thing Asuka was holding to her chest. Her mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out. She fell back, her hair almost matching the color erupting from her. She hit the floor and curled up, the crimson spilling around her. Then she stopped moving.

"Asuka!" Shinji screamed as he ran over to her. She was still holding onto whatever it was, so Shinji knew she wasn't dead, but he was afraid that it wouldn't be so in a few minutes. He stood and faced the door, the soon to be murderer of Asuka. Another black thing was thrown at Shinji this time. Shinji caught it and the gunman brought the rifle to his shoulder. Shinji braced himself, knowing what was about to come. At least Asuka wouldn't be alone wherever she was headed. Time seemed to slow as Shinji watched the gunman's finger contract, pulling the trigger. Shinji felt the impact and fell backwards, nearly landing on Asuka. He struggled to look down and saw a blood colored liquid pouring from a hole in the thing he was holding. He was sure the hole continued down through to his chest, but he didn't feel anything.

'Maybe it's the adrenaline, well, I guess this is it. Rei, I'm sorry.'

Shinji waited for death to come. He waited for his vision to blur, for him to pass out, but it wouldn't come. He looked at Asuka, the person he failed to save. Her blue eyes opened and looked at Shinji, and she smiled. She put her hand on the floor and pushed herself up. Shinji stared in awe, there was no blood coming out of her, in fact, her shirt wasn't even ripped. She turned to the door and threw the black thing at the gunman, which he quickly grabbed out of the air and placed on the ground.

"Shinji, quit with the theatrics, just get up."

"W…what do you mean?"

"Are you really that dumb? Who do you think this guy is?"

"Um…I don't know."

"Of course you know him; he lives next door to us."

"Jonathan? But then…"

"Paintball gun, the thing you're holding, it's a protective vest. That's why he looks like an anti-bio-terrorist squad member. It's the uniform you have to wear when you play paintball. Dummkopf, Jonathan! Why'd you do that?"

Jonathan laughed as he took his mask off, "Because, you guys needed it. You were getting to depressed, so I thought I'd liven you lives up a bit."

"Dummkopf! Besides, we can't go to the paintball range, we have to watch Kaji."

"He can come with."

"Yea right! He's already been shot once; paintballs are the last thing he needs!" Asuka exclaimed.

"Okay, okay, I'll just put it away. Hey, Shinji, could you give me that vest?"

"Uh…yea, here you go." Shinji said as he shakily stood and gave the vest to Jonathan.

"Hey, I'll see you guys in a little. Don't let Kaji die."

"Ha, ha." Asuka fake laughed as Jonathan walked over into his apartment. Shinji was still shaking a little.

"Asuka…um…that was…kind of scary. I thought you'd been shot."

"Well, I was shot."

"I mean by a real gun, with bullets."

"Oh, well, I guess a little vest wouldn't have saved either of us from a rifle. Oh, well, it's over now, and we're both fine, so get over it."

"That's easy for you to say."

"What were you doing, anyway?"

"I was making coffee for Misato."

"Well, isn't that nice, are you going to get the paper for her too?"

"Hey! I just thought she'd need it to wake up. She was up watching Kaji, if you remember."

"Where's the first?"

"Rei? Hey, why don't you just call her Rei?"

"I just wanted to make you mad."

"Well, it worked. She's waking Misato up right now."

"You know, Misato's going to have to go by Rei's to get her clothes."

"Yea, do you think I'd better go? I mean, well, I guess I don't have to. Rei can wear her clothes from yesterday until she can get her other clothes."

"Yea, besides, I think Misato wouldn't be too happy if you make her late."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just saying that the last time you went to 'help' Rei, we ended up waiting like an extra ten or twenty minutes. Misato has to go back here to drop Rei off, then she has to go to NERV. That's going to take some time."

"You're right; I guess I'll just wait here. Hey, you want to play cards or something later? Just to keep ourselves from going crazy. Kaji's still sleeping, and it isn't very exciting to watch someone sleep."

"Yea, that sounds like fun, but we'd better play in Misato's room, just in case Kaji does wake up."

"Alright, what do you want to play?"

"Humm…well, I guess just poker or something. Do you have any board games?"

"No, I don't."

"Well, I've got a board game, it's kind of old, but it's fun. We have to get Jonathan and Rei to play, though."

"I'm sure that won't be a problem. Rei probably wouldn't care either way, and Jonathan would want to just because there won't be anything else to do."

"Alright, I'll get Jonathan; you make sure Misato doesn't pass out. After Rei comes back, we can start."

"What game is it?"

"You'll see."

"That's not very reassuring."

"Just do your job. It won't kill you, so don't worry about it."

"Okay, why aren't you going over to Jonathan's yet?"

"I don't have to go now; besides, we can't start until Rei gets back. I'll be in my room, don't disturb me unless Kaji wakes up."

"Fine, fine, I'll go check on Misato."

Asuka left to her room and Shinji poured a cup of coffee. He carried the cup to his room where Rei was trying to wake Misato up, but wasn't having any luck. She was out cold.

"So, she won't wake up?"

"No."

"Well…go get a cup of water, cold water."

"Okay."

Rei left and Shinji tried to shake Misato awake. He didn't have any more luck than Rei did. He set the cup of coffee on his nightstand and waited for Rei to come back. Just as he sat down on his chair, Rei came in with the cup in between her hands.

"Okay, just give me the cup." Rei promptly and obediently followed Shinji's orders. Shinji took the cup and splashed the water over Misato's face.

"What?! It wasn't my fault! Huh? Oh…Hi Shinji, Rei."

"Hi Misato, could you take Rei to her apartment to get her clothes before you leave for NERV?"

"Uh…yea... Shinji, don't splash water on me again."

"Sorry, here, I made you some coffee. I thought you might need it."

"Yea right, just give me a beer."

"Misato, you have to go to NERV, you can't be drinking now. Besides, what would Kaji think?"

"He wouldn't care; we used to do stuff like this in college. Well…without the shooting part."

"Misato, I can't let you have any, at least not until after you get back."

"Fine, just give me the coffee." Shinji handed her the cup.

"Be careful, it's hot."

"Shinji, I've been doing this for longer than you've been alive, I know how to drink coffee."

To Shinji's amazement, Misato actually did drink all the coffee and it didn't look like she burned herself.

"Alright, Rei, you ready to go?"

"Yes, I am ready."

"Good, Shinji, I'll be back with her in tow in just a second."

"Alright, bye…" Shinji waved as Misato walked out with Rei following closely behind.

"Wow, that was pretty weak Shinji."

"Asuka! I thought you were in your room!"

"I was, but I wanted to see what you were doing."

"You actually wanted to know what I was doing?"

"Well…yea. Why, do you hate me?"

"No, no, it's nothing like that. I just found it kind of strange."

"Shinji…I've been thinking…"

"About what?"

"Well…about what you said before and other things…and what Jonathan and Misato said…Shinji…do you think I'm to mean to you?"

Shinji was shocked. Why was Asuka asking him this? "Um…well, not really…sometimes…"

"Shinji…I know I've been mean to you…I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry."

"Shinji, you were the first person here who actually did anything with me. When I heard that Kaji was leaving…you were the only one who came."

"It really wasn't anything…I'm just glad that you felt better after that."

"Shinji…you wanna be friends?"

"Well…I thought we already were…I thought all the pilots were."

"Shinji…I've been really mean to you. I don't think friends do that, besides, I need someone else to talk to. I don't want you to not like me."

"Well…sure, but you know Rei…"

"I don't mean like that…I just wanna be friends, that's all. Hikari isn't around all the time, and Jonathan…he's different."

"What do you mean? I thought you two really hit it off."

"We did, but he's a different kind of friend, I just need a real friend. Rei's too…Rei."

"Yea, she doesn't always offer the best advice, or a very fun conversation. Asuka…I want to be friends. I'd like that."

"Okay…so, you want to help me set up the game? Rei's house isn't very far away, so she should be coming back soon."

"Sure, what game is it?"

"It's called Axis and Allies. It's a game about world war two. Maybe I can teach you something about the war. You know, it's a very interesting subject."

"I'm sure it is…so let's go set it up."

Asuka turned and led Shinji into Misato's room where the box was lying on the floor.

"So, you got everything you need Rei?"

"Yes, I have everything."

"Good, hop in and we'll get back."

"That was risky. How much information do you think he got?"

"He did not get any papers or data saved. The UN can not go off one person's word over my own."

"And SEELE? I'm sure he found out something about them. They might come after us. We could not withstand taking on SEELE and the Angels."

"SEELE will not come after us, Fuyutsuki, they are paranoid. If they suspect something of theirs has been stolen, they will simply tighten their security. They are in no position to be attacking us."

"Do you think he's dead?"

"No, people like that are not so easily dealt with. If there is no body, then he's not dead. They are like insects, if you do not know they are dead, then it is more than likely that they are alive, or another will be sent in its place."

"Gendo, you are too calm with this matter. If he gets our plan out…"

The ends of Gendo's mouth turned up into a smirk, though it could not be seen through his hands, "Our plan has not been compromised. You are too paranoid."

"I wish I could be as carefree as you."

"Rei!" Shinji said as he hugged Rei after she walked through the door.

"Oh god…" Asuka said exasperatedly.

"Hello, Shinji." Rei said.

"So…you can put your stuff in my room. Where's your bed roll?"

"I do not have an extra."

"Oh…well, we've just finished setting up a board game. When you're finished, you can go into Misato's room. Hey, Asuka, why don't you get Jonathan now?"

"Yea, okay. See ya later, Misato."

"Okay, take good care of Kaji. Ritsuko should be coming over with me, so be expecting her."

"Alright, bye." Shinji said as Misato walked back down the stairs and took off.

Asuka walked down the hall and knocked on Jonathan's door. She didn't hear anything, so she opened the door. The room was dark, in fact, there was no light coming into the apartment, save the light coming from the opened door. She took a step in and tried to survey the situation. All over it was a mess, which was pretty normal for Jonathan. The door closed of its own accord and plunged Asuka into darkness. She waited for her eyes to adjust, but it was near pitch black. She stumbled around and tried to get back to the door. She found the small slit of light coming from under the front door and she walked slowly towards it. She put her hand on the handle when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and drug her back into the darkness. Asuka tried to scream, but her mouth was covered by the person's hand. The person laid her on Jonathan's couch and soon joined her. Asuka brought her arms up to protect herself.

"Who are you?"

The perpetrator answered by hugging and then kissing Asuka. Asuka could feel the anger rising within her, she would not let this happen. She would not let herself be raped. Asuka swung and connected with the perpetrator's stomach, knocking all the wind out of him. He stumbled backwards off the couch and Asuka stood. She didn't know what this guy had, but she knew she couldn't fight him if she couldn't see him. She was afraid of what might've been done to Jonathan, but she needed to at least knock this guy out first. Then she could check on Jonathan, wherever he was. Asuka stumbled around the walls and found the light switch. She flicked the switch and found Jonathan lying on the floor holding his gut. The man who'd attacked Asuka earlier was no where to be found, which worried Asuka even more. She ran over to Jonathan to see if he was okay. He breathing was shallow, but it was getting better.

"Jonathan, are you okay? Who did this?"

"Y…You did." Jonathan managed to cough out.

"What?!"

"Asuka, why'd you nail me like that?"

"That…was you?"

"Yea…who else would it be?"

"I'm so sorry! I thought you were someone else. I though you were attacked by someone."

"I'm sorry; I just wanted to play a little joke on you. I don't think it worked."

"Don't do that again!" Asuka said as she playfully hit his shoulder.

"Asuka…you don't have to be sorry."

"Well, I need to make it up to you. Here, you can punch me." Asuka said as she stood, revealing her stomach. Jonathan stood and instead of punching her in the stomach, he tickled her.

"Stop that!"

"Okay, I guess you can make it up another way."

"Like what?"

Jonathan grabbed Asuka and kissed her. Asuka put her arms around Jonathan and returned his kiss.

"Jonathan…Is this the payback?"

"Oh no, it's just started."

"What?"

Jonathan smirked and pulled Asuka's shirt over her head, blinding her. He held the shirt up so she couldn't pull it down and started walking towards the couch. Asuka walked backwards and fell onto the couch when her heels hit the bottom of the couch. Jonathan fell down next to her and hugged her. He tried to put his head through the opening in Asuka's shirt, but it was too small, so he just rested his head on her chest.

"Jonathan, could you get away from there?"

"What? You want me to put my hands on them? Well, if you insist…"

"No! That's not what I meant!"

"You should tell people what you mean the first time."

"I did, just get away or put my shirt back on or something else."

"Okay." Jonathan stayed where he was and pulled Asuka's shirt back down.

"Hey!"

"Alright." Jonathan slid out from Asuka's shirt.

"We're waiting for you in Misato's room. I set up Axis and Allies."

"That old game?"

"Hey, it's a good game!"

"Okay, if mein Liebling wants to play it, then I'll play it too."

"Don't call me that!"

"Why not?"

"Just don't, alright? Let's go."

"Fine, but I'm not finished for payback. You'll know when I finish it."

"For some reason, I don't feel safe anymore."

"Asuka, it took you long enough."

"Shut up, Shinji. It wasn't my fault."

"Okay, so are we going to play?"

"Yea."

"Hey, what're you kids playing?"

Asuka nearly hit the wall when she jumped back. Kaji was sitting up in the bed holding his side with his hand.

"Hi Kaji, are you sure you should be doing that?"

"Oh yea, besides, I hate staying in a bed when everyone else is doing something else."

"Well…you want something?"

"Yea, which way's the bathroom?"

"Uh…here, let me help you." Shinji said as he ran over to Kaji who was trying to stand. "Don't worry, I'll help you."

Shinji helped Kaji out of the room and down the hall.

"I don't think we should play this game. We should play something Kaji can play too." Asuka said, "I'll get my cards." Asuka stood and walked into her room. Jonathan was still standing and Rei was looking at him questioningly.

"Will you help me put the game up?"

"Uh…yea."

Rei began putting the board back in the box and Jonathan walked over and tried to figure out how he was going to help her.

"Hey, Shinji. Where's Kaji?"

"Oh, he's in there. I'm just waiting to help him back."

"Why don't you take these cards and I'll watch Kaji for you."

"Why? What're you planning?"

"What? Can't a friend do something nice once in a while?"

"Asuka, you've rarely done anything nice for no reason."

"Okay, I want to help Kaji. I haven't been able to yet, so I want to start. Please, Shinji, I want to do something for him."

"Alright, but don't pull any funny stuff."

"I won't, and make sure Rei doesn't mess up my game. You know where to put it, right?"

"Um…how about I just set it on your bed?"

"Okay, put it there, I'll put it away later."

"See yea."

"Bye."

Shinji took the cards from Asuka's hand and walked into Misato's room. Jonathan was standing with the box in his hands and Rei was sitting on the floor still.

"Hey, Shinji, you know where I can put this?"

"Uh…just put it on Asuka's bed."

Jonathan nodded and left to Asuka's room.

"So, you ready to play again? I won't lose so badly this time."

"Shinji, you can not judge luck and fate by time."

"So you are right. Can I sit down here?" Shinji pointed next to Rei.

"Yes, why not?"

"I don't know, just wanted to ask." Shinji sat down and took the cards out of the pack. He began shuffling them and Rei leaned on his shoulder.

"Um…what's wrong Rei?"

"Nothing is wrong, Shinji."

"Um…okay."

Shinji put the cards down and put his arm around Rei. She rubbed her head against his side and Shinji tried not to laugh. Rei could feel Shinji's body begin to heave under the pressure to not laugh and she stopped, looking up at Shinji. Shinji looked down at Rei's face and he just had to hug her. Her face showed how worried she was, and it was all it took to break Shinji down.

"I'm okay Rei."

Rei smiled slightly and rubbed her head against his. She put her arms around Shinji and rested her chin on his shoulder. Shinji never wanted it to stop; just holding Rei was probably the happiest event in his young life. Jonathan walked in and saw them on the ground. He was about to say something when he saw Asuka helping Kaji down the hall. Jonathan left Shinji and Rei to help Asuka.

"Hey, you need some help?"

"No, I don't need any help." Asuka said arrogantly.

"You know, I really don't need any help Asuka, I feel great." Kaji pushed her arm off and tried to stand up straight. He coughed and grabbed his side before nearly falling to the ground. Asuka grabbed his arm first and Jonathan helped him up.

"Okay, so I almost don't need any help."

"Kaji, you can't do that. You'll hurt yourself even worse."

"Okay…"

"Um, Asuka, we'd better get him to Misato's bed."

"Yea, okay."

Asuka helped Kaji into Misato's room and disturbed Shinji and Rei. Shinji let go of Rei and rubbed the back of his head, his face turning a deep red.

"Hey, Shinji, get the extra bed roll, will ya?"

"Um, sure."

Shinji got off the floor and soon was returning from Asuka's room with the roll in his hands.

"Good, lay it out on the bed so Kaji can lay on it."

"Asuka, I really don't need it…"

"Kaji, please, I insist."

"Hey, Kaji," Jonathan said, "I think its best not to argue with her at this point."

"Okay, Asuka, it's all laid out, you can put Kaji on it now."

Asuka nodded and helped Kaji over to the bed. He lay down slowly, while shaking at the same time.

"Um…hey Asuka, why don't we just play without money this time? It really didn't turn out so good last time."

"Yea, you're right, besides, I don't want this pervert," Asuka stuck her thumb at Jonathan, "to see anything."

"Hey, that's not very nice. Ich bin keine Verdreher."

"Just shut up and sit down."

"Damn it!"

"Calm down Jonathan."

"She won again!"

"Well, welcome to our world. Rei's got playing poker down. It's hard to bluff her, but it's very easy to be bluffed."

"I think we should play something else."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, just something else. I hate losing. Hey, Asuka what'd you say about us doing something in your room? Just us…"

"Yea right. You're crazy. I'd rather spend an entire say stuck in a ventilation duct with Shinji."

"I think you'd kill Shinji before the day was over."

"Exactly, I would be alone for at least part of the day."

"Hey, I really don't feel comfortable when people talk about killing me."

"So, what game do we play?"

"Hey, I have a fun game. I'll go get it, just wait here."

Jonathan gave his cards back to Shinji and stood up. He turned and left the room without another word.

"Well, he wasn't one for long goodbyes." Shinji said.

"He never really is." Asuka replied.

"Hey, Asuka, do you think he loves you?" Shinji said as he moved over to Rei and collected her cards.

"I…I don't know. He's too weird to really know what he's thinking."

"You're just avoiding the question. Hey, you pegged me before I…became closer to Rei, so I think it's only fair. What do you think?"

"I…I think he might, he sure has acted like it in the past."

"Do you love him?" Shinji said as he put his arm around Rei, "I mean, it's really not that fair of a question. I didn't really know if I loved Rei at first. What I mean is, do you like him?"

"Well, if you consider it that way, then it's about the same with you, Shinji. I don't think that that's a very good gauge. Sometimes I like being with you, that doesn't mean I love you. Please, besides, you already have Rei."

"I know, but…okay, do you get really tense when you're alone with him? Or do you feel just…a different kind of happy with him? Those are a few things I felt, well, I still feel with Rei."

"I…Sometimes I get a little tense, but he always does something stupid that eases the tension."

"Oh…well, do you get happy just being with him?"

"It's hard to say, he's always doing something to make me laugh."

"Not like that, like…like you feel complete with him. When I'm with Rei, I don't feel so lonely, I was always alone before. I had a hole, a place in my heart that was empty, no matter what I did. When I'm with Rei, that doesn't seem so…big."

"Shinji, my mother is dead. I don't think that can be filled so easily. At least your father's still alive."

"My father could be dead; in fact, it probably wouldn't be so bad if he was. He never helps me, never cares for me. If he was dead, then I could imagine that he cared. Every time I'm around him, he just shatters that idea. My mother's also dead, you know that. It was hard for me, it still is, but Rei makes it seem not so bad. I can cope with it. Does Jonathan do that for you?"

"He says that about me, that he doesn't feel so empty or alone when he's with me…does that mean he loves me?"

"I think so, he just doesn't really know how to tell you, or what to do period. Jonathan's the kind of guy who likes to have fun all the time; it's hard to do things seriously for him. You know what he's like during the Sync tests. I bet if you confront him, he will probably tell you yes."

"You really think so?"

"Hey, what'ca talking about?"

"Hey Jonathan, what's that?"

"Oh, this?" Jonathan held up the box in his hand, "this is the game we're going to play."

"Well, sit down and tell us what it is."

Jonathan sat down next to Asuka and set the box on the floor. He then launched into his explanation of the game at hand.

Asuka led them into a forest. They weren't what you'd call a very good looking group, but they got the job done. Asuka was in the lead with Rei following closely behind. Shinji moved from Rei's right to her left periodically. Asuka was the natural fighter; she had a long broad sword at her hip and had dark red armor. Rei was wearing long, draping robes and carried a staff. Shinji was in nearly rags, but he had a large bag slung around his back.

"So, you walked into the forest when…a giant spider attacked!"

Asuka pulled her sword from its sheath and prepared to attack. Shinji ran around to attempt to flank it and Rei took a step back. The spider came down from the trees and Rei raised her arms while chanting something. The spider's legs that were hanging onto the branches became incased in ice, leaving it hanging from the tree. Shinji was now behind it and was searching through bag of things when Asuka attacked.

"Okay, so I roll this, right?" Asuka held up a weird, many sided die.

"Yea, roll that one first, then this one." Jonathan held up another, many sided die.

"Alright!" Asuka said as the die slowed to a stop.

Asuka swung hard at the spider and split it open.

"Hey, what're you kids doing?" Misato said as she came in, "I thought for sure you'd all be in the kitchen. How's Kaji?"

"He's been complaining mostly." Shinji said, "Where's Ritsuko?"

"Oh, she had extra paperwork to do, but she'll be by later. Did you know she doesn't have a medical degree?"

"Then why's she called 'Dr. Akagi'?"

"Because she has a Doctorate. You don't have to be a doctor in medicine to be called doctor. She said Maya knew a lot about medicine, so she's going to be coming over too."

"Okay, hey, Jonathan, why don't we just put up now?"

"Yea, okay, hey, it was pretty fun though, right?"

"It beats playing cards. Yea, we should play this everyday." Shinji responded.

"Okay, I'll put it back; just don't you guys run off anywhere, alright?"

"Jonathan, where would we go?" Asuka asked.

"I don't know, but I've heard that you Eva pilots can be tricky."

"You're an Eva pilot too!"

"I know!" Jonathan laughed as he stood and walked out of the room.

"He's weird sometimes."

"Yea, sometimes I wonder if he might even be weirder than you, Shinji."

"Hey!"

"Misato, why do you think Kaji was shot?"

"I don't know, but whatever he did, it was big, and Kaji was never really one to do little things."

"What do you mean? You knew Kaji before?"

"Yea, we knew each other back in college. We were…close."

"Oh, well, I guess that's why he'd come here. But how'd he know where we lived?"

"He took care of you while you and Unit two were coming across the Pacific, right? Well, he probably just kept tabs on you." Misato said as she left the room.

"I'm hungry, hey, Shinji, why don't you make some lunch or something?"

"It's a little late for lunch, don't you think?"

"Then just make dinner."

"Why don't you make dinner?"

"Because, it's your turn."

"It is not!"

"Then maybe Rei will."

"No, I'll make it."

'Yes! It worked!' Asuka thought.

Shinji got up and left the room, headed toward the kitchen.

"Rei, you agree with me when I say that Shinji's weird, right?"

"Yes."

'Whoa, that was unexpected.' Asuka thought.

"Asuka, why do you not show affection towards Jonathan?"

"What do you mean?"

"He loves you, but you do not seem to show any love towards him, why is that?"

"I don't…well, I don't know. It's complicated, Rei. I don't know if I love him. He's nice to be around, but I'm afraid…"

"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid of being alone? Of losing contact with the world?"

"No, I'm afraid that if I begin to love him, then he'll either leave or die…I don't want to go through something like that again."

"Doctor Zeppelin…"

"Yes, I don't want to lose anyone else close to me…"

"You can not live with out loving, Asuka. I was alone, I had no one to love or to love me, but then Shinji became a pilot. It is harder to live without someone to love, than to live with someone to love. Even if they do leave you, at least you have loved, and you can keep their memory alive. Those people are the reason we fight against the Angels."

"Rei, we have to fight the Angels because if we don't then they'll destroy the Earth!"

"If they destroy the Earth, then everyone will die. Every human has a level of love for all other humans; that is what makes them human. If we do not defeat the Angels, then everyone you love will die. It is better to form stronger bonds while you can, because it is then that you can understand love. People who love you will do all they can to keep you safe. That is what we do. We love the world more than most; that is why we spend our lives trying to keep it safe. Jonathan loves you, and it is important that you and him understand that. You may find that it is easier to fight the Angel's when you know someone is protecting you. Shinji loves you; that is why he leapt to save you from the Angel. We all love each other; otherwise, we could not defeat the Angels. Take good faith in this fact, we will not let each other die."

"Rei, sometimes when I think you are getting too strange, you do something like this and change my view on you. Thank you, I'll think about that."

Asuka stood and left to her room, leaving Rei alone with Kaji. Rei began to stand when she heard Kaji move.

"That was very insightful, Rei. I think you helped her more than anyone else has." Kaji said without turning his back.

"She merely needed someone to show her the right path; it is up to her to decide what to do. We must be strong and stay together to defeat the Angels. That is why we are here, on this planet. We must protect it."

"Rei, that's not the only reason, it might not seem like it now, but you will find when this is all over, that there are many other reasons why you are here."

"Ritsuko and Maya will be coming soon, please do not strain yourself."

"Rei, you're like a mother. You always want to help everyone else."

"I am…I'm going to help Shinji, please save your energy for when Ritsuko comes."

Kaji smiled and Rei left for the kitchen.

"Well, it looks like the bullet did just graze you, no major organs were hit, and there aren't any shards inside you. All I can do is bandage it up. Be sure to stay away from moving around as much as possible, the more time you have to heal, the better. Maya, could you hand me the bandages?"

"Yes, Sempai. Here you are." Maya handed Ritsuko the bandages and Ritsuko began wrapping them around Kaji's sides.

"Kaji, you know what you did could've gotten you killed. You should leave here as soon as you're better. If I know the commander, he's not too pleased, and he'll eventually find you here."

"Ritsuko, I can't just go away, you know that. Now that I know, I have to try and stop it, like you. Ritsuko, be careful. So, have you been going out with anyone? Wanna go for a drink after I'm fixed? We can bring Misato; it'll be like old times again."

"I'll probably pass on that, Kaji. I've got work to do; I don't know how I'm going to finish tonight. There, get someone to change those bandages at least every day, and you should be fine in about a week or so. Maya, pack everything up, you can go home now. Kaji, be careful. You're probably the last person we need to lose now."

"I'll do my best."

"Like you always do, I'm sure. Misato, he'll be fine," Ritsuko said as she bumped into Misato on her way out, "Just make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"I don't know how long I can keep him from being himself. You should know that."

"Ha, ha. I'll see you tomorrow." Ritsuko waved and left the apartment with Maya following soon after.

"So, how's Kaji?" Asuka asked Misato.

"Ritsuko says that he'll be fine. The bullet just grazed him and he just needs to heal now."

"That's good. Misato, can I go to sleep now?"

"Uh…sure. Do you want me to get you or Shinji up to watch Kaji later? I need sleep too."

"Make Shinji do it, I'm too tired. And bored, very, very bored. Good night, Misato."

Asuka stumbled sleepily to her room and Misato shook her head, smiling. Shinji came out of the bathroom with his toothbrush in his mouth and Rei quickly shot in after Shinji got out. Shinji looked quizzically at the door, then shook his head and walked over to Misato.

"So, Kaji's going to be fine, Shinji. Asuka's tired, so you'll have to watch him again. You know, Shinji, I wonder what'll happen to Kaji if an Angel attacks. I mean, what if the Angel hits our apartment? What'll happen then?"

Rei came out of the bathroom scratching her stomach and she had a toothbrush in her mouth as well now. Shinji heard the door open and turned to go back in. Rei saw this and turned to the bathroom as well.

'She's like a robot. Oh well, at least she's not so…so Rei like anymore. Boy, she sure has changed since Shinji's become a pilot. She must really love him, or something.' Misato thought. Pen-Pen waddled up to Misato and nudged her leg with his flipper. Misato looked down and picked him up, hugging him.

"At least you aren't hurt, Pen-Pen." Misato said as she set him back down. Pen-Pen warked happily and waddled off to his refrigerator. Jonathan walked in through the door with pajamas in his hands.

"Hi, Misato, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing. Kaji should be fine, though. Ritsuko says it just grazed him, so you should be able to go back to school in a few days or so." Jonathan responded by groaning.

"Hey, Misato, where's Shinji and Rei?"

"Oh, I saw them go into the bathroom, brushing their teeth."

"You think Shinji'll mind if I change in his room?"

"Na, I'll tell him to wait for you when he comes out."

"Thanks." Jonathan walked past Misato and closed Shinji's door behind him as he walked into Shinji's room. A few minutes passed and Misato began to worry about Shinji and Rei. She opened the door to the bathroom slowly and saw Rei holding water in her hands and Shinji pouring water into his hands. Rei's hair was soaked and Misato could tell what they had been doing.

"Stop that, you two! The bathroom is no place to be having water fights! Rei, go dry your hair off. Shinji, come with me."

Shinji looked at the floor sheepishly and drained the water from his hands before following Misato to his room. Just as Misato got there Jonathan walked out and went into Asuka's room.

"Okay, Shinji, you'd better stay in your room. You should know better than to do that to Rei."

"You don't understand!" Shinji pleaded.

"I don't care, just go to sleep, you're going to need it."

"Okay…" Shinji sighed and entered his room.

"Jonathan!"

"No, it's the tooth fairy." Jonathan said sarcastically as he closed the door behind him, "Who'd you think it was? Come on, move over."

Asuka stuck her tongue out at Jonathan before moving towards the wall. Jonathan stuck his tongue back at her and turned off the light, plunging both of them into darkness. Asuka could hear him coming towards the bed, but then she couldn't hear anything. The next thing she knew, the blanket was in the air and Jonathan was tickling her. He stopped once the blanket settled back down and turned his back to Asuka.

"Good night, Asuka." Jonathan said to the dark.

"Yea, yea, good night, Jonathan."

Soon they were both asleep.

"Rei, you take too long."

"I'm sorry, Shinji."

"You don't have to be sorry. Hey, Rei, did you think that was fun?"

"I…yes, I do, Shinji." Rei said as she settled into Shinji's bed next to him. Shinji hugged her once she lay down.

"Rei, you've really changed since I first met you. You know, I still remember when you barged in on me when that Angel attacked."

"I'm sorry, Shinji, but I needed to inform you."

"Yea, yea, I know. Rei, I don't know if you should do that anymore. I don't think Jonathan or Touji would appreciate that. You're just lucky that I love you, otherwise I might not want to be around you that much."

"Why is that?"

"Well, I'd think that you'd try that again. Rei, I don't want you to think that I don't like you." Shinji said before he kissed Rei softly.

"Shinji, I believe that it is hard to hide that fact."

"What do you mean?"

"Shinji, you are always doing something that shows that you like me. Like that kiss." Rei smiled a little and put her forehead against Shinji's chest. She wrapped her arms around his sides and rolled over on top of him. She moved so quickly that it even surprised herself and she quickly began losing balance. Shinji held on to her and brought her back down on the bed.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, Shinji, I am fine. Shinji, do you mind if I kiss you?"

"Um…no, not at all."

Rei looked a little unsure before she pulled herself as close to Shinji as she could muster. She looked at Shinji's face and Shinji could tell how uncertain she was. He held her to try and ease her and eventually she gave Shinji a hesitant kiss. Shinji could feel her try to pull away and he held her close. He was afraid that she'd be to unconfident to try it again, so he would try and show her that she wasn't wrong.

"Shinji, I do not…I don't know what's wrong. I feel uncomfortable whenever I try, I don't know why."

"Rei, it's okay, if you don't want to, you don't have to. You're just a little unconfident, that's all. Maybe we'd better just go to sleep." Rei kissed Shinji again, but this time she didn't seem so shy. Shinji rubbed her back with his hands and eventually pushed her back.

"Rei, I…no, well, I…how about we just go to sleep?"

"Okay, Shinji, did I do something wrong? I'm…"

"No, no, you didn't do anything wrong. I just think we'd better go to sleep." Shinji said as he laid Rei's and his heads on the pillow, 'I don't want to do anything wrong myself.' Shinji thought after he put his hand on Rei's head. Rei nodded and closed her eyes, her arms still around Shinji. Shinji didn't know what to do, so he just put his arms around Rei and waited for sleep to come.

End Chapter #12