Disclaimer: see part 1.

1

3

By Random1377

Hikari stepped off the train feeling unusually light and upbeat, a marked change from the depression she had been suffering since moving back out of Captain Katsuragi's apartment. Touji, and even Shinji himself, told her repeatedly that she had done all that could be expected of her and more, but until today, Hikari had not been able to forgive herself for what she had done to Bella.

Nothing can hurt a person like self-deprecation.

But that's all over now, Hikari told herself, smiling as she caught sight of herself in a store window, everything's better. Well, not BETTER… but getting there.

Reaching into her pocket, she rattled the handful of coins Captain Katsuragi had handed her forty minutes earlier. The woman's instructions had been simple, if a bit cryptic.

"Pick up the pictures I took when you guys were over last week… and take a look at the girl working the candy counter next to the photo shop – you'll know which one I'm talking about."

Hikari was not sure what the captain was playing at, but she found that she didn't care all that much.

Bella had smiled at her. Bella had forgiven her.

Hikari knew this was true because instead of shuffling closer to Shinji when she dropped by to give him his class reports, Bella had immediately run up to her and given her a hug, smiling happily as she handed Hikari a clumsily tied knot of colorful string and insisting that she 'Die it en yo haow.'

Choked to the point of being unable to speak, Hikari had glanced helplessly at Shinji for an explanation, but her estranged husband had looked as surprised as her, shaking his head and muttering something about children not holding grudges – an idea that Hikari, having a little sister, knew to be incorrect.

But whatever the reason, she thought now, idly fingering the string hair ribbon, she's not mad. God, someday I might even be able to forgive myself for what I did. Not right now, but maybe someday.

Entering the small strip mall where Captain Katsuragi had dropped off the photos, Hikari found herself wishing that she had tried to stay. Shinji was a good person, and had always been nice to her, and Bella – as annoying as she COULD be – was possibly the sweetest child that Hikari had ever met.

"It's best this way," she murmured to herself. "I finally have the man of my dreams, even if he is a little dense sometimes… I just wish I could do more than picking up pictures."

Shinji, it turned out, held to his word, calling Hikari and asking her advice on how to handle Bella one three separate occasions since their conversation in his room. Romance was out of the picture… but friendship was definitely wanted, and freely given, turning what could have been an awkward split into a comfortable working arrangement.

"Your ticket, miss?" the clerk behind the counter asked politely, pulling Hikari out of her revere.

"Oh, right here," she said, pulling the stub out and handing it over the counter.

"Just one minute."

Hikari nodded, glancing absently at the candy counter next door. Only one girl working the counter, she thought dismissively, starting to turn back as the photo shop attendant handed her a packet of pictures, I don't see what's so spec-

The thought cut off with a snap as Hikari's head whipped back around, her eyes widening in recognition even as her hand unconsciously opened, dropping the money unceremoniously into the photo clerk's hand.

"Can I help you?"

Hikari forced her mouth closed, shaking her head as the girl at the candy shop gave her a baleful glare. "N-no," she stammered, trying unsuccessfully to pull her eyes away, "sorry."

"Do I have something on my face, or something?" the girl asked dryly. "I'll tell you right now, I don't like girls, so if that's what's on your mind, you can forget it."

"No," Hikari said, all but snatching the envelope from the photo clerk and tearing it open to shuffle through the photos. "You… you look a LOT like someone I know," she said excitedly, digging around until she found the shot she was looking for and yanking it out, shoving it triumphantly at the girl, "see?"

The girl ignored the photo, her eyes fixed on Hikari's hair as a dark frown crossed her face. "Where did you get that?" she asked, nodding towards the string tied around Hikari's right ponytail. Before Hikari could reply, the girl shook herself, waving a hand as she said, "Eh, forget it… couldn't be the person I was thinking of anyway." Leaning closer, she finally looked down at the picture. "Never seen her," she said absently. "She doesn't even look like me… do you have to stare like that?"

Hikari laid the picture on the counter. "Take a closer look," she said insistently, "see the way her mouth curves up? See how her cheeks are? You could be her sister."

"Yeah, if I dyed my hair blue and put in red contacts," the girl snorted. "Look, I'm off in like, ten minutes, and I've got stuff to clean up, so…"

"Of course," Hikari replied with a bow, "sorry to bother you."

I don't know why I was so excited, she thought, stuffing the picture back in the envelope. Rei is an only child, right? I mean, no one knows anything about her parents, so I guess it's possible that she COULD have a sister… but really, this girl's right – she doesn't look all that much like her. It's more just the way she carries herself, and the shape of her face, I guess.

"Hey," the girl called out as Hikari started to walk away, "sorry I snapped at you. It's been kind of a long day, you know?"

"It's not a problem," Hikari said lightly, "but can I ask you one last thing?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Why were you so interested in my hair?"

The girl sighed. "Well," she said softly, "there was a girl I used to babysit, and we used to sit for hours and play with string and cardboard and all kinds of things." She met Hikari's eyes, smiling sadly as she concluded, "She loved pink and purple string the most, and she used to tie them together in ribbons just like that and make me put them in my hair."

From the tone of the candy shop attendant's voice, Hikari could tell that something bad had happened to the little girl… but she still found herself asking, "Where is she now?"

"She died in one of the angel attacks."

"…oh."

Rubbing her eyes with one hand, the girl untied her apron. "Sorry to bring you down," she said calmly, "my shrink says I really need to stop talking about it – but it's so damn unfair! She was so sweet…"

"I know what you mean," Hikari said sympathetically, giving the girl an awkward pat on the shoulder. "Fighting the angels is hard on everyone. I'll go now…"

"See ya," the girl said, giving an expansive yawn as Hikari turned to go. "Life sucks sometimes," the girl murmured to herself, lifting the counter up and stepping out.

"Yeah," Hikari agreed, taking a step forward and thinking that life definitely had a way of kicking you when you were down… and then the girl spoke eleven words that that froze Hikari in her tracks and made her heart stop beating.

"…if she'd lived, Bella would have turned three just last month."

-

Rei frowned, ringing the doorbell once more as she waited outside of Captain Katsuragi's apartment. Strange, she thought, I was told to be here at one.

Stranger than being made to wait was the fact that she was waiting in the first place. Rei had infinite patience for matters she deemed important, or thought she had been instructed to be attentive to, but to actually stand outside and wait for a babysitting assignment? Perhaps impatient was too strong a word, but Rei could not think of one that fit better at that moment.

And why?

Hadn't she seen enough of Bella over the past two weeks? Certainly! She could tell the Captain that she had tried to come, but that no one was home – then the next time, perhaps she would not be left standing out in the hall by herself.

…and still, she waited.

As she was preparing to ring the doorbell a third time, the door slid open, leaving Rei face to face with the newest addition to the piloting roster.

"Oh, Wondergirl," the redhead muttered, pulling a set of earphones away from her head, "I thought I heard the bell. You're late."

Rei opened her mouth to say that she had been on time, but before she could speak, Asuka turned around and walked away from the door.

I… do not like her.

"Guess you're watching the brat, huh?" Asuka called, resting her headphones around the back of her neck as she dropped into one of the kitchen chairs and grabbed an open box of Chinese takeout, "better you than me."

Rei bristled slightly, but said nothing. Brat? she thought, inexplicably irritated, I believe this is one time where 'it takes one to know one' is an appropriate statement.

Asuka used her chopsticks to stir the food around for a moment. "So tell me," she said finally, "you and Shinji… you have anything going on?"

"Shinji is married," Rei replied smoothly, checking the clock on the microwave and finding that it was already twenty minutes past the time she was supposed to start. "Where is Bella?"

"They called about ten minutes ago," Asuka said dismissively, "something about some more tests the doctor had to run taking longer than they'd thought. They're on the way back."

Officer Kokobungi, Rei knew, had recently taken a new interest in Bella's case, and had asked that she be taken to a proper pediatrician, rather than the general practitioner she had been seen by the day she had first climbed into Rei's lap. How long ago was that, she wondered suddenly? It felt like months… but she knew it had been less than eight weeks.

"You didn't answer my question."

"Hmm?"

"Are you and Shinji dating or not?"

Rei brought her attention back to Asuka, finding the redhead watching her closely over the rim of the Chinese food box. "As I said," she murmured, "Shinji is mar-"

"Yeah, yeah," Asuka said, waving her chopsticks to cut Rei off. "It's a sham and everyone knows it. Were you guys… close, before the brat came into the picture?"

"Her name is Bella," Rei said softly, her voice taking on an uncomfortably terse edge. "She is not a brat."

Asuka grinned. "There's some emotion," she whispered, setting her food down with a hint of satisfaction. "Alright then – before BELLA got here… did you and Ikari have something going on?"

"No," Rei said calmly, "Shinji is not the type to make advances."

"…and you're not interested in making one yourself?"

Rei met the redhead's gaze straight on. "Are you…?"

The Second stroked her cheek thoughtfully for a moment. "I'm trying to decide," she said finally. "I thought he was a loser at first – totally dismissed him…" she leaned forward, her voice low and intense as she concluded, "after that fight, though, I don't know."

Staring blandly at the redhead, Rei said nothing.

Abruptly, Asuka rose to her feet, reaching over Rei's shoulder to grab a can of juice off of the counter and deliberately getting in her personal space. "I know what his heartbeat sounds like, First," she whispered, her voice low and silky as she glanced at the other girl from the corner of her eye, "what do you think of that?"

Rei kept her eyes focused on the far wall, ignoring the redhead's closeness. "I think you had extensive synchronization training in close quarters."

"Do you think it beats faster for you…?"

"I would not know."

Asuka pulled back, popping the can of juice open with a deft flick of the wrist. "God you're boring," she said gustily, "even the brat's got more spunk."

Refusing to rise to the Second's awkward attempts to get a reaction from her, Rei simply murmured, "She is not a brat."

Shrugging, Asuka dropped back into her seat and resumed her lunch and saying nothing for several minutes. "You gotta admit, though," she whispered finally, her eyes glittering mischievously, "he IS… interesting…"

Rei said nothing.

I will not deny that he is interesting, she mused, her internal dialogue surprisingly guarded as she thought of Shinji's face. Though ultimately, it does not matter. Ikari's thoughts are of Bella… and mine are of EVA. Regardless of what I may or may not desire, our objectives are at odds.

Behind her box of takeout food, Asuka smiled. Though the First was incredibly hard to read, Asuka was giving her full concentration… and she had picked up on several telltale signs – lack of eye contact, quickened breath, a minute clenching of the jaw – that hinted STRONGLY that the blue-haired girl had more than a passing interest in the Third Child.

Taking a bite of her lunch, Asuka disregarded Rei's presence entirely. What she had said was true – she had not yet decided if Shinji was worth anything more than a second glance… but she had figured out where the First stood, so if she WAS interested, she knew what her primary obstacle would be.

Or perhaps, 'obstacles' would be more accurate.

"Rei!"

Rei grunted as something slammed into her hip, catching her off guard and nearly knocking her into the table. "I have asked you to stop doing that," she murmured, glancing up as Shinji and Misato followed the bouncy toddler (currently clinging to Rei's side and speaking at supersonic speeds) into the kitchen.

"I'll be in my room until you're ready to go, Shinji," Misato said wearily.

"Little tired, are we?" Asuka asked, arching an eyebrow sardonically.

Misato dropped her jacket over one of the spare chairs in the kitchen. "That kid takes it out of me," she yawned. "YOU try keeping up with her in a toy store."

Pursing her lips and shooting the child a narrow glance, Asuka muttered, "Pass."

Shinji sat down with a thankful groan, rubbing his forehead with one hand as he set down a small bag marked with the logo of Tokyo-3's most prominent toy store. "Here," he sighed, "here's your dolly."

Giggling with delight, Bella released Rei's waist, allowing the First to breath and rattling a quick, "Fanku Shinchi," before snatching the doll Shinji was offering her and bringing it tightly up to her chest.

A muscle in Asuka's right cheek twitched. "Well look at that," she said blandly, lifting her eyes from the doll and gazing directly at the First Child, "the resemblance is striking."

Bella gave her a dirty look. "Skaska bat," she said, her tone scolding, "G'way now."

Asuka waved a hand, pushing the remains of her lunch back as she rose to her feet. "Get some new material, kid," she grumbled, "the 'bat' routine is getting old." Turning her attention to Shinji, she muttered, "So what did the doctor say is wrong with her? Rickets? Diphtheria? Psoriasis? …retardation?"

Shinji gave her a halfhearted smile. "Actually," he whispered softly, "he gave me this."

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small, rectangular piece of paper, offering it to Asuka with a clear air of resignation.

Taking the paper, Asuka gave it a cursory glance. "Kitchen Aid?" she asked, handing the paper back, "He wants you to grind her food for her?"

Glancing at the paper with a frown, Shinji clarified, "HEARING… aid."

"…oh."

"The doctor said she has significant hearing loss in both ears," Shinji said tiredly, forcing a smile as Bella tugged on Rei's sleeve, trying to lead her into the living room. "He said she can hear ok, but a lot of higher-register tones just go in one ear and out the other – or, I guess, they go in one ear and just never get to the brain."

"That explains a lot," Asuka snorted. Seeing Shinji's look of disapproval, she cleared her throat. "Er, anyway, you were saying?"

Shinji slowly turned the prescription note over and over in his hands. "The doctor said her speech patterns are more like a two year old than a three year old," he murmured, staring fixedly at the piece of paper. "The hearing aids will help a lot. She might even be able to have eighty percent of her hearing."

Noticing that the girl was glaring at her, Asuka stuck out her tongue. "So why are you so bummed out?" she asked, brandishing her fist as Bella bared her teeth. "You found a problem, you found a solution – things get better for her from here on in. Why are you looking so damn depressed?"

"It's just-" Shinji cut himself off, slumping in his seat and letting the prescription fall to the table. "It's like it's just one thing after the other for her," he said sadly, "first her parents, then her hearing… what's next? Will she-"

"Oh, get some goddamned perspective!"

All eyes turned to the Second Child as she ruthlessly cut into Shinji's sad ruminations.

"Honestly," Asuka said unapologetically, "you make her life sound like it's a tragedy! She's alive, isn't she?"

Shinji nodded slowly. "Yes, but-"

"She's got a roof over her head, doesn't she?"

"Well, yes, but I-"

"She's going to be able to hear better now than she ever has in her life, isn't she?"

"Yes! But I still-"

"God, shut UP!"

Shinji and Bella both jumped as Asuka abruptly pounded her fist on the table, though Rei simply put her arm around Bella's shoulders and took a discreet step backward.

"What are you, bipolar?" the redhead demanded, planting her hands on the table and looming over the unfortunate Third Child. "You totally kick ass when an angel comes through, but when something GOOD happens for your 'daughter' – you mope! Ooo! I just want to hit you right now!"

Shinji sat with his mouth opening and closing, trying to come up with some kind of reply as the Second rose to her full height and folded her arms over her breasts.

The tense silence was broken as the telephone began to ring.

Breaking eye-contact with Asuka, Shinji muttered, "I'll get that."

"No, don't get up;" Asuka said sarcastically, "I wouldn't want to cut into your brooding time." Stalking over to the phone, she yanked the receiver off the hook and held it up to her ear. "Hello? Yeah, he's here, do you want to… oh… uh huh… ok, I'll tell him. Bye." She turned back to Shinji, her features once again smooth and collected. "That was your wife," she said levelly, "she's on her way over with a friend of hers. She said not to leave."

Shinji glanced at the clock on the microwave. "We don't have time," he murmured, "Doctor Akagi said we have to be there no later than two thirty."

Rolling her eyes, Asuka replied, "Yes, I know that – so she'll either have to come back, or hang around until you get home."

Resisting the urge to ask why the redhead had not pointed this out to Hikari, Shinji turned his attention to Rei. "Would you mind telling Hikari why we had to leave?" he asked awkwardly, "She can call me on my cell if it's something REALLY important, but we just can't wait around. Is that ok?"

Rei nodded. "Yes."

They lapsed into silence – or relative silence, anyway, as Bella was making small, inarticulate noises as she played with her new doll. There was no need to discuss why, exactly, Rei was there, even though Asuka was not going into NERV – one look at the dark looks the Second exchanged with Bella would have been enough to see what the issue was with HER babysitting.

Shinji himself was a little unclear about why he was going in, truth be told. The call had come in before they left to take Bella to the doctor, and all Ritsuko had said was 'I need you to come in to Headquarters later. Bring Misato,' and nothing more. Probably did something wrong, he mused dejectedly, rising to his feet to tell Misato he was ready to leave.

He would have entrusted the message to Asuka, but one look at the redhead's dark glower had convinced him that she was probably not the best person to ask for favors just then.

"We won't be gone long," Misato told the First and Second as she and Shinji headed towards the door, "no fighting."

"Don't worry about ME," Asuka said acidly, "I've got better things to do than argue with a dimwitted, stuck up little brat… or Bella."

Misato tried to hide her snort of laughter by coughing into her fist.

As the older woman left with Shinji in tow, Rei heaved a deep, mental sigh, glancing from Bella – who was smiling up at her – to Asuka – who was not. It is going to be a long afternoon, she predicted, finally allowing Bella to lead her into the living room. Hurry back, Shinji.

The question of when, exactly, she had started thinking of him as Shinji, rather than Ikari, surfaced in her mind as she was helping Bella color… but it was pushed rather quickly onto the mental backburner as Hikari arrived twenty minutes after Shinji's departure, breathlessly rushing into the apartment to introduce her new friend.

Continued…

Author's notes: I don't think the kanji for 'kitchen' is anything like the one for 'hearing,' but golly I like having Asuka misread things in my stories for comic effect.

No pre-reader was used on this chapter.

Feedback is always welcome on any site with reviewing capabilities or by e-mailing me direct at random1377(at-sign)yahoo(dot)com.