Heaven Sent
By crimsonwraith

Chapter 4: Memories

The darkness was unsettling, even for Rei. She had never gotten used to the darkness over, not for the last ten thousand years. It wasn't really the lack of light that she was frightened of. Rather, it was what hid in the darkness that frightened her so. She closed her eyes and knelt down on one knee, hoping that the shadows would listen. "What is your bidding, master?"

A hollow footstep echoed behind her, sending cold jolts down the girl's spine. Then a dark figure emerged from the shade, the red light gleaming off his spectacles. A cold smile spread itself across his lips. "Ayanami Rei," the demon began as he slowly circled the girl, "tell me, why have you not progressed in your mission?"

"I need time," Rei uttered dryly. "The boy's attraction to me is apparent, but not to the point where we could conceive a child. I will need more time before we establish such a bond."

"And what about this rival of yours… this Asuka Langley Soryu…" The elder man put forward in a glacial tone, "tell me why you have not eliminated her?"

The girl jerked inwardly, caught off guard by the suddenness of his statement. She quickly hardened her gaze. "She poses no threat to the mission."

Gendo saw this as he continued to circle her like a vulture around a corpse. "No threat, you say. I wonder. It seems to me that she is more resourceful than we previously assessed. She has caught the boy's eye."

"Shinji is still mine," she affirmed. "He still favors me. I need a little more time to gain his trust before we can conceive a child out according to the conditions. The boy does not even trust the Asuka."

"That is not what my agents report," countered Gendo, stopping in mid-stride. "They say that the girl is slowly gaining ground on you. They say that the girl is… intuitive. What have you to say?"

"She is not a threat." Her voice came as cold as ice.

"Is that so?" Gendo paced towards the girl, holding her by the chin and lifting her gaze to meet his own. "I have little reason to doubt your judgment, however, it would appear to me that she is succeeding in one thing."

Rei kept a vacant glance as she noticed Gendo's eyes glow crimson for the briefest of moments before fading back into the darkness. "May I ask, master, what may that be?"

He grinned as he released the girl's chin, walking back into the darkness with fading footsteps. "It would seem that she has already won somebody's heart."

The footsteps disappeared, leaving Rei alone to herself to ponder Gendo's last words. Finally, she stood up closed her eyes to the void. "Asuka, after ten thousand years… do you still remember me?"

The first lights of day peered through the shadows of a dun room, falling upon the eyelids of a young girl, rousing her from her slumber. A groan escapes her throat as she rolls over, burying a pillow over her face in hopes of finding a few more minutes of sleep. Trouble was… she was already wide awake.

Hissing something beneath her breath, Asuka flung her pillow to some distant corner of her room before dragging herself out of bed. Long bags hung beneath her eyes as she opened her blinds, allowing the dawn to flood into her room. At this she smiled as she headed to kitchen.

She had barely stepped out of her room when she heard rustling in the kitchen. Her expression darkened, anticipating a certain young boy cooking. To her surprise, she finds a blue haired woman raiding the fridge for something to eat. Asuka smiled as she walked up to her with a wicked smile as she tapped the unsuspecting woman on the shoulder.

"Oh god!" Misato screamed out as she slammed her head on the ceiling of the fridge. Misato winced as she emerged from the fridge, placing an ice cold can of beer against the growing lump on her cranium. "Asuka, what do you think your doing?"

"Sorry," the younger girl laughed. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," grumbled Misato as she lowered her beer from her head and pull the ring tab open. "Can I help you with something, Asuka?"

"No." The girl shook her head as she made her way over to the fridge, grabbing herself a can of beer. "Can I?" she asked, turning towards Misato.

Misato shrugged. "Well, can you?"

Asuka scoffed as she fingered the can open with one hand, before throwing half the contents down the back of her throat. Sighing as she lowered a half empty can, she eyed Misato sipping on her beer. "Hey Misato, why do you think Shinji's so in love with Rei?"

The woman's answer came in a mist of beer as Misato choked on her beer. "W- what did you say?" she stammered.

Asuka looked away. "What does Shinji see in her, anyway?"

After clearing her throat Misato looked up at the girl to find a distant expression on her face. "Just why are you so interested anyway?" Suddenly a thought struck her. "Why? Are you after Shinji?"

Asuka remained silent for a moment, then nodded her head. "I… I am!" She half expected the woman to squeal in delight, teasing her about her childhood crush on the boy, but surprisingly, only a warm smile came upon the woman's face.

"I had a feeling you were," she admitted, downing the remains of her can. "Nothing like a home cooked meal to say what you feel, I always say."

Asuka grumbled, doubting just what Misato had to say, but where she stood, there was simply nothing to lose. "I don't think Shinji cares if I cook or not."

"It's not the cooking that Shinji likes in a girl," Misato explained, "Otherwise, he wouldn't even look at Rei. You see… those two have been through a lot together-"

"Tell me something I don't know," grumbled Asuka as she resigned herself back into her room, rather starving for a few more hours than discussing love with Misato.

Eyeing the girl as she disappeared behind her door, Misato took a final sip off her can before setting it against the bench with a sigh. "Good luck, Asuka. You're going to need it."

For some reason, Asuka had been acting around Shinji. She had been trying to avoid him all day. The boy looked at the lunch he prepared specially for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. Something told him that this had something to do with the incident last night. Even then, something odd struck him.

Just why was she so upset with Rei? They barely knew each other, but it seemed as if they had a grudge against each other. Shinji thought about the possibility for a second, but quickly gave up, finally deciding to give Asuka's share to Rei when a shadow fell over him. His gaze lifted to find the red head staring back at him.

"Asuka!" Shinji gasped nervously. "I- I can explain!"

The girl wore a sober expression as she eyed the lunchbox, then the blue haired girl a few tables away before returning it to Shinji's face. "It's for her, isn't it?"

"N- not really!" blurted Shinji as he sat up. "Actually, I made this for you. Misato talked to me this morning about your problem."

The girl's eyes shot open. "Misato did WHAT?"

"She told me everything," the boy explained, "you should have told me from the beginning, Asuka. I would have been more than accommodating."

"What do you mean, more than accommodating?" Asuka stammered, choking on herself, "how can you just say that?"

"Cooking lunch for you is really no problem at all."

A blank expression struck Asuka's face. "Lunch?"

"Yeah!" Shinji nodded, taking out the boxed lunch and setting it out across his table. "It was pretty thoughtless of me making my own lunch and not helping you out. We're partners and we really should be helping each other out." He reached into his bag and took out a pair of chopsticks, offering it to Asuka as he opened the lid off the lunchbox. "Please, help yourself."

Unbeknowst to the girl, her face lit up a bright shade of pink as she took the chopsticks from the boy. "Th- thanks… Shinji…"

"You're welcome," Shinji smiled with a quick nod.

An amber glow bathed the city streets as the sun dwindled aimlessly towards the horizon. Standing outside the school gates, Kaoru eyed his watch. It was 5:34. Asuka was more than an hour late for cooking. "This is hopeless…" he told himself as he lifted his bag onto his shoulder when he heard footsteps heading his way. His eyes followed the streets and found a man staring back at him behind his glass spectacles.

"It has been an eternity, Tabris," Gendo mused. "How is Gabriel by the way?"

Kaoru hardened his gaze as he dropped his bag, pulling out his sword from the ether. "Damn you, Ikari!"

"Did you really believe that I would allow you to interfere?" Gendo said as he stretched out his hand, slowly pulling out a flaming blade out of thin air. "Arrogant fool."

"Hypocrite!" Kaoru swore, "Two months you've been helping to bring Rei and Shinji together, don't you dare lecture me on interfering, cursed DEMON!" He screamed at the top of his voice as he charged forward, his blade arching for Gendo's head, only to shred a few strands of auburn hair as the demon ducked beneath it.

Gendo smirked as he watched the boy swing aimlessly at him, each swing finding empty air as he easily weaved through his attacks as if they were nothing. "Is this all that you've got, Tabris? You disappoint me."

Huffing with each swing, Tabris clenched his teeth as he swung the blade. His strokes were missing the demon by a hair's width with each swing, but he knew that it was only playing with him. Suddenly, he noticed the demon's hand shooting for his chest, his palms turning a dark crimson.

BAM!

All of a sudden, the boy was flung through the air like a rag doll, slamming into the concrete walls with enough force to create a small crater. Blood seeped through Kaoru's mouth as he collapsed onto the floor, his chest still smoldering. His eyes looked up, finding his sword a short distance from where he lay. He also noticed the foot set aside it.

"Pathetic." The demon kicked the boy's head, clearly enjoying himself as he watched the boy groan in agony. "How we were ever defeated by weaklings such as yourself ten thousand years ago, I wonder…" He slammed his foot into Kaoru's back and began to grind him into the ground. The boy yelped painfully as he felt the leather heels dig into his flesh. "Get used to this," Gendo said, "you'll be spending eternity in hell when Rei conceives Shinji's child."

Kaoru glanced up weakly, only to find the sword descend upon his head.

SCHINK!

"No!" he screamed as he opened his eyes, falling over the school gates. The boy looked confused for a second, half shocked to find himself in one piece. There were no gaping imprints in the concrete, no traces of blood on the ground and no signs of Gendo to be seen anywhere.

At this he smiled. "It was only a dream," he said to himself as he carefully pushed himself back up, then winced as a burning pain surged through his chest. "Wh- what in the h-"

"Hey Kaoru!" a familiar voice called out.

The boy quickly shifted his attention to the front entrance and found Asuka and Shinji walking towards him. He quickly smiled as he waved to them. "A- Asuka! You're a little late."

Asuka pouted as she stopped in front of him angrily placed her hands on her sides. "Just what in the hell are you saying, I'm late. It's only four."

Puzzled, Kaoru checked his wrist watch again only to confirm the girl. He blushed as he began to scratch the back of his head. "Uh… my mistake."

"You bet it is," growled the red head. Then she noticed Shinji eyeing them awkwardly. "I totally forgot! Shinji, this is Kaoru. He's been teaching me how to cook."

The boy extended a hand towards Kaoru. "Uh… hi!" he managed.

Kaoru reached forward and shook his hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Shinji. Asuka's told me a lot about you."

"Really?" Shinji stammered, releasing himself from the handshake. As he drew back his hand, Shinji eyed Asuka and Kaoru in turn, then eyed Asuka wickedly. "Asuka, you don't have to lie to me."

"Wh- what?" the girl growled.

Disregarding all regard for his own safety, Shinji continued. "You don't have to make excuses about cooking. You shouldn't be ashamed of your boyfriend."

Both Kaoru and Asuka reeled back in shock. "WHAT?"

Shinji lit up a bright pink. "You mean, you're not going out with each other?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" they screamed in unison.

"Asuka, you've been going out a lot lately, and I've noticed that you're with him a lot, so naturally, I thought that you two had a thing for each other."

A tentative sweat drop rolled down Asuka's brow as she pushed Kaoru's away. "I said that I only go with him to learn how to cook, you-"

"Argh!"

Startled at the pained grunt, Asuka spun around to found the boy clenching his chest as he grimace painfully. "Kaoru, are you alright?"

"Ah- I'm fine Asuka."

"No you're not, let's get you to home quick." She slung his arm over his chest and began to head towards Kaoru's apartment when he found Shinji eyeing them both.

"Cooking… you say," he teased. He looked away for a moment when who should he see but Rei, walking across the street. "I'll leave you to your… cooking, Asuka," he said as he began to run towards the girl. "Rei! Rei!"

Kaoru tried to stand on his own, knowing what a burden he has become to Asuka, when – "Don't move, Kaoru."

"But he's going to go with Rei," Kaoru pointed out the two walking away together. "You have to stop her."

"No I don't," Asuka contested, "You're hurt quite badly, Kaoru. I have to help you back home. Now hold still or I'm going to break something."

Limping alongside the girl, Kaoru threw a glancing look at her face and found it genuinely concerned for her comrade. He didn't know whether she was a fool for letting Rei win this time around, but she cared for him, and this knowledge brought a smile across his face.

To be continued.