Author's notes

Remember what I told you last episode about A/N's at the top? I am putting this so that you prepare yourself for something shocking. This episode contrasts the last. The last was sweet and strange, this episode is dark and malignant.

Someone new will enter the arena… another will depart. One of the children will fall.

Mana du vortis.

Heaven Sent
By crimsonwraith

Chapter 7: Tangents of Shadow and Light

For an eternity, this world of shadows and fire reverberated with the sounds of piercing screams. Silhouettes danced upon the burning walls, a wave of souls seem to writhe in the sonic sea of torturous agony amidst the rhythm of pain and regret. Throngs of souls burned upon the waves of blazing sulfur, tormented by the burning blades of demons thriving upon their screams.

The symphony of pain was music to Misato's ears. Trudging upon a plateau overlooking the sea of anguish, she lifted her gaze and smiled as she slowly locked her eyes, absorbing the screams of tortured souls. She could almost feel their pain but she had been in hell for so long that she had gotten used to this melody.

But she knew that this was going to change.

She allowed a grin to crack from the corner of her crimson lips, sensing a presence approach her from behind. "Do you know about patience, Asmodeus?"

A shadowy figure approached in silence, her face hidden by the darkness.

"Patience is waiting an eternity to be recognized for your work," she began, her voice calm and collected as it pierced through the screams like a blade through flesh. "Patience is knowing your place, to be invisible… to blend in the background as if you are never there… and wait."

"Wait…" the shadow echoed… "ten thousand years I have been waiting patiently, master… for ten thousand years I have served you unyieldingly, slaughtered hundreds at your bidding, endured hell… master, believe me when I say that I know the meaning of patience…"

"No, you do not." Misato sighed, breathing the thick stench of sulfur in the air as she spun around, eyeing the shadow. "Do you know Rei Ayanami?"

The figure shook her head. "The one we elected in this final trial… the angel who was banished from heaven for loving another."

Misato needed her head as she continued, eyeing the sweltering pit of despair below. "Unlike us, she did not rebel against the very heavens… unlike us, she was not banished because of her hate, but because of love… Interesting, isn't it?"

She shook her head.

"Unlike humans, angels are not supposed to love. It will tear them away from him, that is why angels are only supposed to obey… that was why she was banished." Misato slowly returned her gaze towards the shadow, her expression darkening. "Unlike you, Asmodeus, she is willing to spend eternity in hell just to be with the one she loves-"

"Then we must remove her at once!" the shadow boomed.

"Be silent!" Misato warned, her voice becoming threatening. "I have made sure that she will co-operate from now on. Just as I convinced Eve that consuming the fruit of good and evil will not damn her from the Garden of Eden, I convinced Rei that she can be with Asuka if she succeeds in her mission… this is where you will come in."

"Master… I do not understand."

"Your mission is simple… remove any threat to Rei's success.

The shadow remained silent, taking a moment to take in her command before bowing deeply. "Tomorrow is something Asuka will not see-"

"No," Misato hissed. "We need Asuka if I am to blackmail Rei into conceiving the boy's child… I want you to kill someone else."

"Who… my lord?" the shadow said in a dry, fearful rasp.

"I want you to kill the boy who is aiding her… I want you to kill Tabris." Misato's eyes glowed bright crimson as she slowly lifted her hand forward.

The shadow furled a malignant sneer as she stepped forward, gently grasping her slender fingers as she kissed her hand. "As you will, my Lord." Her crimson lips soon parted from Misato's pale hands, her dark brown eyes rising to meet her master's crimson orbs. Mana Kirishima bowed a final time then turned around… disappearing silently amidst the torturous throes of the damned.

Kaoru sauntered down a darkening path, his scarlet eyes downcast upon the lifeless concrete that he tread. In his right has was a plastic bag filled with fresh vegetables, while his right hand held another plastic bag filled with breast fillet chicken and pork chops. It had taken him the better part of two hours to get the ingredients to his next meal from the far side of Tokyo-3 since the cordoning off of the central business district. This gave him time enough to gauge the predicament that he suddenly found himself in.

A series of familiar tenements along his sides told him that he had finally reached the housing district, with a large park situated on the other end. He saw a group of young children running in front of him, their sinless voices uplifting his dreary heart. He watched as the children ran off into the park, laughing as they chased each other on the grass. For some reason, he paused, his soul dropping.

"How… how am I supposed to tell her?" he quietly asked himself, unable to find a reply to his own query. The resulting silence was cut short by a cold breath of wind whispering into his ears, caressing his grey tresses. "I'm not supposed to feel this way…"

The silent soliloquy comes to an abrupt end as he hears a scream. His gaze sharpens, finding that the group of children had stopped playing, encircling a boy as he cried bitterly. Sound of a hushed rustling was heard as two plastic bags fell upon the concrete as he was about to run across the street and aid the injured boy when all of a sudden, he stopped in mid stride, his eyes trembling.

"What am I doing?" he told himself, his voice quivering. "What… what have I become?" Gnashing his teeth, Kaoru spun around and ran down the street… away from the park, leaving in his wake a saline trail.

From a distance, a young girl noticed him running away as she walked up to the two plastic bags that he had left behind. "Kaoru?" Asuka bent down, placing her own groceries next to the boys as she struggled to pick both of them up. "Damn it… Kaoru. What's wrong with you?" She quietly forgot her question as she began to follow him back to his apartment.

D I N G

D O N G

Asuka depressed the button as the chimes died to silence, waiting to hear the boy running to the door. But there was no such sound. "Kaoru? Are you alright?" Silence. Confused and anxious, Asuka formed a fist and was about to bang on the door when she noticed that it was not closed. Pushing the wooden panel open, Asuka stepped inside, wondering just what was wrong with him.

"Kaoru! It's me, Asuka!" she declared, wondering inside. The hallway was empty, as was his room. "Hey! You left your groceries by the sidewalk… I know that angels are supposed to be charitable but-" her voice cuts off as she found the curtains flapping with the doors to the balcony wide open. Asuka quickly placed the groceries down and walked out into the balcony.

There, Kaoru stood staring out into the city. His eyes seemed distant. "Did you know why I started helping you?" he began.

Asuka sighed despondently, moving over to his side as she leaned against the railings, enjoying the calm wind blowing into her scarlet hair. "You're helping me win this bet… so that hell doesn't win."

He shook his head. "I was Gabriel's apprentice before this whole mess," he explained. "I have always been by his side… saving souls, fighting demons, delivering messages… then one day, he left me without a word. In ten thousand years, he has never left me. So then I searched for him…" His gaze fell slightly, his voice began to darken. "I found him, Asuka… covered in his own blood…"

"Gabriel?" Asuka gasped, shaking her head.

"He was… slain… by Rei… he wanted to intervene, Asuka. He didn't agree with the terms so he went out to kill Rei, but when I found him… it was already too late." Suddenly, he turned to face Asuka, no longer able to hold himself together as he broke down in tears… "I helped you so that I could get revenge on Rei! I did it so that Rei could feel the pain that I had to face when I lost Gabriel."

Asuka stood there, not knowing what to make of the divine being pouring his heart out to her. "Kaoru…" she whispered. Slowly, she stepped up to him, wrapping his arms around him. Kaoru froze as he felt her warmth envelope her, Asuka placing her head against his chest as she captured him in her arms. "Gabriel will come back to you… I promise."

"Asuka…" he breathed, surrendering himself to her embrace. His tears soon halted as he rested his head next to hers, his heart racing in his chest. "Asuka… there is something very important that I have to tell you…" he paused, clenching his eyes and gnashing his teeth. "Asuka… I… I…"

"Shh," she whispered, slowly pushing herself away, her deep blue eyes locking upon his crimson orbs. "I already know…"

"You do?" Kaoru gasped, taken aback by the suddenness of her proposal."

Asuka nodded. She grabbed his hand and smiled. "I'll do it."

Kaoru raised a brow. "Excuse me Asuka?"

"I'll beat Rei!" she elaborated, "I'll beat Rei to Shinji so that you can have your revenge on her. I'll do the best that I can."

The boy quickly managed a nervous smile as he wiped away the final traces of his tears. "Th- thank you, Asuka…" he sniffled, placing a reassuring hand on Asuka's shoulder. "Hey… there's this really nice dish that I wanted to teach you… wanna see?"

Asuka nodded, watching the boy disappear inside. She was about to follow when all of a sudden, she sees a glare from the corner of her eye. She shielded it for a second, then traced it back to the an apartment block just opposite to Kaoru's. There, upon the rooftop, she saw a redheaded girl lowering what seemed like a camera. The other girl gave her a knowing nod before walking into a shadow and disappearing.

There was something odd with Asuka this morning, Rei observed as she threw a glance over her shoulder. Rei's attention then shifted over to Kaoru who seemed to be concerned about Asuka as well, staring at her from the other side of the class. Unable to discern the current situation, Rei returned her gaze to her side, finding Shinji looking at her with concern.

"Is there something wrong, Rei?"

"No." She replied, looking away.

She saw a few student walking into the room continuing their gossip from the hall outside. "Yeah… I heard that she's got red hair, just like that other transfer student that we got before… only hotter."

"Yeah," said his companion, "and you know what American girl's are like?" he gestured, making a huge cup over his chest.

The group of friends hooted wildly as they took their seats, becoming silent as soon as the elderly teacher walked in. "Settle down, children… settle down. We have got a very pleasant surprise for you today. As most of you have heard from rumours floating around, we have received a new transfer student from America." He gestured towards the door. "Please come in."

The class shifted their attention towards the door just in time to find a girl skipping in with a bright smile across her slender face. Her short hair accentuated her slender form as she stood next to the teacher. "Hello everybody," she chirped brightly. The girl turned towards the board, grabbing a chalk and spelled out her name with unmatched penmanship. As the final stroke fell, she turned back towards the class, eyeing Shinji in particular. "I'm Mana! Mana Kirishima, and I'm very pleased to meet you all."

"Thank you for that Mana… now please, kindly take." The teacher pointed her to an empty space next to Rei.

At this, Mana squinted deviously. "Thank you…" She quickly spun and bowed to the teacher. She then walked along the front of the class, pausing for a second between Rei's table and Shinji's. She eyed him for a second, giving him an enchanting smile before making his way over to her seat.

Rei's eyes narrowed upon the girl, then noticed three white squares upon the corner of her table which weren't there before. Curious, she picked them up and read the note on one of the squares.

I am at your service, chosen one. PTO.

Rei quickly flipped the note and froze, noting the image of certain boy wrapped in the arms of a familiar girl, her head placed upon his chest. Rei's gaze quickly shot back, glancing over at the girl named Mana, to find that she was already looking at her, giving her a knowing nod.

"Who are you?"

Bending several blades of grass, Kaoru sat beneath the shade of a cherry blossom tree as he reached into his bag. He felt the shape of the lunchbox in his hand when all of a sudden, a shadow fell from behind him. He smiled as he pulled out a lunchbox. "I hope you like Teriyaki chicken, Asuka…" he began, turning around and freezing, the lunchbox falling from his grip.

Now standing in front of him was a red head, her smile growing as she stepped closer, bending over and retrieving the box from the ground. "It certainly has been a long time, Tabris," Mana began, standing up with the lunchbox in hand. "The last time I saw you, your blade was sticking out of my chest."

Kaoru gnashed his teeth. "Asmodeus…"

"I'm flattered that you still remember," she admitted. The girl looked down as she pried the lid from the lunchbox, her senses filled with the sweet aroma of chicken mixed with vinegar rice. "I see that you've also learned to cook… is that how you're helping Asuka? By teaching her how to cook?"

"Why are you here, Asmodeus?" the boy hissed. "If you're here to kill Asuka, Asmodeus, I'm sorry but I will not let you."

She ignored this at first, eating a piece of his Teriyaki chicken. "Mm… very nice Tabris," She swallowed the piece and sighed. "Ah… anyway, as I was going to say, I'm not here for Asuka's life… Tabris. I'm here for yours." The box slipped from her hands as a sword wreathed in flames slipped in her hands. "You don't know how long I have been waiting for this."

Kaoru stepped back, looking around. The playgrounds seemed awkwardly empty when it should be full. Something was certainly odd.

Mana stepped closer, raising her blade to the boy's throat. "Tabris please, you're insulting me. Draw your sword and show me if you swordsmanship has changed since the last time we fought." And yet he refused, even as she placed the jagged point of her sword against his skin, searing it. Suddenly, she drew it back, her eyes widening. "You… you can't draw your blade because… you're not an angel anymore… aren't you?"

The boy balled a fist, swinging wildly at the girl's head.

She easily ducked beneath it, in turn kicking the boy powerfully in the stomach. She watched as Kaoru staggered to all fours, gasping for air. The satisfaction of seeing the boy collapse to his knees and struggling to breath wasn't quite what she expected as a thought dawned on her. "You fell in love with her, didn't you?"

He fell deathly silent…

Mana smirked evilly as she raised her blade above the boy's neck. "Even if you are one of us now, I still have my orders." Her blade stopped at the apex of its climb, looming ominously over Kaoru's fallen body. "Goodbye… brother…"

"Brother?"

Mana rotated, her blade now aimed at another girl. "You!"

Asuka stepped forward with her twin blades arcing in her hands, but she seemed more concerned about the boy on his knees rather than the girl with a sword pointed at her. "Kaoru… why did this demon call you… brother?"

To be continued.

Author's notes

Yes, yes. I know. Shinji's moved to the background in this episode. I promise that Shinji's going to play the lead role very soon.

Anyway, how did you like this twist? I've been throwing a lot around lately, haven't I? For those who were upset with the last episode, again, I would like to apologize, but as you can see, it's back to business... And business is good.