Hearts & Minds V2

by Bizmarck

Deep character analysis with a fun and intriguing plot, combat extraordinaire, trippy Evangelion style climax to make you think, and a well rounded 'what happens next'. Sure to please most fans… Enjoy! An epic continuation.

6. Chapter 6

Chapter 2: Summer storm

I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion, its just a fan-fiction, read and enjoy.

Some feedback to my reviewers: (thanks!)

Dennisud: Thanks again :-) Your right about Gendo being allowed a lot of movement. I sort of threw in a mention of a minder joining him on his trip, but for the story to move on I took a bit of artistic licence, lets just assume he had an exploding collar on his ankle that not even Ritsuko could crack! As for the U.N, the 'Asian' U.N forces were under the control of SEELE and fought the JSDF so there is no loyalty there. All of Gendo's original interrogation would have been to the Japanese government, and at that point they did not know who else to trust, but as SEELE was noted for deceiving everyone, the information Gendo had would have had, would have been great stuff, it's sort of explained in this section. I hope you enjoy the next part.

2.2 "When my baby smiles at me I go to Rio… De Janeiro!"

Authors notes:

A bit of a fast forward to allow for some character set-up and story development. More fun now between another possible combination, great relationship stuff.

Twelve months later, on the outskirts of Tokyo 3.

There was a sudden rustle from the bushes next to the path, causing a nearby young man stopped walking, observing thoughtfully. His eyes glanced upwards to track the immerging robins. Though his focus was intense, a side effect of his training, his expression was relaxed, enjoying this aspect of the beautiful springlike weather. Continuing down the path with a relaxed pace the young man allowed his senses the full enjoyment of his surroundings. The sun beating down, the slight breeze playing with his untidy hair, and the sound of ciccadas, seemingly as constant as always, even within the city limits, reminding him of many past events, many pleasant, and many not. Turning the corner he found his objective, a cafe overlooking the sprawling city of Tokyo 3.

Taking a seat on the veranda, under a shade umbrella, he remembered back to when this location had contained nothing but the edge of the road. And to the many times he had ended up at this location, usually to ponder some deep troubling thought, there seemed to be so many back then.

A smile crept across his face as he remembered his own mindset back then, angry, selfish, isolated and mostly, confused. He also remembered back to the situations this mindset had lead him into. The smile broadened, many may have considered this as sign of madness, seemingly taking pleasure in ones own past major mental flaws, and the difficult/painful situations it had caused. But closer inspection revealed an expression of calm and introspective, one achieved from a wise self analysis and a healthy dose of humility which gave the ability to find the humour in the situation.

"Humph!" he mumbled to clear his thoughts, he returned to the present, re-positioning himself in the chair to get a clearer view of the city,

'Again the only one on time, I wonder where they all can be' he thought to himself.

"Shinji" came a clear feminine voice, as if too answer his question.

Shinji turned to see the source of voice, a young woman standing at the entrance to the patio. Stunningly beautiful, with short blue hair, the same length as always it seemed, slightly more tidy than only a year before, though never completely in control, as if to be a marker for the past. She gazed at him with her soft red eyes, made warm by her inviting smile. She had grown into an even more beautiful young woman with her increased physical maturity, though Shinji always thought that this was possibly mostly due to her massive growth in her personality, resulting in her now warm demeanour.

"Has anyone told you, you have the most beautiful smile?" he asked in a forced suave manner, as he razed to great her.

She blushed slightly, giving colour to her porcelain features, she moved to meet him.

They met in the centre of the Patio, both hands clasped and intertwined together in a friendly gesture, he looked down at her, smiling, now being almost a full head taller then the girl in front of him. She leant up placing a light kiss on his cheek.

"Sweet as always I see" she said softly giving him a smile. He moved back, making a place for her at the table, then sitting opposite her.

"Where's Hikari? I thought she would arrive with you?" asked Shinji politely.

"She decided to stay back and wait for Toji and Kensuka." replied Rei. "Their sports class ran overtime."

She placed her bag on the ground then looked out onto the city.

"Will Asuka be late?" Rei asked.

"Yah, she was still packing when I left" replied Shinji, also looking out at the city. It was a perfect evening with the brilliant yellow/orang sky giving the city a lazy atmosphere.

"Some things about that girl will never change" Shinji chuckled to himself. "Though she didn't complain tooo much when I refused to help her finish."

"She has changed quite a lot in one year hasn't she" said Rei calmly, they both stared off at the skyline.

"I think we all have" replied Shinji, he turned to face Rei. "And for the better" he added.

"Well I think you can take credit for a lot of that" she said with a smile. Shinji laughed.

"I think we all can actually" he replied. Sitting back he started to think about all the events that had happened in the last year of his life.

At that moment the waitress showed up to take their drinks order, Shinji immediately ordered a lemonade, Rei though picked up the menu, and with her new found inquisitiveness, started to discuss the options pleasantly with the young waitress. Shinji leaned back and watched the two young ladies talk, though he then used the moment to stare out across Tokyo 3. Soon Rei had decided on a spider, then her and Shinji started to discuss their current living arrangements.

Much had changed in the last year, Kaji, after long internal discussions within the Japanese intelligence community was released and reinstated at NERV to help combat the secret service of SEELE. He, after all, had simply wanted the truth and after it was delivered to him by Gendo and Katsuragi to his satisfaction, he did not hesitate to pledge himself to NERV. He had actually proved immeasurably useful, using his old contacts to set up a counter network against SEELE. Most of his contacts were after all neutral in loyalty, simply wishing to attain the truth like him, and thus many turned to the new objectives of Kaji, now an agent of NERV alone. Kaji was thus however not often home which annoyed his new flatmate Misato somewhat. Misato, knew of his obligations and was herself extremely busy with the rebuilding and future endeavours of NERV. Thus the couple had to contend themselves with sharing each other's company when they could.

NERV was back under full steam, Gendo was reinstated as the head of the organisation, though a close eye was kept on him by various JSDF staff. Gendos personal life had changed little and he was as busy as always, though he had managed to spend a little time with Shinji and Rei, something which had turned out to be not quite as awkward as they may have expected. This had not been often however and the three retained a professional (if a little relaxed) attitude to each other at work. Gendos interaction with the rest of the staff had also improved, though the need for discipline made the day to day face of this unchanged. Shinji did however suspect that there was something between Gendo and Ritsuko, as Shinji had had glimpses of something more then just a professional relationship on some occasions when he had interrupted their lone conversations. Shinji always knew that he spent a lot of time with her, however the thought of them together had only formulated recently, 'Hmmmm' he smiled at the thought, something he may have to bring up the next time he talked to his father.

The upper structure of NERV had remained largely intact, and little changed for the pilots within the organisation's routine. Training and equipment changed dramatically however with the new focus on fighting Evas, and human forces, the true 18th angel. This was something which greatly bothered Shinji at first, though soon he had little alternative but to accept the reality. Evas remained the primary weapon on the planet, with new developments in battery capacity allowing for a combat operational life of thirty minutes, a great improvement. Their continued dependence of power cords however restricted their implementation. One of the scariest new developments was that of a small conventional projectiles based on the progressive knife. Made of the similar material as the progressive knifes it was now possible for projectile weapons to be tipped with this material and thus greatly effect the stability of an AT field on impact. This material also had greater armour penetration and though most conventional projectiles did not have sufficient kinetic energy to inflict any damage individually on great mass they were quickly able to degenerate the AT field and subsequently the armour. 'Death of a thousand pinpricks' was the term that now most scared the Eva pilots. The sourcing of this information by Kaji had prove critical and had allowed NERV to develop its own variant, greatly increasing its own capacity to handle enemy Evas. So now the Evas were no longer unstoppable by conventional forces, however their implementation was still supercritical for any victory.

The political situation had continued to degenerate after the revelations of Gendo and the misinformation campaign of SEELE. Japan and the rest of Asia had believed Gendo and demanded that SEELE be brought to justice. North America however had been swayed by SEELE and had been convinced that NERV was the instigators of this horrible plan for the downfall of man, Australia had followed and the two continents were adamant in their demand of the disassembly of NERV. The rest of the world had remained neutral, though the political mood remained tense. The three sides had no trust for each other and a cold war like stand-off had developed. SEELE'S network was immense and there was real initial threat that the neutrals would be swayed to SEELE'S point of view. This scenario was disastrous as the limited trade with the neutrals was essential for both sides. The cost to balance this situation had been high and had only been restored upon the free transmission of the new (progressive knife) projectile design to the neutrals, thus confirming NERVS non aggressive stance in giving the neutrals the tools to bring down any Eva acting aggressively against them. This act had been crucial and the German branch had announced its halt in operation until further review. This one act guaranteed the limiting of SEELE'S supply of high quality Eva components, as no other facility in the world now possessed the capability of the German and Tokyo branch, given the recent obliteration of the American second branch.

So now the stage was set. With its short term options seriously reduced, SEELE was on the back foot, and the continued counter intelligence activities of NERV were starting to erode the massive tentacles that were the SEELE'S secret organisation. It was only a matter of time until SEELE was exposed to all. Though would it be soon enough? Already a year had past and the deeper into the lies Kaji and the members of NERV intelligence went, the harder it was to unravel the lies to expose the truth.

At the last major briefing the commander had summarised the current situation well "A wounded animal is dangerous enough, let alone when it is cornered" he had said. So it was, that for the last year NERV had remained on high alert while NERV intelligence desperately tried to attain information about SEELE'S new plans.

It had been a tense time, Shinji mused, though not all the recent stresses had been work related. He smiled to himself as he remembered some of the more tumultuous time in his more immediate life. If life had seemed strange at work Shinji's home life had turned totally lopsided. It had all changed around him it seemed.

As soon as they had gotten back from combat a year ago it was organised that Rei should move into the apartment next to Misato's. This was no problem as most people had moved out during the recent turmoil, though they were starting to return already. Things were soon complicated however by the return of Kaji. The initial celebration had been a blast! With the party going well into the night. Even the commander made a short appearance, though at the end of the evening Kaji had stayed over, after he and Misato got completely lost in a drinking competition. This, staying over, had persisted, and Kaji had started to stay at Misato's regularly. Asuka had been considerably more reasonable then expected, though the situation grated her a bit, and after two weeks even Shinji agreed that the apartment was to small for four people. So one morning Shinji was totally surprised to hear Asuka announce that she and Shinji were moving in with Rei. Apparently Asuka had asked Rei the night before, to which she instantly agreed, Rei spending most of her time over at Misato's now anyway. It made sense, Rei's new apartment was as large as Misato's and only had the one occupant. Shinji was originally surprised that Asuka had included him in the move though she continued in her speech to state that she thought that leaving Shinji at Misato's alone would potentially expose him to bad morals, someone had to look out for him! Though she made it quite clear that before he moved in locks had to be installed on the girls' bedroom doors. Shinji and Misato rolled their eyes, it was after all classic Asuka. But without her old venom it was quite tolerable, even cute in some ways. It was definitely a strange idea, though the more they thought about it the more it made sense and soon the arrangements were made to the delight of Rei. In one weekend all the pilots were in the same apartment, with Kaji also officially moving into Misato's place, though you really would not have noticed. And so a whole new chapter in Shinji's life had begun.

The new household Shinji had found himself in had a very strange dynamic. Even though the furniture was ordered to resembled Misato's residence to a large degree the new apartment simply felt different to the young man. Shinji was still by far the most organised and took over a lot of the chores, with the help of Rei who was eager to help where she could. Asuka did a lot of delegation though pitched in occasionally so that she made sure she couldn't be too harshly accused of being lazy. The three had gotten a lot closer, acting more like siblings now then anything else. In this role Asuka was the older sister, domineering the other two, while Rei was still aloof and quiet, Shinji in the end was simply trying to make the best of things, though he resisted Asuka quite well on a lot of issues. The two having some great arguments occasionally, with Shinji being the first to compromise, though ensuring that Asuka did too, at least a little. And so it soon became the case that the three were referred to as the triplets by Toji and Kensuka, and though Hikari originally disapproved of Asuka and Rei living with Shinji she soon got used to it, also gigglingly referring to the three as the triplets. As Kaji spent a lot of time away Misato ended up inviting herself over to 'check up' on the kids a lot. But even when Kaji was home Shinji simply prepared five portions for meals instead of four as Misato hardly ever ate at home anymore, while Pen-Pen simply migrated between the two apartments at will. There even was a permanent beer supply in the Eva pilot's fridge to avoid unnecessary trips back to Misatos apartment. Shinji's cooking had become very good, as Hikari had delighted in giving Shinji and Rei cooking tips whenever she was over. In fact the pilots apartment had turned into a bit of a halfway house, with friends constantly visiting at all hours. Asuka made quite sure however that only Hikari was to stay over at night, if Shinji wanted a sleep-over, he had to leave, as far as she was concerned having one 'Baka' in the house was quite enough!

And so life had progressed…… and though it appeared on the surface to be completely unsettled it was one of the calmest periods of Shinji's life, as stressful as life would appear to be he was the happiest he had ever been, and it appeared to be the same for the people around him.

Back in the present, Shinji had well and truly zoned out, so didn't notice Asuka walking up behind him. He let out a small yelp as he was grabbed from behind, his arms being pinned behind his back and his body forced back on his chair. He struggled for a second but then relaxed, waiting for a familiar voice, which said.

"Daydreaming again Shinji?" asked Asuka calmly. "All that self defence training and your still caught unaware"

Shinji looked over at Rei who was smiling slightly, she had become used to Shinji's and Asuka's interaction and had started to find them amusing, Shinji knew she would be no help at all.

"Considering we're always surrounded by NERV intelligence agents the only one I have to worry about defending myself against is you Asuka." he said cheekily.

"Well I suppose you're never going to be able to defeat me anyway, so I suppose your right to not even try" Asuka said in a mockingly agreeable sort of tone, though not loosening her grip.

"We'll see" said Shinji slyly under his breath, though too loud, as Asuka heard. She tightened her grip slightly, getting a small grunt from Shinji.

"Don't count on it second child" she said evilly.

"What is it you want Asuka?" asked Shinji calmly.

"Just want to know why you didn't help your fellow pilot finish packing?" she said in a hurt tone.

"It's not my fault you never learnt how to pack properly…Arg"

Shinji winced as she tightened again. Though she then released her grip and took the seat next to him.

"There are just no gentleman left" she said sorrowfully, leaning back into her chair. Shinji looked at Rei who was still smiling faintly.

"You're no help any more either are you" said Shinji to Rei.

"How do you mean" replied Rei.

"When Asuka assaults me now-a-days all you do is smile, I think you girls are ganging up on me.." he said with a smile on his face. Asuka poked her tongue out at Shinji, she and Rei had actually managed to get relatively close, irrespective of their totally different natures.

"She is careful not to hurt you too much" said Rei innocently "Also you both seem to enjoy it in some way" she took a sip from her drink. Asuka and Shinji turned slightly reddish at the last comment and an uncomfortable silence fell for a few seconds, luckily the mood was broken by the sudden appearance of Toji, Hikari and Kensuka.

"Ah the triplets sitting in relative silence, will wonders never cease" said Toji in his usual manner. For once Asuka didn't retort, grateful for a change of topic. She and Toji still maintained a healthy animosity for each other but it was more tolerable now-a-days. It did however usually mean the atmosphere of the group was usually very lively. The three newcomers sat down and ordered drinks, which were quickly delivered as the cafe was somewhat empty at this time of the day.

"So are you ready for your big adventure Shinji?" asked Kensuka after taking a sip of his drink. "I can't believe you get to go to Rio-De-Janeiro!" he said in a whining tone.

"This is the first time we have been away from Tokyo 3 in a year, and we're still on duty, I don't know if there will be any time to do anything fun?" Shinji said.

"You must be able to get out at some point surely" said Hikari "It would be such a pity to go all that way and not be ably to have a look around. It's going to be so exciting!" she finished enthusiastically, though remembering Rei, Hikari turned around saying "Oh.. Sorry Rei I didn't mean to make you feel bad about not going with them".

"Its ok" said Rei with a smile. "I drew the short straw, someone has to remain here in reserve."

Hikari wasn't completely convinced however and gave her a sad look, she knew that Misato was going as well, which meant that Rei would be on her own for the first time in a year.

"You promised that you would come around and teach me some new recipes, right?" Rei continued to Hikari.

"Sure thing, we also still have that school project to work on, I'll keep you company while those other two are away" Hikari said, peppering up a bit.

"This way I'll finally be able to teach Shinji something in the kitchen when he gets back." Rei said with a smile. Even though the three always cooked together Rei was never able to keep up with Shinji.

"Don't worry Rei we'll all keep you company" said Toji confidently "Its Shinji that I'm worried about, all alone with the demon girl for two weeks, how will he survive?" he finished off quickly, expecting a retort from Asuka. She however was not so quick to bite back now a days, remaining more controlled but just as sharp. After a flash of red crossed her face for a second she evenly said.

"Don't worry I'll take good care of Shinji."

Shinji gave a gulp, he knew that tone of voice.

"I would feel more sorry for Rei now that you've threatened her with the company of two of the three stooges, she may have to move into NERV for two weeks just to stay sane." Asuka finished, smirking.

"Touche" smiled Kensuka. Toji was about to counter again when Kensuka interrupted.

"So your still not sure what the two of you are doing down there? It seems strange to split up the Evas like this, you're not told anything?"

"We're lucky we even know where we are going" said Shinji. "Its all hush hush, though given the level of activity at NERV it looks like it's serious."

The small group continued chatting on about this and that for a while longer, they ended up saying their goodbyes, all wishing Asuka and Shinji well.

The three pilots walked back to their apartment. Misato was waiting at her car, it was time to leave. Rei gave Asuka and Shinji a quick hug, they all knew the likelihood of combat was relatively high.

"Best of luck" Rei said simply, she managed to only look a little downcast, Shinji gave her a pat on the shoulder

"I'll bring you back something." he said with a weak smile. Asuka grabbed his arm and started to drag him off to the car.

"I'll make sure its in good taste." said Asuka with a smile. "Make sure you kick Toji out if he starts to annoy you, don't take any crap from those two stooges!" she called out to Rei as they got into the car.

"Good luck Misato" called Rei as the commander got into the car, Misato lowered the window and called out as they were driving off.

"See you in two weeks Rei, take care of PenPen for me!" she waved good bye out the window, and Rei returned the wave as they drove out off sight. She stood there for a second listening to Misatos car drive off in the distance. Silence pretty much returned and the wind played with her dress, solemnly she turned her head towards Misato's balcony to see PenPen watching the, now far off, car.

"Well its just you and me now" she said solemnly.

The flight to Rio was uneventful, though the amount of air-cover that was provided for their transports was astounding to Shinji. fifty of the latest air superiority fighters as well as three AWACS aircraft. Shinji took some photos out the transporters window, he was sure Kensuka would be green with envy when he told him about this experience.

Rio-De-Janeiro had been massively affected by second impact, as had all major cities on the coast, though due to the steepness of the hills immediately behind the old city, its citizens had been able to simply migrate up the slopes, so to speak, thus its geographic location had changed little. Also the demolition of the old lower buildings had allowed for a gradual slope up to the new coast, thus the New Rio resembled the old Rio significantly in geographical location and many place names had remained the same. Copacabana now stretched a little further, no longer separated by the Sugarloaf and surrounding hills, The Sugarloaf was now an island, with the old chairlift being re routed to cross the small expanse of new ocean. It was still a lively and passionate city and Shinji and Asuka were busy planing a sight seeing itinerary as they began their final descent into Brazil. Their destination was an old airfield about fifty kilometres from Rio. The Brazilin government had graciously allowed NERV the use of this as a staging area. Apparently the world opinion was polarising to either NERV or SEELE. South America was leaning towards NERV and Africa towards SEELE. Europe was the only region still professing strict Neutrality.

Finally back on the ground, Shinji soon discovered the reason for their sudden deployment when he and Asuka entered the make shift briefing room in an abandoned hanger. Misato and Fuyuzuki, as well as Makoto had already set up a small projector, and Maya was organising the software to start the briefing. The room was filled with senior NERV operations personnel, Shinji recognised a few of them. He and Asuka took a seat up the back, sitting on an old bench, the rest of the staff took the temporary seats provided. The air was hot and humid, it being relatively early in the day, Shinji looked out of the open hanger door at the encroaching jungle surrounding the airstrip. He was brought back to reality by Fuyuzuki, who coughed loudly to indicate the start of the briefing. And so Misato started, it appeared that conflict had broken out in central America, the fighting was only sporadic but most disturbing of all, forces had reported seeing Eva like creatures performing insurgence missions within the area. They appeared to be only probing missions. but the targets were key infrastructure links, and it looked as if they were setting up for something big. Also of great worry was the development by the enemy of a new jamming system, which made all but visual tracking impossible, this coupled with the hilly tropical terrain made it relatively impossible to defend effectively against the enemy Evas. It was simply too difficult to arrange sufficient firepower in one location to effectively handle an Eva, unless they committed to battle. So at night or during cloud cover, a daily event in the tropics, the Eva was simply unstoppable on hit and run missions, and all the local conventional forces could do was hamper there progress as best they could. Shinji and Asuka watched the maps as information toggled past. Misato continued, apparently NERV intelligence was sketchy on the objectives of this new action, though they had figured out that at least three Eva type units would be likely to be in Central America considering the type and amount of support units in the region. The engagement area was massive, stretching from Guada canal, the suspected staging area, all the way to central Colombia. It had been brilliantly planned, with temporary staging areas being formed to deploy the enemy Evas, and then to withdraw them just as quick. They had effectively cut off the entire region to land based movement and their objectives were still unclear. It was however clear that whatever was going to happen was going to happen in the next two weeks, though what that was, was unfortunately still not known. So there they were, the NERV Evas set up for instant deployment, into unfamiliar territory, reliant totally on their battery packs and the ability to be resupplied with new packs by their own forces. Shinji and Asuka gave a slight groan, continual readiness status meant that they could not go and see the sights. Misato ignored them and continued with the brief.

'kids!' Misato thought to herself.

Soon however the brief was over and only one question was asked.

"Why weren't all three Evas sent over?" asked Asuka.

"Because of the sketchy nature of this operation, we can't be sure that this is simply not a diversion, and even with the new projectile technology it is unwise to leave NERV guarded by less then one Eva." replied Misato. With no other questions the meeting room broke up and Shinji and Asuka were left to await further instructions. Eventually Maya came over and directed the two of them to a small building on the other end of the runway, it was a small barracks with high windows, to allow the heat to escape. Asuka and Shinji entered and threw their bags on the beds. Shinji, having carried his and some of Asuka's luggage. The room was small, containing only two beds, a desk, two chairs and two large foot-lockers. At the end of the room was an opening to the bathroom, which was old and dusty but still useable. Asuka had matured a bit in a year and no longer whined about her situation at the drop of a hat. Also having lived with Shinji meant that she generally gave him the benefit of the doubt about being a pervert, and only teased him in her old way on specific occasions.

"We will be provided with screens though I hope" said Asuka to the leaving Maya.

"There are some screen frames and material being brought over from the old infirmary" Maya replied

"Also don't drink the water, simply get bottled water from the canteen" she continued "Remember lunch is at 12:30"

And with that she left the two pilots to their own devices. They were in the middle of unpacking when the screens arrived, they positioned one in front of the bathroom and the other between the beds, leaving Shinji's bed exposed to the entrance. Soon the place had been made quite livable. Shinji lay back on his bed, listening to the stereo he had set up on a chair next to him, meanwhile Asuka finished folding her clothes away.

"Shinji, why don't you see if you can pick up a local station" came Asuka's voice from behind the screen.

"Sure thing" replied Shinji, leaning over to adjust the stereo.

"I mean if we can't go and see the country at least we can listen to a bit of it." continued Asuka, the annoyance clear in her voice. Shinji in the meantime fiddled with the receiver, picking up a number of local stations. While he was selecting a station Asuka came around the screen, sitting at the foot of Shinji's bed, Shinji moved his legs to make room.

"Wait, go back" said Asuka. Shinji turned back until he got a clear signal of the last station. A classic samba beat was playing fast and energetic.

"Yah that's the one" Asuka said smiling, her feet beginning to tap to the tune. Shinji moved over a bit so he could lie back down. He looked up at the ceiling.

"None of the advantages and all of the hardship… I mean we even have homework to do for the next two weeks or so" said Shinji lazily. He noticed that Asuka had also lain down in the space he had just made free, her feet were now next to his head. She taped his arm with her right foot, he looked down the bed to see Asuka leaning up with an expectant smile. Sighing, he took one of the two pillows he was leaning on and threw it at her head, though she caught it with no difficulty, and used it to prop herself up against the end-board.

"Thank you." she said sweetly. The two pilots lay there, end to end, staring up at the ceiling listening to the radio.

"Hmm.. this is the first time that NERV has been really split up" speculated Asuka.

"We have operated without commander Ikari and Fuyuzuki before" replied Shinji. "And Misato and Ritsuko for that matter" he continued.

"Yah, but never so far away from NERV, and never without clear objectives" said Asuka.

"It's a different world all right." mused Shinji. "And there I was thinking that fighting the Angels was the strangest thing that could happen to me"

"Yah" said Asuka "Just think about the fact that I'm actually lying in the same bed with a hentai like you, and I don't have to kill you for it is proof of that." she finished with a chuckle.

"Funny really" said Shinji in a slightly annoyed voice. "If I were to do the same on your bed you would very quickly kick my ass"

"That's a woman's prerogative." said Asuka airily "Anyway woman mature faster then men, your still not to be trusted."

Shinji laughed.

"What's so funny?" asked Asuka.

"Oh I just remembered something Kaji said" he said "Something about the fact that woman and men will never be able to understand each other"

"That's the way it should be" said Asuka confidently "Imagine how boring it would be if you knew what other people were thinking?" they lay there in silence for a while listening to the radio.

"I think I overheard Misato say that Kaji may be coming down here." she said eventually.

"Hopefully" replied Shinji "I haven't seen him in a month, and there's nothing else to do around here."

"Is that so" came the Mischievous voice of Misato, who had appeared in the open doorway "We'll just have to see about that, you two are needed for some terrain training, and after that I have to ensure that your school work doesn't suffer so your hitting the books!"

Shinji and Asuka let out a groan, suddenly having nothing to do didn't sound so bad.

"And what is going on here anyway!" said Misato teasingly, indicating their current position in the same bed. "Am I going to have to reorganise the entire camp to ensure you two don't get up to anything funny?" Misato finished with a wink, though then quickly had to avoid the two pillows that came flying towards her.

The mobile simulator they had brought along was sensational, Shinji and Asuka could train moving around the local hilly terrain and even moving around at night, getting a feel for the local landscape through its exact replication in virtual reality. The training lasted about four hours after which time they had dinner and then hit the books. This wasn't a big problem, as now Asuka had become quite capable of reading Japanese, (thanks to Shinji's and Rei's help) and so repaid the favour by helping Shinji with his homework where she could. Though her arrogant tone still irritated Shinji a bit, and his pride only allowed him to ask her when he was really stuck. Soon they fell exhausted into bed. And so it continued for the next two days. There was little for the kids to do, but they did manage to explore the compound and find some interesting animals from the nearby jungle. One of which made an uninvited visit to the pilot's barracks. On the third night Shinji almost died of fright when a screaming Asuka came racing out of the bathroom, colliding headlong with the bathroom screen and tumbling over it crashing naked on the floor. Only the screen between the beds saved Asuka's modesty and she was able to scramble to her bed before Shinji came racing around the corner. He quickly retreated after Asuka threw the book she had lying on her bed at him, though he was soon called back to remove the offending gecko from the bathroom ceiling. It was a while before Shinji could stop snickering though he did his best to not show it to Asuka, she was not a girl whose pride you even mildly offended, if you knew what was good for you. The next day Asuka's mood was still mildly dark, though it soon lifted as Misato came in with some un-expected news. That evening was going to be a full moon and the weather report showed two days of no clouds, which meant that there was little to no chance of an attack in the next thirty six hours. Misato had managed to convince Gendo of this and he had agreed to a twent four-hour leave pass for the pilots and the operations commander. They were going to Rio for the day! Both pilots had huge smiles on their faces and quickly ran off to pack for the day trip. They packed bathers and some neat casual attire as Misato indicated that they were going to go out for dinner. Without wasting any time the two were soon outside Misato's quarters, a jeep was already waiting outside.

"Come on Misato!" called Asuka impatiently. The two pilots stood around anxiously.

"No use hurrying, we have to wait for a NERV intelligence officer anyway" came the voice of Misato from inside her room.

"We don't need another babysitter" said Asuka angrily "I mean you're there, isn't that enough?"

"I hope he hurries up" said Shinji, looking down at his watch.

"I'm not the one you should be worried about when it comes to holding up progress" came a familiar voice from behind the two pilots. Asuka and Shinji spun around, and found a familiar face waiting by the a jeep.

"Kaji!" exclaimed Asuka excitedly. She raced over to her former guardian who was leaning casual as always against the jeep. He did however right himself to accept a hug from Asuka. Shinji also came forward. Kaji was dressed in shorts and a loose T-shirt and all three looked decidedly out of place in the military environment.

"Its good to see you again Kaji, where have you been?" asked Shinji.

"Oh here and there, you lose track after a while" replied Kaji, in his usual debonair voice, he was just as evasive as ever with his new work.

"You haven't called in ages, I bet you called Misato" said Asuka accusingly. Though she had improved massively concerning Misato's and Kajis relationship in the last year, she still occasionally enjoyed antagonising the situation.

"Ha ha" chuckled Kaji quietly "There exists a woman's wrath out there, who scares me even more then yours Asuka"

Misato appeared from the building, dressed in her tiny shorts and a revealing top, sports cap and small back-pack in hand completing the picture.

"Ah there is our alluring commander in chief now" said Kaji, smiling at Misato. She returned the smile for a second. Though she then put on a decidedly high and mighty expression and strolled up too, and past, Kaji, not even bothering to embrace him in greeting.

"Don't think I haven't heard what you've been saying out here" Misato said to Kaji as she strolled past to the passenger seat. Asuka and Shinji scrambled into the back, being totally non-plussed about the coolness between Kaji and Misato, the two were constantly at each other, or all over each other, it appeared they were quite incapable of a normal relationship.

"I speak only the truth, and you know I only mean what I say in the highest respect." said Kaji, getting in. Misato gave him a coy smile and they headed off, soon however, Misato leaned around to talk to Shinji and Asuka about the days program, doing this she let her arm rest on Kajis leg which he overlapped with his own hand, when not preoccupied with driving. Overall the incident was a classic example of their behaviour in public.

Asuka, as always, began to take over the itinerary, but as it was her and Shinji who had first developed it Shinji was quite willing to allow her to dominate. Kaji and Misato relinquished, only managing to alter two points of Asuka's busy schedule. Actually the two were simply quite happy to be together, and with Asuka leading the way they were reasonably sure not to be exposed to much of Asuka's lingering jealousy towards them as a couple. The terrain kept changing and soon they were on the highway to Rio. The outskirts of Rio had changed somewhat since second impact, it was no longer surrounded by slums (at least not noticeably so) and the majority of the city was relatively clean and orderly. The first destination was naturally Copacabana. None of the four were disappointed, the wide stretches of sand leading into the stunning blue ocean was a sight to behold, and as it was a work day the beaches were relatively uncrowded.

Soon the pilots were in the water, Asuka swimming out into the ocean while Shinji, still new to swimming, spent his time trying to body-surf the reasonable waves breaking near the shoreline. Misato and Kaji stayed back to guard their stuff (Copacabana having not changed that much) though looking back Shinji noticed the two were enjoying their time alone. Turning around he dived out into the ocean again.

After a while Asuka joined him closer to shore.

"So managed to catch any waves third child?" she asked swimming up beside him.

"They're not breaking clean, but I've caught a few." said Shinji, looking at the incoming surf.

He was standing with the water up to his neck. As Asuka was now almost a head shorter, she had to paddle on the spot, a fact that gave Shinji a small smile.

"Your just not doing it right, as usual" said Asuka, noticing his smile. It really annoyed her that he had gotten considerably bigger then her, she didn't like the idea of having to look up to him. He had also gotten stronger, though she still was the much more athletic one, one of the reasons she periodically attacked him, so as to confirm her continued dominance. As was usually the case with these two, the swim in the surf soon turned into a competition. Asuka caught more waves but Shinji had the great luck of catching the best one, Asuka having caught a wave just before. It would have continued but Misato called the two in, as her and Kaji also wanted to swim for a while.

Shinji was still grinning ear to ear from that fantastic wave as the two came in, Asuka however seemed less pleased. As Shinji sat down she announced she was going off to buy an ice-cream, Shinji placed a quick order before she got out of earshot and lay back down with a smile on his face. He knew Asuka would not like the request but wasn't nasty enough any more to deny him without an adequate reason. He lay there dozing for a while, finally looking up he saw Misato and Kaji still paddling out in deeper water. It had been ten minutes and Shinji was starting to worry a little, how long did it take to get ice-cream? He looked around, Asuka was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh well" he said to himself, he knew deep down that anyone who started anything up with Asuka would require the saving, not her. He looked around, the beach was still relatively well frequented and all around Shinji some of the best examples of human physique were to be found. Being almost sixteen now Shinji couldn't help but allow his eyes to follow the girls as they walked past. 'Toji and Kensuka would sure be jealous of this', he thought to himself. It was while his eyes were very obviously following the passing of a particularly lovely example of the female form that Asuka decided to reappear on the scene.

"Once a hentai always a hentai" said Asuka in her disappointed tone. Shinji jumped a bit, though then turned around to look at Asuka, who was blocking out the sun. She handed him his ice-cream, barley melted.

"Oh come Asuka… you can't say you haven't been checking out some of the guys on the beach" said Shinji slyly, deciding to go on the offensive. Asuka sat down next to him, looking out onto the beach.

"Being a woman means that I'm not so easily impressed by such things" said Asuka haughtily, she lent back on some bags and placed her hand behind her head provocatively.

"Anyway with such ample beauty close at hand" said Asuka obviously indicating herself "I would have thought you would have had your fill of looking at beautiful forms." she smiled, and gave a side glance to see Shinji's reaction. Shinji, eating his ice-cream, smiled but did not turn to face Asuka. She had grown even more attractive in the last years, matching Misato's hight and attaining a fantastic athletic figure, something she occasionally allowed herself to remind everyone. Shinji knew however that this line of conversation was a minefield for him, and he suspected secretly a joy to Asuka, and on many occasions he had quite innocently stumbled into very dangerous territory. Though at the moment he was still in an uncharacteristically aggressive mood.

"No not really" he said casually. Asuka stopped mid lick, shocked at the casual response.

"I look at Misato as a guardian now, Rei as a sister, and Hikari is out of bounds" he let the words sit for a second "So I don't 'admire' them in that way" again he paused for effect, casually licking his ice-cream. "And at the end of the day nothing is that beautiful that it's worth risking your life to admire"

He turned to look Asuka squarely in the eyes, this was less for affect then to make sure she didn't throw anything at him. Asuka, now-a-days, had more depth to her responses but at the end of the day was still subject to her moods, so quite capable of anything. She gave him a lovely smile and leaned back.

"Who would have guessed, even a hentai can learn" she said.

The day moved on, soon Misato and Kaji returned and they basked in the sun for a while. Asuka announced that she had found beach volleyball fields towards the back of the beach. And soon the four where playing, inevitably the teams ended up being girls vs boys as the competitiveness of the two pairs instantly showed itself. Kaji and Misato had not played in a very long time, but both were fit and fired up. Shinji and Asuka had played at School recently and not surprisingly Asuka had turned out to be the best player. The girls started off leading, while Kaji and Shinji orientated themselves. Asuka, aggressive as always, send some blinders towards Shinji, him already having a large red mark on one of his legs. Though this only inspired the two males, and soon they were in the lead. The game got more intense, neither side giving an inch, after a bitter struggle it came to a tie-break. At this stage Shinji was covered in sand, having to do many dives just to keep his side in the game, he was panting heavily. The next point went to the girls after a lucky play. It was match point to the girls, with Asuka to serve. As usual she sent a blinder towards Kaji, he controlled the shot and Shinji sent a wide shot towards Misato, she just managed to control it but sent it spinning back towards the boys, the point continued with good placement stopping either side from organising a spike. Soon however Misato was out of position, having sent a last ditch effort towards Kaji who stumbled to recover but fell out of the court, Asuka rushed to cover the shot, but got it back. Both Kaji and Misato were temporarily out leaving Shinji and Asuka. To get the last shot Asuka had left the front of the court open, Shinji decided to go for it! He dived forward to accomplish a drop shot, though doing this left his court completely open. Asuka reacted late, not expecting Shinji to commit, though she rushed forward throwing herself full stretch towards the ball, berley managing to connect she sent the unsteady ball back over the net. Sliding, she came to rest under the net next to Shinji who was still down, they watched the ball travelling through the air, it fell back to earth, just managing to slip in the lines, giving the girls the game.

"Yes!" yelped Asuka triumphantly, still lying flat. Shinji, leaning on his elbow, turned back to face Asuka. She had put her hands under her chin and was looking at him smugly.

"Still can't beat me can you Shinji" she said. The look of concentration he had had throughout the game turned into a slight scold though then it suddenly changed into a smile.

"Great game Asuka" he said casually. "It was worth losing just to finally see you have to dive."

He started to get up.

"Though before you get up I would advise you modify your bikini top."

Asuka suddenly froze, checking herself she found that the dive had loosened her bikini top and it had slipped completely out of position, not being designed for such activities, and if not for the fact she was lying face down would have exposed her quite noticeably. Face red, she adjusted herself before getting up. Angered she suddenly became relieved that she didn't immediately jump up to gloat after the girls victory. Angry, relieved and happy at the same time she didn't know how to react, finally standing up she saw Kaji and Shinji congratulating Misato, then Kaji turned to congratulate Asuka, giving her a wink and brushing sand off her shoulders. Asuka's mind gave up and she smiled. The four went back down to the water to wash off the sand, Asuka and Shinji joking and laughing on the way down. On the way Shinji happily took a bit of physical abuse and emotional torment, knowing that for Asuka to appease her ego he was 'due' some token teasing, something he now regularly took thus 'managing' to keep the peace. She had gotten better however and it was less of a chore then an unusual pleasure for Shinji when she was in such a mood now.

A lot of the day had already gone and after a quick lunch at a cafe the four began on a sight seeing tour. New Rio was a beautiful town, with many shops and sights it was a pleasant day of meandering, with Kaji and Misato perfectly happy to let the two pilots run off and explore. The two adults enjoyed each others company as much as the surroundings, Shinji looked back at the pair in-between diving into different shops with Asuka, they really didn't have that much time to see each other, he thought.

"Come on you! No time to gawk" yelled Asuka, grabbing hold of his arm and dragging him of to another market stall.

"Yaaa" protested Shinji being dragged away.

The end of the day found the four at the Christ, a giant statue of Jesus overlooking all of Rio. They were leaning on the railing, looking over the sprawling city, the sun setting off in the distance.

"So what are we doing for dinner?" asked Asuka, interrupting the silence. Kaji un-hooked his arm from Misato's and stood upright.

"Well I have a little surprise for you all" he said casually, all three turned to face him.

"I have managed to acquire a reservation at the legendary Shugerloaf restaurant! A table for four at eight PM." he said with a triumphant smile.

"Wow, how did you manage that!" asked Asuka enthusiastically.

"Oh I have my ways" said Kaji slyly. Misato moved up behind him, slipping her arms around his waist.

"So these are the type of connections that NERV intelligence has been working on the last few months" she said innocently.

"We have to come up with something tangibly useful occasionally" he replied.

"Not bad" said Misato.

"So where is this restaurant?" asked Shinji.

"Don't you know anything" said Asuka rashly. "It's only the most famous restaurant in the world" she pointed down to the now cut off island of Shugerloaf, the restaurant and other buildings already sparkling in the evening light.

"Oh what am I going to wear, I didn't bring anything good enough for a place like that!" exclaimed Asuka turning back to Kaji pleadingly.

"We will be fine with what you have" Kaji said reassuringly.

"Ya, don't worry Asuka you look fine" interrupted Shinji encouragingly.

"What do you know about style!" Asuka turned back to him angrily.

"Hey!" replied Shinji, becoming angry himself, he had frankly become sick of his compliments always being turned against him.

The two started to argue and didn't stop until half way to the restaurant. Long arguments between the two had become quite rare with Shinji knowing how to defuse most situation, tonight however he had decided not to take the easy way out. Though the argument was over it was an uneasy truce it was quickly forgotten however upon arrival at the sky cars that travelled up to the restaurant. The four were dressed in neat casual, the girls in skirts and tops and the boys in slacks and shirts, though it was obviously semi casual evening wear, and compared to the other customers the four looked rather ordinary. This didn't bother Shinji or Kaji at all, though Misato, and much more Asuka, were very conscious of their appearance, they had expected to eat at a much less flashy restaurant.

"Bloody males" Asuka muffled under her breath to Misato. Misato, just having noticed the elegant evening dress of the lady next to her, nodded in agreement. The four got into the sky car after Kaji showed the usher their reservation, Shinji and Kaji either not caring, or not noticing the ushers glare as they went by. Again Masato and Asuka soon forgot their initial reservations as the sky car lifted off into the night. The view was quite simply breathtaking, and only got better as they neared the restaurant. If that wasn't enough the restaurant itself was simply stunning. Almost sticking out of the rocky cliffs of the Shugerloaf the main restaurant was a massive three story high half circle of glass, with multiple level eating areas, seemingly hovering in mid air. These were connected to a central floor via stairs. The enclosed volume was immense, the steel frame holding it together shimmering far above Shinji's head. The lighting was spectacular, with elegant lights hanging down appropriately to cover each table with a soft light. The majority of the rest of the eating area remained relatively dark to allow the patrons to fully enjoy the unprecedented view of the city lights, below to the right, and the stars in the sky above. Each eating level was so placed to afford each patron a great view of the ocean as well as the city. They quickly went and found their table with three other groups on the middle level. Shinji took a seat affording him a great view of the city. Looking back down at the main floor he saw that it double as a small dance area with space for the band at one end, the bar along the wall and the entrance on the other. Looking around he saw that the clientele was a mix of all nations, everyone being dressed very elegantly and looking great. Shinji smiled, remembering the restaurant he Misato and Rei had been to a year or so before, he had quite a lot of luck when it came to restaurants. He and Misato exchanged a knowing smile, no mention had yet been made about the cost of that trip a year ago to Misato, apparently the records had been, misplaced… Asuka had largely forgotten her self consciousness and was enjoying herself again. Soon they had all ordered drinks and started chatting about the day. Dinner arrived and they all began to eat, down below the band had arrived and was playing light music while the patrons ate. Misato had convinced everyone to join her in a glass of champagne, and the four toasted their rather enjoyable day. The champagne had its desired effect, and the simmering hostility between Shinji and Asuka mellowed a bit. They chatted happily throughout desert and only stopped when Kaji and Misato suddenly got up.

"Where are you two going?" asked Asuka blankly.

"We're just going for a dance" said Misato happily, and the two went down to the main floor. The two pilots watched the couple go down, it was a slow song and the two were moving around arm in arm. Shinji returned to the topic at hand, though Asuka was mildly distracted. She still wasn't completely over Kaji and the champagne was not helping her resolve. She held out for a small while but during the next slow song Misato put her head against Kajis shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her, this was to much for Asuka who turned her head, eyes downcast.

"Is there anywhere else we can go to?" she asked, not hiding her emotions well. Shinji looked from the dance floor to her, a frown on his face.

"There is an open aired bar on the sea side of the rock if I read the map right" he suggested, she nodded. Asuka got up, moving quickly to the exit past Misato and Kaji on the dance floor, not looking up at either of them. Shinji followed quickly, giving Kaji a shrug of his shoulders on the way past, Kaji simply gave Shinji a wink and returned his attentions to Misato.

Shinji, a little bewildered, caught up with Asuka and led her to the sea side of the large rock. She was trying to mask her feelings with a joyful tone and Shinji played along. They arrived at a small cobblestone courtyard. One side was open to the sea, a small stone fence guarding a cliff edge falling 50m to the sea below. They had arrived from a narrow natural walkway between large stone formations opposite the sea, though further cliffs flanked the courtyard. Some large trees overhang the courtyard, fairy lights were strung from branch to branch and were the only source of illumination. Near the stone fence were some cast iron chairs and tables, each with its own candle. To the one side was a stone structure, it was open at one side and doubled as a bar, a single barmen was working behind via candle light, soft music playing from a speaker sitting on one side of the bar. Shinji looked around, other than three couples between the bar and cliff the barman was the only other person. It was actually one of the most romantic scenes he had ever seen. Asuka however was in the wrong mood to appreciate it, spotting a free table near the small wall opposite the couples and bar, she gave Shinji a drink order and made her way to the table, overhung by a willow of some sort. Shinji watched her go, then went over to the bar. Luckily it was connected to the main accounts system and Shinji was able to order the drinks from the table tab. He was surprised that he was given Asuka's request, being underage he was expecting a lecture from the barman after asking for two margarites, instead he simply produced two glasses filled with a sticky, colourful liquid, gave them to Shinji and added a smile and wink. Shinji, smiling, returned to Asuka. She was sitting, leaning on the stone wall and looking out into the dark warm night. His smile faded, he placed her drink in front of her, taking a nearby seat and followed her gaze out onto the ocean. They sat there in silence for a while, music, light chatter, and soft laughter in the background. Shinji sipped at his drink. Distorting his face, he gave the glass an odd look.

"Errg" he said.

"Shinji" said Asuka, taking her glass.

"Hmm" said Shinji, turning his head towards her.

"You love Rei don't you?" she said casually, still looking out into the dark. Shinji froze, though he had never discussed his history with Rei with Asuka he was sure Rei probably had.

"Um well" he hesitated, but then he thought 'I have nothing to hide' and continued with "Ya well yes I do…… as a sister."

The champagne was starting to hit home with Shinji as well.

"But she isn't your sister is she?" asked Asuka. Shinji absent mindedly took another sip, it wasn't so bad the second time around.

"Well genetically, no, she's more of a distant cousin if anything at all" he said "But that's the way I think of her" he took another sip "I think that's….. I think that's the best for both of us" he finished.

"And you can decide in what way you love another person?" asked Asuka, now facing Shinji. She took a sip of her own drink. Shinji looked at her evenly. Then looked back out onto the sea.

"Well yes, I think so" he said "A lot depends on the way you view things"

He remembered back to his experiences after the fight with Kaworu. "I care for a lot for people now a days, though depending on how I view each one I express it differently." he was serious now, but the alcohol was loosening his tongue.

"So your not attracted to some of them?" asked Asuka, she was quite happy with the amount of information she was getting from Shinji. Shinji wrinkled his brow a bit, this whole line of questioning was not going well, and he wanted to find a quick exit.

"Well of course, sort of" he paused for a second "After a while it's not an issue any more. For the people I think of as family, it just doesn't figure any more."

He was hurrying to complete this line of questioning "And I just have to keep myself in check with the others" he said though he raised his eyes and locked gazes with Asuka at the first part of that sentence. They stayed like that for what felt like awhile until Shinji realised what he was doing and kicking himself mentally, turning red and hurriedly averted his gaze. 'Damn!' he thought to himself, stupid champagne, at this stage he knew it was starting to have an effect. Asuka herself was a little shocked and uncomfortable due to that display, and she herself turned slightly red. She looked back out onto the ocean.

"And what about Mana?" asked Asuka, taking a sip of her own drink, she was now observing Shinji out of the corner of her eye.

Behind the two pilots one of the three couples had started to argue a bit and moved away from the group, standing closer to Asuka and Shinji, though neither of the two noticed.

"Mana… well Mana was a long time ago" said Shinji looking out into the darkness solemnly, he had not heard a word from her since their parting, despite his efforts to get information out of his father and Kaji. In his mind though he was incredibly annoyed with himself for letting something so personal as his reaction before be displayed, and quite frankly was becoming annoyed with the one sided personal questions.

"So you still have feeling's for Kaji?" he asked suddenly. Now this really was the alcohol talking, even though they had gotten close in the last year or so, Shinji had never asked Asuka a direct personal question like this, she had only opened herself a little to Shinji when she had wanted to. The two had had some pretty personal talks and he was quite happy with his progress, though he knew that his last question was stepping into a whole different arena. Asuka's natural reaction was to scold but she was taken off balance and couldn't get too angry quickly.

"I don't think that's any of your business" she said defiantly. Shinji knew he was in trouble but he felt it was time to go for broke, he had felt their friendships openness had been one-sided for a long time now and it had been building to this point.

"Oh come on Asuka" he said "Considering the type of questions you have been asking, and which I have been answering, I think I can expect a little openness from you." he managed to push out. He knew he wanted to say it though he was incredibly uncomfortable doing so, and if it wasn't for the champagne it would not have been possible. He kept his gaze on Asuka, in his expression was only minimal aggression, more uncomfortableness but determination. Confronted with this she hesitated, it wasn't like one year ago for her either, she wouldn't simply just start a tantrum, though at the moment she really wished she could.

"Fair enough." she said holding his gaze, but looking uncomfortable herself. Shinji relaxed a bit. "It's not that I'm not happy for Misato and Kaji…. Its just that" her eyes wavered a little. "Its just I've really cared for Kaji for such a long time…. It's difficult" she finished lowering her eyes and taking another sip from her drink. Shinji looked at her for a while, contemplating.

"There are many ways to care for some-one" said Shinji more evenly, a smile on his face. Asuka however was not smiling.

"And what about love? I'm not sure you know what love is." replied Asuka, there was some defensive venom in her voice, though her expression changes quickly to one of hesitation. Shinji however was taken a little aback by this comment and his emotions start to build despite his best efforts.

"I know what love is" he said defensively. "At least I know what it means to me" he avoided her gaze.

"Well if you did you definitely don't show it" replied Asuka, becoming defensive herself, though for what reason she was unsure. She leant back in her chair and crossed her arms. Behind Shinji the other couples arguments has also heated up. Still this was not apparent to the two young pilots lost in their own thoughts.

"Just because someone doesn't cry doesn't mean they feel less pain, and just because some-one does cry, that doesn't mean that they feel more hurt then someone who doesn't" replies Shinji eventually, but with conviction.

"You can't even try to understand another persons emotions until you try to understand them, they way they are" he continued, again pointedly. Remembering back to her own highly emotional views on crying, Asukas view on the conversation took a whole new personal level and thus she felt that Shinji's last comment was taken as directed at her.

"Have you tried to understand me?" she asked, her eyes narrowing, the conversation had become entirely too personal for Asuka and she was reverting back to her old cover, anger. However Shinji's next comment threw her.

"I'm trying my best, but its bloody hard when you won't let me see the real you… and keep attacking me every time I try" said Shinji quickly, his voice raised, and looking at her accusingly. Asuka was again off balance… Trying, wanting desperately to open up, emotions washed though her thoughts, uncertain, she again resorted her normal emotional response, aggression.

"Why should I open up to you! It's not like you could ever understand the loss that I have had." Asuka spat out in a raised voice. Shinji recoiled, shocked. Then however his eyes went cold, and he locked his gaze onto Asuka with a disapproving, hurt and disappointed stare. Asuka realised his new expression, finally comprehending the magnitude of her last comment, her expression became distraught, moisture apparent in her eyes as her mind worked through her last words.

"Shinji I'm …. I" she started. Just then however, behind Shinji the other girl had finally had enough, slapping her boyfriend loudly. Both Shinji and Asuka were surprised and irritated by the loud noise and turned to see what the matter was. The young lady yelled something in Portuguese then turned, running off to the entrance of the courtyard. The two other girls looked at their respective boyfriends and then followed. Shinji watched the lady run out then turned to look at the young man. Who rubbed his cheek thoughtfully, noticing Shinji's gaze he turned to face him, he saw the upset faces of Shinji and Asuka and with a thoughtful and defeated face he said to Shinji in broken English.

"I hope you have more luck with your girlfriend then I had with mine."

Shinji looked at him for a second, his own mind still awash with emotions from Asuka's last comments, he narrowed his eyes.

"She's not my girlfriend" he replied coldly in his own broken English. "She's to a self absorbed to let 'anyone' close to her" he continued bitterly, now in Japanese. It then struck him what he just said, his expression turned to one of shock and he swung back around to Asuka. To late, she was already half up out of her seat.

"Bastard!" Asuka yelled, getting up and running towards the entrance. Shinji jumped up, knocking his own chair over. "Asuka I didn't mean that! Asuka!" he called after her. But it was to late, she was already on her way back to the restaurant. Shinji moved to follow, though the young man put his hand on Shinjis shoulder, lightly restraining him.

"Let her go" The young man said knowingly. Shinji however was now too angry to be reasonable. He brushed the young mans hand off.

"If it wasn't for you that never would have happened, I was so close, so close! And now she's more pissed then ever." said Shinji desperately, again in English.

"I don't think it was any comment I made that made her feel bad" said the young man levelly. Though this only annoyed Shinji more, almost growling Shinji clenched and unclenched his fists. The young man however seemed still at ease.

"Look, I'm sorry for the bad timing, there is nothing I can do about that now. But you know that following her now will only lead to more trouble. You must let her cool off, otherwise you will both only say things you don't mean and it will only get worse."

He said this calmly and with a disarming smile, Shinji couldn't help but calm down slightly, the young man extended his hand.

"My name is Pablo, why don't you join me and my friends for a drink?" Shinji hesitated, though then his mind admits defeat on the whole Asuka issue and he extended his hand a little unsurely.

"Shinji… nice to meet you" he said in a less then convincing tone.

"Well Shinji" said Pablo "Lets go and commiserate your continued struggle with the female species" and once again Pablo places a hand on Shinji's shoulder, leading him over to his friends at the bar. Shinji, still miserable about Asuka, couldn't help but perk up a bit in this new social environment, though he was still distant, his mind not capable of letting his thoughts on Asuka go.

Meanwhile back in the restaurant Kaji and Misato were still tenderly dancing. Out of the corner of her eye Misato saw the emergence of a very upset Asuka. Asuka stopped at the edge of the dance floor, spotting Misato and Kaji.

'Is there nowhere on this bloody rock I can be alone!' Asuka thought to herself. Looking around she noticed the sign for the toilets at the other side of the bar. Crossing the edge of the dance floor Asuka deliberately avoided eye contact with her guardian and entered the restroom. Misato watched her go past.

"Oh oh" whispered Misato into Kajis ear. Kaji, lost in his own world, opened his eyes.

"What is it my dear?" he said, as smooth as ever.

"Looks like Asuka and Shinji had a bit of a fight" replied Misato. Still moving to the music.

"Ah, a lovers quarrel" said Kaji

"Don't even go there!" said Misato, in a hushed, surprised voice.

"I'm not the one that allows the two to have accommodation alone." replied Kaji slightly teasingly.

"That's for security reasons" replied Misato defensively, the two continued dancing automatically. "Anyway there's no way those two would ever get together, they're just too different. I'm worried about their cohesion as team members" she finished.

"Ahh always the commander" said Kaji, Misato gave him a frown.

"(No way), is a rather big assumption" continued Kaji smiling "but I will admit it is unlikely."

They kept dancing.

"Though they have become close, you must admit that" he said.

"All the pilots have" answered Misato, looking back over Kajis shoulder at the bathroom door.

"That's just circumstances, their bond as pilots is what brings them together. Without that, someone like Shinji and Asuka would never become close."

"Oh I don't know" mussed Kaji, he paused in thought. "Perhaps if they had grown up together, they may have ended up childhood sweethearts."

Misato pulled away slightly and gave Kaji an odd look.

"Just a thought" said Kaji sweetly. They danced on.

"Well, to keep the peace tonight, we had better go check on the two" said Misato, as the song comes to an end. They finish by applauding the band.

"I'll meet you back on the dance floor." said Kaji, giving Misato a quick kiss and a wink before leaving for the door. Misato watches him go, then made her way to the toilets.

Opening the door she saw Asuka leaning over the basin, staring at herself in the mirror, a harsh expression on her face.

"Is everything ok Asuka?" Misato asked.

"Everything's fine Misato" replied Asuka in a less then convincing tone. She was still somewhat upset.

"You can go back to dancing with Kaji" she let slip, though instantly regretted it. 'Damn this anger' she thought to herself. Misato let the comment go, fully aware of Asuka's feelings on herself and Kaji.

"Have you and Shinji had a fight" Misato enquired.

Although the two girls had remained stand offish because of the Kaji issue, when alone, Misato and Asuka had managed to become relatively close in the last year.

"Fight? Why would we have a fight!" said Asuka defensively. "That little jerk was just being a bastard, that's all" snapped Asuka.

Misato moves closer. "That doesn't sound like Shinji" she said "I'm sure there would have been some reason for his words" said Misato calmly. Asuka spun around to face Misato.

"What! So your saying it's my fault! Lovely little Shinji could never say anything cruel! It always has to be big bad Asuka who is a bitch first!" yelled Asuka, squaring up to Misato. Misato strained to maintain her composure, staring down Asuka's outburst.

"That's not what I said Asuka" she replied soothingly.

"I'm sure you both said things you regretted" she continued. "I'm not blaming you or him, I'm just trying to clear your perspective… So there was nothing you said in that argument that you regret?" Misato asked. Asuka took a step back, her eyes wavering slightly and then turning down.

"Well…" Asuka paused slightly. "Argg! Why does he have to be so damn infuriating!"

She let go of her emotions again, turning to face the mirror.

"He's a male, they just are" said Misato sympathetically "Its difficult when two people care for each other." she continue.

"What!" yelled Asuka, turning her head to give Misato an accusing look.

"Not like that!" replied Misato "But come on Asuka, two people can't work, and live close together for as long as you and Shinji have with out at least caring for each other a little bit."

Asuka continued to stare at Misato for a while.

"Well I never asked him to care for me." she said simply, almost resentfully.

"That's just the way Shinji is, and considering how many different people there are out there, he's not to bad." Misato said. Asuka gave Misato a probing look, but all she saw was a pleasant, non-hostile face. Her anger largely spent, she only had one last argument left.

"Well he's still a jerk." she said simply.

"Considering he's a 16 year old boy, I'll classify that as a compliment" said Misato happily. Generating a small smile from Asuka.

"Come on, let's go back and have a coffee." said Misato encouragingly, putting her hand on Asuka's shoulder. Asuka regained much of her composure and nodded, together the two left. They arrived back at the table and ordered two coffees, started to talk about other matters. Though, in the back of Asuka's mind she was still thinking over her conversation with Shinji.

Meanwhile back outside Kaji had found Shinji and his new bunch of commiserating friends. Going up and introducing himself the four males chatted happily for a while. Shinji still had lingering effects from the margarite and was a little under the weather. Kaji skillfully managed to excuse himself and Shinji from the group and soon Kaji and Shinji were sitting in front of two coffees, where Shinji and Asuka had been sitting earlier.

"So, anything you want to talk about" asked Kaji innocently, taking a sip of his coffee.

"About Asuka?" replied Shinji "Other then the usual crap, nothing new" he said bitterly, the alcohol was only now starting to wear off, his past feelings began to re-emerge in force.

"You care for her a lot don't you?" said Kaji evenly. Shinji looked up at Kaji. 'Again with this personal garbage' he thought to himself.

"I care for a lot of people, so what of it?" he said defensively. Taking a drink of his coffee, Shinji slightly burning his tong, he winced. Kaji grinned.

"Patience is a virtue, often it stops you getting burnt" Kaji said philosophically.

"Hmph" muttered Shinji, taking his next sip more slowly.

"You're a very brave young man Shinji, woman are difficult to understand, and Asuka is one of the most complicated of the lot" Kaji said softly

"Hmm" muttered Shinji "Then why do I feel that I'm always resented for trying, maybe I should just give up" he said. Kaji looked at Shinji for a while.

"Do you think you're helping her?" asked Kaji. Shinji looked at him for a second.

"Well I would hope so, I'm not taking all this abuse for nothing, I just wish she would open up to someone." replied Shinji, Kaji gave him a smile.

"All we can ever do is try, we must do what we feel is right" Kaji said, looking out at the ocean. Shinji however was not to impressed by such a vague response.

"You're doing well Shinji, I'm sure she appreciates your efforts deep down. I think you know that too" he gave Shinji a sympathetic look "in your heart" Kaji gave him a knowing smile.

"Ya well, I wish I could get a little encouragement from her occasionally" replied Shinji, though now he was back to his neutral self once more.

Thinking back to just after the fight with Kaworu he tried to remember his mindset back then, it was so clear, for a few days he could do no wrong, everything was obvious and he finally understood… well everyone! Or at least he had felt like he could. Since then however a small amount of his previous self doubts had re-emerged and he was not so confident any more. It's a pity he couldn't have remained like that, but given the experience he had had to go through to attain that clear state of mind, he wasn't so sure. Shinji turned his head to look back out into the ocean. Even though he had reverted slightly he still was a vastly improved person since that experience, and he was quite happy with his life at the moment, and confident that it would continue so, despite his incomprehension of a lot of circumstances.

"Come on, lets go back inside" said Kaji, finishing his coffee. Shinji snapped back to reality and finished his own coffee. The two went back inside after Shinji wished Pablo and his mates good luck with their girlfriends. Arriving back inside they found Asuka and Misato back at the table also drinking coffee. They went up to them just as a new song was starting. Kaji acknowledged Asuka and gave her a smile, which she returned. Just after Shinji sat down Misato suddenly got up, indicating to Kaji that she really wanted to dance to this song, then she said to Shinji and Asuka that they would leave afterwards, it was already getting late. The two left the pilots alone and went down to the dance floor again. Back at the table it was an uncomfortable silence between Shinji and Asuka. It lasted for about thirty seconds until Shinji let out a long breath and finally said quietly.

"I'm sorry about what I said to you Asuka, you know I didn't mean it"

"Then why did you say it" replied Asuka. Both pilots watching the dancers below.

"Well I was upset with your comment" said Shinji, still trying to remain calm. Asuka knew what he was speaking of, but her emotions had begun to stir again, and her pride was quite sick of her showing her softer side all night.

"You're the one who was a jerk, I don't know what your worried about" she said quietly, but with venom.

"What?" said Shinji shocked. That was it, he'd had enough, swarming with emotions his mind snapped.

'Bitch' he thought to himself, 'let her be.'

Without any further comment from Shinji, Asuka eventually looked over at him. He was sitting there, a furious expression on his face, staring at the lights of Rio off in the distance. She looked down at his hand on the table, it was uncharacteristically calm, clenched into a fist but calm. 'fine' she thought to herself. And so it remained, Misato and Kaji returned and the four headed back to the airbase. It was 10:30pm and the streets were relatively quiet.

Asuka was not enjoying herself, she and Shinji had not exchanged another word, though he was pleasant enough to Misato and Kaji, even thanking them for a lovely day. This only enraged her further. He was uncharacteristically quiet and would not look at Asuka, in fact any indication that he even noticed her only resulted in a somewhat scary and determined face. This was the first time that Asuka had seen Shinji like this, usually he simply apologised and took whatever demands Asuka made. She was still angry with him, though due to his current attitude very worried about him as well. This brought up a whole heap of emotions that were uncomfortable for her. She wanted to say something but her pride simply wouldn't let her. Unable to deal with these uncomfortable emotions she transferred them to what she new best, anger, but this in turn only made her want to talk to Shinji more which made her worry and so it continued. The trip home was too long, allowing both pilots to stew in their respective hostile thoughts. Asuka could not contain her anger and let slip a few catty comments which only managed to anger Shinji more, increasing his resolve. He only sat there in silence becoming more angry. This again only served to increase Asuka's annoyance until by the time they finally got back to base you could have cut the air of hostility in the back seat with a knife. Asuka jumped out first, her shopping bags in hand. She thanked Misato and Kaji for a nice day in a pleasant tone, but gave Shinji a very dirty look before quickly running off to the barracks. Shinji got out slowly and watched Asuka go, turning to Misato and Kaji he thanked them both again.

"Are you going to be alright Shinji?" asked Misato, she knew that, when angered, Asuka very easily used physical aggression towards Shinji. Shinji looked at her levelly.

"I will be fine" he said calmly. Then after wishing them goodnight he turned to walk back to his accommodation. Misato watched him go, she was worried, Shinji was acting very strange.

"Maybe we should go and check up on them" she said to Kaji when Shinji was out of earshot.

"They'll be fine" said Kaji wrapping his arms around Misato from behind. "Some things are better worked out by the participants alone"

And with that he gave Misato a kiss on the neck. Easily convinced, Misato turned and gave Kaji a kiss.

"So where are you staying tonight, 'agent'?" she asked slyly.

"Actually I was hoping to do some 'internal investigation' to determine the loyalties of a particular high ranking NERV commander" he said softly.

"Sounds like dangerous work" replied Misato.

"Some things are worth the risk" said Kaji slyly. Misato giggled, and the two of them turned in for the night.

Shinji returned to his barracks. Entering the half open door and closing it behind him he found Asuka hanging up her swimwear to dry near her bed. Throwing his own clothes in the corner he moved to go to the bathroom. He was just at the entrance when Asuka spoke.

"Wait a second, I need to go first." she said, moving up behind him. He concentrated for a second, then began to move out of the way to let her past. Not waiting for verbal approval Asuka pushed her way through, closing the curtain roughly behind her. Shinji, annoyed, only said "Hurry up!"

Then walked back to his bed. As expected Asuka took her time, as Shinji knew she would. He was listening to his walkman when she re-emerged, not even bothering to call out to him that she was finished. Eventually he got up and walked past her, neither saying a word. When he came back out, Asuka was looking at some of the clothes she had bought today. Walking past her, he went to get his towel and Pj's for a shower. Coming back he walked past her again and was about to enter the bathroom when again from behind came.

"Where do you think your going?" asked Asuka coldly

"To have a shower" replied Shinji in a similar tone.

"You know I always shower before you" said Asuka evenly. She moved to grab her own towel and Pj's.

"Not tonight Asuka, I'm tired and want to go to bed." said Shinji, standing still not facing her. She moved up beside him.

"And who are you to decide this?" she asked moving to go past him. Shinji's right arm shoot out and connected with the wall heavily, blocking her path. Not expecting this action Asuka ran into it. Shinji had still not turned to face her.

"Who the hell do you think you are!" asked Asuka, getting angry. Using her free hand she grabbed Shinji's arm and raised it violently to go through. Shinji however swung around and placing his left hand just bellow her neck, pushed her back heavily. Asuka, completely off guard, stumbled backwards and landed heavily on her bed.

"Who the hell do you think YOU are?" demanded Shinji, the anger in his voice now apparent. Bewildered for a second Asuka became furious, her now narrow eyes boring into Shinji, whose expression now reflected hers.

"What's this?" spat Asuka "Little Shinji doesn't know his place, am I going to have to kick your ass again am I?" she ranted. Over the last year Shinji had received the same self-defence training that Asuka had had in her time in Germany. Though not as practiced, he had attained a very high skill level in that time.

"No element of surprise this time Asuka!" retorted Shinji. "I wouldn't be so sure of myself" he spat back aggressively, standing as confidently as he could. A flash of red crossed Asuka's face, moving quickly she launched herself from her bed and cleared the one metre towards Shinji, positioning her shoulder to impact square on Shinji's chest.

"Arrggg!" she screamed. Shinji, caught in the doorway, couldn't evade. He rolled back to absorb the impact, throwing Asuka past him as effectively as he could. Luckily the bathroom area was large and Asuka rolled easily without hitting anything. Rolling-up her momentum carried her into the far wall and she impacted against it. Shinji was back on his feet quickly, he looked at his arms, some deep scratches were glowing red on his skin. Asuka's hair was a mess, but Shinji could see her satisfied grin, shining menacingly from behind her hair.

Completely overcome with rage Shinji snapped.

"Come on then, bitch!" he yelled, taunting her.

She moved towards him quickly, sending a side kick towards his kidneys, he deflected and took a step forward, trying to send a flat handed jab towards her stomach. She deflected with a grab of her left hand, spinning around, she sent her right elbow into the side of Shinji. He gasped, Asuka spun back around using her whole arc to try and deliver a massive blow to Shinji's middle. Recovering quickly Shinji deflected the blow, this opened her up to a short range open-handed hit into her mid section. She recoiled. Shinji made a grab for her arm, wishing to get her in a hold. She spun elegantly, ducking low to cork one of Shinji's leg with her knee. Sending out a yelp, he began to falter. Before he fell he swung her violently into the wall next to the door, Asuka let out a yelp and Shinji used the respite to roll out of the bathroom into the sleeping room. He stood up, but was unsure on his feet. He looked at the bathroom entrance panting heavily. Asuka appeared slowly, clearing her hair from her face she noticed Shinji's unsteadiness, and give Shinji a purely evil grin. She moved in for the kill, Shinji backed off sending blows at Asuka to keep her at arms length. She however was too quick, and even though Shinji managed to land a few hits and kicks to her face limbs and torso, he received more then he delivered. Knowing he was loosing he suddenly closed for a hold, taking a few hits he soon had the advantage. Asuka squirmed to get out of his grip. Used to stronger opponents, she started to break the hold. Shinji, out of desperation, threw her away from him towards the small wooden table, she impacted awkwardly and the table collapsed. She let out a loud yelp. Shinji, exhausted, got ready for the next attack. Asuka however wasn't getting up, groaning she put her hand to her head. Shinji, for the first time, noticed some blood on her arm. Completely shocked he looked down at his own hands.

"What have I done?" he asked himself. His hands started to shake slightly. He took another look at Asuka, who is sitting up awkwardly. All previous anger vanished from his system as he took in the whole scene. Running over, he bent down next to Asuka, raising her head to sweep her hair away. Asuka looked up at him with a bewildered expression.

"I'm so sorry Asuka" said Shinji, the sorrow evident in his voice. "I don't know how I let this happen." He grabbed a nearby shirt and started to wipe away some blood on Asuka's cheek, caused from a small cut.

Other then a few small cuts the only damage to the two were bruises. Asuka came back around, her eyes focusing on Shinji.

"I'm sorry Asuka" Shinji said again. Asuka looked at him for a second still bewildered, then however anger started to take over her expression again.

"Who the hell are you to feel sorry for me!" she yelled, pushing him back so that he fall onto the floor. She got up unsteadily, Shinji did the same, only slower. A look of pure hatred in her face, she moved to close the distance.

"I never asked for your damn pity!" she yelled. Coming into striking distance, her emotions overflowing, she was no longer capable of organised combat. She moved to slap Shinji, who caught her right hand as it swung towards him. She tried with the left, though Shinji caught that as well, and the two stood face to face. Asuka, enraged, stared into the sad face of Shinji.

"I don't know how to help you Asuka." said Shinji, releasing his grip. She took a step back and sent a slap towards him, he didn't evade and the vicious blow impacted loudly.

"I never asked you to care!" she yelled at him. He turned his head back to face her

"I'm sorry" he said simply, lowering his eyes. This was too much for Asuka, her rage so high her eyes begin to moisten. Grabbing Shinji by the collar she pushed him viciously up against a wall, using her whole weight to hight-en the blow. He impacted heavily, and it took him a few seconds to recover, a small amount of blood trickled out of his nose. Beside him his hands went limp, he looked square into Asuka's eyes, nothing but sadness and pity visible in his own. Asuka was shaking, her gaze locked with Shinji's, she released her right hand and raises it for another swing at him.

"Do as you will" said Shinji unwaveringly. He continued to hold her gaze, unflinching.

Asuka mind fought desperately to gain control, there is no way out!

She suddenly remembers back to her childhood, 'I will not cry, I will not cry!' her emotions were overflowing. She could not hit this boy, this boy who cared for her so much he is willing to receive physical harm not to hurt her any-more. He is not a coward, (he was staring straight at her! Unflinching!) He is not beneath her, he fought well, he doesn't think he's better then her, his eyes were reflecting nothing but sympathy. there is no way out! 'Damn you Shinji!' her mind screams. 'Why do you care!', 'Why do you care!'.

Shinji, still holding her gaze, prepared for the worst, though only calmly closes his eyes, head still not turning, when Asuka's raised hand begins to move towards him.

Expecting a blow, he awaited the inevitable. His mind however almost shuts down in shock when instead of a hit he suddenly felt Asuka's lips press against his. His eye's snapped open to see Asuka's face, eyes clenched, pressed against his. Her hands came up to shakily grab the back of his head, with a little too much force she pressed herself against him. Wrapping her free hand around his back. Shinji, bewildered, was slow to recover, not knowing how to proceed he simply began to kiss her back. This however was not easy as Asuka, still stressed, was using a lot of force. She softened however as soon as Shinji placed one arm around her and used his other hand to gently caress her face. Asuka's expression softened and her hold lightened, as if she had been waiting for an accepting sign, much to Shinji's immediate relief. Now fully engaged, they then proceeded to share the most passionate, if slightly awkward, kiss that either of the two pilots would ever experience. It continued for a couple of minutes as much of the frustration and emotions that the two had experienced was seemingly poured out in this one act. Shinji could feel Asuka's slightly swollen lip and the taste of blood was in both their mouths, though neither cared. Asuka finally broke the kiss, leaning back she looked into Shinji's eyes with a blank expression. He looked back, still slightly surprised and unsure of the situation.

"Asuka?" he said uneasily. Asuka however only took a step back, holding his hand. She then guided him to his left and rather unceremoniously pushed him onto his own bed. Shinji, still shocked, could only watch as she climbed on top of him and began to kiss him again. Completely at a loss, he simply played along. Her expression remained largely blank, though it was undeniable that she was enjoying herself when in contact with him. They kissed passionately, Asuka's hands ran up and down Shinji's body, Shinji likewise doing the same. Asuka hands were becoming 'very familiar' and Shinji's eyes sprang open in shock. His hormones finally began to kick in, and his hands returned the favour, achieving some moans from Asuka at certain times. This continued for a while and soon Asuka was removing Shinji's clothes. It didn't take long before Asuka and Shinji were reduced to panties and underpants respectively. Shinji's mind was a mess, his body was effectively on hormone autopilot and not doing too badly at all, both pilots were breathing deeply at this stage.

Though his mind was not happy at all, this whole thing was very wrong, though Asuka was obviously enjoying herself he couldn't help but notice some residual tension. Also the few times that she had pulled back and looked at him he had found himself staring into a largely blank expression, though it did not register any negative feelings at all, it also did not register any positive attributes either. This fact was the one thing that disturbed him most of all. The situation was becoming 'very' intense and Shinji's mind fought for control. Asuka was now sitting on top of him, he leaned upwards, putting himself and Asuka in a tangled seating position. He took a large gulp as he fought all kinds of sensations that were flooding his mind. Being the first time he had taken the initiative, Shinji kissed her passionately one last time. Still feeling the rather mechanical response from Asuka he pulled back from her, pausing for a second to gain his breath, Asuka moved to continue but he held her back.

"Asuka" he said "You're the most beautiful person I know, someone I respect and admire, I will gladly continue" he paused, thinking back to his last words before this new development, suddenly the words 'do as you will' had taken on a whole new meaning than what he was expecting.

"But are you sure you want to do this?" he looked into her eyes sympathetically. Asuka's eyes began to water slightly and they sparkled a little in the light of the room, otherwise however she did not really respond, silent she moved to kiss Shinji again. He again pulled away, though it was incredibly difficult to do.

"All you have to say is yes" said Shinji. He watched Asuka, a single tear rolled down her cheek.

In Asuka's mind, the game was up. Her mind had not used the last ten minutes or so to work through anything, being effectively bottled up after her decision to kiss Shinji. Her last avenue of denial was in turn denied her, all she had to do was say yes, but this required her to contemplate her response and thus the last mental support crumbled in the face of a mostly naked, caring Shinji. Her mental walls of denial collapsed. The single tear was the first indication. Finally her expression changed. Shinji had never seen such a sad face in his entire life. Suddenly all the rest of Asuka's emotions were released and she began to cry. Starting off slowly, she soon began in earnest. Shinji was shocked, once again unsure, he once more put his arms around her and gave her a hug. This only released the floodgates, Asuka grabbed Shinji, burying her head in his shoulder, and only cried more. Massive tears flowing she began to sob loudly, the convulsions were so intense that Shinji had to concentrate to maintain his grip. Asuka continued to cry, soon her whole body became limp, her energy being used in her emotional release. Though her energy was failing due to the intense emotional release her arms remained strong, clinging to Shinji. Shinji couldn't hold his position so lent back down allowing Asuka to fall on top of him, she continued to hold on dearly, burying her face in his chest. Shinji kept holding on bewildered, but somehow relieved, allowing Asuka to continue crying, while stroking her hair. Her experience being so intense that the effects could be felt through her entire body. She continued in this way for a while occasionally gulping for air between the tears, though at no stage letting go. It seemed like a long time, though in reality it only lasted about 2min, Shinji was still stroking her hair when her grip suddenly loosened. Exhausted by the effort of letting her emotions go, she had finally collapsed, and she drifted off to sleep. Shinji lay there for a while, as the reality of the situation sunk in. He was relieved, though the practical side of the evening soon began to sink in. His chest and the bed below him were drenched from her tears, and on top of him lay a practically naked Asuka, emotionally and physically exhausted, and asleep. Something had to be done. Kissing her forehead lightly he decided he had better do something, He managed to get out from under her, only mildly disturbing the sleeping girl. He found a towel and cleaned her up as best he could. He decided he had better but her Pj top on at the very least and she mumbled sleepily as he propped her up and dressed her, it was a surprisingly difficult exercise, Asuka's exhaustion only allowed her to become semi conscious during the whole experience. Shinji talked her through the process soothingly. Soon Shinji was finished. He would have left her on his bed but for the fact that it was now wet from tears and some blood. He picked Asuka up, only now did he begin to notice some of the larger bruises inflicted by this same girl earlier this evening. Clenching his teeth he managed to get her into her own bed. He straightened up gratefully and looked around the room.

"What a mess" he said softly under his breath. He felt a hand on his leg, looking down he saw the barely conscious eyes of Asuka looking up at him.

"Shinji" she said softly. He had been here before, leaning down he stroked her hair.

"I'll be back in a minute, you won't be alone" he said softly. Asuka gave him a smile and leaned back, falling asleep. Shinji got back up, he 'had' been here before, he shook his head, a smile on his face, 'twice?' he smiled lazily to himself.

Changing quickly into his own Pj's, he looked around for a way to warn himself of approaching people tomorrow. He didn't want to have to look into the disapproving face of Misato again. Eyeing the chair he moved it over to the door, placing it under the hinge on an angle. He heard Asuka stirring behind him, looking back down he was satisfied that the chair would at least afford him some warning. Turning off the lights he went back to Asuka, she quietened as soon as he approached. He tenderly moved her to one side and lay down, lifting the light sheet up. As expected Asuka snuggled up to him, laying her head on his shoulder and placing her arm across his chest. Shinji drew the blankets over the top of them both and made himself comfortable. Asuka slept quietly, and Shinji listened to her breath. He was becoming quite good at this, he thought to himself, smiling in the dark. Quite contented Shinji placed his hands behind his head, and fell asleep with a smile on his face, feelings the rhythm of Asuka's heartbeat next to his own.

The next morning found Misato relatively late to rise. Separating herself from a still sleeping Kaji she looks at the clock, nine AM. Not to bad, she had expected this, nothing was scheduled until 11am today anyway. Soon she was ready to face the day, and made her way over to the pilots barracks, on the way she ran into a guard. He reported hearing some strange noises from the barracks the night before. When asked to elaborate he simply stated that it sounded like fighting. The guard however was a NERV veteran, and didn't think that the pilots fighting was a particularly strange event. Misato nodded knowingly, and hurried over, given their state last night she was still a little worried about Shinji's health. Arriving at the door Misato calmly tried to open it. Encountering resistance she gave it a little shove. As the chair was on a smooth floor it slipped away, falling to the ground with a crash.

Shinji's eyes burst open, his mind was already firing on all cylinders. He found himself wrapped around Asuka in the spoon position, jumping up he fell backwards off the bed, crashing to the floor. Standing quickly he placed the covers back over Asuka before Misato had even entered the room fully. Looking around Shinji made a dive for the bathroom, turning on the faucet and grabbing his toothbrush. Meanwhile Misato had finally entered the room, looking around she inhaled sharply in shock. Between the destroyed table and other disarray there were obvious signs of blood on Shinji's bed. Due to the division in the room Misato couldn't see Asuka or the bathroom.

"Shinji! Asuka!" Misato called out with concern. Meanwhile Shinji was splashing water on his face in the bathroom and was trying to wash off some of the dried blood from his face. He gave up and raced out to see Misato, toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. He came out of the bathroom just as Misato dashed around the divide.

"Shinji!" Misato exclaimed, she quickly checked Asuka's bed, Asuka meanwhile was awake and was leaning up, though still half asleep.

"Shinji, Asuka, what on earth happened here last night?" asked Misato desperately. Asuka had developed a slightly swollen lip overnight while one of Shinji's eyes was slightly dark. Misato didn't know who to go to first, spotting Shinji's dried blood she moved to him first, trying to get a closer look at his face.

"Oh my God, are you two ok?"

Bewildered she looked from one to the other.

"It's O.K Misato" said Shinji, backing slightly away from Misato, as she tried to grab his face to inspect it.

"What on earth happened?" demanded Misato, stopping her advance. Asuka, now awake, sat up in her bed.

"It was only a small sparring match that got a little out of hand" said Asuka casually, giving Shinji a small smile, which Shinji returned. Misato, unconvinced, looked from one to the other.

"I was a little worried about leaving you two alone last night, but I didn't think you would try to kill each other!" she stated concerned.

"It wasn't that bad" replied Asuka "Last night we just got a little, spirited, that's all. It won't happen again, I promise"

Misato was still not convinced, looked between the two with a confused expression, both of them gave her reassuring smiles, she gave up. Dejected Misato let out a long breath then place her hands on her hips.

"I can't have two of my pilots injuring each other, is that clear!" she said in a more authoritarian voice. "If it happens again the two of you will have to come under review, do I make myself clear" Misato scolded, having again reverted to her commander voice. She looked at the two, who nodded. Completely defeated Misato lets out a discouraged groan.

"You two!" Misato said bitterly, turning on her heals she marched out the door. Just before she left however she turned to add one more comment.

"And make sure you clean this place up! I expect you both at the mess hall in half an hour!" and with that she slammed the door.

Left on their own Shinji took the toothbrush out of his mouth and smiled at Asuka. She smiled back, and they shared a little laugh. Shinji however became quickly uncomfortable as he waited for a reaction to last night's happenings. Asuka yawned and stretches innocently, getting up, she walked past Shinji into the bathroom, leaving the curtain open. Joining her at the second basin, Shinji looked at himself in the mirror, he started to wash his face properly. Asuka looked at her face in the mirror too, touching her swollen lip she winced a bit.

"You're not a bad fighter Shinji, you got in a few good ones" she said lightly. Shinji looked over, smiling, he got back to cleaning the blood from his face.

"Still not good enough, I think I ended up with more bruises then you" replied Shinji. They continue to clean themselves up, Asuka started to brush her hair.

"Shinji"

"Yes" said Shinji looking up.

"Thank you." said Asuka simply, continuing to brush her hair. Shinji paused, the only sound, coming from the running water.

"Shinji"

"Hmmm"

"How do you think of me?" asked Asuka, Shinji was sort of expecting this, but still unprepared none the less.

"I mean what type of relationship do you think we have?" Asuka asked, turning to face him. Again Shinji paused, searching for an answer in his own reflection in the mirror. Coming to a decision he straightening up and faces Asuka.

"Well…..I would like to think of us as close friends" he said.

Asuka looked at him evenly for a while, Shinji being careful to maintain a sincere face.

"After last night I think we might almost classify as intimate friends" implied Asuka, with a slight smirk, though she herself was also very uncomfortable. Shinji turned a light shade of red and broke eye contact, smiling shyly.

"Yah I suppose so" he said, his voice was kind but also a little unsure. Asuka watched his reaction, nervously.

"I think your right though, close friends would be best" she said eventually, again trying to gauge Shinji's reaction. Looking back up at her, his smile grew.

"I would really like that" he said confidently. Asuka noticeably relaxed, and was glad that that was over with. They looked at each other for a few seconds, then Asuka took a quick step forward, placing a kiss on Shinji's cheek.

"Thanks for being there for me." she said lightly, and gave him a cheeky smile. Turning on her heels, she went to the doorway.

"And for being such a good friend, I will allow you to use the bathroom first today" she said in her over emphasised gracious way. Leaving the bathroom she pulled the curtains closed behind her to leave Shinji standing there speechless. A slight smile started to appear on his puzzled face.

"But if you use all the hot water I'm going to have to kick your ass again Shinji!" yelled Asuka happily. Shinji turned to the basin. Happy with himself, he began to whistle a tune.

Half an hour later Shinji and Asuka arrived at the mess hall. Inside Misato and Kaji were already eating.

"You should have seen the room!" whispered Misato to Kaji under her breath. Their conversation was interrupted by the appearance of the pilots "And you said they would be ok" scorned Misato, taking another mouthful of her breakfast. Kaji looked up casually, watching the pilots enter.

"I don't know what the problem is my dear Major, they both appear to be smiling" said Kaji casually, but quietly.

"Well take another look, and you'll notice that it looks like they have been in a bar brawl!" hissed Misato. Kaji took another look as the two line up to be served. They did appear quite happy, though the NERV personnel around them couldn't help but stare slightly at some of the more obvious injuries.

"It would appear that their methods may be a little extreme" said Kaji returning to his breakfast, "But if all results of physical fights were as pleasant as that one appears to be" Kaji took another bit, chewing slowly. "I would intice you to fighting more often" he finished. Misato, speechless, looked from the pilots back to Kaji, a dumbfounded expression on her face. Shinji and Asuka made their way over, full trays in hand.

"You wish" slipped in Misato under her breath, before Shinji and Asuka arrived.

"I hope your quarters are back in order." Misato said loudly with a frosty edge, not looking up.

"It's all tidy" replied Asuka, sitting next to Kaji. Shinji took a spot next to Misato.

"I'm sorry Misato but we couldn't fix the table" Shinji said "We left the pieces just outside the barracks."

Kaji give the pilots a smile, looking at each for a little while.

"I see you've improved Shinji" said Kaji lightly "Asuka appears to have at least as many injuries as you"

Asuka and Shinji stopped eating, exchanged glances and looked at Kaji, Misato was doing the same.

"Yah" said Shinji suddenly smiling. "Though I think my sudden show of competition caused the… slight increase in intensity" he replied, finishing in a playful tone. Asuka took another bite then added haughtily.

"Its good to finally have a slight bit of competition"

Misato, flabbergasted by the conversation, simply observed.

"Just make sure that you take it easy on him Asuka" said Kaji. "Remember we're here to fight the enemy, neither of you is good to us without a wingman." he said smiling. Asuka, Shinji and Kaji shared a quiet laugh, Misato however was still looking on unamused, seeing the more serious side of the whole affair.

The day progressed, Shinji and Asuka were ordered to visit the base medic, and both were given some ointments for their respective superficial injuries. Misato, still unimpressed, incorporated a strenuous physical work-out into today's training, one which made both pilots quite aware of the injuries they sustained the previous evening. It was tough going and even though the two pilots were in obvious discomfort their moral was higher then ever. In fact Misato couldn't remember a time when the two had gotten along better. Surrounded by this continued high spirits, Misato couldn't help but start to forget her own dark views on their recent behaviour. The day was almost over already and both pilots were stiff and sore. Misato gave one more attempt at playing the commander, but when she was met with only good humour, she caved, sending the two off to the showers.

Shinji and Asuka showered and changed, meeting Misato back at the mess hall. Dinner was relatively good, and afterwards the entire camp was treated to a movie, shown in the mess tent. The evening became more relaxed. Misato again in good spirits, joked with the pilots before sending them to bed. The entire day had been superb. Both pilots had remained nervous about the others true feelings about their current standpoint towards each other. Though as they had both continually reinforced the line of good friends in their actions towards each other during the day, both became reassured about the others true feelings. Preparing for bed Shinji started one of his tapes, playing softly on the new table that had been arranged. Wishing each other good night the two pilots fell asleep contented, listening to Jazz playing softly in the background. Though the past evenings actions had not come up for discussion again, their actions all day had done more then words could have. Cementing their new relationship, a new friendship that had only been exposed after the torrid and extreme actions during the destruction of their old friendship the night before.

The next day was much the same, the situation had mellowed much and Misato had returned to her light hearted state. Soon the day was over again.

Authors note:

Well that was quite intense, a lot of fun to write though. To be honest such a confrontation was the only way I saw the two pilots ever getting together, other then the whole childhood friendship thing. The physiology of the whole thing could easily be questioned, but I don't think it was too far fetched. So now my views on the two relationship possibilities have been revealed. What will happen next?

In this chapter was the first mention of Mana Kirashima the character from the Evangelion game (Girlfriend of steel) or (iron maiden), if you don't know the official game check out Jazzam's Mana Kirashimas picture gallery for more info, you wont be disapointed