Shinji walked into his apartment with his shoulders slumped. He felt horrible. He threw his keys on the kitchen table, right in front of Misato, who was drinking a beer (as usual). Seeing his sadness, she kept quiet.
He opened the door to his room, looking forward to good long afternoon of brooding. But his plans were interrupted by the sight of Asuka lounging on his bed.
"So the victorious hero returns from his conquests! How was the fighting, Baka?"
Shinji looked back at her with bored confusion. "What are you talking about, Asuka?"
She grinned devilishly. "I heard about your little date with Rei. Misato let it slip when I got home, and I just couldn't help but get the details firsthand." Seeing his gloom for the first time, she added "You said yes, right?"
Shinji sighed. "I'm not in the mood to talk to you right now."
Asuka stood up with a snort of derision. "I'll bet you didn't. She asked you out on a date, and you said no. You're pathetic, Baka." She laughed outright. "I don't think I'll ever understand you."
Shinji fell face down onto his bed and sighed again. "Asuka, just go away. I need some time alone."
She walked out the door, looking back as she went. "I'm gonna take a shower. Feel free to join me, Casanova." She laughed again.
Misato knocked on Shinji's open door. "Shinji?"
He moaned.
Misato folded her arms and sat down on the corner of his bed. "Shinji, what happened?"
Shinji turned his head and looked at her with sorrow. "What do you think?" He paused. "I can't believe you told Rei. I mean, I can understand that you figured it out for yourself, but why tell her?"
Misato frowned. "Well it couldn't have hurt. If you keep bottling up your feelings, you'll never get anything done. It's not like she would just laugh in your face."
Shinji put his head down again and talked into his pillow. "She might as well have. I don't think she even understands the concept, let alone feel anything for me."
Misato stood up and put her hands on her hips. "That's a horrible thing to say! And anyway, you can't just mope around all day. We've got NERV business to take care of. I can assure you, it'll take your mind off of Rei."
Shinji rolled over and sat up. "What could we possibly be doing?"
Misato smiled. "I'm not going to ruin the surprise! Get freshened up, and then we'll leave."
Shinji stood up and walked to the doorway, now curious. But his curiosity returned to sadness when Asuka walked by his room. She was wearing only a towel.
She turned to him and put her hand to her head, as if fainting. "Oh, Shinji! I just can't stop thinking about you!" She held out her arms. "Take me, you big man!"
Shinji shut the door to her loud guffaws.
After being silent for most of a hair-raising drive through Tokyo-3, Shinji finally spoke up when they pulled up to the bullet train station.
"The train station? What are we doing here, Misato?"
She chuckled to herself, which she had been doing sporadically ever since they left the apartment.
Asuka huffed in indignation and glared at Misato. "I can't believe this! You got me all dressed up, and we're just meeting someone at the train station? Such a waste of my effort."
The car stopped, and Misato got out. She stuck her head back in and looked into the back seat. Seeing Shinji slumped against the window and Asuka fuming, she shook her head. "Come on, you two. This'll be fun."
They gave in. Asuka practically broke her door off its hinges. Shinji just weakly nudged his closed. Misato turned and walked briskly towards the main terminal. "We have to hurry, the train's almost here!"