Alright! Document manager is up and running again! Anyways, here we go with chapter 5. Took me a while to decide what to do here, and to figure out how to word it, so I really hope everyone enjoys.
Shinji lay awake in Asuka's room, staring at the midnight blue shadows that were painted across the ceiling and walls. He could hear Asuka's soft breaths as she slept, surprisingly uninhibited by the nightmare she'd just had. The nightmare…Shinji felt great concern over it. He couldn't place his finger on it, but something wasn't right and deep down he knew it had something to do with that nightmare.
Just a bad dream? Could it have been just that? Maybe I'm imagining this feeling.
Shinji nodded, it had to be his imagination. There were no other people or creatures around to threaten them. Anything that might have been a danger was essentially gone. But if it was just a dream, then why can't I get rid of this feeling…
Shinji looked over to Asuka as she slept. Something was definitely wrong; he could feel it. The dream terrified her so much that she woke screaming. Asuka wasn't the type to let something like that happen unless there was something distinctly wrong about it, and whatever that something was, that was exactly what he was feeling.
"Asuka…what could have scared you so much?"
Shinji remembered that she said she'd tell him about the dream in the morning, but he figured otherwise. A dream like that would be something she'd either be to embarrassed to tell to him or it would be something she'd be afraid to tell him. Either way, he knew he'd have to find a way for her to tell him what it was. This feeling he had about the dream was too uncomfortable to ignore, to unsettling. It was something…
"There's a darkness around her heart…""Where am I?"
"There's a darkness around her heart…""A darkness?"
"Yes, around Asuka's heart…""Who are you?"
"A friend…""A friend? But, there's no one left. Am I dreaming?"
"Some might call it a dream, Shinji…""How do you know my name?"
"I'm your friend…""But that's impossible. There's no one left except for Shigeru, Asuka, and myself."
"Do you want to see?"
"You sound familiar…"
"I'm glad to hear that…"
"Your voice, and the way you speak…"
"That's right, Shinji…"Shinji turned to finally face the familiar voice that came from behind him. He remembered the voice well, and knew he would be hard pressed to believe what he was about to see in the blackness that surrounded him.
"Kaoru…"
"Hello, Shinji. I've missed you…" Kaoru said with a warm smile.
"How are you here? You're dead."
"Death is simply a transition, a movement from one form of existence to the next. When one truly thinks, death is a fallacy in itself, do you agree?"
"What did you mean…"
"Hmm?""The darkness around Asuka's heart…what did you mean?"
"Of course, I had nearly forgotten. It seems that I am more pleased to speak with you again than I realized."
"Kaoru…what did you mean?"
"I meant precisely what I said, a darkness is enveloping Asuka's heart."
"But what does that mean?"
Kaoru's smile faded and he looked deep into Shinji's eyes. "How strange…I've never felt anything like this before…I believe I may be jealous of Asuka."
"Kaoru…"
"There is a darkness surrounding her heart, a darkness that lives within Asuka's very soul, a darkness that is not her own."
"A darkness not her own?"
"She will not tell you of her dream, and you must not ask her."
"What does the dream have to do with this? What happened in her dream?"
"I'm sorry, Shinji, I cannot tell you that."
"Why?"
"It is something you must discover for yourself, and something that Asuka must overcome on her own. If the two of you can accomplish this, then the human race just may be able to survive."
"The human race?"
"Yes, the human race."
"Kaoru…why are you helping me? Why are you trying to help the human race?"
"I do not care for the humans, only for you."
"Only for me…that is why you say you're jealous…"
"My words to you were not a lie, Shinji."
"The bath hall back at NERV…'I'm trying to say…'"
"'…that I love you.'"
"Kaoru…"
"Shinji, only you can choose whether or not to heed the words I have spoken. There is a danger surrounding not only what remains of your race, but the world itself."
Shinji looked into Kaoru's eyes one last time as he smiled and turned away. It was very confusing for him…Kaoru was a friend in Shinji's eyes, but at the same time he was also an Angel. Can I trust him?
"Shinji," Kaoru said.
"Oh, yes?"
"I look forward to the next time we speak," he replied with a smile.
When Shinji's eyes fluttered open it was dawn, and the sun had just barely began to peak over the hills. Shinji looked off into the sunrise, and glanced at Asuka as she continued to sleep. A darkness around her heart… Shinji felt insecurity about Kaoru's words, but his gut told him to trust what the Angel told him. Asuka's dream…somehow Kaoru knew about it, and if Shinji wanted to discover the truth he knew he would have to do as Kaoru said.