The evening sun had just set, and the light in Asuka's room was slowly fading. Having opened a window after Wondergirl left, the air wasn't nearly as hot and humid as it had been. Asuka had finally figured out the puzzle on her game, and had vanquished the evil boss at the end with one, elegant blow. She felt cheated though—the puzzle, though she thought it was complex and only a genius could figure it out, was actually quite simple, once she found out the pattern; she had just made it harder than it really was.

After all those hours of toiling over such a simple puzzle, Asuka was embarrassed, though there was no one to ridicule her difficulties. Shinji had left a little while after the hexe did, and Misato was still at NERV. It seemed Asuka had the house to herself for a bit, though this was more of a problem than that of freedom. She would have to cook for herself, now—or order something to be delivered. Either way, it was a bother to her; that idiot Shinji was supposed to cook for her every night.

The thought of food made her stomach send a gloomy grumble out. Asuka grumbled back at it, muttering something rude about its attitude. She turned off her television and, quite laboriously, got up from the mound of pillows she had been resting upon. She went to the kitchen, intent on finding something easy to cook. After searching the cupboards for a few minutes, Asuka found a nice cup of instant ramen. Mmm, beefy yumminess, she thought. And done in three minutes, too! She grinned, happy at her triumph over being deserted and left to fend for herself.

After filling the cup with some water, Asuka stuck the Styrofoam cup into the microwave, setting the time for three minutes. She sat at on the edge of the table, dangling her feet lightly while she waited for her food. The hum of the microwave was the only thing that disturbed the relative peace and quite of the house; this annoyed Asuka. She never liked the silence, never felt comfortable in it. She liked things to be noisy and chaotic, not quite and submissive.

The cooking time passed quickly, and the microwave gave its little beep, telling Asuka the food was ready. She took it out, peeled the lid off, and set it on the table. Sighing to herself, she went and procured a fork from the sink—one of the clean ones—and sat in a chair. She remembered that, not wanting to scald her mouth, she had to let the ramen sit for a few minutes to cool. She sighed again, a heavy thing, laden with annoyance. To pass the time, but mostly to get rid of the silence, Asuka sang a song to herself.

"Time to eat, time to eat,

Time to get my belly full.

I've waited long, waited long,

Too long for my taste.

Eat it up, eat it up.

Food, go in my tummy!

Get in there, get in there,

Before I tell your mommy."

Asuka giggled, enjoying her impromptu performance. So what if she was acting like a kid? Who was going to stop her, right? "No one's gonna stop me, that's who," she said to her cup o' noodles, right before she began devouring its contents. The ramen was cooled enough now, though it was still on the hot side of things. Once all the food was gone, Asuka threw away the cup and put her fork back into the sink. The beefy yumminess had sated her hunger, for the time being.

"Verdammen Langeweile," she grumbled as she leaned against the refrigerator. "Was zu machen?" Asuka pondered on what there was to do around this place. She had just beaten her game, so that wasn't an option, and she didn't have any other games that were interesting; she could always watch T.V., if she got desperate enough to be brainwashed by all the commercials that were played; she could catch up on some of her homework. Asuka scoffed at that idea as soon as it formed itself in her head. Oh, of course! She could take a bath. She hadn't bathed yet today, and it was pointless putting it off. In any case, it would relax her, which was key.

And so Asuka ventured into the bathroom. She closed the door, and took her clothes off. She dropped them all on the floor in an unceremonious pile, and moved to fill the bath. She turned on the hot water to full, with just a tad bit of cold to keep it from boiling. Wait a second—why do I need the door closed when no one is here? Asuka wondered. She went and opened the door, leaving it ajar.

All that was breaking the silence was the plunging of the water into the tub, and although this was relatively loud, Asuka was still uncomfortable. So she decided to sing another song to expunge the damnable silence.

"Time to bathe, time to bathe,

Time to wash my body clean.

I've waited long, waited long,

Too long for my taste.

Hurry up, hurry up,

I haven't got much time.

Get in the bath, you stupid water.

Soon you will be mine!"

Another epic opera composed by Asuka. She took a bow to her audience, which consisted of the door and her towel, and smiled. Having a day off sure did release the tension that had been building in her; it let her relax and be herself for once, though being alone helped her unwind as well.

The tub was almost full, so she turned off the faucet and tested the water. "Ha, just the right temperature for my beautiful skin to rest in!" Asuka stepped into the bath and slowly laid down her weary head. The hot water surrounded and engulfed her body, sending a chill up her spine—it felt good. She swirled around her hands a little bit, watching the water twirl about.

Looking at the door, Asuka couldn't help but feel a little disconcerted. She had never really had the chance to bathe when no one was at the apartment, and so this was the first time she had left the door open. She wasn't used to it, and thought that someone would walk in with no warning, and see her naked.

Though that wouldn't be a bad thing, in some cases. If, say, Kaji were to come over for some reason and find Asuka there, she wouldn't mind a bit. She'd probably invite him to join her, really. She blushed at what that would inevitably lead to.

Hell, Asuka wouldn't even mind it if that spineless waste-o'-flesh Shinji came in and saw her. She was trying to get closer to him anyway, so why not let him have a little taste of what she had to offer?

Thinking of Shinji led Asuka to think about Wondergirl, that damnable Schlampe. She and her blue hair just pissed Asuka off. It wasn't only that she had flirted with Shinji earlier that day, but the way she changed her personality so suddenly was ridiculous. Before that, Asuka had hated her because she was an emotionless wind-up doll that would do anything to please Gendo. Now, it seemed, she had a will of her own, and was finally expressing her feelings.

Asuka had been noticing that Wondergirl had been changing over the past few weeks, even if these shifting patterns of behavior were incredibly minute; only one who studied the pilot would notice them. Asuka had seen that the wench was falling in love with Shinji, though she couldn't express it, and was definitely confused about her feelings. This was just not acceptable. If the First Child were to start dating Shinji, then that would mean she was better than Asuka—it would mean that Asuka was inferior to a doll. And so Shinji was to be hers. If she was able to get Shinji's love and attention, then she would forever prove she was better than Wondergirl and her stupid blue hair.

Confidant in her abilities to seduce an idiot like the Third Child, Asuka resumed her bath in joy. After washing herself and playing around a bit more, she got out and dried off. She decided to drain the tub—the others wouldn't be here in time to still bathe in the water while it was still warm. Asuka started for her clothes, but had a thought midway. If no one's here, what's the use of putting clothes on? She grabbed the pile and began for her room.

It was weird, walking around naked, just like it had been weird bathing with the bathroom door open. A part of Asuka was nervous that someone would walk out and see her, but another part would enjoy having someone see her body. She certainly wasn't ugly in any sense, and even though she was still growing, her figure was damn impressive for someone her age. Hell, it was impressive for girls older than her, too. She cupped her breasts, feeling and examining them in happiness. Asuka smiled in appreciation of her body—she was better than other girls.

After a minute or two of doing some nude poses in the hallway, Asuka finally got to her room. She tossed her clothes in the corner, where they joined a heap of other dirty garments. The sun had set by now, leaving the room dark. Not bothering to flick on a light or close the door, Asuka laid down upon her back on the bed, hands resting on her stomach. A thin layer of sweat and water not picked up by her towel covered her body Had the sun been in the sky, or had a light been on, her body would have seemed to be made of sparkling diamonds. The reflective light would have played in the viewers eyes, enchanting him to believe that this was indeed heaven.

But sadly, no such person was there to take in Asuka's naked body. She sighed—why couldn't Kaji or Shinji be here? Kaji would make some innuendo about the whole thing, and lay down with her. Shinji, however, would probably freak out and shut his eyes as tight as they would go. But to tell the truth, Asuka would have enjoyed Shinji being there more than Kaji. After all, it was über fun playing around with Shinji's mind when he was nervous.

The silence closed in about the naked girl in her room, but she didn't care this time. She was thinking about how she would get Shinji to love her, and how great that victory would be. As she schemed, her eyelids grew heavy, and soon she was fast asleep. When Shinji finally returned home, he found Asuka lying there, still naked, and still proud of it. He blushed and turned to escape; but once he realized she was indeed asleep, he stayed around for a bit, gazing at Asuka through the veil that the Lady Darkness had placed down upon the world. Shinji wasn't aroused though, not in the slightest; he studied Asuka to see the pure, unrelenting beauty of the female shape, not to get off on it. Most guys don't think that way, he said to himself. Poor bastards.

Shinji went to his room feeling content with his life, and was soon asleep.