Shinji and Asuka were neck and neck. Even though they had spent the day running and swimming, they still managed to summon the energy they needed to make it home. This was it. Whoever made it home first got the last slice of pie. Asuka pictured it sitting in the fridge. How could Shinji get it and not her? She deserved it much more than he did.

Think about the dilicious pastry madeAsuka begin to fall behind. Or Shinji began to speed up, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that she needed to beat him. I wish I had taken that drink, she thought. I could really use a sugar boost. She wiped a bead of sweat out of her eye and tried to give her all.

Asuka had to come up with a plan. Now was the time to fight dirty. This was her one and only chance to get the pie that she rightfully diserved. If she didn't get it now she would be forced to wait months until Rei baked up another. She couldn't bare waiting that long.

There was no one in sight. No one to see how low she would have to go for a peice of pie.

She could trip him, but he was a few steps ahead of her so it would be too difficult to attempt. If she were to kick his legs out from under him he might collapse on her. And that would slow them both down.

She could punch him in the face. Would it work? She couldn't be sure. One punch might not do it and after the first swing he would keep an eye on her. Or worse; Maybe he would try something? No, he was too weak. Too goody-goody. If she were to fall down right now he would stop to-

Asuka smiled. Now she had a plan that was sure to work

Shinji made sure to keep ahead of the red head. All he had to do was get home first, then he could lock the door. And never open it again; he knew she would be so angry that she could kill him. But the pie was totally worth the risk of death.

He noticed her watching him. She was planning something, Shinji knew it. But all he had to do was keep his distance. She wouldn't try something too serious...would she? He coudln't be sure. Asuka might do anything to get what she wanted. And she really wanted that pie.

Then she wasn't beside him. She began to slow, until he could no longer see her out of the corner of his eye. Shinji smiled. She was losing it. The Unit 01 pilot felt a burst of confidence and picked up his pace.

Until he heard a crash. The sound of something soft hitting the ground and a cry of pain. It nauseated him just to hear it. When he looked over his sholder the sight he saw made him slow to a mere walking pace.

"Ow!" Yelled Asuka. "Ah, Gott! My leg!"

Shinji slowed down until he had stopped completely, keeping his eyes on the injured pilot. But he was still wary of her. Could this be a trick? It was pretty predictable of him to stop and help. But would she take advantage?

She whiped at her eyes. That reasured Shinji. If she was crying she must really be in pain. And it also worried him. She was hurt. And he was just standing there gawking at her.

What could she possibly do to him from her current position? Grab his legs and hold him? Slow him down while he carried her? It would only postpone her too. He decided to at least make sure she was okay. He ventured closer.

"Asuka?" said the worried boy. He was now olny about four feet from her.

She looked up, surprised. "What are you still here for?" Asuka asked angrily. "Shouldn't you be running home or are you gonna' rub it in my face?" She made an atempt to get to her feet but cried out in pain and fell back to the ground.

Shinji had to help her. She looked so small and fragile. He closed the gap between them. "No, I was...I'm going to help you," Shinji said nervously. When he looked at her legs, he almost gagged. They were bent at unatural angles. Still, he took her upper arm and brought her up to her feet.

"Really?" asked the hurt girl. She looked relieved and happy that he had not left her.

"Yeah," he answered. "I guess I can trust that you're not going to try anything, huh?" he said as he pulled her arm over his shoulder. As he began to lift her he noticed she was hiding her right hand behind her. "What are you...?"

"You really trust me?" Asuka asked quietly. She looked at him, drawing his eyes away from her hidden hand.

"Umm..." Was the only responce she got. Asuka smiled and brought herself to her feet by her own strength. Shinji began to see that something was wrong and when he tried to pull away, Asuka held him there with an arm around his neck."Well..." she said melevolently. "You SHOULDN'T!" The girl quickly brought her hand around and unleashed a handfull of sand into Shinji's face. Then, planting her right foot on top of his left, gave him a mighty shove. Shinji lost his balance, and gave a yelp of surprise and pain as he fell to his bottom.

"GHAA!" the brown haird boy cried out in pain. He was furiously digging at his face trying to remove some of the sand. But that proved hard, as his face was sticky with sweat. Tears of pain came as his body attempted to wash out the intrusion. And whenever he tried to open his eyes,he reflexively shut them again when he felt the pain.

Meanwhile, Asuka was standing within feet of Shinji enjoying every minute of his squirming. She gave a cold laugh. "Shinji, you are so week. Never trust a Germen." She put ona fakegerman accent. "Ve Vill go to such lengths to get vat ve vant."

Shinji could hear the smirk on Asuka's face as she taunted him. "Asuka, you. ..you.. .NAZI!" It was the best he could come up with, considering the fact that he was at her mercy, blind and asvulnerable as a babyon the sidewalk.

The red head laughed again. "Is that the best you can do Third Child? Try to hurt me with words?" Shinji quickly lunged out at her voice but only succeded in grabing air. Asuka barely missed as she jumped to the side. "What's the matter Shinji?" she said in a taunting voice. "Can't get me?" Shinji made another blind lunge at her voice. She succeded in dodging again but Shinji picked up the sound of her foot hitting the ground. He grabbed to his left- and snagged an ankle. The blind boy quickly pulled with all his strength, bring Asuka off balance.

"Oh!" Asuka cried as she hit the ground. Shinji's boldness had taken her totally by surprise. When he lunged at her, she kicked his face, iliciting a cry of pain from him. Then she backed up onhands and knees until she wasa safe distanceaway. When she was out of the blinded child's reach, she got to her feet and angrily approched him.

"Nazi? NAZI?I'LL SHOW YOU NAZI!" she yelled furiously. She raised her foot to kick him in the head again. Shinji sensed a blow coming and attempted to block it, blindly covering his head with his hands. But the kick never came.

Just as Asuka was about to give Shinji a concussion with her foot, a car rounded the corner of the block they were on. If anyone saw her at this she wouldn't be able to live with herself. What if this incident made it back you school?What would people think? She had to get away before someone saw her attackingthe seemingly innocent boy.

The german girl spun around and began running. When she looked over her shoulder she called, "See you at home Shinji!" Once she turned a corner and he was out of her sight, she focused once again on running home to pie.

"See you at home Shinji!" was the last the Third Child heard of his attacker as she ran away. Shini felt terrible; it was hopless now that he was blind, had a headache from being kicked in the face, and Asuka waslong gone. He could never make it homenow. He would need a miracle. And that's what seemed to have come.

"Wow!" said a nearby voice. "She really nailed you, huh Shinji?" Behneath the voice Shinji could hear the sound of an idle car engine. Then he recognised the voice as someone from Nerv.

"Hyouga?" he said, trying to crack open his eyes. He could barely make out Houga sitting in the driver's seat of an old car. He was looking worriedly at Shinji from across the passenger seat and out the window.

"Yeah. Hey like my new car?" He patted the dashboard of his car. "It's a 1970 Nova. I found it at a junk yard. Though the wheel is on the wrong side and she's old, I got her for a bargain. And I bet Katsuragi will like it too-"

"Never mind!" Shinji yelled. He clambered to his feet and made his way to the passenger side window. "I need a ride."

"Sure thing. Hop in," said the Nerv technition as he reached over and opened the passenger side door. "Where to?"

"Do you know where I live?" Shinji asked. His eyes were getting better as most of the sand was already washed out. Shinji slammed the door but it would notclose. "What's wrong with this thing!"

"Yeah, I know where it is. Here, like this." Hyouga reached over Shinji, picked up the door by its handle, and pulled it shut. "You might wanna' buckle your seatbelt," he said witha grin.

Asuka was making great time. Home was onlya fewmore blocks away. The tap, tap, tap of her steps was like the beat of a song of victory, a theme music to her success. She could already taste the pie. Apple pie was her favorite. If Shinji could bake that good, she would fall in love with him.

tap, tap, tap.

The thought made her feel bad for what she had done. She had practicaly crippled Shinji, and for what? Pie? The thought of doing such a thing to someone so close to her made her sick. But would he not do the same thing -or worse- just to stop her? Probably not. Shinji was too good. And that was his downfall. If he had just kept on running he wouldn't be in that mess. But she wouldn't be on her way home ahead of him either.

tap, tap, tap.

Asuka heard the deep rumble of a combustion enginefrom not far behind her. Probably boys, she thought Always flirting with such a succesful girl. She smiled. But the smile was snatched off of her face as she saw none other than Shinji Ikari in the passenger seat with a smirk on his face. Asuka almost tripped on her own feet.

"See you at home Asuka!" he mocked. Shinji turned to te Hyouga in the driver seat and motioned for him to drive on. But he seemed to argue with him.

"Hyouga! Pull over!" the red head called as she neared the street edge, still running but not as fast. The car began to slow until Asuka saw Shinji point to he bruise on his face where she had kicked him and say something to the cars driver. Hyouga looked shocked. He scoled at Asuka with contempt, and then floored it. The rumble of the engine almost dround out SHinji's voice as he yelled, "Nazi!"

"Wait! Come back!" an exausted Asuka called out. But she knewit was no use; they weren't stopping for her. She slowed down until she was no longer moving. Her lungs her exploding and then imploding, trying to draw in air. And her heart beat was pounding in her ears.

She couldn't believe it. "Oh no," she said in despair. Shinji won. The cicaidas in the distance sounded like they were mocking her. Loooooooosssssseerrrrrrrr! Loooooooosssssseerrrrrrrr! She could of cried right then. But she wouldn't give in. She could still make it if she ran through the alleys. "I'll show you! Stupid bugs!" the Unit 02 pilot screamed into the distance. She looked down the alley on her right. She could make it. The rumble of Hyouga's car hadn't totally faded yet. She still had a chance.

As she took off down the alley, her victory song began to play once again. Tap, tap, tap.

"Thanks Hyouga!" Shinji said as he slammed the door of the car. This time he remembered to lift the door as he closed it. When he heard the click of the lock, he ran towards his apartment.

The wait for the elevator was excruciatingly long. He looked around and was shocked to see a girl with a mane of red hair emerge from the alley way across the street. It could only be Asuka. When she saw him she made a mad dash towards him.

Shinji franticaly pushed the button again and again. "C'mon! Open up!" he said aloud. He could hear the whirring of the engine, but didn't know if it would reach him in time. He spun around and put his back against the closed elevator doors and closed his eyes,waiting to be throttled by his fellow pilot.

As she reached the curb just ten feet away from him, the elevator doors opened and Shinji fell in. Though it hurt his rear end, pain never felt so good. The doors closed just as Asuka reached them.

Shinji let out a breath. She hadn't stopped them from closing. The elevator was moving up and she culdn't stop it. When Shinji got to his feet, he relized that the elevator wasn't the best choice. Sure, it gave him time to breath, But it was painfully slow. If Asuka was worn out enough from her treck home, Shinji might beat her.

He tapped his foot as he waited. The ride was taking forever! The brown haired boy could just imagine Asuka beating him home by way of stairs. Then locking him out as she ate the pie, chewing and moaning loud enough to drive him crazy as he begged for a bit of the crust. And he would beg too. The crust wasn't the best part but it was something-

Shinji shook his head. He had to sop thinking so negatively. He could do this. Hecouldmake it. It would be months before Rei made anymore. Shinji's mouth watered in anticipation.

When the door opened he jumped out- and bumped right into Asuka as she exited the stairs out of breath. They met eachother's eye, but only for a heartbeat (a very short heart beat) and ran full speed towards the door to their home. When they reached it, Shinji opened the door and attempted to shove Asuka off balance. But to no avail. She grabbed his face and pushed him aside.

Unfortunately, they both tried to enter at the same time and became edged in at the shoulders. Their grunts of anger the only cumunication passed between them until Asuka said, "Just give it up, Third Child."

"Not a chance!" he answered in an angry voice. With one final shove from Asuka, they were free of the bind. Shinji made a sprint toward the kitchen but Asuka lost her balance at the door. Shinji learned a new german swear word from her just then but he didn't stop to memorize it. He was so close.

Once he got to the fridge he almost ripped the door off it's hindges, but not before catching a bit of the note Misato left on it. Something about going out with Kaji. When the little light inside came on it made Shinji think of the light of heaven. Heaven in the form of pie.

The boy reached in- but the pie wasn't there. He quickly looked over all the shelves, behind everything, but it wasn't there. "What-?" Shinji was cut off as an arm wrapped around his neck and pulled him away. Asuka had finally caught up and was hell bent on getting into the fridge first. After she throug him away she went through the same process he had.

"Where is it?" she yelled. Without waiting for Shinji's reply, the red head began pulling everything off of the shelves. Leftovers, vegitables, and plastice wrapped meat went to the floor. Every other peice of tuberware was ripped open. If pie wasn't in it she through it to floor and grabed for another. When the refridgerator was empty and the floor was littered with food she turned to the cowering boy on the floor.

"You pig!" The girl grabbed Shinji by the collar and brought him to his feet with suprising strength. "You ate my pie in one bite, didn't you? DIDN'T YOU?" Shinji didn't have time to answer, as Asuka put him in a head lock that restricted his breathing and allowed him only to make a choking noise. "Was it good, Shinj? WAS IT?" she screamed furiously in his ear.

Shinji still couldn't answer her. All he could do was struggle feably against the german girl's strength.

"I wish you choked on it! You little-"

"Mmmmmm..."

Asuka stopped when she heard another voice. This one came from somewhere in the apartment. She swiveled around, Shinji still under her arm, and looked toward the living room door. The was another moan of pleasure, followed buy a girls giggle. This time Shinji heard it too, and focused intently on the place that it came from. When Asuka released Shinji, he didn't attempt escape. hIs brain was piecing the evidence of no pie being where they left it and a moan of ecstacy together until he knew what had happened; someone else had their pie! A moan of such pleasure could olny come from it.

Shinji and Asuka looked at each other, and by the look in her eyes he saw that she came to the same conclusion. Shinji nodded, and the two of them headed towards the next room.

They walked abreast into the living room to see Rei and , to Shinji and Asuka's surprise, Kaworu Nagisa kneeling at the coffee table. Rei had her hands on each side of her face and her elboes planted on the table, holding her head up. She was watching Kaworu intently, with a satisfied look on her face and a little redness on her cheeks. Shinji had never seen her look so pleased.

The two crimson eyed Evapilots hadn't noticed the new arivals. Shinji and Asuka couldn't move. Kaworu was eating their pie. Right in front of them. The pie that they had worked so hard for. The pie that they had gone through so much for.

Kaworu put another fork-full of pie in his mouth and let out another moan of ecstacy. "Mmmmmm." The grey haired boy's eyes were closed, his mouth slightly parted, as he let the piece of spiced apple cover his tongue. "Oh Rei," he said. "Oh! How do you do it?" Rei shrugged pleasantly.

While Kaworu was in ecstacy, Shinji and Asuka were in agony. Every bite taken of their pie by someone else was absolute torture. It felt as though somebody was sitting on his chest. He wanted to do something, screem at the top of his lungs. But all he got out was a strangled weeze.

When the twopale skinned teens heard the sound of air escaping from Shinji's lungs, they turned to look. They didn't seem surprised to see them. Only Rei had a look on her face tha ttold Shinji that he had missed something extremly important to her.

When Kaworu had swallowed the bit of heaven in his mouth, he said, "Oh, hello Shinji." He turned to Asuka. "Sohryu." He did as good a bow as he could from his kneeling position and said, "Are you two alright? You seem ill."

Asuka was the first to regain her voice. And she let it out as loud as she could without breaking it. "What the hell do you think you're doing!"

Kaworu put another piece into his mouth. Savoured the taste of Rei's pie.After he hadswallowed he said, "There is no reason to yell. I'm sure you can speak clearly without hurting my an Ayanami's ears."

Rei joined in. "Yes. It was quite peaceful before you arrived. I was just serving the last slice of my pie to Nagisa-san."

Asuka was shaking with rage next to Shinji. She said, "How could you give my pie to him? I worked my butt off with this idiot all day-" she jabbed a thumb inShinji's direction"-for what is rightfully mine, and you give my pie to this...this...HOMO?" She gestured towards him with a stiff finger.

Kaworu paused with the last bite of pie almost to his mouth. "There is no need to call names." He looked a little offended. Then she changed the finger with which she was pointing with. "Or make offensive gestures with your hands," he said, looking up her arm into her eyes.

It was Shinji's turn to speak. "How could you do it, Ayanami? We asked for it first. So why-?"

Rei interrupted him. "That is incorrect."

"Ayanami is right," said Kaworu. "I simply confronted her with an inquirey as to my acquiring the last of her baked pastry-"

"Stop talking like that!" Asuka screamed. She turned backto Rei. "All we had to do is ask?" she said. "All we had to do is ask?"

Rei took a moment, staring at Asuka, before she finally answered, "Yes. As I recall, you did not ask for it. You demanded it. Nagisa-san was the first to ask."

Now that Shinji thought about it, they really hadn't asked for the last slice of Rei's apple pie. Give it to me! No me! they had said. She was right. But that didn't make it any better. Shinji clenched his fists and ground his teeth. Hehad never felt so angry in his life. Not even towards his father. He had to let it out butcouldn't attack Rei; it was just the way she was, doing as asked. There was only one other person...

Asuka let out a low growl from deep growl from the bottom of her throat. She bared her teeth and scrunched up her nose. Kaworu misstookthe growlfor a cough and said, "God bless you-" but was cut off.

"I'M GONNA' KILL YOU!" she roared, and dove for him. Kaworuwas quick to react. Hejumped to his feet and backed up before she could grab him. Shinji rounded the other side of the table and went for the frightened boy's neck. Kaworu took another step back but not fast enough. Shinji grasped the left part of his collar and pinned him to the wall. Asuka rushed up and grabbed the right side of his collarand twisted. Rei hadn't moved an inch, not wanting to get involved in the mess.

The trapped boy let out a nervous laugh and said, "Umm...W-what?"

"We're still hungry!" the two said in unison. They were looking at him with rabid eyes, like wolves who've cornered a small rabbit.

"Hey now," Kaworu said shakily. "Let's not do anything, umm...too, umm..." Kaworu quicklypointed toward nowhere and said, "Look! pie!"

That was enough to distract the hungry teens for only a second. Theyturned their heads around to look in the direction in which the boy was pointing. But, of course, there was no pie. Seeing this, they were even more enraged and turned back to see, not a pinned and frightened Kaworu against the wall, but an empty shirt.

Behind them, Kaworu ragained his full height and turned to Rei. "Thank you for the pie Ayanami." She nodded. Then he picked up the crust that was left of the pie, threw it in his mouth, and ran for the door. Asuka and Shinji were right behind him, with looks of insane rage on their faces.

Rei smiled. To think that her pie had had such an effect on them made her blush with pride. Someone could lose their lif or be seriously injured and for what? Her special pie. Her smile grew brighter.

She got to her feet and straightned out the smll table that had ben kicked aside be Shinji. Then she picked up the plate that Kaworu had practically cleaned while eating her pie off of it, and took it to the kitchen. After placing it in the sink she proceeded to replace all of the scattered food items on the floor into the refrigerator. She made sure toput everything back in the place she had seen it when she had taken out the pie for Kaworu. Then she scrubbed the floor of spilled goods and after disposing of the used paper towels, gazed over the sparkly clean kitchen. She felt good.

She noticed a slight draft andrealized the front door still open. She went to close it and heard the shouts of Asuka andShinji, and the frightened yelps of Kaworu. Mixed into the yelling she could make out some of the words. "Kill" and "hungry". When she heard the words "pie" in the distance, she smiled again. How could a food have such an effect on people? She couldn't figure it out.

Before she closed the door that would silence the screaming and yelling from the street, that would bring comfortablesilence to the dwelling, she said wonderingly to herself, "It's only pie."

She closed the door

The End.

So that's it. In the end it was Kaworu who got the pie. I hope I didn't disappoint anyone out there and I apologize for any misspellings or incorrect information. I hope you enjoyed it. Go easy one me though; this is my first. Again, O hop you enjoyed it,

-analogwarrior