Driving on the road, Misato's eyes scanned along the streets. Headlights passed by her window every few seconds. She couldn't imagine where Asuka had gone, or why. She also knew the chances of finding her were very unlikely. Asuka was a smart girl, and if she didn't want to be found, she'd make sure she wasn't. Whatever had possessed her to go out like this in the first place was beyond Misato. But she felt anger towards the girl for being so irresponsible.
Breaking at a red light, Misato pounded her fist against the dashboard. "Damnit, Asuka!" She was afraid for her, the longer she remained at large. Asuka was mature for her age, but she certainly wasn't invincible. Anything could happen to her. She could end up mugged like Shinji had been. Beaten, raped, stabbed. Endless possibilities. Although Misato tried to tell herself that she was most certainly alright, she couldn't help but fear these things.
The light changed to green and Misato floored the gas pedal.
Asuka was nowhere near Misato. She was alone on a playground, swinging back and forth on a swing where she was seated. Had Misato driven right by the place, Asuka probably would've gone unnoticed. The place was shadowy, dark and isolated. Only the streetlights at her back outlined her dark form.
Asuka dragged her feet into the ground. What a stupid boy... Everyone's just so stupid... I don't love Shinji, I don't. It's a lot of bull.
Some unseen force had pulled Rei from her bed so late at night. She felt as if she'd been jarred awake by invisible hands and that they were leading her now. Clad in a simple summer dress she'd managed to put on in her hurry, the cool night air sent goosebumps all along her skin. Her bare feet walked silently on the cold earth. Where she was going... she didn't know. Why? She didn't know.
The answer was only clear to her when she found herself standing a few paces away from the playground. It wasn't too far from her apartment and she'd walked by it many times before during the day. At night it had a more sinister look to it. Rei's eyes fell to the swing set where a lone figure was swinging back and forth, the chains creaking.
Stepping closer, Rei squinted before she became aware of who it was. With a slight gasp she walked up to the swing. "Pilot Soryu?" she asked, faintly surprised. Asuka's heels dug into the ground to stop herself. Her head was bent low, bangs shadowing her eyes. Rei stood behind her, stiffly. She'd been led to her? To pilot Soryu. Was she in some kind of trouble?
Asuka didn't say anything, nor did she move. "Did something happen?" Rei asked. She waited a few minutes before a response came.
"Why?" Asuka asked, her voice thick. She leaned down further, her shoulders trembling.
"What?" Rei asked.
"Heheh... why is it you?" Asuka asked. She raised her head, looking forward. "Why did you come, of all people."
"I felt I had to come..." Rei said quietly. She could think of no other explanation.
Asuka began to chuckle to herself, an uneasy chuckle without any humour to it. "Heehee... As if you should feel obliged to do anything for me."
"Come with me, Pilot Soryu." She took a step closer to Asuka. "I'll call Misato-san and she'll-"
Asuka suddenly grasped Rei's wrist tightly. "Don't... call her..." Asuka said between gritted teeth. "If you don't call her, I'll come with you."
"...Alright."
Asuka got up from the swing, causing it to sway a little as she did. Then she turned and faced Rei. Rei turned from her and began walking in the direction of her apartment. Asuka followed in silence.
Misato had no choice but to come home after a few hours. She arrived at the apartment, feeling like a failure. Shinji was still awake when she flicked on the light in the kitchen and he ran from his room towards her. "Did you find her?" he asked. But as he skidded to a stop, it was clear she hadn't.
Misato poured herself a glass of water and downed it in less than two seconds. "As if I could ever take care of anyone..." she sighed, miserably.
"I'm sure she's fine" Shinji said, approaching the woman uneasily. He couldn't be sure about that, though.
"Maybe... but at the same time, she could be hurt. She could be scared." Misato took a seat at the kitchen table. "Shinji... you ought to sleep."
Shinji shook his head. "I can't sleep until I know Asuka's safe!"
Misato strummed her fingers against the tabletop while her other hand ran through her hair. "Maybe I should call the police... or something..."
In his own darkened one-room apartment, Kaworu stood in silence by the window, a hand resting against the pane of glass as he peered out. "Does it start and end here...?"
"What am I even doing here..." Asuka sighed to herself, sitting on the very same couch she'd been on the previous day. As if coming here once for help wasn't embarrassing enough. Now I'm here again. At least no one knows. Her blue eyes gazed warily at the shadowed apartment surroundings.
Rei materialized from the shadows and took a step towards Asuka. "Pilot Soryu... It's very late now. Are you intending to sleep here?"
Asuka waved Rei off. "Just go to bed" she mumbled. "I'll just stay here."
Without any word of protest, Rei turned and went back to her bedroom. She was too tired. If Asuka left while she slept, well... that would be alright. Rei had done what she could. But she couldn't control the girl. Sliding into her bed, Rei closed her eyes and slept.
Asuka remained on the couch, unmoving. At least for a little while. Then a strange urge came over her. She raised her head slowly, looking in the direction of Rei's closed bedroom door. "Do dolls sleep, I wonder..." she said in a voice barely heard by her own ears. She rose from the couch and moved silently as she could towards the door that was slightly ajar. Slipping into the room, Asuka was sure her heartbeat was loud enough to wake the neighbourhood. Scarcely daring to draw a breath, she approached Rei's form. She leaned over the porcelain-like figure and sure enough, Rei's eyes were closed and she was sleeping.
Asuka stood over her for several moments, unsure of what to do. Then her hands curled into fists at her side and she became angry with herself. "Dumme puppe... Du machst mich krank!"
Rei's eyes opened and she stared up at Asuka in bewilderment. "Pilot Soryu...?"
"I don't need your help!" Asuka spat. Rei sat up slowly. "I'm sick of this, I'm going home!" She turned to leave but felt Rei's hand grasp her wrist which stopped her short. Asuka fought to break free of her. "Let go!"
"Please, Pilot Soryu..." Rei said quietly, looking somewhat concerned. "At least wait until morning." Asuka's struggling slowed a little. She stared at Rei with her face hardened in anger. Rei looked down. "I'm sorry for anything I've done to make you dislike me so much."
Asuka finally yanked her hand away, her mouth twisting up into a strange smile. "You and Nagisa both... you really are the same..." She laughed cruelly but it faded quickly. She spoke again, her voice more broken sounding. "As if anyone would want me... like this." Asuka rubbed her wrist, tears welling up in her eyes. "As if Shinji would... or Kaji... or anyone."
"Soryu...?"
Asuka suddenly whirled around, facing Rei angrily, a few unshed tears being shook free and catching the moonlight for a moment. "You have Shinji's father to care about you! Shinji has Misato! Nagisa has Shinji! Misato has Kaji! Everyone has someone to give a damn about them, don't they!"
Rei regarded her, saying nothing.
"And everyone just assumes that I don't need anyone! They're all more than happy to push me aside because I'm just so strong and resilient! Well I'm tired of it!" She seemed to lose some of her edge and a sob emitted from her throat as she slowly slid to the floor. "I'm just... so tired..."
"Pilot Soryu..." Rei put her hands on the girl's shoulders but Asuka shrugged her off.
"Don't touch me..."
Rei crouched next to the distraught girl. "Misato-san cares about you. Ikari does too. And Horaki. I'm sure even Kaji cares about you."
Asuka curled in on herself, trembling. "That's a load of crap!" she said, her voice muffled. "Shinji... he's got Nagisa now. Kaji and Misato are going to get back together. Hikari and Toji are dating... there's no room for me."
Sniffling loudly, Asuka tried to compose herself, getting to her feet while Rei looked up at her. "This is stupid. Coming here. As if you can do anything for me..." She crossed the room and left. Rei remained on the floor, listening until the front door shut. With a sigh, she stood, gazing at the open bedroom door.
Shinji and Misato were asleep at the kitchen table when Asuka came in. Shinji was jarred awake by the sound of the door shutting, despite the girl's best efforts to avoid making noise. The boy raised his head from where it had been resting in his arms and blinked owlishly. "Asuka?"
The girl walked into the kitchen, clearly out of sorts. She barely looked at Shinji and he pushed his chair back, getting up. "Asuka! Do you have any idea what time it is!"
A quick glance at the clock. "3:30?"
"Why the hell did you go out by yourself! Misato and I have been worried!"
"Have you...?"
"Yes! Duh! You're part of this household, you're Misato's responsibility and you're my friend! So when you leave like that we're OBVIOUSLY going to be worried!"
Asuka stared at him. The commotion caused Misato to wake up and she yawned, pushing back from the table and rubbing her head. Her eyes fell on Asuka and her hand dropped to her side. "Asuka..."
The red-haired girl sighed and smiled very slightly. "Sorry to worry you, Misato. I just had... some thinking to do I guess..."
Misato put her hands on her hips, scowling. "I was worried sick, Asuka! What were you thinking, going out in the middle of the night like that, huh?" But her tone was more relieved than angry. "Ugh... I'm too tired to deal with this... Go to bed, both of you!"
"Yes m'am" Shinji said, all too happy to be getting some proper sleep finally. He trudged off to his room and Asuka followed him. Misato watched them leave, exhaling.
"You know you can talk to us, Asuka..." she mumbled. "About anything..."
Shinji's wounds healed quickly and Asuka's incident seemed forgotten as the days progressed. Sandalphon, the angel in the volcano, was destroyed by Asuka and then the angel Matarael was taken care of as well during the power outage in Tokyo-3. Shinji's return to school hadn't been as he expected. Kaworu was absent from it and had been for nearly two weeks, apparently on business for Seele.
On an overcast but warm afternoon, Shinji was making his way home from school alone. He carried his schoolbag, shuffling along down the sidewalk when a sound reached his ears. Piano music. He turned, looking around at where it might be coming from. He was standing beside a house that had been burned or blown up. It was clearly destroyed, only the charred foundation remained. But in the middle of the ruins, there was a grand piano, its surface covered in ash. A boy was playing it.
Shinji wandered into the ruin warily, approaching the pianist. He stood behind him, feeling awkward. Kaworu's nimble fingers skillfully played the ivory keys. Then he abruptly stopped, slouching forward a bit and locking his fingers together in his lap. Shinji blinked, watching him. Slowly a smile formed on Kaworu's face.
"Do you know the name of that song?" he asked.
Shinji jumped a little. "Uh... uh... Ode to Joy?"
Kaworu grinned, looking over his shoulder at Shinji. "Can you play?"
"The only instrument I can play is the cello" Shinji responded, fidgeting and blushing.
"Ah." Kaworu turned back to look at the keys and began to play again. He scooted over on the seat and Shinji reluctantly sat down.
"What's a piano doing here anyways?" Shinji asked with his eyes fixed on the movements of Kaworu's hands.
"I'm not sure. But it was lucky that I happened across it, isn't it? It's in good condition."
"Yeah... it's weird, considering everything else was destroyed..." Shinji surveyed the blackened remains of furniture and walls. "Maybe the family that lived here will come back for it..."
"Tokyo-3 isn't exactly a good place to be right now" Kaworu replied. "They probably fled like so many other families."
"I guess you're right." Shinji sat back, looking up at the sky. He closed his eyes, letting the wind rustle his hair and the music fill his head. He didn't even notice when Kaworu stopped playing. At least not until he felt a nudge against his side. The dark-haired boy looked at the other and Kaworu smiled.
"Shinji, it's good to see that you're better then the last time I saw you" he observed. Recalling the last time they were together caused Shinji to blush.
"Uh. Y-yeah."
"You're still the same as ever..."
"Where did you go, exactly?" Shinji asked with shifty eyes.
Kaworu sat back, shrugging. "Just with some representatives of Seele. To discuss plans for Eva Unit 03."
"Eva Unit 03?" Shinji asked, surprised. "Will that be your Eva, Kaworu?"
"Mm. Yes, if nothing goes wrong with it..."
Shinji frowned a little. He didn't care for the way Kaworu had said that... The pale boy stood up, stretching his arms above his head. He stood, dusting his clothes off because some ash had settled on him. Shinji watched him. "Uh... Kaworu... about that night at the hospital..."
"What?" Kaworu asked, his voice gentle. He leaned down over Shinji, smiling. "Did you want to feel those things again?"
