Chapter Two: Slowing Down

Asuka sighed. She had been standing here for about a minute now, waiting for the Third Child's brain to process the information he'd been given. Honestly, it's like talking to a brick wall—a brick wall that whines and screams and doesn't seem inclined to do me anytime soon.

Finally something seemed to click in Shinji's head—he looked up at Asuka, blinked once, and blurted out, "Are you saying you wanna have sex?"

Asuka rolled her unbandaged eye. With him? What is he, stupid? "It's not a question of want, it's a question of need—or did you forget that we're the only ones left?"

"I… I…" Shinji stopped, sitting perfectly still for a moment. "You're right… and that means I'm…"

"Yup." Asuka knelt beside him, suddenly feeling a great deal of sympathy for her (presumably) late kindergarten teacher. "In between those spindly legs of yours is the salvation of the human race—and between mine is the only remaining receptacle for it." She reached for the top button of Shinji's shirt. Just pretend he's Mister Kaji, and moan in the right places so he knows he's doing it right…

And of course, the idiot decided that for once, he didn't want a piece of her gorgeous ass, and scooted backwards babbling about waiting, and maturity, and proper timing, and please get your hand out of my pants, so she had to let her prize slip away yet again.

Damn it, is he neutered or something? This was it--time to haul out the big guns. Okay, he's a whiny little schlampe with an Oedipus complex--what turns them on? Maybe the catgirl impression would work--nah, he'd just think I was having a seizure. Let's be honest, this boy is dumber than a hentai schoolgirl--hey, wait a second…

"Aww, what's wrong, Shinji-sempai," she mewed, crawling toward him on all fours. "Don't you like me anymore?" Not even Ikari can say no to the naughty schoolgirl act… She slid closer, shooting the last living male a demure and (she hoped) seductive look "Did I do something wrong? Are you going to punish me, sempai?"

Shinji stuttered, sputtered, and collapsed, blood streaming from his nose.

"Scheisse." Heaving a sigh, Asuka sat down next to the motionless form of the Third. Reeeeeeal smooth, honey--you gave the last guy on Earth a stroke. Or maybe he wasn't dead--she supposed she had better check. A cursory inspection revealed that Shinji was not, in fact, dead--merely unconscious from blood loss. Dammit, why do all Japanese teenagers have such high blood pressure?

She looked down at the comatose pilot, lifting a hand to wipe the blood from his upper lip. Stupid kid--no intellect, no common sense, and no short-term memory. I promised we'd do this after he got back, but it's like the words just went in one ear and out the other. It couldn't have been more than a day ago, for crying out loud--ah, well… Such things were hardly worth worrying about--there'd be plenty of time to fulfill promises when Shin-chan woke up.

As Asuka lay down beside the Third, she heard a low groan come from his unconscious form. She rolled over to face him, and propped herself up on one arm, leaning in to listen better.

"Mi… Misato…"

Asuka's eye twitched involuntarily. Major Katsuragi? He's dreaming about her?

Indeed he was--and as she soon noticed, he was apparently rather enjoying the dream. Ew… Ew… Ew… She had not needed to see that--granted, she now had a better idea of what to expect when Shinji finally gave her what she wanted, but really, the end of the world was hardly the time to be having erotic fantasies about one's (again, presumably) late commanding officer. Still, she reminded herself, it's not like I haven't done the same thing about Kaji--besides, it's kinda flattering… wait, what?

--

Sorry about the delay there--I had a family reunion and a graduation party to attend, and this particular chapter was tough to write. I tried to tell the story from Asuka's point of view without giving away too much--but eventually I realized this was a good point to give up at least part of the secret. If you can't figure it out, just say so in your review--if you're not anonymous, I'll explain it personally.

Speaking of anonymous reviews: vic, it's supposed to be out of character. It's part of the plot.

Oh, and due to said family reunion, I know at least one person reading this doesn't know the usual array of Japanese name suffixes. So, just for my cousin's benefit, -sempai is literally "superior," and is usually used to refer to mentors, teachers, etc. -Chan is a diminutive, applied affectionately to those younger than oneself (like calling a kid "junior" or "little so-and-so"), or as a term of more direct affection between couples. There are likely more uses for each suffix, so reviewers, please feel free to contribute or to correct me.