Ugh… now this one's gonna be hard… if I keep going with the manga, then I'll lose two angels… If I go with the anime, then each chapter is going to be an episode and I'll miss a few really crazy scenes from the manga… If I combine the two, then I'll confuse the hell out of myself… Now what the heck should I do…? Oh well… I'm sure I'll figure something out… maybe… Oh well… here's eight.

----------

As the blaze from the defeat of Israfel faded from the stricken land, the first unit stood in the midst of the clearing.

"My god…" Misato exclaimed as the beast came into sight. "What… what is he…?"

Silence again reigned as the Eva moved towards its fallen comrade.

"What is he… doing!" Misato said again as the purple one stood before the fallen one.

It reached downward and grabbed it. Lifting one arm and one leg, it raised the downed behemoth from the ground and placed it upon its shoulders. It walked forward again, and as it reached an emergency elevator, a voice rang throughout the command center which further shocked them all.

"Dammit! Would you open this thing already!" Shinji's voice sounded across the intercom. "Soryu is really, really heavy…! Hey! Pay attention in there or I'll step on you guys!"

"Ha ha ha…" Misato's relieved laughter cut across the tension in the room. "Okay, okay… just hold on a second…"

As those words were spoken, the huge wall blocking the way moved from his path. Placing Unit-02 on the ground, Shinji stood on it as the elevator moved downward.

As the two arrived at the cages, Asuka could be heard berating her fellow pilot.

"You idiot! How dare you step on my beloved unit-02 like that! I bet you missed on purpose so that you could take the glory, didn't you!" she shouted at him.

"Stepped on it! What the hell was I supposed to do! Those damn elevators were meant for only one unit at a time!" he yelled right back.

"Then why couldn't you act like a gentleman and let me go first!"

"Gentleman! Even if I was one, you're not a lady so it wouldn't have mattered either way!"

"How dare you!" she snapped and swung at him. "Stand still you bastard!" as she shouted, Shinji was deftly avoiding all her strikes.

'Heh… I guess there really is a plus side to being synchronized… I can't go on much longer though… Dammit! Why'd I have to do that…? Shit, if I can't find a way out of this… they're bound to find out…' Shinji thought to himself as he dodged.

"Shinji! What happened out there?" Ritsuko called out to him.

'All right!' "I'd… be glad to… tell you… if not for a… crazed fool trying to… knock me out…!" He called out to her.

"Asuka, stop trying to kill Shinji for a minute!" she shouted.

"Argh… fine, I'll get you for this, third child!" She muttered to him as he left.

"Whew! Thanks for the save, Ritsuko." Shinji told the doctor as they walked towards her lab. "The thing is that… cough… cough… cough…" His words were interrupted as he began coughing.

"Are you all…" she managed to ask as she saw him collapse on one knee and saw the blood leaking from behind the hand covering his mouth.

"Shinji! What's wrong!" She frantically asked.

"Rit… cough… suko… cough, cough… do you have it…?" he choked out.

"It? Oh yeah, it's right here!" she exclaimed and handed him a small box he had asked her to always carry for him before a battle. Grabbing it, he opened it up and pulled out a long-needled syringe. It rattled and shook in his hands so he handed it back saying "Use it!" while also pointing at a small jar.

As she took it, he pointed at his throat and muttered "behind …"

Placing it at his neck, she inserted it into the vein deep in his neck which transported blood to the brain instead of away from it like the jugular did, and emptied it.

A few more blood-filled coughs and rasping breaths later, Shinji straightened up.

"Ugh… thanks for that…" he told her.

"What… what the hell was that?" she questioned him as they began moving forward.

"Ugh… I never did tell you, did I?" he asked, that happens after every time…" he said as they walked into her office. "I'll tell you the details if you want."

As the door shut, a figure leaned against the darkened walls of a nearby corridor. "So, is that how it is?" they said to themselves. "I'm sure this small bit of information will be of some use…"

----------

"So that's how it works?" Ritsuko asked after he finished explaining the details.

"As far as I can figure, yeah… unfortunately enough, I can't use it at will." He told her.

"When can you, then?"

"I'm not entirely sure but, it seems as though I can call on it when I really need it so… yeah, that should be enough…"

"I see…"

"Oh, maybe I should tell you… You know the painkillers?"

"The ones you take, right? What about them?"

"They're to minimize the effects of this."

"Wait, then what about…?" she asked him while pointing at his chest.

"Well… they definitely helped in getting them all… but that's not the main reason…"

"Oh…"

"Yeah, well… I should get going then…"

"That reminds me! Have you heard the news?" she called out as he was leaving.

"About what?" he asked as he turned around.

"You mean you haven't?" she taunted.

"What the hell are you talking about!" he demanded.

"Oh, you'll see…" she teased him as she walked out past him. "Although… if you really want to know…" she said and turned around slightly, to find her office empty and no Shinji in sight. 'I am going to figure out how he does that if it kills him!' she muttered to herself as she left.

'He heh… they never look up…' Shinji muttered as he heard her leave. "Now what the hell was she talking about?"

----------

"What in the hell…?" Shinji muttered as he stood in front of his apartment. Or more specifically, at the stacked-up boxes by the door. "Did Misato get evicted …?"

'What's with all of the boxes…' he thought to himself as he slowly walked into the apartment. As he reached his room, he was greeted with the sight of those same boxes having completely overrun his room.

"What the hell is all this crap!" he shouted out.

"Don't be so rude!" a voice called out to him.

"Huh!" he felt his blood begin to chill as he recognized who it was.

"These are my personal belongings…" Asuka finished.

"You? But? Huh?" he stammered before shaking his head to clear his thoughts then saying, "what the hell are you doing in my house!"

"Why are you still here?" she asked.

"Still here!"

"Yeah, you've been dumped for the new model." She taunted.

"Huh…?"

"Misato will be living with me. Of course, that's a much more logical choice when you consider my superior abilities. Although honestly, I'd rather live with Kaji! ♥"

"Pervert…" he muttered under his breath.

"Say," she asked, obviously not having heard him. "Just why are Japanese houses so small anyway? I couldn't even get half my stuff in my new room! And Japanese sure don't have any sense of privacy… how can they live in a room without locks, unbelievable… it's weird…"

"The Japanese way is to consider the needs of others before ones own." Misato answered her.

"Misato!" She exclaimed.

"Misato!" Shinji shouted. "So I'm being replaced, huh? Well, good luck paying all the bills on your own again." He picked up the small box with the few belongings he possessed and started walking towards the door.

"No!" She shouted and ran to stop him. "You're not going anywhere! Do you have any idea how much easier life is when I don't have to worry about that!"

"Ha ha ha… fine, I'll stay… But just what in the heck is Soryu doing here, anyway?" He asked her.

"Uh… to tell the truth, Shinji, I'm just following orders. I got a call a telling me that she was moving in with us… I don't know any more than that…"

"Well… nothing we can do now, huh?"

"Unfortunately, I guess that seems to be the case…"

"Ugh… oh and make sure to get the mess out of my room, okay Misato?" he told her as he walked towards the couch.

"Why do I have to do it!" She shouted towards him.

"Hey, I don't care if it's you or Soryu; just get all those boxes out of there."

"Why that little…" Misato muttered.

"What was that?" he called out.

"Oh… um, nothing, Shinji! I'm gonna get to work!"

"Good."

"Hey, Asuka…" Misato called out as she walked towards the hallway.

----------

"What!" Asuka's scream resonated throughout the apartment. "Did you just say that I can't go on the school trip!"

"Yup." Misato answered her.

"Well, why not?" She demanded.

"It's part of your job." Misato informed her.

"You mean I'm on permanent standby?"

"You got it."

"What idiot decided that?"

'This one. The operation planning manager."

"Hmph… Shinji, why don't you stop sitting there like an idiot and talk some sense into this woman."

"Ugh… fine, I'll try?" He said as he looked up from his food. "Hey, Misato? Are you sure it's not alright to risk the fate of humanity just because she wants to have fun for a few days?"

"Uh… yeah, pretty sure…" Misato told him.

"What kind of attempt was that!" She demanded, clearly aware that any possible chance she could have had of going was now gone.

"Umm… a bad one?" he said as he went back to eating.

"You useless idiot!" She shouted.

"Absolutely. Then again, it's better than a perverted fool."

"Whose a fool!" She shouted.

"Oh! Did I stutter!"

As the argument began, Misato decided to grab another beer or ten because, as arguments went, this one was turning out to be particularly bad.

----------

"Ikari." A voice called out to Shinji as he was walking down a random corridor in NERV.

"Who the… oh, hey there Ayanami. What's up?" he said.

"Soryu demanded that we are to accompany her at the NERV pool."

"What the hell? Why?"

"I do not know. She was fairly loud about it, though…"

"Just how loud is 'fairly loud' anyway."

"Loud enough for your head to feel like this." She said and punched him in the back of the head. "When you hear her."

"Oww… yeah… I'd say that qualifies as fairly loud…"

"Shinji, what are you doing just lying there?" Asuka called out to him.

"Sleeping." He answered without opening his eyes.

"This is no place for a nap!" She shouted. "You should be swimming."

"I'd rather sleep." He told her.

"Oh? I think that maybe you're afraid of water, is that it?"

"Afraid of water? Why would I be? It just sort of lays there without doing anything. How scary is that?"

"That's not what I mean! You can't swim, can you!"

"What! Uhh… of course I can swim…"

"Right…" she said and walked over towards Rei.

'This can't be good…' Shinji thought to himself as he saw the two of them talking. Then, as they walked back towards him, 'Forget not good… This is really, really bad…'

"I think I should be going…" Shinji said and slowly backed away from them. "So if you'll excuse me…"

"Not this time, Shinji!" Asuka shouted as she lunged forward and grabbed his arm.

"You will not escape." Rei told him as she grabbed the other one.

"Ahh!" He shouted as they proceeded to drag him towards the pool.

"In you go!" Asuka exclaimed as they tossed him in.

"What the hell!" he shouted to them as his head broke the clear surface.

"So he can swim…" Asuka said.

"Yes." Rei replied. "Though I did not know that until now."

"Are you serious!" Asuka demanded.

"Yes, I am. Although throwing him in was completely your idea." Rei told her.

"Just great…" Shinji grumbled as he dragged himself out. "This was my favorite shirt, too…"

"Favorite shirt!" Asuka asked. "You always wear the same type of shirt! Every single day! Come to think of it, you wear the same thing everyday too, Rei!"

"It is called a uniform." Shinji told her.

"As such, we do have many different ones." Rei continued.

"So why is that one different!" Asuka demanded of him.

"I don't know… it just is I guess…" He replied.

As Shinji walked back to the chair he had previously occupied, he took off his outer shirt, leaving the darker short-sleeve t-shirt on.

"What happened!" Asuka exclaimed as she looked at him.

"What are you talking about?"

"She means your arms, Ikari." Rei told him.

"Oh this…?" he glanced at his arms. "It's just a few scars…"

"A few! Since when is that a few!"

"I could show you… but I doubt you could handle it."

"Are you stupid! Of course I can handle anything! Just show me already!"

"Yes, I am curious as well, Ikari."

"Fine… but you'd better not tell anyone!" he said and removed his lower shirt. As the shirt fell, so did the mouths of both girls. His chest was crisscrossed with an uncountable amount of scars. Some were long cuts, as if from surgery, some were healed bullet-holes, some were from knives or even sword slashes. All, however, were already old.

"How… how did they happen?" Rei asked him in an even quieter voice than normal.

"How? Heh, there's a different story for each one… they are all important though. All of these are reminders of battles that were not as easy to win as those that left no marks. They remind me of when I messed up and act as a reminder to avoid the mistakes I made which cost me as much as they did. Because it's one thing to die fighting and something altogether different to keep repeating the same damn mistakes over and over until they kill me anyway. As bad as they all seem, though, they do remind me that, despite all of the crap I've gone through… I'm still here. Still living and still able to gain a few new scars."

"I had no idea…" Asuka said.

"Nor I…" Rei added.

"Does it matter?" Shinji asked them.

"What do you mean if it matter! Of course it does!" Asuka shouted.

"Do you really think so? Am I any different now than I was five minutes ago? Is a shift in perspective the equivalent to a change in the person being observed?"

"Well… I guess not… but…"

"It bothers you, doesn't it?"

"No! That's not it…"

"Then don't worry about it. I won't let either of you two die, even at my own expense."

"Why do you insist on saying those things!" Rei demanded.

"It is simple." He said, smiling slightly at both girls sitting before him on the ground. "My reasons are my own but they're enough for me to give my life if it would was so required."

"So you're saying you'd kill yourself if that was an option!" Asuka demanded.

"That's exactly it." He answered.

"I refuse to accept that." Rei said.

"Me neither!" Asuka said.

"Then do you know the alternative?"

"The what?"

"What alternative?"

"If a situation ever arises, I'll let you know." He said and stood and put his shirt on.

"Just where do you think you're going!" Asuka demanded as she saw him leaving.

"I'm going to go change into swimming trunks. Both of you already threw me in so I might as well…"

----------

"What the hell is that thing!" Shinji demanded as the pilots along with Ritsuko and Maya crowded around a projection on the table between both groups. "It's like some weird fetusy-thing…"

"Ugh… that is an extremely creepy description." Asuka complained.

"Yes, it was." Rei said and, after punching him again, told him "please refrain from saying such things in the future."

'Geez, she's a violent one…' Asuka thought as she witnessed the strike.

"Well, if you're done messing around for now… That is an angel. It's some sort of chrysalis form that precedes the adult stage we're familiar with." Ritsuko told them. "This operation's prime objective will be to capture this angel. We must capture it alive and in as close to it's original state as possible."

"What the hell do you want with it?" Shinji asked.

"That is classified information, sorry Shinji." Maya told him. "In fact, even I don't know…"

"I see…" Asuka put in. "And if we fail?"

"Then you must destroy it immediately. Understood?"

"Roger."

"Definitely."

"Yawn…"

"The designated pilot will be…" Ritsuko pondered.

"Not it!" Shinji called out.

"Nor I." Rei added.

"I'll do it!" Asuka said, all three having spoken at the same time. "Wait a minute… why don't you two want to do it!"

"My Eva is still useless." Rei replied.

"And I'm damned lazy." Shinji said.

"Very well… You can do it then, Asuka." Ritsuko told her.

"Sure! It's gonna be easy!"

"And me…?" Rei asked.

"Well, since your Eva is useless, I suppose you can go with the others."

----------

"Huh? This heat resistant entry plug suit doesn't seem any different from our regular ones."

"Just hold on a second and you'll see the difference." 'You're gonna owe me big-time for this, Shinji!' Ritsuko thought.

"Unit two should be ready by now…" She then told her.

"Noo! No way! How could you!" Asuka shouted as she saw her Eva. It was sitting on the ground and was wearing big white space-suit-like armor.

"This exo-suit is designed to protect you." Ritsuko said to her. "Type-D equipment is for combat under extreme environmental duress, not high fashion."

"Is that my unit-02? The poor thing…" Asuka lamented.

"Yeah… it does look like crap…" Shinji told her.

"Why you…!" Asuka began.

"Oh yes, before you do anything else," Ritsuko interrupted her. "Press the switch on you right wrist."

"Oh, okay." She said and did so, instantly regretting it.

"What!" She shouted as her suit began expanding. "What the hell is this!"

"Wahahahaha!" Shinji nearly fell over laughing. "You look like an idiot!"

"Ikari. While it is indeed humorous, there is no need to insult her in that way." Rei cut him off.

"Oh, I see…" Shinji muttered and discretely looked towards Ritsuko. She looked him in the eye and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

"Aha!" he shouted and grabbed her wrist. Pushing the button and making Rei expand in a similar way.

This time, Shinji was unable to remain standing. "Holy crap…" he gasped out. "You both look so impossibly stupid!"

"Is that so…?" Rei asked, standing right behind him after having figured out how to deflate her suit.

"I think he's serious…" Asuka joined her.

"Oh crap…" Shinji muttered as he was beaten into submission.

----------

"Eva units -01 and 02 have arrived." Misato was informed.

"Have both units stand-by. Reposition the laser bore and stand ready on the crane." She ordered.

"Roger." Makoto answered.

"I am so glad I'm not going in there…" Shinji said, peering over the edge of the cliff.

"Yes… it seems to be rather dangerous…" Rei answered him.

"Hey!" Asuka interjected. "Shouldn't you be doing it if it's that dangerous then?"

"There is a limit to my willingness to sacrifice myself and jumping into a volcano is probably pushing it just a little too far…" Shinji answered her.

"Hmph!" she replied as she left to board her Eva.

"What the hell? Is that the military?" Shinji asked, having boarded his Eva as well.

"The UN and the Air Force will be standing by." Ritsuko told him.

"Until this mission's over, anyway…" Maya added.

"Are they here to help us?" Asuka wondered.

"Yeah right…" Shinji said. "There probably here to bomb us to hell if we mess up…"

"What do you mean?" she asked

"They'll use N2 depth charges to destroy the angel and us as well." Ritsuko informed her.

"This job sucks!" Asuka shouted.

"Who's the bastard who ordered that!" Shinji demanded.

"Commander Ikari…" Ritsuko replied.

"I should have figured as much…" He muttered.

"Laser operation complete." Was announced as the mission commenced.

"Bore path has been secured."

"The type-D equipment is functioning normally."

"Unit-02 is ready and in position."

"Understood." Misato said. "Asuka, are you ready?"

"Ready when you are." She replied.

"Let's do it!" Misato shouted out.

"Oh man…! Talk about hot…" She complained as her descent began.

"It is a volcano." Shinji reminded her.

"Unit-02 is entering the lava." Maya reported.

"Current depth: 170." She informed the command center. "Rate of descent: 20. No problems detected. Visibility is zero. Can't see a thing… Switching to CT monitor. Even with this I can barely see a thing…"

"Depth is 400… 450… 500… 550… 600… 650…" Maya reported. "900… 950… 1000… 1050… we're over the maximum safety depth… Depth is 1300; unit has reached estimated target level."

"Asuka, what do you see?" Misato asked her.

"I'm not detecting anything." She told her. "It's not here."

"The lava currents must be faster than we thought…" Ritsuko said.

"The target's velocity certainly doesn't match our predictions…" Makoto confirmed her suspicions.

"Hurry up and re-calculate." Misato ordered. "Descend further… continue the operation…"

"Huh…?" Makoto asked.

"Depth is 1350… 1400…"

As the sound of something shattering reached Asuka, she was informed that the second coolant pipe had cracked.

"Depth is 1480… we have exceeded the maximum allowed depth…"

"But we haven't made contact with the target yet…" Misato told them. "Keep going. How's it going, Asuka?"

"Nice and toasty… I just want to finish this and take a shower." She said.

"There's a nice hot-spring near here. We'll go there once this is over. Just hang in there a little longer…"

"Maximum allowed depth plus 120."

"Eva unit-02 has lost its progressive knife." They said as the belt holding it to the unit's leg snapped.

"Maximum allowed depth plus 200!"

"Captain Katsuragi, you have to stop this!" Makoto yelled. "Have you forgotten that there's a human being in there!"

"I will manage this operation as I see fit." She told him "Continue to descend."

"I agree with Misato." Asuka said. "I'm okay. I can go on."

"Depth: 1780. Unit has reached the corrected target depth."

"Wait… I see it!" Asuka claimed.

"The target is in sight." Makoto reported.

"Prepare for capture."

"Because of the convection current moving both you and the target, you'll only get one chance." Ritsuko warned her.

"I understand. Leave it to me."

"30 meters to contact."

"Relative velocity: 2.2, on the axis."

As the unit reached the target, the large metal thing it was holding expanded and walls of light surrounded it.

"The electro-magnetic cage has been spread. No problems detected. The target has been captured." Asuka told them.

"Nice work Asuka." Misato told her.

"Sigh… the operation is completed." Asuka said. "I'm beginning my ascent."

"Hey, Asuka? You alright?" Shinji called out.

"Well of course I am. The only thing to fear is fear itself. This was easy." She claimed. "Man… this isn't an entry plug suit; it's a sauna bath… Oh… I just want to take a cold shower…"

"Sounds like the tension let loose all at once." Ritsuko said.

"Yeah." Misato replied.

"Were you scared about this operation? I sure was. Especially considering that Shinji said he'd throw us both in if we messed up…"

"He said that!"

"Well… probably…"

"It's going crazy!" Asuka shouted as the alarms began ringing.

"Oh no! It's starting to hatch! It's earlier than we predicted!" Ritsuko shouted.

"Cage status!" Misato demanded.

"There's no way it can handle this!"

"Abort the capture! Jettison the cage!" Misato ordered. "We're changing the operation; we have to destroy that angel. Unit-02, prepare for combat! Do it Asuka!"

"You got it!" She replied.

"Idiot! You don't have any weapons!" Shinji yelled out as he remembered hearing that she had lost her knife.

"Here, catch!" He called out as he threw his progressive knife into the magma. 'Sure hope it doesn't melt on the way…'

"It's too fast!" Asuka yelled as she barely avoided an attack.

"Go away!" She shouted as the angel charged at her again. "Hurry up with that thing!"

As the knife reached her claws, the sheath released itself. As Asuka struck the angel with her blade, sparks shot out, but no damage was inflicted. It wrapped itself around her and bit at her head.

"No! How could it open its mouth in molten lava!" Ritsuko demanded.

"It's not working!" Asuka shouted out as the knife seemed to have no effect on the target.

"Oh my god!" Ritsuko shouted out as she realized the problem. "The extreme heat has distended that thing's molecular structure! The prog knife won't work against it!"

"What!" Makoto shouted out as he heard her. "Then what do we do?"

"Asuka! Shove one of your coolant pipes into its mouth!"

As she sliced into the one of the pipes headed into her Eva, she forced it into the attacking angel's mouth, causing it to expand and contract with the sudden temperature changes.

"Of course!" Ritsuko shouted out. "Thermal expansion!"

"Transfer all the internal coolant pressure to cable number three. Do it!"

"Argh!" She shouted as she drove her knife into its head once more. Cutting into and causing the destruction of the angel but not fast enough to avoid its last attack. Its claws grabbed onto and sliced through most of the cables which supported her.

"I've done it but…" She said as she saw the angel disintegrate and the type-D armor begin to compress. "That's it… I'm done for…"

As the strands of the final cable snapped and her Eva began its slow descent to oblivion, Asuka looked on in despair as her life seemed to draw to a close. She fell for all of three seconds before she was jolted to a stop.

"Huh!" She exclaimed, not quite sure what had just happened until she glanced upward. The demonic face of Unit-01 looked down at her as it held onto her arm.

"I guess I really am stupid enough to jump into a volcano, huh?"

"Idiot…" She said softly. "You showoff…""

----------

"Hello?" A voice called out at the entrance to the best hot-springs in the nearby town. "Are the people from NERV here, somewhere…?"

"Who the hell are you!" Shinji demanded as he walked towards the entrance.

"I uh… need your signature here…" the flustered delivery dude said.

"Hmph…"

"Uh thanks…" they muttered as they left him with a large package.

"From Kaji? What the heck is this?" Shinji thought to himself right before the package exploded and the contents flew out.

"Wark War!" PenPen warked out as he frantically looked around.

"Heh… Hot-springs? Over there." He told him, pointing to the side.

"Shinji!" Misato called out. "Let's go into the hot-springs!"

"Go right ahead…" he told her. "I'd rather sleep."

"Yeah right…" Asuka interrupted. "That's just a convenient excuse so you can peek on us!"

"If you say so…" he muttered as he yawned. "Pervert." He called out as he slid the door to his room shut.

----------

"Hey, PenPen?" Misato called out to him. "Do you think you could go check in on Shinji?"

"Wark warwarwark war!" the penguin frantically shouted back before diving underwater.

"What was that about?" Asuka asked her as she witnessed the penguin's odd behavior.

"Oh yeah… Now I remember…" Misato said.

"Remember what?"

"Well… a few days after Shinji moved in with me, I asked PenPen to go wake him up. I didn't think anything of it, but what I didn't realize, was that Shinji isn't particularly trusting when he's asleep."

"What happened?"

"With what I gathered from PenPen's traumatized state, it seems that as he tried waking him up, Shinji nearly took his head off with a knife."

"What the hell?"

"Yeah… PenPen's lucky he's short otherwise, he wouldn't be around anymore… After that, I learned not to be within a five-foot radius when he's sleeping."

"Geez… what a freak…" Asuka exclaimed.

"Do you have any idea what it was that caused him to act in that manner?" Rei asked her.

"You mean you don't know!" Asuka turned towards her.

"Yeah, Rei. I would have though that out of everyone, he'd have at least told you." Misato added.

"No he has not. I have never asked him before." Rei told them.

"Come to think of it, what is up with you two?" Asuka then demanded of her.

"What is up?" She replied, not really understanding.

"Yeah, Rei…" Misato taunted. "It seems he's the closest to you out of anyone…"

"So are you going to tell us or what!" Asuka asked.

"There is nothing to tell. The only facet of our relationship is what is visible."

"What the hell does that mean!" Asuka said, confused at her choice of words.

"Just give it up…" Misato counseled. "If she's learned from Shinji, there's no way we'll figure it out…"

"But I want to know!" Asuka whined.

"Why do you not try asking him, then…?" Rei questioned.

"Ugh… I don't know… it's just kind of… weird to walk up to him and ask him something like that..." Asuka muttered. "So you're saying you don't know anything about him?"

"No, that is not the case. I am aware as to small portions of his background but he has asked me to remain silent about it."

"And you, Misato? Shouldn't you know these things!"

"You'd think so, huh? Unfortunately, it seems all of his records are false."

"What!"

"Yeah. I don't know any more than you do… but, I think that the secrets he keeps are for a reason. Maybe we shouldn't pry, you know? We might not find anything pleasant if we look too deeply…"

"Well… I guess you're right…"

"It does not matter." Rei told her.

"What?" they both asked.

"Despite the fact that he will not divulge his past with us, he has informed me that his desire to protect us is genuine and we need not look for a motive…" she continued.

"Yeah… that sounds like something he'd say…" Misato said.

"What an idiot…" Asuka added.

"Definitely." Rei said.

To be continued…

Man this was hard… it probably doesn't seem to be the case since I didn't take too long to finish but… from the day of my last posting, I've been working on this non-stop. Why? Well, why the hell not…? As hard as it was to actually get done… I think it was worth it. I'm not so sure if it's any good but, I think that I wish not to think of volcano diving again… for the rest of today… What the hell? Oh, who cares…? I'm getting delusional anyway… need sleep… I guess that's it then… Review!7

Later!