Wow, okay everyone. Sorry for being gone for like a long ass time. Barely had time to get this chapter out. Probably gonna skip doing review responses this time because my writing has kinda been making me fall behind on my real life stuff, so I've been trying to catch up on that while also trying to keep up with writing. But, I see I've got a handful of new readers and reviews. So, hullo (as my friend Caesar would say it) to all of you precious people. I'm very appreciative for your views and reviews and welcome to the story. I will be sure to try to touch up on some of the questions some of you asked next chapter!

.

Text Guide

Standard Wording

"Spoken Dialogue/Speech"

'Internal Dialogue/Thoughts'

(Flashbacks)

/

[Slash denotes scene transition for the moment; this may be changed in the future so as to become more visible.]

.

Disclaimer: I do not own or profit off of Neon Genesis Evangelion, End Of Evangelion, or the Rebuilds of Evangelion. I do not own Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Sohryu, or any of the other characters/ideas from the Evangelion intellectual property collective. All licenses remain with the proper license holders. If asked to, I will formally remove this story from the hosting website.

.

*Cruel Angel's Thesis and Eva intro starts playing*


Neon Genesis Evangelion

A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love

Chapter 24

To Take and To Give

.

As was often the case in Tokyo-3, it was a hot, dreary, and humid morning. The sun hadn't even risen yet, but the air was still an uncomfortably warm temperature, causing Shinji's skin to itch as he made his way back to Misato's apartment after spending the night at Rei's.

"Geez, this fog is so thick, I could cut it with a kitchen knife," the boy grumbled to himself as he arrived at the apartment complex's parking lot, "I guess it's a good thing I didn't brush my hair this morning. The humidity would have messed it all up."

After a couple seconds of straining his eyes to peer through the fog, he was finally able to locate the stairwell leading up to Misato's room. He briskly began walking towards it, not wanting to spend a second more than he had to in the humidity.

As he made his way to the stairs, his mind drifted back to Rei.

He hadn't done anything particularly mischievous last night, but he still had a nagging feeling in the back of his head, almost like he'd done something wrong and now felt guilty over it. But, at the same time, he felt mental spasms of anxious happiness. Or perhaps even a rush of adrenaline that people got when doing something rebellious. Not, that he had actually done anything rebellious. But, with his father's overbearing presence looming over the city, even when Shinji knew he wasn't around, sometime he still found himself feeling like he was breaking certain unspoken rules. And the thought excited him and terrified him in equal measure.

But, putting aside the tense ideas in his mind, both positive and negative, he directed his thoughts to something more calming.

Rei had kissed him on the cheek before he left this morning. And when he remembered it, he could swear he still felt her lips on his cheek. It almost made him sad to leave her, even if he would probably see her again within the next few days if not sooner.

A breaking sound and a bulge under his shoe abruptly pulled him out of his thoughts though.

He lifted his shoe off the cracked concrete of the apartment's parking lot and saw a pile of amber glass.

Shinji knelt down to examine the label on it. Seeing that there was a strawberry with a smiley face on it, he assumed that it was one of Misato's beer bottles. It looked to be one of the more quality ones she'd buy occasionally considering it was, in fact, a bottle as opposed to a can of Yebisu.

Shinji sighed knowingly, but not unexpectedly.

"I guess Misato was drinking last night..." Shinji groaned as he stood back up.

'Or someone was, at least,' he corrected himself as he gazed up at the balcony outside Misato's room before continuing to the stairwell.

/

-Suspicion and Stipulation-

/

Misato had just woken up and, as could have been predicted, found herself at the fridge, her eyes barely open as she snaked her hands through some glass containers, trying to find a bottle of beer she'd bought earlier in the week specifically so she could enjoy it on the weekend.

She pulled out a few bottles in a row, but none of them were the beer she'd been looking for. The woman forced herself to open her eyes a bit wider and examine the contents of the fridge a bit more intently. And, upon doing so, found that the beer she'd so craved had apparently up and vanished.

Misato sighed and thought to herself, 'God damn it, Asuka.'

Misato glanced in the trashcan to confirm her suspicions.

Her beer bottle wasn't there, but she saw a metal cap face down. She picked it up and turned it so she could see the top. On it, there was a little cartoony looking strawberry with a smiling face on it.

'Well, that's strange. The cap's here but where's the bottle? In her room?'

Misato then flicked the cap back into the trashcan before heading to Asuka's room.

Upon arriving outside the girl's door, Misato didn't know exactly what she wanted to say. If she sounded angry with her, Asuka would just create more friction. But, if Misato was calm with her, Asuka would just blow her off. Nonetheless though, she gently knocked on the door.

No answer. Obviously, the girl was probably still asleep. Though, Misato didn't really want to give up that easily.

"Asuka?" Misato called quietly while knocking on the door again.

Still no answer, though that wasn't outside the realm of expectation with how early it was.

"Asuka!?" Misato asked again, louder this time.

Once again, no one answered.

"Asuka!? Hey, are you even in there!?"

Upon yet again receiving no answer, Misato slid the door open slightly to peek into the girl's room only to find she wasn't inside it.

"Asuka?" Misato asked again as she scanned the room for her missing beer bottle.

It appeared as though neither the bottle nor the girl where anywhere around.

Misato slid the door shut and walked back toward the kitchen so she could check the restroom.

"Asuka!? Are you in there?" Misato asked timidly as she leaned slightly into the restroom.

Only silence followed.

'I hope she didn't run away again,' Misato thought to herself as she started to panic.

"Asuka!? Hey!?" Misato called out as she began pacing around her apartment, looking for the girl.

'She's not in her room. She's not in the restroom. I didn't check my room, but I probably would have noticed her when I woke up. And, she'd probably never end up in my room anyways. Maybe she's outside?"

Misato walked back through the kitchen and down the foyer so she could check outside her apartment. But, opening the door revealed that Asuka was not on the balcony.

'Where is she? Ugh, I hope I didn't do something to piss her off.'

Misato closed the front door and returned back to the living room.

'Where could she be? The only place I haven't checked… is Shinji's room. But… surely she wouldn't be there.'

Despite her doubts though, Misato still rounded the cornered into the hallway leading to Shinji and Asuka's rooms. She looked at the door to Shinji's room quietly before sliding the door open.

Misato heard a gasp come from inside, and she shortly found Asuka curled under the sheets of Shinji's futon.

"M-Misato!? GET- GET OUT!" the girl shrieked.

"A-Asuka!? What what are you doing in here!?"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER! GET OUT!" Asuka screamed as she threw the sheets off her and rigidly kept kept her tense balled fists at her side after standing up.

"Asuka, I don't understand! Is something wrong!?"

"NO! JUST GO AWAY!" Asuka shouted as she marched out of Shinji's room.

"Wait! Asuka!? I'm your moth- uh, er..."

"Don't say it, Misato! Don't you DARE say it! YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER! NO ONE IS!"

"I- I know. I'm sorry..."

Asuka casually crashed on the living room couch while beginning to pout, trying her hardest to forget her embarrassment.

Misato slowly came around the couch and sat down next to Asuka.

"So… why were you in Shinji's room?"

The redhead huffed in her usual manner.

"His mattress is more comfortable than mine."

Misato felt as though Asuka was lying, though decided not to bring it up.

"And how'd you find out his mattress was more comfortable in the first place?"

"None of your business."

"So… you just decided to sleep on his bed even though you said you hate sleeping on the floor?"

"I said it's none of your business!" Asuka growled.

"Okay then. But, there's still something else I want to ask you."

"'Bout what?"

"About my beer… that you stole last night."

"What about it? You already said I could drink. It was a deal. Remember!?"

"I do remember. I probably remember more than I want to. And what I remember is that I agreed to buy drinks for you; not for you to just take mine whenever you want."

Asuka only sighed in response, obviously not caring much for what Misato had to say.

"Asuka, please. I was saving it for today! All I'm saying is that I would appreciate it if you'd tell me you'd like to try it instead of stealing from me."

"Well, just go buy another one or something. You don't have to go to work today anyways. It's Saturday."

"Asuka- I- Just- Look! I was saving it for today so that I wouldn't have to go into town on the weekend. It just costs more money to go out on the weekend when I've already been out during the week. And it's the only time of the week I have to myself. So, I'd rather not go out when I could be resting."

"Sounds like a personal problem..." Asuka grumbled as she stared blankly at the T.V., even though it was off.

"Asuka!" Misato shouted, astounded at the girl's dismissiveness.

"Blog it!" Asuka joked in a rude manner.

"Asuka, just why were you in Shinji's room last night?"

"Shut up!"

"Well, listen to me when I'm talking to you and I'll listen to you!"

"You sound like someone's bitchy mom and you seem to forget I don't have a mother."

Misato simply had no idea what to say. And so, she got up from the couch, went to the kitchen, and began shuffling through some drawers to find some alcohol to replace that which she had lost.

At that moment however, the door to Misato's apartment opened and the voice of Shinji called out "I'm home!"

"Sh- Shinji!" Asuka gasped as she perked up a bit.

"Shinji!?" Misato questioned happily.

"Yep. It's me. Uh, haha!" Shinji laughed awkwardly as he exited the foyer and came into the kitchen.

"SHINJI!" Asuka shrieked happily as she jumped off the couch and hugged him.

"Uh, Asuka, um, what's going on?" The boy asked with a blush across his face.

Shinji frantically looked to Misato for answers, but she was just as confused as he was if not more so given her discoveries only a few minutes ago.

"So, Shinji! You ready to go!?" Asuka asked cheerfully.

"Uh, g-go!? Go where? I just got home."

"Go hang out, of course! You said we would yesterday."

"I mean, yeah, but, I mean, I just- I was at least gonna cook breakfast first."

"Oh, no, that's okay, Shinji. You can go if you like," Misato blurted.

Shinji's eyes widened a bit in concern.

"Uh, are you sure? You don't need anything?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well, that settles it," Asuka said matter-o-factly as she tugged at Shinji's arm, "So, lets go. I need to get away from here."

"Oh, wait! Actually, Shinji, there is one thing," Misato said submissively, even as Asuka glared at her.

"Hmm?"

"Uh, could I borrow some money?"

"For what?" Shinji asked suspiciously.

"Uh… for alcohol. Some of mine… got lost last night. I'll pay you back later, I promise."

The glare Asuka was shooting at Misato sharpened, though Misato pretended not to notice.

"Well, I guess I could lend you some…" Shinji said doubtfully as he reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet before handing some yen over to Misato.

"Thanks!" Misato said with a cheerful smile.

"Yeah. And don't worry about paying me back."

"Come on, Shinji, let's go already," Asuka mumbled as she pulled at his arm again, dragging him across the kitchen, through the foyer, and out of Misato's apartment.

"Really, Shinji!? Don't worry about paying me back!?", Asuka hissed in a hushed whisper as she shut the door to the apartment as calmly as she could possibly manage in her irritated state.

"What!?" Shinji shrugged, "It's not like she was going to pay me back anyways."

Asuka buried her face in her hands, trying her best to release her frustration in a non-hostile way.

"Shinji," Asuka said in a muffled voice, "that's exactly the kind of person you shouldn't lend money too."

"Well, she'd just take it anyways."

"Well you shouldn't let her!" Asuka cried in exasperation as she removed her hands from her face and waved them around in front of her for emphasis, "She's a grown ass woman. She shouldn't rely on you like that!"

"Well, maybe. But, everyone needs help sometimes."

"You need help sometimes," Asuka mumbled insultingly under her breath.

The two kids then began their way down the stairwell to the parking lot when Asuka suddenly realized that she still didn't know where they were going.

"Sooo..." Asuka said elongatedly and she started a conversation.

"Yeah?" Shinji asked.

"Where are we going?"

"Uh… well, I don't really know."

"What!?" Asuka asked, almost sounding offended as she stopped in her tracks.

"What what?" Shinji asked looking back at her.

"DON'T ANSWER MY QUESTION WITH ANOTHER QUESTION, YOU IDIOT! You're telling me you had all night to think about where you're gonna take me… AND YOU DIDN'T!? What were you possibly thinking about last night that could have stopped you from figuring out where you're gonna take me!?"

"R-Rei," Shinji answered timidly.

"Oh, of course!" Asuka said in a disgusted tone, crossing her arms and leaning on the stair rails.

"I- I'm sorry, Asuka. You kind of just… lumped this on me. I had my thoughts full last night; I was preoccupied."

"Oh, preoccupied is what you call it!"

"Asuka, can we just go… or stay. Or something?"

"Yeah. Yeah! I'll go!" Asuka huffed as she marched past Shinji and stomped down the stairs.

"Asuka, stop! You know that's not what I meant. Asuka, wait!"

"I don't care what you meant! You're giving me attitude!" Asuka shouted up the stairs while Shinji ran after her.

'I'm giving her attitude?' Shinji questioned to himself with the most confused face.

Shinji reached the bottom of the stairwell and saw Asuka a few feet ahead of him, marching off in some random direction. He ran up behind her and grabbed her arm, trying to slow her.

"Asuka! Just stop! I'll find some place to go!"

Asuka spun around and snarled at him with her hand raised, causing Shinji to reflexively cringe, expecting to be hit by her. Though, fortunately, she didn't.

"You're… You're so selfish! All you do is think about yourself!" Asuka shouted at the boy, though she didn't sound quite as angry as before.

'That's…. that's a lie. I'm lying to myself again. Again! FUCK! Fucking Kaji and Misato messing with my head,' Asuka internally cursed as she second guessed her words.

"I know, Asuka. I know. I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you."

"Just… stop, Shinji. Let's just go to the park or something and maybe get lunch. I don't really care anymore. I just want to be away from here."

Shinji was surprised by the girl's sudden change of tone from frustration into something that almost sounded sulky, but he didn't press her any further.

/

-Alpha | Omega-

/

Much to Shinji's relief, Asuka was currently smiling as she and him sat on a stone bench in Tokyo-3's central park, covered by a tree that provided much needed shade. For a blessing, they had managed to get along well enough in the time they'd spent at the park. And both seemed rather stress free, not betraying their earlier conflict.

"Y'know, I never really was one for nature walks or anything, but this is kinda nice… even if some asshole did leave gum on the ground for me to plant my pretty shoe in back there… But, hey, y'know, they have a statue of the Evas here in this park."

"Oh, uh… I… I guess that's cool," Shinji said with a yawn, almost sounding like he wasn't entirely interested in such a topic of conversation.

"Hey, what's with the yawn! I'm not that boring, am I?"

"What!? N-no! I just didn't sleep well last night."

The twinkle in Asuka's eyes darkened a bit.

"Yeah? Why's that? I figured with Ayanami, you'd sleep like a baby… You usually seem to fall asleep pretty easily when we sleep together."

"Trust me, I don't fall asleep easily when I'm with you; it just seems like it."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? You're always still as a brick. What're you doing if you're not sleeping?"

"Usually trying to remain as still as possible."

Asuka looked at Shinji with a raised eyebrow.

"Why!?"

"So I don't wake you up and make you angry or accidentally touch you."

"So… You're really that scared of me, huh?" Asuka mumbled as the light further faded from her eyes.

"What? No! It's not like that! Not at all! I'm just trying to be polite."

"Yeah, right… So, what about her then. Why can't you sleep with Ayanami?"

"Father..."

"What? The Commander!? Pfft! Why?"

"He's basically her guardian. He's… obviously my father. He never talks to me. I don't know how much he talks to her. I have no idea what he thinks about us being together or sleeping in the same room. It… scares me... It actually scares me."

"Well, I guess if you're scared of me, it makes since you'd be scared of him. I don't know him, but if he's anything like my parents were…"

"Asuka, I'm not scared of you. I promise."

"Don't lie, Shinji. I know how you are. I see you start shaking when I yell at you. And I see how you wince when I even look like I might raise my fist. You're afraid of me… Of what I could do to you."

"That doesn't mean I'm scared. Anyone would act that way if they thought they were going to get hit.

"No, Shinji… No, they wouldn't. Not the way you do at least. If someone else saw a punch coming, sure, they'd try to avoid it. But, you… you think it's coming before I even decide if I want to swing at you."

"I still don't think that means I'm scared. Besides, maybe you have a good reason for trying to. You did get almost get… raped… by… that guy you told me about who tried to hurt you."

Asuka smirked in a depressed way.

"Heheh… You're so stupid, Shinji. You're always trying to twist things into what you wish they were. You're always trying to make things seem better than they really are."

"Well… doesn't everyone?"

"Heh, I guess," Asuka chuckled darkly as she kicked her legs idly, occasionally scuffing her shoes on the pristine concrete path under the bench.

Shinji yawned once more, this time a bit longer than before.

"You really are tired, huh?" Asuka assumed as she took a calming deep breath, "...I'm sorry for dragging you out here today. I guess I should have let you sleep… I bet I probably messed up your sleep schedule too."

"No, it's fine. It already got messed up sleeping at Rei's. And I probably wouldn't have been able to sleep at home anyways. Misato probably would have been making too much noise for me to sleep."

"Yeah, she's probably tripping over everything and slurring her words while singing some stupid song at the top of her drunken lungs. ...She would have drunk lungs, right? I mean, she basically inhales her drinks. Beer is like air for her."

"Psh, haha, I don't even know, Asuka."

"Yeah, you're right. I guess I'd know better since I'm the only other one who drinks. ...Y'know, Shinji, maybe you should try drinking something some time. It's not called liquid courage for no reason. And… by the sound of it, you could use some courage in your life right now."

"Yeah, but who's supposed to keep Misato in line if I'm drunk?"

"Well, we could take turns," Asuka suggested casually.

Shinji didn't even say anything to that, but he did give Asuka a look that asked her if she was serious.

"Yeah, psh, stupid idea. I can't stand her. Or, at least, I can't handle her."

"Maybe Rei could come over and watch her?"

"Hey, just because I came up with a stupid idea doesn't mean you should too. In fact, that's an even worse idea. At least I could actually take care of her if I had the patience. I've trip sat people before. One drunk washed-up woman wouldn't be much of a problem. But Ayanami, I don't think she even knows what being drunk is."

"Trip sat?" Shinji asked, obviously caught up on the term's meaning.

"Yeah, trip sitting, like… you know what? Never mind. You really don't need to know what that is."

"Well, if you say so."

A curious smile formed on Asuka's face and she faced Shinji with examining eyes.

"How can you do that?"

"Do what?"

"How can you just sit there when someone talks about something you've never heard before and be okay with not knowing what they're talking about?"

"Well… I did ask."

"Yeah, I know. And I told you not to worry about it. But, most people would pry more. Even people who don't care about furthering their education, they'd still be curious. They'd still ask what I was talking about until I explained it to them or until they gave up. ...Do you really give up that easily or is it something else?"

"To be honest, I really don't know. I guess it's just that if it doesn't affect me, I don't need to worry about it."

"...But, what if you could affect it? What if you could make it better?"

"I… don't know. Can I make trip siting better?"

"Ugh, that's not what I mean, you idiot. Not specifically at least. I mean, what if you could do something that really mattered?"

"Well, I guess that would be… okay? Or… Uh… I guess I'd do it if someone asked me to."

Asuka sighed and shook her head.

"You really are hopeless."

Shinji simply yawned again.

"You know, if you're really that tired, there's a nice comfy patch of grass back there," Asuka chuckled as she gestured over her shoulder.

"No thanks. I think that would be more of PenPen's thing."

"PenPen? Sleeping in the grass? All that lazy bird ever does in sleep in the fridge and steal Misato's beer."

"Oh… so that's why Misato needed money for more beer."

"Uuuh, yeah," Asuka said awkwardly, "Say, I'm getting kinda hungry. How about we go get something to eat?"

"Yeah, sure. Where do you wanna go?"

"Hmm… I kinda want doughnuts. But… I'm worried I'll get fat."

"You're not fat, Asuka. I don't think a few doughnuts would hurt."

"Yeah, but doughnuts also aren't always very filling."

"Good. I'll just make something when we get home then."

"Well, yeah, but-" Asuka mumbled halfheartedly.

"And besides, there's a doughnut shop I know that has coffee too. And I could use some right about now."

Asuka sighed before chuckling quietly.

"You're so stupid, Shinji. But that's okay."

/

"Whoa, this is the first time I ever had a creme filled doughnut on this side of the world. This is way different than the western world."

"How so?" Shinji asked after taking a sip of his latte.

"For one, the cream is way fluffier. Lots of western style cream doughnuts use a much heavier cream. But this stuff… it's more like a marshmallow. And the glazing on this is way flakier, like a sugar crust instead of a simple syrup glaze. It's… not what I expected. But, you know what else I didn't expect?"

"What?"

"For you to get a latte. Aren't men supposed to drink black?"

"Uh… well..."

"Like, seriously, I thought guys hated the taste of any coffee other than just straight black. Here, gimme that!"

"M-my coffee? You want me to give you my coffee?"

"Not permanently, you idiot! I just wanna examine it! I'm not gonna steal it!"

"Uh, well, if you say so."

Before Shinji could even push it across the table to her, she'd already snatched it. The girl pulled the cap off the cup, presumably to examine the color and smell. She then snapped the lid back on before putting her mouth on it and tasting it.

"Hmm, yeah. I guess that's pretty good. Here, you can have it back now," The girl said as she slid the cup back across the table to Shinji.

The boy looked at the lid, not entirely sure if he was seeing his own spit on the mouthpiece or Asuka's and the thought somewhat bothered him, though he pretended not to notice, hoping not to anger the girl.

However, the girl did notice the look he had on face. Fortunately enough though, she misread it.

"Okay, yeah. I know I said I wouldn't steal it. But, I literally only put my tongue on it to taste it. I swear I didn't drink it!"

Shinji only blushed at this while Asuka finished eating her doughnut.

"Ugh, that was gone fast. But, I'm still so hungry."

"Well, uh, we could get another one for you to have on the way home."

"Yeah, but… they're kinda expensive."

"It's okay. I think I have enough for another," Shinji laughed nervously while trying to focus on ridding the blush from his face.

The boy pulled out his wallet, peering inside it.

'Yeah, only just barely. Ugh, I'm gonna be basically broke if I buy another one.'

"You know, Shinji, you should really look at getting a better wallet. That thing is way ratty looking. And I know how much you Japanese and Americans see your wallets as a symbol of status. So, uh… maybe look into it. It's not very becoming of an Eva pilot to walk around with something so raggedy."

"Y-yeah. I'll look into it. Uh, lemme just go get that doughnut for you for now though."

/

-Discomforting | Uncontrolled-

/

Despite Asuka having a fully belly and a warm bed, she was still having trouble sleeping. After laying down for bed and thinking through her day, certain things began to get caught in her mind.

'Why is he so nice to me.'

'Do I really deserve to be treated well?'

But, perhaps most of all, the most innocent yet most unintentional of all was, 'I basically kissed him.'

'I mean… I didn't mean to. I was just trying to see if the coffee was any good...'

The restless girl turn over in her bed to face her door. On the other side was the door to Shinji's room. She didn't know why she tried resisting. She knew she was going to end up in there one way or another before the night was over.

'God, I hope he didn't taste my lip balm. That… that would be embarrassing.'

The girl turned over in her bed once more before slamming her face into her pillow.

'He's scared of me… I really shouldn't go in there. He doesn't want me in there.'

But, Asuka still found herself pushing her body out of bed and throwing her covers to the side.

She quietly slid her door open and leaned her head out to make sure Misato wasn't awake. As usual, she was passed out on the couch.

'My actions have consequences. I need to be careful what I do from now on. I don't want what happened this morning to happen again. Especially when Shinji is actually home. And I also need to have an excuse… yeah. If Misato finds me with Shinji, I'll just tell her that it was cold and she needs to stop turning the air conditioning down so low. ...Ugh, of course she wouldn't buy it. But, at least I could still pin the blame on her.'

Asuka made sure to tip toe out of her room even though Misato wasn't awake. And, even if she were, the T.V. probably would have masked her footsteps. But, Asuka wasn't about to take any chances with the risks she was already taking.

After stepping across the narrow hallway, Asuka pried open Shinji's door and slipped inside.

"Shinji?" Asuka unintentionally whimpered as opposed to her usual whispering.

"Hey, Asuka," the boy mumbled sleepily.

The girl said nothing else as she knelt on the floor and crawled under Shinji's covers, trying to get comfortable. It seemed, however, that comfort wasn't going to come so easily tonight as memories began flashing through her head.

("Trust me, I don't fall asleep easily when I'm with you; it just seems like it."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? You're always still as a brick. What're you doing if you're not sleeping?"

"Usually trying to remain as still as possible.")

Asuka squeezed her eyelids shut and shivered, seemingly trying to get the images out of her head.

("Why!?"

"So I don't wake you up and make you angry or accidentally touch you.")

Asuka took a breath and sighed slowly. She looked over her shoulder, seeing nothing but the bed sheets and Shinji's short brown hair. She slowly turned over, hearing a confused moan from the boy as she shuffled around.

"Asuka? Is something-"

The boy gasped, forcing him to quit talking. He could feel Asuka squeezing her right arm under his neck and wrapping around him while she also rested her left arm over his side.

"A- Asuka, what are you doing?!" The boy choked out through his anxiety riddled voice.

"Just shut up and go to bed! And don't get any weird ideas!" Asuka whispered harshly before she rested her cheek on the back of his head and threw her left leg over both of Shinji's.

"Asuka, I- I don't know about this."

"Well, I do! So, shhh! If it makes you feel any better, I don't want you. I just… don't want to be alone either."

"I… I don't think that helps. Saying that just makes me more scared."

Asuka sighed.

"Stupid Shinji… I thought you said you weren't scared of me."

.


*Eva credits roll and Fly Me to the Moon plays*

.

"Guess who! It's me! And... well, yeah. You all know the drill by now.

In the next chapter, intrigue, danger and love all collide!"

*Kaji perks up*

"Nice! Sounds like I'll be the star of next chapter. I like where this is going."

*Kaji winks*

"No one asked you. And, not even close.

In the next chapter, a massive angel appears in the sky, threatening to flatten all of Tokyo-3. Our heroes must race to stop the angel by capturing before it can touch down. The earth will tremble! The sea will churn! Tornadoes come down from the sky! And zombies! There'll be zombies too!"

"Enough with the zombie rumors, Katsuragi!"

"Will the Eva pilots be able to stop the angel before Tokyo-3 is obliterated by meteor angels and zombies!? Find out in the next chapter of Neon Genesis Evangelion; A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love: Starry Eyed and Falling Stars!

Oh, and there might be a bit of fanservice. But uh... probably mostly jealousy. Yeah, lots of jealously since someone ends up getting misplaced after the angel attack! Ooh! Mystery!"