I was so happy when I managed to get Hikari back home. Kodama and Nozomi were also very happy with the way things turned out. I chose not to mention the incident in Divison-9, and I also said nothing about the blue fluid on the torn shirt. When I cut myself in the bathroom later, I saw my blood was in fact blue…

What have I become? Am I an angel? Am I really the Avatar of Lilith?

Hikari still hasn't woken up yet, and it's been 2 days since I rescued her. I sense she is okay, but I don't understand why she hasn't come back to me yet. Her sisters are starting to get worried too.

Kaworu isn't back yet… I wonder if he's okay.

-From Rei Ayanami's Diary

VI: The White Angel and The Red Devil

Langxi, China – 2 Days Later

Asuka's eyes slowly opened. She felt dry and tried to open her mouth only to feel her throat seize a bit. A sound came from her and she felt herself being sat up gently. Without really knowing her surroundings, she knew it was Kaworu that was helping her. Her mouth opened a little and she felt the lip of a clay cup placed there. Carefully she took in some of the cool water and swallowed, instantly feeling her throat begin to relax. The cool water felt as if it were being absorbed by her esophagus as it traveled down on its trip to her stomach.

She blinked, and her sight started to become less blurred. The fuzzy and indistinct objects became clearer and she focused on Kaworu's face. Smiling gently, her eyes closed again as she was let back down to the bed. Sound returned to her world next and she heard the familiar rhythm of life in Langxi; the hammering on the outer walls for repairs, the children playing, and the movement of people to and fro.

"How do you feel?" Kaworu asked her.

"I've had better days," Asuka admitted in a low voice as her eyes opened again. "How did you find me?"

"Rei," he replied. "She has awakened."

Asuka frowned at that. "And here I was hoping she would have a normal life. I went pretty hard on her during the war…"

"Her destiny is not for us to decide," Kaworu pointed out.

"No… it isn't." She sighed in resignation. "And I doubt Lilith will ever let her go."

Kaworu sighed as she stood up. Asuka shifted a little so she can continue to watch him.

"I wonder how Shinji is," Kaworu mused. "He's inside the Black Moon with Lilith now… He's for all intents and purposes the new god."

"Baka," Asuka whispered. "Wonderful Shinji… Fate has given him such a cruel hand it seems."

"He wanted the world to have a second chance… and this is what happened."

"Humanity will never accept what it can't understand," Asuka noted.

"Humanity is a lost cause," Kaworu noted with obvious aggression in his voice.

"And what of the Jackals?" Asuka noted. "Humanity is destroying itself, this is true. But do we not have the same problem amongst our own people? We are not so different in the end."

"We're nothing like them!" Kaworu snapped causing Asuka to flinch. He looked remorseful for his sudden outburst and quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to–"

"What's happened to you?" Asuka asked, cutting him off. "Why do you hate humans so much now? You used to admire them."

Kaworu sighed as he leaned back a bit. "I guess… they just pushed our people too far. They started the war, they wanted to kill us off because they don't understand us. They think we're the enemy!"

"Can you really blame them?" Asuka pointed out. "We Nephilim have the power of the angels at our finger tips. When our powers awaken they often do so violently, and people can get hurt in the process. Not only that but some of us also become Jackals, and begin preying upon our own kind. I think humanity has a right to be afraid of us. I don't agree with the way they handled it, but that is human nature. You of all people should know that." She frowned slightly. "Mien Gott, when did I become the voice of reason between the two of us?"

Kaworu sighed as she pushed herself back towards the head of the bed a little, sitting up straight. "You are right of course," he admitted. "This is how I should have expected them to react… but they hurt you."

Asuka looked at him with a sad expression.

"You awakened on the moment of your greatest personal achievement, and they tried to kill you for being different… you."

"Playing favorites?" Asuka mused.

Kaworu frowned, sitting forward on the bed now. His eyes focused on the wall before him. "When we were in instrumentality…"

He stopped mid-sentence as Asuka pulled herself up and held him from behind, resting her head on his right shoulder. Another sigh escaped his mouth but this one sounded more content than resigned.

"That was both the worst day and the best day of my life," Asuka said softly. "I was in shambles when I arrived at the heart of Instrumentality… my soul shattered as much as my body was. When you took me into your heart and helped me stitch myself back together again… it was the first time in my entire existence I felt… real love. It wasn't simply admiration or idol worship… it was real caring. Without you I'd still be a fragmented soul existing beyond the periphery."

"I would never let that be your fate," Kaworu stated with finality.

"Then don't torture yourself with hate now," Asuka stated with just as much finality. "I let myself hate, and it tore me apart over a long hard year of fighting… and for many years before that. Touji, that baka, used to call me the Red Devil. Now I have the wisdom to know why he did. I won't let myself fall into that again."

"I'm glad to see I was of so much help."

"And I'm helping you now," Asuka replied. "They deserve pity, not hate."

"Can you be so forgiving if I told you they captured Hikari?"

Asuka looked surprised at that. "I didn't even know she was awakened."

"Rei is rescuing her, well, probably already did at this point."

"Rei?" Asuka questioned. "She barely knew Hikari during school."

"And yet, they are drawn to each other now. Rei's discovery of emotions when she returned from Instrumentality probably played a big role in that."

"I can't believe she turned les like that. And Hikari! You think you know a person!"

Kaworu chuckled at Asuka's exasperation.

"Well I hope they're happy with each other. Are you sure Rei was successful?"

"I am. I would have heard something by now."

Asuka nodded and clung a little tighter to Kaworu. "So what do we do in the meantime?" She asked with a slightly seductive tone to her voice as she ran her left pointer finger over his chest.

"As tempting as you are, my angel, you are not yet fully recovered. You need to rest."

Asuka whined a bit at that as she let go. Kaworu turned and helped her lay back down, only to get pulled down on top of Asuka.

"Are you sure I can't change your mind?"

Kaworu kissed her and Asuka held herself to him as desperately as she could. She could feel the warmth of his aura encapsulating her. Then she felt the pain in her stomach, it hit fast and hard causing her to let go of him and gasp.

Kaworu placed his right hand on her stomach gently. "I'm sure," he finally replied. "Almost all of the corruption is gone, but some lingers still, and it's preventing you from regenerating the damage completely.

Asuka finally calmed as the pain faded. "If I ever get my hands on that gottverdammten bastard, I'll make him wish he never met me."

"You might get your chance," Kaworu noted. "Town scouts have seen more Mahkai in the areas to the northeast, the direction the last group that attacked the town came from. I'm pretty sure at this point that the one who tried to kill you is still alive and knows you are too."

"He mentioned he wanted my power. I think he's like a Nephilim Jackal."

"I don't doubt it," Kaworu noted with obvious aggression in his voice. "You must rest for now. I'll see about getting you some food."

Asuka nodded. "Thank you… beloved."

Kaworu nodded. He leaned over her and kissed her softly once more before leaving to secure more supplies and food for later.

Asuka pulled the blanket over her and shivered a bit. The damage done to her made her more susceptible to the cold than she usually was. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

A Few Hours Later

Kaworu stood upon the battlements looking over what was the battlefield. Charred bones and some smoldering areas still remained from the conflict that took place 3 days ago, a testament to Asuka's unbridled power.

"It seems Asuka can't fight a battle where she doesn't leave a smoldering ruin in her wake," he said aloud to no one.

"She saved us all," Daquan replied from a nearby perch. Kaworu looked in his direction.

"You admire her," he pointed out.

"I know she is yours," Daquan countered. "She's more of a protective mother to this town than anything else."

"Asuka… motherly… A year ago such a thing would have seemed laughable," Kaworu almost chuckled out.

Daquan looked over to Kaworu adjusting his crouched position slightly. "What was she like before The Fall?"

"The Fall… Instrumentality… Third Impact… So many names," Kaworu mused. "Before… 'The Fall'… Asuka was stubborn, self-absorbed, overconfident to the point of arrogance, and… most of all… a shattered child inside. She had a horrid childhood and was forced into a position where the weight of the world rested firmly upon her shoulders. She tried to shoulder that burden with confidence and force of will, but her experiences always served to hold her back from her true potential. It wasn't until The Fall that she finally healed, and became the noble, caring, and as you put it, motherly young lady she is today."

Daquan mused on that a moment. "It's amazing how many of us were different before The Fall. I was a stock broker in Beijing. I learned how to pull certain strings to get things my way. I became greedy and very much self-absorbed… I imagine much like Asuka. After The Fall, I changed so much… now I've become very generous, honorable, and all too eager to put myself in harm's way so that other's do not have to."

"It was Shinji's hope that Instrumentality… The Fall as you call it… would allow people to have true understanding and make the world a better place. But it seems only those that became Nephilim gained that insight, while humanity is stubbornly holding on to its destructive and fearful legacy."

"Shinji?" Daquan asked.

"Shinji is a boy I knew when I was in Japan. He has become a new god… perhaps The new god."

"I see," he replied. "Then we who have been touched by God… by Him… should give him praise… for without Him, we would not exist as we do now."

"You don't see this existence a burden?" Kaworu asked.

"Of course I don't… no more than you do. We are grateful for every day that has passed, and every day that is to come."

Kaworu smile gently. "Well, He's already had a positive effect on the world then."

Tokyo 3 Underground

Hikari finally began to awaken. Slowly, feeling began to return to her limbs. She felt warm but didn't know why. She tried to move and found she was being held in her sleep by another sleeping person. It took a few moments to realize the person was female, and a few more to realize it was Rei.

Her movement immediately woke Rei up. The blue haired angel sat up a little, looking down on Hikari as her eyes opened.

"Hikari," Rei said. "Are you with us now?"

"I feel… odd…" was all she could get out.

"Odd?"

Hikari began to sit up, holding the sheet to her chest as she realized she was sleeping in the nude for some reason she didn't want to contemplate.

"Wait…"

She was sleeping in the nude. Hikari suddenly jumped back away from Rei covering herself. Her face turned red as freshly picked radish. "Rei! What the hell are you trying to do?! I'm not looking to go that fast!"

Rei simply looked perplexed at her, and now that Hikari had all the sheets she saw Rei was completely naked as well.

"Oh, kami-sama! Did… did we do something last night?!"

"What are you talking about?" Rei looked are her confused.

"You're naked!"

"I always sleep like this," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"But… b-b-b-but I was naked too!"

"You… don't sleep like that?"

"NO!" Hikari half-shouted.

"Oh," Rei replied.

"Oh? OH?! That's all you can say?!" Hikari demanded.

"I made a mistake. I apologize."

Hikari was absolutely flabbergasted that Rei was taking this so casually. "Do you even know the significance of two people sleeping naked together?"

"Yes, but all we were doing was sleeping. Why is that so terrible?"

"We were naked and in close proximity to each other!" Hikari pointed out.

"I was often naked and in close proximity to Asuka during the angel wars. It was a requirement of using the same locker room."

"But this isn't a locker room!" Hikari protested.

"I'm very sorry, Hikari," Rei apologized. "I do not see the difference."

Hikari sighed.

"I love you," Rei said with finality causing the more reserved girl to blush. "And I know you at least feel something for me. But it does not make sense to use western idealized privacy rules just because I have begun courting you."

Hikari made an exasperated sound. "I wish you wouldn't put it like that… it's already weird enough. I'm still not used to the idea that I'm falling in love with another girl."

"I would never do something to you without your permission," Rei replied reassuringly. "Besides, I am still mostly uncertain as to how two girls make love as my only knowledge of sex has been clinical texts and health class, which did not cover homosexuality between girls."

"Please stop saying words!" Hikari pleaded; her face was unable to turn any redder. She pulled her knees up a little becoming even more self-conscious but Hikari noted with some dismay that Rei wasn't even attempting to hide her body.

Rei nodded. "Again, I am sorry. My social skills are not what they should be." She stood up and as much as Hikari tried to avert her eyes, she couldn't help but admire Rei's perfectly shaped bum. "I have never been very adept at living."

The conversation broke Hikari's trance and she looked towards Rei's face which was facing partly away from her. "Why is that?"

Rei turned towards her. "My purpose when I was created was to die to bring about Instrumentality. I was to serve as a link between Gendo Ikari and the event, allowing him to control it so he could bring his wife back from the dead."

Hikari looked saddened at the admission. "That's… terrible." Little by little Rei was revealing everything to Hikari, and she knew she only had to be patient.

"As a result of that, I was forced to take drugs every day that dulled my senses and left me emotionally atrophied. Now that I have been given a new existence thanks to Shinji, I am able to feel everything at its full strength, and am finally learning to express emotions the way humans are supposed to."

"So you're socially stunted," Hikari concluded. "I guess I can see how that would be a problem." She looked down at herself, took a deep breath and threw off the sheets.

"What are you doing?" Rei asked, noticing that Hikari was blushing again, but not even attempting to hide her body from Rei. She noticed her gentle curves and that she had freckles in places other than her face. Rei wondered why she hadn't noticed that before. Hikari lowered her left leg, the one closest to Rei so that now everything Hikari was would now be visible to Rei.

"Compromising with you," the normally reserved girl replied. "I may be uncomfortable being naked around others, but you suffer with social interactivity issues on a daily basis. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't try to help you feel more comfortable? So… for now on, I will share your bed and I will sleep as you do.

"You do not have to share my inadequacies," Rei offered as she knelt down on the bed.

"I want to," Hikari stated with finality, her blush fading. "Because the truth is that no one is completely well adjusted… and we all have situations we face occasionally that make us uncomfortable. It's because we as a race cannot truly understand each other like we could when we were as one."

"When our AT Fields were gone," Rei noted. "That is human nature isn't it? We struggle our entire lives to try to gain understanding of just one other soul that we think we can relate to, but we will never reach that full level of understanding."

"I know Nephilim can," Hikari noted, blushing slightly. "I've heard it done… a fusing of souls."

"We will discuss that later, when and if we both become ready for that."

"Agreed."

Rei laid back down next to Hikari, as Hikari turned on her side. Nervously, she slid into Rei's comfort zone and wrapped her arms around her body, tracing her fingertips up her spine to her shoulder blades. She felt their legs intertwine and their bodies come together. She tried to ignore the feeling of skin rubbing against her nipples, and succeeded in concentrating only on holding someone and being held in return. Rei mirrored the gesture and took in the warmth from Hikari as they both simultaneously let out a content sigh.

"This is nice," Hikari noted, now that the embarrassment was gone.

"It is very agreeable," Rei replied.

"I just remembered something," Hikari said sounding worried. "Bastion was at my house!"

"Your sisters are here and they are safe," Rei told her, watching Hikari relax a bit.

"Why does he want them?"

"I do not know," Rei admitted, then frowned as she realized time was being lost. "We should get dressed; they will want to see you now that you are awake."

"I think they can wait a little while longer… I… I'm finally comfortable here."

"All me this honor then," Rei whispered as leaned closer to Hikari, allowing the thinner girl to lay her head on Rei's chest. Thought his made the smaller girl blush a little again the embarrassment quickly faded."

"A girl can get used to this…" Hikari mused.

The sewers belch me up,

The heavens spit me out

From ethers tragic I am born again!

And I am with you now,

Inside your world of wow,

To move in desires made of deadly pretend,

Till the end times begin

-The Smashing Pumpkins, The End is the Beginning is the End