CHAPTER 27: A HOLE IN HER HEART

"WWHHAAAAAHHHH!" Asuka's shriek filled the entire third floor of the apartment building.

"It's too early in the morning for her bull shit," Shinji grumbled as he turned from the kitchen table towards the bathroom and waited for the inevitable. Sure enough, Asuka appeared in the doorway, bath towel wrapped around her, looking more pissed than usual.

"IT'S TOO HOT!" She screamed like a rabid banshee.

"I'm sorry," Shinji replied in a condescendingly high pitched voice. "Do you want me to go get you some ice, you poor thing? Maybe, some ointment you can apply to the affected area? Some herbal remedy of exotic origin that modern medicine can't replicate? Because, who could've thought that if not monitored bath water can become very hot? Or that this is somehow the fault of an innocent third party? And that this third party should be the one to find something to alleviate your pain…No," he went back to his normal voice. "No. You're right, it's totally my fault."

"Why do always have to be such a smartass!?" Asuka yelled at him. "And why do you even think I'm blaming you!?"

"Why are you always yelling?" Shinji asked before realizing how rhetorical a question it was. "Wait…"

"Whenever someone confronts you your first reaction is to sass them! Isn't it Shinji!? Can't you grow up and not be such a pain the ass!?"

"Ladies first."

"Fuck you!"

"Now, now, Asuka," Misato waved the irate German pilot down. "There's nothing wrong with Shinji. That's just his way, you know."

"It's just so easy for you to accept his bad habits!" Asuka pointed a finger at her. "But don't you think you've been a little too easy on him recently?"

"Oh? Have I?"

"Maybe you and Kaji have hooked back up, but that doesn't mean you can neglect the well-being and needs of the rest of us!" Shinji rolled his eyes as Misato denied that there was anything between her and Kaji. As if on cue, the phone, which had been ringing the whole time, but drowned out by the red-head's screaming, switched over to the answering machine.

"Hey, Misato-babe," Kaji's playa voice came on. "I found a good place that serves a decent drink." Misato recoiled at that while Shinji choked on his laughter. "How about tonight at seven? Bye!" Click.

"And," Shinji had some fun at Misato's expense, "the 'Bad Timing Award' goes to that guy!"

"Well," Asuka went on. "I have never been around someone involved in such a totally indecent relationship!"

'I give up on this witch,' Shinji smacked his forehead and ran his hand down his face.

"And you're supposed to be our guardian!? What a hypocrite! IT'S DISGUSTING!" And with that she slammed the sliding door shut.

"Sure you don't want that ice!?" Shinji yelled through the door. "There's still some left in the freezer!"

"Bite me, Third Child!"

That afternoon they had yet another harmonics test. Over the past few weeks Shinji's scores had been rapidly catching up with Asuka's, which never failed to chap her ass. Last week they were nearly tied, with Shinji just two and a half points below her. "How're the Third Child's scores?" Misato asked once his plug was descended to just before the contamination zone.

"Take a look," Maya said slyly as she brought up the results. She couldn't help but feel impressed every time Shinji got scores like these. He truly was magnificent.

"Oh," Misato stared. "I bet this will certainly make his day." She grabbed the communications system. "Can you hear me, Shinji?"

"Loud and clear, Misato!" He came back. "So, what's the damage?"

"HA!" She gave him the thumbs up. "Great! You're number one!" The scores were then posted on all of their screens. Shinji blew Asuka out of the water: twelve full points above hers.

In the girls' locker room it took everything Rei had to drone out Asuka's rant. "Shinji he's our hero!" Asuka cheered in a mocking tone. "And he used to be a zero!" Rei just rolled her eyes in a display of emotion that, until recently, would've been very bizarre for her. "Okay, so that does mean that our job will be a little easier, right? But it also means that we'll have to be doing double time just so we're not left behind!"

"You're too loud," Rei said. "I'm leaving now." And with that she closed to door. Rei walked through the halls of NERV until she came to the elevator. Shinji was there too. "Hello, Shinji," she greeted him.

"Hi, Rei," he smiled back at her. "Your test scores looked pretty good today, too. Five points higher than last week."

"Thank you for the compliment." Rei smiled. "Your scores were impressive as well."

"I take it Asuka is falling all over herself over that."

"If you mean that she's pissed, then yes."

"That's Asuka for ya," Shinji shrugged as they stepped onto the elevator. "I've given up on trying to help her with her people skills." Up top, they got on a bus back to the apartment building.

They went inside the apartment and Shinji set out a Caesar Salad for Rei as he got himself some leftover Chicken Parmesan. "Shinji," Rei asked quietly during the meal.

"What's up, Rei?" He asked. "You seem…distant."

"I've been…having dreams lately…"

"Have you never had dreams before?" She shook her head. 'That's interesting.' "Are these dreams good?"

"I'd like to think so. But, I am confused by why I am having them."

"Some say that dreams are a way for our minds to reorganize the day's events into a coherent pattern," Shinji said.

"I don't recall any of these events ever occurring," Rei explain.

"They may just be thing's you have witnessed but you're mind doesn't know how to catalogue it so it just meshes it with other bits of your memory. Other's think that dreams are a way for our subconscious to communicate to us what it wants."

"What it…wants?" Rei was confused. "I do not understand."

"Well, the theory is that dreams are a visual representation of what our subconscious mind desires from our conscious mind. To elaborate it means that if someone is dreaming about driving a really fast car or of simply moving very fast then sub-consciously they want to buy that new high performance vehicle."

"I see."

"Of course," Shinji shrugged. "Some dreams, especially ones that I usually have, don't always make much sense. They can be full of very random things that just seemed thrown together and somehow interconnect. An example would be one where, just after I saw the new Rambo movie I had a dream where I was fighting in the epic battle at the end when, all of the sudden, a giant Easter bunny comes crashing down and I have to climb into an EVA and fight it off." He noted the confused look on Rei's face. "I shit you not."

"Why would you have to fight a giant Easter bunny in an EVA?" Rei asked seriously.

"I have no freaking clue!" Shinji shook his head.

"Well," Asuka said finally arriving home, "You two look like you're spending some real quality time together."

"You'd rather I spend my time bragging about my scores?" Shinji asked. "Just let it out, Asuka," Shinji told her. "I know you want to vent."

"Shut the fuck up, Third Child!" Asuka snapped. "Don't even talk to me unless I talk to you first!"

"I do not understand why you are so upset over Shinji's test scores," Rei spoke up.

"You're too stupid to understand, Wondergirl!"

"Don't snap at Rei," Shinji snapped. "I'm the one you're pissed at!"

"Oh! Standing up for your girl are you? Humph," Asuka marched into her room and slammed the door shut. "Asshole!"

XXXXX

When she returned to her apartment Rei felt the hole in her heart widen. "It feels…it feels…empty…painful when…" She thought back to dinner in Katsuragi's apartment. "Shinji…" Whenever Shinji was close by she felt…she felt at peace. She felt calm. She felt alive. But, when she was alone or not with Shinji at the least, she felt like there was a hole inside of her. "Shinji…why…? Why do I feel so…pained and…? I feel…alone."

Her current train of thought continued as she took a shower and got ready for bed. "I feel alone," she said looking up at the ceiling in her bed. "I feel alone when I'm not close to Shinji. His presence is…fulfilling." And his absence ate away at her. "I don't want to be alone."

On the floor below Shinji was looking up at the ceiling as well. His thought were on Rei as well. "I like her," he said to himself. "I know that but…What do I do about it? I've never really been around girls my age. Or anybody else for that matter. I'm lucky that Toji and Kensuke put up with me. I'm not exactly the greatest people person in the world. And Rei's definitely not like normal girls." He closed his eyes. "Then there's my father. What the hell does he want with her?" He could feel himself getting angry at the thought. "I swear. If he does anything to hurt her…"

"Shinji?" Misato's voice came through his door.
"Yeah?" He responded as she opened it. "What's up, Misato?"

"I heard you talking," Misato said. "Is there something on your mind?"

"You could say that," Shinji said.

"It's about Rei isn't it?" Shinji rolled his eyes. "I won't tease you, Shinji. Just, tell me what's on your mind."

"I'm not really sure of that myself," he explained. "Before I came to Japan I never really had much contact with kids my age. Especially girls. And she's got this mysterious aura around her that I can't seem to crack. On the outside she's definitely cute." Misato suppressed a giggle at that. "On the inside she's a bit of a mystery. I can connect with her I'm just confused about why I can."

"You like her," Misato said without teasing.
"I won't argue that," Shinji replied. "I just don't know what to do about it."

"Shinji," she said stepping up to the bed and sitting down on the edge. "As the closest thing to a mother figure that you've probably got, let me give you some advice. Normal girls can be finicky. Some of them like to cling and not let go. Others can be demanding…"

"Like Asuka?" Misato chuckled and nodded.

"Others can be fickle and come and go with the seasons. But, some know what they want when they see it and they go after it with everything they've got. Now, Rei isn't normal. But, I do know she has emotions. Even if she's not very good at dealing with them; she's been so reserved for so long that she doesn't know how to. She keeps things bottled up. That's not healthy. But, ever since you came along she's become more open. She's even loosened up some. You becoming her friend was probably the best thing that could've ever happened to her. So my advice is this: don't let a good thing like that go to waste. Continue being her friend. And, if it's something you both desire, expand on it and take it further. Just don't rush it. Or you may end up hurting yourself, her or both of you."

"Hurting Rei is the last thing I'd ever want to do," Shinji said.

"Well, I've said my piece. So I'll let you go to sleep." She got up and headed for the door. "Just remember what I said okay? Goodnight, Shinji."

"Goodnight, Misato."