"That little bitch…"

Kiki Natsume was toweling the sweat off of her forehead after the last afternoon run in their phys ed class. Asuka had been back in school for two weeks now, acting like nothing at all had happened. But today, on the day of the endurance run, that 'red-haired hell-spawn' had just tossed an excusal note at the teacher and took a seat in the bleachers to watch.

"Natsume-san," Hinata Takao pleaded. "What if it's an injury from piloting? She did spend over a month in the hospital last year."

The voice of reason was far from what Kiki wanted to be hearing right now. In an instant, her anger turned on her friend. "So why is Suzahara-san out here running?" she demanded, pointing to the former jock as he struggled to round the track. Before Hinata could say any form of rebuttal, Kiki was already looking back to Asuka. "And not only does she get out of this horrid run, but she's got him waiting on her every day."

"You mean Ikari-kun?"

"Who the hell else would I mean, Hinata?!"

As if on cue, Shinji had come running back to the bleachers with the water Asuka had been demanding of him. From the other side of the field, neither of the girls could quite make out exactly what was being said, but Asuka's motions made it seem that he'd once again failed to live up to her expectations.

"He's the Hero of Tokyo-3," Kiki continued, watching Asuka unceremoniously take the water bottle he'd been offering. "He shouldn't be hanging around someone that treats him like dirt. He deserves someone who understands his real worth." With that, she stormed back to the locker room to get changed.

"Natsume-san…" Hinata sighed before running off after her friend.

Chapter 7

The Trenches of Yancheng

Shinji was running up the bleacher steps with a bottle of filtered water that he'd picked up as soon as his run was finished. Sure, he probably needed it more after his run, but Shinji wasn't thinking about himself. And that was a mistake that would cost him.

"BAKA! How are you still able to run?" Asuka scolded.

Shinji just skidded to a stop in confusion. "Wha?"

"I asked you," Asuka started as she stood, "how you were still able to run."

Shinji started to shrink away from the verbal onslaught, offering up the water bottle as a peace offering. She swiped it from his hands and took a large gulp, before continuing.

"You didn't do your best out there, did you?"

"I… I'm so-"

"No! Don't you finish that sentence, Third!" She let out a sigh as she sat back down, her voice calming down. "I'm the one who should be sorry," she whispered before offering Shinji the bottle. "Ugh. Damn hormones!"

Shinji took the water bottle back and started sipping. "But, you're right."

"Well, of course I am. After all, I am the great Asuka Langley Soryu!" she said in a voice that almost mocked her old mentality. "Shinji, I'm grateful for what you're doing for me and the… well, what I mean is, I wanted to say tha... No, that's not quite right."

Shinji placed a hand on Asuka's shoulder. "I understand, Asuka. You don't have to thank me, I want to be here for you… for both of you."

A smile crept across Asuka's lips while Shinji finished the water. Hearing him say that was certainly a weight off of her shoulders, even if she could barely admit it to herself.

"Is that not what is referred to as an indirect kiss, Lieutenant Ikari?" a feminine voice asked from behind them. The pure astonishment of the question caused Shinji to spit out his water in an explosion of saliva and drink that would have rivaled Old Faithful. Perfectly synchronized calls of "Wondergirl?!" and "Rei?!" escaped the Second and Third Children as they turned to see their blue-haired friend. That was until her words sunk in and Asuka wheeled on Shinji once more.

"Wait a minute, did she just call you 'Lieutenant'?!"

=/\= =\/= =/\= =\/= =/\=

"For the last time, Asuka, I will explain everything when we get home."

"But the front door is right there," Asuka whined, pointing to their apartment door only a few feet ahead of them. "Alright, fine. I'll wait five more seconds. But why does Wondergirl have to be here?"

"I have business with Lieutenant Ikari," Rei deadpanned from her place behind the duo.

Shinji let out a sigh as he opened the apartment door. "Rei, please, I told you. Just Shinji is fine when we're off duty."

"You're wasting your time on that one, Shinji-kun," came the laughing voice of their guardian from inside the apartment.

"Major Katsuragi, I was not aware that you had the day off."

"See what I mean?" Misato asked as she appeared around the corner, putting another DHL box in the front hallway. "And to answer your implied question, Rei. I took the day off to pack up the apartment."

"What… What's going on?" a confused Asuka stammered out as her eyes started to well up.

"You didn't tell her?" Misato asked, concern creeping into her voice.

"I… wasn't sure how to bring it up…" Shinji said with a blush.

"And how does finding out about this in the middle of packing make things any better?" Misato cried out.

"It doesn't… I… I'm sorry."

"Lieutenant, sorry doesn't bring back soldiers!"

As Misato continued berating her first charge, Asuka turned to Rei. Curiosity was getting the better of her, despite the pain of suddenly finding her guardian in the middle of packing up the apartment. Maybe some interesting news from NERV would help her out of this quickly forming rut. "So Wondergirl, what 'business' did you have with that idiot anyways?"

"I was ordered by the Commander to tell him that the Sixth…"

"No! Rei, don't!"

Rei stopped mid-sentence. "I am sorry, Major. The Commander said nothing about withholding this information from the Second Children."

Asuka's head was starting to spin. Shinji had been given an official rank in NERV, but not her. Misato was packing up for a move. Now, something about the Sixth… It could only mean one thing. She was talking about the Sixth Children, she had to be.

'Replacement…'

In her mind, she could see her mother's favorite doll. That red-headed monstrosity spinning from a noose with a smile eternally stitched on its face. The doll that should have been her, if her mother hadn't completely lost her senses. Tears started falling in earnest as she pushed past Shinji and Misato.

"Asuka!"

"Asuka!"

Their calls fell on deaf ears as she fled to the relative safety of her room, a room that might not be hers for much longer. There was only once voice her mind was letting her hear now…

'Asuka, die with me!'

=/\= =\/= =/\= =\/= =/\=

"Come on. Come on! COME ON! Can't this stupid train go any faster?!"

"Calm down, Mari. We're crossing the entirety of Siberia. It takes time," her travelling companion said. "Just relax, we're three days out of Vladivostok. Then it's just a short ferry ride to Tokyo-3."

"How long have you known me, Agent Tod? In all that time, have you ever known me to be patient?"

The man just laughed. "This is why I hate getting children involved in these matters."

"Funny," Mari mumbled, "I was going to say the same thing about adults."

=/\= =\/= =/\= =\/= =/\=

"Come to heaven with me, Asuka."

Asuka cringed as she saw that damned doll spinning before her once again.

"Die with me, Asuka…"

"No." Asuka backed away slowly. "No, I want to live."

"Come to heaven with me, Asuka."

"No…"

"But, you must. There's nothing for you here."

"No." Asuka curled into the fetal position. "No, I do have a reason."

Another image flashed into her mind, a memory of her mental rape by the Fifteenth.

'Why are you here?'

'You don't care about me!'

'You won't even hold me!'

"Stop this!"

"Asuka…"

"Stop… Please stop."

"Die with me…"

=/\= =\/= =/\= =\/= =/\=

"I SAID STOP!" Asuka screamed as her eyes opened once more to the darkness of the room. Her cheek and pillow were both soaked with her tears, while the rest of her was drenched in sweat. She tried to get up, but felt herself pinned to her bed. Warmth. Weight. There was someone in the bed with her, a realization that hit like a freight train when she noticed an arm wrapped gentle around her waist.

"Ngh… Asuka?"

A groggy Shinji yawned, only to have his eyes snap open as Asuka's palm connected with his cheek.

"Hentai! What are you doing in my bed, you pervert?!"

"I should ask you the same thing. This is my room."

Asuka's cheeks started to glow as she looked around the room. He was right, sometime after she had cried herself to sleep, she must have sleep-walked into his arms.

"Alright," Shinji said as he stifled another yawn. "Come on, let's go get you something to eat."

"Why?"

"Because you missed dinner, of course. That can't be good for your baby."

"No, baka. I mean, why do you put up with me? And why was Misato packing? And why is the Sixth coming here? And why…"

Shinji silenced her with a hug. "That's a lot for a single why," he said with a laugh, before leading her towards the kitchen. "Asuka, I'm sorry I didn't tell you anything before. I just didn't know how to bring it up. It's all because of that meeting."

"The one with your father?"

"Yeah."

"You never said a word about that to me."

"Well, you see…" Shinji started to blush as he was gathering leftovers for a light meal. "There were a few conditions to you staying here. And I was afraid…"

"Just spill it, Third. What did you have to give that bastard?"

"That's just the thing. It was more what he gave us…"

"Wha?"

"Apparently, all the pilots have been receiving their pay into a trust fund. The Commander agreed to unlock the funds for us, if we agreed to work for NERV."

"And you did?"

Shinji nodded. "Rei and I were given the rank of 'Provisional Lieutenant' until we turn eighteen, when we'll be formally commissioned. The offer was extended to you as well, or will be once your leave is up."

"So, I'm not being replaced?" Asuka asked, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Of course not. Whatever gave you that idea?" Shinji asked as the microwave oven started to beep.

"But Rei said the Sixth…"

"Yeah, Unit-05 just finished it's trials at Bethany Base. Its transfer, as well as the transfer of the Sixth Children, was supposed to happen two months ago. I don't know the reason, but the transfer had been delayed until now."

"And Misato's packing of the apartment?"

"Since I now have a housing allowance, Misato and I are pooling our resources and we're going to be moving to a bigger apartment. We just found the place today, so I thought I would have more time to find a way to tell you. I really am sorry, Asuka."

Her sigh of relief turned into a minor squeal of joy as a small plate was placed before you.

"Thanks for the meal!"

With a smile, she started to eat the leftovers that Shinji had prepared for her. But, something was bugging her. He never answered her first question.

"Shinji, why do you put up with me, anyways?"

"Well, you see…" Shinji started to look around nervously. "The thing is, I… I think I love you, Asuka."

=/\= =\/= =/\= =\/= =/\=

At the other end of the apartment, a single door slid shut. Its occupant had a sad smile on her face as she returned to bed.

"Please don't screw this up like we did, kids."

A/N: OK, first things first… I feel like an idiot because I only just noticed that the first chapter of Father is actually spread out over several weeks. All the times I've read it, it always seemed like it was set up as being a matter of 48 to 72 hours. But I was trying to find the full names of 'the jerks' and, low and behold, tucked away before our first meeting with Kiki, I stumble upon the words I've missed so many times. "The next several weeks". Huh, I guess some elements actually make a bit more sense now. Also meets I have horrendously accelerated Shinji's meeting with pops, not counting the two-year acceleration. No matter, everything should flow in the end. Speaking of 'the jerks', how did y'all like Kiki and Hinata? They, and Hoju, are going to be around for a little while. The tension has to build, after all.

As I am sure that there are some who have been curious about this… It's REI! She's finally shown up, in her usual, demi-doll fashion with an odd sense of humor. Hope you're not too upset or were expecting her to be, well, more human I guess is the best way to say it. She should become a bit more common place in the story as well, I hope. And I didn't really want to leave Mari out, so I gave her a bit appearance for now. Some threads are finally starting to come together. But as they do, more are being created. It's all part of the plan.

One thing I want to share, just as a sort of gift to those that actually read my author notes, there are at least four distinct factions vying for the totality of the vacuum that SEELE's destruction caused; NERV, "the council", the Japanese government, and the US government. We've mostly seen NERV's moves, but some of the other parties are going to start to be a bit more overt with their actions in the coming chapters. So, I hope you'll stay tuned.

See you next week for the promised one-shot fiction "In Your Father's Shadow: Cloaks and Tridents". And yes, as the title suggest, it is a Dein Vater standalone. Hope you'll enjoy!

JaceSterne