Like Father Like Son

by JazzCabbage

This time Gendo Ikari gets a chance to right his wrongs, sent back from the third impact inside the brain of the Shinji we all know and love from episode 1. With a great father like Gendo to lean on this can only lead to positive growth for our hero not to mention with his foresight of the angels the fights are gonna be easier than ever right?, RIGHT?

6. So You Think You Can Dance?

Ch 6 So You Think You Can Dance?

---

"Guten Morgen Shinji"

"Ahh…Guten Morgen Asuka"

"Ugh, why so gloomy? You do realize the most popular girl in school is talking to you right?"

"I guess?"

"We're just all moving at superspeed to you huh Shinji? Is the other one here? I wanna introduce myself".

"The other one, what?"

"The first child of course!? Who else would I be talking about?"

"You mean Ayanami? I should warn you she's pretty shy"

Asuka only rolled her eyes at this "What are you two related or something? I don't think I can handle another Eva pilot scared of their own shadow."

'Wha…No of course not, why would we be related? She's right over there look" Shinji gestured to a lonely park bench nearby with a blue haired girl quietly reading in the morning sunlight. He released a breath he didn't realize he was holding when his diversion worked and Asuka confidently strode over to block the girl's reading light.

"You're the pilot for the prototype right?" Asuka paused for Rei to reply but the girl did not even move her gaze from the book. "I'm Asuka Langley Soryu the designated pilot of Eva 2, let's be good friends"

"Why?" Rei met the other girl's gaze calmly staring at her eyes with a look of slight annoyance.

"It'll be convenient you know how it is"

"I do not believe I do, if I am ordered to I will"

"Freaka…zoid"

"Takes one to know one, I wonder if they only choose weirdos to be Eva pilots"

Shinji was pulled from his observance of the girls and gave his friend a strange look. Toji shook his head and pushed his way through the crowd of onlookers surrounding him on the overpass, away from the unfolding drama.

---

Kaji confidently strode into NERV's commander center with catlike grace to mask his footsteps as he wrapped his arms around a blonde scientist busily typing away at a computer terminal.

"You know doctor, if all you focus on is Eva you'll miss out on the finer things in life" he traced his fingers along her jawline leading up to her lips.

"Oh and what's so important that I should let myself be distracted from my life's work?" she repressed a chuckle as her purple haired friend glared at the pair through a glass viewing screen. She played along with the charade uncoiling her rigid posture at his touch.

"Life is for living not for working my dear beautiful doctor" Kaji stole a glance at his enraged ex lover before lowering his head towards the blonde with his eyes closed.

"Of course you'd say that, you lazy slag off" Misato burst in and Kaji quickly extricated himself from his previous cuddling and gave Misato a wide grin. "You finished the transport of Unit-02, so why are you still here!?"

Kaji's smile never left his face as he replied "That's just the thing Katsuragi, I got orders this morning that I'll be working in Tokyo-3 again, we can get together just like old times".

"In your dreams!" Misato stormed off as the command center turned a flashing red and the early alert Angel alarms started blaring over the intercom. "An attack!?"

"We've just received a report of a huge submerged object off the coast of New Yokosuka"

"The Magi just confirmed it's a code blue, all personnel report to stations at First level Alert!

---

"This sucks! My first fight over japan and I'm stuck with this Evolutionsbremse of a pilot"

"You know Asuka I can still tell you're insulting me even when you say it in german"

"Aww is da widdle Ikari mad at me? is he gonna go wawa to his daddy about how the other kids are mean to him?"

"Don't mention my father again" Shinji's voice dropped a few octaves and his normally wavering tone of speaking was now forceful without its usual warmth.

Asuka's mouth slacked open and her eyes widened when she saw the reaction she got from Shinji. She quickly recovered her previous composure and she was for once thankful as Misato's voice broke the silently building tension.

"We're still repairing our static defenses at Tokyo-3 from the last angel battle; they're too badly damaged to be of any use against the Angel so we are sending a vanguard force of Unit-01 and 02 to perform a combined assault to destroy the target".

"This Angel's all mine! Don't get in my way, Third Child!"

"Asuka combined assault means combined, take turns swapping out with Shinji, you have to work together to destroy the target and that's an order"

Asuka only grumbled angrily, respecting the chain of command even if its orders were made by delusional harlots. She'd prove herself the superior pilot soon enough anyway.

"Two against one is not a fair fight, it's not fair"

"This is war, fairness is a luxury we can't afford"

After the umbilical cable was attached, she ran towards a weapons depot and retrieved a hefty proton glaive giving it one swing to test it's weight while Unit-01 loaded a clip into its pallet rifle

"Wow this thing is ugly, I'll take point, cover me while I wait for it to come out of the water"

"Cover you!?"

"Yeah, ladies first!"

The Angel's padded bearlike paws finally walked on dry land. The rest of its body looked like a camel with its back distorted in a series of humps and extending into a long painfully stretched neck. It had 7 snarling catlike heads stacked atop each other snarling and thrashing wildly trying to bite anything in a blind fury. It had ten golden shimmering horns each embedded with sparking jewels of various colors. It had a fleshy appendage that looked to be locked into rigor mortis, tightly holding a long staff with a sharp jagged edge in a crude replication of the fleur de lis.

"Don't talk to me like that you dumb rookie" Unit-01 let off a blistering wave of fire from his rifle abandoning procedure to ensure he was the Angel's main priority.

"Charge!" Unit 2 leapt off the building it was perched on sprinting with its massive metallic boots thundering across the sunny shoreline.``nur die Tapferen verdienen die gerecht!". Its glaive held out and vibrating with barely contained energy ready to strike, the crimson titan swung, transferring all its momentum into one massive swing bisecting the Angel into two neatly sheared hunks of flesh.

"Well I'll be damned, that was….amazing Asuka" The words of the idiot were nothing I didn't already know, especially that his pathetic reign as the top Eva pilot was going to be shorter than the shrimpy boy himself.

"Of course it was! And watch your language Third Child!" Unit-02 began striking various poses, standing victoriously over the carcass of its defeated foe. TThe body of the Angel then began to violently twitch and transform. "Are you not entertained!?"

Unit-01 Wordlessly drew out its progressive knives and sprinted towards the steaming corpse. The flesh on the right half bubbled and cracked revealing a reptilian head with curved horns like a ram unfurling small glistening wings as it separated from the main mass. The Angel's other half was twisting a bulging outwards with fleshy sacks bursting to reveal another 7 snarling jaguar heads grotesquely stitched together in a mockery of creation itself. The two halves of the Angel were connected by their thick tails connecting their bizarre and distorted bodies. Each form of the creature had an identical small glowing core in the center of its chest.

"That's complete bullshit! I killed it!"

"Asuka! Behind you!"

Unit-02 barely dodged out of the way as a stream of molten magma shot out of the horned lizard's mouth, its heat so intense it turned the surrounding beach to glass. Unfortunately getting out of the way of the heat but it was directly in the range of the creature's staff, the arm holding bulged and stretched unnaturally and swung in a wide arc. She was less than a second too slow; the sharpened edge of the staff's tip caught her foot and the force was enough to fling her like a ragdoll.

As she soared away from the battlefield her final sight was of unit two getting tossed in the air by the curved horns of the Angel's other half careening through the air like a frisbee.

---

"This is pathetic!" Dr. Akagi's harsh condemnation physically affected the two pilots, wrapped in towels and still dripping LCL onto the cold tiles of the debriefing room.

"This is all your fault! You totally screwed up my debut battle!"

"My fault!? You're the one who charged in like an idiot!"

"An Idiot!? I won't have my intelligence questioned by a second class pilot only chosen because of nepotism!"

"You think I want to do this!? If I don't fight the Angels everyone dies and when I do pilot the Eva all I do is hurt others!"

"Oh my my the poor martyr. Do you want me to lend you some wood to build a cross to drag!? So you can show everyone how tough it is to be the Invincible Shinji Ikari saving the day!"

"Should I get you a toga maybe? Do you want me to kiss your feet while you turn LCL into wine? If an Angel kills you will you rise from the dead in 3 days?" Asuka emphasized each point with a poke at Shinji's chest; he slowly retreated fist clenching gaze turned downward.

"Shut up! I don't even know what you're talking about!" Against his wishes an image of Asuka kissing his feet entered his mind and a blush spread across his face that he concealed with his free hand.

"They don't teach foreign religions in Japan? And here I learned all about Shinto and Buddhism out of respect to the culture and my world class pedigree"

"We've been humiliated!" The slideshow demonstration of their failure ended and Fuyutski abruptly stood up and strode towards the two pilots. Just tell me what do you two think your job here is!?"

Both pilots' mouths snapped shut and they stared at their superior moment before Asuka replied "Piloting Eva?" She spoke evenly and met the vice-commanders gaze with a look of mixed defiance and respect.

"Wrong! It's defeating the Angel's! Nerv does not exist to create gross public spectacles like this! We have one week until the Angel regenerates enough from the N2 strike to attack again. In that time the two of you will have to learn to work together".

"Why should we!?"

"Enough" The platform Fuyutski was standing on slowly descended and the senior most member of NERV left with a look of consternation.

"Why does everyone get so angry here?"

"Adults have a thing about credibility".

Shinji turned to face the special inspector, shame bubbled up from every crevice in his body and his gaze remained locked on the man's boots. "Where's Misato?"

"Buried at her desk I'm afraid" Kaji shook his head and frowned as he spoke "It's the duty of the person in charge to take responsibility for when anything goes wrong"

"I-I'm sorry for causing so much trouble". The words croaked out of Shinji's throat as an upswell of tears threatened to overwhelm him.

Asuka looked at him with disgust, Kaji patted him reassuringly on the back and leaned over whispering in his ear "This is a terrible burden to place on a child, you're allowed to make mistakes". He then leaned back, switching his expression from grim to a hundred watt smile staring Shinji right in the eyes with a chuckle barely contained. "Tell me Shinji, Do you think you can dance?"

Shinji found Kaji's newfound mirth too infectious to resist and the question confused him so quickly his eyes dried and a shy smile broke out from his glum features. "I'm sorry Mr Kaji, I can't dance at all"

"Everyone can dance Shinji! Music is the expression of the human soul, dancing is how we let ourselves experience the joy music creates".

"I guess you're right but I'm not any good, I don't think I have any rhythm" his smile faded and his fist clenched as a far off glaze entered his eyes.

"You know how anybody gets better at something they're not good at?"

"Practice?"

"Exactly, now I've got to drop something off with our beloved director of operations, you kids take care, Auf wiedersehen"

"That was weird, right?" Shinji's confusion was stronger than his fear as he locked eyes with an equally confused redhead across from him.

Asuka slowly nodded her head and kept her eyes locked on the retreating form of the older man, lips pursed in concentration. "He's planning something".

"What makes you say that?"

"He gets this look in his eye when he-, Wait Why am I talking to you about anything?"

"Because it looks like he's planning something involving both of us?" Shinji gave her a nervous smile as the volume of her voice doubled with her remembrance of the previous argument.

Asuka cocked her head and widened her eyes at Shinji "Maybe you're not as dumb as I first thought Third". She returned her gaze to the now empty doorway. "But what is he planning?"

---

"Oh look what we have here! Here are all the protests and damage reports from the latest battle. Stacked on top of the leftovers from the last battle and the transfer papers for Unit-2. You've got yourself a full course meal here Misato"

"I'm not hungry"

"I don't think UN complaints or the angry protestors care about either of ours wants"

"I already know what most of them say. If you're going to fight please don't do it here"

"I'd say that pretty well sums it up"

"I'll do it after this Angel dies, I will destroy it".

"That sounds like a pretty good start, I think you should know Fuyutsky isn't exactly overflowing with joy right now at the current situation, you might be facing reassignment, be glad that's all your facing cause the commander left last night"

"Where's the commander gone? I never got any memo or announcement"

"For a reason he won't even tell me the meeting is hush hush but he flew into America to meet with the head of NERV base in Nevada working on Unit-04, word is he's trying to schmooze them into sending it here once the testing of the S2 engine is complete" Ritsuko ended her gossiping with a zipped mouth gesture to make it clear to her friend the conversation must not leave the room.

"But what about the accords? Are we even allowed to have that many Eva's without causing a political shitshow"

"The accords strictly stipulate that any GOVERNMENT may not possess more than 3 Evangelion's NERV is a non governmental organization. If the Eva's were placed directly into our jurisdiction we'd still be following the law to the letter"

"Even you have to admit giving NERV as many unstoppable death robots as we can possibly get our hands on violates the spirit of the law".

"Legality does not equal morality and I consider it a moral necessity to use everything at our disposal to defeat the Angel's"

"Oh my is Miss 'Hard Science is the only real science' finally starting to read Plato?"

"Everyone's an asshole when they first enter academia, and that's not Plato, you went to college too Misato I'm disappointed"

"You're saying you're still not" Ritsuko glared at her friend. "I joke, I joke, of course" Misato held up her hands defensively as she moved to pull her blonde friend into a brief hug.

"You wouldn't come down here to gloat in my suffering and warn me of the fate of my job if you didn't have something to help me right? dear old friend?" The desperation in her friend's voice forced an involuntary chuckle out from her lips as she brought out the disk she had been asked to deliver.

"I do have something but this time it won't be me pulling your ass out of the fire, this was Kaji's idea"

"Kaji?" Misato took the small floppy disk with a pink heart drawn on it and examined the surface with intense study and misty eyes.

---

"I'm home! Not that there's anyone here" Shinji wearily strode into Misato's apartment, half haphazardly tossing his bag on the floor as his eyelids began to flutter shut and images of his bed entered his mind. He walked right past the moving boxes stacked in the hallway, oblivious to his surroundings as he entered his room.

"Woah-Wha…W-What's all this junk" Shinji almost tripped over a box of unfolded clothes, roughly snapping out of his near sleep daze and gaping at the boxes piled around him.

"Don't be so rude! These are my personal items!" Asuka revealed herself from behind a pile of boxes in the hallway dressed in casual home clothes and a towel wrapped around her shoulder.

"Y-You, but what in the hell are you doing in my house!?"

"It's rude to swear in a ladies home Third Child, why are you still here?"

"Still here!?"

Asuka covered her mouth with her free hand as she laughed contemptuously at the boy. "Haven't you heard? You're being dumped for the new model, Misato's gonna be living with me" She emphasized her last statement with a powerful flick to Shinji's forehead. "Although honestly I'd rather be living with Kaji, He's a REAL man".

She ignored Shinji's disbelieving eyes and haughtily strode back into the room she had claimed. "Say, Why are Japanese rooms so small anyway? I couldn't even get half my stuff in my new room!"

Shinji gasped and ran over to a plain cardboard box with a sign saying "Shinji's lovely suite" Crudely shoved in with the rest of his meager belongings.

"And these doors have no locks! Hasn't Japanese society discovered the wonders of privacy yet? It's a basic human right in most civilized countries"

"The Japanese believe in putting the needs of others before one's own"

"Misato" Both teens gazed up from their separate tasks to stare at the newly entered purple haired woman.

"How's it going? You two are going to be getting along real well".

"What's that supposed to mean?" For the second time in a row the two spoke in perfect unison earning a glare from the redhead at Shinji that forced his mouth shut.

"It's a part of your new training". Misato quickly pulled the pair over to the dining room where the table was littered with NERV documents stamped with CLASSIFIED on the front and back.

"The only way to defeat the Angel is a simultaneous strike on both cores with two Eva's acting in perfect synchronization, coordination will be vital between the two of you for the success of this operation, to that end…..I want the two of you to live together from now on"

"No way! A boy and a girl should never live together after the age of ten! It's Indecent!"

"The Angel will strike within the next 6 days until then the two of you wll, sleep, eat, and train together twenty four seven."

"But it's…..impossible"

"And no funny business you two. I know she's cute Shinji but save it for the celebration after we win okay?" She winked at the boy as she quickly jogged

"Misato!"

"Perverted old hag" Asuka threw her empty drink can at the back of the retreating form of her new guardian and she gasped as the woman gracefully turned around and caught the flying object.

"I'm not old!" Misato growled out the first part before returning to her previous toothy grin "I'm gonna take a shower and after we have dinner training starts and it's nonstop for the next 6 days, listen to the cassette on the table it's the music we're gonna use to sync your attacks".

Asuka's eyes carefully watched the purple haired women enter the bathroom before angrily stomping over to the table. Violently tossing aside stray documents as she grasped the cassette buried underneath a stack of papers. "This is stupid! And if you try anything ,I'll cut it off. Are we clear!?"

"Crystal'' Shinji breathed out the words as an unbearable tightness struck his throat upon meeting the girl's icy stare. He gazed at the clock and realized it had only been a few minutes since Misato had briefed them on their new living situation. He audibly gulped as his mind tried to calculate how long the next six days were gonna be.

---

"I am NOT wearing that thing!" Asuka recoiled visibly upon unfolding the garishly colored spandex Misato had thrown at her. To her growing horror she turned around to see the Third child already wearing the tightly fitting outfit.

"Awww cmon! Shinji already put it on, what's so bad about it?, I chose the colors"

"Shinji is a housebroken male! The worst kind! I'm sorry for having a sense of dignity and an ACTUAL eye for fashion".

"Asuka the sun is gonna set in the west and rise in the east and you're gonna wear this outfit for this training. There are things you just can't change". Misato grabbed the now speechless girl lightly by the shoulder and pushed her into the room with a light close of the door.

Asuka grumbled angrily to herself as she threw on the matching short and shirt combo, taking a few minutes to examine how terribly the colors contrasted with each other and her impeccable skin.

Asuka burst through the door stomping angrily over to the chatting pair "Let's get this over with! The less time I have to dress like a discount discotech backup dancer the better".

"I think you look cute Asuka, Don't you agree? Shinji?" Misato smirked and shoved the shorter boy forward; his face was painted crimson and poorly concealed by his hands. He seemed to be gazing at the ceiling with studious intensity, looking to be counting the ceiling tiles to avoid responding to the teasing.

Against her own conscious wishes, Asuka felt a blush of her own begin to creep up her face, she bit the inside of her lip to keep her voice even as she turned her head. "I am a fully grown woman who doesn't need the opinion of BOYS! Keep your opinions to yourself pervert!"

"I'm sorry really but you guys just make it too much fun to resist!" Misato affectionately tousled Shinji's hair as she continued. "Cmon kids everything's set up already and this stuff is really the epitome of 'easy to learn hard to master"

"What does that mean?" Asuka rolled her eyes at idiotic expression on the Third Child's face, looking like he was interacting with alien technology as he stared at the dance equipment.

"This system basically operates like those dancing games that are popular at a lot of the Arcades in Japan. The song for the operation is already programmed in and all you have to do is press the buttons when they light up at the same time".

Asuka narrowed her eyes at the happily smiling older women in front of her, disdain in every muscle her face could express. "What's the acceptable delay between his and my actions?"

"You'll have to time your presses to with a tenth of a second to each other"\

"That's absurd!"

Misato's face remained stoic and unchanged at her protests and she placed a shoulder on the redhead and stared her directly into the eyes. "The entire routine is one hundred and eleven seconds, you'll have to move in perfect sync the whole time. If we use our time efficiently to train we can be ready to destroy the enemy when it regenerates".

Asuka lowered her gaze and removed the womens hand from her shoulder with a flick of her wrist and gave a loud sigh and flip of her hair as she glumly marched over to one of the dance pads.

"G-Guess we'll have to train pretty hard then" The boy standing next to her on the dance pad let out an awkward choking noise she guessed was supposed to be a laugh. She raised her eyes and married her brow transferring all her bubbling impotent rage out of her newfound situation into a devastating kick aimed right at the boy's shins.

The less agile boy barely managed to move his first leg out of the way but didn't expect the follow through to smash his other leg bowling his hopping form over. He tumbled haplessly towards the still furious redhead, his arms awkwardly spread outwards catching her waist and pulling them both to ground in a tangled heap.

"Ack! Get off me you pervert!"

"I'm sorry! Ow! You kicked me, you know!" Asuka made sure to get in a few good kicks to the boy's stomach as he pulled himself up, pulling down her shirt which had nearly ridden up past the point of no return. She was about to give a rant about the weakness and inferiority of all men when her fury was redirected at a doubled over director of operations openly clapping at the spectacle unfolding in front of her.

"I'll remember this Misato! Don't you forget it!"

"Don't be like that Asuka, We're just getting started. '' Misato's hundred watt smile made Asuka wrack her brain for any knowledge of the Japanese legal system and its acceptance of murder.

Asuka groaned loudly as her extensive library of knowledge came up empty. Spreading out her arms she gazed at the clock and knew these next six days were gonna be a nightmare.

---

"Shut up!"

'Yelling and throwing a childish tantrum does not change reality. The captain was correct, the routine is simple to learn, the Second Child is doing the routine intentionally faster to prove her superiority. Once again her childish pride and ego is interfering with her piloting.

"Her name is Asuka! It's the second day! We just need more practice and we'll get it! I just need to go as fast as her and it'll even out"

We've already been through this, you're doing the routine correctly. She is intentionally going faster than whatever speed you choose to go at. Do you understand?'

"Are you talking to someone in there Third Child?"

Asuka's voice hit Shinji like a bucket of cold water, he gaped his mouth and stared at his surroundings, his brain frantically trying to come up with a logical excuse for his strange behavior.

"Yeah, I'm talking on the phone" He did a little fist bump as the tension melted from his body as his luck finally turned in his favor for once.

"Who are YOU talking on the phone with?" The blood in his veins refroze as he was placed right back at square one, with the disgust in her voice making it clear his claim seemed outlandish.

"My old teacher" He winced as he immediately regretted lying to someone he was beginning to trust, and someone with an excellent nose for when people aren't telling the truth. But he knew telling her the truth would make her think somehow even less of him and probably get him locked up in a psych ward somewhere.

"Aren't you busy enough with the stupid piles of homework at regular school? Why would you wanna increase your workload for no reason? Or does the famous Third Child still need tutoring?" Her teasing tone eased the guilt he felt at lying even if it wasn't about anything THAT important, he reasoned unconvincingly to himself.

"He's teaching me German, I asked if he could teach me a few common speaking phrases" He immediately kicked himself for coming up with such an easy to call bluff. Smacking himself with his palm as Asuka immediately jumped at his strange explanation

"Oh really? What did he teach you?"

"Uhhh….We haven't really started proper lessons or anything, I was just asking him, I'm not any good with the letters"

"Seriously!?" Asuka sighed deeply. "That's what I get from expecting anything from a little boy like you, Kaji can speak Japanese, German, French, and Russian and he's learning English"

For a reason Shinji could not explain if he had a thousand years his chest flared up with a hot anger and he desperately wished he could say some witty German phrase even though his logical mind knew it was stupid.

'Do you know any German?'

'This is unimportant and a waste of both of our time' Even Shinji could agree that in this case it was petty but he could not bring himself to let the subject go.

'That does not answer my question' Shinji quickly countered.

'You are incredibly stubborn. Your mother and I spent several years in Berlin before and shortly after you were born. Say "Küss die Hand, schöne Frau, Ihre Augen sind so blau"

'What does that mean?' He could hear his father shrug even if he could not see it himself and Shinji sighed deeply, grumling incoherently to himself as he broke the silence that had filled the quiet apartment. 'Better not be something embarrassing.'

"The only phrase I remember and he didn't tell me what it meant but it was, (Kiss your hand, beautiful woman, Your eyes are so blue)".

After a few minutes of silence, for once Shinji was the one who broke the tension, as the silent redhead blocked his only escape from the small bathroom.

"Uhhh…..A-Asuka?"

"Q-Quit babbling nonsense idiot! Get out here and let's do this training!"

Shinji quickly leapt out the door and meekly trailed behind the redhead who refused to face him as she forcefully dragged him back to the illuminated dance pads.

The next few hours went by quickly as the pair fervently danced to the song they both now could recite from memory and would never forget as long as they drew breath. The mistakes that were still being made were very loudly vocalized by the self appointed 'Leader' of the dance.

---

"I'm getting really worried about Shinji"

"He's been absent for the last three days, I wonder if something happened at NERV."

"You better not have dragged me out here to see a sick person, Toji! One of us Suzuhara's has to give proper appreciation for saving your sorry behind".

"Hey you were out there too! And what happened to calling me big bro when you were little? I liked that." Toji gave his kid sister a playful smile as they exited the elevator into the dimly lit apartment complex. They'd been told to find their absent friend on the top floor which seemed to be the only one with any actual tenants.

"We had Yuki in his carrier but SOMEONE wanted to stop and stare at the Angel like an idiot, Big Brother." Sakura beamed back at her brother with a mischievous glint in her eyes that instilled a deep foreboding in the larger boy. Their sibling skirmish was interrupted by a pigtailed girl with brown hair speedily exiting from the elevator behind them.

"Oh, two of the three stooges, And you are looking lovely today Ms Sakura, just how are you today?" The night and day reaction from the freckled girl filled Toji's stomach with an irrational pit of jealousy.

Sakura soaked up the positive attention like a sponge giving a toothy grin and dramatically flicking her hair behind her back."As well as I can be babysitting these two". The two boys standing behind her gasped in outrage.

"I know what you mean" Hikari's voice sounded like a workman complaining with a coworker about customers, each giving the other a reaffirming squeeze on the shoulder.

Toji was the first of the two boys to recover and was wise enough to avoid arguing with the two young women in front of him for the moment "What are you doing class rep?"

"I'm here to check on Ms. Soryu, What are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to see Shinji and drop off these papers from the school" Kensuke waved a manilla folder, being the most easily cajoled of the 3 into carrying their cargo.

"That's a funny coincidence, I guess we should walk together then?" Toji did his best to hide his enthusiasm as he bounced his head up and down and took a step to walk next to the girl.

"They probably have the pilots close together for security reasons" Kensuke added helpfully, moving to walk with his friend but having his progress halted by a ferocious glare from the younger Suzuhara.

"Why did you stop here?" The group traded disbelieving looks as they all 4 decided to press the doorbell as a group to the apartment with faint music coming out from underneath the door.

"Coming" An strangely familiar unfamiliar voice answered the door as the automatic lock slid open revealing the forms of two teens. They were dressed in matching purple leotards with matching downcast gazes of shame as they saw who was at the door.

"You betrayed us!?"

"You're dressing like her too, Look at what they've done to you! I can't believe this!"

"Neither can we…..It's all Misato's fault, we have to sleep, eat and breathe together!" Sakura took to silently observing the argument while a fit of giggles fully prevented her from speaking or breathing for the next few minutes.

Hikari seemed the most disturbed of anyone with the start of several different replies beginning and dying on her lips. "You're living in sin! That's gross and indecent!"

"It's not like that! Ughhh!"

"What else could it possibly be like!?"

"Hi Everybody!" Misato strode in from the hallway with Rei silently plodding behind her in her school uniform holding a leatherbound book in her hands.

"Misato, Would you please mind explaining this?" Toji gestured vaguely towards the forms of his two strangely dressed classmates, trying in vain to conceal themselves behind the door.

"Of course follow me inside and take a seat I'll explain everything" Misato chuckled heartily as the two gave her a vengeful glare before retreating further into the house.

---

The small living room in Misato's apartment echoed with the sounds of laughter as Misato gave a semi detailed explanation of the current training regiment for the two pilots

"Jeez Shinji, I guess that's one way to get ready for the school dance" Shinji stared quizzically at his friend and cocked his head, he turned to Asuka and she looked equally confused. Communicating only by eye contact the pair silently agreed to ask as soon as they finished the routine. He ran through the monotonous routine of his sync training. The routine had become such an instinctual moment he barely noticed his new audience. Aside from the moment loud buzzes reminded him of his inadequacy and shame burned his cheeks.

"School dance?" Shinji mentally kicked himself for forgetting to start his sentence normally but his curiosity overloaded his speech faculties, luckily his more muscular friend was understanding and only shook his head grimly..

"It's the bad news we bring on top of homework" Toji then gestured to Kensuke seated across from him who handed him a small folder. "Sorry to do this to you Shin-man but we didn't have a choice".

Shinji took the folder from his mournful friend and examined its contents. Besides a stack of various worksheets was a school flier for a summer dance. It was dated for roughly the next month and a half with mention that the official date would be decided later. There was no mention of who it was sponsored by and Shinji knew that a school with Pre-SI textbooks could be counted on to fund an event like this.

"Do you know who is paying for the dance?"

"Probably the Devil or Satan or one of his minions if I had to guess" Hikari sat down with drinks for herself and Toji, placing them down and yanking on his friend's ear as she scolded the boy.

"You should be thankful that a school with classes as small as ours gets donations from generous benefactors! You had better go to that dance and show your appreciation Suzuhara!

"But I don't have anyone to go with! I'm not going to a lame school dance by myself! Toji weakly protested and tried to free his ear. Shinji spied from his peripheral as Hikari began to blush fiercely and turned away from the two boys, releasing the boy in the process.

Clearing her throat forcefully the girl's composure returned as she gazed up at the growingly intoxicated adult beside her. "So how are their coordination drills coming along?"

"Not well as you can see" Misato gestured at the two pilots as a large ERROR played across Asuka's screen then Shinji's as he clumsily tried to correct himself at the last minute.

"Schiesse! Well so much for synchronization! I don't see how you can expect anyone to sync to the lowly level of this double left footed CURSE upon the dancing world! If you ask me the whole idea is impossible!"

Misato gave a wide smirk and took a sip from her beer. "So you're giving up then?"

Asuka regained her previously elegant and haughty stance and tone as she spoke "But you don;t have anyone else to do it? Do you?"

"Rei?"

"Yes Ma'am?"

"Why don't you try?"

"Yes Ma'am".

Shinji was amazed that Rei effortlessly duplicated her efforts without the tiniest show of exertion, the ding that played whenever they got a move correct went on endlessly as the routine ran from start to finish.

"Well it looks like I should alter the operation to pair Shinji and Rei"

"What!? No! I can't stand this!" Shinji watched her from the corner of his eyes and felt a deep pit in his stomach open up as he saw the mistiness in her eyes. The door slammed with a violent thud and an animalistic growl from the redhead as he heard the door to the apartment swing open shortly after.

"Huh so even the devil can cry" Shinji turned his head to condemn his friend's ill timed lair with a look of disappointment. Which in Shinji's experience was much more effective at scolding his larger friend than traditional arguing. His gaze was instead met with an enraged class rep who spat out words in a tone that made them seem painfully obvious.

Shinji! Go get her now!"

"W-What? Me? Why me!?"

"Because you made a girl cry, Ikari! Now fix it or don't come back!" Shinji abruptly found himself standing outside the door to the living room. Turning around the look he was met with quickly instilled the belief in him that it was better to face the angry girl you haven't seen, rather than the one currently glaring at you.

Despite the ease of access Shinji had a feeling of dread whenever he imagined asking his future father any questions. He knew anything not directly related to Eva's or Angels would earn a ritualistic lecture about its unimportance and the continued need for him to focus on his 'responsibilities'. But when Shinji was lost and felt he was without options it was the only time when asking his father seemed appealing, if only because of the complete lack of available substitutes.

'What should I say to her?'

'What about your knowledge of me makes you think I'd have a good answer for this? I'm curious. I was the commander of a massive paramilitary organization, not a marriage counselor'

'Maybe you shouldn't have had a kid If you didn't wanna explain the facts of life to someone or give advice'

'Fair point, give me a moment' He heard a weary sigh escape his father's lips as he contemplated his next words. 'First off don't apologize'

Shinji audibly gasped at these words appearing in his mind. 'What do you mean? Didn't Hikari say I made Asuka cry? Shouldn't I apologize for that?'

'Shinji listen carefully, there are two ways people can be angry, you can be angry at a specific person or objects, or angry at situations. Asuka is not upset at YOU, she is upset at the situation you both happen to be involved in'

'I may be not be very socially aware and I know that, but I think Asuka has made it pretty clear she does not like me'

'Shinji…." the frustration he heard in his father's voice caused Shinji's fists to clench reflexively. "You are both over and underthinking this, were you even paying attention earlier?'

'Since when did you become an expert in interpersonal relations? Do you even have friends outside of NERV? How can I trust you have any idea what you're talking about?'

'I've always been good at reading people, just bad at talking to them. Besides, I already told you I have nothing to offer you in this regard and still you persist. Do not blame me when you can't wring blood from a stone'

Reluctantly Shinji conceded to the man's last point and mulled over his fathers words as he paced through the brightly lit evening street of Tokyo-3.

After walking for a few minutes outside the apartment Shinji quickly came to an annoying realization. He had no idea where Asuka was and had no idea where to look. After wandering aimlessly down a few streets and chastising himself for looking in lost alleyways like he was trying to track down a last pet, he decided to give up. In his mind he decided it would be better to surprise Asuka with some western snacks to cheer her up. They were a lot more expensive than the traditional cheap snacks he usually ate but cheering up his new sort of 'friend' sounded like a good cause and he never spent his NERV salary on anything anyways.

He strode into the nearby twenty four hour convenience store, grabbing a basket and quickly tossing a few of the brightly colored bags with western characters he saw but never bought before. He walked over to grab a few soda's when he was stopped dead by a familiar voice, almost causing him to drop his freshly collected bounty.

"What are you doing here?"

Hearing the obvious anger in her voice and not wishing to further provoke any negative reaction, Shinji spoke honestly and carefully. "I-er-uh I came to buy you some snacks"

"Why?"

"You seemed pretty upset at Misato…..So I thought maybe some snacks would cheer you up" He tried to force a genuine smile but every cell in his body was preparing itself for the redhead in front of him to violently retaliate at any moment.

"Why do you care? Why don't you just do the operation with Wondergirl and once again show the world the perfection of the invincible Shinji Ikari".

"Asuka-" Shinji wasn't sure what he was going to say if he got the chance to speak but trying to interrupt her train of thought felt right in the moment.

"What!? Do you honestly think I'm stupid Third!? I saw how perfectly you two went through the routine! You'll have me out of your hair, it'll be like we never met! Isn't that perfect!? I'll get sent back to Germany in a cardboard box with a big stamp saying "Failure!"

"Asuka" He waited for her to interrupt but she was now intensely staring at him as he spoke and he realized with growing fear that he had her full attention for the moment. The only words that would come when he tried to think were an apology so he said the only other thing in his head, the truth. "I don't wanna do this with Rei".

"That doesn't make any sense! She won't take any of the credit and you're already synced with her! You could defeat the Angel tomorrow!

"Listen Asuka, I'm not invincible and if you're a failure I'm scared to imagine what that makes me" He let out a forced laugh but the girl in front of him ignored it and seemed to grow more impatient so he dropped his smile and continued.. Taking a deep breath before continuing. "Let's just go back to the apartment, forget what Misato said and take a break. Then we can come back to the training when we're properly rested and knock it out of the park." Shinji did his best to give an enthusiastic smile as the stereotypical words he'd heard in so many movie pep talks sounded awkward and clumsy as he tried to juggle them together.

"Not until you tell me why you won't do it with Rei! I deserve an answer!"

"I don't know, I'm sorry!

"That's not good enough! You wouldn't have said it if you didn't have a reason! Now tell me!"

"I like spending time with you okay! You got me! Call me a pervert and an Idiot but I want to do it with you! Not Rei!" Shinji's fist clenched and unclenched rapidly as Shinji's glum features pointed at the sky, cheeks burning and already had his entire body brace for the inevitable strike that never came. He opened his eyes and quickly realized he wasn't in immediate danger and took the opportunity to make his escape. Asuka's hair fell like a curtain over the front of her head concealing her visage as Shinji slowly turned and walked away. He looked at her face for some sort of rejection to his confession but she stood unmoving. "I'm going back to the apartment".

"Shinji wait" For a moment he couldn't believe the meek sounding voice of a teenage girl he just heard was the fiery redhead he had come to know over the past few days. "Let's walk back together".Her voice had a little bit more of its usual flair and composure but she kept her eyes away from Shinji's own which suited him just fine for the moment. The frown on his face disappeared and he felt his brow uncrease as a lightness enveloped his normally cumbersome limbs as the two wordlessly marched back to the apartment.

---

Asuka followed behind Shinji, not minding the slower pace as she took the extra time to stare and study the back of the head of the strange boy in front of her. In her mind he seemed to possess a magical spine that disappeared and reappeared at will.

Nearly every expectation she had held about him from the start had been shattered by the boy himself. Instead of a victorious conqueror dragging around a harem of girls and bragging constantly about his many victories. She found a pathologically self effacing, meek boy, completely terrified of his own sexuality, let alone bringing another person into the mix. He was also kind, obnoxiously kind, he never had anything bad to say about ANYONE, even if someone was rude or aggressive to him he'd search for a reason that put himself at fault. It was very difficult to hate someone like that and especially to have as a competitive rival which enraged Asuka even further.

'He doesn't even wanna be here and he's better than me'

'He has a higher sync ratio! So what! Now that you're here to kick Angel ass the only real metric that'll matter is combat victories!'

This thought was the thing that kept her from completely losing motivation upon seeing her sixty two percent sync ratio, earned by a lifetime of training, blown out of the water by a full twenty percent. By some rookie who came out from the middle of bumblefuck nowhere to kill the Angels.

She shook her head to clear the dark thoughts from her head as Shinji approached and opened the door to the apartment, beckoning Asuka from the threshold. As he entered the apartment a blue of long brown hair tackled his legs and pinned him up against the wall next to the door.

"H-Hi there, You must be Sakura right? Toji's little sister?" Shinji awkwardly placed a shoulder on the younger girl's shoulder and as continually she hugged him. Asuka had to acknowledge that the joyous little girl and older boy who seemed utterly terrified of her made a cute pairing.

"I'm glad you remember! Toji told me you're the pilot of that giant robot that saved us and he also told me you're shy. Which is okay! Asuka had to suppress a chuckle as the girl's enthusiastic smile turned into a guilty one. "So I'm sorry for ambushing you like this, but I just wanted to thank you for saving me and my brother, I hope he hasn't been too much trouble".

"Wha-...No, Toji's a good friend" He stared dumbly at the smiling girl in front of him for a few minutes before realizing he had to continue. "I'm just glad you two are safe, really it's not a big deal, can you do me a favor though Sakura?" Shinji had a wide carefree smile that Asuka had never seen before and it sent a strange surge of emotions throughout her whole body.

"Of course Shinji! Is it okay if I call you Shinji?" Shinji shook his head affirmatively at the girl as he kneeled to look the shorter girl right in the eyes.

"Do you think you could keep an eye on your brother for me? He's a good guy, he just doesn't always think before he acts so he needs someone brave and smart looking out for him" Shinji then removed his arm that was limply wrapped around her back and used it to lightly tousle her hair. Asuka has to turn herself away from the sight as her cheeks flushed themselves with color despite her best efforts to force it back down.

If it was possible for the girl's lively spirit to light up anymore Asuka didn't think it was possible, even she couldn't resist growing a smile of her own as she watched the young girl's glowing smile at the overly nervous Third Child. "Well, It's not an easy job but nothing worth doing ever is". Asuka noticed the look of steely determination Sakura had as she marched back to the sounds of conversation and laughter from the other room.

Soon Asuka began to think about the implications of that girl's practical worship of the cowardly Third Child. She tried to swallow the bitter upswell of jealousy and anger that reformed her face into a scowl and fiery glare as she plodded after the pair. She wanted to tell the girl that you should never meet your heroes but seeing the happiness she obviously radiated while talking to the older boy she just couldn't bring herself to do it.

---

"How can someone kill 3 Angels and still be this clumsy!?" Shinji visibly shrunk from the harsh words of his equally out of breath and sweaty companion. The hours of repeating the same routine having frustrated and exhausted the both of them.

"Asuka it's okay to get frustrated, but look at that, you've made good progress today" Shinji looked up to see Misato gesturing towards the central screen showing their synchronization progress. The pair had seemed to hit a wall at getting any higher than the high sixties, with Shinji already having a fresh bruise from falling directly into the path of Asuka's vengeful kicks.

"Maybe if we take a few minutes we'll do better?"

"We'll do better when you stop screwing up! Such a typical male! Waiting for the women to do all the work!"

Shinji felt a need to say a word of defense for the male species but Asuka's intense glare kept his mouth shut and he turned his eyes to their guardian who was looking at him pitifully.

"I think Shinji's right, take five minutes you two, I'll grab you some waters and we'll come back to this in a minute"

Shinji greedily chugged down his water, only stopping to take deep gasping breaths as he tried to recover his lost stamina. Shinji wearily gazed across at his companion doing the same, his eyes were immediately drawn to her heaving chest as droplets of water spilled from the container at her lips splashing onto the already damp skin. Her unfocused gaze quickly turned into an ironhot glare that immediately turned his vision onto the floor as he braced for retaliation. After he realized he was safe he stole a disbelieving look at the girl who in the short time he had known her, had made ANY untoward glances her way were met with violent rebuke. She was casually drinking her water staring intently out the window at the slowly fading evening sunlight streaming into the room they practiced in.

He thanked whatever deity had decided to watch over him for the moment as he got up to stretch. The repetitious routine they had to do for the training was stretching muscles he didn't even know he had until they were sore. He winced as a phantom pain struck him in the stomach. He clutched his gut and turned his body away from his partner, fearing what her reaction would be if she saw his weakness. He knew it was selfish too, when Asuka had it much worse than him, with his presence only acting as a slight boost to her sync rate. She had suffered the brunt of the Angel's brutal attack and to Shinji she had shook it off as if it were a minor inconvenience. Despite her hostility towards him Shinji couldn't help but admire her warrior spirit that he had only read about before seeing it so clearly embodied

"I'm sorry for screwing up" Shinji didn't remember forming the words but before he could protest it spewed out of him on reflex.

Asuka stared him down with the intensity of a burning star as her now empty plastic drinking bottle was slowly crushed in between her two hands. "Oh you're sorry? Well that's perfect! Everything's solved now that the Invincible Shinji is sorry! Why don't you go turn on the TV!? I think the Angel just self-destructed because of how sorry you are!"

"I'm sorry." Shinji clamped a hand over his mouth to prevent any more apologies from slipping out. He stared fearfully at the enraged redhead who only seemed to get more furious the more he withered under her furious glare.

"I'm sorry aren't magic words that magically solve all your problems! If you actually wanna make things better, do better!"

"I'm trying my best! OKAY!" Shinji unleashed his pent up frustrations from the day's seemingly endless trials. He immediately recoiled his own outburst and looked at Asuka with fearful eyes. She looked ready to continue arguing but they both were distracted by the sudden loud entrance of their guardian.

"Look guys, I've seen the both of you work hard. We've surpassed the synchronization goal of seventy five percent for the day so why don't we get some ice cream to celebrate. There's a new place a couple blocks down, we can swing down there, hang out for a little bit then come back to this tomorrow."

"We're only a single percent over the threshold! That's hardly passing with flying colors!"

"And stomping on the dance pads like you're trying to break them isn't gonna help you do any better, you went to university Asuka you should've learned all about burnout"

Shinji watched as Asuka rolled her eyes and sighed with her whole body. 'Fine! But I'd rather be caught dead than wearing this THING!" She gestured to her revealing and brightly colored outfit causing Shinji's entire face to flush red. His outburst went unnoticed as the redhead retreated to her room to change.

Shinji stretched and observed his own outfit and came to a similar conclusion, especially after his friend's reaction to his choice of clothing. That it would be in his best interest to change clothes, though he realized with some dismay that the only clothes he had in his small room were his school uniform.

"Are you gonna change clothes Shinji?" He was broken out of his moping by Misato and quickly shook his head before retreating to the closet he now called a room. He decided even just his plain school clothes were better than the too tight tank top and shorts he had on now.

"Do you even own other clothes!?"

"No" Shinji mumbled his response so the girl could barely hear as he tried his best to sink into the floorboards while they stood waiting for Misato to find her keys.

"I was kidding! You seriously own only one set of clothes!?" Asuka's gaze seemed to burn on contact with Shinji's skin as she stared incredulously down at the boy.

"Yeah…." Shinji's eyes panned around the room looking for anything he could use to distract or escape from his current situation and finding nothing. He breathed a sigh of relief when the sound of loudly jangling metal signaled the return of their guardian.

The odd looking trio exited the apartment without an exchange of words between any of them. Misato happily trotted at the head of the group oblivious to the tense atmosphere developing around the two pilots.

They exited the car and approached the small booth surrounded by benches with a large neon sign saying 'ICE CREAM'. They silently approached the man at the counter with Misato giving nervous glances at the one furious and the other terrified kid she had dragged behind her. The bored looking man placed down his magazine upon hearing the sound of the three approaching. Shinji only hoped the frozen treat would do something to ease the burning temper of his new roommate. The endless hours spent together training was driving the two mad even if a small part of Shinji had to admit spending this much time around an attractive girl his age wasn't all bad.

---

"How is more than ninety percent synchronization not good enough!" Asuka already felt like her outrage at her guardian had reached its peak. But the women seemed determined to drag both her and the Idiot Shinji through hell. It was her 5th day of endlessly nauseating monotonous, repetitive and stupid training. At this point she was about ready to use her older guardian to refresh herself on the martial arts she learned as a child.

"Asuka this operation relies on complete synchronization between the two pilots told me that going from ninety to a hundred would be the hardest hurdle to overcome but we have two days! You guys have made it this far. I know you can easily do the rest". When Asuka was sure she was done with her bargain bin peptalk she threw a nearby cushion on the floor at her. Wanting to make her feelings known as clearly as she could without yelling and cursing.

"Whatever, let's just do this!" Asuka stretched and flexed her whole body before stomping back over to the dreaded multicolor prison she had been trapped in for the past few days. "I trust Dr dye job as much I trust she's a natural blonde. We're getting this synchronization done today Third! I am not spending my Saturday doing the hokey pokey with your scrawny ass for the four quadrillionth time!"

For some indescribable reason, Shinji just began to laugh and broke into that wide smile she had seen when their friends had visited. He grabbed his knees and choked out barely coherent words between gulps of air. "What's the hokey pokey?"

Asuka felt a small chortle escape her lips without warning, she decided to give into the rare and contagious laugh of the third child as she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the glass door of the apartment. "You mean you don't even know!? Why are you laughing then?"

"It sounds funny"

These final gasped out words sent Asuka over the edge. She doubled over and clutched her sides as she broke down with laughter. She laughed at the absurdity of their clothing and situation and remembered that this was all being done to save the world. She lost track of how much time passed where the two both communicated without words to each other why they were both still laughing. Neither of them noticed as their purple haired guardian joined in briefly before giving the pair an affectionate smile.

When Asuka turned around and saw the woman, the way she smiled gave her chest a strange warmth in her chest spreading outwards. She covered her mouth with her own hands to suppress her own uncontrolled snorts and a stupid grin that kept reappearing on her face.

After the laughter finally died down in the cramped living room the unbearable tease Misato had to ruin the one nice moment Asuka had had. "See! I told you that you guys would be getting along well! I think you two make an adorable couple." Asuka then realized that in their fits of laughter the pair had placed a hand on the other's shoulder. Shinji's palm was pressed gently against her left shoulder and she also had a rough grasp of the boy's shoulder with her hand resting on his unusually warm upper body.

Each had been lying on the other and in perfect sync the two disengaged from each other. The pair then spoke in perfect unison with equally red faces. "It's not like that!"

Misato only giggled profusely at the two infuriating Asuka to know end as she tried to aim a cushion at the women's head as she grabbed her coat from the rack,

"I have to head to NERV to finish a little bit of paperwork before I miss certain deadlines." The older woman gained a far off look filled with dread. Examining her expression made Asuka certain this was another case of her chronic understatement and that she had a lot more than a 'little' paperwork.

"I should be back tonight but since I'm such a generous caregiver. I decided to leave money on the counter for you to order takeout so Shinji can take a break from cooking dinner." The women dodged the soft projectile thrown her way with practiced ease. Exiting the door with a quick wave and a cheeky grin.

Asuka turned her eyes over to the infinitely confusing boy she was forced to work with. One of the few things she knew for certain is that Shinji Ikari was an unremarkable human doormat with zero redeeming qualities. This knowledge absolutely infuriated Asuka to no end that the boy had so recently begun to dominate her thoughts. She blamed the lewder thoughts on spending five and a half days by this point without any 'alone time'. The usual blinding fury that came with boys looking at her with perverted eyes was replaced with a smug satisfaction.

She felt a peculiar pride at getting the seemingly aloof and sexless third child hot and bothered by just being close. She shook her head to clear the troublesome train of thought and returned her focus to the robotic motions of the dance. Her previous anger returned with a vengeance as she realized her daydreaming had thrown her out of sync and a loud buzz rang across the room to signal another failure.

'You know he's not THAT plain looking. He's lanky but he's actually developing a little tone.'

'That's enough outta you!'

Asuka quickly sprinted over to the bathroom. Dousing herself once again with cold water as she forced down the revolting thoughts, ignoring Shinji's confused glance at her as she ran. Checking herself in the mirror she readjusted her loose ponytail and put her face as close to the glass as possible to make sure her pores were still clear. She then glared at her reflection as she realized that the only other person who would see her was Shinji and .

As he timidly returned his gaze to the floor upon her return, she felt a frown form on her face as disappointment bloomed out from her chest. This was the new routine working to reduce her sanity to shreds. Expectations she wasn't even sure that SHE knew what exactly they were. Were constantly not being met. The already meek Third Child had seemed to grow increasingly afraid of her. Flinching whenever she so much as gestured in his general direction and he barely spoke even when he cooked and served dinner. Their verbal interactions limited to brief arguments and Asuka berating him regardless if the mess up was actually his fault or not.

She knew logically her aggression against the boy wasn't entirely justified but his unflinching acceptance of whatever she said or did to him both irritated and comforted her in a strange way. The contradictory nature of her own feelings and her own lack of understanding of them made her yearn for a simpler time

"Asuka? Are you alright?" The voice of the boy in question drew Asuka out of her daze as she realized Shinji was staring at her eyes and speaking evenly with a voice dripping with concern.

"Of course I am! Why wouldn't I be!?" She chastised herself for sounding so harsh but she could only grimace at the damage. Her words caused the boy to shrink back to his previous diminutive posture and fail to even look at her once again.

"Y-You just spaced out and missed one of the steps then got really quiet, so…" His voice trailed off as his eyes bulged comedically out of their sockets and his face turned a bright red. Asuka narrowed her eyes and panned her sight downwards to find the source of his reaction. Her face turned a color to match his own as she realized one of the loose straps of her outfit she had previously ignored had finally slipped the rest of the way off her shoulder. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but she had neglected to wear her usual overshirt so her ruby red bra was shining brightly. She noticed it seemed to attract the boy's eyes like a magnet as he tried and failed to look at anything else in the room..

"Eek! Pervert!" Asuka swung out her dominant leg in a sweeping roundhouse kick while flinging the strap back on. Shinji took the attack without defending himself. It looked like he was guiltily trying to explain away his errant gawking but only stuttered through some lame explanation. She realized he had grabbed her leg when she hit him. Not using enough force to actually defend himself instead preferring to just soften the blows and direct them to less sensitive areas. She could tell they still hurt but they had ceased leaving noticeable marks which she silently thanked him for. Even if she would never admit it in a million years, she did just feel a little bad when she saw the direct consequences of her inability to control her temper.

"I-I'm sorry! I was gonna tell you about your shirt I swear! I just got d-d-distracted" Shinji could tell he meant it from his clasped hands and genuine worry contained in his watery eyes. She felt her previous anger boiling away and being replaced with new anger at her inability to stay upset at her workplace rival.

'And that's all he'll EVER be! Just a troublesome little bug I'll crush on my way to the top!'

She smirked at Shinji while he groveled at her feet, deciding she felt merciful today she gave him an out. "I'll make you a deal". Her smirk widened as he saw him visibly deflate and smile at her with relief. "You'll be forgiven once THAT number reaches one hundred."

Shinji only shook his head and got that steely look of determination she had previously seen when they fought the 6th Angel on his face. Seeing this sent another tidal wave of new emotions coursing through the redhead. She groaned in frustration while restarting the machine, cursing for the millionth time whatever trickster god was conspiring to put her in these situations.

---

"Where's Misato?"

"At Work! She called earlier. She said she'll be there all night."

"Guess that means, we'll be all alone tonight huh?" Shinji took out his earbuds and watched as Asuka smiled sweetly at him while swiftly grabbing her futon and pillow. Adding to his growing sense of bewilderment she switched to a scowl directed at him then deftly opened the door to her room with her foot.

The only thing Shinji knew with any certainty was that he knew nothing. Everytime he seemed to be getting along with Asuka something happened that turned it into another one sided screaming match. After every attempted interaction between the two ended in disaster Shinji had reluctantly decided that the only way to win this strange new game was not to play. But like all of his decisions in the past six days, it only seemed to only anger the beautiful fiery redhead further.

The door he had been blankly staring at was flung and the redhead tormenting his head revealed herself. He fought a losing battle to not look at how loose her shirt was. Shinji now knew without a shadow of the doubt his well developed roommate was NOT wearing anything underneath her nightgown.

"This is the impenetrable wall of Jericho Third Child! Take one step over this wall and you're a dead man! Now it's time to go to bed, children."

Shinji looked to realize her piercing cerulean eyes had never left his own. The door slammed shut and Shinji rubbed his temple as his head began to throb from his constant puzzling over the exotic girl's confusing actions.

Surrendering with a huff of frustration Shinji returned to his magazine, placing his earbuds back in his ears allowing the music to keep his mind empty of troublesome thoughts. He wasn't sure how many hours he sat there reading but eventually the apartment fell silent and there was no light but the one next to him. Eventually he realized he had been staring at the last page blankly and tossed the magazine haphazardly on the floor.

Despite his best efforts to distract his brain one nagging question had been bouncing around in his mind.

'What are the Walls of Jericho?' He realized it was a pointless question; it was probably just a foreign turn of phrase he wasn't smart enough to understand. The meaning was communicated pretty clearly with the following threat of death but the words chosen were peculiar enough to stick in his mind. Once his frustration boiled over and his lack of knowledge drove him to the edge, he went for his 'ace' in the hole, clenching his fist unconsciously.

'Do you know what the Walls of Jericho are?'

'I was wondering when you were going to give up and ask me that'.

Shinji rolled his eyes and let out a huff of air as he stood up, his tiredness suddenly disappearing when he heard the smirk in his fathers voice.

'Could you just PLEASE tell me so I can get some rest, I don't know why I can't shake it from my head.'

'I'll indulge you this once, it's from a tale in western christian mythology, based in the levant, the israelites were god's chosen people according to the bible and were besieging the city of Jericho. God told the Israelites to march for six days around the city and on the seventh blow their horns and the walls of Jericho fell.'

'The walls fell!? That doesn't make any sense! Why would Asuka say that when she DOESN'T want me to go into her room! Does she mean the opposite!? Why would she want to go in her room!? Is this a trap to give her an excuse to kill me?'

Shinji didn't remember picking up his futon, nor did he remember slowly walking over to the door separating him from the lively and quick-tempered German teenager. He came to his senses within a foot of the door. Indecision was still firing through his head as he tried to parse whatever hidden meaning the girl's earlier statement had held. He was paralyzed, his fist clenched and he willed his body to move back or forward but all he could do was stand and stare at the thin door frame.

His eyes widened and his mouth gaped as the door swung open and the half-asleep form of the girl dominating his thoughts appeared right before him. Her normally razor sharp gaze was fuzzy and out of focus and blinked a few times before staring at his face. Her eyes then panned down to the futon tucked under his arm and she raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him as his cheeks began to redden.

He hid the cloth behind his back and tried his best to come up with a reasonable explanation but sleep deprivation and the intense stress of the situation took their toll. "I-I…Er..Uh…was g-gonna b-but then…..I-"

"Why" The sleepiness in her voice added a softness to it that made his blush even worse. With 3 little letters she had managed to completely destroy the part of his brain that managed things like tact. Or as the French call Savoir Faire

"The walls of Jericho fell" Shinji was glad Asuka didn't think he sounded stupid when he said that or at least didn't feel a need to tell him. He was telling himself that plenty enough for the both of them. Asuka only widened her eyes and examined him over with an expression completely unreadable to the boy.

"I have to pee" Shinji quickly hopped out of the girl's way as she plodded over to the bathroom without another word. He was still awkwardly standing around unsure of what to do next with his futon still clutched in his arm when she returned.

She walked past him and stopped just past the threshold of her doorway. "Are you coming or not!?" A familiar glare appeared on her face and Shinji quickly entered, shutting the door behind him.

Asuka plopped herself down onto her futon without saying anything and Shinji was right back at where he had started. He had no idea what to do next and after failing to decide for 15 minutes according to Asuka's alarm clock, sleep was calling him. He set his sleeping mat a few feet away from the sleeping girl and laid down. Carefully listening to the sound of her softly breathing as it slowed down to a steady rhythm. He turned around to face her, her face looked content and she seemed to be smiling at something in her dreams. Seeing this generated a warmth in his chest that made a smile of his own appear as he drifted off to sleep..

---

Asuka awoke for the first time this week feeling well rested. Her usual night time companion of night terrors decided to leave her alone for tonight. She was also very warm. Just before the point where it's too hot and she resisted the urge to awaken at the same time from her sync training as she curled up against her large and bony pillow.

Her eyes shot open as she looked up into a pair of blue eyes so dark they were black in most light. She looked down and realized her legs were intertwined with Shinji's and the rest of her was draped over his chest like a human blanket.

She turned her eyes back to his, she could easily see the fear in his gaze. She could feel whole body was slightly trembling as he desperately tried to keep as still as possible. In perfect sync the pair tried to jump up and separate. The flailing of limbs showed their actions were both planning on the other staying still. Asuka was more agile and more successful in freeing herself but Shinji's clumsy movements managed to trip the both of them as they rolled across the room.

They both stood up in sync, looked at eachother and had a silent conversation. The changes in their face and eyes communicating both a genuine apology and a mutual agreement to never mention what happened again. She had to suppress a giggle at the look of relief plastered on his face when he realized she wasn't going to attack him. He gave one of those rare toothy smiles which made her blush even worse, forcing her to turn away and pretend to examine her bedroom curtains. She then gestured with her hand in a shooing motion and when she turned around the boy had vanished.

She took her time getting ready, using her morning routine of beauty products as a way to distract her from all the troublesome thoughts popping up in her head. Try as she might thought she just couldn't force herself to be upset even if she had strange feelings about a boy. She wondered if this is how morning people felt all the time, as her usual scowl was replaced with a neutral expression. She had to put conscious effort into not smiling as she felt almost bubbly with their synchronization training complete and them being battle ready to crush the Angel today.

She was already planning her victory celebration dinner with Kaji in her mind but there was one problem. Every time she imagined herself sitting in a romantic candlelit restaurant with the both of them dressed up. Half the time when she creates the comforting mental image instead of the man of her dreams. she'll see Shinji sitting across from her in a striking all black suit that fits him surprisingly well. Despite her constant fighting of the thought it just kept popping back into her head and she decided to go eat breakfast before it ruined her rare good mood.

She sat down at the table without a word to the boy busily working at the stovetop. His motions were like a blur as he flipped a pair of eggs and placed a couple of sausages on a plate. Toast popped out and he added that onto the plate with a little flourish. Finally the eggs were thrown down last with a smattering of seasoning thrown on at the last second. Asuka's eyes never left the plate as she could already smell its delicious contents. The boy had prepared himself some sort of soup and rice which he placed across from her as the pair silently ate. Asuka had to use self control to prevent herself from devouring the food in a minute flat.

Shinji collected their plates without a word and she was desperately trying to think of some way to show appreciation that wouldn't make her look weak or dependent. Saying thank you was out of the question. She'd feel guilty if she did nothing, she could tell he went out of his way to make a western style breakfast. He had to go out and get ingredients and learn how to cook new foods so she felt she should at least do SOMETHING.

"D-Did you like the eggs and sausage? I wanted to do a European style breakfast today since you said you hated eating rice and fish in the morning…" Asuka stared at him uncomprehendingly as his words broke her train of thought.

They both were interrupted by the door flying open and an overly enthusiastic purple haired captain entered the apartment. "Hey Kids! Ready to put this whole week of training to good use!?"

Asuka guessed from the constant bouncing of her leg that the only reason the woman was conscious right now was because of copious amounts of caffeine. She stole a glance at Shinji and the pair silently communicated their mutual determination to destroy this Angel.

"As ready as we'll ever be"

"Stop doing that! It's creepy!" Misato's smirk and the giggle that slipped out of her made her protest sound even more insincere.

"Stop doing what?"

Their guardian only rolled her eyes "Cmon kids, the Commander will have my behind on a platter if I'm late to a time sensitive operation again." She then led the two teenagers marching in perfect lockstep out of the apartment. Asuka had a catlike grin that wouldn't leave her face as they drove with reckless abandon towards NERV HQ. She was proud she had finally managed to strike back against the ceaseless teasing of her new and old guardian.

---

"The target has broken through the final defense lines in Gora!"

"Here it comes, we won't fail this time" Shinji's posture stiffened as he heard the familiar authoritative edge he had come to associate with his commanding officer.

"Spread your AT Fields to maximum as soon as the music starts, then follow the operation choreography, are you two ready?"

"Roger" Two voices spoke as one each filled with conviction.

"Just remember the moves Shinji, full power, maximum performance"

"I know that! We'll be finished in 111 seconds"

"Eva Launch!"

The Two Evangelion rocketed out of the launch catapult soaring dozens of meters in the air above Tokyo-3. Each of the massive war machines retracted out and threw the small object with incredible force at the target. Upon impact it expanded and formed a large sheet slicing the Angel into two halves.

Both units landed with a roll and grabbed a weapon from the rising dispenser as soon as they got back on their feet. Shinji opted for a pallet rifle which he could fire on the move. His halve of the Angel had been continuously spraying spurts of melted rock hot enough to kill him in seconds.

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Asuka blasting with a heavy particle weapon about the size of her unit. He couldn't stop himself from beaming at their success after all the work that went into it.

As the two halves of the Angels finally focused on them and started to chase after the two, they moved as one summersalting effortlessly over the Angels attacks. Several buildings having collapsed due to the foundation being blasted with a particle beam or melted outright.

The pair reached their designated point and ducked behind the blast shield coming up to protect them as they grabbed a pair of pallet rifles on the floor and opened fire.

The two different parts of the Angel worked together, descending and smashing aside the large metal shield like it was made of paper. The red and purple Evangelion had already moved out of danger as a massive barrage of munitions from Tokyo-3 were all thrown at the Angel at once. Shinji looked and saw the two halves having reformed into a twisted abomination made from the two creatures. Looking like the two halves were crudely smashed into each other,steam fizzling from the fissure joining the two and the wounds pockmarked throughout it.

Undeterred by the creature's horrendous appearance's, the two pilots leapt into the air with practiced grace. The two Eva's moved within a meter of each other, even the slightest error meaning breaking up the intensity of the dual attack. Flying through the air like bullets, legs posed in front of them to each deliver one devastating strike

The twin cores of the Angel shattered the instant the metal titans foot collided with the red orbs. The pair disengaged with precision using their momentum and pressing off the disintegrating form of the Angel and using the momentum to land beside each other. The red Eva gave a curtsy bow after landing and the other unceremoniously landing directly on its feet.

Shinji guessed someone must've accidentally left the comms on as he could hear raucous cheering coming from the command center. He felt a warmth in his chest as he realized they were cheering for him even if he didn't think he deserved it.

He was pulled from his usual spiral of self depreciation by a strange sound. It sounded like music. Not the music he had spent the past week drilling into his brain for eternity. It was some western he guessed rock song based on the electric guitar, he couldn't understand the words or where it was coming from until he turned towards his co-pilot in her red Eva, its massive head and foot bobbing to the song's rhythm.

"How are you playing music on your Eva's speakers!?" Shinji had a bemused smile as he could almost envision the devilish smile Asuka had while she showed off her technical skills.

"How do you have all the worst questions!? Shut up and dance Shinji! We just saved the world! You could use to lighten up a little!" Asuka then turned up the volume as loud as he guessed it was possible. He could barely hear himself think so he decided he might as well give in reluctantly moving his shoulders along to the beat.

The first song ended and another more poppy rap song played. He finally figured out what language the music was in. He thought it was best not to ruin the moment by questioning her choice of music, and he enjoyed it regardless.

"We've only got a couple minutes of power left! You think they'll ever let us do this again!? Dance battle Third Child!"

The red unit shook its hips in a way that made Shinji's eyes bulge, without losing the beat or showing any strain the crimson Evangelion lowered itself as close as it could to the floor. It then rolled its entire massive frame like it was made of liquid.

Shinji leaned back in his chair in despair, reaching for the comms and hoping something could save him from humiliation. "Misato help, I can't dance" Shinji whispered into the comm not realizing it had little effect on the volume it was broadcast into the command center.

"Shinji the best kind of dancing is when you dance for yourself and don't care what anyone else thinks!" He was shocked to hear a male voice instead of Misato. "Give that Back!" He heard her snarling and chuckled at the implication.

"While that man is an immature idiot! He is right, Shinji just dance. Who cares? Call it a victory dance, you two did great!"

Shinji realized there really was no getting out of this so he went for the only dance he knew. The familiar patterns from his sync training worked pretty well with the fast paced song. He only had to tweak his steps a little to match the beat and began to flail his arms. His high sync rate translating his stiff and clumsy movements directly to the metal behemoth.

He heard an uproar of almost hysterical laughter come in over the comms and realized it was Asuika. "I think we can call that another victory for the Great Asuka Langley Soryu, master of the dance floor and slayer of Angels!"

He looked over and saw that his roommate had decided to mirror his dance. Even he had to admit with a flush of shame that her movements were much more graceful and fluid than his own. But the sound of his usually irate roommate breaking down with laughter caused him to join in. The pair of hundred billion dollar weapons of war danced joyfully until their power shut off and they collapsed to the ground in a heap.

---

Kaji did not like America. It was nothing against Americans per se. It was just he never understood all the hype and finally being there. It was definitely nothing like the movies.

He had to admit that perhaps his perspective was skewed as he was currently in the back of a truck driving out to a NERV facility in the scorching desert state of Nevada.\

When he had first been given the order to tail Gendo Ikari it was one of the easiest jobs he'd ever gotten. The man pretty much never left terminal dogma and when he did it was never outside of or not near NERV HQ. His employers knew there were only a couple people on the planet who could waltz into the depths of NERV so his reports were small and insubstantial.

'Just my luck that he'd fly halfway across the world as soon as I have to keep an eye on him.'

He was broken from his train of thought by the truck stopping and a bright light blinding him as sunlight streamed in through the open back door of the car. He tightened his hardhat and checked the straps on his overalls subtly brushing over the spot in his hip where he knew his gun was stowed. He took out his 'edited' NERV ID identifying him as one of the technicians the commander had sent to the Nevada base as a strange sort of olive branch.

The Americans and NERV central had generally gotten along like cats and dogs with neither fully respecting the authority of the other in several disputes. It was out of character for the commander to leave his post for something that didn't seem to be directly related to his main objective

'Just what are you planning Ikari?'

The facility was apparently so massive it had it's own rail network, the small group of technicians was herded onto one by a bored looking elderly man who paid him no mind. On the train Kaji took his small english dictionary out of his pocket using the couple minutes to refresh himself. None of the other engineers seemed to be fluent in the native language but Kaji didn't wanna take any chances if he got caught somewhere where he wasn't supposed to be.

The train deposited them directly inside the central lobby for the entire facility, with a number of garish decorations and brightly colored murals adorning the walls. He read one of the various maps identifying the different sections and realized his group from Tokyo-3 was headed where he needed to be. He followed after the group making sure to keep his head low.

They went down an underground elevator for several minutes, Kaji was doing his best to look knew now if even one of the people with him questioned his being there he'd be trapped with nowhere to go.

They entered a massive underground cavern, it was much smaller than the Geofront. Stuffed to the brim with scaffolding and various construction equipment along with a massive test chamber covering the entire back of the man made cave. He noticed pretty much all of the group was marveling at this miracle of human engineering and used the opportunity to break off from the group.

He walked past whatever underground construction this place had been built for and looked up. He had to suppress a gasp as he realized the place was more like the geofront than he thought. He could see a seam in the massive metal ceiling overhead the scaffolding and realize the entire roof was meant to open up and expose this part of the facility to open air.

He wanted to investigate further and made sure to take a mental note, his brain and gut were both telling him that whatever it was, was something important.

He took out his other more special access card which let him into the door of what had looked to be a test facility built like the one used at NERV central. He tossed his suspenders and hardhat and tossed them in a nearby bin, quickly tossing off his outer shirt and throwing it in alongside them. He then pulled out the rest of the labcoat stuffed down his pants and was for once thankful that the underground was always chilly. He took out a glasses case from his back pocket and threw on the thick rimmed spectacles that were just clear plastic.

He strode confidently down the halls holding a clipboard he took from a desk he passed by with random bits of paper laid on top of it. He entered the main testing facility to see the man he had followed 5,400 miles across the sea. He was talking with a man in a suit, who he guessed was in charge of the facility. He walked just close enough to hear the two speaking and began to listen in.

"Money will not be an issue in the development of the project, the committee has lost their patience and the only way they know how to solve a problem is to throw money at it."

"When would you like it to be operational?"

"Within two and a half months"

Kaji watched the man show a surprising amount of discipline as he could tell from the man's reaction this was an absurd demand.

"But we don't have enough manpower to rush the project forward like that! Not to mention we haven't gotten all of the material shipments in yet so even if we wanted to we couldn't get it done. That's not even mentioning the development of Unit-04, just because it's ahead of schedule doesn't mean we can drop it entirely to focus on something el-" The commander cut off the shorter man with a simple gesture of his hand.

"Use the money you are given to hire more people if you require it, if you still have trouble with this after that, talk to me and we'll sort it out." His tone made it clear there was no room for further discussion and left without a parting word.

Kaji waited for a few moments still pretending to look at his clipboard with nothing actually on it. He managed to steal a glance at the restrained form of Unit-04, its white armor almost glowed in the darkness of its testing chamber. Its head looked like a motorcycle helmet with a dark glass visor concealing the part of its face where the eyes would be and the rest being as white at the rest. It had a spattering of black around the neck and joints and large bolts on either side of its jaw.

He then quickly paced after the man knowing the hallway he went down was long and only went one way so he could easily make up for lost time. He surmised that 'the project' was why the commander was here. If he had to take an educated guess he'd say it was that massive THING he had seen them building in the basement. Kaji also realized the man he saw him talking to was not the person his dossier had said was supposed to be in charge of NERV's Nevada facility.

'This job just keeps getting more interesting all the time huh?'

---

AN: Sorry for the short chapter but I figured after a couple of the chapters were a bit longer than I intended I'd do a nice short and sweet chapter to even things out. I hope I did justice to the 7th Angel and its accompanying arc. It's personally my favorite episode of Eva and to me it serves as one of the great highpoints of the show to make sure the following gut punch really sticks. I hope that the way I've written the story so far has given you certain expectations and even if this beginning is a bit slow. You know what they say, contrast makes all things sweeter.