Chapter 15

Rei tried to return to verticality, but her tired arms quickly gave out and dropped her back down onto the bed. The grin on Asuka's face disappeared as she tried again.

"Looks like you're still exhausted from whatever happened to you, so just lie down," Asuka said. "It's only been a couple of hours since you were brought to the hospital."

Rei looked around the room as much as she could from her horizontal position. The incredibly familiar scent of disinfectant confirmed her location. Her gaze drifted back to the girl standing next to her bed, and Rei noticed that something looked slightly off about Asuka.

"It is... good to see you once more, Pilot Sor-," she quietly said, before a raised hand from Asuka stopped her.

"No, none of that. Just call me 'Asuka' from now on. We've known each other long enough."

Rei blinked, and her tired mind finally realised why Asuka looked different.

The Second Child's almost-permanently attached neural connectors were missing, and her fiery red hair was now hanging freely down her back. She raised an eyebrow, but chose not to comment on it, deciding that she would be told if it were important.

"Very well... Asuka," she agreed. "Then I would like to request that you refrain from calling me 'Wondergirl'."

Asuka quirked an eyebrow. "Why, what's wrong with that nickname?"

"It is not the nickname itself, but rather the way you always made it sound insulting."

"...Oh," Asuka replied lamely, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck. "Um, sorry about that?"

"It is alright." The sides of Rei's mouth twitched upwards slightly. She hadn't expected the Second Child to acquiesce so easily, and the apology was certainly a surprise. "I would actually not mind you calling me that if you changed the tone with which it is said."

Asuka looked blank for a moment, before she shrugged and said, "Well, I'll give it a go I suppose. Wondergirl. Wondergirl. Wondergirl... Wunderpüppchen... no, definitely not that. Damnit." She huffed and stomped her foot. "Now it sounds either insulting or sarcastic no matter how I say it."

"I appreciate your efforts, but I would like to change the subject, please," Rei said, before looking around as best as she could from her position. "Where is Ikari?"

Asuka's arms flopped to her sides as her whole body seemed to slump. "You had to go and ruin the mood, didn't you? Oh, and the same goes for him; just call him Shinji," she muttered, then pointed to a spot directly opposite Rei's bed. "He's over there, asleep since the MP Eva attacked."

Rei's eyes widened at the news, and she once more attempted to raise herself up. Her arms wobbled dangerously, but she eventually managed to get her upper body vertical. Asuka threw her arms up in the air and gave up trying to convince the blue-haired girl to stay down.

On the other side of the room, Shinji lay in his own hospital bed. The only other furniture in the spartan room was a table and chair next to Shinji's bed. The small table held an empty cup and a red handheld game device. Even with the distance between them, Rei could notice some slight twitching of the boy's extremities. Rei made to get out of the bed, only to collapse as her legs instantly gave way the moment she put her full weight on them.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Asuka demanded as she came around to where Rei was on the floor. "What part of 'you need rest' don't you understand?"

"That is... ngh... unimportant right now," Rei replied, trying to will herself to stand up. "I need to... see him."

"You can see him just fine from your bed, you know." Asuka offered a hand to Rei, but it was ignored as the girl began to slowly crawl towards the chair next to Shinji's bed.

"There is something I must attempt... before it's too late," was Rei's cryptic reply.

"Oh fine then."

Strong hands lifted Rei off the floor, to her surprise, and Asuka walked her over to the chair, plopping the girl down none too gently.

Asuka felt a sudden twitch of jealousy when Rei reached out for the boy's clenching and unclenching hand, but the rational part of her brain intervened before she could say or do anything, reminding her of the familial connection the two of them had, even if the blue-haired girl didn't seem to know it yet. Rei was staring intently at Shinji's sleeping face, and Asuka could clearly see concern in her eyes.

It was the same look she saw on Misato's face in the past whenever Shinji was hurt.

Asuka let out a breath she hadn't been aware she was holding, relaxing her body as she leaned on the other side of the bed. "What's so important to see in his face that couldn't wait a few hours?" she asked.

Rei broke the stare. "I will explain afterwards. In the meantime, please do not disturb me, as I must concentrate." With that said, she closed her eyes and placed a hand on Shinji's forehead.

For a while it appeared as if nothing were happening. Asuka, giving up on understanding what Rei was trying to do, went over to the window while she waited and stared out at the Geofront. One of the ruined JSSDF vehicles had been left behind due to a family of animals moving into it, presumably after losing their old home during the attack.

A grunt from behind drew Asuka back to the bed. Rei's eyelids were twitching, and her mouth was set in a grimace while the hand that was holding Shinji's was trembling. Asuka wasn't sure if she should do anything, until Rei's eyes shot wide open and her whole body began to shake. She quickly slapped away both of Rei's hands from Shinji's body, and the bluenette let out a loud gasp before collapsing onto the bed, breathing heavily.

"Right, Wondergirl. Like it or not I'm putting you back in your bed," Asuka declared, lifting Rei out of the chair to the girl's weak protests. She gently laid Rei down on the mattress, covering her with the sheet and even going so far as to tightly tuck her in so she couldn't get up again.

When the girl's breathing normalised once more, Asuka asked, "Well? What happened?"

Rei closed her eyes and was silent for a moment. "I saw... Shinji's nightmare. All I could hear was... screaming. So many different voices screaming in unison."

"Rei, are you telling me that you somehow... looked into his mind?" Asuka crossed her arms and frowned. She didn't like the sound of what Rei was implying.

The First Child slowly nodded. "Yes. When I was one with Lilith, she knew that something was wrong with him. She kept attempting to look into his mind through the connection she once had with him as the trigger for Third Impact, but that link started to degrade once he was no longer in Instrumentality." Rei sighed and opened her eyes. "All she could sense was surface feelings, fear and despair, but nothing substantial. Before Lilith released me from Instrumentality, she asked me to help her try to see into his mind one last time before the link disappeared entirely."

She glanced at Asuka, and was taken aback by the enraged look in the redhead's eyes.

"You... you went into his head and dredged up his nightmares!" she yelled almost directly into Rei's face. "Don't you remember what the Fifteenth Angel did to me?!"

The blue-haired girl backed up as much as she could, but her face remained impassive. "That Angel forced its way into your mind and examined everything it saw, while making you watch as well. I was not nearly so... aggressive."

"Well if you didn't just freaking mind rape him, then just what the hell did you do?" The heat in Asuka's sapphire orbs was matched by the coolness of Rei's ruby eyes.

"I did nothing besides look. I was an observer, nothing more." Rei stopped and thought for a moment. "I believe an appropriate analogy would be watching a video."

They stared at each other for a while longer. Finally, the heat faded slightly and Asuka stepped back with a sniff. "Alright, I'll guess I'll believe you. I've never known you to tell a lie before."

The room was silent for a few minutes. Asuka sat down on the chair next to Shinji's bed. Whatever mental contact Rei had with him did not seem to have affected him at all. Hospitalised or not, Asuka had been fully prepared to hurt Rei if her explanation had not been satisfactory. She was not going through all this effort to heal Shinji just to have a meddling girl come along and ruin all her hard work.

"I am sorry for the miscommunication, Asuka," Rei softly apologised, tilting her head up to look across the room.

Asuka brushed off the apology with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry, it's fine," she sighed.

"I do not claim to understand exactly what you experienced when the Fifteenth assaulted you. I regret that I was not faster in assisting you."

The redhead scoffed. "I guess I should be thankful that you were able to do anything at all." She brushed some of Shinji's hair out of his eyes while mumbling to herself, and Rei narrowed her eyes when she caught the word 'idiot'. After a minute of quiet, Asuka looked up and saw that the other girl was looking directly at her. "What?"

"Curious. You are displaying much more concern towards Shinji than I expected from you," Rei noted. "Previously, you appeared to go out of your way to hurt him."

"Yeah... well... things have changed," Asuka replied, before quickly changing the subject. "I'm going to go stretch my legs, and maybe get something from the cafeteria before heading home. Do you want me to bring you anything, Wondergirl?"

Thankfully, Rei apparently decided not to press the issue as she said, "No, thank you. I believe I will take your earlier advice and-"

Asuka was in the middle of sticking her handheld game device in a pocket when she heard Rei suddenly stop talking. "What's wrong?"

"You did it."

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Did... what?"

"You called me Wondergirl without it sounding demeaning."

Asuka blinked, and pursed her lips in thought. "Huh, I guess I did," she finally remarked.

Rei gave a small smile, and Asuka couldn't help mimicking it.

"Right, I'm off," Asuka said. "Now leave your brother alone for a while and get some damn sleep. I'll be back tomorrow morning."

Asuka headed out of the room without looking back. The door slid shut behind her, and she missed Rei's wide-eyed expression as she stared at the closed door.

"...Brother?"

XX

Neither Misato nor Ritsuko could remember who convinced who that they should put off dealing with the surprise return of the First Child until the next morning. Asuka told Misato about her conversation with Rei on their way home, and the woman almost turned her car around in the apartment block's car park to rush back to Shinji's side before Asuka convinced her that they were both too tired to be of much help, even if there was something they could do.

While she was lucky enough to not be assaulted by her own nightmares, Asuka felt the old and familiar sensation of loneliness once more as she slept that night, her hand reaching out to grasp at something that wasn't there.

It was a hated feeling.

She had to almost physically restrain herself from slapping her own face in frustration when she was first through the door into the hospital room and saw Rei sitting calmly in the seat by Shinji's bed, holding his hand and looking as if she had been expecting them. Misato had to squeeze past her to enter. Ritsuko was elsewhere in the medical wing, but had said she would be with them shortly.

"Didn't I tell you to rest and leave him alone?" she growled as she stomped towards the bed. To her satisfaction the First Child had the decency to look slightly embarrassed about being caught.

"You did. I was asleep for almost eleven hours," Rei replied. She glanced towards the boy on the bed. "Then I was awoken by Shinji tossing and turning half an hour ago. I tried to see if he was having the same nightmare again, but..."

"That 'link' thing is gone now, isn't it?" Asuka finished for her.

Rei nodded sadly. "I cannot discover what the nightmare was, but he seemed to be reaching out to someone or something. That is why I am now holding his hand." Asuka's gaze travelled down the pale arm to where it met with Shinji's. "He settled down quickly after that."

The few times that Asuka had seen the First and Third Children together outside of NERV, she usually had to fight down a sudden urge to walk over and deliberately interrupt whatever they had been doing. It had certainly not been because she wanted Shinji for herself. The spineless idiot wouldn't have known what to do with her anyway. She was just going to go over there because she was bored, or because Shinji shouldn't be wasting his time on a doll, or whatever else popped into Asuka's head at the time.

Of course, by the time she had come up with a decent excuse, the two Children would have already parted ways.

'They're siblings. Brother and sister. Or close enough to it. She probably doesn't know what's been happening in the last few months. Don't rip her head off just because she helped him when you weren't here. Would you rather have come in to see Wondergirl ignoring his suffering?' Asuka let out a breath, and with it the anger that had been unconsciously rising within her.

Rather than a knee-jerk reaction of slapping away Rei's hand again, Asuka stood on the other side of the bed and held onto Shinji's free left hand. Her thumb began to absently move in circles over the back of his hand, the memory of her lonely night quickly forgotten with the reassuring feeling of his hand in hers. The two girls stared at each other, Asuka seeming to be daring Rei to say something.

"Rei! It's so good to see you again!" Sensing that their conversation was over for the time being, Misato chose that moment to move around to Rei's side of the bed and suddenly lift the girl completely out of the chair with a fierce hug. Rei was forced to let go of Shinji's hand as Misato spun them both around, and when they finally came to a halt Asuka was astonished to see colour in Rei's blushing face.

"I am... glad to see you as well, Major Katsuragi."

"It's Commander now, actually," Misato corrected. "And just call me Misato, for goodness sake."

"I see. Congratulations on your promotion, M-Misato. Does this mean that Co-... that Gendo Ikari has not returned?"

"Nope, the bastard is still out in the sea somewhere."

Asuka frowned. Was that a hint of relief on Rei's face when told of the elder Ikari's absence? The girl who had been his willing puppet for her entire life?

"So what's all this about a mental link, Rei?" Misato asked as she set Rei down back on her feet. The woman sat in the recently vacated chair, with one arm hanging over the back and the other leaning on Shinji's bed.

Rei remained where she had been set down. She began to fidget slightly as she spoke. "As Shinji was the trigger for Third Impact, Lilith had a special connection with him. She did not discover the extent of his trauma until it was too late. Even though Shinji accepted her offer to restore humanity... maybe the damage was already done." She let out a sad sigh. "I believe Lilith thinks... that it was her fault, for placing control in his hands. Perhaps she was hoping to be able to use the link to help him recover. "

"Shinji was in no fit state to decide anything, Rei," Misato said. "When I found him during the JSSDF attack, he was hiding under a stairwell literally waiting to get shot in the head."

"I remember that. His memories of that day were seen by Lilith, and as a result I saw them too."

"Rei," Ritsuko interrupted as she poked her head through the door. "I want to do a full physical on you, just to make sure there's nothing wrong."

"Of course, Doctor Akagi." Rei stood up and began to walk out of the room.

"Wait!" Asuka exclaimed just as the doctor and First Child reached the door. "You have Shinji's memories of that day?"

Rei turned to look over her shoulder. "Yes. But I do not know why."

"No point asking why or even how, but..." Asuka paused, looking at Misato for a few seconds. "Do you know exactly what happened to him on the day of the attack?" she asked, glancing sidelong at Rei. Misato leaned forward, listening intently.

Rei's gaze unfocused slightly as she searched her memory. "There are four major events that contributed to Shinji's decision to initiate Third Impact. Two of them are the deaths of you and Misato."

Misato nodded grimly, and Asuka shivered. 'That scream I heard after being ripped apart...'

"The other two are... private matters that I do not wish to reveal."

"W-why not?!" Asuka let go of Shinji's hand and stalked over to spin Rei around, grabbing hold of her shirt. "Don't you think that's something we need to know? He's been catatonic ever since we found him, and all we know is that it was because of what occurred around Third Impact! We can't even try to help him until we know what happened, so if you know, then tell us!"

"I do know." Rei's eyes turned to steel. "But it is not my place to tell you. It is something that concerns only two people. You and Shinji."

"But... I was in a coma right before fighting the JSSDF and the MP Evas." Asuka's grip slackened as she struggled to understand. "There was no point where I was in contact with him."

Rei gently untangled Asuka's hands from her clothing. "I will only say this: Shinji must be the one to tell you." With that said she turned and left the room with Ritsuko.

Asuka opened and closed her mouth a few times before turning to look at Misato, who simply shrugged.

"Gottverdammt," Asuka swore, lightly butting the closed door with the back of her head. "Just when I thought we were getting somewhere..."

"We could try checking the security footage archive, to see if we can find out anything," Misato suggested.

"What could it possibly be, though? What is it that Rei refuses to tell me?"

"I don't know. And despite being the Commander, I'm not going to order her to speak. I saw that look in her eyes." Misato put a hand to her chin, gazing at the door Rei had exited through. "I'm not even sure she would acknowledge that order."

She shook her head, before turning to look seriously at Asuka. "Anyway, now that she's out of the room... I need to know something, Asuka."

Asuka was deep in thought, but perked up when she heard her name. "Hmm? What's that?"

"I don't doubt that there will be more attacks, and right now you two are the only pilots available, with Shinji the way he is. I know you and Rei have had problems in the past, and I'm hoping that's where they'll stay. In the past." Misato folded her arms. "Can I count on you to put aside whatever differences you two have?"

"The only real problem I had with Rei was the fact that she was such an obedient doll, the old Commander's pet," Asuka sneered. "It's pretty obvious now that she's apparently gotten all that out of her system. I can't promise that we won't argue, especially after what she just pulled, but at least you shouldn't have to worry about us coming to blows."

"Well, that's better than I expected," Misato replied, before her mouth twisted into an evil grin. "And if you two can't get along, I could always force you two into sync training."

A massive shudder wracked Asuka's body. "Don't even joke about that."

"It's not a joke. Work together, or be forced to work together."

The pair made idle chat for the next hour, until Ritsuko returned, PDA in hand and a dumbfounded look on her face.

"The results are here." She tossed the device into Misato's lap, who picked it up and stared at it, examining what little of the report she could understand, while Asuka read over her shoulder.

After a few minutes Asuka pulled back, shock evident on her face, but Misato raised an eyebrow and said, "Okay, I'm not understanding the reason for your surprise. This thing says she's perfectly healthy."

Ritsuko took off her glasses and rubbed her forehead. "There's a specific word you obviously missed. Read that last bit again."

As Misato bent her head down to read, Ritsuko raised a finger to her lips, signalling Asuka to be quiet. The redhead nodded and moved to sit on the empty bed.

"'To summarise,'" Misato read. "'Rei is a perfectly healthy...'" She squinted, as if not believing what was in front of her eyes.

"A perfectly healthy human girl?!"

"Correct." The soft voice drew everyone's attention to Rei, standing in the doorway. "When Lilith sent me back to this world, she must have kept the portion of my DNA that belonged to her, as well as given me my own soul. But that is not important right now." She moved to stand at attention before Misato, who was still reeling from the revelation. "Commander Katsuragi. I must speak to you about the Revenants."

XX

Misato's office as the Commander of NERV was much smaller than the one Gendo Ikari had, but it was infinitely friendlier. It was one of the few things missed by almost nobody with the destruction of the pyramid. Misato hated how incredibly large the egotistical man had made his office. Every time she had to report to the now former Commander, it felt like it took half an hour from entering the office to reaching the invisible point everybody stopped at to speak with him, what felt like fifty meters away from the desk.

Looking back, Misato wondered just how the hell people managed to hear each other properly, in that office with that arrangement.

Her office, on the other hand, was much more informal. It had originally belonged to Kozo Fuyutsuki, and the kindly old professor had made his workspace feel as inviting as possible, perhaps as a counter to Gendo and his dark lair. The room was illuminated by a soft and warm light, and bookshelves dotted the walls. Where there were no shelves, there were landscape paintings, including one of Lake Ashi.

It felt like a school teacher's office, which made sense considering Fuyutsuki's previous occupation.

Misato now sat behind the old mahogany desk, chin resting on her hands, thinking over what Rei had just revealed. In front of her, Ritsuko was relaxing on a comfortable couch, tapping away at her PDA. After a few minutes, she looked up.

"The MAGI now know everything about the Revenants that we do," she reported. "We should have a plan within the next few hours."

"I find myself wondering why you're even bothering to ask them," replied Misato. "We know we're going to have to rebuild."

Ritsuko shrugged. "They can plan much faster than any human, and tell us the optimal steps to take when rebuilding our defenses based on what Rei told us."

Misato growled under her breath. "We're forced to send kids to fight our battles again, and this time it's all just some big..." She waved her hands vaguely in the air while she attempted to find the right word. "Test? At least they won't all attack at once."

"We'll have to step up the pilot training. Fortunately, we basically already know what to expect from an MP Eva. Unlike the Angels, where we couldn't even guess at what they would look like." Misato nodded and hummed in agreement.

"Where are the girls, anyway?" Ritsuko asked as she switched off her PDA's screen.

"Asuka went back to Shinji's room, and I believe Rei followed her."

"Hmm. Asuka seems rather obsessed with the Third Child, doesn't she? Lately she's been spending every waking moment with the boy."

"I believe it's her way of trying to make amends, due to the way she treated him last year." Misato leaned on the desk and slowly rubbed her face. "Sometimes I truly wonder if I did the right thing by having them live together."

"It was your idea though, if I recall."

"I know," Misato muttered through her hands. "I was hoping they would get along, but Asuka treated him like dirt and Shinji would just let her do it. Oh, I tried to mediate between them but I was either too busy or too tired a lot of the time." Or too drunk, she definitely didn't add.

Every now and then Misato would see Shinji after Asuka had put him down, and she could see just how badly he was affected. He would try to hide it and pretend nothing was wrong, but Misato quickly picked up on his body language. Even his cooking would suffer occasionally, if Asuka had been particularly ruthless that day. Misato was sure that Asuka never noticed, though.

Ritsuko smirked when Misato finished speaking. "I'm surprised you could tell the difference, what with the way you kept destroying your taste buds with all those horrible meals."

"Hey, I didn't choose you for my Sub-Commander so you could insult me!" Misato pointed and mock-glared at her.

Misato had made her decision almost immediately after the battle, claiming that Ritsuko was the only one who knew enough about NERV to hold the position. Later, Misato admitted in private that while she had almost given up at the start of the fight, Ritsuko's optimism had been what convinced Misato that her old friend was probably better suited than her at being a leader of an entity as large as NERV.

If it were possible, she would have tried to get her scientist friend made Commander in her place. Sub-Commander would have to do.

"You made me Sub-Commander because with Fuyutsuki gone, I'm the next best advisor."

With a sigh, Misato leaned back in her chair. "I could really use that old man right about now. He always had an answer for everything, and he always made you feel better for asking."

"He could still return, you know. It's only been six months since Third Impact. People are still returning all over the world every day."

"Perhaps, but I wouldn't insult him by trying to drag him back to NERV. If he did return, I'd give him the most generous retirement package possible."

The grandfather clock in the corner of the room struck the hour, and both women looked up at it.

"Well, we're going to be waiting a while. Want to get some lunch?" Misato suggested.

XX

"Um, okay I guess," Asuka answered, slightly confused. Rei had caught up to her shortly after they left the Commander's office while the redhead was waiting for an elevator.

"Is something wrong, Asuka?" Rei asked as she tilted her head.

"It's nothing, I just never expected to hear you suggest something, especially lunch."

The elevator arrived, and the two of them entered. They descended in silence for a while, before Rei glanced at Asuka and said, "I must admit, I do have a reason for the suggestion." At her fellow pilot's inquisitive look, she continued. "I would like to speak to you about my... my brother."

Asuka pushed away from the wall she had been resting against and crossed the small distance between them, leaning forward to stare at Rei. "Say that last bit again."

Surprisingly, Rei actually leaned back slightly as Asuka invaded her personal space again. "I wish to speak to you about m-my brother..."

"Why are you tripping over calling him that?" Asuka asked, standing upright and folding her arms.

"I... " Rei turned away, unable to maintain eye contact, and instead chose to stare down at her feet. She took a deep breath. "I... it feels strange to call Shinji my brother. I never even imagined that I would have someone I could refer to as family."

"What about Shinji's old man? He practically raised you, didn't he?"

"He did, but he mostly played the part of a guardian to me, much like Misato does to you and Shinji. I never had a reason to question the relationship... until I met Shinji."

As the elevator reached their floor, they stepped out and headed towards the cafeteria. Rei raised her head just enough to see where she was going.

"He arrived in Tokyo-3 on the day the Third Angel attacked," Rei recalled. "The very first time I saw him, he was holding me in his arms after I was knocked off my gurney." In front of her, Asuka raised an eyebrow but remained silent. "It has taken me a long time to realise, but there was something in his eyes back then, as well as when he opened my entry plug after the Fifth Angel, that I never saw in his father's."

Asuka stopped and turned around when she heard the First Child halt. What she saw on the girl's face was enough to disconcert her. Rei was... upset? Angry? The foot traffic flowed around them as they both stood in the middle of the corridor, not a glance being spared their way.

"Shinji cared about me! He did not even know who I was and yet he was concerned!" Rei's voice had raised slightly, which was almost the equivalent of a shout for anybody else. "What reason would he have for that?"

"People don't need a reason to care for each other, Wondergirl. It's normal to want to look after someone else."

"Then why didn't his father care?!"

Taking a step back, Asuka's mouth dropped open in shock as Rei finally did shout. A couple of passing workers paused and stared at the pair, but a scowl from the Second Child got them moving again.

Rei also seemed to have been surprised by her sudden yell as her hands leapt up to cover her mouth. She walked past Asuka with a mumbled apology, continuing to the cafeteria. After a few seconds, Asuka remembered to follow her.

She caught up quickly but remained silent as the two girls got their meals, Asuka choosing soup and a soft drink, while Rei opted for a simple salad and a glass of water. Only when the girl started eating did Asuka notice Rei beginning to calm down.

"Please forgive my outburst," Rei quietly said, placing her cutlery down next to her half-finished meal. "I do not understand why I did that." She stared down into the plate in front of her.

Asuka quietly cleared her throat. "You, uh... wanna talk about it?" she asked.

"No," Rei replied, shaking her head. She looked up at Asuka's face. "But perhaps I should."

Asuka sat back and patiently waited as Rei spent a long minute slowly draining her glass of water, gathering her thoughts.

"It is not something I intentionally set out to do on my own," Rei began, holding the empty glass in front of her face. "But over time I began to observe differences in people's eyes during conversation. For example, Doctor Akagi would pretend to be friendly towards me during our appointments, but that friendliness never reached her eyes. I have noticed that people's eyes would often reveal the truth. Did you never wonder why I maintained such intense eye contact with whoever was speaking?"

"I did notice you staring at everyone, Wondergirl, but I thought you were just being creepy."

"I was teaching myself to watch for those cues. It was not my intention to appear 'creepy', as you say."

"Well, you're doing much better now. Instead of acting like a robot, you're talking to us as if you're... well... human," Asuka noted. "But what does this have to do with anything?"

Rei smiled slightly for a moment at Asuka's almost-a-compliment. "Gendo Ikari's eyes. Unlike his son's, I never saw a hint of caring in his face. Every minute Shinji's father spent with me, it was always with the same look in his eyes. I may not have a perfect memory, but some major events in my life are as clear as if they had happened only moments before. I remember Gendo Ikari's eyes in each event, and they were the same. Tell me, Asuka. Have you ever pretended to smile at someone?"

The redhead nodded, recalling the many verbal cat-fights she had been involved with during both school and college.

"Gendo Ikari did something very similar. During one of my tests with Unit-00, it went berserk. My entry plug was ejected in a confined space, and I was gravely injured as a result. He shouted my name over the comm as if he was worried, and burned his own hands when he raced to my plug and opened the hatch." Rei placed the glass on the table and folded her hands in her lap. "He sounded relieved when he spoke, but his eyes... remained cold."

Asuka frowned as a thought occurred. "How could you even tell what was in his eyes when he was wearing those stupid orange sunglasses?"

"I spent a great deal of time with him. The glasses were meant to shield his eyes from people further away than where I stood in relation to him, to prevent them reading his face and gaining an advantage. When he opened my entry plug, his glasses had somehow fallen off."

The two lapsed into silence for several minutes as they finished their meals. When she had finished her soup, Asuka wiped her mouth clean with her sleeve and said, "So that's why you lost your temper. Because you realised the man who raised you, the man you were devoted to, was a heartless bastard."

Rei nodded glumly, but before she could speak further a tray slapped down onto the table next to them. Two more trays joined them as Misato, Ritsuko and Maya sat down. All three of the newcomers' trays held sandwiches and coffee.

"What a story. Gendo Ikari is an asshole." Misato sarcastically announced as she plopped down into a seat behind Rei. "Didn't expect to see you two here. How did you get to talking about my, ah... 'predecessor'?"

Asuka quickly filled them in. Misato and Maya were astonished at Rei's sudden show of emotion. Ritsuko's worried look went unnoticed until Rei happened to glance in her direction as she twisted around in her chair to regard the women, at which point the scientist blanked her face.

The conversation between the adults and teenagers came to an end as Maya asked Ritsuko a question, and the NERV officers began talking amongst themselves. Asuka and Rei turned their attention back to each other and in a low voice, Asuka said, "Well, as some people insist on saying, we can't change the past. Put that bastard out of your mind, Wondergirl. You'll be a lot happier just forgetting about him. Instead of looking back at what went wrong, look ahead."

Rei looked uncertain. "I... do not know if I will be able to."

"It's not going to happen straight away, so don't try and force it." Asuka stopped, thinking to herself for a moment, and snapped her fingers. "Oh, I just remembered. We still haven't spoken about Shinji like you wanted to. Kinda got distracted by his stupid dad."

A slight widening of Rei's eyes revealed that she had forgotten as well, and her gaze darted to the side. Looking over her shoulder, Asuka saw that the three adults were still deep in conversation. "Don't worry about them. Misato would be the only one to hear us, and she's not going to blab," she reassured the girl, lowering her voice a little more.

Rei looked sceptical for a moment, turning to look at the back of Misato's head, but eventually turned back to Asuka and, in an equally low voice, said, "Very well, although I believe you should be more concerned as the question I have is about you."

Asuka froze, directing her own stare past Rei's shoulder and at the purple hair of her guardian. Her face reddened slightly. "Me?!" she hissed. "What about me? I thought we were going to talk about Shinji."

Leaning on the table with her hands clasped in front of her around her plate, Rei nodded. "It is about you and him." Ignoring the growing colour in Asuka's face, she asked, "Why are you spending so much time with my brother?"

Asuka could have sworn that Misato somehow heard the scream inside her head. The woman's head slowly turned around, and the stunned redhead was sure Misato was looking at her out of the corner of her eye. Was that a grin on her face?

'Ohshitohshitohshit.'

"Asuka?"

"Huh?" She blinked. Misato was deep in conversation with Ritsuko, and Rei was staring at her.

"You are apparently spending a lot of time with Shinji. Why?" Rei repeated her question.

"I... I, uh..." Asuka tried to speak, before violently shaking her head, sending her brilliant red tresses tumbling about. "What business is it of yours what I do with my time?!" she demanded, struggling to both stay quiet and control her increasingly reddening face.

"As you have said, Shinji is my brother. As a member of his family, it is my duty to look out for him," Rei calmly replied. "You have no such familial bond, yet you appear to have taken it upon yourself to watch over Shinji. The nursing staff here are more than capable of looking after him without you. Now that I have returned, I could take your place. There is no need for you to be here, Asuka."

"Yeah... well... you're not getting rid of me that easily. Shinji's a- a fellow Eva pilot!" Asuka stammered. "And since I'm the top pilot, his welfare is my concern!"

Rei gave Asuka a cool look. "I would be more inclined to believe that had you not spent most of last year harassing and belittling him."

If it hadn't been for the fact that the blue-haired girl was so incredibly right, Asuka would have likely yelled loudly enough to draw the attention of the other table. She instead cast a pointed glance over Rei's shoulder as she picked up her tray and moved away from the table.

Asuka dumped her tray where the cafeteria staff could collect it. Instead of returning to the table, she walked to the window and gazed sullenly outside, crossing her arms in front of her. In the partial reflection on the window, she idly noticed that her face was a similar colour to her Evangelion's paint job, but it was now slowly starting to fade away.

A quiet "thank you" behind her, followed by almost noiseless footsteps, told the German girl that Rei was now standing just behind her. Her eyes moved slightly to the right, and locked with Rei's mirrored tranquil red orbs.

"Fine, you want to know the truth, Wondergirl?" she muttered. "It's..."

'No, don't say it. You're not even sure it is the truth. Not yet anyway.'

"I... I don't trust them to do it, alright?" Asuka finally said. "Shinji's practically a coma patient. They're not going to have someone sitting in his room all day. After all, it's not like he'll get up and start sleepwalking or something."

'What I wouldn't give just to see him do even that...'

Rei seemed to consider this for a moment. After what felt like far too much time to Asuka, the First Child said, "Misato could order them to have someone with him constantly. She is the Commander, they must obey her."

Asuka snorted as she leaned on the window sill. "They'll obey that order just long enough to ensure she's stopped paying attention to them. Yes, Misato's the Commander, and that means she's going to be very busy. As soon as she turns her back, they will too. Shinji would just be another patient to them."

"You are grasping at straws Asuka, and creating scenarios in your head that may never come to pass."

Asuka's head tilted, shifting her gaze from the reflection to the girl standing behind her as she sighed. "Fine. Say you're right, and someone's with him. What are they going to do when he has a nightmare?"

As an answer, Rei lifted one hand in front of her face and glanced at it for a moment, before looking at Asuka once more. Asuka shook her head in response.

"Nice idea, but that doesn't work with just anybody." Her gaze drifted back to the window. "So far, you and I are the only two able to calm Shinji down. Misato attempted to help him a while ago while I wasn't home. It didn't work. Toji's sister tried once as well."

Asuka had arrived home after a short trip to the grocery store to the sight of a crying Sakura being gently led away by her older brother. It had taken a couple of days and everyone pitching in to convince the depressed young girl that it wasn't her fault.

"I can sort of understand why it works for you, since you're his sister. I don't know if Shinji actually knows that, though," Asuka shrugged, before turning around fully to face Rei with a hand on her chest. "But why the hell does he respond to me too? Look at what happened between us last year. Hell, yesterday he woke up while we were testing Unit-01 and tried to kill me!"

Rei nodded. "Yes, Doctor Akagi has informed me of what happened while I was still in Instrumentality."

"He did a pretty damn poor job of it too," Asuka continued as if she had not heard Rei. "Honestly, it was like he had completely forgotten how to throw a punch."

As Asuka proceeded to talk about the strange lapse in Shinji's combat skills, she failed to notice Rei closing the distance between them and begin carefully sniffing. Only when the redhead began to wave her hands about while recounting the fight did she notice how close Rei was, when an arm bumped into the curious girl's head.

"Wh- Rei, what the hell are you doing?" Asuka asked, backing up against the window sill in surprise at Rei's close proximity.

"There is an unusual smell about you," the First Child curiously answered.

"Smell? That's probably my shampoo!" Rei retreated slightly, allowing Asuka to move away from the window. "I've been using it for months, so- will you stop that?!" she demanded as Rei leaned in once more. The smell of strawberries was strong on Asuka, and Rei inhaled it deeply.

"Its scent is familiar." Rei put a hand to her chin in thought for a moment. "You used this shampoo after you transferred to Tokyo-3, but stopped not long after the Eighth Angel." Rei had an inquisitive look on her face, apparently trying to work something out.

"Well yeah, I brought that brand over from Germany, but I ran out. Between school and NERV business, I didn't particularly feel like hunting through every store in Tokyo-3 to try and find it again." Asuka grinned. "I did find a whole box of it in a supermarket during a scavenging run just before people started coming back. That's why I'm using it again."

"That is rather fortunate."

"Yeah." Asuka lost the grin and folded her arms, narrowing her eyes at the nosy girl. "But... why are you of all people talking about shampoo?"

Rei raised a finger and pointed at the middle of the redhead's face. "Olfactory memory," she said simply.

It took Asuka just a little longer than she would ever admit to understand what Rei meant. Her college degree had not been in medicine, after all. When it finally clicked, she directed a shocked look at Rei's calm face. "He's... remembering the smell of my shampoo? That's what calms him down?!" she asked incredulously.

With a small nod, Rei replied, "Correct. The scent is reminding him of a better time, and helping to banish his nightmares."

"Well that's just great. I could be replaced by a freaking plastic bottle," Asuka grumbled sardonically.

"It is not as simple as that, Asuka. A plastic bottle would not be able to hold his hand, and provide physical support."

Asuka exhaled, running a hand slowly through her hair as she stared at nothing. Rei's words had reminded her of her own feelings about the early days. Annoyance about having to live with what she believed was just another perverted boy. Anger about being forced to co-operate with said boy. Grudging respect as they eventually perfected their sync training routine and killed the Seventh Angel.

And that respect turned into hidden gratitude and admiration when Shinji dove into a volcano to save her.

Which was the other reason Asuka was staying by his side.

"I still owe him..." she mumbled quietly. She had returned to leaning on the window sill, her head downcast.

"Pardon?"

"What?" Asuka darted around.

"Why do you owe him?"

Letting out a sigh, Asuka decided to tell her. She knew that if she didn't, Rei would likely suspect she wasn't telling the truth. And it was easier to reveal her debt than it was to... admit something else. "At first I just didn't want Shinji to hold it over me, that he had saved my life in that volcano. But he didn't even think about trying to make me pay him back. Okay, I know he was ordered in after me but-"

"That was not the order he was given."

Asuka blinked as her train of thought was interrupted. "Wait... what?"

"Shinji had been ordered by Misato to hold his position. She was almost screaming over the comm for him to stay where he was."

Asuka stood stunned for a minute as the revelation ran through her mind. If Rei had wanted to, she could have knocked her over with a light push. "Gott... He... jumped into a volcano to save me, and with nothing to protect him from the heat... against orders? Why would he do something like that?"

"Why would he save you? Or why would he disobey?"

"The second one. He practically worshipped Misato, it seemed." Asuka waved a hand in the direction of Misato. "And then he goes and disobeys her."

"I am afraid I do not have the answer to that question," Rei replied apologetically.

"No, of course you wouldn't..." Asuka sighed in defeat.

They returned to their table in silence.

Maya had left, returning to her station, and now only Misato and Ritsuko were left in the cafeteria along with the pilots. The staff had cleaned up and left to prepare for the dinner rush. The two girls sat opposite one another. Asuka had a hand on her cheek, leaning on the table, while her other hand tapped away idly on the tabletop.

Asuka neglected to mention a certain thing related to her time in the volcano. For a while afterwards, she had experienced a phantom sensation of heat at seemingly random times that felt like a mild sunburn. Her Evangelion had been in a protective dive suit and had not felt much of the volcano until the Angel had severed her coolant lines, but Shinji had been in the lava without any protection. What would he have felt?

"I gotta go," Asuka suddenly said, getting up and leaving the cafeteria almost at a run.

Rei watched her leave, deciding not to follow. Asuka had been truthful enough with her that she was convinced that the once-antagonistic girl no longer held any hostility towards her brother, and had earned some time alone with him.

"That went better than I hoped," came a voice from behind her.

"Yes, I was expecting to already have to stop an argument."

Rei turned around. The two remaining women had also witnessed Asuka's departure, and Misato was now looking intently at her. "Was there anything we should be concerned about, Rei?" inquired Misato.

"No," Rei replied with a shake of her head. "But I believe we have discovered why Shinji reacts to her presence so positively." She outlined what the two pilots had discussed, but held back on the more personal details. Misato would likely question the Second Child later.

"Well, let's leave her alone for a bit. There's something I want to discuss with you anyway." Misato and Ritsuko got up from their table and moved to sit to the sides of Rei. The girl's expression turned apprehensive, looking from side to side, and Misato chuckled. "We should work out where you'll be living now, seeing as your old home was destroyed."

While she had not previously cared about living alone, a sinking feeling settled in Rei's stomach as she imagined herself returning to a solitary existence. Even with the short time she had spent around people after returning from Instrumentality, Rei felt something she had only heard about, but never experienced personally.

Whether it was because of Asuka's experiences, or something else, she was now starting to treat Rei with something approaching respect. She was even making an effort to change her speech pattern to accommodate her fellow pilot's wishes. Shinji's efforts the previous year had planted a seed in Rei, and Asuka had just watered it.

She was now feeling the first stirrings of companionship.

And she found that she did not want to live alone anymore.

The light touch of a hand on her shoulder caused Rei to jolt slightly, and she looked up into the concerned face of Misato.

"Are you okay, Rei?"

"Please..." The blue-haired girl's body began to shake slightly.

Misato and Ritsuko stared in surprise as the once-emotionless girl wrapped her arms around her trembling frame. Misato gently squeezed Rei's shoulder. "Rei." Her other hand reached out and cupped the girl's chin, lifting her head up. Tears were just starting to brim in Rei's tightly closed eyes. "What's the matter, Rei?"

"Please don't make me live on my own again!" Rei cried out.

The eyes of both women locked. Shock was clearly written on Misato's face, but guilt was all over Ritsuko's. Misato tore her eyes away and gazed back down at the girl in front of her.

"I wasn't going to suggest that at all, Rei," she gently reassured. "In fact..."

Rei's eyes opened wide and she gasped at the next words to come out of Misato's mouth.

"I was going to offer to let you stay with me."

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Rei managed to croak, "Do... you really mean that?"

"Of course!" Misato nodded emphatically. "You're Shinji's sister. I see him as the son I never had. Which kind of makes you my daughter. Part of my family." Ritsuko disappeared for a moment, and came back with a napkin which she pressed into Misato's outstretched hand. "And a family looks out for each other. Just say the word and I'll make the arrangements," she finished, gently wiping Rei's eyes dry.

Without hesitation, Rei replied, "Yes, please!"

Misato held her arms out wide and grinned. "Then welcome to the family, Rei!"

While she remained seated, the look of joy in the girl's eyes was impossible to miss, as was the smile that blossomed on her face. Misato's grin faded after a few seconds, and her arms drooped. Rei silently wondered what the woman had been expecting to occur.

"Of course you do realise that you'll be living in the same house as Asuka, right?" Misato warned, the smile returning to her face as she imagined the two living together.

"I do not mind, Misato," Rei replied. "And... I am sorry."

Misato raised a questioning eyebrow. "What are you apologising for? You did nothing wrong."

"I- I lost control of my emotions again."

"Oh, that? All you did was cry a little. I'm not exactly sure what happened to you last year to warrant such a reaction, but it's fine."

Ritsuko cut in. "That's... actually something I would like to speak to Rei about, privately. If you don't mind, of course, Misato."

Misato stood up. "I'll get out of your hair then, and go chat with Asuka. She'll need to know about her new housemate anyway." With that, she left the cafeteria.

'Rei's starting to act like a normal girl now,' she mused, grinning as she recalled the smile on Rei's face. The elevator quickly arrived, and dropped her off at the hospital's floor. 'I just hope Asuka won't put up too much of a fuss about having her living with us.'

She entered Shinji's room, but stopped just inside the doorway. Shinji was sitting up in bed, and Asuka was in the chair next to him, his right hand clasped in both of hers. Misato was surprised to see a broad smile on the girl's face as Asuka looked up at her.

"Misato, come and have a look at this," she said, beckoning the woman with a tilt of her head. Misato moved to stand behind the girl, and gazed at her surrogate son.

"What am I looking for?" she asked.

"You mean you can't see it? Look closer."

There appeared to be nothing wrong with Shinji. He was staring blankly ahead, his tortured mind still refusing to acknowledge reality.

"He looks the same to me, Asuka. Maybe you're just imagining things," Misato replied, resting a hand on the redhead's shoulder.

"Are you blind? His eyes are different now!"

Sighing, but choosing to humour her, Misato moved to the other side of the bed and leaned in close to Shinji's face. Her jaw dropped when she saw what Asuka was talking about.

Shinji no longer had the utterly vacant, almost dead look in his eyes that had persisted ever since awakening in their apartment several months ago. Now there was life, a tiny light in the centre of each circle of cobalt. It was faint, unnoticeable by any save the two of them, but to the Commander and Second Child it was a massive and wonderful sign.

Misato dragged a chair in from another room, and together they held the boy's hands, thankful for this spark of hope.