Chapter 18

Once they got over the confusion of where they had found themselves in NERV, the teenagers made it to the cafeteria just in time for the end of the lunch rush. After such a small breakfast that morning, even Rei decided to have a bigger meal than usual.

They ate in silence, with half an ear on the conversations around them. Occasionally someone would pass their table with a second glance, but there were no comments about the pilots.

"There's no power on this planet that will make me put Shinji out of my mind," Asuka finally said after the plates had been taken away. "Regardless of what anyone says, I'm at least partially responsible for his trauma. I insulted and belittled him. I hurt him. But unlike the other factors, I can actually do something. I will do something."

She looked up at Rei, who was watching her intently. "But... I can't let my worry get in the way of my job again. I'm an Eva pilot, a soldier. My duty is to protect those who can't defend themselves. That includes Shinji. If I'm too busy thinking about him, my performance will suffer and I could end up letting everyone down. Including Shinji. So... thanks Wondergirl. Thanks for reminding me."

Rei nodded. "I am simply glad your mood has improved. By focusing on piloting, you are still helping Shinji. I do not wish to think of what Misato and I would have to do if something bad happened to you, Asuka."

"Please," muttered Asuka. "Don't make me imagine that either. Crap," she added, as a thought occurred. "I'm gonna have to apologise to Misato too."

As if it had been waiting for the cue, Asuka's phone chose that moment to ring. She took it out of her pocket and answered it.

"Asuka, did Rei find you yet?"

"Oh, hey Misato. Yeah, she did." Asuka pointedly looked away from Rei.

"Is she still in one piece?"

"Of course she is! Wondergirl... ah... helped me a bit and now we're eating lunch."

Surprise was evident in Misato's voice, even through the phone's tiny speaker. "That's good, I'd hate to have you put in the brig for attacking a fellow pilot."

Asuka shivered, and silently gave thanks that Misato still had no idea about the previous night. "Yeah. And... um... sorry about storming out earlier."

"Speaking as your commander, I had better not see that kind of behaviour from you again, Pilot Soryu. But as your guardian, don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're back to normal. Now, can you three please come back to my office?"

"Uh, sure. What's the problem?" Asuka hesitantly asked.

"There's no problem, I'd rather just speak to you in person."

Asuka gave her assurance that they would be there soon, and hung up.

"Would you like to know a good reason to do your best, Asuka?" Rei asked as they left the cafeteria.

The redhead raised an eyebrow. "Sure, why not. Lay it on me."

Rei stopped, bringing the other two teens to a halt as well. She glanced between Asuka and Shinji and said, "If you die, you will not be able to hug Shinji anymore."

Asuka suddenly felt like the heat coming off her face should be scorching the walls. "H-hey! You made me hug him!"

"I simply got you started. You are the one who kept it going," Rei replied with a smile, before turning and leaving a sputtering Asuka behind her.

"Damnit, First! You're lucky I have Misato threatening me with imprisonment if I hit you!"


"Take a seat, please," Misato said as the trio returned to her office. While Rei took a chair near the desk, Asuka immediately went for the couch and practically fell onto it, dragging Shinji to the spot next to her. Misato winced slightly at the abuse the nearly-new piece of furniture was already suffering.

"What's up?" asked Asuka as she sunk into the couch.

"A bit of information, and a question for the two of you. Which do you want first?"

The two girls looked at each other, and Asuka indicated that Rei should choose. "The information first, please," she asked.

Misato picked up a piece of paper from the detritus on her desk. "Doctor Akagi finally got around to checking the data from Shinji's time in Unit-01, but at this point it's probably nothing we don't already know."

"Well you may as well tell us anyway," Asuka replied.

"I suppose." Misato opened her hand and let the sheet drift back down to her desk. "The data was run through the MAGI, which checked it against other neural scans to look for anything similar. The short version is that Shinji is apparently in a waking dream state. What's strange is that even when he was attacking Asuka during the test, there were still traces of said state."

"He did claim that I wasn't... well, me. And told me to stop using my face."

Misato nodded grimly. "Unfortunately, we still don't know how to bring him out of it. So keep trying, Asuka. I don't care what you have to do. Hug him, kiss him, sleep-... okay you're kind of already doing that one." She tried to hide her grin at Asuka's increasingly reddening face. "Whatever it takes. I want my boy back." Misato lightly brought her fist down on the desk as she finished speaking.

"Y-yeah, fine. What's the other thing?" Asuka hurriedly tried to change the subject.

Their guardian's face turned serious and Misato didn't answer for a moment, wanting to make sure it sounded right in her head first. Finally, she looked between Asuka and Rei and said, "I've been asking around recently, trying to find any legal issues that would prevent this. All I need now is your consent and I can get things started."

"I do not understand," Rei replied unsurely. "What do you require us to consent to?"

Misato took a deep breath. "Adoption," she said.

Asuka and Rei's eyes both widened in surprise. "Y-you want to adopt us?" Asuka questioned incredulously.

"You are our guardian," Rei added. "We are already in your care, is adoption really necessary?"

"It's not completely for the benefit of you three," Misato looked down and away from the teenagers. "It's also for... myself..." she quietly said, before swivelling in her chair to face the wall behind her.

The two girls looked at each other, both confused and wondering about Misato's reason. When Asuka's gaze drifted back to the woman, she noticed a picture frame perched on the edge of the desk. Quietly, she got up from the couch and walked over to see who it was a photo of. Asuka picked up the frame and turned it around, letting out a quiet gasp as her heart sank, when she realised the person's identity.

Ryoji Kaji.

Asuka was always a quick thinker, and she jumped to the right conclusion instantly. "You wanted to start a family with Kaji, didn't you."

It was not a question.

"...Yeah."

Even Rei was able to pick up on the sadness contained in that one syllable, and she said, "Since he is... gone, you cannot achieve that dream anymore, and wish us to be the family you can no longer have naturally."

Asuka turned an impressed glance on her fellow pilot. However, before she could compliment Rei on her logic Misato answered both of them. "I'll never find someone like him again. And now my job keeps me too busy, and makes me too important, to even consider a romantic relationship."

She turned around, and neither girl was surprised to see tears slowly streaming down their guardian's face. "But that wouldn't have bothered Kaji. If anything he would be working just as hard as me," she continued with a sad smile. "There's another reason too. When I saw him in Instrumentality, he made me promise to look after you and Shinji."

Misato wiped her eyes dry with her sleeve, and said, "You don't need to give me an answer right away if you don't want to. I understand that you, Asuka, are emancipated and used to feeling independent. Rei... your upbringing wasn't exactly normal, but I'm proud of the steps you've made ever since moving in with us. If you consent, I can arrange things so that records will show your 'parents' as dying just prior to Third Impact. There will be no need to reveal your true origin to anybody."

Asuka sank thoughtfully back onto the couch. It was true that she had been forced to become self-reliant as a result of her mother's death and her father's utter lack of care. Just after her tenth birthday, she had asked what could be done to officially separate from her absent father, and NERV-Berlin had quickly arranged an emancipation for their pilot. While both Kaji and Misato had had official guardianship over Asuka, they had never enforced it to a point where she felt her independence threatened.

"I guess I'd be... okay with being adopted," she slowly said after a few minutes thought. "It doesn't seem like anything would really change between us except our official relationship anyway. If this is really what you want, then I'll give my consent."

"I cannot think of a reason to decline," said Rei. "Despite the circumstances behind my existence, despite knowing exactly what I... was, you have shown me more love and compassion than I have ever known. If I were to choose anyone to adopt me, it would be you, Misato. I accept as well."

The tears came again, but this time they were tears of joy. Misato stepped out from behind her desk and moved over to Rei, enveloping her in a hug. As Rei smiled and returned the gesture, Misato's right hand snaked out and yanked Asuka off the couch and into the embrace as well.

"Thank you, thank you so much," the tearful woman said. "This means so much to me."

Asuka made only a half-hearted effort to escape Misato's grip, but eventually gave up and said, "Alright, alright. Just stop crying before you make us join in."

After a minute or so, Misato finally recomposed herself and sat on the edge of her desk. Asuka returned to the couch yet again, and asked, "What were these legal issues you mentioned anyway?"

Misato waved a hand in dismissal. "Good news there actually. I feared that there might be problems adopting three children at once, so I had Ritsuko do some research into adoption laws. They were fortunately relaxed after Second Impact to get children orphaned by the disaster into families quicker, and they've apparently been tweaked again after Third Impact. Shinji might still be a bit tricky though."

"Because in his condition, he is unable to give consent," considered Rei.

"Exactly," Misato replied with a nod. "But NERV should be able to pull the right strings. Even so, when he eventually recovers, I'll ask him the same question. I don't want him to feel forced into this just because I wanted it and he couldn't consent at the time."

Asuka nodded in approval at Misato's thoughtfulness, and then smirked. "...Do we have to call you 'mum'?"

"Oh god no!" Misato said, jokingly placing a hand to her chest as if in fright.

"Mother..." Rei mumbled, smiling as Misato's other hand raised as well and the woman acted as if she were having a heart attack.

When the room finally settled down, Misato looked at the clock and said, "Alright, I better let you kids go. I've still got a lot of work to do. I wish I could be home for dinner, but at this rate I will probably not get home until close to midnight."

Asuka whistled through her teeth. "Damn, this is a long day for you."

"Comes with being the big boss of a paramilitary organisation," Misato replied with a helpless shrug. "Rei, don't forget that school starts tomorrow, so I hope to see you in bed when I get home. Asuka, yes I know you're not going to school, but that doesn't mean you can stay up all night either."

"Aw c'mon!"

"No arguments, young lady!"

"Geez, you're really getting into this. What's next, are you going to trade in that deathtrap you call a sports car for a family van?"

Asuka made her escape before Misato could find something to throw at her.


A malfunctioning NERV train halted their journey home, but it merely took the edge off of the good mood the two girls were enjoying as they waited for it to be fixed. When they finally left NERV, a Section Two car took them home. As soon as they entered the apartment, Rei went to her room to ensure everything was in order for the next day, while Asuka relaxed on the couch with Shinji and a magazine.

The hours slowly and lazily ticked by, until Asuka's stomach began to growl as dinner time approached.

"What do you feel like for dinner tonight, Rei?" Asuka called down the hallway.

Rei stepped out of her room and said, "I do not have any preference at the moment. I will accept whatever you make."

"...You know, you don't always have to be so verbose. NERV doesn't pay us by the word."

"If NERV paid us in such a manner, they would have gone bankrupt in their attempt to keep up with you."

Asuka's eyes widened in amazement. "Damn, First. That wasn't a bad zinger."

Rei smiled. "Thank you, Second."

Asuka crooked an eyebrow slightly at being called that, and the eyebrow only raised further up as Rei suddenly looked past her shoulder and lost the smile. She turned around.

Shinji was rummaging through the fridge, retrieving items and placing them on the counter. Already there were herbs, eggs, an onion, and some bread rolls. But it was the final ingredient that elicited a shocked reaction from Asuka.

"Hey! That's my beef, damnit! I was going to use it tonight!"

As expected, there was no response from Shinji.

"It appears that he has his own plans for it," Rei quietly mused from behind Asuka.

The redhead turned and palmed her face. "Yeah, and he's going to screw it up."

With a look of confusion, Rei said, "I have heard it mentioned before that Shinji's meals apparently approach perfection itself. Why are you suddenly worried about his skill?"

"Because what kind of meal could he possibly make the way he is now?"

"It would obviously be whatever he is remembering."

Asuka furrowed her brow. "What is he making anyway?" She racked her brain for clues as she stepped up to look over Shinji's shoulder.

Currently, he was breaking up the rolls into little pieces and mixing them into the meat along with various herbs and seasoning, while a small bowl turned slowly in the microwave. He set a large frying pan on the stove and began to heat some butter and oil. When a 'ding' indicated the microwave was finished, Shinji took the bowl out and added the chopped and cooked onion to the mixture.

After a minute of thoroughly combining the ingredients, several patties began to take shape in the boy's hands before they were placed into the now sizzling pan.

Asuka's brain finally got back to her, holding up a card in front of her mind's eye. "Looks like he's making Frikadellen," she said.

"Freeka..." Rei stumbled over the foreign word.

"Frikadellen," Asuka said, slowly pronouncing it. "They're basically meat patties. Uh..." She looked sideways at Rei. "You... probably wouldn't like them."

Rei nodded. "As much as I wish to sample Shinji's cooking, it is still meat, and so I must decline," she said, and Asuka could detect a hint of regret in her voice.

When the patties were nicely browned, Shinji removed them from the heat and transferred them to the oven. After setting the timer, he sat down at the dining table, occasionally directing a nervous glance towards the living room. A few minutes passed before he got up and went to the fridge again, taking out two potatoes and a packet of diced bacon. The bacon was placed into the pan and spread about, while the potatoes were thickly sliced before joining them.

The second half of the dinner preparations made Asuka realise what was happening in Shinji's mind. "Frikadellen und Bratkartoffeln. Meat patties and fried potatoes," she repeated in Japanese for Rei's benefit. "It was one of the first meals I specifically demanded that he make for me."

Rei's regretful expression was now plain to see, and Asuka found herself feeling sorry for the girl. "You know what? When he's done, I'll make something German for you. Can't let you go without dinner on a school night, can I?" she said with a grin.

"Ah, thank you, but you do not need to-"

"Nah, it's fine," Asuka said with a wave of her hand. "Shinji just gave me an idea for something I want to try, anyway."

The oven bell rang as its timer ended, and Shinji quickly served the meal. Two plates were placed on the table and a third was set aside, and the boy called out, "Dinner's ready!" He sat down after a moment, but anxiously raised his head and said, "I-I hope it's alright, Asuka," before quickly staring back down at his plate. He wouldn't look up for the rest of his meal, but his eyes occasionally darted towards the other side of the table.

Off to the side, Asuka and Rei were watching Shinji. Asuka quietly said, "I told him that it would get thrown in his face if it wasn't perfect."

"And was it?" Rei asked.

"It was brilliant. But instead I told him that it was just 'satisfactory'," Asuka replied, sneering the last word bitterly. "I didn't want to believe that he could perform such culinary wizardry on his first attempt at a dish." She shook her head and sighed. "Oh well. I'll get started on your dinner now. I can eat mine after putting yours in the oven."

A check in the refrigerator revealed that all the ingredients for Asuka's plan were still available. Vegetables, rice, herbs, and shredded cheese were taken out and Asuka worked quickly to prepare them. A head of cabbage was placed in boiling water and the leaves removed after a few minutes of soaking. The other vegetables, the rice and the cheese were added to a saucepan and stirred.

Rei looked on in curiosity as Asuka deliberately hid what she was doing from view. After a few minutes, the German girl covered a tray and placed it in the oven, before turning back to the table and taking a seat.

"Alright, let's see how he did this time," Asuka said as she lifted a patty to her mouth. She took a bite and chewed thoughtfully for a moment, before swallowing and letting out a sigh. "It's... not the same," she sadly mumbled.

"What do you mean?" asked Rei. "Did he do something wrong?"

"Sort of, but I can't exactly blame him for it. There's no..." Asuka placed the patty back on the plate and looked up, waving her hands as she tried to find the right word, "soul in it, I guess you could say. No matter what Shinji cooked, it always tasted wonderful because he, uh..." Asuka trailed off and started drumming on the table in exasperation. After a moment she snapped her fingers. "Cared! He cared about what he was making. This... it tastes like something I'd get in a halfway-decent restaurant by comparison. Good, certainly not something I would regret eating, but not great."

Asuka slowly ate the rest of her meal, and got up when she was done to finish preparing Rei's when the oven bell rang again. Finally, she turned around and set a plate in front of Rei. "Vegetarian cabbage rolls," she announced. "I learned it back in college, but never really felt like having them myself."

Rei took an experimental bite. After consuming half of the roll, she cleared her throat and said, "My experience with food does not allow me to give an educated opinion. I have never been to a restaurant, but I believe that your evaluation of Shinji's meal is also true for this one. They are good, and I would eat them again, but they are currently not something I would make a habit of requesting every time."

Asuka forced down the reflexive spike of anger she felt at the almost-insult to her skill, and simply nodded, saying, "Yeah, that's about what I thought you'd say."

The rest of dinner went by silently. Shinji's memory had apparently ended sometime during the meal, and Asuka had to encourage him to finish his portion off. The third plate was carefully wrapped up and placed in the fridge for Misato. Rei offered to do the dishes, which Asuka accepted as she went to the bathroom and took a long and relaxing shower, paying particular attention to her hair in order to remove the last lingering traces of LCL before bed.

She had learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago. An LCL-stained pillow stank.

After some more time quietly spent in the lounge room, Rei wished Asuka a good night and headed to her room. When she heard the door slide shut, Asuka took Shinji's hand and brought him into her room. As soon as her door was closed and they were both in their futons, she grabbed his hand once more, softly rubbing her thumb over the back of it.

"Shinji... I'm sorry I always lied about your cooking," she mumbled half to herself. "When... when you come back to us, I promise never to insult your skill again."

Asuka fell asleep with the reassuring warmth of his hand in hers, and dreamed of the wonderful lunches a timid young boy once made for her.


To the relief of almost everybody in Class 2-A, their previous teacher had retired from education. No more would they have to suffer through the exact same lectures on pre-Second Impact culture every day. Of course, with the new teacher came one important thing that almost nobody seemed to have considered.

Actual school work.

"Damnit," Toji moaned with his head on the table. "This is our first day back, why are we gettin' loaded down with homework?!"

Hikari swivelled in her seat and silenced the jock with a glare. At the same time, the new teacher turned away from the chalkboard where she had been writing her name and said, "Are you already complaining, Mister... Suzuhara? I am not demanding a novel. All I am asking for is a brief essay detailing your experiences after Third Impact. Oh yes," the woman swept her gaze over the rest of the class as she continued, "I have a feeling many of you came back with someone else. I came back with my husband, for instance. You are allowed to work on your essays with those people."

This time, the look Hikari directed at Toji was much less severe. He nodded, and glanced sidelong at Kensuke, who also silently agreed.

"Miss Yamura?" Rei raised her hand, to the quiet astonishment of the students who hadn't seen her since the previous year. It was the first time they had ever witnessed her pay attention to anything happening in the classroom.

"Ah, You must be Rei Ayanami. NERV has already contacted me. I would still like an essay from you, but I'm not expecting you to reveal anything that may be considered sensitive information."

"Have you also been informed of why my fellow pilots are not here?" Rei asked.

"I'll speak to you later on that. Now then, back to the lesson."

The students perked up at the mention of Shinji and Asuka's absence and would have begun badgering Rei, but Hikari silenced the class with the loud slap of a ruler hitting her desk.

When the lunch bell rang, the teacher stopped Rei before she left the room.

"Our class representative filled me in on the situation with your fellow pilots before school started this morning," the woman said. "Since they apparently have something of a fan club here, I thought it best not to mention anything, as I'm sure the other students would start harassing you for details."

"Thank you for your discretion, ma'am," Rei said, and left for the cafeteria.


"Everything alright, Rei?" Hikari asked shortly after Rei joined the small group at their table.

"...No. This food is terrible," Rei replied, pushing her plate away without even a taste. The smell alone had been enough to make her reconsider on the way to the table. She regretted not preparing something in the morning before leaving for school.

"It's the first day back at school and they're already servin' us crap!" Toji exclaimed, staring in horror at the nameless entity on his plate.

"Guess some things never change," said Kensuke. He leaned over and poked at Rei's pathetic-looking salad, and thought he saw something scuttling away behind a lettuce leaf.

Hikari nodded. "I was afraid this would still happen. Fortunately, I planned ahead!"

A bento box was placed on the table in front of Rei. She looked up in confusion, and Hikari offered an encouraging nod. Upon opening it, Rei was assaulted by the aroma of a well-prepared vegetarian stir-fry.

"T-thank you, Hikari," she stammered, before slowly beginning to eat.

"If you'd like, I can bring some lunch for you as well from now on."

"Oh, you do not need to go to such trouble..."

"Don't even bother tryin', Ayanami," Toji interjected. "She's already doing our lunches," he indicated towards himself and Kensuke, "and probably wouldn't even bat an eye at feedin' one more. If I have to admit one flaw in Hikari, it's that she always makes too much food." He shied away when he finished speaking as Hikari glanced at him, and returned to his meal, missing the tiny smile the pig-tailed girl sent his way.

Rei smiled, and gave her thanks to Hikari for the offer.

"So how is Shinji, anyway?" Kensuke asked after a few minutes of companionable quiet.

"Yeah, has the devil gotten bored wit- Ow!" Toji's sarcastic remark was cut short by an elbow in his ribs from Hikari. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Rei looked around before speaking, but nobody at the nearby tables appeared to be paying attention to the group. Speaking quietly, she filled them in on Shinji's recent memories as best as she could, but completely left out the attack on Asuka, not wishing to upset them. Kensuke was impressed that Shinji was able to 'sleep-cook'. Toji clenched his fists as he heard of the incident in the Evangelion cage, but remained angrily silent.

"Asuka has been... unsure of herself recently," Rei said. "Yesterday she felt that she was not doing enough to help Shinji, and the depression affected her sync ratio."

"But that's not true at all!" Hikari quietly exclaimed.

Rei nodded, closing up the empty bento box and returning it. "It has been resolved. Asuka now knows that she must always do her best in order to ensure Shinji's safety. If she falls, then Shinji will be lost to us."

"Damn, I wish I could pilot again," Toji muttered and punched the table, just as the bell rang to signal the start of the next period. "I hate feeling this useless." His gaze dropped to the table when a soft hand gently wrapped around his clenched fist. Looking back up, he stared into Hikari's eyes, sighing as he felt his spirits lifting. As one, they both nodded at each other and got up to leave the cafeteria.

The rest of the school day passed by in a blur to Rei, and she was soon standing outside the school gate with Hikari, Toji and Kensuke. Just as the two boys turned to head home, a cleared throat from behind stopped them.

"Aren't you forgetting someone, Suzuhara?" Hikari pointedly asked.

Toji slapped a palm to his forehead. "Oh right, Sakura," he moaned. "Man, guess I'm somehow still too used to her bein' in the hospital."

Hikari sighed, "Come on, let's go there together. I have to pick up my little sister too."

"We may as well all go together," Kensuke suggested. "You know, since we live in the same building."

Rei looked up at the sky and remarked, "It is a nice day. I do not mind walking the extra distance."

When they reached the primary school, Toji was almost knocked to the ground by an over-enthusiastic sister, who immediately began to chat about her first day at school in nearly a year. Stories were swapped as Hikari's own younger sister Nozomi joined them, and the four girls and two boys finally headed home.


"Hey, didn't you buy something for Shinji on the weekend?" Toji asked as the group left the elevator at the apartment complex.

"Oh!" Sakura turned to Rei. "Please wait here, I'll go get it!"

The girl sprinted off to the Suzuhara residence, the teenagers trailing slowly behind. Just as Toji reached his door, Sakura ran back out and handed a wrapped item to Rei. The First Child just barely caught the sound of the girl's father admonishing her for running through the house.

"Um... I don't know when Shinji's birthday is, so please give it to him then," Sakura said.

Rei took the item and nodded solemnly. "I am unsure as well, but I will find out." She bid her friends goodbye, and walked up the stairs to the seventh floor, nodding a greeting at the Section Two patrol as they passed her. Just before she reached the door, she took a closer look at the present in her hands.

Whatever it was, it felt soft through the festive wrapping paper. Sakura had done a good job wrapping it, and even taped a small piece of card to it with careful, neat writing that wished Shinji a happy birthday.

"I am home," Rei said as she entered the apartment.

"Welcome back," came Asuka's voice from the lounge room, amidst the tinny sound of video game explosions.

"Do you know Shinji's date of birth?" Rei asked as she stepped into the lounge room, where Asuka was playing her handheld game console, while Shinji sat nearby.

Asuka didn't respond, her fingers tapping madly away on the buttons, but after a minute she exhaled loudly and said, "Nope, can't say I do. Why?" as she stretched her neck. Rei showed her the present, and said that it was from Sakura. "...Ah. Well... Misato should know, seeing as she should have received dossiers for both Shinji and I just before taking guardianship of us."

"Then I shall ask her when she gets home. How has Shinji been today?"

"Not much happening in his head today it seems," Asuka replied. "I think he remembered another conversation, but his contributions to it seemed to be incredibly minor, so I couldn't tell what it was."

Rei placed the present on the coffee table and opened her school bag. A notebook and pen joined the gift, and Asuka raised an eyebrow. "Homework already?" Rei quickly explained about the essay, to a roll of the eyes from the redhead. "Hope the teacher's not expecting much from you."

As Asuka returned to her game, Rei began to write. The teacher had not stated that there was a minimum size required, but she put in as much detail as she could.

That night, Misato came stumbling through the door just after eight o'clock. She collapsed onto the lounge and groaned heavily.

"Hard day?" Asuka inquired, eliciting another groan from Misato. "Well, your dinner's in the oven. Want it in here?"

The exhausted woman simply nodded, and Asuka left the room. After finally dragging her head upright, Misato noticed the package on the table. Rei told her about it, and asked if she knew Shinji's birthday. Tired as she was, Misato still made the effort to get vertical again and head into her room, returning a moment later with a slim folder which she passed to Rei.

"That's all I was given on Shinji before I met him," Misato said, plopping back down on the couch.

Rei opened the folder, and withdrew the single piece of paper it contained. It was a very simple sheet of data on Shinji Ikari, giving only a black and white image of his face, his name, age, and his birthdate.

"June 6th, 2001," Rei said. "...That is unfortunate. Today is the 15th. Sakura missed his birthday by only nine days."

"Well, we couldn't have had a birthday party then," Misato mumbled with her eyes closed, only half paying attention to what was being said. "June 6th was when we did the tests on Unit-01."

"Scheiße." Asuka was standing in the doorway, carrying Misato's dinner on a tray. She placed it down on the coffee table, and pulled Shinji with her as she stalked back out. As Misato began to eat, Rei got up and silently left, unnoticed by the tired and hungry woman.

In the kitchen, Rei saw Asuka sit down at the kitchen table with Shinji and place her head in her hands. She sat across from the girl and quietly said, "It is a sad coincidence."

Asuka nodded gloomily. "He spent that day trying to kill me, then unconscious in a berserk Eva." She snorted derisively. "I guess he has me beat at having the shittiest birthday as well..." She refused to speak further, and Rei eventually got up and went to her room.


The next few days would help to improve Asuka's mood, but not in any way she would have expected. After making lunch, she had returned to the lounge room to the surprising sight of Shinji attempting to dance. When she had finished chuckling at the boy's flailing, she noticed that the dance was actually the synchronisation training the two pilots had been forced to learn.

Asuka had watched the boy for a while. Shinji would begin dancing, but would quickly bungle up and start again. After a few minutes, she had felt herself twitch slightly, as if her own body wanted her to join in and synchronise once more. With a sigh, she had stepped up next to Shinji as he fell over once more.

Shinji stopped failing badly as soon as Asuka joined in.

For the rest of the week, the pattern would repeat. Shinji would get up and begin the training, but would be unable to make any progress until Asuka began the dance as well. On the second day, Asuka found the tape containing the music they had trained with, and put the stereo on to play it. Not only did the song improve Shinji's unconscious ability to synchronise, Asuka found herself savouring the memory as well, only sighing occasionally whenever a misstep forced a restart.

Between the enjoyment of the daytime dancing and the sync tests and combat simulations every few days, Asuka's sync ratio slowly crept up to 60% to the delight of Misato. When the woman was told of why Asuka seemed so happy, she expressed her envy at being too busy to witness the dance. Later, Rei would also admit that she wished for a chance to see it as well.

The next two weeks nearly zoomed past, and the third week would have as well, if it had not been for one little incident.

The Second Revenant made its appearance on the Third of July, 2016.


Misato had taken Shinji with her to the command centre, and he was now sitting down next to Maya in a spare chair. The situation had apparently been noticed by some part of his dormant mind, as his left hand was already rhythmically clenching and unclenching.

"VTOL squadrons 17 and 23 are at full strength and on ready launch status, Commander, loaded with anti-armour and thermobaric weapons. They can be over the Revenant in less than five minutes on your order," Makoto reported.

"Acknowledged. Order them to launch immediately. They are to engage the second its head breaches the surface and recon by fire for an AT-Field. They are weapons-free if the Revenant doesn't have one, but are to back off if it does. They probably won't be able to do much damage, but they can help us gauge its strength and keep it distracted while we prepare. Do we have any more Eva lifts repaired?"

"Two were finished yesterday," came the response from Shigeru. A few key presses on his computer brought up a map on the massive holographic screen floating in the air in front of the bridge crew. Three blinking lights indicated the locations of the elevator shafts. "We also have two armoury buildings ready to receive armaments."

"Akagi, what do we have ready for deployment as far as weapons? Pilot Soryu is best at melee range, Ayanami at long-range shooting."

"We've got a Sonic Glaive or Progressive Axe for close-in fighting," Ritsuko answered after a moment spent requesting weapon readiness data from the MAGI. "We have a modified Positron Rifle Mk. II for Pilot Ayanami. That will allow her to stay at range and give the heaviest support fire we can for Unit-02."

"Send a Pallet Rifle and a Glaive to the one closest to the bay area for Pilot Soryu, and the Positron Rifle and another Pallet Rifle to the furthest armoury building for Ayanami."

The side of Ritsuko's mouth quirked slightly upwards. "Do you expect the Second Child to actually use that gun, or just throw it at her target?"

"It'd probably do just as much damage either way," Misato retorted with a grin. "But they will be there just in case."

Maya looked up and said, "Both pilots are in their entry plugs."

"Begin activation sequences."


"How are you feeling, Rei? First time back in the saddle for real."

"I think I am growing... anxious. I wish to be up there already, destroying that which dares to threaten us."

On the other side of the video screen, Asuka's mouth curled into a smile. "Well don't get too excited. This one might just die as fast as the first Revenant."

"I do not mind if the fight is over quickly. As long as the enemy is rendered silent, I will be satisfied." Despite her calm façade, Rei found herself almost tapping her foot as she waited.

The dull metal of the entry plug burst into light as the activation sequence began. After only a few seconds, the light faded, and the opposite wall of the Evangelion cage was now in front of Rei's eyes.

Shigeru's voice filled the plug. "Both Evas are activated and standing by. Unit-00 sync ratio is 56%, Unit-02 is 62%."

An impressed noise cut off whatever the long-haired man was going to say next. "Not bad, First. Still got a while to go before you catch up to me though!"


Misato smiled. "Well then stop cheating by moving the bar!" she said to Asuka, who replied by sticking out her tongue. "Alright, you two raring to go?" When two affirmative answers came back to her, Misato continued. "Good. Now then, the MAGI have confirmed that this one is Unit-11. We'll be sending you topside in a few minutes, but do not engage immediately. Our gunships will make a probing attack as soon as it starts coming ashore. I shouldn't need to tell you your roles, as you've been performing them quite adequately in the simulations."

Asuka nodded. "I get up in its face while Rei snipes. Just don't hit me and we'll be fine, Wondergirl."

"I have thus far managed to refrain from accidentally shooting you, Asuka."

"What about last week? I only just got out of the way, and you still nearly took Unit-02's chin off!"

"It is not my fault if you are too slow to move when I give the signal."

"Too slow?! It was less than a second between your warning and the bullet whizzing past!"

Ritsuko turned off the microphone in the command centre and turned to Misato. "Arguing already. This isn't looking good."

"This is barely arguing," Misato replied. "The girls are just blowing off steam. In a moment, they'll change their mood so fast it'll give you whiplash."

Raising a disbelieving eyebrow, Ritsuko shrugged and reactivated the microphone.

"Okay, settle down," Misato said. Immediately, the Children snapped their gaze to the video screen showing the Commander's face. She barely refrained from smirking at the sarcastic "Ow" to her left. "Rei, we'll be sending the Positron Rifle to the armoury building closest to your exit point. When you get to the surface I want you to set up on the hill opposite the bay."

"Roger."

"Asuka, we've got the Sonic Glaive for you. We'll be sending you both up in thirty seconds."

"How's Shinji?" Asuka inquired.

A glance to the side showed Misato that the boy had not changed. "His hand's twitching, but otherwise he's fine."

As Unit-02 began to move towards the elevator, Asuka replied, "Could you do me a favour, Misato?"

"I'll keep an eye on Shinji for you," Misato answered, knowing what the request was going to be.

Asuka nodded slowly. "...Thanks."

Professional as the bridge crew were, Maya couldn't stop a tiny smile from appearing on her face, thankfully covered by her position. She glanced sidelong at Shinji before reaching over and gently squeezing his shoulder for a second before returning her focus to the screen in front of her.

When both Units were positioned on the elevators, Misato gave the signal. Stepping forward, she shouted, "Evangelions, launch!"


Alarms split the air as a massive hole opened up in the road. Seconds later, the Evangelion lift passed through the hole and came to a sudden halt. The moment the locks disengaged, Asuka walked Unit-02 forward towards the armoury building. It opened as she neared, and a giant red arm reached in.

The Sonic Glaive was similar to the Japanese naginata. A long spear, but with a knife blade on the end instead of a spear head, combined with Progressive technology to create an anti-Angel polearm. It was a weapon that was almost as tall as the Evangelion that wielded it. To Asuka, it was like an old friend. Simulations simply didn't match the real thing she now held in Unit-02's hand.

"Hallo, alter Freund. Was hältst du davon, wieder das Blut unserer Feinde zu vergießen?" she murmured with a shark-like grin. The blade flashed in the sunlight as Asuka set the weapon spinning around her Evangelion's body for a few seconds before snapping it into a vertical position and bringing the end of the haft smacking into the ground next to her.

"Unit-02, in position!"

Several kilometres away, a bipod touched down on the top of a hill. The blue fingers of Unit-00 curled around the grip, but the trigger remained clear. Through the sniper interface inside her cockpit, Rei gazed down the scope. The MAGI were in charge of optimising the scope, and could do it much faster than even she could, so she relaxed back into her seat for the time being.

"Unit-00 in position."

"Sixty seconds until the target reaches the surface."

The minute slowly ticked past, counting down on a holographic screen inside both Evangelions. Almost before the timer reached 00:00, the two squadrons of VTOLs rose into the air and began pummelling the ocean with missiles and cannon fire.

Asuka zoomed her view in as far as she could. Through the smoke and water she could just barely make out Unit-11's head, just barely above water. A shimmering orange force field was hovering over the ocean, and every single shot fired was either bouncing off or simply exploding against it.

"AT-Field. I was afraid of that."

Asuka grunted at the obvious statement, but otherwise didn't respond. The aircraft backed off, and she was too busy focusing on the loathsome face that was now peeking above the water. When its chest was above the surface, a glint of metal finally caught Asuka's eye, and brought the grin back to her face.

Her old knife blade was still jammed into Unit-11's mouth. The white beast kept trying to open its mouth to roar at the aircraft, but all that came out was a growl.

"Mind if I add another one?" Asuka sarcastically muttered as Unit-02 began to move forward, her Evangelion's arm outstretched and calling her own AT-Field into being. At least she wouldn't have to deal with the thing grinning at her, or licking its lips, as long as the blade remained in its jaw.

Unit-11 turned to face the new threat, and leaned forward while attempting to roar again. The corners of its mouth turned down as it stomped forward to meet Unit-02.

When the two AT-Fields met, they created a sound akin to a clock tower striking the top of the hour. The noise set Asuka's teeth on edge, and she gritted them as she focused on neutralising the barrier. Just as she could 'feel' the enemy's AT-Field erode completely-

"Break left."

Asuka reflexively jumped sideways, the weeks of simulation training causing her body to react almost before the words had made it through her ears. She still felt the heat of the positron round through her neural connection as it flew past her and slammed through the weakened AT-Field and then into the hastily-raised arm of Unit-11.

Now the beast roared, the pain of having its arm nearly vaporised outweighing that of its jaw as it wrenched its mouth open and screamed. Perhaps it was Rei enacting some measure of revenge for her fellow pilot that caused her aim to shift slightly and send the next bolt almost down its throat.

"Chew on that."

The calm demeanour contrasted sharply with the one-liner, but Asuka didn't mind. "Hah!" she crowed in delight. "Nice one, First!"

Unit-11's flesh bubbled as it attempted to regenerate the damage. Its lower jaw was almost completely gone and the left arm was hanging by a few threads of skin and muscle. Despite its lack of eyes, and loss of half its head, the white Evangelion still turned to the hill where the shots had originated and began to run.

"Hey, I'm not done with you yet!" Asuka yelled as a third shot tore a hole in Unit-11's side. The hit staggered it long enough for Asuka to catch up and stick the end of the Sonic Glaive in between its legs, tripping the beast over. Maddened by pain and rage, it got back to its feet and began to swipe wildly at Unit-02.

Having rushed in to attempt a killing blow, Asuka now found herself on the defensive. The first swing gouged a few layers out of the armour on her left arm before she could back away. Behind the white Evangelion, Rei fired again, aiming for its core. Unit-11 was knocked forward as the round struck its back.

Unit-02 was forced to backpedal, and Asuka found herself cursing the long weapon. "Hold fire for a moment, First! You're forcing him too close to me!" she called out.

"Acknowledged."

Asuka whacked Unit-11 as it attempted to turn back to the hill. The pole struck it in the face, aggravating the rapidly-healing wound. The beast shook its head to try and clear it, giving Asuka time to put sufficient distance between the two giants. With a flick of the wrist, the Sonic Glaive was now pointing directly at the Revenant.

Inside the entry plug, Asuka grinned as she got to work.

The white Evangelion's left arm was the first to go, the blade making short work of the badly healed tatters that kept it attached. Wounds opened all over Unit-11, and the beast's blood spattered on the ground and over Unit-02. The energy required to close the injuries seemed to be running out already, possibly from using its AT-Field. The orange liquid still flowed into the wounds, but much slower than it had with Unit-09.

With a left-to-right swing, Unit-11's right arm joined its left on the ground, severed just above the elbow. The monster roared, and was promptly kicked in the face precisely where the remains of the knife were buried. Its head swung back, and Asuka began carving up its chest.

As soon as she could make out the core, Asuka glanced at the comm screen. "Get ready, Rei."

The First Child simply nodded before focusing on the sniper interface.

Asuka kicked Unit-11 once more for good measure, and Unit-02's arms drew the Sonic Glaive back, its point aimed directly at its core. Just as the beast began to recover, Asuka yelled, "Fire!" and charged forward. The knife point smashed into the core, heavily cracking and sinking in slightly, but not quite enough to finish it off.

...Until the final positron round slammed into Unit-11's back mere milliseconds after Asuka's strike. As the force pushed the white Evangelion forward, the Sonic Glaive sank fully into the core, and the momentum managed to force the red and orange orb out through the new hole in Unit-11's back.

The core exploded mere seconds later, as Asuka took cover behind the stricken Evangelion her weapon was holding upright. Its body held out just long enough for the blast to dissipate before dissolving into LCL.


Misato whistled. "That was a nice use of Rei's firepower."

"Indeed," Ritsuko agreed. "And I'm not sure we even covered something like that in the simulations."

"Any damage to the city?"

Maya checked her screen, and shook her head. "Just another crater in the dirt. One armoury building's a little battered, but otherwise fine.

"Excellent. I'd hate to have to explain to the Japanese government why we need to rebuild the city again."

The chief scientist snorted. "As long as our pilots make sure to keep the enemy out of Tokyo-3, we should be fine."

Misato exhaled, letting out the last of the stress that had been building up inside her since the Pattern Orange had first appeared. Though her two girls couldn't see it, the smile that was now on her face was specifically for them. "Let's bring our heroines back home."

Misato turned to glance at Shinji as Ritsuko began ordering the recall of the Evangelions. His hand had stopped convulsing the second the enemy marker disappeared from the map.

'Some part of Shinji must be able to sense what's going on around him,' she thought. 'This is the second time he's reacted to Asuka being in her Eva while in here.'

With a sigh, Misato took Shinji by the hand and headed to the Evangelion cages so she could congratulate the returning warriors in person.


As Asuka stepped out of her entry plug, she caught a glimpse of purple hair on the catwalks. She headed in that direction, and Misato beamed at her as she got close. It made Asuka think of a mother cat that was proud of its kitten's accomplishments. Happy, and just a little bit smug.

She was not expecting her new foster mother to ignore the LCL still dripping off the redhead and drag her into a hug.

"You did good out there, Asuka," Misato mumbled into the girl's ear. Just as suddenly, she let go of Asuka and ran past her to inflict the same torture on Rei, who had just entered the cage. Asuka didn't catch what was said, but Rei's face pinked slightly at the obvious praise.

"That was a wonderful bit of teamwork," Misato said as she and Rei walked up to Asuka. The three of them left the cages and began the slow walk towards the change rooms. "I'll admit, I was expecting to have to break up an argument over... what was it you used to call it last year? Kill-stealing?"

"Uh... y-yeah, that was it," Asuka hesitantly replied. "Anyway, I wasn't actually sure if the knife blade would have had the force to fully penetrate that corrupted core. I'm pretty sure I saw it oozing that orange goop. If I had pulled away and tried again, it might have healed."

"Quick and clever thinking, Asuka," Misato said. "But since neither of you clearly killed it on your own, now the question is: who do we give the credit to?"

Asuka shrugged. "Split it. It's not much different from the Seventh Angel."

Misato grinned and dragged Asuka into another hug. "Last year you would have demanded all the credit."

"Oh, knock it off," Asuka muttered, but made no effort to break the embrace as she pretended that her face wasn't heating up.

"Now both of you get another kill-silhouette on your Evas!"

"Wait, what?"

"You didn't notice?" Misato asked as she pulled away from the girl and pointed at Unit-02. "Somebody in one of the tech crews is an artist, and got it into their heads to paint some Angel kills." She chuckled. "Apparently, the MAGI were in full agreement on getting the Eleventh Angel painted on their casing." Her last words went unheard as Asuka ran off down the catwalk to get a better view of her Evangelion.

Just as Misato had said, there were fresh black silhouettes on Unit-02's left shoulder, only slightly scuffed from the battle. She could easily make out the image of a fish-monster, two identical, slightly overlapping humanoid forms, something that took Asuka a moment to realise was the Eighth Angel, and what was clearly the massive eye of the Tenth Angel.

As she stared at the tallies, Asuka's heart sank a little. Out of fifteen mysterious alien attackers, she could only claim credit for four.

Perhaps it was a good thing that her ego had been shattered. She would have probably punched one of the other pilots for stealing her glory.

Misato called out to her, pointing towards the other pylon. Curious, Asuka wandered over to the right side of Unit-02, and her eyes shot open as she saw what else she had been credited with.

Nine black Evangelion-shaped silhouettes stood out against the red and orange of the right shoulder pylon, in three rows of three. And below them, there was one more tally mark that looked fresher than the others.

"Misato..." the girl quietly said as she walked back to the woman. "Why...?"

Catching on quickly, Misato replied, "The MP Evas cheated. Enough people saw the footage of your battle, and passed on what happened. You got those kills fair and square."

"...You'd better be paying that artist what he deserves."

"You're damn right I am. Ritsuko herself insisted on it after seeing the good work he did on the MAGI's kill."

Rei returned, having left to inspect her own Evangelion. At Asuka's inquisitive glance, the bluenette gave a small smile as she held up three fingers. She looked thoughtful for a moment, before adding one more finger. That confused Asuka for a moment, before she remembered what Misato had asked her a few minutes ago about today's kill.

"So what about Shinji?" she asked. "How many does he have?"

Misato began to count them off on her fingers. "Third through Seventh Angels, Ninth, Tenth, Twelfth and Fourteenth." She grimly looked away. "Nobody's getting credit for the Thirteenth, or the Seventeeth. Anyway, that's nine kills for Shinji."

Not so long ago, Asuka would have torn a strip out of the boy for having so many Angel kills compared to her. But then again, the other kills she had acquired certainly balanced that out. She nodded and said, "Pretty good for somebody who hated what he did."

The redhead made a half-hearted attempt to break out of Misato's sudden embrace. "I'm proud of you, Asuka," the woman said with a smile.


When they reached the change rooms, Misato waited outside with Shinji while the two pilots went in. Rei and Asuka stepped out of their LCL-covered plugsuits and into the hot showers, beginning the arduous task of ridding their bodies of the orange substance.

"Hey First," Asuka said after a few minutes. "What did Misato say to you on the catwalk? It's not often I get to see some colour in your face."

There was no response for a moment, and Asuka was about to dismiss her own question when Rei quietly replied, "Misato said that I was already making her proud to be my foster mother. It was... somewhat embarrassing for me. I am relieved that you were the only one who noticed."

"Heh, I guess that would do it."

"But at the same time, it made me... happy."

Asuka was sure there was a smile on the other girl's face now. "Mmm, I get that a lot from Misato too. Somehow, she's able to tease people without them actually wanting her to stop."

The conversation trailed off as Asuka went to work on her hair. She heard Rei's shower finish first, and just as she turned her own taps off, the First Child was already walking out of the room. Since she didn't feel like having another shower before bed, Asuka had taken the time to really scrub out the LCL from her hair with some of the shampoo she had brought in from home. Even though she had felt a little guilty about pilfering hair products, the fact that it was helping Shinji through his terrors was enough to make her stop worrying about the theft during the early post-Impact days.

She had also started using more than was needed, just so the scent was a bit stronger.

Asuka left the change room twenty minutes after Rei did, smelling of strawberries. Misato knew what had taken so long, and merely rolled her eyes good-naturedly as they headed to the elevator.


The next day, Rei was able to read her completed essay to Class 2-A. Since almost everything that had happened to her revolved around NERV it was a rather small essay, but the teacher accepted the circumstances.

The post-battle clean-up was completed three days after the Second Revenant's death, and Misato passed on messages of thanks from the Japanese government to the girls over their ability to keep collateral damage to a minimum.

A day later, on the seventh of July, something happened in the Katsuragi apartment that Asuka would consider far more important than any Evangelion battle. Possibly more than the entire Angel War.

An hour after Rei had left for school, Shinji had gone into her room and retrieved his cello. While Asuka knew that he was actually rather good with the instrument, it hadn't been tuned properly and so the song it produced as he played in the lounge room was almost unrecognisable.

Shinji had followed up the performance by claiming that he wasn't actually very good, and that he only played because nobody had made him stop. Asuka had to wrack her brain to remember her own responses -while trying not to chuckle at the fact that he was right this time- and she was sure at least one had been wrong when Shinji began to talk over her.

Just before noon, Shinji got up to answer the phone without it ringing, and the conversation brought a feeling of dread to Asuka's stomach as she finally realised what else had happened on the day Shinji was remembering.

'No! Damnit, why did you have to remember this day, you idiot?!'

As expected, Shinji soon began to have the conversation that Asuka had tried to bury inside her head.

"Eh? What?"

'Scheiße! It's starting! What the hell should I do?'

"Uh-uh."

Asuka squeezed her eyes shut and jammed her fingers in her ears, trying to block out the memory as it pushed the mental dirt out of the hole she had dug. It didn't work; her own treacherous mind eagerly provided the lines that had been said on that fateful day.

"Uh... but why?"

'I've got nothing else to do,' Asuka thought sarcastically, and she grimaced. 'I should never have said something so... stupid!'

"That's your reason? You're weird."

'Tell me about it, I brought up your dead mother, like either of us needed a reminder of how fucked up we are.'

"That's not it."

Asuka sighed in defeat, and her hands dropped to her sides. "Are you scared?" she muttered.

"I'm not afraid! Pucker up!" Shinji angrily rose to his feet, and Asuka darkly recalled that this had been exactly the side of him she had been trying to bring out with her actions towards him. A side that would push back against her instead of folding like wet paper.

'And look at how well that turned out.'

"Yeah."

'Oh mein Gott,' Asuka mentally moaned as she stood up, leaning on the table with her head down. 'I can't really be thinking of going this far with his memory am I?'

'Do it. He is expecting you to kiss him. You have no excuse now.'

Asuka pounded a fist into her forehead. 'No! It's still wrong! I'll hug Shinji because I know my presence helps him, but I won't kiss him again just because he's remembering me doing that!'

'But he is waiting for you. Look at him.'

Asuka glanced up and saw that Shinji had frozen in place. Unlike his usual semi-conscious state, now he resembled an android waiting for a command. She let out a long, slow, loud, and very German swear word.

"Hmph, even the way you are, you still find a way to cause problems for me, jerk," Asuka muttered. "Fine, I'll do it."

Her heart began to beat faster as Asuka moved closer to Shinji, eyes locked on his. The last time, she had simply dived into the kiss to 'get it over with'. Now she was taking her time, looking closely at every inch of Shinji's face, sad even while waiting for her kiss. Asuka noticed that his hair was starting to get unruly again, and would need to be trimmed soon.

She also wondered if she should run to the bathroom afterwards, to complete the memory.

Some part of Asuka knew that she was simply stalling, and she realised with mounting horror that that part wanted to feel his lips on hers. She finally halted her forward movement when her forehead was only a few centimetres away from bumping into Shinji's face.

'If six months of care hasn't been enough to snap his brain back into place, the horrible memory of his first kiss isn't going to do any better. I just hope it doesn't send him backwards.'

The impatient piece of Asuka finally got tired of waiting and pushed her forward. Her lips met Shinji's for the first time in close to a year. His warmth flowed into Asuka through the contact, bringing with it an electric sensation that sent tingles running down her spine. Asuka closed her eyes and lost herself in the amazing feeling she was experiencing. She did not even care that she wasn't properly re-enacting the scene by holding his nose closed. It just felt too good to ruin again.

But at the same time, there was still something crucial missing. The same thing, or rather the lack of said thing, that had made her run to the bathroom and pretend to brush her teeth to cover the despair she had felt. The only consolation was that this time, there was practically no choice about it.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the two teenagers stood there, locked together by a kiss. Despite the lack of physical contact, Asuka found that she wanted the moment to last forever as the traitorous piece of her that had forced the issue looked on. If it had a face, it would have looked more smug than Misato after a particularly strong teasing.

Spots started to dance across the inside of Asuka's eyelids as a very important thing occurred to her. She wanted to stay there forever; but she needed to breathe. With an extreme amount of reluctance, she opened her eyes and-

Stared directly into the shocked gaze of Shinji.

Her knees started to tremble, and her lungs were screaming for air, but Asuka's eyes refused to let her head move as they attempted to interpret what they were seeing. The last time she had seen his eyes so... alive... had been...

Their lips parted contact, but it was not due to any movement on Asuka's part. Her body began to thank the heavens for fresh oxygen, when she heard something that stole the breath from her lungs before they could recover.

"A-A-...Asuka?"