Rei disliked the trains.
With her increased sensitivity she could no longer cope with the noise. It wasn't only the irregular mechanical sounds of the train itself. It was the half-heard conversations, broken by noise or people getting off the train mid-sentence. The incompleteness and inability to understand was aggravating.
After consideration, the train was the best mode of transport available for this journey. She did not wish to explain the purpose of her visit to anyone other than Asuka, so requesting transport from Section 2 was not an option. On another occasion she would have enjoyed walking. Between the heat, humidity and her increasing sense of urgency at reaching Asuka that was discarded as well.
So she did not have a suitable environment to organise her thoughts. Of which she had many. That were intermingled in an unhelpfully disordered way.
She felt Shinji fall asleep and smiled to herself. It was good that her friend was getting some rest. Hopefully Asuka had not been doing anything important at that moment.
Asuka whom she had to work out what to say to. The simplest way to get Asuka to talk was to spend time hugging her first. That was not an option. Neither was doing the obvious thing and simply asking Asuka her question. Shinji had described how angry Asuka was. She was unlikely to answer a question rationally. Discussions of sexual activity, or the lack thereof, seemed to be a sensitive topic for many people. She had observed both Asuka and Shinji's reactions to the Major's comments. She could not start with that topic despite the obvious simplicity of doing so.
At least she had had time with Shinji. She had confirmed she could physically interact with others. This was a positive sign for any potential hugging of Asuka. She had not expected Asuka's refusal to be painful. Nor to miss the contact quite so soon afterwards.
Shinji had provided her with far more options than she thought he understood. Anything. Anything she was not ordered to withhold. Anything about him. Anything she wanted to say. She had many things she wanted to say. She just had to work out an order to say them in which Asuka would hear. Anything she needed to say. There were things no one would ever assume she'd want to say so she had never been ordered not to. At what point did it stop being something she wanted and become something she needed? That was a complex question she didn't have time to work out all the ramifications of. Anything Asuka asked. She couldn't predict those at all. There were things Asuka would want to know, but whether she could she be manoeuvred into asking them was another unknown. Of the options that was the best however. Asuka was more likely to listen to the answer to a question she had asked herself, even if she did not like the answer.
She straightened her dress after standing. If she never wore it again, it had been worth the effort to acquire just for the open admiration of her appearance by her friend. Shinji hadn't even blushed until he realised she hadn't been wearing anything underneath. She decided that this was definitely an exception to her usual lack of concern about appearances. Perhaps once they had resolved the issue at hand, Asuka would take her shopping again for more things that would make her aesthetically pleasing to the people who mattered to her.
Rei got off the train, still slightly aware of Shinji asleep on her bed. It wasn't anywhere near as comforting as being there with him would have been, but it was enough to steady her.
By the time she passed the Section 2 agents outside Major Katsuragi's apartment building she was Pilot Ayanami, First Child, Ice Queen. No one watching her would think for a moment she was not on official business.