Author's note: James Birdsong, thank you so much for the review! I hope I can keep up the quality.

Grommille, Taste Paradise Coconut Rei, thank you for the follows.

Taste Paradise Coconut Rei, Gridmangelion, thank you for the favorites.


Stricken

by Jungian Excuse


- Three -

Asuka had been having a recurring dream every month or so since she arrived in Japan, and it played out the same way almost invariably: Asuka was on the deck of the Over the Rainbow with an older woman's hand in hers. When Asuka looked up into her face, it was obscured by the blinding sun behind it. Sometimes it was someone Asuka felt sure she knew, and at other times a stranger. With a few whispered words that Asuka couldn't understand, the woman would drift slowly into the air, leaving Asuka's hand grasping at nothing. She would float out over the waves, a silhouette against the sun, until she disappeared from view.

Most times, the dream would end there, and Asuka would wake up, her face wet with unfelt tears. Occasionally, though, it would go bad. Like tonight. Asuka whimpered and stirred in her sleep as the deck of the Rainbow slid away from under her to reveal a yawning black abyss, with the face of her Unit 02 leering up at her from the darkness, its eyes glowing with hellfire. Asuka would begin to float, gently but inexorably, down to the waiting monster, and its massive jaws would yawn open as it prepared to swallow Asuka whole.

But this time, before the gaping maw could close over her, a soft hand touched her face, arresting her fall.

Asuka gasped, and her eyes flew open. Beside her on the pillow, soft red eyes framed by blue hair gazed into hers, and a hand cupped her cheek as Rei smiled good morning. She looks so different when she smiles, Asuka thought in wonder as the red eyes closed and Rei's lips parted as she moved in closer... closer...

The vision faded as the false awakening gave way to harsh reality and the fact that Asuka was very much alone in her bed. She threw the covers aside, sat up, and looked blearily around the room. She buried her face in her hands with a frustrated groan.

Asuka had begun to despair again. On its face, becoming Rei's friend seemed like a far less daunting prospect than a declaration of love. Eminently achievable, even. Yet it turned out to be surprisingly harder done than said.

Asuka recalled having tried it once before, when she'd first arrived in Japan, with less than inspiring results. In fact, Rei's obvious disinterest in being friends with the great Asuka Langley Soryu, while she'd brushed it off at the time, turned out to have been one of the first of several major blows to her ego that Asuka could remember. Up until that moment, she'd been riding a high from her first Angel win – well, shared win - and the waves of adoration that she was getting from all corners at her new school, which was amplified by her novelty as a foreigner.

When she thought about it later, though, Rei's casual dismissal made her hot with indignation and brought her soaring self-image that little bit closer to earth. A humbling experience, to say the least. Part of Asuka wondered if that was what had first marked Rei out as special in her mind.

In any case, this next attempt had to be done delicately. While there was nothing inherently suspicious about the two girls becoming friends, Rei and Asuka weren't exactly known to be attached at the hip. In fact, the term 'vaguely hostile' wouldn't be an inappropriate descriptor of their relationship before Asuka had tumbled head-over-heels in love. So if it happened too fast, it would raise red flags. And if it became too obvious they were more than friends – assuming Rei even returned her affections, Asuka had to remind herself bluntly - it would be game over. To anyone who might have been watching Asuka closely and who had half a brain and a suspicious mind – like, say, NERV Security Intelligence - it wouldn't be much of a stretch to extrapolate on Asuka's admittedly odd behavior over the last six months, make some connections, put two-and-two-and-two together and get an illicit romance.

Asuka had assumed that the hardest part would be making it all seem natural. She had a decent poker face, but she was astute enough to understand that the desperation of her feelings was going to color everything she did to some extent. In actuality, the hardest part was making the approach at all. It boiled down to the same problem she'd had when she'd tried to confess her feelings: the moment Asuka made the conscious decision to put 'Operation: Become Rei Ayanami's Friend' into action, she found that when she got Rei alone, she would become massively self-conscious about what she was doing and freeze up. And when they were in public, well... not a devious person by nature, once she started being deliberately cunning and felt the weight of everything at stake, it seemed to Asuka as though dozens of eyes and ears were watching and listening at all times, with the same result: vapor lock. The way her own psychology seemed to be working against her was beyond maddening.

Asuka thought of the vision of Rei's smiling face on the pillow next to her. That had been happening more and more lately - her dreams turning into fantasies and bleeding out into her waking hours - and that just compounded the problem. Tears came to her eyes. She just couldn't catch a break, it seemed.

Then Sahaquiel attacked.

An Angel with a devastating kinetic offense that neither NERV nor the military had any counter for, Sahaquiel had been brought down by a desperate, last-minute plan from Misato that had required their entire combat roster to work in perfect harmony and with almost-to-the-second coordination. Shinji, Rei, and Asuka had pulled it off by the skin of their teeth, at the cost of hefty damage to their battlegroup.

In the wake of that fiasco, NERV's head scientist, Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, with Misato's explicit approval, gave very specific orders that the three Eva pilots were to engage in team-building and group activities and spend as much of their off-time together as was reasonable.

Hoping she wasn't trembling too obviously, Asuka had flashed Rei a sideways glance as the three of them stood at attention and listened to her drone on about unity, teamwork, camaraderie, and the nobility of their cause. She couldn't believe her good fortune; she could have kissed Dr. Akagi then and there. Imagine the commotion she could cause!

Asuka and Rei would be together by mandate, inside and outside of official school and work hours. There was more than ample time and opportunity for Asuka to conquer her hang-ups and put her plan into action, even if she had to do it by degrees. Of course, that meant Shinji would be tagging along most of the time. But Asuka already had the glimmer of an idea on how to deal with that, too - at least as far as their off-time was concerned.

NERV command having decided that the dummy plug autopilot system was far enough advanced that it could serve as an emergency backup, the very first act of their new decree was for Misato to escort all three pilots on two weeks of mandated R&R in Okinawa following the Sahaquiel fight. Asuka's hopes of a private room with Rei were soon dashed when Misato informed them that she would be bunking with the two girls. If Asuka didn't know better, she would have sworn that Misato knew exactly what she was up to and was moving to intercept, even though in reality it was probably just NERV pinching pennies. The worst of it was that Asuka would now have to keep her cool around two devastatingly attractive women, one of whom had no concept of personal modesty and another who liked to get around in the minimum allowable amount of clothing at all times, which, as there were no Y-chromosomes in the equation, would probably mean almost none. Asuka made a mental note to pack a blindfold.

The activities in Okinawa included eating out, going to the beach and a funfair, and taking a trip to an aquarium. Very nice places to be, no doubt, and of course, being wherever Rei was always nice, but not very useful in advancing Asuka's private mission, especially with the ever-present Misato and her watchful eyes dogging their every move.

Things didn't improve much once they were back home, at least not at first. While the three pilots received a salary, the majority of it was deposited into a trust until they should turn eighteen. From it, though, they received a weekly stipend to cover a few necessities and provide them with pocket money, and this was increased to cover weekly trips to the cinema, theme parks, the mall, and so on. Whenever Asuka wanted to take Rei on one of these little excursions, Misato would without fail force her to drag Shinji along, which, of course, she couldn't object to. Asuka suspected that it wasn't due so much to the new directive as to getting Shinji out of the house. If left to his own devices, that boy would have turtled in his room twenty-four hours a day, leaving only to kill the occasional Angel. He really needed a hobby... or better yet, a girlfriend. Asuka's glimmer of an idea got a little brighter.

Rei was at their place fairly often now, too, and being in constant contact was easing Asuka's inhibitions and allowing her to interact more naturally with the object of her desire. The new problem was that wherever she and Asuka were, at home or out, Shinji would inevitably be there, stealing her smiles, her surprised giggles, and her soft touches on the arm from her Rei Ayanami. The fact that those things were so rarely bestowed was infuriating, and what was worse, they were totally wasted on that dense idiot! He wasn't even aware of Asuka glowering at him from two feet away over the top of Rei's head as the three of them sat on the couch watching some dumb action movie. She could have marched over to him, shoved him to the floor, and tore all his clothes off, and Shinji would have asked if she was doing laundry. Dicht!

Actually, when she thought about it, she was very glad that Shinji was so blind. His transition from prize to be won to love rival was one Asuka never could have seen coming and did not sit well with her at all. To say nothing of him disrupting her plans, the more time passed, the greater the risk that even Shinji might grow a spine and make a move on 'her girl.' Now that Asuka had hope and a solid plan, she was no longer pining away, and her fiercely competitive and domineering personality was beginning to shine through again. That meant she had to be extra careful not to blow her cover by getting too carried away. But Shinji's and Rei's interactions were starting to make Asuka furiously jealous, and it was getting harder and harder to hide it.

No, it couldn't go on. Something had to be done, and Asuka now knew exactly what that was.

"Sorry, ace pilot," Asuka muttered under her breath, "but you've got to go."


"Tamiko, wait!"

Tamiko Maeda whirled about in surprise at the voice hailing her from the other end of the school hallway. She watched the bobbing mass of burnt orange get closer and closer as Asuka Soryu jogged up to her. She said, slightly out of breath, "I need to talk to you. In private," and Tamiko squeaked in surprise as Asuka grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into an empty classroom.

Asuka poked her head out into the corridor, checking both ways to make sure they hadn't been seen. Phase One, she thought to herself as she pulled the door shut and locked it.

Tamiko seemed surprised and a little alarmed by these rapid developments, and she backed up a little as Asuka moved to lean against the leading edge of the teacher's desk. "What is all this?" she asked a little nervously.

"Like I said," Asuka replied, "I need to talk to you."

Tamiko was shocked that Asuka was suddenly talking to anyone, let alone that she had chosen her of all people. They'd never exchanged a word the whole time that Asuka had been a student here. "What about?" she asked, curious now.

"Shinji Ikari. Yes or no?" Asuka demanded.

Tamiko was nonplussed. "I don't understand, Asuka. Yes-or-no... what?"

"Yes or no... you know." Asuka closed one eye and made a nudging motion with her elbow.

Tamiko's eyes widened as comprehension dawned. "Oh!" She said. "Definite yes. Why, has he said something about me?" She asked, suddenly blushing furiously. Though most of his mystique had long since worn off, Shinji Ikari was still the biggest unlanded catch in class 2-A, and every girl knew it.

Asuka balked at the idea of telling an outright lie. "Um, not in so many words. But I've seen him look at you every day. I think he's just too shy to talk to you." The truth, by technicality, was less guilt-inducing but felt no less dishonest.

Well, whatever. Everybody was getting something out of it. Asuka would have Shinji out of her hair, Tamiko might get to be the one to finally land the unobtainable Shinji Ikari, and Shinji... well, one look at Tamiko would tell anybody what Shinji was getting out of the deal. She was truly something to look at, with her lustrous jet-black hair and hazel eyes. One of the reasons Asuka had never talked to her was because she'd seen Tamiko as one of her most serious competitors for male attention. But she kept that to herself.

Asuka had chosen her not only because she was beautiful but also because Shinji was dense and spineless, and Tamiko had a reputation for being a dog with a bone once she got an idea in her head. As she slipped discretely out of the dark classroom after a quick warning to Tamiko to keep their conversation confidential, Asuka felt certain she had Phase One of 'Operation: Get Shinji A Girlfriend And Away From My Girl' locked down and set off in search of Phase Two. There was no doubt about it, though - her operation codenames needed some serious work.

Phase Two she found easily enough, listlessly shooting hoops on the basketball court near the south gate of the school as he did most afternoons.

Toji turned to face her as she approached, his eyes showing surprise. They hadn't exchanged more than a few words and glances in passing since their big heart-to-heart about two months ago. He took a step back and looked around nervously, as though he was worried that Asuka might try to hug him. She might have, if they weren't right out in the open. She did owe him a lot. And he was nice to hug. "Hey, Romeo. What's up? How goes your Juliet?"

Asuka shook her head and wondered if Toji knew how that story ended. "Uh, fine, thanks. Listen, speaking of tragic, Tamiko just told me that she likes Shinji, but I think she's too shy to say so. Do you think you could help her out?"

Toji's eyes narrowed. Unfortunately, he wasn't half as stupid as he looked and acted. "Tamiko Maeda? Since when? And since when is she so shy?"

Asuka threw up her hands. "Fine. I'm setting them up, OK? Shinji needs a girlfriend, and I need to get him away from... Juliet." She finished awkwardly.

Toji had to laugh out loud at that. So, the red-haired demon was also a green-eyed monster. "I did warn ya about those two," he chuckled.

Asuka crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "Are you done? Will you help me or not?"

Toji was certain that Asuka had the wrong end of the stick about Rei Ayanami and was setting herself up for massive heartache. But he kept it to himself. He said, "Sure, Red. I'll make sure Shinji gets the message. You're right; a girlfriend, or at least going out on a few dates, might do him some good. He's been a bit mopey lately. It's almost like he caught whatever you had."

Asuka sincerely hoped not. Looking quickly left and right and seeing nobody around, she took a chance and stepped forward to give Toji a lightning flash of a hug. He patted her on the back, and they parted. "Careful, Red. People are going to talk," he said playfully.

Let them talk, Asuka thought to herself. Let them spread the rumors of her heterosexuality far and wide. It would make a great cover.


One Friday night a few weeks later, after a long, boring day of school and an exhausting evening of synchronization tests, a weary Asuka trudged into Misato's kitchen, thinking dreamily of how Rei had looked in her plugsuit that day, her hair wet with LCL. Operation: Friendship was in full swing. It just needed the last piece of the puzzle to drop into place, and she could move onto the next stage.

Asuka dropped her bag on the kitchen floor. She knew it would bug Shinji, but she also knew he probably wouldn't say anything and would just quietly put it in her room himself. He was useful like that.

Speaking of Shinji, where was he? He'd finished at NERV hours before she had, and she'd expected him to be preparing dinner. She moved to the door out of the kitchen, intending to check his room. Suddenly Misato was blocking her path, half-dressed and scratching herself, an empty beer can in hand. "Hey Ausky!" she slurred cheerfully, pulling the younger girl into a sloppy hug.

Asuka extracted herself gingerly, very carefully keeping her eyes off Misato's chest and trying not to think about how it had felt crushed against hers. "Uh, hi Misato. Where's Shinji?"

Misato giggled as she moved around her toward the fridge and extracted another beer, dropping the empty can in the recycling on the way. She sat heavily at the head of her kitchen table, opened her new beer with a crack and a hiss, and took a long draft before answering. "You'll never believe this... but our Shin-Shin has got himself a gi-i-i-i-irlfriend," she cooed. "And he's out on a date right now."

Asuka did her best to project shocked disbelief, but the theatrics were wasted on Misato in her current state. Kind of like Misato herself. "No way!"

"I swear to God. I was sitting right where I am now. Shinji is about to start dinner – oh by the way, there's no dinner – and I hear the doorbell go. I go to the door, and there's a real little cutie with black hair standing there, and she asks me for Shinji. Says she's his girlfriend!"

A look of smug satisfaction spread over Asuka's features as Misato took another slug. She sat down at the opposite end of the table and waited for the rest of the story.

"I nearly fell over." Misato continued. "So then she marches right into the kitchen, right up to our Shinji, grabs him by the arm, and says, 'You're taking me out tonight!' and hauls him off to his room to get changed!"

"Incredible."

"Oh, Asuka, it was so cute." Misato giggled again and covered her mouth. "He was bright red. As red as Unit 02." She sighed and dropped her hand, then took a long pull at her beer. She burped delicately and said, "You know, I'm surprised you're not out on a date yourself, Asuka, being a Friday night and all."

A date, Asuka thought to herself. What a wonderful idea. A nice, friendly date.


A quick note: Originally I could have sworn I remembered the concept of Ristuko mandating the pilots spend time together after the Sahaquiel fight from the series. But the more I think about it the more sure I am that I 'stole' the concept from another story, probably a famous one. If anyone can step forward and claim/assign credit, I sure would appreciate it.