Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.

Also, as always, apologies for any grammatical and spelling errors throughout this chapter. Hope you all will still enjoy.

Once again, the routine updates were happening at the Commander's quarters. For the past few days, the repairs of both Wunder and EVA's have gone faster than expected. They were ahead of schedule. Both Commander and Sub Commander could not be more satisfied with the speed they were getting things done. There were no issues to delay WILLE from relaunching... All but one. There was one point of concern for both, other than the fact that NERV has been strangely quiet recently.

Misato looked at the tablet showing Unit 02's schematics and asked, "Have there been any more anomalous movements with Unit 02 ever since that day?"

Ristuko shook her head and replied, "No. Fortunately, it has been silent ever since. However, I can't figure out why it's no longer moving now nor why it moved in the first place. The other times an EVA moved on its own will were related to the Angels, but in those instances, there was a Pilot inside."

"Do you have any speculations?"

She shook her head. "We need more data to develop a proper hypothesis on what went on with Unit 02. But, from what I can deduce from the current events that we know of, it could be the result of the unit's Pilot's extended absence. It was, after all, with her for fourteen years and now she's longer there at its core."

"It misses her?"

"I presume so, yes."

Misato covered her mouth with her hand, contemplating the idea of having Asuka pilot again. "But in the worst case the EVA Awakens, we have our out," she mumbled, her free hand clenching tightly.

Ritsuko said, "This would be a good theory to test with a wireless connection if Shikinami had not chosen to stay behind… It honestly surprises me that she denied the chance to come back when the request came from Three Dash himself."

Misato grabbed a pile of paper and handed Ritsuko back her files. She said, "If we're on schedule, based on your report, we should be able to leave a couple of days after the festival."

The Commander was dodging the question. "Ah. He didn't ask her." Well, that clarified things. "Earlier if things go smoothly as they are now," Ritsuko said, playing her game. "But to help keep up morale, I thought it'd be best to schedule our launch after the festival."

"You do realize NERV is not going to wait on us, Sub Commander."

"They have yet to take any actions after that attack at Village-4," Ritsuko said. "They're planning something, and if we're ready but our morale is at an all-time low, we may not come back alive. Our luck just may run out."

Misato tapped her fingers as Ritsuko was giving out her reasoning. Taking everything she said into consideration into thinking of how to move forward.

"We'll leave the day after the festival. And in case of another attack from NERV, we'll have Five Dash on standby."

"And not Three Dash and Four Dash?"

Misato tapped her desk. "Both Three Dash and Unit 01 are too dangerous to deploy constantly. Four Dash is the only one we have who can properly watch over him without any ill intention while we're staying in the Village, assuming she does her job right."

"But we never had issues with Unit 01 ever since the Twelfth Angel… Ah. An excuse to let him take a break. Odd that you are rewarding him even though he didn't follow his orders for the Shikinami… Do you really still believe that Four Dash can do her job of overseeing Three Dash? How reckless of you," Ritsuko thought to herself.

"If that is all, Sub Commander," Misato said, "You are dismissed."

Ritsuko took a deep breath. There was no other time than this to bring it up to her. "Here we go." She asked, "How about attending this year's festival with Junior this year?"

Misato seemed to be frozen for a second when hearing that suggestion. "Save me these pointless requests, Ritsuko. I don't have the time nor the luxury to attend such things."

Ah ha. She finally said her name. This may be her only opportunity. "It's not pointless. And it's not a luxury. It's a suggestion for you. You've never had time to spend time with Junior before, so why not now?"

"Because we're vulnerable. We have to be ready to sortie at a moment's notice, even if we have to perform emergency sorties."

"It doesn't have to be you all the time, Misato. It's just one night. I can cover for you. Besides, do you really think you won't regret not going to one of these things with Junior at least once?"

Misato turned away from Ritsuko. "You are dismissed. I have work to do."

Ritsuko bowed. "Apologies. I was out of line. I'll take my leave then… Misato."

As the door closed behind her, Ritsuko gave a small smile. "She didn't say 'no'. Consider everything I owe you repaid, Five Dash."

Misato waited a few seconds after the door closed before taking out her wallet and opening its contents. It was filled with pictures of Junior. He was smiling in all of them.

He was smiling as he was helping out the Villagers.

He was smiling as he helped unload boxes or crates from a truck. Smiling as he was helping do some farm work. Smiling as Penpen was jumping towards him. And the most recent one she received, he was smiling as he was sitting next to Asuka, eating together at a bench. Though in the corner, she could still make out a small figure hiding in the bushes. No normal person would've noticed it. But she did.

He blended in the background, but Shinji was there, watching over them.

She closed her wallet.

Peck. Peck.

"Again with this. Every morning with this bird."

Asuka yawned as she sat up from her makeshift bed. She turned to see Penpen tilting his head. He blinked when the two made eye contact.

She blinked.

He blinked again.

"What do you want?"

"Wark!" Penpen opened his mouth.

"Food again?" She plopped back down onto her bed. "You always sneak in here just by yourself asking for food. Why can't you get that old fart to give you food?"

"Wark."

"The baby, right." She sighed and reluctantly got up. "Okay, give me a minute." She let out a small grunt as she jumped out of bed and stretched. "Wouldn't Misato's brat be better for you to see for food?"

Asuka made her way into the kitchen while Penpen followed her. "Wark." Penpen shook his head.

"I think so too. Brat can't cook." She got a sardine from the fridge. "But, how can you mess up giving raw fish?" She tossed it to him and he swallowed it whole.

"Wark."

"Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree," she said. She grabbed a towel and walked to the bathroom. "I'm going to wash up. Don't wait up."

Penpen blinked and watched her open the bathroom door. Waiting for the event to unfold.

There was a shriek from the person behind the door, "You again?!" Mana quickly covered herself with a towel while biting down on her toothbrush. "Haven't you heard of knocking?"

Asuka sighed. "There's a lock. Use it." She walked over and pushed her over. "Move. I'm going to brush my teeth."

Mana held the towel up to make sure it didn't slip down. She pulled out the toothbrush from her mouth to speak better. "This is the fourth time this week you walked in on me. What's your problem?"

Asuka started to brush her teeth and didn't bother turning to Mana. "If you don't want me walking in on you, lock the door."

Mana's eye twitched. If this girl was going to be a kid, then time to return the favor. She grabbed the tip of the brush and pulled it back. Then released, splattering all the contents onto Asuka.

Asuka finally turned. "What was that for?!"

Mana put her hand over her mouth to hide her mischievous smirk. "Oops. Sorry, my hand slipped."

Her eyes twitched. Asuka really did try to at least be civil with her, seeing that this Mana girl was going to be staying long term… Well, Asuka was trying to be civil with her the best she could anyway. She groaned, pouring water into her cup before continuing to brush her teeth.

Mana smirked as she splattered more of the residue from her toothbrush at the redhead, causing Asuka to freeze. Finally satisfied with her work, Mana turned to leave. But as she was turning to get out of the bathroom, she shrieked when cold water was poured down her head.

"EEK! COLD!" She turned to Asuka, the one who tossed the cup full of water onto her.

"Sorry Mimic, my hand slipped," Asuka said before resuming to brush her teeth.

"WHY YOU!" Mana lounged at Asuka who reacted just in time to respond.

She almost slipped by the wet girl's action but managed to stay standing as the two locked against each other. Asuka gritted her teeth while biting down on the brush. Mana's face began to blush in anger, not caring about the towel almost falling off from her sudden action.

"Why," Mana said while gritting her teeth. "Why is it you of all people?"

Asuka could feel herself almost getting overpowered. Was she seriously trying to hurt her? "What is your problem?"

"My problem is you!" She began to overwhelm her. "Why does it have to be a childish person like you?! Why can't it be me? You don't even belong here!"

"What are you-?"

"Geeze, Knock it off you two!" Toji said, wheeling himself out of the room the best he could. "It's too early for this!"

But they weren't hearing him. The two were furiously locked to each other.

Bunzaemon angrily came out of the room, releasing Tsubame's scream at full volume into the house. He went to the two and physically pulled them apart by their hair.

"OW!" The two screamed.

"Are you two kids done? Good," he said, letting the two go. "Why does this have to happen every morning?"

Both girls were holding their heads in pain. The two pointed at each other and said. "Because she started it!"

Penpen, seeing that the fun was over, made his way to the door. But froze when Bunzaemon said, "And where do you think you're going bird? Just because your Kaji's pet doesn't mean you can come here to take our food for free!"

Penpen groaned. "Warrrrk".

"Ah, so that's another reason why you come to me for food instead of that old fart, you sneaky bird," Asuka thought to herself but wisely chose to hold her tongue.

"Whine all you want. But I'm going to have a talk with Kaji Sr. about this."

Asuka mumbled, "He's not even that bird's real owner."

"And you two, get dressed and get out of the house. I don't care what you two do, but I need you two out of the house. I've had it with both of your antics. And you bird, you're going to stay here and play with Tsubame to pay off the food you've been stealing!"

Penpen froze as blood was drained from his face. Tsubame was always rough with him, especially when she was crying. But she loved playing with him… or choking the life out of him, to be exact.

Asuka kept her mouth shut and was glad that the bird had the decency to keep quiet. He wasn't stealing food, she was giving it to him. She was going to have to get him some treats later. Asuka then turned to Mana with a glare who glared back with the same energy. The two then looked away and pouted.

Toji laughed quietly. Boy, was he glad he no longer was the person receiving his pops-in-law's scolding.

Asuka was not happy. She was forced out of the house, and since then she was asked constantly to help out with the easiest of fixes with people's appliances and electronics. Just because she knew how to fix them didn't mean that's how she wanted to spend her time.

And she still hasn't done what that old man has asked her to do.

"Get a storybook for our little Tsubame. Without one, don't bother coming back."

"Damn old man, ordering me around." But luckily for her, she finally managed to get to the train car that was repurposed to be the Village library. As she went in, she saw that there weren't as many people as she thought there'd be. Just a few young kids reading story books with their parents. Nothing special.

She went towards the kid's section to see if she could find anything generic to take back with her. Yeah, all she needed to do was choose any one book she could find. So why did it have to be this book that her eyes landed on in the middle of the shelf? Why did she feel drawn to this out of everything?

Beauty and the Beast. But why this one-

"Are you going to call me a monster too?" Shinji's voice echoed in her head.

"So, I want to be a beauty to the beast." Mana's followed soon after.

Asuka sighed. "Well, whatever." She reached out to take the book out but only her hand to clash with someone. When Asuka turned to see who it was, her eyes met the least person she wanted to talk to.

Mana groaned. "Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Asuka said.

"I'm here to check this book out."

"Funny, I'm here to do the same."

Trying not to lose the book to the other, the two quickly reached forward and grabbed the book at the same time. But the two froze once their hands crashed against each other. "I was here first," Mana said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Why do you even want the book? Aren't you too old for it?" Asuka asked as she crossed her arms.

"Aren't you?" she retorted.

"I'm not here for myself. That old fart asked me to pick up a storybook for the baby."

"Then it doesn't have to be this, does it? It could be any storybook."

The two went head to head. Teeth gritting as they were both determined not to lose. The two's distraction was broken when a hand started to reach up to the book. When they looked down to see who it was, they saw Mayumi reaching up. She was desperately trying to get this book but fingers barely grazed the bottom of the shelf it was resting in. The poor girl's mind was so focused on the book that she did not notice the two older girls fighting over it.

"Almost… there…" Mayumi groaned, stretching the best she could to get her prize.

The two looked at each other and gave a nod, coming to a silent agreement. Asuka grabbed the book, almost earning her a sad look from Mayumi only for it to be replaced with a shining face when the book was presented before her.

Mayumi quickly grabbed the book and wrapped her arms around it. "Thank you-oh," she paused for a second when she realized who had given her the book. She pointed at her with a big smile on her face. "Mean Sister, it's you!"

Mana let out a muffled giggle behind her hand while Asuka's eye twitched.

Mayumi bowed and said, "Mommy said to me to say 'thank you' when I saw you again. But I don't know why. It was Bad Brother who saved me."

Asuka froze for a second, unsure what she should be doing next. Should she keep the charade that Idiot Shinji wanted to keep up? Or should she do something else?

She hesitantly began to bring her hand up to pat her but Mana beat her to it.

"Don't worry," Mana said. She gave Mayumi a quick blink and whispered, "I'll let him know. Until then, keep what he did a secret for now, okay?"

Mayumi's face brightened. She gave another quick bow to Mana and said, "Thank you Sister Kilitima!"

"Wha- I told you-" Before Mana could correct her, Mayumi quickly ran towards the reception to check out the book. She didn't have to turn to see Asuka giving her an amuzed look. "Not a word."

"I'm not sure what you're talking about, Kilitima." Asuka, despite everything that had happened, had a small smirk on her face.

"Better than being nicknamed, 'Mean Sister'," Mana said.

"Yea and be linked to that Idiot's nickname, 'Bad Brother', don't remind me," Asuka said with a slight frown. Anywhere she goes, everything she sees reminds her of him. The food everyone seems to enjoy, that Mayumi girl linking her with 'Mean Sister' and 'Bad Brother', and everyone having the dumb smile on their faces that Idiot used to make. "Damn it, stop thinking about that Idiot."

Mana pouted and crossed her arms at the realization that the two of them shared a similar nickname to each other. But not her. She muttered under her breath, "Why does it have to always be you?"

Asuka saw that Mana started to make her way out of the library. As curious as to know where she was going, Asuka decided against it. It's not her place to know where that girl is at all times. She instead decided to choose another book and make her way to the counter to get it checked out.

As she made it out, heard a voice calling to her, "Oh Asuka! Hey!"

Asuka turned to see that Junior was making his way towards her with his hands waving to her. He almost tripped when he tried to stop in front of her, skipping a few steps.

"Aren't you supposed to be on duty today?" she asked, unamused by him while everyone else around them found it entertaining.

"Dad told me to take the remaining days off to help plan for the Festival this year," he said. He then noticed the book in her arms. "I thought it was weird to see you coming out of the library. But how did you manage to get that book? It's usually checked out."

Asuka put the storybook behind her and looked away. "It's not for me. That old fart told me that I can't come back into the house without getting a book for the baby."

Junior's smile widened. "Well, at least you picked out a cute one for Tsubame. Doctor Suzahara was getting worried that she wasn't getting exposure to more storybooks, despite her age. Glad to see that Tsubame's grandfather thought the same."

"Then he should've been the one to get the book for her and not sent me to run his errand," she mumbled and started to make her way back.

He followed her. "So you're just going to head back?" There was a small nod from her. "Before you do, do you think you can lend me a hand to help out with something?"

"No-"

He grabbed her wrist and said, "It'll be quick, I promise!"

As always, Junior wasn't going to take a 'No' as an answer. And she didn't have anything better to do for the remainder of the day. So, mind as well try to humor him.

…Or regret letting him have his way.

It wasn't in fact quick. It also wasn't just one thing, it was a whole bunch of things. The first was to help set up some lights around the main festival area. Then they were helping out with getting more woods from the correct forest area. Help setting up some signs. Basically anything involving manual labor, more so than she would've liked.

The 'final one', according to that lying Brat, was to draw some pictures and letters for some of the booths. Paints were getting on her and her drawing wasn't the best. It was obvious that she was a novice compared to the others, especially compared to the others who were younger than her.

Drawing was never her specialty, especially since she had spent most of her time training to be an EVA Pilot and having military exposure.

Junior laughed at drawing as he finished his. "That's cute," he said. "That chocolate cookie can use some more colors here though."

"Shut it," she said, dropping her brush and grabbing the book that was resting next to her. It was supposed to be those "takoyaki's". "I'm done."

"But you're almost-"

Asuka got up, fed up with this. She grabbed the storybook and started to make her way back to Hikari's home, not that Hikari herself was at the house often within the past few days.

Junior chased after her. "Sorry, was this too much? I just wanted you to get excited for the festival like everyone."

"And how is getting me to do all this going to help?" Asuka asked, not bothering to slow down nor turn her attention to him.

"So that you'd know what's going to be opened that day. I wanted you to look forward to this like everyone," he replied. "Guess it was a bit much, huh?"

She hastened her step, not wanting to deal with this right now. "Why go that far? I'm not interested in going to the festival in the first place."

"You were planning on staying at Doctor Suzahara's place that day?" His footsteps started to slow, disappointed in her lack of excitement. It was her choice, of course, but…

He bit his lips and clenched his hand.

"It's now or never."

Junior looked up and ran up to her. He forced her to stop by getting in front of her. With a small blush on his face, he asked, "What if-... What if I wanted you to go with me to the festival?"

Asuka's head tilted, confused as to why he would ask her that. "What are you-" She paused as the words started to settle in her head. Wait. Did he want to- Was he asking her to be his date for the festival? She shook her head and said, "No thank-"

He grabbed her hand, determined not to lose this. "Can you at least give it some thought? Even if your answer is not going to change, can you please just think about it? You can tell me your answer later."

"Okay. Okay," she said, failing to pull her hand away from him. "If I say 'yes' to giving it some thought, will you let go?"

His face brightened even more than she thought was ever possible for a person. "Yes! Thank you!" He released his grasp on her, deciding giving her space was the best option for now, he walked past her back to the drawing area. "I'm going to go back to help out. Please, just give it some thought."

Junior ran before she had the chance to respond. Asuka cursed under her breath and continued back. "Damn it, why is it so hard for that Brat to take a 'no' as an answer?"

Not that she ever got an answer.

When Asuka made it back to her current residence, she heard Bunzaemon calling out, "You're finally back? What took you so long, Azuka?"

Her eyes twitched. "Misato's Brat forced me to help out with him for the festival," she said. She made her way to him who was next to Tsubame's crib. As she handed him the book, from the crib, she realized the helpless eyes of a familiar penguin staring at her for rescue. Penpen was being squeezed out of his poor life as Tsubame was latching onto him tightly. "You're still here?"

"Waaaark."

Bunzaemon said, "This will be a good lesson for the bird. Don't steal our food."

"Not like I was the one giving it to him." Asuka had to hold herself back from saying those words lest she be the next focal point for this old man's wrath.

Penpen let out another weak "Wark" before dramatically going limp. But he was still breathing, fortunately.

"Thanks for taking the bullet for me, bird."

Bunzaemon fixed his glasses to focus on the title of the book. "Little Mermaid?"

"What? You told me to get a storybook, you didn't tell me what to get."

"I'm surprised you managed to get this one, girl. That Mayumi girl usually checks this one out whenever it's her turn for this book, not that she follows the schedule she was forced to be on. What did you have to do to bribe her?"

Asuka shrugged. "Nothing. She was focused on another book."

"Hold on!" Toji said, wheeling himself into view. "You mean to tell me that sweet candy girl Mayumi chose something other than the fish girl book?"

She turned to him with an annoyed look. "Did I stutter?"

"Holy shi-"

Bunzaemon immediately interrupted with, "No cursing in front of my grandchild!"

"S-Sorry, Pops. But you have to admit, it's a miracle that the girl chose something other than the Little Mermaid."

"Don't remind me. That's the book Hikari always wanted to check out to read to Tsubame, but never had the chance to. So we were showing Tsubame the same old Beast and the Beauty book that my other child managed to get for us to keep."

Toji scratched his cheeks, unsure if he should be correcting him or not. "Uh, I think you mean Beauty and the Beast?"

"Same thing."

Asuka's head popped up. "Hold on," she said, "You guys already had a book here? Then what was the point of sending me out there?!"

Bunzaemon responded, "Because we can't keep showing her the same book. She's going to have to eventually start seeing something else."

"I-... ugh, this was a whole waste of time then," she said. "Why did Kilitima say nothing about that? About you guys already having a book."

Toji tilted his head, unsure who she was talking about. Soon he burst out laughing when he put two and two together. "Oh! Mayumi met Kirishima again? She never could get her last name right. And did you forget? Kirishima was not around after Tsubame was born. So she probably never had the time to see that we had a book."

"..." Asuka looked away, embarrassed. "Where is that book anyway? I've never seen it during the months I was here."

He pointed to a small shelf at the corner of Tsubame's room. "In there," he said, "Not like you've ever gone in there look- Huh?"

Asuka quickly made her way there and immediately noticed the book sitting there staring at her. She quickly grabbed it and went into her room without saying another word. Her action made both men look at each other with a confused look on their faces.

"Damn brat," Bunzaemon said, "At least ask instead of doing whatever the hell you want."

But that earned him a point from his son-in-law. "Hah! You just cursed, Pops! And when you told me not to do so two seconds ago!"

Tsubame awoke from her nap. But unlike before, she wasn't crying. But she was laughing at the two arguing, even clapping to show that she was enjoying it. Penpen, who gained consciousness not long before, used this opportunity to quickly slip out of the baby's grip and crib. He then made his way towards Asuka's room without anyone noticing. He quietly slid the door open and closed it behind him.

"At least you had the courtesy to close the door," Asuka said from her bed next to the window. She was on her back with the book opened in front of her. She threw him a treat from her pocket. "Here, for not ratting me out."

Penpen managed to grab the treat with his beak and ate it with grace. He then made his way towards her, confused as to what she was doing. "Wark?"

"What does it look like? I'm reading."

"...Wark?" giving her a look of "You read?".

"Ugh," she let out a groan. She then closed the book and glared at him. "Don't you have a family to get back to?"

Penpen tilted his head. He then nodded and made his way to Asuka's stomach.

"Hey! What are you- Oof!"

He then jumped up to the window from her stomach then opened it. He quickly jumped down and then disappeared into the Village on the road to the forest, running away from that household as soon as possible.

"Damn bird," she cursed as she closed the window but chose to not lock it. "So that's how you've been sneaking in."

Asuka then went back onto her back and opened the book to continue reading. During the times her mama was with her, she read her all kinds of stories. But she never read this particular story.

"Time to see why this book is special."

Asuka sighed as another day came rolling about. Same old routine that had developed ever since Mana moved in.

Penpen waking her up. The constant bickering, getting kicked out, and running an errand for the old fart in order to come back. This time it was to pick up some groceries from a certain store at the edge of town. The plastic bag hanging by her fingertips was filled with all sorts of specific ingredients that the old fart wanted.

Something about a tea and porridge he wanted to make. Not that it mattered to her.

"Asuka?" A voice called out. When she turned, she saw Hikari holding onto some groceries as well. "I'm surprised to see you here."

Asuka turned, slightly surprised to see her here as well. "I'm here to run an errand for your dad." Her eyes went to the groceries in her friend's hands. "I take it you're finally going home for once?"

"Yup! Things finally calmed down, especially with the woman affected by that Monster's plague. It took much longer than usual, but she's recovering nicely, just so you know."

"Not that I asked," Asuka had to bite her tongue to force those words back.

"But," Hikari continued, "I can't go back empty handed so I came by to get some of their favorite snacks to take back. Shame that you can only find them here."

"Uh-huh." Asuka managed to get a quick glimpse and it seems to be relatively the same as the ones that the old man told her to get, maybe more. "So I just wasted my day coming here."

She started to walk back in the direction of her home and Asuka started to follow suit. "So," Hikari asked, "Are you excited for the festival?"

"Why would I be?" she asked, almost in a retort.

"It's the biggest thing that happens around here." She frowned. "Are you not at the very least interested? There's going to be all sorts of foods and game stalls."

"Yeah, I know, Misato's Brat forced me to help out with some of them."

Now Hikari's face brightened. "That's so great Asuka! You know, I've heard that you and Junior were hanging around a lot together."

"He's like a leech, latching onto me when I least expect it."

"Junior just wants to be with you."

Asuka groaned. "Don't remind me. He even asked me to be his date for that festival."

Hikari clapped her hands and almost squealed. "That's so great Asuka! What did you say?"

She looked away. "He can't take a 'no' as an answer."

"So you decline?"

"I barely know him. What makes you think I want to go out with him?"

"Well, do you have anything better to do? Come on, it'll be fun! It's the best thing around here."

"So everyone says… Look, I'll give it a thought, okay?" she said, trying to drop the subject. "Just don't be too disappointed in my answer."

Hikari seemed to be content with that answer for now. "Alright. As long as you give some thought. But be quick, it's in a few days. I'm sure he'll want some time to prepare as well." She then stopped and looked at the grocers, remembering that she had forgotten something. "Ah geeze, I forgot the candies that Toji likes. Head on back without me while I-"

She couldn't stop as Asuka handed her bag of groceries. "You head back first, Hikari," she said, taking the opportunity to make sure to avoid Hikari's constant insistence for her to attend the festival. "Gives me an excuse to actually be out here to get something other than what your old fart told me to get."

Hikari's smile widened. This was probably the first time that Asuka had ever done her a favor without being asked to do something. She grabbed the groceries and gave her a quick hug. "Thank you so much! I'll see you back."

Hikari told her where to go for the snack and she made her way back home. Asuka let out a loud sigh of relief. Finally, some peace and silence. She made her way and got the candies that Jock liked with little issue. Wasn't too hard to find, it was right in front of the cashier from the store Hikari told her to check.

Just as Asuka made her way out, she noticed someone familiar head into the woods. "What's that Mimic up to now?"

As much as she didn't care about what Mana did, something irked something within her. Especially with what she said this morning before they were kicked out again.

"I'm going to make sure he accepts my request this time."

She sighed, hating her decision to let her legs drag her to follow Mana. "Why do I do this?" Asuka thought to herself, following Mana deeper into the woods while maintaining a good distance from her. "It always ends badly. So why do I care so damn much?"

She quickly stopped and hid behind a nearby tree as soon as she noticed that Mana had stopped. Luckily she didn't seem like she had noticed Asuka. But Asuka did notice that Mana started talking with someone.

"Are you sure you don't need any help?" she asked the hooded figure. Asuka immediately recognized who that was.

"I'm fine, Ms. Kiri- Mana," Shinji said, quickly correcting himself. He picked up the last crate filled with boxed food and stacked it on top of the pile. "The food is done for the evening."

"So, you have some time?" she asked, getting close to him.

Shinji took a nervous step back. "I-"

"Just push her back already," Asuka thought to herself. She bit her lips. "Why won't you push her away as you do with me?"

"I just wanted to talk." Mana took a quick glance at the tree Asuka was hiding behind. "Do you remember when we first met?"

"You mean the incident in the hospital after I woke up?"

She nodded. "Yup! When I first saw you, you were so distraught, confused, and struggling to find a place to hide. Yet you looked like you were looking for something. So different than you are now."

He remained silent. So she continued.

"We then had coffee to help you get situated and I showed you around the temporary base before the Commander, Captain Illustrious, and Ayanami interrupted us. Well, I guess they were Colonel Katsuragi and just Fourth and First Child back in the day." Mana shook her head. "Anyways, we started to have lunch together daily. Soon you even started to cook me dinner too. You know, I really miss those days. Back when it was simpler. Don't you, Shinji?"

Shinji didn't answer, because he knew that she wouldn't like the answer.

"Well? Don't you have anything to say? Talking usually goes both ways."

"It was definitely easier back then, Mana," he finally said. "And I do appreciate you being there for me back then-"

"Oh? Am I not there for you now? You know I'm just a phone call away."

"...I don't want to be a bother," he looked away.

"You're never a bother, you know that, right?" She grabbed his hand. Asuka noticed that he didn't try pulling away from her. "You saved me in multiple missions we went on together and never asked anything in return. And it's because of you that I managed to survive the Red Plague. That's what I like about you. You're selfless. You care. You're so kind."

Asuka couldn't help but release a small scoff. "Hah, selfless? He's the most selfish idiot I know."

"Ms. Kiri-" Mana's finger went up to his lips.

"Mana. Remember?" She smiled. "I don't want you to call me that. I want us to have that relationship as we did before."

"Mana," Shinji said. He shook his head. "I don't-"

"Shh." She pressed her finger on his lips again. "Don't deny it. You miss it too, don't you?"

He grabbed her hand and pulled it down. "Please stop. I do miss the past. But I..." But he couldn't say those words while looking into her eyes. Because it's not the same "time" she's thinking of.

"Then, in honor of those times, would you go to the festival with me? We don't need to attend the stalls." She shook her head. "I just want to spend the night with you, watching the stars and the fireworks. Just like we've done in the past."

Feeling something rile up within Asuka when she heard the moments that they shared. When he didn't deny her outright, Asuka gritted her teeth harder to the point they started to grind against each other.

Asuka knew he would've denied it if she was the one who asked. So that meant one thing. Mana was more important to him.

She didn't bother waiting to hear anymore and ran. Asuka didn't care. She just had to be away from here. She was stupid to trust her instincts to come here. She should've never chased after that girl.

She should've stopped caring about him when she had the chance.

When she made it out of the forest, she found herself back where she last saw Hikari. Asuka took a moment to catch her breath, glad to be finally away from them. She clenched her hands holding the plastic bags tighter. She was frustrated that she was holding onto any sort of hope.

Why does she have to play the part of a dumb girl hoping for her lost dog to come back? Why can't she just move on?

"Asuka?" Junior called out.

Of course, he shows up now.

He came up from behind with a plastic bag in hand. "I'm surprised to see you in this neighborhood."

She didn't respond, keeping her back towards him.

When he noticed the plastic bag on her hand, he said, "I usually come here for some snacks, didn't know you were someone who liked these types of snacks too, if I knew I would've brought you-"

"Let's go," Asuka said with a low voice, but barely audible enough for him to hear.

Junior stopped and tilted his head, confused as to what she meant by that. Surely she couldn't have been answering his question to her the other day. "What do you mean by-?"

"Let's go to this stupid festival together."

THE NIGHT OF THE FESTIVAL

Hikari was squealing like a little girl. "You look so good Asuka!"

Asuka stood there with a blush on her face while wearing an unamused face at her friend's response. She was wearing an old yukata that Hikari had lying around. It was a pink colored yukata with flower petal patterns around it, mainly on the sleeves.

Hikari was wearing hers too, similar to Asuka's but in a green color theme and slightly larger to fit her frame. "Oh don't make that face," Hikari said. She walked up and started fixing up the yukata for Asuka.

"It's fine, Hikari," Asuka said, "I don't need you babying me over this.

"But don't you want to look your best? There!" Hikari took a step back to see her handiwork. "I knew the old one I had would fit you."

Asuka looked at the yukata on her. "How many of these do you have?"

"Just three. I'm planning to give one to Tsubame once she grows up a bit. I used to wear what you wore back in the day when I had the time to attend the festival. Can't say I liked the color on me."

"...Do I have to wear this?" There was a slight groan hidden in her voice.

Hikari shook her head. "All the girls wear yukatas during the festival, it's been a tradition ever since Kaji Sr. started this just after Village Three was formed."

"So this was his idea?"

Hikari raised her hand with a bright smile. "Guilty."

"You?! Well, at least now I don't feel bad about stealing that storybook from your kid."

Her eyes twitched. "Excuse me, what-"

There was a knock on the door. Saved by the bell.

Hikari gave a small glare. "We'll talk about this later, young lady."

She just shrugged.

As Hikari opened the door, there was a nervously shaking Junior hiding something behind him. He was wearing a regular black t-shirt and pants with a white short-sleeved button-down. "I uh…" He nervously asked, "Is uh… Is Asuka here?"

"Cute!" Hikari thought to herself.

Asuka walked out past her. "I'll be back before midnight," she said.

"Stay out as long as you want," she said. She pointed at him. "Just be sure to take care of her, you hear?"

"I-uh, yes! Ma'am!"

Hikari smiled. "You two go on ahead. I have to take care of things around the house first, just making sure Daddy will take care of Tsubame. Toji and I will most likely see you two sometime during the festival. But even if we don't, enjoy!"

She didn't wait for a response before closing the door, causing Asuka to sigh.

"Well, let's get this over with-" Asuka froze when a single red rose flower was presented to her.

"I uh…" He fidgeted uncharacteristically. "I wanted to give this to you."

"Why are you so nervous about it?" Asuka said, taking the rose. "Where did you find this? Haven't seen them around the Village."

"I uh…" he scratched the back of his head. "It was…" He took a deep breath to catch himself. "One of the Villagers gave it to me. They were growing a small field in their backyard… Do you like it?"

She looked it over. Did he know what the color implies? She looked at him and noticed how nervous he was, but it was a different type than she was expecting. Something was off about it, but she couldn't put her finger on it. "It's fine," she said, putting the rose in the center of her robe.

"Then should we head over?" He grabbed her hand and started to drag her along.

Asuka looked at their hands and said, "Lose the nervousness."

"Stop reminding me of him from back then."

Fuyutsuki sighed as he closed the cabinet drawer. The revelation told by his former student wasn't sitting well with him. "How many times has it been? The never ending cycle of fruitless rebirth?"

"Professor," Gendo said, appearing at the door to his office. "Where have the children gone?"

He turned while grabbing his cane that was leaning against the wall. "They went to get fresh air. I thought it'd be good for them to spread their wings instead of keeping them here."

"They are not your property to do as you wish."

"If you are worried that I may be doing something behind your back, Ikari, do not worry. I am not compromised. They have promised to return within the next few hours to be ready for our next operation. Our Scenario has not changed."

Gendo, being satisfied with the response, turned his back to him. "I pray for our benefit, Professor, that WILLE does not make their move until tomorrow just as we had originally forecasted. He is our key to this, and she is but an overseer who is equally as important. Ensure the two returns, Professor. "

Fuyutsuki waited until the door closed before muttering, "You treat him like a tool, but you still care for him in your own way, don't you? You want to make sure he doesn't stray too far away. Only if you would be more open with your old age, Ikari."

Junior laughed at Asuka's other failed attempt at trying to catch a goldfish with the net. "Come on, Asuka, one more."

The two were at one of the stall games with the purpose of scooping up goldfish with a paper net. Asuka read about it in one of the books she read back when she was younger. And the moment she pointed it out, of course, Junior brought her over here.

She groaned as she picked up another net. She was annoyed that she was pressured into doing this. But now that she was about her fifth attempt in, it was too late to back out now. Especially now that a crowd managed to gather. She took a quick breath and quickly went in for the catch.

There was a small pause in the air around them.

She finally managed to get it! Finally, after so many failed attempts, she got it!

But the water seeped through the net and ripped a hole through it, causing the fish to fall back into the tank. Everyone around the stall stood still, unsure what the girl was going to do. "I'm done," she said as she got up. "This is a rigged game."

Then a small boy next to her managed to pick one up without it falling down the net. "We got a winner!" said the stall owner.

Asuka turned and walked away. Junior quickly followed her and said, "For what it's worth, you should've won that."

She ignored him and kept walking forward, wanting to be left alone after that failure. But as they passed by one of the snack stalls, Junior wrapped his arm around hers and practically yanked her over to it.

"Hey, what's the big-..." her eyes landed on a round caramelized apple on a stick.

"These are my favorites, you should have some," he said with a dumb smile on his face, trying to cheer her up. He had another one in his hand for himself.

Asuka took it from him and tilted her head, unsure where to start. Her eyes went to Junior to see how he was eating it. He was licking it and biting at random areas, unorthodox like a child. Asuka eventually caved in and gave it a lick.

…It was sweet. She just wished it was smaller to fit in her mouth.

He then dragged her along to other stalls to play more games. She had more success with these ones, especially the accuracy games like ring tosses or shooting games. Her skills and training as a Pilot came in handy for those games.

To make up for her previous failed attempt, Asuka took aim with a makeshift wooden gun and shot the cups down with ease. Each shot was taken with care and accuracy, leaving no actions wasted.

"Winner!" said the stall owner. "You really do have good aim, girl. You're more than our designated technician, aren't you?"

That earned him a glare from her. But he didn't seem to care. Instead, he pointed to the top row filled with large stuffed dolls.

"You can take any prizes from the top row."

Asuka pointed to the keychain on the bottom row and said, "Just give me that."

"You sure?"

She nodded as the stall owner gave her the prize. She didn't want to carry around a giant teddy bear for the rest of the festival like some child.

"Asuka," Junior said, "You're amazing! This is the fifth game you won."

Asuka placed the keychain in the pouch that they managed to pick up. "Of course, I did. It's not rigged like the first one."

He laughed. "But the way you aimed it all, it's like you're a pro."

She walked past him and the two continued onto the festival. Passing by more stalls. They ate more snacks and played some more games. They also saw a small tent at the corner where the nurses were helping anyone who got injured during the festivities.

Junior commented, "Ah, the nurses are taking hourly shifts this year instead of Dr. Suzahara running it all. Kinda similar to how the people on the main site with the Pillars do it. They have a yearly rotation instead of one group doing it constantly every year, other than my dad and Mr. Aida. We practically forced them to take time off for the festival every year."

Not that Asuka was paying too much attention to any of it.

They went on to other random games like finding a ball in the cup, where it was easy for the owner to cheat. But Asuka learned her lesson and avoided these. But that didn't stop Junior from making a fool out of himself.

"I told you it was a bad idea," she said after his sixth attempt.

He laughed, "Yeah, you did. But I thought it'd still be fun!"

They soon picked up more food and walked around for a bit but stopped when they heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Junior, oh? Is this our little favorite Pilot with you?" Kaji Sr. said from behind one of the stalls.

The two turned to see that the stall was two things in one. He was selling watermelons, but that appeared to be the side part of the stall. The main event was feeding treats to the penguins that were behind a wooden fence. Both adults and kids were giving the treats to the penguins and petting them through the holes.

Wait… Those penguins… Asuka immediately recognized them all. Especially the one that seems to be the leader.

Penpen, after seeing her, immediately made it over to her area. "Wark!"

"You're here too?" Asuka asked. Penpen's whole family was here.

Kaji laughed as he scratched Penpen's head. He said, "This little guy and his small family are the main attraction for my part in the festival. They come over whenever it's time for the event and help me out here."

"Yeah, they get free food, so they love coming here," Junior said.

"It's a win-win for all," Kaji said.

Noticing Asuka's eyes on Penpen, he pushed a small container filled with sardines to her. "By the way, I saw our favorite Doctor and Hero both at the festival. I'm happy to see that he's feeling better to come out and she managed to work something out with the assistants. Those two of all the residents here deserve to enjoy times like these."

"Oh come on, Dad, you deserve them too! After all the side work you do to help manage the Village, you do a lot."

Asuka grabbed one of the sardines from the pack and fed it to Penpen. She knelt down and scratched his head too. "At least now you don't have to worry about playing with Hikari's brat when eating this."

"Warrrk," he purred.

"Asuka," Junior said, "I'm surprised that you're close to him."

"Is there an issue with that?" she said with a small glare.

He smiled. "No. Just didn't see you as an animal lover type."

"He…" her eyes softened as she continued to pet him. The memories from Misato's apartment flooded her mind. "The bird helped me out before."

Junior tilted his head, confused about what she was getting at. But his father smiled and said, "You know, I don't think he's been this accepting of being petted by anyone before. This is the longest I've seen him enjoy it."

"What, does he not enjoy his time with you?" she asked. "And where's Misato? I'm surprised she wouldn't stop by here, at the very least. Didn't seem like the type to skip out on this back in the day."

Junior's face went down when he heard his mother's name. Every year he wanted to come here with her, but she was nowhere to be found nor could he ever get in contact with her to ask. But the one rare occasion he had the chance to ask…

"Don't bother me with something like this again. I'm busy."

He gritted his teeth.

Ryoji noticed this reaction and said, "Well, there's still time left in the festival and there's always next year."

"Right," Junior said with doubt in his voice.

"OOOH!" a familiar voice said as Asuka felt something soft on the back of her head. "Princess! You're here! I'm so happy to see that you actually came!"

Asuka immediately knew who it was and pushed her off. "Why are you here, Thief?"

Mari managed to catch her footing in her own yukata. Her theme was similar to Asuka's but in yellow theme. Her hair was down, the only quality resembling her regular appearance being her tone and glasses…

Why did she look more familiar to Asuka now?

Mari said, "I'm here to enjoy the festival, what else? Don't tell me you didn't want to see me."

"Mari!" Kodama said as both she and Kensuke ran after her. She then quietly said, "I told you not to run off like that!"

Mari placed a lollipop in her mouth. "Oh I'm not a baby, you know that."

Kensuke sighed. "Yes, we know. But you do realize that some people have ill will towards you, right?"

"Haven't you heard of hiding in plain sight? None of the people here seems to have noticed," she said. "Besides, it's not like they'll do anything in front of all these kids. I mean, come on, you have to be a special kind of angry to do that to a girl like me."

Kaji laughed. "Don't bother keeping a constant eye on her, she was never the type to get chained down by people. If anything, she's the one who likes to chain people with a watchful eye."

"Geeze," Mari's tone suddenly turned dark. "Thanks for the assistance I never asked for."

"You're welcome, Maria."

"And calling me that name again. You really must be in a good mood."

Kaji motioned towards Asuka and Penpen. "When you see old friends reunite in a festival, you can't help but be in a good mood."

Asuka mumbled, "This isn't my first time seeing him though."

Penpen tilted his head.

She then got up. "So? What do you want, Thief? Shouldn't you be watching someone?"

"Me?" Mari said her tone going up once more. "Oh, I'm just trying to enjoy the festival here. It's been years since I had a chance to relax like this. Especially now that I know no one's going to find Puppy or try to lynch him down. That whole 'it's his fault' cry from earlier died down."

Asuka said, "Ah, so you wanted to leave him alone for the night with his date. "

"Date? Who? Mimic? Didn't Puppy reject her the other day- OH," Mari stopped when someone shoved past her. "Ah. Speak of the devil."

Asuka's eyes narrowed at the sudden appearance of another familiar face who wore a dark red Yukata with a green flower theme. "What do you want now, Kilitima?" When Mana's hand rose up to slap her, Asuka immediately went up to block a slap from Mana. She grabbed her wrist. "Okay, what is your problem now?"

"Sister Mana, what are you doing?" Junior said, unsure why the calm girl he once knew was this upset.

Mana's eyes were red with dry tears on her cheeks. "Why… Why does it have to be you?!" Another hand went up but this time Mari managed to step in and grab her wrist.

Mari then wrapped her arms around Mana's waist and pulled her back off of Asuka. "Cool it, Mimic," Mari said, "We can't have you causing a scene here."

"It's easy for you to say! What would you do if the only person you cared about never looked your way and was never going to? And the only person he cares about is out here with someone else?!"

"I didn't do this, that's for sure," she thought to herself.

Kodama looked around and noticed that people were starting to stare. "Uh," she said, "I think this needs to happen elsewhere. Somewhere not crowded?"

Kaji nodded and got out of the stall. "I know just the place. Kensuke, Kodama, can I trust you two to take care of things here?"

She exclaimed, "US?!"

Kensuke shook his head with a sigh. "Why am I not surprised?"

Kaji motioned for Mari to bring the angry girl along to the back into the surrounding trees. "Do you know where to go?"

"Is it the place where Puppy first ran away all those years ago?" she asked, "Back when we were trying to establish Village Three?"

"Yes."

"Then say no more." She began to drag Mana. "Come along now, Mimic."

"Let me go!" the angry girl said. "I can walk on my own!"

"Yeah," Mari said, bringing her deeper into the trees, "I know you can, but I don't trust you to keep your hands to yourself and not hurt the Princess."

Kaji turned to Asuka as well. "You're coming too."

She took a small breath. "Mind as well figure out what she means by that." As she walked forward she noticed that Penpen managed to slip through the cage and began to follow closely.

"Wark."

"Whatever, come along, bird."

Junior took a step forward but stopped with uncertainty and watched both Asuka and Penpen walk deeper into the forest after Sister Mana and Mari. He was unsure if he should be coming into this. It wasn't his business but-

"Junior," his father said. Seeing the uncertainty in his son's eyes allowed him to piece together what Junior was thinking. "This is not your business, but you're that girl's friend, aren't you?"

He nodded.

"Then as a friend, don't you think you should be there for her to support her?"

"But I don't think I should be cutting into other people's business."

"And do you think Penpen or Sister Mari should be? They both want to be there for their friend. Shouldn't you be there for yours?"

Junior took a deep breath, letting his father's words sink. He was right. Junior was Asuka's friend, whether she thought the same for him or not.

"Please, watch over Asuka while I'm not around."

And he made a promise.

Junior clenched his fist and chased after the group.

Kaji smiled and followed shortly after. He was sure that both Kodama and Kensuke would be able to handle the stall without him.

Kodama sighed after the staring crowds dispersed. The only ones left behind were the customers who wanted to pet the remaining penguins, who didn't seem to care that their leader wasn't with them. She placed her head on the table. "I can't believe I'm going to be wasting the night doing this."

Kensuke laughed as he gave some food to the kids to feed the animals. "Well, at least we're in this together, right?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yea. You're right about that." She got up and slapped her cheeks to concentrate better. "Okay, time to do this-Ah…" Her glasses almost fell off from how surprised she was when she realized who just come up to them.

Kensuke had to clear his glasses to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. There were even some people staring at the new person.

Today was full of surprises. "Oh…" He coughed to catch himself. "What a surprise to see you here, Co-"

"Where are they?" the newcomer asked in a cold commanding voice.

"Oh boy." Both Kodama and Kensuke couldn't help but think at the same time, feeling bad for both Kaji and his son.

"Let me go!" Mana said for the hundredth time as she was dragged deeper into the woods. "Where are you taking me?"

Once they were in a small open field with a view of the stars in the sky, Mari finally let her go and took a few steps back. "Here we are."

Asuka appeared soon after with Penpen grabbing onto her yukata. The bird took a few steps back once they arrived. "Just how many secret spots do you know around here, Thief?"

"Just as many as the ones Puppy managed to find," Mari fixed both her glasses and disheveled yukata. Kaji and Junior were seen keeping a distance towards the three. Now that everyone was here, it was ready to start.

…

…

But no one was willing to start the conversation.

"Okay!" Mari said, "Fine, I'll start since none of you wants to be the first to. Mimic, why did you attack Princess?"

Asuka mumbled, "You mean other than the multiple times she came at me?"

Mana let out an angry laugh. "Why?" She pointed at Asuka. "Because it's her. It's always been her."

"Okay," Asuka walked up until they were both an arms distance apart. "Listen, I have no idea what you mean by that. Why is it 'always me'? You've been saying that over and over again. Frankly, it's getting old real fast."

Tears started to form in Mana's eyes. "Of course, you wouldn't know. You don't know anything! But yet, it's always you!"

"Then talk," Asuka said, unphased by Mana's reaction.

Mana placed her hand on her chest. "Do you know how it feels to be rejected by the person who you look up to in the whole world? The only person whom you want nothing more than to be next to, but he rejects even that. I was there for him during his hard times. I was there for him during missions. I was his backup as he was mine. I was his friend who would listen to him talk, but all he wanted to talk about was someone else! Nothing about the weather, the fights, how he felt. All he wanted to get off his chest was about someone else who I could never hope to replace, even though I was there for him and she wasn't."

She then walked up and grabbed Asuka's robe.

She continued, "All he thought of was you! Whenever he would have nightmares and I stayed with him, he only called out your name! Even when my body accepted his blood while others did not, proving that we were compatible, he still only thought of you! You, who wasn't even present in his life nor fought countless battles with him. I was here and you weren't!"

Mana brought Asuka closer to her face. Tears now streaming down her face.

"He never looked my way, not even once. I even learned how to cook just so that I could stay by his side in the kitchen, hoping he would think differently of me. When I had enough and made it obvious, he still rejected me. Even when everything went to hell and I was still by his side, he never turned to look at me, not even a glimpse!"

Mana let Asuka go, almost shoving her as she did.

"All I wanted to be was the person who'll fill the void in his heart. The beauty who'll bring the humanity in him back from the monster's heart. The beauty who will be with her prince charming who she saved. But he only wanted you. Whenever I asked him about the happier times, he always thought of you. He never said it, but I knew whenever he danced around answering it. Do you know how it feels to be second all the damn time?"

Mana took deep breaths to catch herself and tried to prevent herself from releasing a loud cry.

Asuka waited. Taking it all in. Once she realized that Mana had finished, she said, "So what? He doesn't want to be with me."

"And that brings me to my other point! Why are you here instead of with him? Why are you never with him? If you were someone who was better than me and like the one in the stories I've heard, then this wouldn't be as painful! I deserve him more than you. I was the one who was with him through it all. I was the only one who cared enough to try to be the one in his heart! It should be me, not you!"

"Then take him! Why do you come to me for your own issue? Why do I need to be with someone who doesn't want to be with me? He's just an Idiot who made it obvious he doesn't want to be with me."

"You're. Not. Listening!" Mana angrily stomped on the ground. "He only thought of you."

"So what? He doesn't want anything to do with me, he made that perfectly clear. He doesn't care about me."

That comment made Mari step up and raise her hand. "Aaaaaactually, Kirishima has a point in this. Puppy cares about you, very much."

"Don't butt in, Thief/Stay out of it, Illustrious," both Asuka and Mana said at the same time.

Mari took a quick breath and gave a stern look. "Listen, as much as a tear jerker your love for Puppy is, Kirishima, don't you think it's about time you grew up and moved on? Your body may no longer be able to age thanks to Puppy, doesn't mean it's the same for your mind."

"Move on?" Mana said, "What would you know? You don't even know what I'm feeling!"

"Oh, sweet honey child, I do," she said as an image of Yui came to mind for a quick second. "But let's not get into that. This is about you two and Puppy, mainly just Princess and Puppy."

Asuka took a step back when Mari made her way towards her. "What do you think you're doing?"

Mari took out her phone from her pocket, swiping across the screen as if to look for something. As Asuka was about to lose the little patience she had remaining, the phone was dropped into her hand.

Mari said, "Look."

It was a video clip but it was paused on Asuka sleeping at the table through a window. Wait, that was at Geek's shed. She knew when this was. It was her first day here. "You took a video of me?!"

"Shhh," Mari hushed as she hit play. "You're going to miss the good parts."

The video replayed the event of that day. Asuka saw Shinji coming into the shed and noticed her sleeping on the table. He stood there for a second, playing with her hair before picking up bridal style with her wrapping her arms around him. The video continued as he took her to his room before coming out.

"So it was that Idiot who took me to that room that day? But then… Why did Geek lie that it was him who brought me into that room?" Asuka said, "So? What's this supposed to-"

"Shh," Mari placed a finger on her lips. "I'm not done. Once I'm through and you decide to still back away from Puppy, I will let it go. Just let me finish."

She saw Thief swipe left to show another recording. This one was when she demanded that Brat show her where Idiot Shinji was.

"It's been fourteen years. No one stays the same," Shinji's voice from the record was heard.

…

Asuka' voice was heard. "You're still an Idiot that I knew from back then. No matter how much has passed, you're still the same you."

The camera then zoomed in on Shinji's hidden face when he turned away, showing his trembling lips. But soon he pushed her away, rejected the SDAT she wanted to give back, and confirmed that he was the one who put Jock in the wheelchair and killed Rei.

"Despite that, he still felt something. He was just good at hiding it from you," Mari said. She then swiped to show another recording.

This one was through a small gap between the doors. It was when Asuka was forced onto Idiot's bed with his head on her lap.

"Asuka… Please don't leave."

"What-"

"I.. missed you."

The small moment when she felt a small connection with the old Idiot Shin- Asuka quickly shook her head. No. She told herself that she was done with him. So why is she coming back, again, even with this?

Mana's clenched hand started to shake when she heard that recording.

Mari said, "You know, he really did miss you, Princess."

She started to swipe, this time, there weren't any more recordings. There were just pictures. But Asuka didn't understand why she was being shown these. There were none with Idiot, just her around the town doing menial work.

Some were her and Junior eating on a nearby bench. Others were her fixing some equipment that the Villagers broke.

But when she looked closer, she noticed that he was there, watching her.

Mari held the phone next to Asuka, stopping at the last picture. It was with Asuka running one of the errands for Hikari's old man. He was there watching her from behind the trees. "He may not have been around to talk to you or watch your every move, but he did his best to see how you were doing whenever he was free and wasn't fishing. A bit of a weird stalker-like behavior, but that was his way of making sure you were alright."

"Where did you even take these?" Asuka asked. She never saw Thief anywhere close to them during those times.

"I have my ways. I was always good at staying hidden back in the day too, you know. Especially years ago. I always won our hide and seek games."

Asuka looked at Mari with widened eyes, finally pieces coming together. Mari's face with her hair down like that-... She knew that face. She remembered her babysitter that her Mama would always leave her with whenever she had to run an extended errand and Asuka couldn't be with her. The babysitter would always play with her when she was younger, someone who didn't look German but spoke fluently. The one who she could never with against in hide and seek, even with help.

"Auntie Four Eyes?" It was her former babysitter.

Mari's eyes widened for a few seconds before softening. "Well about time, Princess. I was beginning to think you actually forgot about me."

"But how…"

"Remember what I told you when we saw each other again on your first arrival date here? Curse of EVA. In my case, I just took it a little too far." Mari shook her head and said, "But never mind about me. This isn't about me. This is about what Puppy truly thinks about you."

"Why are you trying to push this agenda of yours onto me? He made it perfectly clear that he doesn't want to be with me," Asuka said.

"But how do you explain him trembling when you said that he 'was the same Idiot you knew from back then'? Or how he latched onto you and called out your name when he was asleep?"

"...He was just playing me."

"Is that how you see it, Princess?"

Asuka took a moment to push all these emotions she was feeling about him aside. "Yes, I'm done with him."

One of the bystanders finally spoke out. "I think you should give him one more chance."

Junior was hesitant as he watched this whole thing. He wanted to say something but he couldn't. Even if he could, he didn't even know what he should say. He knew that Brother Shin cared about Asuka, but not to this extent to the point where he would call out to her in his sleep. Junior rarely saw Brother Shin asleep, only Sister Mana and Mari were allowed to see him. And the recording shows Brother Shin calling out to Asuka and his reactions to her.

He had to say something. But he didn't know-

Junior felt his father's hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle push. "Go," he heard his father say. "You're a friend. You need to take the first step sometimes."

He even heard Penpen give out a "Wark" of encouragement.

His father was right. They were right. He needs to stop being a damn coward.

"I think you should give him another chance."

Asuka turned, remembering that there were two more people with them. "And why would I?"

"He cares about you," Junior said.

She sighed. "Great, even you… Don't talk about something you don't know, Brat."

Junior walked closer. "Listen. I may be a brat, but even I know Brother Shin cares about you more than himself."

Asuka crossed her arms. "And how would you know?'

"Because…" Junior clenched his hands, still hesitating. With a low voice, he repeated, "Because…"

"See? You don't know. So back off Brat, this doesn't concern you."

"Because he told me to look after you!" He screamed, causing everyone to turn their attention to him. "In my whole life I've known him, he's never asked me for any favors. That was the first time he's ever asked me for anything."

"So everything you did for me was a lie?" she asked, recovering from the momentary surprise and replaced with anger.

"I didn't. I wanted to be with you not just because he asked me to, but because I wanted to as well."

"I never asked to be 'looked after', I was fine on my own."

"Still," he said, "I wanted to help you adjust, it just happens that Brother Shin's first request was to look after you so I wanted to try harder."

"And why should I trust anything you say?" She crossed her arms. "And besides, how does one favor prove anything?"

"He asked me for a second request that was also about you. He asked me to take you out to the festival to watch the fireworks!"

"What?"

Mari turned to him in shock and let out a "Nya-what?"

Junior continued, "I thought that it would be best for you to ease in and go to the festival only if you wanted to, leaving it to your choice. But he asked me to take you to the festival. Out of everything and anything Brother Shin could ask of me, they were all about you. I could tell that he wanted to be one to take you. He just couldn't… "

Asuka took a moment to take it all in. Confusion setting in.

"He even hand picked that rose for me to give you."

So… Brat only asked her out for tonight because that Idiot asked him to? And all this knowledge of Idiot Shinji's actions and reactions she never caught. His cowardly request to Brat… What was she supposed to feel about that?

One thing was for certain, she needed a proper closure for herself if they were all going to be off her case. But…

"I just don't want to talk to you."

Asuka took a deep breath. "Let's just say for a moment that all of you are correct. And let's say that I'm going to give him one more chance. How is this time going to be any different? Why should I even try to do something for a coward like him?"

Mari warped her arm around Asuka and showed her the videos and pictures once more. "Because before you were just trying to get him to talk blindly. This time, you have all the tools you need to get a reaction out of Puppy. You're the only one who can get through to him. You always were. You're just going to have to try to be extra nice when you talk this time. So, are you willing to take on the mission of seeing him one more time?"

Asuka looked at the picture of the two in his bed again and started to feel something with her. A desire. It was a nostalgic desire, to want to return to the past. She looked at Mari. "One last time."

Mari noticed those eyes and knew what they meant. So then pointed to the direction of a hill over the ponds and whispered to her how to get there. Asuka immediately took off, not giving the others any more of her time.

"Good luck Princess," she said.

"It's not fair," Mana said, wiping away her tears. "You're all on her side. What makes her so special?"

Mari reached deep within her pocket behind her yukata and took out an old folded picture. She flung the picture to her.

"What's this?" Mana asked as she opened up the picture to see what's inside. Her eyes widened and more tears started to drip down. She crumpled up the picture, wrinkling it up even further. and threw it back at her. In defeat, she said, "It's not fair. How am I supposed to compete with that?"

Mari picked up the picture and placed it within her robe. She looked up to the skies. "Nothing's fair when it comes to life."

Mana turned with her head held down and walked past Mari and Junior, and soon Kaji as well. Mana didn't say anything more to them before she disappeared deeper into the forest in the direct opposite of where Asuka went.

"Sorry Kirishima," Mari said as she fixed her glasses. "But sometimes, you just have to accept the reality as it is, no matter how painful it is." She then turned to Junior who had not looked away from where Asuka disappeared to. She then jumped towards him and gave him a big hug.

"Sister Mari?" Junior exclaimed, surprised by her sudden action. His face started to get buried deeper into her chest as started to hug him tighter.

"I'm so proud of you! You took action and gave Princess the one last push I couldn't! I've never been more proud of you!"

While it was nice getting these unusual words of praise from her of all people, he was not in the most comfortable spot. "S-s-sister Mari! Air!"

"Oh, you were just so cute and brave!"

Kaji smiled at the scene. He kneeled down and petted Penpen. For once Mari wasn't being a child with her antics and his son showed that he was maturing and doing what he wanted with a little push. He couldn't have been more proud-

"What is the meaning of this, Captain Illustrious?"

Kaji knew that voice anywhere. He immediately stood up and turned to see the newcomer next to him. "No… it couldn't be- Why would she show up now?" "Misato?"

As he said that name, Mari turned while still having her arms wrapped around Junior. She looked at the Commander then at Junior and accessed the situation to see how this may appear.

"Uh oh." Mari immediately let go of Junior and fixed herself while he took a deep breath of fresh air. He took a moment to compose himself.

He didn't realize who the voice belonged to so when he turned to see the person, he paused for a moment. "Mom?"

Penpen jumped for joy and pounced toward his former owner who he hadn't seen in ages. He grabbed ahold of her legs and began rubbing her head against it while letting out some purrs.

Ignoring this sign from Penpen, Misato asked in her cold tone once more, "I'll ask again, what is the meaning of this?"

Mari shrugged. "I was giving your kid words of praise for what he did, Commander. There's nothing between us."

"How curious that's the first thing that comes to mind immediately after you answered my question. I just asked what you were doing."

"Shit," Mari thought to herself. "She's definitely mad. Of course, she is. She probably thinks that I'm trying to take her place in his life or take him away from her, not that she's ever in his life. Geeze Ryoji, couldn't you have been the one to tell her our history?"

"Is this a rare silence from you, Captain Illustrious?"

Mari placed her hand on the back of her head and let out a nervous laugh. "Well, can you blame me? An angry mother came over and started giving me an angry look."

"As of this moment and time, I am not here as a mother. I am here as your commanding officer." Misato gently held out her leg, pushing Penpen away.

Junior looked down to the floor and Penpen mirrored his expression.

Kaji said, "Misato, you need to be more aware of who is here. Why would you say-"

"Then why are you letting this Four Dash get close to him? I specifically told you to watch him to make sure he doesn't get involved with the wrong people."

"Do you realize how hypocritical you sound? The 'wrong people'? Then why are you okay with Shin-" Kaji stopped. He can't say anything to reveal Brother Shin's true identity to Junior. He can't be the one to say it, it should come from Shinji himself.

Misato, seeing that he wasn't saying more, turned back to Mari and said, "As you continue to disobey your direct order to oversee Three Dash and would rather play house with a child, you will lose your rank as Captain starting today. You will be serving basic military training once more and be placed in solitary confinement for the next four months."

"Huh?" Mari said. "What the hell Katsuragi?!"

"Misato!" Kaji placed his hand on her shoulder. "We had a deal! Maria was to stay as Captain in WILLE, all of this is going too far."

Misato shrugged him off. "Our part of the deal was that she would stay as Captain as long as she did her job of watching Three Dash after you left your position, Ex-Commander. Recent events have shown that she can no longer continue to do that job. So this 'deal' is considered null and void. I will assign a new staff to watch over Three Dash and a new Pilot to fulfill the role of leading the field team."

"I understand that you're angry, but this is too much!" he said. "Besides, who are you going to replace to lead the Pilots while on the field? One from the TRIDENT group?"

"Five Dash has proven himself to be competent."

"Snowball? Really?" Mari said. "You're going to replace me with him of all people? He just follows orders to the T."

"As a soldier should. We are at war, not at a playground, Four Dash, not that you ever cared to think about the situation we're in. You'll leave my son alone and return to Wunder for immediate disciplinary actions. Maybe then you'll start caring about your job."

'Cared'

That word caused something to break within Junior as he yelled, "Stop it!"

Everyone turned to him.

He walked up to his mother and said, "Cared? CARED? Since when have you ever cared? How can you even say that word in front of me?"

"Watch your mouth," Misato said in a stern voice. "I am your mother."

"Didn't you say that you were here as Sister Mari's Commander, not as my mother?"

That caused her to take a sharp breath.

Junior continued, "What gives you the right to decide who I should be around? You were never here to begin with! 'Mother', do you know who's been there for me more than you? Who actually cared?"

He pointed towards Mari.

"It was Sister Mari! When I had a fever, do you know who stayed with me and took care of me? It was Sister Mari! When I broke my arm, it was also Sister Mari who made sure I got the help I needed! She's the only one who cares enough to make sure that I eat healthy and force me to eat salads! She's the only one who was thoughtful enough to lend me a jacket when I went out at night when it's never been that cold. Yeah, she was annoying but at least she cared enough to show up and actually take care of me!"

Mari's eyes softened. "You really…"

Junior continued, "Sister Mari is more of a family- more of a mother than you were! You, my own mother, where were you? Hah," he scoffed. "You don't care about me. You only care about Brother Shin, or Shinji Ikari, don't you?"

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Yes, I know he's the notorious Shinji Ikari, the monster who destroyed the world! I may not be the smartest, but I'm not blind. Shin and Shin-ji, even a two year old figure that one out. And not to mention he never wants to be seen in public on top of Ms. Horaki's dislike for him. Before I found out who he was, I hated him. I envied him. You were always with him and not me! You always praised him and not me! But the more I hated him, the more I learned about him and realized who he actually was. And when I figured out he was 'the Shinji Ikari', I didn't care! Do you want to know why?"

Junior took a step forward.

"He was actually a kind person who wanted to help even those who hated him! He was nothing like the monster everyone was making him out to be. I thought that was amazing. So, I didn't care if he was a monster or not. I wanted to be more like him."

Junior held his hand to his chest.

"And maybe, just maybe, I'll finally get your attention. I wanted to be like him to finally make you see ME! I know what Asuka calls me is the truth. I am just a Brat who wants to get your attention for once. Do you know how happy it made me when I got that letter of praise from you? But I bet it was Brother Shin who told you to write that!"

There was no answer from Misato, confirming his accusation.

"I can't believe you! You never cared about me! You only care about everyone else and punish the only person who actually cares about me. If this is the person who you truly are, then I want to have nothing to do with you! In fact, I want you to disappear from my-"

He couldn't finish as he felt a sudden weight on his back and a pair of arms wrapped around him. One over his waist and the other over his mouth. Mari said, "Stop it, kid. Don't say something you'll regret later on. You may hate her now, but she's still your mother."

Junior's mouth broke free. "But she-"

"I do appreciate your words for an old lady like me. But Junior, that is something you don't say. Trust me," Mari said softly. "Besides, I don't need you to fight my battle."

"I…" Tears started to fall down his cheeks.

She tapped his nose. "Go back home, Junior. We'll talk later, okay?" She let him go and without another word, he soon sprinted towards the Village. She turned back towards Misato only to be met with a blank stare.

Penpen gave one look at Misato with teary eyes before following Junior back to his home. When he caught up, he grabbed Junior's pants. He looked up to see that Junior held his arms over his eyes with his head low. Penpen tugged on his pants tighter as the two walked together in silence.

Misato's eyes were covered by her visor, but her head moved to the direction the two disappeared to. Her jaws tightened.

"Misato," Kaji said, walking closer to her.

"Captain Illustrious, report back to Wunder with Three Dash at oh-six-hundred," Misato said, holding her cap down and turning away from them.

"Wait, Misato," he said, grabbing her shoulder and causing her to stop. "You know Junior didn't mean any of that, right? He was just upset."

There was a brief pause before she said in a low voice only for him to hear, "...This was a mistake."

Kaji looked at Mari. "Maria, can you leave us alone?"

Mari nodded. "Sure. Family drama was never my strong suit anyway. Mind as well as do my job…" As she started to walk away, she stopped briefly and said, "For what it's worth, Katsuragi. He really did want to go to one of the festivals with you. Maybe when things have calmed down, you three can finally go one together as a family."

When she was out of hearing range, Kaji let go of Misato's shoulder and said, "Misato-"

"Don't say it, Ryouji."

"I was merely going to say that you should go talk to our son. You can't really blame him for letting his emotions get the better of him. He's at that age now. And this isn't just for him, it's for you too."

Misato didn't turn to look at him. "I'm not a good mother."

There was a soft smile on his face when she began to open up. It may not have been much, but it was still something. "Do you think I am? I'm sending him to a hazardous zone because he wants to work there. I'm basically letting Kodama, Kensuke, and others parent him. I'm not a good father either."

"...I'm just like my father."

"Don't you ever compare yourself to him. You cared enough to show up, didn't you? Cheer up Misato, we'll get it right the next time." He reached over to grab her hand.

But she quickly walked forward, away from him. "I need to get back. I have the work to do back at Wunder… I don't think this is a good time to talk to him. We both are going to need some time to think. I'll talk to him when I get back."

"Misato-"

"I have duties as Commander of WILLE. I don't have time for this."

She was running away. He knew it. "Family is important too."

"If I don't do this, Junior won't have a world to live in... He's doing fine without me."

"But-"

"Goodbye, Ryoji." She didn't look back as she went her way back to Wunder.

Kaji wanted to stop her. But he couldn't bring himself to. It has to be from her own choice if it were to mean anything. So instead, he held his hand over his mouth and yelled, "If you ever want to get away from everything and enjoy life with your own son and me, you know how to reach me. Oh, and do give us a heads up next time, will you?"

She walked further into the forest without another word. He looked up into the sky.

God, what he would do for a smoke right now.

Shinji looked over at the hill that was just on top of the rice ponds. He placed his hands over the wooden fence in front of him.

He had a clear view of the Village. He could see the full moonlight reflecting off the ponds. He could also see the lights in the Village and the sounds of cheers coming from it.

They were enjoying the evening. They deserved it and not him. He ruined their life after all.

He pulled his hoodie down further. It should be time soon-

"You know," Asuka said as she came out of the bushes. She cleaned the leaves and branches off of her. "You really are selfish, keeping all the good spots for yourself."

Shinji's eyes widened but dared not to look at her. What was she doing here? Did Ms. Mari tell her?... Of course, she did. But why is she here and not with Junior?
She walked next to him but about five full arm lengths away from him.

"I'm surprised no one has seen you here yet. Anyone can spot you if they ever cared to look in this direction, you clumsy Idiot."

Shinji stayed silent. Hoping that she would go away. He clenched his hand. Why does she have to always come and find him? Why can't she just leave him alone like the monster he is?

Asuka glanced over the rice field. "For some as idiotic as you, you know how to work fast on the field."

His hand on the fence twitched.

Noticing this, Asuka turned to him and said, "Oh don't be surprised. It's not hard to figure out if anyone were to put a second to think about it. I worked in this field before too. With how slow these grandmas actually move, it doesn't make sense how much gets done whenever you're around."

Shinji hid his hand inside his pocket.

"Don't bother making the excuse like "Brat's old man did it". You know damn well that he's too busy managing everything else in the Village and the Pillar site. And Geek is too invested in his own shed and electronics to be doing stuff like these. "

He still didn't answer.

"You even cook for the Village. You really are stupid, you know that? Giving the praise to everyone else but you. Just what else do you do for these ungrateful, clueless people? And for what? Just for them to still hate you?"

He still refused to look at her.

Then a light went off in the distance, causing both to turn their attention to it. Then another. The fireworks have started. The lights were dancing in the skies and in the reflections in both their eyes.

Toji and Hikari, as with the crowd around them, looked up to the explosive art in the sky, enjoying the view. The small happiness that was given to them. The happiness that they earned by themselves.

Kodama and Kensuke smiled as they intertwined their fingers together, happy to look at this together. Meanwhile, Mayumi was jumping in front of them, excited for the fireworks.

Bunzaemon watched from the window with Tsubame in his arms. He smiled. "Maybe you can go to one next year with your parents and not be stuck in here with your grumpy grandpa."

Misato froze within the forest for a second to look up at the sky and clenched her fist tighter. "One day…"

Sakura held an object hidden inside her pocket tighter as the members of WILLE who were still working, including the Sub Commander, took a small break to watch the fireworks going off in the distance. "Big Brother…"

Kaworu sat on the side of Wunder as he looked up to the dancing sky. He was tapping the cold metallic surface as if he was playing a tune in beat with the fireworks. "Shinji, the work you do is truly beautiful. I pray that you are sharing this with the person you cherish the most."

"You even helped set this up," Asuka said, "You do stuff from hiding, working in secret. But could you have chosen any more basic color than the regular ones you find in books?"

His attention was still on the fireworks.

Asuka sighed and turned to him. "Being too kind isn't a good thing, Idiot. You give and don't take anything in return. You give all the credit to someone else for your hard work. It was you who saved that nosy candy girl and forced me to take the credit. You probably did more of that and everything else these people take for granted. But why? Just doesn't make any sense."

Shinji still refused to look at her.

"...Why didn't you take your crappy player back?"

No answer.

"...You really are a creep, you know that? Carrying me to your bed in your room. Coping a feel on me while you were sleeping. Watching me from the shadows. You've really grown into some sick pervert over the years."

Still no reply.

"And you've grown into a coward too. You projected into that Brat to talk to me and try to make me feel at home when you yourself could've done it. I don't need your or anyone's sympathy. I was just fine on my own."

Asuka clenched her hand.

"I didn't need you to make him take me to the festival. I didn't even want to go. Yet you asked him to take me with him as a favor."

She grabbed the rose on her yukata.

"You even gave him this rose to give me. Do you know what that signifies? Supposed to be for special occasions with a special someone. Not stuff like this. Could you have chosen a more awkward color, Idiot?"

Shinji's hand flinched within his pocket but still kept his eyes on the fireworks.

Asuka sighed in annoyance and dropped her hand that was holding the rose. She was ready to give up. No matter what she was saying, he was refusing to look at her. He was just looking at the fireworks without any reaction. "Damn it, Thief. What do you mean I have everything I need? Idiot is refusing to talk to me let alone look at me."

"Do you think I'm a monster?"

She wasn't sure why that question he asked her back then came to mind. That question was from ages ago. It surely wouldn't apply now.

Then the book that she was reading came to mind. The story is about the beauty being stuck inside the beast's castle because he wants to break the curse of the monster and return to being human again. The town shunned him and forced him into isolation, but the one girl who was unfortunate to get stuck inside the castle saw the humanity in him and ultimately made him human again.

Asuka was reading the story over and over ever since that day, unsure why she felt drawn to it…

She looked back at the continuing fireworks going off in the distance. Well, whatever. It was not like she had anything left at this point.

"No," she said, "You're not a monster, just an idiot."

Shinji's head finally turned to her immediately as another flash of light exploded in the distance. His eye widened.

Asuka didn't notice this as her eyes were now towards the fireworks. She didn't know why, but she continued. "Even if everyone else calls you a monster, it doesn't mean you are. And even though you may have caused the Third Impact, and you kept leaving me in this boring Village, you're not a monster. You made a bad choice, so what? You're just an idiot who made a mistake like anyone else would've. You're someone who's stupid enough to let the words of others hurt you and leave me behind in the castle you've made. You dumped me here, the only one who cared just enough to look for you. Pretty stupid, you know."

Asuka took a small breath.

"You came for me when I fell off a clip, even when I didn't need your help. You saved that candy girl when she was lost. You cooked for everyone... and me."

She closed her eyes and turned to him.

"So that's why, you'll always be Idiot Shinji. An idiot. Not this monster that these clueless people label you to be-" Asuka froze when she saw Shinji's face.

There were tears flowing down from his uncovered eye and from under his eye patch. He opened his mouth halfway as if he wanted to say something. But nothing came out.

Neither could speak. Both were frozen by the other's actions. Shinji was frozen by Asuka's words, and Asuka was frozen by Shinji's silent tears. The only noise surrounding them was the fireworks as the two remained eyes locked on each other. Both lost in thought and in each other's gaze.

Asuka tightened her grip on the rose, waiting for him to finally respond.

To Shinji, he was taken aback by not just her response, but by how beautiful she looked. The way the yukata looked on her. The way the flashes of lights reflected off her hair and skin. Her sapphire eyes that he could get lost in all day. He couldn't help but feel his heartbeat speed up.

Maybe... Just this once he could speak his mind. What he truly felt. He… he should even be allowed that right?

As the final round of fireworks started, Shinji hesitantly opened his mouth to speak.

"Asuka, I-"

Just as he was about to get a word out, the blue light started glowing through his eyepatch and brought him back to reality. He quickly covered his eye patch with his hand. Of course. This wasn't some fantasy where a monster like him could have a happy ending.

He knew that. It was a fool of him to ever think otherwise. He was stupid to even be selfish just this once.

He said, "You wouldn't say that if you were there. I-... I'm… sorry. I don't deserve this. I'm not him." He ran. "Not anymore."

Asuka was left there, stunned. She closed her eyes and her hands clenched. She held back the tears of rejection only for the anger to take over. She gritted her teeth. He rejected her again.

"So that's it…" She took a deep breath and her fist unclenched. Asuka let go of the rose, allowing it to fall to the ground. "Fine then. I'm done."

She got her closure.

From a far distance, an EVA similar to Unit 00 floated in the air while carefully holding a person in its hands. They were close enough to see the fireworks dancing in Village-3 but far off in a distance where no one would notice them or pick up their location, even WILLE.

"What do you think?" The person sitting at the EVA's hands asked the Pilot as the two continued to watch the play in the sky.

"I am unsure if this is 'beautiful', but it is indeed colorful like in the books you have shown me," the Pilot said.

"So, do you like it?"

"I… am unsure."

"Would you like to see it again?" He asked, looking up at the EVA's head.

"I do not know."

He smiled. "When this is all over, let's watch another one together with Asuka and your sister."

There was a brief pause. "If that is your command."

"It's…This is not a command. This is a promise. We'll all watch one together when this is all over, Rei."

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. Sorry for the delay with this one. It took longer than expected. But with this, the Village-arc is officially over.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.

Thank you for your reviews JazzCabbage, YourBlandestNightmare, zoie2asuka, Calborghete, engel17white, Doctor Snake Eater, LetsPilot, Detmer, Nagomimakuri, and others who have separately voiced their reviews in Discord.

I understand the frustration that this arc may have caused some of you. But we are now done and we will be moving forward to the next part.

Till next time. Take care!