Sorry for the delay and the lengthy chapter. Busy with work, life, and other things.

Thank you all for your support! Happy to hear that you are enjoying the story thus far!

And like many times before, apologies for the grammatical and spelling error littered throughout the chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion

Mayumi went to what she thought was the hundredth person today. And like everyone before, they just smiled at her and shooed her away. She pouted at them as they continued to assemble the woods together. She couldn't tell what it was, but she could at least tell it was similar to the other ones that everyone else was building. Something similar to a… miniature store?

She shook her head. Thinking too much about this was causing her head to hurt.

"Can I help?" she asked another person working.

He stopped. "Don't worry about it kid, go have fun with the others," he said, pointing to the group of kids around her age playing in a field nearby. "You kids should be enjoying your youth. Not helping out with this boring stuff."

Mayumi shook her head. "But-"

"What do you mean we ran out?!" A loud voice manages to catch everyone's attention. Mayumi quickly ran with the crowd to the source, curious about what could be wrong. She eventually met up with her mom.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" she asked.

Her mother smiled at her. "Oh, don't you worry about that, Mayumi. Let the grown ups handle it."

"But-"

The owner of the voice sighed to Junior. "You mean to tell me we ran out of the woods? Look around us! We're surrounded by them!"

"We can't just use any," Junior said, trying to calm him down. "Only certain types are allowed to be used. If we just use any, it may not be good for the Village in the long run. Please be patient, we just don't have enough at the moment, but my father should be gathering people to go out to get some more."

"Not soon enough. Then how do you expect me, or any of us, to be ready for the festival?"

"We can all help each other, like all the years before. Please just be patient a bit longer. If you would like, you can join in on the expedition to help speed up things."

Mayumi tugged on her mother's clothes, "Mommy, can I help?"

"Don't worry Mayumi," she knelt down and patted her. "These are grownup problems."

"But I'm a grownup too!" She pouted.

"Mayumi," her mother sternly repeated her name, causing Mayumi to look down to the ground, tears forming in her eyes.

"Okay…"

"Don't be sad. Tell you what. I'll cook your favorite meal tonight once we're done here," her mother got back up, holding onto her enlarged stomach.

Mayumi nodded and walked away, defeated. But she turned to look behind her once more as the crowds were now talking about forming extra groups to get more wood within the forest.

She wiped away her tears and ran with a single thought screaming in her mind.

"I can help too. I'm a big girl now."

Asuka couldn't believe it. She had completely forgotten about him. The flightless bird was still around and kicking. The once vibrant colors were a bit dulled with streaks of white hair around him, but she could tell this animal from anywhere. Namely the same collar he always wore.

…And he was busy.

Shinji knelt down next to Penpen and petted him then the three other penguins of the same species. Of the three, two looked to be fully grown while the other seemed to be still a child. "Hi Penpen," he said.

"Wark," Penpen said as he rubbed his head onto Shinji's hand.

"Good to see you and your family are doing well. Sorry, Ms. Misato couldn't be here."

Penpen shook his head as if to say "It's okay".

He then fed the group of penguins some fish he caught and was keeping in his bucket. "I'll let her know you're doing fine. She'll be happy to know that you're still kicking."

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. The scene before her- The way he was acting forced Asuka to mumble, "You've got to be kidding me." He was acting… normal. Almost like the boy she used to know. "Is that animal more important than me?"

Penpen looked in her direction, almost squinting to try to make out who that was. When he managed to finally focus and see that it was that girl from all those years ago, he jumped up and let out a loud "WARK!". He ran to her as fast as his small legs could carry him, almost falling down in the middle.

Asuka was taken aback when the bird ran to her and hugged her leg, rubbing his head against her. "What the-"

"Wrrrrk," Penpen almost purred.

She may have not spoken the same animal language as the flightless bird before her, but she knew that he was at least welcoming her back. She knelt down. She slowly reached out her arm to scratch the top of his head.

"Yea… I guess I missed you too," Asuka said.

Penpen purred once more, rubbing his head onto her hands. He then turned to look at Shinji. He tilted his head, confused as to why he was more excited than Shinji.

Shinji looked away once he saw Asuka looking in his direction too.

Penpen then looked at her, confused. "Wark?"

"The Idiot's been an ass to me ever since I got back. Don't ask me why…" Asuka sighed. "Look at me, talking to you like I know what you're saying. I must be losing it again."

The three other penguins tilted their heads, unsure of what this was all about. Penpen looked back at them and gave a "Wark", letting them know about something.

Then the three of them nodded and jumped over the edge, into the lake below.

Shinji watched the three swim around the lake. They weren't going too far off from where Penpen was and they seemed to be enjoying themselves. He couldn't help but feel envious of them, to live a carefree life. To be with family and friends. But it was far too late for any wishful thinking like that.

Asuka on the other hand, was not paying attention to them at all. "Ah screw it." She wanted to avoid talking to him at all if possible. But she had to know. Asuka stood back up and Penpen took a few steps back. She asked, "Not that it's any of my issues, but why the hell would Misato leave her pet bird alone?"

Shinji turned his head away from her once more and didn't respond for a brief period. He wanted to hold himself back from responding, but he just couldn't help himself as he eventually said, "Commander Katsuragi is too preoccupied to properly take care of Penpen."

"So she let him go? She's lucky that her pet is doing so well…" She then focused on his tone. "And there you go again. Why is it that you act like a cold ass like your father when I try to talk to you but when it comes to this pet, you act like the guy from back then?"

Penpen walked over to Shinji and tugged on his jacket. "Wark?"

He looked at him but still refused to look at Asuka. "I'm sorry Penpen. I can't. It's too late."

Asuka took a step forward, guessing what he was implying. She said, "Because of what happened fourteen years ago? The Third Impact?"

"Does she know?" He froze and touched his eyes.

"Please stop! I didn't want this! Stop! Please-"

He shook his head, pushing the past aside. "Where are you going with this?" he asked.

"Did you start it or not?"

The fact that she asked that specific question and nothing else made his nerves calm a little. "I did." As he said those words, he finally turned to her with a cold glare. Yet his eyes… It held a glimpse of something Asuka couldn't put her finger on…

Was it… fear?

Shinji asked, "Are you going to call me a monster too?"

"I-" Asuka looked at Penpen then looked back at Shinji, trying to gather her thoughts. It was a simple answer. But she just couldn't bring herself to reply.

Was he being an asshole? Yes. No doubt about it. But he didn't seem like this evil monster people in the Village were making him out to be. Though… he did create this mess with the end of the world, people dying, Jock's injuries…

But then why can't she say that he's a monster?

"BROTHER SHIN! ASUKA!" Junior's screaming voice caught everyone's attention. He ran up to the two. "We've got trouble!"

Toji laughed. "Yeah, I miss those days too. Remember when the older Strasberg tried to pull a prank on Illustrious with the good old bucket over-the-door trick?"

Mana was sitting next to him as they were reminiscing about the past. Hikari left due to her attention being required elsewhere. Bunzaemon was taking care of Tsubame in her room. So that left the two former colleagues in arms in Toji's room.

Mana giggled. "Only to fail horribly? Illustrious has a keen eye for those kinds of things. One would think she was an expert in pranks."

"No doubt. She was definitely someone you can't mess with no matter how much she messed with you…." He took a deep breath to catch himself but it still ended him in a coughing fit. The rhythms of the medical machines around them started to increase their frequency for a period before they calmed down with Toji's coughing.

Mana waited patiently for him to relax before asking, "Is it still bad?"

"It comes and goes. But recently it's been getting better. Seems like my body is adjusting to the new medications better. Pops should be able to go out with Tsubame tomorrow to get some air."

"Sub Commander Akagi and Second Lieutenant Suzahara, your sister, must be working hard to find a cure for you," Mana said.

"Really hope Sakura doesn't push herself too much. Can't have her become a workaholic, there's more to life than just work. Kinda wish she visits every now and then so that I can see that she's doing well." He eyed her from head to toe. "But you look at you,

Captain. You seem to be as healthy as ever. Though aren't you worried? That it's all going to hit you like a truck later?"

She shook her head and placed her hand on her chest. "No," she said, "I know I'll be okay."

"If you say so." He wasn't that he wasn't convinced. He was just confused about how she could confidently say that with such warmth. "But if you feel something is wrong, be sure to see my wife first, you hear, Capt'n?"

"Of course, but don't worry too much about myself, Suzahara," Mana said. "By the way, have you seen Shin-"

"TROUBLE!" they heard someone yell outside.

Shinji ran up to Junior who was trying to catch his breath. He asked, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Asuka crossed her arms and looked away. Of course, he would run to Misato's brat. He cared about everyone else but her. She clicked her tongue and quietly said, "Why do I bother?"

"Yea," Junior said, catching his breath. "It's one of the kids, Little Mayumi. She… She disappeared and we don't know where she went."

The name made Asuka turn her head to the two.

Junior looked around. "Please tell me she's here."

Shinji said as he shook his head, "No. I haven't seen her."

Junior let out a loud frustrated sigh, cursing under his breath.

"Take a quick breather. I'll go on ahead to search for her," Shinji said. He walked to Penpen and patted his head. "I'll see you later Penpen."

Asuka gritted her teeth as Shinji ignored her and ran into the forest. She shook her head, catching herself caring about this situation. "Stop," she mumbled, "Just stop it already. He doesn't care about me. I don't care about him."

Junior turned to Asuka, having taken a second to catch his breath. "Asuka, sorry I disturbed you two. But this was an emergency." He turned to join brother Shin, having rested enough. "Sorry. I gotta go help look for Little Mayumi… If you can help, that'll be great."

Without waiting for a response, he quickly ran out to look for the little girl again.

Asuka turned her head away and crossed her arms. "Why should I help? It's their problem, not mine."

She then felt something poke her leg. She looked down to see Penpen had pecked her with his beak.

"Wark."

Asuka sighed, knowing what he was asking her to do.

Mayumi grabbed another branch stick from the floor and stacked onto the pile she had close to her chest. She didn't know how long she's been going around for, but she wanted to bring enough back to help everyone.

"I can help too. I'm a big girl," she repeatedly said as she kept picking up all the fallen branches she could find.

As she picked the last one up, she looked around, trying to figure out where to go next. But something was wrong. Horribly wrong. She looked around again, feeling her heart drop in realization.

She was lost.

"I…I… I think I came this way?"

She chose a direction to walk, trying her best to remember where she came from. She was scared. It was dark. She was alone. Her mommy wasn't here. She could hear scary noises all around her. The howling noises of the wind made her twitch.

Mayumi stepped on a pile of broken branches. The noise finally broke any bravery she had remaining and caused her to jump in fear. She dropped everything she had and ran.

She didn't care where she ran. All she wanted to do was go back home. Back to her mommy. She kept running, tears dripped down her face.

"Mommy!" she screamed in the false hope that her mommy would find her.

She eventually tripped and rolled on the ground until she started rolling down a hill. When she made it to the bottom, everything went back.

Shinji ran in the direction where the scream came from. He then looked around, trying to find more clues. He noticed small footprints on the ground and quickly followed.

When he saw that the footprints stopped, he looked around once more. Thinking the worst, he looked over the edge and saw a small figure at the bottom of the hill. He rushed down the hill towards the figure, not caring about the dirt getting on his clothing or his hood falling down.

Shinji knelt down and examined her. He released a sigh of relief when he confirmed that it was Mayumi and she was just unconscious. There were scratches around her but other than that, she didn't seem too hurt.

He picked her up and held her close as he slowly made his way up the hill, not to disturb her. He heard Mayumi groan. She looked at his face. "Bad Brother?"

He said, "Go back to sleep. I'll take you to your mother."

She nodded. She fell back asleep in his arms but not before she said, "Thank you, Bad Brother... You're a good person."

Shinji flinched slightly and looked at her sleeping face. He shrugged off the momentary shock and said, "But I'm not a good person. I'm a bad person."

When he made it to the top, he saw that Asuka was waiting for him.

"You got her? Good," she said. She turned away from him. "Let's get going then. And you lead."

Because she didn't know the way back but she wasn't going to admit that. She just followed the scream without thinking about where she was going.

He nodded and pulled the hood over his head. He didn't reply to her as he went on ahead. Asuka almost sighed at his lack of response. But she was used to it now. Though that didn't stop her fingers from twitching in annoyance.

Shinji was about to stop to see why he wasn't hearing the footsteps behind him. But as soon as he heard them, he continued on ahead with Mayumi clinging onto him.

Asuka couldn't help but eye him the whole way. He ran to save this Village girl, just like how he did the same for her. And he was carrying the girl back to the Village just like how back then with Asuka, the only difference being the little girl was in his arm while she was on his back-

She shook her head. "Stop. Just stop."

Her body soon hit his back because he suddenly froze in his tracks.

"Why did you stop, Idiot?"

He quickly turned at an almost inhuman speed, cursing her eyes to widen at the sudden movement. "Asuka, take her. Right now."

"Huh? What are you-?"

"Please," Shinji said. His tone changed as he began to beg. He shoved the sleeping girl to Asuka. "Take her."

She could hear voices and footsteps nearby.

"Please, Asuka."

Asuka reluctantly took Mayumi from him when she saw his pleading eye. Something about the familiar warmth in it made her body comply with his request. Those eyes made her body move on its own.

The voices got closer.

"Mayumi!" Hikari yelled as she came out of the bushes. "Where are- YOU!"

Asuka never had seen Hikari run this fast. The grown woman had come in between her and Idiot Shinji before pushing him away.

"Get away from them!" she said. "You tried to hurt them, didn't you?"

"Hikari-" Asuka tried to say.

"MAYUMI!" the mother yelled as she came to them. She looked over the sleeping child in Asuka's arms. "Are you okay? Oh, honey."

Hikari looked at the sleeping child, noticing the cuts and bruises around her. Through the skin of her teeth, she said, "Did you do that to her?"

She didn't receive a response, just a cold stare from Shinji.

"You monster! Were those lives not enough for you? Do you have to hurt a child as well until you're finally satisfied?"

He didn't give a response once more. When he gave no response, he was pushed back, tripping to the ground with his head landing first on something hard and sharp.

Mayumi's mother, who pushed him down, picked up a rock and threw it at him. "Get lost you monster!" she said.

"Stop it," Asuka tried to stop the angry mother. "That's not what-"

Shinji didn't respond, looking to the ground. He quietly got up, muttered something, and ran away from them as fast as he could.

Asuka took a step toward Shinji and tried to call out to him. She wanted to scream at him for leaving her here with the girl in her arms. But before Asuka could say anything, Mayumi's mother hugged her.

"Thank you so much," Mayumi's mother said, "Thank you so much for protecting my daughter."

"Wait, that's not-"

"Asuka," Hikari said as she walked closer to them. "Thank you. And Mrs. Yamagishi, would it be okay if I examine your child? You too Asuka. We can never be too careful with that monster."

"Of course," the mother said. "Anything you need to do to make sure that my daughter will be okay."

Asuka tried to get another word in but couldn't keep up as the child in her arms was taken from her by Mrs. Yamagishi. She was then pulled along by Hikari back to the Village.

"The hell was that?"

Kensuke placed a crate down from his shed. He wiped up the sweat he had worked up from unloading the necessary equipment.

He was a part of the search earlier before he came back to continue to unload the necessities. He had joined up with one group with Kodama joining on the other. Luckily, they didn't have to search for too long since someone had found Mayumi.

To his surprise, that 'someone' was Asuka. It was good to hear that she was adjusting, even if it was a little. Better than not adjusting at all to this new world, despite being gone for fourteen years.

He looked up to the night skies and said, "Well, I guess that's it for the day. Time to get ready to hit the hay. Strange that Mari isn't here since she's been lazing around here if she's not out there watching Asuka during these past few weeks."

Kensuke heard footsteps getting closer. Expecting to be Kodama, he turned with a smile.

"Hey Kodama, sorry I don't have food ready. But if you give me a few-" He trailed off when he realized who it was. "Ikari…"

Shinji said, "Sorry that I'm not her."

"That's on me. I heard that you would be back from Village Four, but I thought that you would be out there doing- Wait, hold up." He walked over, noticing Shinji's face that was still visible under his hood. "Is that blood?"

Shinji placed his hand over his cheek to see blood on his fingers. He then placed his hand over where his head made contact. It stung but not enough to make him flinch. "It's fine. It'll heal by tomorrow."

Kensuke pulled over his hood to get a better look at the injury. "Hm," Kensuke said, "Yea, it looks like it has already started to heal. But we should at least try to clean it."

"I said it's fine. You don't have to waste time and medicine on me."

Kensuke went behind him and pushed him forward closer to his home. "Don't be like that," he said, "Look at it this way, if I don't at least clean it now, you might get some blood over my floor and we can't have that."

He sat Shinji down on one of the empty crates just outside the house and ran to the garden hose connected to his house to begin filling a bucket filled with water.

Shinji looked to the floor and placed his hand over his eye patch. "You don't have to do something like this for me."

His eye couldn't help but wander to the nearby box filled with fireworks and firecrackers.

"Are those from last year?" Shinji asked.

"Yup. I'm thinking about making a new batch soon since we may not have enough this year," Kensuke said.

"I see…" Shinji's hand tightened. "I can help if you need-"

"It's fine. You already have your hands full."

Kodama's voice was heard, "Kenken! Do you have dinner ready for me? I'm starving-! Oh Ikari, you're here."

"Hi, Ms. Horaki," Shinji said, looking away from her.

Kensuke turned to her as he turned off the hose. "Good to see you, Kodama. Sorry, I don't have the food ready. Just want to treat Ikari before I get started."

"Oh yea, I heard," Kodama said, walking up to Shinji. She inspected the injury from arm's length. "People were talking about how you were back in the Village and had kidnapped Mayumi." Her tone now held a sarcastic tone and she said, " Asuka rescued her from your evil grasp and Mama Yamagishi fought you off. "

"You're talking to Ikari? Making full sentences to him? That's a surprise." Kensuke placed the bucket down and dipped a clean cloth into the water before dapping the damp cloth onto Shinji's injury. Kensuke was not surprised that Shinji didn't wince from any pain. But he was intrigued by Kodama's comment.

Kensuke said, "I didn't hear anything about that."

"Of course, you didn't, Kenken," she said, "You left the moment you heard that our grumpy Asuka found little Mayumi. But that's not the whole truth, is it, Ikari?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Shinji said, refusing to look at her.

Kodama shrugged. "You're right. It's not like you were the one who found Mayumi and made it so Asuka took credit for it while making yourself the villain. You're lucky that I was there to cover for you. I had to calm them down."

Shinji mumbled, "You didn't have to do that."

"Ah, you're trying to warm up to him because it was actually Ikari who rescued Mayumi." Kensuke continued to clean Ikari's injuries as he asked, "What did you say to them?"

"I told them I'll get the Commander to put you back in your cage asap and scold the guard who's supposed to watch you. Just don't get caught again, you hear?" Without waiting for a response, she got up and started to walk to the shed. "I'm going to go make dinner while you clean his injuries."

Kensuke smiled at her. "Thanks, Kodama, I owe you one."

"Wh-which I'll come to collect soon!" she said, her tone changing. She was glad that her back was towards him. She could tell her face turned red from the heat she was feeling on her face. "I'll be the one to ask this time! God, why do I feel like a teenage girl? It's just to ask him to the festival, nothing more. I'm a grown adult! I shouldn't be feeling like this."

Once Kodama was out of view, Kensuke turned back to Shinji and asked, "Want to tell me what was that about?"

"I don't know what she's implying. Nothing happened."

"You could be a little more honest, you know," Kensuke said as he dropped the bloody cloth into water. "Why do you insist on doing this?"

"Does it matter?"

"No, I suppose not. This is your choice after all. Besides, if the truth is revealed, there's no telling what's going to happen to the peace we've managed to build."

Shinji placed his hand over the eye patch once more. "Are you done?" he asked, feeling the older man placing a patch over the injury.

"Yea, you're good to go," Kensuke said, grabbing the bucket and getting back up. "Are you going to stay for dinner?"

"No, I'm here to grab some things. I'll be heading out right after."

Kensuke smiled. "Okay then. Try not to get caught this time, okay?... By the way, where's Mari?"

"Not sure. She was with Kaworu the last time I saw her."

"Nagisa? Why is he in the Village? I thought he hated the air here, saying something like it gave him a headache."

Shinji looked to the ground, refusing to answer.

"Ah…" "He came here for you I see. No need to feel guilty about that." But Kensuke couldn't bring himself to say those words to Shinji. Instead, he looked at his prosthetic legs, remembering who gave him these.

There was nothing wrong with her.

That's what Asuka tried to tell her Doctor for the hundredth time, but she insisted on examining her thoroughly. And that was an understatement.

Hikari had forced her to stay the night at the hospital, even threatening to put her back to farm work if she didn't stay put. And there was no way Asuka was going to go through that embarrassment again. The following day Hikari came back to the hospital first thing in the morning and forced her to take off her clothes again to examine her again.

"Can I put my clothes on now?" Asuka asked, reaching over to get her clothes from earlier today to cover her shame. But Hikari slapped her hand.

"Not that one. Use a fresh one," she said, handing her a fresh set of clothes consisting of a red jacket and blue jeans.

"Why are you being this thorough?" Asuka asked as she wore the clothes before her.

Hikari smiled. "Call me being overly protective since you were with him alone without Kodama and Junior after all."

"So if I don't have a babysitter, I'm not supposed to go see him? Should've said that before all those times I wasted to see the guy alone." Asuka wanted to say those words out loud but refrained. And it was not like she was planning on going out of her way to see him anymore. She zipped up her jacket and asked, "Can I go now?"

God. And she now sounded just like him back when she first saw him. But she just had to get out of this place after being cooped in here all night.

"Hm? Sure. But don't you want to check on Mayumi? She would probably want to see her protector." Hikari's smile widened. "Her savior."

"She'll be fine," Asuka said, walking out of the room. Just before she closed the door behind her, she mumbled, "Because I wasn't the one who saved her."

But she didn't know why she couldn't bring herself to say that to Hikari.

As she made her way out, she noticed how everything looked different. Granted how everyone seemed to have been in a panic about what happened with that little girl yesterday, today they all looked to be… livelier if she can call it that. They were all set up for whatever this "festival" was going to be with a big smiles plastered on their faces.

The Village now had rows of stalls, some less complete than others. But they were all coming together, nonetheless.

Asuka sighed. She needed to get out before they asked for help with something else. There was no way she was going to do these mundane tasks, especially for an event she wanted no part of.

But as she turned, she was met with a familiar face right in front of her. She almost reactively jumped up. Instead, she took a few steps back.

"Haven't you heard of personal space, Brat?" she said.

Junior smiled at her. "Good to see that you're feeling like your usual self. You were strangely quiet when you got back to the Village with Mayumi yesterday."

"No shit. The way Idiot Shinji was panicking when he dumped that child on me, just what was that about?" But Asuka was not going to tell him that. Wait. "You were following me?"

"I tried to talk to you when you got back, but you seemed to be really out of it. And Doctor Suzahara was very adamant about treating both you and Mayumi as soon as possible."

"Great, not only do you like to eavesdrop, you're a stalker."

He blushed. "What? I'm not a-..." he took a deep breath to calm himself. "Remember, Ryoji Kaji Junior. This is just the way she is. She's harsh but caring."

Asuka, not waiting for him to respond, began to walk away from him and the main town.

"H-Hey!" Junior called out to her, grabbing her wrist. "Don't you at least want to see how everything is coming along?"

"No."

He almost tripped at the blatant answer from her. He gave a nervous smile and said, "Come on, it'll be nice to see how we're doing."

Asuka's eyes landed on his hand then back at him. "You're not going to let go until I go with you, are you?'

"Nope!" His smile was almost beaming.

"...Fine." She could easily remove his grasp and walk away. It would be so easy. But thinking about what Hikari might make her do if she found out… There was no way she was going to do that farm work again. "But no more of that 'help around the town' crap."

"Oh…" Junior blinked. Unsure how he should respond. "I mean… yea, I guess, I doubt anyone is going to ask you to help today after what you did yesterday. But aren't you excited to see what the festival is going to look like? It's your first after all."

"Not particularly-" Asuka could barely get her words out as he began to pull her into the working Village.

"Don't be like that! You'll enjoy it if you give it a chance."

"Just from whom do you get this energy?" Asuka couldn't help but wonder. "You almost seem like you took some of the obnoxious personality from Thief and not Misato, your own mother."

She sighed as she was pulled along. At the very least she could indulge him to pass some time. It's not like she had anything else better to do anyways…

That thought made her jaws tighten.

The thought of wasting her life here didn't sit well with her. Her life as a Pilot, reduced to this.

"By the way," he said, "Thanks for rescuing Mayumi. It means a lot not just to her mother, but to all of us as well. I heard that someone scary hurt her and you came to her rescue."

Asuka stayed silent. She wanted to correct him that it's not how it went down. But Shinji's pleading eyes came to her mind, stopping her mouth from opening fully to speak. As Junior was about to ask why she was being quiet about it, a voice called out to him.

"Junior!" one of the men from the Village waved to them. He was working on one of the stands, ensuring that the stand would be sturdy using tools. "Thanks for the extra wood this morning. Really helped me out here. And Ms. Rescue is with you too?"

Asuka's eyes twitched at the new nickname. Junior gave her a quick apologetic bow and went to chat with him and multiple other people joined in to thank him for the 'additional wood' that was brought in this morning, whatever that meant. Though Junior was denying ever doing anything like that, causing people to start thinking that it was his father who provided the wood.

But this didn't matter to Asuka. She didn't care. She crossed her arms and turned her head to the side.

Though, a sight did catch her attention. The glistening reflection of the sun from the farmland pond where she worked previously. It was still a distance away, but the reflecting water from the farm was still noticeable to her.

And it looked much more developed than yesterday when she passed by it. There were people working on it, but much less than usual with most helping the Village get ready for this festival. What seemed strange to her was the amount that the small group of people managed to get accomplished this morning compared to the last time she saw it. The pacing didn't seem to match what she would've expected it to be.

"Did someone work on the farm overnight? But isn't there a hard curfew so no one overworks themselves to death?" Asuka shook her head. It wasn't any of her problem so what's it to her?

She blinked when a hand waved in front of her. "Asuka?" Junior asked. "You there? Are you feeling okay? Do you want to go see Doctor Suzahara again?"

She swatted the hand away. "I'm fine. Just bored."

"Aw come on! Aren't you excited?" Junior said, trying to change the topic from before, "Look at everything here." He pointed to a portable grill with rows of half-spherical holes. "There's some Japanese Takoyaki that's only really served at the festival. Then there are the small drinks with some weird bubbles in them, the bubbles are really chewable. And then there are the caramelized apples, too sweet for my taste but everyone here loves them. And-"

Asuka sighed and began to walk away.

"H-Hey, wait up," Junior said as he began to follow her. "Did I bore you? Sorry, I just get excited when it comes to the festival. Everyone just forgets about work and comes here to have fun."

"Even that Idiot?" Damn it, why did she say that? But she couldn't help herself. Her mouth moved faster than she would've liked.

"Brother Shin? Well, I guess other than him and Sister Mari. Sister Mana and I try to get them to come out but they rarely do."

The mention of Mari made Asuka's eyes twitch again. "Thief? I would've thought that she would love this type of event."

He shrugged. "I'm not sure but they're usually out doing their own thing. Sister Mari seems to leave Brother Shin alone during the event though."

That made Asuka's hand unclench. She didn't even know she was clenching her hand in the first place. But somehow it brought relief that they weren't together during the festival-

Asuka quickly shook her head. It infuriated her that she was still thinking about the Idiot when obviously he didn't think about her at all.

"By… By the way, Asuka," Junior began, almost a blush appearing on his face. "Speaking of the festival, would you mind joining- OOF" He couldn't finish as a sudden weight pushed him forward, causing him to lose balance and stumble.

"Junior! Oh my god, you've grown! How have you been?"

Asuka looked at the newcomer on Junior's back. It was almost similar to how Thief acted around the Idiot. She would've thought it was her on Junior's back if it wasn't for the shorter hair and the way she spoke to him. And why did she look familiar?

"S-Sister Mana? What are you doing here?" Junior said.

Mana got off and placed her hands behind her back. "Oh," she said, "I'm not allowed to be here? That hurts Junior."

"T-That's not what I mean. I mean, you're here earlier than usual. Normally you don't show up until the day before the festival."

"I'm just teasing, I just happen to get free time sooner. But my god, you've really grown! I think you are just as tall as Shin." There was an emphasis on that name when she said it. She then measured their height with her hands. "Actually, you're probably taller than him now."

"Just a little," he said while blushing. Not many compared him to Brother Shin. Did it feel… refreshing? But it was definitely embarrassing at the same time. "Not by much."

"It's still something…" Mana turned to Asuka.

Asuka now knew why she looked familiar. She was in that photo Jock had. The one looking at Idiot Shinji in that photo.

"Red hair, blue eyes…" Mana came uncomfortably close to Asuka and measured her height. "Slightly taller than him."

"Haven't you heard of personal space?" Asuka said, pushing her away.

"A bit of a tsun tsun too. You must be Asuka," she said.

Junior turned his head, covering his mouth to hide his laugh. Asuka's face reddened. She just knew down to her bones that this girl spelled trouble for her. "I just met you," she said, "So who are you to call me that?... Did that Idiot call me that?"

Mana tilted her head, unsure of who Asuka was referring to. Then her eyes widened as if a lightbulb went off in her head. "Oh, you mean Shin? No. Not him. But he sure should've. Illustrious called you that, something about you being one as a child. And I can definitely see where she was coming from."

Okay. This was definitely getting on her nerves. "Just what is your problem?" And what's this about Thief knowing her as a child?

"Ah," Her smile widened. "I should introduce myself. I'm Mana Kirishima." She winked. "Someone who's been at Shin's side for the past fourteen years."

That last comment made Asuka's fingers flinch. Was this girl trying to get on her nerves like that Thief does? And was she treating this like a competition of sorts? "Really?" Asuka said as she crossed her arms, "I haven't seen you with him for the past couple of months."

Mana shrugged. "Well, as a Pilot, you know how things go with work. Sometimes we have to be separated because we're placed in different teams in WILLE. It's a shame that we aren't on the same team as before. I wish we were on missions more often like before."

"She's part of WILLE. Then…" Asuka asked, "And just how many missions have you two been on?"

"Not sure, to be honest with you. I've never kept count of the times we worked together nor the times he rescued me." Mana placed her hands on her chest. "He's protected me in more ways than I can count. Like recently. He came rushing in, not caring about the dangers. He's warm unlike what other people think about him."

Asuka tightened her jaw. As much as she wanted to give up on the Idiot, just that thought of him leaving her to protect someone else didn't sit well with her. Her chest tightened from the way that this girl spoke of him.

He would rather protect this girl than her?

"How about you?" Mana asked, "I know you two used to be on the same team while the Angels were still invading. Before the Third Impact. How many missions have you two been on together?"

Asuka blinked at that question. Trying to recount the time that she and Idiot worked together. Damn. They only worked together to stop the Eighth Angel, didn't they? And the Ninth… that didn't count. She mumbled something incoherent.

"Hm? I'm not sure I got that," Mana said as she leaned in. "Can you repeat that?"

"One," Asuka said slightly louder than before, this time it was heard. She quickly shook her head. "But why does that matter to you?"

Mana smiled as if she won something against Asuka, making Asuka feel like she lost. Damn it, why did this have to feel like a competition?

In response, Mana asked, "Then why did it matter to you how many missions I've gone on with him?"

Asuka looked away. "It's only natural to ask after you went on about being with the Idiot for fourteen years."

"Hmm?" she leaned in, not convinced by her response. "Really? Is that it?"

"Yes. That's it. Now back off." Asuka met Mana's gaze with a glare.

A normal person would've been frightened by that angry look, but not Mana. She was expecting this based on the stories she's heard, especially from Shinji when he went on and on about the strong 'Second Child' before he stopped showing his emotions to her. Instead, she nodded and said, "Okay, but I have to ask-"

"Not interested in answering."

"Just one more." There was a small pause before she asked, "What is he to you?"

"What?" Asuka asked, unsure where she was going with this.

Mana said, "It's just a simple question. What is he to you?" When Asuka didn't answer, she continued, "Because he's my hero. My knight in shining armor. My…" She clasped her hand on her chest. "He's someone who's warm and I want to be with him. Someone I know who'll always protect me and be there when I need him. Even if he's a monster, he'll always be my hero. My savior. So, I want to be the beauty to the beast. I want to be the person who'll bring his humanity back."

Asuka was taken aback at the response. Those words were filled with so much emotion and care that even Asuka could feel the warmth behind them. Those words were from someone who held deep feelings for another.

Even Junior, who was watching the two interactions with some amusement, whether he would like to admit it or not, was surprised by Sister Mana's words. He knew that she cared about Brother Shin, but not to this extent. And was Brother Shin a monster? Wait-

"So?" Mana said, "Now that I've given you my response, I want to hear yours. What is he to you?"

She bit her lips. Asuka never sat down to really think about that. She doesn't care about him. She kept telling herself that, especially recently. But then why does she always end up in situations where he comes up? And the emotions she felt after the incident with the Ninth Angel, fighting to see him after the Tenth Angel, the emotions she felt after seeing him again and all their interactions after… did she really not care about him?

She shook her head. "No. I'm done with him. It doesn't matter what I felt before. I'm done." The image of him begging her the other day appeared in her mind, confusing her further.

Before Asuka had to respond, they heard a scream.

"HELP!"

They and everyone around them froze in their tracks and turned to the sound. It was close to the trio. One of the Villagers was on the floor with another person caressing her head near his body. Spots on her skin were red, similar to the red coating of the building outside the barrier. The spots could be seen growing around her skin slowly. She let out a blood-curdling scream, no longer able to hold it in.

There were murmurs around them.

"It's the L Sickness!"

"The Red Plague is back?"

"But I thought we were done with this? What happened?"

"Isn't that monster back in the Village? Did he bring it back with him?'

Junior was the first to run to the two on the floor before others started to follow him. Mana soon followed Junior, leaving Asuka alone to see what was happening at a safe distance but close enough to hear and see what was going on. Junior was trying to ease the tension by asking for a wet towel and others trying to help the two. One of the Villagers sprinted as fast as possible to the clinic, saying something about getting Dr. Suzahara.

From what Asuka could tell, this was the L Sickness that Jock told her. A sickness that came from being exposed to the L Density Barrier, something that was a byproduct of the Third Impact. Was this woman a part of the crew that goes to the Pillar for maintenance?

Blood started to drip from the woman's nose and eyes… Did he really start this disease?

Soon the older Kaji came rushing in. "What happened?" He asked, taking the wet towel from Junior and wiping the sweat and blood off of the sick Villager.

"I-I don't know!" The hysterical man who cried out for help said, "She was completely fine this morning. Then out of nowhere, the Red Plague spots started to appear on her. And-And now-"

"Out of the way!" Hikari pushed the crowd away. She grabbed the sick lady's hand and inspected the spots before looking at her eyes. "When did this start?"

"N-Not too long ago."

"When did she return from the site? And how often does she go?"

"She came back last night- And, and- and."

Kaji answered for the hysteric man, "I know her. She's one of my regular crews. This week she should've gone to the site twice."

Hikari took out a needle and injected her with an orange fluid. The woman's screams died down into heaving breathing. The growing red spots froze as well. "This should keep things under control for now," she said, "But I can't fully treat her here. I'll need help getting her into my clinic. And everyone who made direct contact with her, please come with me as well. Tomorrow, if all goes well, everyone please stop by to pick up additional medications. We can't have this spreading again."

Kaji wrapped his arms under the Villager and picked her up. "Junior-"

"I know, Dad," Junior said, getting up. He turned to Mana and Asuka. "Sorry, I'll be heading out first. I'll see you two tomorrow."

The three with everyone else who touched her quickly followed Hikari to the clinic. The remaining Villagers started to murmur against themselves again.

"I can't believe this is happening again."

"Are we going to be okay?"

"This is all his fault. First, he kidnaps a kid, and now this. If that monster stayed away, none of this would've happened!"

"Do you think he also stole the woods for the festival? Causing the shortage?"

Mana sighed and muttered under her breath, "Don't jump to conclusions. It's not his fault for all your issues." She then turned to Asuka. "We'll talk later. And I want to hear your answer when we do."

"And where are you going?"

"With them. I'm immune to this, so they'll need my help."

Wait, she's immune? How? "What do you mean by- hey!" Asuka called out. But Mana ignored her and ran after the group. Leaving Asuka alone with the crowd.

She crossed her arms and her fingers tightened. Being left alone again. And it didn't help that she felt like she was bested by this Mana person. "Fourteen years…"

"Great," a familiar grumpy voice said, surprising Asuka. She looked behind her to find Bunzaemon holding his granddaughter on his back. "Guess this means Hikari won't be joining us for tonight as well."

"You mean she didn't go home yesterday?" she asked, not that it was any of her business.

He shrugged. "Something about taking care of an injured girl and her rescuer, so she stayed the night at the clinic." There was a sigh. "Whatever. It's about time to take Tsubame back to the house and check on my son in law. Can't stay out too long or I'll get yelled at for leaving him alone. 'Who knows how the new medication will affect him?' Bah, this medication is fine like the other ones. Probably even better. My daughter worries too much."

Asuka watched the grumpy man take a few steps forward before he stopped.

"Are you coming or what, Azuka?"

She looked back at the clinic.

"If you want to help, don't think about it," he said, "At this point, only the people who are experienced in this can help. If you do, you'll only be in the way. The best you can do now is wait for the good news tomorrow. Now, let's get going. My knees are getting tired standing here for too long."

Asuka gave a slow nod. This old man was right. What can she even do when she goes there? Besides, the less she gets involved, the better since it'll only add to the things she'll have to do around here. Once you help out once with something, the more help people will ask you for. She could only hope that the Village won't ask her to constantly look after their kids now.

When Asuka started to make her way toward him, Bunzaemon continued his way back home.

An injured Misato held her bleeding stomach as she rested her back on the wreckage of Wunder. She soon slid down, looking up to the different layered colored skies through her broken shades. Her focus came to the center beings of glowing white light. She looked at Ritsuko, who was clenching her broken arms, and knelt next to Misato.

"We failed," Misato said, her broken shades falling off to the ground.

"That we did," Ritsuko responded.

"Five Dash," Misato said, turning to Kaworu who was also injured with a drip of blood coming down the side of his lips. He had one of his eyes closed due to the pain but still kept a stoic face.

"My apologies, Commander," Kaworu said, kneeling next to her. "I could not stop this."

"You asked me once if there would be anything I regretted if things went sideways. And I told you that there was none." She turned back to look at the white being in the sky causing the Impact. "But I suppose there is one."

"Misato," Ritsuko said, "Save your energy, you're going to need it."

"What's the point? It's all over. We have nothing left to stop this. At the very least, we can try to get our feelings out of the way before the end." Misato looked at Kaworu. "I... I regret not being there for Junior. I regret not being the mother he wanted… I regret not being able to go to one of the festivals with my own son."

"Misato…"

"Heh," there was a small chuckle. "I guess it's more than just one. But I have to admit, it feels nice getting it off my chest."

There was a loud howl from the white beings in the sky and everything went white.

Ritsuko was looking over the chart in Wunder and the repairs for both Unit 01 and Unit 04 from her chair. Everything looked to be on schedule despite the setback from the damages to both Units. Now, all she needed to do was take this back to the Commander and-

There was a knock on her door.

"Come in," she said, not expecting anyone at this time. She most certainly didn't expect it to be Five Dash of all people.

"Sub Commander Akagi," he said with his usual smile. "Would you have a few minutes to listen to a favor of mine?"

"A favor?" Ritsuko turned her chair to him. "It's unexpected for you to be asking a favor, let alone to me. But… I still owe you for helping us fourteen years ago before and during our initial rescue operation of both Pilots, even though it ended with getting only one back."

"You still remember? I am impressed."

"I don't like owing favors, even to you." Ritsuko placed her chart on the desk to give her full undivided attention to him. "So, let's hear it. This favor of yours."

He walked into the room and waited for the door to close. "I wish to ask you to get Commander Katsuragi to attend this year's festival with her son."

She blinked. She expected him to ask something about Three Dash, getting the leash set on him to be lessened. Or hell, she expected him to ask for a promotion to have authority over Illustrious. Just not this type of personal favor.

Ritsuko said, "That's a… tall favor."

"Is that a no?"

"It's not a 'no'. But there is no guarantee that I can get her to attend. She has a lot of weight on her shoulders and duties to uphold. Are you sure you want to be using the favor for this?"

"Yes I am," he said. He gave a small bow. "I do not wish to take too much of your time. I'll take my leave now."

Ritsuko said, "Wait, what brought this on? It's unusual for you to get involved with anyone else but your team."

"I regret not being able to go to one of the festivals with my own son."

Kaworu kept his usual smile. "I wish to help her hold one less regret if things do not turn out for the better this time."

Cryptic as always. "And why can't you ask her yourself?"

"Because she is more likely to listen to you than if it were to come from me, am I wrong?"

"Just one more question… Why now and not the times before?"

He looked up to the ceiling. "What better time than now when the people most important to her life are all here? Especially now that Shikinami is here."

Ritsuko looked at him, unsure of his angle with this request. He wasn't someone to act without a cause, and it all related just to Three Dash. No one else. But… she owed him. "I'll see what I can do."

"That is all I ask."

Toji was not happy to get a call from Hikari that she won't be home tonight as well. But he wasn't too surprised as well. It's been a while since this happened and she was gone for multiple days. It was inevitable that this would happen again. He just hopes this doesn't become a regular occurrence once more.

But what did surprise him was his father in law coming home with Asuka. "Now there's an odd pairing you don't see every day," he said.

"Shut it, Jock," Asuka said.

"Where were you yesterday?"

Bunzaemon said, "You haven't heard? This missy here was the rescuer for the lost girl."

Toji almost fell off his bed. "HUH?! Red? No way. There's no way she would stick her neck out for a Village issue, let alone for a lost girl."

Asuka's eyebrow twitched. She said, "For a sick man, you really love running your mouth, don't you?"

Tsubame started to cry at the unexpected noises. Bunzaemon tried to calm her down. "Great," he said, "You two just had to be loud and wake her up." He quickly made his way to his room to calm her down.

Toji gave a nervous laugh. "Sorry, Pops. Sorry, Tsubame."

Asuka sighed. "Why did you have to run your mouth like that?"

"That's not- It's because-... Gah, whatever... But Red," his tone turned to genuine appreciation as he said, "For real, thanks for getting the lost girl out of trouble."

She looked away and mumbled, "It wasn't even me."

"Huh? What was that?"

"I said 'What's there to eat'? I'm hungry."

Toji laughed. To him, this was far better than when she was moping around. "Whatever is in the fridge you can use to cook up something."

"Fine," she said, walking over to see what they had. Wasn't much but it'll do. "What do you want?" she called out.

"Oh?" He said, "Are you offering to cook for me too? I must've died and been sent to another world."

"Forget it then, I'll just cook for everyone but you."

"Huh? Wait-," Toji started fumbling at the bed. "Damn it. If only I can get out of this bed right now. Red! I have to eat too!"

Bunzaemon barely was able to get Tsubame to sleep again. He was afraid that the commotion outside was going to wake her up again. But when she remained asleep, he sighed in relief. But he couldn't help but say, "They can't even keep the house quiet for a minute." Despite his demeanor, there was a soft smile on his face.

Kodama hummed as she began to do the dishes. But not to distract herself or even to help her push through the mundane routine work of cleaning. No, it wasn't for the dishes. She was trying to get her mind out of the embarrassment and stress that has been plaguing her mind. Something that has been eating at her for a while.

"You seem happy," a voice came from behind, causing Kodama to jump. "Or is that a defense mechanism for something?"

She sighed. "Hello to you too, Mari, I'm surprised you're still here. Shouldn't you be watching over that boy?"

Mari walked over to the side. "I'm surprised you didn't call him Ikari or his label in front of me. Did something happen?"

"You know what happened."

"Not sure what you mean~" Mari sarcastically said, "I couldn't do my job of keeping an eye on him, allowing him to kidnap a child. So now I'm going to have to write a whole bunch of paperwork because of it." She grabbed a towel. "You wash and I'll dry."

"You are actually trying to help out with the dishes for once?" Kodama asked, eyes widening.

"Consider it a 'thanks' for covering for Puppy," Mari said.

"You don't care that I threw you under the bus?"

Mari shrugged and grabbed one of the wet plates to dry. "I would've done that too if I were in your situation. I may have put a little more finesse into it, but as long as it gets those Villagers off of him that's a win in my book. You know how savage they can get."

"Don't remind me," Kodama said, giving Mari another wet dish to dry. "It was chaotic."

"Bunch of Neanderthals if you ask me," she said, causing Kodama to laugh.

"Kaji Sr. and Junior's mother did a lot to regain order. I admire that about WILLE's Commander, she's able to keep calm in the midst of chaos."

Mari leaned in. "Looks like someone has a crush."

There was a small blush on Kodama's face. "I do not!"

She laughed. "You're right. You only have eyes set on your favorite four eyes who own this place. Speaking of which, have you asked him yet?"

"I hate you. You know that?" Kodama sighed and answered her question, "No… not yet."

"You better hurry, I happen to overhear that there are people getting ready to ask him to the festival this year. You don't want to miss your chance, do you?"

"Why does this have to be about me? What about you? Don't you have anyone in your life? Or are you waiting for that boy to finally get over his childhood crush?"

Mari shook her head. "While Puppy is cute, nah. Though, he does remind me of someone close."

"Hold on, you have someone close who that boy reminds you of? You never told me this."

"Because we never had our girl talk before," Mari leaned in close to Kodama's face. Uncomfortably close. "Did I ever tell you, I'm not just into guys."

"Wha-"

She licked her lips. "Just gotta keep an open mind. Besides, men are too rough around the edges. Don't get me started on how stupid they can get. Most importantly, men don't know how to satisfy me like women do. Women know," she then whispered, "Just. The. Right. Spots." Her face got closer to her, their lips inches apart from each other.

"HOLD ON!" Kodama said, jumping back. Her face glowed red with the blood rushing into her face.

Mari burst out laughing. "I love that reaction! Don't worry, it's not you I have my eyes on."

Kodama held her chest, trying to calm her fast beating heart. "I hate you. I really hate you."

"Please stop teasing her, Mari," Kensuke said, joining them in the kitchen.

Kodama turned, her face turning even more red than before. "K-K-Kensuke?"

"Nyah? You're back already?" Mari asked, her smile almost turning cat-like. She tossed the towel behind her. "Well, I'm just about done here anyways. I gotta get back into doing paperwork." She walked out of the kitchen but not before giving Kodama a small wink.

Kodama's eyes twitched. This was her plan all along. Almost getting her to admit her feelings for Kensuke and leaving enough breadcrumbs for him to know. "I hate her," she said.

He chuckled. "Well, she is a handful that's for sure."

"So…" She fidgeted. "How much did you hear?"

He placed his hand on his hip, trying to figure out how to go about this. "Probably more than you would like."

She turned away from him and hid her face behind her hands. "I can't believe he heard all that!"

Kensuke scratched the back of his head. He used to ask her to the festival since she was the only other person in the Village he was close to and knew the secrets about Ikari. He didn't know for sure if she had feelings for him or not. But now that he knew, he couldn't help but feel nervous.

"Heh, guess I'm still a kid at heart despite how much my body has grown." He said, "Do… you want to go to-"

"STOP!" she almost screamed, immediately turning to him. "I-... For once, let me ask you."

"Okay," he said, smiling.

"Kensuke-... I-... Let's go to the festival together this year too. And I-," she bit her lips, too embarrassed to continue. She hated herself for stopping midway. She was the elder here damn it. And she was acting like a high school girl.

He walked over and grabbed her hand. "I would love to go with you to the festival. And let's take things slow for now."

She smiled and kept her eyes on his hands. "His hands are big and warm."

Mari, who stayed behind by hiding behind the hallway, fixed her glasses. "Not the outcome I wanted, but I guess I did what I could to get them on the track to confess their feelings. About time too, I was almost getting annoyed with this teenage romance play between them. Consider my debt repaid, Horaki." She stretched. "Well, those paperwork aren't going to finish themselves. Hopefully, Puppy doesn't get caught again to cause any more trouble."

Asuka yawned as she awoke from the sun hitting her face and was met with an unfamiliar ceiling. Despite being here for months, this ceiling was still unfamiliar. It just wasn't the one she had grown used to. She grabbed her game and began to play. Out of habit, she also placed the earphones from the broken SDAT into her ears.

After a few minutes of playing, she looked at the time, deciding it was time to wash up and move on with this mundane day. She put away her games and the SDAT. She then grabbed her clothes for the day and made her way to the bathroom. She was too tired to see a spare pair of unfamiliar shoes resting near the entrance of the house nor did she notice a pair of clothing resting on the dining room chairs. She opened the door and was met with a view she never thought she'd see.

It wasn't the grumpy old man, he's asleep until much later in the morning. The same with Jock.

Asuka saw Mana, in her full glory, drying herself with a towel, working first on her legs. The two made eye contact and froze, unable to move nor think coherently. Asuka, still a bit groggy, did the only thing she could think of at that moment and closed the door. And as the gears finally started to turn she slammed the door open, causing Mana to jump a bit and cover herself quickly.

"Why are you here?!" Asuka screamed.

Mana fixed her damp hair and matched Asuka's pitch. "I could ask you the same thing! Why are you- Don't tell me you're the guest who's staying here!"

"Huh?! What do you-"

Bunzaemon yawned as he came out of his room. "Can't you girls keep it down?" He said, "It's too early in the morning for this."

The two girls pointed at each other as they yelled at the same time, "But she-!"

They couldn't finish as the crying baby's voice filled the entire house.

"Great," Bunzaemon said, going back into his room to handle the crying baby. "You two woke her up."

"Look at what you did! Me?" The two were in perfect sync with each other as they tried to blame the other. The two continued to glare at each other with the crying baby filling the background.

Mana crossed her arms and was the first to break the angry silence between the two as she said, "So you were the guest who was staying here for the last couple of months?"

"Why are you here?" Asuka said, not bothering to answer her question.

"I'm the one who usually stays in that guestroom that you took over. I had to stay at the spare on my first night back."

"That still doesn't answer my question. But why are you here? Shouldn't you be at the clinic?"

Mana replied, "She's fine now. She just needs daily medication and a couple more days in quarantine. Speaking of which, you should take one of those." She pointed to the small medication bottles on the dining room table.

Asuka asked, "And those are?"

"For the Red Plague, or L Sickness, or whatever people told you it is. It's what that lady had yesterday. We don't want it spreading again."

Asuka slowly made her way over and took a look at the contents of one of the bottles. "What is it?"

"Medicine. Don't worry, it's safe."

"So you say," Asuka said, still hesitant to drink whatever content the bottle held.

Mana placed her hands on her hands and said, "I can't believe I let you of all people see me like that before he had the chance to!"

Whether she meant to say this out loud was uncertain, but that managed to make Asuka's eye twitch. Because she knew this girl was talking about Idiot Shinji. But that meant that their relationship didn't progress that far despite the fourteen years they supposedly knew each other. Asuka couldn't help but feel a bit relieved.

"I wouldn't worry too much," Asuka said, "There wasn't much to look at."

"Oh, and you think you have more than I do?"

"Enough to get him to blush-" Asuka's eyes widened and quickly stopped herself, unsure why she revealed that It made her seem easy. But she couldn't stop herself from admitting something that she had over this girl. Though… when she saw Mana's face, her humiliation and embarrassment all disappeared.

Mana's face was filled with defeat. She grabbed her clothes from the table and gloomily made her way to the other guest room. "Be sure Mr. Horaki and Tsubame take them as well."

Before Asuka could say anything back to her, she closed the door.

"One me and one you." Asuka couldn't help but smirk in her mind, feeling the emotion equivalent to winning a competition against the person she previously lost to... even if she revealed one of the most embarrassing things that has ever happened to her.

…

Did she actually win then?

Bunzaemon came out of the room with Tsubame sleeping in his arms. "Thank heavens she fell asleep fast. Ah," he said, noticing the bottles on the table and on Asuka's hand, "That Kirishima girl brought them?"

She didn't respond to him and looked back at the contents of the bottle. She wasn't going to take something she didn't know what it really was. She knew nothing other than it's the medicine for whatever those red spots were on the woman from yesterday.

Bunzaemon made his way over and drank one of the bottles. He then took the other one and placed it in his pocket. "I'll be taking this for my grandchild."

Wait. Asuka counted the number of bottles. "Why are there only three?" she asked.

He huffed. "Us three, who else?"

"But what about that sick Jock? Shouldn't he get one too?"

Bunzaemon's face frowned even more so than before. "He's fine. He's sick enough as it is, he won't get any sicker thanks to it."

"What does that mean-?"

Mana opened the door, wearing a familiar school uniform that Asuka knew and once wore. She walked towards the sleeping Tsubame and lightly poked her cheeks. "She stopped crying. That's good. You know, Mr. Horaki, I never really had the chance to look at her after all that mayhem from yesterday. She's so cute!"

"Of course. She's the daughter of my beautiful daughter after all," he said, filled with pride yet annoyance because of how loud Mana was being.

"Well, as much as I love to stay and chat, I have to get going," Mana said, heading to the door.

Asuka said, "And where do you think you're going?"

That earned her a glare from the old man because of how loud she was being as well. But she didn't care.

Mana turned with a smile. "Just checking up on something. And don't think I forgot about that question from yesterday, I'll come collect that later." Then made her way out the door.

That smile didn't sit well with Asuka. And something about the way Mana worded her answer made Asuka suspicious. "Could she be-" She placed the bottle in her pocket and chased after her.

Bunzaemon sighed, grabbing the clothes she threw to the ground earlier. "At least clean after yourself. Damn brat."

Shinji placed one of the crates down with the others at one of the hidden storage sheds which only a select few knew about. The crates contained some fireworks for the festival and he was asked to place them into the hidden storage shed when he had the time since Kensuke would be unable to help out tonight.

According to Horaki, with what happened with one of the Villagers, Kaji Sr. was stuck in quarantine at Horaki's clinic. So Kensuke was stuck with another shift at the site with the main Pillar.

He looked over the cates. That was the last of them. He looked at his watch. He should get going before Ms. Ma-

"There you are!" Mana's voice yelled as she ran up to him and hugged him tightly, catching him off guard.

"Ms. Kiri- Mana?" Shinji said, catching himself from falling over, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be at Village Four?"

"Because I wanted to see you, silly. So I managed to get time off early. And I really wanted to hear that answer from you," Mana said. She let go and took a few steps back and examined him. She then grabbed his hoodie and pulled back, revealing a patch over one his injury from the other day. Her hands reached up to the patch. "Does it hurt?"

He grabbed her wrist. "It's fine," he said. He let her go when he felt her arms wanting to withdraw.

"Just because you heal fast, it doesn't mean you should hold the pain in, Shinji."

"It's fine, Mana," he said, putting his hood back up. "It doesn't hurt."

Mana walked closer. "Also, I don't mean just physically, I mean emotionally as well. You should express yourself more like you used to. I miss the good old times when you used to-"

"That's in the past."

"Yea, but that still doesn't mean you can't express-"

"Do you have anything you need from me? Or can I go? I still have work to do before sunset."

Mana blinked. He's being unusually noncompliant today. Maybe it has to do something with that situation with the lost girl, especially with Asuka… speaking of which. "Could you remind me how close you and this Asuka were?"

Shinji's demeanor changed. It may have not been noticeable to other people, but Mana immediately knew. He seemed sad yet nostalgic

"She was…" He shook his head. He needed to stop thinking about her. He can no longer be a part of her life. He shouldn't be. "She's someone I knew."

Mana wasn't going to let it end like that. That look he had was the same whenever that girl's name was brought up in the past. He would repeat stuff over and over each time Mana brought her up in a conversation. Except this time, he refused to talk more about her. "Really?" She said, "She seems to be more than someone you just 'knew', especially when you talked about her in the past."

Shinji looked away. "Where did this come from?"

She said, "Well, I ran into her. And I heard particular things about you two. It's something you've never told me. So, I just had to hear it from you."

Asuka, who was hiding from behind one of the trees, overheard everything. She said to herself that she was done with him. And she wasn't going to get involved… So why did she follow her here? And why did this girl have to ask that of all things?

"Don't you dare tell her anything!" Asuka said, revealing herself with a small blush on her face.

Shinji immediately turned towards her with a widened eye, surprised by her sudden appearance. "A-Asuka?"

Mana's eyes narrowed. The face he made when he saw her compared to the one when he saw Asuka… She couldn't help but pout in jealousy. "Geeze, can't you look at me that way too?" she mumbled low enough for Shinji not to hear.

"Don't tell her anything," Asuka repeated, walking towards them.

"What are you doing here?" Shinji asked, his tone returning to his usual cold voice.

"Making sure you don't tell her anything useless like an idiot."

"Tell her what exactly?" He still wasn't sure why she was freaking out.

Mana said, "Have you ever seen her naked before?"

"WHY YOU!" Asuka yelled, pouncing on her. But Mana managed to slip away before Asuka could get her hands on her. Asuka turned to him. "Don't tell her anything! "

Shinji had his hood down, hiding his blush. Asuka gritted her teeth, wondering why he wasn't saying anything. Shinji shook his head, pushing the image aside, and said, "I'm going to go now-"

"But Shinji," Mana said, grabbing his wrist. "I still have to hear my answer from you."

"Mana-" He tried to push her away but Asuka jumped in before he could do anything.

"I didn't know you two were this close." There was a small eye twitch. "And what's this about hearing an answer? Better not be about that incident at Misato's apartment."

Mana got closer to Shinji's arm, almost putting her weight on it. She said, "I asked him if we could go to the festival together this year. At least see the fireworks together."

"Mana-"

Asuka felt something rile up within her. He practically forced Asuka off when she grabbed him every other time. So why wasn't he doing that with this girl? But when Asuka saw her squeeze herself onto the Idiot's arm even more, her body moved on its own.

She grabbed his other wrist, almost pulling on it. The action surprised everyone, even herself. But she was too far into this to back out now.

Damn her body.

Asuka tried quickly to recover as she said, "Idiot, what about the favor you owe me? You make me take on all the credit by putting me on the spot. You. Owe. Me."

"That's-" Shinji tried to say.

"So I was right," Mana said, putting things together. She leaned closer to Asuka. "You were the one who saved her."

"Wait, Mana- Asuka-"

"But," Mana continued, not letting Shinji talk. But she tugged his arm. "What does that favor have to do with me and Shinji going to the festival together?"

Asuka tugged his other arm and said, "That's none of your business."

"Then don't try to pry yourself into mine and Shinji's!"

"Why you- OW!"

"OW!"

Both Asuka and Mana reacted in pain as if someone had hit the back of their head with a hand chop. The two placed their hand over the area, letting go of Shinji's arms. They all turned back to see who hit them. Mari looked at them with both her hands up with the bottom side facing them.

"Now, now, you don't want to rip off poor Puppy's arms do you?" Mari said.

"Thief/Captain Illustrious?" both Asuka and Mana said at the same time.

"Great, more trouble," Asuka thought to herself.

"I was wondering what was taking Puppy so long, guess it was you two holding him up."

"But she-!" the two said in sync once more. Then the two glared at each other, annoyed that the other was mimicking them.

"Guess introductions aren't necessary since the two of you met. And you Puppy," Mari said as she walked to him and chopped him with her hand, harder than she did with the other two. Which made him release a yelp that none of the girls ever heard. Mari had to force herself to stay calm. "You need to learn to avoid people better. It seems like you're getting caught more often." Her eyes wandered to Asuka. "That noise… Wonder if it's our special girl's fault for making you drop your guard."

"Sorry, Ms. Mari," Shinji said, holding onto his newly injured area. "I'll be more careful next time."

Mana placed her hands over her mouth. Her mind was still focused on the yelp he released. Her eyes glowed at the noise she heard. "CUTE!"

Asuka's face frowned. Of course, he would make a strange, yet somewhat cute, noise when it came to her. She said, "I was wondering where you were at, Thief."

"Nyah~ You missed me?" Mari said, clasping her hands to her cheeks and turning to Asuka with inhumane speed. Her face turned cat-like. "You make Auntie very happy!"

Asuka cringed, walking backward to gain some space. She pushed her face back. "Gross. Get away from me." She blinked. "Auntie?"

Mari's face didn't drop. "Baby steps. We'll get there."

What in the world did she mean by that?"

She continued, "Anyways, Puppy, are you going to just stand there or are you going to go do your thing?"

Shinji nodded. "I'll head on there right now."

Asuka opened her mouth to stop him but Mana beat her. "Hold on, where are you going now, Shinji?"

Mari answered for him since it was not a secret to her, "He's going to cook for those Villagers, not that they deserve it." The last part was muttered under her breath, so low that no one else caught it. She then placed her finger over her nose. "Remember, keep it a secret~"

"Oooh!" Mana skipped closer to Shinji, her hands behind her back. "Do you mind if I help out Shinji?"

"Mana-" Shinji got interrupted again.

"I always wanted to see you cook again." She clasped her hand together in front of her over her chest in admiration. "It's a work of art, seeing you work."

He looked away. "It's nothing that special."

"Please, you have to give yourself more credit, Shinji," she said, grabbing his hand. "I personally think you cook very well."

"...Thanks, Mana," he said, refusing to look at her.

"Ow!" she got hit in the head again by Mari.

"Okay. Enough flirting with him, Mimic."

"I really don't like that nickname, Captain Illustrious. It was just that one time I tried to copy you," Mana said, glaring at her.

"Three times actually. All three were in order to get with Puppy. And there's you being in sync with Princess."

"You were counting?!"

She shrugged. "Once you do something else that sticks, I'll think about it," Mari said. "Puppy, you should get going."

"Okay, thank you, Ms. Mari," Shinji said with a nod. He gave a small nod to Mana as well before walking away from them.

Asuka's hand clenched. He gave the time to say goodbye to everyone but her. Was she really not good enough for him to even acknowledge her presence when leaving?

"Shinji!" Mana said, going after him. "Wait for me!"

Mari crossed her arms. "That girl, I swear. She doesn't seem like she'll ever read the message Puppy is telling her." She turned her head to Asuka. "Aren't you going to go too?"

"Why should I?" Asuka said, crossing her arms and turning her back towards her. "He made it perfectly clear that he wants nothing to do with me. 'Read the message', as you just said."

Mari almost lost her footing. "You got me there, Princess." She shook her head and rushed towards Asuka's back. "While she should focus on reading the message, you need to focus on reading his face and tone."

"What's that supposed to- Hey! Stop pushing me, Thief!" Asuka tried to get out of Mari's grip, but she was overwhelmed by Mari as she kept pushing her toward the direction where Shinji went.

"Oh come on, don't be like that. Don't you want to see him cook as well?"

While yes, Asuka did see the Idiot cook in the corner of her eyes whenever he cooked back at Misato's apartment, that didn't mean that she wanted to see him cook…

…

Well…maybe she wanted to see it again, just a little bit. And her stomach was asking for something good for once.

"I'll take that silence as a yes," Mari said, continuing to push Asuka forward.

"Hey wait! Damn it, Thief, let me go. I don't want to go see him cook, let alone eat his food."

Her grin widened. "I never said anything about eating his food, Princess."

Blood started to rush toward Asuka's face. "Shut up!..." She then grumbled, "I hate you."

"And I love you too, Princess. But save your love for the person who needs it. "

The small figure sneezed as he was cooking for the three other people in the building. He wasn't sure if it was coming down with something, but he made sure to remind himself later to take some medications just in case. He can't let himself get sick. Not now. He needs to be ready to see her again.

He wants to see her again and to go back before all of this. That's all he wants.

Kaji lazily yawned from the hospital bed. His bed was right next to the recovering lady from yesterday who was still asleep. They were in the quarantine room which they haven't used in years. Walls surrounded by plastic sheets. Air ventilation filtered out anything and everything that goes through it.

He looked over to the lady next to him. All the spots on her were gone right now. He wasn't just here for quarantine purposes but also to watch over her just in case she relapses, and just in case he himself started to show any late symptoms. He was the one in direct contact with her the longest after the first symptom after all. Can't say this was anything but enjoyable.

"Wonder how he's going to handle the food," Kaji mumbled, putting a candy stick in his mouth. "I won't be there to help distribute them out this time."

"Who?" Hikari asked, coming into the quarantine room with a hazmat suit on and a mask over her face.

"Junior," Kaji said, quickly recovering. He was getting rusty. In the past, he would've noticed someone coming in like that, distracted by his thoughts or not. He sat up and said, "He's a bad cook just like his mother. Though he's a bit more edible."

"Can't say I know how Commander Katsuragi's cooking is. But I'm sure Junior will figure something out. He's mature for his age after all," Hikari said, walking up to the unconscious patient and examining her, specifically any exposed skin. "No spots. I think we're in the clear, but I still want to monitor you both for a few more hours."

Great. He definitely won't make it now. "What about everyone else?"

"They were given the clear go ahead. Junior wanted to wait for you but you know how the Villagers are, they needed his help and I'm sure you'd rather have him helping out than just sitting around waiting for you."

Kaji smiled when he heard that. Junior is becoming someone who's dependable. All he needs right now is for his mother to tell him he's doing a good job.

Hikari continued, "And her husband is still worried. He's pacing around outside the clinic, unable to rest since being discharged. Poor guy."

He nodded and said, "I would be worried too if my wife suddenly collapsed like that with the sickness that should've all disappeared years ago. Thankfully, we were still researching a better way to cure it in case it ever came back."

"You mean thank Dr. Akagi- ah I mean Sub Commander and Sakura. The Sub Commander is a genius when it comes to this. I wonder how she does it. And Sakura… she's very dedicated to her goal," Hikari said the last bit while clenching her chest with dread.

This didn't go unnoticed by Kaji. "While it's good to have a goal, the young Suzahara needs to learn when to take time off with family. She's prioritizing work over family, which will most likely end with regrets. And I'm not just talking about her. I'm talking about you as well."

"But I have a responsibility to the Village to look after all the injured. If not me, then who else?" She looked at the sleeping patient. "When I went on maternity leave, no one could keep up with all the injuries in the Village."

Kaji got up and walked to her. Despite being a grown woman, she never truly had the time to enjoy her youth because of what happened. He knew she was forced to adapt and never had a chance to think about what she wanted nor to enjoy the present. As he placed his hand on her shoulder he said, "You have responsibilities, but you're also human with needs."

"Then what do you suggest I do?" Hikari asked, turning to him.

"How's the new medicine working out with your husband?"

Her eyes frowned in confusion, unsure where he was going with this. "It's better than the last the last time I saw him, but we still have to wait a few days to see how his body will react."

"If the medication does well and if he can go outside, even for a little bit, take a break with him. Go see the festival together, even if it's just for a few minutes. I'm sure he'll be happy to go out with both you and Tsubame."

"But-"

"You're not the only person who can look after everyone," Kaji said. "There are nurses who I'm sure will gladly take shifts helping out during the festival. They should've learned their lesson when you were unavailable."

She didn't respond. Almost tempted by the suggestion but also felt an overwhelming urge to deny the request. Hikari held her chest tighter, unsure what to do.

Kaji walked back to his bed and sat down. "Think about it, Doctor Suzahara. The very least you can do is run it by the nurses to see what they think about the idea."

Hikari nodded. "Understood… I… I have to get back. You know how to reach me."

Kaji nodded, holding up his radio. "Just think about it." After she left the room, he looked up at the ceiling. "After all, you don't know how much longer you have with him or even if we'll ever find the cure in time. You should be enjoying the time you have left with him."

Mana chastised Asuka, "Where did you learn to hold a knife? Those movements scream amateur."

The four of them had found themselves inside a shed further away from the Village. It was filled with kitchen utensils, a sink, a gas powered stove… It was practically a whole backroom kitchen of a restaurant with the amount of stuff crammed in here.

Mana had taken the role of chopping some vegetables while Shinji took care of the main dish. After giving Asuka jacket to wear over her sleeping clothes, Mari tried to push Asuka next to Shinji to help out. But Mana insisted that Asuka take over the vegetables so that she can work on the soup for the sides. Mari had a suspicion about why Mana got Asuka to handle the vegetables, but she decided to wait and see, having faith that Princess could handle this.

Asuka wanted to walk away but Mari practically blocked the doorway with her own body, forcing her to stay and help out. She reluctantly grabbed another knife and started to chop away.

"Shut it, just be thankful I'm helping out," Asuka said, taking a swing at the vegetable on the cutting board.

"Then at least try to move in a way you don't hurt yourself. And try to put some more effort into this," Mana said, taking a step closer.

"Don't treat me like a child, you asked me to help with the vegetables so here I am," she said. She stopped cutting and turned to Mana with her hands on her hip. "Like you can do any better."

"I know I can do better," Mana said. She grabbed a strip of one of the cleanly cut vegetables. "See these? These are mine before you took over. Look how neatly cut they are." She then pointed to the other pile. "And there's yours, it's all messy."

"So? It's cut, what's the big deal?"

Mana sighed. "It is a big deal. We don't want to seem like we're serving garbage to the Villagers."

So this was indeed to serve them dinner for today. But… "What would they care? They're getting free food, beggars can't be choosers."

"It was always served with finesse and cleanliness. Almost a work of art. The least you can do is try to put in the effort to do the same even if it won't come out exactly like it." Mana let out another sigh. "Shinji said that you were a decent cook, I wonder if he was just being nice about it."

Asuka's eyes twitched in answer. "What are you trying to say?" Also, he never had her food. So what's that about?

Mana raised her voice, "What do you think I'm trying to say? I'm saying that you're a lousy cook."

Asuka gritted her teeth. Ever since she met her, all she's done was nothing but label her as something childish as a 'tsun tsun' and tried to belittle her, trying to one-up her in everything. The number of missions they've been on with Idiot Shinji. How long they've known him?

And now, with cooking. Cutting some stupid vegetables. Asuka had enough. She grabbed the cutting board and said, "If you can do a better job, then just do it yourself."

She tossed the board to Mana. But her fingers slipped, pushing the cutting board to the boiling pot. There was enough force and it was angled in a way to knock the pot over to Mana.

"AH!" Mana cried. But fortunately for her, Shinji, who was carefully listening in, pulled her towards him just in time. He managed to get in between her and the boiling liquid. Most managed to get on top of his jacket, but some managed to get on his hand, burning it.

Despite the pain, he did not let go of her once.

Shinji looked at his burnt hand before looking at Mana who was still in his arms. "Are you okay, Mana?"

She was not okay. She was beyond okay. This situation… Oh how much she wanted this to happen for the longest time. Being at the mercy of his arm. And that said arm being the only thing preventing her from falling down. The closeness she only dreamed about where it would be him taking the first step instead of her.

The beast protected his princess. Mana could not be happier. Yet, she could not help but blush and stutter at the situation she was in. "Y-Yes. Thank you, Shinji."

But alas, her few seconds in heaven came to an end once Shinji helped her stand properly.

Asuka's face frowned and her jaws tightened. Hating what she was seeing. She hated how she felt something tighten in her chest when she saw how close Shinji was to Mana. She hated the feeling of loneliness and neglect that she was feeling because of what he did for Mana, and not for her. He didn't even ask if she herself was alright.

Worst of all, his hand got burned. And this was all because of her. Asuka turned to walk away, Mari be damned.

But what she didn't expect was to see a dark figure looming over the three of them, specifically behind Asuka. It was furious at what just occurred. All Asuka could make out was the glowing glasses that shone on top of the dark figure. She was terrified. She didn't know she would be safe even if she was inside Unit 02.

….

Both Asuka and Mana were on their knees with their heads held down. Mari was standing over them, her hands on her hips and an angry frown on her face. She was lecturing the two of them.

"I expected better of you two," she said.

"But she-" Both Asuka and Mana pointed at each other.

"Zip it." The two immediately backed down. Asuka looked away with a scowl while Mana kept her eyes on Mari. Mari continued, "I expected the two of you to at least act like grown ups, especially you, Mimic. You were always mature and level headed for the most part. You even have fourteen years up on Princess and yet you still act like a child, provoking her into lashing out." "Not that Puppy is acting any better around her." But she decided to leave that last part to her own thoughts.

Mana muttered under her breath, "Because she's acting like one."

"And you, Princess," Mari said, "I get that you're mad and angry about what you are going through-"

"You don't know what I'm going through or what I feel," Asuka muttered, still refusing to meet her gaze.

"-And I get that Mimic was being a bully. But throwing the cutting board? Especially next to the boiling pot? I thought that you were always smart, but that was dumb. Stupidly dumb. And because of that, Puppy got hurt."

Asuka finally decided to look up. "And what about you? You just stood there and watched, not stopping us."

"Because I thought you two would be mature enough to know what was going on and stop before it got really bad. Shame on me for thinking that you two could be civil with each other."

Mana looked to the floor. She's never seen Mari this angry before. Sure Mari was serious every now and then, but that scene earlier and her tone now… this was the most terrified she's ever been of her.

Shinji, on the other hand, had a bandage wrapped around his hand and continued to work in the kitchen, undeterred at what just occurred. He would just have to change up the menu for tonight. He was hearing what was happening behind him but waited until Mari finished before he chimed in. "Ms. Mari, I think that's enough. They didn't get hurt, so don't be too harsh on them."

Mana's face glowed as she heard Shinji defending her. Asuka refused to look at him. "Oh so now you decide to do something," Asuka thought to herself. She then looked at the girl next to her. "Or is this act of heroism for her and not me?" Her eyes then landed on the bandaged hand.

Mari turned to him and said, "They might be fine, but you got hurt Puppy. Getting hurt during a mission's one thing, but when it's your friend who hurts you, that's another thing entirely."

"If only I got hurt, that's fine. Please, be easy on them."

"Please be easy on them. They didn't know."

Yui's voice echoed in her mind. The image from years ago appeared in her mind. Kyoko was standing next to her as the two were scolding their fellow researchers about a small fire they accidentally made. Yui was the one who kept a level head anytime something went wrong. She was the only one who was trying to defuse the situation.

"...Fine," Mari said, pushing the image aside. "It's my fault for making the scene happen in the first place anyways." She then mumbled, "I should've worked to get Mimic away from you. Not trying to put Princess in between you two."

Mana raised her hand. Getting bolder now that the trouble seems to have passed. "Does that mean we can get up now?" she asked.

"Yea," she said, motioning her hand to them. "Just get out of here. I can't have you two messing up the kitchen any further."

Mana got up. "Wait, I can still-"

"I wasn't asking," Mari said, her tone turning strangely dark again. "If you want to talk to Puppy, there's next time. But for now, let him work."

Asuka got up too but kept looking at the floor next to her. She just wanted out of here, away from this girl, Thief, and Idiot Shi-

Her stomach growled, catching everyone's attention.

Mana covered her hand to cover her laughter, only to fail. "Pfft. Don't tell me that was you."

"Sh-Shut up. I haven't eaten anything all day," Asuka said, looking at her with an angry blush on her face. Damn it, why did her stomach have to growl at a time like this? Only if the food that Idiot Shinji was cooking didn't smell so good. She quickly turned. "I'm heading home-"

"Wait," Shinji said.

She turned, surprised that he finally decided to talk to her after arriving here. Even more to Asuka's surprise, she was met with a bowl filled with some broth and meat that was held out by the bandaged hand.

"It's for you," he said, having finished making the meal.

"Why would I want to eat something you made-?" Asuka was interrupted by another growl from her stomach, earning another giggle from Mana. She quietly took the food as she glared at Mana. She said, "Why are you being nice to me now?"

Shinji looked away and took a deep breath, unsure if he should answer her. But… "Because you're hungry."

That froze Asuka for a brief second. She wasn't sure what she was expecting when she asked. But she wasn't expecting that. It felt nice but yet… unfulfilling. It felt half empty. "That's it?" she said, "Just because I was hungry? Would you have done this for anyone else? Like Thief here or Geek? Or even Junior?"

"Yes, I would've," he said, looking at her with nonchalant eyes.

So that's all it was. All because she was hungry. Not because she was special. "Why did I think it'll be any different than before? I'm just another face to you." Asuka's fingers tightened on the bowl. He didn't care about her.

Mana leaned in. "Hey Shinji, do you think I can get one too? I'm feeling hungry too."

Mari huffed. "But you don't get hungry. The three of us don't."

"But I still have my sense of taste. I really wanted to eat your cooking again, Shinji. It's been so long!"

Asuka placed the food out to Mana. "You can take this then. I'm not hungry anymore." She had her head turned away from Shinji, but kept him in a glance from the corner of her eye, trying to see if he would show any reaction.

And as she expected, he kept his stoic look. But despite her expecting his lack of response, she couldn't help but bite her lips in anger.

"You sure?" Mana asked, taking the bowl from her.

She shrugged. "Like I said, I'm not hungry anymore." Without saying much more, Asuka made her way out and back to the Village, remembering the route back. She was just glad her stomach didn't decide to complain just long enough until after she was out of ear's reach from them. "I'm so stupid, thinking again for a second he cared about me."

Mari looked at Shinji. "Are you going to really just let her go?" she asked.

"It's fine," he said, turning back to the pot of food. But, hidden within his pocket, he had his hand clenched ever since Asuka gave the food to Mana. "She can do whatever she wants."

Mari didn't believe his words. She knew it wasn't 'fine'. Then she glared at Mana who was enjoying the food that was meant for Princess. "You just had to squeeze yourself between these two. Just when I thought we were making progress too."

"Mana," Shinji said.

Mana turned with eyes filled with anticipation. Was he finally going to ask for a favor? "Yes?"

"Can you do something for me? I usually ask Mr. Kaji to help but he's in quarantine. And Aida is busy."

"Of course, ask me anything, Shinji. I'd be glad to help you" Anything to get him to say yes to her request.

Mari sighed. Her goal with them was going to be harder than she thought.

Kaworu was not expecting this when he came to see her. At most, he thought he was going to see Rei looking over Wunder. He most certainly did not expect the two of them to drink tea together. Who knew they could create objects like a tea set here?

"Nagisa," Rei said, getting up. "You have returned. I was expecting you to be gone for much longer."

Kyoko refused to turn to him as she drank her tea. "So he really does come into your world whenever he wants."

"I do the same to you as well, Mrs. Shikinami," Rei said.

"At least you have the manners to be nice about it every time you do."

"Hello Rei, I have returned. And it is good to see you too, Kyoko," Kaworu said. "I was not expecting you to be here of all places."

"It's a temporary thing," Kyoko said, still refusing to look at him. "I can't have this girl be the only one to visit me every time. Still, having her check up on me like I'm some kid? You're really something, you know that?"

Rei said, "I did not know it was possible for her to enter Unit 00, considering her circumstance with Unit 02."

"Well, you could temporarily come into Unit 02 to chat, so it's reasonable to guess that I could do the same."

Kaworu was not expecting them to get this close. He merely wanted Rei to watch over Kyoko just in case she decided to do something out of line. He was not sure if their closeness was a good thing. They were never like this the other times.

"I see… It is unusual to see the two of you on friendly terms," Kaworu said.

"Well," Kyoko leaned over and patted Rei's head, who remained unaffected by this affection. "She's definitely a better company than you. She's not cryptic about anything. She's cuter too. She'd be much cuter if we properly trimmed her long hair. Or we could make it short like Yui's, that could work too. I still don't understand why you won't let her cut her hair."

"I am not stopping her," he said.

"He promised that he could be the one to cut my hair once this is all over. Once Shinji finds happiness," Rei said, looking Kaworu dead in the eye. "And I am willing to wait until it happens."

"A girl who's committed to a promise made by a man," Kyoko said, continuing to pat her. "Yui was like that too, you know."

"So you have mentioned," Rei said.

Kaworu kept staring at Kyoko, unsure if this would be the right time to approach her on the same topic as before. He did not want to ruin the atmosphere of these two. Fortunately, he didn't have to be the one to bring it up.

"What?" Kyoko said, getting tired of that stare, stood up, and finally turned her attention to Kaworu. "Do you have something you want to say to me? Something along the lines of 'giving up my plans'? Something you always talk about every time you and I see each other?"

He nodded. It saved him the trouble of her asking. "Do you have any second thoughts about your plans to force happiness onto people before you return?"

Rei said, "She and I had an agreement. She will not make any moves to proceed with her plan unless Asuka calls her."

Kyoko pouted. "Taking someone else's thunder when you have the chance to, just like Yui." She sighed. "But yes. She and I made a deal, but I want one more thing. And you are going to be a part of this deal."

Kaworu did not like where this was going. "And what is this other part, may I ask?"

She walked up to him until they were at arm's length from each other. She glared down at him. "I finally figured out a way to move Unit 02, with or without my dear Asuka."

Not good. That was not good at all.

"...But," she continued, "I won't make any moves to continue my plans unless Asuka calls me. The other part of this deal… I want Asuka to pilot Unit 02 again. And you're going to make that happen."

He really did not like this deal. This is the worst deal he's ever heard. The worst part, he didn't know what to do.

"Don't worry!" Mana said, waving her ladle in the air. "We have plenty of food for everyone!"

She worked with Mari, who brought Kodama along with her truck, to bring the food over to the Village. But Mari disappeared soon after before anyone could see her. She and Kodama managed to get a few other Villagers to help out with serving food for the rest.

Kodama looked over to the long line after serving another person. "People really do love free food, don't they?"

"Wouldn't you?" Mana said. "I know I do." She then mumbled to herself, "I would want anything made by my beast."

One of the Village farmers came up and said to Mana, "It's so good to see you Kirishima. It's been about a year!"

"Good to see you too Miss! Hope your back is going strong."

"The medication does wonders on my body. By the way, where's Kaji Sr.? He's usually the person to serve us. Don't tell me he's still stuck at the clinic."

"Unfortunately," she said, "Luckily former Commander Kaji taught me how to cook before I was relocated to Village Four. And when I was told that he was going to be unavailable, I volunteered."

Kodama had to give credit where it was due, this girl could create a believable lie when put on the spot. "And don't worry," Kodama said, "I went in a bit earlier to check up on him and the lady from yesterday, they're doing fine. Kaji Sr. should be discharged tomorrow but they want to keep the lady monitored for a few more days."

"That's good to hear. Our Village can't survive without our dear Kaji. No matter how much he tries to deny it, we all know he does a lot of secret work around the Village. He's a very humble man."

From a distance away, Asuka crossed her arms with a snack bar in one hand. She managed to get that one piece from one of the villagers when she came back. She fixed another generator for the guy and he gave her a snack bar in return, which she gladly took because of how hungry she as. It wasn't much, but it was enough to satiate her stomach for now. She was going to need something else sooner.

When Asuka saw the smile on Mana's face, it made her sick. Disgusted that she could make a face like that after playing her. Sometime after coming back, Asuka managed to piece together that Mana orchestrated that entire event. Giving her more trouble. Making her seem incompetent and like the villain in front of Idiot Shi- She shook her head.

"Stop thinking about him. What is wrong with me?" Asuka mumbled.

"Are you okay?" Junior asked, coming up with a bowl in hand.

"Eavesdropping like always, I see," she said, keeping her eyes on Mana. "They let you out already? But not your father?"

"I'm not-..." He sighed. "I'm just worried about you, is that wrong?"

"Well don't. I'm fine."

"Okay," he said. "Whatever you say…" He then noticed what was in her hand. "You didn't get the food? Are you just going to be okay with that?"

"I'm fine. I'm just not that hungry."

"Are you sure? Here, you can have mine. I can get more-"

"No, I'm fine," she said. She began to walk away. "I'm heading home."

He chased after her. "Wait, hold on! Did I do something?"

"Stop being a Brat who can't take a 'no' from people. I'm not hungry and I just want to go back to Hikari's place."

"Asuka…" Junior said, stopping as he watched her go. He was unsure what to do at this point. She keeps pushing him away and it's just getting that much harder to keep up with her. But he wasn't going to give up just because she wants to be alone. Because he believed that no one ever truly wants to be alone.

He shook his head, finally determined. Passion filled his eyes. He went after her one more time.

"Actually, do you mind if I walk with you?" He said, "It'll help me burn off some of the food I'm eating."

"...Do whatever you want," Asuka said after a brief pause, hiding her surprise. "Just don't talk to me."

There was a big smile from Junior, seeming like he's finally won something. It wasn't much, but it was a big step for him. And maybe, just maybe, she'll say 'yes' when he asks her. Something that Brother Shin asked him to do as the day grew closer. But not right now. If he learned anything, one step at a time. Slow and steady wins the race.

Baby steps.

Thank you all if you made it this far. Another lengthy chapter in the Village. And Penpen's back, YEA!

We're almost done with the Village-arc. But the next chapter won't be coming out for a bit. Please be patient a little while longer!

And lastly thank you all for the reviews: 5queso, Mpager, YourBlandestNightmare, engel17white, JazzCabbage, Calborghete, Detmer, LetsPilot, IAmMurk, IkeaisOP, and Guest reviewers. I understand that the pacing is a bit slow (maybe slower than some of you would like), but we're almost done in the Village.

Until next time. Take care!