Neon Genesis Evangelion: A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love

by Garmmermibe01

When Shinji Ikari arrived in Tokyo-3, he didn't know what to expect. In time, fate tears his life and everything he knows apart and then crushes it back together just so it can be torn asunder once more. As the end of the world nears with each toll of the bell, Shinji and his friends must find a way to survive be it through the power of hate or the power of love. Officially a Lemon

52. A Reunion of Sorts

Well, everyone... I wanna get this out of the way first. As many of you uh... Well, as you know, it can take me a minute... a little more than a minute to get chapters out. And, uh, I don't even want to beat around the bush on this any more than I already have. I've been somewhat considering opening up some kind of donation thing for anyone generous enough to send some money. Which... may or may not speed up how long it takes to get chapters out as I may or may not be getting enough to support myself solely through donations.

I want to make something very clear though: I would not be putting any of the story behind a paywall. However, I do commission an artist to do visual pieces for this story. And potentially, donations could go into that (depending on how things play out) so that anyone who does donate might see it put to use on some of that art (assuming anyone's interested in seeing that). Of course, the primary reason I get this art done is so that people know what new characters or new outfits for old characters (we will be seeing a new outfit this chapter and in some in the near future) look like. So, again, I probably wouldn't be locking the basic art behind a paywall either. But art that's maybe... "not suitable" for posting elsewhere on other common websites could be on there for anyone who's horny enough for that. But again, I want to stress that none of the story would actually be gated behind anything. I really regret even asking this of anyone, but with how long this story is, it's going to require a massive time investment. And to be honest, I'm really hoping it doesn't take me like another 10 years to get this out. But at this rate, it might take that long or longer. So, if I can speed up that process, that would be greatly appreciated by me and hopefully also by anyone donating.

I wanted to ask everyone their thoughts on this first though. If I get a lot of negative feedback, I'll probably just not do it and continue posting as is. But even if I get positive feedback, such a donation option wouldn't even be open until next chapter at least. Which could, God forbid, still be like another 6 months away. I'm hoping it'll be closer to something like 3. Anyhow, I would value any feedback on this. So, I'd kindly ask as many people as possible to give me your opinions, preferably using the private messaging feature on this website. If this gets positive feedback, I'll probably go more in details about where and how everyone's money would be spent as I'd like to maintain transparency. And if it doesn't get positive feedback, like I said, no harm done. I'll just keep posting as often as I can find the time. And if I don't get any feedback, I uh... don't even know what I'm gonna do in that case.

And that's about really all I had to say at the moment. I'm exhausted from this chapter. So... have fun reading it. I still gotta go hand off the chapter preview to Misato.

Oh, also, no music this time. Straight into the chapter!

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Text Guide

Standard Wording

"Spoken Dialogue/Sign Language/Phone Texts"

'Internal Dialogue/Thoughts'

(Flashbacks)

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[Slash denotes scene transition for the moment; this may be changed in the future so as to become more visible.]

Italicized text, however it is used, is nonstandard and is often used for, but not limited to, emphasized or stressed dialogue, phone texts, sign language, contextual references either through dialogue or narration or exposition, and extra-literary quotations among other things.

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Disclaimer: I do not own or (currently) profit off of Neon Genesis Evangelion, The End of Evangelion, or the Rebuilds of Evangelion. I do not own Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami, Asuka Langley Sohryu, or any of the other characters/ideas from the Evangelion intellectual property collective. All licenses remain with the proper license holders. If asked to, I will formally remove this story from the hosting website.

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*Cruel Angel's Thesis and Eva intro starts playing*

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Neon Genesis Evangelion

A Journey of Hate, Power, and Love

Chapter 44

A Reunion of Sorts

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Put our past behind us
Soon, it will all be dust
A new dawn beckons light
For a bold and free day, fight

"Chasing Light" by, Amelia Bree Rineheart

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."- Edmund Burke

At Zeruel's Memorial…

It had been a few minutes since Shinji had placed Zeruel's mask on its new resting place and he'd just finished choking the LCL out of his lungs behind a barricade of NERV security officers. Truth be told, he wondered if it was truly the right thing to do. As Misato had said down in Terminal Dogma, there would surely be people upset by the gesture of honoring their enemy. And sure enough, a crowd of people had shown up for the memorial service. While it seemed calm enough for the moment, violence could erupt at any moment without warning like a spark catching fire in dry hay.

While hardly the worst thing, there had been people opposed to the suspension of the Vatican treaty. It only made sense to suspend it. Humanity needed more Evangelion pilots and Japan in particular. It was for their own good. Or so one would have thought. But remembering Ritsuko's words about how people might one day turn the evangelions against humanity, he could see how people might start to fear the idea of a single country having so many nigh unstoppable weapons. For now, the exception was breaking the rule. But how long until it was making the rule instead?

Still, it was done with the best of intentions. And yet, some of the worst things imaginable could be done with the best of intentions. But even beyond that, it was a necessity now. Wasn't it? And yet people still protested the idea of one country having too many Evangelions, even it if was justified with "its for your own good."

And if people would protest over the suspension of the Vatican treaty, how would they feel about this? Perhaps Zeruel was right. Perhaps humanity's differences of opinions, their fruit of knowledge, would be their downfall. Perhaps they would bring the heavens tumbling down upon their heads.

But finally, Shinji had remembered his own words to Zeruel. Not today. Not this time. Humanity still stood for now. And as long as they did, so too would Shinji.

Catching his breath and coughing a few more times to expel the last droplets of LCL from his windpipe, he finally began approaching a small makeshift stage that had been set up hastily for this presentation. Standing to the side of the stage, Shinji saw Asuka and Misato apparently talking to each other about something and likely trying to keep out of sight of the crowd as much as was reasonable possible. They both noticed him and smiled or waved at him, to which Shinji nodded back to them. Standing next to them, Rei absentmindedly watched an oriole flitting about the branches of a tree while Ahni and Amelia seemed to be having a non-verbal conversation of their own.

Shinji had never been fond of public speaking. Most days, he hardly felt he had anything worth saying. And when he did, there was no one there to listen. And when there was someone to listen, his nerves generally got the better of him.

But he couldn't run away this time. He had set this in motion and the people wanted answers. To leave now would only be to further foster the division that Zeruel's prophecy foretold. The people wanted answers and he would give them what they wanted so far as he could.

Trying his best to hide his anxiety, he made his way up a few steps and walked onto the stage. Where there had once been a chaotic chattering, the crowd now seemed to issue a collectively intrigued sound. Something that wasn't quite a cheer but not a ridiculing booing either. Instead they simply seemed to wait, eager to hear what Shinji had to say.

Trying his best to not fidget, Shinji grabbed the microphone at the center of the stage.

"Th- Thank you, people of Tokyo-3 and the rest of the world, for um… coming out here today."

A number of people in the crowd seemed to quietly respond back with their own thanks and polite gestures. Shinji noticed Toji, Hikari, Kensuke, Sakura, Kafuru, and Tenka all waiting in the crowd near the front of the stage. Shinji had noticed them previously as apparently they had gotten here early to make sure they got a seat near the front. And seeing Toji giving him a double thumbs up with Hikari clinging to him and smiling helped to again fortify Shinji's resolve.

"I hope you'll all forgive me. I've never been great at speaking to crowds. Or even speaking in general. But I did give an open invitation for anyone and everyone to join me here today. I know you want answers. You deserve them."

Again, the crown mumbled some in response.

"Before I say anything else, I… I wanted to ask all of you to look around. I want you to see the people standing next to you."

A few people did look around at Shinji's request, which Shinji was immensely grateful for. Then a few more people glanced about too. And then even more. The people were at least somewhat receptive to what he had to say so hopefully his words wouldn't fall on deaf ears.

"We are tired. Broken… We try to hide the stress and keep it hidden under our skin. We have to. So we go to work and to school. We try to enjoy and savor what moments of happiness we can. We try to keep our society running as best we can because we have to. There wouldn't be anything left to protect if we just threw our hands up in surrender. So, as the Pilot of Evangelion Unit-01, I wanted to thank everyone who came out here today and even everyone who couldn't make it. You give all of us Evangelion pilots something worth protecting. Because you don't give up, we won't either."

Admittedly, Shinji felt as though he hadn't been living up to these words in recent days. But he recognized that now and swore he would do better. He needed to hear these words just as much as everyone else to give himself something to live up to. A promise to keep to both himself and everyone else.

"All I do is fight. But everyone else is who keeps our society running. Everyone who helps to rebuild and feed and entertain us. You all make life worth living for each other. You support each other. I was born after Second Impact but I know a lot of you out there in the crowd had to live through it. But you didn't give up. You helped to give people like me the world we have today. And so I want to help also. I want to help bring us forward to and beyond tomorrow."

Looking out into the crowd, it seemed at least a few people aside from his friends found themselves resonating with Shinji's words.

"I'm young and inexperienced. I'm naive. I don't always know the best way to help. And maybe this is one of those times. I'm sure you're all wondering why I've put the mask of this angel here on this hill."

A large number of people in the crowd looked up at the mask sitting on the hill behind Shinji. Unit-01 stood next to the mask, unpowered and inert. The breeze blew through and the grass on the hill formed waves as cherry blossom petals floated on the gale.

"This mask represents our enemy. An enemy who is not only intent on destroying us, but who has no choice but to do so. We must fight. And we will. But I want you all to remember something," Shinji, his voice echoing out of the speakers and across the hilltops, "This angel, Zeruel, had his reasons for fighting as well."

The crowd began to mumble some. He knew it was likely they wouldn't take well to hearing the angel's reasoning. And even more than that, Ritsuko had forbid him from saying too much. But he wanted to tell as much of the truth as he possibly could.

"I don't want you all to think that this justifies the angel's actions. Even a murderer has their reasons. But I think it's best that we remember those reasons. Because everyone has them. Everyone has something they want to protect. That's why we fight in the first place. Because we care. I don't want to erect this memorial in honor of our enemies, but in honor of ourselves and our reasons for fighting. Because we still live, it is our responsibility to remember. The memory of the angel's shouldn't be lost to history, no matter how heinous their crimes. This is not for their benefit, but for ours. Their history is our history now. This is our world!"

For a moment, the crowd quieted down some.

"Our history!"

There seemed to be a silent surge of energy as the people held their breath.

"This is our story! And with his mask watching over Tokyo-3, Zeruel will witness our story."

Again, the crowd fell silent. For a moment, Shinji feared he may have gone to far or said something wrong. But before long, Toji began to clap, followed by Kensuke, then Sakura and Hikari. And then even more people began to clap. And before long, the whole crown seemed to be cheering.

Shinji smiled back at the crowd and then turned around to look at Zeruel's mask, thinking to himself, 'See, Zeruel? We will stand together! The light of hope will shine again!'

But as was the case yesterday when Shinji attempted to speak with him, Zeruel remained silent. Still, Zeruel had told him that souls could remain even after the body had perished. So perhaps Zeruel was still there. Perhaps even now, Zeruel could see humanity's resolve.

After the clapping had softened, Shinji looked back at the crowd. Apparently, they were still looking for insight.

"If anyone has any questions, I would be happy to answer them," Shinji said into the microphone.

A number of people raised their hands and Shinji spotted a woman with large brown eyes hidden behind a pair of elegant glasses. Perhaps there was something in those eyes as Shinji could swore he sensed some intense focus from them.

"Yes, you!" Shinji said, pointing at the woman.

A man with a spare microphone made his way over to the woman and offered it to her so she could speak.

"Thank you for taking my question," the woman began, "As you yourself stated, the angel's are our enemies. Doesn't it seem wrong to spend our tax dollars creating memorials for them? Shouldn't that money be going to our own preservation?"

The woman was rather pointed in her observation but Shinji was prepared for this. He knew that sooner or later, this exact question would come up. And he knew he had to have a satisfactory answer besides sentimentality and remembrance or something vain. People had more practical concerns like food and protection. And those concerns had to come before all else. And after Zeruel's words, he didn't want to sew the seeds of division by spending the people's money on something so blatantly divisive without giving anyone a say in whether such thing had a place in their city. Forcing people to accept this memorial would only cause them to reject it even more.

"There will be zero government funds spent on this project. I wouldn't dream of using your own money to construct this without your say when we ourselves are still in such dire need. This will be entirely funded through donations. And if we meet our goals, the extra money will either be refunded to the donors, sent to a charity of your choice, or given to NERV to help with outfitting the evangelions and keeping the relief centers of our city in working order. The choice of where your money goes will be yours every step of the way. We will have documents you can fill out to designate where your money will go should we obtain more than the funding that's needed."

A number of people began clapping, seemingly satisfied with this answer. A dignified approach that took everyone's desires into account and that did not force participation at the risk of being ostracized if someone didn't wish to take part in this.

"Thank you for taking my question," the woman said calmly though potentially irritated beneath the surface as she apparently worked as a journalist signified by a company card hung around her neck.

"Would anyone else like to ask anything?" Shinji asked warmly and earnestly, hoping that his sincerity would help to sway people's heart.

Another few hands went up and Shinji picked another one of them to speak, a man this time, with glasses and a tan and crimson tie, an office worker in all likelihood. Again, a microphone was handed off to him and he proceeded.

"Are we sure it's safe to leave such a thing accessible to the public? Not only from a physical wellness perspective but also taking into consideration people's state of mind?"

"Thank you for asking," Shinji began, "Like the other angels, we have no reason to believe that Zeruel's mask poses any threat on a biological or radiological front. And as long as everyone who isn't working on it stays clear of the construction area while the memorial is being built, it isn't likely that the actual process itself will harm anyone. As for the mental well-being of everyone… Perhaps its easy for me to say this. Easier than it should be. But we cannot run away. We mustn't run away. War brings out the worst in everyone. But in these dire times of crisis, it also shows us how good we can be to each other when we choose to be. When we need to be. And we need to be good to each other now more than ever. But we have take the bad with the good. Many times, the best people show their true colors when the worst ones do the same. To remember the good, we also have to remember the bad. To remember, to understand, why someone is good, requires that we acknowledge the unfortunate circumstances that brought about the need for good. This is the face of our enemy. But it is also the face of the one who brought us together. That's why I wanted this memorial built. To remember why we fight… And why we die."

"I see, I see. I am still unsure of what to think of this, but I will think on what you've said, as I'm sure everyone else will," the man said before bowing.

A small and brief applause followed. Every moment he stood here, Shinji questioned himself, hoping he was doing this for the right reasons. So far, the people seemed mostly receptive, even if it was perhaps feigned. But it gave Shinji hope nevertheless.

"Does, er- Does anyone else have anything else they'd like to ask?" Shinji questioned again, praying his anxiety wasn't too apparent.

Again, another man among the crowd raised his hand, this one wearing a thin grey t-shirt and a green baseball cap, all the better for fending off the heat of the eternal summer. He seemed mild-mannered and perhaps even a bit shy but also like he was bursting at the seems with what he had to say. Shinji was unable to ignore him and chose him to speak next.

"You, the man with the green hat," Shinji said, pointing at the man.

As before, the man with the microphone made his way over and handed it to the behatted man. He cleared his throat and looked about nervously for a moment with an expression Shinji knew all to well.

"I… I wanted to thank you for protecting us from the angel. I was praying for your victory,"

the man said into the microphone, still seemingly feeling a bit intimidated by having all the attention put on him.

"Thank you," Shinji responded, "it truly means more to me than I can even begin to explain."

"As for my question, I…" the man said before trailing off for a moment before shaking his head, seemingly trying to refocus himself, "I don't know the best way to ask my question. But that pillar of light screaming to the heights of the Geofront after the Evangelion disappeared. You walked out of it. We thought you were gone. And I remember everyone in my shelter grew quiet. I suppose many of us thought it was the end. And I began praying. I don't know to who exactly and there was no shrine within the shelter. But… I have no other way to describe it. I prayed and it seems like the gods heard me. Heard us! Because then you appeared! It seems like it must have been divine providence just like when Fujin and Raijin created the kamikaze! Do you think it was? An intercession I mean?"

Shinji figured eventually someone was going to bring this up. He'd tried his best to prepare for this. Part of him wanted to repeat what Ritsuko had told him in Terminal Dogma; that it wasn't his place to direct anyone's faith. But Shinji wasn't Ritsuko. Shinji had his own biases. And while he wasn't entirely sure if it was Lilith or someone else, something inside of him told him that someone had intervened to save him, an idea that even Ritsuko herself seemed comfortable enough believing. It seemed that even the greatest scientist of the time wasn't immune to an occasional bout of belief. And Shinji wasn't even as faithless as Ritsuko. To say he wanted to spill his heart out was an understatement. But that would be decidedly reckless. As much as he hated to admit it, he would need to give a more tempered response.

"I… I have no good response to that," Shinji flatly admitted, "But I will say this. Other men would tell you to place your faith in something of their choosing or not at all. As I have learned in recent times, it isn't my place to tell people who or what to believe. But I will tell you to believe in something. Because if you believe in nothing, if you stand for nothing, you will fall before everything. I won't tell you where to place your faith; only that you have it. As Eva Pilots, we will work everyday to live up to your faith in us if you choose to believe in us. And I pray the same way that you prayed for us that you will have faith in us the same way we have faith in you. And outside of that, to have faith in something."

Shinji could only hope that his words would resonate with everyone in attendance and people the world over watching him as he was broadcast across every network on Earth. And for a moment, he thought his words had failed to move anyone. But eventually, a few people began clapping. And then more. And before long, everyone in attendance seemed to be clapping with a renewed fervor as their applause grew louder than ever before with cheering added to the chorus of acclamation.

"I choose to believe," the man who was given the microphone affirmed as he clenched his free hand into a fist and raised it into the air, "I will have faith in the Pilots of the Evangelions! Long live humanity! We will endure!"

Shinji couldn't help but add his own hopeful words, "Thank you, everyone! A new day dawns in Tokyo-3! A new day for all people of the world!"

/

Meanwhile, at NERV HQ, in Gendo Ikari's Office…

"Well, well, I wouldn't have expected you to be watching your son and his speech, old friend," Fuyutsuki muttered in amusement as he stepped into Gendo's office, hearing the speech emanating from Gendo's computer even from across the ridiculous distance separating him from the most powerful man on Earth.

"What he says could have potential ramifications for our organization," was all Gendo responded with.

Further amused, Fuyutsuki shrugged as he covered the distance from the door to the desk and took his usual place besides his comrade. Though he tried to remain as his usual silent self, he couldn't stop himself from peering over at the video broadcast.

"He certainly has grown. Even though I've maintained a distance from him, I sense a change in him," Fuyutsuki said, not being able to help admiring the boy at least to a degree.

"Perhaps… But it's not enough," Gendo again responded, the video of Shinji's speech reflecting in the orange lenses of his glasses.

"Change doesn't happen overnight, Ikari. Give him time. If he's changed this much, how much might he change in the future? Had you shown me him the first day he'd arrived, I'd not have believed you had you said he'd be giving public speeches. I always figured that would have been more Sohryu's persuasion."

"Change is worthless if it doesn't happen in a timely manner," Gendo said dismissively.

"But you're at least pleased, aren't you? Don't you feel some fatherly pride in your son?"

"Pride is one of the seven deadly sins for a reason. Prideful and vain people harm society. They will do anything no matter how despicable so long as the worst among them tell them they've done good, even if that good was only performative," Gendo responded, this time in a more animated and gruff voice.

A rare occurrence of the man voicing his ideals at the end of ideals.

"And… you think you are sinless, Ikari? Unsullied by the things that mark us as human?" Fuyutsuki questioned.

"Not at all," Gendo again responded as though he had all the answers anyone would ever need.

"Do you think God would let you into heaven? Any of us who labor down here in this hell with a demon locked away in our basement?"

"What God thinks of me is no concern of mine. Soon enough, it won't matter. Once I create my new world, we will all be made sinless. We will all live in harmony, in perfect unmarred innocence. We will no longer live in fear of each other and we will commit atrocities against each other no more. And then… then I will allow myself to be proud of Shinji, of Rei, in a more earnest capacity. But until then, I cannot. Until I have achieved my goal in full, I have achieved nothing. I cannot allow myself to become attached to this life when happiness for me and everyone else lies in the beyond."

"I take it you heard what Doctor Akagi was able to ascertain from your son?"

"Yes…"

"A timeless immortal society, perfect in their existence. The idols of a universe before man but also of man. Not so different from your utopia after man, eh, Ikari? And yet the thirteenth angel claims someone brought all that eternal happiness to an end."

"The blue robed man is a revelation but we already knew most of what the angel spoke of. The dead sea scrolls describe the ancients and their society. And where they failed, we will improve upon it. We will use the experience of our forebearers to create something eternal and incorruptible. We will not let some trifling little goddess stop us from stepping foot into heaven. That is why we must kill all the angels and anyone else who opposes us before we attempt to initiate human instrumentality. We will not be denied. There will be no one to unravel the lives of the universe this time."

Fuyutsuki sighed.

"So you say, Ikari. And so shall we continue down our chosen path."

'Both of you are more alike and more different than you realize,' Fuyutsuki thought to himself as a small halfhearted smile crossed his lips, 'If only the both of you could learn to see eye-to-eye, maybe some good might come of it.'

/

Meanwhile, in Ritsuko Akagi's office…

There was a knocking on the door and Ritsuko was snapped out of her distraction. She, like numerous other people, had been watching Shinji's recital, in her case to ensure he didn't say anything that might compromise NERV or herself. Though, if she was telling the truth, despite it being something of a moment for him, Ritsuko was finding it hard to watch the speech out of anything other than respect as her mind had been hyper-fixating on something else that she was now forcing herself to take a momentary step back from.

"Uh, come in!" Ritsuko called out.

The door peaked open and Maya stuck her head through the opening.

"Oh, Maya, its you," Ritsuko sighed in relief.

"I have those measurements for the Evas you asked for-" Maya cut herself off seeing numerous books and pictures strewn across Ritsuko's desk.

Some of them looked to depict things that were quite old. Pictures of two women in red painted on a stone wall. Another picture depicted a relief of another woman, this one winged and with bird talons on her feet and who held some strange rings in her hands. There was even an image that looked more recent, perhaps an artist's interpretation of one of these women. It had to be. She held the same set of rings in her hands and had the same bird-footed legs. She was nude and her skin had an eerie shadowy look to it that matched her wings, which appeared black as pitch. She had deep saturated red hair and also seemingly red eyes. Quite unlike any natural colors that would be found on any human. Even the red hair pushed the boundaries of believability and Maya figured she was looking at a rendition of some kind of demoness… or perhaps she'd just caught Ritsuko looking at images of some kind of kink Maya was previously unaware of. Though she then saw a handwritten note.

The note read, "Irkalla - also known as Ereshkigal, Allatu, Allani, Allatum, The Great Lady of the Majestic Earth, and The Goddess of Death. Note that Irkalla is also the name of the underworld she rules over. This underworld itself also goes by numerous names including Kur, Kukku, and Arali. What relevance could this have? Could this truly relate back to the this Pleroma the thirteenth angel mentioned? And if so, what veracity does it have? Are these words somehow imprinted in our memory? In our existence? Could the Absolute Terror Field allow this? I need to find some way to get testing for this greenlit even if funding is short. Put reminder in phone! Need to talk to Commander. THIS IS BIG!"

Curiously eyeing the note, Maya was starting to put together what was happening here.

"Uh, what's all this? I didn't know you studied mythology. Though, I guess if you study everything else-"

"-It's not mythology!" Ritsuko interjected, "Well, I mean, not completely. I was just cross referencing something for some personal research. Er, well, it's not personal research… Um… Its just… um, an unfounded hypothesis I guess. That is to say that this is not personal research but I took it upon myself to research this… personally."

Maya could tell the woman was flustered some and that she was struggling to focus though, at the same time, she almost seemed eager to talk.

"Right… Are- Are you busy? Should I come back later?" Maya asked, preemptively taking a few steps back from Ritsuko's desk.

"No, no, no! I'm fine!" Ritsuko assured the girl taking the Documents Maya had with her out of her hand and setting them on her desk before kissing her briefly.

"Is… Is everything alright, Ritsuko?"

"Alright? Alright how? The city is alright. We lost less people than usual in the last attack. Shinji's alright. He's giving his speech. The Evas are alright. Unit-03+04's neck should be healed soon enough and the same goes for Unit-01's arm. Unit-00 and Unit-02 might take a bit longer, but they'll be alright too. And you just brought me my measurements, so that's alright-"

"No, no, no, Ritsuko!" Maya said before interrupting the woman by kissing her several times, "I mean you. Are you alright? What is all this stuff on your desk?"

"Oh, this?" Ritsuko said looking back at her cluttered desk, "This… is Irkalla."

"Irkalla?"

"Well, some of it is at any rate."

Looking down at one of the pictures, Maya picked it up, holding it up in front of Ritsuko's face.

"What's this one?"

"That's the Burney Relief," Ritsuko responded, "Also known as the Queen of Night. Its an ancient Mesopotamian sculpture depicting inconclusively either, Irkalla, Inanna, or… Lilith."

"Lilith?" Maya asked in surprise, "Like… the same Lilith downstairs?"

"Shhh!" Ritsuko hushed the girl.

"Oh, right! I'm sorry! We're not supposed to talk about that!" Maya squeaked in correction.

"Maya, you know I tell you things I'm not supposed to," Ritsuko said in a deflated voice.

"I do," Maya said, shifting on her feet.

"I'll tell you, but just… don't go telling this to everyone else. Obviously, you already know that," Ritsuko said, some barely tempered excitement returning to her voice despite her trying her best to speak no louder than a whisper.

"Yes, Ma'am! Of course I won't," Maya affirmed.

"I spoke with Pilot Ikari…" Ritsuko started as she stood up from her chair and rounded her desk so she could stand next to Maya, "You heard him speaking to himself during the battle with the thirteenth angel. But it turns out that conversation wasn't as one sided as it seemed."

"No… He wasn't actually speaking to the angel, was he?"

"He was. And the angel told Shinji his name. Zeruel! The exact same name from the conventional naming procession."

"B- But how's that possible? How would the angel know the name on our naming list? No, how would it even tell Shinji its name?"

"I don't know! But that got me wondering if there's some kind of… I don't know. You're going to think I'm insane for suggesting this, but what if there's some kind of fundamental language? What if it's conveyed by intention? There's no way the angel should have known what we we're going to name it and even less reason for it's name to actually translate to something we can understand, especially when Shinji himself didn't even know the next name on the list. This make me wonder… if there's some kind of... prophecy."

"Prophecy? Ritsuko, are you sure you're okay. I mean, this is strange, yes. But… a prophecy?" Maya asked, setting the picture back down on the desk, though, after thinking it over, she second-guessed herself, "Though, it almost seems too prefect to be coincidence."

"Precisely. Granted, our sample size is small… But this is eerie."

"So… this is why you have all these papers here? You're looking for something to help solidify this idea of a prophecy? ...Or you're looking for hints of future events?"

"I… I'm not sure what I'm looking for. Even I think it's crazy. I'm not entirely sold on the idea that the future is set in stone. It's possible, but I'm not willing to bet everything on that. But… I do think there's something more here. I won't know what it is until I find it. And that's why I have to learn more."

"What's… the name of the next messenger?" Maya asked, a sense of slow creeping dread crawling across her skin that she tried not to shiver from.

"The name for the fourteenth angel is Ireul… The fifteenth is Leliel. Sixteen, Arael. Seventeen, Gabriel…"

"So, if Shinji can speak to the next one and it says it's name is Ireul, you'll have more evidence for the existence of this prophecy?"

"Yes… assuming it is able or chooses to speak."

"Then… what about all these pictures?" Maya asked, looking back at the desk, "What does this Irkalla have to do with the angels?"

"I don't know yet," Ritsuko said, picking up one of the pictures, the one depicting the red-haired goddess with midnight colored skin, "But when I spoke with Shinji, he claimed Zeruel mentioned someone by the name of Irkalla. That she might have some kind of tie to Lilith. So I went looking through some archaeology papers and such. I though that, if the angels' names matched up with some kind of our documentation, maybe this Irkalla person would also have something revealed about her in some kind of old scripture. I have no proof the Mesopotamian Goddess and Zeruel's Irkalla are the same entity. But I think it bears investigating nonetheless. Just the fact the names are so similar… I feel like this must be more than a coincidence. Even if they aren't one and the same, that still brings me back to the idea of this universal intention-based language. What if there was some way to plant an idea in someones head? A name? A place? Or even something like a desire or purpose? And in a way that anyone could understand? Irkalla… What could it be?"

"This figure, the one you said was confused with Irkalla and Lilith, how does this one relate back to them?" Maya questioned, pointing at the image of the Queen of Night.

"Well, some archaeologists and scholars have confused this relief as representations of both of them as well as Inanna. This has caused some sources to actually conflate both Lilith and Irkalla. But... if this theoretical language I spoke of exists… I don't think that it would be possible to confuse the two of them. This confusion had to have come after any idea would have been implanted in someone's mind. Obviously our records decay and such. The story becomes warped and twisted in each retelling. What once was truth becomes fiction. Someone's new truth. But that's not all. Here, look at this."

Ritsuko grabbed a paper from the desk before shoving it into Maya's hands.

"Um… What is this? I can't read English very well."

"This is an excerpt from Isaiah of the King James Bible interpretation. It mentions a Night Bird. But in other versions of it, the bird is described using the Hebrew word for Lilith. And as you saw in the Burney relief, this woman, regardless of if she's Lilith or Irkalla, is portrayed with the feet of a bird. But Lilith, or someone strikingly similar to her, appears even earlier in Mesopotamian religion and stories like the Epic of Gilgamesh and Inanna's Descent to The Underworld. Which is significant because the Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest known and preserved story of humanity," Ritsuko said, pushing multiple papers into Maya's hands faster than she could process what she was being handed, "This is effectively the first story ever told and she appears in it. She even appears in beliefs as tangential as Greek Mythology. The Alphabet of Sirach. She appears with a strange regularity in a number or religions formed in different time periods. And these are just the incarnations that are definitely identified as her. What about all the other bird goddesses of night that also appear with high regularity. Morrigan, a Goddess and Phantom Queen who was often represented with a crow or some other black bird. Xochiquetzal, a young goddess associated with the moon. And a Quetzal is a type of bird. Another bird goddess with ties to the night. And that's ignoring the other Aztec goddesses with similar attributes. Then there's Athena, typically associated with knowledge, but also with owls, which are night birds! Earlier depictions of Athena even show her with wings! Ma'at had wings on her arms and controlled the stars and heralded the arrival and departure of seasons. Why? Why are then so many dark bird goddesses? Again, I return to this idea of some kind of psionic language or some way of implanting concepts into someone without words. What if this proclivity is just ingrained in us somehow?"

Maya could see Ritsuko was about to go off the deep end as she shivered with manic mental stimulation and continued to ramble out words nearing absurdism. Maya threw the papers Ritsuko had shoved into her hands back onto the desk before grabbing the woman by her shoulders and pulled her into a hug.

"Ritsuko, Ritsuko, I believe you. You've convinced me," Maya said as she pushed Ritsuko back into her chair, "For some of this at least. Some of this still looks like coincidence though. Remember, if you go looking for wolves behind every bush, you're going to find wolves. And the same goes for strange bird women. If you look for bird girls in every religious text, you're going to find them. Don't let the confirmation bias get to you. I agree that some of this is strange. But you're diving into this too hard."

"You… You're right. None of this is conclusive… I just need to finish collating a list of every dark bird goddess in existence and then compare and contrast them more fairly until I've-"

"No, Ritsu! What you need is to sleep! Also, you still have to go over the measurements for Unit-01 that I just brought you!"

"...Of course."

Ritsuko placed her hand on a file on her desk, checking it to see if it was what Maya had brought her. Checking it, it wasn't and she then fumblingly place her hand on another one. Examining it, she was confused to see it also wasn't the one she was looking for. Maya silently slid one of the papers forward for Ritsuko, highlighting which one was hers.

"Thanks," Ritsuko said as she lifted the paper and began examining it.

While she waited, Maya glanced at more of the papers on Ritsuko's desk. Whatever it was exactly that she was researching, it must've been engaging. Maya couldn't remember the last time she'd seen so much clutter on Ritsuko's desk. There were numerous photographs of both old statues and ancient writings as well as modern art of of divinities. But among them, something else stood out to Maya. A paper that represented neither goddess nor text but rather a set of glyph with some handwritten labels by Ritsuko. Picking it up, she examined it closer.

"Pleroma? Aeons? The... Demiurge?" Maya questioned at the risk of reengaging Ritsuko with the previous topic of conversation..

"Yes," Ritsuko said as she continued reading Maya's report, "Another term the thirteenth angel spoke to Shinji of. Again, I'm unsure if the Pleroma the thirteenth angel mentioned is the same as ours. But to us, Pleroma is essentially what we know as the Abrahamic heaven. And the entities who reside within it are known as Aeons. Ekklêsiastikos, Synesis, Zoê, Sophia, Hêdonê, and Agapê are some of them. Presumably, they aren't that different from the angels in basic concept. Though they somewhat differ in that they are are more like projections of a single whole, which is why Pleroma means fullness. Some descriptions of them are vague abstractions and they can almost be represented as times, places, or feelings as much as a semi-individual divinity… depending on your interpretation. The Demiurge on the other hand is sort of looked at as a creator of the physical world. Ialdabaoth, a pretender God in the shadow of the true Christ that was still given breath by the Aeon Sophia… But again, that's our account. There's no way of verifying if Zeruel's concept of Pleroma was the same as our mythology. Nevertheless, taking Zeruel's words at face value, I must assume that there is some parallel… After all, the Aeons already seem strikingly similar to the Sephirot found in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Another instance of strange and eerie symmetry perhaps infused by some common impression."

"So, where does that leave us as humanity?"

"I don't know yet," Ritsuko sighed, "Like you said, I can sort through and parse that after I've done away with my career-related responsibilities… which will probably never be truly finished."

"Is everything okay, Ritsu?" Maya softly asked the woman.

"I… don't know," Ritsuko sighed, setting down Maya's report, "I have so many thoughts at the moment. I mean… I always do. But… all these thoughts of prophecies and parallels, it makes me wonder if what I do even matters."

"It does. You do matter, Ritsu," Maya said, reassuringly placing her hand on top of Ritsuko's.

"But how long until it doesn't? All it takes is one fuck up and we're all doomed. And if these prophecies turn out to be true… who's to say our future isn't already set in stone. ...The only thing giving me hope is that Shinji mentioned that Zeruel told him that the angels don't have free will. That would potentially infer that we do but… even that could still just be an illusion."

"Well, Ritsu… even if we can't change our future, even if our freedom is only a dream, we still have to fight, don't we? This life… Its all we have. That's why when Shinji disappeared and Asuka and Rei were disabled, I still cried out. I begged someone to save us. I'm not a fighter so maybe pleading for a savior is all I can do. To be honest, I still don't know what to think about what happened. Shinji and Unit-01 walking out of that wall of light… I don't know what that was or what caused it. But part of me thinks someone was listening to me asking someone to save us. There had to be someone left. There had to be. And there was. You yourself even said you thought it might have been divine intercession. I know you're a woman of science, but I think you have faith too. At the edge of our hope, I think everyone does. It broke my heart seeing you give up. Seeing you lose your faith… But I understand. It seemed like a hopeless situation. But… I'm sorry, I'm not very good at giving life advice. But the way I see it, in a hopeless situation, you can either choose to have faith or not. And I saw your faith return when Colonel Katsuragi's cross started glowing. I want to see the faithful version of you, Ritsuko. We have to keep fighting. And we need you, Ritsuko. The whole world needs you. ...I need you. So, try not to let it get you down, okay? Prophecy or not, we can still find our happiness."

"You're right, Maya… I'm sorry. I guess I've just been having a bit of an existential crisis. But, like you said, we have to keep fighting."

Ritsuko then leaned forward and gently kissed the girl and Maya could feel her heart flutter at the thought of actually having helped Ritsuko break out of her melancholy.

"I love you," Maya whispered with a smile as she broke the kiss.

"I love you too, Maya."

"If you're feeling alright, I still need to go help out Specialists Takao and Tama with Unit-00 and Unit-02. I think that'll also help lighten your load. Oh, but before I go, you should know, when I was recording Unit-01's AT waveform, I saw an… aberration. It… looked different from before. I'll try to run some more measurements later with different equipment. It might be nothing but I just thought you should know for the time being."

"Aberration?" Ritsuko asked as she looked back at Maya's report.

"Mhmm. Right here," Maya said, pointing at a pair of graphs she'd printed out.

Ritsuko glanced at one of the graphs showing Unit-01's measurement from a little while ago and then up at another one from several weeks ago and sure enough, the measurements did seem to have changed if only slightly.

"Hmm, we should probably call in Pilot Ikari for a sync test if this proves to be more than just a flawed measurement…"

Maya looked at Ritsuko's computer, seeing the broadcast of Shinji's speech was still airing, which brought a smile to her face.

"Poor kid. You know they hate those, right?" Maya lightly chuckled as stepped back around Ritsuko's desk and headed for the door.

"Asuka will never let me hear the end of it. But it's for their own good," Ritsuko sighed.

"I'll see you in a bit. I love you!" Maya said as she squeezed through the door way, refusing to open the door too wide perhaps out of nervousness or just respect for Ritsuko's privacy.

"I love you too!" Ritsuko called back to which she heard Maya giggle just before the door shut entirely.

Sighing, she look back at her monitor. She could just barely hear Shinji's voice through her computer speakers, which she'd turned down earlier as she preferred to keep her workplace quiet to avoid headaches. But she decided to turn them back up and she could hear the crowd cheer over something Shinji had said, which did manage to bring a small smile to her face as well.

/

Meanwhile, with Shinji, at Zeruel's Memorial…

"Well, Shinji, that was quite the speech," Misato said, applauding the boy as he retreated to the back of the stage.

"Ah, it was nothing," Shinji bashfully laughed, scratching the back of his head nervously.

"Now to see if they'll come around or not," Asuka wondered aloud watching the crowd as another person took the stage, perhaps someone of note, but a nobody to Asuka.

"I understand it might be divisive but… I don't want this war to result in more hatred than it's already created. Zeruel told me he didn't have free will. That he couldn't stop fighting us even if he wanted to. I don't want to revel in taking the lives of people who have no choice in the matter. The sooner we put this war behind us, the better," Shinji said in a somber voice, "The sooner this war ends, the sooner we can tell the world the truth."

Asuka huffed, finally taking her eyes off the crowd, "You're idealistic to a fault," Asuka said before kissing the boy on his cheek.

"Nice speech, Shortcake. I mean, I guess it was a nice speech. I wouldn't really know," Ahni said as she stuffed her phone into her pocket and stood up from her seat in the grass, brushing the dirt and leaves from her pants as she did.

"She said you did a good job with your recital," Asuka said with a slight chuckle.

"Thanks, tiny Latina girl," Shinji said rather more smugly than was usual for him before he then turned to Asuka and gave her a questioning look, "Wait, how's she know what I said?"

"Live translations on the broadcast I guess?" Asuka said with a shrug.

"Hungry," Rei groaned as she too stood up from her seat behind the makeshift stage.

"Well, who says we stop at Lawson's and get some chicken!" Misato suggested.

"Its hot. I want milk tea," Rei said in a voice that could almost but not quite be seen as her complaining.

"Just don't let the puny Latina see they have that cream and strawberry shortcake cup," Shinji said with a sigh.

Amelia's head tilted some. She poked Ahni's calf to get her attention before reaching her hand up, which Ahni took to help her up. Both of the girls then engaged in a conversation.

"Now that I think about it, some spicy chicken wouldn't be so bad," Asuka said in a satisfactory voice.

"Did someone say shortcake!?" Ahni seemingly randomly blurted out.

"SHINJI!" a young masculine voice called out, grabbing almost everyone's attention but Ahni's.

Turning to face the voice, Shinji saw Toji barreling towards him. Behind him was Sakura who, despite still healing from her injuries, managed to keep pace with him ahead of Hikari, Tenka, and Kafuru. Kensuke followed behind the troupe, making sure to get everyone on camera.

"Toji!" Shinji shouted back at the boy.

"Great speech, man!" Toji said, holding up his hand for Shinji to high-five.

"Thanks, it means a lot," Shinji said, returning the gesture, his hand meeting with Toji's.

"Well, this is a reunion of sorts. And to think I got it all on film plus your whole speech!" Kensuke said before turning his camera towards him and making a peace sign with his free hand.

"Do you always film everything?" Hikari asked.

"He does," Sakura confirmed.

"I do! At least when the class president lets me!" Kensuke responded.

"You shouldn't be bringing that camera to school anyways. It's a distraction," Hikari reprimanded the boy.

"Hmm, even if I used it to record lessons that I could use later to help Toji with his homework?"

Hikari gave him a slightly annoyed look and Kensuke continued.

"Besides, this is going to be history some day!" Kensuke exclaimed, "It's important that someone preserves it in as many mediums and angles possible!"

"Well, I for one won't complain even if I don't know that I'm particularly worthy of being put in a museum or history book," Shinji joked.

"Don't be so quick to sell yourself short, Shinji," Kensuke urged the boy.

"Yeah, Kensuke's right. It was a good speech. And who knows. If we survive this whole thing with the angels, it'll definitely be taught in world history classes," Toji added.

"I just hope it did some good," Shinji sighed, "I was trying my best to bring everyone together but I'm still not sure anyone's really going to take what I said to heart."

"Are you kidding, man!? The crowd was totally buzzing with this silent energy. I could feel it in my bones! I think your message got through," Toji said, placing a reaffirming hand on Shinji's shoulder.

"Well, in that case… I just hope that I don't regret my words. The people would probably never forgive me if I failed or if they felt like I led them astray."

"Shinji, if there's one thing you've taught me, its how to forgive people," Toji said, his voice taking on a more somber tone, "Sure, they won't always understand. But once they see what it's like, they'll become more open to the idea. You did the right thing being straight with them. They have faith in you, and now its your turn to have faith in them."

Shinji let out another sigh of relief. While he was still second guessing his decision, Toji's words did a great deal to still his heart.

"Thanks, Toji. You're right. I owe it to them to have faith in them. We're all in this together."

"For what it's worth, I have faith in you," Sakura chimed in, "And it goes without saying, but so does my brother."

Toji gave Shinji a firm nod.

"I do too," Kensuke added with a grin.

"As do I," Hikari chirped.

"Every one of us stands behind you, Shinji," Misato said as she put her hand on Shinji's head and gently ruffled his hair.

Looking around at his friends, Shinji began to feel a twinge of contentment and perhaps a pang of guilt as well. Of course, he wanted to run away for a good reason. Or so he wanted to believe. Protecting Rei and Asuka, taking them away from all of this, should have been a good thing, right? But he'd questioned the wisdom of that course of action nearly as soon as he'd first mentioned the idea to Rei and that doubt had only grown stronger since then despite his resolve to push that doubt aside.

But perhaps, this was were he belonged. Even now, he still wondered what was truly the right decision. But at least here, he did have his friends. And that was why he'd chosen to do anything in the first place. For the people he cared about, he would make the decision to leave or stay. And he had chosen to leave. And while he would have still had Asuka and Rei, had he gone through with his plan, he would have lost a lot of the reason he'd chosen to take action, to do anything at all. Without Misato, Toji, Kensuke, Hikari, and Sakura would his choice have been worth anything? He didn't know. Even if he wanted to answer, he couldn't say with certainty. But what he could say with no second guessing was that each of them had affected his life in a positive way. Maybe things between him and Gendo were beyond saving or maybe they weren't despite Shinji's own beliefs on the matter. But at the very least, coming to Tokyo-3 had brought him together with them. And even still, he was finding more friends, more reasons to fight and possibly more reasons to die protecting them. He was still unsure of what to think of Amelia and Ahni especially but they didn't seem all that bad. And then there were these friends of Sakura's, Kafuru and Tenka. Again, he hardly knew them. But perhaps he could if given the time.

Time that he would have to buy himself with his own blood or that of the angels. And to buy that time as a mortal was a steep price to the angels who were gifted with life unending. Each of their eternal lives for a few more weeks of his. He did begin to see how they would find that unfair, especially if they truly couldn't refuse to fight as Zeruel had claimed. The guilt could crush him if he let it. All the more reason to appreciate the time he had now. Because the clock would tick away what time he had and again, Shinji would have to make the choice of whether to set that clock back or let it remain forever still.

Returning his focus to the present, Shinji noticed Kafuru and Tenka standing beside Sakura, seemingly buzzing with excited tension. Must've been that silent energy Toji had mentioned. Though this energy was gradually growing less silent as the pair of girls let out a few small squeals and squeaks, which did draw the attention of those we weren't hard of hearing.

"Oh, go on and asked them already, would you? You're making a scene," Sakura sighed in response to the girls.

"I came prepared this time!" Kafuru excitedly declared as she pulled out a pen.

If Shinji didn't know any better, he'd have sworn the girl pulled the pen out of thin air.

"I did too!" Tenka said as she too pulled out a pen as well as a piece of paper so fast that it made a thwipping sound before adamantly holding them both in front of Shinji.

"Please! We want your autographs!" Kafuru added as she too pushed a sheet of paper into Shinji's personal space.

"Huh!? Is this your…" Shinji questioned as he hesitantly took Tenka's pen and paper.

Look at the paper, he could see a number of math questions most of which appeared to have been answered in pencil.

"...your homework?" Shinji finished the question as he looked back at the girls with an unsure expression.

"You bet it is!" Tenka exclaimed.

"Oh goodness gracious," Hikari murmured under her breath.

"You don't have to turn this in, do you!?" Shinji suspiciously inquired.

Tenka had a smug smile on her face and she slowly and emphatically shook her head no. Following this, Kafuru's eyes narrowed and she also gave a quick nod which reaffirmed Tenka's claim and somewhat began to confuse Shinji. Witnessing all this, Sakura also eyed her fiends with a what appeared to be a measure of well-warranted skepticism though she chose not to say anything.

"...Alright, if you say so." Shinji said, relenting to the girls' request as he pressed the paper to the side of the stage's frame and tried his best to scribble a neat enough signature.

"I'm really sorry, Shinji. They wanted autographs from all of you," Sakura apologized as Shinji handed Tenka her now signed homework back.

"Oh please, it's not any trouble at all," Shinji said as he took Kafuru's paper and signed it next.

With a floating giddiness, Tenka almost seemed to levitate over to Rei before also desperately shoving the paper and pen toward her.

"Hmm?" Rei questioned.

"Your autograph please, Miss Ayanami!? Please, please, please!?" Tenka begged.

"Autograph?" Rei asked again, blinking in confusion.

"Your name, Wondergirl. She wants you to write your name," Asuka interjected.

"My... name?" Rei again asked, still not understanding but taking the pen and paper nevertheless.

While Rei had heard of people signing things other than official documents, she couldn't remember for sure if anyone had ever asked for her to sign something just for the sake of it and she failed to understand to a degree the significance of it or it if had any significance at all. Still, she figured it would just be another thing she would understand some day with enough experience and diligently wrote her name under Shinji's after finding something to brace the paper on.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!" the girl squeaked as Rei handed the paper back to her just as Kafuru also approached the Rei for her own autograph.

As perhaps should have been expected, Tenka expectantly dawdled before Asuka, her hazel eyes beaming up into Asuka's blue.

Asuka likewise looked down at the girl, her hands on her hips before she sighed and her shoulders slumped.

"Alright, kid. Give it over," Asuka relented, acting as though she didn't enjoy the attention as she held her hand out to take the paper from the girl.

Tenka let out a hushed "Yes!" as Asuka wrote her name on what was certainly not an important piece of paperwork that had to be turned into the girl's teacher.

While Asuka acted as though she were slightly annoyed, she had actually signed many less autographs than she'd expected to since she'd arrived in Japan, and she took the greatest care to spell her name neatly for the child before handing the paper back to her. Tenka let out a small cheer and Asuka patted her on the back, handing her off to Amelia with a subtle push.

Amelia looked down at the girl and blinked before looking back to Asuka, seeking guidance. Thankfully, Asuka noticed this despite now signing Kafuru's homework and she casually mentioned, "She wants your autograph."

A look of realization came over Amelia as well as a slight blush, feeling like she should have recognized this fact sooner. Amelia looked back down at the girl and tried her best to smile, though this mostly only resulted in her cheeks rising some while her lips remained neutral. She then took the paper, and began signing it. Finally, a chance to put her calligraphy practice to the proof even if a typical plastic ballpoint pen wasn't exactly the most elegant of artistic instruments.

After signing her name, she nudged Ahni. Looking up from her phone, Ahni saw Tenka standing next to Amelia with a rather focused and intent expression. The girl shivered so hard with excitement she seemed about to burst.

"This girl wants your autograph," Amelia signed in explanation.

"My… autograph?" Ahni questioned, "But I'm nobody."

"The people who look up to you don't think you're a nobody," Asuka stated as she walked up alongside Amelia, having finished signing Kafuru's homework.

Though Ahni couldn't hear her, Amelia could and she nodded to the girl as she took her meaning.

"You aren't a nobody anymore, Ahni," Amelia signed to the girl before again prompting for her to sign her name.

Ahni blinked, seemingly still hesitating, but then shoved her phone back in her pocket and took the pen and paper from Tenka while Amelia signed her own name on Kafuru's. She inhaled and held her breath for a moment, only letting her breath out again once her name had been made legible on Tenka's slip of homework. Ahni nervously handed the paper back to the girl and she let out a cheer that she could only imagine the sound of. But at least the girl's eyes seemed to light up.

"Yeah! Haha, I got all of them! No one at school is gonna believe me!" Tenka exclaimed.

"Me next, me next!" Kafuru begged as she clambered into Ahni's personal space and eagerly held out her paper.

Unconsciously, Ahni found herself smiling as she took Kafuru's paper and signed her name on it as well.

"Yes!" Kafuru said under her breath as she clenched her fist triumphantly.

"They're totally gonna say its fake though, yeah, yeah!?" Tenka said, a little bit deflated.

"Nah, I have an idea!" Kafuru said as she pulled out her phone and raised it up to take a selfie.

Ahni, only just barely managing to catch on to what what happening in time, quickly held up her hand in a peace sign as she found herself on the screen of Kafuru's phone.

"Nice! Now I have receipts!" Kafuru again said in a victorious voice.

"Oooh, great idea!" Tenka said in an intrigued voice as she too pulled out her phone and also took a selfie with Ahni.

This time, Ahni lowered her sunglasses and winked at the camera while teasingly sticking her tongue out as her chosen pose and Tenka found herself mirroring the seventh child and also sticking out her tongue.

"Hey, hey, we look pretty cute," Tenka said as she looked at the picture, seemingly satisfied with her proof of encountering the Eva Pilots.

While Ahni couldn't hear the girl, she doubtless would have agreed even if she was more prone to admiring the others. Tenka and Kafuru both snapped a few more pictures of the rest of the pilots. They were seemingly just as enamored with them as Ahni herself was.

During her time in Nevada, she'd only felt like she was an Eva Pilot in name alone after the angels had begun attacking. She and Amelia were left on the sidelines while Shinji and Rei and before long even Asuka were called on to serve. And she was stuck in the middle of the desert playing around in her simulation plug and trying to stay cool during the hottest part of the day. She'd felt so useless. And this feeling of worthlessness was only further instilled in her after Mark.04 had detonated. Then, she couldn't even serve as a test pilot for R&D.

But now she was here. Sure, the thirteenth angel had trounced her thoroughly and her fight against the twelfth had resulted in a stalemate moreso. But at least she was actually doing something now. Or trying to at least. Or maybe just hoping to do something.

Well, perhaps she hadn't done much more than act as a distraction. But she could change that now. And assuming Asuka wasn't still deadset on leaving, maybe she could actually have a proper teacher. Maybe, if she wasn't just thrown into the middle of a fight and could observe someone more skilled, maybe she could finally make herself useful.

For a moment, she wanted to call out to Asuka. But perhaps the middle of public wasn't the best place to have this conversation. It wouldn't due to let anyone besides themselves know that Asuka and the other pilots had intended to run away at all. That would shatter the faith Shinji had just gone through the trouble of fostering.

Instead, Ahni quietly pulled out her phone as Tenka and Kafuru continued barraging the others with questions and requests while Sakura tried to keep the two girls from acting too strongly on their celebrity crushes. And while the girls were occupied, Ahni texted Asuka.

"Are you still leaving?" it read.

Looking on silently, Ahni watched as Asuka seemingly noticed her phone vibrating. Checking the text and seeing who sent it, Asuka looked around for a moment before seeing Ahni shyly watching her. Asuka gave her a smile before returning her attention to her phone. Likewise, Ahni looked back down at her phone and before long, received a response from Asuka.

"No. I'm staying."

/

-Hollow, While You Were Gone-

/

A few minutes earlier, on Istiklal Caddesi, in Istanbul…

In the hellish heat, a figure in a dark brown hooded cloak stepped off an antique red tram and into the sunny pedestrian street. Immediately, the pangs of hunger struck as the scent of Turkish street food tempted the hooded person's senses. Trying to get over the threatening daze, the person looked around. A red flag with a white moon and star hung from a tilted flag pole hanging over the street. So striking and vivid, though the surroundings certainly contributed their own colors.

So close to the Haliç and that to the Marble Sea of Marmara, this place had once been flooded shortly after Second Impact and for some years after. And while some of the older structures dating back to the time of the Ottoman Empire and even older had survived, many establishments had been tarnished by the invasion of the sea.

Of course, the sea had not just politely receded at the request of Turkey. The Istanbullu and the other Turkish had worked tirelessly in a broken world to reclaim what Second Impact had taken from them. Part of this of course was done for sentimental purposes. The world needed hope in the days following second impact. Proof that humanity's spirit was not broken. Istanbul, like many great cities, had a long history stretching back beyond recollection. And the Turkish people would not let Second Impact steal their stories from them.

But there were more practical reasons for the reclamation as well. Numerous bridges connecting Asia and Europe had collapsed following Second Impact. And while boats were an effective enough means of transport, in a post-impact world where many had died to the apocalypse, which then led to multiple supply chain issues as well as a loss of skilled laborers and sailors, the operation of solely cargo ships and nothing else significantly reduced the ability to transport both raw materiel and processed goods. The simplicity of trucks and roads would be needed to exchange good between Europe and Asia while the people with skills would teach a new generation to sail, to fly, to engineer, to innovate, and to have hope.

So it was that the Grand Seawall of Istanbul was built. The water was flushed away with pumps. The wooden water-rotted buildings were restored while the stone ones were polished and reinforced. Roads were repaved and bridges reached over the water once more. And in their attempt to reclaim and preserve their stories, they also created a new story. A story about not giving up. A trite happy ending perhaps. But one the world needed at the time.

And now, this cloaked person stood upon this once drowned street, in sunlight and life. In an affront to fate. In rebellion, in temerity, in daring defiance of the end, she and every person here stood upon what was once lost.

"If only I had time to see the sights but…" the person pulled the hood back and revealed her brown hair and bespectacled teal eyes to the world, "Time waits for no woman."

Again, hunger tore at the girl's insides and the delectable scent of greasy scorching-hot lamb meat and chilled biber salcasi with freshly cut pepper as well as an extremely fragrant whiff of some kind of coffee came close to breaking the girl's will. Another wave of dizziness attacked her and she tried to shake it off. But she could barely remember the last time she ate and she direly needed sustenance.

Hoping she wouldn't collapse before she could reach a food stall, she began following her nose to the origin of the spiced lamb, trying to ignore the vibrant distractions.

Her nose didn't lead her astray. Before long, she found a red and yellow street food stall and a man with a dark but friendly pair of eyes and a sharp handsome haircut. She saw him hand another man some kind of sandwich and she could see the heat rippling off it in the air despite the already hot weather of the eternal summer.

She felt the ghost of hunger repeatedly reach inside her and punch her in the guts and she let out a quiet groan, trying her damnedest not to keel over at the sight of such sultry sizzling meat and cloud-soft bread.

Refusing to idle in hunger for a moment longer, as soon as the man left the stall, she approached in turn while also preparing some money. Hopefully with this being a tourism district, the seller would accept U.S. Dollars as that was all she had on her at the moment as she hadn't yet had the chances to exchange for the local lira yet.

"Hello, Friend!" the man greeted her, "I assume you are here for food! You're lucky you came by now before the day gets too hot."

"Your assumption is correct. I am starved and I couldn't help but notice the delicious scent of seasoned lamb was coming from here."

"Right you are, my friend! My şiş köfte is the best around. Or so I like to think. I might be biased since I obviously make it to my liking. Still though, I can't recommend it enough."

"Well, if that's the case, who am I to refuse? I'll take some," the girl said, "And what about that sandwich thing the previous man got? That looked pretty good too!"

"Tantuni! Searing beef and lamb sprinkled with parsley, tomatoes, and lemon rolled into lavash bread. Lots of tourists around here, they try one, and then they try another. And then they can't stop. I also like putting some garlic-dill haydari and flax seeds on it. Not that there is a wrong choice to begin with, but you certainly can't go wrong with Tantuni!"

"Okay, I'm definitely gonna have some of that too if it's not too much trouble! It sounds delicious."

"Oh, it truly is, friend, even if I do say so myself. And it's no trouble at all," the man said as he started arranging some ingredients.

While the man began preparing the food, the girl took a moment to look around, trying not to be distracted by her stomach clawing at her. As perhaps her first measure, she was looking for a hotel though she didn't immediately notice one. But she still had plenty of time as it was only nine-thirty in the morning or so. And while the hottest part of the day would soon be upon her, she wasn't particularly in a rush.

"What is your, name friend? Are you a tourist? You don't look like you're from around here," the man questioned.

"Ah, you're right. I'm not from around here. I'm not really from anywhere. As for my name," the girl said, looking back at the man with a smile, "I'm…. Mari. Mari Makinami. And, while I'm traveling, I'm not sure I'd call myself a tourist. I unfortunately am only passing through. Though, I do wish I could stay for a bit and see the sights. This is a beautiful city."

"Mari, eh?" the man said, glancing back at her and giving her his own smile, "If you were staying, I'd have recommended some places to see before leaving. But it sounds like you're on your own adventure. Where are you going next?"

Mari pondered the question for a moment. She had a rough idea of where she would be going next, but she hadn't made any specific plans yet as she was hoping to do that while in her hotel room, hopefully with the luxury of air conditioning and the convenience of the most up-to-date maps.

"Well, I'm thinking I'm going to go to Greece next. And then catch a boat to cross the Ionian sea to get to Italy. That's about as far as I've planned at the moment."

"Hmm, it sounds like you have quite the journey ahead of you, Miss Mari."

"I do. One longer than I realize I think… What about you? What's your name?"

"Me? I am Ayaz. Other than that, there's not much to say. I think my parents and grandparents would have better stories than I do. My grandfather on my father's side fought in the Osmanlı-Yunan Savaşı against the Greeks. And my mother is a Shepherdess."

"Oh… My bad. You must not think too highly of the Greeks then. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

"Nonsense! The Greeks helped us build the Grand Seawall after Second Impact. Of course, they had their own selfish reasons, I'm sure. But so does everyone. In the end, we all worked together to rebuild our world. We had to. What other choice did we have? Every country has rivalries and bad blood with others. But we can put that aside to help ourselves and each other. And the result is always something beautiful."

Ayaz, having prepared Mari's food, handed it to the girl with a smile, and of course, a stout disposable paper plate with more colors on it than a rainbow.

"Heheh, I'll have to be sure to remember that. Thank you for the food. Oh, also, do you accept U.S. dollars?"

"What kind of tourism district would this be if we didn't accept foreign currency? Of course!"

Mari and Ayaz exchanged a few more short words and some banknotes and finally, she could eat. Or so she hoped.

"Take care, on your journey, Miss Mari. One as young as you, you still have much to live for. So be sure to live your best every day. And some day in the future, be sure to visit Istanbul again when you get the chance. This city has much to offer."

"Thank you, Ayaz. I'll be sure to stop by again some day. It's a promise. And when I do, I'll come back and get more Tantuni from you!"

She immediately began looking for a place to rest. Her legs ached, and while she was no quitter, it had been a long journey from Golgotha to Istanbul. Though, distracting her again was the sight, and of course the scent, of freshly made coffee at another stall. Curiously, to her at least, it sat in a heated tub of sand. The metal cups were buried partway into the sand, and before long, the liquid was warmed and its froth threatened to boil over.

How dearly she wanted a taste. But she only had so much she could freely spend and she already had a supply of water in her travel bag. So, for the moment, she convinced herself to refuse despite how richly the coffee smelled.

Returning her attention to finding a place to rest, she finally saw a bench on the side of the street and she sighed as she sat down. She pulled her bag from her shoulders and finally she could eat. She picked up one of the köfte skewers first, happy to finally have something salty, savory, and a bit spicy after days of living off of stale wheat crisps that had been crushed into crumbles by her venturing. She was so hungry she almost could have eaten the wooden skewer along with the meat. However, the meat proved to be hot enough to stop her from doing that.

"Ow!" she hissed before blowing on the food to help cool it off, however much that would help in the eternal summer.

Despite the searing heat, each of the three skewers were gone before she realized it. So delicious but so fleeting. She then moved on to the tantuni wrap and it too was almost too hot to bite into. But there were a few cool vegetables that helped to bring the temperature down and it too was gone before she could even fully appreciate the flavors.

It was good nevertheless though. And just as Ayaz had said, she already wanted another. Despite this pause of respite however, Mari was working against a clock. She took every precaution to remain undetected but this came at the precious cost of time. A necessary measure as far as she was concerned, but one that gnawed at the prospects of achieving her goal.

She had no idea what Seele's current thoughts on her were. But she operated on the assumption that they didn't hold the highest opinion of her and that she could remain ahead of them, even if only by a few paces. But, in the event she couldn't, she didn't want them to know where she would be next.

It was an engaging game of cat and mouse, at least from what she could tell. But it was stressful and tiring and worst of all, it made her paranoid. Talking to people helped ground her in reality again. Help her share in their perceptions of the world. And though it seemed a waste of time to talk to people, she couldn't let herself be driven mad. She'd seen it happen to others who came before her. People who shut everyone out of their life. Who refused to let others help them until that help seemed a detriment to their goals. Of course, connecting with people came with dangers for Mari. But so did pushing them away. And even more than that, something as simple as buying food from some place she'd never been before helped her to remember how beautiful the world could be. It helped her to remember why she does what she does.

As Ayaz had said, she already wanted another bite of this culture and of many she hadn't experienced yet. But if she were to have that, she'd have to protect the future.

Having finished her food, she looked for a trashcan and upon finding one, she stood up. She was still tired, but at least her legs had stopped shaking. And if luck were with her, in a few hours, she'd be in a soft bed and she'd pass out before she'd even realized it. She just needed to hold out for a little longer.

Making her way to the trashcan, she'd noticed another stall selling clothing. And one of the pieces of fabric had caught her eye. She threw away the grease-smeared plate and backtracked to the stall to see the top half of light pink head wrap of some sort with numerous beads of different colors and small pieces of metal hanging from it. How colorful and right up Mari's alley as far as her fashion preferences ran.

"Yes, yabancı? You're a tourist?" the woman running the stall asked.

"Ah, I wouldn't say I'm a tourist, but a yabanci?" Mari said, redirecting her gaze away from the clothing and to the woman.

"Yabanci means outsider, a foreigner," the woman answered.

"Well, I guess I am an outsider. So I guess I would also be a yabanci," Mari said, a slight smile on her face, hoping she wasn't missing some cultural context.

The woman chuckled before continuing.

"Well then, outsider, has something of mine caught your eye?"

"Yes, this pink headdress, actually. Pink is my favorite color and this one looked so pretty."

"Ah, I had a feeling I'd be selling that one today," the woman said to her self with a contented smile, "Its yours if you have the money."

"Do you accept currency from the United States? I only got here a short while ago and haven't had time to exchange mine for any Lira yet."

"I do," the woman confirmed.

"Then I'll take it!" Mari exclaimed, eagerly pulling out some banknotes from seemingly out of nowhere!

She still had quite a journey ahead of her. But budget be damned, she wanted this little headdress to remind her of where she'd been and how far she still had to go. And, after the exchange, she was happy to immediately don the headpiece. There was only one problem: she didn't know how to wear it. At least not exactly.

"So, am I wearing it right? And what's this called exactly?"

"We call it a çarşaf. And this is how you wear it," the woman said before adjusting the cloth and draping it around the girl's face and over her head while being careful to not get any smudges on Mari's galsses, "We don't wear them all the time. But they're important to us all the same. And now you can take a part of Türkiye with you wherever you go."

Now that she was wearing the çarşaf correctly, Mari took a moment to strike a few poses and looked herself up and down. The bright pastel pink clashed with the dark brown of the rest of her outfit. But it was a nice splash of color and the colorful bits of metal on the çarşaf helped bring it all together with the few colorful beads and tassels that were sewn haphazardly to her cloak.

"So, how do I look?" Mari asked.

"Strange. But perhaps not as strange as you could look."

"Ugh, I know," Mari groaned, "I haven't had much time for fashion recently. I've been just picking up things as I travel and it all ends up so mismatched."

"Then, perhaps you should style your clothing based on the fact it does not match. Be consistent in your inconsistency. Then you will truly look like a traveler," the woman suggested.

"Have any suggestions for what I should add then?" Mari inquired.

"Hmm…" the woman pondered.

She paced about for a moment as she examined Mari's outfit. She then glanced under her stall a few times before pulling out a red and gold sash and holding it between her and her prospective customer. She raised and lowered it, presumably trying to see how it might look wrapped around different heights of the girl's body. But Mari herself was already quite enamored with the color and was already prepared to pull out a few more bills.

"Ooh! That one's so pretty too!" Mari exclaimed, her eyes practically sparkling.

"You think so? I made it myself. Again, its yours if you can afford it."

"I can! I will!" Mari said as she forked over several more dollars.

In return, the woman handed over the sash and Mari immediately began tying it around her waist. And, once she'd finished, she again posed.

"So, how 'bout now? Looks better?"

"Still strange… But definitely better, yes!" the woman nodded in approval.

"Well, in that case, I'm happy," Mari affirmed as she hefted her backpack up her shoulder and turned to leave, "Thanks for selling to me. These are really pretty. I'll be sure to take care of them."

"Truly, the pleasure is mine," the woman said as she watched Mari walk away.

While Mari did appreciate the new clothing, there was also a sinking pit in her stomach that had begun to form from her worry of overspending. It wasn't that much. Surely she'd be okay but this wasn't meant to be a vacation. But perhaps a bit of sentimental value would help carry her forward. On the road, little mementos from the places she'd visited was about all she had in the way of company. Memories of nobody and nothing. Memories that truly would become nothing if she didn't fulfill her purpose.

She was broken out of her dreary thoughts however as she passed a public television on the street. And on it, she saw someone she recognized, even if it was only from sterile pictures in some shady document. Her attention thoroughly diverted, she listened intently as several other people already had been.

"As Eva Pilots, we will work everyday to live up to your faith in us if you choose to believe in us. And I pray the same way that you prayed for us that you will have faith in us the same way we have faith in you. And outside of that, to have faith in something," the boy on the TV said, causing Mari to smirk.

"How earnest… Hmmhmm, silly child. He still doesn't realize just how big this is," she chuckled as she adjusted her glasses, "I'm coming for you, puppy boy! In this world and the next if that's what it takes. Now, to find a hotel."

/

-A Girl Far From Home-

/

Several hours later, in Tokyo-3, in Ahni and Amelia's apartment…

It was bedtime, or close enough to it for the specifics not to matter, and Amelia was preparing to go to sleep. Shinji had been kind enough to cook dinner for her and Ahni earlier and at this point, it was seeming like it might become a new normal to have dinner with the other pilots and Misato.

It still felt strange to her. Her inability to speak usually caused her to retreat from social environments but here, it didn't matter quite so much. Even if she could speak, hardly anything would change. If she wanted to communicate with the others, she still would have had to route her conversation through Asuka first. And in spite of, or perhaps because of this, Amelia felt less out of place than she usually would have. And the feeling of not being out of place actually went right back around to making her feel out of place again. It wasn't a bad feeling but rather one she would have to get used to. She was handling it better than Ahni at least.

Having just fluffed the sheets, Amelia looked up to see Ahni pacing about and fidgeting. This too was a new normal for her. Every night since arriving in Tokyo-3, Ahni would seem discontent and ill-at-ease but by day, she would change back to her usual outgoing self. Or perhaps only a version of herself. She'd always had trouble with people's perceptions of her and it was apparent that she was trying to make some kind of impression on the other pilots but that she was struggling to understand if it was a good or bad one.

Amelia watched as the girl walked back and forth, perhaps waiting for an opportune moment to grab the girl's attention. Though she didn't seem to notice and kept pacing while occasionally taking a sip of coffee of all things.

When it became apparent that Ahni was lost in her thoughts, probably in a world of hypothetical scenarios that would never occur, Amelia finally stepped away from the bed to intervene, resulting in the girl almost walking straight into her and spilling her coffee.

"Ooh! Uh, uh-" Ahni stuttered as she recoiled away from Amelia.

"What are you doing?" Amelia signed to the girl with a concerned expression.

"I… Um, I don't know. I'm just trying to calm down," Ahni shrugged.

"Then maybe you shouldn't be drinking coffee before bed," Amelia signed to the girl again before putting one hand on her shoulder and holding the other out to take the cup from the girl.

Ahni released a sigh she'd been holding and handed the cup to Amelia. Amelia gave her a smile, or as close as she could manage to one, and then took the cup to the kitchen, placing it in the fridge before returning to Ahni's side.

Still, the girl couldn't stop fidgeting. Amelia knew it would likely be a futile attempt to try to get her to sit but nevertheless, she pushed her towards the bed.

"H- Hey! I can walk by myself!" Ahni protested.

Amelia said nothing and only kept pushing her until she fell backwards onto the bed. Ahni immediately appeared as though she was attempting to get back up but Amelia flopped onto the bed next to her, laying on her side and throwing her arm over Ahni's chest and nuzzling her face into Ahni's neck

"What's bothering you, darling girl?" Amelia signed to the girl after a few moments of quiet.

"Its… tomorrow."

Amelia raised an eyebrow before sitting up and signing to Ahni, "Tomorrow? What about tomorrow?"

"I mean… swimming and everything," Ahni mumbled, also sitting up, "I'm worried everyone's gonna think I'm a freak or make fun of me because of…"

"No one is going to make fun of you. And if you were worried about that, you shouldn't have brought that ridiculous swimsuit. Something more conservative would have prevented that from ever being a concern in the first place."

"I know!" Ahni groaned before turning and face-planting into the bed, "But I… just want them to like me."

Amelia reached for the girl's head and tilted it to the side so she could communicate.

"Then just be yourself. They're never going to like you if they can't even get to know you. Maybe they think it's weird. Maybe they don't. But it won't matter if you'll just be yourself. That means accepting your fear and also your forwardness."

"Oh, Why did I come? I want to go home," Ahni said as she turned her face back into the mattress and moaned into the bed, sounding almost as though she were on the verge of crying.

Amelia pushed the girl onto her side before signing to her, "Hey! Look at me! I can't talk if you won't face me!"

Ahni only huffed in response.

"I want to go home too," Amelia signed to the girl in a heartfelt manner, "And we will go home once all of this is over. But everyone else wants to go home too. We're the ones who make sure they can. We can't go home until everyone else does. Do you understand me? We're the last to go home."

"I don't want to be the last to go home…"

"...Why did you come, Ahni?"

"I don't know… To save the world I guess."

"I thought you wanted to meet Asuka too."

"I did but… I'm still scared she won't accept me. I've been worthless ever since I came. Even you showed me up when the thirteenth angel attacked. I don't feel like I can do anything. Everyone's just been helping me. I haven't saved anyone."

"Even Asuka needed to be saved by Shinji. You remember that?"

"Yeah, yeah, the volcano. I remember. But that's different. He's actually a hero. He can actually do something. Him and Unit-01 fought the thirteenth angel bare-handed.Killed it bare-handed! And I couldn't do anything…"

Again, Ahni rolled over and smashed her face into the bed and Amelia was forced to push her onto her side again. There were finally a few tears of frustration running sideways across Ahni's cheeks and through her blurred vision, she could see Amelia sign, "Look at me. No one is born a hero. Heroes are made. We make them ourselves."

"I- I know!" Ahni sobbed, "But that hardly makes it any better."

Amelia leaned over and pulled the girl into a hug, gently stroking her hair as she cried into her nightgown. They stayed like that for a few minutes perhaps. Amelia knew that this shift in lifestyle hadn't been easy on Ahni even if she tired to hide it outside of their own privacy. Hopefully another week or so would iron out the lingering homesickness assuming that's truly all it was. And in time, Ahni would see all would be well here. As nice as the normalcy of NERV-2 was, it was largely isolated from other people of Amelia and Ahni's age range. They were all they really had. But here, maybe there could be more. Amelia realized this, and though the relocation had been difficult on her too, she was seeing the potential for new friendships. And that helped to comfort her.

Amelia pulled Ahni out of her shirt, and signed to her, "Everything will be alright. We're all together now."

Ahni sniffled and gave a weak nod to the girl.

Amelia nodded back and then added, "Just try to enjoy yourself tomorrow, please."

/

-On The Dawn We Set Our Sights-

/

The next morning, at the Katsuragi residence…

A dark grey Rolls Royce pulled into the apartment parking lot and out stepped none other than Ryoji Kaji. He pulled out his phone and sighed. Both Asuka and Misato had texted him to invite him along for the trip. Luckily, he had managed to get the most urgent of his paperwork done, but that's not to say that he didn't still have things to do.

However, something didn't sit right with him turning down the offer. Of course, the self-indulgence was one thing. But this was Asuka and his now kind-of sort-of girlfriend, both of whom he'd made the mistake of not setting aside enough time for in the past. This was of course, a common sacrifice a man had to make in his life. Support his family or spend time with them. And unfortunately, many men didn't have the freedom to do both at a whim. But thankfully, Kaji's rank afforded him some measure of extra autonomy. And so he'd made the choice to come along.

Finally, he unlocked his phone and texted Asuka that he'd arrived. And in what felt like no time at all, the door to Misato's apartment flung open and Asuka was bolting across the balcony and down the stairwell. Ahni and Amelia quickly followed after her. Shinji too ran out the door shouting something to Asuka about being careful before he too made for the stairwell, albeit at a slower pace and with PenPen following behind him. Finally, Rei and Misato stepped outside. Rei was seemingly taken by the sunrise and didn't mind the breeze blowing her hair into her face. Or maybe she just didn't have the capability of adjusting her hair as she seeming to be carrying a bag or what was likely to be a change of clothes for everyone.

After having locked the door to her apartment, Misato put her hands on Rei's shoulders and turned her around. She then apparently took a moment to fix Rei's hair and put a straw sunhat with a blue hibiscus onto the girl's head before fawning over her and presumably telling her how cute she looked.

Kaji looked on with a smile and when Misato looked up he waved at her and she waved back as well. Even though it was hard to see from as far away as he was, he could tell she was smiling; something he was profoundly grateful for.

Before long though, his attention was diverted as Asuka came sprinting towards him across the parking lot. She tackled him against his own car as she threw her arms around him and hugged him.

"Hey, Pumpkin Patch. How're you?" Kaji asked as he patted the girl on the head.

"I'm fine- No, I'm good," Asuka said, looking up at him and smiling, "Thanks for coming with us. I'm sure you were busy. It means a lot."

"It's my pleasure, Asuka," Kaji responded with his own kindly smile.

Before another moment had passed, Ahni and Amelia had also arrived.

"So! Are we ready to go!? I can't wait to see more of the city and the rest of Japan!" Ahni asked excitedly.

"Just about. You do have your keys, don't you!?" Asuka questioned back, raising her own pair of keys and dangling them in the air in front of Ahni and Amelia.

Amelia gave an affirmative wink and pulled out the keys to her truck, spinning the key ring around her finger before grabbing it in her fist.

Kaji then seemingly came to the realization that the keys in Asuka hands looked strikingly similar to his own and he felt around in his pockets to find that his keys were indeed missing! How sly of her.

"My- My keys!" Kaji exclaimed.

Asuka let out a chuckle before turning around and teasingly holding Kaji's key in front of him.

"Don't worry. I haven't forgotten about taking away people's security. I just figured you had it coming with how you had me fooling around in your garden for that key the other day. But if that doesn't suit you, I suppose you could look at it as me making sure to keep you on your toes. Though, since I already have them, I suppose you could let me drive the car. After all, Ahni's already gotten a chance to. So it's only fair if I do too. That and I do know where we need to go," Asuka said in a rather smug voice.

"If I recall correctly, she wasn't supposed to be driving the car in the first place," Kaji doubtfully responded, holding out his hand to take the keys back.

"Oh, that's the way of it then? I guess you shouldn't have left your keys where she could find them. Of course, if you'd given us the correct keys to the house in the first place, we wouldn't have accidentally found the keys to your car. Just something to consider," Asuka said as she dropped the keys back into Kaji's hand.

Looking back down at the gleaming pieces of metal, Kaji considered Asuka's words. He'd spent a fair amount of effort organizing such a contrivance with his key collecting games to teach Asuka. And this obviously wasn't an empty gesture on Asuka's part. Maybe Asuka was right. Maybe he did need to hand the keys off to somebody else every now and then.

After a few moments, Kaji looked back up at Asuka, her blue eyes gleaming in the sunlight.

"You want the keys?" Kaji asked.

Asuka's eye widened and before she knew it, Kaji had tossed the keys back to her. Her above average reflexes allowed her to catch them without to much fumbling. But she was still surprised at Kaji's decision.

"They're yours. You can have the wheel," Kaji said, folding his arms and resting on the side of his car.

"Huh… I didn't actually expect that to work," Asuka said in an amused voice.

Finally, Shinji had arrived carrying a bag of what was probably some kind of ingredients. PenPen rubbed his head against the leg of Shinji's pants, apparently smelling something he liked from within the bag and trying in his own way to ask for some of whatever was inside.

"Agh, PenPen, you're gonna trip me!" Shinji warned the bird, though that would perhaps be a favorable outcome for the bird as it would allow him to eat whatever fell out onto the ground.

"I'm sure that bird is gonna have the time of his life. Getting to swim free instead of being cooped up in some apartment," Kaji said, which earned him a curious look from PenPen.

"I'll have you know that bird is quite civilized and enjoys the finer things in life like inexpensive beer, instant noodles, quick curry, boxed wine, and probably frozen steak too," Misato interjected as she and Rei joined the group.

Misato then picked up the penguin and started nuzzling her nose against his beak and telling him what a good boy he was.

"Curiously, I didn't hear her mention fish anywhere in that list," Kaji mumbled.

"Alright, feather-face, which car are you riding in?" Asuka asked, which caused both Misato and PenPen to look at her.

"Do you mean me or…" Misato asked pointing at herself and then the bird.

"I mean that chicken nugget!" Asuka said, pointing at the penguin accusingly.

PenPen only blinked in response before letting out what was probably a bunch of expletives in whatever language it was that penguins spoke due to Asuka making yet another joke about eating him.

"Warkin' warkin' wark frackin' wark wark!"

"It's okay, she didn't mean it, my sweet boy," Misato tried to console the bird.

"Well, whichever car he's going in, I don't wanna be in it! He's gonna bite my ankles!" Asuka huffed.

"Brrrrr, brrrrr brrrrr brrr brrr!" PenPen hummed as he jumped out of Misato's arms and fluffed his feathers angrily before running toward Asuka.

"Ayy! He's doing it again!" Asuka shouted as she began dodging PenPen's beak as he attacked her shoes, "This is exactly why I keep telling Shinji to turn you into chicken tikka masala or sweet and sour duck soup!"

"Well, does everyone have everything? Swimsuits? Snacks?" Shinji asked, trying not to chuckle too much as Asuka clambered atop Kaji's car to avoid the vicious man-eating penguin lurking beneath her.

/

A short while later, at the Suzuhara residence…

Three cars. Surely that would be enough. Misato's Renault, Kaji's Rolls Royce, and Amelia's Chevy. And yet, by the time Toji and the rest of his present company were assembled, there were perhaps a few doubts. Aside from Toji himself, Kensuke was along for the excursion with Hikari and both of her sisters, Kodama and Nozomi. And of course Sakura herself wasn't going to miss out considering she was the one who'd floated the idea of taking some time to hang out in the first place. And to top it all off, Sakura's friends, Tenka and Kafuru appeared eager to join as well.

But, before anyone could even start organizing into their rides, there were apparently a few introductions to be made. Or at least that should be made.

Kodama in particular hadn't had the chance to meet any of Evangelion pilots yet. So now it was her turn to adjust to the fact she was in the presence of heroes.

While she didn't look exactly like Hikari, the familial resemblance was unmistakable, sharing the same freckles as Nozomi and Hikari and having largely the same hair color. She wore her hair down and had something of a soft dorky look to her. As well as this, she seemed a fair bit more weighty though not too much taller than Hikari. She would have looked right at home as a librarian or office worker, though apparently, she was neither, instead still be a student in college herself, which probably is what made her stand out as being mature but still young among most everyone else present.

"Oh my goodness! I just feel like I could faint standing in front of all of you!" Kodama almost squealed.

"Um, please don't," Asuka almost begged of the girl.

"Yeah, we're not worth it! Really!" Shinji reaffirmed.

"Yes, we are very normal people with no discerning characteristics," Rei said in a deadpan voice, potentially trying to emulate Shinji.

"Well, some of us are normal at any rate…" Asuka muttered under her breath.

"Oh, please, you're just being humble!" Kodama said with a slight blush as Hikari gave Toji a confused look.

Hikari, having spent the majority of her days at school with the pilots almost forgot for a moment that most people didn't get the chance to be so close to them.

"No, no, I promise! We're really not all that interesting," Shinji assured the girl.

"Eh, that's only half true," Toji said with a shrug.

"They're interesting enough to be put in the history books!" Kensuke chuckled.

"Can I- Can I like… Shake your hands!?" Kodama asked excitedly, the sun glinting off her eyes and glasses both.

"Uh, sure. But, really, it's not that big of a deal," Shinji said as he bashfully held out his hand.

Kodama simply couldn't refuse and took Shinji's hand in her own.

"I saw your speech yesterday! It was so inspiring!" Kodama said with an extraordinarily wide grin, enthusiastically shaking Shinji's hand, "How noble of you to care for your enemies enough to grant them a remembrance service. That's to say nothing of your fights against them. Your battle against the thirteenth seemed especially grueling. Thank you so much for everything you do for us, Mister Ikari!"

"Oh, really, it's nothing at all," Shinji said, trying his best not to blush as he wasn't accustomed to this kind of praise and truth be told, it made him a little uncomfortable.

Stepping in front of Asuka next, Kodama again held out her hand gleefully. Asuka looked down at the girl's hand for a moment. She wasn't exactly keen on touching strangers. But, she could tell that it would mean a lot to the girl and so Asuka was a good sport about it and shook the girl's hand.

"And you, Miss Sohryu- Or do your prefer Langley?"

"Uh, either is fine…" Asuka awkwardly chuckled.

"Well, you are simply magnificent, Miss Sohryu! So graceful and stylish and capable! And you're even more striking in person than on the TV. I'm sure you probably here this all the time but thank you so much for fighting for us."

"Yeah, don't mention it," Asuka uncomfortably laughed again.

Kodama bowed to the girl before then stepping over Rei and again holding out her hand. Rei looked down and blinked which caused Asuka to give the girl a gentle nudge and Rei likewise reached out to take the girl's hand.

"And you, Miss Ayanami! How nice it is to finally meet you. How brave and committed you are. I heard you took the brunt of the fifth angel's attacks during Operation Yashima."

"Um, yes, that's right. It was my… responsibility. My duty."

"I've wanted to thank you and Shinji personally ever since. Knowing my sister is your class president, I was hoping I'd get the chance to meet you. I hope she hasn't been cracking the whip on you three too hardly with all your responsibilities."

"Kodama!" Hikari shouted in embarrassment.

"No she has been… fair," Rei assured the girl absentmindedly as she watched Hikari pick up Nozomi.

"That's good to hear. Especially for you. You seem so sweet like you couldn't do anything wrong."

"Well, sometimes I do catch her staring out the window in class," Hikari mumbled as she hefted Nozomi up to get a more secure hold on her.

"Is that so? I hope you aren't being mean to Miss Ayanami for such a small misdemeanor, Miss Classroom Police Officer," Kodama said in a curiously accusatory tone, turning around to face

"What!? No! Of course I'm not being mean to her! I'm just trying to make sure she's passing her exams so she can go places in life!"

"Go places in life, haha," Kodama chuckled turning back to Rei, "I think Miss Ayanami will be alright."

"Hmm? Oh, yes… Alright. I will be... alright," Rei said with a nod, still having her attention occasionally stolen by Nozomi.

"And you two must be the new pilots I've heard about!" Kodama exclaimed as she stepped before Ahni and Amelia and held out her hand for whoever would take it first.

Both of the girl looks at each other and then back at Kodama.

"Don't worry! I know both of you are American and probably can't understand me," Kodama added, consciously trying her best to appear friendly.

Awkwardly, Amelia and Ahni both reached out for the girl's hand at the same time and their fingers ended up a confusing entwined mess as a blush streaked across both of their faces. Kodama, as friendly as she was, could only giggle before giving both of them a proper handshake. Noticeably, Misato also gave a light chuckle at the sight as well.

"My bad. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the rest of you. What's your name, Ma'am?" Kodama asked.

"Me? Oh, I'm Colonel Katsuragi. But you can just call me Misato," Misato giggled.

"Oh, Colonel? Then… You work for NERV? I suppose I should thank you too then."

"Oh, please, that's hardly necessary. Just doing my duty," Misato bashfully assured.

"And you, Sir?" Kodama asked, looking at Kaji expectantly.

"Ah, I'm just her…" Kaji fell silent before glancing at Misato and then back at Kodama and unsurely saying, "...Boyfriend? I'm just Kaji. I work for NERV also. I'm a… secret agent!"

"Oh, really now!? How exciting!" Kodama said as she enthusiastically pumped her fists.

"Actually… that was just a joke. I'm the chief inspection officer. I just look at papers all day and triple check documents that've already been double checked. Pretty, uh… boring job, even if I do say so myself."

"Well, in that case, that's all the more reason to have fun today!" Kodama cheered.

"That's what I like to hear! Living your best life every day!" Kaji said back, matching Kodama's enthusiasm.

"Wa- Wark!" PenPen squawked from Misato's car seat, peaking out the rolled down window.

"Oh my goodness! Is that PenPen!" Hikari squeaked before looking at Toji and saying "Here, can you take her!?"

"Huh!? Wha- Hikari!?" Toji questioned.

Hikari then attempted to hand off Nozomi into Toji's care. And though he stuttered in surprise, he didn't really have the opportunity to refuse. And before he knew it, Nozomi was in his arms, looking up at him with wide eyes while Hikari walked over to Misato's car to presumably begin cuddling with PenPen. Toji was going to protest further but upon looking down at the girl, he decided not to as she'd already been complaining about having to pack for the trip earlier. And how was she supposed to enjoy the day off if she was tired out before the excursion had even begun?

"Alright, you, go ahead and get comfortable I guess." Toji said as he readjusted the girl in his arms so that was was carrying her bridal style instead of like a limp stuffed animal.

There was another squawk and Hikari's eyes also widened in unbridled joy as she pulled PenPen out of the car and into her arms.

"Oh my gosh! Is that the bird you were talking about!" Kodama almost shrieked.

"It sure is!" Hikari said as she carried PenPen over to Kodama.

"Aww! He's so cute and fuzzy!" Kodama said, affectionately petting the bird, which PenPen appeared to enjoy immensely.

"He is, isn't he!" Misato said, proudly admiring her feathered friend.

"I wanna feel!" Nozomi shouted.

"Me too!" Kafuru added!

"Hey, hey! And me!" Tenka squealed!

"Be careful, he bites," Asuka muttered.

"No, he doesn't!" Misato responded in astonishment.

"Aww, he wouldn't bite! Would he?" Kodama adoringly said ironically right as the penguin was nibbling on her finger.

Hikari then brought PenPen over to Toji and Nozomi so the girl could pet him, which she eagerly did. Toji on the other hand could only think about how the bird had tried to steal his lunch from him when he'd visited the Marine Restoration facility. He made it a priority to locate the packed food Hikari had intended to bring with her so he could be sure to keep a close eye on it. Relieved, he saw it was untouched on the ground a few paces away and under his watch, it would remain so.

"He is soft, sis! He has so much fuzz! How does he stay cool?" Nozomi asked.

"Oh, he has a freezer at home. And I also keep the air conditioning about as low as it'll go." Misato let out in yet another amused giggle.

"Can we get a freezer for me to stay in, sis? Its always too hot," Nozomi asked.

"Certainly not!" Hikari gasped.

Nozomi pouted while Tenka and Kafuru also reached up to pet the bird.

"Miss Ayanami, PenPen likes you, right? Could you come get him. I have food to carry."

"Oh… Yes," Rei said, walking over to Hikari and taking the bird out of her hands.

Diligently holding PenPen, Rei found herself glancing at Nozomi as she idled. Likewise, Nozomi seemed to have an interest in Rei as well.

"Your hair is really pretty, Miss. It's like a silvery-blue. I've never seen someone like you before," Nozomi commented rather straightly.

Rei, seemingly surprised by this statement, inhaled sharply and recoiled slightly at the girl's words before blinking.

"Are you friends with my sister?" Nozomi asked when Rei didn't say anything.

"Friends? Y- ...Yes, that's right," Rei answered as she glanced back at Hikari, now picking up bag of ingredients, "Friends…"

"We're all friends here," Sakura added, as she walked up alongside Rei and smiled at Nozomi, "Or at least I hope we can be if we aren't already. Since your sister is dating my brother, we can use today as a chance to get to know each other."

Returning with the ingredients, Hikari glanced at Toji and they both blushed, which earned a stifled giggle from Sakura.

"You are… cute," Rei suddenly blurted out as she looked down at Nozomi.

"Aww, she is, isn't she?" Kodama said as she clasped her hands together.

"Is it okay if I touch your hair? It looks really soft," Nozomi asked.

"My... hair?" Rei asked.

"What!? No! Of course not! That's rude!" Hikari scolded her sister.

"You can… if you want. I... don't mind. I don't mind at all," Rei confirmed.

Without any further questions, Nozomi reached out and grabbed a lock of Rei's hair, feeling it as it slipped between her fingers.

"It is very soft! Is it different from other people's hair?"

"Different" Rei asked before apparently taking a moment to consider.

After thinking for a moment about the girl's words, Rei decided on her response. "Yes, it might be... different."

Nozomi grabbed Rei's hair again, feeling it. A blush could be seen streaking across Hikari's face despite Rei seemingly not minding at all. Rei herself was also seemingly lost in her own world as she looked at Nozomi.

"I… I feel something," Rei said, looking down at PenPen in her arms and then Nozomi in Toji's, "Something in my chest. Something I can't explain. Something when I see something cute. Cute… I think is the right word."

Asuka and Shinji both laughed silently to themselves. They were perhaps more use to Rei's behavior than the others.

"Oh, Ayanami," Hikari said in exasperated sounding voice, though it was difficult to tell is she was about to break into tears or laughter.

"You're a strange one, Rei. But you're alright," Toji sighed.

"Alright? Yes, I am alright," Rei ironically responded with both flatness and a subdued enthusiasm that could only really be pulled off by Rei.

Toji opened his mouth to say something but quickly decided against it lest Rei offer yet another repeated statement.

"Well, what say we get going?" Kensuke offered.

"We are burning daylight. So if everyone's got everything…." Kaji reaffirmed.

"Great idea. Come on, Sakura. Let's get this convoy underway" Toji said before swinging Nozomi under his arm so he could carry her one handed and used his other arm to pick up his sister before she even realized she was being lifted from the ground.

"Agh! Toji! Hey, put me down! Toji! I can walk by myself!" Sakura protested.

"Nope!" Toji said rather certainly.

"He's stealing Sakura!" Kafuru shouted.

"Stealing!? She's my sister!" Toji responded incredulously as he began making his way to the cars.

"Hey, hey! Get him!" Tenka said as she pointed at Toji and then charged at him.

Kafuru sprinted after Tenka and both of them rolled onto the ground before wrapping themselves around Toji's legs with Tenka holding herself around Toji's right leg and Kafuru around his left.

"Hey! Get offa me, you pipsqueaks! I run track, not lift weights."

"Well, you're gonna start lifting weights today!" Kafuru defiantly answered.

"Yeah, yeah! If you can carry two girls, you can carry four!" Tenka added.

"Be careful, girls! You might give him cooties!" Hikari giggled before she jogged up along side Toji and whispered in his ear, "Think you can handle a fifth girl?"

"Hikari!? What's gotten into you!?" Toji shouted in shock.

"Wait, wait, I didn't mean it like that!" Hikari cried in embarrassment.

"Then what did you mean it like!?"

"I don't know! I just meant like- like- like your hands are full!"

Toji sighed and Kensuke managed to get a picture of him and the girls before saying, "Typical Hikari. So innocent."

"How… strange this feeling," Rei contemplatively said to herself, touching her hand to her chest before she too made for the cars.

"So… two girls, huh?" Asuka joked as she nudged Shinji in the ribs with her elbow.

"Don't say that. That's not funny," Shinji said back, giving Asuka a look that indicated he was trying to be serious but failing.

"Its kinda funny," Asuka laughed and shook her head before saying, "Come on, hotshot."

"That's not funny either!" Shinji again tried to assert.

Asuka's laughing only grew louder as she also turned around, signaling Ahni and Amelia that it was time to go before she too started heading for the cars.

"Why are you laughing so much!? What's so funny" Shinji asked following after her, not able to stop himself from chuckling at least a little bit as well.

"Oh, nothing," Asuka said as she glanced over at Ahni and Amelia.

Toji was in the process of stuffing Tenka, Kafuru, Nozomi, and Sakura in the back of Kaji's car. It was a tight fit but the girls were small and it helped that the car's convertible roof had been brought down earlier. Seeing this as well as Hikari and Kodama already idling alongside Toji, Asuka figured she might as well start assigning everyone to their ride.

"So, Prez and uh… Kodama? How about you sit up front with me? All the Horaki girls will be in one car and I'll drive."

"Drive!? But you don't have a license!" Hikari said in a worried voice.

"Ughhhhh," Asuka groaned as her expression fell flat, "Well, since I'm part of NERV, we can just consider it a military requisition if we get pulled over."

"Sounds good to me," Kodama said with a shrug.

"But do you even know how to drive!?" Hikari again questioned with notable lack of faith.

"Hikari, thank you for your concern. I pilot a giant robot for a living. I can drive the car. I drove the car here. I will drive the car there."

"How thrilling!" Kodama in an enthused voice as she clapped her hands a few times.

"But, what about Toji!? I wanted to sit with him!" Hikari still continued whining.

"I'll be in Misato's car," Toji reassured the girl.

"What!? You're leaving me!" Hikari almost shrieked.

"What!? No!? I'm not leaving you! I- I mean, I'll be leaving you for like 20 minutes! And then we'll be right back together again!"

"You are leaving me!" Hikari moaned, her pouty face coming dangerously close to one of actual sadness.

"Hikari, please, I'm not leaving you! I'm just riding in a different car."

"What about the little gear shifter thingies! Surely there's not enough room in front for all three of us!" Hikari asked, making yet another gambit to ride with Toji.

"This is an old car. The sticks are near the floorboard under the driver's seat. They're not in between the seats. There's plenty of room for all of us," Asuka said before gesturing at the front car seats.

"Oh… alright," Hikari sadly sighed as Kodama opened the door and took a seat.

"And where does your seating arrangement put me?" Kaji suddenly asked from behind Asuka.

Turning around, Asuka then jumped backwards and sat herself on the door of the car. She carelessly kicked her legs back and forth before poking Kaji in the chest and marching her fingers up his shirt until her hand rested on Kaji's shoulder.

"In Misato's car," Asuka said mischievously.

"Misato's car? Really? You're kicking me out of my own vehicle?" Kaji asked in slight disbelief.

"Mhmm. You're the one who said you're her boyfriend. So, go on then," Asuka said smugly.

Kaji sighed before letting out, "You've changed."

Asuka put her other hand on Kaji's other shoulder before pushing him away.

"Don't tell me if its for better or worse," Asuka said, keeping up the slick mature air about her that she certainly didn't pick up from Kaji himself.

"I won't," Kaji said in an amused voice ad her turned and headed for Misato's car.

Asuka then glanced at Rei, who was still carrying PenPen.

"Rei, why don't you give that bird to Hikari? She'll probably need him… You know, for emotional support," Asuka suggested.

"Emotional... support? Okay," Rei said rather absently.

She walked over to Hikari's door and awkwardly held out her arms shoving the bird right between Toji and Hikari before dropping PenPen into Hikari's lap.

"Now what!?" Rei asked, looking back at Asuka for more… orders.

"Uh, why don't you ride with Ahni and Amelia since none of you really talk all the much. ...Well, two of you don't at least."

"Okay," was all Rei said before contentedly trotting off to the rusted truck.

"Well, I guess that means Kensuke and I will be in Misato's car," Shinji surmised.

"Seems like it," Kensuke said, holding his camera up to take a picture of Toji and Hikari.

"Promise me! Promise me you'll come back for me!" Hikari just about sobbed into Toji's shirt.

"Hikari, I promise!" Toji said, trying his best to reassure the girl.

"Kiss me! Kiss me like it's the last time we'll ever see each other," Hikari requested in the most lamented voice imaginable.

Hikari shifted up in her seat and leaned toward Toji, her eyes fluttering shut. Toji did the same despite his severe embarrassment and their lips met.

There was a flash and a stinging high pitched tone before Kensuke said, "Is that a Casablanca reference? Nice! Perfect shot! This could be the cover art of a romance movie!"

Toji and Hikari's eyes shot open and the immediately separated before both of them shouted at Kensuke, "DON'T TAKE A PICTURE OF THAT!"

"What!? But you're already making a gigantic scene in front of everybody! What's the harm!?" Kensuke questioned.

"Gimme that Camera!" Toji demanded.

"No way! This is a priceless moment! You'll thank me for immortalizing it someday! You'll have to pry this out of my cold dead hands! You hear me! You'll have to kill me for this picture!" Kensuke adamantly protested.

"Challenge accepted! Now then," Toji growled, cracking his knuckles as he ominously approached Kensuke.

"Wait!? You're serious!?" Kensuke asked.

"Dead serious! Just like you're aboutta be!"

Kensuke almost instantly turned and ran for Misato's car shouting out as Toji chased after him, "I KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU! AND IF YOU ALSO KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR YOURSELF, YOU'LL SPARE ME!" effectively separating Toji and Hikari.

"Oh no! Sis has cooties now! And I'm sitting right behind her!" Nozomi teasingly cried out.

Hikari instantly turned around and her teeth seemed to grow sharp and her hair stood on end as she ferally yelled "BE QUIET, YOU GREMLIN!"

Even though Hikari's sharp teeth were probably just a trick of the light, all of the girl's save for Sakura started screaming about cooties even more.

"HEY, HEY! SHE'S CONTAGIOUS! SOMEONE GET ME OUTTA HERE!" Tenka shrieked as she tried to unbuckle her seat-belt.

"NO! I THINK SHE GOT SPIT ON ME! AM I GONNA GET SICK NOW!? I'M GONNA DIE!" Kafuru yelled hysterically.

"WE'RE ALL DOOMED! DOOOOOOOOMED!" Nozomi shouted, further adding to the squealing racket of little girls.

Seeing that this attempt at hushing the girls had the exact opposite effect, Hikari sunk into her seat, trying her best to make herself small. Though, to make matters worse, Kaji and Misato noticed the screaming girls and where now looking at them with some amount of confusion mixed with concern.

"Hey, is someone getting murdered over there!?" Kaji shouted, though he could barely be heard over the screaming girls.

"Oh, PenPen," Hikari groaned, stroking the bird's beak and feathers.

"If it makes you feel any better," Kodama said, leaning over to Hikari, "Cooties is only contagious from girl to boy. Girls can't give it to other girls."

Hikari's expression became exceedingly unamused and she glared at her older sister.

"You're not helping," Hikari huffed.

"You look like you've got a long drive ahead of you…" Shinji said, barely able to be heard above the still shrieking girls.

Asuka looked at Shinji with a forced smile before leaning over and pulling a weed out of a crack in the parking lot and tearing it to shreds.

"Ladies, ladies!" Asuka shouted, getting the girls' attention, "I... am a witch!"

"You're a witch? But I thought you were an Eva pilot," Kafuru asked through a sob.

"Ye- Yeah! She is a- a witch!" Shinji said, catching on to Asuka's plan fairly quickly, "I've uh… seen her cast spells before! She's the one who… made that purple tower of light that I came out of."

"Hey, hey. I dunno if I believe that. But if she's really a witch, doesn't that mean we should be scared?" Tenka asked, pouting and wiping her eyes.

"NO! No, no, no! Don't be scared. Please don't. I'm a good witch. And I'm going to cure your cooties!" Asuka said, hearing a frustrated moan from Hikari after mentioning the perilous illness yet again.

"Whoah! You can do that!?" Nozomi asked in awe.

"I can! Now, behold as I cast a spell on you!" Asuka emphatically confirmed before randomly throwing her arms around as though she were gathering some magical energy.

"Abra-kadabra, uh- ma- manabra, alakazoo. Dirt is brown, grass is green, and the sky is blue. I hereby declare there shall be no more cooties upon you!"

Asuka then threw the torn up weed in her hands all over the girls. They all looked exceedingly relieved… except for Sakura. She looked like she was about to have an aneurysm.

Shinji, having witnessed what was perhaps the most shocking thing in his entire life, was trying his best to stifle a laugh. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head, he bit his lips, and he tried to avoid convulsing as he held his breathe as he feared that if he spoke or even breathed, he would inadvertently laugh and Asuka would slap him with the fury of a thousand suns.

Asuka again had a forced smile on her face and she looked back at Shinji, a dark glimmer in her eye.

"Don't ever… tell anyone… that I just did that. Do you understand me, Shinji?"

Shinji silently and stiffly nodded.

"Good… Go to the car. And by the time we see each other at lake Ashi, you'll forget you ever saw this. That's another spell. You get me?"

Shinji nodded again before turning and briskly walking for Misato's car just as Toji and Kensuke's conflict seemed to be reaching its end.

Asuka picked up a few of the torn leaves that hadn't fallen in the car. She then rounded over to the driver's side and opened the door.

"Grass is green, the sky is blue, no more cooties for you, you, and you," Asuka quickly recited before throwing the leaves in Hikari's face.

"Hey! I don't have cooties," Hikari complained.

"You're right. Now you don't. You hear that, everyone!? Hikari doesn't have cooties anymore. She's cured. So please, there's no need to scream about it anymore," Asuka said with a particular emphasis.

Hikari did seem to catch on to Asuka's meaning and she let out a sigh mixed with relief and the final embers of frustration, though she still wasn't particularly thrilled about having things thrown in her face.

"Thanks, I guess…" Hikari mumbled.

"Don't mention it. Like, literally never mention it again ever. Now, make it believable and turn that frown upside down. Another one of my spells," Asuka said with a smirk as she started the car.

"But the leaves in my hair, aww…" Hikari bemoaned.

"Don't worry, I have a spell for that too. Its called this is a convertible, make sure there's no bugs in your shoe, leave the roof down and a cool breeze will blow through," Asuka said, putting the car in gear.

"Huh!? You're leaving the roof down!? But my hair will get even more messed up!" Hikari moaned as the car lurched forward.

The car immediately stopped though as Asuka hit the brakes and looked at Hikari in disbelief.

"What!? Why'd we stop?" Hikari innocently asked.

"Hikari…" Asuka sighed, "We're going swimming. You hair's gonna get messed up anyways…"

/

Some time later, on the road just before arriving at lake Ashi…

"Hey, hey, why do you have an eyepatch?" Tenka asked, leaning forward towards the front seats as much as her seat-belt would allow.

"I, uh… I'm a pirate," Asuka answered, trying not to let the question distract her from finding the exit to the lake, "I'm an eva pilot, a witch, and a pirate. And that's why we're going swimming today, because pirates have to learn how to swim. Witches also have to learn how to swim because they generally tend to sink."

"Witches sink?" Tenka wondered to herself.

"Cool! I wanna be a pirate! Then I could swim all day every day and I wouldn't have to go to school and I could have a cool eyepatch too!" Kafuru cheered

"But pirates also steal things, dearest," Kodama gently reminded the girl.

"Oh, cool! I can steal too!?" Kafuru asked in amazement!

"No! Not cool!" Hikari reprimanded the girl.

"Hey, hey, what do you steal, miss Asuka!?" Tenka asked.

"Uh… I pirate movies… off of pirate bay," Asuka answered unsurely before continuing more confidently, "But only the ones that shitty streaming services won't release on physical media!"

"Asuka!" Hikari scolded the girl.

"What!? I don't pirate them if they'll just let me buy them legit!" Asuka retorted, "I'm not payin' twenty something dollars a month any time I want to rewatch a single movie. Give me liberty of give me the fuckin' 4K HDR disk!"

"Asuka! Heavens give me strength…" Hikari groaned.

"Do you pirate popcorn too!?"Nozomi asked.

"Do I pirate pop- What!?" Asuka asked and she couldn't help but take her eye off the road to look back at Nozomi.

"You know, to go with your movies?" Nozomi asked with a curious shrug.

"Uh, no. I pirate... watermelons from my adoptive father's garden," Asuka responded, quickly returning her attention to the road.

"Watermelons? Why watermelons? Do watermelons go with movies?" Nozomi asked again.

"No. But pirates live on the water and uh… watermelons have water. Get it? Pirates like water! Watermelons like water!"

"Ooooh, I see! Its all about water and popcorn gets soggy in water," Nozomi said with an understanding nod.

"Exactly! I couldn't have said it better myself," Asuka said with a strained smile.

"Hey, hey, are we there yet!?" Tenka asked.

"Almost!" Sakura confirmed, "It's just up ahead. Toji and Kensuke always come here during summer vacation."

"Say, Sakura, how long have Toji and Kensuke been friends?" Hikari asked.

"Oh… Oh, I couldn't say. Its almost further back than I can remember."

"Really? It must've been since before I even moved here then," Hikari surmised.

"Why did you move here?" Sakura asked.

"Because of me," Kodama interjected, "I'm in college and the campus was here in Tokyo-3."

"We wanted to avoid splitting up our family anymore. After our mother died, we just couldn't stand the idea of being apart," Hikari said.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to!" Sakura gasped.

"Oh, no, it's okay. Besides, its my fault. I'm the one who brought it up," Hikari said, giving Sakura a warm but still melancholy smile.

"If it makes you feel any better, I know what it's like to loose your mother too," Sakura said in a somber tone.

Asuka had to try very hard to keep an overly-thoughtful look off her face hearing this exchange. She quietly groaned to herself and tried to focus on the road ahead. Apparently though, some notable expression had still worked its way onto her face.

"Asuka, is everything okay?" Hikari asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I should be asking you actually. This is supposed to be a day off, isn't it?"

"Oh, you're right! We're supposed to be having fun! Speaking of which-" Sakura said before pointing at a small offshoot of the road, "-that's the entrance right there!"

Looking at where Sakura was pointing, Asuka saw a small sign that read "Lake Ashinoko – Public Shorefront – Area16."

Asuka gently pressed on the brakes and turned on her blinked, checking her rear view mirror to see Misato's Renault trailing behind her and mirroring her actions. She pulled off onto the little road and it quickly became tight and even a bit overgrown and the asphalt gradually changed to gravel and then into dirt and before long, the vegetation cleared away and sand, pebbles, and water overtook the scenery.

"This is it!" Sakura exclaimed as Asuka parked the car!

"Yeah, yeah! Swim time!" Tenka cheered!

"I can't wait!" Kafuru said, shivering in excitement.

"Whoah! Its so pretty! The water is so sparkly!" Nozomi said in awe as she looked about.

"Now, everyone, please be careful. Make sure to check and make sure there's no broken glass or-" Hikari started to say before all the girls undid their seat-belts and jumped out of the car, not even bothering to open the door, "-HEY, I SAID BE CAREFUL! DON'T JUST JUMP OUT OF THE CAR! YOU'RE GOING TO BREAK YOUR ANKLES AND THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL!"

"Oh, come now, sister, it's just a bit of sand and water," Kodama said as she unbuckled her seat-belt.

"But that's exactly what I'm worried about! There could be glass shards or sharp rocks or poisonous plants or crocodiles! Do… Do crocodiles live in lake Ashi?" Hikari asked curiously.

"I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that no. There are no crocodiles in Lake Ashi," Asuka said, pulling the keys out of the ignition, "But they might migrate here just for you, Hikari."

"Oh, good heavens, surely not!" Hikari gasped.

PenPen, smelling the water in the air, began to squirm and flap his wings in Hikari's lap.

"Well, looks like the little ladies aren't the only ones who're excited," Kodama said before patting PenPen on the head.

"Just try to enjoy yourselves, alright?" Asuka said as she opened the door and stepped out.

"Okay, very well," Hikari sighed, watching as PenPen jumped from her lap, through the door and out of the car.

"Wa- Wark!" PenPen squawked before hurriedly waddling to the shoreline.

Kodama and Hikari exited the vehicle and Kodama took the opportunity to stretch her arms and legs while Hikari immediately went right back into Class President mode seeing the girls were already splashing in the water.

"Hey, girls! Don't go into the water without changing! If your clothes get wet, you'll catch a cold!" Hikari shouted.

"You can't catch a cold in this heat!" Nozomi shouted back before getting splashed in the face with water from one of the other girls.

Before long, Misato's Renault pulled up alongside Kaji's Rolls Royce and the first one out was Toji. He bolted out of the car as soon as it stopped and ran straight for Sakura.

"I SAW YOU DO THAT! DON'T JUST GO JUMPING OUT OF THE CAR, YOU BRAT! YOU'RE STILL HEALING!" Toji shouted before coming to a stop just before the water.

Sakura blinked, unsure exactly what to say. She could understand Toji was worried about her, as he'd stated numerous times. But she'd also said numerous times now that she was well and truly fine. So, instead of saying the same thing again, she simple leaned over and splashed Toji with water.

"H- Hey! What'd you do that for!?" Toji shot back!

"Toji, I'm fine. We're here to have fun," Sakura said, giving him her best smile to convince him.

Toji's expression softened a little and he sighed.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Well, we're here!" Misato said, stepping out of her car.

"And to think the class president actually agreed to skip school for this. I'll totally have to get a picture of it or no one will believe it actually happened," Kensuke said, taking a picture as Toji reunited with Hikari and hugged her.

"I'd be careful about pointin' that thing at the girls. Especially Asuka and Miss Freckle Face over there," Kaji warned the boy.

"Eh, heheh, duly noted," Kensuke nervously chuckled.

"Looks like everyone's here," Shinji said, seeing Amelia pull up in her truck and park it neatly next to Misato's car.

Rei was the first to step out of the rust bucket, curiously looking around while keeping ahold of the hat Misato had given her earlier, making sure it didn't blow away in the wind. Ahni then slipped out after her, her silver aviators gleaming with an absurdly bright glare. Amelia was the last to exit, leaving from the opposite door and taking a moment to look out over the lake.

Rei, perhaps out of habit, unconsciously made her way to Shinji and dutifully stood next to him holding his hand.

"I… like water," Rei said, looking out at the glittering waves.

"So do I, Rei," Shinji responded, squeezing the girl's hand gently.

"Well, you should go get changed then!" Misato urged the girl, "Oh, your swimsuit is so precious! I can't wait to see you in it! It's gonna look so adorable with your little hat."

"With… my hat?" Rei asked.

"You are going to wear your hat, aren't you? That's why I gave it to you. So you don't get sunburned!"

"Sun… burned? What is that?" Rei questioned with a tilt of her head.

"No, no, no, Rei. The sun can burn you even from here. And you're very pale, so you should wear your hat. It'll help protect you," Misato astutely informed the girl.

"Huh? Pale?" Rei questioned.

"Yes, you're pale. Look at yourself. Your skin is almost as white as snow, darling."

"Oh… Oh, actually, I believe I've heard of this before. I didn't know it was called sunburned though. I thought it was just a radiation burn," Rei said as she lightly pinched some of the skin of her arm.

"Go get changed. There's some changing rooms over there. And don't forget to put on some sunscreen too. And make sure Asuka doesn't forget either! She's a bit light herself," Misato said.

Rei gave a rather unenthusiastic "Okay," before walking off to go get Asuka.

/

A few minutes later, at the Lake Ashinoko Public Shorefront, Area 16…

"Well, it takes a minute for them to get dressed…" Toji mumbled, crossing his arms.

"They've got more to fiddle around with than we do," Kaji said.

The boys had already gotten changed and now stood waiting outside the public changing rooms. PenPen was already swimming out on the lake, diving in and out of the waves, probably trying to catch a fish or too. And of course, the boys could have gone ahead and started swimming

"You know what they say. Patience is a virtue," Kensuke said, taking yet another picture.

"Patience may be a virtue, but I'm about to become really unvirtuous if you don't knock it off with the picture taking," Toji growled.

"What? Worried you're gonna pop one off once you see Hikari?" Kensuke teased, lowering his camera so Toji could see the smug smirk on his face.

"SAY WHAT!? I OUGHTTA POP ONE OFF ON YOU, YOU FUCKIN' IDIOT!" Toji shouted, angrily shaking his fist in the air.

"Easy now, gentlemen," Kaji told the boys.

"Hey, come on, guys! No one's gotta pop one off on anyone," Shinji said, raising his hands and gesturing for his friends to calm down.

Kensuke chuckled a bit while Toji kicked some sand in a huff.

Rei was the first one to appear from behind the angled walls. Peeking her head out, her hat was the first thing visible.

"Rei!" Shinji exclaimed as he saw the girl's dim red eyes staring at him from beneath the shade of her hat.

Despite seeming shy from a distance, Rei felt no such thing and without any hesitation, she stepped out of the building. Revealing herself, she wore a light blue two piece bikini with a darker blue patterning and yellow strings. Additionally, she wore a transparent white-blue drape over her shoulders that extended down to about her thighs. All in all, it went quite well with the hat Misato had given her earlier, matching with the blue hibiscus that adorned it.

This must've been a new outfit as Shinji had never seen it before. In all likelihood, Asuka was the one behind the obtaining of this outfit as Rei didn't have a particularly strong inclination towards fashion. And, while Shinji himself wasn't exactly what he would call fashionable, he felt he had more fashion sense that Rei, even if his boardshorts were mostly just white with an occasional purple or green rectangle asymmetrically strewn about here or there on one leg or the other. Perhaps his dark silver aviators gave a little more bite to the look. Though, arguably, Rei still had the more savvy look despite her lack of actual fashionista savviness.

"Rei! You look so- So…" Shinji tried to say, though he ultimately couldn't get the words out.

"Cute? Misato said I looked… cute," Rei assumptively finished Shinji's sentence.

"Yes! Yes, you look adorable!" Shinji said, trying to ignore the slight blush he could feel forming on his face.

Upon arriving at Shinji's side, Rei tapped her hand against Shinji's before holding it out, obviously signaling to him she wanted to hold hands. Not one to refuse, he did just that and resumed waiting.

"The others should be out… soon," Rei said, holding everyone in suspense as a few yelps echoed out from the changing rooms.

"How soon?" Kensuke asked.

"Hmm… Soon. Class President Horaki seemed… nervous," Rei answered.

Toji could be heard sighing and he put his hand across his face in exasperation.

"What are you doing!? Just go out!" Asuka's voice could be heard followed by Hikari mewling out "But- But- But!"

"We're going swimming! No one's going to say anything!" Asuka's voice could be heard again.

"Perhaps I should just change back into my casual clothing!" Hikari's voice timidly suggested.

"But then you'd just stand out even more, sister," what sounded like the voice of Kodama said.

"Weren't you the one telling the girls not to swim without their swimsuits! You've already gotten dressed so just get out here!" Asuka said as she too emerged from the changing rooms dragging Hikari by the wrists.

Kodama was also behind her, gently pushing her along as Hikari helplessly dug her heels into the sand. Nozomi was accompanying them as well, looking up at her sister with a look of confusion.

"What you need is a good dose of exposure therapy! Trust me! I've used this same therapy for Shinji and it worked," Asuka groaned as she continued dragging the girl from the shadows into the light

"Exposure therapy? You're going to traumatize me!" Hikari cried.

"With how you act, anyone would think you've already been traumatized!" Asuka retorted.

"Uh… Hikari!?" Toji called out to the girl.

"OH NO! THERE HE IS!" Hikari shrieked.

"Wha- What did I do!?" Toji asked in confusion.

Hikari finally managed to yank her wrists free of Asuka's grasp and she desperately used her arms to try to cover her midriff and any other area that could be deemed indecent. Unfortunately, she'd need more than two arms to successfully pull that off so nothing could really hide the fact she was wearing a frilly peach-pink two piece bikini with small white polka-dots. Quite the striking opposition to Toji's dark navy blue swim-trunks. Kodama on the other hand likewise wore a simple lime green bikini while Nozomi had a striped blue and yellow two-piece.

"I- I- I feel so… exposed. So… perverted. How indecent! I feel like such a slag! Oh, why would I ever buy something like this? I should have just stuck with my school-issued bathing-suit," Hikari moaned, nearly on the verge of crying.

"You look fine!" Kodama tried to reassure the girl.

"Yeah, you totally look hot! Way sexier than the school swimsuits!" Asuka added, which really only made the situation worse and earned her a pitiful glare from the girl.

"I don't understand, sis? What's wrong? You look normal," Nozomi said, looking up at Hikari in confusion.

Hikari let out an unamused groan and patted Nozomi on the head.

"You'll understand when you're older…" Hikari whined.

"Aw, Hikari, what is wrong?" Toji asked the girl, holding his hands out in a welcoming gesture as though he were prepared to hug her.

Hikari only shivered and continued trying to obscure her body.

"Well, go on then!" Asuka said before smacking Hikari across the ass.

Hikari yelped and clasped one of her hands across her mouth while using the other try to soothe her now burning butt.

"I'm going to give you detention for that..." Hikari suddenly said in a much more stern voice looking back at Asuka, though Asuka still found it hard to take her seriously as her hand muffled her voice and a blush hot enough to pan sear a freshly caught octopus streaked across the class president's face.

"Oh, yeah? Then I'll just skip school," Asuka said rather smugly, folding her arms across her chest as Kodama tried her best to stifle a giggle even if she was a tad conflicted over the whole situation.

"Then I'll give you more detention! And I'll assign you all the classwork I excused you from!" Hikari retorted, her inner authoritarian class president persona finally emerging.

"Do you want me to smack you again!? Because that's all I'm hearing is Please spank me again, Miss Sohryu!" Asuka chuckled before her smile vanished and she said, "Would you just go see your flippin' boyfriend already?"

Hikari let out a pouting huff and she marched off. Though, her confident stride quickly started to change into one that was more cautious and timid as she gradually approached Toji. And before long, she seemed almost exactly as she was when Asuka had dragged her out of the dressing room.

"T- Toji," Hikari mewled again, already sounding like she was about to break down crying again.

"Hikari, please, everything's alright. You don't need to be embarrassed!" Toji said before hugging the girl.

Hikari instantly hugged him back and her expression seemed relieved. But, she quickly started to get wound up again and the class president side of her started to show herself as she pulled out of the hug.

"Hey! You better not have been thinking about anything indecent while you were hugging me! That wasn't just some excuse, was it, Mister Suzuhara."

"Uh oh, she said Mister Suzuhara," Kensuke nervously laughed under his breath.

"What!? No, no! Hikari. Please, in all your great magnificence and benevolence-"

"And mercifulness!" Kensuke interjected.

"-and mercifulness," Toji continued, "Please understand, I was only trying to comfort you. Please, please, please, Hikari! You've gotta believe me!"

Hikari's expression quickly shifted from accusatory to annoyed to doubtful before finally reaching a satisfied one and she then hugged Toji again, which granted him immense relief though he still wasn't too quick to hug her back.

"You, uh… You do look cute though," Toji said, nervously scratching his cheek as a blush stained his face.

This immediately set Hikari's internal suspicion meter off again and she separated from him and started pounding her fists on his chest in frustration while Toji was left to take the girl's hits with a defeated and tired look on his face.

"And what exactly do you mean by that, Mister Suzuhara!"

"I- I didn't mean anything! Really! I meant exactly what I said!"

Asuka eyed Toji as she joined the rest of the group, giving him deviant smirk as she passed by, which admittedly, made Toji wonder if she was plotting anything.

"So, how do I look!?" Asuka asked Shinji, spinning around on her heel to show off her swimsuit, "I bought this one a few weeks back. I've been waiting to try it on."

"Its, uh… Uh," Shinji stammered, looking the girl over, his blush beginning to color his face the same deep and vibrant red of the fabric that made up Asuka's swimsuit.

Asuka's swimsuit was admittedly a touch more revealing Rei. It was a singular scarlet color and the fabric seemed pliable and wavy but tight. The top half consisted of a halter wrap that was quite skimpy showing a rather generous amount of the girl's perky underboob and cleavage. The lower half likewise consisted of the same rippling red fabric with the bottom rising quite high over Asuka's hips. And, to complete the image, Asuka still wore her eyepatch and kept her iconic neural connectors in her hair.

"Its… red?" Shinji said unsurely.

Asuka chuckled, knowing damn well he wanted to say something more but that he likely wouldn't be able to find the words.

"Heheh, yeah, it is. I think I see something else red."

"Do- Do you?" Shinji asked with a shiver.

"Is it my eyes!?" Rei questioned out of nowhere.

Asuka couldn't help but bury her face in her hands and silently laugh. Shinji too seemed to quietly chuckle to himself.

"Hmm, did I say something strange!?" Rei asked curiously.

"No, Rei. Its nothing?" Asuka said, pulling her face from her hands and fanning her cheeks.

"I'm not sure I understand…" Rei continued.

"Yes, Rei. It was your eyes," Asuka said.

There was a choir of playful yelps and Tenka, Kafuru, and Sakura all exited the changing rooms with Misato following shortly behind them. Sakura's swimsuit consisted of a contrasting two-toned bikini, white on the top and black on the bottom with pink strings holding it all together. Kafuru's had a much more vibrant hot neon pink coloration to it while Tenka's was mostly a pastel yellow with some black detailing.

Misato's was perhaps the most attention grabbing though. She wore a strappy white bikini top showing a fair amount of cleavage. The lower half however involved a long split skirt colored in a violent violet. And, to top it all off, she'd even done her hair up and stuck a few yellow flowers into her locks.

This was almost what Kaji could qualify as an embarrassment as he now felt thoroughly underdressed in his tan swim-trunks with green palm leaf motifs. Though, perhaps it was still better than Kensuke's camouflage ones, which was perhaps Kaji's only saving grace.

"Don't get too excited now," Misato teased him.

"Please!? Me!? Excited!? Preposterous!" Kaji scoffed, though the extraordinarily slight blush gave him away.

"Oh, that's how you wanna play, huh?" Misato said, biting her lip as she poked her finger into his chest.

"Uh, I mean," Kaji said, scratching the back of his head.

"You'd best choose your words carefully or not at all," Misato said, just the slightest of threatening auras surrounding her.

"Right, well, as chief inspection officer Ryoji Kaji, I'm afraid I'll have to withhold any assessments until I've engaged in a more comprehensive examination. Any conclusions I arrive at will of course be regarded as top secret," Kaji said, reaching to straighten a tie he wasn't wearing.

"How…. restrained of you, Mister Inspection Officer," Misato said before giving Kaji a funny look, "...That's not funny, you know."

"Its a little funny," Kaji chuckled as he gave Misato an amused shrug, "Besides, don't start what you can't finish."

"Oh, I'll show you finishing something," Misato smugly said, poking Kaji in his chest again.

"Is that a threat or a proposition?" Kaji interrogated the woman, sweeping his leg under Misato's, causing her to lose her footing and fall into his arm as he smoothly caught her.

"Its a choice! ...But it could be both," Misato said as a cheeky come back, a slight defiant smile curling her lips.

"Oh, get a room, you two," Asuka groaned as she covered her eye with her hand.

Kaji straightened himself out and cleared his throat while Misato bashfully rubbed her arm, a blush coloring her cheeks.

"Well, now we're just waiting on the all-American girl and the lollygagging loli," Asuka said, the wording of which almost caused Hikari to choke on her spit.

"They're okay?" Shinji questioned the girl.

"Eh… They weren't quite as hesitant as Hikari, but they did seem a bit nervous," Asuka said with a shrug.

"Hey!" Hikari whined.

Back inside the changing rooms, Amelia and Ahni where both… fingering each other. That is to say, they were going through the usual motions of preforming their usual motions, signing to each other in a flurry of gestures.

"You're embarrassing me!" Amelia signed to her girlfriend.

"I'm embarrassing you!? You're embarrassing me! The longer we stay in here, the more suspicious it looks!" Ahni defiantly signed back.

"But we can't go out with you dressed like this! How could you possibly pick that swimsuit for this day!"

"Hey, its the only one I brought with me, okay!? And I can't do anything about it now, alright?! We're already here!"

Amelia pressed her flushed face into the palm of her hands before then running them past her head to pull her hair out of her face only for it to instantly fall back into place and reframe her cheeks. She then proceeded to pace back and forth for a few seconds, before stopping again, stomping her foot a few times, and bonking Ahni on the top of her head.

"Sometimes I really regret going shopping with you!" Amelia signed with a pouty face.

"Damn right. You're the one who picked this out for me in the first place! Probably could have saved more money for booze if we'd just bought some string instead."

"Damn you! You're basically wearing nothing!"

"Seize the day and hold on tight! The sun is rising!"

"More like the moon is rising, you little brat! Almost your entire ass is out!"

Ahni stuck her thumb into the waist of her exceedingly low rise bikini bottom, pulling the strings outwards a bit with a couple tugs and a smug but also nervous smile to boot.

"Don't you even!" Amelia scolded the girl before bonking her on the head again, "You're asking for a smacking!"

"Oh yeah? How about you punish me tonight once we're back home?" Ahni signed to the girl before giving her a quick kiss.

"I just might, you little-" Amelia threatened the girl before pointing her finger into her face.

Ahni promptly open her mouth, wrapped her lips around Amelia's finger and started suggestively sucking it, which left the girl in a stunned shock for all of one second before Amelia regained her senses and pulled her finger out of Ahni's mouth with a pop to bonk her on the head again.

"Ow," Ahni said verbally before signing again, "If we don't go, I'm just gonna start making lewd sounds! Horny jail won't stop me! Lets just go! The girls have already seen us!"

A blush surged across Amelia's face. This was a no-win situation for her and stalling wasn't like to make it any better. She'd just have to get revenge some other time.

"To think you were the one worried about how you'd look last night," Amelia sighed as she shook her head.

She took a few deep breaths to brace herself for what she was sure was going to be a great wall of embarrassment and she then grabbed Ahni's hand and together they exited the changing room.

It was a sight to make almost everyone blush. Amelia wore a rather cute frilly pinkish-yellow two-piece bikini which her embarrassed blush accented quite nicely, even if it was completely unintentional. The lower half of her bikini also have an adorable little skirt of the same color scheme. And across both the top and bottom where black polka-dots. As a final touch, she'd replaced her usual pink and yellow hair ribbons with black ones instead to match the black accents on the rest of her swimsuit. All in all, it was decently concealing at least by… some standards.

Ahni's on the other hand was… certainly concealing in some ways… if you included her silver sunglasses concealing her eyes as part of her swimsuit. The rest of it though hardly hid anything. Practically the skimpiest black micro-bikini one could imagine with dark blue strings. The strings holding it all together probably weighed more than the rest of the swimsuit. The cups of the top didn't even cover her boobs entirely and the bottom half was pulled so low that, if looking from the back, it would be revealed that the bottoms actually were below her butt while the front barely even covered her pussy lips.

For a moment, Ahni even second guessed herself. She'd thought that she had a point in dressing this way. But the pressure of everyone's eyes on her made her forget what that reason even was. It was too late now though. And Ahni, at least in social situations, was a firm believer of faking it until she made it.

Trying her best to hide her emotions behind her trusty sunglasses that she almost always wore, she found the confidence to give everyone a high-flying wave of her hand.

"Hey, everyone! Let's get this party started!" she cheered.

"Holy-" Asuka almost choked.

"So… So lewd. Oh… Oh goodness. My head… it feels a little light," Hikari let out in a weak and breathy voice as her eyes threatened to roll back in her skull.

Seeing Hikari seemed just a tiny bit unwell, Toji began panicking and threw his arm around the girl, helping her to keep her balance while talking to her, "No! No, Hikari! Don't you go fainting again!"

/

Some time later, at the Lake Ashinoko Public Shorefront, Area 16…

Rei was almost always content by herself. Granted she had of course grown more attached to her human connections. Nothing could replace her bonds with Shinji and Asuka. But often times, she was still the odd one out. This didn't bother her though.

And so she sat calmly in the water, feeling the waves lap across her thighs or shoulders, depending on the depth she stood in. Occasionally, she would catch a glimpse of some fish darting by her before PenPen rose out of the water, sometimes with a catch in his beak and sometimes not. She was truly surprised by how drastically the penguin's mobility was altered simply by being in the water. In Misato's kitchen, he struggled to waddle after Asuka when picking a fight with her but in the water, he could be halfway to the moon in the same amount of time if only a river flowed there.

Looking up from the lake, she looks to the sky. The moon was visible today. It was obscured some by the blue haze of scattered daylight and the dark side of it fading into blue instead of the usual black. A blue not unlike the water she rested in. How different it was from the red of the Pacific Ocean and the orange LCL she would soon be forced to submerse herself in.

She tried to shake these thoughts from her mind. She was supposed to be here to have fun, though she didn't always understand exactly what this meant. She'd been learning from experience. Shinji and Asuka had done a lot to show her what fun was, but sometimes she still had trouble understanding exactly how she should go about actually seeking it out. She'd mostly relied on others to guide her to it. What exactly defined a fun situation? What criteria did she need to look for? And if a situation wasn't fun, what did she need to do to create the circumstances that would make something fun?

Certain things came to mind. Spontaneity and surprise. Earnestness. Irony and jokes. Curiosity and having that curiosity sated by discovery. Engagement. All these things she understood on paper. But there were other aspects too. Some people had fun by engaging in something productive. Others would rather not be focused on some kind of empirical output when trying to enjoy themselves. And even something that one considered productive, another might not. Many people enjoyed music. But looking at Ahni, surely something like music didn't hold the same meaning to her. Useful to one person but not another. And there was Rei herself. Even she sometimes was fine just doing nothing, simply observing the beauty of the world around her.

Perhaps there was no correct way to have fun. No guaranteed way to ensure someone would enjoy themselves. Even now, she watched as most of the others played some game while she simply sat in the water. She quite liked water. She felt she gained satisfaction from being in the water and quite enjoyed her baths or even just walking in the rain. And yet, she couldn't deny that the others were excited at the mention of swimming. But it seemed they had a different way of enjoying the water. Was it something about water itself? Or was it something in her that made her relationship with it different.

She'd been told an uncountable number of times that people and most if not all living things needed water to live and she largely assumed the same held true for her. But she also required something the others did not. Her LCL. Did this perhaps change how she viewed water? Did she simply appreciate it more than the others?

She couldn't know for sure. She would probably never truly understand another person's heart. Whether she liked something more or less than someone else wasn't for her to say, especially if both people professed their love for it. Perhaps outward actions in relation to something could be judged. But if both people claimed to love something, who truly loves it more?

Maybe this didn't have to matter. At least not in this situation. Perhaps the others appreciated some other aspect of water that she simply hadn't thought of yet. Or perhaps they needed more to be satisfied. Or perhaps one day, even she would find herself tired of water. As the saying went, variety is the spice of life. And maybe she just wasn't tired of this particular spice yet.

But all this pondering itself seemed to subvert her inquiry. She sat here thinking and she was okay with that, but she was no closer to an answer. And redoubling back on her musings was so clinical. Maybe there was a simpler answer. Instead of trying to quantify it, maybe it was something where she just had to follow her heart.

A smile.

Yes, it was inexact. It might not quantify exactly how happy someone was. But at least it signified that they were happy… usually. It might lie. Someone might fake a smile for someone else. But usually, it meant someone was happy.

She wanted to understand it better. But somehow, this only seemed to frustrate her the more she thought about it. But a smile. That was so simple and clear. A smile was happiness. A smile could be fun.

When did she first feel happiness?

It was a difficult thing to pin down. But her mind gradually drifted towards the night of Operation Yashima. Still dazed from the pain, she barely remembered seeing Shinji crying after opening her entry plug.

"You have nothing? Really? You were just… gonna leave me on that? And that whole dramatic goodbye thing? Don't do that again, okay?" he'd said with tears pouring down his face.

"Why are... why are you crying? ...I'm sorry; I guess I… don't know what to do in situations like this," she'd responded, a feeling of uncertainty coiling around her heart.

"Well, you could start… by smiling," he'd said, looking back at her with his own smile.

And in that moment, she felt she couldn't refuse. Something urged her to smile back at him. Something she felt she couldn't control. And so she did. She smiled and smiled and smiled, her face practically glowing under the moonlight as she left her entry plug. And more than that, it was actually natural, terrifyingly so even. Shinji had been the one who told her to smile but that was only the catalyst. So much emotion had washed over her that night. The pain, the responsibility, the danger, the possibility of getting in the Eva and never coming back out. But by the time the night was over, she'd done it. She completed her mission. It had hurt her like hell. But it didn't matter. She was safe. Everyone she was protecting were safe. She'd fulfilled her duty and she'd made a new friend. She'd went into the mission with everything she had and somehow, she'd come back out with more. She… was happy.

Yes, that might've been it. That might have been the first time she truly felt happy. She'd felt relief and comfort, security and direction, and many other vaguely positive feelings before under Gendo's care. But… not happiness.

Yes, a smile. Maybe that was the right answer.

She turned back to the shore of the lake, determined to find some way to make someone smile. However, just as she began to notice the sand between her toes, she noticed something… blue. It looked like it must've washed up some time earlier.

She approached it, her curiosity getting the better of her. Stepping out of the water, the sand seemed to get a lot more gritty as the water evaporated off her skin. An interesting sensation she would have take more care to enjoy had the strange blue thing not grabbed her attention.

Eventually, her hat cast its shadow over the blue thing and she stared down at it with a wide-eyed and curious look. She blinked at it precisely one time but aside from that, she didn't take her eyes off it.

It was a jellyfish. She remembered now. She'd seen them at the Marine Restoration Facility but never in the wild. It was… probably dead. But she also seemed to recall that they had a tough time moving. Maybe it was still alive. Perhaps she could pick it up and bring it back to the water.

But wait… couldn't they still sting even after they'd died? And some of them could be quite deadly. But surely, surely, the chances of this one being dangerous were not likely…. Or were they?

Rei furrowed her brow looking at the jellyfish, considering her options.

She'd distinctly remembered reading in her text books that toxins operated on a potency ratio basis. This meant that to smaller things, the same amount of venom was more deadly. And there were four little girls on the beach. Surely her chances of surviving a sting would be greater than that of Sakura or Nozomi. She probably shouldn't just leave this creature here for them to stumble across. This would be another great moment for Rei to prove her nobility and rescue small innocent children from mortal peril!

A mortal peril that was… not really approaching that fast or even going anywhere at all in fact.

A slight breeze blew by and Rei's drape swayed in the wind. She watched a few flabby protrusions from the jellyfish also move a bit. Now that she thought about it, maybe she wasn't all the different from a jellyfish. She was quiet. So was the jellyfish. She had clothes that moved in the wind and the jellyfish kind of… flabbed in the wind? Or was it flopped? It flabbily flopped in the wind… It moved some… Just a bit. But it also didn't move a lot more. And sometimes Rei didn't move much. She had blue hair and the jellyfish had blue... everything. All of it was blue. It looked pretty squishy and her body was squishy in some areas. She didn't have venom, but she was deadly. ...At least when she was in her eva. She kind of felt a bit of a kinship with the jellyfish for a fleeting moment…

Maybe a little more than a moment…

...Actually, she was spending a quite significant amount of time comparing herself to this squidgy, blobby, stringy thing.

Now that she thought about it, it kind of looked like it might taste good too. But that was only obvious since it was in fact called a jellyfish. But she hadn't stopped to think about it before. And now that she did, it did actually… looked kind of delicious. Such a soothing blue color. It even sparkled like a sapphire in the sunlight. It almost looked like some kind of supremely sweet berry jam or like one of the colorful drinks Misato was currently indulging in. She was a vegetarian but… maybe a lick wouldn't hurt. At least not for the Jellyfish… It might hurt her tongue though.

But wait. Hadn't Asuka mentioned something the other night when Misato was ordering Pizza? Asuka said something to Misato about ordering something spicy for Ahni. Spicy things burned. But people somehow got joy out of eating spicy things. And… presumably, a Jellyfish sting would burn. Maybe licking it actually wasn't a bad idea. It might even be exciting! And exciting things could be fun!

But, then that would be ignoring the venom. No, no, maybe licking it wasn't a good idea after all, no matter how tasty and inviting it looked. It would probably be best that she just notify everyone to stay clear of the area.

But… none of that answered the question of if the Jellyfish was still alive. It would surely be tentatively cruel to leave the jelly fish to its fate. Tentatively of course because… maybe it was already dead. But if it wasn't dead, how much time did it have? And if she was so determined to save its life, why was she still pondering this question?

She could just pick it up, suffer the pain while returning it to the water, and then warn everyone after. Debatably, an Ambulance might have to be called after. But what came after would come later. Now was the time for action!

She blinked again and inhaled, holding her breathe in preparation for the searing pain she was about to endure!

And!

And?

And…

Nothing. There was nothing but the feeling of rough scratchy sand as she ran her fingers under the jellyfish and picked it up, cupping it in her hands.

"Hmm?" she questioned with a tilt of her head.

She began to wonder if she'd been lied to. Could a jellyfish control if it stung or not? Rei didn't know. But maybe, somehow, by thinking about the jellyfish so much, she'd developed a telepathic connection with it and it could tell she was trying to save it and maybe it chose not to sting her. If Shinji and Zeruel could telepathically communicate with each other, why couldn't Rei communicate with a Jellyfish?

'Hello? Can you understand me?' Rei thought, closing her eyes and focusing on the jellyfish, trying to project her thoughts into its mind.

Silence was still her only answer. Head empty. No thoughts. She opened her eyes and blinked. Now that she looked at it again, did jellyfish even have heads? Or thoughts? Again, Rei didn't know.

'You look like you taste good. Is it okay if I lick you?' Rei again tried to project her thoughts to the animal.

Again, there was no response. Another breeze blew by and its tentacles swayed like wind chimes as they dangled from her fingers. Very squishy flexible wet-noodle-like wind chimes.

Well, if it wasn't stinging her, maybe she could take that as a good sign. And it's not like she was going to take a bite out of it. She just wanted a taste. Only a taste and that was all.

She stuck her tongue out and brought the jellyfish up to her lips. She awkwardly fitted her mouth around its head… Or was it it's body? Whatever part of its body it was, she ran her tongue across a vast portion of the animal, expecting it to taste like razzberry-topped cheesecake or star-fruit pudding. But it didn't really taste anything like that. In fact, it actually tasted kind of bad. A little bit bitter and plasticky. Still no searing pain though. So perhaps it was a valuable learning experience even if she did feel a bit betrayed by her expectations.

She looked down at the jellyfish again, giving it another one of her intently absent blinks. How could something that looks so pretty taste so bad? Maybe Shinji could make it taste better. But that option would remain unexplored as she had no intention of cooking the jellyfish. She was… kind of…. trying to save its life… sort of… if you ignored her dilly-dallying and curious indecision.

She took one last opportunity to admire its beautiful sparkling blue body. But, trying to burn the image into her mind, she noticed some kind of... indentation on the jellyfish. In fact, it almost looked like…

"Words?" Rei questioned aloud before reading them off, "Made… In…"

That last one was a bit difficult to make out. Maybe she was just seeing things that weren't really there. Why would a jellyfish have words on it?

"...Taiwan?" Rei finally said after some difficulty identifying the word, "Hmm…"

Rei took a moment to ponder the magnitude of her discovery. She'd never read about this in her textbooks and the marine restoration facility had mentioned nothing of it. Perhaps she'd found out something notable and maybe she could petition Ritsuko to submit a paper on it on her behalf.

"...I didn't know jellyfish were made in Taiwan."

Looking back down at the poor unfortunate creature, Rei appreciated its natural beauty one last time and then began making her way to the shore where the waves would threaten to overtake her and the tide would carry this beautiful animal to a new tomorrow… or to one of the eminently vulnerable young girls playing in the water over yonder… or to its funeral-at-sea and its final resting place. Depending on if it was still alive or not…

She could feel the weight of the world- and of the jellyfish -giving gravity to every step she took. The sand rubbed the bottom of her feet raw… even though she was wearing sandals and had barely walked four feet. The sun relentlessly beat down on her… or it would have had she not been wearing a hat. The waves beat her body and sapped her strength… or they would be in a few moments once she actually got back to the water. And in that moment, she could feel the breath of the planet and the flow of energy through the universe. Harnessing this energy, she was granted a vision by God and she saw the birth of the universe and the death of all stars until there was nothing left but a lonely black void… and a lonely blue jellyfish. The existential grandness of it all punched her in the gut with unbridled emotion as she attempted to save one small life in the infinite expanse of nothingness.

But then her moment of enlightenment was shattered as realization hit her. She looked back down at the jellyfish and a look of horror etched itself upon her face!

...Well, not really. It was more like the typical blank expression Rei usually wore. But she had realized something.

"Tai… wan… Oh..."

"Rei! What're you doing with that! Put that down!" she could hear Shinji shouting at her.

Rei turned to look at him. He was bolting for her and time seemed to slow down. It felt like it took an eternity, of effort but Rei, holding the jellyfish in one hand, used her other to grab for her hat. She had hoped to take it off, but as she lifted it from her head, the wind blew and it slipped from her hands, flying probably twelve feet in the air before settling on the beach.

Rei then dramatically lost her footing and collapsed into the sand…

...dying instantly...

...from heatstroke as she was exposed to the sun...

...and from breaking her neck as she fell…

...and from rupturing multiple organs also caused by her fall.

May her name be remembered to the end of days. Humanity will be worse off for her absence. And in time, her death would ultimately sow the seeds of defeat for the eva pilots and humanity itself.

Shinji, distraught at the loss of his closest friend… and girlfriend, would lose his motivation and succumb to the angel named Leliel. It would remain unknown exactly how he died. Some claimed he simply vanished during his fight against Leliel. And while many prayed for his return in the same manner to how he was resurrected during his fight with Zeruel, their prayers would remain unheard by whatever divinity had chosen to help Shinji that fateful day at The End of Ideals.

Asuka likewise would lose her sanity when Arael arrived and invaded her mind. And without Rei to rescue her from Arael, she too would fall, though this time by her own hand. Ahni and Amelia would press on, but demoralized by the deaths of the other pilots and with no one to look out for them, they too would perish in the mile long shadow of the black moon.

The mysterious new pilot, Kaworu, would succeed in destroying the final angel. But, Zeruel's prophetic words foretelling humanity destroying itself would eventually be proven true and Kaworu too would fight against the end but eventually falter against a powerful new weapon, rumored to have been constructed on the white moon and developed by the United Nations.

With no hopeful ideals to unify them and all of their heroes dead, all of humanity would eradicate themselves in ambrosial apocalyptic violence in the wake of the usage of this unknowable weapon. And with a final coup de grâce, humanity would slit its own throat as the survivors could carry their guilt no longer. A brutal bliss beyond this empty defeat.

The End.

Would you like to try again?

...

What!? Were you expecting something different?

…

I suppose its also possible she could have coincidentally died from a not having access to LCL and her A.T. field also happened to critically fail at the very same instant she also died from heatstroke, breaking her neck, and rupturing her organs.

…

Oh...

...

Oh yeah, and from the jellyfish venom as well, obviously!

A deeply tragic end for one of humanity's greatest heroes.

Or so it appeared.

Shinji was the first to arrive beside the girl's body but Asuka wasn't far behind. And before long, everyone was crowded around the girl.

"Rei! Rei, no! Are you alright!?" Shinji asked, shaking the girl by her shoulders as he knelt down next to her.

"Oh my god, she picked up a fucking jellyfish!?" Asuka cursed as she noticed the blue blob in the girl's hand.

"Oh! Oh goodness! Do we need to call an ambulance!?" Hikari asked, trying not to become panicked.

"Don't worry guys!" Toji confidently said as he grabbed the waistband of his swim-trunks, "I know the way to fix this! I heard if you piss on-"

"NO!" Kensuke and Hikari both yelled in unison before Kensuke also added, "That's a myth, dude!"

"Oh dear," Misato said in a worried gasp.

"Hey, hey! Is Ayanami gonna be okay?" Tenka asked.

"It looks pretty bad," Kafuru choked out on the verge of tears.

"Is she just sleeping?" Nozomi asked.

"Uh, yes dearest. Er, no, she's sunbathing. She's trying to get a tan," Kodama answered, patting Nozomi on the head.

"I'm sure she'll be okay," Sakura said, trying to keep her spirits up, "I hope…"

"Rei! Rei! Listen to me! Can you hear me!?" Shinji said, obviously worried and distressed over the state of his girlfriend, though trying his best to not start the waterworks just yet.

"Ergh," Asuka groaned, seemingly debating if she should try to remove the jellyfish from Rei's hand of not.

"Do jellyfish even live in Lake Ashi? I wasn't aware..." Kaji mumbled to himself thoughtfully.

Quietly conversing among themselves, Ahni and Amelia discussed the situation. While they weren't privy to everyone words, they seemed to have gotten the gist of the situation.

"I'm gonna go poke it," Ahni signed before walking off.

Amelia grabbed the girl by the wrist and yanked her back before signing to her, "Oh no you aren't, you little trouble maker."

"But it'll give me a chance to impress Asuka!" Ahni frantically signed, hoping she wouldn't lose her chance to shine.

"Oh, she's gonna be impressed alright. Impressed with your stupidity!" the blonde girl signed, trying her best to curb her urge to bonk her girlfriend, "The last thing we need is two people getting stung!"

"Relax! It'll be fine! Besides, the jellyfish probably already used up all its venom envenoming Rei. Nematocysts rupture after stinging and have to regenerate! I'll be fine!" Ahni signed back rather more confidently than she actually felt.

"If that's true, then why even bother touching it!?"

"Because its what heroes do! You said last night that nobody's born a hero. That we make them! We'll I'm gonna make a hero!"

"Oh!? Using my words against me now, are you?" Amelia signed giving the girl an annoyed and sarcastic nod.

Ahni just gave a quick shrug before abruptly darting off before Amelia could grab her again. She then pushed her way through the crowd before standing over Rei. Asuka and Shinji both looked up at the girl with some kind of mildly unsure expectation. Admittedly, Ahni didn't know exactly what she was expecting herself. Did she think she was gonna tell everyone to clear out? Or was she gonna get a running start before diving for the Jellyfish and pulling it from Rei's arm like some kind of slow-motion clutch-moment catch in some action movie?

Well, no, not really. She kinda just awkwardly stepped over and around Rei before situating Rei's afflicted hand at her feet. She then looked down at the jellyfish then up at Asuka with a determined expression.

"I'm gonna grab it!" Ahni said.

"What!? No, you fucking idiot! You're gonna get-" Asuka said more out of reflex than reason.

It was too late however, and Ahni had already reached her tiny fingers down and yanked the jellyfish from Rei's skin before Asuka could even finish her sentence.

"-stung…" Asuka finished as she watched the girl nearly trip over herself yanking the jellyfish up and away.

Ahni instantly started screaming and fell to the ground, wildly flailing her arms and legs about, shouting about the indescribable pain as she inadvertently flung sand into everyone's faces and nearly kicked Tenka in the face.

As Ahni screamed, so too did all the other little girls scream and retreat in pure horror even though they were unable to tear their eyes away from the ghastly spectacle. They almost swore they could see Ahni's soul leaving her tortured and doomed body. It was complete chaos. Until the bloodcurdling screams gradually began to die down. Much too gradually for Asuka's tastes.

"Ah! Ahhh! Ahhhym… I'm… I'm fine!?" Ahni slowly realized as her voice diminished in its decibel count, "Its… not stinging me! Hah! I was right! It used up all its venom on Rei! Don't worry everyone, you can totally come and poke it!"

"No, no! Absolutely not! Don't touch it," Asuka shouted for good measure even though Ahni's invitation thankfully went completely over almost everyone's heads on account of language barriers.

Despite Asuka warning anyone against touching it, Kensuke walked up to Ahni, who was still laying in the sand nearly nude laughing to herself. He looked down at her with a questioningly raised eyebrow before plucking the jellyfish out of Ahni's hands and inspecting it for himself.

"Guys," Kensuke said after a few moments of examining the highly dangerous creature with absolutely zero protection, "I think this is just a big sparkly fishing lure. I would know because I go fishing every now and then."

"But, if that's just a lure, then…" Asuka trailed off.

"Then what's happened to Rei?" Shinji questioned.

"Asuka… Shinji..." Rei suddenly spoke in a strained and weak gasp.

"What is it, Rei!?" Asuka asked, getting on her knees and holding Rei's hand.

"Yes, Rei!?" Shinji said, gently brushing the girl's hair out of her face.

"Did I…" Rei whispered, "Did… I… get you?"

All of the fear immediately drained out of Asuka's face and her expression instantly became annoyed.

"That's not funny," Asuka said extremely flatly.

"Its… a little funny," Rei said with a slight smile.

Try as she might, Asuka couldn't stay angry at the girl and she and she tried to hide her laughed by cover her face with her palms.

"Rei, did you just… You… This was a joke?" Shinji asked the girl, starting to laugh a little himself, though his laughter was still a little uneasy.

"Yes, I'm fine," Rei said, sitting up as any sign of injury or illness instantly left her body.

She then casually stood up before running her hands across her thighs to brush off the sand. She then looked around to find her hat and upon locating it, calmly went to pick it up, effectively convincing everyone she was one hundred percent fine and totally unbothered with her near death experience.

"I should slap you right now!" Asuka barely managed to laugh out.

"Please don't. Then I would actually be injured, and I would be unable to deduce the success of my… joke," Rei said before giving a polite smile of diplomacy as she straightened her hat.

"Did you see how quickly Shinji was hauling ass when he saw you holding that lure," Asuka wheezed, "I don't think I've ever seen him bum-rush somebody like that before. We were so scared! My heart's still pounding. Jeez! I guess I just have no idea what to do in a situation like this!"

"Well, perhaps you could try… smiling," Rei said before redoubling her efforts and absolutely beaming at Asuka with perhaps the brightest smile she'd ever given the girl.

/

Some time later, at the Lake Ashinoko Public Shorefront, Area 16…

Toji sat under the shade of a fairly bushy and low hanging tree, the branches thankfully stretching out over the sand, allowing him some place soft to sit. A small leaf fell on his head and he shook it from his hair, watching as it spiraled into the sand.

Looking up he saw Shinji approaching, probably looking for a shaded area to rest also as his face was flushed and sweat dripped down his forehead and arms.

"Hey, Shin-Man!" Toji greeted him as he sat down next to him.

Shinji only sighed in response before falling onto his back and laying in the sand.

"Hey, man, you need a drink?" Toji asked.

"That would be great," Shinji groaned.

Toji picked up a blue water canister that was sitting next to him and then tapped it against Shinji's calf. Shinji took the bottle and strained to sit up and poured some of the water down his throat.

"What's got you so beat?" Toji asked.

"Just got finished gathering firewood with Kaji," Shinji said after taking another gulp of water, "I think- I think he's got more constitution than I do. Or upper body strength. Or heat resistance. But he insisted if help him. Said it would be good to know."

"The hell're you gathering firewood for?" Toji asked incredulously.

"For a fire," Shinji panted.

"Ah, I see. I never would've guess that."

"Its for cooking," Shinji said.

"Oh," Toji said before looking down at his stomach, "Yeah, I am getting hungry."

"What about you? What're you doin' here?" Shinji asked, handing the water back to Toji.

"Stubbed my toe while playing dodge-ball with Sakura and the rest of the pipsqueak squad. It was four versus four but Kodama and Hikari got tagged pretty quick. Kensuke got got after that so it was four versus one and I was tryna put on a good show. Accidentally kicked a rock under the sand and the girls finally got me. Only barely though. Tenka managed to hit my ankle but I was this close to dodging it!"

"I'm surprised you actually let her play. Sakura I mean."

"Yeah, well, truth be told I was a little uneasy about it. I'm still worried. But we came here to have fun so… I made a compromise. I decided I'd go easy on her. Y'know, purposely missing her and all that."

"You're a good brother, Toji."

Toji glanced at Shinji before looking back out at the shore of the lake, watching Sakura splash about in the water. He remained silent for a few moments.

"It was tough… Seeing her after that angel. Her legs were… the worst part. I didn't know if she was ever gonna walk again those first few nights. Made me so worried about the future. Like, what kind of effect would that have on her in the long term, y'know? Physically and mentally. She's all I got really… Well, maybe not everything. But she's a huge part of my life. And... I don't know if I could live without her."

"Yeah… I know what you mean," Shinji said.

Remembering how he felt about Rei. It was probably an all to familiar urge. During the night of Operation Yashima and during his fight with Zeruel, the desire he felt to salt the entire earth at the thought of Rei being killed by Zeruel. In fact, now, he may have understood Toji's feelings better than ever before. And that made it all the harder for him to forgive himself for what happened to Sakura.

"Toji… I-"

"Don't," Toji interrupted him, "I already know what you're going to say. You're sorry. You've already said. And I already forgave you. And Sakura? I don't usually want to speak for her, but she never once blamed you, even when I did. You don't need to apologize to us. But I know you haven't forgiven yourself for it yet."

"I… Yeah."

"Sometimes, not forgiving yourself can be a good thing. It can help you do better in the future. It make you feel accountable to yourself when you don't forgive yourself. But… You can still choose to do better even when you've forgiven yourself. You can choose to hold yourself accountable for your future actions and let go of your past ones," Toji said, looking at Shinji and putting his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Only you can forgive yourself. I won't tell you whether you should or shouldn't. Only you know what the best decision is. Only you know the best way you can do better. But if it helps you decide, you don't need to apologize to me or Sakura any more."

Shinji did seem to genuinely think about Toji's words and he slowly nodded to him. They then both gazed back out at the lake shore. Sakura was still playing with her friends, her wet hair clinging to her face and framing her smile, the sparkling water making it seem all the brighter. If it weren't for the war with the angels, Shinji could almost believe there wasn't a thing going wrong in the world seeing that smile.

"Do you… remember when you asked me to punch you?" Shinji asked, still looking at Sakura.

Toji chuckled and closed his eyes with a smile.

"Yep."

"...I think I understood you in that moment. I would've forgiven you for hitting me regardless. But you still wanted me to hit you back. Because you wanted me to understand."

"That's right. There's some things that you just can't say with words. Sometimes, you have to feel someone else's pain to truly understand them. Its more than just getting even or forgiving someone. Its about understanding them. Understanding someone else's pain and accepting it as your own helps you not to hurt others."

"Yeah… Yeah, I figured it out. When I was fighting Zeruel… I understood his pain at the end. And… I was almost ready to forgive him. And I think I learned how to understand him from you, Toji."

"Hmm," Toji wondered aloud, giving Shinji a curious look, "Well, if you came to an understanding, I guess that's not a bad thing. And I guess it's not really my business to tell you who to forgive or not. So I guess I'm just happy I can help."

"Thanks, Toji. You're not just a good brother, you're a good friend too."

"Don't say that. You're gonna make me blush and it's already hot enough out here."

"Shinji!" Hikari then called out!

Shinji looked up to see the girl approaching him and Toji.

"Speaking of heat, it looks like it's about time for me to tend to the fire," Shinji surmised.

"Oh, goodness me, you look a bit winded. Are you sure you're okay," Hikari said as she arrived by the boys' side and looked down at them.

"I'm fine, Hikari," Shinji said, standing up and brushing the sand from his legs.

"I can cook by myself if you don't want to!" Hikari offered.

"But then how're we supposed to trade recipes? Really, Hikari, I want to cook. I enjoy it."

"Well, if you insist."

"I do."

"Okay!" Hikari said cheerfully, "But first I need one thing!"

Hikari then abruptly collapsed to her knees at Toji's side and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"Do you have any preferences!?" Hikari asked Toji, eager to please him.

"Hikari, please! You know me! I will eat anything and everything you cook! You don't have to change a thing for me. Salty, sour, sweet, spicy! I don't care! I will eat it all!"

Hikari let out a giddy little squeal before throwing her arms around Toji and hugging him. She then awkwardly separated from him before again leaning in to give him a quick peck on the lips. She then let out a silly little laugh before standing back up.

"Well! Let's get cookin' then! Come on, Shinji!" she said with a cheer.

She and Shinji then made for the fire. On the way there, Shinji could tell the Hikari was about to float away with how lighthearted she was as evidenced by her wide dorky smile.

"Well, for the class president, you certainly seem happy being out of school," Shinji chuckled.

"Oh, do I!? I mean… I'd almost forgotten. Now I'm kind of worried the teacher's going to be suspicious of me. I didn't even tell him I was going to be out today," Hikari nervously giggled.

"Ah, don't worry too much about it. Just one day couldn't hurt. Besides, I'm sure I could get Misato to write you an excuse from NERV once she sobers up even if that wouldn't really make any sense. What they say kinda just goes. So no one would question it… probably."

"Oh, you could do that for me!? Oh that's so nice of you even though it feels kind of wrong to abuse the system like that but…" Hikari said before looking over towards Nozomi who was still playing with Sakura.

"But?" Shinji asked, prompting her to continue.

"But... I can't deny this is the most fun I've had in a while," Hikari said, looking back at Shinji with an innocent smile.

"Well…" Shinji pondered for a moment, recalling everything that had happened recently, "The system isn't made to take care of your happiness. That's up to you. So try not to feel too guilty. You're the last person who should feel guilty. You deserve a break."

"I suppose you're right…" Hikari said, looking back at her sister again, "I wish today didn't have to end. I wish I could run away from it all. Never have to go to school again. Not having to worry about holding down a job. I wish I could just pause time and stay here just swimming and playing and cooking. We could even build a little cabin and watch the stars all night instead of having to go to bed just to wake up and go to school and do it all over again."

"It would be nice," Shinji agreed.

Hikari glanced back at him, a curious look on her face.

"If you could stop time, would you? If you could just live today over and over! You'd never have to fight the angels again. We could be happy here forever with all our friends in a perfect little world where nothing ever went wrong."

"If I could? I don't know. It does sound tempting but… something about it just doesn't sound right. Though, if it was really a perfect world… maybe it wouldn't be so bad. If I could make a perfect world but chose not to… I wonder if that would make me a bad person. I mean, I guess it would but… It still just doesn't sound right to me somehow."

"What makes you say that?"

"...Don't get me wrong, part of me does want to run away. Leave all my responsibilities behind. Let everything go. But… after everything, this is the world I fought for. Does that make sense? I fought to protect this one. A world where things can go wrong. But even when things do go wrong, its still a world worth fighting for. Does that make sense?"

"Yes… Yes, I suppose it does. Our pain makes us who we are. But I wonder-" Hikari said, looking at Shinji with a subtle glimmer in her eye, "-would you still make the same choice if you stood to lose everything, Shinji Ikari?"

"I… haven't been faced with that yet..." Shinji said taking a moment to look at Asuka and Rei.

Rei knelt on the beach while Asuka laid on her back with her head resting on Rei's lap. Rei was apparently sticking some seashells and a variety of flowers in Asuka's hair. Perhaps Asuka was trying to help her sharpen her fashion sense with some naturalistic flare. Whatever it was they were doing, they seemed to be enjoying themselves at the very least.

"…hopefully I won't have to face that," Shinji continued, "I might regret my words one day. I hope I won't. But people do change. I just hope its not to the point that we can't recognize each other anymore."

"I do pray for you. For all of you. I'm not a pilot and I don't know if it makes a difference. But just in case it does, I pray. And I will always pray for you. I will put my faith in you. And maybe, it it makes any difference at all, just maybe it'll be enough to give us a better future. One where we don't have to worry if our loved ones are safe or not."

"Thanks, Hikari. I appreciate that so much more than you'll ever know."

The cookfire was only a few steps away by now and the heat licking at their shins was Shinji and Hikari's sign to change the subject of conversation.

"Well, what do you say we get to cooking!?"

"Of course! Toji wasn't lying when he said you make really good spicy crab onigiri. I think it might actually be the best onigiri I've ever had!"

"Oh, thank you! It's Nozomi's favorite so I make it for her all the time."

"Then teach me how to make it and I'll teach you how to make… Hmm… How about massaman curry! My recipe is a little sweeter than the average one, so I'm sure Nozomi would love it!"

"Yes, of course! A thousand times yes! Its a deal!"

"You two aren't aboutta start cooking something, are you?" the voice of Ahni suddenly came out of nowhere.

"Uh…. I'm sorry. I don't hardly speak any English even though I try really really hard in my English class! Something about cooking," Hikari tried her best to say.

"Uh, she's deaf ,Hikari. That puny tiny Latina can't hear anything you say," Shinji said to the girl.

"You should uh… totally let me in on your little cooking plans, schemes, conspiracies," Ahni said in a sly voice.

"Oh, of course!" Hikari said with a blush, trying her best to ignore the girl's obscene swimsuit while also seemingly forgetting she couldn't be heard.

"Eh, I guess she can join in assuming that's what she's asking. That's what she always asking back home at least." Shinji said with a shrug, though he was still unsure of the girl's actually prowess at the culinary arts, "I suppose it couldn't be that bad. Art is anything that requires the soul to create. And as long as she gives her best, nothing should go too terribly wrong."

"Aww, is little Shortcake trying to convince you to kick me out of the kitchen!?" Ahni teased.

"Wha- No, of course not! He was actually saying the opposite and-" Hikari tried to say before she was cut off by the appearance of a shadow looming behind Ahni.

The shadow's eyes gleamed gold and a fist was raised into the air before being brought down on Ahni's head.

"Owie!" Ahni yelped, "What'd yah have to go and do that for, Amelia!?"

"You're being weird! And you're getting in Shinji's way while he's trying to cook again! I've told you not to do this!" Amelia signed to the girl.

Amelia then grabbed Ahni by the wrist and gave Hikari and Shinji a quick friendly wave before dragging Ahni away from the cookfire.

"Hey! I can cook! You know I can! You're always asking for my fried chicken! Why won't you let me cook!?" Ahni complained as Shinji and Hikari watched the girl get carted away.

"She's… a little strange but she seems alright," Hikari said with a smile.

"You should say that after you've had to cook breakfast and dinner with her hanging around," Shinji sighed, "I almost hit her in the face with a hot frying pan… By accident of course. She wasn't giving me any space and I turned around and she was just there."

"Ah, I know the feeling well. Sometimes Nozomi gets a little impatient and she doesn't realize that she's slowing me down when she's pestering me and I'm trying my best to not to stumble over her while cooking some delicious noodles. I try not to make her feel bad about it though. She's just a kid hungry for both food and attention."

This did bring a little bit of a smile to Shinji's face and while Ahni had been something of an annoyance, he couldn't help but smile a bit watching as Amelia disciplined the girl off in the distance. Maybe Hikari had a point. Perhaps he should let her in the kitchen sometime.

/

Some time later, at the Lake Ashinoko Public Shorefront, Area 16…

Misato reached into a bag of chips laying next to her on the beach but was disappointed to find that the bag was empty. She looked at the bag with a pouting expression before picking up a cup filled with some kind of vibrant blue liquid, doubtless some kind of alcoholic beverage though exactly what it was was anyone's guess.

"You drink even on your days off?" Kaji asked from somewhere behind the woman.

Right in the middle of taking a sip… or perhaps a drawn out gulp, Misato held her finger up, telling Kaji to give her a moment as she actually downed the whole cup.

"Of course. It means I can drink even more than I usually would."

"And that's a… good thing?" Kaji asked, plopping down next to her and sitting cross legged.

"As far as I'm concerned," Misato said, rummaging around in an ice-chest she'd brought with her, this time pulling out a neon orange drink and a small variety of fruit.

"Well, just make sure you can still drive home in a few hours," Kaji said before falling backward and laying in the sand.

"Why? You won't drive for me?" Misato questioned as she poured the orange drink into her cup.

"I didn't say that," Kaji mumbled.

"Oh, your secret agent business might call on you at any moment?"

"I didn't say that either…" Kaji responded.

Misato grabbed another plastic cup and poured some of the drink in it as well. She then crudely picked up a yuzu and tried her best to bite it in half, though she was mildly unsuccessful at this and had to chew on it a bit to actually separate the halves. She then squeezed the halves in each of the cups and once more more juice was forthcoming, she threw the fruit flesh into the cups as well.

"Then there's no reason you can't have a drink too," Misato said, tapping one of the cups against Kaji's leg.

"What?" Kaji asked, sitting up, "That makes no sense."

"Oh, my bad. I guess I misspoke. Anyways, who cares about that? Just take it."

Kaji looked down at the transparent cup of liquid before him, particularly taking notice of the lemon.

"Did… Did you chew on that yuzu?" Kaji asked uncertainly.

"I didn't bring a knife? Why's it matter to you? You bothered by some girl spit?"

"Not in particular. I was just… marveling at your… resourcefulness."

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Misato smirked before she and Kaji both took a sip of their drinks.

"I've… always been more partial to watermelon, but this ain't half bad," Kaji said after tasting the drink, looking at the cup with an intrigued expression and swirling it around a bit.

"I know. I've been waiting to try this one. I have a bunch of other fruits and drinks in here-" Misato said as she patted her ice chest, "-that I want to mix today since it just seems like the right time to. But I think the yuzu might be one off my favorites. I should have brought more."

"Yuzu… Hmm, I should make sure they actually have this in the archive," Kaji said, sill thoughtfully gazing down at the yuzu half.

"Archive?" Misato questioned with a curious look.

"Ah, right, I might not've told you yet. There's genetic bank I donate to. They're part of a… de-extinction initiative project. But they also collect extant samples for preservation in the event something like Second Impact were ever to happen again. They store both biological samples and also digital copies as well as encoding the genome on some kind of metal plate rated to last over a hundred-million years. And they store it all in these damn near indestructible vaults. Even if humanity were to disappear entirely, all the information ever needed to resurrect not just us but every living thing that's been submitted would be there. I myself tend to donate a lot of my heirloom garden plants but I collect animals too when I get the time. One of the reasons I took the kids to the marine restoration facility a while back. I was looking to arrange the submission of some samples of marine life that's hadn't already been collected."

"Huh… Sounds interesting. And what's this archive called?"

"ARK."

"Like… Noah's Ark?" Misato asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kaji chuckled.

"I'll admit, it's not the most original name. But its a fitting one and an acronym. The Assemblage of Resurrections Keep."

"You should submit PenPen."

"Maybe if he doesn't mind if I pluck a feather or two. Didn't Asuka say he bites?"

"He doesn't bite! He nibbles sometimes but he's not a biter," Misato groaned.

Both took a sip of their drink in amusing unison.

"So, work?" Kaji pried.

"Lets not talk about work… Not today."

"Yeah, how inattentive of me. Then… what about family?"

"Family?"

"Yeah, you know," Kaji said, nodding toward Shinji, Asuka, and Rei.

Following Kaji's gaze, Misato watched as the kids soaked in the water, trying to cool off after having played some beach games or cooking in Shinji's case.

"What's there to say?" Misato asked.

"Everything, I imagine," Kaji responded.

Misato downed the rest of her cup in one go before asking, "Where to start?"

"Anywhere you can think," Kaji said, giving Misato a subtle smile.

"I… never pictured myself being a mother,"

"I didn't think I'd be a father. But fate works in funny ways."

"Yeah, it does…" Misato said through a melancholy laugh, "True be told, I'm still terrified for them. I guess I always will be. But I signed up to kill angels. I chose this… and so did they. So I guess all I can do is… watch them go. Watch them fight… Watch them die."

"Its all a mother can do. Give them wings and watch as her children fly. Fathers can be similarly helpless. And the kids too. All a daughter can do for her mother is care for her and grant her the same wings she was given when her time comes. And the same way a father can only put his hand on his son's shoulder and reassure him, all a son can do for his father is put his hand on his shoulder and tell him he knows he'd always done his best... or kill him."

"I'm not sure I'm ready for that."

"No one ever is. That's why its important to cherish the time we have. And most of all, the time we have together."

"I do… I just hope its enough."

"You know, I hadn't quite intended to get so serious. I only meant to ask how things have been going with you and them," Kaji said, giving Misato a lighthearted shrug.

"Ah… Well, Shinji's… been different. They all have actually. Shinji… seems to have found some kind of… I don't know how to describe it. But he's just been carrying himself differently. I think we both know why. Asuka I think has really started to come around also, partly for the same reasons but a few days back, when Unit-03 was going to be tested, she opened up to me. She said that she wanted to start making friends. I was so relieved because we both know how she cuts herself off from anyone. It just made me so happy for her. And now with those American girl here, she's about the only one who can communicate with them. So, maybe she'll develop a legitimate friendship with them. And Rei. Oh, Rei. What a sweet little thing. She's never been more engaged and she's always trying new things. And she's strengthened her connections too. Its subtle but she's grown a lot too. I think that jellyfish joke from earlier tells you all you need to know."

"That's what I like to hear!" Kaji said in a cheerful voice, "It sounds like humanity's future is in good hands for the moment. And what about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. Aside from the drinking I mean."

"I… assume you don't mean. I… well, I don't know. I try my best to make the most of every day but sometimes I'm not sure I'm succeeding. Lots of times, its the kids who're taking care of me instead of the other way around."

"Nothing wrong with that. They're a capable bunch despite their age. And I have to say, Shinji's cooking is quite good. So is Miss Freckle Face's. That crab onigiri she made really hit the spot."

"They've all been forced to grow up so fast. All for a future they may never see."

"Then I guess its our job to make sure they see as much of it as possible. Gods willing, this war will be over before long and they'll all make it through. Maybe things will settle down then and we'll be able to have a real family without all the violence and strife. The way a family should be."

"We?" Misato asked, giving Kaji a surprised look that verged on disbelief.

"Uh- Well, um… I mean…" Kaji stuttered, scratching the back of his head nervously, "Its uh… an option. If you'd like to. I mean, I didn't explicitly mean you and me. I- I mean, it could be you and me if- if you… wanted it to be you and me. I uh… I want to… I do want to be with you. But I just… didn't know if you… wanted it to be like that."

Misato looked at Kaji with an astounded expression, though even she wasn't sure if this was because of what he was saying or how he was saying it. She'd rarely heard him trip over his words so much before.

"Wait, hold on! What are you saying? Did you just say you wanted to marry me without actually saying you wanted to marry me? I mean… if we were a family, a real family, we'd be married I think. So… you did just say you wanted to marry me, right?"

"I… I, uh, suppose that's right. But- But only if you want to! I mean, not to make it sound like I don't want to! I just… want you to be happy."

"You do make me happy, Ryo!" Misato said, brushing her hand across his cheek before laughing lightheartedly, "Boys are so silly. I always thought you were a smoothe talker. But you get flustered just like everyone else."

Kaji put his own hand over Misato's and let out a sigh of relief.

"I didn't really know how to tell you," Kaji said.

"Really? After you openly said I was your girlfriend earlier?"

"Ah, yes, but that's- that's a little different."

"Is it now?" Misato asked smugly.

"I mean… a bit," Kaji asked more than stated, seemingly looking for affirmation from Misato, "I… Ugh, Don't take this the wrong way, but I didn't want to propose or anything yet. I wanted to wait for the right time. But… I just wanted to make sure you knew."

"And now I do. Don't worry. I won't pressure you about it any further. I'm sure you're planning something. I don't know what, but something. So I'll wait for the right time, whenever that is."

"I… I love you, Misato," Kaji said to the woman.

He leaned forward and Misato did the same, their eyes gradually closing as they shared a kiss.

Separating, Misato smiled at him and told him,"I love you too, Ryoji Kaji."

/

Some time later, at the Lake Ashinoko Public Shorefront, Area 16…

The sun was staring to set and Asuka found herself resting in the sand. Her legs ached something fierce as a day of exertions had left her muscles sore and fatigued. Her eye was also starting to become distractingly pained but luckily she would be home soon and she would be able to take a few of her painkillers.

She stretched her leg and massaged her calf. Looking around, she saw Shinji having a conversation with Kensuke and Sakura. They both seemed pretty into it as they made various gestures exaggerating their meanings but Asuka couldn't tell what it was they were talking about from here. Elsewhere, she saw Amelia brushing her hair while also signaling for Ahni to get out of the water as it would soon be time to leave. Kodama was with Hikari who was fawning over Toji, hesitating to leave his side for even a moment. Hopefully this wouldn't lead to Nozomi, Kafuru, and Tenka witnessing another outbreak of cooties as they weren't far away. Misato appeared to be packing up the remaining food with Kaji while they also seemed to have a pleasing conversation as PenPen waddled around between their feet. And perhaps a little amusingly, Rei seemed to be laying face down in the sand. Whether this was another joke or if Rei was genuinely exhausted enough to fall asleep with her face in the sand, Asuka wasn't sure.

Casting her gaze back to her surroundings, she took in the beauty one final time. Despite Lake Ashinoko not sharing the same red color of the Pacific, the sunset now seemed to turn it pink with speckles of gold shimmering on it surface. Above the water, the sun hung low in the sky like a radiant marigold, descending between the valley of two mountains. Perhaps one day, there would be no mountains left here. The battle with Ramiel had already destroyed several mountaintops and perhaps future conflicts would turn these mountains to dust just like the sand Asuka now rested on. But for now, they remained, lining the boundary between the land and the red sky fading into purple.

Despite how fun the day had been and how nice the scenery was, Asuka was more than ready to go home. While Shinji and Hikari had cooked a certifiably delicious meal that Hiroyuki Terada or even Gordon Ramsay would endorse, that had been hours ago and she could feel her hunger beginning to gnaw at her. It didn't help that healing took up even more energy than she was used to expending. If she were standing, her legs probably would have been quaking. Unfortunately, it seemed it would still be a few more minutes before everyone could leave.

Asuka looked back out at the lake. Ahni finally seemed ready to throw in the towel as she made her way out of the water. Wringing her hair out into the sand, she seemed to be making her way to Asuka, which probably shouldn't have surprised her. Asuka knew her type. The kind of person who tried to make a show of themselves because they wanted to be seen. And Asuka could tell that she'd had a particular interest in her for whatever reason and that she might've been trying to work up the courage to talk to her throughout the entire day.

Asuka subtly eyed the girl as she walked up to her and dropped down next to her but tried her best to keep her focus ahead of her and maintain a neutral expression, though she couldn't help letting the slightest of smiles curl her lip. It had been a fairly nice day after all.

Asuka then felt Ahni nudge her waist and was unable to dismiss her presence any longer. While she didn't exactly find Ahni unpleasant, she was somewhat hoping that she wouldn't try to engage in conversation as she didn't have her phone with her at the moment.

With an inquiring look, Asuka turned her attention to the girl. But Asuka's expression quickly changed to that of shock and she let out a small gasp she was thankful Ahni couldn't hear. Asuka had tried her best to ignore, or at least pretend she hadn't seen, the girl's venerous micro-bikini all day but as it was right before her eyes now, she couldn't look away.

Asuka could feel a blush enflame her cheeks and the back of her neck to the point that she felt a distinct urge to scratch herself as her expanding blood vessels irritated her skin. Her eye widened watching Ahni's chest shrink and expand as she breathed. Water glistened on her two-toned skin, the fading sunlight almost making her coffee-cream colored skin appear golden. Ahni reclined back and propped herself on her elbows, causing her small perky breasts to just barely flatten again the small lithe frame of her tiny body before springing back up. Her ribs could just be seen beneath her skin and Asuka looked down the girl's body to her navel and then her hips, noticing just how perfectly white the splotched patterns of her piebaldism was. It was even more desaturated than Rei's skin, which was already abnormally light.

Looking further down, Asuka could see that, despite her being flat-chested, the girl had a rather impressive hip to waist ratio now that she wasn't wearing her loose baggy tank-top. The dark blue strings of her bikini bit into the flesh of her hips and the lap of her bikini-bottom left little to the imagination. The girl's thighs also seemed extraordinarily soft, though Asuka of course was not going to verify this for herself.

"You're looking pretty hot too," Ahni said out of the blue

"Huh!?" Asuka exclaimed as her head snapped to look back at the girl's face.

She had a cheeky smile but her eyes were hidden behind her sunglasses and Asuka found it hard to read the girl. Though she did realize the sunglasses were strikingly similar to the ones Shinji wore. Silver aviators, though Shinji's were perhaps a few tints lighter. She hadn't noticed the similarity before as Shinji didn't wear his aviators all that often. But he had worn them today on account of being out in the sun. This girl wore hers almost all the time though. There was almost certainly a reason and Asuka might've even guessed it though she didn't bother speculating for the time being as she was trying to decipher exactly what it was the girl meant. Was Ahni... flirting with her? Or was this some American figure of speech she wasn't familiar with?

"Sorry. I… Uh, that came out wrong," Ahni said, her smug little smirk shifting to one representing embarrassment more so, "I meant you're… uh… you literally look hot. Like um… physically."

Asuka's recoiled a bit from the girl's words and the blush on her face become a shade of scarlet darker.

"Wait! I- I mean, like, the sun. Like um… like a fire! Like heat stroke!" Ahni corrected herself again, her nervousness causing her to sit back up unable to take on a relaxed pose anymore.

Asuka slowly nodded back to Ahni. She still couldn't tell if the girl was flirting with her or if she was just misunderstanding her meaning. Either way, Asuka felt socially off balance with this one-sided exchange as she had no idea how to respond without her phone. So all she could really do was stare at the girl. She then happened to take notice of an unfortunately particular drop of water trickling down Ahni's neck and between her cleavage.

Realizing she was staring at the girl's boobs again, she forced herself to look away from her so she could attempt to regain her composure. Unbeknownst to Asuka, Ahni's expression fell downcast and her lips parted some realizing this conversation wasn't going how she was hoping as it seemed she was only disturbing Asuka.

She began to stand up to leave. Hearing this, Asuka turned back around and began to realize she probably seemed upset, which wasn't at all what she had intended. Asuka herself was the one who'd decided she'd wanted to at least try to be more friendly and here she was blowing her plans up in her own face while Ahni was at trying to be friendly, perhaps a little too friendly, but friendly at least.

Asuka watched the girl brush the sand off her legs and she was suddenly reminded that she was in fact sitting on a whole shorefront of sand and that she could use to talk with Ahni. Seeing the girl was about to leave, Asuka reached out and grabbed her hand though Ahni had no hint of what was about to happened. And as she took a step, Asuka grabbing her wrist lurched her back and caused her to spin back around to face Asuka. This spinning however caused her to lose her balance and she felt her center of balance fall past her leg's ability to correct and she mistakenly began to tumble onto Asuka.

Asuka, realizing she might've been a little too eager in pulling the girl back realized her mistake. But her reflexes where well-honed and she tried to correct her misstep by quickly reclining onto her back from her previous sitting position. Trying her best to make herself as flat as possible, there was barely an inch of clearance between Asuka's face and Ahni's as she also managed to catch herself.

Both of the girls froze. Asuka could just barely see Ahni's eyes through her glasses and she could feel Ahni's hot breath caressing her lips. The water from her body dripped onto Asuka. And then, something else fell from Ahni's body onto Asuka's.

Ahni's glasses slipped off her face and bounced off the bridge of Asuka's nose and into the sand. Asuka inhaled sharply as she looked into Ahni's hypnotizing blue eyes. Ahni could feel a chill run down her spine as she felt Asuka's breath tickle her cheeks and her nose brushed against Asuka's. And Asuka felt her blush burning hotter than ever as her boobs occasionally pressed against Ahni's as the tried to control their breathing. While Ahni wanted to become closer with Asuka, and Asuka tried to encourage Ahni's pursuit of it, this is perhaps not exactly the closeness they were intending to foster this evening.

"S- Sorry!" Ahni choked out in a terrified whispered.

Hearing the girl's pathetic voice, Asuka herself let out a small inadvertent squeak that she was again thankful no one could hear.

Trying to regain control of the situation, Asuka gave Ahni a reassuring smile, which caused Ahni give her own dreamy smile back to the girl before they awkwardly began trying to untangle their bodies. Afterwards, Ahni sat very still in the sand while Asuka timidly rubbed her arm.

Trying to dismiss this awkwardness, Asuka took the initiative and traced her finger through the sand, hoping that their close encounter hadn't drawn too much attention.

"Don't apologize," Asuka wrote in the sand.

Ahni watched silently but intently as Asuka quickly brushed her finger through the sand, erasing the words so she could start again.

"I'm sorry. I was the one who grabbed you," Asuka wrote before looking back at the girl to make sure she'd seen it before she erased it again.

After reading the message, Ahni looked back up at Asuka with an unsure smile.

"I didn't mean to make you feel left out. You just surprised me," Asuka again inscribed in the sand.

Asuka put her hand on Ahni's shoulder to help reassure her. Again, Ahni watched and remained silent as Asuka smoothed over the words and began writing again.

"I don't have my phone. I didn't know how to speak with you," Asuka finished and she gently shook Ahni's shoulder, again, hoping that the gesture would help to reassure her.

Ahni finally gave Asuka a genuine smile and this helped to also reassure Asuka in turn.

"We'll talk when we get home," Asuka wrote one final time and Ahni gave her a silent nod.

Asuka glanced about for a second and found Ahni's sunglasses. And upon spotting them, she picked them up before gently blowing on them to try to remove some of the sand from them. She then smiled at Ahni and handed the glasses back to her.

Ahni put the glasses back on while Asuka stood up. Adjusting them, she then looked up to see Asuka standing over her, her red hair almost seeming to blend into the orange sky. She held her hand out and Ahni took it with a newfound sense of belonging and Asuka hefted the girl up. They both took a movement to brush the sand off of their thighs.

Asuka then began to walk back to the cars but she felt someone grab her hand. Looking back, she saw it was of course Ahni, a slight blush reddening the girl's face as she gave Asuka a nervous smile.

"I… just through it would be nice to walk back together… Since we're Pilots… Comrades… Uh, friends, now," Ahni nervously stuttered.

Asuka gave the girl a smile before squeezing her hand a bit and gesturing towards the cars with a tilt of her head.

Holding hands, they both wended their way back to the rest of their friends. Asuka tried not to think too much on the fact they were holding hands. Ahni was just a little girl, younger than her, and she was obviously nervous. And Asuka, being a natural born leader, was mostly content with guiding her. In fact, her heart even swelled with confidence as she returned to her friends. She had another person standing behind her. And with so many friends in her life now, how could she possibly lose?

"I meant to tell you a few minutes ago, but I think we should go shopping," Ahni suggested, "You could show us around the city and it would be a good chance for us to get to know each other. We haven't really had a chance to yet."

Asuka simply smiled back at the girl and gave her the most welcoming nod she could.

As they approached the cars, Asuka looked for Shinji and found him still speaking with Sakura and Kensuke. She began making her way for them while Ahni separated from Asuka and dashed off. Asuka watched the girl almost run straight into Amelia's arms and hug her oh so tightly. This brought a small smile to Asuka's face. She'd been given quite a few reasons to smile today.

"Well, guess it's about time to go home," Asuka said as she walked up to Shinji.

"Seems like it," Shinji affirmed.

"Unfortunately. Sun's probably gonna be down before I even walk through the door," Kensuke added.

"It was a good day though!" Sakura said.

"That it was," Asuka agreed.

"Worth it? Definitely!" Kensuke stated in a certified tone.

"Well, I guess it's not time for goodbye just yet since I assume we'll be riding back into town together. But I suppose we better get ready to say goodbye. And, uh, as for me," Shinji said as he looked past Asuka to Rei, who just so happened to still be laying with her face down in the sand which was mildly starting to worry him, "I should… probably go make sure Rei's okay."

"Wait, Shinji!" Sakura said, stopping the boy almost as soon as he started to walk off, "I… just wanted to say thanks… for indulging me and coming along with us. It was a lot of fun and it means a lot to me that you'd choose to spend your valuable time with me and my brother."

Shinji looked surprised for a moment but his expression gradually changed and he smiled at Sakura.

"Please, Sakura. The pleasure is mine."

/

-Once Upon a Time, In Paradisium-

/

These fleeting moments. We never truly realized how precious they were until they were gone. Our prefect paradise where nothing could ever go wrong. We were complacent. For all the knowledge we had, for all the power we harnessed, for all the beauty that was lost, we thought those halcyon days would last to the end of eternity.

How curious to see they are still able to capture these precious instants at this juncture of chaos. Pride is a sin, but it does make me proud of them. And it fills my heart with a warmth I shall never forget.

I savored a day like this once when I was much… much younger. And there was a woman there too with red hair not so different from hers. A scarlet sunset and her body glimmering with a similar divine light as the water's essence swam around her and the speckled grains of sand became one with her skin. Even though we are not so far apart, I feel her loss most keenly. Oh, how I loved her.

But pain is a part of pleasure. Without pain, our pleasure loses its savor. This I have learned most intimately and at a great expense to myself and to an even more dire cost to everyone else I was to serve. My heart will never be the same. But it shouldn't be. For I have another love. One I often feel torn over but one I was convinced was right. And how it has blossomed as I watch them struggle to survive. The absence will never be filled. But I will grow and overcome it. Even after all this time, all the heartbreak and pain, I wouldn't change a thing. I have found love again and it is beautiful.

I weep for the suffering that awaits in their future. So like them, I must treasure today. I of course will do everything I can to spare them the pain but I can do so little. But my faith will remain unbroken. I have faith they will prevail and they will keep my song alive. And so do many others. But will they keep their faith in themselves? My heart breaks at the thought of them faltering. But so long as they continue walking forward, so too will my love and faith break free from my body and spill forth from my soul. And maybe one day, it will shine upon the land. And then they will finally know with no doubts in their minds that they made the right choice.

.

---

*Eva credits roll and Fly Me to the Moon plays*

.

"Well, that wasn't quite as lewd as I was expecting for a beach episode chapter. At least not up until the later bits. Hell, there wasn't really even that much beach now that I think about it.

Anyways, enough about this chapter. You're all here for next chapter, right? Well, it's my pleasure to give you a taste of things to come! Following up on Ahni's suggestion to go shopping, Asuka plans an excursion with the rest of the pilots to show Ahni and Amelia around the city while also taking the excuse to make some purchases. Maybe someone will get a new outfit! Maybe... someone else will get a new outfit. Maybe I'll get a new outfit! Maybe... Shinji will have to pay for it all. Maybe... an angel will show up. Or maybe not. Who knows? What I do know is that Rei won't be touching any jellyfish next chapter! ...Or will she? Well, the only way to find out will be to read the next chapter: The End of Autumn!

And uh... well, if there's gonna be new outfits, I suppose that means there will be changing rooms. So... maybe there'll be some fanservice? It's not impossible! I feel like I've said maybe a lot... maybe. Anyhow, this is Misato signing off, and I'll see you next time! ...Maybe"