Asuka awoke with a backache and a dry mouth.
Another morning. The first glittering sunrays entered the ruin through its numerous holes, painting the place golden and orange. Another day was beginning. I hate it. It would yet another day in her life. She had hated mornings for years now.
For an hour or longer she just sat in the wooden corner, head held in her hands, and did nothing. It wasn't like she had anything to do. Or, for that matter, could do anything.
Only when she felt her legs beginning to cramp did she stand up. Without much thought, following what was just a vague impulse, she got going. She stepped out of the ruin she had slept in, and eventually left it behind without looking back. She wanted… she didn't know what she wanted, but not this. She had to go on. She didn't know where, just that she had to go somewhere.
She walked through the outskirts of Hakone, a small town that had successfully maintained its image as a sleepy village. After all, that was the main draw for day trips from the hectic, always busy Tokyo-3 to here. Ever since the city had been built on Hakone's territory, the village itself was just an odd annex to it, merely a footnote - but there was no mistaking that the settlement, now grown to a small town, had profited from the windfall of being in Tokyo-3's shadow.
They pretend to be the tame little village, all smiles and rustical nostalgia, and people lap it up. Asuka sneered, but it was just a stray thought. She had enough issues with her own life to spend much attention on what some random Japanese town was doing.
Nobody was in sight. Narrow streets with no sidewalk passed between typical Japanese rural houses. The only sound in the air were the inevitable cicadas. Their buzzing was omnipresent, a strong and never ending bzzzz that one couldn't escape. Several cats were lazily sunning themselves on walls or on the street itself. Asuka paid them no mind. She just carried on.
She didn't want to go into the town centre of Hakone, so instead she turned around again. She followed one of the smaller roads towards Tokyo-3 for a bit, trotting right next to it with her head lowered as cars passed her by. She didn't pay them any heed, either, but eventually she got off the street and headed into the forest. She still didn't know what she was doing or was about to do or even only what she wanted to do - but she did know she didn't want to be caught by Section 2.
Of course... Maybe they already have. Shinji had said something like that, that Section 2 had always known where he was. Wouldn't surprise me if it turns out I'm bugged. It's just the sort of thing they would do to pilots. To the people who they expected to save the world.
The following hours were a bit of a blur. She walked through thick undergrowth and never lost her footing. She didn't even need to look up or pay attention; she was agile enough that it came naturally to her. She reached a dirt trail that looked to be more used by deer than people and followed it for a bit. She reached a clearing with a magnificent patch of flowers on a gentle hill slope, and didn't regard it.
As the sun rose in the sky and stayed there, the heat became oppressive and sweltering, even in the shade of the forest. Even here, there was no sound but the cicadas. No animal moved or called, no bird sang its song. There was just the eternal bzzz and the heat. Asuka was alone with her thoughts.
The sun was just beginning to lower itself again when Asuka got out of the forest again, stepping into a path that ran between several orderly rice fields on a hill slope. She was tired and hungry, but paid no attention to that. She had brought something along to drink, but most of the time she didn't even bother with that. Most of the time, she didn't bother with anything, didn't speak, did nothing else but walk, didn't even think. It was best that way.
The rice fields gave way to a series of wet meadows along a softly flowing brook. While at first the blades of grass disappeared under her shoes, eventually they reached Asuka's waist. That wasn't so bad. It meant cover. It had been drilled into her since age 4 that cover was a good thing.
The thought drove an icicle into her heart. She didn't want to think about… about any of that. But the good feeling about being in cover remained. She kept on walking through the high grass, keeping close to the brook. It was evening now, and the light gradually got dimmer.
I suppose I can sleep on the grass. I'm sure there will be much dew here, but with current temperatures I should dry up again in the morning in no time. And who cared if she got a bit wet and uncomfortable? That all didn't matter anymore. I should…
The thought stopped as she looked up. It was mostly dark now, but there was something glimmering a few metres away. Shielded by the high grass blades, she nearly hadn't caught it.
Immediately, adrenaline began pumping through Asuka's body. Whereas before she had lethargically trotted through the landscape without thinking, now she was suddenly highly alert. If this was Section 2… and who else would be here in the wilderness?
She ducked her head down, on the height of the grass, and moved through it, carefully pushing aside bundle after bundle with her arms. Slowly, she came closer to the source of the light - a campfire as she began to realize. She furrowed her brows. Who is camping here of all people? Is that even allowed? So much for Japanese orderliness…
She froze as she slightly pushed aside the last bundle of blades. It was indeed a campfire, and unsurprisingly, there was a small tent pitched right next to it. There also was a person, in green, camouflage-like looking clothes, who listlessly poked in the fire with a stick. Asuka's heart stopped for a moment.
What is Kensuke doing here?
Without thinking, she stood up straight, and moved out of the grass like in trance. She came to a halt about five metres away from the boy. Only now did he look up - and almost fell back on his behind. It didn't quite pierce through Asuka's general feeling of melancholy and apathy, but there was a flash of amused adoration. Kensuke's bumbling nature always had had something of a cute puppy.
"Ah… Asuka!" But it didn't just sound shocked. It also sounded pleasantly surprised. Hopeful.
He caught himself again. For a moment, the two just stood there, neither side saying a word, both too surprised by the chance encounter.
Then Asuka came to her senses again, and immediately turned around. She had approached without thinking, betrayed by her shock and her own emotions. I must have longed so much for any sort of positive encounter… But she couldn't stay here. She couldn't draw Kensuke into this. Kensuke didn't fit into this. Kensuke was fun, and lightness, and considerateness. Not despair and depression and trouble.
She had nearly reached the patch of grass again, when Kensuke called out to her. "Asuka." It didn't sound surprised or pleading, it sounded calm and understanding. Almost against her will, the German girl did stop.
"I… I don't know why you're here. You don't need to tell me. You can just walk away again tomorrow. But it's… it's getting cold out there, you know."
Asuka balled both her hands into fists. Shit. How is he doing this? Every time? He had gotten her again. Being all awkward but considerate, as usual.
"I suppose," she mumbled darkly. Then she opened her hands again. She breathed out, and her body relaxed. She walked over to the campfire.
The area around it was somewhat hard and sandy and, most important of all, dry. Asuka got a feeling Kensuke wasn't doing this for the first time. She let herself slump to the ground, to sit next to the campfire. Kensuke sat down as well, opposite of her, with crossed legs. He kept looking at her through the fire.
For a moment she feared he would now ask her what was up, despite his promises, but instead he asked, "Are you hungry?"
That took Asuka aback. "What do you mean?"
A small laugh. "Hungry? You know, when you haven't eaten in a while." There was an impertinent grin on Kensuke's face.
To her own surprise, Asuka found herself mumbling drily, "That's a purely Japanese thing." She still had her head hanging low, but looking through the fire she could see Kensuke first making a stupid face, then grinning broadly. Despite herself, she grinned slightly herself.
Maybe it was just that she didn't have the energy anymore for more than cheap jokes.
It seemed Kensuke hadn't come unprepared… to whatever this was here. He had brought along cans of beans, two of which he was now warming up. As the two portions began to bubble, Kensuke kept throwing glances at Asuka. He is curious after all. No… not curious, she realized with some surprise. The way he looked… Concern. He is concerned.
Silently, she took the can from Kensuke and began to eat. The first spoonful felt surprisingly good. It was amazing how much things could change simply due to having something warm in the stomach again, while in the presence of a friendly person. She began eating more hurriedly. Amidst the spoonfuls, she began to sigh and breathe more heavily. Shit. Were here emotional walls breached by just fucking beans?
But after a week of despair and two days of just walking around endlessly and lonely, having had nothing warm to eat in that time and feeling cold and sore… and then, completely by surprise, discover a friendly person who wasn't asking questions, who was just concerned for her, who gave her food without her having asked, with that food warming her up… Shit.
And, once again, Kensuke, while surely noticing, said nothing. Only when Asuka put the can in front of her with slightly shaking hands did he look at her with concern. Asuka breathed out and asked with a firm voice, "Why are you doing this?" Kensuke looked at her if he didn't understand. "You didn't need to invite me to you fire. I didn't even ask for food. You don't even ask questions. I just can't… why?"
For a moment she feared having alienated him, but she was too tense to pay attention to that. She had to know.
Kensuke looked genuinely confused. "You, uhm… you looked kinda in a bad way, Asuka. Uhm… still do, in fact. I just thought I could help a bit."
"But why would you care?" Asuka almost shouted now.
That made Kensuke look down now. He put down his own can. It took some time until he answered. "I fucked up once already. You pilots, you go out there, into those horrifying battles, and you're treated like shit by NERV - by everyone, really." He got quieter. "By me as well. Just ask Shinji." He breathed out and looked up. "I do think you deserve every niceness you can get."
Asuka felt icy. Slowly, shakily, she stood up. "Then I should go." And she turned around to do exactly that.
Immediately, Kensuke was on his feet as well. "Wait… what? Asuka, what… what do you mean?"
She looked over her shoulder and shouted at him, "Spare me your generosity if it's only because I'm a pilot."
She began to run, but so did Kensuke. Of course, he was no challenge to her; she was quickly gaining distance. But something was nagging her. She felt she owed him some explanation at least. She was two metres into the high grass again when she stopped and turned around. Kensuke stopped as well.
"I ran away, Kensuke," she shouted at him. "I didn't know how to deal with being a pilot, so I ran away. All you may admire about pilots… it isn't me. Do you understand?"
"But… Asuka… that doesn't…" Kensuke stuttered
"Spare yourself the words," she sneered and turned to run again.
"Asuka. I love you."
The girl froze. What? He hadn't even said 'I like you', as was the usual euphemism. He had proceeded straight to ai - love. Presumptuous!
"Yes. I got to know you better because you were a pilot," Kensuke continued to shout, and it sounded slightly desperate. "But you are so much more. You are beautiful and strong willed and yet, I have never connected to any girl as I have to you. You're fun and easy going and non-prissy, and I like your biting sarcasm. I… I like you, Asuka."
Shit. Asuka let her head hang low. Every word Kensuke had said, she had felt something in her chest grow and grow, and now it felt like it might burst any minute. To hear such reassurances… but now that meant she had to answer. She couldn't leave such a declaration unanswered. And she had no idea what to say.
"I… Kensuke… I don't... " She shook her head. "I ran away from my duty. I cowardly ran away from battle. Whatever you thought I was, I'm not…"
She hadn't noticed, but Kensuke had closed up the last remaining steps between them. "You have fought your battles. More than any one person should endure. I don't love you for being a pilot, Asuka. I…" Now finally his voice began to waver, "I love you for… being you." His voice was just a squeak at the end. Asuka turned around, but couldn't look him in the eyes - but from what she saw of his movements, he was super awkward as well. Finally, he said, "Just come back to the fire. Warm yourself up. You're… you're not a burden, you know."
Asuka nodded. She realized how she still hadn't answered Kensuke, but she just… she couldn't right now.
Back at the fire, she finished her beans. And then just sit there, still, for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, she spoke up. "I ran away…"
She began to tell Kensuke about it, about it all. Her growing frustrations. The broken promises of fame and being special. Being ignored by everyone. Being sent out to fight and suffer, and then not even getting the smallest nice word in return. And then the fight against the last angel. The violation. The despair and agony afterwards. The realization that she had always just been a tool. Not knowing any way out.
She said this tonelessly, just muttering on in a low, dark voice, her head low, her view fixated on the dancing fire in front of her. And Kensuke just listened, making some encouraging sounds now and then, but otherwise staying quiet.
"You could have come to me," he finally said, quietly, but in a friendly voice.
Asuka shook her head. "No. I couldn't. You… you are good things, Kensuke. You are when things are going well. You wouldn't have…"
"I… Asuka… uh…" Kensuke had evidently problems finding the right words. "I know it sounds cheesy as hell, but… well it's true. You can always come to me."
A sad smile appeared on Asuka's face. She nodded. "I guess."
"And… I'm sorry, Asuka," Kensuke continued. "I truly am. For all the shit you had to go through on our behalf. And look… if you don't want to go back, don't. Whatever you are, whatever you choose for yourself… well, just ask. Maybe there's something I can do to help." He tried a reassuring smile, though it looked a tad too broad.
Asuka nodded again. Another silence fell on the site.
She looked at Kensuke again, through the fire. Her heart felt heavy. In a way he was just a cute puppy, the sort of people for whom the term "adorkable" had been coined. He wasn't exactly handsome and rugged, wasn't attractive per se… but he was kinda cute. But what was more important, he had always been fun, had always been uplifting, had always understood her in a weird way. So much so that apparently, in Asuka's head, he had become synonymous with "good times".
And he cared. He cared about her, was concerned about her. Something clenched in her chest. He was a good guy, a caring guy, a helpful guy and she…
"I like you as well," she said quietly. Kensuke looked up - perked up. It almost made Asuka smile. "I think… I never noticed it. I was just so happy that I had somebody with whom I could have fun, somebody who would treat me... somebody with whom I was safe. But... " She smiled. "I do like you."
"...oh." Kensuke just said that, nothing more. Then he remained quiet and just looked at her.
Asuka stood up. Let's stop pretending. I only ever hurt myself by denying myself this. She walked over to Kensuke, bowed down, grabbed both his shoulders - and kissed him. A moment later, they both fell over, but she just kept on kissing him.
They ended up laying side by side, with only a small amount of the fire's light reaching them in that position. Asuka's heart pounded. She had never done that before, had never kissed anyone before, had never gotten in any way physical with anyone before. She did want this. Kensuke had been a focus of the few good moments she had had here for so long, and he was cute, and this, this felt so good. Not just the kissing, also the laying here and gazing into each other's eyes. But now the initial rush of the moment was over, and Asuka was hesitant now, even nervous. Kensuke had said he loved her, but now she hadn't even asked him, had just done it. What if he now…
Kensuke smiled at her. He raised his hand, brought it to her face, as if to caress it, but then stopped, suddenly looking unsure himself. She leaned her face into it and closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, his face was all shocked wonder and amazement, something that made her smile - almost grin cockily, knowing that amazement was directed at her. It generated a rush inside her that she couldn't have put in words even if she had tried.
"But... but Asuka," Kensuke protested. "You don't need to… I mean. What you said about me. That I was… I mean, I was just being nice to you. That doesn't mean you have to… you know."
Asuka grinned lopsidedly and somewhat derisively. "No, you're right. It doesn't mean that. Just because you are nice to me doesn't mean anything. It's not like I owe you anything for that… maybe being nice myself." She coughed lightly, remembering the times when she hadn't. "But I'm not doing this for you, Kensuke. I'm doing this for myself. Because it's good."
"...oh." Then Kensuke grinned. "I guess, then, uh… we can continue?"
Asuka's grin widened. She slung an arm around Kensuke's neck and pulled herself closer for another attack on his mouth. She saw Kensuke's eyes widen. His return of the kiss was slow and clumsy. Clearly, he was just as much out of the depth as she was, only that he had apparently no problems with showing it.
She had never done this before, had never spent much thought on all this romance and love stuff her female classmates apparently just could not stop gossiping about. She was an Evangelion pilot; she had never had time for this. At least, that was what she had told herself, that such frivolous matters were below her, that she was too hard-bitten for the giggling excitement the girls in her class showed towards romance.
But this… this was good. She couldn't even say what. Certainly what made the act of kissing so exciting wasn't the intermingling of tongues and exchange of spit. What made her float on cloud nine, gave her an intoxicating rush of hormones, made her blissfully happy and unconcerned with everything outside this one moment… it was just the closeness. The physical proximity to Kensuke, to somebody she liked and who liked her. The constant physical feeling of not being alone anymore.
She pulled her body even closer and pressed it tightly against his. Not a centimetre of air remained between them as her chest pushed against his, and their legs intertwined.
Blood rushed into Asuka's head. She knew that she was blushing furiously. This was good, but also unfamiliar, and really, somewhat embarrassing. She had never opened up like this to anyone else, had never made herself so vulnerable - had never thought anyone would want her like this. But it was a good sort of embarrassing, and it was with Ken. She could be embarrassed and open and vulnerable with him, she was surprisingly sure of that. And looking into his face, she saw that it was even hotter and redder than hers, but still full of amazement as well.
He stroked over her lower arm, and she shuddered slightly. He grinned. "Goosebumps…"
"It's cold!" Asuka protested, though it sounded almost weak in comparison to her usual demeanour. And as darkness descended upon the land, it was getting cold indeed.
Kensuke tried to wrap her closer to himself - which was difficult on account of how close they already were. "Ah… I'm sorry. I guess I could look for pullovers or jackets…"
She kissed him on the cheek. "Maybe we should go inside your tent." A sudden attack of insecurity - it was his tent, after all. What if he wouldn't want her intruding? But she didn't dare show it.
That feeling strengthened when Kensuke looked a bit confused… but then he smiled. "Yes, night's falling anyway. We could go into… but uh, you know, it's just a one man tent, and I…"
That made Asuka grin, a grin piercing through her insecurities and the remaining sorrow about her life. With her arms already around Kensuke's back, she squeezed a bit. "Does it look like we're taking up much space?"
Her comment made Kensuke chuckle. Slowly, he disentangled from Asuka, got up from the ground, and stretched out a hand to help Asuka up. Asuka just jumped up on her own… and then took the hand to guide Kensuke towards the tent.
There really was not much space at all; if either of them moved just slightly too much they would poke against the tent planes. So they did the most reasonable thing in these circumstances and simply both laid down on the single futon Kensuke had brought along. Doing so gave Asuka enough time to realize how surreal this all was - she here, with Kensuke, and suddenly they were doing this, completely out of the blue…
...but she wanted this. She pushed Kensuke down onto the futon and laid herself upon him. Kensuke had in fact always meant good times. And she trusted him, him almost alone among the billions in this world, almost all of them self-serving and greedy and hypocritical. Kensuke was an alternative to that, a break from that. Already she felt herself beginning to forget about the world around them - there was no world anymore outside those tent planes.
And she wanted this oblivion.
Aggressively, almost needily, she resumed kissing Kensuke. The boy seemed somewhat surprised, perplexed, but he did not protest and indeed reacted likewise. And all that awkwardness he normally had about him turned into oh so sweet tenderness now. Kensuke was careful, almost too careful, but Asuka liked how he took his time, how softly he caressed her, how he looked into her eyes. It was so….
Asuka just had no word for it, just felt something inside her breaking up, coming to the surface. Something good, something new, something...
With a sudden determination, Asuka pushed herself up from Kensuke, her back pushing against the tent breathed in deeply… and pulled her shirt over her head. Even while she was still doing so, she heard Kensuke breathing in sharply. It made her smile a bit, but also a bit self-aware. She still had a bra on, but still, if anybody had caught her like that in the changing room, she would have made sure that they'd pay hell. She felt her cheeks redden.
"Ah-Asuka…" Kensuke managed to stutter.
But Asuka wasn't done yet. She was filled with a sudden determination, a conviction to close out the world around them for good, to make this night special. After all, it was not like she had much else anymore. So she grabbed behind her back, and a second later, the bra fell onto Kensuke.
The boy's eyes went wide. And Asuka acutely felt them being fixated on her breasts. This was like nothing she had ever experienced before. She began feeling very hot.
To hell with it all. Asuka was now determined to see it all through, completely She began wiggling out of trousers, and at the same time grabbed Kensuke's belt buckle. She could feel the bulge below it, underneath the trousers. But before she could open it, Kensuke jerked back.
Asuka tried to ignore it, tried to overplay it with a cocky grin. Half out of her trousers already, she bent forwards to lay on Kensuke's chest. Damn it, she would not have this ruined as well. "A bit surprised, hm?"
She reached under her belly to find Kensuke's belt again. It took some wiggling until she had it - but by that time, she realized that Kensuke just lay there stiff. The bulge was still there, but there wasn't much enthusiasm. A sudden, empty fear gripped her, an icy chill, and hastily, she carried on, opening the belt.
"Ah… Asuka?" Kensuke spoke up in a shrinking voice. She turned her head around to look at him. He gulped… but then smiled. "I'll.. let's do our best, alright?"
Oh shit. A sudden realization hit Asuka. She struggled to find words. Finally, she said darkly. "You aren't okay with this, are you?"
"It… it came a bit sudden," Kensuke admitted. "I… when I set out to go camping I didn't think it would lead to this. It's…" A sigh. "I suppose it's not quite what it's expected of boys, but…"
She looked down at him perplexed. Something in the way he had said that bothered her. That wasn't how it was supposed to be.
"Are you stupid?" she exclaimed. "That has nothing to do with 'expected'. You either want this or you don't!"
Kensuke winced. "Ahh, but I do…" However, Asuka interrupted him: "And there is nothing wrong with not wanting that!" Though even as she said that, she again felt a sort of coldness spreading inside her. It would leave her alone again…
"I…" Kensuke looked up at Asuka, with those big, open puppy eyes. Asuka felt the tension inside her break. She reached out her hand and touched his cheek. "It's okay, you know," she said softly, despite everything in her screaming how it was not and what the hell was she doing, she idiot?
But Kensuke was just too damn cute not to care for him.
"Can… can we just return to cuddling?" Kensuke asked sheepishly. And then he added with a sly grin, "You… you don't need to put on your shirt again."
Asuka laughed, then bent over again and kissed her new, cute boyfriend. As the low whoop-whoop typical of Japanese owls sounded through the night outside the tent, Asuka nestled tightly against him. Her skin had goosebumps, but she was not about to get fully dressed again. She just sought as much of Kensuke's body warmth as possible. And as they lay there next to each other, barely five centimetres of space between their faces, looking into each other's eyes, tenderly stroking each other… Asuka had indeed forgotten the world outside. They stayed awake until long after midnight, just cuddling and kissing and enjoying each other's company.
Asuka smiled when she noticed how Kensuke had dozed off in her arms. She tenderly kissed him on the forehead. A minute later she entered the land of dreams as well.
Awakening was odd. Kensuke had slept countless times in this tent, in some field or other. But now he wasn't in the futon, he was on top of it, and there was something warm pressing against him. Skin…
Asuka was nuzzled against him. She was completely naked, having freed herself of all clothing during the night. Kensuke's eyes widened.
Then he smiled tenderly. It was an involuntary reflex. At the latest since last night, since he had seen how soft and gentle the redhead could be, all his instincts screamed at him to be tender with her. He wanted to hold her, comfort her, wrap her up in something warm and cuddle her until he could see a content smile on her face.
He also wanted certain other things, things that were more robust and physical, desires which were physically expressing themselves right now as he saw her bare breasts and her naked ass… a visage that immediately aroused him. But those thoughts also kinda frightened him. It was one thing to have such fantasies, to dream about those matters, to chase down lewd pictures together with Touji. That was all comfortable, well removed from the real deal as he had realized now. And now that the prospect of the 'real deal' had presented itself… he had shied away.
The thought just made him uncomfortable. Truth be told, he didn't feel prepared enough, didn't even know what he was supposed to do in that act, was afraid of doing the wrong thing… was afraid of opening himself up like that. It had all happened so fast, after all! He supposed he still wanted to… uhm…. no, in fact, looking at Asuka, part of him wanted to grab her right now and… well, even though he didn't know exactly what to do, wanted to do something to her.
But not now. At the same time, the thought also evoked a certain fear in him.
Part of it was also that he didn't want to ruin what he had. He did in fact just need to look at the body next to him, marvelous in her full nudity, to reinforce that. That was also why he had been willing to go through with it despite all his fears the previous night - but at the same time, he also feared that doing so would ruin this apparently new thing in Kensuke's life, this beautiful miracle, Asuka now his… girlfriend? The very thought still seemed to be too weird to be true.
He had not wanted to burden her with his emotions, not after she was already so burdened with everything else. After all, he had always kinda felt that she was way out of his league. But yesterday evening, he just hadn't known what else to do, what else to say. Telling the truth had been a desperation measure.
And it had worked. She hadn't run away… anymore. And more even, she had told him she felt the same.
Just… what?
It was surreal. It didn't make sense. In a way, Kensuke felt like having to make the most out of this dream before waking up. With a somewhat ironic smile, he kissed the sleeping Asuka on the cheek, as if to reassure himself that she was actually there.
Then he heard a noise outside.
Kensuke jumped up into a sitting position. On the tent plane, there were shadows of people. Broad-shouldered, threatening looking people. There was no thought of last night anymore, or about the chilly morning air. His heart began to race. In fact, it went from nothing to pumping vast amounts of blood with a thumping dum-dum noise, and Kensuke felt slightly dizzy. They're here for Asuka. It was the only conclusion that made sense. This was literally the first time he had several people show up at his tent on one of his camping trips.
He looked down on his new girlfriend. She was still sleeping soundly, but there was a frown on her face. Kensuke's heart skipped a beat seeing her like that. He would not give her up. And he would work on making that frown disappear.
Kensuke breathed out forcefully. Then he stepped out of the tent. A shiver went down his spine. He was only wearing shorts and a shirt and so near the river, it always took a while for the sun to warm up the air. Inside the tent it had been so comfortable, with Asuka's heat radiating from all over her body...
He focused. In truth, the four imposing men he could now see in front of him filled out all his attention now. They were all in identical black suits, all with shades and wired buttons in their ears. Of course, Kensuke had heard of them and their reputation, whispered about in the hidden online channel he frequented. Section 2…
One of the men took a step towards him, and held out an ID card inside a wallet. Kensuke could recognize the NERV logo on it. "Identify yourself."
He gulped. He knew that NERV, due to its special authority in Tokyo-3, did have that power. "Ah… Kensuke Aida."
"You are a classmate of the pilots." It was not a question, but Kensuke still nodded. "Is Pilot Shikinami here?" It sounded threatening.
"I…" He looked at the men, all of them broad and with hard set faces. "I haven't…" His voice began failing him, becoming very small "...seen her forafewdays." It ended on a squeak.
"Move aside," the man ordered him.
"But…" Kensuke began to protest, but to no avail: The man grabbed his arm and shoved him aside…
… a rocket came darting out of the tent, or so it appeared. A blur of skin colour crashed right into the man. He barely staggered back, but already at the next moment, Asuka had swung away his legs, and he fell down.
"Leave him alone!" she screamed.
Kensuke's eyes became the size of saucers. Asuka was still completely undressed, and now stood in what appeared to be a professional defensive stance. She seemed to almost glow in the morning chill, small amounts of condensed water rising from her. She didn't even make any effort to cover herself. Even though this was inappropriate for the situation and even though he had just seen her like that, Kensuke began to feel slightly hot.
The downed man was slowly coming to his feet again. The other three didn't even so much as raise an eyebrow. They didn't even really acknowledge their downed comrade, and their face might as well have been carved out of stone. "Pilot Shikinami," one of them said. "By the Special Authority granted to NERV over Tokyo-3, we are taking you into custody."
"Hey now!" Kensuke protested. "You can't just…" He stopped when Asuka laid her hand on his shoulder.
Her face was all hardened. "Don't worry, Kensuke. This won't take long. I will finish this up with Misato. And then I'll come back. I'm done with it all."
Kensuke turned his head around to look at her. Her face was hard but determined. "Asuka…"
