Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ The Nephilim Complex ❯ Volcanic Angel ( Chapter 5 )

Chapter Five: Volcanic Angel

As Shinji took in a large gulp of the yellow LCL liquid, a different thought than usual went through his mind. Rather than thinking of blood, he found himself wondering just what light tasted like. As soon as he started to think about that thought, though, he looked down and saw the necklace that Asuka had given to him was glowing through the plug suit. That must have been why he was thinking of light suddenly.

"I guess that proves it..." he muttered to himself as he heard Misato give the commands to start the sequence to start Unit-01. He closed his eyes through the odd lights, and sighed as the creature he was inside shuddered to life. He then toggled his monitor. "You ready, Asuka?"

"What kind of a stupid question is that, Shinji?" she said fiercely, though he noticed she did not switch on the monitor that would let him see her. "I was born ready, and you know it."

"The suit does not restrict your movement too much, does it, Asuka?" Misato asked over the comm. system. She suddenly appeared on the screen, and Shinji carefully decided not to laugh at the balloon that was almost surrounding her.

"I can move just fine," she replied easily. "Hey, Misato, what's with all those tents down there?" she asked, her Evangelion pointing to the base of the volcano from its suspended point in the air, attached to the massive crane.

"That's the UN and the Air Force," she explained. "They are here on standby, until we finish here, anyway," she added.

"I never thought that I would see them helping us out," Shinji muttered. His sarcasm was not lost on Asuka, who grinned to herself as she switched off her monitor again.

It went over Misato's head completely, though. "Actually, that's not the case at all," she replied. "They're on clean up duty, in case something goes wrong..."

"What, we can't handle a little cleaning?" Asuka asked, surprised.

"They are here to destroy all evidence that the volcano even existed if we fail," Misato said softly. Asuka's monitor was switched on again at once as she stared at the Major. "They have several N2 depth charges ready to deploy to destroy the Angel and us with it."

Shinji looked to Asuka on the monitor, and then back to Misato. "My father's suggestion?" When she nodded, he sighed. "I should have known..."

There was a long silence as the two pilots sat back in their seats, and then Asuka sat forward again. "Just what are we waiting for, Misato?" she demanded. "This suit's a little too hot for my liking, and I want to get Unit-02 out of this bubble as soon as possible..."

"We are waiting for the laser boring to finish," she explained, not looking up to the pilot from the make shift command room that she was in. There were several others with her, including Ritsuko, who had said very little since arriving.

She then looked up, straight at Shinji. "Can you identify the source of that glow?" she asked calmly. As soon as she knew that he had heard her, she went on. "Because the analysis of it is giving our computers a hard time..." She looked down to the screen in front of her, were the number 661 was flashing slowly.

Asuka spoke before Shinji could say anything. "It looks like the laser has withdrawn, Misato. Can we get going now?" Shinji, from his vantage point at the lip of the volcano, could plainly see that the laser was still active, diffusing the magma directly beneath it to make it more viscous so Asuka would have an easier time. "I want to get this Angel before it gets us."

[Sandalphon.]

Everyone heard Shinji muttering something, but no one really caught what he said. At Asuka's glance in the monitor, he shook his head, and forced a small, sad smile. She understood. Nephilim had spoken to him again. The German girl couldn't help but worry just a little at that thought. She had never spoken about an Angel before that hadn't attacked shortly thereafter.

"The D-Type equipment is functioning normally," Maya said from her position at one of the computers that they had set up. There were five areas highlighted on her screen, each representing a tube of cooling that was attached to the Evangelion that was being held in midair by the crane. "The laser has withdrawn, and the crane is in position. Unit-02 is ready to dispatch."

"You still ready, Asuka?" Misato asked calmly. When Asuka nodded and switched her monitor off, Misato took a deep breath before giving the command. "Launch."

The red Evangelion jerked slightly as the safety latch was removed from the crane, and then it started to lower down into the mouth of the volcano. It was a good hundred feet from the crust to the surface of the melted rock. She took a deep breath as she felt the feet of her unit touch the lava, but sighed when she felt no pain.

Once she was completely emerged, she opened her eyes again and switched her monitor back on, so the others could see her again. All around her was red, and although it was by far her favourite colour, it was not making it easy to see anything.

"Current depth: 170. Speed of descent: 20. No problems detected in the system," Maya's voice came over the comm. system.

Asuka stole a glance to Shinji in the bottom monitor, but he wasn't watching her at the time. She wasn't sure what he was looking at, but she couldn't help but feel a little hurt anyway. 'I guess the quick fix necklace was a bit too much to count on...' she sighed to herself. 'He can't even look at me anymore. So much for calling him a pervert...' She looked back to the lava and realized that she had some new sensors with the D Type equipment that should help. "Visibility is zero. I can't see anything at all, even my own Eva. Switching to CT Monitor," she announced. Immediately, a scanner light washed across everything that she could see, and then she could see a bit more. At least, she could see the extremities of her Unit. "Even with this, range of clarity is less than 120."

Maya's voice droned on in the background as she looked around carefully. The glow from Shinji's necklace was starting to distract her, so she shut off all her other monitors, so she could only see what was around her. Her world felt very small suddenly. "We're over the maximum safety depth," Maya's voice suddenly said. She lurched slightly, and then it started to get a little warmer inside the entry plug. "Depth is now 1300."

The crane stopped expelling more cable, and Asuka came to a halt. She looked around her carefully, but there was no sign of anything. Even her sensors which saw things that she couldn't found nothing. "Is Sandalphon there?" Shinji asked quietly.

She switched her monitor on quickly, and saw that he had opened a private channel with her, so he could use the Angel's name. "No," she replied to everyone. "There is no Angel here."

"The lava circulation rate is much higher than initially estimated," Ritsuko said slowly, looking at a few figures. "The target's velocity doesn't match our predictions."

"Good," Asuka said harshly. "Now that you've figured that out, could you figure out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing? It's verdammen hot in here!"

"Increase the coolant supply," Misato said quickly. Asuka sighed as the space around her cooled slightly. She could feel her sweat making the back of the ballooned plug suit stick to her, but there was nothing she could do about it right away anyway. "Hurry up and recalculate. Continue with the operation, though. Maintain descent. Increase coolant supply as needed."

"Depth is now 1480," Maya's voice said, a little less sure of itself suddenly. "A crack has occurred on the second coolant pipe. Compensating for loss through other pipes." There was a pause, and then her voice came on the system again. "We have reached the maximum depth for our coolant supply."

"We have not made contact yet," Misato said calmly. "Continue." There was a pause, and then she continued to speak. "How are you feeling, Asuka?"

"Warmer than I'd like to admit," she explained. "But I don't want to pull back yet. We must be close," she added, looking to Shinji for some signal or another. He simply shrugged and turned off his monitor so she could no longer see him. She sighed and started looking around again. "How much further can we go?"

"Well, aside from getting hotter, the laser did not bore much further, either. We risk cracking the rest of the pipes, as well as your lifeline, if we exceed maximum depth by more than 420," Maya explained before Misato or Ritsuko could reply. "I think you should get out of there, Asuka."

"Do not step out of line, Maya," Ritsuko suggested in a harsh voice.

"She's right, Maya," Asuka added. "I appreciate the concern, but you are forgetting: I'm Asuka Langley Soryu. If I can't do it, then no one can!"

"Maximum depth plus 120. Plus 200. Plus..." Asuka started to tune the voice out again, not wanting to hear how close they were getting to the end of her line.

"We have reconfirmed the target's location," Ritsuko suddenly announced. "Maximum depth plus 380," she added. Maya's voice repeated the distance, and then the ride down stopped suddenly.

"Do you see anything this time, Asuka?" Misato asked.

Asuka nodded rather than reply right away, and withdrew the long pole that she had been given earlier. "Prepare to capture, Asuka," Ritsuko said calmly. "Due to the motion of the convection current, which is moving both you and the target, you'll have just one shot to succeed before it sinks too far for you to follow."

"I know. Leave it to me, though," Asuka replied, gripping the pole tightly as she looked at the large mass in front of her that looked oddly like a human fetus.

"30 seconds to impact. Relative velocity is 2.2. Angulation is correct," Maya read the screen to everyone who was listening. Asuka was tuning it out completely, though.

A beam of energy shot from both ends of the pole as Asuka twisted it slightly, and then more beams of power extended, surrounding the strange shape that was in front of her. After a moment, she felt a click of energy as the beams connected with one another, and she sighed.

"The electromagnetic cage has been spread. No problems detected. The target has been captured," Maya explained, sitting back to look to both Misato and Ritsuko, who exchanged glances before looking back to the screen.

"Nice, Asuka," Misato declared with a smile.

Asuka took a deep breath and sighed, leaning back as she released her controls. "Operation complete. Start pulling me up again," she added, closing her eyes as she switched off the monitors around her.

"No problems?" Shinji's voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts, and she switched on the monitor to his Unit quickly, surprised that he was talking to her again. She was more surprised, however, when he looked worried.

She looked back to the configurations on the cage, and frowned. She wasn't getting a reading at all, though she knew that the cage was still active. "Who do you think you're talking to?" she asked him with a shrug. "Fear is often worse than danger itself," she added. "All I want now is to talk a good, long bath."

Shinji looked back to another monitor, but continued to speak as though she was the only one who could hear him. She assumed that the others were arguing about something. "I guess she was wrong," he said softly, so softly that she could barely even hear him.

"What?" Asuka asked, knowing that such a statement couldn't be misconstrued by anyone else who happened to be listening to her.

"Sandalphon hasn't woken up," he said quietly.

Asuka looked back to the cage at once, suddenly more worried that she didn't have any readings on it. She toggled all the switches at once, and spoke quickly. "How deep am I still?" she asked. "And why can't I see the stats on the cage?"

"You are now 680," Maya replied.

"And you don't have to worry about the cage," Ritsuko added. "It appears to be in perfect working order."

Her Evangelion Unit suddenly started to shake, and an alarm went off behind her. She felt another one of the coolant pipes snapping aside, and she looked back to the cage. It was the only thing that could have been shaking her suddenly.

"Was geht hier ab?" she demanded.

"Impossible!" Ritsuko replied. "It's starting to hatch!"

"Status of the cage?" Asuka asked quickly, struggling to hold onto the long metal bar that was the only tangible part of the prison for the Angel.

"There is no way it can withstand this!" Maya replied urgently.

"Jettison the cage!" Misato's order came through loud and clear. It didn't need to be repeated, either, as Asuka released the bar in an instant. Less than a second went by before it was out of sight completely. "We're changing the operation. Destroying the Angel is now top priority. Get Unit-02 out of there, now, and prepare for combat!"

"Alright!" Asuka declared. "This is what I was waiting for!" She reached up to her shoulder and grasped her progressive knife firmly. "How much further to the surface?"

"Still another 470," Maya replied.

"Can you see the Angel?" Misato asked.

"N... Yes!" Asuka corrected herself as a shape darted towards her. "It's right in front of me!" She braced herself, and then lifted a foot to kick the Angel aside as it came close enough to attack. Her kick had little impact, apparently, but it was jarring to the pilot. She wrenched her arm around and drove the knife into the closest part of the Angel.

The purple and blue sparks seemed oddly out of place in the red surroundings. "Release the ballast!" she heard someone say from the control room. With her free hand, she hit the switch which undid the clasp on the heavy tanks that had been filled with sand to allow her to sink faster.

She then brought her hand around and pushed the Angel back, even as her knife continued to bite into whatever part of the Angel she had managed to catch. "Why isn't this working?" she demanded.

"Examining the data!" Ritsuko replied.

"Well, hurry the hell up!" Asuka cried, driving her knife forward again. She cried out in pain as a tentacle from the Angel caught her arm and pulled it backwards. She released her hold on the knife, and the power went dead immediately. As though that had been its whole objective, the Angel released her at once and pulled back out of her sight. "This is no good!" she added. "I've lost the knife. Not only that, I can't see more than a few feet in front of me!"

"Asuka!" Shinji's voice sounded loud in her ears suddenly. "I'm throwing my knife down! Can you catch it?" he called, balancing on the lip of the volcano.

"Of course!" she called back. She looked up, and then started to doubt herself. She wasn't sure if she would even be able to see the knife, let alone catch it before the Angel attacked again.

She looked all around her as quickly as possible, waiting for any sign of the Angel's approach. She heard the voice moments before she saw the Angel. [Beneath you.] Spinning the best she could under the constraints of the coolant pipes and her lifeline, she saw the Angel coming at her from beneath.

"Go away!" she shouted at it, kicking hard. She cried out again as another tentacle caught her leg and started trying to crush it. She kicked the attachment of the Angel off her with her other leg, and then heard Maya's announcement.

"Contact with knife, 10 seconds!"

"10 seconds is too long!" Asuka replied with less heat than she had intended, though it caused those in the control room to turn the volume down on the comm. system. She watched the Angel pull back for a moment, and then it looked almost like it was opening its mouth. "What the hell?"

"Unbelievable!" Ritsuko's voice sounded in her ears. "How can it open its mouth in such an environment?"

"You tell me, doctor!" Asuka cried. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the knife suddenly floating past her. Shooting an arm out, she caught the hilt and the knife formed in an instant, just in time to catch the Angel between the eyes. That is, if it had eyes in the normal sense.

The blue and purple sparks started to fly again, and Asuka cursed to herself. She screamed out in pain as she felt the bubble around her left leg shatter, and the incredible pain from the heat gripped her leg. "If this thing can withstand such a high-heat, high-pressure environment, then the progressive knife will be useless against it!" Ritsuko said to someone in the control room.

"Then what's the solution?" she heard Misato ask. She drove the knife in deeper, trying to ignore the burning pain in her leg. She folded in on herself when the large bubble surrounding the torso of her Eva started to buckle. That pain would be even more intense, but she couldn't let it bother her. Not until the Angel was destroyed. But how to destroy something in an impossible situation...

"I know!" Shinji's voice suddenly came on the system. She toggled the switch again quickly so she could see him. "It's just like before!"

"When we were underwater?" Asuka asked quickly, understanding what he was suggesting. With a grim determination, for she knew that what she was doing was very potentially fatal, she reached up and tore one of the coolant pipes out of her back.

With a great cry, she wrenched the Angel's mouth off her Unit's chest and shoved the pipe into its mouth. "Transfer all coolant pressure to cable three!" she shouted. "Now!"

Maya wasted no time in hitting the touch screen to cancel all the other pipes. She knew that the Unit was high enough by now to survive, though it would not be pleasant by any means. On the monitors, they all watched the Angel bulge outwards at an incredible rate. Asuka then grabbed the knife again and drove it into the Angel's head once more. This time was much more successful, however, as the Angel blew apart and the lava around it cooled at an incredible rate. Some of the Angel stuck to her Unit, while most of it just drifted through the lava.

The added dead weight on the remaining two coolant pipes and the lifeline was too much, however. Those in the control room cried out as the coolant pipes slowly cracked and let go. The lifeline held taunt for a moment, and then snapped as well.

"How deep is she?" Shinji demanded at once.

"Almost 120," Maya replied.

"You are not to go after her, Shinji!" Misato ordered at once. "You aren't equipped for it! You'll melt faster than her!"

"The cable goes down that far still, right?" Shinji asked. Without thinking, Maya hit the switch to extend the cable as fast and far as possible, letting it shoot past the sinking Evangelion. "Thanks," he said softly before leaping off the edge of the volcano and into the molten rock beneath. He caught the cable and slide down.

He heard Asuka's soft voice on the comm. system suddenly. "I've done it... but... I guess this is the end, isn't it? Ich werde bald bei dir sein, Mutter..." There was a pause as Shinji released his hold on the cable for a moment to speed his descent, though she didn't know it. She just knew that she was sinking, and the realization hit her slowly. "Looks like that, anyway..."

He shot out a hand and caught her Unit just before it slipped into the still harder lava that hadn't been born through by the laser. The Unit turned its head upwards in surprise, and Shinji narrowed his eyes slowly. The pain of melting hit him suddenly, and was a lot worse than he had expected. But he wasn't about to let her die.

He passed out from the pain before he could hear anything else. His last thought was one of thanks, that his Unit would freeze in position without him. That meant that Asuka would still be safe when he woke up again.

--------------------

Asuka had been pacing for almost two hours. She knew that no one was watching her, which was probably the only reason she felt like she could get away with it. She was pacing up and down a corridor that was just outside a room in the hotel that Misato had rented on behalf of NERV for them. Inside was an unconscious boy and several NERV officials, including both Misato and Ritsuko. She knew no one was watching her because they had no had time to set up cameras before they had arrived, seeking medical aide for Shinji.

She had seen him only briefly when they had forced the entry plug to eject. She heard Ritsuko muttering something about a synch ratio of 88%, but all thought had gone out the window when she saw him lying on the stretcher. He didn't look to be injured, but he did look like he was in a lot of pain.

She stopped the moment she heard voices on the inside of the room. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but knew that they were angry. Deciding that it would not be a good time to be caught lurking outside the room, she made her way to the room that Misato had given to her and sat down on the bed slowly.

"Damn it, Shinji, why did you have to do that?" she asked herself, leaning back on the bed so she was lying down. "If you could only make up your mind, then it would be a lot better. Hate me or not. Don't leave me teetering like this..."

"Er hasst dich nicht," a soft voice said from beside her. She turned quickly, expecting to see the young girl, but there was no one there. She sat up quickly, looking around the room, but there was no sign of anyone.

After a moment, there was a knock at her door. She answered it quickly, and found Misato standing there. "I thought you might like to know that Shinji is fine. We are all heading to the hot springs, if you would like to join us..." She trailed off as she noticed the yellow in Asuka's hair still. She had assumed that the girl would have at least showered since coming out, especially after all the shouting she had done about being hot and sweaty inside the balloon suit.

"Like I care about that baka," she said, looking away from Misato as she spoke. "But I think I will join you at the springs. I'll be just a moment..." she added, shutting the door.

She pulled her large red towel around her carefully after stripping out of her clothes quickly and, once she was sure it was secure, opened the door again to join Misato. Her guardian seemed a little surprised by the speed she had prepared, but now that she knew Shinji was alright, there was nothing she wanted to do more than get clean.

She left Misato at her room and continued down to the springs. She froze at the top of the stairs when she saw Shinji at the bottom. He was wearing just a towel, just like she was, but he hadn't appeared to notice her. He pushed the door to the corridor open and went out, and she ran down the stairs to try and catch him.

"Shinji!" she called just before he entered the men's side of the Springs. He turned, surprised by the cry, but not nearly as surprised as he was when she threw her arms around him and held him tightly.

"Danke, Shinji," she whispered into his ear.

"Uh... no problem..." he managed, colouring as soon as he realized just how little they were both wearing. He separated himself from her carefully before she realized it as well, hoping that she wasn't going to look down suddenly. "I never... had a chance to thank you for..."

She stopped him quickly by interrupting him. "You didn't have to. I wanted to give it to you," she explained, touching the edge of the golden chain that was around his neck still. When she reached the cross itself, she pulled back quickly. "I'll tell you a bit about it later, alright?" she said quickly before taking a step back.

He nodded slowly, not sure what had gotten into her suddenly. After all she had done to him... now he was standing in front of her when they were both wearing only towels, and speaking to him with more warmth than he ever remembered hearing from her.

He looked away quickly when he realized that it must have looked like he was staring at her. Asuka smiled. "Like what you see?" she asked, thrusting her chest forward just a bit. He murmured something in reply, but she didn't catch what he said. She slapped him across the cheek, though it was much lighter than usual. His skin didn't even turn red afterwards. "Good." Without another word, she disappeared into the women's side of the spring, leaving him standing in the hall, more than a little confused.

Asuka froze as she entered the hot springs after tossing her towel aside. "What are you doing here?" she demanded harshly.

"The Major invited me here after what happened," Rei's flat voice replied easily. She was emerged up to her neck in the warm, steaming water, while Asuka was in only up to her hips. "She does not believe an Angel attack will occur before we all return, and felt it necessary for me to have... some relaxation."

"She didn't have to invite you here, though!" Asuka said furiously, sitting down on the ledge at the edge of the water, which happened to be deep enough to bring her into the water to just before her shoulders. She had to admit that the water felt good, but she couldn't relax so long as the doll was sitting in front of her. "She could have let you go anywhere!"

"She did," Rei replied in her monotone still. "I chose to come here, as I wished to ensure that Ikari had come to no harm by your hand."

Asuka slapped Rei, and then ducked herself under the water to swim away again. The warmth spread through her, and she could feel the sludge in her hair melting slowly. When she surfaced again, she saw that Rei had a hand on her cheek still. "You keep talking like that, and I might start to think that you have a thing for that baka."

"He is intriguing," Rei replied, a lighter note to her voice suddenly. "He does not wish to pilot the Eva series," she added, a touch darker again, though not monotonous.

"That makes him intriguing?" Asuka asked with a snort. "Because he's a coward?"

"I do not believe him a coward," Rei replied.

'Neither do I...' Asuka thought to herself. 'Not after today, at least...' "He should be proud of what he does. He's been given a chance to help protect humanity."

"I do not believe that he feels most of humanity is worth protecting," Rei said flatly again. "Nor does he feel that he is worth saving. He does not believe he is capable of affecting change."

"And he won't be with an attitude like that!" Asuka declared. "I mean, look at you, Wondergirl!"

Rei looked down at herself, and then stood up in the water to look at more of herself. She looked back to Asuka, confused. "What about me?" she asked. Although she was confused, her voice did not show it.

"You've changed," Asuka explained. "Because of that baka, too. Shouldn't that be proof enough that he can change things?"

"You believe that I have changed?" Rei asked, a ripple in her voice as she sat back down in the water. "Because of Ikari?" She smiled to herself, and heard Asuka snicker.

"If you have to ask, you're slower than that baka!"

"You believe yourself unaffected?" Rei asked after a moment of silence.

"What?"

"If Ikari has managed to change me, then do you not think it likely that you have been changed by him?" Rei pressed. "You are implying that relationships with people change who we are, and make us different people. Does it not therefore follow that you have been changed as well?"

Asuka looked away from Rei, furrowing her brow. The doll was right, and she knew it. The only thing she didn't know was if she liked the change or not. But she did know that it wasn't caused just by Shinji, but by Nephilim as well. "Think what you'd like," she said coolly. "If he ever wants to be as good a pilot as me, then he'll have to start caring about what he does."

"As a Pilot, Ikari is ranked second beneath you for synchronization ratios," Rei admitted. "And I am in the end of that line. But as far as power and success go, he is far superior to both of us."

"Are you saying he's better than I am?" Asuka demanded.

"I believe that that was exactly what I was implying, Pilot Soryu," Rei said flatly. "I am pleased that you managed to pick up such an implication so easily."

Before Asuka could retort to such an insult with words or actions, Misato entered the spring. "I see you two are getting along as usual," she said with a grin as she slipped into the water between the two. "Please remember that we are here to relax, though," she added, closing her eyes.

There was a long silence before Rei stood up again and started to walk towards the exit. When she arrived, she stopped and turned back to the others. "Pilot Soryu," she said calmly. When Asuka finally looked to her, she nodded. "I believe that Ikari does care about what he does as a pilot. And I also believe that we are all skilled in our own rights." She left before Asuka could reply to the comment.

She remained in the springs for another hour before leaving Misato to soak further. She heard Shinji in the other side, and decided not to call out to him as she left. She wasn't sure if he would want to hear her or not. It then occurred to her than he could have heard everything that had been said, and she sighed. It didn't really matter what the baka had heard, anyway. It wasn't like she cared or anything.

She stopped when she found Rei standing at the top of the stairs, her towel still around her neck. She was wearing nothing else, but did not seem to mind standing in the hall naked. "I was hoping you would emerge sooner," Rei said calmly as she started to walk again. "It is cold out here without clothing."

"Then why didn't you just get dressed first?" Asuka demanded. "Why were you waiting for me?" she added when she stopped at her own room and saw Rei continuing to hers.

The blue haired girl stopped and turned, walking back to stand before the redhead. "I wish to speak with you further about Ikari, if you are willing," she explained. "There are many things that I do not understand, and I believe that you might be able to help me."

"And just why would I help a doll like you?" Asuka demanded, opening her door.

"Because I do not wish to be a doll." Asuka looked back in surprise, and Rei continued. "You are the one who has constantly called me as such. I would think you would be the best one to tell me how to stop."

"This isn't just a ploy to try and learn more about Shinji from me, is it?" Asuka asked.

"I would not pry into such affairs. If Ikari wishes for me to know something, then I will leave it up to him to explain it. This is a separate matter from him," she added softly.

"Look, I'm going to take a shower, so I can't help you," Asuka said harshly. "All I can tell you is this: question things more. Don't just follow blindly, alright? It's sickening. If you are truly not a doll, then you would have no strings that you are forced to follow."

She slammed the door before Rei could try to follow her, and sighed, leaning against it. A lot had happened in the afternoon that she had not counted on. Rei's interference being the least of it. She hadn't thought that the doll would ever make her question herself so deeply. "No one should have feelings for a doll... or a baka."

Shinji did not say a word to either Rei or Asuka on the ride home. When they left NERV together, he continued on in silence, only nodding when Rei said that she was leaving to go home herself. The conversation that he had overheard had caught him off guard, and he couldn't get it out of his mind.

"What do you want for supper?" Asuka asked him as she set her stuff down in the living room. "Misato did say we were to order out, remember?" she pressed when he didn't reply.

"I'm... not hungry," he explained, sliding the door to his room open and dropping his stuff inside. He then sat down on his bed as Asuka watched him.

"If you get sick again, then don't blame me!" she warned him.

"Do you really think... I'm a coward?" he asked quietly. She had just picked up the phone, so she didn't catch what he actually said.

"What?" she demanded, hanging up the phone again. He looked away from her, and she pressed him again. "What did you say? The dial tone was louder than you!"

"Never mind," he said softly, shutting his door.

"I guess you are still just a spineless baka," she replied softly as she picked up the phone again. "And still not wanting to see me, either. I guess you aren't that spineless..."

She ate a small meal, leaving the change on the table in case Shinji decided that he was hungry later. The thought surprised her, for she normally would have just kept the change to spend on herself later. Rei's comment came back to her, and she shook her head.

"It'll take more than a baka to change me..."

As she laid down on her bed, she realized just how tired she really was. Sitting all day in a helicopter, a car, and then a walk home in complete silence was more tiring than she would have imagined. When she closed her light blue eyes slowly, she felt sleep take her almost at once.

Shinji was on his feet as soon as he heard the door to her room close. He was in the living room the next moment, and standing on the balcony next. As he leaned against the railing, he sighed. "Why, sister?" he whispered to the night sky. "Why would you appear to her, and not say more than a few short words to me?"

When he didn't get the response that he was hoping for, he withdrew the necklace. "This is yours, isn't it?" he asked the empty air. "You gave this to her to give to me, didn't you? Why are you meddling in my life, but not even saying hello?" He slumped against the railing and slide to the ground, curling up against the wall. "You are asking more of me now than you ever did before. Don't you know how badly she hurt me?"

He looked up quickly, his brown eyes reflecting the stars above as he looked back into the apartment. Something had called for his attention, but he wasn't sure what it was. When he heard another cry, he knew what was going on. Asuka must have been having a nightmare. He could only remember it happening once before, but she hadn't been shouting, then.

Shinji walked back into the apartment and closed the door to the balcony behind him silently. He made his way to Asuka's door, and put his ear against it, listening for any other sounds, just to make sure. He knew his life would be in the balance if he entered her room without a good reason. It probably wouldn't do any good even with a reason, but he couldn't just leave her to suffer. He hadn't saved her life to make it a living hell.

"I'm sorry..." he heard her mutter in her sleep. He inched the door open a bit to look in, and saw her tossing and turning on the ground, covered by her blanket, at least. "It wasn't my intent... to hurt him..."

"What?" Shinji breathed, wondering what she was talking about.

"I didn't mean to..." she whispered, turning over again and hitting her hand against her night stand. There was a muffled curse, and Shinji closed the door quickly, hoping that he hadn't been spotted. That thought went out the window as soon as her door was flung open and she crashed into him, sending him sprawling to the ground. "What were you doing outside my room?" she asked. She hadn't seen him there, as was obvious by how she had just run into him, but there was no denying that she knew now.

"I... I thought..."

"If you dare say you're sorry before explaining yourself..." Asuka warned, holding a fist up towards him as he backed away a bit, still on the floor.

"I was worried!" he managed quickly. When she looked confused, he went on even faster. "I heard you shouting and mumbling, and I wanted to make sure you were alright like you did for me when you heard me shouting and crying and..."

"Shut up, baka," she said. Although her words were harsh, her voice was soft, and pleasantly soothing. "Is that why you rescued me earlier, too? Were you just worried?"

He looked away. He wasn't entirely sure why he had gone through all the pain for her before. The pain in his heart was still very much alive. "No," he finally said, looking back to her slowly. "That's not it."

"Then why did you?" she asked. "You didn't even have D Type equipment. It must have nearly killed you!" she said harshly. "Why would you go through all that for me?"

Shinji shook his head. "I don't know," he whispered. "But I couldn't just let you die."

"Why not?" she asked at once. It was the question that had been swimming in her mind for quite some time now, ever since she had spoken to Rei earlier. "I'm sure it would have been easier, wouldn't it? Or is it that you just saved me because you didn't want to have extra work as a pilot without me?"

He shrugged as he slowly made his way back to his feet. "I don't know why," he said slowly. "But I don't want to see you dead..."

"Why not?" she screamed at him, and he flattened himself against the wall behind him, surprised by the outburst. "Why wouldn't you want me dead? Wouldn't that make it so much easier for you and Wondergirl to get together? I nearly crushed your heart, verdammt nochmal, why wouldn't you want me dead after that? Don't you hate me?"

Shinji shook his head slowly. "No," he replied simply. Leaving her stunned, he sighed and made his way back to his room, closing the door behind him. She could only stare after him before she remembered why she had gotten up in the first place and made her way quickly to the bathroom.

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