Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ A New Beginning/ A New World: Emerald Edition ❯ Chapter 37: Week 3 ( Chapter 42 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: ST Pika

Chapter 37: Week 3

Sorry about the delay in getting a new chapter up, I had the busiest 8 weeks of my life recently… but now school's done, I got my 4.0 GPA, highest honors, and my associates in Aviation Technology so the worst is over. I was back in Chicago working until I left on my one month trip to Australia. (May 16th- June 15th) A good bit of this chapter was written in Australia in the Northern Territory (Crocodile Dundee territory) I hope to get my new Ranma chapter up before I leave as well, and if I'm lucky, another Pokemon chapter and/or a new Emerald NGE chapter as well.

I hope this chapter will have been worth the wait for you, my faithful readers. Enjoy and I hope to bring you more soon! Please review and let me know what you think…

The first few days of week 3 pass by slowly… January comes to a close… but the tension level in NERV remains high and continues to grow, especially inside one particular apartment.

After eating some lunch alone together, Misato and Kaji have a talk with one another in the dining room of the apartment…

“I think the kids are getting really stressed out…” Misato says as she sits down on Kaji's lap.

“I agree… first it was Asuka accusing Shinji of being jealous… that lasted for a day or two… but now she's angry at him again…” Kaji says while shrugging his shoulders.

A soft sigh escapes Misato's lips. “And to think that Rei said that they were the perfect couple right before this happened…”

Misato feels Kaji's hand brushing against her bare arm. “Well, any couple is going to have disagreements… and we don't have the luxury of shared memories like they do… we argue…”

“I know… but I'm really worried about those two… Asuka can be explosive when she's angry, even if she's changed from her old self. I think your idea about seperating them into two groups will help calm things down…”

Absently, Misato touches her stomach. “You and I also have another worry…”

“The baby will be fine… we'll get through this and have our own family…” Kaji runs his hand on top of Misato's shirt where her scar would be. “We've already had several miracles, why not one more?”

Holding Kaji's hand against her stomach with her own, Misato lets out a small, contented sigh. “Yeah, why not? I'm more worried about our other `kids' then the one I'm carrying… I hope we're setting a good example…”

“Hmm… well, you quit drinking right away… we stopped smoking after sex…”

Misato cannot help but chuckle. “True… we went through a lot of cigarettes…”

“The most important thing you've done is take charge and help us adopt Rei… you're already getting practice at being a mother… and I'm getting practice at being a father. We'll be fine…” Kaji says that last part softly and reassuringly- Misato leans her head against his chest and begins to relax.

“Let's not forget about our feathered baby… he was so happy to see us before lunch…”

“Of course… we've been so busy that neither one of us had time to visit him lately… and he's giving those nurses a run for their money…” Kaji smirks. “Can't say who told them about his poker habit, though…”

“I wonder…” Misato says, knowing full well who brought the deck of cards down on their visit.

A beep on Misato's watch interrupts the banter between the couple… she turns her arm and looks at the time.

“Looks like it's 1 o'clock… I guess it's time to go back to work… I have to meet with the Commanders and you have to keep looking into those documents…”

Kaji nods. “Those SEELE guys aren't making it easy to track their paper trail, if there's one at all. That outside help I'm getting is helping a little.”

Misato smiles. “I'm glad she's on our side…”

With that, Kaji and Misato leave the apartment and their private time comes to an end. They head to their assignments while down at the swimming pool the female pilots are finishing off another training session in the pool. They head into the locker room…

“That was a good swim…” Hikari says cheerfully as she stretches out. “But I think I'm getting sore from all of this exercise… my shoulders…”

Asuka opens up her locker and takes out her clothes, placing them on the bench. “I'm taking a hot shower to loosen up… I think it's catching up with me, too…”

“Me as well… and I am concerned about the tension level. It is getting quite high among us…” Rei says while thinking about the current situation with her brother and Asuka.

“I don't want to talk about that right now…” Is the reply from Asuka as she hurriedly changes out of her swimsuit and heads into the showers. Rei looks over at Hikari… who shrugs her shoulders.

“Something's not right… Asuka and Shinji never fight like this… do you know what's going on, Rei?”

“No idea… but it worries me. As we get closer to finding SEELE, we need to be working together, not apart.”

“You're right, Rei… I just hope this blows over soon…”

After changing out of their swimsuits, Rei and Hikari head over to the showers to loosen their sore muscles. After some conversation, Asuka makes a quick exit and Rei decides to follow…

“I'll catch up with you two later, we have some time before our next session…”

Rei nods and soon the two pilots are gone, leaving Hikari alone in the showers…

`I don't want to see Asuka and Shinji hurting… all of this training, worrying about Toji's sister, my sisters… it's just too much…' Hikari closes her eyes and lets the hot water dance across her body, making her muscles feel better. `That feels good…'

The sound of the water falling fills Hikari's ears and masks all other sounds in the main locker room. The ventilation grate hits the ground and a masked figure emerges, eager to get to his prey…

Outside of the girls' locker room, a pair of security guards stand by the door and vigilantly wait until Hikari finishes her shower. A scream rips through the silence… followed by another and another…

“This is Alpha 2. We have trouble in the girls' locker room, repeat trouble in the girls' locker room…” The first guard says as he heads towards the door… and finds it locked. “Damn it, it's locked!”

“Let me handle this…” The second guard says as he pulls out a special tool and starts picking the lock. Sounds of struggle can be heard from within as Hikari fights back against her assailant…

After hearing another scream, the guard begins sweating. “Almost got it… and… now!”

“Let's get in there before it's too late…”

The pair of NERV security guards rush in, guns drawn…

“Put your hands up… NOW!”

“Step away from the girl!”

“But, but…” Is the stuttered response from the intruder.

“Do it now!” The guard also know as “Alpha 2” says while point his firearm at the assailant allowing his partner to send a message out on his communicator.

"N... no!" He replies and holds Hikari between him and the guards. "Sh-she's mine now!" He begins petting her hair as one might a doll.

"Can't you see how precious she is... so lovely... so..."

The two guards keep their firearms on the struggling man and separate a little, hoping to flank him.

The man continues to hold the crying girl close to him. "You've interrupted us... we... we were about to be one finally."

"NO!!" Hikari screamed again as she struggled against him.

"Shhh... it's ok... we will be together..." Keeping his back to the wall he moves towards the door, leaving the two guards are at a loss as to how to stop him without hurting her.

"Just let us go... we'll be fine... I won't..."

His words are cut short as upon reaching the doorway a gunshot rings out.

"Ah!” He shouted in pain and fell to the floor.

At the doorway another guard stood there looking down on the attacker. "He'll live, we need answers form him."

Hikari meanwhile was trying to hide, to get out of sight of everyone as she was still naked. Huddled in the corner, trying to cover herself up as much as possible. She can't stop blushing and her body is shaking uncontrollably…

“Do you need any assistance?” One of the guards says, his words echoing down the hallway.

Weakly, Hikari turns her head and speaks as loudly as she can. “Get… get Misato… please…”

“Roger. We'll be guarding the door… you can get dressed- no one will come in and disturb you…” Is the reply back from Alpha 2.

“T-t-thank you…” Hikari says as she tries to come to grips with what just happened…

Within three minutes, Misato arrives at the locker room and rushes inside. Hikari is still huddled in the corner, her body shaking uncontrollably.

“Hikari!”

Upon hearing the familiar voice behind her, Hikari turns her head, giving Misato a clear look at her face and the tears flowing from her eyes.

“Misato!”

Seeing a nearby towel on the bench, Misato grabs it and brings it over to the traumatized girl who takes it and immediately covers up.

“It… it was horrible…”

“Hikari…” Misato says softly. “You don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to. You're safe now… we'll make that SOB pay for this…”

Timidly, Hikari nods her head. “I'll umm… get dressed and… and head back to the apartment.”

“Are you sure that'll you be okay?”

Hikari thinks about that for a moment and then weakly smiles. “I'll… I'll be fine.”

“All right… but I'm going to take you back personally. I'll be waiting at the door for you, take your time, okay?”

“S-sure…” Is the nervous reply back from the shaking Hikari, who is starting to slowly regain control over her body.

Misato walks over to the entrance to the locker room and begins talking with the guards in order to get as much information as she can about this incident. Hikari slowly gets dressed and tries to calm herself down as she does so…

Several minutes later, Hikari meets Misato at the door and the two walk back down the long halls of NERV towards the apartment…

“Are you sure you're going to be okay?” Misato asks, worried about the young lady walking next to her.

“I guess… could you… could you get Toji for me, please?” Hikari asks with some hesitation at the end of her request.

“Sure…”

Misato presses a button on her communicator and a few moments later hears her beloved's voice…

“This is Kaji…”

“Kaji… could you do me a favor and get Toji from the karate class? We've had a situation down here and I need him back at the apartment. Someone tried to assault Hikari…”

“Is she okay?”

“Yeah… but I need him back here ASAP. I have to go get her dad and talk to the Commanders about this… find out what this creep was up to…”

Kaji stands up and starts walking for the door. “On my way dear…”

With that, the channel closes. Misato looks at Hikari and the girl gratefully nods back. The short walk back to the apartment was greatly extended as the young girl kept looking at each doorway they passed as though someone was going to jump out at her at any moment. Even with Misato standing beside her, the girl continued to look like a frightened deer ready to run at the slightest sound. Her eyes flicked back and forth from door to door until they finally made it back to their apartment.

Just scant moments after arriving at the door, the sound of running can be heard, which is followed by Toji's near panicked scream, "HIKARI!"

"Toji!" Hikari cried out as tears began to fall from her eyes. When he turned the corner he did not even acknowledge anyone but her.

"Hikari!" he cried out and pulled her into his arms holding her close as the dam that had been holding back her tears burst again.

"Oh Toji!" she cried out as she held onto him as though her life depended on it. "Itwashorrible!Thismantattackedmeintheshowerandhetriedtotakemeaway!" she babbled out, and though he did not recognize what she said right away, he understood enough to know that she needed to be held.

Misato looked up from the teens as she heard heavy footsteps coming form the hall just moments before an out of breath Kaji appeared while holding his chest. "That's it... no more... cigarettes..."

She frowned at him when she heard that. "Kaji... have you been smoking?"

Shaking his head he worked on catching his breath. "No... I'm just reminding myself why I shouldn't smoke again."

"You sure it's that and not being out of shape?" She asked with a grin as she tried to force a laugh, though it just didn't sound funny to her currently.

After giving the reunited couple a few moments, Misato softly interrupts. “You two stay in the apartment, okay? I'm going to find out what the deal is with this weirdo…”

“I'll get Hikari's father and meet you at Commander Ikari's office…” Kaji says a moment later.

After that, Kaji and Misato leave. Not wanting to let Hikari go, Toji softly tells her about what he wants to do…

“You're going to carry me in?”

“Of course… you're pretty light…”

Hikari silently nods and Toji picks her up and carries her into the apartment. After hearing the door shut behind them, he heads over the couch and sits down with her sitting in his lap. She tries to relax as best she can… and succeeds, at least at first.

“Toji…”

“I wanna hold yah and keep yah safe…”

Feeling Toji's arms wrap around her, Hikari feels better already… but she's still uneasy.

“Oh Toji… I was so scared…”

“I'm here… no one is gonna hurt you… but I wanna get that bastard for hurtin' yah!” Toji says, the anger building within him.

“That… that guy… he came out of nowhere when I was in the shower…”

“What a pervert! I wanna go pummel that guy right now! No one hurts my Hikari!”

Not wanting Toji to explode with anger, she tries to relay more of her story to stop his rant… but it only makes Toji even angrier about what happened.

"It was horrible!" She cried out just before her body shuddered in remembrance. "I was so scared... He… he was holding a gun.,. and... and then a gun went off!" Trembling uncontrollably, she held him as the boy tried to digest this.

"Yer... yer not hurt or nuthin... are ya?" He asked worriedly while moving his hands against her looking for signs of blood.

Shaking her head, she did not even notice his touches. "I... I though he shot me... but… but..."

He gulped at the thought and he could feel the bile coming up in his throat at the thought of losing her. "But?"

"But it was one of them... they... they shot him..."

"Thank god..." He sighed in relief and pulled her closer.

Over in another part of NERV, Shinji and Kensuke continue their exercises and worry about Toji… Kaji came in and spoke a few words and then he took off running…

Upstairs, Hikari's father rushes into Commander Ikari's office, where Misato and Kaji are explaining the details of the incident to both Commanders… and one very worried father, who speaks up first.

“Is my girl okay? How in the hell did this happen?”

“Hikari's fine… Misato escorted her back to the apartment and Toji's taking care of her. I don't think you have to worry Mr. Horaki. As for what happened, I'll let Misato take that question on…”

“Well… this guy got into the ventilation system and waited until Hikari was alone… the vents are big enough to support a modest size person…” Misato pauses for a moment before continuing. “According to the report from the guards, he then moved into the shower area… and Hikari screamed…”

“Go on…” Is the nervous reply from Hikari's father.

“He tried to kidnap her… but the guards came in and stopped him… she wasn't hurt at all…”

A sigh of relief escapes the lips of the worried guardian. “Thank goodness he didn't get a chance to do anything…”

“It seems like we have a situation on our hands… but this doesn't look like SEELE's work…” Kozo says as he turns to look at Gendo, who has his hands folded in front of him on the desk.

“I agree… this is not the old men's handiwork…”

“However, he did try to stop one of our pilots. Colonel, Ikari and I will take care of this…” Kozo looks over at Hikari's father and motions him over to the desk. “If you would like to come with us…”

“Absolutely!”

“I'll go and check on Hikari… we should post guards in the locker rooms as well, just to be sure…” Misato says, remembering a point she was going to bring up earlier.

“Thank you Colonel…” A now relieved Teruo Horaki says. “I'll be visiting Hikari as soon as this is done…”

“No problem…”

With that, Misato leaves and heads back to the apartment and runs into Shinji and Kensuke on the way- all three walk back to the apartment together while the Commanders and Teruo head down to investigate the attacks room…

“Just like I thought… he's working alone, no SEELE connection here…” Is the conclusion drawn by Commander Fuyutski after checking out the attacker's room and the contents therein.

“What a pervert… he was spying on my girl for a while here… what are you…”

Gendo interrupts Hikari's father's thought. “I will take care of that… no one endangers a pilot here and threatens our objectives without getting… punished…”

Upon hearing those words coming from Commander Ikari's mouth, Teruo realizes that this man will be in trouble- the Commander's reputation is well known throughout NERV…

“I'll leave it in your hands, sir. If you don't mind, I'd like to go and see my daughter now…” Teruo says with a slight bow.

“You are dismissed…” Gendo then looks over at his vice commander. “This may not have been an attack by SEELE… but I almost certain that one is coming…”

“I agree…” Is the solemn reply from Kozo. “I hope we're ready…”

The internal conflicts within the apartment that had been present in the last few days are put on standstill as everyone does their best to comfort Hikari after this incident. Misato has Kensuke and Shinji make dinner together which allows Asuka and Rei to talk with Hikari in her room.

Toji paces around the apartment while venting his frustrations and talking with Misato and Kaji… and then a little while later, Hikari's father, Teruo. Misato and Kaji are happy to see Toji building a rapport with Teruo, who had some mistrust about the young man in the past.

Dinner is ready in short order and the talk is tense at the table. Complaints about security and the guards are frequent points brought up by all of the pilots and even by Mr. Horaki. Despite their current conflict, even Shinji and Asuka can agree with one thing- security needs to be tightened.

“I want to thank you for the meal… and compliments to the chefs…” Teruo says while nodding at Shinji and Kensuke. “I'll stop by tomorrow and check in on Hikari…”

“Thanks dad…” Hikari says with a smile, appreciating his concern for her welfare. “I'll see you tomorrow.”

After Hikari's father takes his leave and heads back to his own apartment, Kaji stands up. “I'll get the dishes… you guys just relax and get ready for tomorrow, okay?”

Misato wipes her mouth with a napkin and then gets on her feet. “Let me help you, dear…”

The six teens slowly get to their feet… Shinji glances at Asuka and he can tell that she's still mad…

`I guess it's the couch again… but why is she being so stubborn? Why can't she admit to teasing me like that?'

The red head notices Shinji's glance but ignores it. With a slight huff, she heads back to her room and closes the door. Feelings of anger are ever present in her mind. `Why is he doing this? I haven't done any of those things that he's talking about… and I think he's just trying to cover up his jealousy… it's not my fault that people like me. All of these flowers… they're nice… but they don't mean anything. Why is he being so stubborn?'

Slowly, Asuka makes her way over to the bed. She undresses and changes into her pajamas, tears falling from her eyes the whole time. `Shinji… don't you know that I hate to be alone? I hate it…' Sleep takes a while to come to Asuka… who stares at the ceiling and tries to make sense of what's going on.

In the front room Shinji sits on the couch and zones out. Rei and Kensuke exit the kitchen and see the obvious signs of a worried Shinji…

“Ken-kun, I want to talk with Shinji for a while before we watch TV or do other activities…”

“Okay, sure… I'll get ready for bed and wait for you in our room…”

Kensuke slowly walks through the front room and turns his head as he passes… the sight of Rei sitting down and consoling her brother strikes a chord with the young man.

`Rei's really becoming more human everyday… she's being a model sister for Shinji there… I think she's gotten a hold of her emotions and feelings… but I still have to help her through this accelerated aging for another week and a half…'

Hearing the door to her room close in the distance, Rei continues talking to her brother, all the while leaning on his shoulder.

“Something is wrong… you two never fight like this… ever… you have shared memories so…”

“I know, I know… we should understand each other perfectly… but nothing's perfect. I don't know if she's testing me or what…”

“Brother, Asuka has tested you in the past… is that correct?”

A sighing Shinji replies with a simple “Yes”…

“But something is… different about her testing now?”

“Yes… it is… it's like… like she was acting like her old self, before Third Impact… teasing me…”

The importance of that statement reveals itself immediately to Rei… she remembers how Asuka used to be… and how she treated Shinji. `She treated me with contempt before Third Impact… though part of that had to do with me acting like a doll… which I am definitely not anymore. I'm no one's puppet…'

“That bad?” Rei asks in a soft voice.

“Yes…”

“I do not know what to say… I don't want either of you to get hurt…” Rei feels more confused every moment after saying that. “I care for both of you…”

Silence fills the air… but is soon broken by the sound of Rei sniffling.

“Rei… it's okay… I'll manage. Don't worry…”

“I… I cannot help it. I'm worried about you…” Is the reply back as Rei tries to hold back her tears.

`She's really worried about me… I don't want to leave her hanging here, either. Maybe I could…'

Shinji clears his throat. “Rei, would you mind if I joined you and Kensuke… I'd like to watch some anime… clear my mind…”

“Sure…” Rei's mood instantly improves and she stops crying. “I'd love to have you join us…”

“Good… why don't you get ready for bed and then we get started. I know Kensuke's probably wonder what's taking you so long…”

After a reassuring pat on the head, Shinji watches Rei stand up and head back to her room. `I'm glad Kensuke is helping her through her problems… there's only so much I can do- with all of the problems that I'm having right now…'

Several minutes go by before the pair return- but when they do, Shinji notices a much happier expression on Rei's face.

Shinji grins at Kensuke. “Still working on Ai Yori Aoshi?”

Kensuke knows what his friend is up to and tries to dodge that topic. “Yeah, we are… Rei and I are on the second season, Enishi…”

“Ah… has she figured it out yet then?”

All of this back and forth banter gets Rei curious. “Figured out what, Shinji?”

“Kensuke's…” Shinji's words are cut off by a hand over his mouth.

“Shinji!”

Gently pushing the hand away, a shrugging Shinji can only say one word in his defense- “What?”

`There's something going on… this is not the first time brother has brought this up… I should enquire further…' Rei sits down on the couch and motions Kensuke to do the same…

“Ken-kun, tell me what Shinji is talking about.”

“You better tell her and come clean…” A half joking Shinji replies back, putting further pressure on the otaku.

After thinking about it and deciding that it would come out sooner or later, Kensuke confesses. “Fine, fine… I like blue haired women… I umm… think they're hot…”

“Oh…” Is the reply from Rei, who starts thinking about the implications of this. `Perhaps this is why he was open to going with me so quickly after Christmas… and why he stares at me like that…'

Both Kensuke and Rei are silent and thinking about what was just said. Deciding to explain his reasoning, Shinji addresses Kensuke…

“You're going out with my sister, so I only want the best for her… and the truth…”

Impressed by Shinji's attitude towards her, Rei feels her heart flutter a little. `This is what a real brother is like… he looks out for you and protects you…'

“Now that we got that all taken care of, can we relax and watch some anime, please?” Kensuke says as he reaches for the nearby remote.

“Sounds good to me…” Is the reply from Shinji, who drops the issue and doesn't press the issue further.

“Here we go…” A few button presses later and the show begins…

In Misato's room, Kaji and Misato talk about the days events and discuss what to do next to keep the pilots safe. In a nearby bedroom, Toji is sleeping, the distraught Hikari snuggled against his body in an effort to calm down and forget about what happened…

Several hours later, the three teens decide to call it quits. “Well, I think we're gonna call it a night…” Kensuke says after turning off the TV.

“Good night, Shinji…” Rei says as she stands up. “We'll see you in the morning…”

Watching Kensuke and Rei leave, Shinji exchanges the same sentiment. “Good night Rei, Kensuke…”

Once he's all alone in the room, Shinji sighs and says the name “Asuka” softly to himself. `It's like the old days again… being alone at night…' Fluffing his pillow, Shinji prepares to go to sleep. He looks at his left hand and remembers the ring on it…

`She still has hers on… and so do I… I hope this will pass soon…' Is the thought in his mind as he falls asleep and hopes that the next day will be better.

The only couple still awake, Kensuke and Rei, continue to talk in their bedroom. After waiting for this private time for several hours, Rei cannot help but ask Kensuke a few questions…

“Ken-kun… do you find me attractive because of my hair?” Is the inquiry from a curious Rei, who snuggles her head in Kensuke's chest.

A few moments later, she gets a reply. “Well, maybe at first… when you transferred into our class… but you were a lot different back then compared to now…”

“Yes… that is true…”

“I thought you looked great… but your personality before this failed Third Impact thing didn't really appeal to me- no offense.”

“It's okay… I agree…” Rei says while truthfully acknowledging her past. “I was being used… I had no reason to live but to serve others. Asuka called me… a… doll… and it was true…”

Wincing at the painful memory of that elevator ride, Rei suddenly goes silent. Kensuke, not knowing what to say or do in response, says nothing. After a few seconds pass, Rei can feel Kensuke's hand gently caressing her hair…

“Asuka was different back then, too… but look at her now…”

Softly, Rei responds to that statement. “That is… true. I value her friendship… she has qualities that I envy…”

“Rei-chan… you've changed… in a good way. I'm sure they're things about you that Asuka wants as well. I love your new personality… it's so… so… different. I mean that in a good way, of course…” Kensuke says that last part with a slight chuckle so Rei knows that he's not mean in any way.

Slowly, a smile forms on Rei's face. “Being fully human… is fun. I am still learning about emotions and things of that nature but my body is becoming what I wanted it to be… I can understand the need to be attractive, to be flirtatious…”

“Yeah, umm… I can see that… but you're not as bad as Asuka in the flirt department…” Is the nervous response from the otaku.

“You don't need constant flirtation like brother does…” Rei says with a smile. “Occasional flirting will suffice…”

A wry smile forms on the fifth child's face. “Ha-ha Rei…”

Giggling, Rei cannot help but feel good at the moment. “I believe that I'm getting better in the area of humor…”

“Yeah…”

A few moments pass before Kensuke responds. He decides to express his feelings “Rei… you asked me about your hair a few minutes ago… I guess it was the first thing that got my attention… but now there's so much more…”

“Tell me…” Rei rolls over and embraces the now blushing otaku. “I think you're handsome… but I want to hear more…”

Kensuke nervously smiles. “Umm… it's your voice, your lips… your smile. Hearing you laugh and giggle… I could listen to that all day…”

Hearing those words from Kensuke further encourages Rei. `He loves my new personality. I feel good when I laugh and giggle… and it makes him feel good, too. This is so different then the way I used to be, used to feel… but those times are behind me now… I have to fight for a better future…'

Deciding it's time for one her “occasional flirts”, Rei decides to have some fun with her boyfriend. “What about below my neckline?”

“Umm… very nice… you're looking better everyday…” Kensuke says, knowing that during the last few weeks that was no understatement. Her legs, hips, behind… even her upper body seemed to be taking on a more womanly look then before- she was literally becoming a woman right before his eyes. There were consequences as a result of this aging, though…

Liking his response, Rei decides to say one more thing to bring the evening to a close. “I am not in pain right now… but I'd like a massage…”

“Sure!” Is the enthusiastic reply back from Kensuke, who is relieved at the chance to cool things down a little… all of this thinking in the last few minutes about Rei and her changing body weighed heavily on the young man. `Rei… you're so beautiful… I wish I could tell you further… but the massage should show you how I feel…'

Turning over onto her stomach, Rei closes her eyes after positioning her head on the blue pillow. “Thank you, Ken-kun…”

“Anything for my Rei-chan…”

A blush forms on Rei's face as a soft sigh escapes her lips. `This is nice… but there's a battle ahead… one that we must win in order to keep the world from falling into the hands of SEELE…'

As night falls in Tokyo, the same day is just dawning in Northern Canada, where SEELE's Chairman Keele is meeting with some of the other members in a special session… he addresses the group with the most current information about NERV's efforts to stop them…

“It appears that NERV has learned about some of our agents and has removed them… however, we still have many contacts who will do our bidding… the situation is deteriorating quite rapidly over there… our plan is going quite well…”

One of the group raises an important question. “And that is?”

“To demoralize the pilots firstly… it appears there was an incident today… though not planned by us it served our purpose. The second and third child are also having major relationship problems right now… thanks to us. Throwing the pilots off balance is key… if they are not mentally focused, they don't even have a prayer… if they ever find us, that is…”

“I see…” Is the reply back from the delegate. “And what measures have you been using to stop that? Besides the obvious with regards to the materials, etcetera used to make this facility…”

Keele cannot help but smile. “Soon, it'll be time to take harsher measures… and then to cause total chaos… the timing is the key… even if the measures fail to work fully, the moral affect will be devastating… and we shall triumph!”

Applause breaks out in the chamber. Lorenz Keele takes that as a sign that the others are in full agreement with his plans so far. `Now it's time to elaborate about our own defenses… and how we plan to attack Tokyo… they stand no chance…'

The next day finds guards positioned at the entrances and exits to any locker room the pilots have to use as well as a pair of same sex guards inside the locker rooms. The initial response by the group as a whole was generally on one vein… `It's getting this bad… who knows what's next?'

Hikari slowly gets back into the routine and is soon more energetic then ever in her training… she loses herself in the training in order to keep her mind off of what happened to her the day before. The perpetrator of that incident was “talked to” by both Commanders and shipped out to a mental asylum, far away from Tokyo-3. Anything that presents an obstacle to Gendo Ikari and his plans could not be tolerated, at least in his eyes. Control is critical… but he had no control over the personal situations of the pilots under his command- and that troubled the leader of NERV, at least in private.

`My son… and pilot Soryu… the emerging emotions of the former pilot Ayanami… and now this attack on pilot Horaki… I have a feeling that the old men are partly to blame here… we cannot lose focus right before the fight or else all is lost…'

During the day, Maya receives yet another email from “Luna”… as she has been getting semi-regularly lately. `How this person gets through the firewalls I'll never know… but it has to be someone on our side. Each list of names was dead-on… we have traitors around here… SEELE is everywhere… and it seems each email only adds to list of suspects. Maybe I should take Aoba's advice about the advanced weapons training… who knows if a fellow worker is a friend or foe…'

Sipping on her morning coffee, Maya opens and reads the email. `Two more names… I'll forward this to the Commander right away…'

In the lower reaches of NERV, Kaji is focused intently on his job. Several computer screens surround him, each filled with economical and geographical data on activity in Alaska, Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut- the northern third of the North American continent.

“Damn these people… I'm not even finding a paper trail or computer records… but there has to be something, somewhere… you just can't divert that many resources over such a long time and expect to silence everyone… and of course, it's either hidden from our satellites… or hidden in plain sight…” Kaji says to himself as he vents his frustrations. “I'm good but I guess I'm not as clever as SEELE …”

“I disagree…” A familiar voice says from a distance. Kaji turns his head and then smiles.

“Maybe you're right… the stress must be getting to me…”

Folding her arms across her chest, Misato walks forward and stares down the former spy. “Of course I am… your future wife knows how good you are… at anything you do…” She says that last part with a slight grin, causing Kaji to smile.

“Thanks…” Stretching his arms behind him, Kaji tries to relieve some of the tension in his body. “Is it lunch time already?”

“It sure is… and I'm hungry!” Is the positive confirmation in return from Misato, who's rubbing her stomach. “I think you just lost track of time and I surprised you…”

“I like it when you surprise me…” Kaji says before getting out his chair. “Let's eat lunch… I need a break… all of this information is killing me… who knew it'd be this hard…”

“I'm sure after lunch you'll feel better… and have a fresh angle on things. It's hard for me, too…” Misato pauses while she wraps her arms around her beloved. “You don't know how many different battle strategies I have to come up with… because they're so many different terrain possibilities in that part of the world. Until we have a better idea of where those bastards are, both of us are going to be stressing out…”

A warm kiss on the lips follows Misato's statement. “You're right… but let's talk about it over lunch…”

“Sounds good to me…” The idea of food instantly sidetracks Misato's mind, which is also subconsciously worried about the new life within her body. `We have to find SEELE… and fast… or our baby's life is in jeopardy…'

Wasting no time, SEELE presses their plan further, which has immediate repercussions throughout the facility. The two separate groups of pilots meet in the apartment after the day's training… and the results are explosive…

“What was that?” Asuka yells. “I said no such thing!”

“Prove it, then… were you with Hikari and Rei the whole time?” Shinji asks back in return.

Asuka is at a loss for words for several seconds. “No… I wasn't… but that doesn't mean…”

“Then it was you… you know I hate it when you tease me and make fun of me… that wasn't joking earlier… that was like the old days…”

Her frustration starting to boil, Asuka snaps back. “Even if that was true… wouldn't you have said something back? You said I insulted you and you took it… and then I left. Come on, Shinji, be a man and stand up for yourself…”

Rei tries to step in, knowing that this conversation is getting way out of control. “Asuka, Shinji, please stop…”

Venting his anger, Shinji ignores the request and continues. “No, I won't! She's been denying it the last couple days. I don't care what kind of test you're trying to pull, but I want it to stop! How much more do you want from me?”

“You're just making this up… to cover your own insecurities. You're jealous, that's all…”

Hikari has heard enough from her room and rushes out into the front room. She sees Rei on the verge of tears and trying to say something to get the couple to stop.

“That's enough!” Hikari says while going into “class rep” mode. “This has gone on long enough…”

“I'm not jealous…”

“Are too!” Asuka shouts back.

“Am not!”

All of the denials coupled with the frustration over the situation begin to really affect Asuka's mental state. SEELE, the attack on Hikari… and now the events and dealings with Shinji this week have taxed her mind worse then almost anything she's had to deal with her in her life.

The others in the room are grateful that the arguing has stopped, Asuka is silent and doesn't immediately respond to last words uttered. However, Shinji notices a grin forming on Asuka's face… and recognizes it instantly. `Oh no… she's up to something… and it's not good…'

“Heh… heh…” A malicious grin forms on Asuka's face. “You thought I'd forget about that, didn't you? I knew I had forgotten something after that memory sharing… something very important…”

Having a feeling about what was to be said, Shinji closes his eyes and braces for the words to come…

Almost getting in Shinji's face, Asuka lets loose the words that she had been holding back. “Pervert! That's all you are! You couldn't help me… you let me die… and you had to do -that- over my unconscious body! All because you couldn't get a grip on yourself- you wanted to die…” Asuka says while tears fill her eyes.

All parties in the room are stunned and silence fills the room. Asuka quickly leaves the room and all eyes look over at Shinji, who hangs his head down in shame…

`Asuka… maybe… maybe she's right… maybe I am a pervert. I didn't help her and she got massacred… and it's all my fault.'

Misato and Kaji enter the apartment a few moments later and are shocked by the sight in front of them. A downcast Shinji, who's on the verge of tears, is standing in the center of the room with a stunned Kensuke, Rei, and Hikari staring at him.

Kaji addresses the teens. “I don't know what's going on here… but we have a problem…”

“There was an accident… Toji was…”

Hikari frantically interrupts Misato. “What happened to Toji?”

“He was knocked unconscious during the extra practice simulation he was doing… Maya was watching him the whole time and then the system went haywire… and we still don't know why…” Is the reply back from Misato. She notices that Asuka is not in the room and decides to ask where she is…

After a few seconds of not getting an answer, Misato begins to get worried. “Where is she?”

“Umm… she's in her room…” Kensuke steps up and answers. “There was a major fight just before you came in…”

“Oh no…” The colonel sighs and then continues. “This is really getting out of hand…”

Taking his wife-to-be's hand, Kaji gently pulls her towards the door. “We'll talk about that later… but let's get down to the infirmary and check on Toji. Don't worry about Asuka… she'll be fine until we come back. Let's give her some time to cool down…”

Knowing Asuka and her personality quirks, Misato accepts his words and motions the others towards the door. “Let's go…”

Kensuke, Rei, and Hikari head towards the door and leave with Kaji… leaving Misato alone with Shinji in the front room. “Shinji… are you going to be okay?”

Several seconds later, a soft reply of “No” is heard.

“Can we talk about this on the way down… or maybe in private later? I hate to see you two fight… after all you've been through… I just don't get it…”

After thinking about her request for a few moments, Shinji comes to a decision. “Later… we'll talk about it later…”

“Okay…” Misato walks up to Shinji and gives him a motherly hug. “We'll talk about it later…”

The pair hastily make their way down to the infirmary where Toji is lying in bed, an IV connected to his right arm. The others are crowded around him and Hikari is tenderly holding his left hand…

“Any word on what happened?” Misato asks, hoping that there's been some development while she was gone.

“No… but Maya's on her way down here. She immediately did a diagnostic on the systems after this happened and she's bringing the results down here…” Is Kaji's reply back.

“Will he be okay?” Is all that Hikari wants to know. “Please, tell me…”

One of the nurses in the infirmary happens to hear Hikari's request and walks over to the young woman. “He'll be fine… just give him some time to rest and recover. He should be back in about twelve to twenty four hours… his nervous system got shocked during the accident. No permanent damage, thankfully…”

A soft sigh escapes Hikari's lips. “Thank goodness…”

In the distance, a door opens and the sound of a cart being wheeled in can be heard. Hikari catches a glimpse of the occupant and instantly recognizes her.

“It's Toji's sister!”

Misato turns her head. “Where?”

The nurse speaks up. “As soon as this happened, Commander Ikari ordered her moved over here… we're going to be on lockdown with armed guards. I guess he wants to protect them both in the same place… and Mister Suzuhara will be down shortly to see his son…”

“That makes tactical sense…” Kensuke quips. “I think we're really getting on a war-footing around here now…”

Kaji decides to volunteer a little information while they wait for Toji's father. “Problem is… we don't know where to attack. We're getting help in finding the spies here but they're everywhere…” His voice drops off when saying that last part, in case any compromised personnel are within earshot. “Watch your back from now on… and I'll have Misato issue you all a weapon…”

“SEELE wants us dead, don't they?” Shinji says while shaking his head. “Toji's back in the hospital again and it's their fault. Damn those bastards!”

Takeo Suzahara comes into the room and rushes over to his son. “My boy… what happened to you?”

“It was an accident… one of the simulators malfunctioned and he ended up unconscious…” Misato says, being the first one to volunteer an answer.

“Is he going to be all right?”

“He'll be fine… but he won't wake up for a while, according to what the nurse said to us…”

“Oh…” Taking his son's other hand, Takeo makes a silent vow.

“We'll find out who did this… and in the meantime…” Kaji's voice lowers to a near whisper. “Watch your back… something's going on around here…”

Nodding his head, Takeo acknowledges the advice. “Strange stuff is going on around here… Teruo told me about what happened to Hikari over there… it seems that pervert had pictures and some of her underwear…”

Hikari begins to feel nervous. `That guy… went through our laundry and stole my stuff… it wasn't lost… that pervert stole it! But how'd he get into our laundry?'

“We're getting some help spotting certain… anomalies in the system…” Misato continues to word her statements carefully, just in case.

“I see… but they're still some bugs out there, ain't there?”

“Yeah… there is…”

“I'll talk with you later then…” Takeo says as he excuses himself from the room and heads over to visit his daughter. Several beeps are heard a moment later… Misato puts her communicator to her ear and hears a soft voice…

“Is something going on? Everyone's left the apartment…”

Walking away from the others, Misato responds back.

“Toji's been in an accident… the battle simulator malfunctioned and he's been knocked unconscious…”

The other line is silent for a moment… and then a question is thrown Misato's way…

“SEELE?”

“Yes, Asuka… it must've been them…”

“Oh…”

“I don't mean to change the subject but… I want to have a little girl talk with you later, okay?”

“I don't feel like talking ab…”

Cutting Asuka off, Misato continues her thought. “No buts… just you and I, okay? Like the old days…”

“Fine, fine…” Is the annoyed response back.

“See you in a little while then…”

The line goes dead and the Colonel can only shake her head. `Something's really, really wrong here… I have to find out what the problem is and fix it.'

Maya enters the room and rushes over to Misato.

“I looked over the diagnostic and I didn't find anything… until…”

Taking out a piece of paper, Maya points at a few lines and nods her head.

“Hmm… random huh? Random enough to happen when Toji was actually doing good and improving his battle skill… I think we must be getting close to something… SEELE is getting antsy…” Misato hands the paper back to Maya. “I'll do an immediate personnel review before tomorrow's simulations to make sure it's safe to continue… I think another visit to the Commanders is in order…”

“I'll get back to work and try to find some more information… if anything comes up, I'll beep you on the communicator…” Maya says and then excuses herself.

The teens watching over Toji notice Kaji walking over and talking to Misato and wonder what's going on… and why it's so hush-hush all of the sudden…

“Hey Shinji… something is not right around here…” Kensuke whispers to his friend.

“Yeah…”

“Ken-kun is right…”

Seeing the teens talking amongst themselves makes the adult pair of Misato and Kaji worried… not about their talking, but about their safety. They escort them back to the apartment and explain the situation… which makes all of them feel on edge, especially Hikari…

On the way down another topic is also weighing heavily on Colonel Katsuragi and Kaji's minds… what do and say to Asuka and Shinji. Both have agreed to take one each- Misato talks to Asuka and Kaji to Shinji.

Addressing the pilots, Misato takes on a serious tone of voice. “You guys do whatever you want to do… Kaji and I have to take care of something, so we'll be busy for a while…”

“Shinji… could you take a walk with me? Maybe we could water my garden and talk a little…” Kaji looks over at Shinji, who just nods his head. Heading in a different direction, Misato heads into Asuka's room.

`I guess I should talk to someone about this… I can't stand not being with Asuka, despite all that's going on…'

The teenage pilots reserved comments until after the adults and Shinji head out of the room. They know what they're up to… and hope that it works…

“I hope it'll work…” A concerned Hikari observes, knowing full well what's going on.

“Yeah… I've never seen those two like this…” Kensuke adds.

Turning on the television, the remaining teens decide to keep occupied and patiently wait for Misato's return.

In the nearby bedroom, a concerned Misato sits down on the bed. Asuka turns and looks at the purple haired colonel and says nothing…

“Asuka… let's talk…”

Waving her hands, Asuka “I'm not really in the mood…”

“I know you might not be… but this is really getting out of hand. I have to step in… because I care about you both…”

Slowly, Asuka crawls across the bed and sits down next to Misato.

“I'm tired of it… all of it. It's… too much… and then I remembered something. Something bad that Shinji did just before Third Impact… and I…” On the verge of tears, Asuka stops talking.

Thinking about Asuka's words… and how hard it was for her to express herself in this difficult time affects Misato. `I remember Shinji told me something… that he hurt Asuka… just before I was shot… this must be it.'

“Asuka… I don't know what was going through his mind… or what he did. He did say that he hurt you. Only you two know what was going at that point. It's out in the open now… and he should apologize…”

“He was being such a pervert… I can't just… forgive him for that…” Asuka says with a sigh.

“It takes the bigger person to forgive… give him a chance to tell you that he's sorry. I can tell that he's hurting inside, too… all of the guilt, pain, and anguish.” Almost at the verge of pleading, Misato continues. “Please, Asuka… at least call a truce and talk to each other. I love you both- seeing you two fight like this is breaking my heart…”

Asuka looks at Misato and can see that she's getting ready to cry. `She's really serious about this… I can tell by how emotional she's being here. She's always been there for us…'

In a near whisper, one word is spoken. “Fine…”

“Do I have your word? At least try and talk this out… not just for your sakes, but that of the team. This is affecting everyone… so it's more then a lovers spat…”

“Look, I said fine. I need some more time alone… so could you…” Asuka says, teetering on the verge of being sarcastic.

Satisfied with Asuka's answer, but not the tone of the response, Misato stands up. “I'll leave… oh and Asuka…”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for being open minded. You know me well enough that I wouldn't be asking this if it was something minor…”

“I know…” Asuka flashes Misato a brief smile. “I'll talk to you tomorrow… I have some serious thinking to do…”

The colonel leaves the room and heads back to her own room, happy that her mission was a success. `I hope that this works…'

Down in the garden area outside of NERV headquarters, Shinji and Kaji walk over to the where the old watermelon patch was before the SEELE attack…

Looking down at the ground, Kaji cannot help but comment about what he sees. “I see they ruined most of my vines…”

“Yeah… but there's still a few left…” Shinji stoops down and gets a closer look. “They're still green and alive…”

Seeing a chance to tie in his talk with Shinji's comment, Kaji prepares to talk with the young man and find out what's really going on.

“Well, that means that they have a chance to grow again… there's still hope… just like you and Asuka…”

Shinji sits down on the ground and motions Kaji to do the same. “I just don't get it… she's been really teasing me a lot lately and she's denying it and saying that I'm jealous…”

“I can see her teasing you… but it's not fun teasing… is it?” He says while sitting down.

“No… it's like the old Asuka…” Shinji admits. “I don't like it at all…”

“I remember how she was before… I knew her a long time before she even met you so I understand when you say it's the old Asuka.”

“It hurts, though… especially after what she said today… but she's right. I'm a pervert, a wimp… I didn't help her out and she got massacred by those drones.” Feeling his guilt surfacing again, Shinji speaks his mind. “Damn it, I could've saved her! I had the S2 engine in my EVA…”

Silence. Not knowing what to say initially to that response, Kaji thinks about what was said and says nothing.

“I hurt her, bad… I wanted to die… but Misato wouldn't let me…”

“Of course not… Misato cared for you like a son, she wanted you to live even if she died. I'm not pressuring you for details… but I wasn't alive when that fight was going on, so I have no idea what happened. Misato told me all she knew and viewed from the cameras but…”

Taking a few seconds to deliberate, Shinji asks Kaji a simple question. “Do you really want to know? I mean, what happened… and what I did…”

Empathetically, Kaji reaches out to the young man. “I'm here to help… I can't stand to see you two fighting. You two have gotten so close since everything was restored… Asuka wouldn't be wearing that ring if she wasn't serious about you…”

“I guess…”

“Shinji… tell me what happened…”

Taking a few deep breathes, Shinji decides to confront his inner demons and the ideas and feelings he suppressed… or tried not to think about until today's incident. With some reluctance, he talks about what happened just before the attack…

“I see…” Kaji says after Shinji finishes speaking. “I can see why Asuka would be pissed off… but why didn't this come up before? Since you two have shared memories, I'd have assumed that you talked about it before…”

Not having a full answer, Shinji thinks for a moment before letting his thoughts flow. “She must've forgotten about it… or didn't want to talk about it… but with all that's going on, I think she went over the edge and it surfaced…”

“That makes sense… Asuka can get quite… volatile… especially about something like that…”

Sadly, Shinji hands his head low. “I don't know what to do… I hurt her… and now she won't even talk to me…”

“Misato's working on that… we're trying to get you guys to call a truce and to talk this out. Remember, Misato's known Asuka for a long time…”

“Well, that's true…”

“Come on, give it a chance. Remember when we talked about the difference between men and women… way back when Asuka first came here to Japan…”

Thinking about that time brings back the memory almost immediately. “I do…”

“Well, Misato and I worked at it after you brought us back… we still have our differences but the key is not giving up. Don't give up on Asuka…”

After saying that, Kaji backs off and lets the young teen think things through in peace. He stands up and walks around the general area and starts making mental notes about his former garden and how to bring it back to its old “glory”…

“I'll try…”

Hiding a smile, the former spy turns around and looks at Shinji. “That's good… just talk it out… tell her how you feel about what happened. She likes it when you're bold and stand up for yourself, so do it.”

Slowly, Shinji gets on his feet. “Okay… tomorrow is a new day, right?”

“Right…”

The two males make their way back to NERV and engage in small talk on the way. Unaware to most of the personnel in the base, a rebellion was about to take place…

“It worked… just like you said it would…” One of the many NERV technician says to his boss.

Speaking with authority, the figure in the shadows steps forward. “SEELE appreciates your work… and it's time to strike another blow… tomorrow… and then we go for the kill. The more damage we do their morale now, the easier it'll be to win later…”

“It will be done…”

“Good… let the chaos begin…”

Laughter is heard down the hallway… though being in one of the lower parts of NERV, few hear it. None that do are surprised… and they continue their work, ready to advance the goals of SEELE…

To be continued in Chapter 38: Chilly February

Hope you liked that chapter, please let me know what you think of it. Thanks!