Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Somewhere Out There ❯ Somewhere Out There ( Chapter 1 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

DISCLAIMER: Nope, don’t own Eva or its characters. Still in the hands of GAINAX. Eh, you already know how these go, so let's just get to the fic, huh?

SOMEWHERE OUT THERE

-----

-December 19, 2018-

The city of Tokyo-3 was readying itself for its first truly cold winter. But the city would not be standing if not for a boy named Shinji Ikari…a boy who disappeared following a battle with nine white Evangelions. Three years have passed, and although the general public has forgotten him, there are a few within the city that still wonder…

-----

Asuka Langley Sohryu was walking home from school, bundled in a thick jacket. ‘Always remembered liking the cold when I was little…what the hell was I thinking?’ she mused, shivering slightly. In the three years that had passed, the redheaded Second Child had become a beautiful young woman. But there were still many dark clouds that hung over her. The time of the year that it was, however, really didn’t help…

Shaking her head to clear the memories away, she stopped to look in on some of the store windows downtown. ‘Even with it being the holidays, I still can’t be cheerful,’ she thought. ‘Damn Shinji…’

Resuming her trip home, Asuka soon got back to the apartment she shared with her guardian, Misato Katsuragi. Walking in, she removed her coat and took off her shoes. “I’m home…” she said half-heartedly, knowing Misato was probably working. Walking over to the couch, Asuka promptly sat down and took a long breath. This time of year always had a way of making the memories come back. “So much has happened, I guess…” she mused, closing her eyes for a second…

-----

It started about two weeks after Asuka awoke from her coma, and over three months after the invasion. From what she was told, the JSSDF, under orders from SEELE, had invaded the Geofront to retrieve the EVAs and eliminate the pilots. They went so far as to send the EVA series to finish the job. However, Shinji, piloting Unit-01, had destroyed them. The footage Asuka was shown gave her chills every time she remembered it: Unit-01 literally fought like an animal, tearing the nine white EVA units apart. It seemed not unlike Unit-01’s “berserker” fits, but the instruments showed that the Third Child was in full control of the machine during this battle. The purple behemoth had taken some cuts and hits from the other machines, but it moved and avoided most of the blows sent its way. While this showed her that hidden strength she had assumed Shinji had, Asuka felt more horrified at the rage that he was obviously venting during the struggle.

After the battle was over, the sight of nine EVAs broken and bleeding caused most of the JSSDF troops to turn and run from the area. Unit-01 walked over toward the outside of the Geofront and fell on its front. The trees in the area obscured what was occurring, but by the time a crew was able to get out the EVA, Shinji Ikari was no longer in the beast. Appearing that he had abandoned the machine and fled, NERV tried for months after to find the missing Third Child.

In the aftermath of the attack, the crew of NERV was able to discern the damage done. Deep below in Terminal Dogma, they found Commander Ikari’s body. He had been shot several times, most likely assault rifles. While no one was really sad to see him go, it was still a death none-the-less.

Sometime before Asuka had awoken, Sub-Commander Fuyutsuki had issued a document to the United Nations explaining the motives of both NERV and SEELE. While it caused some heavy speculation and close scrutiny for a while, the information was eventually accepted and released to the public, displaying the truth for all to see. The members of SEELE were gather up shortly thereafter and trials were held. Most of them were now sitting in cells, likely never to leave. Others had been executed in their home countries for their crimes against humanity.

The remainder of NERV disbanded and went their separate ways, not wanting to have anything to do with Angels or EVAs again. Most of them settled into normal lives, trying to forget what they saw during their time in the organization. But a few of them wouldn’t be that lucky…

Rei Ayanami had been found floating in a tank of LCL near the bottom of Central Dogma. Apparently, she had slept in the substance throughout the attack. Although this did not seem like much, it had probably saved her life. Following the events after the invasion, she returned to her solitary way of living, almost like nothing that happened had affected her. ‘If anything, she seems colder,’ Asuka thought. Sometime after her awakening, Asuka learned of Rei’s unusual origins. Seeing that she had been raised to be a tool for Third Impact, Asuka felt slightly regretful of her usual belittling of the First Child. She had made attempts to apologize a few times (after forcing herself), but the albino girl just said it was ‘unnecessary‘.

Asuka’s best friend, Hikari Horaki, had moved back a few months after the attack. She had visited Asuka’s room in the NERV hospital several times after the redhead awoke. And each time, following close behind, was Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida. The two boys were both worried heavily over Shinji’s disappearance, and stayed unusually quiet on those trips. Asuka still saw the three on a regular basis at school. During their time away from Tokyo-3, Hikari and Toji got to know one another quite well, up to the point of them being an item. ‘I still have no clue what she sees in that idiot jock,’ Asuka thought, remembering the spaced-out look Hikari had in her eyes when she first told Asuka about ‘them’. Toji had been doing better as well, receiving prosthetics for his missing arm and leg. The ‘incident’ involving Unit-03 still hung around him, but not as much as it used to.

And then there was Misato. In the time since the failed Third Impact (as it came to be known), she had left NERV soon after Shinji’s disappearance and continued her own search for him, despite Section 2 having no luck while NERV was still active. She still ran checks on him every now and then, but the former Major could only do so much while working as a bartender. “It did kinda seem like her to do that kind of work,” Asuka thought out loud. But in truth, she rarely ever saw the older woman pick up alcohol anymore. It was a welcome change of pace, Asuka once noted. And while she kept up a strong and happy exterior, Asuka had heard the older woman cry herself to sleep many times.

‘I know she still misses him…and Kaji,’ Asuka thought, already regretting it. Around two years ago, she had managed to get out of Misato what had happened to the normally-unshaven man, and after hearing it, had fallen into a depression for a while. But Asuka eventually began to realize that it had been a childish crush and grudgingly accepted it. ‘I was still young…and I still am…’ she thought, feeling her eyes tear up a little. ‘But I still miss him anyway.’

Sniffling back those tears, she stood and walked into the kitchen to begin fixing a small dinner for herself. ‘Misato will probably get something on the way home,’ Asuka thought. Spotting Pen-Pen walking out of his freezer, the Second Child bent down and petted the top of the bird’s head. “I’ll bet these times of the year don’t bring you down, huh?” she asked. The penguin just looked at her oddly, cocking his head to the side. Asuka shook her head and stood back up. Reaching into the cabinet for the ramen, she was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell ringing.

Walking over to the door, Asuka opened it to see a man wearing a postal uniform standing outside. “Hi, are you Asuka Sohryu?” he asked.

“Yes, why?” Asuka asked.

Holding up a package, he said, “Then this is for you.” He then put a clipboard and pen on the top, “Just sign here, please.”

Signing her name, Asuka wondered who would be sending her a package. ‘Not like there’s anybody I know who doesn’t live here,’ she thought. “That all?” she asked.

“Yeah, thanks,” the postman said, turning to walk back to the elevator.

Closing the door, Asuka read the top of the box. The address was in Tokyo-2 and unfamiliar to her. ‘I don’t know anyone there…I think,’ she mused, bringing the box into her room. Removing the items from the box, she found a tape player and a cassette. ‘What is this?’ she wondered, looking through the box one more time to see if there was anything else. Placing the box down, she picked up the tape player and cassette, looking them both over carefully. The cassette was labeled with a small piece of tape on one side that had an ‘A‘ written on it. ‘Might as well see what someone sent me…’ she decided, placing the tape in the player and hitting the play button…

-----

“Hi Asuka,” the voice on the tape started, “I’m pretty sure you don’t remember me, huh?”

Immediately, Asuka stopped the tape and stared wide-eyed at the player. ‘T-that’s Shinji’s voice…’ she thought, memories connected to his voice coming back to her. ‘But why would he be sending anything to me?’ Slowly reaching over, she resumed the tape’s progress.

“It’s me, Shinji. I don’t really think you would care much, but I figured sending this to you would be safer than sending it to Misato. She would probably end up finding me…and I’m not ready to come back.”

“Come back from where?” Asuka thought aloud.

“But I’m sure at least she misses me greatly,” the tape continued. “Everyone else…has probably just forgotten about me and gone on with their lives, you included.”

‘That’s just bull,’ Asuka thought. ‘Hikari and your two buddies are always remembering you, talking about the good times…’

“By now, I’m sure everything about NERV has been laid out for you. I’ve…caught a lot about what happened through newspapers and reports, but a few things had been left out. One of those had been Rei.”

Asuka stared at the player, remembering the things she’d been told about the First Child. ‘Really, it is pretty sad,’ she thought, ‘raised to fight and obey only. I always called her a doll, but…I never knew how close that was.’

“Another had been Kaworu…and his true nature.”

Asuka had heard about the gray-haired Fifth Child from Misato. He had been the final Angel…and Shinji, who had just become friends with the boy, had been ordered to kill him. Misato said that it weighed heavily on the Third Child’s shoulders whenever she saw him after that.

“I also heard that my father had been found…dead. Funny, I still can’t say I hate him, but…I think that what happened is for the best.”

“Damn right it was,” Asuka said. She had never quite liked the Commander, and hearing of his death had done little to affect her.

“After I heard that you had woken up, I felt very relieved. You of all people had no right to be in a coma. I know you don’t care what I think, but…it was still good news to me. At least you could go on and have a normal life.”

‘Yeah, normal,’ Asuka thought sarcastically. ‘Anything after NERV would be considered normal.’ The fact that he had been happy to hear of her awakening surprised her. ‘The last time I spoke to him had been after the 15th Angel…I had yelled at him, saying I hated him…hated everything.’ The redhead had always felt a little regret that she couldn’t take back those words.

“I suppose you’re a little surprised to hear that from me, seeing as we didn’t get along that well.”

“You got that right, Ikari,” she said.

“I guess I should begin…on that day. The day I decided to live. I had gone to your hospital room for a visit, something I did a lot after Kaworu’s death. There was no one else around. Misato buried herself in her work, Rei had become…colder, my friends had left. I…just wanted you to wake up, say something…call me an idiot like you would. But you just laid there, not waking. I admit, I broke down a lot during those visits…more times than I care to remember. I cried myself to sleep right there at your bedside.”

Asuka sat looking shocked at those last few words, which had sounded like his voice was cracking. ‘He…he really wanted to talk to me?’ she thought. ‘Even if I just wanted to put him down?’

“When I woke up, alarms were ringing and people were running out of the area. The intercom had announced that it was an invasion by a military force. I had wanted to just give up and stay there. It was not like I had much to live for, anyway. But I looked at you, unable to protect yourself at the moment. None of them would be able to. I fought with myself for a few minutes before I decided…I would survive, and so would the rest of you, so I ran in the direction of headquarters. By the time I got to the EVA cages, I had regained some will to live, at least so the rest of you would make it. As the EVA was sent directly to the Geofront surface, Misato explained that they had sent the EVA series, nine white mass-produced machines. She also said that they were controlled by dummy plugs, like Unit-01 had been during the 13th Angel. As soon as I reached the surface, I realized what that meant: I wouldn’t be taking lives, I would be saving them. I felt the anger and rage pour out of me while I fought. I don’t first-hand remember what happened during the battle, only the footage of it I saw later. I only saw through a red haze, and kept only one thing in mind: the rest of you would live.”

Asuka sat listening to his recounting of the ordeal, impressed by his showing of spine. ‘He…did it for us…’ she thought. ‘I guess I really can call him ‘the invincible Shinji Ikari’ now.’

“When it was over, I walked Unit-01 over to an obstructed area of the Geofront. I had it fall to the ground face-first and jettisoned the entry plug, just wanting to hurry and get away from there. I know…you’re thinking that I was just running away again…but this time, I didn’t care. I had to get away from that city, the memories it left. I figured it would best for the rest of you if I just disappeared, too.”

Asuka wasn’t too stunned that he had ran from the battle, but that last sentence had surprised her. ‘Does he really think that others think that lowly of him?’ she asked herself. Then she remembered many of the times she belittled him. ‘I…guess I didn’t help much there.’

“I walked through the woods there until I reached an emergency elevator, which was still running. Taking it to the surface, I ran out into the woods around town, trying to get as far away as possible. The EVA series’ weapons…did something to me. Wherever they cut Unit-01, it cut me too. I stumbled through the outskirts of town for almost two days…tired, bleeding, and soaked in LCL. I came across a house almost at the city limits of Tokyo-2 when I finally gave out.“

“Geez, really pushing yourself, eh?” Asuka thought aloud.

“When I woke up, I had been taken into that house I saw. It was occupied by a young woman named Val. She didn’t know who I was, only that I was hurt and most likely from Tokyo-3. A couple of days after I awoke, the news reports said that I was missing. When Val saw them, I thought she was going to hand me over to NERV…but she didn’t. Actually, she’s the one who’s helped me stay hidden since then. I told her about what had happened, what I’d been through. My wounds eventually healed and I stayed here as kind of a roommate while people were still searching for me. She decided that it would be best for me to stay until I was ready to return…but that’ll never happen.”

Asuka had sat quietly until that part came in. ‘What does he mean by ‘never’?’ she thought.

“Val and I had a conversation about me returning to the city a few months ago. When she asked if there was anyone there I wanted to see again, I told her about you, Misato, Rei, Hikari , Toji, Kensuke…and I do want to see you all again. When the subject came to you, Val said she saw this light in my eyes when I spoke of you.“

Asuka blinked a few times after hearing that part. ‘This can’t be good…’ she thought.

“Ah damn…I guess I should explain why I’ve really sent this to you. It’s not because I didn’t want Misato to find me, it’s because I had to tell you some things…important things. I guess I should start at the truth…”

Asuka sat intently, wanting to hear every word of this.

“…I’ve always had a…thing for you. I guess you could say I liked you…but now, it’s more complicated than that. Heh, I’ll bet you’re laughing at this right now, but I don’t care. It always hurt me, looking back on those moments when I could’ve done more to protect you…just to be there. But I always ran. I finally got tired of running from you…but you were in a coma by that time. I sat there every day before the attack, wanting you to wake up and say…anything, really. It hurt a lot just to see you like that.”

Asuka stopped the tape for a second to reflect on things. In the three years since Shinji had gone missing, her opinion of him had changed a good deal. He wasn’t as much of an idiot or pervert like she used to think…he was kind, he listened to her better than most people, and had shown that strength inside of him a couple of times. But between her own attitude toward others and circumstances that had occurred, they had never been good friends, let alone anything else. ‘I…kinda wish I had seen it then,’ she thought sadly. ‘Maybe it would have prevented a lot of things.’ She had caught herself thinking of him many times since her opinions had changed, but she’d always just wrote it off as regret. ‘Maybe there is more to it than that,’ she concluded. Shaking her head, Asuka reached over and pressed play.

“When I explained this all to Val…she looked at me kind of odd and began giggling. When I asked her what was funny, she said that by the way things sounded, it seemed like I hadn’t gotten it yet. When I said nothing back, she explained it like this: ‘You visited a girl, who either teased you or looked down on you a lot, in the hospital every day…even if she would only wake up to call you an idiot. To me, that sounds more like…love.’ I thought she had been a little wrong then, but since she said that I thought it over a lot. It‘s kinda like this song she once played, you‘re still ‘painted on my heart‘…and that’s not going away, no matter how long. It’s been nearly three years…and those memories still hang on me. I guess…this is where I say ‘I love you‘ and things like that…but it really doesn‘t do these feelings justice.”

Asuka stopped the tape, feeling like she’d been hit squarely in the stomach. “D-does he really mean that?” she asked, feeling the tears at the edges of her eyes. But she made no effort to stop them. She reached over and resumed the tape.

“I don’t know exactly what it is about you…beauty, intelligence, spirit. But whatever it is, I can’t help but be in love with you. I knew there was something special about you, ever since we first met on the ‘Over the Rainbow‘. It took me a long time to realize it, but I see it now…and sadly, I can’t return to see you again.”

Asuka looked up, tears in her eyes at the sound of that. His voice sounded like he was going to break down, but he continued.

“It was what I decided at the end of the conversation Val and I had: I want to see you again…and I want to see everyone else again, too. But that city has too many memories I want to forget. Just being there again will cause me pain, I’m sure of it. So, this is…where I say that somewhere out there, there’s a confused young man who loves you, but can’t be there to say it in person. And now I have to say goodbye, because this is hurting me more than the scars I got in that last battle. Goodbye, Asuka…”

As the tape winded down to its end, Asuka began to cry. Something she hadn’t done this much of in years. And right there, she cried herself into a fitful sleep, dreaming of the boy that loved her…

-----

-Four days later-

Asuka spent three days shut in her room, crying and thinking over what Shinji said on the tape. Misato gave her plenty of berth, knowing how moody the redhead could be. Asuka hadn’t told Misato about the package, not wanting to worry her over it. Within those days, the Second Child realized two things: one, the tape’s contents left a heavy impact on her; and two, she missed Shinji more than ever. And it came to her: if he couldn’t come back to Tokyo-3, she would have to go to wherever he was. Luckily, the return address on the package hadn’t been hard to find.

So now, on the fourth day after receiving the package, Asuka stood some distance away from a small home on the outskirts of Tokyo-2, dressed warmly but freezing both inside and out. ‘This is the place…’ she thought. She had to fight off the urge to just forget the whole thing and throw the tape away. ‘No…after all that he said, I need to see him again. Just to clear things up,’ she had concluded. There was also another reason, one even she was reluctant to admit.

Walking up to the door with hesitant steps, Asuka reached out and knocked. A few seconds later, a tall, slender, dark-haired woman in her early twenties answered the door. “Can I help you?” she asked.

“I guess you’re Val, right?” Asuka asked.

The woman gave her a strange look. “Yes, I’m Val…but I’m afraid I don’t know you,” she said. Looking the redhead over, she remembered Shinji’s description of the Second Child. “Are you by any chance Asuka?” The younger girl nodded, not looking up. ‘Guess that means she got that package,’ Val thought. “Well, come on in,” she said, stepping aside to let Asuka in.

As she walked through the door, Asuka noted how neat and clean everything was. “Nice home you have. I guess he helps out around, huh?” she asked.

Val nodded, “Yeah. I tell him I don’t need the help, but he just does anyway.”

Asuka laughed a little. “That’s always been his way of doing things,” she said.

Val walked over to the rear of the house. “Shinji! Could you come here for a second?” she called.

Coming from out of a room near the back of the house, Asuka’s eyes caught sight of him. Like her, the years had done a lot, Shinji had become more handsome than ever. Even if he was wearing a larger fit of his usual school uniform ‘He wasn’t that bad looking,’ Asuka had caught herself thinking the day before. Now she was just surprised.

“So what did you ne-” Shinji’s words died right there when he saw Asuka standing in the living room. “Asuka…is that you?”

Looking up into his face, Asuka nodded, unable to say anything other than, “Uh…hi.”

Val looked between the two teenagers and walked over to Shinji. “I’d say that message had quite an effect,” she said, walking into the kitchen.

Shinji just kept opening his mouth and closing it again, unable to form words. After a few awkward moments, he finally walked over to the coat rack and grabbed a jacket. “…I’m sure you wanna talk, right?” he asked. Asuka nodded. “C’mon, let’s go outside for a while.” Asuka nodded again and followed him back out of the house…

-----

The two sat out on a bench near the house, neither quite ready to break the ice. “It’s been three years…” Asuka finally said.

“Yeah, time really does fly…” Shinji replied.

Asuka continued to look down at the grass. “Why?” was all she said.

Shinji knew well what she was talking about. “It…just needed to be said, I guess. I’m sorry I had to burden you with it…”

“No, you idiot,” Asuka said, feeling slightly angry. “Why won’t you come back?”

“Oh,” Shinji started, taking in a deep breath. “It’s like I said…the city just has too many bad mem-”

“But what about the others?” Asuka asked. “Don’t you think they’d want to know if you’re okay?”

“There aren’t many who would care…just Misato, probably,” Shinji answered. “Speaking of which, why did you come here?”

“I’ll get to that later,” Asuka said, trying to keep her composure. “And you think others don’t remember you? That’s pure bullshit, Ikari!” she yelled. Calming herself, she continued. “Misato, Hikari, Toji, Kensuke…I’ll bet even Rei misses you. You mean more to them than you seem to think.”

Shinji looked up at her with wide eyes. “All of them?”

Asuka nodded, “And I know there are some things you still kick yourself over, but…”

“No,” Shinji interrupted, “I came to realize that some things were not my fault.”

“Huh?” Asuka asked.

“Toji, for example…that was my father. I finally understand that. And then there was Kaworu…” he stopped for a second here to keep from tearing up. “…I see now that I had no control over what happened then. I still regret it, but it was fate. He had wanted me…and the rest of humanity to survive. And seeing it in that light, it doesn’t hurt as much.” Shinji stood up and walked over toward a tree. “But…the memories that do are of things that I could have done. The 15th Angel, it forced you to remember your worst memories…I could have done something then. The same as with the 16th Angel…I could have saved Rei.”

Asuka stood up and walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Shinji…that was then. I’m sure you could have done more, but…”

“But what?” Shinji asked, lowering his head.

“…But you still have now,” Asuka said firmly.

“What do you mean?” Shinji questioned.

Walking back over to the bench, Asuka sat down and began to explain. “It’s kinda like what I’ve been doing for the last couple of days,” she said. “I could have just thrown that tape away and forgotten the whole thing. But do you know what?” Shinji shook his head. “I decided that I would live with what you said. I would forget those old memories of us not being on the best of terms. I’m sure you remember…I told you after that battle that I hated you?” He nodded again. “That was…just something I said out of anger. I never really meant it.” She stopped and looked at the ground. “And after what you said, I really feel like a heel because of it…”

“You mean that?” Shinji asked, walking over to her.

Asuka nodded, “And about that earlier question…I’m here because I want to see you again.”

Shinji didn’t say a thing, he only continued to stare at her.

“Time passed,” Asuka continued, “things changed, people changed. Maybe I once used to be a little girl who thought she was grown…maybe I’ve seen that it was foolish. The same could be said of you.”

“Me?” Shinji said, pointing to himself.

“Of course,” Asuka answered, “the way you used to be…you would never have said those things on that tape. You‘ve changed a lot, Shinji Ikari. And so have I.” She stood up, walked over to him, and looked him straight in the eye. “I have one question,” she said in a cold tone. “Did you mean all of what you said about me?”

Shinji tried to look away from Asuka’s face, but those ice blue eyes of hers wouldn’t let him. “Yes, I meant it,” he finally said.

Smiling, Asuka stepped back a little. “That’s all I wanted to know,” she sad before closing the gap and pressing her lips to his.

Shinji’s eyes went wide for a moment before he melted into the kiss. ‘Wow…’ was all his mind could come up with for the moment. A minute later, they separated and looked each other in the face. “And what does that mean?” he asked, unable to stop smiling.

“It means,” Asuka said, still catching her breath, “that your feelings have been returned.” Shinji just continued to stare at her with wide eyes. “I’ve had a lot of time to think in three years…and let’s just say that my opinion of you had already changed a lot before that package arrived. It just helped me figure out what that opinion was.”

The two just stood around, not knowing the right words to continue. “So…what happens now?” Shinji asked.

Asuka took a deep breath and looked back at him. “I want you to come home…to stay,” she said. “I know there are bad memories of Tokyo-3, but…there are others who miss you, others who wonder if you’re okay or not. And there can always be new, better memories to replace the bad ones.” Walking up to him, she took hold of his right hand. “Please?”

Looking into the redhead’s eyes, Shinji began to remember something he saw in a dream. His mother had come to him and told him that, ‘As long as you are alive, there is a chance for you too be happy. Don’t pass it by.’ After a few moments, he looked up into Asuka’s face. “Okay…let’s go home,” he said.

With that, Asuka grabbed Shinji around the neck and hugged him tightly. “Thank you…thank you for loving me,” she whispered. “But don’t let me think that you’ve gotten away with what I’ve gone through after that letter,” she mock-threatened, laughing all the while.

“Heh, sure thing,” Shinji said, walking back over to the house. “I just need to tell someone goodbye first.” Walking back inside, he shut the door and walked into the kitchen, where Val had seen everything from the window.

“I guess that advice I gave you was a good gamble, eh?” Val said with a smile.

Scratching the back of his head, Shinji nodded. “Yeah, I guess it was…”

“You’re really going back?” Val asked.

Shinji nodded, “Yeah, she wants me to go back…and the other want to see me again, too.”

“Told you,” Val said in a teasing tone.

“I know, I know,” Shinji said, “I just had to make sure.” Walking over toward her, he gave her a tight hug. “Thanks for everything, Val,” he said. “I promise I’ll come and visit.”

Returning the hug as best as she could, Val nodded. “You do that. And bring Misato over when you do. You always described her as a great person.”

“Oh, she is,” Shinji said. “I guess this is goodbye then.”

“Not for good, I hope,” Val said.

“Nope,” Shinji said, stepping out of the door.

Asuka walked up to him, giving him a curious look. “What, didn’t you have anything there?” she asked.

“No,” Shinji answered, pointing to his clothes, “just this one outfit she bought me a year ago. I didn’t grow much, so…”

“Geez, you really need to alter your look a little bit,” Asuka said, shaking her head. “But I guess if you did that you wouldn’t be…you.”

“And if you didn’t say things like that,” Shinji countered, “you wouldn’t be…you, right?”

Both of them shared a laugh on the way back to the train station, where they would head home…together. And for once, both would feel happy during the winter, without fear of bad memories or a gap in each others‘ hearts.

-----THE END-----

A/N: Ooh, I got a nice little warm feeling all over from writing this. I know it’s been promised for a while (according to the Omakes from “Nephilim“, this was “Alone With You” for quite some time), but I finally made good on releasing something else. It just happened to take me a…ahem, ’little’ while longer. But as long as this fic leaves that same warm feeling in others, it was all worth it.

If you’re looking for another “Author and His Muse” Omake…sorry. I felt that this fic would have better impact if it was just ‘the fic’ itself, no frills. Sorry in advance to those that liked the Omakes.

Speaking of future works from me…sad to say, but I am kinda out of good ideas that I can piece together easily. Maybe one day down the road, but…well, like this fic, only time will tell.

Preread was done, once again, by FinalMax. Thanks for the help again, dude!

And, as usual, good comments will be appreciated, bad ones will be ignored (or kept for firewood). But I do favor good/helpful criticism, so send it my way to stevebarrow@lycos.com.

Until next our paths cross,
-AngelNo13Bardiel-