Chapter One: The End of Nephilim

Golden red hair caught the young Eva pilot's attention, and he looked down to the seat next to him and smiled to the younger girl found there. He was holding one of her hands, and it was obvious that she didn't care much for flying at all. Looking forward again, he tuned back into the conversation that was going on between his best friends and his guardian, who were sitting in the seats in front of the VTOL.

"I should have had a friend like Shinji a lot earlier!" the boy with the glasses and the video camera, Kensuke, said, looking through the lens all around the small passenger space that had been created for them. "I would've gotten to see stuff like this a lot sooner!"

"You aren't just using him now, are you?" Misato asked, looking back to the two. Her lavender hair had the other boy mesmerized, but Kensuke answered right away.

"Of course not, ma'am!" he said quickly. "He's a true friend, that's all. I'm just saying..."

"I know, Aida," she said with a smile. "You two treat him well. That's why I invited you along on this trip. That, and I thought it might do you some good to get away from the stuffy mountains for a while."

Shinji stopped paying attention again when he felt a tugging at his hand. The girl was looking at him with her bright red eyes. "Are we going to land soon?" she asked. "Where are we going, anyway?"

Shinji shrugged. "I don't know," he whispered, making sure the others couldn't hear him. "I could ask if you want..." When she nodded, her eyes big and pleading, he smiled and looked back. "So where are we going, anyway Misato?" he asked.

"Haven't ya been listening?" the other boy, Toji, demanded. "Misato's takin us all on a date ta de ocean! I'm glad I bought dis 'ere hat for the occasion!"

Shinji furrowed his brow in confusion, and Misato sighed. "You haven't been listening, have you?" she asked. Shinji shrugged, and she shook her head. "We are going to join the Pacific Fleet, and will be landing on the Over the Rainbow."

Shinji returned the squeeze he felt in his hand, but said nothing to Nephilim. The others, seeing only his hand action, looked worried suddenly. "Don'cha like de open waters?" Toji asked quickly. "Cause if not, then I guess we could turn this ting round, right Misato?"

"No!" Kensuke cried desperately when Misato smiled.

"I guess that proves your loyalty to him," she said kindly. "But we can't turn around. We have an important mission to attend to while we are out. And Shinji's presence is required."

"What for?" Shinji asked, surprised. He knew that they took his hand clenching to mean he was stressed out or getting frustrated, and so long as it meant they didn't ask strange questions, he wasn't about to dispel the rumour.

"You'll see when we land. It's worth it, don't worry," Misato reassured him.

"The first is nearby," Nephilim whispered, so quietly that Shinji barely even heard her. "And Gaghiel is coming closer to him," she added.

The pilot swallowed hard. "Do we know of any Angels in the area?" he asked his guardian after he knew the colour had returned to his face. Nephilim had never been wrong before when warning him of an Angel approach, though she always seemed to use names that didn't make any sense to him.

Misato shrugged. "I doubt it," she explained. "They all seem to want something in Toyko-3," she added when his doubt didn't appear to go away. "So why would they attack something in the middle of the ocean?"

"Can we fight one if one happens to show up?"

Misato looked at her charge for a moment, and then frowned. "Do you know something that I should know?" she asked.

"Are we riding in a VTOL instead of a plane because we needed a way to get a power cord to the ship just in case?" Shinji countered. The two other passengers just swirled their heads back and forth to follow the conversation.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Now you answer my question."

"I don't have a plug suit with me," he replied slowly. "I knew I should have come prepared."

"Shinji!" Misato said sternly.

"I have a bad feeling, that's all," he explained.

Whatever Misato said was lost in the roar from Kensuke as he looked out the window and cheered upon seeing the fleet of vessels in the water below. "Out dated machines, if ya'ask me!" Toji replied.

"Not that old," Kensuke countered. "Just before Second Impact, that's all."

"What are they guarding?" Shinji asked, looking at the large number of ships in amazement.

"You'll see," Misato said with a smile.

Toji and Kensuke leapt off the aircraft the moment they touched down, and Toji had to run after his cap as it flew off his head. Misato was next, and it looked like Shinji waited for a moment before following, but he was just letting Nephilim get out ahead of him. He took her hand again, but she pulled away after a moment, running ahead of hm and screaming her enjoyment. Apparently she liked the open waters better than the air after all.

Just as Toji was about to grab his hat, a red shoe stopped it, and he sighed in relief. He cried out in dismay, however, when the shoe then crushed the hat under it. Looking up, the group found themselves face to face with a girl about their age with flaming red hair dressed in a short yellow dress.

It became apparent just how short the next moment when a gust of wind billowed passed, causing the dress to flare up above her waist. Two resounding slaps followed as the girl struck Toji and Kensuke. She tried to strike Shinji as well, but felt resistance a lot sooner than excepted.

Shinji cried out anyway as the girl struck his sister in the back of the head, and rolled to the side to catch her as she fell. "What did you do that for?" he demanded, looking up in anger at her while discretely helping Nephilim back to her feet.

"That was the viewing fee. Pretty reasonable, don't you think?" the girl said, standing tall again. "Besides, I didn't even hit you. Not sure why you fell over, except looks like one good gust of wind could send you flying."

"Reasonable?" Toji demanded. "You're not that great!" Another slap left him with a hand print on his other cheek as well. The girl then stormed passed him to stand in front of Misato.

"Hello again, Misato."

"Hi, Asuka. Everyone, I'd like to introduce the Second Child, Soryu Asuka Langley, pilot of Evangelion Unit-02," she said, motioning to the girl in front of her.

"So which one's the famous Third Child I've heard so much about?" she asked, looking to the three. "Not him, I hope!" she added, scowling at Toji.

"Nope!" Misato said cheerfully, patting Shinji on the back. "That's Shinji here."

Shinji suddenly found himself to be the subject of intense scrutiny as she looked him up and down. "Not much to look at, is he?" she asked in disdain. "Looks pretty boring, if you ask me."

"I don't think anyone did," Toji muttered. Asuka ignored him completely.

When Misato turned to go to the bridge, Shinji hovered behind the group for a moment, and then turned to his younger sister. "You alright?" he asked quietly.

Nephilim wiped the tears from her eyes that had been brimming up slowly. "I guess so," she said, sniffling. "But she didn't have to hit me so hard."

"I don't think she meant to," Shinji pointed out.

"Well, she didn't have to try to hit you so hard, either," she added.

"I'm sorry."

Nephilim shook her head when she heard his customary reply. "I thought you said you weren't going to apologize for things beyond your control."

"And I thought you said that you'd stop running around when a lot of people were around," he pointed out to her. "I don't want you getting hurt, you know."

She bowed her head sheepishly, and then raced ahead of him to catch up with the others before he did. She could listen to them, even if they couldn't see or hear her. Shinji ran after her to catch up, but was pulled into a corridor before he made it there. Before he knew what was going on, a sharp blow caught him in the cheek.

"There!" Asuka declared, a smile on her face. "I knew I didn't hit you before." Before he could reply, she had darted out ahead of him again. Rubbing his cheek and sighing, he started to follow the group once more.

When he made it to the bridge, he was a little disturbed to find no sign of Nephilim anywhere. It was true that she disappeared from time to time, and more than just from his sight but completely not there suddenly, but he didn't think she would do so without him around to tell him.

When Toji and Kensuke saw him looking around on the bridge, the turned to him quickly. "What'cha lookin for?" Toji asked, looking around as well as though to help.

"I see that she got you in the end after all, didn't she?" Kensuke asked, pointing to his still red cheek. Shinji chose to ignore both questions and simply looked to Misato to try and find out what was going on.

Before he could, though, a side door opened on the bridge, revealing a tall man with a pony tail and a stubbled beard. Asuka pushed passed them at once and threw herself into the older man's arms. "Kaji!" she screamed in delight.

"Kaji?" Misato asked, her voice colder than Shinji had ever remember. "Kaji! What are you doing here?" she demanded, turning to him and ignoring what the captain was saying.

He pushed Asuka away from him a bit so he could answer. "I'm her guardian for now," he explained. "Just trying to make sure she is delivered to Japan properly. The German government is paying me nicely to protect their young charge."

Misato turned away from the man in disgust, leaving the others wondering just what was going on. It didn't take them long to discover some of the story, however, when Kaji joined them for lunch a short time later.

"So, Shinji," he said as he pulled up a chair to the large group's table. "Tell me, is Misato still as wild in bed as she used to be?" Misato's head hit the table in shock, and the others all just stared in amazement. It was obvious what he was talking about, and Shinji stuttered around the answer until the man smiled. "I'm just ribbing you, Shinji. Don't worry. I know she's too old for you now..."

"Hey!" Misato cried, standing up and slamming her hands onto the table. "I am not old! But if that would get you out of my sight, then I'll turn two thousand years old right here and now!"

"Calm down, Misato," Kaji said in a quieter voice as he looked back to Shinji. "Is she always volatile like this? She wasn't before..."

"How do you know my name?" Shinji finally asked when Misato sank to her seat and held her head in her arms.

"Well, you're sort of famous in this business, you know..." Kaji explained with a shrug. Neither noticed Asuka's eyes narrow as the man spoke. "The one who managed to synch and destroy and Angel the first time he entered an Eva Unit."

"It was just luck, that's all," he muttered.

"Didn't look like luck ta me when ya killed the second Angel!" Toji exclaimed as he recovered.

"Fourth," Shinji automatically corrected under his breath. "It was called Shamshel."

Kaji's head immediately snapped back to the young man, tearing his gaze away from Misato. "What did you just say?" he demanded.

Shinji looked up and shook his head. "Nothing. I'm sorry."

Asuka just shook her head. "Spineless baka." She could see the way that her Kaji was looking at Shinji, and found herself wishing for a spilt second that she could switch places with him. That thought was pushed out of her mind at once as she remembered herself. "Come on, Third!" she demanded, grabbing his wrist and hauling him away from the table.

He heard Kaji shouting something after him, followed by Misato's screaming at the man, but he didn't catch any of it as Asuka released her tight grip on him and started running. "Hey!" he cried, chasing after her. She was in better shape than he was, without question, and when he finally caught up to her, he was out of breath and she was barely winded.

"So the great Third Child can't even run for very long," she said with a fierce smile. "Too bad," she added, leaning against the door frame. Once Shinji was standing upright, he looked around.

They had entered a large room with a canvas covering, and another canvas in the middle of the room covering something enormous. Shinji had a strong feeling that he knew exactly what that something was, and he felt a bit of relief wash over him. The room smelled strongly of the Evangelion cages, and that was when he noticed the bakelite cooling liquid. They were standing on a poorly made bridge.

Asuka walked forward from the entrance and threw back the large canvas that was covering something in the middle of the room. "It's red," Shinji said flatly as he realized that he had been foolish to think they would have brought his own Unit-01 out to sea like this. He didn't say the other thing that came to mind. 'It looks strange with four eyes. At least mine looks right with only two...'

"Isn't it amazing?" the girl asked as she climbed onto the massive head of the giant biomechanical robot. "Unlike Unit-00, which was the prototype, and your foolish 01, which is obviously a test-type if it would synch with an untrained boy like you, my Unit-02 it the first production type Evangelion!"

"So?" Shinji muttered, looking over what he could see.

"What was that, Third?" she demanded. Before Shinji could reply, an eruption rocked the large chamber, almost spilling Shinji into the red cooling substance. The siren the next moment confirmed Shinji's fears from Nephilim's warning.

"An Angel!" he cried.

Asuka grinned to herself. 'Finally, a chance to prove myself to this worthless baka and my Kaji at the same time.' Leaping down from the head of her beloved Eva, she pulled a bag out of a crevice in the side of the room. "Come on, Third!" she demanded, pulling him away again.

He didn't stop to question her until she had pulled him into a secluded area. "What are you doing?" he asked quietly as she threw the bag on the ground.

"What's it look like?" she demanded, pulling out a red plug suit. "Turn around!" she added harshly. "Make sure no one looks. And if you even think about it, you pervert, I'll knock you back to last week."

"Not like I'd want to anyway..." Shinji muttered under his breath. He heard a rustling behind him, and turned just a bit anyway to see her pulling the suit up, her back to him. She saw his movement out of the corner of her eye and screamed at him, causing him to turn almost as red as the suit she was pulling on.

After she pushed the button on the wrist to cause the suit to mold to her body, she stuffed her clothes into the bag and pulled out another suit, throwing it to Shinji.

"What's this for?" he asked as she stalked passed him.

"Just hurry up and put it on!" She didn't stop at the door, and continued going towards the chamber that held her baby.

"But this is a girl's suit!" he said to himself, looking down at it. With a sigh, he stripped down and pulled on the suit. It was too tight around his groin, and had far too much space in the chest. He decided not to look down at himself, as he was sure he would see the breasts of the suit, and that would be too much. He knew he looked like a girl wearing the suit, but he knew he had no choice. "I should have brought my own. I'm an idiot for not thinking of it..."

He ran to catch up with her, and found that she had ejected the entry plug and had it open, waiting for him. "Have you checked with Misato for permission yet?" he asked in surprise.

"I'll get it after I destroy the Angel. Now I'll show you how a real pilot does things!" she exclaimed, jumping into the plug. "Just don't distract me," she added, motioning for him to follow.

With a sigh, he crammed himself into the plug behind the seat, while Asuka made herself comfortable at the controls. Shinji had never been in an entry plug like this before, and suddenly had a better idea as to what Toji and Kensuke had gone through in his own earlier. He had a worse feeling, however, knowing that there was nothing he could do in this case.

He stopped thinking as he heard Asuka start to mutter under her breath. "LCL Einlass." He looked down to the bottom of the plug to find the LCL liquid seeping in quickly. When he was covered, he finally expelled his breath and took in the liquid.

'Still smells like blood...' he thought to himself.

"Anfang der Dewengung," she said. The yellow of the LCL vanished, being replaced with the clear that he was much happier with, despite the constant smell. "Anfang des Nervenanschlusses. Ausulsses vonlinks-kleigung." He couldn't see the changes, but he knew that they were there anyway. The lights that he was used to burst into effect around them. "Synchro-start."

As the lights continued to play, suddenly everything ground to a halt, and a red light started flashing. "I thought I told you not to interrupt me!" she demanded, turning to look at him.

"I didn't do anything!" he cried.

"You're thinking in Japanese, aren't you? Think in German!" she demanded.

"Uh... strudel... nine..." he started, thinking of all the words he could.

"Fine, stop trying!" she said in disgust. "Switch the language to basic Japanese." The red stopped at once and everything turned clear again. Satisfied, she leaned back in the seat. "Now you'll see how it should be done. Evangelion Unit-02, activate!"

"What?" Shinji demanded.

Those on the bridge were watching the waters through binoculars. "Where is it?" Kensuke asked Misato, turning his camera away from the water and to the Major. "Where is the Angel?"

"Why are our guns having no effect on them?" the commander of the vessel demanded, slamming his fist into the console in front of him.

There was a sudden rumbling, and all eyes turned towards one of the other ships. "Is it after 02?" Misato mussed to herself.

"Looks that way," the commander replies. "But it won't get it on my watch!" Before he could do anything else, however, a voice came over the intercom.

"Misato, get that power cord ready!"

"Asuka?" Misato asked in surprise, ripping the microphone out of the commander's hands. "Is Shinji with you? We can't find him anywhere!"

"I'm here, Misato," his voice, a little more dejected than usual, came in loud and clear.

"You are not to activate that thing out here!" the commander cried, taking the mic back from the Major from NERV. "That is an order from the chief ranking officer!"

"NERV outranks all others in this type of situation," Misato said coolly, taking the mic back before he could object. She flicked a switch to open a different channel. "Prepare the Umbilical Power Cord." There was movement all over the deck before she switched the switch again. "On its way."

The group watched as one of the ships nearby suddenly blew apart, the remains sinking rapidly. Then another one, and then another. Just before the next ship was torn to pieces, a large form leapt from it, landing gracefully on another ship, crushing the empty cabin completely. Standing tall, the red Evangelion threw the canvas that was covering it like a cloak aside before leaping again.

Two more ships were destroyed as the Angel followed the bright red robot that hopped from ship to ship until it reached the main ship. Everyone in the bridge held on for dear life as the massive creature tipped the boat almost completely over before righting itself again and plugging in the power outlet.

"Remember, Asuka, you are using the B-Type Equipment," Misato warned.

"Yeah yeah," came the voice. "Just means we can't get wet."

"Do you know what you are doing?" Shinji asked her when she switched the com system off. She simply smiled and squeezed the controls a little tighter. The Evangelion reached up and withdrew the Psyonic Knife from the shoulder sheath and held it before it.

"We'll tear it apart before it gets a chance." As the two sat waiting in the entry plug, movement caught Shinji's eye on the deck.

"Nephilim?" he breathed, watching the little girl running around the deck to get to the bridge. "Get out of there!" he shouted, nearly deafening Asuka.

"Will you shut up!" she cried back at him. "There's no one out there," she added, looking down. "Like I said earlier, don't distract me."

"But..."

[It's coming.] The voice in Shinji's mind was the calming voice of his sister. He had only heard her once or twice in such a fashion, but he didn't have time to be shocked at the moment.

"It's here!" he cried, pointing forward. Asuka braced herself and levelled the deadly blade. Both cried out as the massive Angel leapt onto the dock, though, enveloping them completely in one foul swoop before pulling them into the waters almost at once.

The Evangelion went silent as they splashed down, and the rocking sensation caused them both to lose their balance. When they finally righted themselves, Shinji was sitting in Asuka's lap, his hands on the controls suddenly.

"What do you think you are doing?" she demanded, hitting him in the back of the head.

"Trying to save our hides," he replied darkly, clutching the controls as tightly as possible. There was absolutely no response. He looked up as he saw a bright light coming closer. "Gaghiel..."

Both cried out as it opened its massive mouth as though to swallow them whole. Suddenly, Unit-02 sprang to life and clung to the outside of one of the teeth. Sweat was floating in the clear LCL before Shinji's face, and with a sigh, he pushed it aside.

"Some help you are," Asuka muttered. "Can't even get us out of here. Some powerful Third Child you turned out to be."

"I don't see you doing much better, Second," Shinji muttered.

"Get out of my lap!" she demanded.

The comm. system suddenly sprang to life. "Are you two alright?" Misato's worried voice came to them.

"I guess so," Shinji replied at once before Asuka could say anything. "If you call being helpless in the middle of the ocean strapped to the side of an Angel 'alright.'"

"Do you think you could hold on?" Misato asked.

"I doubt we could let go if we wanted to, Misato," Shinji said, his voice tired.

"Good. Then all we need you to do is open the mouth when we get you close to the surface," she explained. "Can you do it?"

"Of course!" Asuka said at once. "Don't forget, the great Asuka Langley Soryu is here!" She hit Shinji in the back of the head, and grabbed for the controls. He was pushed forward by the action, which only moved the controls further out of her reach.

"Good. Make sure you do," Misato said, and then the comm. line went dead.

"What do you think they are trying to do?" Shinji asked quietly, sitting up again, though not leaning into Asuka at all. He was keeping his contact with her as little as possible given their situation.

Asuka looked up after a moment, and cried out when she saw two battleships sinking quickly towards them. "They're going to try to blow the Angel apart from the inside!"

"What?" Shinji demanded, looking up. A speck of white caught his attention more than both battleships, though. It looked like a dress, though no one was wearing it. It was just floating in the water, slowly sinking. His heart had an almost identical sinking feeling. He recognized that dress.

"We have got to open that mouth!" Asuka cried.

Shinji gripped the controls hard, fighting passed the anger that was starting to cloud his mind. This Angel before them had caused Nephilim to... he couldn't even finish the though. Flicking a switch at the side of the levers, they opened and he pulled back, leaning into Asuka, pressing his back into her chest.

He steeled his mind against the fact that that also meant he was pressing into her breasts. "Grab hold," he said as steadily as he could.

"Don't... don't get any ideas," Asuka said, her own voice a bit less confident than Shinji was used to hearing.

"Gaghiel!" Shinji shouted as they both leaned forward, staying as close together as possible. "Feel the power of Unit-02!" he cried.

"Open, open, open, open, open, open," Asuka was muttering behind him, squeezing his hands so hard that he was starting to lose feeling in them.

"Open, open, open, open," Shinji started muttering the same. He suddenly felt an odd glow surround them both, and he became aware of four eyes suddenly lit with their green colour.

With a mighty roar, Evangelion Unit-02 took hold of the bottom of one of the teeth and the top of another and pushed. The Angel fought back, but it was no match for the strength of the mighty goliath that was pushing it's mouth open. With a snap, the jaw of the Angel broke and the teeth tore apart just as the battleships arrived, slamming into the inside of the Angel.

Moments later there was a detonation as the ships blew apart the Angel from the outside. There was complete silence for a moment until the Over the Rainbow shook again from the Evangelion landing on it, crouched down. That didn't last for long, however, before it collapsed, its internal batteries drained as the power cord had been ripped out by the explosion.

In one hand of the Eva was a small white dress. When Shinji and Asuka finally managed to get out of the entry plug, the boy pulled the dress from the grip of the robot, and held it tightly in one of his hands, looking out over the waters. He could feel the tears in his eyes, but he knew that they would do no good.

Asuka watched him pry the fabric from her Unit's hand, and watched him turn. 'Where did that dress come from?' she thought to herself. "Come on, Third!" she demanded after watching him for a moment. She looked over her shoulder and saw that they were about to dock on land. "We're back."

Shinji didn't reply to her at all, but did turn to follow her. Both Toji and Kensuke were shocked to see him wearing the female plug suit, and pointed, laughing at him. Misato was concerned when she saw him give no reaction to the abuse whatsoever. She knew he was so impressionable, that she had been worried.

She was more worried when she saw the fabric in his hand. "Where did that come from?" she asked Asuka quietly.

Asuka shrugged. "I don't know. My Unit was holding it when we landed, and he took it. Hasn't said a word since. Just as well, too," she added fiercely, looking back at the dejected Third Child. "The pervert, leaning into me like that..." She then looked around. "Where's Kaji?" she asked, disappointed.

"Him?" Misato snorted. "When the Angel attacked, he took off in a fighter jet. Said he would leave the Angel to us. Coward..." she added under her breath. Asuka barely heard her, though, as she looked back to the still silent Shinji. She could see the tears in his eyes, but couldn't understand what they were from.

Finally, she looked back to Misato. "How did Shinji know the Angel's name?" she asked. "Kaji seemed surprised too. How come I wasn't ever told a name for any angel?" she added angrily.

"Don't feel too bad, Asuka," Misato said darkly. "I haven't been told either. Only five people in NERV have ever referred to the Angels by anything aside from number." She then remembered something Kaji had said, when he had called after Shinji earlier. 'Never stop looking for the truth...' "But I want to find out." She then looked back to Shinji, though she was speaking to Asuka. "What did he say this one was called?"

"Gaghiel."

"Come on, Shinji. We're going home," Misato said after a long pause. She had already sent both Toji and Kensuke home on their own, and only had Asuka and Shinji left. "I'll take you to headquarters to find out where you are to be living once I get him home."

"I want to go to headquarters first," Asuka said stubbornly. Before Misato could reply, Shinji looked up.

"We can go wherever you want first," he said quietly, his voice sadder than Misato had ever heard it. It nearly broke her heart just to listen to him suddenly. "Because I don't want to go home right now." He clutched tightly at the empty white dress and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.

Nephilim was gone.

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

It was several days later that Shinji first appeared in class again. Toji and Kensuke were sitting with him right away before the class bell rang, speaking with him. "Man, I pity you even more than I did before!" Toji said wholeheartedly.

"Having to work with that she-devil!" Kensuke agreed. "That's almost enough to make me glad that I wasn't chosen as a pilot. Almost, anyway."

"At least we don't have to see her again, but I guess you'll be forced to see her everyday, won't you?" Toji asked.

"I guess," Shinji said quietly.

"What's with ya, man?" Toji asked. "Ya look like yer dad just shot yer puppy!"

"That's not funny," Shinji said, looking up to Toji quickly.

"Shut up, man," Kensuke hissed at Toji. "You know it would be just like his dad to have done that to him..."

"Ah, man, I'm sorry," Toji said at once. "I didn't mean it like that, ya know..."

The door burst open suddenly, and Toji and Kensuke face faulted to the ground as Asuka walked into the classroom, her head held high, wearing a school uniform. It wasn't long before she had written her name on the board for everyone to see and then she sat next to the class rep, Hikari.

"You knew, didn't you?" Kensuke hissed to Shinji from behind him.

Shinji just shrugged. It would have been like Misato to mention it to him, but he really didn't care. He hadn't heard a word said to him for a few days now. He was vaguely aware of Rei Ayanami watching him every now and then during the class, and even saw that Asuka looked to him at least once. But he didn't really care.

When the lunch bell rang, he stood without a word and walked out of the classroom before anyone else had taken a single step. He turned down the corridor and walked towards the fire escape. He often took it to reach the roof of the building, and once he was there, he sat down in the middle of it and cried for the first time since the battle. He had never stopped feeling like he was going to cry, and it almost felt good that he was finally getting it out of his system.

A voice startled him from behind him. "Ikari?" He turned a bit, and saw Rei standing there, as impassive as ever. "You have seemed distressed recently. What is the matter?" she asked, her voice never changing pitch at all.

"It's nothing," Shinji said in a whisper.

"I fail to understand," Rei said simply. "If it is nothing, then why are you depressed? If it is not nothing, then why do you not wish to speak about it? I understood that speaking about what bothered you worked better than holding it in."

"What would you know about it?" Shinji demanded, his voice harsher than he intended. "You've never had a thought of your own that my father didn't tell you to think first, did you? So how could you get depressed? I don't see him ordering you to do that!"

"That is not the case, Ikari," she said. "For one, he did not order me to come and speak with you now. I simply have been observing you during the passed few days of my own accord, and wished to help. And for two, I have my own thoughts, though I am not much at expressing them."

"So I gathered," Shinji replied, turning again.

She stood there impassively for a moment before turning to leave. "I am sorry I was not able to be of any assistance." He didn't reply as she left.

The class bell rang after a while, but Shinji did not move from his position on the roof. After a few minutes passed, however, he heard footsteps on the escape ladder, and looked over to see red hair coming over the side of the building. His heart leapt up almost at once, until he saw the connection plugs in the hair. He sank back to the roof and sighed.

"So here's where you ran off to, Third," Asuka said. "What would Misato say if she knew her precious Shinji was skipping class?" she asked in a sweet, dangerous voice.

"About the same thing that she might say if she knew you were," he replied. "If you don't mind, I'd rather be alone."

"You've been alone for days now, Third," she said, her voice gaining a sharper edge to it. "And it's not doing you any good."

"What do you care?" he demanded.

"I don't," she replied, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "I just don't want you like this in your Evangelion. It would be too dangerous."

"Everything comes back to that, doesn't it?" Shinji asked quietly. "Everything comes down to whether or not I can still pilot. No one cares if I want to or not. I've said I don't often enough to make that obvious."

"Why wouldn't you want to?" Asuka asked, startled. "It's one of the greatest things in the world!"

"Yeah, if you enjoy pain and tearing things to pieces. I can understand why you'd like it," he said, holding his head between his knees. He didn't want her to see that there were still tears running down his face.

"It's the respect, Shinji," she said after a moment. His head snapped up when she actually called him by name rather than title. "That's why it's so great. I don't like the pain. I do like protecting the world, and the respect. Now are you going to tell me what this is about, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?"

"I'm not talking. I didn't tell Ayanami, and I've known her a lot longer. What makes you think I'd talk to you? At least she's never hit me," he added darkly.

He fell back when she slapped him across the face hard. "Do you even listen to yourself anymore?" she asked. "What good would talking to that doll do, anyway? She hasn't ridden with you before, has she?"

"No."

"And she never changed right in front of you, trusting you not to look, did she?" she asked. "Even though you did, you pervert!" she added, slapping him again.

"Would you stop that!" Shinji cried, holding his cheek to hide the red. "It's not helping!"

"It's helping me."

"Funny, I thought you said you were here to help me."

"Who's Nephilim?" Asuka asked suddenly. All the colour drained from Shinji's face as he looked away from her, but he said nothing. "Shinji," she said, causing him to look back. "Mein Gott, I was in the plug at the same time, remember? I heard you say the name. Tell me."

"No," he said, his voice becoming as hard as steel. "You are the last person I would want to know about her. She hated you."

"She never even met me!" Asuka said in exasperation. "I think I'd remember someone hating me!"

"You don't seem to remember anything I've said," Shinji replied at once.

"You don't hate me," Asuka countered. Shinji could only shrug to that. "See, I knew it. Why would she hate me?"

Shinji sighed and looked away. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me." Shinji shook his head, and Asuka caught both his shoulders, spinning him around to look her in the eye. "Try. Me."

"You hit her. Hard," Shinji said after a moment.

"When?"

"Just after you hit Toji and Kensuke," Shinji explained.

"The two stooges?"

"Yeah, them," Shinji said. "And then you tried to hit me, but missed. You hit her, instead."

Asuka remembered the incident completely, and wasn't sure at the time why she had missed Shinji. "There was no one else there but Misato," she replied.

"Nephilim... was there," he said, swallowing hard.

Asuka knew that that didn't make any sense at all. She would have noticed someone else standing there. A thought then occurred to her, and she forced the image of her mother out of her mind quickly. "That was her dress, wasn't it?" Shinji nodded, though it looked like he was on the verge of tears again. "How old was she?"

"Nine."

She pushed him away at once, sending him crashing to the ground again. "You really are a pervert, aren't you?"

"She was my sister!" he said angrily, standing to face her again.

That caught Asuka off guard. "Liar. You have no family but your father. I know, Kaji told me all about your family. Your missing mother, your father, your uncle who cared for you, and now your guardian, Misato. No sister."

"You..." Shinji said slowly, feeling his anger rising slowly. "I knew you wouldn't believe me," he said eventually through clenched teeth.

"Baka!" Asuka said fiercely, pulling him to her suddenly. He immediately felt his face start to redden by the close proximity. "I never said that. I just didn't understand." She then pushed him away hard enough to make him land on the ground again. "Tell anyone about that, and I'll make sure you never talk to anyone again."

Shinji just stared after her as she disappeared down the fire escape again. The girl he had thought, along with Toji and Kensuke, to be a total bitch and a devil in disguise, had just tried to comfort him.

The faintest of smiles appeared on his face as he thought back just a few moments to the feeling of her arms around him. Somehow, that thought helped lessen the pain he felt with Nephilim's passing.

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Just a quick update to fix some grammar and spelling mistakes. That's all. I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the piece!

Incidentally, in case it needs to be said, I do not own Evangelion, just this story. If you would like to contact me for any reason, my email is in my profile.