Israfel looked at his sister as she started packing the last of their supplies. She pushed the orange robe into the paper department store bag and looked up at him.

"I received a message from Zeruel. He's given us the final go ahead. This is it."

His sister nodded and went back to packing.

"He said something else. He wanted to remind us that this is a crucial part of the plan. Today we'll be firing the first shots in our war on the FBI. The actions of the rest of the Angels depend entirely on what we do today."

She looked at him, a combination of acknowledgement and resignation at what they had to do. She handed him his bag.

"You don't usually invite me out like this, Asuka," said Shinji. "What's the deal?"

"I need a reason?" asked Asuka, before she took another sip of iced tea.

"I guess not. It just seems a bit unusual."

Asuka sighed. "In all honesty I've been a bit worried about you. You've been pretty quiet and reserved the last few days. More than usual, that is. I wanted to see how you're doing."

"I'm fine, I guess. I mean, there was the thing with my mom a few days ago…"

"I don't think that's it. You barely leave your apartment, and I haven't seen you and Kaworu together in almost two weeks. Is something going on?"

"Maybe. Now that I think about it, I kind of have been avoiding him."

Asuka sighed again. "That is so like you. You finally have someone who follows you around like a lost puppy and only ever seems to talk about you. Hell, I bet he only thinks about you. And you start ditching him."

"Maybe that's part of the problem. I'm starting to think he... I don't know…"

"Are you starting to think he wants to be more than just your friend?"

"Yeah," said Shinji softly. "And I don't know how to deal with that."

Asuka struggled not to roll her eyes. This was typical Shinji stuff. "Just talk to him, idiot."

"But what if he gets mad, or upset, or hurt…"

"Listen. This guy is one of, if not the nicest people I've ever met, and for some strange reason he seems to have some sort of thing for you. No matter what his situation is I'm sure he'll understand if you don't feel the same way about him."

Asuka took another sip of iced tea. There was a pause that lasted for a few seconds as Shinji shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

Raising an eyebrow, Asuka asked, "You're sure you don't feel the same way about him, right? Because then we'd have an entirely different situation altogether."

"No!" said Shinji quickly. "I mean, he's nice, but he's a guy. I-I mean… we couldn't…"

Asuka could tell this conversation was only going to get worse the longer it went on. "Just talk to him, okay? Everything will probably work out."

The twins entered the department store dressed like two suburban shoppers, carrying a tote bag in each hand. They walked past a plethora of salespeople and free samples without even making eye contact. They moved in total silence as they approached what they estimated to be the center of the store.

The brother turned to a man selling necklaces. He put down his bags and said, "Excuse me, could you help us?"

The man leaned over the counter and said, "Of course. Looking for something special?"

"No," said the brother as he reached into his pocket. He drew a pistol and shot the man right between the eyes.

Shouts of panic erupted across the entire store. The brother spun on his heel, his pistol raised above his head. He fired the gun at random intervals, sending bullets flying in all directions. He didn't care whether they hit anyone or not. He just needed to get the shoppers running.

His sister had set down her bags as well. She drew a submachine gun and watched the fleeing crowds. A group of them were approaching one of the main exits, an easy target. She started firing ahead of the crowd, so the fleeing shoppers ran into a hail of gunfire. Bodies twisted and shook as the bullets tore them apart. Blood drenched the automatic glass doors that stood between the corpses and the parking lot.

Her brother had swapped out his pistol for another submachine gun. He scanned the rest of the store looking for the others who were trying to flee. The store had two more exits, both a bit further from the center. He shot quick bursts picking of the stragglers one by one.

Both twin lowered their guns and got on top of the counter. Within moments, they had both donned robes and masks. The robes were orange or grey, and both masks made up a partial ying-yang symbol. They surveyed the bullet torn store, looking for the handful of shoppers wise enough to take cover.

The brother spoke. "We are Israfel, and you are now our hostages. If you cooperate you will be able to return to your lives of decadence and sin. Statistically, one of you has sustained a non-fatal injury. Please make your presence known or we will randomly select someone."

A hand rose up from a pile of bodies near the exit. The sister dragged him up towards the bloodstained counter.

"We need you to send a message for us."

Asuka and Shinji both received text messages at the same time. It was an identical message from Misato telling them both to meet her at a nearby shopping center. After a short car ride they arrived to find a SWAT team had set up a perimeter around it.

Misato greeted them both. "Long story short: there's been an Angel attack. Rei has a full briefing for you.

They walked to a clearing where Rei was holding a laptop. "Approximately 47 minutes ago, a man and a woman entered the department store with an arsenal of submachine guns. They fired randomly at the crowd, killing 21 people."

Asuka said, "That's the most for any Angel so far, right?"

Rei nodded. "And no Angel has performed such a large scale single act of violence before, either. Anyway, the Angels took the remaining shoppers hostage. Using a smartphone taken form one of the shoppers, they sent the following video to the Director's personal account."

Even before the video started, Shinji was starting to get worried. There was an unusual degree of brutality and theatrics at play here, even for the Angels.

Rei turned on her laptop and the video started. Two robed figures, one in grey and one in orange, were holding a man down against a counter. The one in grey was pressing an uzi to his head.

The orange-clad Angel turned to the camera, his face hidden behind a mask. "We are the Angel Israfel, and we have a personal announcement for the FBI. You have taken two of our brothers in arms from us. We have taken these people as our hostages. We will kill them at the first sign of government interference, with the following exceptions. The two agents who killed our brothers are named Asuka Langley Sohryu and Shinji Ikari. They will be allowed to approach us. We will permit them to be armed. No other actions will be tolerated."

He turned away from the camera. The other Angel pulled the trigger, waiting as every single bullet emptied the chamber and tore into the man's skull. After a few minutes, there was almost nothing of his head left except for a dark red puddle oozing among the shattered glass. The video turned off.

"They want to talk with us?" asked Shinji.

Rei answered, "In all likelihood they intend to shoot you on sight. However, we have no other choice but to play their game."

"Why not send in the SWAT team? We're fresh recruits! We can't handle them!"

"Speak for yourself," interjected Asuka.

Misato said, "We already sent in a SWAT team. The Angels took cover and killed two more hostages. If we want to save the remaining 16 people, we need your help."

"But they have us outgunned and will have better cover!"

"I know," said Misato, a smile growing on her face. "But we're clever, and can catch them off guard if we're lucky. "

Shinji tightened the strap on his bulletproof vest. He took a deep breath as he and Asuka approached the door. Through it they could see the outlines of the robed twins form behind the counter they were using as cover, safe from the SWAT team's snipers. He looked to Asuka, who nodded and cocked her pistol. They both knew timing for this was critical.

They pushed the door open at the same time, jumping across the bloodstained tiles.

As soon as the doors opened, the twins got up, ready to start shooting. As soon as they rose from behind the counter, a hail of bullets filled the room, coming from behind Shinji and Asuka. The snipers weren't trying to hit anything. Shinji and Asuka dove to the floor as bullets tore it up. The twins retreated behind their cover again, not prepared for this tactic.

The gunfire stopped after a few seconds. Asuka was ready, and got up first. Aiming her Luger carefully as she ran, she peppered the rim of the counter with gunfire. Shinji was running across the opposite side of the store, towards a huddled mass of people.

Asuka ducked behind a shoe display as the twins opened fire, while Shinji snuck near the captives, but not too close. He yelled out, "I've got the hostages!"

He was not actually planning to do anything with them just yet. It wouldn't be safe given the continued presence of the armed hostiles. The Angels clearly didn't think of this, as they turned their attention from Asuka to him. He rolled out of the way as the sister climbed on top of the counter, brandishing her shotgun.

She shot at Shinji as he ran towards the back of the store. He hid among a crowd of mannequins, their porcelain features mutilated by the gunfire.

Asuka snuck up to the counter and steadied her aim as she rolled next to it. She fired three shots, each tearing through the robe that covered her body. The angel gurgled and screamed as she spun and pointed the rifle at Asuka, hoping to get one last shot off. Asuka fired first, the bullet hitting somewhere in her shrouded face. The Angel fell onto Asuka, who was quickly covered in her blood.

Asuka gagged and pushed the body up. Through the corner of her eye she saw the brother getting up, uzi in hand. She tossed the body into his line of fire, the bullets made it shake and twist mid-air before hitting the ground again. Asuka dashed across the store blindly, followed by errant bullets. She couldn't see anything with all the blood on her face. She screamed in frustration, mixing with the sreams of rage from her assailant.

Shinji aimed at the Angel, who was clearly focused on Asuka. He fired once, hitting the Angel in the back of the neck. He fell to the ground but kept his finger on the trigger. The futile sound of bullets hitting the ceiling lasted for a moment and was followed by a disheartening click. Shinji Kept is gun level as he moved closer to the counter. He peered over and saw the Angel spread across the floor, his mask shattered by the fall. Shinji looked into the eyes of the man he had just killed.

Asuka found a coat display and wiped the blood off on the sleeve of an undoubtedly expensive parka. She looked at Shinji and said, "Good teamwork."

Shinji nodded halfheartedly as he stared at the Angel's corpse.

Kaworu opened his door to find a sorrowful, bloodied Shinji Ikari standing on his step.

"I need to talk," said the boy, not looking Kaworu in the eye.

Kaworu let him in and set him down on the couch. "What's wrong, Shinji?"

"I killed someone today."

"What do-"

"There was another Angel attack. They massacred a lot of people. More than ever before. Then they asked for me and Asuka by name. I didn't have a choice."

"Oh, Shinji. Come here." Kaworu wrapped his lanky arms around Shinji and held him close.

"It got me thinking about a lot of things, Kaworu. Including us."

Kaworu's hold on Shinji loosened. "What about us?"

"I need you to be honest. Do you want me to be more than just your friend?"

Kaworu let out a long, sad sigh. "I do Shinji. From the moment we met something about you drew me to you. I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. All I ask of you is to be my friend though. Do you think you can still do that?"

"Yeah," said Shinji with a hollow laugh. "Though I don't know how you could even like me as a friend, much less something else."

"Don't say things like that."

"Seriously, why do you put up with me and all of my issues? Nobody else does."

Kaworu stood up. "You're special, Shinji. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I will always care very deeply for you. It's alright if you don't feel the same way about me. But always remember that you should love yourself."

Shinji laughed again. "That's part of it all, though. I sometimes think I might feel the same way about you."

"Really? For how long?"

"I don't know. I didn't want to get your hopes up, because I have almost no idea what I'm feeling at any given time. But I feel safe around you. That's not something I can say about very many people."

"So what do you want to do, Shinji?"

"I guess just keep being friends, and see what happens? I'm not going to feel as comfortable with my possible sexuality, not like you are, anyway. But I don't want to lose you."

Kaworu gripped Shinji's hand. "Then I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

To be continued.