The Cruel Angel Cometh (An Evangelion Fanfic)

[Konekone]

Yes, yes, Zinc-kun's been at work, on a fanfiction, and I wanted to see what you guys thought of it... You guys, meaning all people who know Evangelion.

Prologue

It had all started as Ikari Shinji had taken his own world, in his own mind. Some may say he went insane, but if he was happy in this world, let him be so.

In this new world, Soryu Asuka Langley was no longer comatose, but instead of being her usual arrogant, stubborn and bossy self, she was now Shinji's best friend. The blue-haired enigma, Ayanami Rei, was no longer the introvert, and was now the exact opposite. Her extroverted state, however, now held many surprises, since she often accused Shinji for being "the peeping tom who looked at my panties". This was different than the Rei who'd let him even fall upon her naked body, by tenfold. However, the slight friction between Rei and Asuka was still apparent- In fact, it had magnified, with Rei's new personality.

Nagisa Kaworu seemed to be alive, to Shinji's relief, but how was always an oddity? Surely, nobody could survive being crushed and decapitated by Evangelion Unit 01? Kaworu certainly seemed happy enough, in life, though. There was no regret from not having found Adam, and committing the Third Impact.

Ryoji Kaji, however, was still dead and gone. Being a spy for the organisation, SEELE, had not gone well with his current infiltration, NERV, and during the night of the discovery, Kaji had been shot down. Who actually killed Kaji has always been a mystery.

Katsuragi Misato found herself taking a job as a classroom teacher, to get over the grief of losing Kaji, and now was teaching Shinji and his classmates.

Ikari Gendo and Ikari Yui were still together, as Yui was still alive. Like with Kaworu, the source of how Yui was still in life was unknown. This did not matter to Shinji nor Gendo, as they were merely happy that Yui was still with them. Indeed, they didn't seem to remember that she had even died.

NERV and SEELE were still banded together as separate organisations, and this meant that the machines that caused all the trouble were still around- The Evangelion Units. Of course, if the Evangelions were still there, and in use, this implied that the Angels were still occurring.

Chapter One- Faust Kommt

With the arrival of Tablis, the eighteenth Angel, the giant of white, Lillith, having recovered from impalement due to the Lance of Longinus, had started to peak in activity, spawning new Angels. This information isn?t known for sure, but it is what is believed to have happened.

Sources have also shown that one Angel had been spawned before the rest, for a cause, and that in the course of time that this nineteenth Angel had been alive, strange occurrences, of "resurrection" had happened.

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"Schnell, schnell, dumbkopf!" Many could hear the shrill cries of Asuka, ringing through Tokyo-3. Many of the overhearing crowd turned their heads, to see the ginger-headed temptress pulling her ebony-haired "friend" along with her, by his ear. While the two of them considered each other as friends, you wouldn?t think so from first impressions.

"Ittai-tai-tai!" Shinji gave little squeaks of pain, as he was dragged along, before he was dropped. He opened his eyes from the impact with the ground, to see Asuka sprawled on the floor, muttering German curse words to herself, asking who the idiot was that tripped her up. However, bystanders watching this oddity of a pair of friends go along would have noticed that it was in fact Asuka who had been too busy rushing, to notice the small boy in front of her, and thus had bumped into him, toppling herself, and the two boys.

The young one who had been misfortunate enough to have met Asuka in such a physical way was dusting himself off. An odd character, in ways, as he seemed to don cat features. Asuka has stood herself up, in a fit of rage, looking for the same "Baka" who had tripped her up. Finally, her eyes set upon the young one.

"And who would you be?" She started, her voice dripping with malice, as she could tell she had fallen on him. In a way, it was more because he was so small, and that she knew it was her own fault, but she never liked to admit things were because of her own doing, so she often shifted blame to innocent people.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Asuka-san." The small cat-boy bowed, letting his long, red hair-- shaped in the style of a fox's tail-- fall to the ground, with a swishing motion. Asuka immediately narrowed her eyes. This boy knew her name.

"How do you know who I am, chibi?" She almost spat, she was so flustered. "Oh, I should introduce myself, shouldn't I?" His voice was high-pitched, as he was quite young, and like many Japanese young boys, his voice sounded quite girlish. The small one fumbled in his trouser pocket, and Asuka and Shinji could see that the boy was wearing a miniature version of the school uniform Shinji was wearing. It could also be noticed to Asuka's chagrin that the boy seemed to be wearing gloves in the shape of paws.

Finally, the boy took out a small identification card. The card was a golden colour, with a shiny hue to it. In the top right corner was a small picture of the boy himself. It looked a lot like a NERV identification card, except in the bottom right corner was an insignia. "-FAUST-" was encircled by the Christian symbol of the fish and the number 888 linked together as a chain. On the card were all the typical details like name, age, height, weight and so on.

Shinji squinted at the card, to read what it said, before Asuka snatched it out of the young boy's hands- Or should we say paws, in this case? She read the name from the card, with a bit of a curious tone. "Torashi Kenshi?" She then read the age, to herself, not impressed. It was the insignia that caught her attention. "FAUST? What the hell's that supposed to be?"

"Isn't 'FAUST' German for 'Fist'?" Shinji asked, helpfully. "I know what 'FAUST' means in German, anta baka! I am partially German, after all, and I was raised there!" Asuka was in a rather snappy mood, when it came to people stating obvious things to her, even if they weren't aware she already knew.

"Hai, hai!" Kenshi replied, enthusiastically. "It's just like how 'NERV' is German for 'Nerve'." He said, rather slyly, as though he was hinting at something. "Did Dr. Akagi not tell you about NERV's affiliation with FAUST?"

"As a matter of fact, she didn't." Shinji replied, curious to what FAUST was. "What is it?" Kenshi took in a deep breath, and started to explain.

"FAUST is a peace activist organisation, which are involved with the Evangelions, with their own FAUST Model Units. FAUST was destroyed by SEELE, and so they joined up with NERV, due to how valuable an asset they are to NERV. The FAUST Models and their chosen Children continue onwards from Unit 05, which is currently under construction, and from your Fifth Child, Nagisa Kaworu. I am the Eighth Child, Torashi Kenshi. Pleased to meet you."

Shinji and Asuka stared at each other, with slight confusion. "Umm, nice to meet you, too, but-" Shinji was interrupted, by Asuka's outburst of "What about the Sixth and Seventh Child?" Small Kenshi faltered. "Well... They died a while ago, when SEELE destroyed FAUST's headquarters. I'm the only one left."

"But what about the Evas?" Asuka snapped, not paying much mind to the little one's sadness. "They were destroyed as well. Eva Unit: FAUST Model 08 is still up and running, however." He gave a little sigh, then shook it off, beaming. "Well, anyway, we should be getting to school, come on!"

He started to run off, to the school, leaving Shinji and Asuka to wonder how a grade-school child could be at their school, but they hurried up, so as they wouldn't be late.

[Hana]

I really like this!! You have read the spinoff to Evangelion that was based off of that alternate world in Episode 26 that you speak of, right? I believe it's called Neon Genesis Evangelion: Girlfriend of Steel 2. It's only in Japanese, but you seem to know Japanese, so you may have read it.

Just so you know, that world is actually a parallel universe to the Eva world, so not all of the events of the original series occur there.

I really like this FAUST idea, btw, although I'm not really sure Kenshi would mention SEELE and NERV outside in the general public like that, since they're supposed to be topic secret organizations. However, it's turning out to be very interesting, and I anticipate the next installation!

[Konekone]

Actually, I haven't read it, but I know certain bits of it, so I might just include Mana, or something, but they say that Shinji's dream world takes place during the Third Impact, so I'm linking things into it.

BTW, Kenshi's only a kid, he doesn't exactly know it's stupid to say it in public.

[Konekone]

I talked to Lovely, and she said it was okay for me to triple post, which I have to do here, because of the length of my chapters and such.

Chapter Two- 888 (Part One, because it's so loooong...)

"Stupid no-good kinder…" Asuka was muttering to herself. The three were at school, but had been late to school. As punishment, Katsuragi-sensei had sent Shinji and Asuka out in the hall, for "slowing little Kenni down" as she had put it. Instead of punishing young Kenshi, whom Katsuragi-sensei had dubbed "Kenni", occasionally adding the honorific "-chan" at times.

"Well, Kenni-chan, how about you tell us a little bit about yourself?" The small one gave a little startled noise, standing up, to go to the front of the class.

He looked down at his feet- which apparently were wearing boots shaped like a cat's hind paws, something rather conveniently overlooked by Misato- before starting his self-introduction.

"My name is Torashi Kenshi, I'm…" He stopped, hesitating before continuing. "Seven years old." There was an excited murmur from a lot of the class. This boy was nothing more than a grade-schooler, and yet he was in their school, a junior-high! Asuka gave a sniff, outside. She wasn't impressed. This was around her level, anyway. She'd already graduated from college, at the age of fourteen.

Meanwhile, the small one continued. "My father was British and my mother was Japanese, so I'm half and half." He finished, bowing, to receive the murmurs of certain jealous boys, and squeals of girls, speaking of how cute he was.

After class, Asuka and Shinji had been allowed back into the classroom. It was recess now, so they had no choice but to be in the classroom. The blue-haired Ayanami Rei was currently talking with Kenshi, vividly. Asuka glared at Rei. The friction between the two was greater than ever.

"So, what will you be doing on Sunday, Kenni-chan? I was thinking-" Rei was interrupted by Asuka's screech of "WHAAT?!" Rei gave an annoyed sigh, and turned to Asuka. "What is it, redhead?" Kenshi just looked from one of the girls to the other.

"What do you think you're doing? First, you call the kid what Misato does, to try and butter him up, then you try to ask him out, to do God knows what!" Rei was not amused. "Well, you may think about doing things like that to Ikari-kun, I'm not that perverted, especially not when it comes to Kenni-chan."

Asuka blushed a vibrant red shade. "And what's that supposed to mean?!" "That I'm not a paedophile." "Not that, you blue ditz! I meant what you were talking about, when you said about Shinji and me!" Rei gave a little catty sneer. "Oh, so the two of you aren't lovers, after all?"

There was a crash, as Rei was sent to the floor, along with little Kenshi, who had been caught in the blast. Asuka had lunged at Rei, pinning her to the floor. "Say that again, you little-!" "AHEM!"

Misato was standing over the two of them, an eyebrow twitching. True, she enjoyed it when Rei and Asuka fought; it gave everyone some action to enjoy, but this was going a tad too far, especially when little kids would be caught in the crossfire.

Pulling the two schoolgirls up by the ear, she dragged the two fighters out of the classroom, propped them up by the wall, and stared down at them. "So, what do the two of you have to say for yourselves?" It was a bad move on Misato's part, as she was immediately barraged by shouts and screeches from both of the girls.

"Quiet!" She bellowed, making a few heads pop out of classroom doors. "What do you think you're staring at?!" She shouted, directed at all the people watching them. As they disappeared, Misato hushed her voice.

"You two are lucky you're not getting punished yet, because of an Angel attack. I've alerted the principal, so the school's going to be evacuated, but we're going to have to report to NERV, to launch the Evas." Indeed, as Misato had said, the principal's voice blared out from the P.A. system, alerting students and teachers alike to evacuate and go to the shelters. The voices of Class Representatives, like Horaki Hikari, were standing out, directing their fellow students to the shelters.

Shinji, Nagisa Kaworu, and Kenshi had gathered behind Misato. "Katsuragi-sensei?" Kenshi piped up, to receive an immediate turn-around and a fond beam from Misato. "Yes, Kenni-chan?" "I believe we should report to you?" Misato nodded. "Okay, we have the First to Third Children, as well as the Fifth and Eighth. But, how are we supposed to fit all five of you, in my car, as well as myself? I can only squeeze in five of you."

Rei gave a little devilish gleam in the eye. "I could carry Kenni-chan on my lap!" She suggested, enthusiastically. "Oh no, you don't!" Asuka retorted, glaring at the blue-haired one.

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It had been a rather hellish car ride, in which Rei had gotten her way, with carrying Kenshi on her lap, and Asuka was definitely not pleased. Even if she didn't want Kenshi to be on her own lap- Children did not seem to go well with her- She did not want Rei to have her way with the small one. Perhaps she did like the young one, or perhaps she just thought Rei was a pervert who liked little boys, but either way, she was not fond of the idea of Rei being together with him.

Asuka glared at Rei, as the two of them changed in the girls' locker room. As she pressed the button on her plug suit, Rei also muttered curses about her ginger-haired rival, before grinning a minx-like grin.

"So, why did you get so uptight when I mentioned you and Ikari-kun being lovers?" "Don't push it, you little witch…" Asuka growled, as she pressed the button on her own plug suit, making it fit onto her in the skin-tight fashion.

"Well, if you're not lovers, then why don't you let me take him? He'd be off your hands, and I wouldn't be going after little Kenni-chan any more. Say, now, there's an idea. How about we double-date? I can take Shinji, and you'll have Kenni-chan all to yourself, to do what your heart desires."

As she'd proposed the double-date, Rei had sneaked over to the door, and was almost out the door. She rushed out the door, as Asuka threw a tin pencil case at the door. The pencil case flew through the door, and as it clanged against something, there was a curse of pain. Asuka sneered. 'Got her!' She thought to herself, triumphantly.

Akagi Ritsuko, who went under the pseudonym of the school nurse, stepped through the door, holding the pencil case with one hand, and rubbing her forehead with the other. "Yours, I presume?" "Eto… That wasn't supposed to get you."

"So, I guessed." Ritsuko gave a sort of smile, which you only donned when you were suppressing anger. "I know the two of you don't get along much, but if you don't start to tolerate each other, I shall force the two of you to, even if it means isolating the pair of you in a prison cell! Do something together- Anything!"

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[Konekone]

(Part 2)

Meanwhile, the three boys were also having an awkward conversation, about the opposite sex. Kaworu started the conversation off, casually.

"So, Shinji-kun, how do you feel about living with Soryu-san?" Shinji turned away, blushing furiously. "What do you mean?" He stammered. "She just sleeps in the other room! It's not like we've done anything."

Kenshi perked up with curiosity. "Shinji-san? Do you have any idea where I might be staying?" Kaworu gave a little smile. "I suppose that Katsuragi-san would be taking him in, the way she acts around him."

Kenshi nodded. "Okay then, so, where would I be sleeping at Katsuragi-san's apartment?" "Perhaps Shinji-kun will be giving you his old room, so he may share with Soryu-san?" He suggested, wryly. "What?! No, of course not!" Shinji protested.

"So, would I have to sleep with Asuka-san?" Kenshi asked, naively. "What?!" Shinji squeaked, as Kenshi's question sounded definitely innuendo. Kaworu gave a little sblack person, as he, too, pressed his plug suit button. "I think Shinji-kun would be jealous of you, if that were to happen."

The ever-so naive Kenshi also made his own purple plug suit tighten around him, revealing a rather small body, which showed signs of malnutrition.

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At the docking bay, Misato surveyed the large Evangelion Unit, that had been set to them by FAUST: Evangelion Unit 08. The nape of its neck was opened and the last entry plug- Kenshi's- was slotted and screwed inside.

Maya Ibuki was checking the status of the Eva Units, Aoba was checking the Synch Ratios, and Hyuuga was seeing the status of the Angel.

"Give me the stats, Hyuuga." Misato demanded. "Well, Ma'am, it's a definite blue pattern, so it's definitely an Angel. It goes by the name of Driel, Angel of the Underworld. It travels the underground, in the form of a large drill, so it‘d be wise to attack it from a far. It also attacks by blowing itself up, so that‘s another reason to stay away from it."

Aoba interrupted Hyuuga, with results of the Synch Ratios. "Ma'am, we've got good results from everyone, except the Eighth Child. His stats are quite low- Fine for piloting, but still low."

By now, Units 01 and 02 had been launched. Unit 00 hadn't been rebuilt, so Rei could not pilot, so was watching with Kaworu, in case they were needed as back-up pilots. Unit 01 charged towards the vicinity of the Angel, when suddenly, the large form of a drill burst from the ground. The drill started to bore into Unit 01's chest.

Shinji's pain-filled screams echoed from within NERV's HQ. He looked upon the damage, from his screen inside Unit 08, then held his head, hiding his face, as though suffering from a headache. "Sh-Shinji-san!" He made a wail, as though sounding like he was trying not to bawl and cry.

Aoba noticed something on screen, and sprung into action. "We're detecting a much higher Synch Ratio from Unit 08, and- What the?! We're detecting another blue pattern!" As he said this, he was drowned out by the crushing noise of the ceiling being caved in. The umbilical cable, sailing upwards, was the only clue to what had happened: Unit 08 had activated on its own. "Damn, we never launched that!" Hyuuga exclaimed, shocked at what had just happened.

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[Konekone]

(Part 3, because it's just sooo loooong...)

"Could it be a Berserker?" Fuyutsuki asked Commander Ikari, as the two of them watched what was going on in the private office. "It seems so…" "It also seems that the Eighth Child is one to raise to the occasion when a friend is in danger." "We may find use for this later…" Gendo put his hands in front of him, leaning his elbows on the desk, overlapping one hand upon each other, putting both hands in front of his face, still watching the action unfurl.

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By now, Unit 08 had charged at the angel, stabbing a Prog Knife into it, to restrict any movement. In its hand was the hilt of a sword, with a glowing blade.

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"The Sword of the Crucifix…" "Commander?" "It was a piece of the original Cross, imported from Bacton, in Norfolk-2. That piece was remodelled by them, so it would make it a good sword hilt, and apparently, only an FAUST Model Evangelion Unit can wield the blade inside. This has never happened before, though... This child will be very helpful."

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The "Berserker" Unit 08 held the Sword of the Crucifix- as Gendo had called it- above the form of the drill. The sword was plunged downwards, before impaling the Angel. Energy started to surge through the body of the drill, as the ground started to shake.

"Is the Angel going to self-destruct?!" Misato questioned, turning to Hyuuga. "No, it's not the Angel that's making the energy. It's that sword!"

The blade of the sword had started to lose stability in form, losing its ego boundaries, as energy surged it into a spiked form.

A large explosion occurred, and like the other Angel explosions had done before, it had taken form in a cross. As the smoke started to clear, it was apparent that collateral damage had taken hold on buildings nearby in a certain radius. The other Evangelions Units had appeared unharmed.

Inside Unit 08, the Eighth Child, Torashi Kenshi, was panting- his crimson hair spiked up at the bangs and foxtail, with a yellow flare- before he fell into an unconscious state, the yellow flares turning back to red, and the spikes falling back into place.

(Thus ending the long Chapter Two... And now, a quick question to all those wanting to see a Chapter Three?

Where should Kenshi stay?

BTW, the censored words thing is really getting on my nerves... I can't use technical words, because they get censored in certain parts...)

[Hana]

(goddammit! I posted this in skool, but it's not here! Let's see how much I remember)

You too, Kenni, pay nice attention to detail. You've truly captured the spirit of the Evangelion series, at least the battle episodes. It's obvious that you understand much of the mythology surrounding the series (at least more than I do) and all the Christian symbolism, cuz you made the Sword of the Crucifix fit the content of the series. Keep it up Kenni! Very impressive!

btw, what words are censored?

I think that it would be better for Kenni to stay with Shinji for the night, because nothing is worse for Asuka than to not be in the know, and it would absolutely torture her not to know what's going on between the new kid and her crush. Then, predictably, Asuka would bust into the boys' room in some humiliating and misunderstanding situation.

I eagerly await your next chapter!

[Konekone]

Thanks for the review.

Now, I plead everyone here to post in where Kenshi should stay, otherwise I cannot do Chapter Three.

[AnimeFanatic]

Hana said:

I think that it would be better for Kenni to stay with Shinji for the night, because nothing is worse for Asuka than to not be in the know, and it would absolutely torture her not to know what's going on between the new kid and her crush. Then, predictably, Asuka would bust into the boys' room in some humiliating and misunderstanding situation.

I eagerly await your next chapter!

Same here.

[Konekone]

At long last! The long-awaited Chapter Three! (Which has to be done in two posts, because it's so long again!)

Chapter Three- The Trouble Afterwards

The scenario was now set in Second Cranial Nerve, a hospital room in which the Third and Eighth Children were located. Shinji had been the one to suffer more damage, physically, whereas Kenshi seemed to have just fallen unconscious after the battle, however, this was not what everyone else was concerned about.

That sword... That sword of energy, which had destroyed itself no sooner than it had appeared. The only ones who knew of what it was were Commander Ikari and Vice Commander Fuyutsuki.

After the battle, Units 01 and 08 had been retrieved, as well as a sample of the Angel. Everyone had thought the Angels were extinct, after Nagisa Kaworu, whom everyone had accepted as the Fifth Child instead of Tablis. But now that there were more Angels among them, they needed to discover where they had come from.

Rei and Asuka had come to Second Cranial Nerve, to check upon the two bedridden pilots. Asuka, not wanting Rei to get any ideas, just stood by, not touching either of the two boys. Rei busied herself, with fetching damp cloths to keep them hydrated.

Misato peered into the room, having passed and heard noises from inside. "Ah, there you two are. I've been looking for the two of you, to discuss something. Looking through his records, it seems that little Kenni-chan hasn't a place to stay, in Tokyo-3." Asuka frowned- She didn't like where this was going. "Therefore, I was wondering if one of you two would want to have a say in this topic. Otherwise, he can just stay with me." She added the last bit, as a sort of clincher.

Rei immediately shot her hand up, like a bullet from a pistol. "I will! I will!" Misato gave a little raise of the eyebrow, in a sarcastic manner. Asuka gave a scowl, and shot her own hand up. "No, I will! Wondergirl here will just try to assault Chibi." Rei gave an acidic glare to her rival, just wishing she could hit her, right then and there.

Misato gave a grin. Perhaps she could force them to fight over the right to have Kenshi stay with them, in a Gladiator style match. She gave a sigh to herself, knowing she could not. "Hmm… Easy to solve this." She stuck a finger out, closed her eyes and spun round a bit, before pointing from one direction to the other.

"My- Mother- Said- It- Is- You!" Her finger pointed to Rei's general direction. Asuka gave a groan: Wondergirl had won. To top it all off, Kenshi and Shinji had woken up, to hear the news.

"So, I'll be staying with Rei-san?" "That's right!" Rei grinned. "I'm so happy!" She clutched onto the small child.

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Asuka flopped down on her bed, having been exhausted from all the annoyances. First, the Chibi Child- her nickname for Kenshi, as she had just decided- had come into their lives, showing them up with how smart he was to be in eighth grade, already, when he should only have just started first or second. Then, the Chibi Child managed to kill an Angel, with some weird sword, and finally… Asuka couldn't help but think that there was something she'd forgotten.

She was aroused from her reverie, by the knocking on her door, and the voice of her mother- Soryu, Kyoko Zeppelin. "Asuka, Liebchen? There‘s an Ayanami Rei for you. She said that you'd know what it was about." Asuka cursed in German, under her breath. She'd forgotten about that stupid date! "I'll be right there." She replied, rummaging through the clothes she would wear to it.

After ten minutes or so, the door slammed open, revealing Asuka in one of her dresses, much like the one she'd worn on first meeting Shinji, except this one had a red hue to it, like her plug suit.

Her eyes swept past Rei- who had put herself in a rather flattering blue dress, past Shinji- who had kept the same clothes as usual, his white shirt and sneakers, with black trousers- to little Kenshi, who had definitely dressed for the occasion.

The little one had gone to a lot of effort, to look smart, and was donning a green-yellow cardigan, with the sleeves stopping halfway down the arms, to let white sleeves of a cotton shirt run down to his wrists. His trousers were much like Shinji's, since trousers were pretty much all the same basic idea, when it comes to looking professional. His hair had been combed at least three times, and Asuka could smell the remains of the scent from the shampoo he had used four times. Asuka couldn't blame the little one for using so much shampoo, though, because he had quite a lot of hair, which requires just as much shampoo.

Her eyes strolled away from the Chibi Child, and to what he was holding in his arms. She could hardly believe it: The chibi dumbkopf had even brought flowers, a bouquet of roses. "Ach, nein." She groaned not only at the gesture of flowers, but at Rei, clinging onto Shinji's arm. 'She is such a nymph.' Asuka thought to herself, bitterly.

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"So, umm, what shall we do on our date?" Kenshi asked, nervously, his voice all a quiver. Shinji looked at his feet, before suggesting a movie, which Rei and Asuka agreed to- Rei because there would be a chance to do some little touchy-feely, and Asuka because there'd be less chance of being seen.

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Rei had had the first and final say in what genre of movie they would be watching- And it just had to be of the romantic genre. Indeed, little Kenshi actually fell asleep in the middle of the movie. Asuka was close to doing this herself, and Shinji was only kept awake, by Rei's constant touching. Asuka was too tired to notice, otherwise they would have been thrown out for the inevitable fighting.

Now, the four of them were at a karaoke sushi bar, which had also been on Rei's insistence. By now, there had been four arguments, one near-fight and one upsetting of a table, as Asuka flew into a rage.

"How dare you! How dare you try and feel Chibi Child up like that, you creepy doll!" Rei stood up and glared daggers at her rival. Soon, the two of them were involved in a cat fight- scratches and slaps galore. Shinji hid his face in shame, embarrassed to be at the scene.

Kenshi, meanwhile, noticing the fight break out, clambered onto the stage, picked up the microphone and started to sing. Back-up singers from the track sang in the chorus.

"Light! Earth! Flowing air!...

Those sad days will soon turn into fossils,
and your pain will be secretly led to the forest of sleep.
Good night, all of you overly enthusiastic stray children,
until the day your impatience evolves into a dream."

"Life is waiting for the dazzling morning."
"Even if the final confession isn't granted-"
"Someday the darkness of this era will break into dawn."
"World! Close your eyes."
"Life is awakening, weaving time itself-"
"As if to return to your proof."
"And so, the light tells your heart-"
"Heart! Return to the origin."

By the time he'd reached the part about pain secretly being lead to the forest of sleep, both Asuka and Rei realised that the small one was on stage, singing. Asuka hid her own face this time, while Rei clapped, joyously.

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[Konekone]

(Part 2)

By now, the night had just started, and the two couples had gone separate ways. Rei had taken Shinji, or "Shin-chan", to her own apartment, to have some "fun". Asuka, for one, didn't want to hear of it, and so was heading home. She stopped, when she heard a small voice.

"Asuka-san? I couldn‘t help but feel that I‘ve been bothering you the whole time. Should I just go home too?" Asuka felt a little twinge of guilt- This boy had actually been by her side throughout the entire ordeal, and she had to admit, she did find him a little cute. At the moment, he was petting a small kitten. It seemed rather sick, and Kenshi was trying to nurse it back to health. She gave him a weak smile, before turning around to lead him off.

"Nah, you can come with me. Those two are pretty much just fulfilling their disgusting fantasies, so we have some time to kill together." Her ears pricked as she heard a small thud on the ground. She whipped around, to see the Chibi Child sprawled on the floor. She rushed over to him, checking pulse and breathing. He seemed normal, just asleep. She gave another weak smile, and pulled him onto her back, walking off, carrying him with her. The small kitten from before just watched before scurrying off.

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Asuka burst through the door of her own house. Wondergirl had refused to take Kenshi in, even though she had been chosen to, and had been excited about it. She was still fuming about Shinji, refusing to take part in her fun, excusing himself to go home.

Asuka was greeted by her mother's smiling face, which then turned into a concerned frown. "Isn't that your little friend, from before? What happened to him?" Asuka explained what had happened. "So, can he stay here, tonight, Mama?" Kyoko gave another little frown. "Are you sure his parents would be okay with that?" Asuka gave a little sigh. "He doesn't have his parents with him here, Mama. They're all the way back in England."

The two Soryu women jumped, when they heard a small yawn, coming from Asuka's back. Kenshi had woken up. "Well, look who's waken up!" Asuka gave a little grin, and placed Kenshi onto the floor.

The Chibi Child looked up at her. "Why am I here, Asuka-san?" He looked up at Kyoko, and gave a little startled squeak. "Ee! Soryu-san! Please pardon my intrusion!" He bowed rapidly, three times. Kyoko put her hand on his shoulder. "You shouldn't strain yourself, dear." "But, I really should be getting back to Rei-san's apartment." He was about to turn to leave, when Kyoko took him firmly into her grasp. "I think it would be best for you to stay here, tonight. Judging by what happened tonight, you should be getting all the rest you need." "H-Hai…"

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It was now the middle of the night. Everyone at the Soryu residence should have been asleep. However, there was one person still awake. There was a creak from Asuka's bedroom door, as the Chibi Child slowly crept in. He was holding a blanket and a teddy bear, almost like shields. He shuffled over to Asuka's bed, and hesitated, before jumping as Asuka gave a small groan and turned over.

She opened her eyes, feeling a small beam of light hit her eyes. The light from the ajar door crack had woken her up. She saw Kenshi standing there, tears in his eyes, and sat up. "Chibi?" She asked, a tone of curiosity in her voice. She then noticed the tears dripping to the floor.

"A-Asuka-s-san?" He stammered, between little sobs. "I-I can't g-get to sleep." Asuka guided him onto her bed, around where her lap was. "Why not?" "I miss Mama and Papa." Asuka softened a little. She knew what it was like. There had been a time when her own mother had not been there for her, and her father had never been around her much. "Do you want to sleep with me, tonight?" She asked, comfortingly, seeing him reply with a small sniffle and a nod.

She laid out space next to her in her bed, so he could nestle down, next to her. As the small one did thus, Asuka wrapped a protective arm around her, pulling him into a close embrace, as both of them closed their eyes.

[AnimeFanatic]

Awwww, so cute (Kenshi and Asuka). This is great, please keep them coming. And what's that song in part one? Is it just something you made up? Or is it real?

[Konekone]

((You mean "Heart! Return to the Origin"? Yeah, that's a real Eva song. It's said to be on the end of Death and Rebirth, but I only found "Tamashii no RUFURAN" on my DVD. It's called "Kokoro yo Genshi ni Modore", the word "Yo" being an exclamation point word. It's also sung by Takahashi Yoko.

But, anyway, thanks. I've been meaning to just throw a mindlessly cute part into the story, so there we have it...

Originally, though, the chapter was supposed to get a little darker, but I thought we should just leave it at cute.))

[AnimeFanatic]

Zinc-kun said:

But, anyway, thanks. I've been meaning to just throw a mindlessly cute part into the story, so there we have it...

Originally, though, the chapter was supposed to get a little darker, but I thought we should just leave it at cute.))

Please, keep it cute, throw in something "dark" if you want to, but please, keep it cute (I like this side of Asuka ^_^, it AWESOME, I think I'll have my sister read this too, she'll probably like it ^_^).

Zinc-kun said:

((You mean "Heart! Return to the Origin"? Yeah, that's a real Eva song. It's said to be on the end of Death and Rebirth, but I only found "Tamashii no RUFURAN" on my DVD. It's called "Kokoro yo Genshi ni Modore", the word "Yo" being an exclamation point word. It's also sung by Takahashi Yoko.

Thanks. And "Tamashii no RUFURAN", ROXORS!

[Konekone]

Bad news, minna... I'm near the end of my Evangelion ficcy, but don't worry- I'm getting ready to do something more light-hearted.

Chapter Four- Advent

There was a knock on Asuka's bedroom door. There was no reply, from the sleeping pair. Therefore, Shinji opened the door, and walked straight in, seeing Asuka, hugging the small Kenshi, in her sleep, smiles on both of their faces.

He started to stammer a bit. "A-A-Asuka?!" This was what woke both of them up. Kenshi sat up, with Asuka, as she was still holding him. "Yeah, what?" She murmured, having no idea how Shinji was seeing this.

"Y-You?! And him?!" Asuka looked down at the Chibi Child, and realised Shinji's perspective on this, and so, SLAP! "Anta baka!" She screeched, muttering to herself, pushing her "best friend" out the door. "Perverted idioten..."

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Asuka was still fuming, as the trio stood outside, but more at herself, for sleeping in so late. In her usual manner, she looked for a scapegoat on which she could put the blame. She couldn't use Kenshi- He had done no wrong, and had simply gone to sleep with her. He had kept her awake, at a late time in the night, but he couldn't be blamed for that. Shinji more or less was faultless, because he'd simply come in late as well, for some reason or another. He had his own cross to bear, with being late up himself, she decided. Finally, she placed the blame squarely on her mother, for not waking her up earlier.

She looked over to Kenshi, who seemed to be rather quiet today. For being late, Misato had punished them by sending them directly outside the classroom, to hold two buckets, brimful of water, each. Kenshi was rather silent about getting punishment. She had expected that he would cry, for getting into trouble, but, apparently, Kenshi wasn't a cry-baby.

Asuka looked up to the ceiling, before hearing a clatter of metal on the floor, and the splash of water. Her head snapped back down to Kenshi's eye level, to see that it was he who had fallen onto the floor, and let his buckets spill everywhere.

Misato burst out of the classroom, a furious look on her head. "What the hell is going on out here, you three?!" She caught sight of the floor ridden Eighth Child, and demanded that he be taken to the nurse's office.

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Ritsuko looked upon the Chibi Child, in Asuka's grip. "So, you say he just fell asleep." Asuka nodded, vigorously. "He just fell down on the floor, soaked to the bone." Ritsuko gave a sigh. "Fine, just put him on the bed, and I'll see to him later."

Asuka faltered a little. "Yes, what is it?" Ritsuko asked, a little impatiently. "Ano... I was hoping to stay with him for a little while..." Ritsuko raised an eyebrow, and looked at Asuka, from behind her glasses, giving a teasing smile. "Oh, is that so?" Asuka glared at her nurse, the doctor of NERV. "It's not like that!" "Oh, of course, it isn't. But, let me just say how cute it is, to see you actually taking a like to someone." She fled the room, before she could face Asuka's wrath.

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Asuka sat by the little one's bedside, looking at him sleep. He seemed to be in an uneasy rest. As he started to toss and turn, Asuka gently nudged him, to wake him. "Chibi? Chibi!" The small one sat up, jerkily and gave a small sigh, as he saw Asuka beside him. "Oh, Asuka-san, you're here. Yokatta." He, indeed, was glad.

Asuka looked at him, with concern in her eyes. "Did you have another bad dream, liebchen?" Both of them blushed, as Asuka used a word that she had kept reserved for her Unit 02. She remembered one of the most recent times she had actually used that, and that was when Dr. Akagi had put Unit 02 in a ridiculous bloated outfit, under the guise of Type D Equipment. Her exact words had been "I'm sorry, liebchen, they made me to do it."

Kenshi looked down at where his legs were, as they made a tent, in the blankets. He hugged his knees close, and looked away from Asuka. "Yes, I did." He tried to stifle a sniffle, but it came out all the same.

Asuka looked thoughtful, then came up with an idea. "How about I give you some German lessons to cheer you up?" She tried to beam him, and started to ramble on in German, to get young Kenshi's mind off of his missed parents.

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After a while, the two of them had become even closer than before. While Asuka had taught Kenshi a reasonable starting amount of German, Kenshi had taught her some songs he knew, in return. Kenshi was singing lines to her, so she could continue.

"Please come back to me,
Following memories
To the source of gentleness and dreams."

"You, too, please come back,
So we can love each other.
Heart and body repeat-"

"Soul's refrain!" The two of them chimed, together, attracting the attention of Ritsuko. "Feeling better, now, are we?" She gave an amused smile, to Asuka's annoyance and Kenshi's embarrassment. "Anyway, pack your things, we need you for a Synch Test."

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Both Aoba and Hyuuga were checking the Synch Ratios, and they soon came to a startling result. "Dr. Akagi, we have a low Synch Ratio coming from Unit 08." "Again?" "Yes, but this one's lower than yesterday. Much lower." Ritsuko inspected the results of the test, and gave a frown. "That's barely acceptable for piloting, but it'll have to do. Chances are that his Ratio is low because of the battle yesterday."

Hyuuga froze up, as he spotted something on the radar. "D-Damn! Blue patterns! Not one, but three!" Misato stared at Hyuuga, incredulously. "Three?!" "They seem to be travelling together. We should deploy an Eva. Perhaps we should send out Unit 08, so he can destroy them with that sword from before?"

"Do you think he can use it again?" Ibuki asked, nervously. Ritsuko had a darkened expression on her face. "We'll have to take that risk, I'm afraid." "Very well- Launch Unit 08!"

The large white Unit was ejected into the open air. The white behemoth moved its head, but it could be seen that there was a time lag with how Kenshi had moved his own head. The Synch Ratio was having troubles, keeping the two together in synchronisation.

In the landscape, three large giants of equal dull form, but different colour were making their way towards the Evangelion Unit. One was red, with white and yellow markings, another dark blue with white and dark green markings, the last having a similar style to the second, except its shades of green and blue were much lighter.

The third titan raised its tapering arms, and whipped them forward, releasing a torrent of a powdery substance. It gushed onto Unit 08's right arm and splattered onto various other places of its body, and attached like sugar crystals to a moist material. "W-What is this stuff?" Kenshi asked, worried.

"Kenshi, you have no time to worry about that! Move now!" Ritsuko's voice blared through the Eva's panel screen. The Chibi Child moved his head upwards, to see a large wave of water bursting towards him. The gigantic Unit tried to evade the cannon of water, but due to the low synchronisation, by the time the Eva Unit had moved, the right arm was still susceptible to full damage. The water splashed onto the arm, and onto other powdery parts of the giant Eva.

Upon contact with the powdery substance, the water started to make a chemical reaction. This powder seemed to be soluble, and as a result, solution started to take place. However, this was far from all. As well as the powder starting to dissolve, the parts of the Eva that the powder had attached to also started to dissolve, in a manner of corrosion. The right arm was suffering most damage.

Kenshi gave an almighty scream, and looked to his own left arm, which was decomposing, at the same rate. He gave another wail of pain, feeling the same sensation in other parts of his body.

"Retrieve him, now!" Misato commanded, but stared at the screen, seeing energy rise in the third target, the red Angel. This last Angel sent out a blast of fire, which engulfed Unit 08. The pain of Kenshi's corroding body parts subsided, only to give way to a new, searing, burning pain. His arm had stopped decomposing now, as though the powder solution had been destroyed by combustion. The Chibi Child fell silent, as his consciousness slipped away. Through his last moments awake, he felt himself being pulled downwards, as his Unit 08 was retrieved.

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The room was a familiar one. The Second Cranial Nerve. The scenario was also similar. Kenshi was in bed, but he was not in a pleasant state. What remained of his right arm was now just a bloodied stump, and there were several pieces of skin missing, and deep tissue damage in various places.

Asuka sat by his bedside. She couldn't believe this was happening. The Angels had retreated, to fight another day. However, the damage had been done. She held Kenshi's only hand, and tears started to fall from her eyes. How could this have happened? She laid her head against Kenshi's chest, not caring that blood was sticking to her face.

The young boy was in a coma, not showing many signs of life. Asuka started to sing the song she and Kenshi had been singing, not too long ago, except this time, the lyrics were true, for Asuka.

"Please come back to me,
Following memories
To the source of gentleness and dreams.
You, too, please come back,
So we can love each other."

She couldn't find the strength to finish, and she started to weep, not noticing the NERV medical team, wheeling Kenshi's stretcher away.