Shinji and Asuka

Chapter 8: When the Past catches up to the Present

Author's Notes: Here's the 8th chapter, some more romance to follow. The play is also continued in this chapter. Many incidents happen in this chapter just read and see how everything turns out.

A note to say this is the rewritten chapter 8 (First rewrite – has lots of new content).

Important Note: If you're reading this, you're reading the up to date version of the story. If you didn't see this note last chapter, you were unlucky enough to have started reading this just before I updated all the chapters. It is recommended you re-read the previous chapters as some details of the story would have changed as well as the formatting, which will cause some confusion in further reading.

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Chapter 8: When the Past catches up to the Present

Darkness assailed him. Staring into the pitch-black surroundings was truly quite depressing. He wasn't sure how many days had past as he had lost count, and there was nothing to keep track with. The boy was alone in his confinement with no visitors and food was served through a small compartment. He really hadn't understood at all what he was getting into at first. The boy had known it wasn't going to be pleasant, but the reality turned out to be far worse.

Shinji took in a deep breath to calm himself, trying to prevent himself for the umpteenth time from having a nervous breakdown. This feeling of being trapped and unable to escape was horrifying, and perhaps was a small taste of what Asuka had felt as he overpowered her that fateful day. Asuka, thinking about her certainly gave a warm sort of comfort, but also a sickening feeling of guilt as he recalled why he was here in the first place; he had raped her. There was no excuse for his wrongdoings, this dark empty room was a painful reminder of that. He thought back to the day when Misato came into their residence with Section 2 agents and handcuffed him, Shinji hadn't put up any resistance as they took him away but he remembered the sad look on Asuka's face as she tried to stop them. Their guardian held back the redhead, telling her it would be ok and comforting her; ah, if only he could do that. That warm embrace and those soothing words were what Asuka should have had immediately after the ordeal, instead she had suffered alone that afternoon, much like he was now.

Misato went with the young boy as the Section 2 agents escorted him to their car and drove him to NERV. The purple haired woman was talking to him the entire way, trying to keep Shinji calm, helping him to understand the necessity of the situation. The boy didn't have any reason to protest, he was certainly fearful, but he knew that everything comes with a price; and this was a small price to pay, all things considered. His guardian had stayed with him until the final moment up to when they finally placed him into the cell and closed the door. Misato had told him that he would be in there for a few weeks, no one was allowed to visit him and that he should use the time to reflect on what he'd done. After just a few minutes inside, the weight of the situation finally registered and he began to sob. Not only because of the regret for his crime, but because he wouldn't be able to see nor talk to Asuka.

Shinji pondered briefly how she was coping. He hoped she wasn't in great pain; he certainly would be if their roles were reversed. Having had so much time to think, concerning thoughts wondered by in his head as well. Maybe with the separation, Asuka would realise what a horrible human being he was and decide she didn't want him after all. Maybe she never wanted to look at him again. These thoughts were agonising but he couldn't stop them. The night he raped her had replayed in his head so many times now, that he completely understood without a doubt what evil he had done. Shinji couldn't believe he had done such a thing, he had even strangled and physically hurt her in addition to forcing himself on her. He just held his head in his hands and cried again, deeply lamenting his actions.