At an impasse with the Angel-00, I chose to get things rolling fast, and have Rei dive into the fray to help Cirus. A bit brash for Ayanami-sama, yes, but I thought it fit with her growing devotion to Cirus himself, and not wanting to see him hurt in general. Not to mention that she takes killing Angels as seriously as anyone, and is one of the elite pilots. One point I leave unsaid and completely up to reader intuition is how Cirus felt when he took the gamble to attack one of the two Unit 00's. It ripped his heart apart. I don't mention this at all in Kenosis, but a mistake in this tactic would have permanently destroyed Cirus' personality. As part of this, actually striking the Angel-00 as he does is the most excruciating moment for Cirus in all of Kenosis, short of the times when Rei herself is in lethal danger. It just looks so real.

With the understanding the eyes have to lock onto the target to become the fear, the solution may already be clear in the reader's mind. If Cirus can't kill Unit 00 double, then he can definitely kill himself. So he gets Rei to help him by making the Angel mimic himself (lucky, as it could have chosen either the old Angel or Unit 14, and the real Unit 14 caught it before it could form both again. Besides, forming Unit 14 in the death-grip of anything would be an effective nightmare for Ayanami-sama at this point.) Letting Rei look away, Cirus kills his double without hesitation (beyond a bit of angry preparation for the blow). To avoid making my character the 'omni-hero', I let Asuka have the real victory, both to let her overcome her fear for herself, and to establish that I'm at least trying to be fair to the other characters. I wrap the section up with a personal moment for Rei and Cirus about the fear he had, and then some simple filler, with a more realistic interaction between Cirus and Asuka, before moving on to the next section.

The real point of the section where they visit Shinji is to establish that Shinji is fine and to show that Rei is indeed shifting in personality. She's a little more open now. In the opening, yes, Cirus' view of Asuka is basically me directly channeling through him in one of the few blunt moments of that nature. Cirus *is* a character, as much as he is a self-insert, but when it comes to Asuka, he's basically me.

Now the section between Cirus, Ikari, and Fuyutsuki in the office is just a huge whack with the 'foreshadowing' bat ("Cy-kun's Foreshadowing Bat of Spooky Doom!" tm). Naturally, one wonders exactly what Cirus did, but it will be revealed shortly, as the reader finds out. The line 'you're not cleared for that' is actually an inside joke with my group of online friends. 'You're not cleared for that' is a common response to stupid questions, and Cirus' little smile is another direct translation of me into his position in the story. After Cirus leaves, the interaction between Koso and Gendo is complicated. At the time, I wanted to make Gendo a reluctantly accepting character of the situation, but then I realized that just didn't work. Here, then, he is simply considering that he's been defeated... only to decide otherwise later. His frustration at not getting his own is simmering. Indeed, he doesn't answer Koso... because he isn't in any danger of 'becoming a decent man'. He has to be forced into that.

And the next section, another favorite, opens up with more whacks of the foreshadowing bat. Not only does it establish the 'club' plan for later, but it's an excellent demonstration of how Rei has already shifted a great deal. Rather than dismissing what she doesn't understand, she is concerned at offending Misato, who, honeslty, Rei feels a bit sorry for most of the time. I think, especially in this scene, Rei is afraid her refusal would offend Misato, and that very fear is the big sign of growth in her character. In the series, such an issue would be dismissed instantly, irrelavant of offense, but now... Rei has a pang of guilt for refusing when she sees how happy and excited Misato is. Of course, I just had to play with the idea of Misato dressing Rei up for a night out. Too much fun not too.

Rei finds Cirus waiting for her. Again, this smacks of stalking, but Cirus wouldn't have followed her home if she turned down the offer, he simply want to make the offer. I use the interim to actual describe how Cirus felt about asking her for her help in the battle. In truth, he feels he failed in the battle, especially in needing to make Rei use her fear to let him weaken the Angel. Ayanami-sama's keen insight allows her to percieve how he feels, though she's not sure what to do about it just yet.

I'm very curious to know what's going through a new reader's mind when s/he first reads about the house. Does s/he assume it's for Rei, or Cirus' to where Rei is perpetually invited? I would love to know how you felt when you first read it, so feel free to email me such reactions. (About any scene, too. I love that kind of feedback.) Beyond the important plot point that Rei now has a house to herself, the real purpose of this entire sequence... is to get Ayanami-sama to smile sincerely and happily for the first time in Kenosis. A real, natural smile. This is the exact scene from which the title of the chapter is derived. More specifically, i just loved the idea of giving Rei her own house, a nice one, and an old-style Japanese one. Of course... with a fully stocked kitchen. The section (and part) ends with an appreciative, adorable hug and some thanks.