Things get a little more interesting when Asuka outright asks Rei if she and Cirus are a couple. Naturally, Ayanami-sama is unsure of how to respond to such a blunt question, and even the definition of a 'couple'. Such stereotypical terms mean nothing to her, she just loves Cirus very much, knows he loves her, and finds comfort and strength in that status. Honestly, I'm not sure I would consider them a couple in the manner Asuka probably means it. Again, I try to give Shinji some clout against Asuka, proving to myself that I can write for a character I generally dislike in a fair manner. I continue to 'villify' Asuka with her exaggerated report of Rei and Cirus' activities together. At this point, I decided to have Cirus jump in for some comedic effect, and to defend Rei. Honestly, this interaction between Cirus and Asuka seems a bit forced to me now, with little value to either character the way I wrote it. I would probably completely re-write this sequence to something with a different feel between the two if I had the time to do extensive revisions of Kenosis. Perhaps some day. That said, the scene as it is fits a certain purpose. This is one of the more important confrontations between Asuka and Cirus, especially about Rei.

Asuka calling Rei a wind-up doll in the first place will make Cirus angry, her compounding it with saying that's exactly why he likes Rei really infuriates him. Since the issue is here, I'll explain. Cirus (and I) find Rei so attractive, not because she's a 'doll', but the exact opposite reason. She's a human being in all the ways that matter, but has been denied that, abused and mistreated in the worst ways. So she flares the defensive instincts in Cirus, is beautiful anyway, has a lovely voice, and is simply adorable, considerate, compassionate, and loving in her own ways. As a result, accusing her of being a doll still is one of the biggest red-button issues to use against Cirus, because that's exactly the idea he's focused on ending, for Rei's sake. Another factor, which only makes Cirus lose any desire to hold back for Asuka at all, is that the red-haired girl uses the word 'girlfriend'. Cirus would never presume that connection with Rei, which is stated a short time later in-story. So, in short, Asuka really set herself up for a whack upside the head this time. That Cirus would resort to a downright malicious attack on Asuka's character is the clearest demonstration of his anger in the scene, and is actually one of his biggest slips of emotional control in the entire story of Kenosis. It actually garbles his true meaning a bit, because it starts to make it seem as though he actually thought of Rei as a doll, too, at some point, when nothing could be farther from the truth. Immediately, however, Cirus regrets doing so... the damage is done, of course.

Ironically, and much to Asuka's chagrin, I'm sure, Rei interrupts on Asuka's behalf against Cirus. Obviously emotional, Asuka leaves, Shinji follows, and this leaves Rei alone with Cirus. This interaction between the pair is actually one of the most extensively revised scenes in Kenosis so far, because the narration around the dialogue, and one line of dialogue, struck me as simply wrong, and I couldn't resist the urge to alter them. That said, the part where Rei asks if they are a 'couple' is one of the most adorable moments in Kenosis, in my own view at least. (This is actually why I had to revise. The scene had one of my favorite moments in it, so I had to give it better context when I noticed how awful it originally was.) I think anyone who has read Kenosis to this point understands that Cirus would be Rei's official 'boyfriend' in a heartbeat (he'd marry her faster, actually, but they're just kids, so I don't get into that in Kenosis. It's also why I never have anything 'naughty' actually hinted at for the pair. Heck... even married I'm not sure I could concieve of them doing 'naughty' things.) Ayanami-sama is shrewd as ever regarding Cirus' feelings, as depicted in her 'Your eyes know' line. Rei knows Cirus quite well now, from both experience and her unique intuition into his nature, so she realizes why he's so nervous before he can articulate it himself. The "afraid of hurting" theme between them takes on a unique meaning just for this couple, thanks to the context of the story, I think, but also stands alone with the usual meaning. And, in case it's vague, her 'again' is referring to his fearing, not his 'hurting her', *chuckles*. The following paragraph, actually, is almost completely re-written for this edition of the story. In fact, only the last sentence with the elipsis remains of the original. This is another very cute interaction, and I simply had to fix the awful flow of the original paragraph. I was too focused on the results rather than realistically describing them in the original. Now, hopefully, it flows much more naturally to his quiet tears, which surprise Rei. Startled/surprise Rei is soooo cute.

Another extensively revised paragraph is the one where Rei holds Cirus down from getting up to find Asuka. As with the previous one, the flow was simply awful in the original, to my eyes anyway, and so I had to repair it to the current form, which is, hopefully, much better. Reader-input on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Regarding the content itself, the idea that Rei can command Cirus without effort has been well-established in Kenosis already, but this seemed such a beautiful moment to 'explode' and cast that point into stark relief. The reader may notice how rarely the two actually touch outside of the specific moments I describe where they hold hands, embrace, or caress each other's cheek. As a result, though I do show such scenes often in Kenosis, they retain a certain tension that I see missing in most real couples who really do hang all over each other all the time. I did this quite specifically, because I think physical contact is taken too much for granted by modern society. If I'm going to to show physical affection, I want it to mean something. As a result, I seem anti-social to many people, but when I do hug or even hand-shake, people tend to notice I really mean something by it. This 'appreciation' of affection is very important to me, and I especially wanted to give to Rei in the person of Cirus, so this is another personality trait of mine I gave him. I always thought Rei would be that kind of person herself, and I admit that may be wishful thinking on my part, but I think the dynamic works adorably for them.

It is this interaction between Cirus and Asuka that is technically important, but badly implimented. However, I don't care as much about Asuka's scenes as I do Rei's, so the desire to revise it extensively simply doesn't exist. I would knuckle down and do it right if I were to try to 'fix' the whole story one more time, but as it is... no. As with the debate with Ikari about Rei, this argument/discussion between the pair is very much author vs. character. It's as much me arguing with Asuka as Cirus. Cirus is fairly harsh, but Asuka doesn't back down. I admit, I portrayed Asuka as a bit weak-willed, even so, and that is one of the many facets of the scene needing revision. The point of the debate is to establish that Cirus knows about Asuka's past to her, that he does sympathize with, but that she has no right to be such a rude, obnoxious person about it all the time. The idea of compensating for the lack of a mother's love with the attention of the world was well-established by the series itself, so I simply expanded on that here. I don't like the core plot of Evangelion (I watched it for Ayanami-sama, I actually hate the series itself), but the character-plot I take very seriously, so I try to keep it in line with the series' portrayal as much as possible.

Another major point of their discussion is why Asuka is so jealous of Rei. Cirus understands that Asuka sees Rei as the doll that takes attention away from her from the people she most wants it from, but the idea angers him anyway. I did make one surprisingly large edit to this interaction, because I felt Cirus was not defending Rei's humanity enough to Asuka. So his dialogue where he says 'if she ever was' is actually new. Originally he said 'she's no doll now', or something to that effect, which implied she may have been before his arrival. I didn't intend it so arrogant or rude to Rei as that when written, but re-reading it now, I had to change it. To properly revise this sequence, I would fix a good deal of Cirus' dialogue, especially regarding Rei.

This leads the chat into a different topic, when Asuka asks exactly what makes Rei so attractive rather than her. Cirus tries to get out of the topic before it's too late, but Asuka forces it. He tries three times, and Asuka finally switches tactics, but he maintains a vexing calmness and vagueness to his response. "...everything about her is beautiful," is one of the truest statements of dialogue in Kenosis, but it's not what Asuka wants to hear. She is, however, forced to admit to herself that he really cares for Rei, beyond just 'infatuation', and so she challenges him with the really pertinant point. Does he love her? Cirus, as usual, never assumes anything beyond the facts, and so he answeres that much. He feels powerfully for Rei, would do anything for her, but doesn't want to assume it's 'love', which is a dangerously overused word anyway. If the reader is concerned, yes, he loves Rei truly and deeply, in fact to a very adult extent that even most adults don't understand these days. If he can be with Rei, any suffering is 'a small price'. And, to be clear, there is no double meaning to 'be with' there. Cirus finds Rei attractive, obviously, but he means 'be with' in the truly emotional, spiritual sense. Again, the 'innocent intimacy' theme is very important for this pair. Back to the scene itself, Asuka, in her usual style, arrogantly gives her point of view, and walks out. Cirus is amused by her this time, and his dialogue appropriately finishes the scene.

The last scene of the chapter establishes two important things. Ikari's standing is far less stable, making him desperate, and Fuyutsuki is clearly opposed to Third Impact. SEELE knowing so much about Ikari's plans would be a major event in the series, but now it's simply fodder for making him seem weaker, more desperate in Kenosis. With his resources dwindling, the chances of him pulling something dangerous escalates. At least that's the tension I'm going for with the first half of the ending section. Admittedly, Fuyutsuki's open rebellion in this section is dangerously out of character for the series' incarnation of him. This is one of the biggest examples of character development within Kenosis. Always a bit hesitant about Third Impact, even in the series, Koso is now firmly angry with the idea, understanding that the Dead Sea Scrolls were wrong, and believing that SEELE and Ikari have been running the world on a crazed journey to oblivion, which they believe is the next step in man's evolution. Fuyutsuki becomes my instrument within the authority structure against the thesis of the series, allowing me to propose my own. Ikari, of course, remains the villain of Kenosis, and the chapter ends with an ominous foreshadowing of 'Project 7'.