[Asuka had been distracted during the destruction of the City; other people had grabbed her attention and the shifting crowd had stopped her from spotting the tell-tale shock of pink hair. It's only afterward, after everyone has started to filter out that she finally spots her friend through the shifting crowd and for reasons she can't quite describe, her heart jumps into her throat.
She's here. She didn't leave. Nanami had been wrong (she was going to wave that in her face the next time they talked). Asuka shoulders her way through the crowd, throwing an elbow into someone's rib and then squeezing through a gap. It's only when she gets closer that she can see how worn-down Utena looks and the tears and gaps in her clothing, as if someone's taken a pair of scissors to them (or perhaps a sword). There's something far too familiar in the distant, dull gaze that Utena's turned to the viewscreens and it almost makes Asuka recoil.
It reminds her too much of herself months back.
But it's Utena. She understands (sort of).]
Hey! Utena!
[With her usual tact, she reaches out to grab her by the shoulder.]
tail end of A
She's here. She didn't leave. Nanami had been wrong (she was going to wave that in her face the next time they talked). Asuka shoulders her way through the crowd, throwing an elbow into someone's rib and then squeezing through a gap. It's only when she gets closer that she can see how worn-down Utena looks and the tears and gaps in her clothing, as if someone's taken a pair of scissors to them (or perhaps a sword). There's something far too familiar in the distant, dull gaze that Utena's turned to the viewscreens and it almost makes Asuka recoil.
It reminds her too much of herself months back.
But it's Utena. She understands (sort of).]
Hey! Utena!
[With her usual tact, she reaches out to grab her by the shoulder.]
Where the Hell have you been?
[She hasn't been worried. That'd be silly.]