Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Evangelion: The World I Wished For
Chapter 2: Life, a Start Over
As the morning sunlight showered over him, Shinji slowly opened his eyes. Momentary confusion clouded his mind.
'The crimson skies are gone… wait, I'm not outdoors at all. I'm staring at a ceiling, my ceiling!'
He turned his head, 'I'm in my room. How can that be? This whole area was destroyed during the attack. But, here it is.'He slowly pushed himself up to a sitting position and swung his feet off his bed; he sat there looking around his room. Everything was exactly as it was the last time he was in here.
"But how?"
He lifted his head as he heard movement outside of his room. Slowly, he stood up and walked over to the door.
"It can't be. They're both dead. How is it possible?"
Gradually, he slid open the door.
'Oh My God!'
He screamed in his mind.There was Misato setting the table, dressed in a pale blue tank top with nothing on underneath it and a pare of undersized too short dark-blue shorts. She had a smile on her face and was humming some tone Shinji didn't recognize off hand, but after watching her for a few moments longer, he noticed something about her smile. It seemed forced, almost melancholy.
As she made her way around the table, placing settings for three, she caught sight of a pair of feet out of the corner of her eye. She looked up.
"Shinji!" She said happily. "Up already? I hope I didn't wake you."
'It's her… It's really her.'
He didn't respond to her inquiry. Instead, he walked over to her with purpose in his step and threw his arms around her waist, burying his face into her chest. He managed to whisper out "I'm so happy to see you. I can't believe you're really here."
Taken by surprise by Shinji's actions, Misato took a couple seconds to recover and return his embrace. With one arm around his shoulders and the other hand in his hair, she tilted her head forward to caress her cheek against the top of his head.
Smiling she said, "I'm happy to see you too Shinji, but where exactly would I be if not here?"
He pulled back slightly and looked up into her eyes. "I thought you were dead when I heard the explosion. I feared the worst had happened to you."
The boy's guardian wrinkled her brow. "Explosion? Shinji, what on earth are you talking about?"
"At NERV, when the JSSDF attacked. You were shot." Remembering the bullet she took in the side, he immediately let go of her and backed away a step. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" He looked down at her side for signs of injury, but there were none.
"JSSDF attack? Bullet in my side? Shinji, it sounds like you've been having a nightmare." She gave him a crooked smile.
"You mean NERV isn't destroyed? Everyone's alive? Asuka's alive!"
"Of course Asuka's alive, silly." She gave him a broad smile.
Excitement was about to overwhelm him. "Is she still in the hospital? Can I go see her?"
As if on queue, the door to Asuka's room came flying open. "Hospital! What on earth would I be doing at the hospital?"
"Asuka!" Shinji ran over to her and threw his arms around her, burying his face into her shoulder while he desperately tried to fight back the tears. "Thank God you're alive!"
After the initial shock of being hugged by the third child, the redhead allowed a faint smile to creep across her face as her eyes began to water. After a few seconds had passed, she reached up with her hand and not so lightly smacked the boy in the back of the head.
"Okay idiot, that's enough. If you want to grope someone, grope your little girlfriend."
Shinji backed away, bowing apologetically. "Sorry, I was just glad to…" He did a double take. "My what?"
But by now Asuka had lost interest in him and was more interested in eating. "So Misato, what's for breakfast? Please tell me you got carry-out?"
"Hehehe." Misato laughed softly. "Sorry, you're just going to have to settle for my cooking." She smiled.
"God help my stomach." The second child mumbled.
"Hey, if you don't like my cooking, don't eat it!" The Major shouted.
"Hehe, just joking. Beside, anything's good if I don't have to make it myself." A faint look of sadness appeared on her face as she glanced over at Shinji, who was still trying to figure out what she meant by her earlier comment. And just as quickly, the look was gone.
"Well, let's sit down and eat." Misato said, as she went to the kitchen and retrieved a pot of rice, along with a pan of something that looked to be a combination of eggs, some kind of fish, and something resembling some sort of vegetable.
Asuka and Shinji sat across from each other with Misato at the head of the table. The two pilots looked at the food, then up at each other. Their faces mirroring the same look of nausea, they then looked over at the major, who was busy serving herself from the pan.
Slowly, Shinji reached for the serving spoon in the rice pot. He carefully skimmed off the top, taking special care not to dig more than half way down the pot. Asuka held up her plate as Shinji placed a modest sized scoop on it. She set her plate down and reached for the frying pan.
"Don't you want more?" Shinji asked.
The second child looked at him, eyebrow raised. That was all the information he needed. He bowed his head in apology and served himself. Asuka was just as modest in serving herself Misato's egg concoction, and Shinji followed suit. They ate in silence, which was just fine for Shinji, who was still trying to sort out what was going on. He stole a glance at both Misato and Asuka.
'It's as if Third Impact and the events leading up to it never happened. But how can that be? Am I the only one who knows what really happened?' He pondered.
He stole another look at Asuka, who was now carrying on a conversation with their guardian.
'But it's more then just that… Asuka seems like her old self. Before her battle with the 15th angel… even well before then. How can that be?'
"Shinji, you've hardly touched your food. Aren't you hungry?" The older woman with the dark purple hair asked.
"What?" He blinked wide-eyed at her.
"How typical. Lost in his own world, as usual. How you're going to manage without us around is beyond me." The redhead taunted.
"Without you around?" He looked at one, then the other. "Where are you guys going?"
Confusion was clearly etched upon his face.
For several moments they just stared back at him. The look upon their faces unnerved him even more. "What? What did I say?" He inquired.
"Where are WE going? What? Are you stupid? You don't even remember?" The second child berated him.
"Remember what?" His expression revealed a look of total confusion.
"We're not the ones moving Shinji, you are." Misato informed him.
"What? Since when?" He asked in utter shock.
"Idiot! Can't you even remember last week?" Asuka got up and deposited her plate in the kitchen sink.
Their guardian giggled. "Since last week of course."
'I'm moving? But why? And where to?'
He hesitated asking these questions, since it seemed obvious that to his roommates, life in this world had continued uninterrupted; no attack by the JSSDF, no attack by the Eva series, and no Third Impact. 'I'm the only one who's out of place here, but why? For what purpose was I left with the memories of how things really happened?'Seeing the confusion etched across her young ward's face, Misato continued. "I suppose the events of this past week have been kind of hard on you. It's only natural you might let some things slip your mind."
"Natural if you're an idiot like Shinji." Asuka said as she walked past the table on her way to the bathroom. "I'm taking a shower now."
Misato glared at her retreating figure, then returned her attention back to Shinji. "Don't you remember? After Rei destroyed the 15th Angel and Unit-00 and was presumed dead, your father asked you to move back in with him. You said he mentioned something about life being too short to waste over old feelings of resentment and fear. You two took Rei's death pretty hard. For awhile I thought both of you were going to sink into a deep depression. Thank god Ayanami managed to survive the blast."
'She doesn't know.'
He reasoned, but then. 'Wait a minute.' He spoke, "Fifteenth Angel? You mean the sixteenth, don't you?"Misato chuckled. "My, you really were out of it last week. The Angel Rei destroyed was the fifteenth Angel. We're still waiting for the sixteenth and seventeenth Angels."
'The fifteenth Angel? Still two angels left? How can that be? This doesn't make any sense.'
He placed his hands on the sides of his head and rested his elbows on the table as he tried desperately to understand it all.Watching Shinji in such intense thought caused worry lines to creep across Misato's forehead. "Maybe the events of last week affected you even more than you thought. Maybe it would be a good idea if I scheduled an appointment for you with a NERV psychiatrist."
"NO! No, that won't be necessary. I'm fine, really. It's just like you said. The events of last week and … mmooving in with my father… it's just got me all a little overwhelmed, that's all." He grinned and scratched the back of his head. He had hundreds of other questions he wanted to ask, but he knew Misato was not the one to answer them. 'Any questions and she's likely to have me committed.'
So instead he ate in silence, and tried to act as if everything around him was as he would expect it to be.
'So, I'm moving in with my father today. My God, what kind of twisted reality is this? I'm moving out of the kitchen and into the fire. And the way Misato described Rei's… recovery. It's as if she still doesn't know Rei is a clone. She thinks Rei is a normal human being.'
A faint smile crossed his face, 'Could it be that in this reality, she really is just a normal girl?' He glanced up at Misato who was busy finishing her beer, then wiped the happy expression off his face. He didn't want her asking him any questions about what he was thinking.After breakfast Shinji showered and changed, then began packing his belongings. Misato had brought some boxes from NERV for Shinji to pack with. She said she'd love to stay and help, but she was needed at work. Shinji accepted her excuse with a hint of sarcasm.
"Now don't be a stranger, okay." She said with a smile as she walked out the door, throwing her young ward a wink as she left.
"Hey, Asuka, do you think you can give me a hand with this? Please." He asked sheepishly.
She looked up from the sofa she was sitting on, reading a magazine, and glared at him, saying, "Yeah, sure." Then she went back to reading her magazine.
"Please, Asuka." He pleaded.
She slapped the periodical down on her lap. "Aaaah!" She let out a sigh and looked at the clock. "When are your stooge friends coming to help you?"
"Friends?" The pilot of Eva Unit-01 whispered to himself. 'Friends!' He realized. "You mean Touji's not in the hospital anymore?" He didn't bother to hide his excitement.
"Hospital? When did that big oaf do anything to hurt himself?" The redhead gave her soon to be former-roommate a confused expression.
'I can't believe Asuka doesn't remember what happened with the thirteenth Angel and how Touji…'
When it dawned on him. 'What if…' And he asked, "Umm, Asuka, could you refresh my memory."She put her magazine down again and stared at him, frustration clearly evident on her face.
"Who is the … forth child?" He asked timidly.
The mere reference to the forth child brought a faint smile to her face, but when she noticed Shinji's reaction she steeled her countenance and stood up. "Your stupid amnesia act may get you some sympathy from Misato, but not from me.' She walked to her room. "Hurry up and leave already. I've got plans for your room." And she slammed her door shut.
"What did I say?" He whispered to himself as he shook his head and went back to his packing.
A couple hours later, the doorbell rang. The male pilot walked over and opened it. Based on Asuka's earlier comments, he was pretty sure that Touji was not the forth child and therefore was unharmed, but he was still overjoyed when he saw his friend standing outside the door, in one piece.
"Touji! I'm so glad to see you!" He took his friend's left hand into his and shook it vigorously, looking his friend over just to make sure he was really all right.
The taller boy looked at Shinji as if he had lost his mind as he tried to pry his hand out of the young pilot's grasp. "Yeah, good to see you again. How long has it been? Oh yeah, YESTERDAY!" He snapped sarcastically, finally wrenching his hand free. "What's with you man? You've been acting weird all week. I mean, I know you took what happened to Ayanami pretty hard, but honestly, get a grip."
Shinji's face turned red as he clasped his hands behind his back and looked away. "Ah, sorry."
"Forget about it." The taller boy said as he walked passed him and toward the kitchen.
"Hey, so what am I around here, chopped liver?" Kensuke asked, still standing at the door.
"Sorry Kensuke, come on in." He gestured for the spectacled boy to enter the apartment.
As they casually made their way to Shinji's room, Touji not so casually asked, "So… where is Misato today? Still changing?" He was barely able to keep from drooling as he said it.
Shinji rolled his eyes. "No, she's already at work."
"Oh yeah, either of you want something to drink?" The taller boy asked as he held the refrigerator door open.
"Ya know Touji, it's customary for the host to offer his guests a drink, not the other way around." The fair-haired boy scolded.
"That's all right Kensuke." Turning toward his other friend, he added. "No thanks, I'm all right."
"What about you? Last chance." The taller boy waved a can of pop around a little in order to entice his friend.
"Nah, I'm fine. Let's just get this over with. Packing is never any fun." Replied Kensuke.
"Okay then, lets do it." Shinji led the way to his room. "Well, I could use a hand closing this box." He started shoving on it, trying to force it closed.
Kensuke gave Shinji a gentle shove to move him out of the way and opened the box. Looking inside, he shook his head in disbelief. "You know Shinji, for a guy who is such a neat freak you sure don't know how to pack a box. Haven't you ever packed before?"
"Well, not really. When I came here nine months ago I only had one suitcase and my cello." He explained.
"Well, first of all, you're going to need either packing tissue or newspaper to wrap these things up individually, otherwise they're sure to break. Then you want to make sure you don't over pack your boxes either." The spectacled boy stated as he started taking things out of the box his friend had already started with. "So, do you have any packing tissue?" He asked.
"I think there may have been some with the boxes. Let me check." Shinji walked out of the room and returned a moment later. "Is this enough?" He held up a large pile of packing tissue.
"Plenty." Kensuke took the pile from him and placed it on the bed, then started wrapping each item up individually and placing them back in the box.
Touji picked up one of the figures and looked it over carefully. It was a porcelain figure of an ancient temple. "Where did you get this stuff?"
Shinji turned to face the taller boy. "Misato gets me these things whenever she has to leave town on business." He answered.
"Misato gets you these?"
"Yeah, I think she was trying to get me to decorate my room somewhat, but these things," he picked another similar figure up, "just make it difficult to dust. So I kept them stored away in the closet."
"So do you think you'll put them out at your new place?" Touji continued to ask.
"I don't know. I don't know what my new place will look like. Maybe, maybe not." He handed the figure to Kensuke, who wrapped it up and placed it in the box.
"So why are you moving in with your dad again?" His tone made it obvious to Shinji that his friend was not pleased with this development.
"Well," The young pilot tried to think of a reasonable explanation, finally settling on, "I guess because he asked."
"What kind of answer is that?" The taller boy snapped.
Before Shinji could reply, Kensuke interrupted, "Quit it Touji. Stop being so selfish. Shinji's trying to work things out with his dad. You should be happy for him."
The young pilot gave his fair-haired friend a confused look, then shifted his gaze over to Touji. 'What is he talking about?'
"I'm not being selfish!" The tall boy snapped, tossing the figure to Kensuke and turning around, showing his friends his back.
"Yes, you are." His insightful friend replied as he wrapped the figure and placed it in the box. "You're just upset because without Shinji living here anymore, you won't have an excuse to come visit Misato anymore."
The pilot smiled. 'Is that what's bugging Touji?' He couldn't help but laugh.
"THAT'S NOT IT!" Touji yelled, catching his two friends by surprise. He turned to look at Shinji. "It's just…" He turned away again, "… it's just now that you'll be living with your dad… we won't be able to hang out like before."
The pilot shook his head. "Wh-why not?"
"Come on Shinji." Kensuke replied. "He may be your dad, but he's also the commander of NERV. And one scary S.O.B., no insult intended."
"None taken." The pilot thought about this for a minute. "I guess you're right." He said sadly, pausing to reflect. "Well, then I guess I'll just have to come visit you guys instead." He smiled.
"Yeah right." Touji responded sarcastically. "Like that's really going to happen with you living clear across town and your girlfriend along the way. I'm sure you'll find plenty of time for us."
'Again with the girlfriend. Who is my girlfriend?'
But before he could ask, Kensuke said, "Today's just their first date. You can't exactly call her his girlfriend just yet."Again before he could ask, Touji replied. "Come on. It's obvious they're made for each other. It'll only be a matter of time. Right Shinji?" He looked at his friend.
That stopped the words dead in his throat. 'Obvious. Man, what will they think if I ask them who my girlfriend is supposed to be? They'll think I'm the biggest jerk in the world, that's what.' He just let a dumb grin cross his face, leaving it to his friends to interpret its meaning.
After a couple of hours and a lot of horsing around, they finally had Shinji all packed. Three boxes, a suitcase and his cello case stood in the hallway by the door. The three boys sat around the television watching a game show, occasionally busting into laughter over the outrageous things the contestants were asked to do. When the doorbell range, Shinji reluctantly pried himself away from the television to answer it.
"Hello, oh…" Shinji was startled by the three tall men in black suites and sunglasses.
"Shinji Ikari?" One asked.
"Yes?" He responded automatically.
"We are here to move you and your belongings." The agent said flatly.
"Oh, okay." He stepped away from the door. Pointing to the objects in the hallway. "Here are my belongings, and I'll be just a minute." He turned and walked down the hall, then quickly turned back. "Umm, is it all right if my friends come with me?" He asked timidly.
"If that is what you wish." The lead agent replied.
"Will you be able to take them home afterward?" He asked, emboldened by the agent's response.
"If that is what you wish." He repeated.
"Great. We'll be right back." He turned and ran down the hall. Entering the main room, he turned off the television.
"Hey, that guy was just about to carry two trays of manure up twenty flights of stairs!" They yelled in unison.
"Sorry, but it's time to go. You guys are coming with me, right?" He gave them a nervous smile.
"No way. Your father scares the shit out of me." Kensuke replied.
"Sorry dude, but Kensuke's right. Your dad is scary." Touji concurred.
"Well, at least drive there with me. Then you guys can go home." He pleaded.
"Well… I guess we can do that." Kensuke looked at his bolder friend.
"Yeah, we'll keep you company on the drive over." Touji confirmed. Then they both stood up and started for the door.
At that instant, Asuka's door opened, and the three boys stopped and stared at her. Their stares drew a scowl from her as she snapped, "You two stooges can just keep right on walking. I need to speak with Shinji."
"Waiting till now to declare your undying love for him, hey Asuka?" Kensuke teased.
"Why you little…" She rushed over to the sofa, grabbed the magazine she was reading earlier, and whipped it at him.
Expecting some form of retaliation, he quickly ducked the projectile, which sailed over his head and struck Touji in the throat.
"Gaaa!" The tall boy grabbed his neck then coughed.
"Ha ha, you got to be fast around Asuka, man." The spectacled boy teased his friend. With his back turned a book flew and struck him in the back of the head.
"OUCH!" He grabbed the point of impact. "That hurt."
"Get out of here or you'll be hurting a whole lot more." The fiery redhead warned.
"You guys should probably go downstairs and wait in the car." Shinji suggested.
"Okay, but don't take too long or we'll send up the agents, guns at the ready." Kensuke said as he and his friend retreated out of the apartment.
"Man, that hurt."
"At least you got it in the head. I got it in the throat."
"But yours was just a magazine, I got hit with a book."
"Man, one thing I'm not going to miss is seeing Asuka every time we go to see Shinji."
"Tell me about it."
"I heard that!" Asuka yelled in the direction of the door.
From outside the apartment came, "WE KNOW!"
With his friends gone, Shinji turned to Asuka and waited for her to say something. She stared back at him, then shifted her gaze to other items in the room that had suddenly become very interesting. Several very uncomfortable minutes passed before Shinji finally decided to speak.
"Well Asuka, I guess this is goodbye. Well, I guess not really goodbye. I mean, we'll still see each other at school and at NERV. But, you know, we won't be living together anymore is what I meant to say. Not that I didn't enjoy living here with you… and Misato. But I guess I need to give my father a chance… I guess, so…"
"Will you shut up already!" She yelled. "Sheesh! You just ramble on and on like a little old lady!"
Shinji bowed his head. "Sorry."
"There you go again, apologizing." She shook her head. "What she sees in you, I'll never know."
'Again with the girlfriend. Who is she?'
"Well, I just wanted to tell you not to get any ideas about moving back, because I've got plans for your room." Her expression betrayed her stern words. "I'm finally going to have some room for all my stuff."
"Oh, okay." Shinji nodded.
"And don't get the idea that just because you're living with the commander now it somehow makes you better then me, because it doesn't."
"No ma'am." He bowed.
"I'm still the best pilot in the operation and don't you forget it." She boasted.
"Yes ma'am." He bowed again.
"Stop that!" She yelled her annoyance.
"Sorry." He bowed again.
"Aurrgh! At least you won't be around to drive me insane with your constant apologizing. You can drive her nuts for a change."
Shinji didn't know how to respond to that comment, so he just stood there.
"Well you better get out of here before you do something stupid, like change your mind." She concluded.
He nodded and forced a weak smile. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Goodbye Asuka. I… I'll see you at school on Monday." With that he started to turn towards the door when suddenly he found himself being hugged by her, her arms around his neck, her face pressed against his cheek.
"Goodbye idiot." She whispered, then quickly pressed a kiss against his cheek and just as quickly released him and slapped him on the same cheek before rushing into her room and slamming the door shut.
Shinji considered going to her to see if she was all right, but just then one of the NERV agents appeared at the hallway.
"Sir, it's time to go." He announced.
Shinji nodded and followed the agent out the door, rubbing the sore spot on his cheek.
In her bedroom, Asuka squeezed her pillow tightly as she lay on her side. "Stupid Shinji. How can you be so selfish? How am I supposed to survive living with Misato by myself?" She buried her face in her pillow. "I don't need you, I don't need anyone."
When Shinji got in the limousine he found his friends watching television and enjoying a cold soda. They were laughing uncontrollably and spilling soda everywhere. Shinji just shook his head.
~~~~~~~~~~
AN: Well, I hope the wait was worth it. I hope all the spelling and grammar errors were caught. For those of you who think this is just going to turn into your run of the mill S/R story, boy do I have a surprise waiting for you. Please be patient and bear with me, I'm sure I'll make it worth your time. ^_~
I'd like to thank both max3000 and datexan for pre-reading this chapter for me. I really appreciate it guys. And a very special thanks to Janice my new pre-reader and a wonderful person and dear friend. Thanks Janice. ^_^
Please take a moment to review this chapter. I really appreciate your feedback. Thank you.
A. Amishi
