A/N: Sorry for getting to this chapter so late, I was having troubles with my beta getting to this chapter. I feel as if this chapter was very heavy on interactions between Shinji and Misato, but there should be much more action in the next chapter. Thanks for reading and please leave a review letting me know what you guys think. As always thank you Mazoku-sempai for the (late) beta!
The Barriers That Divide our Hearts: Chapter 4
I don't think I am going to be able to move for the next week, Shinji mentally groaned to himself as he lay in his room. He had just taken a hot shower to help soothe his aching muscles and his damp hair was starting to get his pillow wet. When he felt the water start to spread down his back, he did his best to roll over to grab the towel he had discarded when he first entered his room. God, how does she expect me to do this every other day? he wondered as he let out a small groan, his body protesting against the unwanted movement.
Shinji thought back to the intense workout that Misato had put him through. Before they even had even started Shinji thought he was going to pass out the moment he saw Misato walk out of the womens locker room. Since this was supposed to be part of his training as a pilot he figured his guardian would dress a little more conservatively for their workout. It seemed that the purple haired vixen did not want to pass up any chance she had to make her young charge flustered.
The first thing he noticed was the tight purple tank top she was wearing that covered the black sports bra underneath. His eyes slowly slid down, the tank top stopped just above her navel leaving her midriff exposed and revealed her creamy white skin. As his eyes continued their downward journey, he noticed the way her black workout shorts hugged her hips nicely. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud cough from Misato. His eyes snapped up to see a giant grin plastered on her face.
"Now I know you see something you like," Misato teased.
Shinji's face turned a bright red as he fumbled over his words trying to form a coherent response. Misato couldn't help but laugh at her charge's obvious discomfort.
"Shinji-kun it's perfectly okay for you to find a woman as beautiful as myself attractive. I think I would be more offended if you didn't ogle at least a little bit."
"Misato-san!" he shouted, as he looked away, face still flushed.
Misato clapped her hands together to get Shinji's attention. When he turned his head to face her again she did her best to give him a soothing smile. "Alright Shinji we are going to do some stretching first before we start so you don't hurt yourself."
Shinji gave her a nod and a weak smile in response. Misato began to walk him through various different stretches and he was baffled by how limber she was. After several minutes, his guardian told him that it was time to get started on the actual workout. Thus began the most excruciating two hours of his life.
When they finished Shinji was covered in sweat and his muscles screamed in protest every time he moved. Misato on the other hand hardly looked winded at all. As he lay on the gym floor he let out a small groan as she looked down at him; her trademark smile still plastered on her face.
"Oh is my little Shinji-kun worn out already?" she teased.
"How are you... not tired?" Shinji questioned between large gulps of air.
"I work out three times a week. How else do you think I keep such a nice figure?" Misato asked as she leaned forward to help him up.
When she did this Shinji was greeted with a nice view of Misato's cleavage. He did his best to look away as he reached his hand up to grab hers, but the first thing his hand touched was definitely not her hand. His eyes quickly looked to his hand and was terrified to discover it pressed firmly against the purple haired beauty's bust. The first thought that popped in his head was, Oh my god, I'm going to die! but when his gaze finally shifted to Misato's face, he was once again greeted by her devilish smile.
"My my Shinji-kun, you are getting more bold every day," she said with a glint in her eye.
Shinji, to his credit, did not pass out on the spot, but he quickly withdrew his hand and began to stutter out an apology. As he continued to panic Misato reached down to grab his hand and then pulled him up to his feet. When he was back on his feet, he avoided looking at Misato; too embarrassed to face her.
"Shinji calm down it was an accident. You don't need to get so bent out of shape," Misato said trying to console her young charge.
Shinji took in a large breath as he tried to calm himself. "I-I know Misato-san, I just don't want you to be mad at me," he managed to say dejectedly.
She was taken aback by his response. Mad? Why would I ever be mad at him? she thought to herself. Putting one of her hands on his shoulder, she used her other to tilt his head up. As she looked into his eyes she could see his burning need for acceptance.
"I know you better than that Shinji-kun. I know you aren't the type of person to cop a feel when given the chance. Plus it's not like I'm complaining. It has been awhile since I have gotten any action myself," she added teasingly.
Shinji's face lit up like a lightbulb at her response as his mind was flooded with images of his guardian with far less clothing than she had on now. He did his best to banish such thoughts from his mind. It wasn't right for him to think such things of someone who was being so kind to him. Shoving his worries to the side and laughing slightly he stepped away from his guardian. He decided maybe it was time to give her a taste of her own medicine.
"With someone as pretty as you Misato-san, I highly doubt that," he deadpanned.
At first Misato thought she had misheard her young ward, surely he wouldn't have said something like that. Then it hit her like a sack of bricks, he was teasing her. With a huge smile on her face she grabbed the teen in a headlock and began to to vigorously rub his scalp with her fist.
"I'm so proud of you Shinji-kun, that is the first time I have heard you make a joke. And at my expense no less!"
The young teen flailed about as he tried to escape from the woman's iron grip, but he found himself laughing along with her. Maybe I finally found a place where I belong, he thought to himself as the purple haired beauty finally let him go. He attempted to stand up straight, but was quickly reminded of the intense two hour workout that he had just gone through. She had only felt slightly bad about putting him through such a rough workout for his first time, but it was for his own good.
"C'mon Shinji-kun! Since you did such a good job today I will help you hobble to the locker rooms. And if you're lucky I'll even help change your clothes," Misato said with a wink.
His cheeks flushed once again, but he was much too exhausted to form a response. Instead he nodded dumbly. Misato pouted slightly at his reaction. It looks like I may have pushed him a little too hard, she thought to herself. She decided that the best course of action for right now was to get him changed so he could get home and get a hot shower.
Finally managing to roll over and get out of bed Shinji, decided he should go and get started on dinner. Walking stiffly, he made his way to the kitchen where he found his guardian in her usual evening attire of a yellow tank top and cut off denim shorts. She gave him a small smile when he walked in and tipped her can towards him in greeting.
"How are you feeling?"
"Not as bad as earlier, but I'm still pretty stiff," he said as he stretched to emphasize his point.
"That's good to hear, but don't worry about it too much. Once you start working out regularly it doesn't hurt nearly as much afterwards." she replied
Her young ward nodded in understanding and set to work on cooking dinner for the both of them. Misato sat quietly and nursed her beer as she watched Shinji quickly move about the small kitchen. One of the things she found amazing in the teen was his ability to cook. She had been pleasantly surprised the first night he cooked by how good the meal tasted, and afterwards gave no complaint on his insistence to cook dinner every night.
As if sensing her thoughts, her stomach let out a loud growl, slightly surprising the woman. She covered her mouth and laughed to try and hide her embarrassment as Shinji turned to look at her.
"I guess I'm a lot more hungry than I thought," she said while waving him off.
"Well the food should be ready in just a few minutes, so you won't have long too wait."
She nodded her head in response as he returned his focus on the meal. She had no idea why she even felt embarrassed to begin with. I know his food is good, but c'mon this wouldn't be the first time you were eager for something, she thought to herself. Brushing the small incident off, she sat quietly finishing her beer while she watched the young teen cook.
As they ate, they talked about small things like how work was going for Misato and how Shinji was doing in school. After a few minutes, they lapsed into a comfortable silence while picking at the remains of their food.
"So are you ready for tomorrow?" Misato asked while looking up from her food.
"Ready for what?"
"You really must be out of it! Tomorrow we start your weapons and tactics training," Misato replied excitedly.
"But I uhhh have school tomorrow don't I?" he said lamely trying to figure out a way to get out of more of Misato's training.
"I already let the school know that you aren't going to be attending tomorrow, so everything is covered," Misato beamed while enjoying her ward's obvious discomfort.
The young teen squirmed under the older woman's intense gaze before managing to reply. "I guess there is no way I'm getting out of this is there?"
"I promise I will go easy on you tomorrow Shinji-kun. Most of it will be discussion, so don't worry too much about it," she said with a little less enthusiasm.
"Now why don't head to bed? You deserve a good night's rest. And don't worry about the dishes I will take care of them."
He hesitated slightly knowing that Misato volunteering for chores could only lead to disaster. After a moment he finally pushed his chair back and stood up.
"I guess if you are okay with it, it was my turn to do them tonight though," he said weakly.
"Shinji-kun you worry too much. Just think of it as payment for all of the delicious food that you have been making for me," she replied warmly.
The young brunet's face flushed a bright red at her comment. He knew that he was a good cook. He had been practicing for years, but no one had ever told him that it was delicious. His uncle just expected him to cook and he never gave a word of thanks in return. Something about the way the beautiful woman in front of him so candidly complimented him made him feel warm and content deep inside. It was something he had only felt a few precious times since his mother died, but with Misato it was something different... Something new.
"I...Thank you Misato-san that means a lot to me." And with that he turned and made his way to his room.
Misato sat and stared at the empty hallway that her young ward had just walked down, a small frown on her face. What was that all about? she thought to herself. I can't be the first person who has ever said that his food was good can I?
After a moment she gathered up the dishes, deposited them in the sink, and began to rinse them off one by one. When she was finished she dried her hands off and made her way to her bedroom. Laying down on her side on the slightly worn futon, she pulled the blanket up to cover herself. As she slowly drifted off to sleep her mind weighed heavy with thoughts of the boy in the next room over.
"I don't understand this at all Misato-san," Shinji sighed as he lowered the weapon in his hand.
"I told you for the hundredth time you are standing wrong. Here let me show you," she replied as she walked up and stood right behind the teen. Reaching out she snaked her arms around her ward one hand balancing the gun in his hand and the other grasping his elbow.
"You need to keep your arm straighter and locked or else the recoil is going to ruin your aim. You also need to relax. You are never going to be able to shoot properly if you stay so rigid."
Shinji did his best to nod. He was more thrown off by the close proximity to his purple haired guardian than trying to learn how to shoot a gun. Concentrating on the task at hand, he lined up the target once more in his sights and pulled the trigger. He was rewarded with a hit just on the outside of the mock human target getting him the closest he had been all day.
"Good job Shinji-kun! It looks like you are starting to get the hang of this. With some practice you will be sharpshooter in no time," she said while grinning from ear to ear.
Looking up at the woman, he couldn't help but notice how infectious her smile was. Grinning like a fool he flipped the safety on the pistol and turned to set it down. As he sat the gun down, he realized how much his life had changed in the last few months and the smile on his face began to slip.
"Misato-san," the boy said while still facing away from the woman.
"What is it Shinji-kun?"
"I-I... I just want to thank you for everything you have done for me, I... I don't think I would have lasted long without your help," he replied.
Frowning slightly at her ward's sudden change in mood, she paused briefly not really knowing what to say. Being more of a physical person and no stranger to skinship she did the only thing she could think of. Gathering up the young pilot in her arms, she hugged him tightly from behind. They stayed that way for several minutes before Misato finally spoke.
"No one should ever have to deal with what you are going through. If I could take your place I would do it in a heartbeat Shinji-kun. Right now the only thing I can do is be here for you and do my best to prepare you for what is to come."
Shinji let Misato continue to hold him while he basked in her warmth. He couldn't remember the last time anyone hugged him let alone tried to comfort him. Finally breaking free from her he turned around to face the beautiful woman.
"I'm really glad I met you Misato-san, I don't think I have ever known someone as amazing as you," he finished with a shy smile.
There was something about the shy boy that she just couldn't place. Sure she had been hit on by a seemingly endless amount of guys. But her ward's candid compliment struck a cord inside of her. Feeling her cheeks begin to flush with embarrassment, she smiled softly at the teen.
"I don't know about all of that Shinji-kun, but you really know how to make a woman feel good about herself."
Misato patted the now flustered pilot on the shoulder and then began to make her way to the exit. Stopping briefly she looked over her shoulder and called out to the boy. "Hurry up Shinji-kun! Since you have been doing such a good job with your training I will take you out to eat tonight, my treat."
Finally collecting himself, Shinji grabbed the weapon he had been practicing with, quickly made certain the safety was on, and then followed after his guardian. As he walked behind her he couldn't help but admire her. It wasn't just her beauty that he found amazing it was everything about her that made him like her. I hope that one day I can be as strong as her, he thought to himself listlessly. Making their way out of Nerv HQ, they hopped into Misato's car and headed toward the small apartment that they shared together.
