UNEXPECTED LIVES 7

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

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Obiki Doragon: Spike Spencer really married Kendra Benham? Nice.

Krow Blood: Well, what would you do if you were the 'current' clone? Basically Rei is at the front row of all these clones. She has more experiences and Eva-time than the others. This makes her more of an ARC trooper really.

Ryousanki: Yes, Rei can be funny, though she doesn't really consider it funny.

Dennisud: I'm planning to have some fun with Gendo and SEELE. As for Rei, she supposedly has hundreds of 'sisters', but at this point I'm only using about 2 dozen. I could upgrade this.

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It had been a month since the Fifth Child had mysteriously disappeared and no one know what had happened to him. The commander, the sub-commander, the bridge techs, no one.

Actually, one person did know, but she wasn't telling.

Ritsuko Akagi was diligently working on one of her secret projects and couldn't be bothered. Asuka Langley Sohryu never had a chance to meet the guy before he went missing, even though he showed up at school briefly. Misato Katsuragi had yet to meet the boy either. And Rei Ayanami just denied she had ever seen him at NERV.

As for Shinji Ikari... he had other priorities.

"Can I help you, young man?" The clerk asked as Shinji stepped into the jewelry store.

"Yes." he replied with a smile. "I'm looking for an engagement ring." he said.

"Engagement ring?" the clerk said in surprise, noting the boy's age.

"Yes. One that's... unique." Shinji explained as he looked at the glass case at what was available.

"How... unique, are we talking?" the clerk asked the boy.

"Some with two hearts, maybe." he said, then paused. "That one!"

The clerk looked down and saw what he was pointing at. He opened the case and brought out the ring and the box, a blue sapphire set in a gold band, the base around the sapphire itself carved out int the shape of two hearts interlocked.

"You have a good eye." The clerk said. "This piece is exquisite and affordable."

"Sounds good. What's the size range on it?"

"A ladies ring, average size from and 7 to a 9."

"Perfect. I'll take it."

"And... how will mister be paying for this ring?"

"Here." Shinji said, as he pulled his NERV ID. He had been told by Misato that it also doubled as his bank card.

The clerk looked at the card and did a double take. "You... you mean... you're Shinji Ikari?" the man gasped.

While Shinji tried to keep a low-key about his identity, there was no denying who he was, as his actions against the JetAlone robot and the Angels eventually had made the news.

"That's me." Shinji smiled.

The clerk quickly ran up the sale, not bothering to check the price of the ring or the fact that the card had passed the scanner without incident.

"Thanks. I'm sure she'll love it." Shinji said as he accepted the package.

"Uh... Mr Ikari."

"Yes?"

"Pardon me for saying so, but...aren't you a little young to be getting married?" he asked, hoping it not rude of him to ask such a personal question. But he knew that this type of ring was for one thing only.

"A little. But it's alright. She loves me and I love her. So, getting married is the only logical thing. Right?"

"Well... yes. But..."

"But what?"

"But... well... who is the lucky girl?"

Shinji just smiled. "Can't tell you that." he said cryptically. "All I can tell you is that she's smart, beautiful, and knows me like no other person in the world can."

With that the boy exited the store and headed home, leaving the rather stunned clerk in his wake.

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Deep within the bowls of NERV, the faux-blond scientist, named Ritsuko Akagi diligently worked on her special project, surrounded by a dozen Rei-clones all dressed in white plugsuits.

"Soon, my pet, you will be ready." Ritsuko smiled as she drew her hand across the glass of the large cylinder.

Inside the glass tube, the naked and unconscious figure of Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child, and the Seventeenth Angel, just floated in the greenish liquid.

"I'm sure this is very unexpected to you. But then again... such is life." Ritsuko stated as she went over and adjusted the chemicals flowing into the tube. "You will be my elite warrior. My point man."

"And we will follow him." one of the clones asked.

"Yes. He will be your commander. SEELE will strike soon and we need to be ready when they do." Ritsuko stated. "How are the others doing?"

"Currently we have nearly one hundred and fifty of our sisters training in both marksmanship and hand-to-hand." a second clone said.

"It is fortunate that this facility is large enough to conceal our actions." a third clone said.

"Yes. Gendo purposely kept this place understaffed so that he could conduct his activities without any major interference." Ritsuko replied. "What about the Section 2 staff?"

"They have already been taken care of." a fourth clone said.

"We caught them off-guard and subdued all of them." the second clone said.

Ritsuko cocked an eyebrow. "How did you catch them off guard?" Ritsuko asked.

"We were naked." a fifth clone said.

Ritsuko smiled at that. "Good girls. You learn quickly how to use your assets to your advantage."

"Thank you, mistress!" the clones cried in unison.

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The apartment of Shinji and Maya.

"Maya! I'm home!" Shinji called out.

"I'm in here, Shinji-kun!" the woman cried from the living room.

Shinji made his way to the living room where Maya was sitting on the couch just watching television and stroking her stomach softly.

Shinji smiled as he felt her thoughts.

"They're be fine, Maya-chan." Shinji smiled as he walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her neck. "Don't worry so much."

"I know, Shinji-kun." Maya sighed. "I just... these are my first children, and I... just want everything to go right. You know?"

"I know what you mean." he said as he kissed her softly. "Speaking of which, I've got something that will make you happier." he said as he held out the ring in front of her.

Maya gasped as she saw the ring. "Oh, Shinji!" she cried as she turned to face him.

Shinji moved around to front of the small couch and bent down on one knee before her.

"Maya Ibuki, will you marry me?" he asked as he presented the ring.

Granted there was more, a lot more, he could have said, but at this point in time they knew more about each other to the point that mere words were not enough.

Only the important words were necessary now.

"Yes, Shinji Ikari. I'll marry you." she smiled as Shinji slid the ring on her finger.

It fit perfectly on her.

Maya then grabbed the boy and pulled her to him, kissing him fiercely on the lips as tears continued to stream down her cheeks, touching his skin and running down his chin and neck.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

She nodded and smiled at the boy.

Shinji stepped into the kitchen and prepared something for his future wife. As it was a rather happy occasion, Shinji had stopped off at the store and gotten some extra groceries. Within less than a half hour he had prepared a small banquet for Maya.

The thing about pregnant women, Shinji had noticed, that it didn't matter what the dish looked like good or how much effort you had put into it. As long as it tasted good and there was plenty of it. However, Shinji knew that Maya appreciated everything that Shinji did for her.

"Is everything alright Maya?" he asked once she was done. "Did you want anything else?"

"Not really." she cried, wiping the tears away. "But I would like to sleep with my future husband. Just to enjoy your presence, your touch."

Shinji smiled as he got up from his side of the table and moved around to Maya, wiping the last of her happy tears from her face, then helping her up from the chair.

The pair retired to the bedroom and nestled down into the bed, Maya caressing Shinji's cheek as she kissed his lips tenderly. Shinji returned the kiss and snuggled down into their bed as Maya turned around so that Shinji could move up against her. Being behind her was far easier to be closer to the woman than being in front. Maya was on her right side, Shinji reached his left hand around and gently caressed her growing belly.

"I love you, Maya-chan." he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too, Shinji-kun." she whispered back.

Eventually sleep claimed them both, wrapped safely in each others arms.

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In a dark corner of the world, a secret meeting was taking place.

"Our scenario is behind schedule."

"Indeed. And there has been no reply from Ikari."

"The word is that he is still recovering from his injuries imposed upon him by the 14th Angel."

"And with our operative having served his purpose, we no longer have an insider to keep us well informed of our schedule."

"Then we have but one recourse."

"That would be premature, as we do not know the status of the Seventeenth Angel."

"We sent him to NERV."

"And as there has been no word from him or anyone else..."

"We must conclude that he is dead."

"Yet we have had no confirmation of this."

"We would be deviating from our own scenario."

"We have little choice. Make the calls."

"And so, the final battle has come down to this."

"The end game is at hand."

"And soon... mankind will be united."

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Authors Notes:

The seventh chapter is finished. The eighth chapter will be about the JSSDF's attack on NERV and how the Eva crew handles and prepares things.

Get ready for the Rei-clones vs The JSSDF. And what part will Kaworu play in all this? What's his special task? And Shinji and Maya must fight harder to protect their children when Gendo tries to interrupt and control the final battle.

Not much to say, and not a lot of material for an omake, really.

So, just enjoy this cute little update, which was primarily a Shinji/Maya interaction.

And as always, please read this and review.