Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion is the creation of Anno and Gainax. I don't own it, make no claims to it, and am making no profit from this fan fiction. No infringement of copyright is intended. In other words, please don't sue.
Disclaimer: I do not own DC comics or anything associated with it and am making no profit off this fan fiction. No infringement of copyright is intended. In other words, please don't sue.
Chapter Thirteen: Misunderstandings and Desperate Measures
At the apartment he currently called home, Shinji Ikari was sitting in his room and attempting to get some homework done. It was a largely futile effort.
His redheaded flat mate continued to dominate his thoughts, regardless of what he tried to do to focus on other things, and math problems certainly weren't going to break that pattern.
This is nuts, he thought for the thousandth or so time.
He was still committed to asking her out on a date as soon as an appropriate moment presented itself, but he was starting to think that would never happen. Asuka had been rather distant ever since the battle with the Twelfth Angel, and the latest sync test had had him ahead of her by a few points.
Shinji couldn't think of a time where he'd been more distressed about winning something.
To his surprise, Asuka hadn't gotten angry about it, but she had pulled further away from him, becoming quieter and more thoughtful than before. It was odd, and he didn't like it all that much. At least if she'd gotten mad she would've seemed like herself.
"At this rate, the right moment will never come," he grumbled to himself as he finally gave up the ghost and abandoned his homework.
So perhaps he had to try and create the right moment?
Usually such an exercise in taking the initiative wouldn't have even occurred to the Third Child. However, he had never experienced anything quite like his current fixation upon Asuka before.
Unfortunately, he had no damn idea how to actually go about doing it. Much as he loathed the idea, Shinji had to admit that it might be wise to seek advice from someone who was…wiser than him on this particular area.
Kaji seemed like a natural first choice for such a question, at least to Shinji, but the Third Child was still rather annoyed with the long-haired man. He knew it was irrational, but that didn't stop him from wanting to throttle Kaji.
Maybe I could ask Misato, he mused.
Though sometimes flighty, his guardian seemed like someone who'd know about romance and the like, and she had known Asuka for significantly longer than he had. At the very least, she could offer him a woman's perspective on what might work and what probably wouldn't.
Of course, she would tease him absolutely mercilessly, but that was a price he was willing to pay. Getting up off his bed, Shinji headed for the door to his bedroom, determined to find Misato and seek her advice before he lost his nerve.
Only for the screen to slide aside before he could even touch it, revealing his guardian.
"Misato, I was just going to go looking for you," Shinji said, brightening somewhat.
"Really?" she asked. She seemed unusually serious, he noted with some anxiety. "Good, I guess, because I need to have a talk with you, Shinji."
"About what?" he asked nervously, suddenly afraid that something might be wrong. "Am I in trouble or something?"
"No! No, not at all," she rushed to reassure him. She placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him toward the bed, where the two sat down next to each other.
Then she muttered something under her breath about how awkward this was and needing more beer.
"Misato, you're worrying me," Shinji said. "What's this about?"
She took a deep breath. "Well," she said, "I've noticed how you've recently become very…taken with a certain someone you're close to around here."
Shinji's eyes widened. "Is it that obvious?" he asked in a small voice, mortified at the notion that he'd been broadcasting his feelings for Asuka to anyone who cared to notice.
"Oh no, not at all," she said so emphatically that his fears were mostly quelled. "I'm just very perceptive about these things. Good at picking up on certain cues, you know?"
"I guess so," Shinji said.
He didn't really, but that was okay. If Misato already knew about his feelings for Asuka, then asking her for advice should be significantly less of a labor than he'd expected.
"Anyway, Shinji, what I need to tell you is that sometimes things like that just…aren't meant to be," Misato said softly.
"What?" he asked.
"Please understand that I don't want to hurt you, Shinji-kun. In fact, I'm trying to do just the opposite, but the fact is that sometimes feelings like the ones you're experiencing can't end in anything but some amount of pain," she said in a great rush, as though she'd rehearsed this part, placing her hand over one of his. "At times like those, it's best to acknowledge as soon as possible that there are certain couples who just weren't meant to be. It hurts less that way, and it lets people move on more quickly."
Shinji was silent for a long moment, his shoulders slumping as his guardian's words sank in.
Misato was telling him he had no chance with Asuka. To call that demoralizing would have been an understatement, and it was all the more brutal because his guardian was telling him this out of compassion, rather than malice.
Well, of course I don't have a shot with Asuka, he thought disgustedly. She's beautiful, and smart, and popular, and brave. What am I? Just messed up, cowardly Shinji Ikari. But…but…
His free hand curled into a fist. "I understand what you're saying, Misato, and you're probably right, but I can't just give up," he said. "I can't."
"Now, Shinji…"
"I never felt like this before, Misato. Not ever," he continued, only dimly aware that his grip on her hand was tightening. "Who knows if I ever will again?"
"Oh, Shinji, you're very young still," she rushed to assure him. "There will be others for you."
"Maybe, maybe not," he said, his dark blue eyes meeting her brown ones. "But I still think I'll regret it forever if I don't at least try. If I do, and I get shot down, it'll hurt, a lot, but at least I won't always be wondering what might've been. Does that make any sense?"
"Oh, well, I guess," she stammered, suddenly looking very much like a deer caught in the headlights. "But…I, well…"
"Yes?"
"Oh! I think I hear Pen-Pen squawking! Maybe he's sick!" his guardian exclaimed abruptly. "I should go check on him!"
She wrenched her hand from his (Shinji had nearly forgotten that he'd been holding it), and then went peeling out of his room at top speed. Shinji could only sit on his bed, blinking at the now empty doorway in consternation. He hadn't heard Pen-Pen make so much as a peep for the last hour or so.
"That was…weird," he muttered to himself.
The population density of Tokyo-3 was extremely low compared to virtually every other urban area in the world, and in some ways, that was a good thing. In other Japanese cities, subway cars were frequently so crowded that people were packed inside like sardines, where in Tokyo-3 there was plenty of legroom for all. There was less litter on the streets, and spacious apartments were far cheaper.
Indeed, if one ignored the periodic giant monster attacks, Tokyo-3 was arguably the best city in all of Japan to live in.
However, all the free space did breed a few problems. Many of the older, less modern structures on the periphery of the city had been completely abandoned once the war with the Angels started in earnest, with attacks occurring seemingly every few weeks. The city had been having trouble with squatters, not to mention people who used the buildings as relatively secure sites for illegal drug sales and the like.
The group of people meeting in one particular structure on the edge of the city that day were much worse than mere drug dealers, though. This group was determined to bring about nothing less than global annihilation.
They were the last remnant of the cult known as the Light of the Divine. They were few in number now, and they no longer dared to wear their white robes. However, they all remained united in their genocidal purpose.
"I still think it's dangerous for us to meet like this," a man named Kou complained. "Just because the police haven't arrested us yet doesn't mean they don't suspect us. Any one of us could've been followed here."
"It was a necessary risk," answered another man by the name of Madoka. He was the highest ranking member of the organization left, which, by this point, really wasn't saying much. However, he obviously intended to use what influence his position gave him for all it was worth.
"Necessary for what?" Kou growled. "For getting shot by the police?"
Other members present echoed his comments. While they'd apparently felt obligated enough to show up, they clearly weren't very happy about it now that the risks of such a gathering had been pointed out.
"No," Madoka said. "For one last strike against those who would defy God's judgment."
"With just us?" Kou scoffed, gesturing to the small group of people. "You're insane."
"So what would you do?" Madoka asked. "Have the Light of the Divine go quietly into this good night? Abandon our sacred mission once and for all?"
Kou scowled and crossed his arms, but he had no answer to that.
"What do you want to do, Madoka?" asked a man named Kenichi.
"One final attack on the forces of evil," he answered. "It's not something we'll all come back from, and we won't completely neutralize NERV's ability to defy God's messengers. But if we do it right, we may well tip the balance of the war."
The handful of cultists traded looks with one another for a long, silent moment. When no one, not even Kou, raised any objection, Kenichi turned back to Madoka.
"What's the plan?"
"I don't see the need for this," Asuka grumped the next day as the pilots were led into the section of the base that Technical Division One called their own.
"We're performing a major upgrade on the Evangelions' hardware. We thought you might like to be informed," Ritsuko replied, not doing a very good job of masking the annoyance in her voice. "It is rather relevant to you."
"Informed is one thing, but I don't see why we need to watch you actually install this upgrade," Asuka countered. "You could have just sent us emails about it like you usually do."
"This is a very special upgrade, Asuka," Misato said, cutting in before the bottle blonde could respond with some biting remark that would only escalate the argument.
"Fine, whatever," the redhead grumbled. "We're practically there already anyway."
Misato relaxed slightly as that minor conflict was averted, glancing silently at Asuka, whose recent behavior had been, in its own way, far more confounding and perplexing to her than Shinji's. Though the redhead was more or less back to her (sometimes crabby) normal self so far as Misato could tell, the expected storm of anger and jealousy at learning that Kaji was off the market had never materialized.
She supposed she should be grateful that she didn't have to deal with a furious Asuka and an infatuated Shinji at once, but she couldn't help but feel that she was merely waiting for the other shoe to drop…
The Ops Director's musings were interrupted as Ritsuko began to speak to the Children, lecturing them like a professor.
"As I'm all of you know only too well, one of the greatest problems with the Evangelions is the very limited battery life," she said. "Once the umbilical cable is cut, each EVA has at most a painfully short five minute window in which to get another cord or finish its mission. Not the best of circumstances."
Asuka rolled her eyes skyward at this, and though Misato didn't give any sign of it, she couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. The pilots already knew all this, even by Ritsuko's admission, so why bother telling it to them?
"Most of the possible solutions were always deemed to carry unacceptable risks—such as the installation of a nuclear reactor," Ritsuko continued. "The S2 engine seemed to be the only viable answer, but while the American NERV branches believe they're close to figuring out how to create one, we have something that will solve the problem right now."
All three of the pilots perked up with interest at that, even Rei. It was no surprise, really, considering how great a hindrance that the short lives of the Evangelions' internal batteries were even at the best of times.
"Pilots," Ritsuko said as they approached a heavy door, "I give you the new K-Reactors."
The blonde swiped her access card through a reader, and the door hissed open, revealing the massive chamber where Tech Div One kept the Evangelions when they worked on them. At the moment, only Unit Two was present. The massive power socket in the back of the crimson war machine's armor had been entirely removed, and the staff was in the process of replacing it with an entirely new piece of hardware.
One of the components was apparently a very large, softly glowing green rock.
Asuka took a step back at the sight of it. "What the hell is that thing?" she demanded.
"It's a reactor using a new fuel source called Mineral-K," Ritsuko answered, frowning slightly at Asuka's emphatic reaction.
"Mineral-K?" Shinji asked. "I've never heard of it before."
"Its origins aren't of this world," Ritsuko explained. "The stuff was brought to Earth by a meteor. Unfortunately, this means we have a very limited amount of it to work with, so only three Evangelions can be equipped with a K-Reactor."
"So you want to trust the mystery space rock? To put it in my Evangelion?" Asuka demanded angrily. "We're probably all getting cancer right now."
"Extensive tests have been done on the Mineral-K," Ritsuko retorted. "While it does emit an unusual form of radiation, we've found that it's quite harmless to humans under most circumstances. The MAGI calculate that it would take constant exposure over a period of years to cause any harm to a person."
"These are the supercomputers that fail to analyze any of the Angels at all until after we've killed them, right?" the Second Child asked bitingly.
"Asuka, I thought you'd be pleased," Misato commented. "I know how much you've always hated needing that power cable."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to grow a second head just so Unit Two doesn't need it anymore," Asuka retorted. "I want that thing out of my EVA." She demanded.
"Its installation was ordered by the Commander. If you want it removed, you'll have to take it up with him," Ritsuko practically growled. This was clearly not the way she'd expected her little presentation to go.
Asuka scowled, knowing how unlikely it was that Gendo Ikari would change his mind on the matter. "Those things had better be sealed in lead," she grumbled.
"Of course," Ritsuko said. "That's just a sensible precaution, though really it's more to protect the Evangelions than the pilots, and not even all that necessary for that."
"Asuka, are you all right?" Shinji asked. "You look a little pale."
Actually, the redhead looked more than a little bit pale in Misato's estimation; her skin had gone nearly as white as Rei's, and she was sweating noticeably.
"I'm fine!" the Second Child insisted nevertheless. "Can we just get out of here now?"
"Fine. There's nothing else to show you," Ritsuko said.
Without another word, Asuka spun on her heel and made a quick departure from the room, with the Ops Director and the other two pilots trailing.
Misato didn't fail to notice how much Asuka's condition seemed to improve as they put distance between themselves and the K-Reactors.
"I hope the Yankees figure out how to make a working S2 engine yesterday," Asuka grumbled to no one in particular.
The desert was an inferno.
The Nevada desert had always been hot, of course, but it had grown even more scorching since the Second Impact had altered the world's climate. Many of the species that had once managed to eke out an existence in the area had been driven to extinction by the even greater temperatures and increased paucity of water. As a result, the dessert was quieter than it had been; for the most part, only the occasional hot, dry wind created any sound.
Well, the occasional wind and the rather sizable NERV base which was smack dab in the middle of the arid, dusty nowhere.
That day, the American NERV base, which was also known as the Second Branch, was bustling with activity. The reason for all of it was simple.
After months of work studying the S2 organ that NERV Central had retrieved from the Fourth Angel, and even more months of work to get it installed into Unit Four, the time had finally come to activate the damn thing and see if it worked.
If the test was successful, it would mark a major milestone in the understanding of Angelic biology, as well as open up scores of opportunities for new tactics for fighting the war. If the Evangelions no longer needed power cords in order to be able to function for more than five minutes at a time, it would allow NERV to completely rewrite their playbook for the better.
So, with all these thoughts in his mind, along with visions of personal glory, floating in his head, the Commander of the Second Branch ordered one of his underlings to flip the switch.
Exactly 1.278 seconds later, the world of every soldier, scientist, and salary man in the base turned red.
"My god," Misato breathed several hours later as she looked up a screen displaying satellite footage of the Second Branch's untimely end.
Having served in the UN Army before transferring to NERV, the Ops Director was no stranger to violence and carnage. Having served and seen combat in some of the most dangerous parts of the post-Second Impact world, she thought that she had seen war at its worst.
Yet the way that the base in the desert just ceased to exist, just became gone…that sent an undeniable chill down her spine.
"This was no act of god," Ritsuko said grimly. "As near as we can figure, when they attempted to activate the S2 engine, it generated a Dirac Sea which existed for a few fractions of a second before collapsing. Unfortunately, that was more than enough time for it to swallow up the entire base."
"We really are meddling with things we don't understand, aren't we?" Maya asked softly from her place at a nearby terminal. "We're like children playing with matches."
The blond scientist ignored the remark. "Have they taken soil samples from ground zero yet?" she asked.
"Yes, sempai," the brunette answered. "Radiation tests came up negative, so they're shipping them here for further testing. They should arrive by the end of the week at the latest. The Americans are gathering any other data they can, but there isn't much there, from what I gather."
Ritsuko nodded. "Well they have more than we do, at least for now," she said. "It's not like we can hope to learn much more from a few seconds of video tape."
"Would you like me to return to my station on the command center, ma'am?" Maya asked.
Ritsuko nodded, and the brunette scurried out of the small room, obviously glad to be away from the looping footage of the Second Branch's demise.
The blond scientist apparently had similar desires. "I need some air," she told Misato. "Walk with me?"
"Sure," the Ops Director nodded.
In most normal workplaces, the two of them would have actually gone outside for a breath of fresh air. However, NERV headquarters was so massive that exiting the pyramid and then getting back to where they did most of their work would've taken them quite a while, so they had to settle for finding a larger chamber that actually had windows.
"So, are the rumors about the US actually true?" Misato asked after they'd walked for a few moments in silence, musing grimly that this was not what she'd expected to be talking to her friend about as soon as she got a moment alone with her.
Well, it's not as if Rits would have any useful advice on the whole Shinji situation, anyway. She said so herself, Misato thought grumpily.
"They're not pulling out of NERV, if that's what you mean," Ritsuko said.
"Of course they won't do that," Misato scoffed. "They know they'd be dead if they did and an Angel attacked them. What I heard was that they wanted Unit Three off their soil yesterday."
"That's true," Ritsuko said. "It's being shipped here as soon as possible."
"It figures," Misato growled, crossing her arms. "They demanded to have the right to construct Units Three and Four, but now that something's gone wrong, they want us to deal with it."
"Well, they did just lose an entire base to a freak occurrence," Ritsuko said. "I can hardly blame them for being shaken."
"I guess," Misato said reluctantly. "So, if we're getting a new EVA, does that mean…?"
"Yes," Ritsuko sighed. "The Marduke Institute will soon select the Fourth Child."
The freeway which linked Tokyo-2 and Tokyo-3 was one of the busiest in all of Nippon. Given Tokyo-3's unique situation, there was plenty of work there for anyone who wanted it, but no one really wished to live in the place. As a result, people commuted, so traffic on the roadway connecting the two cities tended to vary from fairly heavy to jam packed.
This made it an especially bad location for a high speed police chase, but apparently no one had ever told the car thief Supergirl was pursuing that.
Man, this guy's really just playing it by ear. He has no plan at all except to run, she thought as she flew high above the roadway, watching as the European muscle car blazed down the highway, weaving recklessly through traffic and nearly causing accidents left and right.
The Girl of Steel didn't think she even needed her super senses to hear the screech of tires as other vehicles braked and maneuvered to avoid the car thief.
Of course, numerous police cruisers were in pursuit of Mr. Grand Theft Auto, but the guy's newly acquired car had far more horses beneath the hood than anyone should actually ever use; between that and his crazy driving, he was slowly but surely putting distance between himself and his pursuers.
Clearly, it was time for her to make her move.
Making sure to keep pace with the speeding car, Supergirl began to descend toward the street, quickly assessing the best way to go about remedying the situation. She would have loved to land on the hood of the guy's car and scare the hell out of him, but it didn't take a whole lot of thought to realize that wasn't a good idea at all.
At the speed the guy was moving, a single mistake could easily turn his crazed flight into a multi-car pileup. Much as she disliked it, Supergirl would have to forgo the theatrics here.
With one explosive burst of speed, she got directly beneath the speeding car without the driver ever having a chance to see her, finding that there was just enough room between the undercarriage and the street for her. Raising her hands, she took a firm hold of the vehicle, then pushed.
To the other drivers on the freeway, the stolen car briefly looked as though it was taking off like a plane, until it rose up high enough that the superwoman beneath was plainly visible.
The wheels spun wildly, no longer having to push against the road, as Supergirl lifted it higher and higher into the air, removing it from the flow of traffic without causing a catastrophe. She moved over to the side of the road, landing but keeping the vehicle held above her head.
The wheels didn't stop moving for a second.
"Just to let you know, you will run out of gas before my arms get tired," she called up to him, deliberately using the sweetest tone she could muster.
"Screw you!" the driver shouted.
The wheels finally started slowing down as the car thief took his foot off the accelerator so he could lean out the window and draw a pistol.
Of course, with her directly below his vehicle, it was almost impossible for him to actually line up a shot. He ended up with more than half his body dangling out of the car, and even then it was only barely possible for him to hit her.
Not that she gave him the chance; it was a lot easier for her to hit the weapon with a blast of her heat vision, and she was tired of seeing the shocked expressions on idiots' faces as they realized she really was bulletproof.
"Ah!" the guy cried out in surprise and went falling out of the car window, landing in a heap next to Supergirl.
"There, now wouldn't it have been easier to just give up?" she asked as she set the car down.
The man didn't answer, instead getting to his feet and making a run for it. The Girl of Steel had a grip on the back of his shirt in a heartbeat, pressing him against the side of the car.
"You're really not very bright, are you?" she asked. "Bonus points for tenacity, though."
The man growled but didn't dare to talk back to her.
A moment later, the police cars pulled up, and the officers got out and cuffed the car thief.
"Thanks for the help, Supergirl," one of them said. "This guy probably would've killed someone if you hadn't shown up."
"Any time," she replied, before taking off into the air.
The sunny smile she'd donned for the cops almost immediately gave way to a pensive expression as she made her way back to Tokyo-3. It had felt good to save the day, like always, but it didn't do much about the thoughts that had been nagging at her ever since the debacle that was the battle against the Twelfth Angel.
It had shocked her to discover there was a part of herself, no matter how tiny, that actually desired to stop piloting EVA. In its own way, the knowledge was as shocking as her discovery of her powers, or the story of her biological father's origins. She had practically built her whole life around Evangelion; she wasn't supposed to want out so she could fly around in a cape more often.
Ever since then, she'd been extremely conscious of the amount of time she didn't spend being Supergirl because of NERV, and the amount of people she helped had started to feel strangely inadequate. She had stepped up her activities a bit, donning the costume whenever she could find the time, but that didn't dispel the feeling that she could and should be doing more.
Much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, she even felt that she should've saved the Second Branch in the US somehow. The idea was absurd, but part of her couldn't quite let go of the notion that because she was Supergirl, she should've been able to stop the disaster from happening.
Why do things always have to be so damn confusing? She wondered irritably.
Ritsuko had always hated Terminal Dogma.
Back when Gendo had first given her access to the place, she'd tried to tell herself that it wasn't so bad, and that she would no doubt become used to it eventually. These days, she had stopped lying to herself—at least about that issue—and just admitted to herself that the secure sub-basement to NERV was creepy as all hell.
Yet this was where Gendo Ikari preferred to meet, probably because he felt safest in Terminal Dogma, where even the eyes of SEELE could not see.
"Dr. Akagi," was Gendo's curt greeting.
The bottle blonde resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Here she was, alone in the dark with her lover, and the man couldn't even call her by her given name. She realized that Gendo detested mixing business with pleasure, but that was a little much.
Not that he's so damn affectionate when we're off duty, she thought, before ruthlessly suppressing all her silly, illogical emotions.
"Commander," she said.
"I need a status update on the progress of the Dummy System," he said.
Ritsuko nodded, having been fully aware that this was coming. With this unexpected event leaving both SEELE and the States twitchy, the Commander would need every ace up his sleeve that he could possibly get.
"Of course, sir," she said. "Follow me, please."
She led Gendo to a very large, very dark room and flipped a heavy switch with a grunt of effort. Lights mounted on the high ceiling began to come on, one row at a time, but even these didn't manage to completely dispel the darkness. The room still seemed quite dim.
The lights did, however, illuminate a large metal cylinder which was suspended above the floor by a pair of huge clamps. The thing looked exactly like the standard entry plug from the outside, except that it had been painted entirely red.
"This is the Dummy Plug prototype, Commander," Ritsuko said, gesturing up at it. "Rei's personal pilot data has been downloaded into it, but we can't truly digitize a human mind. In the end, this is nothing but a pale duplication that crudely emulates the pilot's thinking process. It's still only a machine."
"It transmits a signal to EVA. If the Evangelion believes that it's a real pilot and synchs with it, then that's enough," Gendo said simply. "Load the data into Units One and Two."
"But, sir, we still haven't worked all the bugs out," Ritsuko protested.
"Just do it," Gendo said, and she could hear the annoyance in his tone. "It's sufficient."
"Yes, sir," Ritsuko agreed reluctantly.
Gendo nodded. "I've delegated the task of transporting Unit Three to the UN. They, in turn, will likely delegate the matter to the US," he said. "You will take care of it."
"Of course," Ritsuko said. "We'll perform the modifications and activation in Matsushiro."
"And the test pilot?" Gendo asked.
"Use of the Dummy System is not recommended," Ritsuko warned at once. "One of our pilot candidates…"
"Will be chosen as the Fourth," Gendo said. "Very well. See to it, Dr. Akagi."
"Yes, sir," Ritsuko replied. "There's one candidate whose core can be prepared immediately."
"Good," was Gendo's only response.
Toji found he really couldn't focus on the teacher's lecture the next morning.
Not that the jock ever really paid that much attention to the old man's endless Second Impact rant. No one really did, except maybe the class rep. However, the teacher would sometimes pick a student at random and ask a question about what he'd just been saying, so it was best to keep one ear open.
That day, however, Toji just couldn't do it. The doctors had revised his sister's prognosis downwards, saying that unless she could get better care, and soon, it was unlikely that she would ever make a full recovery, that she would ever even walk again. Unfortunately, getting Mariko the kind of treatment she needed was well beyond the means of the Suzuhara family.
Toji had been devising and rejecting crazy get rich quick schemes ever since then, trying desperately to come up with some way to save his sister's legs. Much as he had wanted to blame the fate that had befallen Mariko on Shinji the first time he'd met the EVA pilot, Toji had always known he was the one responsible for what had happened to her. He was the one who hadn't kept a close enough eye on her when they'd been in the shelter that terrible night, allowing her to slip out and get hurt.
It was his fault, and so far as he was concerned, that made it his responsibility to fix it. Yet he was completely incapable of actually doing anything really helpful, let alone paying the bills for the treatment Mariko needed all by himself. The whole situation made him feel more powerless than he ever had before in his entire life.
Just as he thought he was about to explode in his seat from his anger and feelings of impotence, the school's PA system crackled to life.
"Toji Suzuhara, please report to the principal's office immediately. Toji Suzuhara, please report to the principal's office."
Blinking and wondering what he'd done, the jock stood. "May I go?" he asked the teacher.
"Yes, yes," the man answered, barely bothering to wave him off before resuming his lecture.
Great, so in addition to all the other crap, I'm going to get suspended or something, probably for something I didn't even do, he thought as he walked to the principal's office. Dad's going to kill me. I just know it.
"Toji Suzuhara here," he announced himself as he reached the door to the principal's office.
"Enter."
He opened the door and walked in, then stopped at what he saw. Tokyo-3 Municipal Junior High School's perpetually gruff principal was sitting behind his big oak desk, which of course was completely normal. However, a blond woman in a lab coat was sitting in the guest chair next to the desk.
"Good morning, Suzuhara-kun," she greeted him politely.
"Uh, hi," he replied.
She seemed vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't quite place where he might've met her before. Which was pretty strange; though definitely not a mega-babe like Misato, she was pretty attractive, and he usually remembered good-looking older women when he met them.
She smiled, obviously seeing the confusion on his face. "My name is Dr. Ritsuko Akagi, and I work for NERV," she said. "I believe we met once during a party at Misato's apartment."
"Oh!" Toji exclaimed as the memory clicked for him. No wonder he didn't remember this woman better; he'd probably been occupied that whole evening with…observing Misato. "So, what can I do for you, Doc?"
"Well, Suzuhara-kun, I have a proposition for you," she said. "If you accept, I can see to it that your sister receives the best possible treatment, all on NERV's dime."
Toji did his best not to show what those words did to him, but there was no stopping his palms from sweating at least.
"I'm listening," he said, doing his best to ignore the terribly sad look in her green eyes.
Author's Notes: The original version of this chapter's first scene had Misato revealing to Shinji that she thought her was enamored with her, rather than Asuka, and Shinji subsequently deciding that Misato's not a great person to ask for romantic advice after all. However, it seemed that a lot of people expected more from that particular subplot, so I figured I would play it to the hilt and keep the misunderstanding going for at least a bit longer.
Anyway, thanks as always to my readers and reviewers, and thanks to my beta reader as well.
Omake
The Best Misunderstanding
"I understand what you're saying, Misato, and you're probably right, but I can't just give up," he said. "I can't."
"Now, Shinji…"
"I never felt like this before, Misato. Not ever," he continued, only dimly aware that his grip on her hand was tightening. "Who knows if I ever will again?"
"Oh, Shinji, you're very young still," she rushed to assure him. "There will be others for you."
"Maybe, maybe not," he said, his dark blue eyes meeting her brown ones. "But I still think I'll regret it forever if I don't at least try. If I do, and I get shot down, it'll hurt, a lot, but at least I won't always be wondering what might've been. Does that make any sense?"
"Oh, well, I guess," she stammered, suddenly looking very much like a deer caught in the headlights. "But…I, well…"
"Yes?"
"Oh, I can't hold back any longer!" Misato exclaimed. "Your untainted passion for me has ignited a fire in my soul! Take me now, my prince!"
"Wha…wait a second!" Shinji exclaimed, his face reddening as his guardian practically tackled him.
"No more waiting!" Misato insisted. "Too much of life is wasted on hesitation!"
"But you don't understand…!" Shinji tried to protest.
Misato ignored him, however, trying to kiss him. Shinji did his best to squirm away, but he couldn't avoid her for much longer.
"Hey!" a new voice barked.
Shinji and Misato turned to see Asuka in the doorway, her hands on her hips and scowl on her face. The Third Child felt his stomach plunge into his shoes, knowing any chance he might've had with the redhead had just been utterly destroyed.
"Get off my man, you harlot!" Asuka barked.
Wait.
"Your man? Since when?" Misato demanded, ignoring the stars and rainbows suddenly floating around Shinji. "I saw him first!"
"Oh, sorry, let me put that another way," Asuka said, rolling up her sleeves. Marching up to Misato, she grabbed hold of her guardian and easily lifted the older woman above her head. "Get off my man, you harlot!"
"Okay, okay!" Misato exclaimed, terrified. "How about we share him?"
"And why should I agree to that?" Asuka demanded.
"Because I can teach you things," Misato said suggestively. "I can teach you both things."
Asuka looked intrigued by the idea.
"Well, I guess we could try it," she allowed.
"Sugoi!" their guardian exclaimed.
"But I get to kiss him first," Asuka insisted as she set Misato down. "I would've already if not for Kaji and your drunk ass interrupting us the other night."
"Of course, go ahead," Misato said, clearly not about to pick a fight with the tremendously strong redhead.
Smiling, Asuka moved toward Shinji, her lips pursed. The Third Child eagerly moved forward to meet her, his heart hammering. Then—
"WARK!"
Shinji jolted awake, finding himself sitting in his bed. Dazed, he cast his gaze around the room, soon finding Pen-Pen at the foot of his bed.
Fire blazed in the Third Child's eyes. "You interrupted the best dream I have ever had, right before it got to the good part," he said. "I let it go when you scared the crap out of me on my first night here, but for this, you must die."
Pen-Pen apparently comprehended his words, because the penguin immediately went fleeing from the room at top speed. Shinji leaped out of bed, ready to pursue, then hesitated for a moment.
I wonder why Asuka was super strong in my dream, he thought.
Then he shrugged. It was a dream; it didn't have to make sense. In any case, he needed to find the main ingredient for a nice dish of roast penguin.
"Pen-Pen, come back here, you!" he shouted.