Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion, it's characters etc. They belong to Gainax. I do however, own Shikaku, a character of my own creation.
Author's note: Okay, SBC kind of killed our DSL, so it may be awhile until I can update again. Anyway, I've gotten many requests/complaints/threats about longer chapters. So I'll try to get at least ten pages per chapter starting now! Don't get your hopes up too high though. The keyword here is: "TRY". Anyway, here's chapter twenty-five of "Until the Day I Die"!
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Title: Until the Day I Die
Chapter title: Home Life
By: Yanagi Son (That's me! XD)
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"Wow, it smells so good!" said Shikaku as she stood in the doorway of the kitchen, watching Shinji work. She had already been given a tour of the apartment by Misato and had taken a hot bath. She looked much healthier, her eyes twinkling. "Do you cook much Shinji?"
"I suppose so. Go look at the chore chart." said Shinji in an offhand tone as he gestured towards the large chart that he and Misato had made the first day he moved in. He still wasn't over the fact they had assigned the chores by playing Rock-Paper-Scissors.
"Shinji...why isn't Asuka on here? She lives here too doesn't she?" asked Shikaku, mildly surprised.
"We never got around to changing it I suppose." said Shinji as he looked at his cousin in a different light. Who knew he had family other than his father? 'Father knew... He would have known... Why couldn't I have just lived with them?' he thought, setting the knife down to go stir the miso soup.
"Well, I'll help you out Shinji!" said Shikaku brightly. "Since Misato's busy with work, I'll help you out!"
Shinji wanted to yell 'Thank you!' and hug his cousin tightly, but he fought off the thought. "That would be nice Shikaku. Thank you."
"It's not a problem. I did most of the work at my own house anyway, so I'm used to it."
"I see..." muttered Shinji. 'Is that how she got so sick? Or...maybe it has to do with that dream I had earlier...' he thought as he tested the soup before returning to the stir fry.
"Do you need any help Shinji?" asked Shikaku as she edged her way into the kitchen.
"Sure!" said Shinji as he smiled at his cousin happily. "I normally have tea, so if you want some, feel free to make that. Other than that, can you set the table please? The plates are in that cupboard and the silverware over there." he said as he pointed to a cupboard above the sink, and a small drawer under and to the left of the sink.
"Okay!" said Shikaku as she happily began pulling down four plates and setting them on the wooden table gently at each chair. Then walking over to the drawer and opening it, she noticed nothing was organized. The forks and spoons were everywhere, getting mixed up, and the chopsticks were strewn all over the place.
"Something wrong Shikaku?" asked Shinji as he noticed the appalled look on her face.
"How can your apartment be so clean, yet this drawer is a hazard area?!" said Shikaku as she gestured towards the interior of the drawer. Shinji leaned over to look and laughed before looking at his cousin's stern look.
"Misato and Asuka normally fish around in there and never put anything back. I gave up on fixing it every time they did that after two weeks of repulsive reorganizing." he said, smiling slightly as he remembered the huge scene that had followed...
- Flashback -
"Misato! What the hell are you doing?!" yelled Shinji angrily as he walked into the kitchen, intending to start dinner only to find Misato rummaging within the silverware drawer.
"Looking for some chopsticks." said Misato in an offhand tone of voice. "Ah! Here they are!" she said as she triumphantly held a pair of chopsticks up and closed the drawer with a push of her hip.
"Misato! Do you have any idea how long it took me to organize that drawer?!" yelled Shinji, clutching his head in pain, the expression on his face making it seem as if he was going to be sick from watching the drawer being mauled by Misato in her search of chopsticks.
"You are a very compulsive cleaner you know Shinji. Loosen up once in awhile!" said Misato as she shook her finger at Shinji before she heard a small timer go off. "My ramen!" she said happily as she quickly grabbed the large steaming bowl of ramen, poured some of the instant curry she had made and began to eat.
"I thought it was Shinji's turn to cook." said Asuka as she too entered the kitchen to see Shinji frozen in the doorway with a pained and horrified expression on his face and Misato happily slurping away at her ramen.
"Nope." said Misato thickly through a mouthful of ramen before swallowing the large bite. "It's actually my turn to cook tonight." Gesturing towards the chart taped to the wall, Asuka followed Misato's gesture with her gaze only to see the chart saying 'Monday – Cooking – Misato'
"Oh for the love of God..." muttered Asuka as she slapped herself in the forehead. Looking at Shinji, she sighed heavily. "What are we going to do for food? We can't trust her cooking..."
"I HEARD THAT!" yelled Misato, brandishing her chopsticks at Asuka who backed into Shinji to avoid the chopsticks that were coated in a thick sludge of Misato's combination of instant curry and ramen broth.
"IYAH! GET THAT AWAY FROM ME!" screamed Asuka. Misato obliged and resumed her slurping of her ramen, watching Shinji and Asuka out of the corner of her eyes.
"Well, I made enough curry for you two if you want. There's also some rice in the rice cooker if you want some of that." said Misato quietly, setting her ramen down to take a long draft from her beer.
"Umm...I think I'll PASS Misato..." said Asuka as she looked at Shinji and blushed slightly. She had backed up so far that hips were pushed against Shinji, and he had his hands on her waist to keep her from falling.
"Well, if you change your mind, it's on the stove. And don't worry about it going bad. It'll keep and keep and keep." said Misato as she grinned evilly, making the two Pilots shudder visibly.
- End Flashback -
"Shinji, what's so funny?" asked Shikaku as she watched her cousin double over laughing as he remembered that small scenario that had happened less than a month ago.
"Just something I remembered about WHY I had given up on this drawer ever being organized." said Shinji as he smiled happily. "If you want to attempt organizing it, I have no complaints what so ever."
"Okay!" said Shikaku as she rolled up her sleeves and began to reorganize the drawer while Shinji finished up dinner.
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"Asuka, Misato! Dinner's ready!" called Shinji from the kitchen as he set the pot of miso soup on the table along with the wok filled with stir fry. Shikaku had just finished re-organizing the silverware drawer and was quickly placing a set of chopsticks and a spoon at each place.
"Thank you for helping me Shikaku." said Shinji as he took off the apron, hanging it on a small hook that was located in a corner next to PenPen's refrigerator.
"It's not a problem Shinji. I'm glad I could help!" said Shikaku happily.
Dashing over to the other refrigerator, Shinji pulled out a fish and a beer setting the fish in PenPen's bowl and the beer besides it. Knocking on the door of the refrigerator PenPen lived in; he waited for PenPen to open the door. "Dinner's ready PenPen."
A small noise was made by PenPen, obviously meaning 'Thank you' and Shinji watched as the penguin began to eat his fish before turning around to see Misato and Asuka entering the kitchen.
"It smells great Shinji!" said Misato as she inhaled deeply, letting the light aroma of the food become registered in her brain before she sat down. Popping the tab on her beer, she took a long draft from it before setting it down.
Asuka sat down next to Shinji like always and smiled at him. Shinji returned the smile, but as he was about to sit down, he remembered something. "WAH! The tea! I forgot about the tea!" he yelled, suddenly remembering. Just as he was about to run into the kitchen, he saw Shikaku coming out with two mugs, a kettle of tea, and a soda for Asuka.
"Shinji, sit down. I said I would make the tea, so don't worry okay?" said Shikaku as she placed the kettle on a small pot holder on the table and set Asuka's soda next to her plate. Sitting down, she placed the two mugs down and poured the tea for herself and Shinji.
"Well, it seems as if Shikaku is used to doing this. Looks like your work is cut out for you Shinji." said Misato with a wink.
"What do you mean?" asked Shinji, a puzzled expression on his face.
"You need to keep her on her toes. Keep your place as top dog of the kitchen right?" laughed Misato.
"Misato...please..." muttered Shinji as he buried his face in his hands.
"I was kidding Shinji! Lighten up a little! You'll always be our little kitchen guru. Right Asuka?" said Misato as she looked at the Second Child.
"Of course!" said Asuka as she realized she was supposed to agree. Wrapping her arms around him in an awkward hug, she kissed the top of his head. "You'll always be my little cook Shinji."
"You don't have to be sarcastic Asuka." said Shinji quietly.
"Who said I was?" asked Asuka, withdrawing her arms and looking offended.
"I was joking." said Shinji as he winked at her and began serving dinner.
'Maybe this will be good for Shinji. If Shikaku stays here, she'll end up doing some of the work, and Shinji will realize that he needs to become a man... That'll please Asuka.' thought Misato as she watched Shinji pouring the miso soup into their bowls while Shikaku served the stir fry.
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"Commander, what do you plan to do?" asked Fuyutsuki as he looked at the Commander. Commander Ikari had just finished a meeting with the U.N. and had been warned about not going over his budget for the Evangelions and NERV faculty.
"We need to find that girl no matter what. Any idea on where she is?"
"We're currently trying to trace the calls going in and out of the Yagahashii residence to locate her Commander."
"Good. Find her as quickly as possible. This cannot wait any longer." said Gendou as he stood up and turned to leave, only to find Fuyutsuki standing in his way.
"Commander, why do we need this girl? Isn't there some other way to go about doing this?" asked Fuyutsuki quietly.
"No. There is no other way. We need this girl solely for the fact that she is the Angel of Fire." said Gendou calmly, as if this were something he discussed with people often.
"Why can't we find someone else to do it?" asked Fuyutsuki, trying to find out why the Commander wanted this girl so badly.
"Fuyutsuki, don't pry into what you shouldn't know at the moment." said Gendou furiously. "You will know why in time. Now, if you would kindly step out of my way, I have much work to do."
"Of course Commander. My apologies Commander." said Fuyutsuki as he bowed slightly and stepped out of Gendou's path. As he watched Gendou quickly walk down the hallway and disappear as he turned around a corner, he began to wonder what the reason Gendou wanted this girl so badly was. As he too headed back to his office, his mind began to wander...
- Flashback -
"Commander, are you sure Rei can handle it?" asked Fuyutsuki through the small video intercom.
"She isn't dead yet."
"Yes Commander." He then typed in a code for Rei's hospital room. "Wake up Rei. The Commander wishes to speak with her."
"Yes Mr. Fuyutsuki."
Fuyutsuki then turned off the video screen and returned his gaze to the control room. All of the technicians were typing away furiously, trying to figure out how to stop the Angel from attacking. He knew Rei wouldn't be able to handle it... Not after that accident with Unit 00.
"Fuyutsuki! Look! Unit 01 broke its restraints!" came a female voice from one end of the room.
"What did you say?!"
"Unit 01 broke its restraints!" came another voice.
"How?! There's no entry plug!" yelled Fuyutsuki.
"We don't know! But, that boy...that's Commander Ikari's son isn't it?!"
"Yes..." said Fuyutsuki before sitting in his hair, scratching his head. "That's Shinji alright..." he muttered.
"He's going to pilot Unit 01!"
"Will he be able to?"
"Activate entry plug!"
"Initiating LCL to fill the entry plug!"
All the while numerous voices rang throughout the room, Fuyutsuki wasn't paying attention. He was remembering the day he had that talk with Yui. He could remember little Shinji pointing and laughing at a dragonfly before imitating his mother and sticking his tongue out at him. He chuckled lightly as he remembered Shinji's expression when he did that. But then...that horrible accident...and Yui...
"Commander! You came just in time!" came a voice as a door to Fuyutsuki's left opened.
"Ah! Commander!" said Fuyutsuki as he quickly jumped out of the chair and saluted as Gendou took his seat in the chair Fuyutsuki had just been in. He watched as Misato ran in and began giving orders.
"What's the status of Unit 01?" asked Gendou calmly.
"Unit 01's just taken serious damage to the cranial armor!"
"It's now silent Major! What do we do?!" came a yell from the right.
"Wait... It's reactivating! But how?!"
"How horrible..." whispered Fuyutsuki as he watched the berserk EVA fight the Angel in downtown Tokyo 3.
"At least it's destroying the Angel. That's all that matters." said Gendou calmly.
"The Angel's going to self destruct!"
"SHINJI!" screamed Misato. The entire room watched as the Angel self destructed, taking the Evangelion into the blow with it. As the explosion subsided, they watched as Unit 01 slowly walked out of the destruction behind it.
"We did it! Shinji did it!" cried Misato happily as she hugged Ritsuko who had run into the room a minute earlier.
"We did it Commander." said Fuyutsuki as he smiled. He knew there was something special about Shinji, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Yes. Now go calculate the damage to Unit 01 and start the repairs." said Gendou as he stood up.
"What about the boy?"
"Do what is necessary. Make him a part of NERV." said Gendou before walking out of the room.
"Yes Commander..." said Fuyutsuki as he saluted and began giving orders to retrieve the Pilot, hospitalize him and start the repairs on Unit 01.
- End Flashback -
"Mr. Fuyutsuki!" came a voice from the doorway. Fuyutsuki looked up to see a Section Two agent standing there, saluting to him.
"Yes? What is it?"
"The Commander wishes you to become in charge of NERV while he is away on a business meeting."
"As always, of course I will." said Fuyutsuki as he smirked slightly. As always, when things began to become even the slightest bit uneasy around NERV, Gendou would always leave on a sudden business trip.
"Thank you sir!" said the man from Section Two as he saluted again, turned on his heel and exited the office.
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"That was good!" sighed Misato as she leaned back in her chair and took a drink of her beer. "You two are great cooks."
"Thank you." mumbled Shinji and Shikaku quietly, as if they both didn't want praise for their skill in cooking.
"No, really. If you can fix anything Misato even starts to cook, you are a master." said Asuka as she grinned at Misato to show she was joking...at least partially.
"I resent that!" said Misato as she stuck her tongue out at Asuka who returned the favor by sticking her tongue out at Misato. "At any rate, Asuka is partially right about that. I can't cook to save my life! ...Aside from ramen anyway."
"Very funny Misato." muttered Asuka as she rested her chin on the palm of her hand, her eyes half closed. As Shinji started to stand up to clean off the table, Shikaku beat him and quickly cleaned off the table.
"...Shikaku?" asked Shinji as he followed his cousin into the kitchen to see her already washing the dishes. "...What are you doing?"
"Cleaning the dishes of course!" said Shikaku as she smiled brightly.
"But...that's normally my job..." said Shinji quietly as he shuffled his foot.
"Shinji, please. If you want to clean so badly, I'll let you clean tomorrow." she said with a wink. Judging by the confused look on his face, she sighed, turned off the water and turned to face him while drying her hands off on a small towel. "Shinji, I'm so used to cleaning the house for my family as you are. It must be something we have in our genes that we got from our mother's side."
"R – right..."
"So, while I'm staying here why don't you let me clean while you go ahead and do other things. I know you're always on alert for NERV, so why not take the time I'm staying with you to relax for once?"
"But I really couldn't –"
"Trust me. I'm perfectly fine with it. Now go do something else." said Shikaku as she smiled and turned the water back on, washing the dishes again.
"Will you... I shouldn't..."
"Shinji, don't worry! I'll be fine! Now go!" yelled Shikaku as she sprayed Shinji with water. As she watched him run from the room, soaking wet, she smiled to herself. 'There... Now he can spend more time with Asuka.'
"Shinji, why are you all wet?" asked Misato, her eyebrow raised as she looked at him.
"Yeah, what happened?" asked Asuka, setting her soda down while looking at him intently.
"Shikaku sprayed me with water and yelled at me to get out of the kitchen and leave the cleaning to her..." said Shinji quietly, a hint of sadness in his voice as his gaze lowered to the floor.
"Awww... Poor little Shinji!" said Misato in a mocking baby voice before bursting into a fit of laughter. Earning a glare from both Asuka and Shinji, she quickly stopped and cleared her throat loudly.
"It's not that funny." said Asuka in a warning voice.
"I know, I know. But that look on his face! It looks like he's in pain at the thought!" said Misato before laughing again.
"Shut it Misato." said Asuka as she pushed her superior off her chair and watched as she fell to the floor with a loud 'thud'. "Now that's funny." said Asuka as she began to laugh, also getting Shinji to laugh as Misato pulled herself up to her feet.
"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" yelled Misato.
"What's going on in here?" said Shikaku as she came walking into the room.
"Asuka pushed me off my chair!" whined Misato.
"BE AN ADULT AND SUCK UP!" yelled Asuka.
"Umm... Asuka? I don't think you should be talking to Misato like that... She is our superior... She could demote you so you can't pilot –"
"I know what I'm doing Shinji. And besides, how could she demote me? The Commander would be very pissed off wouldn't he?" said Asuka, looking at Misato innocently.
"Yeah...he would...and then I would be demoted..." said Misato after some hard thinking. "Anyway, off to bed all of you!"
"Yes ma'Am." said Shikaku as she bowed and quickly left the room, sliding the door to Shinji's room shut.
"...My, isn't she obedient?" said Asuka in a slightly mocking tone as she put her hands on her hips and sighed heavily.
"Not obedient... Okay, maybe she is... But she's still much better behaved than you are Asuka!" yelled Misato.
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"
"Asuka...I think we should go to bed now..." said Shinji quietly as he smiled slightly as his eyebrows rose. He had never seen Asuka and Misato bicker like this. Of course they had their little moments were they would glare at each other and shoot smart remarks at one another, but they never bickered like this.
"Yeah. Let's go Shinji." said Asuka as she took Shinji's hand in her rather roughly and turned on her heel. "One more thing Misato..."
"And what would that be?" snarled Misato, her brow furrowed.
"Misato and Kaji sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..." sang Asuka, but before she could finish her song, Misato lunged at her, ready to kill...or at least severely hurt. "IYAH! RUN SHINJI!" screamed Asuka after barely avoiding Misato and noticing the murderous glare she was given.
"Y – yeah..." said Shinji as he was dragged across the living room to Asuka's room, the door sliding shut behind him.
"YOU BETTER WATCH YOURSELF ASUKA!" yelled Misato before stomping off to her room. "Stupid teenagers..." she muttered as she slid her door shut.
Shikaku, lying on Shinji's bed, her face directed towards the wall had heard everything. Rolling onto her back, she stared at the ceiling. "...It's an unfamiliar ceiling..." she whispered before she dozed off into a calm sleep.
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Author's note: Yay! Eleven pages! Go me! Anyway, I knew I took Shinji's quote of "it's an unfamiliar ceiling" but I had to! How else do you really explain how they feel? Also, instead of posting a stupid author's note and "not following the rules" as my friend Khalid likes to yell at me about, I'm letting you know I am grounded off the internet for God knows how long. Hopefully I'll get my internet back soon, but I'll still be stuck with dial-up. Sorry! –sob- Don't forget to review! -- Nagi
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