A/N: Well the day some of you have waited for, or feared is here! Gendo and Shinji's Father-Son Day! What will happen? On with it!
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Shinji's dream
Shinji didn't know where he was. But wherever he was, it sure was odd. It seemed like a peaceful place. It was almost identical to Tokyo-3 before the Angels had first arrived. So he went pacing around, to see what his curious mind would find. Perhaps he would find Asuka, or his friends Toji and Kensuke.
However, his mind was drawn by another sight. It was a girl with mahogany coloured hair sitting on a bench in the nearby park. Shinji decided to get a closer look. He was now confused, as the sight before him was Mana Kirishima! 'But she's dead!' he thought to himself. 'What's going on here?'
Apparently, the girl who looked like Mana sensed Shinji's approach. She turned around to face Shinji. To Shinji's shock, she had a look of absolute fear and pain.
"SHINJI! HELP!" she shouted out. Suddenly, a black shadow came. It threatened to engulf Mana. She tried to resist, but she was being swallowed up by the black abyss. "HELP ME SHINJI!" she cried again.
Shinji rushed over to help her. But he was too late. It had already swallowed her up. Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. It was apparently some sort of floating blob like substance. It moved to smother him…
Next thing he knew, he was in his bedroom, panting heavily. "Just a dream," he told himself, trying to calm himself down. He checked the time. It was 2:19am. He heard the sound of someone moaning. Then felt the weight of another person half-way on top of him. It was Asuka, and she was wide awake. "Had a nightmare Shinji?" she whispered.
"Yeah," he whispered back. "It was strange, and scary too."
Asuka sat up on the futon. "Well why don't you tell me and Asuka will chase the scary dream away."
Shinji also sat up began to relay the dream to Asuka. Asuka was definitely surprised about the part with Mana screaming for help. Then the part where Mana got swallowed up by a shadow, and the part where Shinji got smothered by a blob creature.
"That is weird. Mahogany-Head calling for help. I figured that bitch was dead as could be," said Asuka. "That is definitely strange."
"So I guess we can go back to sleep now," said Shinji.
"Yup, and don't worry. I'll chase away any scary monsters and bad dreams okay?"
Shinji chuckled a little. "Okay Asuka, you can chase away the monsters. Good night." He laid back down on their futon.
"Goodnight Shinji," replied Asuka. She kissed him goodnight, and rested her head on his chest again.
Shinji took Asuka in his arms. Eased by the company and comfort of the German, he quickly found his way back to sleep. It was an important day today, as Shinji was going to spend the day with his father. So he wanted to get as much rest as he could.
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Later that morning – Beware the hung over Misato
"Wonder why Shinji isn't up yet," said Zack. "Not really like him to be sleeping in. We need real food for breakfast."
"Then why don't you go wake him up?" suggested Ivana. "That way we could eat something."
"Good point. Rei, go wake up Shinji for us. And Asuka can be woken up too I guess."
"Understood." Rei then got up from her seat and proceeded to where Shinji and Asuka were sleeping. She never saw the look of disgust Ivana had given Zack when he told Rei to wake the two up. Once she opened the door, she saw Asuka and Shinji sleeping in what could only be described as bliss.
"Shinji. Asuka. Wake up," she said to the sleeping lovers.
Shinji and Asuka moaned, and slowly awoke from their respective slumbers. "Good morning Rei," said Shinji.
"Morning Wondergirl," said Asuka. She checked the clock. It was 9:30am. "Wow, we slept in today."
"You two don't normally sleep in," replied Rei.
"Well we found out last night that the Invincible Shinji is capable of getting nightmares too."
"Whatever. I'll go make something now." Shinji and Asuka then slowly proceeded to the kitchen where Zack and Ivana awaited.
"About time!" said Zack. "Well Shinji, you slept in. I figured Asuka kept you up all night with the new moves she wanted to try! Maybe she wants to bear your child!"
Asuka went red at this remark. She was ready to kick Zack's ass when Ivana's fist met his head before Asuka's did. Zack quickly shut up.
"Thank you Ivana for putting Casanova in his place," said Asuka.
"No problem. I am always willing to help out a comrade," replied the Russian. "So what is for breakfast?"
Shinji looked over his ingredients before making a decision. "From the looks of things, we are having eggs, toast, and sausages." Everyone didn't mind the blandness of the meal. If it was Shinji cooking, it will taste excellent no matter what.
Just then, Misato came out of her room in a familiar state. A hangover. She got into her routine, of getting a beer, chugging half the can, yelling really loud, followed by a burp. "That's the way to start your morning! Wow, Shinji's cooking! This'll be exciting!"
Once Shinji had finished cooking, they all sat down to eat. It was almost like a pig-out! The others all ate like pigs, except Rei and Ivana, who ate with some etiquette.
Misato then remembered something. "Say Shinji. Isn't your father coming today?"
"Yeah, that's what he said. He'd be here at 11:30am," replied Shinji.
"Then I advise you be ready by then. He'll be here at 11:30 sharp. That is absolute."
"Okay," replied Shinji. "I'm gonna go use the shower so I'll be ready." And with that, he left for the bathroom.
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NERV HQ
Rumours were quickly spreading about. Word had it that Commander Ikari was taking the day off and Vice-Commander Fuyutski would be in charge for the day.
"Wow, Commander Ikari is out today," said Shigeru. "So what'll we do today?"
"There isn't much we really can do," said Makoto.
Maya had an idea. "Hey I know. Why don't we work on the plush dolls? I have some new ones set up. I've made some more Shinji, Asuka, and Rei dolls. There are also the Misato dolls, and the ones of us."
"Great idea," replied Shigeru. "How about we also make dolls of, Toji, Ivana, Zack, and Elly? And we could also make a doll of Dr. Akagi as well."
"Yeah! Let's do it!" said Makoto. "We made quite a bit of money last time!"
"We can use that empty room as well in NERV to sell our dolls in there," said Maya. But then a thought hit her. "What doll will we use for the draw this time? We can't use Commander Ikari again."
"How about Vice-Commander Fuyutski?" Shigeru suggested.
"Great! Now we're ready to rock!" said Makoto.
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"Behold the ticking clock!" said Zack as they all waited for Gendo to arrive. It was 11:25 and they were waiting for the Commander to show up and get Shinji.
"Wow Zack. You've managed to make the ticking of a clock VERY irritating," replied Misato.
"Hey. Just saying it like it is."
Misato then had a few words for Shinji. "Shinji, whatever happens, don't be scared. Answer every question he asks you, even if your answer sounds stupid. And remember, the asshole IS trying to make amends, so be understanding. And most importantly," she said with a wink. "Have fun."
"Okay Misato," said Shinji.
"I hope you're ready Shinji," said Asuka. "It's not everyday someone goes into the belly of the beast!"
"He'll be fine!" replied Zack. "He sleeps with the beast every night!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Asuka threw a pillow off the couch at Zack. Zack catches it and throws it right back. However his aim is off and he hits Ivana in the head.
"OH SHIT!" Zack runs into the kitchen to get away from Ivana. Ivana takes the pillow and whips it at Zack, catching him in the back of the head and taking him down.
"So Misato," started Shinji. "What will you do today?"
"I'll take the girls… and him out for a day on the town."
Then it was 11:29am. Zack was also back on his feet and counting the seconds. "10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1! Showtime!"
Right as Zack said Showtime, the doorbell rang. Everyone's head turned to the door. "I believe you should answer it Shinji," said Rei.
Shinji slowly got up off the couch and went to the door. Everyone quietly followed behind. Shinji then slowly opened the door. As expected, there was a person waiting outside the door. It was his father, Gendo Ikari!
"Hello… Father," said Shinji.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"Yeah. Let's go." And Shinji shut the door behind him and off father and son went.
"There never was a braver man," said Zack.
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Shinji followed his father into the elevator. For now, it was dead silent. But Shinji, who was downright nervous, decided to ask the first question. "So Father, uh what are we doing first?"
"I have decided we will do a pastime I used to enjoy when I was your age." By now, the elevator had reached the bottom. The two exited the building. Outside, was a limousine, with the chauffeur who was waiting outside for them.
"Where to Commander?" asked the chauffeur.
"The Kingpin Bowling Alley," replied Gendo. Then they got going. It was a dead silent trip from the start. It appeared neither side knew what to say to the other. This tension continued back and forth for a few minutes until they arrived at their destination about ten minutes later.
So Gendo and Shinji got out of the limo and proceeded to enter the building. Once they had paid for a lane and shoes to rent, they got ready to get started. "Enter names for us," said Gendo. "Then we'll get started. I trust you know how to play."
"Yes I do," said Shinji. He decided to enter his idea of names for both of them.
Gendo/Boss: 0
Shinji/01: 0
And so the game got started, with Gendo bowling the first ball. They were playing 10-pin, so the balls would be rather heavy. Gendo threw his first ball. He managed to knock down eight of the ten pins on the first throw. Gendo then on his next throw knocked down the remaining two pins for a spare.
"Your turn," the elder Ikari said. Shinji picked up a ball. To him, a 14lb ball was VERY heavy for him. He launched the ball down the lane. But due to the ball's weight, accuracy was to have no factor in Shinji's throw. The ball went into the gutter.
Shinji went to retrieve another ball to take his second shot when Gendo called out to him. "Shinji. Take this ball."
Shinji received the ball from his father. It was much lighter than the ball he shamefully sent into the gutter. He took aim and rolled his ball. It went straight on the path he intended and knocked out all ten pins.
"Not bad," said Gendo. "Perhaps you should stick to the lighter balls."
"But with a lighter ball, it means less weight striking the pins and a weaker chain reaction," said Shinji.
"But you cannot control a heavy ball. And with a lighter ball, you can have more control over your throws than with a heavy ball. Power is not everything."
Shinji was amazed at the wisdom just given to him. "Wow. I never thought of that."
"If we weren't in a world with EVAs, maybe you would have had the chance to go bowling sooner," said Gendo with a touch of regret in his voice. He picked up his ball and took his turn.
This game carried on until both Ikaris had each done ten lanes of bowling. Unfortunately for Shinji, his father had won 245-128. Once they returned the rented bowling shoes, Shinji was curious as to what they would do next. "Father? What are we going to do next?"
"Let's go find a place to have lunch," said Gendo. He already knew where the ramen cart was.
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Misato, Asuka, Ivana, Rei …and Zack were out for the day on the town. Hopefully, with Zack being outnumbered four to one, he would be able to behave himself.
"So my lovely ladies, what shall we do first?" asked Zack. "I say we have an adventure called 'Zack's Sexy Adventures!"
"Misato, why did we have to bring HIM?" asked Asuka. "We could just dump him at NERV."
"But then he would have "Sexy Adventures" with Elly," said Ivana. "And the two reasons we brought him along is: he's Misato's responsibility, and the second reason we brought him along is so he would be kept in line."
"It's not so nice when you put it that way," said Zack with sadness in his voice. Suddenly, something caught his attention. "What the hell!"
Everyone looked in the direction Zack was looking in. It was a poster. But on the poster were Ritsuko's employees: Shigeru, Makoto, and Maya! The poster read: NERV Plush Central! New plush dolls coming soon! And new draw for Special Edition plush doll also coming soon!
"Sweet," said Zack. "Maybe I'll get the entire set when it comes out!"
"Not those again." Misato was so embarrassed when she first saw the doll of herself.
"I remember Shinji and Asuka's reactions when they got plush dolls of the other," said Zack remembering the days when he first came.
"I heard about that," replied Ivana. "Especially the threats Asuka made to Shinji should he handle the doll in ways he shouldn't."
"Yeah, I bet he handles the real thing in ways he shouldn't!"
BONK! Asuka had hit Zack in the back of the head and knocked him out cold.
"I have an idea," said Misato. "Let's go mini-putting!"
"That seems fun," said Rei, who had been silent for most of the time outside the apartment.
"Yeah, it's better than listening to Casanova here," replied Asuka.
So they went for the golf course, with Ivana dragging an unconscious Zack with her.
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A random ramen cart (Yes it's random! Behold the powers of random!)
Gendo and Shinji were at a cart each having a bowl of ramen for lunch.
"Wow, this ramen is way better than the ramen Misato makes," said Shinji.
"What is wrong with Major Katsuragi's?" asked Gendo.
"The problem is that Misato uses instant ramen and somehow she always makes it taste horrible. It was so bad one time Zack and Rei got food poisoning. Luckily they got better before the sync tests otherwise it would have shown up on their scores and Misato would be in serious trouble."
"I see," said Gendo. He wondered how they had survived this long with Misato's cooking. He remembered that he and Yui used to split cooking jobs when they were married. "Is the cooking job split evenly in the household?"
"Yeah it is," replied Shinji. "Everyone cooks once a week. But I cook twice since they all love my cooking. When I'm cooking, I feel like a king overseeing his kingdom, and wanting it to look great by throwing all sorts of twists on it."
"Very good," said Gendo. "I have a question for you though."
"What is it?" asked Shinji. His father asking him a question?
"When you were absorbed into Unit F-01, did you see your mother?"
"Yes I did. She helped us escape as well when Asuka and I had to fight the Black Angels who somehow had found their way inside."
'That explains the nearly impossible escape then,' he thought. 'Yui is still protecting her child. The way a parent should.'
After finishing up their ramen lunches, Gendo then motioned for Shinji to follow him. And so Shinji did. They walked around and about, but Shinji had no idea where his father was leading him.
His father definitely wasn't the coldhearted jerk Shinji had came to know and very much despise now. This same father abandoned him when he was four years old. Now he didn't seem so bad after all. Perhaps he is now regretting his actions. He probably wasn't sure how to talk to someone he left out to dry ten years ago.
Shinji then noticed that his father had stopped in front of a bar after walking about for ten minutes. "Father, why are we going into a bar? I'm only 14!"
"Relax. We're going in," replied his father in a calm and cool voice.
So into the bar Shinji went with his father. As expected once they got inside, the bartender raised a fit about Gendo bringing Shinji in. But of course, Gendo kept his cool. Gendo then flashed his card at the bartender and he shut up within a nanosecond of seeing the card's credentials.
Gendo then ordered a beer for himself and a coke for Shinji. The two then sat down in a booth. "Much better," said Gendo after taking a sip of beer. "This is a much more relaxing environment," said Gendo in the still crisp and cool voice.
He then had another question for Shinji. "How is your relationship with Asuka?"
"She's actually a good person if you can get her to open up to you. She's smart, beautiful, and she is probably the best thing to ever come into my life. I love her Father."
"I'm proud of you Shinji. Even after the hell I put you through; you have still managed to find the light within the darkness."
"Thanks Father. And you also, are moving towards the light. Everyone can be redeemed for their wrongdoings."
Gendo was silent as the thought of being able to be redeemed. He assumed he was a damned fool who was on a one-way trip to Hell with no chance of being able to return. "Perhaps. But I tried to play God. And there is no forgiveness for that."
"Father! Everyone can be forgiven! Even you! As long as they regret the bad decisions they make and try their best to not do such acts again, they can be redeemed!"
Gendo was shocked for a moment. He then realized Shinji was right. "You're right Shinji. I can be redeemed. Thank you for showing me this."
"You're welcome Father," said Shinji with a smile.
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"What a day that was," said Misato. "Mini-putting sure was fun though."
"I can't believe Rei beat us all," replied Asuka.
"It all is simply angles and levels of power," said Rei. "Not much more was necessary."
"I was trying to tell you that Asuka," said Ivana. "Maybe if you had listened, you wouldn't have had the worst score. I really expected more from a college graduate."
"WHAT?"
"And maybe if you didn't have Shinji-on-the-brain, your play would have been half-decent," uttered Zack. He was just asking for it.
"Would you shut up Casanova?" yelled Asuka.
"Maybe if you ask him really nicely, he'll let you bear his child!"
That was it. Asuka picked up an unopened can of beer and threw it at Zack's head. Zack of course, blocked the can-turned projectile. But Zack did not expect what happened next. Asuka then advanced on him quickly. Before he could react, Asuka brought her foot up between his legs, and hit the spot she intended to kick.
A wet crack could be heard, followed by a yell of pain, then a weight hitting the floor. Asuka had sacked Zack for his annoying comments that he had been making all day. And this was the last straw. There was no pity for Zack. Everyone left the room and waited for Shinji to come home.
The doorbell rang. Rei went to answer the door. Of course it was Shinji, as expected.
"Welcome home Shinji," greeted Rei. "How was your day with Commander Ikari?"
"It was alright," replied Shinji. He noticed Zack on the ground in an apparently large amount of pain. "What happened to Zack?"
"He was apparently making some inappropriate comments to Asuka and in return she kicked his groin area."
Shinji chuckled. "That would do it."
Shinji then followed Rei into the kitchen where he was greeted by the apartment's other females. They seemed to be glad to see him. Shinji told them all about the day he spent with his father. Nobody paid attention to Zack when he limped into the kitchen, grab some ice and a Ziploc bag to make an ice pack, and then limp back out.
Later that night, Shinji and Asuka were getting ready for bed. Asuka was still curious about how Shinji could actually make Commander Ikari seem to not be so bad. As the two laid down on the futon, Asuka decided to inquire a little further into the events Shinji went through.
"Wow. You may have started to melt that bastard's cold heart Shinji. How do you do it?" asked Asuka after Shinji finished telling her the story.
"Well, I decided to just be myself," replied Shinji. "And things just happened."
"See what happens when you try? You'd be surprised at what you can do." She rolls so she's on top of him. "See what happens when you get some balls. You can change the world."
"Speaking of balls, does Zack still have balls?"
This got both of them laughing. "If he's lucky, he'll still be able to father children. I should've worn Ivana's steel toe shoes so I could've kicked his balls out the back of his head."
Shinji chuckled at Asuka's remark. "You know, there were numerous time where I wanted to do that to my father.
Asuka then spoke up. "Let's get some sleep now." She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him goodnight. "Good night Shinjikins."
"Good night Asuka," said Shinji. Shortly the two pilots/lovers fell asleep.
A/N: Well, I did try my best to keep Gendo IC. I got this feeling some of you won't think so. Insight will be appreciated. Until 37, be cool!
Epilogue
Gendo Ikari made his way back to his room. He had thought long and hard about what Shinji had said. He knew he had a chance at being redeemed for his many, many crimes. As he was about to retire for the night, the phone rang. The call display said that it was Fuyutski calling.
"How did it go?"
"Everything went as planned," the Commander replied.
"How is Shinji?"
"He is well."
"That's good to hear," said Fuyutski. "It was a slow day at NERV today. So I assume you will be back tomorrow."
"That is correct."
"Then I won't disturb you any further. I'll see you tomorrow." The Vice-Commander then hung up.
Gendo decided to keep the details of what happened to himself. He assumed that if the others had noticed an overhaul in his behaviour, then the others would be suspicious about something. This would be something that was kept between father and son.
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Epilogue 2
Zack woke up again. He checked the large ice pack he had on his groin area. The ice had melted, so he had to change the ice again.
So he slowly got up off the couch. He was still in a lot of pain. 'Damn that bitch,' he thought to himself as he slowly made his way to the kitchen. It looked funny how he was walking to the kitchen. He had his legs spread out, and appeared to be waddling. He checked the time on the microwave. 3:02am it said. And this was the third time he had to change his ice pack. He hadn't bothered to check to see how badly it was swelling because he would probably dread what he would see.
So once he changed the ice pack, he went back to his spot on the couch. He was able to relax as the cooling sensation of the ice flowed through the lower half of his body.
"I am so lucky she didn't cut me when she kicked me. But I bet I'm even luckier she wasn't Ivana because she wears steel toe shoes."