Chapter 25
5 days past and it was the day Misato and the rest of Shinji's friends had been planning for weeks. It was Shinji's Birthday. It was a school day, but the weather was perfect, it was sunny and warm with no clouds in the sapphire blue sky. a picture-perfect day. Shinji woke up and stretched his limbs. he had slipped surprisingly well.
"It's my birthday." Shinji thought as he got up and headed to his wardrobe and pulled out his usual attire,
"I wonder what's going to happen today?" Shinji told himself.
For Shinji, his birthdays had never been celebrated as much as would be expected. After his mother died, his father left him in the care of his friends, and every year Shinji received nothing from his father.
"I bet my father has sent me nothing as usual...I wasn't his responsibility" Shinji mumbled as he looked into his mirror, thinking back to a conversation he overheard from his carers. They had talked about the relationship between Shinji and his father, with Banri quoting his father saying that he wasn't his responsibility when asked about personal matters such as birthdays and other needs.
Shinji shook his head and made his way out of his room, heading towards the living room, only to be blindsided by a blur of purple
"Happy Birthday!" Misato cheered as he picked Shinji up and whirled him around at great speed.
"Misatooooo, slow down," Shinji mumbled as his vision blurred from the speed he was being moved at, only to unblur, when he caught sight of Misato's face, it was bright and full of life, with her perfect smile, making his heart melt
"Oh, sorry Shinji-Kun, I got a little excited haha" Misato
"It's alright," Shinji mumbled still disorientated by all the spinning
"It was quite nice actually," Shinji thought as he started to blush, without knowing.
"You okay? you look a little red?" Misato raised her hand to his head and checked his temperature.
"I um uh, yeah yeah, I'm fine, just a little warm...ill go get breakfast done." Shinji stuttered as he tried to hide his embarrassment, deciding to walk to the kitchen.
"Shinji. it's your birthday, you sit and relax and ill make you your breakfast." Misato stated, causing Shinji to stop in his path.
"It's alright, I've got school and I just want some toast, besides... your not the quickest cook so I don't want to be late." Shinji sighed, trying not to sound harsh.
"Also, your cooking could kill so id rather make it myself," Shinji told himself, knowing how rude it would be to say it to Misato.
"Okay? I'll leave it to you." Misato sighed as she then made her way to the couch and sat down, PenPen taking the time to hop onto the couch flick the tv on.
"A minute later an all too familiar yell echoed through the apartment.
"Baka, where are you!"
"Okay, Shinji, what did you do?" Misaott teased
"I have no clue, I'm just up?" Shinji said quizzically as he popped out of the kitchen with a slice of buttered toast and a cup of coffee, only to see the sight of Asuka in her full school uniform. Standing confidently in front of him/
"Hey, Asuka...
"Happy birthday Baka" Asuka interrupted Shinji
"Um, thanks.
"Um thanks, that's all I get? you can do better than that." Asuka stated bluntly, cauignShinji to get flustered,
"Well okay, I..." Sjini muttered, noticing how good Asukuas gaze was
"Asuka, stop teasing Shinji,
"Uhhh fine, I cant have a bit of fun... happy birthday Shinji. Now have you made me breakfast? Asuka smiled, change from the almost cold demeanour to her more energetic self.
"Well, you see I..."
"It's Shinji's Birthday, ill make you breakfast." Misato jumped in.
"Oh hell no, last time you made something I nearly died
"Come on, ill make you some scrambled egg, and some crispy bacon...doesn't that sound amazing." Misato purred trying to make her offer as enticing as possible., standing up from the couch and slowly closing the gap between her and Asuka
"Yeah, if you like a case of food poisoning that caused you to lose 5 years of your life... Shinji have you made the Bentos?" Asuka turned to Shinji ask.
"Yeah, why?" Shinji looked to his Asuka quizically as looked at him sternly as if she was planning to send him on a do or die mission against an angel
"Cause we are out of here!" Asuka cried as she rushed over to the fridge grabbed her and Shinisn bento and bolted for the door grabbing Shinji by the wrist.
"Wait I haven't even finished yet!" Shinji yelled as he dropped his cup and half-eaten piece of toast I'm, to a side table, grabbing his schoolbag as he was dragged away.
"Come on Asuka I'm not that...bad. " Misato statement turned to a mumble as soon as she heard the door slam shut.
"Great, that's the first part of the plan done," Misato stated to her self, as she looked towards PenPen who had not reacted to the entire incident, instead of being engrossed in an early morning news show.
"Asuka and Shinji made their way to school, on rather empty stomachs, the journey was quiet, until they made it to the school gates where they were met by the duo of Kensuke and Toji
"Hey, Shinji, happy birthday man!" Toji yelled waving to Shinji as He and Kensuke walked to meet the pair
"Hey Toji, Hey Kensuke, what are you both doing here so early?" Shinji asked
"We could ask yous two the same question?" Kenuse fired backcrossing his arm and looking quizzically at the pair.
"Misato tried to make us breakfast," Asuka grumbled, as she felt her belly rumble
"She can't be that bad" Toji sighed.
"They must be kidding, Misato the perfect woman she can't be bad at cooking," Toji thought at the same time as he spoke.
"Trust me. Fighting angels is safer than eating her cooking." Asuka replied as walked with Shinji and the boys making their way to class.
"So why are you both here?" Shinji asked, he had never seen his two friends at school this early, they usually arrived around just in the nick of time to arrive before the school day started.
"Hikari. She's annoyed at us as we had class duties for the past 3 weeks and we haven't been going. " Toji grumbled, crossing his arms
"A new game came out and we have been playing it since I got it." Kensuke chirped
"Hikari got angry and said we had to help by threatening to tell the teacher that we were neglecting our duties" Toji growled.
"Oh, that doesn't sound good." Shinji grimaced at the thought of the punishment the pair would receive
"It's not, not only do we have to come in early but we have to stay behind after school, what a waste of valuable gaming time!" Kensuke growled with a scowl on his face.
After walking to class the group were met by cheery cry
"Happy birthday Shinji"
"Hey Hikari, thank you" Shinji smiled, causing Hikari to stop for a second. She had never seen Shinji smiling properly
"What's wrong Hikari, you surprised?" Asuka asked noticing the look on her friends face.
" it's nothin! soooo have you gotten anything yet?" Hikari yelped, only to receive the unsure stare of her friends, so she tried to switch the topic as quickly as she could.
"Nothing yet, I guess ill be getting a big surprise haha" Shinji chuckled as they walked to class
"not likely, they couldn't slip that past me, we live so close together that I would notice their plans," Shinji thought to himself.
"So Hikari, I heard you're staying behind today?" Asuka asked
"Yeah, got to keep my eye on those two slackers! Why do ask? " Hikari pointed at Kensuke and Toji who shot her an angered stare
"You wouldn't mind helping me with some homework?" Asuka asked. it pained her to ask for help, but she wasn't stupid enough to let her pride and reputation ruin her chance of excelling at a task she had difficulty with. especially when she knew someone who had no issues with the kanji.
"Wait you're staying behind?" Shinji yelped
"Yeah, I'm having problems with the kanji," Asuka grumbled
"But it's my birthday Shinji mumbled, his heart and tone sinking as he spoke
"We have homework due in two days and I need help...you don't mind Hikari?
"Um no. I don't mind" Hikari stuttered.
"Then it's settled." Asuka smiled and turned to Hikari and started chatting away to her.
There was an awkward silence as the group entered the classroom, it was still too early for the majority of the class to be there but a familiar head of blue hair was there sitting patiently
"Good morning Rei" Shinji stated, causing Rei to unexpectedly rise from her seat and move at haste towards Shinji catching everyone off-guard
"You okay, you seem to be...ahhhh" Shinji asked only to be caught completely off guard by Rei pulling him into a hug
"Have your wired cross Wondergirl!" Asuka cried in shock, this is not how Rei usually acted
"No, it's Shinji's Birthday, isn't that what you do?" Rei looked confusingly at the shocked faces of the group
"Yes but, you know, you at least warn someone before you hug them out of the blue!" Asuka bellowed
"Oh, I'm sorry if I caught you by surprise Shinji-Kun" Rei said apologetically
"You don't need to apologise, you um got me off guard. " Shinji blushed and rubbed his neck
" This is not like her, even her voice sounds more emotional and...energetic, something must be going on?" Shinji thought completely forgetting he had played an unintentional role in changing her behaviour by noticing the painkillers she had in her possession.
Not long after this the rest of the class entered the room and wished Shinji a happy birthday, which brought a sense of surprise to envelope him when he had a moment to let their words sink in.
"It's been so long since someone wished me a happy birthday that wasn't fake." Shinji thought. since his father left him in the care of his colleagues, every year his birthday passed he never received a present or even a card and his carers didn't have the time for him so never attempted to make him feel loved or wanted on such an important day.
Once the day of classes came to an end Shinji packed his bag and waved off to his friends and headed home, only to stop when he felt someone touch his shoulder.
"Um Shinji"
"Yeah, rei. What is it?"
"You wouldn't mind if I came off to yours if that's alright."
"Yeah, I don't mind..."
"Also, I need to pick some things up from the grocers...I'm not keeping you from anything am I?" Rei asked sheepishly.
"No no, you're not keeping me from anything, so let's get moving" Shinji stated as he and rei headed to the grocers which were on the way to Misato's apartment.
"So what are you needing?" Shinji asked, he had not expected to be out shopping with Rei.
"Tofu, vegetables, rice, fruit...essentials," Rei stated monotony and straight to the point
"Okay, if you want I could send you over some recipes," Shinji responded. this was the Rei he knew.
"That would be greatly appreciated. I've mainly been making a lot of miso soup."
That must get boring." Shinji stated
"I don't mind it." Rei shrugged her shoulders
"Okay..." Shinji prepared himself to speak
I have a question?" Rei asked as she and Shinji entered the store cutting Shinji off.
"Sure, fire away?"
"Why are you and your father so distant, isn't it normal for a father and son to have a close relationship?"
"I I, where did this come from!" Shinji yelped, trying not to make a scene as he turned to Face rei
"I noticed that you never speak of your father and from as far as I have seen, you have never met beyond your first meeting with your father... why do your talk so little of him?"
"I can't lie about this...she needs to know where I'm coming from." Shinji
"You see, when my mother passed away, my father left me in the care of a few close friends...
"Were they good carers?" Rei asked, picking up a number of vegetables
"Not really They had busy lives and left me alone most of the time," Shinji mumbled, he knew t what he saying was only touching the tip of the iceberg with what his carers were truly like
"I see.
"That's how I learned to cook, they were so busy that they never made anything to eat so I made my own food... it kept me busy." Shinji sighed as he picked up a
"Did your father ever call?
"Once a year he called, to pick me up and take me to see my mothers grave on the anniversary of her death... he never shed a tear, he stood there in silence for ten minutes only to tell me that was it and he sent me back... " Shinji answered, he spoke slowly and softly, but he sounded uncomfortable when he spoke.
"I didn't know." Rei sighed, she had just clicked that she had pushed the limits too far and wanted to apologise on the spot but Shinji kept on speaking
"You know what was the worst part?" Shinji grimaced as the words which left his mouth felt like broken glass in his mouth.
Rei was silent
"The worst part was that he sent me back every year on that day. What kind of parent leaves their son to mourn with people who don't even know who he is or what he likes...they did nothing, and he did nothing. He didn't even send me a birthday card. I was there for twelve years and never got one from that bastard. " Shinji growled as he placed the goods on at the till to be scanned by, not noticing the worried look in Rei's eyes.
"I knew his relationship with his father was rather poor, but...I never expected it to be this bad." Rei thought as she noticed the anger in Shinji's eyes
Shinji and rei packed their groceries and made their way to Misato's Apartment. They were silent for most of the journey.
"I'm sorry, for asking you Shinji about your relationship with your father. it's your birthday and I shouldn't have asked, I was being insensitive" Rei stated apologetically
"It's fine...I'm actually glad you asked." Shinji leaned in whispered
"You are?" Rei raised her brow in surprise as she looked to see Shinji had a smile on his face
"Yeah. I have never had the chance to let out how I feel about him on my birthday. So you asking me gave me a chance to vent a bit...thanks Rei." Shinji stated with a surprising level of cheeriness marking his voice.
Once the pair arrived at the apartment building they opened the doors and entered, pressing the button for the lift and entered, placing their groceries on the floor as they then headed up to Misato's floor.
"Once we're in do you want anything to drink? Coffee? Tea?"
"I'll take tea if that's alright?"
" no problem there, I restocked a few days ago, Misato being drinking it a lot since she came back from the hospital." Shinji
The escalator doors opened once they arrived at their floor and Shinji put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his key card. Placing it on the pad, causing it to buzz and flow green.
"I can make you something if you'd like?" Shinji said as he turned his head to look at rei as he opened the door. Taking that moment to slip his shoes off once he was beyond the precipice.
"That would be nice, what do you have in mind?" Rei stated as she entered the apartment. The lights were off and the room was masked in darkness
"I was thinking I could make you a vegetable..." Shinji replied only to be cut off by a powerful cheer that echoed through the flat and a flash of light as the apartment lights without warning flicked on
"SURPRISE!"