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Chapter 29: "Father they have written…"
"So, you're having dinner with Rei hmm?" Kensuke looked over to the boy relaxing on the grass. "Think that's the best idea? You know, for your health."
Shinji knew exactly what he was talking about, but even if Shikinami would have beaten him senseless, he doubted she would reach the levels Soryu could have.
Not that he doubted she wouldn't be able to.
"Asuka was invited too." Shinji chuckled "We even talked about it, Rei isn't someone I'd…"
"Woah, calm down there Shinji, jeez I'm just teasing," then a smirk grew on his face. "Speaking of the red demon and ice queen, where is everyone anyway?"
Unsurprisingly, when the majority of his friend group was absent, it was extremely quiet, not that Kensuke wasn't good company, but with Rei, Asuka, and Toji all missing, it felt almost… empty.
"Did you ask her to the dance yet?" the military nerd asked, a smirk gracing his face.
Shinji sighed "She asked me actually."
"WHAT?" the boy jumped up "She asked you?!"
Shinji rolled his eyes "It's not that big of a deal, I didn't even think she liked to dance though…"
"Not…like...to….dance?" the military nerd seemed barely able to comprehend what was just said, "Shinji! Every girl likes to dance!" Kensuke waved his arms like a madman, probably not attracting any more attention than usual. "How would you even know that, you haven't even known each other for a few months!"
Shinji just smiled, if only he knew.
The day went smoothly, a bit dull, but the idea of sitting down to sample Rei's cooking seemed to drag it out even further.
Even the walk to her apartment complex felt longer than he remembered. At first, he had felt a sense of alarm at the idea that her apartment wouldn't be in its typical location. Luckily, the familiar demolition equipment he could spot in the distance was all he needed to confirm this was actually Rei Ayanami's apartment complex.
Heading up the apartment block, he found the same room as always, 402. Knocking, Shinji's brow furrowed at the lack of noise he heard, at least until the door swung open.
A grin grew on his face at the sight of the bluenette, still in her school uniform, she had draped an apron over it. Peering into the kitchen he could see the massive pot on the stovetop and immediately chuckled to himself at the idea that the two of them eating all that.
"You are early." The First Child said in the same monotone voice he had grown accustomed to.
"Really?" Shinji rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "Guess I just walked really fast."
Rei said nothing for a moment, just looking at him with those crimson eyes, till he noted the commotion on the stovetop behind her.
"Um, your pot is boiling over."
Rei's eyes widened as she spun around and worked at a frantic pace to resolve the situation. The Third Children couldn't help but feel a sense of childish euphoria at the sight of the clone working at an uncharacteristically frantic rate.
Stepping inside the apartment, and taking off his shoes, Shinji looked around, looking for anything drastically different. It was the same dwelling he had come to know, bland, devoid of life, rather depressing at least from what he could see here.
Sliding past the girl, Shinji peered inside of the main part of her apartment. Somehow this meek girl had flipped her cot up against the wall with her dresser keeping it there. The girl wasn't known for having much in her housing in the first place, but somehow, she made the room feel even more empty.
Shinji frowned at the chabudai just sitting there. The short-legged table was centered in the room with inverted bowls for four people with tea for each. It was sad that Rei believed the commander would show up, the Third Children figured he could take the time to see how much the girl really knew about Gendo's plans.
He hadn't spent much time with her, Asuka had taken priority, and the oddities this life seemed to throw at him with regularity had kept him from really talking to the bluenette much. Perhaps he could change that from now on.
Looking back to the kitchen, it seemed Rei had gotten things under control, for the briefest of moments he was reminded of the chaos that Asuka had thrown the Katsuragi residents' kitchen into, how totally different the two of them were. Despite the brief moment of near disaster Rei had just dealt with, the girl seemed so methodical in everything's layout.
Everything was separated, knives were even strewn out in a perfectly arranged pattern, ingredients seemed to be equally spaced apart, and any spills were wiped up with incredible efficiency.
"Do you need any help Rei?" he offered, Shinji doubted she would, but it beat just sitting alone in the next room.
"No, it is alright," she turned to him after adjusting a dial on the stove "please sit down."
Shrugging, he slipped off this backpack and placed it next to the wall while emptying his pockets of everything but his phone. Sitting down to he could see into the kitchen, he found himself hoping that Rei would at least have somewhat tasty food as his stomach growled.
Perhaps he could actually teach Asuka how to cook, Shinji smiled at the thought and at the idea of dodging a roller pin whenever the girl got frustrated. At least she'd be able to make something that wasn't too terrible, besides, it'd be good for her to try other things to find happiness in.
He watched as Soryu just leaned against the wall in front of him, saying nothing, just watching. She hadn't said a word the entire day and he had no words for her either. He couldn't remember a time when she was like this, then again, they rarely went after each other like they had this morning.
Ignoring the specter, Shinji leaned back on his hands, enjoying the actually quite delightful smells starting to permeate through the apartment. Just as he was starting to relax, a knock came from the door.
The Third Children raised an eyebrow. Had he missed someone? Asuka, Misato, Ritsuko… there was no way Gendo…
Shinji could only watch as Rei opened the door and the bearded figure became silhouetted against the sunlight.
Fuck.
This was just what he needed today.
He clenched his fist in annoyance, on the bright side if Unit-03 was being activated today, there was no way that the commander would take time for some dinner party.
"Commander Ikari," Shinji couldn't see her face, but he imagined the edges of her lips beginning to curl "please come in."
"Thank you, Rei."
That voice… he hated that voice. He hated those glasses. He hated that beard. He hated that indifferent gaze and indifferent face that the man was known for. He hated everything he saw when he looked at the Gendo Ikari.
It didn't take long for him to slip off his shoes and make his way to where Shinji was seated. In that moment Shinji would have taken on a hundred Sachiels if that meant he wouldn't have to be here.
Not that he wanted to run away from the man, no, if he had it his way, he'd subject the man to every single horror that he had endured. He hadn't wanted to go to that graveyard for the very reason that he might say something stupid, with Gendo Ikari, Shinji found it all too easy to slip up.
The man sat down across from him, his eyes met the man's, they were the same as they always were, cold. Shinji did his best not to look royally peeved, but he doubted he was doing a good job of it.
"Shinji."
"Commander."
For a moment neither said anything else, each just boring holes into each other's eyes. It wasn't like the graveyard where they had been next to each other, with no eye contact. No, this time the man had to look at him, cold indifference versus burning hatred.
"You're doing well at school." Gendo suddenly spoke up, in a very matter-of-fact voice, one that told Shinji there was no pride behind it, no emotion at the idea his son was excelling.
"I didn't know you cared." Shinji countered, of course, the man didn't care, all he cared about was the boy's ability to pilot, damn anything else.
Gendo frowned, while behind him Rei had just barely turned her head to see the conversation unfolding in her apartment. Shinji wouldn't even try to guess what was being thought behind those crimson eyes.
"I never told you how well of a job you did with the Eight Angel." The older man was changing the subject, seemingly switching his praise in the vain hope that Shinji would fall back to being the timid child that he had first called to NERV.
It had been a long time since Shinji had been that child.
Gritting his teeth, his nails dug into his palm under the table, if he didn't know the man was trying to manipulate him, this wouldn't be so difficult.
"Why only me? We all did our part; Rei held the core while Asuka actually killed it."
Perhaps it was time to reverse things here.
Leaning in Shinji's face must have morphed into a look of indifference, "Rei, could you tell me what you're making for us?"
Rei once again leaned out to view the boy, "Oyakodon, I will be leaving the meat out of my own dish."
Shinji nodded and looked back at the commander, whose gaze hadn't changed.
"It's fitting, don't you think?" Shinji asked, taking a sip of his Mugicha, the barley tea was incredibly smooth, Rei had done an exquisite job making it.
Gendo said nothing, pouring himself a glass of the tea before lifting it up to drink.
"Did Yui have a favorite dish?"
Shinji was sure if he timed it right, he might just be able to get the man to spit out the tea, but he had only caught him before he had taken a sip. Instead, the man froze, cup in the air, his eyes still boring into the boys.
"Your mother liked many dishes."
"Hmmm, Rei what's your favorite dish?" he called over the man.
"…I enjoy Miso Soup…" the light voice seemed to float from behind the commander.
"Well, did Yui enjoy Miso soup?"
Gendo said nothing, just stared at the boy. Maybe changing the topic would get a reaction from him.
"You know I always wondered if instead of a son you had a daughter, what name did you have picked out?" It was an innocent enough question, one that a curious child would ask, but Shinji couldn't help but hope it did more than get under the man's skin.
"No." he said abruptly, "We knew it would be a boy."
A rather convincing lie, said so smoothly and confidently, unfortunately for the man, Shinji knew better.
"Really? I thought you would want to be surprised."
"We both wanted to know."
"Hmm" Shinji took another sip of his tea, doing his best to remind himself that he didn't need any more attention from the commander than necessary, but who could blame him? This was too good of an opportunity to let slip by.
"Is… the Second Child handling life in Japan adequately?" To Shinji, that might as well have been said in a different language. Since when did he care whether pilots were 'well adjusted'?
"Her name is Asuka." Shinji could barely hold back the venom in his voice "And yes, Misato was nice enough to let her stay at her apartment." Shinji answered, putting down his tea, "You should give the Colonel a raise just on the cost of food alone."
"She took it upon herself to house…" the commander was cut short by Rei placing small bowls of white rice in front of them.
Swiftly heading back towards the kitchen, Shinji examined the bowl and to his relief, the rice was not burnt, but instead seemed to be cooked to perfection in contrast to what he had been served last night. Rei either had been practicing for a while or she had a hidden talent.
The boy was only able to enjoy one mouthful before being interrupted by his least favorite voice in the world.
"Regardless… you have done well piloting so far."
"Does that include getting killed by the Sixth Angel?" Shinji spat back at the man. He didn't need his praise, far from it. Why was the commander even here? How had Rei managed to even get him here or did he order this?
Was this all a ruse? Was it too much to ask to have a peaceful dinner?
"That was… an unfortunate occurrence."
"UNFORTUNATE?!" the sound of his bowl slamming down into the table seemed to quiet the entire apartment in an instant, despite it only being the three of them.
"Do you have any idea how painful that was? Do you have any idea what I went through!?"
He was still talking about Ramiel, right?
That same blank face stared back at the boy before the man set down his own bowl softly and folded his hands on the table.
"One person's pain is inconsequential to NERVs goal, humanity cannot be saved without sacrifice."
Internally, Shinji wanted to reach across the table and strangle the man, why exactly did he think he could just sit there and lie to him? His son, or at least in a way his son. Would it kill the man to act human for once?
"Oh, spare me! What's the point of saving humanity if you're not even going to act human by the end of this?!" the boy swore he was starting to see red as he started to push himself up.
"Shinji…" Suddenly his attention was back on the man. "calm down."
He frowned and realized his grip had broken the chopsticks in his hand.
"It was never been my intention for you to be hurt, just know we all have our burdens."
That was perhaps the most emotion he had ever received from the man. The boy seemed to deflate, the majority of him wanted to fight that, screaming at the man that there was nothing behind those words. Then… the smallest part of him wanted to believe those words, for just one second in his life he wanted to believe the man meant the words he said.
It was the closest thing he had ever heard to an apology from the man, ever, if there was ever something he wanted Gendo to be genuine about, it was the last thing he said to him.
"If that's true… you should have just left me where I was…" he mumbled taking another mouthful of rice.
He could see Rei poking her head around the doorframe, why she seemed so interested in the two of them he couldn't understand.
Before the conversation could continue, however, the girl again came out with three bowls, this time with the man dish.
To Shinji, it smelt perfect, of course, he could make it better, but compared to last night's cooking it was heavenly and he could tell the effort that went into the meal just by looking at it.
"Thank you, Rei," he said as she handed him a bowl, Gendo said nothing, simply nodding.
Waiting till the bluenette came back to the table Shinji couldn't help but think about how this was the closest thing to a family dinner he had ever had and how messed up that was. Even lives where Yui had been alive, it had felt so disingenuous, but this…
It seemed that the moment Rei sat down all hell broke loose, both Gendo's and his own phone went off, while within seconds, the front door flung open, though, to Rei's credit, she didn't even flinch at the sudden intrusion.
"Sir, there's been an incident with Unit-03."
One second to midnight
This wasn't the easiest thing in the world, simply because of the balancing act between Shinji's hostility/annoyance at his father and Gendo's reactions. We don't get a lot of interaction between the two in the rebuilds and hopefully Gendo's attitude it similar towards Shinji in the end.
SHOUTOUTS!
UltraSpink of Da USA – Thanks! Hopefully, nothing derails this train…
k4153r – In the movie Asuka just for some reason opens up and I guess realizes that she can be happy? Either way, it happens by accident but it's the final little bit that Asuka needs to really accept her emotions. I'm not a fan of Shikinami, versus Soryu she's a much weaker character, but the fact she's not as damaged and more overt about her feelings I thought would be an interesting thing for Shinji to deal with.
Su Exodus – Ah yes, reaching this level in her development and then….
EvaPilotFair – Thanks, maybe one day we will get to see the Austrian Alps….
skyf0x – Poor Shinji not getting a single bite of that delicious-looking food.
spartanman2 – Very true, I kinda view Misato's thinking as her wards would be cute together, but not actually pushing the two together. The reason she's at all happy about this is because of her getting closer to Shinji after Ramiel. Had that not happened then Misato wouldn't be this OOC.
Oh No – I'm pretty sure Shikinami could still deliver a beatdown on par with Soryu, though I doubt it would be as painful HAHA!
Guest – From a certain point of view…
Iraki01 – Admitted and accepted, all in the knick of time too.
dyinglittelstar – Thanks! The little dinner party we never got to see.
A Guy – Hello There… and nope, spaghetti-4-armed Bardiel is a new one for our Shinji.
Berix - Yeah both characters are pretty surprised by each other, Misato more towards Asuka because its so jarring. I doubt Misato would actively push her two wards together but would be happy at the fact they could find happiness with each other. Misato herself (if she's similar to NGE), based on her actions when Shinji isn't coming out of the core after Zeurel, isn't too far stretch if she got him killed, unfortunately Asuka wanted that relationship Misato had with Shinji and right here we almost had that happening.
Guest- WILL DO!
So… I'll see you all next week.
Until Next Time.