"BEEP BEEP BEEP"
Shinji groped for the snooze bar. He knew it was morning but that didn't mean he had to like it.
"Hmmm...Aurrrgh. Damn you Kensuke! No more all night online battle simulation games. I knew it would end like this. At least I remembered to set the alarm for…...EIGHT THIRTY?! Oh no, no, no."
He sat bolt up and scrambled to his feet. Shinji slid open his door and made a beeline for the bathroom. Rushing past the mirror he reached into the shower. A quick twist of the tap and steam started filling the room. As the water hit his head and rolled down his back Shinji closed his eyes, relaxed and started to breathe deeply.
So much life was jammed in to the five years since he arrived in Tokyo 3. Since Shinji's father Gendo had ordered him there. Shinji had been forced in to service for the military organization NERV, piloting one of three giant combat mechs called Eva's. The Eva used advanced heuristic circuits to "learn" from it's pilot. The pilot was installed in the unit via a "plug" that fit in the Eva's spine, near its head. Once the pilot was in place the plug was flooded with LCL, a sort of spinal fluid that helped maximize the link between Eva and pilot. The link not only meant the Eva and pilot moved as one, but that any damage to the unit was transferred instantaneously to the pilot's mind. Their bodies remained intact but the "pain" was real.
Shinji had barely arrived when Seele launched their Sachiel unit in a fierce attack. With Major Katsuragi at the com Shinji was strapped in to Eva Unit 1 and coaxed through his first mission. He still had trouble remembering the events clearly. He had hardly managed two giant steps before Sachiel hit him with two blasts that knocked Unit 01 back against the hills surrounding Tokyo 3. The next thing he recalled was waking up looking at a bland white ceiling.
Over the next two weeks he had lots of time to think and lots of visits from Misato. She was either worried and crying as his roommate, or reviewing his performance and spewing facts about his amazing sync rate with Unit 01. Shinji didn't care about fighting or his sync rates. The whole experience had been a horrifying nightmare that he never wanted to live through again. He didn't have the slightest clue why his father had called out of the blue. Why he was ordered to report. Considering he hadn't seen his father in four years, none of this made sense.
Shortly after his release from the hospital Shinji moved in with Misato. She told him it was to help him feel at home in Tokyo 3. Shinji figured it was a way for her to stop him from running away and keep her company at the same time. Considering he was 14 and Misato was 29 Shinji wasn't exactly sure how he could keep her company. Sharing an apartment with a grown woman was a constant source of embarrassment and nose bleeds. Shinji was naturally shy and the regular sight of her pantyhose hanging in the bathroom was just weird. Not to mention her choice of clothes, mostly a crop top and jean shorts. Or the constant stream of dirty jokes. For all the confusing messages she was sending, Shinji knew Misato did her best to make his life away from NERV as normal as possible.
"A fresh start...a fresh start..." he mumbled
It had only been two weeks since starting university and the last thing he wanted was to show up late.
"The world famous hero Shinji Ikari. Third Child, pilot of Evangelion Unit 1, tardy. Locked out of a physics class because he couldn't operate an alarm clock. Because he couldn't say no to a high school friend. Because he'd rather stare at a computer screen all night than risk falling asleep. Wow...I really am a piece of work."
None of that mattered right now. Shinji started soaping up and rinsing off at breakneck speed. Not even a moment to, ahem, enjoy himself. "What else is new?" he muttered, climbing out and toweling off.
A swipe of the mirror let him take a good look at his face. The same boyish features were there but the eye's were much older now. The blue had turned cloudy, murky. The lack of sleep didn't help either. "Oh yeah. I'm every woman's dream date this morning". He mumbled sarcastically. "I hope you love the unshaven, half dead hero look ladies, cuz that's what I've got goin' on."
Grabbing his toothbrush he headed back to the bedroom and rummaged round for clean clothes. He pulled out a maroon dress shirt, black socks, a pair of boxers, his only clean black jeans and made his way to the living room.
The clock showed 8:45.
A quick inspection of the room showed no changes since last night. It was a relief he didn't have to deal with the aftermath of the "Misato and Kaji bar crawl" night outs anymore. Still, it would have been nice to see some signs of life in the apartment this morning. During the war it wasn't unusual for Misato to be gone overnight, or be passed out in her room on her days off. Shinji would see her at NERV during training and they would eat at home (as long as he cooked), whenever the could. Since the new year they had both struggled to stay occupied but at least they had each other for company. Lately Misato had been spending more and more time away and Shinji was starting to feel a twinge of loneliness start to creep in again.
"Did Misato even make it home? I can't remember if she's pulling another week of night shifts at NERV or spending another week of nights at Kaji's."
Ever since he'd moved in, Shinji had been trying to figure out Misato. She was this strange mix of Drill Sargent, older sister, drunken sexpot and emotional landmine. All held together by sheer will, determination and crates of Yebisu beer. Crates and crates of Yebisu beer. At NERV she made life and death decisions at he drop of a hat. She was a brilliant tactician with a gift for thinking outside the box. All of the pilots knew who was in charge but they also knew she had their back. Conversely, Misato at home was a completely different animal. She was a slob. She was loud, inappropriate and an alcoholic. Frankly, she scared him to death. Shinji remembered too many nights ducking as cans or bottles came flying his way or holding Misato as she dissolved in to a weeping, waling pile on the floor. He had kept her going with proper food and always made sure she passed out in the recovery position with a bucket nearby.. One minute she was reassuring and kind, the next she was nuzzled up whispering lewd suggestions in his ear. He always turned beet red and she would always howl with laughter. Misato knew just how to get a rise out of him. She even kept it up when Toji and Kensuke stopped by in junior high. Misato knew she was hot and she would egg on his friends just to drive him nuts. It was all a game but he was embarrassed by her antics. To make matters worse, Shinji's bedroom was right next to his. It didn't matter if she was in there with Kaji or pleasing herself. He heard everything and like any normal teen he would fantasize and jack off. The resulting shame he felt caused him to stay awake worrying he'd be discovered. Life with Misato stayed like this for two years.
Once the battle with Seele was over Misato spent time in therapy sorting out her issues. Coming to terms with her father's death and her guilt. Accepting that alcohol didn't make her troubles or responsibilities disappear. Understanding that sleeping with someone was not the same as saying "I love you".
"Damn!" Shinji snapped out of it and finished pulling on his jeans and socks. "OK, gotta eat, gotta get there fast and gotta get someone to stall professor Yamato."
In the fridge was the remainder of last night's red miso soup which Shinji promptly inhaled. He checked the clock.
8:50
"No time to catch the train. It's a ten minute trip not including the run to the station. Looks like I've got to suck it up and use the NERV car service. I just hate looking like some kind of overblown super hero. The last thing I want is people pointing and staring at me when I get out of the damn car. I've had my fill of that shit."
Shinji looked at his phone and reluctantly hit speed dial 5.
"Good morning pilot Ikari, We will have a car outside in less than a minute."
Rushing for the door he grabbed his briefcase, a sweater and his mandatory NERV lapel pin. He pulled on his loafers and headed out. Struggling to get the sweater on he almost took a header down the stairs. By the time he reached the parking lot the huge black NERV car was waiting with an agent holding the back door open.
Shinji got in and closed his eyes. He could smell the leather interior as he sunk in to the back seat. He knew the car was soundproof and bulletproof. He knew all the windows were tinted. Just another way to keep everyone at arms length. And he knew the driver was trained to fight, kill or die for him. Right now he didn't care about any of that. What he did know was this car would literally stop at nothing to get him on campus before first bell.
"The Bentley Mulsanne. Top speed 269kmph and quiet as a ghost." He knew everything about that car, lord knows he'd been ferried around in it enough. After the fighting was over and the clean up around Tokyo 3 started Gendo decided the people needed to see and hear from their "Saviors". God, even now the thought of those trips made him sick. He wasn't anyone's savior. He couldn't even save himself. Every weekend meant hours in the car. Same routine, drive, speech, drive, speech, drive speech, home.
The first month was fine. He did his duty and even smiled while he was meeting the people who'd packed the halls and parks. After that things just got gray. He started feeling like Unit 01. A mech without a pilot. A dummy plug just going through the motions. He even spoke like a machine. Flat and robotic. It was a wonder anyone applauded. Rei always came on the trips. That was some solace but the First Child was always in the back. Away from the microphones, away from the people. Rigidly standing next to Gendo. Shinji understood her social anxiety made it near impossible to speak in public but it didn't help him cope either. He knew something was going to snap. It was just a question of when.
Shinji could remember the day everything changed. It was in Ubakoyama. He'd been sweating buckets the entire 3 hour ride from Myojogatake but like a good little soldier he toweled off and headed for the podium. As usual, on autopilot, Shinji just started speaking. He wasn't even looking at the crowd anymore. It was just another drill to master. Just another exercise in rote memorization. As he droned on, a car making it's way past the park backfired. The sharp "Bang!" snapped Shinji's head up. That's when he saw him. That's Shinji saw Toji. Laying on the grass in front of the crowd was his best friend, still in his plugsuit. The suit's right arm was burned away and Shinji could see the charred stump where Toji's hand had been. The same hand that socked him in the jaw the day they first met. The body was still except for the chest which rose and fell erratically. Shinji was frozen to the spot unable to process what he was seeing. His eyes traveled up to Toji's head which was facing the crowd. He watched as Toji slowly turned towards him. The face was almost unrecognizable. It was Toji but his skin looked like melted plastic and one eye as hanging by his cheek.
"Hey Shin man. Looks like a good crowd! Hahahahahahaha"
Shinji's eyes went wide in shock, He opened his mouth to scream but he started laughing and he couldn't stop. He was laughing so hard he started to hyperventilate. The last thing he felt was a sharp pain in his lungs then everything went black.
"Pilot Ikari?...Pilot Ikari?!"
"Yes?"
"We radioed ahead and cleared all traffic en route. All lights have been programmed green. It's a straight shot to the university. We estimate an eight minute trip."
"Fine"
He pulled out his cell and dialed Kensuke. "C'mon c'mon be there, he muttered."
"Hai, What's up Shinji?"
"Great! Listen, where are you? I need a favor. I might be late for first class and I need to get in there before Yamato starts lecturing. Can you find him before he gets there and stall for time? I only need two or three minutes."
"Uhhhmmm, I'm already in the hall with Hikari. I barely made it here myself. Damn that was a late night but the simulation was kick ass! Whadda a say we go another round tonight and see if we can really crack 'er open? Hello? Helllloooo?"
Shinji had hung up after the first sentence. Right now he was preying his next call would work out better. He pulled up the phone's address book and scrolled to "FC00". It was a number that was hard code in the phone when he got it from NERV. As far as he could remember it as a number he'd never called.
"Here goes nothing."
The phone connected and Shinji waited. One ring...two...three. He felt a knot forming in his stomach, then the line picked up.
"Moshi moshi, Ayanami speaking."
"Uh, hello Ayanami. It's me, Shinji. I mean, Ikari."
"Yes, I know First Child." returned Ayanami.
"Really? Wow, that's….creepy."
"I have memorized the phone numbers of all NERV senior staff and pilots. How may I help you?" she stated matter of factly.
"Oh, OK. I require your assistance. Due to unforeseen circumstances I am two or three minutes behind schedule. As a result Professor Yamato may begin the lecture before I arrive. Could you locate him and walk him to class?"
He waited.
"You and Aida were accessing the battle simulator all night again. Is that correct? It's very simple to set an alarm to help you wake up at a reasonable time Ikari. Another option would be to set a time limit on your use of the simulator."
"I set the stupid alarm. I just set it for the wrong time, OK? Never mind, I'll think of something else. Thanks anyway."
"Wait Ikari, she replied. I did not say I wouldn't assist you. If I find Professor Yamato I will have to miss purchasing my morning tea. Is that understood?"
"Yes...perfectly Ayanami. Thank you."
Shinji hung up and breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"How much time until we arrive on campus driver?"
"We should be pulling up to the Yukawa building in less than three minutes Pilot Ikari" came the reply from the front seat
"Please stop at the student union building. I have something to do first. I will walk the rest of the way from there."
"Understood Pilot Ikari"