Hi guys, Calborghete here, how are you all? I hope everyone is doing well.
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So now without further ado, enjoy your reading.
"Dialogues"
- Thoughts -
"Radio Talk"
"Self talk."
Liability Note:
Evangelion, its characters and setting are the property of Hideaki Anno. Any brands, movies and series mentioned in this Fanfic are the property of their creators.
(*)
Chapter 17
Misato only watched through Wunder's external viewfinder, she could see Unit 01 pushing the Mark 10 unit, forcing it away from Unit 02, still feeling stunned that Shinji had joined the battle.
"Damn it Shinji." Misato whispered as she looked at the statuses of all her EVA units.
"Misato!" Ritsuko called out, shaking her head and returning to the real world.
(*)
Outside, Shinji continued to push his opponent back, holding the spear with one hand while the other he used to strike blows at the enemy, hoping to have some effect.
"Asuka!" Shinji called out as he felt the Mark 10 Unit begin to shake, he could see that his grip was fragile and temporary, holding the spear tightly with both hands and pushing hard to maintain the small advantage he received.
Asuka was looking at Unit 01 struggling to keep her grip steady, her mind was thinking of a strategy to get him to drop the spear.
Seeing Shinji losing his small advantage, Asuka ordered Unit 02 to move forward, running up to the enemy Asuka shouted. "Hang in there brat! ... I'm coming!"
"Quick!" Shinji spoke as he struggled to keep the spear under control, feeling the jolts that Mark 10 was making.
Shaking very hard, soon Shinji could feel his hands slowly opening up, with each shake he received the more the spear loosened. "Shit!" Shinji yelled in frustration as he saw that he had lost control, watching as Mark 10 spun his weapon, Shinji took a step back as he saw that he was going to receive a blow.
Seeing that he would be attacked, Shinji immediately tried to put up his best defense, but his movements were not fast enough, feeling the metal of Longinus' spear violently hitting his head.
Asuka only watched as Shinji was hit, seeing Unit 01 falling to the side in a violent thud. "Bastard!" Asuka yelled as she ran even faster.
Shinji shook his head at the force of the attack, but he soon watched as Mark 10 was preparing to pin him to the ground with the spear, just as he did to Asuka a few seconds ago. "There you go not!"
Asuka finally came to Shinji's rescue, but not before she saw when Shinji rolled to the side, seeing Mark 10's spear penetrating the metal of Wunder's hull, Asuka saw the opportunity to launch her attack. "Here!"
Jumping to give more power to her punch, Asuka closed her fist and concentrated all the energy of her attack, watching as her punch hit the face of Mark 10 who finally let go of the spear and took a few steps back, soon Asuka watched as Unit 01 stood up and advanced towards her enemy, but not before catching the spear.
On the other side of Wunder's hull, Mari was managing to contain all of Mark 09's attacks, the scythe was proving to be very useful in the battle, Mari was managing to neutralize all of her opponent's blows, but was also failing to advance.
Seeing Shinji and Asuka's fight against the Mark 10, Mari could see that this unit was more powerful, more agile, and if Shinji was having any difficulty, they would have to attack with everything against this new enemy.
Spinning her weapon in the air, Mari tried to move forward, raising her scythe to the weapon, Mari saw when Mark 09 did exactly the same thing, sparks flew with the blows Mari gave against the enemy, but again she could not overcome Mark 09's strong defense.
"Shit!" Mari growled in frustration, she was no longer in patience for this whole thing, seeing Mark 09 in the defensive position all the time. "Stop defending yourself and fight!"
Mari shouted as she ran towards the enemy, again raising her spear, using all her strength to attack, Mari was using the full potential of her EVA against her opponent.
Turning her weapon quickly, Mari only watched as her blows were not having the necessary effect, this was only causing the girl she loved pink to become more and more irritated. "Damn you!"
Increasing the frequency of her attacks, Mari shouted in determination to overcome the enemy's strong defense, hitting Mark 09 hard, alternating between blows coming from right and left, Mari was trying everything.
Frowning as she saw that this was not working out, an idea soon popped into Mari's mind, an extreme and dangerous idea crossed her mind, but she had to try, Mari couldn't stay in this endless fight of attack verses defense forever, she would have to support Shinji and Asuka.
"Take that idiot!" Mari yelled as she threw her scythe in Mark 09's direction, watching as he predictably defended himself, but this time, Mari knew what to do, watching her scythe fly as it was blocked by Mark 09, but before he could recover, Mari launched her EVA.
Feeling her body colliding with Mark 09, Mari felt as her enemy fell to the ground, giving a fierce grin as she saw that her small onslaught gave the result she desired.
Trying to raise her defense again, Mari saw when Mark 09 tried to raise his weapon again, but this time Mari was prepared, holding the arm that was scything, Mari tried to use her free hand to deliver strong blows to Mark 09's face. "Take that!"
Shinji spun Longinus' spear in all directions, watching Mark 10 dodge with ease every gulp that Unit 01 was trying to give him.
Asuka was only watching, not having a weapon to enter the fray and provide the necessary support for Shinji. "Misato! I need a gun!"
Seeing how Unit 01 was giving it their all against Mark 10, Asuka felt her blood boil, she could see Mari's fight against Mark 09 and was only watching it all happen next to her, and the feeling of worthlessness flooded her body.
Before she heard the response from Wunder's bridge, Shinji's voice echoed through Unit 02, soon Asuka's eyes lit up, she heard him speaking. "Asuka! ... I'm going to open my compartment ... Get my knife!"
Being able to feel Shinji's effort in his words, soon Asuka ran towards Unit 01, seeing how the compartment where Shinji's progressive knife was, Asuka quickly picked it up, feeling that now she could do something useful in the battle, soon she started trying to deliver blows to Mark 10.
Seeing Unit 02 approaching, soon the Mark 10 knew he had to find a way to retrieve his weapon, he would have to have some advantage against the two enemies that were attacking him at the same time, soon he was dodging the onslaughts of the two units, trying to use his fists to contain the advance of the two WILLE units.
Mari could see Mark 09's face becoming a disfigured mass of flesh with the violence of his blows, but she knew that the Dummy plug felt no pain, that this would not stop this unit from remaining dangerous.
Soon she remembered the moment she had faced another Mark 09, she knew that the only way to get something was to destroy the entry plug by opening its compartment, Mari grabbed her progressive knife and with fierce strokes she began to cut her way through the enemy's flesh to get at his entry plug.
Feeling her stomach turn with the scene in front of her, Mari took a deep breath as she slipped her hand inside the enemy's chest, making her way through Mark 09's organs and guts, she could feel the enemy moving underneath her, but her movements were useless.
Feeling the metal of the entry plug in her EVA hands, Mari quickly tried to squeeze as hard as she could, crumpling the plug like a soda can, Mari only saw when Mark 09 stopped moving, with a victorious smile she stood up, but her smile was short-lived.
Turning her head, she watched as Mark 10 landed a hard punch to Unit 01's face, seeing him retrieve the replica of Longinus' spear. "Hang in there guys!"
Shinji was still dazed from the punch he took, he could see when Asuka advanced against the Mark 10, seeing him again in possession of his weapon, soon his eyes widened when he saw Asuka trying to invest, seeing the sparks flying as the spear collided against the knife.
But soon his senses were coming back, a voice flooded his input plug.
"Shinji! What's up?" Misato's voice echoed, she could feel the concern in her voice, feeling her blood boiling as she saw Mark 10 deflecting and fighting back the blows Asuka was delivering, soon he could see when Mari approached.
"I'm fine!" Shinji growled as he ordered his EVA to stand up, she was annoyed, this enemy was proving to be very annoying and persistent, again standing up, he looked over, seeing Wunder's cannons on the other side of the ship, an idea popped into his mind.
"Misato! I have an idea!" Shinji spoke as he stood up and headed toward the enemy.
(*)
Wunder Bridge.
Everyone could see how challenging the battle was, seeing the statuses of all the pilots, they could see that they were doing everything possible to defeat this new enemy.
Misato was tense, this battle was proving to be very difficult for her, all her strategies were proving useless against this new enemy, Wunder could do nothing about it, her weapons were proving to be ineffective.
Ritsuko was typing frantically on her console, studying everything she could to be able to find a weakness, but her eyes were already showing the result of her research, she didn't know how.
"Misato! I have an idea!" Shinji's voice gasping with effort echoed across the bridge, everyone raised their heads.
Misato only shook her head to clear her mind, any idea was helpful, picking up her radio quickly she spoke in a strained voice. "Shinji! Speak!"
"I'll hold it as best I can, turn the Wunder cannons and fire!" Shinji's voice was heard, everyone could hear the sounds of the blows echoing.
But that was not what shocked people, but rather Shinji's idea, he wanted Wunder to literally shoot them.
Ritsuko only shook her head in disbelief, soon taking Misato's radio and speaking hurriedly. "It won't do Shinji any good! Wunder's ammunition can't break through the enemy's strong armor!.. "
"I know, but it will give us a gap!" Shinji spoke up gasping.
Misato only stared at Ritsuko's face thinking about the possibility, seeing the look of doubt on her friend's face, she could see that there were no more options, turning to her team, Misato ordered strongly.
"Do it!"
(*)
Back in battle, Asuka's eyes widened as she listened to Shinji's idea, seeing the Mark 10 moving away as he deflected her blow, but soon he was spinning his spear in expectation of further strikes.
"Shinji! Have you gone crazy?" Asuka asked as she saw the absurdity in Shinji's idea.
"It'll work." Shinji spoke as he stopped next to Unit 02, the two watched as Mari began to attack with the scythe.
"Then let's do it soon, the batteries are about to run out!" Mari spoke as she looked at her display, seeing that her EVA was almost out of power, soon she would run out.
Shinji was hands free he could see that it was only a matter of time before Mari and Asuka would be out of the fight, only he had the privilege of being with an S2 engine that would give him unlimited energy.
Seeing Mari and Asuka advancing towards Mark 10, he soon saw when it defended itself as usual, spinning its spear and blocking the attacks of its female colleagues, but unlike before, he saw a gap, seeing his guard opening and becoming exposed, smiling as he saw this. Soon his eyes saw when Wunder's cannons turned in their direction, widening his smile as he saw that they heard him.
But his attention was broken when Mark 10 blocked Mari's attack, soon his attention fell on Asuka, seeing the same turning around and pointing the tip of the spear at Asuka, having attacked instead of defending herself.
"Asuka!" Shinji screamed as he saw what was going to happen, with his eyes wide open, he saw when Mark 10 attacked with the spear, launching its tip towards EVA 02, running and seeing the world in slow motion, Shinji only had time to remove Unit 02 from his front, but not to mount his defense.
Asuka felt when EVA 01's hands held her, seeing the spear heading towards her, she felt when her body was moved from the deadly path the spear would travel.
Soon Asuka and Mari's eyes widened when they saw the spear penetrating Unit 01's chest, piercing it completely.
Letting out a muffled scream as he felt the spear go through his chest, feeling the nervous feedback of the blow on his own body, but soon his eyes turned to the enemy, holding the spear with both hands and approaching his enemy, Shinji could feel the agony of forcing the Mark 10 closer.
"Shinji!" Asuka shouted as she saw unit 01 advancing, seeing the spear tips sticking out of EVA 01's back, Asuka widened her eyes in shock feeling her body freezing at the sight.
Mari wasn't much different, but she could come back to reality faster, moving toward Shinji, but soon her eyes widened at his request.
"No!" Shinji spun around as he felt the spear in his chest, this was hurting badly, but he had managed to contain Mark 10 and seeing the cannons already in position. "Misato now! Shoot now!"
(*)
Wunder Bridge.
Misato's eyes widened at the news that Mark 10 had managed to wound Shinji, seeing her technicians giving her the updates that about the battle and the status of the pilots.
"Unit 01 through!" Ritsuko shouted as she received the reports, her screen showing the areas of damage received.
"Pilot's vital signs abnormal!" Shigeru spoke as he saw how Shinji's body was reacting to the damage from his EVA.
Misato was about to scream, feeling the plan going into space, but Shinji's voice echoed across the bridge.
"Misato now! Shoot now!" Everyone looked at Misato, this plan was proving to be very dangerous and did not have the guarantees that it would work.
Misato only looked down, she could feel her hands shaking, her mind didn't want to give the order, this was all too risky. "Shit Shinji."
(*)
Shinji could feel that Mark 10 was trying to pull the spear, any small movement he could feel, still not understanding the reason for the bridge's delay in firing.
"Shinji what are you doing?!" Asuka shouted as she raised her EVA.
"No!" Shinji shouted as he raised his AT field, using it as a weapon, he pushed the EVAS of his companions, he didn't want them to get hurt.
Feeling the impact of the AT field pushing them away, Asuka only widened her eyes, but soon she felt the anger growing for Shinji wanting to play the hero again.
"Puppy, no ... there is!" Mari was trying to get closer as she felt the AT field of unit 01 pushing her.
Shinji seeing that they were safe, shouted as he squeezed Mark 10 harder. "Misato!"
Soon he saw when Wunder's mighty cannons opened fire, praying it would work, he saw when Wunder's ammunition tore through the air heading towards them, raising the AT field between him and the enemy, Shinji only closed his eyes as he spoke to his mother, "Come on mom, help me."
Outside, Unit 01's eyes shone brighter as it lifted the AT field at full strength.
Seeing Wunder's ammunition tearing into Mark 10's flesh, Shinji could feel it colliding with his AT field, he could only hope it would hold.
Asuka only saw when the Mark 10 Unit and Shinji were thrown away, seeing a large cloud of smoke staying in place. "Shinji?" Mari began looking at her sensors for anything.
But everyone's eyes widened when a large cross-shaped explosion appeared just below Wunder, everyone was hopeful that Shinji's daring plan had worked.
Feeling his body falling, Shinji only saw when the Mark 10 exploded, with a smile he realized it had worked, but soon he felt a loud thud.
Seeing white lights stopping the fall of his EVA, Shinji only giggled when he saw that he was alive, with his eyes falling on the spear, he quickly tried to pull the metal object from Unit 01's chest, giving small groans as he did so.
(*)
Wunder Bridge.
Tama was at his post, all looking for any sign of Shinji or the enemy, when his computer picked up a small signal, he quickly took care of holding it with Wunder's AT field, using the same technology he used with Mari in the Paris fight.
"Got it!" Tama shouted as he smiled, he at least caught something, soon everyone's eyes fell on him. "I got something."
Misato started to approach Tama's console to take a look at what he fished out with Wunder's AT field, but before she could say anything, Shinji's voice echoed over the bridge.
"This is unit 01, enemy destroyed, something got me and I'm heading back to Wunder."
Misato closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief to see that Shinji was okay, everyone on Wunder's bridge smiled as they celebrated the victory, only Midori was frowning.
(*)
"Puppy ... You're too crazy!" Mari shouted as she saw Unit 01 being inducted into Wunder.
Asuka was relieved that Shinji was okay, but she soon became irritated to see that Shinji again acted irresponsibly, keeping his eyes firmly focused on Unit 01 that was inducted into Wunder.
(*)
Feeling the external movement, Shinji soon realized when the input plug had been removed, closing his eyes as he felt the LCL being removed from the capsule and his lungs.
But this was not what bothered Shinji, but what he expected, knowing that he had again entered an EVA without permission, he would most likely be harshly reprimanded for his idea to destroy the enemy.
Feeling the traditional jolts, Shinji only kept his eyes closed while breathing calmly, he would have a lot of explaining to do, still listening to the machines at work.
At the sound of wind, the entry plug hatch was opened and soon light illuminated its interior, Shinji slowly opened his eyes upon seeing the door open, with a final inhale he stood up, seeing his hospital clothes completely unused after being soaked in LCL.
"I just hope they don't fight with Sakura." Shinji spoke with a small smile on his face as he stood up, stretching his back and massaging his sore chest from the nervous return of the EVA, Shinji treated himself to heading for the exit.
Jumping onto the metal platform, Shinji soon noticed the technicians working and analyzing the damage in Unit 01, he could see Unit 08 next to his, turning his gaze, he could see when some technicians were staring at him cautiously.
"What is it?" Shinji asked quietly to these people, he watched as they changed their focus and went back to their work, shaking his head negatively as he turned and started to walk out of the EVAS cages, still feeling his legs and his balance awkward, but he could kind of walk satisfactorily.
A few meters from the exit, Shinji stopped when he heard his nickname being called, knowing that this voice belonged to a person, she was the only person who called him that.
"Puppy!" Mari spoke as she approached smiling, Shinji only saw when Mari approached. "Man you are really crazy, you know you could have died? "
Shinji only gave a small smile as he spoke dismissively. "It worked ... And I really don't mind dying."
Mari only watched his face, she analyzed him for any information, seeing how he had literally pulled the spear towards himself to contain Mark 10's movements, she knew that Shinji was risking too much and she feared that Shinji did this on purpose, that he really didn't care about dying.
Shinji only turned around to go to the changing rooms, he wished he could remove the LCL from his body before it dried, but his body tensed up at Mari's next sentence.
"You really don't care?" Mari asked as she turned serious, having seen Shinji's back, Mari was only waiting for Shinji's answer. "Outside, when you asked Misato to shoot, you didn't care one bit?"
Rolling her eyes softly as she watched Shinji walk back, Mari had the confirmation she wanted, she saw that Shinji really didn't care about his life, seeing how he walked away with each step he took. "Really puppy ... This is going to be really hard."
Shinji stopped as he heard this, slowly turning to Mari and staring her in the eye, he had thought a lot about death these years. "I just don't see death as something terrible, for me it is liberating." Concluding as he turned back his way.
Mari only watched as Shinji entered the locker room, thinking about Shinji's words and actions on the battlefield, becoming seriously concerned about them, finally understanding that Shinji gave his all in battles not because he wanted to defeat his enemies, but to cross paths with one that could set him free.
"Where is he!?" Asuka shouted as she entered the cage, she was really annoyed to see how irresponsible Shinji had been in the battle, soon her eyes fell on Mari who was standing there with a thoughtful look on her face.
Moving closer to her sister, Asuka spoke strongly as she saw that Unit 01 had already extracted her pilot, keeping her voice strong, Asuka repeated her question. "Four eyes! Where's the brat?!"
Mari finally came out of her reverie, she only spoke calmly. "The puppy is in the shower, do you want me to go check it out?" Mari concluded smiling.
Asuka only clenched her eyes, she was too upset to blush, turning and heading toward the men's locker room, she want some explanation from Shinji about his conduct in the battle. "That brat!"
Mari only smiled as she saw that Asuka was indeed heading toward the locker rooms, running after her sister. "Princess!"
Asuka was very focused on her task, watching the locker room door, but before she had a chance to enter, Asuka felt when Mari's hands stopped her. "Let go of me!"
"Princess!" Mari spoke to Asuka's advance, pulling her shoulder, looking Asuka in the eye, Mari could see the Blue glow in her eye patch, she only had that glow when she was angry. "I know we all want to see the puppy's naked body, but now is not the time."
Asuka only shook her head, still too angry to blush, she only growled. "Four eyes!"
Mari only accepted that this was not the time or place for her jokes, but she had to make Asuka calm down, knowing that Shinji would most likely suffer from Asuka's invasion of the locker room.
"Look princess." Mari spoke as she released Asuka's shoulders. "Did the puppy fight irresponsibly? Yes, but it won't be by beating him up that we will get his answers."
That seemed to have calmed the red-haired girl, seeing how Asuka was shaking her head negatively. "What was in his head?!" Asuka snorted as she remembered shinji impaling himself in battle. "It seemed like he didn't care about his own life! "
Mari wished she could share her thoughts about Shinji with Asuka, but she was going to wait to talk about it in the bedroom, to have a serious, private conversation with Asuka about him.
"He ... He's a strange guy ... Stranger than me." Mari spoke as she smiled, she managed to remove a small smile from Asuka, but soon they both became serious again.
Asuka was about to speak, but they were soon interrupted by Maya entering the cages and speaking professionally. "Girls, Katsuragi wants to talk to you." Maya spoke as she looked around with her head for Shinji, but she couldn't see him anywhere.
"He's in the shower." Mari spoke smiling, she was almost repeating her joke when Asuka spoke first.
"What does she want?!" Asuka growled upon hearing that Misato wanted to talk to the pilots, desperately wanting to clear her body of the LCL.
"I don't know, that's you guys with her." Maya spoke dismissively. "When he leaves, everyone has to go to her office."
(*)
Shinji was standing facing Misato, his eyes locked firmly on hers, he could see that she was upset by her posture, sitting with her arms closed and a scowl on her face, Asuka and Mari were too, but they could see that Misato wanted to talk more to Shinji than to them, they both judged that they should be very quiet with the intensity of Misato's gaze.
With a tired sigh, Shinji decided to speak. "Well? Are we going to stay here all day?"
Misato only shook his hands, his mind was still reliving the battle they had, remembering Shinji's irresponsibility in putting his life at risk, harshly remembering her revealing he had already tried to kill himself in the past, with her mind asking itself the most obvious question, was Shinji trying to kill himself again?
"Why were you so reckless!?" Misato asked directly, her voice was intense and did not open the door for crude answers, she wanted something direct, her hands clamped tightly and her arms, drumming her fingers against her arms demonstrating her lack of patience.
Shinji only shrugged, he did not see it as recklessness his movements, he replied dismissively. "I don't see it as recklessness."
Misato frowned, lowering her head to contain her anger, "So you're going to tell me that putting yourself in danger is not reckless?"
"We are in a war, you expected what?" Shinji replied keeping his voice calm, but his posture revealed that he was getting annoyed by these questions.
Misato let out a long sigh as she removed her glasses, looking coldly at Asuka and Mari. "Girls out."
Mari turned and left quickly, she didn't want to be in the room when the bomb went off, Asuka turned and left slowly, she would like to stay and see what Shinji's answers would be about this, but Misato's gaze made no room for it.
Seeing that they were both alone in the office, Misato again locked her eyes on Shinji, both stared at each other for a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. "I'm waiting!"
Shinji sighed again as he thought about his answer, but his mind couldn't think of anything, having remembered Mari's words, he really didn't mind dying, as he had spoken before, death was a form of liberation for him.
"I've spoken before, I don't see what all the fuss is about." Shinji again spoke with disdain, this was only adding to Misato's anger, seeing Shinji with total disdain about his life. "We defeated the enemy, didn't we?"
"That's not the point Shinji!" Misato spoke strongly as she rose from her chair. "You could have died today! "
"But that wasn't the case." Shinji spoke wearily and with a slight hint of disappointment in his voice, something Misato noticed.
"Listen to something Shinji." Misato spoke as she approached, she kept her gaze strong the whole time. "You may not value your life, but we do ... You're a WILLE pilot now and people are counting on you, staying acting reckless isn't going to help you."
"Help me?" Shinji retorted sarcastically, he still had his doubts, even though he had already agreed to be more helpful to WILLE and Misato, it hadn't changed his view of himself, he still saw himself as a monster.
Misato felt the sarcasm in Shinji's voice, knowing that he still didn't fully trust her, but she couldn't let him act like every mission was his last.
"I really am trying Shinji." Misato spoke as she softened her posture, her mind still recovering from realizing that Shinji didn't value his life. "What do you think your death would help?"
Shinji shrugged as he spoke with complete disdain "I don't know, but let's not treat it like it's a big deal."
Misato only widened her eyes at this revelation, her body being overcome by anger and acting out of pure extinct, she raised her hand and slapped Shinji across the face, Misato only watched as Shinji's face turned in the direction of his slap, he kept a neutral gaze.
With a sigh, he closed his eyes as he felt his cheek burning with the force of the slap, it was a strong slap. "How can a woman with a thin arm hit so hard?" Misato only sighed annoyed.
"Shinji listen." Misato spoke as she looked at him with a calm and welcoming look. "Please ... What is so hard for you to understand that I care about you?"
Shinji saw the look in Misato's eyes, feeling something breaking in his head, one of his mental defenses had gone at this point, seeing Misato's eyes he could only see that she was telling the truth, letting out another defeated sigh again. "Okay ... I'll be more careful."
Misato saw the change in Shinji's posture, nodding with a shadow of a smile on his face, returning to his chair and sitting down. "You have to go back to the infirmary, you still have a lot to recover."
Shinji only shook his head, he believed he might as well go back to his room. "I might even go there, but I'm not spending another night in a hospital."
"Are we going to have to go into that again?" Misato spoke tiredly, she remembered the good times where Shinji didn't stay in a hospital for nothing.
"I don't need to go back there, I'm already fine." Shinji spoke as he wanted to go back to his room at Wunder.
"Sakura will decide that." Misato spoke maintaining her colonel's posture. "That she will decide and if she thinks you will have to stay, she will obey." Misato concluded as she pointed her finger at Shinji.
Shinji only rolled his eyes and spoke in a tantrum. "No."
Misato only clenched her eyes, she could show all her annoyance. "Shinji! That's not your choice! And that's an order."
"Really?" Shinji asked annoyed as he saw Misato's posture, she was looking the same face she did when she wanted to blackmail him with something in the old days.
"Yes." Misato spoke victoriously.
"Okay ... Happy now mom? " Shinji spoke as he crossed his arms, but soon his eyes widened at what he had said, he had just called Misato his mother.
Misato's eyes widened at this revelation, feeling her heart warm at this small word, it was simple, but the effect it had on her body was stronger than any medicine, any drink.
Shinji only saw Misato's shocked look, this only gave the confirmation he wanted, Misato had listened. "I ... I'm going to see Sakura."
Misato only saw when Shinji turned and left his office quickly, seeing the door close leaving her alone again, still feeling the weight of those words, Misato did something she hadn't done in a long time, a big smile appeared on her face.
Still smiling, Misato felt that things really could get better, that old Shinji hadn't really died, he was still somewhere.
(*)
Still walking through the halls, Shinji was making his way to Wunder's infirmary, his mind replaying the moment he had spent, still feeling in shock at having called Misato his mother.
- Donkey! Donkey! Donkey! - Shinji mentally scolded himself for this slip, he had always seen Misato as a mother figure, she was like an older sister/replacement mother to him, but he thought he would never let this information slip.
"Damn." Shinji spoke as he entered the halls of the infirmary, bringing his hand to his face. "What a shit I did."
Standing facing the hospital door, Shinji could see the movement of doctors and nurses, he could see Mari and Asuka doing some tests inside, with a sigh he entered.
Mari was the first to notice his presence, seeing Shinji enter with a shocked look on his face, her curiosity was screaming at this, but she would leave it for later, with a smile on her face she noticed that she and Asuka were wearing a hospital gown.
"Hello puppy!" Mari spoke as she gestured with her hand. "I'm glad you're here."
Asuka only snorted as she felt the stethoscope pressed against her chest.
Sakura finally noticed Shinji approaching, she turned around and spoke professionally and smiling, "Hello Shinji-Kun, can you sit over there and remove your shirt please."
Shinji only huffed and went to one of the stretchers, removing his shirt and waiting, soon he felt Mari's eyes on his body, he could see she was scanning him, Asuka noticed this too, but the redhead had done it more discreetly. "Really?"
"What?" Mari retorted with a smile on her face. "Don't blame me."
Asuka only shook her head, but soon her eyes fell on Shinji again, seeing how he was waiting for Sakura to do the post-battle exams, soon she caught herself thinking about the past, all the times she was cruel to Shinji, all the times she ridiculed him and her worst regret, the time she said her death would not be felt.
Feeling Asuka staring at him, soon Shinji's eyes met hers, they both looked at each other for an eternity, but unlike before, there was no hatred or rancor in Shinji's eyes, he was just looking.
Mari looked at Asuka and Shinji, seeing that they had been staring at each other for a long time. Smiling like a cat she spoke. "Wow ... Can anyone smell that?"
Sakura approached Shinji, but she could hear Mari's question, soon she started breathing to feel the source, but found nothing. "No."
"I feel ..." Mari spoke with a smile as she took a long breath, Asuka and Sakura knew what that meant, looking at her sister's face in fear, Asuka only waited. "Someone is horny, I think the princess wants to get laid."
"Mari!" Asuka blushed heavily, her face in fell back on Shinji who kept his face with a shy but cute smile on his face, she knew that Mari's joke probably gave perverted ideas in Shinji's mind, but for some reason of fate it didn't bother Asuka.
Sakura approached Shinji and began to take the exams, feeling Shinji's body tense up. "What? Did it hurt?"
When she didn't receive an answer, Sakura soon realized the reason, she saw when Rei entered the infirmary and Shinji locked his gaze on her.
Seeing Shinji again in several years, Rei was carrying some boxes of medical supplies, approaching and speaking with a smile on his face. "Ikari!"
"How are you Rei? And you can call me Shinji, you are my sister after all ... Ouch!" Shinji spoke as he felt Sakura removing a blood sample.
"Stop being a whiner." Sakura spoke smiling as she collected the blood.
"Because it's not your arm." Shinji spoke indignantly, but soon his attention returned to Rei, he is really happy to see her.
"I go well ... Shinji." Rei spoke still with a smile on his face.
"Are they treating you well?" Shinji asked seriously.
Rei only nodded. "They do me no harm."
"Good." Shinji spoke somberly, showing that he would not stand for anything happening to her.
Asuka felt her hatred, seeing Shinji looking happy to see Rei as the two talked formally, Asuka wished she could do the same, but there was always something that got in the way, sometimes it was her pride, a tantrum, or something else.
Mari realized this and spoke calmly. "Hey ... Don't be like that, you know he sees she as his sister."
"That's not what bothers me." Asuka spoke dejectedly, remembering all the fights with Shinji from the times in the red earth.
"Why don't you talk to him." Mari spoke wisely, without malice or anything. "Put things where they should be."
"It's not that easy." Asuka spoke as she stood up, she wished she could tell Shinji everything, but she didn't know if she would have the strength.
"Hey!. " Mari spoke as she saw Asuka walking away, but managed to catch her attention. "Don't get fresh, you saw what happened today."
Asuka only nodded as she made her way back out of the infirmary.
Shinji was talking to Rei and Sakura, but soon he noticed Asuka walking away with a downcast look on her face, he wished he could go back to having a neutral relationship with her, but things had changed too much. He only thought about how it would be if things were different.
(*)
Asuka was in her room, alone with only her thoughts, Mari was doing something at Wunder and she was bored, still pondering Mari's words for her to put her pride aside and settle things once and for all with Shinji.
Still wanting peace, Asuka closed her eyes as she thought, but the only thing she could see was Shinji's friendly smile in the infirmary. "Damn it! Why do you have to do this to me Baka!"
Knowing that her mind would not leave her alone, Asuka growled as she got up and left, walking with strong steps through the halls, her feet making a great echo with the force they hit the floor, walking in a determined manner, she was going to put an end to the Shinji issue.
(*)
After some and xames, Sakura judged that Shinji could return to his room, but that she should return in case of any discomfort, arriving there Shinji reflected his day while looking at the ceiling, but the reason that was more bothering was the fact that he had called Misato Mother.
"Damn." Shinji whispered as he brought his hands to his face, but before he could do anything else, the sound of his bedroom bell echoed, frowning he went to the door.
When she opened, her eyes widened softly in surprise at the person on the other side, looking at Asuka's face with a scowl. "Hi."
Asuka only broke into Shinji's room, not waiting for permission, Shinji only stared at the wall outside and spoke wearily. "You may come in."
Standing in the middle of the room Asuka crossed her arms and spoke strongly, she kept her posture rigid and cold to control her anxiety that was great.
"I want to talk to you."
Shinji only stared at her with a confused look, he didn't know the reason for her visit. "Okay?"
Asuka only huffed as she let go of her arms, Shinji could see her flexing her hands, seeing that it would be important to affect Asuka in this way, he had never seen her so nervous before.
Seeing Asuka taking courage to speak something, Shinji opened his mouth. "What?"
"Shut your mouth you idiot!" Asuka growled, she was taking courage to do something she rarely did, thinking it was a weakness to have to apologize, but something in her head told her that this was the right thing to do.
"Okay." Shinji spoke as he leaned on the wall and crossed his arms, he would only wait.
Asuka seeing that she was returning to her aggressive stance, decided to tone it down a bit, she wasn't there to bully or start any trouble, she took a breath to calm herself down. "Look Shinji ... I'm here to ..."
Shinji just watched Asuka, seeing all her nervousness, he really started to worry a bit, Asuka was acting very strange.
Closing her eyes to calm herself enough, soon Asuka looked at Shinji, it was now or never her troubled mind thought.
"I'm here to ... To apologize."
Author's Notes: Hello Calborghete folks here, how are you? Did you like it? I hope so. As always be sure to follow and save it to your favorites so you don't miss any future updates.
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