Disclaimer: Standard.
Author's notes: Well this story is progressing slowly. I'm having a bit of a hard time trying it find filler so things don't progress to quickly. I hate it when people spring things on you too fast. Well anyways I have been reading your reviews and I'm sorry about the lack of a title or summary, in all honesty I can't think of a title and I have a hard time writing summaries. And also to answer the question about pairings ill just say this, I am a supporter of Shinji/Rei. Hey what can I say I have a soft spot for fellow introverts. As far as the rest they will happen as they come. I'm more then happy to take suggestions but my email is currently down for a while. Well I hope you enjoy this next chapter so R&R.
*******: Denotes flashback.
Chapter 4 Dinner Anyone?
Ikari, the ever-present stone mask fixed on his face. Here in front of the U.N. Security Counsel his stone mask was a valuable asset. Betraying nothing and explaining nothing, something that Fuyutski envied.
"Commander Ikari it has come to our attention that your installation in Tokyo 3 was attacked by three unidentified Evas care to explain?"
"The Evas in question are believed to belong to a secret religious cult known simply as Seele..."
"Ah yes the same religious cult that your Nerv worked for till recently?"
'Interesting' "Yes..."
"And what was there primary goal?"
"To initiate the Third Impact and the joining of all humanity into one being" Many of the countries that composed the counsel squirmed and whispered nervously to each other visibly disturbed by the revelations that the commander just said. However the ambassadors for Britain, Russia, China, And the U.S didn't even flinch. 'They seem to be privy to more then what they say, very interesting indeed' Gendo's eyes narrowed.
"Ah yes you are referring to the Instrumentality Project that your organization has been working on?"
"Yes, however..."
"How is that project progressing now?" the chairman interrupted.
Gendo disliked being interrupted but he let the rude comment slide. "It has been scrapped it no longer exists within Nerv" much of the counsel sighed in relief but there was still a few that didn't trust his words.
"What are your intentions now?"
"To be what we were originally designed to be. A combat and research unit that answers directly to the U.N."
At that time the Chinese ambassador decided to speak. "You mean to tell us that you, a well defended organization that wields the power of the Evas, the most powerful weapon in the world, is willing to carry out orders from us the U.N.?"
"Nerv was created to destroy the angels. That deed now done we must look to you for further tasking... we are not a sovereign nation" the last bit of his sentence had such a tone that only he could do.
The heads of the counsel whispered amongst themselves for a bit before turning to the Commander of Nerv "Very well Ikari you will be instated as the Nerv EvaCorps, whose mission is the sole protection of U.N. interests. Is that understood?"
"Perfectly" 'Interests? Sounds like politics'
"We do have one condition"
"And that is?"
"We will dispatch troops to your headquarters for protection against this terrorist group called Seele" a stern look was on his face.
'I highly doubt they're there for protection' Gendo thought bitterly. "Understood we will prepare for their arrival"
Shinji always thought he wasn't good at anything. He also took to thinking that he only did things because people told him to. Now he was playing his cello, but this was different. Now he played for a different reason that he couldn't place. His fingers danced across the strings with practiced ease as his bow glided across it. He had no music; he just played the song by heart, or perhaps from the heart. He closed his eyes as he felt the music come from him. He smiled. His smiles were always a treasure. It wasn't those happy smiles no; this was a smile that showed that he was less sad. A smile that hinted at better things to come. He opened his eyes again as his less sad smile grew. His song grew happier even though the speed stayed slow. 'Heaven' he thought. His hands flowed for a few more minutes and with a soft ease his song ceased to play but the reverberations of it can still be felt throughout the room. Shinji looked up as he saw movement by the door. 'Rei?' he thought 'No'
"Wark?"
"Oh PenPen it's you, I thought you were someone else." He chuckled to himself "is it time for food yet?" he asked while trying to stand up.
PenPen waddled over to his bed and sat down next to Shinji on the floor with his back against the bed. He turned and looked at Shinji and butted the cello with his head back into his hands. "Wark"
Shinji looked down at him with his smile. "Ok I'll play for you some more" He then noticed that PenPen was staring at the door expectantly. He looked up but saw nothing. "Huh? Oh well" he returned to his cello and started to play his song from the heart. There his eyes closed and his smile stayed as the music soothed the souls of the three people that can hear it. Out in the hallway another person sat on the floor with her back against the wall effectively out of site of Shinji. Her breathing became heavier and her heart seemed to beat faster but was soothed by Shinji's song. The blue haired girl stayed there until sleep and the song took over her senses.
'A bond.'
'This is what the Major said made up a family.'
'Eva'
'Eva was my bond, but now I have... Family?'
' Pilot Sohryu'
' The Second, she dislikes me but she is family. Do I have a bond with her?'
'The Major'
'My new guardian. She cares for me it seems. Why? Do I have a bond with her?'
'The Commander'
'My former guardian. My commander. One who I shared a bond with once. Is that gone?'
'Ikari...Shinji'
'...'
'Is he family. Do I have a bond with him? Or is he a different matter?'
A German who was announcing her arrival soon interrupted her thoughts and stirred her from her sleep. She stood, not wishing to be discovered there, she hurried to her room and closed the door silently. She turned to walk deeper into her room when she caught a view of herself in the mirror.....and froze.
"I'm...b..blushing?"
"Hey Baka, Misato's going to be late tonight"
"What for?" Shinji just put his cello away and him and PenPen made their way into the living room.
"How should I know? She said something about visitors"
"Really? Hmm.....huh?" he looked at Asuka and noticed the look that seemed to get more pissed when looking at it. Then it dawned on him "Oh right I'll get dinner ready"
"Bout time ya stooge" she turned and headed to her room to get ready for her shower.
"By the way I invited Hikari over for dinner" she called.
"Oh err ok. I'll make something for her. Is there something you want?"
"Something edible after Misato's breakfast" she yelled heading into the bathroom.
"Oh ok. Ayanami is there something you want?"
"Why you asking her for?"
Shinji just ignored the last comment as he headed to Rei's room. He knocked. "Ayanami you there?" he knocked again but got no answer.
"Ayanami I'm coming in alright" he opened the door to find that Rei had balled up on her bed with her back facing Shinji.
"Rei you ok?"
"..." 'Rei?'
"Re..... err Ayanami?"
"I'm fine Ikari-kun"
"Oh... I just wanted to see..." Shinji could tell his nerve was already back in the kitchen hiding under a table. "Is there anything you want for dinner?" he sighed.
Rei thought for a moment. "Are you cooking?" she asked
"Uh yeah. Misato will be late tonight"
"Then whatever you cook for me will be sufficient"
"Oh ok then" 'What the hell is the matter with me?' he slid her door closed and returned to the kitchen.
Hikari was making her way towards the Katsuragi residence so someone could cook for her for a change.
'It's nice having someone do something for you for a change' she thought 'but, it's like taking advantage of Shinji. He's too much of a nice guy' she started to feel that going was a bad idea. She started to pass by a large park.
'Maybe going is a bad idea' she stopped "Maybe I should just cancel"
"What's wrong Class Rep?"
"EEK!" Hikari nearly shot out of her own skin at the sound of a new voice. She shot around to find Toji sitting on the ground leaning against a small brick wall, the look on his face was a weary smile as if he seen too much life.
"Toji! That's not fair!"
Toji looked confused for a second, and then chuckled slightly to himself. "What's so unfair about it?"
"Oooh never mind!" she folded her arms and pouted in a Asuka like manner.
All Toji could do was chuckle. Hikari noticed the look on his face and grew a little worried. His face seemed tired. His smile wasn't the bright happy smile that was ever-present before, this smile seemed more like Shinji's, sad but less sad.
"What's wrong? What are you doing out here by yourself?"
" I was walking home from the hospital and I decided to stop and think for a bit"
"Oh..... how is your sister doing?"
"Alright, they are going to start sending here to physical therapy in a few days. I'll.....probably miss school then. I want to be there for her first day"
Hikari smiled sweetly at the boy. "That won't be a problem I'll get things worked out with sensei" 'Wow he is incredibly sweet' her smiled faded when she thought of something. "What were you thinking of?"
"Oh nothing just.....nothing, nothing at all" his smile was gone. He looked up at Hikari and saw the worried look on her face. He smiled "Don't worry about me. Hey where you going anyways?"
"Oh..... I'm going over to Asuka's for some dinner that Shinji is cooking, but....."
"But.....?"
"But I don't think I'm going to go over"
"Why not?"
"It's just that I feel like I'm taking advantage of him"
Toji laughed, "Oh don't worry about that, he loves to cook for other people"
"He does?"
"Yeah. It makes him feel good to do things for others, that's the kind of guy he is"
"Really? Well perhaps.....umm" she mumbled something else that Toji couldn't quite catch.
"What? I'm sorry I can't hear you"
Hikari, now turning a good shade of red, repeated herself but still in a mumbled tone.
"Huh?"
"WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME!!!"
Toji damn near fell over as Hikari used her best commanding voice, reserved only for the most thick headed students. After realizing what she just did she blushed even more.
"Err ok on one condition" Toji squeaked out.
"What"
"Don't do that again until school....." he smiled nervously "..... it's scary"
"Ok" Hikari smiled back nervously as well. 'How embarrassing'
"We will be leaving in the morning after breakfast" Gendo said while he and his long time friend were dining at a restaurant.
"Yes. Well what do you think of this new development Ikari?"
"It smells too much like politics but it may prove useful"
"How so?"
"How else? Protection, Seele is not brash enough to attack a coalition from the U.N. Even though they are bureaucratic fools the U.N. still has power"
"But you forget Ikari much of the U.N. already declared them a terrorist group. With that as the case what is going to prevent them from attacking us more frequently?"
"Power, they still have a few influences in the U.N. It will be a matter of time before they try to play that to their favor"
"If they do succeed in turning the counsel wouldn't their forces be in prime position to strike us?"
"That's why we are going to let them in"
"I don't understand"
"If we fully cooperate with the U.N. forces, Seele will have one less card to play. Eventually I would like to make them apart of our security protocols"
"Thus making it harder for Seele to paint us as a rogue U.N. program. In fact we will paint ourselves as the model program"
"Fully obedient and cooperative"
"Will we still be running experiments without their knowledge?"
"That argument will be postponed for the time being. Right now our mission is survival"
"Indeed.....whose getting the check?"
"You are" Gendo stated flatly
"Indeed" said Fuyutski annoyed.
*knock knock*
Shinji looked up from his cooking.
"Baka get that!"
"But..... oh never mind" Shinji started to wipe his hands off with a towel while he went to check on who it was.
The door slid open revealing two very large and very intimidating Section 2 agents.
"Eep" Shinji tried to hide under the towel with now luck.
"Shinji Ikari?"
"Uum.....yes?"
"Are the other three children with you?"
"Uum Asuka and Ayanami are but Toji isn't"
"Suzahara is accompanying your class representative here"
"Huh? How do you.....never mind"
"Are you planning to go anywhere tonight?"
"No we weren't..... at the moment"
"Good..... don't"
"Nani? Why?"
"Orders from the commander, we are to stand guard outside your door with two other agents standing guard inside. You are not to be permitted outside your apartment without the permission of the commander or sub-commander. Is that understood?"
Shinji could only blink.....hard.
"Good" the door closed swiftly as the agents outside discussed how they were going about this new tasking.
Shinji was still blinking fairly hard. 'Well I guess I got more people to cook for' he started thinking of what to cook. He opened the door and poked his head out at the four agents. "Hey! Are any of you vegetarians?"
Misato was rather confused by the recent increase in security. 'This is really weird, and who the hell is visiting anyways!' She chewed on her pencil, a sure fire sign that she was thinking. Ritsuko was currently working on the regeneration process of Unit-00.
"My everyone is in a bit of a frenzy aren't they?"
"But what for?" Misato said darkly 'I _still_ don't trust this'
"Relax, this we had nothing to do with"
"I'm sorry but I still have a problem with a few things" 'Too many lies'
"Well look on the bright side at least the Children are all right"
"What do you mean?"
"Did you see the new protocols involving them?"
"No" Misato blinked.
"You really need to start reading your files instead of using them as coasters" Ritsuko began rummaging through her mountain of paperwork while Misato stuck her tongue out at her. "Here"
Misato flipped through the file. "Wow this is pretty tight security. What a minute..... why are the commanders the only ones that can say when they can go out?"
"Jealous?"
"Oh shut up..... it's just odd that's all"
"You read too much into things"
"You would too"
"Wait till you see the protocols on your driving"
"HOLY SHIT!"
A knock on the door disturbed Shinji from his cooking once more, but when he turned to get it the Nerv agent was already at the door. 'Oh.....well that's nice, someone else got the door......cool' He returned to his cooking until he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey Shin-man how's it going"
"Kensuke well this is a pleasant surprise"
Aida pushed his glasses up onto his face as he entered the kitchen. "I thought it was Misato's turn to cook?" he visibly shuddered.
"She's going to be late tonight, she had some things to do involving some "guests"?"
"Oh..... well that's new too me I wonder how I missed that?"
Shinji leaned to Kensuke and whispered "Hey Section 2 is here so don't say anything that will get you into any trouble"
Aida paled a bit. Shinji laughed. "Well you're in a pretty good mood?"
"I don't know why I just am," Shinji said with his smile on his face.
"Well it's good to see you like this" Kensuke put his arms behind his head.
Shinji simply smiled "Care to stay for dinner?"
"That'll be nice but I don't want to intrude or anything"
"Don't worry about it....." he looked at his watch "Where is Hikari and Toji? They're late"
"My my my these are pretty extreme especially the ones involving Misato's driving" Kaji smirked. They former spy now held a job with Nerv. This was pretty surprising to him because he expected to be shot on sight the moment he "woke up" in an old corridor deep within Nerv's belly. Now he handled security measures involving the Children under the direct supervision of Gendo Ikari. The commander determined that the Major's job as an Operational Director and caretaker of the children was sufficient, so he appointed Kaji as their Security Director. He still remembered the day he was hired rather freshly.
***********************************************************************
A cold gun pressed against Kaji's temple as he was rising from the floor.
"How did you get here?" came a cold voice.
"Honestly I don't know, last thing I remember was waiting in an old building on the outskirts of town" he turned to look at the owner of the gun. "Ah Commander Ikari...... what brings you here?"
"....." His silence disturbed the spy.
"..... I don't know either"
Kaji was stunned. The Commander, not know? He must be dreaming. *pinch* Nope guess not. The commander stared at him for a few seconds then put his gun away.
"I may have some use for you, you are know under my command. Is that understood?"
"Yes.....may I ask what for?"
"No" Then he left abruptly.
"Ok?" Kaji blinked..... hard.
***********************************************************************
Since then he had done some work for the quiet commander. A few things here and there including some spying and spook work. But since then he worked as the Children's protective guardian. And according to the sub-commander he had been doing an excellent job.
"Sir....." Kaji looked up to see a very attractive Section 2 agent ".....here is the report on the modified security protocols for the Children's school" she handed him the file.
"Well thank you beautiful"
Annoyed the agent rolled her eyes as she left. 'He's been hitting on me every time I go in there, really starting to annoy me'
Shinji and Kensuke were both in the kitchen cooking when.....
"Gott in Himmel what's with the suits?!? And what's that perv doing here?"
'I'm here for dinner you demonic bitch!' "I'm here for dinner you demonic witch!"
"What did you call me!?! And who would invite a nerd like you anyways? And baka what's with these suits?"
"New security things or something like that....." Shinji said as Kensuke sat there and grumbled.
"Jeez this place is getting crowded" She continued to curse in German as everyone else went about his or her business.
PenPen stood there observing the scene. 'Where is the blue one?' he shifted his attention towards the Children's rooms, and then started to make his way towards Rei's room.
The door to the apartment opened and the two agents eyes shot straight for it ready to pounce.
"Geez lighten up will ya" Asuka jarred.
The agents relaxed when they saw that it was one of their own......accompanied by two surprised children. Hikari caught sight of Asuka and smiled cheerfully. Toji was staring at the rather large man with an angry look.....rubbing his arm. Both Kensuke and Shinji saw the two teens come in together. When Toji finally saw them they both had rather mischievous grins on their faces.
"What.....what are you two grinning at" he yelled angrily.
"Oh nothing just the fact that you..... and Hikari.....both.....came in together.....late!" Kensuke started laughing as he finished. Toji was just flustered.
"NOTHING HAPPENED!!!!"
"Sure you sound like Shinji" Kensuke laughed and Shinji choked.
"But nothing happened!" Hikari interjected.
"Oh now Hikari is defending your actions"
"I'm not!"
"Jeez at least you could wait to do those things till after dinner" Asuka jarred Hikari.
"Asuka!"
PenPen's head poked inside Rei's room to see where the "blue one" went. He found her laying face down on her bed.
'Hmm.....now the Fourth and the Class Representative have arrived this is going to be a noisy night' Rei thought. She didn't notice the penguin by her bed.
"They are all here for dinner. And to enjoy each other's company I assume. But are they considered family? We do not live with......"
"Wark"
Rei's head shot directly at the sound with her eyes wide open.
"Wark?" PenPen stood there looking questionably at Rei.
"What?" she said surprised. She sat up and looked down at the Penguin.
PenPen grew annoyed waiting for her to get up, so he took things into his own hands err..... flippers. He grabbed Rei's hands the best he could and pulled her out of bed.
"What?" Rei was confused.
'She's clueless' he kept pushing the girl toward the door and with a final and rather strong shove he pushed her out the door.
Rei was now in the hall confused at what exactly happened. She looked at her short suitemate confused. "What am I suppo....?"
PenPen just stood there looking rather annoyed. 'Well get going' he turned and looked at the group of people standing in the living room. Rei looked towards them then back at the small penguin. "Very well" she said determined "I will try" she turned and walked towards the group with the small teacher following close behind.
Author's notes: I know that was a bit corny but hey PenPen rocks and he seems smarter then the average support character in Evangelion. This chapter was slow but that's how the series goes in my mind. The Kaji bit was just filler and also put there to explain what exactly he was doing there in the first place. Not quite sure if Shinji thinks he knows Rei well enough to call her by her first name I got to review the series again. Maybe the manga instead.....hmm. If anyone knows of a good site where I can read the manga (translated) I would really appreciate it. Well still trying to think up a title. Well anyways R/R please. Cheers.
Author's notes: Well this story is progressing slowly. I'm having a bit of a hard time trying it find filler so things don't progress to quickly. I hate it when people spring things on you too fast. Well anyways I have been reading your reviews and I'm sorry about the lack of a title or summary, in all honesty I can't think of a title and I have a hard time writing summaries. And also to answer the question about pairings ill just say this, I am a supporter of Shinji/Rei. Hey what can I say I have a soft spot for fellow introverts. As far as the rest they will happen as they come. I'm more then happy to take suggestions but my email is currently down for a while. Well I hope you enjoy this next chapter so R&R.
*******: Denotes flashback.
Chapter 4 Dinner Anyone?
Ikari, the ever-present stone mask fixed on his face. Here in front of the U.N. Security Counsel his stone mask was a valuable asset. Betraying nothing and explaining nothing, something that Fuyutski envied.
"Commander Ikari it has come to our attention that your installation in Tokyo 3 was attacked by three unidentified Evas care to explain?"
"The Evas in question are believed to belong to a secret religious cult known simply as Seele..."
"Ah yes the same religious cult that your Nerv worked for till recently?"
'Interesting' "Yes..."
"And what was there primary goal?"
"To initiate the Third Impact and the joining of all humanity into one being" Many of the countries that composed the counsel squirmed and whispered nervously to each other visibly disturbed by the revelations that the commander just said. However the ambassadors for Britain, Russia, China, And the U.S didn't even flinch. 'They seem to be privy to more then what they say, very interesting indeed' Gendo's eyes narrowed.
"Ah yes you are referring to the Instrumentality Project that your organization has been working on?"
"Yes, however..."
"How is that project progressing now?" the chairman interrupted.
Gendo disliked being interrupted but he let the rude comment slide. "It has been scrapped it no longer exists within Nerv" much of the counsel sighed in relief but there was still a few that didn't trust his words.
"What are your intentions now?"
"To be what we were originally designed to be. A combat and research unit that answers directly to the U.N."
At that time the Chinese ambassador decided to speak. "You mean to tell us that you, a well defended organization that wields the power of the Evas, the most powerful weapon in the world, is willing to carry out orders from us the U.N.?"
"Nerv was created to destroy the angels. That deed now done we must look to you for further tasking... we are not a sovereign nation" the last bit of his sentence had such a tone that only he could do.
The heads of the counsel whispered amongst themselves for a bit before turning to the Commander of Nerv "Very well Ikari you will be instated as the Nerv EvaCorps, whose mission is the sole protection of U.N. interests. Is that understood?"
"Perfectly" 'Interests? Sounds like politics'
"We do have one condition"
"And that is?"
"We will dispatch troops to your headquarters for protection against this terrorist group called Seele" a stern look was on his face.
'I highly doubt they're there for protection' Gendo thought bitterly. "Understood we will prepare for their arrival"
Shinji always thought he wasn't good at anything. He also took to thinking that he only did things because people told him to. Now he was playing his cello, but this was different. Now he played for a different reason that he couldn't place. His fingers danced across the strings with practiced ease as his bow glided across it. He had no music; he just played the song by heart, or perhaps from the heart. He closed his eyes as he felt the music come from him. He smiled. His smiles were always a treasure. It wasn't those happy smiles no; this was a smile that showed that he was less sad. A smile that hinted at better things to come. He opened his eyes again as his less sad smile grew. His song grew happier even though the speed stayed slow. 'Heaven' he thought. His hands flowed for a few more minutes and with a soft ease his song ceased to play but the reverberations of it can still be felt throughout the room. Shinji looked up as he saw movement by the door. 'Rei?' he thought 'No'
"Wark?"
"Oh PenPen it's you, I thought you were someone else." He chuckled to himself "is it time for food yet?" he asked while trying to stand up.
PenPen waddled over to his bed and sat down next to Shinji on the floor with his back against the bed. He turned and looked at Shinji and butted the cello with his head back into his hands. "Wark"
Shinji looked down at him with his smile. "Ok I'll play for you some more" He then noticed that PenPen was staring at the door expectantly. He looked up but saw nothing. "Huh? Oh well" he returned to his cello and started to play his song from the heart. There his eyes closed and his smile stayed as the music soothed the souls of the three people that can hear it. Out in the hallway another person sat on the floor with her back against the wall effectively out of site of Shinji. Her breathing became heavier and her heart seemed to beat faster but was soothed by Shinji's song. The blue haired girl stayed there until sleep and the song took over her senses.
'A bond.'
'This is what the Major said made up a family.'
'Eva'
'Eva was my bond, but now I have... Family?'
' Pilot Sohryu'
' The Second, she dislikes me but she is family. Do I have a bond with her?'
'The Major'
'My new guardian. She cares for me it seems. Why? Do I have a bond with her?'
'The Commander'
'My former guardian. My commander. One who I shared a bond with once. Is that gone?'
'Ikari...Shinji'
'...'
'Is he family. Do I have a bond with him? Or is he a different matter?'
A German who was announcing her arrival soon interrupted her thoughts and stirred her from her sleep. She stood, not wishing to be discovered there, she hurried to her room and closed the door silently. She turned to walk deeper into her room when she caught a view of herself in the mirror.....and froze.
"I'm...b..blushing?"
"Hey Baka, Misato's going to be late tonight"
"What for?" Shinji just put his cello away and him and PenPen made their way into the living room.
"How should I know? She said something about visitors"
"Really? Hmm.....huh?" he looked at Asuka and noticed the look that seemed to get more pissed when looking at it. Then it dawned on him "Oh right I'll get dinner ready"
"Bout time ya stooge" she turned and headed to her room to get ready for her shower.
"By the way I invited Hikari over for dinner" she called.
"Oh err ok. I'll make something for her. Is there something you want?"
"Something edible after Misato's breakfast" she yelled heading into the bathroom.
"Oh ok. Ayanami is there something you want?"
"Why you asking her for?"
Shinji just ignored the last comment as he headed to Rei's room. He knocked. "Ayanami you there?" he knocked again but got no answer.
"Ayanami I'm coming in alright" he opened the door to find that Rei had balled up on her bed with her back facing Shinji.
"Rei you ok?"
"..." 'Rei?'
"Re..... err Ayanami?"
"I'm fine Ikari-kun"
"Oh... I just wanted to see..." Shinji could tell his nerve was already back in the kitchen hiding under a table. "Is there anything you want for dinner?" he sighed.
Rei thought for a moment. "Are you cooking?" she asked
"Uh yeah. Misato will be late tonight"
"Then whatever you cook for me will be sufficient"
"Oh ok then" 'What the hell is the matter with me?' he slid her door closed and returned to the kitchen.
Hikari was making her way towards the Katsuragi residence so someone could cook for her for a change.
'It's nice having someone do something for you for a change' she thought 'but, it's like taking advantage of Shinji. He's too much of a nice guy' she started to feel that going was a bad idea. She started to pass by a large park.
'Maybe going is a bad idea' she stopped "Maybe I should just cancel"
"What's wrong Class Rep?"
"EEK!" Hikari nearly shot out of her own skin at the sound of a new voice. She shot around to find Toji sitting on the ground leaning against a small brick wall, the look on his face was a weary smile as if he seen too much life.
"Toji! That's not fair!"
Toji looked confused for a second, and then chuckled slightly to himself. "What's so unfair about it?"
"Oooh never mind!" she folded her arms and pouted in a Asuka like manner.
All Toji could do was chuckle. Hikari noticed the look on his face and grew a little worried. His face seemed tired. His smile wasn't the bright happy smile that was ever-present before, this smile seemed more like Shinji's, sad but less sad.
"What's wrong? What are you doing out here by yourself?"
" I was walking home from the hospital and I decided to stop and think for a bit"
"Oh..... how is your sister doing?"
"Alright, they are going to start sending here to physical therapy in a few days. I'll.....probably miss school then. I want to be there for her first day"
Hikari smiled sweetly at the boy. "That won't be a problem I'll get things worked out with sensei" 'Wow he is incredibly sweet' her smiled faded when she thought of something. "What were you thinking of?"
"Oh nothing just.....nothing, nothing at all" his smile was gone. He looked up at Hikari and saw the worried look on her face. He smiled "Don't worry about me. Hey where you going anyways?"
"Oh..... I'm going over to Asuka's for some dinner that Shinji is cooking, but....."
"But.....?"
"But I don't think I'm going to go over"
"Why not?"
"It's just that I feel like I'm taking advantage of him"
Toji laughed, "Oh don't worry about that, he loves to cook for other people"
"He does?"
"Yeah. It makes him feel good to do things for others, that's the kind of guy he is"
"Really? Well perhaps.....umm" she mumbled something else that Toji couldn't quite catch.
"What? I'm sorry I can't hear you"
Hikari, now turning a good shade of red, repeated herself but still in a mumbled tone.
"Huh?"
"WOULD YOU LIKE TO COME!!!"
Toji damn near fell over as Hikari used her best commanding voice, reserved only for the most thick headed students. After realizing what she just did she blushed even more.
"Err ok on one condition" Toji squeaked out.
"What"
"Don't do that again until school....." he smiled nervously "..... it's scary"
"Ok" Hikari smiled back nervously as well. 'How embarrassing'
"We will be leaving in the morning after breakfast" Gendo said while he and his long time friend were dining at a restaurant.
"Yes. Well what do you think of this new development Ikari?"
"It smells too much like politics but it may prove useful"
"How so?"
"How else? Protection, Seele is not brash enough to attack a coalition from the U.N. Even though they are bureaucratic fools the U.N. still has power"
"But you forget Ikari much of the U.N. already declared them a terrorist group. With that as the case what is going to prevent them from attacking us more frequently?"
"Power, they still have a few influences in the U.N. It will be a matter of time before they try to play that to their favor"
"If they do succeed in turning the counsel wouldn't their forces be in prime position to strike us?"
"That's why we are going to let them in"
"I don't understand"
"If we fully cooperate with the U.N. forces, Seele will have one less card to play. Eventually I would like to make them apart of our security protocols"
"Thus making it harder for Seele to paint us as a rogue U.N. program. In fact we will paint ourselves as the model program"
"Fully obedient and cooperative"
"Will we still be running experiments without their knowledge?"
"That argument will be postponed for the time being. Right now our mission is survival"
"Indeed.....whose getting the check?"
"You are" Gendo stated flatly
"Indeed" said Fuyutski annoyed.
*knock knock*
Shinji looked up from his cooking.
"Baka get that!"
"But..... oh never mind" Shinji started to wipe his hands off with a towel while he went to check on who it was.
The door slid open revealing two very large and very intimidating Section 2 agents.
"Eep" Shinji tried to hide under the towel with now luck.
"Shinji Ikari?"
"Uum.....yes?"
"Are the other three children with you?"
"Uum Asuka and Ayanami are but Toji isn't"
"Suzahara is accompanying your class representative here"
"Huh? How do you.....never mind"
"Are you planning to go anywhere tonight?"
"No we weren't..... at the moment"
"Good..... don't"
"Nani? Why?"
"Orders from the commander, we are to stand guard outside your door with two other agents standing guard inside. You are not to be permitted outside your apartment without the permission of the commander or sub-commander. Is that understood?"
Shinji could only blink.....hard.
"Good" the door closed swiftly as the agents outside discussed how they were going about this new tasking.
Shinji was still blinking fairly hard. 'Well I guess I got more people to cook for' he started thinking of what to cook. He opened the door and poked his head out at the four agents. "Hey! Are any of you vegetarians?"
Misato was rather confused by the recent increase in security. 'This is really weird, and who the hell is visiting anyways!' She chewed on her pencil, a sure fire sign that she was thinking. Ritsuko was currently working on the regeneration process of Unit-00.
"My everyone is in a bit of a frenzy aren't they?"
"But what for?" Misato said darkly 'I _still_ don't trust this'
"Relax, this we had nothing to do with"
"I'm sorry but I still have a problem with a few things" 'Too many lies'
"Well look on the bright side at least the Children are all right"
"What do you mean?"
"Did you see the new protocols involving them?"
"No" Misato blinked.
"You really need to start reading your files instead of using them as coasters" Ritsuko began rummaging through her mountain of paperwork while Misato stuck her tongue out at her. "Here"
Misato flipped through the file. "Wow this is pretty tight security. What a minute..... why are the commanders the only ones that can say when they can go out?"
"Jealous?"
"Oh shut up..... it's just odd that's all"
"You read too much into things"
"You would too"
"Wait till you see the protocols on your driving"
"HOLY SHIT!"
A knock on the door disturbed Shinji from his cooking once more, but when he turned to get it the Nerv agent was already at the door. 'Oh.....well that's nice, someone else got the door......cool' He returned to his cooking until he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey Shin-man how's it going"
"Kensuke well this is a pleasant surprise"
Aida pushed his glasses up onto his face as he entered the kitchen. "I thought it was Misato's turn to cook?" he visibly shuddered.
"She's going to be late tonight, she had some things to do involving some "guests"?"
"Oh..... well that's new too me I wonder how I missed that?"
Shinji leaned to Kensuke and whispered "Hey Section 2 is here so don't say anything that will get you into any trouble"
Aida paled a bit. Shinji laughed. "Well you're in a pretty good mood?"
"I don't know why I just am," Shinji said with his smile on his face.
"Well it's good to see you like this" Kensuke put his arms behind his head.
Shinji simply smiled "Care to stay for dinner?"
"That'll be nice but I don't want to intrude or anything"
"Don't worry about it....." he looked at his watch "Where is Hikari and Toji? They're late"
"My my my these are pretty extreme especially the ones involving Misato's driving" Kaji smirked. They former spy now held a job with Nerv. This was pretty surprising to him because he expected to be shot on sight the moment he "woke up" in an old corridor deep within Nerv's belly. Now he handled security measures involving the Children under the direct supervision of Gendo Ikari. The commander determined that the Major's job as an Operational Director and caretaker of the children was sufficient, so he appointed Kaji as their Security Director. He still remembered the day he was hired rather freshly.
***********************************************************************
A cold gun pressed against Kaji's temple as he was rising from the floor.
"How did you get here?" came a cold voice.
"Honestly I don't know, last thing I remember was waiting in an old building on the outskirts of town" he turned to look at the owner of the gun. "Ah Commander Ikari...... what brings you here?"
"....." His silence disturbed the spy.
"..... I don't know either"
Kaji was stunned. The Commander, not know? He must be dreaming. *pinch* Nope guess not. The commander stared at him for a few seconds then put his gun away.
"I may have some use for you, you are know under my command. Is that understood?"
"Yes.....may I ask what for?"
"No" Then he left abruptly.
"Ok?" Kaji blinked..... hard.
***********************************************************************
Since then he had done some work for the quiet commander. A few things here and there including some spying and spook work. But since then he worked as the Children's protective guardian. And according to the sub-commander he had been doing an excellent job.
"Sir....." Kaji looked up to see a very attractive Section 2 agent ".....here is the report on the modified security protocols for the Children's school" she handed him the file.
"Well thank you beautiful"
Annoyed the agent rolled her eyes as she left. 'He's been hitting on me every time I go in there, really starting to annoy me'
Shinji and Kensuke were both in the kitchen cooking when.....
"Gott in Himmel what's with the suits?!? And what's that perv doing here?"
'I'm here for dinner you demonic bitch!' "I'm here for dinner you demonic witch!"
"What did you call me!?! And who would invite a nerd like you anyways? And baka what's with these suits?"
"New security things or something like that....." Shinji said as Kensuke sat there and grumbled.
"Jeez this place is getting crowded" She continued to curse in German as everyone else went about his or her business.
PenPen stood there observing the scene. 'Where is the blue one?' he shifted his attention towards the Children's rooms, and then started to make his way towards Rei's room.
The door to the apartment opened and the two agents eyes shot straight for it ready to pounce.
"Geez lighten up will ya" Asuka jarred.
The agents relaxed when they saw that it was one of their own......accompanied by two surprised children. Hikari caught sight of Asuka and smiled cheerfully. Toji was staring at the rather large man with an angry look.....rubbing his arm. Both Kensuke and Shinji saw the two teens come in together. When Toji finally saw them they both had rather mischievous grins on their faces.
"What.....what are you two grinning at" he yelled angrily.
"Oh nothing just the fact that you..... and Hikari.....both.....came in together.....late!" Kensuke started laughing as he finished. Toji was just flustered.
"NOTHING HAPPENED!!!!"
"Sure you sound like Shinji" Kensuke laughed and Shinji choked.
"But nothing happened!" Hikari interjected.
"Oh now Hikari is defending your actions"
"I'm not!"
"Jeez at least you could wait to do those things till after dinner" Asuka jarred Hikari.
"Asuka!"
PenPen's head poked inside Rei's room to see where the "blue one" went. He found her laying face down on her bed.
'Hmm.....now the Fourth and the Class Representative have arrived this is going to be a noisy night' Rei thought. She didn't notice the penguin by her bed.
"They are all here for dinner. And to enjoy each other's company I assume. But are they considered family? We do not live with......"
"Wark"
Rei's head shot directly at the sound with her eyes wide open.
"Wark?" PenPen stood there looking questionably at Rei.
"What?" she said surprised. She sat up and looked down at the Penguin.
PenPen grew annoyed waiting for her to get up, so he took things into his own hands err..... flippers. He grabbed Rei's hands the best he could and pulled her out of bed.
"What?" Rei was confused.
'She's clueless' he kept pushing the girl toward the door and with a final and rather strong shove he pushed her out the door.
Rei was now in the hall confused at what exactly happened. She looked at her short suitemate confused. "What am I suppo....?"
PenPen just stood there looking rather annoyed. 'Well get going' he turned and looked at the group of people standing in the living room. Rei looked towards them then back at the small penguin. "Very well" she said determined "I will try" she turned and walked towards the group with the small teacher following close behind.
Author's notes: I know that was a bit corny but hey PenPen rocks and he seems smarter then the average support character in Evangelion. This chapter was slow but that's how the series goes in my mind. The Kaji bit was just filler and also put there to explain what exactly he was doing there in the first place. Not quite sure if Shinji thinks he knows Rei well enough to call her by her first name I got to review the series again. Maybe the manga instead.....hmm. If anyone knows of a good site where I can read the manga (translated) I would really appreciate it. Well still trying to think up a title. Well anyways R/R please. Cheers.
