The original Humanity's Faith was one of the more, controversial EVA fics on ff.net. Of the people that read it, they either liked it a lot or hated it, with few in the middle. I've decided to revamp it completely and see how many of you like the new version. Also, the dialogue isn't exactly accurate because I don't exactly remember what they say. Also, the story skips around a lot at the beginning, but that was needed by me to get the story going. Now that I've said that, don't complain about it later on.

Humanity's Faith

Chapter 1: Fly Me to the Moon

Shinji Ikari was walking back home. He had recovered from Leliel's attack and was more or less back on his feet. However, he felt a kind of despair. He didn't feel as if he could protect the others. No matter what anyone thought, he fought to protect his friends, not for humanity. There were too many people to care about in the world. If you concentrated on just a few, you could make a bigger difference. He turned a corner and nearly ran into a tall man in a black suit.

"Sorry," he said, "I didn't see you."

"You have to stop running away."

Shinji stopped and looked up at the man. "What?"

"You have to stop running away from the past and the future."

"What are you talking about? Who are you?"

"I'm here to offer you a chance," the man said, "If you take it, you may succeed in protecting everyone you care about. If you refuse, some will be hurt and others will die. It's your choice."

"But how can I do anything? I'm only one person."

"You are the only one that can save everything," the man said, "It is your choice. I promise you this, though. In the end, you will not regret the choice you made."

"Why should I trust you?" Shinji asked.

"Because I don't want you to get hurt. Because I also want to ensure that you and all that you care for survive."

"Why?"

"Why is relative to how you see things. This is your chance. I'll give you some time to think about it."

The man walked into the alley while Shinji stood there, considering what had happened.

"Wait!" he said.

He ran into the alley but found nothing there.

"But, where did he go?"

That day, Shinji couldn't think about much more than the strange man's offer. In a way, he felt like accepting the man's offer was the best choice for him. The only other thing he noticed was that Toji was absent. Suddenly all of the pilots cell phone rang.

============================================================================

"Is that the target?"

"Yes."

"But it's an EVA," said Shinji.

"Irrelevant. You must destroy it."

"But, there's a child, just like me in there."

"That is the Angel. Your orders are to destroy it."

"No."

The Angel attacked and started choking the EVA's neck. It then threw Unit 01 into the mountainside continued its attack.

"Shinji. Why do you not fight?" Gendo asked.

"Because there is a child like me inside," Shinji replied.

"You must fight or you will be killed."

"Better to die than kill."

"Cut sync rate to 60%" Misato ordered.

"Cut connections between the pilot and activate the dummy plug."

"What? But the dummy plug hasn't been perfected it," Maya protested, "I cannot do this without Dr. Akagi's authorization."

"Do it or we'll all die."

Maya was taken aback but complied. Inside the entry plug it turned red. The EVA then grabbed Unit 03's arms and tore them off. It then started to rip apart the Angel.

"Stop!" Shinji screamed.

The EVA paid him no heed as it continued to dismember the Angel. Finally it had taken hold of the entry plug.

"No. No. No!"

The EVA's hand closed and smashed it to pieces. Finally Unit 01 deactivated.

"Shinji?"

"Misato? Is that you? You're alive? Misato. The pilot. I killed him."

"Shinji, I'm so sorry. There's something I didn't tell you. The pilot was, the pilot."

Shinji then saw the close up of the pilot.

"Toji."

He then screamed, all the pain and hatred bottled up inside him finally broke through.

============================================================================

"Admiral."

The man looked up. "What is it?"

"The Third Child has just suffered a nervous breakdown."

"Very well."

The man put down the panel in his hand and stood.

"Let's get going."

The woman nodded and followed him as he exited the room. It was finally time.

============================================================================

"Shinji."

Shinji barely heard the sound. Someone was calling out to him, but his rage against his father was so great that he paid it no heed.

"Shinji."

There it was again. This time, it caught his attention.

"Who's there?"

"It's me."

Then he recognized the voice. It was the voice of the man that had offered him a way out. He should have taken it. Perhaps then he wouldn't have had to kill Toji.

"What is your choice?"

"Must I make my choice now?" Shinji replied.

"What is holding you back?"

"I don't know."

"I know. Your friends. But as I said, I can help you save them. Do you want my help?"

"Yes."

"Resign from NERV then. That will be the signal to us. Then you will be free."

"What?"

"If you wish to be free of NERV, resign. As simple as that."

"And what will happen after that?"

"You will learn how to face your father and your doubts. And those you love."

Shinji sighed. "If I refuse, will everything be okay?"

"Perhaps. If you are lucky."

Shinji shook his head. This was too much. However, he did not have much choice.

"I'll do it."

There was no response. Shinji tried again, but there was no response from whoever had been there. However, before he left NERV, he would leave a message for them.

"Father, I still have enough power to destroy half of the command center. Answer me!"

"Increase the LCL pressure to full," Gendo ordered.

"What?"

"We have no time for childish foolishness. Do it."

Maya sent the order and Shinji lost consciousness.

"Damn, damn, damn," he muttered as darkness blanketed him.

============================================================================

Shinji was in a detention cell. A guard opened the door, letting light into the dark room.

"Commander Ikari wants to see you."

Shinji was led by the guard to the commander's office. Handcuffs were placed on his hands but he ignored them. He had made his choice and there was no going back.

"Childish intimidation, threatening government officials, these are all criminal charges. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I resign."

"I assume this time it will be permanent."

"As permanent as I can without dying."

"Interesting choice of words," said Gendo, "Very well. Where will you go?"

"I have some friends."

"You will have to foot your own bill."

"That's fine with me."

"Very well. You are dismissed."

The cuffs were removed and Shinji turned to leave.

"I'm rather disappointed," Gendo said, "I assume we will not be seeing each other again."

"Perhaps we shall see each other again. I don't know."

Shinji then left.

============================================================================

"So you're really going to leave," said Asuka.

Shinji was packing his things in his room when Asuka interrupted.

"Of course."

"Are you going to come running back again?"

"I doubt it," Shinji replied, "Why are you asking me these things?"

"To see if you've grown a damn spine," said Asuka, "Whatever. I have better things to do than talk with a cowardly little boy."

Shinji shrugged and finished packing his things. It wasn't his first time and he easily was able to get his stuff together. Practice makes perfect. As he walked out he found Misato waiting for him.

"I'll give you a ride to the train station," Misato said.

"I don't really think that's where I'm going," Shinji replied.

"Where then?"

Shinji was about to answer when someone knocked on the door.

"Asuka! Can you get that?" Misato asked.

"Let Shinji get it, since he's leaving anyways!"

Misato shook her head. She walked over to the door with Shinji behind him and opened it. Outside stood the man in the black suit.

"I'm here for Shinji Ikari," he said.

"That's okay," said Misato, "I'll be taking him to the train station."

"Misato, I, um, asked him to pick me up."

Misato looked at Shinji and then at the man. She had this bad feeling about him, though she couldn't pinpoint it. The sunglasses definitely didn't help her impression of the man. He reminded her of Gendo Ikari.

"Are you sure?" Misato asked one more time.

"Yes."

Misato moved aside and let Shinji leave. She watched the two take the elevator down and leaned against the doorway. Asuka came charging out.

"Where's he?" she asked.

"Shinji's already left."

"Hmph. Didn't want to confront me, I see."

Misato felt a strange vibe suddenly, as if something bad was going to happen. She quickly got into the other elevator and went downstairs. When she ran outside Shinji and the man had already gotten into an official looking government car and were pulling away. It didn't have the NERV logo on it, though. She ran to her car and was just about to open it when the government car exploded. Misato stood there, shock turning into horror.

"Shinji!" she screamed.

Suddenly alarms rang. Another Angel had appeared.

============================================================================

Shinji wasn't exactly sure what had happened. Once minute he was sitting inside a car, the next he was on what looked like the inside of an airplane.

"Umm, what happened?" he asked the man sitting next to him.

"If you only remembered who you are, you would know," the man answered with a smile. It wasn't a cruel smile, or a kind one. It was just a smile.

Shinji looked around and saw that there was no one else around except them. There was a window but he was too far away to see through it clearly.

"Can I move around?" he asked.

"Go ahead. Just make sure to sit back down when we prepare to dock."

"Dock?"

"Just go."

Shinji unclipped his seatbelt and got up. His motions seemed to be heavier but he could still manage. When he got into the aisles he noticed several guards in odd looking body armor. Each one of them carried some sort of rifle, a design he had never seen before. They didn't exactly look human- made either. He finally reached the window and looked out. His jaw dropped open when his eyes took in everything. They were cruising through the atmosphere and heading out into space. Shinji sat down into the seat adjacent to the window and tried to understand what exactly had happened.

"Water?"

Shinji looked up and found a female attendant standing in the aisle with a glass of water in her hand. She was wearing another odd uniform but it was at least recognizable as that of a flight attendant. He took it with a shaky hand.

"Th-thanks."

The attendant smiled at him and nodded before walking to the man sitting near the center. He took the cup calmly and nodded his thanks. Shinji drained the water down in one gulp. He needed explanations, now. He managed to walk back to his seat, though this time he felt as if he was exerting a lot of energy doing so. The man didn't seem to notice him sitting back down. He was more focused on a file that he was reading.

"Umm, mister?"

The man looked up. He still had those sunglasses on, even though they were inside.

"What exactly is going on?"

"You asked for my help," the man replied, "I'm taking you to a place where you'll get the help you need and want. And besides, this is the fastest way to get there."

"But where are we going?"

"Why, to the moon of course."

Dear god, Shinji thought. What have I gotten myself into?

The shuttle had left orbit and was quickly approaching the moon. Shinji kept peering out the window, wondering what the hell was going on. The shuttle then flew to the dark side of the moon and approached what looked like a city. The shuttle started its descent and Shinji could see a large square box that apparently was the shuttle's target.

"I suggest you buckle down," the man advised.

Shinji did so and tried to remain calm. Unfortunately, what was left of his reserves had been depleted the moment he found out they were in space. The shuttle landed and clamps attached to the shuttle. Doors slid over the shuttle and closed. A wall slid down and the shuttle was moved into a tunnel. The wall slid back up and after a few minutes the wall at the other end slid down. The shuttle was then brought into a massive hanger. A connector tube was attached to the door of the shuttle and it opened.

"We can get off now," the man said, "Unless you want to see what Mars is like."

Shinji quickly followed the man off the shuttle. Once they were clear the shuttle was pulled back and disappeared.

"Is that shuttle really headed to Mars?" Shinji asked.

"Yes. The primary command post for this system is located there."

"Okay. So, what am I doing here?"

"This is where your training will take place. Come. Perhaps I should fill you in some more."

The man walked out of the hanger area and into the corridors. Techs, guards, and officers all walked past them, going to whatever their assignment was.

"The construction of this installation started in the year 2000, right after the Second Impact occurred on Earth," the man explained, "The phenomenon intrigued us and because of its potential consequences, we decided to increase our presence here. System Command on Mars had been there since the late 1960s and was used as a refueling and coordination center for the fleet stationed in the Sol System and for any ships passing by. However, we found it necessary to place a base here to observe how the humans on Earth adapted."

"You're human, right?" Shinji said nervously.

"More or less, yes. I am what you might call an advanced human. Contrary to Seele's or NERV's beliefs, humanity is not at a dead end in terms of physical and mental evolution."

The man stopped in front of a large door and stood in front. A beam of light scanned him before letting him in. Shinji followed him, looking at the two guards outside uneasily. Besides the rifles, these two also had swords. What good swords were when you had weapons like that he wasn't sure about. He was shaken back to reality when he saw what was inside. It was a massive command center, far larger than the one in Central Dogma. A massive hologram showed the entire solar system and positions of what looked like ships. There were also three smaller holograms, one of what looked like the surrounding area of the solar system, the Earth, and Mars.

"This is the heart of Lunar Command," the man said, "You will also attend the Command Academy we have here. You will have to relearn everything you've forgotten. Perhaps then you'll remember who you are."

"But, why are you here? Why is all this here? Why is your organization even in this system?" Shinji asked.

"We're here, because you asked us to be here."

Shinji had no idea what the man was talking about, but realized that the man probably already knew this.

"Come. I'll show you to your guardian. You'll be staying with her for the duration of your training."

"Okay. Uh, her?"

"Yes."

I hope she isn't as sloppy as Misato, Shinji thought. Thoughts of what he had left behind suddenly burst into his head. He would need time to adjust, and time to see where all this led. He just hoped he had made the right choice. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him.

"Wait, I don't even know your name."

The man stopped and turned his head and looked at Shinji with one eye, still hidden by the sunglasses.

"My name is Drake Kaizer. Don't forget it again, my friend."

Shinji followed Drake to what looked like a large plaza. A lot of people wearing casual clothes were around, though the clothes still looked strange to Shinji. But Drake had said they weren't from Earth, so that was probably true. For some reason, Shinji didn't feel very out of place. He almost recognized some of the fashions. Perhaps that was what Drake meant about him forgetting things? Was he like Drake? Maybe. Shinji put those thoughts aside when a young woman appeared and approached them.

"Admiral Kaizer," she said as she saluted.

Drake returned it. "At ease sergeant. I'm sure you've heard of Shinji Ikari."

"Yes. He's A-"

"Hold it!" Drake suddenly yelled, "He doesn't know yet, and there is no need for him to know yet. When he's ready, you can tell him."

"Oh," the sergeant said, blushing slightly, "Sorry. I had thought he had been briefed."

"Not yet. Anyway, you will be his guardian for the duration of his stay. He is to have access to the data network and whatever else he needs. Also, make sure he gets to class on time."

"Of course Admiral."

"Very well. Shinji, I'll see you later."

To Shinji's surprise Drake didn't walk away. Instead he merely shimmered and disappeared.

"He-he-he disappeared!" Shinji exclaimed.

"Oh, that? Yeah well, you'll be learning how to do that too. It isn't hard, so don't worry about it."

Shinji really felt like fainting. But that certainly explained how he was in a car one moment and in a shuttle the next.

"Come on. You'd better come with me. They need you in the special operations branch."

"Why?"

"An Angel is attacking, and the First and Second Child aren't exactly doing well."

"Asuka. Rei."

The sergeant extended his hand and Shinji took it nervously. They both shimmered and disappeared from the plaza.

============================================================================

"Damn it," Asuka muttered, "I won't lose again. And with Shinji gone, there's no one left but me."

Asuka fired shot after shot at the Angel, but it was useless. The Angel landed and unfolded its arms.

"What?"

Its arms shot out and took off Unit 02's arms. Asuka screamed out in pain.

"Cut the connections!" Misato ordered, "This is too dangerous for her!"

Suddenly the arms shot out again and decapitated Unit 02. Its head crashed into one of the shelters.

"Asuka! Her status."

"She's alive. We managed to severe the connections in time."

"Damn," Asuka muttered.

============================================================================

"Unit 02 is disabled."

"Unit 00 is activating. Unit 01 did not accept the dummy plug."

Shinji and the sergeant appeared in a rather hectic situation.

"Thank god you're here," one of the techs said, "We need you to get onto that console."

Shinji looked at it and saw it slightly resembled the insides of an entry plug.

"What for?"

"The Angel is preparing to launch an attack on the main command office, and Unit 01 is the only fully operational EVA left."

"Unit 00 is down!"

"Now it's the only one left. If you want to save your friends, get onto that console."

Shinji ran over and got on. The entry plug was inserted into the wall and Shinji suddenly felt it filling up with LCL. That wasn't too much of a surprise.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"This is a remote control device we put together for an EVA just in case we needed it," the tech said, "We are linking you with Unit 01. You will need to use it to destroy the Angel or else Tokyo 3 will be destroyed. Get on it!"

It really did feel as if he was syncing with Unit 01. Suddenly he was inside NERV. He then proceeded to ripping off the restraints and worked his way towards the Angel.

============================================================================

"Major! Unit 01 has activated!"

"What? Did it finally accept the dummy plug?"

"Negative," said Makoto, "Unit 01 is moving away from the dummy plug. It's breaking apart the restraints."

"Then unlock it!" Misato ordered.

Makoto sent the necessary commands and Unit 01 was free.

"Is this in the scenario?" Fuyutsuki asked his friend.

"No. This was something unexpected. And may prove to be troublesome later on."

The Angel blasted a hole into the command center and looked down at the humans. Its eyes started glowing when Unit 01 crashed through the wall and grabbed onto the Angel. It then pushed the Angel onto one of the catapults.

"Launch catapult 5!" Misato screamed.

"Yes ma'am!"

The catapult launched, sparks flying off of the Angel as it was pressed onto the speeding wall. They landed outside in the Geofront and Unit 01 threw the Angel into a hill. The Angel shot out an arm and severed Unit 01's arm. Unit 01 charged, ignoring its loss, and ran into the Angel. It then proceeded to smash at the Angel's core. Suddenly, it went silent.

"Unit 01 is out of power," Maya reported frantically.

============================================================================

"Unit 01 is out of power," a tech said, unknowingly echoing Maya.

"Can we beam energy to it?" the sergeant asked.

"Unlikely, that is if we want to keep our existence secret."

"Damn," she muttered, "Well Shinji, you'll have to get out of this one yourself."

============================================================================

Shinji pulled on the controls frantically inside the entry plug. The lights had gone out and there was no sign that Unit 01 was still operational.

"Move damn you move! I want to protect them, let me protect them! Let me protect them!"

The entry plug suddenly lit up again.

============================================================================

Unit 01's eyes flashed and it grabbed hold of the Angel's arm just as it was coming down on the EVA's core. It tightened its grip and kicked the Angel off of it, ripping its arm off in the process.

"Unit 01 has activated!" said Maya.

"That's impossible," said Ritsuko, "It has no power."

Unit 01 got back up and attached the Angel's arm to its shoulder. A new arm then grew off of it. It then started growling at the Angel. The Angel fired its other arm and Unit 01 merely put up its hand. The Angel's arm was shredded and the recoil bloodied the Angel. Unit 01 got onto all fours and crawled towards the Angel.

"This is impossible! The computers recognize Shinji as piloting," said Maya, "His sync rate is over 400%!"

"But that's impossible," said Ritsuko, "There's no way he could do this."

"And it can't be Shinji," said Misato, "He's dead, isn't he?"

Unit 01 started tearing the Angel apart. Finally, it found the S2 engine and started eating it.

"It's taking the S2 engine into itself," said Ritsuko.

Unit 01 then stood, as if it had finished eating. The armor on it started to break off.

"The restraints," said Ritsuko.

"Restraints?" Misato asked.

"Yes. They aren't armor. Those are restraints we placed on it to control EVA's power. Now that it has broken them by its own power, we can't control it anymore."

Kaji was standing some ways off and couldn't help but smile.

"Nicely done, Shinji. Perhaps humanity has a chance after all."

============================================================================

"Retrieval process in third and final stage," a tech reported.

"Damn it," Drake muttered, "After all the trouble we go through to get him, he disappears on his."

"He was absorbed by the EVA," said the sergeant.

"Of course. But considering who he was, he shouldn't have been."

The sergeant nodded.

The techs initiated the final sequence of commands and finally Shinji dropped out of the remote entry plug, dripping of LCL. He was picked up gently by two medics.

"Well Mr. Ikari," Drake said, "It's nice to have you back among the living."

Shinji tried to look up but lost consciousness moments later. He was then taken to the medical wing.

"Sometimes I doubt that child contains such a powerful being," said Drake.

"He is a Representative of the Council," the sergeant reminded her superior.

"Yes. So Evelyn, have you decided how to make him more comfortable?"

"He's no stranger to living with women," said Evelyn, "I doubt he'll have problems living with me and my sister."

"Of course. However, he's never lived with two women. He lived with a woman and another teen his age. There are key differences."

"What? He has two mothers instead of one this time?"

Drake cracked a smile before walking out of the room. The sanitary staff would have to clean up the LCL that Shinji had brought back with him. Drake couldn't help but shake his head. He had promised that he would assist Shinji, but hopefully this assignment wouldn't take too long. He just wanted to get back to the girl of his dreams.

============================================================================

Shinji woke up looking at a white hospital ceiling.

"I really hate that ceiling," he muttered.

He then realized that he wasn't in NERV. His memories filtered back again and he finally remembered where he was. On the moon. He turned his head and saw a park outside. That certainly seemed odd, but then again, he wouldn't want to live in a cold underground city either. He got up and looked around the room. A meal had been left for him but he didn't feel very hungry at the moment. He was wearing the same clothes he had worn before while in a hospital. Maybe that kind of thing was universal. He swung his leg over and sat at the bed's edge. The door opened and that women walked in. Shinji hadn't had the time to examine her properly before, but now saw that she was rather beautiful. She had light brown hair, peaceful green eyes, and a very disarming smile.

"Hi," she said, "Feeling better?"

"Yeah. What happened?"

"Your EVA went berserk," Evelyn said, "We had to extract you from Unit 01 itself, though I'm still not sure how you got absorbed."

"Absorbed?" Shinji said dumbly.

"Oh, I guess you don't remember. Well, don't worry. You can read about it in the tactical report. So, ready to leave?"

"Yes, um, I still don't your name."

"Evelyn Mitchell," she answered, "Pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Shinji replied.

He got out of bed but held on to keep him keep his balance. A nurse walked in and gave him some clothes to change into. Evelyn and the nurse left to give him some privacy. Shinji quickly got out of the hospital clothes and changed into the shirt and pants. There was an odd emblem on the shoulders and Shinji wasn't sure what they were for. He put them on and opened the room. He closed the door and found Evelyn waiting for him. They walked to the main lobby and Evelyn checked him out. With that done, they were out of the hospital complex. Shinji looked back and saw that it was actually a very nice looking building. Several other patients were outside, some in what looked like wheelchairs and others simply walking around. There were a few guards, but Shinji could easily spot five defensive guns. For a hospital, it was sure well guarded. They left the hospital grounds and were on the streets. There were soldiers marching and jogging around the entire area, military ground vehicles also driving around.

"Is this all part of a base?" Shinji asked.

"This is the military sector of the Lunar Command," said Evelyn, "This is where most of the troops are stationed and train. I live in a far better place than the military barracks, so don't worry."

Shinji nodded and followed her. They went upstairs and through several corridors. They then came out onto a large sky bridge. Officers, soldiers, and civilians walked past them as they crossed it. A few people gave Shinji looks but none gave him a second glance.

"Umm, Ms Mitchell, why are people looking at me like that?" he asked.

"Call me Evelyn," she replied, "and they're looking at you because it's not exactly common for someone as young as you to be in the Command Academy."

"What is the Command Academy?" Shinji asked.

"It's a special institute that trains commanders for the Fleet and the Army. Most graduates become majors or colonels when they leave the Academy. You'll be taught what you need in order to be a good commander there."

Something down in the military plaza caught Shinji's attention.

"What's going on down there?" he asked.

"Oh, they're practicing formations," Evelyn answered, "The cadets at the Primary Academy have to practice marching formations. It's usually just a formality, but it is designed to get them to work together and coordinate their movements."

Shinji continued to look down at the soldiers marching. They were moving with crisp precision, making them look like machines. Shinji stopped looking and caught up with Evelyn.

"Most of the Lunar Command complex is more of a city than anything else," said Evelyn, "The military position only covers a small fraction of complex. Currently we have two full corps of troops stationed here, along with their families. More, of course, are on Mars, and System Command is considering using the moons of Jupiter and Saturn as other staging and supply bases. Of course, we would need a base on Pluto for a sensor post."

"How much firepower is gathered in the solar system?" Shinji asked.

"Oh, I think the Brotherhood of the Night has deployed fifteen battleships," said Evelyn, "They're all on Mars or in high orbit."

"Brotherhood of the Night?" Shinji said questioningly. He wasn't too sure he liked the sound of that.

"Don't get worried about the name," said Evelyn, "It doesn't really mean anything. It's more of a title than anything else. Oh, that reminds me. Here."

She took out an ID card and handed it to Shinji. It had a picture of him and then simply a barcode. There was nothing else.

"You'll need this," she said, "Memorize the barcode. You'll need it to log onto the network and access data."

They finally crossed the sky bridge and took an elevator down. From there they took a subway to another sector. For most of the trip, Evelyn talked about what the city was like and where certain things were located. Shinji listened politely, knowing that some of the knowledge would come in handy. They got off at Station 433 and took another elevator up. When they got out, they were in a rather peaceful district. It was almost like a suburb, with maybe three large apartments and the rest of them houses. Evelyn led Shinji to one of the apartments and they took one final elevator up. They got off on the fifth floor and walked to 504. Evelyn slid her ID through the reader and the door opened.

"Is that you?" another female voice yelled from inside the apartment.

Shinji and Evelyn walked in just as another woman was walking out of the shower. She only had a towel and it was draped over her head drying her black hair, leaving everything else exposed. Shinji didn't know what to do and froze.

"Did you meet who we're supposed to be looking over?" the woman asked, still not aware that Shinji was here.

"More like he's looking over you," Evelyn said, nearly breaking out into laughter.

The woman finally removed the towel and saw Shinji. She screamed and threw the towel at Shinji and ran back into the bathroom. Shinji caught the towel and looked at it.

"I'm so sorry!" he said to Evelyn.

"Don't worry about it," Evelyn replied, "Amanda will get over it."

"Sorry," he muttered again.

"Shinji, one reason you're here is to learn how to stop apologizing for everything. So stop, okay?"

"So-"

Evelyn cut him off with a raised hand.

"You can stop there, and don't say a word."

She then went to the bathroom, leaving Shinji holding the towel.

"Amanda, you should be more careful," she chided, "We have a boy living with us now."

"I know!" Amanda growled, "You could have given me some warning!"

"Well, you shouldn't have come out naked like that," Evelyn replied.

The door slid open and revealed Amanda wearing a standard army uniform.

"Yeah yeah."

Evelyn shook her head as her sister walked into the living room. Shinji was still standing there, holding the towel.

"You can put the towel in the hamper now," Amanda said.

"S-sorry," Shinji said.

"Shinji, what did I tell you?" said Evelyn.

Shinji bowed his head. Old habits were hard to break, and apparently he would have to break many in order to make it here. Amanda then took the towel from him. He was still a bit nervous with her, as he had seen her nude.

"Calm down," she said, "I won't bite off your head for what you saw. So, you're Shinji Ikari."

Shinji nodded.

"Well Shinji, welcome home."

End of Chapter 1

Sorry for the screw-up earlier. Thanks to Xeo for pointing them out.

Z98