I'll Be Coming Home…
By Arturus Luminae
(the apparent sequel to Coffee and TV)
"Flight 2541 from New York has arrived. Gate three."
"Gendo! Gendo! It's his flight! He's here", remarked Yui as he nudged his husband drowsing off at the Starbucks in the terminal.
"Okay, dear! I'm on my way!" he muffled half-asleep/awake.
It has been eight long years since the couple has let their son, Shinji Ikari, leave for New York City for college and some work experience. It has been eight years since they have physically met (thanks to video conferencing, seeing each other were accustomed). Finally, they see their son. A mature looking twenty-four year old, carrying a luggage bag; he himself looks puzzled.
Right now Shinji's mind is working over-clocked when he saw his parents.
"Oh no! I thought they wouldn't fetch me at the airport! They'll drag me home and trap me in that same room again! I thought Misato will fetch me. Damn that teacher! I think she's drunk again and Kaji-san told my parents the flight where I am on. There's the taxi!"
"It's my son!" Yui shouted as she ran towards his son. Shinji of course tries to run away towards the taxi.
We see Gendo opening the door to their house. He enters. Next is his wife, Yui, dragging their son (literally) pounding and shouting.
"What's wrong, dear. You've been like this for almost two hours now! Don't you want to see us. Is this what NYU did to you?"
"No mom. It's just that… I DON'T WANT TO LIVE HERE ANYMORE! I went back to Japan to work alone and have my own apartment. I know you'll feel bad about this, that's why I asked Misato to fetch me at the airport instead. Mom, Dad, I love my life living alone in New York. And I am old enough to live alone. I know you won't let me. That's why. Don't worry. I'll still visit."
"That's it.", his father replied. "Of course, we'll kick you out when you get back here! You expect us to stop all the sex me and your mom been doing for the past eight years?"
"God! Dad! Is that all you've been doing all this time?"
"Of course, that is what retired people do?"
"Maybe retarded people."
"I have sushi. Who wants?" Yui interrupted
"This must be it, Room 364. I hope all of my stuff is already here…", Shinji said as he pressed the key combination to his room.
It's quite bigger than he had in New York. For once, it has more than one room. It has an ample general living area with a separate kitchen. It has two bedrooms and one bathroom. Shinji both drops his bag and himself on the couch. However his attempt to rest is interrupted when he sees a blink on the telephone.
"There's a message already?" Shinji presses the message button
"Hey Shinji; it's me, Misato. Hope you enjoy this apartment that I furnished. Just to remind you, I'll pick you up at seven. I think you are not yet capable of making dinner. Remember; seven, sharp! beep"
"Oh, how thoughtful."
He continues his tour of his new home. He sees that the second bedroom has been converted into an office, for his convenience. There is his computer, TV, cello, and his bass guitar; something he learned to play when he was in New York. He looked at the bathroom. It has been a long time since he has experienced a Japanese bath. He has started the hot water in the tub as he looked into his bedroom.
There is another TV in his bedroom and the bed seemed too large for him… alone. "Misato, I will kill you if I think you intentionally made this" he thought. He looked at the cabinet and there was still nothing in there. He looked around for the box that has his clothes. He opened it and picked up the first shirt, underwear, and pair of pants he could see and rushed back into the bathroom.
"Oh, there's a music jukebox in my bathroom." He selected some song by The Strokes and simmered in the tub.
Six fifty-three.
Shinji is surfing thru the TV, looking for some international news when the doorbell rang.
"Hey, Shinji!"
"Hey Misato!"
Shinji and Misato hugged each other.
"It has been a long time."
"Three years is not that long."
"Well, you can tell me when we get to the bar."
"Just in case, should I bring my license?"
"Yep!"
A meal and a few drinks later.
"So, you left Kaji with the kids tonight, huh?" Shinji asked
"Well, he went to Tokyo-2 with the kids to see his parents. I said that I have to arrange some stuff for your apartment and some tests to check, so I left myself behind."
"By the way, thank you for doing this for me; the apartment and all."
Taking another swig of beer, "Don't mention it. Being back here is what all that matters."
"Yeah." Shinji pauses for a while "Misato, do you think moving back here will give me a better life?"
"I think so. After your long term relationship with Trixie, I think going back home serves both consolation and moving on. Don't worry, Shinji, there are a lot of fishes in the Tokyo-3 Sea."
"Here's to that!" Shinji said as he raised his bottle to toast with Misato.
Misato's apartment
The elevator opens with Shinji and a security guard carrying Misato by her shoulders to her apartment. Shinji tries to find Misato's cellphone and calls Kaji.
"Hey, Kaji. Yes, it's me, Shinji. Yup, she's drunk. Yeah, can you send a code to the door so that I can lay your wife down and I can go home? Thanks. Don't worry about the car. I'll drop it off tomorrow. Yeah, no more taxi. Okay. Bye."
Shinji lays Misato on the bed. Misato grumbles something to Shinji.
"Am I home?"
"Yeah."
"Don't tell Kaji any of these. Okay?"
"Too late."
"I'm so going to get… you… zzzzzzz…" Misato drowsed off
Shinji turned off the light as he walks out of the apartment.
The next day (Outside Shinji's Apartment)
"What the hell are you doing here?"
"I'm here to welcome the new neighbor. You?"
"The same, you slut! You're just hoping to find another sex partner to use."
"That's not true."
"Yes it is!"
"No, it's not!"
A strange set of noises starts to rattle in front of Shinji's door. Shinji is looking at the door, cup of coffee at hand. A set of thoughts run into his mind. Should he open the door? Should he call the police? What pair of shoes must he buy? Is there anything good on TV? Do warm water penguins exist? He seems confused. However, he does his overwhelming (and dumbest) instinct. Unfortunately, he opened the door.
He sees two people neck-at-neck with each other. Both seem familiar. The two outside the apartment looked at their new neighbor with the same familiar mood.
"You look…"
"…familiar…"
"I don't think so…"
"You're…"
"I know you…"
"I think not!"
"Ikari…"
"Shinji…"
"No, my name is Sahatir Bahindra and I'm from New Delhi…"
"It's Shinji!"
"He's mine!"
Shinji presses the 'Close door function'.
The two former classmates knock heavily on the door.
"SHINJI!"
"IKARI!"
"MISATO!"
To be continued…
Author's Notes:
This takes on the episode 26 alternate universe and also functions as a sequel to my earlier work, Coffee and TV. There is still the original New York since the second impact didn't happen and Tokyo-3 was created since Japan needed a newer city to hold the government capital and adapt it through the ages. This is much easier than demolishing a whole city and re-zoning districts to adapt with the new standards of living. Am I right?
I ask you not to ask certain names and other events which most of you feel OOC. There will be a definite reason and function to these and you will see it in the later chapters.
This is a preliminary release. I'm not calling this a beta since I am a purist and the term beta is only applicable to software.
That's all…