Author's Note: Thank you very much for your reviews. We are very excited by the positive input that some of you gave. We've been inspired to continue the next chapter. We would like to let you know that this chapter will be mostly humor based, with some small amounts of drama. We will also get a chance for us to get into some character development for our ACC Steven Adams. Anyway, hope you enjoy.
For those of you who don't know, a dollar is about 120 yen. We had originally planned to make this one chapter, but in the process of writing this, we discovered that it was much longer than we had originally planned. Hopefully we won't need a third part for this chapter.
We present to you the third chapter of Neon Genesis Evangelion: Parallel.
Chapter 3 "A Place to Stay Part I."
From above the city, the aftermath of the night's event could be seen. There were dozens of buildings collapsed, several large craters, and more fires that you could shake a stick at. Fortunately, most of the fires had been put out, and, because of the evacuation, the number of casualties was at a minimal. In fact, more people died under ground in the Headquarters than at the surface.
Flying in a plane, a middle-aged man with tinted glasses flew above. Once again, he had his hand entwined together in front of his face. And his trusty right-handed man just showed up on a screen in front of him.
"So what are your plans for this trip?" Asked Fuyutsuki.
Gendo quickly responded. "The second branch in the United States is preparing to build an Eva unit of their own. I will personally give them the plans necessary for them to do so. I should arrive in Denver in five hours. Afterwards, our next stop is Germany, where we will inspect the completion of Unit 02. While there, I expect to meet with the 'Wise Men'. I should return within a week. After all, it is important that we maintain the funds necessary in order to build, rebuild, and defend our city."
"If the Second Child will use Unit 02, then who will pilot the next unit?" Asked Fuyutsuki.
"I'm sure that we will find the Forth Child eventually." Said Gendo. "But if we are unsuccessful in having the First Child synchronize with Unit 00, then she could use it as well. It's makes no difference."
"So the Forth Child is still at large. Is it possible that there aren't any more?"
The commander was silent. He truly didn't know the answer. "Right now, that is irrelevant you are in charge until I return."
The plane continued on its charted course, leaving the city behind.
**
Misato and Ritsuko were driving on an empty road towards one of the many locations that received severe damage from the events of the night before. Misato sighed while looking around. "Man, this place looks like a war zone. How the hell are we going to cover this up?"
Ritsuko never looked up from her laptop. "Probably the usual way. Terrorists, or swamp gas that came into contact with a weather balloon."
"Please, you think that people will actually believe that?"
"It sounds more believable than the truth, don't you think?"
Misato rolled her eyes and smiled. "I guess people would never believe that a giant monster is trying to conquer humanity."
Ritsuko nodded in agreement as the two reached their final destination. As they pulled to a stop, a voice could be heard a little ways away.
*Hey ladies!! Lookin' good!!*
The women perk their ears in order to hear who it was. After realizing that it was English, the both them groaned.
"What the hell did he just say?" Asked Misato in an annoyed tone.
"I didn't quite hear him right. I only heard the word 'Looking.'"
Misato stared in surprise. "You understand English?"
"Of course. I studied it in high school and college. Didn't you?"
Misato hung her head. "No…."
Ritsuko snickered. Then a knocking was heard on the window. It was Captain Adams, looking cheerful, too cheerful. Ritsuko lowered the window and spoke. "What do you want?"
Before Adams could answer, Misato interrupted. "Yeah, and what the hell did you say to us just before?"
Adams chuckled. "Well captain, I said that you two are just the people I was looking for."
"I'm so sure." Said Misato as she crossed her arms.
Adams scratched the back of his head. "Well, I said something like that."
"Anyway, answer my question." Said Ritsuko.
Adams thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, I wanted to show you guys something. Come on!"
Adams motioned them to exit the vehicle. They followed him around the corner of a building. In front of them, being loaded onto a truck was an extremely large weapon resembling an assault rifle. Adams stands there full of pride. "This is one of my many creations." Spoke Adams, almost teary eyes. "It's a super caliber automatic assault weapon known as the G2-EX. It will be standard issue for all Evangelion units from this point on. Had we managed to equip it sooner, the angel would have never had a chance."
Misato walked towards it to get a closer look. After inspecting it, she seemed less than impressed. "You've been here four years, developing weapons that would give us the advantage in battle, and all you've managed to do is make conventional weapons…. Bigger. I'm hardly impressed."
Adams took offense to this. "Hey, do you realize that when you increase the size of a weapon, the very dynamics of that weapon change completely? It took a lot of work finding a way to increase its size and power while maintaining durability and reliability. A whole new line of synthetic Dura-steel composites had to be developed so that his weapon could be possible." Adams then points towards the gigantic stockpile of ammunition. "Even the ammo is state of the art. The diameter of the shells are three feet long. And …"
Adams continued on with his explanation while Misato stood there, only half paying attention. Ritsuko then hears her cell phone ring. She answers it, speaks briefly to the person on the other line and then hangs up. She then clear her throat in order to get the others attention. "Ahem…"
Misato continued to argue, not hearing Ritsuko. "I still think that you get paid way too much for what you do…"
"Ah ha!" Continued Adams. "I knew it. You are jealous of my salary. Well when you actually start doing things around…"
"AHEM!!!" Ritsuko cleared her throat much louder this time. The other caught it this time and stopped arguing. They looked sheepishly towards Ritsuko.
"Not that I've got your attention, I'd like to announce that Shinji is OK, and that he should be ready to check out of the hospital."
Misato took a few steps forward. "Does he remember what happened last night?"
Ritsuko nodded her head. "I couldn't confirm that. He seems confused. Its possible that he doesn't remember."
"You don't think he suffered any brain damage, do you?"
Ritsuko waved her hand forward. "Relax. I said that he was fine."
"Well, I could always check up on him." Said Adams as started to walk away. Misato grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Oh no you don't. Shinji is not your responsibility, Mr. Weapon Developer. I will check up on him."
"You tell me I should earn my pay check. I don't see why I shouldn't. He likes me better anyway…" Said Adams.
"HE DOES NOT!!!" Screamed Misato. "He'd have to be crazy in order to like you."
"HA. I'm crazy? You're the one who's the nut case. I remember the time that…"
By now, Ritsuko had had enough. A vein was starting to pop out of her forehead. "SHUT UP!!! GOD, YOU TWO ACT LIKE CHILDREN!!! IF YOU WANT TO CHECK UP ON HIM SO BAD, WHY DON'T YOU BOTH GO???"
Misato and Adams stood there staring at Ritsuko as if she was possessed by a demon. They then looked each other and sneered. "Fine!" They both said as they walked off in opposite directions.
Misato made it to her car and got in it. She then smirked. 'I'll just get there before him. Then I can take the credit for checking on him.' She then starts her engine and revs it up. She takes off, squealing the tire on the asphalt, moving out a top speed. She ducks through several corners, barely without crashing. 'It's a good thing that the streets are empty. I'd probably would have killed someone by now.'
As Misato raced the streets, she spots a motorcycle in the distance. 'Dammit! He's ahead of me. But my car is faster. I should easily catch up to him and leave in my dust.' Misato then speed up and slowly overtakes the lead over her rival. While doing so, she flips him the bird and races around the corner.
Misato had a smug look on her face. 'I showed him. That'll teach him not to mess with me.' She looks into her review mirror. She sees him shaking his fist in the air, and then returns with an obscene gesture of his own. He then drives his bike in to an alleyway.
'Oh so he thinks he can cut me off by taking the back ways. That what he thinks.' Misato once again goes at an illegal pace in order to prevent her enemy from winning. After several lefts and rights, she spots the hospital entrance that was just a mile ahead. 'I did it! I beat him here. Ha. That's what he get for thinking that he's a big shot.'
Just as Misato was about the exit into the entranceway, a certain man on a motorcycle suddenly pulls out of an alley and enters before her.
"NO WAY!!! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Screamed Misato as she realized that she had lost the race.
They quickly pulled up to the parking lot. When Misato finally parked and exited her car, she heard Adams in the distance.
"That's two to one, Katsuragi. Better luck next time!!!"
Misato ran after him in a fury that seemed to have no bounds. So confident was Adams in his victory that he didn't bother to look behind him. Just as he reached the front door, so did Misato. They ended up getting wedged in between the edges of the door.
"Get out of my way you jerk." Hissed Misato.
Adams struggled with all his might, but couldn't get through. "You need to lose a few pounds."
This enraged Misato further. "ASSHOLE!!!" Misato then begins punching at Adams's head.
"Ow, stop that!!"
While all this is all happening, the secretary at the desk just stood there dumbfounded. The thought of two adults stuck in between a door was…down right weird. "Um, can I help you two?"
Misato and Adams stop struggling and look at the secretary. They become embarrassed over the fact that their behavior was being observed. They then finally squeezed themselves through the door. They then calmly walk up to the desk. Misato speaks first.
"We are here to check out Shinji Ikari. Could you tell us where he is resting?"
The secretary looked between the two of them and raised an eyebrow. "Are you two his parents?"
Both Misato and Adams's eyes bug out. "WHAT!!! NO WAY!!!"
Adams got annoyed. "Does it look like that we are his parents?"
Misato starts to panic. "Do I really look that old? Big sister maybe, but not his mother…" Misato then pulls out a small make up kit and looks into the mirror. "Any lines, blemishes, or wrinkles?"
Adams ignores Misato and looks to the secretary. "It's important that we see him."
"Are you his Guardian?"
"No."
The young secretary cocks her head. "Do you have authority from a government organization?"
Adams smiles. "Indeed I do. I work for NERV."
"Do you have an ID Card?"
"Sure do…" Adams begins to search his pockets, but cannot find his wallet. "I...it's around here some where…" Adams searches all of his pockets, but is unable to find his ID. He then freaks out. "Don't tell me I've left it behind!!!"
By now, Misato had recomposed herself and handed her ID to the secretary. "Here is mine. Can I go now?"
"Yes, it's room C17 on the second floor. Thank you." The secretary looks to Adams. "Do you have your ID Card?"
"God dammit. I can't find it. Listen, you've got to believe me. I'm Captain Steven Adams, Head developer in the Weapons Dept. of NERV. You've got to let me in!!"
The lady shook her head. "Sorry sir, without ID, I can't let you through."
"Misato, vouch for me, please."
Misato walked away. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Adams gets pissed. "Thanks a lot!!" He then looks to the lady at the desk. "I'll be right back." Adams then runs out the door towards his bike.
Several minutes later, Adams looks in the side pouch of his bike, but his wallet was still at large. "Dammit, where the hell is it? I remember having it along when I left and…." Just then, Adams remembers the location of his missing wallet. He looks into the inside pocket of his jacket, and finds his wallet. His face contorts at his own stupidity. "God Dammit!! It was right here all along!!!" Adams then quickly runs back into the hospital.
Misato was searching the halls for room C17. Unfortunately, this turned out to be quite a difficult task, considering the fact that she was once again lost. "Damn, I can't believe that I'm lost. I had every opportunity to beat him to Shinji. But nooooooooo. I had to take the left when I should have taken a right." Misato sighs as she looks at the endless amount of doors. She peaks into a few, but most were empty. With the lack of people above ground, the hospital was an unlikely place to find anyone. Hoping Shinji might hear her, she begins to call out his name. "Shinji?" She continues down the hall, looking in every door, just in case. In one particular room, she sees a figure in a bed.
"Shinji? Is that you?"
The figure moves and lifts its head. Misato recognized the blue hair and crimson eyes.
"Oh! Sorry Rei. I'm looking for the Third Child. Have you seen him?"
Rei gently shook her head and, without saying a word, closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
Misato sighed. She was about to give up when she turned around the corner and spotted a sign the mentioned that rooms C1 through C35 were down that hall. She smirked. "Great! Found it…" Unfortunately for her, her smirked disappeared when she spotted another figure at the opposite end of the hall. 'Oh no, not him…'
Both Misato and Steven narrowed their eyes at each other and clenched their fists.
Shinji was standing in front of the window inside his room. He stared outside, feeling conflicted and confused. The events of the night before went by like a blur to him in his mind, and he was unable to make sense of it all. Suddenly, the suddenly loud movement of rapid footsteps caught his attention. 'Sounds like somebody's running in the hall.'
He was only half-right as the truth was that two people were running in the halls. When Shinji turned around, the site of two adults, who were once again wedged between a door, greeted him.
"I was here first!!!"
"No, I was here first!!!"
"Ha, you wish!!!"
The behavior of the two of them was childish, and the only reaction Shinji could give was a sweat drop.
The two adults spotted Shinji and held out their arms. "Shinji, will you grab my arm and pull me in?" Asked Misato.
"No Shinji, grab my arm and pull me in!!!" Commanded Adams.
"No me!!"
"No me!!"
Shinji was unsure of what to make of the situation. The only reasonable thing he thought he could do was to pull on both their arms. He grabbed both of them and pulled, yanking the two through the door.
Adams seemed upset. "Did you have to pull on both of us? Now we're tied. I hate being tied."
"No way. He grabbed my arm first, so I win." Snapped Misato.
"He did not!!"
"Did too!!"
The constant arguing between the two of them might have gone on, if a nurse hadn't entered and screamed at the both of them. "Quite! This is a hospital!!! People are trying to rest!!!"
After that, Misato and Adams both calmed down. Shinji looked at them questioningly. "Um…. Why are you guys here?"
Misato smiled at him. "We're here to check you out. How are you feeling?"
"I feel OK." Responded Shinji.
Just then, a doctor entered the room and looked at the two adults with a questioning look. "What are you two doing here?"
Adams answered the man. "We're are here to check Shinji Ikari out. I'm sure that's OK, right?"
The doctor nodded. "He appears to be fine. I'm going to have to have some paper work signed before I can let him leave, though."
Adams smiled. "I take care of that." He then turns to the others. "You two wait here." Adams then walks out with the doctor.
Misato is obviously upset. "Did you see that? He just ordered me to stay here. Him! And I'm his boss!! I should be giving the orders. Asshole!"
Shinji raised and eyebrow. "Um… I'm sorry… I guess…"
Misato turns to the young man. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"But, the paperwork needs to be filled out first…"
"Forget that, just go!" With that, Misato grabbed Shinji's arm and dragged him out of the hospital before any noticed.
Shortly afterwards, Adams returned with some paperwork. "I need your signature, Shin… What the hell? Where'd they go?" Adams looks around the room. "Did she just walk out with him?" Adams drops the paper on the ground and runs out. The doctors saw this and called after him.
"Hey, where are you going?"
Adams ignored the man and ran out of the hospital, but by then, Misato, her car, and Shinji were long gone. *GOD DAMMIT!!!*
**
Misato and Shinji were driving off towards NERV Headquarters. Misato was on the phone talking to Ritsuko. "I've got Shinji here."
"Good, now go to HQ so that his living arrangements can be made." Said Ritsuko.
"OK. Talk to you later." Misato was about to hang up when Ritsuko spoke again.
"Wait. Where's Adams?"
"Oh, I ditched him at the hospital. He had the nerve to tell me to stay there. He gave ME an order. I out-rank him you know. I ought to kick his ass."
Ritsuko put a hand to her face in exasperation. "Whatever. Talk to you later."
The two of them hung up. Misato looked to Shinji and smiled. "So how do you like it here so far?"
Shinji lowered his head. "I'm not sure how I feel. I really only just got here."
Misato put a hand in Shinji hair and messed it up. "I know, but I'm sure you'll learn to love this place."
Shinji didn't seem so sure. 'I miss my old home already.' He thought.
A short while later, Misato and Shinji were in NERV HQ, standing in front of Fuyutsuki. Fuyutsuki looked towards Shinji. "We have made the arrangements as to where you will stay. Do you mind if you live alone?"
Shinji shook his head. Misato on the other hand had other ideas. "Wait a minute! You can't possibly let him live alone." She then looks to Shinji. "You really want that?"
"It's OK. I don't mind living by myself." Said Shinji.
"That's crazy, Shinji." Said Misato.
Misato then walks up to Fuyutsuki and asks him a question. "Why doesn't he go and live with me?"
Fuyutsuki raised an eyebrow. "You want to be Ikari's guardian?"
Misato smiled confidently. "Yeah, I think that I could make a great guardian."
Just then, someone runs into the room. It's Adams, and he is heavily winded. He overheard the last word that Misato had said and realized what the discussion was about. "Guardian? You? Ha!" Adams then takes another minute to catch his breath.
"This doesn't concern you." Snapped Misato. "Your just a weapons developer. I'm the Director of Operations, so this is a matter that concerns me. Not you. Got it?!"
"Wrong." Spoke Adams when he regained his breath. "I'm also a tactical advisor, and I think that it would be to our tactical advantage if Shinji did not live with you!"
"Exactly. You're just an advisor, which mean that you only give advice. And being the Director of Operations, I can simply choose not to take your advice. So HA!!!"
Adams looks to Fuyutsuki. "Don't you agree that maybe it's a bad idea for him to live with Misato?"
Fuyutsuki was about to speak when Misato interrupted. "Hey, don't go over my head! Anything that you have to say to him has to go through me first."
Adams narrows his eyes. "I personally think that he should live with a male role-model."
Misato crossed her arms. "Oh, I get it! You're trying to compete with me, aren't you?"
"What? What are you talking about? I'm just saying that a boy his age living with a woman like yourself isn't right."
"Are you saying that I would hit on him?"
Adams put his fists defiantly at hi hips. "No I'm not!" He then spoke quietly to himself. "I'm saying you're a slob."
Misato became enraged. "I HEARD THAT!!!" Misato that put her hands out wide from her body. "Well, I'm so sorry that I don't live in a huge warehouse where I can just sweep all my crap into a corner."
"I'll have you know that NERV owns that warehouse, and I pay a substantial amount of rent for the small portion of it that I live in."
"What? I thought with all the money you were being paid that you'd have no problem buying the whole place for yourself."
"There you go again with my salary. You want to be paid like I do, then go back to college and learn engineering, and physics, and ballistic science. Then maybe you get a job that pays you enough so that you would stop your GOD DAMN BITCHING!!!" Yelled an irate Adams.
By now, both Shinji and Kouzou have had enough. Shinji was covering his ears, and Kouzou was on the brink of throwing both of them in a cell for their behavior. Kouzou then had an idea. "Fine, if you two can't decide where Ikari should live, then we'll let him decide. He'll live with each of you for one week, then he'll pick who he will live with, or decide to live on his own."
Misato pouted, while Adams nearly had a heart attack. "ME? I never said that he should live with me!"
Misato smirked. "What's the matter? Weren't you the 'Male Role-model' that you were talking about earlier?"
"Actually, I thought maybe he could live with Shigeru…"
"Shigeru? A male role-model?" Misato did all she could to keep from laughing. "His hair is almost as long as mine…"
Misato then started to bust a gut. Shinji and Fuyutsuki sweat dropped while Adams became very annoyed. "He can't live me. I've got dangerous weapons at my house."
Misato controlled her laughing. "But he can't live with me, I'm a woman and I might 'sleep' with him." Misato starts to laugh at him again.
Adams has had enough. "Fine! I'll do it. Besides, he thinks I'm cooler than you anyway."
Misato stopped laughing. "He does not!!"
"Yeah he does, right Shinji?"
Shinji starts to panic. "Hey…don't get me involved in this!!"
"Shinji, you're going to live with us. How can this not involve you?" Asked Adams in an exasperated tone.
Shinji started to take a few steps back. "I…I don't know. You two are just too weird…"
"Weird!!!" Screamed Adams and Misato. By now, Shinji had fallen backwards and was cringing from their wrath.
"Don't hurt me!!" Screamed Shinji.
Misato and Adams stopped and sweat dropped. "Hurt you?" Said Adams.
"We're not going to hurt you." Said Misato.
After seeing the pathetic little display of cowardice on the floor, both Misato and Adams started to laugh. Shinji starts to become offended. "What's so funny?"
After a few moments, the two finally calm down and regain some seriousness. They look to Shinji. "Um… You can get up now…" Said Misato.
After Shinji slowly get off the floor, Misato looks towards Adams again. "You can have him the first week, since once he lives with me, he won't want to leave."
Adams put on a smug look. "Is that so… Fine I accept."
"Good!" Said Fuyutsuki. "You can leave, immediately. I'll see to it that Ikari's belonging arrive at Adams's home."
Misato started to walk away, but before she left, she turns to Shinji. "See ya later!" She then winks and walks away.
Adams places a hand on Shinji's shoulder. "Well buddy. Let's go…"
As both of them walk off, Shinji is left in doubt. 'Oh man. I have to live with these two? What am I going to do?'
As everyone left, Fuyutsuki sighed as he went to his desk. 'Finally they're all gone. I can't wait for the Commander to return, I hate running things on my own.' He then sits down and puts his hand to his face. 'I'm too old for this.'
**
Shinji and Adams walk towards the parking lot. When they arrive at Adams's motorcycle, Adams speaks. "Sorry, you're gonna have to sit in the bitch seat. I didn't exactly expect to be bringing home anybody today."
Shinji sheepishly looked up at Adams. "It's Ok…"
Adams took the helmet on his bike and handed it to Shinji. "You can wear my helmet. It's more important that you're safe than me."
Shinji looked at the helmet reluctantly. "I really shouldn't. It is yours after all."
Adams sighed. "Just put it on. I'll be fine enough without it."
With that, Shinji slowly put the helmet on. It seemed to fit him well enough, since his head size wasn't all that different for Adams's. After he buckled the belt under his chin, he looked to Adams for an approval. Adams chuckled. "You look kinda funny with that school uniform and helmet. Don't worry, next time we'll drive in my car."
Both of them got on to the motorcycle. Shinji was quite nervous and wasn't sure where to place his hands. Adams noticed this. "Just place your hands on my shoulders."
"I've never done anything like this before." Said Shinji nervously.
"Just relax. We'll be home in no time." With that, Adams started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. He rode down a street a few blocks when he had to stop at a stoplight.
'Why are the traffic lights working? I guess the state of emergency has passed, and everyone is returning to normal life.' Thought Adams.
Suddenly, a blue and slightly damage sports car drove to a stop right next to them. The driver rolled down the window. A demonic purple haired woman greeted the two males. She began to rev her engine.
Adams sighed. "What do you want now?"
Misato had a determined look on her face. "I want a rematch."
Adams shook his head. "Not with Shinji on the back."
"Why not? Afraid that he would slow down your tricycle too much?" Misato taunted.
"I would appreciate it if you do not refer to my bike as a Tricycle. Beside, I could beat you with him behind me, and with my eyes bind-folded." Respond Adams.
Misato put on a devilish grin. "Is that a fact?"
Adams nodded. Misato point diagonally to her right. "Beat me across the bridge, and I'll let you keep custody of Shinji."
The man's pride had been put on the line. "Confident aren't we? Alright fine, I accept."
Shinji began to panic. "Y...YOU'RE NOT GOING TO RACE ARE YOU?!!!"
Adams looked back. "Hold on tight. I have a point to prove."
With that, the light turned green, and both vehicles darted out with Misato's car squealing its tires. It was dead even at the start, but Misato's car had the higher top end, and it began to pull ahead. It was then that Adams took a detour into one of the alleyways, narrowly missing a wall. Shinji began to scream like a maniac. "AAAAHHHH!!! STOP!! STOP RIGHT NOW!!!! I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS!!! AHH!!"
Unfortunately, Adams didn't respond to his pleas. Whether he couldn't hear him because of the noise of the engine and wind, or whether he didn't care was unknown. All that was known was that Shinji was scared shitless. The bike continued down the alleyways, darting left and right, narrowly missing many objects such as garbage cans, cars, and some people. Then, Adams made a left back onto the main road the led to the bridge. Looking in his mirrors, he noticed Misato's car in the distance. 'She's to far away to beat me. I've won!!' He thought.
Suddenly, a car pulled out of nowhere, and Adams almost hit it. After narrowly escaping an accident, Shinji was sent into the breaking point. In a panic, he did the most foolish thing he could have done. He grabbed onto Adams's head, wrapping his finger around his eyes. This of course made Adams lose his control of the bike. "AAAHHH!!!! LET GO!!!!" Screamed Adams as his bike started to sway and topple. In an effort to save the lives of himself and his passenger, Adams slowed down and skidded side ways to a stop, just barely managing to keep his balance. Then they were stopped, both of them nearly having a heart attack. Adams watched as Misato zipped by. He could have sworn that she was sticking her tongue out as she passed him, essentially winning the race.
An infuriated Adams turned to Shinji. "DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!! DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU NEARLY KILLED US BOTH?!!!!"
Shinji looked terribly ashamed, and it was obvious that he was on the verge of crying. He slowly looked up at his temporary Guardian. "I…I th…think I peed my pants…"
Sure enough, when Adams looked down, he saw the bitch seat dripping with urine. Adams felt a slight twitch in his eye, but managed to calm down as the adrenaline was slowly dissipating from his system. 'What have I gotten myself into?' He thought.
**
Misato passed the finish line at the end of the bridge. She began to laugh like a maniac. "That worked perfectly. Not only did I win, but also I bet that Shinji pissed his pants and probably is scared of that jerk. Shinji will pick me as his Guardian for sure."
Misato put on an almost evil grin as she drove off to her house.
**
Adams continued to ride his bike home, with Shinji having a very firm grip on his shoulders. They soon arrived in the industrial district. There were many factories, foundries, and harbors; all part of the growing industrial might that was Tokyo 3. They slowly came to a halt in front of one of the warehouses. Shinji took a look around the area. He noted that across the street, there were several small apartment buildings, most only having two or so apartments inside each. It intrigued him. 'This certainly doesn't look like the city that I imagined.' Thought Shinji.
A large door opened up at the side of the warehouse, allowing access for the motorcycle to enter. Inside, the place looked like any warehouse, containing a few shelves that had crates, along with some items that were covered by cloth. Most were very large, and a forklift was needed in order to move them around. There were also some items on the floor, also large and covered in cloth. In one corner, there was an area that resembled and office without walls, complete with a desk, a chair, a few filing cabinets, and a drawing board. In another corner, taking much more space was what appeared to be a workshop, with another one of the object covered in cloth. There was also a car, and two more objects that were in pieces, one resembling a car, another resembling a bike. Then Shinji noticed the area that was above the workshop, held up by columns of metal. It was closed of, except by a door that had a flight of stairs leading to it. It looked like it was the living quarters of the place. The overall look of the warehouse was organized, but perpetually dark and dusty just like any warehouse would be.
Adams finally parked the bike next the forklift that was seen. He put the kickstand out and got off. He looked to Shinji, who was struggling a little. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I probably shouldn't have raced Misato with you behind me. From now on, I'll drive you around in the car."
Shinji nodded. "It's Ok. I'm sorry for nearly killing us and then peeing on your bike."
Adams looked at the wet spot on the bitch seat and smirked. "I'll clean that out later. Speaking of which, I don't think your belongings have arrived yet, so I'll let you wear a pair of my pants until they do. They'll be big on you, but with a belt, you should manage. Follow me."
Adams then started heading for the stairs with Shinji close behind. When they reached the top, Adams opened the door and walked in. He turned around to notice that Shinji didn't do the same. "Come in." Said Adams.
Shinji was reluctant. "I'm…I'm all wet. I think I should stay out here."
Adams smiled. "Relax. You're not dripping anymore. You can change in the bathroom."
Shinji shyly took his first step, and entered the house. Adams waived his arm out. "Welcome to my humble abode. I'll show you to the bathroom. After you change and shower, I'll give you a tour."
Shinji then followed Adams to the bathroom. Shinji went inside and waited until Adams showed up with a pair of pants and a belt. "Here ya go!" Said Adams.
Shinji smiled. "Thank you."
Adams smiled back. "No problem."
Shinji removed the soiled clothing he was wearing. He sighs when he realizes that he had no briefs to wear underneath, but shrug. 'I'm not going anywhere, and I certainly don't want to wear his underwear.' The boy then went into the shower and quickly washed off. He then finishes dressing and walks out of the bathroom. He looks up to the older male, who is chuckling at the fact that the pants were way to big.
"I guess they don't fit you very well, huh?"
Shinji looks down at his feet and notices that there was about a foot of extra fabric around his feet. "I guess not." Said Shinji half-heartedly.
Adams motion Shinji to follow him. "I guess it's time to give you the tour." Adams then points towards a door to Shinji right, making sure that they don't enter. "That's my bedroom. Nothing's particularly special about that room. I just want you to knock before you enter if I'm in there."
Shinji nodded as they continued. They then went into the kitchen, which seemed also quite normal. "This is, of course the kitchen. I keep mostly Americanized food in here, but I do have some Japanese food. I can always buy some more if you like."
Shinji spoke shyly. "You really don't have to…"
"It's no big deal." Adams then points out to some things in the kitchen. "I have a microwave, but I usually prefer to use the stove since it tastes better that way. Now shall we move on?"
After Shinji nodded, they exited the kitchen and went into the living room. "Welcome to my living room, complete with a TV, a video game system with a lot of games, and a world class DVD and Stereo system." Said Adams.
It was quite noticeable that the living room was the most decorated, containing posters of rock bands, some war memorabilia, and oddly enough, a uniform that represented what some U.N soldiers would wear ten years ago. Shinji then notices a photograph on top of the TV set. Upon looking at it, Shinji noticed two people in it, one of which was easily recognized as a younger version of the Captain. The other was unknown, but it seems like they were close friends. They were huddled together and holding up mugs of beer. Shinji then noticed handwriting, but couldn't make out what it said, mostly because it was English.
"That was an old war buddy of mine." Said Steve. "The picture used to be his, but he never made it through. So I ended keeping it for myself."
Shinji turned to the man. "What do you mean that he never made it through?"
Adams turned away. "He… died during one of the operations that we were on."
"Oh…" Said Shinji as his face began to look grim. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." Spoke the middle-aged man.
Shinji the looked at the writing again. "What does that writing say?"
Adams turned around. "It says 'To my best buddy and comrade. May we grow old together. Sergeant Steven "Duke" Adams.'"
The boy became inquisitive. "What does "Duke" mean?"
"It was my nickname back when I was still in my special force unit. It comes from the Duke of Wellington, who was one of the greatest strategic and tactical leaders of warfare the world has ever seen. He was the only one who beat Napoleon not just once, but twice. I got that nickname because of some heroic deeds that I accomplished in the past. Most of those deeds were tactical maneuvers that I used when my team was pinned down by a superior force. It helped pave the way for me to become a tactical advisor." Steve then takes a seat on the couch and looks at the ceiling. "After Second Impact, there were many wars that broke out among many countries. In fact, half of the people that died because of Second Impact died as casualties of war. The result actually reduced the ratio of women to men to nearly 2:1. Some whackos in several countries took power and threatened many people. The U.N. did all it could to remove them from power, and I was one of many who were used to as tools to do so. It's not one of the happier moments of my life."
Adams then woke from his trance and got up from the couch. "Let's continue with our tour."
They then went down a hallway and towards another room. On the way, they passed another door that caught Shinji's attention but only briefly. The older man opened a different door. "And this is your bedroom for now. It's not much, but you can do what ever you want with it."
Shinji looks inside, and he sees a bed and a nightstand. Simple.
"I used to like to put posters up on the walls of my room, some of which were naughty, but you don't have to have those kind. I could have a dresser put in, but you may not need it…" Adam continued to talk, but Shinji began to lose interest as his attention was caught upon the other door again. It had a security pad next to it, but the door was slightly open anyway. Shinji slowly open it, and his jaw dropped when he saw what was inside.
On several shelves across then wall were all sorts of conventional weaponry, ranging from pistols, to automatic weapons, to rocket and grenade launchers. Below each of them were crates of various sizes, probably filled with ammo. The young man took a few steps back. "There must be enough weapons in there to supply a small army."
By now, Adams had notice what had happened and had quickly closed the door in response. "Not quite…. But close. I see you've managed to discover my collection."
"I... Isn't that collection illegal?" Stuttered Shinji.
Adams thinks for a moment and decides to reopen the door. "Eh, probably. I never thought to ask."
The two of them enter and Shinji was able to get a closer look at all of the weapons. Adams points to several different weapons and describes them. He grabs a large pistol first. "This is a 357 magnum pistol, made back in the early seventies. It's one my favorites." He puts it down and points to a sub-machine gun. "This is a 45 Thompson. It's the military version of the 'Tommy Gun.' The difference is in the type of magazine and grip. This has a straight magazine instead of a drum and a normal grip instead side fore-grip."
Shinji raise an eyebrow. "Isn't that the gun that I've seen in those old mobster movies?"
"Well, yes and no." Said the older man. "Like I said, this is the military model. You're thinking of the civilian model."
"They gave that gun to civilians?" Asked Shinji in a surprised tone.
Adams smiled and tilted his head back a little. "Those were the good old days." The weapons developer then moved onward with the tour. "Now we'll take a look at some vintage weapons." He then points to a fairly large weapon that had two barrels. "This is the OICW. It stands for 'Offensive Intelligent Combat Weapon.' It's one of our first attempts at a 'smart gun.' It fires 7mm light armor piercing rounds that are accurate up to 800 yards. It also has a 20mm semi-automatic grenade laugher that launches smart ammo."
Shinji cocks his head. "Smart ammo? Does it…like…follow the enemy?"
Adams sighs. "Sadly no. By 'smart' they mean that you can set the approximate location in which the grenade goes off, even if the grenade doesn't hit a target."
"Cool… I guess…" Said Shinji as he was starting to lose interest, but Adams continued with the tour without taking notice.
"This is your standard rocket launcher…" Continued Steve.
At this point, Shinji was now looking around the room since he was too confused with all the details to pay attention. He then notices a large machine gun in the middle of the room, separate from the others. He walked up to it in order to investigate. It looked very old and worn, and there was a sign in front of it that had the name 'Buster' on it.
'Buster? What kind of name is that?' Thought Shinji as he went to place a hand on it. Adams turns his head to look for the younger man, and nearly has a heart attack when he sees the hand nearing the weapon.
"DON'T TOUCH IT!!!!"
But it was too late as Shinji hand lightly pressed against the barrel of the gun. Even though he quickly pulled it away, Adams was already upset.
"Dammit! You got fingerprints on it!! Now I have to clean the whole damn thing again!!"
Shinji took a few steps backwards. "I'm sorry. But can't you just wipe off the fingerprints."
Adams narrowed his eyes. "Do you know what this is? This is the M2 Browning Machine Gun. And it's one of the last remaining models in the world. This gun is almost more valuable than all of the other guns combined." The man than stood up. "The tour's over. Please leave this room."
When both of them walked out of the room, an ashamed Shinji went to the living room and laid on the couch. 'Why am I here?' Thought Shinji. 'It feels like I'm in the way.'
Adams walked into his room and sighed. 'I shouldn't have agreed with this. I'm not ready to be a parent.'
Adams looks around in his room while removing his pistol from under his jacket. This room was fairly large as well, but the walls were adorned with many posters, mostly of nude women, which explained why Adams didn't allow Shinji in his room. After also placing his jacket on the bed, Adams looked towards a large cage that was up against the right wall of the room. He notices that the cage was empty. 'Oh great! Felix is out of his cage again…'
Shinji was lying on his back on the couch. The day had been very long and stressful, and he was growing very tired. As Shinji's thoughts started to drift, a weight slowly moved on to Shinji's stomach and chest. He then felt a tickling sensation on his chin. When Shinji woke, the face of an iguana, who then flicked his tongue onto the boy's nose, greeted him.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"
'That must be Felix…' Thought the weapons developer.
Adams went back into the living room to see a three-foot lizard on top of a cowering five-foot tall boy. Adams laughs. "Heh heh heh I see that you've met Felix." The tactical advisor then picks up the lizard and holds it lovingly.
"How are you doing, buddy?" He then scratches underneath its chin, causing the lizard to involuntarily whip its tail into Adams's side.
A buzzing noise came from outside, grabbing the attention of the two males. "I bet that's your stuff. I'll go bring it up." Said Steven as he hands Shinji the three-foot long lizard. "You get more acquainted with him." Adams then left the room, leaving a shaken up Ikari holding an iguana in his hands.
"Um…hi…" Said Shinji. "I'm Shinji Ikari… Nice to meet you."
The lizard's attention span was drained as he attempted to escape the larger human animal's hands. Shinji put the green thing down and it walked off towards Adams's bedroom. Curious, Shinji followed after it, and straight into the bedroom, where posters of nude woman met his eyes. Shinji's eyes bugged out, and the color from his face drained. He escaped as quickly as possible, as a chill went up his spine. But then he stopped and slowly turned around. There, at the doorway, was Felix, who was looking up at him. Felix then looked upon the bulge in the boy's pants. It hissed and shook its head as it went back into the bedroom.
Shinji sighed. 'What kind of person is this guy?'
Adams returned, carrying several boxes in his hands. "I figured you'd have more stuff than this, but that's alright." Adams then went into the bedroom reserved for the young Ikari and placed the boxes in there. After doing so, Adams went up to Shinji with a depressed look. "I'm sorry that I've been so hard on you today. I'm sure that you're having a hard time dealing with everything that's happened, and I'm only making it harder."
"It's alright." Said Shinji. "I really should be more careful."
The older man smiled. "Forget it. I'll tell you what. I'll make it up to you by cooking up a nice 'American' dinner."
Shinji seemed a little nervous. "I'm not used to American food."
"Relax. You'll love what I'll cook up." Said Adams as he went to the kitchen. "I hope you're hungry."
About half an hour later, a monstrous amount of food was prepared, including six half-pound hamburgers, a pound of mash potatoes, a pound of corn, pound of macaroni and cheese, and half a gallon of gravy. The captain took a plate and crammed half of what was there into one plate, placing in front of Shinji. The other half was loaded up the same way and was place in front of Adams's seat. Shinji looked worried. "I don't think I can eat this much?"
Steven had already stuffed a mouthful of mash-potatoes in his mouth. "do't wory…I sav tuh west." Adams swallowed. "If you want to use chopsticks instead, you can. But most of the food is better eaten with silver wear."
Shinji didn't respond as he was trying to get used to the using a fork, but after several attempts at getting it right, he gives up. Adams is in disbelief. "Come on. A three year old could use a fork."
Shinji got up to find some chopsticks. "I'm just not used to it. It doesn't feel right. I hope you don't mind if I used chopsticks instead."
The weapons developer sighed. "No, go ahead. Although I can't picture eating American food with chopsticks."
Nothing else was said as the meal continued, with Shinji using chopsticks to eat his side dishes. It wasn't long before Adams finished most of his meal, feeling satisfied. The younger man was only able to eat half of his plate, leaving two hamburgers, half of his potatoes and corn, and trace amounts of macaroni. Steven got up and picked up his plate. "I'll save the rest for you to eat later." The plate was wrapped up and put into the refrigerator.
Shinji felt that this was an opportune time to ask the other person a question that had been on his mind. "Adams, I wanted to ask you a question?"
"Please, it's Ok if you call me Steve. Go ahead and ask me." Responded Adams.
"Sorry…Steve. I just wanted to know why is it that you and Misato don't seemed to get along."
Adams smirked, and began probing his mind for an earlier memory. "Well, I personally have no problem with her. She has the problem with me." Adams then takes a seat. "It all started back about two years ago."
**
The scene flashes back to Misato's house. Misato was quickly trying to prepare dinner, obviously expecting company.
**
"I was invited over to Misato's house by Ritsuko for dinner. Misato had just started working at NERV, and she wanted to make a good impression. She already was a friend with Ritsuko back in college, but I was a stranger to her. I sometimes wonder if Ritsuko was trying to hook us up…."
**
The doorbell rings, leaving Misato in a slight panic. She rushes to the door and opens it, greeting her old college friend, and a then shaven Steven Adams.
"Good evening!" Said Misato. "Welcome to my home. Sorry if it's a little messy, I just moved in."
**
"She wasn't kidding about the messy part. There were beer cans everywhere. I wonder if she ever cleans her house."
**
"It's alright." Said Ritsuko. "We know it's hard to move in to a new place."
**
"Now since I was a guest, I figured it would be best if I would be a gentleman. Boy was that a mistake…."
**
"Hi. I'm Lieutenant Steven Adams." Said the man as he held out his hand.
**
"That was my first mistake."
**
Misato puts on a scowl. "Well Lieutenant, I do believe that you should be saluting a 'Captain.'"
"Oh sorry." Said Adams as he salutes. "I was unaware of your rank, ma'am."
Misato smirks. "You're forgiven."
**
"Now I understand that it was a bad start, but it gets worse from here."
**
"Uh…ma'am, may I assist you in tidying up the place while you prepare dinner?" Asked the inferior ranked officer.
Misato smiled. "Sure, in fact, you can start by collecting all the beer cans and throwing them out. Then you can wash some of the dishes and clean the table. Then you can…"
**
"She literally asked me to clean the whole house. If there was more time, she probably would have asked if I could unpack her stuff…"
**
After what seemed to be an eternity of washing and cleaning, an exhausted Adams sat down on the floor next the table. He then looks to Ritsuko. "For all that work, this better be a five star meal."
Ritsuko shook her head. "Back in our college days, I heard that she could burn water. We can only hope that she has at least improved a little."
**
"It was at the point that I probably should have left. But, being the gentleman I was…"
**
"Dinner is served!!" Screamed an excited Captain.
Everyone looked down at a table full of instant food ranging from noodles to pizza.
**
"That's right. It took her about two hours to cook instant food. And that wasn't the bad part…"
**
"Well, I'm sure it's great." Said the weapons developer as he took his first bite. After first swallowing the pizza very slowly, it became apparent that his face was changing colors, as the food made it's long decent into his stomach.
**
"It took me a week to recover from that."
**
"I…I'm sorry ma'am, but it's not very good…"
**
"There was my second mistake of the night. I only wish that I never had to live through it."
**
Steven was hiding behind the table form what was the full frontal verbal assault of Captain Katsuragi.
"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!! I SLAVE AWAY IN FRONT OF THAT STOVE FOR TWO HOURS AND THAT IS HOW YOU THANK ME!!!! FINE, THEN FUCK YOU!!!"
A near panicked Ritsuko did her best to calm down her disgruntled friend. "Misato please. Just calm down. Just relax. Remember that he's an American, and his tastes are different."
**
"That put out the fire for the time being, but then another factor came along in order to bring forth more terror. Alcohol. And we know how well alcohol burns…."
**
"I need a beer!" Said the angry Director of Operations.
Adams then stands up. "Wait, let me make it up to you. I brought a flask of whiskey. I'll let you have some."
Misato turned towards the man and stared daggers at him. "Don't even bother. Besides, I hate whiskey." Misato then walks out into the kitchen and then comes back with two beers.
**
"Now the normal assumption here would have been that she was giving a beer to Ritsuko as well, but in reality, she was drinking both at once. The flask I brought was only a pint, and I maybe took two shots from it, but she had over ten beers in one hour. It was inhuman. And it was the cheapest beer imaginable. Have you ever had a Yebitsu beer? It's awful…"
**
Ten beer can lie across the table, and Misato was extremely plastered. She then looks to Ritsuko. "Did you check out my new car? It's the fastest everrrr…"
Adams seemed interested in the direction the conversation was going. "I have a sports car, too. How many horsepower does you car have?"
Misato gives him a scowl. "More than yours does…"
Adams smirks. "It that so?"
"Yeah, my car has 426 horsepower."
"Ha! Mine has 435 horsepower."
"You're full of shit. I bought my car from one of the foremost builders of street racers in the nation of Japan."
"So what. I built my car from the ground up using parts from the foremost builders of street racer in the nation of Japan."
**
"And this was the point when she discovered that I got paid more than she did."
**
Misato raised an eyebrow. "How could you pay for all those parts?"
"Um, with money…" Said Steven sarcastically.
Misato's eyes bug out. "Are you telling me that you get paid that much?"
Adams nodded.
Misato becomes enraged. "WHAT THE FUCK? I NOT ONLY OUT RANK YOU, BUT TECHNICALLY HAVE THE MORE DOMINATE POSITION IN NERV, AND YOU GET PAID MORE THAN I DO?"
"Well, weapon development is a good field to go into…"
"SO WHAT?" Said the Captain. "I SHOULD BE PAID MORE THAN YOU!!
Ritsuko realized that maybe the conversation was taking a bad turn, so she tried to change the subject. "So, I wonder with one of you is the better driver."
The drunken Misato had already forgotten the previous topic and responded. "Me of course."
"Yeah right…." Said the lieutenant under his breath.
"What did you say?" Asked Misato.
**
"It was at this point that I knew that this conversation was taking a bad turn, so I tried to end it. Big mistake."
**
"Never mind..." said Adams.
This unfortunately angered Misato even more. "Oh, so you think you and your stupid car are better than me, huh? If we were to race, I would dust you."
"I doubt it, ma'am." Adams responded.
Misato then stands up clenches her fist. "Fine then asshole, let's race right now.
Adams raises an eyebrow. "You're hardly in any condition to race me."
"I could beat you even while I'm vomiting, jackass." Yelled an inebriated Captain.
**
"After she said that, we got into a full fledged argument."
**
"I don't know what the fuck your problem is, but you better cut it out or…" Said Adams
Misato interrupts him. "Or you'll do what? Huh?"
"The moment that you're sober, I would be glad to race you just so that I could see that sorry look on your face went you eat my dust."
"Ha, you wish! I'll have you kissing my ass before you even cross the finish line."
"Like hell you will!"
Ritsuko was now pissed. She decided to put an end to their childish arguing. "WILL YOU BOTH FUCKING SHUT UP? GOD, YOU BOTH ARE ACTING LIKE CHILDREN. IF I'D KNOWN THAT THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED, I WOULDN'T HAVE SET THIS NIGHT UP."
Her screaming made both Adams and Katsuragi cringe. Misato then spoke. "I'm really sorry. I'll behave…. If he shuts up."
**
"I would have said something then, but Ritsuko literally scared me straight."
**
The three of them just sat at the table, not doing anything. Unfortunately, Misato was about to change that.
**
Basically, I'd had enough, and I was about to leave. But then, something else happened that pissed me off even more. She started hitting on me."
**
"You know, I've been such a bitch. Why don't we forget the whole night and hop into bed?"
Apparently, the drunken Misato had forgotten the entire argument earlier, and was now trying to get some action. Adams wasn't amused. "What the hell did you just say?"
Misato ignores the question and climbs up to him and rubs his chest. "Ooh, you're in shape…"
"Get off of me!" Replied the weapons developer.
**
"Now at this point, I was too pissed to be horny. I figured that I'd call it a night."
**
Adams stands up. "You treat me like garbage all night, and then you have the balls to hit on me?" Said an anger Steven. "That's it, I'm leaving!!"
Misato also gets pissed. "Fine then asshole. Don't bother coming back. I don't care, I don't need you to please myself." Retorted Misato.
"FINE" Said Adams as he walked out the door.
Ritsuko was very embarrassed. "I'm going home, I've had enough of you two." Ritsuko also walks out the door.
**
"I then left with Ritsuko, and I can gladly say that I have never had dinner with her ever again."
Shinji began to yawn. "That's an interesting story."
Adams noticed the weariness in the boys face. "Why don't you go to bed? I'll clean up."
"I really don't want to be a burden." Said Shinji.
The older man smiled. "You're not a burden. And I'm sorry if I've given you that impression. I'll try to make it up to you tomorrow."
"Ok…" Said Shinji as he headed off towards his room for a good nights sleep. Unfortunately, his sleep was filled with nightmares of the events of the night before, and for most of the night, his rest was less then peaceful.
***End of Chapter 3***
Author's Note: As was said, this chapter had turned out longer than expected. The next addition will finish up the chapter, hopefully…
One more thing, When referring to the table in the flashback scene, the table was one of those traditional Japanese table that sit low to the ground, meaning that the people need to be kneeling when they eat there. Anyway, we look forward to your reviews. Thank you.
For those of you who don't know, a dollar is about 120 yen. We had originally planned to make this one chapter, but in the process of writing this, we discovered that it was much longer than we had originally planned. Hopefully we won't need a third part for this chapter.
We present to you the third chapter of Neon Genesis Evangelion: Parallel.
Chapter 3 "A Place to Stay Part I."
From above the city, the aftermath of the night's event could be seen. There were dozens of buildings collapsed, several large craters, and more fires that you could shake a stick at. Fortunately, most of the fires had been put out, and, because of the evacuation, the number of casualties was at a minimal. In fact, more people died under ground in the Headquarters than at the surface.
Flying in a plane, a middle-aged man with tinted glasses flew above. Once again, he had his hand entwined together in front of his face. And his trusty right-handed man just showed up on a screen in front of him.
"So what are your plans for this trip?" Asked Fuyutsuki.
Gendo quickly responded. "The second branch in the United States is preparing to build an Eva unit of their own. I will personally give them the plans necessary for them to do so. I should arrive in Denver in five hours. Afterwards, our next stop is Germany, where we will inspect the completion of Unit 02. While there, I expect to meet with the 'Wise Men'. I should return within a week. After all, it is important that we maintain the funds necessary in order to build, rebuild, and defend our city."
"If the Second Child will use Unit 02, then who will pilot the next unit?" Asked Fuyutsuki.
"I'm sure that we will find the Forth Child eventually." Said Gendo. "But if we are unsuccessful in having the First Child synchronize with Unit 00, then she could use it as well. It's makes no difference."
"So the Forth Child is still at large. Is it possible that there aren't any more?"
The commander was silent. He truly didn't know the answer. "Right now, that is irrelevant you are in charge until I return."
The plane continued on its charted course, leaving the city behind.
**
Misato and Ritsuko were driving on an empty road towards one of the many locations that received severe damage from the events of the night before. Misato sighed while looking around. "Man, this place looks like a war zone. How the hell are we going to cover this up?"
Ritsuko never looked up from her laptop. "Probably the usual way. Terrorists, or swamp gas that came into contact with a weather balloon."
"Please, you think that people will actually believe that?"
"It sounds more believable than the truth, don't you think?"
Misato rolled her eyes and smiled. "I guess people would never believe that a giant monster is trying to conquer humanity."
Ritsuko nodded in agreement as the two reached their final destination. As they pulled to a stop, a voice could be heard a little ways away.
*Hey ladies!! Lookin' good!!*
The women perk their ears in order to hear who it was. After realizing that it was English, the both them groaned.
"What the hell did he just say?" Asked Misato in an annoyed tone.
"I didn't quite hear him right. I only heard the word 'Looking.'"
Misato stared in surprise. "You understand English?"
"Of course. I studied it in high school and college. Didn't you?"
Misato hung her head. "No…."
Ritsuko snickered. Then a knocking was heard on the window. It was Captain Adams, looking cheerful, too cheerful. Ritsuko lowered the window and spoke. "What do you want?"
Before Adams could answer, Misato interrupted. "Yeah, and what the hell did you say to us just before?"
Adams chuckled. "Well captain, I said that you two are just the people I was looking for."
"I'm so sure." Said Misato as she crossed her arms.
Adams scratched the back of his head. "Well, I said something like that."
"Anyway, answer my question." Said Ritsuko.
Adams thought for a moment. "Oh yeah, I wanted to show you guys something. Come on!"
Adams motioned them to exit the vehicle. They followed him around the corner of a building. In front of them, being loaded onto a truck was an extremely large weapon resembling an assault rifle. Adams stands there full of pride. "This is one of my many creations." Spoke Adams, almost teary eyes. "It's a super caliber automatic assault weapon known as the G2-EX. It will be standard issue for all Evangelion units from this point on. Had we managed to equip it sooner, the angel would have never had a chance."
Misato walked towards it to get a closer look. After inspecting it, she seemed less than impressed. "You've been here four years, developing weapons that would give us the advantage in battle, and all you've managed to do is make conventional weapons…. Bigger. I'm hardly impressed."
Adams took offense to this. "Hey, do you realize that when you increase the size of a weapon, the very dynamics of that weapon change completely? It took a lot of work finding a way to increase its size and power while maintaining durability and reliability. A whole new line of synthetic Dura-steel composites had to be developed so that his weapon could be possible." Adams then points towards the gigantic stockpile of ammunition. "Even the ammo is state of the art. The diameter of the shells are three feet long. And …"
Adams continued on with his explanation while Misato stood there, only half paying attention. Ritsuko then hears her cell phone ring. She answers it, speaks briefly to the person on the other line and then hangs up. She then clear her throat in order to get the others attention. "Ahem…"
Misato continued to argue, not hearing Ritsuko. "I still think that you get paid way too much for what you do…"
"Ah ha!" Continued Adams. "I knew it. You are jealous of my salary. Well when you actually start doing things around…"
"AHEM!!!" Ritsuko cleared her throat much louder this time. The other caught it this time and stopped arguing. They looked sheepishly towards Ritsuko.
"Not that I've got your attention, I'd like to announce that Shinji is OK, and that he should be ready to check out of the hospital."
Misato took a few steps forward. "Does he remember what happened last night?"
Ritsuko nodded her head. "I couldn't confirm that. He seems confused. Its possible that he doesn't remember."
"You don't think he suffered any brain damage, do you?"
Ritsuko waved her hand forward. "Relax. I said that he was fine."
"Well, I could always check up on him." Said Adams as started to walk away. Misato grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Oh no you don't. Shinji is not your responsibility, Mr. Weapon Developer. I will check up on him."
"You tell me I should earn my pay check. I don't see why I shouldn't. He likes me better anyway…" Said Adams.
"HE DOES NOT!!!" Screamed Misato. "He'd have to be crazy in order to like you."
"HA. I'm crazy? You're the one who's the nut case. I remember the time that…"
By now, Ritsuko had had enough. A vein was starting to pop out of her forehead. "SHUT UP!!! GOD, YOU TWO ACT LIKE CHILDREN!!! IF YOU WANT TO CHECK UP ON HIM SO BAD, WHY DON'T YOU BOTH GO???"
Misato and Adams stood there staring at Ritsuko as if she was possessed by a demon. They then looked each other and sneered. "Fine!" They both said as they walked off in opposite directions.
Misato made it to her car and got in it. She then smirked. 'I'll just get there before him. Then I can take the credit for checking on him.' She then starts her engine and revs it up. She takes off, squealing the tire on the asphalt, moving out a top speed. She ducks through several corners, barely without crashing. 'It's a good thing that the streets are empty. I'd probably would have killed someone by now.'
As Misato raced the streets, she spots a motorcycle in the distance. 'Dammit! He's ahead of me. But my car is faster. I should easily catch up to him and leave in my dust.' Misato then speed up and slowly overtakes the lead over her rival. While doing so, she flips him the bird and races around the corner.
Misato had a smug look on her face. 'I showed him. That'll teach him not to mess with me.' She looks into her review mirror. She sees him shaking his fist in the air, and then returns with an obscene gesture of his own. He then drives his bike in to an alleyway.
'Oh so he thinks he can cut me off by taking the back ways. That what he thinks.' Misato once again goes at an illegal pace in order to prevent her enemy from winning. After several lefts and rights, she spots the hospital entrance that was just a mile ahead. 'I did it! I beat him here. Ha. That's what he get for thinking that he's a big shot.'
Just as Misato was about the exit into the entranceway, a certain man on a motorcycle suddenly pulls out of an alley and enters before her.
"NO WAY!!! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Screamed Misato as she realized that she had lost the race.
They quickly pulled up to the parking lot. When Misato finally parked and exited her car, she heard Adams in the distance.
"That's two to one, Katsuragi. Better luck next time!!!"
Misato ran after him in a fury that seemed to have no bounds. So confident was Adams in his victory that he didn't bother to look behind him. Just as he reached the front door, so did Misato. They ended up getting wedged in between the edges of the door.
"Get out of my way you jerk." Hissed Misato.
Adams struggled with all his might, but couldn't get through. "You need to lose a few pounds."
This enraged Misato further. "ASSHOLE!!!" Misato then begins punching at Adams's head.
"Ow, stop that!!"
While all this is all happening, the secretary at the desk just stood there dumbfounded. The thought of two adults stuck in between a door was…down right weird. "Um, can I help you two?"
Misato and Adams stop struggling and look at the secretary. They become embarrassed over the fact that their behavior was being observed. They then finally squeezed themselves through the door. They then calmly walk up to the desk. Misato speaks first.
"We are here to check out Shinji Ikari. Could you tell us where he is resting?"
The secretary looked between the two of them and raised an eyebrow. "Are you two his parents?"
Both Misato and Adams's eyes bug out. "WHAT!!! NO WAY!!!"
Adams got annoyed. "Does it look like that we are his parents?"
Misato starts to panic. "Do I really look that old? Big sister maybe, but not his mother…" Misato then pulls out a small make up kit and looks into the mirror. "Any lines, blemishes, or wrinkles?"
Adams ignores Misato and looks to the secretary. "It's important that we see him."
"Are you his Guardian?"
"No."
The young secretary cocks her head. "Do you have authority from a government organization?"
Adams smiles. "Indeed I do. I work for NERV."
"Do you have an ID Card?"
"Sure do…" Adams begins to search his pockets, but cannot find his wallet. "I...it's around here some where…" Adams searches all of his pockets, but is unable to find his ID. He then freaks out. "Don't tell me I've left it behind!!!"
By now, Misato had recomposed herself and handed her ID to the secretary. "Here is mine. Can I go now?"
"Yes, it's room C17 on the second floor. Thank you." The secretary looks to Adams. "Do you have your ID Card?"
"God dammit. I can't find it. Listen, you've got to believe me. I'm Captain Steven Adams, Head developer in the Weapons Dept. of NERV. You've got to let me in!!"
The lady shook her head. "Sorry sir, without ID, I can't let you through."
"Misato, vouch for me, please."
Misato walked away. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Adams gets pissed. "Thanks a lot!!" He then looks to the lady at the desk. "I'll be right back." Adams then runs out the door towards his bike.
Several minutes later, Adams looks in the side pouch of his bike, but his wallet was still at large. "Dammit, where the hell is it? I remember having it along when I left and…." Just then, Adams remembers the location of his missing wallet. He looks into the inside pocket of his jacket, and finds his wallet. His face contorts at his own stupidity. "God Dammit!! It was right here all along!!!" Adams then quickly runs back into the hospital.
Misato was searching the halls for room C17. Unfortunately, this turned out to be quite a difficult task, considering the fact that she was once again lost. "Damn, I can't believe that I'm lost. I had every opportunity to beat him to Shinji. But nooooooooo. I had to take the left when I should have taken a right." Misato sighs as she looks at the endless amount of doors. She peaks into a few, but most were empty. With the lack of people above ground, the hospital was an unlikely place to find anyone. Hoping Shinji might hear her, she begins to call out his name. "Shinji?" She continues down the hall, looking in every door, just in case. In one particular room, she sees a figure in a bed.
"Shinji? Is that you?"
The figure moves and lifts its head. Misato recognized the blue hair and crimson eyes.
"Oh! Sorry Rei. I'm looking for the Third Child. Have you seen him?"
Rei gently shook her head and, without saying a word, closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
Misato sighed. She was about to give up when she turned around the corner and spotted a sign the mentioned that rooms C1 through C35 were down that hall. She smirked. "Great! Found it…" Unfortunately for her, her smirked disappeared when she spotted another figure at the opposite end of the hall. 'Oh no, not him…'
Both Misato and Steven narrowed their eyes at each other and clenched their fists.
Shinji was standing in front of the window inside his room. He stared outside, feeling conflicted and confused. The events of the night before went by like a blur to him in his mind, and he was unable to make sense of it all. Suddenly, the suddenly loud movement of rapid footsteps caught his attention. 'Sounds like somebody's running in the hall.'
He was only half-right as the truth was that two people were running in the halls. When Shinji turned around, the site of two adults, who were once again wedged between a door, greeted him.
"I was here first!!!"
"No, I was here first!!!"
"Ha, you wish!!!"
The behavior of the two of them was childish, and the only reaction Shinji could give was a sweat drop.
The two adults spotted Shinji and held out their arms. "Shinji, will you grab my arm and pull me in?" Asked Misato.
"No Shinji, grab my arm and pull me in!!!" Commanded Adams.
"No me!!"
"No me!!"
Shinji was unsure of what to make of the situation. The only reasonable thing he thought he could do was to pull on both their arms. He grabbed both of them and pulled, yanking the two through the door.
Adams seemed upset. "Did you have to pull on both of us? Now we're tied. I hate being tied."
"No way. He grabbed my arm first, so I win." Snapped Misato.
"He did not!!"
"Did too!!"
The constant arguing between the two of them might have gone on, if a nurse hadn't entered and screamed at the both of them. "Quite! This is a hospital!!! People are trying to rest!!!"
After that, Misato and Adams both calmed down. Shinji looked at them questioningly. "Um…. Why are you guys here?"
Misato smiled at him. "We're here to check you out. How are you feeling?"
"I feel OK." Responded Shinji.
Just then, a doctor entered the room and looked at the two adults with a questioning look. "What are you two doing here?"
Adams answered the man. "We're are here to check Shinji Ikari out. I'm sure that's OK, right?"
The doctor nodded. "He appears to be fine. I'm going to have to have some paper work signed before I can let him leave, though."
Adams smiled. "I take care of that." He then turns to the others. "You two wait here." Adams then walks out with the doctor.
Misato is obviously upset. "Did you see that? He just ordered me to stay here. Him! And I'm his boss!! I should be giving the orders. Asshole!"
Shinji raised and eyebrow. "Um… I'm sorry… I guess…"
Misato turns to the young man. "Come on, let's get out of here."
"But, the paperwork needs to be filled out first…"
"Forget that, just go!" With that, Misato grabbed Shinji's arm and dragged him out of the hospital before any noticed.
Shortly afterwards, Adams returned with some paperwork. "I need your signature, Shin… What the hell? Where'd they go?" Adams looks around the room. "Did she just walk out with him?" Adams drops the paper on the ground and runs out. The doctors saw this and called after him.
"Hey, where are you going?"
Adams ignored the man and ran out of the hospital, but by then, Misato, her car, and Shinji were long gone. *GOD DAMMIT!!!*
**
Misato and Shinji were driving off towards NERV Headquarters. Misato was on the phone talking to Ritsuko. "I've got Shinji here."
"Good, now go to HQ so that his living arrangements can be made." Said Ritsuko.
"OK. Talk to you later." Misato was about to hang up when Ritsuko spoke again.
"Wait. Where's Adams?"
"Oh, I ditched him at the hospital. He had the nerve to tell me to stay there. He gave ME an order. I out-rank him you know. I ought to kick his ass."
Ritsuko put a hand to her face in exasperation. "Whatever. Talk to you later."
The two of them hung up. Misato looked to Shinji and smiled. "So how do you like it here so far?"
Shinji lowered his head. "I'm not sure how I feel. I really only just got here."
Misato put a hand in Shinji hair and messed it up. "I know, but I'm sure you'll learn to love this place."
Shinji didn't seem so sure. 'I miss my old home already.' He thought.
A short while later, Misato and Shinji were in NERV HQ, standing in front of Fuyutsuki. Fuyutsuki looked towards Shinji. "We have made the arrangements as to where you will stay. Do you mind if you live alone?"
Shinji shook his head. Misato on the other hand had other ideas. "Wait a minute! You can't possibly let him live alone." She then looks to Shinji. "You really want that?"
"It's OK. I don't mind living by myself." Said Shinji.
"That's crazy, Shinji." Said Misato.
Misato then walks up to Fuyutsuki and asks him a question. "Why doesn't he go and live with me?"
Fuyutsuki raised an eyebrow. "You want to be Ikari's guardian?"
Misato smiled confidently. "Yeah, I think that I could make a great guardian."
Just then, someone runs into the room. It's Adams, and he is heavily winded. He overheard the last word that Misato had said and realized what the discussion was about. "Guardian? You? Ha!" Adams then takes another minute to catch his breath.
"This doesn't concern you." Snapped Misato. "Your just a weapons developer. I'm the Director of Operations, so this is a matter that concerns me. Not you. Got it?!"
"Wrong." Spoke Adams when he regained his breath. "I'm also a tactical advisor, and I think that it would be to our tactical advantage if Shinji did not live with you!"
"Exactly. You're just an advisor, which mean that you only give advice. And being the Director of Operations, I can simply choose not to take your advice. So HA!!!"
Adams looks to Fuyutsuki. "Don't you agree that maybe it's a bad idea for him to live with Misato?"
Fuyutsuki was about to speak when Misato interrupted. "Hey, don't go over my head! Anything that you have to say to him has to go through me first."
Adams narrows his eyes. "I personally think that he should live with a male role-model."
Misato crossed her arms. "Oh, I get it! You're trying to compete with me, aren't you?"
"What? What are you talking about? I'm just saying that a boy his age living with a woman like yourself isn't right."
"Are you saying that I would hit on him?"
Adams put his fists defiantly at hi hips. "No I'm not!" He then spoke quietly to himself. "I'm saying you're a slob."
Misato became enraged. "I HEARD THAT!!!" Misato that put her hands out wide from her body. "Well, I'm so sorry that I don't live in a huge warehouse where I can just sweep all my crap into a corner."
"I'll have you know that NERV owns that warehouse, and I pay a substantial amount of rent for the small portion of it that I live in."
"What? I thought with all the money you were being paid that you'd have no problem buying the whole place for yourself."
"There you go again with my salary. You want to be paid like I do, then go back to college and learn engineering, and physics, and ballistic science. Then maybe you get a job that pays you enough so that you would stop your GOD DAMN BITCHING!!!" Yelled an irate Adams.
By now, both Shinji and Kouzou have had enough. Shinji was covering his ears, and Kouzou was on the brink of throwing both of them in a cell for their behavior. Kouzou then had an idea. "Fine, if you two can't decide where Ikari should live, then we'll let him decide. He'll live with each of you for one week, then he'll pick who he will live with, or decide to live on his own."
Misato pouted, while Adams nearly had a heart attack. "ME? I never said that he should live with me!"
Misato smirked. "What's the matter? Weren't you the 'Male Role-model' that you were talking about earlier?"
"Actually, I thought maybe he could live with Shigeru…"
"Shigeru? A male role-model?" Misato did all she could to keep from laughing. "His hair is almost as long as mine…"
Misato then started to bust a gut. Shinji and Fuyutsuki sweat dropped while Adams became very annoyed. "He can't live me. I've got dangerous weapons at my house."
Misato controlled her laughing. "But he can't live with me, I'm a woman and I might 'sleep' with him." Misato starts to laugh at him again.
Adams has had enough. "Fine! I'll do it. Besides, he thinks I'm cooler than you anyway."
Misato stopped laughing. "He does not!!"
"Yeah he does, right Shinji?"
Shinji starts to panic. "Hey…don't get me involved in this!!"
"Shinji, you're going to live with us. How can this not involve you?" Asked Adams in an exasperated tone.
Shinji started to take a few steps back. "I…I don't know. You two are just too weird…"
"Weird!!!" Screamed Adams and Misato. By now, Shinji had fallen backwards and was cringing from their wrath.
"Don't hurt me!!" Screamed Shinji.
Misato and Adams stopped and sweat dropped. "Hurt you?" Said Adams.
"We're not going to hurt you." Said Misato.
After seeing the pathetic little display of cowardice on the floor, both Misato and Adams started to laugh. Shinji starts to become offended. "What's so funny?"
After a few moments, the two finally calm down and regain some seriousness. They look to Shinji. "Um… You can get up now…" Said Misato.
After Shinji slowly get off the floor, Misato looks towards Adams again. "You can have him the first week, since once he lives with me, he won't want to leave."
Adams put on a smug look. "Is that so… Fine I accept."
"Good!" Said Fuyutsuki. "You can leave, immediately. I'll see to it that Ikari's belonging arrive at Adams's home."
Misato started to walk away, but before she left, she turns to Shinji. "See ya later!" She then winks and walks away.
Adams places a hand on Shinji's shoulder. "Well buddy. Let's go…"
As both of them walk off, Shinji is left in doubt. 'Oh man. I have to live with these two? What am I going to do?'
As everyone left, Fuyutsuki sighed as he went to his desk. 'Finally they're all gone. I can't wait for the Commander to return, I hate running things on my own.' He then sits down and puts his hand to his face. 'I'm too old for this.'
**
Shinji and Adams walk towards the parking lot. When they arrive at Adams's motorcycle, Adams speaks. "Sorry, you're gonna have to sit in the bitch seat. I didn't exactly expect to be bringing home anybody today."
Shinji sheepishly looked up at Adams. "It's Ok…"
Adams took the helmet on his bike and handed it to Shinji. "You can wear my helmet. It's more important that you're safe than me."
Shinji looked at the helmet reluctantly. "I really shouldn't. It is yours after all."
Adams sighed. "Just put it on. I'll be fine enough without it."
With that, Shinji slowly put the helmet on. It seemed to fit him well enough, since his head size wasn't all that different for Adams's. After he buckled the belt under his chin, he looked to Adams for an approval. Adams chuckled. "You look kinda funny with that school uniform and helmet. Don't worry, next time we'll drive in my car."
Both of them got on to the motorcycle. Shinji was quite nervous and wasn't sure where to place his hands. Adams noticed this. "Just place your hands on my shoulders."
"I've never done anything like this before." Said Shinji nervously.
"Just relax. We'll be home in no time." With that, Adams started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. He rode down a street a few blocks when he had to stop at a stoplight.
'Why are the traffic lights working? I guess the state of emergency has passed, and everyone is returning to normal life.' Thought Adams.
Suddenly, a blue and slightly damage sports car drove to a stop right next to them. The driver rolled down the window. A demonic purple haired woman greeted the two males. She began to rev her engine.
Adams sighed. "What do you want now?"
Misato had a determined look on her face. "I want a rematch."
Adams shook his head. "Not with Shinji on the back."
"Why not? Afraid that he would slow down your tricycle too much?" Misato taunted.
"I would appreciate it if you do not refer to my bike as a Tricycle. Beside, I could beat you with him behind me, and with my eyes bind-folded." Respond Adams.
Misato put on a devilish grin. "Is that a fact?"
Adams nodded. Misato point diagonally to her right. "Beat me across the bridge, and I'll let you keep custody of Shinji."
The man's pride had been put on the line. "Confident aren't we? Alright fine, I accept."
Shinji began to panic. "Y...YOU'RE NOT GOING TO RACE ARE YOU?!!!"
Adams looked back. "Hold on tight. I have a point to prove."
With that, the light turned green, and both vehicles darted out with Misato's car squealing its tires. It was dead even at the start, but Misato's car had the higher top end, and it began to pull ahead. It was then that Adams took a detour into one of the alleyways, narrowly missing a wall. Shinji began to scream like a maniac. "AAAAHHHH!!! STOP!! STOP RIGHT NOW!!!! I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS!!! AHH!!"
Unfortunately, Adams didn't respond to his pleas. Whether he couldn't hear him because of the noise of the engine and wind, or whether he didn't care was unknown. All that was known was that Shinji was scared shitless. The bike continued down the alleyways, darting left and right, narrowly missing many objects such as garbage cans, cars, and some people. Then, Adams made a left back onto the main road the led to the bridge. Looking in his mirrors, he noticed Misato's car in the distance. 'She's to far away to beat me. I've won!!' He thought.
Suddenly, a car pulled out of nowhere, and Adams almost hit it. After narrowly escaping an accident, Shinji was sent into the breaking point. In a panic, he did the most foolish thing he could have done. He grabbed onto Adams's head, wrapping his finger around his eyes. This of course made Adams lose his control of the bike. "AAAHHH!!!! LET GO!!!!" Screamed Adams as his bike started to sway and topple. In an effort to save the lives of himself and his passenger, Adams slowed down and skidded side ways to a stop, just barely managing to keep his balance. Then they were stopped, both of them nearly having a heart attack. Adams watched as Misato zipped by. He could have sworn that she was sticking her tongue out as she passed him, essentially winning the race.
An infuriated Adams turned to Shinji. "DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!!! DO YOU REALIZE THAT YOU NEARLY KILLED US BOTH?!!!!"
Shinji looked terribly ashamed, and it was obvious that he was on the verge of crying. He slowly looked up at his temporary Guardian. "I…I th…think I peed my pants…"
Sure enough, when Adams looked down, he saw the bitch seat dripping with urine. Adams felt a slight twitch in his eye, but managed to calm down as the adrenaline was slowly dissipating from his system. 'What have I gotten myself into?' He thought.
**
Misato passed the finish line at the end of the bridge. She began to laugh like a maniac. "That worked perfectly. Not only did I win, but also I bet that Shinji pissed his pants and probably is scared of that jerk. Shinji will pick me as his Guardian for sure."
Misato put on an almost evil grin as she drove off to her house.
**
Adams continued to ride his bike home, with Shinji having a very firm grip on his shoulders. They soon arrived in the industrial district. There were many factories, foundries, and harbors; all part of the growing industrial might that was Tokyo 3. They slowly came to a halt in front of one of the warehouses. Shinji took a look around the area. He noted that across the street, there were several small apartment buildings, most only having two or so apartments inside each. It intrigued him. 'This certainly doesn't look like the city that I imagined.' Thought Shinji.
A large door opened up at the side of the warehouse, allowing access for the motorcycle to enter. Inside, the place looked like any warehouse, containing a few shelves that had crates, along with some items that were covered by cloth. Most were very large, and a forklift was needed in order to move them around. There were also some items on the floor, also large and covered in cloth. In one corner, there was an area that resembled and office without walls, complete with a desk, a chair, a few filing cabinets, and a drawing board. In another corner, taking much more space was what appeared to be a workshop, with another one of the object covered in cloth. There was also a car, and two more objects that were in pieces, one resembling a car, another resembling a bike. Then Shinji noticed the area that was above the workshop, held up by columns of metal. It was closed of, except by a door that had a flight of stairs leading to it. It looked like it was the living quarters of the place. The overall look of the warehouse was organized, but perpetually dark and dusty just like any warehouse would be.
Adams finally parked the bike next the forklift that was seen. He put the kickstand out and got off. He looked to Shinji, who was struggling a little. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I probably shouldn't have raced Misato with you behind me. From now on, I'll drive you around in the car."
Shinji nodded. "It's Ok. I'm sorry for nearly killing us and then peeing on your bike."
Adams looked at the wet spot on the bitch seat and smirked. "I'll clean that out later. Speaking of which, I don't think your belongings have arrived yet, so I'll let you wear a pair of my pants until they do. They'll be big on you, but with a belt, you should manage. Follow me."
Adams then started heading for the stairs with Shinji close behind. When they reached the top, Adams opened the door and walked in. He turned around to notice that Shinji didn't do the same. "Come in." Said Adams.
Shinji was reluctant. "I'm…I'm all wet. I think I should stay out here."
Adams smiled. "Relax. You're not dripping anymore. You can change in the bathroom."
Shinji shyly took his first step, and entered the house. Adams waived his arm out. "Welcome to my humble abode. I'll show you to the bathroom. After you change and shower, I'll give you a tour."
Shinji then followed Adams to the bathroom. Shinji went inside and waited until Adams showed up with a pair of pants and a belt. "Here ya go!" Said Adams.
Shinji smiled. "Thank you."
Adams smiled back. "No problem."
Shinji removed the soiled clothing he was wearing. He sighs when he realizes that he had no briefs to wear underneath, but shrug. 'I'm not going anywhere, and I certainly don't want to wear his underwear.' The boy then went into the shower and quickly washed off. He then finishes dressing and walks out of the bathroom. He looks up to the older male, who is chuckling at the fact that the pants were way to big.
"I guess they don't fit you very well, huh?"
Shinji looks down at his feet and notices that there was about a foot of extra fabric around his feet. "I guess not." Said Shinji half-heartedly.
Adams motion Shinji to follow him. "I guess it's time to give you the tour." Adams then points towards a door to Shinji right, making sure that they don't enter. "That's my bedroom. Nothing's particularly special about that room. I just want you to knock before you enter if I'm in there."
Shinji nodded as they continued. They then went into the kitchen, which seemed also quite normal. "This is, of course the kitchen. I keep mostly Americanized food in here, but I do have some Japanese food. I can always buy some more if you like."
Shinji spoke shyly. "You really don't have to…"
"It's no big deal." Adams then points out to some things in the kitchen. "I have a microwave, but I usually prefer to use the stove since it tastes better that way. Now shall we move on?"
After Shinji nodded, they exited the kitchen and went into the living room. "Welcome to my living room, complete with a TV, a video game system with a lot of games, and a world class DVD and Stereo system." Said Adams.
It was quite noticeable that the living room was the most decorated, containing posters of rock bands, some war memorabilia, and oddly enough, a uniform that represented what some U.N soldiers would wear ten years ago. Shinji then notices a photograph on top of the TV set. Upon looking at it, Shinji noticed two people in it, one of which was easily recognized as a younger version of the Captain. The other was unknown, but it seems like they were close friends. They were huddled together and holding up mugs of beer. Shinji then noticed handwriting, but couldn't make out what it said, mostly because it was English.
"That was an old war buddy of mine." Said Steve. "The picture used to be his, but he never made it through. So I ended keeping it for myself."
Shinji turned to the man. "What do you mean that he never made it through?"
Adams turned away. "He… died during one of the operations that we were on."
"Oh…" Said Shinji as his face began to look grim. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." Spoke the middle-aged man.
Shinji the looked at the writing again. "What does that writing say?"
Adams turned around. "It says 'To my best buddy and comrade. May we grow old together. Sergeant Steven "Duke" Adams.'"
The boy became inquisitive. "What does "Duke" mean?"
"It was my nickname back when I was still in my special force unit. It comes from the Duke of Wellington, who was one of the greatest strategic and tactical leaders of warfare the world has ever seen. He was the only one who beat Napoleon not just once, but twice. I got that nickname because of some heroic deeds that I accomplished in the past. Most of those deeds were tactical maneuvers that I used when my team was pinned down by a superior force. It helped pave the way for me to become a tactical advisor." Steve then takes a seat on the couch and looks at the ceiling. "After Second Impact, there were many wars that broke out among many countries. In fact, half of the people that died because of Second Impact died as casualties of war. The result actually reduced the ratio of women to men to nearly 2:1. Some whackos in several countries took power and threatened many people. The U.N. did all it could to remove them from power, and I was one of many who were used to as tools to do so. It's not one of the happier moments of my life."
Adams then woke from his trance and got up from the couch. "Let's continue with our tour."
They then went down a hallway and towards another room. On the way, they passed another door that caught Shinji's attention but only briefly. The older man opened a different door. "And this is your bedroom for now. It's not much, but you can do what ever you want with it."
Shinji looks inside, and he sees a bed and a nightstand. Simple.
"I used to like to put posters up on the walls of my room, some of which were naughty, but you don't have to have those kind. I could have a dresser put in, but you may not need it…" Adam continued to talk, but Shinji began to lose interest as his attention was caught upon the other door again. It had a security pad next to it, but the door was slightly open anyway. Shinji slowly open it, and his jaw dropped when he saw what was inside.
On several shelves across then wall were all sorts of conventional weaponry, ranging from pistols, to automatic weapons, to rocket and grenade launchers. Below each of them were crates of various sizes, probably filled with ammo. The young man took a few steps back. "There must be enough weapons in there to supply a small army."
By now, Adams had notice what had happened and had quickly closed the door in response. "Not quite…. But close. I see you've managed to discover my collection."
"I... Isn't that collection illegal?" Stuttered Shinji.
Adams thinks for a moment and decides to reopen the door. "Eh, probably. I never thought to ask."
The two of them enter and Shinji was able to get a closer look at all of the weapons. Adams points to several different weapons and describes them. He grabs a large pistol first. "This is a 357 magnum pistol, made back in the early seventies. It's one my favorites." He puts it down and points to a sub-machine gun. "This is a 45 Thompson. It's the military version of the 'Tommy Gun.' The difference is in the type of magazine and grip. This has a straight magazine instead of a drum and a normal grip instead side fore-grip."
Shinji raise an eyebrow. "Isn't that the gun that I've seen in those old mobster movies?"
"Well, yes and no." Said the older man. "Like I said, this is the military model. You're thinking of the civilian model."
"They gave that gun to civilians?" Asked Shinji in a surprised tone.
Adams smiled and tilted his head back a little. "Those were the good old days." The weapons developer then moved onward with the tour. "Now we'll take a look at some vintage weapons." He then points to a fairly large weapon that had two barrels. "This is the OICW. It stands for 'Offensive Intelligent Combat Weapon.' It's one of our first attempts at a 'smart gun.' It fires 7mm light armor piercing rounds that are accurate up to 800 yards. It also has a 20mm semi-automatic grenade laugher that launches smart ammo."
Shinji cocks his head. "Smart ammo? Does it…like…follow the enemy?"
Adams sighs. "Sadly no. By 'smart' they mean that you can set the approximate location in which the grenade goes off, even if the grenade doesn't hit a target."
"Cool… I guess…" Said Shinji as he was starting to lose interest, but Adams continued with the tour without taking notice.
"This is your standard rocket launcher…" Continued Steve.
At this point, Shinji was now looking around the room since he was too confused with all the details to pay attention. He then notices a large machine gun in the middle of the room, separate from the others. He walked up to it in order to investigate. It looked very old and worn, and there was a sign in front of it that had the name 'Buster' on it.
'Buster? What kind of name is that?' Thought Shinji as he went to place a hand on it. Adams turns his head to look for the younger man, and nearly has a heart attack when he sees the hand nearing the weapon.
"DON'T TOUCH IT!!!!"
But it was too late as Shinji hand lightly pressed against the barrel of the gun. Even though he quickly pulled it away, Adams was already upset.
"Dammit! You got fingerprints on it!! Now I have to clean the whole damn thing again!!"
Shinji took a few steps backwards. "I'm sorry. But can't you just wipe off the fingerprints."
Adams narrowed his eyes. "Do you know what this is? This is the M2 Browning Machine Gun. And it's one of the last remaining models in the world. This gun is almost more valuable than all of the other guns combined." The man than stood up. "The tour's over. Please leave this room."
When both of them walked out of the room, an ashamed Shinji went to the living room and laid on the couch. 'Why am I here?' Thought Shinji. 'It feels like I'm in the way.'
Adams walked into his room and sighed. 'I shouldn't have agreed with this. I'm not ready to be a parent.'
Adams looks around in his room while removing his pistol from under his jacket. This room was fairly large as well, but the walls were adorned with many posters, mostly of nude women, which explained why Adams didn't allow Shinji in his room. After also placing his jacket on the bed, Adams looked towards a large cage that was up against the right wall of the room. He notices that the cage was empty. 'Oh great! Felix is out of his cage again…'
Shinji was lying on his back on the couch. The day had been very long and stressful, and he was growing very tired. As Shinji's thoughts started to drift, a weight slowly moved on to Shinji's stomach and chest. He then felt a tickling sensation on his chin. When Shinji woke, the face of an iguana, who then flicked his tongue onto the boy's nose, greeted him.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"
'That must be Felix…' Thought the weapons developer.
Adams went back into the living room to see a three-foot lizard on top of a cowering five-foot tall boy. Adams laughs. "Heh heh heh I see that you've met Felix." The tactical advisor then picks up the lizard and holds it lovingly.
"How are you doing, buddy?" He then scratches underneath its chin, causing the lizard to involuntarily whip its tail into Adams's side.
A buzzing noise came from outside, grabbing the attention of the two males. "I bet that's your stuff. I'll go bring it up." Said Steven as he hands Shinji the three-foot long lizard. "You get more acquainted with him." Adams then left the room, leaving a shaken up Ikari holding an iguana in his hands.
"Um…hi…" Said Shinji. "I'm Shinji Ikari… Nice to meet you."
The lizard's attention span was drained as he attempted to escape the larger human animal's hands. Shinji put the green thing down and it walked off towards Adams's bedroom. Curious, Shinji followed after it, and straight into the bedroom, where posters of nude woman met his eyes. Shinji's eyes bugged out, and the color from his face drained. He escaped as quickly as possible, as a chill went up his spine. But then he stopped and slowly turned around. There, at the doorway, was Felix, who was looking up at him. Felix then looked upon the bulge in the boy's pants. It hissed and shook its head as it went back into the bedroom.
Shinji sighed. 'What kind of person is this guy?'
Adams returned, carrying several boxes in his hands. "I figured you'd have more stuff than this, but that's alright." Adams then went into the bedroom reserved for the young Ikari and placed the boxes in there. After doing so, Adams went up to Shinji with a depressed look. "I'm sorry that I've been so hard on you today. I'm sure that you're having a hard time dealing with everything that's happened, and I'm only making it harder."
"It's alright." Said Shinji. "I really should be more careful."
The older man smiled. "Forget it. I'll tell you what. I'll make it up to you by cooking up a nice 'American' dinner."
Shinji seemed a little nervous. "I'm not used to American food."
"Relax. You'll love what I'll cook up." Said Adams as he went to the kitchen. "I hope you're hungry."
About half an hour later, a monstrous amount of food was prepared, including six half-pound hamburgers, a pound of mash potatoes, a pound of corn, pound of macaroni and cheese, and half a gallon of gravy. The captain took a plate and crammed half of what was there into one plate, placing in front of Shinji. The other half was loaded up the same way and was place in front of Adams's seat. Shinji looked worried. "I don't think I can eat this much?"
Steven had already stuffed a mouthful of mash-potatoes in his mouth. "do't wory…I sav tuh west." Adams swallowed. "If you want to use chopsticks instead, you can. But most of the food is better eaten with silver wear."
Shinji didn't respond as he was trying to get used to the using a fork, but after several attempts at getting it right, he gives up. Adams is in disbelief. "Come on. A three year old could use a fork."
Shinji got up to find some chopsticks. "I'm just not used to it. It doesn't feel right. I hope you don't mind if I used chopsticks instead."
The weapons developer sighed. "No, go ahead. Although I can't picture eating American food with chopsticks."
Nothing else was said as the meal continued, with Shinji using chopsticks to eat his side dishes. It wasn't long before Adams finished most of his meal, feeling satisfied. The younger man was only able to eat half of his plate, leaving two hamburgers, half of his potatoes and corn, and trace amounts of macaroni. Steven got up and picked up his plate. "I'll save the rest for you to eat later." The plate was wrapped up and put into the refrigerator.
Shinji felt that this was an opportune time to ask the other person a question that had been on his mind. "Adams, I wanted to ask you a question?"
"Please, it's Ok if you call me Steve. Go ahead and ask me." Responded Adams.
"Sorry…Steve. I just wanted to know why is it that you and Misato don't seemed to get along."
Adams smirked, and began probing his mind for an earlier memory. "Well, I personally have no problem with her. She has the problem with me." Adams then takes a seat. "It all started back about two years ago."
**
The scene flashes back to Misato's house. Misato was quickly trying to prepare dinner, obviously expecting company.
**
"I was invited over to Misato's house by Ritsuko for dinner. Misato had just started working at NERV, and she wanted to make a good impression. She already was a friend with Ritsuko back in college, but I was a stranger to her. I sometimes wonder if Ritsuko was trying to hook us up…."
**
The doorbell rings, leaving Misato in a slight panic. She rushes to the door and opens it, greeting her old college friend, and a then shaven Steven Adams.
"Good evening!" Said Misato. "Welcome to my home. Sorry if it's a little messy, I just moved in."
**
"She wasn't kidding about the messy part. There were beer cans everywhere. I wonder if she ever cleans her house."
**
"It's alright." Said Ritsuko. "We know it's hard to move in to a new place."
**
"Now since I was a guest, I figured it would be best if I would be a gentleman. Boy was that a mistake…."
**
"Hi. I'm Lieutenant Steven Adams." Said the man as he held out his hand.
**
"That was my first mistake."
**
Misato puts on a scowl. "Well Lieutenant, I do believe that you should be saluting a 'Captain.'"
"Oh sorry." Said Adams as he salutes. "I was unaware of your rank, ma'am."
Misato smirks. "You're forgiven."
**
"Now I understand that it was a bad start, but it gets worse from here."
**
"Uh…ma'am, may I assist you in tidying up the place while you prepare dinner?" Asked the inferior ranked officer.
Misato smiled. "Sure, in fact, you can start by collecting all the beer cans and throwing them out. Then you can wash some of the dishes and clean the table. Then you can…"
**
"She literally asked me to clean the whole house. If there was more time, she probably would have asked if I could unpack her stuff…"
**
After what seemed to be an eternity of washing and cleaning, an exhausted Adams sat down on the floor next the table. He then looks to Ritsuko. "For all that work, this better be a five star meal."
Ritsuko shook her head. "Back in our college days, I heard that she could burn water. We can only hope that she has at least improved a little."
**
"It was at the point that I probably should have left. But, being the gentleman I was…"
**
"Dinner is served!!" Screamed an excited Captain.
Everyone looked down at a table full of instant food ranging from noodles to pizza.
**
"That's right. It took her about two hours to cook instant food. And that wasn't the bad part…"
**
"Well, I'm sure it's great." Said the weapons developer as he took his first bite. After first swallowing the pizza very slowly, it became apparent that his face was changing colors, as the food made it's long decent into his stomach.
**
"It took me a week to recover from that."
**
"I…I'm sorry ma'am, but it's not very good…"
**
"There was my second mistake of the night. I only wish that I never had to live through it."
**
Steven was hiding behind the table form what was the full frontal verbal assault of Captain Katsuragi.
"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!! I SLAVE AWAY IN FRONT OF THAT STOVE FOR TWO HOURS AND THAT IS HOW YOU THANK ME!!!! FINE, THEN FUCK YOU!!!"
A near panicked Ritsuko did her best to calm down her disgruntled friend. "Misato please. Just calm down. Just relax. Remember that he's an American, and his tastes are different."
**
"That put out the fire for the time being, but then another factor came along in order to bring forth more terror. Alcohol. And we know how well alcohol burns…."
**
"I need a beer!" Said the angry Director of Operations.
Adams then stands up. "Wait, let me make it up to you. I brought a flask of whiskey. I'll let you have some."
Misato turned towards the man and stared daggers at him. "Don't even bother. Besides, I hate whiskey." Misato then walks out into the kitchen and then comes back with two beers.
**
"Now the normal assumption here would have been that she was giving a beer to Ritsuko as well, but in reality, she was drinking both at once. The flask I brought was only a pint, and I maybe took two shots from it, but she had over ten beers in one hour. It was inhuman. And it was the cheapest beer imaginable. Have you ever had a Yebitsu beer? It's awful…"
**
Ten beer can lie across the table, and Misato was extremely plastered. She then looks to Ritsuko. "Did you check out my new car? It's the fastest everrrr…"
Adams seemed interested in the direction the conversation was going. "I have a sports car, too. How many horsepower does you car have?"
Misato gives him a scowl. "More than yours does…"
Adams smirks. "It that so?"
"Yeah, my car has 426 horsepower."
"Ha! Mine has 435 horsepower."
"You're full of shit. I bought my car from one of the foremost builders of street racers in the nation of Japan."
"So what. I built my car from the ground up using parts from the foremost builders of street racer in the nation of Japan."
**
"And this was the point when she discovered that I got paid more than she did."
**
Misato raised an eyebrow. "How could you pay for all those parts?"
"Um, with money…" Said Steven sarcastically.
Misato's eyes bug out. "Are you telling me that you get paid that much?"
Adams nodded.
Misato becomes enraged. "WHAT THE FUCK? I NOT ONLY OUT RANK YOU, BUT TECHNICALLY HAVE THE MORE DOMINATE POSITION IN NERV, AND YOU GET PAID MORE THAN I DO?"
"Well, weapon development is a good field to go into…"
"SO WHAT?" Said the Captain. "I SHOULD BE PAID MORE THAN YOU!!
Ritsuko realized that maybe the conversation was taking a bad turn, so she tried to change the subject. "So, I wonder with one of you is the better driver."
The drunken Misato had already forgotten the previous topic and responded. "Me of course."
"Yeah right…." Said the lieutenant under his breath.
"What did you say?" Asked Misato.
**
"It was at this point that I knew that this conversation was taking a bad turn, so I tried to end it. Big mistake."
**
"Never mind..." said Adams.
This unfortunately angered Misato even more. "Oh, so you think you and your stupid car are better than me, huh? If we were to race, I would dust you."
"I doubt it, ma'am." Adams responded.
Misato then stands up clenches her fist. "Fine then asshole, let's race right now.
Adams raises an eyebrow. "You're hardly in any condition to race me."
"I could beat you even while I'm vomiting, jackass." Yelled an inebriated Captain.
**
"After she said that, we got into a full fledged argument."
**
"I don't know what the fuck your problem is, but you better cut it out or…" Said Adams
Misato interrupts him. "Or you'll do what? Huh?"
"The moment that you're sober, I would be glad to race you just so that I could see that sorry look on your face went you eat my dust."
"Ha, you wish! I'll have you kissing my ass before you even cross the finish line."
"Like hell you will!"
Ritsuko was now pissed. She decided to put an end to their childish arguing. "WILL YOU BOTH FUCKING SHUT UP? GOD, YOU BOTH ARE ACTING LIKE CHILDREN. IF I'D KNOWN THAT THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED, I WOULDN'T HAVE SET THIS NIGHT UP."
Her screaming made both Adams and Katsuragi cringe. Misato then spoke. "I'm really sorry. I'll behave…. If he shuts up."
**
"I would have said something then, but Ritsuko literally scared me straight."
**
The three of them just sat at the table, not doing anything. Unfortunately, Misato was about to change that.
**
Basically, I'd had enough, and I was about to leave. But then, something else happened that pissed me off even more. She started hitting on me."
**
"You know, I've been such a bitch. Why don't we forget the whole night and hop into bed?"
Apparently, the drunken Misato had forgotten the entire argument earlier, and was now trying to get some action. Adams wasn't amused. "What the hell did you just say?"
Misato ignores the question and climbs up to him and rubs his chest. "Ooh, you're in shape…"
"Get off of me!" Replied the weapons developer.
**
"Now at this point, I was too pissed to be horny. I figured that I'd call it a night."
**
Adams stands up. "You treat me like garbage all night, and then you have the balls to hit on me?" Said an anger Steven. "That's it, I'm leaving!!"
Misato also gets pissed. "Fine then asshole. Don't bother coming back. I don't care, I don't need you to please myself." Retorted Misato.
"FINE" Said Adams as he walked out the door.
Ritsuko was very embarrassed. "I'm going home, I've had enough of you two." Ritsuko also walks out the door.
**
"I then left with Ritsuko, and I can gladly say that I have never had dinner with her ever again."
Shinji began to yawn. "That's an interesting story."
Adams noticed the weariness in the boys face. "Why don't you go to bed? I'll clean up."
"I really don't want to be a burden." Said Shinji.
The older man smiled. "You're not a burden. And I'm sorry if I've given you that impression. I'll try to make it up to you tomorrow."
"Ok…" Said Shinji as he headed off towards his room for a good nights sleep. Unfortunately, his sleep was filled with nightmares of the events of the night before, and for most of the night, his rest was less then peaceful.
***End of Chapter 3***
Author's Note: As was said, this chapter had turned out longer than expected. The next addition will finish up the chapter, hopefully…
One more thing, When referring to the table in the flashback scene, the table was one of those traditional Japanese table that sit low to the ground, meaning that the people need to be kneeling when they eat there. Anyway, we look forward to your reviews. Thank you.