Chapter 7
I Should Be Working
"Let's see. That's Instant Noodles, Instant Soup, Instant Curry, Instant Rice, Instant Pizza..." Misato Katsuragi said as she piled the junk food into her cart. "...and some vegetables." the Commander said, placing a small can of peas in the cart.
"Honestly, Misato, you're the head of a multi-billion dollar international defense agency. Couldn't you have done this with someone else?" Shinji sighed as he pushed Misato's cart, shivering slightly at how Misato could keep her figure so perfect off of garbage like this. "Oh, come on, Shinji. You know I don't like all that health junk that nutritionist buys for me, and the NERV cafeteria always serves donkey crap." Misato whined as she shoveled case after case of Yebisu into the wobbling cart. "Besides, I'm spending some quality time with my most favorite people in the entire world, isn't that right, Yui-chan?" Misato said, cooing to the little girl. "Hai, Oba Mi-chan!" Yui chirped, smiling as she licked the nice red lollipop her 'Auntie' gave her.
"Ha ha, see Shinji. I just really like spending time with you guys." Misato said, chuckling. However, her face grew dark, even though her mouth was smiling. "And Yui-chan, didn't I tell you not to call me that name?" Misato said, her eyebrow twitching. "O-kei, Oba Mi-chan!" Yui said, oblivious to Misato's frustrated glares. Misato sighed in defeat and just waved for Shinji to keep pushing the cart. "Sometimes, Shinji, I can't believe that Yui's your daughter."
"Well, I think she looks more like her mother more than she does me." Shinji said, placing his hand on his daughter's head. "... but she sure doesn't act like Rei, thank goodness." Shinji said, ruffling Yui's hair. "Yes, it would have been pretty weird if she acted like, you know... her." Misato said, inwardly laughing at the thought. Sure, the resemblance to Rei was uncanny, but Yui seemed so much more...so much more... "Human." Misato whispered, her smile dropping a bit. And because Yui was more human, Misato's task was made a thousand times more difficult. "You thinking of something, Misato?" Shinji asked, his eyebrow raised as Misato shoveled bag after bag of "Aunt Polly's Fiber Enriched Prunes for Seniors" into the cart. "Uh, wha, Shinji?" Misato said, snapped out of her musings.
Shinji rolled his eyes. It wasn't the first time Misato zoned out on him. "Well, the only reasons I can think of you needing so many prunes is that you like 'em or have a really bad case of constipation." Shinji smirked. "Ha ha, you are sooo funny, Shinji-kun." Misato replied sarcastically, putting the prunes back on the shelf. "Try warning us next time you go on a prune binge, Misato." Shinji said, pushing the cart again. Shinji knew that whenever Misato had one of her moments, it was best to drop the subject immediately. Looking into things might cause trouble now that she was the Commander.
"Papa. What does con-see-pay-ed mean?" Yui said, tugging her father's sleeve from the baby seat of the cart. "It means you can't go poopy like you usually do." Shinji explained, hoping that Yui wouldn't pursue the subject further. "You mean like you did last week." Yui said, licking her lollipop. "No, Yui. That was diarrhea. Constipation is when you can't go poopy at all." Shinji went further. Misato was about to say something, but knowing that the former third Child had enough trouble on his hands. "Oh, okay..." Yui said, and she turned to enjoy her lollipop.
"So what's diarrhea?" Yui said at the last minute. Misato let out a small laugh as she continued with her grocery shopping.
Later that evening:
"Make sure she doesn't eat too many sweets, and her bedtime's anywhere before eight o'clock, okay, Ken?" Shinji said as he gave his final instructions to Kensuke. "Don't sweat it, Shinji. We've been through this, like, a thousand times." Kensuke said, getting a little impatient with his friend. "And you know that for a thousand times that I worry about her." Shinji replied, his hand on Yui.
"Right." Kensuke said. He knew Shinji had a couple of neurotic tendencies, so he just had to bear with the over-protective parent syndrome one last time. "Okay Shinji. I've been babysitting her for the past two years. Nothing out of the ordinary." Kensuke said, raising his hands. "Yeah. I guess I am kind of overprotective." Shinji said. "Just like any other good parent. Now go on, get. You really shouldn't keep Misato waiting, you know." Kensuke said. "Yeah. You're right." Shinji said. "Okay, Yui. You be good while daddy's away, okay?" Shinji said, kneeling to eye-level of the four-year old. "Yes, Papa." Yui said, rolling her eyes. Two years of this and he was still clingy.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Shinji said, waving goodbye as he went down the stairs from the apartment building. Shinji hurriedly jogged down two flights of steps. It wasn't everyday that he got a ride to work. And since it was with Misato, she probably wanted to talk about something important with him. He walked briskly through the hallway and out to the driveway, just in time to see Misato pull over.
"Sorry, did I keep you waiting?" Misato said, rolling down a window. "No, you came just perfect, Misato." Shinji replied. Shinji hopped into the black Mercedes and soon after the pair took off for Shinji's bar.
"So you dropped her off at Ken's, did you Shinji-kun?" Misato asked as they got on the highway. "Yeah. Had the talk and everything. Nothing out of the ordinary." Shinji said, and a silence followed soon after. Both of them knew what was going to happen next, so it was just a matter of time for someone to break the stillness.
"Shinji-kun. Did you ever wonder how Yui came to be?" Misato said softly as she stopped at the light. "Yeah, a couple of times." Shinji answered, gazing out of the tinted window. "Any of them good?" Misato said as she shifted gears, the light turning green. "Well, thought she was just another clone. Maybe some kind of last torture my dad cooked up. Or Ritsuko." Shinji said. This conversation they had. It felt to detached...
"If only that were true, right?" Misato chuckled, though the laugh never met her eyes. Damn, this talk was depressing. "You're not going to tell me, are you?" Shinji whispered, still looking out the window. "I can't. You know that." Misato responded.
"But you have to make sure I never do, right?"
"Yeah."
"It hurts, you know."
"Strangely enough, I do."
"..."
"Shinji."
"Yes, Misato?"
"Were you ever close to Rei?"
"Closer than anyone I know. Maybe even closer than Rokobungi."
"You don't like to call him your dad?"
"My dad died a long time ago."
"..."
"Maybe I wasn't as close to her as I think"
"..."
"She was Angel. How am I supposed to know I she just.. let things happen the way they did?"
"You mean that she knew?"
"Mm hm. I mean, she knew and that was fate and she just played it out. Like an actress."
"And God was her director?"
"Something like that. I mean, she was like Kowaru, maybe she knew more than my dad did."
"And just never told? That's logical."
"Yeah..."
"Do you think she would have ever thought that it would end this way?"
"No, I don't."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I doubt that even God himself planned it out like this."
"What if he had some more plans that haven't come to play yet?"
"Then I would never know."
"You'll just let fate decide itself?"
"Fate has already been decided Misato."
"Hmm?"
"I only hope that God will change whatever fate is in store for us."
The car pulled over in front of Shinji's pub, and he took his cello out of the trunk. Going to the front, Misato rolled down her window. "Thanks for the ride." Shinji said. "No problem, kid." Misato grinned. "Listen, I might be here later. We'll finish where we left off." Sh said, and with that, she closed her window and drove away.
Shinji smiled. He hated that Black Mercedes. The worst times of his life were spent there, almost like before Third Impact. He had to lie. He had to listen. He had to face the Commander. But that was what it took to keep Yui. So he suffered.
Author's notes:
Shinji in this story loved his father. But not the Commander. And even when Gendo died, the Commander lived on, and took another parental figure, as Misato. So Shinji's enemy here is not Gendo or Misato or anyone else, but the Commander.
