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"Dialogues"

- Thoughts -

"Conversation via Radio "


Liability Note :

Evangelion, its characters and setting are the property of Hideaki Anno. Any brands, movies and series mentioned in this Fanfic are the property of their creators.


(*)


Chapter 16.

Shinji was still shocked by everything that had happened, he had gotten his second chance, he was with Misato who was smiling at his side, he looked again at Asuka's face and remembered the kiss, Shinji could feel his cheek heat up with the souvenir.

Mari saw that Shinji was looking at Asuka, she smiled and spoke maliciously. "So puppy, did the princess eat your tongue?"

Shinji and Asuka blushed furiously, causing Mari to start laughing uncontrollably.

"Enough Mari." Misato spoke with a smile on her face, she turned around and looked at Laura who had her arms crossed, she had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Is everything okay?" Misato asked oblivious to Asuka's argument with Mari behind her.

Laura was taken out of her thoughts as Misato approached, she shook her head and spoke tiredly. "It's okay, I'm just thinking about the paperwork and advice."

Misato looked down, she knew that now WILLE's security council was in charge until they got a new commander, she looked up and spoke. "What will it be like now?"

"When this is all over, they will probably find a position for Shinji, I hope he can adapt to the new routine." Laura spoke looking at the group in front of her, but her eyes were focused on Shinji who was trying to calm Asuka from Mari's jokes.

Misato nodded.

"Colonel, I have something to say to you." Laura spoke turning her head to Misato.

"What ?" Misato asked keeping it professional, but deep down she was starting to get anxious.

"Shinji will have to stay here, at least until it's all over." Laura spoke as she crossed her arms.

Misato looked at her with a strong look, she didn't want to stay away from Shinji, in Wunder she could protect and keep an eye on, but in the UN she couldn't do that.

Before Misato could say anything, Laura faced her and spoke. "We have no choice, we can't just make him show up and say 'Hi'."

"That's not the point here." Misato spoke, she could feel the tension in her voice.

"Colonel, I know your concern, but this will make it easier." Laura spoke too.

Misato stared at her without breaking eye contact, she knew she would have no choice, she was the director of the UN after all, she huffed in frustration and nodded, but before leaving, she spoke menacingly.

"But if something like that happens again, I swear I'll turn Wunder's cannons and blow this building up."

Laura threw a smile at Misato, she knew that Colonel Katsuragi wasn't one to follow the rules when her proteges were in the line of fire, she decided to put that aside and spoke calmly.

"It won't happen."

Misato nodded and looked back at the group.

"Who's hungry here?" Mari spoke as she saw Misato approaching.

"That would be nice." Misato spoke happily.

So the group went to a place where everyone could have lunch in peace, they talked about how things were going to be from now on, Shinji occasionally looked up at Asuka who sat in front of him, they blushed when their eyes met.

- What are we now? – Asuka wondered mentally as she took the food to her mouth.

As the day ended, Shinji was warned that he would have to stay at the UN Headquarters until everything was official, he didn't like the idea, but thought he shouldn't try his luck and go against it, he nodded.

He was taken to an area where there were rooms, they were simple, consisted of a single bed, a television on the wall and a small bathroom next to it, it was small but functional.

"It will be for a short time, until everything is made official." Laura spoke to reassure the group who had a suspicious look on their face.

"No problem." Shinji spoke trying to calm his nerves.

Misato didn't say anything, she had a dark look on her face, the same happened with Mari and Asuka, they looked at him when he spoke.

"We have to go now." Misato spoke to the group, but before leaving she approached Shinji and handed him a device that looked like an old pager. "If you think you're in danger, hit that button."

Shinji took the device and nodded, he couldn't deny that he was enjoying Misato's concern, he smiled and spoke. "I will."

Misato waved back and hugged him, she whispered in his ear. "I'll see if I come back tomorrow." She received a nod from Shinji's head, walked away and spoke to the group.

" Shall we?" Misato was turning to leave, when Mari hugged Shinji and kissed his cheek again, she loved teasing Shinji.

"Even more pup." Mari spoke while smiling at Shinji.

Asuka approached Shinji and looked at him, she was still a little embarrassed by everything that had happened, the same happened with Shinji who was awkward in front of her, but before one of them could speak, Mari shouted in the hallway.

"Hey, if you're going to kiss, just do it because I want to take a shower."

Asuka felt her anger rise, but she controlled herself and spoke with a small smile to Shinji. "See you later… Baka."

Shinji couldn't help but smile at Asuka, he was already getting used to her calling him Baka, but he could feel that there was no malice this time, he even felt a bit of affection in her voice.

"Good night Asuka." Shinji spoke as he saw Asuka's form walk away.

Shinji walked into his new temporary room, he couldn't deny that he felt lonely in this place, even in Wunder, he was living under the same roof as his friends, but he knew it would be for a little while, he put his hand in his pocket and took the device that Misato had given him, undressed and went to take a shower to relax and reflect on the day.


Misato Katsuragi's Office – Wunder.

Misato had arrived at her office and threw herself into her chair, she was feeling very tired, the trial had consumed a lot of energy, now she just wanted to go to her room and sleep, but she couldn't do that because her schedule was not yet it was over.

She was almost dozing at her desk when she heard a knock on the door, when she looked up she saw that Ritsuko was standing at the door, she again showed two mugs and a pot of tea.

Misato nodded and motioned for Ritsuko to come closer, when she sat at the table and started to fill the mugs, Misato broke the silence and asked.

"How are things here at Wunder?" Misato asked tiredly blowing on the tea.

"Until they are in order." Ritsuko spoke as she took a sip.

"Well, any news from Unit 01?" Misato asked with an expectant look on her face.

"Nothing, it was removed today at afternoon." Ritsuko spoke tiredly as she remembered the work they had gone to to remove Unit 01 from Wunder.

Misato looked at her doubtfully. "How did they get it out?"

Ritsuko lowered her mug and spoke calmly. "WILLE's board believes Unit 01 can be better studied at headquarters, they believe it will be easier to determine the cause of its closure there."

Misato shook her head and took another sip of her tea. "What do you think?"

Ritsuko looked at her longtime friend, she had a theory about why Unit 01 shut down, looked at Misato who had an expectant look on her face, she didn't know if she should tell Misato about the soul inside Eva 01 , but revolved to tell his theory.

"Misato might sound crazy." Ritsuko spoke as she refilled her mug.

"And our life is normal?" Misato said laughing while drinking her tea.

Ritsuko laughed quietly, she couldn't help but nod her head, everyone's life was far from normal, she took a deep breath and spoke. "You know that Unit 01 only works properly with Shinji right?" Ritsuko continued upon receiving Misato's nod.

"I noticed that Unit 01 stopped working the day we learned that Shinji had died." Ritsuko stopped talking to see if Misato would guess, she noticed that her friend frowned, for sure she had come to the obvious conclusion.

"So your theory is that Shinji and Unit 01 are linked in some way? Emotionally speaking?" Misato spoke as she picked up the teapot and refilled her glass.

"It's just a theory, now that he's with us I could do some studies." Ritsuko spoke while drinking her tea, Misato looked at her confused, Ritsuko stared back at her with her skeptical gaze.

"You do not know? The result of Shinji's trial is all over the papers, they just talk about it." Ritsuko spoke with disdain as she looked at the contents of her mug.

Misato was staring at her with shock on her face, she remembered seeing reporters at the time of the trial, but she didn't expect this to become mainstream news.

"How is the crew reacting?" Misato asked with concern on her face.

Ritsuko sighed. "Some are unhappy, some are happy, most are giving the shit."

Misato couldn't help but be a little relieved, but she was still worried about the more radical crew relationship when Shinji came aboard as a crew member, but resolved to worry about that when the time came, Misato decided to turn the matter back to EVA 01. .

"Do you think EVA stopped because they thought he died?" Misato asked visibly confused and curious.

"I really don't know." Ritsuko spoke lying, but deep down she believed that Yui Ikari's soul had something to do with it. "But I don't doubt anything, Unit 01 has already reacted to Shinji's requests once."

Misato nodded and finished her tea, she was thinking about her friend's words.


Mari and Asuka's Room – Wunder.

Mari lay on her bed and sighed contentedly, she was tired, the day was stressful, she noticed Asuka getting out of the shower and climbed into her bed, she smiled when she saw that she could start talking about the kiss that Asuka gave Shinji.

"Princess?" Mari called Asuka who rolled her eyes, Asuka knew it was only a matter of time before Mari brought up the subject.

"What ?" Asuka replied in her normal voice.

Mari didn't respond at first. "How was it?"

Asuka felt confused by the question. "How was what?"

"The kiss, what else would it be?" Mari said smiling.

Asuka couldn't help but smile as she looked at the ceiling of her room, she raised her hand and touched his lips and remembered the moment, she remembered the pleasure she got from kissing him, at that moment it felt like her problems didn't exist.

"It was good." Asuka replied trying to look like it was no big deal, but Mari already knew Asuka too well to know when she was trying to hide something, she widened her smile.


Suzuhara Apartment

Hikari was in her living room, she was changing the television channels looking for something interesting to watch Pen-Pen was lying down using Hikari's leg as a pillow, Hikari stopped at the news channel in hopes of having something useful coming on, she lifted the glass where he was drinking some juice he'd taken from the kitchen.

Hikari nearly spit out the contents of her mouth at the sight of Shinji's image in the courtroom, she looked at the writing under the screen that said Shinji had had a retrial due to the former Judge's coercion issues and the discovery of new information that changed. completely the Shinji Ikari case.

She looked intently at the presenter who was explaining that he had been cleared of the third impact and sentenced to serve WILLE as punishment for the Almost Fourth, she was looking at the TV and her eyes watered at the news that he was still alive and well for the images.

She looked at the clock on the wall and saw that Toji should be arriving by now, her train of thought was broken when her cell phone rang and she saw it was Toji.

"Hi Toji." Hikari spoke as she answered, turning her gaze to the television.

" Hi love, I have a surprise for you ." Toji spoke on the other end of the line, Hikari could see that he must be smiling from the tone of his voice, he must have probably found out about Shinji.

"I can bet you do." Hikari spoke with a smile.

"Baby, is it okay if I take Ken out to dinner today?" Toji asked with a slight worry in his voice.

Hikari smiles at this, she didn't mind Kensuke going to dinner, she enjoyed his company. "No problem Toji."

" OK then, in about 05 minutes I will arrive, do you want me to buy something?" Toji asked.

"No, you can come straight." Hikari spoke as she looked at the contents of her fridge.

" Okay then, see you later." Toji spoke as he hung up his cell phone.

Hikari put her cell phone on the table and started to prepare dinner, within about 5 minutes she heard the door open and started to hear Toji talking to Kensuke.

"Hi love." Toji said while kissing his wife, Hikari still felt embarrassed for Toji kissing her in front of Kensuke, after all she was a traditional style woman, but she was starting to get used to it.

"How was your day?" Hikari asked as she turned around and started chopping the vegetables.

Toji sat at the table, opened a can of soda and spoke. "Nothing much . "

Kensuke laughed beside him and spoke. "No big deal, you'll probably lose your nail."

Hiraki turned and looked at Toji and Kensuke with the same intensity he had when he was a Class Representative, that look made Kensuke and Toji tremble in fear of her.

"So nothing happened, love?" Hiraki asked as he leaned menacingly against the kitchen table.

"But it was no big deal... I accidentally hit the wrench on my finger." Toji stuttered as he showed the thumb of his hand purple from the blow, Hikari examined it carefully, but squeezed it lightly as punishment for not having told Toji right away, he gave a pained sigh.

Kensuke was doing his best to be invisible at this time.

"So what's your surprise?" Hikari spoke as she turned around and turned her attention to the food she was preparing.

Toji was still recovering from Hikari's grip, he took a breath and spoke calmly. "Baby, you won't believe it, Shinji is alive."

Toji looked confused at Kensuke for Hikari's lack of reaction, he thought she would be happy.

"Darling, didn't you hear me?" Toji asked hoping his wife hadn't heard as she was concentrating on her food.

"I heard yes." Hiraki spoke up, she was making a great effort to look like she was disdainful of the information.

Kensuke stared at Hikari's body and started to think confused, his train of thought was broken with Hikari's laugh, she started laughing at the expression on Toji and Kensuke's face.

"I know silly, I saw it on TV." Hikari spoke as she went back to cutting the meat she was preparing.

Toji and Kensuke started laughing at Hikari's joke, when the group calmed down they started talking.

"When will we be able to see him?" Hikari asked hopefully.

"I don't know, we have to wait for this whole thing to end." Kensuke spoke as he took a bite of his food. "But I hope it doesn't take too long, we have to catch up."

"Speaking of small talk, when are you going to get a girlfriend?" Toji spoke as he cut into his flesh.

Kensuke at this moment felt his body freeze, he still hadn't told him that he was going out with Sakura, he didn't know how he would tell his friend that his little sister could become his future girlfriend. He started to formulate a quick answer.

"When I find the right woman." was Kensuke's reply.

Toji and Hiraki shook their heads with the answer, Toji for Kensuke's unwillingness to meet someone, Hikari it was for him not having admitted that he liked Sakura to Toji, she knew about their meetings because Sakura had told her. Dinner continued uneventfully, they talked about life and dreams they had, Kensuke had helped Hikari with the dishes saying that it was the least he should do for her for letting him stay for dinner.


Shinji's Room – UN

Shinji was lying in his room at the UN still trying to understand everything he had been through these last few days, he had escaped spending the rest of his life in prison, he got a second chance and the event that was messing with his head the most. Asuka had kissed him.

Shinji again raised his hand and gently touched his lips, he remembered the feeling of Asuka's lips, they were soft and soft, but none of that mattered with the feeling he felt when he kissed her, the feeling of comfort and calm that he felt. was given.

Shinji was snapped out of his thoughts by Laura who knocked on his door and spoke happily.

"Hi Shinji good morning, when the whole process is over, WILLE's board will determine your rank and rank at WILLE."

"Patent?" Shinji asked confused as he stood up and stretched.

"Yes, you're going to get a patent, they're discussing your years at NERV as a pilot and they're deciding what's the best post for you." Laura spoke looking at Shinji.

Shinji noticed Misato entering his room, she could still feel the effects of the trial on her body, thought of Laura and Ritsuko's words about Shinji's future, will the crew accept him?

Asuka was walking beside Mari, both of them were relieved with the outcome of the court, Mari was chattering about the things she was going to show Shinji now that he was free.

Asuka was lost in her world, she was replaying the kiss she gave Shinji, she knew she would have to talk to him about it and put the dots on the Is , but Asuka decided to leave that for later.

"Princess? Are you listening to me?" Mari spoke turning her head to look at Asuka.

Asuka was snapped out of her reverie by Mari's question and answered a simple one. "Hmm?"

Mari smiled at Asuka, she had a mischievous and playful smile on her face. "Are you thinking about the kiss you gave the puppy?" Mari seeing that Asuka started to blush, she widened her smile and spoke with determination. "You're thinking about the kiss! … Ohh That's cute princess."

Asuka blushed heavily at Mari's accusations, she wanted to curse her Mari and tell her to fuck off, but everything was true, she was thinking about the kiss, Asuka remembered a time she saw Mari and Rei having lunch together and decided to attack back .

"At least I had the courage, unlike you." Asuka spoke calmly.

Mari raised an eyebrow at Asuka's sentence, she started to think trying to understand. Asuka saw the moment to attack again, smiled and spoke confidently.

"There are four eyes, don't you think I didn't notice you and the clone?" Asuka spoke accusingly, Mari's eyes widened in the rare moments when she was caught off guard.

Asuka noticing this, looked at her with a haughty look and waited for her answer. "So?"

Mari took a deep breath and composed herself, she spoke as confidently as she could. "What if I have a crush on Rei so what?"

Asuka kept looking at Mari, turned her head and went back to face Misato's back that was in front of her.

Laura called everyone to go to her office, when they were getting there, they would talk about how things were going to be from now on, now that everything was official and Shinji had his "freedom" at last.

Laura entered her office and walked to her desk, she sat down and waited for everyone to settle down, again Shinji sat closer to the desk, with Misato by his side, Mari and Asuka sat on the sofa right behind.

Laura seeing that everyone was settled and comfortable, took a breath and began to speak. "So now that this whole story has finally come to an end, we have to talk, your integration with WILLE will be immediate, so probably in a few hours we'll know the opinion of WILLE's board regarding her position and rank."

Shinji nodded and started to think about his future, Laura looked at Misato and spoke again.

"When all this part is complete, you will be taken to Wunder to start your basic training." Laura was talking when she was interrupted by Mari who raised her hand and spoke happily.

"You can leave it to me." Mari spoke up festively volunteering to train Shinji.

Laura looked at her and smiled. "OK, moving on, you'll have basic training and everything you're entitled to."

"Will I pilot again?" Shinji asked looking down.

Everyone in the room looked at Shinji, Laura took a breath and spoke. "That I don't know Shinji, your pilot status cannot be ignored, I believe that if there was a need, they would do it ."

Shinji nodded, he didn't like to pilot, but he remembered what he said in court to the Generals, he would help as best he could, even demanding that he had to pilot again.

"Okay." Shinji spoke as he lifted his head and spoke to Laura.

Asuka was weighing in on Shinji returning to piloting, she would never speak in public, but she recognized that he was an excellent pilot, but would he be able to pilot again?

Misato started to think about it too, she didn't want Shinji to pilot again, not because of the things he unintentionally caused, but because of everything piloting does to him, but she knew that now he was a soldier and that if there was the need she would have to make him re-enter an EVA.

Misato began to remember Ritsuko's project on a dual-input plug and knew that her friend would want to put her experiments into practice now that Shinji had joined WILLE and was under her command.

Laura was talking about technicalities when the phone on her desk rang, she answered it, and her secretary was telling her that the board was requesting everyone to attend WILLE's conference room.

Laura thanked and waved to the group and they all got up to go to the place, Shinji could tell he was looking forward to what these people would tell him, the same happened to everyone.

The walk to the place was quick, they entered a large room, inside there was a round table, but there was no occupant, the council was formed by video conference, the men and women waved to Laura and the group, Misato, Asuka and Mari greeted their superiors, who were temporarily in charge of WILLE until a new commander was chosen.

"Shinji Ikari please come closer." One of the men spoke.

Shinji obeyed and approached, he stopped in the middle of the room and looked at the big screen that showed the people of WILLE's high rank, he couldn't help but say that he felt intimidated by these people.

"As you were sentenced to join WILLE as part of your punishment, this council has decided to give you the rank of Lieutenant on a temporary basis until the end of your training, your current commander will be responsible for further promotion if she thinks you is up to the job." The man spoke looking directly at Shinji.

"Your status as an EVA pilot is still active, you will be trained to keep fit in this position in case you need to use it, on the table in front of you is your uniform, put it on immediately." Finish the man.

Shinji looked at the table and saw that there was a WILLE uniform inside a bag, he took the bag and looked around wondering where he could put it, Laura realizing this, spoke.

"To your left."

Shinji turned around and saw a door, he waved and walked there, when he was inside, he saw that it was a small room, then he started to undress, Shinji realized he was shaking, took a few breaths and calmed down enough, when he finished to get dressed, looked at his reflection on the television, took a few breaths and left.

Misato smiled when she saw him leaving in uniform, she could see his nervousness, Asuka and Mari looked him up and down, Asuka blushed when she saw that the uniform fit Shinji so well, Mari smiled when she saw Shinji too.

Shinji was looking down, he couldn't help but be embarrassed by all the attention he was getting, he again walked to the middle of the room, stopped and looked at the screen.

"At this moment will you take WILLE's oath, Colonel Katsuragi? Could you do the honors?" The man concludes by looking at Misato.

Misato nodded and started walking until she was facing Shinji, she smiled, raised her right hand and signaled for Shinji to do the same.

"Shinji Ikari, repeat after me." Misato started talking and Shinji started repeating every word. "By joining WILLE, I promise to strictly comply with the orders of the authorities to which I am subordinate, to respect my superiors, to treat brothers-in-arms with affection and subordinates with kindness, and to dedicate myself entirely to the service of WILLE, whose honor, integrity and institutions I will defend at the sacrifice of my life." Misato concludes, she waited for Shinji to finish. "Do you swear?"

Shinji looked at Misato, he smiled back and spoke with conviction. "I swear."

Misato nodded and picked up a wooden box on the table, inside was the Lieutenant's insignia, she promptly took them and put them on Shinji's uniform, when finished, she greeted Shinji and spoke with a smile.

"Welcome to WILLE Lieutenant Ikari."

Shinji greeted her back and smiled, Misato walked away.

"Lieutenant Ikari, at the end of this day report to Wunder." The man spoke looking down, but before turning off the Video Feed, he looked Shinji in the eye and spoke firmly. "Don't waste this second chance, don't let us down." The man spoke as he turned off the Video Feed, soon the room was dark again until the lights were turned on, Shinji was surprised by Mari who hugged him from behind and spoke seductively in his ear. "I will love to train you."

Shinji blushed furiously at Mari's joke and she started to laugh, she released Shinji and walked away a little, but before he could say anything Mari spoke still keeping the smile on her face. "Calm down pup, I know you belong to the princess."

At this moment Asuka blushed and spoke. "Shut up four eyes.", Misato can only shake her head, she can't help but remember her NERV days, but now she had Mari in the equation.

Laura turned to the group and spoke. "Okay folks, now that everything is settled, I'm going back to my office."

Everyone waved at her, when Laura left the room and they were all alone, Misato looked up and spoke. "Well, I believe we have to go back too."

"Misato, can the princess and I take the rest of the day?" Smiling Mari spoke to Misato.

Misato looked at her and spoke. "Why?"

"Because, I want to spend time with the pup now that he's with us, update him, show him the best spots in town." Mari spoke as she held Asuka by the shoulders, signaling for her to help.

Asuka noticing the tightness and Mari's gaze decided to give in and speak uncomfortable. "It would... It would be cool."

Misato realizing everything, thought a little and saw that they wanted to celebrate with Shinji, she took a deep breath and spoke with authority. "Yes, but I want you back at Wunder at 8 pm, that's an order."

Mari smiled at Misato and gave her a childish greeting, Misato rolled her eyes.

"Wait! ... Will I be able to leave?" Shinji asked apprehensively.

"Yes." Misato spoke with a smile on her face. "Orders apply to you too, Lieutenant."

Shinji smiled at that, he was still digesting everything that was going on.

"Okay, let's go." Mari spoke as she took Asuka and Shinji by the shoulders and guided them out of the room, Misato could hear Mari's voice fading in the distance, she sighed and left the room.

Misato started walking to her car, she was heading back to Wunder and getting ready to break the news to Ritsuko and her crew, Laura went back to her office to go back to her usual work, when she was in the privacy of her office, she took it her cell phone and dialed a number, when a man answered, she spoke with a smile on her face.

"I need to meet you."


Somewhere in New London.

Mari was carrying Shinji to all the places she frequented, showed the place where there was a karaoke, a bar where she liked to go and all the places she went when she had the time and mood, but the place where she really wanted to take Shinji it was a surprise.

"This city is huge." Shinji spoke as he looked at the buildings that New London had, he was still feeling uncomfortable being in public, he was afraid of being recognized but people were stuck in their own worlds to recognize him.

Asuka was walking beside Shinji, she was still thinking about the kiss, but she couldn't deny that walking around the city was helping her relax a little, she couldn't remember when was the last time she did it.

Mari started walking towards a set of residential buildings, she was smiling at the surprise she had prepared, she just hoped that everything would go well, Asuka was recognizing the place, she gave Mari a look that clearly said "You know what you're doing?" Mari nodded in agreement.

"Makinami? ...Where are we going?" Shinji asked when he saw that they were a little farther from the city.

"It's a surprise, you'll like it, and call me Mari." Mari spoke with her best smile.

Shinji nodded, afternoon was already falling when they arrived at the door of an apartment, Shinji stood behind Asuka and waited, Mari rang the bell and waited, when the door opened, Hikari revealed.

"Hi Hikari." Mari spoke happily.

Hikari smiled at Mari and greeted back. "Hi Mari, how are you?"

"I'm fine." Mari spoke as she turned her head and saw Shinji's shocked look, finally realized that Mari had taken him to visit Hikari, he remembered when Sakura said that she and Toji had gotten married.

"Hi Hikari." Asuka said while hugging her old friend, Hikari was very happy to see Asuka again, they hadn't seen each other for a long time.

"How's the goofy doing?" Asuka spoke as she moved a little away from Hikari.

Hikari rolled her eyes at Asuka, she didn't like Asuka calling her husband a goofy but she would let it go. "It goes well, he should be back in about 45 minutes."

Asuka nodded, was happy for Hikari, had come to tolerate Toji and Kensuke, saw them as friends, but she would never admit it.

"Hey, aren't you coming over to say hi?" Mari spoke looking at Shinji, Hikari looked confused at Mari, she hadn't seen Shinji yet.

Shinji was paralyzed, he was with a mixture of feelings, he was scared, happy, embarrassed and a mixture of everything.

"Who is this person you are talking about?" Hikari's words stopped in her mouth as she looked out and her eyes focused on Shinji, she couldn't believe it, she quickly brought her hands to her mouth and looked at Mari, who was smiling.

"Hi Hikari." Shinji spoke shyly, he looked at her and saw that Hikari had grown into a beautiful woman, but his thoughts were cut short when she pulled him into a tight hug.

Hikari felt tears forming in her eyes as she hugged him, Shinji shyly returned the hug, his ribs were hurting from the grip, but he decided to hold on.

Hikari slowly released him, pulled away and spoke. "Shinji? ... You are here."

Shinji was going to answer, but Asuka spoke first. "Yeah, don't you watch the newspaper?"

Hikari looked at her sullenly.

"Let's go inside." Hikari told Shinji who nodded and followed.

Inside the house, Shinji could see that Hikari was a well organized woman, everything was neat and clean, it reminded him of all the days he had to stay cleaning, Shinji looked at a small fridge he had in the corner, it looked very with the one Misato had.

Asuka approached Hikari who was still looking at Shinji and asked. "Where is that demon bird ?"

Hikari was snapped out of her reverie and looked at Asuka, "He's in the bathroom."

Shinji couldn't help but smile, he remembered seeing Pen-Pen in the bathtub when he arrived at Misato's apartment, he realized that old habits don't die.

"Have you already eaten?" Hikari asked as she got up and went to her kitchen, started to get several ingredients and started to prepare dinner.

Shinji almost started to tell her that he didn't need to, but Mari spoke first.

"Not yet, can we stay for dinner?" Mari asked with pleading eyes at Hikari.

"Of course they can." Hikari spoke smiling as she started to prepare dinner, but before she had an idea, she picked up the phone and dialed Toji, she waited and listened to Toji answering.

"Hi Love." Toji spoke as he answered.

"Hi Toji, what do you think about us ordering pizza?" Hikari asked with a smile on her face.

"Of course, no problem." Toji spoke a little confused, was he thinking that Hikari had only called him to suggest pizza?

"Okay then, I have a surprise for you, you'll love it and bring Kensuke along." Hikari said as she hung up the phone without giving Toji time to answer, she knew he should be staring at his cell phone right now, she couldn't help but laugh at the scene.

Hikari then picked up the phone again and made the request, then returned to the room where the group was, Mari looked at her confused and spoke.

"Haven't you gone to prepare something?" Mari asked seeing how quickly Hikari had returned to the group, she was carrying a tray with some soda cans.

"I ordered pizza." Hikari spoke as he opened the can and took a sip.

Mari smiled at the idea, she loved to eat pizza, she reached over and took one of the cans.

Shinji turned and spoke to Hikari shyly. "No need to spend your money on me."

"Bullshit Shinji, we have to celebrate." Hikari said smiling to Shinji, she was happy to have her old friend back, she was imagining Toji and Kensuke's reaction when they saw Shinji.

Shinji smiled back at Hikari, he was going to ask something when he heard the sound of the bathroom and the door opening, Pen-Pen came out of the bathroom was walking back to his fridge when he looked at the group, he was looking disdainfully at everyone.

Pen-pen didn't seem to have aged much, his red feathers had become lighter and small wrinkles could be seen in his eyes, he looked at the group and walked back to his fridge, before entering he stopped and looked back again.

"Hi Penpen." Shinji spoke waving at Pen-pen happily.

Pen-Pen walked quickly towards Shinji and stopped at his leg, he spread his wings and hugged him, Shinji stroked his head and spoke smiling. "I missed you too."

With that he let go and went back to his fridge, looked back at the group and closed his door. Shinji couldn't help but laugh as he saw the pen-pen hadn't changed, he went back to chatting with the group.

After a few minutes, they heard the bell Hikari went to answer it and saw that it was the delivery man, she paid him and came back with the order. "Let's wait for Toji and Ken, they should be here soon."

"Why?" Asuka spoke confused to Hikari.

"Why yes." Hikari countered arrogantly.

It didn't take long for Toji and Kensuke to arrive, they were pensive with Hikari's surprise for them.

Toji looked at his wife who waved happily at him, he turned his head and saw Mari and Asuka, but before he greeted the guests, his eyes focused on Shinji, and Toji spoke without thinking.

"Holy shit!. "


Author's Notes: Please review, your critiques (Good or bad) are very important to me, you know that I take a lot into consideration what is said and it also gives me strength to continue this translation project, of course the translation will have problems, but hopefully it will be at satisfactory levels.

Don't forget to also like the Facebook page, search for "Calborghete" and locate a picture of Shinji and Asuka, on this page I will post updates and it will also be easier for you to contact me.

Well, see you next time.