Chapter 7 is in the house!
I'm sorry if I kept you guys waiting, I recently discovered the Command & Conquer series and I've been hooked ever since. So far my absolute favorites are Red Alert 3, Tiberium Wars and Generals.
Anyway, I'm babbling. Onto the reviews!
azndrgn: No problem my man!
Dark Avenger874: He's cashing checks his ass clearly can't write.
Hercules8: I know right? I can tell that this will be so much better than the Peter Jackson version! Also, the mysterious doctor is not from the animated series but I won't reveal who it is. I have already answered your other question in the PM and thanks for the words of encouragement.
HHunter101: Exactamundo. 12 feet under in the ground.
SupernalGodzilla: Don't worry, Godzilla will have LOTS of friends in the future! Also, they won't call him Godzilla because they still don't know what he really is. I will think of some other way they can refer to him.
Austin: Only 5 more days!
Guest #1: You perfectly right about what will happen in the future chapters! Also, your grandmother brought up an excellent point! Thank you very much, Happy Valentine's Day and I will resume work on that story after 2 more chapters of this.
Junior VB: Gracias!
Ani8900: You know, I tried doing that on some practice pages but it just didn't really mesh well for me. I think Godzilla is just better off being viewed a 3rd person.
ultron emporer: I'm glad that you consider this fic your favorite and yes, Iris will be featured in this story!
New Universe Returns: Um…I think I made it clear that Shinji wrote a note to his relatives and they gained legal custody of him in court. The aliens will come sometime in the future.
A 'Reincarnated' writer: Hmmmmmmmm…
G-Matt: Thank you very much for the info!
Guest #2: Hells yeah!
Guest: I won't be adding Jet Jaguar into this story; he's just too goofy for me.
Boyzilla: Isn't that what Gendo is most of the time?
Gold1992: Hello again!
Don't worry; Misato will do her share of the chores this time around. I will keep my eye on character development and experiments, as well as finding a way to properly implement the berserk Evas.
LMFAO. You're hysterical!
You have some very good suggestions! I think I might implement one of them!
HOLY CRAP! I did not realize I had made an unintentional reference to History's Strongest Disciple! But just to clear things up, it's just a regular dojo; it is nowhere near related to that one. But if I had to pick out a (strictly non-cannon for this story) trainer for Shinji, I'd go with Joe Higashi. :D
You made that joke way funnier than I did but thanks for the advice and for thinking it was still funny.
Beastrider9: It was never my intention to make everything you just pointed out. Writing is still a very new thing for me but I appreciate your constructive criticism. I will try my hardest to do better.
Thunder Dragon: Thank you for understanding and I used that song because I thought it would fit the mood…and it was also because of the Kong trailer!
Coo-Hatch: They can't all be action chapters. You have to make room for character development. Gamera will be naturally evolved and I'll just stick with regular Orga.
Mythfan: I'll think he'll burn more than just his eyebrows off.
RyuujiVantek: Got that right!
Jurassic Writer: It's that good? Wow…I don't even know what to say! It means so much to me but I don't think I deserve that honor. Thuktun Flishithy is clearly a better writer than me and it's a real shame his fic will probably never get finished. Thank you very much and there will be more Kaiju to come!
Gojira Defender: Believe me, it is!
Kaiju LOVER: I most likely won't do that. I wouldn't want to make them TOO human.
Story Artist: The Devonians and the Cryogs will not appear in this story and I'm thinking about the Trilopods. No one will ally with the Angels though, they have their own agendas.
Writing Warrior: I will not reveal anything about Gendo but the Shobijin will make an appearance in the next chapter.
GUGK: Gamera and Kong will appear but no Ultraman.
Pizza King: As much as I want to, I already have a completed roadmap for this story and I can't fit him anywhere in it.
.1: All in good time…
sinnerlust: Maybe not, but the Eva's will get their chance to shine.
MONSTER BATTLE: Absolutely!
Hero of Heroes: All of the earth Kaiju in this fic is the planet's defenders so yes; there will be a lot of heroic moments!
Guest #3: Yup, they definitely made JJ cooler in that comic and no worries.
Guest #4: Do not rush me. You'll get your chapter when I can update it.
Te Fiti: Right now, most of the world sees him as an entirely new species of animal.
Guest #5: You got a great idea but I won't use the Mothra larva. To me they just seemed useless.
Guest #6: They certainly did! I loved the fight between Godzilla and the Mecha G legion!
Evangelion and Godzilla belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.
Chapter 7
Roommates
NERV-PARKING GARAGE
"Are you absolutely sure we should be driving over to your place in that?" Shinji asked as he pointed to the totaled mess that was once Misato's car. The Renault was smattered in dirt, multiple dents covered the exterior, the lights were smashed, the fenders were a crumpled mess and some of the back windows were cracked. Not to mention the absurd amount of duct tape holding the car together.
"If this baby survived the events from yesterday then it's perfectly okay to drive in." Misato said proudly at the patted the hood.
KLUNK
The front and back bumpers instantly fell off at the exact same time. Misato sweatdropped. "Do you think Geico will cover this?" She asked sheepishly.
"Maybe…but I don't think they cover N2 explosions." Shinji shrugged.
TOKYO-3 HIGHWAY TUNNEL
After stuffing the bumpers in the back seat the duo took the car train station out of the Geofront and drove through the tunnels to Misato's apartment. Misato was giggling to herself happily.
"We are gonna have a huge party tonight~!" She sang cheerfully.
"Are you expecting people over?"
"Nope. It's just a welcoming party for my new roommate!" She said while playfully nudging his shoulder.
"Heh, heh, heh. Should've figured that one out." He laughed. "Thanks for welcoming me into your home by the way. It's not every day I meet someone so generous."
"Well aren't you the little charmer! And don't sweat it; I've always wanted to have some company over at my place. To be honest, I was actually going to recommend the whole roommate thing first!"
"Good to know we think alike. By the way, you never told me how you joined Nerv. Did you ever good reason?" Shinji inquired.
For a brief second, Misato went rigid as traumatic images flashed through her head. "Uh…I…just wanted to help people…that's pretty much it." She said hesitantly.
Shinji raised an eyebrow. He could tell that she answered that question way to quickly and also took note of how she reacted to it. Was there something she didn't want to tell him? Did it really make her that uncomfortable? He was just about to question her more on that particular request when he suddenly heard an audible CLANK from behind the car. The two of them looked behind them just in time to see two disc like objects tumble away from them.
"You just lost two hubcaps." Shinji pointed out.
"GODDAMMIT!" Misato yelled as she banged her fist on the steering wheel.
"So…how long do we have to get to your home before this thing falls apart?" Shinji worriedly asked.
"It ain't dying on my watch!" Misato growled as she slammed her foot on the accelerator.
TOKYO-3 OUTSKIRTS-CONVINIENCE STORE
After a rather hair raising ride, Shinji and Misato stopped at a nearby Lawson Station to get food for the welcoming party. Misato opted to get her share of snacks while Shinji got his own. The inside of the store was brightly light with numerous goodies lining the isles and wall mounted freezers. The only occupants in the store with them were the cashier, two women and a rather tall looking man.
Shinji was at the freezer section getting himself a container of cherry flavored ice cream. As he put it in his basket, he couldn't shake off Misato's hasty reaction to his question. He looked behind him to see Misato at another isle; she was currently debating on whether she should get Doritos or Pringles. He was curious to find out why she acted that way earlier but he really didn't want to ruin the mood for her. She really seemed focused on the party so he decided to file the question away in his head for another time.
As he started to turn around he suddenly bumped into someone, causing him to stagger backwards.
"Oh! Sorry about that. I was watching where I was going." Came a deep, heavyset voice.
"No, that was totally on me. I didn't-"Shinji found himself tripping over his words when he looked up to see he was talking to. The man was at least six-foot one, wore a light brown jacket along with a black shirt and dark cargo pants. He had an imposing, muscled stature and a stony face with grey hair tied up in a ponytail. However, his most distinguishing feature was the pair of grey, prosthetic eyes he had. Shinji had remembered reading about them in an article when he was looking through the newspapers some time ago. This wasn't the first time he had heard of bionic replacements but this was the first time he met someone who actually had them.
"You checkin out my eyes, kid?" The man smiled as he tapped them.
Shinji snapped himself out of his stupor as he realized he may have just unintentionally insulted him. "Huh? No! I wasn't looking directly at them. I'm sorry if i-"
"Hey, no worries. You're not the first one to act like a deer in the headlights." The man chuckled as he patted Shinji's shoulder. "Take care of yourself, kid." He said, walking towards the exit.
"Uh, you too!" Shinji called after him. After the man had left the store, Shinji let out a sigh. He was relieved that he didn't offend him.
Misato was at the other end of the store grabbing herself some canned coffee, instant ramen and TV dinners. As she was shopping, she felt her phone started to buzz and flipped it open. It was a text message from Ritsuko telling her that most of Shinji's personal effects were shipped to her apartment at his uncle and aunt's request. She really hoped that his relatives didn't completely fly off the handle when they were told the news. Misato resumed her shopping but then overhead two women chatting with each other.
"So you're going to move after all?"
"You got that right. I never dreamed that this city would become a battlefield. My husband suggested that our kid and I should evacuate to the other end of the continent at the very least.
"Really? That far? To be honest, that doesn't really surprise me. I heard over a hundred people left this morning."
"This city may be a fortress but that's no guarantee for safety. I'm starting to think those people at Nerv are incompetent."
"It just goes to show you that you can't rely on them. Especially how they botched that fight."
"Speaking of which, did you see the whole thing on the news? I can't believe monsters like that even existed…"
As the two women went over to the cashier, they didn't not notice the look of distain Misato was giving them. Incompetent? Botched? How dare they! 'At least we tried our hardest you ungrateful twits.' Misato thought angrily.
TOKYO-3 OUTSKIRTS-ALLEYWAY
Batou Otsuka casually walked through the empty streets of the relatively small area until he crossed the street and came upon a darkened alleyway, which was actually his destination. Sitting there was a jet-black Nissan Sentra with tinted windows. He opened the passenger door and stepped inside as the driver gave him a smile and a brief nod.
The driver in question was almost visually similar to Batou but was slightly taller than him and wore a red coat. He was completely bald with a large, stocky body and his face was round yet smooth. He too also had prosthetic eyes like Batou only his were noticeably tinted red.
They sat in the alleyway for several minutes until they saw a purple haired woman and the 14-year old boy that Batou bumped into earlier exit the store with 4 bags worth of food. They placed it in the back seat of a totaled Renault Alpine, got in their seats and drove off down the road.
"Is the tracker working?" Borma Yamaguchi asked.
Batou got out a large tablet, pressed a couple of buttons and a map popped up on screen showing a red blip moving quickly away from them.
"Working like a champ." Batou grinned.
TOKYO-3 OUTSKIRTS
It had finally reached dusk as Shinji and Misato drove to her residence. They enjoyed the ride in peaceful silence until Misato noticed something coming up in her view.
"I hope you don't mind if we make a little stop on the way."
"Where to?"
"Someplace really cool."
They eventually drove to an overlook which gave them a magnificent sight of Tokyo-3. The duo looked over the railing to take in the sheer scale of the city. It seemed to go on for miles until it ended at the foot of the red stained lake with massive solar towers rising into the sky. The already setting sun casted an orange hue across the landscape, adding more serene beauty to it. Shinji also noticed that the wreckage from yesterday had been completely cleared away.
"Gotta admit, you guys clean up quick. It's too bad it's such a lonely city." Shinji observed.
"You haven't seen anything yet. Just give it a few more seconds…" Misato said as she checked her watch.
"Give what a few more-"Shinji never got to finish as he began to hear alarms blare throughout the city. He nearly jumped out of his skin and began to frantically look around. Was there another Angel coming this way?
That's when he saw numerous ports within the city suddenly open up and buildings rose from them like daisies. As more and more kept popping up, Shinji slowly began to realize why there were buildings hanging from the ceiling of the Geofront. Soon the entire city was standing tall like a beacon of superiority across Japan. Shinji's mouth was left complete hanging open as he looked in in sheer amazement.
"Un-freakin-belivable."
"This city is a fortress designed to protect us from the Angels. Tokyo-3. It's our home and it's also the city that you protected."
TOKYO-3 OUTSKIRTS-MISATO'S APARTMENT
Misato didn't exactly live inside the sprawling city; she chose to live way over on the eastern outskirts. The drive to her residence wasn't particularly long; it only took about 40 minutes at the least and by then it was nighttime. When they finally got there, Shinji couldn't help but see how inviting it looked. It was an 11-story apartment complex with a triangular roof and verandas on the top 3 floors.
"Wow! You sure picked out a pretty nice pad to live in."
"I wanted to live somewhere with low rent and this place was perfect."
They parked the mangled car in the lot and hauled out the grocery bags, as well as Shinji's luggage that was haphazardly thrown into the back seat when the Angel attacked the Tokai District. They took the elevator all the way up to the 10th floor and after the ride, the walked along the outdoor corridor to her residence.
"So have you been here long?"
"Actually, I moved here recently."
They turned the corner and continued down another corridor, the night air breeze blowing a gentle breeze towards them. They finally came to her apartment door at the very end of the corridor when they saw 3 large cardboard boxes sitting next to her door. One important thing that Misato immediately noticed was the large, horn like instrument leaning against the boxes. It appeared to be made out of wood and was covered in tribal symbols that depicted different species of animals. It was also incredibly long, about the length of her body.
"Hey! That's my Didgeridoo!" Shinji called out.
"Your what?" Misato asked, completely confused.
"It's an Aboriginal instrument that my great-great-grandfather bought during a vacation in Australia." Shinji informed her.
"Isn't that continent a frozen wasteland nowadays?" Out of all the countries in the world that were the hardest hit by drastic climate change caused by the 2nd Impact, it was Russia and Australia. Russia's temperatures had risen up to 90 degrees making it unbearable for the people living there while Australia had been transformed into what Katsuragi had described.
"This was way before the 2nd Impact. I found it when I was cleaning up the attic of my house and I've been practicing with it ever since." To demonstrate, Shinji started to lay a couple of notes on it. It was low, droning noise that Misato could only describe as "mind-blowingly psychedelic."
"I never heard anything like that before." Misato admitted. "It's pretty nice to listen to, oddly enough."
"I know, right? This thing helps me relax all the time! But what's it doing here along with what I can only assume is my belongings?" Shinji asked as he gestured to the boxes.
"I was informed earlier that your relatives sent them over here after they got the news." Misato revealed. Shinji looked at the boxes and noticed a piece of paper taped on top of one box. He took it off and saw that it was from his uncle.
Dear Shinji,
We heard everything from the agents who came to our house this evening. Since we don't know how long you are going to be staying in Tokyo-3, we sent you most of the stuff that was in your room.
Your aunt and I, as well as your grandparents, are going to have a VERY long talk about this with you. We will call you later tonight.
Sincerely,
Uncle Kazuo
"I don't think they took it well at all." Shinji sighed.
"But at least they thought about you." Misato reassured him. "If you'd like, I can try to talk with them."
"Thanks for the offer but it's for the best that I speak with them but I think it will be alright, though. Can you help me out with some of these boxes?"
"No problem!" Misato said as she swiped her Nerv card through the reader on the side of her door. The door open and she took 2 boxes as well as the groceries inside while Shinji took the last box, his share of the groceries and his didgeridoo inside too. Stepping into the hallway of her abode, Shinji's nose was struck with the heavy scent of liquor.
"Just to give you the heads up, it can be a little messy in here." Misato playfully warned him. They rounded the corner and Misato flipped on the light switch, illuminating the kitchen area. Shinji nearly dropped the groceries.
The kitchen was an utter pigsty. Discarded ramen bowls, TV dinner trays, wine bottles, Dorito bags and Pizza Hut boxes littered the floor while the table was covered in empty beer cans and instant coffee cans. Misato could see Shinji gawking at the state the kitchen was in and scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.
"Okay, I admit. It's a little bit of a mess."
"I feel like I'm in an episode of Hoarders."
"Oh knock it off! It's not that bad!" Misato countered as she took off her shoes and walked into the kitchen. "Sometimes it's just best to ignore it-"
Misato suddenly felt Shinji tightly grip her arm and yank her back hard. She looked at him in confusion. "What in the world was that for?!"
Shinji pointed down to the floor and Misato followed his finger to the broken wine bottle with its jagged shards dangerously pointing upwards. She realized that she could've seriously injured herself if she took one more step but worst all, she could've injured Shinji.
"Still think you can just ignore it?"
"…You're right. There's a box of garbage bags in the utility closet, lets clean this mess up."
MISATO'S APARTMENT- 20 MINUTES LATER
By the time they were done cleaning up the kitchen, Shinji and Misato had 7 bags full of trash. Now that most of the clutter was out of the way, Shinji could now get a better look at the kitchen. It was relatively small but it had the essentials: refrigerator, stove, toaster oven, microwave, pantry, sink, dishwasher and cupboards filled with kitchen utensils.
"There we go. Now it looks way more presentable." Shinji observed.
"Same here. Thanks for pointing that out earlier. I really owe you one." Misato said, still embarrassed and somewhat ashamed of her previous uncleanliness.
"Don't sweat it. Just try to remember to clean up after yourself next time." Shinji reminded her.
"I'll try my hardest. Anyway, I need to go get changed. Can you do me a favor and put the rest of the food in the fridge?" Misato asked as she headed to the living room and went over to the left hallway.
"Sure thing." Shinji said as he put the bags on the table. He looked over to the expansive living room and walked over to get a better look at the room. It had several Zaisu mats, a coffee table, a couch, a beanbag char and a wooden TV stand with books and DVDs lining the shelves. A massive plasma screen TV sat upon it, causing Shinji to raise an eyebrow. 'Didn't the Sub-commander just tell not to use our cards for "frivolous spending" and whatnot?'
He spotted an old PlayStation 1 sitting beside the TV along with several games he recognized: Warhawk, Twisted Metal 1 & 2, Ape Escape, Crash Bandicoot 1-3, Resident Evil Directors Cut, Tekken 3, Mortal Kombat Trilogy, Street Fighter Alpha 3 and the very first Guilty Gear game. 'An oldies but goodies girl, eh? You got some pretty nice choices, Misato.'
His gaze shifted over to the sliding door window which led to the veranda outside. He pulled back the curtains and was treated with the dazzling sight of Tokyo-3's lights shining in the distance. He walked back into the kitchen to resume his task of putting away the groceries.
He opened the freezer to find a multitude of TV dinners and packaged ice sitting there and he stuffed his ice cream inside next to it. He opened the cupboards to see bags of snacks and instant ramen lining the shelves. There was barely any room to put anything in them!
Shinji shook his head. 'This woman really needs to consider changing her diet.'
He went over to the fridge and opened it…to be greeted with the mind boggling sight of what could be best described as a literal vault of beer. The whole interior of the fridge, as well as the side door, was lined with Yebisu malt beer. Shinji found himself wondering if it was really necessary for her to keep all of this. But the biggest question was did she really drink this much?
He should've noticed this by now after he cleaned up a couple dozen beer cans and wine bottles. It was amazing that Misato still had any brain cells left or hadn't contracted alcohol poisoning yet. But why was she drinking this much? Did she just enjoy beer…or was she an alcoholic with serious issues? She didn't seem to have any visible problems that he could think of but then he remembered her reaction to his question in the car earlier. Were they connected somehow?
Again, he did not want to ruin her good mood so he decided to wait for a better time to confront her about this. He tried making some room in the fridge for the meals that had to be refrigerated but since there was very little space, he had to place some of them on top of the beer cans. He managed to place everything inside and closed the fridge, decided to tackle the cupboards next. As he turned around, he saw another refrigerator sitting in a corner.
'Another one? Her electricity bill must be through the roof.' Shinji thought. "Hey, Misato! What's in this other fridge?"
"Oh, don't mind that one. He's probably still sleeping!"
Shinji raised an eyebrow 'Who's sleeping in there? An enchanted squatter goblin?' He thought sarcastically. He walked over to open it but then decided that Misato was just pulling his leg and left it alone.
MISATO'S APARTMENT-5 MINUTES LATER
(Randy Newman-You've Got A Friend In Me)
After Misato was done changing into her casual attire (short shorts and a yellow tank top) she cooked most of the food in the microwave and they could finally dig in. Most of it consisted of TV dinners.
"Itadakimasu!" They both said. Shinji began eating and found his food to be rather…mediocre at best. Misato was already downing half an entire can of beer.
"BWAAAHHHHAAAAAHAAAAAAAAAA! I tell you Shinji, it's moments like these that make everything worthwhile don't you think?"
"Can't argue with that logic! I gotta say though, you really know how to put that stuff away."
"Hee hee hee. I can't even begin tell how many drinking games I won back in college!
"You must be a riot at parties."
"I am the party! Anyway, how's your food? I know it's all microwaved but it's good! Trust me!"
"It's…passible. I've never eaten food like this before so-"
"ARE YOU BEING PICKY?!" Misato suddenly roared as she leaned over and glared Shinji right in the eyes.
Shinji found himself shrinking into his seat as he stared into her piercing gaze. "…If I say yes are you going to murder me?"
Misato narrowed her eyes at him and sighed. "Not at all. It takes a lot for me to even consider that. And to be honest, I can't cook for the life of me and I just decide go with the easy route." She admitted as she plopped herself back down in her seat.
"Well, you really shouldn't eat this stuff every day; you'd most likely lose that gorgeous figure of yours."
"Ohhhhhhhh….so you admit that you're checking me out!"
"That is totally not what I meant by that!" Shinji blurted out as he blushed furiously.
"Ha! Got you back!" She laughed. "Isn't this nice? Two roomies sitting down to hot, home cooked meal!
"Yup. Just like home." Shinji smiled as he reminisced about dinner time with his aunt, uncle and grandparents.
"Speaking of which, this place is officially your home away from home. It's as much as your place as it is mine so you can take advantage of everything here! Just kick back and make yourself comfortable, okay?"
"Believe me, after everything I've been through I'm planning on taking full advantage. I think I've pretty much earned it."
"You definitely do. But since you and I will be living together, there's something we have to take care of…" She said sweetly yet ominously as she began to ball up her fist. Shinji got a tad worried when he saw her do that. She wasn't going to punch him or anything was she?
"ROCK PAPER SCISSORS SHOOT!" She suddenly hollered as she held out two fingers. Shinji instinctively jerked his hand upwards in surprise and confusion.
"Scissor cuts paper!" Misato happily squealed as she grabbed a calendar from the wall and began writing something on it. "Looks like you've got laundry duty tomorrow!"
"Huh!?"
"Again! ROCK PAPER SCISSORS SHOOT!"
"Hold it! Hold everything! I know what you're doing. You're trying to make me get stuck with most of the workload!"
"What? No way! Whatever gave you that idea?"
"Because one of my friends did the exact same thing to me when we got selected for after school cleanup."
"Uhhhhhh…"
"Relax; I'm not angry at all. I'm just saying that there's a way to make it fair for the both of us." Shinji assured her as he looked at the calendar. On the side of the chart were 5 categories: Breakfast, Dinner, Bathroom, Trash and Laundry.
"Okay, how about this: Instead of taking turns with the trash, laundry and bathroom duties we both do our share. We do whatever laundry we have, we'll take out trash that we made and whatever happens in the bathroom we can handle on our own respectively. Sound okay?" Shinji suggested.
Truth be told, Misato didn't like doing chores as she always found it to be a pain in the ass. Then again, it was a real dick move to trick Shinji into getting most of the chores and she did feel bad about doing that. And if her little close call with that broken wine bottle was any indicator, it was high time for her to get off of her ass and start pulling her weight around for a change.
"It certainly works out for me. But what about breakfast and dinner? I don't even know how to cook."
"I can! My aunt and grandmother taught me everything they knew about cooking and if you'd like, I can teach you."
"Really? You'd do that?"
"It's either that or you can eat TV dinners for the rest of your life."
Misato looked at the trays of preserved, admittedly bland tasting food in front of her. Now that she thought about it, she was getting really sick of eating the stuff.
"I guess this means I'll have order some cookbooks online, then?" Misato guessed playfully.
"I'll pay for them. It's on me." Shinji offered.
"Well then you got yourself a deal, my little Shin-chan!" Misato said as she held out her hand.
"Agreed….but please don't call me that." Shinji said as he shook her hand.
"Awwwww, why not? It sounds cute!"
"I don't exactly do cute." Shinji stated as he stretched his arms. "Man, it's been a long day."
"Feeling a little sore I take it? I got the answer to your problems: a nice hot bath!"
"You're really letting me use your tub?"
"Absolutely! Bathing is the laundry of life so hop on in there and wash all of those worries away!" Misato suggested a she playfully wagged a finger at him.
A FEW SECONDS LATER
Shinji had gotten himself undressed in the well-lit, rather small bathroom. It wasn't exactly a bathroom per say, it was actually a wash room that led into the actual bathroom. It was located on the right hand side of the kitchen with brown colored shutters acting as a door. The interior had bright yellow wallpaper, a sink, a side closet containing towels, body wash and shampoo, as well as a washer dryer combo sitting on the left side of the room.
As he placed his clothing into the hamper and was about to open the glass paned door to the bathroom, he couldn't help but notice the collection of multicolored bras and panties hanging from a circular clothes hanger dangling from the ceiling. He quickly managed to dash away any "impure" thoughts that entered his head and turned his attention back to the door when he noticed something.
There was an ominous, oval shaped shadow from behind the paned door. Not knowing what it was and not taking any chances, Shinji took a step back and slowly slid the door open to reveal-
"Wark."
A penguin.
A stout, chubby, black and white penguin with bright green eyes, 3 claws on its flippers and spiky red hair that went from its eyebrows up to its head. The two stared at each other for a while until Shinji grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his waist and headed for the shutters.
Misato was currently enjoying a cold can of Yebisu when the shutters to the wash room opened to reveal Shinji clad in a towel with a very bewildered look on his face.
"Is there something wrong?"
"I'm freaked out. There's a penguin in the bathroom."
The water fowl walked past Shinji's legs and headed over to the 2nd refrigerator. It was now wearing a dog collar around its neck and it was also wearing a tiny green backpack along with a pink towel draped across its shoulders.
"Oh, that's just Pen-Pen. He's a bird. But more specifically, he's a Hot Springs Penguin."
Using its claws, Pen-Pen pressed a small button on the fridge and the front slid open, revealing a lamp, a recliner, a TV set and a female penguin pin up inside of it. Pen-Pen threw Shinji an unamused look before retreating into the fridge, were it closed behind him. Shinji stood completely dumbfounded for a few seconds before finally turning to Misato.
"Since when do birds like that even exist?" He questioned.
"Since always I guess." She shrugged. "I probably should've mentioned that he lives here. Just think of him as another roomie."
"….You know what? After what I just witnessed yesterday, I'm willing to believe anything." He said nonchalantly as he walked back into the washroom.
'Something tells me he took that way too well…then again, I can't really blame him. He's been through a lot.' Misato thought as she took another swig of beer.
SEVERAL MINUTES LATER
"Ahhhhhhhhhhh man, I needed this." Shinji sighed blissfully has he sank into the hot water that filled the bathtub. He felt incredibly relaxed as he could feel the sore feeling in his joints dissipate. He stared up at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.
'Misato Katsuragi. She's certainly a friendly person. With a cheery attitude like she could be friends with everybody! It's a relief to know that she doesn't want kids like us to pilot the Evangelions. I think she'd make a great pilot. Not only that, but she invited me into her own home like I was family! She's almost like the older sister I've never had…'
His mind began to drift over to his father.
'I should've known he'd pull something like this. I would give anything to see aunt Kimiko punch his lights out. But I did stand up to him. I did show him I wasn't the timid little weakling I was when I was kid. I'm not afraid of him anymore and that's all that matters.'
As he diced to soak in the bath a little while longer, one more thought entered his head.
'That Ayanami girl…I really hope she's okay.'
NERV-HOSPITAL WING
Rei, still heavily bandaged from her disastrous activation test with Unit-00, sat in her hospital bed in complete silence. Commander Ikari had visited her in her hospital room earlier today and expressed relief that she was recovering. When she inquired who piloted Unit-01, he revealed that his son had agreed to pilot. But what the Commander told her next actually surprised her.
He gave her a Nerv issued laptop and showed her video footage of the unexpected turn of events from yesterday and explained the news leak as well as working on determining the creature's origins and upgrades to their weaponry in the event an Angel goes through another "Forced Evolution."
After he took his leave, Rei was left with the laptop he gave her. Since then, she kept watching the footage with unwavering attention. After the monster had destroyed the Angel and began roaring into the heavens, she paused the video and slowly brought a hand up to the center of her chest. Her heart was pounding very loudly.
'This feeling…this sensation…what is it?'
NERV-RITSUKO'S OFFICE
"It sounds like you've certainly grown accustomed to him in such a short amount of time."
"What, you thought I wouldn't get along with him at all? Shinji's a great kid to hang around with!
"That's certainly good to hear. But just keep in mind that maintaining him is part of your job."
"Relax, I've got it all covered. He's fully committed to piloting and he has a positive attitude overall. He's actually a lot like me in some ways. We're like two peas in a pod!"
"Really now? One of these days you're going to have him take a DNA test and see if he's your long lost relative."
"Hardy har har. You're a comic genius." *click*
Ritsuko looked at her cellphone quizzically before turning it off. "Sometimes she just can't take a joke." She sighed.
The head of Nerv's science division lit herself a cigarette and leaned back in her chair. Her office was sparse in comparison to Fuyutsuki's but nowhere near as utterly devoid as Gendo's. It consisted of a desk facing the wall and several filing cabinets.
Her desk had a computer and her own laptop was place beside it. She had numerous files and technical books along with an ash tray with a steadily growing mound of cigarette butts. Ritsuko also kept a coffee machine on her desk so that she could stay up and focused when she was feeling tired or just needed a something to drink. One of the most distinctive objects in her office was 2 tiny porcelain cats, one black and one white.
After taking a long drag of her cig, Ritsuko breathed out the smoke and began opening video files on her computer. She found footage of the fight and fast forwarded it to the part where the dinosaur unleashed its atomic powered breath upon the Angel.
Ritsuko paused the video right at the moment where the beam hit the Angel and magnified the image of the dinosaur's face. Its eyes were completely white; the blue wisps of flame that were coming out of its mouth gave it the appearance of an enraged mythological beast.
Ritsuko leaned in close and narrowed her eyes.
"…what secrets do you have for us?"
MISATO'S APARTMENT
Misato sat in the tub in a somewhat tense state. Normally she'd be relaxed when she was bathing but this time, she had a lot on her mind.
'I still can't believe that Angel transformed. Ritsuko was right…there was no way we could've beaten that thing. That would be it. We would all die. But then that dinosaur showed up…how can something like that still be alive in this age? It could've attack us after it won but it just left… it's almost like it only came here for the Angel. I really hope it's on our side.'
He focus then shifted upon Ritsuko.
'I can't believe she just lied to me like that. "You're bringing him here for a visit." She said. "The commander wants to meet with him." She said. F***ing bullshit, I can't believe I fell for it so easily. She and everyone else know how much I hate the fact that we're using kids to fight for us. I should've seen this sort of thing coming a mile away.'
At that point, she began to think about Shinji.
'They selected him out of the blue without a preliminary report from the Marduk Institute. Not only that, but the timing of the Angel attack was on the exact same day he was scheduled to arrive and the fact that he is the Commander's son…it can't be mere coincidence.'
But as she thought more about Shinji, she began to feel ashamed of herself.
'I'm so pathetic…I couldn't even tell him my real reasons for joining Nerv. All I'm really doing this is for revenge. I don't deserve to take care of him.'
But somewhere deep down she started to remember certain events. Events that changed how she thought about herself. She remember how concerned she was when Shinji rescued that little girl and how she screamed out his name when he was seconds away from being killed. She remembered how she confessed to him that she loathed Nerv having to use kids to pilot giant, destructive war machines and wished that she could shoulder the burden; not them.
She remembered Shinji's kid words afterwards and how she hugged him. Later in the cafeteria, she found herself giving him encouragement and comfort. She looked up at the ceiling as a feeling of warmth and realization began welling up inside.
"Maybe…I'm not as bad as I make myself out to be."
10 MINUTES LATER
After slipping on a light green bathrobe and drying her hair, Misato exited the bathroom and into the living room. He glanced down the right hall where two guest bedrooms were facing each other and a closet was situated at the very end of the hall.
She needed to tell Shinji something important even though the probably said it a dozen times already. She walked over to his room, taking not that the sign she had put on his door while he was in the tub had now read "Shinji's Room" instead of "Shin-Chan's Lovely Suite." Apparently he had erased what was previously written.
She quietly rapped her knuckles on the sliding door to announce her presence. "Shinji? I'm coming in."
"Hold on a sec, I'll get the door." She heard him say. A couple seconds later Shinji slid the door open, he was now clad in pajama shorts and a sleep shirt.
"Anything I can help you with…" His eyes briefly drifted to Misato's slightly exposed cleavage before instantly looking back up to her. "…or is this a bad time?"
"Oh, of course not!" Misato said. "I know I probably said this to you already but I just wanted to let you know that you did an amazing, praiseworthy thing yesterday and you should be proud of yourself. I understand that things are confusing and hard to grasp but pretty soon, you're going to see all the good that the Eva has done. Hang there, okay? Thing will get better."
"I am proud. I'll admit, thing are a bit crazy at the moment but I'll manage. Thanks again." Shinji replied. "But you do know that I can't take all of the credit, right?"
"What do you mean by that….ohhhhhh." She realized. He was clearly talking about the dinosaur.
Vrrrrrrrrrrt Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrt Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrt
The two of them turned to the cellphone that was vibrating loudly next to the dresser beside Shinji's bed. Shinji picked it up and looked at the screen to see who it was.
"It's my relatives." He confirmed. "I have to take this."
"You go right ahead. Good night."
"G'night."
Misato closed the door and made her way to her room. She stopped halfway and looked behind her as she could hear Shinji talking to his uncle, aunt or grandparents. A part of her wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation but she knew better than that and this was something Shinji had to do by himself.
Misato felt awful about all this. She felt like she had ripped Shinji away from his cozy town, his friends and his loving family even though it was completely unintentional. It was another reason to question why it had to be children, not adults. Wallowing in shame, Misato trudged over to the kitchen fridge, got herself a six pack of Yebisu and headed for her room. It helped her go to sleep quicker…and keep the nightmares away.
6 HOURS LATER
It was 2:00 AM in the apartment. Shinji slept peacefully while Misato had drank herself asleep. But unbeknownst to them, something was stirring in the wash room hamper. A tiny, spider crawled out from Shinji's shirt collar. But this was not a spider, but the tracer that Batou had previously planted on him. It skittered out of the bathroom and into the kitchen where the mechanical arachnid it split into 8 smaller spiders and they split up into different directions. They each nestled into different corners of the apartment which gave them a good view of each room. They retracted their legs and activated the miniature cloaking tech that rendered them completely invisible.
All the way over in Tokyo-1, within a darkened apartment room, a man with a full beard and unkempt hair began turning on the numerous computers monitors in his room. Every single monitor showed the interior of Misato's apartment! Shunsuke Ishikawa smiled, happy to see that his new monitoring tech was actually working for once. He reached over for the earpiece on his desk and brought it up to his left ear.
"HQ, this is Ishikawa. The surveillance drones are online and we have full coverage of Katsuragi's residence."
"Good work. Continue to monitor them and give us regular updates."
"Roger that, HQ. Over and out." Ishikawa took off the earpiece and turned off the monitors.
"But first, I need some well-deserved shuteye." He said as he flopped down face first onto his bed and fell straight to sleep.
MISATO'S APARTMENT-THE NEXT DAY
Shinji awoke with the morning sun shining across his face. He groggily got up and stretching his back as let out a yawn. He glanced around the room, taking note of the boxes that he had to unpack. But all that could wait; he needed to have some breakfast.
He waked to the kitchen area and opened the fridge to be reminded that it consisted of nothing but beer and TV dinners. He decided to eat something he purchased at the store but then remembered that he too had brought snacks as well for the party. Sighing, he grabbed a TV dinner, cooked it in the microwave, sat down and ate his breakfast.
Yup. Still tasted like butt.
He heard something opening and turned his head to Pen-Pen's refrigerator where the penguin himself waddled out. Pen-Pen gave Shinji a slight glance before waddling over to his bowl. Sadly for him, none of his favorite sardines where there. He went over to the refrigerator and began scratching at the door.
"Need something in there, little buddy?" Shinji asked as he went over to him.
"Wark." Pen-Pen replied as he pointed to the fridge.
Shinji opened the fridge and stuck his head inside to see what the penguin usually ate and saw several sardines stacked behind a six pack of beer. He grabbed a can and held up to Pen-Pen.
"Is this what you're looking for?" Shinji grinned as he shook the can. The penguin instantly jumped up in the air, swiped the can out of his hand, peeled open the can with his claws and dumped the contents into his bowl where he started to vigorously dig in.
Shinji did a double take he slowly processed what just happened. "You're pretty smart for a penguin, aren't you?"
"Wark wark." Pen-Pen squawked as he tapped the side of his tiny noggin.
A smile slowly crept up on Shinji's face. He had his reservations about living with a wild animal but this little bundle of surprises erased any doubts he had. But he wondered…how the heck is Pen-Pen so smart? He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard footsteps behind him. Misato had just woken up and ambled into the kitchen, clad in oversized turquoise pajamas and grey slippers.
"Morning! I see you've already fed Pen-Pen." She observed cheerfully.
"It wasn't that hard to figure out what he liked. Is he always this amazingly intelligent?" Shinji asked as he gently patted the penguin's head.
"That's nothing. You should see him play poker."
"….he plays poker?"
"Long story." Misato said as she reached into the fridge for a beer.
Shinji gave Misato a questioning look. "Don't you think it's a little bit too early to be hitting the booze?"
"Some people drink coffee in the morning, I drink beer. It's pretty much the same thing." She waved it off as she took a long swig from her can. Shinji didn't buy any of that.
"So…um…how did it go with your family?" Misato nervously inquired.
Shinji paused for a moment. "Well, most of it consisted of them hurling various obscenities towards my dad, all of which described him perfectly."
"Figures."
"But I did tell them that I stood up to him and they are proud of me for that. I went on to explain the whole situation to them and despite a lot of doubt and uncertainty, they wished me the best of luck next time I pilot the Evangelion."
Misato breathed a sigh of relief.
"Then I pretty much told them about you."
"You did?"
"Yup. They're grateful that you took me in and your little pep talk we had in the cafeteria. They all said thank you."
Misato stood there in complete disbelief. They actually thanked her? She felt like she didn't deserve that and yet she couldn't help but feel grateful and happy that they understood the position Shinji was in and supported him. It made her feel so much better.
"You actually should've seen the looks on their faces when they all saw the photo you sent me." Shinji smirked as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the suggestive photo Misato had slipped into the letter."
Misato went pale. "They all saw that!?"
"Yup! There was some…interesting reactions from my aunt, uncle and grandpa but my grandma said that she was just like that when she was young. Now that they all know you better, everything's okay now."
Misato breathed and even bigger sigh of relief and laughed nervously as she scratched the back of her head. Ritsuko and Shinji were right; she really needed to stop flaunting herself.
"So what's going to happen next now that I'm here? Will I be doing any Eva training?" Shinji inquired as he sat down at the table.
Oh, absolutely!" Misato said as she sat down as well. "You will be doing synchronization tests along with weapons training and leaning the functions of the Eva and Tokyo -3 combat systems. That will be today at 1:00 and then after that, I have to sign some papers for your application at school-"
"Hold on, I have to go to school too?"
"Of course. Wait a minute…" Misato began as a huge smile formed on her features. "You thought that you would be exempt from it since you're piloting, didn't you?" She giggled as she jabbed a finger at him.
"Maybe a little but I was already in school back in my town and I'm just wondering if I'll have to start over." Shinji answered.
"Well for one thing, you need your education and I'll see if we can pull some strings so you don't have to start over completely."
"Really? That's a relief."
"Don't worry about! I'll make sure your comfortable here in Tokyo-3!"
Shinji wholeheartedly believed her. If he was sharing an apartment with a woman like her, then he had absolutely no qualms about his stay in this magnificent city.
TOKYO-1
Ishikawa smiled at the pair as they started to talk about what synchronization training entailed and as they went on with the other parts of his training, Shinji became more and more invested. Taking a quick sip of coffee, Ishikawa began typing a report to his agency that Shinji was in safe hands with Misato Katsuragi. He was interrupted when he heard the two of them laughing, the result of Shinji making an offhand joke. He may be safe but the sooner they got him and Misato far away from Nerv, the better.
The both of them needed to know what the organization was really planning.
To be continued…
WHEW! Man this chapter took a lot of work!
But despite that, I greatly enjoyed giving Misato and Shinji some more development and chemistry. There are several things that I've altered.
We were never given enough information on Pen-Pen in the anime. Sure, we got a more detailed background on him in the manga but I wanted to explore a little bit more on our favorite penguin so I changed his collar and his metal pack into something more…appropriate for his character. I won't reveal his past yet so you can expect some surprises along the way!
Another edit I made is Misato's apartment. I added another bedroom right across from Shinji's room and the storage room is at the end of the hall.
Speaking of Misato, I really liked adding a little bit more to her character. As I previously said before, I wanted to make her more aware of her actions. She will have internal conflicts and second guesses about herself but over time, she will begin to see more and more proof that's she's not a terrible human being but a caring soul with some flaws that can be resolved. And Shinji will eventually play a big role in confronting her inner demons. I hope this appeals to some of you Katsuragi fans out there.
This chapter was also a great opportunity to introduce some of the members of Section 9. I also gave them first or last names based on their Japanese voice actors. As a reminder, they are all based on their Stand Alone Complex counterparts.
As an apology for taking so long, I will give you guys a roadmap on the next 2 chapters! The next chapter will focus on Shinji's training in Nerv and his transfer into Tokyo-3 Junior High School. The next chapter after that will have Godzilla and Unit-01 facing off against Shamshel! After that chapter, I will resume work on my Akame ga Kill/Samurai Jack crossover story.
Don't forget to review but please don't flame.