New chapter for everyone!

Sorry for the wait, this chapter was going to be long but work, as well as some other distractions, left me tired and drained so I cut it in half. But on the upside, I was halfway done with the other part so you guys might get that chapter sooner! I'm trying my best not to keep my readers waiting too long but then again, life does have a habit of road blocking you.

During that time, I finally got to watch Pacific Rim: Uprising. I have to admit, it was actually better than the first one! My only gripes were offing Mako and making Newton the bad guy. And for those of you who are probably no doubt asking, no. I will not be adding in any of the new Jaegers or the new Kaiju. I am solely focusing on the ones from the first film.

Has anyone seen the new trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters? Holy shit, I was blown away by how amazing it was. The music captured both the majesty and terror these creatures represent and I'm sure it will go down in history as one of the best Kaiju movies ever made, PERIOD. Whether or not I will include elements of that movie into my story will remain to be seen. Kinda wish Anguirus an Gigan got included in the movie too…

And finally, Resident Evil 2 Remake! Let's hope its success will spawn a Resident Evil 3 Remake! Even the new Aquaman movie looks surprisingly good (given DC's track record)!

Review Time!

Darksycthe Drake: Thank you very much and yes, this will be a Shinji/Mari fic!

DragonMaster4872: The alien robots are of my own design and I will be using the 90's Gyaos. I'm still debating on whether I want him to be on Godzilla's side or the space Kaiju side.

Duder: Thank you so much for pointing that out, I felt so embarrassed about that mistake and I've been trying to make corrections in my previous fics but the docs were deleted a long time ago . Again, thanks.

Mythfan: Thanks, character development is always necessary.

Guest #1: Kiryu will be a metallic silver in this fic.

G-Matt: They belong to the yet to be revealed alien on Pluto.

Ultron emperor: Kaworu and Iris will be very different in this story!

Hercules 8: Great to hear from you again and thanks for the advice!

Junior VB: Something he really needed in canon.

Ani8900: Glad to be back!

Hey Its That Guy: I'm keeping her role a secret!

Jurassic Writer: Thanks for understanding and I've read the comic.

RabidArmenian: Thanks and oh ye of little faith.

Gold1992: He still likes the Bridge Bunnies but some things may change with Ritsuko.

Relax man, just let it happen.

I'll have him talk to her next chapter, it should be soon!

He's still trying to keep it under wraps.

LMAO!

Great to hear from you again!

APEX: Thanks, it's been too long.

Guest #2: All hail the new king in town!

Prototron MJ Tornada: A correct assumption and hope your hand is feeling better.

StrongGuy159: and it will!

Thunder Dragon: Thank you for the kind words!

Traitor of all Traitors: Those would've been good choices but I'm comfortable with choosing the Rulers of Earth Godzilla. You can imagine him as any one of those if you wish.

Guest #3: Really?! That fic is awesome!

Mike: New chapter now!

Uy: Godzilla has always been based around religious themes so I'd defiantly hold all of those examples in high regard.

Kinko7: Good suggestion but I want to make the evolved Angels look more terrifying and less human looking.

Spark681: They'll be coming soon!

Guest #4: And they will, my friend. They will.

Godzilla and Evangelion belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them

Chapter 14

Bonds between Friends

TOKYO 3 OUTSKIRTS-HILLSIDE

Shinji's jaw fell open. "…Unbelievable!" He gasped.

And it truly was an unbelievable sight to see. The hillside they were standing on had lush, green grass that stretched for what seemed like forever but the real treat was the view of Tokyo-3 out in the distance with the lush forests surrounding it. The Mountain way on the other side of the city only added to the amazing splendor to behold.

Even Touji was blown away by the view. "Wow…how often do you come to this place?"

"Any chance I can get on the weekends!" Kensuke replied proudly. "I told you guys it was a perfect spot!"

"Oh, I definitely need to get a sketch of this." Shinji said eagerly as he fished his sketchbook out of his backpack and headed over to find a good spot that caught the full view of the landscape. Touji and Kensuke began unpacking their camping gear as well as some cooking equipment.

"You know, I always wondered where you disappear to during our days off." Touji mused as he got out the sleeping bags.

"How come you never asked?" Kensuke asked as he got the tent equipment out of his bag.

"Well, you seemed to be comfortable doing your own thing by yourself so I figured you'd want your privacy." Touji explained.

"C'mon, man. It's not any fun when I'm all by myself. I would've taken you along anytime!" Kensuke said.

"Really? Damn…sorry I left you hanging for so long, man." Touji apologized, feeling bad.

"No worries. I mean, 30% of it was camping while 60% was survivalist practice. But now I can do camping with you and Shinji! He could tell us all about being an Evangelion pilot!" Kensuke said joyfully as he pointed to Shinji who was immersed in his sketching of the magnificent view.

"Yeah, about that, we are NOT telling him we snuck out of the shelters just to see his fight. Got it?" Touji reminded Kensuke with a serious tone. "It's probably really stressful for him having to fight giant monsters and he doesn't need to know we almost died."

"No problem. My lips are sealed." Kensuke assured him. The near death experience had opened his eyes to the dangers of leaving the shelters and he would never take that risk ever again.

"Good to hear." Touji said, relieved that he was able to talk some sense into his buddy's head for the second time. "Also, keep the video you recorded of the fight a secret, kay?"

"Oh, I already uploaded it onto the internet." Kensuke confessed almost instantly.

Touji's eyes bugged out of his head as he felt his heart almost leaping up into his throat. "YOU-!" He yelled but then silenced himself so that he wouldn't alert Shinji. Luckily for him, he was still sketching.

"You did what?! What the hell is wrong with you?!" Touji silently hissed at him. Now Shinji was going to know they were there during the battle!

"Relax, dude. I edited us out of the footage along with our voices and I uploaded the video anonymously. No one will ever know it was us!" Kensuke assured him.

That did nothing to ease Touji's displeasure. "One of these days you're gonna get yourself, and me, into a big heap of trouble."

NERV-HOSPITAL WING

Within an observation booth, Misato watched Rei get scanned through an MRI machine while Ritsuko looked at the results of the procedure on a computer.

"Everything seems to check out; Rei has finally made a full recovery and thankfully not a moment too soon. We'll be able to have her back on active duty within several days or two." Ritsuko said as she typed away on the keyboard.

"And back into the seat of a 40-meter tall death bot." Misato icily commented, no ounce of humor in her tone.

Ritsuko typing slowed down as she swallowed. "I'm sure that whatever happened with Unit-00 was a slight, unforeseen error. A fluke. We've triple checked our findings for any factors that might've been the cause of the malfunction and everything is within 100% acceptable parameters. It won't happen a second time."

"Mm-hmm." Came Misato's reply. Ritsuko could tell that she clearly wasn't buying it at all. She couldn't think of anything to say that could ease Misato's discomfort. It had always been a routine discussion between Misato and Ritsuko whenever the subject of the Evangelion Program came up. Misato would voice her concerns and objections over using children to pilot Evas; Ritsuko would say that there was no other option.

But now there was no need to discuss it anymore since Misato had gotten her clear, harsh answer from Ritsuko. Because of that, it left a large dent in their friendship mainly due to Misato being heartbroken that her closest friend, one that she's known for years, refused to tell her the truth. Ritsuko was beside herself at what to do. She couldn't tell her friend everything she knew because Misato would most likely do something drastic and wind up in Gendo's crosshairs. It was cruel but it was the only way to keep Misato safe.

"So how are things going with Shinji?" Ritsuko asked, decided that it was best to change the subject.

"Oh, he's out camping with his friends. It's an overnight trip so he'll be back tomorrow." Misato answered as she watched the doctors take the casts and bandages off Rei. Like always, the albino showed no reaction whatsoever.

"Really? Well it's good to hear that he's getting some respite." Ritsuko commented, having no objections to Shinji's little vacation.

"Same here. He deserves a chance to unwind." Misato said with a small smile.

Ritsuko felt relieved that she was able to lift up her friend's spirits a little. It may not have been much, but it was a small step to going back the way they were before. She felt her cellphone vibrate and dug it out of her lab coat pocket. She flipped it open and answered.

"Hello, Dr. Akagi speaking…..really? When will they be shipped? Well that's great news! The science team will be very pleased to hear that, I'm looking forward to analyzing the samples. Huh? Of course you'll be a part of it. I would never leave you out of something this important. Yes, I'll look forward to it as well. You take care now." Ritsuko finished as she stuffed her phone back in her pocket.

"Who was that?" Misato asked.

"That was Maya with some very pleasing news. We're receiving a shipment of the MSC's blood samples tonight." Akagi revealed.

"But didn't we already collect those after the battle? Why didn't we study them beforehand?"

"We did collect them but we couldn't study them because they were highly radioactive at the time. Also, the UN was highly adamant that they contain the samples out of fear of people contracting radiation poisoning. Thus we had to hand over all of the MSC's blood samples over to UN officials while we were allowed to keep the samples we recovered from the 4th Angel. But recently, the UN discovered that the radioactivity found on the samples disappear over time."

"Soooooo now that means it's okay to study them?" Misato guessed.

"Exactly!" Ritsuko exclaimed, surprising Misato. "The UN has agreed to ship over half of the samples over to us! I should probably remind myself to request more equipment for when we study the samples."

"Wow, you sound pretty excited about this." Misato pointed out. It took a lot to see Ritsuko get so worked up like this.

"Excited? Misato this is huge!" Ritsuko giddily explained. "We are so close to unlocking the mysteries that surround the MSC! We'll be able to find out what it is, how old it is, where it originated from, how it's able to harness atomic energy as a weapon, how it can regenerate it wounds-"

"Okay, I get it! Just bring it down a notch, kay?" Misato said, calming Ritsuko down.

Ritsuko flushed with embarrassment as she composed herself. "Sorry about that. This is just very enthralling news. I should be on my to the science department and let the team know the samples will come tonight. I'll probably see you tomorrow, Misato."

"Same here. Have fun." Misato said as Ritsuko walked over to the door. Ritsuko was just about to leave when Misato suddenly called out, "Tell your girlfriend I said hi!"

"What?!" Ritsuko blurted out as she spun around to face Misato.

"I'm just saying! You and Maya have been pretty close as of late." Misato teased with a sly wink.

"Misato, she's my assistant for goodness sake! There is nothing between us, what we do together is strictly professional!" Ritsuko argued, though Misato wasn't convinced.

"Rits. C'mon. How long have we known each other since college? You and I both know you're a lesbian. There's nothing to be ashamed of! If you love someone then then you have every right to pursue that feeling. Maya's a sweet girl and the way she looks up to you is a clear sign that she's really got it in for you!" Misato reasoned as she reassuringly patted Ritsuko's back. "It's okay to be nervous about how the confession might turn out-"

"Misato, I'm really not comfortable having this conversation." Ritsuko cut her off with a tone of seriousness.

"Okay, I totally understand, I get it. But…I'm here for you if you need help. I know we kinda had our ups and down recently but just know that I'm still your friend." Misato said softly. This left Ritsuko completely stunned as Misato exited the room. She stood for several minutes before she sat down. Her face was an expression of guilt and frustration and she got out her pack of cigarettes but to her dismay, she was all out.

Throwing the empty pack to the floor, Ritsuko ran her hands through her hair. She was too forgiving. Damn it all, Misato was just too forgiving. How could she possibly still want to remain her friend after she couldn't tell her about the nature of the Evas? While it was true that they had been best friends since college, Ritsuko was beginning to think that Misato would've been better off with a much better friend than her.

Then there was Maya. She was pretty much everything Misato described but she deserved better. Ritsuko had dirtied her hands so much that she didn't want Maya getting stuck in the literal filth she had submerged herself in. And it wouldn't work out anyway since Ritsuko was already enamored with Gendo.

But as of late, she was struggling with embracing her true feelings or clinging on to the desperate hope that Gendo loved her back….which she knew he did. There was no doubt…he did love her, right? Hanging her head, Ritsuko felt like she was farther away from her answers than before.

"Don't be like me, Maya. Don't stoop to my level…"

TOKYO-3 OUTSKIRTS

"Aaaaaaaaand….done! This one's going up on my wall." Shinji said proudly as he administered the finishing touches on his sketch. He began to smell something delicious in the air and looked behind him to see Touji stirring their lunch in a boiling pot over the campfire with a ladle.

"You know, I never really took you for a cook." Shinji said as he picked up his sketch and walked over.

Touji just shrugged as he continued stirring. "I learned it from my grandpa in my spare time. I thought it was stupid but it's been pretty helpful so far when it's just me and my sister."

"Well for me, I learned it from my aunt and I was always interested in cooking when I was a kid." Shinji revealed. "That smells fantastic by the way! What's in it?

"Ah, you know, just some essentials. Carrots, potatoes, pork, the usual. How'd your sketch go?" Touji asked as he added some pepper into the mix.

"See for yourself." He smiled as he showed him the picture.

Touji whistled. "Damn! You're pretty good!"

"It's nothing, really. I just do this as a hobby." Shinji admitted.

"AAAAARRGGHH! I'M HIT!"

Speaking of hobbies, the two looked ahead of them to see Kensuke writhing on the ground, like he had been shot. "It's too late for me! Get to the evac zone! Now!

Kensuke shot up and kneeled down to where he once lay. "But Sargent, we can't just leave you here! A soldier never leaves another man behind!"

Kensuke sat back don on the grass and pretended to hit the soldier. "You're lives are more important than mine! Get to the chopper, NOW!" Shinji and Touji stared at him blankly.

"This is going to be a thing with him, isn't it?"

"Welcome to my world, Shin-man."

NERV

"Has Rei made a full recovery?" Gendo asked Ritsuko as they stood on an automated sidewalk.

"Yes, Commander. There's no signs of discomfort, she's regained full sight in her left eye and complete motor control of her right arm. She'll be able to return to active duty very soon." Ritsuko confirmed for him.

"Good. Have Unit-00 removed from cryostasis and prepped for a re-activation test. I trust there will be no problems this time?"

"We ran all of the safety guidelines and so far there are no errors or irregularities with the Eva. With some extra safety measures, and a little bit of luck, we should have a stable re-activation."

"I don't believe in luck, Doctor. I believe in results."

Ritsuko gulped. "Y-yes, Commander."

The two of them got off the autowalk and continued through the sterile white corridors of Nerv.

"In the meantime, send out a request for the Marduk Institute to locate potential candidates for the 5th, 6th and 7th Children."

Ritsuko blanched at that notion. "More pilots, Commander? We already have Pilots Soryu and Makinami, do we really need three more?"

"The situation with the MSC and the evolving Angels is becoming rather troublesome. Seele in particular are stepping up production of Units-05, 06 and 07; a sign that they are succumbing to knee-jerk impulses. Neither of us knows how strong the next Angel will be, nor do we know if the MSC will be a threat in the future. The best we can do is be prepared in the event that does happen." Gendo explained.

"The MSC does seem to be consistently focused on combating the Angels and it showed no hostility towards the Eva. It only seemed to focus its fury upon whoever attacks it. If we, as well as CCI, are careful then we shouldn't have any problems from it." Ritsuko advised.

"That creature is a significant problem because its mere existence is a considerable danger to Seele's goals…and mine."

TOKYO-3 OUTSKIRTS-SEVERAL HOURS LATER

The stars illuminated the night sky as the droning sounds of Shinji's didgeridoo echoed throughout the hill that he and his friends camped out on. The crackling of the campfire added to the soothing atmosphere of the setting. Shinji finished up his last note on his instrument and looked at Touji and Kensuke's impressed reactions.

"Wow…" Kensuke whispered, seemingly mesmerized.

"Never heard anything like that before but I could listen to it all day!" Touji said.

"That's what people always say with I play it." Shinji said as he stashed it back into the tent. "I always enjoy introducing a little culture to anyone who's willing to listen.

"You said that's from Australia, right?" Kensuke asked. "Sucks what happened to their country."

"Yeah but at least I'm keeping some piece of their nation intact." Shinji replied as he stuck a marshmallow onto his stick.

"I don't suppose you have a boomerang too?" Touji joked as he ate some teriyaki ramen noodles from a cup.

"Nah, I'd probably end up breaking someone's windows." Shinji smiled as he popped a toasted marshmallow into his mouth. "Lord knows what my grandpa would do to me if I did that."

"Does your gramps live with you and Misato?" Touji asked.

"Nope, my grandpa lives in my village along with my grandmother, uncle and aunt. I'm actually not from around here; I was raised in Hinamizawa for most of my life."

"That's the name of your village, I guess?" Kensuke surmised as he ate some rice from his bento box. "Ya got any friends there?"

"Yup! Seven to be exact. Hold on, I think I've got a photo somewhere in my wallet." Shinji said as he fished out said photo. He got up and sat next to them as he showed the picture.

It showed Shinji in front of a small school with seven of his smiling, aforementioned friends, two boys and five girls. One of the boys and three of the girls were around the same height and same age as Shinji while the two girls were shorter and a year younger. The other boy was a tad taller than the rest and two years older.

"That's Keiichi Maebara. He' can be a bit of a joker but he's definitely a guy you can count on. He's also a pro at baseball." Keiichi had brown hair and blue eyes.

"Those two are Mion and Shion Sonozaki. As you can probably tell, they're twins. Mion can be a tomboy while Shion is the mature one. One crazy thing they like to do is switch their hairstyles around so its makes it impossible to tell which is which." Mion and Shion both had light green hair with the former having hers done up in a ponytail while the latter let her hair flow down her back.

"This is Rena Ryugu. She adores anything that's cute, she collects junk like they were souvenirs and can be a something of an airhead. But other than that, she's a real friend through and through." Rena had reddish brown hair in an angled cut and wore a traditional sailor uniform.

"Rika Furude started out really shy and timid but over time she eventually opened up to us and became best friends with Satoko Hojo. While Satoko acts like a blowhard and has a superiority complex, she's still one of our friends. She's also a riot at parties." Rika had waist length blue hair while Satoko had short blonde hair.

"And lastly, we have Satoko's older brother, Satoshi. He's a laid back type of guy and usually looks out for her sister in case she ever gets out of control." Satoshi was taller than the others and had blonde hair like Satoko.

"You think they would want to meet us?" Touji asked, wondering if he and Kensuke would have the chance to visit Shinji's hometown sometime in the future.

"Of course they would! You guys would get along just fine, same goes for Hikari." Shinji said.

"So do any of them know you're and Eva pilot?" Kensuke inquired.

"No. So far only my relatives know but then again, news does spread quickly around my village" Shinji admitted.

"Man, they are gonna be so jealous when they find out! I'm actually jealous myself! I would sell my soul to get the chance to pilot one of those Evangelions! They're beyond awesome!" Kensuke excitedly babbled.

Touji shook his head but Shinji gave Kensuke a hard look. "It's not all fun and games, Kensuke. It's actual combat. You could get seriously injured or even killed." While Shinji felt bad for putting down Kensuke's dreams and enthusiasm but he had to know the dangerous reality of an Eva pilot.

"When you pilot an Eva, you synchronize with it to move around but when it gets damaged, you feel that sensation as if you were getting hurt. And if that doesn't convince you, maybe this will…" Shinji sternly told Kensuke as he lifted up a tuft of his hair on the right side of his forehead to reveal the scar he had gotten during his first sortie. While it had healed and the stitches had been removed, it was still a nasty sight. Touji and Kensuke recoiled in shock.

"Holy…!"

"Dude, you got that from-"

"The Eva? Technically yes but I actually got this from my first battle with the Angels all the way back in June. Backhanded me so hard my Entry Plug flew straight out of my Eva, into your apartment and lunched me out of my seat where I banged my head against the interior." He explained, eyeing Touji knowingly.

"And that's when you saved my sister, right? So that's why she said your face was covered in blood!" Touji realized.

"Yeah, sorry for scaring her." Shinji apologized.

Kensuke slowly began to realize something. "So you were in the Entry Plug all these times…that means you actually got eaten during that battle weeks ago!" Kensuke remembered during the 2nd Angel incursion.

"Now that was an experience I'll never forget. I actually felt my legs got hacked off." Shinji shuddered. "Say…how do you know about that?"

Kensuke went rigid and blurted out, "We saw it on TV!"

"TV? Oh, right. I keep forgetting its televised nowadays." Shinji said, missing Kensuke breathe a silent sigh of relief.

"So since Rei is a pilot too, does that mean all of those bandages she had before was from the Eva?" Touji asked.

"Unfortunatly, yes. Misato said there was an accident during some kind of test and Rei got hurt real bad." Shinji solemnly revealed.

Touji and Kensuke were silent as they processed the information that was given to them. "I…I didn't know it was this hard on you." Touji said.

"It is. But someone's got to do it." Shinji answered.

"So then why did you and Rei join?" Kensuke asked.

"I still don't know how Rei got into Nerv but I myself didn't exactly 'join', I was more along the lines of strong-armed into this by my dad." Shinji said with hint of ire towards his father. Touji and Kensuke immediately noticed that decided not to press the matter further. This reveal about the Evangelions was very troubling to the both of them.

"Anyways, I'm sorry I had to shoot you down, buddy." Shinji said as he patted Kensuke on the back. "Evangelions may seem cool and all but it's certainly not what you imagine them to be. Besides, you wouldn't want your mother to worry if you got injured joyriding a 40 meter tall robot, would you?" He really wanted to say cyborg but he felt that they both didn't need to know too much.

Kensuke shifted his gaze to his feet, looking rather somber. "My mother died years ago, Shinji. She used to work at a steel mill but there was an industrial accident. I was so young back then didn't even remember what she was like. Now the only thing I've got to remember her by is from old photos my dad took."

Shinji was stunned to hear that. "Kensuke…I-I'm so sorry…"

"No worries. You didn't know and I can't hold that against you. Touji also lost his mother too." Kensuke said, earning him a hard smack to the back of his head by Touji. As Kensuke rubbed his head, Touji saw Shinji with a further stunned expression.

Touji sighed. "Yeah, I lost my mom too when I was kid. She used to work at Nerv but then she got involved in a car accident. You can probably guess the rest."

Shinji was utterly speechless. This must've been so hard on them; no one should ever have to lose their mother at such a young age. It felt all too familiar to him since had lost his mother as well. "You guys aren't alone." Shinji announced. The pair's mouths fell open. "Dude, you too?" Touji gasped.

"I was only four years old when she died. I can't even remember how it happened, no matter how hard I try. Next thing I know, my dad leaves me at a train station and disappears for 10 years." He said solemnly, bringing back dreadful memories of when he tearfully begged his father not to leave him alone with that uncaring jackass of a tutor.

Touji and Kensuke were silent for a full minuet in sympathy.

"Man…your dad's a grade-A douchebag." Kensuke commented.

"Thanks." Shinji said, cheering him up a little.

"Touji scratched his cheek a little. "Boy was this a total mood killer."

TOKYO-3 OUTSKIRTS

On a deserted road in the rural Japanese countryside, five unmarked, UN-issued trucks rode through the night, their headlights illuminating the dirt road they all drove on. In the cabin of the first truck, the passenger slid open the metal covering behind him to view large, red colored barrels in back. There were five of the in total and each of them had biohazard symbols emblazoned on the lids. The passenger looked at the barrels for several more seconds before the truck driver spoke.

"That's the eighth time I've seen you check those barrels, man. You gotta relax."

"Shouldn't there be a safer way to transport these things? Didn't those UN suits say that blood is radioactive?"

"Weren't you listening during the briefing? They were radioactive. But now they said the radioactivity has dissipated; meaning that it's safe to transport.

"So then why all of the biohazard symbols?"

"It's mutant dinosaur blood! You really want that shit splashing all over you?"

"Fair point."

"Besides, were almost there to Nerv so all we do is just drop off the samples and we can all go home." The driver pointed to the skylight of Tokyo-3 shining in the distance.

The passenger slid the metal covering shut and sat back in his seat before a question popped in his head. "What do you think Nerv's gonna do with all that blood?"

"Pffft. Hell if I know. I don't think I want to image what those loons will cook up next."

"Maybe a robotic MSC?"

"Ha! The day I see a giant cyber-dinosaur is the day is see pigs fly-"

SKACRAAAAASSSSH

TOKYO-3 OUTSKIRTS-THE NEXT DAY

The early morning sun rose above the mountains of their camping trip done, Shinji, Touji and Kensuke began packing up the tent gear and their belongings, bringing their little vacation to a close.

"Thanks again for inviting me along guys. I had a lot of fun! I know it kinda got a little dark near the end but-" Shinji thanked before he was cut off by Touji.

"Ah, don't sweat it. That subject was gonna pop up eventually and it actually felt good to get it off our chests." Touji assured him.

"Yeah! Besides, we just found out that we all share something in common…in a grim sorta way." Kensuke added. "We're like brothers!"

"Uh…right. Anyway, you want us to take you back?" Touji suggested.

"Nah. I got a knack for retracing my steps so I'll be home in no time. Plus I need the exercise. See you at school tomorrow, guys!" Shinji waved as he walked along the dirt road back to Tokyo-3.

"You too, Shin-man! See ya!" Touji called out.

"Later!" Kensuke added as he waved Shinji goodbye. As Shinji disappeared into the forest the trail led to, Kensuke remembered something and snapped his fingers. "Aw man! I forgot to ask him about the MSC! Nerv's gotta know something about it!"

"I dunno, I think nobody knows what it is or where it came from." Touji said, folding up his sleeping bag. "So I guess you're not into Evangelions anymore?"

"Think of it this way: I wouldn't ever want to pilot one but I still think they're badass." Kensuke proudly resolved.

Touji shook his head and smiled. "Only you, Kensuke."

TOKYO-3 OUTSKIRTS-MISATO'S APARTMENT

Misato carefully looked through one of Shinji's cookbooks before checking to see if she had all of the ingredients. Closing the book, Misato let out a sigh before getting up and preparing to cook for the first time in her life.

"Okay, you can do this. If you just follow the directions and don't screw around, you can show Shinji that you can cook…I just really hope this apartment is fire insured." Misato said to herself, mentally praying that she wouldn't end up burning anything this time.

She was just about to make herself breakfast (she tried to find the most simple recipe in the book) when her cell phone began to ring. She flicked it open and saw that she had a text from Shinji that read-

Morning,Misato!

Had a great time camping and I'm on my way back now.

I'll be there in time to make you breakfast!

C U Later!

Misato smiled at the message. It felt good to hear that he had a fun after that last battle with the Angels. She started to put away the ingredients but then wondered if she should leave them out for Shinji to use or surprise him by trying to cook breakfast for him.

Her phone rang again and with an annoyed eye roll, and looked at it too see that it was Hyuga calling her. She hit the talk button, guessing that it could've been important Nerv business or just a friendly chat.

"Morning, Hyuga. What's going….whoa, whoa, whoa just slow down. What?! Oh my God….I'm heading over there now. No there's no need for that; jacket's on, I'm out the door."

Misato rushed into her room, changed into her formal Nerv attire, texted Shinji that something had come up at Nerv and ran down through the parking garage to get to her Renault.

To be continued…

Hope this one didn't disappoint.

Again, another chapter detailing more about the characters as well as dropping some subtle hints here and there. Like I previously said, this was going to be longer but I cut it in half. New chapter shouldn't take too long, though.

Like his canon counterpart, Shinji doesn't remember his mother's death due to trauma induced amnesia. I also enjoyed introducing his friends from Hinamizawa but I altered their ages a bit. Keiichi, Rena, Mion and Shion are 14, Rena and Satoko are 13 while Satoshi is 16. As a reminder, it is a peaceful village, not the hive of mind-numbing insanity in canon.

I also made Misato and Ritsuko's friendship a little more tight-knit cuz they both need a break.

And yes, I made Ritsuko a lesbian in this fic because it was obvious she and Maya were meant for each other. This also reflects my views for I fully support same sex couples and marriages. PLEASE don't turn this into a flaming message board, PLEASE.

Don't forget to review but please don't flame.