Before i get things started,I would like to thank Rahhel for Beta-reading my first, second and soon-to-be third and fourth chapters. :) I'd also like to thank him for the ideas whenever I had writers block as well as the help to submit the story.
As far as pairings go. I havent decided.
"Did Shinji go back in time?" Well, I don't want to spoil anything. ;)
Once again: I dont own Eva. if I did, I'd take it much further than just 26 episodes and 2 movies.
Sunday
"Are you ready, Shinji?" he heard through the intercom.
Shinji readied himself as much as he could. "...Maybe." he said in a broken voice. It seemed strange to him that the Third Angel was just standing there in the outskirts of Tokyo-3.
"Final safety locks; release! Evangelion Unit 01; move out!" Misato had either missed the uncertainty in Shinji's voice or ignored it.
As the safety locks released from Unit 01's shoulders, Shinji felt them more relaxed than what he had expected to be.
With the bridge bunnies keeping an eye for any failures in the system, Ritsuko was free to view the battle that was soon to come. "Shinji, just concentrate on walking for now."
"...Walk..." he said to give his mental will a picture. He was, after all, a bit rusty.
The giant behemoth lifted its right foot and brought it down to the gravel in front of it with a thunderous boom. "He's walking!" Ritsuko was shocked that the walking process seemed to go without a hitch.
At the first signs of movement, Sachiel decided it was time to attack as it jumped off the hills and headed straight for Unit 01. "Shinji, look out!"
Shinji snapped his attention upward, "Shit!" he cursed and with all his might, he forced Unit 01 to jump straight to Sachiel, his feet came up and met with kicked Sachiel back to Tokyo-3's outskirts. Unfortunately, the umbilical cord reached its limit and Unit 01 came to a complete halt in mid-air. Gravity instantly replaced velocity as Unit 01 fell hard on one of the city's buildings. After a quick groan of pain, Shinji got Unit 01 back to its feet, severed the umbilical cable and went on the offense.
With Sachiel away from the city, there would be less damage done and hopefully, less people hurt. He quickly charged at the invading Angel, closing the gap with significant speed. Before the Angel had a chance to react, a massive purple fist smashed into contact with the Third Angels' bird-like face while it was trying to get back on its feet.
Inside the NERV base, everyone was in a mixture of awe and bewilderment. How could a Child, who had never trained in an Evangelion, pilot the giant bio-mechanical beast effortlessly? Not even Fuyutsuki could think of a thing to say as his mind was blank from watching Unit 01 barely dodged one of the energy nails that would have harpooned its chest. Eventually they began cheering the Third Child on.
Unit 01 reached for its Bowie progressive knife stored in its shoulder wing and charged again at Sachiel, only to slam against the Angel's AT Field. Finding that his slashing with the high frequency vibrating weapon useless against the AT Field, Shinji began to expanding Unit 01s AT Field to neutralize the Angels. What he found odd was that the Angels AT Field was growing stronger and he was finding it more and more difficult getting through.
"…The hell?" Shinji started as the immense force of Sachiel's AT Field tossed Unit 01 back like a rag doll. A strong sense of fear was welling up inside the boy as he began to think that something was dangerously wrong.
"Shinji, you're down to your last minute of power!" Misato shouted over the intercom. "Head back and plug in the umbilical cable to Unit 01's back!"
Shit! He had hoped he'd keep the fight away from the city but if the timer reached zero, he'd be a sitting target. "Right!" he shouted and raced back to where the end of the cable lay. Quickly connecting the cable to the Evangelion's back, he turned around to see if the enemy was after him. He deeply regretted it.
Still behind its glowing hexogonical wall, Sachiel, the Third Angel, grabbed the flaps of green flesh that were hiding its regenerating face and began pulling at them. A squeal of pain threatened to break several windows in Tokyo-3 as Sachiel pulled the flesh apart in a very Hulk Hogan-like fashion. But unlike Hulk Hogan tearing his shirt apart, the Angel seemed to have a whole new body underneath. Instead of having a protective bone-like structure on its shoulders and ribs, it was now covering most of the upper torso, lower legs and arms. Its head no longer sat on the body as it was now extending forward from its newly acquired neck. The energy nails it once adorned on the elbows changed into 5 massive claws. The index of those claws was as large as half the Angels' body in length! "No fucking way!" Misato shrieked.
"Shit." was all Shinji muttered as the newly evolved Sachiel charged at Unit 01 with unexpected speed. Jumping back, he managed to avoid a powerful swipe that would have done some major damage. Instead of hitting Unit 01, the long claws had managed to strike through a small building and the gravel streets below. There was no sound that came from the contact. It was like the claws or the world itself was an illusion. The only thing that proved otherwise is the deep marks that had seemed to appear from the building down to the gravel.
"Shinji!" Ritsuko shouted through the intercom. "Don't let it touch you!"
"No kidding!" Shinji hysterically shouted back. He was freaked out at what those claws could do to him, but what worried him the most was the fact that the Angel no longer had its core out in the open. Shinji figured that the core was inside. It has to be! There's no way this Angel could survive without it! Shinji thought as Sachiel charged towards Unit 01 again.
The advances Sachiel was making to Unit 01 were far swifter and quicker than he could register! The claws were barely grazing the armor on Unit 01's arms as it tried to defend itself but that was enough to display major damage on it. Quickly jumping back to get enough distance, Shinji looked down at Unit 01's arms. The marks on the armor looked like it was made that way. Almost as if the deep, unpainted grazes were made there before it was attached to Unit 01.
Apparently, Ritsuko saw this, too. "Shinji, get some distance!"
"I can't keep dodging like this!"
"Where're his defense systems?" she shouted to the bridge bunnies.
Maya frantically typed on her panel "The signal's not working!"
"Ah!" Shinji shouted before Sachiel charged at him again. Dodging the claws wasn't easy. It was even harder at night due to the low visibility. Shinji mentally cursed out loud as he back stepped onto a three story building, causing him to fall flat on his back.
"Shinji! Are you ok? Hurry! Hurry, you've got to get up!"
Misato's cries fell on deaf ears as one of Sachiel's index claw pierced through the chest armor like a needle through a pincushion. Shinji let out a scream and clutched the area just above his heart. "Wha...?" Shinji looked up through squinted eyes to see that the claw had just pierced the top portion of the entry plug.
"Chest plate; damaged! Internal damage; unknown!" shouted Aoba
Placing a foot on one leg and piercing the other with its remaining free hand, Sachiel began moving the claw down Unit 01's body slowly, as though relishing the torment it was exacting on the young pilot.
Shinji let out a pained groan. His knuckles were white from the grip on the butterfly controls.
"Shinji! Go for the arm and try go stay as close as possible!"
Unit 01 quickly moved to Misato's orders. Reaching up as much as he could, Unit 01 grabbed Sachiel's wrist and barely managed to pushed it off balance, forcing the Angel to take a few steps back and releasing Unit 01's legs and chest. The Angel let out a squeal of annoyance its now-standing opponent.
Despite the pain shooting from his chest and leg, Shinji wasted no time closing the gap in between to the point where it looked like Unit 01 was about to head butt the Angel. Unit 01 quickly grabbed the Angel's lower arms and began working to tear them off.
Sachiel didn't find it pleasant to have his arms ripped apart as the muscles in its upper body bulged and desperately tried to prevent Unit 01's onslaught.
Shinji was greeted with even more cheers from HQ, urging him to keep it up. He could almost feel the muscles in Sachiel's biceps began to tear. At this, Sachiel let out a massive point-blank blast from its eyes at Unit 01's face. The blast had completely engulfed Unit 01's body.
Shinji tried to prevent serious injury as he quickly placed Unit 01's hands over the chest plate armor. Unit 01 was slammed against the skyscrapers, still cupping the hole on its chest. Seeing Unit 01 losing the battle, Sachiel forced everything it had left into the blast. Shinji screamed as the temperature quickly rose to great heights. The LCL inside the entry plug came to a boil and the boy within passed out.
Monday
Shinji sat upright with a gasp. A cold sweat was covering his body as he panted for breath. After absorbing his surroundings, Shinji forced his pulse to slow back to normal as he listened to the sound cicadas.
A sigh escaped his lips as he dropped back onto the cold, uncomfortable hospital bed "I really hate that ceiling..." he muttered before getting up and grabbing the duffle bag that was sitting on the chair next to his bed. He still reeked of blood and he was pretty damn sure his neatly-folded clothes on the chair were starched with the foul orange liquid.
After a quick shower and a change of clothes, he stuffed his old clothes in the duffle bag. Shinji exited his room and stood in the hallway, nervously hoping for a chance to talk to his friend and co-worker.
After standing there for an hour, he began to wonder what was taking his albino friend so long to be carried across the hallway in a stretcher.
Finally! Shinji thought as the doors at the end of the hallway opened to allow a single nurse through. She was about to pass by until Shinji called out for her. "E—excuse me, Miss?"
The nurse turned around and smiled at the boy in front of her, she was wearing a standard nurses uniform, wore glasses and had brown hair tied up to a tight bun. She had a pretty slender figure and a pretty face to boot. "Yes?" she asked in a soft voice.
Shinji blushed a bit at the thoughts running through his head. "C-can you tell me where Rei Ayanami is?"
"Rei Ayanami?" she repeated placing a finger under chin in a cute-thoughtful expression. "Don't think I know anyone by that name. What's she like?"
Shinji nearly fell over at this. Exactly how many albinos are in this hospital? Maybe she's new... Shinji placed a flat hand a little bit lower than his height "She's about this tall, she's really quiet and she has blue hair and red eyes." he added jokingly.
"Oh, yeah!" he practically shouted. "I've met her. Real quiet. She left this morning."
"Sh—she did?" Shinji nearly shouted in disbelief.
"Uh-huh. Weird thing though; two days ago she was seriously injured. I mean, bruised ribs, huge gash on her side, bump on the noggin, arm in a sling and a messed up eye." the nurse looked at Shinji to see if he were still paying attention. Shinji nodded and she continued, "This morning, I went to check on her and I found her standing up staring out the window. There wasn't a scratch on her. I'd say that girl just experienced a miracle."
"Oh, I see."
"So, is she your girlfriend?" she asked teasingly.
Shinji blushed. "N—no! I mean. She's just a friend."
The nurse smiled sweetly at him. "Well, that's nice but you should visit her more often. Nobody came to visit her when she was here most of the month. Well, I better clock back in before I'm late. Later, kid." the nurse gave a faint wave and took off to the opposite side of the hall he had just entered.
Having no other reason to stay there, Shinji grabbed his duffle bag off the floor and made his way into the waiting room. There was a late-breaking news report showing on the TV in the corner. Unfortunately, the volume was so low; Shinji had to perk his ears to listen to what they were saying. "Our top story...yesterday's new Tokyo-3 explosion has government officials scrambling to make a-"
It was obvious that they wouldn't announce anything about the battle between Unit 01and the Angel. Like the many news reports he heard after every battle; the truth was kept secret to the public. As to why they were kept secret, Shinji didn't completely understand, but he had a feeling things would be chaotic if the public were to find out the truth.
"Hey." said a voice to his side.
"...Misato..." Shinji turned to face her.
"I came to pick you up!" she said in her usual cheery voice
While Misato moved to the front desk to fill out the papers for his release, Shinji went back to his thoughts. All through the journey, Kaworu never answered Shinji's questions. He just smiled goofily at him and kept on leading. Had Shinji been in a better state of mind and body, he'd give Kaworu a damn good piece of what he had coming to him.
"I heard you were feeling okay. I'm glad, Shinji."
Shinji's train of thought was derailed "Yeah, well..." he replied rather distant to Misato's kind words. Personally, he still felt like he couldn't look at her straight in the eye. It's not that he didn't trust her, but just glancing at her face brought back painful memories. It made it harder for him considering she knew nothing of what had happened nearly three years ago.
"I can take you to your place. HQ's taking care of you. You've rated Private Quarters."
"'Private Quarters.' does that mean that I'll be living here?" he asked glancing past the window at NERV Central.
"Well, yeah. You okay living alone?" she asked, giving him a worried glance. "If you submit to petition, you could arrange to live with your father"
That thought was extremely disturbing. "Nah. That's alright. I haven't lived with him for eight years so why bother now? It'd be best to stay apart. Besides, I think it'd be really awkward to move in with someone like him, don't you think?"
"Well..." she wondered with a thoughtful expression. She imagined herself living in the same quarters as the Commander. Did he even have his own sleeping quarters? Did he even sleep, for that matter? She could imagine waking up in the morning, taking her morning swig and physically expressing her taste buds excitement. Only to be cut short by the cold stare of one Commander Gendo Ikari as he walked to the fridge and poured himself a heaping helping of cold nails into his cereal bowl. Misato flinched from the mental sound of nails bending and breaking under the pressure of molars. "Uh, yeah…I see your point." still, though, a heavy feeling of loneliness always seemed to hover in her apartment every day. Every moment that passed felt like water slipping through her fingers. Suddenly an idea popped into her head, "Hey! Why not live with me? There's plenty of room in at my place and I could use the company." she added flirtatiously.
"Thanks for the offer," Shinji started, "but I don't want to impose."
"Don't be silly!" she brushed off his refusal. For some strange reason, once the idea came to mind, it felt right to be the young boy's charge. "We could be roommates! Think of all the fun we'll have."
And all the cleaning I'll have to be doing... Shinji rolled his eyes. "I really don-"
"Can I ask you something?" she interrupted
"Uhh..."
"Can you cook?"
"Uh, yeah…"
"And clean?"
"W—well, yeah, bu-"
"Even better!" she shouted with a twinkle in her eyes.
Shinji's blood was beginning to boil at the woman's ignorance. "You don't understand, I-"
"Don't worry, it's not like I'm gonna make a move on you." she winked at him reaching for her cell phone.
Shinji took a sharp breath. His lungs felt like they were filled with ice. His entire body felt like it was in shock at those words. Memories of last few minutes with Misato assaulted his mind in one giant burst. Without his knowing or will, his hands had formed two tight fists and were shaking uncontrollably. His face held a terrified look as if seeing a ghost before him. The blood that was threatening to boil over Shinji had suddenly erupted like a geyser and the next few words flew from his mouth like a madman's plea. "Dammit, you stupid, old hag! I told you I don't want to live with you, is it really that hard for that to get through your thick skull!" he screamed before slapping his hands over his mouth. Shit! He thought.
Across from him, Misato's cell phone fell from her hands and clattered to the floor as she stood in shock, slowly absorbing the words that had just been slapped to her face. After composing herself, Misato began making her way out the hospital. "Fine. You don't want to live in one of NERVs rooms or with your dad or with me. Fine." Shinji was about to follow but Misato stopped him, "I'll go on ahead and get your apartment. I'll pick you up on the way back." she snapped without turning back.
Shinji could only stand there, alone. The nurses and secretaries behind the front desk had witnessed the entire scene unfold in front of them but they just tried their best to ignore it...at least until they were left alone to gossip. Shinji went back to the seats, sat next to his duffle bag and waited for his ex-guardian to come for him. "Maybe the 'old hag' comment was a bit too much..." he sighed.
-------
Misato's drive to the main conference room that was held in the stalactite buildings was, well...less than quiet and calm. Throughout the entire drive, she had managed to force twenty-three pedestrians to jump out of her way. "I want him to have the shittiest apartment you got!" she shouted after stomping her way past the doors of the conference room where the meeting with Terada Jinzaburo, the man behind the Residence Assigning Department, or as Ritsuko would call it (much to their dislike): RAD, took place.
"B—but, ma'am. He's the Commander's son! P—practically VIP!" said the bewildered, yet frightened man.
Misato shot him a cold glare, "Are you disobeying orders?" her eye began to twitch again.
"N—no ma'am!" he shrieked. "I'll have to room ready for him in four hours!"
"Make it one!"
"Yes, ma'am!" and he ran off to the nearest elevator to edit the paperwork.
The feeling of getting even seemed to have simmered her down a bit as she made her way back to the hospital to pick up a certain jerk!
-------
On the way to his new home, Shinji couldn't help but think that everyone they passed would probably jump him if given the chance. "Um, is this the right place?"
Misato easily noticed the nervousness in his voice. Fidgeting every now and then at the stares people around them were giving the moving Alpine. Misato wasn't worried. She had ordered Section Two to keep a very close eye on the Third Child. They instantly agreed because she was still in a huffy mood. "Yup!" she replies all too cheery for Shinji's taste "This is your new home. Your stuff should already be delivered."
"Great!" Shinji said in mock enthusiasm as they passed a demolition site. The scene was very depressing as he watched two homeless men fighting for a piece of, what appeared to be beef jerky.
After parking her car and assigning more Section Two agents to guard her Alpine, Misato lead Shinji to the elevators; which weren't functioning. So they settled with having to climb to the seventh floor, much to Misato and Shinji's dislike.
They stopped in front of apartment number 296. Shinji noticed the newly installed lock and steel door. Everything else looked like it was on the verge of collapsing. The walls were cracked, the railing behind him rusting to bits on the cracked concrete floor. And the best view for the demolition crew. Great. Just great. Shinji thought.
Misato swiped the card through the reader, allowing the door to slide open with a hiss.
Upon entering the tiny bland apartment (possibly tinier than Rei's) Shinji looked for a clean place to put his duffle bag down. Unfortunately, the only clean place to put anything down was the new bed in the corner or above the new fridge next to the smaller fridge. Shinji wondered if they gave him his own PenPen.
"Well, guess I'll see ya at work. Don't forget you have school tomorrow at No. 1 Public Middle school. Section Two'll show you where it is. Bye-e-e-e-e." she waved, again; all too sweetly.
In a way, Misato's very much like- Shinji dismissed the thought. He looked around his new home. The floor seemed to have layer upon layer of dust with the exception of several footsteps other than his or Misato's, the windows were barred. Entering the bathroom, Shinji quickly closed it. It seemed he might have to start cleaning there first.
Walking back to the "kitchen" he turned the faucets and orange water poured out. He then turned the other faucets to clear out all the rust. The fridge was new, so there was no point in checking it, as was the same with the bed. It was the other fridge that had peaked his curiosity. He opened the door and tried to see what was inside but everything was pitch-black. He carefully reached in search for the lightbulb and twisted it clockwise.
The light flickered on and Shinji focused at what the small fridge held. His eyes grew wide at the sight. He quickly withdrew his hand and slammed the fridge door shut. He sat down in front of it and leaned as much weight as he could on the fridge; which began to buck on its own.
After a few seconds of bucking, the sound of shattered glass could be heard inside. Shinji figured the lightbulb must've been broken. A heavily sweating Shinji slowly and quietly got to his feet and wiped the sweat off his forehead with an arm. Clearly, the first thing he had to do now was to buy some rope from the nearest store!
-------
"That little a-hole called me an old hag! Can you believe the nerve of that-"
"And you're not?" Ritsuko asked jokingly from the safety of being on the end of the line.
"If I'm an old hag, what does that make you, Ritsu?" Misato shot back from her tub.
"…Shut up."
Misato sighed. "He may be a jerk, but still. Before the attack, we were getting along fine…I think."
"So, why the sudden change?"
"I don't know. I guess he must like living alone. He should know it's not all that's cracked up to be."
Ritsuko pulled out a cigar from its carton, stuck it between her lips and lit it. She deeply inhaled and let its toxins calm her nerves. "And judging from where you had him placed; you still want him to move in, right?"
Misato nearly banged her head on the tubs faucet. "Of course I don't!"
"Oh, spare me, Misato. There's so much violence in that part of the city, even the roaches in that neighborhood might hold you at gunpoint for the glue on the back of a stamp." she took out the cigar and took a sip or two of coffee. Her face contorted at its temperature. "Face it; you want him to beg you to move in."
"Alright! So what if I am!"
"Calm down. I know what it's like to be lonely sometimes. If you want, I can probably get him to move in."
Misato's face twisted in disgust, "Why would I want that jerk here? I mean, I already have PenPen."
"True, but I don't think you'd have a decent conversation with your penguin unless you're drunk. And I doubt he'd listen to you if you asked it to clean the place up a bit. Who knows, your apartment might become habitable."
"My place is habitable!"
Ritsuko rolled her eyes. "Sure it is. So what do you say?"
"Well..." Misato put some thought to this. "Go ahead and ask. But I'm not expecting him to go along with it."
"Good. Well, I got to go. I have to work on the shooting simulation with Maya."
"I thought Maya hated guns."
"Don't be dense." Ritsuko chuckled, "I was referring to the Evangelion."
"Yeah, I know. I know."
"I'll come by your place tomorrow. Just do me a favor; clean the place up a bit."
"Pfft! No way! That's what I'm getting a roomie for!"
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow." Ritsuko said once her laughter died down.
"Not too early."
"Believe me; I know what you look like in the morning!" Ritsuko said before turning off the phone with another chuckle before Misato had the chance to retort.
-------
Kozo walked into the dark looming office of Gendo Ikari and made his way to his usual spot beside the Commander. "I received news that Rei's been dismissed from the hospital."
"What's her status?" he asked getting up and looking out the window behind his desk.
"The Doctors say she's perfectly healthy, but to give her another days rest."
"Interesting." came the cold reply as he placed his hands behind his back. "Begin taking Unit 00 out of cryo-stasis."
"Doesn't is seem strange to you that Rei's heavy injuries are suddenly healed in less than a month? Let alone the night the Third Child arrived." Kozo Fuyutsuki was one of few men that question the Commander in this manner and lived to tell about it.
"Nevertheless, now that Rei's condition has improved, we can begin Rei's synchronization test with Unit 00 ahead of schedule."
"Understood."
Tuesday
Shinji made his way from the principal's office to the entrance door of class 2-A. He stood there for about ten minutes wondering if he should run back to his apartment or enter the class. An image of a small fridge bounded with rope flashed across his mind and forced him to choose the latter. He inhaled deeply, held it for about five seconds and let it out again. Once he knew he was calm (or as much as he could be) he grabbed the handle and pulled the door open.
The reaction was as expected. The class would turn to the sound and the teacher would keep ranting on about life before 2nd Impact. The rosy hue on his cheeks was also expected as Shinji hung his head a bit to avert the five pairs of eyes staring at the newcomer.
The teacher hadn't seemed to notice anything yet, seeing as he was talking to the window. Speaking of which... Shinji raised his eyes to find that neither Rei, Kensuke nor Toji were there. He quickly found great interest in his shoes.
"Excuse me, teacher." Hikari called out.
Eiji Maruyama, an old hunchbacked teacher with permanently squinted eyes, turned to see the boy standing before his desk looking at his shoes. "Ah. Thank you Ms. Horaki." he walked over to his desk and grabbed the note Shinji held out to him. After reading it three times to make sure he didn't mispronounce the young boy's name, he raised his head to the class. "Children, we have a new student. Would you like to introduce yourself?" obviously, he needs thicker lenses...
"Uh...m—my name is-" he seemed to be out of breath again. "-is Shinji Ikari." he bowed. "P—pleased to meet you!" most of the class giggled at the new boy's shyness.
Now that the name was verified; "Is there anything about yourself you'd like to tell the class, Mr. Ikari?"
"Um, not really..." he answered in his bowed position.
"You can stand up, now." a small wave of laughter rang through the room as Shinji stood straight up. "Now, do any of you have any questions for Mr. Ikari?" Three hands shot up into the air. "Yes, Ms. Mihashi."
Asami Mihashi was one of the few sport-fanatic girls in the class. She was also the tallest one beating Asuka's height by nearly two inches. Her black hair was cut very short and she was often found hanging around with the guys. Despite her interest in boys when around girls, she was also very tomboyish of the entire class. "Why did you move here after what happened yesterday?"
"Uh..." Shinji faltered
"You are aware of what happened, right?"
"W—well, um...m—my dad lives here, so..." well, it was true. Luckily, that question seemed to have been another student's exact question as well.
"Any more questions?" the teacher asked. Only one hand came up this time. "Mr. Tanaka."
Makio Tanaka, the short boy that most bullies seemed to always pick on at school. It's not because he was looked different or anything, it's because he usually has a knack for getting himself into trouble. Makio always thought of himself as "cooler than the rest" because he has a habit of combing his hair back with a combknife. Not to mention he always had a habit of putting his foot in his mouth. "What kind of music do you listen to?"
At this, Shinji perked up a bit. "Well...I listen to a lot of kinds. But I mostly like classical."
"Anyone else before we continue the lesson?" asked the teacher. He squinted his eyes more to see if there were any hands in the air. At the teacher's words of "lesson" four hands shot into the air. Then they were joined by their other hand. "Alright, let's get back to the lesson, then." everyone groaned; even Shinji. "Mr. Ikari, you may have a seat anywhere you'd like for today. We'll get you an assigned seat tomorrow."
Shinji nodded and chose the seat he always sat on.
"Oh, and Ms. Horaki, would you be so kind as to give Mr. Ikari a tour of the school?"
Shinji audibly gulped. He hadn't expected the tour.
"Yes, sir."
What could he say? No? He didn't need one? Every disaccord he could think of could arouse suspicion. All he could do is sit at his desk and try to stay awake.
About five minutes later, his eyes were drooping; threatening to close. It felt nice. He tried to open his eyelids but his pupils seemed to follow the comforting darkness the lids were giving him. He couldn't take it anymore and with a loud clunk, his head slammed against the desk.
The class didn't say anything as they were too entertained chatting away in the chatrooms or playing games.
Shinji was lightly shaken awake about, what felt like, two seconds later by Hikari. "Ikari, wake up. It's lunch time."
"Huh?" Shinji's addled brain tried to kick-start. It failed as he tumbled to the floor. Hikari giggled a bit as she watched him get back up. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it. It happens more often than you think." she smiled at him. "C'mon, I'll show you where the cafeteria is."
"Yeah, sure." he dusted himself off a bit and follows the class rep out the door.
-------
At about the same time, in another part of the city, Misato woke up scratching her itchy belly. She greeted her warm-water roomie with a yawn and opened the green fridge that held her elixir of life. Pulling the tab back, she brought the cold aluminum to her lips and drank its sweet nectar. Slamming the can onto the dining room table, Misato let out her raucous hoot for the day.
"That must be Ritsu." had the doorbell rung before her morning drink; Misato would have walked to the door with a bat in hand. But now that she was in her cheery mood. She merrily skipped to the front door. Changing her demeanor to that of a smug victory grin, she opened the steel door with a hiss. "So, Shinji, decided to change your m-" she blinked at the two standing before her. "Morning, Rei. Morning, Ritsuko."
Rei nodded in acknowledgement. "Good morning."
"Morning." she said, amused at Misato's reactions.
"So, what's up?" she asked on tiptoes looking over Ritsuko's shoulder.
"He should be at school by now." was Ritsuko's simple answer, knowing who Misato was looking for.
"Didn't you talk to him?" Misato asked gesturing the two inside, then followed.
"Dear god!" she heard Ritsuko whisper from the living room. "When was the last time you cleaned this place?"
Misato gave a sheepish grin, "Well...I have to have a first time to get a last, you know."
God, this is college-life all over again. She thought to herself.
Misato made her way to the kitchen. "You guys want something to drink or eat?"
Ritsuko stopped Rei from raising her hand and speaking out. Rei looked at the Doctor in confusion as her head shook. She then lowered her arm. All she wanted was a glass of water.
"We're good."
"So what happened with Shinji?"
"I spoke with him this morning." her tone then turned to one of seriousness, "God, Misato, you really gave him a horrible apartment. Don't you have any compassion for the poor kid?"
"He called me an 'old hag', what would you have done?" she huffed as she came into the living room with a beer in hand.
Ritsuko sighed. "Anyway, he chose to stay there."
"So Rei's staying here, instead?" Misato asked eyeing the bluehead. (Hey, you can say redhead, but not bluehead?)
"Well, she doesn't have much choice. Her apartment was crushed during the attack last night."
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that, Rei."
Rei turned to her new guardian with a blank expression on her face, "Why?"
"Well, a lot of your stuff was probably crushed-"
"She didn't have much to begin with." Ritsuko said pulling out a fresh carton of cigarettes. "So you're going to have to get her a new uniform. Not to mention edible food."
Misato scratched her head in frustration, "Well, I guess we have to have a party tonight, huh?"
Rei blinked. "Why's that?"
"It's a welcoming party in honor of my new roommate, of course!" she grinned at the young girl. "Hey, Ritsu, care to join in on the fun?"
"Sorry, I have to head back to HQ. I left Maya alone last night to work on the simulation. If I don't help her out, she'd never get it done. And we still have the repairs for Unit 01 to worry about."
"Alright, but you're gonna miss out on all the fun." she said in a teasing tone.
Ritsuko wouldn't buy into this. She had known Misato for almost ten years. "Funny." she droned as Misato showed her the door.
A final word of parting and Misato closed the door. She turned around to find Rei still waiting for her in the livingroom staring at her. "Alright! I guess I'll show you where you're room's at. Then we'll head to the market place and then your school, alright?"
Rei nodded.
Misato inwardly sighed. This is gonna be a long day. She could already feel it...
-------
Back at school, the day was finally over. Shinji gathered his things and was about to head for home but Hikari was already waiting for him at the door. "Ready?" she asked.
Shinji mentally sighed and nodded. He had nearly forgotten he had to spend afterschool with the class rep.
They walked all over the school, Hikari showed him where the basketball court is, the swimming pool, the track area, the library, even the emergency exits! The entire tour lasted about an hour and they were both making their way to the front gates. "Hey, Ikari. Can I ask you something?"
"You can call me Shinji, if you'd like." he said casually.
"Okay, Shinji. What's the real reason you moved here?"
Shinji blanched a bit but kept his pace with that of Hikari's. "I already told you; because my dad lives here."
Hikari's face distorted to a small frown. "I'm not as gullible as the others in the class. I mean, there was an attack going on while everyone was in the shelters." she turned her gaze from Shinji to the front gate "If your dad cared about you, he wouldn't have brought you here in the first place." she added as an after thought. It was about five steps that she realized she was walking alone. "Shinji?" she asked turning back.
Shinji had just frozen on the spot where Hikari had mentioned his dad. His bowed head hid his eyes from view. Fists clenched at his sides.
"Shinji, are you okay?" she asked worriedly walking to him. The boy didn't answer her so she took another careful step closer, "...Shinji?"
"Huh?" Shinji looked up with a startled expression on his face. "Oh, sorry. I guess I just zoned out." he chuckled. "Thanks for giving me that tour. I gotta go! I'll see you tomorrow!" he shouted as he ran through the gate and towards his home.
Hikari didn't respond. She was deep in thought. What was all that about? I was talking about his dad... she mentally kicked herself for saying such a tactless thing and began heading for home, just as a bright blue Renault Alpine A310 hurtled into the school parking lot.
-------
Giant tombstones... That's what was going through Shinji's head as he walked down his neighborhood. He noticed that there were more lights on in the buildings than there were yesterday. Maybe they lost their homes during the attack.
Entering apartment 296, Shinji walked to the foot of his bed and let gravity take its course. Turning around, he looked up at the ceiling and frowned a bit at his grumbling stomach. Giving in to hunger, Shinji got up and reached for the fridge.
It was well stocked and everything appeared to be fresh. He gave a slightly bitter glance at the smaller fridge. He bent over to make sure the rope was secure, then went back to make dinner.
He didn't feel like cooking anything seeing as there was still much to do to clean the apartment. Not to mention the lack of cookware in the small condo. He settled for a plain sandwich.
When he finished, he fell on the bed again and stared at the ceiling, trying to recall what had happened last night. Again; no memories surfaced. Shinji found this strange. Normally when he went berserk he could recall what had happened later on. But for some reason, he wasn't getting anything.
He remembered everything up to the point where the LCL began to boil him like a human lobster. After that: nothing, zero, zilch, nada. "Screw it." he mumbled sitting up to grab his sleeping clothes and got ready for bed.
-------
"LET'S EAT!"
"Let's eat."
Misato was on her seventh can of Yebisu that afternoon and she managed to chug its entire contents in the first shot. Once again, she let out a raucous hoot, slammed the can down and burped. "Good stuff!"
Rei blinked at Misato, and then continued eating her instant vegetarian meal. The amount of alcohol the Captain consumed bewildered the First Child. Throughout the day, she had consumed more than the legal amount and was still able to drive them home. And just from looking around the apartment…if it had been true that the Captain had just recently moved in, and all the bottles and cans of alcohol were drunk by her alone… Rei decided not to think about it anymore. It was making her head hurt.
"So, Rei, you ready for school tomorrow?"
Rei chewed twenty more times before swallowing. "Yes."
Misato faltered a bit at Rei's social skills but quickly regained herself. "Well, we have your book bag ready, laptop, shoes, pens, pencils, erasers, and your new uniform." she had been a bit bothered about Rei's wardrobe when they got home. Only then did it hit her that the First Child never wore anything else besides that or the plug suit at NERV. "Hey, you wanna go shopping this weekend?"
"For what?"
"What do you mean, 'for what?'"
Rei blinked—clearly a sign of confusion.
Misato sighed, "you're not just gonna wear your school uniform, are you?"
"That is all I require."
Misato's mood drooped a bit. "Never mind. Why don't you go take a bath?"
"Yes, ma'am." Rei said monotonously, getting up and making her way to the bathroom.
"I already told you, drop the formalities and call me Misato, would you?" she groaned.
"Yes, Misato." she said just as monotonous as before, shutting the bathroom door.
Misato went for another beer. I was right. Today was a very, very long day. The girl's impossible to tease.
PenPen came out of the bathroom and glanced at Misato. After giving the woman a sympathetic pat on the leg with his flipper, he waddled to his fridge.
Reviews are very much appreciated. it fuels my imagination. :)