Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of its characters. All characters are the property of Gainax. I make no profit by writing this story so don't sue me 'cause I haves no money.
AN: Well I hope that the story progresses to your satisfaction! If you have any ideas let me know and I'll see about working them in. I write for da people!
Shinji's screams of pain had stopped long ago. Now he only hung, suspended in the LCL, appearing as soulless as Rei Ayanami herself. On occasion he would nod his head in answer to a question, sometimes from the good doctor and sometimes from his father, but otherwise he was motionless. Rei had not come back as she had said she would. Perhaps a thought that would have occurred to some would be that she was ordered not to, but for Shinji every thought was brief and fleeting. "What is your purpose, Shinji Ikari?" His father's cold voice penetrated the fog of his mind like a hot knife. "My purpose is to defend humanity from the threat of the angels." Gendo smiled at this, a rare and ghastly sight to be sure. "Good. You are dismissed."
Doctor Akagi pressed a large green button with an air of gravity, as though she thought the commander's decision unwise. "Sir, we still don't understand what-" Gendo looked at her with his usual stone-faced glare and she quickly grew silent as the LCL began to drain from the tube. Even when the LCL was gone Shinji did not stir. He simply hung, suspended in the air by the nylon bindings around his wrists and ankles. He was still nude, but seemed not to care in the least. He did not stir, did not speak, and if one wasn't looking closely they would think he was not breathing either.
Ritsuko stepped forward into the tube as part of the glass slid away automatically to form a door for her. She reached down and deftly unbound his ankles, causing his feet to drop to the floor and his legs to straighten. When she released his wrists he simply collapsed in a heap on the floor, eyes wide and watching her alertly though the rest of his body refused his every command. "Captain Katsuragi has requested that the boy become her charge and live with her." Ritsuko spoke almost casually as she injected Shinji with a strange bluish liquid from a syringe. Gendo spoke in monotone as usual. "I find that an acceptable arrangement. You will take the boy to her residence." Ritsuko gave a curt nod and stepped out of the chamber, which Shinji had spent seven long days in. "Yes sir." She responded just as flatly as Shinji shakily rose to his feet, finding new energy and not caring where it came from.
When Gendo had left Ritsuko and Shinji alone she made a quiet disapproving noise and looked at the haggard boy for several minutes. "You have some clothing under the desk; your school uniform. Put it on and I will drive you to the apartment complex the Captain lives at." Shinji nodded and walked behind the desk that had been such a mystery to him in the beginning. Now it was just a desk and a somewhat large computer monitor along with a standard keyboard. A few buttons were on the desk itself, but these did not interest him as they once might have.
Once he had his school uniform on he turned and looked at her with sad blue eyes and asked a single question. "What time is it?" Ritsuko marveled at the fourteen-year-old boy. Here he was, finally free from the torturous testing and the attempted brainwashing experiment and he was still so quiet and restrained. Truth be told the only visible difference between what he was like when she first saw him at the elevator and the way he looked now was a small scar on his right arm where the tissue sample had been taken and the way his eyes looked. They were eyes full of sadness and pain, a living testament to what he had endured further brought to attention by the deep purple bags under his eyes.
"The time is oh five-hundred hours. Why do you ask Third Child?" Shinji looked at her seriously for several long moments, as though her statement was information more valuable than gold. "I would much rather go to school today and simply walk to the complex after the day has ended. Would that be acceptable?" Ritsuko frowned as she considered this, and then nodded her head in agreement. "However I would like you to walk to the school from the complex so that you can learn the route. Are you sure you want to go to school Shinji? I was told by the commander that due to your… little display against the third angel that you would have the option of attending school or not."
Shinji looked at her in confusion for several minutes as he processed this in his mind. After a few minutes he nodded but still looked confused. "I want to go, but why would my father be kind enough to give me that option?" Ritsuko's next words were given in a rather matter-of-factly tone, as though it were obvious. "He doesn't want there to be any conflicts between yourself and students that are unsure of what to think of you." Shinji nodded and his eyes dulled some upon hearing his father's real intentions. "So he doesn't want me to be involved in any unfortunate incidents with the general population because that would look bad on him and the rest of Nerv." Ritsuko nodded curtly and without a word walked toward what Shinji could now tell was indeed an exit.
Shinji stood on the steps that led into the school with a small torn slip of paper in his hand that read simply "Class 2-A." With a small smile Shinji walked into the building, only seeing a few other students sitting outside in the early morning sun. The moment he was inside he took a deep breath of the filtered air inside and enjoyed the artificial breeze generated by the air conditioning. As he looked about he saw a few other students roaming the hall aimlessly, none of them seeming to take notice of him in their early morning daze. One of them however was watching him with narrow, accusing brown eyes. He was muscular and wore a black tracksuit issued by the school to its athletic students. His short black hair was swept back and his mouth was set in a taught line across his face.
The boy stood and moved to stand in Shinji's way, forcing him to stop or bump into the jock. Shinji opted to stop and looked at the boy with a warm smile, extending his hand to shake in greeting. "Hi, I'm Shinji Ikari." The jock only stood there and looked at Shinji angrily, not saying anything for several long minutes. "I know who you are, you sick bastard! You're the guy that killed the angel. The one that let it fall. And you're the one that got my little sister hurt!" By the time he finished his statement the jock's face was turning red and he was yelling loudly. Shinji seemed to shrink away as he dropped his hand, casting his eyes to the ground. People began to stare at the two of them and Shinji could hear hushed whispers.
"My name is Toji Suzuhara, and I'm going to kick your skinny ass!" Shinji winced as Toji picked him up by the collar of his shirt with one hand and raised the other into a fist. "Toji don't! He could kill you with both hands behind his back you idiot!" Toji looked over at a smaller boy of about the same age and growled wrathfully. "I don't care, Kensuke! I don't care…" the boy pushed his round glasses up his small nose and sighed, closing his eyes. Toji turned back to the small figure squirming in his grasp and pulled his fist back. "This is for my sister you rotten piece of shit!" He brought his fist flashing forward and in an instant Shinji's world was dark.
He awoke in a bed, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. He turned his head to look to his left and saw that he was in a small room, a desk set against the wall at the far end of the room and a dresser near the end of his bed. His cello was the only thing unpacked among the small number of boxes and this was only because he had refused to put it in a box because it might have gotten damaged in the move if he had. He found it leaning against the wall near his dresser with the bow on the floor next to it. When he kicked the covers away he found that he had been undressed to his boxers and blushed faintly at the thought of his new guardian undressing him. The embarrassment was quickly shoved aside however as he moved to sit at the end of his new bed and picked up his instrument, then set it in front of him and began to play a soft slow tune that he had just learned. It was one that often instilled a feeling of sadness and loneliness and he thought that it reflected him nicely.
Misato knocked on his slightly cracked door, causing it to open and let more light into the room from the hall outside. When she saw him bent over his instrument slightly, face serious and eyes shut as the bow moved across the strings of his cello fluidly thanks to a practiced hand, she stopped and forgot what she had been going to say. She found herself instead lost in the music he was making, the melody bringing a single tear to her left eye as she listened. When he finally let the flow of music come to an end she found herself quietly applauding and smiling uncontrollably. "Shinji that was…Amazing. Your file said that you were an amateur and that you lacked notable skills with your instrument, but that was…"
Shinji opened his eyes and looked at her with a small smile, his face reddening slightly at the compliment as he laid his cello against his bed and placed the bow beside him. "I'm not that good Captain. I just had a fantastic teacher." Misato frowned at the use of her title for a moment and shook her head. "Call me Misato, and of course you're good!" Shinji's smile widened slightly and he seemed to begin to accept the compliment. "Well thanks Cap-…I mean Misato. So this is your apartment?" Shinji looked around his room for a moment and then at the door that led out of it. "OH! Duh! I meant to give you the tour!" Misato walked over to him briefly and grasped his hand in hers, then began to lead him about the apartment, showing him the rooms in it to which he gasped at the state of filth each was in.
When the tour was finally over he found himself sitting in the small kitchen across the table from Misato who only looked at him innocently and tossed a can of Yebisu over her shoulder onto the pile of cans and instant dinner trays that he supposed must cover the trashcan. "What's wrong Shinji?" Shinji only shook his head in disbelief, just barely managing to close his mouth. "Your apartment is a mess Misato. Doesn't that bother you?" Misato only shook her head with a small smile and walked over to the fridge to get another can of Yebisu. When she opened the door she seemed to quietly berate someone under her breath and came back holding a can. She sat down with a plop and seemed agitated.
"Is something wrong Misato?" The purple haired woman looked at him curiously for a moment until it dawned on her what he was talking about. "Oh yeah I'm fine!" Shinji nodded and decided not to press the matter further. After several moments Shinji stood up and began walking toward the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower now Misato." Misato nodded and gulped down the rest of her beer. "Alright Shinji. I'll make us some dinner!" Shinji didn't reply but instead got into the shower and began to wash himself clean.
When he got out he tried Misato's 'cooking' and made the first meal they would share together in the Katsuragi apartment. Misato was slightly insulted, and Pen Pen was happy that he had scared the living hell out of a teenage boy taking a shower.