Redemption

Six years after Third Impact, the planet faces another supernatural threat. Will Shinji step up this time as Earth's protector and redeem his past mistakes? Or will he fail and leave humanity to perish again? A story of how Shinji grows as a person and as a hero with the help of a good friend, supernatural abilities, and the impending destruction of the planet.

"Speech" 'Thoughts' –Flashback–

I do not own Evangelion or any of its characters.

The smell of tobacco fills the room, music playing in the background, people's chattering and the occasional loud speaking of drunk customers don't seem to disturb a brown-haired, somewhat muscular and tall young man, having his third whisky glass of the night. Staring at nothingness, he misses his friend calling out to him.

- "Shinji-kun, you're doing the thing again" A silver haired man with red eyes and a smile says for the second time and finally gets the attention of our hero.

- "And what is this "thing" you keep talking about Kaworu? And please drop down from the bar counter, it is not appropriate," said Shinji.

- "Thinking of your princess of course" said Kaworu with a smile while looking at Shinji. "And why should I get down from here? Only you can see me after all"

- "She's not my princess"

- "Yeah sure, if that is the case why don't you find yourself a lady tonight then? It is quite sad to be getting drunk alone in a bar at your age" "For example, that lovely lady from across the room keeps looking your way, I bet she is interested in conversing with you"

This made Shinji blush slightly and focusing his eyes on the woman a few seats from where he was, exchanged a look with a short black-haired woman, with eyes green like pasture and traces of starlight around her pupils. Mesmerized by the glow of her eyes, he missed the way she smiled and dropped her eyes to focus in the glass currently in between her hands. "That is your signal to go and present yourself Shinji-kun" said Kaworu, pulling him out of his trance and making him mentally shake his head to gather his thoughts. 'Well, here goes nothing, I guess'.

Walking over to the girl, boy was he nervous; hiding his hands in his pockets they started sweating as if they were in a sauna of their own.

- "Keep your composure Shinji, we don't want her to know how bad you are with girls" said Kaworu in a mocking tone and with a grin while floating beside him.

- "Shut your trap! I am calm, leave me alone for a minute we'll talk later," said Shinji.

- "Hey there, is this seat taken?" asked Shinji mentally congratulating himself for not stuttering.

- "Hello, not at all, do you wish to join me? Asked the woman, to which Shinji gave a small nod and proceeded to sit, taking a drink from his glass and turning to face her and extend his hand in greeting.

- "Ikari Shinji, a pleasure meeting you" said Shinji with a small smile, silently thanking the alcohol for his sudden rise courage.

- "Kaguya, and the pleasure is all mine" said the woman returning the smile.

- "May I interest you in sharing a drink with me then, Kaguya-san?"

- "Of course! A glass of whisky like yours would be fine" said Kaguya

Nodding slightly, Shinji called on the bartender and asked for two glasses of whisky. Upon closer inspection, our hero was finding this new woman quite stunning, especially those starstruck eyes of her, so much so that he didn't realize he was staring straight at her and causing a slight discomfort in Kaguya.

- "Do I have something in my face? You're staring Ikari-san" said Kaguya blushing a little and diverting her eyes towards the glass.

- "Not at all, I-I'm sorry I was just thinking how pretty your eyes are" This got Kaguya blushing more now, feeling a little embarrassed. However, Shinji could see a glimpse of a smile in her face and mentally high fived himself for the compliment.

- "Way to go Shinji-kun, you seem to be handling this surprisingly well considering your history with girls" said Kaworu inside Shinji's head. 'Shut up you, I thought I told you to leave me alone!' thought Shinji, somewhat angry at his friend intrusion.

- "Would you like to dance a little, Kaguya-san?"

- "I'm not much of a dancer, so I apologize in advance if I step on you or make you uncomfortable" Said Kaguya and proceeded to take his hand and let herself be led to the dance floor. As soon as Shinji grabbed her hand, he felt a weird sensation, like sparks in his fingertips, as if their AT-Fields were colliding and generating electricity. It wasn't uncomfortable he deemed, he kind of liked it and only made him more curious about who this woman was, with starlight eyes and electric skin. Placing one hand on her hip, pulling her close enough that their hips were almost touching, and grabbing her mirroring had with his free one, he started guiding her through a normal dance while making some more small talk. It seemed Kaguya arrived in Tokyo 3 a few days ago and was still adjusting to the way of life, according to her she's from rural Japan, and is not accustomed to seeing so many people together and bustling streets. For being the epicenter of Third Impact, Tokyo 3 certainly made a quick rebound after people started coming out of Instrumentality and building their life back together. Those were some troubled first month for Shinji, especially when it was only Asuka and him, and he wasn't exactly in the mood for reminiscing right now, not with this beautiful woman in front of him dancing.

- "So Ikari-san, you are currently working at NERV Japan as a standby pilot and studying a career in music in college" Said Kaguya with a smirk "You seem to be quite the catch, however I thought that after Third Impact, the Evangelion Project was halted by the United Nations in fear of repeating the same events, so I don't know if I should believe your story"

- "You're not wrong, however after a few months of discussing what to do with the remaining EVAs they came to the conclusion that storing them in case another enemy like the Angels were to attack, we wouldn't be helpless" Explained Shinji, pulling her closer enough that their noses were touching and he could feel the accelerating breathing of Kaguya in his face.

- "And if you don't believe me I guess I'll just have to show you one of these days" He said to her ear in a whisper that made her halt her breath and lean her head towards his chest and move her hands to his neck.

In a low whisper she said "I would like that very much" before looking up and standing in her tiptoes, kissing Shinji in his cheek, and looking straight into his eyes right after as if she were trying to read what he was thinking right now. "You have beautiful eyes to, Shinji" said Kaguya.

At hearing this, drunken Shinji stopped dancing and was staring into her eyes, frozen like a brick wall for a few seconds before strengthening his grip in her hips, pulling her forward, closing his eyes and crashing his lips in hers, passionately kissing her and forgetting all about their dancing. Surprised by his sudden action, but not disgusted by it, Kaguya placed both hands behind his head and deepened the kiss, earning a groan from Shinji.

After a while of making out, they separated to catch their breaths, Kaguya speaking first said "I think that is enough for us today Shinji, I have to get going, but…"

Regaining his breath and with a disappointed expression because he wasn't done with her yet, Shinji gave a strained "But?"

- "I would like to see you again, here's my number" she said, placing in his palm a piece of paper with her mobile number written on it

- "I do hope you call me soon, maybe we could get to know each other better, and continue where we left off today" winking at him and slowly walking out of his grasp and towards the bar's door, picking her purse midway.

- "I'll definitely call you Kaguya-san!" said Shinji in a loud tone, which earned him a smirk from the woman before effectively exiting the bar and disappearing from his view.

- "That was my most random interaction with a woman in my life" said Shinji apparently to himself, but silently he was expecting his silver haired friend to appear any moment now and make some snarky comment about his very eventful night.

- "Indeed, it was quite entertaining to watch you being so unlike you Shinji-kun" said Kaworu with a happy smile on his face and a teasing tone.

- "Well, I think I have to thank the whisky for that, I was really over my head today"

- "We should go home; I do not wish for you to get any drunker now" Said Kaworu

- "Yeah yeah, I was growing bored of this place anyway after she left"

- "Oh, do I suspect you falling for a lady you just met?"

- "You wouldn't get it, she felt… different" – "I don't know how to explain it"

- "I know what you mean Shinji-kun"

- "Yeah, of course you do"

With that, Shinji payed his bill, and exited the bar to walk home.

Asuka Langley Sohryu DID NOT CRY, much less for a damned man who couldn't even appreciate how lucky he was to be dating her. But somehow, what that man had said before she kicked him out of Misato's apartment cut her deeper than she would have liked. Now here she was, sitting in the living room couch with her head between her knees, holding back her tears but painfully failing. Tachibana was a guy she had met in college. Why would she go to college again? Well, she supposed that this time she might just choose a career she would enjoy (Mechanical engineering) and something she doesn't like to admit is that she chose to study again because staying home all day long with no one around would bore her. That and, she wanted to stay somewhat close to Shinji (not that he knows that), but that doesn't matter right now. Tachibana and she were dating for a few weeks, she met him in class and found him attractive the moment she met him. Tall, short blond hair, brown eyes, muscular and deep-voiced. Maybe that huge difference in appearance in comparison with her Japanese environment was the key to that attraction, like an oasis in the desert, she was drawn to him.

Shinji never seemed to like him though, always saying he seemed "fake" and "trying too hard to gain my affections" but I always thought he was just jealous. It had been almost a week since I noticed he was pushing me a little more than usual to "be intimate" however I was always reluctant due to my scars, not wanting to show him how my body looks in fear of him rejecting me and not finding me beautiful anymore. For this reason, we never went past from groping over our clothes, and I could tell he was getting desperate for the next step to occur. Today he seemed more desperate than usual and was trying to push his hands up my blouse and I pushed him back, telling him that I still wasn't ready for that to happen. This made him quite angry, and he started losing his composure and talking rudely to me.

- "I'm tired of waiting for this!" He screamed. "I've been putting up with you and your shitty attitude for almost a month now and you still keep pushing me back"

- "What? What are you talking about Tachibana?"

- "You know what, I give up. The only reason I started dating with you was because of a bet I made with Nobara" He said while looking towards the ceiling, clearly frustrated.

- "But I prefer to lose the bet and stop dating you than keep going with this" "I don't even like you that much and whatever it is that you're hiding under your clothes is not worth the trouble to put up with you" He finished speaking and started picking up his things to leave.

SMACK!

- "What is wrong…"

- "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HOUSE" I screamed at him after slapping him with all my strength and kicked him in his crotch to watch him squirm in the floor as he was groaning in pain.

- "You crazy bitch!" he screamed at me and hurried to the door while grabing his groin.

- "AND IF I SEE YOU AGAIN, I'LL RUN YOU OVER IN MY CAR" I screamed while throwing a dish from the kitchen table to his head in hopes of breaking his skull.

And that's how I ended up curled up in my couch 20 minutes later, holding my tears and silently cursing myself for being so naïve to have fallen for such a trick. I just wish I could step over him with my Unit-02 and erase him from existence. I was so caught up in my thoughts I didn't hear the door to the apartment opening and Shinji coming home.

The first thing I noticed when I opened the door to the apartment were Misato's shoes missing in the entrance, I suppose she's pulling another all-nighter in NERV. Being the Commander of the facility in charge of developing the Evangelions is no easy task. The next thing that enters my point of view are shards of a broken dish 'That's weird, it looks like it was smashed against the wall, maybe Asuka had a really bad day at college and came home furious'. Walking further inside, I hear someone sniffing from the living room, as I turn and look at the suspect my eyes widen as I take in the curled-up figure in the living room couch. It was Asuka, and it was clear as day that she was crying and didn't even realize I came home; seeing her like that was making my chest constrict and ache.

- "Now this is a sight I didn't expect to see today. What do you think happened to her Shinji-kun?" asked Kaworu while standing in front of her, luckily for him, I was the only one able to see him and talk with him.

- "That's what I'm going to find out now, though I don't think this will be a great night any longer" I said to him in my head and watched him giving me a thumbs up to encourage me.

Standing in front of her, I softly call out "Asuka" and watch her lifting his head and for a moment see her surprised expression of finding me right there in front of her. She quickly swiped her tears with one arm and turned her head to the side trying and failing to hide what I already saw.

- "What do you want Baka-Shinji?"

- "Why are you crying? What happened?"

- "It's none of your business, just leave me alone"

At this reply, I grow a little bold, take her chin in my hand and turn her to face me

- "It is my business, just tell me what happened" I tell her, looking straight into her eyes, silently showing her that no matter what she says, I'm not backing down.

- "Its just…"

- "I kicked Tachibana out, and we're done dating" She said in a low whisper. At hearing that punk's name my blood started to boil. 'She wouldn't cry for a simple breakup' I thought to myself.

- "I know there's more to it than what you're telling me Asuka, go on I'm listening"

- "Urghhh, alright Baka…"

- "He was pushing too hard tonight to have sex with me, and I rejected his advances again and he exploded" She said to me and I was starting to clench my other hand, I never liked the guy, something always seemded off and now I can see I wasn't wrong. However, confirming my suspicions only succeeded in making me angrier that I hadn't done anything to protect her from him, it seems I still haven't learned a thing from six years ago.

- "He confessed that he started dating me because of a bet he met with another classmate, and that he was tired of "putting up with me" just to have sex"

- "He also said that it doesn't matter what I hide underneath my clothes, bcause it sure as hell ain't worth the trouble"

- "Tell me something Shinji, am I that hateful?" she asked me, looking straight into my eyes and at that moment I knew someone was going to get hurt pretty badly tonight, and I was going to be the one delivering the damage.

- "No Asuka, you're not hateful. He just doesn't have the brains to tell that you're the best thing anyone could have" I said, trying to reassure her so that maybe she would stop crying.

- "Are you hungry? I didn't bring food with me but I can swing by to the grocery store quickly and buy ingredients to make you something".

- "I am a little hungry yes, but please be quick, I just want to go to bed and forget the day" She said.

- "I'll be back in 5 minutes, bear with me" I said signaling with my eyes to Kaworu to follow me, we were going to drop by someplace first.

As soon as I walked out of the door, I took off to the skies blending with the night to keep from any of the remaining citizens in the street somehow end up discovering my abilities.

- "I can tell you are pretty worked up Shinji-kun. What are you planning to do?" Said Kaworu trailing behind me.

- "I'm going to go to that jerk's house and have a talk with him"

- "Talk?" asked Kaworu with a small laugh and grinning. "Well, I do hope he is good at talking then"

Arriving at Tachibana's house, I knock on the door and talk in a loud voice to make sure he hears me.

- "Tachibana, open the goddamn door!"

Waiting for a while and nothing, I grow tired of waiting and pull the handle of the door, unhinging the door and throwing it to the street.

"Oh Lilith this is going to be quite the scene" I hear Kaworu saying behind me. "You better control your strength now Invincible Shinji, we don't want him to die because of breaking the Princess heart."

- "I know what I'm doing Kaworu, just going to break his jaw and maybe an arm"

- "What the fuck are you doing in my house Ikari?! Yelled Tachibana as soon as he saw me entering his house. "And what did you do to my door?"

- "I heard about what you did from Asuka, Tachibana"

- "And what the fuck does that have to do with you breaking my door and entering my house like a madman?"

- "It has everything to do, you piece of filth" I snarl at him

After that I quickly appeared in front of him and threw a right hook straight to his jaw, effectively dislocating it and then threw a left punch to his right arm, snaping his humerus in half. Falling back and screaming in pain I threw him the telephone from his stand and told him

- "You better call an ambulance to have your arm treated, I contained myself so you don't suffer permanent damage, but it should get looked at anyways". And with that I left his house and went to the grocery to buy some pancake flour for Asuka's dinner.

Already home and making dinner, I glance behind my back to see Asuka staring at me with a question in her mind, I turn to face her and tell her to speak up.

- "Nothing it's just…"

- "Is it because I took 10 minutes instead of 5?"

- "What? No, I wasn't even looking at the clock since you left"

- "So what is it then?"

- "I just wanted to say… Thank you for comforting me"

At this I was left speechless. Asuka thanking me for something? She must be feeling really bad right now. I didn't even know what to say to her, so much so that my old self came out and I started stuttering just like the old days when I couldn't look her in the eyes.

-"I-I-It's n-nothing really. D-Dinner i-i-is almost-t ready"

- "Now don't let it go to your head alright. It's not going to happen again"

With that, our small interaction finished, I served her dinner and went to the bathroom to take a bath. When I came out I noticed she was already locked up in her room and softly knocked on her door and said "Good night Asuka" and waited for a reply I never got. Must mean she's sound asleep. After going to my room, my silver haired friend was waiting for me, propped up in my desk and smiling at me as if I was wearing clown makeup.

- "What are you smiling about?"

- "Oh nothing at all, just marveled at the fact that you met quite a beautiful lady tonight, got to kiss her and won her number over, yet at the end of the day you're going to sleep with your Princess in your mind"

- "I'm not in the mood for your teasing Kaworu, let's just go to sleep. We can talk about it tomorrow, I am quite exhausted"

- "Of course, not that I'm going anywhere, right Shinji-kun?"

- "Yeah yeah good night Kaworu

The next morning.

"So, Shin-man, what's got you in such a good mood this morning? Toji asked me, seemingly aware of my happier than usual attitude. "Did the Red Devil finally told you to kiss her goodnight?" He asked in a mocking tone and made me stop my training and assess him with a somewhat angry look. For roughly a year and a half, we've been exercising together and it all started when we made aware that we'll be part of the evangelion pilot roster, he as the pilot of Unit-03, and me as a new unit they were developing named Unit-10. When Toji came back from Third Impact, and same as Asuka, both his arm and leg had been restored and covered in a huge scar that made it seem as if his extremities were of a different, reddish color. However, in contrast to Asuka, he didn't mind his scars and was not afraid to use shorts or short-sleeved shirts that showed his color duality in his body. Today we were running in the park for cardio training.

- "For your information, I am happy because I met a girl yesterday and we both agreed to a date one of these days". I said, finishing with a smirk at the surprise in Toji's face and following him to a nearby park bench to have some rest.

- "What about the Red Devil then?" asked Toji while drinking from his water bottle

- "What about her?"

- "Shinji, everybody knows you guys are in love with each other, you two are the only ones who keep denying it".

- "We have talked about this. I'm not good for her and she doesn't seem to be interested in me in that way" I said, and he could hear the hint of sadness in my voice laced with a bit of anger remaining from yesterday events with Tachibana.

- "It seems she broke up with that dick she was dating. Apparently, he was just dating her because of a bet he made with a classmate to get in bed with her."

- "Talk about crazy people, I imagine Red kicking him to death after that revelation" he said, laughing a little at his sudden imagination of Asuka kicking a poor man on the floor raging in fire.

- "When I came home, I found a broken plate on the floor, that should tell you something"

I purposely omitted the part where I went to the jerk's place and made him pay for making her cry, I don't want Toji to know I'm not exactly human anymore or that I have superhuman abilities. Plus, it would make me look like a mad jealous boyfriend and I don't want the teasing that most likely will come with it

- "So, what is this about you meeting a girl and suddenly agreeing to a date? Is she hot? Do you have a picture of her I can see? Come on man start talking!

- "Relax, I think she is quite pretty, and no I don't have a photo of her, just her number"

- "And what are your plans then? Dating until you have sex?"

- "I honestly haven't thought that far Toji, I just want to get to know her better, she seemed very… interesting" I said while looking towards some couple running in the park just like we were minutes ago. "Plus, you know me, I wouldn't do something like that.

- "Oh well, let me know when you guys go on that date, I want the details man! We should resume our training come on" And with that we got up from the bench and continued running for another 30 minutes or so. After we finished our training and said our goodbyes, me getting ready to go to class and he to his part time job as a high school basketball trainer.

Inside NERV's facility

'Shinji seemed awfully cheerful this morning' I thought to myself while remembering this morning events

Flashback Begins

– "Good morning Asuka, how did you sleep?" 'Huh what's up with his cheerful attitude this early in the morning

– "Mornin Baka, just fine" I mumbled, not fully awake to properly reply him and I wasn't going to tell him 'I actually slept like crap and thought about crashing in your bed like the old days' that would have been a really bad play.

– "I'm going to train with Toji in a while, is there something you need from me before I leave?" he said to me, looking somewhat concerned. I suppose it's not surprising due to yesterday events.

– "I don't need anything, I'll just eat breakfast and head to NERV directly

– "Oh that's right, I have to swing by in the afternoon for my first sync test in the new unit" he said suddenly remembering his busy day and right after I heard him mumble something along the lines of "…guess I'll ask her out tomorrow"

– "What was that?" I asked, a little bit alarmed, was he thinking of asking me out? Is he out of his mind I just broke up with that imbecile Tachibana!

– "Nothing! Just thinking out loud!" he said, rapidly shutting any reply I could give him by running towards the door and with a smile wishing me a good day and leaving the apartment.

– "Huh… That was weirder than usual"

– "Dammit he always makes the best food you could eat anywhere in Japan" I said to myself.

Flashback Ends

- 'I wonder if I heard him correctly'

- 'Is he really planning to ask me out? He should probably know already that I won't agree to that, he still thinks I haven't exactly forgiven him for everything that happened six years ago'

- 'Although he seems to be putting in some weight recently, and that exercising with the Jock has been giving really good results' I start to imagine him cooking for me like always, however this time he's shirtless and with a towel around his shoulders, looking straight at me and asking me in his new deep and manly voice "Anything I can do for you Asuka?" and suddenly I open my eyes and curse myself for my perverted thoughts

- 'Stupid Asuka! He's just the same Shinji of six years ago, all wimpy and not at all manly or masculine! Looking at my surroundings, I remember I'm in the midde of a sync test and suddenly the internal speaker sounds with Misato speaking.

- "Everything okay there Asuka? Your rates fluctuated a bit erratically for a moment there

- "Yeah, I was just lost in thought, everything is okay"

- "How are my scores Misato?"

- "They are good like always, your sync rate fluctuates around 78-80 percent, congratulations Asuka, you can come out now"

These sync tests are scheduled weekly, because one of the conditions to keep the Evangelion project alive going was to keep the pilots in capacity to sync with the machines, just in case an emergency were to occur. Wondergirl, Jock and me are the ones who participate in the sync tests, due to Shinji not having an Evangelion due to the fusion on Unit-01 with Lilith before he started Instrumentality, his last sync test was at the beginning of the year with Unit-00 just to see how well he would fare. Now that he's receiving a new Unit, he'll be taking part of these weekly tests with us.

Exiting the entry plug and going to the girl's locker room to take a shower and wash the LCL off, Asuka was met with her fellow pilot and Shinji's half-sister? She still didn't quite understand their relationship, and she wasn't about to start right now.

- "What's up Wondergirl? How were your sync scores this week?"

- "Hello Sohryu-san, they were… satisfactory, though not quite as high as yours" she said in her usual emotionless expression. However, in the last six years she had somehow become more… warm I would say, more capable of showing emotions, not having to follow orders anymore, she has had time to explore her feelings towards what being a normal human is like. Still, some of her older habits had sticked with her, and I was still finding them a little unnerving.

- "Have you seen my brother today?" She asked, and for a moment I thought she looked a little worried.

- "Only in the morning before he went to train with the Jock" "Why? Is something wrong?"

- "No, I just have this weird feeling that something is about to happen, and he is in the middle of it. I do not have an idea of what it might be"

- "That is kind of creepy Wondergirl, even for you"

- "I apologize for making you feel uncomfortable Sohryu-san"

- "Whatever, I'll head into the bath, talk to you later!"

- "Goodbye"

Later that day, in NERV.

- "How are you feeling Shinji-kun?" Asked Misato through the comm channels

- "Well, it's kind of hard to explain. It feels somewhat empty compared to the other units" I said, feeling somewhat uncomfortable in this new entry plug. Supposedly, Unit-10 is made different from the other Evas (probably because they don't have any volunteers to imprison their souls in the Eva's core). 'I should probably ask Ritsuko how this thing is working' I thought to myself while trying to concentrate for the sync test.

- "Well, you are doing surprisingly well for not having synced to an Eva in such a long time" Came Ritsuko's voice this time. "That said, I need you to concentrate a little more and get a better feeling of the Eva Shinji.

- "Alright ma'am

As I started to concentrate, my mind was slowly diving into a blank space where there was nothing, only me floating in what looked like the middle of it. 'This is strange, I feel no presence here either'. After a few seconds, I started to reminisce of darker days, when I was a child soldier and hated piloting Eva. 'What is this? The room is starting to change according to my memories. I'm feeling sad somehow' Before I could delve any further in this space, a voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I was back in the entry plug.

- "Are those Baka-Shinji's scores?" asked Asuka, I heard her voice through the comm channel, probably an accident on Misato's part.

- "Dammit Asuka, you broke his concentration!" yelled Misato to her beloved ward.

- "You can come out Shinji, we already have everything we need for this test" said Ritsuko.

Not wasting any time, I exited the entry plug and went to take a bath, not wanting to stay drenched in LCL any longer. Walking the hallways of NERV, I came across with Rei who was sitting in a bench, absent-minded and looking towards the ceiling. 'This would make a funny picture, sadly I don't have my phone with me right now"

- "Hello Rei, what's on your mind?" I asked her curious.

- "Oh, hello Shinji… I was just lost in thought" she said, giving me a small smile. "Will we eat dinner together today, as planned?

- "Of course, I will never forget our dinner" I said, returning the smile with one of my own.

- "Can I ask you a question Shinji?

- "Um, Yeah I guess" now this was something out of the blue

- "Have an unexpected event happened in your life in these last few days?" She asked, with a very serious look making me a little bit nervous. 'She can't know about Kaguya, right? I think I'll keep that a secret for now'

- "Not really, why do you ask Rei?

- "It is not important, thank you for answering" And with that she stood up and left for Central Dogma. 'Okay, that was weird. Even for her'.

After washing up and walking back to Central Dogma, I remember that I wanted to have a small talk with Ritsuko about Unit-10 characteristics, with that in mind shift my direction and start moving towards her office. Facing her crystal door and seeing her working through some annotations I gently knock on her door. She watches me with mild amusement and signals me to enter.

- "How can I help you Shinji?" She asked, returning her gaze to what she was doing before I came in

- "I was just curious of how Unit 10 works. I know there is no soul inside its core so I wanted to understand how you guys achieved that"

- "Well, that Eva is designed specifically for you, no one else would be able to pilot it if I'm being completely honest"

- "How's that?"

- "Well, considering your… condition, you are no longer completely human and have capabilities similar to the primordial beings Adam and Lillith. I designed an Eva where the core is basically empty and connects directly to your soul"

- "Does Misato know this?" I asked, concerned. Only Ritsuko knew about my condition, and it was because when the roster of pilots was being brought back to NERV, they made us blood tests and the like. I had to convince Ritsuko to keep the secret and forge normal records for me.

- "Are you really asking me that Shinji? You should know that I am very good at keeping secrets. Misato thinks this Unit works in the same way as 00, which isn't entirely false".

- "Plus, you made it very clear what would happen to me if I were somehow spill the beans on you" At this comment, Ritsuko stared at me, with a not-so-friendly expression for a moment before sighing and relaxing.

- "Anyways, the idea behind Unit-10 is that it is directly connected to your soul, so basically the Eva is getting its power from you"

- "So that's why it feels empty" I said. 'I still don't understand what that room was though'

- "Thank you for explaining it to me Ritsuko, I'll be going now" I said, retreating the Dr's room.

- "Shinji" she said to me before I was completely out of the room

- "Yes?"

- "My opinion of your condition is still the same as that day, you're too dangerous for a human being"

- "You're not wrong about that. However, I made a promise to you that day remember?"

- "I do. Still, I think Misato and Asuka should know for their wellbeing, and for yours."

- "What do you mean mine?"

- "Shinji, I suspect it must be hard carrying that secret and not being able to share it with anyone. It must be hard being different from us" She said, now with a sad tone and looking at me with… pity?

- "I'll think about it. See you later Doctor"

Nighttime in Misato's Household

- "Shinji, can you hurry it up already!?" yelled Asuka from the living room. I guess she must be really hungry.

- "Do you need any help Shinji-kun?" Kaworu said as he was looking at me from the table, apparently amused at the company tonight. Misato, Asuka and Rei were drinking in the living room waiting for me to finish dinner.

- "They seem to be gossiping about guys, which I find quite strange. The Princess just had a falling with that poor guy yesterday and she seems completely unfazed by it now"

- "I think you shouldn't eavesdrop Kaworu. And yes, it would be nice if you could give me a hand with this. But be quick, I don't want them to suddenly show up here and see flying vegetables" I said to him, signaling the vegetables so he could get to work

- "My pleasure" "So, what are we going to do about the Princess and her competition?"

- "Not this again man, I already had this conversation with Toji in the morning" I said giving him a bored side glance and sighing.

- "You can be more honest with me Shinji-kun, you know that already"

- "Well, I don't know. I am really interested in getting to know Kaguya more, but…

- "You still love her" he said, finishing washing the vegetables and stopping to look at me, assessing my reaction to his comment

- "Of course I do, and I always will. You know that. However, that doesn't change anything. I'm not good for her, and I don't think she can forgive me from all that happened six years ago" I told him while I was checking the meat's condition

- "I think you should talk with her, you might be surprised" he said, cutting the vegetables in perfect sizes.

- "And I think you're one crazy Angel if you are serious about it"

- "I'm finished here Shinji-kun" He said, arranging the plates in the kitchen counter and placing the vegetables in each dish.

- "I am finished too" I said, putting the rest of the food in each of the plates he arranged for me

- "I suppose we should see what happens tomorrow when you meet the mysterious lady again"

- "Everyone, dinner's ready!" I yelled for them to come

And with that, we sat to enjoy our dinner. Misato was evidently drunk, talking about meeting a new guy while she was bar hopping and wanting to "Take him to the clouds" which made me and Asuka gag at her implying. Rei was stoically eating her vegetables and narrating what she did in university that day. While Asuka was strangely silent and kept stealing glances at me all through dinner time. I was doing small talk about my training with Toji today, and the pieces I'm supposed to be learning on the Cello for class. It was a very good day I would say, after finishing dinner Rei said her goodbyes and left the apartment for her home across our floor. Me and Asuka went about our nightly routines and went to our rooms to sleep.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hey guys! This is my first fanfic ever, I am doing it so I can get comfortable with writing in English (not my first language) and also I am a huge fan of NGE and after reading so much fanfic I decided that maybe I could try something of my own.

I still don't have an idea of how many chapters this story is going to take, but I do have most of the story planned out and outline. If you guys prefer longer or shorter chapter please let me know!

This being 6 years from EoE, I think I should enlist you how each of the original characters look:

Shinji: He's already 5 foot 11 inches, with slightly longer hair than his teenage version. He's actually more muscular, but not exceedingly so, having a lean figure with defined muscles. Lastly he has a stubble of constant shaving, refusing to grow a beard.

Asuka: Now Asuka's height is around 5'6, still a slender redhead, she filled out on her breast and hips a little in comparison to her teenage years, and now prefers either to let her hair down completely, or using a mid-ponytail. Having completely discarded her red clips she usually wears longsleeved shirts or blouses to avoid showing her scars.

Rei: Rei is keeping her short straight blue hair, growing to about 5'8 she stands out as a tall woman. Having finished school, she now uses casual clothing to go to university and nerve, usually a knee length loose skirt and short-sleeved blouses.

Misato: Misato decided to cut her hair after coming back from 3I, now keeping it above shoulder level, and is currently NERV's commander, replacing Gendo (Later we will see what happened to him).

Ritsuko: In contrast to Misato, Ritsuko now is letting her hair grow and she's currently keeping it around her upper back/cervical area. Other than that, she's still the same Ritsuko personality-wise.

Toji: Toji grew up to be 6'1, he is more muscular than Shinji and is still keeping is hair short. He's growing a beard but it still "filling up" his face, although he's somewhat sensitive about it.

Now for the other characters I will be describing them as I introduce them in the story. That is all! Please review!