The car ride leaving NERV was quiet. Normally, any passenger traveling with Captain Katuragi would have been extremely worried, or would have at least commented on the fact that she drove as if traffic laws were nonexistent. Shinji did not. After he had been discharged from NERV's medical wing, he collected his belongings and loaded them into the trunk of her car, then he loaded himself.

The idea of him living with her still had to adjust in her mind. After he had gotten dressed, the subject of where he would live while he was in Tokyo-3 came up. Half-seriously, Misato had suggested that he might want to live with his father. That idea quickly evaporated when Shinji had given her a look and asked "Are you serious?" in a suprisingly icy tone. He had said he would rather be by himself than have to live with the Commander. This was somewhat off-putting, until she remembered reading in Shinji's psych report that he seemed highly resistant to any contact beyond what was absolutely necessary with his father. But when Misato suggested that he live with her, as she wouldn't feel right leaving him alone, he had warmed up considerably, and became personable again.

But something still bothered her. He was polite to a fault, and she could sense that if he opened up, he could make quite an impression, but he deliberately seemed to be at arm's length. His psych report had listed all sorts of psychobabble about "The subject possesses high emotional values, within acceptable levels. The only topic that seems to provoke an immediate, and at times violent reaction, is any reinforcement of the relationship of the subject to his father, Commander Ikari. Further analysis will have to be initiated in order to determine depths of psychosis regarding this."

Perhaps all he needed was some time. She did work for his father, so maybe he felt he couldn't trust her. She would have to change that.

Misato's blue sports car pulled up in front of an apartment complex close to the downtown district. "This is it." she said, pulling into a parking space and shutting off the engine.

"One thing," Shinji said, stretching out in the backseat. "I made a call before we left NERV and had some more of my thiungs sent to your address. Clothes, mostly. They should be coming later tonight or sometime tomorrow." he got out of the car and Misato popped the trunk, allowing him to take his duffel bag out.

As they were walking to the door, Shinji stopped and tapped Misato.

"I'd like to apologize."

"For what?"

"For being short with you earlier. When it comes to my father, I thought my feelings toward him had been resolved. Obviously, they haven't. I don't know why I feel so strongly about him, but I do. You can't pick who you work for, right? Friends?" he put out his hand.

"Al-Alright. I'd like that. After all, we are going to be living together. Friends." They shook hands. Shinji seemed...not so cold anymore. More relaxed.

Misato opened the door and turned on the hallway light. "Welcome to my home." she stepped back and let Shinji in.

There were beer cans all over the place. Unopened mail and old newspapers everywhere. Dirty dishes. "This is a home?" he joked.

"Sorry about the mess. I don't have a lot of guests over."

Shinji shrugged his shoulders. "Don't worry about it. Let me put my bags down, and I'll help you clean up."

"Your room is the second one down the hall."

"Thanks." Shinji began stepping over piles of Yebisu beer cans, crunching them underfoot.

After several hours of cleaning, scrubbing, and sweeping, Misato's apartment looked livable again. "Haven't seen the old place this clean in months. You're a miracle worker."

"It wasn't hard. The worst part was collecting all of your beer cans. How can one person drink that much all the time?"

Misato laughed. "Don't criticise. Yesterday, we fought a giant space monster. If that isn't a reason to get drunk, I don't know what is."

Shinji laughed in agreement. Then his face became serious. "I-I can't remember a lot of what happened when I fought that Angel, Misato. I remember engaging it, and it did something to my arm. It felt like it broke my wrist. Things seemed to speed up after that. Next thing I know, I'm in the hospital, and I'm being congratulated for destroying the Third Angel. How exactly I did that, is a mystery to me."

Misato turned away from him and faced the open kitchen window. "You're right. The Third Angel did break the EVA's wrist. It used some sort of high-energy blade which burned through the protective armor. Do you remember me telling you over the comlink that you were synched with the EVA at over 40 percent?"

"Yeah. You told me that my synch level was high enough for me to be able to move the EVA. It was like moving a muscle, getting it to move. The connection felt kind of dead at first, but opened up the more I tried."

"It's a two way street, Shinji. You can move the EVA like you would your own body, but if it is hurt, you will be hurt too, to some extent. When we pulled you out of the Entry Plug, you had first degree burns on your wrist. Luckily, we were able to treat it and there's no lasting damage."

Shinji looked at his wrist. the flesh did look a little red, and it had felt a little off for a few hours. A two way street indeed...

"You should get to bed." Misato said, the cheer back in her voice. "You start school tomorrow. No more home schooling for you!"

"That should be interesting..." Shinji said. "Where can I put dirty clothes?" he asked, taking off his shirt. Underneath, he wore a black tank top, and wore a set of military dogtags.

Misato pointed to a hamper in the hallway.

"If you want, I'll keep the place clean for you. It doesn't seem to be your gift."

Misato pulled out a sixpack out of the fridge and popped one. "Can you cook too? I don't have that gift either."

"I cook, I clean, and I pilot giant robots."

Misato tilted her head, adjusting to her rising alcohol levels. "Cool." she burped. Shinji headed out of the kitchen.

"Wait." Misato said. "Can I see those dogtags?' Shinji took them off and handed them to her.

Closer examination revealed the names Golgo 13 on one of the tags, and Queen Bee on the other. Why did those names sound vaguely familiar to her?

"Who gave these to you?"

"My aunt and uncle did, for my birthday a couple years ago."

"Your aunt and uncle...they good people?"

Misato was actually suprised how much Shinji's face lit up. "The best. Goodnight."

He put the dogtags back on and headed off to his room, sliding the door closed.

Misato downed another beer. Golgo 13...Queen Bee...why does that sound familiar?