Patience
The first thing Shinji noticed as he walked in to Misato's apartment was the absence of sound. This was unusual because by the time evening came both Asuka and Misato were usually back. Shinji dropped his books on the table and went to see if anyone had left him a note on the refrigerator about where they were. When he entered the kitchen he was surprised to see both Misato and Asuka looking into a cardboard box on the floor.
Misato greeted him and gestured for him to join them. Shinji moved closer and peered into the box. Inside was a thin grey and white striped kitten. Shinji gave Misato a questioning look and in response she said "This little guy is just a temporary guest, one of the secretaries found him the other day and she will be his permanent owner, but first she has to get permission from her landlady to see if she can keep him."
While Misato was explaining this to Shinji, Asuka reached into the box and scooped the kitten up. She put the kitten close to her face and examined it closely. "It's kind of scrawny" she said as she hefted the kitten up and down to feel how much it weighed. "It almost looks like Shinji and-." Her sentence went unfinished as she let out a yell of pain. The kitten had decided it did not like being waved around in the air and had dug its claws in. Misato took the kitten from Asuka, set it down on the floor and it promptly darted under the kitchen table. Asuka glared at it and stalked out of the kitchen. "I like dogs better anyway" she said as she left.
Misato shook her head and went over to the refrigerator. She opened it and took out one of the fish which was normally reserved for Pen-Pen. As she cut the fish up and put it on a plate she told Shinji "I don't know if he likes me either, he seemed kind of nervous on the car ride home."
"Maybe he just doesn't like to be moved around."
"Maybe" said Misato with a shrug. She took the plate of shredded fish and set it under the table. The kitten sniffed hopefully in the direction of the plate, but did not move closer to it. Misato watched the kitten for several minutes, but after it did not move she left the kitchen and reminded Shinji that it was his turn to wash dishes tonight.
Shinji got up from his sitting position on the floor and made his way over to the sink. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work on the dishes. His mind started to wander and he was surprised to hear a noise as he put the last of the dishes into the drying rack. The kitten had finally decided to start eating the fish. Shinji dried off his hands and sank down to the floor to watch the kitten eat. After it had finished, it eyed Shinji uncertainly as if it was sizing him up. As Shinji looked back at it he noticed that it was more of an adolescent rather than a young kitten. The paws were very big as if the kitten had not had time to grow into them yet and the fur looked like it had both patches of fluffy baby fur and sleek grey adult fur.
Shinji moved a couple inches closer to the kitten. The kitten continued to watch, but did not move. Shinji moved another couple inches until he was almost close enough to touch the smooth fur. He stretched out his hand and the kitten cautiously moved forward to sniff his fingers. It must have approved of Shinji because it moved in close enough for him to run his fingers down the grey and white stripped fur. Shinji shifted his position on the floor and the kitten froze in alarm. After holding very still for a couple moments the kitten relaxed again and Shinji resumed his stroking.
It was very soothing to sit on the floor in the quiet kitchen with the kitten. Shinji lost track of time as the kitten started to purr and moved in closer to curl up near his knee. When Misato looked into the kitchen several hours later she found Shinji curled up in sleep, his hand around the kitten which was also asleep near his chest. She smiled and went to get a blanket. She gently placed the blanket over Shinji and the kitten and as she left she thought to herself that Shinji had something that he probably valued little, but had put to good use: patience.