Disclaimer: See initial chapter
Chapter 1 - To Start Over
Katsuragi Residence
A familiar ceiling...
No matter what, Shinji was always struck with that thought whenever he woke up; largely because for a good portion of his life, he had been used to seeing unfamiliar ceilings. Regardless of this, he always took note of it for, if nothing else, out of habit. And with all that had happened to him and the training he undertook, he now found it a very thoughtful way to start the morning.
With a stretch, Shinji rose up from his cot in the living room. Since Rei moved in with them, Shinji had let her have his room while he slept in the living room. When she protested, Shinji had simply replied that she needed the room more than he did. Besides, there were only three rooms in the apartment and with him as the only male there, it was the only sensible thing to do. He didn't have much, so there was no worry of moving things out (the fact that she had less was also to be noted.) The only other option would have been to share rooms and none of them were eager to do that, for various reasons.
In any case, Shinji didn't mind it and comfortably stood up to stretch again. After stretching, he took a few steps forward and settled onto the middle of the floor, crossing his legs as he did. With a breath, he closed his eyes and took in the sensation of the living Force around him. In a few moments, Shinji was made aware of all the life around him. He could sense Rei in her room, already awake and preparing to do the same thing he was. He felt Asuka, just beginning to gain consciousness from her sleep. He didn't sense Misato however, and he figured that she had another late night and was stuck in NERV again. There was also...
"Wark!"
Opening his eyes, Shinji smiled as he looked upon Pen-Pen, who had waddled up in front of him. Rubbing the head of the warm-water penguin, Shinji rose from his position and moved to the refrigerator to get the penguin's breakfast. As he did, he heard a door opening and he turned to see Rei leaving her room and head for the bathroom, but not before looking over at Shinji and giving him one of her rare smiles.
"Ohayo, niisan." ("Good morning, brother.")
Shinji smiled in return. "Ohayo, neechan." ("Good morning, sister.")
With that said Rei entered the bathroom and closed the door while Shinji returned to feeding Pen-Pen. This seemed to be the way their mornings have started since they returned home. Shinji would wake up first and start breakfast, followed closely by Rei who would bid him a good morning before heading to the bathroom. It was the only time that she would address him as brother and he would address her as sister.
Even though they knew that Rei wasn't in fact related to him (learning that some time after the invasion when Maya informed them) and that Rei was her own being, she didn't stop calling him that and he didn't mind in the least in returning the favor. As Shinji moved to the refrigerator to take out what he would be making for breakfast, he awaited the sound of Asuka's door opening and...
"Not again!"
The voice of the German girl broke the silence of the apartment as she stared at the bathroom door. She wasn't quite glaring, but her gaze made it apparent that she wasn't happy to have to wait to use the bathroom again. But it couldn't be helped; Rei was just an earlier riser than she was. Turning away from the door, Asuka simply made her way back to her room, but not before speaking to Shinji.
"Don't even think about going in there before me."
Shinji simply watched her storm back to her room and then turned back to his work, whispering lightly. "Good morning to you too, Asuka."
Despite the aggressive persona however, Shinji knew that she wasn't nearly as volatile as she was before when she first arrived. Like Rei, the changes Asuka had undergone were subtle, but noticeable. So while her mannerisms were the same, they were only a part of who she was, not the whole. And Shinji knew who the real Asuka was.
He may have always known...
Soon enough, breakfast was ready and the Children were seated together and eating. Today they would be returning to school after a year long absence since the invasion on NERV. With Tokyo-3 finally coming back to a semblance of order, school functions were able to resume again.
"It's going to feel weird going back to school after all that's happened." Asuka commented, breaking the silence as she took a bit of food to her mouth.
Rei nodded. "Everything will be different."
"Yeah." Shinji added.
"Hey, don't you two start getting depressed on me." Asuka shot out. Shaking her head, she went on. "I can't believe I'm the one that got to perk you guys up about school. At least you haven't gone through college just to go through school all over again. So, no complaints, got it?"
"I..." Shinji found himself stammering. "I wasn't...well..."
"Perhaps not everything will be different." Rei said quietly, sipping on her cup of juice as she did.
Asuka grinned as she added to the tease. "Tell me about it, Wondergirl."
Shinji stopped for a moment, letting the two girls have their victory, before quickly changing the subject. "Have you spoken to Hikari?"
Asuka gave him a knowing glance, but answered anyway. "Yeah, yesterday. She had just returned from Tokyo-2 and had to unpack. I plan on seeing her on the way to school today."
"That's good."
Due to last year's invasion, most of the populace of Tokyo-3 had to remain in their evacuated areas until they were able to return to the city. It had taken quite some time, but eventually they were able to come back.
"What about your end?" Asuka asked. "What's up with the Stooges?"
"Same thing, although they've returned longer ago. I haven't seen them yet though." the young man paused in thought and continued, albeit, his voice dropped somewhat. "To be honest, I was expecting them to drop by unannounced or something."
Asuka snorted. "Hmph. They probably heard that Misato wasn't around that much nowadays."
"They do seem to have shown a high degree of attention to the...to Misato-san." Despite the year of change, there was just some habits were hard for Rei to break.
"Of course. Any pervert would."
"Asuka!" Shinji admonished.
"Oh, come on." the redhead returned. "You're going to deny that part isn't at least true? And be mindful; these are your friends."
"Well...uh..."
Try as he might, Shinji couldn't think of a good defense for his friend at the moment (largely because there wasn't one).Still, he tried. "They aren't that bad. And... I miss Misato too."
Rei didn't miss the pause as well as the sad in his voice. "We all do. Her duties do keep her quite occupied."
"We'll see her when go in to NERV." Asuka shrugged. "We have synch testing today."
"Oh yeah."
"I wonder why..."
It was Rei to voice that opinion, and not without good reason. With the Angels gone, synch testing served little purpose now since the Evas were no longer needed.
"We'll find out soon enough." Asuka replied, rising up from her seat after finishing her breakfast. "In the meantime, we have school to deal with, so... Baka, Wondergirl, let's get a move on!"
NERV HQ, Eva Hanger
"Ohayo, Ritsuko-sempai." ("Good morning, Ritsuko.")
Entering the observation deck above the Eva hanger, Ritsuko strode in with a cup of coffee in her hands. With a light smile, she nodded to her former assistant; now head of the NERV science department, not missing the white lab coat that Maya now wore. After the invasion, Ritsuko had spent a couple of months in a NERV mental institution. Initially, it was going to be decided that she'd face imprisonment the same as Gendo Ikari for her part in his plan, but Misato defended her and prevented such an outcome. The downside was that she was to be institutionalized for some time, but she figured that was better than life in prison.
Especially with her friends visiting her whenever possible...
Before her time there was completed, Maya spoke to her about a position in NERV that she could be of help should she wish to return. Despite what she had done in the aid of Gendo and SEELE, the fact remained that Ritsuko was one of the most brilliant scientific minds in the world and thus a valuable resource. Ritsuko wouldn't be able to be head of the science department, but she would be able to work there as an advisor.
At first, Ritsuko thought of declining the offer, having more than enough of NERV to last several lifetimes. But she soon realized that in the end, she was a scientist and that she wouldn't be happy, or at least content with settling down now. And the resources of NERV were second to none in the world. Therefore, she accepted the offer, much to Maya's and Misato's pleasure. But...
"How are things?"
"The same." Maya replied in a half sigh. "The check ups on all three Evas have been completed and systems are ready to go."
Ritsuko simply nodded and strode of to the viewing window. Maya looked at her former instructior questioningly. Despite being the new head of the science department, oftentimes, Maya still felt like the young assistant who was following Ritsuko's orders.
"Is something wrong?"
"No...well, I don't know." Taking a sip of her beverage, she simply sighed. "Not much to do around here nowadays, is there?"
"There's still a lot we can learn from the Evas." Maya replied, seeing where the conversation was going and trying to keep optimistic.
"But not a lot of use for them. They were made to fight the Angels. Without them, the Evangelions..."
Ritsuko then paused and gave Maya a short glance. It was a pure surprise that her former protégé' was trying to keep an upbeat attitude now, despite everything that had happened and everything that was happening.
'No sense in treading down her hopes...'
Shrugging, Ritsuko looked back out the viewing window and took another sip of her coffee. "But what do I know? I'm just an advisor now." She then gave a light smile. "You're the one in charge of the science department."
Maya chuckled back. "One day, I may actually believe that, Ritsuko-sempai." Her voice quieted a bit. "Have you seen Misato-san yet?"
Ritusuko noticed her lapse of formality for the commander here, but chose to ignore it. 'Misato would.' she mused. "Yeah. She's a bit of a mess. But that's no surprise considering things."
Maya nodded in understanding. Their newfound positions came were a difficult transition to take. Most of the time (including now in Ritsuko's presence), it was hard for Maya to keep in mind that she was one in charge of the science department now.
"Is there any way to help her?"
"I don't know." Ritsuko shrugged. "And I'm probably the last person to be offering advice."
Maya didn't miss the sad note in her mentor's voice. She had heard it all too well during her visits when she was in the mental institution and knew the reasons behind it (some of them anyway) 'Oh, no you don't.' Ritsuko had come too far to be falling back into depression again, not if she could help it.
"What do you know?" Maya smirked. "You're just an advisor, right?"
An expression of shock followed by a soft chuckle. "Touché'."
Tokyo-3, Streets
"Asuka!"
Meeting on the sidewalk on their way to school, Hikari smiled as the Children approached. Asuka broke away and moved ahead to meet her friend, who clasped her in a warm embrace.
"It's been too long, Hikari." Asuka smiled as she parted from her.
"Tell me about it." Looking behind her, she then waved at the remaining two. "Shinji, Ayanami, hey there."
"Hello." Shinji waved back.
"Representative Horaki."
Hikari raised an eyebrow. 'Some things never change.' "We're not in school yet Ayanami, so you can call me Hikari."
The blue-haired girl was silent for a moment and then slowly replied. "Only if you will call me Rei."
Hikari blinked; not expecting that. 'Then again...' Giving her a light smile. "Okay...Rei."
At that point, Shinji felt a tremor in the Force and turned about to see Touji and Kensuke coming up to them from the other side. Like himself, Rei and Asuka, Touji had a strong aptitude with the Force. However, when Qui-Gon had asked to train him, he had chosen to forgo the Jedi training that the other Children had undergone, simply settling for basic lessons. As for the reasons why, Touji had simply said that he wasn't cut out to be a Jedi. Shinji felt that there was more to his reason, but he wouldn't press. Not everyone was cut out for the Jedi path.
"Hey. Looks like the whole group is here." Touji spoke. Eyeing Asuka, he then grumbled. "Even the Red Devil herself."
"Hmph. And here I was in a good mood." Asuka growled in return. "Leave it to the Head Stooge to mess that up."
"Hey now, don't you two even think about starting!" Hikari interjected before they could throw more words at each other. "This is the first day back and I think it should be on a good note, don't you?" Her gaze went from Asuka to Touji as she stood in between them. "So how about it? A truce for today?"
"...Fine." they replied in unison.
The group moved on and chatted among themselves. Mostly it was Asuka and Hikari talking to each other while Touji and Kensuke went back and forth with Shinji and Rei would simply listen in and throw in a brief comment or two. For Shinji, it was a nice change of pace. Like how it had been in the old days; those brief moments when he wasn't the Third Child or even a Jedi apprentice.
He was just a normal boy going to school with his friends...
His glance moved to Touji and took note of his hand. A flash of guilt went through Shinji as he remembered that it was artificial; a biomechanical hand so advanced that it was indistinguishable from an ordinary hand. But Shinji would always know the difference. After all, he was there when he had lost it. Touji never blamed him for it and truthfully, the loss wasn't his fault. Rationally, Shinji knew he wasn't responsible, but the feelings remained nevertheless.
"Hey, Shin-man, you okay there?" Kensuke noticed. "You're spacing out there."
"Huh?" Blinking out of his thoughts, Shinji scratched the back of his head. "Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Sorry."
"Guah!" Asuka exclaimed from the head of the group. "Honestly, can you go one day without apologizing?"
Shinji gave her a weak smile and the group continued on as before. However, he turned to Rei and found a penetrating crimson gaze focused on him. Obviously, his thoughts had betrayed him and Rei saw through it. Probably Asuka as well, although she hadn't said anything about it and leaving it up to Rei to handle him. That made him chuckle humorlessly, that Asuka would do something like that. But then again, there were times when disapproving silence was better (or worse, depending on which side of it you were on) outspoken berating. However, he did pick up a thought from Rei just before she looked away.
'What's done is done...'
Shinji gave her a mental nod. She was right. Looking back on the bitterness of the past was pointless. He was in the present, the here and now, as Qui-Gon had always taught them. And right now, he was with his friends. He felt a light smile come up on his features at the thought and continued on with the others to school.
NERV HQ, Commander's Office
The office looked absolutely nothing like what it had before under Gendo's command. Well, that wasn't totally true. A sole desk still stood in a middle of the wide open chamber. But there was now two extra seats on the other side of them for others to sit in should she call. She remember how bad her leg would cramp up after being in there while Commander Ikari sat before them with his fingers folding and glare intimidating. But then again, she didn't know if that would have been a good thing to be seated before the him.
The greatest difference however, was the fact that the black expanse and the Sephirot images were taken down, thus allowing natural light to practically flood into the chamber and allowing the walls to illuminate in a light crystalline blue hue. The result of this being a complete turnaround for the office. Where it was once cold and intimidating, it was now inviting and relaxing.
Unfortunately, relaxed was the last thing going through Misato's mind as she held her head on her palm, all the while looking down at the papers on the desk. They were all the same thing; notices on bills and financials concerning NERV and its activities, or rather, lack of. Before, these problems weren't an issue. Since the Angels presented a threat to humanity, the Evas had to be kept in maintenance. But now that the Angels were gone, the purpose of the Evas had been completed.
As was NERV...
That was where things had gotten dicey. At first, that didn't seem to be a problem, at least, from Misato's standpoint. With everything that NERV and the Eva project had put both her and the Children through, she didn't mind the thought of NERV being disbanded. Granted, many would lose their jobs for it, but she knew that would be temporary, as many of the NERV staff were experts in various fields. But upon further examination, she saw that much of NERV was connected with the functions of Tokyo-3 itself.
Long story short, NERV's fate was tied with Tokyo-3...
It was that reason alone that she took up the position as the new commander of NERV. But along with the aforementioned problems, NERV's reputation, now exposed to the world, was a bad one. While it was true that much of the blame for its activity was placed on Ikari and the others of SEELE, they were also tied with NERV and their reputations would stick to it as well. Now it was up to the former Operation Director to find a way to savage NERV's reputation and support Tokyo-3.
'God, I need a beer...'
Rising up from her seat, Misato turned and moved to look out onto the Geofront. Her gaze shifted upward at the city above. To think she was responsible for an entire city now. It was a lot for her to deal with. But she couldn't, no, wouldn't complain. The Children have suffered far worse than her through all of this. Now they had a chance for a semblance of a normal life, at least for now. She knew that they would never truly have such a life.
Not just because of being Eva pilots, which alone would have left them scarred for life. But also because of the training from the Jedi master, Qui-Gon, who had revealed that the Children were more gifted than she could have imagined. And they seemed to be better people for it. She felt a slight pang as she realized that she hadn't seen them for days now. At least they would be coming in for synch testing, although a lot of good that would do. Still, anything to see them again.
It might help relieve some of her stress...