Chapter 8: Was This Where It Began?
A/N: Yeah, I'm uploading this one a bit early compared to my usual schedule. I decided to upload this one as a big "Thank You" to everyone since this story has just hit 50 followers. I'm really happy people are interested so I wanted to make sure I got that idea across to people in the best way I can think of. I've written a lot of chapters in advance so I'm not pushing myself or anything. At least I don't see it that way unless somebody wants to point out that I might be slipping in quality at some point.
The evening after the battle with the 16th Angel became such a solemn event that neither Shinji nor Misato attempted to approach one another after they made their way back to their apartment. The struggle from both Shinji and Kensuke seeming to achieve nothing became their most immediate thoughts when they were forced to recognize that Rei Ayanami had likely met her end. Even the news that the entry plug managed to remain in one piece was not enough to fill them with confidence when it was considered who dangerous the hold the Angel had over her was. It had become very believable that everything Shinji attempted to achieve for Rei ever since they met was finally all upended in one unceremonious battle that marked the coming of her death.
The demise of Unit-00 and the death of her left both Shinji and Misato with a sense they had not only lost a fellow pilot but a dear friend finding her way in the world as well. So much that Shinji could not bring himself to fulfill his scheduled duty of preparing dinner as soon as he changed into his shirt and shorts. He was relieved to see that Misato was nowhere close to ravenous as he sat down on his bed and allowed his SDAT player to turn on and play its music.
There was a time Shinji believed he was able to call the field of music an area he could escape into but that gateway seemed to shut itself off from him ever since the night of Kaji's death. It offered him a way to wallow in a space away from the hardships of the world around him when it seemed as though the world had been collapsing around him. He was in such a situation now and believed that he would only be able to protect himself by curling himself up and allowing his spines to stick out to any intruders.
What became the most disheartening for Shinji was the fact that he was placed in a situation not so different from Misato on the night of Kaji's death and yet here he was simply taking it as it came. He felt regret from the knowledge that he allowed someone to die, that the best he had to offer was not enough, that machinations seemed to be playing themselves out in ways he could not understand. He could not decide if it was because he had become so dulled to the sense of defeat that he was now taking death in stride or if he was a worse individual than he believed he was.
When Shinji's thoughts turned to the latter suggestion, he found there was little reason for him to debate what he thought. He had taken advantage of Misato when she was at her most grieved, he started a rumor to avoid being found out about what would happen to him, he made one of is best friends enter the ranks of Eva pilot only to discover that he was not the most immediately effective pilot against Angels. One confusing night had continued to build and become more intimidating as he considered how so little seemed to pave way to a greater path of suffering for him to endure.
What stood out the out to him from all the apparent crimes he committed, what he did to the capsule that Kaji left for Misato became the one thing that made Shinji want to weep for what he had set in motion. He had discovered information that he was not likely meant to ever see and yet he made the moves he could make to steal it from behind Misato's back. How Misato was ever supposed to make her way up to him or Kensuke ever again and not confront them as though she was stolen from was a difficult question to answer.
The nature of questions continued to spiral out of control the more he thought about it and began to realize how his emotions were weighing him down. A storm of emotions that confused him, that weighed themselves down upon him like a pair of shackles that bound him to his bed, that made everything he struggled for seem meaningless. He was forced into a point where not even hearing praise from his father would be enough to make him feel he had done anything to make his life a truly meaningful one he could be proud of.
Both the death of Rei and the reports of Asuka's decline in her synch ratios were enough news for him to make him feel reminded that he was not a good person. Everything he had done in the past few days to sully the memories of Kaji and the feelings of Misato simply became another series of doubts that made him accept the idea that he could do nothing to make anyone around him happy. Every day that came to pass was simply a confirmation that he was nothing more than a component meant to make an Eva pilot activate.
"Shinji? I'm coming in." The announcement from Misato left a mark of indifference on Shinji when he watched her make his way into his bedroom and sat herself next to Shinji.
Shinji attempted to explain his grief when he told her, "Miss Misato, the tears won't come. I feel sad, but the tears just won't come."
Shinji had no idea what sort of words of comfort Misato was supposed to offer in such a difficult time as this one or why she would even try. While he had done everything he could to keep his secrets from being discovered she should have had every reason to leave him alone. More importantly, he was doing everything he could to keep himself from being reached out to by anyone else.
Misato revealed her intentions when she told him, "Shinji, this is about all I can do for you now."
There was a pause before Shinji noticed Misato's fingers making their way on top of his. He immediately recognized what sort of offer she was giving him. In many other situations, Shinji could have seen him acting differently but the accumulation of the prior events instead made him remove his hand from the reach and instead take hold of her wrist.
Misato was shocked by the gesture but found herself completely off guard when Shinji turned around and force his other hand on her shoulder. She let out a yelp as he pinned her beneath him and stretched her arm to the wall next to them. Misato was a afforded a chance to catch her breath as she looked up to see Shinji looking down at her with a face that she had only seldom seen him approach anyone with before.
There was no way for Misato to know the feelings that were rushing through Shinji at the time when he kept her from moving beneath him. As he kept her held down, Shinji made a series of heavy breaths through his nose as his grit teeth gave a display of his aggravation for what he thought of her offer. He could not muster the willingness to express his feelings in the moment, but a rush of strength became the motivation he needed to make his intentions comprehended in that moment.
Shinji had run through everything in his mind that made him feel as though he could not bring himself to be around anyone because of the harm that he would inevitably bring upon others. And here was Misato offering herself in hopes of reaching out to comfort him despite all he accused himself of. The two were hedgehogs who had their quills revealed to one another and they were both coming within dangerous proximity of one another.
If he was able to express every bit of guilt he was feeling in that moment for what he had done to her and the others around her, Shinji felt he would have revealed every single reason why he should have been hated. He could not explain why it was he would not take the opportunity to reveal all of it to Misato in that moment when he had her with no way to escape her hold or willingness to reverse her situation. The best he could have given as an answer in that moment was simply the fact that all of his manipulation being coupled with his growing sense of grief gave him a feeling of selfishness.
Shinji was reminded of everything Misato said in how his approach to her allowed her to feel something other than all-consuming grief. It seemed to cause him nothing but confusion and fear that would make him judged for the rest of his life but his recollection of what happened made him realize there was at least a brief window of escape. There was something truly selfish in that desire she tried to keep from him before realizing that he had been placed in a situation that was like what she felt in her sorrow that night.
If there was any opportunity to be taken in this moment, it was going to be how the pain would be offered this time. There was no way for him to summarize all the words he was feeling in that moment but knew that he would not be the one to instigate this time. Neither would he be the one to simply hold himself back and take any more of the pain that he had not been hoping to endure for the remainder of that day.
As a long pause loomed between the two, Shinji made the first gesture to break what tension had begun to form between them. He brought his hand down to the bottom of her and pulled it up to reveal the upper parts of her thighs. With another grasp, Shinji took hold of a side of Misato's underwear before pulling them down in another yank. Before he allowed himself to begin however, he took hold of his shorts and underwear with one hard pull to expose his own bare organ to her.
Much to Misato's disbelief, Shinji was doing more than accepting her advance but was also the one who was breaking the agreement that they made to one another. They were supposed to be guardian and roommate and yet the weight of the situation managed to be so great that she was allowing herself to be reached out to by the same boy she was supposed to keep herself from reaching out to. She knew that the loss of Rei would affect him greatly but came to realize how much more she meant to him than she believed. At least with her current situation, that was what she believed for being in a time where words would not have any meaning.
Still unable to comprehend any of the thoughts that rush through Shinji's mind, there was one simple fact that he wanted to make as apparent as possible. The amount of pain he was offering to those around him continued to accumulate in a dangerous way and he could not bring himself to speak the confession that he believed would reveal everything wrong about himself. He wanted Misato to understand what he deemed himself capable of by making sure that she would be hurt by his reaching out to her. So hurt that she would never look at him the same way again even if she still saw him as someone to pity.
In their attempts to reach out to one another on the night of Kaji's death, Shinji was the one who allowed himself to be drawn into Misato's cry for help. Here she was attempting to bring about the sort of taboo act that brought them together last time even when they agreed it would be best to never allow this to happen again. For trying to lure him back into the situation that caused him so much confusion before, for wanting to make Misato stop seeing him as someone to pity, he wanted her to make sure that his impression of himself was left on her.
It was this motivation that caused Shinji to position his penis to the entrance of Misato's vagina before hearing her say, "Wait, let-"
Before Misato had a chance to say anything, Shinji thrust forward as he forced his erection into Misato's folds. A sharp tingle made its way through Shinji's spine as he felt himself become one with Misato again but did not allow himself to savor in the feeling this time. With prior experience and a rough idea of what he had to do, Shinji pulled himself back before slamming his hips into Misato's again and began to establish a rapid pattern that he knew came with the act.
Still pinned down to his bed, Misato let out a yelp when she felt Shinji force himself into her and begin to establish a rapid pace of thrusting in and out of her. Without having prepared herself before, she was being forced to bear the friction of being penetrated without the comfort of arousal or lubrication beforehand. It was not something she thought about before but realized how she never intended to allow herself to be so weak in a situation as this one again. In a moment where the two of them demonstrated their weaknesses however, there seemed to be no way for them to avoid reaching out in this way.
The way Shinji had accepted Misato's offer however left her confused not by his acceptance but instead by how he seemed to believe was the proper way to cooperate with her. He kept her left arm stretched out while he kept another hand pressed against her shoulder with what strength he managed to exert in his effort to keep her from leaving her current position. Despite the rough handling of her and his unwillingness to speak however, she could not muster the desire to break free of his grasp or deny what he clearly saw as his only way towards freeing himself of the pain.
Much like the previous time where she had sex with him, the friction from Misato's lower regions built a heat within her brought about by the collision of Shinji's pelvis and just the simple fact of having a man inside her. The description she resorted to left her surprised with herself when she remembered that she was thinking about Shinji in that moment. While having gone through much of his life with difficulties and challenges that would have broken people older than him, she had to be reminded that she was still giving herself to someone who was so much younger than her.
As Misato looked up to Shinji, she recognized the look of temper that continued to permeate his face as he looked down at her with an ignited temper to keep her from moving. She could not imagine why he was intensifying his position so much when it seemed like something that he would have never alluded to before. She realized that she should have been more suspect of what would spur something in him like this.
Why would give Shinji the motivation to decide that such a demanding act was what he needed to do? Why would he look upon her with such anger when just a little while ago he was mourning the loss of Rei? These sorts of inconsistences should have been enough to make Misato stop Shinji from what he was doing not because of the potential harm but because there had to be something else on his mind entirely.
As these curiosities wondered their way through Misato's mind, she realized that she had no way to make her argument when she repeatedly felt herself pinned to the mattress beneath her and feeling her vagina repeatedly penetrated by Shinji's increasingly erratic motions. His presses against her began to leave an impression against her as he pressed down on her shoulder and her wrist as though he was trying to perform CPR. Even with all of the harm that he was dealing to her, she still found herself accepting every thrust making its way into her as the depths within her eagerly awaited the final release.
As Misato's confusion continued to take hold of her, Shinji struggled to comprehend how she allowed herself to be so easily used. Her offer was supposed to be taken to comfort him and take away his pain. And yet here she was completely complacent to allowing herself to being taken in by his impressions upon her completely uninterrupted.
There was no way that Shinji could say this was love or that it was a mutually pleasant experience for either of them. He could not bring himself to believe that he was doing anything that would be beneficial to either of them. He was being challenged in this moment to make sense of what should have shamed him or at least make him question if he was doing the right thing but instead chose to focus on the feeling of enwrapping his sensitive organ into Misato's depths while without even giving her a chance to question him.
Neither Shinji nor Misato kept track of how long they kept going but it was a short while before Shinji felt a boiling within his penis begging to be released. He knew the feeling of release was soon to come and he was eager to at least feel himself lost in that bliss even for just a short while. Having come so far, he felt no need to question what he was supposed to do and simply prepared himself by thrusting in and out at an increasing rate.
Misato tried to alter the final moments of her entanglement with Shinji as she threw her right leg around Shinji's waist and brought her right hand around his back. There was no breaking away from him now and began to fully accept what she was offering him. She briefly wondered what she should have done differently when the moment of Shinji's release came.
Deep within her, Misato felt Shinji's penis tremble as he released a stream into her womb and caused her to give a trembling yelp from the feeling of her insides being filled. The culmination of both heats combining in their pelvic regions became the focus of their minds as they overcame the initial reaction they had to their union and afterwards began to catch their breath. Even after their sexual union was complete, Shinji kept himself buried within Misato as soon as desperation to keep himself from hearing anything she would have asked him.
His desperation to keep Misato silenced came as soon as he released her shoulder and wrist and allowed himself to collapse on top of her. Misato opened her eyes from the feeling of release she just had as soon as Shinji placed his entire weight upon her and now breathing next to her ear. She turned to see his head next to her and felt a sense of calm return that had been lost in the heated passion she had recently gone through.
Even after breaking what he hoped to avoid, Shinji became desperate to avoid any further challenges to him when he tried to repeat the embrace that he had with Misato the night they shared together. Despite still being clothed and messy in their lower regions, Shinji relied on the hope that he would avoid any further confrontation by keeping Misato pinned beneath him and unable to move. It was not only a question of keeping her from speaking or discovering the truth about him, but it was also the desperate hope he had of turning himself away from the loss that was thrust upon him before he would inevitably be asked to face the Angels again.
Misato realized the condition that was placed upon her as she was forced to accept the embrace above her and watch Shinji continue to wallow in the despair that he was feeling before. She was given a chance to catch her breath as she watched him bury his face into the pillow next to her head while clutching as tight as his arms could around her body. Misato sighed when she realized what she had gotten herself into and that she was not going to have a chance to escape without making him feel he was good for nothing other than a quick round.
Misato could not tell how much time would pass before Shinji finally fell asleep but began to feel it as soon as his grip around her lightened. She had the opportunity to release herself and pray that he would be a heavy enough sleeper to not recognize that she would be gone for the rest of the night, but the guilt of the idea forced her to think a second time. As she slid Shinji's penis out of her canal, Misato stepped up for a short while before taking the short few seconds to turn off the lights for the two of them to sleep.
Misato removed her clothes to be clad only in her bra before making her way back to the bed that Shinji slept upon and taking him back into an embrace. As much as she did not want to admit it to herself, Misato could not help but feel a sense of contentment as she began to fall asleep. Misato felt there were regrets that should have flooded her mind for her having slept with him again, but they were dismissed as she kept Shinji close to her and allowed herself to fall asleep for the night.
The sleep for Shinji and Misato was unexpectedly peaceful considering the circumstances of what happened yesterday. Without an alarm to alert them to what would come to pass that day, neither of them was given the chance to be alarmed. Misato could not tell if it was from noticing how unusually calm it was that morning or if it was from simply feeling the need to wake up, but she was given a very stark reminder of what she had done that last night.
Misato rubbed her eyes as she made herself wake up before looking around to recognize that she was not sleeping in her usual room and that she did not sleep alone either. Shinji was still lying next to her content in sleep and completely devoid of the worries that were thrust upon him from the loss he was forced to accept yesterday. And him being there was a confirmation of what they did together that night.
Misato sat up on Shinji's bed when she ran a hand over her face before giving a sigh remembering a joke she made what seemed to be a long time ago. And don't worry. It's not like I'm going to "put the moves" on a kid. Shaking her head in shame for what she had done, Misato discovered that her comment was not only prophetic but something she should have taken even more seriously than before. She could not comprehend why she allowed herself to be so weak that she would reach out in a way that she knew would have been nothing but detrimental to them both.
Picking up her clothes and making her way through the halls, Misato quickly dressed herself before making her way back to her bedroom. This time fully dressed in her casual clothes, Misato made her way back to the center living room before seeing Shinji up and about. The two looked across to one another for a few seconds as a silence was established between them before Shinji turned away and made his way for the washroom.
Misato looked down when she felt the shame of her action weigh on her while realizing what little she really accomplished last night. Much like her drinking, she sought a temporary solution for an issue that ultimately culminated into something she came to regret. She crossed her arms when she tried to imagine what else she could have done or said to make up for what she allowed to be a demonstration of her weakness as whatever she was meant to be to Shinji.
Shinji did not have an easy time when he processed the events of what had happened last night underneath the cold water that pelted the top of his head. He only allowed for the shower to pass for a short while when he decided there was no point in trying to avoid Misato anymore now that she knew he was awake and confirming what they had just done together. It did not make the issue of adjusting to Misato's advance any easier for him however as he was left to contemplate how much more serious this relationship between him and her continued to be.
Try as he might, there was one set of words that stood out to him when he thought about Misato's attitude about him. I should have made myself your concubine ever since I took you in. Shinji wanted to find a corner to confine himself into when he considered how much Misato's offhand remark served as a foreshadowing to where he was now. Not only in his desperate attempt to push her away from him did he find himself back in the same situation that started all this trouble in the first place.
The scenario played out in his mind when he considered what he did to Misato that night. Shinji kept himself on the defensive as he curled up to raise his quills to harm everyone who would come close to him and yet Misato willingly chose to bring herself close to him. She moved closer to his quills and allowed herself to be inflicted by the injuries that he believed he was dealing. As he allowed the analogy to play out in his mind, he could not decide whether to consider the danger of Misato's approach to be only dangerous to her or dangerous to him.
He could not ponder his situation in the washroom however and knew that he would have to face the remainder of the day with what might come his way. As he made his way out and dressed himself, he saw Misato sitting on her end of the table in her dining room. She had a worn look when she considered everything that happened last night but had her head raised when she prepared to approach him with a sense of purpose.
Misato was the first to greet that morning and told him, "Shinji. I… we need to talk about… this."
Shinji could not bring himself to protest the command as he sat himself across from Misato and prepared to confront what was about to come. Desperate to find a way out of the conversation, Shinji asked, "Is this going to be long? I have school."
Misato shook her head explaining, "You'll just have a sick day. Same as me. I know you don't want to hear this but it's too serious now."
Fearing the worst, Shinji hoped to avoid being dealt the worst of the punishment suggesting, "Miss Misato… If you never want to see me again, I'll make sure you don't have to."
Misato shook her head, "That's only making it worse Shinji. I'm not here to throw you out."
Confused by what Misato wanted, Shinji was left with no other option than to accept, "Okay…"
As Shinji gave his confirmation of the conversation, Misato let out a breath when she tried to find a way to comprehend what she was going through. She was still dealing with a boy who was content to take things as they came rather than have a firm idea of what he would do. She could not decide if it was better or worse than having to deal with him running away again but could have at least been dealing with a real individual if he had such foresight.
Forced to accept that she would have to work with someone who was still so broke, Misato worded her offer by explaining, "So Shinji… I know we… decided that we wouldn't talk about what happened to us… that night. But it looks like it just made things… more difficult."
"Yeah. I… don't know what I was thinking."
"You were under a lot. I was under a lot. It's one thing to deal with things as they come but this… thing we have going… it's going to get worse if we don't do something."
Shinji looked down in shame when he feared what he was about to hear. If it was not about being cut out of her life for as long as she lived, he was certain that Misato would want him to have some sort of retribution for what he did. In his desire to push Misato away from him, he feared that he had done the opposite and instead gave her a reason to hate him to the point where she would decide that severe disciplining would be in order.
Shinji slouched in his chair when he imagined what he was going to be challenged with before he agreed, "Yeah. I can… follow…"
Misato brought her fingers under Shinji's chin when she lifted his gaze back up to hers before she continued with her solution, "I'm not going to send you to prison or anything."
Before Misato could continue on, Shinji leapt at her seeming indifference when he pointed out, "Seriously? I just… I… I really hurt you didn't I?"
Realizing that he was not fully confident in calling out their time together last night, Misato explained, "I was the one who put the moves on you. You have better grounds for locking me up."
Her admission of guilt made Shinji hesitate before he tried to shift the conversation and ask, "Well I… don't know what else we could do…"
Misato looked to her side when she tried to distract herself with the state of her apartment but answered, "So I have an idea how we can handle it. I'll need you to think about this really seriously though."
Shinji nodded when he bit the inside of his mouth and agreed, "I will."
Misato brought herself back in her chair when she took a breath and prepared for a question that would challenge both of their lives the moment it was uttered. She worked up the will to finally ask, "So Shinji… Will you… be my boyfriend?"
Shinji gasped when he heard the question. The idea did not make any sense to him whatsoever. Last night he could have sworn that he essentially raped her and forced her to accept what he wanted in that moment. He could have sworn that a scenario such as this one was the set up for a cruel joke at his expense.
Shinji brought his hands to the table when he asked, "Miss Misato… You're… serious?"
Misato was prepared for the astonishment when she reminded, "I know it's weird. We haven't been very normal around here lately have we?"
"I guess not…"
"So it's a different story than just sex. It's more like we're just… finding a way to reconnect. If we try and being more open with one another, maybe we won't be so quick to jump the gun next time."
"You think that's the best way to handle this?"
"Yeah. Just give this thing a few weeks to run its course and you'll be running to Asuka before you know it."
Shinji could not decide if he should have felt a sense of hope that he was not facing a severe punishment or if that he should have been cautious on the basis that there should have been some serious implication behind what he was being offered. The gap in years between them should have been enough to make him question how this sort of offer should have been acceptable but the lengths of everything he had already done with Misato made him decide it was an inconsequential consideration. He could have only imagined what the reactions of others would have been in his situation, but he was the one who allowed everything to come into play.
Shinji managed to reveal his uncertainty for the situation when he told Misato, "I think I'm… confused."
If there was anything that Shinji was most disappointed in, it was the intended effect of what he had done. He felt that he should have been facing more or at least been pushed away for accepting the pain he inflicted upon her. It should not have been possible for her to want to reach out to him again with everything that he had done.
Misato addressed this part of her proposal asking, "Yeah. It seems like I'm taking it to the next level even when we've… gone so far already doesn't it?"
Feeling he had a ground to question Misato on, Shinji asked, "So why bother?"
The question made Misato take a long breath before she answered, "Being in a relationship means that we just have to be honest with each other. No secrets. We share everything and we try to be… well serious about it is how I should say."
The offer seemed to be as much of a sign of hope as it seemed a prelude to further disaster. On one hand it seemed to offer the opportunity to truly connect with another person on what he was feeling and how he could talk to someone who had some amount of adult wisdom that could offer him guidance. On the other, it seemed like an opportunity for all the secrets that he had been keeping from Misato to come spilling out and inflict a sort of pain upon her that she could not imagine.
Being able to recognize the latter outcome was enough to make Shinji consider the implications behind putting himself in a relationship such as this one. It was a form of selfishness that he never would have considered wishing for before and made him realize that he was going to take on one burden after already having what seemed to be the weight of the world on his shoulders. He could already see himself on the breaking point with how many challenges had already come so close to breaking him that adding one more might be enough to cause him to lose everything.
So why even consider embracing the thought of brining Misato into his life and making her so significant in it? The best excuse he could think of was the allure of the alternate outcome. The chance that both of them could reach out to one another and not have to allow themselves to be in a constant state of confusion or grieving.
Seeking confirmation for what this opportunity might have been like, Shinji asked, "So we just be honest with each other, and we don't push each other away?"
Misato confirmed, "That's the idea."
As great as the temptation was to possibly free himself from the repeated cycle of grieving that he had ever since he allowed himself into NERV, there was still the question of what such a relationship would be built upon. It consisted of convenience, lies, compulsion, and just a general break against everything that would have been considered acceptable among his peers. If he truly cared about the wellbeing of Misato, he felt there was no good reason for him to reach out to her and hurt her in ways that she would not have been able to comprehend.
For all the risks that were placed upon him in taking this opportunity, he was made to remember how he was acting before. When he first joined NERV he was considering the dangers of taking on the Angels, he thought that doing so would not only save the life of Rei but be the key to earning some sort of approval from his father. His life up to this point was caused because he had some form of selfishness in mind and yet a way of thinking of others as well.
He could not tell if this was the same thing or even slightly comparable but thinking back to his idea made him decide there was a reason for him to accept what he was placing himself into. He risked the chance of allowing Misato to be hurt but doing so would make sure that he would never be moved to intentionally harm her again. Even if he did not really believe in the foundation of this relationship, he was able to rationalize a reason that this would have been the best choice.
The thoughts that made their way through his mind were becoming long and questionable. He knew there was nowhere for him to run, only an opportunity to affirm what he was going through or deny it go any further. Whatever logic or roundabout thinking he could come up with would have to be the foundation for why he would consider where his life would be headed from this point onward.
With a heavy sigh, Shinji finally gave his answer, "… Okay. I trust you."
Misato blinked when she felt a need to confirm what she had just heard. Hoping that she did not cross a significant boundary she asked, "So you're up for it then?"
Shinji nodded when he confirmed, "Yeah."
Having confirmed Shinji's acceptance, Misato leaned over the table before placing a kiss on his forehead. Shinji looked up before Misato told him, "Well. Glad I could get a clear answer."
"So do you think Asuka won't be too freaked out when she finds out?"
While Shinji felt several fears placed upon him for accepting this union with Misato, he did not realize that he would find himself being tested immediately after he began his venture into this union he established. A few knocks on the front door caught both their attention as they realized there was someone who came to see them. For all the fears of what would happen in being prepared for everything going forward, Shinji never imagined that he would have had to confront another person he feared possibly harming.
A/N: And here is where the ball that is the Shinji/Misato ship of this story really starts rolling. If you made it this far, I hope you're looking forward to where a lot of divergences really begin to take shape. Thanks again for everybody who has read up to this point, I really appreciate the interest. I hope to see you then.