Got in the Robot, now what?! END - Or 'Where is the fucking instructions for this big ass robot?!' (NGE, Shinji!SI)

Ikari Shinji was running late for school.

Dashing through the streets of Tokyo with a pace almost beyond the average student, he could only curse the fact his mom forgot to wake him up. Of course he had to end up with a forgetful lady as a mom and one that tended to 'forget' whenever she was being lovey-dovey with her husband.

To be fair, it was also weird someone as stoic and cringey as his dad managed to even get in a relationship with mom but... that being said, he wasn't about to engage in an internal monologue. Not when he had greater issues to deal with and, most important of it all, he hardly had any reason to be procrastinating. He was normal, average even, and somewhat glad that this was indeed his life.

And, the one thing that made life easier for him in those instances was currently bickering with the teacher responsible for handling any late students. Diving low and ignoring the strict teacher's gaze, he noticed the distraction sparing him a wink which made him smile. After all, if there was a way to describe Shinichi, the 'Best Janitor this school ever had', it was also his own guardian angel. As a scrawny boy with a nerdy propensity, Shinji couldn't help but look up at Shinichi as the kind of man he wanted to be. Strong, reliable, no-nonsense but still friendly and easygoing.

From Shinji's own understanding through what he learned from the man himself, the janitor was married and had two children, one of which was adopted. He never learned much about Shinichi's wife, only that Shinichi tended to call her 'his Angel' and 'his awesome babe'. The last one had poor Shinji stutter like a moron. He could see himself call his future girlfriend that... if she was into it. Of course, life may be simple to an extent, but when it comes to love-

"Ikari! You idiot, you are lucky that our new sensei is not there just yet!" The sharp tone owned by the notorious German-born childhood friend of his made poor Shinji flinch as Asuka Langley-Sohryu was a fiery student who tended to really grill his ass whenever he was caught 'being a dummy'.

They had been tight friends due to their parents being very close, which in turn saw Shinji's mother convincing Asuka's mother to move to Japan when her husband died. This ultimately ended up with Shinji being saddled with the duty of being a 'good gentleman' around the 'poor Asuka', all the while not being too harsh on her.

"I-I am sorry, it was mom that forgot to wake me up."

"You could have set up an alarm like anyone with some brain."

Ah yes, never once getting mercy from the German girl. Still, she wasn't the only one giving him grief. If Asuka was vocal, then his cousin, Ayanami Rei, was able to convey emotions with look. A flat one aimed at him for being late made him wither as if he had been eating lemons for breakfast.

Sitting down, Shinji was able to at least not get reported for being late. And he was also curious to see who was this mysterious new teacher meant to replace one of their older ones. As if answering his thoughts, a woman stepped through the door, one that had white hair and sharp red eyes hidden behind spectacles. Her outfit, which hardly showed any skin, highlighted a very respectable and strict individual who was soon going to teach them according to her subject.

That, of course, didn't stop some of the boys to feel intrigued by the youthful appeared of their newest teacher.

"Good day, class, my name is Rokubungi Runako, I will be your Art History teacher and I will be responsible to educate you all about the importance of critical thinking when analyzing specific artistic pieces which can range from some perplexing modern items to complex and deep pieces of religious connotation."

Swift, smooth, and overall confirming early expectations. Shinji had no reason to believe Rokubungi-sensei could be someone that would give him more headaches like some adults he knew around but then-

"Nako-chaaaaan~!"

The door opened again, and the annoyed look on the bespectacled teacher matched a bit of irritation manifested by some male students at seeing the janitor behave so cozy with the newest teacher.

"Shinichi-kun, I hope this is important, I am already a bit late-"

"You forgot your bento!"

Shinji's eyes narrowed as he saw how their new sensei appeared stunned as a large pink bento box soon landed on her desk. The smug look on Shinichi wasn't unusual, and the pout that Rokubungi-sensei mustered at this clever prank over the bento felt almost too fitting, but it was clear there was more between those two.

"Ugh, remind me why I married you?"

"Because under this janitor suit there is a man that is ready to love you, cherish you, and brings you chocolate in your monthly time of need."

Some of the students snickered, with the white-haired sensei slamming a fist against her desk. "O-Out with you!"

The janitor spared a wave before rushing away, leaving most to consider a most unexpected truth. Rokubungi-sensei, someone who looked extremely gorgeous and sophisticated... was actually married to that goof of a janitor?!

Indeed, what a most unexpected surprise. A new novelty for Ikari Shinji but nothing too outlandish compared to the usual.

Yes, life was a bit wacky, but at least it wasn't like the world was ending in a few days or something - not when Shinichi-sensei was silently removing the few threats of this world together with his wife and their 'rogue Unit-01'.

AN

This Epilogue is set in the Neon Genesis Evangelion: Shinji Ikari Raising Project Manga, which is a more 'Romcom-ish' version of Eva where Gendo is a dumbass, Yui is a somewhat-sane woman, Asuka's mom is a bit airheaded, and Rei is really Shinji's cousin so the banjo is still banjo'ng in this world. And yes, 'Shinichi' and Runako survived and carved their own happy ending in a non-apocalyptic version of their home dimension. There are no major threats there, they have a family - they fucking won.

...

But, as I have promised, a glimpse into a potential IF. After all, things can get botched when you try to GTFO of a specific dimension. End result? Shinji and Runako becomes sudden 'dad and mom' of a group of kids around their age who are, by all means, their 'spiritual successors':

"Are we really getting beaten here? I thought we had the edge on them?" Runako pointed out, annoyed but perhaps not as much as I was as I got Unit-01 out of the little crater made with our fall.

"Just got caught off-guard, they are not getting out of this one."

As I said that, the Evangelion shuddered with renewed eagerness and energy, the bullshit circumstances allowing us to move without a battery giving us the needed edge to face such a childish opponent.

A cute mecha, and a familiar one. One that I didn't want to deal with but... oh well, we are in this cursed world similar to ours, it was about time we made a strong impression on our copycats.

After all, I am not getting beaten by these Darlings in the FRANXX!

AN

A little IF. Shinji and Runako ( Eva-01) in the Darling in the FRANXX world potential sequel. Feedback?