I'm happy to have another chapter up in a fairly short time.
The first patron that night was a quiet man, in traditional clothing, whom Kaji greeted as Katagiri. Katagiri paid little attention to Shinji and sat at the end of the bar, tucked into the corner, and said little once he was served a glass of sake.
The diner itself was one modestly-sized room, and Shinji considered it to be nice and cozy. The walls had wood panelling. There was a map of Tokyo's subway system hung on the wall. There were no tables; all patrons sat in one of the twelve seats placed around the small U-shaped bar behind which Kaji and Shinji worked. On a small shelf, high enough that it was just below the diner's low ceiling, sat a small TV set. Next to it a clock hung on the wall.
The U-shaped bar protruded into the room towards the door. If Shinji stood facing the door, the TV and clock were in the ceiling corner on his right. Katagiri sat in the back corner on his left. Behind him was the kitchen where he and Kaji worked.
Kaji switched on the old TV set a few minutes after opening, right before Katagiri arrived. He flipped channels until settling on a documentary about the American national hero George Washington, setting the remote down with a satisfied grunt.
"Usually, Shinji, I'd start smoking around now." said Kaji once he had served Katagiri. "Katsuragi forbade me from doing that around you. Says she's worried about your lungs, that if you got sick in them she'd hold me responsible."
"Oh, I see…" Shinji said. He wasn't sure what to say-should he apologise? It was because of him that Kaji's smoking habit had been restricted.
"Heh, that wasn't exactly what she told me." Kaji continued. "Her actual threat was a tad more…explicit about what would happen to me and exactly how far apart, but ah, you needn't worry about that." He winked at Shinji. "She does care about you."
"Yeah," Shinji said. "Miss Misato is a kind person, I'm really lucky she's my mom."
"Of course, some of my customers might." Kaji continued. "But if it makes you uncomfortable I can request they stop."
"Huh?" Shinji said. "Might what? Your-your customers, I mean? They might what?"
"Oh, uh, smoke." Kaji said. "They might smoke, but if you'd rather they not I'll ask they refrain from doing so."
"Oh, uh, that's fine." Shinji said. "If Miss Misato didn't ask, I don't want to, uh, impose on them or anything."
"You're cooking for them," Kaji said. "It's not an imposition for us to request they don't smoke in here. This is my establishment; they are the guests and we are the cooks. If I tell them not to smoke in our diner, they don't get to smoke in our diner."
"Oh, I see," Shinji said. He looked down. "If that's alright with you then…"
"Ah, of course!" Kaji said. "I might start putting up a sign then, assuming you continue working here."
Shinji didn't quite know what to say in response. He still felt embarrassed that Kaji was changing a diner policy on his account, but also grateful. Cigarettes were bad after all. Secondhand smoke and whatnot. But at the same time, he felt worried that a diner policy was being changed on his account. He didn't feel he was worth the imposition upon Kaji's customers.
Kaji had called it "our diner." Not "my diner," but "our diner." Shinji figured this likely meant Kaji was genuine about welcoming him as an employee and not just hiring him because Misato had demanded it. So if Kaji was genuine about wanting Shinji here, then perhaps it wasn't too big a deal to ask him to forbid his customers from smoking.
And, cigarettes were bad after all. Secondhand smoke and whatnot.
"It's a big deal that she trusts you with him," Ritsuko said. She bent over towards Kaji so he could light the cigarette in her mouth. "She loves that kid."
"I'm aware," Kaji said.
This was two weeks earlier, after Misato had relented and agreed to allow Kaji to employ Shinji at the diner.
"Don't screw it up," Ritsuko said. "Look after him."
Around 12:30 the ninth guest of the evening came into the diner. To Kaji's great surprise, Shinji not only recognised her but also seemed very glad to see her.
"Ayanami!" he exclaimed.
"Ikari," the girl replied quietly. If Kaji wasn't such a people person, her reaction would lead him to assume she did not care that Shinji had greeted her so warmly. But his line of work prior to settling down to run the diner had necessitated expertise in reading the subtle reactions of other people, and he was able to discern that this girl-Ayanami, as Shinji had called her-was subtly, but definitely, happy to see Shinji.
"Ayanami!" Shinji said again. "W-what are you doing here?"
"You said you were working here starting tonight." Ayanami replied quietly. She reached into a pocket and pulled out her phone. "In a LINE message two weeks ago, you offhandedly mentioned your mother had gotten you a job. I was curious so I inquired further, and you told me the name of the establishment. Then a few days ago you told me, again on LINE, that you wouldn't respond quickly for the foreseeable future because starting tonight you were working late-night shifts."
"O-oh, haha, yeah I see," Shinji said awkwardly. "Do you want me to make you anything?"
Ayanami sat down on the right side of the bar, from the perspective of Kaji and Shinji standing with their backs to the kitchen.
"What is there to have?" she asked.
"What would you like?" Shinji asked. "The menu is on the wall behind you, but I don't know if you'd-"
"It says pork miso soup," Ayanami said.
"Oh-oh yeah, meat, right." Shinji said. He briefly looked at Kaji. "Rei's a vegetarian." he explained.
"I see." Kaji said.
"Ayanami, we can make other things." Shinji said. "That's, uh, one of the features of this diner. If you request, we'll make. That's the feature, I mean-we make what customers request."
"I'll have a garlic ramen with no roast pork," she replied. "Thank you, Ikari."
"Great!" Shinji said. Kaji watched the girl smile slightly and then took a small book out of her bag. He studied her. She was about as tall as Shinji, with paler skin. Her hair was a bright blue but that was not the most striking feature-Kaji found himself most intrigued by her bright red eyes. She seemed to genuinely enjoy Shinji's company. Misato had mentioned to him once or twice that Shinji had a few friends online he met up with occasionally; Kaji supposed this Rei Ayanami girl to be one of them.
There was something else too-
Shinji was already at the stove beginning to prep the garlic ramen. Kaji bent down behind him.
"Shinji," he whispered. "That girl, Ayanami."
"Yeah?" Shinji said.
"She used your-she called you by…" Kaji was struggling to find the right words. If he misspoke on such a sensitive subject and upset Shinji, Ritsuko would be livid at the risk to her patient's progress. Misato would probably actually kill Kaji if he caused her son any serious emotional distress. "She called you Ikari."
Shinji stiffened a little. "Yeah…"
"Forgive me if I'm pressing too deeply, but from what I recall that's your old family name, from before Katsuragi adopted you."
Shinji nodded vigorously, perhaps too vigorously. He didn't say anything.
"I don't know everything about where you came from," Kaji continued. "But I do know some things, from what Katsuragi has told me when explaining why she's so determined to protect you."
Shinji was clenching his right hand so tightly his knuckles were turning white. Kaji sucked in a breath-he'd fucked up, Shinji might walk out, Ritsuko would never try to force him to leave Misato's apartment again, Misato herself would set Kaji's diner ablaze and force that glasses policeman who worked for her to dispose of Kaji's remains…
"Ayanami is an old friend." Shinji said. Kaji exhaled. "She's always called me Ikari. She and I have known each other since before Miss Misato adopted me, since before I was-before I was taken…" Shinji swallowed. "Since I still lived with Father."
Kaji watched him take a deep breath. "She still likes to call me Ikari," Shinji continued. "She's the only person I don't mind doing it, because it doesn't remind me of Father when she does it. It just makes me think of her. I'm-I'm Miss Misato's son…" Shinji smiled a little now. Kaji relaxed. "And I like that. I like being Shinji Katsuragi. But Ayanami doesn't like changing habits, so it's okay if she calls me 'Ikari' still."
Shinji was visibly relaxed now. "Sorry if that was confusing. At first Miss Misato was unsure about that, and a lot of other stuff about Rei too, because Rei can be confusing sometimes. But mom got used to it and likes Rei now. I hope you do too. I'm sorry she's come here just because I'm working tonight."
"She is a customer," Kaji said. "We serve the customers. Never apologise for bringing business to our diner, Shinji."
Shinji smiled. "Of course."
I initially was unsure about how to include Rei, but since last week I had the idea of how cute it would be if she just showed up almost immediately after the diner opened because Shinji had mentioned he was working there, and then Shinji understands what she wants with little communication necessary. What is she, though? Just a person with blue hair and red eyes. I don't think in this AU Gendo had a goddess chained up underground whose soul he accidentally forced into a clone of his vanished wife. Rei is just a friend of Shinji's, here. Heck, considering the rules of anime her hair and eyes probably aren't that unusual. I mean, look at Bocchi the Rock! for example-everyone there was unusual hair colours. Anime often runs on people inexplicably having unnatural hair colours as the natural colour. I already plan for the Konosuba cast to be among the characters who wander in and out of Kaji's diner, and Aqua's hair is also bright blue, so yeah.
The description of the diner is my best attempt to describe the set in the show Midnight Diner itself. Katagiri is an eccentric patron from the show.
Originally Published April 21, 2024