Shinji Ikari lay back on the bed, the black haired young lady's eyes closed as she tried to collect her racing thoughts. Just this morning she had been recovering in a sterile hospital bed and now this evening she was in a new bedroom living with two other women. A smiling Ritsuko had helped Misato and her carry all of Shinji's stuff inside, then they had introduced her to the penguin, Pen Pen. Why two women had a penguin for a pet she didn't know, but there it was, resting in the second fridge. Dinner had been quiet, then as quickly as possible Shinji had retreated to her new room. 'What am I doing here?' Shinji wondered, covering up her eyes with her arm. 'I'm just a ordinary kid, why am I being asked to do something like this?' A flash of memory, the battle against the Angel... she remembered it all, no matter what she had told the doctors at NERV. She touched her arm, recalling the phantom pain of it being broken, then the searing agony as the Evangelion's head was pounded on. She had been barely able to get EVA-01 moving at first, and was utterly unable to fight. She still didn't know what turned the tide in the battle, not really at any rate. The last head blow, maybe, or the anger at the situation she was in, something changed inside Shinji. Grasping the controls she had fought back, breaking free of the Angel's grip, then began to fight back. Somehow her will combined with the Evangelion to repair it's arm, then she had struck back with an unimagined fury. Ruthlessly she drove it backwards and when it tried to protect itself with some kind of force field... she tore through it like paper. 'How did I do that?' Shinji questioned. Why did she have such a feeling of... belonging, when she was inside the Evangelion? It had almost felt like those long forgotten memories of childhood, cradled in the safety of her mother's arms. And then there was Rei... when her father had wheeled in the badly injured girl to pilot Evangelion, Shinji had been horrified. Wrapped in bandages, being hauled around on a medical bed, the blue haired Rei had met Shinji's gaze with her uninjured eye and something just clicked. Shinji refused to see her hurt any more, especially by her father. "I'll pilot Evangelion" Shinji murmured to herself softly"if only to protect her." In the kitchen of the apartment two women were cleaning up as they talked together quietly. Ritsuko finished washing a dish, the blonde passing it to her partner as she noted"Shinji barely said anything during dinner." A smiling Misato took it carefully"It's not like we could sit around talking about work at the dinner table." She rinsed off the dish and put it in the rack as she said"And I doubt she'd want to talk about it, anyway." "True" Ritsuko agreed. She smiled impishly as she teased"Not to mention Shinji was still getting over her surprise at us being a couple." Misato rolled her eyes"I said I was sorry for not telling him, love." A bit more seriously she asked"So how's Ayanami" "It'll be a few weeks before she's fully recovered" Ritsuko answered frankly"we'll need to rely on Shinji alone until then." Misato sighed"Then we'd better get her into the simulator and start training, we can't rely on luck or whatever gift she has again." Finishing up the dishes Ritsuko remarked"Do you get the feeling she isn't telling us everything that happened while fighting the Angel" Misato took Ritsuko's hand as they went through the apartment"Yes, but can you blame her? I do think she isn't holding back information out of malice." Ritsuko pushed open their bedroom door"Considering she seems to loathe the commander, we're lucky she's even piloting Evangelion." "That's an understatement" Misato agreed as she followed her in"we shared a elevator with the Commander, not a word from either of them." "Marvelous" Ritsuko sighed. They began to undress as she asked"Is there anything in her personnel file to explain it" Misato sat on the side of the bed to slip her shoes off. "Just that he left Shinji with her Aunt and Uncle" she answered as she smoothly undressed, dumping clothes on the floor"oddly they haven't tried to contact him despite his being in hospital." "Looks like we're all Shinji has" Ritsuko sighed as they settled down on the bed together. Misato snuggled to her side"She could be doing much worse." The next morning Shinji woke up first, venturing into the kitchen to make some toast. The young woman blinked as she noticed the penguin looking up at her expectantly. "Yes" she finally had to ask Pen Pen. "He just wants his morning fish" Ritsuko yawned as she wandered into the room dressed in an oversized nightshirt. She opened the fridge and got out a can of sardines, spilling them out into Pen Pen's bowl. "Good morning Dr. Akagi" Shinji said nervously. "Coffee, coffee" Ritsuko fumbled about in the shelves till she found her favorite mug, filling it from the pre-brewed pot. "You can just call me Ritsuko here" she took a drink"we are all living in the same house." "I'll try" Shinji said softly. 'For someone who was so tough in Gendo's presence,' Ritsuko found herself noting, 'she sure can be shy.' Taking another drink she said"Do you mind going into NERV with us today, we're going to have to fit you with a plugsuit." "Plugsuit" Shinji looked up at the blonde scientist curiously. "The entry plug can pick up your thoughts and intentions" Ritsuko explained"but the plugsuit helps make it work more efficiently." Before Shinji could answer Misato stumbled into the kitchen dressed in a very short T-shirt and panties. Opening the fridge she pulled out a can of beer, popped it open and proceeded to slam it back in one go. "Ahh, that was good" she sighed happily. "Beer first thing in the morning" Ritsuko frowned"And in front of Shinji" "Hey" Misato said defensively"it's a tradition! I'm just substituting beer for sake, is all." Changing the subject she asked"What were you talking about" "Plugsuits" Ritsuko said succinctly. Misato popped open another can of beer. "You'll need to pick out a color" she took a more conservative drink"but not red or white." "I saw Rei in the white" Shinji looked thoughtful"is there another pilot as well" "Asuka Soryu Langley" Ritsuko crisply offered"who's currently involved with the testing of the Unit-02 in Germany." "Then I guess I'll take blue" Shinji dubiously examined some older bread then stuck it in the toaster"it's simpler." "Good enough" Ritsuko nodded. She opened up the fridge then looked inside before closing it with a sigh"Remind me to go grocery shopping tonight. Who wants takeout for lunch" "Sounds like a plan" Misato agreed. She casually snagged a piece of Shinji's toast"We'll need to get you registered for school, too." "Doesn't the exciting life of a pilot keep me from going to school" Shinji asked hopefully. "Sorry" Misato shook her head"Rei and Asuka go to school, you'll have to go as well." Ritsuko looked amused, 'Nice to see she's got the normal dislike of school.' Aloud she asked"Do you have any favorite foods, Shinji" "Huh" she looked startled. "We are going shopping for you, too" Misato smiled, "Shin-chan."
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