143CHAPTER 3: We Don't Like Hospitals
Continental Tower Hotel, Southern Sector, Tokyo-4
"Ugh…scheiße," Shinji moaned as opened his eyes, head hurting a little…yeah he drank a wee bit too much on the plane. Luckily as a Nephilim he shook off hangovers like a champion and after a shower he knew he'll be fine. If he was Misato, who he was sure was half beer and half human, he wouldn't be able to do anything for the entire morning through to the afternoon. Still he really needed to watch himself. Thanks to living with Asuka and her German drinking habits, even if she's just as underage as he is, he picked up the (probably) bad habit of drinking too much (just a bit too much) whenever he gets really down.
That said, he felt comfortable, he almost didn't want to get out of bed.
Almost
A few years working as an Evangelion pilot, living on that hectic schedule and the discipline his old kenjutsu sensei ingrained into him meant that Shinji just naturally woke up early…Unless he'd been injured and confined to a hospital bed….which happened often now that he thought about it.
Still, he took a few minutes to bask in the warmth and stretched in the bed…and felt something soft and warm on top of him.
Wait.
"Mmmh"
And…was that a moan?
Shinji opened his eyes and looked down towards his chest and saw…pink?
He scrunched his brows in drowsy confusion; nothing seemed to be making sense.
Oh wait, right!
Since he had to pack up all his things to move back to Japan his room had been totally empty so he had been sleeping with Asuka every night before he had to leave Germany…Wait no, she has red hair and was in Hamburg plus…isn't he already in Japan? He tried to move his limbs but found that he could only move his right arm, his left arm and legs were being restrained by something…soft…and warm. He lifted the blanket off of him and saw…a girl. She wore a grey shirt that was too big for her and a pair of black shorts and he recognized that both were his. She was a petit girl that much Shinji could tell but he couldn't see her face as it was pressed against his chest while her pink hair flowed over them both. His face reddened when the girl murmured something in her sleep and pressed her soft chest against him.
Then he remembered.
She was Benitsubasa, a sekirei, a race of aliens who reacted to humans who were their 'destined' ones…their mates.
'Holy shit…I'm…married?' he thought with not a small amount of sleepy confusion.
Then he remembered the kiss, the second one, the one he started. It wasn't chaste like the first one when he…winged? Yes, winged her. No the second one had tongue…lots of tongue.
'WHAT THE HELL GOT INTO ME?!' When the hell did he get so bold?! The blush on his face deepened to a red that matched the bright red armor of Unit-02. 'I'm going to hold back my drinking from now on.'
Well if he was sleepy before he felt fully awake now.
He couldn't help but smile though. A part of him still couldn't believe he had a girlfriend…of sorts. He never thought of himself as a particularly noteworthy person. Even being an Evangelion pilot didn't seem too noteworthy to him, he was the only one who could do it and due to the importance of Eva he was sure NERV and the UN would have forced him anyway. And being Nephilim? That wasn't a choice of his, it just happened.
He didn't feel he was a genius like Asuka, or a good tactician (in the crazy way) that Misato was. He didn't think he was as calm in tough situations as Rei was or as brave as the soldiers that fought beside him on occassion. In his opinion the only thing he had was his skill with a blade and he really doubted he could evenly match Miya in a sword fight, the memory of her sheer presence when they first met seemed to tell him so.
Plus…he was dirty, stained by the past.
He embraced his sekirei with his one free arm, what made him worthy of such an amazing girl?
…Wait was she his girlfriend? She said 'mate' didn't she? Were they…married? Wait, didn't he wing Miya when he was a kid? He for sure remembered a kiss and wings of light. So…he had two wives?...And he was married at the age of FIVE?!
He couldn't help but let off a silent groan, 'I am NOT looking forward to Misato-san finding out about this.' What happened to his simple life of fighting eldritch abominations inside a man-made god?
...Oh God, didn't Benitsubasa say that some ashikabi have multiple sekirei? And he already had two…
He couldn't help but sigh.
Yup, if SEELE doesn't kill him today then Misato is going to kill him with her teasing when he finally reports to NERV's new base tomorrow.
Still, he didn't regret doing what he'd done, if anything for Benitsubasa's sake. If he made her happy, if she wanted to be with him he wouldn't deny her that as long as she knows the danger. Shinji was all too familiar with what it feels like for life to keep people you want to be with away from you and he wouldn't wish that on anyone.
He ran his one free hand through her silky soft hair, enjoying the moment. While still uncomfortable with more intimate acts this small one felt ok to him. Still he had to wonder where did that kiss come from yesterday? He pursed his lips, while he was somewhat ok if her psychic influence was making him more comfortable with being with his sekirei , gods knew he wasn't a 'social person', he hoped that's where it stopped.
'No, if there's a negative effect she would have told me,'he thought with a nod. If he learned one thing about his pink haired sekirei yesterday it was that she was loyal to him first and foremost. He did hope it didn't affect his ability to synch with Eva though and that, more importantly, synching with Eva didn't affect his sekirei. 'I should inform Maya tomorrow anyway.'
The girl murmured, "Shinji-sama," and he blushed again from the affection in her sleepy tone.
He sighed, he did have a lot of things planned for the day so he had to get up, much to his own chagrin.
Using the fine delicate touch that learning how to move something as large as an Evangelion had given him, constructs so massive they could and did cause massive property damage with a step, he gently untangled himself from his sekirei's limbs. Once he was free he quietly slid off the bed and onto his feet. He gently tucked in his sekirei before slipping on Miya's dog tags, tucking them under his shirt. Happy again to have his good luck charm on he picked up and put on his eye patch before grabbing one of his two cellphones that he left on the nightstand. Aside from the colour, black for his own and red for NERV issue, they were the same model touch screen phone and he only needed to check the time anyway so he didn't care which.
'Seven O'clock, Benitsubasa still has time to sleep,' he decided. While he did have to visit the hospital this morning and then have lunch with Takami it was still early enough that he could let her sleep. Relationship and psychic connection or not he didn't know…well a lot about his…mate. Was she a morning person like him? She seemed the diligent type with how she talked about her training…then again Rei was diligent with NERV work but she wasn't a morning person either.
Walking into the room's kitchen, he opened the fridge and the pantry and smiled at the full and fresh stock of ingredients, Misato's doing no doubt, she knew how much he loved cooking and since the hotel he's staying in is actually one of NERV's many front companies arranging for special service wouldn't be hard. Happy with the arrangements and a breakfast plan in mind he grabbed a change of clothes from his luggage. He didn't feel the need to unpack since he didn't know how long he had to be at NERV's new Grissom Base for to reactivate Unit-01 so he kept everything in his bags.
After checking his sekirei is still comfortably asleep he went off to get cleaned up and have a shower.
A nice, long and cold shower.
Damn his teenage hormones.
"Shinji-sama?" Benitsubasa murmured as she awoke and felt the lack of her ashikabi's comforting warmth. She opened her eyes and saw that she was alone in bed and for a moment she panicked, thinking that her winging was some delusional dream because by the gods she had had less crazy dreams about her Shinji-sama before. She feared that her wanting to meet him had finally made her hallucinate but that lasted only a moment as she felt her gentle ashikabi's presence through her bond.
Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes to fully wake up she started to hear the soft talking of…someone she didn't recognize.
Pushing herself on to her elbows she saw the side her ashikabi's head above the back of a chair, the seat between them blocking her from seeing anything else. Shinji sat at the room's lounge area watching what seemed to be the morning news to her while sipping something from a white cup, coffee probably.
"G-good morning, Shinji-sama," she greeted him with a stutter; it still felt so…so surreal for her to wake up and just have him there. She pinched herself discreetly, yup, not dreaming.
Her Shinji-sama looked at her and smiled and she couldn't help but blush, it was a cute smile.
"Guten morgan Benitsubasa-san," he said in…German? She wasn't sure, "it means good morning in German."
"Oh…uh guten morgan…and just Benitsubasa is fine, Shinji-sama," she replied while making a mental note to try and pick up some German. She remembered how her ashikabi came back to Japan due to being deployed to NERV's new base, would he leave afterwards? If he did then she needed to be ready.
Shinji smiled in amusement, her pronunciation was a bit awkward and her accent on the thick side but it wasn't as bad as his was when he first tried. It wasn't like he's an expert either, sure he's fluent in German but he's pretty sure there's something about his pronunciations that he just can't hear. Should he teach her German too? Being sent back to Germany for whatever reason is a real enough possibility and while he has no plans for after the hunt for SEELE and his service to NERVE moving to Germany permanently is a possibility.
'Maybe get a job at that Japanese restaurant,' he mused as he remembered he and Asuka's favorite place to eat in Hamburg.
Benitsubasa yawned, stretched and got up and walked over. Coming into the lounge she saw that her ashikabi is currently dressed in a pair of black jeans and red golf shirt while a simple silver bracelet with two musical notes made of gemstone, one red and one purple, inset into it was on his left wrist
'That's pretty,' she thought as she rubbed her eyes before looking down to the coffee table in front of him where two plates of a simple western breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs, sausages were laid out near a small basket of croissants which she could smell were fresh. The young sekirei could also see a small jar of strawberry jam, which was her favorite as luck would have it, off to the side along with some cream and sugar. What made her curious though is that there was a cup of coffee and a cup of tea off to the side, clearly hers.
Shinji noticed her looking at the drinks and explained, "I didn't know what you liked so I just made a simple breakfast. I also didn't know if you wanted coffee or tea so…oh! There's milk and some juice in the fridge too. Just help yourself to whatever you like."
"Uh t-thank you," Benitsubasa blinked in surprise, simple it may be but it looked and smelled delicious. In all honesty she felt a bit embarrassed and a tad bit inadequate, not knowing how to cook anything worth mentioning herself. Still, one more point to her 'My Ashikabi is Awesome' scale. "Y-you didn't need to do so much."
She sat down beside her ashikabi and grabbed a cup of coffee and felt really embarrassed as he watched her put in spoon full after spoon full of sugar. Now usually she'd drink milk to help her grow, she always hated being among the shorter and less…developed of her sisters but with her ashikabi taking the time to prepare two drinks just so he could cater to her? Combine that with her ashikabi's seemingly permanent puppy dog face and she'd feel pretty damn bad if she didn't take the coffee or tea even if he probably wouldn't mind if she grabbed some milk from the fridge.
Shinji felt a little bit of him die though as he watched the pinked haired alien put a lot of sugar into her coffee. While he's no coffee snob himself, at the end of the day the caffeine is just more important to him, he did appreciate the taste.
'I wonder if that's a non-human thing?' he mused, his sisters all liked their coffee on the very sweet side and they weren't completely human either and even Kaworu liked his coffee with a lot of sugar.
"So what's the plan for today Shinji-sama?"
He took a sip of his coffee before answering, "well we'll be going to visit a friend of mine this morning. She's in a hospital east of here. After that lunch with Takami-san at a restaurant called The Maple not too far from the hospital. After that I just want to rest here, I know you probably want to do something together and get to know each other but I have to report to NERV tomorrow afternoon and I'll probably start work as soon as I arrive so…sorry."
He meant it too, if she had been waiting for him as long as she had then he wanted to make her happy.
Benitsubasa shook her head, "I understand Shinji-sama." She was about to ask about who the friend is but then noticed the handgun, what model she didn't know, on the table. "Ashikabi-sama?"
"Hm?" He blinked and looked at her before following her line of sight to the pistol, "oh, just something to defend myself with. I…don't like being followed around by Section 2 all the time…oh that's uh, the people who do stuff like guard us pilots. After a lot of arguing my superiors gave me a deal, since I can use my abilities to defend myself they saw it fit to cancel my Section 2 detail…as long as I carry a weapon." Shinji then picked up the handgun and grimaced, turning and giving his sekirei a light bow, "sorry, leaving it out is bad manners."
"It's fine Shinji-sama, a lot of sekirei use weapons and while none use a gun I've seen lot of them with MBI's soldiers," then Benitsubasa frowned, "so NERV has no one looking after you?"
"Of course they do. NERV has more than few quick response teams spread throughout Tokyo-4, since I'm here. I even have soldiers of my own but they're on base up north," he explained before he gave her a bittersweet smile. "It may seem like no one watches me but…well I can't go anywhere without NERV sending in a small army beforehand. Even this hotel is one of the front companies NERV uses to fund itself."
She blinked in surprise before she remembered that he had flown into Tokyo-4 via a civilian airline… "Shinji-sama…"
"Yes Benitsubasa?"
"The airline you took, that's ran by NERV too isn't it?" at his nod she bit her lower lip in frustration. She had trained and accepter what being with him meant on the battlefield but never thought about what a pilot of those things meant for his personal life. That was unacceptable, she's a sekirei, she should have put more thought into it. She felt frustrated again, something she couldn't do anything about! Damnit, she was strong and yet…and yet she can't do anything about this...
She felt her ashikabi's warm and surprisingly soft hand gently hold one of her own and she looked up at him. "It's okay Benitsubasa, life may be restrictive and...hard for me sometimes but...it's good most of the time. I wouldn't change my life, I've met a lot of good people Benitsubasa. Believe me."
Shinji remembered his first ever real Christmas, the party at Asuka's parent's house and watching his first ever snowfall with his best friend. Yeah, life could be rough for him but…but it had it's good moments, and it was those he treasured and fought for.
The pink haired sekirei couldn't help but shed a sad tear for her young ashikabi. While she, admittedly, didn't have a lot of first-hand experience with human life she knew his youth shouldn't be like this! Wiping the moisture off her face with the back of her hand she put down her cup back on the table and slid over and sat on his lap, facing Shinji and wrapped her arms around his neck in a gentle embrace, resting her head on his shoulders.
She then pulled away to face him and put on a serious voice and looked him in the eye, her red into his lone blue. "I'll protect you. Shinji-sama I swear I'll stay by your side and protect you so you can live happily. You deserve more."
"Living and dying alone are my worst fears you know," he blushed up a storm, "…promise?"
"I'll be with you, forever and ever," she said and she was about to close her eyes and lean in for a kiss but stopped herself as she felt her ashikabi's discomfort and she stopped herself. She wanted to smack herself, it should have been obvious yesterday was due to the alcohol he drank during the flight over and the heat of the moment. Humans don't go straight to kissing after less than a day! Or she was pretty sure that's how they thought, that's what Takami had told her anyway and she herself didn't have any experience.
So with his discomfort in mind she slid off him and just sat beside him. She was winged by him and that's what really mattered. She hoped they would grow closer as time passed but for now she would enjoy his warm presence through their bond…
*knock* *knock* *knock*
…And just when she was about to sample the breakfast her ashikabi had made for her the doorbell rang, much to her chagrin. She was just starting to forget about her frustration at her own powerlessness.
She got up, straightened her borrowed clothes out, straightened her messy hair and turned to him.
"Shinji-sama I'll get the door," she said as she walked to the door, making a sure to quickly grab her gloves, just in case it was an enemy. She slipped on the dark pink fingerless gloves and cracked her knuckles, if she's lucky she can take out her frustration on one of her sisters.
"P-please don't do anything rash Benitsubasa."
She froze mid step before feeling embarrassed at her eagerness for some action but can one blame her? She felt so frustrated damnit! She took a deep breath before opening the door and what she found was a woman in a maid outfit carrying a box and looking a little surprised.
"Hello?" the sekirei asked with a raised brow but made sure to stay on guard. She could be an enemy sekirei or she could be an assassin after her Shinji-sama.
"…Uh," the woman obviously did not expect her to answer the door. Did she know her ashikabi? "I work for the hotel, I have a package that just arrived from MBI for Ikari-sama. Is he present?"
"Yes, he is," she said as she glanced back to see her ashikabi walking up to her.
He shyly smiled when he saw the maid and gave her a nod, "hello, I'm Ikari."
"Ah, good morning sir," the maid greeted him and Benitsubasa saw the maid give her a questioning glance before turning back to Shinji and handling him the package, "have a nice day Ikari-sama and sir, it's an honour meeting you."
"T-thank you maid-san," and with that the maid left and Benitsubasa closed the door before turning to her ashikabi with a questioning look.
"You know each other Shinji-sama? She seems to recognize you."
Her Shinji-sama shrugged, "with this hotel actually being run by NERV I doubt they'd send a normal employee to my room so she's probably one of our agents. So while she doesn't know me she probably knows of me. Not sure though, sorry."
Still he was pleasantly surprised by her friendly demeanor, maybe NERV Japan thought better of him? He was originally from this branch after all.
"You have nothing to apologize for, Shinji-sama." She took the package from him and read the note and found that Takami had sent her things for her, which she appreciated. Now she didn't have to leave her Shinji-sama's side and considering his circumstances she wanted to stick to him like glue. "It seems they've sent me my stuff. I'm going to take a shower and get freshened up before breakfast."
"Of course," Shinji smiled before going off to grab another cup of coffee.
After retrieving a change of clothes she walked to the bathroom in a good mood. So far it had been a fairly good morning. Sure she learned something about her ashikabi's life she can't do anything about but she did wake up to the site of her cute ashikabi. She even got to sit on his lap this morning and after a nice shower, breakfast with her Shinji-sama!
Only thing she could of think of that would make this day better is beating someone to a pulp, and hey it's still early in the morning so fingers crossed!
Shinji watched his sekirei walk into the bathroom and had to force himself to look away when his sight started to drift down to…wow, maybe Asuka was right when they first met.
He really is a pervert.
But damn, what a morning so far, he still remembered what she felt like as she sat on his lap. The thought made him blush, while he's no stranger to a body pressed against his own since sometimes Asuka slept with him he still couldn't help but feel embarrassed at the soft sensation. Still, a part of him felt very uncomfortable so he was happy she didn't push for more.
Remembering what he had planned for today he reached into one of his pockets and pulled out his red work phone and after carefully typing in his password, making sure he made no mistake since the phone would fry itself, he tapped in a phone number.
After hearing the phone ring for a few moments he heard someone pick up and a woman's voice answered.
"Scrambled connection established. Please state your authentication code."
"Sierra-India-Tango-Delta-Charlie."
"...Authentication code confirmed, Captain Ikari. How may NERV Tokyo-4 Office help you today?"
"I'd like to make a reservation at The Maple. A secure booth please, table for three at noon."
"Of course," she answered and he could hear her typing in the background, "…done, anything else Captain?"
Shinji hummed as he thought and remembered that Benitsubasa would probably be coming with him to NERV tomorrow, she made it clear she wanted to help keep him safe. Also in all honesty he did feel nervous about reactivating Unit-01, other than Unit-00 his Evangelion had always been the most temperamental. Sure he knew his own mother was in Unit-01, but did Eva have a mind of its own? What state of mind was she in? Did all the time he was away from her during Unit-01's rebuild affect her? All frankly terrifying questions that he had no answers to, it really was scary that with his security clearance he now knew how much NERV didn't know about Eva. If anything his brave sekirei would give him some comfort.
"I need one…" then he remembered Miya and how she may want to come along on the off chance he'll run into her today, as unlikely as that may be. "Make that two security passes and NERV booklets ready. I'll be bringing someone with me to Bethany Base, maybe two."
"…Done Captain, they'll be ready for you when arrive at The Maple later today," she told him without questioning him. That's definitely something he enjoyed as a part of NERV's inner circle, no one apart from Asuka, the Head of Project E, the Commander and Vice-Commander to question him, "anything else sir?"
Shinji thought for a bit and remembered he should probably get a car. While walking is nice and all he's quite far from the hospital. Besides, Asuka always said he doesn't take advantage of NERV often enough…"Actually can I get a car delivered to The Continental Tower Hotel? A spare from Section 2 will be fine, just until I can get a car of my own."
"Understood sir, a car will be delivered to the hotel within the hour."
"Can I also get a status report on the flight that should be on stand-by at Tokyo-4 International Airport? It should be under the names of both myself and Captain Soryu and cleared by Commander Fuyutsuki and Vice-Commander Katsuragi."
"One moment…The flight is on stand-by with a full complement of NERV medical personnel and equipment as per your and Captain Soryu's orders. The flight and its escorts are ready to take off from Tokyo-4 International on your word Captain. Will that be all sir?"
Shinji blinked in surprise, escorts? He didn't approve that, a fighter escort for what was basically a shuttle flight seemed a bit excessive…then he remembered that Asuka had been the one who set up the flight mission, he just signed off on it. That made sense to him, Asuka never half-assed anything when it came to the few she cared about and assigning a flight of UN fighters for a personal mission seemed very Asuka. "Yes that's it. Thank you."
"It's been my pleasure Captain Ikari, and sir?"
"Yes?"
"Welcome back to Japan," again he was surprised by the friendliness and...respect in her tone, a very welcome change from how most talked to him in Germany that's for sure.
"Thank you, it's good to be back home," and with that he hanged up and pocketed his phone.
Going to be a busy day today.
Hiyamakai Hospital, Eastern Sector, Tokyo-4
Shinji pulled into the parking lot of Hiyamakai Hospital in a black 2016 Mercedes G-Class SUV modified by NERV's Section 2.
After he stepped out of the black SUV, making sure to pick up the bouquet of assorted roses he bought on the way, he closed the door. Feeling a gloved hand hold his own bare one he looked up to see his pink haired sekirei. Her pink hair was once more up into her customary side ponytail with daisy clips. She was dressed in the same black outfit with red bow she had worn when they first met, complete with the purple cross earing. There was one difference though in that the two symbols of white birds on her top's left and right breast were now missing.
She had explained to him on the car ride that it was a symbol of the 'Disciplinary Squad', whatever that was. Since he had winged her she couldn't be a member anymore but she quickly reassured him that since they had met she had already decided to follow him instead. With her winging she, for sure, lost the ability to become a member and so could no longer wear the symbol, not that she cared.
He smiled at his blushing sekirei as they walked to the hospital proper. He had been slightly surprised that she hadn't asked about him driving considering his age but quickly mentally shrugged it off. She seemed like a smart girl and anyone who knows that he works for NERV could easily make the correct assumption that he's using NERV's authority to do so.
He shook his head and looked at his sekirei, "let's go."
Quickly entering the hospital and registering as a visitor Shinji quickly made his way over to Chiho's room, he didn't even need to ask where it was as Asuka had already found out for him before he left Germany.
"So Shinji-sama…." She said as they walked through the quiet white walls of the hospital. Shinji gave her all of his attention, he never liked hospitals and honestly he'd spent enough time in them to last two lifetimes by now. Benitsuabasa actually sensed his dislike of the place it was so strong, and was why she decided to speak up, to get his mind off of it.
"Yes Benitsubasa?"
"Who are we visiting?"
Shinji blinked a few times and felt embarrassed. His head had been filled with so many strange thoughts today that he had totally forgotten to fill out his sekirei on the details.
"Sorry, should have told you earlier. We're visiting Chiho Hidaka. She's the cousin of…" he trailed off when he saw some other people walking near them, "my friend back in Germany."
Benitsubasa nodded, understanding his choice of words.
She herself was extra aware too, she saw a girl that kind of reminded her of one of her sekirei sisters and was on guard. She wouldn't start anything, she had a suspicion her ashikabi wouldn't like that here, but she would crush anyone who attacked them with a smile on her face.
"Well, those two are close and Chiho-san is a good friend of mine as well. She'd always been a sick girl, she was technically my classmate at Tokyo-3 Middle School but I don't remember ever seeing her in class, instead she would watch via webcam. We met when I volunteered to be the one that made sure she got her homework and making sure she stays caught up. As the war with the Angels went on her…health deteriorated to the point that she struggled to reach the shelters in time during drills. She'd always been sickly so my friend's family pulled some strings and had her moved here, away from the war to get the care she needed but…"
"But?" The pink haired sekirei already knew the answer wouldn't be pleasant; the negative emotions flowing out of her ashikabi were crystal clear even to one as ungifted with her species' psychic abilities as herself.
Shinji gave a frustrated sigh, "her treatment here has been lackluster. Her progress to recovery has been basically non-existent. She's actually gotten a little bit worse recently!"
And what made it all worse is that the sweet girl had been paying for her treatment using the money her dead parents had left behind for her! It made even someone as peaceful as Shinji's blood boil, the hospital staff had been lucky that it's him that had been sent back to Japan first.
Shinji knew if Asuka had been the one that had been sent first she would have stormed the hospital with her team of elite NERV spec-op commandos in tow. He could imagine it, fires burning and Asuka advancing with her fiery red hair flowing behind her like a flag of an army at war as she looked for answers for her cousin's terrible treatment. She would be on the fucking warpath and he couldn't blame her if it actually happened.
And may Lilith have mercy on the soul of anyone dumb enough to stand in her way if she had come.
Benitsubasa gave his hand a quick squeeze as she sensed his thoughts and he continued. "One of the reasons I-we're here today is to finalize her transfer to a better facility in Germany where I know she'll be a priority patient and where she has family to visit her."
"Is it connected to your…er, workplace Shinji-sama?"
Shinji nodded, "it is and it's run by some of her family. She'll be well taken care of there."
Reaching the door labeled '301' Shinji looked at the name plate and saw that it did say 'Chiho Hidaka' and felt a little better that she at least got a room of her own. She's basically lived in this hospital since she moved away from Tokyo-3 part way through the war after all so it made him feel a little better that she had her own space.
Shinji took a deep breath to prepare himself, he cared for Chiho a lot and while he had seen her via webcam seeing her in the hospital in person would be different. Chiho had always been sharp in picking up others' feelings and he didn't want to cause her any undue stress.
Benitsubasa gave him a quick smile before letting go of his hand and as he went up to the door she moved to stand behind him in a more protective position, ready to...well protect him. She had dreamed of being his bodyguard so she didn't mind standing behind him. Beside, in front or behind mattered little to her as long as he was safe.
*knock* *knock*
"Who is it?" they heard a soft voice ask, muffled by the door. For Shinji it was a welcome sound, for too long he had heard that voice through speakers so he couldn't help but smile.
"Shinji Ikari," he replied and he waited and after a brief pause he received his answer.
"C-come in!"
Shinji slid the door open and saw her sitting up on a hospital bed.
Chiho Hidaka, cousin of Asuka Lanley Soryu from Kyoko's side and one of the nicest people Shinji had ever met in his entire life. She was a small girl for their age, even before his growth spirt. Back when he lived in Tokyo-3 Shinji had been taller than her and from what he could see that didn't change. She was a fair skinned girl with a kind looking face, light brown waist length hair and big hazelnut brown eyes. Not surprisingly she's wearing a hospital gown.
Shinji also saw that she had a visitor sitting at the foot of her bed. The girl looked a bit older than Shinji, a college student from her appearance. Shinji had to admit she was gorgeous, long dark brown hair tied into a ponytail, dark brown eyes and a very well developed figure that could give even Misato a run for her money. She wore a tight fitting pink top with a golden star and blue capri jeans.
Benitsubasa though recognized her and saw her sister tense for combat and held up her hand before motioning to the breasts of her uniforms and the missing Disciplinary Squad insignias and hoped it would stop a fight. She could feel her ashikabi's good mood and didn't want to ruin it. Besides as far as Benitsubasa was concerned the Sekirei Plan could go fuck itself now that she was with her Shinji-sama so as much as she wanted to fight one of her sisters she wouldn't be the one to start anything. Bodyguards kept their charges out of danger, not start something dangerous with them around.
The Third Child of NERV though was ignorant to that train of thought as he expanded a weak AT Field to block any microphones that may be hidden in the walls. Satisfied he smiled at the two, happy to see Chiho after such a long time and grateful to the other girl for visiting his friend. Chiho had always been sweet and kind and easy to get along with but none of that helped with her stuck in a hospital room.
"Hi Chiho-san, long time no see."
Just a Few Moments Prior…
Uzume sat at the foot of Chiho's bed. She had taken to visiting the sick but kind girl on an almost daily basis. She liked Chiho, she wasn't not going to lie about that and she is reacting to her but…she didn't know how long she'll live and since if an ashikabi dies the sekirei also suffers…yeah she didn't fancy the idea of dying young. Then there's the fact that she'll be leaving for better treatment in Europe, which country she can't remember, and Uzume would need a damn good reason for MBI to let her out of Tokyo-4 during The Plan.
Still, she did love her though…argh! Damn, why can't her life be simple?
Chiho just sipped a glass of water, her throat parched from their conversation about said topics.
*knock* *knock*
That made the cute and kind girl blink, who could that be? Hospital staff? She looked at the clock and found that it was the wrong time for the staff to come bring her a meal and she had no procedure today. That was shy she was so happy this morning since it meant she could just discuss the future with Uzume. Could it be a visitor then? It had to be but…who would visit her?
At hearing someone knock on the door Uzume looked at her possible future ashikabi, who looked at her, and raised a brow in curiosity. As far as Uzume knew Chiho didn't have any family in Japan. Chiho had told her that all her remaining family are in Germany and in the month that she'd been visiting she hadn't seen any friends visit Chiho, something that made her fume inside.
"Who is it?" Chiho asked while still looking at Uzume and from the look on her face Uzume could tell that Chiho didn't really know who it may be either.
Uzume prepared to summon some of her veil just in case it's someone who may threaten her sick friend. Higa Izumi, the owner of the hospital, had been attempting to blackmail her by threatening to hold back on Chiho's treatment so she wouldn't put it past him to try something more direct.
"Shinji Ikari," came the response and from the voice she could tell the voice is male and young, probably around Chiho's age?
Chiho's eyes widened, wider than Uzume had ever seen them, in recognition and…were those tears?
Chiho felt a bit panicked, what was Shinji-kun doing here?! And she looked like a mess! She used her bed sheets to dry her tears and, as quickly as possible, tried to fix her bed hair and straighten her ruffled hospital gown.
Uzume blinked in surprise as the sick girl, in a frantic panic, tried to make herself as presentable as possible before she seemed to go over the room, making sure it was clean. She couldn't help but smile, it was adorable to see her so flustered.
"C-come in," Chiho said shakily but Uzume could easily hear the happiness in her voice, who is this mystery person?
'Is he Chiho's boyfriend?' Uzume wondered. 'Is there a reason, and for his sake it better be a good reason, for him not to come visit until now? Why hadn't Chiho mentioned him before? And more importantly...is he fine sharing Chiho?' Chiho had already admitted to loving Uzume, something that still made her blush a bit. Personally Uzume wouldn't mind a three way relationship, guys or girls she didn't really mind. To her 'love knows no gender,' while most sekirei are heterosexual a large minority, including herself, are bisexual.
Love is love after all.
The door opened revealing…a cute guy carrying a bouquet of assorted roses.
'Huh,'Uzume thought to herself, 'well that's a good start.'
He, Shinji she mentally corrected herself, was a guy of average height for what she guessed his age is, the same as her Chiho, in his mid-teens. He had a very light tan to him but what really caught her attention was the snow white hair, his deep dark blue eye and the eye patch covering his left eye. It gave him a mysterious vibe that she really liked.
While he seemed to be giving the room a once over Uzume saw there was another person following closely behind. A girl in a black top, black short shorts and pink hair…in a side pony tail…
Uzume's eyes widened in shock at seeing her. While she didn't know every one of her sisters and brothers Uzume did know about her. What sekirei didn't know about her? Sekirei Number 105 Benitsubasa, the 'Red Sekirei' and member of the Disciplinary Squad.
You didn't get elected for that for being nice.
Uzume tensed herself for combat but blinked in surprise when Benitsubasa lifted her hand and gave a 'stop' motion before gesturing to her top which…didn't have the Disciplinary Squad emblem on them anymore.
Uzume calmed down, if she didn't want a fight then Uzume sure as hell wouldn't give her a reason to start one. Besides her ashikabi seemed like a real nice guy, assuming Shinji was her ashikabi, the smile on Chiho's face spoke volumes. Seeing that it was easy for her to decide she wouldn't antagonize him and by extension his sekirei if they didn't want to start anything.
Benitsubasa just mentally sighed in relief, the last thing she wants is to start a fight with her ashikabi's friend, a sick friend with a story so tragic that even she felt pity for Chiho, in the room. She may be itching to hit something but that doesn't mean she wants to risk her ashikabi's ire, especially with their relationship being so young.
Uzume turned her attention back to the boy and saw him smile at Chiho and herself.
*bump* *bump*
She felt her heart skip a bit and her face redden as her breathing started to quicken.
'No,' she thought to herself as her eyes widened in surprise. 'No. No. No. No. I'm reacting to Chiho already aren't I?! I heard of some ashikabis having a harem of sekirei but sekirei aren't supposed to have a harem of ashikabis…right?' She glanced at the boy walking towards Chiho and couldn't help but think it wouldn't be so bad…if she wasn't so damn confused! 'I'm deffinetly going to see Miya tonight,' she decided. She'd know something right?
Shinji stopped in front of Chiho with a smile. "Hi Chiho-san, long time no see."
"Y-you came..." Chiho said with disbelief.
"Of course, didn't Asuka tell you I'm coming back from Germany yesterday?"
Well at least Uzume now knows where he's been and why he couldn't visit until now.
"No she didn't…y-you're actually here." Shinji just frowned and sighed. It seemed Asuka wanted to surprise Chiho.
"Well here I am," Shinji gestured to himself with a small smile, not really knowing what to do, it looked like she was about to cry and he didn't know what he did for her to do that.
"S-Shinji-kun, I can't believe you're actually here. You're okay…" Chiho said with wide eyes and unshed tears of joy and suddenly, and surprising both sekirei and Shinji who let out a soft gasp, she hugged him tightly by the waist, burying her face into his abdomen as she quietly sobbed. "Thank God you're okay. You're okay. You're okay…" she repeated that over and over and over again.
She still remembered the last time she saw him, it was after another Angel attack. Chiho remembered being wheeled into his hospital room by Asuka, she wanted to congratulate him on another victory but instead she saw him unconscious with half a dozen machines attached to him. She remembered how his arms were covered in blood soaked bandages, how it sounded like it hurt when he breathed as he slept-she hugged him tighter.
"Shhh I'm okay," Shinji gently cooed as he gently adjusted himself and Chiho so he could sit on her bed. Chiho took advantage and shifted, crying onto his shoulder as Shinji embraced her back, "I'm okay Chiho. I'm okay, see?"
Uzume couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable and Benitsubasa felt the same as her. With Chiho clinging onto Shinji as if she was afraid he'd disappear if she let go, her small hands gripping onto the back of his shirt, it made for a very personal scene. Shinji then started stroking her hair in an effort to comfort her while handing the bouquet to his sekirei who then quietly put it in an empty vase.
Both sekirei felt like they didn't belong in the room as the two friends shared a very intimate moment.
It didn't help Uzume that she didn't know who Shinji was and why Chiho was getting all emotional.
"Chiho-san?" Shinji asked after a while, after Chiho's crying started to wind down.
After another moment Chiho let go and Shinji took out a handkerchief which Chiho accepted with a blush and used it to wipe away the left over wetness that didn't get absorbed by his shirt. Seemingly realizing what she'd done Chiho let out a small embarrassed gasp before pulling up her blanket up to cover half her face.
"S-sorry about your shirt Shinji-kun."
"It's fine Chiho-san," he waved it off. He had come to give her her homework covered in bandages more than once during the Angel War and so he had been used to comforting her as she cried.
"I'm happy to see you're okay. When I left Tokyo-3 you were…so…so hurt," Chiho said as she griped her sheets so tight that her knuckles started to turn white. "How are your arms?"
Shinji blinked in surprise before gesturing his arms forward, "perfectly fine, see? No scars or anything."
"That doesn't make me feel better Shinji-kun," Chiho sighed before her eyes shot up to his eyepatch, seemingly not noticing it until now. She glared at Shinji but due to her cute appearance it just came off to Uzume as an adorable pout. "What happened to your eye, Shinji-kun?"
"I…well…*sigh* when the JSSDF attacked Tokyo-3…" Shinji said feeling distinctly uncomfortable. "I kind of…got hurt," he explained before frantically waving his hands in front of himself, "Asuka's fine though!"
Chiho pursed her lips, while she disagreed with Asuka's pet name for her crush, and as much as Asuka denied it was a pet name Chiho new better, she could kind of see where it came from sometimes, "…it's permanent isn't it?"
"Not exactly but its….going to be a while before I can be without this," he tapped his eyepatch before giving a small wry smile, "I think it looks good though?"
Chiho just glared at her friend for a second, not wanting to concede that it did gave him a more edgy look before giving off a frustrated sigh. She looked at Shinji with such a bitter smile that it surprised Uzume. In all her time knowing Chiho the young human had always soldiered on, even with her disease, with a happy smile on her face.
"You didn't leave Germany just because you wanted to come back home did you?"
Shinji turned away, "…no."
"Oh Shinji-kun," she said with a tear before her smile turned genuine, "I won't insult you by asking you to stop. I know you see it as your duty but be careful...please? For Asuka-chan, for Misato-san, for Edith-chan…for me."
"Of course," Shinji said with a blush.
"Hm?" Chiho said as she tilted her head to look behind Shinji, "oh my! It seems I've ignored your friend. I'm sorry if you felt left out."
"N-no, I didn't want to interrupt," the room's other sekirei responded.
"I'm Chiho Hidaka, cousin of Shinji-kun's best friend and a friend of Shinji-kun's since our last year of middle school together at Tokyo-3," Chicho introduced herself with a smile.
'She always did love meeting people,' Uzume thought to herself with a smile.
Chiho then gestured at Uzume, "and this is Uzume-chan. She's a close friend of mine and has been visiting me almost every day."
"Ah," Benitsubasa muttered, a little flustered, she usually preferred punching people over talking to them. "I'm Benitsubasa, I'm Shinji-sama's….uh…friend and...bodyguard."
Uzume raised a brow at that while Chiho seemed happy to hear that Shinji had a bodyguard for some reason. Did he need protecting? Is he some kind of VIP?...And why did she feel a spike of protectiveness for him?
"Ah! I see, that's good. Please protect him for me Benitsubasa-san," she gave a small bow at the end.
"O-of course! I'll beat the crap out of anyone who wants to hurt my Shinji-sama!"
'More like turn them into paste,' Uzume thought wryly, she had heard of Number 105's reputation and had heard that she had been training even harder over the past two years. Combine that with the girl's sheer physical strength and…well she can do much more than just beat someone unconscious.
"I'm counting on you then," Chiho said with as she shook the sekirei's hand, "so Benitsubasa-san how did you two meet?"
"W-what? W-well…"
Uzume smiled as Chiho happily grilled the pink haired sekirei about how she met her male friend. It made Uzume happy to see the sick girl have someone to talk to. The poor girl really did need more people visiting her.
"Hello," Uzume looked up to see Shinji looking down at her with a smile, his hand stuck out at her for a handshake, one she happily gave. "I'm Shinji Ikari, a friend of Chiho-san and her cousin's best friend."
*bump* *bump*
She beat down the blush that threatened to creep up on her face as her heart raced and her body warmed from his touch. 'Damn his eye is a nice shade of blue.'
"H-hi..." she stuttered lamely before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "I'm Uzume, nice to meet you bro."
"Nice to meet you too Uzume-san," he said and he meant it. While Asuka sent messages to her as often as she could, and of course Shinji would contribute to those when he could but it wasn't the same as having someone come to visit her in person.
Shinji grabbed the worryingly thick clipboard full at the foot of the bed as his friend grilled his flustered sekirei. Honestly it kind of amused Shinji to see a new side to Benitsubasa. As far as he'd known her she'd been supportive and affectionate and occasionally protective (especially during the Battle of Tokyo-3) but never had he seen her so openly flustered as she was now, sputtering and blushing up a storm.
It was cute.
Shinji though was reading Chiho's medical charts and he didn't find them cute at all. At times like these he wished he shared Asuka's tendency to snap at the smallest thing, healthier than just being silently frustrated.
"You some genius bro?" Uzume asked as she watched him read.
"What?" Shinji lamely asked as he blinked in surprise.
"Well I can't make heads or tails of that," she said as she pointed at the clipboard.
"Oh. I'm no genius," he said sheepishly, "I just asked a doctor I know to teach me how to read these so I can keep up to date on things whenever people I know end up in a hospital."
"Did Chiho end up in the hospital a lot back then too?" Uzume asked him and Shinji noted how familiar she sounded when referring to his friend. First name basis and no honourifics. Good, so Chiho did have friends or at least a friend in this new city. A spike of guilt hit him as he realized he'd be breaking them apart, something that he knew could be hard.
Not a moment went by since he had touched down the other day that, at least in the deepest part of him, he missed Asuka already. Really missed her, life just wasn't the same without his favourite German girl.
'I'll call her as soon as I can,' he decided before turning his attention back to the clipboard.
He had to suppress a sigh as he eyed it with a disguised hatred. Not only did he have to break up what he assumed are two close friends, and one of Chiho's few friends at that but he had to do it so soon. He knew Asuka had already told Chiho about her being moved to Germany but he doubted the kind girl thought she would be moved so quickly.
Oh he knew with modern technology the world is much 'smaller' than before but he knew it wasn't the same as a face to face connection.
But he really should move her. Looking through her records Shinji could see his friend slowly regressing to how bad she was when she was forced to leave Tokyo-3. It was slow but even someone with no medical training above first aid could see where it was going. What's to stop her health from dropping sharply?
No, he had to move her ASAP while she was still stable enough to move.
Plus there's something about the records that made him suspicious, they felt…off. He didn't have any proof of course but the instinct that he trusted in combat told him there was something he wasn't seeing. Why did her condition start to deteriorate? While slow she was making progress before, what happened?
He was probably being paranoid but…well conspiracies did happen. Hell he was at the centre of two MASSIVE ones: NERV's war with SEELE and the existence of sekirei, real aliens.
He turned to Uzume, it had probably seemed like he had ignored her.
"Sorry, got a little lost in my own head. She was stuck in the hospital back then too and I got sent to the hospital a lot back then."
The girl blinked a few times in response, probably surprised. He would probably be too in her position; he looked healthy enough after all sans the eyepatch.
Shinji put the clipboard back in place, and turned to Chiho.
"Chiho do you feel good enough to go outside? I think you'd like to have some fresh air once in a while."
"Oh that sounds wonderful," she replied with a smile.
Shinji nodded and went over to the wheelchair in the corner of the room and wheeled it over. Once he got it to the side of her bed he turned to his friend. "Ready?"
She gave a shy nod of the head with a light blush. Shinji thought that was strange, she tended to do that when he did this. Was it so embarrassing for her? He had been helping her like this ever since they became friends since her illness had her confined to a bed and wheelchair for as long as he's known her. Even when he was a normal human she was light enough to carry. Well that's just one more good reason to get her to Germany, the sooner she's there the sooner she can get better and can walk around freely again.
She gingerly lifted the blankets off of her and held her arms out in front of her. Shinji leaned down so she could wrap her arms around his neck as he carefully picked her up, noting she's as light as ever, and helped her onto her wheelchair.
As he started to wheel her out of the room he noticed Benitsubasa walking over to Uzume and was originally a little worried she'd start a fight so he slowed down but when he notice Benitsubasa start to introduce herself he shrugged it off. Who would introduce themselves before a fight? You'd lose all notion of surprise.
Satisfied he tuned his sekirei out as she followed him a few paces behind with Chiho's friend, he wanted to give her some privacy, it would be rude to just eavesdrop on her girl talk.
Plus, even after living with Misato and Asuka he never really got girl talk so he instead made some small talk with Chicho, asking her about what her life had been like since the last time he had seen her while she asked him about Germany.
They had a lot of catching up to do.
After making the short journey down to the first floor and out to the small park behind the hospital he looked down at Chiho with a bit of a frown as he wheeled her under the shade of a tree, he never liked being the bearer of bad news.
"Chiho-san."
"Hm?" she hummed as she looked up at him with her big beautiful brown eyes, "yes Shinji-kun?"
"About your transfer to Germany…"
Uzume followed the pink haired sekirei to a tree near the one where Shinji had wheeled Chiho under for some shade. The two were chatting about…something. Uzume couldn't really hear them because of the distance, oh they were close enough that she could hear them if she concentrated but she didn't want to eavesdrop. The two of them looked so…relaxed under the shade. Shinji sitting on the grass, leaning on the tree trunk and Chiho on her wheelchair right beside him with smiles on both their faces.
Uzume smiled sensing a perfect moment. She took out her cellphone and took a quick picture. While still unsure of what to do about her reacting to them both she did know that she already thought of them as important people to her, even if she just met Shinji. As a sekirei she cared about both of her possible ashikabis and Shinji was a good kid, that much she could tell. Her younger sister was looking at her ashikabi, and she was certain he was her ashikabi, with a…complicated expression. Happiness and envy on her face in equal proportion.
"So," she said getting the pink haired sekirei's attention, "what did you want to talk to me about Miss Washboard?"
An angry tic appeared on the smaller sekirei's head as she growled, "what was that Thunder Tits? You want me to-" The girl then took a few deep calming breaths before glaring at Uzume but speaking in a calmer tone. "You're lucky Shinji-sama seems to like you." When she heard that Uzume could feel her heart skip a beat, "look Number 10 are you or are you not reacting to Shinji-sama? Because if you're not then I'm done wasting my breath trying to be nice to you."
Uzume put on a teasing smirk, "and if I am? Afraid I'll steal him away from you?"
"No, I trust Shinji-sama." She responded with so much surety that Uzume was sure it wasn't just a sekirei's normal love for their ashikabi but something more. "So answer the question Number 10."
"I have a name you know."
"I know, I heard you but right now you're just a possible enemy."
Uzume nodded to that. If she had been winged by Chiho by now then she'd be the same way, she'd do anything no matter how underhanded to keep her ashikabi safe.
Uzume sighed, "yeah I am."
"Figures," Benitsubasa grumbled.
"Want to keep your man all to yourself?" she said teasingly.
The pinkette blushed a bit at that.
"I'm not his first sekirei, I'm his second. B-besides I've already come to terms with the fact that someone as awesome as Shinji-sama is bound to attract other sekirei." In her mind she had placed Shinji on a pedestal a kilometre high, he was a real hero to her. She had always dreamed of being swept off her feet by a dashing knight, she had never guessed real life would be so close to her dreams. Just replace the horse with a badass robot and the suit of armor with a skin tight bodysuit that she had spent many a nights fantasizing over and it was the same thing really.
"Oh?" Uzume tilted, "who's the first?"
"Doesn't matter," Benitsubasa waved her off, "look if you want to be winged by Shinji-sama I have to warn you about some…stuff."
"Trying to scare me off washboard? I thought you were ok with it already."
"I TOLD YOU TO STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Benitsubasa snapped and Uzume had to stifle a laugh as the girl embarrassed at her outburst sputtered an apology to her ashikabi who gave her a curious look from where he sat. Benitsubasa turned to Uzume with a glare and whispered, "very funny. *sigh* Anyway if you want to be winged by Shinji-sama, fine. Just know that Shinji-sama is involved in…a…dangerous life. People, humans will try to kill him and you will have to kill humans to keep him safe, I already have. Being with Shinji-sama will be dangerous. I'm just telling you now because Shinij-sama will say more or less the same thing."
"And how would you know what the little bro would do?"
"Because he gave me a similar speech except he tried to tell me off getting winged by him. He doesn't understand how sekirei think, I do. I know we'll follow our ashikabi through hell, how we l-love them in a way that's hard to understand for humans so I'm just warning you what you'll be in for. Being with Shinji-sama won't always be easy. And I'm warning you so he'll have less to stress over."
Uzume nodded at that. In all honesty though she was already willing to shed blood for her loved ones, if Higa even tried to touch a hair on Chiho's head then she'd gut him before any of his sekirei could stop her. If anything it meant she could do something for Shinji unlike with Chiho where her fighting abilities meant nothing against her illness.
"Hand me your phone," Benitsubasa said as she fished out a cellphone. Uzume took out her own and handed it to her. The pinkette tapped on the touchscreen for a few moments before handing it back to her. "Here. Shinji-sama and I will be leaving for his workplace tomorrow afternoon. I don't know how long we'll be gone but it may be a few days. I suggest you make a decision before then but just in case I put in my number." She quickly tapped something on her phone, "there I texted you the address of the hotel we're staying at. Ask for Shinji Ikari."
Uzume nodded as she looked at her phone.
'The Continental huh? I guess I'll talk to Chiho and Miya tonight,' she thought with a mental sigh.
Why can't her life ever be simple?
The Maple
'At least I'm not underdressed,'Benitsubasa thought happily as she walked into the The Maple. She was afraid her casual dress, and the only real clothes she owned, weren't going to be enough but with how Shinji hadn't changed and how everyone was dressed she could tell she worried over nothing.
"Hello Takami-san," Shinji greeted when he spotted his mother figure dressed in a simple grey turtle neck sweater and black skirt. "I hope you didn't wait here long."
"You worry too much," she waved him off with a small smile, "somethings never change huh kido?"
"I think it's a good trait," Shinji grumbled before walking up to the hostess, "I had made a reservation this morning. A private booth for Ikari?"
Recognition flashed in the woman's eyes before gathering some menus in her arms and nodding sharply, "of course sir, please follow me."
Takami and Benitsubasa raised a curious brow as they noticed how far back they were being lead and now they were in what seemed to be an area with multiple private booths, or more like rooms from the looks of it. Eventually they reached a door near the end of the hallway where the hostess opened a door and motioned to show them in.
"Your booth sir," she then handed Shinji a small remote, "a waitress has been assigned to your booth exclusively, press the button and she will be with you quickly."
"And the things I asked to be prepared?"
"Your waitress will deliver them when you call her sir."
"Thank you," Shinji nodded and then the hostess did something that surprised Takami and drove the truth of her new life into Benitsubasa, she stood straight and gave Shinji a crisp and respectful salute.
"Enjoy your stay and, if I do say so myself, it's been an honour to serve you Captain."
Shinji blinked in surprise before returning the gesture, "thank you Captain, at ease."
The woman smiled as she relaxed, "you don't remember me do you?"
"...sorry, no."
"I worked in your detail for the first few months of your stay at Tokyo-3."
Shinji gasped, "Honda-san?!"
"The one and only, anyway I'll leave you to your lunch," she made a more relaxed solute, nodded at Takami and Benitsubasa and went on her way.
Shinji waved bye, still surprised at seeing such a familiar face, before entering with Takami following behind and Benitsubasa coming in last, closing the door behind them.
"What was that about?" Takami asked as they all sat down and opened their menus
Shinji cringed a bit at that, he wanted to tell Takami the truth about what his life had been like since he left the loving warmth of the Takami household…or at least most of it, the parts he was comfortable discussing. He wanted to tell her about how he fought in the Angel War and his current duties at NERV. He wanted to ask her to adopt him, he wanted a family of his own after seeing Asuka reconnect with hers and he planned to start that with telling her the truth.
'I'm not Gendo, I'm not going to lie to my family,' he opened the menu and eyed the wine.
Well if he was going to talk about the Angels and NERV he might as well have something to make talking easier right?
NEXT ON AN ANGEL AND HIS WAGTAILS - CHAPTER 4: Welcome to NERV
AN
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Late I know but with this being the only story with a Chirstmas chapter, sorry 'Toy Soldier' fans that was slated to have one too but I ran out of time, I thought it appropriate to say it anyway.
So not a lot to talk about this chapter on my end except that it's a lot of setup but I think enough happened. We got some Benitsubasa/Shinji time and the introduction of Chiho and poor confused Uzume.
Writing this I reworked the dialogue involving the NERV Japan agents. First they would be fearful to reflect the information given about the kids' treatment at NERV Hamburg but I changed it after some thought. While Shinji fought for the world if you were far away from Tokyo-3 it could still have felt a world away to you. People in Japan though? Especially NERV? Shinji was fighting for them, for their homes and families and maybe they even saw Shinji fighting or hurt so he's much more respected here than in Germany.
I also reworked a lot of the beginning part in the hotel, it was too...romantic at first, it moved too fast and didn't feel right. And while Benitsubasa may be happy with that it seemed very OOC for the backstory I've given Shinji in this fic.
It was also a lot longer, I gave the pistol a whole paragraph. As one of my readers pointed out I kinda have a thing for stuff that goes 'bang' but since Shinji didn't use it here I decided to skimp on the details for now. If anyone is wondering though Shinji's carry is a HK45CN, a custom HK45C chambered for the fictional .45 NERV round, with a stainless slide, grey polymer frame and fiber optic sights. I was originally going to have him carry the compact version of the gun Misato carries in canon, the USP45, but I decided against it. The beloved USP45 will still appear in the hands of others so fear not.
And next chapter should be quite busy as we get re-introduced to the NERV Japan cast including Misato and Shinji's feared mount, the fearsome Unit-01.
ALSO please make an account or log in when reviewing if you want a reply. I reply directly so, nothing against (guests), if I have no reply link I can't get back to you. Besides I don't update frequent enough, guilty, to answer in an AN within a reasonable amount of time.
Thanks to WriterGirl for betaing for me even with her hectic schedule. Expect a DxD x Eva story soon, I've wanted to do one as long as I've been on this site and I'm half way done my first chapter so look forward to that. The story's concept has gone through 3 complete redoes and this chapter is the 4th iteration and its almost done!
Well with that said, see you all in the next chapter!