Tokyo-3 Baby-sitters

Written by Alain Gravel

Story based on characters created by and copyright GAINAX
Started on November 16th 1999
First pre-reader draft finished on April 3rd 2000
Second pre-reader draft finished on April 10th 2000
Final draft finished on June 13th 2000

Chapter 2 - Trials of Motherhood

    "I'm home."
    There was, of course, no one to answer her in the empty apartment. Not even half of the morning had gone by, so Asuka was still in school. And she was currently holding Shinji in her arms.
    "Wark!"
    The penguin was giving her a quizzical look. He wasn't used to seeing his mistress back this early. And what was she holding in her arms? It looked like... a mini-human, like those he had seen on TV. He suddenly had a feeling of impending doom.
    "Hi! Pen-pen! Missed me already?"
    "Wark!"
    "Listen Pen-pen. This baby is actually Shinji. Since he's a baby now, he's very weak and fragile. So, whatever he does, don't do anything that could hurt him, understand?"
    The penguin nodded and let out another 'wark'. Even after all the time she had owned him, she still marveled at how intelligent he was.
    "Good."
    Letting Ritsuko's duffel bag fall on the floor, she held Shinji in one hand and pet the bird's head with the other.
    Through force of habit, Misato removed her shoes and walked toward the kitchen. Without much thought, Misato put Shinji on the kitchen table and opened the fridge, taking out a beer from what people called her 'unlimited supply' (little did they know that such quantity actually only barely lasted over a week). With a swift flick of a finger the can was opened, and it would have made its way to her lips had she not suddenly noticed that Shinji was awake again and how intently he looked at her. His eyes no longer had an innocent look, but were rather stern, his gaze fixed toward her, as if he was looking right through her and directly into her soul. The kind of gaze that was more characteristic of Shinji's co-worker and fellow pilot, Ayanami Rei. It took her a moment to realize that because of the way she was holding her can, all its contents was slowly pouring over her chest and onto the floor.
    "Eek! Oh, dammit!"
    Misato calmed down, however, as the situation suddenly dawned on her. She had been handled the responsibility of a child, a baby whose survival depended on her, and here she was about to get herself drunk even before lunch time. As the realization hit her, the beer slipped from her suddenly nerveless fingers, hitting the floor and spilling out the remainder of its contents. Misato almost fell herself, her knees feeling weak, but she struggled to stay up.
    Was she this bad? Had she reached a point where she couldn't even face life without alcohol? When was the last time she actually skipped drinking for just one day.
    She couldn't remember.
    This, along with the fact that she had almost failed Shinji, scared her to the very core of her being.
    "Shinji!"
    The purple-haired woman picked up the baby and finally let herself slowly slump on the floor.
    "I'm sorry Shinji! I'm so sorry..."
    And she cried.

    Unknowingly, Shinji and Pen-pen did their best to cheer up Misato. Misato's sobs were abruptly interrupted as Shinji, who had slowly crawled up her chest, grabbed one of her cheeks in one of those small vice-grip holds that only babies can manage. Misato's following yelp alarmed Pen-pen, who bolted (as fast a penguin can) to the rescue of his mistress... only to slip on spilled beer. Misato yelped again, this time even louder, as Pen-pen's beak hit one of her legs. The yelp upset Shinji, who in turn started crying. Misato helped Pen-pen to get back on his feet, then tried to calm Shinji down.
    "It's okay Shinji. See, Misato is all right..."
    Pen-pen stared at the beer on the floor. For a moment, he regretted not being a dog. It was a shame to waste good beer. Pen-pen then looked at the two humans. His mistress smiled widely, and then stuck her tongue out towards the baby, as she called it, which she was holding in the air just in front of her face. A pretty dumb move, as the little human suddenly grabbed a fist full of tongue.
    "Hesh! Donsh do tash!"
    The baby giggled at the sound Misato was making and grabbed her tongue with both hands.
    "Eshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
    Pen-pen sighed, as he watched the woman squirm and try to pull the baby off, only managing to inflict more pain to herself.
    "WARK!"
    That caught the baby's attention. Turning toward the warm water bird, the baby's eyes lit up with delight.
    "Gaaaaahh!
    His little hands let go of Misato's tongue and tried to reach toward the penguin. Seeing that his job was done, Pen-pen waddled towards his refrigerator for a well deserved rest.
    Soon followed by more noise from the two humans.
    "Waaaaaahhhhhh!"
    "Shinji... please... Ark! Don't do that! Let go!"
    This time, the penguin decided to ignore them.
 

    Standing in front of her mirror, Misato went through the old ritual of removing her bra. Shinji was on her bed, trying to hide himself under her discarded skirt. Her chest now free of the restraining piece of lingerie, Misato slowly traced her scar with her finger. From the base of her left breast down to her stomach, one inch over her navel. A reminder of why she fought the Angels. So ugly. She couldn't understand why it didn't disgust men. But then again, only one man had seen this scar.
    Kaji... did he really love her, or was he just using her?
    And what were her feelings for him? Her head and her heart seemed to have different opinions on the matter. What they had done the night before only added to the confusion. But it had been so damn good! She chased the thought away. Now was not the time to think about that.
    Here she was, standing, only wearing her panties, and she was still reeking with the smell of beer. She had to take a bath. Looking in the mirror, she noticed that Shinji had lost interest in her skirt. Her heart leaped in her chest as she noticed he was crawling on all fours, right toward her gun. In a second, she had the baby in one hand and the gun in another. It was still in its holster and the safety was on, but still...
    "What do you think you were doing?"
    "Gaaah..."
    "These things are dangerous. Responsible people should store these away from small children."
    She pulled open one of the higher drawers, too high for a baby to reach, and then put the gun in.
    "There. Safe now. What do you know, maybe you'll make a responsible adult out of me..."
    "Gaaah..."
    Misato suddenly stiffened, as she felt the baby's small fingers touch her stomach. She felt his tiny palms on the smooth surface of her skin, to then move to the rougher scarred regions. The baby jerked his hands away, as if surprised by the change in sensation.
    "So, you think it's weird and ugly too, uh?"
    To her surprise, the baby giggled as he touched the scar again, letting his little hands roam over it. Shock appeared on Misato's face. She remembered how much will it had taken not to look disturbed by the way Asuka had looked at it, back at the hot springs near Mount Asama, a mixture of curiosity and disgust in her eyes. She remembered the expression on Kaji's face the first time he saw it. Oh, he told her afterward that she was very beautiful, and she felt he had meant it, but she could never forget that first look on his face. And yet... this little child didn't seem perturbed by it. In fact, judging by the way he was touching it, he seemed to like the way it felt. So she let him touch her, until his little hands wandered up to her breast.
    "That's far enough for you, little man. If I didn't know better, I'd think that Asuka was right about you being a pervert."
    The baby gave her a blank look, before giggling again, wiggling in her outstretched arms. Misato smiled at the sight of such blissful joy.
    "Come. Auntie Misato needs to take a bath and something tells me I can't leave you alone here."

    "Now, you'd better not look, okay?" said Misato as she put the baby on the floor, his head facing the opposite direction of where she was standing.
    Not wanting the only set of clothes she had for Shinji to get wet, she had undressed him, leaving him only in diapers. Having gotten rid of any objects she thought he could get hurt with, and making sure that the bathroom door was closed, she figured that Shinji should be safe from trouble for at least a few minutes.
    Quickly removing her panties, the purple haired woman slipped into the bath. With a sigh of delight, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of the warm water on her skin. As she opened her eyes, she saw Shinji waddling toward her.
    "Didn't I tell you not to look?"
    As if he wanted to contradict her, Shinji sat down and stared at her.
    "You're just gonna sit there and stare at me, aren't you?"
    Though she half expected it, Shinji didn't answer. At some moments, she had been convinced that Shinji was more aware of his surroundings then a normal baby. But maybe she had been mistaken. Maybe some of his earlier actions, such as apparently recognizing her and Ritsuko, were just coincidence and in truth actions of a small infant, and not a manifestation of his "past self".
    "You know, you better not remember any of this," Misato finally said as she picked up a bar of soap and started scrubbing.

    Feeling refreshed and somewhat more energetic, Misato walked toward her room, a towel around her body and another on her head. Putting Shinji back on her bed, she vigorously dried her head, then, after choosing a clean pair of undies, looked through the mess on her floor for her favorite T-shirt and shorts. The difficulty of the task made her realize something quite embarrassing: her room was a dump. In fact, as she picked up Shinji in her arm, she realized that the rest of the apartment wasn't any better. Empty beer cans and instant food packages could be seen everywhere in the kitchen: on the floor, on the fridge, on the table. Everywhere except in the trash. Dishes were piling up. The floor looked like it hadn't been swept in weeks. Entering the living room, she noticed the rather thick layer of dust on the TV and in the corners of the room. She also noticed a number or discarded empty food packages as well as... a pair of panties? A quick look confirmed that these were hers, which was very embarrassing as she had no idea how they ended up there. She could vaguely remember a movie, two weeks ago...
    "I can't even remember if Asuka was here at the time. Whatever happened, I hope she didn't see it..."
    Thinking of Asuka, she took a look in the girl's room. Better than hers, but only a bit.
    Each room she visited left her with the same impression: this place was a mess.
    With one exception. Shinji's room.
    Sure, there was a bit of dust here and there, but it was understandable since Shinji had been away for more than a month. The fact that it was so clean, especially if she considered what Shinji went through before the Fourteenth Angel attack... it was very humbling. Asuka had often called Shinji a wimp for doing everything around the apartment. A "house-broken male" she had said once, if her memory was correct. But looking at her apartment... there was no denying the amount of effort Shinji had to invest here. Cleaning. Washing their clothes. Taking the trash out. Cooking. Misato suddenly felt very small.
    "I'm sorry Shinji. I haven't been much of a guardian so far, have I? I gave you a home, but have I ever listened to your needs? All you wanted was a place where you could have some peace and quiet, as well as perhaps a friend. I couldn't help you when you were feeling depressed. I spent more time drinking myself into oblivion than trying to spend time with you. I've given almost all of the chores to you, without even trying to make your life any easier. Asuka and I imposed our life styles on you. I was supposed to be the responsible one here... but you probably were much more responsible than me."
    The baby hadn't apparently heard any of this. Or if he did, he didn't react to her words.
    "Well, that's gonna change! I swear that I'll make some efforts from now on. You'll see!"
    This new resolution taken, Misato started making plans.

    Getting a phone call in Central Command usually meant business. So Hyuuga Makoto didn't waste any time answering. He was quite surprised at the voice he heard on the other side of the phone.
    "Hello Makoto!"
    "Major?! What... what can I do for you?"
    Being one of the bridge officers, Makoto knew all about the 'incident' Shinji had been involved in and how Misato had been ordered to take care of him until the situation could be resolved. So getting a call from her was a bit worrisome. The tone of her voice, however, seemed very joyful. This didn't fit well with the rumors of how badly she had taken this assignment.
    "Plenty actually. You see, I'm pretty much stuck here with Shinji and I'm lacking a few things. So I need you to do some shopping for me."
    "Shopping?"
    This was definitely not the help he expected her to need.
    She couldn't be out of beer yet, could she?
    "Yeah. Here's a list of what I need. A baby stroller. A crib. A playpen. I can't risk having Shinji wandering all around the apartment. And a baby car seat too. Speaking of cars, why don't you use mine? That way you can bring it back here. You'll find a key under the driver's seat. I'll probably need diapers too... and while you're at it, why don't you get me a few groceries?"
    Makoto gulped. She wanted him to buy that. He could already see the odd looks the cashiers would give him and he could hear the jokes Shigeru would make about all this.
    "But... but... I can't leave work like this!"
    "It's okay... I order you to get all those things for me."
    So much for that way to escape...
    "That'll cost a fortune!"
    "Just put it on NERV's credit. After all, it was the Commander who ordered me to take care of Shinji. And these are necessary accessories for this task."
    "But... I don't know a thing about babies!"
    It was a desperate attempt, Makoto knew it, but that didn't mean he couldn't try.
    "Just like me. Just ask those sales people, they'll help. Besides, I don't care about the look or style, just as long as it's safe and functional. I'm sure you can find that. I couldn't think of anyone I could trust more than you."
    For a moment, that comment eclipsed all previous thoughts. So he answered before he even realized he said it.
    "Yes Sir!"
    "Good boy! Later!"
    For some time, Makoto didn't move, not putting the phone down. How was he going to explain this without being unmercifully teased by Shigeru? At least Maya was with Doctor Akagi...
    Oh well. at least he would be humiliated helping Misato. It was worth it.
    Now to find someone to replace him for a few hours...

    "Well... here goes I guess."
    Makoto had often visited Misato's apartment. After all, the Major was famous for her parties. This, however, would be the first time he would be there with her... alone. The thought was enough to make him nervous. Letting his mind wander, imagining all sorts of possibilities, even if most were improbable, made it even worse.
    And so, Makoto pushed the electronic doorbell.
    "I'll be there in a minute!" he heard Misato yell behind the door.
    He didn't know if he should have been happy or not for this little wait. Still, the wait was short and the door opened. Makoto almost dropped the grocery bags he was holding. Misato was standing there, wearing low cut shorts, which showed off her very nice legs, and holding a small baby in her arms, which was no doubt Shinji, which she was currently feeding a bottle of milk. Conflicting emotions ran through Makoto. Part of him found her extremely sexy, while another part felt somewhat touched by the maternal air Misato was showing.
    She smiled at him, a small and serene sort of smile. Not a sexy smile, but one that made it hard to stand nonetheless.
    "Beautiful..." thought Makoto.
    "Come in."
    The NERV officer nodded and followed Misato inside. The state of the apartment brought him somehow back to reality. "This place is messier then my own place," was the first thought that came to his mind.
    "Yeah, I know, it's terrible," admitted Misato, as if she had read his mind. "I wanted to work on it after the delivery guys brought all the stuff here, but Shinji was hungry, so I had to take care of him first. The kitchen is even worse, I messed up the first few times I tried to prepare his baby's bottle. But he seems to enjoy it now."
    True enough, Shinji had almost finished his bottle. They walked in the living room, where all the things Misato had asked for had apparently been put. It was all even set up. Knowing Misato, she had probably used her charm on the delivery guys to get them to do the job.
    "Thanks, by the way. You were most helpful."
    "Hah! It's all right, Major..."
    Picking up an opened book from the floor, Misato read a few passages, then put it back. Curious, Makoto took a look at the book. He almost laughed as he read the title: 'Babies for Dummies'.
    "Hey! Don't laugh! I'll have you know that this book is very handy!"
    Taking away the bottle from Shinji, Misato then held the baby the way it had been indicated in the book and tried to make him burp.
    "How cute!" she said as she achieved the expected result. "Guess you'll be able to get a good sleep now," she added as she delicately put the baby in her newly bought crib. The baby did seem tired, as he was soon fast asleep.
    "Wow... hard to believe it's Shinji," commented Makoto, as both of them watched the baby sleep peacefully.
    The situation was so strange. Today, Misato seemed completely different. He was seeing a side of her he never imagined could exist. And part of him longed to see it every day. Coming home from work every day, being greeted by his loving wife Misato and their children. An absurd fantasy, but a sweet one.
    "Yeah. Even now, I sometimes wonder if I won't wake up and realize that this is all a dream... or a nightmare. I'm not sure which."
    As she turned toward him, Makoto gulped. He hadn't noticed earlier, since she had been holding the baby in her arms, but Misato was wearing an old T-shirt that had probably seen better days... years ago. The worn out material was thin enough and showed enough cleavage to clearly indicate she wore no bra underneath. Makoto tried not to stare, and instead tried to remind himself that the woman before him was his superior officer.
    It worked more or less, as fantasies of a little family were replaced by others of a different kind. At least, Misato didn't seem to notice.
    "Is there anything else I can do for you Major?"
    The situation was perhaps uncomfortable, but it sure beat being at NERV. And... perhaps... if he had enough time... he could find the courage to tell her how he felt...
    "Well..." unconsciously, Makoto shivered as he noticed the increasing predatory grin on Misato's face. "There's so much cleaning to do here... I'll never manage to do it all by myself..."
    "I guess... I could help."
    He just hoped Misato wouldn't talk about that later.

    Sohryu Asuka Langley was in a bad mood. Well, a good number of her classmates would say that Asuka was always in a bad mood, but this time, it was worse then usual. Nothing had gone right today. Sure, it had seemed like it would be a good day at first. After all, none of the Three Stooges had been at school. But things quickly turned downhill.
    Their regular teacher had been sick all week, and today their substitute teacher had the 'brilliant' idea to give them a surprise test. Unable to read most of the questions, Asuka had failed miserably.
    Then, at lunchtime, Asuka realized that she had forgotten her lunch back at the apartment, which forced her to buy food from the school cafeteria. Anybody who's eaten school cafeteria food knows how bad that is. To make matters worse, Hikari joined her for lunch and kept talking about Touji non-stop. While Asuka showed that she had a heart in letting Hikari express her worries about the boy she liked, hearing about him was the last thing she wanted. What Hikari saw in that dumb jock, she couldn't figure.
    Her day seemed to improve in the afternoon thanks to PE class. In swim class, she got the best time, which attracted her all her classmates' attention and admiration. That was, until everybody heard the teacher say that Rei had beaten her by a whole five seconds. As usual, nobody had paid attention to the blue haired girl, so no one except the teacher had noticed her. In a matter of seconds, all the attention switched from Asuka to Rei. And to add to the injury, Rei answered the girls' questions, as if she actually seemed to enjoy talking about swimming. But of course, that couldn't be true. This girl was, after all, emotionless. Still, the thought that this doll had bested her... it infuriated Asuka to no end.
    To add to an already rotten day, back in regular class, one of those stupid boys actually had the nerve to ask her out. Her anger having reached dangerous levels already, Asuka finally snapped and slapped him hard enough to send him on the floor. Because of that, she was forced to hold buckets in the hall for the rest of the day.
    And now, she would have to face Misato. Misato who hadn't slept at the apartment the night before. Asuka had no illusions of where her "guardian" had slept. A new surge of jealousy at the thought did not help her mood at all.
    At least, it had spared her from seeing her get drunk to drown her worries about her dear Shinji-kun.
    "I hate this place. I hate her. I hate him. I hate them all. I hate my life."
    As she entered the apartment, Asuka didn't bother with announcing her arrival. Stupid Japanese custom. This wasn't her home anyway.
    A number of things immediately struck her as odd. As far as she could remember, she had never seen the apartment look so clean. She could almost see her reflection on the floor. And the smell of cooking hit her. Which could only mean one thing. Shinji was back. She cringed at the thought of seeing him. Not only had he beaten an Angel which gave her a humiliating defeat, but he had gotten a synch ratio she could never hope to equal, much less beat. Sure, he had gotten himself sucked in his EVA as a result, but she was still envious of him, and that thought alone infuriated her. Her! Envious of him. She clenched her fists and stepped into the kitchen. That jerk was going to be so sorry for that...
    She stopped dead in her track at the sight before her. Misato was in the kitchen. Wearing an apron. Cooking. Something that didn't look like instant and which actually smelled edible.
    Hearing footsteps, Misato turned around and noticed her other ward. She gave the redhead a big, cheery smile.
    "I didn't hear you come in. Welcome back, Asuka-chan!"
    Asuka's jaw dropped and she stared at the purple haired woman as if lobsters were crawling out of her ears. Misato was cooking. She seemed to be enjoying it. And she didn't look drunk one bit. Being pulled into a hug just added to her state of shock. And the worse was... it actually felt good. All of the earlier events of the day seemed to be suddenly forgotten. Until she realized that she was returning the hug... and how intimate this all was. She quickly broke the embrace.
    "Don't you dare! Don't you dare ever do that again!"
    "Asuka... please... don't scream..."
    In her state of mind, Asuka didn't notice the slight panicked look on Misato's face.
    "The hell I won't!"
    "WWWAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
    "Oh shit! Look at what you've done! And it was going so well..."
    Asuka froze. That noise... this wasn't what she thought it was, was it? No, that couldn't be...
    In a semi daze, she followed Misato and finally took notice of all the baby utilities in the living room. "Mein Gott!" she thought, "When did this place become a nursery?" She watched Misato bend over a crib, which seemed the source of the noise, and pick up a baby in her arms. A real live baby.
    "Shushhh... it's okay... nothing's wrong. Asuka was just a bit excited. She won't do it again. Will you Asuka?"
    The girl just couldn't believe her eyes. Had aliens landed and taken over Tokyo-3?
    She just nodded dumbly.
    "See. You don't have to cry anymore."
    As if he had understood, the baby actually calmed down. This was too strange.
    "What... what's that?"
    "Well, a baby of course."
    "I know it's a baby! What is it doing here?!"
    "Now, Asuka... don't scream. If you don't calm down first, I won't tell you."
    The girl clutched her first and took heavy breaths.
    "I. Am. Calm."
    Misato didn't really seem to believe her, but there wasn't much she could do about that.
    "Maybe you're better sit down."
    "I'll be fine as I am."
    "Okay," said Misato with a shrug. "Well... how to say this? Hum... Asuka... this baby... this baby is really... Shinji."
    Asuka frowned.
    "What kind of crap are you trying to pull? This thing... Shinji! Gimme a break!"
    Misato just took the baby and showed him to Asuka.
    "It is Shinji. You see, there was an accident in the recovery attempt. You're seeing the end result."
    For a moment Asuka stared at the baby. It looked... somehow... familiar. And those dark blue eyes...
    "Shinji?"
    "Gaahh," answered the baby cheerfully, apparently recognizing his name.
    Asuka fainted and fell heavily on the floor.
    "Well, that went better than expected," commented Misato as she went to fetch some smelling salts.

    "Why me?" Makoto moaned, as he tried to fight the fatigue that threatened to overcome him.
    Already, the absence of Maya had shown in the daily work. Enough for Shigeru and Makoto to barely manage to cover for it in regular working hours. This might not have been a problem on any other day; however, having spent most of the day at Misato's, Makoto had to catch up on what he had neglected to do, which meant an extra shift. And earlier events had drained him mentally and physically. Misato had asked him to help her clean her apartment, which he had found himself unable to refuse. He would never have imagined that house work could be that tiring. Or was it just because there was so much that needed to be done?
    If at least Shigeru had agreed to stay a while to help him. But he had only laughed at him for having been so easily manipulated by the Major.
    "Damn you, Shigeru!"
    And to add to his current problem, the Commander was on the bridge. Watching him. Didn't he have anything better to do?

    Up at his desk above the Command Center, Ikari Gendo grinned. Perhaps he would watch that poor Lieutenant squirm for another hour. After all, Supreme Commanders need leisure time, too...

    With Asuka having regained consciousness, both women sat at the kitchen table. Asuka was eating Misato's curry, which was surprisingly good, while clutching a cloth filled with a few ice cubes on her head; her fall had rewarded her with a nasty bump. She was eating rather slowly, not really feeling like enjoying her meal. Part of her was ashamed of herself. Fainting like that had been such a show of weakness! Only the fact that Misato had admitted that she had had the same reaction the previous day made it somewhat acceptable.
    Another part of her was rather confused at this turn of event. She hated Shinji. This was clear in her mind. He was weak, he was annoying, he was a wimp and he just kept outdoing her without trying. But to have this occur to him? She felt guilty for all the times she had wished to be rid of him.
    It would have been much more appropriate if it had been Ayanami.
    And while she would never admit it to anyone, this change of situation was scaring her. This was as close as dying as any of them had ever gotten. And... it was starting all over again. People around her... were leaving her.
    On the other side of the table, Misato was feeding Shinji a bottle of milk. She had decided to give priority to the infant, rather then her own stomach. She took this opportunity to explain everything to Asuka as well.
    "So... a four hundred percent synch ratio is that dangerous?" Asuka finally asked.
    "Yes. I don't know exactly what happened, but when the recovery failed, nothing should have been left of Shinji. And from what I managed to learn from Ritsuko, the first time someone reached four hundred percent... that person was never seen again."
    For a moment, Misato looked at the child cradled in her arms.
    "We were lucky to get him back, even in this state."
    "Can it... can it happen to me?"
    This questioned puzzled Misato. It wasn't usual to see Asuka worried.
    "I doubt it. Unit-02 never showed any signs of going berserk. Neither has Unit-00, except for both Rei's and Shinji's first activation tests. I think this is... something unique to Unit-01. Or perhaps Shinji. After all, he seems to be the only one who can use it now."
    Asuka seemed to think for a moment, chewing on some rice.
    "His EVA... it was much more powerful that way, right?"
    "Yeah," admitted Misato.
    "Then... what if it's necessary? What if Angels can't be beaten without an EVA going berserk? I mean, isn't that how Shinji beat the Third? As well as the Twelfth and the Fourteenth? And the Thirteenth... I've seen the videos... it wasn't the same, but Unit-01 looked just as wild. What if the Fifteenth is the same?"
    So that was what Asuka was afraid of. Afraid that the same thing would occur to her. She could understand; knowing what the girl went through in her childhood, no doubt the last thing she wanted was to have to grow up again. But there was probably something else. Asuka was likely also afraid of not being of any use anymore.
    "If he hadn't run out of power, Shinji would probably have defeated the last Angel." Asuka frowned at that comment. She had thought that Shinji had only been able to defeat the Angel because his EVA had gone berserk. "I'm sure that we'll be able to handle the next Angel, even if we have to do it without Unit-01 and Shinji. I'm sure you can do it, Asuka."
    "I don't know, Misato. After all, I'm not as good as our great Shinji-sama!"
    "Asuka... I didn't mean..."
    Misato couldn't say more, as the doorbell made itself heard.
    "I guess I should answer," said Asuka, as she got up.
    "Asuka..."
    Asuka was glad for the distraction. The last thing she wanted was for Misato to try and cheer her up. She felt utterly humiliated. Would Shinji really have beaten the Fourteenth Angel if he hadn't run out of power? Was that coward really that much better than her?
    "What do you want?!" she yelled as the door opened.
    She was surprised to see Hikari behind the door, a stunned look on her face.
    "A... Asuka? Am I... coming at a bad time?"
    Realizing the effect she just had on her friend, Asuka's expression softened. For a moment, she forgot all about EVAs and stupid boys.
    "Hikari? What are you doing here?"
    Hikari smiled, but still seemed a bit uneasy. Asuka noted that the girl wasn't wearing her school uniform, but rather a black skirt and lavender shirt.
    "Well... I gave Kensuke his printouts after school. And he told me..." The girl paused and suddenly, her eyes lit up in delight. "Oh! He's so cute!!!"
    Asuka blinked as the girl ran passed her to joined Misato who had just exited the kitchen. Hikari hadn't... no, she couldn't have come just for... this?
    "He is, isn't he?" said Misato with pride.
    "Oh, he's so precious," beamed Hikari. "I love babies! I used to baby-sit at least twice a week before. But now with all those Angels attacks... Can I... can I hold him?"
    "Sure," said Misato with a smile, as she handed carefully the baby to Hikari. The purple-haired woman nodded in satisfaction as she realized that Hikari knew exactly the right way to hold the baby.
    "I feel sick," thought Asuka.
    She was now frowning deeply, her gaze moving from Misato, to Hikari, to the baby and back, in repeated cycles. Here she thought that her friend had come to visit her, only to realized that she was only interested in Shinji. Or rather the baby. How did she know about this anyway? Hikari had mentioned something about Kensuke. Was that it? Her temper flared up even more. How dare Misato tell that stupid otaku about Shinji before telling her!
    "Oh... you're such a cute little boy you!" said Hikari, while tickling the boy's stomach, eliciting a few giggles from him, a fact that Misato noted for future use. "You are just so cute! Yes you are! Yes you are!" Asuka let out a groan upon hearing Hikari's now sickeningly sweet voice. "What's his name?"
    "Well..."
    "Shinji," answered Asuka, her voice dripping acid at the mention of the name. "He's called Shinji."
    If Hikari noticed Asuka's attitude, she didn't show it.
    "Shinji? Wow, what a coincidence!" Asuka groaned at how clueless her friend was. "Hello, Shin-chan!"
    As she shook her head and made funny faces, the baby caught one of the girl's pigtails that flew within reach of Shinji's grasp. Asuka smiled wickedly as Hikari let out a little yelp.
    "She gets what she deserved," thought the red-head sourly.
    "Shinji! Don't do that!" said Misato, as she tried to get the pigtail out of the baby's grasp.
    "It's okay," said Hikari, letting the baby play with her pigtails. "He just surprised me. Babies all love to do that. It didn't really hurt."
    "Oh... You know, you seem to know a lot about babies," noted Misato. "Care to give me some tips? Oh, and did you eat? I think I made far too much food. Want some?"
    "Yeah, sure!" Then Hikari remembered some of the things Asuka had said about Misato's cooking. "Although I'm not sure I'm that hungry..."
    "You'll see, it's good! Wasn't it, Asuka?"
    "I'm not lying on the floor in agony from food poisoning, if that's what you mean."
    For a moment, Hikari pondered the question, then thought of a way to perhaps do Asuka a favor.
    "Okay, I can try some. And perhaps we can also exchange cooking tips as well?"
    "You've got yourself a deal!"
    So Misato and Hikari, still holding Shinji, headed toward the kitchen, leaving a fuming Asuka behind.
    "How... how can they ignore me like that!"
    There was, however, no one left to answer that question.

    "WWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
    "Want... sleep... more..." groaned Misato, as she struggled to find her alarm clock. After a few long seconds, her fingers finally found the familiar shape of the dreaded object and pushed the snooze bottom.
    Nothing happened.
    The oddity of that fact caught the attention of some of her brain cells. Slowly, a chain reaction brought the rational part of her brain to awareness.
    Some loud noise woke her up.
    Pushing the snooze bottom of her alarm clock didn't stop the sound.
    Therefore, the sound didn't come from the alarm clock.
    "Shut up, you moron! Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!"
    Additional input was then added to the equation.
    The sound had woken Asuka as well.
    Asuka yelled at Shinji.
    Therefore Shinji is the source of the noise.
    That's when Misato's eyes snapped opened, as most of her brain came online. Shinji was crying. Correction, baby Shinji was crying. And whatever the reason, he probably wouldn't stop unless someone did something.
    Still half in a daze, Misato got up and looked at her clock. Barely two in the morning. Hikari had left around eleven the previous night, so she had only slept for three hours.
    "Urg..."
    More steady on her feet, Misato went to see what was wrong.
    Realizing that it would be closer to her room and that he would be easier to hear in case of problems, Misato had left Shinji's crib in the living room instead of his room. Misato congratulated herself for that idea. Reaching the baby, she picked him up and tried to assess the situation.
    That's when she noticed all the noise that was coming from Asuka's room. Then the girl emerged from her room, a suitcase in hand, her school bag in the other.
    "Asuka, what are you doing?" asked Misato as she followed the girl toward the door, where she put her shoes on.
    "Ain't it obvious?! I'm leaving! No way I'm gonna put up with this every night! If there's an Angel attack, I'll be at Hikari's."
    "You can't be serious..."
    "You have no idea how serious I am!"
    Misato couldn't believe it. How could Asuka do that?
    "But Asuka... I was hoping I could count on you..."
    "Forget it! You're the one here who's Shinji's guardian! This is your problem, not mine! It's enough that I had to stand him whining as a boy, I won't stand for him crying in the middle of the night as a baby and you certainly won't stick the chores of changing his diapers on me! That thing has been poisoning my life ever since I got back from school! I won't take more of that crap!"
    "Asuka!"
    It was however too late, as the girl was already gone.
    "You're still wearing your sleeping clothes..."
    For a moment, Misato stood in front of the door, hoping that the teenage girl would come back. She didn't. Misato couldn't help but feel deeply disappointed in her.
    "It's okay Shinji... we'll manage without her."
    "WWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"
    Misato groaned. Something was telling her that the next two weeks would be very long.
 

[To be continued...]
 
 
 

Author's notes:

While "in-character" (or so I believe), some people could think that I was overly rash over my portrayal of Asuka. Do not be mistaken, I love Asuka very much. However, as we all know, Asuka's attitude worsened after the Fourteenth Angel attack. And as she expressed in episode 22, she has no intention of having children. This is something I'll try to develop more in the next part.

Also, in this particular context, Asuka represents in a way the older child that sees it's family change with the arrival of a new member. It's a common thing. Older siblings often get jealous of the extra attention their parents get from the new baby. For Asuka who craves the attention of others, this is unacceptable.