Chapter 1

"An unfamiliar ceiling," those were the first words when I woke up in the hospital after the fight with the first Angel. Little did I realize that day, that it would lead me to meeting my beloved.

I am Shinji Ikari, and these are my memoirs of what would later be dubbed, "The Angel War." Parts of the story that happen without me present were lifted from what NERV documents survived the conflict, a few even being non-official.

After the fight with the first Angel, on my second day at NERV, I was summoned to the Commander's central office where my living arrangements were to be decided..

Geesh! You'd think they'd plan for me to be set up before I was dragged out here to be blackmailed into piloting an Eva, that's the huge walking-fighting, prone to going berserk, "robot," but then again, NERV is an organization run by my dead-beat father who sees absolutely nothing wrong with outright abandoning his four-year-old son, at a crowded train station, when his wife "dies," and that's how he acts when there are witnesses around. I shudder to think what he would have done if he had found me at home instead, where there were no witnesses. The worst part is that the NERV personnel think that sort of thing is "normal" and can't grasp why I might be just a tiny bit hostile.

Along with Captain Misato, I am called to the NERV housing office where some bureaucrat, whose name I never heard, starts deciding my housing arrangements.

Misato: "You don't want to live with your father?"

Quartermaster: "I think that living apart is … natural for them."

Misato: "And living together is unnatural?"

…..

Misato: (To Shinji) "You'll be living alone?!"

Quartermaster: "Yes. His room is the sixth block beyond this one. Is that alright?"

Misato: (To Shinji) "Are you okay with that?"

Shinji: "Living alone is fine with me."

Of course, Captain Misato was clearly not satisified with that and decided to literally drag me to her home and force me to move in and live with her, with no supervision or chaperon. Now I was just a child soldier with no prior military training, but even I can see the problems, plural, involved in such an arrangement, Being completely over my head, I don't complain, but when Misato calls the head of project E, Risuko Akagi, amazingly my dead-beat dad DOES, though I suspect he only did it to be a dick.

(Over the speaker phone while Misato is driving Shinji to her place)

Commander Gendo: "Captain Misato Katsuragi. It has come to my attention that you intend to ignore the housing arrangements we've planned out, after considerable and thorough review, and are in the process of physically dragging Pilot Ikari to live with you at your place without any external supervision or chaperon, despite the fact that not only are you his superior officer, but of the opposite gender. Care to explain your violation of several military rules, regulations, and protocols regarding fraternizing with subordinates? Especially considering the fact that said subordinate is almost a decade younger than you?"

Misato: "That last part is precisely my point! A 13-year-old living alone is bad enough, but slapping the duty of piloting a war-machine on top of that, and Shinji needs some kind of supervision when he gets home! What happens if some physical or mental injury he receives doesn't manifest until long after the battle is over and he's home alone! What if he goes to bed at night and doesn't wake up the next morning! How is he going to fend for himself?!"

Gendo: "That has all been already addressed, Captain. His living quarters are being monitored, and Section 2 security has several details to ensure 24-hour coverage on all Eva pilots."

Misato: "Section 2? Commander, unless these details are going to be physically sharing his apartment, there are several blind spots in their 'coverage' that even simple illness can exploit, let alone hostile elements."

Gendo: "So you're insistent that Shinji not live on his own, no matter what rules you have to break, even going so far as rank insubordination?"

Misato: "For his well-being, yes! I am willing to shoulder that risk, Commander."

Gendo: "Very well. Since we don't have the luxury of throwing you in the brig at this time, I propose an alternate solution."

Misato: "I'm listening."

Gendo: "Pilot Ikari will have a room-mate, the first child. Her unique circumstances have prompted us to try and find her 24-7 supervision for some time, without success. Your insistence that Pilot Ikari not have a flat to himself, unsupervised, has finally provided us a perfect candidate for the task."

Misato: "You want two teens of opposite genders living in the same room without adult supervision?"

Gendo: "Captain, you are hardly qualified to be considered 'adult' yourself. Your use of your NERV personal expense card raises serious concerns. We have been overlooking it, considering your skill, competence, and dedication to your work. Unfortunately, your insistence in dragging the Third Child to your personal residence, on your own prerogative is causing the entire organization to reconsider your qualifications. If you continue to be insubordinate, I will have no choice but to have you arrested, thrown into the brig, and make other arrangements regarding the Third Child to prevent your... ill conduct. You are to escort the Third Child to the First Child's residence, immediately, and once he's safely inside his new quarters, leave."

Misato: "FINE! I will comply, but I want it stated for the record that I do so with the strongest possible protest, and if I hear of any issues regarding the two of them, I will use my full command authority, and the rules and regulations of Military Justice to make you answer for it!"

Gendo: "Duly noted. Carry out your orders, Captain. Dismissed." Click

Misato: "RRWWWWARRGGGHHHH! I DON'T BELIEVE THAT BASTARD!"

Shinji: "Why... why the heck?!"

At the end of the call, in Gendo's office...

Fuyutsuki: "Was that really necessary, Gendo?"

Gendo: "Indeed. The Captain's immaturity could become a serious threat to The Scenario. It's better to correct it early, while things are still relatively easy to deal with."

Fuyutsuki: (Begins massaging his temple to hold off the oncoming headache) "That may be, but putting the First and Third Children in the same one bedroom efficiency?"

Gendo: "The First has already proven to be a very effective leash on the boy, and the Captain does have a point that The Children need to be watched, closely. What better way than to put them together, very, very close together."

Fuyutsuki: "I suppose. Still, I hope it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass."

Gendo: "As long as it doesn't interfere with The Scenerio, what those teens do to each other is entirely irrelevant."

Fuyutsuki: "I suppose so." (Thinking. You're getting soft, Gendo. You're being too good to Rei and Shinji. Is it because he's your son?)

When we arrive at my "new home," formerly Rei's sole apartment, Misato... well, if she was mad before, she went into apocalyptic fury. She didn't even try to compose or restrain herself.

Misato: "What?! The Third Child lives.. lived alone HERE! Sure, the stairs and elevator are in working order, barely, but she's got mail shoved in the slot, left unattended for god knows how long, burned out or outright broken lights right in front of her door..." (Turns the handle, and the door opens.) "And her place isn't even locked!" (Tries locking the door from the inside.) "Oh great! The lock doesn't even work! Is Section Two really doing their jobs watching out for one of the pilots for Humanity's Last Line Of Defense against the Angels?!"

Misato goes on to storm inside with me in tow...

Misato: "Well, the kitchen is clean at any rate."

The "room" is just a narrow corridor heading from the outer door, through the kitchen into the bedroom, with the bathroom opening into that narrow corridor between the front door and the bedroom.

Misato: "Now wait just a minute here. There's only ONE FUCKING BED, and no other bedrooms?! What the hell is the Commander expecting? Are you supposed to sleep in the bathtub? Or does he think the two of you are already married?! And what has Rei on top the refrigerator here? As well as all these used bandages and trash all over the place?"

Misato starts examining the labels, doing her best not to touch the bottles like she's preserving a crime scene.

Misato: "Oxycontin, Zoloft, Vitamin K, Ritalin, Maalox, Nexium, Insulin, a bunch of digestive enzymes, human growth hormone, and a bunch of other stuff I can't readily identify... Geesh! Small wonder she's always spaced out like a wind-up doll. She's drugged to the gills all the time, and I don't dare tamper with this regimen without the aid of a damn good medical expert, and maybe not even then. No telling what the side-effects of detox are! Oh, the Commander and I are going to have words when I see him tomorrow morning. For now, I've got no choice but to follow orders and leave you here. First though I'm going to get photographic evidence of these conditions, and do something to fix that damn lock so I don't leave you here defenseless!"

True to her word, she drags me off to the hardware store, and we buy a new door knob, with a deadbolt, not to mention a replacement for the light just outside the door, and spend the rest of the day installing it, as well as Misato taking lots and lots of pictures of the apartment, the building, and the surrounding neighborhood.

Misato: "Good night, Shinji. I hope you rest well, because you still have school tomorrow, and I have an appointment with a certain sun-glass wearing douchebag."

The next morning, as I was getting punched in the face by Toji Suzuhara, who would ironically become my best friend, Misato had her own battle to deal with, and it went just as poorly.