Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Mandate Of Hell ❯ Revenge or Forgiveness ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Eva this fic has lemon and lime in it so if that bothers you do not read this fic that does not mean that there is nothing but mindless sex in this fic, it does have a plot.

This is my first go at an anime fic so don't expect it to be good but I hope you enjoy it none the less, please read and review thank you.

Kargan

 

 

 

The Mandate Of Hell

Part 9

Revenge or Forgiveness

 

****** Outside of Toyko-3 Number 1 Public Jr. High School ******

 

For a moment Gwen and Drake looked at one another and they had a * Do you want to go first or shall I ? " look on there faces before they looked back at the boy named Shinji Ikari.

" My name is Gwen Masters I am honored to meet you. " Gwen said in her most polite voice as she bowed to Shinji then stood straight up.

* Something strange about this guy * Drake thought to himself, " Hey how's it hanging, the name is Drake Frost nice to meet you, heard a bit about you hope we can be friends. " Drake said and as he started to bow he saw out of the corner of his eye a disapproving look in Misato's eyes then stood up and stuck out his hand towards Shinji who reached out and shook it.

 

Asuka gulped a few times as she looked at Shinji for she saw the strange look that he had in his eyes and felt very uncomfortable, " Um Hi Shinji..It Um good to see you. " she said to Shinji who let go of Drake's hand and turned to face her, " Nice to see you as well. " Shinji said in a slightly frosty tone of voice that was not lost on her or the others.

" Well we have got to be going so let's get in the car and go. " Misato said as she felt Asuka's discomfort at seeing Shinji and decided not to dilly-dally for she had to get Gwen and Drake back to Nerv for there tests.

* God give me strength * Misato thought to herself for she just knew that she had her work cut out for her from the way Shinji and Asuka had greeted one another.

 

As they where driving towards Nerv there was a tense quietness in the car that had everyone on edge.

Drake looked from the front passenger's seat where Shinji was sitting to Asuka who was sitting in the middle of the back seat and he could feel the bad vibes that where pouring off of Shinji and Asuka.

* I wonder what's going on with these two? * Drake thought to himself as he continued to watch them both, even Gwen was kind of subdued by the bad karma that was floating around the car and from the kind of slightly freaked out look in Asuka's eyes she knew that Asuka was in a bad off way and mentally made a note to herself that once she was done the tests to take Asuka aside when they where alone and asked what was going between her and Shinji if she was up to it.

 

" Misato where is Rei? " Shinji asked as he gave Asuka as he looked at Asuka from the rear view mirror and dropped his eyebrows a fraction of an inch and was delighted to see the uneasy look on Asuka's face become more so as she saw his face in the rear view mirror at that moment, " Rei is at home, why do you ask? " Misato said to Shinji as she snuck a look over at him and saw the sightly dead pan look on his face that made her shiver slightly.

" Nothing really I just wanted to know why she was not with us at this time. " Shinji said coldly as his mind pictured the look on panic and fear that would be on Rei's face when they next met and looked forward to it.

" Shinji as you sure you ok? " Misato asked as the goose bumps on her body became more pronounced at the tone of Shinji's voice, " Yes Misato I'm fine, it just that so much has happened to me in the last week or so that it is quite overwhelming. " Shinji said with a smirk on his face that he managed to keep to himself as he continued to stare at Asuka though the rear view mirror as his mind bubbled and boiled with all manor of dark and vile thoughts.

 

Misato looked at Shinji and saw that he was looking at something in the car instead of the road in front of them when he suddenly looked at her from the corner of his eye before she could fallow his eyes to see what he had been looking at then look out the windshield giving a very uptight Asuka some mental relief.

* What are you thinking Shinji? * Misato wondered to herself as the trip to Nerv seemed to take a lot longer then usual.

 

****** Nerv Sync Test Chamber ******

 

Ritsuko was going over the sync and harmonics test procedures when Misato, Drake, Gwen and Asuka who as sure as hell did not want to be left alone with Shinji who had told Misato that he would wait for them in the car walked into the test chamber.

" Gwen, Drake it's time for your fist harmonics test followed by a synchronization test is there any questions before we started with the fitting of you neural interface chips? " she asked Drake and Gwen who had an unsure look on there faces.

" Yes what exactly are you going to do to us? " Gwen asked as she took a look around the test chamber to see was looked like a huge, sinister looking gray metal ball in room next to the one they where in that had a countless number of wires and tubes sticking out of it as lights blinked on and off on what looked to be a control board of some kind that Ritsuko was standing in front of.

 

Ritsuko gave Gwen a warm smile that earned her a slightly guarded look from Misato that was standing off to one side of her and missed it as she spoke, " First off we are going to outfit you with two neural interface chips in the top if your heads so that you can mentally interact with an eva unit. " she said to Gwen who was looking like she was about to pee herself, " How are you going to do that? " Gwen asked Ritsuko as she kept looking at the huge metal ball, unable to take her eyes off of it.

" First we are going to make a small incision in the top of your scalp and-" Ritsuko was saying to Gwen as unseen by the others Drake was slowly backing away from them as small whimpering noises escaped his throat, his eyes wide in unimaginable terror.

"-insert two neural electrical plugs just under your scalp so that it's resting on your skull to pick up your brain waves and then-"

" FUCK YOU! " Drake screamed at the top of his lungs scaring the ever living shit out of Ritsuko, Gwen, Misato and Asuka who jumped at the sound of his panicked voice and they all spun around to see Drake slowly backing away from them and where shocked to the core by the look of blind terror in his eyes.

" Drake what's wrong?!?!?! " Misato said as she struggled to get over her shock at seeing Drake so freaked out.

Asuka who had no idea as to why Drake was acting they way he was thought that he was being a wimp for no reason, " What's the matter Drake scared of a little pain you big baby. " she said with as much sarcasm that she could muster, not knowing how close she was to death.

" Asuka get away from him, NOW.! " Ritsuko said for she knew that from the look of mindless fear in Drake's eyes that he was more then likely to attack anyone who came close to him and Asuka was well within striking distance of Drake as he continued to back away from them and closer to the wall behind him.

" GOD DAMN IT ASUKA GET AWAY FORM HIM NOW! " Ritsuko shouted as Drake hit the wall and froze and he slowly drew back his right hand that he made into a white knuckled fist.

Misato suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Asuka and pulled her back as Drake's fist flew though the air where Asuka's head had been a split second before.

 

" Drake it's ok no one is going to hurt you so just relax and we can talk this over. " Ritsuko said in a soothing voice as she slowly put her hands up to show Drake that she was not going to tray and hurt him as Drake slowly slid along the wall, his eyes wide in terror and he was making low growling sounds as he made his way towards the door that they had entered though.

" Will someone mind telling me what the hell is going on here! " Asuka shouted causing Drake to crouch as he continued to stare at them with the look of a trapped animal and Misato clamped a hand over Asuka's mouth as Ritsuko took a small step towards Drake as she did her level best to calm Drake down.

 

Drake looked at them and they could see the look of madness behind the look of fear in his eyes as he pressed himself against the wall behind him as sweat began to pour from his forehead as his breathing become rapid short intakes and for a moment no one moved or said a thing when Drake seemed to come out of ever kind of fit he had been in and slowly lowered himself to the floor as he put his head in his hands.

 

Misato looked at Ritsuko was looking back at her with a " * This is not good * look on her face.

 

" MMMMUUFFFFMMM " Asuka said into Misato's hand as she gave Drake a deadly look that told everyone there she wanted so very badly to kick his ass.

" Drake?, Drake are you ok? " Ritsuko said to Drake as she slowly took a step towards him, ready to back away from him if he tried to lash out at him, Gwen was just standing there with a frightened look and she felt her hatred towards Drake become for more acute after seeing him trying to deck Asuka.

 

" Just peachy, just fucking peachy blondie. " Drake said as he dragged his hands over his face and looked up at Ritsuko as he took a deep breath and let it out with a groan, " What hell happened Drake? " Misato said as Asuka squirmed in her grasp and she let her go with a warning to keep her mouth shut as Drake slowly stood up, " Just some shit form my past that came back in bit me in the ass. " Drake said and they all heard the self-loathing, shame and fear in his voice.

" You stay the hell away from me you damn freak! " Asuka as she backed away from Drake who turned his head and looked at her with a look of despondent regret in his eyes that generated feelings of pity in Misato and Ritsuko.

" Don't worry I will you can count on that. " Drake said before he turned to face Misato, " Captain if you'll take me back to the house I gather my things and you can put me on the next plane home ok? " he said as he closed his eyes and began to rub his forehead.

" Drake you won't solve anything by running away. " Misato said as she began to seriously rethink about having Drake in the same house as her and the other children for it was quite obvious that Drake needed professional help, not that she would want to see him under the care of the same doctors that had just about screwed up Shinji worse then he was.

 

Drake let out a defeated sigh, " Captain trust me it would be better if I left that way no one gets hurt, I always seem to wear out my welcome where ever I go, don't worry I can take care of myself, I have been for the last few years, take my word for it. " he said as he stopped rubbing his forehead and stood there looking older as if the wear and tear of his troubled life was now starting to show.

 

For a moment no one said as thing as they stood there unsure of what to make of Drake, save for Gwen and Asuka they where all for the idea of Drake leaving, the sooner the better.

Ritsuko knew that she had been right about Drake being on the verge of a mental brake down and she was thankful that no one had been hurt when he did just a few minutes ago, however she was quite surprised that Drake had not been reduced to a sobbing, nervous wreck by whatever hellish memories that had just surfaced in his mind.

 

" Misato is right, running away will not help, tell us what's wrong and we might be able to help you. " Ritsuko said as she gave Drake a kind look as she kept her tone of voice a sweet and as pleasant as she could in the hopes of coaxing Drake into opening up to them and maybe get some of the help that he disparately needed.

 

But before any more words could be exchanged alarm sounded in the test chamber and Ritsuko race over to the control panel that was off to one side of the room, " Fuck!, not again! " Ritsuko spat as she looked over a readout on the control panel.

" Well it looks like there won't be any tests happening today. " Ritsuko said in a deeply frustrated voice and began to explain to them what had happened to the equipment that would have been used on Drake and Gwen, in the first five minutes of her explanation Ritsuko had lost them in all the techno babble that she was saying to them.

 

" Ritsuko in plain english what your saying is the equipment is broken and it's going to take some time to fix it right? " Misato said to Ritsuko who was on the verge of kicked some one's ass for this screw up, Ritsuko took a deep breath and let it out as she forced herself to relax, " Yes that's what I'm saying, you might as well go home and wait until his heap of junk is fixed. " she said to Misato who had other things on her mind at the moment, name what was she going to do with Drake, Gwen was not sure about anything save for the fact that she like Asuka wanted to get the hell away from Drake as fast as they could namely him leaving on the next plane to Canada, Drake was far to wrapped up in his misery that he did give a shit about anything or anyone at the moment in time.

 

" Asuka, you and Gwen go back to the car, I have to have a talk with Drake. " Misato said to Asuka and Gwen who where more then happy to put some space between themselves and Drake but for Asuka that meant she had to face Shinji once more and she had not idea on what to do about him.

" Ok Misato I'll see you later. " Asuka said as she lead Gwen back to the motor pool.

 

Ritsuko looked at Misato and then to Drake then back to Misato, " Misato I'll have to ask you and Drake to leave here for there's a lot of work to be done, why don't you and Drake get a bite to eat at the cafeteria I hear they have a great sweet and sour pork soup and deep fried terakyi on the menu. " she said to Misato who took that as her cue to find a quiet place to talk to Drake who was just staring off into nothingness, lost in his murky thoughts.

 

" Come on Drake I don't know about you but I am hungry, besides I really need to talk to you. " Misato said to Drake, " Ya sure whatever I don't care. " he said to her, his voice sounding hallow and lifeless.

 

****** Nerv Motor Pool ******

 

Shinji was laying back in the front drives seat that he folded down a bit with his feet propped up on the car's dash board as he listened to his SDAT player.

* Asuka is scared of you or uneasy around you at the very lest * Shinji thought to himself as he let his mind wonder where it may, * She soul be made to suffer for what she did to you * the dark side of Shinji's soul wispered into his mind with it's poisonous words in a honeyed tone of voice * But I don't know for sure if it was her that had just about denutted me it could have just as easily been Rei who crushed my left nut * Shinji said to himself as he continued to listen to the music and shifted his body to a more comfortable position in the car.

* So what if it wasn't her, they should both pay for what they did to you just to be on the safe side, besides how long have you put up with the piss poor way that Asuka had treated you in the past so she more then deserves what she get's from you. * Dark Shinji said with a ghostly smile of evil that for some odd reason did not frighten Shinji in the lest.

* Hmmm I could do that but then if I did that would make things worse then they are now, besides how would Drake and Gwen reacted if I harmed Rei or Asuka? * Shinji thought with a serious expression on his normal serene face as the SDAT player switched over to a new track.

* So what, they have nothing to say in the matter this is between you, Asuka and Rei, come on be a man and stand up for yourself. * Dark Shinji said as he appeared beside Shinji in the driver's seat of the car with a dower look on his face, Shinji looked at the thing beside him and saw that it looked like him save for the fact he was dressed from head to toe in black and there was a evil look on his face and his eyes where as red as low burning coals.

" Umm who or what are you? " Shinji asked the thing in the driver's seat before he went on with the discussion at hand, normally Shinji would be scared witless at what he was seeing before him but he felt a strange feeling of familiarity at the being beside him.

" Shinji you should now who I am, after all we're one in the same you an I. " Dark Shinji said with a reassuring tone of voice that made Shinji feel more relaxed and Shinji decided put all thought of who or what the thing before him was and get back to what they had been talking about.

 

* Misato would expected that you know and I don't want to upset her not after all that she has done for me in the past. * Shinji thought towards Dark Shinji was giving him a stern look.

* You do have a point on that so why don't you just watch Rei and Asuka for awhile, get to know them and how they think then drop the hammer on them after all you will only have one chance for revenge, how can you live with yourself if you let this go without some kind of payback, trust me you won't be able to. * Dark Shinji said to Shinji's mind with an with an evil smile that nearly split his face in two and began to show Shinji's mind a variety of images of degrading and sadistic acts involving Rei and Asuka and knew that it would only be a matter of time before Shinji scummed to the dark side of every human soul and revel in the sweetly horrifying acts that would be committed by them both on Asuka and Rei who so richly deserved such a fate.

 

A few minutes later Shinji saw Gwen and Asuka enter the motor pool and sat up and readjusted the seat he was resting on, as Asuka and Gwen made there way towards the car Shinji looked over towards the driver's seat was and saw that Dark Shinji was gone, * Remember patencies is the key to our glories vengeance *

Dark Shinji said to Shinji before retreating to the darkness of Shinji's soul.

 

Asuka and Gwen stood out side the car at Asuka's instances for she did not want to be anywhere near Shinji at the moment as she continued to curse out Drake for having nearly taken her head off back in the test chamber, with a sinister smile Shinji rolled down the passenger's side window to listen to the two girls for he had seen the to look of outrage on Asuka's face and that told him that something bad had happened and he wanted to not only know about it but to enjoy the sights and sounds of her turmoil.

 

****** Nerv Cafeteria ******

 

" Come on Drake have something to eat you'll feel better. " Misato said with an encouraging voice as she loaded up a plate with sushi, fried greens and a bowl of duck and soya soup.

" No thanks. " Drake said to Misato, his voice was filled with such misery that Misato felt the urge to hug Drake close to her but knew if she tried that Drake would more then likely freak out on her and they sat down.

" Drake what's going on with you?, why did you freak out for? " Misato asked as she gobbled down some of her sushi and saw the look of despair on Drake's face change to a guarded look that told her to back off but for Drake's sake she would not back off and waited for Drake to answer her.

Drake watched as Misato continued to eat and he saw from the look in her eyes that she was not going to let the matter slide, " Look Captain I have been though some really fucked up shit in my past and it came back and bit me in the ass and before you say another thing, I want to thank you for everything you have done for me but this is something I have to deal with on my own. " he told her as he did his best to keep himself from crying in frustrated rage and self loathing and he knew that Misato was seeing though the tough guy act he was putting on and that just served to make him feel even lower then he was at the moment.

 

Misato stopped eating for a moment to think about what she should say next to Drake for she was unsure on how to get the point across to Drake that she was there to help him if he would give her the chance.

" Drake I think that this is something that you can't face on your own and I want to help you but you have got to tell me what happened to you so I can help you. " she said to Drake and waited for his answer.

" Captain, I-I-I....just want to be left alone, trust me it's better if I deal with this on my own. " Drake said to Misato as he fought to keep himself calm despite feeling like he was going to explode like a pipe bomb and Misato could see his eyes starting to get misty.

" Drake I- " Misato reached across the table and put a hand on Drake's arm that was on the table and saw his eyes widen in surprise "-Think that being alone at a time like this is not a good idea, don't turn your back on us, we want to help. " she added as she gave Drake's arm a gentle squeeze to try and comfort him.

" Ya right! " Drake said as he shook his armed lose from Misato's hand as he felt the stinging in his eyes slowly grow worse and worse with each passing moment, " I doubt that Asuka and that bitch Gwen would lift a finger to help me, even if I was bleeding to death, as for Rei who knows about her, she's so wrapped up with what ever's on her mind to waste the time to help me and as for Shinji I don't know him and he does not know me so way should he help me hun? " he added as a sudden rage stabbed him in his troubled heart,

* How dare she try and play nicey nice with me, what does she think I am a moron! * he thought to himself as he gave Misato a wary look.

 

* Damn it Drake why can't you see that I am trying to help you? * Misato asked herself as she withdrew her hand away from Drake when he gave her wary look that told her point blank that he did not trust her nor would he trust her anytime soon.

" Drake if you don't let some one help you with what ever your problem is you'll die bitter and alone and you don't deserve that, no one does. "

Drake just shook his head in dismay, " Look Captain there is no way on earth that you can help me with this shit and more then likely I'm going to lose it quite badly and when that happens I don't want you to be around so you don't get hurt, hell if I died here and now the world won't give a shit so why should you? " Drake asked Misato with a strangely disgusted tone of voice that caused Misato to let out a frustrated sigh.

" Look Drake not everyone in the world his as cold and heartless as you think they are, if I was do you think that I would be taking care of you, Gwen, Shinji, Asuka or Rei if I was like that? " Misato said to Drake as she laded a spoon full of her duck soup and ate it and just realizing just how hungry she was.

 

Drake thought about what Misato had told him for a few minutes and for some reason that he could not understand he felt that her words where not as pure and motherly as she made them out to be and decided to try something.

" Some how I think that you only take care of us because it's your job to do so, I mean what the hell was up with the gun shot in the car eh? " he said to Misato and watched her carefully to see what her reaction to his words would be, figuring that he would be able to tell if Misato was really the caring person she said she was or if she was talking out of her ass.

 

Misato offered a weak smile as she spoke to Drake, " I don't know anything about being a mother and with all the arguing between you and the others it gets so frustrating at time I don't know what to do with you all and I am sorry about the gun shot. "

Drake thought about what Misato said to him and he could not help but to feel that Misato was blaming him for the troubles with Asuka and Gwen and his face darkened a bit, " Oh so now your saying it's my fault! " Drake snarled for as far as he was concerned he was blameless on that matter he had not started any of the fights between himself, Gwen or Asuka all he did was defend himself from there flack attitudes and there was nothing wrong with that in his mind.

" No Drake that's not what I mean. " Misato said in a calming tone of voice as she saw the anger in Drake's eyes flare up, " Then what the hell do you mean then? " Drake fired back at Misato as he did his best to put a muzzle on his anger, he wanted to give Misato a fair chance to make her point to him after all it was the lest he could do for her.

 

Misato felt her own anger starting to boil at Drake's surly attitude towards her, * Why the hell is he so defensive for? * Misato asked herself as she put a tight lid on her anger because she knew that last thing any of them needed was an argument, " Drake try to understand my point of view, I have you, Gwen, Asuka Rei and Shinji to take care of and it's a real tight rope to walk keeping the peace between all of you because of the different personalties that all of you have and quite frankly I just don't know what to do any more. " Misato said to Drake who saw the look of confusion in her eyes and for some strange reason his anger started to melt away leaving him sitting there in even greater confusion and frustration for try as he might he could not understand what Misato was saying to him.

 

" Look Captain the long and the shorts of this whole mess is that I know that I'm not wanted by the others and that's fine with me, I should have known better then to think that this whole eva piloting deal was going to work, I'm just to messed up for it. " Drake said as a fit of despair washed over him and Misato could see that Drake was about to brake right down and she knew that she would not be able to handle this on her own.

" Drake I think you might need some professional help on this because I have no idea on what to do with you and since you won't tell me what's bothering you I can't help you and there's no way I can take you back home if you are going to end up hurting the others. " Misato told Drake as she finished up her meal and just about dropped a log as Drake got up from his seat and started to back away from her.

 

" No fucking way, there's no way in hell I'm going to let you stick me in the nut house, I'd rather die first! " Drake with a growl in his voice and balled up his hand into fists.

 

Misato just sat there and look at Drake with a deep pity in her eyes that stopped Drake in his tracks,

" Drake I don't know what happened to you in your past but it's eating you alive and you have to deal with it or you will die, I just know it! " she said with a fearful tone of voice as her mind flashed her images of Drake killing himself.

 

Drake took a deep breath and let it out as he forced himself to calm down, in the back of his mind he knew Misato was right but there was no way he would let anyone stick him in a loony bin then walked over to where Misato was sitting.

Misato saw the look of fear and anger flee from Drake's face and there was a cold and lifeless look on his face that reminded her of Rei for some odd reason as her mind searched for the words she wanted to say but could not as she continued to watch Drake with a deep sense of impending doom.

" Captain I know what you are saying but there is no way I'm going to let you or anyone else stick me in some fucking loony bin and that is that, this is my life not your's and I'll live it any way I see fit understand? " he said to Misato and there was such iron in his voice that Misato knew that there would be no way in hell that Drake would go voluntarily to the Nerv mental health ward and the sheer strength of conviction in his voice surprised her as she saw the look of grim resolve replace the lifeless look on his face and in his eyes she could a dangerous look in them that set her nerves on edge and slowly moved her hand towards her gun.

 

Drake saw Misato reaching for her hand gun and he smiled grimly at her, " Captain you will have no need for that, trust me on this. " he said to Misato who asked him what he was going to do as fear turned her blood to ice water for she was more then sure from that he was going to attack her for he now had a strange look in his eyes that was frightening her badly, partly because she feared for her safety and partly because she was afraid that she would have to shoot Drake to stop him from attacking her, " Drake that's far enough damn it! " Misato said as she quickly stood up from her seat and her hand was resting on the butt of her hand gun and Drake could see a look of fear and pleading in her eyes as she backed away from him.

 

Misato watched as Drake came to a stop a few feet away from him, then he grabbed the collar of his school uniform's white shirt and ripped it wide open to reveal his scared chest, his face becoming as hard as steel as Misato's face twisted into a rictus of horror.

Misato felt her knees turn to jello at the sight of Drake tortured body and it took of her will power to stand on her feet, even though Ritsuko had told her about what she had seen when she examined him nothing could prepare her for the horror of seeing Drake mutilated body as he continued to strip off his school uniform and she could not only see the wicked scars that crisscrossed his body but there where burn marks on his chest and his arms as well as he stood there naked from the waist up and she turned her head and began to puke as her mind began to show her such of horrendous images of Drake being tortured that she collapsed to her knees as she continued to vomit.

 

" This is the shit I have had to live with every fucking day of my life! " Drake said with a such a hard voice that Misato could not tear her eyes away from him and she saw that Drake was shaking like a leaf in a tornado with rage, hate and self loathing and her soul cried out in unfathomable pity for him.

" Now you know why I'm the way I am and I tell you there is not a day that goes by that I don't think about ending my life but it is only because of my will that I have not killed myself as my dreams are filled with the nightmares of my past so don't think for one minute that I am some weakling who has no idea of what pain is about because as you can see I know about pain all to well, life is pain and if anyone tells you otherwise there lying! " Drake snarled as he fought down the urge to explode in a fury of hate and kill everyone in sight.

" My god what the hell happened to you! " Misato said in a weak and sorrowful voice for never had she had never come face to face with such evil that one human being could inflict on another human being as she wiped the tread of vomit from the corner on her mouth and she knew that Drake was in such disparate need of professional help but she was damned if she had any idea on how the hell to get Drake to agree to spending some time in the mental health ward.

 

Misato managed to get to her feet as she continued to stare into Drake's eyes and she could see the madness in them then with out any reason she could detect Drake began to cry as the years of hate, fear, self loathing and mistrust came crash down on him and she walked over to him and hugged him tightly regardless of the risk to her and for a moment they just stood there, luckily for them the cafeteria workers where on a smoke break and had missed what had taken place in the cafeteria but when they would return after Misato and Drake had left the cafeteria they would be over taken by a strange sense of depression as if all the turmoil and horror that had been played out there absence had poisoned the very air of the cafeteria with sorrow and despair.

 

****** The House ******

 

When they got home Shinji felt a strange sense of unease as he walked though the front door of his new home, the trip from Nerv had been a quiet one for when Misato and Drake returned to the motor pool Asuka and Gwen both began giving Drake a hard time and warned him to stay away from them before Misato told them to knock it off, for Drake's part he just stood there and looked at the two enraged girls with a subdued look on his face that made Shinji wonder what had happened between the three of them.

 

" Rei we're home! " Misato called out as they stood in the entry way of the house and a few seconds later Rei came out of the kitchen after having finished a glass of water after an hour or so of playing the Death Derby 5000 game and stopped up short when she saw Shinji standing off to one side of Misato with Asuka and Gwen behind her and Drake standing behind them.

" Shinji......It's good to see you. " Rei said as she saw the dead pan look on Shinji's face, " Hello Rei it's been awhile. " Shinji said to her on a cold tone of voice that caused her skin to crawl as a wave of fear and confusion washed over her because of the manor in which Shinji had spoken to her, Misato could tell from the tone of Shinji's voice that there was going to be trouble between him and her and did her best to defuse the situation, " We're going to celebrate Shinji's return home so get ready because I'm going to take you all to a fantastic restaurant I found a few days ago. " Misato said to them and they looked at her with an interested look, " Shinji come with me and I'll show you to your room ok? " she added as she gave Shinji a * I need to talk to you * look and they went up stairs to there rooms to get ready for the outing.

 

****** Shinji's Room ******

 

" Well I'll this is bigger then my old room. " Shinji said to Misato as he looked around his new room and found it to his liking.

" Me and Asuka moved all you stuff here and set it up for you, I hope you like it. " Misato said to Shinji who was walking over to his dresser to get a fresh change of cloths, " That's really nice of you, thank you." Shinji said over his shoulder and there was a hint of surprise in his voice for he never would have guessed that Asuka would have help Misato in moving and set up his things.

" Shinji I need to talk to you." Misato said as she walked over and sat down on the edge of Shinji's bed

* Stay cool Shinji and we can bluff our way out of this. * Dark Shinji wispiered in Shinji's mind as he turned to face Misato.

" What's on your mind? " Shinji asked causally as he stood before her, having an idea of what Misato wanted to talk to him about.

" Shinji why have you been so cold towards Asuka and Rei for? " Misato asked as a sense of dread filled her heart, Shinji let out a snort of contempt at her words, " Come Misato you should know the answer to that question. " Shinji said in a cool tone of voice as he kept his growing anger in check for he was slightly insulted by that question because they both knew why he was giving Rei and Asuka the cold shoulder for.

" Your right on that and I don't blame you for it but I wanted to know what you intend to do about it. " Misato said to Shinji who had a very good poker face going as they talked, " Well I'm still not sure if I want to stay here or even continue piloting my eva, I just need some time to sort things out ok? " Shinji said as they continued to play there little game of * What's Shinji going to do about being maimed. *

 

Misato could tell from the look in Shinji's eyes that she was not going to get a straight answer from him but she could not detect and sign of hostility towards Asuka or Rei and for that she was thankful for.

" I can understand that Shinji and if you need to talk I'll be here for you. " Misato said as she got up to leave the room for she knew in her heart that Shinji did not want to continue with this discussion.

Shinji gave Misato a vulnerable and thankful look, " Thanks Misato I always knew that I could count on you." Shinji said as he forced a weak smile on his face as he walked over to her and gave her a hug.

 

After they finished hugging one another Misato walked out of Shinji's room to let him get changed, once the door to his room was shut Shinji's smile changed from the weak and helpless smile that he had used to throw Misato off guard to a evilly malevolent smile, " Sucker! " Shinji said to himself as he and Dark Shinji patted themselves on the back for having fooled Misato into a false sense of security and preceded to get changed.

 

****** The Streets of Tokyo-3 ******

 

" So where are we going? " Shinji asked as they continued to drive around the city and looked in the rear view mirror at Rei and Asuka who where scrunched in between Gwen and Drake with Asuka who was sitting beside Gwen who was sitting behind him and Rei was sitting beside Drake who was sitting behind Misato and he could see the tense looks in Rei and Asuka's eyes and took a perverse delight in there psychical and mental discomfort.

" You'll see Shinji, we're almost there. " Misato said, not wanting to give away the surprise as she pressed down a little harder on the car's gas pedal to increase there speed.

" Misato we need a bigger car. " Asuka said as she did her best to make herself as comfortable as she could in the cramped back seat of the car.

 

" I know Asuka but I can't afford one right now so you'll just have to put up with this one for now. "Misato said as they turned a corner, " Perhaps you can get the commander to requisition a new vehicle for us. " Rei said as they continued on to there destination.

Misato looked at Rei in the rear view mirror with a wishful smile, " Rei I don't think the commander would do that, if I tied he would most likely tell me that it's not in the budget." she said as they turned another corner.

" I think you are mistaken on that Misato, after all the commander gave us our new home. " Rei said with a thoughtful look as Asuka and Shinji looked at her and wondered where the hell she had gotten the nerve to disagree with Misato, ever since they had known Rei not once did she ever disagree with anyone, Drake and Gwen decided not to say anything about the matter but they mentally agreed with Rei on the matter.

" That's only because that he knew that my apartment would not be able to house you, Gwen and Drake with me, Asuka and Shinji in it and that's why he got us the house for. " Misato said.

Undaunted Rei continued to debate the issue, " Then you could logically argue that you need a bigger vehicle to transport us all. " Misato thought about what Rei had said for a moment as they approached there destination, " You could be right on that Rei, I'll talk to the commander then next time I see him. " she said to Rei who smiled slightly at Misato's words.

 

" Ok where here so let have a good time. " Misato said as she parked the car and they got out in front of a large building with a sign that read * The Happy Goat Restaurant * and under the neon words there was a super deformed goat on two legs that was dancing around while swinging a bowl of noodles and there was musical goat sounds coming from the sign.

 

Five sets of eyes looked over towards Misato who was smiling at them, hoping like hell that this restaurant and a good meal would help to lift them out of whatever funk they where in, " Let's go, I know your just going to love this place. " she said to them and walked towards the front door as the others followed her with some trepidation.

 

" Welcome to the Happy Goat Restaurant if you will fallow me please. " a waitress said as they entered the restaurant, the five children took a look around the spacious restaurant and saw that the walls where done in a red hard wood and the floor was done in blue/green tiles that where polished to a shine, the table that where spread out though the restaurant could easily seat ten or more people and there was a cross section of people in the restaurant ranging from the very rich dressed up in there three thousand yen suits and fashionable dresses to the low class members of japanese society dressed in blue jeans and T-shirts and people in between them, along on wall there was a large stage that took out the entire length of the wall and there was peaceful music playing from hidden speakers.

 

Misato asked the waitress that greeted them and was leading them to a table if they could get a table near the stage and the waitress led them over to a table that was in front of the middle of the stage, " I'll be back with your menus in a moment, would you like anything to drink? " the waitress said as they sat down at the table, " I'll have a yebisu beer. " Misato said as she relaxed in her slightly over stuffed chair then the waitress looked over at Asuka who was still looking around, " What can I get you Miss. " she said, getting Asuka's attention, " I'll have some tea please. " Asuka said to the waitress who wrote down her drink order then looked over to Gwen, " I'll have the tea as well thank you. " she said to the waitress as she looked at the stage and wondered what kind of dinner show would be played out for them, " I have a large glass of water. " Rei said to the waitress as she felt slightly uncomfortable in such a large restaurant and also the fact that Shinji was sitting next to her and Drake was beside him then the waitress looked at Shinji who's face was unreadable as he snuck a sidelong glance at Rei, " I'll have a coca-cola. " he said to her and began to think about Rei then the waitress looked over to Drake who had a slightly grief stricken look on his face,

" And what will you have sir? " the waitress asked Drake, " The strongest damn coffee that you have. " he said in a flat, lifeless tone of voice then looked off into space as the waitress went to fill there drink order.

 

A few minutes later the waitress returned to there table with there drinks and once they where pasted around she handed them a menu each and waited from them to picked there dinner order.

" Umm Misato there's a slight problem here. " Gwen said as she looked over the menu, unable to make heads or tails of it since it was in japanese, " What's wrong Gwen. " Misato said as she took a drink from her glass of beer, " I can't read this menu so could you tell me what it says? " she said to Misato with a sheepish grin as Asuka was watching Shinji who was watching Rei who was watching Asuka for some odd reason.

" Sure, hold on a minute and I'll read off what the menu says. " Misato said as he looked over the menu, Drake managed to drag himself out of the deep despair he was in to pay attention to what the dishes where that Misato was reading off from her menu.

 

Once Misato was done reading the menu Gwen looked at the waitress, " I'll have the tender greens in fried beef sauce and a bowl of egg drop soup and a garden salad. " and watched as the waitress took her order,

" I'll have the sushi au garatun a bowl of tangy hyson soup and chicken fried rice. " Shinji said to the waitress before he looked at Asuka from the corner of his eyes and gave her a brief smile that gave Asuka a fright for there had been no warmth in that smile what so ever.

" I'll have the chicken ti shisa and a salad. Asuka said as she saw out of the corner of her eyes Rei who was watching Shinji and she felt a strange anger that made her blood boil * What the fuck are you looking at wonder bitch! * she thought to herself and then wondered why she was angry for.

" I'll have the spicy deep fried prawns and the seven sushi soup bowl. " Drake said to the waitress as he became aware of the strange looks that where being exchanged by Shinji, Rei and Asuka and wondered what there hell was up with that as he did his best to put his misery behind him.

Rei looked at the waitress and said her order, " I'll have the deep fried onion tofu and a plate of rice. " then looked at Asuka who was looking at her and gave Asuka a scowl that earned her a wrathful stare in return.

Misato had not missed out on the evil looks that where being exchanged and she hoped that the dinner show would not only take there attention away from one another but it would hopefully get them in a better mood as well, " I have the deep fried egg noodles in the chicken broth and a plate of squid sashemi. " Misato said to the waitress and took another drink of her beer as the waitress when to fill there food order.

 

Five minutes later the waitress returned to there table with there food and laid out the plates of food for them and then walked away to leave them to eat there food, thankfully the waitress had brought some forks and spoons for them, well for Drake and Gwen at lest.

" Whooooo that's hot! " Drake said with a gasp after he ate one of the prawns from his plate as his face turned a beat red and sweat formed on his forehead, " Well Drake you wanted spicy foods you got it. " Misato said to Drake who was drinking deeply from his cup of coffee to try and quiche the burning in his mouth, Rei just looked at Drake with an unreadable look on her face, Asuka and Gwen where snickering to themselves and Shinji was watching Asuka and Rei with a scowling look on his face, even though he was not sure Rei was enjoying Drake's dis comfort as was Asuka and Gwen who he was starting to dislike for some odd reason.

 

" Yes that's true Misato but I like it! " Drake said with a smile and began to dig into the plate of prawns with much gusto and from the redness in his face they all half expected him to be shooting fire from his mouth as he finished off the prawns in record time before he started on his soup.

Rei took a bit of her onion tofu in her chop sticks, popped into her mouth and chewed it slowly for she had never had this type of tofu before and found to her delight that the flavor was agreeable to her so with a smile she began to slowly eat the onion tofu and savored each bite, Misato saw the smile on Rei's face and she felt happy that at last Rei was starting to relax a bit and was enjoying herself as she ate her dinner.

 

Asuka took a bit of her chicken ti shisa in her chop sticks and began to nibble on it for she had never had this type of dish before and found that it had a slightly lemony flavor that blended well with the taste of the chicken and began to eat more of it as she watched Shinji give Rei a cold look and wondered what was up with that as she felt a strange mix of fear and jealousy well up in her heart as Rei and Misato where talking to one another, Shinji on the other hand was watching Drake who was looking at him as well and a truly sick image of the two boys getting it on suddenly filled her mind causing her to choke on her dinner.

 

" Asuka are you ok? " Gwen asked as she saw Asuka reach for her tea to help stop herself from choking as she after she had finished a bite of her tender greens in fried beef sauce, I'm ok Gwen. " Asuka said as she forced herself to stop coughing * Damn it that was disgusting! * she thought to herself as she washed the lingering images from her mind with a slight churning of her stomach as Shinji and Drake began to talk about music as Misato watched them on the sly.

 

Misato was enjoying her squid sashemi for it had been some time since she had it and it was made all the more enjoyable because of Drake and Shinji who seemed to be getting along as they talked about music as they put there problems behind them for the time being as they ate and talked to one another save for Shinji, Rei and Asuka who where not speaking to one another.

 

Half way though there dinner the waitress came back to there table and asked if they wanted a refill on there drinks and they all told her that they would like one and she went to get them there refills when A goat headed samurai came onto the stage from the left side and then three goat headed ninjas came onto the stage from the right of the stage, Gwen and Drake looked at one another with a * What the hell? * look on there faces then looked over to Misato who was smiling as the actors on the stage began to speak slowly and with great flare in japanese but before they could ask Misato what there hell was going on Shinji began to laugh as there the other dinners at the other tables began to laugh as the actors began to prance around the stage making * BAAAAAAing* sounds like a rabid goat would make as they waved around what looked to be large over stuffed fish instead of swords, Rei just sat there staring at the actors in bewilderment for she had never been to a dinner show in her life but as she continued to watch the show she began to smile.

Asuka who had been living in Japan for a few years since she came to be an eva pilot from Germany still did not understand japanese entertainment and just sat there watching as the actors jumped towards one another and began clubbing each other with the over stuffed fish for a few minutes before they jumped back from one another and began to speak in japanese with a few more goat sounds thrown in the middle of there speech and slowly began to understand what the show was about and smiled as well.

Drake and Gwen where totally clueless as to what the hell the show was about and all they could do was sit there and pick at there food as the show went on and they began to think that the actors where insane or on drugs depending on who you asked.

 

As the show went on the actors lined up beside one another and began a shuffling daces from the right to the left of the stage then back to the right as they hit themselves with there fishes as Shinji and Misato began to laugh even louder along with the rest of the dinners in the restaurant, " So how do you like the show? " the waitress said to Gwen and Drake as she put there refilled drinks down in front of them, " Umm it's fine. " Gwen said in a greatly confused voice, Drake just shook his head as he tried and failed to understand the point behind the show, " I have no idea on what the point of this show is but it seems that everyone else is enjoying it. " he said to the waitress who smiled in enjoyment at the westerner's confusion and left them to enjoy the show, Gwen looked at Rei who had finally got the idea behind the show and she was giggling like mad as the actors began making there goat sounds and hitting each other with there fishes once more, Gwen was watching the show and was smiling as they took some amusement in the actor's antics when she looked towards Drake, he looked at her and twirled a finger around his right ear and shook his head in dismay and she found that she was agreeing with Drake that the actors where as nutty as a fruit cake as the actors began to sing a song as they stopped clubbing one another with there fishes an began to lined up and kick out there legs as few times as they sang.

 

Five minutes later the actors finished there show and prance off the to the left of the stage as the Misato and Shinji along with the other patrons of the restaurant began to clap there hands.

" So how did you like the show? " Misato asked Gwen and Drake and smiled all the more as she saw there looks of utter confusion, " I fail to understand the point behind the show, could to explain to me what it was all about? " Gwen said to Misato as the clapping died down and the rest of the dinners returned to there meals, " It's a long story Gwen, the show was about a samurai who had gone fishing one day and came across three ninjas that had been fishing as well, ninjas and samurai's where mortal enemies in the old days and the ninjas and the samurai had forgot to bring there weapons with them when they had gone fishing so they used there fishes to fight one another and...." Misato stopped explaining the idea behind the show as Gwen looked at her with a blank look that told her that Gwen was out to lunch on the matter and told her to forget about it, she looked over to Drake who had a * What the fuck was that all about. * look on his face and decided to drop the matter and went back to eating her dinner as Shinji wiped a few tears from his eyes because he had been laughing so hard, " Thanks Misato I really needed that. " Shinji said to Misato who told him that she was glad that he had enjoyed the show.

 

After they where done there dinner they made there way back to the car after Misato paid the bill in better spirits on the way home Misato noticed that Shinji seemed much more relaxed then he had been all day and she hoped that he would continue to be as relaxed as he was now for a long time to come as Drake was looking out the window next to him and he seemed to be more at ease as Asuka and Gwen where talking about the show, Rei was looking out the windshield and her face was graced with a smile and a thoughtful look in her eyes as the made there way home, * All in all I'd say our little celebration was a success * Misato thought to herself and was relieved by the sight of the relaxed children.

 

****** The House ******

 

When they got home Asuka and Gwen went up to Gwen's room for Gwen had asked Asuka in the car to explain what the show had been about, Drake had already made his way up to his room so he could be alone with his thoughts, Rei also made her way upstairs for she wanted to try some of the other video games in the game's room leaving Misato and Shinji downstairs.

" Misato thank you for the dinner, I had a good time but I'm tired so I'm going to sleep ok? " Shinji said to Misato walked over to him, " Ok Shinji you sleep well and if you don't want to go to school you don't have to. " she said to him as she gave him a hug.

" Good night Misato. " Shinji said before he made his way up to his room, when he got to the third floor he head Asuka and Gwen talking and decided that he would deal with them tomorrow and went into his room and laid down on his bed, he stared at the ceiling for awhile lost in his thoughts before he shut his eyes and fell asleep wondering if he would have another nightmare or not.

 

Misato went out the car and began to bring the cases of beer into the house, once she was done she took a beer and opened, when PenPen walked into the kitchen with his beer dish in one hand and a hopeful look on his face, Misato smiled and poured her can of beer int his dish and watched as PenPen slowly took a long pull from his dish and saw the look of enjoyment on his face and smiled as she then went to the fridge and got herself another can of beer.

" Well PenPen it looks like we're one big happy family once more. " Misato said to PenPen who waddled over to her and gave her leg a hug and let out a happy * Wark * then hopped up on one of the chairs around the table and watched as Misato walked over to a chair next to his and sat down to enjoy her beer.

 

" PenPen I don't know why but I have a bad feeling about Shinji. " she said to PenPen who gave her a questioning look as he saw the change in Misato's face as well as hearing the worried tone in her voice and they sat there until Misato finished her can of beer as he listened to Misato who told him of her concerns about Shinji, once she was done Misato took PenPen in her arms and tucked him into his bed and gave him a peck on the beak and made her way to her room and got undressed and slid under the covers of her be as her fears about not only Shinji's state of mind plagued her thoughts but there was also Drake who she had no idea on what to do with him that also bothered her mind but as she closed her eyes that she would do what ever it took to help them both to deal with there problems and feel into a deeply troubled sleep.

 

The End Of Part Nine.