Misato knew what she'd expected when she joined NERV. Coming into a windowless office, deep underground, to do paperwork on a Sunday morning was not on the list.
It was impressive, in a way. The UN Fleet had managed to file more paperwork since she left the office the night before than she'd received in total from the previous three Angel attacks. Most of it, she was sure, could perfectly well be dealt with by civilian clerks, but she couldn't hand any of it off without reading it all first. She grabbed the first folder from the top of the stack and was just about to start reading when her phone rang.
"Katsuragi here," she answered.
The only voice she wanted to hear less than Commander Ikari's responded. "It's Kaji. Look, I screwed up and made a girl cry."
Misato pinched the bridge of her nose. Her ex had been back in Japan less than twenty-four hours and he was already giving her a headache. "What happened?"
"Asuka made a pass at me again. I turned her down, because hell no, and I was even nice about it, but..."
Misato leaned back and looked at the texturing pattern of the acoustic tile ceiling. "But nothing upsets a teenage girl with a crush on an older man like being reminded she's too young for him."
"Right."
"Fine. Obviously she can't stay at your place, then." Misato stuck the folder back on top of the stack and pondered the practical options.
"Obviously. Any room at yours?"
"Not rea-" She stopped, as a tolerable option came to mind. "Oh, to hell with it. Asuka can have my room. I don't have time to bring dates home, and I don't need any of the crap in my storeroom."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. You're paying for the removals van and the new furniture." A whimsical impulse seized her at that moment. "Oh, and for yakiniku and fancy beers for two next Saturday."
"Deal. See you later."
Misato sighed as Kaji hung up. She didn't need a teenage girl living in her apartment, she didn't need to be turning the place upside down at no notice, and she definitely didn't need to have just invited herself on a dinner date with her idiot ex. She returned the handset to the cradle, pulled her beret back on, and walked out of the office, realizing as she left that Asuka was going to need to go shopping as well.
"I'm home!" announced Misato's voice from the hallway.
Shinji started at the sound of her arrival, and nearly dropped the glass he was drying up on the floor. "Misato-san? What's wrong?"
Misato walked into the kitchen, typing a text message into her mobile phone. "That idiot Kaji upset Asuka last night, and she's moving in here."
Shinji scratched his head, trying to make sense of this announcement. He was pretty sure Asuka wouldn't want to share a room with either of them, and there wasn't a third bedroom. "Ah, Misato-san..."
"Don't worry, Shin-chan, your modesty will not be in peril! I'm giving her my room. I'll sleep in the storeroom." She stuffed her phone back into her jacket pocket. "They'll be here soon. I'll take Asuka clothes shopping. Could you help Kaji clear out my junk so there's room for a bed?"
Shinji felt a sudden and not-quite-unfamiliar sense of irritation with his guardian. "Why aren't you staying to help?"
"Because Asuka's luggage got trashed during the fight," replied Misato.
"... Right." Shinji sighed. He'd been hoping for a nice, quiet, relaxing day, with maybe a trip to buy groceries. At that thought, a random flicker of Asuka's tastes sprang to mind. "Asuka hates fish. Could you get some pork or chicken?"
"I'll try and fit that in. We can get delivery if it's easier." Misato paused for a moment. "Wait, how did-"
The doorbell interrupted her. "Coming!" she shouted, as she spun on her heel and headed back to the front hall. Shinji set down the glass and followed behind her, wanting to at least briefly see Asuka now instead of waiting until evening.
Each step towards the front door built a growing sense of unease, a bit like feeling hungry but not quite. It reminded him of when Asuka had come out of her debriefing last night. The front door slid open just as he got there, revealing an underslept-looking and gloomy Asuka and her scruffy, ponytailed crush. "Hi Katsuragi. One Second Child, safe and sound."
"So you're taking me shopping in your uniform?" asked Asuka. Her gaze flicked over to Shinji, and her brows furrowed for a moment before she looked away.
"Only if I need to intimidate the store staff," replied Misato. "Right, Kaji. We'll be back once Asuka's got a decent set of outfits. Do try and have the removals done by then. Shinji, keep an eye on this scoundrel and make sure he doesn't try to pilfer my panties."
Shinji snorted at that remark. "As if he'd want to."
Misato gave him an odd look over her shoulder, then shook her head. "Ready, Asuka?"
"No, but let's go."
Shinji watched Misato and Asuka depart, feeling discomfited by Asuka's manner. She didn't seem like the girl he'd met yesterday. Had something upset her overnight? "So, ah, where do we start?" he asked Kaji.
"You're the man of the house, Shinji," said Kaji, grinning broadly. "Tell me, does Katsuragi still starfish in her sleep?"
Shinji scowled at the ponytailed scruff. "Ask her yourself."
Asuka prodded half-heartedly at her lunch. Despite having only eaten half her breakfast, she just wasn't hungry. She looked up from the plate to see a worried look on Misato's face.
"Talk to me?" said Misato.
"What about?" riposted Asuka, the walls around her heart snapping up with reflexive ease.
"Why a growing teenage girl who hasn't eaten since 8am is picking at her lunch like she's stuffed, maybe."
"Not hungry."
Misato reached across the table with her chopsticks and plucked a piece of tonkatsu out of Asuka's bowl.
"Hey! That's my lunch!"
"You said you weren't hungry." Misato flashed a brief grin before turning serious again. "If you eat up, we can have this conversation later. If you don't, we'll have it right here and now."
Asuka poked at her lunch again with her own chopsticks. "Fine," she said, laying the utensils down. "Kaji's an arsehole."
"I know, but that's not why he turned you down." Misato's expression went from 'serious' to 'stern'. "If anyone had got wind of him saying 'yes', he'd be having a very interesting conversation with Section Two right about now."
"What do you-" Asuka stopped as her brain caught up with Misato's implications. "But... but I asked him!"
"That just means he'd only fall down the stairs once. I know you're upset, but, well."
I mustn't run away. Asuka blinked. That was certainly a sentiment she'd never felt a need for before. "Fine, fine, I get it. You're right. Can we finish the shopping now?"
Misato smiled and nodded. "Sure. I have to warn you, though, you might not appreciate the next bit."
"Why's that?"
"Well, you're starting school with Shinji and Rei, so you'll need a set of school uniforms."
Asuka rolled her eyes, but bit back the urge to challenge Misato. It wasn't an argument she was likely to win. "Let's get it over with."
Looking down from the balcony, Shinji watched the unmarked white van pull away. There was something suspicious about the removals men Kaji had brought in; they were rather better spoken than he would've expected, and they'd steadfastly kept their gloves and long-sleeved turtlenecks on despite doing manual labour in Japan's eternal summer. "Uh, Kaji-san, who were those men?" he asked as the van disappeared in the distance.
"Oh, some guys whose boss still owes me a few more favours," replied Kaji, flicking imaginary dust off the front of his shirt. "Don't worry, they're not going to steal any of Katsuragi's junk. It's all going to sit perfectly safe in a warehouse until she wants it back. Their boss knows what's good for him."
Shinji could think of a dozen more questions he wanted to ask, but somehow, he suspected he didn't want the answers. "Right. So, uh, how long have you known Misato?"
"We met at uni. We saw each other for a while. It..." Kaji looked up at the sky for a moment. "It worked, but it didn't work out."
"What do you mean?"
"Men and women are different. And I don't just mean in the fun ways." Kaji mimed voluptuous breasts with his hands. "Whatever we were looking for, I don't think we found it."
"You don't know?"
"Twenty isn't really old enough to know what you're looking for. Hell, I'm not even sure about thirty."
Shinji found himself wondering what, exactly, Asuka and Misato had found so charming about Kaji. From a brief impression, he seemed to veer between flippant and just plain evasive at the drop of a hat. "What did you do to upset Asuka?"
"Only what any decent man would do." It was still evasive, but all trace of his jovial manner was gone.
Shinji scowled. "That's not an answer."
"She hardly knows you and I'm not going to tell tales behind her back. If she wants you to know, I'm sure she'll tell you."
"She-" Gritting his teeth, Shinji held back his outburst. Kaji had a point, and talking about why it might not be as valid as he thought didn't seem like a good idea. "Fine, you're right."
