The hardest part is waiting...

That is just the point where she suddenly jerks awake and then her eyes settle upon Kauji....

"Kaji?" the black haired woman whispers softly, almost afraid that if she even blinked the wrong way the image of the man she loved would vanish into thin air. Then, giving into sudden impulse, the black haired woman who called herself . . .

You guessed it, she was also called Misato Katsuragi (Major in the paramilitary organization known as NERV, ala "manga" version). And this in the sight of a still stunned anime Major Misato Katsuragi!

Well, the image of Kaji didn't vanish didn't vanish upon being bear hugged by the manga Katsuragi, but this leads to even more misunderstandings and hurt feelings, let us just say.

. . .

Now, for the sake of sanity let us just tell what is exactly going on here in this apartment. The apartment and Tokyo 3 (maybe beyond the city's borders but that shall not be known for sure . . . yet). Beyond the borders of Toyko 3?

Chaos energy reigns and that means all sorts of fun!

Those who are still up upon the Enterprise will look down upon the world the natives call Earth and . . .just shake their heads in confusion. Sensor readings (what little they can get from the planet below) are . . . contradictory. Some are just plain impossible.

Then when this huge starship shows up manned by a bunch of robot that call themselves Droids showing up which...

. . .

Right now let us just concentrate on what is going on below in Tokyo 3 and the factions within. Less confusing.

. . .

BOY, is it less confusing!

. . .

Now, as one might have guessed with some people of the anime meeting the manga it is . . . awkward and bound to be painful. The encounter that Reika and Rei had with the manga version of the Dr. Ritsuko Akagi had been painful (for the doctor). Granted, she'd been in the middle of strangling Lilith . . . but still it was painful for her getting magically thrown into the wall. Physically painful, anyway. Then there is the encounter happening between the anime Major Katsuragi and the manga Major Katsuragi in the bedroom, over a man who calls himself Kauji. That encounter could get rather ugly and painful (emotionally). Both of them had lost the one man they'd loved under disturbingly similar circumstances (both Kauji of the anime and Kaji of the manga had been investigating NERV and uncovered too much, basically). When it appears that this particular still VERY disoriented Ryoji Kaji happened appeared to at the very least belong to some kind of reality similar enough to the anime Major Katsuragi's one, it was a hard blow for the manga . . . her Kaji hadn't mysteriously returned from the dead. . .

While a sort of flag of truce had been established with the people from two (or actually three considering those from the planet the Dawntreader came from here), it was an uneasy peace. The "newcomer" from the manga Neon Genesis world wasn't too sure about this "anime"/"manga" alternate reality nonsense, but nothing more reasonable was presenting itself. Right now the manga Katsuragi gave her new "sisteres" the benefit of the doubt, anyway.

The thing here was this business about the man who .looked like "her" Kaji, but wasn't Kaji.

The man who we'll call "Kauji" for now happens to be from A reality which reflects that anime, but no one is sure (YET) whether or not he hales from the anime based reality we've been handling thus far, if you dig.

To be honest, Kauji has no REAL solid idea (not even a foggy idea) why he's still alive and HERE. He remembered clearly having gotten to "his" Deputy Commander Kôzô Fuyutsuki and gotten the "truth" he'd been after for so long . . . all the while pretty much knowing he'd been signing his own death warrant doing it. After having pretty much made peace with his maker (or whatever), he'd not been too terribly surprised to be looking down the gun of the hitman sent by either SEELE or NERV (by Commander Ikari probably). He'd made one of his famous "Kauji quips" and . . .

It was a blur after that. He had a vague, shadowy memory of having the Commander Ikari's own features superimposed over the hitman's features. Had the oddest feeling of having been shot and wounded before that fateful encounter. The oddest feeling of having the images of ghosts of old childhood friends and a young brother standing over his dieing form, as if to carry him into the afterlife.

The problem with that last part is that he HAD no brothers to speak of (living or ghostly).

Then things had faded out and . . .he'd found himself in Misato's place. . .a flash of light from Misato's bed drawing his attention and. . . the rest you know.

But whatever the case, it was clear that he was Kauji, not Kaji...

The Misato of the manga reality. . . .To say that she takes this hard is a VAST understatement and looks ready to drown herself in alcohol (maybe even literally) when one of her uninvited guests makes this observation:

"But that doesn't mean that he's actually dead," the elder Kauji interjects suddenly on impulse, distraught at the crying Katsuragi (manga). "If it had been me I'd have gone underground . . ."

"Like there's a hole deep enough to hide from SEELE?!" snaps the younger Kauji, instantly regretting when it garners a look of dashed hope on their black haired host's (with just a HINT of purple tint in the kitchen lighting) face.

"I had a few contingency plans in the works in case SEELE ever turned on me," the elder Kauji said softly, though wondering how viable they would have been IF things had rolled out differently. IF "his" Sub (not Deputy) Commander Kôzô Fuyutsuki had not died in a carcrash from a drunk driver and he had opted on pursuing that man for information, then how realistic would all his vaunted contingencies had been worth?

Having your own "what ifs" pushed into your own face like this messes with your head! the elder Kauji thinks darkly to himself, staring at his younger "brother".

Still . . .

"Whatever the case we can probably find out whether or not your Kaji is alive somewhere out there in addition to whatever the hell is happening with your Shinji and Asuka!" the elder Kauji assures the "manga" Katsuragi.

Turning, he then glanced over at his wife, who had been the ONE person of the entire group with any means of communication with their wayward comrades. The landline phone was out of order (only getting a prerecorded message about the state of emergency and all that you might have heard in the first episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion). Those with cellphones found that none of them would work. Even the option of driving back to NERV (what the distraught manga Katsuragi wished to do in order to LOOK for her missing charges) was not an option, her bright blue Renault Alpine A310 was the wreck she remembered it being during those final . . . .horrifying moments with "her" NERV facility. No other vehicles were about that were in working order, either (all burnt out hulks).

No, it had been agreed upon as they'd all marched back up to this apartment for a bull session that Sub Commander Misato Kauji's "space radio". Once contact was made THEN and only then would they try to link up (somehow) with the others. It was just that the wait had been killing all.

That said, she was done and after having quietly made contact with some out there she had the oddest look on her face . . .

1. "It is REALLY strange what's been going on. . . ," she begins.

Add New Option

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree