SECOND TIME AROUND

Chapter 11 - Ritsuko's Day

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion or it's characters, only the plot and course of the story is mine.

Story so far: After defeating the 7th Angel, Ginji takes Ritsuko Akagi out to dinner, set up by Misato to get her friend laid, which resulted in feelings being revealed and Ritsuko's life being in danger by a robber, rescued by Ginji, who made love to Ritsuko and ended up marrying her.

Summary: Ritsuko Akagi makes a few changes to her life, which include Gendo, Rei, and her loyalty to the insidious plans of a Gendo-run NERV.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The faux blond scientist blinked her eyes open and focused them on the man who currently had her in a tight, naked embrace.

Ginji Katsuragi. Her husband.

God! I am never going to get used to that. She mentally thought to herself.

Of course it had only been a week since she and Ginji had gotten married. Since then she had moved herself into their apartment where she had been monopolizing their bedtime. Five times since their marriage had they made love. Not that Ritsuko didn't enjoy it, as Ginji proved to be a better lover than Gendo ever did, but it did leave a nagging doubt inside her about something.

Suddenly, she felt Ginji start to stir.

"Morning, Ritz-chan." he whispered to her.

"Morning, Ginji-kun." she replied.

He kissed her tenderly on the lips, an affection she warmly returned.

"We really should get up." she said.

"Or we could stay in bed the rest of the day." he replied.

"Ginji... as tempting as that sounds, we haven't been to NERV in four days. And I'm still the chief scientist there."

"Well... we are on our honeymoon." he said.

Ritsuko laughed at that.

"Ginji-kun?" she asked, smiling at the man.

"Yes?"

"Did you... marry Misato this way?"

"You mean... sleep with her, ask her to marry me, and then have a quick-wedding like we did?"

"Yes."

"Sort of. We got married in Tokyo-2."

"I see."

"Is something wrong?"

"Well... I just always dreamed of getting married the usual way. You know... wedding dress, big church, procession, having rice thrown at me, reception, honeymoon in Maui..." she listed.

"If Maui was still there." Ginji said.

"True."

"Is that what you really want?"

"Well..."

"Because I promised Misato the same thing."

"You did?" she asked, figuring it right.

"I promised to give her a big wedding first out. But... she wanted to get hitched as quick as possible to get over what happened in college."

Ritsuko nodded at that.

"Back then there wasn't a rush... but now..." she said.

"We've got a war to fight, so getting married in the traditional way, for us, isn't doable right now." He caressed her cheek softly. "I promise, Ritz-chan, when this whole thing is over, I'll give you the wedding you deserve."

"Thank you, Ginji-kun." she sighed as she settled against his chest again.

(RING, RING)

"Oh for crying..." Ritsuko grumbled as she reluctantly untangled herself from her husband and reached for her purse. Fetching her 'cursed' phone out of said purse, she flipped it open. "Hello?"

(Sempai?)

"Maya. This had better be good, my dear."

(Uh... well, the commander has had everyone looking for you for the last couple days. It was just recently that he asked if I knew how to get a hold of you.) Maya said.

Figures. He always did overlook everyone he didn't consider important. "I see." she said solemnly. "What did he want?"

(He... uh.. Wants to talk to you.)

"That's it? He could have called my cellphone." Ritsuko said.

(Well... he didn't know it, and said he couldn't be bothered with such a small detail.)

Lazy prick. "Alright, I'll be there in an hour. If he asks you before I get in, tell him I was on my honeymoon."

(What? You're honey...)

"Bye, Maya." she said before handing up.

"Trouble?" Ginji asked.

"Maybe."

"I'll get dressed." he said as he got up, his naked and athletic body presented before her.

Too bad. She thought as he got up.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(NERV Headquarters)

Ritsuko walked into the commanders office.

"I've heard a rather disturbing rumor, Dr Akagi." Gendo said.

He's being formal, and we're in private. This can't be good. She thought.

"This rumor goes the way of saying that you have been absent from NERV for the last few days."

"Yes, sir. I've heard the same rumor." she replied.

The obvious out of the way, Ritsuko braced herself for the real meat of the interrogation.

"This rumor goes even further to say that it has been in the company of a man."

What? You thought I was a lesbian?

"A man who works for this organization. And he happens to be married."

"I see. And does this rumor say to 'whom' this man is married to?" she asked.

"I was hoping you might have heard that part of the rumor."

Ritsuko looked at the man, trying to analyze him and his expressions. Trying to figure out just how much he knew about this 'rumor'.

In the end, Ritsuko decided to go for broke.

"The man I was with... was my husband." she answered.

Gendo's eyebrow twitched and arched. Inwardly, Ritsuko smiled. She had gotten a reaction out of him.

"I wasn't sure you'd believe me, so I brought this." she said, stepping up to the large desk as she pulled something out of her coat pocket. She placed it on the desk, her ring flashing subtly in the dim light, and stepped back.

The Commander glared hard at the piece of paper.

It was a marriage certificate.

"That's just a copy of the real one, which is at our apartment." she said.

Gendo then noticed the name on the paper.

"KATSURAGI?" he growled. "You Married That, That... MAN!"

Ritsuko was forcing herself not to laugh at his 'eloquent' speech.

Of course the reason Gendo was so mad is because it was the very person he was quickly growing to despise due to his constant interference with his scenarios. Heck, he had already put a serious kink in the man's plan by causing the destruction of Adam.

And yet... officially that was what he was hired for.

"Yes. I married Ginji. I am now Ritsuko Katsuragi." she said.

"How... how could you do this?" he gasped.

It was pretty easy, you asshole! He asked me.

"Answer me this: have you told him anything about the Human Instrumentality Project?"

Ritsuko didn't have to lie at this.

"No. I haven't."

But naturally, Gendo couldn't take that at face-value.

"And I should believe you?"

"Considering that he found out about Adam, my telling him anything would be a moot point."

Gendo had no choice but to concede that point.

"And we still do not know how he found out about that, do we?"

"No. It's not a question I've had time to ask him."

"A smart woman would have inquired how he obtained that information."

But a woman in love wouldn't care. "I'm sorry, Commander. I was... preoccupied at the time."

"So... you have whored yourself out to another man."

Ritsuko glared at the man, her left hand tightening.

"I wonder what your dear husband would think if he knew the truth about you."

"What do you mean?"

"Does he know about us?"

Ritsuko sighed and looked away, as if ashamed. When she didn't answer right away, Gendo grinned.

"I see. So you are a whore and a liar as well."

"I... Am NOT A Whore! Not Your's Or Ginji's!" she spat.

"You don't lie very well."

"I don't have to lie." she stated. "I know he loves me."

"You delude yourself. Just how would you know this?"

"Because he protected me from a man that you sent to terrorize me."

"Excuse me?"

"The police informed us that the man who broke into my apartment and attacked me had recently escaped from jail."

"And how does this lead back to me?"

"A violent electronics expert escapes from jail and out of all the places he could have gone, he stays in this city long enough to locate my apartment of all places, which has the latest in electronic security. He wouldn't have been able to get in unless he had either the code, or knowledge of the system. It's rather coincidental."

Gendo glared, but remained silent.

"If Ginji hadn't been there I would have been raped and probably killed. And then you, being the big strong commander would come in, capture the man, and make me further indebted to you. Just like Rei with those mercenaries."

Gendo was frowning now.

"Not very creative, commander."

"Careful, doctor. Or your usefulness will be at an end."

"You're the one who should be careful, sir. I'm a married woman. Married... to a man who will fight to protect me... or avenge me if I am dead or dishonored."

Gendo didn't have to think about that. He knew that Ritsuko spoke the truth about Ginji's abilities. He knew that Ginji had escorted Ritsuko to his office and he was waiting outside. He knew that she was in here, and if she didn't come out alive and uninjured he was quite sure that Ginji would hunt him down and beat the living crap out of him before emptying his entire clip into his head.

Of course the major downside to this whole thing was that Ginji was compromising his scenario by taking away the chief scientist who was intimately involved in all of his plans. Not to mention his personal 'sextoy'.

Hell, his scenario had already been derailed thanks to the loss of Adam. And after his rather violent outburst against both Ritsuko and Fuyutsuki, both of their loyalty's to him were in question.

"And besides, there isn't any other person who knows the Eva's and Magi better."

And that was the final nail in the coffin. Most likely Gendo's. She did know the Eva's better than anyone else, and the Magi as well as her mother did.

"One last question." he said.

"Yes?"

"Why did you marry him?"

That's what he wants to know? Fine. I'll tell him. "Because he treats me like a lady. He's considerate of my feelings, my needs. He gives selflessly to those he cares about, and protects them with his life. But most importantly, it's my name he screams out when we're together."

Gendo let out an annoyed grunt.

"We still have the Angels to defeat. Your duties are clear. You are dismissed."

Ritsuko nodded and turned around to leave, an unseen smile crossing her lips. She was smiling because she had actually won this battle.

That and she had been lying to him.

She wasn't Gendo's whore anymore. But the small, perverted side of her wouldn't have minded being Ginji's.

As Ritsuko left the office, Gendo frowned heavily.

I will have to do something about Mr Katsuragi. And soon. He thought.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Sweetie, are you sure you're alright?" Ginji asked as he checked the blond scientist over.

"I'm fine. He didn't lay a hand on me."

"If he had..."

"I know, hon. I know. He just wanted to talk about my... new name."

"Uh-huh. I'm sure there's more to it than that. Especially about what you told me about you and him."

"It wasn't something I was proud of telling you."

Ritsuko was also worried that Ginji might have rejected her if he found out about her and Gendo. But to her great surprise, he wasn't upset.

He hadn't been her first lover, but he had been the first to love her.

And Ritsuko had kept that part from Gendo in order to see how he would react. The truth in the matter and all, to find out what he really thought of her.

"He also said that we still have the Angels to deal with. So my job as chief scientist is still secure." She said.

"Strange. One would think you wouldn't have gotten off so easy." he replied.

"You think he's planning something?"

"Probably. But if it's piling on the workload to keep you busy, then it's a wasted effort."

"Unless he sabotages the Eva's himself."

"If he did that, we'd have nothing to defend against the Angels attacks. That would hurt him more as Commander of NERV."

But without Adam he can't complete his plans. Ritsuko thought. Still, this is Gendo. He's probably got a backup plan. The questions is, what?

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

"Is something wrong, Maya?" Ritsuko asked as she sipped her coffee while sitting at her own computer terminal.

"Uh, nothing Dr Akagi... I mean Katsuragi."

The blond smiled. "Shocking, isn't it?"

"A little. I mean... when did you get married? Why didn't we know about it? I wished I could have gotten you something or..."

"Maya!"

"Sorry."

"The whole thing was kind of done on the spur of the moment. Right after I was attacked and..."

"You Were What?"

"Oh, that's right. You didn't know. Well, it's like this..."

(Ten minutes later)

"Wow." Maya gasped.

"Yeah." Ritsuko smiled.

"That's amazing! I knew the Captain was tough, but..."

"Yeah, well you should have seen him in action, Maya."

"Uh, sempai. I have to ask. Everyone knows about The Captain's relationship with each other."

"Meaning?"

"Well... Captain Misato has often mentioned how great a lover Captain Ginji is. But... well..." the younger woman asked, blushing slightly.

Ritsuko looked at her assistant and smiled, knowing exactly what she was asking.

"It was pure heaven." she said in a dreamy tone.

"Sempai?"

She turned to look at the woman.

"Let's just say that... Ginji actually takes his time to get to know a woman's body."

The younger woman blushed at this as the older woman smiled.

"And don't worry about getting me a wedding gift." Ritsuko stated. "Once this war is over I plan to have a larger wedding. Which will probably be just for show."

"I understand. Sure. But... I mean you're married to a man who is married already. I know the laws changed after Second Impact but..."

"You didn't think I'd marry a married man?"

"Well... no."

"Hmm." she nodded. "I can see where that would be a little odd. But... I've cared about Ginji since our college days. He was always the best kind of guy you wanted to be with. So, when he asked me if I wanted to marry him, it was like a dream come true. He's never lied to me, would never tease me like that, so I would have been a fool not to take it."

"I guess we're one of the lucky countries to have marriage leniency granted them after Second Impact."

Ritsuko smiled. "The Multiple Marriage Amendment of 2002." she smirked. "It's pretty amazing how quickly people can decide things when three billion people die within the span of a month."

"Considering things started to slow down after that..."

"Ancient history, Maya. Now... we've got work to do."

"Yes, Sempai." she said. "Can I ask you one last question?"

Sigh. "Alright."

"In Japanese marriages, the man usually takes the woman's name. Why did you take his?"

"That's true. But because Ginji married Misato first, he already has a woman's last name. And it wouldn't have made sense for Misato to change her name as well... so we both agreed that I would take his name." Which is better for me since I'd rather disassociate myself from my mother anyway.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(NERV Cafeteria, lunch time)

"So, what did you want to talk to me about, Ritz?" Misato asked as she sat down next to her friend and co-marriage partner.

"Well... it's about Ginji." Ritsuko said.

"Oh? Having troubles already? Or is he not showing you enough attention?" she teased.

"He's shown me nothing but attention, that's not it, and he's everything you ever said he was."

"So what's the problem?" Misato asked, curious what the problem was.

"It's... well... it's just that I've been spending a lot of time with him as of late. Sleeping with him, cuddling with him, being pampered by him, having him hold me, kiss me, lavishing love upon me."

"Really not seeing the problem, Ritz." Misato interrupted while smiling.

"It's just... you married him first, and now you're not getting any time with him."

"Well of course not! You don't invite the bridesmaid along for the honeymoon with your new husband. Unless you're into that sort of thing."

No. Not ready for a threesome just yet. "You mean you're not upset?"

"Ritz! I've known Ginji since Second Impact and I've been married to him for the better part of a decade. I'm in no way worried about losing him." Misato smiled.

"It's just that... I love him so much, Misato. He's been better to me than anyone ever has." Ritsuko stated.

"I know what you mean. If Ginji hadn't been there for me all those years ago, I don't want to think how I would have turned out. I'd probably be guzzling beer down by the gallons, turning my bed into a revolving door for lovers and one-night stands, partying too hard and probably ending up in the gutter somewhere." she mused. Hell, I might have ended up with the Commander if things had gone like that. She shivered.

"You feel it too, don't you? Like he was meant to be here for us all this time." Ritsuko said.

"For me... Shinji... Rei... Asuka... you... yeah, everyone." Misato mused.

The pair were silent for several minutes.

"So you really love him, don't you?" Misato asked.

"Yes, Misato. I've loved him for a long time. And he truly loves me. It's the one thing I've wanted since I met him." Ritsuko replied.

"He really is good, isn't he?" she smiled.

Ritsuko blushed. "Yes. Really good. In fact Maya was asking about that."

At this Misato perked up. "What? Lieutenant Ibuki? You don't think..."

"Hmm. Well... maybe."

"Oh no! We are not sharing Ginji with another woman, Ritsuko Akagi Katsuragi!" Misato spat. At least... not this soon.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(Outside Gendo's office, after lunch)

Ritsuko was walking to the commander's office to deliver the status reports to him, when she saw her husband exit the large office. His hair was a little mussed and his trench coat was torn at the pocket. She looked past him and into the office to see nearly a dozen Section 2 officers lying on the ground in a variety of positions. An unhappy Gendo sitting at this desk.

"Hmm. Guess I don't need to ask what happened here." Ritsuko said.

"Not really." Ginji replied.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(FLASHBACK)

The truth of the matter was that Gendo had called Ginji to his office to have a little chat with him about his loyalty. Needless to say, Gendo had tried to use 'peer pressure' to make the man realize just who was in charge in NERV. Considering everything that had happened, he couldn't just kill or fire the man.

Not with his status amongst the employees in NERV. There would be all manner of questions asked about that, and with Ritsuko in his corner now there was no telling how much damage the Magi could do to him.

"I suppose you are wondering why I have called you here." Gendo said.

"I can guess." Ginji said.

"Can you."

"Yes. But tell me anyway."

"Very well. I am the commander of this organization. I decide what is best for this organization, decide how it should be run, etcetera. Do you follow me?"

"I believe so."

"Why do I not believe that?"

"Because you're a paranoid and suspicious person?"

"For good reason, I assure you. Aside from the fact it has kept me alive thus far, I assure you more, that I have everyone's best interest at heart."

"Forgive me if I object." Ginji said, trying his best not to laugh.

"Pardon?" Gendo growled at the man.

"What is NERV's purpose?"

"To defeat the Angels and prevent a Third Impact."

"Exactly. And so far, Shinji, Rei and Asuka, have been doing an excellent job of it thanks to my training. Shinji's smarter and stronger than he was when he first arrived. Rei's synch ratio has risen considerably. And Asuka's becoming a better person because of their friendship."

"That is irrelevant."

"I don't think so. This is a war, and in a war people die. The one's on the front line are those kids, and thanks in no small part to me, Misato, and Ritsuko, they're doing far better than any of us could have imagined."

And it's screwing up my plans! Gendo mentally groaned.

"We're going to win this war, and come out the better for it in the end. None of that pesky post-war trauma." Ginji said.

"That is a calculated risk when you fight a war."

"Wrong. They're children, commander. Push them too hard and they'll break. But give them a reason to fight, and the strength to do it, and they'll surpass all limits placed upon them by others." he said proudly.

"You say that as if you have something against me." Gendo said.

Ginji looked at the man. "You abandoned your own son when he needed you the most. How can I believe you have mankind's best interest at heart."

Gendo glared at him. "The needs of one, compared to many, are irrelevant."

"Considering how much you needed that one, who could ultimately determine the fate of many, it is very relevant." he countered.

"I am the commander of this organization, you are simply a captain charged with protecting the children and overseeing their training. You are a babysitter. My word, is law. End of story!"

"No. Just the chapter. There is more going on in this world than just what those in power believe. There is hope, and where there is hope, you'll find people like me fighting to keep it alive."

Gendo fumed for a few seconds. "People like you, are unnecessary." he hissed.

"Oh really?" Ginji asked, as if amused by that.

"Your ideals are noble, but wholly useless in the real world." the commander said.

"It's because of the real world, that you need them the most." the captain said.

"It is not your opinion I am interested in. There are events spiraling that cannot be stopped. Many things you are unaware of. A scenario that will be met, by any means."

"By your hands... or someone else's?"

"It would be better, in mine."

"I'm not so sure of that."

"Then perhaps you need to be persuaded."

Ginji suddenly felt, and heard, twelve men step out of the shadows. He continued to face Gendo, even as his eyes moved left and right.

"Only twelve, commander? Are you sure that's going to be enough?"

"This organization will be run MY way, Captain Katsuragi! Do not think your influence will change that!"

"But it has. Shinji's stronger than the wreck you left him. Rei has a mind of her own, and is the better for it as her synch ratio with Unit 00 will show. Asuka's kinder than you would have allowed which makes her a better pilot. And Ritsuko is far happier with me, than with you."

Gendo's eyebrow raised sharply. "She told you?"

"Yes. Right before we got married. She seemed rather ashamed of it too."

She told him! She's a better liar than I thought. He sneered.

"I don't know exactly what your scenario is, commander, and I don't care. We're winning this war without any trouble. I say we stay the course."

"Course's have a way of changing at a moments notice."

"Yeah, I noticed." he said, looking around the room.

"You have a choice to make, Captain. You can either get on board with me, or..."

"What? You'll have these 12 guys beat my brains in? You'll fire me? You'll have me killed?"

Gendo grimaced, knowing where Ginji was going with this.

"Considering my work here has produced incredibly positive results, I suggest you rethink this plan of action. The UN might get suspicious."

"THE UN DOESN'T RUN THIS ORGANIZATION, I DO!" Gendo shouted.

"But who runs you, commander?" Ginji asked, hoping to finally break the man.

"Get Him!" Gendo shouted.

In a split second, it was on.

Three of the men pulled out their stun guns and fired them at Ginji, the electrical wires shooting out and lancing Ginji's body as 50,000 volts of electricity coursed through him.

However, Ginji had prepared for that, with his kevlar reinforced trenchcoat. The coat buffered the electrical shock as the other men attacked. Ginji drew them in, making it seem as if he was affected by the electrical shock.

As was typical of a surround-the-enemy formation like this, the first attack came from the rear.

Ginji dropped forward onto his hands and kicked his legs up and backwards, striking Agents 11 and 12 in their faces.

Agent 8 attacked from the side as Ginji sprang to his feet. He spun around the backhanded the agent hard in the face, sending him down.

Agent 6 lunged at Ginji, only to have the man step to the side and throw out his arm, clotheslining the man onto the ground.

Agent 3 pulled his knife and lunged at Ginji, only to have the man dodge at the last second, causing the man to impale not Ginji, but Agent 4, in the stomach. Agent 3 was dealt with via a swift chop to the back of his head.

Agent 4 lunged at Ginji from the side, only to have the man step aside as Agent 3 stabbed him in the stomach with a knife intended for Ginji.

Agent 7 had his feet swept out from under him by Ginji as he turned around and uppercut Agent 1, sending him onto his back.

Agent 9 lunged at Ginji as he uppercut Agent 1, grabbing his coat and ripping the seam before Ginji brought his elbow to the mans nose, once, twice, and a third.

Agent 2 had his knees struck hard as Ginji raked his right foot across them, bringing it up to kick the agent in the face.

Agent 5 got close enough to throw punches at Ginji, only to have his punches blocked and his face punched hard with even more quicker strikes.

Agent 10 was the last agent to get into this, meeting his unconscious fate via a fierce roundhouse kick that knocked him down, sliding across the floor to almost reach the far wall.

Agents 11 and 12 got back up and attacked, but were knocked down when Ginji leaped into the air and threw a flying roundhouse kick that knocked both agents down, and out. Agents 6 and 8 had gotten back up and attacked, only to have Ginji grab the attacking #6 and pull him in front of him, allowing #8 to punch him out, and giving himself a clean shot at punching down Agent 8. Agent 7 leaped lunged at him, only to have Ginji spin around and punch the agent hard in the chest, knocking him down hard.

With the last agent down, Ginji turned towards a very upset commander and glared at the man.

"If these are your best guys, commander, then NERV security is in serious need of reform. So, if you have no complaints, I'll be taking over as head of Section 2." he stated.

Gendo's lip turned into a sneer. Such a position would give Ginji a stronger power base in NERV, one that would enable him to undermine him and his scenario further. Yet, there was also the matter of him taking down dozen of his own men.

Should have recruited JSSDF, or mercenaries, or F#& Yakuza!

"Naturally, I'll have to have your approval on this, since you are the commander of this agency." he said, pulling out a piece of paper that named Ginji as the new Section 2 chief.

Gendo glared at the man.

He set me up? But I was supposed to set him up! He mentally grumbled and grudgingly signed the official document.

He, of course, knew why he had to sign it.

First of all Ginji had the favor of all the Eva pilots. Secondly he was the husband of NERV's operations director and it's chief scientist. Thirdly he had sabotaged his own scenario by uncovering and eliminating Adam. And finally, he had proven strong enough to take down a dozen of his own hand picked security staff without so much as a scratch on himself. This put him in a position higher than his previous one.

Originally Ginji's job had been to protect and train the Eva pilots. Run them through their drills, ensure their safety, and make sure they could pilot the Eva's. Despite his captains rank in the military his title in NERV had actually been Pilot Supervisor/Trainer. But he had also been given additional duties such as protecting them, and NERV, as well.

Now, he had put himself in charge of all of NERV's security. And logically, after the pitiful display by his own men, Ginji would no doubt fire and replace them with people of better caliber.

People who were loyal to NERV's official goals of fighting the Angels and preventing a Third Impact, and most likely loyal to Ginji himself.

While a small part of Gendo admired that strength, he cursed it at the same time.

Yes, Gendo knew why he had to sign this paper. Because if he didn't, everyone in NERV would question why he hadn't made Ginji head of Section 2 once word of this incident got out. Everyone would turn against him, if they didn't resent him already. Which he was sure they did. He would have been satisfied with people fearing him, but with Ginji around to give them hope and courage, it wouldn't take much for everyone in this organization to turn on him in an instant.

As Ginji left the office, Gendo realized that he would have to talk to SEELE about these events.

And soon.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

(Katsuragi/Akagi Apartment)

"YEAH! PARTY!" Misato shouted as she downed another beer.

"Misato, calm down!" Ritsuko admonished.

"Oh, come on, Ritzy!" Misato slurred. "Ginji just got a promotion!"

"Ginji just got a new job." she countered. "And it's about time too."

"I just would have loved to see the commander's face when you beat down his goon squad and practically forced him to sign the order to make you the new Section 2 chief." Misato said.

"Me too." Ritsuko said.

"Sorry I didn't video-tape it for you, but they didn't exactly give me a chance to set up one." Ginji said.

"So... does this mean you're not our guardian anymore?" Shinji asked, sitting next to Rei.

"Oh, I'm still you're guardian, Shinji. I'm the guardian of all NERV now, and all their employees." he smiled.

Eventually, the pilots and their lush of an operations director retired to bed, with Ginji and Ritsuko being the last to depart.

"Ginji-kun?" Ritsuko asked, the pair arm-in-arm as they headed to their bed where a snoring Misato was already asleep.

"Yes, Ritz-chan?" he asked.

"You know I love you."

"I know. I love you too."

"I'm glad... but I'm also worried."

"Worried? About what?"

"About... how things are going to go now."

Ginji stopped the woman and turned to face her. He took her face in between his hands and stared into her eyes.

"Ritsuko... I promise you... nothing bad is going to happen. We're going to win this war, and be able to live in peace afterwards."

Ritsuko just stared into his eyes, her body overcome by the aura of strength and confidence that he exuded. An aura of strength and power that turned her on once again.

"Oh Ginji!" she gasped as she lunged forward and devoured his lips with her own.

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Authors Notes:

Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I know it's been a while since I updated this story. Been fighting a lot of writers block and working on other stories as well. This chapter had Ginji established as a central NERV figure, taking the position of head of Section 2.

And yes, that mean's its really Shinji Ikari in charge of Section 2, if you've been keeping track of this story.

And yes, Ginji now has two wives who he loves deeply, and for different reasons.

Next chapter: The crew faces off against the 8th Angel, with hilarious new situations, and a new threat to deal with from Gendo and SEELE. But don't worry, Ginji's got a plan!

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

OMAKE!

The twelve Section 2 agents surround Ginji and pull their hand guns.

"Last chance, Captain Katsuragi." Gendo said.

"My answer is no." Ginji said.

"Shoot him."

Ginji quickly spun around and dropped to the floor as the agents fired, the bullets zipping across the room and hitting the other agents that were directly across from each other.

All twelve agents dropped dead right on the floor.

Gendo slapped his forehead as Ginji got back up.

The man looked around and just shook his head.

"I really hope you weren't paying these guys." Ginji said.

"Too much, it seems." Gendo groaned.

"Well, since you pretty much eliminated the entire Section 2 staff, guess I need to start filling those positions with new talent."

"And make sure they have the decency not to stand in each others line of fire, too."