Point of View Chapter One: Fortunes

By Bolivar Q. Shagnasty and The Composer

Misato looked over the strange control panel before her. Inquisitively, she glanced at Ritsuko to her side. "You sure this will work?" Ritsuko gave that confident smirk of hers to Misato. "Most likely. This will work like the dummy plug system, but with a NERV officer in direct control."

Misato turned back and adjusted the strange helmet on her head. "If this does anything to my hair..." Minutes of unclear testing later, the buzzer sounded, Ritsuko called the test to an end.

Shinji felt the strange liquid drain around him, his eyes unblinking as he felt a familiar swoosh, the hatch on the entry tube opening and allowing him to exit. Slowly, the boy crawled out of his seat and out of the hatch onto the platform in front of the usual awaiting recovery crew. Misato stood there, as always, arms crossed, her face written with an expression that meant business, but the expression slowly faded to her more casual expression.

Shinji looked up at his guardian and simply said in a tired voice "Can we just go home?" Misato pursed her lips together and just nodded and started to walk with him down the hallway to the Pilot's room(locker room?).

"Just think, Shinji, a few more tests and we may have the remote piloting system up." Misato said in an attempt to make his boredom look meaningful. Shinji just sighed and unclipped the neural clips from his hair... a slight jolt shot from the left one. "Ow," Shinji said, shaking his hand.

Misato turned to the boy. "Something wrong?" "It's nothing... this clip just shocked me..." Shinji said. Misato held her hand out, not even having to say anything. Slowly, Shinji reached his hand over and placed the faulty clip in her hand, another jolt shot through them both.

"Ow!" Misato squeaked, shaking her slightly numb hand. I have to talk to Ritsuko about these..." Misato mused, putting the defective clip in her jacket pocket. "Now hurry up and change, alright? You want to enjoy a night without Asuka, riiiight?" Misato said with a bit of a teasing inflection in her voice. Shinji blushed slightly and wordlesssly walked into the room to change. Minutes later Shinji emerged, dressed in his usual school attire. 'Just like a good little schoolboy' Misato thought to herself, slightly disappointed that Shinji lacked a rebellious streak.

Shinji felt exhausted, so much that the upholstery of Misato's passenger seat nearly felt comfortable, his usual sense of caution overridden by his mental fatigue. Misato gunned the engine, and pointed the car towards home. Shinji's eyelids drooped nearly closed, and Misato joggled his elbow. "Don't fall asleep here, because I'm not carrying you to bed."

The sound of the brakes screeching and the tug of his body against the seatbelt jolted Shinji back to wakefulness. He remembered again a long-learned lesson: never fall asleep when Misato is driving. Shocked, Shinji turned to his legal guardian, who merely grinned and pointed out the passenger window. Shinji slowly turned his head and peered out the window to see a Chinese take-out place. "M..Misato-san?" Shinji asked, questioningly.

"It'll be impossible for me to park close this time of night, so I'll just circle around the block, okay?" Misato asked, not giving Shinji much of a choice. The boy exited the vehicle when he realized one important detail. "Wait!" He leaned down to the window. "What about money?" Behind the window, Misato merely waved, and stepped on the gas. Shinji sighed, and trudged into the restaurant. The teenager behind the counter looked up as the bell over the door rang. "You're lucky today; we close in five minutes. What can I get you?"

"Dinner Number Three, two extra egg rolls, I guess." Shinji opened his wallet. "Yeah, I got enough for that." "Ten minutes, unless you want delivery." "Can't afford delivery, and anyway, my ride'll be back before then." "We got some special fortune cookies today. Twice the size, twice the fortune. Fifty extra yen?" "Why not?" Shinji shrugged, and dropped another coin on the counter. Misato drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. She'd circled the block three times, each time stopping for two minutes outside the restaurant. Finally, Shinji emerged, a paper bag in his hands. He climbed into the car, setting the paper bag on the floor. "You owe me 1380 yen."

"Fine, whatever. Let's go, I'm starved." Shinji barely had time to secure himself in the car when the car lurched. He gave Misato a glare, but was uncertain that she even noticed, let alone cared. The side of her lip was showing the beginning of a grin.

The two sat in silence right up to Misato pulled her car into it's usual parking spot. The two wordlessly trudged up the stairs, Misato actually opening the door first for Shinji. 'Probably because I'm carrying the food' Shinji thought with a slightly bitter tone in his mind. Misato made a straight beeline to the kitchen and quickly grabbed a beer, 'the first of many' both thought. "Shouldn't that wait until after dinner?" Misato shrugged. "Why wait for a good thing?"

"Because it's gonna hit you hard on an empty stomach."

"So?"

"So you won't be able to drink as many." Shinji grinned. "We both know you're gonna drink a lot more of them." Misato considered this, then asked, "Are you calling me a drunk?" "Yes."

Misato furrowed her brow, the left one twitching as she grumbled the words "Just put the food on the table and get your drink." Shinji did as he was told, choosing to not fight this battle. Misato sat across from Shinji and greedily opened the bag. Shinji sipped his water as he watched Misato take her favorites. What was left in the brown paper bag was obviously for Shinji, at least as soon as he was sure it was safe to make a grab for the bag.

Not much was left, something Shinji accounted for when ordering. A quick snap of the chopsticks and Shinji started to eat. Misato looked up from her box of food briefly and looked at her ward. "What's the matter? Miss Asuka?" Misato asked slyly between bites. Shinji sputtered, nearly chocking on an egg roll. Misato laughed. "It's so easy to embarrass you!"

"She'll be back tomorrow, to make me miserable." Shinji scowled at his food. "Not like she's gone forever." Misato sighed at the boy's reaction, more like a 5 year old than a teenager's. "I've seen the way you look at her," Misato answered teasingly.

"What?" Shinji protested. "I don't love her or...!" "Who said anything about love. Shinji?" Misato cut him off, grinning. "I know lust when I see it." "Yeah, as if Asuka would let me-" He broke off when he realized what he was saying.

"Thought so." Misato nodded sagely. Which on her looked silly. "Trust me, Shinji, there's nothing wrong with such thoughts. It's actions that count."

Shinji stared morosely at his food. Apparently tiring with the silence, Misato added, "Of course, you're getting no action, so..." She drained her beer. Misato looked at the empty can and sighed herself. She looked at Shinji, so introverted, silent, and couldn't help but remember her own wasted adolescence. If she prodded him the right way, she thought, then quickly dismissed it.

"Shinji, try to live once in a while, alright? Your teenage years shouldn't be wasted."

"What, you're saying I should... with Asuka?" Shinji stuttered, eyes wide.

Misato dismissively waved her hand as she walked to the fridge. "Asuka... Rei... hell, maybe even Hikari." Shinji blushed as red as a tomato, something Misato couldn't miss. "Of course, remember that they can say no. And probably will." Misato popped the top on her beer can. "But your problem is you never ask. If you don't ask, they don't even need to say no."

Shinji shook his head, trying to dismiss the idea. 'Sounds like something Touji'd suggest' Shinji thought to himself. "Misato-san," he started, "What about being a grown up? Are those years not as good?" "Are you crazy? Jobs, responsibility, duty...who needs the hassles?" Misato grinned. "I'd give my left tit to be your age again." Shinji blushed at his guardian's language and reached for one of the large fortune cookies.

Misato leaned over to grab the second cookie, giving him an eyeful of her cleavage. Inadvertent? With her, who could tell? "Hmm, perhaps we both need a good fortune, hm?" Misato said with a wink. The two crunched the hard cookies together. Shinji pulled the thin strip of paper out of the remnants and read them. Confused, he read them again. "Worst 100 yen I spent"

Misato looked at her own, puzzled. "Really? What's yours say? Mine doesn't make a lick of sense" Shinji held his out for Misato to see. Misato couldn't help but laugh. "Looks like we got duplicates, Shinji!" Misato snickered. "You will both awaken to a new point of view"

The music from the SDat faded as the disc reached the end, and paused to rewind. Shinji barely noticed, being deep asleep. But instead of the music, he distantly heard the sound of running water, as though a bathtub were filling.

Shinji stood up, and found himself in a cavernous shower, each drop of water seemed to create it's own tidal wave. Shinji immediately struggled to keep afloat, fighting against the torrent of water. Shinji struggled to shore, the tub more like an ocean than anything else. The shore felt soft... flesh like. Looking up, he saw he landed on Misato's left breast. The nipple was almost as big as he was; he was no larger than an insect!

The large Misato looked down at Shinji and grinned. "Like what you see?" her voice echoed. Shinji collasped, hands clasped on his ears. He could feel the 'shore' slanting, and knew Misato was standing up in the tub. Helplessly, he slid off the wet skin and slashed into the bathwater. A quick glimpse up showed Misato towering above him, grinning as she pulled the drain.

Shinji spun in the drain, thrashing and fighting against the current as he was pulled down into the dark pipe. Seconds later, the pipe illuminated with a bright red glow... an entry plug! Frantically, Shinji clamoured to the seat and struggled to work the controls. a loud BUZZ filled the tube, like a gameshow. The plug ejected and the hatch opened. Shinji peered out of the light and only saw Doctor Akagi and that teenager from the chinese restaurant, both pulling him out of the tube.

Shinji struggled and kicked, not wanting to leave the only thing that seemed familiar, as twisted as it sounded. Ritsuko injected something into Shinji's arm. "My my, I'm sorry, but that one isn't for you anymore. Wearily, Shinji looked at what the tube just ejected from and saw a larger version of himself, eyes staring blankly ahead. "Your unit is here..." Ritsuko continued as she dragged Shinji to another plug and kicked him into it.

The hatch closed, Shinji weakly stood, unsure of what was to happen. He felt a familiar rumble as the tube twisted, inserting itself into it's unit. As the red lines turned on and information started to filter, a bright light filled Shinji's vision.

Shinji's eyes snapped open in shock, the vivid and surreal imagery from that wild dream played over and over through his brain. Groggily, Shinji slowly sat up, and couldn't help but feel a sense of wrongness. Everything felt off, different, wrong, but his mind felt cloudy, sluggish as well. A small stumble came as Shinji tried to stand, and that's when he realized he was in the wrong room.

The room was a pigsty, a clutter of beer cans and bottles, old magazines and clothes strewn about. However, a mess as unique as this one was easily recognizable to Shinji. 'I'm in Misato's room!' Shinji thought in shock, slowly backing out of the room.

"Why did I fall asleep in here? Where's Misato-san?" The teenager still wasn't firing on all cylinders. He stumbled a bit, and managed to get out of the bedroom. The floor seemed to sway and shift, reminding Shinji of the time when he was on that aircraft carrier, the seasickness. Shinji quicky grabbed the wall for support.

He noted the foul yeast-like taste in his mouth; perhaps some of the Chinese food had been off? He staggered into the bathroom, intent on finding his toothbrush.

The door pushed open, the sound of the hinges squeaking brought the throbbing pain in the front of his head upfront. "Got to oil that..." Shinji noted, yet another chore on the long list. A few more steps, the feeling of cold tile against his bare feet shivered his spine as he made his way to the sink. A hand groped from his blue toothbrush and he grabbed the tube of toothpaste, gently applying a single pea sized dot.

A few turns of the faucet and the water rushed into the basin, another sound that didn't help Shinji's cranial pains. He raised the toothbrush to his mouth...and paused. A lock of hair had drifted into view. It was not his hair. His hair was not nearly that long. He grabbed the lock and tugged gently, confirming that it was attached to his scalp. "Wha..." He glanced up at the mirror.

Misato's face stared back at him, wearing the same stunned expression. There was a crash from the direction of his bedroom, and he heard his own voice. "What's going on? Angel attack? Where's my-where the heck am I?" He turned, to see...himself?...stumbling into the bathroom. Unlike himself, the other boy (only boy?) was wide awake, but no less shocked.

"Wha... You.. me?" Shinji's doppelganger said, simply pointing back and forth. Shinji shook his head. "What's going on? I don't like this dream anymore..." His not-quite-double scowled at him. "I don't know why you're impersonating me, or who you really are, but-"

"Impersonating-You're Misato?" "Of course." The boy's scowl deepened.

Shinji's doppelganger seemed to pause a moment, taking in the situation. The double then looked down at himself, and gave a small grin, patting his chest, hips, then crotch. "I knew I felt something hard against my thigh."

Shinji wordlessly stepped away from the mirror, then pointed at it. "M..Misato?" Shinji repeated, the feeling of fear, and possibly bile, building up in the back of his threat. Concentration seemed to hurt like nothing else, details of the night before were hard to recall. Reflexivly, Shinji grabbed his forehead and narrowed his eyes. "I remember a test at NERV... and Chinese food?" His double - who seemed to be Misato, somehow - looked him up and down, and sighed. "Okay. First things first. Take two Tylenol, wash 'em down with lots of water." He turned and walked out of the bathroom.

"I'll start the coffee."

Shinji opened the medicine cabinet and began rummaging for the Tylenol. From the kitchen, he heard Misato muttering, "Pretty sweet deal. I did all the drinking, and he gets the hangover." The sound of the coffee machine clicking brought Shinji back. Quickly he downed the two pills and bent forward, taking in a deep gulp of the running faucet water.

"More water!" Misato had reappeared at the door. "Hangovers are caused by dehydration." Weakly, Shinji nodded and took out a plastic cup from the medicine cabinet, putting it under the faucet until it quickly overfilled. With much gusto, Shinji lifted it to his lips and guzzled it down, streams of excess running around his lips and down his throat down the collar of the tanktop.

"Geez, not that much!" Misato countered. "When I said dehydration, I didn't mean like you were stuck in a desert." Shinji set down the cup, and gasped. Misato nodded. "Okay, next the coffee.

Shinji blinked. "I don't like coffee." "It's a stimulant, and you need to get your brain unfogged." Shinji just meekly nodded, trusting Misato's vast experience in such matters. "Now come on, there's probably one cup's worth ready by now." Misato walked out of the doorway and Shinji followed into the kitchen, sitting down at his usual spot at the table. "I didn't have time to make it double brewed, since I wasn't sure if you'd last long enough," Misato said as she poured a mug's worth and set it infront of her former self.

Shinji sipped the dark brew, and shuddered at its bitterness. Perhaps it was a stimulant, but not a chemical one; the shock of the taste seemed to wake him up quickly enough. "Feeling better, Shinji-chan?" Misato said sweetly in the boy's former voice, the tone unmistakably Misato.

Shinji could only manage a nod. This whole situation seemed too much to the boy. Misato glanced over and saw a second cup's worth was ready. She stood up and filled a second mug. A quick sip and Misato settled back into her seat. "Tastes a bit different, but I guess I can blame your tongue," Misato said. "Well, now that we've shared some witty banter and had our coffee, we need to figure out how this happened," Misato stated. She looked down at her teenaged hands again, moving the fingers, getting used to the sensation.

Shinji bent his head down, shaking it. The sensation of shoulder length hair was disconcerning, but just the smallest of his current worries. "How? You have any theories?" "Well, maybe something at NERV... an angel..." Misato started, listing items off, "Or maybe you saw a shooting star and made a little wish," she finished, grinning.

Shinji's eyes shot up wide. "W..wish?" he stuttered. "Why would I wish for... for this?" he continued, motioning to his new body. "Come on, it doesn't take much to get into a teenage boy's head..." Misato answered, then winced, "no pun intended." Shinji shot out of the chair and backed up. "W..what are you saying?"

Shinji asked, backing away. He felt as if he was confronted by something even he didn't quite understand. Misato stood up from her chair and walked over to Shinji. Shinji noted he could see clear over his old head. "You embarrass so easily," Misato said grinning. "Oh come on, every boy's a bit curious." "Well..." Shinji paused. "You said it might be an Angel." "It was just an idea." Misato shrugged. "Well, if it is, we might figure out why this would help him."

Misato paused. "Maybe because I'm not as good a pilot as you, and likely EVA-01 will reject my body?" Misato then laughed a little, "But that's impossible. Who'd reject my body?" Shinji coughed a little, a bit uncomfortable with the reminder. "I'm not too fond of being in it right now."

Misato waved off the complaint. "Eh, maybe being in me for a short time might 'balance you out'." She said with a wink. "As for me, I think I need to take care of this morning wood. It's driving me crazy." Shinji blushed a bit. "H..hey! Misato...!" he stuttered, unable to think of a protest, afterall, both of them would have to go to the bathroom SOMETIME.

Misato paused and looked back at Shinji. "What? It's not like it's the first one I saw. And dont' be so shy. I saw the way you were looking at my bust all morning. Go ahead, just don't bruise them." The accusation made shinji blush even deeper. "Like I gotta tell almost every guy...you're not tuning a radio!" "Tuning a... i don't understand..." Shinji answered. "Oh, you'll understand soon enough," Misato answered with a wink, entering the bathroom.

Shinji followed Misato to the bathroom door. "B..but I don't want to understand!" he shouted through the door. "And what are we going to do about school and work?"

"Well, I think it would be wise to keep this little problem under wraps as much as possible." She pondered. "Let me give you my access code for the sick line. I've got a few sick days I can take." "They'll just assume that you're hung over," muttered Shinji. "Of course! I have a reputation to keep up. As for school...well, I've been a high-school student before, so I can fake it again." Shinji's eyes shot wide at that thought. "Oh no! I have a history test today! I can't make a bad grade, Misato-san!" Misato shrugged. "I know my history well enough." Shinji sighed, at least willing to believe Misato this much. "Alright. I guess that will be fine..." The sound of the toilet flushing brought Shinji back to reality as the bathroom, door opened. Shinji curiously looked at his old face, which was flush red. "Umm, Misato-san, you didn't..."

"Nope. Didn't. Don't worry about it." The expression on her face was unconvincing. Shinji decided, just for his own sanity, to drop it. Misato turned to him as she walked into his bedroom. "You know, you should enjoy my day off. Watch some movies, maybe go out a bit." "Like I'm going out like this." Shinji dropped into the sofa. "Why not?" Misato asked form Shinji's room, quickly changing into the teen's school clothes. "No one would know it was you. But if you'd like to stay home, I do have a collection of movies that might cheer you uppp..."

Shinji shuddered at the idea of Misato's movie collection. "I'll just watch television or listen to music." "With what?" Misato held up his S-DAT. "I need to take this with me to complete my cover?"

Shinji shook his head, the feeling of long hair still strange and alien to him. "You're not going to make this easy, are you?" "Shinji...have I ever made life easy for you?" Shinji chose not to answer and just sat on the couch, arms crossed. "Pleading the Fifth? Good choice. Here's the Sick Line code." She set a card on the table. "Have fun, I'm off to school." The door opened just as she reached for it, and Asuka stormed in.

"Shinji, I left my history book here, let's go, we're gonna be late!" Misato got an evil look in her eye, and pinched Asuka's ass. The redhead's eyes widened in shock. "Race you to school."

"You-Shinji, I'm gonna kill you!" Shinji's eyes widened at the exchange, half wishing Misato wouldn't endanger his body like this, half wishing he was the one that got to pinch Asuka. The he shook his head. "This is really bad; there's no way she can keep this under wraps if she acts like this." Shinji glanced down at himself again, seeing his two feminine arms crossed over his impossible bust. "I can't exactly act like her either..." Shinji mused. Hedonism was hardly on the boy's mind. "However..." Shinji pondered, turning to a small mirror in the living room, "I may be able to fake acting like her when she's serious...". And with that, Shinji practiced one of Misato's more serious expressions, and had difficulty restraining from laughing at the sight in the mirror.