This is an Alternate Universe story based using Evangelion characters although it contains elements of Akira other programs. None of which I own so don't sue (got no money anyway). The characters may seem OOC from the series, however they are in a completely different environment. If you do not like this than please stop reading NOW. You have been warned so do not send Flames. Only constructive criticism is appreciated. For those who have not left, Enjoy.

The Crimson Warriors

At the end of the Twentieth Century humanity tried to destroy itself. The great fear that had loomed over society since 1945 was finally released upon an unsuspecting world. A great war began between the superpowers and finally nuclear weapons were employed. Most of the population of

Europe and the Americas were wiped out and when the dust settled, Japan became the new hub of civilization. The cities of this island nation became vast metropolises stretching miles in both width and height. While the police and the military successfully patrolled the upper regions of the cities, the lower depths were controlled by biker gangs and hoodlums. The streets and roadways that interlaced the lower reaches of these metropolises were the site of almost constant gang warfare. While the majority of the gang wars were over turf, there were some gangs who tried to stop the senseless violence, especially against the defenseless inhabitants of the slum communities that resided in the areas where the police and authorities feared to tread. One such gang, The Crimson Warriors, was lead by Shinji Ikari. Shinji had spent his eighteen years in the slums of the lower city of Tokyo 3, his hair was a soft, light brown and his eyes were a deep blue, but they were the eyes of one
who had seen too much violence. He had never known who his parents were; his only loyalty was to the gang, who he had known all his life, and their mission to protect. His fellow warriors included Asuka Langley Sohryu, a fiery redhead with light blue eyes; she had a temper like a bear with a sore tooth and was a fierce fighter. There was Touji and Hikari Suzuhara, the young married couple both had brown hair and eyes, Touji taller than his wife by a good foot. They were utterly devoted to each other and to the gang. Another core member was Rei Ayanami. With her ice blue hair and ruby red eyes, she was utterly dedicated to the gang's mission and to Shinji, willing to die for either. The final core member of the group was Kensuke Aida, the brilliant hacker and mechanic, with unruly brown hair and glasses, he rarely accompanied the gang into battle, his responsibility was to keep the gang informed of what was going on in the city and to keep the bikes running. While these
members were the core of The Crimson Warriors, there were about seventy other members that could be called out when a gang war erupted. The Crimson Warriors were occasionally helped by a mysterious man with a ponytail and eternally unshaved, known only as Kaji. The Crimson Warriors worked under a belief of the nature of evil, spoken once by Shinji.

"People often wonder when the war against evil will be won. That war can not be won, for without evil there can be no good, there will only be existence. Someone once asked, `why do you fight then?' The response is that we do not fight to win; we fight to keep evil at bay, to maintain the order between good and evil, light and shadow. The world is a combination of good and evil and to keep the balance we must fight the spread of evil and to protect the good that can not protect itself."

Far above, unbeknown to Shinji, one of the parents that he had never known worked under a similar philosophy, but did not always act a selflessly as his forgotten son. Gendo Ikari, semi-corrupt Chief of Police and self proclaimed heartless bastard, tried to keep order to the upper city, above the streets of the lower city, where travel was by flying vehicles, a much easier task than that taken on by the son he did not know still lived. Shinji had been lost when his mother, a doctor, had taken him into the lower city on a call. She had been killed and he had never been seen in the upper city again. While the upper city did not associate with the lower city, news did travel. The police had heard about the "Justice Gangs" as they were called in the upper city. The most prevalent of these gangs were The Crimson Warriors.

A buzzer sounded on Gendo's desk, he absently pushed the button.

"What?" he said

"The Detective is here, sir." the secretary said through the intercom.

"Send her in."
The door opened to the overly spacious office and Detective Misato Katsuragi entered and stood in front of her superior's desk. Gendo smiled behind his hands, as usual, covering his lower face, and his eyes semi-hidden behind tinted glasses.

"Detective, are you familiar with The Crimson Warriors?"

"Yes, sir." she replied.

"Very well, here are your orders..."

Shinji sat on a stool in The Crimson Warrior's headquarters. He slowly and delicately ran the honing stone along the blade of his Katana. He could hear Kensuke typing slowly on his computer in the corner and Asuka working out in the weights room. Rei was in her room, meditating, while Touji and Hikari were in their bedroom, probably making out. Just a typical day. Putting his sword back into its scabbard, Shinji walked into the weights room to start his dally workout. Asuka was in her usual exercise clothing, a red tank-top and shorts, doing pull-ups on the overhead bar. Shinji changed into his own workout clothes and began to exercise. Shinji and Asuka were both in top physical condition. Asuka was slender; her muscles were strong and flexible. At first glance she was stunningly beautiful, almost delicate. At second glance the beauty was still there, but it was a slightly more rugged beauty, radiating strength and confidence. Shinji, however, had known her all his life and
was able to see the venerability in her. Shinji's body was hard and muscular, like it was carved from wood. He is what would be called ruggedly handsome. Their personalities were similar, both being strong willed, and were just as tough in their own ways. Shinji would bend if the right kind of pressure was applied, but he would never break, and would only bend while the pressure was being applies. Asuka, however, would never bend, no matter what pressure was applied. Unfortunately, if enough pressure was applied, Asuka would break. Asuka turned to leave the weights room and Shinji noticed the scar. He had, of course, seen it before. Most of The Crimson Warriors had scars. It started at her left shoulder and moved down her back in a long arch ending just above her left hip. After two years, it still made him wince, he had been able to save her life but she would always have that scar, and a sliced kidney. Shinji continued with his workout until Rei entered to get his
attention.

"Shinji."

Dropping down from the pull-up bar he looked across at Rei.

"Visitor." She said and then left when Shinji nodded.

He quickly washed up and changed into his regular clothing. In his black t-shirt, black slacks, black boots and his black jacket (with "The Crimson Warriors" on the back in blood red), he went to meet the visitor, clenching and unclenching his left hand to work the stiffness out of an old wound I his wrist. When he entered the common room the gang was mostly there. Hikari was in the kitchen making lunch, and being distracted by Touji, Kensuke was in the garage working on Asuka's bike, Asuka was cleaning one of her pistols at a side table, while Rei was talking with the visitor on the couch. The visitor was not what Shinji expected. In her mid-thirties, with deep purple hair and brown eyes, she had a well formed body and was obviously intelligent (discussing philosophy with Rei). Shinji walked over to meet her, sitting down on the matching single chair.

"Hi, I'm Shinji, the leader. What can we do for you, Miss...?"

"Katsuragi. Detective Misato Katsuragi. Tokyo 3 police department."

"So, what brings a copper down into the slums?" Shinji asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"I have been sent here to enlist your help. One gang has started raiding the upper reaches of the city; we are unable to locate them because they reside down here. I have been ordered to attempt to recruit The Crimson Warriors to alleviate the problem and to assist and accompany you till the gang, known as The Angels, have been "dealt with", my superiors exact words." Misato looked around the room then added, "Is there only the eight of you?"

"The eight of us live here, but there are others." Rei said.

"We accept, on the condition that you follow our orders, and if you want to tag along, do it our way." Shinji said.

Misato considered it for a second the nodded. Shinji stood up and began issuing orders.

"Hikari, set up the spare bedroom. Touji, get Hans and Martin, we'll need them to retrain the Detective. Kensuke, bring out the P-45 (the P-45 motorbike began production in 2012) from storage and get it ready to ride. Asuka, get in touch with your contacts, find out all you can about a gang called The Angels, and break out your weapons stores. Rei, hold down the fort and keep the Detective company. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Shinji grabbed his Katana, jumped on his bike and rode out into the constant war zone that is lower Tokyo 3.

Shinji was angry. No, he was beyond angry, he was pissed. Every time the Detective had mentioned her superior he had gotten angrier, for no apparent reason. Twisting the throttle, he made his bike go faster, almost a suicidal speed, as if to outrun his anger. He eventually slowed down, in a distant part of the lower city. His anger was so great that he wanted to kill someone. When he was younger, Shinji had felt revulsion at the thought of killing, but he had gotten over it. No one could survive in the slums unless they were willing and able to kill at a moments notice. Ahead he saw four gang members from a gang that was on The Crimson Warriors hit list, The Knight Pistols. Shinji smiled slightly and drew his Katana. Roaring past The Knight Pistols, Shinji cleanly decapitated two of them, the pulled his bike around in a long skid. Jumping off the bike, Shinji held up his Katana before of him and walked slowly towards The Knight Pistols, standing about ten feet in front of
him. The closest gangster raised a pistol, aimed at Shinji's head and fired. The first shot Shinji deflected with the sword, so it whizzed harmlessly past him. The second shot hit the sword at a weird angle and ended buried in Shinji's right shoulder, lodged just below his collar bone. There was no third shot as Shinji, having switched the sword to his left hand, stepped in and sliced the gun-hand clean off at the wrist, following through with a slice along the mans stomach then spinning around to decapitate him. The last Knight Pistol saw this and decided to run. After switching his sword back to his right hand, Shinji drew his knife and threw it at the running man. The man fell forward because his legs no longer followed his instructions, due to a knife embedded in his lower spine.

"A Crimson Warrior, I should have known. A least you guys make it quick." The man said as Shinji knelt in front of him.

Shinji nodded to the last statement, and then asked a question.

"We're looking for a new gang, called the Angels. Heard anything?"

The man looked into Shinji's eyes and saw fierce determination.

"Will you make it a clean kill?" the man asked.

Shinji just nodded again.

"Ok. I heard something about a new gang over in sector 247, but I don't know their name."

"Thank you." Shinji said.

The man pushed off the ground, looking at Shinji. Shinji nodded and the man looked at the ground as Shinji cleanly severed his neck between the third and fourth vertebrae. Shinji searched the bodies, took about five thousand yen, the pistol (and two spare ammo clips) and a small, carved, high-quality crossbow. The rest of the stuff was junk, so he left it and started to ride back to the headquarters, feeling the slight wave of revulsion he always felt, after a battle, when the adrenalin wears off. When he got back, he put the money on the table in the living room.

"Asuka." He called.

She stuck her head out of her room and he threw her the pistol and the two spare clips, which she deftly caught.

"Cool." she said, then retreated into her room.

He sat down on the couch next to Rei, with her on his left side.

"Here, I though that you would like this." he said as he handed her the crossbow and letting his finger brush against her hand.

She took the crossbow gently and studied it for a moment, holding it almost lovingly.

"Thank you." she said and laid her head on his shoulder.

"That feels nice Rei." Shinji said after a second, smiling down at her. "But can we get the bullet out of my other shoulder first."

It was about two in the morning and Shinji could not sleep. His shoulder was sore and he had a lot to think about, so he lay on his bed with his eyes closed. That was why he could hear the door softly slide open. He opened one eye and, without turning on the light, recognized the figure silhouetted in the doorway.

"Not tonight, Asuka. I'm not in the mood." he said.

Hearing the door close and Asuka's string of quiet curses, he closed his eye and went back to thinking, mostly about the past. About an hour later his door quietly opened again and again he recognized the silhouetted figure, but this time it was Rei. She slowly crossed the room, and dropped down next to Shinji. After giving him a tender kiss on the cheek, she whispered in his ear.

"The nightmare."

Shinji nodded absently as Rei laid her head on his left shoulder and fell asleep. Shinji's mind quickly quieted and he also went to sleep, with his arm around Rei's waist.

To be continued....

What does everyone think? R&R.

*Author's Note: Before people start to comment over Rei being so talkative, remember that she is at home and has lived with others in a social context for years. Also that last exchange between Shinji and Rei will be explained in the next chapter. :) Stick around.*