Hey everyone. The name's Psycho Counter and I would like to welcome you all to my first ever fic: The Demon Master.

Just to give you guys a heads up: there will be major Gendo-bashing in later chapters as well as Asuka bashing early on. I personally like neither of the two and will thoroughly enjoy beating the crap out of them.

Author's Notes: The pairing with Shinji has yet to be decided so I've got a little treat for you guys at the end of the chapter. Wanna know what it is? Then read, damn it!

Alright I'm done with the paperwork bull**** (May ye burn in hell!), so let's get this thing started.

Disclaimer: I don't anything Eva-related. I have to rent my own clothes, for heaven's sakes!


The Demon Master
By Psycho Counter

Chapter 1: Meeting the New Student

Shinji Ikari was not somebody you would call 'confident.' In fact, a worm probably has more of a backbone then the brown haired, blue-eyed Eva pilot. Of course, being abandoned by your dad at an early age and then brought back to be his tool, all the while being forced to live with a couple of domineering females, could more than likely do that to ya…and right now, one of said females was not happy.

"Come on, Baka Shinji! Get your ass in gear before I'm late for school," yelled the volatile Asuka Langley Sohryu, pilot of Eva Unit-02 and self-proclaimed Most Important Person Alive.

Gee, ego much?

"You could always go on without me, Asuka. I'm almost ready though," Shinji replied from his room. Thanks to his alarm's battery dying, the shy young pilot had slept in this morning. That didn't sit well with Asuka, who expected her breakfast prepared and on the table every morning by the time she got up and finished showering.

"Are you nuts?! If you're late, then that makes me look bad since I have to figuratively hold your hand all the time," she snapped.

Shinji sighed and slung his book bag over his shoulder. Taking one last glance at his room, he walked out and joined Asuka as they began the trek to another day of Hell With Florescent Lighting, AKA school.

(Tokyo-3 Junior High)
"Hey Shin-dog, what the hell happened to you!" Shinji winced as his friends Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida probed at his swollen right eye.

"Well…while we were walking to school, I kinda lagged behind since Asuka kept walking too fast for me to keep up with her. Anyway, we got about two blocks from the school when some guy knocked me over on accident. To make a long story short, I fell down, accidentally grabbed Asuka's butt when I tried to catch myself, and she kicked me right in the face while I was still on the ground."

The two friends cringed. "She kicked you in the face! Son of a…I don't care who she thinks she is, that ain't right man," Toji exclaimed. He of all people knew the torture that Shinji went through with the Red Devil of Tokyo-3 as a lot of the guys had taken to calling her. He happened to be a common target of her ire when Shinji wasn't around to pick on.

Shinji's eyes teared up slightly as the swollen flesh throbbed with pain. He never asked for any of this. And it was an accident, but Asuka always felt that her own personal brand of justice needed to be meted out whenever boys were involved. It was like she had some kind of vendetta against all males not named Ryoji Kaji.

As the teacher walked in, Class Rep Hikari Horaki stood to attention like a drill sergeant. "All rise. Bow. Sit."

The teacher nodded as Hikari took her own seat. "Thank you Ms. Horaki. Now then, everyone, I'd like to inform you that we have a new student. He's a foreign transfer from America so do your best to make him comfortable. Come on in, son, and tell us about yourself," the old professor said. The entire class's attention focused on the door as it slowly slid open to reveal a young man who, by traditional Japanese standards anyway, looked rather odd.

Standing at close to 5'8", he towered over the other students. His long raven-black hair was tied in a ponytail, his eyes a vivid electric blue, much like Shinji's. Even through the school uniform, you could see that he was rather well built despite his slender frame. Not like a body-builder, but more like a gymnast. His arms and legs were long, and he seemed to carry himself with a confident air. The new boy just seemed to emit an aura of strength. The strangest thing about him, though, was a jagged, triangular scar that marred his left cheek. His hands also seemed to be wrapped in bandages, though for what reason was anybody's guess.

Shinji gulped. He hoped that the new student was nothing like Asuka. If he was, then the Third Child wasn't sure he would survive the encounter should he piss the guy off. Even Toji, long considered the toughest boy in class, looked a little apprehensive at the intimidating American.

The boy's features showed no emotion. Sweeping his eyes over the class, he surveyed each of his new classmates individually, finally coming to rest on Shinji. His eyes lingered, studying the boy with the swollen face and fearful eyes. Suddenly, the new student's face broke out into a full-blown grin.

"Howdy ya'll! The name's Sigurd Morgan, but you can call me Sig. I just flew in from Texas of the USA, probably one of the few states to escape most of the brunt of Second Impact, since my folks decided to send me here on a foreign exchange program. Anyway, my hobbies include martial arts, writing short stories, and making jokes. I hope to make a lot of new friends around here. It's very nice to meet you all," he said. The rest of the class was shocked. They had expected the new guy to be mean and nasty, if Asuka was any indication to a foreigner's attitude. But instead, the boy threw them all for a loop. He was acting like a total goofball!

Looking around, Sig smiled and strolled over to the empty desk beside Shinji in the back of the classroom, setting his bag down and plopping himself in the seat as the teacher began today's lecture on Second Impact.

As it turned out, even Sig wasn't immune to the consciousness-draining effects of the old geezer's droning voice. Within minutes, he had passed out from sheer boredom like the rest of the class.

Several hours into the class, Sig woke to a shrill pinging sound emitting from his laptop. Groaning at the rude awakening, he glowered at the machine until he noticed that someone had sent him a message. He clicked on the link, staring at the question inside.

Are you a pilot? Y or N?

'Pilot? Oh they must mean from that Nerv place. Heh…not exactly the most tactful of interrogation methods, but then again I am in a junior high school,' he thought to himself. Typing in a negative reply and sending it off, he laid his head back down and was ready to drift back into a peaceful slumber. At least, that is, until the lunch bell decided to ring.

The class jumped and stampeded out the door in typical fashion to stuff their faces, with Sig casually strolling behind them. He walked out the main doors into the bright sunlight and let his eyes shift from side to side, as if looking for someone. Glancing towards a large oak tree next to the basketball court, he locked sights on his target and, smirking, stepped forward.

"Come on Shinji Ikari, fess up would ya! Toji and I both know the guy has to be a pilot. It's the only reason anybody would move in what with the Angel attacks and everything," Kensuke exclaimed. The bespectacled boy would do anything for information on the Evas and their pilots. That was why he was currently drilling Shinji for any information the shy young man may have been hiding.

"I've already told you Kensuke, I haven't ever seen the guy before. And besides, Misato would've told me if we had gotten a new pilot. No, I think he-" Shinji tried to explain to his friends before noticing that the boy they were discussing was standing right behind the military otaku.

Shinji shivered. He didn't want to think of the implications that smirk on the taller boy's face meant. Gulping, the Third Child pointed behind his friend, prompting his lunch-mates to turn around.

"Hey guys. I couldn't help but overhear you. Just to clear things up, I have no affiliation with Nerv at all. I'm just a regular guy who came here to brush up on my Japanese and make some new friends," Sig said. The three sighed in relief. At least he wasn't there to pummel them…

Shifting his gaze to Shinji, the American kneeled down and gently pressed his hand to the smaller boy's battered face.

"This looks pretty ugly. What happened to you, man?" Shinji looked at the ground shamefully.

"It was an accident," he said softly.

Toji snorted. "Accident my ass! Asuka Sohryu, the redhead over there with the Class Rep, tried to use Shinji's face here for a soccer ball because he got knocked over and fell on her," he said, making sure to say the girl's name in his best impression of her.

Sig's eyebrows rose slightly. "Interesting. Anyway, I'm gonna go ahead and fix that nasty little wound up for ya real quick," he offered. Getting to his feet, Sig crossed his hands together in an X-pattern before laying them on Shinji's forehead. The pilot could only stare and wonder what the new student was doing. The larger boy took a deep breath and began to chant in a strange tongue.

"Fix it? Dude, he needs to go and see a doc-" Toji started, though he quickly shut up as he saw Sig's hands literally glow with power. Quickly, a brilliant white aura engulfed Shinji and his two friends watched as the swelling visibly shrank and the redness surrounding the wounded area disappeared completely before their eyes. Toji and Kensuke's mouths dropped in shock when Sig removed his hands to reveal that Shinji's face was completely healed. Patting his cheeks gently, Shinji felt absolutely no pain. He stared in awe at the new student.

"H-h-how did you do that?" he asked.

Sig chuckled. "That, Shinji, was a healing aura created by my ki. I'm a martial artist by trade and my master taught me the arts of using one's inner energy to heal others. I can tell that you're the kind of person who only fights when forced to protect others, so if you'd like I can possibly teach you a few things on self-defense," he replied.

Shinji looked downcast. "No that's okay. I wouldn't want to be a burden."

"Nonsense! If there's one thing I enjoy, it's teaching others how to protect themselves and their friends. Really, I think you could do well. My master always said I was a good judge of potential and you, Mr. Ikari, have a lot of potential in you. Trust me; all you need to do is try. I won't ask you to continue if you feel that you can't handle it," Sig insisted.

The only male Eva pilot sighed. It seemed like the other boy wouldn't take no for an answer. "Okay then. I guess I could give it a shot. Maybe I could learn something."

Sig smiled and patted Shinji on the back. "Hey don't worry. I wouldn't teach you anything I thought you couldn't handle," he assured. Suddenly, the two were twisted around by Toji and Kensuke as a very angry redhead came stomping towards them.

Growling at Shinji, Asuka threw her lunch bag at him violently. "Baka! I thought I told you not to put miso sauce on it! You know I hate miso sauce," she screamed at him. By then, a sizable crowd was starting to gather. Students began taking bets on how long before Asuka punched her roommate square in the face. A couple observant ones started chattering about how Shinji's face looked completely fine compared to this morning.

"B-but Asuka…you've never told me you don't like miso sauce," Shinji responded. He hoped that the German fireball would listen to reason for once and leave him alone. Sadly, it was not to be.

"Bull! You're just lying to get yourself some pity. Well guess what, Third Child? I'm gonna put you in your place, once and for all!" she shrieked, cocking her arm back. Shinji cringed and threw up his hands to try and protect himself. Hikari screamed and made a move to restrain Asuka, but the redhead was bigger and managed to effortlessly throw her friend back. Grinning, Asuka launched a right hook as hard as she could. She knew that she never mentioned her sauce preference to Shinji, but she'd be damned if she let the rest of the class know that. A girl had to have her pride after all…

Shinji waited for the inevitable impact, but surprisingly felt nothing. Blinking, he dropped his hands to see that Sig had caught Asuka's fist and was gripping it tightly as the girl tried to pull her hand free.

Sigurd Morgan did not look too happy. "Listen girl, I'm not sure what they teach kids these days in Germany, but where I come from, we treat others with respect." He let go of the girl, who stumbled back and fell as her momentum was suddenly let loose.

Getting to her feet, she pointed accusingly at the much larger Sig. "Listen pal, I don't take orders from guys like you who think they know something about manners. You're not even worthy to lick my shoes clean, so just stay out of our business."

Sig grinned. But it wasn't one of his usual happy-go-lucky grins that flashed in class all day. No, this one seemed to promise a truckload of pain. "Now that's where you're wrong, Ms. Sohryu. You see, you just tried to attack one of my friends." The 'Three Stooges' gasped. Sig already thought of them as friends?

"So," he continued, "you just made this my business." With that, Asuka snarled and jumped at him. Hikari kept screaming for Asuka to stop as the teachers were coming. The redhead didn't listen, though, and threw a fist at Sig.

The American brought up a flattened hand and blocked the punch, spinning himself in the direction of the blow. Using momentum to his advantage, Sig wheeled and fired a punch of his own, knocking Asuka off her feet and onto her back. Roaring in anger, the German scrambled to her feet and charged recklessly. Sig sighed. 'Why do they always wanna do things the hard way?' he asked himself. Bending his knees and forming a stance, the martial artist's arm tensed as he drew his hand back and hammered his knuckles into the center of Asuka's chest.

The redhead crumpled on impact, unmoving. The rest of the students gasped. The only way they were assured that Asuka was still breathing was the steady heaving of her chest. Everyone looked at Sig, whose face was stone silent. Looking back at his new friends, he smirked.

"That, guys, was my master's patented ki disruption technique. I basically used a well-placed energy burst to cut off the ki circulation throughout her whole body. She's gonna feel like her body weighs a ton for a while, since ki is essentially what gives us the strength to move our muscles. With that mind, always remember...no ki, no strength." The three boys nodded. They were still stunned silent at watching their new classmate take down the most vicious person in school without even trying. And Shinji was going to be learning self-defense from this guy?!

Shinji felt himself amazed at what Sig had just done for him. The two hadn't even known each other for twenty minutes, and the larger boy had just protected him from his roommate and tormenter. The pilot suddenly couldn't wait for his first defense lesson.

'Maybe if he teaches me martial arts, I can finally protect myself from Asuka...'


Well that's it for Chapter 1. How did you like it? Love it, hate it, or in the middle? Send me reviews and messages. I want all the feedback you can give me and appreciate any ideas you can throw my way.

Next time on The Demon Master, Chapter 2: Training Begins. Shinji begins his self-defense lessons under Sigurd, and quickly learns the importance of knowing the dangers of learning the martial arts.

Now for your surprise: You guys get to vote on which Eva honey Shinji ends up with. I'll even let you guys vote for Asuka, since I wanna be fair to all who read my fics. So anyway, here are our lucky bachelorettes:

Rei

Asuka

Hikari

Misato

Maya

Mana

Ritsuko

O/C

So make your votes today everyone! I wanna see lots of response to this. See you all next time!