Creation began on 01-13-16

Creation ended on 05-11-16

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Aftermath Recovery: Taking it slow

A/N: Takes place after The Horrid Aftermath, with Shinji having moved into the Rokubungi estate at the Salvation Village. Here goes.

Shinji awoke to the sound of birds singing outside his bedroom, and he recalled for the third time where he was. He was now living with his paternal relatives in a town called the Guze-mura. It had been at least a month since he moved in with his great-aunts and uncles, and he felt like, for the first time in a long time, he could actually move on with his life. In the days since he moved in, he had met with Rumi, the youngest of his great-aunts, Kiki, quite probably the eldest, Majo, the great-aunt-in-law and wife of Himawari, his eldest great-uncle, and Hoshutsu, the younger great-uncle, both men of whom looked like less-intimidating and less-disinterested versions of the boy's estranged father.

Another new day, he thought, looking at his left arm, the only limb on his body that was still original, while his right arm and legs were cybernetic versions of his lost limbs. Another new day…and I can almost forget about the difference between my new limbs and my old ones.

-x-

"…As per your request, I did a background check on that Eva Shinji Ikari was in the night he was maimed, Mr. Kusanagi," a young woman informed the elder that had overseen the cybernetic restoration of the boy from a month ago. "I found something that left me worrying about the would-be morality of the NERV agency."

She handed him a folder containing the sensitive information on Evangelion Unit-01, and he looked through it, finding something that was both illogical…and cruel.

"Is this file accurate?" He asked her.

"My cousin works at NERV on their Evangelions, and she got me the information regarding the Eva," the woman explained. "I called her about that night, and she went through the information herself. That Eva was unfinished when it was put into service. What kind of agency puts an unfinished product into service and thinks nobody's going to question about it?"

"And what's worst is that they put a fourteen-year-old boy in it when it was damaged. The fact that it was unfinished is what led to his being maimed. This is all the grounds Medical Angel needs to have NERV on a tighter leash."

Among the files in the folder were the schematics of Unit-01, revealing a major flaw in its cybernetic enhancement: The Eva had no emergency means to eject its Entry Plug.

Even if they wanted to, even if they knew how to, Masamune thought, feeling more sympathy towards Shinji, who he was hoping was recovering quite well, anyone in that was in that thing couldn't get out of it without external aid. No internal mechanisms, whatsoever, that can account for individual safety.

-x-

"Um, Rumi, are you alright?" Shinji asked his child great-aunt during lunch time. "You've been quiet all morning."

"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine, Shinji," she answered him. "I should actually ask you how you're doing."

"Eh-heh. I'm doing well. It has been a month, so I would say that I'm adjusted."

His youngest great-uncle, Hoshutsu, sitting on his right side, slightly poked at his right arm for the forty-second time due to his curiosity, something Shinji had mentioned that he was growing weary of.

"Sorry," Hoshutsu apologized to him. "Still hard to imagine that you're using cybernetic prosthetics in place of your lost limbs."

Shinji then raised his left arm and stated, "I'm no ghost in the machine. I'm still as warm-blooded as I was when I met you."

-x-

He was released from confinement, but his authority had been reduced to being a captain like Katsuragi for his so-called crime against NERV. But Fuyutsuki didn't care about any of that. In his heart, he knew he did the right thing by having Shinji transferred to Medical Angel where they could help him. This was just Ikari's lousy way of trying to exert control over people he had no control over.

"…So, he was a sub-commander before his authority was reduced by Commander Ikari, huh?" Asuka Langley Soryu, who had arrived to Japan eight days ago, asked Misato.

"Yeah, but he had a reason to do so before his authority was reduced," she answered the girl.

"What reason to risk his position?"

"Saving someone's life."

"Were they really worth it?"

"It was the Third Child's life. The battle against the Third Angel didn't end well…for anyone."

"What happened? Did the pilot get sick or something?"

"No, Asuka, he was… Shinji was maimed when the Angel self-destructed. The plug never ejected."

"Maimed? What do you mean, maimed?"

"He lost one of his arms, both his legs, suffered some rupturing of his organs, and severe head trauma. He was at Death's door. Literally. And NERV didn't possess the medical know-how to help him. So Fuyutsuki forged Commander Ikari's signature on a form to get him medical attention at Medical Angel, where they could save him in just a few days. It didn't even cost the agency anything."

Asuka had a hard time picturing anyone without most of their body parts, but knew that in any conflict, people were bound to suffer immensely.

"How did Commander Ikari take it?" She asked Misato.

"With him, it's hard to really understand," she explained. "He knew we couldn't help his son down here, but did nothing to try and help him. He didn't think heroic measures should've been taken."

"What?! What kind of excuse is that?! If the pilot's his son, and he got hurt like that, why wouldn't he consider heroic measures? I mean, what, he didn't think his son was worth saving?"

That's what Misato couldn't wrap her head around. She suspected that nobody really could.

"Where's the Third Child now?" Asuka asked.

"He left after he was discharged from Medical Angel," Misato answered her. "He recovered enough to leave, but still required time to adjust to his new condition and bionics. Apparently, nobody instantly recovers after extensive surgery and rehabilitation to adapt to using artificial limbs…and he was among the most extensively-regenerated. One of the people in charge Medical Angel's Tokyo-3 branch found his relatives on his father's side, and they took him in, so he's living with them while he recovers further. I do hope he's doing well."

"Do you think he'll come back?"

"Honestly, I can't imagine him wanting to pilot the Eva again. I barely recognized him in the aftermath when he was injured…and I don't think he nearly recognized himself after he was mended. If piloting the Eva nearly killed him just once, it would be hard to imagine what could happen to him if he did it a second or third time, and something exactly like the first time were to occur. He could probably get his bionics replaced so long as he survived, but he only has one life, and it's very fragile now."

-x-

"…You've been watching him all day, Rumi," went Kiki to her baby sister, who had spent most of the remainder of the afternoon watching her nephew as he had fallen asleep in front of the TV.

"Really?" Rumi asked her. "I didn't notice. He looks at peace when he's asleep."

Shinji, looking as though he didn't have a care in the world as he slept, seemed like he had been spared from a great sadness or pain that was inescapable. Sometimes, it was hard for any one of his newfound relatives to believe he had most of his body replaced with bionics when he looked so normal.

"I'm really glad we met him that day last month," Rumi told Kiki.

"Yeah, Rumi," she agreed with her sister. "I'm glad we met him that day, as well."

Although she sat across from him on the sofa, Rumi reached out and held onto his left arm.

To be continued…

A/N: I'll stop here and leave it in limbo for a while. This is the first chapter of the secondary story.