Shinji and Super Smash Bros.

Asuka Enters the Fray!

So, since I had a lot of trouble getting inspired for this thing, I went and did a timeskip straight to when Asuka shows up. Rest assured, though, I promise those first three Angel fights will be covered at some point.

Pairing: Shinji/Asuka.

Rating: T

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Curious, Shinji asked, "Hey Misato, where're we flying to again?"

Smiling, the operations director replied, "We're heading to a vessel called Over the Rainbow, where you'll be meeting the Second Child, Asuka Langley Sohryu."

Nodding for a moment, Shinji smiled before asking, "So then, mind telling me what she's like? Actually, never mind, I'll just find out on my own. After all, it's more fun that way."

Looking out the window, he continued, "The pilot of Eva Unit-02… I hope we can be friends…"

Turning to his guests, Hikari and Kensuke, Shinji asked, "So then, you two, are you enjoying this little trip so far?"

Kensuke nodded enthusiastically while Hikari asked, "While I am appreciative of this opportunity, I have to admit I'm kind of curious about why you invited me of all people to come with you."

Shrugging, Shinji replied, "It's simple, really. I brought Kensuke along in case I got bored and needed someone to geek out with. As for you, I just felt you might enjoy it. Do I need a reason to do something nice for one of my friends?"

Looking out the window, Hikari replied, "I didn't say that, it's just that you get along quite well with pretty much everyone in the class – heck, even Ayanami comes a little bit out of her shell with you around. So again, why me in particular? After all, someone who doesn't know us might mistake us for… you know…"

A bit more perceptive than usual, Shinji supplied, "A couple?"

As Hikari blushed a bit and nodded, Shinji said, "I see. And the idea of being my girlfriend – or mistaken for such – is pretty disturbing, right?"

Blushing even harder, the class rep was about to apologize and try to refute that when Shinji just laughed and waved it off. "Relax, I was just kidding around with that last bit. It's so rare that I manage to get a point on you like that, I can't really pass up an opportunity when it comes along. And don't worry, this isn't a date at all. If I had intended it as such, I'd have made it obvious by saying so."

He then continued, "While I could indeed have invited anyone else along, I felt that it would be wise to bring a girl along to help calm things down if Kensuke and I let our testosterone get the better of us. As for why I picked you out of the girls in class, it's not complicated. There are two kinds of women that I like: the responsible women that can be counted on to do whatever needs done, even if it's a good slap across the face from time to time – and the kind of women who stand a pretty reasonable chance of kicking my butt should violence erupt for whatever reason."

Taking a breath, he continued, "Excluding you, Mana, and Rei, pretty much every girl in our class is either a flirt, a ditz, or otherwise yet similarly not within my realm of interest. Rei's an Eva pilot and is still needed in the highly unlikely event of an Angel attack back in the city. Beyond that, I sort of flipped a coin…. Oh, if you're interested, you were heads. Fitting, I should think, for the class rep."

Trying to get a rise out of her ward, Misato leaned towards Shinji (and deliberately revealed a mild amount of cleavage) as she asked, "So then, where does that leave me, eh, Shinji?"

With a completely straight face, the Third Child replied, "You, Misato? You're… a good friend and a cool big sister figure, but I personally wouldn't date you."

Pouting playfully, somehow unaware that Kensuke was drooling a bit while he recorded all of this, Misato asked, "But why not, Shiiiiiiiiinji~?"

Merely raising an eyebrow, the boy answered, "Because I'm practically your dad."

"How the hell do you figure?! I'm twice your age, not to mention that I'm the one paying the bills!"

Nodding sagely, Shinji countered, "Yes… and yet you're the one with a curfew."

Unable to refute that logic, Misato wisely decided to shut up for a bit.

Trying to wrap her mind around what she had just heard, Hikari asked, "Wait a minute, did I hear that right? Misato, the adult, is the one with a curfew? How on Earth did that happen? Shinji, how do you enforce that on an adult?"

Shinji replied, "Simple. I threaten her with instant meals. Now that she's gotten spoiled on my half-decent cooking, that's actually a lot more effective than it might at first sound."

Turning to look out the window to hide his expression, he continued, "As for how it came about, Mi-"

At this point, Misato playfully slapped Shinji across the back of his noggin, saying, "Shut yer yap!"

At this point, the helicopter came in for a landing.

Disembarking from the heli, the group of four made their way out onto the deck; Kensuke recording on his camera in overdrive to catch everything military-related he could see, and Hikari was in awe at the beauty of the ocean and sky around them. Because it was like a wind tunnel on the deck, however, she had to fight to keep her skirt down.

Noticing that, Shinji said, "Sorry about that, if I'd remembered we were going to a ship I'd have advised you to bring shorts or something."

Hikari replied, "Ah, it's all right. We all forget things from time to time."

At this point, they noticed Misato talking to a girl about Shinji's age. The operations director said, "Well if it isn't Asuka. My, you've grown, haven't you?"

With a predatory smirk, the redheaded teenager happily replied, "Not just in height, my figure's filled out as well."

Wearing a black sundress, Asuka drew her hand across her chest, drawing attention to her impressive (for her age) bust. Suddenly, a particularly strong blast of wind raged across the deck, which sent Asuka's skirt high into the air, revealing…

…

A pair of black shorts that were tight and short enough to easily draw a man's interest, but also covered enough to preserve her modesty. 'Plus three points to common sense', Shinji thought.

Turning to look at the other teenagers with an expression of disinterest, she asked, "So then, which of you boys is the Third Child?"

Stepping forward, Shinji smiled confidently and said, "I am the Third Child, though I don't really like being called that. My name's Shinji Ikari. And therefore you must be my fellow pilot, Asuka Langley Sohryu."

With this, he extended his hand in the Western gesture of friendship, the handshake. Raising an eyebrow, Asuka seemed to be mildly amused for a few seconds, before she eventually took the handshake. Though she didn't show it, Asuka was pleased to find that the Japanese boy's grip was firm, and his forward demeanor also impressed her.

Her expression the picture of indifference, Asuka released his hand as she replied, "I see. Good to know that you can recognize a superior pilot when you see one."

Eyes narrowing slightly, but pleasant expression otherwise unchanged, Shinji replied, "I don't think it's fair to say that you're better, nor will I concede your superiority. Doesn't mean I can't be respectful out of habit."

Stretching her muscles and leaning back a bit – inadvertently lending a little bounce to her 'friends' – Asuka thought for a moment before she said, "Interesting. However, you must know that my Unit-02 is the finished version and that your Eva is merely the test type – an incomplete product. Furthermore, I have a decade of training under my belt, whereas you have a month or two at most. I have more experience and I have a more powerful unit. Logically speaking, I'm therefore a superior pilot."

Shinji ignored the fanservice and instead focused on the conversation. "Were the world that simple, you may indeed have been right. However, it's much the same as a fighting game in reality. Someone using a high-tier character can completely get his butt kicked by someone with a low-tier character if they're just that much better at it. Similarly, a soldier with a machine gun, if incompetent, can totally get whupped by someone using a knife if the second dude knows what they're doing."

Light-heartedly scoffing, Asuka asked, "I take it you have an example in mind, Third?"

"Naturally. Let's use the original Super Smash Bros., for instance. Player A – let's call him Junpei – is using Pikachu, generally agreed to be the highest-tiered character in that game. Player B, who wants to shut Junpei the hell up – let's call him Minato – selects Samus Aran, generally agreed to be the lowest-tiered character in that game. And then Samus promptly stomps the hell out of Pikachu without losing one stock or even taking one percent of damage. This is because Minato, even with a so-called 'weaker' character, had vastly greater skill, experience, and knowledge of the game. Similarly, just because you have a superior Eva does not by itself make you a superior pilot."

Pausing almost a full minute as she took note of Shinji's loving attention to detail, Asuka pondered what had been said thus far and then replied: "I'll concede your example as valid, if rather long-winded. Of course, a high-tier character in the hands of a skilled player – Pikachu in the hands of Minato, using your own example – would be invincible, having both the best character and the most skill behind it."

Introducing his palm to his face, Shinji dryly said, "Do me a favor, Asuka. Never, ever use the word 'invincible', especially in reference to human beings. There will always be off days when we make mistakes and can't concentrate and we consequently get our butts kicked. Of course, there will always be days like that for the other guy, too. As for the matter of you being a better pilot, don't you think we should hold off on judging that until we have a chance to directly compare our skills?"

A small smile on her face, Asuka said, "I must say, Ikari, you've gotten me… a little interested."

Asuka then turned, intending to speak again with Misato and ask about who the other two were… only to find that they had long vanished somewhere in the middle of the Second and Third's conversation. Her left eye twitching, Asuka turned back to Shinji and glared at him, though not with malice.

Shrugging, Shinji could only defend himself by saying, "Can't help myself. Whenever the subject becomes one of interest, I get talkative."

Asuka rolled her eyes and him and dryly said, "Is that so? I hadn't noticed. C'mon boy wonder, let's try and catch up with the others."

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Eventually, the duo found the rest of the group in the mess hall, preparing for a quick meal. Kensuke, Misato, Hikari, and…

"Kaji."

Asuka spoke the name with little trace of emotion.

With a pleasant – and if Shinji wasn't mistaken, relieved – smile, the aforementioned man with atrocious shaving skills replied, "Asuka."

Also seated at the table were the rest of Shinji's group – directly across from Kaji sat a severely irritated Misato, with Kensuke next to her and Hikari on the other of Shinji's fellow fanboy.

As meal arrangements were made, Asuka took the seat furthest from Kaji, leaving Shinji between the two. Absently wondering what was going on with the snarky redhead and the James Bond knockoff, Shinji took his seat as Kaji began to speak.

"So you're the infamous Third Child, eh? I must say, it's an honor to meet you."

Raising an eyebrow, Shinji replied, "Thanks, I guess. Although it's really not that important to me. The whole 'being an Eva pilot' thing, I mean. Of course saving the world is important, I just don't like people making a big deal out of it."

Chuckling, Kaji said, "Well, regardless of what you want, you are indeed a big deal. A boy who, without any prior training, managed to achieve a sync rate of nearly fifty percent in his first battle and then proceeded to use Eva in ways that the scientists who built it had never imagined possible."

While Asuka's eye was twitching, Shinji turned a little red and replied, "Your version makes it sound so impressive, when all I really did was start acting like it was a fighting game – and in that last fight, I was amped up on a massive sugar high."

A bead of sweat dripping down the back of everyone else's heads, the gathered people thought in unison, 'Well THAT explains it.'

"I even hear you're living with Katsuragi now. So tell me, Shinji. Is she still so…"

Here, Kaji grinned and wiggled his eyebrows as he asked, "Wild in bed?"

In an instant, Kensuke had out his video camera, Hikari and Asuka were outraged at not only the impropriety of the question but also the blatant manner in which it had been asked, and Misato had pounded her fist on the table, screaming, "I DON'T THINK THAT KIND OF TOPIC IS APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN TO DISCUSS, JACKASS!"

Shinji, however, had a blank look on his face for a full five seconds before he tilted his head to the side as he said, "Um… I'm… not sure what you mean."

Had they been able to see inside his head, everyone would've observed that he had a mental image of Misato wearing a red necktie (in addition to her normal attire) with the letters MK on it as she stood on a four-poster bed, throwing gigantic barrels of bananas at random passerby while screaming like a maniac.

Even though the people around Shinji could not see into his mind, however, they nevertheless fell out of their chairs from the sheer inability of his to pick up on any sort of innuendo.

Kaji nevertheless chose that rather awkward moment to make his escape by saying, "Well, I'll just be off now."

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Shinji and his comrades were going up an escalator to the deck, when suddenly Asuka appeared at the top of it, looking down on him. While her glare had a slight edge to it, there was no malice or hatred. No, it was more like… she felt as if she had a score to settle.

"You're coming with me, Third Child."

Shrugging a bit, Shinji merely replied, "Sure, but didn't I ask you not to call me that?"

The next thing he knew, Shinji was standing with Asuka before Evangelion Unit-02.

"I see it's red. So tell me Asuka, does it go three times faster?"

Midly irritated with her fellow pilot's notable lack of awe, she nevertheless snorted in amusement at the joke as she replied, "Well with me in the Entry Plug, there's no reason that it can't. Of course, the color scheme isn't all that's different! Units 00 and 01 were the prototype and test type respectively – that Unit-01 synced with an untrained pilot is proof of that!"

However, Shinji then asked, "Okay, I suppose you may have a point there. On the other hand, don't I get bonus points for creativity in how I tend to use Unit-01, if only for that last battle?"

Pausing a second, Asuka asked, "The one where you said you were on a sugar high?"

Nodding, Shinji said, "That'd be the one."

"I haven't seen any of the footage. But from what I heard about that one, you don't get points for anything aside from insanity, sugar high or no."

Snapping his fingers, Shinji let out a soft, "Oh, darn."

Having been interacting with him for a while, Asuka thought to herself, 'This guy's a total weirdo. … It's sort of a cute weird, though.'

Just as she finished that thought, however, an underwater shockwave caused the vessel to rock from side to side.

And upon discovering that it was an Angel, Asuka donned a predatory smirk that Shinji found entrancing and intimidating at the same time.

A few minutes later, he was climbing into his plugsuit and standing behind Asuka in Unit-02's entry plug.

As had happened before his previous battles in an Evangelion, Shinji heard a deep voice rumble in his head.

CHOOSE YOUR CHARACTER!

Unlike those times, however, Shinji visualised a pause button and pushed it, before asking, "Are we even authorized for this?"

With an unladylike snort, Asuka boasted, "We'll get authorization after the fact!"

The boy nodded. "Fair enough. Now then, the way I see it, we have limited power, we're over here, it's way over there, and Unit-02 doesn't have the equipment for underwater combat. So, what's the plan?"

Asuka grinned like a shark. "Just sit back and watch, Ikari!"

With that, Unit-02 leapt off of the vessel and onto a nearby one, its tarp now being worn in the fashion of a cape.

Using the massive machine's momentum, Asuka commanded the scarlet weapon to continue on its way to another ship, and another, and another, until it reached the vessel with the power cord, and with several seconds to spare.

Plugging the red war machine in, Asuka watched with satisfaction as the dwindling timer came to a halt now that they'd switched from battery power.

Shinji smiled and absently said, "Not bad, Asuka, not bad at all. For future reference, though, consider a scarf instead of a cape; they're just as cool-looking – if not moreso – and yet more practical."

Raising an eyebrow at the Third Child in amusement, she muttered, "Eh, why the hell not?"

At that time, the old guy on the bridge started ordering them through the radio to shut the Eva off, until Misato interrupted him and asked, "Is that Asuka or Shinji in there?!"

"Both of us, Misato!"

The Operations Director grinned like Christmas had come eleven months early. "In that case, give 'im hell you two!"

At that moment, the Sixth Angel – later to be codenamed as Gaghiel – burst from the sea and lunged at Unit-02. The scarlet Evangelion wasted no time in grabbing it. However, instead of holding it in place to be more easily killed, Unit-02 swung the Angel around before flinging it in the opposite direction.

As the massive fishlike abomination crashed into the ocean, Asuka bellowed, "What the hell was that, Ikari?! I had that little shit right I wanted it, and you threw it way over there!"

Grimacing, Shinji hurriedly attempted to placate her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's an instinctive reflex!"

Asuka glared at him, though she was now more annoyed than truly angry at him. "An… instinctive reflex, you say."

Shinji nodded. "Yeah. I pretty much never consciously grapple with someone unless I intend on throwing them immediately afterward. I know it's weird, and I'm sorry."

Checking one of the readouts on the entry plug's HUD, Asuka muttered, "Well that so-called 'reflex' of yours was powerful enough to completely override the stronger sync I've got with the Eva and spike the ratio to almost a hundred percent. Which is impressive, given our current sync rate is a measly fifteen percent."

Shinji lightly pounded his open palm with his fist, as if something had just occurred to him. "Oh, that makes sense! Because we're both in here and Unit-02 has to sync with the two of us, the ratio is a lot lower than it'd be if it were just one of us."

Then he grimaced as another thought occurred to him, and he disdainfully muttered, "Like a couple of five-year-olds fighting over the controller. Except their hands are glued to said controller, because I don't really see either of us jumping out of the plug to boost the sync rate."

With a very determined expression, Shinji said, "Joystick or action buttons! Pick one and I'll take the other!"

"What the hell are you talking about, Third?!"

Then, with a pleading look at the communications screen, Asuka demanded, "What the hell is he talking about?!"

With an exasperated sigh, Misato explained, "He lapses into game-related terms and analogies from time to time. I think he's suggesting that you pick one set of limbs – the arms or the legs – and focus on just controlling those, and then he'll focus on just controlling the other set. That right, Shinji?"

The Third Child nodded. "If you take the legs, then I'll do everything I can to make sure we come out of this alive!"

Sparing a glance at Shinji over her shoulder, Asuka regarded him for a moment before asking, in an almost tender voice, "So what you're trying to tell me, Third, is that I can trust you?"

The very picture of sincerity and seriousness, Shinji nodded and replied, "If you can trust me even half as much as I trust you, Asuka, then that Angel is as good as beaten already."

Blushing a little, the Second Child quickly looked away and muttered, "J-just who the hell do you think you are, spouting corny stuff like that with such a straight face?! And we've only met today anyway, so where do you get off being so naïvely trusting and crap?!"

Placing a hand on her shoulder, Shinji calmly said, "I've known you ever since this morning. So yeah, I'll trust you with my life. Will you trust me with yours?"

Her face nearly as red as her plug suit, Asuka stammered for a few seconds, before yelling, "You… you IDIOT! Yeah, fine, whatever, you keep us out of the water so I can kill that thing next time it makes a pass!"

Shinji nodded, and then focused really, really hard on Unit-02's arms while ignoring everything above the waist. Asuka nearly panicked as it almost felt like she'd lost her own arms, and fought against her natural impulse to regain control, instead choosing to focus on maintaining the Eva's footing.

Unit-02's sync rate promptly shot up to 30 percent. It wasn't ideal, as the two minds weren't really in sync with each other; however, they weren't contradicting each other either, which just about canceled out the earlier negative impact each had on the other.

It wasn't quite as good as Asuka's solo score had been, but it was close.

Misato yelled, "The Angel's making another pass – get ready, you two!"

As one, the two pilots replied, "Roger!"

Unit-02's feet dug into the ship's bulkhead a bit as the machine braced for impact, while the scarlet war machine held out its arms in preparation to try and catch the monster once more.

Just as before, Gaghiel lunged at Unit-02 from beneath the water, maw gaping wide, intent on biting it in half and taking the Evangelion into the water with it.

Unit-02 managed to catch the Angel by its jaws and prevent them from closing, but Gaghiel's greater speed sent the Evangelion into the water anyway.

Movements impeded and struggling not to get chomped to bits, Asuka started freaking out again. "No, dammit, we're gonna die!"

Asuka was ready to fend off Shinji's scathing remarks about her failing to keep them out of the water, when they never came. Instead, he coolly remarked, "Asuka, I found its weak point. Ready for the attack?"

Distracted, she glanced at the screen and sure enough, there was the Angel's core – the giant red jewel that, if destroyed, would take the Angel with it.

In total disbelief at his nonchalance, Asuka demanded, "And just how do you plan to destroy the core when you're barely managing to keep the damn thing from biting us in half?!"

Taking a deep breath of LCL, Shinji paused for a moment before he began to speak. "At the same time that I let go of its jaws, you're going to swim forward really hard so that we lunge into its throat. From there, breaking the core should pretty much be a non-factor."

While the Children were talking, Gaghiel rammed into the seabed and ground Unit-02 against the continental shelf.

At once awed and irritated by Shinji's unnatural calm, Asuka demanded, "Non-factor? Non-factor?! This is our LIVES we're talking about, you… you IDIOT! How can you act so unconcerned about everything?!"

Sighing a bit, but not raising his voice, Shinji replied, "It's that I don't care, I'm just confident. It's just like in pretty much every game and toku ever."

Seeing her confusion, he proceeded to explain. "We're the heroes of the secret government agency fighting the aliens intent on exterminating our race, Asuka. Do you honestly expect us to somehow not come out of this on top and in one piece… more or less? I mean, just what kind of scriptwriter would seriously let the bad guys win, am I right?"

Asuka smacked him for that. "Be that as it may in fiction, this is reality - the standard conventions of children's television programming aren't going to save our lives!"

Shinji couldn't help the wry grin that crept onto his face. "I dunno about that. Many of those very same conventions have some basis in reality, after all. Leaving the reality vs. fiction argument aside for the moment, when I give you the signal, I want you to focus every bit of your willpower into the Eva's right hand. You ready?"

Rolling her eyes at her copilot, Asuka muttered, "Sure thing, batshit."

With a tremendous force of will, Unit-02 explosively forced Gaghiel's jaws apart before kicking with its legs, propelling itself into the Angel's mouth and throat. Behind it, Gaghiel's jaws clamped down, severing the electrical cable and returning the Eva to battery power.

Feet skidding along the bottom of the Angel's mouth, Shinji un-hit the pause button in his mind, visualized the Super Smash Bros. Melee character select screen, and chose his character. In that instant, Unit-02's AT Field created an energy scarf around its neck.

CAPTAIN FALCON!

Rearing back Unit-02's fist, Shinji bellowed, "NOW ASUKA!"

Praying that her clearly-insane-as-fuck copilot knew what he was doing – for both their sakes – Asuka focused every single bit of her will into Unit-02's reared-back fist and screamed her lungs out. "DIE, YOU SHIT, DIE!"

The scarlet Evangelion wreathed its fist in AT Field-created fire shaped like a giant bird of prey and slammed it into the Angel's core as Shinji yelled "Falcon PUNCH!"

The Eva's flaming fist met the Angel's soul-housing gem, and the gem shattered into a million pieces of shrapnel. And then the Angel itself exploded, blasting Unit-02 out of the water with so much force that it nearly crashed into the Over the Rainbow.

However, it still landed cleanly in the water again, which meant that the assembled naval forces would have to drag the Evangelion back to the surface.

As Unit-02's AT scarf disappeared and the Evangelion began to float a hundred meters or so below the surface, Asuka tried not to let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Ikari," she began.

Looking like rather worn-out himself, Shinji looked up and replied, "Yeah?"

She started to say something, then changed her mind two or three times before eventually telling him, "I… I guess you're an okay enough guy. At least as far as crazy people go."

Shinji regarded her for a moment, before he smiled. It was a small, quiet smile, completely at odds with the enthusiastic go-getter from the battle. "Thanks, Asuka. You're my friend too."

Notes: So… yeah. Now you have an actual idea of just what kind of story this is. Don't worry, I'll cover the three skipped Angel fights later on. Probably by having Asuka or someone else review NERV's security footage.

As for why Asuka wasn't fawning over Kaji, well, this Asuka is a combination of series!Asuka and Rebuild!Asuka, so she doesn't have a crush on him.

Yes, I realize that this Shinji is not very, well, Shinji-ish. And if anyone came here expecting otherwise, I would be very much surprised.