Hi everyone; Psycho Counter here with the next installment of The Demon Master. I hope you guys are ready to see some more, cause I'm ready and willing to bring it.

Author's Note: This chapter is mainly concerned with shedding some light on Sigurd's past and drilling some much needed knowledge and wisdom into Shinji's head, so don't expect a whole lot of action.

Okay, let's keep this thing rolling folks. On with the show!

Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion. The credit companies won't even take my cash!

The Demon Master
By Psycho Counter

Chapter 2: Training Begins

"Alright Shinji, care to explain why I got a call today saying you and Asuka had a fight at school?" Misato asked her young ward. The violet-haired captain was not particularly pleased when the teacher called and told her that her 'children' had gotten into an altercation.

"But Misato, I didn't get into a fight. Asuka tried to hit me for apparently messing up her lunch and one of my friends fought her off," Shinji replied. Misato raised an eyebrow.

"Last time I checked, my little Shinji, Toji wasn't strong enough to fight Asuka off. She's already clobbered him enough times for that to sink in," she countered.

Shinji flushed red. "It wasn't Toji. It was a new transfer student from America that I made friends with today."

"An American, huh? Well you'll just have to introduce me to this guy. What's his name?"

"Sigurd Morgan. He offered to teach me self-defense, so I accepted. I figured it would help with piloting the Eva," Shinji said.

Misato nodded in agreement. "That's a good point. Maybe this Sigurd's style will be better suited for you than Nerv's military one. Besides, I think you could use a little exercise," she added, lightly poking his chest with an impish smile.

Shinji turned tomato red. "Misato! Stop teasing me!" exclaimed the mild-mannered young man. The older woman giggled.

"Sorry Shinji, but I couldn't resist. But it's true anyway. You're way too skinny for your age. You need to put some meat on those bones," she told him.

Shinji nodded. "I know, but listen: My first lesson is today so I'll ask if he wants to have dinner over here sometime this week, okay?"

"That's fine. I'll have a talk with Asuka when she gets home about trying to hit you. Who knows, perhaps Sigurd can actually knock some sense into that girl…"

Shinji tried to stifle a snigger, but was wholly unsuccessful. "Misato, I doubt my father could knock some sense into her," he shot back. Misato blinked.

"You do have a point there Shinji."

(Tokyo-3 Municipal Park)
Shinji shuffled his feet. He was still a bit nervous at the prospect of learning how to fight, even if it was for defensive purposes. Sig stood about three meters away, carrying a large duffel bag. Grinning, he dropped the luggage and opened the zipper. Luckily there was nobody around so they had the large park all to themselves.

"Alright Shinji, before we get started, I need to lay some ground rules. First of all, while we're training, you will always call me 'Master,' and nothing else. Got it?" said Sig. Shinji nodded hesitantly.

"Yes, sir."

Sig smirked. "Yes, what?"

"Yes, Master." The American nodded.

"Better. Next, put these on." With that, he took out a bundle of clothes and tossed them to Shinji. When the boy tried to catch them, however, he got the wind knocked out of him as he suddenly felt the force of a bowling ball slam into his chest.

Collapsing to the ground, he heaved breathlessly and tried to stand with his surprisingly heavy load. "What the hell is this?!" he yelled.

Sig couldn't contain his mirth. "Those are weighted training clothes, Shinji. Right now they have a ki-made gravity seal on that makes them feel like 50 pounds altogether. You will be wearing them from here on out, even under your school uniform. You're even gonna bathe with them on," he explained. At the last part, Shinji's eyes bugged out.

"But why in the bath too? Wouldn't the water just make them heavier?"

"Exactly. If you can get used to the added weight, it will only help you. We need to build up your strength and endurance a little bit before teaching you anything beyond basic katas and the like…"

Shinji sighed. He should've known it wouldn't be that easy. But still, he couldn't argue with what Sig had told him…

Resigning to his fate, the brown-haired boy slowly changed into the training clothes, his breathing become slightly labored as his body tried to adapt to the added weight.

"Good. Now then, here's the plan. I'm gonna be teaching you some basic moves to help better your breathing and increase your strength. And here's a little warning: Every week after today, I'll be using my ki to pump up those weighted clothes an extra 20 pounds. You're body will get used to the weight over time, so we'll have to keep pushing it as hard as we can," Sig added. Shinji was stunned but nodded anyway. This training was going to be murder for sure, but Sig's logic was iron-clad. The pilot could already feel himself able to better carry his body a little bit even with his center of gravity weighed down.

"Master, may I ask a question?"

"Certainly Shinji. If you ever have a question, just ask. You don't need permission."

"I'm just wondering: Do you wear weighted training clothes too?"

Sig chuckled. "You're damn right I do. Right now, mine have got to weigh a good 500 pounds right now to help me warm up." Shinji was blown away by the response. 500 pounds for a warm up! What on earth was this guy?

Smiling, Sig patted Shinji on the back. "Okay, let's get started. First, I want you to run 5 times around the edge of the park. After that, we'll do some stretches and then, finally, I'll teach you some more about my fighting style."

Shinji groaned inwardly. This wasn't gonna end well…

(Two hours later)
Shinji collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. He had never been worked so hard in his entire life! While running and doing his stretches, he had felt that at any moment, his heart would give out. The boy's body screamed desperately for him to quit, but his mind was made up. If Sig's brutal training regimen would help him become a stronger person, then he wasn't about to give up and disappoint his master.

Sig dropped to the ground, smirking at his student. "Hurts don't it? Don't worry; after a while, you're body will get used to it. That's what we're aiming for right now. But still, I'm proud of you, Shinji. Not many would have the courage to go through that kind of punishment. My master did the same to me when I started training." Shinji glanced up. It was hard to believe that the young man in front of him had been put through this kind of punishment at an even younger age.

But if his current condition was any indication, then the method had to have some merit.

"Alright Shinji, you completed the task I gave you so now it's time I held up my end of the bargain. I need to let you know about the style I'll be teaching you." Sig's face held a deep seriousness Shinji had never seen before.

"My teacher was the greatest master alive of the twin martial arts styles known as the Black Sword and the White Shield. Individually, they are powerful in their own right, each one geared towards either offense or defense. I'm pretty sure you can guess which is which." At Shinji's nod, he continued.

"The styles, when combined into one fluid motion, are a deadly weapon in the wrong hands but a godsend in the right ones. That's the first lesson you need to learn Shinji: Power is a double-edged sword. Power itself isn't good or evil. It can bring forth either salvation or destruction, at the whim of the user. Remember that, Shinji. Always remember that."

Shinji was thunderstruck. Sig was the same age as him, but he displayed a wisdom that was obviously beyond his years. Privately, Shinji wondered just who Sig's master was.

"Shinji, you actually remind me a lot of myself when I was younger. When I was only seven years old, my parents were murdered simply for renting the wrong building. My parents owned a restaurant in the suburbs outside of Austin, where I grew up. We had bounced around Texas and a couple other states for a while, before settling down there again. Anyway, the building their restaurant was in was apparently owned by a local gang similar to your Yakuza. To make a long story short of the whole shebang, my folks couldn't meet their rent because of an economic downturn, and were killed because of it. I escaped only because the guys didn't know I had been visiting a relative in San Antonio at the time. However, when news reached us, my poor old grandfather had a heart attack and passed on. He was my last living relative in America, and so I was alone. At least…until my master took me in. Master Nakar was a great man. He taught me everything I know and raised me like his own grandson, and I'll be forever grateful to him for it, may God rest his soul. Anyway, after he died, I found out that I had some distant family living in Scotland, so the government contacted them and they came down to give me some money so I could come here and finish my education. I'm willing to bet though that they just wanted to be rid of me."

Shinji listened intently. It saddened him to realize that Sig was in reality alone like him, but it just made him all the more determined to succeed in this new endeavor. If his master could keep going even when things looked hopeless, then he would too. Remembering the promise he had made to Misato, Shinji looked up at his master as he struggled to his feet.

"Master?"

"Hmm. What is it Shinji?" he replied.

"Would you like to over for dinner someday this week? My guardian said she'd like to meet you," Shinji asked.

Sig tapped his chin, mulling the idea over in his head a few times. "Sure, I don't see why we can't do it tomorrow. I just hope Asuka has enough sense not to do or say anything stupid. But enough about us, back to training."

Shinji groaned. 'Here we go again...'

(Later that evening)
"Very impressive Shinji. You seem to have a natural talent for martial arts," Sig told Shinji as the too made their way out of the park and towards the smaller boy's apartment. He smiled shyly at the praise.

"Thanks Master. You're just a good teacher," he responded.

Sig laughed heartily. "I don't know about that. You are my first pupil after all."

Together the two walked briskly in cool, crisp night air. The city was silent, only the occasional bar hopper or homeless drunk swaggering by. Nighttime in Tokyo-3 was considered both safe and dangerous at the same time: Safe because of Nerv's presence, and yet dangerous for the very same reason. The organization was run by a lunatic after all...

Walking up the stairs was a little difficult for Shinji, who was still exhausted from the day's training and attempting to lug an extra 50 pounds of dead weight up with him at the same time. Sig had said that Shinji should always use the stairs from now on, as part of his training. Shinji knew the plan was to build his physical strength up, but it was a lot of work.

'Then again,' he thought as he trudged upwards, 'no pain, no gain.'

Upon reaching the door, Shinji turned and smiled at Sig. "Thanks for seeing me home, Master. I'm pretty sure Misato would get upset if I came home and didn't tell her what I was doing."

Sig grinned. "Sounds kinda like a mother hen if you ask me."

Shinji blushed. "Yeah a little bit, but she's more like a big sister. She's always teasing me."

With that said, the pair knocked on the door. They waited a couple seconds, only for the door to violently swing open, a beautiful but irate woman on the other side.

"Alright young man, just where have you been?!" Misato exclaimed.

Sig stood straight and looked Misato in the eyes. "Ms. Katsuragi, my name's Sigurd Morgan. I'm afraid it's my fault Shinji stayed out so late. We kinda got into a rhythm while training and lost track of time. If we did anything to worry you, please accept my humble apologies for causing you undue stress." The boy punctuated his explanation with a formal bow.

Misato was slack jawed. An American with proper Japanese manners?! Who would have thought that such a thing was possible? Smiling prettily, she bowed back.

"I accept your apology, Sigurd. I'm grateful that you thought to bring Shinji home yourself and explain things yourself. I'll admit that I was a little worried because of what I heard happened at school with Asuka. But you have certainly surprised me. So…how's Shinji's little workout coming along?" she asked.

"He's doing wonderfully, Ms. Katsuragi. Shinji isn't at a level where I can teach him the more advanced techniques, but he has a natural affinity for the basic katas and sparring techniques I've shown him so far," Sig told her, all the while smiling down at Shinji.

"In fact," he continued, "I wouldn't be surprised if he was ready for the next level of my training within several weeks. It took me years to develop the skill I have now, but with Shinji it might take only months for him to start advancing rapidly through the regimen at the pace I was."

Misato was impressed. "That's wonderful Shin-chan! See? I told you that you could do it," she exclaimed happily. "And by the way Sigurd, you can just call me Misato."

Sig smiled as Shinji blushed madly under all the praise. "Then call me Sig, Misato. Anyway, I need to head back to my apartment right now, but I'll come back tomorrow for dinner. By the way, how's Sohryu doing?"

"Asuka? Her ego's a little bruised I guess but she'll be fine. She seemed a little sluggish today though." Sig pointed to himself.

"That would've been my fault. I cut off her ki circulation to stop her attack this afternoon so she's gonna feel like a dead weight until tomorrow morning. Ki is what provides us the energy to move our muscles, so a lack of circulation is making it hard for her to move around easily."

Misato nodded in response. "Okay then, thanks for explaining that too. I'm just glad it's nothing serious. See you tomorrow," she said. She and Shinji waved as Sig made his way back down the stairs.

(Morgan apartment)
Sig sighed as he lay down on his bed. Blinking, he cast a furtive glance around his cozy little hole in the wall. A small television set sat in the corner, facing the recliner he used as a reading chair. A tall bookshelf sat against the near wall next to the apartment door, lined to the brim with mystery and historical fiction. In the kitchen, a meager number of dishes lay unattended in the sink, waiting to be washed. His closet was small and almost devoid of clothes. Sig had never been one for lots of personal belongings.

Sighing again, he heard a rustling noise outside his window. Cocking an eyebrow, he got up and casually walked upstairs to the roof of his apartment complex, where the buildings air conditioning and heating units were kept. His apartment was on the top floor, so he didn't have a long way to go. As soon as he stepped outside the door and into the night, he realized he wasn't alone. Standing at the other end of the rooftop stood a woman.

Roughly thirty years old, she had a youthful face that projected seriousness. Her eyes were a sharp, piercing green that reminded Sig of the pine trees he had seen on his travels with Master Nakar. Her forehead was high and her oval-shaped face was free of the wrinkles of age. She wore an elegant black dress that extended to just below her knees, a deep slit running down the right side. Her long auburn hair was trussed up in a bun. All in all, she gave off the look of a sexy librarian.

His trademark smirk gone, Sig walked over and offhandedly waved at the visitor. "So…what brings you here Lillian? Come to lecture me again?" he asked.

The woman shook her head. "No," she said in a soft tenor voice, "I came here with a warning."

Sig regarded the ominous sentence without as much as a batted eyelash. "About…?"

"This Shinji boy you've started training. Do you really think he's the one?"

Sig turned around. "I know it for a fact. Master told me that I'd know when I saw him, and by the forgotten gods I know that Shinji Ikari is the one I'm looking for."

"Nakar has been wrong before. He was only human after all, unlike us…" Lillian spoke with an air of superiority. Sig scowled at her.

"Human he may have been, but he was wiser than many of our kind, and you know that Lils. I trusted the man with my life and I trust his judgment."

Lillian gazed at him intelligently, as if she knew something Sig didn't. "And what if he isn't the Heir? What will you do?"

Sig smirked. "I don't have to worry about that. He is the Heir and will be the one to decide this world's fate." Lillian traced the side of the heating unit with her finger, thinking deeply.

"You do know that she will come looking for you, right?" Sig sighed. He had wanted to avoid that particular subject for now.

"I knew it was inevitable. But-" Lillian cut him off sharply.

"But nothing, Sigurd Morgan! That girl adores you, and you'd be a fool to ignore that," she rebuked him.

Sig growled. "Damn it Lils, you and her know more than anything that I'm a marked man! I was destined for that the moment I was born. I can do no more about being The Demon Master than you can for being who you are. I can't give Milly the kind of attention that she needs and deserves," he snapped.

Lillian smirked this time, only it was one of victory. "Regardless, Sigurd, Milly loves you more than anything. You are all that she has left in her mind, what with a family that abandoned her simply for being special. Personally, I doubt she could do better than you," she said.

Sig sighed. "I'll think about it. So when do you suspect she'll get here?"

"In about two months. Think long and hard on this Sigurd, because if there's anyone who deserves a chance at happiness, it's you," she finished.

The tall American smiled grimly as he turned back around. Lillian was gone, but her voice could still be faintly heard in the wind.

"We'll see who's in the right about the Heir Lils. We'll see…"

Okay everyone that does it for Chapter 2. Hope you guys are liking things so far. For those of you wondering why characters like Rei and the Nerv people haven't shown up yet don't worry. They'll be in the next chapter.

Next time on The Demon Master, Chapter 3: Paying Dividends with Interest. Shinji's training takes effect as Sig continues to push him, and the higher-ups in Nerv take notice during the Eighth Angel's attack.

Alright guys, time to buckle down on the voting block. I'll join in and toss my vote out there for Rei. As of the end of this writing, the voting stands as follows:

Rei-5

Asuka-2

Hikari-2

Misato-3

Maya-1

Mana-2

Ritsuko-2

O/C-0

Looks like our favorite blue-haired albino is currently in the lead, with Misato trailing shortly behind. A few of these votes have come in through private message, but I wanna see more reviews people! Tell me how I'm doing. I haven't decided yet when to end the voting, but I'll let you know in the chapter before I'm gonna cut it off.

Until next time then! See ya around!