TITLE – LIFE'S TOUGH
DATE STARTED – 20080627
DATE PUBLISHED - 20080807
AUTHOR – Wonga316
PRE READER – TheWickerMan
COPYRIGHT AND DISCLAIMER
I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of its characters
AUTHOR'S NOTES
This is an AU fic without Angels and EVA and some characters may appear OCC. Expect the occasionally spelling and grammar mistake, we try our best to catch them all but some do get away :p
CHAPTER 02
TOKYO 3 – IKARI FAMILY MANSION
"God… that's better…" It was a very relieved Shinji Ikari that washed his hands in the bathroom sink.
"I hope you know what you are doing Shinji," he asked his own reflection in the mirror. The boy had no idea what he had agreed to do. He was still coming to grips with the truth that he had been told. There were so many questions and doubts, but there was something unexplainable inside of him that told him to say yes.
"How hard can it be?" he shrugged it off and with it the multitude of concerns.
When he exited the bathroom, he was startled by all four of them were waiting patiently for him.
"Please follow me Shinji-sama," Fuyutsuki first spoke, "We must begin your formal training and introduction."
"Heh? Training and introduction?!" his initial shock came across as almost comical.
Yui immediately went to protect her son, "We should leave that for tomorrow. Today has already been a little too exciting."
"Is that what Shinji-sama wishes?" the old man seek confirmation from the boy.
"Ah… yeah, sure, whatever…" Not sure what was really happening he just decided to go with the flow.
"But there is someone that I want you to meet," Yui smiled and began walking back towards the meeting room.
"Someone else?" He scratched his head and hope for not anymore sudden surprises.
When they reached the meeting room, Kaworu again raced head and opened the doors for everyone. They all filed in with Shinji last to enter.
"Thanks man," He gave Kaworu a friendly slap on the back as a gesture of thanks.
"Brother, Kaworu is ranked as a lowly bodyguard. You don't have to trouble yourself by thanking him," Rei informed in.
"But it's rude not to thank someone," he replied innocently.
"You are now the head of the Ikari family. Your words and actions are law here. Thanking someone like him will only lower your stature and authority," She explained further.
"That's a bit too serious isn't it?" He was genuinely mystified by her reasoning, "I was just trying to be nice."
"Rei, try not to confuse your brother. There's plenty of time for that later," Yui interrupted. Her words held double meaning which dawned on Shinji.
"Hey! Are you making fun of me already?" He was going to continue but stopped when he saw a women kneeling and bowing behind his mother.
"Ah yes," the mother stopped making fun of her son to introduce the new person, "Shinji this is Lieutenant Misato Katsuragi. She's the current leader of the Katsuragi clan and she'll be your personal body guard from now on."
"Heh?! Lieutenant?! Clan?! Body guard?!" he sounded shocked.
"The Ikari family consists of many clans. The Katsuragi has one of the oldest ties to Ikari family," The old man explained to him, "The role of the Katsuragi clan is to act as the family's sword them force is needed and shield when danger is present."
Shinji looked at the woman who was still kneeling and bowing. She had remained silent.
"Does she speak?" he whispered to Rei.
"She will only speak when required," she answered, "Remember how I said your word is law?"
"Hmmm…" he rubbed his chin, "Did you say something before about girls not being able to be boss or something?" to everyone's surprise he had remembered something that he was told previously.
"Women are not allowed to assume the role of head of the family," his mother explained, "But they are able to hold other ranks within the family. We have many women in high ranking positions currently."
Shinji was starting to understand. He realized why his mother and sister couldn't replace his father as head.
He thought it was about time to introduce himself to his new body guard. He sat down in front of Misato and bowed like her, "Nice to meet you Misato-san. My name is Shinji."
His action caused her to look up with a confused expression. The head of the family was bowing down to lieutenant and this was never done.
"Brother! What are you doing?!" Rei half berated him much to Yui's and Fuyutsuki's amusement.
"What you mean?" asked back, "I'm just being politely like Misato-san is."
"Please stand brother!" Rei was the only one embarrassed by his action and rushed to pick him up off the floor, "You're the boss. You don't have to do these things."
"But doesn't a leader have to lead by example?" His words stopped her in her tracks. His mother and Fuyutsuki looked at each other with small smiles, "Like, it's not fair that I ask someone do something if I'm not willing do it myself."
"Brother… I…" Rei quickly realized that she was in the wrong.
"Please forgive me…" she dropped her head in shame.
"I'm not sure where I heard lead by example from. It might have been from TV or somewhere. But it sounded good…" He mused and ruined the moment he had. It caused Kaworu to start snickering.
"NAGISA!" Misato bellowed at the boy and he immediately shut up. It was the first words she had said and not the way she wanted to be introduced, "My subordinate's behavior is unacceptable. He'll be punished immediately!"
The woman slowly sat back up. She reached inside her jacket and produced her hand gun. Shinji thought she was quite an attractive woman but her pistol was distracting. Misato stood up and began walking towards Kaworu who was groveling on his knees. She pressed the tip of the gun into the back of his head.
"Whoa!" It was a little too much for the teenage boy and he quickly went to stop her. She was facing away unaware that Shinji making a mad rush towards her. Without thinking he jumped and wrapped his arms around her. Shinji expected his hands to feel the cold steel of the gun, but instead felt something quite the opposite. Both his hands felt something warm. It was soft yet firm and relatively heavy. It quickly dawned on him that he had accidentally grabbed a part of her body which he shouldn't.
"You asshole!!" proper etiquette towards the new head of the family went out the window and Misato elbowed Shinji in the side of the head. The boy was hit with so much force he flew backwards and was out cold.
AKAGI FAMILY HOUSE
In a lavish house on the other of Tokyo-3 another meeting was taking place. Shinji didn't know it but his presence in the underworld was already starting to have an effect. He was the tiny pebble thrown right into the middle of the underworld large pond. The ripples he caused were reaching far.
"Mother," A women opened the screen bamboo and rice paper screen door and bowed.
"Enter, Ritsuko," an older woman said inside the room which opened out into a traditional Japanese garden. She was quietly enjoying the peace with a cup of tea.
"They have moved. Our spies have reported that the son has entered the mansion," The blonde woman reported and entered the room.
"I see," the other woman, "I didn't think she would allow it to happen. She has always been protective of the boy. The wretched woman that she is…" The serene expression of the older woman quickly disappeared when her thought turned to Yui Ikari.
"We still don't know if he'll accept," Ritsuko said, "Should we continue as planned?"
"That would be best. It's still too early to show our hand yet. But tell our men to keep an eye on the situation with the boy. He could be the trump card we need after all," The woman dismissed her daughter and she quickly left the room.
"Oh and Ritsuko," She called out to the blonde woman, "It's good to hear you call me mother once and while."
IKARI FAMILY MANSION
The aching pain inside his head was slowly waking Shinji. He realized he wasn't alone and heard some familiar voices arguing about something.
"This is wrong," Rei whispered but still felt it hard to keep her voice down.
"It's his decision. It's now our job to support and make sure nothing happens to him," Yui replied calmly.
"I can't accept this," He heard his sister pace around, "He doesn't know what he's getting into. You saw what he did to Katsuragi?"
"Are you jealous?" his mother's question caused him to open his eyes fully. Luckily the cold compress on his forehead hid the fact that he was awake.
"He's my little brother. Jealously is the furthest thing I'm concern about," she replied, "I just don't want anything bad to happen to him…"
He heard his mother stand up but didn't see her hug his sister, "You are still young and that's why you didn't see what your brother really did. He saved Kaworu's life."
There was a silence for a moment then Yui started speaking again.
"You know that Misato doesn't hesitate. Kaworu was as good as dead if Shinji didn't intervene. His method might have been…" the mother search for an appropriate word, "…unorthodox but you should know better than anyone what your brother was trying to do."
Shinji thought it was about time to make his presence own and slowly sat up. He left the ice pack fall from his head onto his lap.
"God… My head hurts…" He complained like he had just woken up. After a quick scan at his surrounding, he found him self in some sort of infirmary. Various medical equipment lined the room which looked expensive and impressive to him.
"You gave me a little scare there," His mother was first to approach and immediately checked the bump on his head, "How do you feel?"
"I'm hungry," an audible growl was heard from Shinji's stomach. His mother smiled happily. If his stomach was working then everything was fine.
"How about I make a special lunch for the three of us?" She asked but didn't wait for his reply, "Your sister will show you around the manor."
She began walking towards the door but stopped just before leaving, "Oh and Shinji. Try to behave yourself and stay out of trouble."
"Hey what does that mean?!" He spoke a little too loud which caused his head to hurt and his mother quickly left before he defend himself.
"You can rest," Rei was still worried, "There's no need show you everything right away."
"Nah… it's just a little headache," He brushed off her concern and got out of bed, "Actually, I'd like to see Misato-san. I think I should really apologize for what happened before."
His sister looked at him and her first thought was to remind him that his new status in the family didn't warrant any apology but she knew that he would insist.
"Very well. Please follow me," She turned and made her way to the door. Shinji tossed the ice pack aside a quickly followed her out. He found himself in about long hallway much like the first one when he arrived.
"We are currently in the western wing of the mansion," Rei explained as she led the way, "This section has a dedicated medical centre which we were just in. The living quarters are located on the two floors above us for the servants and low ranking members. Kitchen, laundry and everyday amenities are also located in the western wing."
"I see…" Shinji said only half listening.
"Lieutenant Katsuragi should be in the northern section," she further explained, "The Katsuragi clan has the whole north side for themselves. They live and train there."
"Live and train?" he asked, "They train for what?"
"To put in simple terms, the Katsuragi's role in the family is the muscle. They protect the family and its interest. Prospective recruits are put through a rigorous training and selection before being accepted," Shinji had a hard time believing what his was saying but she had said things so seriously.
"Geez… You make it seem like they are in the army or something," he mulled.
"They are the family's army. If we combined all of our forces around the world we have more numbers than some medium sized countries," Her words shocked the poor boy.
"Heh?!"
But before he could ask for clarification, she had stopped outside another set of double doors. A large wooden side hung about like a martial arts dojo.
"This is one of the main training halls for the Katsuragi clan," Rei opened the door without knocking or introducing herself; "Lieutenant Katsuragi should be inside."
She walked inside leaving a confused Shinji behind, "Hey! Wait for me!"
He ran inside after her and was greeted with an unusual site. Misato and Kaworu were sitting in the middle of the empty hall. In front of them each, laid an unsheathed katana. The both of them were busy tying something high on their arms.
"What are they doing?" Shinji whispered to her older sister. He felt the tense atmosphere and wasn't sure if it was appropriate to speak aloud.
"They have shamed themselves," Rei spoke normally, "The Katsuragi clan pride themselves on honor. In order to regain that honor they will offer their left arm."
"Oh is that all… THEY'RE GOING TO DO WHAT?!" Shinji shouted loudly but it didn't stop Misato or Kaworu from tying the rubber tubing tourniquet and picking up their blades.
Shinji rushed forward and waving his arms frantically in the air, "STOP!! Are you guy's nuts?!"
His desperate behavior caused them to stop what they were doing and immediately bow.
"Ikari-sama!" they said in unison with their foreheads on the floor.
"Listen! You don't have to do this!" he said almost frantically.
"Sir! We have shamed the Ikari family, Katsuragi clan and ourselves. This is the only way we can regain the honor that we have lost," Misato spoke direct and too the point. Her mind was still set on going through her redemption.
"Geez, you guys take things so seriously…" Shinji scratched the back of his head and sat himself down in front of them. He collapsed backwards so he was looking up at the ceiling.
"But I failed my duty to protect you. That's unacceptable," Misato stood up and quickly grabbed the sword. She raised it high above her head and was ready to take her left arm clean off.
"You know for a bunch of gangsters, you guys are not very bright," His words stopped Misato in her tracks, "If you only have one arm how well are you doing to do your job? I haven't heard of any one arm body guards."
His words had Misato wavering. The katana trembled as she continued to hold it high in the air.
"Well… I guess I have no choice then!" Shinji quickly flip himself back up and was face to face with Misato. He gave her a cheeky grin. The woman flinched and didn't look him in the eye. But he didn't continue talking. Instead, he grabbed a rubber tube from the pile that lay between Misato and Kaworu.
"Brother! What are you doing?!" his sister half shouted at him as he was tying his own tourniquet around his arm.
"How the hell did you tie this thing with one hand?!" the tube frustrated him as he comically struggled with it.
"Use you mouth," Kaworu absent mindedly suggested. It earned him a death glare from Rei.
"Oh yeah, now I get," eventually he was done and held his arm out in front of Misato.
"Alright! Make it quick!" the woman looked at him confused.
"Sir… I..." she stuttered dumbfounded for any words.
"Look, it was my fault that you hit me so it's only fair that we both get the same punishment," Shinji shut his eyes and looked away. He didn't see Misato swing the sword down.
"BROTHER!!" Rei screamed like a little girl which caused him to open his eyes. On reflex he snapped his arm back. It was so close the he felt the edge of the blade shave the fine hairs on his arm. The katana was brought down with so much force that split a section of the wooden floor.
"WHAT THE HELL?! ARE YOU INSANE?!" He shouted at her while clutching his left arm close to his chest.
"So what do you think Misato?" A familiar voice came from the door way. They turned around to find Yui and Fuyutsuki standing.
"He passes," She told the two adults and untied her tourniquet. Kaworu did the same and placed the katanas safely back into their sheathes.
The mother approached her frighten and confused son, "Shinji," she gave him a reassuring pat on the head, "You didn't think that you would become boss just like that did you?"
"Heh?!" She just smiled at his bewildered expression and kissed his forehead.
"Old man!" Rei addressed the elder rather rudely, "You never mentioned that Shinji would need the approval of the Big Four!"
"Heh?!" Shinji repeated himself sounding stupid.
"I beg for your forgiveness Ikari-sama!" Kouzou gave a heartfelt apology, "Before you officially become the head of the family there are a set of criteria and conditions you must meet. One of those conditions is that four leaders of the largest clans in the Ikari family must approve of your appointment."
"Misato-san just testing you," His mother explained and helped him to his feet.
"Heh?!" he was still clutching his left arm close to his body and didn't see Misato approach.
"Just consider it pay back for earlier on," the woman said then leaned in close to give a closed kiss on his lips. But it wasn't just a quick friendly peck either which annoyed Rei.
"Boss!" Misato said to him pulling away from the kiss, "I look forward to looking after you!"
"HEH?!" he ranted confusingly with Misato's taste still on his lips.
IKARI FAMILY EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS
As lightening streaked across the dark sky, it helped cast a menacing and eerie silhouette of a tenth century castle residing in the German country side. On top of the medieval structure flags with the family crest waved in the howling wind. Windows glowed from within showing signs of life. The source of these lights came from electrical generators inside. The exterior of the castle had remained the same but the bowels of the structure had kept pace with technological advancements and modernized.
"Madam," The office clerk rushed into the office holding a sheet of paper on her hand, "It's an urgent message from Japan HQ."
She handed over the print out to the woman behind the grand old desk. After carefully reading it she dismissed the assistant and turned to the roaring fire place. For security reasons she tossed the message into the flames and watched it disappear.
"What does that bearded weirdo want now?" the wise crack came from an occupant sitting in one of the high back leather lounges. But the woman in front of the fire place didn't say anything.
"Tsk… old hag maybe you should just hand the reigns over to me," the young girl stood up from the lounge and approached when there was no reply.
"If you have time for wise cracks then you should be packing," she ignored the rude comment.
"Pack?" the girl stopped and asked, "Pack for what?"
"I hear its coming into summer in Japan so pack light and something nice," the older woman advised her daughter, "We can'thave you represent the Sohryu family in drab clothes in front of the new boss…
IKARI FAMILY MANSION
Shinji's heart beat had slowed to a rate where it wasn't life threatening but he had lost his appetite. His older sister and mother sat with him in the main dinning room. Technically, they sat with him even though the dinning table was over twenty feet long. Rei was on one end and Yui all the way down the other. He was stuck in the middle.
"Is there something wrong son?" his mother was concerned that he hadn't touched his lunch yet.
"Perhaps he prefers to have lunch with Lieutenant Katsuragi," the snide comment made him jump. He didn't dare look in his sister's direction, "Too bad that lower rank members are not allowed in this section of the manor."
"Your brother could change that rule now that he's technically in charge now," Yui decided to add a little fuel to her daughter's fire. "What do you say Shinji? Should we invite the others to have lunch with us?
Before he could reply, his mother had picked up a tiny silver bell and a maid immediately entered the room. She whispered something and the servant left just as quickly. Mere moment later, the doors opened again. The maid escorted Misato, Kaworu and Fuyutsuki to empty seats.
Rei immediately stood up and slammed her palms into the table, "What is the meaning of this?!"
"I was informed that the new master desired some company for lunch," The maid simply answered.
"Now, now," the mother went to calm her daughter, "I didn't think that you would object to having a meal with Kaworu this much. I thought that the two of you were quite close."
"Whoa, big sis?! Are you and Kaworu dating?" Shinji asked absent mindedly causing her to turn bright red and sit back down. Her bodyguard thought it would be best to clarify things for him.
"Ikari-sama," Kaworu addressed Shinji, "There is nothing indecent between myself and your sister. I'm simply her bodyguard nothing more." Unknown to everyone, his words caused a slight reaction in the older Ikari sibling.
"Oh, I see now…" he replied scratching the back of his head, "It's a shame you seem like a nice guy." Shinji light hearted comment took Kaworu back a bit and made Rei blush more.
"Your… Your kind words honor me, sir!" Kawrou said nervously and bowed politely.
"What about you boss?" Misato chimed in from across the table. She was rocking on the chair's back two legs while resting her feet on the table. Her uncouth behavior was frowned upon by the old man who let out a displeasing cough, "I'm sure you have the girls in school chasing you?"
"Hahaha…" Shinji just laughed embarrassedly.
"Is there something you haven't told me, brother?" Rei's blush quickly disappeared when Shinji became the centre of attention. He hastily waved his arms around and began blurting out nonsense.
Yui again played peace keeper, "Now Rei, Shinji's not a helpless clumsy little boy anymore."
Just as she had spoken, Shinji decided to pickup a piece of food with his chopsticks and unfortunately dropped it down the front of his shirt.
"Man…" he sighed in frustration while trying to wipe the sauce stain. Misato grinned cheekily at his misfortunate while Kaworu covered sniggers with his hand. His misconduct didn't go unnoticed by Rei. She stood up again and was going to backhanded him but stopped when Shinji spoke again.
"So what's this Big Four thing you mention before?"
Misato, Fuyutsuki and Yui all looked at each other. Yui gave a quite nod and Misato quickly moved her feet off the table as the cheerful ambiance charged to something a little more serious.
The old man began explaining for Shinji, "During the Genroku Era, there where five clans which ruled Japan from the underground. Each of these clans held a territory they controlled. For example, your fore fathers controlled central Japan and Katsuragi clan had the territories to the north. For many years, all five clans waged a bloody and long campaign for absolute power. Eventually, the Ikari clan gained the upper hand, but instead of destroying the other clans; the leader of the family at the time decided to make a truce and formed an alliance with the other four clans. When they were incorporated into the Ikari family, one of the conditions of the truce was they get an input in who becomes the head of the family,"
Kouzou explanation was a little too long for Shinji understand and most of it went straight over his head.
"Misato did what she did because she wanted to see if you were fit to be head of the family," Yui added. By reflex grabbed and held his left arm close to his chest again. She saw this and reassured him, "Don't worry she never had any really intension of hurting you."
"It would have been nice if you had advised me of your plan," Rei voiced her disapproval about being kept in the dark regarding the test.
"Dearest daughter," the mother replied bluntly, "Part of your training is learning to distinguish facts within lies. It's an important part to being a family advisor."
"Family advisor?" Shinji asked.
"Your sister is in training to become a member of the family's advisory group," Fuyutsuki answered.
"Wow," Shinji said in amazement, "How do you fit that in with boarding school?"
His sister looked sheepishly away, "Actually… I don't attend boarding school," She replied.
"Heh?!" he wondered how many more secrets were kept from him.
"Shinji," Yui called out to him, "Rei has been training here. I have not forgotten about her studies and employed personal tutors to look after her academically."
"Then how did Ken and Touji get all those details about her from before?" He scratched his chin and pondered.
"What are these details you speak of, brother?" Rei asked him.
"What?! Nothing?!" he replied quickly so as he didn't have to reveal what his bird brained friends quoted about his sister. Unfortunately, Misato had a keen ear and was listening.
"I made up those stories about your sister," She said to him with a cheeky wink.
"You did?! Why?" he exclaimed.
"The physical protection of the Ikari family is not my only responsibility," The woman explained, "The family's intellectual and monetary protection is just as important. This includes our reputation."
"I see… but did you make up my sister's three figures?" As soon as he had said it, he instantly regretted it.
"Care to repeat that brother?" Rei asked with a voice straining to stay calm. He looked over at his mother for help but she was busy enjoying her tea to get involved.
"Oho?" Misato said teasingly, "So my intelligence network is working? You must have been paying attention to remember this much?"
"Ahem," An interrupting cough from Fuyutsuki saved Shinji digging his grave deeper. The old man quietly stood up from the table, "Excuse me Ikari-sama, I have some matter which require my attention."
"Oh! Thanks for coming to lunch!" He stood comically and sounded like an idiot but it was the first thing that came into his head.
The old man smiled at him, "The pleasure was all mine."
He bowed politely and went to leave. Shinji tried to say something but it seemed too late. The old man saw this and knew what was on his mind, "Lieutenant Katsuragi will handle the search for you father."
"Don't worry boss," Misato said reassuringly yet nonchalant, "I have three teams working on it around the clock. I'm afraid that's all I can spare at the moment until you are officially accepted."
"I see. Thanks Misato-san," he felt better after her words.
"Fuyutsuki is going to be a busy for the rest of the afternoon," His mother explained, "The other clan leaders will be arriving in the next couple of days for a meeting."
"So these other leaders, who are they?"
OLD TOKYO – SHIBUYA GAMBLING DISTRICT
The bright neon light of the various bars, gambling parlors and brothels disguised as restaurants lit the strip like it always did. The fantastic and bright colors were a fake façade that offered only a thin cover for the true grim and grit of the district. Prostitutes hung around the streets like they were the decorations for the techno colored tree of the strip. Their blatant disregard to the laws was for everyone to see. The stand over men weren't far from their property and offered an interesting contrast to the landscape.
Two men walked through the middle of the street. They ignored the lures of the women and annoying peddlers trying to coax them into visiting their establishment. The pair walked with purpose towards the largest pachinko parlor. They shoved patrons that were in their way not caring who or what they were doing.
When they reached the back of the parlor, the attendant behind the counter pressed a button that unlocked the heavy steal door. The heavy set man in front of the door stepped out of the way and allowed them through.
Behind the heavy door was the back room where workers busily counted money. Money counting machines were working over time. The noise rivaled the steal balls of the pachinko machine outsides. The spare charge and cash notes appeared to be endless. Just as they would finish a trolley another one would be ready and waiting to be counted.
"You're late," Someone said through the noise and only of the men felt the cold muzzle of a shotgun pressed against his cheek.
"Give me break," the man slapped the weapon away from his face, "Some were being difficult. They needed some persuading."
"Get a bit of a work out, did ya?" Shotgun man whistled impressively as he spotted the swollen and bleeding knuckles on the visitors, "The boss is in her office."
He waved them through and the pair continued. They reached another door and knocked.
"Enter," A young women called out from inside.
After entering, there was a desk in the middle of the room, bundle of cash were stack so high that they formed a wall. The wall of money hid the occupant well.
They bow politely and placed the suitcase they were carrying on her desk. He was careful not to tip over any of the towers of money.
"You're late," the female voice repeated what the shotgun guard had said. Instantly the two courier men began to sweat. Luckily, the phone rang, "You're done. Get out now."
They immediately complied, leaving the mystery woman to answer the phone call.
"Kirishima," She said with some authority into the receiver.
"Now this is unusual, I can't remember the last time when an Akagi family member contacted me directly," She replied.
"Yeah, I have heard the rumors. They say he's just some brat. I'm expecting a call from the old man soon." There was a moment of silence as Kirishima listen.
"That's an interesting proposition," She answered like a shrew business woman, "What would be in it for me? What you are proposing has a huge risk attached. It has to be worth my while."
"Now that's quite attractive. I believe that there's something that might interest me. But understand this doesn't make us friends. Try to cross me and I'll finish what you started," she laid down the law, "It also means that you can't call me Mana… Ritsuko…"
END OF CHAP
