Standard Disclaimer: "Neon Genesis Evangelion" and "Bio-booster Armor Guyver" are the creative property of Hideaki Anno and Yoshiki Takaya respectively. No poseo nada!

Other Standard Disclaimer: This fanfic is rated PG-13 (or T) for violence, swearing, and mild sexual references.

Introductory Author's Note: I'm still looking for anyone who would like to pre-read future chapters of "Out of Control", or any other fics my warped mind comes up with, so let me know if you're interested!

READER ALERT: For all those who waited patiently for me to update, I've got a little gift for ya! (see Author's Notes below, past the Omake)

KEY
"spoken"
'thoughts'

Out of Control
A Neon Genesis Evangelion/
Bio-booster Armor Guyver Fusion
By: Mares Guyver

Chapter 3: Guardian Angel

The sliding doors to Tokyo-3 Hospital barely had time to swish open as Misato Katsuragi thundered into the area, arms swinging furiously in her crimson NERV jacket. A deep frown stained her normally pleasant features as she glanced right and left along the rows of the waiting area. Russet eyes narrowed as they spied and centered on their target, and with a hit of an internal switch the Captain's form took off once again. Her prey: a small brown-haired boy sitting all by himself, head bowed, clothes damp and sticky with a sickly-sweet smell.

The heavy footfalls of the purple-haired wonder alerted the boy to her presence, and just before she reached him Shinji looked up, red-eyed from the tears that still burned his cheeks. Seeing the Third Child's state of misery, the NERV Tactical Operations Director paused, her anger giving way to instincts more basic from within. Eyes never leaving the boy, Misato lowered herself into the seat next to his, lightly wrapping one long arm around his shoulders in a tentative show of compassion. Silence reigned between the two for several minutes, but then Shinji's choked and wavering voice finally emerged.

"Thirty cases of broken bones . . . one-hundred and fifty-two different lacerations . . . seventy-nine second-degree burns . . . concussions, internal injuries, twelve people slipping in and out of comas . . . and one little girl who may never walk again." The child's body spasmed as fresh sobs erupted from his mouth, and he leaned over to cover his face with his hands, "It's all my fault, Misato-san! I-I tried to help them, but it didn't do any good! It's all my fault!"

Misato's eyes widened and she drew in a sharp burst of air as she took in the boy's guilt-ridden cries. Listening to the screaming of her own heart, the older woman flung her arms around him, bringing Shinji's head into her shoulder as he continued to sob. Taking a cue from similar experiences as a child, Misato rubbed one hand in swirling motions on Shinji's sticky back while murmuring nonsense words to his ear. A few minutes after the boy relaxed in her embrace, Misato released him, holding him out by the shoulders so that she could look straight into his watery blue eyes.

"Now you listen to me, Shinji-kun . . . none of this is your fault." Shaking her head to cut off Shinji's self-recriminations, Misato continued, "These people were . . . foolish, and came out of the shelter before they were given the 'all-clear'. Nothing you did could have prevented their decision, and nothing you did could have stopped them from getting hurt afterwards."

Shinji's mouth quivered like the plucked string of his cello, "B-b-but I caused the damage in the first place! If I had piloted EVA better, there wouldn't have been wreckage around to injure people!"

Misato's face softened into a wan smile, "Shinji-kun, you said it yourself—you've never piloted an EVA before, never had any experience before today. And in the space of an hour you were thrown into a dangerous situation completely new and foreign to you, without any previous knowledge or time to prepare . . ." the mauve-haired beauty grinned, "And despite all that, you still beat the Angel, single-handedly! With the highest synch ratio we've seen to boot!" Shinji's head lowered so that his bangs obscured his eyes, and when he spoke again, it was in a quiet voice that uncannily mirrored that of his fellow EVA pilot.

"I don't even know how I did it . . . all I remember is that thing pounding me with that beam thing, then . . . nothing. I remember dreaming about being in someone's arms, but then I woke up . . . and I was standing on the edge of a huge crater, and couldn't recall how it was made." Misato frowned slightly.

"Yeah, Shinji-kun . . . about that . . ." Before she could continue though, an older, balding man in a white lab coat walked up to the couple. Looking between the two, the man's eyes eventually settled on Shinji, and the two NERV employees separated as the older gentleman cleared his throat.

"Shinji Ikari?" At the boy's nod, the man continued, "I'm Doctor Hamura—I worked on the little girl you came here with." Shinji gulped, and after a pause he spoke up.

"H-how is she?" The medical man smiled to ease the child's nervousness before speaking.

"She's doing much better, son. Though most of the bones in her legs were shattered, she got here quick enough that we were able to save both of them. A little longer, some more blood loss, or further injury, and we might have been forced to amputate." Noting the boy's relieved sigh, Doctor Hamura chuckled inside but kept a straight face, "Don't misunderstand, Ikari-san, little Mari Suzuhara isn't completely out of the woods. She still lost a lot of blood, and the degree of injury to her legs is going to take months to heal properly. With physical therapy, it might be nearly a year before she walks freely again . . ."

Finally, the doctor's face settled into a gentle smile, and he put one hand on the younger man's shoulder, "But she will walk again, and from what I hear, her injuries would have been a great deal more critical if you hadn't dug her out of that pile of rubble." Blushing at the sudden praise, Shinji bowed his head momentarily, but then looked up again with a slightly pleading expression.

"Can I . . . that is, ma-may I see her, Hamura-sensei?" The balding man nodded, and pointed to a long hallway behind him.

"She's in recovery now, so I don't see why not. Her brother's already in the room actually, and I think some company will do the girl good when she wakes up. Room 132 . . . ask a nurse if you get lost." Shinji thanked the doctor, then glanced over at Misato, who smiled and nodded to the boy's unspoken question. Standing slowly, shoulders stooped, Shinji shuffled wearily down the corridor, glancing behind him one final time before disappearing around a corner. The two adults watched the gloomy child go, and after a moment Doctor Hamura glanced over at the purple-haired beauty beside him.

"Are you that young man's mother, by any chance?" Misato's left eyebrow twitched, and her head swiveled around slowly to glare at the now terrified medical professional.

Letting one hand hover over her very visible pistol holster, Misato spoke with an eerie amount of calm, "Do I look like I'm old enough to be his mother, Hamura-sensei?" Her clenched teeth glared dangerously in the phosphorescent light, and Doctor Hamura raised his arms to protect his face from any incoming bullets.

"Not at all! Not in the slightest, teensiest, tiniest little bit! Why, you could easily pass for his young aunt! Er . . . slightly older sister! Girlfriend even!" The doctor then curled into a ball, arms covering his head protectively, "Please don't hurt me . . ."

Grinning like a banshee, Misato stood and patted the doctor's shoulder, "That's what I thought . . ." Helping the lab-coated man to his feet, the NERV captain continued, "I'm Shinji's comman . . . er, I work for his father, yeah." Misato laughed nervously and held one hand behind her head, hoping the doctor wouldn't notice her faux pas.

Nodding and straightening his muddled clothing, the doctor replied, "Ah, I see . . ." Misato let out a hidden sigh of relief as the doctor continued, "Well, that boy's father should be very proud of him. A lot of the other patients here told me how they woke up to find themselves clear of the rubble that had been covering them and being cared for by Ikari-san. I'm not sure how he did it, but he managed to get nearly 70 people free and out into the open by the time emergency personnel arrived on scene. Thankfully we've had no casualties, but I imagine we would have had that boy not been there—the building collapsed completely shortly after the last person was pulled to safety, despite that giant robot holding it up." Chuckling, the doctor glanced over at Misato, "I tell you, it's a crazy world we live in, my dear." Nodding once, the doctor turned and walked back to the reception desk, Misato's eyes lingering on his back.

"Yeah, crazy world . . ." Slowly, Misato's earthly brown eyes turned back to the hallway that Shinji had vanished into. A proud smile worked itself onto her face, and Misato's long purple tresses swayed as she shook her head in wonder, 'Shinji-kun, you've been here less than a day, and you still cease to amaze me'


'128 . . . 130 . . . 132 . . . 134 . . .' Shinji paused as his mind registered that last number, alerting him to the fact that he had reached his destination. Retracing his steps, the boy turned and faced the robin egg's blue door, extending one hand towards the opening mechanism but then slowly letting it fall back to his side. For several minutes Shinji just stared at the three black numerals emblazed beneath the entry's small window. Through the thin sheet of glass, he could vaguely make out a small white room, turned a glimmering gold by rays of harsh sunlight from a nearby window. Bowing his head, Shinji repeated his well-worn mantra of "I mustn't run away" before stepping forward and placing his palm on the control panel.

Opening with only the faintest woosh, the door slid aside and the room just beyond stood revealed. It contained two large beds, but only one, the one nearest the window on the opposite wall, was occupied. Wrapped securely in a thin, off-white blanket, the small form of a young black-haired girl slowly breathed in and out—her breaths aided by the oxygen mask hugging most of her face. Though Shinji nearly chocked at the sight of the long, cylindrical bulges where her legs were, the boy was gladdened that the girl seemed to be sleeping peacefully—no doubt aided by the multiple IV lines running into her thin arms.

A harsh scraping sound drew Shinji away from his observations, and turning he finally noticed the room's other occupant, standing up from a metal chair beside the girl's bed. The boy looked to be about his age, but much taller and wearing a black and white-striped track suit. The other boy raised an arm and scratched his short-cropped black hair, looking down at the girl, then back at Shinji with a befuddled expression on his lightly tanned face. Shinji opened his mouth to speak but the other boy quickly shook his head, raising one finger to his lips and nodding towards the other, vacant side of the room.

Following the taller boy over, Shinji stooped over slightly and murmured, "S-sorry . . ."

The other boy smiled and lightly clapped a hand on Shinji's shoulder before speaking in a hushed voice, "Don't worry about it, kid—just don't want my sis wakin' up too soon, ya know?" At Shinji's nod, the black-haired teen stepped back and leaned against the wall, folding his arms over his chest, "So, you lost or somethin'? Tryin' to find somebody?" Sniffing the air once, the other boy face scrunched his face and waved one hand in front of his nose, "Or maybe a shower? I think there's one down the hall . . ."

Shinji shook his head, "No . . . I'm kinda here, umm . . . to see her, actually . . ." he looked back over his shoulder at the small breathing form before continuing, "I . . . brought her in, and I . . . just wanted to see . . . if she was okay." The young EVA pilot turned back to his companion, and was surprised to see the larger boy hunched over, his body shaking slightly.

Looking up, the other boy gazed at Shinji with wavering, faded brown eyes, "You . . . brought Mari here? Then you're the one . . . the doctors said you got her out just before . . . ah, geez . . ." Without warning the track-suited teen stepped forward and bear hugged the air out of Shinji's lungs. After a moment, the taller boy stepped away, scratching the back of his head embarrassedly with a sheepish grin on his face, "Sorry kid, I guess . . . I'm just not sure what to say! My sis . . . she's all of my Ma that me and Pops have left and . . ." The boy's voice trailed off with confusion as Shinji's expression saddened, his head bowing with shame.

"Y-you shouldn't be thanking me . . . it-it's my fault your sister got hurt in the first place." Looking up at the other boy's wide-eyed bewilderment, Shinji slowly turned around and looked out the window. The other boy followed the brown-haired child's gaze out into the middle of Tokyo-3, and the massive purple beast that had just started to lower into the ground. The tanned teen's eyes flashed with both surprise and a hint of rage, and it was gritted teeth that he faced Shinji when the young Ikari turned back around.

"The robot! What's that got to do with anythin'?" Mystified, the tall boy watched as his brown haired companion sighed, turned again, and drew the privacy screen to separate the two from the still sleeping injured girl. Back still to the track-suited teen, Shinji finally spoke in a voice barely beyond a whisper.

"I'm its pilot . . ." Shinji turned around to look at his now red-faced companion, his own face dead and devoid of emotion, "I'm the one who fought the monster today, I'm the one that caused all the damage to the city, and I'm the one who's responsible for the collapsed building that nearly killed your little sister."

Shinji was unsurprised when the tanned teen stepped forward again. But this time, instead of hugging the shorter child, the track-suited boy wrapped one fist around the EVA pilot's white shirt, drawing the other behind the back of his head. Eyes narrowed, teeth barred in a feral snarl, the other boy was just about to let loose when a soft, delicate voice cut through the crimson haze of his fury.

"Tou . . . ji? Tou . . . ji-nii . . . san?"

The black-haired boy's fist stopped halfway in its arc, and his eyes widened slightly in surprise. For a moment, he looked between Shinji and the privacy screen, but finally released the smaller child and moved forward. Shooting Shinji a glare that screamed, "To be continued," the teen now known as Touji reached past the EVA pilot and drew the screen back, revealing the barely awake form of Mari Suzuhara.

Kneeling by the bed, the track-suited boy carefully took one of the girl's small hands in both of his own. Feeling the light pressure, the raven-haired girl rotated her head around, lids half-shut with exhaustion. Seconds passed as the bother and sister just looked at one another, but in a quiet voice Touji finally said, "Hey squirt, how're you doin'?"

The girl smiled weakly, and in a broken voice replied, "Baka . . . I'm hurt."

The older boy chuckled, "Yeah, yeah, I know . . ." With a light smile, Touji began brushing his sister's long stray locks with one rough hand, "I'll bet you can still kick my ass anytime you want though."

Mari grinned beneath her translucent air mask, "Of course. Have to . . . keep you . . . in line . . ." Her grin fading, the ten-year old closed her eyes and slowly rotated her head back to face the ceiling. Keeping her eyes shut, she asked, "Onii-san? How . . . bad . . .?"

Touji let out a small sigh, and glowered briefly at the cowering boy behind him before continuing, "You . . . busted up your legs pretty good. The docs say that . . . that it'll be a few months before the casts can come off, and even longer before you walk again."

Silence reigned as the little girl took in her older brother's words. After a moment tears silently began trailing down her pale cheeks, and the older Suzuhara leaned over to hug the younger, only pausing when he finally noticed the girl's brilliant smile, obscured by her face's foggy plastic covering.

Still facing the ceiling, Mari fully opened her glittering eyes, revealing their stunning violet coloration. Letting out a content breath, she finally spoke, "I'm glad . . . so glad."

Touji and Shinji simultaneously cocked their heads, though it was Touji who eventually asked their shared question, "You're . . . glad?" The ebony-haired child nodded, and when she spoke again her voice seemed stronger, more sure.

"It could have been worse . . . I-I almost died." Mari turned to look at her brother again, and though she was still smiling, her quivering orbs revealed the full gamut of emotions raging within, "I was scared, Onii-san, so scared . . . bu-but I was happy too. I was happy . . . that I was going to finally meet Mama."

The track-suited boy slumped slightly as his own eyes began wavering, "Mari-chan . . ."

Still smiling, the little girl turned back to face the ceiling, raising her free hand so that it covered her heart, "But then . . . it got real quiet. I felt myself . . . being lifted up . . . and when I opened my eyes, I saw him—holding up the ceiling . . . with one arm, and my body . . . with the other—a Shugotenshi." Mari closed her eyes, the smile on her face increasing as she remembered, "He was lit from behind . . . it was hard to see any details, but the Shugotenshi . . . was wearing glittery armor . . . with glowing blue eyes and a gleaming halo. Before I passed out, he looked right at me . . . and said, 'Don't worry—you'll be safe now.'"

Opening her eyes, Mari turned back to face a slack-jawed pair of teenage boys, though Shinji was still outside of her field of vision. Unbeknownst to either of the two Suzuharas, the young EVA pilot had begun sweating quite profusely, his right hand clenching harder and faster as his nervousness grew. As Shinji cursed his own carelessness, Mari continued with her dialogue, unaware of one of her listener's internal angst session.

"Oh, Onii-san, it was just like the stories Papa used to tell! A real Shugotenshi! Mama must have sent him from Heaven to protect me . . . just like Papa said she would!" Mari's enthusiasm was infectious, and despite everything Touji felt himself smiling too, though his small twitch never quite reached his eyes. For a moment, all the boy did was stroke his sister's long waves of hair, but then he finally spoke in slow, measured words.

"Sis, I don't know what it was you saw out there . . . but the guy who got you out of that building was no angel . . ." Touji's eyes narrowed slightly, "Trust me." Glancing back at the sulking boy behind him, Touji spoke in a slightly louder tone, "In fact, he's here right now—I'm sure he'd like to say a few things to you . . ." Turning back again, he met the blue-eyed child's curious gaze with a threatening glare, giving a quick head jerk towards his sister's bed.

Gulping, Shinji stepped forward to the foot of the bed, strategically placing himself just outside of the other boy's arm reach. Sensing the sudden movement, Mari tilted her head to gaze at the short brown-head, her eyes flickering with both curiosity and slight confusion. Once again there was silence as the three children just stared at one another, but after another glare from the track-suited boy, Shinji quickly bowed low and respectfully, much to the younger Suzahara's bemusement.

Straightening back up, Shinji said, "I-I-I'm Shinji Ikari. I'm g-g-glad to see that yo-you're okay, Su-Suzu-Suzuhara-san." In the bed in front of him, the nine-year old's dark eyes widened.

'That voice . . . Shugotenshi-sama! Oh my . . I never would have guessed . . .' Inwardly reeling at the revelation, Mari fixed a pleasant smile on her face, hoping to ease the new boy's nervousness, "So . . . you're the one . . . who got me out?"

The EVA pilot nodded furiously, "Y-yeah . . . you were jus-just lying there, bleeding, and . . ." Overcome with shame, Shinji broke off and bowed his head, unable to look the bedridden girl in the face. Mari's expression softened, and feebly she pushed herself up on her pillows so that she could better see the angsty child across from her.

Closing her eyes, Mari bowed her own head and smiled, "I owe you my life then, Ikari-san . . . you were very brave to come rescue me. Thank you." Shinji started shaking, fresh sobs threatening to spill out in the wake of the girl's praise.

"Y-y-you shouldn't . . . I-I'm not . . ." Shinji stuttered.

"You shouldn't be saying such things to this kid, Mari," Touji cut in, "If it wasn't for him, you wouldn't be here in the first place!" Turning around, he shot a withering look towards the shorter boy, "He's that stupid robot's pilot . . ." His sister's eyes bulged out in shock, and she quickly looked back at Shinji, her expression strangely unreadable.

"Ikari-san . . . is that true?" At Shinji's slow nod, Mari grinned, much to her brother's astonishment, "Then you're even braver than I thought . . ." The brown-haired boy's head shot up, and simultaneously both he and Touji tried to deny Mari's claim in their own unique ways.

"You do-don't understand . . . it-it's not like that . . ."

"Sis, this guy is no good! He destroyed half the city with his little joyride, and he's responsible for you gettin' hurt! How're you gonna be a babe if you've got scars on your legs! You're being so . . ."

While both boys tried to plead their individual cases, the petite raven-haired girl between them just leaned back against her pillows and sighed. After several deep breaths, she lifted the air mask off her face and took an experimental taste of the antiseptic air around her. Satisfied, Mari folded her hands on her lap and observed the interaction between the room's other two occupants. Touji was livid, spitting multiple accusations and swaping pleading looks at her for furious glances at Shinji. The brown-haired EVA pilot, on the other hand, was trembling slightly, either out of fright, nervousness, or both, and quietly rebuffing the kind words put towards him. When Shinji flinched at a sudden motion by Touji, Mari's eyes narrowed, and with as much strength as she could she cleared her throat.

"Touji Suzuhara . . ." Both boys stopped their tirades as the seemingly frail girl before them sharply proclaimed her brother's full name. Turning to the track-suited teen, Mari's eyes seemed to glow from the intensity of the emotions held within, "Did you hurt Ikari-san . . . ?"

Frozen by the chill of his little sister's glare, Touji struggled to issue a reply, "I, uh, well no, but . . ."

Mari's eyes narrowed to mere slits, and the temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees.

"But you were going to," finished the dark-haired girl. At Touji's slow nod, Mari closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly, "I see . . ." Coughing once into her hand, Mari turned away from her brother and looked out the window, "Onii-san, my throat's a little dry . . . could you please ask the nurse if I can have some water?"

Blinking, Touji slowly nodded and stood up. Glaring one last time at Shinji, he walked to the door, glanced back briefly at his sister, then exited. As soon as the woosh from the closing door faded, Mari seemed to deflate, slumping down deeper into her pillows. Turning to Shinji with a tired smile, she raised one arm towards the recently vacated chair next to her.

"Please, Ikari-sama . . . come sit by me," she breathed. Shinji blinked at the girl's sudden choice of honorific, but after a pause shuffled over and sat down in the already cool steel chair.

Looking at the EVA pilot with a gentle smile, the ebony-haired girl began, "Please forgive . . . my idiot brother. He's a good guy . . . but usually forgets to use his head." Shinji chuckled at the comment, but quickly sobered up and bowed his head.

"He-he's right though . . . you shouldn't say such nice things to me. I-I'm not a good person—all I do is cause pain . . ." Mari frowned slightly at this statement, and with a display of boldness uncommon for her age, grabbed one of the older boy's hands with her own. Her move got the desired reaction, as Shinji's cobalt orbs looked up to meet her deep lilac ones.

"Ikari-sama . . . why do you say such things? You must have been . . . very brave, to pilot that mecha. And without any help . . . you beat that monster, and saved the city . . . then came back, even though you didn't have to . . . and saved me. Why . . . ?" Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes as Mari glimpsed through the windows of Shinji's soul, and after a moment the boy looked away, unable to bear the girl's penetrating stare.

"I di-didn't pilot for any noble reason . . . I piloted because I was told to, and . . . because I wanted others to praise me . . ." Shinji replied, closing his eyes as he thought, 'Especially him . . .'

Mari smiled and softly shook her head, "Ikari-sama . . . that may be what you think, but I know otherwise . . ." the girl paused until the brown-haired boy was again facing her, "I saw you battle the monster . . . you gave it everything you had, and you never gave up until all was done. That . . . that's not what someone does when they simply were 'told to' . . ." Mari lightly squeezed Shinji's hand as he began to protest, and as the blushing boy quieted down, she continued, "And after it was all over . . . you came back and helped injured people like me, when you could've just walked away."

Filled with shame, the young pilot bowed his head again, "I-I just wanted to help . . . I c-couldn't just leave people, but . . . even then . . ."

"Even then, people like me got hurt," Mari finished, and she smiled as Shinji slowly nodded, "You feel guilt . . . but that also shows you're a good person. A bad one . . . wouldn't have come back, or felt remorse, or . . . anything."

Shinji slouched deeper into his chair as the raven-haired girl's words sunk in. His mouth flopped open and closed, but no words came out—his mind was too preoccupied. 'I want to believe her . . . but how can I! I'm a cheat, a liar, a thief, a despicable person—I have to be! No-one cares for me, and they never will because I don't deserve it! Everything bad that happens results from me being so horrible . . .' The boy's thoughts screeched to a halt as he felt a small hand brush his cheek, and with wide eyes he looked down as the lightly blushing girl in bed.

"I also know . . . something else, Ikari-sama . . . I know that somewhere inside you . . . is a Shugotenshi." The young girl shook her head to halt Shinji's protests, then continued, "I know what I saw in the building, Ikari-sama . . . I can remember every detail—I'm funny like that." Closing her eyes, Mari tilted away until she faced the ceiling, "Maybe you don't want anyone to know . . . or maybe you don't know it yourself, but I know . . . and I'm glad," opening her eyes, Mari glanced over at Shinji with a smile, "I'm glad that we have a Shugotenshi protecting us."

The young girl suddenly yawned, and as if by instinct, Shinji stood and pulled Mari's blanket back over her nightgowned body. Her dark eyes twinkled with gratitude as she gave the boy a sheepish grin.

"Guess I . . . wore myself out," Mari muttered as her expression lost a little of its cheer, "Will you come visit me, Ikari-sama . . . pretty please?" Shinji couldn't help but smile a little at the little girl finally peeking out through the mask of maturity.

"I-I will, but please, call me Shinji . . . Ikari makes me sound, sound like my father," the boy finished with a slight pained expression. The raven-haired child giggled.

"Okay, Shinji-sama, but you have to . . . use my name too . . ." Mari breathed.

Shinji gulped, but eventually nodded his head, "O-okay, Mari-san . . ."

'Oh well . . . it's a start . . .' thought the ten-year old as exhaustion began to claim her. "Good night . . . Shinji-sama . . ." she murmured as her consciousness drifted away. 'Watashi no Shugotenshi.'

For several minutes, the EVA pilot simply stood and watched the slow rise and fall of the girl's blankets as she slept. Eventually, he bowed his head and turned to exit, bits of the brief but engaging conversation still running around his head. 'I'd like to believe you, Mari-san, I really would . . .' Shinji's eyes narrowed, 'But what I have inside me is no "Shugotenshi" . . . no, it's something just as horrible as that "Angel" I fought . . .'

Exiting the hospital room, Shinji was so wrapped in self-condemnation that he leapt nearly a foot off the ground when a familiar gruff voice said, "So, you gonna keep your promise?"

Picking himself off the floor, Shinji turned and found the track-suited Suzuhara leaning against the wall outside of his sister's room. Sweating under the heat of the larger boy's gaze, Shinji's mouth blubbered like a fish caught on a hook. Seconds passed, and Touji finally turned to look into his sister's room.

"She really seems to like you, and after what she said, I can understand why—what she said about you, how you came back and all, made good sense," the teen chuckled, "What she says usually does . . ." Turning around, Touji looked at his fellow male with a serious expression, though a hint of something else gleamed in his eyes, "If you broke your promise, it would break her heart . . . and she's already got lots to deal with."

Shinji shook his head, saying with a bit of firmness, "N-no, I made a promise, and I'll keep it . . ." The boy smiled weakly, "Mari . . . your sister, is a nice person." Touji smiled proudly, and looked back at the sleeping girl through her window.

"Yeah, she is . . . since Ma passed on, she's had to be a sister, a daughter, and a mother—me and Pops can hardly keep up with her sometimes . . ." Touji turned and looked at Shinji remorsefully, "Look . . . I'm sorry about what I said earlier. Mari-chan was right about you being a good guy, but I didn't want to believe it. I . . . I guess I was just jealous . . . and mad that I couldn't protect her or save her, and you did both." Holding out his hand, the taller boy grinned, "Let's start over, you and I . . . Touji Suzuhara, call me Touji."

Smiling nervously, Shinji reached up and shook the other boy's hand, wincing as he felt a few fingers bend unnaturally, "Sh-Shinji Ikari. You can call me Shinji." The tall boy laughed and pounded the nervous EVA pilot on the back good-naturedly, nearly dropping poor Shinji to the floor. Through some unspoken form of communication, the two began walking back down the hall towards the waiting area.

As they walked, Touji glanced over at his new brown-haired comrade, "So I've got to ask you, man . . . what's piloting that thing like?" Shinji looked up with a confuzzled expression, but then his eyes cleared with realization.

"EVA? Well, it's . . . different. I guess you could describe it . . ."

"As 'Classified' . . ." a firm voice interjected. Startled, both boys looked up from their banter to see the imposing form of NERV Tactical Operations Director Captain Misato Katsuragi smirking evilly at them by the exit doors. After a pause, the brown-eyed beauty lazily ambled over to the two boys, putting extra emphasis into the rolling motion of her hips and bounce of her . . . necklace.

Cackling internally at Shinji's burning impression of a tomato and his friend's open-mouthed drooling, Misato stopped a few paces away and tucked her arms safely under her chest, squeezing them tight to highlight her . . . exasperation, "Shinji-kun, I'm sorry but we have to get back to NERV for a debrief and checkup. I'll be waiting outside while you tell your friend goodbye." Turning to Touji, she leaned over slightly to put one hand on his shoulder, allowing the teen a generous peek of her peaks, "I would suggest that you forget anything that Shinji here may have told you about piloting, especially the fact that he is a pilot. I'd really appreciate that." Winking once, the purple-haired wonder twirled around and strutted back to the exit, her form once again doing a hormone-inducing dance to any testosterone-laden male within range.

For a moment both boys just gaped at the swinging doors, one with embarrassment and slight disgust, the other with awe and more primal emotions. Finally the silence was broken by three short words, "Who. Was. THAT!"

Coming to his senses, Shinji looked up at the boy beside him, whose gaze was still fixed on the path the mauve-haired goddess had taken. Scratching his head, Shinji looked at the ground sheepishly, "She, well . . . Misato-san's kinda, my boss." A moment later the EVA pilot found himself pressed against a wall with his new friend's tanned face only millimeters from his own.

"You mean . . . you work for that personification of perfection? You get to see her everyday?" At Shinji's nod, a stream of tears began running down Touji's face as his mind began dissecting the details of his new fixation. 'Those lips, those eyes, that hair, those gignormous . . .' The track suited boy quickly came back to reality as Shinji began rapidly snapping his fingers in front of the taller boy's face.

Releasing Shinji and stepping back, Touji scratched his head and laughed nervously, "Heh, guess I lost it for a second there . . ." Shinji raised an eyebrow as if to say, "You think?" and Touji shook his head, "Man, Kensuke would be having kittens if he knew about this—a mecha pilot and works for a hot boss too!"

At Shinji's panicked look, Touji grinned and said, "Don't worry though, kid, I'll keep your secret—it's the least I can do." Nodding, Shinji stepped forward and raised his hand.

"I-I guess I have to go . . ." he said with no small amount of sadness. Touji gave a friendly smile and shook the other boy's hand.

"Yeah, I guess so . . . but if you ever want to hang around or somethin', feel free to look me up." Shinji looked up surprise, then bowed his head again as old shame seeped in. Noticing the change in his friend's demeanor, Touji said, "Still feelin' guilty about everythin'?" Shaking his own head in response to Shinji's nod, Touji continued, "Well, if you really feel that bad, then visit my sis every week like you said, and pilot that robot thing the best you can—then I'll forgive you."

Shinji nodded once, smiled weakly, then turned to walk out the exit to the hospital lobby. Just before he reached the doors though, he paused, and glanced back at the track-suited teen behind him, "I've been wondering . . . how did you know to stay and listen to what your sister had to say?"

Touji shook his head, then replied, "One: I'm not as dumb as the squirt thinks I am . . ." his smile turned to a sheepish grin, "And Two: The nurse was coming out of the room next door when I left." Both boys laughed with shared amusement, gave their farewells one last time, then turned and walked their separate ways. In the end, both were glad to have met the other, and hopeful that one day they would meet again.

END CHAPTER THREE

TRANSLATION GUIDE
Onii-san: Older brother.
Baka: Idiot.
Shugotenshi: Guardian angel.
Watashi no Shugotenshi: "My guardian angel."
-san: Equivalent to Mr./Ms./Mrs.; used when formally addressing an individual, and almost always when a subordinate addresses a superior or elder person.
-kun: Used in causal/friendly relationships, typically with males, and most often as a sign of light affection from a superior to a subordinate. Also used between people of the same age who share friendly relations.
-sensei: As an honorific, used to refer to teachers, doctors, or any sort of professional or expert.
-chan: Similar to -kun when used between individuals who share a casual relationship, and typically used with females. Can also be used to express deep affection between two individuals, where the word becomes the equivalent to "Darling".
-sama: Reserved for individuals of extremely high rank or nobility (like royalty, or world leaders), but also can be used to display an extremely high level of respect/affection.

OMAKE!

AN: This was the original beginning to this chapter that I wrote—showing Shinji's actions immediately after Chapter 1 from Mari Suzuhara's POV. However, as I was writing this chapter I realized that Mari was repeating most of the important details from this scene in the conversation with her brother and Shinji. Since I liked the way this was presented in the hospital scene better, I decided to just cut this first scene entirely since the repetition seemed unnecessary.

Mari Suzuhara was having a bad day.

It hadn't started out bad. Today was her fourth-year elementary class's long-anticipated field trip to downtown Tokyo-3, and much of the morning had been spent enjoying the technological wonders of the oft-called "fortress-city". In hindsight, it was almost funny how quickly things suddenly took a turn for the worse.

Almost funny, stress on that "almost".

The change came shortly after the class's lunch break, when the public address system calmly announced a state of emergency, and that citizens should evacuate to the nearest available shelter. For several hours after the announcement, nothing happened as Mari's classmates and others in their shelter waited for the signal that the drill was over; that they could all go home. Suddenly there came a cry from the entrance—the seemingly insane proclamation of a battle between a giant monster and an equally titanic robot.

Pandemonium.

Despite her teacher's best efforts, Mari and her fellow ten-year olds were easily swept up by the flow of people rushing to confirm the bizarre decree with their own eyes and ears. Eager adults and their helpless companions poured into the open air, arriving just in time to be blinded by a gigantic crucifix of white light. A howling wind, some screams and crashing sounds, a sharp pain, and in an instant Mari's world gave way to nothingness.

Seconds, minutes, hours later, the raven-haired child awoke, coughing at the dust that had no beginning and no end. Attempts to stand were wrecked by a pile of concrete and plaster half her height holding her legs fast to the ground. The air around her seemed to grow degrees colder with each passing second, and being a perceptive child, Mari quickly figured it had to do with the pool of blood seeping beneath the debris covering her lower half. Even though her sense of the outside world was blurring, the child could still hear the creaks and groans of the structure above, the shrieks and crashes as more of the building crumbled to the ground. As the ceiling's warped steel cried a mournful death knell, the young girl uttered a long apology to her brother, her father and her elderly grandfather, fearful tears running down her cheeks. Closing her eyes, Mari allowed the sounds around her to fade, and waited for the warm, comforting embrace of her mother's arms up in Heaven.

A heartbeat later, and the pressure on her legs vanished, the emotion of the wails around her changing from fear and pain to joy and gratitude. Mari felt her body rise into the air, supported lightly underneath by a hard, powerful arm. Weak from blood loss, the youngest Suzuhara struggled to open her eyes, desperately focusing on the face of her savior. Sunlight from behind cast his features in shadow, but Mari could make out the shape of a helmet with a long horn, as well as an armored arm, holding up the crumbled ceiling like Atlas in his youth. The face of the angel turned towards her, and though reality was once again fading to black, she managed to hear his voice—human, though oddly garbled.

"Don't worry—you'll be safe now . . ."

When she next awoke, Mari was surrounded by men and women clothed in pale blue surgical gowns, swarming around her body like a colony of bees in heat. Needles were inserted, temperature was checked, gauze was wrapped, blood was suctioned and lights were shined in her eyes as the poor girl slipped in out of consciousness. All the awhile, her mind remained fixed on one image—the last she had seen before emerging in this maelstrom. That image was a pair of glowing blue eyes, framed along the top by a pulsing halo of light.

Yeah, except for the one part, today had definitely been a bad day . . .

END OMAKE

Author's Notes: Holy pheromones, Batman! Shinji's been in Tokyo-3 less than a day, and he's already got the ladies all over him! Must be those "Mega Playboy Powers" that Zentrodie keeps mentioning in his outstanding and masterfully written MST's ("wink-wink, nudge-nudge, say no more . . ."). Not too much action this time around, but don't worry—things will start picking up by the next chapter as the results of Shinji's tests come to the forefront, and multiple players from both the EVA and Guyver universes move to react. As always, feedback in the form of comments and critiques is greatly appreciated.

Sorry about the long gap between updates. With school and all, I get very little free time with which to work on this story. Add in the fact that I'm still a novice at writing like this, and things get slowed down even further. Don't misunderstand—I have a general idea of where I want this story to go and when I want certain things to happen, it's just filling in all the stuff in-between that's hard.

Probably the hardest thing I'm grappling with is trying to keep the cast as in character as possible, which has always been a struggle for me. Another difficulty is the proper use (or overuse, as the case may be) of Japanese words, phrases, and honorifics. If any of these things seem off to anyone, please let me know, because I'd rather be able to fix my mistakes than let them grow out of control. Still, I'm thoroughly enjoying the challenge this story is giving me, and plan to continue with it for some time.

Now for those of you who read the introductory AN, and were wondering about the gift I mentioned, go here: Maresguyver. You'll find what you're looking for under the title: "Who're you calling 'baka', now?" Just a little something I whipped up between classes, studying, and spouts of writing. Hope it's enough to wet your appetites for future chapters!

Oh, and for those readers still groaning about the whole "Shugotenshi" thing, I apologize. I realize that it's a rather blatant example of irony, but I just couldn't help myself. :-P

Thank yous go out to nick2951, Warbl65, aledeth, Godsbane, Ranshin, Phoenix Knight, code-wyze, Emerald2, Rbotekmaster, notiferblack, Andrew Joshua Talon, and all the others I've listed below for their wonderfully positive reviews of Chapters 1 and 2. As a first-time writer, I definitely needed a little confidence with what I'm trying to attempt, and you all gave that to me. So thank you again so much. And for those of you that had questions last time around . . .

kd8gun: We can dream, can't we? Besides, who's to say that Bio-boosted Shinji won't eventually show some cojon . . . er, confidence against his father . . . MUWAHAHAHAHAHA!

X3RO2: I'm taking a cue from the live-action Guyver movies with the whole "inner-voice" thing. In "Guyver 2: Dark Hero," the Guyver unit drove its host, Sean Barker, to violently hunt down and kill drug dealers and other nefarious individuals. I have a theory as to why this might happen (since it didn't for Sho or Agito in the anime), and it'll be introduced later in the fic. Oh, and the four men you asked about? Well, you're warm . . . and as you can see from what I wrote above, there's more than one "official" version of Guyver out there.

MysticSuperSaiyanGohan: "Bio-booster Armor Guyver" was probably the anime/manga to get me seriously hooked on those wonderful products of Japan. I curse Viz Publications daily for canceling the distribution of the Guyver manga here in the US. How could they cut off one of the most original and exciting titles to grace the world of graphic novels? It's like giving a man a crumb of bread but then holding the rest of the loaf out of reach! And now I'm ranting . . . I'll stop now. :-P

The identities of the four "Guyvers" will be my little secret for now, though most will become obvious fairly quickly. I can say this much—none of them are original characters, and all have been in at least one of the various Guyver incarnations. As for the Gigantic . . . we'll see.

DJ: That was actually the premise of the only other Evangelion/Guyver crossover I've read: "Evangelion: Man's True Purpose" by ZX-Tole. In that story, a Guyver unit was discovered in ruins beneath the Geo-Front and subsequently bonded with EVA-01 (which would be pretty tricky, if you ask me). I'm not sure if Shinji's unit could bond with an EVA in this fic though. Typically once a Guyver has been activated and bonded with one host, it's usually pretty stable. Plus, it'd be a bad idea for Shinji to bio-boost in the entry plug—the blast field that momentarily surrounds him would cleave the plug in half, plus disintegrate much of the EVA's innards ;-P

Wolfsbane420: Thank you very much for the generous contribution of your original character, but I'm afraid I'm going to decline your offer. For right now, I'd like to stick to canon characters and not introduce any OCs unless absolutely necessary. However, I'll let you know if I change my mind and decide to use Shiro in the story.

no name: A relative of Trowa Barton, perhaps? Just kidding. Anyways, as to the fate of Chronos, the Zoalords and the Zoanoids . . . all in due time. And I too am a long time fan of Brian O'Sullivan's magnificent Warrior Guyver fanfiction and art.

b123sedg: The answer depends on which version of "Guyver" you're more familiar with (if any). In the live-action Guyver movies, the Guyver unit does indeed go inside of its host, with the armor bursting out of two holes on the back of his neck whenever he activates it. In the Guyver anime and manga, the bio-booster armor resides in a pocket dimension (hammerspace, subspace, what-have-you) and follows the host around until he summons it via the organisms on his back. When that happens, the host becomes surrounded by a highly destructive barrier known as the blast field, and the armor transitions into our dimension to clamp onto the host. In my fic, I'm using the anime/manga explanation, so the main armor is in hyperspace, though a physical trace of the Guyver (the organisms) are still present on Shinji's body. The "origin story" behind Shinji's transformation will be featured in a later chapter.

Brax the Great: Indeed, there will be much kicking of the buttock as the story progresses. And as for the Gigantic, wait and see, my friend, wait and see . . .

Ayden: Hehe . . . yeah, but this is Shinji Ikari we're talking about. He's never that lucky. ;)

Kei Ikari: I'm sorry you're having a problem following the story. If you have any questions about the content or have any suggestions on how I could make things clearer, please feel free to let me know! Also, I suggest you check out the data files I included at the end of the first chapter (if you haven't already); they might clear up a few of the non-NGE details for you. Thanks for your feedback!

AN: That's it for this round—see you all on the flip side! Mares Guyver, signing off.