BEING HUMAN
Chapter Four:
Learning To Breathe
Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion
"Some people think you have a problem
But that problem lies only with them
Just 'cause you are not like the others
"
Beautiful Freak- Eels
"Is there any special reason that you are in my car?" Shinji asked as he continued driving down the street, turning to look at the blue haired girl now sitting on his passenger seat. It was easier now for the 1st Child to be out in public now, since she had learned enough control to stop 'flickering' in and out of existence every time she would show herself in the material world.
"Do I bother you that much?" Rei asked, answering a question with a question, thus giving him no real answer and more confusion on his already muddled mind.
Shinji kept silent for a few moments as he thought of a quick response, it made him uncomfortable, having her around. The hairs on the back of his neck constantly stood on end when he was in her presence, it was like having a creepy feeling or like someone is constantly staring at you. Plus, she had no scent, no body warmth, no real substance, and she constantly made his watch stop.
He decided to lie for now, "No, not that much…"
It was the 1st Child's turn to not respond for a while, "You seem bothered since the meeting at HQ."
"I- well- err… umm, yeah, I'm a little bothered" Shinji confessed.
Two hours earlier they had had a meeting for the apparent arrival of Unit-02. An angel had appeared at sea, and was destroyed by the Second Child in the first production type Evangelion, there he watched the video with the rest of the staff of NERV, and like most of them, he had been stunned by the grace in which the EVA fought with the Angel. The way it moved seemed like it was more dancing rather than fighting, it had leapt from battleship to destroyer to another battleship until it landed softly (for a 50-ft giant robot) on the flagship carrier 'Over the Rainbow'. It had waited until the whale like Angel jumped over the ship to engage it, then sliced the creature almost in half at its belly with a progressive knife, forcibly 'fishing' the Angel towards two battleships they finished it off with a quick artillery volley afterwards.
All in all the display had been more than impressive, but that's what was bothering the 3rd Child.
Was this really the capabilities of a human pilot with superior training, or was it much more. He was a werewolf and Rei was a ghost, was the 2nd Child a mere human? Or was NERV in the habit of choosing monsters for its Pilots.
Shinji knew nothing about the pilot besides that fact that she was supposed to be some child genius. Maybe that was why she was so good at piloting, or maybe he was right and would mean that EVA could only be piloted by someone who was more that human, or less human, the same as him.
"It doesn't matter" Shinji grumbled as he shook his head, he looked at the girl next to him, "Hey Rei, I have to meet both Toji and Kensuke at the arcade. I don't mean to be rude but do you mind go-" he was cut off by the girl vanishing in a flicker of light, "-ing home… I hate it when she does that."
Shinji grumbled to himself as he drove to meet his friends, and little to his knowledge, to meet someone who would flip his world upside down more than it had already been.
Two Blocks Away From The Arcade- Opposite Direction
"Gott verdammt!" A fiery red headed 16 year old girl screamed as she walked down the street. She was in a very bad mood for a lot of reasons.
Reason number one: The SUN was out.
Sure, as long as she fed regularly and only stayed in it for a few hours, the sun did not burn her, but it still annoyed her to be out in the day. Oh, how she wished that the sun would set and night would surround her in it's comforting dark embrace like it used to be.
Reason number two: She was annoyed with the meeting she had just gotten out of, she was briefed on the 1st and 3rd Child's battles against the Angels. She couldn't help but watch in amazement at the video of Unit 01's first few battles. She noticed the way the EVA moved on the battlefield, somehow it reminded her of a wild animal, its movements were unpredictable, feral and uncontrollable. What bothered her more was that this rookie's sync rate was almost as high as hers and the brat had just been recruited for less than a year. What right did he have to come in like he was something special, SHE was the top pilot, and SHE was going to remind everyone how special she really was when it comes to piloting the Evangelion.
Reason number three: The holy water icing on the garlic cake was what Kaji had said on the Over the Rainbow when she confronted him. He hated Vampires to the hilt. Her crush, the man she had fooled herself when she was alive into believing that she loved him, but in truth he hated what she was, what she had become. Worst of it all, she would forever been sixteen, she had believe that when she was older that he would fall for her advances. But she would never get older, not even another day. She would stay young and beautiful forever, too young in the eyes of many, including her eyes. Her chance for a normal love life went into a super nova.
All these things together insured that her day sucked harder than Glass Tiger's last album (AN#1). So she decided to indulge in one of her favorite things to do to pass the time: Going to the arcade and taking brats money after beating them into the ground. She loved winning, no matter what the game, no matter what the challenge. It made her feel fulfilled, satisfying her beyond all recognition. Nothing like a game of beat the losers at all the games they think their good at.
As she walked around the arcade area a scent reached her nose, at first it was faint, a new smell that she would have ignored usually, but the closer she got to the arcade the stronger the smell got. It was a mixture of fresh soil, leaves, fur, and sweat?
'That smell is so… intriguing!'
It wasn't just the smell that started to get her attention, she was about a hundred feet away from the arcade when she felt it, the warm aura or heat that was coming from somewhere. However, unlike the sun that was a burning sensation that hurt when it glared down at her, the heat she was feeling was more like a wave of warmth that rolled off of her in slow comforting waves, just like the waves on a calm sea.
She had no idea what the hell it was, this comforting new feeling
Her worries and frustrations forgotten altogether, she slowed her pace, reaching out with her senses through the crowd. When the arcade came into sight Asuka enter stealthily with the silence that would make the best of her kind proud, staying hidden in the shadows, letting the dark corners cloak her as she searched for the scent that was driving her in a calm state. It was so strong, but not entirely unpleasant at her, being part of the undead, few things could breathe warmth into her cold self. For some reason the smell, it ran deep, wild and full of power. It was almost something to be feared and made her skin crawl, something very rare that happened to her.
She stayed close to the shadows, searching for the cause of the strange scent that haunted her. It began getting stronger and stronger until it was almost unbearable and it felt uncomfortably nice. She felt the burning in her that replaced the beat of her heart beat, until the burning grew so strong and hot, almost enough to fool herself into believing that her blood still was warm.
Then she saw him. She knew right away that it was him that was giving off the smell. It was his warmth that overwhelmed her. He wasn't anything overly special at first look. His skin was pale, not as pale as hers but still pale. He was tall, about six foot one, and well built, weighing in at about two hundred pounds. 'Very heavy for a guy like him…' His black hair was slightly shaggy, but what caught her attention the most was the boy's eyes.
His face was calm and handsome, yet the eyes were wild, fierce and feral.
As she watched the boy, he raised his head from the game he was playing with his two 'normal' friends and sniffed the air. After a few seconds the boy shook his head and continued playing the game, the 2nd Child moved out of the shadows, concentrating on the boy as she made a bee-line towards him. Being so focused on the strange boy she bumped into some older punk with a Mohawk playing a game.
"What the FUCK!" the punk yelled as he turned towards Asuka. "Bitch, you cost me the high level! You better be ready to pay for my game!"
The punks were nothing but a lousy meal to Asuka and she was about to introduce these wanna-be's and his friends that had started gathering to a lot of broken bones when a shadow suddenly appeared over her. She turned to the shadow only to come face to face with a pair of grey blue wild eyes, "Excuse me," the boy said politely with a small smile, "But are these people bothering you?"
"Fuck off asshole!" the leader punk sneered and cracked his knuckles, clearly unafraid of the boy's immense size, "Get the fuck out of here or else…"
The grey blue eyed boy sighed loudly and said, "I guess I'll pick…'or else' then".
With a blink of an eye the boy struck the leader punk in the chest, at first had no effect since the speed he used was more than the naked eye or reflex could follow that sent the punk flying across the arcade. One of the other punks moved around behind the boy, Asuka noticed the boy's eyes moving from her to his side and without even flinching he did a famous 'Sweet Chin Music' to the punk who was sneaking up on him so hard that the punk flipped several times in mid-air before smashing into a game arcade and the screen shattered at the impact.
One of the other punks got close enough to grab Asuka's arm. Acting on her reflex, she spun around and delivered a jaw shattering round house kick to her attacker's face.
"I don't need anyone protecting me, got it?" the 2nd Child growled at her protector and she stared into his eyes without flinching.
The boy offered her a small smile before punching a punk over her shoulder, "That much is obvious miss," the boy said nervously, "By the way, my name's Ikari Shinji."
Asuka went silent for a second, she knew that name, and it annoyed her a little bit- 'GOTT VERDAMNT!' it was, that's it, it was the 3rd Child's name. She stopped herself because she wasn't about to blindly announce who she really was, especially since she chose to insult her rescuer instead, "I didn't need your help Mr. Ikari." she sneered at him.
"Well" Shinji smiled nervously "it wouldn't be very uncouth of myself if I let some girl get hurt on a pointless thing, and for me honestly, it isn't right letting a girl fight a bunch of punks. Women should be respected."
Asuka gritted her teeth to stop from blushing at his patronizing words, "Even if she's the pilot of an EVA?"
Shinji was shocked, since he had been wondering himself about the so-called 2nd child. Never in his wildest dreams did he believe that she would have been this god-given beautiful. He knew that she was sixteen, more like he felt like it, but she looked more like she was seventeen or eighteen. Who was he to judge anyway, since he was the same age technically, but looked like he's in his twenties.
There was nothing about this girl that wasn't stunningly beautiful, from her perfect pale skin to her soft red hair with blond highlights, he also noted that her body was built for grace, and flowing movement. Her long smooth coltish legs spilled out of her yellow sundress that accentuated her figure. Yet her most beautiful quality was easily her alluring blue eyes, his mind pounded on him how they glimmered like the blue ocean in the bright sun, and then there was her scent. Her smell was definitely not human, he could tell right away since it was different. It wasn't anything he smelled before, actually it smelled more like mixed strawberry and the ocean.
Shinji got over his shock and scolded himself as he forced out an intelligent answer, "Umm- Well, that just means I'd still have to help, because- umm- as a comrade-in-arms instead of a kid trying to be chivalrous."
The Wolf boy smiled at the Vampire girl, but felt awkward when his grin was met with a piercing glare.
"Listen here you over-grown knucklehead," Asuka hissed at the boy as she strode in front of his chest, she looked up into his grey blue eyes with her clear blue ones with the same glare that could sour grapes in an instant, "I've been training for this all of my life to fight the Angels, I do NOT need HELP from the LIKES of you!"
He took a step back, one of the first time he did it, as the girl's eye flashed red at what she said, "Whoa… I-I'm… just trying to do my job," Shinji reassured the girl his voice losing a bit of its conviction at the end.
"Well now that I'm here, you don't need to, I can handle all of it by myself," Asuka sneered at him, "Listen 3rd Child, the only reason you have more Angel kills than me is because my EVA Unit-02 took longer to build, and that is because it's BETTER since IT is the FIRST production type, and you better not get in my way! Got that?"
'Oh dear…' Shinji's tongue and thought was forced back as Asuka glared at him with black-bile hate, 'I'm going to have to work with her from now on, and she already wants to kill me. Great…'
"Ahem!" Their little staring contest was interrupted by someone coughing, they both turned to see Kensuke with his fist held up to his mouth, "Is she a friend of yours Ikari?" he asked, grinning slightly at his friend's misfortune.
Asuka stomped her way towards Kensuke and grabbed the shorter boy by the front of his shirt, "Now, you better listen good, you little chronic masturbator," she growled at him and flinched at her aggressiveness, "I'm the 2nd Child, Pilot of the superior production type Unit-02, and I don't associate with weaklings like you and the other" she leered at Shinji and returned her gaze at the military otaku, "pilots unless I have to, so why don't you get it right, that I am not his," pointing a thumb over her back at Shinji, "friend, tomodachi or whatever the hell you call it here in Japan!"
Kensuke started to sweat at her ferocity, "Right- got it- no problem- not his friend, got it." he gulped as her stare sharpened.
"And as for you!" Asuka growled, turning back to face Shinji, "Tell me where Misato's apartment is, I'm supposed to meet her soon."
"Umm… well… I-I was going that way," Shinji said, unsure of how to speak to this volatile girl, "My car is in the parking lot at the back, if you want I can take you home- I mean- I c-can drive you there if you want to," he offered blushing at his slip of tongue not sure that she would accept or not.
"Watch your mouth 3rd Child," Asuka huffed and walked out of the arcade, then she turned to the alley leading to the back parking lot.
"I take that as a 'yes', I guess…" Shinji sighed heavily, he turned to his friends and nodded knowingly, which goes in the lines of 'good luck' or 'I'll pray for your funeral', before following the red head, "She is volatile!"
When he finally entered the parking lot, he saw that it was empty, except for his shiny car, and a white piece of crap next to it, a least known model of a car that was more suited for being a golf cart than an actual car. Asuka was standing under a lamppost next to the white 'car' and he almost snickered, 'She honestly does not think that I'm driving that?'
Shinji approached her cautiously, but not cautiously enough since the German red head was able to grab him by the front of his shirt, lift him up a bit, and slam him against the lamppost hard enough to deeply dent it and actually drag him off of his feet.
"All right 3rd Child," Asuka hissed, her eyes red and her long fangs showing from her seductive lips, "You are going to tell me what you are and you're gonna do it right about the fucking now!"
"Whoa!" Shinji gasped at her, "I-if you just put me down I'll tell you," Asuka's eyes narrowed with suspicion before letting the boy go. "Thanks," Shinji said, straightening out his shirt and taking a deep breath, "I am a Were-"
"A werewolf?" she repeated with a small sneer, "What's that? A guy who turns into a dog-faced boy when it's a full moon?"
"Not exactly," Shinji sighed, "Werewolves can change any time they want to, but we have to change during the three nights that the moon is full, and we're a lot bigger than the dog-faced boy." Shinji looked at her with a confused look on his face, "err- shouldn't your sire have told you all this?"
"Sire?" Asuka asked blankly as she raised her eyebrow.
"Sire, the werewolf or vampire that changes a human into- their own kind," Shinji explained kindly, he was both cautious and shy at this, "My sire, Roy, told me all about your kind. I would have thought vampires would have done same since we're basically- not so human."
"I never met my- 'sire'" Asuka whispered looking away from the boy, "I was turned seven months ago, I just woke up under the dirt in a ditch with the taste of blood in my mouth and some flashes of being attacked," she turned to the boy, angry now as her eyes flared red, "No one told me shit, I didn't ask for this, I didn't ask to be made into some fucking monster!"
Shinji winced at her tone and words, he honestly felt bad for the girl. Unlike him, she hadn't been given a choice, she was a victim, "I'm sorry."
"I didn't ask for your pity," Asuka snarled, turning away again from the boy. "J-just take me to see Misato alright…"
"O-okay" Shinji straightened up and walked to the driver's side of his car and waited for the girl, when she didn't move he gave her a puzzled look, "What, you honestly thought I was driving that?" he asked as he pointed to the white… 'car'.
"You own that car?" Asuka asked in disbelief as she stomped towards the passenger side, the black car was a classic, it was one of the most powerful and it was beautiful, he definitely knows his history.
"Hey!" Shinji warned, giving her a stern look and the fierceness in his eyes intensified, "You can say what you want about Unit-01, you can say what you want about me and my friends, but if you say anything about my baby, you're walking, understand?"
"Didn't say a thing puppy," Asuka rolled her eyes before getting into the passenger seat, stupid boys and their toys, but truth be told, she was surprised that someone like Shinji would have such a powerful car, she almost grinned at the sound of the car as he revved it up and eased out of the parking lot. There was so much about this rookie that was confusing for her and the only time he had actually stood up to her was when she made a comment about his car, not that she actually meant it.
They drove in silence for a while until Asuka decided to break it first, "Tell me Shinji," she said not looking at him and keeping her eyes outside, "… how were you changed?"
Shinji kept silent for awhile, he took a deep breath and began to confess, "There isn't much to tell, I was almost killed in a hit and run over a year ago. Roy McCaster, my sire, found me dying and asked me if I want to live, but not as a human, would I take that chance or die instead."
"What did you say?"
"Obviously, he changed me, I told him I wasn't much of a human being anyways so I'll take it," Shinji smiled a bit as he thought about that fateful night, and how his choice changed him in more than just the physical aspect of his life, "He bit my shoulder, forgot to bite him for that, it hurts like hell, and that changed me. Then he lets me in into his pack and taught me everything I know about the supernatural."
"Supernatural huh?" Asuka raised an eyebrow as she leered at him, "Like ghost and stuff out of the ordinary?"
"Like ghost and werewolves and vampires and demons- yeah, basically all the stuff out of the ordinary," Shinji peeked at her at the rearview mirror, it dawned on him that she probably didn't know anything about her own kind. He couldn't imagine what it would have been like to be turned without Roy and the rest of the pack there to support him, to give him every answer to his questions, to discuss the same situations, and most important of all, to have someone who understand.
"I- I could share what I know with you if you want-"
"What's the catch?" Asuka asked her eyes haughty as she stared at him.
"There's no catch…" he reassured her, but his voice turned stern again, "Just don't do anything or say anything about my car, she's my baby."
"Boys," Asuka snorted and turned on the radio, The Man Who Sold The World (Unplugged) by Nirvana, filled the car as her eyebrow raised a notch, "American rock?"
"The radio is a part of the car."
"Didn't say anything."
Misato's Apartment
"I'm home! Misato, are you here?" Shinji called out as he entered the apartment, halfway through the threshold, the scent of smoke reached his nostrils.
"What the-"
"Hi Shinji!" Misato said as she stuck her head out into the hallway, "I was just making something to eat"
"Oh god, I should have known..." Shinji sighed and mumbled under his breath as he rushed forward to save the kitchen from whatever force of evil that his guardian was about to unleash into the world. Before he got too far he turned around toward Asuke "I invite you in" he whispered before taking off towards the kitchen. Misato calmly allowed him to take over and walked up to Asuka gave her a warm hug.
"Asuka, it's been such a long time," Misato squealed before stepping away to get a better look at the red-head. Misato's face paled a bit when she realized just how much the 2nd Child had changed in the one year since she had seen her last, it seemed for her to be… unnatural. "Wow," she exclaimed as she recovered from the shock, "You've become so beautiful!"
"Of course!" Asuka smirked and she did a pose in front of the Captain, "Was there ever a doubt that I was beautiful? Also, Germany is known for having the most beautiful women!"(AN#2)
The truth was that she had changed more than what was natural for a girl in a year as Shinji had noticed awhile ago, her skin had become paler and smoother, she was much taller and looked more mature as her figure developed to its fullest for a teenager and her ample bosom accentuated her overall body figure. Her hair shone brighter, it was more lush, and had a nice bounce to it that looked like she had her own personal hairdresser. Her beauty made super models look like drag queens as boys and men alike were mesmerized by her looks.
Misato shook her head in disbelief, "Yeah, I know! It's just that- you've changed so much!" she swept Asuka up into another hug, this one was to give her enough time to get a hold of herself. She had a gut feeling that something wasn't right about this whole set-up. Shinji was one thing, since he was a complete stranger to her, but Asuka too? Was NERV doing something to these children to cause them to change so much?
"Hey Misato…" Shinji called from the kitchen, "Why are there boxes everywhere?"
"That would be my belongings, Affenschwanz!" Asuka yelled back, "I'm living with Misato now!" There was a sound of a frying pan falling from the kitchen, and they could actually hear the crashing of someone's jaw to the ground that caused Misato to giggle.
"What's that giggle for?" she asked her 'new' guardian suspiciously.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you over the phone that Shinji is staying here as well," Misato said innocently as she bats her eyes bashfully at Asuka.
"WHAT?" The red head screeched and all the glasses inside the house almost shattered.
"Oh, by the way Shinji!" Misato called at him as she dragged Asuka by the hand towards the kitchen, breaking the werewolf out of his stupor, "Vice-Commander Fuyutsuki left a letter for you in your room. It must be important, since the Vice-Commander said I'd be fired if I read it."
Shinji hastily cleaned up making sure that Misato wouldn't be making any more 'unstable concoctions' andquickly walked to his room where he found an envelope on his bed with his name on it. He opened it with haste and skimmed over it, then re-read it a second time.
Pilot Shinji Ikari,
As I am sure you are already fully aware of, Pilot Soryu is a vampire, a creature of other-worldly origin. It has fallen on me to ask you to keep an eye on the 2nd Child, due to the fact that you have more experience with the unnatural than she does. I have arranged it so that Pilot Soryu will be staying with you and Captain Katsuragi and I am sure you will do the best that you can in doing this 'request' from me.
This is for the best, for both of you.
Kozo Fuyutsuki
Vice-Commander
Shinji sighed as he tore the note into small little pieces so his guardian couldn't read it, he could hear Asuka and the Captain arguing about the living arrangements in the living room so he stealthily snuck into the kitchen to fix the abominations that Misato would have called a meal. Truth be told, the cure for cancer, even HIV, was in her cooking, the problem was that if you looked at it in the eye you'd turn to stone, pretty much like the medusa.
After twenty minutes, Shinji produced three plates of chicken fried rice, his own plate consisting of the serving dish itself, which have a towering pile of rice in it. Asuka stared at her plate when he placed it in front of her, "Umm-" she muttered under her breath before looking up at him, "I'm really not hungry right now, I was thinking of going out for something later anyways, 'when it's night' you know?" she said while giving Shinji a meaningful look.
'Oh!' Shinji thought, 'I forgot, Vampires don't really eat that much real food, they mainly just drink blood,' he took her plate then and added the contents to his, earning himself a questioning look from the young German, "What? I eat a lot," he said defensively as he began to dig in.
"Groffh spfurth," 'Growth spurt' Misato mumbled with her mouth full, "Mmm!" she squealed as her eyes widened at the taste of the food, "Shinfi, youf oust dhid yousself fahgain!" 'Shinji, you just outdid yourself again!'
"Th-thanks, I guess, and try not to talk with your mouth full," Shinji smiled his cheeks blushing at the praise, as they finished the meal in idle talk, well mainly the girls talked as the 3rd Child merely listened to the two of them, he was doing the dishes when they all heard the doorbell ringing.
"I'll get it" Misato yelled as she stood up from the tatami mat as she and Asuka were watching something on the TV. Shinji heard the sound of the door opening and then a quick scuffle at the doorway.
"Mmph!" came Misato's muffled cry as Shinji quickly dropped the dish he was cleaning and rushed towards the doorway, he stopped in his tracks when he saw a man with long hair in ponytail kissing Misato passionately. She finally broke the kiss by kneeing the man in the crotch, "Kaji!" Misato yelled as she took a step back and stood beside the young Werewolf, "What the hell do you think you're doing here? And what was that-" her eyes were slits as she vented her anger, "- assault for!"
Kaji seemed unfazed by Misato's aggressive attitude, he simply gave his roguish grin at her question, "I thought since I'm going to be working with NERV I'd drop in to say hi, and you say 'assault' come now that's not the first time right, and I also want to see how my old ward is fitting in," he explained casually, the roguish grin never leaving his face.
"Kaji?" came Asuka's voice from the hallway, Shinji looked behind him to see the redhead standing a few paces from him. For a split second she smiled and looked like she was going to rush forward to hug the man, but she stopped short. Her smile changed drastically, from smile to confused frown, frown to sad eye, and sad eyes to enraged scowl. Asuka turned around, stomped all the way back to her room and slammed the door shut.
"Care to explain that you asshole?" Misato asked while crossing her arms, still not leaving the six foot wall of flesh beside her that was still recovering from the kissing scene earlier.
Kaji let out a heavy sigh, "It's pretty simple," he said with a small sad smile, "Young girls tend to have infatuations on older men, and it's never pretty when the older men have to break the young girls' hearts and tell them that it isn't right."
Shinji felt something hot and angry stir in his chest, but quickly calmed it down as he began to think in a rational manner again. He then took in this new arrival's appearance, Kaji was tall, but shorter than him of course, he wore a white shirt under a mud brown trench coat. He smelled of different herbs, old blood, perfume and gunpowder. A silver necklace was wrapped around his right wrist, and the chains were made from small crosses, he also noticed that the man's eyes were watchful and sharp.
"So this is the 3rd Child that I've heard all about," Kaji smiled as he offered a hand to the young pilot "You're a lot bigger than I'd imagine"
Shinji took the offered hand, making sure to avoid touching the silver chain, "I've been going through a couple of growth spurts, I grew about two inches since I got here."
"And gained another twenty pounds" grumbled Misato still not leaving his side, and secretly displeased she hadn't yet figured out the truth about the young boy, and more displeased that she now had to figure out why Asuka had changed so much as well.
"I had been hoping to talk to the famed 3rd Child, I guess now is my chance," Kaji said as the door closed behind him, "I've been wondering how someone with no training could have gotten into an Evangelion and reach such a high synch rate, and after that you killed the Angel, a feat that no pilot or simulation expected."
Shinji thought for a while before answering, he was inconveniently inquisitive too, "Instincts," Shinji finally whispered at him, "When I'm in the EVA, as much as I hate getting inside the thing, instinct is the only thing that helps me. I give in to the little piece of myself that needs to destroy, and I'm able to fight, because I must fight," he didn't mean to, but his eyes flashed a feral stare and his hairs stood on end.
"So, in other words you're a natural born pilot-" Kaji concluded with a smile, "It's a good thing that we were lucky enough to have someone like you as a pilot, or else we might all be dead."
The sound of a door slamming open echoed through the apartment, the 2nd Child stomped her way past the group that were gathered in the hallway, "I'm going for a walk," Asuka hissed as she passed Misato and left the apartment, the door slammed shut as she left.
Shinji looked at the two adults and sighed heavily remembering the Vice-Commander's words, "I guess I should go make sure she's okay huh?" talking to no one in particular as he made to reach for his pair of trainers.
"I'll come with you," Kaji offered, his face no longer smiling. Misato opened her mouth to protest, but he just waved it off, "It's ok, I'm her old guardian anyway, if something might go wrong I should be at least help a little right?"
They both left one after the other as they pursued Asuka, Shinji knew it would be easy since he was already familiar with her scent and he would just follow it, but walked at a slow pace so that he would not tip Kaji off that he knew where he was going. After walking for six blocks in silence, the 3rd Child decided to break it, "So what is it that you do at NERV exactly Mr. Kaji?"
"Well, I am a- errgh!" Kaji started to cough violently, the man took deep rattling breaths to steady himself, only to fail as the coughing fit puts him to his knees, Shinji tried to help the man by steadying him. As he placed a hand on Kaji's chest he immediately felt something that shouldn't be there, it was like a mass that had accumulated in his, or rather 'inside' the man's chest.
"Are you all right?" he asked both curious and concerned, "I may be wrong, but it feels like you got something stuck in your lungs."
"They call it cancer Shinji," Kaji said as he wiped the red spit from his mouth, he steadied himself after a few breaths and cleared his throat once more, "Well," Kaji continued as if the coughing fit never happened and began to walk again, "Officially I'm an agent of the UN sent to help in whatever way I can, but unofficially…" he stared Shinji in the eye and became deadly serious, "… I'm an exorcist."
The Werewolf stopped in his tracks, his eyes fixed on Kaji's own pair. Roy mentioned them before, they were experts in dealing with angry spirits and demons. They sometimes dealt with other supernatural creatures when they posed a threat to the innocent, but more importantly it meant that Agent Kaji knew that Asuka was a Vampire and that he was a werewolf.
"Why does NERV need an exorcist?" Shinji asked when he forced his legs to work again.
"The 'Angels' are trying to destroy the world," Kaji explained as he lit a cigarette out of nowhere via a flame shooting from his finger tips, "It's unknown if demons have any involvement or if they will, at any rate, as a precaution I was sent in case any demons really do try to interfere, so that I can deport them back to hell, where they belong."
Shinji nodded in understanding. It made sense actually. If Armageddon is on the line, well, everyone would want a piece of the cake.
"So you're really just here to help?"
"Yeah, help," the exorcist half muttered as they walked together, "I should probably go over some things you might need to know, especially about vampires."
Shinji raised an eyebrow, the topic swung to very thin ice, "Such as?"
"Like how to kill a vampire" Kaji said putting emphasis on the word kill, "I know you most likely know a wooden stake to the heart will do them in. Honestly, for a werewolf killing a vampire should be really easy, beheading would always works. Tearing out the heart will work as well, garlic is bullshit, it just stinks and you smell like pasta, even your kind hate it right? Holy water would kill them, if you made them take a bath in it or you manage to drown them in it. Sunlight can only kill them if they go without feeding for a few days, which rarely happens."
The burning in Shinji's chest had returned, this time he let it smolder inside, fueling his insides, "Why are you telling me this Kaji?"
Kaji gave him a sideway look, "Asuka's a new vampire, I really don't like discussing it, but there may be a time where you might have to kill her."
"Why do you say that?" Shinji could barely contain himself, his voice starting to shake, both in shock and in rage, how could this former guardian tell him how to kill his former charge.
"Vampires are filthy, evil creatures," Kaji sneered at no one and took a long drag of the cigarette, he said the word vampire with as much contempt as he could muster, "They may try to keep their humanity for a while, but after sometime they all give in to the darkness calling to them. They should all just be killed-urgh!"
Kaji choked as the 3rd Child grabbed him by the throat and slammed the exorcist against the building they were walking alongside with, "Why don't you tell me what the hell does that make any different from a werewolf, from me?" Shinji snarled at him as his eyes turned yellow, his muscles beginning to quake at the suppressed anger, "Why shouldn't I just kill you right now, eat your innards and piss in your carcass huh?" He proceeded to lift Kaji and the man's feet dangled in the air, his face turning blue and experiencing pin-point hemorrhage, "Does it even matter to you? If we're werewolves or vampires? Did you think we want this? To be less than human!" a fist connected on a wall beside Kaji's face and the cement cracked at the force of the punch.
Kaji, who was choking for air, chose that moment to press the silver cross against Shinji's hand that was clasped on his neck. The flesh burned and hissed, but Shinji barely flinched and he only pressed harder against Kaji's throat.
"Y-y-you!" Kaji's eyes widened in horror as he realized a fatal fact, he gasped as he pressed the silver cross on his arm firmly, but it was futile, "Y-y-you're an A-A-A-Alpha!"
Shinji gave Kaji's throat one last tight squeeze before letting go, the exorcist fell to the ground in a heap, he turned from the agent and took in a deep breath, "Say Kaji," he whispered, his voice rasping and less human now, "I'm pretty sure I can find Asuka by myself, so thanks for coming with me," he then walked away, leaving Kaji to collect himself or whatever is left of him. The 3rd Child didn't care about the man, damn it, out there was a girl, one who was hurt and angry, someone like him, in need of help, whether she wanted it or not.
A Few Blocks Away
'Stupid Shinji! Stupid Kaji! Stupid Angels for dying so easily! It's not fair, it's not fair, it's not fair! I should be the best pilot! No, I am the best pilot! Why is he getting the attention!' Asuka's thoughts rage a war in her mind, 'MY LIFE IS EVA! My PRIDE cannot be undone!'
She didn't really know who to be more angry with, the stupid Angels, Kaji, or the idiotic and incredibly warm Shinji. Every time she thought she could hate the boy her thoughts drift to what he was. He wasn't human, not any more, he may have had a choice unlike her, but he still had to deal with the loss of his humanity just like her.
The call of hunger stirred in her, breaking her from her thoughts, she observed the street until she found an alleyway which she stood at the entrance of for a short time. Soon a man in his early thirties walked by, and she simply made eye contact with him as she allured the man into stepping into the alleyway. After that it was easy for her to bite him to feed, she left the man asleep against the alley wall after she had had her fill, careful not to kill him.
As she tried to leave the alley a rather large shadow blocked her way.
"Where're you going baby?" The shadow was a man, a filthy one by the smell of him. Asuka was about to 'charm' the man when she sensed others with him. Two behind the first and three more coming up from the other end of the alley. Luckily though she left her meal well hidden, they missed him completely, the 2nd Child cursed under her breath. There was simply too many for her to 'charm' and it wasn't her forte on a large-scale, she might have to fight her way out.
"Get out of my way now" Asuka growled her aura changing into an aggressive one, yet the men around her sensed nothing and laughed sounding like a pack of jackals.
"No, I don't think we will darling," the first man grinned stepping forward, Asuka could smell their intentions, all of them were filled with rape and murder. They were practically the scum of the world. She readied herself and prepared to take these fools out, she pushed out her fingernails as they began to harden and turn to razor-like claws, but before she could lash out at them, she heard a sound that was quite indescribable for her. It sounded like something breaking, like bone snapping in two, then the sound of something soft squishing, and finally the sound of some fluids spraying on the cold floor.
Every conscious head turned to the source of the curious sound, the two men that were farthest from her now lay flat upon the ground, but only that that they weren't exactly lying down. Their frail bodies have been crushed, they were crushed beyond recognition under the weight of the beast that had landed on top of them.
"Shinji," the 2nd Child muttered under her breath.
She immediately knew 'what' or rather 'who' it was as two yellow feral eyes stared at all of them, and a mixture of emotion welled-up inside of her. The surviving man nearest to the two dead men remained blissfully ignorant, as he instinctively move away from the beast, it suddenly swung a furry claw forward.
The claw caught the man's lower jaw and it promptly flew away from his head, the pain blanked every sensation in his body and rendered him unable to scream his pain, the beast swung its claw again and caught the man's arm and chest, sending blood and viscera flying on the alley wall. There were no screams from the man as he collapsed into a puddle of his own blood.
Three dead men, three more to die.
The three vagabond nearest Asuka started to scream, but remained rooted to the spot, one snapped out of it and started to run away from the carnage. The other two died faster as the werewolf ran headlong towards them in a span of seconds and ripped one's head clean off with its jaws as the victim's body slowly spun to the ground with its mangled half of a head dropping next to it. His partner that stood beside him received a furious swipe that could stop a freight truck that ripped the man's torso in half, his knees buckled and dropped to the ground, the other half stared from afar, utter horror frozen in the man's death mask.
Sounds of broken bones, skin ripped apart, and muscles popping out of its tendons were sickening, yet it was Asuka, now relaxed amidst the massacre, and Shinji who were the only ones able to witness it all.
The last man got to the end of the alleyway before the creature pulled a jagged piece of bone from one of the mangled arms of one of its victims, throwing the makeshift bone spear, it pierced the man's throat, violently tearing muscle tissues. Screams of excruciating pain never made it pass the man's lips.
Asuka stood in the middle of the blood and carnage, knowing full well who the creature was, and what it was.
"Shinji!" she growled at the werewolf, her aura returning to its aggressive state, "I didn't need your help! I could have dealt with them all by myself- ARGH!"
She was cut off when a furry claw grabbed her by the neck and chest, she was then smashed against the alley wall, the 2nd Child was surprised at the strength that he had, were all werewolves uncontrollable pieces of power? The beast growled at her, his jaws so close to her face she could smell death on his breath. In those precious seconds that he stood close to her and his sharp teeth inches from her neck, she wondered if vampires could go to heaven when, suddenly the beast changed its behavior. It threw Asuka for a good 2 feet away from itself before howling in pain.
The change was excruciatingly painful, as fur receded, pores opened up and skin returned to normal, his bones cracked audibly and shrank back into place. Large muscle shriveled away painfully until the form of the beast became fittingly human again. The tail retracted and his teeth lost their obvious sharpness, all the while Shinji let loose howls that transformed into high pitch screams of pain as the changing was his least favorite part of being a werewolf. When all was finally said and done, a young man called Shinji Ikari stood where a monster had once stood.
Asuka was about to tear into Shinji when she recovered, when the boy fell to the ground on all fours, then laid on his side writhing in pain. The boy doubled-over to vomit a black red bile, this continued over and over again, the boy would grunt, screech once or twice, scream in pain when it was too much, and vomit blood and much more than blood.
The 2nd Child merely watched in horror, are werewolves supposed to be like this, she was scared and unsure of what to do. When Shinji finally stopped convulsing and throwing up, she cleared her throat before asking, "Are you alright… 3rd Child?"
"No!" the boy rasped, wiping the blood from his mouth, "N-n-no I am n-n-not all r-right!" he managed before throwing up again and shaking violently. After the shaking stopped, Shinji sat up against the alley wall. The naked boy took ragged breaths and held a hand to his face, "I-I'm so s-sorry if I h-hurt you," he managed to finally say.
"I'm fine," Asuka said, trying to keep concern out of her voice, "What was that all about?"
Shinji was silent for a while before answering, his eyes closed as she looked at him intensely, his warmth somehow returning to its normal state, "In truth, I- I've never… I've never killed a human before."
"Why did you?" she asked her eyes transfixed on his pale face.
Shinji dropped his hand from his face and looked up at the girl, his body glistened with sweat, she would have blushed if she could as his gaze intensified at her, "They were going to- they would have- their pungent smell- they've done it before! I could tell what they wanted, and they would have done it again if they had a chance-"
He stopped short as he finished the sentenced in a whisper, "I can't let them get away, I can't let them to even try."
Asuka heaved a great sigh, 'Okay, I have no idea what to do now…' Shinji was obviously hurt, emotionally, psychologically, mentally, after the massacre he just did, but the 'kicker' was he did it all to help her, knowing well that she didn't need his help, yet he still killed, killed for her, he gave up his 'innocence' for her. The 2nd Child's thoughts running wild with questions that went unanswered. For now.
"I guess…" The boy broke her from her thoughts "I guess I AM just a monster…"
"No" Asuka said firmly, looking the boy in the eye, alarmed that the ferocity it once held now was blank, "You are not a monster, you only did what you thought was… was right for me," Asuka kneeled down beside the young werewolf, "Look Shinji, you know I didn't really need your help… since, you know already what I am right?" Asuka looked away, trying to keep herself from blushing, "… but thanks. Stupid."
Shinji smiled a bit at this and his eyes glittered once more with life, until a new scent made its way through the lingering smell of blood, viscera and human fluids. He could see a man standing at the entrance to the alley and his mouth opened in an O shape, "K-Kaji" he started to stutter, "I-I… it was- well- we we're-"
"Don't sweat it kid," Kaji assured him as he smiled at him and waved him off, "I got the gist on what happened," he took out a cell phone and started to dial, "You're not the first person to go amuck on rapists, but let me call Section-2, they'll be here to clean up this mess and to do some cover up."
The man also threw a small pile of clothes beside Shinji, including a pair of boxers, "Oh, you left this in the alley next door when you changed-"
As the boxers landed in front of them, it then occurred to both of them that one of them was actually butt-naked, and he saw at the corner of his eye that Asuka was looking down on him mesmerized on something. Shinji looked down at himself following the 2nd Child's line of gaze.
"Waaah!" Shinji yelled and covered his 'tenders' in a futile effort to act decent "Don't look!"
"What's wrong you pervert?" Asuka teased, the glint in her eyes was dangerous, "You weren't too shy to cover up a minute ago little Shinji. But, as I can see, maybe little is the problem, let me take a better look."
He jumped away as the 2nd Child made a move to grab him, "Waaah! No! Ahh! Stop it!"
"Come here, I'll be gentle"
"Kaji! Help me! Please! Sharp claws! Sharp claws!"
The exorcist sighed and walked away.
"Ahh, kids…"
To be continued …
AN#1: That's right Alan Frew, come get me
AN#2: When I was 16 my German friend had an older sister (19) who was tall, sexy, beautiful and liked younger men. So sue me if I love German women, she rocked my world.
AN: Sorry I have been away for so long. I was in a bad place. I will try to start chapter five soon. Thank you for reviewing. Every review is important to me.