Neon Code Evangelion – Reason to Fight
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass or Neon Genesis Evangelion
Monday
Lelouch had woken up early today and made breakfast, as it was now his week to do chores. Before he had started, he read a note on the table saying that Misato was already at work so he didn't need to make anything for her. Lelouch had quickly finished everything before everyone had gotten up and placed them all one the table and started eating. When he had nearly finished his breakfast both Shinji and Nunnally had woken up and said their "Good mornings," to which he replied.
Lelouch had left the table before those two and got dressed then brushed his teeth and then proceeded to do what all people do when they're about to leave for school. Shinji and Nunnally had done the same and met Lelouch at the front door.
"Ready to go?" He asked the two of them.
"Yup!" Nunnally replied excitedly while Shinji just nodded. Although Shinji was grateful for Lelouch's offering the other day, he still was little apprehensive about going to a new school.
"Then let's go." Lelouch told them and walked out of the house/school building. Nunnally had gone in a different direction towards where the elementary students' classes were held while Lelouch and Shinji walked towards the junior high students' classes.
As the two of them got to the building they noticed all of the other students that were heading towards the academy. Shinji was slightly surprised by the number of Japanese people that were attending the school, but made sure not to show it too much. Shinji also noticed all of the sideways glances he was getting, which were also noticed by Lelouch.
Even if it the school is accepting of Japanese people, that doesn't mean there still aren't racist idiots out there. Lelouch thought angrily. He started to pick up his pace and made sure that Shinji caught on to what he was trying to do so that they could get to class much more quickly. Shinji stopped by the office so that a teacher would be able to escort him to wherever his homeroom was going to be and Lelouch continued on towards his own homeroom. When he got there, he noticed how devoid of students it was.
"Hey there old buddy." He heard Rivalz call to him as he waved an arm to where he was sitting. Lelouch merely waved and took a seat in the desk in front of him that had nobody else sitting in it.
"Where is everyone?" Lelouch asked, thinking that if this many people were skipping he might do so as well.
"A ton of people have moved since the state of emergency. After they saw what had happened to the city, they didn't want to wait until the next emergency came along." Rivalz explained to Lelouch in a slightly sad voice.
"What's got you all upset?" Lelouch asked, hearing the sad tone his friend was using.
"Nina was one of the people that moved away." Rivalz told him.
"I see." Lelouch replied in a slightly sad tone, though not as sad as Rivalz's as he didn't really know that much about Nina, even though the two of them were part of the student council.
"Anyways, since a lot of people have moved away, we're going to start combining classes so that they aren't so barren." Rivalz continued to explain what was going on with the school to Lelouch. Before Rivalz could go any further, the teacher came into class, along with a nervous looking Shinji, signifying that classes had commenced.
At least I'll be able to keep my eye on him. Lelouch thought concerned for Shinji's wellbeing as now his last name was about to be revealed to the entire class, what was left of it anyway.
"Class, today we will be getting a new student. Go on, introduce yourself." The teacher urged Shinji, but the entire class could see how uncomfortable he was, and Lelouch knew the reason why.
"Um, hello," Shinji managed to say, "my name is…" Shinji faltered when he had to say his name, understandably so, "my name is Shinji Ikari." He finally mustered up the courage to introduce himself. There was a collection of small gasps and murmurs around the room, making Shinji shuffle slightly on his feet.
"Please find your seat Shinji." The teacher told him in a deadpanned tone. Shinji looked around the room to find a seat. When he saw Lelouch, he went and sat down in one of the free seats next to him. After this, class had started and the students had opened the laptops they use for class.
Throughout the period, Shinji kept on receiving glares from other students, especially quite the death glare from a red haired girl at the far end of the classroom. Lelouch noticed and it made him rather curious.
Isn't she the daughter of a Britannian noble? Lelouch questioned in his thoughts. He knew that many, if not all, Britannian nobles disliked Gendo because he was a Number but also had the second highest position in the Britannian hierarchy, but this girl didn't have any reason to glare at Shinji the way she was since her family wasn't all that important, from what Lelouch knew of it anyways. Lelouch was brought out of his thoughts when he received a message on his laptop. He opened it and saw it was from Rivalz.
Why didn't you tell me?! It asked, the multiple question and exclamation marks emphasizing Rivalz's surprise about Shinji's lineage. Lelouch began typing his response.
You know why. Is what his reply had stated.
You could have told me in private! Was the next message Lelouch received.
Can we discuss this later? Lelouch asked.
Fine, but you better be ready for a butt load of questions not only from me, but from Milly and Shirley as well! Was Rivalz's final message to Lelouch.
A few minutes of class had passed by and Lelouch heard another message notice go off on both his and Shinji's laptop. They both looked at each other in confusion before opening it and seeing what the message was.
Is it true that you two are the pilots of that robot Y/N? Lelouch and Shinji looked around the class to see who had sent the message but didn't have any luck. They then got another message. It's true isn't it? Lelouch and Shinji looked at each other for a while until Lelouch shrugged, his way of saying "Might as well." They both typed in their replies.
Yes. Shinji typed.
Yeah so what? Lelouch typed. After they replied almost the entire class got up from their seats and crowded them, surprising the both of them as they got riddled with questions. Lelouch ignored most of them, noticing some of the students that hadn't gotten up, them being Rivalz, given that he already knew about Shinji and Lelouch's situation, the red haired girl, two Japanese boys, the blue haired girl Lelouch saw at NERV HQ, and only a few other Britannian students.
It must be rather easy to forget who the father of someone is if you just wave the words "I pilot a giant robot" in someone's face. Lelouch mused. He was then brought out of his thoughts by one of the questions he was being asked.
"What kind of weapons does the robot use?"
"Well from what I saw-" before Lelouch could finish he was interrupted by another question.
"What's the cockpit like?"
"Well I haven't-" Lelouch was again interrupted.
"Does it have some kind of special attack?"
Now that's just ridiculous. Lelouch thought before he tried to answer the question. "I don't think-" he was again interrupted by another one of the students who were acting like one of those blood sucking reporters on the news. Lelouch looked to Shinji and saw that he wasn't faring much better than he was. Very thankfully the bell rang and Rivalz stepped in to help the two boys.
"Alright everybody let's just leave these two alone." Rivalz tried his best to back the mob of students away, but unfortunately he was overpowered by them and they started to converge on Lelouch and Shinji again.
Not again. The two of them thought in unison. Just before they were bombarded with questions again, the door opened to reveal Milly and Shirley. Lelouch quickly waved them over to help them, and thankfully Milly stepped in to stop the oncoming assault.
"Hey, everyone back off! You don't want me to cancel the school festival do you?" Milly threatened, which made the students back off a bit. "Good, now then Lelouch, since I ha-" Milly stopped herself as she noticed that both Lelouch and Shinji were gone. She then looked over to the door and saw it swaying back and forth, "You cheeky devil." Milly cursed under her breath.
Lelouch had grabbed Shinji and the two of them ran out into the halls, using Milly as a distraction, so that they wouldn't be treated like a pair of criminals being interrogated. The two of them stopped after going down a few halls since Lelouch wasn't exactly known for his athletic abilities.
"I can see what you meant when you said the school can get a little wild." Shinji remarked as he looked back to make sure they weren't followed. He then looked to Lelouch as he was panting quite raggedly, "You alright?"
"Just…not…that good…at running." Lelouch rasped between breaths.
He is really out of shape. Shinji commented, though not out loud, "Th-thank you for that by the way."
"Don't…mention it." Lelouch replied, still panting. "I told you I would help you out didn't I?" He reminded Shinji.
"Yeah you did." Shinji replied meekly. He was thankful for Lelouch's help, but he did feel a little bad if was going to put a tax on him as it was doing right now due to his incredibly poor physic.
"Hey, you there," The two boys heard a stern female voice call to them and the boys turned around to see it was the red haired girl from before, "you're Shinji Ikari, right?" she asked, her stern voice making Shinji slightly worried.
"Y-yes." He replied, cowering a bit due to the girl's threatening glare. She started to walk up to Shinji, him taking a step back and looking incredibly worried and confused. "C-can I help you?" he asked, wondering what it is the girl wanted with him. What the girl did next startled Lelouch and Shinji as she slapped him across the face, Shinji taking a few steps back as he wasn't expecting the sudden 'gesture'. The girl didn't say anything else and started walking off.
"Hey!" Lelouch yelled at her and somehow caught up to her, grabbing her arm, "What's your problem?" Lelouch asked her with anger in his voice. Shinji may have been the son of a bastard like Gendo, but he didn't deserve to be treated like this. The girl didn't listen to him and continued to walk down the hallway. "Hey I'm-"
"LELOUCH!" Lelouch heard Milly yell at him from down the hall.
Now of all times. Lelouch seethed in his thoughts. He turned to see a fuming Milly stomping down the hallway towards him. "What is it Milly?" Lelouch asked annoyingly.
"What's with you ditching me after I saved your hide?!" Milly demanded.
"I don't see what the problem is." Lelouch replied, still in his annoyed voice.
"Oh, you don't do you?" Milly said in a disturbingly calm voice. "Well the problem is that you left me to get trampled by your damn mess, that's the problem!" Milly yelled.
"Can we save this for later?" Lelouch asked, his annoyance coming full circle. Milly seemed to notice his attitude and called him out on it, asking why he was acting this way. "Some girl just slapped Shinji for no reason."
"Who?" Milly asked, surprised.
"I don't know, all I saw was that she has red hair." Lelouch explained.
"Where is Shinji?" Milly asked, worried about the boy.
"He's right-" Lelouch went to point where Shinji was standing, but he wasn't there whatsoever. Where could he have gone?
Shinji was currently outside, walking around the school.
Why did that girl slap me? He wondered. He never met the girl, and he didn't do anything to offend her. It's probably because of who I am. Shinji concluded, the answer making him seem downtrodden.
"Hey, new kid." Shinji heard a boy's voice and turned around to see a boy with black hair and brown eyes and another boy with brown hair and glasses over a pair of dark green eyes.
"Y-yes?" Shinji addressed the two boys. What happened next surprised him as he was punched in the face. This time the blow to the head made him fall on his back and caused him to bleed a little.
"Sorry new kid, I just had to do it. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't." The boy with black hair told Shinji.
"Sorry about him." The boy with glasses said to Shinji as he leaned down and held his hand to his mouth. "You see his sister was hurt when you were fighting, so that's why he hit you." the boy explained. "Well, see you around."
"What do I have to get hit for? They made me pilot the stupid thing." Shinji said as he rubbed his mouth, the general area where he got hit. Unfortunately the one who hit him heard him and went over to pick him up. Shinji looked away, preparing himself for what was about to happen. This exchange was not going unnoticed however, as a girl with chestnut colored hair came running to break up the fight.
"Leave Shinji alone!" Nunnally yelled as she came running up and tried to pry Shinji away from the boy who punched him. The two boys were confused when they saw this girl and looked at each other, not knowing what to do.
"Nunnally?" the group heard a boy call out to the little girl. They all turned around and Shinji and Nunnally recognized Lelouch.
"Lelouch, these two are hurting Shinji!" Nunnally yelled over to him, anger in her voice when she directed her attention to the two boys. They finally let go of Shinji and ran off, leaving the three alone. "Hey, you get back here you jerks!" Nunnally yelled at them, wanting to exact revenge on them for hurting Shinji.
"Calm down Nunnally," Lelouch told his little sister, "I'll have Milly deal with them." Lelouch felt slightly sorry for those boys as he had no idea what Milly would do to them, but pushed that to the side and helped Shinji get back up, "You all right?" Lelouch asked Shinji.
"Yeah." Shinji replied weakly.
"No you're not, you're bleeding!" Nunnally yelled as she went and grabbed Shinji's hand. "Come on, I'm taking you to the nurse." Nunnally told him and didn't leave any room for argument as she dragged Shinji to the nurse's office. Lelouch just stood and watched as Shinji the two of them ran off and back into the building. When they turned the corner, he looked back to where the two boys he saw ran off and quickly made a mental note.
Better tell Milly to make them wear the most embarrassing outfits during the cross-dressing festival. He told himself and turned around to follow Nunnally to the nurse's office. As he walked off he didn't notice the red haired girl watching the entire endeavour.
Kallen was standing behind a tree, silently watching what had just transpired.
Who on earth would want to help that brat? She wondered as she started to walk off the school grounds. She was left rather confused as she didn't think anyone would want to help the son of Gendo the Traitor. Were they just too stupid to know who the brat's father was? Not to mention she saw the boy who was with the brat earlier. Why did someone like him hang out with that kid? From what Kallen was able to figure out from all of the people she was forced to gossip with, the boy's name was Lelouch and he often skipped classes to go out gambling. So why did he hang out with the son of that bastard?
Kallen pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind as she started walking back home, her reason being due to her "illness". She wanted to see how everyone back at the ghetto was doing and she thought it was a hundred times better than staying here at some Britannian school.
Shinji sat silently as the nurse checked his cheek, seeing if there were any cuts. Nunnally was sitting in the room with him, a worried expression on her face.
Why does she care so much about me? Shinji wondered. He was slightly grateful for her helping him, but he had only met known Nunnally for a few days, so why was she so concerned about him?
"All you have is a small bruise and cut so you should be fine." The nurse told Shinji, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"Th-thank you." Shinji quietly replied. Both he and Nunnally got up and left and started walking around the campus.
"I'm so glad it's only a bruise. I thought that you were seriously hurt or something." Nunnally told Shinji in relief.
"I'm fine, really. I'm sorry for making you worry about me." Shinji said to Nunnally in a downcast voice.
"Why are you saying sorry? You don't need to be apologizing for making someone worry about you." Nunnally told Shinji in her usual happy voice. This surprised Shinji a little as he had never really met anyone who had worried about him. "Hey, I got an idea." Nunnally suddenly beamed as she stopped in front of Shinji. "I'll promise you that if you are ever in trouble that I'll help you out as best I can, and in return you won't need to say that you're sorry for making someone worry about you, promise?" Nunnally asked Shinji as she explained not only her promise, but also what Shinji would have to promise Nunnally in return. Shinji was surprised again that someone was willing to look out for him and stood rooted to the spot, not knowing what to say or do. Then he remembered what Lelouch had said to him yesterday and his mood lifted a touch.
"Promise." Shinji finally replied, still his usual soft voice. He was actually finding his day to be rather pleasant, despite the fact that he was hit twice, but he also now had friends who were willing to help him out whenever he needed it. He usually didn't like being helped by others, but he definitely didn't dislike it now.
A few minutes later Lelouch had caught up to them and when he saw that everything was alright, he started taking Shinji back to class as the bell was about to ring. He asked him if he was willing to skip, but Shinji refused. It would look bad if he skipped class his first day of school he told Lelouch. The day went by rather uneventfully and when the end of the day came along the trio headed back home. Shinji and Lelouch had to leave later on to go to NERV HQ for some training, so Lelouch called Sayoko to come over and take care of Nunnally.
At NERV, Lelouch and Shinji had completed their training for the day and right now Misato and Ritsuko were riding the tramway.
"That reminds me, I heard Shinji was beat up by two of his classmates. Are you sure we have adequate security for the children?" Ritsuko asked.
"The Intelligence Department has them under constant surveillance. He was never in any real danger, besides I think it would be best if we don't interfere in his private life if we can avoid it." Misato replied.
"Says the woman who's living with him, his maintenance is still part of your job." Ritsuko reminded her.
"Technically speaking yes, he's just so more naïve and complicated than I expected."
"Well then what about Lelouch, is he as 'complicated' as Shinji?" Ritsuko asked with a subtle playful tone in her voice.
"Oh he is ten times more complicated than Shinji." Misato exasperated. "Although he has lightened up a bit, he can be quite a pain in the neck sometimes."
"How so? If I recall he is the one who let you and Shinji move into his house."
"He can be such a buzzkill sometimes. All he really does for entertainment is read, play chess, and gamble." Misato complained.
"Well why don't you try and join him in one of his chess matches?"
"I already did and he pulverized me." Misato seethed, remembering a quick match she and Lelouch had one day. "He didn't even give me any useful tips, he just told me what pieces move where and the rules then BAM!" Misato emphasized the BAM part by punching a fist into the palm of her hand. "I mean come on, give the new player a little break next time."
"Maybe he could give you lessons." Ritsuko teased. All Misato did was glare at her as a response. "Anyway, how are he and Shinji getting along?" She asked.
"Surprisingly well, actually." Misato responded glad that Ritsuko changed the subject.
"Why is it so surprising?"
"Well Shinji doesn't really seem like the one to make friends. I mean I gave him a cellphone but he hasn't gotten any calls whatsoever, and Lelouch is…well Lelouch." Misato responded. "He even seems to be getting along well with Nunnally."
"I see. That is rather surprising."
"Told you." The two of them stayed quiet and waited for the tram to reach its location.
Tuesday
The next day of school was pretty much the same, minus the girl slapping Shinji and the two boys hitting Shinji. Well, one boy and one onlooker. It was lunch time right now and Shinji was currently on the roof listening to music on his SDAT music player when the girl he saw at NERV HQ had approached him.
"There's an emergency. Come on." Was all she said as she ran off the rooftop of the building, Shinji staring at her blankly.
Shinji and Lelouch were taken to NERV HQ and Nunnally was taken to a shelter with the Student Council members. Lelouch had to take a few minutes to tell Nunnally that he was going to be alright and that there was nothing to worry about and eventually did. Now they were at HQ, Shinji inside the cockpit of EVA 01 and Lelouch in the command center.
Why even bring me here? Lelouch wondered. He didn't have his own EVA unit, so why bother even bringing him to the command center to watch every battle. Those last three words then made him find the answer he was looking for. Gendo was making him watch every battle so that he would know what would happen if he suddenly decided not to pilot the EVA, what his sister would have to go through if he refused. Bastard, as if I would ever do that to her.
"Shinji, are you ready?" Misato asked in a serious tone, bringing Lelouch out of his thoughts.
"Yeah." Shinji replied unenthusiastically.
"Listen closely, as you neutralize the Angel's AT Field fire a volley with the Gatling gun. Do it just like we practised and you'll be fine." Dr. Akagi advised him before he launched.
"Right." Shinji replied, again unenthusiastically.
"Move out!" Misato ordered and Unit 01 launched up to ground where the Angel was. This Angel was completely different from the last one. It was red this time with skeletal like legs that you would see on a centipede and had the head shape of a squid. For arms it had purple, energy like tentacles that could pretty much slice through anything.
So every Angel has a different appearance and set of skills. That's going to complicate things when we fight them. Lelouch thought as the battle with the Angel and EVA 01 commenced.
Kallen was just returning from a resistance base in the mountains, a little grumpy since they would most likely have to abandon it due to reported patrols of Britannian soldiers.
Of all the places to have patrols, it just had to be in the mountains. She groaned internally. After a few minute of walking she came across two Japanese boys, one with a camera, looking as if they were about to do something they weren't supposed to.
"Hey, you two." She called out to them, surprising the boy with black hair but the one with the camera couldn't care less.
"Dammit, see Kensuke, I told ya we were gonna get caught!" the black haired boy yelled at the camera wielding boy, Kensuke, Kallen guessed easily enough.
"Would you calm down Toji? The shows about to start!" Kensuke chided, sounding excited for some reason.
"What show?" Kallen asked confused. Before the two boys could answer her she saw something shoot out of the ground where the city was located, then some door like objects opened to reveal a gigantic, purple…robot for lack of a better word. She stared at it, completely awestruck by the machine, wondering how on earth something like that could exist. The creation of the Knightmare was one thing, but this thing made Knightmare Frames seem like children toys.
It wasn't until the thing got out of its hiding hole and open fire with a gigantic machine gun did she notice the monstrosity the was behind it. Kallen didn't even know how to describe the thing that she was seeing. If seeing the giant robot was surprising, the thing it was firing at was the second most surprising sight to behold. The giant robot stopped firing and in the spot where the other thing was there was now a giant smoke cloud.
Suddenly one of the thing's glowing tendrils slashed out and destroyed the robot's weapon. Luckily the robot was able to dodge and was now in a type of sitting position.
"Man he's getting thrashed." Toji commented.
"He'll be fine." Kensuke replied. After he said that another tall structure shot out of the ground of the city and opened up to reveal another giant rifle, but for whatever reason the robot wasn't grabbing the rifle and was still sitting down.
"Maybe he's still not seeing straight from that beating you gave him." Kensuke told Toji.
"You shut up!" Toji yelled back, somewhat embarrassedly. Kallen was wondering what they were talking about as she didn't know that these two had also hit Shinji, and since she wasn't really paying attention in class she didn't know that he was the pilot of the giant machine in front of her.
She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard loud crashing coming from the city and saw that the giant monstrosity was attacking the robot, causing it to run away. The machine was getting heavily thrashed and thrown around, causing a lot of the surrounding buildings to be destroyed. Eventually the monstrosity grabbed the robot by the leg and threw it into the air.
"It's coming this way!" Kensuke yelled as the robot was swirling towards where he, Toji, and Kallen were right now. All of them let out a scream and the robot finally crashed down, very thankfully missing them all. When the dust settled they all noticed that the machine's fingers were around them. Their attention was then drawn back to the monster that was attacking the city was now in front of the robot. It lashed out with one of its tendrils, but the robot caught it with its hand. It seemed to be burning through what Kallen guessed was its armour.
"Why the hell isn't he fighting it?" Toji yelled out.
"I think it's because he's here, he can't fight with us in the way." Kensuke replied. Kallen wasn't paying any attention to them, her eyes focused on the scene in front of her.
"You three, get inside the cockpit now!" The students heard a female voice yell as a door opened from the tube that came out of the back of the robot's neck and a rope repelled down. They agreed blindly since it was most likely better than their current situation. When they got in it felt as if they had jumped into a pool and Kallen faintly heard Kensuke complain about his camera. When Kallen's eyesight adjusted, she was surprised to see that the person piloting the giant robot was none other than Shinji Ikari. She was brought out of her surprised state when she noticed the bubbling going on around his hands and the constant twitching they were doing.
Is holding onto those things actually hurting him? She wondered. Eventually Shinji was able to throw the monster back and started getting back up.
"Now hurry and retreat!" Shinji heard Misato order him, but for whatever reason he didn't run away.
"Uh hey new kid, I think she's telling you to run." Toji urged Shinji. Shinji didn't listen and proceeded to take out the EVA's knife.
"I won't run away, I won't run away, I won't run away!" Shinji muttered strongly to himself. He didn't pay attention to Misato telling him to retreat and let out a furious yell as he charged down the mountain side and rushed towards the Angel. The Angel retaliated and stabbed the EVA in the midsection, causing Shinji to lurch forward in pain, but that didn't matter to him at the moment as he let out another yell and stabbed the Angel's core with the EVA's knife. He continued to yell as he pushed the knife forward, trying to inflict more damage to the core and kill the Angel as fast as possible. Shinji didn't even pay attention to Maya as she counted down the EVA's last ten seconds of operational time. At the very last second of operational time, Shinji was able to push the knife deep enough into the Angel's core and kill it as everything went dark inside the cockpit.
Shinji still felt the pain of being stabbed and started sobbing, not caring about the others who were watching him inside the cockpit with him. The other occupants of the EVA looked at Shinji, watching him with pity as they heard him sob, and after seeing the hardship he just went through, they could easily understand why.
The two who were feeling the most pity for him at that moment were Toji and Kallen since they caused him bodily harm and didn't think for one moment what it was like for him piloting this thing. Well, that was what Toji was thinking, but Kallen thought that she acted like a complete jerk to Shinji for slapping him out of the blue and not even saying a word to him. The hatred she felt for Gendo got the better of her and she took it out on Shinji, not even considering what he was going through and that his father made him pilot something like this.
Some time had passed and Shinji was now in the one of the change rooms, Misato looking down at him. Shinji didn't look back at her and just continued staring at the water bottle he was holding in his hands.
"Shinji, why did you ignore my orders up there?" She asked.
"I'm sorry." Was all Shinji said in response.
"I am your superior officer in charge of your missions." Misato told him in a stern voice.
"Yeah…" Shinji replied in a downtrodden voice.
"And that means you have an obligation to follow my orders no matter what." Misato explained, still in her stern voice. "Do you understand?"
"Yeah…" Shinji replied softly.
"Then make sure this never happens again." Misato ordered, her voice sounding a little angry.
"Yeah…" Misato was angered when she heard Shinji say that for the third time in a row.
"Are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Misato half yelled at him.
"Yeah, I hear you…loud and clear." Shinji said to here, his voice louder than before, but only by a little. "…But what does it matter anymore? We won. Look, I'll pilot it when you tell me to, that's all you really want isn't it." Shinji stated in a depressed voice. Misato slightly gasped when he said that and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him upwards so he would look at her. Shinji still continued to look away however and slightly winced, as if he was expecting Misato to hit him. Misato noticed this and let him go.
"We're done here, go home and get some rest, I'll be there soon." Misato told him, her voice not as stern as it was before. Shinji listened and slowly left the room. After Misato heard the door close she brought her hand up and slapped herself across the face.
Lelouch was allowed to go home after the Angel was killed. He would have liked to stay and wait for Shinji to see if he was okay, but decided to go home instead and check on Nunnally and tell her that he was alright. He didn't even check to see if the people who were in the cockpit with Shinji were alright as he remembered that they were the ones who had hit him, so he just left them to be dealt with by NERV personnel.
After a few minutes of walking he finally arrived home to Nunnally and told her that he was fine.
"Where are Shinji and Misato?" She asked.
"They stayed behind. Misato wanted to have a quick talk with Shinji." Lelouch told her. He knew that Misato was angry with Shinji that he disobeyed orders, but decided not to tell Nunnally about that.
"He's not hurt is he?" Nunnally asked, worry clear in her voice.
"He did get thrashed around quite a bit, but that's why Misato went to talk to him, to see if he was okay." Lelouch lied to her. He didn't want to worry her by telling her that Shinji pretty much got stabbed since he felt whatever the EVA went through, and he had a feeling Shinji would have done the same.
Lelouch quickly calmed Nunnally down and started to prepare supper for everyone when they got back. He finished and served Nunnally her meal and began to eat his and left Misato's and Shinji's on the table. When he and Nunnally finished they heard the door open and saw that it was Misato, but Shinji wasn't with her.
"Where is Shinji" Lelouch asked.
"He isn't here?" Misato asked herself, surprised and worried that Shinji hadn't come home since he left before she did, but then again he had to walk while she drove home in her car. Lelouch took out his cellphone and called Shinji. It rang a few times and Lelouch didn't get an answer. He ended the call, got up from the table and started to put Rivalz's cell number into his phone.
"What are you doing?" Nunnally asked, worried that Shinji wasn't home yet even though it appeared that he should have been.
"I'm calling Rival to see if I can borrow his motorbike and go look for Shinji." Lelouch replied as he reached the stairway leading to the doors. As he got to them Rival answered his phone.
"Hey Lelouch, what's up?"
"Can I borrow your bike for a few minutes?" Lelouch asked, getting straight to the point.
"Yeah, why though?" Rivalz asked.
"I think Shinji may have gotten lost in the city. He moved here only a few days ago so he isn't really familiar with the layout." Lelouch explained, fabricating the part about Shinji being lost. He had a feeling that he was most likely running away.
"Alright, I'll come by and drop it off. Don't mess it up alright." Rivalz told Lelouch as he hung up. Lelouch hung up his cell phone as well and was now in front of the door.
"I'll be back soon okay." He told Nunnally and Misato as he opened the door and left. Lelouch only had to wait a few minutes before Rivalz came by with his bike. Lelouch thanked him as he put on a helmet and stated driving.
Now he probably took the train, so I'll start checking the station that's closest to NERV HQ. Lelouch thought as he drove through the city. Lelouch arrived at the station and saw that it was closed. That means the rest of them will be closed as well, so Shinji I probably on foot now. Lelouch thought to himself and then noticed a map of the railway in the station. He looked at it and saw that the last stop that was made, so he started driving over there as it was likely Shinji was there.
A few minutes went by and Lelouch had finally arrived at the part of the city where Shinji most likely was and started to drive around the place slowly so he wouldn't miss him. As he was searching he got a call and noticed that it was from Misato. He answered his cell phone and started talking to her.
"Hey, what's up?" Lelouch asked.
"Have you found him yet?" Misato asked, sounding worried and tired. It was on forty five last time Lelouch checked. Lelouch heard Misato sigh on the other end and decided to ask what was nagging at him for the past few minutes.
"Misato, what exactly did you say to Shinji when you talked to him?" Lelouch asked, thinking he might get a better understanding of why Shinji decided to run away if he knew what Misato said to him.
"All I told him is that he needs to follow orders when he's given them, that's all." Misato told Lelouch in a tired voice.
"That's it?" Lelouch asked, not quite convinced with the answer.
"Yes." Misato replied. "But he did seem as if…" Misato started, but didn't continue.
"As if…" Lelouch urged her to continue as he turned a corner. Misato let out a sigh before she continued.
"When I talked to him he seemed as if he didn't care at all about what could have happened to him, and also said that all we really want from him is to pilot the EVA." Misato explained to Lelouch in a somewhat hurt voice.
"I see." Lelouch replied, taking in what Misato told him. "I think I'm close to finding him, so don't worry. You'll be able to tell him yourself that isn't true." Lelouch told her.
"What makes you say that?" Misato asked, surprised at how Lelouch sounded so kind right now.
"I can tell that you care a lot about Shinji and his wellbeing. He probably just didn't see it that way since he hasn't known you for very long and doesn't have many friends that care about him, so he didn't understand that you were angry with him only because you cared about him." Lelouch told her. Misato was surprised at who Lelouch was able to figure this out so easily and it also helped calm her down a little. She figured if Lelouch was able to figure all of this out he would have no problem helping Shinji deal with what he's going through right now.
"Thanks for that Lelouch." Misato thanked him in a grateful voice. "By the way, Lelouch?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell Shinji it's his choice if he wants to pilot the EVA or not." Misato told him. There was a silence over the phone for a few minutes before Lelouch answered.
"Sure thing." He replied as he ended the call. Misato hung up her phone as well and put it down on the nightstand next to her bed. She let out a small chuckle as she lay down on her bed.
Guess he's nicer than I give him credit for. Misato thought as she tried to get some sleep.
Lelouch let out a small yawn as he continued looking for Shinji. Last time he checked it was two fifteen in the morning and he was starting to get incredibly tired. He was about to turn another corner when he noticed a theater and saw that they were showing movies all night.
Please let this hunch be right. Lelouch pleaded in his thoughts as he stopped the bike in front of the theater and waited.
Shinji was exiting the theater when he noticed Lelouch fast asleep on a motorbike. He was surprised at first at seeing him, but then got confused as he was wondering why Lelouch was asleep on a motorbike to begin with.
"Uh hey, Lelouch?" Shinji said as he shook him. Lelouch stirred and woke up, looking around him to see where he was.
"Must have fallen asleep." Lelouch told himself as he stretched.
"What are you doing here?" Shinji asked.
"I was out most of the night looking for you." Lelouch told him, much to Shinji's surprise.
"Why?"
"We were worried about you, why else?" Lelouch replied. "Misato and Nunnally are probably worried sick right now." He continued. Shinji didn't say anything in response and looked down at the ground, as if he was ashamed to look at Lelouch right now. "Is something on your mind?" Lelouch asked, noticing Shinji's downcast look.
"It's just that…" Shinji started, but hesitated for a few moments before he continued. "I don't understand why I have to pilot the EVA. Even if I do it, people still get mad at me for it, so what's the point?" Shinji finally told Lelouch after a short moment of silence. Lelouch didn't say anything for a while, understanding where Shinji was coming from. Ever since he started piloting it he got slapped, punched, and now verbally berated by people, so he could see why Shinji felt a little lost right now.
"Misato told me to tell you something when I found you." Lelouch spoke up, catching Shinji's attention. "She said that it's your choice whether or not you want to pilot the EVA ever again, so she won't be mad with you if you decide not to." Lelouch told him, completely catching Shinji off guard. He didn't know what to do, whether he should agree to pilot it again, or if he shouldn't. On one hand if he didn't pilot it he wouldn't be in so much pain anymore and he would be able to have a normal life, but then Rei would be forced to pilot and she was still injured, and Lelouch didn't have his EVA with him so he wouldn't be able to do much. But if he agreed to pilot it, people would just get mad at him for doing something wrong or hurting someone that they care about, so why should he have to pilot it if he only ended up making people mad or hurting others? He decided to voice this part of the argument to Lelouch.
"But even if I do pilot it, I'll only continue to hurt others accidentally, or just make others mad at me, so why bother?" He asked Lelouch. Lelouch didn't say anything for a while and thought over what Shinji just told him. From what he was able to understand, Shinji wanted to pilot the EVA so that he could either get some recognition or be accepted for once in his life, but if he only ended up hurting others it defeated that hope.
"Shinji, Misato only got mad at you because she was worried about you." He told him, again surprising Shinji. "She told you to retreat that day because she wanted you to get out of there unscathed and alive, not because she just wanted to throw back into the EVA. She genuinely cares about you Shinji." Lelouch explained to him. Shinji was again caught off guard by what he said, looking at him with a surprised expression. He had very few people who cared for him, and to hear that someone actually did was something he wasn't expecting. "Why don't we head back home and you can see for yourself?" Lelouch offered. Shinji looked at Lelouch for a while, wondering if he should accept his offer or not. "I told you I'd help you out if you ever needed it, didn't I?" Lelouch spoke up again. Shinji remembered his offer and it helped ease if doubt slightly as he got into the passenger car attached to Rivalz's motorbike. Lelouch started the engines up and took off back home.
The entire ride back was silent and when the two boys had arrived back they still said nothing to each other. Shinji was still feeling a little conflicted about his situation, but what Lelouch had told him and the fact that he was willing to go out looking for him at such a late time was easing him a little.
When Lelouch reached the doors of his home he opened them and went inside, Shinji going inside along with him. They both heard footsteps heading towards the stairway and saw that Misato was the one making them. When she saw that Shinji was with Lelouch she stopped dead in her tracks, not knowing what to say or do. They both stared at each other for a long amount of time, the two of them not saying a word or making a move. Lelouch noticed the amount of time it took them to say anything and found it incredibly awkward, so he decided to time it so he wouldn't feel so uncomfortable.
Forty nine, fifty. Lelouch counted in his head until he heard Shinji speak up.
"I'm home." He said with a hint of happiness in his voice and a small smile.
"Welcome home." Misato relied, also with a happy voice.
Fifty straight seconds of uncomfortable silence. Jeez I've had chess games that went by quicker than that. Lelouch thought.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
WHY THE HECK DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG TO FINISH THIS?! I MUST HAVE HAD A SERIOUS CASE OF WRITERS BLOCK! JEEZ, LETS JUST REPLY TO SOME REVIEWS!
Lordban: I agree, those two are more dangerous than the Angels in my opinion. Also about the interaction between Misato and Lelouch I don't plan on pairing them (but now that you've brought it up I may think it over) it's just Misato's personality interacting with Lelouch's personality. Also with Nunnally I kind of had her do that in Chapter 3, but I also plan on her doing more of it throughout the story, and something else that will have Nunnally fans wanting my head on a platter. *cough*cough* Third Ang*COUGHCOUGHCOUGH*. And with the whole Asuka and Lelouch thing, I can already hear the banter between the two. And finally about Charles and Gendo, it will be somewhat like Gendo's relationship with SEELE, but you will have to see how it develops in the next chapter.
Lone Gundam: That's the plan.
Wraith Kone: I aim to please.
Ramos: She hasn't been incredibly vital for now so I haven't really added her, but that most likely will change.
Imperial Warlord: Thank you.
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Hope to see you to the very end.