Shinji Ikari One shot
Morning Routine
On the North side of Tokyo-3, a mosquito buzzed towards a certain building, through a certain window, and onto the arm of a very certain fourteen-year-old boy. It pushed its syringe like mouth through the top layer of skin, and has just started to draw up its meal when its brief life ended.
Shinji Ikari spared a little smile for his equally little victim. The trick was to wait until the predator has begun to feed, then they couldn't get away as quickly.
Shinji pulled the covers off his futon and got up, stretching from his toes with his arms above his head. He slid down to his knees and ran his hand over the warm, dry surface of the bedding. Satisfied that it was indeed dry, he folded the bedding and put it away.
Shinji grabbed his towel and headed to the bathroom. He took a quick shower and while he was washing his face over the sink, he noticed a couple light hairs had sprung up on his chin. Shinji let out a frustrated groan. He was not looking forward to putting a blade that close to his own skin.
Shinji returned to his room. The apartment was still silent, neither Messy Matron Misato nor Asinine Aryan Asuka were awake yet. He put his night clothes in the hamper and laid out his school clothes from his dresser. He liked the idea of a school uniform, if only because it saved him having to make a decision about what to wear.
At his old school, when he still lived with sensei, he had to choose new clothes each day. Sensei had been insistent he not wear similar things each day, and made him vary outfits and colors.
"Learning to make these choices seem natural is an important part of the mask." He would say.
The mask. It wasn't even a real thing that he could hold in his hands, but was incredibly valuable. The mask was what divided Shy Studious Shinji from… well, Shy Studious Shinji was what people needed to see.
Shinji put on his underwear, his t-shirt, his slacks and his sauce. Back in the kitchen, he slid on an apron and got to breakfast.
First he carved out three portions of pork and got them in the pan. Each was divided in clean, precise cuts, then scored before they went in. As those seared, Shinji started the eggs. This took two pans, since Asuka liked her scrambled and Misato liked her sunny side up. Shinji also took his sunny side up, but he preferred the texture more than the taste. Less messy too.
He put down a little plate of fish for the penguin, but as usual the bird did not come out. He hadn't lioked Shinji since he moved, and no matter how much herring was involved would not come out when he was in the kitchen.
Shinji was putting portions to plate when the ladies of the house made themselves known.
"Good morning lovelies!"
"Uuuugh, mornin' Shinji…"
"dummkopf… breakfast ready?"
"On the table, coffee is coming up."
"Mmmmm…" Misato said, sniffing the air. "Thank you Shinji."
Asuka grunted. "Better be good…"
Shinji pushed down on the French press with his body weight. It was an affection he had picked up from his sensei, and Misato had appreciated the difference. Far smoother than the powdered stuff.
"Come on baka, hurry up."
Shinji did not grunt, or growl, or even grimace. Asuka was… annoying, bothersome, foolish, vain, impatient, rude, arrogant… She was lots of things. Shinji would have found life more pleasurable without her around. But of all the things she was, she was, under a certain, very important definition… innocent.
She did not prey on others. She did not harm children. She had not done evil then fell beyond the reach of the police.
And so she was innocent, she was outside the code. And so she was safe, at least from Silent Stalking Shinji. There were still giant monsters to worry about, and who knows what kind of regular old human monsters walking around.
"Here you go ladies." Shinji said as he set the cups on the table and finally sat down himself to dig in.
"Okay kids, no tests, practice, or otherwise, and it's Friday, so where are you going to be?"
Asuka swallowed before responding. "I am going to spend the night at Hikari's."
"Ken had to bail on camping but I am going to stay out anyway."
"You sure like sleeping out there, Shinji."
Shinji shrugged then smiled. "Makes me feel alive."
Shinji finished his breakfast first and cleaned his plate before heading back to his room to finish getting ready. First his socks, then his shoes. White, plain, unassuming socks and sneakers.
He slid his belt through the loops but left it open for now. As he slid his button up shirt on, he mentally went over his mask, Shy Studious Shinji.
Quiet, nervous, not at all likely to jab a needle in your neck, process your body like a hog, and leave the bits in mass graves that were the rubble piles of Tokyo-3.
Buttoned up all the way to the 2nd button, he checked himself in the mirror. He would point out his newfound fuzz to his friends. Well, friend was not the best word. Unwitting assistants in the masquerade would be better. Regardless, showing off the miniscule hairs would be fulfilling expectations.
That's all the mask really was, he thought to himself as he tucked his shirt in and closed his belt. Find the expectations of others of one and fulfill them. Japan was very clear and regular about its expectations, which made it easy.
Shinji picked up his book bag and slung it over his shoulder before walking out the door.
"Have a nice day at school Shinji!" Misato said as he passed her, still eating next to Asuka.
"Thanks Misato, hope you have a good day at work. See you when you catch up Asuka." Shinji said, getting a grunt in response.
Down the stairs and out onto the streets, Shinji took a deep breath of the morning air and then slid his earbuds in. The thing had broken years ago, but the little SDAT player helped to avoid casual social situations, which he was still working on. Mr. Morgan had been helping him with that when he got the letter from his father, summoning him to this strange city in a strange land. At least it was a little cooler than in Miami-2.
As Shinji walked down the street, he was already thinking about someone very special to him. Mr. Tyka Yamigata was an upperclassman from the high school just down the street from Shinji's school. His hobbies included casual drug use and the sale thereof. He had captured Shinji's interest with an additional side line in pimping of those female customers who could not pay, including a couple 6th graders at Shinji's school.
Shinji hummed a little tune as he began the long walk to school, fantasizing about all the fun he would have with Mr. Yamigata that night.
Yes, it would happen tonight. And it would happen again and again, and it would keep happening. When he let go and let the dark passenger take the wheel.
Silent Stalking Shinji smiled in the morning sun.
It would happen tonight, and it would happen again, and again, and again.
And he was going to savor every second of it.
End
What if Shinji's teacher was Dexter Morgan? Title is a reference to the Macdonald Triangle, a defunct behavior analysis tool.
Okay so who got the crossover before the name drop?
