Kannami was taken to Misato's to have their talk elsewhere. It was only because people were staring at them after their fight. Being known as Eva pilots was one thing, but this attention Shinji could do without.
On their way, Kannami kept trying to get Asuka to date him. She was flattered, really, but wasn't sure if she wanted to date the guy. He was pretty intimidating in his fight with Shinji despite how jovial he was.
They were at Misato's and sitting in the living room. Kannami took one look at Shinji's guardian and said, "Man, Ikari-kun! You lucky bastard! I didn't know you were living with a supermodel!"
Misato gushed at the compliment and Shinji rolled his eyes.
"So, Kannami," began Misato. "You and Shinji are old friends?"
"Rivals, actually," corrected Kannami.
"Friendly rivals to be more precise," added Shinji. "We met when we were 7."
"You were 7, I was 8," retorted Kannami.
"I don't see much of a difference right now," Shinji countered.
"So, how exactly did you two meet?" Misato asked to find out more.
"Shishi-jii and Mele-chan, my teachers, brought me to where Ikari-kun was training. I wandered around and saw Ikari-kun being picked on by the more advanced students. I hate bullies so then I decided to teach those punks a lesson."
"Rukawa-dono got reprimanded but the bullies got a worse punishment," added Shinji. "They got expelled because they weren't displaying the proper traits of a GekiJyuKen artist."
"Well, and we've been friends ever since," finished Kannami.
"So, attacking him out of the blue is like a friendly meeting?" Asuka asked.
"What?" Misato gasped.
Shinji then told her about how Kannami suddenly attacked them at the ice cream parlour and challenged Shinji to a fight. With how friendly Shinji and Kannami were being right now, it was a bit hard to believe.
"So, will you be staying for dinner?" Rei asked.
"Is Ikari-kun cooking?" asked Kannami. Shinji nodded. "Then count me in! It's been awhile since I had an original Shinji Ikari dish."
"That's because you're too lazy to learn how to cook," said Shinji.
"Hey, I can cook!" defended Kannami.
"Throwing stuff into hot oil and deep frying it isn't exactly cooking," retorted Shinji.
"Urusai, koumori-teme!"
"Make me, baka-kuma!"
"Man, that was a good meal," said Kannami as he walked from the apartment. He then found himself surrounded by several men in black suit. "Who the fuck are you!?"
"You will come with us," the lead man said.
Kannami had only been minding his own business when these guys in black suits suddenly showed up. Sure, he could've beaten them up but when they identified themselves as NERV's security force, he went with them willingly. That was the only reason why Kannami was sitting across from Gendo Ikari at the moment.
"So, you're Ikari-kun's old man?" asked Kannami.
"I am the one asking the questions," stated Gendo. "Now, tell me what you know of the Third Child's past."
"No," replied Kannami.
"What do you mean 'no'?" scowled Gendo. "Are you defying an order from one of your betters?"
"One, if you couldn't even beat Ikari-kun, there's no way in hell you are my 'better'. And two, the only people I take orders from are Shishi-jii, Mele-chan…" Kannami jabbed his thumb at himself. "And me. If you got a problem with that then too fucking bad."
Gendo glared at Kannami. How dare this little punk talk to him in such a disrespectful manner!
"I could have you shot for being a threat to NERV," Gendo threatened.
"I've been shot at before," Kannami smirked. "Not a scratch on me. Besides, I could kick the ass of anyone who tries."
"Then you are capable of fighting like the Third Child," Gendo snorted.
"Similar, but not the same," Kannami shrugged. "Seriously though, Ikari-kun's been telling me about you. The Bastard King, the one who abandoned him in the middle of the street and then called him back because you 'needed' him. I've met some twisted folks, but you take the cake above all else."
"That is irrelevant," Gendo frowned.
"Oh I disagree," Kannami chuckled. "That means I am going to take every chance I get to bust your balls and make your life a living hell. Seriously, how the hell did you get Shinji's mom to even look twice at you? Did you get her drunk and screw her, hoping to make her be your girlfriend or something?"
Gendo was usually someone of supreme self-control. He always hid his emotions, assuming he had any, and never let anyone know what he was thinking. Still, if there was one thing that put a ding in his armor, it was his precious Yui. The woman that he was even now trying to reunite with through his scenario. This...punk, who accused him of something less than the love that he pledged Yui too was one of the things that could always make him slip.
Kannami stood up. "Now, let me outta here before I gotta force my way out."
"Fine..." Gendo conceded and he pressed the button that opened the door.
"In all, Old Man," Kannami snorted. "Stay out of my way and forget learning about Ikari-kun. You ain't getting a single thing. Strongarming us is a bad idea too, we tend to hit back and hit back hard. Don't bother getting up, I'll see my own way out."
With that, Kannami slipped out of the office and headed for the elevator. He wanted out of the place and he wanted it now. Maybe he would tell Shinji how to set off his old man for a favour. Say…putting in a good word with the fiery Asuka. Now that was a girl he could like.
"This is all your stuff?" Shinji gawked as he stared at all of Asuka's belongings.
"Yup, and I'll be staying here from now on, Third Child!" Asuka grinned.
It had been decided that Asuka would be staying with Misato. Of course, since Rei was already staying with them they had to pretty much delegate the rooms again. Since Rei enjoyed sleeping in the same room with Shinji, Asuka had to be given the smaller room. She didn't mind, really, but wanted Shinji to earn it so they had an arm-wrestling match.
Asuka begrudgingly admitted that Shinji was a lot stronger than he looked. Whatever training he had was definitely something special if the fight he had with Kannami hadn't been evident enough
Kannami himself had gotten a small apartment for himself and would drop by on occasion. When Shinji found out what Gendo had tried to do, he got angry and wanted to confront the commander himself. Rei convinced him otherwise. Kannami could take care of himself and had done so admirably. Not that Shinji didn't know that, but he was always on the lookout for a chance to beat up his dad.
"Well, I just need to unpack," said Asuka. "Mind helping?"
"Sure," said Shinji happily.
"But don't touch my undies!" she threatened.
"Hey, they're yours," said Shinji.
"May I help?" Rei offered.
Initially, Asuka viewed Rei as a doll but clearly she had been wrong. The blue-haired girl wasn't as expressive as Shinji but she wasn't as stoic as she was led to believe. Of course, Rei only expressed herself whenever Shinji was around, giving him hugs, kisses on the cheek and a smile. Shinji responded in kind and Asuka found herself jealous...almost.
At least Kannami showered her with compliments and such.
Then, there were more surprises when Shinji found out Asuka had been enrolled in his class and not just her.
"FIGHT ME, IKARI!!!" Kannami roared as he charged for Shinji's desk, throwing a fist. Shinji easily caught the attack and grinned at his friendly rival as everyone stared. Asuka was miffed. She had wanted to make an impression but Kannami had ruined it with his usual 'morning attacks'.
"Rukawa-dono?" Shinji saw his friend wearing the boys' uniform. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm coming to school. Shishi-jii and Mele-chan thought it'd be best if I went to school." Kannami didn't sound too happy about that.
"Excuse me!" Asuka exclaimed, "Focus on me, people!"
"What an attention hog," snorted Toji.
"She's not that bad, Toji," said Shinji.
"Well, at least it won't be boring," said Kensuke as he aimed his camera at Asuka. "So, who are you?" asked Kannami.
"A fellow practitioner of the Beast Fist style Ikari-kun here practices, only better," boasted Kannami.
"And yet I have more wins," retorted Shinji.
"Up yours, Koumore-teme!"
"Yours too, baka-kuma!"
Shinji and Kannami glared at each other before they began to grapple and exchange insults. Hikari went to stop them but was stopped by Rei.
"Representative Horaki," began Rei, "If I were you I would not get into the middle of that."
"But..." Hikari tried to argue.
"It is much safer for you," Rei interrupted.
Asuka huffed at her amazing introduction being ruined. Of course, she wasn't going to complain about the fighting. Neither were most of the girls. Reason? Shinji and Kanami's shirts got ripped, revealing the lean and toned muscle underneath. So the girls were being given a free show while the boys cheered and took bets. The girls got some pretty good eye candy as a reward too.
'Yum,' Asuka thought to herself, but if it was when she was looking at Shinji or Kannami she wasn't sure.
Outside the base, on the shoreline of Japan, the two Eva's stood ready.
It had been twelve days since the 6th Angel battle in the ocean. A battle they had won. But now the pair were at it again and this time in their respective Evas. Rei was put on standby at the base because her own Eva still needed extensive repairs after the battle with the 5th Angel.
"Just stay behind me, Third Child," Asuka called from Unit 02. "I'll take this thing out with no trouble."
"Are you sure about that, Asuka?" Shinji asked. "We don't have any data concerning what this thing is capable of. We don't even know what special skills it has."
"Special skills?" asked Asuka.
"The last four Angels have all had special abilities," Shinji explained over the monitor. "The Third Angel had an energy lance in its arm, the Fourth Angel had energy whips for arms, the Fifth Angel was strong both offensively and defensively, and the Sixth Angel was aquatically adapted," he listed, counting on his fingers.
"Stop worrying about it. That doesn't mean they're invincible. I can handle it," she smirked.
"I know you can," he said in encouragement, "I just feel much better if we know what this one's capable of." The words 'know thy enemy' rang through in situations like this.
Their attention shifted as a loud explosion erupted from the surf. Asuka saw the water rising out of the ocean, looking like an exploding geyser.
The Angel burst through the water staring at the two Evas as if in confusion. It was tall. Taller than the Eva's perhaps, and of a sleek grayish color with a bony mask like that of the Third Angel. I's body was curved to the point that it looked like it could roll itself into ball if it wanted to. What was odd was that its core looked like a yin-yang symbol, evenly curved down the middle. Like it could separate.
"I got it!" Asuka shouted as she gripped her lance and charged.
"ASUKA, WAIT!" Misato shouted before Shinji could.
The redhead leaped through the air, hop-scotching over half-sunk buildings and brought her lance down hard directly on the Angel, the high energy blade slicing the creature right down the middle. Her victory seemingly assured, Asuka leaped away to admire her work.
"See? A battle should be clean and elegant. Without waste," Asuka smirked.
'You love showing off, huh, Asuka?' Shinji mentally groaned.
Suddenly, Shinji's Ki senses picked up something coming from the target.
"Misato, something not right!" Shinji cried out as he adjusted his controls, drawing his Prog Knife out.
"What do you mean, Shinji?" The woman asked as the split form of the Angel suddenly started moving and the half pieces transformed into two whole, yet separate and smaller bodies. One was red, the other brown. Naturally Misato's reaction was, "THAT'S JUST BULLSHIT!"
Asuka was caught off guard as the two smaller Angels turned to her and grabbed her, lifting her into the air, twirling her around like a pizza, and tossing her headfirst into the ocean.
"Unit 02 is down, Unit 02 is down!" the shouting came to full alert.
'Yeah, I noticed,' Shinji thought as he leveled his rocket launcher at the on-coming Angels. He hadn't realized that someone else was present.
"Asuka!" Kannami cried as he dashed towards the downed Eva 02.
Kannami had gone on a training trip, hoping to get the edge on Shinji after hearing that he was constantly going into NERV for testing and not much JyuKen training. Of course, he missed the evacuation order and thus got a front row view of the fight against the 7th Angel.
At first he was pleased to see Asuka score a killing blow, but got wary when the Angel split into two Angels and proceeded to beat the crap out of the two Evas.
At the moment, Kanami had gotten to the entry plug area. He didn't know exactly where it was, but the covering at the base of the neck was a pretty big clue. Of course, the entry code was needed, but Kannami was never one for patience. So, he smashed the controls with a Rinki-powered punch. The system shorted out and the plug rose out.
"Hold on," Kannami muttered to himself as he pulled the door open, causing LCL to spill out over the Eva's armor. He didn't even notice the burning in his hands from the heated steel. Peeking inside, he saw that Asuka was out cold from the impact.
"Damn," Kannami hissed as he looked back to the battle. Shinji was getting double teamed by the two Angels and he probably wasn't going to last much longer. Looking back at the Eva, he suddenly got an idea.
"Hope it works," he muttered before he leaped inside the plug. Shutting the door, the machine drew the plug back in, and LCL began to flood the cockpit again. "Eww!"
Gagging as he breathed the LCL, Kannami gently placed Asuka to the side and removed the clips. Shinji explained about the goofy stuff he had to wear while piloting the Eva. It gave Kannami a good idea as to what he needed to do.
"Here we go!" Kannami roared as he pumped his Rinki into the behemoth machine.
Inside NERV, the techs began to cheer when Uint-02 began to get back up again.
"Asuka's okay," Misato breathed in relief.
"Sir!" Maya shouted to her superiors. "Asuka's synch ratio is going up! It's in the nineties!"
"Really?" Ristuko blinked.
"See if you can get visual on the pilot!" Misato ordered sharply.
"Yessir!" the techs replied.
They tapped away at the controls for a moment before the screens lit up. They were expecting to see the normally surly redheaded pilot of Unit-02. What they got was the punkish face of Kannami grinning like an idiot.
"Kannami?!" Misato shrieked. "What the hell are you doing in there?!"
"Driving it, what the fuck does it look like?" Kannami answered as he pushed the Eva forward.
"How?! When?! Wha-?!" Ristuko gaped. Even Gendo was showing surprise.
"It's not hard," Kannami answered. "Just move the controls and act as if is your own body, right?"
"It's not that simple!" Ritsuko shrieked.
"Sure it is!" Kannami laughed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got an Angel to kill!"
Unit-02 slammed into the red Angel while Unit 01 kept itself occupied with the brownish-gold one. It was a sneak attack, but it got the job done. However, the pair of Angels quickly recovered. Both began shooting large blasts of energy at the two Evas, aiming to destroy them.
"Damn!" Shinji cursed as he dodged the blast. He looked to his unexpected partner. "We're going to run out of power soon!"
"Then we're going to have to get stronger!" Kannami growled. "These things are in a partnership. We have to get strong enough to kill them, but move in synch to beat them.
"We're lucky we've been fighting each other for so damn long," Shinji muttered. "Hey, I've heard you RinJyuKen Akugata guys can summon RinBeasts. Can you?"
"Damn right," Kannami laughed. "You just get a GekiBeast ready."
"Done," Shinji nodded. "Gekiwaza!"
"Ringi!"
"Rai Rai Jyu!"
"Shorai Ju!"
The two Evas exploded with either green energy or gold energy depending on the Eva in question. Above them, two energy constructs appeared, trumpeting or roaring loudly. One was the familiar form of the GekiElephant, but the other was a black lion with a gold mane and a tail which looked like it could double as a sword.
"GekiElephant!"
"RinLion!"
"JYUKEN BUSOU!"
GekiElephant disassembled, becoming the pieces of armor which attached to Unit 01. Its head and snout became the war hammer which was unique to the configuration. RinLion disassembled into four different pieces. The front half and the back half attached to Unit 02's shoulders with a loud metallic sound. The face and head of RinLion attached to Unit-02's chest. The rear end of the lion made up the guard for the sword, which was RinLion's tail.
"GekiEvaElephant-01!"
"RinEvaLion-02!"
"BURNING UP!"
"LET'S GET THEM!!!" Kannami shouted.
"CHARGE!!!" roared Shinji.
The two Rin and Geki powered Evas then went on the assault. The two attacked simultaneously, striking at the twin Angels. Kannami's sword and Shinji's meteor hammer connected and sent the Angels reeling before the two Evas kicked up with their feet to send the two Angels falling to their feet.
The two Angels got up and attacked again. Kannami was ready. He recalled how the core was the weakness so he stabbed his sword into the Angel's core, hoping to finish it for good. Once he was sure he'd defeated his foe, he withdrew the blade.
Of course, it wasn't over. The Angel core healed itself, shocking Kannami before an uppercut forced the Unit-02 onto its back.
"Grr!" Kanammi growled and then noticed that Asuka was stirring. "Asuka!"
"Hm?" Asuka blinked and then her eyes widened in shock before she shouted, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY EVA!?"
Kannami flinched at the volume and answered, "Piloting, saving your skin, and getting my ass kicked."
Shinji was using the EleHammer to knock one of the Angel backwards but with Unit-02 down again they once again double-teamed him.
"Ikari-kun, I'm coming!" said Kannami. "Ringi: Shishi Ko!" RinLion's mouth opened wide and fired a blast of Confrontation Ki at one of the Angels. It struck it in the back and it fell forwards. Shinji had Eva-01 toss the other Angel into the air and slam it through the air like a baseball after hitting it with the EleHammer.
"What did you do to my Eva?" asked Asuka.
"The same thing Shinji did when he fought that thing in the water," answered Kannami. Shinji had told him a few stories of his first few fights with the Angels. Asuka had been there too to witness her Eva being modified. "Now, to cut me up some Angel!" He charged forward and Eva-02 raised its sword to strike, "Ringi: Rin Zan!" He slashed at the Angel several times with his sword, hoping to cut it apart. At the same time, Shinji was executing an attack too.
"Gekiwaza: Dai Gan Gan Gan!" The Eva-01 began to strike the other Angel repeatedly with the EleHammer repeatedly.
The two Angels were down and looked ready to be finished off. However, at the precise moment the two Evas lost power.
Two hours later, NERV briefing room...
The Angel was still alive but was also heavily wounded. Right now it was recovering and put under heavy surveillance. An AT-Field surrounded it to protect it as it recovered. At the moment, the battle was being viewed on screen. Due to Kannami's involvement and ability to synch with Unit-02, he'd been brought along as well. At first Asuka was miffed that she needed saving but was grateful for the assist. She'd been a sitting duck and if it wasn't for Kannami then the Angel would've won. Still, she wanted to know how he'd gotten to synch so well and he just told her he just pumped his Rinki into the mecha to get it moving.
"Well, good work," said Fuyutsuki with a tint of sarcasm, "Even if you did fail to kill the Angel."
"Still, Mr. Rukawa was able to help gather some very valuable information," said Ritsuko.
"Me?" Kannami pointed to himself.
Ritsuko, at Misato's recommendation, decided to just give up on her study of Ki. It just couldn't be explained. Giving up was also less stressful. She wanted answers, sure, but what she got was on a whole different field. She didn't believe much in the supernatural or mysticism, only in hard facts, data and scientific research. Whatever Ki was...it just couldn't be explained. It wasn't like the AT-Fields, but it was still similar...just not similar enough to be studied.
"When you stabbed its core," Ritsuko explained, "This should've killed it but instead it healed. We believe this is because it was a half-core."
"Half-core?" the three teens parroted.
"The Angel has the power to divide itself into two smaller versions of itself. As a result, its core splits in two as well," Maya stated. "However, it's still connected."
"So, you're saying that because one of the cores was still intact, it was able to heal the other core?" Asuka asked in shock.
"Exactly. This wasn't foreseen, but now that we know, we will be making certain adjustments in order that you will be able to defeat the Angel," Fuyutsuki said.
"Such as?"
"A simultaneous, coordinated attack, using both Evas," Shinji and Kannami said in unison.
"Uh...right." Ritsuko said, looking at Maya.
"Figures."
"How did you know what I was going to say? Are you psychic?" Maya asked.
Kannami turned and grinned wickedly. "Am I scaring you?" This caused people to back away in fear.
"Ignore the baka-kuma," said Shinji, using his nickname for Kannami, "But a coordinated attack makes sense."
"We saw how you fought," said Ritsuko. "You were both nearly coordinated, but you were using different styles."
"Well, I mostly practice RinJyuKen," said Kannami. "Ikari-kun practices GekiJyuKen."
"The Yin and Yang of the Beast Fists," added Shinji. "So, even though we know each other well, we can't match our styles 100 percent."
"But, the Angel's neutralized," said Asuka. "Can't we take it out now?"
"No. While it's in recovery, it's thrown up an AT-Field that can repel any attack. The MAGI predict that it will come down when the Angel is fully healed, which will be about five days," Maya said.
"Well that's just perfect," she huffed as she slumped back in her chair.
"Hey, think of it as a learning experience," said Kannami and Asuka looked towards him. At first she wanted to be angry at him for hijacking her Eva, but then she realized he'd done so to save her. She couldn't be angry because of that and well she had to admit he was the better fighter from the several times she'd witnessed him and Shinji fighting. Didn't mean that she couldn't stew about it privately though. She didn't like anyone being in her Eva.
"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," said Shinji. "And plus we live to fight another day."
"I just have one question," said Kannami. "Is there a shower I can use right now? I don't want to smell like blood all day."
"So, that Rukawa boy is capable of piloting an Eva," said Gendo as he read the report. With him were Ritsuko and Fuyutsuki.
"And his synch ratio was a near match to the Third Child's the first time he piloted," said Ritsuko.
"I see…" said Gendo. "How interesting."
"Ikari, what do you plan to do?" asked Fuyutsuki.
"I think it's time we properly welcome the new Fourth Child."
Kannami was at Misato's with Shinji and the two boys were playing videogames. Asuka and Rei just sat back and watched as the boys duked it out. When Misato came in with some news, it shocked them all.
"I'M WHAT!?" Kannami shouted.
"HE'S the Fourth Child!?" shouted Asuka.
Misato nodded and continued, "Because of Kannami's ability to synch with Asuka's Eva, he's now officially the Fourth Child, as in the fourth pilot we have."
"Wait, wait, wait," said Kannami. "Me, a pilot? Does that mean I gotta take orders from that four-eyed old freak?"
"You mean Pops?" Shinji asked.
"Who else desperately needs a shave?" retorted Kannami.
"Unfortunately…yes," said Misato. She herself didn't openly express a liking to the commander but he didn't really care if anyone liked him or didn't. To him it didn't make a difference. His subordinates were all beneath him anyway.
"I'd rather swallow flaming swords than work for that bastard!" Kannami snapped. "No way! I am not piloting!"
"Well…since Asuka is still the official pilot of Unit-02, I don't think you'll be getting into the piloting seat anytime soon," said Misato.
"Though, Unit-03 is nearly completed," said Rei.
Kannami grumbled.
"Also, I wanted to tell you kids about the new training regime to help you beat the Angel!" grinned Misato.
Somehow, that grin was discomforting to three-fourth of the teens.
"Sooooo, we're going to be playing a marathon of DDR?" asked Shinji with a raised eyebrow.
Misato had brought in two dance machines that indeed were similar to the classic game of movement and music. They were attached to the TV and displayed scoreboards and dancing mats. While Misato didn't like the idea that it came from Kaji, she couldn't argue with it.
"No!" Misato frowned. "This is going to help two of you learn to move in perfect harmony! We have five days to train and we're not going to stop. Not unless you have a better idea."
"I can teach the basics of Bat-Ken," Shinji offered. Kannami was about to speak up before Shinji interrupted. "The basics of the style is moving instinctively and the training is synchro movements."
"Hello? From the RinJyuKen?" Kannami muttered.
"I'll consider it," Misato frowned. "If what you say is true I'd prefer the one who taught you to teach it."
"Uh…" Shinji gulped. "Master Bat Li is kind of picky about that. Plus, he's more of the nocturnal type."
"Yeah, real batty if you ask me," Kannami chuckled.
"Anyway," Misato spoke up. "Ideally, we'd prefer that Kannami and Shinji be partnered, but while RinJyuKen and GekiJyuKen are very similar the differences would keep them from a perfect synchronization. So, we're going to have Rei partner with Shinji and Asuka partner up with Kannami."
"But Rei's Eva isn't finished getting repaired yet," Shinji argued. "How can Rei pilot next to me if her Eva is still broken down?"
"That's why when we aren't here, we'll be at NERV for cross-synchro testing," Misato smirked. "Rei will be tested in Unit 02 and 01 while Shinji will test 02 as well."
"I am not letting them into my Eva!" Asuka snapped.
"You let Kannami in," Misato argued.
"I was unconscious!" Asuka retorted.
"True, but Kannami proved he is able to synch with the Eva," Misato added.
"Um…excuse me? I haven't exactly agreed to pilot here," said Kannami.
"I thought you'd look forward to fighting giant monsters," commented Shinji.
"I'm not too keen about working under your bastard of a dad either," stated Kannami. "Just the sight of him makes me wanna hurl."
"There's more at stake here, Rukawa-dono," said Shinji. "I don't like Pops, but I don't like the idea of the Angels hurting innocent people more."
"And that's why I think you're too nice for your own good, Ikari-kun," said Kannami, "You put others before yourself."
"So, are we gonna do this or what?" asked Asuka.
"What about school?" asked Rei.
"I'll call the school," said Misato. "I'll tell them it's official NERV business why you're not at school."
"Trapped in an apartment for five days with my best friend/rival and three babes," Kannami snickered. "I don't have any pressing matters at the moment."