VERY IMPORTANT A/N, PLS READ
OK, so this is my first fanfiction, so please feel free to point out any mistakes I make. Also, I will answer to every review (if any…plzz… ), but it might be either in A/Ns or in PM; that decision is mine. Also, I will say this once and only once:-
"Neon Genesis Evangelion and its characters do NOT belong to me. And no matter how many times I say it, nothing will change that fact, so there is no point in saying it again and again."
I'm also hoping to get a Beta-Reader, so please PM me if you're interested.
I hope you enjoy reading the story.
Prologue
Drip…
The sound rings through the depths of the universe.
Drip…Drip…
Repeatedly, picking up its pace.
Drip…Drip…Drip…
A monolith stands over the Earth, her hand outstretched in front of her face, so that he could look at her baleful red eyes.
The giant girl speaks to him, softly, smoothly "Do you wish to change fate, Ikari Shinji?"
He felt his mouth moving and heard the sound coming out of his mouth, as if it were someone else in control of his body, standing on the giant's hand "Yes, I do."
"Why do you wish so, Ikari Shinji?"
"That's because I don't like this fated end. Everyone is dead. You, Me, Asuka, Misato, and the world itself. I wish my life could have been happier. I wish I could have saved everyone."
"Then shall I make it so?"
Laughter. "Oh? And how will you do that?"
The red eyes close as her voice reaches his ears, a bit faded "Sleep now, Ikari Shinji. I am Rei Ayanami, but I am also Lilith. And I shall make your wish come true."
A young Shinji sits up on the bed, breathing heavily.
"The same dream again?" he says to himself.
"Eh? Did I have that dream before?" he grows confused.
"But what was I dreaming about?" he wonders, and then falls asleep again.
He does not notice, and neither does any other human, the dripping sound of ripples still echoing across the fabric of space and time, nor the twists and wrinkles finding their way into the threads of fate. In fact, he would soon cease to have these strange dreams, and forget about them altogether.
Chapter 1
1947. A turning point. Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
'No, too important to be changed.'
2000. A new millennium. Second Impact.
'A necessary sacrifice.'
6 June, 2001. The birth of Ikari Shinji, from the union of Yui Ikari nee Ayanami and Gendo Ikari.
'Irrelevant. The date does not matter.'
2004. Contact Experiment. 'Death' of Yui Ikari.
'A convergence point. Indispensible.'
Later in 2004. Shinji is sent away to live with his teacher.
'OH? This can be worked with.' A smile appears on the giant white face with gleaming red eyes. 'Ikari Shinji, I hope your wish comes true, though you may never realize it.'
And so stands the giant, smiling, while she fades into the realm of the metaphysical behind the wall called the Doors of Guf, becoming an observer trying to witness the effects caused by her delicate manipulation. And for the final time, she hopes.
A few days after the Contact Experiment,
"…Daddy,*sniff*, don't you want me?"
"Please…don't send me away daddy!"
Gendo Ikari ignored his 3 year old son's sobs, wails and outbursts, choosing to keep quiet. He was in no way cut out to be a single parent. He sighed lightly and told his son once again, this time more sternly "Shinji! You will be sent to live with a person I have chosen. He will take care of you and raise you. Now listen! You will call him 'sensei' and obey him. I will not change my decision, and that is final."
The young boy, understanding almost nothing of what was told him, kept crying for his daddy to let him stay.
Having had enough, Gendo's lips curled into a sneer and he said "Pathetic". Grabbing the boy's arm, he led him towards the exit of his house, where a car would be waiting to take the boy.
Kozo Fuyutsuki had reached the cusp of old age, but he was unmarried, and had no children. He had only ever loved one woman, but she had been taken by another. Now he stood in a doorway, listening to that woman's husband tell their son that he would be sent away. The child had no idea how long it would be, but Fuyutsuki knew perfectly well. 11 years until the appearance of Sachiel. He began to wonder what she would think of this.
Kind, gentle, cheerful and a loving mother, Yui Ikari.
'I want to show Shinji how bright the future seems'
He shuddered and let out a sigh. She would definitely not like this. The child's future seemed rather bleak and lonesome from this point onwards. He stood leaning against the doorway, nodding to Gendo as the man passed by him, with Shinji right behind.
Drip…Drip…Drip…Drip…Drip…Drip…
A sudden impulse came over him, and he spoke out "Ikari!"
Stopping in his tracks, the man turned back and said, "What is it, Fuyutsuki sensei?"
"About the child, if you cannot take care of him, why not leave him with me?"
Gendo's voice remains calm, but the surprise shows in his eyes as he answers "I had thought about it, but decided against asking you, seeing as you will be busy with our little project."
"Don't underestimate me, Ikari" he huffed "I can manage taking care of a single kid alongside keeping up with my work. Furthermore, is it not better to leave the child with his godfather instead of some random sensei you found?"
Gendo's face entered a phase of contemplation. He weighed the pros and cons in his mind, but knowing that at least he, himself, would be free of the responsibility, he finally answered "Understood. You can take him if you so wish. It does not matter much either way." Saying this, he released Shinji's arms and went back inside.
The child seemed confused, looking curiously up at him, his sniffles and sobs now less intense. 'He looks so much like his mother, with the exception of his hair' marveled the old man. He sits down on his knees, holds out a finger towards the child, and says gently, "Shinji, I'm your godfather, Kozo Fuyutsuki. You will live with me from now on."
"Whats's a godfather?" the child asks innocently.
Kozo lets out a genuine laugh and tells the boy "You can think of it as me being a friend of your parents, or you can think of it as me being your 'sensei' now."
"Why will I live with you?"
"Because you are being sent away by your father."
"Why can't my daddy live with me? Why is he sending me away? Why doesn't he want me?" Shinji began to tear up again.
Kozo picked up the child, and held him while walking towards his car, hoping to sooth the child's cries. "Now now, Shinji, your father is really busy, so he doesn't have time to take care of you. You will still meet him sometimes, but I'll be the one to take care of you, so that your father can do his work. It's very important work, you know? Your mother wanted him to do this work."
This seems to ease the child's worries, but the mention of his mother triggers a new wave of tears and soft low cries. Kozo sighs, settling the child into the car, getting into his own seat, and driving off to his home
2004
Kozo had no idea how difficult it could be to take care of a child. He sometimes wondered if he should give it up, but thoughts of Yui's disappointed face kept him from making such a decision. In any case, at least the child was no longer mopey, and somehow his stomach didn't mind Convenience Store meals and Tofu. 'I wonder why' hethought wryly. He had expected all that.
What he did not expect was to be woken up every night by an excited three year old having weird dreams.
"Sensei! Sensei! I had a dream, and there was a huge white person and it said It'll make my wishes come true, and it had big red eyes, and I think it was a vampire, and…"
"That's enough Shinji, just go back to sleep."
"Okay sensei."
2005
In just a few months, both Shinji and Fuyutsuki had gotten used to living with each other.
To the old man's great relief, 'The Dream' had become less frequent. Why a 3-4 year old kid would have the same dream over and over, he would never understand.
Shinji liked living with his sensei. He was a kind old man, and paid attention to him even though he was so busy with work. He was confused about why his dream bothered is sensei, though. It was a cool dream!
2006
The dreams had ended altogether, and to Fuyutsuki's confusion, Shinji didn't even remember having any. Well, it didn't matter. What gratified him was that Shinji had started learning housework. He was also a great student, curious about everything. He was certainly not a prodigy at the level of his mother, but yes, a genius. And with Fuyutsuki's experience, he was sure he could polish the child into a bright mind.
Shinji was a helpful child. He knew his sensei got very tired from work, and then had to do housework too, so he began to learn housework to help him. He loved having lessons too, when sensei would teach him how to read and write.
He felt rewarded when his sensei brought him a gift one day.
"What's this, sensei?"
"It's a cello Shinji. It's a bit old, but it used to belong to your mother, so I thought it would hold a special meaning. So, I asked your father for it, and he gave it."
"My mother's!" his eyes lit up "But sensei, what's a cello?"
"It's an instrument that you play to produce music. I brought a book that teaches how to play it as well, but the catch is that you have to read it by yourself!" At the end, the old man burst into chuckles. He hoped it would be enough incentive.
It was indeed enough.
2007
Most people would feel amazed beyond words if they found out that a six year old could perfectly read and write Japanese, Kanji included, but not Kozo Fuyutsuki. He just felt smug that his plan worked. Shinji did his best to learn and he did his best to teach, so although they barely got an hour or two of lessons due to his work at NERV, the sensei and seito pair managed to overcome average people's limits. Shinji then began self-learning how to play a cello, using the book his sensei had gotten him. During the time his sensei was home, he would teach him more languages, beginning with English, but Chinese and German on the plan for the future. During the rest of the day, however, he would do the housework, and practice playing his cello. He was also learning how to cook. Sensei didn't allow him to do dangerous stuff, but he relented at the bottom line of it being just experimentation for breakfast.
Yeah, life for Ikari Shinji and Kozo Fuyutsuki was going comfortably.
2011
At an age of just 10 years, Fuyutsuki could already tell that Shinji would grow up to be a wonderful person; talented and well-rounded. To his regret, the talent seemed to be more artistic than scientific, but one can't have everything.
The boy, though having difficulty even beginning to learn stuff like calculus and thermal expansion, could speak 4 languages; Japanese, English, Chinese and German. He could also play the violin, guitar, not to mention his excellence with the cello. He was even an expert at housework and cooking now.
Academics and Arts aside, Fuyutsuki was satisfied with him as a person. Shinji was a kind-hearted soul, Fuyutsuki knew that, seeing as he had learned housework just to help his Sensei. Every passing day, he saw more of Yui in Shinji, and the thought brought him solace. The pair had grown closer, and Shinji would often ask about his mother, what kind of person she was, what work she did, and sometimes he would ask about his father as well. Fuytsuki would tell him loads of stories about the old days.
Maybe due to this closeness, Fuyutsuki found it harder and harder to hide everything from Shinji.
2014
And so one day, it all came out.
"Shinji, come here child."
"Yes sensei?"
"There is something that I have kept hidden from you, because of your father's wishes. But now I have decided that you deserve to know."
Shinji bristled at the mention of his father. The man had not bothered any more than meeting him once every year on the day of his mother's death, at her grave. He had also adopted a daughter called Rei Ayanami, even though he would not take care of his own son. Shinji had met the girl a few times, and thought of her as weird.
"What is it?" he asked his tone taking a cautious turn.
"You know what they say about Second Impact on TV, right? It's all a bunch of lies."
"Oh" Shinji blinked a few times, not getting it.
"Your mother's death is also a lie."
That got Shinji's attention rather strongly. "What are you saying, sensei?"
"Sigh, let's start at the beginning. Your parents worked at an organization called GEHIRN. It's the basis of today's NERV. Your father commands NERV, and I'm the sub-commander. But actually, both NERV and GEHIRN answered to a committee called SEELE.
They are a very powerful group of people. A long time ago they found the 'Dead Sea Scrolls'. These scrolls predicted the 2nd Impact and the coming of beings called Angels. The awakening of the first Angel, Adam, is what caused the 2nd Impact. The method to fight these Angels is to use Evangelions, and when all Angels are defeated, SEELE will start the Human Instrumentality Project. That is all I can tell you about SEELE, for your own safety, Shinji.
Your mother was the head of our project to build Evangelions, or Project E. Evangelion Unit 1 is in-fact designed for you to pilot. But for that, a sacrifice had to be made. She had a contact experiment with Unit-1, and disappeared inside. You were there that day, but you might have forgotten due to trauma."
"I was?" Shinji asked, surprised and continued in a low voice. "I…don't remember anything. All I remember is her voice and her smile."
Fuyutsuki shook his head sadly and dropped the bomb, "Your mother is not dead, Shinji." Ignoring the boy's astonished wide eyes, he continued "She disappeared inside the Eva, but she didn't die. Her soul was absorbed into the Eva's core. You can say that the Eva's core is her soul, or you can call her soul a part of the Eva. She's alive in there."
Shinji's lips trembled "Why wasn't I told this earlier? And what is my father doing about this?"
"It wasn't the right time yet, Shinji. I have taken a huge risk by telling you,, but you deserve to know. Your father's goal is to reunite with your mother, and for that, we will need your help. The Angel's will soon start coming, and you will have to fight them. You will pilot Unit-1, so you should know about it containing the soul of your mother."
Although troubled by all this, Shinji nodded with determination and said "I will do my best."
"That's not all, Shinji. You should also know something about your adoptive sister Rei Ayanami. She wasn't just named Ayanami for no reason. You know it's your mother's maiden name. And you also know that if you had been a girl, you would be named Rei. The truth is that Rei is a clone of your mother, and the pilot of Eva Unit-00. She's your real sister."
Shinji couldn't wrap his head around such an information overload. He stood, trembling, and asked with a shaky voice "And when will these Angels start appearing?"
Fuyutsuki answered "Soon, Shinji, very soon. Tomorrow when I go to NERV, I will not come back. You will be contacted by Captain Misato Katsuragi of NERV, and taken there on the day the Angel attacks. I wanted you to mentally prepare yourself during the time you have." He closes his eyes and looks down.
Shinji took a deep breath, and said "I'm sorry, Sensei, I need time to come to terms with this. I'm going outside tonight so please excuse me"
"Okay Shinji, just be back by morning before I leave, and stay safe. I understand if you are feeling overwhelmed. Take your time."
With this, Shinji went outside and roamed the streets of Tokyo-3 all night, to clear his head.
"SEELE…..
2nd Impact….
Angels….
Mom…Eva Unit-01…
Rei Ayanami….my sister….."
All sorts of thoughts passed his head.
He went back in the morning, made breakfast and saw off his sensei to work. After that, true to his words, his sensei didn't come back.