Chapter 10: 25, 26, 27
25: Enter a Street Brawl and Win.
Shinji Ikari huffed as he walked down the street of his home city. It was now pretty late in the night since he had umbraported there in an instant instead of taking the train like before and enduring the long distance.
Trailing after him after having teleported as well, with a flash of light unlike the Third Child's swirl of shadows, Kaworu Nagisa (a.k.a. Tabris) hummed along with the music he was listening to, Shinji's earpiece and SDAT player in use.
Considering that Shinji knew that he hadn't returned to Misato's apartment for anything, he was hesitant to question the Angel's method or reason for taking his property.
After all, Kaworu had at least assured him that not only was Toji still very much alive, Shinji himself also hadn't killed anybody in his rampage.
That lessened a bit of his guilt... which meant that nothing was stopping his rage from rising as Gendo Ikari's face flashed through his head.
"Who does he think he is?" Shinji growled under his breath, uncaring as he brushed past a group of thugs. "How did Mother ever fall for a bastard like him?"
"Oi, bastard." Shinji blinked as the offended thug grabbed his collar. "I think you owe me an apology."
"Sorry." Shinji replied, ripping off the punk's hand. He tried to keep going on his way, but the thug still grabbed him again. "What now?"
"You've got a lot of spunk for a brat that's about to get his ass kicked." The thug sneered as he raised his fist.
"Shinji-kun." Kaworu spoke up with a serene smile. "Do you require my assistance?"
"No. I'm not sure if you'll even leave this people alive." Shinji replied, completely unconcerned for the guy gripping his collar. "Besides, these losers are pathetically weak compared to what I've dealt with."
At this admission, Shinji couldn't stop a giggle from escaping his lips. "I almost can't believe that I used to be terrified of ever running into these guys before I got called to Tokyo-3."
"Hah?!" The punk sneered as he brought Shinji close enough so that he could intimidate him with a glare. "Looks like it's a city boy from the monster city! You moved back here with-"
"Impressive." Shinji cut him off with a blank stare at the 'accessory' on his enemy's face. "You chained your nose to your face in order to never lose it."
There was a burst of snickers from the thug's friends.
"It makes sense now!"
"He got burned!"
"Dude, he dissed you!"
"Fascinating." Kaworu spoke with genuine, non-malicious interest. "To think the ridiculously arranged metal on his face served as an actual function. I just thought he was one of those foolish humans who just did it to be 'cool'."
The laughing from the thug's friends got even louder, prompting the offended guy to scream in frustration as he aimed to beat the utter shit of the guy before him who still had the effrontery to look bored!
*BAM!*
*BWOOM!*
*CRACK!*
With a bored look on his face, Shinji made no move to defend himself, his eyes only widening a bit when the thug's fist broke against the shimmering AT Field that was invisible to the punks, making it seem like he had just broken his attacker's hand with just his tough body.
(KingVessel: I don't know or care whether it's Canon or not that the spatial phases of AT Fields can't be seen by people who either don't possess Angel powers or are regularly exposed to LCL gases.)
Cradling his broken hand, the thug yelled in agony as he stumbled back.
"Ginji! You bastard!"
Shinji blinked as the others attacked in unison. For some reason, they seemed really slow in their approach.
With a shrug, Shinji rolled his shoulders and punched at the first one's chest after ducking under his outstretched arm, backhanded the second one in the face hard enough to possibly crack some bone, kicked the third one's stomach and caused his entire body to fold around his leg from the impact and finally uppercutted the fourth one in the chin.
To Shinji, the whole scenario had taken at least one minute.
To the real world, the whole scenario took one second.
*CRACK!*
The first thug smashed into a nearby car, already unconscious from the pain of his shattered ribs.
The second thug flew into the wall, moaning weakly as his crunched jaw caused him to bleed heavily from his mouth while moaning pitifully as he slumped down to the ground.
The third thug rocketed away like a missile, his ruptured organs failing as he slammed through the glass of a nearby closed store.
The fourth thug flew upwards for fifteen meters before falling back towards the earth. Just as he was about to land and break his head open, a mass of shadows cushioned his fall, making it so that his only injury was his jaw.
"You saved him." Kaworu observed as Shinji lowered him to the ground with his shadows.
"...why are you still here?" Shinji turned and faced him. "What kind of relationship do you think we have with each other?!"
"Our relationship with each other..." Kaworu raised his hand to idly fondle his pale neck causing Shinji to wonder if he'd imagined the brief flash of a glowing collar. "Across various Realities, we are... friends. Of course, I am the still the Angel who Represents Free Will. Sometimes, I freely choose to die by your hand."
A floating boy. A giant hand that squeezed. A bloody head fell into the pool of LCL.
"Sometimes, I freely choose to die for your sake, when you are abandoned by those you thought your allies."
A kaleidoscope of sanguine colors. A glowing collar. Missing head and bloodied cockpit.
"Sometimes, I freely choose to obey my Angelic instincts and merge with Adam or Lilith, initiating Third Impact."
A malevolent grin beneath glowing eyes redder than blood and hair whiter than snow. A screaming, bloodied Gendo with a missing arm. A world wrecked apart as it disappeared amidst searing rays of unholy light.
"Sometimes, I freely choose to enter a crazy sexual relationship with you and the other pilots." Kaworu paused at that before turning to facing Shinji. "Are you interested with mating with me? You are exceptionally sexually active in this reality."
Taking a tentative step back, Shinji shook his head at that. "I'm not into guys."
"That's fine. Gender isn't as restrictive on me as it is on your species, Shinji-kun." Kaworu shrugged even as his body started to transform. His facial features grew softer, his chest gained two mounds which matched Rei in shape and size, his waist narrowed while his hips flared out, and finally, he- no, she actually went down a few inches in height. "Does this form please you, Shinji-kun?"
Even her voice sounded lighter, which freaked out Shinji even more.
"No." Shinji now took several steps back, raising his hands in a 'stay the fuck away' position. "Not. Interested."
"C'mon, Shinji-kun~" Kaworu strutted. Fucking strutted. "Don't be shy~"
"I'm going to my uncle's house!" Shinji shamelessly ran away, already clearing a block with his enhanced speed. "Don't bother me until morniiiiii..."
26: Tell another Angel that Leliel called them a Bitch
Shinji blinked as he woke up to a sharp ringing in his head. Kaworu, dressed in nothing but one of Shinji's t-shirts idly stared out the open window.
"Good morning, Shinji-kun." Kaworu's smile didn't change the slightest as a strong breeze blew inside the room and caused her clothing to flutter upwards, inadvertently flashing her pale, bare butt to Shinji and causing to squawk as he turned about. "What would you like for a name?"
"A name? Also what are you doing here in my room?" Shinji huffed as he dressed up. His uncle and his wife hadn't been home at the time, leaving Shinji with no qualms at simply entering into his own room. Unfortunately, Kaworu had followed after and had no problems getting past the locked doors either. "I specifically pushed you into a separate room!"
"Research into modern Japanese culture shows that young men enjoy the sight of underdressed girls in the morning, which I now see is accurate." Kaworu chuckled as Shinji noticed her lowered gaze and hid his morning wood out of her sight. "Also, I've been thinking of a Biblical Name to grant you."
"...what."
"You've stepped onto the Path of Transcendence, Shinji-kun." Kaworu snapped her fingers, causing motes of light to envelop her form and fade away to reveal her in casual clothing. "Like it or not, you are no longer classified as a Child of Lilin."
Shinji opened his mouth to protest but found no answer escaping his lips. Because Kaworu was right.
From the moment he had left Leliel and manifested his powers, Shinji had always suspected of his loss of humanity.
Or rather, his gaining of Something which had slowly tried to render his humanity irrelevant.
"Am I... becoming an Angel?"
Kaworu smiled widely. "That's the beauty of it. I don't know. In all the Realities I've seen you live through, even though you have attained Godhood before, it was never as pronounced or exciting as this. You might even become a new Seed of Lif- Ah!"
Cutting herself off from finishing that sentence, Kaworu snapped her fingers before pointing them at Shinji. "Michael!"
"First off, I haven't agreed to taking on a weird new name." Shinji shook his head in annoyance. "Second off, I don't know much about the Christianic religion considering my ethnicity, but even I know enough of the Bible to know that Michael is the top angel in there. As in, most powerful entity right after God and Satan!"
"Exactly! With Adam and Lilith as they are now, the World Throne's seat is currently empty." Kaworu spread out her arms excitedly. "Already, you've-" Kaworu suddenly cut off and stared to her side, seeming looking beyond the wall between her and outside. "That was fast."
Shinji frowned. "What is fast? What's happening?"
Kaworu turned to face Shinji with a serious expression. "Zeruel has arrived 3 days earlier than he was supposed to. And I am not exaggerating when I state Him to be the strongest of my Siblings."
Asuka Langley Sohryu sighed as EVA Unit-02 was sortied, her usual excitement absent.
With Shinji gone, an uneasy atmosphere had soon filled the entirety of NERV. Even the ones who had outwardly raged on Shinji abandoning his duties as a Pilot had trembled before the silent and protective rage Rei and Misato had respectively started to evoke.
After Gendo Ikari's declaration on how exactly he viewed his subordinates, most of the personnel seemed to have split into two factions. The 'Gendo Faction' which believed that the Commander had been justified in his beliefs, especially as all of their victories had been due to his actions, and the 'Shinji Faction' which believed that Shinji easily owned most of the credit for those, especially as it was now revealed just how little contact Shinji had with his father despite possessing the highest amount of Angel kills.
One thing that both factions agreed on however, was that Gendo Ikari was a World Class Asshole who could make even his timid and practically estranged son grow pissed enough to actually develop superpowers just for the sake of beating him up.
Frankly, if not for the dire situation, a lot of people would've recorded the whole 'fight' solely for the entertainment.
Especially Ritsuko Akagi herself, who had recorded it but had rewatched the whole thing several times for an entirely different reason.
Asuka winced as several explosions tore through Tokyo-3, creating a hole massive enough for the Angel to descend into the GeoFront.
"Come get some!" Asuka roared as EVA Unit-02 began firing at it immediately, shooting several rockets and explosives.
In an instant, Zeruel's face was peppered by ineffectual missiles as it's immense AT Field made sure of not allowing the slightest damage occur to it.
For twenty seconds, Asuka unloaded everything she could at it, unable to neutralize Zeruel's AT Field, only to utterly fail to do so.
"Shit!" Asuka cursed at her uselessness. "WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE ALREADY?!"
With that last roar, Asuka's eyes glowed for an instant and the rockets she fired at that moment glowed sanguine with power, prompting Zeruel to actually try and defend itself with it's arms.
*BOOOOOOOOOOM!*
Unlike the others times, a gargantuan explosion of crimson flames blew against Zeruel's AT Fields, shattering through all of it in one go and sending Zeruel flying backwards.
"Haha... See...? Even without Shinji here... The Great Asuka..." Asuka slumped into her seat, falling unconscious from the strain of using a power she hadn't even been aware of.
"Direct hit on the Angel!" Makoto Hyuga reported.
"EVA Unit-02 has become unresponsive!" Maya Ibuki reported.
"How's Asuka?!" Misato Katsuragi demanded immediately.
"She's unconscious!" Shigeru Aoba responded. "For a brief moment, an unknown pattern replaced Asuka's while she inflicted damage to the Angel!"
"Retrieve her!"
"Captain Katsuragi! Doctor Akagi!" Maya called for the two's attention. "EVA Unit-01 has started to go berserk again!"
"What?!"
Ritsuko rubbed her chin pensively as she watched the camera feed. "Wait a minute. This is different from rejecting the Dummy Plug The only times EVA Unit-01 acted independently like this were..."
"Sachiel and Leliel..." Misato finished. "But those were only when-"
Zeruel roared, getting back everyone's attention. Several massive tendrils of shadow from above had wrapped around the Angel, causing to scream as it was dragged out of the GeoFront and away from Lilith against it's will.
"Shinji-kun!" Misato exclaimed with some relief. "That has to be him!"
"Release EVA Unit-01."
The entire bridge turned to face the emotionless Gendo Ikari who had been quiet so far.
"The EVA has already rejected the Dummy Plug and Rei." Gendo stated as he stood up. "If EVA Unit-01 wants to reunite with it's preferred Pilot, we just have to clear it's path to Shinji. Fuyutsuki, take over here."
With that, Gendo turned around and headed out, leaving for a better look of the battle aboveground.
Misato clenched her fist before bellowing her orders. "Release EVA Unit-01's restraints! "
"Understood!" Makoto replied. "Releasing primary lock bolt!"
"Release confirmed! Releasing umbilical bridge!"
"Releasing primary and secondary restraints!"
"Releasing safety locks #01 to #15!"
The moment it was freed, EVA Unit-01 took a thunderous step forward, stunning those who witnessed the Mecha behemoth carefully ensure not to step on anybody as it headed for the launch elevator.
"EVA Unit-01 has reached the Gate #05!"
"Launch path, clear!"
Misato breathed deeply as EVA Unit-01 was launched upwards. "It's all up to you now, Shinji-kun."
With a roar of his own from atop a nearby skyscraper, Shinji pulled on the shadow cords connected to him, yanking Zeruel high up into the air until it fell down with a resounding crash!
YOU DARE INTERRUPT MY SACRED MISSION, ABNORMALY?
Shinji winced from the immensely loud voice that seemed to slam directly into his skull. The Angel hadn't made any physical indication of speaking, but a terrible, mighty Voice still invaded his mind with unchallenged Authority.
"Yes... I... dare..." Shinji shakily stood upright against Zeruel as it faced him, his heart somehow pounding almost as loudly as Zeruel's voice. "Who are you to attack my friends?!"
I AM. I AM THE PROGENY BORN FROM OUR FATHER ADAM. I AM THE ONE WHO SHALL TEAR THIS WORLD APART REGARDLESS OF IT'S DEFENSES. I AM THE ULTIMATE LIFEFORM WHICH NONE MAY SURPASS. I AM THE SECOND TO ADAM, HEIR TO HIS IMMEASURABLE PRIDE. I AM THE 14TH. I AM THE ANGEL OF MIGHT. I AM THE ARM OF GOD. I AM ZERUEL. I HAVE COME.
Shinji blinked as the voice finally finished. 'Am I... supposed to respond here?'
Taking a deep breath, Shinji clenched his fists and let his power flood out with full strength. His voice strong and unusually unwavering. "I Am. I Am an Earthling born from this World you Trespass into. And you will do well not to look down on my kind, for We have personally ensured the defeat of the 13 Angels who arrived before you. Despite my Wrath against my father, I will not abandon my comrades again! I Am the former Pilot of Provisional Evangelion Unit-01, Shinji Ikari!"
BIG TALK FOR A WEAKLING WEILDING A PITIFUL AMOUNT OF SACHIEL AND LELIEL'S POWERS.
Zeruel moved forward, sending forth his tentacle arms at Shinji.
With supernatural speed, agility and combat sense that Shinji didn't know the origin of, he swiftly cut them apart with his own sharpened tendrils of shadow. "So fast!"
Zeruel's arms regenerated as it now translucent beams at Shinji. But he was too fast and avoided all of them.
Landing on a skyscraper's roof, the tentacle arms pulverized the whole building with a single hit.
"Too fast!" Shinji panted as he ran and jumped rings around Zeruel. "There's no way our robots could've kept up with that speed! Shamshel's whips at least had the excuse of being energy constructs!"
A MERE CHILD OF LILIN SHOULDN'T POSSESS SUCH ABILITIES!
Just as he landed, Zeruel's empty eyeholes flashed and Shinji summoned a massive swirl of shadows just in time to block against the immensely powerful spatial attack.
Yes, spatial. Not explosive.
Now that Shinji was close enough, he could literally feel the FORCE distorting and ripping away at the shadows which he was very sure was Zeruel's own AT Field.
By manipulating it's own unbelievably powerful AT Field beyond just it's primary function as a shield, it also utilized it as an all-encompassing hammer and all-penetrating blast of concussive force.
Shinji groaned as he felt the skyscraper beneath him start to buckle despite his numerous shadowy reinforcements to make it as stable as possible.
Just when Shinji started to lose hope...
A giant purple and green fist appeared, crushing in Zeruel's face from the side.
"What?!" Shinji yelled in shock as Zeruel was sent flying, smashing through several buildings. Roaring out in what seemed very similar to satisfaction, EVA Unit-01 turned to face Shinji.
"You... saved me again..." Shinji murmured, only to gasp when the robot extended it's palm towards him. "Wait a minute..."
EVA Unit-01's Entry Plug opened up, making the robot's intentions clear. Shinji clenched his fists in frustration.
'In the end, I still return to this...' Shinji bit his lips, uncaring of the blood that started to dribble down or a nearby floating drone that had a camera trained on him. 'Fine, then... Rei. Asuka. Misato. Toji. Kensuke. Hikari. Maya. Makoto. Shigeru. Satsuki. Aoi. Kaede. I came here with the intention to save everyone. Besides, it's not like I have to stay afterwards. I just have to beat the Angel. As always."
Shinji jumped onto the palm, steadying himself as the Evangelion gently raised him up to it's Entry Plug.
After settling in, the expected rise of LCL drowned him as usual. What was not expected were the accompanying voices.
"Shinji-kun!" Misato.
"Yo, Shinji!" Makoto.
"Guess you couldn't leave your bros hanging, huh?" Shigeru.
"I'm glad you came back, Shinji." Maya.
"Have you had any problems with your health since yesterday?" Ritsuko.
"Welcome back, Shinji-kun." Rei.
"...you're late... Shinji..." Asuka.
"Sorry, Asuka." Shinji apologized. "Thanks for landing that first hit earlier. His aim is a lot worse now."
Shinji didn't know whether that was true or not, but Asuka's weak laugh meant that she was pleased to hear that and that was enough for him.
"Movement from the Angel detected!" Makoto suddenly reported as Zeruel finally recovered from the earlier suckerpunch.
IMPUDENT MONGREL!
Zeruel, possessing a size matching the King of Monsters, then proceeded to break the sound barrier.
*KRACKABOOM!*
Shinji yelled as Zeruel's bulky mass slammed into his Evangelion, sending the both of them smashing through several buildings until they impacted the nearby mountain, with EVA Unit-01 nearly buried underneath.
"Shinji!" "Shinji-kun!"
"Check his status!" Misato shakily ordered.
"Get... OFF."
Zeruel suddenly twitched as EVA Unit-01's hand grabbed it's face... then screamed as it was lifted up!
WHAT TRICKERY IS THIS?!
First the Evangelion's green parts started to glow purplish red with crackling lightning, then it bulked up by manifesting extra unknown parts of darkness over it's thin limbs and torso, and finally threw Zeruel away, causing it to loudly crash far, far away into the city while EVA Unit-01 glared down at it.
"Ritsuko! What happened to the EVA?!" Misato demanded.
"I-I'm not sure." Ritsuko stammered, a confused look dominating her features. "The closest thing I can think of is that it upgraded itself with Shinji's powers."
"What?! How is that possible?!"
"How am I supposed to know?!" Ritsuko snapped. "Forget the EVA, I don't even know how Shinji got his own!"
"DIE."
Twin beams of energy blasted out of EVA Unit-01's eyes, easily tearing through Zeruel's AT Field and nearly ripping the Angel in half, before it was suddenly engulfed in a gargantuan explosion.
"DIE."
I REFUSE. YOU SHALL BE THE ONE TO DIE.
Zeruel's arms bunched up together before shooting forward, shattering the sound barrier in it's wake until it slammed ineffectually against EVA Unit-01's AT Field.
Before it could retract it's limbs, EVA Unit-01 caught them and gave an unsettling snarl through it's metallic teeth as it's eyes started to glow again.
"DIE."
Once again, twin beams of energy shot out. However, Zeruel's eyes flashed as it countered with it's AT Field, compressing it until it was barely larger than it's head as it visibly clashed against the beams.
The ground beneath them ruptured, nearby buildings were ripped off and blown away and everything less durable simply vaporized from the proximity of the two Titans.
One of Eldritch Steel and one of Eldritch Flesh.
Finally, one weakened.
Copying Zeruel's idea, Shinji mimicked it's technique and manipulated his own AT Field to strike right through it's vulnerable body!
WHAT?!
As Zeruel lost focus, Shinji took the chance and body slammed the Angel down, landing several punches on it's skull-like face in the process.
"By the way..." Shinji's voice idly spoke through EVA Unit-01's speakers as the Evangelion raised a hand and charged an intense amount of purple electricity into it. "During my fight with Leliel, they called you Adam's bitch."
If Zeruel had eyelids, it would've blinked at that tidbit. Still...
THAT INSOLENT WHELP-
Zeruel's possibly justified rage at it's sibling was cut off as Shinji plunged EVA Unit-01's fist through the distracted Angel's core, killing it instantly.
And with that, the battle ended with the 14th Angel eliminated.
Rei Ayanami ran.
It had been sixteen hours since she had last Shinji.
In the distance, she could still see EVA Unit-01 far away. What if he left before she could reach-
A gigantic crimson foot slammed down next to her, along with a hand of similar nature lowering itself before her.
"Come on, Wundergirl! We need to get to that dummkopf before he runs away again!"
After Shinji climbed out of his EVA, he was pleasantly surprised at the sudden appearance of EVA Unit-02.
"Baka-Shinji!" Asuka roared as she clambered out of her Entry Plug and onto her lowered arm only to slip. In an instant, Shinji caught her from her fall. Taking advantage, Asuka wrapped all of her limbs around him. "You're not running away again!"
"What?!" Shinji struggled to get the redhead off before signaling to Rei. "Rei! Please, help!"
Rei blinked before approaching. To Shinji's great shock, she hugged him from behind, using her and Asuka's combined weight to pull him down. "Shinji-kun. Please, don't leave us again."
"...I'm sorry." Shinji adjusted himself and hugged them back, softly smiling at how Asuka huffed but didn't push him back and how Rei simply hugged him tighter. "But I can't stay. I need a break away from Gendo."
Shinji pulled back to look them in the eyes. "If there's an Angel however, I will come. If either of you two need me, I will come for that, too."
"I need you." Rei stated immediately.
"What she said." Asuka agreed.
"You know what I meant." Shinji chuckled, although some tears leaked from his eyes as he kissed them softly on their foreheads. "Misato's almost here."
"She misses you just as much as we do." Rei revealed as she turned to regard the overspeeding car.
Shinji blinked and promptly stood up. Waving energetically at a frantic Misato, Shinji smiled sadly as a portal manifested behind him.
"Wait! Shinji-kun!" Misato cried, hating her car for being unable to traverse the rough terrain quick enough.
"Don't worry, I'll be back after a while!" Shinji promised. "No matter what, I'll soon be back home with you! All of you!"
And just as Misato's car reached close enough, Shinji hopped backwards and left them all again.
"Was this in the Scenario?" Fuyutsuki questioned as Shinji disappeared from their hidden drone's view.
Standing tall despite his numerous bandages, Gendo let loose a satisfied smile. "He took a different path but in the end, he has still arrived at the intended destination. The plan to provoke EVA Unit-01 into devouring a S2 Engine no longer holds merit as Shinji himself will be providing all the necessary perpetual energy for the Evangelion's usage. It seems that Leliel's interference was an unexpected boon."
"Even at the cost of your son hating you?" Fuyutsuki stressed. "After last night, he's most likely lost all love he had for you."
"Shinji is the last treasure I have of Yui. For SEELE's upcoming plans, even if the world is destroyed, I won't let him die. Regardless of whether the Scenario ends as a success or failure, Shinji must at least end up as the most powerful one at the end of it all, even if he were to wish me dead."
Gendo looked the deceased corpse of the Angel his son had handily defeated. "Congratulations on your Apotheosis, Shinji."
27: Learn a Recipe each from Different Cultures.
"Well, wasn't that a lovely experience?" Kaworu asked, only to be met with Shinji's deadpan glare. "Too soon?"
It had been two days since Shinji had defeated Zeruel, which had only increased Kaworu's efforts in orbiting him.
Well, after accidentally fulfilling the Twenty Fifth and Twenty Sixth Tasks, Shinji decided to keep on accomplishing his desires, even if away from Tokyo-3.
Right now, after literally teleporting to abroad countries to learn their recipes, Shinji finally found some worth in Kaworu as a taste tester.
First was an Italian eel-based dish called Capitone in Umido.
"The tightly concentrated rush of tomato and the rich body of the eel..." Kaworu moaned as she shuddered from the scent alone. "They've melded together to bring forth an ineffably mellow and smooth aroma~"
Kaworu took a bite and shuddered even more.
'The voluminous capitone and tomato sauce are rising up in a complex melody! It's building...! Polishing...! Like my entire body is being taken for a ride by a massive eel...!'
Kaworu moaned and shuddered as her crimson Italian dress was completely soaked from the massive eel writhing all over her body-
Shinji coughed into his hand, blushing and feeling completely lost after seeing such a reaction.
What the hell was happening? Was she moaning?
Shinji couldn't help but rub his eyes and hope everything was just an illusion.
Nope.
Not an illusion.
Even when dressed in another of Shinji's civilian clothes, Kaworu was currently rubbing her thighs together, her expression somewhat lewd and heated as she continued to chew.
After a while, Shinji came back with a French dish with bacon and salmon as the main ingredients called Saumon Confit Flamme.
"The interior's mellowness is almost indistinguishable from when it's raw!" Kaworu appraised with blissful bites. "Yet the exterior is a tour of full-bodied flavor thanks to the careful application of low heat!"
'It's like a raging firestorm...! Ceaselessly, inexorably, it surges ahead...! The sheer force of it's deliciousness is... Unavoidable~!'
Dressed in a French maid dress, Kaworu moaned as numerous salmons blew past her with each ripping off bits of her clothes until she was left with just enough to hide the important parts-
Shinji slammed his forehead against the wall. 'What the hell?! Am I hallucinating?'
A quick glance revealed Kaworu to be still dressed like normal, although her blush had gotten heavier and her free hand was slowly inching dangerously close to her rubbing thighs.
Now for the final dish, Shinji presented an American breakfast dish with eggs and bacon as the main components. "This is called the Eggs Benedict."
After eating the previous dishes, Kaworu was almost too out of it to go into much detail as she had before. "A perfectly half boiled poached egg that's practically melting on my tongue... Crunchy baked bacon and supply sweet muffin... It's a harmony of textures and flavors all resonating across my tongue~!"
'The Monarch of Breakfasts'... Such a dish is definitely fitting of a King...! A supreme deliciousness that dominates all and demands complete subjugation instinctively~!'
Shinji sat on a medieval throne like a King, his attention on a princess-like Kaworu who slowly bared and offered herself-
"GAHH!" Shinji smashed his head against the wall hard enough to break through completely. "That's it! The Task's done! No more cooking for you, Kaworu!"
Kaworu, who's hand was now teasing over her crotch, sighed in disappointment. "Awww..."
KingVessel: Does it count as not returning to the city if he doesn't stay after beating the Angel? I honestly see no way to have beaten Zeruel without him.