This is a work of fiction of Neon Genesis Evangelion. I do not have any ownership, stock, or connections to Gainax, Production IG, Studio Khara, Kadokawa, or Studio Kai.

Author's Note (AN): I saw the anime and read (what was available of) the manga Super Cub [スーパーカブ] and was inspired to write this beginning before the events of the 4th Angel, Shamshel. Just like when you get on a motorcycle or in a car to begin a journey I won't know exactly which direction I'll go with this. I just hope you can enjoy the direction with me.

(AN - 2): There will be references to classical music throughout this work. They are optional, but they will give more of the feel of the Super Cub anime. I will NOT link YouTube videos or Spotify playlists. And yes it might be unrealistic for Shinji to have so much music on his SDAT, but that's part of what makes writing so fun. Wouldn't you agree? There will be a difference between background music (Musical Reference) and his escape music (SDAT Musical Reference).

(AN - 3) - DISCLAIMER... There is classical music by Russian composers featured in this chapter. This music was decided LONG before the events that are currently transpiring in Ukraine (the date at the time of this disclaimer was 3/2/2022). This does NOT mean that I am Pro-Putin. I am a classically trained musician first and foremost. Music and culture define each other and rise higher and run deeper than political motives. I honestly cannot justify censoring beautifully sonorous and powerful music composed long before these events occurred. Just felt like I needed to mention this. I hope you enjoy this work of fiction.


NEON GENESIS SUPER CUB

Chapter 1

(Musical Reference: "The Swan" by Camille Saint-Saëns)

Another hot day in Tokyo-3. The post Second Impact endless summer days made no distinction. Cicadas sang their good mornings waking a tired and grumpy fourteen year old boy named Shinji Ikari. He looked to his alarm clock... he still had thirty minutes left before he had to get up. He had a choice: get up and have an early start to his day or try to get that extra thirty minutes and possibly be even more irritable. He groaned out loud to himself deciding on the former.

The boy sat up letting the ceiling fan cool the sweat that soaked the back of his t-shirt. He rubbed the rheum from near his tearducts then stood up letting his bleary eyes adjust to the darkened room before moving and possibly tripping on something. The hardened sweat on his shirt felt itchy on his back so the boy decided to take a shower even though he already took one the night before as well as after his training session at NERV earlier that evening. The shower itself may have felt good, but the already hot morning made Shinji sweat more afterwards so it took longer for him to cool down.

He got dressed in his school uniform then went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He had time to do better than toast, but there were chores his purple-haired roommate most likely didn't do when she returned from her late shift at NERV earlier that morning and most likely wouldn't do when she woke up later on. The boy didn't want to disturb her because of her late-night work schedule. So he decided to take the trash out on his own without bothering her.

It was frustrating to him that such a beautiful and charming woman was such a slob when it came to day-to-day living. He didn't necessarily mind doing her end of the work, though. She DID provide a home for him; otherwise he would have lived alone in a random apartment somewhere in the city. He just wished she would do...something, anything! With a sigh he finished his simple breakfast, gathered up the trash, and walked down to the dumpster to drop it off. He then got his SDAT player out of his pocket, put his earbuds on, and loudly played some music to pass the time on his way to school.

(SDAT Musical Reference: Piano Concerto No. 1 Mvt. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)

The journey itself was pretty uneventful; Shinji looked at building after building of closed businesses, shopkeepers having moved on due to the Angel attack almost two weeks prior. The boy tried to suppress the feelings of guilt for this having happened. Families would have to search further for food and other conveniences due to his actions. The more shuttered doors and windows he saw, the worse he felt. He looked down to the ground and pushed onward to his school, the sounds of the European inspired Russian music provided some comfort from the situation around him.

Next to the walking teen, a red Honda CN250 scooter drove by. The odd, angular front design caught his attention. It must have been nice to have a means of getting around besides walking. He was too young to drive a car, and a bicycle could easily get stolen if he didn't carry it all the way up and down the apartment every morning and afternoon. But maybe he might be able to get a motorcycle or a scooter someday. He filed that idea away as he continued his trek to school.

Soon he made it; finding his seat he rested his head in his hand. He looked behind him to see a familiar girl with blue hair doing the same looking out the window. At least she didn't look as hurt as she did the night of that Angel attack. Her bandages were mostly gone though her arm was still in a sling.

The old teacher entered the classroom. The class representative, Hikari Horaki, called the class to order, and he began his post Second Impact lecture.

The school day ended uneventful. Outside the school grounds the quiet boy watched his coworker walk away. He wished he had the courage to walk up to her and get to know her like a normal teenage boy. Although she's not really a normal teenage girl herself, he thought to himself about the quiet and withdrawn girl he barely knew.

He looked up to the road to see the same CN250 from earlier drive away from the school. Maybe a teacher drove it...


A Few Days Later:

Rain...

It didn't happen very often on those endless summer days, but when it did it felt like it would never stop. That was the only thing keeping the boy from leaving the apartment. The desire to run away came after getting hit by his classmate for his sister getting injured during the pilot's first Angel battle. On top of that the incident with the Angel codenamed Shamshel happened immediately afterwards; he defeated the Angel but got chewed out by Misato for disobeying her orders and was basically told to leave if he was going to keep being reckless like that.

Finally there was a break in the rain. He gathered up his meager belongings and left before Misato knew any better. The earbuds returned to their place in his ears as he walked towards the train station.

(SDAT Musical Reference: Symphony No. 2 in B Minor by Alexander Borodin)

The boy sat staring into his lap as the train car slowly crowded with people of various ages. The crowds would eventually dwindle until the symphony finished and he found himself the car's only passenger. A voice came over the intercom.

"Thank you for using the Tokyo-3 Loop Line 7. This train will be going out of service at this station. Everyone, please check that you don't leave anything behind as you get off."

He groaned to himself. He wasn't ready to exit and face the world yet. He steeled himself anyways, switching the audio tape to another work of music to drown out the world around him.

Exiting he looked to find that he was in a less populated area of the city. In the not so far off distance he could see Lake Ashi in the growing darkness. He walked further from the station until he saw a place called "Lakeroad Motors." It was a motorcycle business that had a variety of styles of motorbikes. He saw a CN250 like he saw earlier except in gray instead of red... ¥372,000 (about $3,000); he also saw a CBR300 for ¥620,000 (about $5,000); there was also a Wave Dash 110 for ¥155,000 (about $1,250).

(AN: All prices as of the exchange rates of June/July 2015 [124 yen to 1 dollar]. This does NOT take into account the possibility of inflation due to a catastrophic event such as, oh I don't know, SECOND IMPACT?! ::Sigh:: However, I digress...)

That's a lot of money; maybe this wasn't a good idea. He was about to leave when he saw an older woman walk from the side of the building where the shop was located. She was physically fit with a head of mostly gray hair in a messy boy-cut; she had her uneven bangs held back with a bandana. She draped her oily shop rag over her shoulder. "Can I help you, young man?" Her strong voice carried easily in the evening air, almost as if she had experience yelling at apprentices at times in her life. This startled the timid boy, but with her warm smile she seemed approachable enough.

"I...I was walking by, and I happened to see these. I think they're all too much for me right now." With a deep bow he continued, "I'm sorry to have wasted your time." He turned his back and started back on his path when her voice boomed at him...

"You're too young for these larger engines." He turned back around to listen to her properly. "However...the government rules for riding motorcycles have gotten lax since Second Impact. People still need a means of getting around. I can sell you one, but with your age and lack of experience I will not sell one to you with over a 50cc engine. If you're worried about cost would you mind a used one?"

Shinji shook his head slowly at the lady. She took the gesture to mean the boy was still interested. The older lady walked back to her shop and returned minutes later with a light blue and off-white Honda Super Cub 50. It looked like an antique compared to the modern bikes in the front of the shop. It had a single seat with a metal plate behind it that looked like it could easily attach other things onto it with the right tools. As quaint as the bike looked it still got the boy's attention. "How much?"

"¥10,000 ($80.65)."

"Um... Why so cheap?"

As much as she hated to reveal it, this was the most important caveat about this particular bike. "It's killed people...three to be precise."

Normal people would have been scared away by this potentially unlucky detail, but, as the Evangelion pilot he was, this didn't seem nearly as treacherous as being inserted into the back of a 30 story behemoth and fighting an otherworldly creature such as an Angel. He mounted the small motorcycle like a bicycle with both feet planted on the ground. The dials looked simple, no overload of information like his Eva. There was the speedometer which went up to 70km/h, a turn signal light, and a neutral gear light.

"I'll take it." Now finding a way to pay for it... Misato mentioned something about his ID able to be used like a credit or debit card. He showed the older lady his NERV card which had a magnetic reader on the back like a credit card. The store owner laughed suddenly and loudly at seeing this new information.

"If I had known you worked for NERV you could have bought a CBR1000rr, and I wouldn't have been able to ask any questions!" After getting her giggle-fit out of her system she spoke again. "I do appreciate your kindness and humble attitude, Mr. Ikari. Tell you what, I'll teach you how to ride this Cub myself. You will just need to pass a quiz at the end. You think you're up for it?"

"Y...yes. Thank you, Ms..."

"Oh, silly old me. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Machi Koike."

"Thank you for your kindness, Koike-san."

They spent the next two hours learning about his 'new' motorbike. He learned about using the kick starter, about where to fuel and the auxiliary fuel tank location, changing gears, and using his headlights and turn signals among other things. The quiz turned out to be her asking the boy questions about what he learned. He answered them all correctly, and, as the lady's last gift to the timid teen, she gave him a helmet and a pair of work gloves to protect him. With a bow he thanked Ms. Koike for everything she had done for him. "Don't forget to come back after you've driven 100km for the first oil change. After that it'll be 500km then every 1000km afterwards."

"I will. Thank you again, Koike-san!" He got onto the Cub and put on his new helmet and gloves. He turned the key to engage the engine then gave the kick starter a firm stamp with his foot. The 4 stroke engine came to life, vibrations feeling good throughout his body and soul. He used his foot to put the transmission into first gear and slowly accelerated on the handle bar turning onto the road that led him towards Lake Ashi.

(Musical Reference: The Well Tempered Clavier, Book 1, Prelude No. 1 by Johann Sebastian Bach)

The boy engaged the single headlamp to illuminate his way. The clouds dispersed to allow the waxing gibbous moon to further lighten the road as well as sparkle delightfully over the gentle lake waves. The more he drove from Tokyo-3 the more he could see of the night sky. He stopped at a rest area/campground next to the lake, and for the first time in a LONG time laid in the grass and looked at constellations in the starry night sky. This put a lot of things into perspective for the runaway boy. He was starting to realize that, no matter how he looked at it, running away was not going to solve anything. But if things ever got so bad that he could not fathom the idea of staying he finally had a means of leaving. I guess it's settled then..., he thought. Picking himself off the ground and brushing the grass off his shirt and pants he got back onto his Super Cub and drove back towards the city he would protect. Even though he was cruising at 30km/h the wind in his face felt so refreshing in the cooler night air. He smiled the first genuine smile since coming to Tokyo-3... probably even since he was much younger at home with his teacher.

Home. The thought stirred in his head as he drove. It seemed like such a foreign concept to him. Home was somewhere you could relax and be yourself. Maybe he could get used to the idea of having Misato Katsuragi as his roommate and maybe, just maybe, she may someday be someone like family.

Family... It should have been with his father. It was highly doubtful at this point. His father most likely didn't want him. The boy seemed to have more in common with his blue-haired coworker than his own father.

Ayanami... What will she think of me when she sees me on this? The smile disappeared a moment later. What will MISATO think?!

He forced a gulp of air down his throat as he thought about the idea of meeting a very worried and very irate purple-haired woman when he returned. What might she say about him using ¥10,000 so wastefully? Although he would never do it he could have easily thrown it back in her face with the amount of beer she buys. He would just have to find out when he got back... Home... Again that word echoed in his soul.

I'm coming home!

Onward the boy pressed back towards civilization. He would definitely have to come back to the lake another time...


(AN): I hope you've enjoyed this direction so far. I chose June/July 2015 because it was a flat amount and easier to do the math, even though the show started near the beginning of the year. This is mainly a side project to give me something else to focus on when I'm getting burned out with my major project that I will reveal at a later time. Because of that I don't have an idea of how I would actually finish this. I'm keeping it slice of life for now focusing on events outside of the main show.

(AN-2): Koike means "little lake" (or pond). I wanted to keep the motorcycle business owner's name relevant to the business name. Hope to see you all next time. Take care!