Way of the warrior
Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of its characters. Nor do I intend to. This right goes to other genial people and I will merely borrow their incredible works to expand upon as to provide further entertainment for fans.
No money is made of this, nor do I have any.
So please don't sue me, the four cent I have aren't worth it anyway.
.... Oh, wait a moment, it's only 3 cent now, lost the other one two weeks ago.
Chapter 4 - not so boring school-daze
Tokyo 3 - 3 weeks after Shinji's arrival
Shinji Ikari sighed as he trotted down the street towards another booooooring school-day. It couldn't be said Shinji didn't like school, far from it. In reality he hated it with a passion.
Not only did he already know most of the things they were going to teach him, but his teacher was a total senile grandpa.
Everyday for the past to weeks did he repeat the same material over and over again.
By now Shinji was sure he was able to recite every single sentence his teacher was going to say, which was why he opted for sleeping or reading a book in class instead of listening.
As for Misato's so called social contact, Shinji could only laugh out loud. Up till now he hadn't spoken more then a few words with anybody in his class, not that he minded. Shinji had never been a very social person and was happy with it.
This left him with more free time then Shinji had a need for and so he tried to find ways to get the days over.
The synch-tests, which Dr. Akagi seemed obsessed with, were scheduled after school everyday. She said once he learned to properly pilot he they would cut down on them.
However, even with sync-tests he had a lot of time on his hands. He had tried to get his father to give him a teacher for martial arts, but the debate he had with his father still left him with a bitter after-taste.
Shinji suppressed a grimace as he replayed their first private son-father-meeting in his minds eye.
**********************
FLASHBACK
Shinji hurried through the still unfamiliar halls of NERV HQ in search of his father's office. He had an appointment with him in only 15 minutes and didn't plan on being late.
He would have laughed at the absurdity of it all if it wasn't so damn real. To think he had to get an appointment to speak with his own father!
He frowned at that last turn his thoughts took. The man he was going to speak with couldn't be called his father. Maybe the man who gave his semen to create him, but even that was doubtful.
One thing was for sure though; Gendo Ikari was not his father. He was just a mean bastard whom he had business to do with.
While puzzling out his relationship with Gendo Ikari Shinji had arrived at his office.
From the outside it didn't look like much; just a plain steel-door like so many others in NERV.
Looking onto his watch Shinji noted that he was 2 minutes early.
He took a deep breath before knocking, knowing full well that even something as simple as asking for a private teacher could become a trip in hell when Gendo Ikari was involved.
Only seconds later the thick steel-door was opened, allowing him entrance.
As it closed again Shinji felt his hackles rise. His father's office was oozing Menace.
The room was rather empty, maybe 10 at 10 meters. The only discernable light source was a painting(?) of the tree of live on the ceiling, that casting the room into an eerie red light.
His father was sitting behind a large mahogany-desk, judging from its color that was standing proudly in the middle of the bare room, moved slightly to the back wall.
As always his black glasses were on his nose, concealing his eyes and glinting dangerously in the sparse light.
Not that this was enough, no. He was resting on his elbows, hands folded together in front of his mouth, effectively concealing his every expression, if he had any, that is.
"You wanted to speak with me Pilot Ikari?" His 'father' asked in a cold voice that would have send lesser man running for the hills.
Shinji grounded his teeth together before answering in a calm and equally cold voice.
"That is correct commander. I have a request, which you might find interesting."
The only indication that he was heard was a slight nod from Gendo.
"I request for all the pilots to be trained in hand-to-hand-combat by a private teacher."
Gendo's face was set in stone, and if Shinji hadn't used his power, he wouldn't have had a clue that his father seemed amused by the situation. Although he could care less, as long as he got what he wanted.
"That is not possible. NERV doesn't have unlimited funds and you being here is already costing us sums we haven't planned with."
"It is our goal to defeat the angels, is it not?" Shinji asked. Gendo nodded, so he proceeded.
"If that is the chase we should always try to find the best ways to defeat them. Additional training should give us an edge in reflexes and overall performance on the battlefield, which is brining us nearer to our goal. As for the money: I have looked up some of the information you have enabled me, and I'm sure that a private teacher is not to expensive, considering his loan would only be a mere fraction of the money needed to run this organization, don't you agree?"
Shinji's arguments were good, he knew that and his father knew that, but Gendo Ikari was something that even good arguments couldn't go up against: He was Shinji's superior and his word was law.
'Then again' Shinji thought 'His goal is to defeat the angels so it's in his best interest to agree with me'
"No. I will not grant your request." The Commander stated in a collected voice.
Shinji unwillingly narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't adding up here, why would he simply not agree to it if it was in his best interests and the money wasn't an issue?
"May I ask for you reasons?"
"You do not need my reasons pilot. I think we discussed this issue enough; if you would leave now?"
"Yes sir!" Shinji saluted and turned around, walking out the now open door.
**************************
As the designated pilot of Unit 01 walked out the office, Kozo Fuyutski walked out of the shadows to stand slightly behind Gendo, on his right
His old wizened face had a thoughtful expression plastered onto it.
"Do you really think that was a wise move, Gendo? Now he is surely suspicious of your motives."
"He does not matter. Pilot Ikari is merely a pawn and he can do nothing against me. We also have to keep to the schedule. It would not do for our pilots to become to strong. You know that."
Kozo didn't answer, knowing Gendo's opinion to be set in stone, his face graced with a small frown that made his face seem even older.
'For your own good I hope you are right and your so called pawn will stay where you want him.'
****************************
As the steel-door closed behind his back Shinji narrowed his eyes until they were merely slits.
Something very fishy was going on here. Normally he would have dismissed his father's action as simple greed, but with the funds NERV had this wasn't an issue. So, what was that about? Surely it wasn't just to spite him, was it?
Knowing that guessing would lead to nothing Shinji shoved this little tidbit of information into the folder in his head titled 'things I need to check in the future' and let it be for now. He had a lot of time to spy on his father and NERV in the future.
That settled the young pilot made himself on his way home.
FLASHBACK END
****************************
During the meeting with his father Shinji had been tempted to read Gendo's mind, but had quickly discarded that idea. He had only gotten the hang of mind-reading a few months ago and could only read the foremost thoughts in one's mind. That meant he wouldn't have been able to get any relevant information from his father. Aside from that he had been told the one being mind-read could feel it, something Shinji absolutely didn't want since it would alert a lot of people to his abilities. His sensei had always said it was best to have a few aces up one's sleeve in any situation; his abilities were quite an ace in his opinion.
Normally Shinji wouldn't even think about using this peculiar talent since it wasn't polite to invade others people thoughts. His father, on the other hand, was a heartless bastard and didn't deserve any courtesy on Shinji's part.
Oh well, it was a lost chase. Right now he didn't have any close friends by with whom he could keep practicing mind-reading. That meant he had to go without mind-reading for the time being.
While pondering the meeting with his father Shinji suddenly had an idea and his face was split by a grin.
His father said in no uncertain terms he wouldn't give him a martial arts teacher for free, but he didn't say anything about hiring one by himself.
Shinji knew his father wasn't going to like that, but he couldn't do anything about it, since it had nothing to do with NERV and it would be too obvious he had something else planned.
Just as Shinji finished his thoughts he set foot into the classroom.
Not knowing what to do, he simply took his seat and waited patiently for his teacher to arrive, fully prepared for another boring lesson.
As the elder sensei arrived the class-president Hikari Horaki followed through the usual 'stand-bow-sit'-routine and the lesson proceeded.
As it was the elder sensei droned on about second impact yet again and soon nobody listened to him.
Early on Shinji had observed the other children in his class using the laptops to write private messages in class. It didn't take long for most of them to do just that once again.
And as usual the only one still listening was Hikari Horaki, although she probably only did it because of her position, in a way Shinji pitied her.
The other person that wasn't engaging in any activity aside from listening to the sensei droning was Rei Ayanami, the mysterious first child.
Shinji wasn't able to see her face, but judging from the angle her head was turned, she wasn't listening either, just staring out the window as she had the last three days ever since she came to school again.
To say the girl was an enigma wouldn't even come close to the truth.
She was said to be working with him, but he knew next to nothing about her. No, scratch that, he knew nothing about her.
Up to that point Shinji hadn't talked with her and even though he didn't want to admit it to himself, the he knew the reason: She made him uneasy, which Shinji couldn't stand. Every time he gazed at her eyes, her eyes...these ruby orbs of fire; he couldn't help but shudder.
Even when the albino girl wasn't looking at him he still felt like her eyes where piercing him to his very soul.
Still... he felt drawn to her for some inexplicable reason. It wasn't physical attraction, that he was sure of, not that Rei was something to sneeze at. In truth she had an angelic face framed with an unruly mob of blue hair that was oddly fitting for her and a body to die for. There was one thing though, that held boys at bay: her expression. The otherwise beautiful girl was always wearing this stony and cool expression, no matter what. In all his time Shinji hadn't seen her smile or frown, or anything for that matter, once. It was quite disturbing and Shinji had already resolved to shed some light into the mystery that was Rei Ayanami. Well, that and get her to smile..... once he got the courage to talk to her.
Shinji was torn from his contemplation of the strange girl when his laptop began flashing, indicating he got a message.
'Huh? Who would send me a message?' he wondered while accepting the call.
Are you really the pilot?
Shinji stared at the screen long and hard. Was it wise to answer that one with a positive 'Yes'?
Somehow he doubted it, but then again, they would probably find out eventually and what harm could possibly be done if they knew?
His decision made Shinji typed his answer.
YES
The moment he hit the Enter-button all a loud 'WHAATTTT!!!!!!' echoed throughout the class, and before he knew it Shinji was surrounded by classmates from all sides, all of them asking questions, which had the effect of him not understanding a word they said.
After they were still blabbering a good minute later, Shinji had enough.
"Will you all just clam down!" he said in a stony voice that cut through their blabbering like a knife and effectively silenced the room.
Out of his eyes Shinji saw the sensei still hadn't noticed and kept talking.
"Okaaaaaay.....Now that I have you attention, I am the pilot of that robot. Yes. But no, I can't answer any questions you have because I don't have clue how it works. If you have questions not concerning any specifications, then ask them..." he held up his hand to stop any tumult "...one at a time!"
Some boy made the start:" How have you become pilot?"
"Not a clue. My father said come here and stuffed me into the robot. That's about it."
"Does it have any special weapons?"
"No, as far as I know it only as a measly knife for fighting, not exactly a special weapon."
And the questions kept coming till lunch finally came around, which was a great relive for Shinji, who didn't waste any time to bolt from the room to evade further questions.
**********************
As Toji Suzuhura watched the newly revealed pilot retreating back he shook his head. It really hadn't looked like the Ikari-boy liked the attention he got, which was the reason he had waited till lunch to ask him a few questions himself, and not to forget thank him.
He turned to his fellow-classmate and friend Kensuke Aida.
"Come on, I don't want to lose him."
Kensuke gave his big friend an annoyed look.
"Oh come on now. Will you come down from this trip of yours for now? Ain't it enough he's the new pilot? The chance of him being this ass-kicking martial artist you make him out to be is quite slim."
Toji simply ignored his complaints and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him along.
"Will you stop whining already? I'm 100 percent sure it's him, I even looked at my last volume of 'tournament fighter's supreme' to make sure. They said he won the last 3 championships in Japan in his age-group and I know for sure they mentioned his name was Shinji Ikari. So let's go already!"
When Toji was already out the door Kensuke stopped his futile resistance and let himself be dragged along. Maybe he could get some more information out of the pilot this way.
**************************
Shinji was standing on the roof of his school looking out over the yard with a thoughtful look on his face. It had been three weeks already, and his live had settled into some kind of routine, if piloting a giant Robot for training could be considered routine anyway.
He considered the other children milling about the yard, content with their lives and without a care in the world they seemed. He knew that wasn't true, as everybody had problems, but lately his own problems had evolved to a state where he found himself unable to fully grasp their importance.
The scene in the classroom made one thing clear though, he was important now. Well, maybe not him, but his work.
Only now did he realize the fate of this whole city, maybe even the world was ultimately resting on his shoulders. His head hurt when he thought about it, nobody should have so much responsibility or power. It was a frightening concept he had it, really.
Which was the reason Shinji quickly stopped that train of thought; he had enough trouble dealing with all this without thinking about it.
Shinji let his mind drift, not thinking about anything in particular and staring off into space.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?" A gruff voice asked from behind, causing Shinji to frown. Hopefully the person behind him didn't want to talk with him about EVA; it was starting to grate on his nerves.
Shinji made sure to smooth out his features before turning around.
He came face to face with two of his classmates. The one with the camera seemed to be some kind of military otaku, while the other one had yet to ask him a single question.
"Depends, what do you want?" Best to get straight to the point.
Toji for his part didn't know how to say this right. He always had problems with words, not to mention that thanking somebody wasn't one of his strong points either.
"Hello. My name's Toji Suzuhura and this is Kensuke Aida. I...well... I wanted to thank you... for piloting you know? Me and my sister were still on the streets when you started fighting with that thing, thought we would die or something... so yeah…I wanted you to know I'm really grateful you didn't make a mess out there.."
When Toji paused Shinji smiled slightly, although he could tell the other boy wanted to say something else from his aura.
"Well, thanks I guess. So far you're the first one to actually express your thanks for me piloting. Although you shouldn't take me for a hero or something, I'm getting something out of this deal as well. But enough of my piloting or EVA, had enough for one day, what else is on your mind?"
Instantly Toji changed from nervous to giddy as he dug in his schoolbag to fish out something. Shinji couldn't make out what it was since Toji was flipping it through rather fast.
"Ha, here it is!" The boy exclaimed as he held some picture of a fight with some text on the side in front of Shinji's face.
"I just wanted to know, is that you?" he said, pointing to one of the fighters. Only half of his face was visible.
Shinji raised an eyebrow as he looked over the photo taken from some tournament-fights. He raised an eyebrow; pretty sure somebody should have asked him before they put a picture of him into any kind of magazine, because there on the picture he saw himself fighting against one of many opponents.
"Yeah, that would be me. Why?"
Kensuke as well as Shinji could both have sworn Toji got a starry gaze for a fraction of a second, but dismissed it as a figment of their imagination.
"Ah damn, you're one of the coolest fighters on earth! Can I have an autograph from you? I'm into fighting some myself, but nobody ever taught me any real techniques, do you think you can teach me some time?"
Shinij had a sweat drop behind his back. First the class nearly goes berserk because he was pilot and now Toji wanted an autograph because he was some incredible fighter in his opinion.
'Didn't know I had fans' Shinji thought dryly.
'Now, what to do with him? He seems like a nice guy, if a bit rough on the edges, and some company would be nice.'
"The autograph isn't a problem, although I don't understand why you would need one, I'm your classmate now you know? The teaching could be a bit difficult though. I probably can make room a few day a week, but I can't show you that much. Besides, I haven't taught before, so I don't know if I'm any good."
"Um guys?" came Kensuke's voice from the side "Sorry to interrupt, but I think we should get going! Class is starting in a few minutes"
Not wasting anytime the trio made its way down the stairs, Toji still oblivious to his surroundings.
They had nearly reached the classroom, when a soft voice spoke up behind them:"Pilot Ikari? We are to report to NERV"
The trio jumped into the air at once, all scared out of their wits.
Shinji was the first to calm down. When turning around the first Child was staring at him with that intense but somehow calm look in place. "Hello Ayanami-san. Did I understand you right? We are to report to NERV?"
"That is correct. An angel is coming, we are needed." That said the mysterious girl turned on her heel and walked away.
Shinji's jaw hit the ground. The girl hadn't shown a trace of emotion when mentioning the attack. How could anybody possibly be so dismissive?
'Huh angel-attack?' He thought belatedly. 'Surely she is joking right?'.
The blaring klaxons that started up only moments later proved Shinji wrong.
Shinji swallowed a lump. He came out alright of his first encounter, but he knew it was a close-call.
With an unsure smile he turned to his compatriots, who were still rooted to the ground.
"Seems like we have to discuss this one later you two. Have to go!"
He said, already walking away.
Shinji was nearly around the corner when Toji called out:"Kick this ugly freaks butt Ikari. I wish you luck!"
The pilot had to smile despite the dire situation. He planned to do just that: Kick some butt!
A little more confident in himself the son of Gendo Ikari walked towards humanity's next challenger.
*********************
Amidst the city of Tokyo 3 a huge launching pad opened up, allowing the behemoth known as Evangelion Unit 1 passage.
Inside the pilot grunted as the EVA was suddenly stopped from his ascend.
'I'll never get used to this' He thought irritated'
As he stood there a com-link opened up, showing Misato.
"Shinji, go over to your right and take out the assault rifle. You are to try and bring the angel down from a distance this time."
The young pilot shrugged. He may have been a martial artist, but his first experience told him fighting them hand-to-hand was something to be avoided for the sake oh him and his EVA.
He wiled the giant machine to move over to the weapon-rag and took the rifle, once again marveling at how real it felt to hold. He couldn't feel the texture of the metal, but the weight of the weapon was clearly felt by his nerves.
"Okay, now that you're armed move east, the angel will arrive shortly. Okay, stop here and stay in hiding, we will tell you when to come out."
The next seconds felt like an eternity to Shinji. His mind and body already set to fight for his life time seemed to crawl by at a maddening slow pace.
"Now, Get out of hiding, the angel is directly in front of you."
Shinji didn't bother to answer. In one swift motion he was standing next to the building he was hiding behind a moment before. He focused his cross hairs on the target without thinking, the action almost instinctual from the last weeks training, and fired a quick volley.
High velocity bullets exploded on the angels hide partly hiding it from sight due to the smoke.
Shinji was about to fire again, when he was the smoke, and stopped abruptly.
'Always have your enemy in sight' came back the words of advice from his training.
Waiting a few seconds fro the smoke to clear completely Shinji looked at the angel a little closer. It had a long and sleek body that was red. On top there was a gigantic head, if it could be called that, which Shinji couldn't describe at all. Only a short ways down lay the core, the angel's weak spot.
As Shinji examined the last feature of his opponent he shuddered. The angel had two small appendages which elongated into some kind of whip. The tentacles pulsed with an eerie light and somehow Shinji knew it would be a very bad idea to be touched by them in any way.
He also knew that it would be nearly impossible to dodge both at once for any length of time, having fought against similar weapons already.
The smoke finally dissolved and Shinji gave another volley, which exploded against the angel's hide once again without any effect.
Although it seemed his second round got the angels attention, as it turned around.
Shinji swallowed involuntary. 'This is will be very unpleasant'
The next moment the angel dived towards him with incredible speed, surprising Shinji.
The young pilot barely managed to roll to the side, avoiding the blow.
His reflexes were dulled though, because he still wasn't used to the EVA entirely, and before he could stand up again, the angel flung him back.
The Shinji landed on the far mountain with a grunt, the force from the landing forcing the breath out of his lungs for a moment.
"Ah damn! That hurt ...."
Inside the command-center Misato winced as Shinji hit the ground.
"Umbilical-cord severed. 5 minutes power remaining" and cursed as a technician reported this.
Then she saw something even more shocking on the screen.
In between the EVA's monstrous fingers where tow young boys.
'Idiots! What are they doing out there?'
However, even though they were idiots Misato was not about to let them die.
"Shinji, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, I'm just a little bit disoriented"
"I want you to open up your entry-plug and take these two guys between your fingers inside!"
Shinji blinked a few times when hearing that. Opening his entry-plug? Guys between his fingers? He looked down to the ground and saw Misato's words confirmed. His jaw fell open when he recognized the cowering boys. It was Toji and Kensuke!
Shinji activated his external speakers while simultaneously opening the plug.
"What are you two idiots doing out here?" he ranted, clearly pissed someone could be dense enough to do something like this. "I want you to come into my entry-plug. Make it fast; I have an angel to fight!"
**************************
A few minutes earlier
"This is so cool!" Kensuke said while filming the Evangelion as it waited for the angel to make its appearance. Currently he was standing on a mountain a good mile away together with his friend Toji.
Toji stood next to his friend with a frown on his face.
"I don't know Kensuke. Maybe we should go down to the shelters again; it could get nasty up here."
"Nah, why are you worried? Shinji will take care of it with no problem. Besides, don't you want to see him in action?"
Toji finally conceded to his friend and waited with him.
When the angle hovered into view Kensuke was nearly jumping up and down with excitement. "This is sooooooo cooooool!"
Toji rolled his eyes, wondering if his friend's full vocabulary would come back after this was over.
Then everything happened at once. The Evangelion came out of hiding to send a few volleys from its assault-rifle towards the angel. The angel dived forth, and the next thing the two teens saw was the massive form of Unit 01 flying in their direction.
Realizing they were about to be flattened both were rooted to the ground with fear, unable to move.
'BOOOOOM'
Toji opened his eyes, not knowing when he had closed them.
'I'm still alive!' He thought happily but nonetheless scared to death.
Several long moments Toji and Kensuke just stood there, unable to comprehend how close they came to dying.
That was when a booming voice was heard from above.
Both immediately recognized the angry speaker as Shinji.
After he was finished speaking Kensuke looked upwards to see a white tube screwing out of the Evangelion. Even though the Unit was nearly lying on it back the plug still hung a good 2 meters in the air.
Then Shinji appeared out of the hatch, looking as miffed as he sounded.
"Will you two already move!?! I only have 4 minutes power left"
His outburst was enough to set the duo in motion.
******************************
Shinji was once again sitting inside the entry-plug, his two classmates behind him.
As the plug filled with LCL Shinji didn't even acknowledge it anymore. He was already concentrating on moving the EVA. With only two minutes left every moment counted if he wanted to finish this one off.
Kensuke and Toji weren't as cool-headed as Shinji when the liquid poured in.
When Shinji finally noticed their trashing he chuckled.
"You can breathe this stuff. No need to worry."
Feeling he had said enough Shinji turned around again. The angel was still where it had last been, trashing the city with its tentacles. Shinji still wondered why it hadn't attacked him while his EVA was down, not that he was complaining.
As Shinji got up Misato contacted him once again.
"Shinji, get to the nearest launching site. We have to get you a new power-cable and get these two out of your plug. Their brainwaves are interfering with your sync-ratio."
Shinji considered this for a moment. She was probably right, but he had a clear shot right now, since the angel had turned its back to him. Then again, she was his superior and since he got money for this it was best to do as she said.
His decision made Shinji headed to the next launching site and gave a heavy sigh
'I hate running from a fight, but this ain't some game so I better play save.'
****************************
5 minutes later
Shinji was once again on the surface with a new Umbilical-cord and no passengers. A rather pissed looking Misato had escorted them away once they had arrived in the Geo-front.
Shinji would have pitied them, but right now he had to worry about himself.
Since bullets weren't working Shinji had abandoned his rifle in favor of the prog-knife. It still irritated him to no end that such a big robot had such a small knife.
'Oh well, one works with what he has' he though without much enthusiasm.
Unit 01 was slowly creeping towards the angel from behind. Misato had told him to do what was needed to defeat the angel, giving him free reign. Shinji didn't have much of a plan, but he knew he had to cut off these tentacles before he could finish the angel off. Coming from behind gave him the chance to cut one off without fear of retaliation from his adversary.
Shinji finally came within reach. Now he only had to abide his time till he could storm forth to surprise this sucker!
As the angel pulled his right tentacle back to strike again, Unit 01 sprang to its feet and ran full tilt forward, prog-knife held in striking position.
The tentacle was moving forward again.
'NOW' Shinji screamed in his head, as he brought down the knife on the tentacle, cleaving through it all the way.
Shinji rolled forward to avoid a blow from the second tentacle and came to his feet just as the other hit the ground.
"So, now the odds are even, let's see what you do now!" Shinji growled through his teeth.
In the command-center everyone cheered, happy over this small victory.
The angel lashed out again.
Shinji grinned. 'Big mistake sucker'
He dove under the wild swing to come up nearly in front of the angel and rammed the knife through the base of the second tentacle, cutting it off as well.
'Too easy' He thought, as he reared back his arms and rammed the knife into the now defenseless angel's core.
As it didn't break he pulled it out, only to ram it in again.
Sparks were flying as Shinji rammed his knife into the core over and over like a madman until the core stopped pulsing with red light and the second angel died a silent death.
***********************************
Authors notes:
A short chapter this time, I know, but the death of the angel is just so fitting for the final scene, don't you agree?
The next chapter will be a little bit longer as compensation, promise.
Nothing more to say, aside from the usual:
I STILL NEED PRE-READERS.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW
Contact me at master_meister@gmx.de if you want to pre-read or want to tell me something in private.
Disclaimer: I don't own Neon Genesis Evangelion or any of its characters. Nor do I intend to. This right goes to other genial people and I will merely borrow their incredible works to expand upon as to provide further entertainment for fans.
No money is made of this, nor do I have any.
So please don't sue me, the four cent I have aren't worth it anyway.
.... Oh, wait a moment, it's only 3 cent now, lost the other one two weeks ago.
Chapter 4 - not so boring school-daze
Tokyo 3 - 3 weeks after Shinji's arrival
Shinji Ikari sighed as he trotted down the street towards another booooooring school-day. It couldn't be said Shinji didn't like school, far from it. In reality he hated it with a passion.
Not only did he already know most of the things they were going to teach him, but his teacher was a total senile grandpa.
Everyday for the past to weeks did he repeat the same material over and over again.
By now Shinji was sure he was able to recite every single sentence his teacher was going to say, which was why he opted for sleeping or reading a book in class instead of listening.
As for Misato's so called social contact, Shinji could only laugh out loud. Up till now he hadn't spoken more then a few words with anybody in his class, not that he minded. Shinji had never been a very social person and was happy with it.
This left him with more free time then Shinji had a need for and so he tried to find ways to get the days over.
The synch-tests, which Dr. Akagi seemed obsessed with, were scheduled after school everyday. She said once he learned to properly pilot he they would cut down on them.
However, even with sync-tests he had a lot of time on his hands. He had tried to get his father to give him a teacher for martial arts, but the debate he had with his father still left him with a bitter after-taste.
Shinji suppressed a grimace as he replayed their first private son-father-meeting in his minds eye.
**********************
FLASHBACK
Shinji hurried through the still unfamiliar halls of NERV HQ in search of his father's office. He had an appointment with him in only 15 minutes and didn't plan on being late.
He would have laughed at the absurdity of it all if it wasn't so damn real. To think he had to get an appointment to speak with his own father!
He frowned at that last turn his thoughts took. The man he was going to speak with couldn't be called his father. Maybe the man who gave his semen to create him, but even that was doubtful.
One thing was for sure though; Gendo Ikari was not his father. He was just a mean bastard whom he had business to do with.
While puzzling out his relationship with Gendo Ikari Shinji had arrived at his office.
From the outside it didn't look like much; just a plain steel-door like so many others in NERV.
Looking onto his watch Shinji noted that he was 2 minutes early.
He took a deep breath before knocking, knowing full well that even something as simple as asking for a private teacher could become a trip in hell when Gendo Ikari was involved.
Only seconds later the thick steel-door was opened, allowing him entrance.
As it closed again Shinji felt his hackles rise. His father's office was oozing Menace.
The room was rather empty, maybe 10 at 10 meters. The only discernable light source was a painting(?) of the tree of live on the ceiling, that casting the room into an eerie red light.
His father was sitting behind a large mahogany-desk, judging from its color that was standing proudly in the middle of the bare room, moved slightly to the back wall.
As always his black glasses were on his nose, concealing his eyes and glinting dangerously in the sparse light.
Not that this was enough, no. He was resting on his elbows, hands folded together in front of his mouth, effectively concealing his every expression, if he had any, that is.
"You wanted to speak with me Pilot Ikari?" His 'father' asked in a cold voice that would have send lesser man running for the hills.
Shinji grounded his teeth together before answering in a calm and equally cold voice.
"That is correct commander. I have a request, which you might find interesting."
The only indication that he was heard was a slight nod from Gendo.
"I request for all the pilots to be trained in hand-to-hand-combat by a private teacher."
Gendo's face was set in stone, and if Shinji hadn't used his power, he wouldn't have had a clue that his father seemed amused by the situation. Although he could care less, as long as he got what he wanted.
"That is not possible. NERV doesn't have unlimited funds and you being here is already costing us sums we haven't planned with."
"It is our goal to defeat the angels, is it not?" Shinji asked. Gendo nodded, so he proceeded.
"If that is the chase we should always try to find the best ways to defeat them. Additional training should give us an edge in reflexes and overall performance on the battlefield, which is brining us nearer to our goal. As for the money: I have looked up some of the information you have enabled me, and I'm sure that a private teacher is not to expensive, considering his loan would only be a mere fraction of the money needed to run this organization, don't you agree?"
Shinji's arguments were good, he knew that and his father knew that, but Gendo Ikari was something that even good arguments couldn't go up against: He was Shinji's superior and his word was law.
'Then again' Shinji thought 'His goal is to defeat the angels so it's in his best interest to agree with me'
"No. I will not grant your request." The Commander stated in a collected voice.
Shinji unwillingly narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't adding up here, why would he simply not agree to it if it was in his best interests and the money wasn't an issue?
"May I ask for you reasons?"
"You do not need my reasons pilot. I think we discussed this issue enough; if you would leave now?"
"Yes sir!" Shinji saluted and turned around, walking out the now open door.
**************************
As the designated pilot of Unit 01 walked out the office, Kozo Fuyutski walked out of the shadows to stand slightly behind Gendo, on his right
His old wizened face had a thoughtful expression plastered onto it.
"Do you really think that was a wise move, Gendo? Now he is surely suspicious of your motives."
"He does not matter. Pilot Ikari is merely a pawn and he can do nothing against me. We also have to keep to the schedule. It would not do for our pilots to become to strong. You know that."
Kozo didn't answer, knowing Gendo's opinion to be set in stone, his face graced with a small frown that made his face seem even older.
'For your own good I hope you are right and your so called pawn will stay where you want him.'
****************************
As the steel-door closed behind his back Shinji narrowed his eyes until they were merely slits.
Something very fishy was going on here. Normally he would have dismissed his father's action as simple greed, but with the funds NERV had this wasn't an issue. So, what was that about? Surely it wasn't just to spite him, was it?
Knowing that guessing would lead to nothing Shinji shoved this little tidbit of information into the folder in his head titled 'things I need to check in the future' and let it be for now. He had a lot of time to spy on his father and NERV in the future.
That settled the young pilot made himself on his way home.
FLASHBACK END
****************************
During the meeting with his father Shinji had been tempted to read Gendo's mind, but had quickly discarded that idea. He had only gotten the hang of mind-reading a few months ago and could only read the foremost thoughts in one's mind. That meant he wouldn't have been able to get any relevant information from his father. Aside from that he had been told the one being mind-read could feel it, something Shinji absolutely didn't want since it would alert a lot of people to his abilities. His sensei had always said it was best to have a few aces up one's sleeve in any situation; his abilities were quite an ace in his opinion.
Normally Shinji wouldn't even think about using this peculiar talent since it wasn't polite to invade others people thoughts. His father, on the other hand, was a heartless bastard and didn't deserve any courtesy on Shinji's part.
Oh well, it was a lost chase. Right now he didn't have any close friends by with whom he could keep practicing mind-reading. That meant he had to go without mind-reading for the time being.
While pondering the meeting with his father Shinji suddenly had an idea and his face was split by a grin.
His father said in no uncertain terms he wouldn't give him a martial arts teacher for free, but he didn't say anything about hiring one by himself.
Shinji knew his father wasn't going to like that, but he couldn't do anything about it, since it had nothing to do with NERV and it would be too obvious he had something else planned.
Just as Shinji finished his thoughts he set foot into the classroom.
Not knowing what to do, he simply took his seat and waited patiently for his teacher to arrive, fully prepared for another boring lesson.
As the elder sensei arrived the class-president Hikari Horaki followed through the usual 'stand-bow-sit'-routine and the lesson proceeded.
As it was the elder sensei droned on about second impact yet again and soon nobody listened to him.
Early on Shinji had observed the other children in his class using the laptops to write private messages in class. It didn't take long for most of them to do just that once again.
And as usual the only one still listening was Hikari Horaki, although she probably only did it because of her position, in a way Shinji pitied her.
The other person that wasn't engaging in any activity aside from listening to the sensei droning was Rei Ayanami, the mysterious first child.
Shinji wasn't able to see her face, but judging from the angle her head was turned, she wasn't listening either, just staring out the window as she had the last three days ever since she came to school again.
To say the girl was an enigma wouldn't even come close to the truth.
She was said to be working with him, but he knew next to nothing about her. No, scratch that, he knew nothing about her.
Up to that point Shinji hadn't talked with her and even though he didn't want to admit it to himself, the he knew the reason: She made him uneasy, which Shinji couldn't stand. Every time he gazed at her eyes, her eyes...these ruby orbs of fire; he couldn't help but shudder.
Even when the albino girl wasn't looking at him he still felt like her eyes where piercing him to his very soul.
Still... he felt drawn to her for some inexplicable reason. It wasn't physical attraction, that he was sure of, not that Rei was something to sneeze at. In truth she had an angelic face framed with an unruly mob of blue hair that was oddly fitting for her and a body to die for. There was one thing though, that held boys at bay: her expression. The otherwise beautiful girl was always wearing this stony and cool expression, no matter what. In all his time Shinji hadn't seen her smile or frown, or anything for that matter, once. It was quite disturbing and Shinji had already resolved to shed some light into the mystery that was Rei Ayanami. Well, that and get her to smile..... once he got the courage to talk to her.
Shinji was torn from his contemplation of the strange girl when his laptop began flashing, indicating he got a message.
'Huh? Who would send me a message?' he wondered while accepting the call.
Are you really the pilot?
Shinji stared at the screen long and hard. Was it wise to answer that one with a positive 'Yes'?
Somehow he doubted it, but then again, they would probably find out eventually and what harm could possibly be done if they knew?
His decision made Shinji typed his answer.
YES
The moment he hit the Enter-button all a loud 'WHAATTTT!!!!!!' echoed throughout the class, and before he knew it Shinji was surrounded by classmates from all sides, all of them asking questions, which had the effect of him not understanding a word they said.
After they were still blabbering a good minute later, Shinji had enough.
"Will you all just clam down!" he said in a stony voice that cut through their blabbering like a knife and effectively silenced the room.
Out of his eyes Shinji saw the sensei still hadn't noticed and kept talking.
"Okaaaaaay.....Now that I have you attention, I am the pilot of that robot. Yes. But no, I can't answer any questions you have because I don't have clue how it works. If you have questions not concerning any specifications, then ask them..." he held up his hand to stop any tumult "...one at a time!"
Some boy made the start:" How have you become pilot?"
"Not a clue. My father said come here and stuffed me into the robot. That's about it."
"Does it have any special weapons?"
"No, as far as I know it only as a measly knife for fighting, not exactly a special weapon."
And the questions kept coming till lunch finally came around, which was a great relive for Shinji, who didn't waste any time to bolt from the room to evade further questions.
**********************
As Toji Suzuhura watched the newly revealed pilot retreating back he shook his head. It really hadn't looked like the Ikari-boy liked the attention he got, which was the reason he had waited till lunch to ask him a few questions himself, and not to forget thank him.
He turned to his fellow-classmate and friend Kensuke Aida.
"Come on, I don't want to lose him."
Kensuke gave his big friend an annoyed look.
"Oh come on now. Will you come down from this trip of yours for now? Ain't it enough he's the new pilot? The chance of him being this ass-kicking martial artist you make him out to be is quite slim."
Toji simply ignored his complaints and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him along.
"Will you stop whining already? I'm 100 percent sure it's him, I even looked at my last volume of 'tournament fighter's supreme' to make sure. They said he won the last 3 championships in Japan in his age-group and I know for sure they mentioned his name was Shinji Ikari. So let's go already!"
When Toji was already out the door Kensuke stopped his futile resistance and let himself be dragged along. Maybe he could get some more information out of the pilot this way.
**************************
Shinji was standing on the roof of his school looking out over the yard with a thoughtful look on his face. It had been three weeks already, and his live had settled into some kind of routine, if piloting a giant Robot for training could be considered routine anyway.
He considered the other children milling about the yard, content with their lives and without a care in the world they seemed. He knew that wasn't true, as everybody had problems, but lately his own problems had evolved to a state where he found himself unable to fully grasp their importance.
The scene in the classroom made one thing clear though, he was important now. Well, maybe not him, but his work.
Only now did he realize the fate of this whole city, maybe even the world was ultimately resting on his shoulders. His head hurt when he thought about it, nobody should have so much responsibility or power. It was a frightening concept he had it, really.
Which was the reason Shinji quickly stopped that train of thought; he had enough trouble dealing with all this without thinking about it.
Shinji let his mind drift, not thinking about anything in particular and staring off into space.
"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?" A gruff voice asked from behind, causing Shinji to frown. Hopefully the person behind him didn't want to talk with him about EVA; it was starting to grate on his nerves.
Shinji made sure to smooth out his features before turning around.
He came face to face with two of his classmates. The one with the camera seemed to be some kind of military otaku, while the other one had yet to ask him a single question.
"Depends, what do you want?" Best to get straight to the point.
Toji for his part didn't know how to say this right. He always had problems with words, not to mention that thanking somebody wasn't one of his strong points either.
"Hello. My name's Toji Suzuhura and this is Kensuke Aida. I...well... I wanted to thank you... for piloting you know? Me and my sister were still on the streets when you started fighting with that thing, thought we would die or something... so yeah…I wanted you to know I'm really grateful you didn't make a mess out there.."
When Toji paused Shinji smiled slightly, although he could tell the other boy wanted to say something else from his aura.
"Well, thanks I guess. So far you're the first one to actually express your thanks for me piloting. Although you shouldn't take me for a hero or something, I'm getting something out of this deal as well. But enough of my piloting or EVA, had enough for one day, what else is on your mind?"
Instantly Toji changed from nervous to giddy as he dug in his schoolbag to fish out something. Shinji couldn't make out what it was since Toji was flipping it through rather fast.
"Ha, here it is!" The boy exclaimed as he held some picture of a fight with some text on the side in front of Shinji's face.
"I just wanted to know, is that you?" he said, pointing to one of the fighters. Only half of his face was visible.
Shinji raised an eyebrow as he looked over the photo taken from some tournament-fights. He raised an eyebrow; pretty sure somebody should have asked him before they put a picture of him into any kind of magazine, because there on the picture he saw himself fighting against one of many opponents.
"Yeah, that would be me. Why?"
Kensuke as well as Shinji could both have sworn Toji got a starry gaze for a fraction of a second, but dismissed it as a figment of their imagination.
"Ah damn, you're one of the coolest fighters on earth! Can I have an autograph from you? I'm into fighting some myself, but nobody ever taught me any real techniques, do you think you can teach me some time?"
Shinij had a sweat drop behind his back. First the class nearly goes berserk because he was pilot and now Toji wanted an autograph because he was some incredible fighter in his opinion.
'Didn't know I had fans' Shinji thought dryly.
'Now, what to do with him? He seems like a nice guy, if a bit rough on the edges, and some company would be nice.'
"The autograph isn't a problem, although I don't understand why you would need one, I'm your classmate now you know? The teaching could be a bit difficult though. I probably can make room a few day a week, but I can't show you that much. Besides, I haven't taught before, so I don't know if I'm any good."
"Um guys?" came Kensuke's voice from the side "Sorry to interrupt, but I think we should get going! Class is starting in a few minutes"
Not wasting anytime the trio made its way down the stairs, Toji still oblivious to his surroundings.
They had nearly reached the classroom, when a soft voice spoke up behind them:"Pilot Ikari? We are to report to NERV"
The trio jumped into the air at once, all scared out of their wits.
Shinji was the first to calm down. When turning around the first Child was staring at him with that intense but somehow calm look in place. "Hello Ayanami-san. Did I understand you right? We are to report to NERV?"
"That is correct. An angel is coming, we are needed." That said the mysterious girl turned on her heel and walked away.
Shinji's jaw hit the ground. The girl hadn't shown a trace of emotion when mentioning the attack. How could anybody possibly be so dismissive?
'Huh angel-attack?' He thought belatedly. 'Surely she is joking right?'.
The blaring klaxons that started up only moments later proved Shinji wrong.
Shinji swallowed a lump. He came out alright of his first encounter, but he knew it was a close-call.
With an unsure smile he turned to his compatriots, who were still rooted to the ground.
"Seems like we have to discuss this one later you two. Have to go!"
He said, already walking away.
Shinji was nearly around the corner when Toji called out:"Kick this ugly freaks butt Ikari. I wish you luck!"
The pilot had to smile despite the dire situation. He planned to do just that: Kick some butt!
A little more confident in himself the son of Gendo Ikari walked towards humanity's next challenger.
*********************
Amidst the city of Tokyo 3 a huge launching pad opened up, allowing the behemoth known as Evangelion Unit 1 passage.
Inside the pilot grunted as the EVA was suddenly stopped from his ascend.
'I'll never get used to this' He thought irritated'
As he stood there a com-link opened up, showing Misato.
"Shinji, go over to your right and take out the assault rifle. You are to try and bring the angel down from a distance this time."
The young pilot shrugged. He may have been a martial artist, but his first experience told him fighting them hand-to-hand was something to be avoided for the sake oh him and his EVA.
He wiled the giant machine to move over to the weapon-rag and took the rifle, once again marveling at how real it felt to hold. He couldn't feel the texture of the metal, but the weight of the weapon was clearly felt by his nerves.
"Okay, now that you're armed move east, the angel will arrive shortly. Okay, stop here and stay in hiding, we will tell you when to come out."
The next seconds felt like an eternity to Shinji. His mind and body already set to fight for his life time seemed to crawl by at a maddening slow pace.
"Now, Get out of hiding, the angel is directly in front of you."
Shinji didn't bother to answer. In one swift motion he was standing next to the building he was hiding behind a moment before. He focused his cross hairs on the target without thinking, the action almost instinctual from the last weeks training, and fired a quick volley.
High velocity bullets exploded on the angels hide partly hiding it from sight due to the smoke.
Shinji was about to fire again, when he was the smoke, and stopped abruptly.
'Always have your enemy in sight' came back the words of advice from his training.
Waiting a few seconds fro the smoke to clear completely Shinji looked at the angel a little closer. It had a long and sleek body that was red. On top there was a gigantic head, if it could be called that, which Shinji couldn't describe at all. Only a short ways down lay the core, the angel's weak spot.
As Shinji examined the last feature of his opponent he shuddered. The angel had two small appendages which elongated into some kind of whip. The tentacles pulsed with an eerie light and somehow Shinji knew it would be a very bad idea to be touched by them in any way.
He also knew that it would be nearly impossible to dodge both at once for any length of time, having fought against similar weapons already.
The smoke finally dissolved and Shinji gave another volley, which exploded against the angel's hide once again without any effect.
Although it seemed his second round got the angels attention, as it turned around.
Shinji swallowed involuntary. 'This is will be very unpleasant'
The next moment the angel dived towards him with incredible speed, surprising Shinji.
The young pilot barely managed to roll to the side, avoiding the blow.
His reflexes were dulled though, because he still wasn't used to the EVA entirely, and before he could stand up again, the angel flung him back.
The Shinji landed on the far mountain with a grunt, the force from the landing forcing the breath out of his lungs for a moment.
"Ah damn! That hurt ...."
Inside the command-center Misato winced as Shinji hit the ground.
"Umbilical-cord severed. 5 minutes power remaining" and cursed as a technician reported this.
Then she saw something even more shocking on the screen.
In between the EVA's monstrous fingers where tow young boys.
'Idiots! What are they doing out there?'
However, even though they were idiots Misato was not about to let them die.
"Shinji, can you hear me?"
"Yeah, I'm just a little bit disoriented"
"I want you to open up your entry-plug and take these two guys between your fingers inside!"
Shinji blinked a few times when hearing that. Opening his entry-plug? Guys between his fingers? He looked down to the ground and saw Misato's words confirmed. His jaw fell open when he recognized the cowering boys. It was Toji and Kensuke!
Shinji activated his external speakers while simultaneously opening the plug.
"What are you two idiots doing out here?" he ranted, clearly pissed someone could be dense enough to do something like this. "I want you to come into my entry-plug. Make it fast; I have an angel to fight!"
**************************
A few minutes earlier
"This is so cool!" Kensuke said while filming the Evangelion as it waited for the angel to make its appearance. Currently he was standing on a mountain a good mile away together with his friend Toji.
Toji stood next to his friend with a frown on his face.
"I don't know Kensuke. Maybe we should go down to the shelters again; it could get nasty up here."
"Nah, why are you worried? Shinji will take care of it with no problem. Besides, don't you want to see him in action?"
Toji finally conceded to his friend and waited with him.
When the angle hovered into view Kensuke was nearly jumping up and down with excitement. "This is sooooooo cooooool!"
Toji rolled his eyes, wondering if his friend's full vocabulary would come back after this was over.
Then everything happened at once. The Evangelion came out of hiding to send a few volleys from its assault-rifle towards the angel. The angel dived forth, and the next thing the two teens saw was the massive form of Unit 01 flying in their direction.
Realizing they were about to be flattened both were rooted to the ground with fear, unable to move.
'BOOOOOM'
Toji opened his eyes, not knowing when he had closed them.
'I'm still alive!' He thought happily but nonetheless scared to death.
Several long moments Toji and Kensuke just stood there, unable to comprehend how close they came to dying.
That was when a booming voice was heard from above.
Both immediately recognized the angry speaker as Shinji.
After he was finished speaking Kensuke looked upwards to see a white tube screwing out of the Evangelion. Even though the Unit was nearly lying on it back the plug still hung a good 2 meters in the air.
Then Shinji appeared out of the hatch, looking as miffed as he sounded.
"Will you two already move!?! I only have 4 minutes power left"
His outburst was enough to set the duo in motion.
******************************
Shinji was once again sitting inside the entry-plug, his two classmates behind him.
As the plug filled with LCL Shinji didn't even acknowledge it anymore. He was already concentrating on moving the EVA. With only two minutes left every moment counted if he wanted to finish this one off.
Kensuke and Toji weren't as cool-headed as Shinji when the liquid poured in.
When Shinji finally noticed their trashing he chuckled.
"You can breathe this stuff. No need to worry."
Feeling he had said enough Shinji turned around again. The angel was still where it had last been, trashing the city with its tentacles. Shinji still wondered why it hadn't attacked him while his EVA was down, not that he was complaining.
As Shinji got up Misato contacted him once again.
"Shinji, get to the nearest launching site. We have to get you a new power-cable and get these two out of your plug. Their brainwaves are interfering with your sync-ratio."
Shinji considered this for a moment. She was probably right, but he had a clear shot right now, since the angel had turned its back to him. Then again, she was his superior and since he got money for this it was best to do as she said.
His decision made Shinji headed to the next launching site and gave a heavy sigh
'I hate running from a fight, but this ain't some game so I better play save.'
****************************
5 minutes later
Shinji was once again on the surface with a new Umbilical-cord and no passengers. A rather pissed looking Misato had escorted them away once they had arrived in the Geo-front.
Shinji would have pitied them, but right now he had to worry about himself.
Since bullets weren't working Shinji had abandoned his rifle in favor of the prog-knife. It still irritated him to no end that such a big robot had such a small knife.
'Oh well, one works with what he has' he though without much enthusiasm.
Unit 01 was slowly creeping towards the angel from behind. Misato had told him to do what was needed to defeat the angel, giving him free reign. Shinji didn't have much of a plan, but he knew he had to cut off these tentacles before he could finish the angel off. Coming from behind gave him the chance to cut one off without fear of retaliation from his adversary.
Shinji finally came within reach. Now he only had to abide his time till he could storm forth to surprise this sucker!
As the angel pulled his right tentacle back to strike again, Unit 01 sprang to its feet and ran full tilt forward, prog-knife held in striking position.
The tentacle was moving forward again.
'NOW' Shinji screamed in his head, as he brought down the knife on the tentacle, cleaving through it all the way.
Shinji rolled forward to avoid a blow from the second tentacle and came to his feet just as the other hit the ground.
"So, now the odds are even, let's see what you do now!" Shinji growled through his teeth.
In the command-center everyone cheered, happy over this small victory.
The angel lashed out again.
Shinji grinned. 'Big mistake sucker'
He dove under the wild swing to come up nearly in front of the angel and rammed the knife through the base of the second tentacle, cutting it off as well.
'Too easy' He thought, as he reared back his arms and rammed the knife into the now defenseless angel's core.
As it didn't break he pulled it out, only to ram it in again.
Sparks were flying as Shinji rammed his knife into the core over and over like a madman until the core stopped pulsing with red light and the second angel died a silent death.
***********************************
Authors notes:
A short chapter this time, I know, but the death of the angel is just so fitting for the final scene, don't you agree?
The next chapter will be a little bit longer as compensation, promise.
Nothing more to say, aside from the usual:
I STILL NEED PRE-READERS.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW
Contact me at master_meister@gmx.de if you want to pre-read or want to tell me something in private.