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Title:            Full Metal Evangelion Book 1 Chapter 4

Author:            Dead^Meat   ( deadmeat@bhlegend.com )

ICQ:            7790861            (Auth. req – state who you are when you ask)

Dates of revision:            2002-12-01 v 0.05 (Started)

                      2003-04-11 ch4 publish version 1.0

* Disclaimer: Characters from Neon Genesis Evangelion have been used without permission. All characters contained in this work are copyright GAINAX, Project EVA, Movic, AD Vision and Manga Entertainment.

* Quick-list of various Japanese words/phrases used, and it's translation.

Baka       = idiot

Hai        = yes

Hentai     = perverted, pervert, someone perverted

* Reading:

"d" - Denotes speaking

'd' - Denotes thinking

_d_ - Denotes punctuation

|d| - Denotes sound effects

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Chapter four: Being strong

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Under the rapt gaze of his shifty eyes, the large gathering hall of Fort Liberty, Texas, was slowly filled with VIP's.

Ranging from high-ranked Generals, Ambassadors and Diplomats, up to Defense Ministers, Prime Ministers and presidents from countries all over the world, this global gathering of men and women was not something one should take lightly.

'The security is top-notch.' The man scribbled down on his notebook,
'Elite soldiers from the hosting nation, in this case America, are literally everywhere, both inside and outside the Fort.

With twenty-two different escape routes planned, an underground N2-safe shelter nearby with enough food, water and compressed air to last for four months, they were prepared to protect the gathered VIP's from any eventual unpleasant threats.

To encounter any and all immediate threats, two complete squadrons of T-78 Strikers circled the area. To defend against any land-based threat, two heavy battalions meticulously guarded the fence surrounding the fort. Nothing was to interrupt the meeting.

For serious as it was, many of the guests feared an attack. Bringing their own security detail was one of the many terms agreed upon by attending this 'meeting'. Otherwise at least half of the assembled nations would have rejected, not even considering joining a meeting this large, where one could become a 'random' target in a terrorist attack. Only this time, facing an unnerving threat, they all felt the heavy burden of necessity, thus this meeting.'

The spy grinned naughtily, as he took his 248th picture.

'But they hadn't considered everything, had they? For every one of these very important persons, came at least two lesser important men. And for each lesser important man, came three even lesser important men. Add it all up, and it was easy as a pie to slip away and get into the prepared hideout.

A hideout fully visibly by anyone, but one no one would consider using as a hideout. No one but me, of course. Ha! Although I have to admit, it was uncomfortable, and very, very, hot.'

Soon, the amphi-theatre-shaped hall was filled to the brim, and the general murmur from the variety of people was so loud that it was impossible for the spy to listen in to any one conversation.

Up front, a distinguished commander from the secret but influential organisation that organised this extravagant event briskly walked up the flight stairs and made his way across to the centre of the stage. Standing in front of a large screen, using his weighty commander's pole, he determinedly tapped on the cold marble floor until the hall was silent.

"Ladies and Gentlemen" The Commander formally said, bowing slightly to the audience "I bid you all welcome to this meeting of utmost importance. It would not have been possible without your fullest co-operation."

Straightening himself, the Commander continued.

"Without further delay, we shall begin by having one of our top Commanders do the introduction presentation. Please welcome the Commander of the North Asian subsidiary, the Geofront."

This being the kind of gathering that it was, there was no applause, only silence, as the Commander of the Geofront calmly took the stage.

"Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. I shall start by giving you a brief description of NERV, and explain the cause for the current situation of the world." Stepping aside, the Commander now stood next to the large screen, which flickered to life and revealed a large NERV-logo, covering the whole screen.

"NERV is a secret, independent organisation with subsidiaries world-wide. Since our creation during the aftermath of the First Impact, our main goal is to keep the peace in the world, protecting it and the civilisation as we know it, by force. Among our objectives are handling of terrorist-threats, forcing peace negotiations, removal of unsuitable weapons of genocide, such as chemical-, nuclear- and biological-weapons, and prevention of unbalanced shifts of power. We had succeeded greatly in this endeavour since the birth of our organisation, but for the event that took place seventeen years ago."

The NERV-logo switched to another, more menacing looking logo.

"As you all know, the terrorist organisation slash cult SEELE made itself known not long ago when they caused the dozens of simultaneous natural catastrophes through the use of WM's, destroying the world as we knew it, and which we have come to refer to as the Second Impact."

The screen now switched from picture to picture depicting the results of the Second Impact, as well as a world map showing the affected countries.

The commander turned and faced the display.

"Among the most affected countries were, in no specific order; Brazil, Russia, Canada, the United States, France, Great Britain, Saudi-Arabia, Iran, Nigeria, China, India, Indonesia and Australia." Turning back to face the darkness, the Commander continued with the presentation.

"This resulted in the death of no less than a billion human lives, destroyed property to a value of around 26,904 billion dollars, a very optimistic figure, and the social, industrial, scientifically and military setback for the last seventeen years."

"It has still been unconfirmed, but we believe that this global cult, backed up by a large number of unknown companies and enterprises world-wide, gained a lot of money, influence and power due to the Second Impact."

"You all knew this before," this statement was met with a general agreement. "but we have reasons to believe that the Second Impact was but a stepping stone towards their real goal."

A general murmur broke out, as the majority of the assembled people from smaller countries seemed confused, or had just now started paying attention. A large number, among them the representatives of the most powerful countries in the world, did not seem surprised by the idea.

"We have reasons to believe, thanks to a highly reliable source, that the Second Impact was a mere means of gaining enough resources, enough resources for the execution of the Third Impact."

Murmurs turned into confused and angry shouts as half of the assembled stood up and protested wildly, not believing what they've been told.

"Silence!" The pole-equipped NERV Commander demanded, raising his pole in a threatening gesture towards the crowd.

Silence was slowly ensured as they took their seats once again, while the Japanese NERV Commanders waited patiently.

"The Third Impact has been planned to take place in between five to seven years, and will result in the total annihilation of Earth as we know it."

The shouting broke out again, only this time between the representatives themselves, blaming each other for the situation and giving reasons to their incompetent failure.

Becoming impatient with the crowd's reaction, the Senior Commander raised his pole and drove it swiftly into the ground, causing a sudden crack that reverberated through the hall to snap most of the crowd back to reality.

"This is not the time for petty bickering and greed!" He shouted, his voice booming out into the shapeless darkness.

Taking the cue, the Japanese Commander continued in a calmer, smoother voice.

"This is the time for us to be strong, to unite, and to extinguish the largest threat earth has ever faced, the devil called SEELE!"

"For all of us. For every country. For Earth. For humankind."

With that said, the Commander gave the assembly a quick salute, then proceeded to calmly exit the stage under intense applause.

"Now, Ladies and Gentlemen," said the remaining NERV Commander as the applause finally quieted down, "we shall continue with the Commander of the European subsidiary, NATO."

******************************************************************

'Wait till the boys back home hears this!' The spy thought giddily, several hours later as he left his hiding-place now that the meeting had been adjourned. Feeling the necessity to leave after only a day's meeting, he regretted not being able to get a complete log from the whole conference, but it still felt like this piece of story would give him enough money to retire from work for the rest of his life.

Elated, the spy looked around nervously, before forcing himself to walk slowly and casually through the empty corridors. Rounding a corner, he stopped in front of a door sealed off with police-tape. After unlocking and carefully removing the tape, he quickly entered the room and reattached the police-tape before closing the door. 'Hopefully, I'll be long gone by the time they check this room.'

Inside, he quickly changed his clothes, wiped off any smudge or dirt stain from his arms and legs, and stuffed everything that needed to be discarded into a bag. In this bag, he set the timer of a small incendiary bomb, and hid it in a pile of building material.

Adjusting his Major-ranked uniform, he softly coughed to clear his throat, checked that he had the discs with pictures and taped presentation in a parcel with him, then exited the room.

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Two hours later, in a dark alley somewhere in a town east of Fort Liberty, a man was unceremoniously executed for spying.

His body was never recovered.

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In a local, non-descript warehouse in the south side of Tokyo3, Touji stood silently and sipped from a can of coke, watching the mech-team 'rummage' through his big, black Evangelion Unit 4.

"So, Joe, found anything yet?" Touji asked, feeling only slightly offended, but well, it _was_ an expensive machine … very expensive, but above all, it was his.

"Nah, not yet Touji, but I'm sure we'll be able to find at least something to remark on, so I can call you back to base and kick your ass in the sim!"

"Haha, sure man, whatever!" Touji laughed it off so that Joe would feel a little better. He knew that Joe didn't like this neither, being completely aware of and in respect of Touji's superb mechanical skills and knowledge considering the Eva-series, but when the orders came from higher up, he did what he was told to do.

'And so do I.' Touji thought. He raised his head high up in the air, with the can glued to his mouth, sucking noisily after the last drops of coke, then threw it in a perfect arc where it finally landed clanging on the floor next to the wastebasket.

Joe and his two-man team looked at each other, rolling their eyes up towards the ceiling in exasperation, and then they continued with their work.

******************************************************************

Strolling through town on his way towards the HQ, looking for some answers, Touji's thoughts wandered off, thinking about the past three, boring weeks since Shinji's sleepover at Asuka's.

As he passed a by certain shop, Touji was suddenly reminded of Hikari, who loved to go window-shopping there. Recalling the past few months, since he came here, he started to wonder about how they got so close so quick.

'Sure, it's my job being her bodyguard, a covert one where I can not reveal my true identity, but it has become more than that, somehow.'

'But how? And why?'

'Sure, she seems absolutely smitten with me, but I've had plenty of those in the past. I have no doubt about my good looks and good-natured personality, which had drawn a lot of girls in the past. But soon, my and their interests would inevitably falter, and I'm now accustomed to seeing them come and go like the wind. So what was so different with Hikari?'

Shaking his head, he dropped the trail and let the thoughts fade away, preferring to think on less disturbing thoughts. Like work.

Taking a deep breath and shoving his hands into his pockets, he continued down the street, forcing his mind back on what he'd planned to do. Like confront the boss, and inquiring about why HQ wanted to check up on his Eva.

'Didn't they trust me with it?'

Passing a familiar-looking café, Touji peeked in through the windows, smiled as one of the waitresses, Aoi, noticed him, and waved at her.

Entering, the young girl walked up to the slightly younger man, and giggled.

"So, Touji, what would you like today, then?"

Scratching his head, he replied "Umm, nothing, actually, I just needed to talk with the boss."

"The boss? What for? Oh well, the boss is in the office, doing you-know-what." Aoi sighed deeply for awhile, but then her smile came back in an instant when she got an idea.

"Saaay, you wouldn't happen to have some free time after this? I mean, my shift is almost over, so…"

Picking up on Aoi's queue, Touji smiled at her "I'll see what I can do, after I talk with the boss. I'll at least have a cup of coffee, so please have one ready for me!"

"Sure thing, handsome!" Aoi winked at him, then went back to work while Touji made his way past the tables to a solitary, grey door at the rear of the restaurant. Approaching the door, Touji reached to dial the numeric keypad above the lever. Entering the correct code into the pad, it beeped twice. Touji opened the door and took a quick sweep of the room around him. Satisfied that he wasn't being spied upon, he walked into the darkened hallway.

As the door shut close, all outside ambience was effectively cut off. Filling the narrow corridor with an eerie silence, only the breeze and the hum of a ventilation fan disturbed the illusory tranquillity of the hallway. Walking forward cautiously, the silence was suddenly broken by a loud burp.

"Oh damn it, it left a stain!" cried a female voice from behind an open door at the end of the corridor. Touji shuddered slightly, wondering why he felt both joy and pain every time he went to see his boss.

In the small office, a beautiful, purple-haired woman in a tight, dark blue dress lay wasted on the small sofa, surrounded by a coffee table and manned by dozens of beer cans. The other half of the room was occupied by a large refrigerator, a medium sized oak desk in the corner, a steel file cabinet, a potted plant next to the desk, a framed picture of an old man and a few other ordinary office appliances.
A well decorated camouflage.

"Major!" Touji said, straightening himself up and saluted.

"Huh?" Major Misato Katsuragi looked up from her careful scrutiny of the inside of a beer can and blinked at her visitor.

"Oh, it's … you! Ha! I knew you'd come here, come here when I was drunk so you can tie me up and have your way with me! Even though you're underaged, and I'm your beautiful commanding officer!"

Major Katsuragi grinned drunkenly at Touji, then slowly spread her legs open. Never breaking his straight gaze, Touji did not dare moving a muscle.

"Oh come on, boss! If you know why I'm here, please cut the crap and answer me!"

Misato pouted, "Ah Touji-chan, you're no fun to tease" Her playful frown turned into a smile again. "Oh well, maybe when you're older."

She grinned for awhile longer, then suddenly clamped her legs shut, sat up on the sofa and slammed the empty can down on the coffee table.

Leaning on her knees, she took her head between her hands and sucked a lungful of air, deep, and fast.

"Oh God," Misato started to complain in a tired, whiny voice
"I think civilian life would kill me, if this is how I end up during a so-called 'vacation-duty'! But now, it's over. The vacation has been called off, now it's back to business!" Sighing, Misato closed her eyes and muttered under her breath "At least I have a high metabolism-rate."

As quickly as the silence had been broken earlier, it now came back, as the atmosphere noticeably shifted from one of drunken bliss, to … something else.

The Major sat for another minute, with closed eyes and hanging head, shuddering internally. Then, when she looked back up, she was all business and nothing else.

"Geez, boss, it's a damn miracle how you can consume so much alcohol and burning it up so fast. You're awesome!"

"Why, thank you, Touji dear." Misato smiled faintly, lightening up her features for a minute, but then got back to work.

"Anyway, as you've surely noticed, our activity in Tokyo3 has risen way beyond what we've planned. Suffice to say, the plans are changing, and now we need our pilots to be in prime condition. That means, we'll be taking care of all the maintenance of the Eva's and surveillance over the girls from now on, so all you have to do is prepare yourself physically, and be their immediate bodyguards during school."

Misato suddenly stood up, raised her arms up and arched her back, yawning. Giving the stunned pilot a mischievous wink, she then walked over to the desk, picked up a folder lying on the desk and opened it, turning her head from side to side while reading the contents.

"Anyway…" Misato continued, looking back up to him. "Things are moving around the world, Touji. Sooner or later, we will have to make our move. The question is, will it be us, or will the enemy be the ones to use these two girls. Brief Shinji on the situation as well."

Handing him the folder, Misato turned around, towards the picture hanging on the wall.

"Please let them enjoy the life they know of, for as long as possible."

Taking this as his cue to leave, Touji saluted Major Katsuragi, and turned back to leave the office.

"Touji."

"Yes, boss?" Touji turned back to see Misato staring at him, a grim expression on her face and with a hint of worry in her eyes.

"Be careful."

"Of course, boss! I can take care of myself, so I'd worry more about Shinji, if I was you!" Touji flashed her a toothy grin and waved good-bye with the folder, leaving Misato alone with her thoughts.

'As always, that kid…' Misato thought, and sighed.

Smiling faintly, she brushed a lock of hair out of her face, and then shot a quick glance at the refrigerator.

"I need to pee."

******************************************************************

A certain young man had a lot on his mind that evening.

Strolling casually along the outskirts of the city, Touji wondered if he really did ease Misato's mind with his comments. 'If not, well, she could take care of herself. And trust us with our lives.'

Thinking grimly about the possible causes for this escalation of activity in NERV, of all organisations, he only saw death and violence ahead in his path. And wondered how he would cope with it.

His thoughts were interrupted as a girl bumped into him from the side, smashing a stack of cardboard boxes into him, causing them to fall all over him.

"Oops! Oh my, I'm so sorry!" a familiar voice said, and as soon as he looked up, he saw Hikari.

"Touji-kun! What, what are you doing here?" Hikari asked, helping him stand up.

Brushing himself off, he started helping her pick up the boxes that had fallen all over the place.

"Oh, please, I can take care of it! It was my fault, after all." Hikari admitted, squatting down to gather a pile at her feet.

"Don't worry, it's not like I hit myself hard, or anything." Touji ensured, and handed her the boxes he had gathered.

"What's in these?" Touji then asked her.

"These? Nothing, really, just some boxes we needed for a small neighbourhood gathering."

"Are you heading home, now? I can help you with those, you know."

"Really? But, umm, it's okay! I wouldn't want to interrupt whatever you were doing!" Hikari blushed, and started to turn away with her big stack of small boxes.

Feeling that Hikari was leaving too soon, but wanting her to stay with him a little longer, Touji opened his mouth and uttered the first thing he could think of.

"Ow!"

"Huh?" Hikari worriedly turned back to stare at Touji, who was bent over his stomach, holding it in apparent pain.

"It, it hurts!"

"Oh no! Oh I'm so sorry! Does it hurt much? Tell me what I can do!" Hikari frantically requested, worrying about Touji.

"I … I think … I think I can be cured, with a cup of coffee or two, if I have a cute girl next to me." Touji looked up at Hikari's wide eyes, grinning foolishly.

Hikari frowned at first, for being lied to, but then she developed a blush as she realised exactly what he was asking for.

"I, umm … there's actually a nice café nearby, Café Vren International, you want to go there?"

Hearing the suggested café, Touji immediately rejected it.

"No! Let's not go there, we should try that riverside café by the park instead! Besides, it's on our way home, isn't it?"

"Well, uh, okay, let's go!"

Touji took over more than half of the boxes, and lead the way.

******************************************************************

While sitting in the park, sipping coffee and enjoying the warm weather and fresh breeze, Hikari took several sneak peeks at Touji.

He looked slightly worried, tense, sitting there on the chair next to her, frowning up at the sky. 'Is it because of me? Didn't he want to sit here with me?

No, I don't think it's me he's thinking about, right now. He was the one inviting me along, after all … I wonder what he's so worried about…'

Stirring her tea, she stole another look at Touji, and sighed.

'God, he is so handsome…' Hikari now openly stared at Touji, noting how the wind caught and swirled around his short, dark hair, tugging and pulling, sweeping down over the rough contours of his face like caresses of a wild lover. Staring at his slightly parted lips, Hikari gently touched her own, wondering about how soft his were, and what it would feel like, having them pressed against her own … lonely … lips.

Running her eyes over his bulging arms, she wondered if she would ever feel them carry her away, away from this ordinary life, into one of passion, love … realising that her eyes and strayed and were resting on his crotch. Hikari immediately looked back up, and saw that Touji was staring at her, smiling faintly. Hikari immediately blushed deep red and turned her head away, in embarrassment.

"I, I'm sorry!" She quickly apologised, feeling how tears were starting to form in her tightly closed eyes. Ashamed, she wondered how Touji would reject her.

With her head full of those thoughts, she was all the more surprised as Touji gently lifted her chin, closing the distance between them. Staring into his blue eyes, she felt him kiss her cheek, and noted how genuine his smile seemed to be.

"Stare at me." Touji quietly whispered into her ears.

Hikari hesitated, then nodded silently, smiling back to him.

******************************************************************

'She's right.' Touji thought, his eyes following Hikari as she walked over to her door, waved good-bye to him, and went into her house.

'Just like Misato said, I should let her enjoy her life, and try not to worry her too much. And whatever may come in the future, I will protect her.

Determined, and finally satisfied, Touji briskly walked back home under an ominously cloudy, darkening sky.

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"Hey, guys!" A voice called at them from behind.

Looking behind them, Shinji and Touji noticed that one of their classmates, a Kensuke something, was catching up to them.

Like them, he too was dressed in a tracksuit, and was sweating profusely.

"Out for a morning jog, as well?" Shinji asked the newcomer.

Kensuke took a second to slow down to their pace.

"Yeah, of course! How about you guys? I haven't seen you two here in the park before, come here often?"

"Well, actually, we just started." Touji replied. "Shinji here was getting waaay too much meat inside of him, so I figured, hey, I could use a little exercise myself! And if I wasn't here, who'd be checking and making sure he doesn't cheat, right?" Shinji pushed Touji towards a tree, which he narrowly missed, laughing.

"So how about you? If you'll excuse me, but with your appearance, we didn't think you'd be the type to jog and exercise." Shinji noted.

"Well, it's alright, a lot of people make that mistake, so I'm used to it." Kensuke shrugged, as if he didn't care, then continued.

"I've been jogging and training for years, now. Well, mostly jogging, building up my stamina and stuff, lifting weights just doesn't seem all that much fun to me…"

"Oh come on, Kensuke!" Touji interrupted. "I'm sure you're doing all this to get girls, right? So why don't you go all out and get some muscles under your skin? Chicks love that!"

"I'm not really doing this for the girls, actually."

"No? Then why?" Touji asked, confused.

"I'm training to be a Wardroid-pilot!" Kensuke admitted cheerfully.

"You what?!" Touji halted in mid-step, not believing what he just heard.

"Is there a problem with that?" Kensuke added, defensively.

"No, no, not at all." Shinji ensured. "We just don't understand why."

"Come on! Imagine yourself sitting in the middle of a large wardroid. You move your hand, the mech does the same. You move your feet, the mech responds with the same motion! You can do everything you do with your own body, but with soo much more power and weight behind that _nothing_ can stop you! And also, you can take so much more beating than you would, with your own body…" Shinji noted a slight venom in that last statement, which made Shinji examine the guy they thought they knew a bit closer.

"At least you, Touji, should be able to understand, since you share my interest in mechs, right? Right?" Kensuke pleaded to him.

"Well, uh, sure I do." Touji agreed, feeling a bit embarrassed.
'If only he knew the truth…'

"You guys doing anything else, after school? Let me show you something real cool."

Touji sought Shinji's eyes, and he nodded after a brief hesitation.

"Sure, dude. It's a date!"

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"What, are you serious?" Hikari asked, since she couldn't believe her ears. In front of her, in her hand, rested a beautiful golden locket, with intricate 19th century designs on both the locket and the chain. Opening it, she saw a tiny, empty frame, suitable for pictures of …lovers.

"Wow … a gift! From Shinji, right?" Hikari asked, still in wonder.

"Yeah, that baka suddenly just gave this to me this morning." Asuka said, and smiled as she recalled the rather peculiar and embarrassing occasion. Then she shook her head.

"Must not … get too carried away…" Asuka muttered under her breath.

"Huh, did you say something?" Hikari wondered, her eyes still admiring the Asuka's present.

"No, no," she gave a nervous laugh "Eh, but I'm sure you'll get something similar from the other one as well…" Asuka took the locket back when Hikari handed it to her, and clasped it around her neck. "Considering it's real purpose…" She sighed.

"The other one? You mean Touji? You think so?" Hikari inquired, feeling a knot of hope deep inside her.

"Mmm… anyway, forget about them now, let's go shopping after school! It'll be so great not having them around for awhile."

"Huh? Where are they going?"

"Oh, I don't know, they had to go someplace today. Think I heard Touji say something about a date as well, I'm not sure though."

"A date?!"

******************************************************************

"In here, you will find my prized collection." Kensuke said proudly, standing in front of his basement door.

'We came here to see junk?' Touji thought, but kept his mouth shut.

Shinji simply nodded, and waited expectantly.

"Oh well." Kensuke sighed disappointedly, and opened the door.

Stepping inside the unlit basement, Touji and Shinji couldn't see nor hear anything in particular. They did feel a cool draft blowing through their hair, and they heard a low echo when Kensuke started talking.

"I'll just close the door first, it gets awfully drafty down here otherwise."

The sound of the door shut echoed through the basement, and with it, their only source of light.

"Hey," Touji nervously whispered to Shinji. "What's going on?"

"I have absolutely no idea…" Shinji replied, looking around tensely.

"Guys, please keep whatever you see in here to yourselves, okay?
Alright, I'm turning the lights on. Here goes!"

The light suddenly came back on, blinding the two pilots for a second. Blinking, they tried to see through the fog in their eyes, and suddenly, they saw it. The massive collection.

"W- … wow!" Touji exclaimed, surprised as he saw he was looking at a Spitzer AD49 automatic rifle. Tearing his eyes away from it, they soon found themselves trying to consume all of the exhibited weapons at the same time.

One side of the basement was completely covered in glassed displays, filled with all sorts of guns. From handguns, revolvers, rifles, machineguns, grenades, bazookas and lots, lots more.

'With all the weapons on display, you could start a minor war!' Touji thought suddenly, alarmed. Glancing over at Shinji, he noticed that Shinji had come to the same conclusion, then they turned to the other side.

The other side of the basement was used for target practice, with rows of retractable, cardboard targets depicting a man holding a gun. You had the option of either shooting his hand, torso, or head. Disarm him, stop him, or kill him.

"So, guys, what do you think?" Kensuke broke the silence with a cheerful inquiry. "Want to have a go? Know how to shoot?"

"Well, umm, …" Touji started, but was interrupted by Shinji.

"Yes, that sounds like fun. But you have to show us how to use gun, first."

"Of course! Let me demonstrate!" Kensuke turned towards a small console on the wall, turned the key and pressed a code, which unlocked every display.

"I noticed that you had your eyes on the Spitzer, Touji, so I'll show it to you." Kensuke opened the appropriate display, took hold of the Spitzer in both of his hands and with a click, loaded the weapon.

Now standing in front of the practice area, he set the target to hundred metres, shouldered the weapon and switched the safety off it, taking aim.

The sound of three short bursts cut through the basement, ripping into the target, shredding it. Kensuke smiled, and deftly flicked the safety back on his weapon, bringing it down. Drawing forth the target, Touji noted that each of the three areas had three bullet-holes. 'Damn.'

"Wow, you've been practising a lot." Shinji noted, clapping his hands in awe.

"Thank you, thank you." Kensuke thanked cheerfully, and turned to Touji.

"Want to try?"

"Uh, yeah, sure!"

Touji then pretended a lack of knowledge, and had Kensuke teach him the basics. Deliberately missing the target the first few times, Touji tried to hide his real knowledge, and proficiency with semi-automatic assault rifles. All this while Kensuke pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, studying Touji intensely.

******************************************************************

"He's dangerous." Shinji commented to Touji, while walking back home after an intense weapons training.

"Definitely." Touji agreed, rubbing his aching shoulder.

"We'll have to notify the café as soon as possible, so they can look into him, who he really is, how he got all the weapons, etc."

Frowning, Shinji continued to think out loud.

"I wonder why he decided to show us his collection… Did he trust us? Did he want to impress us? Or did he want to observe us, and our reactions?"

"Yeah, might be something like that, I don't know." Touji admitted glumly, then slapped his friends back, hard, grinning. "But I must say, this was good training! It's too damn long since our last weapons training! It was damn hard trying to deliberately miss the target!"

"Heh, seemed like you were doing it naturally."

******************************************************************

The following day, Hikari spent her time after school by walking around, looking for Touji. By asking around, she heard that he might be hanging around at the sports clubs, to the rear of the school.

So she headed off towards that part of school.

Once there, Hikari looked around, seeing several different sports clubs, actively pursuing their interests, their goals. The track and field club was running laps, training stamina. The soccer club was practising passes, while the baseball club batted. And so on.

Glancing around the soccer field, she finally found him, lying on the grass under a tree. She hurried towards him.

"Touji! What happened? Are you hurt?"

"Huh? Oh, hey Hikari. Don't mind it, it'll heal in no time." Touji said, referring to the darkening bruise on his foot. He rose up to lean on his shoulder, looking up at Hikari worried face.

"Oh, my! I'll go get some bandages, immediately!"

"Don't worry, it's al-…" Too late, Hikari had turned around and rushed off again, in quest of a first-aid kit.

******************************************************************

Touji sighed and laid back down again, gazing at the soccer clubs practice.

'Hehe, I guess something good came out of this, somehow.'

Feeling himself finally relax, he recalled how the day had gone by, how Hikari had seemed so cold to him all of a sudden.

He had no idea why, but she had been avoiding him like the plague. He of course tried to approach her, time and again, but she never warmed up.
After a while, it had gotten so frustrating that Touji felt that he needed to vent his anger at something. So he left as Hikari started to talk to Asuka and Shinji, and noticing that the soccer club was just starting their training, it had been the most convenient stress-reliever.

Of course, he overdid himself, running a bit too carelessly and hurt his foot. It was nothing, really, he's been hurt more seriously before, but never in his life had he got such an irritating injury from something so … so mundane.

'Man, I can kick ass in a brawl, but when it comes to kicking a bloody ball, geez!'

Soon enough, he saw Hikari return with water, first-aid kit and some bandages.

"That's not really necessary, you know."

"Of course it is! You're hurt! I need to take care of you!" Hikari opened the water bottle, and poured some over his bruises.

"It's okay, really! I'm fine, Hikari!"

Hikari stopped, and hung her head down in defeat.

"Please, Touji. I want to take care of you. Even if you're dating someone else, at least, please let me do this." Hikari begged, sobbing quietly.

Touji sighed softly, sat up and suddenly hugged Hikari.

Shocked, Hikari tensed up, not knowing what to do.

"If you insist so much, then please, take care of me, Hikari-chan." Touji requested, and Hikari relaxed, letting herself enjoy the hug.

Pulling back, Touji stared into her confused, hurt, downcast eyes.

"And why would I be dating someone else, when I've got you, huh?" He whispered, smiling softly.

Hikari immediately locked eyes with him, and slowly, ever so slowly, started to shyly smile back, developing a cute blush.

Touji slowly raised a hand and gently swept a lock of her hair away from her face, exposing the beautiful girl underneath, then laid back down on the grass, supporting his head with his arms, a serene smile covering his face.

Hikari took gentle care of his foot, cleaned it up and bandaged it. After she completed the task, she put the kit aside and sat quietly next to Touji's resting body.  Looking away with a deep blush, she delicately placed a hand on his, and enjoyed the moment.

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With Hikari's help, they were limping back home.

"Really, you don't have to worry about me. It doesn't hurt at all, look!" Touji broke off from Hikari, and took a few tentative steps by himself. He grinned at her, nodding affirmatively, but could not stop himself from sweating profusely.

"No! You mustn't, Touji-kun! It will only get worse, if you don't take care of it!" Hikari protested. "Please, let me help you!"

"It's alright. It really is." Touji took another few, clumsy steps, then thrust out his hand and leaned heavily on a wall, raising his injured foot so that he stopped leaning on it.

"Please! Don't you see? You can't manage by yourself! Don't act so strong, let me help you!"

"STOP IT!" Touji yelled suddenly, shocking Hikari.

"Stop trying to help me! I am not yet weak enough to need the help from a girl!" Seeing the expression on Hikari's face, Touji immediately regretted his outburst. "I-, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell…"

Biting his lips, he turned around, limped to the nearest bench and landed heavily on it, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"B-but … you have to!" Hikari weakly insisted, slowly approaching him.

"No. Thank you, Hikari, for the help this far. But I will get home by myself from here on." Touji flashed a weak smile at her, then dropped his head in exhaustion.

"Why?" Hikari asked quietly, bowing her head in confusion. "Why won't you let me take care of you?"

"Because! Because…" not finishing his sentence, Touji shut his mouth, refusing to say anything else.

"Because…?" Hikari then did something she never thought she would dare do. She leaned down in front of him, raised his head with her gentle hands, and stared into his deep brown eyes.

"At least tell me why. Then I won't bother you anymore." Hikari smiled at him, and kissed him lightly on his forehead.

Stunned, Touji could only stare back into her eyes, her dark brown eyes that reflected her feelings for him. That also reflected the feelings he had for her.

After a while, he sighed weakly, and put on a genuine smile, a smile unlike any other that she had ever received from him, or anyone, and it captivated her to no end.

"Because…" Touji started, breaking away from her eyes to look at the sunset, a serious expression on his face "if I am not strong enough to take care of myself … how will I ever be strong enough to protect you, to take care of you?"

"I see …" Hikari whispered, softly stroking his jet-black hair. "Well then. I won't bother you anymore." Hikari then straightened herself and turned away, walking away from him.

Touji silently watched her go grab their discarded bags. Then she turned back to him.

"I'll be waiting for you, then. I'll be waiting for you to get strong enough, waiting for you to come back to get your bag, waiting for you to take me away."

Staring into his eyes, Hikari whispered "I will be waiting.", and ran away, away from him and his thoughts, his lonely thoughts.

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Trembling slightly, a man in a trench coat stood in the middle of the night, on a bridge, somewhere in southern Siberia. Silently enduring the combination of snow and wind on his face, he stared down at the dark, ice-cold river racing beneath him, deep in thought.

The sound of a car approaching woke him up from his reverie, and he turned around to see it slowing down to a complete stop 20 meters away from him. The driver, a sturdy looking Colonel, stepped out of the car and opened the door for his passenger, an old Russian General.

The suit-clad General slowly got out of the car, leaning heavily on his cane, taking a long, deep breath before joining the man in trench coat. The Colonel followed him closely, frowning at the German.

"Cold day today, Mr. Gouden." The Russian greeted.

"Yes, it is, General." Gouden replied, crossing his arms.

"I gather that you have the goods we require?"

"I have everything you requested, that is not easily attained."

"Ah, but the most easiest acquired part, is still one of the most important parts, Mr. Gouden. I trust you will get it for us?"

"For the right price, yes." Gouden replied.

"What?!" The Colonel exclaimed angrily. "You demand more money?!"

"Certain unforeseen expenses have been made."

"We have agreed to a price, and we will not pay you another rubel more!"

"Then I'm sorry, but I cannot go on with this purchase."

"What did you say?!" The Colonel bellowed, red fury blossoming in his eyes. Glaring at the unconcerned-looking man, he found that he had had enough, and drew his gun out, aiming at the German.

"Calm down, Colonel, please put the gun away." The General cautioned.

"Don't worry, General, I will take care of this filthy German." The Colonel promised his chief, and glared daggers at Gouden.

"You will respect the deal, and get us everything that we need!"

The man in trench coat stared for awhile into the angry Colonel's eyes. Sensing that the foolish man would not back down, he then turned towards the General.

"Please forgive me, General."

"Of course, Mr. Gouden." The General sighed, and turned his head away.

Suddenly, the arm holding the gun was swept away, and a clenched fist struck the Colonel's stomach. Dropping his gun, the Colonel fell down on his knees, coughing violently. Still coughing, the Colonel felt his head get pulled back, and stared up at the grim-looking German, who now held the gun in his hands.

"You should learn to treat your suppliers with a little more respect, Colonel, but I guess that's too late now."

Pressing the muzzle against the Russian's forehead, Gouden pulled the trigger, and let the corpse fall down and taint the snow-covered bridge.

Throwing the gun into the river, the German then fished out a handkerchief from a pocket and started to wipe his hands.

"I hope I didn't cause you too much of a problem."

"Nonsense, he's started to become a nuisance anyway. In any case, do whatever you can to get hold of everything we require, Mr. Gouden, and I assure you that we will reward you, the Dragon of the West, appropriately."

The man nodded seriously, then threw away his soiled handkerchief.

"Deal."

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* Author's note:

Well, at last chapter 4 is done, I hope you enjoyed it :)

Now the question is, who Are those odd people showing up every here and there in this and earlier chapters. Interested? Want me to tell you?

Should I? … Nah! :D

For this chapter, I got another pre-reader to help me, and he's been of invaluable help. Please, welcome shin shirayuki densetsu p1astik!

Also known as SSDP.

Short, huh? Beats saying the complete nick, aye? :P

Of course, what would I do without Weltall Elite, so thanks goes to him as well.

Anyway, I thank you all for reading, and please stick with me for further adventures of the NGE-cast in the FMP'ish-universe!

As always, I highly appreciate any comments/critiques either in FFN or to my e-mail, deadmeat@bhlegend.com

Catch you later!

/DeadMeat

P.S. I can never have enough pre-readers ;) D.S.

P.P.S. And of course, the following is a preview of the next chapter, in progress. D.S.

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(short) Preview of chapter 5:

A rather nervous looking young man was standing, alone, in the middle of the women's swimsuit section. Blushing, he was constantly looking around, not daring to let his eyes linger too long on a single piece. He seriously considered closing his eyes for the remainder of his time in this hall of sin, but dared not, in case his friend caught him doing so. He had learned that she could be very evil.

Very evil indeed.