Morning.
Shinij woke up, showered, ate breakfast and headed to school, like he always did. Things had begun to take on a surreal quality, making him trudge wearily through the halls of his high school. What was the dream and what was reality? Because to him, hearing Asuka Langley Soryu whisper "sweet dreams" didn't seem like something that should happen in "the real world." Perversely, his battle with his own EVA unit seemed more likely and clearer to him. He could remember so many things about it, the pressure the robot had applied as it gripped him, the rotten breath (…or perhaps it was just exhaust from the internal systems), hitting 01, and how much pleasure it had given him to scream and rage at the machine…
bump
Shinji felt himself reeling, first from the impact of bumping into someone, and then from having one of the school's physics books go slamming into his gut. He blinked away the stars in his eyes, and when his vision cleared he realized that it was Rei he had bumped into, and she was now crouched down, retrieving her scattered things.
"…Oh man! I am so sorry Ayanami…God I am such a klutz…" he bent down and began to pick up the scattered, slightly crumpled fragments of what had once been an English paper. Shinji wasn't expecting a response, or even a frown or look of consternation her face. He was more than surprised when Rei answered him.
"Don't worry about it Shinji."
They stood again and Shinij handed her the sheets of paper, which he had smoothed over to the best of his ability.
"Are you okay Shinij?" she asked as she went about fixing her things, arranging them in a precise order. "You seem distracted."
"I'm feeling weird, I…"
"What, are you actually going to admit that some nightmare messed you up so badly? Do you know how lame that is going to sound?"
"…I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, that's all."
She nods, and tucks an errant strand of hair out of her eyes. "See you around then."
He nods back and watches her walk away to class. What had happened had been…unexpected but pleasant nonetheless. Except, he was feeling agitated about something…"Why does everything feel wrong?" he thought.
The halls were now empty. The bell had rang while he stood around, in fact, he couldn't even remember hearing it. Shinij turned to one of the rows of lockers that lined the corridor. Without even thinking it, as if he were running on auto-pilot, Shinji rammed his fist into the nearest locker. There was a resounding smash and a tingle that ran up and down Shinji's arm.
The metal door was now folded inwards and it swung open, exposing most of the locker's contents. The door creaked back and forth and then fell unto the floor with an even louder sound. Needless to say, it had been totaled.
And as for Shinji Ikari, he felt fine. In fact, he had never felt better.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"Do you ever wonder if you were doing the right thing?"
Kensuke Aida turned to look at Shinji, treating him to a questioning gaze. "Awfully deep question for a Monday morning."
"I know, that wasn't even what I really wanted to ask."
The sun beat down on them relentlessly as they crouched in the relative shade of one of the school buildings. It was supposed to be gym period, but then the teacher didn't exactly care whether one participated or not. As a result, Shinji and Kensuke spent the time sitting down, using the period as a temporary oasis in the desert called high school.
"So what do you want to ask?"
"I'm not sure. I'm sorry…I've been feeling pretty messed up recently."
"Which one?"
"Huh?"
"Is it Asuka," gestured Kensuke with his left hand, "or Rei?" he continued with his right.
"I don't know…both? Or neither?"
Kensuke chuckled. "Most people whine about how they don't have any girls in their life. You have two and you're still whining."
"This is so frustrating. This, school, going home, EVAs, Angels, what the heck's the point?"
"I dunno, your two girls maybe?"
Shinji's mind drifted to thoughts of those "two girls." They were so different, he found it odd that he could be attracted to both…
"Hey Ikari…sweet dreams."
"Are you okay Shinij?"
Such simple, innocent things to say, and yet…He wondered if he could ever bring himself to choose between the two. Bombastic, loud and brash Asuka Langley and calming, peaceful, mysterious Rei Ayanami.
But then, that wasn't was really bothering him was it? It was the laughter, it was the lack of control over his own life, it was his need to hit anything…
"Ikari! Look out!"
"Wha…?"
The errant basketball smashed Shinji square in the face. He didn't cry out but he heard Aida groan somewhere to his side.
A voice inside him said: "Two accidents in the span of two hours…that's got to be a new record."
Another said: "You've to pay more attention to the world outside your head."
A third voice screamed and overpowered the other two: "Find out who did this and kill him."
Then all three voices started laughing at him.
They spoke like he would have spoke, but the laugh wasn't his. It was his Evangelion's.
"Oh man, did it hit some…Ikari! Jeez, you guys just spend the period lounging around, can't you at least take care of yourselves while you do that?" The first to run over was Toji Suzuhara, the last member of Shinji's odd trio of friends. Toji could be considered the jock of the group, but Shinji knew he was deeper than that.
"Toji…who threw the ball?"
"Oh come on Shinji, forget who threw it, look your nose is bleeding all over your face. Gross man."
"Was it you?" Shinji asked with a hardness that was surprising in his voice.
Toji started and took a step back. "Huh? Ikari, I…no it wasn't me. What difference does that make?"
"Ikari, it was Malik. Malik, you hear? Will you let it rest now?" Kensuke interrupted. "Don't do something stupid and completely uncharacteristic of you. Like, oh say…pick a fight with him!"
Shinji could feel his fists clench as he digested Toji and Kensuke's words. Malik was a new exchange student, a British citizen with diplomat parents currently assigned to Japan. He was big, bronzed and arrogant; a decidedly deadly combination for anyone who dared cross his path.
Malik.
He could remember Malik, a creature who thought he was God's gift to womankind. On his very first day, Malik had asked Rei out on a date. When Rei replied with her customary silence, he called her an "ice-bitch" and immediately asked Asuka the same question.
And Shinji could remember Asuka's delight in being asked, but the date never pushed through because of a timely (in Shinji's mind at least) Angel attack.
"Hey boyo! You the git I smacked with the ball?" Malik was a rumbling monster, and his voice reached the Shinji and company while the speaker was still half-way across the court. By the time he actually stood in front of Ikari, Aida was seen trying to hide the fact that he was jamming his fingers into his ears. "God you'd have to be him. You're the only sissy-boy I can see bleeding all over himself."
Shinji got to his feet slowly, wiping blood from his face with his left hand. The move left a dark crimson line that ran from the back of his palm to his shoulder. Still, it continued to trickle out and for a fleeting second, Shinji wondered if it was broken.
"You hit me." It was a statement and not a question, and Shinji's voice made it sound like Malik had done it on purpose.
"Yeah, apparently I did. That's the way the cookie crumbles, as the Yanks might say. You Japs have something similar?"
"I demand you apologize."
The crowd that had gathered around let out a collective "oooooh."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
At the nearby volleyball courts, girls were beginning to run towards the commotion in pairs and threes.
"What's going on?" Asuka asked one of her classmates.
"Fight." The girl called out as she ran past. "Malik and that wimp."
Wimp? Shinji?
"Wait up!" she answered. "Which wimp?"
"Ikari's going to get creamed!" Someone else shouted.
What the heck?
Then, Asuka found herself running as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"You," Malik said, emphasizing his point by pointing at Shinji with a perfectly manicured finger. "Want me to apologize to you?"
"Yes."
"You know I did not even try aiming at you right?"
"Yes."
"You know in England, we call these things accidents right?"
"That's what they call em' here too."
"And you," another couple of finger jabs against Shinji's chest. "You inconsequential little tosser, want me, to apologize?"
"Do you need someone to explain it to you or can you manage on your own?"
The crowd tensed and Malik very nearly reared back and swatted Ikari. No one spoke to him like that. Not in England, not in the fourteen other countries he had lived in, and definitely not in Japan.
"Baka!" Asuka could be heard calling from the edge of the crowd. "Dammit Ikari would you shut up and leave? Do you want your head handed to you or something?"
Malik raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Wanna listen to your girlfriend wormfood and let this be?"
"She's not my girlfriend." Shinji whispered at about the same time as Asuka shouted "He is not my boyfriend, psycho!!!"
"Haha, you guys are so freaking emotional." Malik chuckled. "All right, out of respect for your hottie of a non-girlfriend, whaddya say we shake on this and let bygones be bygones?"
Malik extended his big, meaty hand towards Shinji. "Come on. It was just an accident alright?"
Ever so slowly, Shinji raised his hand up and extended it towards Malik inch by inch. But at the last minute, Malik quickly withdrew his hand and unleashed a deafening torrent of laughter.
"Oh man, you should see your face you wanker!" Malik laughed as he turned around and started back towards the basketball court. "Honestly, what the heck is up with the wimps here huh?"
Shinji could feel his face burn, and he could hear the laughter, not just of Malik but also of some of the people in the crowd.
"Hrrrhrrhh…hrrrhhhrrrhh!"
"Malik." he said levelly, "Turn and look at me."
Malik stopped and belched. "All right mate, this had better be good though." Then he turned, confident that even if Shinji would try something, he was good distance away from him, and that he could probably dodge anything Shinji could pull.
Shinji didn't move until Malik had made a full one hundred eighty degree turn. The second they were facing each other again, he leapt with a quickness no one realized he had and smashed his right fist into Malik's face. Before Malik could recover, Shinji's left paw rammed its way into Malik's stomach, courtesy of a vicious uppercut.
Malik reeled, but managed to kick out, pushing Shinji backwards. Caught off-guard, Shinji caught Malik's fist smashing into his right shoulder, his ribcage and his face before countering with a punch that traced a line across Malik's face.
A monstrous roar came from Shinji's mouth and he pushed Malik downwards. Malik stumbled and was then shoved violently to the floor by Ikari, who leapt on top of his opponent and began to hammer him with a succession of punches to the face.
You do not laugh at me.
I control you, hear me???
I control you!
Not the other way around!!
Around him people were screaming, blood was everywhere. Toji and Kensuke attempted to pull Shinji off but he shrugged them off and continued whaling on Malik. Asuka stood paralyzed, her hands over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She had never seen Shinji like this…ever. And never in her wildest dreams would she imagine him to be like this…
Suddenly there was a gunshot that silenced and froze everyone.
Shinji paused from the beating he was dishing out and looked towards the direction of the shot. Sweat was dripping in gallons down his face, mingling with the blood and causing his open wounds to sting painfully. His arms were sore and he realized how much he ached from so many injuries.
Captain Misato Katsuragi, Operations Chief of NERV stood tall in her dark red military clothing, her dark hair framed stunningly around her face by the beret she often wore. She was in perfect shooter's stance, a snub-nosed black pistol that was still smoking from the tip of its barrel in her hands. To the mob of students gathered loosely around the unexpected brawl between two very unlikely combatants, she was a dreaded symbol of authority and power. Someone, despite her beauty, not to be messed with.
"Thank you very much for your attention." she spoke, in a clear and calm voice. "You may now all proceed to your next class, with the exception of Mr. Shinji Ikari."
"I'll take care of him."
Shinij woke up, showered, ate breakfast and headed to school, like he always did. Things had begun to take on a surreal quality, making him trudge wearily through the halls of his high school. What was the dream and what was reality? Because to him, hearing Asuka Langley Soryu whisper "sweet dreams" didn't seem like something that should happen in "the real world." Perversely, his battle with his own EVA unit seemed more likely and clearer to him. He could remember so many things about it, the pressure the robot had applied as it gripped him, the rotten breath (…or perhaps it was just exhaust from the internal systems), hitting 01, and how much pleasure it had given him to scream and rage at the machine…
bump
Shinji felt himself reeling, first from the impact of bumping into someone, and then from having one of the school's physics books go slamming into his gut. He blinked away the stars in his eyes, and when his vision cleared he realized that it was Rei he had bumped into, and she was now crouched down, retrieving her scattered things.
"…Oh man! I am so sorry Ayanami…God I am such a klutz…" he bent down and began to pick up the scattered, slightly crumpled fragments of what had once been an English paper. Shinji wasn't expecting a response, or even a frown or look of consternation her face. He was more than surprised when Rei answered him.
"Don't worry about it Shinji."
They stood again and Shinij handed her the sheets of paper, which he had smoothed over to the best of his ability.
"Are you okay Shinij?" she asked as she went about fixing her things, arranging them in a precise order. "You seem distracted."
"I'm feeling weird, I…"
"What, are you actually going to admit that some nightmare messed you up so badly? Do you know how lame that is going to sound?"
"…I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, that's all."
She nods, and tucks an errant strand of hair out of her eyes. "See you around then."
He nods back and watches her walk away to class. What had happened had been…unexpected but pleasant nonetheless. Except, he was feeling agitated about something…"Why does everything feel wrong?" he thought.
The halls were now empty. The bell had rang while he stood around, in fact, he couldn't even remember hearing it. Shinij turned to one of the rows of lockers that lined the corridor. Without even thinking it, as if he were running on auto-pilot, Shinji rammed his fist into the nearest locker. There was a resounding smash and a tingle that ran up and down Shinji's arm.
The metal door was now folded inwards and it swung open, exposing most of the locker's contents. The door creaked back and forth and then fell unto the floor with an even louder sound. Needless to say, it had been totaled.
And as for Shinji Ikari, he felt fine. In fact, he had never felt better.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"Do you ever wonder if you were doing the right thing?"
Kensuke Aida turned to look at Shinji, treating him to a questioning gaze. "Awfully deep question for a Monday morning."
"I know, that wasn't even what I really wanted to ask."
The sun beat down on them relentlessly as they crouched in the relative shade of one of the school buildings. It was supposed to be gym period, but then the teacher didn't exactly care whether one participated or not. As a result, Shinji and Kensuke spent the time sitting down, using the period as a temporary oasis in the desert called high school.
"So what do you want to ask?"
"I'm not sure. I'm sorry…I've been feeling pretty messed up recently."
"Which one?"
"Huh?"
"Is it Asuka," gestured Kensuke with his left hand, "or Rei?" he continued with his right.
"I don't know…both? Or neither?"
Kensuke chuckled. "Most people whine about how they don't have any girls in their life. You have two and you're still whining."
"This is so frustrating. This, school, going home, EVAs, Angels, what the heck's the point?"
"I dunno, your two girls maybe?"
Shinji's mind drifted to thoughts of those "two girls." They were so different, he found it odd that he could be attracted to both…
"Hey Ikari…sweet dreams."
"Are you okay Shinij?"
Such simple, innocent things to say, and yet…He wondered if he could ever bring himself to choose between the two. Bombastic, loud and brash Asuka Langley and calming, peaceful, mysterious Rei Ayanami.
But then, that wasn't was really bothering him was it? It was the laughter, it was the lack of control over his own life, it was his need to hit anything…
"Ikari! Look out!"
"Wha…?"
The errant basketball smashed Shinji square in the face. He didn't cry out but he heard Aida groan somewhere to his side.
A voice inside him said: "Two accidents in the span of two hours…that's got to be a new record."
Another said: "You've to pay more attention to the world outside your head."
A third voice screamed and overpowered the other two: "Find out who did this and kill him."
Then all three voices started laughing at him.
They spoke like he would have spoke, but the laugh wasn't his. It was his Evangelion's.
"Oh man, did it hit some…Ikari! Jeez, you guys just spend the period lounging around, can't you at least take care of yourselves while you do that?" The first to run over was Toji Suzuhara, the last member of Shinji's odd trio of friends. Toji could be considered the jock of the group, but Shinji knew he was deeper than that.
"Toji…who threw the ball?"
"Oh come on Shinji, forget who threw it, look your nose is bleeding all over your face. Gross man."
"Was it you?" Shinji asked with a hardness that was surprising in his voice.
Toji started and took a step back. "Huh? Ikari, I…no it wasn't me. What difference does that make?"
"Ikari, it was Malik. Malik, you hear? Will you let it rest now?" Kensuke interrupted. "Don't do something stupid and completely uncharacteristic of you. Like, oh say…pick a fight with him!"
Shinji could feel his fists clench as he digested Toji and Kensuke's words. Malik was a new exchange student, a British citizen with diplomat parents currently assigned to Japan. He was big, bronzed and arrogant; a decidedly deadly combination for anyone who dared cross his path.
Malik.
He could remember Malik, a creature who thought he was God's gift to womankind. On his very first day, Malik had asked Rei out on a date. When Rei replied with her customary silence, he called her an "ice-bitch" and immediately asked Asuka the same question.
And Shinji could remember Asuka's delight in being asked, but the date never pushed through because of a timely (in Shinji's mind at least) Angel attack.
"Hey boyo! You the git I smacked with the ball?" Malik was a rumbling monster, and his voice reached the Shinji and company while the speaker was still half-way across the court. By the time he actually stood in front of Ikari, Aida was seen trying to hide the fact that he was jamming his fingers into his ears. "God you'd have to be him. You're the only sissy-boy I can see bleeding all over himself."
Shinji got to his feet slowly, wiping blood from his face with his left hand. The move left a dark crimson line that ran from the back of his palm to his shoulder. Still, it continued to trickle out and for a fleeting second, Shinji wondered if it was broken.
"You hit me." It was a statement and not a question, and Shinji's voice made it sound like Malik had done it on purpose.
"Yeah, apparently I did. That's the way the cookie crumbles, as the Yanks might say. You Japs have something similar?"
"I demand you apologize."
The crowd that had gathered around let out a collective "oooooh."
-------------------------------------------------------------------
At the nearby volleyball courts, girls were beginning to run towards the commotion in pairs and threes.
"What's going on?" Asuka asked one of her classmates.
"Fight." The girl called out as she ran past. "Malik and that wimp."
Wimp? Shinji?
"Wait up!" she answered. "Which wimp?"
"Ikari's going to get creamed!" Someone else shouted.
What the heck?
Then, Asuka found herself running as well.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"You," Malik said, emphasizing his point by pointing at Shinji with a perfectly manicured finger. "Want me to apologize to you?"
"Yes."
"You know I did not even try aiming at you right?"
"Yes."
"You know in England, we call these things accidents right?"
"That's what they call em' here too."
"And you," another couple of finger jabs against Shinji's chest. "You inconsequential little tosser, want me, to apologize?"
"Do you need someone to explain it to you or can you manage on your own?"
The crowd tensed and Malik very nearly reared back and swatted Ikari. No one spoke to him like that. Not in England, not in the fourteen other countries he had lived in, and definitely not in Japan.
"Baka!" Asuka could be heard calling from the edge of the crowd. "Dammit Ikari would you shut up and leave? Do you want your head handed to you or something?"
Malik raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. "Wanna listen to your girlfriend wormfood and let this be?"
"She's not my girlfriend." Shinji whispered at about the same time as Asuka shouted "He is not my boyfriend, psycho!!!"
"Haha, you guys are so freaking emotional." Malik chuckled. "All right, out of respect for your hottie of a non-girlfriend, whaddya say we shake on this and let bygones be bygones?"
Malik extended his big, meaty hand towards Shinji. "Come on. It was just an accident alright?"
Ever so slowly, Shinji raised his hand up and extended it towards Malik inch by inch. But at the last minute, Malik quickly withdrew his hand and unleashed a deafening torrent of laughter.
"Oh man, you should see your face you wanker!" Malik laughed as he turned around and started back towards the basketball court. "Honestly, what the heck is up with the wimps here huh?"
Shinji could feel his face burn, and he could hear the laughter, not just of Malik but also of some of the people in the crowd.
"Hrrrhrrhh…hrrrhhhrrrhh!"
"Malik." he said levelly, "Turn and look at me."
Malik stopped and belched. "All right mate, this had better be good though." Then he turned, confident that even if Shinji would try something, he was good distance away from him, and that he could probably dodge anything Shinji could pull.
Shinji didn't move until Malik had made a full one hundred eighty degree turn. The second they were facing each other again, he leapt with a quickness no one realized he had and smashed his right fist into Malik's face. Before Malik could recover, Shinji's left paw rammed its way into Malik's stomach, courtesy of a vicious uppercut.
Malik reeled, but managed to kick out, pushing Shinji backwards. Caught off-guard, Shinji caught Malik's fist smashing into his right shoulder, his ribcage and his face before countering with a punch that traced a line across Malik's face.
A monstrous roar came from Shinji's mouth and he pushed Malik downwards. Malik stumbled and was then shoved violently to the floor by Ikari, who leapt on top of his opponent and began to hammer him with a succession of punches to the face.
You do not laugh at me.
I control you, hear me???
I control you!
Not the other way around!!
Around him people were screaming, blood was everywhere. Toji and Kensuke attempted to pull Shinji off but he shrugged them off and continued whaling on Malik. Asuka stood paralyzed, her hands over her mouth to stop herself from screaming. She had never seen Shinji like this…ever. And never in her wildest dreams would she imagine him to be like this…
Suddenly there was a gunshot that silenced and froze everyone.
Shinji paused from the beating he was dishing out and looked towards the direction of the shot. Sweat was dripping in gallons down his face, mingling with the blood and causing his open wounds to sting painfully. His arms were sore and he realized how much he ached from so many injuries.
Captain Misato Katsuragi, Operations Chief of NERV stood tall in her dark red military clothing, her dark hair framed stunningly around her face by the beret she often wore. She was in perfect shooter's stance, a snub-nosed black pistol that was still smoking from the tip of its barrel in her hands. To the mob of students gathered loosely around the unexpected brawl between two very unlikely combatants, she was a dreaded symbol of authority and power. Someone, despite her beauty, not to be messed with.
"Thank you very much for your attention." she spoke, in a clear and calm voice. "You may now all proceed to your next class, with the exception of Mr. Shinji Ikari."
"I'll take care of him."