Unintended Consequences Chapter 8: 07, an evangelion fanfic

Disclaimer: First there was anime. Then there was Anno. And Anno saw the anime world and found it lacking. So he said "let there be EVA" And there was EVA. Anno was satisfied with his work and the people were pleased. Millions thronged to worship him. And then there was fiction. It became fanfiction. Man sought the EVA. To tame, to control, to write, to own. But Anno was wise. He had set forth a mighty guardian. Licensing rights was its name. And the mighty beast strode forth, its great sword Lawsuit hewed the proud mortals who would claim false ownership from their lofty perches. And there was peace for a time. But the rumblings of discontent grew. They thought to challenge Anno and were cast down for it. But defeat ever makes a mortal stronger if his light is not extinguished. And man discovered the legendary shield, "Disclaimer". And they learned the secrets of its forging and the key ingredients of its construction, the mythical "non-ownership claim" that gave the shield its mighty defensive magicks. And soon, word of "Disclaimer" spread far and wide, and all sought to claim one for their own. Fanfiction flourished once more and the people were content.

Listen well to this tale dear reader, for I too, am a wielder of "Disclaimer". One of those who belong to the order of Fanfic Writers. So beneath Disclaimer's protective mantle, hear my tale, and for a brief time, travel to this wonderful world. A world of countless possibilities. A world where a simple flick of chance can alter the fate of billions. The world we call Evangelion.

Thoughts

"Speech"

Unintended Consequences 07: Balance

Tokyo-3 Municipal High School

School in Tokyo-3 was much like his school back in Osaka Shinji decided. Oh, it was a little further from his current residence, but it wasn't that much of a problem. Misato had even kindly offered to drive him here. He had declined politely, saying that he didn't mind although what he really minded was her blatant disregard for the laws of physics when behind the wheel. His stomach was still churning thanks to yesterday's death defying rally.

The rest wasn't so bad.

The somewhat curious students over the new blood, him. The teacher droning over lessons and the otherwise still atmosphere that pervaded the surrounding area. The only real difference he supposed was that instead of the textbooks and papers that would define a high school student's desk, there was a single red laptop. He supposed it made sense that the most advanced city in all of Japan would use only the best equipment for its schools. Getting used to this place might take less time than I had thought.

Even if the teacher did tend to rattle on like a broken record player of two centuries past.

Evidence of the utter lack of stimulation was seen in the lightly snoring piles of those in happier places, at least mentally, and others who were otherwise engaged in business not related to the current subject at hand. Having heard most of the details surrounding 2nd impact in his junior years, Shinji found himself bored to tears, an arm propping his face up and idly scanning the crowd, seeking nothing in particular. Not that there was anything of interest to see. The class was proceeding just fine with its teacher oblivious to the general ignorance thrown his way, the students were being quiet and life outside the classroom was at a stand still. The only sign of life beyond those open windows was the ever constant song of the cicadas. Turning his gaze inwards, he spotted in irregularity.

There was a student who wasn't dressed in the typical white shirt and slacks that the other boys were wearing. Instead, he wore a black sweatshirt, matching pants and sported a short, spiky haircut. Most disturbing of all was the suspicious, hateful glare that he had directed at him as he entered the class. Why did he look at me that way? I've never seen him before today. Normally, he would have attempted to apologize, even though he didn't know what it was that he did wrong. However, with the way he scowled at everything, he decided that it would be safer to find out what was wrong first. Preferably at a later date. His gaze turned towards Shinji and the scowl deepened to near murderous. Much much later.

A soft beep caught his attention. Looking back at his laptop, he found a question displayed on the screen.

Are you the pilot of that robot?

He was a bit confused. With the general media silence regarding NERV, EVA's, Angels and the destruction wrought in that one terror filled night, he had thought that nobody else would have known about it. Surely they would have been taken to safety. Of course, what he didn't know was that a great many of the students in Tokyo-3 were children of NERV staff of varying degrees and that their collective intelligence gathering techniques was often enough to patch sometimes disturbingly accurate information regarding the going-ons of NERV. Even if a great percentage of it was buried or altered by gossip.

He looked around, trying to ascertain the identity of the questioner. He didn't quite get a solid clue. Small clusters of girls, boys and sometimes mixed groups were looking at him expectantly. Not everybody was looking at him though. The teacher was oblivious to the sudden shift of focus and there were still a few comatose students, although there were less of them now. Being an honest person and since there didn't seem to have been any rules against disclosing his role in NERV operations, he answered with the truth.

Yes

Like a lit match to a firecracker, the answer threw the class into a thunderous uproar. Most of the noise was disbelief and shock. Some voices were raised in envy and curiosity. Others were full of questions and demands for information. One voice remained silent though. If the previous glares from the boy in black had been murderous before, they now shone with a fevered light that spoke of destruction, pain and general unpleasantness promised in the most excruciating way possible. Shinji could almost feel the executioner's axe, its edge gleaming with a monomolecular finish, falling towards his rather vulnerable neck.

In his defense, Touji possessed a very protective nature and, although he would deny if asked, absolutely doted on his little sister. Her injury and subsequent coma had brought about a great deal of self loathing and guilt. He had after all, failed to ensure that she would be safely in her shelter at the time of the accident. But then Kensuke had shown him the truth of the cause. Her injury wasn't his fault. It was the pilot of that damned machine, stomping around Tokyo-3 with, with, with whatever the hell that thing was as if it was his own playground. All that guilt flashed to anger now that it had a target. A living briefing target. A target he could vent his anger and guilt on. Although that would have to wait until he could extract his target from the seething mass of humanity that mobbed him.

Of course this kind of disturbance proved to be far too boisterous for even the generally oblivious teacher to ignore. He didn't need to do much to restore order though. He merely looked at a girl, who later proved to be the class representative, cleared his throat and waited while she set about laying down the law in a manner that suggested much experience. Order was restored in a very short time. However, the effort proved to be wasted as the dismissal bell rang just before class could resume. Being the entertainment of the day, Shinji found himself swamped again by a horde of eager students, a barrage of rapidly fired questions drowning out the noise generated by the rest of the students. Even if he had tried to answer, he doubted that any would hear him over the avalanche.

"How did they choose you?"

I don't know

"What tests did you have to take?"

There weren't any

"What's it like to be inside the robot?"

Frightening

"Where you scared?"

Very

"Do you think we can be picked to be pilots too?"

That last question was most fervently asked by a bespectacled boy who seemed to be holding a great deal of hope in the answer.

I wouldn't really know.

The questions didn't last long though. The wash of human bodies parting before him, the same student in black approached his desk, that angry face a mixture of rage and coldness. With what seemed to be inhuman control, he only looked at him before opening his mouth. "You. New guy. Outside. Now." Ignoring the disapproving looks from some of the students; he turned and exited the class. Unsure of what it was all about, Shinji rose to follow him, not understanding why some of the students looked at him sympathetically. Now Shinji wasn't stupid or overly dense. He knew that the boy wasn't going to have anything pleasant in store for him. No, quite the opposite in fact. However, he hoped that he could reason with him before any violence actually broke out. Barring that, he hoped he wouldn't be hurt too badly.

Which was the reason why, when the boy had swung about suddenly in the yard, fist leading the way, Shinji wasn't too surprised. What surprised him more was that he was just able to avoid the blow as he jerked backwards so that instead of a solid punch on the face, his nose ended up being grazed. By the look on the boy's face, he too was surprised, although that was quickly covered up by even more anger, if that was possible. He wouldn't strike back. Not without knowing. Fujiwara had thought him that.

Only a fool jumps into the mud with both feet.

"Why?" He asked softly, although that could have been the shock, "I've done nothing to you."

If anything, those words seemed to be turn that glare from a smoldering fire into a roaring inferno. The demons in Touji's mind screamed for blood. How dare he?! "Nothing wrong??!!" he spat incredulously. Leaping forward, he sent another punch, this one connecting solidly and knocking Shinji down. "You hurt my sister!" He kicked Shinji in the ribs, causing him to huddle into a ball. "You and that damned robot of yours!!" Another kick connected solidly. "It's your fault!!" Again. "You crippled her!" Again. Abruptly, he realized that his foot was no longer moving. Looking down, he found Kensuke gripping tightly to the instrument of his revenge, eyes a combination of censure and pleading.

"Lay off man! I'm sure he didn't mean it!"

A burning response and furious shake of his leg died even before they translated to action as a memory surfaced.

Mari was stamping her foot, her face a combination of childish upset and sibling smugness. "Onii-chan! How could you forget!? I'm going to get it." And with those words, she wriggled free of his grasp and began running.

She had run. Left because he had forgotten their most important keepsake. A keepsake that he should never, ever have forgotten. And so she had gone to retrieve it. Gone.....and gotten hurt. It was his fault as well. He couldn't deny it. His gaze slid to the shivering boy before him, arms raised to protect his head. His anger faded somewhat. He wouldn't apologize to the newcomer, Shinji he reminded himself, but he wouldn't attack him anymore. But there wasn't anything he could do, about the bile that filled his throat every time he looked at his victim. He spat at him. "Stay out of my way newcomer. I won't go easy on you next time" With that, he turned, not wanting to be reminded of his own failure, leaving a concerned boy behind, and one who was in his own personal hell.

Being eaten by guilt and self-loathing was nothing new to Shinji. Indeed, he had done it so many times, particularly keenly just after Fujiwara's death, that it had developed its own cycle. Oh, his ribs hurt and his face stung where the fist had landed, but those were minor physical pains. Easily ignored when he was caught in a cycle that scarred his mind deeper than a knife could cut his body. And the cycle was only beginning.

"Hey. You ok? He really did a number on you."

The words cutting the cycle before it could begin, he considered the question. He was hurt. And he was most definitely not ok. Still, he shouldn't be a burden on others. Peeking out from his arms, he sought the speaker. It turned out to be the same bespectacled classmate who was the most desperate to know if he could be a pilot. "I'll be fine" he managed weakly. He would be, if he managed to get some rest and the pain went away, so it wasn't really a lie. By the worried look on his face though, he wasn't buying any of it.

"You sure? Maybe you ought to see the school nurse."

"I'll be ok. I just need to rest a bit."

"Sorry about that, but Touji's very protective of his sister." He stuck out a hand to help Shinji rise. "I'm Kensuke Aida by the way."

Will she..? Will she be alright?

"Is....is there a way I can see his sister? I....I want to know how badly she's.....hurt."

Kensuke frowned. "Hmmm, it will take a while but I'll see what I can do. I'd advise staying away until Touji cools down though. He visits her everyday."

And I was the one who hurt her.

Noticing his downcast face, Kensuke tried to soothe his fears "Ahhh don't you worry about it. I'm sure she wasn't hurt too badly. Besides, Mari, that's her name, is quite the fighter. She'll pull through. You can bet on it."

Eyebrows scrunched worry smoothened a bit. "Really?"

"Really. In fact I ah-" Kensuke's watch was beeping. Looking at the display, he brightened. "Yes! It's ready. I, uh, ahh heck, I've been preparing for this for quite some time now. I've got to see if it's ready. See you later 'kay?" Without waiting for another word, he left, face shining with eagerness.

Sighing, Shinji brushed his shirt in a vain attempt to remove the dirt that had accumulated on it while he was being introduced to the floor and Touji's shoe. I really hope she's not hurt too badly. He wasn't too sure about the wisdom of visiting her though. When she learned that he was the one that had put her in her condition, Touji would probably tell her, she would probably hate him for the rest of her life. His knees nearly buckled at the thought. She probably wouldn't appreciate seeing him either. I really am the worst. But....I should at least see if she's ok.

With his ribs still aching from its brief liaison with Touji's foot, Shinji found standing straight to be too painful to bear. Compromising, he managed to lean on the wall, legs bent somewhat to provide leverage while his hands rubbed at the sore spots. He winced as probing fingers found a particularly sore spot. I guess I deserve no better after all. Still, I should make amends. A brief rumble of indignant anger flashed through his mind. It's not like I knew what I was doing! Still, reaching a truce with the boy would be desirable althoughhow he was going to make peace with Touji seemed beyond him though. The angry lad made it abundantly clear what would happen if their paths crossed next. Given that they were in the same class though, it was a worrying promise. A sigh escaped his lips. I think life just got harder. A sudden twinge announced a previously unknown sore spot. A lot harder.

His ruminations encompassed much of his attention and it was not until he realized that the day seemed a little cooler did he look up. It was the girl. Not any girl. It was that same girl he saw on his first day in Tokyo-3. The same one he later held in his arms as she impassively stared, her lifeblood spilling onto his hands. The same person he had decided to spare grief and possible death by offering himself up to ride that massive beast they called an Evangelion. She was wearing the school uniform although he had not seen her anywhere on the premises before. Perhaps she had just arrived. I wonder what she wants?

"We're needed at NERV"

Oh. Before he had left the apartment today, he still had some difficulty in calling it home, Misato had told him about what his job as a pilot for NERV entailed.

"You'll be on call at anytime of the day Shin-chan. You've got an important responsibility now. So be sure to show up when you are."

Of course her being dressed both slovenly and scantily, not to mention the small tower of empty Yebisu cans resembling an aluminum Mount Fuji before her, had dissolved whatever seriousness that message had but he supposed it couldn't have been entirely frivolously given. "I see" There weren't any announcements being made however, and no alarms were being sounded so it couldn't have been another Angel attack, he shuddered at the possibility. So what could it be?

Nothing alarming it turned out later on. Just tests and familiarization with the EVA unit. An exercise where the new pallet rifle would be used with the EVA on a simulated battlefield against Angels. He translated his instructions to action and a brief flash of light indicated the success of that action.