Chp. 1: Shinji Kanzaki
Standard Disclaimer BS: I don't own this and have all of five cents to my name. Lawsuits are a waste of your time.
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In the sweltering heat of the train station, a broken, pain-wracked voice sobbed.
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She found the boy at the appointed time. Well, almost. She was only ten minutes late.
The kid looked angry, nearly to the point of tears. Inwardly, she winced. She did not need some clingy little child to babysit. His eyes followed her blankly, watching her as she got out of her car to approach him. A single, solemn nod answered her question.
Inside the car, he said his first words: "Captain Katsuragi, next time you send me a picture of yourself please try not to appeal to my hormones." He let a Polaroid slip out of his pocket.
Misato slowly nodded. And kept shooting glances at her passenger as she drove.
Shinji deigned to speak again. "Captain, could you please get us to the Geofront ASAP? Getting caught in the blast of an N2 mine is not my idea of fun."
"Ah… What are you talking about, Shinji-kun?" the captain asked around a nervous smile.
"The Angel," Shinji said with a thumb jerked at the faint giant in the distance. "I doubt anything the UN can throw at it will work. And they're probably figurin' that this country was nuked once sixty-nine years ago; once more won't hurt."
"Th-that's crazy!" Misato gassed the car anyway.
Katsuragi was in a confusing conundrum. Shinji was showing all the signs of a person in deep depression. Everything from his slouched position, his snappish attitude, and his thousand-meter stare. She watched the lanky boy slowly flip his NERV ident-card endlessly in his hand. Acting on a rather strong empathic nature Misato ventured, "Is anything wrong, Shinji-kun?"
The card stopped spinning. "Katsuragi, I had to leave behind a rather promising relationship to take up this godforsaken assignment. I expect I'll be in a rather foul mood until I up and get over it. That should take around three months." His ident-card resumed spinning.
Misato accepted the dismissal for what it was and shut up.
"Thank you for your concern, though."
Saying nothing to Shinji's thanks, the NERV captain piloted her sportscar into the Geofront entrance port. Behind them, an N2 nuclear device was detonated.
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"Yes, sir. Yessir, I completely understand. Yes, Yessir." The UN full-general hung up the phone. "Ikari, you have your go-ahead."
Gendo Ikari covered his smirk by reseating his glasses. "Thank you."
Lieutenant General Downer glared down at the bird-haired man. "Will your organization really be able to destroy the Angels?"
"That is why NERV exists," came Ikari's confident reply.
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"I think we've been this way, Captain Katsuragi."
Misato grit her teeth at the accusatory tone in the boy's voice. That he was not really that annoyed, that it was her own frustration and guilt getting to her, did not occur to the captain.
"I am still getting used to this place," she said, a bit harsher than intended. Dammit, where the hell was this place? Only one week here was not enough time to get really acquainted with the layout. And she did not need some kid riding her case like this!
"Attention personnel, would someone please locate Captain Katsuragi?"
Eyes wide with horror, Misato slowly turned around. There was Shinji, hanging up a phone. A phone that functioned as an intercom. Oh my, but wasn't this embarrassing!
Before she could react in any kind of way, Misato heard a familiar voice from behind her. "Lost again, eh Captain?"
"Aoba," Misato greeted, knowing her greeting had an edge to it. Shigeru Aoba was not the person she wanted to see right now. Looking at the way he tried to hide his smirk, Shigeru knew her malcontent. And took a perverse delight in it.
She seriously thought about docking his pay.
The communications officer sobered some. "Dr. Akagi is waiting for you at the storage bay. Right this way, Captain." Out of curiosity, he craned his head back to look at the kid behind her. "You're Shinji Ikari, right?"
"Unfortunately," the individual in question said with a sigh. Then he perked, "Like your hair."
Misato frowned. That was the happiest Shinji had seemed since she'd met him.
Aoba was liking the kid already. "Thanks man. Good thing for me NERV isn't that strict of an operation."
"Bet you get ribbed for it, though," Shinji sent a hand through his own short bangs. "Been thinkin' about growin' it out myself. Something like a ponytail, maybe."
Aoba nodded. "You got the hair for it."
Misato inwardly cringed. TWO Shigeru Aoba's? She contemplated the horrors all during the long elevator ride.
In time, Shigeru and Misato led the quiet Shinji to the storage tank. The boy walked out into the darkened room, not looking to either side. Aoba was the last one to step through the doorway, hearing the door close behind him. The lights snapped on. A violet, demonically grinning face stared down at them. Misato had been expecting a greater reaction from Shinji. The boy merely blinked.
One finger on Shinji's hand went up. "One, this is not Mardi Gras," the next finger joined it, "two, we are not in New Orleans."
Katsuragi sighed heavily. Aoba was not laughing and red-faced from the effort. Ritsuko Akagi frowned imperceptibly at her boss's son. "This is hardly the time for bad jokes."
"Pot, meet kettle." Shinji turned to face the good doctor. "You are the one who tried to scare the piss out of me, after all."
Akagi ground a few molars together. Then brought her icy wrath to bear against the NERV com-officer. "Aren't you supposed to be on the bridge, Lieutenant?"
In the proud tradition of under-officers the world over, throughout all of military history, Aoba pretended to be invisible and made himself scarce.
"Crap rolls downhill, eh?"
Ritsuko's rage, mollified somewhat by Shigeru's disappearance, returned. And it had brought friends. Her teeth were gritted again.
Ignoring Akagi, Shinji went on: "Before I start babbling, this thing does work, right?" He indicated the grinning-yet-grimacing demon face.
"Yes…" the NERV doctor was interrupted again.
"And you want me to pilot this thing." It wasn't a question.
Misato had been on something of a roller coaster ride since meeting Shinji. She got the feeling that she, Shigeru, even Rits were five steps behind the boy. Gendo and his son were similar in one respect that Katsuragi had seen: they either had all the answers or found out the answers damn fast.
Her woolgathering almost caused Misato to miss the Commander's dramatic response to his son's question. "Correct."
Ritsuko looked at the staredown between father and son. Gendo's glower she was used to; Shinji's blank face was different.
Misato and Ritsuko watched as a truly Gendo-esque smirk grew on the younger Ikari's features. "Hello Gendo. Kill any interesting people lately?"
Ritsuko gasped despite herself. Misato barked a reprimand. Gendo said nothing. Continuing to ignore them, Shinji went on. "Now, let me see. If my psychic talents are leading me right," here he theatrically put two fingers on each temple, rubbing gently, "then you want me to pilot this, this, GUNDAM knockoff against Sachiel. Oh, sorry, that's the name I gave the Angel stomping around up there. And if I don't, then you plan to guilt-trip me, or threaten, or bribe me into doing it, thus putting me even further under your thumb. All this, after ABANDONING your only son to the world when he was FOUR!" Shinji stopped pacing and gesturing. "Have I got it right?"
Gendo said nothing. Behind his stoney face, he was seething. The boy was supposed to be an emotional cripple, not a rebel. Not what he was expecting, but even this wannabe-thug could be manipulated.
Stopping, Shinji smiled a shark's smile at Gendo. Then snapped into a perfect military attention position. He even made his heels click. "Pilot Shinji Ikari, reporting as ordered, sir!" he barked like a recruit in boot camp.
Misato eased her hand away from the pistol. She hadn't known she'd gone for it until halfway through Shinji's rant.
Gendo allowed a smile. "Then here are your orders, Pilot. Engage the Angel above ground. Your target is the red core in its chest. Any tactics necessary are authorized."
"Understood, Commander! Commander, permission to make a request, sir!"
"Granted," Gendo said slowly.
"Sir, Pilot Ikari requests that in all things pertaining to NERV that he be referred to as 'Pilot Kanzaki,'sir!"
There was a pause. "Request granted. Pilot Ikari is now Pilot Kanzaki."
"Thank you, sir!" Kanzaki saluted Ikari in the United States Air Force style, then performed a left-face and marched out of the bay. "Where's my cockpit?" he roared to the tech-staff, "we aren't getting paid to stand around. We've got a messenger of the gods to destroy!"
The entire tech-staff, many of whom had spent the hellish days after Second Impact listening to stories about the UN military, sent up an ill-practiced but heartfelt 'Yoshhhh!'
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Ritsuko assumed her usual position in Central Dogma.
"I just don't understand it, ma'am," complained Maya Ibuki.
"What is it?"
"Pilot Ik…Pilot Kanzaki's vital signs. His breathing is deep and even. His heart rate is registering lower than you or I get just by sitting still. And despite the lowered brain activity, his synch-ratio is skyrocketing. By all common sense, he should be panicking out of his mind."
"He's entering into a meditative trance," Dr. Akagi wondered at the data. "What's his synch-ratio up to?"
Maya looked again at the readout and her breath caught. "Fif… Fifty-seven percent."
"This is impossible," Ritsuko whispered.
The bridge was eerily silent.
"Shinji, we're going to flood the plug with LCL now. Don't worry, you'll be able to breathe the fluid."
"Understood," came the dead answer over the comm.
Shigeru leaned over to Makoto. "Who is this kid?" His only answer was a puzzled shake of the head from Hyuga.
Akagi spoke into the communicator again. "Shinji, did the plug fill?"
"Yes."
The doctor looked at Ibuki. "A slight increase in his vitals, but other than that…" the short-haired technician shook her head.
Makoto broke the tableau. "Captain Katsuragi? The Eva is ready to launch, ma'am."
Misato absently nodded. "Shinji," she asked of the pilot, "can you hear me?"
"Yes."
Licking her lips, Misato went on. "Shinji, we're getting ready to launch you. The ride will be rather rough. Are you ready?"
"Launch me. A few G-forces won't kill me."
The bridge crew nodded. Makoto finished the lockdown prep on the Eva. Shigeru activated the cameras topside. A beep sounded, indicating the preparations were finally completed.
"EVA LAUNCH!" screeched Katsuragi, captain of all military functions of NERV. There was a sound reminiscent of a fighter jet, flying low over treetops. Then the rumble of an oncoming train mixed with a thunderstorm. And a metallic slamming, indicating the Eva had made it topside.
Behind, Gendo and Fuyutsuki kept their own counsel.
"Shinji," asked Akagi over the comm., "don't try anything fancy. Just concentrate on walking for now."
"Walking," repeated the pilot.
External cameras showed the fiendish form Eva Unit-01 step clear of the launch cage. It displayed not the awkwardness of a fifty-foot robot piloted by a beginner. Instead, there was the lethal grace of a creature born to war. As though Unit-01 really was a demon.
"The Angel is approximately five kilometers from your position. Do you think you can make it there?" Misato queried.
"Mohammad will not go to the mountain; the mountain must come to Mohammad," responded the boy cryptically.
Misato had to think about that one for a bit. Then she responded that she understood.
"Captain Katsuragi," asked the pilot for the first time, "which direction is the Angel? My left or my right?"
"Your right. But it should be dead in front of you in about… Now!"
A black and white giant appeared before Unit-01. And time stood still.
"…die," whispered Pilot Kanzaki. And charged.
Sachiel raised its arm. To defend or attack wasn't clear.
A purple fist impacted the crimson core.
Sachiel began to scream. A high, ululating cry, piercing the night. Shinji's first strike had broken its arm. His second had cracked the core.
"He hit it!" proclaimed Makoto, amazement and elation combined.
"It's not dead!" argued Shigeru. And indeed, the Angel was struggling to rise, lifting its uninjured arm. Pointing its weapon of destruction at Shinji.
The Eva effortlessly stepped inside the Angel's defenses, sending a monstrous kick to the scarlet core. The S2 organ shattered under the strain, killing the Angel instantly. Sachiel's battered body flew backwards for nearly a kilometer, before coming to rest. A pool of purple blood flowed outward.
"Who is this kid," repeated Aoba, not caring who heard him.
Misato didn't mean to, but she caught sight of the commanders. Fuyutsuki's cool demeanor had vanished, and the colonel was sweating lightly. Gendo's brow had furrowed lightly, his version of swearing a blue streak.
In a very small voice, Dr. Akagi asked Ibuki, "How long did that battle last?"
"…a little over ten seconds ma'am."
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The hatch to the entry plug popped open. Shinji, obviously not in the best of shape, hauled himself out. And was promptly and violently sick all over the deck.
"Mmm, tasty," he remarked. Misato was fairly sure he was sarcastic.
Ritsuko was undeterred. "Where did you learn to fight like that?"
"Must have been a kung fu master in a past life it's the only explanation," gushed the boy, before coughing and spitting out more LCL.
"Captain." Misato came to attention before Gendo. The NERV commander observed the assembled group, not blinking.
"I think I'm going to be sick again," murmured Shinji. Still hanging half in and half out of the plug.
Several techs laughed and abruptly pretended they hadn't.
Ignoring his son, Gendo spoke to Katsuragi. "Captain, due to Pilot Kanzaki's apparent mental instability, I have arranged that he stay with you."
Misato balked. Shinji perked. "That's the first compliment you've ever given me, Gendo." He sniffed and wiped away an obviously not-there tear. "I think I'm going to cry now."
Gendo wondered if sweatdropping was warranted under these circumstances.
"With all due respect, sir," began the captain, "he is your son."
"That… would not be efficient."
Shinji nodded. "Yeah. I'd drive him crazy and he'd snap and kill me. Definitely not efficient if we want to go on saving the world."
Looking between the pair, Misato decided that Shinji might not be exaggerating. Grumbling, she herded Shinji into her car. Grumbling she began the long drive back to her apartment. Noticing the boy pilot returning to his original taciturn self, Misato began to soften somewhat.
Somewhat.
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Ritsuko Akagi fidgeted under the piercing gaze of the Commander. Fuyutsuki stood, as was his wont, behind and to the left of Gendo, silent as the mountains.
"Begin."
"The Magi have finished their deliberation," Akagi reported. "There is a 89.7649 chance that the Third Child is not an Angel. That still leaves over a one-in-ten possibility that he is an Angel. This decision is based on scans of his body tissues, which denote a pure human blood type, checked against his skills in synchronizing with Evangelion Unit-01.
"I was also curious as to why he may have chosen the codename he did, so I performed some research into the name 'Kanzaki.'" She dropped a file onto Gendo's desk. "That is a report from the Ministry of Education, filed in the year 1998. A female student named Urumi Kanzaki was certified to have an IQ of over two hundred. At the time this report was filed, she was only twelve years old."
"Doctor Akagi," drawled Fuyutsuki, "are you saying that the Third Child may have been adopted by this Urumi Kanzaki?"
"There was no data to indicate that in my research. It's likely he simply heard about her and, for whatever reason, identified with her."
Gendo Ikari never moved. "Good work."
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Kensuke Aida had been called many things. Nerd, otaku, commando wannabe. He, quite frankly, didn't care. If he reacted to battle formations and military intrigue the way most boys his age reacted to an ecchi magazine, it was no one's business but his own. This is perhaps why he had no compunction about filming a model hoverfighter while making little war noises.
"What war are we fighting today, Kensuke?"
Pulling away the camera, Kensuke saw the new kid grinning at him. Kensuke liked Shinji, especially the wry sense of humor he had. And his open defiance of the system. He'd learned within the first day that Shinji preferred reading e-books to paying attention to the lessons. To make matters even more scandalous, the new kid made no bones about his behavior. The other students knew and were impressed. The class representative knew and was pissed. Even the teacher probably knew.
Before he could respond, there was a voice behind him. "Mr. Aida."
"Oh, hey class rep." Aida saw Shinji, out of the corner of his eye, biting his tongue. No help nor sympathy there. Oh well, once more into the breech.
"Mr. Aida," continued the class rep., ignoring Kensuke's discomfort, "did you give that printout to Mr. Suzuhara like I asked?"
"Well, ahhh…" Kensuke slowly slid the paper in question further into the confines of his desk. "There wasn't anyone home over at Toji's place, so I, ah…"
"Mr. Aida, aren't you Mr. Suzuhara's friend?" This was not a question. Kensuke looked around for an out. A rhythmic thumping noise attracted his attention. Shinji was holding his ribs, pounding his fist on the desk, complaining around a smile that he couldn't breathe.
"Pay attention!" roared Hikari in righteous indignation. "Get that printout to Suzuhara as soon as possible. I don't care if you have to shove it down his throat!" The Hikari Fury stormed away, bent on chewing out other students' asses.
"Some help you are!" complained Kensuke to the still-giggling Shinji.
The classroom door opened. The student entering was not wearing the required uniform.
Kensuke seemed to brighten. "Toji, hey man how ya been?"
"Where the hell's our class?" Toji looked around the room, noting a suspicious lack of people. Maybe half the students weren't there.
"They've all evacuated. You know about that giant robot, right? Everyone figured it was better to leave than stay in this place. I'm surprised you're still here, frankly."
Toji looked at his friend. "Why do you say that?" Kensuke pointed to a boy that Toji had never seen before. The boy was looking at them, and gave a small wave to Toji.
"Who's he?"
"His real name is Shinji Ikari, but he likes to be called Kanzaki or just Shinji. He's been playing a few cards close to his chest, but he let slip that your kid sister was in the hospital. That's why I say I'm surprised you're here."
"How the hell would he know about that?"
"I don't have a clue. But there's something else about him that's weird. Right after that incident with the giant robot, he gets transferred to our school. I should note that he is the only person to transfer into our school in months."
Suzuhara slowly clenched his fist.
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Ayame diligently typed out her query. She watched the new kid perk up from his reading. Then sag in defeat. That was odd. The answer came back with relative quickness.
yes
The class reacted in typical fashion.
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AN: Yes, this is a 'Shinji has balls' fic. Yes, it is an SI. No, there will be no standard SI miracles performed within this fic. No, it will not end up like Skysaber's 'Otaku Revolution.'
This is a sequal to 'Chaotic Order.' The same dimension-hopping character is used in both. The next chapter will have sections written in Shinji's POV. But I will, if I can, use the POV of the other characters as preference. (I'm going for an artistic effect here, throw me a bone, for God's sake!)