Chapter 2: Angels and Comrades
Disclaimer: No, I don't own this. No, I don't have any money.
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Toji Suzuhara was seeing red. Where, where was he? There! That no-good, smug, city-stomping robot pilot bastard! Aida had made one protest, but Toji had shown him. That bastard Shinji Ikari or Kanzaki or whatever his damned name was… That bastard was going down!
After catching the bastard's attention, Toji swung. Expecting resistance to meet his fist, he went down. He didn't even know what had happened for a few seconds. Then he got up.
Kensuke watched his friend stand back up. Toji aimed another haymaker at Shinji's head. Again, Shinji just dodged out of the way. Again, the larger boy lost his balance and went sprawling.
He just didn't understand it. He was twice the size of this little shrimp. What the hell was going on? He. Was. Losing! To a shrimp! Toji got up, and unable to plan anymore, swung for the third time.
Kensuke watched. Later, he would suspect that this was the reason people stared at car wrecks. Now, he only watched. Instead of dodging this time, Shinji stepped close to Toji, avoiding the punch completely. And squeezed a place on the larger boy's shoulder, right where the neck joined the body. Toji screamed and went down, clutching his left arm.
"You're a nice guy, Suzuhara. Honorable, loyal, generous, and kind. I can respect that. But think about it. Your sister's hospitalized, yes, but that's a helluva lot better than dead. If I hadn't fought the Angel what would have happened, do you think? It would have made that N2 mine look like a pinprick." Sirens began to wail in the distance. "Get to a shelter. And for god's sake, stay there!" With that Shinji walked off.
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"Where is the Angel right now?" asked Katsuragi to the bridge crew.
"Approximately 100 kilometers north-northeast of the city, ma'am," stated Hyuga, watching the thing's progress on his monitor.
"Is Shinji ready?"
Maya affirmed. "Yes ma'am. Pilot Kanzaki and Unit-01 are in the cage and being prepped as we speak.
"Look at that synch-ratio," breathed Akagi, "He's almost up to sixty percent."
"Guess he knew what he was doing, coming down here every day like that," observed Aoba.
"I suppose. But still, one hour each day, spent doing nothing but synchronizing with his Eva? Most people couldn't do it. Most wouldn't even think of it."
Ibuki looked up at her superior. "Ma'am, we've already found out that Pilot Kanzaki is not most people."
"Clinical instability or not, he's the best pilot we have," said Katsuragi around a nod. She then turned her attention to the comm. "Shinji, are you ready?"
"Yes," was the as-expected answer.
"Disengage secondary lock-bolts," commanded the violet haired captain.
"Secondary lock-bolts disengaged," Hyuga responded.
"Remove primary restrains."
"Primary restrains removed. Eva standing by for umbilical cable."
"Psychograph reading nominal," reported Ibuki. Then she added, "Nominal for Kanzaki, anyway."
"Move Unit-01 onto the catapult and ready the pathway for exit oh-niner-two-niner."
Hyuga stared at his superior. "But, Captain Katsuragi, that exit will put the Eva right into the path of the Angel."
"I know that. I also know that Pilot Kanzaki can handle it."
Sighing dejectedly, Hyuga agreed. The exit pathway opened as ordered.
"EVA LAUNCH!"
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As NERV was readying itself for another confrontation with an Angel, a different kind of confrontation was taking place.
"Dammit! Damndamndamndamn!"
"Nothing but text-messages again?" asked Toji. Kensuke handed him the camera/receiver. Sure enough, a stock photo of some mountain somewhere graced the screen. Lines of white text proclaimed that there were no television transmissions for the next hour or so.
Kensuke grumbled in a very unschoolboy-like manner. "It's nothing but freakin' news censorship. A historical event of this magnitude, and all they can think to do is cause a news blackout."
"Them's the brakes."
"You're being awfully fatalistic." Kensuke regarded his friend more closely. "Maybe it's fallout from having your ass handed to you."
"What? Please…"
Kensuke smirked again. "Come on, we both know that your arm is still numb from that little nerve pinch he did." Toji looked decidedly guilty at this point. "And not to mention you were taking on the guy who saved the city." Toji tried to pretend he was invisible. "But maybe it's for the best it worked out the way it did. Heck, after what I saw that guy doin', pickin' a fight with him is the last thing I wanna do. It'd just be plain stupid. I mean, he did take down that monster faster than the entire UN military combined could!"
Toji was feeling really small right then. "All right, Kensuke! That's enough! You've made your friggin' point."
But Kensuke didn't look to be near enough finished. "You attacked him, even though he saved your life. That means, you were wrong. That in mind, isn't it your obligation to watch the fight? Make your apology?"
"You little weasel, you had this planned!" accused the larger boy.
Saying nothing, Kensuke only giggled.
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External cameras activated. The side of a building opened as it was designed, revealing the grinning devil.
Ritsuko punched the button on the comm. "Shinji, do it just the way we trained in the simulator. Line up the target in the center, and pull the trigger. That's all you have to do."
"Don't know much about combat, do you Doctor Akagi," was the response from the pilot. The doctor in question sputtered a note of protest.
Ignoring the raging Akagi, Fuyutsuki leaned in toward Ikari. "Amazing," he stated, "how much he acts like Rei when he's in the cockpit."
"Yes. It almost makes one wonder." After that, Gendo was silent.
As they were speaking, Unit-01 had edged its way around the building. It took a position remarkably like that of a normal infantryman, peaking around his cover. When it happened, it was almost too fast for the bridge crew to follow. The Eva whirled around the building, brought its rifle to bear, and fired three quick bursts at Shamshel. Then it was running, dodging the burning whips.
"What the hell?" roared Akagi. "He wasn't training like this in the holo-chamber. Where did these tactics come from?"
Katsuragi felt her jaw dropping open. "He's using guerilla tactics. How the hell does he know to do that?"
Unit-01 continued its pattern of dodging and firing. Shamshel lost an appendage in the exchange. Planting its feet, Unit-01 braced the rifle against its hip.
"Vital signs are getting excited!" warned Ibuki.
"Guess he's broken out of his icy calm," opined Akagi.
There was a harshly groundout command of 'Die!' from the Eva. And the Evangelion proceeded to rain unholy death on the Angel.
"Synch-ratio dropping!"
"SHINJI!"
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Toji fought the yawn. "Gee, this is exciting." "How can you be so sarcastic?" fumed Kensuke. "Look at that skill! Do you see the Angel moving? No; it's the perfect target for him. And he keeps moving to make himself a harder target for the Angel. Firing only small bursts to conserve accuracy and firepower. Amazing! You could wait your whole life and never find such a sight!"
"Saw a better one last night," Toji proclaimed, "it was called 'Overfiend.'"
"You just have no appreciation for combat," said Kensuke as he turned to his friend. Toji only shrugged. Heaving a sigh, Kensuke turned back to the fight.
The purple form of the Evangelion stopped running and began its Rambo impersonation.
"Now this is what I call a fight!"
"Oh man, he's a sitting duck!" Kensuke watched in horror. The Evangelion pilot had thrown tactics to the wind, going for brute strength. Despite Toji cheering it on, the bespectacled boy was quite sure the robot was outgunned in this fight. He was right. He wished he wasn't.
The Angel lashed out with its remaining tentacle. The pilot moved his machine's torso to the side, dodging the expected attack. But he obviously hadn't thought the Angel would go for his legs. The purple machine was hauled upwards, hung upside down for a moment, and then flung.
Towards the hiding place of Kensuke and Toji.
Toji felt something warm dribble down his leg.
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"Those are Shinji's classmates!" accused Katsuragi at seeing the faces on the screen. The Eva had landed hard on the mountainside, right next to where the boys were hiding. One stupid meter to the side, and those two would have been collateral damage.
Hyuga called out to her. "Captain, the Eva can't fight with noncombatants on the battlefield."
"Angel is remaining stationary," reported Aoba.
Katsuragi nodded absently. "Right, then we have time. Shinji, get those two into the entry plug and then retreat from the battlefield for now. We'll come up with another plan."
"You can't just invite civilians into the Evangelion!" Ritsuko was coldly fuming. "This is a sensitive situation. We don't need any more complications brought in."
"It's my decision! Shinji,…" Unit-01 had already stood up. "Shinji…"
"Captain," came the pilot's voice, "Doctor Akagi is right. Anyone else in the cockpit with me would ruin my ability to pilot."
Katsuragi took an uncertain step forward. "Shinji."
There was a quiet, calm, sad voice that came over the comm. "Genma. Guess I finally gotta thank you for all that shit."
Unit-01's shoulder piece flew open, revealing the prog. knife. "Remind me to buy you a drink. In Hell!"
The knife was snapped up by the Eva's hand. A slight moment of quiet. Then the scarlet sphere in Shamshel's chest grew a steel hilt. Shamshel fell over, it's core pierced, dead.
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Kensuke stood on his feet, unable to believe he was still alive. He'd learned his lesson. No more leaving the shelters from now on. He'd be a good little boy, even if it meant missing out. Fighting a battle was one thing, but to be on the sidelines and unable to do anything!
Toji just stood there, shaking. His mind a jumble of panic.
Something popped out of the now prostrate robot. Someone tumbled down from the white cylinder. Kensuke was still too shocked to move. The falling pilot hit the ground, managing to bounce once. Then roll to his side and throw up.
"K-k-kan…" Kensuke swallowed and took a deep breath. "Kanzaki. You alright?"
The pilot groaned. "Oh, gods that hurts. Aw, shit." And he was sick again. Displaying great effort, Shinji sat up. He regarded the two civilians with an unreadable face. Kensuke made a mental note to never play poker against this guy. Then slapped himself for thinking that when Shinji was in obvious pain.
"Just had to leave the damn shelter, didn'tja?" Shinji asked them. Kensuke and Toji gave guilty nods. Sirens were heard in the distance. "Well, you two just FUBAR-ed. NERV ain't gonna be happy about this. I almost feel sorry for you."
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A special state of emergency had been declared in the Katsuragi apartment. No, no Angels were in imminent approach. No disastrous tsunamis had been detected just off the coast of Japan. Nor even the more mundane disasters, such as fire or earthquake. This was a state of emergency that could only be achieved inside the Katsuragi apartment: Misato was trying to cook.
Misato had gotten used to Shinji's almost whimsical comings-and-goings. He tended to wander around the apartment complex or neighborhood, only leaving word when he would return so she wouldn't worry. She didn't mind actually; Tokyo-3 was an amazing city, bound to attract the attention and wonder of a young boy like Shinji. But for once, and only this once, his absence was inexcusable.
"Let me see… 'Add just a pinch of salt to water, with powdered beef stock. Bring to a light boil…' Aw hell, this is boring! Why can't we just throw in some curry or something. Udon is just so tasteless." The young NERV captain didn't know it, but she was following in the footsteps of a great many poor cooks before her. One simply just does not pull an Akane Tendo, and ad lib the directions right off the bat. While it was unlikely that Katsuragi's food would wind up as astonishingly bad as that of a certain shorthaired wannabe martial artist, it was promising to be nearly inedible.
Perhaps fortunately, the lavender-locked woman was prevented from spicing up the recipe by a knock at the door. She cursed the interruption, setting aside the MSG to go answer it.
"Yes, yes, I'm coming," she proclaimed to the continued striking.
The sight of two young boys greeted her when the door was opened. "You're Shinji's classmates, aren't you? Aida and Suzuhara?"
"Yes ma'am" they chimed in unison, "I'm Suzuhara," the taller one added.
His companion nodded, then used an absent gesture to reseat his spectacles. "We'd like to apologize for all the trouble we caused several days ago. And if you're going to be mad at anyone, please, don't take it out on Suzuhara. It was my idea; I talked him into it."
Misato shook her head negative. "No, you boys seem to have learned your lesson. I guess, getting angry right now wouldn't have much point, would it?"
"Well, in that case," Suzuhara paused, casting his eyes skyward, as though the words he needed were up there. "Might we see Kanzaki? I've got something I'd like to apologize for."
"Sure. C'mon in."
The guests followed their hostess, diligently removing their shoes in the entryway. They cast about for a time looking for uwabaki, those simple guest slippers that all Japanese households seemed to have. Misato must have wanted something of a relaxed atmosphere in her place, for there were no uwabaki to be seen.
"Something smells good," comment Aida. His stomach voiced its agreement. He placed a hand over the offending organ and pretended it hadn't said anything.
The hostess waved to the fridge. "There's some quick snacks in there if you guys need something now. But yeah, we're having udon tonight. Shinji left the recipe and asked me to follow it. I'm not sure if it needs anything or not."
Aida gave the water and ingredients an appraising eye. "No, it seems in order to me. You must be a pretty good cook."
"I'd love to take credit for that, but, like I said, Shinji left the recipe."
"So, Kanzaki can cook, then?" asked Suzuhara.
Misato nodded. "Yeah. And he's actually pretty good. Even if his tastes do run toward more Western dishes. You know, spices and heavier meats. Spaghetti served warm. But his idea of soaking chicken in that American Tabasco stuff! That was pure genius! And I thought I had a cat's tongue."
"Tabasco? What's that?"
"Here." She removed a small bottle from the clutter on the rack above her head. "Just pour a drop on your tongue. Mind you, one drop."
Deciding nothing could be that hot, Suzuhara let three drops fall on his tongue. Being used to milder Japanese foods, his reaction is unsurprising.
The door slammed while Suzuhara was still gulping down water. "Tadaima," called Shinji.
"Okaeri, Shinji! Hey kiddo, you got guests."
Shinji rounded the corner. Aida got another good look at the other boy's poker face. Shinji could stare a person down with all the emotion of Rei.
"How's it goin'," he finally said.
"I'm alright," answered Kensuke, "Look, Kanzaki, we just came to say…"
"Say we're sorry," interrupted Toji. "We really screwed up, getting involved in your fight like that. And I'm sorry for trying to hit you like I did."
The black haired boy regarded his taller counterpart. "You gonna do it again? Ever?"
"No, no way, man. Not a chance in hell."
Nodding, Shinji made his way to the water pot. Kensuke watched the rising steam make a halo around him.
"So," asked the Eva pilot, turning back around to his guests, "you guys like udon?"
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"…genma. guess i finally gotta thank you for all that shit…remind me to buy you a drink…in hell…" The tape clicked off.
"What do we know from this?" asked Gendo quietly.
"At this point, sir, nothing," stated Akagi. "Only a few people in the world named 'Genma' could have learned the kind of things Kanzaki knows. And not one of them has ever come into contact with Kanzaki.
Fuyutsuki pierced her with a glare. "What kind of databases did you check?"
"Special-ops mostly. SAS, Delta-Green, Hayabusa clan of Hokkaido. We even considered the possibility that this person may have been operating under an assumed name or that 'Genma' is a nickname. Based on that, we checked personnel reports and police records. No connection."
"Did you consider the possibility that 'Genma' is a normal martial arts instructor? I have been assured by members of the security team that Kanzaki's fighting style is some offshoot of kempo."
Akagi frowned. "That scenario was not considered. I'll look into it."
"See that you do," was all Gendo said. Akagi accepted the dismissal for what it was and fled.
Fuyutsuki turned his head to Ikari. "If Kanzaki is in control of Unit-01, how will this affect our plans?"
"That is an unknown variable."
"Then what should we do if he doesn't follow the scenario we've mapped out?"
"We will have no choice but to alter our scenario."