Disclaimer on Chapter 1.
A/N: Due to the 3-day-before-story rule, and the fact that I started on this before I even made this account, this chapter was done WAY early. So don't get used to short updates like this.
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It was daylight at the Katsuragi household. The alarm clocks synchronized their singing to wake the residents, and synchronized their demise. The two beauties in the house were not pleased to be awakened. Shinji had not graced them with his presence since the ambulance, and they missed edible breakfast dearly. As they stepped out, they exchanged greetings and headed for the kitchen. If Shinji weren't there, he was at the hospital, which is not where he is either. But they thought he was at the hospital since Rei has yet to bring them the news. Fortunately for Pen-Pen, Asuka was the chef today.
"Asuka, just how badly DID Shinji hurt himself?" Misato interrogated Asuka as they sat facing each other to eat. She was worried enough to eat before drinking her morning beer.
"Well, he was SORT of limping, SORT of bleeding, SORT of being sanded across the pavement... Nothing major, he should've been back by now!" The redhead's guilt was enough for her to reply like a good little girl. Facing the floor, she hid her criminal face from her guardian.
"How did he come to being sanded across the pavement?" Asked the confused Misato, as she winced imagining how painful that would be.
"Weeeelll, you see, he was SORT of limping, then he twisted his ankle AGAIN and couldn't walk anymore. So I took the liberty of... Um... Helping him to school..." Asuka twiddled her fingers and tried to look cute, hopefully to ease Misato's reaction. Luckily for her, Misato was not a morning person, in the sense that she can't think.
"How nice of you! I guess we'll just wait for-"
Misato was cut off by the sound of the door closing, with Rei helping a limping figure in. The figure wore a black coat, rimmed with gold with an emerald-like shape at either sleeve, as well as the right upper chest area. A red sweater, which was worn underneath, tucked into his black pants. As the figure looked up, a pair of orange, reading glasses shaped shades could be seen as well, being prodded by gloved hands.
"C-commander!" Exclaimed Misato, standing and slamming her palm into the table in disbelief. Unfortunately for her, she slammed her hand right into her instant ramen, which she insisted on having. Wincing in pain, she continued. "I-I thought you never came back!"
Shinji, wanting to cause some mischief on his first day, fought down his laugh. His plans were initially to tell Misato where to meet Kaji, but his boost in confidence from the meeting told him otherwise. He would toy with her a bit. He gave Rei a wink, and hid his face in his jacket to hide his lack of facial hair.
"I found a new... Scenario, major." Said Shinji, trying to sound as deep as possible to imitate his dad. It was quite difficult, considering him coming mostly from his mother. Seeing Asuka's fainted figure, he literally bit his tongue hard, enough to draw blood, to stop laughing.
"I see, Ayanami has informed you of Shinji's possession of your belongings, I assume?" Misato, switching to her 'major-mode', could finally form sentences without stammering.
"Indeed, I am here to have him return my position." Shinji was reminded of LCL many many times, from both memories of his father, as well as the blood in his mouth.
"Shinji is currently hospitalized from severe injuries." Misato told what she believed to be the truth, not knowing he is actually home.
"Irrelevant, major. Call the hospital at once." Shinji nearly kicked himself from sounding so much like his dad, but if this prank was to work he had to restrain himself. He was close, very close to the ending of his on-the-spot scenario. Scenario B44: Act Like Commander.
Misato ran to the phone, not wanting to enrage the revived Gendo, ran to her phone and dialed, only to have the hospital deny Shinji's attendance. "This isn't good... The commander isn't getting what he wanted..." She thought to herself, sweating cold beads of nervous sweat. Then she heard something, from the doorway.
"Misato, I'm ho-FATHER!" Shinji exclaimed, in his usual voice, snickering silently to himself. As expected, Misato lost her major-attitude and flew out the door, ready to give 'Shinji' a big glomp, only to fall face-first outside her apartment, into a written note. Quickly, Shinji closed the door as his partner-in-crime, Rei locked it.
Switching back to his 'Gendo-voice', Shinji talked to himself as he walked towards his next target. "It's all according to Scenario."
"Father, should we really be-"
"Join me, my son. It is your destiny."
He snickered to himself, and searched for the emergency first aid pack.
--
Major Katsuragi found herself face first, into a paper note.
"Dear Misato:
Hi, it's me, Shinji! I have a surprise for you, at the school fountain."
Suddenly, she realized. She had been tricked. A master tactician, a mind as cunning as Sun Tzu, has been tricked. The person she had been talking to was not the commander. It was his son, Shinji Ikari.
"Why that little..." She turned to her door, and turned the knob. "What! I'm locked outside! I'll get you, you sneaky little hedgehog!" Rage boiling inside of her, she planned for her charge's demise as soon as she got her surprise.
--
Reviving Asuka with the smelling salt, Shinji quickly placed his lips merely a centimeter away from Rei's. He couldn't believe how successful his first prank had been. It was pulled off with no problems at all. Mentally, he reminded himself to pay his respects to his old man when he has the time.
Asuka slowly opened her eyes, and saw the commander kissing Rei. Before her sub conscience could tell her to survive rather than talk, she shouted.
"OH MY GOD! I KNEW THE DOLL HAD AN AFFAIR WITH THE COMMANDER!" Asuka mentally slapped herself, though in reality she simply place a hand over her mouth. She's going to die now.
Shinji pulled back from his 'kiss', and looked down at the floor as soon as he heard Asuka.
"That was most pleasurable, sir." Rei commented, pretending not to notice Asuka. This only served to enrage her as her eyes bulged to the size of tennis balls.
"Pilot Sohryu... I have heard of Pilot Ikari's... Injuries at your hands. Or rather, felt it." Shinji rose his head, allowing his face to be seen. Seeing Asuka's eyes grow to the size of basketballs before bursting into flames, he could hold back his laughter no further. "HAHA! Asuka! You should've SEEN your face when you saw me at the doorway. You w-"
He was cut off by a slap.
"What are you doin-" Shinji tried to ask. But another slap came and Asuka ran to her room sobbing.
"Asuka?" This reaction had him quickly back to his meek little boy self. "Asuka? Are you alright?"
"SHUT UP! Go back to your wondergirl!" Asuka shouted from her room. Sobs could be heard afterwards.
"Asuka, what's wrong?" Shinji felt guilty. It had to be his fault, whatever Asuka's problem is. That's how he thinks.
"Pilot Sohryu, Shinji-sama had played a practical joke, I believe." Rei had followed Shinji, and unlike Shinji she understood what was going on. Also unlike Shinji, she doesn't understand what the suffix 'sama' could imply. Rather than helping the situation, she made it worse.
"Shut up! You probably liked it! After all, it's your Shinji-sama!" The redhead sobbed in her room.
"Indeed. I am his." Rei answered casually, as if that's the normal thing to say.
"W-W-W-WHAT!" Shinji was blushing and flustered by this comment. "Rei, you shouldn't say it like that!" Shinji exclaimed. He could FEEL Asuka's rage leaking out of her room when Rei had answered.
"Oh, I see now. Leave that useless Asuka out! She can't pilot anymore! She's useless!" Asuka sobbed even harder, this time muffled by her pillow.
"I-I'm sorry!"
"So you DID leave me out, you bastard. I hate you!" With that, the fuming girl held her pillows against her ears, unwilling to listen to anymore of Shinji's explanation.
"Well, this isn't good. I blew the chance I got from Third Impact." Shinji thought to himself. After Third Impact, being the only 2 people on Earth, Shinji and Asuka had gotten more friendly with each other. But people returned and his attention instantly became focused on Rei, surfacing Asuka's hidden, old self in defense. But Shinji was totally oblivious to this, and thus continued to hang out with his half-mother instead of his somewhat-girlfriend. His plan at changing somewhat into something more had backfired, and now it's probably 100-enemy.
--
"That little bastard had better made this worth my time..." Mumbled Misato. Being humiliated by her charge and thrown out of her apartment was quite a blow to her pride. "I'll SKIN you ALIVE, Shinji!"
As if the heavens heard her, a thunder sounded just as she completed her oath. A thunder followed by rain.
"And leave you skinned, alive." She added, her teeth gritted and her eye twitching. She ran to the school for shelter, and was hugged from behind.
"I-it's you..." Was all that could be heard outside the soaked building, before the kissing and moans of pleasure started.
--
"Rokubungi... You shall... The world..."
"Indeed..."
--
Shinji had been thinking about his scenario many many times. "Father somehow made all his scenarios work, despite all setbacks. I'll make mine work too!" Shinji's thoughts were futile, however. He lacked the necessary resources. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. "I own all of NERV now, not just HQ! That means a fifth of the world works for me!"
Shinji quickly began rallying his section 2 men, to setting up the grand finale...
--
"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" Kaji asked, in a soaked T-shirt that said 'Shinji's Surprise'. "I was worried that you might be soaking out there at the fountain, me being here and all." The smug, lady-killing smile makes its return onto the man's face.
Misato, crying tears of joy in the unshaven man's embrace, could not voice her happiness at this moment in time.
"Who knew getting a girl pregnant could save me?" Kaji tried to strike up a conversation, but had said the wrong thing. A very wrong thing. Misato broke the embrace and made sure that was the last sentence he'd ever say in quite a while.
--
Shinji sat at his dinner table, in his 'Gendo Pose'. 15 agents crammed themselves into the dining room as well.
"Ok, here's the plan. You," Pointing at a particularly slender and tall agent, he continued "get the tech team to build an angel core out of Bakelite. You," Pointing at a short, chubby man, he resumed "get the science division to project a pattern blue from the Bakelite." Shinji smiled beneath his cover. "Everything is going according to scenario..."
The 3 men appointed by the commander ran out the door. The rest simply awaited their orders.
"What will we do, sir?" Asked an impatient yet polite one.
"Oh, 2 of you, start cleaning the apartment. One of you, get the player 2 controller. I will be there to take player 1 shortly. Rest of you, make a cardboard cutout to resemble an angel!" Shinji loved power. With power, he could confidently order around his goons. With power, he could do all the things he couldn't do before. Meek little Shinji is no more, now rises Shinji Rokubungi!
"Shinji-sama, where is the towel?" Rei asked, coming out of the shower naked. She still did not find nudity inappropriate, because humans were born that way.
"R-R-REI! P-put on s-some clothes!" Stammered Shinji, blushing to the ear. Well, maybe meek little Shinji is still there, but it's still the age of Shinji Rokubungi.
--
"DIE!" Misato shouted, squeezing the neck the poor, revived man with all her strength. "YOU BASTARD! GETTING GIRLS PREGNANT!"
Kaji fainted from his lack of air. This was not the kiss between Asuka and Shinji, this time the girl is out for blood.
Suddenly, her cell phone began to ring, sparing the unconscious man his life.
"Hello? What! Angel attack! But we killed them all!" Misato panicked, it wasn't every day that you make something extinct and they come right back. "I'll be there in a second!"
Running out into the rain, she sprinted for her car.
--
"What! The Dead Sea Scrolls never mentioned the 19th angel!"
"What should we do? We're lacking 10 members."
"We'll let Shinji take care of it. It would be a good test of his abilities."
--
Shinji smiled to himself as the phone began to ring. His plan would be put into action soon. It was merely a matter of time until Asuka got into Unit-02 and regained her air of arrogance. It had hurt Shinji, both physically and emotionally, to see Asuka depressed. Not only did he blame himself for making Asuka like that, Asuka had done horrible things to him in the various attempts to regain her aura. Including the 'pavement drag' just yesterday.
It was a fine bright noon, a great time for a home made meal. Normally he would've ate lunch, but for his plan to work he must convince Asuka that this is an Angel that couldn't care less about human patterns. He was getting a hang of it, his father's work was certainly interesting. Manipulating, scheming. It all gave him the attention and power he craved before. As the phone began to ring, he smiled to himself and picked it up.
"Asuka! An angel!" He cried, as his household agents rushed to the nearest transport. His smile turned into a grin as Asuka jumped out the door, in her pajamas.
It was all going according to scenario, he would soon be relieved of being Asuka's victim in pain, and maybe have another shot at her heart. Walking out the door, he had heard Rei's wish for his luck. He thanked her in his mind, and took off.
--
"Major! The Second Child and commander Ikari has arrived!" An agent informed, opening the door for Shinji.
"Misato, Fuyutsuki-sensei, I would like to take command for this operation." Shinji had calmly demanded. He sat at his commander's desk, imitating his father, he couldn't help but notice the questioning glare from his teacher, and the hatred-filled scowl on Misato's face. "Oh great, she didn't get the surprise." He thought, as he switched the monitor onto the launching Eva-02. Surprisingly, the damage it had received in the battle against the Eva series had not destroyed its regeneration abilities. The technicians simply needed to forcibly rip out what was left of the scars caused by the fake lances, and the holes would be fixed. That doesn't mean the damage was
Misato was still enraged by Shinji. He had humiliated her, and sent her a gift that she'd rather receive dead. "It's the thought that counts..." She tried, desperately fighting to convince herself. "But it was so inconsiderate! Attacking my pride and faith like that! Ooo, he's so gonna get it when we get to spend time alone..." Her negotiation talents were, however, not nearly as good as her tactical mind.
Meanwhile, Fuyutsuki's mind was on other things. "Gendo... Are you possessing your son? You heartless bastard... Get back into your own body!"
"Asuka! The Angel is... Not really moving..." Shinji had told Asuka. He could see her twitch in anger, as if being joked about.
"Sir! Angel matter seems to be... Ca-" Maya shouted looking up from her screen, but the rest of her message was cut off by Shinji's immediate orders.
"ASUKA! SHOOT THE CORE WITH THE POSITRON RIFLE!" Shinji shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping to drown out whatever Maya had tried to say.
Asuka grudgingly accepted her orders, and did just as Shinji had said. The core shattered as the beam made contact, and the 'Angel' burned down in a blaze of glory. Nobody noticed the lack of green cross-shaped explosion after its death.
"That was too easy!" Asuka got back her air of arrogance, and the tone of the voice would've made Shinji cringe in disgust if he didn't set it all up. She willed her Eva back to her launch pad, and was retrieved back into the Geofront.
"Good work, Asuka! It seems you're still needed around here!" Exclaimed the excited Shinji, relaxing his hands and giving a relieved sigh. He was finally free of her torment, and she was finally back to her normal self.
"Ha, of course I am! You're just like your dad, hiding behind your little desk like that." Came Asuka's ungrateful reply. If she had bothered, she would've seen Shinji fighting himself not to strangle her. "Now, don't peek while I change!" She disappeared behind the door to the change room with a wink, that had turned the twitching and shaking Shinji into a twitching and shaking tomato.
"A-su-ka... I... am... not..."
"Oh Shiiiiinji!" Misato cut him off before he could finish, making Shinji jump.
"D-don't scare me like that Misato!" Shinji turned and stammered. It wasn't nice being scared to death by somebody from behind. Upon seeing Misato's whip, his eyes bulged and his legs softened. "W-what are y-you t-trying to d-do, Misato?" He gulped, and shifted his head to look for an escape route.
"Oh, you'll see... A suitable payback..." Misato's grin could've made the devil jealous. It was filled with pure evil and cruelty.
"M-misato, I'm not into that sort of thing..." Shinji tried to distract her for a moment, and out pops Asuka hearing the commotion.
The rest of the afternoon in the NERV HQ was filled with thunder-invoking laughter from two females, and the screams of pain that could only be from hell...
--
"How... Embarrassing, our pawn whipped like that."
"Well, at least we know that the Rokubungi blood was degraded rather than enhanced..."
--
5 monoliths lit up, marked SEELE 01, 04, 06, 11 and 12.
01: "Shinji Ikari has signed a contract with another committee. I fear that we are losing power."
04: "It is only natural. However, this committee has gained access to all our assets, and overrode all of our commands."
06: "Our numbers are also decreasing. I suspect the new committee had something to do with this."
11: "We may be the next victims to assassination. We must not let our guard down."
12: "Indeed, it would be most unwise to be killed at this stage, before exacting revenge against those who ruined us. Ruined our plans."
--
Walking home, limp and bruised from whip marks, Shinji ran through the day's events in his head. "It was really fun, but this may be the last time. Tomorrow, I will have to start the project... The World Restoration project..." He was worried. Very worried. "So this is how father felt like, carrying out projects honorable in theory, but the opposite in reality."
Well, maybe he had gone a little too far on his personal scenario. Misato and Asuka had forbid him from stepping into the car, and left him to fend for himself. "No worries, it gives me plenty of time to think."
--
Ayanami Rei, pilot of Unit-00, had been pondering the same thing. "Tomorrow, Shinji-sama will begin the project. He will most likely be played right into their hands. He has no ulterior motive." She had been lost in such thoughts to a point where she forgot to return home, and only realized so when the door opened.
"WONDERGIRL! What are you still doing here!" Asuka screamed.
"Shinji-sama had yet to order me back." Rei replied with her usual excuse, hiding her frown the best she could. She was able to cover up the dark secrets now brewing in Shinji's mind, due to her past nature. It was one of the only things it was good for.
"Well, you can sleep in Shinji's room tonight. We'll make sure he is uncomfortable today!" Misato had suggested, cheerily, as if Shinji's well-being was irrelevant at the time.
Taking out the notebook she always carry to record her orders, Rei started to read aloud. "Effective June 25th, Shinji Rokubungi will be assigned supreme commander over all NERV branches, including HQ." She glanced up to see the surprised faces of Misato and Asuka, and continued. "Also, staff transfer to France branches will commence August 1st, based on commander Rokubungi's decision." This time, as she looked up, Rei had noticed how similar their skin tones were compared to hers. "That would be all."
"S-say, Rei, I think it would be a better idea to just drive you home instead! C'mon!" Misato simply grabbed Rei's wrist as she made her way to Shinji's room, and forcibly dragged her out into the parking lot.
"S-Shinji, just... how...?" Asuka muttered to herself in disbelief long after Misato had left. She was stunned by this turn of events. How did a wimpy boy end up commander of the most important military facility in the world? Perhaps, just perhaps he may be more than what he lets her see. Perhaps he was like the complete opposite of her, weak on the outside, strong on the inside. "Whatever the case, the idiot WILL explain!" She vowed to herself.
Standing out the door, Shinji decided to wait for Asuka to sleep before reaching for his keys.
To be continued... Maybe?
A/N: This chapter turned out uber corny, mostly due to my lack of inspiration and simple wish to write. Not much had been going on, and I plan to span this series into many different genres like the anime. There will be my horrid attempts at humor, then there will be the sad emotional stuff as the story goes further and further in.
Well, if you're actually reading the author's note, then answer this after your review:
Getter Energy VS S2 Engine. Who would win?