Disclaimer : I do not own Evangelion, although like many others I wish I did. I own none of the characters. This is a normal Eva fic, not sure about Eva battles because I am trying to focus on Shinji's torment and hopeful revenge, hehe. Addition (18 months after starting) screw that last bit, this whole chapter is an eva battle! WHOO! Read and Review, I need criticism and I need to know people are reading this garbage. Anyhoo, on with the show!
Right then
'Thought'
"Speech"
"(Actions in speech)"
Radio
Quick note : Some people have mentioned confusion between who is speaking when, I know myself it's not very clear… however, in most cases it is implied by what they say and how they say it. If it isn't clear, and especially if it's a generic line that any of the characters could say then I leave it up to your imagination. E.g. if we're in the command centre and someone yells "Oh my god!" or "Detecting high energy emissions" it could be any of the techs, it's up to you who says it, while "Give me a report!" will be more likely Misato although there may be something in the bulk text indicating its more likely Ritsuko, either way lines like that rarely have massive impact on the story anyway!
-
"It is unimaginable that all three of our Evangelions would be defeated, even more so that the pilots would be held captive."
"I was not in our projections…"
"We thought preparations would be made to eliminate the use of Unit 01."
"Well it would appear that the preparations failed…"
"There was no way to know he would be able to call forth an AT field."
"Was this Ikari's plan all along?"
The great monoliths went silent as all attention turned towards the largest, darkest monolith, labelled '01'.
"We must change our scenario, although we knew Ikari had his own plans, we never imagined his plans would contradict our own."
"I do not see how we can counter the threat that the Third Child now represents…"
"It may be necessary to activate our fail safe…"
There was a long silence after this, all monoliths, had they had eyes would have been glancing between each other before their leader spoke once more.
"That will be considered at a later date, although extreme it might be the only way to bring our plans to fruition…"
-
"In exchange for your co-operation we will be moving you to a more… comfortable residence."
The two enemy teens followed the tall, purple haired Major along the winding corridors of NERV, their hands inside large metal manacles, although they seemed to show no intention of attempting to escape. Over the past week or so the two had been answering NERV's questions honestly, or at least convincingly, they seemed to have very little actual tie to their country. In the eight days since Shinji stopped the two of them from killing themselves, they had been sat quietly in their cell and had been responsive to all the questions that Misato, Ritsuko, Gendo, Maya, Shinji, Rei, anyone had to ask. Most of the staff were confused by their change of heart but from what they could determine, Shinji had said something that caused them to change their minds. It took little time for their co-operation to be recognised and they now were being moved to secure living quarters within the Geofront. Since the attack on Tokyo-3, the city itself had been totally evacuated, the only remaining people were NERV workers within the Geofront. The city was deserted and all personnel were moved into accommodation underground, the most secure of the rooms reserved for the Command Staff and the Evangelion pilots. It was irony that the very rooms that were keeping the evangelion pilots from harm from the outside world, were being used to protect the outside world from the two captured pilots.
Misato opened a door and stepped inside, the two pilots followed her and immediately stopped with a gasp. The room they had entered was bright white, the carpets were a light blue and the wallpaper had a single horizontal, blue stripe all the way around the room. In the centre was a large living area with couches and a large television, there seemed to be several steps down to the living area that made the room look even bigger. They noticed to the left was a square arch-way that seemed so lead into another room while the other sides of the room had electronic sliding doors, each door was outlined by the single blue line splitting at the frame. The room was totally spotless, it smelt like well-cooked food and best of all, it was pleasantly warm. Remembering how cold the cells got the two almost fell to their knees in joy when they felt the warm air against their skin. Misato turned to them and swiped her card over the red circles on their manacles, causing a brief flash before the cuffs opened. The large steel orbs fell to the floor although there was still a light black wristband on their left wrists with the same red circle on it. The two enemy pilots looked at her with confusion, after a couple of moments of her giving them the once over, the boy, Musashi stepped forwards.
"What's going on here? This place is a palace!"
"You requested relocation, this is where you have been assigned."
"I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but this place looks like it's made for guests of honour, not prisoners of war!"
"Don't get me wrong, you being assigned here was against my wishes, but it seems you made a good impression on the Commander."
Internally Misato knew this was not true, the Commander was just as emotionless as ever to most, he would never have approved the move if it wasn't for his only weakness. The only major difference in NERV since the attack was the Commander's sudden adoration of his son. Although not entirely understood by most, it had become a very visible spectacle around NERV as the two, who had previously shared only the odd word, now spent large amounts of the day talking. The only thing that could have convinced the Commander to let the two enemy prisoners live in such a high level suite is about 170 centimetres tall with long hair and alternating eye colours. The subject of her thoughts came through one of the blue bordered doors.
"Morning Misato, Musashi… Mana-chan."
"(Sigh) Good Morning Shinji."
"Hi…"
"Good Morning Shinji-kun."
"So are they ready to move in, me and Rei cleaned up the place last night."
"Move in?"
Musashi and Mana stared at Misato, Misato just stared at Shinji, normally she would never have let Shinji live anywhere near the enemy, but then again, if an N2 mine couldn't kill him then really what did she have to worry about. At the same time she knew that the two couldn't access anything of importance due to their bracelets, they would only be able to live in the apartment, they wouldn't be able to leave or access special systems, no matter how good their training was. So she resigned herself, Shinji gave a victorious smile as his Guardian slouched, sighed and began rubbing her head. Both of the foreign pilots looked between the two, both slightly catching on to the fact that it was probably Shinji's influence that they got such good accommodation. Misato turned to the two and slowly opened her eyes.
"As you both know, the bracelets on your wrists stop you from accessing any of the major systems or allow you through any unauthorised doors. So the best you can do is change the channel on the TV. Secondly, your living here is probationary, if things go wrong in any way, you will be immediately moved. Lastly, your 'parole officer' is Shinji, he is in charge around here and your staying here is entirely dependent on him, now I need some beer… see you later Shinji."
Misato glanced over her shoulder to Shinji before she walked out the room, the doors slid shut behind her and that left the three evangelion pilots alone. After a few awkward moments of silence Mana lifted her head slightly.
"T…thank you Shinji-kun."
Shinji looked at her and smiled widely.
"You're welcome Mana-chan. Now to give the two of you the grand tour! The first door on the right is the kitch…"
Shinji put his hand on the small of Mana's back as he pushed her towards the door he pointed out. As he moved Mana blushed and stumbled along with him, Musashi on the other hand stayed totally still, giving Shinji the same cold stare he gave Misato when he first entered the room. After Shinji noticed that only he and Mana were moving he stopped and turned to the stationary pilot.
"What do you want from us?"
Shinji took a moment to think about the question, he turned away from the two, then looked down slightly, before he looked up with light pink eyes.
"I want… I want you to experience what Asuka experienced here before all this happened…"
Shinji then quickly turned, catching Mana off balance, he pushed her through the archway into the kitchen. Musashi gave a small smirk after his face softened, he then joined the two in the kitchen, finding another person was stood at the stove. Rei turned to them with a small smile, she had an apron on and a handkerchief tied on her head to keep her hair up.
"Hey Rei, that smells good! What's in it?"
"It's just plain old miso Shinji, hope you two like it!"
"I've never really had it before actually R… Rei-san. How about you Musa-kun?"
"Wha… I… er…"
Musashi blushed a little, his demeanour also visibly changed as though his cold controlling exterior gave in to the general anarchy of emotion and questions that the situation filled him with. After stuttering for a few seconds he stopped himself and took a deep breath.
"Miso soup is fine, thank you First Child."
"Musashi!"
Mana jumped out between her partner and the rightly designated first child, she quickly turned from scolding the former and bowed to the latter.
"I apologise Rei-san, Musashi can be very rude sometimes! He's just used to calling people by their designations."
Rei was stood looking somewhere between confused, hurt and indifferent, if such a facial expression was possible.
"That is alright, that designation is correct after-all."
Shinji gave her a small slap on the back of her head, one just enough to be felt but not enough to cause any real discomfort.
"Rei, I've told you, if something bothers you… say so, it's the only way people will know not to do it again."
"I know Shinji… I am trying."
"I know you are…"
Shinji hugged Rei, his hand resting on the back of her head, lightly stroking her hair, they stood there for a second before there was a coughing sound. They immediately jumped apart when they noticed Mana was stood blushing heavily attempting to not look like she had been staring, while Musashi looked unimpressed and authoritative. As Rei jumped back she knocked the pan of miso causing some to spill and the following display of albino stumbling and shrieking left all three who watched sweat-dropping.
-
"This is really good Rei! Well done! How do you like it Mana-chan?"
Mana looked incredibly sheepish as she quickly chewed and swallowed the large portion of miso she has guzzled, she felt the solid lumps of soya slide down her throat and she managed to get out a muffled 'very good!'. Musashi hid the fact that he enjoyed the soup very much, his face remaining cold, although Shinji and Rei could see that he had finished his bowl before anyone else had eaten half. Rei looked fairly embarrassed as the praise came in, it was pretty obvious that she was not used to the compliments, at least, from anyone else but Shinji.
"So we were wondering what you guys want to do tonight."
"Excuse me?"
Musashi once more gave Shinji a calculating glance, unsure of the boy's intentions or desires. Shinji looked back with the same carefree face he always did, at least, the one he looked back with now. Mana looked to her partner, she was also fairly unsure of exactly what was being asked of them.
"You know, it's your first night! You get to pick what we do! As we can't leave this room we have to amuse ourselves!"
"Normally Shinji and I watch a movie, but on occasion we have sat and listened to music, or simply talked. The choice is yours."
Mana and Musashi looked at each other, it became painfully apparent to both Shinji and Rei, that neither had ever been given such an option before. In fact, from the looks on their faces it looked as though it took a few seconds for them to realise what a 'movie' was. After a few moments of whispering, Mana turned to Shinji and lowered her head slightly.
"Erm… by movie… do you mean like moving film? By action films? Superman and Michael Caine?"
"Yes, Nerv has quite the collection, but steer clear of post second impact, it gets pretty bleak."
"…"
"What was that?"
"We've never watched a real movie before…"
"I have… right before Mother was taken away."
A second passed after this, Mana shocked at the minor revelation, while Shinji and Rei watched in a mild sympathy.
"Would you like to watch a film?"
"I don't suppose you have 'Back to the Future : Part 2'?"
"I'll check the list."
-
Mana sat in a sort of awkwardness throughout the film, she also felt a mild discomfort, on one side she had Shinji and Rei. A couple who, despite their outward affection for one another, never kissed or acted as couples do. That being said, she herself was the last person in the world to understand interpersonal relationships. She noted the affection that Shinji gave to herself, which was slightly different to Rei, but at the same time his tone was always similar. Still the two had sat, with Rei leant against his shoulder for the duration, their hands entwined yet not once had either of their lips touched the other. She knew Japanese society frowned on public displays of affection more than other countries, but still this situation was far from public. On her other side however, she had the stoic visage of her life-long… acquaintance, Musashi. He had spent the entire movie staring at the screen, his eyes never left it but at the same time she sensed that he was looking through it, into memories. As she sat, scanning him, taking in his position and posture, she realised that she really didn't know all that much about Musashi. She had known him for over ten years, ever since the trials for the Second Child, she had trained with him day in day out, yet he never spoke of his life outside the walls.
As the film began to reach its climax, the heroes chasing the villain in their respective cars, the hovering one and the normal one, she began to drift into her own little dream world. She realised that although she had always been very outgoing and friendly, Musashi had never shown her anything. In the beginning it had been simple, rivals one and all, there had initially been four of them, although her best efforts failed to materialise a name to their missing number. This fact still upset her. Anyway, it had originally been the four of them, Asuka, Musashi, the other and her. Initially the other, a boy like Musashi, had been fairly friendly, the only one to give Mana the time of day. Musashi and Asuka seemed to have a rivalry from day one, but at least Asuka did open herself up to Mana and the other. This being said, Asuka was far from friendly, she would talk with Mana and the other, showing a vague interest in their lives, although that may just have been a way to spite Musashi. 'I have friends and you don't!' Yet this kindness began to fade over time as well, at the time neither she nor the other could understand Asuka's actions, it was only now, knowing about Asuka's mother and her fate that Mana understood.
After Asuka's mother got ill, Asuka became more competitive, she had to beat Musashi, that way, in her head, Asuka would have proven her worth to her mother. Musashi seemed to try just as hard, Mana had wondered exactly what had driven them both so far, and while Asuka was explained, Musashi remained shrouded in mystery, even now. Mana never really had the drive, there was nothing to push her, she supposed it was due to her parents dying soon after she was born. She felt no direct impulse to push herself to show off for her foster-parents, as kind as they were, they seemed to love her the way she was. So as the competition intensified Mana found herself falling back, Musashi and Asuka ran ahead, striving for the goal of being an elite, even the other kept up with them for a time. In fact, it got to a point were the heat was on only Asuka and the other, Musashi had fallen back for some reason. Then there was that day.
A day shortly before Asuka was designated 'the Second Child', they were on one of the final tests, an obstacle course. This was unlike the others, it was dangerous. They had all gone over assault courses before, but never one with no safety features at all, Mana remembered being afraid. That morning had been like most others, except it rained. Musashi had been much happier during the previous days, but that day he was very solemn, he didn't look like he was ready to fight Asuka at all. Asuka had fire in her eyes and the other just stood calmly like he always did. They went off on the assault course, quickly making their way through tires and tunnels, over netting and doing other physically exerting activities. Musashi was behind her, and it wasn't long before the other and Asuka were out of sight. That was when it happened, when she and Musashi reached the final corner and the end was in sight. Asuka was already there.
Asuka was stood on the stage, she was looking down a large gully with some climbing apparatus constructed above it. Her eyes showed a sort of mixture of pity, arrogance and smugness, and they were directed at a certain point in the valley below. It took Mana a few seconds to navigate the obstacles and get a view down the hole, although when she looked she wished hadn't. For at the bottom of the hole was the shaded and mangled carcass of the other, his spine severed in several places and his limbs distorted out of shape. Mana knew straight away that he was dead, she knew that we wasn't coming back, she accepted it. Musashi stepped to the edge and looked down, he too showed pity but also some compassion. Yet Asuka remained, as the officers came around, quickly running down to check on the child, one each heading to the various children. Mana and Musashi were escorted away quickly from the site, Mana lost sight of the other, but she could see Asuka. Asuka refused to move, she only moved away after the man holding her seemed to confirm to the others nearby that the other was in fact, dead.
It wasn't long after that when Asuka was elevated to the position of second child, Mana remembered the smug look on her face, although in the years since, she had befriended Asuka, the memory of that look still disgusted her. Yet it was short-lived, it was only a few days later that she remembered going to the graveyard, Asuka's mother had died and the light in Asuka's eyes seemed to die with her. Life was pretty repetitive after that, all three would train, although only Asuka in an actual Eva, they all got higher education, they were all pilots. It took a few years before she and Asuka became friends, but Musashi always seemed to want to keep his distance. That being said, she got less out of Asuka in years of friendship than she had from Musashi, the only thing Asuka talked about in recent years was Kaji. She never mentioned anything else, nothing else… not what Musashi had told Shinji.
-
"So you knew?"
"What they did to her? Yeah."
"How could you let them do it?"
"How could I let them? There was no letting? You don't seem to realise just who these people are! They aren't like your precious commander, or even like a government official! No, they're beyond that, they are omnipotent, they can do anything… anything."
"Who are they?"
"Seele."
"So he told the truth."
Shinji and Musashi stood opposite each other for a few moments, Musashi giving Shinji the once over while Shinji seemed to just stare into space. After an eternity had passed Shinji looked into the boy's eyes.
"What did they do?"
"I'm not sure of exactly what, I just remember overhearing them talk about 'imprinting'."
"What about it?"
"Just that they said they could take the memory from before and put 'those two' in place."
"'Those two' being my father and Professor Fuyutsuki, do you know what happened and when?"
"I'm not stupid, I know what must have happened… but I don't know when, I think it must have been long ago, right after her mother died, she had some pretty bad mood-swings, it wouldn't have been as easy to notice…"
"…umm… excuse me…"
Mana's voice came out like a squeak, she wasn't entirely sure what she was doing or what was happening, it was all moving far too fast. But she had to ask the one question burning in her mind.
"What… what was it exactly… that they did to Asuka?"
Shinji could see that she was being totally honest, he wanted to explode but he knew that the girl was just as much of a pawn as everyone else, she didn't deserve his anger. At the same time he couldn't explain and keep a straight face, thankfully the boy named Musashi spoke first.
"They raped her, Mana. Do you understand this word?"
Mana shook her head, for a degree-level physicist she knew very little of the world around her, she trained and studied and stayed at home, she had never really experienced the outside world. Even though she didn't understand the word, it didn't stop her shaking uncontrollably simply from how Musashi said it.
"It means… it's…"
"They took Asuka, restrained her, then abused her in the worst possible ways."
Even Shinji was surprised at the restraint he showed in describing the act, at first Mana didn't seem to understand but after a few moments she got a shocked look on her face that could only be the look of realisation. She slid down to her knees soon after and passed out. Musashi looked at Shinji, he stared into his deep pink eyes, then back down to Mana.
"If you plan on doing the same to Mana… I will kill you."
"I don't know what you think of us… we are the good guys."
"Good guys… heh"
"Well it's a sorry state when the 'Good-guys' rape innocent children, so which side do you think you're on?"
Musashi looked at Shinji for a moment, although he knew that the second child had been brainwashed and raped, he still believed that Tokyo-3 was worse. It was irrational, admittedly, but then when the only person in the world you care about could be in peril, how could you choose to ignore the warnings. He looked at Shinji with a neutral gesture, it was neither believing nor confrontational.
"How about a deal? You co-operate and I'll see what I can do for you two."
"See what you can do?"
"More comfortable accommodation, better food, nice clothes, anything you want… within reason."
"And if your people torture or abuse us in any way?"
"Then I'll break you out of here myself."
"That's not something I can put stock in…"
"You've read my file, you remember what I threatened to do after the unit 04 disaster?"
"Heh, you have yourself a deal."
-
The words 'To be Concluded' came up on the screen, with the kanji symbols underneath, Mana snapped out of her trance along with Musashi and the other two. After a few moments of stretching and Shinji moving to turn the lights on, he and Rei turned to the prisoners.
"What did you think?"
"It was really good… but I zoned out a little towards the end…"
Mana blushed and smiled at Shinji and Rei, they both seemed to enjoy the film, she quickly turned to Musashi, although she was in for a shock. Musashi was sat still staring at the screen, his eyes were red and puffy, they also glistened in the light and tear tracks were visible down his face.
"Musa-kun?"
"That was… the first time Mother took me to the cinema… and the last time I saw her."
"Musashi…"
Musashi stood up and wiped his eyes clean, although they were still red he was no longer crying.
"When… I was young… before the second child was chosen… my mother took me to see that film… I was so happy… then a couple of days later she died in an accident in the lab."
Mana felt a sudden compulsion to hug the boy, she had tried several times before, but it had gone ignored he never opened up. She thought this time would be the same but as she wrapped her arms around him she felt arms on her back and he pulled her into his chest. Shinji walked up behind the two, Mana silently cursing the boy as he placed on hand on Musashi's shoulder.
"I remember losing my mother also, it's good to know that the time you spent with her was joyous."
"Yeah…"
Shinji looked like he was going to do more to help but he felt himself dragged being into the kitchen by Rei, who was quite shocked at her own ability to sense the mood of the room. They both peered around the corner and saw the two pilots hugging still, Musashi's head buried deep into Mana's shoulder. Without much reason Shinji and Rei pulled each other together, hugging, quietly losing themselves in sad memories and each other's warmth.
-
Sometime later Mana left Musashi's room, she had helped him in there and spent a lot of time holding him. As she walked out into the living area she found Rei was straightening the couch out from the film, Mana silently moved some pillows to the corners of the couches. After they were finished Rei looked like she was about to go to bed, but Mana stopped her.
"Rei-san?"
"Yes pilot-Kurashima?"
"Is Shinji-kun in bed?"
"Yes."
"Is it possible for me to see Asuka?"
"No, not on your own."
"Could you accompany me?"
"Yes, but I will have to request an armed guard… procedure."
"I understand… can we go now?"
"If you wish."
-
"Rei-san… what do you think of this… this whole situation?"
Mana and Rei were walking along a corridor roughly side-by-side with a single armed guard behind them, they had spent the first few minutes in total silence.
"Of which situation do you speak?"
"This… living arrangement… you, me, Shinji and Musashi?"
"I believe it is convenient to keep us all in the same space…"
"Is that all?"
"I would normally only do as ordered… but Shinji and I discussed it… although having you around would possibly present a threat to myself and Shinji… he had great faith that you were good people and… that being with us would perhaps make you happier people."
"Happier people?"
"Yes… it is strange to say it… but of late… Shinji has had that effect on people. We have arrived."
Mana looked to her other side, true enough she was on the other side of the window to Asuka. She had not seen the child since they set off for their mission, she did not look well. Asuka was thin, obviously as a result of a form of hunger strike, she also looked tired, like she was constantly at some level of consciousness, not trusting the world enough to ever sleep. She was balled up in the corner of the room, away from everything, the upturned bed, the broken chairs and the various piles of glass that littered the sides of the room. After a few seconds of shock, attempting to take in the sight, Mana turned to Rei and the guard.
"Could I possibly… have a few moments alone with her?"
Rei turned to the guard who gave her a nod, the two moved out of earshot but not far enough to be out of sight or too far to grab her quickly. After a few seconds Mana grabbed the microphone attached to the window-ledge.
"A… Asuka… I'm not sure if you can hear me… so I'm just going to say what I came here to say… I hope you get better Asuka… I hope we can get back to how it was before… be friends again… I know you think people here have done terrible things to you… but it's not true… they are good people… and Shinji… Shinji is exactly how you described him… at least how you described him before we left on the mission… And Musashi! Musashi actually cried… I mean I've never seen either of you cry… so it was a first… I was always crying when we were little so I guess it's never a shock to you when I do… but Musashi… and it was about his mother too… I never knew she died in the labs… it happened right before you got made pilot… you remember… just before… before he died… I wish I could remember his name… the other one… the other pilot. I feel like I am insulting his memory by forgetting his name but no matter how hard I try he just escapes me… every time… I remember his grey hair… and who could forget those red eyes… but never the name… the nam…"
Nagisa…
"Asuka?"
His name… was Kawouru Nagisa… Kaw… Ka… AHHHHHHH!
-
Author note : Okay okay, I know 'I'll finish this soon' well I had a hectic time, had my exams, went to Europe for a month and things so I couldn't get back to finish. Was considering taking this story several directions, one or two involved loads more chapters with more and more twists… but that'll take forever! I figure it is better to try and finish this soon, maybe a few more chapters but not too many. If I am unsatisfied I might make a spin off or something… heck there is nothing stopping any readers making a spin-off… just as long as you ask permission first! I had initially decided to spread this out with lots of filler chapters focusing on more light-hearted mini-adventures and fun… a "Fumoffu" if you will (see Full Metal Panic) instead I figured I would give the characters some more depth, some more links and twists, and finish it quite seriously like "the Second Raid" (see FMP). Anyway hopefully get the next one up within a week or so (didn't help that I got serious writers block for this one)