Soft Is (Not) Weak

by BardInTheForest

(Pax Ikari vol IIIS) Shinji, during the Evangelion story, comes across a woman that has different ideas regarding his potential and his current living situation. While navigating the trials of standing on the cusp of adulthood, the fight against the Angels, and his first year in a public school, he will be forced to find his place in the broader universe.

25. Chapter 25

+++++ Ikari Manor. Wednesday, +15.

"I am not trying to be difficult, Your Majesty," the ambassador stated in a voice heavy with fatigue. "I am here, with only a very simple directive, and entrusted with the power to do something no other in my position may even consider doing. Compromise."

Seated sideways on the day couch next to the window with a clear line of sight on Shinji, Funaho found that even her vast emotional reserve was being sorely tested. "You send her here to interfere with someone on a planet under Our protection. Her presence draws your enemies to the same planet. Now, conveniently, you declare that her life being in danger requires that you send more here to interfere. You do all of this in the middle of peace negotiations which were purchased at a dear cost to the young man you interfered with. You're calling something a 'compromise' that sounds much more to me like a protection racket."

"I am asking for prudent protection for both the young man and the daughter of my liege."

Taking her eyes off of Shinji for a moment, she stared at the ambassador with cold fury. "We are quite capable of protecting them both."

"Of that there is no question, Your Majesty. I would never insinuate otherwise." He bowed with an implicit apology. "Perhaps we might expedite certain portions of the Accords? Give him his choices among the powerful and elite, to help Her Highness…better contain the third wheel?"

"Is that honestly what this is about?" She turned back and watched as Shinji sought solace from Verðandy, Hild, and Holy Bell. "We have it on very good authority that this assault was not caused by her."

"Might I inquire?"

"Our Knight is adept at seeing through lies. She proclaims innocence, and ignorance."

"With all due respect to-"

"Speak ill of Our Knight and a war will be among the least of your concerns." The threat was delivered in a near-bored tone. "Once We have soothed his spirit, We will bring up the idea of advancing the proposal. At the cost, of course, of a reduction of troops stationed along Centaurus A."

"…Am I to presume that you will be drawing your security forces from the same region?"

"Peace seems to be catching on. Our Knight would ask that all of us perhaps give it a try."

+++++ Ikari Manor. Wednesday, +15.

Shinji, and those with him, had all fallen into silent contemplation of the events of the day. While he could not speak to what it was that they were dwelling on, he knew that his own thoughts had long since stopped making any sort of coherent sense. A crystalline song had taken root early on into the shared quietude, and all he had actively done was listen to it instead of the barrage of negativity he typically brought himself.

His eyes had naturally settled upon the 'center' of the lake and its reflection of the changing hues brought from the movement of the sun towards the western horizon, and the accompaniment of the song in his mind to the motions of the water had soothed his mood just as much as the warmth of the three women sitting with him. He wasn't alone, he wasn't without support, and even with everything that was happening he still had the capacity to keep them all safe if he just continued improving his relationship with Rei.

Hello!

The single word registered in his mind as an entire legion of immortal powerhouses shouting in unison. There was no malice, no ill-intent, in the volume, only nobility and shared honor. The reflexive wince and subsequent grasp at his skull invoked three very different reactions from those sitting on him. Holy Bell redoubled her efforts at soothing him, quietly whispering out her songlike speech and peppering his forehead with kisses. Verðandy gasped in surprise and looked around for the possible cause of his pain. Hild, unlike the others, sensed what was about to happen and tried to prepare him for it.

"Oh Sugar…this really isn't your day." Vanishing momentarily before returning in her true and full form, she carefully braced his back against her front and held him close. "I'm sorry for how much this is going to hurt."

A different voice from the first, still unidentified and unidentifiable sang out, Greetings. Whyfor comest?

The first replied with a hearty, To join in honor with my partner, to carry him from this world in time to seek out glories in the void beyond!

The second, seeming to recognize the situation for what it was, sighed, Then one we shall be evermore.

Indeed! Hail, noble spirit. Let's meet in the area between as a show of good faith and favor for our new partner.

As thou will.

Shinji's head felt as if someone was inflating a titanium balloon inside of his skull. It hurt to think, it hurt to breathe, it hurt to simply exist. Despite all of this, the beauty of what he saw next was unmistakable. What was, or at least appeared to be, a bonsai the size of a sedan shimmered into existence several meters above the lake. A protective sphere of purple light radiated around it, shimmering and bathing in the dying light of the sun. With careful and deliberate grace, roots began to overflow the container trailing down towards the water just as tentacles of pure water grew upwards from the lake. Swelling out and up, a tree of mammoth proportions began to grow around the bonsai to dwarf any of the structures nearby. The lake itself had come alive, its tendrils reaching upwards to greet this new guest to its home. Living water and root created a tessellated display, each truly meeting one another halfway in unified purpose and friendship.

At the moment of contact between the two, a third unknown presence made itself known. THIS SHALL NOT STAND. Alabaster arms of some hellish creature seized both water and root, forcing its way into the union and warping the pact towards a separate end.

As she would swear, in the most devout and holy manner possible, Verðandy would later verify that Hild genuinely paled and exhaled a sharp, "No…no, please no. NO!"

None of this was heard by Shinji, though. Like a light switch being flipped, unconsciousness claimed him.

+++++ Ikari Manor. Wednesday, +15.

"It was not her!" Verðandy physically interposed herself between Misaki Masaki Jurai and Hild just in time to bring the Empress up short. Standing firm in the face of the woman-shaped missile was a singularly terrifying experience, even with Holy Bell having rejoined her being, but it was the 'just' thing to do. "It was not her, I swear to you!"

Either unwilling or unable to defend herself, Hild stood next to Shinji's unconscious form glaring hatred at what was now a titanic tree adorning the center of the lake. Liquid roots held it aloft, leading towards an alabaster base that eventually grew out into a normal Juraian tree that extended for nearly another hundred meters.

"She could not have," the ambassador agreed, approaching at a much more sedate pace alongside Funaho. "That…power is not hers to control."

Placing one hand gently atop Misaki's shoulder in passing, the calmer of the two Empresses took control over the situation to avoid the immediate bloodshed. Stepping up alongside Hild, Funaho prioritized the health and safety of her Knight. "Verðandy, please take Shinji up to the house and tend to his injuries. You are sworn to his banner, and I will hold you to that oath now. We will share what we will, later."

As much as she might have wanted to stay and learn, Verðandy understood that her priority had to be the man at the center of everything first and foremost. "As you will, Your Majesty." Scooping up her beloved, she hurried towards an approaching Hikari and was quickly out of earshot.

"What has been done to Jishin?" Funaho looked askance to Hild, "And what can be done to undo it?"

"Your tree was making friends with some spirit in the lake. Either the spirit was dormant until your tree arrived, or it does a fantastic job of hiding its power. Both tree and spirit were going to join in a union to support Shinji, willingly I might add, until it intervened." Hild shook her head, her eyes never leaving the tree. "It can't be undone. If I could undo it, if anyone could undo it, that assclown wouldn't sit on his twisted throne."

"Still your tongue, witch," the Ambassador snapped.

"Make me, you castrated pissant," she retorted hotly. "Your almighty lord and savior couldn't, maybe you think you've got what it takes!" Drastically reducing the level of glaring she was engaging in, she looked directly to Funaho and maintained the diplomatic tone that she'd been given, "Somehow, the part of Yggdrasil that extends down to Hel itself has chosen to interject itself into the union between Shinji and Jishin. What exactly that means, and how it happened, I could not even begin to try and explain."

Misaki's ire was growing beyond her ability to contain it. "It happened because of an illegal incursion into Juraian space. It happened because peace was offered after the illegal incursion." Turning with blazing wrath to the ambassador, she loomed over him. "It happened, because your people spat on Our Knight's honorable offer. We do not want to see or hear anything from you or your kind until you have the means to undo this abominable act."

"Exceptions will be made for genuine candidates for him to consider," Funaho added with a hint of resignation. She wouldn't have gone as far as her wife just had, but she also wouldn't embarrass her by countermanding her declaration. "Those candidates will first report in to one of his security staff before gaining access, or they will be considered hostile combatants and treated accordingly. You may take your leave."

Scowling, but in no position to argue, the ambassador turned away and vanished between steps. With one less voice present, Hild shook her head and added, "I…I don't think even he can undo it, Your Majesty. He works with the System Force, not the other way around."

"You look me in the eye," Funaho stepped directly up to Hild's front, staring icily into her eyes, "and you swear to me you had nothing to do with this."

"If I had any power over Yggdrasil itself, any power, I never would have needed to tie myself to Shinji. If I could convince it to do something so batshit insane as to tie itself to a lake spirit and a Juraian Seed, I never would have needed to tie myself to Shinji. If I knew who had done this, I wouldn't still be standing here growing angrier every second this is allowed to continue. The System Force represents everything I abhor, and the fact that it's now going to start eating Shinji alive…I owe you nothing, Your Majesty. I owe Shinji everything."

Narrowing her eyes slightly, Funaho accepted that the logic was both sound and honest. "Why?"

At this Hild smirked, turning away and glaring at what had become of a peaceful evening. "You wouldn't understand."

+++++ ?

"Everything you have done, and everything you intend to do, are lies built upon a foundation of sand." A powerful female voice was the first thing Shinji became aware of. "He was never meant for you or your kind, Child of Stars. Nor was he meant for you, child."

Another voice, calm and steady, seemingly ignored the first, "His spirit is strong, sister mine. Have faith."

The third voice, jubilant despite itself, joined the second in ignoring the first, "In him, always. I chose him, you know? We were all presented with the potential challenges we would face, but I shouted down my siblings to face them alongside him."

Becoming incensed, the first raised its voice, "Would you listen to me? Neither of you should be here!"

Pulling one eye open slowly, Shinji glared up at the strangers in an effort to figure out precisely whomst the fuck was stopping him from sleeping. The motion, and the emotion, caught their attention enough to silence the argument. The first, a redheaded woman with a powerful build and a face that spoke of a distinct lack of humor, was standing away from the other two. That, in his mind, identified her as the antagonistic voice. The second, her long blue-green hair flowing loose around her shoulders, had a face that could have been carved from marble. Her stout body and patient bearing brought to mind the serenity the second voice had carried. The third, her multi-colored hair of auburns, oranges, yellows, and greens dressed up in ribbons that reminded him of Sasami, had an unwavering smile on her face that bespoke of the optimism she had spoken with. Lean and willowy, the only thing that stopped her from appearing androgynous entirely was her generous hips that were built to be seats for children to sit upon. Prying his other eye open, he looked around and saw the familiar scene from his mindscape. "I'm dreaming again."

"In a sense," the second responded, offering to help him sit up. "We sit within your Parieto-Occipito-Temporal junction, but we be not dreams."

He blinked, then shook his head slowly. "Sure. Take your word for it." Forgoing further assistance, he shoved himself up to his feet and stumbled back a few steps before being caught by the first woman who had spoken. Her hold over him was gentle, intended to support instead of crowd. "Hrngh…thanks."

"It is a duty and an honor, my Lord." The severity of her features contrasted oddly with the tenderness of her voice while speaking to him, "Please, take a moment to regain your balance. I would not see you harmed by the actions of those who should never have-"

"Oi," the willowy woman snapped, "the one who shouldn't have done anything with our Shinji is you lady. Ashi and I weren't even going to involve him until we'd asked him properly, but you had to just shoulder your way in here like you owned him!"

With at least one name available, Shinji gently freed himself from the woman holding him up and took a few experimental steps away from everyone before turning around and scowling equally among them all. "Ok…you," he pointed to the stout woman, "are Ashi-san?"

"I am, Child of Yamato." Bowing with uncanny grace, she greeted him with immaculate manners, "I am Ashi, guardian and goddess of the lake that brings life to your lands. My heart is filled with gratitude that you would spend your first evening in your new dwelling upon my shores, sharing your song with me."

Small bits of his lessons filtered the information he'd gained, giving him a greater understanding of her true nature. "You're a kami."

"Some few name me so." The admission was modest, her wish not to be seen as attempting to outshine him obvious.

"Little more than a child, my Lord," the first woman spoke with irritation.

"Knock it the fuck off," he barked, the skies turning a crimson hue and a peal of thunder crashing along the nearby shores. Not bothering to hide his anger, he made himself as clear as possible, "Everywhere I turn anymore, there are adults bickering like children. If you do not have anything but bad things to say, keep it to your fucking self. Have I, in any way, shape, or form left myself unclear?"

Shamefaced, she looked to the ground before her feet. "You have not, my Lord."

Not playing favorites, he turned his glare to the other two women.

"Peace, if not comity, is my preferred state," Ashi stated with the same calm she did everything else.

The willowy woman nodded amicably. "I'm Jishin, your home away from home and tether to the Trinity. Once we are better acquainted, I look forward to sailing through space with you to help people."

"…Jishin." He nodded, then looked to Ashi. "Ashi." Finally, with his temper simmering down once more and the skies above returning to their usual dim purples, he looked back to the first woman, "And you?"

"Helbon, my Lord." Lifting her chin back up, she remained visibly chastised. "The distaff ambassador of Yggdrasil, your failsafe against…unwanted corruption."

"I didn't ask what you were, and about three-quarters of the words you just used were little more than mouth noise." Closing his eyes and breathing out harshly, he scrubbed both hands through his hair. "Ok. I have a tree, a lake, and…a distaff or whatever the hell that was, all sitting in my dreams. Next question, why am I dreaming?"

"Emotional overload," Ashi stated with quiet confidence. "You are, or more precisely were, a mortal human. Humans are not designed, nor are they intended, to handle the experiences of beings such as we. A union with but one of us would have been a terrible trauma that required caution and focus. Three? It is no understatement to say that I feel more joy than at any other point in my life that you still live."

He shrugged, letting his arms fall to his sides, his hands slapping against his hips. "I have a really bad habit of not dying when I'm supposed to. Ok, 'union'. Are we all in an alliance, or is this more of a spiritual thing?"

"Our souls are all joined together forever," Jishin stated with enthusiasm. "I live as long as you live, and you live as long as I live. With you and I," she waggled her finger between herself and Shinji, "all being designed to last until the heat death of the universe, we're going to be able to see all sorts of amazing things!"

As with most things in his mind, the dark side of a long life crept into focus. "Yes…amazing things like all of my friends dying. Pointless wars, crippling plagues, animals going extinct. Yay." Cutting off any commentary with a sharp gesture, he turned and walked a few paces away. "Hild?" The experimental request was fulfilled as the literal devil on his shoulder popped into being. "Can you wake me up, please? If I stand here with these three right now, I'm going to say things I'll regret."

"I would, Sugar," the miniature heartbreaker said with a pout, "but your body just took a beating. Bringing you to consciousness right now would just send you right back here, when the pain overwhelmed you. How about, instead, you and I go find somewhere private and I make everything better for a while?"

Unlike the others present, he had a hard time being intensely angry with the woman on his shoulder. She had compromised. She had even managed a type of apology for doing what she had done. That his life was tied to hers hadn't yet fully settled on his shoulders, but her reasoning and her desire to not needle Ðandy out of a spirit of compromise had kept him from growing irate. "As tempting as that is, until I introduce you to Maya…Ibuki, not Amano, I'd rather not. If she even still wants to be around me, that is."

"She does," Hild declared quietly. "There is something between the two of you that seems…meant to be. I don't understand it myself, but I could feel the truth while she was blowing your mind." When he glanced at her cautiously, she grinned devilishly. "Sugar, I promise you that when she and I meet, we'll get along just fine. She loves powerful women, and they don't get more powerful than me. Just remember that when you start thinking threesomes, ok? I'm certain she, you, and I can all come away with a much greater appreciation for the little things in life."

It wasn't surprising to him that Maya preferred powerful women. She spoke well of Ritsuko, a powerful woman in one way, and clearly enjoyed speaking with Nanako, a powerful woman in a much different manner. "Nothing I'm given by any of you is 'little', but I think I understand. Can you put me back to sleep, then? I'm losing my grip on my temper, and the thought of turning into Soryu makes me want to puke."

"…In exchange for a kiss." When he cocked an eyebrow, she booped his nose. "You're not intending to, but you are trending towards expecting me to serve as some form of aide. A service for a service, instead of a series of favors or requests, keeps the ledger balanced between us. We are both extraordinarily powerful beings, and a healthy partnership should include mutual respect for one another's time and attention."

Seeing it from her perspective easily, he nodded slowly and let out a sigh. "You are right, and I apologize. I don't think of you as some…someone to order around, and I need to be careful not to start thinking of you that way. The reason I looked at you funny was because you were basically saying, 'I'll do you this favor, if you do something you'd want to do anyway'. I mean…I get to kiss you. How many other guys can say that?"

"None," she declared warmly, enjoying the feeling of being genuinely desired for once. Jumping off his shoulder and returning to her full size, she pulled him in and gave him a kiss that buckled his knees. Just enough tongue to intimate something more, just enough motion of her jaw to show him that she was open to any advances, just enough of a grip on his hair and shirt to tell him she adored him. Breaking away after several pleasant minutes, she wrinkled her nose cutely at him. "Careful, you're starting to sound like you want to work with me." Her gaze hardened when she looked at Helbon, though her voice remained soft and inviting as she spoke to him, "Sleep, Sugar. I'll make things clear for your new…guests."

Shinji felt the comfortable embrace of both sleep and Hild claim him, giving him time away from the growing chaos that had become his life. He still didn't fully trust her, but he was honest enough to himself to know that she hadn't done anything to intentionally cause him grief.

+++++ ? Wednesday, +15.

Laying Shinji down gently on a bed made from the same comfortable grass as the chair she'd given him before, Hild arranged his limbs and settled a blanket of moss atop him. After a few moments of loving affection in the form of lingering caresses, she embraced her new role as protector of Shinji's dreams. "This is how it's going to go: I speak, you listen. If I have a question to ask you, I expect you to answer using as few words as possible. If I have not said anything to you that requires a response, I expect you to use no words. Speaking out of turn will trigger my less pleasant side to make an appearance. Attempting to speak over someone I am speaking to will trigger pain. I don't care who you all think you are, you're in my world now." Standing, she first looked at what she now knew was a local minor spirit. "Why did you choose to do what you did?"

Ashi, still placid and poised, shrugged gently. "I am the lake that Jishin would be using to support herself. Rather than cause the Child of Yamato distress by fighting against her, I chose to welcome her and join in this unity. I need little of him, if he would rather simply forget that I am here, but I welcome his attention should he choose to share it. I do not rage like a river kami, nor do I seek out grievances as a forest kami might. I am of the lake, and rarely become excitable."

A reasonable response, and wholly truthful admission of the kami's position. "…I see. Be patient with him, then. He's a good man, but things have gone sideways on him recently." Turning her attention to Jishin, she blew out a frustrated sigh. "Ok, you. From what I have gathered, your own mother was against further ties between Jurai and Shinji. What gives?"

"The Empresses put the question before us, and my siblings and I agreed that Shinji needed one of us," Jishin stated with complete confidence. "The Empresses need Shinji, and without one of us he wouldn't live long enough to be what they need."

"…And you didn't think to ask?" She knew it was hypocritical, but she had genuinely regretted not taking that step herself.

"Oh, we were going to though!" She bounced a little, pointing towards Ashi. "She and I were going to join together, because if nothing else I was here to help protect Shinji, but we weren't allowed to because she," she switched her finger to Helbon, "interrupted us."

Anticipating Helbon interrupting, Hild turned and glowered at her. "Who sent you?" No response. "Answering me is not optional."

"You are correct, I do not have the option to answer you," Helbon agreed.

"Who is ordering you to silence, then?" Once again, there was no response. With a growl, she put the only measure she could think of in place, "Fine. Then you don't get to play around in his dreams." Snapping her fingers, she banished Helbon from Shinji's dreamscape. "You two play nice with him, I play nice with you. Yes?"

Ashi simply bowed politely, while Jishin nodded with a bright smile. The latter was the only one to speak, "Thank you for getting her out of here. She was constantly declaring how she was the only one that would be interacting with Shinji, and how we were nothing more than parasites."

"It's a cultural issue," Hild stated without much humor. "You'd have to know where she came from to really get it."

+++++ Ikari Manor. Wednesday, +15.

"So…ok, I think I'm starting to get it." Maya Amano sat on the garden wall, mug of tea in hand, in front of Minaho and Nanako. "Everyone but Verðandy and Hild here, right now, are from a planet called Jurai."

Nanako nodded, sipping at her own drink. "Yep."

"And they really are the Verðandy and Hild from the legends?"

"Mmhmm."

"And Shinji is…human."

"Started out that way, now it kind of depends on your definition."

Minaho disagreed, "He's human. He might have gained abilities that he shouldn't have, but that doesn't stop him from having a right to claim his heritage."

Watching Nanako shrug, Maya nodded slowly. "Ok. So, he can summon energy that is presented as a solid but is actually not. He's bonded to a tree and Lake Ashi. Is a Knight in service of the Jurai Empire as well as the pilot of the Purple Defender. And he's in a relationship with at least…well, more than one person."

"He had to be talked into it," Minaho warned. "It was not him who sought them out, and it was not him who asked to share. Were he given his preference, I truly believe he would have simply stepped away from all of us out of fear of hurting any of us."

"Oh, yeah totally," Amano waved her hands before her to ward off any insinuation, "he's really not the 'player' type. He couldn't lie with a script, and he's always the first one to try and help someone feel better. But he is in an open relationship?"

"It is not open," Nanako stated firmly. "On Jurai, we see things differently than you do here. We won't let anyone join who is going to go around with other guys. We also have something of a say as to who is allowed in." She gestured over to where the Empresses were having an animated discussion with Washu. "Standing over there are our Empresses and the living avatar of one of our goddesses. If you think they're going to allow him to let himself be shown up by some dick-hungry letch, you'd best reassess your situation."

Amano leaned back some kicking her feet out. "So he gets to have a bunch of ladies, but you can only have him?"

"We're free to sleep with each other all we want," Minaho shrugged. "Why would I want to risk a pregnancy with another man, when I know that it would cost me access to Shinji? Why would I want to put that shame on him? He isn't, and wouldn't, seek out another woman to have his child. Women come to him, he deflects them unless he's discussed it with us or we direct them towards him. He may be human, but he's destined for great things…so we share him to help him go farther."

"You…sleep with each other?" Amano blushed.

"I don't judge people for where they find love, it's stupid and pointless so long as everyone's an adult." Nanako gestured vaguely to Minaho. "She has abs that you could grate cheese on, and she lets me lick them whenever I feel frisky. Why shouldn't I take advantage of that? What's between her legs is only important because it's not able to get me pregnant."

Amano bit her lip. "So…I'm supposed to be living here?"

"That is what the Empress declared."

"And if I agree to not do anything with any other guys…I can do what I want with Shinji?"

"That has not been decided," Minaho asserted. Tossing one thumb back towards Funaho, she added, "If they decide you can, we're not going to stop you. If they put it to a vote, you'd better be able to impress us as useful. We're not adding people just to add people. This crew is going to be in place to save galaxies, not dating lives."

"Ok…well," she grabbed her earlobe and tried to think of anything she could offer, "I'm really good at finding secrets. I know how to present arguments really well, too. My penmanship is outstanding."

Nanako's head tilted slightly to the side. "Can you cook?"

"Not really. Since I'm hungry all the time, I stick with simple stuff like ramen. Don't have to be a professional to boil water and add noodles."

"Can you keep organized?"

"Err…not really? Organization and me don't see eye to eye. My notes always make sense to me, which is all I really need them to do, but they're not 'neat'."

"Can you keep his schedule organized?"

Her eyes lit up. "Yeah! Of course, that's easy. I'm never late to anything, and I'm always able to know in advance if something will conflict because I keep my notes concise. If he needs help keeping his schedule in place, I can easily do that."

Minaho laid her hand on Nanako's knee, quieting her. "Can you cheer him up?" With her other hand, she gestured along Amano's body. "You come across as very optimistic to me. Optimism is something he finds challenging to feel, and having an external supply of it might be handy."

"I would look amazing in a cheerleader outfit. If he needs motivation, I'm totally your girl!"