Opening Author's Notes:
I do not own any of Neon Genesis Evangelion.
I do however love NGE and the characters within, so I write this in hopes that I may be able to flesh them out a bit more, and help others to see what I see in them.
This is my first FanFic so while I know it won't be the best thing ever, I would like to get as much out of it as possible so constructive comments are welcomed with open arms.
My Self-Righteous Suicide
Chapter One: Introductions/Israfel arrives
Part 1: Introductions
"Class, this is-" "Soryu Asuka Langley. Nice to meet you."
Toji and Kensuke stood in shock, stunned that the devil girl was back. Shinji, however, quickly turned inside himself to think, as was his way.
"There she is", Shinji thought to himself, "The EVA pilot from Germany." He thought he would be seeing her again, but he didn't imagine that he'd see the strong-willed red head again so soon, or so often for that matter. It certainly was a change of pace to work with someone more animated than Rei, but Asuka could be too headstrong for comfort.
Shinji's worries were confirmed as she sat down next to him and exclaimed, "Greetings Third Children! Now that I'm here you'll be able to see how a true pilot of an Evangelion lives and does battle! Japan has a new savior!" The inkling of discomfort that Shinji felt earlier began to well up as he thought to himself, "What if she's right? I could soon be replaced by this newcomer. Father needed me because there was no other; now someone is here to take my place."
So Shinji took the path of least resistance, saying, "It's good to see you here Asuka." If he could simply get on her good side and then stay quiet, taking orders as they came, then maybe he could avoid conflict and keep his newfound purpose. And so he extended what he hoped would be an acceptable greeting.
"Don't get any ideas Third Children. Good to see me here indeed, you boys are all a bunch of staring perverts."
"Sorry, I didn't mean…" "This is just great", Shinji thought, "That completely backfired." Shinji was no foreigner to forms of rejection, but this time he felt particularly poor. This was someone he could not afford to lose quite yet. He'd have to find another way to make peace with this girl. For the time being he would run in default mode and seek quiet and solitude.
Ayanami Rei observed Asuka's introduction with little interest at first. She was simply another pilot, nothing that should be problematic. And yet, when Asuka struck out at Shinji, she felt wronged. Somewhere in her she felt an impulse to stand up for Shinji. After all, although she had protected him in the fight against Ramiel, out of an order, he had truly shown concern for her. He was the second person to show her such feelings, with Commander Ikari the first. However, Rei thought it best to repress such urges for now. Arguing with the Second Children would only create unnecessary conflict. Rei stored her feelings away and continued on with the school work at hand, but thoughts of Ikari Shinji still lingered in her mind.
The class was swiftly brought back by Hikari, the class rep as she exclaimed "Seats everyone!" with a glare aimed at Shinji, Toji, and Kensuke in particular. Their teacher moved on with class, and began his lecture on the Second Impact. Shinji found this topic completely uninteresting however, and his thoughts turned to Asuka. "I just need wait today out, that's all. I can try to repair things tomorrow."
Part 2: Israfel Arrives
Shinji began his day per usual, waking to an alarm clock, showering, and cooking his own breakfast. Misato liked to start her days off with a beer, so Shinji was on his own if he wanted anything to eat in the mornings. He was also responsible for Pen-Pen's meal, who would remind him with a loud "Wark!" lest Shinji forget. With breakfast eaten, it would be time to go to school, and Shinji would join Toji and Kensuke on the walk there.
As the trio sat in the courtyard before school Shinji found out that his companions had been taking pictures of Asuka all of yesterday.
"Asuka, Asuka" Kensuke said while flipping though the pictures, "She's hot all right, maybe she's matured since returning from abroad."
"No chance," noted Toji as he reached a picture of Asuka stomping on a group of love letters which had fallen out of her locker, "She must have had a difficult separation in Germany, and can't mend her broken heart in an unfamiliar land." "Her pictures don't show her true personality though."
A valiant effort was put forth by Shinji to avoid looking at the pictures, as they only pressed the urgency of needing to be in Asuka's favor. She was indeed beautiful and Toji's comment about her true personality had him thinking, "What if she is only acting so forcefully because of leaving Germany? What if she can mellow out a little?" In such a case perchance he could have a relationship with her, "We are both EVA pilots after all, and maybe we'll be able to bond during missions. In any case, it's still best I lay low and give her space for the time being."
In order to pry his thoughts away from the red-haired pilot he forced himself away from the snapshots and got a head start on walking to class. His efforts were dashed however as he heard a bright, "Hello Shinji!" from behind. He froze, stunned that she had approached him. "Guten morgen."
Completely caught off-balance Shinji mustered what he could of a smile before turning around. "Guu- guuten morugen."
"You even look gloomy in the morning. It is me you're talking to after all." "Why don't you look more pleased?", questioned Asuka as she flicked a finger against his head.
This totally threw off Shinji. He wondered why just yesterday she had derided him for saying that he was glad to see her. "Why does she have to be ambiguous?" he thought to himself, "With a forward personality like hers, she really should be more clear."
"And the other one's here too, right?"
"Who?"
"Anta baka? The first child, of course."
"Oh, Ayanami…" mumbled Shinji as he glanced down to where Rei was reading a book.
So Asuka strode down to where Rei was sitting and cast a shadow over Rei's book. Rei simply turned to the side, ignoring Asuka's presence. When Asuka moved into Rei's reading light again and Rei continued to not acknowledge her presence Asuka took the initiative to introduce herself.
"Hello, I'm Soryu Asuka Langley, the Second Children and the pilot of Unit-02. Why don't we be friends?"
"Why?" questioned Rei, seeing no real point in bonding with this girl who she had only just met.
"Because it's convenient. We're both pilots; it makes sense that we become companions."
Rei answered with an abrupt, "If I'm ordered to, I will." There was simply no need to do anything out of Commander Ikari's orders for the Second Children. Whereas Shinji had shown true concern for Rei, Asuka hadn't yet so she would only be treated as another part of missions for now.
"You're strange…" murmured Asuka, with no clue how the First Children could refuse her offer. "She's the pilot of an Eva," Asuka thought to herself, "she should think for herself more."
"Huh." Toji, Kensuke, and Shinji had watched the interchange from above. "I guess it's true" noted Toji.
"That what's true?"
"That being weird is a prerequisite to becoming a pilot."
The trio started back on their way to class, but a screeching alarm cut its way through the air, halting everyone. "Angel attack, I repeat, there is an incoming Angel attack. Everyone is advised to seek shelter."
Shinji, Asuka, and Rei were promptly picked up by NERV personnel and brought to the geo-front. Misato met them as they entered and began debriefing the pilots.
"Shinji and Asuka will take fighting positions in this operation. Unit-00 is still under repair, so Rei; you'll need to sit this one out. Shinji and Asuka, I'll finish going over the mission after you're suited up and ready to meet the angel, understood?"
"Yes ma'am."
As Asuka and Shinji were nearing the contact point Misato started in again, "All right, a lot of our defensive equipment was wrecked in the last fight, so we need to bring down the angel before it reaches shore. You two will attack in turns to keep up the pressure."
"I don't like this," intoned Asuka, "a two on one fight is hardly a challenge; shouldn't I be fighting alone on my combat debut here?"
"It's not up to us, it can't be helped" offered Shinji.
"Let me remind you, Third Children, that I want nothing that bothers me from you. This is my first fight in Japan and I don't need you as a distraction."
Shinji took the suggestion in silence, hoping that if he could stay out of Asuka's way long enough then he could get to fight and prove some of his worth to Asuka.
"It's coming! Remember, keep it away-"
"It's mine!" shouted Asuka as she leapt towards the pillar of seawater, brandishing her lance.
"Damn, she shouldn't be the one in control," muttered Shinji as he opened fire on the angel. "I really need a chance to fight;" he thought to himself, "Eva is all I have, I need to show that Asuka that I am competent at something."
Unit 02 jumped from building to building as the angel continued its approach. At the moment the angel burst forth from the sea in a shower of water, Asuka descended on it from a particularly high leap, slicing it in half with her lance as she landed. Satisfied with her handiwork, denoted by a smug grin on her face, she commented, "Now that is how battle should be done, cleanly and elegantly."
Although he had not gotten the chance to show his combat prowess he was awed by the skill his red-haired colleague had just exhibited. As he was about to compliment her the angel began to twist.
A "Watch out Asuka!" screamed from Shinji shook her from her smug feeling of victory and she turned sharply behind her. The angel had become two, with a full complementary side for the two pieces Asuka had left the angel in. The two angels rose up, flew forward and opened fire on both Eva units. By the time Misato had shouted "That's cheating!" the battle was over. Unit 01, caught in a jump to avoid the angel fire, had been slammed into the sea. Unit 02 faired little better, and was thrown face-first into a nearby mountain side while it reached for its prog knife. With both Eva Units incapacitated the angel fused back together and raced towards the shore.
Closing A/N
-I do realize that this piece kept extremely close to the anime; I did so because I'd like the reader to keep a firm grip on where my piece fits in to the anime in order to better track the evolution of the characters
-That being said, I'll try not to stick to the storyline this heavily again unless it fits too well with where I'm taking to story to pass up
-So what will NERV do about this latest threat to humanity, will Asuka and Shinji be able to work together, ever become friends? All in the next chapter: Plan B/May I Have This Dance?