Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion (yet) and neither the movies and series that will be referenced here.

So, now that the final movie of the Rebuilds was released, let's explore this new chapter by introducing the first series in this mix. After that, expect several chapters with Shikinami and to explore the new themes related to the Rebuilds universe, including the final movie, Thrice Upon A Time. After that, it will mostly return to good and old NGE+EoE universe Asushin.

Also, as promised, this one is set in a universe that is similar to the previous chapter universe, but with one little divergence and a very different kind of story. Hope you will enjoy.


Shinji Ikari life has not been an easy one.

His dad abandoned him when he was 5 years old, sending him to live with his sensei, after the incident that took the life of his mother, Yui Ikari.

Most of the time he was alone, studying, playing the Cello, helping his sensei with the house chores and reading his RPG books.

But he wasn't alone. Even if they were far away, there were two people that cared for him.

Kyoko, a friend of his mother, had opted to leave the Evangelion project for the sake of her daughter after Yui's incident.

But the woman made a vow to keep in touch with Yui's son, who she knew that won't have the chance to get away from his cursed destiny.

The half-german woman made a secret deal with Shinji's sensei, sending him letters from time to time and even arranged a secret radio frequency that allowed him to speak with her daughter, Asuka.

Asuka.

The girl's voice was as sweet as her words were harsh. But that was what he loved the most about her. She always managed to fill him up with energy and motivation, propelling him to always try to do better.

It wasn't a surprise that he grew to be attached and in love with this girl, even if he knew that it was meaningless.

This girl had such an interesting life, was so beautiful and lived in the other side of the Earth. It was just a matter of time until she grew up and started to hang out with her real life friends, instead of talking to him. And once she decided to hook up with one of the several boys that frequently asked her for dates, she would forget about him, for sure.

So it was a big surprise for him when, in December 4th of 2014, he finally met Kyoko and Asuka in person.

Kyoko told him that Asuka really wanted to celebrate her birthday in Japan, "But definitely not because of him!" -Asuka intervened - "I just want to see the amusement parks of Japan and this idiot can be my personal guide".

It was the best day of his life. He had lots of fun, despite of the long waiting lines. It also felt awesome to kiss the girl of his dreams, even if it was a little awkward to do this while she was pinching his nose because his breath was tickling her. But he gladly endured that procedure for several times.

Once the day was over, Kyoko had brought Shinji back to his sensei's house.

Kyoko asked to have a serious talk with him, in private, before leaving.

Fortunately, she wasn't worried about the date he just had with his daughter. But he had to promise Kyoko that he wouldn't, EVER, mention anything about his father works to Asuka, or she would ensure that he would not ever be able to see her daughter again.

A few months latter, he received a letter from his father. And shortly after that, he had the strangest day of his life so far, being asked to to pilot a giant robot to fight against a monster that looked like one of those Eldritch Abominations from his RPG's books.

But nothing was stranger than to live with Captain Misato Katsuragi and a penguin as his roommates.


"So, Shinji… tell me how was your first day at school here in Tokyo-3. The girls gave you much trouble? I think they did. Well, you should enjoy it. It's a nice bonus of being an Eva pilot."

"M-misato-san…. Please stop saying those kinds of things. I'm not interested."

"Oh… you mean that…"

"NO! It's not like that…. It's just… that I… kind of… have a girlfriend."

"Really? Tell me about her."

"W-well… she is 13 years old… she is very pretty, like a model… she has a gorgeous red hair… she is really smart too. I think she just got a college level degree."

"Okaaay…. Sure thing Shinji-kun, sure thing…. I got your point… I won't tease you anymore on this subject, you can drop the act."

"What? No... I mean… oh... you don't believe in me right, Misato-san?"

"Wark, wakr, wark!" - Shinji could swear that the penguin was mocking him.

"Shinji it's…. well, never mind. Let's have some dinner, right?" – she said, searching the freezer for a Yebisu to try to change the subject while laughing at the story that the kid have just told her right now.


Some weeks latter

"Ok. I'm inside of the Jet Alone. But I can't turn it off. The password for stopping it is in a foreign language. The key-word is HÓFFNUNG but the instructions says that I have to translate it for our language before entering the password." - said Misato from the radio channel

Ritsuko voice echoed on her radio from the command center. "Copy that Captain? Maya, get that information from the MAGI."

"Sempai! The MAGI is not responding. It seems that our network is down."

"What? How could it be? Code red! Does anyone here have a f…ing dictionary?"

"Misato-san! I know someone who can help us." - said Shinji from the communcation channel of Eva 01.

"Shinji! Really… it's not the time for you to try to brag about your imaginary girlfriend."

"Trust me Misato-san! Switching radio communications to frequency LAS0102S2... Asuka, are you there?"

From the other side of the planet, a young girl answered the radio call.

"Shinji? What are you doing? It's late night here, you idiot."

"Sorry…but it's for a good reason. I… need you. I'm huh… saving the world from a rampaging robot."

"Yeah, right. Sure you are. So are you and your geek friends are into sci-fi right now? I think you guys would rather play classic RPGs, like Bakas and Beholders or something like that."

"It's not like that Asuka... but, the thing is… can you tell me the translation for the word HÓFFNUNG?"

"Anta baka? You called me for the first time in weeks in the middle of the night just for ask a stupid question, one that you could have found the answer by looking at any dictionary?"

"Please Asuka-chan..."

"Don't you 'Asuka-chan' me, Ikari! Ok, I will tell you but first... you will have to do THAT for me."

"What? No! Asuka-chan it's not the time for that..."

"DO IT. If you can't do such single thing for me, then I want nothing from you."

"... ok….." - Shinji took a deep breath - "Turn around… look at what you see…"


All of the crew from Nerv suddenly stopped doing whatever they were doing to hear this strange duet of Shinji and this girl singing a famous song of the 80's.

Ritsuko: "..."

Maya: *blushes*

Makoto: *dumbfounded*

Aoba: *shakes head in a reproving way*

Fuyutsuki: *poker face*

Gendo: *starts to hum the tune*

Misato: 'I'm gonna die.'


"Story…hmmhmhmhm... Well you are a hopeless baka, but you are still the one that can make me happy. Ironically the word you are looking for means HOPE."

"Thank you Asuka-chan! You've just saved the world."

"Yeah… sure. Gott, I missed you, baka-kun."

"I miss you more, lieben."

"I miss you more multiplied by the numbers of the infinite universes where we will met and fall in love with each other."

"No, I miss you —"

"ENOUGH!"