Ultraman Evangel: Ultraman vs Evangelion

Episode 4 - Reactions and Much Ado About Life, Part 2

Disclaimer: The Ultraman series and Evangelion series are properties of Tsubaraya Productions and GAINAX Company, respectively.


NERV Geofront, Tokyo-3, Japan, Jan. 11, 2045

"Ritsuko, this is what you call a pilot suit?" Shinji gave weird looks as he looked down at his new blue and white skin suit.

"Plug suit," Ritsuko corrected, "it improves your interface with the Eva alongside the A-10 clips." She motioned to the 'hair-clips' on Shinji's head.

Shinji just shook his head. "Woman, you've got weird ideas on fashion for pilots, you know that?" He felt like he was in some weird fetish suit with all the rubber and the way it hugged his frame.

"The profile and material are optimized to minimize interference and maximize your connection with the Evangelion," Ritsuko replied dryly, "I'm not here to indulge in any sexual fantasies that you are accusing me of." She then smirked, "but then again, it does show off your build quite nicely."

Shinji raised an eyebrow at that. "As if I was not already violated by the whole experience; forced to strip into that cold LCL tank and having my whole birthday suit scanned up and down, and now this."

Ritsuko just chuckled, "but enough. I believe that now we have your wellness check and plug suit build out of the way, it will be time for your first round of combat training."

"First round?" Shinji said with a bit of an impish sarcasm, "my brush of near-death with that kaiju wasn't it?"

"Well... it wasn't too bad of a start, but the finish was rather... weak," Ritsuko said. Shinji had to stop himself from shaking his head at the irony, given that people were all aping over Evangel's finisher move against the Angel; his finisher move.

"Which means I've got to work extra hard to finish stronger," Shinji said with a smirk.

"Yeah... especially now that you have competition in the form of that Ultraman," Ritsuko added, totally oblivious to the one she was speaking to.


Evangelion Simulator

Shinji piloted his simulation Evangelion Unit 01, walking around a virtual Tokyo-3 with an Eva-sized assault rifle in hand. As he began to train his mind to think of the Eva as an extension of himself, it started to feel more like how he and Shin would target practice and drill in the woods with spare GUTS Blasters. He steadily scanned the buildings at a methodical pace.

A Sachiel avatar popped up, with Shinji reacting by firing a split-second burst at it. The avatar was riddled with bullets before exploding. Shinji grinned smugly, before another Sachiel avatar appeared. He shot that second avatar before breaking into a run through the city obstacle course. It was a series of well-executed rolls and speed shooting from cover and crouched stances as Shinji made short work of the virtual targets. His high synchro-rate combined with his quick reflexes was a sight of wonder for the Misato, Ritsuko, and the Bridge Bunnies in the control center.

"Whoa... I didn't think he was this good," Makoto was awed.

"The sync ratio's hovering at 52 percent and he's already into advanced rifle training," the typically cynical Shigeru whistled.

"I think he's hot..." Maya Ibuki muttered absent-mindedly as she stared at Shinji's muscular form and confident expression. This drew snickers of amusement from her colleagues and a smirk from Ritsuko. Realizing what she did, Maya blushed heavily and tried to change the subject, "Dr. Akagi, do you want to see the aggregate performance score of Pilot Ikari?"

"By all means," Ritsuko said. Maya brought up the stats of Shinji's real time performance on a separate window.

"Whoa," Misato gasped in amazement, "not even Rei and Asuka managed these scores!" True enough, Shinji was scoring a healthy 88 percent score. While it was clear that Shinji was still a newcomer with his finetuning his movements with some near misses and corrections, he was pushing a stronger performance envelope than the two previously-mentioned pilots.

As the simulation ended with the shooting of the last target, Shinji leaned back in his seat as the whole cockpit view returned to normal, showing him the control room Misato was in. "So," Shinji said with a casual shrug and grin, "you all enjoyed the show?" That drew some chuckles. In the short time he had been training, several of NERV's technicians and Bridge Bunnies were amused by Shinji's surprising amount of wit and humor.

"Skilled and witty," Ritsuko smirked, "Pilot Ikari, I think I'm starting to like you." She wrinkled her eyebrows teasingly.

"Ugh," Shinji rolled his eyes out of mock disgust, "one, call me Shinji. Two, I hope you like me on a professional level and nothing related to the fetish you call plug suits."

The last bit of Shinji's snark got Misato snickering then laughing at Ritsuko, which also got Makoto and Shigeru snickering. Maya's face went red and she covered her head on the console out of embarrassment for her respected senpai. Ritsuko was now stunned at just how snarky Gendo's son was, and her cheeks flushed a deep red at being snarked at in such a manner in front of her subordinates and her friend.

"Anyways!" Ritsuko quickly moved to shift back to some decorum, "we are all done for today. You are free to come out now, Shinji." She then glared at Misato, "and you, if you're going to be his guardian, at least tell him to show a bit more respect to seniors on the job."

"Y-yes... hahaha!" Misato struggled through her laughter. Ritsuko just huffed and left the training center.


Shin Asuka's Garage

Shin poured over the history books of this world's Earth in detail. He would have thought it ironic, as he was not particularly strong in history when he was young, being a baseball fan and later fighter jockey. Yet with the mysteries surrounding Shinji's world, Shin wanted to be as knowledgeable as possible about what Shinji was living through.

The history of the world post-Second Impact was a deeply somber one; hundreds of millions died in the immediate fallout of Antarctica's destruction and the tidal waves generated from the instant melting of the southern polar ice caps and shockwaves, tens of millions more died in the chaos of the wars, epidemics, and economic collapse that followed, and even after some form of resolution had come about, many were still dying of poverty, PTSD, and depression. By many estimates, one third to half of the world population pre-Second Impact was gone, with large fractions of the remaining population living destitute.

Shin rubbed his face at the gravity of the devastation Shinji's Earth endured. The fact that his Ultra senses were being assailed by the darkness, fear, and despair permeating this world forced him to tune back his more clairvoyant perceptions that came with being an Ultra. Even with the general sense of wonder and hope that came with Shinji's first battle as Ultraman Evangel, there was still a powerful sense of fear that permeated the atmosphere.

Then there was the mystery to Shinji's father, Gendo Ikari. Even with his senses scaled back, Shin felt a deep darkness emanate from NERV HQ where his cradle of power was...

"I can sense your consternation, Shin," Takeshi Yamato said as he appeared in the garage, "your emotions are like an open book."

Shin just shook his head, "care to knock first?"

Takeshi just chuckled as he helped himself to a seat. "Your protege has made quite the entrance the last battle," he said, "he's been the talk of the whole country."

"Don't I know that," Shin said, but was apparently not that amused, "but he's having to work close to that sorry excuse of a father who would apparently blackmail his own child." Shin told Takeshi what Shinji told him about Rei and what Gendo did with her.

"That is just too cruel and sad," Takeshi somberly concurred, "I've travelled across this Earth, and I've been seeing too many adults neglect or exploit children for their own ends." Takeshi and his fellow Land of Light Ultras ranged from being horrified to disgusted with this world's general callousness towards the well-being of children, with Project Eva perhaps being the height of cowardice and hypocrisy in the eyes of the Ultras. The fact that it was being headed by a man who abandoned his own son only solidified the Ultras' negative opinions of Evangelion. "There is much darkness behind Gendo Ikari and NERV."

"Still," Shin grinned to himself, "for him to stick up for this Rei girl... how he's grown up so fast."

"Young Ikari got a crush so soon?" Takeshi raised an eyebrow.

"He didn't say it," Shin put the disclaimer out, before cheekily grinning again, "but the rather protective tone he took when talking about the girl told me enough."

"I would advise caution for your young protégé, Shin," Takeshi said with a concerned tone, "there is still much we do not know about NERV and Young Ikari can ill-afford to out himself, even if it was out of noble concern."

"Hey," Shin groaned, "let the kid have his noble concerns. Besides, I don't need to remind how my own noble concerns for friends actually worked out for the best in the end."

"More like reckless abandon," Takeshi shot in half admonishing and half jesting.

"You're one to talk," Shin retorted, "chasing after a biker gang solo for beating on a little kid."

"That was then," Takeshi argued back.

"Uh huh," Shin just shook his head in amusement. Sometimes, he just enjoyed picking on some of the more senior and elderly Ultras. Then again, Takeshi himself would often tease Shin back for his mentoring style, so it was only fair game.


Two weeks later...

Jan. 23, 2045 AD

Shinji walked onto the grounds of Tokyo-3's municipal high school. After two weeks of settling in with Misato and training for Eva combat at NERV, it was time for his first day at school. It felt a little strange going back to school with the dual life of Eva pilot and Ultra warrior Shinji now led, but during the two weeks spent at NERV, he got to know some of the people there better.

Misato Katsuragi, his guardian, was quite a character and evidently a heavy drinker... well former ever since Shinji told her the horror story about his uncle's former wingman. Misato went through withdrawal for the first number of days, surprising many of her colleagues who were acquainted with her drinking habits. After a bit of teasing from Ritsuko, she was given some medication to ease the symptoms as she started to go dry. Still, Shinji came to enjoy Misato's friendly company and guardianship. She even started to clean the rest of her apartment now that she was not so drunk.

Ritsuko Akagi was one to be careful of. Shinji put on a show of witty sarcasm around her, but the fact that she was a high-ranking NERV chief with direct jurisdiction over his healthcare and the maintenance of the Evangelion made her a potential danger to him. She was analytical, but when it came to the subject of Ultraman, she was clearly frustrated by the wildcard factor Evangel posed when compared to the Angels and Evangelion. He heard from Misato how flabberghasted she was when Evangel's Cross Ray broke through the AT-Field lightwave barrier that was supposedly impenetrable to everything except the AT-Field his own Evangelion was supposed to generate. While it appeared that Ritsuko was a close friend to Misato, her direct reporting to his father meant that Shinji had to be alert.

The names of the three 'Bridge Bunnies' Shinji learned, were Makoto Hyuga, Shigeru Aoba, and Maya Ibuki. Of the three, he was most familiar and cordial with Maya, whom he found to be enjoyable to be around during off-hours inside NERV. Talking to her, Shinji found Maya to have been the most concerned of the three for his wellbeing and most relieved when Ultraman Evangel battled the Angel and saved him. While she expressed admiration and awe for Ultraman, Shinji had the sense that Maya was also having a bit of a crush on him for his assertiveness and physique.

Makoto, Shinji judged, was an Ultraman and kaiju geek who loved seeing Ultraman actually come to life before his eyes. Though not quite as familiar with him as Maya, Shinji felt he was okay given his admiration for both Ultraman and Misato. While friendly, his rather out and out enthusiasm for all things Ultra made Makoto a potential liability for Shinji, so he also had to be careful around him.

Shigeru on the other hand was an enigma of sorts. While dedicated and professional in the line of duty, during off hours he hardly talked to others outside of the circle if bridge bunnies. Whenever Shinji came across Shigeru, he was either hanging out with Maya and Makoto or playing with his guitar, but otherwise kept to himself and seemed standoffish. While Shinji had a budding interest in the guitar through his mentor, Shin, he could hardly connect with Shigeru.

Then there was Vice Commander Kozo Fuyutsuki, the second-in-command of NERV to Shinji's father. While Shinji avoided Gendo (even riding elevators with him) like a plague, he was surprised at Fuyutsuki's support and approval of Ultraman Evangel during the first battle. After the first battle, word quickly spread about how the normally quiet and professional vice commander was cheering on Ultraman like a boy welcoming back a long-lost hero. Shinji's mind drifted back to his first visit to Fuyutsuki in his office...


Flashback

"Welcome, Shinji Ikari," the elderly Kozo Fuyutsuki greeted. Shinji entered the vice commander's office, which was quite a contrast from most of NERV. Where Shinji felt a sort of clinical chilling feeling or sense of enshrouding darkness from certain places in NERV, Fuyutsuki's office had a sort of a welcoming homeliness with its traditional Japanese aesthetics, from the wood floors and fuzzy carpets in spots (Fuyutsuki had a sign asking guests to remove shoes, and even provided sandals), wood/paper sliding screens, wall pictures, caligraphic signs, and even a kotatsu table with tea laid out.

The elderly NERV officer smiled a bit as he rose from his desk chair and came round to the kotatsu. Shinji watched Fuyutsuki sit before he nodded to him to sit as well. Not quite knowing what to make of the man yet, Shinji silently complied and knelt cross-legged onto the mat opposite from Fuyutsuki.

"It is good to meet you at last, young Ikari," Fuyutsuki said, "I have heard so much about you."

"I can only imagine," Shinji said, fighting the urge to sound sarcastic, "NERV must have my entire life profiled in some portfolio."

Fuyutsuki just chuckled and shook his head. "Actually, I go a long way back with your parents," he revealed, "I was their professor."

"Oh?" Shinji had to admit that he never knew that. If Fuyutsuki was telling the truth, then he could perhaps learn a bit more about his mother... and even his father. "We're you really?"

"Of course," Fuyutsuki said as he motioned to one of the pictures on the wall. Shinji turned to see a portrait of his younger parents in graduation robes flanking a younger Fuyutsuki. His mother and father were both smiling, with the younger Gendo giving more of a cocky smirk as he boldly hugged Yui.

Fuyutsuki then offered Shinji tea, which he accepted. As the two drank, Fuyutsuki then continued, "I apologize that you were forced into battle so soon upon your arrival, but we were under very dire circumstances. I'm sure Dr. Akagi explained why the Eva was compatible only with you."

"She did a basic rundown," Shinji said after a sip, "but I would like to hear why I'm here from you. I could ask Father, but he and I are not exactly on speaking terms."

Fuyutsuki hummed, the son of Gendo was proving to be quite inquisitive. "Because young Ikari," he began, "previous attempts to synchronize the Eva with adult pilots ended in failure. For reasons unexplained, it only accepts candidates born after the Second Impact."

"Namely, us children and teens," Shinji surmised, "and you found no other way to combat these 'Angels' without having to use child soldiers?"

The older man shrugged resignedly. "If we did, you would not be here," he simply answered. 'God forgive us,' Fuyutsuki muttered under his breath. Shinji could hear that sympathetic mutter with his super-hearing, but chose not to respond to that.

"But I will say that you were very lucky to have been rescued by the likes of Ultraman." Shinji saw Fuyutsuki smile rather proudly at that, "it was as though he sensed you in danger and came at that precise moment."

Shinji smiled a bit to himself seeing how proud Fuyutsuki was of Evangel, the older man being unaware that he was speaking to the Ultra himself. "I heard about the battle after I was knocked out," he pretended to speak as though he really was unconscious at the time, scratching his own head, "and Misato was telling me about you yelling and cheering the giant on." Fuyutsuki only smiled even brighter at that.

"He was an answer to my prayers for a helper from the stars through these tough times," Fuyutsuki happily admitted to Shinji, "you need not fear Ultraman. He'll come to help you in battle when you need the strength to prevail."

Shinji feigned wonder as he asked, "how do you know that? You watched Ultraman?"

Fuyutsuki only smiled brighter. "Saved by one," he revealed. Now that got Shinji's attention.

"For real?" Shinji said, genuinely surprised and interested.

Fuyutsuki nodded. "It was thanks to that Ultraman that I am here today to tell you that there is indeed hope for us all, now that one of them has risen in this Age of the Angels."


Shinji had to ask Ultraman King or Ultraman 80 about what Fuyutsuki told him, especially who his Ultra savior was and whether this savior might come back in the future. 'So I'm not the only one in this world whose life has been touched by an Ultra...' he thought to himself, 'and now I'm the second Ultra he has experienced in his lifetime...'

Shinji joined the throng of students entering the school. Few noticed him as the newcomer as he walked to his assigned class, Class 2-A. As he entered, he saw that the blue-haired Rei Ayanami was sitting in a lone seat next to the window just staring outside. She briefly glanced his way, her eyes widening briefly before quickly averting her gaze. Again, he felt the Splendor in his pocket warming up to Rei's presence. While she still had bandages on her, Rei seemed to be much better than the first time Shinji saw her.

It was then that a light brown-haired boy with glasses noticed Shinji. "Oh hi," he said, "you new here?"

Shinji blinked a bit at someone else noticing him for the first time this morning. He took a quick look at the other boy, and realized that he was one of the three people he had saved from his battle two weeks ago. 'Whoa,' Shinji thought, 'what are the odds?'

"Oh yeah," Shinji said, "I need to see the class representative." He introduced himself, "Shinji Ikari."

"Kensuke Aida," the boy with the glasses smiled back. "Hey Class Rep!" He called to a dark brown-haired girl with her hair done in twin pigtails.

"Yes Aida?" The pigtailed girl asked.

Kensuke introduced, "Shinji, our class representative, Hikari Horaki. Class Rep, meet Shinji Ikari. He needs a seat."

Hikari looked to Shinji, a bit taken by surprise at how radiant and muscular he looked. Fighting off being flustered, she composed herself and gestured to a few empty seats that were mainly arpund Rei's spot. "We have a few empty seats from a few students who left," Hikari pointed out, "I'm surprised we haven't lost more students from before that battle."

"How so?" Shinji asked.

"Because of Ultraman," Kensuke answered with a beaming grin, "everyone's been talking about him nonstop and how he's come to help us fight off those giant monsters!"

Shinji mentally sighed in both exasperation and amusement at Kensuke's fanboyish outburst. If the guy knew who he was really talking too...

"I hope you don't mind, Mr. Ikari ..." Hikari said.

"Please call me Shinji," Shinji quickly corrected with a laugh, "Mr. Ikari makes me sound like my dad."

"Okay, Shinji," Hikari said with a bit of surprise at Shinji's outwardness, "there are empty seats next to Ms. Ayanami if you don't mind."

"I don't mind," Shinji said with a shrug, "why would I?"

"Well, normally a lot of guys avoid her," Hikari answered, "she is not a very open sort of person."

Shinji just shrugged and said, "well I'll take one next to her, thank you."

Rei overheard Shinji, glancing only slightly right so as to not let him know that she was actually paying attention to him. She then overheard Hikari say with more surprise, "okay then... I'll add you there to the list."

"Thank you," Shinji said just as the door banged open. A boy wearing a sports jacket and tanned skin came in. Shinji's ultra-sharp memory made him also recognize the boy; he also saved him alongside his little sister and Kensuke.

"Hey Toji man!" Kensuke greeted. Hikari gave the jock a glare, but Shinji sensed a lack of intensity... "I see that you survived!" Kensuke suddenly said.

"Nah, a scolding from my old man was nothing," Toji said nonchalantly, "I'm just glad that my little sis is unscratched." Shinji smiled to himself, knowing that the jock's sister was safe and healthy.

"And boy are those videos-" Before Kensuke could say more, Toji suddenly put him in an armlock and clamped his mouth shut. "Not a word about that," Toji hissed.

Shinji then heard Toji whisper into Kensuke's ear through his enhanced hearing. "Say a word about the footage and we'll never hear the end of it," he overheard Toji say, "I have enough trouble keeping my sister mum about her own 'movie'."

"She seemed to have no problem giving it to me and letting me post," Kensuke protested. Shinji immediately knew that it was Kensuke who posted the videos online. He saw Toji groan in exasperation. The jock then saw Shinji and wondered, "what a new guy already?"

Shinji decided to introduce himself. "Shinji Ikari, and I'm happy that your sister is doing alright." He then realized that he might have been a bit too forthcoming about the last bit; no one could know that he was Ultraman.

"Oh, thanks," Toji said a bit awkwardly, "Toji Suzuhara." He extended a hand, to which Shiji reciprocated with a handshake. "Whoa, that is some grip there," Toji remarked as he took in Shinji's toned physique, "you play sports?"

"Baseball," Shinji answered, "and you?"

"Basketball," Toji replied, "sorry to say this, but we don't exactly have much of a baseball team, more so basketball."

"Hm... I'm open to new things," Shinji said with a smile, "and I bet I can ace basketball if I put my mind to it."

"Hey, easy on the competition new guy," Toji bantered back, "you'd have to get past me first before acing that!"

The rest of the class came in as the bell sounded. It was then that an old teacher shuffled in with a folder filled with documents. After Hikari had the class rise for the teacher, he said, "good morning everyone. Today, we have a new student joining us. Would he care to introduce himself?"

Shinii rose and stood at the front of the class. With a friendly, confident posture and smile, he said, "Shinji Ikari, dudes and gals! Nice to meet you!" He flashed a grin and a thumbs up, causing some guys to laugh and girls to swoon and mutter excitedly to each other over how strong and cute Shinji looked.

However, as the class went on, Shinji almost wanted to Ultra-leap out of the window and take off running. The old teacher, whom he now dubbed 'Nebukawa no Sensei' was boring him to death! He rambled on about life before the Second Impact, the Second Impact itself, and just about anything that would put someone to sleep, and several students did end up sleeping. Being an empowered Ultra host, Shinji had much more energy, but he almost felt that Nebukawa no Sensei could actually KILL him with boredom. Looking around, he saw that Hikari was straining to pay attention while putting on her professional face, and Kensuke and Toji were just whispering to each other about something else.

As for Rei, she showed no reaction other than to keep staring out the window. While Shinji was no mind-reader, with Evangel's enhanced perception, he had the sense that Rei was trying not to look at him. He was perplexed with the mysterious girl with blue hair, but what was undeniable was the warmth that his Splendor emanated in proximity to her. That was yet another mystery among the mysteries of NERV that Shinji knew he had to crack open.

Suddenly, he got a message on the student chat on his desk's built-in computer. 'Hello, Shinji!'He looked around, and saw two girls looking at him and giggling. The other girl typed, 'we wonder, are you connected with that monster fight two weeks ago?'

Shinji frowned and looked around a bit. Some of the students, Toji and Kensuke included, who were not sleeping, were still talking about the battle, including Evangel. He thought about keeping quiet and ignoring the girls, but then remembered that many of the kids here had parents who worked at NERV, so he shrugged and decided to get it over with. 'I am.' Shinji sent the reply, only to grunt as he realized that this was over the classroom chat. At once, he was being flooded with questions over the chat, and some of the classmates closer to his desk began bombarding him with questions.

"Hey! Hey!" Shinji tried to fend off the barrage of questions from the class. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' Shinji berated himself as his Ultra mentors' lessons about protecting his identity came to mind. He already blew the fact that he was an Evangelion pilot, and he was not about to blow his identity as Ultraman Evangel! That he was being swamped now by crazy classmates drove that point home hard!

"What was it like?"

"Were you scared?"

"What weapons does that robot use?"

"Class 2A, order please!" Hikari was annoyed as she tried to calm things down. Kensuke looked sheepish, while Toji glared in Shinji's direction. This was noticed by Shinji.

'Oh great, now the jock's mad at me,' Shinji knew, 'I guess I'm going to have to deal with him afterwards.' First, his new classmates. "Hey guys and gals!" He raised his voice, "Listen, I can't tell you most of that stuff! It's classified! Secret!"

"Come on, man!"

"Tell us something!"

"There's got to be something that's not secret!"

Shinji sighed. He thought of something that most of the NERV staff would know, then ran with it. "Most of you would probably hear it from your parents working at NERV, but I can probably at least tell you all that the machine is Evangelion Unit 01. I just got here, and I'm under contract."

"How many units are there?"

"Well, mine is Unit 01," Shinji answered, "so two at least? BUT! If so, I won't be disclosing the other pilot's identity! That's for them to consent to or not!" He knew from his briefing at NERV that there was the prototype Evangelion Unit 00 and that Rei was the pilot, but between his own sense of decency and this strange protectiveness over Rei, he was not about to betray her confidentiality.

"What about Ultraman?" Another student asked, "what do you think of him coming to save us from the monster?"

Shinji remembered that he still had an alibi of unconsciousness to maintain with the watching eyes at NERV, so he had to play dumb. "Well actually," he rubbed the back of his head, "I was knocked out during the fight, so I have no idea what it was like aside from seeing the footage afterwards. I can't say anything other than that I'm grateful for some lucky help from above."

The other classmates seemed to settle down, reactions ranging from satisfied to disappointed. Rei quietly glanced with her good eye over to Shinji with his back turned. When he turned back and saw her, Shinji smiled warmly. Rei saw the same Ultraman flash in his place again. She quickly turned back to look out the window, befuddled once again with this phenomenon as her rational brain tried to work out a possible explanation. Yet, her mind also focused on Shinji's words from earlier... she never had a choice, let alone a conception of it for her own life. Everything she had and done was planned out for her by NERV, Commander Ikari in particular. There was also a strange sensation about the way Shinji looked and smiled; while Commander Ikari gave some of those gestures, there was a strange warmth to Shinji Ikari that she had never experienced before.

Ever since Shinji Ikari came to Tokyo-3, things had become profoundly more illogical for Rei Ayanami.


SMACK!

Shinji stumbled back slightly as the other students in the school yard on lunch break turned to see that Toji hit him in the face. While Shinji did not hurt that much due to his enhanced durability and strength, he was more surprised and disappointed that Toji was already hitting him.

"Welcome to Tokyo-3, jerk!" Toji said as he cracked his knuckles.

"What," Shinji retorted, "is this some sort of initiation ritual among Tokyo-3 students or what?"

"Shut it," Toji spat as he grabbed Shinji by the collar and threw him to the ground, "you caused a lot of damage to our city block and put my sister in danger!"

"Hey," Shinji argued back, "I was out there to do my job and help people too! Why don't you blame the Angel instead?"

"You couldn't do the damn job right on the first try," Toji yelled, "if Ultraman didn't come, my sister would have been hurt from your incompetence!"

"Toji ..." Kensuke looked uncomfortable, but could not stop his jock friend.

"Incompetence?" Shinji just shook his head, "you know nothing about why I got into the Eva, Toji." He stood back up, "and I really don't want to fight over how dangerous my job is."

"I'll show you dangerous when someone's little sister was in danger!" Toji put up his fists as the boys around them started chanting, "fight, fight, fight!"

"Toji, that's enough!" Hikari tried to dissuade the jock, but the other girls also excited at the spectacle, drowning out her protests. Rei Ayanami just stood next to a tree, watching Shinji stand his ground.

"I really don't want to fight you, Toji," Shinji said earnestly, and not because he was afraid of getting hurt, "it was an accident."

"I'll show you an accident!" Toji swung his fist hard. Shinji easily dodged as the school yard erupted in cheers. Toji tried to punch and swing at Shinji's face, but failed as Shinji dodged with his speed.

"Stand still!" Toji swung his right fist again. Shinji flipped backwards as the other students gasped at his speed, making Toji pass over him as he flipped back up and spun to face him.

"Toji, please stop," Shinji tried to reason, but the bone-headed jock came at him again. With a sigh, Shinji dodged Toji's jab and grabbed him by the arm. He flipped Toji on his back and pulled hard on his arm with a foot planted on his shoulder. The students could not believe that the newcomer had actually subdued the school's basketball jock.

"Agh!" Toji groaned as Shinji had his arm in a lock.

"I told you to stop!" Shinji said in an annoyed tone, "you know nothing about why I had to go out and pilot!"

"Wait a minute," Kensuke asked aloud, "does it have to do with the fact that your dad is the commander of NERV?" That elicited many gasps from the others. That Shinji Ikari was the NERV commander's son was big to many whose lives revolved around NERV in the majority of Tokyo-3.

Toji chuckled sardonically despite the ache he was getting from Shinji subduing him. "What, you think that your old man being the boss around here gives you the right to do whatever you want- AGH!" Shinji tugged on his arm, now sporting a dangerous expression.

"Like I give a damn what he thinks!" Shinji hissed to everyone's surprise, "he made me go out because if I did not, he was going to force an injured girl to do it! I was fighting to protect her from his callousness! He's my boss, but I want nothing to do with him! Nothing!" That elicited even more gasps as the students looked at each other.

Rei hid behind the tree, not wanting to have others stare at her. She didn't know why, but hearing that Shinji was protecting her elicited a feeling in her that was totally foreign to the logical and taciturn personality she held for many years.

Shinji just shook his head and let Toji go. While annoyed, Shinji didn't want to risk hurting Toji with his reduced, but still potent Ultra strength. As he walked away, he could hear Toji getting back up and rushing him. "Still thinking with his fists," Shinji sighed before dodging again and delivering a punch to Toji's gut.

"OH!" Toji yelped as he doubled over. Kensuke and Hikari rushed over to him while everyone else just stared at what had happened. Shinji rubbed his fist with a disappointed expression.

"Think with your brains and not your knuckles, Toji," Shinji finished, "and I'm still on for basketball when you're not trying to punch my lights out." That drew some laughs and giggles of amusement. Shinji had taken conscious effort to not exert his full strength into the punch, but hopefully just enough to teach the jock a fair lesson. He took his lunch tray that he set down previously and walked away. Toji got up, but stumbled a bit as Kensuke and Hikari helped him.

Shinji sensed Rei behind the tree she was near and found her staring up at the sky. "Hey Rei," he said softly. Rei tried not to look at Shinji, but there was a warm sensation that welled up whenever he was near now. He then sat down next to her and started to eat, which made that warm sensation linger more than before.

"Sorry you had to see all that," Shinji suddenly said. Rei's unbandaged eye widened a bit. How could he have perceived her that sharply from such a distance? Nothing in his profile suggested such mental acumen, let alone his physical prowess and strength to go toe-to-toe with Suzuhara, who was considered the muscle man of the school.

"I don't blame him for feeling sick for his sister," Shinji went on, "but he was also just being bullheaded and inconsiderate himself."

"Pilot Ikari ..." Rei suddenly spoke to him for the first time, something she did not think herself of doing outside of NERV-related activity, "why?"

"What?" Shinji asked. Mentally, he thought that Rei's voice was rather gentle and sweet.

Rei still did not look but asked again, "why do you protect me? You only met me, and I am but an instrument of battle."

Shinji frowned in a mixture of sadness, concern, and anger at his father. 'How can she think of herself as a mere instrument? What did you do to her, Father?' "I don't know why I myself feel this strongly, but I do know this," he answered, "I care for other people, including you. All I know is that I don't want you or anyone else hurt, whether it's from the Angels or that man who fails at being my father."

Rei fell silent as the rest of her questions died away from processing what Shinji said. That someone else aside from Commander Ikari would care was alien to her, let alone outside of NERV's confines of her mission and purpose. Not knowing how else to proceed, she did the one thing she knew how. She rose up and walked away.

Shinji watched Rei walk away with a mix of fascination and sadness. Normally this would have been a sign from most people to back off, but the warm Splendor in his pocket was telling him that there was more to this than meets the eye. 'I don't know what is going on or what you did to her, Father... but the Ultra Garrison, Dyna, and I are not only going to protect this world from the beings you call Angels... we'll find out what your true goals are and whatever other dark secrets you and NERV are hiding ...'


Later that evening...

"So you let the whole school know that you were an Evangelion pilot, and wrestled with the school jock whom we both rescued with his friend and sister?" Shin was trying not to laugh as he talked with Shinji late over the phone. "Does your guardian know about that?"

"Nah," Shinji nonchalantly replied, "not about to make a mountain out of a mole hill. It's not like he and his sister were hurt, and that's what's most important. Needless to say, I doubt he will think about venting on any new guys to school anytime soon."

"Hehe," Shin chuckled, "now where did you learn to do all that?"

"Let's see..." Shinji teased, "some hotshot ace pilot wandering the dimensions transforming into a fellow silver giant. I think you know him very well."

"Guilty as charged," Shin admitted. He then asked, "anything new on the NERV or Angel front, little bro?"

"Nothing really," Shinji related, "other than all those sync, combat, and calibration tests with the Eva, I'm not that much closer to figuring out my old man's obsession with the Evas or NERV. It's not like I can ask around too much without drawing suspicion. And then there's Rei Ayanami... she seems so lonely, and yet follows my father like some sort of robot. I tell you, something just does not jive right, and I wouldn't put anything past Father to have something to do with her behavior."

"It does sound weird," Shin concurred, "he loses his wife, ditches you for your uncle to rescue you while burying himself in work on top secret mecha for a mysterious organization with some sort of connection to the Second Impact, and gives attention to a little girl that he never gave his own son. It's kinda creepy."

"Tell me about it," Shinji sighed, "so what are you doing right now?"

Shin glanced over to his prized Alpha Superior. "Ah, just garage work," he said, "gotta say that I'm not so hot about the waiting around for those so-called Angels to make their next move."

"Well with the battery-powered nature of the Evas, it's not like NERV can execute any offensive operations," Shinji pointed out, "and we still know so little about these things."

"I just wish I could do more to help you though," Shin said.

"You are already helping a lot," Shinji said, "you gave me encouragement and strength to take up the Evangel Splendor, and you remind me that there are good guys watching out for me from the outside. While my guardian seems okay and chill, you're like the big brother keeping guard, even from a distance."

Shin smiled. "Why thank you," he said, "I always did want a little brother when I was little."

Shinji chuckled. "Anyways, I've got to go now. Good night, Shin."

"Sleep well, little brother," Shin finished the call. He set the phone down as he helped himself to his calorie-smasher sandwich. While Ultraman King and Ultraman 80 kept reminding him that this was ultimately Ultraman Evangel's mission to finish, he as Dyna would do everything in his power to support him. The thought occurred to him that he could sneak into NERV headquarters to do some snooping around, but had to reflect on the fact that espionage was not exactly his strong point.

'Then again, there is that dinosaur of an old teacher Shinji complained about...' Shin grinned to himself. Maybe he could call in a favor from Ultraman 80 on that front...

Episode 4 - Reactions and Much Ado About Life, Part 2


Finally! I got to this chapter, especially my favorite part where Shinji teaches Toji a bit of a hard lesson about attempting 'initiations' on a secret Ultra host with superhuman strength.

Next up will be the next battle we've all been waiting for, and I can promise some more surprises with Ultraman Evangel as he makes his mark on mankind and Angel-kind alike!

Thanks to those who reviewed, followed, and faved this story through thick and thin, and I hope you all enjoy the rest of this Ultraman/Evangelion adventure!

God Bless! :)