I do not own the rights to Neon Genesis Evangelion, or any of the characters, equipment, or locations written in this fanfiction. The purpose of this fanfiction is merely for the non-profit enjoyment of other readers. If requested by Gainax, Hideki Anno, or other parties which represent aforementioned objects in this story, I will remove it promptly.
Chapter X:
Amazingly, since my gender was still technically male, although trapped in a female form, Misato preferred I sleep in Shinji's room. However, the shocked and blushing Ikari was told from that very point on what I was, and as soon as that happened, I saw him pale slightly. I didn't know which disgusted him more; the fact I was a man trapped in a girl's body, the fact I was genetically his half sister, or the fact he still kept staring at my goods.
The latter, as much as it annoyed me, was rather amusing. I was wearing the pair of khaki shorts and a plain t-shirt I had originally purchased with Maya. While the khaki shorts didn't show anything off, the white t-shirt made hiding my chest rather difficult, although there wasn't much to hide. Shinji would forget for just one moment what and who I was, stare at me, and just as I turned to face him again, he would grimace, trying to find something else to occupy his time. Seeing as the boy's hormones would never entirely be in check, a makeshift barrier made of a wool blanket suspended by a clothesline divided the room in half lengthwise. Shinji slept in the bed, while I just crashed on the floor, a few wool blankets and a pillow serving the purpose well enough.
For a time, Misato insisted I was given the bed, but I informed her I was the guest, and asked her to treat me as just another male. "And make sure Shinji remembers that," I urged. "If he makes any advances, I'm certain my girlfriend would be offended." At that, the major stirred uncomfortably where she stood, but then regained her composure. "It's still difficult to comprehend, isn't it?" I asked.
"Yes," Katsuragi answered flatly. "And I insist, regardless of who, or what you are, you dress in the bathroom."
I nodded. "That is what I figured."
•••••••••••••
I can't remember how soundly I slept that night. Only the final nightmare in the early morning stayed fresh in my mind. Driving my old GTO around some familiar roads along Tokyo-3, the controls felt different in my hands. Looking at my reflection through the tachometer, Yui's face with my eyes greeted me. I snarled, and then heard the distinct sound of a European police siren from behind. Glancing back in the rearview mirror, I was chased by two Angels, and more importantly, a traffic cop on his BMW motorcycle, who informed me one of my tail lights was out. Pulling over to receive the ticket, the Angels tried advancing, but stopped as soon as I raised my voice.
"Don't you have any respect for the law?" I remembered shouting. Asuka, Rei, and Shinji were in the car, each complaining about one thing or another. The redhead simply laughed as I was handed the ticket, while Shinji focused on the Angels advancing, and for some peculiar reason, Rei just complained about the heat. The latter I could understand. The original vinyl interior of my first car, black of course, was miserable on summer days.
"Rei, quit whining!" I shouted. "If you keep that up, I'll toss you in the trunk the rest of the trip!" Immediately Ayanami closed her mouth and stared ahead blankly. Asuka and Shinji were another matter. "Asuka!" I screamed. "You think it's so funny, you can pay for gas!" Soryu's face soured.
"Angels!" Shinji whimpered from the front passenger seat. At that, I walked over to the passenger side, jerked the door open, and threw the Child out. Watching the Third and Fourteenth Angels tower above us, I just glared up at them. There was no way in hell I would let them put one scratch on my baby, regardless of how badly it needed paint.
"Shut up about the Angels!" I snapped. "It's your dad we have to worry about! You three want to complain, you can just walk to school! " Just then, to my complete horror, I saw the traffic cop on his motorcycle staring back at me, hands steepled on the handlebars, eyes hidden behind orange tinted lenses. "Right..."
Watching Rokubungi study me in the uniform as I made my way to the trunk of the car, I tried to explain. "I carry tools and spare parts with me all the time," I spoke, a slight whimper to my voice. "I think I should have a spare bulb in the trun-" Twisting the key in the trunk's lock, the sheet metal rose to reveal a naked, bound and gagged Misato. There was white powder all over the major, as well as sealed in large plastic bags. "Oh sweet Jesus!" I grumbled. "Misato, how many times do I have to tell you not to borrow my car when you go out for the night? You wouldn't sell yourself or coke in a Jag! Don't do it in my car!"
I felt the weight of the blankets restrain me just as the dream ended with Gendo arresting me. "Give me back the keys!" I snapped. "I still need to advance the ignition timing!" The picture faded, and suddenly I saw Shinji staring down at me. I was lying on my side, all the muscles in my body screaming from exhaustion. As I slowed my heart rate, I heard footsteps out in the hall, and Misato knocking on the door very loudly.
"What are you doing?" she yelled. However, I presumed she had a theory as to what was happening, and made a mental note to to tell the woman "keep your mind out of the gutter until after Episode 25!" The major threw the door open, finding Shinji leaning over me, the both of us still fully dressed. However, the fact I was flushed and panting did not help matters.
"Not what you... think..." I said in ragged breaths. "Stupid nightmare... which reminds me... when were the tires on your car rotated last?" Katsuragi froze in place, staring at me like I was out of my mind. I could tell she knew what I was saying as she shook her head and turned to leave, waving her hand as if to say "don't bother me anymore." "Come on!" I said. "What bolt pattern? Is it four or five? Nineteen millimeter lug nuts, right?"
"You... crazy," Shinji spoke in English. He sat on the floor about two feet from me, shaking his head in complete confusion.
"Yes, I am," I answered. Glancing at the clock, it was three in the morning. Then it hit me. "Shinji, how did you understand what I said?"
Shinji Ikari knelt beside me, shaking me from yet another dream. It had only been two hours since I had dozed off.
•••••••••••••
The rest of the night, if that's what it's considered, consisted of Shinji and I both lying on our respective sides of the room, wide awake. I knew he was awake, as the barrier fell off the clothesline at exactly twenty-six minutes past four. He stared directly at me, and I stared directly at him. It was about two hours later we both decided to give up, never accomplishing the goal of conversation nor sleep, and started the morning routine.
"Sorry," Ikari said without warning as I made my way to the door. It would figure that was the one word he knew particularly well in English. Looking back at the boy, I could see him blush. I shrugged my shoulders. While I didn't want him oogling me, I must admit any healthy young man is going to take a look or two. I was just on the receiving end for the first time, and Shinji, with his desire not to offend interfering with any social behavior he tried to put into practice, made the situation rather awkward. I made a mental note later on to teach him just how to take a glance or two without getting caught.
"Do not be," I answered. "No need." Shinji's English, I learned over the next few days, was rather weak, but he seemed to understand what I had said. Walking to the bathroom, I found Asuka already occupying it. The next forty-five minutes consisted of waiting for the girl to finish her shower. Feeling a presence behind me, I saw both Shinji and Misato still in pajamas glaring at the door. I waved Shinji to the head of the line. When Misato protested, I answered "Shinji is going to be faster."
"Then let me go after him!" she snapped.
"But you forget, Major," I grinned, pointing to myself. "Eva pilots have to be ready at a moment's notice. After I finally entered the shower, the Third Child, using only a small portion of the hot water and fifteen minutes of my time, I could hear growling and scratching at the door while I readied myself for the day. "That's not going to help, Misato!" I grumbled.
However, the growling and scratching continued for another thirty minutes as I showered, brushed my teeth, and dressed. Slipping on the new glasses, I took a look in the mirror. "Crap, I still haven't thought of a name yet."
•••••••••••••
Again I stopped by Misato's room, looking in on Doctor Akagi. The bruises had changed shades, some turning green and blue. The woman had been awake all night long, and just now in the safety of daylight felt sleep overcome her fear. I greeted Ritsuko as politely as possible, and asked her if she wanted anything for breakfast.
"I assume you know Misato cannot cook?" she asked.
"Yes, but I can at least make scrambled eggs, toast, and sausage, if you prefer to have an American meal today," I replied. This seemed to catch the doctor's attention. She knew Shinji could cook, but she never asked about my limited culinary skills. "If you want, I can even barbecue a pretty decent steak. Now that I think about it, I might ask Misato if I could cook tonight... if she has a barbecue grill."
Ritsuko smiled faintly. "Sounds... nice," she said, just before her face sank back to a frown. "You know, there is no residential area that Section Two will not risk entering. There is hardly any crime in Tokyo-3. Your plan will fail."
"Well, regardless, you have a chance to start over." Once I considered it, however, it would not be that easy. Any history, including the doctor's academic performance throughout college, would be attached to her old name. If there were some way to get the Japanese government to put her into a witness protection program, then maybe she would be alright. Though Seele would have to be destroyed, as they controlled the J.S.S.D.F. It would take cunning, but the solution was obvious.
I had to destroy Seele from it's very heart.
•••••••••••••
This time when I entered Gendo's office, four security guards stood around the man in a defensive perimeter. While not carrying any firearms, the old Section Two tactical batons and stun guns were intimidating enough. I shuddered the moment I recognized the batons, my skin crawling as if I were reliving the interrogation. At this, Rokubungi smiled. "So, is that why Yui loved you?" I asked. "She liked it rough and playing submissive?"
Immediately the commander frowned. "State your purpose and get out of my sight."
"I will pilot, but the price has to go up," I answered curtly. "The Second Child's skill may improve, but you still need a pilot on stand-by, especially since Rei will most likely commit suicide within the next couple weeks, if the timeline is anything like I-" Dropping a line that Rokubungi's tool to create his paradise would die like a casual story during dinner conversation did the trick. For a moment, however slight, the commander's face twitched into a snarl before resuming it's cold, calculating form.
"Extortion is out of the question, Fifth Child," he snapped.
"Only because you don't know what I could possibly offer, and if you dare threaten me, you get nothing." I smiled, watching the commander shift uncomfortably in his seat. Lowering his hands from their steepled pose, he kept them folded on the desk.
"What are you offering?"
Slowly I walked to the desk, the guards raising their batons and stun guns in anticipation. "I will keep my mouth shut about the Human Completion Project, Seele, your involvement in the Katsuragi Expedition, Rei Ayanami's creation, the human souls trapped in the Evangelion units, even that embryonic form of Adam you had surgically implanted in your hand to control Lillith," I began, watching Rokubungi shift in his seat again. It was quite enjoyable seeing an unnerved, paranoid Gendo glance back and forth about the room. "Like I was saying, I will simply keep my mouth shut about all those facts, keeping Major Katsuragi and the Children in the dark, and when half of my demands are met, then I will give you Seele's plans to stop you."
"I could kill you now, and the information would be secure," Gendo began. However, he was wrong, and the minute I shook my head, I could tell he knew something was wrong.
"Do you really think I am so stupid? I know what kind of person you are, what kind of people you employ, even your pathetic attempts to monitor your employees with Section Two. Do you know how easy it is for someone to slip into Terminal Dogma? Bypassing Section Two's regular monitoring is just a matter of timing-"
"Get to the point!" Gendo barked.
"In the event of my premature demise," I smiled, "a certain anonymous hacker will release all of this classified information to the Associated Press, Reuters, and pretty much every participating nation involved with NERV." Gendo began to laugh, but paid close attention when I spoke again. "Sure, your Seele Committee can easily crush the bureaucracies of the world's nations or claim it was some hoax, but I have also included a few pieces of concrete evidence to be hand delivered to an opposing force."
Now I was getting Gendo's attention. "What is your price? Perhaps I will humor you, if the cost is less than torturing you for your contacts."
"Two million dollars, U.S., in cash within forty minutes, and another two million after the remaining two Angels are destroyed. After the Sixteenth Angel is eliminated, there will be some down time before the next Angel attack. During that time, I want a commercial flight for both myself and a female companion to Sacramento International Airport, and a return flight exactly four days later. My female companion and I will need forged passports, international driver's licenses, and all necessary paperwork for aliases that will be provided to you in two days' time. Pictures will also be included of my companion and I in two days, so the forgeries can be made as accurate as possible."
Rokubungi laughed. "Do you really think I would let you escape?" Again I smiled, and mentioned if my demands were not met, another contact would kill Shinji, then Rei, and hide the bodies so as no soul transplant could be performed on one of the various Yui clones within Terminal Dogma. Once again, Gendo shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
"By the way," I added, "those forged passports, driver's licenses and such need to appear as if they were made approximately one to two years ago." This was an important detail to the plan, and any instructor I have had during my time at college can tell the reader I am a very detail-oriented person.
"Is that all?" Ikari growled through clenched teeth. His face twisted in pure shock when I mentioned it was.
"By the way," I said, "did the initial psychological exam clear me to pilot, or should I wait another two week-"
"GET OUT!"
•••••••••••••
I took a slight detour to the optometrist's office in the private hospital. "Good news," Doctor Reynolds beamed. "For you, this one time offer of your own personal prescription NERV combat goggles." Taking his time to do the proper salesman schtick, he took great pleasure in showing me all of the features. "Water-tight, made entirely of composite materials with shatterproof, scratchproof lenses, anti-fog vents, and the strap I am particularly proud of." Holding up a pair of fake wooden A-10 neural connectors, he showed me how they clipped on simply to fabricated grooves in the plastic headband.
"Very impressive," I smiled. "I appreciate all the trouble, but what do I owe you?"
"Like I said," Reynolds grinned, "no charge."
"I appreciate everything you have done."
Precisely thirty-seven minutes and twenty-one seconds later, two large stainless steel briefcases were delivered to me by one of the Section Two agents from the prior interrogation just outside of the women's locker rooms. Dressed in my black plugsuit from before. The NERV logo was stamped on them, as well as a plastic security tag riveted to each case, which I was told, ensured any NERV host country would not bother x-raying or opening the checked baggage. That, I reminded myself, was something I would have to hang on to after I dealt with my newfound wealth.
"What... is that?" I heard Maya ask as I hauled my precious cargo with me to Cage Three, the resting place of Unit-02.
"I don't remember," I answered, grinning. "Could you.. hold on to these, until after?" Maya nodded hesitantly, and caught a few stares from other personnel as she made her way to the control room.
Today was supposed to be a true synchronization test using Unit-02, fresh from it's extensive quarantine and debugging. As I expected, Asuka was there, but rather than share the entry plug as before, each of us would take turns. "Feel any pressure, Fifth?"
"Yeah, about fifteen pounds at sea level," I answered, quoting Blue Thunder.
Apparently, Asuka didn't get the reference, but she understood the joke. "Ha ha, very funny!" Climbing back into the entry plug caused all the hairs on my arms to stand up on end, and flashes of memories. Shaking my head as if I were stretching, I tried clearing the thoughts. pulled the goggles on to rest over my forehead, and gave a thumbs-up to the control room. Asuka just laughed, but I shrugged it off. If I knew how to work the communications system, I would have used that, but the thumbs-up also served to show I was okay, whether or not I was vomiting L.C.L. all over the catwalk.
The hatch above me sealed, and I could hear air hiss out of the plug while the dreaded orange fluid was pumped in as a substitute. To calm myself, I once again showed my nerdy side, by reciting more annoying quotes. "And once again, we play our dangerous game," I started in my best Sean Connery impression. "A game of chess against our old adversary, the American Navy."
As stupid as it sounds, quoting The Hunt for Red October, or reciting dialogue of any kind truly did help when I began to breathe L.C.L. By forcing all attention on the dialogue, the L.C.L. would eventually fill the plug before I had to take a breath at the end of a sentence. The first few breaths felt unnatural and I began to gag, but I forced myself to exhale the L.C.L. while reciting my lines. "For forty years, your fathers and brothers played this game, and played it well. But now we have the advantage."
End of Chapter X
•••••••••••••
For those wondering, yes, I have started a Naruto fanfic, and I will eventually get to finishing "Remission". However, this story takes priority, as it is the most entertaining project I have undertaken so far. Also, for those fans of Blue Thunder(1983), watch the new hat a certain classmate of Shinji's will receive in the next chapter.
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