+++++ Juban High School, Azabu-Juban, Japan. (Monday + 2)
"When I woke up, he had made breakfast for me." Makoto held up a boxed lunch, "And lunch. Dishes were clean, and I mean all of the dishes. Even the ones I hadn't got around to. House was dusted and swept. Stove was cleaned and shiny. I'm not a slovenly person like some people," she eyed Minako with a grin, "but even I haven't ever cleaned my place that well."
"He made you food?" Usagi leaned in, sniffing towards her target. "It smells kind of sweet."
"Touch it, and I'm cutting your hair during class," Makoto stuffed it back in her bag where it would be protected from ravening blondes.
Minako giggled at the byplay. "So, what's he planning on doing?"
"Don't know. He wouldn't talk, just stared down at the floor like he was lost. I could see he was awake; he was moving enough that he'd have toppled over if he wasn't." Blowing out a harsh breath, she scowled, "I think people were hurting him, 'back home'. We were making progress, like I said, but as soon as I mentioned that black eye, shwoop…armor."
Usagi sat back, a thoughtful frown on her face. It had been clear to both other ladies that she was still mourning, but refused to allow her mood to risk her parents finding out about anything by staying home. "Do either of you feel…strange, when you touch him?"
"Strange, how?" Minako was surprised, she didn't think Usagi would be someone to get over a crush like she'd had on Mamoru so quickly, then latch onto Shinji. He was a rather attractive young man, in a common way. Certainly not Idol material, yet….
"Like you're simultaneously the safest person on the planet, and in incredible danger." Makoto had noticed it, herself. "It's almost like that fear you get before a big test you haven't properly studied for. Or when you're about to get in a fight, but can't get into the proper rhythm. It's both familiar and foreign at the same time, right?"
The twin-tailed Sailor of the Moon nodded slowly. "That. When he hugged me, I didn't have a doubt in the world that he would protect me with his dying breath. But…something terrible is hanging off of him. It crowds around him. I think that might be why Hino-san is so on edge, beyond him being both a man and looking like he does."
Hurrying into the room and setting her bag beneath her desk, Ami completed the quartet of students. "Sorry I'm late! Mom was curious about where I spent yesterday after I was caught with a biology textbook she had lying around."
"Why would that worry your mom?" Minako quirked her eyebrow. "Seems pretty normal for you to be nose deep in a science book."
"I was reading over the male endocrine system," she answered with a slight blush. "I was thinking maybe if we could find a way to get him to drop his armor, we could get some samples that Luna could run."
Usagi tilted her head in confusion. "Men have a system that indoctrinates them? What does it indoctrinate them into?"
"En-do-crine," the bluenette enunciated the word slowly. "It's the system that's responsible for the growth and development of the human body. I'm thinking that maybe something is off with his biology, something that allows him to do what he does."
"Like not eat anything," Makoto murmured. She knew how much food she had in her house, and she knew he'd used nothing less than all of it to make meals for her. "Unless he managed to steal something, I don't think he's eaten since he arrived."
"Which is why we need to do some checks." Ami looked to the other three ladies with concern heavy in her eyes. "I may not understand what happened, but I get the feeling he's a good man. A good man that might begin to starve. He's already gone at least two days without any more water than what got in his mouth from Hino-san. If we need him to fight alongside us, we've got to figure out how to keep him alive to fight alongside us!"
+++++ Makoto Kino's Apartment, Azabu-Juban, Japan. (Monday + 2)
I can't just sit here all day. Looking around the apartment, certain he'd done everything humanly possible to clean or repair whatever had needed it, he began to feel restless. I can't go to school, I don't have any identification and I doubt they'd accept a student wearing a giant purple murder machine. The financial standing of his current host drifted across his mind. I need to help. His fist clenched as he thought of someone struggling every day to survive, constantly being attacked by the very system set up to help them. She understands me. She wants to be my friend. Friends help each other. Subconsciously placing his hands on his face to try and wipe away stress, he felt synthetic rubber instead of leathery gel.
A quick check showed that he had, once again, managed to unseal himself from his presumed tomb. "How?" His voice sounded dry, and raspy. That realization prompted several sensations to climb to the fore. He was thirsty. Hurrying into the kitchen, he fumbled with a glass before getting it under the spigot and filling it with water. Chugging that first cup full down in three gulps, he repeated the process four more times.
This then proceeded towards pain. He felt his stomach begin to complain violently that he'd filled it with water, and far too rapidly at that, instead of something that would provide actual calories. Dropping down to one knee, he let the glass clatter into the sink. It was as if someone had stabbed him with a red-hot blade, twisting it cruelly inside his belly. Slowly, he managed to drag himself to the bathroom, where he vomited a great deal of what he'd just managed to swallow into the toilet. Flushing away the foul-smelling bile, he collapsed backwards against the wall. "Ok…." His breathing was ragged, his pulse was elevated. "Shouldn't do that again." His skin was clammy, and his face was flushed. Decompressing his plugsuit, he groaned out, "Please don't hate me for using your shower, Kino-san."
Cold, sparse, bursts to not waste water or increase her bill did not provide a monumental amount of physical relief. Light touches of her soap with a lot of scrubbing meant that it was friction, more than function, that cleaned him. He spent the most water on his hair, washing it vigorously to free it from the blood-tinged scent of the LCL. Scrubbing at his teeth with his finger and a small amount of Makoto's toothpaste, he began to dread putting back on his plugsuit. I need to find clothing. Which means I need to find money. Which means I need to get rid of this pain in my stomach…which means I need money. His head slumped forward as he declared one of life's most universal truths, "Money sucks." A scratching at the bathroom door caused him to frown. She didn't have any pets that I saw.
The noise became more insistent before being given a purpose by a familiar voice, "Hey! Shinji-kun! It's Luna, open up! I have something for you."
Covering his shame with a towel, he slid the door open enough for the cat to move through. "Luna-san, how'd you get into the apartment?"
The black cat dropped a small sack at his feet, grinning. "Ever hear the term 'cat burglar'? It was created for a reason, you know." Her head tilted slightly. "You know I don't care if I see you nude, right? I'm a completely different species. Technically, right now, I'm nude."
He blushed, not quite comfortable with the statement or the declaration. "I…I'm shy."
"You're also not in your armor." Bouncing off of the toilet and landing on the sink, she beckoned him closer. After he knelt down she stood on her hind legs and pulled his face where she wanted it. With a light touch of her tongue to the area between his eyebrows, she released him, sitting back down on the edge of the sink. "Thank you." Smirking at his frown of confusion, she explained herself, "Without understanding the situation, or even where you were, you charged in to try and help them. I can see that you're troubled, Shinji-kun. I'm just thankful that your troubles haven't crushed what good lies within you."
Uncomfortable with praise, but filled with its warm glow regardless, he looked over to the small brown sack that had been brought along. "I…I just did what anyone else would do."
"That's a lie if I've ever heard one." Laughing indecorously, the black cat jumped down and flounced to the bag. "Most humans would have either stood around stupidly, or run away. They would have allowed a monster to snuff out the best hope the universe has of peace, through cowardice or ignorance. Whatever resides in your heart, sir, I do not believe those two hold sway."
I mustn't run away. His stomach once more informed him that he needed to begin finding food.
"So," Luna politely ignored the sounds of hunger, "Artemis and I figured that you might wish to help out, outside of battle. However, with your armor not having an easy way out of it, we also figured that maybe our magitek could help you." Using her rear leg, she kicked the bag closer to him. "Take a look."
He retrieved the bag with a single hand, keeping the cloth over himself as propriety demanded, and emptied it out onto the floor before him. Inside, colored a purple hue that matched Unit-01, was a pen with a key dangling from a small cord attached that he assumed was for the apartment and how Luna had managed to let herself in. The sack was placed out of the way, and the writing implement took its place in his grasp. "It's…a pen." What am I supposed to do with a pen? Makoto-sa…Kino-san has about a dozen on the table!
Her eyes were inscrutable as she flicked her tail with suppressed mirth. "Do you happen to recognize the symbol on the side?"
There was, emblazoned with green etching, a perfect circle with a single dot adorning its center. He couldn't think of any kana that used that, and he knew that it wasn't one of the twenty-six English letters. Not being terribly familiar with the language of the Korean peninsula, nor the occasional odd character that the Chinese preferred to the kanji he was familiar with, he shrugged a 'no'.
Luna maintained her semi-jovial tone, "That's the sun. Ask the ladies to see their pens, you'll start to piece it together eventually."
Spinning the pen about in his fingers, he moved it so he could click the button to ready it for writing. As soon as he did, there was a bright flash and he was quickly clad in clothes that were hilariously outdated in his mind. "I'm…." Feeling his torso, he frowned in confusion. "How does this work? Nanomachines?"
The black feline scoffed, "Magic. Don't worry about keeping the pen on you. It's tied to your being now, and when you need it you just need to concentrate on it and it'll appear in your hand. It should give you clothes that are appropriate to whatever situation you're thinking of at the time you click it, but it won't give you clothing that's period inappropriate." Her voice trended towards seriousness, "Please. Until we understand whether or not you've crossed into a different dimension or just gone back in time, don't mess with the timeline. If you see someone you think you know, try to not interact with them too much."
Ritsuko. "What…uhm…what could happen?"
"Do you understand what a 'Temporal Paradox' is?" Her tail stood very still as she eyed him. "That you're here at all might be a part of an ontological paradox. It might be something more akin to an odd grandfather paradox. Either way, any changes to something that caused you to exist will cause you to not exist. Don't tempt fate, she's a picky lady that delights in causing mischief."
He looked to the wall, through which was the rest of Makoto's apartment. A worried nervousness growing in his gut to accompany the pains of hunger.
"That's not something you need to worry over." Luna read him perfectly, and shifted to be more comforting instead of serious. "Their fates are determined well beyond anything you might impact with growing closer to them. Like I said, this might be a different dimension. If it is, then nothing you do will risk you existing. Just let Artemis and I study for a bit before you go tripping off to whatever part of Japan you remember, ok?"
Nodding earnestly, he accepted the limitation as valid. "I was going to go see about maybe finding a job. Kino-san said she struggles with money, and I can't just leech off of her generosity."
"Then I'll let you get to it," standing and stretching, the tiny cat approved of his intent, "take care of them, Shinji-kun, and we'll take care of you. Teammates, right?"
+++++ Juban High School, Azabu-Juban, Japan. (Monday + 2)
Makoto sat with her friends in the classroom for lunch, each had pushed their desks together to create a larger table. Ami had her simple lunch packed with the right balance of nutrition and caloric needs, Minako had her traditional flashy lunch that was presented as if it were art, Usagi had her mother's home cooking made with love and care. All three were eying her own lunch. Her lunch made by a young man. A young man who apparently could make wonders out of minimal ingredients. "Not joking. I'm going to harm the first person to try and take this from me. This is my lunch, not your lunch."
Minako was the first to blink, turning to her own meal with a disdainful sniff. "I doubt it's very good anyway. Everyone knows that guys don't like cooking." Taking a dainty bite of her own meal, she overtly refused to look back towards the tempting food guarded by the Lightning Dragon.
"I'm just concerned that he's not eating, is all." Ami was the next to go, not wanting to seem combative. "He gave you a lot of food, which you need because you're so tall, of course, I'm not saying you don't…you know…need all of it."
Usagi, however, would not be derailed. "How did he make it smell sweet?" Leaning a hair closer, she took another sniff. "It's meat. Meat doesn't smell sweet…it smells…meaty."
Picking up her food and sitting away from the table so she had room to maneuver, the Sailor of Jupiter took her first bite with high hopes. Hopes that, as she discovered on touching it with her tongue, were still too low for what he'd done. Closing her eyes with happiness wasn't an option, it would give the others time to strike. A subtle moan of joy and a slight lift of her eyes towards the ceiling was all she would allow herself. "I have to splurge tonight. When I go shopping, I'm absolutely going to give him some quality ingredients. I can make a few other things stretch for a time; this artist needs paints to work with."
Ami squirmed in her chair. "Maybe…just, you know…a nibble?" There was an inherent curiosity about what it might be like to eat seemingly delicious food that was made by a noble warrior with a dark past. A brooding, caring….
"Mine," Makoto's statement carried both a grim finality and the promise of pain with it.
+++++ Marketplace, Azabu-Mamianachō, Japan. (Monday + 2)
Never having applied for a job before, Shinji was mainly relying on a hope that there would be a sign sitting in the window, or on the street, saying 'Help Wanted'. Some indication of a location he could walk into and ask about even a short-term gig. Being an adult…kind of sucks. With Misato he had to do the cooking and cleaning, sure. But she paid for the groceries he bought, or paid him back if she hadn't left him money. Now, without his pay card…. Oh. Damn it! How am I going to set up direct deposit?
With his mind not on where he was moving, and the alley he was moving down being as narrow as it was, the following events in his world would have likely ended in something far different than what he wound up experiencing. The lone shop with a storefront along the lane ejected a seedy looking man with a mask over his face carrying a bag that was stuffed with unidentifiable items. Shinji, directly in front of the storefront when this occurred, reacted out of combat instinct and not rational thought, survival winning out over fear of lawsuits.
Once more encased in his armor, Shinji palmed the man's head and lifted him off of the ground. The sudden realization that he was in his armor again brought with it fear that now everyone would have seen it happen and know that he could 'magically' surround himself in a death machine at random. The sudden relief that his new pen was capable of maintaining the illusion of him appearing as himself instead almost caused him to droop down. The store owner blasting out of the shop, however, actually caused him to lock up. He was staring a woman in the eyes who had murder on the mind, and he could only hope that she knew he wasn't the 'problem' that needed 'resolving'.
Her hair was pulled back in a tight braid, and her skin showed the telltale signs of someone who'd moved from points beyond to the mainland, but the woman before him radiated a power he normally ascribed to Misato when she was 'switched on'. "Ha!" Stomping over and ripping the bag out of his prisoner's hands, she set it carefully aside before standing back up and favoring Shinji with a smile that was as warm as it was terrifying. "Thank you, kind sir. If you could lower him just a little so I might tie him up for the cops?"
Not wishing to die, he dutifully did as requested. The man in his grip had been frozen in fear, not quite understanding what forces could be in play with a seemingly normal young adult hefting him off the ground like he weighed little more than a plum. However, now threatened with police activity, his prisoner pulled out a knife and made to stab Shinji in an effort to escape. The knife, not being anywhere near sharp enough or dense enough to penetrate Unit-01, still 'cut a hole' in the magical costume that was projected around his core.
His savior, who would later insist that he consider himself her savior, neatly disarmed the man by breaking his thumb and wrist. Kicking the knife away, she carried through with her motion and slammed her entire weight, via her fist, into the man's gut, knocking him from Shinji's grasp. A bit of quick rope work made certain he'd stay out of the way. With the enemy thus subdued and gasping for breath, she turned to a man that she clearly believed was going to require immediate medical attention. When, instead, she noticed him frowning down at his clothes, she nearly collapsed with relief. "Oh, praise every spirit on this horrible alley." Feeling around the hole, she laughed away her fear. "His arm was just not long enough to hit you, was it?"
He couldn't speak, not with Unit-01 around him. Shaking his head, he hoped that his meek smile was transferring to whatever the illusion had decided he looked like. Crap. Crap crap crap crap crap.
"Mind carrying him inside, dearie?" Kicking their prisoner with her heel, she gestured towards the bag of purloined goods. "I need to take special care to not break anything. Sales are bad enough with the market having gone wrong."
There was a part of Shinji that was worried that the longer he stayed around, the more likely something terrible was to happen. But there was no part of Shinji that wanted to leave another person alone with a man willing to use a knife. Bending down and grabbing a handful of the assailant's shirt, he held the door open for the proprietress.
His slight bow, proof of manners, was greeted with a charmed smile and a, "Why thank you again, my good man. I can tell you're a cut above most your age." Muttering grimly about mannerless layabouts, she preceded him into the store.
There was a corner close to the counter that had a pole where a stool seat had been removed for maintenance, and so he set the man's shirt and bindings around it so that he'd have to leave clothes and limbs behind to make an escape. Placing one foot on the criminal's leg, he further removed any potential problems as he scanned the store. This…is a strange place. Everything he could think of was somehow represented in the shop. Electronics, but not a consistent array of them. Plants, but of all sorts and shapes. Foodstuffs, though not of any single diet or nationality. It was seemingly devoid of reason or logic, and surprisingly large when mapped against what he'd seen on the street itself.
Finishing up her call to the local police kiosk, the lady turned her attention again back to Shinji. "I'm terribly sorry, my friend, I plum forgot to ask your name. You can call me Maria, everyone else around here does." Whatever expression had transferred to the illusion gave her pause, her eyes considering him anew.
Shinji decided to tap his own chest with a thumb, then cover over his mouth. Shrugging helplessly, he prayed it would be enough to explain that he couldn't talk.
"Mute? Oh, poor dear." Reaching under the counter, she pulled out a small chalkboard and a stick of bright red chalk. "Here, use this. Probably were on your way somewhere to people that could understand you. Need to know who I'm crediting with saving my shop, after all."
Gently taking the offering, he quickly wrote out his name in both characters and kana. It was only after he showed it to the woman that he remembered that he legally didn't exist, and had probably just managed to do significant damage to his chances of not being found out.
"Shinji Ikari, hmm? A rather plain name for such an interesting fellow." Her smile, clearly one of her best weapons, seemed capable of expressing so much while hiding just enough to not make the one seeing it sure what she was thinking. "Well, I hope you don't mind me calling you 'Shinji-kun', because the last Ikari I knew damn near cost me my life." Realizing that what she'd said might be offensive, she clapped her hands together and bowed with a grin of apology, "I'm sorry, I doubt you're related to them. Please, forgive me?"
Motioning that it was ok, he used the attached eraser and wrote as much for her to see. She knows an Ikari? Maybe…it was mom's name. How can I ask without seeming….
At that moment, a pair of officers hurried into the shop, drawing both people's attention. The senior of the two took in the situation and snorted a laugh. "Well, Junpei, it seems you pushed your luck a little hard." Gesturing Shinji to move, and pleased with how rapid compliance was given, the middle-aged officer nodded his thanks. "Doubt you expected to run into a passing martial artist."
Shinji noted that the man's eyes took in the out-of-place hole in his shirt and the blackened eye he bore. He also noted that he didn't comment upon them.
"My new best friend, Satou-san," Maria played the part of the fainting damsel as she carried on, "just as this lout was making off with the goods, he stopped him with a single move. Didn't hurt him, just stopped him." Her eyes turned as cold as her smile as she added, "I, however, kicked him a few times. He pulled a knife, and Shinji-kun here disarmed him before more than his fashion could be damaged."
The junior officer had 'Junpei' in cuffs and was returning the rope to Maria. Looking over to Shinji, he nodded in gratitude. "Thank you, sir. I'm pleased to hear that you didn't use excessive violence. While we appreciate you looking out for your fellow citizens, it's important to remember that violence only begets violence, and the law doesn't look kindly on those who practice it without dire need."
Maria responded for him as Shinji bowed recognition of authority. "He's mute, poor dear. So any statement you need to get can come from me. As I said, I was a witness to everything." She made a strange motion with her hand, one only the senior officer and Shinji took note of.
"Hmm." The senior officer eyed Shinji with a more critical gaze. "You all right with that, son? Letting her speak for you, I mean."
Do I have a choice? Ducking his head in the affirmative, he looked between the officer and the proprietress. She's not giving off an aura that's…threatening. Just….
"Well then," 'Satou' clapped his hands, "I'll come on by tomorrow before my shift to have you sign the papers, Maria-san. You gave your statement over the phone, and I've got the notes. After I type it out, we'll file it. For now, Junpei goes to the jail. Again. C'mon, kid. Let's get the trash out of this nice, reputable, store."
There was a degree of anxiousness hanging around in the back of Shinji's mind as the officers left the store. Too many questions would have ended up with him having to try and lie, which was a skill he was abysmal at. It was compounded by the fact that he now had to determine a way to leave without seeming either ungrateful or overly eager. I really wish I could control this damn Eva!
When the chimes to her shop indicated the door was closed again, Maria hurried around the counter and locked the entrance. Dropping the shades, she flipped off the external neon 'Open' sign, and then looked directly at Shinji. "My apologies for my brazenness, Shinji-kun, but I need to beg you to not mention what you saw in the bag. I have a deal worked out with Satou about these matters, he and I go way back to before you were likely born, but if anyone finds out I'm selling firearms I will be ruined." Approaching him with her hands clasped, she did not exude an ounce of threat. "I can tell you're a kind soul, your eyes aren't those of a liar or a scoundrel. The weapons I sell only go to reputable Yakuza organizations, and only to those I know won't wave it around as an extension of their unremarkable penis. I promise they are only ever used to defend the weak. I don't sell to the pushers, or the racketeers. I'll do anything. Anything."
Somehow, and he wasn't quite sure how or when, during her speech Unit-01 faded off of him. He could tell because the feeling of leathery gel had gone away again. However, along with his armor the woman before him had lost several of the buttons on her blouse and her long skirt seemed to have gained an opening for her leg to stick daringly through. Realizing at the last moment that he needed to pretend to be mute, he kept himself from opening his mouth and admitting that he hadn't even seen the contents of the bag at all. Fortune, that which normally abhorred his very existence, smiled once more upon him and his stomach growled at the continued lack of nutrition. Embarrassed, he looked away and blushed deeply. Spying the board, he picked it up and scribbled down, 'I won't say anything. I do need to go, though. If I don't find a job, I can't afford to eat or stay anywhere. I won't be a leech and drag others down with me'. Turning the board so she could see it, he maintained his solemn silence. She wasn't a bad person, in his mind. She was just trying to survive, like everyone else.
Her eyes flicked along the sentences, then widened when she reached the part where he had nowhere to stay and nothing to eat. "Homeless?" Sympathy, though not pity, played about her lips as she smiled in understanding. "How about a compromise that benefits us both, then?" Her shirt stayed parted and her leg stayed visible as she patted his arm and led him to one of the seats at the counter. "I was just about to heat up my lunch when that asshole made his move. I'll split my lunch with you, and we'll discuss job opportunities."
I don't want to steal her food…but I'm starting to become dizzy. Looking around at the disarray left behind by the thief, he made a counteroffer. Scrawling it on the board, he tapped the statement firmly with the chalk. 'I'll clean up while you cook. I won't accept charity'. I have to have standards, or I'll never get anywhere.
Honest happiness curled one side of her lips up. "Shinji-kun, I get the feeling you and I are going to get along famously."
+++++ Juban High School, Azabu-Juban, Japan. (Monday + 2)
The final class of the day dragged on interminably, as such classes tend to, with the history teacher droning on about the differences between the Meiji Restoration that had been romanticized by period dramas and the actual events of the same. Makoto, comfortably full and feeling like she could take on anything, was now painfully worried that she'd left a man starving and dehydrated alone in her apartment to suffer. She knew there wasn't any food in her house. There wasn't any, because she'd been struggling herself and he'd prepared it all for her.
When the bell rang ending the class, she barely stayed for the traditional display of gratitude for the teacher, before telling the others that she was needing to go check on him and dashing out of the class. Please be ok. Please, please, please be ok. Chanting optimistic hope like a mantra she almost flew down the streets towards home. She had little doubt the others were behind her, though likely a ways behind her owing to height and fitness, but she absolutely needed to know that she wasn't about to feel horror and pain like she'd doubted she'd ever known. Somehow, it just hadn't really occurred to her that he might be starving, that it was a lack of energy that motivated his recalcitrance and not mood.
Barely pausing long enough to unlock her door, she was inside and calling out before the scent of a meal caught up to her mind. "Shinji-kun? Are…you…." Standing in the kitchen, dressed in clothes that screamed 'House Husband', was an unarmored Shinji Ikari.
"Welcome home!" Blushing with a hint of embarrassment, he gestured to what he was working on. "I am very sorry; I didn't ask before you left for school if you had any food allergies. I'm making something that shouldn't be a problem, at least I hope not. I was able to find some great deals at a local…store. If you need, though, I'll be glad to run back out and get something else."
"You…cooking?" Her worries had been without foundation, though her shame at the initial problem remained. "I…. I am so, so sorry." Bowing deeply, she exuded regret. "I didn't think to check this morning how you were doing, physically. I just walked away, and left you here alone, I was a complete bi-"
"Oh, wow!" Minako's voice cut over Makoto's rambling. "Your place really does look clean."
Ami moved quickly past the prostrated statuesque stunner and hurriedly took Shinji's wrist between her fingers. "How are you feeling, Ikari-san? You look tired, but your pulse is strong."
Usagi, the last to appear, walked into the kitchen as if she owned it and looked around at what their newest ally had been occupying his time with. "Huh…you really do enjoy cooking." With the need to be 'demonstrably positive' diminished greatly now that they were alone amongst those 'in the know', she smiled sadly up at him. "I'm glad you're ok, Shin-Shin. I'm sorry that we didn't think more deeply about what you might need. It was thoughtless of us."
With his teeth brushed, properly this time, and the friendly aura exuded by the four ladies in the house, Shinji had the confidence to reach over with the hand not currently occupied by Ami to cup Usagi's shoulder gently. "I wasn't able to say it with my own voice, yesterday. I understand that you don't blame me, Tsukino-san, but I blame myself for what happened. If I had moved faster during the engagement with the Twelfth Angel, or if I had studied how to fight with more diligence…your…well, he might still be alive for you to draw comfort from." Carefully retracting both limbs as his social anxiety threatened to become overpowering and returning to the meal's preparation, he fought to keep his heart steady. It's like being around them makes me stronger. Like they…. "I'm making more than enough for everyone. With the money I earned today, like I was saying, I was able to purchase enough to make dinner and then something for you for breakfast and lunch tomorrow." Rocking his head side to side, he amended the statement, "Really, enough for all of you. Even…uhm…Hino-san." He wasn't upset that she wasn't there, but he was becoming concerned that his presence was creating a rift where there hadn't been one previously.
Minako asked what many of them were curious about, "Where did you get money, Shinji-san?"
Oh…places. "I realized this morning," he moved to the next steps required to prepare the dessert that would pair with the meal, "that I couldn't allow myself to be a leech. Kino-san is being immensely gracious in letting me sleep here, and since she is having a hard time with money, I was making an already difficult situation on her worse. So, I went and looked for a job. After, of course, Luna-san gave me the pen there." Gesturing with his chin towards an item he figured they'd recognize; he kept his breathing steady. I can do this. I just…I need to not freak out. That will lead to the armor, and then I can't talk to anyone. "Otherwise, I'd be wandering around in my plugsuit, which wouldn't help me stay unnoticed by law enforcement."
"Shinji-kun, my name is Makoto." Displacing Ami, she rubbed his back collegially. "Just like you'd prefer to be called 'Shinji', I'd like it if you'd use my name. Especially since you're apparently going to be my new roomie." Catching his blush, she felt a sting of thrill in her soul. "So, most jobs don't pay the first day. Did you get a hiring bonus?"
"Err…something like that." Relaying the first part of the story in brief, leaving out the part where he'd panicked, he explained how he met Maria. "I'm…well, I was already lying to her, but I'm lying to her about being mute. The armor prevents me from talking, and if I get too anxious or excited…it seems that's how the armor shows up. Calm, or at least not a nervous wreck, no armor. Stress, or anxious, or nervous, or…well, me being what I normally am, and I wear the armor."
Usagi had taken the same seat Makoto had used the night before. Swinging her legs idly she considered what he'd said, "So she paid you some money for stopping the thief?"
"I cleaned up the mess he'd made, helped her repair several things around the shop, restocked a few shelves," recounting the experience served to distract him from the fact that Makoto hadn't removed her hand from his back, "learned more about her…business. I'm due back there tomorrow after you leave for school, Ki…Makoto-san. She's wanting to keep my employment 'unofficial', for her own reasons," not telling them about the guns or the Yakuza, "which works well for me because I can't really prove I'm eligible for employment, or register for taxes, or healthcare, or residence, or education…." The longer the list grew of what being persona non grata had cost him, the heavier his heart grew and the higher the anxiety climbed. "I-if staying h-here is a p-p-problem…." Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Calm. I need to stay calm. "She offered t-to give me a p-place t-to stay." A little too eagerly. Not helping me remain calm.
"We're going to have to fix that lack of residency somehow." Ami began triaging problems, subtly giving Makoto a chance to compose the response that she assumed would be forthcoming. "I don't like lying, and I hate using my computer skills to do anything illegal, but I can probably create an identity for you with the local government. Then, if someone tries to backtrack where you came from, we can say the records got lost in that fire that was caused by the spirit we fought over in the government district."
Minako groaned, "That fight sucked. That creep kept trying to set our clothes on fire. Stupid pervert."
The final straw landed squarely on Shinji's back, and Unit-01 reclaimed its place as the premier woman in Shinji's life. With no need to hide the truth from those present, the magical pen didn't conceal said transformation. Nearly fumbling everything he was working on, Shinji barely got the lot stable before crouching down and clutching his head between his hands. I was doing fine. I had it. I'm sorry, Asuka. I was trying to protect you. Stop it. Stop freaking out over every little thing. This is all my fault. I killed her boyfriend. I killed all of them. What I brought with me is-
Usagi's arms wrapped around his head, placing the side of Unit-01's faceplate against her stomach. Her words were gentle, calm, and as soft as mist, "It's ok, Shin-Shin. You're ok. You're here. You're safe. We're not going to let anyone hurt or demean you while you're here with us." Feather light strokes of her hand along the side of his helmet accompanied a soothing aura of painful positivity. "Nobody is upset at you here. We're all friends."
"Right," Makoto added, picking up on a cue he couldn't see from his position. "I'd love to have you stay here! I mean, you love cooking. I love cooking. We can compare notes, I can pay you back for the meals by teaching you what I learn at school. We can make this work. Once Ami-chan does her techno-wizardry, I can even help you get on the apartment lease if you're really worried."
Minako, her nature too set to keep the jibe to herself, attempted to use humor to defuse whatever had just exploded in his mind. "Already thinking about moving him in permanently, Makoto-chan? Should we start picking out bridesmaid dresses?"
When Shinji shuddered, both Usagi and Makoto felt it. Before Jupiter could tell her friend to shut up, Usagi demonstrated why she was the one ultimately in charge. "If a relationship develops over time, then there is nothing wrong with the beginning of that relationship being something that came out of hardship. Friend, boyfriend, fiancé, husband, whatever Shin-Shin ends up being with someone we should all be happy that he is choosing to include us in it. Whoever he chooses will be a fortunate woman, in my mind."
"I'm so sorry." The words came out as growls, but the meaning came through clearly.
"It's not your fault, Shin-Shin." Unseen by him, tears dropped from her eyes and covered his crown. "I know you would have saved him if you could have. You have a good heart." And someone has hurt your heart terribly.
+++++ Makoto Kino's Apartment, Azabu-Juban, Japan. (Monday + 2)
It had taken the combined efforts of the four Sailors present to settle Shinji's nerves enough that he was able to continue those preparations for the evening meal they had interrupted, though those efforts were not enough to free him from his Evangelion-based prison again. His heart was steadier, but far too unsettled to allow him the frame of mind he'd found had worked in the past to return to human form. Serving the four Sailors portions that felt appropriate to their frames, he muttered an apology for everything to include the impending setting of the sun and returned to the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dessert.
Why am I like this? Hand mixing the frosting to ensure it was light and airy, he put his anger at himself into caring for those that showed him he didn't have to be ashamed. Yes, I hate that I'm not back home. I'm terrified that they're going to die because I'm not there to help fight Angels. But I can't expect the answer to returning to just pop out of thin air like the reason I'm here in the first place did! Using the grocery store disposable plastic sack as an icing bag, he began spelling out his gratitude to those ladies present. They…they don't want me to leave. They basically said as much. They don't want me going back to where I was being hurt. Why? They don't know me. They don't know what I am. …Was I being hurt? Or was I just hurting?
+++++ Makoto Kino's Apartment, Azabu-Juban, Japan. (Monday + 2)
"Ok, I can agree to that." Minako was somewhat abashed at having been the cause of his return to mutism, and had quietly apologized to her friends for it. When Ami had brought up maybe not teasing about him as a means to build up the kind of trust they had amongst themselves, it was broadly accepted. "I do kind of think we need to spend more time with him, though. Individually, I mean. I doubt he's going to reach out to us, so if we're going to be friends, we need to do some of the heavier lifting to start. Show him that he's not a bad guy, and that we want to trust him."
Moving the last piece of her dinner around on the plate in front of her, Makoto felt what she could only conclude was increasing jealousy. She'd just started having a chance at speaking to him. She'd come back to her apartment to find that he'd taken steps to make it their apartment. Hadn't tried to take over, hadn't tried to dominate the space, had just quietly sought a balance between what he needed and what she needed. Now Miss Chases von Idolston wanted to shake her overly pretty blonde hair and too-large tits in his face? "I think he needs a bit less of that, actually." She wouldn't be catty. Yet. "I get the feeling he's a great deal like Ami-chan, and too much socialization ends up causing him a lot of stress. Maybe a few weeks, just he and I, to try and work him into a healthier frame of mind."
"If, well I mean…." Ami hesitated, not quite understanding the tone her friend was using. "If he's like me, then maybe it would be best to just toss him into the deep end. I didn't have any friends before Usagi-chan saved me, then suddenly everyone was talking to me. It was uncomfortable at first, but I kind of liked the discomfort after the first few days. Besides, I'll need some time with him to put down appropriate information into the public records I'll be modifying."
Usagi looked surreptitiously around to her friends. Neither nearly as stupid as people believed her to be, nor as free of guile as they thought someone as innocent appearing as her should be, she could feel the chaos and discord growing over the silliest of things. He's a good man, and he's not an object to be passed around or kept locked away. She wouldn't let her own heartache color her thoughts on the women seeking the affections of good and decent man. Especially since he might not choose anybody at all. Unable to catch the frown that stray thought produced, she used it to move the conversation in a better direction, "What we need to do is not fight about it. Shin-Shin needs our help, all of our help. We can come up with a schedule that doesn't overwhelm him, and gives him the time alone or with one other person to decompress. I know I'm a grump when I'm left alone too long, and I let my mind wander to the bad things. Until we know what he's gone through, we shouldn't let him fester in it."
Appearing at an unexpectedly opportune moment, Shinji cautiously set the decorated cookie-cake before the quartet. Silent, as he still wore the armor of Unit-01, he offered a small piece of paper to Makoto as she was the hostess for the dinner. Bowing gratefully, he turned and moved back into the kitchen to finish cleaning everything he'd dirtied.
"Minako-chan, Ami-chan, keep Usagi away from the dessert until I've finished reading this." The Sailor for Jupiter was no idiot, and knew that an unguarded sweet quickly vanished around the twin-tailed terror. Her dour mood would only increase her desire for sweets, and while they'd give her the larger share of the cookie in recognition of her loss, they wouldn't give her everything. After her two allies shifted to constrain Usagi, she scanned the short letter and felt her heart clench in sorrow. "I apologize for my lack of control. Unfortunately, where I came from, I frequently heard the term 'Pervert' thrown at me by a young woman I lived with. Whether what I was doing was perverted or not…I don't know. She never explained, and I only ever lived with my Sensei before everything went wrong, so I have nothing to judge everything by. Please understand that I do not wish to harm anyone, and if this information changes your mind about me living here, I will gladly move somewhere else." Folding the paper carefully, her anger at his situation immense but her desire to place that note alongside the sheet bearing her calligraphed name he'd given her last night greater, she looked over to her friends. "I am not going to help send him back. I don't care what damage it does to where he's from, they clearly don't deserve him."
Contrary to what her friends believed, Usagi wanted nothing to do with anything sweet. The smell at school had turned her stomach, not enticed her. The man she had loved was gone. Stolen by an enemy they couldn't find, they couldn't punish. Suffocated, left to decay, his spirit never to find rest. "I am going to go talk to him," she stood purposefully up, neither Minako nor Ami able to stop her motion. "Please, stay out here and enjoy the cookie. I'd like to speak to him alone for a moment."
+++++ Makoto Kino's Apartment, Azabu-Juban, Japan. (Monday + 2)
Shinji took his time in cleaning the dishes. He'd set enough money aside to pay his share of any water bill and was more confident now that he could use the appropriate amount to properly sanitize everything. I don't want anyone becoming ill. I'm just going to be a burden as it is, I don't need to add to the stress in their lives. He could hear the low murmurs from their conversation. He'd given the note to Makoto fully anticipating a negative outcome, but he would not endanger them if his actions had truly been…perverse.
The mystery that was Usagi Tsukino grew in his mind as the beautiful Warrior Princess walked quietly into the room and slid the door separating kitchen and common room closed. Placing one hand on the door, and not yet turning to face him, she asked the most complex simple question he'd ever heard, "How does it feel, Shin-Shin, knowing that everything you'd been fighting for has been ripped away from you?" Lowering her head, she finally positioned her body so that it was facing him. "Mamoru Chiba, Tuxedo Mask…Prince Endymion. He was a man that I have loved since long before humanity truly claimed its heritage on this planet. My mother, my true mother, gave me a chance to find him again with her dying breath. For he and I to be reborn thousands of years later into a life where we might spend our lives together. A normal life. A life free of conflict. Where love…." Her voice broke. "Where love could finally triumph."
What do I do? His gauntleted hands were covered in soapy water. Standing before him was a beautiful spirit in need of something. Her words, a far cry from what he'd expected and much closer to what he'd been hearing in her voice over the last two days, begged him to give an answer. I doubt it's the answer to the question she asked. Rinsing off his hands, he quickly dried them and then took a deep breath and blew it out explosively. I can do this. Relaxing his mind, getting out of his own head, was like trying to will his skeleton to free itself from his own skin. As he turned back to face the now quietly sobbing woman, he found that he was no longer made of metal. I can do this. "I…I think I should tell the truth." Fidgeting his thumbs against one another, he fought against his stammer, against his armor, against his inclination to avoiding human contact. "I…was only ever fighting the Angels because my father dragged me into the war. Alone, unprepared, without any idea of why I was pulled all the way from Nagano to what you'd call Hakone, he only brought me back to fight. Not to get to know me after almost fourteen years apart. Not to see if he could be my father, after abandoning me on the train platform when my mother died. Because he wanted me to climb into an enormous monstrosity to fight other enormous monstrosities." Her sobs had subsided, momentarily, curiosity and fatigue taking their toll on her. "The first time I ever fought for something beyond because I was told to…I ended up being dragged down into an enormous black shadow in the ground. Travelling through time. And killing your love." He couldn't make eye contact. "I'm no hero."
She nodded slowly, understanding him far better than he believed she would with the uneven narration he'd given. "What was her name?"
Of course you'd see through me. You see far too much, Usagi-san. "Hikari." Adding anything to honor her name seemed…wrong. He'd failed. She was likely dead now, with everyone else. "The…uhm…. The night before I was pulled here…. She…she uhm…." His own tears began, "She confused me. I'd spent months in her class. Months, keeping to myself. She saw everything Asuka was doing. Listened to everything she said. Never once asking me if I was ok. Then…because I needed a moment to play a cello where nobody could find me…she found me. She took my hand and brought me one step forward. Made me begin to realize that my life was an unrelenting rush towards death. That my…that Asuka was…." Swallowing, he shook his head. "Asuka gave me this," he indicated his still blackened eye, "because she was angry with Hikari for finally calling her out. She'd meant to hit Hikari. I got in the way." The waveform of his emotions drifted back towards ennui, and so he was able to sense that he wasn't helping. "I'm sorry, Usagi-san. I don't…I don't mean to compare my life to yours. You had someone who loved you enough to find you across the vast seas of time. I…I lost someone who…." Who what? Loved me? Doubtful. It was one day. It wasn't even actually a date. That's not love.
"You lost someone who was the first that tried to be your friend, if nothing else." The iron will she possessed was burning behind the pain she was enduring. He could see in her the determination to never quit. To never run away. To stop anything evil, malicious, or even just slightly bad from happening ever again. He could see it flickering in a stiff wind instead of burning bright. "That's still very precious. It doesn't sound to me like anyone else was trying, which makes it even more precious." Stepping forward, she laid her hand over his heart. "I can feel how badly this hurts you. I get the feeling you know how badly," she took his hand with her other hand and placed it above her breasts and below her neck, "this hurts me. Don't distance me from you. If all we ever have is one more day…make it the best day you've ever lived. Anything else allows regrets far too much power."
He was touching her. His hand was close enough to either choke the life from her or violate her person. Alarm bells should be deafening him at the moment, and all he could feel was…. "You make it sound easy."
"It's not." A small smile of understanding grew on her lips. "It's the hardest thing imaginable. Taking a risk. Stepping outside of the comfortable 'now' to dare for a better, brighter, tomorrow. Dare. Dare with us." She struggled with her tears again. She didn't believe her own words. "If the prize won at the cost of his life is a better world for my friends, then help me make it the best world of all. For them."
Closing his eyes, feeling that they had to be lying, he felt instead with the touch of his hand against her body. Her heart was steady. Confident. Powerful. She knew her worth, knew what victory would cost, and did not stray from the path before her. She was in terrible agony. She's everything I'm not. His mind continued to be the worst place for him to be. I couldn't even defeat the Angel here. I had to distract it, for them. It's just like Auska and Ayanami. I'm the weak link. I'm the reason people die. Letting his hand fall, he shook his head in denial. "I've never saved anyone. All I've ever done is survive the situations I'm put into. I don't think I can help you, Usagi-san." He coughed out a dry laugh, "Not unless you just want to suffer. I hear I'm good at that."
"That's not true." Her tone, her words, everything screamed that she was not someone who tolerated lies. "And we're going to show you it's not." Whatever she'd determined, she dashed away her tears with the back of her hand and snagged his arm to drag him out into the main room. "Ok, everyone." Once she had the other three ladies' attention, she yanked Shinji to stand alongside her. "Shin-Shin has told me some of what he's come from. Not all of it, but enough that I can be absolutely certain that it was not a nice place. We need to show him that here, where we live, is worth fighting for. That he is worth fighting for." She knew that he was too shy to take note of the way her friends were eyeing him. She was even willing to admit that they were eyeing him for a valid reason. He was smart, cute, worked hard, and needed nurturing. He was more or less everything a strong, caring, woman could ask for. With a little work, he'd be a fine catch. "So, what we are going to do, is we are going to set up a rotation. Every other day, he'll go out to have fun around town with one of us. Those days he's not out with us, we leave him alone." She looked to Makoto, "Except you, obviously. This is your apartment, and you deserve the freedom to interact with your roommate."
Makoto shook her head, amending the statement, "This is our apartment, if he's willing to help with the upkeep." Standing up and dusting off her knees, she approached him and held out a hand in a strangely Western offer of a deal. "Friends, or whatever else we end up calling each other, I'd be honored to have a man willing to fight evil sleep under the same roof as me."
"I…uhm…." He hesitated still, willing to fight with them but still unsure of allowing himself to be near any of them. "Th-the note."
It was the Sailor of Love that moved to break the newest brain lock he was suffering from. Standing up herself she hurried over and picked up his hand, placing it in Makoto's and layering her own over the both. "If you are…what you said you might be in the note," she edited the statement to keep her promise to the team, "then you are the worst at being that way of anyone I have ever seen. You never looked at our legs, you never looked down our shirts despite the height difference, you never watched one of us as we walked away. You cleaned her place instead of sniffing her place like some deviant. The boys at our school are constantly drooling over me, and yet you've never seen further towards my cleavage than my lower eyelids. Shinji-kun, whoever was calling you names was out of their mind. Until I see actual proof, I'm going with my gut."
Ami was slower in standing, though it seemed that it was due to mental calculations than actual hesitation. "Shinji-san, you said that you only ever lived with your 'sensei'?" A quick nod was all the affirmation she'd receive. "So…not your parents?"
"My…." Struggling against the anxiety and depression, he was grateful when Usagi once again took hold of his hand. I don't know how she calms my mind, but…. "My mother died, when I was only three. My father abandoned me to pursue the project that led to…well, where I am now. He paid a man to raise me. Never checked up on me. Sensei…well, he…." I don't want to talk about that. Not right now. Usagi is in pain, I can't make it seem like I think I'm hurting worse.
"I see." Moving to Makoto's other side, opposite Minako, the bluenette added her hand to the group's. "I believe you need therapy, in addition to actual medical care. With just a cursory examination I've noticed several fractures, muscle tears, and bruising that you're hiding from people. I think I can talk my mother into helping us, under the guise of you being a homeless orphan. She's got a soft spot for strays and is a medical doctor."
Placing her hands among everyone else's, one atop and one beneath, Usagi added her own voice to the chorus. "The only way to defeat darkness is to carry light with you. I will not stand here and let you live in a cave, and I will not fight by your side only to ignore your battles. We are a team."
There were, as always, moments where Shinji couldn't not be who and what he was. This was probably the worst moment to 'Shinji' something that could have existed, outside of combat. "What…uhm…what about H-Hino-san?"
+++++ Author's Notes:
Huagh: RE: Iron Ikari.
I had batted around several ideas for interjecting Shinji into a "magical" universe, a lot of them just kind of fell apart after limited storyboarding. This was one of the few that had significant legs, and I hope that it comes across as interesting. I don't want him to be so overpowered that he outshines the ladies because that's boring. But I also didn't want him to be "The Load", because then it's not a Neon Gen story and it wouldn't belong here. Balance.
Guest: RE: Unit-01 Transformations.
They'll be clarified as the story goes along, but I will say that this story retains my love of "Magic A is Magic A". The states their powers grant him will, however, only be one part of the dilemma.
TheHiddenLettuce: RE: Madoka.
Visually gorgeous, excellent sound design, and well written. Also, hilariously depressing and at times hard to watch. Loved that series as much as it hurt me. Sailor Moon is not Madoka. The "darkest" it gets isn't a tenth as bad as the lightest portions of Madoka. I'd recommend finding a Japanese with English subs though, because the English ports of Sailor Moon butcher the heck out of the series. The entire ending of the first arc was ruined by bowdlerization.
JaceSterne:
RE: Pain, and growth.
It is only by experiencing pain that we learn to appreciate joy. Watching a character hurt, and then overcome that hurt to grow stronger, can be genuinely pleasurable. There is, of course, the…other side of affairs. The side that delights in watching someone's world burn to the ground for no reason other than the person had the temerity to stand where Fate chose to set up shop for the day. Schadenfreude is a thing, as much as we'd like it not to be.
RE: YA(N)C.
I have been getting some hate for the ending to that story, and it is not helping me press on with writing. Too many people expected the story to have a huge boss fight, and then Shinji's life to be wrapped in a pretty little bow, and all of the future conflicts to be resolved or explained. I had thought I had made it clear that YA(N)C was akin to "All Along the Watchtower", in that it started in the middle and ended in the middle. It was about the journey he took as he grew from Shinji Ikari, milquetoast minor, to The Wanderer, Wall Against Evil. Of course there are going to be things left undone, it's in the damn title! Of course there will be challenges left unconquered, a rough guess as to the time it would take him to reach some of those challenges puts at least another 10,000,000,000,000 years of story in place! (No, no one wants me writing that many days (multiply that number by 365.25142) worth of story.) I get that, of course, you aren't complaining about it. But your point about things just ending was essentially my point in YA(N)C. There is no specific end to things, there are just endings. Those characters have other dragons to conquer, other mountains to climb, other seas to explore. But those dragons, mountains, and seas were not the point of YA(N)C. Readers like you (and many, many others), however, are why I keep writing. You (and many, many others) have shown in your reviews that you picked up what I was putting down. Are my stories perfect? Oh Nozomi no. Is my writing flawless? Ha! But it's a lot easier to keep pressing on when I see people understanding the themes and subtext of what I've written down. /rant
DJexe:
RE: Rei Hino.
Yeah, I have to set out the problems before I can build in the solutions. Misandry (like its cousin misogyny) comes across as very ugly when viewed from outside the bubbles it exists in, and can make for strong character growth if done well. Here's hoping I'm up to the task, because I don't want that trait to define a strong character.
RE: Makoto.
She was my 1a crush, Ami being my 1b.
RE: FE:A.
Amnesiac Shinji. That'd probably end up requiring me to use the same premise I'm using in this story too, what with the shrunken down armor. A gigantic Eva would have made many of those battles…not really battles, so much as slaughters. I could see a number of ways to take the ending, too. Interesting.
SK: RE: Makoto-chan.
I want to write the ladies, and the world they inhabit, as a stark contrast to NGE-verse to start. Because for all the problems they had in the stories, the world itself didn't teeter on the precipice of eternal suffering so visibly. On NGE Earth, people are starving, people are still killing each other in large quantities, terror and hatred run rampant. On SM Earth, it's just the normal 'people killing people' kind of stupid. Won't threaten all of mankind, but not exactly pleasant to watch on TV or see in your streets.
