CHAPTER FOUR_HE WAS AWARE HE CARRIED A BURDEN (BUT NOT FOOD OR WATER)
Shinji walked along the main road of Summerise, trees shading the wide avenue and various shops and buildings with signs plying goods and services. The town seemed to operate at a hustling, bustling pace. Merchants shouted out the superiority of their wares to anyone and everyone. And if they weren't superior, then they concentrated on price. Children played around and in between the legs of their parents, sometimes earning stiff rebukes, other times being rewarded with smiles and laughter.
Life here seems so carefree. Is this what it was like before Second Impact?
Shinji kept his head down as he walked. He didn't know if he'd be recognised by anyone on the street. Certainly not the ordinary people going about their lives. But one or more of the soldiers patrolling and keeping order might have seen his face at some point. It wasn't as if he could tell whom he'd been in the presence of at any time.
He stopped here and there to admire the handiwork of merchants in the street markets. Generally, he was ignored. Shinji didn't look anyone in the eye. He didn't speak. He simply looked and sometimes listened to inane gossip or furious haggling. Admittedly, this was because he had no money, so asking questions and being tempted to buy something would not have resulted in success for either the customer or the seller.
Shinji's wandering took him to a part of Summerise he didn't want to see, but was curious about, nonetheless. Evangelion Unit One knelt dormant in the classic Olympic runner's starting position. The demonic head armour hid whatever monster lurked just beneath the surface. But in the relative quiet around it and against the gentle breeze blowing through Summerise, the Evangelion looked somewhat peaceful, like a statue in repose.
However, there were reminders of the battle just past all around him. The ground had been churned by the shockwave and scorched by the heat of the explosion unlike the smooth ground in the rest of town. Here and there, clumps of grass lay in all sorts of ways, as did stones, rocks, timber, and larger parts of destroyed buildings like signs and shattered furniture. Shinji could not bear to stay here long. This place only reminded him of his past failures, and why he was still a failure. After all, he couldn't even exit from an Angel's body and land in the right universe.
He left the destroyed, wreckage filled part of Summerise, walking past signs of reconstruction like stacks of wood and stone piled up haphazardly on the ground. People were shouting on the ground of from the top of scaffolds. Shinji was thankful the area was being fixed and rebuilt almost immediately. Even the hole in the wall Shinji had made was surrounded by scaffolds and people swarmed around and on it like ants tending to their nests.
All this effort was needed because of me.
Shinji kept walking. He walked out of the part of town being rebuilt. He walked past another bustling, loud and delicious smelling market. He walked past the town gates amidst the ingress and egress of horses, mules, merchants, caravans, and travellers, into the greater, wide world outside of Summerise.
A wide road led into and out of Summerise. It wasn't paved, but there was plenty of traffic from the various merchants and beasts of burden to constantly flatten and harden the soil to ensure walking was comfortable. Both sides of the road were bound by small bushes with lush grass plains and tree groves further beyond. It offered good line of sight, in case there was an approaching threat, giving whoever might be on the road as much time as possible to hide, or run to the protection of Summerise.
It was good to be out of the town, Shinji felt. He really wanted the time to be alone and clear his head. After walking for some indeterminant amount of time, he turned around to look at Summerise. The town and castle were now some distance away, the walls still visible, thatched roofs poking above them here and there. Unit One's upper torso and head was a stark contrast to the medieval construction around it, a monument to humanity's ingenuity and sacrifice in another time and place. The castle stood proudly behind the town, seemingly impervious to any threats. He drew comfort that peace had returned. Around the town, the seaside glittered in the sun.
Shinji kept walking, looking at the scenery around him. The traffic that was clustered around the main gate of Summerise had petered out. Some had diverged from the main road on to different paths, others had stopped for a rest. He was functionally alone on the road, but without the music his S-DAT normally played in his ear to drown out his mind, Shinji could only reflect on what had happened so far.
His life had been one of meek, unassuming mediocrity ever since his father abandoned him in a faraway memory. There was no meaning to any of it. He existed, and sometimes there was even obedience. But Shinji performed functions, requests and orders blindly, because for what purpose and for whom, it was never clear. Even the part when he went to Tokyo-3 in the vain hope of patching things up with his father turned to ash.
They'd spoken an average of less than a sentence a month to each other during their time living in closer, but not close, proximity. That wasn't a relationship. Shinji had spoken more words to stray dogs using the street outside his tutor's countryside house as an access all areas toilet facility. Shinji decided long ago that he preferred the defecating dogs to his father. At least dogs would not hide behind veil of grim silence.
On a whim, Shinji wandered down a path that branched off the main road. He had no idea where it went, but the main road was boring, and he was starting to feel exposed anyway. The little path meandered through a small forest, which began as shrubs along the side of the road and he was eventually surrounded by tall green trees. The shade afforded by the canopy was very welcome as the day wore on, as was the clear flowing stream he encountered where he sated his thirst for water. He sat down on the bank of the stream, contemplating the meaning of life and everything in the multiverse.
The forest was so tranquil Shinji almost wished he could turn into a bird and just live in it. It would be an escape from his daily drudgery. While that sounded attractive in a way, his newfound mantra of not running away was eating at him. Not running away had added some colour into his life, mostly red, a bit of blue and even traces of purple (when not inebriated).
After that respite, Shinji continued his walk. Soon, the forest began to peter out, the trees grew shorter and the light (it must have been afternoon now) became warmer and golden. In the distance, there was a small and lively village. Each wooden and thatched house had smoke billowing from their chimneys, and people were gathering around for something. Everyone had smiles on their faces and were bringing what looked to be food and drink on to a large table and benches sat on a clear patch of ground.
Must be a celebration for something.
The fact that so many people were working together to celebrate something astounded him. In all his life, he'd never seen so much activity for this one thing. NERV certainly was a well-oiled machine, but that was to protect humanity. Everyone, including the cleaners, was the to do their job and duty. His tutor never put any effort into him, whether that was to celebrate a birthday or to punish misdeeds, if indeed those were even noticed. Shinji would describe the whole of the last ten years as a long numbness.
It was inevitable that he was sighted by the villagers. A couple of the kids stopped playing and pointed Shinji out to the adults who were buzzing around. Those adults turned to look at Shinji and gave a warm smile.
"Greetings, traveller!" a jolly older man with greying hair and a enough facial hair to fill a broom head said with arms spread wide. "Welcome to our humble village. We were not expecting a visitor today."
"Hello there. I-I was just…" Shinji was well on the way forming a coherent spoken sentence. But he was interrupted by a bunch of little kids running up to him and inspecting his clothes.
"Wow! These clothes are so nice!" "You must be RICH!" "Can you buy me one of these?" And so on, and so forth, came the million questions from what must have been a million children.
The same jolly man sauntered up to the pack surrounding Shinji. "Don't mind them young man. Please, join us. You must be hungry. You look like you haven't had a proper meal in days. We would be honoured to have you as our guest."
"Uh, I suppose I am a little hungry," said Shinji. That was a bold-faced lie. Shinji was very hungry. Hungry enough that he wasn't going to say no to food out of a sense of caution. This was a shining example of why one should always have a plan for food and water when one ran away.
The Jolly Man ushered Shinji to a random seat amongst it all and magically a plate of food with wooden cutlery appeared in front of him. It smelled wonderful. There was freshly baked bread, meat that appeared to have been seasoned with salt and pepper (and other spices too), along with roasted vegetables. This meal was shaping up better than that first, mundane one he wolfed down in Bastion's office.
"If I may ask, what are you celebrating?" asked Shinji between ingesting mouthfuls of food. He had barely made a dent in the food that was heaped upon his plate. He could swear he'd eaten a lot already, but some magical being seemed to be replacing every bite he took.
"Ah, my son Tom and my neighbour's son Ken have found work in Summerise," said the Jolly Man, also between big mouthfuls. He pointed at two scruffy looking boys who looked roughly the same age as Shinji. "They'll be leaving for town tomorrow. I hope they make it rich there, so they don't have to break their backs growing vegetables like me!"
Everyone in the village roared in celebration, making Shinji's ears ring in sympathy. Anyone with a cup or pitcher of liquid raised theirs and toasted the lucky boys and drank the contents in one gulp. Shinji tried to do the same from his pitcher (which had appeared at some unknown point in time too) but was rewarded with an unknown burning sensation down his throat. He coughed a little at the unexpected sensation, and then belched much more loudly, which was met with more roars of approval and peals of jolly laughter from jubilant faces.
"Was that your first taste of mead young man?" asked someone behind him. Shinji nodded; absolutely certain this was going to cause him trouble later. "That's normal! Come on, man up and DRINK!"
So, Shinji did as was suggested, succumbing to peer pressure.
\
Shinji woke slowly as he was aware that bright sunlight was beamed directly at his closed eyes. His entire body felt like it was made of cotton wool. He – very slowly - mentally cursed that his sorry excuses for eyelids seemed to be totally useless in shutting out the light. What else could they possibly be for?
His eyes adjusted to the light, and as he lay there awake, he realised this was yet another unfamiliar ceiling. Turning around, he saw he was lying on a bed of soft straw, his clothes were dishevelled, and some horses were chewing on carrots while staring at him contemplatively in their pens. Shinji sat up and immediately regretted it. His head wasn't on straight, and the smell from what must have been behind the horses wasn't helping him either. Turning his head slower, he vaguely remembered that he had been gently laid on the straw in this barn by some helpful villagers, at least one of whom had been very pretty. But why he'd needed help getting to his temporary accommodation, he wasn't sure.
Suddenly, Shinji had the inexplicable urge to apologise to anyone and everyone for his behaviour. Now he knew how Misato felt sometimes. As he stumbled into the outside world, he was met by Ken and Tom, who were packing a cart with their parents. A grey mule waited patiently at the head of the cart, swatting flies with its tail.
"Good morning, Mr Ikari," said the two of them cheerfully. Shinji had no idea how they had suffered no ill effects from what was assumed to be a heavy night of drinking. "How did you sleep?"
"I, uh, slept fine," answered Shinji. "I'm sorry, I-I don't remember much from last night. Did I do anything…embarrassing?"
The two boys looked at each other and snickered. Tom wanted to reassure Shinji. "Not really, I mean, we all went a bit crazy I suppose. My sister's the one who should apologise to you. She was really…"
"Tom! Tom Bellden!" interrupted Tom's father. "I think there's one more box and that's it. Make sure to sell these first so you have some spending money!"
Tom nodded and walked towards his house. "Alright father, I'm coming!"
"So, what are your plans, Mr Ikari?" asked Ken, piling boxes on to the cart and tying them up.
"I need to get back to Summerise. There are a few things I need to sort out," answered Shinji cagily. He wasn't sure where this was leading. "If you're going to Summerise, c-could I ride with you?"
Meanwhile, Ken had finished tying up boxes on the cart. "Of course, Mr Ikari! It would be our honour! But you know, you were popular last night with the girls Mr Ikari. A lot of them thought you were cute. Even some of the older ones. Are you sure we couldn't convince you to pick a wife from here?"
Shinji felt his cheeks turn a luminous shade of red. A vague memory of dancing merrily with some rosy cheeked girls emerged. Just what did I do last night?!
"Oh, uh, I'm flattered, really. I'm sure I should apologise to them for doing something wrong…"
"Nonsense, you were fine," said Ken. "If anything, the girls were too much Mr Ikari. They were all volunteering to send you off to bed. Eventually, Tom and his sister had to carry you into their barn and lock you inside so you could sleep peacefully."
Shinji nodded. "Uh, thanks Ken. I don't really remember much of last night apart from the first few bites of dinner."
"Hah! You really are a wild one Mr Ikari," laughed Ken as he slapped Shinji's back loudly. "Don't worry if you'd rather get home. I'm sure you have lots of city girls waiting for you too."
Yeah right. The only girl waiting for me is loud and scary but so lively I wish was good enough to deserve her so I could make her happy and hold her forever and...
"You alright, Mr Ikari?" Tom had evidently returned with the final box and his question shook Shinji out of his internal monologue.
"Oh, yes. I'm fine," replied Shinji. He gave his soon-to-be companions a small smile, which took a lot of effort given his head felt like it was a puddle of muck. "I'm fine. When do we leave?"
\
The trio walked through the forest along the path Shinji travelled to get to the village while leading the mule and the cart. While it was perfectly fine to walk, the path was too rough for any of them to ride on the cart. Tom and Ken, owing to the fact that they were already fast friends, chatted throughout this part of the journey. Shinji kept quiet and enjoyed the scenery, but he was happy that there was joy and pride between his companions. They also exuded an infectious excitement as they walked towards their new lives.
Why was it that Shinji did not get excited by a similar change in his life? Touji and Kensuke had both said they were insanely jealous of Shinji for being able to share an apartment with Misato and Asuka. There was a spectrum of reasons why that was not actually a good thing in practice, but his roommates were as close to a family as he'd had in ten years. He had the companionship he'd craved for the better part of a decade, but he hid away from it in his room and drowned it out further with music.
He recalled an idiom someone had told him; that the best of kind family was the one he could choose. Certainly, if Shinji were to choose, he much preferred Misato's messy, drunken teasing and sisterly mentorship than his father's frigid grimaces. At least his mother still seemed to be whole and loving despite inhabiting a massive purple mech.
Eventually the trio made it to the main road. Tom decided it was a great time to break out their packed food for an early lunch. He rationalised that the food would go off if they didn't eat it soon. Shinji could hardly say no. He was still a little queasy from the night's festivities and hoped that the food would make him feel better.
"So Mr Ikari, what do you do in Summerise?" asked Ken as the three of them basked in the late morning sun.
"I-I fight in defence of Summerise, I suppose," answered Shinji. It was at least technically correct in this case. He'd brooch the concept of collateral damage with them at a later date. "And please, call me Shinji. I'm probably the same age as you. I…we're travelling together and I'd like to think we're friends now. I-if you're happy with that."
"Of course, Mr…Shinji! We'd love to be friends with you!" said Tom. He'd been eating the most out of the three of them (and quickly, judging by the constant belching coming from that corner of their triangle), and in this case, replied with sizeable amounts of food still circulating in his mouth.
Shinji could not help but smile too. There was an infectiousness about his newfound friends. Their optimism and innocence were something to behold and cherish. He envied them for that, and wondered if it was possible that he could find his own happiness. If not here, then where? Was this another version of him running away? Could he run away from his responsibilities in Tokyo-3? Was there even a way to get back to his real home?
\
The three boys rode on the cart after lunch now that the road was suitable for it. They set off at a leisurely pace in the lovely weather.
"So, Tom, Ken," Shinji enquired of his companions. "What are you going to do in Summerise? You mentioned you found work there."
"Oh, well Ken here is a carpenter, and I'm a stone mason," replied Tom happily. "A man from Summerise came a couple of days ago looking for workers, said that there was a lot of new work to go around."
"Yeah, so we figured why not?" chimed in Ken. "We've been learning from our fathers, and we've built lots of things in our village."
Shinji internally winced at the information Ken and Tom gave him. He wondered whether they knew the work was available because there had been two major battles in and around Summerise, and that he'd caused much of the damage himself.
"Yes, work! We've been looking for this kind of thing for a while now," enthused Ken. He seemed quite into it all. "Our village is nice, but there's not much to do except grow food. We learnt our skills because we like building and fixing things."
"But, fighting sounds like glorious work for the kingdom!"
Shinji didn't understand why anyone would think fighting was glorious. It was tedious when training and terrifying when thrown into actual combat. Fighting Angels (and trolls for that matter) was not fun and games. It was life and death. Both Tom and Ken were too innocent, had seen little of what the world was like. He supposed they would get a rude shock when they eventually set eyes on Evangelion Unit One, its power and the damage it had already done so far to Summerise.
"Well, fighting isn't anything like that," said Shinji. "It's scary and painful. But…but I do it to protect people. So, I guess it's an important job."
"You're so brave, Shinji," said Ken, slapping him on the back gently. "I'm glad you're our friend and you help keep us safe!"
At that, Shinji could only smile lightly. "You're welcome."
This wasn't his world, but if the people here needed protection, he couldn't run away from it. They seemed friendly and caring, though not living in a post Second Impact world probably helped their attitude. Just as Shinji had resolved not to run away in Tokyo-3 when he was the city's only hope against the Third Angel, he need to see what was in store for him here. Whether he chose to return to Tokyo-3 – and he hadn't decided this one way or another even if he could – he needed the help of the people here, no matter what.
\
They reached Summerise in the late evening. Despite the hour, the road was much busier than the day before when Shinji walked along it. There seemed to be many more people and carts heading into town than those leaving. Shinji assumed that many were just like his new friends, gaining new work from the accidental catastrophe he caused. There were even squads of soldiers patrolling the road with torches to help guide the people and ensure order, such was the potential for chaos.
Not that the town isn't already chaotic after I blew up a bunch of buildings.
"Wow! There are so many people!" cried Tom in wonder.
"And so many animals and carts!" said Ken eagerly.
Thankfully, the evening was dark enough, and the road sufficiently busy, that Ken and Tom did not notice the silhouette of Evangelion Unit One beyond the wall. It had unsurprisingly not moved since he last saw it yesterday. Frankly, it was best that his new-found friends didn't ask too many questions yet. It would be way too awkward to answer, and Shinji didn't even know if he could answer them properly. It wasn't that he was afraid of giving away the trade secrets of NERV in this place. They hadn't even figured out electricity yet (or how to pronounce the word), more the fact that he would have to explain to people that he'd lived in another place and was accidentally transported to this world. It sounded too much like a light novel cliche.
"So much more exciting that our little village!" "There are torches everywhere!" "And look at that huge castle!" Ken and Tom continued to admire their new surroundings as they drew closer to the main gate. It remained heavily guarded after the attack, with soldiers patrolling the ramparts of the wall and archers at the ready in the guard towers.
The three of them were waved through by the guards after a cursory glance from them about what was being hauled. Tom and Ken had brought some freshly harvested fruits and vegetables to sell at market and they were on display for all to see as they drew up to gate. Shinji was not offended that Ken and Tom were so impressed with everything that they stopped paying attention to him. Summerise must have been impressive if they'd only known their village. It was like the first time Misato showed him Tokyo-3's skyline sprouting from the Geofront the day after the Third Angel was defeated.
There were still flurries of activity around various parts of the town. Unsurprisingly, the missing part of the wall was heavily protected; there was probably still a chance of a sneak attack from that direction. Soldiers stood guard all around the gap and the area was as bright, if not brighter than the rest of Summerise. Scattered around there was a night market of sorts, helping to keep those standing guard refreshed and replenished. There were merchants shouting at customers about the superiority of their wares (and each other about why the others' wares were terrible).
Shinji knew what he had to do. He had been mulling over the problem. Neither he, nor Evangelion Unit One, belonged in this world. But to get back home, he would need the help of Knight-Commander Bastion, Templar-Commander Redwood and probably even Queen Greendrake if he was ever to make it home. That meant they had to see in him a person of value. He didn't think he was very smart. But the main thing was he could use Evangelion Unit One to fight and defend the people here. They had been understanding and kind to him so far. And that was more than he could have hoped for.
"Guys, can-can you please drop me off over there," asked Shinji, pointing to the very well-lit barracks. "I had better get back to the barracks before it's too late."
"Of course, Shinji," said Ken, who was doing the driving. "We'll go and find a stable for our mule and a room for us. We'll see you tomorrow then?"
They stopped a short distance away. In the relative darkness, Shinji couldn't see the faces of the soldiers keeping watch. They looked even more alike now in the night, the shadows and the light fighting for dominance over each face. He jumped from the cart and looked back at his newest friends.
"I-I'm not sure. I'll see what I'll be doing. Come and ask for me at the barracks if you can."
"Alright then. Goodnight, Shinji. You were great company!"
The three boys smiled and waved each other farewell. Shinji turned towards the barracks and took a deep breath. He really, super hoped that he was making a good decision. I want to go home. I can't run away anymore.
"Right," he muttered to himself, as much to convince himself he was doing the right thing, as reassure his rapidly fraying nerves. "Let's go and find Knight-Commander Bastion and hope he's not angry at me."
And soon, Shinji Ikari found himself marched in front of said Knight-Commander by some of his men. Bastion looked as if he was just about to go to bed. Great, I picked a really great time to do this. He's going to be really grumpy.
"Shinji Ikari of the land of Japan," Bastion said evenly among the glow of a candlestick. He left the situation hanging for a second. "The Queen, Redwood and I been worried about you. We hoped you'd come back from wherever you'd gone. Thank goodness you did!"
"You-You're not angry at me?" asked Shinji incredulously. "I mean, I-I…"
"You left Summerise," replied Bastion with a slight frown. "I understood why. You're clearly not from around here, likely not even from our world. You'd just been put on trial for circumstances you had no control over. If it were me, I'd have left to clear my head too."
"That's because I…"
"Blame yourself for blowing part of town?" Bastion finished for Shinji quickly. "I've done stuff like that before. Not to the same scale, mind you. But that's the life of a soldier. Sometimes you have to keep your perspective on things."
"But…"
"There are already enough people moping in this city, Shinji. I'm tired and already in my pyjamas. It's been a long day and we all need sleep. Men, show Mr Ikari to his room, and we'll talk about this some more tomorrow. I promise you; we'll talk more once you've had a proper rest."
And that was how, for the first time in Summerise, Shinji managed to fall asleep peacefully in Summerise beneath a familiar ceiling after becoming ensconced in warm blankets.
A/N:
Greetings, fellow earthlings, author here. Thanks for all the follows, likes and reviews. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far and it means a lot. Of course, there's more content to come, so stay tuned.
Chapter preview:
In the next episode of Wonderful Mope, Shinji walks! Shinji climbs up stairs! And Shinji climbs down stairs!