Shin Getter Robo vs. Mazinkaiser vs. Neon Genesis Evangelion – The Impact!
Koros45 doesn't own Getter Robo, Mazinkaiser, or Neon Genesis Evangelion
Stage Twelve [Ode to Joy]
With Asuka's situation as it was, Shinji decided to attend school the next day with her. It wasn't like they really had a choice not to, but she listed it as one more reason to stick around. She wouldn't just let him coddle her after all. She had to show how great she was, even if it was something as simple as mastering her Kanji.
He asked her why and she said it was still something to do she could throw herself into. Shinji didn't believe her but still wanted to keep her company. At the moment he felt like she was glue holding his life together - a fixed point that he wanted to have. A fellow pilot and student. A peer and ally. And now a friend that he could talk to about anything from EVAs to Angels to their pasts and everything else he had to keep quiet about from his civilian friends.
The embrace from the hospital and the night sharing a bed afterwards stuck with him and for a moment he'd felt that she felt the exact same way. He found that hard to believe – the notion that they were similar at all was laughable at first, but it all began to add up. They were both EVA pilots. Both without mothers. The same age. Vulnerable and scared of a world that wanted them to act like adults but didn't give them the freedom that came with it. Considering what had happened to Rei, Shinji didn't want that world.
"Just remember that NERV is probably always watching us. I don't want your father to take you away. Especially after seeing how much you care." Asuka said, the two of them embracing briefly before Shinji left the room to prepare breakfast.
It was lucky as Misato had about an hour to work off the hangover and get her head clear. Asuka showered and Shinji got breakfast ready. He'd been able to get in his own shower by the time Misato got up and they all ate in a hurry.
Misato drove them to the high school amidst an awkward silence between the two. The Major was frowning as there was a commotion at the front of the school. Shinji and Asuka got out of the car and Misato drove away. The pair had arrived just in time to see the commotion escalate.
"You want to meet Shinji, huh?! Well punk, you gotta get through me first!" A distant voice yelled and Asuka put her hand to her forehead when she saw who was speaking.
"It's way too early for Toji to make an ass out of himself." She groaned and looked over to who Toji was confronting. Her other hand went to her head and she groaned louder. "He's here too!? Idiots!"
Shinji looked past her and his eyes widened.
"Kouji Kabuto?!" Shinji exclaimed.
In a black jacket with gold buttons, Kouji Kabuto grinned as he stared at Toji. Suzuhara made fists as if he was about to box and Kouji slouched with a taunting stare, as if Toji's presence wasn't worth the effort.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Shinji yelled and the two stopped to look at him in surprise.
"Shinji!" Both of them blinked as Shinji walked up to them, diffusing the confrontation.
"You two were about to beat each other senseless. If humanity's future depends on either of you idiots, we're collectively extinct." Asuka remarked as she marched past them both.
"Whatever, Soryu. Don't hurt yourself tripping on that big ego of yours." Toji said and Kouji closed his eyes.
"Shinji, nice to see you." Kouji said as Toji glared at him.
"Guys, what's wrong?" Shinji asked.
"This Mazinger punk. He's asking about you like you're pals or something. Just rubs me the wrong way." Toji said and Kabuto frowned.
"Well we're allies in the Super Robot Army! And considering the last Angel fight Shinji was in, I'd say I have every right to worry about him. If Kaiser and I had been there, things could have been different." Kouji stated.
"Anyway, you're at our school now?" Shinji asked, not wanting either of his friends to dig in even further.
"Yup. Sayaka and I are here for a while. We wanted to see how you were doing, especially since the Photon Labs are running tests on Kaiser and Diana right now." Kouji explained.
"But what if Dr. Hell attacks while you're away?" Shinji asked and Kouji grinned.
"Kaiser Pilder's right outside Tokyo -3 and NERV's borders. I just need to call it here and I'll be on my way back to the Labs!" Kouji said with a grin.
"Well you're sure of yourself." Toji said with an edge and Shinji was afraid they'd go at it again.
"I'd be worried about myself if I wasn't. Being the pilot of Mazinger Z and now Kaiser gives me a lot of responsibility, regardless of what that Asuka might think." Kouji said, crossing his arms.
"Well here you're just a student, got it?" Toji said.
Kouji smirked. "Works for me. If you have to say that my face pisses you off, why not say it with your fists?" The pilot asked.
Shinji knew it was the perfect bait to rile up Toji considering his jock friend's mannerisms.
Shinji sighed and ran between them, extending out his arms in a T shape. "Stop it guys! Don't fight."
Both of the other boys sighed, disappointed in the chance for a slugfest now gone.
"Kouji Kabuto!? In my school!?"
Toji and Shinji both looked a mix of surprised and annoyed as Kensuke ran up to Kouji and shoved a camera in his face.
"Let's go, before he makes you compare Unit 01 to that Kaiser thing." Toji said. Shinji nodded and excused the two of them as Kouji humored Kensuke's questions while the other boy took several pictures.
/
Rei III was in class, sitting right where Rei II had sat. Asuka had made an effort to say hello, but Rei didn't respond. Asuka followed up with a 'I'm glad to see you' and Rei just stared at her for a moment before looking out the window.
"Dammit! I try to be all nice and she just blows me off again!" Asuka thought, sitting in front of Shinji.
The rest of the class filed in, Toji and Shinji sitting in their regular seats as Kensuke was last in the room, shoving his camera in his bag as he sat down.
Then Kouji, Sayaka, and another student walked in front of the class as the teacher introduced them. Asuka slipped Shinji a note under the desk as Kouji introduced himself to the amazement of the class.
"Just another student, my ass." Toji mumbled and the teacher was quick to hear it, warning Toji as Shinji glanced at the message under his desk.
"Rei just ignored me. I think the clone's memories reset." Asuka's writing said.
Then it was Sayaka's turn to speak and Shinji looked up, shoving the note in his pocket. Sayaka gave a polite bow to moderate applause as she sat next to Kouji in the back of the room.
Then the third student stepped forward, wearing a white shirt and long black pants. His white hair and red eyes were striking as he looked to the whole class, ending his gaze to look directly at Shinji.
"My name is Kaworu Nagisa. Nice to meet all of you." The boy said, sitting next to Sayaka as the class began.
/
"All right class! I'm your substitute teacher for today!" The large teacher yelled and Shinji winced in surprise at the sight of the familiar man. Benkei Kuruma looked to the students gathered in the gym.
"Are you for real? A pilot of Getter Robo is our gym teacher?!" Kensuke blurted out, realizing he'd spoken out of turn and followed it up. "Are you going to teach us some cool moves - Sir?"
Benkei gave a toothy grin. "Getter Robo needs teamwork to function, so today's all about team training exercises!" he roared. "Now get in line, boy girl, boy girl!" Benkei yelled. The class all did as directed and Benkei looked to Kouji and snorted.
"All right, I'm going to call pairs now and then you're all going to be in a three-legged race! Only by using teamwork will your team win!" he shouted.
"Nagisa! Ayanami!" "Ikari, Yumi!" "Kabuto, Soryu!" "Suzuhara! Houraki!" Were just some of the pairs that Benkei had called out. Then a few minutes later, the pairs lined up and the race began.
/
Kouji and Asuka fell in a heap, each one trying to be the leader in the group. Shinji found that he and Sayaka could pass most of the kids if they stepped in tandem, but were quickly passed by the Kaworu boy and Rei's inhuman and in sync steps.
Benkei looked on as they crossed the finish line and he held up each of their hands in victory.
"Since your team won, each of you is a new team captain, so pick your group wisely." Benkei instructed as Sayaka and Shinji undid the harness around their attached leg to help Kouji and Asuka get untangled. They were too busy fussing with who'd do it to actually free themselves.
"Dammit girl, you're just like Tetsuya! I swear! All ego and no teamwork!" Kouji fussed.
"Oh yeah! Well at least I actually use strategics! You just scream out attacks like a hot-head and then get messed up when they don't work! The only reason you win any fights is because of how invincible your robot is! No actual piloting skills!" Asuka countered.
"Well if you're such a good pilot, why weren't you in the last Angel battle!? Shinji and the Getter Team did all the work!" Kouji shot back and was answered with a shove as Asuka pushed him down, the harness on their legs dragging her down too. She grit her teeth and both students tensed to face the other.
Shinji gulped as he and Sayaka arrived just in time to cool tensions.
"Asuka, he doesn't mean it. He's just being an idiot." Sayaka said, crouching to pull her back away from Kouji and start working on the harness. Meanwhile, Shinji did the same for Kouji.
"Kouji, that was really insensitive to say." Shinji added, putting a hand on Kouji's side of the harness and giving it a pull, freeing both of his friends.
"Look, I just wanted to know, all right!? How come Asuka gets a free pass to put a dig in at me, but when I shoot right back, I'm the bad guy!?" Kouji retorted, looking to Shinji like the other boy had been the one to set him off.
"Whatever. You obviously can't control what comes out of your mouth, idiot. At least Shinji has the sense to filter what goes through his head!" Asuka said and stood up, walking back in line and looking away from everyone, her frustration evident.
"I was afraid of this." Sayaka whispered, bowing to the class as she walked back in line.
Shinji looked to Kouji and both of them were silent as Shinji got in line first. Kouji exhaled and Shinji felt a sense of dread. Kouji had been an inspiration to him but now the Mazinger pilot seemed to just want to flare tempers.
"You done kids?" Benkei asked, looking all of them over. "Look I don't want you to get all violent over something stupid that happened outside of class! In fact I don't want to see you get violent at all in my class! Now can we bury the proverbial Getter Tomahawk and continue the lesson!?" Benkei yelled.
The two were silent as Asuka glared to the right, looking away from Kouji while the other teen glared at the ground.
"Kabuto, you'd best apologize!" Benkei yelled and Kouji tisked, taking a step forward and looking to Asuka.
"I'm sorry I said that stuff. Look, some of that stuff you said was true and I just didn't want to hear it, OK? For the record I'm sorry." Kouji said with a bow.
Asuka frowned and Benkei looked to her. "You want to add to that?" He asked.
"What you said was inappropriate but I shouldn't have pushed you down like that. I'm sorry I didn't think clearly but don't say that again, OK?" Asuka said, looking like her pride had been slightly wounded as she returned the bow.
"All right. Now can we shake on it?" Benkei asked and smirked as both Kouji and Asuka swallowed their pride, shaking hands as they glared at each other and then to Benkei before standing back at attention.
Shinji was amazed. Nobody from his circle would be able to diffuse two tempers like that, even in an academic setting. Benkei grinned and looked to Rei and Kowaru. "Pick your teams."
/
"Asuka strikes!" The girl yelled in celebration as the volleyball had slammed straight down from her spike, ending the game seven to five.
"Looks like Kowaru's team wins. Great job, everyone." Benkei said as the class was almost over.
"Good job as our offensive, Asuka and Toji. And Shinji, nice serve. That really gave us a good start." Kowaru said, giving his team a grin as he then complimented everyone else on his side and offered a handshake to Rei.
"Good game, Ayanami. I expected as much from the First Child."
Rei said nothing as she looked down for a moment and shook his hand and quickly turned around, walking to the girl's locker room to change.
/
"Look, how many times do you want me to apologize!? It's like you have a thing for her or something!" Kouji protested as Shinji brought it up in line at lunch.
Shinji felt a blush coming on but ignored it as he explained as best he could. "Asuka's confidence is going down due to that last fight. Look, I know it's excessive but you can't just say that kind of thing to someone who is dealing with a lot." Shinji said.
An angry sigh and Kouji closed his eyes. "I didn't know it was so serious, OK? I swear, she and Tetsuya were separated at birth or something. Same exact issues." Kouji mumbled.
"So are you gonna say you're sorry or not?" Toji said, turning around to give Kouji an irritated glance.
"Suzuhara, you and an army couldn't get me to do that. Besides, what skin do you have in this game?"
"Shinji's a man and my best friend. And he wants you to stop. I don't care whatever Mazinger-Kaiser-Robo you have, it's bullshit if you're going to act like you're better than everyone else here. Even if I don't like the Red Demon, if the man tells you to apologize, you'd better do it."
"I'm not trying to act better or what have you! I just don't really like people being jerks to me after I saved the city they live in! I just expect some respect for what I do is all." Kouji responded.
"As would Shinji, and myself. Remember, I was chosen to be an EVA pilot as well!" Touji brought up.
"Kouji, how would you feel if someone said those words about being unable to pilot right after Mazinger Z stopped working? It was made especially for you, right? Don't you think Asuka feels the same not being able to deploy in her Unit 02?" Shinji asked and Kouji stopped.
"Damn. I didn't think of it that way. Geez, Shinji, you're smart." Kouji said and Toji gave Shinji a thumbs up.
/
"Haven't you already made your point!?" Asuka said, looking out from her place in the lunch line, annoyed as Kouji stood across from her.
"Yeah, in class when we both gave bullshit apologies. I just wanted to say that I didn't think about how important being a pilot is. I have a bad habit of saying stuff that sets off people. Sayaka, Tetsuya and Boss are OK with it because that's how I am at home but that's no excuse. You saved Mazinger Z the other day. You picked up my sword and fought not just Mazinger Z, but also Great Mazinger. It was incredibly stupid of me to forget that." Kouji said with a bow and Asuka snorted.
"Right, well I guess I'll let this one slide seeing how much you've swallowed your pride. But if it happens again . . ." Asuka began.
"Yeah yeah, I'll rue the day I was born, right?" Kouji said, covering his mouth afterwards.
" . . . something like that." Asuka said.
Shinji took the lapse in silence to sit next to Asuka when she scooted over, refusing to sit across from Kouji. Sayaka made a beeline to sit at the table, sitting across from Asuka with a knowing apologetic smile. Then Toji sat next to Shinji and looked uncomfortable as Asuka and Kouji looked away from each other, each eating in silence as the tension in the table stayed pretty dense.
"Excuse me, but can I sit with you all?" A voice was heard as Kaworu Nagisa stood, giving them all a friendly smile.
"It's a free seat. Do what you want, Nagisa." Kouji said and Kaworu did just that, sitting next to Sayaka and looking over everyone just like he did in class, eyes falling on Shinji last.
"Is something wrong?" He asked and his smile deepened as no one wanted to speak after him.
"It's fine." Asuka said. "Just some bruised egos and pride. Nothing too serious." She finished before she took another bite of lunch.
Sayaka stopped and frowned. "Kouji, the lunch!" She yelled, elbowing him and Kouji's eyes bugged out for a moment.
"Ah dangit! Well I hope you're all hungry because we made you some food." Kouji said. Sayaka pulled a fancy looking box out of her bag and showed them all three lunch boxes.
"We wanted to thank you EVA pilots for doing what you do." Kouji said, looking to Asuka and Shinji. "It's not really fair you have to do all that but you don't get recognized for it. Especially with how much The Getter Team and Photon Labs crew does." Kouji said.
Asuka opened the lunch with her name on it and immediately stopped eating the school lunch.
"You made me German cuisine!? Sayaka, this is delicious looking." She said, smelling the food and letting out a sigh.
"Actually that was Kouji's cooking. I just arranged it." Sayaka said and Asuka stopped admiring it for a moment.
"Well I guess I was wrong about you too, Kabuto. You do have some skills after all." She said, immediately looking to see what they'd given Shinji.
"We weren't sure what you'd like, so we made a little of everything." Kouji said.
"Touji, try some of this! It looks great!" Shinji said, inviting his friend to share with him.
"And where's Rei?" This is for her." Sayaka said, pulling out the third box. Shinji pointed out the blue-haired girl in the lunch line and Sayaka got up to give her the meal.
/
Suddenly the tension from earlier stopped as all parties began eating while Kaworu observed with a smile, taking small bites.
"Not bad." Asuka said as she finished the meal. "For a Japanese person who doesn't act that way, you're a good cook. I guess this makes us even, Kabuto." she said and Sayaka looked relieved.
"That's right. We all gave our best. That's worth celebrating, even if we fail sometimes." Shinji said as he finished his water, washing down the rest of the food.
"Well said, Shinji." Kaworu said.
/
"You're the replacement pilot for Unit 02?!" Shinji said.
"Yes. But I sensed that saying it would have undone all of your hard work considering what happened today. You want your friend to be happy after all."
"Kaworu, you knew?"
"How could I not? I can sense you've been worried about Asuka all day. You were pretty amazing dealing with Kabuto like that, you know? Not all Lilan can deal with flaring tempers like that."
"You get used to it with Asuka I guess." Shinji said and Kaworu nodded with the same warm smile.
They were on the roof of the school after lunch. Kowaru wanted to speak with him alone and Shinji didn't know why until he'd revealed who he was.
"Shinji, you're so caring of others. It shows how compassionate you are." The mysterious boy said.
"Are you saying that's a weakness of mine?" Shinji asked, used to the comments about how he was too nice to let others step on him.
"No. On the contrary it's pretty amazing of you." Kaworu complimented.
"But – why would you say that - about me?" Shinji asked.
"Because I love you." Kaworu stated nd Shinji froze.
The other boy put his hand over Shinji's and gave it a squeeze. Shinji froze at his touch. It was just about the most intentionally intimate thing he'd ever felt. Even beating Asuka's heartfelt embrace the previous night at the hospital, and even rivaling the sleep they'd shared intertwining their fingers. There was no need for it. No reason for it to happen. It was just . . . there.
"Kaworu?" Shinji asked and the other boy turned his head to look at Shinji.
"Shinji, I came to this school just to meet you. I want you to come with me after school. I would like to speak with you some more." Kaworu said. Shinji smiled and immediately felt at ease. Of course he'd love to speak more with this new friend.
"Asuka's feeling bad even though she's hiding it. Let me talk to her first, then I'll see if we can hang out." Shinji said and Kaworu nodded, slowly removing his hand from Shinji's with a caress as he stood up.
/
"No, I'm fine. Really. If you want to talk to Nagisa, that's ok. I'll be at Hikari's. Right now I need the time to myself away from any of NERV's business anyway." Asuka said.
Shinji looked down and felt a bubble of indecision. If he could have his cake and eat it too, he'd have her join him and Kaworu. But then she might learn that he was piloting Unit 02 and that wouldn't help the situation at all. Maybe it was best to meet up with her after he was done seeing the other boy.
"I just want to make sure. After the other day, I'm worried about all of us." Shinji managed.
"Hey, I'll be fine. Seriously, I don't need the hand-holding right now. Save that for when I knock on your door." Asuka said.
"R-right. Well then I'll see you later. Will you be going to the party at the Photon Labs?" Shinji asked and Asuka shrugged.
"Well I guess if you're going, I'll go. And if Kabuto's cooking, that's another reason. And if they're throwing it for us then that's a good third reason. We'll have to drag Rei there anyways." Asuka finished with a smile as she saw Hikari leaving and gave Shinji a wave.
"Hey, have fun. You two seem to get along pretty naturally." Asuka said as she left to join Hikari.
/
Kouji sighed as Sayaka was being quite the nag. All of her points were valid unfortunately. Starting a scene in the morning with Suzuhara, then later with Asuka. And even forgetting that they'd made lunch for the EVA pilots.
"Well what else am a I supposed to say?! I feel like everything that was needed to be said was said!" Kouji yelled.
"I'm just saying your bedside manner could use some work is all." Sayaka pointed out, giving him a critical stare.
"Well at least they liked the food." Kouji said.
"That's right. Do you want to talk to Benkei?" Sayaka asked.
"I guess that's fine. He was doing his job after all. Though I think putting him as the substitute teacher was a bit much. Bet you Dr. Yumi put him up to it." Kouji wagered.
"I'm not going to bet against that." Sayaka responded with a grin. "Now let's see him and go home."
/
"Yes, I'm doing fine. Thank you." Asuka said, trying not to lose her cool as Shinji had called her twenty minutes after she'd arrived at Hikari's house.
"And how did it go with wonder-boy?" She asked as Hikari was getting the guest room ready.
Shinji's answer was short and to the point. He'd take Kaworu with him once he finished a training exercise with his EVA and would try and sync with Unit 02 while he was at it.
"Good. Say hi to her if you can. But really, I'm glad you made a friend. Those seem to be rare these days." Asuka responded. He asked her another question and Asuka sighed.
"Yes! Like I said, see if you can drag along Wonder-Girl if you can. I want to see if she can socialize at all, considering the party's for the three of us. Yes, I'm sure you can bring your friend Kaworu. All right. Let Misato know I'm here tonight so she can pick me up. Thanks."
Asuka hung up and took a deep breath. Today had been a mixed bag but it felt far more normal than the other day. The image of the doll taunting her had left her head and she was free to be upset about things a teenage girl should be upset about. She shut off the phone and went to see how Hikari was doing.
/
"The final Angel has arrived in Tokyo – 3."
"Good. Then do we continue our original plan?"
"No. The appearance of Shin Dragon and Dr. Hell's recent attacks are concerning. As is the unexpected assistance of the Getter Team and Photon Labs. We either strike now or move back our timetable."
"This is vexing. These problems weren't predicted in the Dead Sea Scrolls!"
"Do you think Ikari planned this?"
"No. He is too focused on his own agenda to make an alliance with a man like Hayato Jin."
"We'll need to revise our plan."
"Not necessarily. We just need to wait for one force to wipe out the other, then our plan will proceed."
The transmission ended as SEELE waited for the calm before the storm.
/
Unit 02 wouldn't budge when Shinji tried and he was frustrated to say the least. The Evangelion didn't respond at all to him and he frowned, remembering that Asuka spoke to it primarily in German.
Therefore Shinji was at a loss for words as Kaworu manipulated Unit 02 like it was child's play. He didn't even need a plugsuit and the sync test was over practically before it began, Dr. Akagi looking surprised but hopeful to their new pilot.
"Good work, Nagisa. And thank you for your continued success with Unit 01, Shinji." The doctor said as Kawora exited the entry plug and stretched his neck.
Shinji nodded to her and exhaled. His mother had spoken to him briefly, happy to hear both about Asuka and the party.
"You deserve people in your life who love you, Shinji. I am proud to hear that a party will be thrown for you." She had said once they'd synced.
He'd done some basic tests with Unit 01 and emerged in a hurry. Ritsuko was more than happy with his results and let him and Kaworu leave the hanger bay as fast as they could.
Kaworu looked to Shinji once they'd gotten free of NERV's HQ.
"So that's done. Now you wanted to take me to a party?" Kaworu asked. Shinji nodded.
"It's at the Photon Labs. A celebration for the EVA pilots – er, for Ayanami, Asuka, and Myself. You don't mind going that far?" the other boy asked.
"Of course not, Shinji. I'd love to go with you. It's a good idea to socialize with others, especially considering how on the brink this world seems to be." Kaworu said.
"We'll have to see if Rei wants to go too." Shinji added. "Oh, and please don't mention you're piloting Unit 02 now. Asuka's feeling pretty bad that her sync rate dropped so low."
Kowaru nodded to him. "All right then. Lead the way to the First Child."
"Also, did Unit 02 say anything to you when you used it?" Shinji asked, hoping the boy would say something interesting.
"No. I'm afraid my technique of piloting doesn't require me speaking to the Evangelion." Kaworu said and looked curious to Shinji's question but said nothing else.
They found Rei at her place, staring at them blankly when she opened the door. Shinji had knocked and was relieved that Rei was still wearing her school uniform, the embarrassing memories of his previous visit still fresh in his mind.
"Hello there, First Child – Rei Ayanami. You're invited to a party." Kaworu said. Rei blinked.
"What?" She asked and Shinji felt a creeping frustration gnaw at him.
"Rei, will you come with us? There's free food and I'm sure Kei and Benkei will be thrilled to see you again." Shinji said.
"Why? Do I know them?" She asked and Shinji sighed.
"Well you did, but I guess that last battle gave you some amnesia. But in any case, they'd love to see you." Shinji blurted out. Kaworu noticed he was tense and his playful smile faded.
"First Child, think of this as an undercover assignment. We get to know the Getter and Mazinger teams better and then we'll have more data when they deploy in battle. Just don't forget to have fun." Kaworu suggested.
"I will attend. I don't need an alternative reason to go. A party sounds like an interesting experience." Rei said, putting on her shoes and walking out of her spartan home, looking to Shinji to lead the way.
Misato had insisted to be their driver and was present as the group hurried to the labs in her car.
Asuka looked from the passenger seat to the other three with a smirk and half open eyes.
"Get in the car, losers. We're going partying." The redhead stated with a smug grin. She wore the yellow dress she'd first introduced herself in and grinned as Shinji was awkwardly stuck between Rei and Kaworu in the back seat.
"Kaworu Nagisa, huh? Are you liking your stay in Tokyo – 3?" Misato asked him.
"Yes. It's nice. I've already made some friends, as you can see." The boy said, looking to Shinji, Rei, and Asuka.
"Well I'm glad to hear that. The last thing we need is you kids at each others' throats." Misato finished with a laugh as she started the car to their destination.
"Hikari couldn't come?" Shinji asked and Asuka shrugged.
"I guess. She said that she had to help her little sister with homework. Talk about lame." Asuka said and looked over to Rei.
"But I'm surprised you decided to tag along, Wonder-girl." She commented.
"I am surprised myself. But I would like to attend as I have been invited. I only hope that the food is as adequate as my lunch was." Rei said.
"And did you like the lunch?" Shinji asked.
"Yes. It was agreeable." Rei responded and Asuka looked behind her to give Shinji a silent but surprised look.
"That's a first! Anything you liked the most about it?" Asuka pressed and Rei looked over to her.
"I enjoy the way Kouji and Sayaka presented the food. It was neat but in a beautiful pattern as well. It was as pretty to look at as it was good to eat." Rei finished and Asuka and Shinji's jaws both dropped.
"What kind of food was it?" Misato asked, now sounding intrigued.
"Ramen with mixed vegetables, and some rice on the side. I quite enjoyed it." Rei explained.
Her compliments regarding her lunch were surprising to Shinji and Asuka, though Kaworu didn't do more than blink at her responses.
"I wonder how well these Lilan will cook their food? Will I end up enjoying it?" Kaworu asked.
"Lilan? What's that?" Asuka questioned.
"A term for humans. Forgive me. It's an antiquated term. I have a bad habit of using it overmuch." Kaworu explained.
"Never heard of it. Hope it's not on a history test. College history was enough of a pain." Asuka said.
/
"Welcome everyone!" Kouji said with a big grin on his face as Misato, Shinji, Rei, Asuka and Kaworu arrived at the base of the Photon Labs.
"We're glad to have all of you here." Doctor Yumi said with a smile as Sayaka and Kouji led the four into the base.
"Hey kids, fancy seeing you again so soon!" Benkei laughed as the four looked to him, Shinji and Asuka with surprise and Rei and Kaworu with indifference.
"Our substitute gym teacher is a Getter pilot. Because that's just our life now." Asuka said but nevertheless gave him a bow along with the other three Children.
"I'm just glad you and Kabuto aren't fighting over something petty again." Benkei said and looked to the kids while Misato snorted. "How're you all?"
"Fine." Rei said.
"Pleasant." Kaworu answered.
"Alive." Asuka.
"Glad." Shinji finished and Misato nodded.
"Well Sayaka and I whipped this up in short notice. I hope you all like it!" Kouji said as he presented a long table with several dishes of various foods, both Asian and otherwise.
"Short notice? What, do you just take cooking lessons when you're not piloting Mazingers?" Asuka asked.
"Pretty much. Shiro and I grew up without a Mom, so I decided to learn how to cook for my Grandpa and my kid brother." Kouji answered.
"That's right! Kouji makes the best food!" a smaller dark haired boy declared as he ran to the table.
"Shiro, let the EVA pilots and NERV personnel sit down first. We're having the party for them, after all." Kouji reminded his brother.
"Oh yeah. The EVA pilots are so cool! It was pretty crazy seeing them fight with Mazinger Z and Great Mazinger a few days ago!" His brother said in awe.
Shinji saw nobody else took initiative so he sat down first. Not wanting to be beaten by Rei, Asuka sat next to him and Kaworu quickly sat at Shinji's other side. Rei decided to sit next to Asuka despite the other's indifference to her. Misato was last to sit, making sure she could look over all of the Children.
Then Kouji and Sayaka sat down, across from Kowaru and Shinji. Shiro sat across from Asuka and Benkei sat across from Rei and diagonal to Misato.
"Is that everybody? Pretty small group considering all the food." Shinji commented.
"Well just you wait. Kei and Gai are finishing up testing Getter Dragon's controls. Boss is assisting them." Benkei said.
"And Dad's finishing up some of his own tests of the lab's barrier systems." Sayaka answered.
/
Kei, Boss, and Gai joined them and they ate. While they did, Asuka asked Kouji a question.
"Hey, you compared me to Tetsuya at school, right? Why is that?" She asked.
Kouji frowned, putting down his utensils to answer her question. "Well - there was a time where Tetsuya took it on himself to be the best pilot. To the point where he was afraid of being anything less. Really full of himself, I guess. Though I can't really say I'm any different in that case." Kouji stopped.
"Anyway I'm saying that you both seem to value yourselves on your piloting skills and push anything else away. Eventually Tetsuya was able to get over it, but it took a long time. There's more to the story but only if you care about the Kabuto family bloodline and the who's supposed to inherit it – but that doesn't really matter in this case. Point is, you're both a lot alike and that's why I was so quick to anger today." Kouji finished.
"You know, Kabuto, I thought you were the least Japanese person I'd ever seen. Consider me surprised at your introspection." Asuka said as she cut a slice of steak to eat.
"What made Tetsuya change?" Shinji asked and Kouji smirked.
"Well the first thing he ever did was save my ass when Mazinger Z and I were in over our heads. For a while he was distant and just acted like an aloof ally, but at least he stepped in and helped out after that. The big change was losing somebody important when he refused to assist me in a battle. His pride got to him and he really regretted that choice. It really opened his eyes." Kouji finished.
"Hmph! I really don't know how you think that makes us similar! It's not like I'd let my pride get in the way of my job." Asuka said as Shinji and Misato both shot her worried glances.
"Just . . . take it from me. Don't put everything into being the best pilot. Tetsuya learned that the hard way. We all did." Kouji said, his normally cheerful and confident demeanor replaced by a dead serious one."
"Anyway I think Kouji just wants you all to be careful! Now let's enjoy this lovely meal!" Boss yelled as he dug into his plate of food, restoring some levity to the conversation.
"That's right. We feel bad when you all have to fight Angels and we're on the sidelines." Sayaka added.
Kei looked to Rei and frowned. She likely had next to no memories of the pilots at the Photon Labs after all.
"Hey Rei, you alright?" Benkei asked as he saw his own foster daughter's expression and knew it was a problem.
"I -" Rei began. "I am fine. Why?" She asked. Benkei blinked as the glace the girl gave him was one of a stranger, not the girl who'd talked to him on two separate occasions.
"You just seem distant is all. Is everything going alright since the last Angel attack?" Benkei asked.
". . . I am fine." Rei answered but still felt a tinge of confusion. Why was this man asking her that? She looked to him and for a moment he looked familiar, but she couldn't place him.
"He must be one the second Rei knew." She thought as she looked around. Asuka and Shinji were talking to Kouji. Kaworu was watching them with a smirk on his face. The others were eating, but Kei and Benkei were still looking at her.
Kei leaned to see Rei closer. "Are you feeling better since the hospital?"
Rei turned to her indifferently but still answered the question. "Yes. Thank you." She said before going back to her meal.
They ate and then took a round of pictures with one of Benkei's old cameras. Highlights included Kouji struggling to hold everyone's stack of plates while Shinji carefully put his one on the top of the pile, Asuka shoving Shinji and Kaworu into frame – her the only one of the three really smiling as Shinji was surprised and Kaworu looked unimpressed, and finally Kei and Benkei on either side of Rei, cheering while she stared at the camera with a vacant expression.
Then Professor Yumi came downstairs looking disheveled and surprised seeing the kids.
"What are the Evangelion pilots doing here!?" he exclaimed.
"Dad, don't you remember? We're having a party for them." Sayaka said, looking confused.
"Yeah. We planned this for days. It's Asuka's birthday today after all." Kouji seconded.
"I don't recall giving you permission to do that!" Dr. Yumi yelled, pointing at them accusingly. "They must be here to steal all of our secrets! NERV's reach knows no bounds!" The professor's hand shook as he glared at the guests and grit his teeth.
"Hey! We were invited! Why get so worked up about it when your daughter wanted us here!?" Asuka rebuked.
"Don't ask him questions. That's not Dr. Yumi. No sense talking to a puppet." Kaworu said as he stood up and stared Dr. Yumi in the eyes.
"Kaworu, that's not-" Misato began to say something when she saw the Dr.'s expression. It was a mix of fear and anger. Far from the Dr. Yumi she'd seen in official tapes showing off the Mazingers and applications of Photon power.
"Take off the mask, curious Lilan. I want to see why you really are." Kaworu said, cocking his head to one side.
The tone of the entire room shifted as Dr. Yumi started to laugh, a small giggle at first, growing until it was a roaring bout of laughter – from two sources?
"I don't know what kind of person you are, but I'm glad you found me out! That makes it more interesting!" The voices said – one male and one female.
"That voice - It's Baron Ashura!?" Kouji yelled as he stood up and threw his chair at the professor.
The other lept back and avoided the chair before fiddling with a zipper on the back of his head – pulling off the mask of Dr. Yumi's likeness to reveal the twin faced person beneath. Left side of the face dark and chiseled with masculine features and the right side soft and feminine, covered with white make-up and red lipstick on one half of the conjoined face.
"Yes! The great genius of Dr. Hell has led me here! To your execution!" Baron Ashura laughed as they pulled out a switch.
"While you all were eating your last meal, I armed the entire laboratory with bombs. My body was reconstructed by Dr. Hell to be immortal, but I can't say the same for you all! Now die!" Baron Ashura gloated, pushing the button as the rest of the room's occupants had little time to react.