A/N: Hello everyone! I'm so sorry about the lateness of the update! Finals + SAT 2 + Burnout + Traveling + Getting ready to go to Japan + Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Not much time for fan fiction. Seriously I feel bad for not updating sooner, so here the newest chapter for ya!
Honestly, this is only the partial proof-read first draft and was written in three different segments, so don't be surprised if it's a little rough. Don't worry, a proof-read version will be updated soon (hopefully anyway.)
Translation Notes: (In no particular order)
-san: Equivalent of Mr. or Miss/Mrs.
-sama: Similar to –san except –sama denotes more respect and admiration. One step higher than –san.
-kun: A suffix/honorific used in the Japanese language, used at the end of boys' names to express familiarity or endearment.
-chan: Similar to –kun except used for girls. It can also be used for little boys, pets, and even amongst lovers. Usual denotes childish cuteness.
-Sempai/senpai: Used to address someone that is the speaker's senior in some organization or group. Commonly used in a school setting where underclassmen will refer to upperclassmen as 'Sempai' for guys and 'Senpai' for girls.
-Kohai: Similar to sempai with except this is how upperclassmen address lowerclassmen.
-Sensei: the title added to that of a teacher, doctor, or anyone that had a profession in a certain art.
Ano: Roughly the equivalent of 'Ummm' in English.
Baka: Japanese for idiot or fool.
Dummkopf: German for fool.
Scheisse or Scheiß: German for Shit.
Disclaimer: See Prologue
The Holy Eva Wars
Chapter Two:
Confusion, Chaos, and the Master's Way!
'How the hell did I get involved in this?'
No matter how many times people tried to explain it to him, he just could not understand. He was a Magus, or to be more correct just someone with the potential to use magic and because of the relation he was now stuck in this whole situation.
Looking around the room Shinji looked carefully at each of his 'guest'. Was more or less her usual self, obviously fuming about something and just waiting for someone to say a single word before she would explode into some rant about how much Shinji was an idiot. Nothing was out of the ordinary there. Then there were his other two 'guest', the 'Servants' as they called themselves.
First there was Lancer, Asuka's so called Servant. Unlike Asuka, he didn't seem to mind anything at the moment. He was just lazily sitting there, holding his head up with one arm while he eyes were for the most part close, moving only to take a large gulp out of the can of Yebisu beer that Shinji had offered him. Every once in a while, however, Lancer would open his narrow eyes and either glare at Shinji or final member of Shinji's guest. Shinji felt if either one of them made a single false move that the blue haired warrior would have no remorse in running Shinji through and a few times over to boot.
Then there was 'his' Servant, a woman who introduced herself as Rider. She was also sitting there silently, sipping away at here beer in contrast to Lancer's sporadic and large gulps. It was hard to tell what was on her mind due to the visor she constantly wore, but for the most part she seemed peaceful and serene. The nails and chain that was her weapon were set on the table before them, meant to act as a deterrent for Lancer but they had more of an affect on Shinji rather than the blue-haired spear-wielder. Pen-Pen seems to like her though.
All was silent but Shinji literally see the sparks and electricity created from all the tension between everyone. Once again Shinji found himself wondering just how he ended up in this whole situation.
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School Roof- Roughly One Hour Ago
Shinji didn't know just what the hell just happened. One moment he was falling to his death, the next he was flying through the air while being held in the arms in some strange woman he had never seen before. She didn't say anything to him or give him any signs that he would be alright or that he would be safe from now on. Shinji felt strangely calm; however, all the fear and panic that once ruled over his final moments were gone in an instant. All he was sure about anymore was the fact that he was alive and it was because of this woman with a visor.
Before he realized it, the two had landed on hard ground although Shinji barely felt the jolt one would have expected after jumping. She let Shinji down, not dropping the boy but not placing him down like he was some sort of glass figure either. For a moment she seemed to look at him –although Shinji wasn't sure on account of the visor she wore- confirming something with herself before turning her back to the boy and taking off.
Shinji then remembered something important, that the blue creature from before was still around and could possibly attack the woman that had saved him.
"Rider!" For the second time Shinji used that word for his savior's name and still he did not know why it so easily came to his lips. While the woman did not respond to him, Shinji knew that it recognized both his voice and its name being called but she did not stop. In her hands the woman he knew as Rider spun around a large nail attached to a long chain. With expert skill she spun it before throwing it forward with shocked speed and accuracy. Shinji looked at the nails path and realized what her target was. The blue monster he was trying to escape from.
The other warrior from before, the one with the spear was also there, attacking the blue beast. He had managed to wound the creatures left arm and before it had a chance to slash at the spearman Rider's attack knocked the sword from the creature's hand. Rider and the spearmen were double-teaming the creature and it looked if things continued as they were going the creature would be defeated in no time. Soon enough, the creature quickly fled not long afterward, the fight had been won.
Then something unexpected happened, or at least in Shinji's point of view. The moment the creature had fled, they spared no effort in an attempt to stop it. Instead, the two fighters turned to each other, holding their weapons in hostile intent. They had fought along side each other and now they were going to fight against one another?
Shinji had to stop this or at least that is what he wanted to. He started to move toward the two fighters, intent of trying to end the potential battle before it started. He had only moved a few steps however, when he noticed that there was someone else on the roof, someone with familiar flaming red hair. "Asuka?" Shinji stammered out, his mind going a mile a minute trying to get a grasp about what was going on and why was Asuka there as well.
The red-haired German who also seemed confused about what had just happened turned to face Shinji; an even more shocked and confused expression overtook her face. "Shinji?" the red-head questioned, just about in the same state of disbelief as he was.
The air was tense after that. Shinji and Asuka just stared at each other, trying to convince themselves that they were imagining the other was there or trying to come up with a reason why they were there. Lancer and Rider were also staring each other down but for very different reasons. Nobody either moved or said anything for those few moments that creped by like hours.
Asuka was the first to recover from the shock and her reaction was far from anything Shinji could have hoped for. She was looking at the ground before releasing a strange mix of a chuckle and a laugh, one Shinji had come to fear. The chuckle that was partial amusement, partial disgust, and all anger was coming from Asuka. It was the same chuckle that Asuka had on a number of occasions that normally ended with Shinji being sent to the nurse's office or even the hospital.
"Ahahahaha . . . I see . . . man this is hilarious! I mean, who in there right mind would ever expect Baka Shinji to be a Master let alone a Magus! It's just so out there! Hahaha!"
Shinji's fear of Asuka right now only increased as her laugh went from amused to hysterical. Everything just didn't make sense to him at the moment and question just seemed to pile up instead of being answered. Asuka's behavior was the only thing close to . . .
'Is she . . . crying?'
Just be chance of the moment did Shinji notice it, or think he noticed it. From the laughing figure of Asuka's face came a few streams of tears. At first glance someone might have just written it off as aside affect of her laughing but Shinji knew something was different. True she was laughing, but something from her eyes said she was feeling something else, pain or even denial. Shinji wasn't to sure for he only saw it for a brief moment and given the circumstances it was all possible he was seeing things that weren't there.
Finally Asuka stopped her laughing. She just stood there for a moment, looking at the ground before he head shot up and her eyes met Shinji's. She had the same glare she always had when Shinji did something stupid except this time it was about ten times more dangerous looking than ever before (if that would be all possible).
"Well Baka Shinji, consider this an honor. You're going to lose the war, but at least you died at the hands of its ultimate victor." Asuka cracked her knuckles as she said those words as she glared at Shinji in a way that would have made harden soldier cringe. There was little doubt that Asuka was not just going to settle for a beating this time around. She was out for blood and she wasn't the only one. Lancer, seeing his master getting ready for a fight, was like that of a puppy just given its favorite treat. He would get his fight and the mere idea made his blood boil.
Taking the initiative, Lancer stuck out at Rider in frenzy, unleashing waves of jabs and feints at the purple haired Servant. Very different from his battle with the blue Eva, Lancer had the advantage in this fight as Rider was quickly forced on the defensive, relying on acrobatics and dexterity to dodge rather than her iron nails to defend herself. For the time being she could only scowl as she attempted to defend herself against the onslaught of the skilled spear wielder.
Shinji, on the other hand, was panicking and trying to figure just what the heck was going one around here. Master? Magus? War? Nothing was making any sense to him. And to top things off, he was about to die at Asuka's hand with absolutely no idea what was going on. "WhaWhat the hell are to talking about Asuak? Magus? War? I don't understand!"
Asuka didn't seem persuaded by Shinji's cries as she started to walk toward the boy. Her response was nothing but her raising her right arm into the sky. A cloud like mist surrounded her arm before disappearing, leaving a faint red glow surrounding her hand. She the held out her open palm at Shinji and slowly the faint image of a wolf began to materialize around it.
Shinji stepped back in awe and fear of what he was witnessing until he stumbled onto the ground. His gaze never did leave the red-head but he still pleaded with Asuka that he had no idea what was going on. His cries seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, however, as Asuka continued to approach Shinji with murderous intent in her eyes.
Rider saw what was going on and moved to protect her Master but Lancer would have none of that. He had enough running around for today and he was intent on enjoying this fight to the bitter end. "No! No! No! Don't run away now! I'm just getting started!" Lancer almost sung before taking another jab at Rider. Unable to dodge, Rider brought up he two nails to parry the blow. In a shower of sparks Rider seceded to block the blow but was now in a weapon's lock with Lancer. Even though she was willing to take the risk of losing her own live to protect Shinji from Asuka, Rider was now stuck in this struggled with the increasingly battle crazed Lancer.
Now Asuka was standing just a few inches away from the grounded form of Shinji. By now the image of the wolf was clearer to see and even more monstrous looking than before. Shinji was just on the ground, looking at Asuka with absolute horror as his now shaky voice still tried to claim the German girl. With a twisted grin, Asuka looked at Shinji and muttered. "Is that so? Let's find out then."
For a moment, Shinji thought he might have broken through to her as a releaved expression overcame his face. Without warning, Asuka shot the arm with the wolf up into the air before screaming "Das Trugbild von Loki, Fluch von Tyr, kommt Hervor!" before bring the arm back down in Shinji's direction. Shinji eyes widened in horror as he saw the image of the wolf come down on him with it's mouth open and fangs coming straight toward his face. Shinji cringed, closing his eyes as he brought his arms up to defend himself.
Pain.
That is what he expected, but it never came. True, there was a slight tingly feeling but that was a far cry from the imagine feeling of fangs ripping into his skin. Slowly, Shinji opened his eyes only to see Asuka's fist just centimeters away from his face. It was no longer glowing nor was there any sign of the wolf like creature that was plummeting toward him just seconds ago.
Asuka was just standing there, frozen in that position as once again her face held a look of shock and surprise. "No way . . . Even a novice could see that was only an illusion . . . you really don't know . . ." Asuka stepped back a little, looking at Shinji with the some bewildered look as he was giving her. The two just stood there, looking at each other until the sounds of the fight between Rider and Lancer snapped them back into reality.
"Lancer! Stand Down!" Asuka barked as she swung around to face the two Servants. Following Asuka's lead, Shinji pushed himself off the ground and meekly yelled. "R-Rider! Please stop!"
Both Servants stopped in there tracks at the orders given. Lancer shot angry glare in Asuka's direction, about to demand why he should but his Master's gaze silenced him before he could ask. Rider, on the other hand, sprinted over to the two teenagers and planted herself between Shinji and Asuka, holding her iron nails in a threatening way at Asuka but did not out right attack her. Lancer followed suit by getting between Rider and Asuka, wielding his spear in his own threatening way at Rider. Shinji instantly went about; trying to calm the two Servants and tell them there was no need to fight. Asuka just stood where she was, however, looking at Shinji with curious eyes before narrowing them slightly before once again ordering Lancer to "Take a Chill pill."
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Ikari-Katsuragi Compound- Present Time
'After that, Asuka somehow repaired the damage to the school with some sort of magic. She tried to edge me into doing it myself but of coarse I had no idea how it was possible let alone actually doing it. Somehow we ended up at my place where Asuka preceded to explain to me just what the heck I've gotten myself into.
Apparently I'm now apart of some sort of Battle Royal that Magi (a.k.a. Magicians, magic users, those with magical potential) take part in known as the Holy Grail War or Holy Eva War, depending on who you ask. Like I said early, the Holy Grail War is some sort of 'Battle Royal' between seven Magi in which they all fight one another in order to lay claim to none other than the legendary Holy Grail itself which promises to grant the wishes of the Magi that obtains it. In this battle, the Magi, or Masters, are aided by spiritual familiars known as Servants, who are the reincarnations of legendary souls or men and woman of great ability from all across time, past, present, and future. Servants are organized into seven classes, each with their own specialties, strengths, and weakness compared to that of the others: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Berserker, Rider, Assassin, and Caster.
Of course, most Servants do not do this out of the kindness of their hearts. Servants are the only ones able to touch the Holy Grail and are in an even better position to have their own wished being granted instead of that of the Master. This was solved by the proof of the partnership of a Servant and Master, the Command Mantras. The Command Mantra is crystallized miracles that exist in some form or another on the Master's body. When activated, Command Mantra permits a Servant to accomplish an incredible feat, or alternatively provide Masters with the authority to issue an irrevocable and absolute order to a Servant. It can be only used three times though, so guess when the last one is spouse to be used.
That's only tip of the iceberg of what Asuka told me. Then there were exceptions to the rules, what happens when only a Master or a Servant is slain and not both, rules of engagement, ect, ect, ect . . . It's very overwhelming.
"Hey Baka Shinji! Stopped spacing out on me and get me a refill!"
Asuka poked Shinji's stomach a few times with her empty cup as she glared at him in utter annoyance. Shinji blinked a few times for he was still in a daze since having his thoughts interrupted. More out of habit rather than conscience thought Shinji stuttered out "Sorry!" before he went off to fulfill the request.
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Unknown Location
"I'm sorry that I have failed in the task that you gave me Sir. I didn't take the initiative in defeating the Second and my actions almost lead to the death of the Third."
No response was given for her statement. Standing alone in a darkened room, the transparent image of the same cloaked figure that attacked Asuka bowed toward the only other person present. It was a man, sitting at a desk with his arms clasped in front of his face as he leaned on them, his eyes hidden behind an amber pair of glasses. Nothing could be told about the man's feelings; there was nothing positive or negative about the aura that he gave off. Only a bone-chilling stare the came behind the ineffective barrier that was his glasses.
Finally, the man's hands slipped from their position from in front of him to on the desk, revealing something akin to a smile on his face. "It's quite alright, defeats happen and is meant to be learning experiences. Besides, things ended in a way that is acceptable for now." The hooded girl raised her head slightly at the response that was given to her. Although most of her face was still hidden, his mouth was and it curled slightly into the form of a weak smile. "Yes, My Lord."
Slowly, the image of the hooded girl faded and with her the darkness that consumed the room that the man was in. As the darkness faded, the figures of objects other than the desk began to take form. Soon, a rather well decorated office room began to take form.
Very quickly did the man's smile disappear from his face as the sound of someone giggling filled the room. From the shadows somewhere behind him, a woman cloaked in a dress of various purples, dark blues, and blacks came out and stood just behind the man. Floating in front of her was a small object akin to a crystal ball in shape but glowing with various colors.
"You're always so nice to them no matter what happened. But I guess this time was understandable considering you already knew the result." Once again the woman let out a giggled while the man did nothing to respond to her. As if taking the hint, the woman smiled as she gazed at the orb in front of her. Slowly, the images of various people have begun to appear. In particular was that of one Shinji Ikari and one Asuka Langley Soryu.
"The end justifies the means. Anything is acceptable as long as the scenario stays on course." Was the man's response before he brought his hands back to the crossed position in front of his face. Once again the room began to darken as images began to appear. This time they were not of the cloaked girl but that of twelve different cloaked person's reach with a roman numeral on their hood.
IV: We've been waiting Ikari.
I: Yes, what is your report?
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Unknown Location Number Two
As the image of the man before he faded she could not help but feel saddened. Even though he had forgiven her this time she still felt that she had let down her Lord for failing to accomplish any of her objectives. And to her, that was a very great sin. That man had helped both herself and her sister from as far as she could remember so she owed it to that man yet she had just failed. In her mind she repeated what had happened a few hours ago over and over in her head. She should have succeeded in all of her objectives yet she somehow failed. That was unacceptable.
Before she could do anything about it, the door to the room opened followed by a young and playful voice. "Onee-chan! Are you done yet?" Before the named 'Onee-chan' had even turned around she was knocked to the ground as a small pair of arms wrapped around her. A young girl with long white hair and a pair of childish pajamas had tackled her in order to give Onee-chan a hug. Slowly, Onee-chan removed her hood and revealed her face. Her expression, originally that of someone in deep and serious thought had long given away into a small but warm smile.
"I guess . . . for now I am."
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Ikari-Katsuragi Compound
"Asuka, there are two more things I have to know."
Asuka's eyebrow rose when Shinji once again spoke up to ask a question. For the last bit of time it was a cycle of the same events, Shinji would ask a question, she would answer, there was a long moment of silence before Shinji would ask another question. True the cycle was broken a few times by that penguin of Shinji's when the bird burst through the door and began to worship Rider like an idol. 'A screwed up pet for a screwed up owner' Asuka commented to herself before Pen-Pen had to be placed into his refrigerator.
Back to the task on hand, this time there was something different in his voice. It may have been everything was finally sinking into that thick skull of his but it was still surprising to her. His voice had a certain need in it, almost as if everything hinged on this one question of his. " . . . Yes, Baka? What is it?"
"First off, what was that thing back at the school? I still don't get everything, but I can tell that thing wasn't exactly a Servant."
Asuka was taken back by Shinji's question. He was a total novice at all of this and had no magical ability to boot yet he actually made a rather smart observation. Without realizing it, Asuka lips form a smile before she proceeded to answer Shinji's question. "So you do have at least something of a brain Baka, I'm impressed. Anyway, you're only partial right in you guess. They are not Servants in the terms of my Lancer or Rider here . . . at least in there current forms." Asuka didn't have to look to see Shinji's confused face so she preemptively held up her hand so to tell him to wait before she continued. "They are the Evangelion, the highest level of the contract between Servant and Master. Created by the meager of two souls into a body born of life force or mana, the Evangelion is the ultimate fighter and the winner of wars."
Shinji cringed slightly at Asuka's mostly favorable portrayal of the Evangelion. In his mind, if anything they were only monsters. Not noticing Shinji's negative response, Asuka just continued on uninterrupted. "Of coarse only the highest level Magus such as me can summon an Evangelion. Someone like shouldn't worry by the Evangelion unless your fighting against one."
By now Lancer was looking at his Master with a mix of confusion and amusement. "Is that so? Then tell me, why didn't you summon an Evangelion when we were fighting that blue one earlier?" If looks could kill, Lancer would be dead thirty times over by now as Asuka glared at him. Shinji, blissfully unaware of what exactly was being implied just sat there quietly and Rider . . . well, Rider was still enjoying her drink.
"That . . . That's because I didn't want to waste any mana summoning an Evangelion when it was obvious that we could handle it normally. Evangelion aren't cheep and cost a lot of mana to summon, so why waste resources?" It was painfully obvious to Lancer that as best this was only a half truth. Still, he just accepted his Master's words as confidence in his abilities and that was just fine by him.
Shinji too took Asuka's words at face value but for very different reasons. Now that one of his questions was answered, he had one more which in his mind was far more important than anything he asked before. Not even waiting for her approval, Shinji continued on with asking his final question. "Asuka . . . I have one more thing to ask. Ten years ago . . . did a Holy Grail War happen ten years ago in Tokyo-Two?"
Not only was Asuka surprised by Shinji's question but Lancer as well. This boy had nothing to do with the Holy Grail War before tonight; he didn't even know about the existence of Magus and other such things. Yet he somehow knew of the previous war? Asuka's eyes narrowed a bit, as she looked at Shinji. She did not know of Shinji's past yet he seemed to have at least some hint of the events happening during the pervious and infamous Holy Grail War. "What? . . . How?"
"I'm Home!"
"EH?!" The small group of Masters and Servants froze at the new and notably drunken voice coming from somewhere nearby. "Misato!" Shinji responded out of instinct when he heard the voice of his teacher/guardian. "Shinji-kun? Iz tha you? Were you waitin' fo' little ol' me?" Slowly the stumbling footsteps of Misato got loader and louder and the purple haired woman made her way to the dinning room.
Asuka' honestly wanted to hit Shinji more than ever at the young man's programmed act of stupidity. "Anta Baka?! She can't know about this! Lancer!" Heading his Master's orders, Lancer began to fade away from view as he entered the 'Ether Realm' or 'Magical Realm' of existence. Asuka shot another anger glance at Shinji and Rider for while Shinji was just panicking, Rider was just standing beside her Master. "Baka! What are you waiting for? Send your Servant to the Ether Realm!"
"Oh? Shinji-kun, iz someone with youz?"
As Misato's voice got louder and her footsteps closer, Shinji just looked at Rider, then at Asuka in total confusion. "What are you talking about? I don't how to send anyone to the Ezther or whatever Realm!" This only seemed to piss off Asuka even more, who was swept up in the panic of the moment she forgot that Shinji had practically no training in magic thus would of coarse not know how to send Rider to an another Realm of existence. Stomping over to Master/Servant duo, Asuka began to berate Shinji while Rider, who still seemed to see Asuka as hostile, tried to block the red-heads advance. "Shut up! I can't believe how stupid you are sometimes! And you, get out of the way WHOA!?!?"
Somehow, Pen-Pen had gotten back into the room and began jumping up and down between the trio's feet in an attempt to get Rider's attention. In the constant flow of movement, Asuka's anger, and the still present pressure of panic, Shinji lost his balance and fell to the ground, with Asuka and Rider following shortly after.
The door to the dinning room opened to reveal the silhouette of Misato as she stumbled to turn on the still off lights. "Now don' tellz me youz brought you girlfriend home while I waz out! Shinji youz sneaky-" Finding the light switch, Misato turned them on to be with a sight she never expected. In the floor was Shinji along with two other girls, one of them dressed in a rather seductive attire and all of which were groaning (but in Misato's drunken mind-state, moaning) as they lay in the floor and some rather kinky positions.
Her mind, being assaulted with so much information while in its drunken state, was simply overwhelmed with so much contradicting information that the woman who could chug entire barrels of beer in moments simply passed out at the sight.
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"You really are an idiot, you know that?"
Shinji cringed slightly at Asuka's words, barely muttering an 'I'm sorry' while putting a sheet over Misato's out cold body. Asuka had an ice pack on her head where she had hit the floor earlier so he mood already in hell right now. Rider was busy roping up Pen-Pen before returning him to his fridge although one would notice that the bird seemed a little too happy about being tied up.
Letting out another annoyed groan, Asuka announced her intent of returning home for tonight. Enough had already happened that she was seriously annoyed and stressed and she didn't want that to increase. Shinji protested slightly to himself since he never did get his answer but he let it go for now. He had caused enough trouble for Asuka so he couldn't ask anything more of her, for now at least
Escorting Asuka to the door, the red-head was about to take he leave when Shinji stopped her. "Hey . . . Asuka?"
"Yeah? What is it Baka?"
Shinji fidgeted a little, obviously uncomfortable with either what he was about to say or some other reason. In any case, this annoyed Asuka to not end and she was about to berate the boy when he let out a heavy sigh before managing to speak. "I just want to say I'm sorry for everything . . . and to say Thank You for your help."
What happened next surprised Shinji. He was sure that Asuka would either beat him, yell at him, some combination of the previously mention, or confirm her superiority over him but none of that happened. While the look on Asuka's face was far from happy, it wasn't angry of even annoyed. Content would be the best word Shinji could come up with.
"Your welcome."
Almost on a dime Asuka's mood seemed to return back to normal after saying those words. "But don't think I'm going to be willing to help you out from now on! For all intensive purposes, you and I are going to be enemies from now on, you got it?" Before Shinji could confirm that, Asuka had already slipped on her shoes and was out the door, walking back towards her home. Despite the fact Asuka had just declared that they were to be enemies after this, Shinji still has something in him that allowed himself to smile before he shut the door and returned back into his home.
Despite the rather late hour it was, Shinji still found himself unable to even consider the thought of getting some sleep. Returning to the dinning room, the weight of the situation finally smashed down on him. He was part of a war, one that could potential not only kill him but anyone and everyone around him. Asuka told him how bystander causalities were potential high in the Holy Grail War, especial sense Servants could potential harvest the life force, or mana as Asuka called it, in order to increase a Servant's power. For a brief moment, the image of every single person Shinji knew being burnt alive in eerie parallel to the Tokyo-Two fire while he was ordering Rider to harvest their life force to increase her power.
Feeling a presence behind him, Shinji spun around only to see Rider standing almost directly behind him. "Master . . ." she said as the very first words she uttered to him. From his reaction Rider took it that Shinji wished to be alone at the moment. ". . . Please get some rest, Master. You will need it for the battles ahead." Without another word, Rider left the room leaving a very perplexed Shinji alone.
Shinji wanted to apologize, but the image of him ordering Rider to harvest the mana of his friends kept appearing in his mind. He couldn't face her now, not while that image kept coming up. The lack of sleep finally kicking in, Shinji opted to go to his bedroom and actually attempt to get some sleep.
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Last night was a rough one for Shinji, or what remained of it anyway. Sleep proved to be just beyond reach of the young boy as he spent most of the night just lying in his bed with his trusty SADT playing the same classical music he always listened to. He could of sworn he had just entered sleep for a few minutes before his alarm woke up him indicating it was time to prepare of school.
Moving reaching out from the covers of his bed, Shinji attempted to find the snooze button of his alarm system only to end up either hitting the stand around it or nothing at all. In one final attempt to find the curse of mankind's inventions, Shinji reached out and managed to grab something. The alarm did go off, but whatever he grabbed wasn't the hard plastic casing of the alarm clock. It was something round . . . warm . . . and squishy like a marshmallow. Giving it a few more squeezes just to make sure it was actually there, Shinji heard something like moan which caused him to shot up from his bed.
Beside his bed was none other than Rider sitting on a chair that was right next to his bed. One of her hands were on the alarm clock that Shinji was so desperately looking for, indicating that it was she, not himself that had turned it off. "Rider?" Shinji meekly asked, wondering why she was in his room in the first place. Shinji then did noticed that Rider's skin was rather flushed, though, and her lips in a rather odd expression.
Shinji was then reminded of the rather squishy object that was still in his hand. Following the path of his arm, Shinji realized for the first time that his hand had a firm gasp over Rider's right breast.
"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
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"Howard! They're doing it again!"
"For Christ sake, Margaret! Shut the F"
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Shinji couldn't even bring himself to even look at Rider's face he was so ashamed. Ever since the little 'incident' no words were exchanged between the two as Shinji merely went about his morning chores while Rider just followed him around. If the awkwardness wasn't enough, the fact that Shinji couldn't bring himself to even apologize for what he did was just murder for him. 'How could I do that? I mean it was an accident . . . but she must think I'm some pervert that would only use her for my own . . .' Shinji found himself blushing at the thoughts that came into his mind before he began to shake his head back and forth in an attempt to forget them. 'No! No! Bad Shinji, Bad! She's my partner in this whole ordeal, I can't think of her like some object!'
After making breakfast, Shinji set the dinning room table for two before starting on his morning meal. Shinji had only just begun to nibble on his food when he realized that Rider was not sitting down and eating the food he had made for her but was just standing behind him. "Ano . . . aren't you going to eat, Rider-san?" Shinji tried to but on a normal face as he pointed to the food that he had put out for Rider.
Rider head just tilted slight, showing that she was at least looking at the food before looking and Shinji then the food again. As if she was given an order, Rider then sat down at the table and very slowly began to eat. Shinji mentally let out a sigh of relief, happy that he was at least able to talk to her. "Ummm . . . Rider?" Shinji squeaked out, trying to ride on his small success streak and talk with Rider.
At the mention of her name, Rider instantly stopped what she was doing and tilted her still masked head towards Shinji. "Eh . . . I'm . . . I'm sorry about early. I . . . I didn't mean to --." Before Shinji finished, Rider just went back to eating the meal placed before her. Shinji's heart sank at this, almost positive that she hated his guts out when she said. "You don't need to apologize. You are my Master; you can do as you wish."
"You can't be serious! I can't do that kind of stuff to you!" Shinji protested as inappropriate images filled Shinji's head. "You're my partner; I just can't go around treating you like you were some object!"
Rider once again stopped eating and tilted her head, but this time in a way that suggest thought. It seemed like she was confused by Shinji's words, like they were foreign to her. "Correction. I am your Servant, not your partner. It is my mission to do my best to fulfill your wishes and keep your safe even if it cost my own life."
Shinji wasn't sure how to respond to this. He hated the idea, how this woman before him was so willing to throw everything away for him even though Shinji didn't know what he wanted in the first place. He hated the idea of how someone could put so little value in their life for any reason but he just couldn't come up with an argument. Whatever he come up with, some voice in his head just told him that he was contradicting himself and that would make him a hypocrite.
Shinji's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a load moan coming from the hallway. "Oh shit, Misato! I forgot about her! You've got to hide Rider!" Still oblivious about how to send Rider into a different realm of existence, Shinji simply pushed Rider into the kitchen and shut the door behind him before going back to his seat.
Misato came stumbling into the dinning room rubbing her head and grumbling to herself. She looked like hell and more so than usual. Her hair was ruffled far more than usual and she looked as if she died, her corpse dragged through Tokyo-Three, and brought back to life only to repeat the process three more times. "G-Good Morning Misato." Shinji piped out only to be meet with a even more terrible groan than what normally came from Misato. When it became clear that Misato was going to the kitchen, Shinji panicked as he tried to prevent Misato from doing so since Rider was in there. "W-Wait Misato! Since you don't look so well today how about just taking a set and I'll get you your-" Shinji was meet with a growl that could have honestly caused him to crap in his pants if he hadn't already taken care of that beforehand.
Shinji yelped as Misato opened the door to the kitchen, expecting Rider to be right there in plain sight. Shinji began to wonder what they would write on his tombstone as he braced for the impending yell of shock followed by a series of curses that would make sailors and maybe even Asuka blush. There was no yell, however, as Misato just walk un-interrupted to the refrigerator as she finished out her morning supply of beer.
Shinji just looked stupefied at the now open doorway to the kitchen, wondering just where the hell Rider went. As if on command Rider's light purple hair and her head appeared from somewhere from the kitchen ceiling, looking all around here as she examined the back of Misato's head. Shinji felt his heart stop as he held his breath as this happened fro Misato just had to turn around before being met with the upside down face of Rider and he couldn't do anything without causing Misato to turn around. Just before Misato turned around, Rider head and hair shot back up to the ceiling leaving an oblivious Misato walking back into the dinning room.
Shinji just sat in his seat at the whole ordeal, his face turning purple due to the lack of breathing on his part. Misato just sat down in the seat across from Shinji that had he back to the kitchen and opened her beer so she could taste the cold beverage.
As Misato chucked, Shinji eyes widen when Rider's chain shot out from somewhere on the kitchen ceiling and wrapped around the refrigerator's knob and tightened itself, causing the refrigerator door to open. "AHHHH! Now that's a way to start the mornin'! Hey Shinji, I had the weirdest dream last night that when I came who you were getting it on with some – Hey, what cha' lookn' at?" Shinji tried to say 'Nothing' but the lack of air in his lungs prevented him to do so. Behind Misato the chain had shot out again, this time roping around one of the Yebisu beers cans before pulling it up toward the ceiling.
When Shinji failed to provide an answer, she turned around only to see that the refrigerator was still open. "That's odd . . . I could have sworn I shut it." Despite Shinji's protest, Misato got up once again so that she could close the refrigerator. As she started to close the door, her 'Misato' sense began to tingle, hinting that there was something wrong with her beer supply. However, only running on one beer at the moment thus still suffering a head ache, Misato just closed the refrigerator door before walking back into the dinning room. She so desperately needed another beer that she could swear she just heard the sound of another can opening as she walked back to the table.
"Anyway, as I was saying, I had the strangest dream that when I got home you were on the floor getting kinky with two girls at the same time! It's just funny considering I know that you wouldn't do that kind of thing considering that you have me all to yourself!" Misato let out a giggle, expecting Shinji to be blushing all the shades of red only to see his head on the table with a half-dead expression on his face. 'Good God I killed him!' "What's wrong Shinji-kun?" Misato asked innocently, still under the impression that it was her dream that had Shinji like this. Shinji only waved weakly as a very weak "Nothing" came out of his mouth.
Misato smiled to herself though she feigned indifference as he picked up the remote to turn on the news. "This is Ronin Takeda here with the Morning News. More office workers found unconscious this morning, bring the grand total . . . ."
After that things went on smoothly in the Ikari-Katsuragi Compound. Misato had fixed her watch so they two weren't rushed as they went about their morning activities although Misato did notice that Shinji was more tense than usual. Ever wary of her young wards behavior, she knew that Shinji was keeping something under the radar. And Misato didn't like it when little Shinji-kun kept secrets from her. A wicked smile formed on Misato's face as ideas and plots came to mind about how to break Shinji's tight lips on the matter.
Soon it was time for Misato and Shinji to make there way to school. "Shinji-kun! Hurry up, would ya?" Misato yelled as she blew the horn of her Alpine A310. "Coming!" Shinji yelled back, quickly putting on his shoes while Rider waited patiently for her Master's orders. "Now Rider, I'm going to school now so for the time being you just going have to lay low and keep out of sight. Make sure no one sees you, alright?" Rider nodded in response before another few blast from Misato urged Shinji to move it. Before Shinji left however, he turned to Rider and said. "Rider . . . just because your title is Servant doesn't mean you are one to me. I don't know what to expect from now on, so I'm going to count on you." A few more horn blast followed, which caused Shinji to leave in a rush and leaving Rider alone to ponder his words. A few moments later the sound of a girly screaming could be heard followed by the screeching of tires on asphalt.
Shortly after Shinji left, Rider too went outside and started to make her way to an un-named location. Shinji had told her to say out of sight but not to remain in the complex.
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Shinji's arrival at school was pretty identical to that of yesterday with exceptions being that Toji and Kensuke weren't there to greet Misa . . . I mean Shinji. Still Shinji thought this might have been for the better for he still needed to get head on straight. Wondering about the mostly empty school grounds, Shinji began to dwell on what was had happened since yesterday night.
Although so far he was able to calmly accept the fact he had somehow gotten involved in an underground war between Magus out of all people, one with a very high chance of death not only for himself but practically anyone who lived in Tokyo-Three. Images of people like Toji, Kensuke, even the class rep began to appear in his mind, all of the screaming as they were murdered in cold blood by various, demonic eyed Servants. All of them cried out to Shinji, asking him why as if he was the one responsible for their deaths, all of them looking straight through them with their dead eyes that could send any soul to the deepest parts of hell.
Shinji felt a chill go down his spine. He didn't want his friends to die and he didn't want to die himself but some of Asuka's words rang true in his head. He was no Magus, there was almost not way he could effectively fight in this war. He could barely stand up for himself in every day events and that was only on days when he felt particularly brave. 'Just what should I do?'
It was then Shinji heard sharp sound of metal hitting the floor. It was shockingly loud but it was enough to grab his attention. It was close by, whatever it was, maybe in one of the club-rooms? With almost no premeditative thoughts Shinji opened the door to the club room which he thought the noise came from.
At first Shinji thought he had guessed wrong since there didn't seem to be anyone there at the moment. However, another sharp clang of metal proved that his guess was true and directed his attention to floor. There was a student, an upper-classmen by Shinji's guess, with orange-red hair that was fiddling with a rather complex looking part of a machine. All around the student were various tools and in front of him seemed to be heater unit that was partial disassembled. "That's odd . . . the filament should be working now. Did I miss something?"
"Maybe you just knocked one of the wires lose." Shinji wasn't sure why he answered but that is what he honestly thought. He didn't tell anyone, but Shinji honestly did like to tinker with various machines in his free time. It was a little habit Shinji picked up shortly after he came to Tokyo-Three and Toji took him to his father's workshop so to 'make Shinji more man-like.' Who knows what logic they were following back then?
The orange haired boy was honestly surprised at Shinji's suggestion but more out of the fact he didn't know Shinji was there rather than anything else. "Wha?" The classman stated before he seemed to think about what Shinji said. "It does make sense . . . Hey, can you pass me that screwdriver? The one near your foot." Sure enough, Shinji looked down to see a flat head screwdriver near his foot. "Ano . . . Sure."
Sure enough, Shinji ended up being right on his guess. At first, conversation was limited between the two with the upperclassman just asking Shinji to help him find a part or tool. The two started to warm up to each other though and started to freely converse with one another. Shinji didn't know why but he felt relaxed when speaking with this person. It may have been just because they had a common interest but Shinji felt he could relate to this person on some higher level.
It didn't take long for the two of them to finish putting together the heater. After making sure it actually worked, the two of them stepped out into the hallway with the intent to heading back to their respected classed. "I'm sorry about trapping you there. I guess I just was so absorbed I kind of forgot you had just arrived." The orange haired boy apologized which Shinji simply shook off. "No, it's alright. I wasn't really doing anything anyway so helping you was my pleasure . . ." For thee first time Shinji realized he didn't know his upperclassmen's name. He found it somewhat funny he felt so at ease dispite the fact he knew so little about him.
"Shiro Emiya" The orange boy said politely as if to respond to Shinji's thoughts. Shinji in turn introduced himself. "Ikari-san? Well it's very nice talking with you. I don't normally get a chance to work with someone that knows about machines so this was a nice change of pace." Shiro then began walking down the hallway, waving slightly at Shinji as he went. "I hope to be seeing more of you in the future, Ikari-san."
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"Hey Shinji, looks like you made it." Toji teased as Shinji came into the class room out of breath. Class was about to start and until a few moments ago no one was sure where the soft-spoken young man was. "Heh . . . yeah, I was helping someone and we lost track of time." Toji and Kensuke just nodded at their friend's response since, knowing Shinji, that wasn't far-fetched in any way or form.
Shinji sat down in his usual seat as Toji and Kensuke continued their conversation. Shinji was only half-paying attention to them though. After speaking with Shiro-san, Shinji pretty much returned to his state of worry which was only interrupted when he realized classes were about to start.
Out of the corner of his eye Shinji noticed Asuka who was just sitting at her desk doing nothing in particular. Asuka the noticed that Shinji was glancing over at her and when the young man tried to offer a smile Asuka face clenched in annoyance before looking somewhere else. 'Guess she wasn't pulling in punches we she said we're enemies from now on.' Shinji thought to himself, a sick feeling overwhelming his gut.
"Shinji . . . Shinji? . . . Hey Ikari!"
Hearing the somewhat raised voice of Toji, Shinji snapped back into reality only to see Toji and Kensuke with slightly worried looks on their faces. "You ok Shinji? You seem out of it today." Kensuke asked but Shinji just denied it. "Sorry guys, I was just thinking about something. What were we talking about again?"
"If ya say so. Anyway, we're talkn' about the transfer students that are commin' in today." Shinji blinked a few times, honestly surprised with what Toji had just told him. "Transfer Students?" Out of nowhere Kensuke's camera appeared in front of Shinji, scaring the boy slightly but not enough to make him scream. "Yeah, the transfer students that are coming today. Remember that whole conversation we had on the roof yesterday?"
Thinking back, Shinji did remember Kensuke briefly mentioning something about new students but didn't remember much about the details. Shinji had forgotten much of it due to all the excitement of what had happened last night. "Sort of . . . Isn't it kind of odd though? Getting new students at this time in the school year?" Toji nodded in agreement as Kensuke continued with the details. "Maybe but they're a lot of rumors going around about them as well. Apparent some of them have some pretty high profile backgrounds and such. Plus . . . I hear they're all girls!"
Shinji and Toji both face-faulted at Kensuke's dramatic reveal of that last little bit of information. After recovering the conversation just took its course. "Really? Well it lookz like I'm going to be a little busy from now own. But don't worry guyz, I'll save a little action for ya." Toji said, putting botched attempt of being a stud in every way. Kensuke just rolled his eyes before commenting, "Please, it wouldn't matter if you were the last man on Earth you still wouldn't be able to get a date. Besides, we all know about you little crush on a certain class representative." Shinji could only laugh as one red faced Toji strangle Kensuke. Lucky for Kensuke, Misato who was the home room teacher had just entered the room and announced home room was staring.
Once everyone was settled down, Misato proudly slammed her hand on the teacher's desk before saying. "Ok everyone! We've got some new students here today so show them a warm welcome. But keep an eye on your boyfriends, ladies, these girls are some lookers!" If the class wasn't paying attention before, they were now as three students entered the classroom. Shinji, somehow able to temporarily leave his worries behind, was honestly curious about his new classmates and wondered why there were so many of them during such an unusual time in the year.
The first to enter was a rather shy looking girl that looked terrified to be standing in front of the class as she gripped her bag across her chest like it was some life preserver. She had a rather pale complexion compared to most people and black hair was fairly long compared to most as well. She wore a rather large pair of circular glasses plus had something of a beauty mark just below her left lip. Shinji noticed that here eyes seemed to be darting all around the room as if looking for something, but he didn't give it much thought thinking that she was just nervous. "H-Hello. My name is Mayumi Yamagishi. It's a pl-pleasure to meet you."
The second girl that entered was almost the exact opposite of Mayumi in almost every way. While Mayumi was almost terrified about being there, the new girl seemed more confident, energetic even, as she entered the room and took her place next to the cowering Mayumi. The new girl had short brown hair and a rather normal complexion as well. For some reason she seemed to be scanning over the class for some reason until her glance happened to stop on Shinji. Shinji felt slightly un-nerved as this girl he never seen before just seemed to be staring at him for some reason. Then the girl just winked at Shinji, causing many of Shinji's classmates to look at him, the male portion giving him death glares. "Hello there! My name is Mana Kirishima, how's it hangin'?"
Then came the final new transfer student and she stood out the most of the new arrivals. The last girl walked in silently and quickly before taking her place next to Mana like she was in some military line up. Her face was absolutely expressionless, lifeless even, as she stood in front of the students, showing nothing to give any hint what was on her mind. While Mayumi was pale, this girl was almost dead white in skin color and that was only the beginning for she also head red eyes and light blue hair to boot. "My name is Rei Ayanami. How do you do?" Like the two before her, Rei also took time to glance over the class but this time in a more methodical way, as if she left nothing out of memory. She too stopped when she noticed Shinji but she only looked at him for a moment before resuming to scan over the class.
Hiding in a tree just outside of the school grounds, Rider watched everything going on in her Master's classroom from afar. As the three girls walked in, Rider tensed slightly as she gazed at the three girls. Instinctively, Rider gripped her iron nails slight, causing the chain that connected the two tow clatter slightly in the still peaceful air. It wouldn't be long till peaceful no longer applied.
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A/N: And so ends chapter two! Once again I would like to apologize for the roughness of this chapter but hopefully some of you can forgive me.
And to make things worse is that soon I will be leaving for a month long trip in Japan and as you can imagine that will leave little time for me to work on Chapter Three if I don't complete it before then. I promise to try and get you the next chapter before I leave and at the very least post the edited and expanded Prologue chapter.
Anyway, now on to the Omaka/Preview! Please R&R!
Oh, and before I forget.
Cookie points for those people who can tell me where I got Mayumi Yamagishi from. Just promise me you won't look it up. ;p
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Asuka: Hey Ronin! What's the deal not doing a preview last chapter? My Contract states we always have previews so I can get more face time!
Ronin109: Err . . . Well you see . . .
Rin: You get more face time?! I think the readers already had enough of the so called 'Red-Devil'. Besides I think Ronin-sama realized that important characters like myself don't need these silly previews for 'face-time' as you call it.
Asuka: What the hell!?! You've only appeared once so far and that was only for a bit piece in Chapter One!
Rin: Shut up! Come over here you little . . .
Toji: Cat Fight!
Shinji Mato: Meow!
Kensuke: I'll get the camera!
-Rin and Asuka look at each other-
Rin: Truce?
Asuka: Only while we kick their asses.
-Insert fight noises here- -Insert girly screaming here-
Ronin109: Sigh . . . it never ends.
Shinji Ikari and Shiro: Welcome to our world.
Sakura andHikari: -Sweat drop-
Rei: Next time on The Holy Eva Wars: Lines Take Shape, Shinji's First Battle.