The following incorporates characters, situations and settings which are derived from the copyrighted works of Studio Gainax/Khara and DC Comics, respectively. No infringement of copyright or trademark is intended. This work will be removed from the internet at the request of the owners of the aforementioned intellectual property.
A pure hand needs no glove to cover it. -~Nathaniel Hawthorne
Last Child of Krypton
Chapter 3- School Day
There was a daily rhythm to life in Tokyo-3 that Shinji could appreciate. Every morning at precisely six in the morning –there being no point in varying it, since the times of sunrise and sunset no longer changed all that much, drifting through a much slower and less profound progression- massive buildings covered with mirrors rose and rotated to draw the light of the sun down into the Geofront, and with them Shinji arose to enjoy the light of the sun on his skin through his tiny bedroom window. He sat bolt upright without yawning or stretching (he wasn't really sure he needed to sleep, but as far as he knew, it didn't hurt) and enjoyed the perhaps five to fifteen minutes of peace he would have before Misato stumbled her way out of her filthy bedroom and proceeded to greet the day with a can of beer. The difference being that this morning, Shinji was not alone and slightly startled by the lilting singing of a certain redheaded girl, who was serenading herself in the shower. Though he did not know the words he felt a certain peace in it; the song must have been a lullaby.
Remembering that he had to make breakfast for three and presumably lunch for two, he set about his tasks with his usual aplomb. Since no one was there to watch him, he could easily thread his way through the complex motions of preparing multiple different foods, moving so fast that he may as well have been in four places at once. He only slowed to a pace manageable by mortal men only when he heard Asuka turn off the shower and get to brushing her teeth. The sounds of her activities- the toothpaste tube being squeezed, the bristles on her teeth, the twisting of a stick of lip gloss, makeup pads and brushes drifting across her skin- joined with the daily symphony of people rising that hummed along in the background as he worked, like the heartbeat of the world. He was careful to be looking anywhere but at the space she would presently occupy when he heard her bare feet padding across the carpet, turning to catch a glimpse of her hair as she shook it free of her towel, still heavy with moisture like a paintbrush heavy with ochre, drawn across the canvas of the sunrise beyond the glass doors to the veranda.
A few minutes later, he was taking off his apron as she entered the kitchen, adjusting her school uniform, and he plated up her food. He assumed she would want eggs and toast, and prepared accordingly, slipping out of the apartment last night in total silence (it helped that his feet didn't have to touch the ground) to acquire some, although she was unsure of the selection of breakfast meat she would prefer. He set the plate of food in front of her with a flourish.
"I thought you people ate seaweed for breakfast or something?" she yawned.
"Sometimes we do, but you've travelled a long way and I thought some European food would make you feel more at home. Did I miss anything?"
"No, thank you," she said, hungrily digging into the eggs. "Wow, these are perfect. Did you season them with something?"
"Trade secret," he said sheepishly.
It was then that Misato stumbled into the kitchen, procured a can of beer from the refrigerator, and sat down. She put the can down for a moment, and Shinji checked to make sure that neither of them were looking at him, raised his glasses, and focused on the can for a moment. When the metal let out a small ping he returned to preparing Misato's own food as she popped the can open and took a long pull. She recoiled in disgust and put the can on the table.
"Blechhh, it's warm! What the hell?"
"Would you like some coffee instead?" Shinji asked, waving a can of chilled coffee in her face.
"What are you, a missionary or something?" she said, snatching the can from his grasp. "Okay, maybe just today, but they'll be cold by tomorrow."
He smirked to himself as he finished breakfast, knowing that little trick had worked for the last three days. Maybe a few more, and he could talk to her into 'cutting down' a bit, once it was out of her system. Something about the refrigerator fully stocked with junk food and booze disturbed him, though he knew not why. When Misato asked where her snacks went, he simply blamed it on the penguin, who presently waddled into the kitchen and stared at him expectantly until he put a plate of grilled fish on the floor. Once he had the lunches packed he returned to his bedroom, put on his school uniform, and made sure his other uniform was carefully packed into a hidden compartment he'd sewn into his school bag, compressed so tight it would feel like padding at the bottom of the bag to anyone who didn't know the trick to opening it. Asuka was already heading out the door when he popped a piece of toast in his mouth (he wasn't hungry, and it fact couldn't remember being hungry, but liked toast) having not deigned to wait for him before setting off for school.
He caught up to her easily enough, watching with some amusement as she coordinated their position to her map, naturally taking the lead. For anyone else, the trek to school was a bit of a walk, but Shinji was unconcerned despite the weight of his bags. Asuka visibly straightened when she caught sight of the school, adjusted herself, and nearly bounded up the steps to the main entrance. Shinji followed in silence as she reported to the wizened school secretary, who poured over her transfer papers before providing her with a school identification card and directing her to her home room, which was, coincidentally, the same as Shinji's.
Shinji dutifully followed until they made their way into the room and Asuka presented herself to the class representative, Hikari Horaki. Shinji slipped away to seat himself at the rear of the classroom. Moments later, Toji Suzahara and Kensuke Aida dropped in beside him, the former crossing his legs on the desk in a pose of exaggerated calm while Aida pulled out his laptop and booted it up. Toji nodded at Asuka.
"Yo," he said, "who's the babe?"
Shinji wasn't sure how to explain her position to the two boys, it probably being classified and all. "Uh, she works for NERV."
"Another intern?" Kensuke said. "Hey, can you get me a job there? Please?"
Shinji sighed and ignored him.
"She let you walk her to school?" Toji said admiringly as he studiously examined Asuka's legs.
"No, she moved in with me and Misato.."
Shinji leaned his head on his hand and looked out the window, already longing for the day to end. It took him a moment to realize that his neighbors were staring at him.
"She what?" Kensuke said.
Toji took another long look. "I hate you," he muttered.
"Huh?"
"You're like, some kind of babe magnet."
Shinji sighed, then a pang of fear flowed through him as Asuka's eyes drifted his way and locked on Toji. She strutted to where the three of them sat and demanded, "What are you staring at, monkey boy?"
"Your legs," Toji replied, as if this were completely ordinary.
Asuka moved so fast that even Shinji was a little surprised, half dragging the boy out of his seat by the collar of his tracksuit.
"Keep your eyes to yourself, primate,", she growled, then roughly deposited him back in the desk before returning to chat more amiably with the class rep.
"She's some kind of devil," Toji whispered.
Kensuke apparently hadn't gotten the message. "She's like some kind of warrior goddess."
Shinji groaned. This was going to be a long day.
SSSSS
Kaji pulled his white Lotus into the far end of the teacher's parking lot and verified that Shinji was seated in the back of the classroom via monocular, taking pains to appear as casual as possible. As he watched, the students jerked almost as one and stood up in unison, responding, as he anticipated, to the announcement of lunch. He waited a few moments as the students began to boil out of the school like ants from an anthill, spreading out in all directions to take up positions around the trees, on the sidewalks, and even the roof to eat their lunches. When he spotted Shinji wandering out, his bag over his shoulder, hands thrust in his pockets, staring pointedly at the ground and snatching the occasional glance at his former ward and another young girl with freckles and pigtails. Kaji briefly wondered which one he was looking at, and snickered when he realized that at that age he probably would have been chasing after them both. Kids had no idea how lucky they were in these times.
He put a dog whistle between his teeth, took a deep breath, and puffed as hard as he could. Shinji froze, his eyes darting to and fro, and Kaji let out another blast. After a moment, the boy's eyes settled on him- exactly on him, with the same intensity as if he'd been standing just outside the car. He had to admit, that was a little unnvering. Shinji looked all around and carefully slipped away from the students, cutting behind a tree to obscure his departure. The five blatantly obvious Section 2 men were too busy following Asuka to notice him at all, which meant Ikari wasn't tailing the kid, or was having actual professionals do it. When he was sure the boy was looking at him, he put the car and gear and pulled out onto the highway, motioning for him to follow.
He drove for a time, checking his watch, then pulled into a parking lot he'd scouted earlier for this purpose, behind an unused little storefront. He got out of the car and started in surprise when Shinji was already there, hands still thrust in his pockets, staring at him intently through useless glases. Kaji had the profound feeling that Shinji was looking through him, somehow, especially when his eyes settled on the exact spot where he kept his Hechler and Kock USP tucked into his waistband, the ghost of a smirk dancing across his lips.
"You wanted to talk," Shinji shrugged. "Let's talk."
Kaji put a half-crushed cigarette in his mouth, didn't light it, and leaned against the fender of the car, studying the boy for a moment. Controlling the timbre and pacing of a conversation was vital to maintaining an air of control.
"How's Asuka doing?"
"Fine, I guess. It's only been one day."
"I'm a little worried about her. She's not as strong as you think she is."
"She seems pretty hardheaded to me," Shinji shrugged. "She held her own against some of the guys."
"Glass seems hard," Kaji lit his cigarette, "until you hit it the wrong way, or drop it, then it shatters. Can I trust you around her, Shinji?"
He blinked. "I guess?"
"You guess," the older man laughed, his cigarette bouncing on his lips. "She's like my daughter, boy. I expect you to watch out for her, and be a gentleman. If you don't, if there's way out there to hurt you, I'll find it."
Shinji's eyes widened. "I would never hurt her."
Kaji studied him for a moment. "You know, I believe you. I really do. Something in the tone of your voice. The problem is, you've chosen to involve yourself in something dangerous, kid. The minute you got here, put on that suit, and involved yourself, you stuck your thumb in the eye of the most dangerous men in the world."
He flicked his cigarette at Shinji, who caught it in his fist. Wisps of smoke curled around his fingers for an instant, and then died. He dropped the butt on the ground.
"Did that hurt?"
"No."
"You're pretty tough, right?"
"I guess." He shrugged again. "I'm not really sure. I got caught up in the explosion in the last battle and I came out okay. I'm not really sure what my limits are."
"What, exactly, can you do? So far, I've seen flight, speed, strength, and durability. Is that it?"
He shook his head. "No. The speed came first. I remember that from when I was little. I didn't fit it at the school in my uncle's village. Some bullies chased me, and I outran them easily. I started to run, a lot. One day I noticed was running faster than a car, and I kept getting faster, and I could jump higher. One time I decided to see how high I could jump, and I just didn't come down. If I look at something the right way, I can see right through it, or make it heat up just by concentrating on one spot. I think I can see more colors than you can, too."
Kaji nodded. "That's good to know. There's one thing you're not getting."
"What's that?"
"You may be invincible, but everyone else isn't. If the wrong people decide they need to influence you, everyone around you is in danger. You have to be careful."
"I know."
"Do you? You don't even wear a mask!"
"I thought about it, but it didn't feel right. Nobody's recognized me yet."
"I knew before I got here."
"You did?" Shinji blinked.
"I did," Kaji said, getting back into his car. "I know a lot of things, but there's a lot more. Once I know I can trust you, that you can be smart, I'll start bringing you in on it. I could use your help."
"Help to do what?"
"Save the world," he said, and drove off.
SSSSS
Shinji returned to find a knot of students gathered around Toji and Kensuke, newspapers grasped in their hands. The sight struck him as somewhat odd, since neither of them struck him as the type to follow that sort of thing very closely. Toji raised his copy of the paper in triumph, waving it around so all could see.
"I told you!" he cried, "I'm not crazy!"
Shinji froze when he saw what, exactly, Toji wasn't crazy about, and recognized himself in a blurry, black and white still from a camera phone. He made his way over to the knot of students, talking animatedly and excitedly about the figure in the picture. There were half a dozen headlines, "Mysterious Savior", "Secret Hero of Tokyo-2", "Flying Man Rescues Crashing Airplane", but one that stuck out most of all, one that spawned a word that moved from person to person, all of whom repeated it, demanding, "Who is Superman?"
Shinji sighed. He noticed Asuka standing off to the side, staring at the knot of students, a dark look on her face. At her feet was a copy of the newspaper, her patent leather shoe grinding it into the ground as Hikari looked on beside her. He wondered if he should say something and started walking towards her when the angry moan of the Angel Alarm filled his ears and panic washed around him like a wave.
SSSSS
Asuka found her stomach fluttering as she depressed the control switch on her wrist and with a hiss of air her plugsuit slid into place, tightly hugging every inch of her body from toe to neck. She'd been wearing the suits so long that it felt completely natural to her, and she felt neither self-conscious nor self-aware as she strode confidently out of the locker room to confront her new chariot. She resisted the temptation to cover her eyes as she stepped out into the Evangelion cage, instead letting her eyes adjust naturally, her confident stride unbroken. She had been waiting her entire life for this moment, twelve years of hard training and rigorous preparation, and she wanted everything to be perfect.
Unit-01 stood grotesquely in the cage, staring down on the world around it like a metallic gargoyle. Some of the repaired sections of armor were still covered with gray primer, the layers of composite and metal having not been fully painted. She made note of where and how large these sections were, as they represented a liability. The paint wasn't just for show, it provided protection from electric discharges and helped ground the Eva and prevent overloads. The massive machine's head was craned forward to expose the entry plug. She ascended the steps with a purpose, slipped into the plug, and tensed as it jolted home, burying itself in the Eva's torso.
The startup sequence was comfortable, familiar, and routine. She was surprised, she'd heard that Unit-01 was buggy, and a few of the techs that had transferred to NERV-Berlin used to joke that it was haunted, sometimes calling it "she". Asuka cared little for such foolish superstitions. She particularly loathed the way that the technicians had jokes that Unit-02 was painted red because it made it "go faster". Colors swirled around her and she let her mind drift, float until she felt the presence of the machine at the back of her head, like the ghostly tail of a cat running across the base of her neck. The sensation grew until she became vaguely aware of arms and legs not her own, the way a drunk is aware of his own limbs, stronger and stronger until only rigorous mental discipline allowed her to send commands to a body not her own. She opened her eyes and saw the through those of the great machine. The jolt of acceleration came as she rocketed skyward.
"Let's go, Asuka", she whispered as the Eva broke the surface.
SSSSS
Kensuke aimed his camera at the city and Toji immediately began to regret this. After the last time, he'd had his fill of battles and explosions and giant robots, but his friend still insisted on playing at war, waving his camera around as if becoming an observer would magically shield them. He looked back at the heavy metal vault door that was the entrance to the shelter with a certain longing, and grabbed Kensuke's shoulder to urge him to go back. The other boy ignored him, and when he turned, he saw why.
This one could fly. It was enormous, as big as a skyscraper, and came low over the hills, its shadow sliding over the ground before it. It looked and move like a squid, and yet had the countenance of an insect, with a huge bulbous head and many grasping, waving arms hanging below its body. It apparently had no eyes, instead there were huge markings on its back, like the false eyes certain moths use to appear larger when faced with a predator. The creature threaded between the downtown buildings, the ones that hadn't sunk into the ground, as a shark on the hunt would prowl around a coral reef. It sensed its target and two long thin trails of light whipped out before it and segmented one of the armored buildings into four neat pieces which slid apart and clattered to the ground with a distant rumble and a cloud of smoke. Toji remembered the last time he'd seen that happen and hoped that no one was in them, or that if they were, they were being helped by a man who could fly.
All at once, it was there. Toji felt a pang of resentment as he saw the machine rise from the ground, hunched with its great horned head like an ogre of legend. This time, though, its movements were quick, clean, and precise. It cleared the launch pad with astonishing speed, each step sending shivers up his legs. Kensuke muttered a curse as the vibrations showed up on his camera. The boy was staring into his viewscreen, totally oblivious to the world around him. Toji could have broken an egg over his head and swirled it in his hair and he wouldn't have noticed. The world of his dreams was unfolding before him.
The Evangelion darted behind one of the buildings, which opened up with a great metallic groaning sound as huge shutters rolled up, revealing a massive rifle which the machine took and sprinted to the next position, long cord trailing behind it. The Angel looked about with its not-eyes and cried out in surprise when the Evangelion rose up from behind cover and opened fire, each shot thumping like rolling thunder from a summer storm. The shells exploded all about the creature, wreathing it in smoke, flame, and clouds of shrapnel like angry insects. There was a wailing sound as the cloud expanded, and Toji's breath caught. The Evangelion vaulted the line of armor slabs and moved forward slowly in a half-crouch, weapon trained on the cloud.
Toji yelped involuntarily as the Angel rose up behind it. Kensuke paled, lowering his camera ever so slightly, and they both began to call out, as if somehow the pilot could hear them. Their cries faded as the thing's light-whips lashed out, severing the power cord, and it surged forward, butting the robot in the back. The Evangelion stumbled forward, dropping the rifle, scrambled, and with oddly human movements got to its feet just as the thing whipped it again, drawing long contrails of smoke from where the light touched metal. The machine stumbled again and turned, one of the massive pylons atop its shoulder flopping open to reveal something that looked absurdly like a gigantic pocketknife. It swiped feebly at the Angel, which darted back, curling like snake about to strike. Twin light whips wrapped round its arms and the entire beast lurched backwards, lifting as it did, dragging the Evangelion up. Its size gave it an absurd illusion of moving in slow motion as it sailed through the air.
Right at Toji and Kensuke.
It was useless to run, and they both knew it as the shadow fell over them. For the second time in as many weeks, Toji felt ice forming in the pit of the stomach, although this time there was no urge to hug the person he was about to die next to. The Evangelion drew closer and Kensuke started to run. Toji closed his eyes, feeling the rush of air as it came down on them, and again opened his eyes in shock as the wind was all there was that fell across him.
"You again?" Superman said to Toji as he held the Evangelion's massive hand with one of his own, the other perched on his hip in a fist. Toji neither nodded nor protested, instead looking up at the hand that shadowed them like the limbs of a mighty tree. For what seemed an eternity the three figures stood, until the Evangelion sat up, leaving a deep furrow in the Earth behind it, the hand moving away, totally unaware of what had just happened.
"Get inside," he said without anger, without reproach, only with concern. Toji nodded and grabbed his friend, dragging him away.
"You're ruining my shot!"
"I hate you," Toji muttered.
SSSSS
Asuka at that moment did something very un-Asuka like, which is to say she screamed. Like a little girl, some angry, mal-formed part of her mind whispered, and she choked it down. She forced her eyes open. She had to be calm. The burning on her legs and arms and back was tactile interface, a way to alert her to damage, no more, no less. The Operations Director was yelling at her, buzzing in her ear like a gnat.
"Get back to the pad!" Misato demanded. "We'll re-equip and regroup below, then put you up through another shaft. It's not trying to get into the Geofront yet."
"Roger," Asuka growled. She wanted, desperately, to kill the thing, to prove her worth, but she was a soldier, not a warrior, trained to accept the commands of her superiors and recognize that her place, while unique and vital, was part of a vast network of people that made the Evangelions into effective fighting machines. She was the point of the spear, but the people below her, who demanded her protection even as they aided her battle, were the hand, arm, and shoulder that threw the spear.
Then, the Angel rammed its whips right through the Eva's torso, and she felt as if two white hot wires rammed into her ribs. On second thought, I'm killing you, she thought as she shrieked in fury and grabbed the beast with both of the Eva's hands and kicked it hard, sending it backwards, and rolled to her feet. She could feel herself drawing into the machine as she charged forward, firsts flying. Thirty seconds. Plenty of time. Each blow rang like a bell, and the thing cried out in pain. Your turn, she thought.
Lines of light crossed the Eva's vision. The whips coiled 'round and 'round the Eva's head and neck and squeezed, digging into the armor, and she swore she felt it too, burning her face, crushing her throat. Bubbles formed in the LCL as she scrabbled for air, clawing at herself, forgetting which hands were hers and which were the Evangelion's. Spots swam in her vision. Nineteen seconds. First battle, last battle. I'm dead.
Then, like something out of a dream, he was there. Feet planted on the Evangelion's faceplate, mirrored by two tiny spots of pressure on her forehead, he bent down and took hold of the monster's whips and pulled, and she let out an involuntary gasp as she felt them sliding across the Evangelion's armor plate. She saw him strain, cords standing out on his neck, saw him part the whip. It snapped where he pulled, and the part not attached to the creature turned gray and lifeless and fell away, like an old, soiled clothesline. One more. He took the other and pulled and pulled but the creature held on tenaciously now, driven by hate, wanting to hurt the one who hurt it. She forgot the battle, forgot her pain, forget everything for a moment. It was almost comical. He picked it up and pulled it between his teeth and he bit, he bit the thing right in two, and the pressure released, oh the blessed release, and with a deep breath of heavy, cloying LCL she slid backwards, reaching for her resolve, and in the end it didn't matter because five, four, three-
There was a flash of light as the Evangelion went dead and black around her and she was alone with her own limbs.
SSSSS
Misato stood at attention, arms at her sides, back arched, her best blank look on her face as the two top men of NERV faced her down. She was both upset and relieved that Asuka wasn't forced to attend this in person, afraid of how she would react to the cold judgment of old men she barely knew. Instead she was in the medical ward, resting after her ordeal, her face criss-crossed by red marks like sunburn. She was lucky; sunburn was, effectively, all there was.
"This is unacceptable," Gendo Ikari said in his cold, hissing voice.
"In her defense, this was her first sortie against a live opponent and-"
"I am uninterested in her defense. I am interested in our defense. The survival of the human race is at stake, Captain. I expect you to discipline her appropriately for her insubordination. I consider today's events a breakdown in the chain of command. Am I understood?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then you are dismissed."
Misato saluted, turned sharply, and left the room as quickly as she could without making it obvious that she was doing so. When she left the room she slumped. It really wasn't Asuka's fault; her performance was perfect. It was Misato's own, for not reminding her subordinate to check her six. She would make sure to incorporate that in future training scenarios. She had already written some in her mind when she pushed the elevator button and Ritsuko emerged. She nodded to her old friend and got on the elevator. One having left and one approaching The Tomb, neither was in the mood for conversation and both knew it, having read each other for so long. She pushed the button for the level of the infirmary and sank against the back wall of the elevator when she knew she was alone.
SSSSS
Shinji paused in chopping the vegetables for a moment to examine his hands. Neither was burnt, which surprised him, he wasn't even marked. He did have a rather odd taste in his mouth, though, which was to be expected. He didn't want to bite the thing, but he panicked a bit when he saw the burn marks appearing on Asuka's face, peering with his strange sight through the body of the Evangelion. The core was hard, harder than anything, and he'd had to pound it with all his might to shatter it. When the thing died the force of the blast knocked him clear through one of the (thankfully empty) armored buildings the city incorporated for covered firing positions. He was glad he'd thought to push it away from the Evangelion. He finished dumping the cut veggies into the soup and turned to the deep fried tofu, then straightened when he heard Misato's car door. They were home.
The door slid open and Misato entered the kitchen, a sour look on her face as he heard Asuka slam the screen door to her room and throw herself down on the futon, her heart beating like a drum, her breathing ragged, a sob dying in her throat.