So for something I started writing just to stay sane through some difficult times, it looks like some of y'all out there like it.
I really need to rewrite that description, it totally lacks in descriptive value. I have noticed that is kind of common here though.
Chapter 14
"Okay you two, remember: slow and soft. You are not trying to injure each other. This is for developing your thinking more than anything else."
Shinji and Rei stood two strides across from each other. Each was in a fighting stance, on the balls of their feet with hands raised. For the last three days they had done nothing but learn, train, and eat. They took two two-hour naps a day. They had been fed nothing but very rich soup and disgusting tea. The soup was almost disgustingly thick, almost a porridge. The tea had been overstimulating their stomachs into devouring every last molecule of the gruel. They had eaten twice on the first day, now they stopped every few hours for a bowl or four just to keep the hunger at bay. It had had an effect on their bodies
What little body fat they both had was gone. Their muscles, previously a theoretical idea at best, were clearly visible, tight and ropey. Rei had wrapped her hands and forearms in tape, matching Shinji's own bandages. They covered scrapes and bloodied knuckles. Shinji did not feel the bloodied knuckles and the scrapes that bad, his bandaged were to help the nerves burned beneath the skin by the angel Shamshel.
In the precious free moments between closing his eyes and waking short hours later, Shinji had thought about that fight. Especially how if he had to do it again, with what he knew now, he wouldn't have these stupid burns. Of course then Remo and Vitali may never have come, and then Rei might still be on her pills.
Shinji let go of the regret over not learning to fight sooner. The past had happened and could not be changed. He had to focus his attention on the here and the now.
Rei advanced first, sending a spear hand attack towards Shinji's head. Shinji flowed to the side as they had been taught, pivoting on his left heel and leaning right. Blocking, to neutralize an attack by taking its full force, was a last resort. Her hand passed his face and he grabbed her wrist with his left hand, pushing his open right hand into her armpit. He pivoted again to make it a throw.
Rei pulled her arms together, adapting a trick Shinji has used on her earlier in the week, to bring them face-to-face. She grabbed him by the robe as they began to fall and used the rotation to end up on top. She kept her weight low, using bent and spread legs to stabilize herself over them, and brought up her hand for the "killing blow" the gesture which would indicate a fatal strike. But it was not to be.
Somehow he had managed to turn beneath her, slithering his body backwards to change the balance. With one hand he pushed from the ground to get her off of his back and with a smooth kick in a low circle, came back to his feet. She returned to her feet as well and he held up one hand, beckoning her to advance with a smile.
Rei admired Shinji. He had killed two angels. She liked him, like her body felt funny sometimes when they were close and not playing at trying to kill each other. She appreciated his presence. But right now she was not happy with him.
They were moving so slow he had time to work on moves three or four steps ahead. Shinji was smart, she figured smarter than her, but he did not work as well under pressure. He improvised when he had time, which this stupid slow sparing was giving him. Full speed, she would have him before he knew what was going on.
I will show him, she thought. She growled and advanced not with a step, but a leap, knife hand raised to strike just below the shoulder pocket, where they had been taught a blow would block the energy to the arm, making it limp for a few minutes.
It was not that she disliked Shinji or resented him. Quite the opposite. Rei wanted Shinji to be strong, and to appear weak to him would make her… what exactly? The thought had puzzled Rei briefly before. To feel like he would not feel about her presence as she did his, yes that was it.
Shinji saw the surprise attack. He saw Rei's sudden burst of speed and the raised knife hand. He knew she would go for the pressure point in the shoulder that could disable his right arm. He did the one thing she would not expect. Shinji used the split second before her arrival to step forward.
In the air, one cannot correct.
Her strike bounced off his collarbone. Not without pain, but hardly disabling. The knife hand to push a nerve cluster was not a bone breaker. As her body collidied with his he wrapped his arms around her abdomen and relaxed the rest of his body, falling with her to the mat. Rei was too worried about shielding her face with her arms to stop Shinji from twisting to make their landing his advantage.
When Rei lowered her arms from her face, she found herself pinned to the ground by Shinji with a fingertip pressed against her neck. The killing blow.
"That's the biz." Shinji said with a smile. "I wasn't expecting that, you okay?"
"Yeah, you?" Rei replied as Shinji got off her.
"Yeah." He answered and reached down to help her up.
As Remo approached, Rei had a feeling she might add physical injuries to those to her pride soon though.
"Oooookay time for some private lessons. Vitali, have a chat with Rei about her behavior if you would. Shinji, come with me." He told the pilots. Both were surprised and looked to each other, shrugged their shoulders, and followed directions.
"So my son, Captain katsuragi tells me you want to visit the forest in the geofront." Remo said as they walked out into the hallway.
"Yes sensei. Um, sensei, is Rei in trouble? I wasn't hurt or anything, honest."
Remo sighed. He walked with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his black slacks, only a white t-shirt over his upper body. His flat-soled shoes slapped the ground as they walked in silence for several minutes. They were nice, Italian leather. He had bought them decades ago for some absurd price with mission funds to spite his cheap boss. They were worn now, had not had a decent shine in years, and it irked Remo most that what he paid for them could barely buy groceries these days.
When Remo finally spoke, Shinji thought his voice sounded weary. "No, she is not in trouble. She reminds me of Vitali when I first met him. Most people, even like you and me, grow up being people. Yeah I have read about what you've been through. I grew up in an orphanage myself; it's no picnic either. But we were raised to be people, human, y'know?"
They came to an elevator and Remo pressed the call button. "Folks like them though, you can see it in their eyes, how they move. Humanity is something they learned later, had to practice. Doesn't make us better than them, ya gotta understand, may make them better than us really."
"What do you mean sensei?" Shinji asked. He meant the question very generally; he did not understand how one could think of Rei as an animal. She was the easiest to understand person he had ever met. Remo took the question very specifically.
"We're all animals my son, just like the ones on four legs. Only difference is a man is too smart to do what he feels like and leave the rest of the world alone." Remo shook his head with a little smile and they got in the elevator. Remo leaned against the back wall, hands still in his pockets. Shinji tried to copy him, but lacking pockets settled for hooking his thumbs into the white belt around his karategi.
"Anyway, I just figured Vitali might have better luck getting through to her than I would. I have some things you and I need to talk about though, just between us." Remo reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pocket-sized book.
"When I looked in your room I noticed you were reading this, so I dug out my old copy." Remo held it up and though the cover was in English, Shinji recognized it as the bhagavad gita. It looked like the same printers had produced it in many languages. The cover art was the same but the book was much smaller.
Shinji nodded. "Y-yeah, this weird guy gave it to me but its really good."
Remo raised an eyebrow. "Weird guy? Weird like how, what did he look like?"
"Um, well he had a shaved head and…" Shinji started.
"Oh, nevermind I know what you mean, those guys are frickin' everywhere."
"Who are they? He just gave me the book and left."
"Hindu inspired new agers, they call themselves the Krishna consciousness movement. Was he chanting?"
"No, just walking."
"Your good fortune, they're annoying."
"So Krishna, like in the story?"
"Yeah, they preach he is like capital G god.
"Capital what?"
"Right, doesn't translate well to Japanese. They say Krishna, the character, is the one supreme god."
"But Krishna is just an avatar of Vishnu and he is one of many, right?"
Good, Remo thought, this is going in the right direction. "Yeah the Hindu's believe that. He is one of their three most senior spirits."
"Right, Brahma creates and Vishnu keeps it safe."
"And?"
"And what, sensei?"
"What about the third one?"
Shinji shrugged and raised a hand to scratch the back of his head. "I haven't gotten that far?"
Remo smiled then reached over and patted the boy on the head. A moment later the elevator opened to the green of the geofront's surface.
"Come on, nice little clearing up here." Remo said and lead Shinji a few hundred yards into the woods to a round clearing with flat stones in the center. He sat down on one such rock with his legs crossed and motioned for Shinji to follow. Shinji found one with a little bit of a bump and sat down in the lotus position.
He had just learned it yesterday and wanted to show he remembered the correct way. The right surface was key, the rear had to be just a little off the ground where the legs rested, lest tension be put on the muscles and the knees be strained.
"Well done, but sit up straight and bring your shoulders forward a little, helps with breathing and posture." Remo said and Shinji obeyed. He felt the difference when he did it right. Remo took his book back out and flipped to a marked page. Shinji was not sure he liked where this was going, he knew what was about that far into his copy, where his page was marked.
"I am all powerful time which destroys all things. Sound familiar?"
Shinji nodded and looked down.
"I saw what you wrote in your book Shinji."
Shinji nodded again.
"You know, a long time ago, my master taught me a battle chant. I guess it came from a prophecy that predicated I would be the first white master of Sinanju. I would teach it to you now, if you would let me."
"O-okay sensei, whatever you want."
"Little bit of education for ya first. Now Vishnu and and Brahma have a third partner. Brahma creates a thing, gives birth to it. Vishnu protects a thing while it exists, preserves it as best he can. But all things age, all things decay, and so all things must pass so that the new may take its place. Sometimes a thing becomes corrupted and works against the rest of creation and needs to be removed. Both are the responsibility…" Remo paused for a moment and looked very closely at Shinji. "Of Shiva."
Shinji's muscles tightened throughout his body then released a split second later. Remo was not sure the boy even realized he did it, but Remo saw.
"That is the purpose the evangelions really, to destroy that which threatens life on earth. Your job is not so different from mine. There are more of you, but you pilots are sent out to confront something nobody else can. Do you understand what I mean Shinji?"
"Yes sensei. We have to kill the angels so others can live. It's not about wanting to fight; it's about preserving life by ending it. You killed bad people so the majority could live in peace."
"That is right. I imagine the evangelions are concentrated within a UN organization for much the same reason my employer worked outside the government it protected. Such power has to be held apart and in the hands of those rare persons worthy to control it and use it right."
Shinji nodded, though he wasn't sure he would call his father the right kind of people.
"Not sure your dad fits the bill?" Remo asked and they laughed together.
"Shinji, when the next angel comes, you won't be defending a city or even a planet. You will be destroying a target, wherever you find it, whatever form it takes. You are not a soldier, you are an assassin. Do you understand the difference?"
"Yes sensei."
"Good. Now like I said, this was sort of a prophecy, so the words may not apply to you personally, but the words are not the important part. We are going to associate the words with bringing your body to peak, understand?"
Shinji nodded.
"Good, now repeat after me…"
Meanwhile, on the combat bridge…
Lt. Makoto Hyuga looked up from his comic to his console.
"Huh, that's weird."
"Whats up?" Asked the man next to him, lt. Shigeru Aoba.
"Not sure, had a weird EM reading from within the geofront. Kinda flickered then disappeared."
"Probably just faulty shielding letting background noise in. Remember we had that one panel that shook every time an elevator passed until it fell off?"
"I guess it could be." Makato said, dubious. He had seen that reading and this looked nothing like it. Whatever the case, it was gone now. Makoto Hyuga went back to his comics.
Back at Sinanju annex NERV…
"Well who are you then?"
Rei shrugged.
Two students of Sinanju sat across from eachother, legs folded in the full lotus. Vitali had asked questions and Rei had mediated, clearing away the clutter of the mind to give the most real of answers. That's what Vitali told her she was doing anyway. Rei was considering trying to sleep sitting up like Shinji did. Vitali had told her about growing up in a cage and being experimented on until he met Remo, and had started asking Rei about how she grew up.
She told him she did not remember, but she knew whose fault that was and was getting better. She had mentioned the quandary over her correct name as well.
"Well I am sure you remember it at some point, gonna keep calling you Rei for now. That work?"
"It is acceptable."
"Good, well I guess we should get down to business then."
"And that is?"
"Well Rei, you need to calm the hell down."
Rei ayanami considered for a moment before opening her eyes. She was very nearly completely sure that nobody in her life had ever said those words to her.
"What makes you think I am not calm, Vitali-sensei?"
"Don't bullshit me, I know whats going on. Outside you're all blank and albino and mysterioussssss." Vitali held up his hands and wiggled his fingers as he stretched out that final word. "Bit snarky the last few days too, not sure if you were like that when we got here though. Anyway, inside, you are as nervous as a mouse hauling an elephant."
"That is an interesting simile Vitali-sensei."
"Well you would be nervous if you were the mouse.."
"I suppose."
"Point is, I see the way you look at everything and everyone, 'cept Shinji."
"we are-" She started before Vitali raised a hand, gesturing for silence.
"Uh uh uh, we will get to that. Everything else comes first. I know what you are thinking, its all possibly out to get you. The walls, the doors, the people, everything."
Rei said nothing.
"Someone really did a number on you and you don't want it to happen again, right?"
Rei did not respond.
"Well, newsflash, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AFRAID ANYMORE! Anybody who tries to get you has the bitch of Sinanju to deal with now, and that's if they don't meet up with master Remo, me, or your boyfriend first! Far as I am concerned, Remo's my dad, you're my sister, and I am willing to ignore the creepy brother sister thing you and Shinji got going on. Nobody messes with this family and gets away with it."
"The bitch of Sinanju?"
"Well you are the only girl."
Rei did not dignify that with a response for some time.
"He is not my boyfriend, he has not-"
"Bullshit."
"I was going to say he has not made any declaration of-"
"Bullshit."
"… Interest. While I admit I do have feelings regarding Ikari-san I-."
"Bull-, oh wait no you were on the right track that time, do continue."
"Thank you Sensei." Rei said, getting irritated. "As I was saying, we are alike, we are pilots of eva, but beyond that I don't know."
"Bullshit." He said with a singsong voice, stretching out the fouls like some demented fourth grader.
"Will you stop that!" Rei snapped and was surprised when Vitali smiled. That weird smile where he looked like he had something elses teeth in his mouth. Like a lion or a shark. "Besides, you are always the one interrupting every good moment!"
"So you admit they are moments then?"
"Yes!"
"Good."
"Good!? Where are you even going with this?"
"What do you feel when you think about all the stuff out there trying to hurt you?"
"Anger!"
"Fear, anger is a reaction to fear. You afraid of Shinji?"
"No."
"What do you feel about him then?"
"I like his presence, I dislike being separated from it."
"So you like him?"
Rei stopped to think. To desire to be around him because she enjoyed it was to desire him, was it not? "Yes, I like him."
"Good, now you know something besides fear. Now you can stop living like a damn animal."
"What?"
"Animals, no matter how big and strong, always live in fear. Fear of going hungry, fear of being hunted, fear of competition, that sort of thing.
Rei was so lost. She liked Shinji, she got that. She was not sure how anything else Vitali said was supposed to make sense. She sat and smiled and nodded along while he continued. When Sensei began talking about her love being a drill to pierce through her anxieties, Rei decided now was the time to try sleeping sitting up.
She liked the hunter of angels, which was good.
In the forest of the geofront…
Shinji breathed in slow, measured breaths. Remo had been teaching him how to bring his body to what Remo called peak. He had explained peak was the greatest performance he could pull from his body at a given moment. Eventually he would live at peak for days or weeks at a time, but for now he would learn to enter it for a moment.
"Alright Shinji, for real this time. Begin."
"I am created..." Faster breaths, increase oxygen flow.
"… Shiva…" Total awareness of his body's position.
"… The destroyer…" Expanding his presence, feeling the world around him. The sounds, the smells, the air pressure telling him what is beyond his eyes.
"… the earth shatterer…" There is nothing but the here and now. He is a creature of the moment. Each shallow breath feels like an eternity.
"The dead night tiger made whole by the master of Sinanju." His brain was in high gear now, his total knowledge, small as it was, of what he had learned so far was open to him. Shinji thought he could feel his blood moving in his veins.
"Who is this dogmeat that challenges me?" Confidence, not arrogance. Convince himself that he will triumph over any obstacle and half the work is done. Shinji imagined himself accessing the full power of what Vasuki had told him he was. Power to stop the angels, to save everyone. Power with which he would never have to fear anything again.
To feel fear was to admit defeat. Fear had hounded Shinji Ikari. He was Shiva, the destroyer, the earth shatterer. He knew no fear.
"Huh, there it is again."
"EM anomaly in the geofront?"
"Yeah."
Shigeru Aoba shrugged. "Log it and we can check it out on the next maintenance cycle."
"Yeah sure… I think I got a better look at it this time." Makoto said as he rewound the sensor data and isolated the flickering signal.
Shinji and Remo returned to the practice quarters and found Rei meditating while Vitali strode about the room, screaming nonsense to the ceiling.
"Oh great he is at it again." Remo said, his fingers rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"At what sensei?"
"DON'T BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, DAUGHTER OF SINANJU! BELIEVE IN THE SENSEI THAT BELIEVES IN YOU!"
"I think he was brain damaged as a kid or something, he gets on these rants about… something. He is usually too incoherent to make sense of. Hey Vitali, stow it!"
Pulled from his revelations, Vitali turned and waved. "Oh hey Ssem! Rei's feeling better now!"
"Great. Food, striking practice and bed for the pilots. Long day tomorrow, I want to test them and Dr. Akagi wants to map their muscle impulses."
As the instructors headed into the little caterer's kitchen they had in the dojo, Shinji went over to Rei, who was still sitting in the middle of one of the mats, meditating.
"Hey Ayanami-san, its time to eat." Shinji said, and got no reaction.
"Uh, Ayanami?" Still nothing.
"Ayanami-san, did you hear me?" Shinji stepped closer and spoke louder but still nothing. He reached over and gently poked her shoulder. Rei topped over onto her back, her arms spread out to the side. Thus jostled, her mouth opened and she began to snore.
From the kitchen, Shinji could hear Remo say. "Well Vitali, I never thought it possible. Leave it to you to shout someone to sleep!"
"My enthusiasm for her good mental health helped her towards inner peace!"
After rousing Rei, they ate. Same rich soup, which anywhere else would be rightfully called more of a mous than a soup, but none of the smelly tea. If they were going to sleep through the night for the first time in weeks, they didn't need to wake up hungry in the middle of it.
After what was light practice in comparison to what they had been doing the last four days, the kids were released to their own devices. So long as said devices were in this room, did not involve intense physical activity, and did not include, as Vitali put it: "Defiling the sanctity of the Sinanju annex". For the first time, they were left alone, Remo and Vitali gone to do something else, they did not say.
This left talking, something they had had little time for recently. Of course apart from the toilet and brief, cold, showers, they had not been apart until today. The topic of the conversation was thus…
"So what did you and Vitali-sensei talk about?" Shinji asked. He and Rei were sitting with their backs against the wall in "their" corner, a space between two crates they had claimed for sleeping. Each sat with their legs bent in front of them, arms resting across their knees.
"Fear, love, piercing the heavens whatever that means." Rei replied and giggled. "Sensei said I am afraid of everything, and that's why I feel angry a lot, cause anger is just a reaction to fear. He also said we are like a family. Master Remo is our father, and Vitali is like our big brother. So I don't have to be afraid because even if we can't protect each other, I have Sinanju now and I can protect myself." Rei considered telling him about the other topic of conversation, but nerves prevented her. "Then he started talking about confidence and drills and it got confusing. That's when I fell asleep.
Shinji thought to tell Rei he did not think of her as being angry, but then thought of his own anger. He was angry a lot but he only let it out when he was pushed. Rei had been on all those meds and shinji guessed she did look pretty mad when she lunged at him earlier.
"What did you and Remo-sensei discuss?"
"Religion, peak performance. Sensei taught me a technique for getting peak performance from the body. He told me I might be able to do it for a few minutes now, but eventually I could stay there for days or weeks. Pretty cool, huh?"
Rei nodded, smiling. "How does it work?"
"Well first sensei had me memorize this chant, then we did these breathing exercises to force more oxygen into the blood and more blood into the brain…"
"Dammit, now it's just getting worse."
"More EM interference?"
"Yeah. I thought it had a pattern last time but its just jumbled noise again. That's it, I am reporting this to Dr. Akagi, we need to diagnostic the internal sensors."
Rei and Shinji sat facing eachother, breathing and speaking in sync.
"I am created, the destroyer, the earth shatterer, the dead night tiger made whole by the master of Sinanju. Who is this dogmeat that challenges me?"
It was the third time they had tried it. The first time Rei said she had not felt anything. The second time they did it together, slowly, and Rei said she heard her own blood for just a second. This time they made sure to keep breathing right and held it longer. They both agreed it was probably about two minutes. There were no clocks or watches here, so of course they didn't know it was less than ten seconds, but progress was progress. They both felt too exhausted afterwards to have not accomplished anything.
"Hunter."
"Yeah?"
"C-can I ask you something?"
"Can I ask you something first?"
"Of course."
"Why hunter?"
"You are the hunter of angels. The only person on the planet to kill not just one, but two. The first one in Antarctica doesn't count, that was an accident."
"Hunter of angels, huh? Makes me sound like a hero."
"You are."
"I don't think anyone thinks of me as a hero, Ayanami-san."
"I do."
Shinji had one of those moments. Those moments when one's brain is going along minding its own business, and someone goes and says something so unexpected the screeching halt the mind comes to is seemingly audible.
"Can I ask my question now, Ikari-san?" Rei asked. The new exercise had given her enough gall to overcome her nerves for the moment. If she didn't get it out now she doubted she would. They would go back to school after tomorrow, and if she didn't ask now someone else might and if they did he might say yes and then she couldn't do anything when they took him from her. Just like they took everything else that made her happy. Just like they took her name, just like they took her memories.
"Of course Ayanami-san, I am sorry I made you listen to me first. You can call me Shinji you know, we are friends."
Friends. What if that's all he wanted to be. Friends. Stop it stop it stop it, If you don't ask he can never agree.
"Okay, b-but only if you'll call me Rei. So, um, I mean it is probably silly and I am sure someone has asked before and you might even have one where you lived before and I shouldn't even ask I mean its rude we've only known each other a couple weeks and and and." Rei stopped and forced herself to take a deep breath.
"Rei, you okay?"
"Okay? Yes, you said okay, wait I still have to ask okay here goes." She said, totally failing to stay calm. She stopped again, took another nice long breath, then another, then spoke.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
Shinji's brain would have come to a screetching halt again had it had any chance to build up speed after the last time. Rei was worried he was silently showing disdain, and then realized he wasn't doing anything, including breathing. When she reached over and touched his hand, he jolted and came back to life.
"What? Yes, No, no, yeah, no I don't have a girlfriend. Un-n-nless you know y-y-you wa-wa-want to I mean you know if-." Shinji had never been good at not talking himself into a ditch when nervous and it took Rei picking up his hand in hers and holding his palm to her lips to get him to shut up.
She kissed it then said: "If Shiva the destroyer would have me, yes, I would like to."
Shinji Ikari was absolutely terrified. He was not scared of as many things anymore. Living with a bird tends to releave fear of sudden movements. And with Sinanju he supposed he wasn't going to be afraid of bullies anymore. But that still left a lot to be afraid of. Including pretty girls asking him serious questions.
Shiva the destroyer knew no fear.
Iamcreatedshivathedestroyertheearthshattererthedeadnighttigermadewholebythemasterofsinanjuwhoisthisdogmeatthatchallengesme.
"Yes." He responded. It was a stupid thing to work up the nerve to say it. Shinji knew it. It was not that he didn't want to say yes, just he couldn't imagine saying yes. He hadn't even done the exercise, just thinking the words had given him the momentary boost of confidence.
"Good." Rei smiled like Shinji had not seen her do before. It was big, warm, and genuine. She scooted closer to him so they were pressed shoulder to shoulder. Sitting on the ground their difference in height was barely noticeable.
"Um, Rei?"
"Yes, hunter?"
"Have you ever had a boyfriend before?"
"No, have you previously taken a girlfriend?"
"No… I don't know what couples do, besides, you know spend time together and be romantic and stuff. I don't even know really what that means either."
Rei shrugged, still smiling. "Me neither. I think it just means we are partners, together against the world, that sort of thing. We'll figure it out I guess."
"Yeah."
A full nights sleep, peaceful and restful, was what they needed. They fell asleep, leaning against eachother, backs to the wall.
Well done my lord.
Shinji found himself back in the grassy courtyard in the forest, surrounded by stone ruins and looking at a snake sitting cross-tailed. He wasn't sure if that was a word, but it perfectly described how the naga in front of him had positioned himself. Coiled in a figure eight with his head rising from the intersection. He had chosen to keep his slightly smaller form, a mere eight or nine feet long best as Shinji could tell.
"So I am Shiva?"
"An incarnation, so yes and no. You are Shinji Ikari. You had a human mother and father. You may live, love, have children, age and yes, die. In the material world you are a human being with human needs and human faults. Spiritually though, your soul is that of a deva. You are resistant to the trappings of samsara, though not immune. You have kept your affinity for those things within your influence. So long as you keep to your dharma, your purpose in both this life and your life as a deva, your body will be blessed and you will learn and grow faster than any normal human."
"Okay, so what should I do now?" Shinji asked.
"Just keep doing what you are doing. You chose to incarnate to be where you are now. Your chariot is a good tool and Remo is an excellent master to learn from. Spiritually, you are a good person, but you are holding onto your pain, as man is want to do, and that will hold you back from reaching your potential."
"So pilot eva, learn from Remo-sensei, and try to be good?"
"In a mongoose skull, yes." Vasuki responded.
Shinji stared at the serpent for some time. "In a what?" He finally said.
"Mongoose skull, my people don't like mongooses. Mongoose is stupid, so there is not much room in its skull. The phrase means to have said something in a concise and clear way."
"In a nutshell."
"Do nuts hunt your people, my lord?"
Shinji couldn't resist "Only the ones that walk on two legs."
"Your wit is as sharp as ever my lord, perhaps you can debate this new enemy into submission. However just in case that doesn't work, I have something to teach you. Your hand if you please."
Shinji held out his right hand and the serpent slithered up, coiling himself around the length of his arm. His length was such that he covered it twice over, both his head and tail at Shinji's hand. Shinji felt no extra weight, but attributed it to this not being truly real anyway.
"Right, now if you would stand, very good. I have been watching what I can of your training and I think I might be able to improve your knife hand a bit. Strike out with this arm please."
"Sure you are not going to, I dunno, fall off or something?"
"I assure you I have a quite strong grip. Now the knife hand, if you would."
Shinji struck out at the air, Vasuki's head bobbing as his hand recoiled back.
"Ah now I feel where the problem is. The eye tells so little, but to feel tells so much. Again please, but do it twice this time."
Shinji complied, thrusting out, cocking his arm back, then striking out again.
"See how you delay between strikes?"
"Well I can't pull my arm back any faster."
"Why would you? Let the naga king show you how the serpent strike should be done. You just worry about the rest of your body, I will move your arm."
Shinji felt his hand lash out at an imaginary target, and instead of coming back, dart straight to another.
"But I am being tested on the knife hand, not the serpent strike, Remo-sensei hasn't told us about anything like that."
"Ah to be human…" Vasuki said as he shot shinji's arm out again, as if picking prey from the sky. "… to assume all of man's knowledge and artifice comes from man himself. Sinanju comes from knowledge from before men had knives. This is the serpent strike in its purest form."
Shinji could feel the naga clench tighter around his arm, but as he lashed out again like some martial puppet, he felt the individual muscles that made up the movement.
"Its power does not rely on distance, it relies on the speed and precision of it. When the serpent bites, it cannot recoil back, lest the venom not takes or there is not enough. The strike is deadly at the head, and so only the head need move."
Shinji began to move himself along with the naga coiled about his arm. Instead of standing still, Shinji moved them about the courtyard, striking down imaginary foes.
"I am created!" Shinji called out, thrusting the strike out even faster than Vasuki had compelled him to.
"Uh, my lord…"
"Shiva, the destroyer!" Shinji struck out again, imagining the strike tearing through the red heart of Sachiel, his first angel kill. Vasuki had loosened his grip. He must have trouble keeping up, Shinji thought as he struck lightening fast.
"The dead night tiger, made whole by the master of Sinanju!" Shinji held his arms over his head and called to the sky. At the far end of the courtyard, Shinji saw a broken stone pillar with a crack down the center. He got it now, that the knife was meant for a single, deadly strike at the weakest point. He began to run towards the pillar.
"Shinji, you've got it, that's enough!" Vasuki said, but Shinji did not hear. Who was Shinji, he was the destroyer.
"Oh, bother." The naga groaned as he realized what Shinji meant to do, releasing the boy's arm and jumping off him as quickly as he could
Shinji screamed as he slammed the knife hand strike into long crack that divided the pillar. There was a loud bang and clouds of dust as air and debris burst out of the crevices of the ruin, then a rumble and crash as one side first slid off, then tumbled to the ground.
Shinji stood in place, scrawny legs as pillars into the ground, strong arm thrust straight forward with two fingers extended in the knife hand, his left arm tucked beside his ribs. His breathing was heavy and ragged in the dust filled air as it turned into a laugh.
"That… that was awesoooooome…" He said and promptly onto his ass.
Vasuki slithered over and Shinji turned his head to look at the naga, his chest rising and falling in deep, hungry, breathes.
"I should point out my lord, I had only meant to refine your technique."
Shinji turned his head to look at the serpent. "Of course, of course."
"As such, you really should not blame me when you are going to awake unrested."
"Oh no, my bad, I understand."
"Excellent, now lets work on the left arm."
Shinji groaned and rolled over away from Vasuki. Caught between crazy Americans during the day and stupid magical snakes at night.
Shinji had been hoping, especially after his dream, that perhaps he could just sleep until someone woke him up. But no, at what Shinji knew was just about 0600 just by feel, he ceased to sleep and opened his eyes. He turned his head and found Rei asleep, sitting up next to him, her head on his shoulder.
That was nice. This wasn't a bad morning.
Shinji did not want to wake her and just tried to work on his breathing where he sat. Drawing the breath all the way in, down to the groin, filling his lungs completely. Rei woke up having matched her breathing to his.
"Good morning, hunter." She said before she yawned with her arms stretched above her head. "Did you sleep well?"
"Lots of dreams." Shinji replied as he stood.
"Hm. I don't remember that. Maybe again soon." Rei held out one hand. Shinji grasped her by the wrist and she pulled herself up.
"You don't dream?" He asked.
"Not for the past several years. You know." Rei said with a somewhat sheepish nod.
"Y-yeah, I know."
"Do you feel you are ready for today?"
"Y-yeah actually. More than I did last night. I dreamed about practicing."
"A fascinating way to increase the time available to perfect your skill. Did you realize any improvement?"
"I think so yeah."
"I shall have to try it."
Rei helped Shinji change his bandages before they began stretches. By the time their instructor's returned they were just finishing.
Around the same time, on the bridge…
"Mornin' Makoto." Lt. Shigeru Aoba said as he placed a hot cup of coffee in front of his bespectacled comrade.
"Hey thanks." Makoto said and took off his glasses to rub his eyes.
"Late night last night?"
"Yeah I reported that anomaly to Dr. Akagi and she had me go check all the sensors in both sectors where I saw it. All 360 of them."
"Don't those diagnostics take like 5 minutes each?"
"Yeah but I took a few laptops with me. Had them going staggered out so by the time I had finished setting up the last PC, there was one done and ready to move up."
"Sounds like a lot of work."
"It was." Makoto said between long sips of coffee. "Real bitch was everything checked out fine. So its either the shielding or something weird going on."
"Shoddy construction or weird shit. In this place no way to tell which is more likely."
"Yeah well I isolated a pattern from the readings yesterday and put it in the database, so it will get tagged if it pops up again."
Sinanju Annex…
"Alright, here is how this is going to go. First thing I want to see are your strikes. One perfect knife, mace, and spear." Remo said as Vitali placed wooden blocks on the same stands Remo had demonstrated each attack on their five days previous.
"You're going to do them at the same time, no doing better just because you watched me chew out the other."
"Yes Sensei!" The pilots responded together.
Bridge…
"Huh…"
"Whats up, Ibuki?"
"Weird EM reading, but its in the system."
"Oh yeah I saw that yesterday, thought it might be a sensor fault but they all checked out. Aoba thinks it may be faulty shielding."
Shinji and breathed in sync and began the cadence in their thoughts. They had not spoken about it since last night, but they had the same intention. They were Japanese after all, why not use this new technique to show their best on their first exam with their new teacher?
They each stood in front of a block, hands at their sides, feet relaxed. Together, they each moved their strong side foot forward and raised their hands.
I am created…
Bridge…
"Woah, that's way stronger than it was yesterday, and its not going away. Can you pinpoint it Maya?" Makoto had rolled his chair over to her station and Shigeru stood behind them, looking over Maya's shoulder.
"Yeah give me a sec, just hope it keeps going." Maya Ibuki said as her lightening fast keystrokes inputted commands to the computer. "Bringing in MAGI processes to speed up triangulation."
Annex…
Remo had expected Shinji to this, but Rei had matched his breathing. Oh shit, he thought, I should have known he would tell her. Well Vitali had said she seemed better after they had left them to sleep last night. Worst that can happen is she passes out from hyperventilating or throws out her shoulder swinging too hard.
"Okay you two, on your marks…"
Both children raised their strong hand, two fingers extended with the ring and pinky clenched back with the thumb. Their arms looked like snakes poised for the bite. Shinji's form was looking a lot better, Remo thought.
Shiva, the destroyer…
Bridge…
"Okay, sublevel 73, sector 4. That's all gross storage down there… Hey that's looks like… no way!"
"What, what is it Maya?"
"What are you three so excited about this early?" Asked Misato Katsuragi. She had just arrived and seeing all three of the bridge lieutenants crowded around one console had piqued her interest even before her second cup of coffee.
Annex…
In perfect synchronicity, the newest students of the most ancient martial art lashed out.
Bridge…
"That's an AT field!"
"WHAT?!" Two bridge techs and a captain's coffee went flying as a very confused doctor stepped into the room.
Annex…
Shinji's fingertips found the weakest link in the grain of the pine block. Fibers ripped and wood creaked as his attack split the wood along its own dry flesh. The two halves of the block, split vertically, were kicked to the side as the thicker flesh of his hand and wrist passed between them.
Rei's attack punched into the wood, tearing apart the grain before it. Wood did not get pushed aside, it was obliterated in her path. As her hand pushed out the other side, the section cleaved off with splintered edge popped into the air.
Bridge…
The main lights shut off with an audible click and red hazard lights came on in their place. Sirens sounded as automatic systems switched the displays and consoles to show battle information and the status of the city.
"What the-"
On every screen and console were overlaid the same words.
BLUE PATTERN DETECTED
"I have the location, it's the same signal! Sublevel 73, sector 4, storage room 7, it's the dojo!"
"Oh shit, the kids. Lt. Makoto, get at least two armed response teams to meet me there and whoever else you can find, NOW!" Misato said and pulled her gun from her shoulder holster as she ran out the door.
Back at the annex…
Remo inspected his students' work, pacing back and forth with his hand grasping his chin in what he was sure looked like a very thoughtful way.
Rei's work had been exactly what he wanted from the students at this point. Not perfect, shameful for a master to have done, but showing a grasp of the basics as they had been taught.
Now Shinji's had been goddamn flawless. Remo thought he would have felt like a better teacher, if he thought he had taught him that well. He had hit a guy like that once, right in the sternum. The result reminded Remo of stories about Viking blood eagles. The hit hadn't killed him, his own ribs impaling the contents of his cardio-theracic cavity had. What bothered Remo was that wasn't how he had taught them so far, and definitely wasn't how he had demonstrated.
Both kids were a little unsteady on their feet, they look like they just finished a marathon. Which would have been amazing in and of itself with how out of shape they were. Neither was at all fat, they just lacked endurance. Only the high calorie diet and the digestive tea had been keeping them going.
Further consideration was put on hold when the sliding door that was the room's only entrance was blown into the room so hard it knocked a pot off the stove at the far end.
"Ack, my borscht!" Was Vitali's totally inadequate response as dozens of armed men streamed into the room, submachineguns raised and tracking left and right. Shouts of clear rippled through the mass of black clad, belaclava'd troopers after several minutes. Captain Katsuragi, still in her black dress and red jacket but with a black vest strapped over her torso strode to the front, phone to her ear.
""What do you mean its gone?!"
"Captain, I hope I have not been so rude that you thought this was necessary to visit the pilots." Remo said as he walked up to her, hands in the pockets of his khaki slacks. Misato shot him a look before confirming there nothing on sensors and flipping her phone shut."
"Mr. Williams, there was evidence of AT field activity AND a blue pattern detected in this room, care to explain that?"
"A what?"
Misato slumped so hard she nearly fell over. Great, he didn't know and now he would probably demand to be told.
"Evidence of an angel, Remo."
"That so? Tell you what, you get a few of these goons…." Remo looked over the collected mass of soldiers, several of whom had apparently objected to being called goons or thought he said something else. "Oh did I say goons, I meant these nice young boys, out of here, and I will show you what we were doing."
Misato looked to Rei and Shinji, who if anything looked annoyed their lessons had been interrupted. When Rei started stretching, a jumpy soldier made the mistake of raising his weapon to her. The poor guy's sergent was the one to pull the gun down and smack him upside the head.
Misato sighed and palmed her face as she shook her head. This looked like shit, she was embarrassed.
"Okay, you…" Misato pointed to a spot about halfway through the crowd of NERV troops"… And everyone behind you, back out in the hall."
"Thank you Captain, I wouldn't want the kids to fall to performance anxiety, not that it has ever been a problem for me of course."
"Uuuuuh huh, get on with it, Remo." Misato said, arms crossed over her chest now that her pistol was holstered.
"And I always thought it was the women who enjoyed the talking beforehand." Remo quipped then picked up two more wooden blocks and put them on the stands. "Hey Shinji, lookin' a little woozie there, up for another go?"
"Y-yeah Sensei, I'm good."
"Alright, get centered, just like we talked about. Yeah I saw you do it, its alright."
Shinji nodded and started his breathing again. Vasuki had been helpful, but that had been exhausting the first time. It felt like doing it right took so much more effort than doing it wrong. When he felt like he could hear his blood and the room was pulsing around him, he nodded.
Remo's hand was like lightening as he swatted the block off its platform and towards Shinji. In this state though, the boy saw it coming and struck out with his coiled arm. He imagined his hand like the head of a snake, fangs bared, seeking the weakest part of his target. As the block tumbled he thrust his fingers into the short end, splitting it along the grain from end to end. With an orange flash of light, the two halves spun off to opposite sides of the room, one soldier ducking a piece flying his way.
Misato's phone rung as everyone in the room but Remo, Shinji included, stood with slack jaws. There was utter silence, broken by a few muttered curses, before Misato's phone rang again. She looked down at it with jaw still hanging before answering.
"Yeah?... Yeah found out what it was… No, no angel. Tell Dr. Akagi to get down here, inform Commander Ikari too, he is going to want to see this." She said then hung up.
"See what Misato? What is dad going to want to see?" Shinji asked, swaying on his feet.
"Shinji… that was an AT field. Its how the angels do impossible things like being huge and those weird tentacles the last one had."
"Oh… okay." He responded before collapsing where he stood.
end
Woohoo, longest chapter yet!
I feel like this might be a little divisive, just different content. I promise to never do that rapid scene switching thing again. I have this habit of wanting to write like I imagine the action would be filmed, leading to things like where it is awkward to read.
I know it looks like Shinji is suddenly overpowered, but that's not what I am going for. Next chapter we will see why just because he can do something like that, its not an end all be all. Passing out from exhaustion after doing it twice is one such reason. "Being good" in this context is trying for enlightenment, something even the mentally healthy are unlikely to do. What he did won't be more than a parlor trick until he can start getting over his issues and while he has some advantages, Shiva's plan to save the world has a pretty serious setback with not even really getting started until he was 14. And , y'know, being Shinji Ikari.