Covenant Red
Chapter 9: Children
Disclaimer: I do not own Evangelion.
/\/\/\/\
It was classified. Kensuke didn't expect any less from WILLE. The one-armed boy in the metal coffin that tore apart an AT field with his bare hand was beyond his pay grade. Just like the existence of Ayanami had been prior to a few weeks ago. Withholding information was not the same as lying, Kensuke knew. He asked if there were any more teenagers in their basement. They told him no.
The debriefing after the last battle was sparsely attended by adults as WILLE juggled priorities between the UN and local governing bodies following a near-breach. Toji sat beside him but was uncommunicative. Rei was absent for medical attention. The Commander stood at the front of the conference room. Behind her the main screen displayed the ID card picture of a boy with the same red eyes as Ayanami. Shinji Ikari, the Second Nephilim, whose allegiance WILLE somehow secured, whose power was enough to rip open an enemy the rest of them couldn't scratch.
His blood skill translated physical damage received into raw offensive force. Unlike Asuka's or Toji's, there was no off switch. His power was uncontrollable, and cumulative; any bump or scrape he suffered manifested without consent.
Still, Kensuke had argued, they eventually managed to subdue him. Why not employ this trump card for every Nephilim that attacked? Lure them in and let him make a mess of the lawn, collateral damage be damned.
The drug cocktail they kept Shinji comatose and under control with was, at best, unhealthy, Misato explained. It would kill a normal human. And the dosage needed to keep him asleep continually ticked upwards. The long-term effects could include organ failure or brain damage.
"Right now," the Commander had said, "this is all we can do."
Asuka skipped the debriefing session. Kensuke hadn't seen her in days, ever since she tenderly cradled that Shinji guy's face on her lap. He remained too astonished to be jealous. He never imagined seeing Soryu look so delicate. She was supposed to be the tough-as-nails, coolly above it all, brilliant badass. She wasn't supposed to fall under the sway of some monster-killing pretty boy from an action anime.
Kensuke sat on his couch playing video games offline. The computer AI wilted under his skill, honed over countless hours, bordering on muscle memory as he evaded enemy attacks and punished a split-second opening to achieve a kill. He played without enthusiasm, vaguely trying to recall the feel of competing against Asuka weeks ago.
He remembered all his varied avenues of attack being effortlessly swept aside, tossed into the garbage to be forgotten. No matter what he tried he met unwavering, calm resistance. Nothing reached her.
He turned the game off. His apartment felt stifling so he ventured into the city. Attempts to contact Toji went immediately to voice mail. Kensuke realized he still didn't know his friend's exact address.
It was sunny and clear, warm without demanding sweat. He passed by video arcades without stopping. He wanted some manner of actual human reality, nothing digitized or cinematic. And nothing to do with bloody superpowers.
He meandered through Sunday traffic to a wide clearing in the city center, dotted with parks and public recreational facilities. Vendors sat in stalls or roamed on foot to lure in the financially irresponsible with hastily prepared food and cheap souvenirs.
Kensuke passed by a man hocking balloons and stopped. He watched a street away as Toji was accosted by a young girl. A sour mood passed between them, culminating in Toji digging into his pocket to fish out his wallet. Several bills later the girl left. Kensuke snuck behind him.
"Did you just get extorted by a little girl?"
Toji turned in surprise, then frowned. "Of course not. I know that brat."
"Um, how?" Kensuke asked when no explanation came.
"She's the class rep's kid sister. Nozomi, uh, Horaki."
"… Okay. That still does not explain how you know her."
He waved it away. "Don't worry about it, alright? Listen, I got some stuff to take care of so—"
"Big Bro!" someone called out.
Toji strangled a cry in his throat. Kensuke followed his line of sight to who just addressed him. He gaped.
"You have a little sister?" he demanded.
The girl running towards them was pre-adolescent, carried by the effortless buoyancy of youthful enthusiasm. Thin limbs poked out of a print sundress, a spindly arm keeping an oversized hat atop her head of long, unrestrained hair. Her smile was unforced, tempered only by an underlying touch of spritely impishness.
"Hey, she's cute," Kensuke said in a completely nonthreatening, though surprised, way.
"You stay the fuck away from her."
Toji's voice was murder. Kensuke began to sweat.
The girl reached them and planted her feet, fists on hips. "Big Bro! You didn't give Nozomi enough money. Now she thinks we're poor." She glanced at Kensuke, not afraid of him in the least in the presence of her brother. "Who's that?"
"This is Kensuke, from school. He was just leaving."
"Nonsense!" the girl said, suddenly cheery. "It's so rare for me to meet people that know you. He can't leave now." She brushed his concerns away. "Big Bro, go help Nozomi with the food. And be sure to get the good drinks, not the ones loaded with ice."
He was suddenly powerless and she shooed him away. Toji left, but his eyes remained on Kensuke as he walked: I'm watching you.
Like he'd try anything in public with a girl. A cute girl. A cute, underage girl with an overprotective big brother who could literally punch his head off his body.
Toji disappeared into the crowd. The girl began walking, beckoning him to follow with one finger over her shoulder.
"I'm Sakura," she introduced herself as they moved. "What about you? You got a last name?"
"Aida."
"Okay. Good to know, Kensuke."
"Wait a minute…"
"If Toji can call you that, so can I."
"I'll stick to calling you Suzuhara," he said. Just to be safe.
"Well, duh," she replied, giving him a look. "I don't even know you."
Freakin' kid, Kensuke thought.
They sat on a bench overlooking the park. It was crowded out, full of families and children abusing the various public courts and jungle gyms. Kensuke remained on edge after Toji's departure, sure everyone was eyeing him, wondering what kind of nefarious crimes he was planning on committing with this cute young girl leading him around. He made a show of craning his neck, looking for Toji, hoping the act communicated he was waiting for someone.
"So," Sakura began, "you work with my brother, don't you?"
"Yeah. Good guess."
"Well, you're not athletic, so you can't be on the basketball team. And you don't look like the kind of guy he'd normally be friends with."
Kensuke frowned. "Good guess."
She eyed him, struggling not to be disappointed. "I guess they hire all types. You know, out of necessity. It's a given in his line of work."
"He told you what he does?"
"Of course. My brother wouldn't lie to me," she stated. "He's a courier."
"A courier."
"It's a demanding job, and dangerous in this city, but he's the kind of guy to help provide for his family no matter what."
"A courier," Kensuke said again. It was as good a cover story as any. Erratic hours and periodic injuries could both be explained away. This was, as Sakura said, a dangerous city.
"Yes," she said, hinting at annoyance. "So what do you do for them?"
"Oh, my job? Uh, I support your brother when he's working."
Sakura looked let down. "You're like what, IT or a dispatcher?"
"Dispatcher." In one meaning of the word.
"I guess they do need all the help they can get." She watched a small dog trot past on a leash. "You must know Ms. Soryu, too."
"I thought I did," he muttered.
She ignored him. "I've only met her a few times," which sounded like a badge of highest honor, "and even then, never in a social setting. But it's impossible to forget her. She's smart and talented and cool and pretty like an idol."
Technically that was all true, Kensuke thought, but hearing a teenybopper fangirl gush it out was embarrassing. He liked his dizzyingly high regard kept internal.
"And one day, she'll be my stern yet loving sister."
"Uh, what?" he asked.
"It's a difficult task before me," Sakura lamented with a grin. "Reshaping my brother into a man worthy of Ms. Soryu. He's clueless about women, but not in a cute way. She deserves better than what he can offer right now. So that's where you come in. I need an outside observer. Tell me how my brother gets along with Ms. Soryu so I can help him improve."
"Oh." Being reduced to a walking commodity by a girl he just met for outlandish purposes wasn't entirely alien to him. She'd fit in at WILLE. "They have a… solid working relationship."
"At least that's a start. Toji is very no-nonsense when it comes to his job, so it makes sense he can work alongside someone as mature and worldly as Ms. Soryu. But," she declared, "it's not enough. The status quo we're stuck in must end. Progress must be made."
"Good luck," Kensuke told her. He turned glum. "I think Soryu has her sights on someone already."
"Who?" Her voice shed the precocious affectation of an earnestly mischievous child. She became deadly serious, her sharp eyes pinning him to his seat. "Who would dare?"
Irrational fear welled inside him. He was on the verge of explaining how a one-armed monster killer seemed fated to Asuka when Toji returned with drinks, food, and Horaki's sister in tow. Without hesitation, Sakura transitioned from murderous authoritarian to sunny kid sister. She hopped off the bench and was at her brother's side.
"Big bro! Let's eat! Let's eat!" Her eyes lingered over Kensuke for but a moment: Snitches earn stitches.
And Toji seemed so reasonable about most things, he thought. Obviously, this kid needed more supervision. What were Mr. and Mrs. Suzuhara doing?
"Is your friend joining us, too?" Sakura asked her brother.
"Us?" He looked at the younger Horaki. "Oh. She's staying?"
Nozomi squinted at him. "Of course I am."
Kensuke rose from the bench with the hopes of abandoning his friend. "Wish I could hang around. I actually have some stuff to—"
"Nonsense," Sakura gushed. "I insist you stay and eat. It'll be fun." She remained blissfully inattentive of her brother's deteriorating mood.
The group found a public picnic table and sat to dine. Sakura made light small talk, carefully steering the conversation into areas that could involve Ms. Soryu. Kensuke felt obligated to follow along, more out of fear than civility. Nozomi was scouting the area, not paying attention. Toji ate glaring at the table.
"... So then I was waiting outside the school gates for like, twenty minutes," Sakura was saying, relating a tale of lighthearted neglect about her big brother to Kensuke. "He told me he'd be there right away but an emergency call from work came in. I probably would have waited all night but then Ms. Soryu happened across me and… Oh my gosh! Wasn't that the first time I met Ms. Soryu?"
She spoke with an air of offhanded surprise. Kensuke called bullshit. Mentally. This girl had a terrifying one-track mind.
"She is just so responsible, you know? Everyone else was ignoring me but she spotted me right away and knew something was wrong."
"'Cause I asked her to," Toji muttered.
"She is just so great."
"Soryu," Nozomi said. "The sour girl all the dumb boys drool over?"
"She is very popular. Isn't your sister friends with her? How lucky."
"You would think that. They don't hang out much anymore. Being perfect must take up so much of her free time."
"Nozomi!" someone scolded.
Kensuke looked up and had to do a double take. Hikari was in a pastel dress and wore her hair down, freed from her usual studious ponytail.
Not bad, Class Rep, he thought absently.
"Nozomi," she said again, "mind your manners. You know Asuka is very busy."
Nozomi ignored the reprimand. "You're finally here," she complained. "What took you so long?"
"I told you I had homework." Hikari tried to keep the conversation private, civil even against impossible odds. Her eyes kept glancing in Toji's direction. "Th-This is why you called me out here? A lunch with the Suzuharas?"
"Yeah," Sakura said, her voice gaining a sliver of the menace she employed earlier with Kensuke, "why did you invite your sister?" She suddenly smiled brilliantly. "Not that I'm opposed, of course. Ms. Horaki, please, join us."
"I-I don't want to intrude." The only available seat was across from Toji, who remained grimly focused on his sandwich.
"Oh, don't be silly. We were just talking about Ms. Soryu. You must know her better than we do. Please, tell us how she's doing."
"God," Nozomi moaned, "I'm tired of talking about that ginger witch."
"What did you call her?"
"Nozomi, please, we're in public—"
"Take it back."
"Make me."
"Nozomi—"
The meal dissolved. Toji stood up, and made Kensuke follow with a look.
"We got to bail," he explained to the girls. "A call came in from HQ."
Sakura looked stricken. "You promised no work today! And I didn't hear your phone ring."
Both she and Toji stared Kensuke down. Before him he saw two diverging paths, both leading to unavoidable harm. Sakura's wrath may well be more dangerous but he had to work with Toji.
"Yeah," he said, sounding as sincerely apologetic as he could, while knowing it would be pointless. "We had our cells on vibrate. I got a call, too." Execution loomed. "Um, sorry?"
Hikari looked both crestfallen and relieved in the span of a second before returning to neutral civility. "If it's for work, I guess you have to go…"
Sakura shook in teary rage. "Big Bro, you… stupid ass."
She ran off into the park. Nozomi spent a moment to glare at Toji before following after. He rubbed his eyes shut.
"Class Rep," he said sounding worn, "could you see my sister home safely?"
"Of course," she replied. This appeared to be a familiar conversation.
"Thanks." Toji ignored the mess left on the picnic table and made to leave. "Sorry you had to come all the way out here for nothing."
"I'm used to it."
The calm misery she tried to bury struck Kensuke. He felt on the verge of some great revelation as he watched her gather the remains of the lunch into a plastic bag for proper disposal. He hesitated in assisting.
"Yo," Toji called to him, "let's go."
"Oh. Right."
He caught up with his friend. He glanced back at Hikari as she drifted towards the direction her sister ran off to. The moment passed and whatever insight tickled him vanished. He followed Toji with a vague sense of regret.
/\/\/\/\
Kensuke found himself back in his apartment playing video games on his cheap couch. Toji made a beeline for it after leaving the park, and seemed determined to ignore everything that just transpired. Kensuke was amusedly confused at his behavior. While Toji was a physically imposing guy, even without his blood skill, when he got angry it wasn't a call to head for the hills. He seemed unable to properly express annoyance, bottling it up and quietly stewing in his own frustrated incapacity.
Instead of giving him some breathing room Kensuke tried to lighten the mood.
"So, we didn't really get a call from HQ?" he joked.
Toji's scowl deepened. "No."
"Well, it was getting crowded. Sometimes the city feels too small, you know?" He did not get a response.
They played another round in silence. During a loading screen, Kensuke finally asked the question. "Why didn't you tell me you had a little sister?"
"It ain't any of your business," Toji said.
"I thought we were friends."
"That has nothing to do with it. And it's not like you've spilled your guts about your family."
He frowned. "I live alone. I'm not the one hiding siblings in the apartment building we share."
"I keep my private life private, and my professional life professional," Toji stated. "The two cannot and will not coexist if I can help it."
"So, what are we doing?" Kensuke asked, gesturing around them. "Do you hang out with me as part of your job description?"
"No, I—" He glanced at Kensuke who grinned lightly. "Look, friend, just because we work together doesn't mean it ends at that. But we don't goof off during a sortie, right? I know what to do on and off the clock. This, right now, is off the clock. Me time. And I chose to spend it with you, not because I was ordered to."
"Thanks, but your attempts at flattery don't redirect attention from my original question."
He sighed heavily. "The only reason I agreed to join up was to protect my sister. And the less she knows about WILLE, and about the people in WILLE, the better. I want her far away from it all. If I thought sending her out of the city was safer, I would. At least here I can keep her out of trouble."
Kensuke smiled. Even Toji's love was stubborn. "I'll accept your terrible explanation. I think you just wanted to keep her to yourself." He briefly debated how to phrase it. "She seems like a lot of fun." Fun like dental surgery.
"I know she's cute but she's only twelve, man! You can't have her!"
Kensuke was appropriately appalled. "Dude! Calm down! That was never my intention. I just meant she makes a good first impression."
Toji's grip on his controller was white-knuckle. "Not helping your case."
"Dude! Seriously! I wasn't—" Inspiration struck in the form of their shared admiration for the Commander. "You know I, uh, like older girls."
"… Yeah, you do."
They both tried to relax. They played.
"So," Toji grumbled, "what were you two talking about while I was gone?"
"Nothing much." He sensed on an existential level that exposing Sakura's plans for her brother would not be a smart idea. "She talked about you most of the time. And your job as a 'courier.' Nice cover."
"I guess. I'm away so much I had to think of something. WILLE is fond of saying we're protecting mankind but it's at the cost of the people who work there. I've barely seen Sakura this past year. She's always bugging me to go out and do something fun in the city. After the last attack I felt like we should. I forget not everybody can."
Questions sprang to Kensuke's mind. Were Toji and Shinji friends? Did he regret his fate, locked in a capsule in a coma?
Toji continued on. "So I let her drag me around." His mood soured again. "Then the Horaki brat found us and called her sister for some reason. Damn. Way to ruin my day. Why is Sakura friends with her to begin with? At least she's still ignoring boys."
He could only imagine the horrors awaiting Ms. Suzuhara's suitors. "But you were able to spend a little while with your sister, right?"
"I want to make the most of this time I have with her. She won't be a kid forever. I won't have this opportunity again. Especially since I'm never having kids of my own."
Kensuke eyed him. He always figured Toji's concept of the future only existed as far as where his next meal was coming from. That kind of proclamation was abnormal.
"Isn't it a bit premature to decide that?" he asked. "You might want a family some day, right?"
"Well, I guess adoption is an option, but it isn't the same."
"… Okay. I'll bite. Why not have kids of your own?"
Toji's face flat-lined. "Oh, geez," he said after a moment. "Didn't the Doc or Commander tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
"We can't have kids. None of the Children can."
Kensuke's brow furrowed, trying to understand. "You mean because of our blood?"
"No." Toji slumped. He faced his friend. "It's part of what working for WILLE means. They sterilized us."
/\/\/\/\
"The picture of the tragic hero."
Kensuke turned. He was on the school roof, leaning on the fence and gazing out over the sunset orange bathing the surrounding grounds. He heard the final bell some time ago, after wandering up here alone for lunch and deciding not to return to class.
Asuka approached him from the stairwell door. "Except you're not a hero. Or have a reason to be tragic. Now get your rear in gear. We're due at HQ for group training, Third."
He turned away from her. "So?"
"So quit acting like a drama queen. Suzuhara told me why you're bent out of shape but he's too dense to tell you what you need to hear. So I will: Get over it."
"Get over it?" He frowned. "So you're going to defend WILLE's mass sterilization, too?"
"No. I'm defending common sense." She shook her head. "Why are you so upset? Who wants kids, anyways? I wasn't aware you were married and wanted to start a family."
"The point isn't that I wanted kids now, or maybe ever. They didn't have permission to do that to me."
"It's part of what signing up with WILLE means, genius. Your time, your blood skill, and yes, your body doesn't belong to you anymore. I had hoped that message got through your thick skull."
"Doesn't it bother you?" he asked. "That WILLE can arbitrarily make those kinds of decisions about us without any debate?"
"Oh, God," Asuka groaned. "Suzuhara did a crappy job explaining this to you, didn't he? Shocking." She crossed her arms. "Consider the position we're in for half a second, lame-brain. We're running around with Nephilim blood in our veins, remember? What do you think would happen if we started propagating our genes? More Nephilim, and more civie casualties. They did what they had to do."
"Then why aren't we confined to HQ?" Kensuke posed, trying to hold onto his outrage. "Why let us out at all?"
"Because Katsuragi is too soft for her job," she said. "Listen. Suzuhara and I sold our bodies to NERV."
NERV? he thought. What is she talking about?
"You're in the same boat. The Commander is just picking up the pieces as best she can. Not to say she's doing a good job, but it's no reason for you to sulk like a bitter spinster. I didn't spend all that time training your ungrateful butt for you to throw it away like last night's leftovers. No buts. I don't care if you're pissed. We have a job to do. Man up, Aida."
He was still pissed. But the opportunity to appear manly in Soryu's eyes was too tempting to ignore. Even if he hated the WILLE higher-ups, he and Asuka could commiserate side by side.
And the first inkling of guilt was beginning to form over reading Toji the riot act yesterday after he told him. It wasn't his fault, but the absolute loyalty Toji displayed was infuriating. At least Asuka offered the semblance of an explanation.
It was also the first time he saw her in nearly a week. Any injuries were forgotten and she appeared no different than before. She stood before him, glowering, hurling insults and knowing better than him. She was back.
The unwanted memory of her tender face hovering above Ikari's resurfaced.
Asuka looked ready to tear her hair out. "We are soldiers. If we bitch and moan and don't do our jobs, people will die. Now quit moping and—"
"No, no," he interrupted. Kensuke buried his dejection. "I get it, okay? Really. Just… I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Save it. We're due at HQ, remember?" She turned to leave. "Bad enough I have to clean up Suzuhara's mess, now I'm demoted to truant officer."
He followed Asuka to the tram station. They boarded and sat across from each other. The light from the windows abruptly changed from sunset orange to harsh artificial fluorescence as they slid underground. Kensuke watched his feet.
"Soryu," he finally began. "It's good to see you again. I'm glad you're not hurt or anything. That last battle was crazy. We couldn't do anything to the Nephilim but Ikari tore it apart so easily. Good thing he's on our side, huh?"
He made himself stop rambling. Hikari's words came back to him: She's waiting for someone.
"About Ikari… I guess you, uh, know him pretty well? It must be hard. You can only see him in crisis situations, and then only for a moment. You can't talk or hang out or anything. You can't…"
Be with the person you like.
Like I am right now. He suddenly felt ashamed.
Asuka was silent. Kensuke risked a look up at her.
Her eyes were directed out the window. Small earphones hung from her ears, connected to her cell. Tinny whispers of music drifted his way. He waved to get her attention and opened his mouth to speak again.
He paused. While there was nowhere for her to escape his questions, neither was there anywhere for him to hide from her.
He reflected on his course of action. Maybe it was for the best she didn't hear all that. He made a contrite expression and told her never mind. She rolled her eyes back to the window.
The tram arrived at WILLE. They entered and made their way to the changing rooms. Toji was leaning against the wall by the men's entrance. He was gloomy and nervous. He saw them approach, and straightened.
"Kensuke, man, listen. I'm sorry about the—"
He waved him off. "Forget it. I mean, it wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have killed the messenger. Sorry I blew up at you like that."
Toji relaxed into a loose grin. "You really did. Give me a Nephilim any day compared to that."
"Boys are so simple," Asuka snorted.
"Yeah. Girls would drag that crap out for years of emotional warfare."
"I'm sure Katsuragi would like to hear you say that."
"The Commander is a woman," Toji explained. "Not a girl."
The trap was set but Asuka refused the bait. "And didn't that woman warn you against being late for training again just last week?"
That was enough for him to abandon the argument and duck into the men's locker room to change. Asuka headed to the women's lockers, but stopped.
"Oh, yeah," she said, like she just remembered Kensuke existed. "You wanted to say something to me? Spit it out. I won't have you distracted during training."
"Right." He squeezed his brain for a topic that wouldn't make him sound like a complete imbecile. "Did you know Toji has a kid sister?" Of course she knows that.
"Of course I know that. The little suck-up is proof having kids is a dumb idea to begin with. See? You should be thanking WILLE for taking care of your biological detriment. Not like you'll ever get a girlfriend anyway."
She entered the female locker room.
Kensuke sagged, alone in the hall.
That… wasn't very cool.
/\/\/\/\
End of chapter 9
Author notes: I find Toji being unhealthily worried over his sister more amusing than it probably is.
Next chapter: Long-ish shadows.