Creation began on 07-20-15

Creation ended on 07-23-15

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Sword of Destruction, Sword of Life: Confidants

Misato was surprised when she saw Shinji inside the apartment, cooking and looking like he had an air of peace around him.

Asuka, whose temper hadn't quelled over the fact that something other than NERV had defeated the most recent Angel, wasn't even curious to why he was still here.

"Welcome back," he greeted them, revealing that he was preparing a lasagna.

"Shinji, I thought you were still at a shelter," Misato expressed, not expecting him to be before she and Asuka. "I mean, the Angel showed up and then… I don't know, something attacked it and destroyed it."

Shinji simply shrugged this revelation off as he placed a bowl of cooked fish and lasagna on the floor for Pen-Pen, who suddenly showed up and began gobbling up his meal.

"That sounds unlikely, since only an Eva has been able to face an Angel," he responded. "Of course, I was in a shelter…for, like, eight minutes. Then, I left back here. I never saw the Angel beyond my only glimpse of it as it showed up. I just assumed that Asuka and Ayanami dealt with it, so I put it out of my mind."

Misato was about to speak up about how impossible it was for either girl to take out an Angel powerful enough to penetrate over fifteen layers of armor, but was quickly silenced by the sight of a canned beer Shinji held in front of her.

"Thank you," she sighed, and consumed the alcoholic beverage.

-x-

With the Angel's early demise, Unit-00 had more time to regenerate its missing arm, though Gendo was displeased. Then again, nothing short of having his way with everything or everyone pleased him at all.

He felt like God, or whoever he viewed with much contempt was taunting him with what happened earlier today. Since Unit-01 didn't face the Angel and obtain its S², he couldn't progress any further with his scenario, and the Third Child hadn't return to pilot the Eva.

"Unit-00 should be fully functional in two more days' time," went Ritsuko to him, informing him of the prototypical Eva's estimated time of repair.

"Has there been any progress in finding the energy signature that destroyed the Angel?" He asked her.

"There's been no trace of the energy signature, and there's been no reports of anything unusual."

As Unit-00 continued to regenerate its missing limb, Ritsuko had to point out the improbability of ever finding the source of the Angel's demise.

"Sir, with all due respect, there's very little chance of us ever finding the source," she expressed. "The MAGI have been unable to find a solution to how the signature was able to destroy the Angel with enough force to rival an N² weapon."

"It is imperative that we find this signature and the cause of the Angel's demise," Gendo responded, making it known that he wanted this mystery solved.

-x-

A few more days went by until Shinji decided to call over Toji and Kensuke. The reason behind this was to explain to them the phenomena he was now involved in with the swords. Also, it was because he needed to tell someone he felt he could trust with keeping the nature of his swords a secret. He could've tried telling Ayanami, but decided against it, as there was always the possibility that her relationship with his father would cause her to reveal to him what he was now capable of. And then, there was Misato and Asuka, whom he also couldn't trust with the secret for different reasons.

While Misato and Asuka were at NERV, Toji (who was discharged from NERV after the Unit-03 incident) and Kensuke arrived at the apartment.

"Hey," Shinji greeted them.

"Hey, Shinji," they responded.

They stepped inside and Shinji offered them tea.

"So, what did you need to see us about?" Toji asked him as they sat in the living room.

Kensuke noticed that Shinji was sitting beside a pair of swords that just seemed out of place for someone like him.

"A few days ago, a man ran into me and gave me these two swords," he explained, picking up the Tessaiga. "But I found that these weren't ordinary swords. This is the Sword of Destruction. The Tessaiga."

"You really expect us to believe that sword is capable of destruction?" Kensuke asked him, and then Shinji showed them its true form, unsheathing the blade. "Whoa!"

"I was able to defeat the last Angel with this," he revealed, and then re-sheathed the blade.

Then, he picked up the Tenseiga.

"This is the Tenseiga, the Sword of Life. I was able to save Toji with it in the Unit-03 incident."

"What?!l" Toji gasped. "But… I thought I dreamt that whole thing."

"What do you remember?"

"Dying, a bunch of monsters saying that I had died, and then saying that I was lucky, and then they left me alone."

"So you really think you died in the Eva and…Shinji used this sword to bring you back to life?" Kensuke questioned.

"How else would you explain why he's here, still breathing?" Shinji asked him, not trying to discourage him, but wanting his opinion.

"Hallucinations, perhaps?" He suggested. "They've been known to happen under duress."

"It couldn't have been that," went Toji. "When those creatures said I was dead, I almost gave up on ever returning home."

A silence was upon the three now, as they were processing this information.

"So…you traded in your position as a pilot…for these swords?" Kensuke asked Shinji.

"I wouldn't say 'traded'," Shinji responded, "but a means to help people without the Eva…is something I can live with, so long as I never have to do something against my will. Can I trust that you two won't tell anyone about this?"

"To the guy that saved my life," went Toji, "I can keep my mouth shut about this."

"Oh, I don't know, man," Kensuke expressed. "You should be the talk of the city. Imagine the headlines: 'Teen Boy uses Supernatural Swords to save Tokyo-3 from Angel'. They'd probably give you a medal for heroism."

"Kensuke, I wouldn't want for anyone to suffer because of me. I've hated piloting the Eva ever since I got here. It's a thankless duty. Everyday, I constantly worry that the next Angel I face will be the one that I don't walk away from. Now, I can walk away from the Eva…but not the Angels just yet. And I prefer keeping the nature of my swords confidential. Not everyone wants to be the center of attention or has the good of the people in mind. If NERV ever found out, they'd likely take them from me…and I wouldn't be able to do anything about the Angels."

As much as the military otaku wanted to tell someone, the fact that his friend and former Eva pilot feared what could happen if NERV found out made him hold his tongue right now. It was during times like this that the government spent more time hiding than revealing long-hidden secrets, anything from the nature of the Evas to the very goal of the Angels themselves. There was no doubt in his mind that the government kept locked away many objects that were probably supernatural, and they'd probably do the same to Shinji's swords if they discovered them, and Shinji needed them.

"Okay, Shinji," he gave in. "I won't tell anyone about them."

"Thanks, Kensuke," Shinji praised him.

-x-

In the dead of the night, in the realm of dreams, Shinji found himself in the presence of Tessaiga and Tenseiga's previous masters.

"So long as you have compassion," the young man in red spoke up.

"And kindness of heart," the older man in armor added.

"Tessaiga and Tenseiga have no limits to what they are capable of achieving," they both finished to him.

Shinji later saw the Tessaiga in the younger man's possession, in the midst of a fierce battle, change from a large blade to the blade that looked like it was made of diamond shards, and then into a blade that had a back made to resemble the scale-like design of a reptilian creature. Then, the blade changed again into a blade that was so unique, Shinji thought that someone had, somehow, placed bits of the cosmos into the form of said blade, for he saw stars in the majority of the darkness present.

"Tessaiga is a sword whose purpose is to cut," he heard the man in red say to him. "To cut is harm your opponent before they can do harm to you or those you want to protect."

Next, he saw the Tenseiga being used in a dark and miserable place, unleashing light to a legion of creatures in the shadows, following a desire to save them from their suffering.

"As a blade that isn't meant to harm those of the living, Tenseiga may appear to be useless," the man in armor told him, "but its specialty resides in that it can harm what is not a part of the mortal realm. Spirits of darkness and intangible forms with malicious intentions can be cut down by Tenseiga's purity to unleash light in the darkness."

Shinji had also seen him use Tenseiga to demonstrate its inability to cause harm to living creatures…by slashing at a small creature that carried a strange staff with two heads on it.

Incredible, he thought.

-x-

School was different this time, as Shinji spent more time with his friends, his confidants.

"…So, I've asked out the Class Rep.," went Toji to them during lunch.

"No way!" Kensuke gasped. "You and her?!"

"Didn't see that coming," added Shinji.

As they continued, back in the classroom, Rei Ayanami, left in solitude at her desk, just looked out the window and pondered about the early demise of the latest Angel…and what could've dealt with it if not an Eva.

For all she and NERV knew, there was simply no way.

Beyond her, with Hikari, Asuka complained about Shinji's so-called lack of worry against the Angels ever since he resigned from being a pilot.

While Hikari did listen, she wondered why the redhead complained about the boy when she confessed to hating him (though, this hatred may have extended to all boys in general).

"…I mean, how can he act so calmly about this when he knows that the next attack could destroy all of mankind?" Asuka went on, wolfing down her lunch. "He shouldn't have time to take it easy at all! Who does he think he is, anyway?!"

"Have you tried asking him?" Hikari suggested for her.

"No way, since no answer he'd give me would be sufficient enough."

-x-

"Well, Unit-00 has been fully repaired," Ritsuko informed Misato, earlier that same day.

"Great," the purple-haired woman responded, absent-minded; her mind was elsewhere at the moment, wondering about Shinji was doing.

"We still can't track the unknown signature that appeared that day," the faux-blond added.

"Maybe we'll never find it," Misato suggested. "It could've been a one-time thing."

"Still, it's imperative that we find it, whatever it is."

But Misato didn't expect NERV would ever find this unknown energy signature that destroyed the Angel, as it might've been something comparable to the Evas: Beyond their comprehension.

-x-

As Asuka left to the Geo-Front after school, Shinji returned to the apartment. Though he had no intention of spending much of his time there. It was just to pick up the Tessaiga and Tenseiga and venture off to the countryside to meet up with Toji and Kensuke. The plan was to try and put in some practice with the Tessaiga and see what it was capable of when more effort was put into wielding it. His first usage of it against the Angel was beginner's luck, and he needed to be stronger so as to not rely on luck next time.

Why do I feel more relief after telling those two? He wondered, retrieving his swords and leaving out the apartment. It must be what most superheroes feel after including select civilians into their fold and telling them secrets.

To be continued…

A/N: And here's a new chapter right here. What do you think so far?