Creation began on 11-15-17

Creation ended on 08-10-18

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Sword of Destruction, Sword of Life: Strength comes to those deserving of it

"Hey," Shinji heard Asuka's voice behind him on the rooftop of the apartment building, and he turned to face the redhead, who was stunned by the fact that he was holding a large sword that seemed inhumanly heavy for anyone to lift up.

"You're alright," he uttered, lowering the Tessaiga to his feet.

"Hard to believe that you gave up the Eva for that," she told him, pointing to the sword. "Is it heavy?"

"No, it's very light. I mean, it's light for me…because I wield it to defend people…without wanting anything but their safety in return."

"Is that all it can do? It just…cuts things?"

"Any sword can cut. The very purpose of a sword is to cut…but the reason and objective for it to cut can vary from person to person. This sword is meant to cut down the strong to protect the weak (he then let go of Tessaiga with his left hand to summon Tenseiga in front of her), and this sword is meant to cut paths between this world and the realm of the dead…to allow the dead to come back to this world…and live on."

"Immortality?"

"No. Renewal. Nobody deserves to live without end."

Asuka had noticed a folding chair nearby and sat in it.

"Look, about before, with the Unit-03 incident and your stooge friend… I didn't consider how you dealt with the situation due to the way your mind works."

"Any life placed in danger, however small, however insignificant they're viewed as by others, shouldn't be forfeited, even to defeat an enemy you don't understand fully. If you see an opportunity to save someone that others choose not to see, then you should take it and live to regret the consequences later, even if they're severe."

"And is that what you were thinking about when you chose not to fight back?"

"No. I just wanted to save Toji. I didn't care about myself."

"And during the last attack… Thank you for saving me."

Letting go of both swords, Shinji nodded his head in the positive as he said, "You're welcome."

He didn't really need to hear any gratitude from anyone, but doing so did help his self-esteem some.

-x-

"…So, Shinji's back from wherever he was hiding?" Toji asked Kensuke, two days after the military otaku found out that their sword-wielding friend had returned to Tokyo-3.

"Yeah," Kensuke responded.

The school day was dull, but the people were alive. In fact, they were more alive than after Shinji used the Tenseiga to heal and revive the sickly, dying and dead.

"You think he's alright?"

"I hope so."

The classroom door opened…and in came Shinji and Asuka.

"Hey, guys," Shinji greeted them.

"Yo, Shinji," Kensuke replied. "Great to see you back."

"NERV was asking us about you, but we told them nothing," explained Toji to him.

"I appreciate it, you two. Thank you."

"So, what now?"

"What now? I honestly don't know for sure. I doubt my old man is one to give up so quickly when I told him everything I wouldn't do for him."

"Still no piloting the Eva for you?" Kensuke asked.

"Not a chance in this lifetime."

-x-

"You're not going to ask him to reconsider piloting at all?" Ritsuko asked Misato as they monitored Rei's synchronization test with Unit-01.

"The less anyone tries to ask him something he's chosen not do, the better off we'll all be," the purple-haired woman explained. "And I decided not to bring up the Eva if he can use those swords of his to do away with the Angels."

"You're putting too much faith in what you just found out about him."

"It doesn't matter what others think or say. I won't force him to do something that bothers him and nearly drove him over the edge the last time he piloted the Eva."

Within the plug, Rei, as much as she tried to synchronize with the Eva, found herself unable to cross the line. It was like a wall was formed between her and the Eva…and she couldn't get over it, under it or around it.

"Rei, how are you in there?" Misato asked her.

"It is unpleasant," she answered.

"Her synchronization is at zero-point-four percent," explained Ritsuko.

"Commander Ikari won't like this."

"Lately, he doesn't like anything."

-x-

"…So far, the Third Child has been seen in the company of his classmates and the Second Child," a Section Two agent informed Gendo, displaying photos of the children off school grounds. "Nothing to indicate that they are ignorant to what he's capable of, meaning he had to have confided in them about his recent experiences."

"Petulant brat," Gendo uttered. "Just because he thinks he can help people without the Eva, he thinks it's no longer necessary."

"Orders, sir?"

"Maintain your surveillance of the pilots…and the rogue element until further notice."

He referred to his son's swords as the rogue element due to how they interfered with his scenario and caused him to develop undesired independence. Unless he found a way to dispose of them, whatever chances he had of using the Third Child any further were limited. But Gendo was determined to find a way to take him down.

"You can't rely on those swords forever, boy," he told himself. "Everything exists only to be taken."

-x-

"…So…if and when the next Angel shows up," went Misato to Shinji when he returned to her apartment, "I'll support whatever it is you do to defeat it."

"Thank you," he responded; if he could defeat the next Angel with his swords, he'd be completely free of the Eva, able to just do as he pleased without being pressured by NERV to return to piloting the behemoth. "I hope, though, that the next Angel doesn't show up any time soon."

Asuka, while grateful to Shinji for saving her from the last Angel, was hoping that the next Angel did show up soon; she had been unable to defeat one on her own since the day she arrived to Japan and just wanted one solo act just to feel some measure of content…and so that Shinji wouldn't have to bother with facing it.

Ring-ring! Misato's phone rang.

"Katsuragi, go," she answered whoever called her, and her expression shifted from acceptance to concern. "When was this? We'll be there in twenty minutes."

She hung up and the two teens realized what the situation was.

"Let's do this," she told them.

To be continued…

A/N: I'll admit, it's hard to continue sometimes, but the ideas, however old, however faded, still remain in your head.