A blonde bomb waiting to explode stood in front of him. Her sarcasm igniting irritation and discomfort from him as she talked about every little thing she saw. Beside her was a silent wall of darkness whose stomach growled. The darkness made comments every now and again, most of which were in regard to the blonde and calling out any inconsistencies that were said. To the principal of Daten High, this was supposed to be him guiding the new students through their day since they had the same classes.
But to Shinji Ikari, these two girls were way beyond his comfort level. Mari could be vocal about her interests, but the blonde was so BLUNT about everything. The banter between the two girls reminded him of Scanty and Kneesocks a bit. The familiarity of sisterhood, he supposed, but the darkness was snarky with her replies that it made him feel bad for listening to them.
'I need to get used to saying their names. Panty and Stocking. The two from the airport and the mall all those weeks ago.' Heck, he recalled how he barely avoided them this morning while cleansing Baboona from the world. The idea of being so close to other Ghost hunters made him uncomfortable. A skill these two could do easily he supposed. He looked down at their schedules. Well, the sheets of paper belonged to the girls in front of him, but both didn't care to hold the sheets and shoved them to his chest moments ago. With a sigh he slipped past the two girls, opening the door so he could let the girls into the classroom before sitting in his seat. His seat, specifically, suddenly only had one neighbor as the seats in front and to its right were suddenly vacant.
"Look at you being a class representative to Panty and Stocking!" His neighbor, Mari, whispered with a gleeful smile on her face. Shinji held back the urge to roll his eyes and looked down at his shoulder bag to pull out his materials for the class. He ignored the teacher introducing the two sisters to the class and looked at Mari.
"If Scanty and Kneesocks weren't off with their father attending some seminar, it would be them sticking with them today. From the looks of it I'll also be having them sitting next to me."
"Yeah, teach wanted you to be surrounded by hot women," Mari fluttered her eye lashes with a smirk on her face. Shinji couldn't help himself and chuckled at her antics. A loud round of applause brought his attention to the teacher gesturing for the two sisters to sit in their respected seats. Panty, upon meeting his eyes, suddenly twirled around and flashed her ass at him, smirking as she sat down.
"Enjoyin the view huh?" A choke made Shinji turn to see a red faced Mari gripping the edge of her desk. A scoff made him turn to his second new neighbor, who leaned back to crack her back. An action that made her rather large breasts jiggle with each second she bent further back. It certainly made the guy behind her blush with a perverted grin on his face.
But for Shinji, these two girls would probably be the biggest headache for him. He just knew it from the bottom of his heart.
"I can't believe that we have the ANGELS. THE ANGELS here in school with us!" Mari whispered. Excitement all over her face as Shinji shook his head and tried to remain calm. Despite the extra attention he received so far, there was one topic that remained in his mind. One that, despite him trying to ignore it, would not go away.
The complete and utter contrast of Angel forms.
Other than Kaworu and Rei, the Angels NERV faced did not look humanoid. They may have vague connections of familiarity, such as Sachiel's overall physical body shape or Sahaquiel's eyes; however, most of the Angels were monstrous in nature. Reality warping or otherwise incomprehensible in comparison to the Angels before him. Were they more like Kaworu and Rei, humanoid but with incredible powers hidden within? He had seen glimpses of their power. The incident at the mall, his ascension if you will, fresh in his mind. His abilities, given to him by Lilith, were different in comparison.
The Lance of Longinus, his AT Fields, and his ability to liquify corpses (he assumed it was an ability limited to corpses and not living things, nor did he want to test it on living beings) seemed to be unique to him. In comparison, Panty and Stocking had wings for flight, the ability to use Angelic energy for ammunition. He shared their 'transformation' gimmick, the ability to shrug certain damage that would prove fatal to humans, and the capabilities to kill Ghosts.
Shinji tried to think of other topics through the day to distract him, but the Angels before him were so quick to garner attention from the teachers and fellow classmates in ways that made everyone forget about their assignments. Who cares about Panty stripping in the middle of class when today was supposed to be a test in History! Why would everyone ignore the safety warnings on their test beakers just because Stocking's top just so happened to pop a few buttons! It seemed like chaos was magnetic to the pull of the Anarchy Sisters. A pull that, for someone like Shinji who wanted a peaceful life, was repelling any hopes of sanity he hoped to keep.
"Man Shinji you look so beat." Mari's words did nothing to comfort the exhaustion Shinji's slumped form felt. Thankfully it seemed that no one except for Mari remembered him at the moment. The students of Daten High were still starstruck with watching the Anarchy Sisters grab their food from the cafeteria.
"You know," Barby began as she waved at one of the loyal jocks to take her tray away, "I could try to bring them down a peg or two. Make them realize that, Angel or not, they are still students here that need to take pride in their schooling."
"Don't bother." Shinji sighed before he straightened up and took a sip from his water bottle. "Though they are students here, the principal told me and them that he expects them to put the 'mission first' instead of focusing on being students."
"Wait, aren't they teenagers? You know, like us?" Mari, the one to ask the question, shared the same confused look as Barby when he spoke.
"Supposedly they are adults in their society, despite looking teenaged."
"Oh oh, like ninjas in Naruto! The genin are considered adults despite becoming ninjas at like ten, or twelve, or something like that!"
"Of course the fangirl would know something from nerd culture."
"The fact that you know something about what I said kind of sounds suspicious Barby. Are you, in fact, a nerd sympathizer? Lord knows your popularity with the nerds would go through the roof. Would just, I don't know, take the loss of the entire student body just to do it I suppose."
"Girls," Shinji interrupted their battle of words with his own. "Nerd reference and popularity sabotage aside, I don't think there is much need to get more involved with the personal lives of the Anarchy Sisters. If they are here for a specific purpose, I say let them do it, help them where we can, and thank them for their assistance if they leave the school."
"Ever the kind heart Ikari. Maybe you would prefer I call you Shinji now that we've become friends and not mere schoolyard acquaintances? I would love to hear more about your time in Tokyo-3 and the Angels you faced there. Mari's words never do you justice."
"Angels?" Silence erupted from the cafeteria. Shinji closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose while silently thanking Barby for the awkward conversation that could have been avoided had she stopped trying to fish for more information to get him to open up. He opened his eyes to see Panty and Stocking looking at him with curious expressions. Panty, the one who spoke, shoved him and Mari, who was to Shinji's left, to the side to give her space to sit. Stocking, on the other hand, sat across from them and next to Barby, who looked uncomfortable with the goth sitting next to her.
"I didn't realize that you came from a place that had Angels." Stocking spoke again. The sound of agitation hidden in her words.
"Yeah, thought you were just a wallflower nerd. Polite, but probably not packing much, could go for a good long lick though type." Panty's words made him blush in both disgust and awkwardness. Why was she so blunt with her words?
"Watch that language Panty! We cannot be talking like that-"
"Yeah, don't care cringe blonde." Barby scowled at Panty's words. The momentum of her quick rebuttal did nothing to stop the wave that was Panty from crashing down. "You were at the airport and at the mall, so I figured that you were a native to Daten City, not the other way around. So where did you come from?" Oddly enough, it seemed as if the students looked at the Angels as if they grew a second head.
"...What? My sister might be stupid, but she actually asked something normal for once." Ignoring Panty's complaint for a moment, Mari leaned over the table with a loud smack of her hands. Eyes wide with shock over her face.
"You seriously don't know of Shinji Ikari? Savior of the world by preventing Third Impact? The pilot of Eva Unit-01, hero of Tokyo-3! How is it that you Angels don't know of-" A flash of blue and white light caught everyone's attention as Shinji leaned away from Panty's signature pistol blocking a kanata from Stocking.
"Get out of my way Panty!" Stocking roared. Sparks flew between the two weapons, prompting nearby students to give the table space. "He needs to pay!"
"Pay for what Stocking? What happened to him has no meaning to us!"
"Has no meaning? HAS NO MEANING!" Shinji managed to jump away as a second katana punctured where he was moments ago. The anger in the goth's eyes reminded him of Asuka in many ways. Determined to deliver justice. The limitless pain she could deliver. The relentless fury within her disposal just waiting to be delivered. "He is the primary Slayer of the Elders! The Killer of Progentitors! Plague of Adam's Children! Usurper of Instrumentality! Yet here you are, sister, saying that what happened to him HAS NO MEANING!"
"Humans have every right to decide whether they want that choice or not. It should not be forced upon them by a single individual's will. No matter who they are!"
"ENOUGH!" For the first time since he started school, Shinji raised his voice in a negative manner. His shout seemed to push people further away from the table, or was it their fear of something so unusual from him. Rather than face him again, Stocking stomped away from the cafeteria and immediately left through an emergency exit, triggering the fire alarm. As teachers suddenly shouted for students to 'follow protocol', he heard the murmurs of the students.
Asking of if the Angels were crazy.
Did the Angels want for humanity to die?
Were Angels truly evil and cared little for humans?
Did Shinji doom humanity from reaching Heaven?
As he walked between Mari and Barby, he saw Brief trying to comfort Panty from afar. The blonde Angel's eyes met his, and for a moment, she looked miserable. Her lips mouthing 'Sorry' before she suddenly looked cocky and began laughing at whatever Brief said. Despite everything, Shinji knew that he would need answers.
Answers that would not be easy to obtain.