Creation began on 01-01-19
Creation ended on 01-05-19
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Grimoire of Evangelion: Results
The continuation of the Magic Knight Entrance Exam in Kikka got the people's attention after it was confirmed that Rades Spirito was incarcerated again and wouldn't be getting out again. The colosseum was the place to be for the results of which attendees that had yet to get their answers from the squad captains that saw them.
"You still don't know what your squad will be, Shinji?" Suki asked her nephew as they stood by one of the pillars, out of sight of the captains.
"Still waiting for what will be the response they give," he responded. "However, there are two squads I can disregard."
"Oh? Which are they?"
"You'll have to wait and see."
"Aw, you're stingy with squad preferences."
"No, I just like to be hopeful of getting picked."
Unfortunately, because of the minor mayhem caused by Rades, the remaining attendees' numbers were being selected at random, but Shinji would have to wait until his number was called again by the captains. This also meant that Suki would have to hope that her number wouldn't be called until after her nephew's had been.
Even if she didn't know what squad he chose, the very thought of joining a squad without him felt…just wrong if he was being overlooked.
Twenty-two different attendees had been called so far from those that had remained…and only ten had been chosen by captains of the Crimson Lions, the Green Praying Mantis and the Azure Deer squads.
-x-
"…I figured you'd be here to see the rest of the exam, Tenshi Ikari," said Klaus to the Ikari patriarch as he sat atop the colosseum, looking down at the attendees as they were getting judged by the captains, his Golden Dawn robes adorning his simple clothing comprised of black, loose-fitting trousers, a purple shirt and gray vest.
"I'd never miss such an important day for my sister and nephew," he responded, seeing another young mage get rejected by the captains. "I may never understand how people of nobility can spurn most people from lower beginnings like they're undeserving of any attempt to prove their value to the kingdom. Nothing lasts forever, not even royalty."
"I think if you had more conversations with Yuno, you two would get along well."
"Perhaps… As someone who lived in the Forsaken Region for most of his life, he had to have come from meager beginnings, but worked his way up the ranks. That alone deserves recognition."
"But…what should happen if your nephew doesn't get into a squad?"
Tenshi didn't answer for a moment, but then responded, "I'd rather focus on what is now over what could be. Nothing has been decided yet."
"And…is that why you and your youngest sister are observing this exam from opposite ends of the colosseum?" Klaus asked, reminding the rejuvenated man that his sister and fellow squad mate, Yui, was on the other side of the building, looking down at the people.
"It's complicated," he expressed.
"It relates to what was said by her son during the conversation with Rades?"
"Sort of…as Yui is… Well, despite being my little sister, she's somewhat of an unknown factor. I suppose she gets it from her father. If there were two major things wrong with him, it was his sense of morality and judgment."
"From her father? I thought she was related to your father."
"No, after we went into exile in another dimension, my mother married a man there for the sake of my sister, Suki, when she was a baby. Yui was born a few years later. I honestly don't know how much of her behavior is influenced by her father and how much is influenced by her environment."
"You believe in that nonsense people spew about nature versus nurture?"
"Sometimes, it isn't so much our environment that defines who we are…as it is who our parents or relatives are. My nephew, he has a bad father, regardless of what Yui says about him, and when I look at Shinji, I can't see any comparison between them; the guy's a complete jerk with no heart that seems to hate his son, and Shinji is a good person who wants to follow in the footsteps of relatives he trusts more than anything else."
Then after seeing another attendee get excused by the captains, Klaus looked over Yui, whom, despite her skill in the magical arts and her acceptance into the Golden Dawn, didn't seem to radiate any of the same aura of understanding that her siblings or mother did. And thinking back to the conversation between her son and Rades, there seemed to be some kind of…abominable act she had done sometime ago that went beyond her degree of negligence towards her son that hadn't been entirely forgiven.
I was told the Ikaris were always understanding of and accepting of people from lesser statuses, but after a long time in exile, holding onto hope in returning to the Clover Kingdom, he wondered, something they didn't even anticipate might've followed them back. Some…undesirable plague they tried to avoid for a long time.
"…Number seventy-six," they heard William call the next attendee, and they saw Shinji walk over to the middle of the field in front of the captains.
Yui, curious as to how her son would fare from what happened, wonder which squad would accept him into their ranks…if any squad was interested in him.
Did you impress them, Shinji? She thought, awaiting the outcome.
-x-
Rika had offered to come see the exam's outcome this time, but Shinji and Suki declined; she didn't have to come over something that could end in excitement or disappointment. Still, that didn't stop her from wandering the streets where the effects of magic had been used, trying to get a sense of what the Magic Knights of today's generation of Clover Kingdom inhabitants had to contend with at every given opportunity.
Suddenly, her Communication Magic Tool started glowing, indicating that someone was calling her.
She answered and a visual image of Tenshi appeared in front of her.
"Tenshi, what's going on?" She asked him.
"Shinji and Suki got accepted into the Magic Knights," he revealed to her.
"Really?"
"Yes. Shinji was called first. At first, I thought he wasn't going to get picked by any of the squads because of how he dealt with Rades; none of the captains had raised their hands for a brief moment…but then most of them did."
"Most of them?"
"The Silver Eagle and Purple Orca captains didn't raise their hands; that was two squads Shinji couldn't get into, but it didn't deter him. But what surprised me with Shinji was the squad he chose."
"Oh, and which squad did he choose? I don't believe he chose the squad his mother and you joined. That would've been obvious."
"No…he actually chose…the Black Bulls."
"Eh-heh-heh, Shinji's going down the long way to the path of success earned. If he wants to make it to the top of the mountain, or somewhere in the middle, he has to begin at the base of it."
"The same must be for Suki; she chose the Black Bulls, too."
"That's quite impressive. Two of you joined the Golden Dawn and two of you joined the Black Bulls. Even though your two squads are in competition with each other and the other seven squads to prove which one is the best one each year, I trust the four of you will at least be friendly towards such a struggle to make your squads the best."
"Is there truly such a thing as a friendly competition, Mother? In the end, each squad can only do their best with however many members they have in their ranks."
Rika chuckled at such a truth, and then noticed that Yui was in the background of where Tenshi was.
"How did Yui react to Shinji's choice?" She asked him.
Tenshi's face became grim as he answered, "She was as surprised as I was. But in the end, it was his choice…and only he could make it; if anyone else had made it for him, that'd be depriving him of his right to choose."
"That's right…but tell me, though…not that it's any of my business, but…has Yui been behaving herself since the exam began?"
"That…would depend upon the interpretation of her behavior by others. I can't say for certain how her behavior is, but she impressed the captain of the Golden Dawn among other squad captains."
"Even so, I had a dream last night that, despite what has been made reality to keep her in line, leaves me concerned about the rest of you."
"A Dream Magic-influenced dream?"
"I wish it was such a dream, but it may have been influenced by Time Dream Magic. All that really made sense in the dream…was that an unfathomable degree of magic was being used for something extremely unpleasant."
Tenshi looked over at his sister and sighed; this might've been nothing, but all the more reason he chose his squad to keep an eye on her.
"It might be nothing, Mother, but I'll be keeping my eye out on Yui," he told her.
"Much appreciated, Tenshi. Be careful out there. You do yourself proud more than anyone else."
"Yes, Mother."
When the call was ended, Rika sighed at how proud she was of the four getting into the Magic Knights. While some families would've preferred all their children to be part of the same squad, Rika knew that due to the changed times, nobody could afford to be finicky because each person, regardless of their background, had their strengths and weaknesses that could only be developed further or reduced greatly through the time spent in a group that brought out their best. Although curious as to why one of her two daughters and grandson would choose the Black Bulls and the other along with her only son would side with the Golden Dawn, she had her suspicions that Shinji had a personal reason that went deeper than his desire to want to become a good mage like everyone else in his family was or had been…and while Yui was trying to achieve something of some significance after realizing that magic was more than just make-believe because they lived in a world where it was everything.
"With these four now pursuing their goals within two different squads, anything could happen," she told herself, deciding to go down to the market for whatever might've been there. As old as they were back when we returned here, and then had their youth and mana reserves restored to their previous peak, Tenshi had yet to reach his true pinnacle…and Suki never got to find her way here. Now they can…and now Yui and Shinji can find their way here, too, wherever their paths take them.
-x-
"…The captain felt this room would be to your liking, Mr. Ikari," Klaus told Tenshi as the patriarch of House Ikari looked around the spacious quarters of the Golden Dawn headquarters.
"Thank you," he told Klaus as he set his grimoire down on a desk.
"Best of luck to you as you progress."
As Klause left, Tenshi sighed as he felt like he had just traded away simplicity for extravagancy. But he had to remind himself that this was the Golden Dawn…and their domain was like a giant palace. From the childhood stories he grew up when he was a little boy, House Ikari, like several other noble houses, once lived in a palace until they decided to leave and live among the people of lower status…which had turned out to be the best choice they ever made because the commoners from the Common and Forsaken Regions were not all that different from the people of the Noble Region, just more spread out and looking to make a living or find happiness. And as he sat down, he opened his grimoire to resume his focus of perfecting and mastering his Spatial Magic spells; sooner or later, he would have to find the way to open a portal back to the other world they were exiled to, no matter what.
Meanwhile, in her own, spacious quarters, Yui, looking out her window, gazed out at the night sky.
As much as I want to enjoy this view, she thought, thinking of Shinji, I just can't believe he joined the one squad that people claim is the worst of the worst in the kingdom. What was it about the Black Bulls that convinced him to join them? Does it have anything to do with that grimoire he got during the ceremony? Or does he know something I don't yet?
Sitting away from her at her desk was her grimoire, opened to a page that was in the process of forming a new spell for her magical maturity.
-x-
"…Meet our two new recruits," Yami told the others of the squad as they stood before the captain and the two newbies. "You've probably already heard of them."
"Hello…everyone," Shinji greeted the Black Bulls, bowing his head to them.
"Hi, there," Suki added in, bowing her head.
"Welcome to the Black Bulls!" Magna, Charmy, Luck and Asta greeted them.
Then, just for a brief moment, when Shinji looked at them all, he had the strangest feeling that his decision to join this squad was the right thing for him to do.
"Nice to meet a new, handsome face," Vanessa greeted Shinji, though her current attire consisted of her undergarments, which should've made Shinji feel bothered just to be in her presence.
Fortunately, because he lived with a woman that wasn't that different from this witch, Shinji had developed a resistance to female indecency.
"If we meet this Misato Katsuragi when we return to Tokyo-3," went Tenshi when Shinji told them of Misato's indecency after he started living at her apartment when he arrived at Tokyo-3, "I should have a word with her about her habits. It feels like you're the one taking care of her when she's supposed to be the guardian."
"The kid that defeated Rades Spirito just by talking to him," went Noelle as she walked over to Shinji and Suki. "And the aunt that was rejuvenated and restored of her youth and mana reserves when she returned to the Clover Kingdom from a lifetime in exile. I guess you two aren't that bad."
If it weren't for her hair color, Shinji would've mistaken Noelle for Asuka because they both shared the same attitude of superiority.
"Nice to meet you, too," he responded.
-x-
"…Does anyone see a resemblance here in this picture?" Kaji asked the others in Gendo's office, pointing to the photo that depicted Shinji and Suki with a different squad than the one Yui and Tenshi joined. "It looks like Shinji and his aunt joined a gang of misfits."
Misato looked at the group Shinji was now part of…and got the strangest feeling that she was looking at a warped mirror of some people here. If it weren't for the varying degrees of age and appearance in these people, she could've mistaken them for some of the people Shinji knew since arriving to NERV.
"Familiarity," went Rei, looking down at the photo.
"What are you talking about, First Child?" Asuka questioned.
"Ikari-Kun chose a group of people that reminded him of some of the people here," the albino girl explained. "The indecent-dressed woman, the girl with the white hair, the little woman holding the cupcake, even the man with the glasses, they each remind Ikari-Kun of someone from this world."
Even Kaji could see some comparisons to the handful of people Shinji knew that seemed to be mirrored in this group he chose; the woman clad in nothing but her lingerie was a clear echo of Misato while the girl with the white hair had a comparison to Asuka.
But Gendo, on the other hand, couldn't see anyone from this world that was being echoed by the people wherever his son was that convinced him to join them. In his mind, none of these…outcasts of society exhibited any measure of a resemblance to anyone here. If anything, the boy only joined them to keep from joining the same group his mother joined.
"Hey, their names are written on the next page!" Asuka revealed, pointing to a list of names belonging to this Black Bull squad. "Of all the… The girl that seems to look down upon that idiot is called Noelle Silva. Not a bad name for someone like her."
"The guy with the glasses is called Magna Swing," Kaji read, "and this guy who appears to be older than the majority of them is Finral Roulacase."
"Sounds like you, Kaji," Misato stated.
"Oh, really, Katsuragi," he retorted, "then why does this Vanessa Enoteca seem to mirror your habits?"
Misato shoved him away from the desk when the very thought of her being compared to this woman that walked around in her underwear ran through her mind.
"The Black Bulls," went Ritsuko, examining the photos in the album that depicted the group and their location. "It looks like out of these nine squads, they're the black sheep of these Magic Knights, the worst of the worst kept in existence out of pity."
"Shinji couldn't have picked them simply because of some familiarity or because other people viewed them as a bunch of troublemakers," Kaji expressed his opinion. "There's gotta be more to the reason he chose to join a group like this."
Rei turned to the next page and saw Shinji going up against a…blade of fire.
-x-
This was the Black Bull Initiation Ceremony. Although they had chosen to join the squad, Shinji and Suki would have to earn their Black Bull robes by defeating their senior squad mates. After losing a coin toss, Shinji was up first against Magna Swing, the resident Black Bull that used Fire Magic.
"How exactly does this work?" Shinji asked him as they stood out in front of the Black Bulls' hideout.
"You have to either block my attack or evade it," Magna explained, taking out his grimoire and activating a spell. "If you can, that is."
Shinji took out his grimoire and pulled out his sword, surprising Asta with how similar it behaved to his own. There wasn't even any uttering of a spell; he just opened the book and pulled it out. This…was his Anti Sword Magic spell: Katana of the Void. If anyone that was still studying Anti Magic could've figured, this sword probably functioned in ways similar to Asta's Demon-Slayer Sword or Demon-Dweller Sword.
"This is déjà vu all over again," Magna expressed. "Time to change things up a little bit. Fire Creation Magic: Wildfire Sword!"
Forming in his hands was a large sword of fire.
"The sword," Shinji uttered, "both an ancient…and amazing tool. You know what I admire the most about it?"
"Enlighten me."
"Despite it being such an old weapon, it's still in use today."
Magna then swung his sword, releasing two waves of fire at Shinji, before charging towards him.
"Whoa!" Shinji gasped, and then swung his sword at the two waves of flame, extinguishing them. No time to evade!
So instead of dodging, Shinji swung his sword again…and caused Magna's sword to extinguish out of his hands, causing him to fall onto the ground.
"Ow…" Magna groaned as he got back up. "Not bad…for a newbie. Welcome to the Black Bulls, Shinji Ikari."
"Glad to be with the Black Bulls," he responded, and was then handed a small, black garment that was the coveted robe that designated its wearer as a member of the Black Bull squad.
"But I think someone else should face your aunt; you knocked the mana out of me."
Suki's face scrunched up as though Magna was trying to avoid facing a girl. She wasn't sure if he was truly tired by facing Shinji or if this was a gender issue, but she wasn't going to let him walk away without the truth.
"He'd better not be trying to avoid facing me," she uttered. I spent months trying to tap into my magic to not be able to prove myself to others that I'm not just some elder that got her youth back and was reduced to another pretty face.
"I trust that you're actually weakened and not trying to refrain from facing Suki," said Shinji to Magna. "I've seen her face a mage during the exam, and she was…surprisingly impressive."
"Is that some sort of code for you thinking I was subtle?"
"Nope. You summoned a stuffed bear! There was nothing subtle about it."
"A stuffed bear? That sounds very subtle," Noelle expressed her opinion.
"Imagine a stuffed bear that's as big as a tree…with razor claws…made from Cotton and Thread Magic," Shinji informed her.
"Made from Cotton and Thread Magic?!" Charmy and Vanessa gasped. "Really?!"
Suki then took out her grimoire and summoned the aforementioned spell, revealing her bear to them.
"Gaah!" Asta gasped. "Incredible!"
The bear looked as though it were about to give off a menacing roar…only for it to sound more like a small squeak, making it sound anything but threatening.
"It's meant to be menacing," Suki explained, "not sound menacing."
Thud! Magna fell backwards, his eyes looking dazed; it was likely that he was in shock over how such a being of Creation Magic could exist due to two different forms of magic being combined.
"I suppose you could face Luck," Yami suggested, which put a smile on the boy's face.
"Okay," Suki accepted.
-x-
"…I guess Suki earned her right to be in the group just like Shinji," Misato stated, seeing a picture of Suki looking down at a young boy with electricity surging around his arms.
"Gott im Himmel," went Asuka, seeing another picture of Suki with a giant, stuffed bear with large claws. "It looks like they can do anything they want with magic over there."
Fuyutsuki turned to the next page and saw Shinji lying in a bed inside a small room, looking up at a window that appeared to be shining moonlight on his face as he laid there in thought.
"I wonder what he's thinking about in this picture right now," he uttered.
Asuka and Rei were wondering the same thing.
Whatever he was thinking about, it had to be something that kept him from sleeping.
-x-
It was his first night away from home…and his first time realizing that he had ceased being an Evangelion pilot and a pawn in some sick game by his parents when he became a Magic Knight. While a lot to take in, it was a strange sense of elation on his soul; he had finally escaped an unwanted part of his past and carved his first step onto a path that led him down a future that was his to choose. He had finally gotten his clean slate that freed him from the Eva, from fighting Angels, from end-of-the-world insanity that he no longer needed to concern himself with while he was here in the Clover Kingdom. And the weirdest part of it all…was that he had nobody to talk to about it right now.
"Shinji?" He heard Suki's voice, and he turned to the door of his room, seeing his teen aunt standing there, dressed in a blue nightie.
"How'd you get in?" He asked her.
"The trap spells only seem to work when it's keeping the men from going into the women's quarters," she explained, looking around his room. "Mine's got more cobwebs than you do."
"What brings you over here at this time of night?"
"I needed someone I know to talk to, so…I came to see you."
Shinji sighed as he got up into a sitting position on his bed so that Suki had his full attention.
"I never thought I'd be glad to get away from a part of my past that was messed up," he confessed to her. "I'm free of the Eva, of preventing a catastrophe…or rather, insuring a catastrophe. And yet…for the first time in a long time since I got here…I'm completely unsure of what's going to happen now."
"Nobody's allowed to know the unwritten future…unless it's to prevent something terrible from happening. Honestly, I'm glad I'm a Magic Knight now. I get to do something more with my life than what I did the first time around. And…I'm glad we joined the same squad; I don't think I'd feel at ease with any other group if you weren't in it. But…if it's alright if I ask…what drew you to this one? I can't understand your reason."
"I can't, for the heart of me, answer why. I just know that in my heart, this squad was the best choice for me. I'm at the bottom of the mountain…and I want to earn my way to the top."
They weren't all that different regarding their motives for being Magic Knights; they both wanted to be more than what they were once upon a time, to deserve their place within the Magic Knights…and maybe prove they were more than what their family had been in the past.
"Just promise me one thing, Shinji," she spoke up.
"Which is?" He responded.
"Don't try to take on something larger than yourself without aid."
"Heh…wouldn't dream of it."
They both turned to look out the window and felt a degree of calmness from staring at the full moon.
To be continued…
A/N: Well, we finally got the full results of the Magic Knight Entrance Exam: Tenshi and Yui Ikari have joined the Golden Dawn squad, and Suki and Shinji have joined the Black Bull squad. While this mirrors Yuno and Asta's positions, the difference between them is that the four are blood…but their sense of right and wrong are thicker than their blood ties. Also, I wanted the end of this chapter to evoke a sense of Harry Potter when Shinji and Suki look out at the night. Now, I suppose the next question should be the least oblivious one: How many of you think Shinji should have a higher rank than his fellow squad mates because he defeated Rades…and how many of you think his presence within the Black Bulls should result in select members getting an increase in their magic?