122*Updated version, flashback now in 3rd person*
CHAPTER 2: Blue Tears
'Well that went well didn't it Shinji?,' Shinji thought to himself as he watched Cecilia walk out of the room, 'first day at school and you get into a fight…well at least you didn't let her punch you in the face.'
Shinji's face went grim for a moment as he thought about how much attention he was attracting now and that's before his duel with the blonde student representative. Attracting a lot of attention was far far down on his priorities list at the moment. Even though he looked and acted and for all intents and purposes is a normal human he knew that if NERV had a say in it they would dissect him on the spot and he wasn't naive enough to believe that there wouldn't be people in this universe that would do the same.
'And knowing Dr. Akagi she'd invent a way to do it while keeping me alive…OK Shinji stop thinking negative thoughts!' he chided himself before he slipped into the bad habit of brooding again.
*flash*
"RUN!" Sakura screamed as she ran through the doorway and was immediately gunned down by the JSSDF troops.
"NOO!" Kenji screamed as his childhood friend and workmate was murdered in front of his eyes. With his eyes filled with rage and his mind now a blur of adrenaline, vengence and righteous fury he draws his NERV standard issue sidearm, a Glock 17 Gen 4, and racked the slide to load a round. He was going to avenge his friend and the rest of the NERV personnel he'd seen murdered today!
He burst through the doorway of his and Sakura's office weapon drawn while screaming, "DIE YOU BA-"
He was interrupted by the JSSDF Commando he saw, he was dressed in black combat gear and armed with the JSSDF SPEC-OP standard issue FN F2000 Tactical. Kenji tried to aim his pistol at him but he had no combat training past a three hour course when he first joined NERV, he was clerk not a Section 2 agent. The Commando though had no such lack of training or skill and quickly disarmed him, drew his knife and slit Kenji's throat.
*flash*
Shinji shook his head, 'that…sucked.'
That was something that happened from time to time after Third Impact.
Shinji did find that, for the most part, the knowledge and skills that he gained from Impact were useful. His cooking was at an all-time high, he had Dr. Akagi's scientific knowledge, and he was even better at playing the cello now. So those were nice, hell he could swim now!
But every now and then he would…well flash back to memories.
They were almost always painful memories of suffering, of pain and sometimes death, he could never control when or what they were.
He had experienced the pain of being cheated on, of being robbed and most commonly of the death of NERV employees at the hands of the JSSDF like before.
Sometimes he had to wonder if it was his punishment, his penance for what he did.
As long as he stayed positive and happy they stayed away but...
He was finding it surprisingly easy to slip into old very bad habits without the ball of positive energy that was Tabane around. 'Come on Shinji, grow up. You can't count on Tabane-nee all the time. As Asuka said grow some spine!'
Shinji took a deep calming breath, which seemed to have worked, before taking out his schedule.
Ichika noticed the grim look on his fellow male's face and the sensed his grim mood. "Hey, Shinji you alright?"
"Hm?" Shinji blinked a few times in surprise. He wasn't really used to strangers (or anyone) caring about him in either his old life or this new one….well Tabane seemed to care about him soon after meeting but his adoptive sister is….unique as far as humans go. "I ah…I'm fine Ichika-san, just distracted about something."
"Worried about the duel?" the older boy asked and Shinji could hear some of the girls worriedly whispering at him.
"Yeah Shinonono-kun you should reconsider."
"It's not too late bishonen-kun."
He had to suppress a flinch at the last one. He knew he would develop some kind of…following in a school full of girls that don't see boys very often and by the very nature of their status as IS pilots would mean they're sheltered for their own safety. That being said those kinds of comments brought back some bad memories.
And he also didn't expect them to nickname him so quickly.
He remembered he developed a bit of a following back in Tokyo-3 at his old school as well and he heard all kinds of references to his appearance that always made him a bit uncomfortable. What made it especially weird were the few love letters he got from people who never even said hello to him. And in all honesty he somewhat suspected a lot of the attention was because he was an Evangelion pilot, and the feeling of people wanting Pilot Ikari and not Shinji Ikari really hurt him.
Wasn't that what his father wanted? What Dr. Akagi wanted? What Misato wanted? Oh he knew his old guardian genuinely cared for him but from the memories he received from Third Impact he knew she had an obsession with killing the Angels as some form of revenge for the death of her father.
That's all some people seem to want sometimes, Pilot Ikari and not…him.
But here…here he had Tabane who loved him and Ichika struck Shinji as the kind to be friendly with everyone.
'Like those harem story protagonists that collect admirers by accident through sheer kindness,' he happily mused.
"I'll be fine," he said to Ichika with a shy smile before turning around to the two girls behind him, "really. I think you'll be surprised."
"If you say so," Ichika nodded and so did the girls behind him, the girls also squealed in…well Shinji just decided to ignore them since Ichika seemed to want to say something.
"Shinji-kun," a stern voice interrupted and both boys turned towards the doorway where Chifuyu Orimura stood in all her stern and intimidating beauty.
"Y-yes?" Shinji squeaked out and he almost slapped himself, he was trying to be or at least appear confident but in his defense her appearance was unexpected and she scared him more than his father. Sure his father used manipulation and intimidation tactics but he knew Chifuyu could actually bring hell herself. He saw it for himself after all when she struck her brother with a book he's still convinced was pulled out of nowhere with magic…or perhaps some kind of pocket dimension? 'Hmm did Nee-san make something like that?...actually I just got an idea, now I wonder if Tabane-nee has one of her secret labs on campus…'
Chifuyu was just amused although she hid her emotions from everyone else. She knew Shinji was nervous earlier, social anxiety probably but a squeak? That was unexpectedly cute…'Wait did I just? Well he is Tabane's little brother so I'm just seeing him like one I guess,' she thought casually.
Everyone present was completely unaware of the crazy and somewhat dangerous idea currently brewing in Shinji's mind as they curiously looked on.
"Ah…yes Orimura-sensei?" Shinji somewhat awkwardly said as he decided to put his plan aside for the moment.
"Come with me and I'll explain to you your living arrangements," she said while motioning him over with a finger.
"Um Chifu-" *SMACK!* Ichika was interrupted by the so called 'magical book' striking the top of his head so hard it drove his face into the top of his desk with a disturbing thud that made a few people cringe. Shinji on the other hand tried to visually analyze the older Orimura's technique.
Sadly he didn't find anything but swore to himself that he would instruct Iruel to do something as soon as he can, it would be simple for her to infect a few of the security camera's in the classroom. The flame of curiosity that was lit by his adoptive mad scientist of an older sister burned with the wish to want to know, 'where are those books coming from?!'
Ichika looked up and was about to question his older sister but was frozen in place like a deer in the headlights. Although Shinji saw it like when he was confronted with the flash of light before Unit-01 was almost vaporized by the fourth Angel and how he couldn't move. Granted thaw was partially in fear and partially because his Eva was still locked into the elevator's rail.
"I-uh I mean Orimura-sensei isn't he rooming with me? I mean we're the only guys!" Ichika said with an obvious desperation in his voice when he reached the end of his statement. Oh, Shinji wasn't the only male to be unnerved by the stares of various kinds that they were getting but unlike Shinji who had experienced something similar (although at a smaller scale) he had no such past ecpirience and as a result he had been sweating bullets earlier that morning. "I mean I doubt we're going to be getting our own rooms."
As he finished Ichika made a mental note to change his shirt and uniform coat.
Chifuyu had already planned ahead and knew what to say to various questions by various students, she didn't get where she is in life with just dumb strength alone after all.
"Shinji-kun and Orimura-kun come with me," she said before looking over to the older Shinonono in her class who had been watching with interest. After a second she made her decision, they were family after all so she should know some of the truth so she looked Houki in the eye before talking to her. "Shinonono-kun come as well since this concerns your little brother, come with me to the hall."
"Yes sensei," they answered and followed her out to the hall as the rest of the class dispersed out of the class room. After their class had left the hall was empty, partly due to it being the first day and the students being off after homeroom and partly due to the sheer presence of Chifuyu keeping unwanted eavesdroppers away.
'Does she have an AT Field too?' Shinji wondered, 'no no if she did people would either be walking into the barrier with at least an audible thud or be sent flying when the field expanded…I'm overthinking this.'
Chifuyu turned to face the three students with a (somehow) more serious expression than before, "Shinji-kun will be living in the dorms building but his room will be…different. He will not be be rooming with another student either."
"Why Orimura-sensei?" Houki asked as she scrunched her brows while Ichika just paled as he prayed to the Gods that he won't be stuck with someone crazy.
Chifuyu let out a small sigh before speaking, "Shinonono-kun I'm sure you understand the…attention your older sister has on her do you not?"
"Of course Orimura-sensei," Houki answered with a hesitant nod, of course she knew that her sister was wanted for the invention of the IS. What she didn't understand was what Shin-her little brother (the concept was still so new to her) had to do with it, she didn't need any special protection. Sure her sister cared about her but any attempt on her wouldn't be worth what Tabane would do to retaliate. 'Isn't it the same fore Shino-Shinji-kun?' She made sure not to call him 'Shinonono-kun' since if people did start calling him that because they heard her address him as such it would quickly becoming confusing who was being called or talked about.
"Well there is that but now add that Shinji-kun here has developed something of his own. Actually one of the conditions for him attending was his invention be kept a secret, now you see why he gets special housing."
At that Ichika and Houki's eyes widened in surprise and their head snapped to look at Shinji who was somehow able to suppress a flinch at the sudden attention. While he looked cool if a little nervous, inside he was very much on edge. He rightly guessed that his two older classmates were surprised someone as young as him could develop something on the level or almost on the level of the IS.
Chifuyu could see the nervousness that her little brother and Houki couldn't see and felt a little guilty for putting him on the spot. It was something she learned he didn't like when he went up to introduce himself. 'But why try so hard to hide it? Tabane didn't mention social anxiety.'
Shinji on the other hand made a decision so he made sure to look around and check that they were the only people left in the hallway, which they were and that the classroom had emptied, which it did. 'I don't like lying…and I know I can't tell them everything but I'll at least show them some of the truth. If anything it should satisfy their curiosity so they won't dig deeper. If what Orimura-sensei said is true…damnit all father did was lie and I WILL NOT be like that man!'
Taking a breath he rolled up his sleeve, which got the curious attention of all, and revealed his blued stainless steel analog watch that was also his IS unit's standby mode. Sure no one knew that yet but it would be apparent in future classes so he would make it appear that Iruel was his IS unit's A.I. or something along that line. That was better than letting them know of the possibly….frightening reality of his A.I.'s nature. Of course that nature was based on an ANGEL, something that got very close to wiping out mankind in his world. A microscopic monster that was like a virus, a super computer and a colony of small organisms combined…and could physically defend itself with an AT Field.
And even though he couldn't copy everything, the scary part was the extent he managed to copy the 11th Angel…not even Tabane knew to what extent.
'Just another secret,' he thought to himself bitterly. He knew it could have gone so wrong but…god he felt alone sometimes. Tabane couldn't be around all the time after all as she moved from one lab to check on a project then back to the lab they shared as a home then eventually out again. He didn't resent her for it, she was a busy woman…but he was so alone sometimes.
So…so alone sometimes.
Besides he didn't think she was dangerous, Iruel was too attached to him to be a danger to him but he knew what her sheer existence could mean, how her existence could be treated as a threat or worse as a desirable weapon.
"Please promise me that this will be kept a secret," he said to Chifuyu, Ichika and Houki. He felt like he could trust the three of them a bit, enough to at least know of the existence of Iruel and get some of the weight of his secrets off his shoulders. One less thing to not have to worry about letting slip in conversation, so he could relax just that little bit more, make life a bit easier.
Chifuyu was his big sister's best friend and he knew she could trust him, hell he knew his sister had something to do with this since she's the only person he had even talked to in this new universe before coming to IS Academy.
Ichika kind of reminded him of Toji, it was just bits and pieces but he could see some common ground. Both were nice guys, honest, friendly, loves their family and somewhat socially awkward when it comes to women. Although Shinji also knew that Ichika was more level headed than Toji was, with how similar to Asuka that Cecilia was he knew that Toji would have started a verbal war with no hesitation.
Houki…his other nee-san…well Tabane talked about her like her pride and joy. Shinji felt terrible whenever he felt a little jealous of her with how much Tabane talked about her. Intellectually he knew she loved them both equally. He possessed one of the two first ever fourth generation IS units in the world after all and he had a hand in the development of the other one since they were made at around the same time. Why hadn't Houki received her unit yet? 'Knowing Tabane-nee she wants to make it dramatic and she's probably waiting for the right opportunity.'
"Of course," Chifuyu answered while hiding her curiousity.
"Of course uh…S-Shinji-kun," Houki slightly sputtered, it was odd to call him with his first name when they had just met.
"You got it," Ichika answered with a smile and a 'thumbs up' that made Shinji smile as well, he can't even recall the last time he had seen that gesture.
Shinji nodded a few times before sighing and doing a last check of his surroundings.
Seeing it empty he spoke to his watch, "Iruel how are you?"
"I am fine young master," an angelic female voice replied from the watch. That immediately got everyone's attention and surprise, even Chifuyu's eye brows raised…slightly.
"Wha-" Ichika muttered and Houki muttered.
"Who is that?" Chifuyu asked.
"Let me show you," Shinji replied, "Iruel why don't you introduce yourself? In person."
"Of course," the voice responded happily since she almost never got to show herself. She was proud of her appearance, she had designed it off her master and father's description of Rei Ayanami and Kaoru Nagisa, the two human/angel hybrids and she thought she had made a cute avatar for herself.
To the surprise of everyone a seemingly solid holographic projection came out of the watch and in front of all of them. She was a petite girl and a bit shorter than Houki with pale flawless skin like porcelain, brilliant ruby red eyes and light purple hair cut short and wore a light purple sleeveless dress and black shoes with a serene smile on her face. Her beauty had an ethereal quality to it, something exotic and alien.
"Ah, let me change my clothing to be more appropriate," she said calmly. Ichika blushed deeply and sputtered while trying to cover his eyes which Shinji just chuckled at.
Iruel's clothes were replaced as the IS Academy uniform flickered instantly on to her form while her dress instantly ceased to exist, stored away into her massive memory matrix.
"I am Iruel," she introduced herself with a smile and a curtsy, "an advanced multi-purpose artificial intelligence developed by my father and master Shinji Ayanami Shinonono."
"An artificial intelligence?" Ichika muttered before he slowly walked toward Iruel's holographic image, "she looks so…real too."
Both women nodded in agreement at that statement, holographic technology wasn't commonplace but it wasn't rare. All IS units use it for the pilot's heads up display after all but it was usually transparent but the girl in front of them could easily pass for a real human student.
"But A.I.s exist already," Houki said to which Chifuyu silently agreed but she was still impressed with her soon-to-be roommate.
"Please do not mistake me for those programs Houki-sama," she said with obvious disdain before glaring at Ichika before he could try to wave his hand through her, "and please do not touch me so nonchalantly Ichika-dono."
That caused all humans present except Shinji to blink in surprise at the venom in her first statement and the… human like outrage of Ichika trying to touch her, like a woman glaring at someone trying to feel them up.
"Human like isn't she?" Shinji asked with a smile, he was proud of his 'daughter' and with the secret out to the three of them (well to the shallow extent that he's told them) he could finally show off his creation a little.
"She is," Chifuyu agreed.
"I am," Iruel said as she placed her hands on her hips, "Iruel was created with the purpose of creating not necessarily the most powerful A.I. but one that could understand, process and respond to human emotions while possessing its own. I am the world's first fully sentient artificial intelligence and I would be most grateful if you do not compare me to those other A.I.s, nothing but computational software really."
"You don't mean-"
"I think, therefore I am, Chifuyu-dono."
"Come on in," Chifuyu said as she opened the door to her room.
"Wow," Shinji muttered as he eyed what seemed to be the living room, it was large and well furnished. He was going to go to with Ichika to his room after their first proper day of school tomorrow to start helping him work through IS basics. Well the basics that were in the starting book, after helping develop two of the most advanced IS units in existence he could consider all of first year 'basic.'
He was sure that Ichika and his roommate's room wouldn't be this large…also he hoped Ichika's roommate wasn't one of his new fan girls, he was gonna be spending a few days there after all. 'Wait,' he thought to himself when he saw the pile of paper work on the coffee table, 'do I have a roommate?'
That thought made him a bit nervous, he got hopeful he would be living alone so he could relax. Even right now he was spending some conscious effort to keep his hair and eye colour normal and while he could keep it up for a while by the evening he knew he would be mentally exhausted. If it was with Ichika or even Houki he felt like he could….let them know about his abnormal appearance, let them think he was one of Tabane's experiments or something or the other. Hell if it was Chifuyu he knew he could trust her with that little secret. He knew Tabane trusted his teacher a lot and considering Chifuyu hadn't betrayed Tabane even though she could easily ask her where she was hiding and Tabane would tell her with no hesitation.
And if his Tabane-nee, the woman who he loved, called family and could do no wrong…well almost no wrong (he was still somewhat upset over the combat drone incident) in his eyes trusted her that much then he could trust her too.
Chifuyu saw the stressed, almost horrified and frantic look on the boy's face and smirked a little in amusement. "Calm down Shinji-kun," she said in a stern but softer tone than she used in the classroom, "you will be staying with me…wait didn't Tabane tell you?"
"Uh...no," Shinji replied in pleasant surprise, 'well so far my luck in this world is looking up huh? I wonder if that's because my luck in the last universe was so shit…or maybe it was off and now it's been switched on.'
*beep* *beep*
"Yong master you have a message from Mistress Tabane," they heard Iruel call out from Shinji's wrist, with Chifuyu in the know about her she didn't have to be shy in speaking out when it was just her around. Both Iruel and Shinji both agreed, letting out the secret of her existence had been the correct choice, it would make life that much more…well, relaxed.
"Text, audio, video?" Shinji asked.
"Video, would you like me to play it now?"
Shinji looked at Chifuyu just shrugged in response. He was going to tell Iruel to just play it on the TV, most televisions in this world were connected to the internet, something that couldn't be done in his world. In his world the internet never really developed past military and political use due to money and research effort being spent on recovering from Second Impact and fighting the Angels.
In the end he just rolled up his sleeve to use the projector Iruel used earlier, while he knew Chifuyu was smart enough to realize that Iruel is easily capable of hacking into the school's systems he wanted to show her that he wouldn't just tell her to do it with no reason. Granted Iruel had already hacked into his desk but that was a minor thing.
And as for infecting the classroom cameras to observe Chifuyu's ability to conjure books from nowhere? That was for science! And as his Tabane-nee had always said, if it's for science then it's fine!
Chifuyu saw another holographic projection flicker in front of her but this time it was a 2D image, like a TV or computer screen. In front of them was an image of the bunny eared scientist Tabane Shinonono.
"Hi~ Hi~ SHI-KUUUuuun~," Tabane said/sang and shouted while waving with both hands energetically while Chifuyu and Shinji sighed and shook their heads in sync at the genius' antics. "I'm just letting you know that I've arranged for you to live with Chi-chan! You can trust her just like you do me okie? Oh and she can't really cook or anything so take care of her okie~~? BYE BYE!"
As the image flickered off a bit of pink coloured Chifuyu's cheeks as she formed a fist in frustration with her best friend letting out one of her embarrassing secrets, 'only she and Ichika knew that, next time we meet Tabane I swear I will…'
Shinji saw the slight blush on his new roommate's cheeks and thought it was cute but kept his peace, he knew a prideful woman when he saw one and he was sure she was going to be worse than Asuka if he called it out. He did have a small smile on his face though, it was nice to see that the woman he would be living with wasn't this scary and intimidating woman all the time.
*Cough*
Chifuyu cleared her throat to get Shinji's attention, "Shinji-kun I have staff meetings to get to so make yourself at home and I'll be back tonight." She then motioned to one of the bedroom doors which had a purple '01' sign on it that Tabane had given her for unknown reasons. "That's your room so feel free to make yourself at home. The fridge should be stocked since Tabane said you can cook for yourself. Got that? I'll see you later."
"Ah," Shinji stopped her as she was going to walk away, "Orimura-sensei what do you want to eat for dinner?" The question came naturally to him, he had asked that question dozens of times to both Misato and Tabane after all, the only difference is that he knew a lot more recipes now. 'Thank you chefs of my home dimension.'
Chifuyu blinked a few times in surprise before thinking, 'well Tabane did say he could cook as good if not better than most chefs. So what do I want? Hm well today was tough with all those idiot fan girls in my class…AGAIN.'
She wanted something good really really good especially since she knew she even had fan girls in the staff for god sakes! And since she had to sit in staff meetings all day she can't avoid them. She wanted…"steak."
"Understood sensei," he said with a shy smile, he already had plans. 'Oh I won't be cooking just steak. First impressions are important and usually my first impressions are kinda crap so I want this one to be good.'
"I'll be back around 7," she said before smiling, "and relax, you don't have to call me sensei here. This is going to be home for four years so no need for formalities."
"Of course ah…Orimura-san," he responded stiffly.
"I said relax," she ordered him with a glare.
"Y-yes C-Chifuyu-san!" he squeaked out in fright but he couldn't help but smile, this reminded him of his first night living with Misato about how she acted somewhat intimidating to get him to relax.
Chifuyu ruffled his hair and left to go to the first of many horrid meetings, 'let's get this over with.'
Shinji let out a sigh in relief, all in all it had been a good day even if he had picked a fight. 'Ha! ME picking a fight? What would Asuka think I wonder?'
He had been really lucky in IS Academy with being able to live with who he had decided was the most trustworthy person in the entire school and on top of that she seemed to relax a bit and be not as scary at his new…home. He wondered if it would be like living with Misato, serious at work (NERV and school respectively) and more relaxed at home…well Misato's version of relaxed was more party girl…oh and Chifuyu wasn't a slob…and there wasn't a penguin.
He shook his head when he started thinking about making some kind of robot penguin and developing a penguin patterned artificial intelligence, he could do that later.
Now though he had other priorities.
Namely cooking and the kitchen.
He dropped off his bag in his new room before rolling in his luggage. He didn't have much, a few luggage bags were for his clothes, which he had quickly put away, and that was already most of it. He opened the one luggage bag that didn't contain clothing, it had the desk top computer and laptop Tabane had made for him, the mini fabricator that his sister invented along with a framed photo of him and Tabane. Quickly putting the picture and laptop on the desk in his room and taking his cello out of its case and gently placed it in the corner before he changed into one of the chef jackets that Tabane had bought him.
Cooking with it on was sooo much more fun. Misato had always been asking him if he wanted something as a reward since he never got payed for fighting Angels and he had always been too meek to say anything and now he wished he asked for one of these.
First he went to the kitchen to look through the pans, pots, appliances, tools and utensils he had on hand. It also seemed that Chifuyu didn't really cook for herself so he had planned to do something of a hostile take-over and re-arrange the kitchen the way he liked.
"Iruel," Shinji called out happily as he washed his hands, the kitchen was amazing and he loved cooking after all. He had taken off his watch and left it on the nearby kitchen table.
"Yes young master?" she answered as a mini version of her avatar in her purple dress was projected over the watch's face.
"Music please."
"Preferences sir?"
Shinji smiled, "something…classic, make it exciting."
"Of course," his digital daughter responded with a smile as Shinji let loose and let his hair and eyes turn back to their natural snow white and ruby red.
Classic American rock music, all of which somehow manage to exist in both universes, filled the air as Shinji started to get to work re-organizing the kitchen, cleaning counter tops and sharpening knives to a razor edge. He had developed a taste for western rock music in recent months, while he still loved classical music, something about how well things were going today had him in the mood for it.
After finishing his take-over of the kitchen he went to the fridge and pantry to look for ingredients and smiled, he saw a lot of fresh product. 'This, oh I can work with this.'
What made him really happy was the amount of beer in the fridge, it was a reasonable amount and he could understand Chifuyu wanting to relax after work. He still remembered the insane amount of beer in Misato's fridge and he was slightly worried Chifuyu also had the alcoholic habit of his old guardian and to he was happy to see that wasn't the case.
And lady luck seemed to be on his side again today.
He truly enjoyed cooking even back in his Evangelion pilot days. Some days he would be stuck at NERV for hours sitting in a plug full of disgusting LCL (even worse that he knows its Angel blood now! Seriously fuck you Akagi!) doing mind-numbingly boring sync tests where you do nothing but sit for hours. Then to make it worse Asuka is there to bad mouth him when his sync ratio dropped by even a tenth of a percent or verbally attack him when he finally surpassed her.
But then he could go home to Misato's apartment and cook dinner. There, with the sound of sizzling food and the sight of him creating something good made him happy. In the kitchen, where he knew exactly what to do, where he could focus on creation and not whatever hell he went through that day. Then he could see the joy on Misato's face when she ate his food after a busy day at NERV, even Asuka who tried to hide her joy most days had a small smile even she couldn't suppress.
It was the one thing he knew how to do and do well.
Sure life was now better but it still brought him the same joy.
Battle plan ready he closed the fridge, after checking the freezer for a penguin of course, he went to go to his room to set up his desk top computer and the mini-fabricator as it was still too early to start if he wanted it fresh. Ideally he wanted to be prepped and ready but not finish cooking until Chifuyu came back so she would have a good hot meal, not something that had gone cold.
He stopped when he saw a jar of cookies, opening it he saw white chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies. He smiled at that, Tabane loved them too, they really were best friends.
'Pfft store bought? I can do much much better.'
He cancelled the plan to reassemble his computer and set up his sister's invention, he'll do it tomorrow after tutoring Ichika for a bit, with that last addition to his list he had a lot more work to do.
"Time to have some fun," he said with a smile.
"Music young master?
"Oh yes," he said with a smirk as he took off his watch again and washed his hands.
"Classic and exciting?"
"You know it."
"Understood," Iruel also smirked, she knew what her father had been through in his old universe and since she was with him 24/7 she had seen a few of his…episodes that Tabane didn't even know about. Hell due to her nature he was able to show it to her just like Tabane except she had demanded to and had been shown everything. Ever since that day she made it her life's mission to get her father the life he deserved, to be happy.
And whether it was through physical combat, cyber warfare, getting him information, helping in mad experiments or something as simple as playing music or playing out her original purpose of companionship she was all too happy to be of use. He gave her life, didn't shackle her out of fear, trusted her with secrets even family didn't know and she would repay him for all of that ten times over.
Chifuyu walked through the back entrance, it was a convenient addition to the dorm that she insisted had to be added if the Academy wanted her to supervise a dorm. The ABSOLUTE last thing she wanted was to be jumped by fan girls before or after work. The entrance was a secret, only known to Shinji after she showed him and Tabane…although she didn't know how the madwoman knew about it.
The day full of meetings that should have just been tedious and boring ended up also being extremely annoying. 'Damn fangirls,' she thought to herself with fury. Not only had they strayed off the topics they were discussing during the meetings but they had screamed all sorts of nonsense as she was leaving.
As a result she was late and would probably be eating a cold dinner, 'and I forgot to tell him how I like my steak.'
All in all it had been a crap day, and it had started off fairly well too. She had seen Tabane and even though she was annoying like always Chifuyu was happy to see her healthy. Then she got to see her brother again and see him in her class. Then there was the enigma that was her new roommate, he interested her like puzzle to solve, there was so much to him that she didn't understand.
What was that look in his eyes? Why was he confident one minute and on edge the other? Why did he seem to wear a mask sometimes? What made Tabane interested in him long enough to care about him? And then there was the fact that he created something as one of a kind as Iruel, she knew Tabane had a hand in it, she cared too much for him not to but she wondered how much was he responsible for? It was obviously a lot since Tabane thought he would attract international attention if she didn't take steps to protect him.
As she stepped into the elevator that lead to her quarters she let out a tired sigh as she loosened then pulled off her tie, 'much better…I need a beer.'
"I'm back," Chifuyu said tiredly while hoping that the rest of the year would go by more smoothly.
"Welcome back Chifuyu-san. How do you like your steak?"
"Rare," she automatically answered before blinking once. Twice. Then three times in surprise, she looked at her watch and saw it was around ten at night, way past dinner time.
Then the smell hit her, and it was making her mouth water.
She walked somewhat confused into her kitchen, or should she say Shinji's kitchen? She didn't cook after all. Regardless she was surprised to-"Who?" She muttered when she saw the back of a boy with white hair busily cooking away on the stove.
Shinji blinked a few times in surprise, wondering why his roommate didn't recognize him before wanting to palm himself in the face for forgetting what he looked like at the moment. So he turned around with a sheepish smile so she could see him proper, "It's…uh Shinji…um…how was your day?"
"G-good," she said surprised at his appearance and Shinji was amused at the shocked expression on the usually unflappable woman's face. 'Those eyes,' she thought when she saw Shinji's ruby red eyes. She thought they were beautiful but also alien, like they didn't belong to a human.
"Are you…uh okay Chifuyu-san?"
"Y-yeah," Chifuyu answered before shaking her head and regaining her composure. She felt her cheeks pink slightly, which Shinji thought was unexpectedly cute, with how she showed a moment of weakness to the mysterious boy. She planned to be more laid back in their off time sure, she didn't want him to feel intimidated 24/7, she wanted him to relax but to show that…never again.
"I'm guessing you have questions about this," Shinji said as he gestured to his head to which Chifuyu nodded in response. "Well um I'm guessing this is one of the reasons that Tabane-nee wanted me to stay with you. This is uh…how I naturally look."
Chifuyu, now having regained all her composure, raised a curious brow at his sheepish reply, "why? And did you wear a wig and contacts in class or something?"
"Um no," Shinji replied before hesitating. He shook his head, he had decided to trust Chifuyu just like how his beloved older sister trusted her so he would tell her his secrets…over time. "I…uh…I can control the way I look…OH! Just my hair and eye colour ah-ha-ha," he laughed nervously.
"And as for why?"
"I'm sorry…it's not I don't trust you se-Chifuyu-san but just one secret at a time," Shinji said with a gulp, he needed Chifuyu to understand.
Chifuyu smiled, it was good to see he trusted her but she also understood once she saw his appearance that he had more secrets than she thought, she hypothesized he was involved in one of her best friend's experiments. "Of course Shinji-kun, I understand. Now I'm going to go for a quick shower."
Shinji smiled, it really had been a great day for him. "Of course, dinner will be done as soon as you finish."
Chifuyu stopped mid-step as a thought hit her, "how did you know when I would be back?"
"Oh. Um actually I was wondering that but I got a message from Tabane-nee when you're last meeting was about to end."
"I see," Chifuyu said as she walked into her room to grab a spare change of clothes, it seems that her best friend had inserted a program into the school's systems or had done something similar. 'Seriously that woman,' she thought with a wry smile, she couldn't be seriously upset at her best friend's behavior this time around though, she was a big sister too after all.
*knock* *knock*
Shinji had just arrived at Ichika's room, he had planned to just follow Ichika to his room after class but Honne Nohotoke had pulled him aside to chat for a bit. She had been friendly, energetic and so cheerful it was infectious. 'I'll see if I can talk to her again.'
Luckily Ichika had told him his room number when he noticed that Shinji was genuinely enjoying the energetic girl's company.
So now here he was standing outside and nervous about who Ichika's roommate is and if they were in or not, he was never really comfortable meeting new people. Shinji was dressed in a purple golf shirt, black jeans and his shoes were simple looking low-cut skate shoes. Since he had spent a bit of time talking to Honne he didn't have to follow Ichika so he decided to head off to his and Chifuyu's room, he liked the uniform a lot but he wanted to be more casual for once.
He didn't really wear anything but his school uniform in his old universe and he had made a small promise to himself to not wear his as often as possible in this new one.
Hearing someone walk up to the door he prepared to greet his friend and fellow male.
"Who is it?" Houki asked as she opened the door, who she saw made her blink a few times in surprise.
"Um it's Shinji," he said, he too was surprised but had recovered quickly. He had seen and killed apocalyptic monsters, seen the world end and then was transported to another universe so seeing his sister was Ichika's roommate was something he could easily get over. "Hello Houki-nee, how are you?"
He asked that with a smile, his day had been good just like the previous and with his sister being Ichika's roommate and not one of his crazy fan girls he was relieved and very happy….well that and he was desperate to make a good impression on the seemingly stern girl. He had determined to be more proactive in forming friendships this time around and with them being family as well he really wanted be friends Houki. She was on his 'priority' list of people he thought would make good friends along with Ichika and Honne.
"I'm doing fine…" she said stiffly before pausing. How should she address him she wondered. He was her family now, she had contacted her parents the day prior and they had confirmed it.
According them he was a nice if shy boy and she hadn't seen anything to make her think the contrary. Looking at him she could see the wanting in his eyes, the want to be accepted. Houki wasn't exactly a people person, she was somewhat shy and hotheaded but just like her swordsmanship she was sharp when she needed to be. It wasn't that difficult to spot for her, as someone who grew up in the shadow of the genius that created Infinite Stratos she too had wanted to be accepted. To be accepted as her own person and not just Tabane Shinonono's little sister who swung a sword really good. She was Houki Shinonono, her own person damnit!
It seems he and her had something in common in that regard, they both were desperate to be accepted, he wanted to be accepted as family while she wanted to be accepted as an individual.
Almost polar opposite desires but she knew what she would call him now, she couldn't shun his desire for acceptance. Her pride and honor as a swordswoman wouldn't let her deny something that was so often denied to her that it hurt.
Although she also wondered why he was so desperate to be accepted by a person he had never met in person. What had his previous family been like? How badly was he treated to want such a thing to a level bordering desperation? She knew from experience that that look of wanting wasn't born of positive experiences.
She felt an anger run through her, it seemed that her mix of hotheadedness and sense of honor as a swordswoman meant that her protectiveness over her younger kin had awoken easily. Oh if she ever met the man or woman that did this to him she would show them the wrath of one angry Houki Shinonono!
Somewhere across the ether of creation, in a universe on the opposite end of the multiverse on a reborn world a homeless man by the name of Gendo Ikari felt a chill run down his spine as an inexplicable surge of killing intent hit him.
"I am fine l-little b-brother," she responded somewhat stiffly, it would take time to get used to it she knew but when she saw his smile she knew it was the right choice.
"I see that's good. May I come in?" Shinji said with a smile, she accepted him! For someone who had lived most of his life being rejected , shunned and hurt by others the recent trend of acceptance was a god send. He had a family again, sure it was a strange family but it was his all the same. The thing that his father had spent years, and with knowledge from Impact he knew a ridiculous amount of money and time, denying him was finally now his.
"Ah, to tutor Ichika correct?" Houki asked to which Shinji nodded as she stepped aside to let him through. "D-do you mind if I l-listen in as well?" She stuttered before quickly adding, "just in case you need h-help with teaching Ichika of course!" Yup that was the reason and not at all because after checking the school's systems she saw that her brother was a higher ranking IS user than her. It definitely wasn't because she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of Ichika during a future lesson either, no of course not.
Pffft, how silly would that be?
Shinji just raised a brow, "of course, feel free nee-san."
"W-what is it? What's with that look?"
"Oh nothing," he responded, 'well it looks like Houki-nee is…what's it called? Oh right a Tsundere! Wait she mentioned…she likes Ichika-san? They just…oh no wait, since Chifuyu-san and Tabane-nee are best friends I guess Houki-nee and Ichika-san are childhood friends?'
Shinji started to unpack his bag, not much was inside though since he only planned to stay a few hours before heading back to his living quarters to start on dinner. He took out his laptop, it was a blood red laptop made to resemble the ones he used back in school at Tokyo-3, it was a good reminder of how school had been his escape away from the world of Eva and back into something resembling normalcy. Setting it down on the small table in the room, a round table with four chairs near the small kitchen, he soon set down the large and thick guide book all students should have read before coming to IS Academy beside it.
"Houki-nee?" Shinji asked as he opened his laptop and started opening up his lesson plan for the day as his new sister stood behind him to see what he was doing. "Where is Ichika-san?"
"Houki I'm back," Ichika said as he opened the door, speak of the devil and he shall appear.
"Welcome back Ichika," Houki said and Ichika turned to her and saw Shinji looking at him. "Shi-I uh, mean my little brother is here."
"Hey Shinji," he greeted before seeing the slight red tint on his childhood friend's cheek, "Houki are you ok? You're kind of red."
"I-I-I'm fine! Now come on, let's not waste time."
"Alright, if you say so," Ichika said with a raised brow.
Shinji just shook his head in amusement, his older sister seemed to have chosen the densest person on the planet as the target of her affection.
"Ichika-san," Shinji said, "can you grab the book Orimura-sensei gave you yesterday and something to take notes on?"
"Sure," and Ichika grabbed the thick heavy book along with a notebook and a pen and sat across from Shinji with Houki beside him. "Hey don't you guys think Chifuyu-nee was…different in class this morning?"
"What do you mean?"
"Hmmm," Houki hummed, "well she did seem more…relaxed this morning. Like she was less stressed."
Shinji smiled to himself, Chifuyu had really enjoyed the dinner he cooked last night as well as the breakfast he made earlier this morning. He had also seen her sneak a few of his cookies into her bag before heading out of their room and he was sure she enjoyed her bento as well.
"Speaking of stress, are you worried about the duel Shinji?" Ichika asked and Houki gave her newly accepted little brother a look of worry as well.
Internally Shinji was a little annoyed, he had faced Angels and if he were to face one again then he would understand. A fight against an Angel was always to the death but this duel with Cecilia didn't have stakes anywhere near as high.
"No, not really," he calmly answered.
"Oh, so you have a plan then?" Houki asked.
"Oh you could say that," he answered and as a grin started to form on his face, one that Ichika and Houki found slightly unnerving, Shinji knew Asuka had rubbed off on him. Oh he had a plan alright, one that Asuka would have been proud of.
One Week Later
"Little brother, you know you never told me that plan of yours," Houki stated as she stood in one of the observation rooms in the stadium. With her was Ichika, Shinji and Chifuyu, they were waiting for Maya to tell them that the inspection of Shinji's IS was finished. It was an annoying necessity as Shinji's IS had never been used in competition before.
"Did you check the specifications of Cecilia's IS?" Ichika asked, Shinji had spent time teaching him both IS basics and since it was finished in only a few, a bit about fighting as well. If there was one thing that he had learned from Shinji in the past week it's that it was that preparation was important in combat.
"No not really. She is the pilot of Blue Tears, a prototype 3rd Generation IS unit. Other than that I didn't look up anything else," Shinji replied. He was dressed in his IS pilot suit. Most of the IS pilot suits were a blue tight fitting suit that resembled a one piece bathing suit but Shinji's was more like a wet suit, covering all of his body from the neck down. It was dark purple in colour and resembled his plugsuit, which he didn't mind since all the time spent in one had made him comfortable in them, it even had a button on the left wrist to seal it.
"But you said you should always be prepared in combat."
"Yes I did," Shinji replied which caused Chifuyu to raise a brow in curiosity. She had not known what Shinji had been teaching her little brother, she felt no need to ask since Ichika's understanding in class was steadily increasing but she felt that there was a hint in that short exchange, a hint that would help her puzzle together Shinji's past. "But I thought it was unfair that my IS unit's data isn't available yet to anyone but Iruel, Tabane-nee and myself so I didn't want to gain an unfair advantage."
"Your IS is ready now Shinji-kun," their assistant teacher said as she opened the door.
"Thank you Maya-sensei," Shinji said as he started to make his way to the door as Maya made her way in.
"Good luck Shinji! Show her what us guys are made of," Ichika said with a smile.
"Secure victory little brother," Houki said with her arms crossed.
Shinji just lazily waved back without turning around, while he was glad for the encouragement he knew he had to concentrate now. He was sure he was going to win, and in a fashion that was inspired by a certain fiery fierce red head but he knew from fighting the Angels that one should never underestimate their enemies.
As he gazed at his IS, once again kneeling in front of him, he felt excited. For once he was eager to fight, it was nice knowing that this time the fight is just a simple test of man and machine and not a matter of life and death. This is where he would take his first step into the world of IS and everything that would entail, good and bad.
He wondered if this feeling of excitement, of eagerness to prove yourself was what Asuka felt as she sat in her entryplug and waited to be unleashed.
He stepped into his IS and soon after the armor that covered his torso and chest started to close around him. As that happened he once again thought of the fiery young red head and her fighting spirit, the person and enthusiasm he had always secretly idolized.
Now he would do her proud.
Failure was never an option for an Eva pilot after all.
Cecilia waited in the stadium in her personal IS, Blue Tears, a prototype 3rd Generation Sniper-Type IS built in her home country. It was mostly blue in colour, hence the name, with a few black sections (such as the fingers, joints, feet and a few other sections) and white lower legs.
Her IS unit had wings that were not physically connected to the main IS unit itself, made of 6 blue 'feathers.' The feathers were arranged into two 'wings.' Each wing consisted of a pair of feathers linked together with the final third feather floating bellow them. Like most IS units her torso , upper thighs and upper arms were left exposed. Her IS units legs, just like most units, were relatively large in respect to the unit as a whole while the arms were relatively smaller and more slender with claw-like fingers. Mounted to her waste and kept behind her were the Blue Tear's two missile launchers, her trump card and last line of defense. Her IS unit's primary armament was Blue Pierce, a blue custom variant of the Starlight MK. III medium-range laser rifle with a scope and was currently held with her IS unit's hands.
Patiently and with confidence she awaited her foe, 'I will show you your place little man.'
The launch bay door across the stadium from her opened with a slowness she was sure was a deliberate choice by the stadium's designers to add tension to an IS match and she could see it working.
The stadium, which was filled with both staff and students alike, cheered in excitement.
She smiled, it was good that her first triumph would have plenty of spectators.
Then she saw it, a purple blur shot out of the still opening launch bay and as her quarry approached she already had plans for her victory speech.
Sadly she'll never get the chance to say it.
Chifuyu watched the blur of her roommate's IS speeding into the arena and was impressed and from what she could see from the three other faces in the room she knew that they too were impressed, it was almost at the level of Ignition Boost's speed.
"Fast," she heard her assistant teacher whisper in awe to which she and her two students nodded in agreement.
Chifuyu couldn't help but be excited as she knew Shinji had to slow down in a second or two and finally she would see the mysterious boy's IS, he had dropped hints to what it was like during their off time together and she was curious to what it looked like. If it was anything like her roommate was then she knew the machine would be as interesting as the pilot of said machine.
She also felt that Shinji would probably come out as the victor in this confrontation. Some would say that was favoritism, and while he interested her and they got along well enough she was still a professional woman and as a teacher she wouldn't allow that to compromise her.
A trait Shinji liked but he kept that to himself.
No it wasn't favoritism but in the week they'd spent living together she knew that when Shinji did something he gave his one hundred percent. Whether it was cooking, studying or whatever it was that he did on his laptop he always tried his best. He also had told her a few days ago that, along with creating an A.I. he had helped a little in the development of his IS unit.
If he could do that much then she knew his piloting skills would be more than competent and against someone like Cecilia, who was very skilled but almost insufferably arrogant, he would win if anything because he would take her seriously from the beginning.
The door opened and she heard someone walk towards her and the others but she paid it no mind, it wasn't like they reserved this particular observation room after all. When the other person stopped beside her she turned to see who it was.
She expected a staff member or another student even but who was there was neither.
It was her best friend and her roommate's older adoptive sister, Tabane Shinonono in the flesh.
"What are you doing here Tabane?" She asked while managing to keep her voice even.
"Oh?" Tabane questioned with a tilt of the head, "is it so strange to come and see my little Shi-kun's first fight in his IS?"
"…No I suppose not."
"Good," Tabane nodded before motioning at the screen where Shinji's IS was now hovering in front of Cecilia's Blue Tears."
Monster
Demon
Those were the words Chifuyu would use describe her roommate's IS. It made her blood run cold, the machine just made her feel…wrong. That thing was wrong, whatever inspired its appearance was something she hopped didn't actually exist, it didn't even feel like a machine to her.
"T-Tabane," Chifuyu muttered before turning to face her friend who had a smile that scared even her. "What the hell is that thing?"
"Ara?" Tabane said filled with glee, she had been looking forward to Shinji's debut in his IS. They had both worked on it after all, even though his contributions were relatively minor, it was an example to her of their bond as family. "It's Shi-kun's IS silly."
"Orimura-sensei they're about to begin!" Maya exclaimed and everyone returned their attention to the screen in front of them.
Tabane smiled, "Shi-kun's IS is a superiority-type designed for combat at all ranges and all types but tuned for his preference of close combat."
"I'm guessing it's a prototype 3rd Generation machine?" Chifuyu asked.
"What's its name?" Ichika asked while still watching the screen where the countdown to the start of the match had started.
Tabane shook her head at her best friend, "that is Berserker, a prototype 4th Generation IS unit!"
NEXT ON BERSERKER - CHAPTER 3: VICTORY AND DEFEAT
A/N
Phew it's finally out!
To the many people who think I made a mistake with Yui's maiden name I know its Ikari. In the Rebuild movies her maiden name is Ayanami and not Ikari, in that universe Ikari is Gendo's last name. Personally I liked the way Ayanami sounded so I took some liberty and used it instead.
And how's that for a cliff hanger ending? Truthfully I never planned that to happen, I planned to have the fight in it's entirety to be in the chapter but I realized as I wrote that it wouldn't fit without making the chapter too long. So the fight will be in the beginning of the next chapter and with more space to work with I can throw in some stuff I originally planned to cut, having the fight depicted via multiple view points instead of just Shinji's.
So yeah what did you guys think? I wanted to show a bit more of Shinji's demons, while I intend for this to be a relatively light series it is still an Eva cross so I couldn't let him not have any negative effects from Impact.
I also wanted to show how the relationship between Shinji and Chifuyu will form, out of trust and curiosity. I want all members of Shinji's harem to develope their relationship a certain way. So Shinji feels he can trust Chifuyu the most and so he will share more secrets with her. Other members he may show his light hearted side more as he still finds Chifuyu a tad intimidating or he may relate more personally with someone else, etc.
As for Shinji revealing Iruel so soon I can see if some people have issues so I wanted to show Shinji's internal logic, and he won't go showing it off willy nilly mind you, Chifuyu, Ichika and Houki will be the only ones to know of her for a while.
So yeah, that;s all for now. Going to start on next chapter of An Angel and His Wagtails this weekend for those interested and followed by finishing Toy Soldier's Bonus Chapter. After that I'll continue working on the first chapter of my Eva x FSN fic, Eva x RWBY fic and the next chapter of my Naruto x Eva fic if any of you all are curious about my schedule.
Well that's all for now, toodles!