115Prologue: Breaking Point
December 31, 2015
Geofront Floor, Geofront, Tokyo-3
Shinji Ikari, Third Child of NERV and pilot of the Test-Type Evangelion, Unit-01 sat in the command seat of the his Eva's entry plug, the typically orange LCL the filled the plug tinted a bloody red.
By blood.
His blood.
He had been badly injured in his fight against the white Mass Production Evangelions.
He's dying and he knows it.
Everyone he cared about and who cared about him is seemingly gone, Misato too taken with her obsession over Kaji's death, Asuka now comatose whil Rei died during the battle against the 16th Angel, sacrificing herself when it started to infect her Unit-00.
Oh she had 'come back' miraculously but she had been…different. She was colder, quieter even more distant.
She was Rei but she wasn't…his Rei.
Even Kaworu Nagisa, the Fifth Child and the pilot who replaced Asuka as the pilot of Unit-02, one of the few people to have genuinely loved him had turned out to be not a human at all.
His true identity had been the 17th and final Angel and during his attack Shinji had been forced to kill him.
The last person who cared about him, genuinely, truthfully cared about him and he had killed him.
For what?
Why did he kill the only person to have admitted that they loved him?
Why, for the good of humanity of course.
The humanity that seemingly refused and rejected him again and again.
What. A. Fucking. Joke.
Then the JSSDF attacked.
They had invaded the Geofront and NERV Headquarters itself, killing all in their path. They gunned down hundreds of NERV's personnel, taking no prisoners as they assaulted through the structure, sweeping every room with extreme prejudice.
Then the soldiers had finally got to him, slumped against the wall in a hallway in the medical wing, on the verge of finally breaking, on the edge of insanity.
*Flashback: 40 Minutes Ago*
Medical Wing, NERV HQ, Tokyo-3
He felt the cold steel of a gun barrel up against his forehead.
*bump* *bump*
Then the soldier spoke to him.
"Nothing personal kid."
Shinji had to wonder who was he saying that to?
Shinji? Did he really think the person he's going to kill, going to execute, not giving him a fighting chance? Not giving him a say on his own destiny? Will forgive him because of that?
Or did he say that mostly to himself and maybe his men? To try and sooth their conscience of the fact that they're about to end a young life, a life of a boy young enough to be their son. Well if that's the case then he can kind of relate, killing Kaworu still haunted him.
*bump* *bump*
Shinji could hear the man's glove as he started to pull the trigger.
*snap!*
And something broke in Shinji in that moment.
'Is this it? Is this how I'm going to die?
IS THIS HOW I'M GOING TO DIE? IS THIS HOW I'M GOING TO END?
SHOT, ALONE AND BROKEN. REJECTED BY A WORLD THAT DOESN'T WANT ME?
WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT?
FUCK. THAT.
IF THE WORLD WANTS ME DEAD…'
Just like his father wanted, just like the council of SEELE wanted, the Third Child had finally broken, just like their scenarios had called for.
…I'M GOING TO TAKE AS MANY AS I CAN WITH ME!
Only he had not broken in the way they had wanted him to.
Shinji quickly grabbed the rifle barrel and jerked it to the side, just in time to avoid having his head blown off and he looked up. He could see the surprise in the soldier's eyes but it barely registered as Shinji saw red, his head filled with a mad rage.
Why did no one ever seem to care for him? Why did the world constantly put his life in danger? What had he done to deserve this?!
Fight or flight, an instinct ingrained in every human, a programmed response to danger.
Fight, to stand one's ground and meet danger, to confront it and attempt to triumph over it.
Flight, to run, to flee and get away from danger.
Flight, to run had always been Shinji's preferred response to danger or trouble of any kind.
But with his back against the wall, with no one left and nowhere left to run to, on the brink of insanity and perhaps even having crossed into it he had chosen to fight.
If the world didn't want him, fine!
But Shinij Ikari will not go quietly into the night.
Without thinking, using the instinct that having fought the Angels had ingrained in him, instincts he had never known he had he punched the soldier in the groin, eliciting a pained gasp from the man. As the soldier slumped on top of him Shinji grabbed the knife sheathed on his hip drew it and slid the blade into the man's side before giving the knife a twist, tearing skin, ripping muscle and enlarging the wound. Noticing that the rest of his fireteam, three other men, are starting to get out of the shock induced by his sudden act of violent defiance, he used the hand not holding the knife and grabbed the soldier's holstered pistol and drew it.
*bang!* *bang!* *bang!*
After putting a bullet into each of the soldier's heads, a part of him absently mindedly thanking NERV for putting so much time and effort into honing in his aim over the war, the three other commandos slumped to the ground. Shinji heaved the soldier still slumped over him off of him, the man impacting the ground with a thump.
Shinji bent over and was about to start grabbing some spare ammunition for the pistol but a pained gasp stopped him. He looked up to the face of the soldier and was surprised to see him still breathing, impressive considering the gaping hole in his side.
"P-please," the man begged, bringing his hand in front of him in a weak gesture to protect himself from the suddenly intimidating child slowly walking up to him. "S-spare…m-me."
Shinji looked at the man. Not just absently either but really looked at him as the mad almost berserk rage starting to fade but still present.
Shinji aimed the pistol at the man's head, right between the eyes.
"Please!" the man screamed for mercy, mercy he probably did not show the NERV personnel that he killed on his way to him Shinji thought. 'Mercy he would not show me.'
No, he could not let this man go. If he were to kill Shinji then that would be fine with the Third Child, three elite commandos being taken down with him wasn't bad. But if he hurt Asuka whose still comatose in the same medical ward he's currently in then he wouldn't forgive himself. Even if she left him alone he still cared for her.
With a sense of cold detachment he squeezed the trigger.
Sergeant Kuemon Kawahara of the Japanese Strategic Self-Defense Force's Third Special Forces Group watched in horror as he looked into the eyes of the boy, no , monster? Devil? That stood over him aim the pistol, his¸pistol at him.
He looked into Death's eyes and what he saw chilled him to the very core.
In the eyes where innocence of a child should be, where the hope of youth should be he saw none of those things.
What he did see was rage, pure and unbridled.
Despair, the deepest darkest depths of human despair.
Loneliness, crushing loneliness.
And what frightened him the most was the hint of pure madness glittering in those steel blue eyes.
He's dead and he knows it now.
The last thing he thought of as the boy pulled the trigger was his comrades. Of the army now storming the floor of the Geofront, intelligence had known that the Second Child was comatose so his team had been told to hunt down the Third Child, the last Evangelion pilot.
A mission he's obviously failed.
He thought of the army outside and what would happen when an Evangelion would be unleashed upon his comrades.
He had seen videos of the Evangelions in action during the pre-attack briefing and it had made his blood run cold, those things were fucking monsters.
He thought of his comrades that would soon face one of those monsters and just before the bullet killed him he thought…
'May God have mercy on us all.'
*Flashback Ends*
Shinji had fought, in his Evangelion, in his Unit-01, he had fought like he had never fought before.
As the army came with their tanks and their soldiers and their guns he fought.
He laughed as the tank shells bounced off his AT fields and he responded by crushing their tanks, smashing their men and destroying their army. Finally, all the anger he had suppressed, he had hidden behind his quiet side had been allowed to rampage, to go berserk and destroy.
It was absolutely cathartic for the Third Child.
Then the ceiling exploded and the nine white Evangelion descended like angels of death, fat red lips parted in a toothy grin, each wielding a massive double-edged sword.
He had fought them with all the skill of an experienced warrior, the grace of a dancer and the fierceness and determination of a berserker, his synchronization with Unit-01 the highest it had ever been since the battle with the 14th. He had punched them, kicked them, stabbed them and cut them. He had crushed their flesh with the strength of a God, ripped them apart with his Unit's bear hands.
In the massive underground cavern that is the Geofront, amongst the wreckage of the army he had crushed he fought his last stand, his own Battle of Thermopylae, his Tirad Pass, his Alamo.
And he had won.
As fatigue started to set in, as the adrenaline started to flow out of his system his Eva collapsed on the ground. So great was his synchronization, his link with his Eva that the wounds suffered by his massive titan had manifested on his body. His left arm had been shredded and bled while a gash in his side leaked his red life blood into the LCL that filled the plug.
Then it happened.
The bone white Evangelions started to rise up one by one, the damage quickly regenerating.
He tried to get up but they threw theirs swords at him, shifting into spears that cut through his AT Field like butter and they pierced his Unit-01.
That's where he found himself now, pinned by nine of the shape shifting spears, on his back on the floor of the Geofront.
Four going through his Unit-01's torso and another going through the left eye, two in his already shredded left arm, and one in each leg. He had to admit they hurt, a lot, it felt like his flesh burned from nothing but contact with the gray spears.
The nine white Evas circled above him, wings extended like vultures.
Two of the descended and landed beside him and Shinji noted how they tried to gently as possible remove one of the spears, like they didn't want to damage his Eva. Did they plan to capture him or something? Did they wan't something from him?
He won't make it easy for them as he still trashed and clawed at them with the one good arm he had left and he smiled when he managed to somehow grab one of he Eva's head and crushed it with a sickeningly wet 'crunch!'.
He saw three of the most heavily damaged enemy Evangelions open their jaws, and lick their red lips with their tongues as they descended to feast on him. They tore into his left arm first but he didn't scream. He grit his teeth so hard that he heard them crack but he will not scream.
He refused to give these monsters the satisfaction. Even as more and more descended he would not- WILL NOT scream.
He could feel the monstrosities tear into his innards, gouge out his intestines as they dug into him like hyenas. Shinji felt them bite into his flesh, slowly tear off chunks, seemingly savoring the taste. He could feel them chewing on his bones and ripping into his muscles.
But what he found the worst is the sound.
*crunch* *crack* *snap* *riiiiip*
Over and over again the terrible sounds repeated as he vaguely registered Misato's voice coming through the link with the command bridge he had ignored until now.
Obviously they had deemed him too much of a threat to try to capture, a small part of him found some twisted satisfaction at that though.
Feeling pain in his abdomen and seeing an influx of blood flow and mix into the LCL from there he wisely decided that looking down won't be a good idea. He did not need his last memory to be the image of his own intestines and organs being shredded, the sight of his Eva's innards being enough for his short life time.
Then the last of the white vultures came down, descended and he smiled. It wasn't the small shy smile he tended to show, it wasn't warm or genuine either but filled with a mad happiness.
Yes, this is his last stand.
You're not supposed to survive those.
And if the world truly hated him?
If no one will love him, if no one will accept him, if this world truly wanted to reject him, then so be it.
But for once in his own life, and probably for the last time in his own life, Shinji Ikari will choose his destiny.
The Battle of Shiroyama where at the end when defeat was imminent the last of the samurai charged, swords drawn, into the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army.
The Battle of Camaron where 65 French Foreign Legion soldiers fought against a force of around 3000 Mexican soldiers, a mix of cavalry and infantry. A battle where when only five Legion soldiers were left, when their ammunition had run dry, they fixed bayonets and charged.
Yes, like the last of the samurai, like the brave men of the Legion Shinji Ikari will not go quietly into the night!
Shinji reached down and pressed a button located at the side of his entry plug's command seat.
*click*
He looked down and saw a handle. It was striped yellow and black with 'DANGER' stenciled onto the handle. Shinji wrapped his one good hand around the cold steel handle and pressed the trigger like switch, the safety and he smiled.
Unit-01's self-destruct is now armed and ready.
A thought popped into Shinji's mind.
Did his father plan this? Did the bastard king of NERV plan all this? Did he have some kind of scheme that revolved around him breaking? Is that why he sent him to an uncle that didn't love him? He did overhear his uncle mentioning once that his father had given him instructions not to let Shinji have friends, to do all in his power to make sure that he's isolated.
He had asked his uncle about it the next morning and the man had just brushed him off and left it at that but if his father did have a plan, whatever it may be, it would all make sense, that he lived the life he did.
Shinji couldn't help but laugh at the thought of that being the case, what kind of man centres a plan on the actions of an insane child?
Well whatever may be the case, he won't have to worry about any of that for long.
Like the samurai at Shiroyama, the Legion at Camaron, the Filipino soldiers at Tarid Pass, the Americans at the Alamo and the legendary Spartans at Thermopylae he will go down in history for this.
Let it be forever known in the annals of history that Shinji Ikari, Third Child of NERV, the broken and lonely son of Yui Ikari did not go silently into the night.
That he went kicking and screaming, taking all nine of these monsters with him.
That for once in his life he did not run.
That for once in his life he fought to the last.
Shinji gripped the handle tighter and he gasped as the pain faded. He felt…warm, at peace even. He felt something sooth him and his eyes widened.
He knew this feeling and he couldn't help but cry as he murmured...
"Mom. You never left me did you?"
Well at least, in the end, he won't be alone.
He pulled the switch and his world was bathed in light.
And Shinji Ikari died.
?, ?
"Ungh" Shinji groaned as he slowly opened his eyes. "W-where am I?"
He opened his eyes and all he saw was…white. Lifting himself up to a sitting position he saw the floor he's resting on is white and he seemed to be surrounded by a white fog.
He couldn't help blink at that, "am I in Heaven? I…kinda thought I would be sent to hell."
With all the people he killed in his last moments, whether he was justified or not he was sure he wouldn't be allowed past the pearly white gates.
"Hello young man," a soft feminine voice came from behind and Shinji couldn't help but be struck with how the voice sounded.
The voice was soft, kind, caring and…motherly. Shinji didn't know why he pegged the voice as that, not even remembering how his own mother sounded like but he just…knew.
He turned around towards the source and standing before him was a girl. She seemed to be a bit shorter than Shinji himself if he were to stand. She had pointed ears like an elf, beautiful and kind looking grey eyes and long lavender hair styled into two long tails, secured with white ribbons. She wore a pure white strapless dress with detached white sleeves and a pair of pearl white shoes.
"I-is…this Heaven? Are you an Angel?" Shinji hesitantly asked.
"Fufufu my what a flatterer," the girl giggled. She noticed the venom that he obviously tried to hide leak into his quiet and tired voice when he mentioned 'Angel' but she gave it no mind, she knows what he's been through. She would've been surprised if he hadn't showed any anger at the term if anything.
"No and no I'm afraid," she answered him. "I am the all giving woman, Pandora."
Shinji blinked a few times, "as in the Pandora? From the story of Pandora's box?"
And he thought his life couldn't get any crazier. He discreetly pinched himself…and it hurt. Yup he's not dreaming. Well…at least he's not getting eaten alive anymore so there' at least one plus.
"The one and only," she smiled.
"…um Pandora-san…what's going to happen to me now?"
Pandora walked over and sat herself beside Shinji, smile still on her face, with her long lavender tails pooling around her.
"Now that is a tricky question," she pouted at him.
'This all feels so…surreal,' thought Shinji. One minute he goes on a suicidal rampage (one that ended with him getting ripped to shreds and exploding) and the next he's…here. Talking to a nice girl in the middle of…somewhere, perhaps the afterlife, and not having something try to kill him.
He slumped back on his back and took a deep breath, taking a moment to relax.
"Are you okay?"
"Just tired," he murmured before her turned to face her, she had been nice to him so far so he didn't want to be rude by lying down and not looking at her as they talked.
"Well as far as what I'm going to do with you, that's tricky. You're so unlike anyone else to have come here. And the ones that you've defeated aren't the same as the ones I typically deal with."
Shinji just tilted his head in confusion, obviously not knowing what Pandora meant, an action Shinji absently thought of as Rei-like and that Pandora found adorable.
"Plus the fact you had some help," Pandora thought out loud in reference to Shinji's use of the Eva's. "I wondered does that mean you still qualify? Then when I watched through your life I saw that your battles were no easy feat, death always waiting in the shadows whenever you fought. Each encounter could have easily ended in disaster, yet against all odds, against common sense, you triumphed."
That's when Shinji realised she was talking about his life fighting the Angels in his Eva, what did that have to do with anything?
'Even in the end when you broke you did the unexpected. You fought and fought and fought until the bitter end, against all hope, against all reason,' Pandora smiled, yes, she made her choice.
But, she reminded herself, he isn't like others. So, for the first time, she will ask a candidate what they want. Besides, after the life he lived, a life of being used like a pawn, not in control of his destiny she will give him the choice.
"Shinji-kun," she called him and he blinked, did he introduce himself? "I have an offer for you."
"An offer?"
Pandora nodded, "I am powerful Shinji-kun. If you want, I can give you a new life."
Shinji shot up, eyes wide, "You can resurrect me?!"
The fact that he did die wasn't a surprise, detonating an Eva made a hell of an explosion and his had an S2 Engine, he never doubted his death. But he was surprised by the face that he can get resurrected, he's no messiah, just a lonely and broken child soldier. Hell he's sure his body is vapor now.
"In a way yes but I have almost no sway in your universe, on your plane of existence. I can pull certain people in here with some help and after that I can bring them somewhere else but that's it. I can revive you in a different world however, a different Earth. It will be much like your own so worry not."
"That doesn't sound so bad."
"But you will be changed forever," she admitted, she will not lie to him, especially when he has suffered so. "You will be marked, you will be special."
"What do you mean?"
Pandora smiled as she answered. "You will have power unrivaled. You will be he who stands above mortal men. When, if you choose to take my offer, you are reborn your young body will not be able to handle your powers, not all of them at least without your body becoming unstable. Again, I haven't done anything like this, gifting someone from another plane, so I want to keep you safe. And remember Shinji-kun, you will not be in the same world anymore. Even if you see someone you know they won't be the same person, not really. So, what say you son of Lilith?"
Shinji hummed in thought, ignoring the comment about Lilith for the moment. While he wasn't sure about the power part he did like the fact that she seemed honest to him. He isn't the best at telling if someone's lying or not but she just didn't strike him the type to lie to him but for the life of him he couldn't tell why he felt that way…Then again she is a mythological figure, why should he even be thinking she doesn't have any crazy powers?
Maybe that's why he trusted her. Her cheerful, kind and warm personality aside the…power he sensed from her seemed to be coming from all around him as well. It mostly came from her but he could…feel a bit of it from his surroundings. He doesn't know what that means but he does know that she doesn't need to lie to him, this is her domain, she could just threaten him into doing what she wants or maybe just outright force him.
And he had to admit, after the cold and hard life he's lived it sounded really nice to hear someone want to do something to keep you safe.
It reminded him of that warm safe feeling he got before he…died. The feeling that, somehow his mother was there for him in his last moments, to reassure him that he's not alone.
He will admit that he will miss some people from back in his old life though.
Like the new Rei, could he get close to her again if he still lived? It would be painful yes but eventually could he become close to her like the old Rei?
And Asuka, will she be okay? His feelings for the fiery German red head being…complicated aside he did care for her and now that he's calmed down and feeling better he knew that she didn't choose to be comatose, she didn't choose to leave him. It was the fault of the 16th Angel and not hers. And as abusive as she was she cared for him, he knew that, although she hid it well and for reasons that are lost on him.
Still, those are answers he will never have the answers to.
He's dead and Pandora herself told him she can't bring him back to life in his original universe.
…Wow he got over the fact he died a lot quicker than he would have thought he would. He had to suppress a sigh, safe to say his sense of normalcy is now destroyed forever.
Shinji looked at Pandora with a smile. While he's scared what this new life may bring he won't turn away even a chance at being happy.
"I'll take it Pandora-san."
Pandora beamed a smile at Shinji, the brightest he's ever seen before lunging at him with a hug, causing the once Third Child to give out a very manly 'eep'.
"I've got a new son!"
Shinji didn't really know to respond to that but he couldn't help but cry a bit…it felt nice to be wanted. It felt really nice for someone to sound happy for him to be their child, he had never once heard anything like that said with such warmth come from the bastard king of NERV.
"But," Pandora started as she pulled away from him, "before I take you away there's someone who wants to thank you."
"Who?"
Pandora smiled as she turned him around and Shinji saw a woman who reminded him of Rei. She looked older though than the quiet girl and Shinji guessed she's what Rei would look like when she reached her early-thirties to late-twenties. She was a gorgeous woman with long hair that flowed half way down her back and it had the same light blue shade that Rei had. She wore a bright white sun dress, a pair of white sandals and had a kind smiling face with beautiful violet eyes.
"Hello Shinji," she greeted him and he had to wonder, did all the women…wherever he is know his name?
"Um…Rei?" he asked, unsure, he had met (and he's convinced he's right) two Reis so what's to stop a third coming from nowhere? He's already here sitting God knows where talking to Pandora after exploding himself, and he had been offered a second chance at life (with power somehow) and most amazingly, he's feeling loved and wanted.
At this point he doesn't think anything can surprise him anymore.
"I am Lilith, mother of humanity," she answered, serene as ever.
…Okay, Shinji will admit, that surprised him.
Lilith just looked at her child and giggled at his wide eyed expression, she decided to leave out the part of Rei also being herself in a way, poor child looked like he may have a breakdown from the revelations he's received recently. Knowing he had already had a breakdown just before his death she didn't really want to tack on anything too crazy, besides she didn't belong here, only being here with the assistance of Pandora and a lot of her own power so she had to make this brief.
"I'm proud of you my son," she said as she kneeled down in front of him.
"You are?" he asked and both Pandora and Lilith had to frown at the sheer disbelief in his voice.
"I am. You who, through pain and suffering, still fought. You who have bested the best of Adam's children. You who have secured the Earth for the rest of my children. You who, at the end, chose to fight, how can a mother not be proud of you?"
Pandora nodded in agreement from behind Shinji, of all of the people she had adopted as her children she had to admit that Shinji made her the most proud, and that's just from before they had met, from when he's still a normal human. Yes he made mistakes, she had seen them in his memories but a good mother like herself knows to accept the faults of their children.
Shinji blinked as tears started to run down his face and he wiped them away, hearing someone say that so…honestly hit him hard. Made him think for the first time that his pain, his suffering, had been worth it.
But that did bring the question…
"What happened? After I died."
"The JSSDF surrendered. With their army lost and their Evangelions destroyed they had suffered too many casualties. Your fellow pilot, Asuka, had awoken from her coma and with the threat of another Evangelion their remaining soldiers have surrendered and withdrawn," she explained.
"So Asuka's okay," Shinji breathed out, relieved. While he knows she'll have a lot of issues to deal with he knows she's strong, that one day she'll be okay again, he just hoped she wouldn't take his death too hard. "How about Misato? And Rei?"
"They are both fine although I think Misato will be busy in the near future," she answered and Shinji nodded in understanding.
The Second Angel though decided to keep certain facts hidden from her favoured son. While Misato is indeed okay she knows that Rei, as Shinji knows her, is no more. His father had, in his vain attempt to bring the end of his own race, tried to force Rei into starting Impact with him in control. But the girl instead attempted to give control to Shinji, who she did not know had died just previously. With no one taking control and Rei struck by the grief caused by the realization that Shinji had died the blue haired young girl had instead chosen to merge with the body of Lilith deep in the bowels of NERV's Central Dogma.
And the Second Angel, the mother of mankind, became whole once more, free to finally watch over her children.
She decided to keep this from Shinji. She did not want him to grief over the disappearance of Rei, she knows her son will interpret that as her death.
"That's good," Shinji smiled in relief.
"Now I should reward you."
"R-reward me?"
Lilith smiled, "of course. A mother should reward her son when he does something good, should she not?"
"Y-yes?" Shinji wasn't really sure. It sounded right and from what he knows that is what mothers do but as someone who didn't have a mother for most of his life he didn't want to assume.
Lilith reached down and ruffled his hair and he couldn't help but blush at the attention and affection in her touch, and at that he became sure she really is the mother of humanity in his universe. She just struck him as that, motherly, even to someone who didn't have a lot of experience in that regard she couldn't help but strike him as that.
Shinji then gasped as he felt…something seemingly attach itself into the deepest part of his being. He didn't know what it was but he somehow knew it wouldn't hurt him. He looked up at Lilith, a curious look on his face.
"What was that?"
"Somethings for you to keep yourself safe with, and those you care for, in the future, should you need it." Lilith no longer had a use for The Lance and after recalling it from the Moon she saw it fit as a gift for her young warrior. While he won't be able to handle it until he grows older she did give him the ability to do something none of her other children can do to keep him safe till then. She then turned to Pandora, "thank you for helping me give those gifts to my son. I must be off, my other children need me more than ever. Please take care of him."
Then Lilith just…disappeared.
"Really, today really is an interesting day," Pandora said with a cheerful smile as she kneeled in front of Shinji. "Are you ready to be on you way now?"
Shinji nodded, now or never.
Pandora, still smiling lifted her arms up as if she's giving a grand speech and spoke in her soft and kind tone and Shinji felt power lace her words.
"The black art that Epimetheus and I left behind. The sacred birth of an illegitimate child, shrouded in darkness, born of a fool and a witch. A secret rite of usurpation, only possible through the sacrifice of a god. In short, all conditions have been met. A gift from the heavens."
"Sacrifice of a god? When did I do that? Oh..ah, sorry for interrupting."
Pandora smiled, she liked curious children and she answered him cheerfully, "the beings you have slain, the so called Angels. Your case is a bit different however, I cannot transfer all of their power to you but you have gained most of them."
Shinji nodded, they were certainly powerful enough to be called gods although he did wonder what she meant by transferring their power to him but he decided not to interrupt again.
Pandora then gently embraced him and Shinji stiffened initially, not use to the affection before returning the act, happy tears flowing down his cheeks.
"You will be reborn as a Campione. The God-slayer, the King of Kings, a Campione," then she whispered in his ear, "you will be reborn as my adopted son and no matter what life you may live, remember, I am always with you."
And as she finished Shinji's vision was overcome by light.
Pandora smiled as the body of her newest son faded away, off to start his new life. Usually she would erase the memories of the Campione she would reincarnate but she decided to let him keep it. With what he went through and what he may go through she thought he may need all the warmth he can get to preserve whatever sanity he had managed to put back together during their meeting.
Besides, she's his mother now isn't she? And what mother doesn't want to spoil her babies even a little?
"Are you sure you didn't want to say good bye?" Pandora asked as she stood and turned behind her.
There she saw standing a woman that resembled the form that Lilith had decided to use when she rewarded her newest Campione. She had a kind looking face like Lilith's avatar and had short brown hair that reached her chin and lively green eyes. She wore a white turtle neck sweater, grey jeans, black shoes and a white lab coat.
She is Yui Ikari, the birth mother of Shinji Ikari and the soul that was once trapped in Evangelion Unit-01.
Yui nodded her head, a sad smile on her face.
"If he knew I'm going to pass on, if he sees me we both know he won't want leave. He'll want to pass on with me."
"Even if you will never see him again? He won't be going to the same afterlife as you now if he dies."
"I am fine with that."
"Even if he may be born to a family that will not love him? Even I cannot control that."
Yui smiled, "If he wants to survive, if he has the will then anywhere could be like Heaven. He has a chance to be happy anytime if he's he's alive."
Pandora gave an understanding smile, "being a good mother isn't easy is it?"
"The things worth doing usually aren't," Yui then bowed to the mother of all Campione, "still I must thank you, for letting me see him one last time and giving that gift for me in my place."
"Your welcome," and with that said Pandora watched the mother of her new son fade and pass on.
Tokyo, Japan
Shinji, now physically eight years old, opened his eyes and takes a deep breath.
Even now he found it kind of hard to believe it's been so long since his death and subsequent meeting with Pandora, or as how he liked to refer to her, Mama Pandora.
A lot has happened since then, most important is his rebirth into the Kusanagi family as…Shinji Kusanagi which he's grateful for. After responding to 'Shinji' for 14 years he would have trouble getting used to anything else. Hell he even has brown hair and blue eyes…well eye, he had heterochromia now with a red left eye and a dark blue right eye.
It came as a surprise at first, when he became physically able to actually look at a mirror but then he remembered his final moments.
How could he forget? His old life game him nightmares all the damn time.
He remembered how the spears pierced his flesh, how his left eye stung as he felt the grey lance pierce his eye.
Quickly he just accepted it though, Mama Pandora had told him that among the Campione (something he still hadn't found the meaning of and he had tried) he's a bit special. Maybe that's why his body has a bit of an aesthetic imperfection?
He sat up and looked at the clock.
6am in the morning, he wasn't that surprised. Living the life of an Eva pilot and Japanese middle school student meant that you just got used to waking up early in the morning, even Rei was a morning person if he remembered correctly.
…Well except Asuka, she was by no means a morning person, he should know too, he's the one who had to wake up the fiery redhead most mornings.
Shinji looked around his room.
It's a fairly large room, if he were to guess a bit larger than Misato's bedroom back in Tokyo-3 and by far an upgrade to his old closet of a room. On one of the walls is a painting he had done, as he had picked up the hobby. It depicted three teens. One male with brown hair dressed in a white short sleeved dress shirt, black pants and black shoes sitting on the bottom of a set of stairs. Beside him sat a girl with long fiery red hair wearing a bright yellow sundress and blue shoes. On his other side stood a girl in a white and blue-green school girl uniform and brown shoes with a red ribbon tied around her collar, she had light blue hair.
It was a painting of Rei, Asuka and himself.
No Evas, no Angels…just themselves.
He had finished it two years ago after spending another year or two learning how to paint properly, to do his fellow pilots justice.
Other than that his room is actually fairly spars. He had a twin size bed with light green sheets and a purple blanket, after seeing those two colours on his Unit-01 almost every single day he would be lying if he said he hadn't grown somewhat attached to them.
Beside his bed is a small nightstand that has a lamp and his cellphone, just a cheap flip model for emergencies, and a charging station for said phone.
Other than that he also has a desk in the corner of the room. On it sat a laptop, again nothing fancy but a hand-me-down from his mom. A gift given to her by some suitor that she didn't need and had given to him, the only thing he's ever really asked of her now that he thought about it.
Beside it sat a notebook with a lock that he originally used as a journal. He used to use it to write his thoughts, his memories of his old life. It helped him...work through his issues, through the nightmares and all the bad thoughts and memories. Along with painting and sketching it serves as a good outlet.
Misato had told him once it's good to talk about his problems and after seeing what ignoring that advice had done to his sanity last time (destroyed it) he decided to actually use it. Granted he can't talk about it or everyone save Mama Pandora will think he's crazy so painting and writing serves as the best substitute.
Music also served a good outlet but considering Shizuka and his grandparents enjoyed listening to him play he left his instrument in the living room downstairs, an electric keyboard. He had almost decided to pick the cello up again but instead he wanted to honour his lost friend Kaworu, perhaps he'll pick up the cello again when he had enough money to buy one.
Back to the notebook though it used to be a journal but now he wrote in it from time to time writing out his old life. Kind of like an autobiography although he's writing it more like a novel. His grandfather had accidentally read it when he left it open on the kitchen table when he was six and his grandfather, impressed by the story (at the time covering events up to his arrival at NERV) suggested he try to get it published.
And so that's what has become a project of his, extra money never hurt. Granted he is making sure to tone down the story, less violent and less fucked up, he doesn't want to give anyone nightmares.
Shinji threw the blanket off of him, revealing his black shirt and grey pajama pants and hopped out of bed.
He has a day to get ready for after all.
After a quick stretch followed by a quick trip to the bathroom Shinji went down stairs to the kitchen.
Walking into the kitchen, a much more roomy kitchen than the small kitchenette Misato had he happily noted, he wasn't surprised to see that his mother had left for work without cooking breakfast or preparing lunch or doing anything really. He walked past the fridge, he saw the note his mother left but he didn't care, after all this time he knows what it'll say.
That she'll be too busy with work so she had to leave early and that she'll be off work late. Hell she probably won't even be home for dinner, off with some guy trying to woo her and get in her panties by throwing wine and gifts at her.
In his eight years of new life he only remembers being held by his mother as a baby. The moment he became old enough to be babysat bam! He can't even recall the last time she hugged him or did anything he imagined normal mothers did.
He shook his head clear, no use making himself upset. Shinji took a deep breath, Mama Pandora wouldn't want him gettting upset and even today he still remembered the warmth in her voice.
Even if his birth mother didn't act like one he still had his adoptive mother.
"Well," Shinji started as he started to heat up a pan, "time to cook breakfast."
The ex-Third Child of NERV couldn't help but smile, he always did enjoy cooking!
*ding* *dong*
Shinji blinked in surprise. He looked at the clock, 'who would be coming this early?'
Shutting off the stove Shinji walked to the front door and opened it.
"Good morning Shinji-chan," a female voice greeted and Shinji looked up and recognised her.
Chiyuki Konya, a cute 19 year old girl that lived nearby, down the street. She had long flowing black hair, a beautiful face he had never seen do anything but smile, hazel nut brown eyes and a slim build. She's the stereotypical yamato nadeshiko, the ideal of Japanese female beauty and while Shinji would admit he had more of a thing for western girls (especially redheads) he would never deny she's one of the prettiest people he had ever met, old life or new life. Currently she's dressed in a dark green blouse, comfortable looking blue jeans and black shoes.
She used to be Shinji's babysitter and to this day drops by to check on Shinji and his little sister quite often.
"Good morning Chiyuki-nee," Shinji said with a bow. "How can I help you this morning?"
"Mouh," she pouted before ruffling his hair, causing him to lightly blush, she knew he would do that of course but Chiyuki always found that adorable. "Can't I drop by to check on my favorite little man this early in the morning?"
"N-no of course you can but…isn't it too early?"
Chiyuki sighed at that, she hates early mornings but what can she do? She has a lecture in an hour, much to her chagrin.
"Yes it is early but I thought I should let you know I can't pick up your sister from pre-school today," she clapped her hands together in front of her and bowed. "I'm sorry Shinji-chan! But Papa has a meeting today and he can't go to the meeting! You know how old he's getting right? And it's important! Sorry, sorry, sorry!"
Shinji took a step back in surprise before waving his head in front of himself in a placating gesture.
"I-it's fine! Really! So you can stop bowing now Chiyuki-nee. I have nothing to do after school anyway so I can just kill time at the park before going to pick her up! Really it's fine! I'm her big brother anyway so it's fine!"
"…really?"
Shinji sighed before giving the older woman a smile, "yes really."
He understood she had her responsibilities. While most people wouldn't know, Shinji did, Chiyuki is the daughter of the boss of the local…chivalrous organization and therefore the heiress.
Yup, a real life yakuza princess.
They actually owned a fair number of the local businesses and are surprisingly friendly, to Shinji and his family at least. Actually her father is a friend of his grandfather and their publishing company is the one set to publish his novel when he finishes it.
Chiyuki was about to walk away but froze half way through the motion, mid-step, when Shinji called out to her.
"Oh!" Shinji started, "would you like to have breakfast? I haven't started yet so you'll have to wait a bit but it shouldn't take too long." Shinji had to offer, he really did enjoy cooking for other people. First for Misato and Asuka and it kind of just grew from there.
Chiyuki's eyes widened.
Breakfast?
Cooked by Shinji? She looked at her watch and cringed, she really needed to get to her lecture…but then again Shinji's cooking is the stuff of legends.
'Okay,' she thought to herself, 'I'll humor him for a bit and then respectfully decline! He'll understand, he's always been mature.'
She turned to her little brother figure with a smile, "what are you cooking Shinji-kun?"
Yes, she'd pretend to entertain the idea so as not to appear rude then tell him the truth and she'll be off to class!
Shinji just shrugged, "Shizuka's favorite, my chocolate chip pancakes."
Chiyuki's mind froze, 'well…fuck!'
"I'd love to have breakfast with you," she said with a smile and Shinji smiled in return as he showed her in.
While she hadn't tried his pancakes yet she already knows it will be illogically, impossibly good.
Classes be damned! She will not deny herself the breakfast of the gods.
Ichirou Kusanagi, grandfather to one Shinji Kusanagi parked his car in front of his daughter's home and shut down the engine.
"I wonder what Shinji is cooking for breakfast?" he wondered to himself with a smile.
"Ichirou!" a voice from beside him and he turned to the passenger seat to his wife Chiyo. "You shouldn't mooch off of your grandson's breakfast."
"Ah ha ha ha," he awkwardly chuckled, "of course dear."
After helping his wife out of the car they proceeded to the front door and Ichirou fished out the keys from his pocket and opened the door.
"Shinji-kun! It's Grandpa and Grandma!" he announced as he and Chiyo entered and took off their shoes before proceeding inside.
And what greeted them both made them both smile, Chiyo's smile a bit embarrassed but she couldn't help it, their grandson cooked so well that they had to be careful when they ate out.
Most restaurants just paled in comparison.
"I'm in the kitchen!" A small muffled voice responded and they headed to the kitchen, not really surprised that he's up so early. For as far as they could remember, and they could remember pretty far even at their age, that Shinji had always been a morning person.
What did surprise them is to see a familiar black haired brown eyed beauty sitting at the table, a half-eaten stack of pancakes covered in syrup and a glass of milk in front of her.
"Hello Ichirou-san, Chiyo-san," the girl bowed respectfully from her seat. "Good morning."
"G-good morning Chiyuki," Chiyo said in surprise while her husband greeted her normally, "don't…you have class this morning?"
The yakuza princess blushed and looked away, "n-no…"
Chiyo sat down beside her husband as they both chuckled at the university student's sense of priorities.
Ichirou then looked into the kitchen to see his grandson, already changed into his school uniform of a white short sleeved shirt tucked into black pants held up by a brown belt. Of course the small child couldn't reach the stove so he had to stand on a stool and a few old phone books as he flipped pancake after pancake like…well, child's play.
"Munyah," a cute yawn got their attention and all three at the table turned towards the bottom of the stairs.
Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, dressed in comfortable pink pajamas is a sleepy little girl still trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes with one hand while dragging the light blue rabbit plushy Shinji bought for her birthday with the other. She has short brown hair and emerald green eyes.
Her name is Shizuka Kusanagi, the four year old little sister of Shinji Kusanagi.
"Good morning Shizuka-chan," all three at the table greeted and Shizuka gave them all a half-asleep nod before waddling over to the kitchen, blue rabbit in tow and standing behind her brother.
Shinji of course noticed this and flipped off the last pancake onto a plate like a pro before shutting off the stove and the ventilation hood and climbing down and giving his baby sister a warm hug and a pat on the head. Shinji loves his sister, even without his birth mother at home most of the time he's happy as long as he has his sister.
With her he has the family he never had in his old life, even if it's not exactly how he imagined his family to be. After his old life he's learned to appreciate the good things no matter how simple.
"Good morning imouto," Shinji warmly greeted her with a smile as Shizuka tightened her hold on her brother.
"Good morning Onii-chan," she sleepily mumbled into her brother's chest.
The three adults at the table couldn't help but smile at the sight that's almost too adorable for words.
Chiyuki, sensing a perfect opportunity, pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture.
"Chiyo-san do you want me to get a copy printed out for you?"
"Yes please," she responded.
Ichirou just smiled. He knows Shinji doesn't like his mother at all. While Ichirou would never tell his daughter to quit her job, she's a good modern professional woman and he's proud of that, but he did wish she actually played a part of a mother. Take some time off to spend time with her children, stop seeing one of her suitors and instead have dinner with her kids, or hell just hold them at night and wish them sweet dreams. Even then he isn't sure if Shinji would let her do the last two things or just kick her away, and considering his grandchild practices martial arts it might be quite a mean kick. He dreads the day when she finds out that her son borderline hates her, he knows she loves her children, she works for them after all but he had to admit she's not too great at showing that.
'Will you forgive her Shinji?' Ichirou found himself asking, 'or is it already passed the point of no return?'
When he had asked Shinji what he thinks of his mother…he still remembered what the then five year old had said.
"She gave birth to me and my baby sister so I'm grateful for that I guess."
That said it really did seem for all the love and affection he refused to give to his mother and father (now divorced, who he knows Shinji positively loathes) he loved his sister to an equal and maybe even greater amount.
Shinji turned to his grandfather as he gently pried his younger sister off of him and escorted her to the table.
"Grandpa can you get the pancakes please?"
"Of course," Ichirou replied with a smile.
Later That Day
Shinji walked into a park nearby his elementary school. School had just ended for him and he still had time before he had to pick up Shizuka from pre-school, she started later than him so he had time to kill.
Hence the park.
People tended to avoid this park like the plague for some reason and for the life of him Shinji can't tell why. He had only ever seen some couples go into the park and they were just seeking a place to…get intimate.
Which is why it served his purpose so perfectly.
When he had ended up in this new world he was born with knowledge. It was strange at first, to have knowledge just be in your head but he had just likened it to what Mama Pandora told him about having the power of gods, or the Angels in his case.
He even had a name for them.
His first ability is called Fruit of the Messengers. It's a mostly passive ability that grants him increased stamina, vitality and regenerative abilities, kind of like the Angels. But from what he could tell it's partially sealed. He had cut himself by accident quite a few times when cooking, which probably wouldn't happen if his body's hand-eye coordination would just grow up already, and it didn't heal any faster than it did in his old life. Then there's the fact that he's actually getting tired annoyingly quickly, probably due to the limits of his younger and still developing body. The only thing he noticed that's noticeable that can be attributed to it is that he has never gotten sick, ever in this new body.
The second ability he has is Exterminator of the Lilin and he has to admit while it has come in useful he didn't like the ability at all, not one bit. For one the name reminded him way too much of his old foes and lastly he doesn't like the ability itself.
It gives him a boost when fighting human opponents.
While it has come in handy when stopping people from picking on his sister he just couldn't feel comfortable with the ability. He had grown some pride in his old role as an Eva pilot over the years and it kind of spat on his pride as a past protector of humanity to have an ability geared to fighting them.
Then there's the ability that he can seemingly understand any language spoken or written and can speak and write any language with no trouble. He had discovered this nameless ability by accident when he was writing his battle with the Third Angel down on his notebook for his novel when he accidentally started writing in German when he thought of Asuka. It had taken some getting used to but even he had to admit it has been extremely useful.
He had always sucked in English class, seriously why would he need to learn that when he lives in Japan? But now he will never have to worry about it!
Still he didn't come here due to those, he came here to practice with one of the gifts Lilith had given him, the one he can actually use.
Finding the bench at the centre of the park and after making sure he's alone he puts his bag down on the bench along with his sweater. After taking out a tennis ball he fished his phone out of his pocket and set a timer, he doesn't want to stay too long and leave Shizuka waiting for her big brother.
Shinji threw the ball into the air and held out his right hand and the ball fell…and landed just above his hand before bouncing back up, hitting a light blue hexagonal barrier.
He couldn't help but smile and let out a small childish laugh at that. Having the ability to generate an AT Field of his own just felt so…magical.
And what child wouldn't be happy with the ability to perform honest to god magic? Or something close enough to it.
'Time to play…er practice,' he thought as he bounced the ball up with his AT Field again.
Kaoru Sayanomiya walked into the park more than a little bit annoyed, seriously she knows she's the heiress of the Sayanomiya clan, one of the greatest magical families in Japan but did they have to rub it in all the time? It seemed like her parents wanted to marry her off every week.
She couldn't help but sigh as she walked into the park she had asked her driver to stop beside on a whim; she really needed to just sit down and re-
Kaoru froze in place as she felt…magic being used nearby, the thing is she couldn't recognize it. She listened…well it's quiet so whoever it is they aren't fighting.
Eventually after some thought she let her curiosity get the better of her and followed her senses. As a Hime-Miko of the History Compilation Committee she thinks she can held whoever or whatever it is long enough for her guards to come get to her, even if she is still quite young.
Reaching a clearing she saw…well not what she expected.
Standing or more like running around the clearing is a child with chocolate brown hair looking like he's having the time of his life playing keep-up with a bright green tennis ball and a strange hexagonal blue barrier. He projected it on the palm of his hands and every now and then over the top of his head and feet as he ran around the clearing with a smile on his face and she couldn't help but shake her head in amusement.
If her clan's elders were to see someone using a gift as 'sacred' as magic to play a game she just knew they would have a stroke.
She couldn't help but smile at the kid though, probably only a year or two younger than herself. Magic had always been a part of her life as a Hime-Miko of the HCC, it had always been an everyday thing, something she had been aware of since she was young.
How could she have ever have found something as amazing as magic an almost boring everyday occurrence? How could she have lost the child like whimsy the boy had in doing doing what most people would consider fantasy dull? When had she started considering magic dull?
Still, she couldn't help but wonder about the kid's magic, she had never seen anything like it and eventually she decided to introduce herself.
"Hello," she greeted and the kid whirled around in surprise.
Shinji just stared at the…person that came out of the tree line and he internally cursed his young body's absolutely terrible attention span. His mind raced, he knows magic isn't wildly known about in this world so what should he do? He doesn't know anything like hypnotism and while he could try to kill them he knows he can't bring himself to do that. While he won't hesitate to kill someone under certain conditions he had spent a life fighting for humanity, he won't just kill someone because someone saw him experimenting with his powers.
The person looked to be around two or three years older than him. They had a beautiful face and they had red hair that reached their chin, a rare hair colour in Japan, and grey green eyes. They are dressed in a boy's school uniform of a white short sleeved shirt, a red tie, black trousers and brown shoes. Shinji's eyes told him that the androgynous youth may be a boy, a beautiful boy yes but a boy none the less but Shinji's instincts told him otherwise. And considering how he'd learned to trust his instincts…
Shinji swallowed nervously, "H-hello."
Kaoru put on a reassuring smile, "calm down kido, I know about magic too. Your secret is safe with me."
"T-Thank you…"
"I have to say though I've never seen magic like yours before. Where'd you learn it?" she asked with honest curiosity. As the future head of the Sayanomiya family she had met and seen quite a few mages from other Asian countries and even a few from Europe and his barrier resembled nothing she had ever seen. For a moment she thought he may have been a Heretic God but his magic didn't feel divine to her, powerful for his age yes but nowhere near what she imagined a Heretic God or Campione can dish out.
"I taught myself," Shinji admitted with a hint of pride, teaching himself had not been easy. With no Eva to help learning to generate an AT Field himself had been hard and resulted in a great many crippling headaches. "I just did it one day by accident a few years ago and have been practicing by myself ever since."
Of course he'll keep the fact that it had been a gift from the mother of humanity from another plane of existence a secret, he still knows that's probably not normal.
"Oh, do you have a goal? A dream for your magic? Maybe to be a hero of justice?" Kaoru joked.
Shinji shook his head, "nothing so grand. I just want to be able to protect those who I care about. I…I-I don't want to be powerless when someone I care about is in danger."
Kaoru couldn't help but smile warmly at the kid. She had debated whether to recruit him into the HCC, a new form of magic will be a great boon for them but decided against it. She could see it in his yes that his wish is sincere, he cared for his loved ones greatly and involving him in the HCC would just take him away from those loved ones.
That and she just knows the elders would pressure the poor kid into an engagement with her, the prospect of infusing a new magic into the Sayanomiya clan would prove to be too good to pass up. Damnit they are both still kids, they did not need that right now.
"Ah," Kaoru snapped her fingers, "I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Kaoru Sayanomiya, heiress to the Sayanomiya clan."
Shinji bowed respectfully, "Shinji Kusanagi…uh first born child of the Kusanagi family."
Kaoru couldn't help but be amused, the kid obviously had no experience greeting people of high social stature, which suited her just fine.
"Why are you here?" the boy asked and broke her out of her thoughts. "O-oh! Not to sound rude Sayanomiya-sama. Just curious, no one comes around here."
'Ah so that's why he practiced here,' she thought and made a mental note of the park, a good empty and quiet place for her to get away from the headaches of her role as heiress. "And what's with the sudden formality?"
"W-well you sound so important…"
"Please, call me Kaoru or something like that. It's nice to talk to someone that's fine acting casual around me. It's a breath of fresh air Kusanagi-kun."
And she meant it, it felt nice to talk to someone who doesn't expect you to act a certain way and talks to you like a normal person.
"Ah, then please call me Shinji, Kaoru-nee, I don't like being called by my last name all that much."
Which is true, Shinji hated being called by his last name. In his old life he had almost always been referred to as 'Ikari' or 'Pilot Ikari' or something along those lines. While he may have a new last name now he still felt more attached to his first name, it didn't help that his birth parents are two people he almost couldn't care less about.
Kaoru blinked in surprise, "how did you know I was a girl?"
Shinji shrugged and blushed as he told her what his instincts told him, "y-you're too p-pretty to be a boy."
"Oooh? Are trying to flatter me Shinji-kun?" she teased him, enjoying seeing him blush. Ah, she always did love messing with people, although messing with a boy while cross dressing is new.
Shinji shook his head with gusto, "No! I-I'm a bad liar, so I just told you what my gut told me!"
"If you say so," she teased with a grin. "And to answer your question, just relieving some stress. My Parents keep bugging about some…things. Sometimes I just want to be a kid you know?"
Shinji nodded, he could see the wariness on her face and he could understand wanting to be a kid again.
Then he got an idea, why not indulge in something he had never done before?
Play with another kid.
"Why don't you play with me a bit then?" he said as he threw the ball up and caught it again. "There's still some time before I have to pick up my little sister."
Kaoru blinked again in surprise. She had been so used to being treated like a girl far older than her age due to her role as heir that she can't even remember the time another kid asked her to just…be a kid.
So she couldn't help but smile, "sure, why not."
And so for the first time in a long time Shinji Ikari, now known as Shinji Kusanagi, acted like a child once more.
And so for the first time in a long time Kaoru Sayanomiya acted like a child once more.
The two children played and played in the park, finally acting their physical age until they both were too tired to continue.
"You know," Kaoru started as she sat down on the bench and caught her breath, "I haven't just played like that in a while."
"Yeah," Shinji moved his things aside and sat down beside his newly made friend, "me too."
The redhead rose an eye brow at that, "really? I thought you taught yourself, you made it sound like you came from a non-magical family. Am I wrong?"
Shinji shrugged as he kicked his feet, "I have to take care of my sister, my mom is too busy working and flirting with men all the time so I have to do what she doesn't. I have to clean the house, go grocery shopping, cook, clean and do the laundry." He looked up at her and smiled, "so I had fun today too."
Kaoru had to supress a frown at that, her life may be busy but she at least had plenty of people that served her family to take care of day to day worries. He's what, nine or eight? He shouldn't be doing the job of a parent.
Instead she just smiled and patted the younger kid on the head, "you'll be a hell of a man when you grow up. Well how about I help you out?"
Shinji tilted his head in curiosity, "help me?"
"Yup," she nodded as she took out a slip of paper and wrote a phone number and handed it to him. "This is my cell number. If you ever need to practice magic give me a call and I'll get set aside some time and we can meet up. I can set up some wards to keep normal people away and don't worry I'll keep your secret to myself. In exchange we'll hang out like this after, just be…us. I think we both need that right?," she said with a bit of a grin.
"I…think that sounds good," Shinji accepted it with a smile before his phone's alarm started to ring. He fished out his phone, shut off the alarm and pocketed his new friend's number, he'll add it later. "Sorry Kaoru-nee, I have to go pick up my baby sister."
The ten year old cross-dressing heiress smiled and hopped off the bench, "come on I'm due back soon but I can at least drop you off at your sister's?"
"Pre-school."
"Right, I'll have my driver drop you off at your sister's pre-school, I can at least do that much. I'll feel bad if your late because of me, come on."
And on that day, unknowingly, Kaoru Sayanomiya made contact with a Devil King.
Next- Chapter 1: Red Devil
AN
Before anyone asks or complains Shinji has more Authorities than what's revealed in the following fact sheet.
Shinji's Revealed Authorities:
Exterminator of the Lilin
A passive authority granted for killing Sachiel, the Third Angel
As Adam and his offspring strived to usurp the Earth from Lilith and her children this authority grants Shinji a boost to his abilities when facing human enemies, including other Campione.
Incantation: None
Fruit of the Messengers
A passive authority granted for killing Sachiel.
Adam and Angels birthed by him possessed the Fruit of Life, a limitless energy source that grants them infinite power and immortality. In turn this authority grants Shinji increased regenerative abilities, vitality and stamina.
Currently most of the authority's power is sealed by Pandora.
Incantation: None
The Lance of Longinus
Given to Shinji by Lillith, the Second Angel (with the help of Pandora) as a reward for defeating the children of Adam.
Ability: ?
Sealed by Pandora
Shinji's ability to generate the blue AT Field is NOT an authority and does not compare to the power of an authority. Instead it's along the lines of powerful mortal magic.
So here it is! If anyone reading this was around when I first started writing on the site, back when I still haven't done a single crossover, I did a survey and Campione! Was by far the most popular choice.
It took some time but here it is!
The beginning bit of this chapter, covering Shinji's death, is actually something that came up when I was discussing the original NGE Anime with a friend and fellow fan.
Isn't it kind of crazy that SEELE and Gendo's plans revolved around trying to break Shinji? Asuka's death serves a purpose as the catalyst, what drives him over the edge of despair and into insanity but isn't that plan insane in and of itself? Who in their right minds centres a plan the actions of a broken child? Shinji could've done ANYTHING in his state of mind, he's not thinking clearly anymore.
So we thought, wouldn't it be interesting if instead of giving up he instead tries to take as many people as he can with him? Hence the birth of HOW Shinji will die for Pandora to meet him, that's what actually delayed this story all these months and that discussion birthed the idea, thank my nameless friend!
As you people will note the relationship between Shinji and many characters will be different from Godou's relationship with them. This should be more apparent when we see more of Shizuka next chapter and when Shinji will finally meet Erica and Lucretia. But already I want to paint that Shinji and Shizuka will be very close, with Shinji taking it upon himself to be the parent she doesn't have and of course his open hate of his mother and loathing of his father.
Shinji is a very different person than Godou with vastly different life experiences and I really want to play with that and how he interacts with characters.
Anyway see you all next time!