CHAPTER 3: SCHOOL DAYS PART 2 (FRIENDS AND TENTACLE MONSTERS)

Murakami Municipal Hospital, Tokyo 3

Shinji POV

"So how does it feel Shinji-kun?" Maya-nee asked me as we walked to the front lobby of the hospital dressed in her tan NERV uniform. It was a nice early morning day in Tokyo-3 today, birds were singing, the sky is clear and a cool breeze is blowing making me quite happy to be wearing the relatively thin short sleeved Tokyo-3 Middle School uniform today. Also since the school isn't strict with the uniform, I don't tuck in my shirt and I heard nothing from the staff in the week I've been attending and since I was so used to having a tie outside the home it felt…odd not wearing one so I decided to add it my uniform from today on.

Today it's a simple black.

Currently we're walking to one of the hospitals located in Tokyo-3's downtown core. I have to admit this city is amazing. When I arrived here the entirety of the downtown core was lowered down underground and suspended on the roof of the Geofront like silver stalactites, protected by around two dozen extremely thick armor layers. Now though the buildings, mostly tall skyscrapers, are standing tall and proud like towers of glass and silver.

"Hm," I hum as I walk right beside Maya-nee and twist my torso around getting a feel for the small handgun now holstered in an inside-the-waistband holster on my right side, hidden by my pants. "Good and comfortable. It shouldn't pose a problem while I'm at school."

What I'm referring too of course is one of the weapons Maya-nee and I have picked up at the armory before leaving NERV yesterday and the reason I don't tuck my shirt in, so I can draw with no issue. According to Misato-nee I shouldn't use the weapons we hadn't registered with NERV unless it's an emergency. To compensate I've bought some new ones from the requisitions officer with my pay, something I still haven't gotten used to since Ferro-nee rewarded me but I was never paid like most working people are. Not that I wasn't rewarded well of course, Ferro-nee put aside a good chunk of her pay for use on me, something that has always touched me.

I was hesitant about it at first since Misato-nee seemed somewhat against having more weaponry in the house but Maya-nee assured me it was fine...although I may have used some mild 'sad eyes' on her first. The one Maya-nee is asking about is the one I currently have on my person, the small and iconic Walther PPK sub-compact pistol in a polished stainless steel finish, black textured plastic grips and fiber optic front and rear sights I had custom made at NERV and chambered in .380 ACP. While it only carries 6 rounds plus one in the chamber compared to my custom P226R's twelve plus one and the .380 ACP is much less powerful than the .45 ACP the gun is much easier to hide in a holster clipped to the inside of my waistband, allowing me to wear it under thin clothes with my small 14 year old frame. It's not meant to replace my beloved Sig but to give me something to use in an emergency with most of my weapons in my school bag or as a backup to my Sig when I'm properly armed.

I have to admit though it is strange using a gun with a bullet that could, arguably, do less damage than I can with one serious punch. If only it weren't for the heat here in Japan I could hide my Sig under a light sweater or vest like I did in Europe. As a result I've decided to load hollow-point rounds to improve performance against enemies without body armor. FMJ .380 ACP isn't really going to do anything against body armor anyway. Well at least the PPK's holster, even if it fits me tight to hide under the thin pants, is comfortable enough, got to love German quality.

Most importantly of all though I've always wanted to own a PPK ever since Ferro-nee showed me the James Bond movies. It was actually what I was going to ask for as a reward for my next big mission with her if I hadn't left for Japan.

"By the way why did you ask to come here so early?" Maya-nee asked me, "Now I don't mind driving you but do you think they'll let us visit this early in the day Shinji-kun? It's still an hour before visiting hours I think."

"I just want to ask when I can visit, I admit to be hoping to be fortunate and be able to visit now but I can go after school," I turn to Maya-nee and tilt my head to the side, "unless I'm needed at NERV?"

Maya-nee shakes her head and smiles down at me, "no Shinji, you can spend your time as you wish after school today."

I nod at her, "if we can visit now I'll just go home after school. Is there anything you want for dinner specifically? Or will you be having dinner with Dr. Akagi at NERV?"

"At home tonight," she then frowns at me for a bit, "you…don't have any plans for after school with any of your classmates or anything?"

I shake my head in the negative and she purses her lips, seemingly upset. Before I can ask her why she seems upset though and what I can do to fix that we enter the hospital, the familiar smell of disinfectant permeating the air.

I couldn't help but shiver as unpleasant memories surfaced.

The smell of disinfectant and the coppery stench of blood, the beeping of machines was all I could smell and hear.

Gods it hurt.

Being cut open day after day, poked and prodded and stabbed by needles, strapped onto a table like a lab animal as the bright lights blinded me. The feeling of my bones shattering, nerves burning and fire flowing through my veins again and again and again. I still remember how I screamed until I couldn't even-STOP IT!

NO…the pain…it was too much…everything hurt! I…I…I…

"Shinji," Maya-nee called, worry clear in her voice even to me. "What's wrong?"

"N-nothing," I answer shakily and I know she knew I lied and shame flooded through me like a tidal wave. She took one of my hands in hers, the contact filling me with warmth and I take a deep breath…1…2…3…and exhale.

I fucking hate hospitals.

Maya POV

I give Shinji a worried glance. I knew he lied to me, which was worrying since he was not supposed to be able to do that but what worried me most was…was how he froze when we walked through the hospital entrance. It was a flash, a moment, a split-second and if I wasn't watching him so closely and had learned more about him over the week he's been here at Tokyo-3 I would have missed it. What worried me most though was the look in his steel blue eyes. Most people found Shinji hard to read, even Misato struggled although she tries. The only person that seemed to have learned how to understand him is myself…and perhaps Pen-Pen. Honestly it's simple, Shinji's face may be and calm most of the time but his eyes spoke volumes to me and what I saw was…I fought a shiver as I held his hand and gripped it tighter.

I put it to the side for now as we continued to the front desk

"Good morning, how may I help you?" Asks the receptionist when we reach her desk.

"Ah, we're hoping to visit someone," I said, motioning to the both of us. "I know it's a little early but we're both very busy so I don't know when we'll get a chance to come again."

"I'm sorry ma'am," the lady apologized with a bit of a frown, "but it's outside of visiting hours, those don't start for another hour. Perhaps you could-"

I frown, I did notdrive my little brother all the way out here just for him to waste his time. If the girl's still asleep or too busy then I understand, if she's free and willing to accept visitors though…

Shinji POV

Maya-nee interrupted her by taking out her NERV ID. That surprised me, I never thought Maya-nee would be the type of person to just flash her position like that. I hope Misato-nee isn't rubbing off on her, as much as I love Misato-nee she isn't a very good role model.

Still more surprising is the light glare Maya-nee is shooting at the woman. Personally I can't find her all that intimidating as I've seen much much worse. I still remember Ferro-nee and I sometimes having to work with that man from the UN. What was his name again? Kati…no that's a female name…Kahn?...whatever, I still remember him trying to…what was the word? AH! Right, 'hit on' Ferro-nee and she would shoot him a really scary glare. Still, I couldn't help but be a little proud of Maya-nee, she struck me initially as too kind to hold my leash. I didn't want her to break after the first time she would have to be the one to actually order me to attack another human, after seeing her reaction to what I can do back in London I was worried. Now though I knew she was trying to be more 'worthy' to be my handler, trying to be tougher, she even asked if we can spend some sister-brother time at the range. It's...touching to see her making the effort.

That said why was it called 'hitting on' someone? It didn't involve him hitting at all, I should know since I would have torn the UN man's arm off and beat him to death with it if he even tried. Or just shot him, Ferro-nee wan't too happy the first time I did something similar due to the mess.

The scariest look I've ever seen to this day though had been by Ferro-nee after a mission a few years back. It was aimed at our superior at the time, but I don't really know why she was so angry that one time. All I had to do was use myself as bait for a target who liked children and then kill her in the middle of sexual intercourse, child's play really that mission.

So compared to all those past looks I've seen Maya-nee's came off more as…cute? Still, it seemed to work well enough on the receptionist as she paled to an unhealthy colour. Fortunately if she ends up ill at least she works at a hospital.

"O-oh, s-sorry ma'am, my apologies I didn't recognize your uniform," the woman stuttered and I can understand her. Tokyo-3 is centered around and owes its existence to NERV after all. NERV ID's aren't just for identification either, they double as licenses (for cars, motorcycles, guns, anything really), library cards, debit cards and security passes. Honestly it wouldn't be a stretch to say NERV owns the city. "Who do you wish to see? I…suppose I can let you s-see them if they're awake…ma'am."

"What's her name again Shinji-kun?"

"Ah," I turn to the receptionist, "Sakura Suzuhara."

"Let me see…" the woman types away at her computer as I eye the lobby, analyzing for possible routes of escape, places to set up ambushes, etc. I will probably visit a few more times, Ferro-nee always said a gentleman takes care of a lady after all, more so since I put her in here so I should get familiar with the building. "Ah yes, she's awake and finished breakfast a half hour ago. Let me call her room…yes, hello Suzuhara-san, good morning I have some people here wishing to visit you…yes…yes…I'll send them right up," she put down the phone and turned to us, "E-Wing, second floor, room 203."

"Thank you," Maya-nee thanked the slightly frightened woman with a smile before walking off, my hand still in hers. "Let's go Shinji-kun, don't want you to be too late for school."

Maya POV

As we walk down the hall, the surprisingly soft hand of Shinji in one of mine, I glance at him. He'd been staring at me with his head tilted a bit for a while now, ever since we walked away from the receptionist. It was one of his few cute habits giving Shinji a puppy impossible to say 'no' to with his big doe eyes and curious stare but having aimed at you for several minutes straight is starting to get a bit uncomfortable.

"Something wrong Shinji?" I ask him softly so as not to bother anyone.

"…Why?" He asked me as if I should understand what he meant 100% with just that one word question. Personal note: Go over normal person speaking patterns with Shinji later. "Shinji…can you…uh, specify?"

He nods, "Why did you act out of character earlier?"

"Ah," I murmur and I look into his eyes and I see something there, "you have an idea don't you?"

He nods yes.

"I just didn't want you to waste the time it took to come here so early. You woke up early, made breakfast for everyone early and even cooked lunch for Misato, me and yourself. Besides I think I should toughen up a bit, use what I have," I answer him, "is that what you thought was my reason?"

"The last part," he nodded and I smile. At home he tended to be fairly quiet so it's nice to know he seems to have at least tried to get to know me if not by conversation then by observation. It wasn't a…healthy or normal thing par se but it was better than no effort, just shows that he does love me back as his sister.

Even if some of that love is due to drugs…I mentally shake that off, can't do anything about it so I shouldn't dwell on it like Misato-san said.

"Besides," I start with a smile as an idea came to mind, "that frees up your schedule after school."

I turn to him, seeing him nodding. "Maya-nee wants something fancy for dinner then?"

I stifle a sigh at his logic, if I wanted something time costing to make I would just ask him and even help. Also I would need to supervise anyway, the last thing I need is Misato wanting to help when she notices him spending so much time cooking and making the food inedible. Shinji can't really say no to Misato even if he wants to.

"No Shinji," I give him a pat on the head, "I'm sure whatever you have planned will be delicious as always. No, what I want you to do is spend some time with your classmates, make some friends ok?"

I see him open his mouth and I know he wants to retort that it's unnecessary for his role and honestly I'm a bit surprised with how much he's willing to argue about small stuff like this considering how obedient he is most of the time.

Anyway I cut him off as we're arriving at the room.

"Shinji," I tell him, "just try to make friends ok? It would make me happy and I know Ferro-san as well."

Shinji nods, "maybe I'll try and visit Ayanami-san? We're also comrades," he suggested.

"I think that's a wonderful idea," I pat him on the head and he gives me a small smile as too many emotions flash in his eyes a split second for me to understand.

Shinji POV

I can't help but feel happy about how Maya-nee wants me to make friends outside of my cyborg friends and my one pen-pal. She seems to genuinely care for me and seems to be adjusting better than Misato-nee. Still, I clear my head of those thoughts for now as we're nearing our destination.

Soon we arrived at the room.

I had actually heard about Sakura Suzuhara from Misato-nee when I asked about if anyone had been injured during the battle with the Third Angel. Back when I first started doing missions with Ferro-nee she had made it a point to visit some of the civilians that had been hospitalized due to being caught in the crossfire or other reasons. We did that for several of my first working months under the cover of her being a nurse and me being a patient following her as she checked on them. She said that it is important in war, especially for people like myself who can kill a man barehanded with almost no effort, to keep in mind the human costs.

She said it's too easy to see people who had been hurt and killed due to us as simple numbers, unfortunate collateral damage, nothing but a statistic, more so with us being conditioned to think nothing of killing people. Because of that after the first few missions that I participated in that resulted in collateral casualties she would take me to see some of said casualties in hospitals.

So that I would never forget what carelessness can cause.

Granted collateral casualties are an extreme rarity for me, cyborgs are precision tools after all, razor sharp scalpels not sledge hammers but I saw the rationality of her actions. So now that I'm fighting a new different kind of war, with a weapon that can cause catastrophic damage with a single mistake I thought it would be a good idea to do what Ferro-nee had made me do once again.

While I'm not quite sure if I got what lesson Ferro-nee wanted me to learn on those visits all those years ago I do remember the pain and…I suppose regret on her face when children were involved. If anything I used the visits to remind me of my failure and fuel me to be a better weapon, to make my handler happy.

Luckily since I arrived at NERV around the same time the Angel had arrived Misato-nee had time to select a section of the city for the Eva and Angel to fight which meant that NERV and the city could spend all their efforts evacuating that one section of the city. Sadly one family had refused to leave, something about waiting for their parents before leaving for a shelter.

By the time the authorities had convinced them to move I had already engaged the Angel. Sakura Suzuhara had been injured when her brother who had been carrying her tripped as he ran out of the apartment building because of the ground shaking when I tore off one of the Angel's arms and it landed nearby.

Maya-nee opens the door and I go inside alone, closing the door behind me. The room was actually quite nice, not that large but not surprising since it is meant for a single person.

"Hello," I greet the girl in the middle of the sterile white room. Sitting up in her bed is Sakura Suzuhara herself. She is a small girl around seven or eight years old with short brown hair and dark brown eyes that are looking at me with obvious curiosity, wearing a white hospital gown.

"Good morning!" she cheerfully greeted me.

"Good morning Suzuhara-san," I great her with a polite bow...

"How do you know who I am? Who are you? Why are you here?"

Sakura POV

"First let me introduce myself. I am Operative Shinji Ikari of the European Union armed forces, currently assigned to NERV Headquarters. I'm here because I am the pilot of the…mecha that fought last week, I had heard you were injured and I wanted to apologize," Shinji-san said politely.

OH. MY. GOSH. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I stare at him wide eyed.

"Y-you…t-that night?" I point at him, "against the kaiju?"

"Yes I am," he said with his head tilted a bit to the side, like an amused puppy, although his face remained calm.

"Please sit!" I tell him with a blush as I point at the chair beside my bed. "And p-please call me Sakura! You saved me!" I try to remember what I was taught to do around guests… "W-would you like something to drink? I can call a nurse."

"It's fine," he shook his head 'no' and I can't help but be surprised by how…soft his voice is. "Saku-Suzuhara…san," he said with a ghost of a smile. I guess he's shy?

"Sakura is ok! Really!" I beam at him

"…Sakura-san then," he said much less awkward than 'Suzuhara', I remember papa saying in the west they call each other by first names so I guess that's why? I can't help but feel my cheeks warm though since here it…has meanings.

As he sat down I get a good look at my hero. He's handsome with shortish brown hair, really pretty blue eyes and a calm expression on his face. I also noticed how he has a bag pack and is dressed in the uniform of my nii-san's school with his shirt untucked and a black tie around his collar that made him look a bit more mature.

"Thank you," I tell him with a bow, or as best as I can sitting up in a hospital bed and when I rise up I see…him looking at me curiously, head tilted again. "I-is something wrong?" I ask with a blush.

"No, I have never really been thanked by anyone before."

"What?!" How? Why? "But you're a hero! You fought that giant monster! It was so AWESOME!" I tell him and wave my arms, "Like when you threw your knife and then BAM! OH! Or when you did that power slide at the end! Oh my gosh it was so COOL!"

I see him blink a few times before smiling...I think, kinda hard to tell, "just doing my job Sakura-san."

I blush again. "Aren't you young though?...OH! N-no offense!"

"None taken," he said honestly, "I'm the only can who can do it, so I fought. That is all."

"Wow.," he was so…modest. "You're a lot more mature than my nii-san, he's a bit of a jock. And he's so clumsy! Seriously what kind of sports nut can't carry a maiden properly?"

"Speaking of, how are your injuries?"

"Oh," I point at my left leg under the sheets, "Just a broken leg and some bruising. They said I can go home in a few weeks, I'll be out walking in no time!" Honestly though a broken leg is nothing, after getting to see a real giant robot do a backspin kick on a real kaiju I can honestly say: WORTH IT!

Sakura Suzuhara is now, as of this moment, the coolest girl in my year in Japan-no, in the world!

"That is good to hear...hm…when you get released is there anything you would like for me to get you as a present? As an apology."

"Oh no," I wave my hands in front of me, "I d-don't want to bother you. It's not your fault."

"I insist Sakura-san," he said with a ghost of a smile and I blush, my brother can learn a thing or two from him if he wants to date Hikari-san!

"W-well t-there is this cake buffet that I've always wanted to go to but it's kinda…expensive."

"Understood," he said before taking a notebook and a pen out of his bag, writing something on a page, ripping it and handling it to me. "My phone number, feel free to call me Sakura-san when you are discharged or you need assistance."

"T-thank you," I take the note, "but won't it be too much?"

"I make a lot of money from work."

"I…that makes sense," then I remember, "aren't you late for school?"

"It's fine. I needed to see how you were doing," I blush again. I think my face may be permanently red soon. "But I suppose I should go."

"Wait!" I shout before he can move, "c-can you please stay and talk a little longer? My aunt should be coming in an hour so…just until then…"

"As you wish, my lady," he said with a bow, like those English knights I've heard about.

2 Weeks Later

Tokyo-3 Middle School

Shinji POV

I can't help but wonder, as I listen to the old history teacher, how he was allowed to teach here. Honestly he was old enough to retire but honestly the biggest issue for me is all he does is talk about what life was like before Second Impact. The worst part is that he repeats the same lecture every time verbatim. Ahead of me Ayanami-san, her head still wrapped in bandages and her left arm in a cast, is just staring outside the window bored and I can't say I blame her.

As I wonder if I should try to download an ebook on my laptop when I get home to read in future classes and perhaps recommending Ayanami-san to do the same, she seemed to like reading whenever I visited her at NERV medical, a message notification popped up on my red school laptop.

[Player01: hey new kid, is what everyone saying true?]

I raise my brow at that vague question. Honestly there are a lot of rumours floating about the school concerning me. Everything from I'm English nobility looking for a wife to bring back home, which is preposterous since I so obviously look Japanese, to that I'm dating Ayanami-san ever since someone overheard me telling Horaki-san that I was going to visit my fellow pilot after school around a week and a half ago.

[Shin: And that is?] People say a lot of things.

When I responded there was a pause and I got the feeling that this person was somewhat annoyed with me and that last response, Ferro-nee did say I can come off as snarky sometimes. Or a smart ass, she did say I can be that too.

[Player01: Are you the pilot of that robot? The one that killed that monster three weeks ago?]

I raise my brow again, I thought this was already cleared up when I started school here.

Then again I didn't take the effort to learn anyone's name other than Horaki-san and Ayanami-san's names. Perhaps someone was missing on my first day? I frown a bit when I realized how rude that is, to not learn the names of my classmates. I'll have to ask Horaki-san for the class roster to fix that, Ferro-nee wouldn't be happy with me if she were to find out I've ignored my classmates names.

[Shin: yes]

[Player01: Meet me outside the school after school then new kid.]

I can't help but tilt my head to the side and wonder what he/she wants with me. I look up from my computer and look around to see who I might be looking for since whoever this is didn't even give me a name.

That's when I saw him. He was a boy my age, taller and appearing to be more muscular than me although I know that doesn't mean anything for me, I've killed far stronger people than him. I didn't know his name, no surprise there, but he had skin tanned by the sun and heat of Japan's never ending summer, short dark brown hair and black eyes and oddly enough he was wearing the school's black and white track jacket and track pants instead of the school's ordinary uniform. What really gets my attention is the glare he's sending my way, so full of hate and rage that I have to wonder if he was trying to bore a hole through me with it.

Being the gentleman I was raised to be though I gave him a respectful nod and turned back to my computer.

Now though it's hard to concentrate on the lesson…well harder than it was to concentrate on it already, after all I already know all of this. I can't help but ask who is he? And why is he seemingly so upset with me? I don't think I've done anything to earn anyone's ire so far really, other than rejecting a few girls who asked me on dates. I've tried really hard not to accidentally kill anyone these last three weeks and I haven't even fought anyone.

…Hmm, normal people can be so confusing.

Oh! Is this bullying? I've never experienced it for myself before. I really hope that's not the case, if I snap and kill him by accident I'm sure I'll get in trouble for it.

After School

With the day over I pack up my things and put my red laptop in my bag and prepare to leave to go-

"Ikari-kun!" I feminine voice calls out to me and I turn around to see Horaki-san walking up to me and I stop. She looked over her shoulder to where that angry boy was sitting earlier but I saw he had left ahead of me already, stomping all the way out the door. "Are you going out to meet Suzuhara?"

I blink in surprise, "is that what his name was? How did you know Horaki-san?"

"Ah," she mumbled before blushing a bit, "well…a-as class rep I can see any conversation using the messenger app on our laptops as long as it happens in the classroom. I..ah saw Suzuhara walk in and he…didn't look happy when he saw you so I was worried."

I nod in understanding, honestly a little surprised and happy that she cared enough for me to be worried for my safety. I am after all both shorter and physically less imposing than Classmate Suzuhara.

Even if it's unnecessary.

"I do plan to meet him," I tell her truthfully, she's my superior here of sorts and I don't see the harm in it.

She pursed her lips and looked to think for several moments before turning back to me, "fine but I'm going with you."

"If you wish," I nod and walk out of the classroom, Horaki-san following behind me.

After making our way downstairs to the school's ground floor I can't help but wonder...why does the name Suzuhara sound familiar?

It feels like the answer is right in front of me but I just can't remember, how annoying.

As we reach the door I open it and hold it open.

"Ladies first," I said to Horaki-san and I saw her blush a bit as she hesitated in her step, odd.

"T-Thank you," she said with a jerky nod and made her way out the door with me right on her tail, "not used to having a gentleman around here Ikari-kun."

"Your welcome," I replied before frowning slightly. I have always been told by Ferro-san that Japanese people have impeccable manners to the point that she had found her Japanese ex-girlfriend too 'stiff' at times for her liking, odd.

"Something wrong?"

"No," I shake my head as I lead the way again until I see two people waiting under the tree I like to eat under.

There standing underneath the old sakura tree is the person who contacted me in the first place, dressed in the school's track suit and an unfriendly scowl on his. Beside him though was another familiar face, he was a boy slightly shorter than Classmate Suzuhara so that made him my height, he had messy looking light brown hair, brown eyes and freckles. He was quite scrawny so I guessed he wasn't that physically fit and he's dressed in the same uniform as I me but with the shirt tucked in and large round framed glasses. If I remember correctly his name is Kensuke Aida, the girls in class had told me quite a lot about him and how he tries to take photos of them, something I can't help but frown upon. I do have to wonder if the boy has a voyeurism fetish considering he seems to always carry a camera with him, even right now he has it in hand, filming us all with a smile on his face.

I can't help but blink as I notice something, with the sakura petals gently floating down around them and swaying in the breeze Classmates Aida and Suzuhara looked like a lovely couple enjoying the spring weather after school. Hmm, now that I think about it I have overheard that Aida is very close friends with a boy who had been absent until today…just like Classmate Suzuhara.

Feeling curious I turn to Horaki-san who is now walking beside me with a frown on her face and I whisper to her.

"Horaki-san, question."

She blinked a bit in surprise, I suppose she was thinking about something and turns to me with a smile on her face. If spending time with her has taught me anything it's that she's always happy to help people, a very noble attitude that I can't help but admire.

"What is it Ikari-kun?"

"Are…" I take a glance again at the couple under the tree, "are Classmates Aida and Suzuhara in a romantic relationship?"

"WHAT?!" she squawked quite loudly and I couldn't help but cringe before she turned a most interesting shade of red. "W-why w-would you say s-something like t-that?!"

I cock my head to the side a bit as I look at her curiously, ignoring the curious glance from the couple under the sakura tree. "Curiosity," I state before nodding in my two classmate's direction, "I have heard they are very close from classmates. They also appear like a couple right now don't they? Standing close together under a sakura tree, petals dancing around them. I have heard that is something couples do here in Japan."

"That's the most I've ever heard you say in one sentence…" she murmured absently as she stared at the two in question, frozen in place so I stop as well and stand beside her, waiting for her response. "N-no they're not…at least I hope not," she said, murmuring the last part.

She didn't sound too sure tome, it seems that the possibility of a romantic relationship between the two is not yet out of the question so for the moment I'll just assume there is one to avoid potentially offending the two. Love is a beautiful thing, no matter what form. If Ferro-nee never saved me I would never be here and alive after all.

I nod and continue walking over to the other two, ignoring the seemingly stunned class representative behind, my curiosity satiated for the moment.

"Good afternoon Classmate Aida, Classmate Suzuhara," I greeted them, making sure to give each of them a respectful nod.

"Afternoon man," Classmate Aida responded while his friend(?) continued to glare at me which was quite rude of him.

"Is something the matter?" I ask Classmate Aida but to my surprise it was the person beside him who answered.

"Something the matter?" he parroted me as he took a few steps forward and I backtrack a few steps and frown. His body posture, the way he walked and his facial expression all screamed 'aggression' to my years of experience guarding Ferro-nee, although I admit it felt a bit strange for myself to be the target, that almost never happened until an open fight broke out. "Something the matter?! YOU!" he jabbed a finger at my direction, "you're the matter new kid!"

I look at him curiously, still not really understanding what this is all about.

"Sorry new kid," Classmate Aida chimed in over his friend's shoulder. "You see this guy loves his sister and she was she was hurt in that battle three weeks ago," he explained before Classmate Suzuhara moved into action, sending a punch to my face.

"SUZUHARA! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Horaki-san shouted from behind me.

I sidestepped it easily of course.

"Ah-ha!" I snapped my fingers in realization, dodging another slow punch. "You're the older brother of Sakura-san."

"YOU! Who gave you permission to call my sister by her first name huh?!" he screamed as he threw another punch and I took a step back and to the side.

Then it hit me, this is the 'school yard fight' I've heard about isn't it?

What was it that Misato-nee told me about these again…oh, right.

No killing.

I can't help but sigh slightly, keeping them alive is so much more annoying.

But orders are orders.

Hikari POV

"SUZUHARA!" I scream when I saw the much bigger boy throw a punch at Ikari-kun, "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"

To my surprise though he dodged it, seemingly without effort, the same stoic, almost bored look on his face. Still I can't help but frown and start to make my way over to them. Honestly, what is that idiot DOING?! Ikari-kun was just doing his job, I understand that he's upset, I have a little sister of my own and if she were to get hurt I would be really angry too but I would still think things through!

Ikari isn't exactly the biggest student in Tokyo-3 Middle School, I admit he looks quite fit but he's relatively lean compared to Toji who's tall for his age and the school's resident jock and top athlete. And with that dodge he's seemed to have become even more angry.

Aida seems like he's not going to be doing anything as he just stands there, filming, stupid smile on his face. Oohh, I am going to have words with him later!

Still I have to stop this senseless fight-

"Ah-ha!" I hear Ikari-kun quietly exclaim (how is that even possible?) and snap his fingers, the most emotive I've seen him. "You're the older brother of Sakura-san."

How does he know Sakura-chan?

"YOU! Who gave you permission to call my sister by her first name huh?!" Toji snapped and he threw a punch I knew would do real damage.

And Ikari-kun dodged it easily again, stepping back and to the side.

That's when I saw it.

The change in Ikari-kun. It was almost unnoticeable, his facial expression never changing from the usual calm he showed but I saw it in his eyes. The boredom that seemed to always fill them at school, or the curiosity that lit them in the oddest times was gone.

They were cold, calculating.

A cold shiver went down my spine and my body screamed at me to run.

I was about to tell Toji to stop as I remember that Ikari is trained military right? Just because he's smaller doesn't means he's weak.

Then it happened.

Toji threw a punch faster and harder than all the ones before aimed for his smaller opponent's face, a grin of victory on his face.

Unlike with all the punches before though Ikari didn't dodge. Instead he moved so fast I barely caught it, he stepped into Toji's attack, cocking his head to the side to dodge the punch before in an instant, grabbing the extended wrist and sending a knee into Toji's gut and before Toji could retaliate he was thrown like a toy face first onto the ground. Ikari was on top of him in a flash, Toji's captured arm now held behind his back. Honestly I barely caught it, only years of watching my sister's kendo tournaments letting me barely see what happened and even with that I'm sure no one I know, not even my kendo champion sister, could've reacted to how fast he moved.

Silence descended onto the yard with only Toji's hard breathing audible.

*Cough* *Cough* Toji wheezed from the strike to his stomach as the smaller student kneeled on top of him, the same bored look on his face but to my surprise and relief his eyes didn't have the sub-zero cold gaze he had in that split second just a moment ago. Instead his head was cocked to the side, the action I've quickly come to connect with a curious Ikari-kun, a habit he strangely shares with Ayanami-san.

"Damnit!" Toji started with a snarl once he caught his breath. "Let go of me new kid!"

"Why would I?" Ikari asked with…curiosity? Although it probably came off as smug to the boy he was kneeling on.

"So I can hit you for my sister!"

In response Ikari-kun just cocked his head to the other side, "question, Classmate Suzuhara."

"Why would I answer you?!" he screamed back with a glare but the young pilot just seemingly ignored him.

"Why are you so upset?"

"Didn't you hear?!" Toji tried to force his way out from under him but Ikari-kun put pressure on his arm causing him to cry out a bit in pain before stopping. "Ow! Damnit, you're the reason she's in the hospital!"

"I understand that," Ikari-kun replied, "but if I remember correctly all sectors of Tokyo-3 were given ample notice. The Angel was detected before it made landfall by UN and Maritime Self-Defense Force units. Evacuation notices were then sent out to all settlements between it and Tokyo-3."

"What are you-" Toji started but he was cut off as Ikari continued, his eyes turning hard again.

"Why did you not evacuate with your sister, Classmate Suzuhara? A shelter entrance was close by."

"I was waiting for my dad to get back from work!"

"Irrelevant. Your father is an adult, your sister's protection should be paramount. Combat in Tokyo-3 commenced at 0700 Japan Standard Time, you were given ample time to evacuate."

"Damn you!" Toji struggled again and instead of restraining him again Ikari-kun just frowned and shook his head.

"How…disappointing."

"What was that?!"

"I have visited your sister several times," Ikari-kun explained and everyone's eyes widened in surprise at the revelation. "She speaks highly of you. I expected better than this, blaming me for your failure out of childish frustration," Ikari-kun said and I couldn't help but cringe. The tone may have been his usual soft almost monotone but I could see the words hit home on Toji's face and he stopped struggling, defeated.

*Bzzzt* The sound of a vibrating phone cut through the short silence like a knife through butter and Ikari-kun pulled his phone. Then the sound of someone walking on grass got my attention and I turned to see Rei Ayanimi walking up to him. Ikari-kun noticed this and got up, Toji not getting up causing Kensuke to finally do something but watch and he checked up on his friend.

The two pilots spoke quietly each other but I couldn't hear what they were saying.

Shinji POV

"An Angel was detected," Ayanami-san stated in her usual soft monotone. "We are needed at NERV."

I nod at her and glance back at my cell phone, a sleek black smartphone, it was recommended by Misato-san since she used the same model due to its toughness.

[From: NERV

Bogie detected by Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels.

MAGI confirmed blood-type blue. Bogie designated 4th Angel, codename: Samshel.

First and Third Children are to report to NERV HQ.

Section-2 transport ETA to Tokyo-3 Middle School 15 minutes.]

"I have a plugsuit in my bag," I say to my fellow pilot as I put my phone away, "I'm going to go change before Section-2 arrives."

"Understood, I will wait here."

I nod at Ayanami-san before I turn back and walk to Horaki-san who is looking at the prone form of Classmate Suzuhara with a frown on her face. I think about asking her if I can change in the classroom but I decide not to, the classroom shouldn't be locked yet.

Hikari POV

I can't help but sigh as Toji started to cry on the ground, I may care about him and we may have been friends since pre-school but I can't help but be disappointed. Toji has a good heart and is a good person overall but he tends to not really things through so I do hope that he at least learns from this experience because Ikari-kun really did make a good point even though I don't think he meant to put the blame on Toji as I just don't see the class' second most calm student doing something that malicious as much as just pointing out the logical flaws in what Toji was saying.

"Aida look after him for me," I sigh and he nodded, "I'm going to apologize to Ikari-kun."

"Come on man," I hear Kensuke, "he is a trained pilot, there's no shame in…"

I tune them out with a shake of my head and I turn around to fi-huh?

Where did Ikari-kun go?

"Horaki-san-"

"EEP!" I scream and spin around…to see Ikari standing right there behind me.

"Is something the matter?" he asked me with his head tilted to the side and I shake my head in the negative.

Then I see how he's dressed. In front of me Ikari stood dressed in one looks to be like a tight form fitting latex wet suit. It was mostly a light grey in colour with red and black highlights while the numbers '01' is printed on his chest in bright white. I couldn't help but blush at how it hugged his body, his lithe body…damn puberty.

"Are you not well Horaki-san?" Shinji asked me and I shake my head profusely to clear my head.

*Ahem* I clear my throat before I look back at him, "I-I'm fine Ikari-kun. Um…why are you…uh, dressed like that?" It's…it's…indecent!

"This is what we wear in our Evangelions," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, Ayanami-san nodding as she walked up to stand beside him.

I frown in confusion, why would he-

"No…" I murmur as I glance back and forth between the two odd people in front of me, "a…another monster attack?"

Shinji nodded while, surprisingly, Ayanami-san chimed in, "NERV designates them as Angels."

Oh…that's…weird. Why would the agency the United Nations created to fight these monsters call them Angels…WAIT! I shake my head clear again before slapping my cheeks slightly, get in the game Hikari!

"Why hasn't the evacuation alarm been sounded yet?" I ask.

"The Angel is still over the ocean," Shinji explained as a trio of black SUVs with stopped in front of the school gate, men and women dressed in black and wearing black shades pile out of the front and rear SUVs.

"I suggest preparing to evacuate," Ayanami-san said as Ikari-kun turned around and walked towards the middle vehicle, two black clad men holding the doors open before she too follows behind him.

"I agree," Shinji commented before glancing at the two other boys, "I leave them in your capable hands."

"Leave it to me" I give them both a smile which they both nodded in response. "Oh and good luck!" I shout at them and Shinji turns around saying a soft 'thank you' while Ayanami-san just gave a curt nod which actually surprised me a bit, I expected her to just not do anything.

I sigh and hope for the best, especially with Ayanami in that condition…I don't think she's fit to fight, at least Ikari-kun walks around with a calm confidence…or he's just not worried so there's that at least. I then turn beside me where Kensuke is helping Toji stand back and I sigh at them.

"Alright you two," I start, giving the two the best glare I can give them, "you both are giving me a hand as punishment for picking a fight with Ikari-kun! I'm going to the staff room to get any teachers still around while you two go round up any teachers or students staying behind doing club activities and head to a shelter. Understood?!"

"Yes ma'am!"

Evangelion Cages, NERV HQ

Shinji POV

Sitting inside my entryplug I feel the same churning feeling in my gut you feel when on a moving elevator as the plug is inserted into my recently repainted Unit-01. I hear the whir of an electric motor and I felt that strange sensation of the plug spinning down into the Evangelion's spine, followed by the soft 'thud!' of the armor sliding into place.

I make myself comfortable, causing my new plugsuit to squeak as it rubbed up against the pilot's seat. The new suit design was mostly light grey to serve as some kind of camouflage in the urban streets of Tokyo-3 and the halls of NERV just in case I ever need to fight through them, while there are also some black and red outlines. Honestly I don't know why the plugsuit had the extra colour but I chose not to question it as Maya-nee personally handled the redesign of it and it still felt as comfortable as before. The biggest reason though I'm not complaining is the water tight holster for a NERV standard issue Glock-17 built into the right thigh and the three water tight magazine pouches for the gun on the left thigh.

We cyborgs always feel naked without a gun so it feels nice to know that if I need it I have something to defend myself with.

Soon warm LCL fills the plug and I inhale, filling my lungs with the liquid. I do have to say it's unpleasant, while my brain stops registering the smell and taste of warm blood soon enough I still find myself disliking the initial moments of getting in my Eva. The display then flashes to life and I start my Eva myself so the bridge crew can focus on preparing the city.

Command Bridge, NERV HQ

Maya POV

"Alright I'm here!" Misato shouted as she ran into the bridge behind me and Aoba and Hyuga at our stations at the front of the Command Bridge. "Status report!"

"Angel ETA to Tokyo-3 is one hour!" Hyuga announced and I can't help but be troubled with how much faster this one is than the last one, not a surprise since this one is flying and not walking but it's still worrying.

"The last one took 15 years and this time it's 3 weeks," I heard the Vice-Commander comment and I know he's talking about Second Impact. Civilians may think it's caused by a meteor impact but everyone at NERV knows it was an Angel, it's why we have to stop them now.

To prevent a Third Impact and the death of billions.

"NERV personnel are at battle stations level 1," Aoba informed the Captain. "Tokyo-3 defenses configuring for anti-air intercept," Aoba announced before I look down at my screens to see Shinji relaxing in his cockpit.

"Unit-01 is activated and online. Synch ratio holding steady at 71%," I tell her and I hear Akagi-senpai murmur in surprise at the slight rise in his synch ratio. I was amazed too but I kept it to myself as Hyuga chimed in.

"Building Blocks E and F have been retracted, downtown core now locked down and secure!" he announced, meaning all the buildings in the downtown core are now underground and safe, or as safe as they can be with an Angel attacking, inside the Geofront like when Shinji first arrived. "All shelters reporting in! Civilian evacuation complete! Medical personnel, emergency crews and engineering teams are on stand-by!"

"Cage teams reporting in! Unit-01 is ready for deployment! Medical teams are on stand-by!"

"Good," Misato-san nodded, "what's the word from the UN?" Hyuga answered her question.

"JSSDF and UN forces are moving AA units here."

"Will they arrive in time?"

"…No ma'am."

"Damnit," Misato cursed and I had to agree with her.

"Status on our defenses?"

"All of Tokyo-3's surface-to-air missiles and anti-aircraft artillery systems are online," Hyuga answered and even if that sounds impressive I know it could be so much more. In reality Tokyo-3's defenses aren't finished yet with only 40 percent of the planned defenses of missiles and artillery having been built.

Damn, if only this Angel came a few weeks later. With the last Angel attack we got a surge of funding which. Add that to the light damage to Tokyo-3 and the moderate damage suffered by Unit-01 we had enough funds to plan and build more weapon emplacements which include a pair of rail transported lasers.

A notification on my screen gets my attention, "ma'am message from UN command."

"What is it?"

"They want us to deploy an Evangelion."

"Pfft," Misato-san scoffed, "like we weren't already planning to do that."

Shinji POV

"Shinji-kun," Maya-nee's face popped out on a window off to my left side, "the Angel is approaching the firing range of our weapons so be ready to deploy."

"Understood," I reply simply.

"I'll send you a visual feed from one of our UAVs," she said and another window opened to my right showing the Angel from an aerial view of the Angel as it flew over the green tops of trees.

And…it was strange thing to say the least. It looked vaguely…phallic actually. This Angel wasn't like the last one at all, the last Angel was vaguely humanoid with two arms and two legs placed on its body about where you would expect. This Angel had a long thick cylindrical body and an even thicker vaguely arrow shaped head with two eye looking growths on top, aside from size it's not the most threatening looking enemy.

Still I know this is potentially a much more difficult foe. The last Angel's humanoid body bent and moved mostly like what I'm used to fighting, people…white hot spears that shoot out of its arms aside of course. This one though had no limbs apparent from the UAV's aerial view aside from two small stumps located on opposite sides of its body where you may expect to find the arms.

"Angel is approaching weapon's range in 30 seconds," Maya-nee announced and I watch with rapt attention, trying to figure out what I can learn from how this Angel will respond to the bombardment.

I've actually read through what kind of firepower Tokyo-3 has and is scheduled to have. It wasn't necessary, as a pilot all I was asked to know is the location of elevator doors, deployment buildings, the different armament and support buildings as well as the different entrances to the Geofront but I read it out of curiosity.

So when the Angel approached firing range and all hell broke loose I wasn't surprised.

The Angel approached from the east, having flown over Sagami Bay. As it flew over a valley with Mt. Myojogataka to the north and Mt. Asama to the south, large sections of Mt. Myojogatake's southern face and the northern face of Mt. Asama split open to reveal dozens upon dozens of hidden missile silos. Smoke and fire poured out of around three dozen of these launchers as almost 40 of the XSPM-777 Longbow missiles screamed towards their target. They were impressive things, the Longbows are massive long range dual-purpose surface-to-air/surface-to-surface missiles developed by NERV 04 in Berlin and manufactured by NERV 06 in China for the sole purpose of fighting the Angels.

And they didn't seem to do much good as, one by one, the missiles that packed enough power in their two-stage HEAT (High Explosive Anti-Tank) warheads to sink one of the Iowa-class battleships in one hit, slammed into the Angel's AT field.

Needless to say the exploded spectacularly in a storm of fire and heat…to no affect. The Angel seemed to just ignore it, not even reacting at all unlike the last one which at least reacted by doing something.

As it continued to advance the missile silos on Mt. Hakone's northeastern face fired six Longbow missiles but they didn't do anything either but explode harmlessly against the shining yellow hexagonal barrier.

Unfazed the Angel started to approach the city's outskirts and the top of some buildings opened to reveal launchers for Type-3 Chū-SAM Kai surface-to-air missiles. Some buildings are nothing but facades and their whole body split open to reveal that they're nothing but vertical launchers. What they housed are NERV made XSPM-707 Crossbow missiles which are basically a much smaller short-range high-maneuverability version of the Longbow missile designed to fire at targets close to or inside Tokyo-3 itself.

Missile after missile screamed through the sky, streaking the air with great long lines of smoke and flame.

Joining this impressive amount of missile firepower are dozens of automated 155mm multi-purpose guns that emerged from the roofs of many buildings that filled the air with flack as missiles rained down once more. Again, flash and flame lit up the window on my screen and the crack of explosions filled the plug but the Angel still advanced.

It was actually quite pretty to watch but again it did nothing as the AT Field blocked all incoming projectiles.

I can imagine Classmate Aida being happy watching this though, he seemed very interested in military hardware.

"Damn waste of tax payer money," I heard Misato mumble in the background of Maya-nee's screen and I also see Maya-nee agree with a nod, a frown on her face. I too had to agree from what I've seen of the footage. "Do they get off on this?"

Eventually the Angel got close enough to trigger the close-range defenses as turrets with dual 35mm Oerlikon auto-cannons fired and unleashed a storm of high explosive cannon fire…but I doubt they would do anything even without the AT Field, as-is they flashed and fizzled to no affect.

"Well," Maya-nee started and I turned to her, "ready to deploy Shinji-kun?"

Shelter D-20, Tokyo-3

Hikari POV

"Nee-san," my little sister Nozomi called as she sat beside me. "Is the monster attacking again?"

"…Yes," I answer her, no use lying. Currently we're in one of the shelters close to Tokyo-3 Middle School, it's one of the larger ones due to it being the primary shelter of Tokyo-3 Primary, Middle and Highschool along with the surrounding homes and businesses that catered to the students. Nozomi is here with me by one of the walls where the remnants of my class, the ones who hadn't gone home due to club activities or other reasons, which is around half of us is close by where I can watch them.

"Are…are we going to be ok?"

I take her small body and bring it close and wrapped my arms around her, "we'll be fine Nozomi-chan."

"How do you know Nee-san?"

"Well," I pull back a bit and give her a bit of a smirk, "one of my classmates defeated the last one."

She gasped, eyes wide and sparkling with childish wonder, "really?!"

"Yeah, really."

"Can I meet him?!"

Huh, isn't that a question? While I doubt Shinji-kun would say no, honestly he may just say nothing but he's just so polite he may just say yes. He did hold open the door for me, and I had hear of him doing that regularly for the other girls in school, I always tended to leave before him for lunch and to go home so I guess that's why I've never seen it happen before. That said I'm a little reluctant but…he did say he visited Sakura-chan in the hospital…I turn back to my little sister and her puppy dog eyes and I can't help but sigh.

"I'll ask him," I tell her with a bit of an amused smile, "but no promises."

"Yey!" she cheered and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Class Rep," I heard Toji's voice, sounding normal to my relief, and I turn around and see him standing with Kensuke

"Yes Suzuhara-kun?" I ask him as Nozomi settles on my lap.

"We need to go to the toilet," he said, motioning to both himself and Kensuke.

"Fine, go," I sigh.

Eva Cages, NERV HQ

Shinji POV

"Ok Shinji-kun," Misato-nee spoke to me, standing behind Maya-nee and leaning forward over her so the camera can see her. A new window opens on my left, above the window showing the UAV feed, showing Tokyo-3 and the surrounding area. "We're going to launch you and have you intercept this thing in the city's perimeter, south-east sector." A blip on my map appeared indicating where I'm being deployed as well as the Angel which had made a slight course change south towards Lake Ashi south of Tokyo-3. "When you get up there we'll have an armament building ready to go with a Pallet Rifle, use and take out the Angel just like we trained. Understood?"

"Understood," I nod before I grunt as Unit-01 and I rocket up the launch track, pressing me into my seat. Still I can't help but smile a bit, the second time and being launched is still fun, like a roller coaster.

As the warning beeps that I'm nearing the surface I ready myself, unlike last time I don't unlock the restraints as I'll be deploying in cover.

Soon enough I feel the sudden stop as Unit-01 enters a deployment building which immediately opens and the sight of the white, silver and glass of Tokyo-3. As the elevator restraints are unlocked I move out.

"Unit-01 deployed," Maya-nee announced for the bridge crew, "AT Field expanded."

As I move into the shadow of a taller building I keep an eye on the UAV feed and my mini-map. Taking cover behind nearby building I wait for an armament building across the street, which is basically a deployment building but instead of launching an Evangelion up from the Geofront these launch weaponry. The armament building's façade opens and collapses upward like an accordion revealing the Type MM-99 Evangelion Large Caliber Assault Rifle or the 'Pallet Gun' for short. It's a bullpup style assault rifle that heavily resembles the experimental Steyr ACR in appearance, where the cage teams got the name 'Pallet Rifle' I have no idea.

Grabbing the weapon an ammo counter appears in the corner.

[Rifle Equipped: 50 Rounds]

I turn back to the mini map and watch the Angel approach and turn down the street I'm hiding on the other end of and I pop out and extend my AT Field like I was instructed, the firing computer display lined up the crosshairs and I pulled the switch.

The Pallet Rifle barked to life firing a burst of an alternating pattern of custom NERV made 209mm depleted uranium tipped tungsten APFDS rounds and two-stage HEAT rounds at 800 rounds per minute.

Shelter D-20, Tokyo-3

Hikari POV

Where are they?! They're guys, what takes them so long in the bathroom? I swear those two are going to be the death of me first picking a fight with Shinji-kun and now disappearing during…a…battle…

"Oh no," I murmur to myself as an idea came to me, "they can't be that stupid…"

Oh who am I kidding?!

I pick up the sleeping Nozomi on my lap and walk over to Kodama who's nearby with her high school class.

"Kodama," I call to my older sister.

"Hm?" she turns to me, brow raised.

"Watch her," I hand Nozomi over and rush off, ignoring my older sisters questions.

Oh I am going to kill those two!

Tokyo-3

Shinji POV

The kinetic APFDS rounds slammed into a shimmering barrier while the HEAT rounds exploded, doing nothing but kicking up smoke as the Angel stopped. It shifted and 'stood' up, its long thick body now vertical while it's 'head' turned down to look at me. It's massive, even taller than my Unit-01. As it stood it revealed 8 skeletal insect like legs arranged in 4 pairs that moved around uselessly with a sound of bone on bone. What really got my attention though is the orb made of red crystal on the top of the body where it met the head.

[Rifle Equipped: 45 Rounds]

I now had my target and my connection to my Eva meant that the targeting computer readjusted my point of aim and realigned the crosshairs onto the orb, the weak spot of the Angels which I had been told is called an S2 Organ or core. It was their power source, their heart.

The crosshairs aligned and I pulled the switch and fired in bursts, being mindful not to obscure the target with smoke and debris.

Again they did nothing, splashing against the AT Field.

[Rifle Equipped: 25 Rounds]

I adjust my grip on the rifle, holding it with Unit-01's left hand by the barrel and I activate one of my pr-

The Angel advanced and a tentacle emerged from each of the 'stumps' which kind of made it look like a giant flying purple penis with tentacles, like the ones from that DVD cover I found in Misato's room when I was cleaning it for her.

It would have been somewhat comical if they weren't burning an angry white hot.

Crap! I jump back as the white hot whips lash out at me at lightning fast speeds but my superhuman reflexes means I didn't get hit.

It lashed out at me again and I roll to the side across the street and into cover of another building and stow my Progressive Knife away, melee combat would be too dangerous. This was what I was worried about, other than instincts and reflexes I have nothing to fall back on here, I didn't even learn anything from the Tokyo-3's defenses as the Angel just ignored last Angel was around as strong as Unit-01, so this one probably is as well and this time it has completely inhuman in anatomy.

I peek-shit! Two whips of light fly at my cover and I jump back, the whips cutting through the building like paper. I land and roll backwards and I crouch and snap up the Pallet Rifle. I had no time to let the targeting computer lock on and line up so I aimed on instinct and pulled the switch-

[Error No Lock]

What?-"Argh," I grunt in pain and jump back on instinct, farther away this time. Landing in a crouch I look down when I land to see it had cut my Pallet Rifle in half, dropped between me and the advancing Angel. The Angel had also seemed to have cut through Unit-01's AT Field like butter along with some of the cranial armor if the burning on my cheek is any sign. This was what I was afraid of when i was told that the Eva's ranged weaponry all used targeting computers. I will definitely bring this up again with Dr. Akagi, she can't deny my suggestion is 'unwise' anymore.

Then a red flashing warning catches my attention.

[WARNING: Umbilical Cable Severed!] and with that Unit-01 switched to internal battery, meaning I'm very limited time.

"Maya-nee I'm moving to get to an umbilical station," I announce and I move Unit-01's arms down onto the mountain I've landed to get up, careful not to smash the red tori of the nearby shrine.

I was about to jump and dash up north to the closest umbilical station but I heard the whips flying through the air and look up to see the Angel and I catch the whips, one in each hand.

My palms burn and the LCL around them starts to bubble as the whips burn against the armor covering Unit-01's hands, steadily melting and vaporizing the thick but flexible armor while the kinetic energy knocks Unit-01 onto its back.

Well I have to admit this is the trickiest fight I've ever had. Still, I need to move as the battery times down and as I look around for something to use-what the hell?

Right beside my Eva is Representative Horaki, leaning on a shelter door like she'd just closed it.

"Maya-nee?" I ask her, knowing she can see what I can. I don't know what to do and when that happens training dictates I turn to my handler.

"Misato-san!" she called over.

"Who is that?"

"MAGI searching…one of Shinji-kun's classmates."

"What is she doing here?!" Misato-san murmured before turning to me. "Shinji-kun lock in your Eva's controls and let her in the plug," she ordered and I nodded.

"Wait!" Dr. Akagi shouted but I cut her off, not caring what she says. I press the command lock switch, locking the Evangelion in place before pulling the lever that partially ejects and opens the plug and the power shuts off as it worked.

Hikari POV

I stand stunned, leaning on the shelter door after pushing Toji and Kensuke through. I couldn't help but stand in awe at the massive mecha in front of me. It was mostly made of dull silver armor with neon green and black accents, the dull silver armor giving it the image of a god of war made flesh.

"HEY!" a sound came out of it, a woman it sounded like, snapping me back to reality. "HURRY UP AND GET IN!"

The armored back then slid back while a long white capsule emerged where a hatch opened and a ladder rolled out and I run for it, following the woman's advice.

Shinji POV

*Splash*

Hearing that and hearing someone panic from being submerged in LCL I decide to give them some advice.

"It's okay to breathe it in Representative Horaki," and I hear her gulp before hearing the sound of bubbles, her air leaving her lungs. "Please be quiet Representative Horaki," I tell her as I reinsert the plug and the plug flashes to life and my hands start to burn immediately as I see the Angel above us. I disengage the lock on Unit-01 as I heard a gasp come from behind me but she stayed quiet which I'm grateful for.

"Shinji-kun!" I turn to Maya-nee, "Misato wants you to make a temporary retreat through elevator hatch H-5." I turn to my mini-map to see a blip on where she wants me to go. "Having two people in the cockpit is interfering with your ability to synch with Unit-01, drop her off at the cage before you re-engage."

"Roger," I respond and with a grunt I brace Unit-01's legs up against its chest, pull the Angel towards me with its whips and kick it while letting go, sending it flying. Now that I have space I disengage and dash towards hatch H-5. "Maya-nee open the hatch," I look behind me to see the Angel in pursuit and closing fast, "have the elevator stop part way up. No time to wait."

"Understood," she responded and I saw the hatch open in front of me and I jump down and go into free fall, the hatch closing behind me.

*BANG!*

Unit-01 slammed into the waiting elevator which immediately descended while I turned Unit-01 around and leaned it back, locking into the elevator restraints. I sigh a bit as I relax into the seat before turning around to see a frightened looking Representative Horaki.

"Hello," I give her my best attempt a calming smile, I don't think it worked though. "Representative Horaki are you unharmed?"

Evangelion Cages, NERV HQ

"I'll take care of her sir," a member of my cage team informed me with a smile on her face. Her name is Alexandria Aleksandrovna, a beautiful tall blonde woman with blue eyes and a seemingly permanent smile on her face, dressed in the tan overalls of the cage teams with a black '01' on her breast. She's a young genius and the leader of my cage team, holding the rank of Sergeant at NERV. "Umbilical is attached and you're ready to rock and roll, sir."

"Thank you Sergeant," I nod at her as I close and retract the plug which is soon filled with warm LCL.

"Shinji-kun," Maya-nee's face opened in a window while my mini-map opened as well as the feed from the UAV, showing the Angel hovering over hatch H-5 doing nothing. "Ready to deploy?"

I nod before Misato-nee popped her head in, "Shinji-kun you're going to need to close in to get rid of that AT Field, when you pulled it towards you to kick it away you actually neutralized its AT Field and even gave the core a superficial crack." She frowns, "and with the force you hit it with it tells us it would take too long to cut with your Progressive Knives safely."

I think back, I remember when I kicked it away and it chased me…it was odd I wasn't caught. The speed it traveled…it should have caught me. "Misato-nee," I call to her as Unit-01 reaches the launch platform. "Did I stun it with that kick?"

Her eyes widened and Maya-nee seemed to watch her screen, probably a replay before nodding at Misato-nee who turned back to me, "it did. You have an idea?"

I give her a nod, "send a Gatling Gun to armament building A-7."

"Right away," Maya-nee nodded and got to work before Misato-nee spoke up.

"Unit-01 LAUNCH!"

I shoot up for the second time today but I don't let myself enjoy it, choosing to ignore it, I concentrate on my plan. It was a bit insane and a tad bit childish I have to admit but I am a child, as odd as I may be compared to normal kids. Still, I could see it working.

Looking up to see I'm almost at the open hatch I disengage the elevator restraints and when the elevator slams to a stop I jump into the air and I see the Angel under me. I had to get around its two defenses, the AT Field and those whips, a lethal combination really as the AT Field protects against ranged attacks while the whips are lethal in close-quarters.

I land on top of one of the taller buildings, I quickly crouch down and leap up again, aiming to come down right on top of the Angel.

I crash into the Angel's AT Field for and it quickly shatters like glass from a mix of my own AT Field and the sheer energy of a falling Evangelion before smashing on top of the Angel.

Not giving it a second to react I kick off the massive arrow shaped head while deploying both Progressive Knives from both shoulder storage pylons and land behind the Angel. I grab them both and hold them in a saber grip and the two PKN-01C Progressive Knives hummed to life, their blades glowing white hot and slash at the two stumps that generate the energy whips.

The two blades cut through the alien flesh like butter which surprised me as the core and AT Field seemed tougher than the first Angel I fought. One stump bled light blue blood, covering half a city block in red blood. That was odd why wasn't the other-shit! The other arm was already regenerated!

Clever girl, with it's tough AT Field it didn't need a tough body. If something did get through it then as long as the core was alive then it could regenerate its body in a flash.

The newly regenerated stump arm blasted a whip right for my abdomen but I dodge to the side, dropped both Prog Knives and grab it with both hands, burning through what little armor I had left. Quickly I unhinged Unit-01's jaws with a 'snap!' and lunge forward and crunch down and yank back as hard as I could and I heard Unit-01 growl in response as something in the Eva seemed to respond.

*SNAP!*

A wet snap followed by the sound of splashing blood soon followed but I ignored it as I lunged forward and grabbed the Angel from behind, hugging the thick body with both of Unit-01's arms. "Open the armament building now!"

"Roger!" Maya-nee shouted and I hear it open.

"Grh," I grunted as I pulled up on the Angel before lifting it up and slamming its head down in a suplex.

*Crash!*

I heard the pavement crack and break as windows shattered and cars were smashed as the wrestling move powered by the strength of Unit-01 and the weight of the massive monster stunned it. I rolled upright and quickly turned to the armament building to see a massive Gatling style six-barreled cannon, the EM-226 Evangelion Portable Revolving Multi-Barrel Machine Gun, nicknamed the 'Gatling Gun.'

It was a thing of beauty.

I grabbed it and Unit-01 held the massive weapon the size of a building like I do a light rifle.

[Gatling Equipped: 150 Rounds]

I aimed the weapon at the core of the stunned Angel and I remembered a quote from one of my favorite movies. I feel a rare spike of childish whimsy flash though my mind and wonder if I should say it?

Then something responded…it wasn't a voice but it felt like something coaxing me to say it.

I could feel it encouraging me.

'Go ahead,' it seemed to say without words, 'enjoy life.' I could sense whatever it was felt amused by me. I should want to deny this mystery entity but for the life of me I couldn't, the presence felt so right, I knew somehow that it would never want to hurt me.

So I listened to it as the targeting computer aligned the crosshairs on the core and I smirked as I spun up the Gatling Gun's barrels, filling the air with the 'whir' of the massive motor.

"Hasta la vista...baby."

Then I pulled the switch.

I smiled as the Gatling Gun roared and fired massive NERV made 440mm shells, larger than even the 16 inch guns on the Iowa-class battleships, at 900 rounds a minute. Massive shell casings dropped to the ground, crushing cars as I fired. The monstrous armor-piercing high explosive shells, relying on sheer mass and velocity to penetrate the target before exploding, ripped apart the tough core, shredding and smashing the red crystal, coating the street in red dust and blood.

I could feel the same presence 'smile' at my happiness and I held the trigger until it went click.

The Angel was dead and I heard the bridge celebrate, Maya-nee and Misato-nee congratulating me on my second kill, reminding a bit of how fighter pilots tally theirs.

It was a tough fight, much tougher than the first one. More collateral damage was caused and while the damage to Unit-01, relegated to a cut on the side of the head and burned hands, is arguable less I received more damage this time around with the whip cutting so deep that I now have a cut on my cheek and my hands feel slightly burned.

There's also that strange...entity that seemed to want to talk to me which was odd to say the least.

Still, have to admit, it was a fun fight.

I wonder if Maya-nee will let me buy a Gatling Gun?

NEXT ON "TOY SOLDIER" - CHAPTER 4: STRANGE FRIENDSHIPS (AND SECRET MOVES)

AN

HOLY SHIT THIS IS LATE I AM SO SO SORRY

So yeah, SUPER late update and I have no real excuse. My computer broke, erasing a lot of my work. Got it fixed but wanted to update my other stories. Started writing THIS and then computer broke AGAIN and I got so frustrated I didn't get to writing this until February. I actually meant to update this so much sooner in early March but I've rewritten and torn apart this chapter probably 7 or 8 times until I came up with something I was happy with.

As for the chapter itself I kinda wanted to start moving away from canon a bit. From the beginning I wanted this terminator Shinji to have different friends, at least at first and you can see it here. I also wanted to delve a bit more into the psychological damage cyborgs have, their conversions erase memories prior to conversion but not necessarily the conversion itself, something I've kinda shown to be really painful and horrific so I thought it would show some scars on their psyche or at least give them a dislike of hospitals and doctors in general.

As for the fight how did you guys like it? I really wanted to show a fight where Shinji is kind of being held back by Eva's systems as well as showing that the Angels are so alien that they are still a very valid threat to him and that of course goes for the later more powerful Angels as well.

Next chapter SHOULD come out faster, hard to beat this shitty record. Anyway it will cover the effects of Shinji trying to actively befriend Rei via flashbacks as well as the next appearance of SEELE.