If you've watched enough TV and seen enough movies with soldiers, policemen and firemen etc, you'll know that they all seem to include in it for the most part that a strong sense of loyalty and a bond of brotherhood develops between most of them; when one of their own is wronged; it is taken as a strike to all of them.

On this fine day in Tokyo 3; at the Junior High School that Eva pilots, Asuka Soryu, Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami attend, there is no clouds but the sun is not strong, making it a warm and on the whole pleasant day with great expectations for sports and other events.  However, most classes were still inside listening to a very boring lecture

"And during the immediate aftermath of 2nd Impact, the world fell into serious depression; money was short and governments were stingy…" so went the boring old teacher in his droning voice

Shinji sat with such a board expression on his face he thought that his face would fall of his head, leaving a black oval for a head

[I am so board] he thought and decided to go against protocol and pulled up a small game off the internet to play while he waited for the lunch bell to ring

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Soon enough said bell rang and Shinji, with his two friends Toji and Kensuke made their way to their space under the tree to eat and talk in peace like normal human beings.  Or as normal as one can be when one is entrusted with the safety of the world on a regular basis

"Hey Toji; you going to see the new movie in town today?" Kensuke asked

"Maybe, unless of course madam rep decided to accept my offer" he added the last part under his breath

"Shinji, what about you?" the speckled boy asked

"Nah, usual crap today at work" he said and tossed his juice box to the trash can

"Man, am I the only one who thinks Sailor Moon Live is the coolest thing in the world?" Kensuke asked

[Yes] Shinji and Toji thought in tandem

While they were eating, Shinji looked up and saw Rei on a bench, eating her own lunch and he was transported to another world.  It took Toji a few minutes to return Shinji to the land of the living

"You are planning on telling her, right?" Toji asked his friend

"I ah, maybe" Shinji stuttered and went red

Before another word was spoken; they all turned their heads when a loud and German sounding yell echoed through the area

"Come on, I'll take you all on!" Asuka was challenging three boys with a good foot on her in height to a fight

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Toji saw this and winced

"Ooh, she dead" he commented and looked at his hand

"What; why?" Shinji asked

"Those three aren't the cleanest fighters known to man, if you catch my meaning" Toji explained

Shinji took this in and looked at Rei, who like many others had taken notice of this occurrence and nodded to her; she nodded back and got up.  Shinji copied the movement

"Ah ha, off for a quick confession are we?" Kensuke asked

"No" Shinji replied as he began walking in the direction of the fight: Rei following him

Toji realised what was about to happen and told Kensuke to prep his camera and get ready for fireworks

Shinji and Rei stopped walking about a foot from the fray looked at each other, and then in a total disregard for their own safety and a move completely uncharacteristic of them, they leapt into the fight and began to attack one of the other boys while Asuka took care of the one who started the whole mess

"Once more into the breach dear friends!" Shinji cried out a line from Henry the 5th

It soon descended into a brawl, almost like the cartoon ones where all you can see is a dust cloud and the occasional limb coming out and muffled voices until of course Hikari came with a little help from Toji and other basketball team members; broke the fight up.  The three boys were the worst off, sporting black eyes, bloody (and most likely broken) noses and scratches that were no doubt the work of Asuka.  The black eyes, were either Rei or Shinji's work as both of them had badly bruised knuckles

"Asuka I expect this from, but you two, no, so what happened?" Hikari demanded as the trio hobbled with her behind them toward the nurse's office

"The messed with one of us" Shinji answered

Asuka blinked and listened to the answers; waiting in anticipation for Rei's answer

"Well Ayanami, this is just too tempting: why did you join in on the fracas?" Hikari enquired

Rei thought a little, resting her head on Shinji's shoulder: she'd hurt her ankle and Shinji was supporting her with an arm around her waist

"I've never let my comrades go into battle without me by choice in Eva combat; it is the same on the outside" she answered and grit her teeth against the sharp jolt of pain from her ribs

Hikari and Asuka both were silenced by this answer and made to totally rethink how the 1st Child actually worked inside her mind while she sat alone in the world.  Hikari looked down where Shinji had positioned his hand around Rei's waist and saw that Rei was grasping that hand and she smiled

[Maybe not totally alone after all] Hikari let that jubilant thought run around her head after depositing the trio at the appropriate area

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Misato drove to Nerv like a woman possessed with the hounds of Hades after her: she could not believe that all three of the Eva pilots got into a fight.  Asuka, she'd expect it, Shinji was less likely but if cornered he could be an unpredictable little guy.  But Rei; that was so far removed from her normal modus operandi that Misato thought Ritsuko was joking when she said that all three were involved

"This is going to be worth it just to find out why" she muttered after executing a three point parking manoeuvre and got out

She quickly however sought out the only two easy sources of info in the school: Toji and Kensuke: all she had to do was smile and those two were moulding clay in her hands.  They were still in class but a quick flash of the Nerv badge and those two were down to see her at light speed

"So, what happened?" she asked

"Well, as best we can gather: Asuka yelled a fighting challenge to three huge dudes and when they got into it; Shinji nodded at Rei, she nodded back.  They went over, jumped in with Shinji doing Henry the 5th and that was that" Kensuke said and showed her the recording of the fight

Misato was speechless: the pair of them had just casually strolled over and jumped into a fight that was Asuka's doing, or so it seemed.  She thanked them and sent them back to class and proceeded to go and see her two charges and Rei.  This would make for fascinating listening indeed.

But when she got to the room, all she saw was three kids after a fight, not three pilots or three saviours of humanity.  And they were grinning from ear to ear

"And what pray tell is so amusing?" Misato asked as she entered the room

"I didn't know the idiot over there knew Shakespeare" Asuka said, sending Shinji into a giggle fit

"Ha, ha, now seriously; what made you two jump into the fight like that?" she asked Shinji and Rei

"Ikari you go first; speaking hurts" Rei moaned from her bed, rubbing her rib

"Well to put it simply; they tried to hurt one of my friends.  And I won't allow that" Shinji said

Misato just stared at him, almost as if boring into his skull for further answers but it soon became apparent that that was all she was going to get out of him so she turned to look at Asuka

"Okay, why?" she asked flatly

"They called me a whore, a whore damn it!" Asuka screeched like a banshee as she remembered what they called her

"Bastards; lets get them!" Shinji was up and orating himself; but he soon fell back onto the bed he shared with Rei in pain

"Rei, I know you complained about talking being painful, but I want to hear your reason for involving yourself in this madness" Misato said desperately

"As I said to Representative Horaki: they are my comrades and I won't let them go into a fight without me if I can help it" she said

It was at that point that Misato realised that between these children, a bond had been forged that was stronger than the ones with their friends and (little) family because they shared the unique 'situation' of piloting an Evangelion: the world's most advanced fighting machine and no one would ever break that bond.

Misato looked up from her reverie and saw that Shinji in his usual caring manner was rubbing Rei's injured rib, eliciting groans and moans from the girl.  She smiled to herself

[And it seems another bond is being forged as we speak] she thought and sat and spoke with them

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Ritsuko stood before the commander in his cavernous office as she was asked what she thought triggered both Shinji and Rei's participation in that fight.  All Ritsuko did was smile and tell Gendo exactly what she thought, no science, no theories but plain opinion

"In my honest opinion sir, it was a show of solidarity"

Gendo dismissed her and sat back in his chair and looked up and the huge engraving on the roof of his office and ponder the word….

Solidarity

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A/N:  This was inspired by something I was told about Medieval Japan: even when there was fierce internal fighting between warlords, if an outside threat was apparent; then all internal problems were forgotten and Japan was said to close like a fist.

It occurred to me that despite all the internal troubles between the pilots, in reality, if an outside force threatened them, then they too would close like a fist and defend each other with the same will of iron

The End