Disclaimer: I don't own EVA. If the owners say to, I'll take this story offline. Thanks.

Predictable

(Alpha)

By Random1377

Shinji Ikari woke with a raging headache. Not the dull throb kind, but the kind where it feels like someone has wrapped bands of metal around your head and is slowly tightening them down until your brain explodes. His mood was not helped any by the vague memories of the dream he had been having – something about sliding sideways off of something, he could not QUITE remember what – or the oppressive heat of his room, which had somehow increased in temperature by a minimum of 433 degrees overnight.

He groaned, putting a hand on his forehead and keeping his eyes tightly closed as he pushed his sweaty covers (which had found their way up over his face) down to his chin, silently cursing the daylight streaming through his window.

Weird, he thought with a sigh, must have gotten turned around – that, or someone cut a hole in the wall and made me a new window. At least that explains why my covers were over my face.

Scrubbing said face with one hand, Shinji sat up… and immediately, the fact that something was very, VERY wrong became glaringly obvious. It was not the smell of cooking food, an oddity in the apartment he shared with Misato Katsuragi and Asuka Langley Souryu, though that did strike him as a little strange. It was not the sound of running water – a sure sign that someone was taking a shower, when he was almost always the first one out of bed. It was not even the fact that under the smell of cooking food, there was an underlying, subtly floral scent, faintly familiar, though he could not say why.

No, what clicked home as being off first was the weight of the blankets now pooled around his waist… second was the weight that did NOT lift from his chest.

Insight came to Shinji very quickly, courteously informing him of his situation and drawing a rather panicked shriek from his larger-than-normal chest.

"AHHH!!"

The door to his room flew open with a bang – a third note that something was horribly amiss, considering that he had a sliding door – and a concerned voice demanded, "What, what's wrong??"

Shinji opened his eyes, gaping as he found himself face to face with a rather well-endowed, currently bra-clad woman of about eighteen. "K-Kodama…??"

The name leapt immediately into Shinji's mind, though he had never seen so much as a picture of the girl. "Oh gawd," she drawled, rolling her eyes, "you didn't dream that dad was getting abducted by aliens again, did you? Honestly, you need to grow up…"

"Y-yeah," Shinji stammered, trying not to stare at the girl as she stretched her arms up over her head, thrusting her ample bosom towards him. "Sorry."

Kodama sighed. "You sick or something?" she said disgustedly. "You never wake up early unless you're sick. Hell, it's not even six. You're such a slackass."

"Right."

Throwing her hands in the air, the girl took her leave.

Ok, Shinji thought, reaching under his covers and pinching himself rather hard on the thigh. Ow! Son of a- ok, it's not a dream… which means – good God, you have GOT to be kidding me! How did this happen?!

There was no mistaken WHAT had happened to him – a quick, guilty peak down at his chest was enough to make it clear – but the questions of how, why, and what the hell to do next DID cross his mind. Normally, Shinji was a fairly low-key person. Sure, he was prone to being a bit nervous when angels showed up, or if someone was focusing too closely on him, but left to his own devices, he tended to be rather calm and collected.

Then again, he had never woken up in a classmate's room, sporting her breasts as an accessory, so he really had no basis for comparison.

"Kodama wasn't bothered," he muttered to himself, "so I must look-"

He cut himself off.

That's not my voice.

Logic, or as much logic as could be applied in a situation like this, asserted itself – dictating that clearly, he had BECOME Hikari Horaki. He had not been drugged, saddled with implants, and shoved in her bed, he was in her body.

"Hikari?"

He felt a little foolish, sitting in Hikari's bed (and skin) and calling her name, but in the handful of science fiction movies he had seen where this kind of thing happened, there was the odd case wherein the person replaced lingered in the displacer's mind – and if Hikari WAS hanging around in his subconscious, he needed to get her attention.

"Hikari, are you here…?!"

Idiot! he thought angrily, transforming some of his fear into self-loathing… a specialty of his, actually. She would have 'said' something by now, wouldn't she? I know I would, if she was running my bod… y…

Abruptly, Shinji kicked the covers back, shooting a glance at the clock on the far side of Hikari's room. There was less than an hour and a half until school. Logic, that pesky, currently sparse friend of his, suggested that if he was here, then Hikari must be in his body, so if he could meet up with her, maybe he could figure out a little of the why and what to do bits.

…unfortunately, that meant dressing.

Which required UNdressing.

Which required seeing, touching, and arranging various portions of Hikari's anatomy.

He got as far as taking 'his' panties off – clouting himself rather painfully on the side of the head on the edge of the dresser – before realizing that he was going to have to open his eyes.

Especially considering that he had no idea where Hikari kept her clean underthings.

Bottom drawer, little dresser, he thought instantly, absently brushing a strand of hair from his face and moving unerringly across the room and pulling the drawer open. Thank God that's the right one…

He paused with his hand on a row of neatly rolled panties.

How HAD he known that? How had he known that the woman in the lacy bra had been Kodama?

How in the hell was he going to be able to touch Hikari's breasts to get them into the bra without having his nose explode and spray blood all over the drawer of snowy white panties and bras??

Well, he thought pragmatically, quickly pulling on a pair of panties without focusing on what, exactly, he was covering, I DID touch Rei's that once. So what if it was just one? So what if it was an accident? So what if she smacked me later that day – yeah, it wasn't FOR that, but she still hit me! I've touched a woman… I can do this…

How foolish he was to believe that it would be that easy.

"Hey, Hikari, I was wondering if I could… what are you doing…?"

Shinji froze as Hikari's younger sister (Nozomi, his mind supplied) pushed her door open. "Umm…" he hummed, yanking his hands away from where they had been, "just… umm… you know…"

"Ah-ha!" the younger girl cried, leveling a finger at what she thought was her older sister. "I KNEW it!!"

I'm dead! Shinji thought frantically, She knows – she knows I'm not Hikari! And she saw me touch-

"You CAN make them bigger, can't you??"

Shinji gaped for a moment, absently folding his arms across his chest. Desperately thinking back to the little he knew of Hikari's family, he tossed his head imperiously to the side and replied, "That's big girl stuff… you don't need to worry about it for a few years yet, pipsqueak."

Pipsqueak?? he thought with a mental groan, That was so mean! I'm sorry!

Before he could voice this thought, Nozomi sniffed dramatically. "You're still just a B-cup," she said snottily, apparently unfazed by the insult, "you'll never get Ds like Kodama – no matter how much you rub!"

"I wasn't rubbing!" Shinji said shrilly, "I was just… er… checking for lumps."

"Suuure," Nozomi drawled. "Anyway, can I borrow your pink lipstick?"

Words sprang to Shinji's lips before he could even think. "Daddy said you can't have makeup until you're twelve."

Nozomi stomped one foot. "Aww, come on!" she protested, "It's just another year! Come on – Kodama lets me!"

This time, Shinji came up with an answer on his own, finding himself rather enjoying this little exchange.

"Well why don't you ask her, then?"

Throwing her hands up in disgust, Nozomi spun around and marched out of Hikari's room, leaving the door open in her wake.

Shinji snatched a bra out of the drawer, slipping his arms into it and quickly fastening it before his curious hands could overrule his brain's commands a second time… because surely he would never CONCIOUSLY order them to cop a feel on a borrowed body.

Not Shinji Ikari!

Only, that's right… he thought, turning towards Hikari's closet, I'm NOT Shinji Ikari… not anymore. Or at least, not right NOW.

Forcing his mind to go into standby mode, Shinji quickly dressed, pretending that he could not understand what the pressure in his abdomen was for as long as he could before hurrying off to the bathroom.

Sitting on the toilet, his (her?) face entirely crimson, Shinji softly moaned the only words that fit his current predicament.

"This sucks…"

Breakfast, fortunately, passed by uneventfully, giving Shinji a chance to think as Hikari's two sisters bickered over who got to eat the last piece of bacon. All he had to do, he reasoned, was make it to school and find Hikari. Then what? Well, he would figure that part out when he got there.

Maybe it's like Freaky Friday, he thought as he and his 'sisters' set out for the train station. But we never had fortune cookies… hell, I've only had dinner with Hikari once, and that was when me and Asuka were training to fight that angel with the dance. So how did this happen??

At the station, Kodama turned to him and said, "Don't lose her or anything, slacker."

Before Shinji could reply, the oldest Horaki girl was hugging him. It was just a quick, sisterly gesture, lasting no more than five seconds, but it was the most Shinji had received in… ever. Asuka certainly was not forthcoming with affection – not that he was sure she even LIKED him – and Misato was always very careful to keep him at arm's length at all times.

As a result, Shinji had to fight very hard to keep from holding onto Kodama as she pulled back and gave a small wave.

"You're being weird."

Shinji nearly jumped. "Wh-what?" he asked, still unnerved by hearing Hikari's voice when he spoke. "What do you mean, Nozomi?"

Hikari's younger sister yawned. "You actually let her hug you," the girl pointed out, sounding vaguely offended. "What ever happened to, 'Oh, Kodama's so fake, being mean one minute and then trying to make nice the next,' huh? You're such a loser! I wouldn't have let her touch me!"

Licking his lips, Shinji tentatively took Nozomi's hand. "Be nice," he said awkwardly, feeling horribly ashamed for finding it so easy to slip into the roll of older sister. "She just… she's got school and stuff. You know she loves you, right?"

Nozomi rolled her eyes. "Duh," she snorted, "of course I know! But you said yourself that she needs to be nicer to us more often."

Shinji sighed.

Being someone else was hard work.

"Well," he said slowly, pulling Nozomi a little closer as the crowd began to surge towards the arriving train cars, "maybe we should try being nicer to her first, ok? Just for a while."

Looking completely put-upon, Nozomi groaned, "Do we have to…??"

How easily, Shinji thought with some shame, the word love came to his lips. As if he had ever had experience with it, or knew how to express it… yet there he was, calmly telling Hikari's little sister that she was loved. What did he know? All he had was the trace feelings left in Hikari's body to go on – what right did he have to tell Nozomi that Kodama loved her?

…how dare he even use the word?

Shrugging awkwardly, Shinji maneuvered Nozomi onto the train. "I'll try if you try," he said truthfully, completely unsure of how he might react to the eldest Horaki the next time he saw her, "deal?"

Nozomi nodded, gazing up at the face of her older sister with a careful, considering expression. "You're… different today," she mumbled. "You're never this nice to me."

"I'm not, huh?" Shinji said thoughtfully. "Do you WANT me to be nice to you?"

Thinking it over as if it was the most important question in the world, Nozomi finally gave an ambivalent shrug. "If you want to," she whispered, her eyes suddenly narrowing suspiciously as a new thought occurred to her. "Did Dad tell you to, or something?"

"No," Shinji said quietly, laying a hand on Nozomi's shoulder. "I just want to."

"Oh."

The doors to the train slid closed, and Nozomi fell silent, leaving Shinji to his thoughts. Unconsciously, he pulled Nozomi closer, resting his wrists on the girl's shoulders in a protective embrace as he asked himself, Why am I doing this?

He knew, instinctively, that he had to maintain the façade as long as he could – at the VERY least, until he had a chance to speak to Hikari (presumably residing in his body, though if she was not, a whole new can of worms would be opened up) and figure out how to get this strange little problem fixed. But to hold her sister like this?

It felt wrong… yet at the same time, it felt so right. Had he EVER been allowed to hold another human the way he was holding Hikari's sister at that very moment?

And I AM her, right now, he told himself, forcing himself to remember that he was literally not himself at the moment, I have to act like she'd act, and do the things she'd do, or people will think she's sick. Nozomi already thinks something's wrong with 'me,' and I can't afford to have anyone take me to the doctor or anything like that. I'd get in trouble – I know I would! Somehow… somehow this is my fault, and I have to­-

"Hikari, let go – this is my stop!"

Shinji immediately raised his hands as Nozomi shrugged to get free of his hold. "Sorry," he said awkwardly, "I didn't… I'm sorry…"

For a moment, Nozomi simply glanced over her shoulder, assessing him closely for a moment. Finally, she turned away, her voice resounding with clearly-forced casualness as she said, "It's ok. And, umm… I don't really, like, MIND if you hug me – you know, sometimes, not ALL the time… ya know…?"

Swallowing a lump in his throat, Shinji nodded, painfully aware of the bobbing pigtails that were not his own, and the blush on the freckled cheeks that belonged to the little girl's sister. "Ok," he said weakly, "Hey, umm… have fun at school."

Nozomi looked back again, her smile now a mixture of surprise and pleasure as she giggled, "You're never this nice – never ever! …did you get a boyfriend or something? Daddy's gonna be mad if you did! See ya!!"

Dashing off the train before Shinji could reply, Nozomi gave a jaunty, backward wave… and vanished into the early-morning crowd.

Shinji spent the rest of the train ride and the subsequent walk to school in contemplative silence. How odd, he thought, that he should feel this calm. He was trapped in another person's body – and a girl's, at that – yet he was not all that concerned. By all rights he should have been running full speed to meet Hikari (provided she actually WAS in his body) and find a way to get back to normal, but here he was, calmly walking into school and waving to Hikari's friends as if nothing was wrong.

She HAS to be in my body, he thought as he approached the classroom door, she sure isn't in here with me! But what if she stayed home sick? What if she freaked out and told Asuka, or Misato? …God, what if she didn't get into my body at all?? What if she just got… got knocked out of this one, and mine is just lying there… dead…?

Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Shinji pulled the classroom door open and stepped inside. Several people waved, but Shinji's eyes went immediately to his normal desk, where he found himself looking, in a twisted sort of way, into a mirror. It gave him vertigo to stare too long, but he found that he could not pull his eyes away, for in his desk sat… him – Shinji Ikari – talking quietly with Touji and Kensuke, just like always.

The worst feeling in the world, however, hit Shinji as his body lifted its head and stared right at him, its face blank and expressionless for a moment, as if it had never seen him before. Then, just as his heart was about to stop, Shinji saw his own face crumple with relief, and he knew, without a doubt, that Hikari was in there.

As he took a step forward, however, someone grabbed him by the arm and hustled him back out. "Hey, what-?"

"Come here."

Shinji swallowed, his feet obeying instantly at the tone of command in that too-familiar voice.

Asuka…

"Ok," the Second muttered, pulling Shinji into an unused classroom, "they won't hear us in here."

"Umm, who won't?" Shinji asked, confused.

"The three stooges, of course," Asuka huffed, "Geez! Who else? Look, I need to talk to you."

"Er, ok…"

Asuka ran a hand through her silky red hair, distracting Shinji with her simple, nearly effortless beauty. "Shinji's acting weird today."

…damn it.

"Weird how?" Shinji asked innocently. "Like… like screaming and saying he's someone else, or-"

"Don't be stupid," Asuka snorted, "he's just, I don't know – weird! Like, he slept in…"

"O…k…"

Asuka growled in frustration. "Shinji never sleeps in!" she said insistently. "He's always up first, you know that… and then when I came to wake him up, he just stared at me for like, a minute, like he couldn't understand why I was there. He said it was because he was having a strange dream, but he kept looking at me and um…"

"And what?" Shinji pressed curiously.

"…pinching himself," Asuka said finally. "I don't think he knew I could see him, but he kept pinching his arm, like he was trying to make sure he wasn't STILL dreaming, or something." Tossing her hair, Asuka smirked. "I know I'm gorgeous," she said nonchalantly, "and having me in his room at all must be like a dream for him… but the pinching? Freaky."

Shinji nodded. "I can relate," he muttered, "I had a weird dream myself."

"Tell me about it later," Asuka said dismissively, "but for now… just watch Shinji. I think he might be like, on drugs or something."

"Really??"

Asuka huffed impatiently. "Of course not, dummy!" she said irritably, "But still… something's up – and I'm going to find out what."

Damn, Shinji thought as the redhead started back towards her desk, now I HAVE to talk to Hikari! If Asuka starts grilling her, she might not be able to keep up. I better do it now, too – it looks like she's gonna go talk to… er, me. God this is confusing!

Shaking his head as Asuka marched off towards 'Shinji,' the Third Child headed back into the classroom, trying to figure out how he was going to keep the redhead from discovering their little secret. As he crossed the threshold, however, something happened that struck him with fear – a possibility he had not even considered on a conscious level, as it was so terrifying that he did not even want to confront it.

The angel alarm began to sound.

"Stay calm," the teacher called unnecessarily, raising his hands to ward off panic as the students – by now long since familiar with this routine – rose slowly to their feet and began gathering their belongings. "Everyone get to the shelter! Miss Horaki – where are you going?"

Shinji came up short at the sharp call. "I was just…"

He trailed off. I'm not Shinji right now, he thought, tasting REAL panic for the first time since waking up in Hikari's bed, Oh God – I'm NOT SHINJI.

Whirling around, he caught sight of Hikari. Her eyes were wide as she scanned the teeming mass of students, and for a moment… their eyes met. The panic faded from Shinji's mind as Hikari gave him a distinct, careful nod. There was nothing they could do about their situation, for now, and if Hikari started shouting that she was not Shinji, there would be a panic the likes of which had never been seen in Tokyo-3.

'Don't worry,' Hikari mouthed, 'I'll handle it.'

Shinji gave her a nod, straightening his back as he mouthed back, 'Be careful.'

Turning towards the door, he called out, "Clear a path for the pilots – you know how this works! Come on, out of the way!"

Asuka raced past him, the smile on her face unmistakable as she hurried off to do what she did best… and a moment later, Hikari followed, sparing a brief, nervous smile for the boy in her body before she too disappeared down the hallway, leaving Shinji with nothing more than a prayer that when the time came, she would know how to fight.

- - - - -

"I'm home!"

Kodama Horaki groaned as she kicked off her shoes, making her way into the house in search of something to eat. The angel alarm had sounded before lunch… and her shelter had only had crackers and water for 'provisions.' Her stomach rumbled loudly as she entered the kitchen.

"Hey, Hikari," she said tiredly, "what are we having?"

"Nice to see you too," Hikari said lightly, carefully stirring a wok simmering on the stove before replacing the lid, "I guess you made it to a shelter ok… thanks for asking if I did – it really means a lot that you care."

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen," Kodama said, rolling her eyes, "I called dad as soon as I was let out of the shelter, and he said you were fine – so don't get all martyr on me!"

"Sorry."

Kodama leaned back in her chair. "That was easy," she said softly, drumming her fingers on the kitchen table. "I thought you'd milk that for a good hour at least. You've been kind of… out of it since you woke up. You feeling ok?"

Glancing over her shoulder, Hikari gave a reassuring smile. "I was having a hard time this morning," she admitted, "but when I was in the shelter with Nozomi, I had a lot of time to figure out what was bothering me."

"And?"

"And I'm better now," Hikari said simply.

"Oh…"

Frowning, Kodama assessed her younger sister, trying to put her finger on what was bothering her. She LOOKED the same… she TALKED the same… she had all the same mannerisms… but Kodama just felt like something was… off.

Must be my imagination, she told herself, shaking her head to clear it, she was acting weird this morning, but she seems fine now.

"So what are you making?" she asked, forcing the strange idea that her sister was different somehow out of her mind.

"Oh, chicken fried rice," Hikari said absently, "I've wanted to make it for a while now, but I could never get it quite right, so I asked someone up at school about it."

"Really?" Kodama said, already losing interest in the conversation. "Who?"

Hikari turned away a faint smile lingering on her lips as she murmured, "No one you'd know…"

With this, Hikari changed the subject… and Kodama never thought to ask again.

The End

Author's notes: saw that ending a mile away, didn't you? This story is over, but there may be an alternate version coming sometime in the future.

No pre-reader was used on this story.

Feedback is welcome on any site with reviewing capabilities, or by e-mailing me directly at random1377(at-sign)yahoo(dot)com.