SELFLESS ACTION 4

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I own nothing as I always have.

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dogbertcarroll: Yes, Yes. Hikari is going to be one of the next pilots. But probably not until the next chapter.

Fifth Horseman: Gendo's gonna need a lot more than Advil and Pepto for what Shinji's gonna do.

NamelessHeretic: Shinji doesn't exactly have an Oedipidus Complex, though he did say to Misato that she was like a mother, though not blood related.

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It had been several days since the 9th Angel had attacked the city. Shinji had Rei moved in with him and Misato after the Angel had destroyed her apartment stomping through the city.

It was in this time, after Shinji had finished his report, after several hours of thinking and writing, he was able to finally relax.

Hmm. He thought as he picked up his bow and set his cello against his shoulder. Hope I haven't forgotten anything.

He started playing.

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Rei Ayanami was sitting on the couch of the living room, quietly reading her book. She had been there for hours since Major Katsuragi had been away at NERV, since she had little to do in the way of extracurricular activities. Because of Gendo the girl had little else to do and little incentive to take up anything new.

She would read and contemplate her life. Her life as an Eva pilot. She had no interest in her school work, going out, or even the simplest things girls her age were interested in.

Shopping, make-up, boys.

Eva was her life. And in a way, it made her sad.

Suddenly, her ears twitched as she heard a soft melody coming from the direction of the room of the Third Child.

She set her book down and followed the sound, stopping briefly at the crook in the door and just listened.

Seconds past, then minutes, and finally well into the second hour when the music stopped. In all that time, Rei had sat down next to the door and just listened to the music coming out.

Shinji emerged from his bedroom after a relaxing two hours and found Rei sitting next to his door.

"Rei?"

"Shinji?"

"What are you..." he paused as he looked over and saw a silvery line fall down her cheek. "Have you been crying?"

"I..." she paused and wiped the tear from her cheek. "I have never cried before."

"What were you doing here? Listening to me play?"

"I heard strange sounds coming from your room. It was so... beautiful. I was captivated."

Shinji smiled. He'd had a reaction from Rei, and that was a good sign.

"Rei... would you like to go and get some dinner?"

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The pair sat at the ramen stand where they simply ate noodles. Shinji had the pork and beef while Rei had the vegetarian bowl.

They said nothing for several minutes, until Shinji was able to unstuff his mouth.

"Is your food alright, Rei-chan?"

"It is... acceptable." she replied.

"Just acceptable? It isn't good? Filling? Nutritious?"

"Yes. It is all of those things."

"Then say that. It's food, Rei, not a piece of paper." he smiled.

"Very well."

Ten minutes later the pair were walking back to the apartment.

Shinji was having a fairly relaxing night of it. There were no Angels, no Eva-training, no call ins to NERV, and he was out with a beautiful girl. It was then that Rei chose to ruin the moment.

"You do not trust your father." she said.

"No. I don't." he replied, his smile failing.

"Why?"

"He abandoned me when I was only a child. He called me back because he had a use for me. A use. He's my father and he didn't even want to see me. He never wrote me, called me, sent me an email. Nothing. He uses everyone in his life. I wouldn't be surprised if he even used my mother for all this. How can I trust a man like that?" he asked.

"He is only doing what he thinks is right." she defended.

"Please don't defend him, Rei-chan. He doesn't deserve it." he spat.

"His job is to defend mankind from the Angels."

"No, Rei-chan. That's our job." he corrected.

The pair arrived at the apartment and went inside before resuming speaking.

"I mean... what would you have me do? Forgive him?" Shinji asked.

"It would help." Rei replied.

"I can't."

"Why?"

"Because, Rei-chan... he's a cold, cruel, manipulative man. He uses other people to accomplish what he wants and gets mad at them when it's not done. And I don't think he had mankind's best interest at heart."

She looked at him curiously. "Why do you say that?"

"The Angels." he stated.

She looked at him.

"Haven't you ever asked why they keep coming here? To Tokyo-3? The only place in the world where we have an effective defense and the countermeasures to fight and defeat them?"

Rei was silent.

"When I was gone from Tokyo-3 for two months I had a lot of time to re-evaluate my life and think about what it was we were doing. I beat my brains out for days and days on end, thinking about the very things I chose to ignore and overlook the first time." he said before stopping to regain himself. "So far we've beaten seven of them, at great cost to ourselves. We've lost two pilots already. Hell, we nearly lost you too."

Rei kept silent at that.

"I don't know what's going on here, or how my 'father' is involved, but I know this: I can't be apathetic or weak anymore. I won't let anyone else be lost if I can help it." he declared.

"And so you are prepared to fight the other Angels, by yourself?" she asked.

"Yes." he said with resolve.

"I see."

"What do you see?" Shinji asked, off-handedly.

"You are much like your father."

It was then that Rei realized she shouldn't have said that.

"What did you say?" he asked, growling as he grabbed her arm and pulling her towards him, staring her dead in the eye. "What Did You Say?"

However, Rei wasn't so easily intimidated. "I said..."

"DON'T! Confuse me with him! I am nothing like that bastard!" he shouted.

Rei felt a shiver go through her.

"Are my eyes cold and lifeless as his? Do I use people to carry out my will? Do I sit behind the shield and barriers of NERV while others go out and face the enemy head-on?" he hissed as he stared at her eye-to-eye. "Or maybe you're right. Maybe I am like him... and I should start with you!"

"You love your mother." she said suddenly.

Shinji's rage died down.

"What?" he asked.

"The commander loved his wife. You loved your mother. In this... you have something in common." Rei explained. "He may never show it, but he does care... about her."

His grip loosened on her arm.

"I... I'm sorry, Rei." he said, looking away from her. "I'm sorry for hurting you."

"No. I was mistaken. You are not like your father."

He looked at her.

"You are kind, brave, and selfless. You have passion and emotion. You face your enemies in battle while the commander sits in his chair away from the danger, where it is safe." she said.

He nodded, at least relieved that she could admit that much.

"But you're right. I did love my mother. I love her still. The only good thing in my life... was her." he said sadly.

The pair were silent for several minutes, unmoving from their positions, before Rei spoke.

"You said before that you should start with me. What did you mean by that?"

Shinji looked at Rei for a second, before slowly moving towards her and gently bringing his lips to her own.

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Shinji and Rei awoke to the pleasant warmth of each others bodies, wrapped tightly against each other as they lay in Shinji's bed. Shinji had only his boxers on, Rei clad in her white panty and bra. Their arms were wrapped around each other tightly, their legs intertwined.

To anyone who saw them it would have been assumed that they just had sex. This was not the case.

Shinji's first kiss to the girl, while passionate, had awoken many feelings within her. She wanted more than just a kiss, which had lead to enthusiastic petting session borne from Shinji's attraction to her and Rei's awakening feelings.

To Rei it was wonderful. The necking, caressing and stripping of clothes had stimulated the blue-haired girl as she had never known. He had touched nerves and places even she didn't know were sensitive to touch.

To Shinji it was as a completion. As if his long-struggling feelings for the red-eyed girl had finally been realized, closing that chapter of his life and starting a new one. With her in it.

(AN: Boy, can I get corny or what?)

"Good morning, Rei-chan." he said as he stared at her.

"Good morning, Shinji-kun." she said as she looked back.

However, before anything else could happen, Shinji's cellphone went off.

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"So, what is this thing?" Shinji asked as he stared at the large monitor of what looked like a gigantic eyeball with two odd-looking limbs hovering in orbit above the Earth.

"Apparently, an Angel capable of dropping pieces of itself onto it's target." Misato explained. "Also, our earlier attempts to disable it with N2-Mines have proven useless."

"So, it's got an AT-Field strong enough to protect it from N2's." Shinji replied as he looked over at another map, which showed the splash areas the Angel was dropping it's parts onto. "It's not hitting anything specific." he noticed.

"No. It's slowly targeting. Getting closer with each drop." Ritsuko explained.

"Closer to us. And how are we going to stop this thing?" the boy asked.

Shinji looked at Misato as a realization hit him.

"You want me to catch it." he said.

"Huh?" Ritsuko gasped.

"How did..."

"If the thing drops down out of the sky in order to destroy it's enemies, then it's gonna drop down onto us, and since it's got an AT-Field, trying to blast it out of the sky is a moot point. Therefore, the plan is to catch it when it falls, using the Eva's AT-Field." Shinji deduced.

Everyone looked at Shinji in shock.

"It'll be difficult for me to catch it alone." he said.

"But you're not alone." Ritsuko said.

Shinji looked over at the blond scientist.

"Rei's Eva is working and she can pilot."

Shinji sighed. "Are you sure of that?" he asked.

"Shinji, what are you saying?" Ritsuko asked.

"Two-against-one are good odds, but if you're right about the range and devastation caused by this thing dropping down on us, it's possible we won't survive. Therefore it's smarter to have just me go in, as I have a better chance of catching it and possibly destroying it. If I don't make it, then you at least have a back-up in Rei to fight the rest of the Angels."

"WHAT KIND OF CRAZY PLAN IS THAT?" Ritsuko shouted, catching the group off guard.

"I hate to sound rude and all, Shinji-kun, but you have the most experience, and fortune, battling the Angels. Rei doesn't. If you die, then she's not going to fare any better than she already has."

"But if there's a chance that I could die, sending both of us out there won't make any difference."

"It'll be better that sending one out to die anyway." Misato said.

"Then if I die, at least I'll take that thing with me." Shinji argued.

"If it's gonna be a suicide mission, then why not send our least valuable pilot?" Ritsuko suggested.

Rei seemed to twitch at that.

"Because she's important to me, that's why!" Shinji stated with anger in his voice.

Rei looked over at Shinji and felt a warm surge go through her.

"Important to..." Misato started to say.

"Exactly what it means, Misato." Shinji said. "I'll pilot this mission alone, on my own, by myself, without anyone else, if I Have To. And I won't fail!"

"How can you be so sure?" Ritsuko asked.

"Because... I'm still alive."

The group looked a little stunned at this.

"Smart-ass!" Misato mumbled with a laugh.

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An hour later found Shinji and his Eva, posted in what was clearly the middle of the city, waiting for the Angel to arrive.

(I still don't like this, Shinji-kun.) Misato said from the command center.

"I don't like it either, Misato-chan. But like I told Rei, I can't be weak, and I won't let anyone else be lost if I can help it." he said.

(You really like her, don't you?)

"Yes, I do."

(I should have figured. So... does that mean you're going to fight for her now?)

Shinji looked at the monitor and smiled. "I made you a promise, Misato-chan. Rei is another strong reason for me to fight."

The purple-haired woman smiled at that.

(The Angel is descending!) Ritsuko suddenly shouted.

(SHINJI, MOVE OUT!) Misato shouted.

Shinji's mental activity pushed to the limit as he gunned the Eva down the stretch of street, using only his eyes to evaluate where the Angel was coming down.

He was not two miles in when he came to a rest on top of a large hill that overlooked the entire city. The Angel was nearly on top of him.

"RAISING AT-FIELD!" Shinji shouted as his Eva exploded with power.

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"Eva 01's AT-Field at maximum!" Maya Ibuki shouted.

"Angel is directly over Eva's position!" Makoto Hyuga shouted.

"Now its all up to Shinji and Unit 01." Misato said, holding her breath.

"Do you think Shinji can do this alone?" Ritsuko asked.

"If anyone can, it's him!"

Off to the side, Rei watched the screen intently.

Please, Shinji-kun. You must win, so you can come back to me!

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WHAM!

The Angel slammed hard into Unit 01's AT-Field, Shinji immediately felt himself buckling.

"Hold It Together, Shinji!" the boy groaned as he pushed the Eva's field to it's maximum.

The Eva's AT-Field had risen to where it was already strong enough to neutralize the Angels field. Shinji was now pushing on the Angel itself, and he was getting pushed down.

I won't fail! I won't fail! I Won't FAIL! He mentally screamed as he forced Unit 01 to push back as much as was possible. FOR MISATO! FOR REI! FOR PENPEN! FOR EVERYONE IN TOKYO-3 AND THE WORLD!!!

Eva's eyes suddenly glowed bright yellow, it's mouth opening wide to let loose deafening roar that was heard all throughout the city and into NERV.

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"MA'AM! I'm detecting another energy spike!" Maya shouted.

"From where? The Angel?" Misato asked.

"No! Eva 01!"

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Originally, both Eva 01 and the 10th Angel had emitted AT-Field's that effectively neutralized each others. But now, as if there was another player on the field, a new energy field took shape, surging out of the purple horned Eva and taking a strange shape around it. Almost like that of a cone-shaped pyramid. The energy field came to a point and exploded off the ground, shooting straight up through the single eye of the gigantic orange Angel, piercing it's core and extinguishing it's blue pattern in one shot.

And that one shot, resulted in a massive explosion for the surrounded areas.

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"Angel's blue pattern has vanished." Maya gasped.

"What about Shinji? Is he alright?" Misato quickly shot out.

"Visual coming up!" Makoto shouted.

On the screen, everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they saw Unit 01 standing in the middle of the decimated field.

(This is... Ikari... any... hear... I'm fine... need pick... would be nice) the static-filled voice of Shinji Ikari came over the line.

"We hear you loud and clear Shinji-kun!" Misato called back. "Sending crews now." she said as she motioned for Makoto to transmit the order.

"He did it... he really did it." Ritsuko said, stunned.

"Yeah. That's my Shinji-kun." Misato grinned.

"No." Rei said as she stepped up to the woman's side. "That is our Shinji-kun." she corrected.

Misato for her part, just grinned and accepted that.

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Author's Notes:

Here it is, chapter 4, and Shinji and Rei have finally gotten together. And I know the battle with the Angel was a little short, but I hope everyone enjoyed it enough to make it seem worth the effort that Shinji quickly put an end to it.

Also, this was mostly a Shinji/Rei chapter as well as a little bit more drama of how he got to be who and what he is now.

Hopefully everyone will like this chapter enough to give me more reviews.

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Omake!

"So, you really want me to catch this thing?" Shinji asked.

"Yes." Misato said.

"And we've got something for you to use." Ritsuko stated.

The group walks down to the Eva cages.

"Oh, for crying out..." Shinji groaned.

"What? I think it's appropriate!" Ritsuko laughed.

"Appropriate? You want me to catch that Angel, with a giant Baseball Catchers Mitt?" he asked, looking at the giant mitt on his Eva's right hand.

"Well... if you've got a better idea?" Ritsuko asked.

Shinji paused for a minute.

"Do you have a helmet, vest, knee pads and foot padding?"

"As a matter of fact..."

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Omake 2!

"You said before that you should start with me. What did you mean by that?"

Shinji looked at Rei for a second, before slowly moving towards her and gently bringing his lips to her own.

"You're breath is tickling me." Rei said as she brought her hand up and pinched his nose before diving in to kiss the boy on the lips.

Needless to say, Shinji passed out from lack of oxygen after a full minute of this.