SHINJI'S BIRTHDAY WISH

by Gunman

Disclaimer: I don't own Eva or any other character, just the story.

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Chapter 1

The Uncle

Shinji Ikari sat at the kitchen table of the apartment he shared with his superior officer Misato Katsuragi and fellow pilot Asuka Langley Sohryu. He was staring at the cake in front of him with the single candle on it. It was his fifteenth birthday, and like all his other birthdays for the last ten years, he was alone.

He wasn't surprised, though. Misato had forgotten, but he had come to accept that in his long stay with her. His father never seemed to care, especially since he had abandoned him at such a young age, not even looking back. Rei was totally indifferent to anyone's 'special day', and Asuka... well to be blunt, she could have cared less if the baka did anything. And his so-called friends Toji and Kensuke had deserted him. Apparently when they learned that Misato wouldn't be attending, they declined to hang out and throw him a party. It was as Shinji had suspected all along.

No one had given him a card or said happy birthday (Hikari had, but he figured her job as class rep demanded it) No one had even punched him fifteen times in the arm for good luck. No, it was just like all his other birthdays... lonely.

No family to share this with, even now. Shinji thought as he stared glumly at the birthday cake.

Even though he had not shared a birthday with anyone in years, Shinji still remembered the old expression about making a wish on your birthday cake and then blowing out the candles. As rumor had it, if you wished hard enough, it would be granted.

What do I want? What do I wish for? That's easy: a family. A close, loving family that would care about me, and who I could care about as well. Isn't that what a family is supposed to be? People who take care of each other because they want to, because that's what love is. He stared at the cake. I wish... he thought as he gazed at the candles. I wish...I wish I had a... a better family.

And with that... he blew out the candle.

Shinji just watched the smoke rising, his eyes transfixed. In his mind, Misato and the others weren't bad people, but he did find it hard to be close to them. Rei was just too detached, Asuka scared him, he was sure Toji just liked him to get in good with Misato, and Kensuke made no secret about his interest in Eva. His father only wanted him because he could pilot Eva, Ritsuko was pretty much the same way, and Misato... was Misato.

Honestly, how could you care for people if they wouldn't let you be close to them?

Shinji stood up to get a glass from the cupboard, and suddenly tripped. He fell to the ground and knocked himself unconscious against the hard kitchen floor. When he woke up, he noticed on the clock he had only been out for about ten minutes.

Asuka would be all over this with insults. Shinji thought as he rose off the floor, holding his head. He looked down and saw that he had tripped over a can of beer. That's odd. Misato hasn't been home and I thought I got every can when she finished last time.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Wonder who that could be? He thought as he went and answered the door.

Shinji opened the door to see three men in black costumes, all brandishing guns.

"This is a kidnapping, kid. Are you going to come quietly, or do we have to hurt you?" the man in front of the other two said.

Shinji didn't need to think about that. "No. I'll come quietly." he said without enthusiasm.

The two men behind the apparent leader looked at each other as the first man spoke.

"Are you playing with us?"

"No. I'll cooperate." Shinji replied as he put on his shoes that were next to the door.

"Uh... right. Let's go then." the leader said.

Shinji stepped outside and was herded off by the two other men while the third stepped into the apartment to have a quick look around. Anyone else in the apartment would be suspicious as to why Shinji had suddenly taken off, so they would have to be dealt with if necessary. It was there that he noticed the cake and smelled the slight fragrance of curtail smoke.

Oh... man.

He left the apartment and headed down to the waiting van.

"Hey, kid?" the third man asked the boy, who was sitting on the floor, his hands not even bound.

"Yes?" Shinji asked meekly.

"It's your birthday, isn't it?"

"Yes." Shinji said sadly.

"And you were celebrating it... alone?"

Shinji said nothing, just nodding sadly. The other two men just looked at each other in confusion.

Man. That's harsh. The man said as he looked at the boy. "Happy Birthday, kid."

Shinji raised his eyes to the man and said, "Thank you."

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The trip to their destination was quiet. Shinji sat on the floor of the van, not making a sound, not even attempting to run or escape.

"What was that about?" one of the kidnappers asked his partner, regarding the 'Happy Birthday' he had sent the boys way.

"The kid was alone for his birthday. No friends, no family. Just.. alone." the other explained.

"So?" he shrugged, confused.

"So, that's why he didn't put up any kind of fight. He was depressed. That's why he came with us so easily. We're the only ones who were paying any kind of attention to him." he replied.

"Jeez, you're reading too much into this." he scoffed.

"Oh? And why didn't you put any cuffs on him?"

"He wasn't fighting. Then again, maybe we should tie him up. If he's depressed he could be a suicide risk."

"Our employer didn't want him harmed. Maybe we should."

"We're here." the driver said to them as he van suddenly stopped.

"So much for that." the first man huffed as he opened the door.

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Shinji was expecting to be taken to a warehouse or something like that. Instead he found himself looking at a very luxurious hotel.

"Here?" he said to no one in particular.

"What? You were expecting a warehouse or something?" the first man said as Shinji noticed that he had changed out of his black outfit, into something a little more... ceremonious.

By that, the man, and his comrades, were wearing black turtlenecks, blazers and pants with polished shoes.

Shinji looked at the man in confusion.

"Our boss doesn't like us wearing our work clothes when we're in more... social settings." he explained as he ushered the boy inside.

They took a special elevator straight to the top floor and were greeted by another group of similarly dressed men, all of whom were carrying small machine guns that Shinji couldn't identify right off. He was sure that Kensuke could have in an instant.

The men in the corridor stared at Shinji, nodded, and quickly parted like the Red Sea as the trio herded the boy towards the large double doors that looked like they were half wood, half metal. It was intricately decorated, as were the walls and floor as Shinji walked forward.

The doors opened and the boy kept walking, but the three men paused and waited on the other side as the doors closed. It wasn't until they did close that Shinji realized they hadn't followed. Suddenly, a new voice caught his attention.

"Well, well, well. Shinji Ikari. I've been looking forward to this." the soft, cultured voice said.

Shinji turned to the direction of the voice and froze in place. The sight before him was that of a very attractive woman with long curly blond hair with a flawless complexion, sparkling blue eyes, and figure to die for. Everything, from her long unblemished legs, to her small, trim waist, to her ample bosom, just screamed 'Perfect' to Shinji. And her black dress, which was cut low in the back with high slits up the sides of the legs, emphasized that fact.

Although that rather predatory grin on her face was making him nervous.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Cecilia VanCastle. I hope your ride over here was comfortable. My men weren't too rough with you, were they?"

"No, ma'am. I didn't want to be a bother to them."

She smiled. "That is just so like you. Please, come and sit."

Seeing nothing wrong with that Shinji made his way to the large couch, which was a shaped into that of a circle with a small section cut out to allow easy access. He sat down on one side of the couch as the woman moved around and sat in the middle. She leaned back and crossed her legs, as if she were showing them off to him.

"Let me explain why you are here. You're a unique individual. Used and abandoned by all around you. And in a way, that's why I brought you here."

"Why?"

"I want you to become my new lover."

That got his attention.

"WHAT?" he gasped, nearly falling off the couch in an instant.

She smiled at him again and moved closer, almost crawling over to him.

"You have tremendous potential, Shinji. And someone like myself can help you achieve that potential. You have lived a terrible life and it is unfair for you to shoulder such responsibility."

"But how does me becoming your... lover... change this?" he asked, backing away as best he could.

"Some things are best if not explained, but shown." she said, suddenly lunging forward and pinning the boy to the couch, hovering over him. "Don't worry. I have no intention of raping you, but it will make things go much smoother if you don't resist."

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Outside the penthouse...

"Do you think she's done the deed yet?" one of the guards asked.

"Jeez, is that all you can think about?" a second asked.

"Well, I've got a hell of an itch and..."

Suddenly, the elevator bell rang.

"Huh?"

The doors opened as three small rockets launched past them.

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The doors to the penthouse exploded open as gunfire followed and filled both the hallways and the penthouse itself.

"What on Earth?" Cecilia shouted as she was practically thrown off of Shinji.

The young man himself, well aware of what gunfire and explosions meant, leaped off the couch and grabbed the blond-woman. He pulled her to her feet and dragged her back to the bedroom. He pushed her in and then started running the other way.

His judgement, however, was misplaced as he noticed out of the corner of his eye a smoking object fly right towards him. It struck the floor just beneath him, the explosion itself catapulting the boy into the air and out the open glass doors of the penthouse. It was also enough to launch the boy clear across the edge of the roof where gravity took over.

He didn't know how many stories the hotel was. Thirty, maybe forty floors if he was lucky. They passed one-by-one, and it wasn't until he passed by the twentieth floor that he noticed something rather odd.

A man, with long brownish hair and dressed in white falling towards him.

Shinji looked at the man in shock as he thrust out his hand to the boy.

"Grab On!" the man shouted.

Shinji immediately complied, somehow managing to grasp the man's left with his right. The man then pulled something out from behind his back.

It was a sword. A unique looking samurai sword.

Fortunately the man was close enough to the building to jam his blade into the concrete and steel of the hotel itself. Sparks and shards of stone were cleaved out as the sword flew down with them, and to Shinji's surprise, was actually slowing their descent.

The ground continued to advance upon them, until slowly, floor by floor, their momentum stopped and their feet touched down slightly hard on the concrete surface.

The boy breathed a sigh of understandable relief as he collapsed to the ground, butt first. The older looking man pulled his sword from the wall, wiped the dust from it and resheathed it at his side.

"Are you alright, Shinji?" the man asked, as he approached the boy, hand outstretched.

"Yes. But... who are you?" he asked, taking the man's hand.

"I'm Shimada Kambei. Your uncle." he said as he pulled the boy to his feet.

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Authors Notes:

Did anyone like that? Shimada Kambei, the leader of the Samurai 7, is Shinji's uncle. I originally had this idea of using Kambei as an uncle, since in the series Komachi, the little sister of Kirara the water priestess, mentions that Kambei reminds her of a grumpy uncle who never smiles. And while at this point I haven't watched all of the Samurai 7 series, I admit that Kambei does strike me as an uncle-kind of person.

I wasn't sure how to proceed with this idea, until I found the EVA/Soul Caliber crossover fic called Stage of History written by Fury Cutter, who I have approval from to use the birthday scene to write this story. Thank you by the way.

Also, because of this, I was inspired to write out a whole series of chapters, currently in development which basically has me giving Shinji an entirely new family. I hope everyone is going to be surprised at who I have chosen for the different roles.

And as always, please read and extensively review.