Shinji Ikari Raising Project

[Dartz]

And more.....

----

Shinji slept at Kotono’s suggestion, despite not feeling tired.

He woke up screaming less than an hour later.

And couldn’t fall back asleep again, for what felt like an age. He didn’t want to fall back asleep again.... not to nightmares like that. He just tried to lay there and enjoy the quiet.

A hundred questions clamoured for answers in his mind, all at once. He’d been promised answers. Eventually. Shinji had the dread feeling deep inside that he wouldn’t like them. Maybe it’d be the best never to know to truth, and be forever in the dark.

Dare the german scientist open the box? Didn’t the cat only die when the box was opened. Left unobserved, the cat would perpetually be alive.

Or something like that?

He took a breath and tried to pull the too-light blanket close.

At least it was.... peaceful. Nothing was expected of him.

“And Kotono. She isn’t a bad person really,”

-----

Most of the mails should be arranged here.... not entirely in posting order. I still have to figure out how to make them fit properly into the narrative of things.

“It’s just starting now, Jet,” said Anika.

She had popcorn and snacks all waiting. The Control room was darkened into a makeshift theater with most of the monitors reporting that they were happily churning away on automatic. An oversized monitor normally used for displaying a map of the asteroid’s tunnels. An image was paused onscreen

Centre frame, a boy with his wet hair held down over his face by it’s own weight.

The cyborg wordlessly took a seat, suppressing a yawn as she crossed her legs. Anika didn’t dare remark on how tired she looked. A wry grin spread across Jet’s face as she squelched down on laughter.

Anika gave her a puzzled stare. “What?”

“Just a message I got. It might be a fun idea when he's feeling better to introduce Shinji to Hideaki Anno,”

“Why?”

“FWHACK!”

She kicked out at the air, the momentum of her leg rocking both her and the seat back. It hung in mid air for a half-second, before crashing back down hard enough to buckle the legs.

Anika winced. A kick like that would break someone.

Jet was chuckling away to herself, allowing a day’s worth of stress to evaporate. She rolled her head to the side to face Anika, “I really don’t want to watch this again right now,”

Anika groaned. “Well it’s your fandom. And that Eva forum just didn’t have a good atmosphere when I started to ask questions,” She eased back, putting her booted feet up onto the desk between keyboard and mouse. “Eva fen really have too high an opinion of themselves. Donut?”

“Thanks,”

Jet ate it in three bites. Anika savoured a little more. The frozen image on the screen waited.

“Speaking of it. Did he just do what I think he just did?”

“Yeah,” Jet confirmed with a nod. “That’s what we’re dealing with. Even if it's not him....”

Anika set the movie playing again. The scene switched for a moment to a shoot of flooded ruins, before settling on a girl laying asleep in bed.

“I didn’t think it’d be like this.” Anika said, quietly.

“What were you expecting?”

“I don’t know. “She squirmed a little, scanning around the room looking for answers from shut-down control panels.” “Something more like me I guess.” She glanced at Jet’s face. “Feel an ‘I told you so’ coming on?

“All I did was remind you of something you should’ve already known,” the cyber said.

“I know. But when I saw the finished frame, all I could think about was that once, I’d been like that.” She tapped herself on the chest. “I’m the same as him. That frame had all the potential to enjoy life and experience things and be happy that I have.” she cast her eyes down at the floor. “I just didn’t want to waste it

Onscreen, the boy was pleading for help. His doppelganger was sleeping down in the accommodation block.

“And that’s how you convinced me,” Jet took a breath. “But still, once he knows he’s going to need guidance from another AI.”

The suggestion was obvious. Anika’s answer was instinctive.

“Why not Mackie?”

The boy’s attempt to wake the girl managed only to rip her hospital gown off.

Jet wore a rueful smile. “He’s my brother and I love him to bits, but someone who uses ‘cockalicious’ as an adjective probably isn’t the best person for the job.”

Anika sighed and closed her eyes.“I know.” She cringed. “And we’re the same basic design and I know how silly it is for me to be worried about telling him what I am. It’s a habit that dies hard,” Her insides were squirming in a way she didn’t think they were able to do. “It’s always tough for me to tell people,”

The screen shifted to an image of a locked door. Anika crossed her arms across her chest, sinking down into herself.

Jet nodded. “I understand. You don’t have to.”

Anika spoke after a moment’s thought. “No... I will,” Her voice was small and uncertain of itself. She glanced back up at the screen and blinked. Her eyes seemed to zoom in. “Did he just do what I think he just did?”

“Yeah,” Jet confirmed, lazily.

Anika squirmed in her chair. “Ewwwwww!”

Jet laughed again, seeming to enjoy her discomfort. When the film was over, and what she'd suspected was confirmed.... she replied to that last message. There was the beginnings of a plan now.

-------

Shinji Ikari was unaware of the fuss being made on his account across the interwave.

He didn’t understand why he felt so well rested, considering how poorly he’d slept. He felt alive and full of energy. He guessed Kotono was still asleep as he padded out and around the living area.

It was cold. But he felt warm inside.

The sun was up outside, illuminating the magnificent desolation beyond the window. The time according to the clock mounted on the wall was nearing 0800 and he decided that the best way to make himself popular, was to cook up a quick breakfast. And it’d be a nice way to thank her.

It certainly made him feel.... normal. He found himself smiling as he dug up ingredients from the refrigerator. There wasn’t much variety, but there was enough to work with. He preferred gas to electric.... but an electric hob was all there was.

At least he wouldn’t have to microwave anything. That ruined the flavour.

Sweet smells and steam permeated the apartment, chasing the dryness out of the air. If he closed his eyes, he could almost pretend that he was back home. He could hear Misato shuffling around as she got ready for a days work, while Asuka slept like a corpse in the room next to him. Penpen was rattling inside the refrigerator.

He fought the resulting image down. And the rattling was a bad motor.

He heaved a sigh. I’ll see them later today, he promised himself. If they picked me up, they had to have picked up Asuka. He felt himself smile

He almost heard her voice snark. “And taken us all the way out into the asteroid belt,”

It seemed a ridiculous idea for about half a second. He was on an asteroid, in deep space. He paused and pondered. There was a time, when the idea of the Evangelion had seemed impossible.

Maybe....

Maybe it was some sort of Lifeboat project, like the moonbase. If Earth was destroyed by Third Impact, humanity would remain. Yes. That was it. In space, there was eternal proof of mankind’s existence.

He heard someone creaking down the the stairs behind him. Kotono was slouching like a zombie, bags hanging under bloodshot eyes.

“Morning,” he said. A sudden pang of guilt reminded him that he might’ve been responsible

She blinked, taking a few seconds to comprehend that he was supposed to be there.

“Morning, Shinji,” she croaked out.

“I cooked a breakfast!” he announced.

Kotono’s brain seemed to be stuck with the handbrake on. “Thanks,” she said, offering a smile that for a brief moment seemed genuine

“It was the least I could do, Ma’am,”

She did after all, cook dinner for him. And take him into her own home. And seemed to be a nice

She scowled at him. “Ma’am is my mother. Called me Kotono, please.”

He gulped. “Yes ma’am...”

Her eyes narrowed.

“Sorry. Kotono,”

He had to force himself to say it, fighting against what felt like years of conditioning.

“That wasn’t so hard.”

Yes, it was. “There wasn’t much here, but I tried my hardest.” His smile was still forced

“It’s hard to get good food this far out in space,” said Kotono, with a sigh. “Anyway, I have to go get dressed, so keep trying.”

She seemed pleased. This was, he concluded, a good thing. He still had no real idea where he was or how he got there, but if the people there liked him, it couldn’t hurt.

And, as Kotono’s breakfast cooled uneaten on the table while the shower continued to hum. Hot food was making him feel just a little lethargic, but comfortable. She reappearred thirty three minutes later, looking fresh, clean and newly made straight from some ancient pre-impact animé.

“You took too long. It went cold,” he explained.

She shrugged. “I’ll microwave it,”

Which would ruin the flavour. He sighed again. She probably didn’t even care.

The microwave began to humm. Shinji blinked, craning his head around. It was humming a tune.... a definite tune as it cooked. She sat herself on the counter-top beside it, crossing her legs and dancing her foot in time with the tune. Disco lights flickered inside to cooker, following the rhythm,

Why would a microwave humm like that?

“So Shinji,” Kotono interrupted him, before he even had a chance to speak, “I’m going to give you the grand tour today. You can meet everyone here,”

“Asuka, Misato?”

A pause. She looked at the microwave. Only ten seconds to go.

“They aren’t here,” she answered, the cheer draining from her voice.

The question which followed should’ve been obvious

“Then where are they?”

Another pause. She took an obvious breath. The microwave finished with a flourish, a light show and a crystalline ‘ding!’. Her soft smile returned.

“You should get dressed while I finish this, That way we can leave as soon as you’re ready,”

It didn’t matter how polite she spoke, or how gentle her voice was, It wasn’t optional. She was hiding something behind that smile of hers.

For his own benefit, no doubt. She was just like the others.

The bathroom was luxuriously appointed with fully tiled floors and walls, polished spotless, with drop-drying towels hung neatly away on chromed hangers. Misato always left such a mess! He smiled sadly at his reflection in the mirror, before undressing himself. He folded his nightware, placing it tidily beside the sink, then stepped into the bath and setting the shower running.

He stood there for far longer than he expected, letting the water spray against his face. Something about the heat seemed to drain the energy right out of him, slowing his mind and body down into a dull lethargy that seemed oddly soothing.

Here I am.

He sniffed once to clear his nose, then let out a solitary whine from deep inside his throat, watching water drain down the plughole while trying to convince himself that it really was only water running down his cheeks.

“Shinji! Are you done yet!”

His eyes snapped open.

Zoned out. Back to reality.

He dried himself off, swallowing a deep gulp of air as he yawned. He hadn’t been tired earlier, but he was about ready to fall over now. He could feel himself slowing down.

The value of a hot shower.

A toothbrush had been labelled for his use, and he was mildly startled to find that he didn’t need a razor. Even if he hadn’t shaved himself more than once every couple of days... there should’ve been something other than bare skin.

Bare skin everywhere.

Not unusual... the plugsuit required it..... but there should’ve been some growth. It must’ve been days. It must’ve been.... how long? How long would it take to get into space. There was a small part of it that seemed beyond belief.

Maybe beyond the window was a massive screen. Or a movie set.

He wrapped himself from the waist down in a towel. People were alive and that was a good thing. There was something going on behind his back. It was that same feeling he used to get as he walked the corridors Geofront. There was something beneath the surface.

And, thinking on that, he really wasn’t certain he wanted to find out what was happening here.

He sighed and opened the door, a blast of colder, dryer air reinvigorated him, mind and body. People were alive and that was a good thing.

------

"Even if if Shinji's memories aren't real, the feelings behind them are," That's Jet's response boiled down into it's constituent components. There's a reason why she considers Mackie to be her brother after all.... they were hardware linked when he first awakened.

Now it's a race against time to get him to bond with Anika/Kotono/Mackie or Jet herself before he finds out..... so that either he rides through it with their support, or if it does cause him to breakdown, he'll want to grab onto one of them and he can be pulled back that way. If that don't work..... they're out of ideas.

Backup plan.... an apartment will be prepared for Sora and Shinji. Because sending him immediately away to Stellvia will just make him think he's being sent away again. Which would be even worse....

There's not much more that can be said... I think. But I had it all planned to be discussed in the story later.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?