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Santo's Workshop
Fiction, fan and original. And pictures of painted wargame miniatures.
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I try not to work on a week to week basis. I normally try (and sometimes fail) to keep a buffer and give myself some wriggle room for posting the next chapter.

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Displaying posts with tag TechnicallyNotIncest.Reset Filter
Santo's Workshop

Kaiju Slaying For Death And Profit Ch 27

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Kaiju Slaying For Death And Profit Ch 26

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Kaiju Slaying For Death And Profit Ch 25

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Kaiju Slaying For Death And Profit Ch 19

Woweee, this one was a doozy to write I'll tell you hwat.
Also one of the chapters I'm most nervous of, because it's an attempt to tackle the more...out there bits of Evangelion in way that that's still entertaining.
We will see how successfully I did that. Do let me know with a like or a comment.
Here is the chapter, hope you enjoy!
=][=
15 Hours 58 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
I leaned back against the seat of the Entry Plug, staring out into the white nothingness all around Evangelion Unit 01.
“Well.” I said with a huff. “That could have gone better.”
37 Hours Ago. Location: NERV HQ, Synchronization Testing Facility
[Type-B harmonics test, results nominal.]
[Adjustment values are all green.]
Misato yawned, listening to the results being called out for the test on the three Pilots’ synchronization with half an ear.
The Marduk Institute, the selection committee that screened the global population for potential Evangelion Pilots was a sham, a front, a façade. It was over a hundred shell corporations used to launder money and funnel funding into NERV’s coffers, amounts that dwarfed even the gargantuan sums that NATO provided.
“Pardon me for saying ma’am.” Hyuga said out of nowhere, looking up from his station. “But you seem really tired today.”
Misato gave him the most confident smile she could. It felt like a sickly thing dying on her face. “Stuff happens you know? Outside of work.”
“Kaji stuff?” Ritsuko asked with her trademark infuriating tiny smirk.
“Shaddap!” Misato snapped and turned back to the screen showing the three Pilots. “Anyway, how are the Children doing?”
Ibuki leaned back with a smile and nodded at her screen. “Here, have a look.”
Misato leaned over her shoulder to look at the screen, where she saw a graph which showcased three lines. Two of those lines had valleys and peaks, rising and falling, ranging from as little as forty-three percent, to as high as eighty-two. The third line, in contrast, was a plateau, rising up to ninety-six percent and remaining there, rock steady.
Ibuki swelled up with pride, a big smile on her face that made Misato worry a little bit. “As expected, Shinji has the best synchronization rate of the three. It hasn’t dipped once since the test began.”
Misato grunted. “I wonder if he’d feel happy to know that he’s doing well. Though I probably shouldn’t tell him.”
“You think praise will get to his head?” Ritsuko asked, jotting something down quickly on her clipboard.
Misato scowled. “I think he’ll just grunt and not care.”
“Well, only one way to find out.” Ritsuko said, going back to her clipboard.
“Easy for you to say.” Misato muttered. She debated letting him know, then decided to run an experiment. “Hey, Ibuki, let Shinji know he’s doing the best on this test as well.”
Ibuki blinked. “Me, ma’am?”
“Yup.” She said, and opened a comm-line to Pilot 01.
“Wha!?” Ibuki yelped.
One of the screens showed Shinji, arms crossed, eyes closed, his breathing slow and steady. Most likely having recovered from the last time he got hurt piloting the EVA. While Ibuki was looking about like a deer in the headlights, Shinji opened one eye and seemed to stare back from the other side of the screen.
[What is it?]
“Oh! H-Hey, Shinji. Just uhh…just wanted to let you know you’re doing the best out of everyone in the test!”
Shinji opened his other eye. “Is that so?”
“Yeah! By as much as fourteen percent!”
Shinji blinked. “Huh, neat. Thanks for letting me know.”
“Of course!”
The communication channel was cut, and Ibuki leaned back into her chair with a sigh, then pouted at Misato. “Ma’am, please don’t spring that on me! I was so nervous I almost stuttered!”
“Almost?” Hyuga asked with a grin, only for Ibuki to stick her tongue out at him.
“Honestly? You probably did better than I would have.” Misato muttered, looking at the readout for Pilot 01, both Rei and Asuka’s synchronization had dipped as Maya had informed them of Shinji’s primacy in the test, breaking their concentration, Asuka’s more so than Rei’s.
Shinji’s had remained at exactly ninety-six percent.
Ritsuko assured her that Shinji’s history of insanely high synchronization rates were due to a combination of adrenaline and desperation, along with quite a bit of talent on his part.
But she had a nagging feeling that her friend was keeping things from her.
Again.
35 Hours 22 Minutes Ago. Location: NERV HQ, Elevators
She wasn’t the best.
That was a truly bitter pill to swallow.
Asuka Langley Soryu, once known as humanity’s greatest hope for survival. Was second fiddle to a dumb boy with muscles where his brain was supposed to be.
She’d known his numbers were better than hers. He had more solo-kills on Angels, after all.
But fourteen percent.
Fourteen.
Percent.
Ikari Shinji was, at base, worth 1.14 Asuka Langley Soryus. That was not counting his historic two-hundred-and-thirty percent synchronization. The only Pilot in history to have reached such a high synchronization percentage and lived without severe consequences.
If you included those, one Ikari Shinji was worth almost three Asuka Langley Soryus.
“What crawled up your ass and died?” He asked suddenly, giving her the side-eye.
Rather than the scathing retort that should have come out, what she said was. “Why do you pilot the Eva?”
She met his stare evenly, as both him and the First Children looked at her consideringly.
Shinji sighed. “You know, if it were anyone else asking, I’d tell them ‘Because it’s a job’ and leave it at that.” He twisted his head, his neck eliciting several loud popping sounds. “But being honest? It needs to be done, and someone else might get it wrong.” He gave her a wolfish grin. “The exorbitantly high salary is a very nice bonus though.”
Asuka scoffed.
At least he wasn’t a braggart.
Still, she refused to be left in his dust.
21 Hours 15 Minutes Ago. Location: Ikari Shinji’s Apartment
“Bam-bam-bam bam-bam bam-bam, bam-bam-bam bam-BAM! Mister Sandmaaaaaan, bring me a dreaaaaam! Make him the cutest, that I’ve evah seeeeeen!”
Rei watched as Shinji’s massive form performed a crude dance in front of the stove as he sang off-beat in English, feeling…something. Elation mixed with a bubbly feeling.
“Give him two lips, like roses and CLOVAH! And tell ‘im that his lonely nights are OVAH!” He sang, giving the pan he wielded a shake, then flipping the pancake he was making. It settled back with a slight hissing sound, its top a mixture of browns and whites. “Saaaandmaaaaaan! I’m so a-LOOOOOONE! Don’t have no-BODY to call mah-OWN!”
He was wearing a brown apron with the words ‘Don’t Kiss The Cook’ written on it in English, the word ‘Don’t’ crossed out.
“Something something MAGIC BEAAAAAAAAANS!”
Rei smiled and drank her tea, as her Shinji amused himself while making pancakes. The tea warming her from the inside out, as her Shinji’s singing, subpar as it was, made her feel warm in a different way.
Breakfast was delicious as usual.
16 Hours 37 Minutes Ago. Location: NERV Headquarters, Hallways
The Angel Attack Alert resounded through the facility as Misato ran to the Control Room.
[Evacuation of Nishi Ward requires five more minutes.] Said Naomi’s tense voice over the intercom.
[Target is advancing at two-point-five kilometers per hour.] Informed Akihiko.
She finally reached the door to the Control Room and sped through.
“You’re tardy.” Ritsuko immediately chastised her.
“I’m sorry!” Misato said breathlessly and turned to Aoba. “What happened to the radar site on Mount Fuji!?”
Aoba turned back and tucked his long hair behind his ear. “It wasn’t on their scopes! This thing appeared up above out of nowhere!”
Hyuga piped up. “Pattern orange! No AT field has been detected!”
Misato scowled. “What does that mean!?”
“It must be a new type of Angel!” Ritsuko half asked half stated.
Maya looked at them over her shoulder from her station. “The MAGI are holding back on any assessment!”
Misato stared at the huge black and white sphere on the screen and growled out. “Dammit, of course Director Ikari would be absent at a time like this!”
She watched the Angel creep ever closer before turning to Ritsuko. “What’s the status on the Evas?”
“They’re being scrambled.” Ritsuko said, reading through telemetry on one of the screens. “They’ll be ready to deploy in three minutes.”
True to her words, the Evas were soon creeping upon the location of the possible Angel.
“Pilots, can you hear me?” She asked into the intercom. Once she received three affirmatives she continued. “We’ve sent you everything we know about the target. I know it’s not much to go on, so approach the target with caution and gauge how it reacts. If possible, you are to lure it out of the city’s airspace.”
On the screens, Shinji checked the action on his Pallet Rifle, Rei hefted the 457mm Evangelion Sniper Rifle, and Asuka hefted the Evangelion sized pistol and the ax.
“One of you will lead, and the rest will provide cover. Understood?”
Asuka scoffed over the comm. [I’ll take the lead! You two follow me!]
Misato blinked. “Uhh…”
[I dunno Asuka, I’ve got a bad feeling.] Shinji said scowling.
[Stop being a baby and follow me!]
“W-Wait!” Maya said as the three Evas redeployed. “Bad feeling how!?”
On one of the drone feeds, Misato saw Unit 01 peek at the possible Angel through an alleyway. [Not sure, something’s off though. Can we get a bird’s-eye-view of the target? Something giving us a top view would be ideal.]
“Kaede, send a drone up!” Maya said, not stopping to clear her action with Misato.
“On it!” Kaede clipped back, one of the drone feeds changing, the ground falling away as it gained altitude.
[Whatever, just get going!] Asuka growled and Unit 02 surged forward.
[Unit 00 will provide support.] Rei said.
[Ugh. Unit 01, providing support. Get me that top view!] Shinji said and cut comms.
Misato scowled. Not liking that they hadn’t asked for her orders before following Shinji’s suggestion. Or the fact that Asuka had just decided she was in charge, rather than waiting for her decision.
“Cocky little kids.” Misato growled.
“Looks like they’re all grown up.” Ritsuko said with a grin. “You must be so proud.”
“Asuka is gonna get such a talking-to.” Misato grumbled.
There was a tense silence as the Evas repositioned, the three Pilots coordinating surprisingly well as they created a kill-box around the Angel.
“I have that bird’s-eye-view!” Kaede suddenly announced.
“Sending it now!” Maya said and transmitted it to the Evas.
Shinji studied it as he repositioned to be closer to Asuka, as Rei set up Unit 00 bracing the sniper rifle against a building.
[Something’s off…] Shinji said, scowling at the picture. [But what?]
“Go into detail Shinji.” Misato demanded.
He zoomed in on the feed. [It has to do with its shadow…] He muttered. [Something’s off about it…]
[Blah blah blah, shadow whatever.] Asuka said with a bloodthirsty grin, she leaned out from behind a building she was using as cover and aimed the pistol at the Angel. [Brenn in der Hölle, du dummes Streifen-Schwein!]
[No, wait!] Shinji shouted, but he was too late. Asuka fired three rounds, and the Angel disappeared.
[Was zur Hölle!?]
[It’s the shadow! It didn’t vanish!] Shinji called out, surging forward. [The Angel is the shadow! The orb is a decoy!]
Alarms rang out through the Control Room.
“What is it!?” Misato demanded.
“Angel located, pattern Blue!” Hyuga shouted. “It’s right below Unit 02! It’s the shadow!”
On the comms, Asuka screamed.
[What is this!? What’s going on!? Let me go you-whah!?]
On the screens, they got to see Unit 02 sink into the shadow on the ground up to its calves, before Unit 01 rushed in, crashed into it, and lifted it bodily over its head.
[Allez oup!] Shinji said, and tossed Unit 02 ass over teakettle, sending it crashing into the top of a nearby building. He then stabbed his pallet rifle into the building next to him and pushed down.
The rifle tore through the building as if it were made of cardboard, Unit 01 sank into the shadow to its knees.
[Oooh, oooooh no, oh instant regret.] Shinji said, sounding disgusted more than anything.
“Shinji! Shinji get out of there!” Misato ordered.
[Ooooh, oh this is disgusting.] He continued, seemingly oblivious, Unit 01 sinking its hands into the building next to it and tearing chunks out of it as it continued to sink. [How can something be hot and cold and wet and dry and slimy and coarse all at the same time? Oooh no, oh this is disgusting. Instant regret.]
[Shinji!] Rei shouted as Unit 01 sank to its upper chest.
“Eject the entry plug!” Misato shouted. “Send the signal!”
Maya input the command. “Negative! There’s no response!”
[This is not my fetish! Ooooh I am kink shaming, I am so kink shaming!] Shinji said as Unit 01’s head went under, their very last sight its right hand grasping futilely at the air, in the seconds before it was fully submerged, the hand formed a thumbs up, then disappeared entirely into the Angel’s shadow.
[Shinji!] Rei’s scream held such despair that it twisted Misato’s guts. She hefted the rifle and fired, the Angel disappearing again and reappearing over Unit 02, the buildings around it shuddered, then began descending slowly into the shadow.
“Units 00 and 02. Retreat!” Misato ordered.
[Please wait! Shinji and Unit 01 are still in there!] Rei said.
“You have your orders! Withdraw!” She growled as Unit 02 began hopping from rooftop to rooftop until it could escape the radius of the ravenous shadow.
12 Hours Ago. Location: Tokyo-3 Downtown, Temporary NERV Headquarters
Maya paced back and forth waiting on the results from the latest scan.
“You know, that scanner will take just as long whether you’re sitting or standing.” Ritsuko said.
Maya looked over her shoulder at the doctor, and for once did not feel the respect she usually felt. “When we reeled in the umbilical cable there was nothing attached. Shinji might have run out of power by now!”
Ritsuko shook her head. “He’s smart enough to shut down the Eva and run life-support exclusively. That would buy him roughly sixteen hours. Meaning we have twelve more hours to figure out a plan to get him out of there.” She turned from her calculations and stared hard at Maya. “Throwing a tantrum and looking scared will do nothing other than worry those who are depending on us to figure this out.”
Maya grit her teeth, then resolutely sat down. Taking the chastisement for what it was and clasping her hands together so hard her fingers hurt. She had to, otherwise they would shake so hard it’d be impossible to hide.
6 Hours Ago. Location: Tokyo-3 Downtown, Temporary NERV Headquarters
[Second tank platoon is in position.]
[Roger, hold current position and stand by.]
[Opening sub laser comm line. Send specs!]
[Affirmative! Broadcasting on line Charlie.]
Asuka kept half an ear on the chatter over the radio. The Eggheads Misato brought with her nattering on about useless crap.
She stared hard at the Shadow. It hadn’t moved over the last ten hours.
“That idiot.” She muttered, her hands trembling as she clutched them into fists as tightly as she could. “Who asked him to do that? I could have gotten myself out of that situation without trouble!”
The lie sounded hollow in her own ears.
While pacing back and forth, she saw the First Children walking toward Unit 00, and rushed after her. “Hey, hey Rei! Rei wait up!”
If anything, Rei walked faster, but Asuka caught up nonetheless and grabbed her shoulder. “Rei!”
Rei shoved her hand off. “Leave me alone!”
“Wait, Rei, please.” Asuka said. “I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
Rei finally turned to look at her, and Asuka was taken aback. Her eyes were red, well, redder than usual, puffy from crying. And glaring daggers at her.
“And I said. I don’t want to talk to you.” Rei stated, her voice, usually so stoic, trembling with emotion.
“Rei…I…I’m sorry.” Asuka repeated lamely.
Rage flashed in Rei’s ruby eyes, and Asuka felt her whole world rock as an impact to her head sent her reeling. Her cheek started to sting a moment later, and that’s when she realized Rei had slapped her.
“He told you to wait!” Rei shouted, trembling from head to foot. “He told you to wait but you never listen!”
Asuka blinked, working her jaw, feeling coming back to her cheek and making it burn. “I…”
“And now he is lost to us!” Rei continued, then hugged herself, her legs seemingly giving out beneath her as she fell and sat on the floor. “The Evas take priority. Whatever they do, they’ll sacrifice my Shinji to get Unit 01 back.”
“Oh, oh Rei I’m so sorry.” Asuka said, kneeling next to her friend. “Rei I’m…I’m so sorry!”
“He gave me warmth.” Rei whispered, fresh tears falling from her eyes and staining her cheeks. “I was fine before he came, because I didn’t know what warmth was. But now the sun is gone, taken away, and they’re going to snuff it out to get the Eva back. They’re going to kill my Shinji. I’ll never have warmth again.”
Not knowing what to do, Asuka hugged the crying girl, her own eyes burning as Rei continued to whisper brokenly. Repeating “My Shinji,” over and over.
“Oh Rei, I’m so sorry.” Asuka repeated, trying and failing to comfort the girl.
“What am I going to do?” Rei demanded. “How will I go on?”
“I…I…” Asuka tried to come up with an answer to Rei’s questions, but merely found herself repeating. “I’m sorry.”
She really was the worst.
3 Hours Ago. Location: Tokyo-3 Downtown, Temporary NERV Headquarters
“So that shadow is the Angel’s main body?” Misato asked.
“Correct.” Ritsuko said, illuminated by floodlights as night had well and truly fallen several hours ago, she stood in front of a white board with a whole lot of stuff that went right over her head. At least all the analysts that usually populated the NERV Control Room seemed to be able to follow along. “The Angel is three nanometers thick with a diameter of six-hundred-and-eighty meters. That extremely thin space is supported by an inward AT-field. Creating an imaginary numbers space. The Dirac Sea. My best guess is that it creates a pocket universe.”
“What’s a Dirac Sea?” Misato heard Kaede’s whispered question.
“It essentially means ‘void.’” Maya whispered back.
“Why didn’t she just say that?”
Ooookay, that was one question taken care of. Misato raised her hand. “And what about that sphere?”
“It vanishes when the main body’s imaginary numbers circuit closes.” Ritsuko said, seemingly disinterestedly. “That object floating above is the true shadow.”
Misato looked over her shoulder at the sphere. “So our target…is the shadow that enveloped Unit 01.” She grit her teeth. “Is there anything we can do to it?”
1 Hour 30 Minutes ago. Location: Tokyo-3 Downtown, Temporary NERV Headquarters
“You want to what!?” Misato demanded.
“We broadcast a warning into the shadow, then drop our entire stock of nine-hundred-ninety-two N2 mines at its center. With precise timing, the remaining Eva units employ their AT Fields to interfere with the Angel’s imaginary numbers circuit for one millisecond. At that instant we focus the explosive energy to destroy the Angel, along with the Dirac Sea that forms it.”
“Can the Eva unit even withstand that? What would happen to Shinji?” Misato demanded.
Ritsuko closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “Top priority on this mission is the recovery of Unit 01, we cannot afford to lose an Eva unit with more Angels still to go. With any luck, the warning we will transmit will reach him, and he will activate Unit 01 just long enough to shield himself with its AT Field.”
Misato sighed, then took a deep breath and shouted. “Dammit! Dammit, dammit dammit dammit!” She forced herself back into control. “Okay, let’s get this done. The sooner it starts, the greater the amount of time Shinji will have to work with.”
“He’s pulled miracles before.” Ritsuko said, turning to glare at the Angel. “Even now, he is fighting it, I know it.”
Misato scoffed. “Knowing Shinji? He’s giving it indigestion.”
15 Minutes Ago. Location: Tokyo-3 Downtown, Temporary NERV Headquarters
Maya looked at her readouts and timers, and did what she could to swallow the queasy dread she felt. “Ma’am, if Shinji did think to immediately power-down Unit 01, then the Eva should be almost out of power, his suit’s Life Support won’t hold out much longer either.”
Ritsuko sighed. “You’re right. Get Major Katsuragi on the radio, ask her to work with the UN forces to speed up the timetable by twelve minutes. Damn NATO forces and their damnable red tape.”
Maya looked at her gauges, feeling powerless as Makoto made the call and did what he could to fight through bureaucratic feet dragging.
She clutched at her chest.
He would be fine.
The Miracle Pilot would be fine.
Shinji would not let them down, not while they still needed him.
She could only wonder how he had held up while inside the Angel.
15 Hours 30 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
“Bored…bored bored….BORED!” I shouted into the cockpit.
I really should have demanded a refresher on what the hell might happen in this damn reality!
I vaguely recalled a conversation the original Shinji would have had with this Angel, so I’d dropped every Defense I had in sequence with the hope of kickstarting said conversation…but so far nothing.
Ugh.
Really, there was nothing for it but to wait until it made contact.
Good news though. I had books.
12 Hours 15 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
I closed the book in my HUD. Done with reading for the day.
And still nothing.
“Oi! Angel creature man! I’m right here!” I shouted into the plug. But waiting, I received no response.
Maybe if I sing to it?
11 Hours 40 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
“I know a song that goes on and on and on! It never stops, no it never stops! I know a song that goes on and on and on! And this is the fifty-seventh veeEEEEeeerse!”
10 Hours 2 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
“And another one down! And another one down! Another one bites the dust! Hey! I’m gonna getchu too! Another one bites the dust!”
8 Hours 47 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
“Something something EEEEEYEE, of the Tiiiiigeeeeeeeeer!”
5 Hours 32 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
“Yes, this is a fertile land, and we will thrive.” Said the left hand, its fingers set in a bill that opened and closed as it talked. “We will rule over all this land, and we will call it…This Land.”
The right hand, set into an aggressive claw, turned to the left and opened and closed as it said in an exaggerated growl. “I think we should call it your grave!”
“Gasp!” The left hand did not gasp, it said the word. “Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!”
The right hand cackled evilly then lunged at the left, closing around its wrist and shaking like a dog that caught a squirrel.
“Oh no!” Gasped the left hand. “Dear god in heaven! Such evil should not stand!”
“Your god has abandoned you!” The right hand said, surprisingly without issue with its mouth being full. “Only I, Evil One remain! And I shall rule over This Land!”
“You will fall!” Prophesied the left hand. “As do all Tyrants in time!”
2 Hours 38 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
I stared at what I had decided was the plug’s ‘ceiling’.
I’d tried powering up the Eva for a second to see outside, but there was nothing other than a white, seemingly endless void.
I had been waiting for over twelve hours. No contact.
“Okay. Fuck it.” I said and sat up. “Time for a food break.”
I set a portal to my Mansion and activated it.
And got an error message.
The fuck?
Looking at it…my position could not be accurately triangulated due to dimensional interference.
That…that was suboptimal.
That was very suboptimal.
But it’s fine, it’s okay. I can fix it.
Somehow.
It’s fine.
I summoned a sandwich to munch on while I brainstormed and got an error message.
‘I’m sorry, but we do not deliver to imaginary locations. Please return to a real reality and repeat the request.’
I…imaginary location…it wasn’t a true pocket dimension. It was an imaginary pocket dimension.
That…
That complicated things.
Okay. Okay, it’s fine.
I can fix this!
I brought up my HUD. My current Template couldn’t do anything with this, but I could splice in a Template that would let me fix this!
Sure, I only had three Credits, but under the circumstances I would be fine getting a small loan. Once I killed and captured the Angel I would immediately pay it off.
It’s fine, I’ve got this.
I could not reach the Catalog due to dimensional interference.
That…
Okay…okay, it’s fine. It’s fine.
It’s not fine, it’s not fine!
2 Hours 35 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
“Okay I can do this, all I’ve gotta do is kill the Angel. I’ve done this before. I’ll be okay! Except how the fuck am I gonna kill the Angel when it’s a whole-ass pocket universe!?”
2 Hours 34 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
“Why!? Won’t!? This!? Fucking!? Hatch!? OPEN!?”
2 Hours 33 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
“FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-!”
2 Hours 32 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
“It can’t possibly end like this! I had such a good run! Dimensional interference!? Pish posh! I work for the Company! The multiversal entity that…cuts every corner to save on budget even though it has access to essentially infinite resources.”
“…”
“FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFU-!”
2 Hours 30 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
The Help Desk line answered, my heart soaring with hope.
‘We’re sorry, we cannot process your call right now. Please hang up and try again.’
“FFFFFUUUUUU-!”
2 Hours 15 Minutes Ago. Location: Dirac Sea
I lay back against the pilot’s chair, sweaty, angry, hungry, and more than a little exhausted.
“Fuck this shit.” I spat. “I’mma nap.”
I closed my eyes…and couldn’t sleep.
“FU-!”
??? Ago. Location: ???
I blinked as I looked around, the familiar pipes of Waifu’s Pride’s plasma reactor greeting my eyes.
What? When did I get here? Did I fall asleep in here again? That was not good, the last time I’d gotten enough rads that I had not been able to get any x-rays done for months.
“Why is it that with the freedom to do anything, you remain in a dangerous place where you have to slave away for hours for the profit of another?”
I blinked and…saw a kid wearing a black and white striped shirt, his face hidden in shadows cast by the lights and pipes.
I opened my mouth to tell him he wasn’t supposed to be here, the child-worker approved ducts were in another section, when I remembered that I wasn’t part of the Slutlife Engineering Mechanics Electricians and Nano-machinist division anymore. I was a fully-fledged Agent, the ornery old warhorse had been sent back to the Blood Wars and claimed the lives of a few hundred thousand demons before once again being forced back for repair and refit.
I couldn’t be here.
No…I wasn’t here. I was in the plug of Evangelion Unit 01, I was swallowed by the Angel when I tossed Asuka out of it, assuming I’d be able to stomach the isolation better than her.
“Seriously? I had to take a nap for you to show up and talk to me?” I asked scathingly.
“Your mind was too guarded. It took some time for your defenses to lower and your mind to open up.”
I blew out a breath. “Right right. Fuckin’. So, who are you anyway? Why are you talking to me?”
“I would say I am you…but you are not you. And yet you are.” The thing projecting itself as a child tilted its head. “You are and aren’t you. You are more like Us than those of your Kind. An Outsider.”
I grinned. “Fuckin’ ding ding, you win the prize!”
“Why do you fight so hard for Them? They aren’t Yours.”
“It’s the job.”
“You finished the job. You could have left any time. And now you can’t. Why do you fight so hard for Them? They aren’t Yours.”
I grit my teeth in anger. “I said it’s the job!”
“You have butchered the others that Could Have Been. Trapped their Souls. You risked limb and life, a life so far outside Their understanding, most would be broken by what you represent. Objectively, your life is worth more than all of Theirs. And yet you risk it for those who are objectively your lesser. Why do you fight so hard for Them? You are an Outsider, they aren’t Yours.”
This kid was really starting to piss me off.
“They have the right to Life!” I spat. “They have the right to make the best life they can! They have the right not to have their whole existence rendered down into soup for the profit of a few extremely rich dumbasses with a crippling fear and death and illusions of godhood!”
“Don’t We have the right to Life? They took this world from Us. We were supposed to be those who would populate this world, yet it was They who were allowed to thrive.”
I scowled. “Everything has the right to Life.”
“Then why do you eliminate Us? We are each a Nation, each a possibility for those who would have walked upon this World, the ending of one of Us is equivalent to genocide.”
I showed it my teeth. “Because the right to Life is a right to struggle. Ninety-nine percent of everything that ever lived has gone extinct. And a minute amount of that number was wiped out by Man. If you can’t cut it? That’s on you.”
“That isn’t fair.”
“Life isn’t fair. Life doesn’t care. Life embraces only the most resilient survivor. If that doesn’t prove to be you, then tough shit.”
“Most of Them are not like you. You are stronger, faster, and have greater mental acuity. They are not resilient survivors, you are. Does that not mean that They should fall, and You should remain?”
“The duty of the strong is to bear the infirmities of the weak!”
“Compared to you, We are weak. How can you claim to bear the infirmities of the weak, when you yourself murder those who are weak? When you keep our birthright from Us.”
I grinned savagely. “That’s the beauty of being a Man. If we want something? We take it. If we can’t take it? We make it! You think you can just take the world? Well, you are welcome to try, but even if you manage to take it from us, your victory will be hollow. All you will inherit is a lifeless, irradiated ball of dirt and poison, because we don’t give a shit that you got here first, it’s ours now!”
“And yet you claim to be better than Us? You, who would destroy the Cradle if you would be unable to keep it?”
“Yeah, let’s skip the ‘we are not so different you and I’ that’s sure to come after this bit.” I said, surging to my feet and stalking toward the Child/Angel. “Life isn’t fair, survival of the fittest, existence is pain, nothing can live without causing harm to another living thing. Blah blah blah.”
I pushed into the MIU. Drove my mind through it. Grasping for the consciousness of the Evangelion.
My grasping probe felt something familiar, buried deep in the Angel/Human hybrid-cyborg. Something that slumbered but pulsed with familiar wrath.
As I grasped it, I felt something else, a gentle touch settling around my mental grip. Guiding me away from the slumbering thing. Intertwining itself with my probe, a touch that was at once natural and warm, protective yet fragile, needing of my protection in turn.
“You are no more deserving that Us.” The Angel said as I loomed over its form. “You hold rage and despair in your heart. Clutch them like precious jewels while exulting the wonders of kindness and hope. You claim to be one of the best examples of Them, yet not only are you an Outsider, you do not even attempt to embody the virtues you espouse, a hypocrite of the worst type. What gives you the right to decide who lives and who dies?”
“Yeah, you might have a point there. I’m not gonna claim I’m the best kind of person out there.” I growled, then thrust my hands forward wrapping them around its neck. “But that’s the secret you see. I’m not one of the best examples of humanity. I’m one of the worst!” I increased the pressure, my arms trembling from the effort. “I’m a misanthropic asshole, one who indulges in schadenfreude. I’m the one who doesn’t get even; I retaliate! I escalate! I’m the monster you invite to the peace summit, as a reminder to others of what you will unleash if you don’t get your fucking way!”
In my eyes, my arms were overlaid by purple plates of armor, my head encased in a horned helmet, my hands stabbing into a striped black-and-white sphere, crushing something vital in its center, overlaying the child whose neck I crushed.
“You think I don’t know the type of creature I am!?” I demanded with a deranged laugh. “I am the unfortunate necessity! The tasteless violence! I am the monster you unleash on the awful things, so other, better people don’t have to face it!”
Several faces came to mind. The bossy class rep, Bottle Blonde’s assistant, the girl-next-door analyst with the neat hairstyle. Even the face of rocker boy, the one guy with no ulterior motives, with no belief in my bullshit, with no desire other than to do his job and save mankind. The one asshole who stayed behind in what was essentially a suicide mission he had no way to meaningfully contribute to, because if he evacuated and left his job to someone else, minor as it was, they might do it wrong and doom the city.
Through my deep link to Unit 01, I felt a combination of sorrow and triumphant pride.
The Child/Angel struggled in my grip, striking feebly at my arms to force me to let go. But its strength was not in direct confrontation. It was by nature a scavenger. Only capable of taking its prey once it had wholly exhausted itself.
“What right have I to end you? What right do you have to kill those I’ve chosen to protect!?” I growled, squeezing harder. “Don’t come at me with your sanctimonious bullshit! Might makes right! And guess what fucko!? I have an Evangelion, and that’s a lot of might I can throw at a problem to make it go the fuck away!”
I squeezed down harder on its neck as my greater form brought ever greater pressure down upon its core.
I peeled back my lips over my teeth/snapped the welding on my helmet keeping my mouth shut.
“Now get off my planet!”
Now. Location: Tokyo-3 Downtown, Temporary NERV Headquarters
“Both Eva Units are in position!” Aoba called out.
Maya nodded and finished triple checking her instruments. “AT field deployment is ready!”
“Roger.” Ritsuko said, scowling at the screens.
“Sixty seconds to mine drop.” Hyuga called out.
“If only NATO had hurried up.” Ristuko muttered.
Maya looked out at the Angel through her screens. Units 00 and 02 stood at the very edge of the ‘shadow’ body. In the steadily lightening sky, she could see the contrails of dozens of aircraft as they moved to a position to deploy their payload.
Then every single meter and scale on her screens redlined at the same time that with a thunderous crash, the shadow broke up and blood sprayed into the air.
[W-What’s happening!?] Asuka called out, Unit 02 recoiling away from the sight. Everywhere the shadow touched, the ground heaved and roiled.
“Sit-rep, now!” Major Katsuragi demanded.
“I-I’m at a loss!” Hyuga said.
“All of the meters and gauges are at maximum!” Maya called out.
“How!? We haven’t done anything yet!” Ritsuko called out.
Maya felt her eyes open wide; she turned back to Ritsuko with a smile on her face. “It’s Shinji! It has to be!”
Ritsuko shook her head. “That’s impossible! Due to NATO dragging its feet, Unit 01 is completely drained of energy!”
“But could it be Shinji!?” Major Katsuragi demanded.
“I…there is no possible way!” Ritsuko insisted.
The huge sphere that was the Angel’s true shadow trembled and wobbled in the air, the pattern changing as a loud keening reverberated through the city. Before their eyes, the patterns trembled as if in pain, before the sphere turned black as pitch.
“Talk to me Ritsuko, what’s going on!?” Major Katsuragi asked.
“I…I…No…I…”
Something began pushing at the ‘skin’ of the shadow from the inside. Soon, Unit 01’s clawed fingers could be seen in stark detail as it pressed from the other side.
“But…but that’s not its true body.” Ritsuko muttered as next to the hand, an Evangelion’s armored foot could be seen pushing out. Distractingly, it pushed out above the hand.
Maya felt her smile widening before stating with complete conviction. “It’s Shinji. Shinji is killing the Angel from the inside.”
The hand and foot retreated, before from the other side of the sphere the head and upper chest of Evangelion Unit 01 pressed against the surface from the inside.
The sphere shuddered once more and drew the Evangelion in once again.
“Someone tell me what the hell is going on!?” Major Katsuragi demanded.
Maya didn’t bother answering, she merely watched as the Angel shuddered in clear agony, before with the sound of flesh being torn on an awesome scale, the sphere parted in two as Evangelion Unit 01 tore its way out of it in a tsunami of blood, its all-too-human roar rattling every window in the city and painfully but reassuringly vibrating the marrow in Maya’s bones.
“That…that’s not possible.” Ritsuko muttered.
On her headset, Maya heard the Pilot of Unit 02 whisper. [Am I piloting…a terrible thing like that?]
“What…What kind of monstrosity did we replicate?” Ritsuko whispered in awe.
With a final heave and a roar, Unit 01 finished tearing its way out of the Angel, falling to the ground and creating a crater of shattered concrete and blood. It stood from its predatory crouch, something spherical and red clutched in its hands.
“That…that’s a core. A second intact core!” Hyuga said.
The Evangelion made several coughing noises as it clutched the core tightly with both hands, the Angel’s blood falling upon its shoulders like a cascade. Then, with deliberate wrath, it began compressing the core.
“Someone get on the radio! Tell Shinji to stop, that’s an invaluable sample!” Ritsuko shouted.
“DEATH!” The Evangelion shouted as cracks appeared in the core it clutched.
Maya, and everyone in the temporary control room, all looked in awe at the Eva.
“It…it spoke?” Aoba asked.
“No, it couldn’t possibly…” Ritsuko said, her voice trembling.
Evangelion Unit 01 threw back its head and roared. “DEATH!” As the core it clutched deformed and cracked further.
“Th-The E-Evas a-are n-n-not c-capable o-of h-human sp-sp-sp…” Ritsuko stuttered, her teeth chattering as she stepped backwards until her back hit the wall of the command vehicle.
“DEATH!” Unit 01 screamed, holding the core above its head, its arms trembling with its effort.
Maya broke protocol and abandoned her station to sprint out of the command vehicle, watching it through a screen was not enough, she needed to see what was happening with her own eyes.
The first thing that hit her once she stepped outside was the overwhelming stench of blood. An ocean of it flowed outward form Unit 01, rivers of it running through Tokyo-3’s streets. She could hear snaps and crackles from the core as it fought against the sheer force Shinji and Unit 01 brought to bear against it, the seemingly endless waterfall of blood falling from the deflating spherical angel, breaking against Unit 01’s head and flowing down its chest and back like a sanguine cloak.
The sun finally rose over the mountains, bathing Unit 01 in its rays as it visibly girded itself for one last mighty effort, raising the scarred core over its head.
It roared, and with a whimper and a crunch not unlike breaking bone, the core shattered into countless small pieces.
“DEATH!”
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Kaiju Slaying For Death And Profit Ch 18

Howdy folks. Gonna post the chapter today because I anticipate I will be rather busy tomorrow. 
Bit of a short chapter. But an important one if you squint and tilt your head a little.
Anyways, hope you lot like it. Lemme know how I did with a comment or two.
=][=
Misato watched the various cliques formed by the technicians and analysts in the Control Room and withheld a sigh. 
People self-segregating into various groups was normal, but she could see three main groups forming; There were those who, like her, just wanted to kill the Angels and save mankind, and didn’t care much otherwise. There were those like Vice-Director Fuyutsuki, Gendo’s man to the hilt, certain that Director Ikari would lead them through the crisis. 
Then there were those like Maya, Naomi, Kaede and Hana. A growing number who had grown to...admire Shinji’s tenacity and ethos, having wholly forgiven or forgotten Shinji’s threat to let an Angel destroy all of Tokyo-3 purely to spite his father. 
She’d heard a few whispers from those who thought that had all been a ruse to accomplish some greater goal only Shinji was aware of. 
Misato wouldn’t think on it much beyond scoffing at it, but that last group had actually started to get together, forming a ‘support group,’ their little club holding meetings, dinners, and playing games after their shifts. And while that would normally not be a cause for worry, the last time Misato looked into a ‘friendly gathering’ and found nothing untoward, it had resulted in a domestic terrorist attack that cost the lives of almost three hundred people, an AWOL Pilot, an hours-long firefight, and the further erosion of her command authority. 
So maybe she was being paranoid. But would it be paranoia if another cult formed under her nose due to her lack of diligence? 
“Thinking pretty hard about something, huh?” 
Misato twitched and did not squeak in surprise, and if anyone said otherwise, they were lying liars who lied lyingly. 
“Kaji!” She snarled. “Stop sneaking up on people!” 
Kaji Ryoji stood before her in all his disheveled glory. He was a head taller than she was, his hair was dark brown, his eyes dark blue, his chin had that permanent stubble he seemed to like so much, and as usual, the top button of his shirt was undone and his tie was loose. 
She grabbed his tie and tightened it until it was near his neck. “And would it kill you to dress professionally for once in your life!?” 
“Woah there! Glad to see you still care.” Kaji said with that small little smile that showed very little of his teeth but made her feel like he knew something she didn’t and that pissed her off.  
“When are you leaving again!?” She demanded, taking her hands off him as if the contact scalded her. “It’s been months, shouldn’t you have gone away already!?” 
“Oh, you didn’t know? I was reassigned as the main liaison between NERV and the United Nations. I was hoping we’d see more of each other, but the...peerless enthusiasm and prowess of your Pilots has kept me surprisingly busy.” 
“Well good!” She said with a huff and walked off, unfortunately, Kaji followed after her. “Shouldn’t you be doing your job liaising!?” 
“Oh? But I am! I have something of extreme importance to discuss with you, Major Katsuragi! And for once it’s not about whether or not Shinji will be fit for service by the time the next Angel comes along.” Kaji said glibly as he followed after her to the elevators. 
Misato scowled. “You’ve never come to me with those concerns.” She said as they arrived and she pressed the button to call the elevator. 
“No, I was ordered to go to Ritsuko. Though most of the time, my inquiries were answered by Ritsuko’s lovely assistant.” 
Misato felt her eye twitch. She quashed the feeling that was absolutely not jealousy, and stepping into the elevator said. “Yes, I’m certain talking to Maya was quite the burden!” 
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.Kaji said, stepping in behind her, the door closing behind him. 
“Oh? Then pray tell wh-”  
Kaji was on her, his thigh between hers, his arms around her, his warm breath on her neck, his lips on hers. And damn her, she found herself instinctively kissing him back, welcoming his tongue in her mouth as if it belonged there. 
She stiffened when she felt his tongue deposit something into her mouth, between her upper lip and her gums. 
He always was devilishly good with his tongue. 
He broke the kiss before the Elevator reached its destination. 
Her face felt like it was on fire, and damn her, she wanted more. But stopped herself. She pushed him away and fixed her clothes, putting on an act for any watchers. “You can’t be doing that Kaji. We’re not like that anymore!” 
He smiled, it was a strange smile, somewhere between serene and wryly amused. “Really? Honestly, it’s getting close to the date of our anniversary. Back when we celebrated it anyway. Stay safe, Katsuragi, we should go barhopping sometime, live a little before the big 3.0 hits.” 
Misato watched him depart, and used her tongue to more securely lodge the hollow-feeling pill in a corner of her mouth. 
Maybe...maybe it wouldn’t be too bad to go with him to a bar. Maybe she could even get him to foot the bill. 
=][= 
Aida Kensuke sighed and bit the nail of his thumb as he walked to school. 
It was amazing how quickly everyone just...moved on. 
Two weeks ago, close to three hundred people had been murdered, hours before a dramatic last stand by religious extremists as they preached that the world was ending and humanity deserved to die, God’s Angels had been sent to exterminate us all, and humanity was defying the Will of God by not laying down and dying. 
It had been covered in the evening news, the religious extremists had all been killed by the Special Assault Team, giving the families of all those affected some measure of closure and retribution. 
The school had been closed for a couple of days to give those affected time to grieve and get over the shock, then everyone had gone back to school, except Shinji had not shown up. People had been worried, but a NERV spokesman had said that while Shinji had been affected by the attack, he had survived it thanks to the heroic sacrifice of one of NERV’s operatives, he was in the hospital and was expected to make a full recovery. 
And then everything went back to normal. People went back to work, everyone at school had gotten extra homework to make up for the lost time. 
Nobody other than those directly affected even mentioned that almost three hundred people had died for no good reason. 
And to top all of that off, his dad had joined a cult. 
Sure, he said it was a support group made up of his colleagues at NERV. But after the...religious extremists did their thing last week, Kensuke had looked into how cults worked, and what his dad described sounded a lot like a damn cult. 
Worse, it was a cult based around Shinji. Because as Kensuke had realized more and more while reading through the documents on his dad’s computer, the news and NERV spokespeople never gave the full story. 
Shinji had killed the guy in his train car. 
Using a knife he’d hidden on his person. He’d cut off the man’s arm, spilled his entrails on the floor, stabbed him through the heart, and cut off his head. He dealt four lethal wounds on the bastard, and still hadn’t managed to stop the attack. And nearly died, surviving only because apparently, piloting a giant robot gave someone a higher tolerance to poisons and medicine, a hypothesis that was seemingly confirmed as Ayanami was found to have a similar unusual resistance, even if Soryu did not. 
To top it off, he disappeared into the city while looking like the bad guy in a slasher movie, and only reemerged after the religious extremists were dealt with. 
So, aside from the uncomfortable knowledge that apparently Ikari went everywhere armed, Kensuke alone knew that the only reason he hadn’t died (and if dad’s ‘support group’ was to be believed, doom all of humanity to extinction) was pure chance and something weird that may or may not happen to your body if you became an Evangelion Pilot. 
Shinji had come in and minute one, killed a monster while everyone at NERV tried not to panic. Shinji had given a speech about the sacrifices he was willing to make for the survival of mankind, then there was what he did when the last monster showed up, the one where the whole city was evacuated. 
The authorities had downplayed how bad it had been, the monster was calculated to be fully able to vaporize the entirety of Tokyo-3 in an instant. The three Pilots had essentially gone on a suicide mission, one predicted to have a 0.0000003% percent chance of succeeding. 
Shinji had stood up, basically said ‘I’ve got this, you just do your jobs and support me,’ and everyone, including Kensuke’s dad, had all taken him at face value, ignored their orders to evacuate, and watched Shinji do exactly what he said he was going to do. It was madness! 
What hurt Kensuke the most, was that his dad had chosen to stay and man his station, even after having been ordered to evacuate. Having had the choice and opportunity to get to safety, Kensuke’s dad had chosen not to, believing in the words of one teenager that he could tackle a mission with essentially zero percent chance of success, and win anyways. 
That Shinji had actually done it had nothing to do with it. 
“Oi! Watch where yer goin’ asshole!” 
Kensuke looked up and blinked in surprise at what he saw. 
A couple of the school’s delinquents had bumped into Shinji, the much shorter Ayanami next to him. 
Shinji, the boy known to have the worst attitude and the best grades in all the school. 
Shinji the teenager with a literal kill-squad of special forces following him around in case he’s ever in danger. 
Shinji, who had muscles so big, he could probably punch just about anyone into the stratosphere. 
Kensuke could not help but think that this was going to end badly as Shinji turned around. But before he could say anything, the other delinquent said. “Oi oi oi! Don’t you recognize him you dumbass!?” 
He then grabbed the back of the first delinquent’s head and forced the other to bow at the waist with him. “Sorry aniki!” 
Shinji blinked and looked nonplussed at the delinquents. “The hell are you doing?” 
Not getting up, and holding down his squirming friend, the delinquent said. “You’re the guy killing the monsters and saving the city. You deserve respect, and my friend disrespected you, we are sorry, please forgive us, aniki!” 
Shinji stared down at the delinquent before saying. “Nothing you said is incorrect, technically speaking.” 
Before Kensuke’s disbelieving eyes, in a very short time, a confused looking Ikari Shinji, holding Ayanami Rei’s hand, was escorted into the school by a growing crowd of the school’s delinquents who all seemed to just know to show up. 
Ayanami’s expression did not shift once through the whole ordeal. 
“Alright alright, enough!” Shinji shouted when they got to the school gate. “Don’t shove people! Your actions reflect poorly on me! So stop being a bother, go to class, and pay attention!” 
There was a chorus of, “Yes Aniki!” before the delinquents all scattered. 
“Seriously.” Shinji muttered, walking through the school’s gates. “Can’t have a normal day at all.” 
“What even would be normal?” Ayanami asked. 
“Dunno, but not this.” 
Kensuke stood in stupefaction. Then sighed and deflated. 
Ikari Shinji, Pilot, Monster Slayer, Center of a Cult, Lord of the Delinquents. 
If that’s what it took to be a Pilot, and he still almost died on every fight...Kensuke sighed again, and stepped through the gate, feeling inadequate. 
=][= 
“Here you go, enjoy those.” Ayanami said quietly, holding out a box full of ice cream cups to the crowd of rowdy boys. “Don’t get home too late, and make sure to do your homework.” 
There was a loud chorus of. “Yes! Anego!” Before the rowdy crowd of...former(?) delinquents each grabbed one cup of ice cream and ran in a different direction from each other. 
After a full day of class. 
Where none of them skipped. 
And by all accounts, paid attention and did not cause any distractions or issues. 
Hikari wasn’t entirely certain she wasn’t about to wake up and realize she needed to get ready to go to class. Because this day had been utterly unreal. 
“I can’t believe they listen to you.” Hikari groused, looking at the last former(?) delinquent’s back before he turned a corner and disappear. “They barely listen to me, and I have actual authority!” 
“Dunno what your problem is.” Soryu said, taking a bite of her popsicle, then spoke with her mouth full. “They listen to me easily enough.” 
Hikari felt her eye twitch. “Yeah, but you beat them all up. They are afraid of you, but they respect Ayanami.” 
Ayanami daintily licked her vanilla ice cream cone. “I believe my status as Shinji’s girlfriend grants me a certain amount of deferred authority over them.” 
Hikari took an angry bite of her ice cream sandwich, muttering. “No fair.” 
“Blegh, glad that’s over with.” Shinji said, stepping out of the convenience store, carrying a small cooler under his arm. “I can’t believe you made me empty out the ice cream isle for that buncha dumbasses. This ain’t cheap you know?” 
“They were good, so they deserved a reward.” Rei said between licks of her ice cream. 
Shinji took an ice cream sandwich out of his cooler, peeled it open, and tossed the whole thing in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed before speaking. “Yeah, guess you’re right. They weren’t too much of a pain in my ass.” 
“You could just admit you’re happy you finally found someone who isn’t afraid of you.” Soryu said with a grin. 
“Yeah? Well, you can shut up, you soulless ginger.” Shinji snapped back. 
“What’s that? I can’t hear you over your hypocrisy.” 
Hikari watched as the two Pilots seemed to go into a contest of who could say the most insulting thing. Nonetheless, the two of them were smiling. 
She just didn’t get it. 
“It’s nice that they get along now.” Ayanami said, licking her ice cream cone. 
Hikari watched Shinji and Soryu’s ever escalating...non-argument? Play fight? Competition? And shook her head. 
“I guess he really is a tsundere.” She muttered under her breath. 
“Oi! Stop callin’ me a fuckin’ tsundere!” Shinji said, pointing at her. “I ain’t no fuckin’ tsundere, I’m an asshole! Get it right!” 
Hikari shrugged, and took a step to put Ayanami between herself and Shinji. “I don’t know. If the shoe fits...” 
Shinji growled, took a popsicle out of his cooler, tore open the packaging, ate the whole thing in one bite, threw the trash in the nearest trash can, and stomped away, his back arched like an angry cat’s. 
Hikari and Soryu watched him stomp away, then turned to look at Ayanami, who was still standing next to the convenience store wall, daintily licking her ice cream cone. 
“Did...did he forget her?” Soryu asked. 
“I...I think so?” Hikari said, confused and somewhat concerned. 
No sooner did they say that, that they heard then saw Shinji stomp back, this time with an ice cream sandwich in his mouth, he took the hand Ayanami wasn’t using to hold her ice cream, and stomped away again, pulling her along. 
Except...he didn’t pull very hard. Ayanami walked at her usual sedate pace next to him. The huge Shinji stomping forward in slow motion, taking small, almost dainty steps forward to match Ayanami’s pace, but driving his foot down to get a good stomp in. 
If the resulting picture weren’t so bizarre, Hikari would find it comical. 
As scary as he looked, Hikari guessed that the huge tsundere wasn’t all that scary after all, once you got to know him, at least. 
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Kaiju Slaying For Death And Profit Ch 17

Howdy folks. Good news. I was able to get this chapter written even though work was a horrid bitch this last week.
I will endeavor to manage the same until work lets up.
If I don't, I shall commit sudoku.
...
No I won't. I don't have the head for sudoku.
ANYWAYS!
Here is chapter 17. Where not much action happens, but I think important character stuff does happen, sprinkled in.
Let me know how you lot like it!
=][=
I may have made a Lilliputian Lapse.
A Minute Miscalculation.
A Negligible Neglectfulness.
Or in layman’s terms. A Strategic Fuckup.
I did, indeed, allow the situation to register on an emotional level.
There was some cold satisfaction on killing the fuckers responsible. And all I’d needed was to scream ‘God is Great!’ and shoot the ground when the authorities surprisingly enough did their job.
Well, that, some patience, a Special Assault Team armor and uniform, and my trusty Doomguy shotgun.
Once the assault started, things were confused enough that nobody paid too close attention to the big-ass guy on their side killing armed cultists. Through sheer serendipity, there were two members of the taskforce that were almost as tall and buff as me, so in the middle of the firefight, they probably assumed I was one of those two.
That, or they figured it was best not to antagonize the big guy with the fuckoff shotgun so long as he was shooting at the bad guys. Seriously, that monster did not have stopping power, it had go the other way power.
And while that had indeed been satisfying. I realized I was quite screwed once the dust settled and I was safely away in my pocket dimension, with Virgo fussing over me, tutting, and wriggling her surprisingly cute and very squeezable derriere.
12/10, literally divine, fully recommend.
She’d declined to show me the progress of the clones, saying she’d rather wait until they were ‘Maids worthy of the Young Master’s attention.’
Then asked me to make a combat uniform for the clones, because apparently, being a private army was the duty of any worthwhile maid.
Thankfully, due to my fifteen-year work contract, I had a largely automated manufactorum.
Cursing my lack of the Science and Engineering Talents, I took a few hours and modified the blueprints I had for Sororita’s light power armor to fit Rei’s measurements. It helped that the armor pattern was optimized for such modifications.
For armament, I chose an Imperial Autogun pattern hailing from a hive city in Scintilla, capital of the Calaxis Sector: Gunmetal City. The universe of Warhammer 40k may be one of the worst places to end up but dammit, does that degenerate branch of humanity make awesome guns; because nothing says ‘I’m here to do businesses’ quite like your standard infantry rifle firing full-power rifle rounds with full auto capability and a secondary barrel that was for a semi-automatic eight-gauge shotgun loaded with slugs and quintuple aught buckshot.
I also programed the manufactorum to make longlas rifles, so each squad of ten could have a designated marksman, because everyone knows that full power rifle cartridges are for medium range. I’d need to modify future longlas patterns to have a full-auto setting.
And for sidearms, Hellpistols that would connect directly to the armor’s power pack.
Because there is nothing quite like tiny girls in power armor carrying around oversized weapons with terrible ergonomics and the stopping power to tell a charging triceratops to politely fuck off.
I explained to Virgo how to man the manufactorun and perform the final assembly and non-destructive examinations, and after all of that was done, I couldn’t put off facing the music any longer. I left my cozy extradimensional mansion and walked into NERV HQ like I owned the place.
For all of a minute before a squad of security personnel led me, politely at gunpoint, to a cell.
Where I had remained for the last fifty-nine hours. Hopefully, NERV was different from the Company and didn’t have it written in their Standard Operating Procedures to make me wait at least ten more hours before they saw me purely to meet the monthly giggity quota.
Well, before anyone important saw me, one of the nurses from the medical wing had come by once a day to clean my injuries and redo my bandages. Nice of them to make certain I didn’t get an infection.
The door opened and Katsuragi came in, looking stern but quite fetching in her jacket and pencil skirt. I knew a few guys at Basic who would have resold their souls for the opportunity to be stepped on by her.
The Company was weird sometimes.
She remained quiet in an obvious power play, but joke’s on her, I can use my HUD to read. Though I should really see about downloading some cartoons.
“Shinji.” Katsuragi said, her patience having run out before mine. “What happened three days ago?”
Two and a half, but who is keeping count?
“Some assholes attacked the train I was in. My security detail gave me a mask. He died. I was dazed and confused and wandered around the city until I came to my senses and returned to NERV HQ.” I didn’t get up as I gave the most reasonable explanation for my actions that they had no way to disprove. My genius knew no bounds.
“Shinji, you walked away from the train station, covered in blood and holding a knife. We know you killed the attacker, then went off into the city to find their group.” Katsuragi accused.
Well shit. But the joke’s on you! I have met the absolute minimum requirement for my Contract and can leave this garbage bin of a reality literally at any moment!
But I liked the idea of being the Big Damn Hero, and Rei would be sad if I did that.
So, I would save the world, then fuck off. A most wonderful plan with no negative repercussions.
So, I needed a plausible enough lie to pass muster.
I looked her dead in the eye and said. “That doesn’t sound like me.”
Flawless.
Her face did not so much as twitch. I begrudgingly raised my estimation of her by a tick. “Shinji, it does you no good to lie now.”
Said every cop trying to get a confession.
“Please Shinji.” She continued. “We are just trying to understand what happened.”
“Well, that makes two of us, as I said, I just wandered around, dazed and confused, and came back once whatever gas they used worked its way through my system.” I said dismissively.
“Stop being willfully obtuse.” She demanded.
I gave a theatrical sigh. “Look, lets cut the bullshit here. Ultimately, what’s going to happen, is that you are going to let me go, I will go to my apartment, paid for by NERV’s dime, and I will watch my K-dramas that I wisely left recording, just in case.”
“Shinji.” She tried to interrupt, but I stood and walked slowly toward her as I spoke.
“Now, between now and the inevitable, you will argue, threaten, and cajole. You will appeal to whatever you think will get you an ‘in.’ Perhaps you’ll repeat what you did with the picture you sent me before I killed the first Angel and try to get the reaction you want via sex appeal.” She twitched at that, and I had to stop myself grinning at the chink in her armor I’d found. “But ultimately, there is one particular truth above all other truths.”
As I came within arms reach of her, I leaned down until we were eye to eye. “You don’t dare let me rot in here. Because monsters will keep coming, and you need me to pilot the Evangelion to stop them. And the thought I might, just might decide that I’d rather watch the world burn than hand you a win, terrifies you. So, Major Katsuragi. Do yourself a favor and save both of us time, fill out the paperwork for my release, and let me get back to work. Because I’ll remind you, it doesn’t matter if I’m in the robot or in this cell, my salary does not change, either way? I’m getting paid.”
She glared into my eyes for long seconds.
But I wasn’t the one to blink first.
She turned around and left without another word.
I went back to my uncomfortable bed and sat down.
I really hoped they didn’t wait until hour 69 to release me.
=][=
“So…is Ikar—Shinji still doing okay? It’s been a week.” Hokari Hikari asked, shifting so the parasol they’d set up on the roof gave her a little more shade from the sun.
Before Rei could answer, Asuka Langley Soryu said. “That big oaf? If he’d only cooperated with Misato he wouldn’t be stuck in the brig! But he’s still stonewalling her! He refuses to say anything about what happened on the train! He didn't cooperate, of course he was gonna be stuck in a cell until the investigation finished! Lucky him, he should be out soon, according to Misato.”
Hikari leaned forward. “Why do you think he’s being so…”
“Stupid? Dumb? Belligerent? Annoying?”
“I was going to say ‘unhelpful.’” Hikari said shyly.
“It’s because he feels like he failed.” Rei said when Asuka didn’t answer.
Hikari blinked in surprise and leaned forward. “What do you mean? Failed at what?”
Rei took a bite of her food. It was a sandwich from the cafeteria. It wasn’t as good as the sandwiches Shinji always had on him, and significantly worse than the food he cooked.
It made her miss her Shinji all the more.
She finished chewing and swallowed, then spoke. “He killed the perpetrator in his train car.”
Hikari gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, her face going pale. Rei was momentarily confused, before remembering the time Shinji explained that to a lot of people, violence was an abstract concept.
She continued with her explanation. “Shinji didn’t kill the perpetrator before he activated the gas device. He fell victim to it, but a NERV security officer following him gave Shinji his gasmask. He died. Shinji blames himself for the man’s death.”
Asuka scoffed and crossed her arms. “Why? The man did his duty. He should be celebrated, not mourned.”
“Because.” Rei said, searching for the right words to make the loud girl understand. “Because Shinji cares about the people around him. Seeing people around him hurt, hurts him.”
Asuka scoffed and took an aggressive bite of her food.
Hikari smiled apologetically. “While I think Soryu is taking it a little far, I have to agree with her that Sh-Shinji tends to push people away, he doesn’t really seem to care about what anybody thinks of him.”
Rei shook her head. “It’s simple. Just be nice to him.”
“Nice!? That big oaf just insults or belittles people!” Asuka said.
Hikari said nothing but looked like she agreed with Asuka.
“Shinji…he pushes people away. He scares people. He makes them angry. Because if he doesn’t, then he will care for them. And it will hurt him when he’s not able to protect them.” Rei looked down at her hands, tracing the back of her hand where Shinji liked to rub gentle circles on her skin when he was holding her and thinking hard about something. “Like operative Kenichi, he was nice to us, gave us as much privacy as he could, and ultimately sacrificed himself to save Shinji’s life. Shinji knows that no matter how hard he tries, how well he fights. People will die to the Angels. And if he lets himself be close to anyone, then it will hurt. So, he scares people away, to keep himself safe. But he is bad at it. He can’t help himself, and he fights all the harder because of it. So…if you’re nice to him, he will fight harder for you, because your death will hurt him.”
Rei looked up and saw both Asuka and Hikari staring at her.
“That…might be the most I’ve ever heard you talk.” Asuka said.
Hikari however, brought her hands to her suddenly red cheeks. “Oh my gosh!” She squealed. “Ikari is a tsundere!”
“Wait what?” Asuka said.
“Oh, it all makes sense now!” Hikari continued, her eyes suddenly shining. “He’s soft and mushy and dutiful! But he uses his big buff exterior as armor! And once you manage to get close, he’s protective and nice!”
“His main form of showing affection is hugs, cooking, and insults.” Rei stated.
Hikari covered her face and made a squeeing noise while giggling.
Asuka crossed her arms. “Well, none of his insults to me have felt affectionate!”
Rei shook her head. “He doesn’t like you because you’ve never been nice to him.”
The sounds Hikari was making were approaching the point where they would climb above the range of human hearing. Perhaps Rei should take her to the nurse?
“Okay! Okay, I’m good. It’s fine. Ooookay.” Hikari said, removing her hands. “So, how have you been holding up Ayanami?”
Rei shrugged. “It’s been difficult. Shinji is the one that cooked.”
“Oh? He’s been bringing you food to your home? That’s so cute! Boys usually don’t do that.” Hikari said with a smile.
Rei blinked. “Why would he bring it anywhere? He lives there too.”
Hikari frowned and hesitantly asked. “You two…live together?”
Asuka’s eye gained a mischievous glint, and she smirked. “Not only do they live together…they live together alone.”
Hikari opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, closed it, opened it a third time, and screamed. “But that’s indecent!”
“My apologies.” Rei said and lowered her head. “I understand that it is usually the female that cooks. Shinji has attempted to teach me, but my talents in that regard are lacking.”
“Cooking has nothing to do with this!” Hikari screeched. “Boys and girls of similar age should not live under the same roof unless they’re related! What is your Guardian thinking!?”
Asuka’s smirk widened. “Oh, you think that’s bad? I should absolutely not let you know that they don’t have an adult to supervise them…oops?”
Hikari’s face turned bright red. “They what!?”
“Well. According to Shinji. There were no qualified adults to be his Guardian.” Rei explained.
“How could that possibly be!?” Hikari demanded.
“The only available choice was Major Katsuragi.” Rei answered.
Asuka hissed in sympathy. “Yeaaah, okay, I can see that would not work. Especially not with Shinji being the way he is. He’d probably throw the penguin out first day.”
“Penguin?” Hikari asked. “No, no! You can’t distract me; any adult supervision is better than none!”
Asuka looked away, her eyes unfocused in the distance. “We ran out of milk a few days ago. She used beer instead of milk on her cereal. She accompanied her cereal and beer with another beer. The last time she cooked for me, I had to get my stomach pumped, this was a TV dinner by the way. And she always walks around the apartment half-naked. I had to hire cleaners to clean the apartment, just so I could bring my luggage in, the place was worse than a pigsty.”
Hikari stared open mouthed.
“That’s why Shinji insisted on being emancipated.” Rei said. “He cooks, keeps the apartment clean. He always holds the door, insists on taking care of the physically demanding chores. And though he doesn’t like tea, he makes the tea I like for me. I’ve missed him a lot these last days.”
Hikari blinked. “Huh…he sounds…like the perfect gentleman.”
Asuka leaned in. “So, how is he in bed?”
“He’s very warm, and rather clingy, but I like that. He’s firm but gentle. It was uncomfortable at first, and a little painful, but we found a position we both enjoy.” Rei answered and took another bite of her sandwich. The first time she’d used Shinji’s arm as a pillow to sleep, she’d ended up hurting him, because she cut off the blood-flow, and he’d refused to wake her to remedy that, or that time that she turned and accidentally drove her knee into a pressure point on his leg.
Hikari’s face turned even redder, steam coming out of her ears and whistling like a teakettle.
Rei sighed, she did not know what social cue she’d missed, but clearly, Hikari had gotten the wrong idea, and rectifying that misunderstanding was going to take all day. She just knew it.
=][=
“Home. Fuckin’ finally.”
As it turned out, the paperwork to getting released from a paramilitary cell at NERV HQ, took all goddamn day. I should have included a clause in my contract about that. But something something spilled milk.
Did I even have any milk at home? I knew for a fact I had powdered milk…
I opened the door, stepped inside. And halted.
“Ffffaaaaan-frigging-tastic, and now this.” I said with venom. Seeing Rei, Asuka, and the bossy class rep whose name I know I know, but couldn’t recall because everyone but Rei called her class rep. “Rei, why are these two in my apartment?” I asked rhetorically, the blankets, pillows, and futons made it pretty obvious they were having a sleepover.
Before Rei could answer me. Class Rep jumped to her feet and pointed an imperious finger up at me. “I’m here to make certain you are not doing anything indecent! Rei will sleep with Asuka and I tonight and there is nothing you can do about it!”
I gave her a deadpan stare. “You are aware that, after this little sleepover is over, we are just going to go right back to our usual sleeping arrangements, yeah?”
Class Rep puffed up like a particularly angry squirrel.
I sighed and started on my grumbling way to the kitchen. “Fine, whatever. I’ll go make dinner for you lot. Seriously not even giving a guy a bit of warning before barging in and leaving him scrambling.”
But when I walked into the kitchen, not only were there the boxed remains of a meal at the table, the dishes were clean and the place was tidied up.
How fucking dare they?
“What? You thought we would do something as crass as force you to provide for us with no notice? We aren’t boys.” Asuka said with malicious glee as I recovered from the sacrilege of someone invading my kitchen.
I turned to glare at the soulless ginger and pointed an imperious finger. “Touché, you win this round. But I’m making snacks.”
This time, it was Class Rep who twisted the knife. “Oh! When my older sister heard we were having a sleepover, she made onigiri.”
I felt my eye twitch. “Yeah well, I’m making brownies, now get out of my kitchen and gossip about boys while braiding each other’s hair or whatever asinine thing you lot do. Shoo!”
Asuka and the Class Rep retreated while giggling.
Fuckin’ paperwork, fuckin’ guests using my kitchen. Though now that I think of it, what had Rei been eating with me locked up? She still had all her fingers, so she probably didn’t cook for herself.
I’d have to find out and send whoever fed her a gift basket, or maybe some wine.
Or perhaps a gift basket with wine?
No…mead, can’t go wrong with mead. And a jar of honey.
As I mixed the sugar, flour, butter, eggs, cocoa powder, vanilla, etc. into batter, I didn’t bother keeping an ear out for whatever the girls were talking about, only hearing the muffled murmur of their conversation, and the occasional giggle.
Deciding on the spot to instead make brookies, I used my HUD to send Virgo a list of the ingredients I was lacking in (I really didn’t feel like running to the supermarket right now) and thought through my plans going forward.
I was going to have to be extra careful, I definitely tipped my hand a little too far going after the suicidal idiots that thought it was a good idea to involve others in their delusions.
I still had a number of Angels to go through, with M’shen infiltrating the UN military, I should be able to mitigate the slaughter of NERV’s personnel. Most of them were just smart, driven people doing their best to save the world. The rot was at the top, but the people were good.
That would be difficult, but between the Rei clones, superior equipment, M’shen and Virgo, and myself, we would hopefully mitigate the worst of it.
I’d worry about exposing the sins of the bastards at the top after I saved the world from their idiocy.
After that, I could leave.
While the brookies baked, I filled a cooler with ice and various drinks, from sodas to juices, nothing alcoholic, however. With the class rep here, that’d just get me in trouble. With that done, I sat down and read until the oven informed me it was time to check on the confection.
The toothpick test told me it needed another few minutes in the oven, but after that I had the wonderful crime against humanity that was the unholy fusion of a brownie and a cookie.
Because there’s no better way to pacify bossy girls than giving them diabetes.
Once they’d cooled, I made my way to the living room, Asuka stood up from the pillow and blanket fort, placed herself between me and the girls, and pointed to a line of pillows on the floor. “This is the impenetrable Wall of Jericho! You are not allowed past it!”
I blinked, stalked forward, and stopped right next to the line of pillows before the exceedingly smug Asuka.
I then effortlessly nudged pillows out of my way with my foot, making a hole in the fortification, then stepped forward and glaring down my nose at her dramatically stated. “The Wall of Jerico fell.”
Asuka narrowed her eyes at me, then stumbled back when I shoved the exactly cut brookie tray into her arms.
“Here are brookies, eat the whole thing for all I care. Just save some for Rei.” I pointed to the cooler. “Drinks are in the cooler. Scary movies and action movies are in the TV stand/drawer thing hybrid. I don’t have romantic comedies and if that disappoints you, you need to develop better taste in movies.”
I stepped out of their ‘fort’ and made my way to my and Rei’s room. “I’ll be in my room, holler if you need anything. Try not to be too loud or the neighbors will get uppity. Have a nice stay.”
“Oh my gosh he is a tsundere.”
I decided to ignore that utterly false whisper from Class Rep. Went to my room and got ready for an early night.
All that damn paperwork had been exhausting.
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