The Living Bot! (Multiverse ft. Robot!SI)

[JBukharin]

Neon Genesis Evangelion 1: Genesis (3)

｢Who are you?｣

This is bad. This is really bad!

W-What should we do?

I don't want to get our brain turned to mush because of some pasty white marshmallow thingy.

Erhhh… I am nothing?

｢Nothing?｣

The voice questioned with a tone that sounded a mix of confused and intrigued. The latter element was worrying as… I was straying further by any chances of getting out of her with my sanity-

Insanity.

- My (in)sanity intact. Lilith was one of the 'primordial Angels' and, if I remembered correctly, she could be able to cause madness-inducing hallucinations that only those who have read Lovecraft's books could known and partially understand.

But someone like me? I was hardly prepared to deal with some mind-fuckery, especially one from an eldritch being of her caliber.

Plus my brain was now registering the fact that Mayu was shaking in my hold. The warm sheets were keeping her to an acceptable temperature… it was something from within.

The close proximity to Lilith was making her Rei's cell react terribly and her natural AT field had yet to manifest on her small body.

Now I really needed a way out of that hellhole.

Look, I understand that it would be an interesting discussion about my existence and the universe being poopy, but I have to go-

｢No｣

...Listen I have to go-

｢Your name.｣

*sigh* Fine! I am the…

Think something smart, something defining!

… I am the Living Bot! Yes, that is who I am.

She didn't react, the massive statue staring silently and intensively as I waited for a response.

I have to admit, for someone this much still she does know how to make people stand on their toes.

The only positive thing in being sealed for God knows how much.

｢You are not a child of mine｣

Mommy, you saying I am adopted~?

I am not.

｢Why are you here?｣

Just passing by. You know, taking out the trash, using the lawnmower to fix the garden and avoid a serious case of mind-fuck.

｢The Third Impact cannot be avoided, intruder.｣

Now that is just plain rude.

You sound convinced of that, Marshmallow Woman!

｢Humanity need to be returned back to the beginning-｣

That is so wrong and YOU KNOW THAT!

｢...What?｣

You try to seem like some higher being in you mighty pedestal, that you forget that repeating the same thing will lead to the same results. It would become an endless circle of instant death without a reason for everything to truly exist.

｢The Third Impact will-｣

Clean the table from the stain caused by your 'children' and, understand my words, I. Know. That! But to seriously consider this the best solution is literally begging to be called an utter moron.

｢And what is this 'best solution'?｣

...Is she seriously reacting this much to our words?

Lilith's tone was breaking from the known monotony and… it sounded less detached.

Kill the responsible of the corruption? Leave humanity with some minor scarring, knowing that they will recover?

｢A fruitless endeavor. Humanity never changes.｣

So you know that the Impact will hardly change thing!

｢Humanity needs to be restored to its origin, to a period where things were simpler-｣

And then will have to endure once more millennia of war and sorrow because someone could hardly tank in the fact she can't do shi-stuff!

｢…｣

How do you think she will react to this now?

She either break our legs, or we break hers- oh right! Snap!

"As much as I find this whole situation fascinating, I wish to inform you both that our little chat might be interrupted quite soon."

Minerva? Explain.

"NERV soldiers, they are rushing towards us as we speak."

What? Didn't I ask you to make sure the surveillance system was down twice?

"You have, no need to raise your voice, dingus!" She harrumphed. "But what made them see that something was wrong was the sensors planted in Lilith's proximity."

｢Oh.｣

OH? Why the heck did you even move your head to stare at me?!

｢…Boredom?｣

Oh, shut up!

I mean that was the first time she did something after several centuries of stillness.

I bet she is all cranky from the waste below- Oh snap!

CAN YOU NOT?!

｢What?｣

I wasn't talking to you!

Finally my audio sensors caught the sound of footsteps approaching, further increasing my inner panic.

Minerva, map a way out!

"Sir, Yes Sir."

｢No.｣

BEG YOUR PARDON?!

｢I have an… idea.｣

Just as she said this, several armed soldiers breached from the very door I had come from, aiming their guns right at me. Oh no, my true weakness all over again…

But as the weapons cracked bullets quickly, those were intercepted by something else. Something big, something tall, slim and incredibly familiar.

A stark eye with yellow and black details. It crouched down, its plug opening and…

You want me to drive this?!

｢Follow the end of the tunnel, there should be a conjuncture that leads to the surface.｣

"She is right, mapping that one in your system."

Bullets ricocheted off the Eva as it patiently waited for my commands and, while I was tempted to drive it for the sake of giggles and shizzles, I… I had to do it for the warm bundle in my arms.

FINE!

Without further ado, I jumped inside dreading as I felt something connect with the back of my head.

Thoughts flickered and soon the spherical structure was filled with LCL.

Thank God people can breath with it.

"Okay… let's see what we can do here..."

Light blurred brightly as I started to move the bio-mech away from Lilith, my sight right at the hollow wall that connected the already large room to a series of old tunnels underneath Tokyo-3.

"This is so FASCINATING!" Minerva rang on my ears, making me flinch instantly.

Jeez, it's always the quiet ones…

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Gendo Ikari was having a terrible day.

Not only the coffee machine in his office had broken down, forcing him to take some cups of his favorite blend from a crowded section of the building, but he was also dealing with a… work from the inside.

There was no other way to explain the sudden intrusion they were dealing with. The Terminal Dogma had been breached, several men of different occupations had been found by members of the security squads.

Lilith's room had been found…

Never in the recent years the Commander of NERV had felt the need to snarl more than he was now. His blank facade was ready to collapse as more developments reached his office.

One of the Evas that had failed to work properly had suddenly woke up, shielding the intruder from the personnel's live footage and bullets.

He had thought that this was connected to Lilith, the Angel perceiving the danger and reacting at it. Yet, few moments later, his theory was dashed the same way the wall that divided that room to the old ruins of Tokyo-2 was, the rogue Unit managing to escape quickly away from the military force he had dispatched.

His closed hand slammed on his desk, his mind hardly feeling the searing pain of his scarred limb, the idea that something like this was happening?

Ludicrous was an adjective far too kind to accept about the predicament, his thoughts going miles per hour to find any possible leaks within his own organization. Few questionable subject, but none that could have had access to the information regarding Lilith.

An infuriating discovery, that something or someone had managed to infiltrate NERV for far longer that he could imagine and… find out about the Terminal Dogma.

The guards were also reporting finding one of the Reis' tubes open, the subject missing completely as the nearest terminal was repeating the same words. 'Subject Contaminated'.

An Angel was responsible for this? That sounded terribly far-fetched, knowing full well that the aliens wanted Adam first.

But as he continued to dictate orders such as the classification of this Eva as the 18th Angel, his frail hopes of solving this issue quickly were shattered the moment the devices connected to Angels/Evas' AT patterns showed nothing about the unit.

A cold shiver went through his back, something was different. This wasn't an attack from SEELE, but not even an Angel's handwork.

What is going on here?

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We are almost out-

THIS IS SO COOL!

Q-QUIET!

Stone broke under the pure strength of the Eva, its sight now elevated to the starry sky above us.

"We did it!" Minerva giggled as the Unit returned back on its current mission. Going back to the safe house.

The Apple glowed brightly as the entire frame of the Mecha was covered for a moment by golden light, leaving its entirety… invisible.

It's more like some special camouflage than pure invisibility. Light can still reflect our form if properly aimed at us-

Shut up, Bluey. It's invisibility and it's cool, you nerd.

*groan*

I sighed loudly as we reached within the abandoned warehouse. The Eva had to cramp up a little to fit within the building but… the escape was officially complete!

I jumped off the machine and started to walk towards the exit of the factory, my mind set on the small house I had bought via 'borrowed' money. There was so much to do, like buying little Mayu an entire wardrobe, toys, cute onesies and other cute and essential things for her to be happy.

We are going to be professional fathers!

...Hopefully we will not cause any distress to the poor girl.

I sighed, realizing that Blue's words were directed to a possible refusal to at least appear to be my daughter with guests.

An issue that will surely require tact and devotion to accomplish in the long-term. To gain her trust!

The door closed behind me as I left the Unit behind and hidden to the people.

At least I wasn't going to deal with that terrifying being ever again…

But as 428 was on his merry way to his new manor, inside the warehouse the very Bio-Mecha that had kept turned off until he had left started to slowly move. Its head tilted to the side as it stared at the paper attached to the wall in front of it.

｢What is that?｣

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It's happening! So many things, so many confusing things and- *looks at the script* -And we are getting some fluff bomb next chapter. Oh My God, its going to be a 2k+ Fluff chapter about Mayu-chan! HUZZAH!

Also funny thing: I just tried to post this story on the StarDestroyer(dot)Net forum and… it got rejected because it was 'likely a plant from a spambot'. The Living Bot spammed by a fellow bot.
The Frigging Irony! XD!

 

[JBukharin]

A day in our life – The Meaning of a Word.

Time has passed since that strange encounter.

But how much of it? That was something that Re- Mayu found difficult to get straight out from her clueless mind. After falling asleep the two voices that curiously sounded just like hers started to briefly entertain her with some interesting discussions that hardly kept around for more than few moments.

It was quite intriguing how the topic would jump so quickly from one point of the universe to another, leaving her unable to keep up to the senseless argumentation and bickering between Kiiro-chan and Ao-chan.

Two different personalities that clashed in some of the funniest situations that her mind would formulate. It was a good way to keep herself distracted during her rest, no dreams nor nightmares were there for her to experience and so… this was how she spent her moments away from the real world.

Yet this situation didn't come to last as long as she expected, a sudden sensation of distress rising from within her body as she felt being pulled back to her senses.

Red eyes flickered open, her mind quickly reminding her that the last time she had been awake she had left the tube she had grown accustomed to. The bed she just woke into was… comfy. Long gone was the painfully awkward to sleep metallic tube of the deep in the NERV Headquarters, now it was something… unique.

Mayu blinked once, then twice. Finally her hand moved to caress the soft mattress, to test, to prove to her skeptical brain that she had indeed been moved out from that sterile laboratory where she had been created from.

Her curious eyes moved away from the pristine white sheets, going around and over the room as she noticed the pleasant light purple that painted most of the walls, the floor made of wood plates and… the strange individual sitting in the lone chair by the only desk of the room.

This is your room. There is no doubt about that, Ma-chan.

It could be a trap. Maybe this is Commander Ikari's newest attempt to indoctrinate us and-

Bah, the man is obviously someone fine. Would Mister 'No smile, all glares' leave someone to 'sleep' on the job?

Fair enough…

But the girl ignored the two bickering voices, her sight continuing to study even more the unconscious individual. He was snoring, quietly but her ears could pick up the low noise he was producing, a blissful note in a silent night.

The little child shifted closer, not daring to truly leave the warm bed as she wanted to be careful with her analysis. Baggy pants were accompanied by a loose, sleeveless shirt that showed an athletic frame. Her red eyes slowly ascended to his face, feeling oddly compelled to the short, curly locks of dark chocolate that made his hair so… familiar. It was just like… hers?

Without thinking about it, her hand slowly caressed the lighter brown locks, soft as usual but… warmer to the sight. Mayu gulped nervously as she finally slipped off the bed, her bare feet feeling the mild temperature of the wood, keeping the warmth conserved within it as she took several slow steps towards the sleeping figure and… she finally felt it.

Her hand poked softly at the pants and- it was like an illusion waning. Nothing changed about him, nothing that her eyes could see at least, but her mind picked something at the mere touch. Confusion riddled her judgment as she decided that it was time to risk things for… a feeling.

Her small hands grasped part of the pant just above his kneecaps as she softly climbed up the silent being.

Mayu! Don't risk that, he could be dangerous and-

I don't think he will!

And why so, Ao?!

Because he is awake and… smiling!

This last bit caused the child to pause, her sight returning back to the man's face as he was… indeed awake. And giving her a kind and patient expression.

Her eyes dropped to his chest, a little heat forming around her cheeks as she didn't move. It merely made him smile even more as he slowly picked her form, a quick flinch showing some inner fear of being hurt, only to be proven wrong.

He dragged her closer, her head now resting on his chest as she felt once more melting in that gentle hold. Her eyelids fluttered half-closed as she felt her entire body relaxing at the safe hug.

You know what? I think this is our real dad.

Okay I have heard lots of dumb suggestions, Ao, but our father? This is the very robot you have proudly announced the presence yesterday and… he is a robot!

So what? Maybe he is in contact with the stork assigned to give babies! That could mean that he is super-duper cool!

*groan*

Mayu hummed her inner happiness, snuggling involuntarily closer to the kind figure.

"Good morning, pretty girl."

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Our pretty girl can't be cuter than this!

She looks so fragile in our arms. A-Are you sure that we are the best option for a parent?

We took over an entire planet and controlled the politics of half a galaxy, I think we are super-capable-

I was talking to Green, Yellow. He is the leading one, the one executing our plans and ideas and… he is oddly silent there.

Merely enjoying the hug, party pooper. She might look little but… I couldn't even think of hurting her in any circumstance.

But are you sure that-

"G-Good morning." She looked up, charcoal meeting ruby. "Papa."

…That is absolutely weird.

What is weird in our child knowing that we are going to be her parent and best friend ever?!

Blue means that she shouldn't have jumped to this conclusions. It is too early and… something is definitely wrong.

Indeed the girl shouldn't have been this much trusting of me this early on. Her knowledge as Rei Ayanami (plus the limited one from Yui Ikari) should have deterred her to go along with this situation so… eagerly.

I frowned. "S-sweetie, can I ask you something?"

She looked confused at my reaction, tilting her head to the side. "Hmm?"

"D-Do you… feel something wrong or… did something change when you woke up the first time?"

Her eyes moved away just a moment, quick thinking highlighted in her red orbs as she finally replied with a blunt tone.

"I got two new… friends."

Two friends?

That doesn't make any se-No, wait.

It shouldn't be possible… but we are talking about the Apple and… everything should be possible with it.

"I-I bet those two are good friends, right?"

She nodded, a small smile forming and I felt Diabetes becoming a real possibility in the future with just that adorable sight.

"Ao-chan and Kiiro-chan. Ao-chan says 'Hi' while Kiiro-chan is being quiet."

Ao-chan-

Kiiro-chan-

…

Oh my God! There is a mini-me in our mini-us.

A-A young child… of mine!?

I-I am a dad. *Thud*

That means that I am… connected ever more to her than I had thought.

There as quite the chaos within my brain, but I managed to bring back my previous smile as I patted her head calmly. "It would seems like you got from me more than just the hair, Mayu-chan."

She blinked, some confusion as I decided to explain to her our mutual secret. The girl's eyes went wide and she looked awed at the whole situation.

The resulting emotion of being taken away from the Terminal Dogma, provided a new home and given a new… pillar to hold onto.

Her arms tried and failed in quite the cute manner to pull a full embrace, Mayu pressing her face on my chest. I felt some spots going wet. "T-Thank you."

Two words that meant a lot to me, two words that remind me of-

T-Thank you for being there, bro-

N-NO!

I blinked furiously, keeping this backlash within my inner self as I wished to not worry the crying child. Why was she appearing now more than ever?!

Because we failed her.

That is not true!

True or wrong, it doesn't matter. We feel that we failed her.

We dream that we failed her.

We know that we failed her.

S-Stop.

As you wish, boss.

My focus shifted away from the darkest spot of my mind and back to reality, where my chest was now being tugged at. Mayu was pouting, annoyed that I wasn't giving her attention as she seemed to want something.

"S-Sorry, Mayu-chan. I was thinking about something and-"

*Growl*

I froze as I saw her stare go at her lower torso, her belly as her pale brush brightened once again.

"I suppose it's time that I prepare you some delicious breakfast then." I got up from the chair and keep the small child within my careful hold as I started to walk around the large house. Finding this particularly old manor had been quite easy, the price being a good deterrent for several possible buyers.

It was big, it had several rooms which consisted of six bedrooms, three living rooms, ten bathrooms, four kitchens and… a large office.

It came all packed with everything I needed to keep a good cover and let Mayu enjoy the best available. The girl was already looking around as I moved towards the closest kitchen, red eyes scanning paintings, furniture and stairs as we descended to the first floor.

The kitchens were quite large and, with the recent groceries trip, I had managed to fill 75% of the entire food deposits within the manor.

I put the child on one of the stool that was close to the central table of the large room as I went to prepare two cups of chocolate milk.

The process was quick, having long mastered the way of making this kind of treat to the record time of twenty minutes. The process was eased by the fact the girl started to ask random questions.

What is my name, where are we, what kind of job did I have and… how old I was.

This last subject, while not taken in the same way most women would address it, had became quite the sore button within my entire being. I could still feel the pressure of being alive and still for centuries and… it was a good way to keep recurring nightmares.

"There we go~!" I placed the steamy cup of milk in front of the girl, a pink straw directed at her as I started to slowly drink my own share of sweet heaven.

Her attentive eyes examined the curious beverage, her nose betraying her attempt of not going for a quick sip as her belly demanded her. She tilted closer to the straw, her mouth promptly starting to drink the moment it finally touched the mini-tube.

*sip*

"Chocolate."

*sip*

"H-honey."

*sip*

"Milk..."

*siiiip*

"Mhhh…"

She paused a moment, her eyes narrowing on the cup as she couldn't distinguish the last, unfamiliar ingredient I had put within the drink.

"I think you missed the coffee's drop."

… "What?"

Sipping half of my own cup's content I sighed in bliss. "It is something that my mo-your grandmother would do when I was very young. Having too much sweet in something can disrupt one's day. That is why the bitter accentuation of the Coffee's drop is necessary to make it… perfect."

Her eyes widened in an understanding light as Mayu went to finish the delicious breakfast smoothie.

I was about to ask her if she wanted to come with me around the city to browse for some toys she wanted to buy, just three or four to make some acceptable way to pass time, but my timing was off as my new phone buzzed to life.

Without muttering a world, I picked the small device in my hand and…

From: 碇 シンジ
To: Shinhachi John
Text: Is it possible for me to visit by lunch-time?

I blinked, surprised to catch this message so early on. I would have expected Shinji to not accept the offer of a stranger, trusting a little more his 'sensei' and his current caretaker and yet…

Pfft- Who are you trying to trick with that, man?!

Shinji is in desperate need of someone to trust and that gives worth to his life.

But now we need to think about the possible routes.

Routes?

Yeah: Rei, Asuka, Kaworu or Harem?

I knew that you were going to say something like this but-

But that is also a good idea.

W-What?

I mean, by the end of the day, Shinji will needs some romance to fully stabilize his decaying psyche. He needs a permanent emotional crutch to have around.

But speaking of Kaworu… What are we going to do about SEELE?

Maybe we could- Actually let us think about it later. I think we should reply to him.

From: Shinhachi John
To: 碇 シンジ
Text: Sure!

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AN

Do I ship anyone in particular with Shinji? Would you be surprised if I said yes and no?

His character, while complex and incredibly tragic, fails (IMO) to appeal to a sense of pairing, the need of a ship. He is a good boy, but he showed so much interest to so many people that… I feel quite hesitant to genuinely give him to only one individual.

Harem is a solution, platonic love being another, but I might as well pull some One True Foursome ( an advanced version of the One True Threesome of the known trope.). How should I call it… mhh…. Nope. Can't think of anything smart as of now. Let's just say it could be a Israfel Special with a strong touch of KawoShin.

Any ideas for this complex pairing? I will give it weight. Just don't spam me, mastah!

 

[JBukharin]

Neon Genesis Evangelion 2: Friendship is (totally) a must! (1)

Facing so many odd things in the last few months here in Tokyo-3, Shinji Ikari had long thought that he had seen everything that could surprise him everyday.

Misato's drunk antics that would somehow land him in some beating's prospect, Rei's restrained feelings about… everything around her, Asuka's confusing actions and beatings that were mostly directed at him, Kensuke's and Toji's attempt to approach his caretaker and… him.

Gendo Ikari was an utter mystery.

Spending most of his time within the NERV HQ, the man hardly thought of contacting him to talk about… their family. So many questions were left to bleed openly by his father and none were answered ever since he got closer to where he lived. Their relationship was strictly formal, the leader-subordinate kind of relation, and yet Shinji couldn't accept this whole situation.

He was forced to fight monsters from the stars, facing death at every corner with his fellow pilots and dealing with the dangers from a dangerous high-low synch-rate. Some answers, he wasn't going to ask massive scientific ones, nor any overly-secretive about NERV.

He wanted to know about his father, why he was like this and… why he destroyed all the memories he had of his mother. Yui Ikari, a simple name that rung little memories on his mind, her face a blur that infuriatingly left him perplexed about his childhood. He could remember so little of his first few years of life and the fact he couldn't get any chance of recovering those…

It left him angry. His anger was directed to so many people, close to him and not. But he was angry at himself.

Angry that he couldn't push for more, angry that he couldn't be smarter and… angry that his life has been so unfair…

Yet none of the thoughts mattered in that exact moment, his eyes wide and focused on the finger belonging to John Shinhachi as the man explained to him the complex math problem he had been assigned as homework.

While humanistic subjects like Philosophy, History and Japanese Literature were things he could understand fluently and quickly, scientific ones were far more difficult than anything he had done before reaching this city.

Maybe it was the fact the school was incredibly prestigious and thus the curriculum was few level above the standard or maybe he had lost the grip over his former way of studying things.

The peace and calm that he would have back to his rural town, spending his free time enjoying the cool breeze of the afternoon while completing the various tasks from school.

It was a pleasant reminder of good times, times where things were easier and he was blissfully ignorant of what was happening to the world.

This very emotion was present in that large house he had been invited to, the man and the young girl living there showing some recognizable hospitality and positive formality.

Shinhachi-san was particularly friendly. Shinji would go as far to compare him to Kaji as the two shared an incredible capacity to empathize with his daily plight. It was refreshing, a new discovery that didn't warrant further discomfort to have around and… he was also surprised by the young child that was staring at his hard-work with curious eyes.

Mayu Shinhachi was one of the friendliest child the boy had ever had the chance to encounter. Polite but also child-like when someone or something new was showed to her, very inquisitive but restrained with her questioning to not appear… annoying.

It was a confusingly good thing for a child to have, the self-restraint to not go beyond the limit between curious and pestering. Something that Shinji found good and stimulating for his mind as he would find himself answering queries that he knew the answers for.

So while the father helped him to deal with the painfully relatable struggle that was Math, the young Ikari would reply to some of the questions coming from the little girl. But the more he glanced her way, at her features, the young teen felt an odd sense of familiarity.

It was an odd sensation to feel with someone he had never seen before and… yet there was something he couldn't pass away from the girl with the short twin-tails. Her red eyes… somehow he had seen them before somewhere.

John was smiling as he finished explaining the last process and formula to complete the final part of his Math homework. Two hours of pure exercises were starting to take a toll on his brain and… maybe that was why he was feeling this strange about Mayu.

The girl looked like she hadn't known him, that this was the first time seeing him and the child didn't seem to be one that held her own feelings hidden. Before the homework had begun, the girl had tried to sit on his lap, to try and get a better angle over the papers he was working with.

Politely declining in every single attempt to avoid to incur in some wrath from the family-man that had kindly offered to help him with his grades, especially by how inappropriate it would be with a mere acquaintance, he was kind of saddened when the child pouted at him, trying to guilt-trip him.

Closing down his notebook, Shinji sighed tiredly as a small smile reached for his face.

"That was truly a terrible problem. Seriously, Shinji-kun, what happened to school? Did the teachers start their operation to destroy people's minds?"

One thing that had frequently been part of this few hours interaction was the constant comedic tone the man would have about school in general. Mockingly narrating some brief stories of his former life as a student, of the 'struggles' everyone had to suffer to pass through the dreadful 'Latin' translations.

It was an odd detail that further cemented the fact this man was born, or lived, in Europe for a long time period.

"T-That would explain a lot."

Slowly his initial stuttering had passed, only some hiccups left behind once in a while as the friendly individual rewarded him with a brief chuckle as he stood up and walked to his daughter, patting her head, shoulders sagging a little in tiredness as she started to lean towards her parent.

"Indeed!" He hummed as his child closed her eyes in happiness at the calm patting. "But I think it's getting quite late and I don't want you to return back home close to dinner."

A quick glance to his watch confirmed that it was an hour or so before lunchtime and… he had to still cook something for Misato and Asuka!

Eyes widening in panic, the young Ikari nodded at the man's comment and started to get up as he was stopped by John once more. "If you want I can give you a passage. With the late hour, there shouldn't be any traffic in the city."

"I-I wouldn't want to indulge and-"

"Then you are getting aboard since you are indulging. Am I right, Mayu-chan?" The girl nodded at her father's senseless logic but the boy merely connected this to something about their family. A quirk of sort between the two related individuals.

With a sigh he quietly accepted the offer and boarded the… car.

"Uh.. Shinhachi-san?"

"Yes, Shinji-kun?"

"W-What is that?"

"That, my young friend." The man stated with the same hint of pride Misato had for her vehicle. "Is my car."

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Asuka Langley-Soryu was passing another tiring day inside her room as she tried to get more details of the 'anomaly' she had spotted few days earlier, back in that parlor.

John Shinhachi, 35 years old, minor businessman. Born in Italy, raised in Switzerland and worked prominently in the United States until few years ago, where he settled in Japan with his… young daughter.

Not many pictures, only lines over lines of his long Curriculum Vitae keeping her intrigued about his character. Ditching few faculties before settling with Economics and majoring it with merits, moving quickly to work under one of his relatives' business he would then improve the company to become part of the large Conglomerate.

But the one thing that left her perplexed was… a peculiar time period the man had spent outside of his home country. From 1999 to early 2002 John Shinhachi was in… Germany, where he lived in Konstanz.

The city where she was conceived and right in the same period of time he was there…

This couldn't be considered a mere coincidence as this would mean-

No. She knew that her father was from the United States and had been returned there after leaving her mother… but what if?

What if that man, that individual that had butted heads with her and broke apart her usual pattern of asserting dominance with her mannerism… be her Papa?

So many variables and elements that had to be taken into account were missing from the public data and, knowing how big Tokyo-3 is, the task of finding out where the man lived now would be arduous.

The PC provided her little info about his current home and that frustrated her a lot as she had so much hoped to find it there.

Speaking of frustration, Asuka was fairly sure that Shinji should have returned from whatever errand he had gone about today, especially with dinnertime approaching.

It was annoying enough that she had been forced out from her comfortable flat to live in this small apartment and sharing it with Major Katsuragi and the that Baka Shinji.

He was the only one that could prepare decent food and, having spent most of her time studying around, the girl barely knew enough to cook something for the occasion. Bringing Misato in to solve the situation? She was ready to execute the neurons that had decided to go for that extremely idiotic resolution.

Getting up from the soft mat that made up the floor of her room, Asuka remembered that the heat had been fairly unkind with her, forcing her to adopt a more limited clothing style.

A simple, half-sleeved white shirt and a pair of shorts. Still this change wasn't enough to avoid trails of sweat to form during her research, the girl too much taken by the information she learned about the man to care of this condition, no matter how terrible she was feeling now.

Just as she was about to reach for the door that led to the living room, she blinked as the half-open door was fully pushed open by the unexpected knocking of one Shinji Ikari, the boy still wearing the school's uniform and looking… happy?

"Asuka-san, I am starting to- prepare..." He stopped speaking the moment his eyes went lower to her face, making her huff in fury and flush in anger.

Punch cocked and ready to smash away the perverted youth, the girl delivered a glorious haymaker that sent the guy flying away from her.

With a snarl, Asuka screeched. "SHINJI-BAKA!"

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REUNION #12574
PARTICIPANTS: 1 – 2 – 4 – 8


SEELE 1: Today we are here discussing of the individual that has been approached by the First Child.


SEELE 4: He is not important. Little power-base, he is not connected to Ikari.


SEELE 2: But he seems to be having a fairly curious lifestyle for someone with his monthly gains.


SEELE 1: John Shinhachi is a contractor for some genuine company, photos and videos prove his known history.


SEELE 8: This reunion is useless, gentlemen. The man is merely a simple bystander with no chance of harming our plans.


SEELE 1: That is something I agree to, but the reason why he is still important today is… what we can do about his.


SEELE 2: What potential does he have? He is just the average civilian.


SEELE 4: Indeed, no remarkable traits that could make him a good pawn.


SEELE 1: But his potential resides with his recent actions, esteemed members.


SEELE 4: Please explain.


SEELE 1: With Shinhachi interacting with the Third Child, Ikari will make some steps to study the situation.


SEELE 2: He will set up a team to monitor him.


SEELE 1: And will be paranoid of the chance of losing one of his pilots.


SEELE 4: He will be prone to accept suggestions of a… menace. He will be baited to commit an attack on a civilian.


SEELE 1: He would then be demoted, giving us the chance of replacing him with someone less irritating.


SEELE 8: Someone that could advance our dream without showing lack of loyalty.


SEELE 4: Speaking of loyalty, what is the current state of Tabris?


SEELE 1: Work in progress from the last reports.


SEELE 2: He should be ready and operational in few weeks from now.


SEELE 1: Good, we will need some back-plan if things end up to take a bad turn.


SEELE 1: With this we conclude this emergency reunion.


SEELE 1 DISCONNECTED.


SEELE 2 DISCONNECTED.


SEELE 4 DISCONNECTED.


SEELE 8 DISCONNECTED.

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AN

Timeline is wacky and I wack'd it harder. Now it's a Divergence and… yeah, Asuka's suspect things that… might end up one way or another. (No, 428 ain't her Papa).

 

[JBukharin]

Neon Genesis Evangelion 2: Friendship is (totally) a must! (2)

Rei Ayanami was hardly someone that cared for minor changes and rare events happening around single individuals, having long learned to detach her mind from the distracting world around her.

It was all done for the great mission, so she could only focus on the real and only task in her life: fight Angels and help Gendo Ikari with his dream.

The Commander was strict, dismissing easily her presence as she was replaceable as an element for the completion of the final plan, easy to dispose but annoyingly difficult to make 'backup' of. It was odd how her eyes were easily taken by the curious happening by the middle of the classroom.

Today was meant to be a miserable day for one Shinji Ikari, the boy that she started to lightly admire over his unusual determination under massive waves of peer pressure between school and being the Third Child.

The teen should have been the center of ridicule and snark from the other classmates, as today they were going to face a Math test, something the youth had more than once showed distress for. A subject he didn't approve, not even the least as he failed to reach up for the sufficient grade every time.

But now? Gone was the veiled sense of despair surging from his seat, instead a simple but calm expression that barely showed nervousness as he started to study the tasks within the paper. There was patience as he wasn't already going through the exercise without gathering what all the major questions required and… he began writing.

Another difference than before was the… lack of doodling he would do during the time of the test, his mind completely aimed at the file in front of him as he cleanly started to lay out the various formulas to find out the answers to the questions.

This very sight painted her surprise that she decided to waste her time, after finishing the sufficient requirements to pass with an above-average grade in her own paper, by quietly glancing at the silent boy while the teacher was not looking.

It was an odd sight, one that got her thinking more about the boy. Sure, the Commander had his own reasons to have brought in his son to fit as the Third Child, but she would be lying to herself if she thought about never thinking about the possible reasons.

Inner gossiping was a thing within her mindscape, a way to fight off boredom as she kept a pristine composure before the world. But it was that moment that nurtured a brief theory about why the boy was chosen for the duty, a theory about how Shinji looked quite similar to his father.

Back sagging as he focused on the small details, silence and quite the difficult expression on his face. Give him a pair of gloves and the peculiar glasses and Rei would have to double-check to see if she wasn't merely watching a younger version of her chief doing the test.

Yet the surprise was hardly a good one, the sight of seeing the teen looking this much… dejected by the rest of the world left a strangely sour taste in her mouth, something that was by all means causing her to consider why she felt this much saddened by this.

Shinji was her fellow pilot, that was a fact, but she couldn't truly say that she had some love for him. He was a coward that reacted to a threat only if he was directly involved, either he himself or a friend of his.

Something she found very disappointing as that meant that he had no loyalty for the mission to save humanity and not an ounce of respect for his sole parent, which she considered deep down a good person.

Rei wanted to seriously dislike the shy and emotional teen, but felt some strange oppositions coming from her own… mind? It was an odd sensation that left her perplexed, but also glad and happy about.

Asking to Dr. Akagi only yielded more sassy remarks or quick dismissals, which the Ayanami couldn't but greet with silence or 'agreement' as her lower rank in the hierarchy of NERV compared to the blonde's.

Her inner musings shifted back on reality, this time her eyes catching quite the interesting reaction to this new change of attitude.

While Shinji seemed to be blissfully unaware of the stares he was getting from the bluette, he was also quite ignorant of the confused looks he was receiving from the Second Child, Asuka Langley Soryu having quickly solved the 'easy' test and deciding to silently look around the classroom and… stopped right at Shinji.

She noticed the different pattern herself but, completely the opposite from what Rei would expect from the foreigner, the girl didn't react violently to this strange phenomenon as she merely continued to study the 'fascinating' predicament she just caught with her cerulean eyes.

This whole day was taking a surreal turn as not only was the young Ikari behaving more confidently with the task and doing actually well with his work, but the redhead was showing a rare upward take of her lips, a smile, as she stared at this development.

The dream-like sight ended right as the teacher announced the end of the remaining time for the students and started to collect the various papers filled with answers and doodles.

But as Rei nodded while giving her own file to their instructor, her eyes ended up seeing the boy sighing in relief, somewhat happier and lighter than before as he seemed to know he had done well with his test. His eyes finally shifted to Asuka and he blinked in surprise at her expression, making the girl realize that she was indeed smiling.

She huffed, cheeks going red, but shocking Rei even more as she didn't bash the poor boy in his head, just like she would usually do.

Of course Shinji didn't question the blessing in the form of being left unharmed, but soon he returned to his backpack, pulling out the textbooks for the following subject as he seemingly forgot about the whole situation before him.

Rei sighed inwardly, copying his actions as she prepared too for the next lesson, her mind calmly staring at the blackboard and… why she was having trouble to read some of the kanji there?

A blink, then two and finally she closed her eyes as she decided to visit Dr. Akagi later that day.

Maybe the woman needed to see if her prescribed amount of medicines needed to be reduced or altered again….

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You know, when I see this situation happening right before my eyes, I imagine that very video where a man ends up adopting a cat that found its way in his garage.

I mean, both are kind of dumb, both are very limited to an unfair size, and both are incredibly annoying to face in long times-

｢I am not dumb.｣

I scowled at the humongous bio-mecha-thingie that now housed Lilith's soul as it-she tried to appear innocent about the whole disaster she had caused in the facility I found early on in my adventure.

When I first saw her moving around, I was investigating over the lasting damage caused to some of the rooms in the administrative section of the abandoned factory, ending up to spot her as she stopped towards the entrance to the production area.

She froze like a deer caught in some headlights, her head slowly turned in my direction as she kept quiet and waited for my reaction.

"What the goddamn frigg?"

｢I am sorry?｣

"No, you are not!" I exclaimed with a frown, arms crossing as I stared down the seemingly naive-looking Lilith. It was a strange sight, an Evangelion looking embarrassed at the damage she just caused around her.

A low-pitch sound emerged from the titan and I felt kind of confused as I tried to decipher it.

I think that is a whine.

A very strange whine from a very special robot.

｢I was trying to understand what was this place. So this is a… house?｣

"A factory. A place abandoned that once was used to produce things- Actually, why are you even here to start with?!"

｢I was bored.｣

"You cannot just bail out of quarantine because you are 'bored'? You know that people will raise hell to try and find you-"

｢They don't know.｣

"… Beg your pardon, can you repeat that with some more explanation?"

｢I always kept my brain waves on a sleepy mode and my current body is capable of replicate those even as my soul isn't within it.｣

That does make lots of sense-

But it doesn't explain why she is actually there. Boredom? Seriously?

｢It is more difficult to explain that it might sound, Blue.｣

...Did she just-

｢I can hear more… voices inside of you?｣

"What is she talking about, 428?" Minerva piped in the discussion, materializing right on my left with a curious expression on her face.

It's not what it looks like.

｢There are two more voices in his head.｣

C-CAN YOU NOT SNITCH ON ME?

You know that punishment is now unavoidable, big lady!?

This… this is bad.

"What kind of voices?" The female AI questioned, her mad scientist side emerging. "Schizophrenic kind of voices or something completely different?"

｢I wouldn't compare it to a illness, more like something new.｣

"Oh?" Minerva looked even giddier than before. "Tell me more!"

｢I already told as much as I could, the origins and the full nature of those two voices, or personalities, beyond my current understanding of mankind.｣

That is hardly a reason to literally blurt that one out! I have my share of secrets which I would like to keep quiet about and- wait, you just used a very intellectual tone here and-

Yet you know little about houses and factories?

｢I am the Seed of the 'Fruit of Knowledge'. The First Ancestral Race did create my type to be the rational part of civilization.｣

Minerva was now vibrating. "You mean you were conceived to produce intelligent people? That sounds like-"

"How Isu were characterized in ancient society? Yes," I finished dully.

｢I think I am missing something about this puzzle. You both are not… from my flesh.｣

Well, we are from another dimension-

YELLOW!

That was idiotic and-

｢Another dimension? Things like 'different dimensions' truly exists?｣

Minerva nodded. "My civilization was one of the forerunners of modern mankind. Sadly, we all gone out after a world-wide disaster."

｢My condolences, I didn't expect to encounter a fellow last member of an exicting species during my lifetime.｣

While I think this whole scene is nice and all, I think we are all avoiding the crux of the issue: what are you going to do now?

｢I was thinking of learning more about humanity. Your very presence proved to me that my knowledge of this world is obsolete and it requires further studies about it.｣

"I can offer you some books and-"

Shouldn't we first focusing on something basic, like writing and reading?

"-That is also a good thing to do, yes."

｢I am thankful that you do consider this aspect. I wasn't expecting you to take notice of this little… problem.｣

After living for centuries as a frigging bot, you either learn the hardships of learning new languages at god-like speed, or you just go and be unable to do stuff. My AI can do this much before needing my intervention.

｢Still, thank you for your consideration.｣

I was almost smiling. Almost.

Still, you are getting some punishment out of the path of destruction you left behind there.

｢...It's not that bad-｣

I will have to spend a full day to repair the things you broke on your 'exploration' and this assumption is made by the visible damages, excluding anything underneath the current state of the building.

"Actually I don't think you have the time for that?"

How so, Minnie?

"That will never take off and- did you forget about Mayu-chan?"

What was this about Mayu- wait, how much time I wasted there.

Almost an hour and… I think she is missing you, boss. GET US BACK TO OUR BABY!

NOW!

I was panicking and chiding myself as I nervously rushed by the entrance, but left only after giving a warning to the still moving Evangelion.

I will deliver some punishment, I hope you understand that, Lilith.

｢Understood.｣

I didn't waste more time as I went back to the night, running through the streets to reach home, mind shifting away from the second Angel as she slowly started to sit back in her corner and… whine at the fact she was limited by the building and her new rules.

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AN

Do you think Angels whine when they are denied what they wants?

That is a good question and yes, I went with the 'Rei is super-calm because of drugs' as it is kind of canon. In the manga is confirmed and in the Anime is alluded to so… yeah.

Shinji needs some loving to work and Asuka doesn't hate him, she just despise his cowardly attitude at doing… everything in his life, the very opposite of what her personality is.