Hello again!
So, the new chapter will be up on Saturday (November 5, 2016) but that doesn't mean an excerpt isn't in order. Also, it's not a very spoilery, so it does not contain any of the changes I've made to the events. That you'll have to read tomorrow.
Excerpt from Episode IV: The Last Hope – Chapter 5 – School of Hard Knocks; Shamshel Attacks
Misato and Shinji were on their way back home from NERV. They had just gotten off the car train, and were exiting the access tunnel.
“Shinji, how was school today?” Misato asked.
“It was ok.” Shinji replied while staring blankly out the window.
“Are you sure? You sound kinda down.” Misato gave him a worried glance. “Are you sure everything there is going ok? You can tell me anything, Shinji, I’m here to help you…”
“Its fine, I keep to myself mostly.” Shinji replied. “Its way better than my old school, they never left me alone there, always teasing me and hitting me, it’s nice to be… invisible.”
“You used to get hit?!” Misato shouted. “Why did nobody do anything?! What about your old guardian?! Why didn’t he step in?!”
“I never told him, he couldn’t do anything anyway. The teachers never did, they just saw me as the child of Gendo Ikari – Wife Murderer. I was judged because of him, and I couldn’t do anything about it.” Shinji kept staring out the window. “Besides, I can handle myself. It happened for long enough, it doesn’t even hurt anymore…”
‘Shinji…’ Misato thought. ‘Life hasn’t been fair to either, has it? I guess we really are a lot alike, almost like destiny brought two souls together to help one another…’
“Is the story getting too real for you, Misato?” Shinji asked. “Or is something wrong with you.”
Misato looked over at Shinji again. “What do you mean? I just…”
“Couldn’t think of a way to make me feel better?” Shinji asked. “It doesn’t matter, as long as people leave me alone, I’m just fine! Friends just end up disappearing and leaving you… alone…” Shinji said sullenly as a tear rolled down his eye. ‘Like that girl from so long ago…’ Shinji thought. ‘Why did she leave me?’
“Shinji… I’m sorry.” Misato replied. “I just…”
“Just pull over here, I have to pick stuff up for dinner.” Shinji said gruffly. “I’ll walk the rest of the way back.”
–––
Misato was taking a shower after dropping Shinji off on the side of the road. While she was soaping herself up, she was talking to herself about Shinji.
“I wonder what’s up with Shinji…” Misato said to the shower wall. “I mean, he’s sometimes so quiet, and sometimes he’s a dick, but he’s been through so much. His file mentions nothing, save for his mother’s death and father abandonment… I guess he just needs a friend, but I can’t be his friend… I just don’t get him… I want to help him so badly, but I’m just not sure how to. He’s not exactly open about things…”
Misato rinsed the soap off herself and sighed. “Well, at least a nice hot shower at the end of a long day can make things better… maybe I’ll just take a bath later too, to relax. I wish I knew what could calm Shinji down though…he’s so tightly wound, it’s only a matter of time before he snaps and does something… drastic.”
Shinji was walking towards the apartment. ‘I hope Misato’s not mad.’ Shinji thought. ‘But, she was asking questions she wasn’t prepared to hear the answer to. Sometimes the truth is just harsh, there’s no way around it.’ He pushed open the door and walked into the apartment. Shinji realized he didn’t actually unlock the door. ‘Great, she left the door unlocked again. Someone could just walk in, like any perv off the street. Misato is just so careless. Whatever…’
Shinji wake silently into the kitchen, after locking the front door. Shinji got hard to work on dinner, and beginning to cook a simple stir–fry. Pen–Pen waddled up to Shinji while he was cooking and began to pull at his pants leg.
“Wark!” Pen–Pen squawked sullenly.
“Oh, hello Pen–Pen.” Shinji replied to the sad bird “I bet you’re hungry, aren’t you?”
“Wark, wark!” Pen–Pen squawked in reply.
Shinji went into the fridge and gabbed a package of beef jerky. “I got this especially for you. I figured since the package disappeared, you might like one to yourself.”
Pen–Pen wrapped his fins around Shinji’s leg. “WARK!”
Shinji patted Pen–Pen’s head. “You’re welcome.” Shinji replied, as Pen–Pen ran off to the couch and ripped open the package of jerky, eating all of it in a rush before slumping over in a happy daze. “Silly bird…”
Shinji kept cooking while Misato got dressed. ‘So, he came back without saying hello. Guess he’s still mad…’ Misato thought as she went out into the kitchen to relax. She grabbed three beers from the fridge, and cracked one open and chugged it. “Ahhhhh!” Misato exclaimed. “There is nothing like a cold beer after a hot shower, right Shinji?”
“Misato, I don’t drink.” Shinji said as he served dinner. “I’m a minor, remember?”
“You’re no fun.” Misato replied, digging into her dinner. “So, Ritsuko called me with some results from today’s test. You’re reaction time has improved incredibly since you started piloting. But one area of improvement she can see is, you need to respond faster to orders. That lack of response time is dangerous, and could become a problem down the line.”
“I can’t help it, Misato.” Shinji replied. “I’m just not cut out for this shit. Besides, it’s not like I’m piloting because I want to.”
‘I thought he was piloting because he wanted to… I’ve got to set him straight…’ Misato thought as she stared at Shinji in shock. “What kind thinking is that, Shinji?!” Misato shouted. “The lives of all mankind are riding on you as a pilot, if you think like that in combat, you’re liable to get yourself killed!”
“Whatever, I don’t really care.” Shinji replied as he played with his food. “It doesn’t matter when I die, it’ll happen when it’s supposed to, EVA or not.”
Misato slammed her beer down and stood up. “What the hell kind of thinking is that?! You may be open and accepting of death, but the rest of us aren’t quite as accepting of that. You’re an important pilot to us, your life is no longer yours to live! I don’t want you to die, stop thinking that way!”
Shinji swiped his hand across the table, sweeping his plate off the table and leaving a mess on the floor of his uneaten food. His face looked livid as he stood up and silently walked away from Misato. ‘So I belong to them, do I?’ Shinji thought. ‘And here I thought Misato took me in because she liked me… does anyone in the world care about me?’
“Hey, I’m talking to you Shinji where the hell do you think you’re going?” Misato asked.
“Bed.” Shinji replied angrily. “I’m done with this conversation. You made your point very clear, nothing is my decision anymore, and can only die if I’m ordered to. Just go out and kill angels, and eventually, I’ll be told I can be in control of my life again, if I don’t die before hand. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Shinji, get back here and clean up this mess!” Misato shouted.
“It’s your turn for cleanup tonight, Misato, look at that chart of yours.” Shinji said coldly. “Goodnight…” Shinji slammed the door to his room. ‘It’s not like I have anything worth fighting for anyway…’ He thought he laid back on his bed and looked at the ceiling.
Shinji left Misato standing alone and confused. “What did I just do?” Misato muttered. “I was just trying to motivate him…”
Hope you all enjoyed the spoiler, the chapter will be out in full tomorrow, so be ready. Yeah it was long, but the chapter is long.
The links and status of the saga are below:
Origins Arc - Complete!
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy - Episode I: The Phantom Menace; Complete, 10 Chapters
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy - Episode II: Attack of the Seeds; Complete, 12 Chapters
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy - Episode III: Revenge of Ikari; Complete, 12 Chapters
Angels Arc - Underway
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy - Episode IV: The Last Hope; In-Process, 4 of 12 Chapters
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy - Episode V: SEELE Strikes Back; Outlined, 0 of 12 Chapters
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy - Episode VI: Return of Reality; Outlined, 0 of 12 Chapters
Resurgence Arc - Under Construction...
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy - Episode VII: Awakenings
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy - Episode VIII: Echoes of the Past
Neon Genesis Evangelion: Legacy - Episode IX: Daybreak