feel warned.
Part one.
„I cannot understand how somebody so intelligent can be such idiot.”
“I cannot understand how helping can be seen as idiocy.”
“You are expected to obey orders.”
“I need to adjust my actions to situation.”
“We need to know were every member of team is …”
“It would tear your head off! Don’t expect me to…”
“I will expect you to sit at your scrawny ass and follow the plan!”
“Plan wasn’t working!”
Mistao looked back and forth between both evas like during ping-pong match, quite used – and usually amused by power plays between those two. Kyoko insisted she should let them establish ‘pecking order’ by themselves because even if humans acknowledged that Zero was the eldest, the most reliable and well controlled, it didn’t automatically make her leader. Besides, Misato was sure Nigoki needed to learn difference between her beloved games and reality. Preferably not the hard way.
“It was working until you started to get under our feet!”
“Really?! Maybe it really cut your head off and this is just some useless contraption! Use your brain for thinking, not executing orders! – Nigoki jumped to her feet, literally puffing up to make herself bigger, Zero narrowed her eye, clearly hanging on the last straws of her patience – I can fight as well as any of you …”
With movement almost too fast to see Zero rose to her feet, grabbed Nigoki’s arm and dragged her around the table and out of the room.
“Zero! – Misato shook of surprise and run after them. It wasn’t funny anymore. “Hey, wait!”
Nigoki stopped struggling once she realized where they were heading. The training room.
The twins stopped their sparing, Sho rose to her feet in alarm when Zero pushed her captive inside, still ignoring worried Misato. Without a word of explanation Zerogoki took her favorite swords, tossed one to surprised Nigoki and attacked.
“HEY! – Nigoki dodged under the blade, unable to lift heavy weapon fast enough – it’s not fair!”
“No.” – Zerogoki obviously intended to make her point really clear, Nigoki managed to stay on her feet after the first blow she blocked, but that felt as if every bone in her arm shattered under the force of impact. Zero wasn’t holding back in the slightest, not giving her a moment to collect herself or jump out of the reach. Fourth blow would cut her in half, if at the last moment Zerogoki didn’t turn the blade and hit her chest with broad flat side. Nigoki bonelessly collapsed several meters away and coughed out blood. Zerogoki wasn’t even breathing harder.
Misato forced herself to not intervene, trusting that this would be only a harsh lesson, not an execution. She tore her gaze from the fight to look at other evas. The twins watched with detached, clinical curiosity, so characteristic for all soldiers, Shogoki’s face was void of any emotions. She understood what was happening, and accepted that. After all she went through the same ordeal once. The only difference was she had a chance to win.
“Stay down.”
“N..no.” – Nigoki staggered up only to be hit again, this time with fist and the fight was really over. Zerogoki stood over her, waiting until her gaze cleared, then jammed her sword into the floor millimeters from Nigoki’s head.
“You are not a warrior. The smallest angel was still ten times bigger than me.” – she turned around and left the room. Misato cast last glance at gathered evangelions and followed her, knowing perfectly Zero would be in dire need of her medications. She never took that kind of stress well.
“Holly shit.” – surprisingly Sangoki was first to move – Ni? You still with us?”
“Shut up” – Nigoki spat trying to not move. Only now she felt how damn much everything hurt. Her pride the most.
“Alive and kicking – Yongoki chuckled – You won me a six-pack from the dummy here – he pointed to his sister – she gave you thirty seconds, I voted for forty.”
“Fuck you! This wasn’t fair fight!” – Nigoki managed to sit up, tearing her blouse in the process.
“There’s nothing fair in fighting. The angels won’t let you choose your battlefield or weapon, there are no second chances. You kill or you are killed. – Shogoki said suddenly, surprising everyone in the room – You lost because you wanted to win, but you didn’t want to kill.”
Nigoki closed her mouth, after long moment of stunned silence. She never expected such words from her friend.
“But this was Zero…”
The twins shared long, far too old look.
“This was fight, Ni – Yongoki said with surprising gentleness – even if this is just training we learn how to kill. It’s not about winning, it’s about staying alive long enough to kill your opponent.”
“You don’t get it, do you?”
“Come on, up – Yongoki grabbed Nigoki’s arm and dragged her to her feet – you need to get some medical attention.”
“Sheissss… Yon… carefull.”
***********
“She hates me.”
“I think she’s worried about you.”
Nigoki snorted and pressed ice bag to her face.
“Right, she tore me a new one and that’s mean she cares?!”
“She proved you are not ready to enter real combat. It’s Zero, what were you expecting when you challenged her? She takes her responsibilities seriously.”
“Sho, I didn’t challenge her, I sawed her ugly ass! You were there, you know she would be killed!”
“You are not allowed to participate in combat.”
“Orders, right?! – the blue eva spat with contempt – “Next time I should allow our self-sacrificing samurai follow the kamikaze path?!”
“She knows what she does.”
“Well then she obviously DOESN’T need that head.”
Shogoki sighed and shook her head.
“You can be as stubborn as Zero is. Just accept she’s older, more experienced, and she really knows better.”
“Yes, ma’am, no, ma’am. Sangoki already got this part perfect, I cannot steal her place.”
“I don’t understand you” – Shogoki shook her head helplessly.
“There’s nothing to understand. I want to help.”
“We run in circles. You are not a warrior.”
“Then why you won’t allow me to train with others?”
“Ni, you don’t have to prove yourself in battle. Zero and me, we are designed for melee combat, Yon and San serve as scouts and backup, you are supposed to be an ELINT expert. We need information to be effective.”
“Don’t expect me to sit happily, stare at monitors and watch my friends die.”
“Any of us can be replaced easily, we just need to be strong and effective in battle. None of us can replace you.”
“Cheap flattery won’t help this time.”
“It was worth a try…”
“Hey, I might be cheap, but I’m not that cheap!”
“Yes darling, you are – Yongoki interjected from the threshold. – “Why are you not healing?” – he asked immediately, not giving her a chance to respond to his teasing. Shogoki’s head snapped back to the blue eva, as if only now she noticed bandages and bruises. Nigoki shrank a little under their gaze, for the first time clearly unsure, almost ashamed.
“Low priority injuries – she mumbled almost inaudibly.
“What?” – Shogoki blinked several times – “Six broken ribs are low priority?”
“Dr Akagi said that my core doesn’t want to activate and I need to heal on my own”.
“Jeeez, Ni. Even your core thinks you deserved to have your ass kicked.”
“Thank you so very much, I love you too, Yon – Nigoki growled.
“I never thought such thing was even possible – Shogoki still stared at her chest.
“Well, that Nigoki for you. Mistress of Mischief and Mayhem , Miss Walking Destruction, Miracle Maker, The..omph! – the pillow stopped Yongoki’s monologue, and then both evas had to help to calm down coughing fit Nigoki got from jarring her broken ribs…
“Go away, both of you – Nigoki wheezed finally – I just need to sleep it of and then revenge will be mine…”
In the corridor, silence became uncomfortable.
“She was always too stubborn for her own good – Yongoki said – always had tried to prove something.”
“She’s very important for our team.”
“The team? It’s all about her not the team.”
“We were created with purpose and we need to fulfill it. – Shogoki looked at him, expecting confirmation. Yongoki shook his head.
“We are alive, Sho. Not preprogrammed robots.”
Shogoki cocked her head.
“I really don’t understand you. You make everything so complicated.”
“But that makes thing interesting, worthy! Why do you fight?” – Yongoki stopped suddenly. He distantly realized this wasn’t the best place or time for that kind of discussion, but he wanted, needed to know. Especially after the scene he witnessed in the training room.
“That’s my duty.”
“Do you want to? Do you like it?” – he leaned closer, unconsciously grabbing her forearm. Shogoki stiffened.
“Don’t touch me, please.”
“I… Sorry. I didn’t mean to…”
“It’s getting late Yongoki. I still have much to do.”
***********
Shogoki did not expect anybody in the canteen that early in the morning and yet there was Sangoki in the corner. She sat with both legs on the tabletop, her chair bent backward so much it defied gravity and she seemed to be completely lost in her magazine.
“Sho! – Sangoki rightened her chair with a thud, and waved for her – come, sit here.” Shogoki hesitated for a moment but decided to collect her plate. It wasn’t Yongoki, she shouldn’t be worried about weird questions and even weirder behavior. She gave the tabletop, where San’s feet rested just a moment ago, a long disapproving look and the eva smiled sheepishly.
“Sorry about that – she brushed surface with her palms – all clean now.”
Shogoki just sighed. So much about not expecting weirdness.
“What are you doing here so early?”
“I prefer to have my training without audience.”
“Ah, yes, humans can be distracting… We’ve got new shipment today and I wanted to catch up on some articles – Sangoki pointed to the magazine – but now I think this text’s going to kill me…”
Shogoki automatically glanced down at the presented page.
“There’s nothing wrong with print quality.”
“This alphabet is a torture device. My eyes want to crawl out.”
“I’m not very good at reading English, too....”
“Your English is probably better than my Japanese. – Sangoki shrugged and eyed Shogoki’s meal with appreciation – At least the food is great here. You should see some concentrates they gave us at Nevada base. Ni said they tasted worse than old tires.”
That statement earned small smile.
“Personal experience?”
“I never dared to ask.” – Sangoki chuckled and opened the magazine again.
“You seem to rely on technology a lot – Shogoki said thoughtfully.
“It works perfectly, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Those guns – Shogoki pointed – they are useless against the angels.”
“Human sized version, yes. I have customized models, they work. I saw you angels, during simulation session – Sangoki leaned back again – they are more… meaty than ours, that’s why you need to get close and personal to do any harm to them, I think. Ours, well you need to shot them enough times and they go BOOOM! Splat. Goo and exoskeleton everywhere. Then you only need to search this mess for the core and blew it up for good before it starts regenerating.”
“Ew.”
“Crawling in toxic goo cannot be much worse than getting regular bloodbaths.”
“After first time you don’t even notice it.”
“Exactly.”
That’s all for now…
Nuclear Lunchbox wrote:It looks like every horrible feeling that anybody has ever had for Shinji physically manifested themselves on his body. Then he makes us pity him, except for those of us who are still pissed at him for wanking over Asuka. Then we get more angers, and we dump those angers on Shinji, and he gets beat up more, and then we keep foisting all of our angers onto Shinji.
