Neon Genesis Silmarillion
Book II: The Glorious Battle
A Tolkein/Evangelion story
By John Biles
********************
Months had passed since the Battle Of Arkham. Things had been fairly quiet; they'd fought a giant beetle in Norway, but that was all. Touji and Olga had been busy recovering from their injuries, but were now more or less back to normal, physically. Hikari now had scars on her left leg on the calf.
This didn't stop her dragging Touji out into the snow to go running. She had been relentlessly physically training herself every day and getting Touji to teach her to fight as well.
"It's damn cold," Touji said as they ran through the snow.
It was, in fact, 4 below 0 Centigrade. Their breath frosted the air frequently as they ran. Hikari could run a lot more and longer than when they'd started, though Touji was still much faster.
"Exercise is good for you," she said. "Did you buy a present for Langley-sensei like I told you?"
"Uhh..." he said. NO.
She sighed. "Come on, we can run to the store and get her something."
"I don't even know what to get her," Touji said.
"I have a list," Hikari said.
I should have known, Touji thought.
***************
"Damn, I wish I could play like that," Kensuke said enviously. He and Heilwig were at Evelyn's apartment; Evelyn, Rei, Asuka, Shinji, and Olga were busy jamming in what had started as a classical piece and turned into jazz improv.
"Me too," Conrad said. "I can sort of sound like I am dying on the recorder, but that's about it."
"Me too," Heilwig said jealously.
Kensuke wasn't sure what exactly he and Heilwig were. They did a lot of stuff together, but she still was kind of wary and jumpy and easily panicked. They did hold hands sometimes, but that was all. No kissing, which tended to make him REALLY envious. On the other hand, she could be pretty fun to be with when she got over her nerves and damn, she was cool on the sporting field.
"We need a saxaphone," Rei announced.
"We don't have a saxaphone player," Asuka said.
"You never did tell me why I needed to learn the clarinet," Evelyn said. She had a long way to go to catch up to Rei or Shinji or really, any of them, but she was learning quickly.
"Music is powerful," Rei said. "One day, you will be very glad you learned."
"And it's fun," Olga said.
"This next piece is rather danceable," Asuka said, looking at Heilwig and Kensuke as if to MAKE THEM DANCE.
Kensuke grinned. Bless you, sensei. That was another thing Heilwig could handle. Dancing. "Sorry, Conrad, the lady gets the first dance."
Conrad laughed. "Have fun."
Heilwig smiled and took Kensuke's hands and they began to dance.
Conrad sat back and began going over the list in his head. He'd been designated Birthday Party Planner for Langley-sensei's birthday party tomorrow and he wanted to make sure it went well. Hopefully I won't get owned by the old men again, he thought.
He rolled his dice and got two ones. He grimaced. Damn you, fate.
**************
Makoto licked his lips nervously. "You sure of this?" he asked Shigeru.
"Man, you just lounge around reading comics or dreaming about our boss when you're not working," Shigeru said. "You need this even more than we need a drummer."
He played in a band; they had local popularity, which wouldn't amount to much but it was fun and gave him something to do so he wouldn't be as sad as Makoto on his time off. Shigeru played bass guitar. One of NERV's lab techs, Lucy Blake, played lead guitar and sang, her roomate Mandi Woods, who was in logistics, played the keyboard.
"Okay," Makoto said. "I'll give it a shot."
"I've got the sheet music for you," Shigeru said. "It'll be a ton of fun."
It beat sitting around at home, anyway, Makoto thought.
***************
Makoto was somewhat confused at first to wake up in bed with a blond woman after the gig. He dimly remembered meeting her and a post gig party and...
Man, he felt good.
But what was her NAME?
Now he understood where Shigeru got all his women.
*****************
"You seem perky," Misato said at work to Makoto.
"The concert went well."
"Yeah, you were really rockin'," Misato said. "But I had to leave early to finish paperwork due this morning." She sighed. "And to prepare the minutes for the meeting in 20. My youth is over. I PREPARE MINUTES."
"Wait, how do you prepare minutes in advance?"
"The ones from the last meeting," she said. "Anyway, you ready for two hours of boredom?"
"Thrilled," he said, relaxing a little. Heidi hadn't wanted anything serious, so he didn't have to mention her to Misato, which would get awkward, though part of him hoped she'd get jealous.
And part feared she wouldn't care.
**************
"We have a new student," Asuka said. "His name is Kaworu Nagisa. He's from Japan and this is his first time in Germany, so please take care of him."
Every girl in the classroom's eyes lit up. Except for Hikari (studying her notes intently even though she didn't have any yet), Evelyn (smacking the sides of her head for no clear reason), Rei (who looked like a viper had just walked in) and Asuka (who was quite certain she had a boyfriend already, though she did think he was cute). Kensuke noticed to his frustration that this included Heilwig.
Katherine stood up. "I'd be happy to show you around!," she said urgently.
"Me! Me! Me!" Most of the girls in class began shouting. Kensuke couldn't tell if Heilwig was among them, but he had a feeling she was, which made him frown.
Asuka's eyes swept the class. It really wouldn't be fair to... Olga was staring at Nagisa, eyes wide, then trying not to stare. Good, she's not staring at Touji, Asuka thought. Half the time Olga seemed to hide from him, the other half, Olga and Touji tried to kill each other.
It was just a kiss and I'm not jealous because I haven't had one, Asuka thought.
"Can't you show me around, sensei?" Nagisa asked Asuka. "I'd be grateful."
Asuka's eyes crossed. She could see herself walking with... WHAT AM I THINKING???
Then she noticed Rei was watching him like he was evil incarnate.
"I can't, I'm a teacher. I..."
"Let's have a lottery!," Katherine said.
"Shinji and I will show him around," Evelyn said. "It's more fair that way. We're taken."
This is getting nakedly... Asuka had a feeling things were getting out of control. "Sounds good."
Grumbles washed through the room.
"A woman who knows her own heart and looks out for her friends," Nagisa said. "You're an impressive woman."
Evelyn mumbled for a second, took Shinji's hand, and rallied. "I have the best boyfriend in the world," she said firmly. "In the world."
"Rei, are you okay?" Conrad asked, worried.
Rei now kissed Conrad to everyone's shock. Most had the dim idea those two were dating, but they'd never seen them do anything but pal around. Rei pushed forward until Conrad's chair was leaning backwards.
"Rei, no kissing in class, please," Asuka said, feeling irritated. Not that she'd kiss Conrad in a A MILLION years.
Dammit, I had better get a kiss from Kaji tonight, she thought.
Rei then looked at Nagisa as if defying him to... make a move on Conrad?
Nagisa smiled a gentle smile which seemed to just make Rei more tense.
"Rei, it's okay," Conrad said.
Nagisa said, "I understand it's your birthday today, sensei."
"I...umm, yes," Asuka said.
"Let's sing Happy Birthday!," Evelyn said.
Asuka was feeling a little embarrassed but happy after that.
**************
"Is it just me..." Nagisa asked at lunch as they sat with Evelyn's circle of friends, who were practically dying from joy at having him with them.
"That's Ingrid trying to make my head explode by thinking evil thoughts at me," Shinji said. He could tell without even having to look these days.
Then he felt the push stop and looked and now Ingrid was beet red. Nagisa was smiling that gentle smile of his at her. Ingrid turned and ran away, her friends trailing after her.
"I wish that worked for me," Shinji said. Though he was mostly used to Ingrid glaring death rays at him. She'd gotten more so as she blamed him for her brother getting hurt. As if he could have somehow travelled faster than Mach 2 if he wanted to enough or something.
"Someone has a crush," Evelyn sing-songed, then laughed.
"She is getting on towards that age," Nagisa said. "She's one year behind you all, right?"
"Yes," Katherine said. "If you need a German tutor, Nagisa, I'm very good at it."
"That would be nice," he said to her and she smiled as if he'd just given her all of Bavaria as her garden.
Shinji couldn't quite figure out why all the girls in his class seemed to be insanely into Nagisa. He was kind of good looking but he looked kind of like... Was he another half-Eldar like Rei? But why was she so hostile to him? Unless... I have to ask her later.
He could see Evelyn very careful avoiding looking directly at Nagisa. She looked agitated. For that matter, he could feel her agitation the way he could feel air or smell his lunch. And he was pretty sure she could read his emotions like a book now.
Which sometimes made him nervous.
Which she would then sense and...
He touched his forehead, trying to focus. It was all too easy to spiral himself like that.
"Shinji?" Evelyn asked, worried.
Oh dammit.
"I'm fine," he said, knowing she could tell otherwise. "So where in Japan are you from?" he asked Nagisa. "I lived up in Hokkaido with my aunt and uncle."
"Hiroshima," Nagisa said. "Though I was mostly raised by my Aunt in Osaka."
He didn't have an Osaka accent, Shinji noticed. He didn't have a foreign accent, but there was something odd about his Japanese.
"So your aunt works for NERV now?" Gertrude asked.
"Aunt Himeko is a physical therapist. Hopefully none of you will have to meet her professionally," Nagisa said. "How about you?"
A round of everyone talking about their family ensued; Shinji noticed Nagisa either really loved learning about people's families or could fake interest in everything. He looked directly into people's eyes and you felt like you were the center of the world when he talked to you. It made Shinji somewhat jumpy whenever Nagisa talked to him.
"Are you one of the Children?" Katherine asked.
"No," he said. "I suppose I might be selected, but I just came with my aunt."
"What happened to your parents?" Evelyn asked, worried.
"Father died in a factory accident shortly after the Vanishing and Mother fell into despair and killed herself, leaving me with my aunt," he said, sighing and casting down his eyes.
Shinji now felt something else. Not Ingrid-hate, but someone was hating very much. Not anyone in his circle; they were all sympathetic and he felt very sorry for Nagisa. Though Evelyn felt somewhat odd. He couldn't quite read her.
Several girls all patted Nagisa at once and offered condolences.
Shinji looked around; she could see Rei sitting with Conrad, Kensuke, Heilwig, Touji, and Hikari. And Rei was watching Nagisa as if he might suddenly split open and release a hideous monster to kill everyone. Conrad looked utterly embarrassed and Kensuke was busy pontificating about something.
Shinji took Evelyn's hand and she started, then leaned over and kissed him; he didn't think anyone noticed, other than Nagisa, who winked at them, then turned his attention to Gretchen, who nearly swooned.
"Does anyone have any salt?" Nagisa asked.
"ME!" Gretchen said triumphantly, handing him a cute one shaped like a duck.
He salted his food, which Shinji now realized was shrimp udon. "Hey, where did you get udon?" Shinji asked. "We can't find any that isn't terrible."
"My aunt makes her own," Nagisa said, then had to explain what udon was to his fangirls.
The rest of lunch was much like this.
****************
"Don't be foolish," Hikari said to Heilwig. "You have a boyfriend."
"We're not...I mean we..." she said to the floor.
"Kensuke has been trying very hard to play by your rules. If you dump him in order to chase some playboy, you will deserve everything you will have coming to you," she said firmly.
"I can't... he just..." Heilwig said nervously.
Hikari rubbed her forehead. "Can't you tell every girl in this class is going crazy for him? I even think I saw one of our teachers making googly eyes at him! YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND."
"But we...we're not exactly..."
"Are you just going to treat Kensuke as something to throw away on a whim?" Hikari said, trying not to think about Nagisa or how he looked at you or...dammit!
Heilwig mumbled something.
"Whatever. But when Kensuke decides to kill you, I will hold you still for him," Hikari said. "Make up your MIND."
Then she stormed off and found Touji and kissed him until he could hardly breathe.
"Thanks," he said, grinning more confidently.
"I swear I am not interested in that boy even if every other girl in sight is," Hikari said.
"I know," he said. "And you're the only woman for me."
Hikari felt a little embarrassed. She wanted to trust Touji about the kissing Olga thing but Olga was so gorgeous and she was.... still a mousy little thing. I'll be fourteen in two months but my stupid body is taking its own sweet time growing up! Dammit, she thought, then told herself not to curse.
"Man, I totally don't get what makes girls crazy about that guy. He's kinda girly," Touji said. "Even more than Shinji."
"Shinji isn't girly," Hikari said. "He just has good manners."