To Change the Past An Evangelion/AMG Fanfic By Dale Ratner Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion was created by Hideaki Anno and is owned by him, Studio Gainax, and ADV Films, AMG was created by Kosuke Fujishima and his owned by him, Dark Horse Comics, AIC, and AnimeEigo. All comments should be sent to Shadow6865@aol.com. Warning: This work takes place after End of Evangelion so people who haven't seen the movie might get spoilers and are probably going to be confused. Chapter One: Second Chances "Did you manage to find anything fresh to eat?" asked Asuka in a weakened voice her futon as Shinji entered their home. Home it was in another apartment building that was only a few blocks away from their old one. After Third Impact, Asuka and Shinji tried living in the same apartment that they shared with Misato during happier days but the memories were too much for either of them to bear. Asuka had memories of insulting Shinji and the other two stooges but those weren't the ones that got to her. She cried every time she thought Kaji but even Kaji wasn't the one Asuka missed the most. Hikari was the person that received that honor; Asuka wanted more than anything in the world to see Hikari again so they could talk about anything and everything. Asuka would talk about how Kaji was the only real man in her life and Hikari would wish yearnfully that Toji would notice her more than he noticed Misato. Hikari was the only person that Asuka ever considered a true friend in short Asuka loved Hikari more than anyone else in the world. "Sorry! Everything's gone even Kaji-san's melons. I planted some new seeds but they will take months to grow. We will have to survive on rations and supplies from NERV HQ until then" Shinji said with a forced smile trying to reassure Asuka that everything would work out for the best. Shinji didn't believe in the false optimism he tried to project though. There were many times when Shinji wanted to curl up in a ball and die but he couldn't because he needed to take care of Asuka. He felt responsible for Asuka's weakened condition and her missing eye and if he were to die than their would be no one left to take care of her. For once he was facing reality and responsibility head on instead of cowering and running away. He felt afraid but also brave at the same time and the feeling of bravery allowed him to carry on even when he did not want to. Shinji proceed to prepare two ration boxes from NERV HQ into something that at least looked good. After he finished performing cosmetic surgery on the food, he took the two meals to the dinner table he set up near Asuka's bed so they could eat their meals together. The traumas that Asuka experienced in EVA-02 from fighting against her first angel under water to everything that happened during third impact had taken their toll on Asuka's mind and body. Shinji's company and support have helped improve Asuka's mental stability and self-esteem greatly but their was little he could do for her body beyond helping her walk every now and then to so she could get air and supplying her with painkillers from the ruined NERV hospital when he managed to find them every now and then. "Would you like what's supposed to be chicken or what's supposed to be beef?" Shinji asked with a small smile as he sat down in a chair next to Asuka's bed. "I guess I will have what's supposed to be beef tonight" Asuka answered trying to laugh at Shinji's joke "Who would have ever thought that someone could cook food worse than MIsato ever did?" "Yeah" was all Shinji could stay in response before Asuka began sobbing fiercely. "I miss them, Shinji-kun. I miss them all; Hikari, Kaji, Misato, Dr. Akagi, I even miss Wonder Girl and the other two stooges." Asuka managed to say before breaking down into another round of fresh sobs. This wasn't the first time Asuka broke down into tears and it probably won't be the last, Shinji thought to himself. The first few times Asuka had these crying fits, Shinji had no idea what to do and often times he broke into tears himself until they both passed out from exhaustion due to crying. It was after Asuka's fifth crying fit that Shinji discovered a way to soothe Asuka's pain. He slowly put his arms and her neck and began stroking her hair while whispering it would all be okay eventually into her ear. "It will never be okay, Shinji-kun. This didn't have to happen none of this ever had to happen." "I know. Third Impact could have been prevented if it weren't for my father." "Not just Third Impact. Second Impact didn't have to happen. It was all so unnecessary. Too many lives were lost for no good reason. I wish that Second Impact never happened." "I do to, Asuka-chan" "Is that what you really wish for?" asked a warm but mysterious and unfamiliar voice. "Who is it? What do you want?" asked a startled and scared Asuka and Shinji in unison as they both looked around them eventually seeing a beautiful women in odd clothing with long, blonde hair standing about 15 feet away from them. "I mean you no harm" said the woman. "I do understand why my presence would frighten you. I am the goddess Belldandy and I have been sent to grant you each one wish but it has to be the same wish." "Why should we believe you? asked Asuka. "If you are a goddess like you claim to be than would you be responsible for the angels and Second and Third Impacts?" "We did not want those events to happen but they were unfortunately necessary." answered Belldandy with a great amount of regret in her voice. "Why did they happen then?" demanded Asuka. "What did we do wrong?" "Certain men thought that with new technology they could advance the evolution of man and become Gods themselves. Kami-sama originally thought that Second Impact would be enough punishment. But the same men still strived to become Gods so then the Angels became necessary but the power these men gained was too great so Third Impact was necessary." "Then why did Shinji and I survive." "You two survived because you are the destined ones. The ones that can save humanity if given the chance." "We were give the chance but we failed" said Shinji emerging from his state of silence. "No you didn't fail" said Belldandy. "You gave it your best and most noble effort; nobody could have asked either of you to do any more. I, Kami-sama and the rest of the gods are very proud of you." "Then why are we here in this hell?" asked Asuka. "I came to change that. Kami-sama decided that even though you two didn't always show it through your actions both of you have hearts that are true and noble and you both deserve your wish to come true." "You heard our wish" said Shinji. "Asuka and I wish that Second Impact never happened." "Do you really wish for that?" asked Belldandy. "Why wouldn't we?" asked Shinji and Asuka in unison. "Because if Second Impact never happened there is a good chance that neither of you or any of your friends will ever be born and if you were born it doesn't mean that you will ever meet each other or your other friends." Shinji and Asuka looked at each other with some hesitance before Asuka answered Belldandy. "It doesn't really matter. It is just a risk we will have to take." "That is very brave and noble of you. Please prepare yourselves, your wish has been granted" answered Belldandy before a pillar of blue light eminated from the markings on her forehead. "She wasn't joking, she really is a goddess!" Asuka said trying not to be knocked over from the force of the power that was coming from Belldandy. The strength of Belldandy's power was too much for both Asuka and Shinji and both of them felt their consciousness rapidly decreasing before they were both knocked out. Asuka awoke in a room she has never seen before. "Where am I?" she though to herself before she got up by herself and proceed to look around her room trying to figure out where she was. "Got up? I got up by myself without Shinji's help!" Asuka jumped for joy her injuries were gone. She would no longer have to rely on anyone for help in moving around. "Might as well look in the closet to see what type of clothing I have." Asuka thought to herself. Asuka looked around her closet and noticed that it was the same clothing she wore in Tokyo-3 with one exception. "Damn, this school uniform is even worse than my old one." Asuka cursed silently under her breath. "I wonder if it's a school day? It doesn't matter though it is 5 PM according to my alarm clock even if it was a school day, I would have missed it. Asuka decided to wear her standard yellow T-shirt and short denim cut-off jean shorts before she exited her room to explore the rest of the apartment. When Asuka entered the kitchen, she found Shinji there along with two manila folders, one envelope, and what was presumably a copy of today's newspaper. "What are you doing here?" Asuka asked, very startled to see that she and Shinji still lived together. "I was wondering the same thing." Shinji responded. "I was thirsty when I woke up so I went into the kitchen to get something to drink when I saw these things on the table. There is one manila folder for each of us and the letter is addressed to both of us. I was waiting for you to wake up before I read the letter." "What are you waiting for then?" Asuka demanded with some of her old behavior coming back. "I think you should look at the date and title of the newspaper first." Shinji responded. "Fine" Asuka grumbled looking at the newspaper. "What? It can't be! The Kyoto Times?Sunday, June 26th, 1998? Open the letter quickly, I want to find out what's going on." "Okay, okay, just calm down will you" Shinji said while opening the envelope. "It's from Belldandy. Dear Shinji and Asuka, I am sorry but Kami-sama decided that in order to see if humanity deserved to avoid Second Impact, he would test you. You two must find out who is responsible for Second Impact and stop them. The information in the two packets will help get you on the right path. If you ever need me, I am living in Tokyo with a young man named Morisato Keichii. Don't be afraid to call, I will know who you are." "So it's up to us. to prevent Second Impact" Asuka said with a sigh. "We might as well open up these packets and see what's inside them." Shinji and Asuka opened up their packets and studied them closely in silence. "What's in your packet?" Shinji asked. "A bank account complete with ATM Card and Check book with a lot of money in it, a key to this apartment, a bus and subway card, a phone card, beeper, a piece of paper with my codes, beeper number, and what is presumably the telephone number for this apartment, and a school ID. What about your packet? "The same. Is your school ID for Kyoto Prepatory Day School?" "No mine is for Kyoto Junior and Senior High School of the Sciences. What did we do now? "I guess we get something for supper and go to school tomorrow." was all Shinji said. End of Chapter One Change the Past By Dale Ratner Disclaimer: Neon Gensis Evangelion was created by Hideaki Anno and is owned by him, Gainax with North American and Israeli (I'm not making this part up) distribution rights owned by ADV Films. All comments should be sent to Shadow6865@aol.com. Warning: This fic takes place after End of Evangelion. If don't know anything about it prepare to be confused. Chapter 2: Something unexpected. Shinji was laying down on his bed later that night trying to make sense of everything that had happened in what seemed like only a few hours. At the start of the day it was the year 2016 and he and Asuka were the only two surviving people on Earth , living one day at a time and trying their hardest to survive. And by the end of the day he and Asuka were transported back in time to a different city, Kyoto, a city he has never been to before and they were given the task/test to make sure that Second Impact never happened. "Belldandy said that the information in the packet would put us on the right track but I didn't see anything that would help us" thought Shinji. "Unless what I seek to find is at the school but what would Kyoto prep have to do with Second Impact?" Who went or taught there? Fuyusuki? No, he taught at some university That Shinji could not remember the name of. Mother? Maybe? No, Impossible thought Shinji she would be too old to be a student and too young to teach. "Mother" Shinji repeated softly out loud as tears began to trickle down his face. "I wonder if I will be able to see you again. I wonder what Asuka is thinking about." Asuka turned off the radio on the stereo in her room in slight disguist. She did not think it was possoble for anyone to have worse taste in Popular Music than the Japanese in 2015 but the Japanese in 1998 obviously did. "How can anyone take a song seriously if the words Carrot Cake are in the title?" Asuka thought with honest wonder. "Doesn't anyone outside of the United States and Britain know how to make good Rock and Roll?"1 Asuka did not really care about the music though like Shinji she was full of questions that she could not answer. "Maybe I should call Belldandy-san and find out what to do?" Asuka thoughts about calling Belldandy gave her a sudden revelation. "If it's 1998 that means that he is still alive!" Asuka quickly picked up her phone and punched in three numbers. "Hello, information. How may we help you this evening?" asked the voice on the other side of the line. "Do you have a listing for a Kaji Ryouj?i" asked Asuka hoping that they did. "Just a moment" replied the operator in a sing-song voice that some Japanese woman affected when helping someone.2 The sing-song voice really mad Asuka mad it made the woman seem weak and passive and Asuka occasionally found herself wanting to yell at the women who put on the voice and tell them to grow a back bone. "The woman came back just after Asuka was able to calm down her anger. "We have a listing for only one Kaji family in Kyoko. Do you want the number?" "Yes, please. Just wait one second while I get a pen and piece of paper ready" answered Asuka. "Okay." replied the sing-song, cheery operator. Asuka could have sworn that the operator said "Do Re" instead of okay. "I am ready" Asuka said after a minute ready to take down the number she hoped would be for Kaji's house. "The number is 278-4568. Do you want me to connect you?" "Yes" answered Asuka. "Thank you very much." "Your welcome" was the last words Asuka heard the operator say before she heard the rings for the Kaji house. Time suddenly went much slower for Asuka. Each ring seemed to take longer and longer and it seemed like an eternity passed before some answered after the fourth ring. "Hello. This the Kaji residence. How may we help you?" answered a woman's with a middle aged sounding voice on the other line. "Is Ryouji there?" asked Asuka. "Just a second. I will go get him" answered the woman who Asuka guessed was Kaji's mother. "Ry-chan" The woman called out as her placed down the phone. "There's a call for you and it's a girl to. I swear so many girls call you these days. I should get you a phone of your own." "How many times do I have to tell you to not call me Ry-chan, mom?" asked Kaji who wat the age of 14 decided the being called Ry-chan just would not qualify as acceptable any more. "But you will always be my Ry-chan" answered his mother. "Now don't keep the nice girl waiting to long before you pick up." "Yes, mom" answered Kaji before he picked up the phone. "Hello? This is Ryouji Kaji. Who is this and when do you want to go on a date?" Asuka was speechless. Kaji just asked her out on a date. It was a dream come true and Asuka wanted to yell out that they should go a date this very night but she could not. The shock of hearing his voive again after what seemed like ages was too much for her and she remained speechless. "Hello?" asked Kaji. "Is their anyone there?" Kaji managed say hello again three more times before he heard the other line go dead. "Weird?" he thought to himself before returning to his room to complete his homework. "His voice sounds the same" Asuka said softly to herself. "It's still soft and smooth and melodic. Kaji I am glad to hear your voice again" were the last words Asuka said before she cried herself to sleep. Shinji and Asuka ate the breakfast that Shinji prepared in an uncomfortable silence; neither of them knowing what to say or possibly neither of them wanting to say anything. They both ate their meals incredibly slowly, however because neither of them had eaten food this good in a long time and they also did not know when or if they would go back to the desloate earth they came from where the only food was the tons of rations that Shinji discovered in the remains of NERV Headquarters. "Do you take the red or blue line to your school?" asked Asuka more out of wanting the uncomfortable silence to stop rather than curiosity. "I take the blue line" "I see, I guess we travel alone then." Asuka replied. "It's almost 8 in the morning, we should leave for school know. I will beep you at lunch time to find out what's up. Good bye." With her final words, Asuka quickly gobbled up the rest of her meal, grabbed her bento and bag, slipped her shoes on and quickly left the apartment. "That's strange" Shinji thought to himself. "It's like she can't stand being around me. Is she nervous? Or is she becoming her old self again?" Shinji also decided to take Asuka's words of advice and headed out the door making sure to lock it. Shinji began to walk towards the elevator, wishing that he spent sometime last night explring the layout for his new home. It was very different from Misato's building and he would need to find out were the laundry machines and trash burner was. Shinji steped into the elevator and rode it down for the whole 10 floor journey without anyone else getting on which relieved Shinji because he did not know if people would now who he is. Shinji's luck ended when we stepped out of the apartment's front doors when a beautiful woman in her early 30s returning from her early morning jog stoped him for small talk. "Good morning, Ikari-kun. How are you today?" the woman asked her voice sounding semi out of breath. "I am fine, How about you?" Shinji finally managed to stammer out. "I am doing very well, thank you very much. Today is your first day of school at Kyoko prep, correct?" "Yes it is. I have to go now. Bye." Shinji said quickly while running off in the distance to the neares subway stop." Shinji arrived at the subway stop five minutes later and stoped a few seconds to catch his breath. A boy in the same school uniform that Shinji was wearing, in this case a tlue sport's coat with tan pants and a tie with straight black hair and brown eyes came over to the hunched over Shinji. "Hey newcomer, you look out of breath." "Yeah. I did not want to be late on the first day of school." replied Shinji suddenly finding time to look up at the boy who began talking to him. "Don't worry. This line takes you about one-half a block away from the school and it is only a ten minute ride. You will arrive with plenty of time to spare." The boy said with a light chuckle. "Thanks" replied Shinji. "By the way, I am called Masamichi Akira" said the boy with a slightly melodramatic voice. I am in nineth grade, class b." "My name is Ikari Shinji, Masamichi-kun. I am also in eigth grade." "Call me Akira or if you must use honorifics call me Akira-kun but most people call me Akira and I prefer it that way." "Okay. You can call me Shinji or Shinji-kun." "How about I call you Betty?" "Huh? Why would you call me Betty?" Shinji asked. "Forget it, Shinji-kun. It's a line from an old American song I heard once. I guess you never heard it before." "No. Who is it by?" " I don't know. His first name is Paul though." Shinji spent this next fifteen minutes listening to Akira ramble on about various things about the school. What clubs to join. Which teachers assigned the most and least work and other essential facts of knowledge that every student should know about his or her school. Shinji liked Akira from the start and it appeared that Akira felt the sameway about him. When they arrived at the school Akira ponited Shinji up the stairs and to the right which led to the adminstration's office and proceded to class. A middle-aged receptionist with grey streaks in her long black hair greeted Shinji as he walked into the office. "How may I help you?" asked the receptionist. "My name is Ikari Shinji and I am a new student. " "Yes Ikari-san, we have been excepting you. The secretary pulled a packet out from her desk drawer and handed it to Shinji. "This is all the information you need to know. It contains your class number, a letter of for your new home room teacher, the school rulebook and your locker number and combination. Once you look it over, all you have to do is sign a few forms and you will be all set." Shinji headed towards his class after signing the forms. He was in Akira's class which made him happy at least he would know one student in the class already and Akira seemed to be pretty popular so his friendship would help make the social climate easier for Shinji as well. Shinji arrived at class B for nineth graders and knocked on the door after taking a few deep breath to gather courage. "Come in" said the homeroom teacher. Shinji entered the classroom and and handed the homeroom teacher the letter and proceeded to stand very uncomfortably in front of the class waiting for the teacher to introduce him to the class. "Class this is Ikari Shinji-san" said the teacher a young man who was about 24 years old. He will be a member of this class from now on. Ikari-san you can sit next to Katsuragi Misato-san she is in the second row, fourth seat, you can take the fourth seat in the third row." Shinji almost jumped fifteen feet back after hearing the teacher's words. "The teacher said I would be sitting next to Misato-san. This is her school and I am in her class?! This must be one of the steps that Belldandy-sama said would help us prevent Second Impact, but how? Shinji still pondered these questions in his head as headed towards his seat. As he went by, he noticed that Akira-kun gave him a look and a grin that made Shinji blush slightly. Shinji expected Akira's look and grin from all the time Tohji and Kensuke teased him about wanting Rei. Shinji tried to pay attention to the lectures his teachers were giving but his thoughts always drifted back to Misato. "Misato-san looks really cute in a sailor fuku" was the most common thought that came into his head but besides that he noticed that this Misato Katsiragi was different from the one he knew. Shinji could not tell what was different but he had a feeling. He decided to ask Akira about Misato during lunch time. Lunch time cam rather quickly though because most of Shinji's concetration lied on Misato rather than what the teachers were saying. Luckily enough, Akira summoned him to eat his lunch outside with him. "You know every boy in the class wants to be in your shoes now" Akira said. "Why?" asked Shinji "Because you get to sit next to Misato. The girl with the cutest looks in the whole entire school. No other boy has ever sit that close to her before in class." "What is she like?" "What do you mean?" asked Akira "She is ultra-cute. What else do you need to know?" "What is her personality like?" asked Shinji a little peeved at the way Akira was acting. "Shy. She is very shy and she rarely ever talks to anyone especially guys which adds to her cuteness level. Her best friend is Aoki Megumi-chan, another cute one. Megumi-chan is in class A. This is for your own safety, don't ever think of asking Misato-san out." Shinji spent the rest of lunch pondering over Akira's advice but luckily he was able to get some notes down from the afternoon lectuers. At three in the afternoon the school bell rang and the class officer dismissed the class. Shinji began to head to hsi locker but eventually noticed that Misato-san was heading the same way. He began to trail behind her hoping to get an answer to Akira's warning about asking her out and luckily was graced with an answer when he saw Misato standing in front of three large, athletic looking boys, two of which were blocking a locker which Shinji persumed was Misato's. "Please let me get to my locker" begged Misato in a quite, meek voice that threw Shinji off guard because he was used to a more aggresive sounding Misato. "Not until you agree to go out on a date with boss" said one of the thugs. "But I already told your boss I was not interested" begged Misato. "No date, no locker" said the other thug who blocked Misato's locker. Shinji watched the scene unfold as his blood began to boil quickly but felt helpless at the same time. The boys were big and one of them would have been too much for Shinji to handle so three of them woudl defintly be able to kick his ass worse than Touji did the first time he met Shinji. "No. I have to help Misato because she sacrificed her life for me in the future so now I can repay her in the past. I will not run away this time." Shinji thought to himself gathering all the valor he had to take on his new opponets this time with no Eva ti help him in battle. "Leave her alone!" Shinji shouted towards the three guys who were continuning to hassle Misato. The three boys stoped in their tracks. No student had ever dared challenge them before because they were among the not only the strongest but also the richest boys in the school. "What did you say?" asked the leader with a slight tone of amusement. "I said leave her alone" repeated Shinji this time with more force than he used the first time. "Either you are very brave or very stupid" said the leader who began to step towards Shinji with his two thugs following closely behind as a crowd began to gather around them. "Judging by your looks I would say that you are very stupid" said the leader. "What's your name?" "Ikari Shinji and based on your actions I would say that you are a bastard." The crowd got a good laugh out of Shinji's words because many of them had wanted to say it to the boys for a long time but no one had the courage to. The crowd was pleased that they finally got a champion in the form of Shinji even if they wished he was a lot more muscular. "It looks like you are stupider than I thought, Shinji-chan" said the leader of the gang of thugs. "My name is Takhara Hikaru and you are about to recieve the worst beating of your life. Shutaro! Jinnai! Hold his arms behind his back." Shinji could only gulp as he felt his arms being pulled behind his back and Hikaru began to step closer pounding his left fist into his open right palm. End of Chapter 2 Author's Notes: 1. Usually not. 2. This little bit of information was taken from Dave Barry Does Japan.