It's a Wonderful EVA Fic

By James Lee

Disclaimer: These characters are not mine, I'm using them without 
permission. Please don't sue me, you won't get much anyway.

Note this takes place after the attack of the 12th Angle.

	"FLATLINE!! GET THE CRASH CART READY NOW!!" One of the doctors
said as they continued to work on reviving Shinji's body.
	Misato watch on helplessly. She just couldn't believe that 
Shinji had fought his way out of the 12th Angle only to die now. 
Shinji had gone into a coma shortly after he was removed from his 
entry plug. His last words were still fresh in Misato's mind. "I just 
wanted to see you one last time."
	"S-Shinji....y-you can't die now. YOU CAN'T!!"
	Despite Misato's calls, Shinji appeared to be doing just that.

			*****

	Shinji woke up. He didn't know where he was, so he started to 
look around. He was laying in bed in a hospital room of some sort. It 
was unnaturally quite. There were people all around him, doctors and 
nurses it appeared, but none of them were moving. He got up and moved 
to the towards the doorway. 
	Out in the hall he could see Misato. She appeared to be crying,
but she also wasn't moving at all. After a closer look, he noted that
not even her tears were moving. He could see the droplet of a tear just
sitting on the middle of her cheek.
	Shinji then turned around to look back into the room. He was 
quit stunned by what he saw in there. He saw his body still laying on 
the bed with wires and tubes sticking out of it. *What the hell is 
going on here!* he thought.
	"What's going on here is that your dying."
	Shinji turned around to the first voice he had heard since he 
had woke up, he found himself facing a girl. The girl had red hair done
in a pigtail and was wearing what appeared to be a mixed dress/gi. On 
the girl's forehead was a ying-yang symbol. "W-Who are you?"
	"I the formal mortal now goddess Ranko. I've come to talk to 
you."
	"Goddess Ranko? I-I thought you were supposed to meet something
gruesome when you died?" Said Shinji while trying to figure out if he 
was seeing things.
	"You mean Death? You shouldn't call her gruesome. She's 
actually a very nice person. As to why she isn't here? Well you see, 
she was very overworked by second impact and had to take a few decades
vacation. Us goddesses are filling in for her right now. It's a long 
story."
	"You said formally  mortal. What you mean by that?"
	"Uhh...That's an even longer story and it's not important right
now. What is important is that our records show that your not suppose 
to die yet. However, your being very uncooperative with these doctors 
trying to revive you. Why aren't you trying to live!?"
	Shinji started to get angry. "Maybe I don't want to live! It's
not like I matter, hell some people will be glad I'm out their hair!"
	"Are you so sure? Let's find out, Shell we!?" Said Ranko as she
grabbed Shinji's arm and started to drag him down the hall.
	"HEYY! You can't just pull me around!" Said Shinji pulling his 
arm back.
	Ranko turned around walked right up to his face. In a low voice
she said. "It just so happens that I'm the martial arts goddess of  ki 
and speed. You wanna try me bub?"
	"..."
	"I thought not. Now let's go!" Grabbing Shinji's arm again, 
Ranko turned and with her free hand made a giant man size ki ball. 
Dragging Shinji, she then leaped into the sphere of energy.

			*****

	When the light faded Shinji found himself in a run down 
apartment room.
	"Do you know where you are Shinji?" Asked Ranko.
	"Ah..This is Rie's apartment. Where is she?"
	"She's right over there." Ranko said pointing to Rie who was 
sitting on her bed.
	"R-Rie?" Asked Shinji nervously.
	"It's now several weeks after your funeral." Ranko began. "She 
can't see or hear you. Just watch for now."
	Shinji watched Rie for a while. He noted that she was now a 
little thinner and, what he thought was impossible, paler. After an 
hour or so of watching Rie do nothing but sit, he turned to Ranko.
	"I don't get it. She's just sitting there. Nothings happening."
	Ranko looked at Rie. "That's just it. She's doing nothing. 
That's all she does now, day in, day out, nothing. She doesn't go to 
school. She doesn't go out. She does nothing but sit there until she 
needs to eat or headquarters needs her."
	"I-I don't understand."
	"Besides your father Shinji, you were the only real friend she 
had. When you died, it rocked her world. Since then she's withdrawn 
from the living. Because of your death she's literally become the doll 
Asuka made her out to be."
	Shinji could only stare in shock. "I-I see."
	"Now why don't we have a look in on your friend Misato." Ranko 
said making another man sized Ki ball.

			*****

	Shinji now found himself in a dirty alley. "W-Where are we now 
Ranko?"
	"In the back streets of Tokyo 3. This is where we'll find 
Misato......There she is." Said Ranko pointing to a filthy Misato. She 
was sleeping next to a very thin Pen Pen in a cardboard box. She recked 
of alcohol.
	"What's she doing here!? I mean she's the chief of operations." 
	"Was the chief of operations Mr. Ikari." Said Ranko. "She 
turned in her resignation from NERV the day you died. She blamed herself
for your death and started drinking heavily."
	"Of course no job plus heavy alcohol abuse equals no home. She 
lives on the streets now. Asuka now lives with Ritsuko. Speaking of 
Asuka. You should consider what your death well do to her."
	Shinji almost laugh at that. "Yeah right! She's probably happy 
now that she's number one pilot agian."
	"You think so? Let's find out." Ranko said making yet another 
ki ball.

			*****

	They were soon in the EVA cages back at headquarters. A surprised
Shinji watched as Asuka crawled out of unit 01's entry plug. He turned 
to Ranko.
	"What's she doing piloting unit 01?" Asked Shinji.
	"Unit 01 is the most powerful of NERV's EVAs so it had to be 
kept manned. For some unknown reason it won't accept Rie anymore. 
Commander Ikari wanted an experienced pilot for it so Asuka got chosen."
	Shinji took a look at Asuka. "She seems okay."
	"Just fallow her and watch."
	Shinji began to follow her but then stopped. Noticing this, 
Ranko turned and asked. "What's wrong?"
	"This is the girls locker room. I-I can't go in there."
	"OHH....Be a man! She can't see you! Besides, you really need 
to see this." Said Ranko as she push Shinji through the doorway.
	When Shinji was in the room he looked at Asuka. For a while she
did nothing but stand in the middle of the room. Then putting her hands
to her face Asuka dropped and began to cry and sob uncontrollably. 
Shinji could only watch in shock.
	"W-What..What..."
	"She'll deny those tears even as she's drying them. To her, to
show emotion is to show weakness. Know this Shinji Ikari. She was in
love with you."
	Ranko pointed in the direction of the EVA cages. "That machine
still stores your memories. Every time Asuka enters unit 01 she sees
those memories. It's slow torture for her to be constantly reminded of
the boy she loved. The boy she loved and lost."
	Shinji shook his head. "I don't understand. If she loved me 
then why did she..."
	"Always kick you around?" Shinji nodded. "Because it was the 
only way for her to get to see the Shinji she loved."
	"T-The Shinji she loved?"
	"Yes, the other Shinji. The Shinji that yelled back. The Shinji
that broke orders. The Shinji that was the best EVA pilot in NERV. The
Shinji Ikari that jumped into a volcano to save her life. Shinji the
man. Shinji the HERO! The hero you hide under that wimpy exterior."
	Shinji could only look at Asuka dumfounded.
	Making another ki ball Ranko said. "It's time to visit Toji."
	"T-Toji?"

			*****

	Shinji looked around. They were in the cemetery now. He saw 
Hikari kneeling in front of a marker with tears in her eyes. "Hikari?"
Shinji walked over and looked over her shoulder at the marker.

			TOJI SUZUHARA
			    2001
			    2015

	Shinji shook his head. "WHAT?...HOW?"
	Ranko looked off. "Someone had to replace Asuka in unit 02. 
That someone was Toji. He was killed in his first engagement. How you
ask? Partly due to Ritsuko."
	"R-Ritsuko?"
	"You see. Ritsuko and Misato were a team. Ritsuko was the brains
while Misato was the commanding force. When Misato resigned from NERV
Ritsuko became temporary chief of operations. Ritsuko is a great 
scientist but not a battlefield commander. Her inability as a commander
plus Toji's inexperience resulted in his death and the destruction of
Unit 02. Ritsuko never got over that. She now drinks almost as heavily
as Misato."
	"Toji's dead." Shinji said quietly.
	Ranko turned to him. "There's one more place we need to go to."

			*****

	They were in another hospital room. Shinji looked down to see
Kensuke in the bed. Both Kensuke's right arm and right leg were missing.
His eyes were lifeless.
	"H-How did this happen?" Asked Shinji.
	"Kensuke was chosen to pilot unit 03. As it turned out it was
infected with what you call an angel...." 
	"Goddamn ange...(WHACK)" Ranko popped him outside the head.
"HEY watch it buster! Some of my best friends are angels. What YOU call 
angels are NOT angels! Understand?" Shinji nodded.
	"ANYWAY, Upon activation unit 03 went berserk and started 
destroying everything in sight. It had already destroyed unit 02, 
killing Toji, and seriously injured Rie when it ran into Asuka in
unit 01. During the ensuing battle unit 01 went to berserker mode.
It tore unit 03 to pieces and crushed Kensuke's entry plug. Kensuke
will probably never recover. He can't get over the fact that his unit
killed his best friend."
	Shinji sat next to the bed shaking. "Send me back. I want to 
live."
	"Are you sure?"
	"YES! I WANNA LIVE!"

			*****

	In an instant Shinji found himself back in his hospital room.
	"Okay, what do I do?"
	Ranko pointed to his body that was still on the bed. "All you
have to do is get back in bed and wish to live."
	Shinji started to head for the bed. "Thank you. I won't forget
this."
	Ranko shook her head. "I'm afraid you will. You won't remember
any of this when you wake up."
	"Um..That's okay. I don't won't to remember most of that anyway.
At least I know the future can be brighter huh!?"
	Ranko looked a little sheepish "Ah..Yeah."*I better not tell him
what will happen now. He might change his mind.*
	"Good-bye Ranko."
	"Good-bye Shinji Ikari"

			*****

	Shinji woke up to see Rie looking down at him. He remembered 
having a very vivid dream, but couldn't remember any details. Seeing
that he was awake Rie spoke.
	"Your awake. You may have the rest of this day off."
	That said, Rie then got up to leave the room. She open the door
just in time to catch Asuka listening in. Shinji couldn't help but
snicker as Asuka made a hasty retreat. Flopping down on his bed, he
brought his arm up to his face and sniffed.
	"Still smells like blood."

The end

Notes 
1)Please don't ask how Ranko became a goddess. Although I think she is.

2)I like to acknowledge Chris Angel for his fanfic "Asuka's Love"
(A great fanfic I think) for giving me the ideas for Asuka's scene.