Neon Genesis Evangelion Fan Fiction ❯ Truth Hurts ❯ How quick people can change. ( Chapter 3 )

Shinji just continued to stare at the old woman, until she fearfully retreated to her apartment. He watched all of this with a somewhat bored look. It was at this point when he was about to turn around and enter the apartment when his cell phone rang. He removed it from his pocket and lifted it to his ear. "What do you want?" he asked in a monotone voice. The chipper voice on the other line belonged to his lovely commanding officer and guardian, Misato. "Shinji, is that you? You sound like something is wrong." The personality inhabiting Shinji's body answered her once again in a dead voice. "This is not Shinji." The voice on the other line Laughed, and responded, "Ok, then who am I Jackassing around with on this line then?" The new Shinji was quite for a moment, he was in deep thought, thinking about what he just heard. He indeed was not Shinji, so giving himself a name was something that his mind was telling him to do. It was something that she said that inspired him to adopt his new name. At last he spoke. "You may call me, Jack." Jack as he was calling himself now had to remove the phone from his ear, as it had erupted with Misato's snorts of laughter. As she calmed down she said " Alright, "Jack", can you do me a favor and tell Shinji that I won't be home until sometime tomorrow, and that I need him to come down to NERV and get some money so that he and his roommate can eat tonight?" Jack made note of the humor in her voice, and agreed to pass along the message. As he shut the phone off and replaced it into his pocket, he remembered something in the message that Misato had told him, his other self had lived with two roommates. One stood out in his mind, His youngest roommate, Asuka. Jack knew all about her. Being locked in somebody's mind gives you a lot of free time, the way that he spent his was he watched Shinji's memories. All of those beating that she gave him on a daily basis, the threats on his life, and always the cruel words that she directed at him. Jack felt his mouth curve into a smile, a smile that could make even the toughest of people sweat with nervousness. Anger and extreme sorrow filled his mind, as a flood gate of pent up emotion hit Jack all at once. That bitch deliberately went out of her way to hurt him in the worst way possible. Shinji was letting her closer to him then he was will to let anybody, and it cost him more than he could bear. It was because of this last attack on his emotion that allowed Jack to even get Shinji on a plane of existence where he could offer Shinji help in exchange for precious freedom. Jack was already thinking of some horrible thing that he could do to her as he was walking down the stairs on his way to NERV.

Jack already knowing his way to NERV by way of Shinji's, memories was talking a shortcut through the park. As he was walking, Jack heard a voice yelling from his subconscious. "Why the hell can't I feel my body!?" screamed the voice of a frightened Shinji. The voice was clear as day, but Jack knew that he was the only one that could hear it, so he responded, "Because I am controlling it." Jack deadpanned. Shinji's voice spoke once again, but this time more cautiously. "Who said that?" Jack was in no mood for Shinji's ignorance. Jack looked at a clock mounted on a lamp post, it read 5:45. Jack concentrated so that he could respond to Shinji, and answered. It has been twenty minuets sense our first meeting, and you have forgotten who I am? Maybe you are denser then I thought." Shinji responded in a shocked voice. "I thought that was just a dream." You can't be real." Jack responded. "I am very real, and so is the pact that we made, and if it makes it any easier, you may call me Jack." In a more relaxed voice, Shinji started to talk to Jack.

Shinji: "So, you have finally taken a name."

Jack: "It would seem so."

Shinji: "Why did you choose the name Jack?"

Jack: "Blame you guardian."

Shinji: "When did you talk to Misato?" Confusion was evident in his voice.

Jack: "She called this cell phone and told me that I was to go to NERV and retrieve some food money for you and Asuka."

It was mere the mention of her name that Shinji grew silent. She was the last thing that he wanted to think about. Jack already knowing what was wrong said nothing. Saying anything was only going to get his alter ego talking, and Shinji was already starting to get on Jack's nerves. Much to Jack's dislike Shinji started talking again. "Do you still promises to help me get them all back?" Jack stayed silent and kept walking. Shinji could feel that Jack was becoming increasing annoyed with his questions, so he said that he would stay quiet. Jack replied with a simple, "Please do."

Upon reaching the secret entrance to NERV, Jack reached for Shinji's ID and passed it through the card reader, and after a few minuets, he was in the bowls of NERV headquarters. Jack had finally made it to the main deck, and spotted his commanding officer. Jack walked up behind her and announced his arrival.

Jack: "You wanted to see Shinji?"

Misato never saw him coming, so naturally she yelped and nearly jumped twenty feet in the air.

Misato: "What the hell!? Don't ever do that again! You scared the shit out of me!"

She was yelling at Jack and the normal thing for Shinji to do was to start apologizing and get scared. Jack however never faltered in his place, he kept his gaze fixed on Misato and offered a reply.

Jack: "You were the one that requested that he come here and then you start screeching like a banshee, now do you have the money or not?"

Maybe it was just her, or perhaps the light in the room, but she had never seen her Shinji act like this. Since when did he become so fearless? There was one thing that bothered her above all though, it was his eyes. It was a public secret with the employees that NERV employed hit men to carry out certain jobs that could compromise the security of NERV. Everyone knew that if you talked about something that you weren't supposed to, you would end up dead. The deaths were always staged to look like suicides, but everyone knew better. Misato her self had been warned about what talking about classified stuff could do to her. She was lucky, she got off with a warning, but some people that she would occasionally have drinks with never got the warning, they were just outright killed. She her self had even seen a few of the hit men walking around, always around the time of a "suicide" of an employee. She remembered their faces, emotionless, they never smiled. It was the eyes though, dead, cold, evil. And now she was looking at her Shin-chan as she would occasionally call him, his eyes that were always so full of life despite his tragic past, they were now cold as a tomb. His eyes were like that of someone that had killed before. She had been scared before, but she was now terrified, her body began to shake as she slowly reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out some money that she was going to give Shinji. With a still shaky hand she handed it to him and he accepted it.

Jack: "Thank you, I will see that Shinji gets it."

As he turned to leave, Misato felt a wave of relief wash over her. She was now beyond confused. What could have changed him this way? That person that came to her was not her Shinji. Misato left the main deck and headed to the vending machine and got herself a soda, man did she need a beer. She finished her soda and began to talk to herself.

Misato: "What happened to you Shinji?"

She threw the empty can in the garbage and headed to the main deck, worried thoughts of Shinji plaguing her mind.