Neon Genesis Rock and Roll.

Nova York, 2029


	Shinji slumped against the backstage wall. The
audience was chanting his name. His guitar hung from his
limp arm. He had been onstage for four hours straight.
	�Shinji� You�ve got to back out there!�
	Shinji turned his head and opened his eyes. Hikari,
his manager, stood beside him, her hands on her hips.
	Shinji groaned. �Forget it. Send out that awful
warm-up group.� Shinji picked up his guitar and resisted the
urge to hit Hikari with it. He didn�t want to damage his
guitar.
	Shinji slumped off towards his dressing room..
	�Hey! Shinji!�
	With a �now what?� attitude, Shinji turned to deal
with Kensuke.
	Standing next to his resident tech-head was a
military officer.
	�Are you Shinji Ikari?�
	Shinji�s only answer was to turn his gaze to the wall.
Tour posters were plastered everywhere. �Shinji Ikari:
Live!� they each proclaimed.
	The officer�s eyes followed Shinji�s gaze. Deciding
that he had sufficient ID he handed Shinji an envelope. The
officer exited without another word.
	Shinji examined the envelope. Other than his name,
neatly typed on the front it bore no markings. He opened it.
	The letter inside contained an impressive letterhead,
and several seals. He read the brief message. He read it
again. He looked up at Kensuke. �You hired him, right?�
	Kensuke shook his head.
	Shinji looked at the letter again. �This is bullshit!�
	�What is it?�
	Shinji handed the letter to Kensuke. Kensuke read it
once. �I�ll call the lawyers.�
	Hikari and Touji arrived on the scene. �Is this a
private horror? Or can anyone play?�
	Kensuke handed the letter to Hikari.
	�What�s it say?� Touji tried to peek over his wife�s
shoulder.
	�Shinji Ikari, in accordance with the united nations
draft order of  2030, you are hear by ordered to report to
Nerv headquarters, Tokyo-3, immediately. To begin a term
of military service. Failure to appear is a court-martial
offense.�
	Touji grabbed the letter and read it for himself. �This
is a joke!�
	Kensuke hung up his cell phone. �I don�t think so, I
have the lawyers looking in to it.�
	�Oh well, at least this was the last night of the tour.
It could have been worse.� Shinji continued on to his
dressing room, leaving his entourage to handle clean-up.


	Three days later found Shinji stepping off a train
onto the platform of Tokyo-3. The press and throng of all
the people moved him along towards the exit and out the
building. Shinji took stock of his gear. One guitar, check.
One backpack, check. One handbag, check. He pulled a
folded paper out of his pocket and examined it. It showed a
woman, about his age. She had, get this, purple hair. She
was wearing a string bikini and a small smile. written on the
picture was- �I�ll be picking you up at the station... XXX
Misato K-�
	Shinji smiled. Well, this might not be so bad. He
thought.
	A hot-pink sports car pulled to a screeching halt in
front of him. Pedestrians dived for cover.
	Misato leaned out the window. �Shinji?�
	He approached the car cautiously.
	�Shinji? SHINJI IKARI?!� A woman nearby said.
This began the usual �Oh my god, it�s him!� that followed
like an avalanche.
	Shinji dived for the sports car, just ahead of the
sudden mob. He barely made it in with all his stuff as Misato
pulled out at what felt like ninety.
	�Do you get that a lot?�
	�It would be worse if this was America or Europe. I
couldn�t even walk down a street there, I�m not so well
known here.� Shinji straitened himself out in his seat and
pulled on his belt. His bags and guitar went into the back.
	Misato lowered her sun glasses and looked at Shinji.
��not so well known�?�
	�I got this far without being recognized. Now, are
you going to tell me why I�m here?�
	�There�s a package for you in the glove box. It will
answer most of you questions.�
	�That�s handy.� Shinji retrieved the promised
package and began reading. �Nerv. That�s where I�m going
to be working?�
	�Uhm hm.�
	Shinji began to flip through the booklet. An ID card
fell out of the book. Shinji�s picture, taken off the tour
poster, was on the card. �So, why did the UN issue a draft
order? I didn�t know they could, and we�re not at war with
anybody, are we?�
	�It was a limited draft, certain people only. They
can. And, we are, sort of. Or at least we will be soon.�
	�Who are we going to be at war against? And why
do they need me?�
	Misato pulled into what looked like an underground
parking garage. Misato let go of the wheel and the car
drove itself. 
	�I can�t answer the first one. As for the second, have
you ever heard of Macross?�
	Shinji responded with a blank stare. 
	�You know, maybe they think you can sing the
enemy into submission.�
	Shinji went back to skimming the manual.
Something caught his eye. He read the page carefully. His
cheeks flushed with anger. �STOP THIS CAR.�
	�What? Why?�
	�I�m having nothing to do with this.� Shinji seethed
with anger.
	�You�re going to need to give me more than that.�
	Shinji folded the book back at one page. He pointed
to a list of names. �You see this? Gendo Ikari.�
	�I know him. Are you two related?�
	�He�s my father.�
	Misato was impressed how much spite he managed
to put into that term. She thought she had cornered the
market on father hating.
	�Well, he�s also the commander of Nerv. You and I
both work for him.�
	Shinji leaned forward, his head thumping softly
against the dashboard. �FUCK!�	
	�You and your father don�t get along?�
	�He abandoned me when I was six. He sent me to
live with my aunt and uncle, I haven�t gotten so much as a
birthday card since then.�
	The lighting in the car changed. Shinji looked up.
The sight that greeted him was indescribable.
	�Wha.... where... what is this place!?� Shinji was
awestruck.
	�This is the Geofront. The fortress we built to
defend mankind.�
	�This is amazing!�
	�Yeah, it is pretty cool. We didn�t build all of this. It
was originally a giant sphere, then it was partially filled in.
We just excavated and built the buildings. If the city is
attacked we can bring the towers down in here for
protection.�	
	Shinji looked back at Misato. �You bring the
buildings down? How?�
	Misato didn�t get a chance to answer, they arrived at
the entry way. �Come on, we need to get started.�
	
	Twenty security stops and a threatened strip-search
later they arrived inside the center of Nerv.
	Too bad they didn�t actually do the strip-search, I
could�ve sold tickets, Misato thought.
	Shinji followed Misato through halls, up stairs,
down stairs, through halls. �Haven�t we been this way
before?�
	�I don�t think so.� Misato consulted a  map. Let�s
see, we came in there, we should be here now. �We�re lost.�
	Shinji cringed inwardly. If she wasn�t so cute...
	�DR. AKAGI, DR. RITSUKO AKAGI PLEASE
MEET MAJOR KATSURAGI AT JUNCTION 12C� The
loudspeaker cut off with a burst of static.
	Misato looked up. the sign near her read: 12c. How
do they do that, she thought.
	Misato and Shinji sat down on a bench and waited.
After awhile a blonde woman in a blue-and-pink one piece
bathing suit appeared. She was wearing a lab coat and a pair
of sandals.
	She smiled as she caught sight of Shinji. �Hi! I just
love your music.�
	Shinji could hear little hearts and flowers being
inserted around the words.
	Shinji shook the offered hand. �Hi,� he replied
politely.
	�Maybe sometime you could come by my office and
autograph one of my DAT disks?�
	�Sure, I�d love to.� Shinji was unsure if there was
something deeper implied there. He got more offers than he
could possibly fulfill.
	Ritsuko turned to Misato. �You got lost again.�
	Misato rolled her eyes in response.
	Ritsuko sighed. �Follow me.�
	Misato and Shinji fell in line.
	�It�s a good thing we�re not under attack or
something.�
	�So, am I going to see my father now?�
	�Do you want to?�
	�Only slightly more than I want to be castrated.�
	It took Ritsuko a moment to realize he was kidding.
	They paused outside a door that proclaimed itself
the ladies dressing room. �I�m going to put on some pants
before we go any further.�
	Misato followed Ritsuko into the locker room.
leaving Shinji to wait in the hall.
	
	�So, what�s he like?� Ritsuko cornered Misato as
soon as they got into the locker room.
	�Oh, he�s gorgeous, so dark and brooding.�
	Ritsuko sighed. �I know THAT. What�s he LIKE?�
	�I�m not sure, I just met him.�
	�Ah well, at least he doesn�t look like his father.�
	�Tell me about it. I think Rei is sleeping with him.�
	Misato cringed. �You�re kidding!�
	Ritsuko shook her head �I�m afraid not.... Did you
see Shinji�s living assignment?�
	�No.�
	�It�s right next door to your apartment.�
	Misato almost fainted. �Ooooh, that is so good.�
	Ritsuko laughed softly, then turned to her locker and
dressed quickly.

	Shinji was writing music on his PDA when the girls
emerged. �Can we get to the part where you tell me why
I�m here?�
	�Were just about to.�
	Once again, Shinji and Misato fell in line behind
Ritsuko.
	They traveled deeper into the facility, finally arriving
at a door  marked �briefing room�
	Shinji was ushered into the room and sat down at a
long table.
	Ritsuko and Misato sat down as well. A stack of
folders was on the table.
	Ritsuko opened one of the folders and removed
some papers. She passed them to Shinji. �You need to sign
these.�
	Shinji scanned the dense legalese. �Maybe I should
have my lawyer read this first.�
	Ritsuko shook her head. �All it is is a security
agreement. It says that you understand that you can be shot
for revealing anything revealed to you.�
	�And if I don�t sign?�
	�I think you can be shot for that, too.�
	With a sigh, Shinji signed the paper.
	Ritsuko took the paper and put it back into the
folder
	�To begin with, what do you know about Second
Impact?�

	And with that, Shinji began to learn the truth about
Second Impact, Angels, Evangelion�s and Nerv. Or at least,
what was presented as the truth.

	�So, you want me to a be a pilot?� Shinji was
confused.
	�Yes.�
	Shinji stood up calmly. He placed both hands on the
table and took a deep breath. �In God�s name, WHY?�
	Ritsuko stood up and went over to the table against
the wall, presumably for a cup of coffee. 
	�There is an extensive selection process, only a very
small number of people in the entire world can operate an
Eva. It requires that the pilot mentally merge with the
machine. Our evidence indicates that you are one of those
people.�
	Shinji sat back down. Ritsuko set a cup down in
front of him. �Drink this, it will calm your nerves.�
	Shinji wondered if she was making a joke.
	�You said �evidence indicates�, does that mean I
might not be?�
	Misato looked at Ritsuko, she shrugged her
shoulders. �I suppose it�s possible we might be wrong. But
it won�t matter, the only way to tell is to put you through
training and have you try to make it work. And, since it
works on your subconscious mind you can�t deliberately
screw up.�
	Shinji picked up the coffee cup and took a sip. The
coffee was bitter and black. Shinji preferred sugar and
cream.
	�So, when do we get started?�
	Ritsuko passed three folders over to him.
�Tomorrow. Today you can start by reading these. You�ll
be tested tomorrow. And you�ll need this.� She placed a
plastic pouch on top of the folders.

	Shinji and Misato found there way out of
headquarters and back to her car. Shinji opened the pouch.
Inside was a pamphlet marked �emergency manual�, a set of
keys, and a card with an address and an apartment number. 
	�What�s this?� He showed the card to Misato.
	�That�s your living assignment. You�re in my
building, we can go there now.... Unless you want to go get
something to eat?�
	�Food sounds good, I haven�t eaten since early this
morning.�
	�Is ramen okay? I don�t have a lot of cash on me.�
	�That�s fine.�
	

	Misato�s alarm went off at six-thirty the next
morning. A hand reached out and silenced it. It took Misato
a minute to realize that it wasn�t her arm. She opened her
eyes and looked up into the waking face of Shinji Ikari.
	It took a moment for her memory of the previous
night to filter back. She cringed at the thought of herself
acting like a deranged groupie. And, since she had been
sober the whole time, she couldn�t blame her behavior on
the alcohol. Bummer.
	 Misato sat up and yawned. She looked back at
Shinji. �What are you grinning at?�
	�Just enjoying the view.�
	Despite the embarrassment of the situation Misato
found his amusement to be infectious. �This must happen to
you a lot.�
	�I get a lot of offers, but I usually don�t accept.�
	Why did you have to start now? Misato stood up
and walked to the door. �We both have to be at work soon.
I�m going to go take a shower, you can to your apartment
and get dressed.� Misato thought for a second. �...Or you
could join me.� to hell with the absurdity of the situation, he
was pretty good in bed.


	Four hours later found Shinji in an entry plug for the
first time.
	�Okay, Shinji, just relax.�
	The plug started to fill with a  liquid.
	�WHAT ARE TRYING TO DO? DROWN ME?�
	�Relax, this is an oxygen rich fluid. You can breathe
it. Just let the liquid saturate your lungs.�
	The concept of breathing a liquid didn�t set well
with Shinji.
	�How do you feel?�
	�Lig i�b drwobing� Shinji replied. A program in the
Eva translated the pilots gibberish so it was heard in the
control room as �Like I�m drowning.�
	Ritsuko smiled. �You�ll get used to it. The LC liquid
will provide oxygen, and can help cushion you against
impacts. It also helps your mind send signals to your Eva.�
	Misato leaned over a tech�s shoulder �Is he
synching?�
	�Yes ma�am, 16 percent so far.�
	�That�s not bad for the first day.�
	�That�s better than �not bad� that�s incredible, out
other pilots didn�t even hit 3 percent in there first month.�
Ritsuko leaned towards the microphone. �So, Shinji, did
you memorize all the locations of Eva power conduits,
emergency access panels, weapons storage, and the general
layout of Tokoyo-3?�
	�Uh, no. I was kind of occupied.�
	Ritsuko looked at Misato, who had the good sense
to blush. She mouthed �you can tell me about it later.� �All
right, read up for tomorrow. There will be a test.�
	Shinji sighed. Studying was something he pretty
much gave up after college.

	After the Eva test Shinji embarked on a quest to find
a soda machine. A mile of corridor and three levels later he
finally found what looked like an employee lounge. A
moment later he was 800 yen lighter and one can of soda
heavier. He sat down to enjoy his bounty and just people
watch.
	�Ma�am, I have those reports you wanted.�
	The voice came from his left, on approach. A young
woman with brown hair passed the open lounge door. She
came by in the company of another woman, a woman who
caused Shinji�s breath to catch in his throat. She was pale
almost to the point of being albino, and had blue hair. She
also had a body that even the conservative cut of her
business attire couldn�t hide. The two women stood in the
doorway and discussed a handful of paperwork. eventually
the two moved back to the left. Shinji followed. The brown
haired girl was standing just to the left of the lounge, the
blue haired girl had continued down the hall.
	Shinji�s eyes followed her retreating form. He
looked back at the brown haired girl, she had a similar look
as Shinji. They made eye contact briefly, the girl blushed.
	Shinji extended his hand. �Hi! I�m...�
	�I know who you are.� The girl interrupted him.
�You�re Shinji Ikari, son of our illustrious leader and the
third pilot.�
	Shinji blinked, �Third?�
	�Third. I�m Maya Ibuki, I work for Ms. Ayanami.
She�s in charge of Eva development, she�s also the first
pilot.�
	Shinji nodded in understanding. �Was that her?� He
gestured down the hall.
	�Yes.� Maya leaned against the door frame. �I�ve
heard some of your music. Isn�t it awfully dark?�
	�Hey, nihilism is where it�s at.� Shinji took a sip of
his neglected soda. �Why is the woman in charge of Eva
development also a pilot?�
	�I suppose it�s because there are so few pilots. I
know we�ve been looking for them for years and have only
found three. Waste not, want not. I guess.� Maya
straightened up her paperwork and, with a nod, departed.
	Shinji watched her walk off. Cute, but gay. The
other one, however, would be worth pursuing. He made a
note to find out more about this �Ms. Ayanami�, her first
name for starters.

(^_^)(^_^)(^_^)(^_^)(^_^)(^_^)(^_^)(^_^)(^_^)(^_^)(^_^)

Today seems to be my day for Teasers.

This was orginally titled 'Evangelion 7' No conection to macross seve, I
just used it as a working title  because Shinji plays a guitar in this fic.

Lots of adjustment to the Eva story line for this. Ritsuko and Misato are
the same age as Shinji and company in this one.