"in those six hundred years, me and rei hopped from one dimension to another, and this is where you learn the real reason i was so easily able to adapt to you, as we had stopped on this world as well" i said, her eyes widened
"were you" she started
"a part of this squad yes, i was temporarily ichigo's partner actually if you recall the the tentacled klaxosaur, and i told the squad to keep their distance, as our unit, genista and chlorophytum shot it you remember that fight" i asked, ikuno nodded
"delphinium was captured in the jelly that klaxosaur emitted in the last timeline, he had ejected ichigo before that point, it was the first time i had used unit-01 in years, and it was to rescue goro, but he was injured as the delphinium had been rather violently shaken by the klaxosaur, i agreed to ride with ichigo while goro recovered at his request, as he saw me be rather protective of the entire squad still having the scar of not being able to save my rei, of course the rei i was traveling with i'd later learn had joined and taken over the nines, we usually got separated during our interdimensional jumps" i said
"so you rode with ichigo, no wonder you know exactly what she is gonna think of, you connected with her" ikuno said i nodded
"when i insisted on those partner shuffles all those years ago that's why as well, futoshi can work with anyone, i didn't know naomi very well, as for reasons i won't explain she wasn't part of the squad in the official timeline
"sakuya replaced her" ikuno asked, i nodded
"if by what i heard is right almost immediately after your graduation, hiro wasn't able to connect with naomi, anyone can technically ride with sakuya, but for their own reasons, that are their secrets to tell, they are made to be each others partners, in fact the only person to survive, is me, for reasons that i may explain later" i said
after the war here, me and rei were preparing to move on again, having repaired our ship the EAS: FEARLESS i was convinced by ichigo to take the squad with us, as there was much i could teach the parasites not being as sheltered as you would have been and explaining many things about life as a whole" i said, ikuno nodded
"eventually and rather reluctantly, i agreed, and had rei pull out another ship of ours the brookhaven, and i began to train the parasites who joined us which was basically all four thousand of them into an affective fighting force they were the beginnings of the angel legion, they and their descendants served with me for hundreds of years
"what about our squad" she asked
"certain members, were given an invitation by rei to join us in our extended lifespans, only two excepted, ichigo, and sakuya, the latter having drifted away from hiro" i said
"there like siblings in this time line" ikuno said surprised
"they were lovers in that one, at least for a time, ichigo and sakuya had agreed to share me, but ichigo herself became my official partner" i said
"further emphasizing how you know how she thinks" ikuno said, i nodded
"indeed, eventually those two joined my service as subordinates, which caused me a lot of anguish as a result, though they didn't know that as i had learned to hide my pain well, so well not even rei knew, eventually me and rei grew tired of the constant conflicts not because we got tired of fighting but because of the reasons we were fighting for, so we decided to use our powers to create our own world, we succeeded, and were reborn, i had made one last vain attempt to get rei on my side, not as my servant but...." i trailed off
"as your partner, you failed" she said i nodded
"i had for the past few hundred years, been in contact with the ultramen, beings of light, i had helped a few of them, and gained a few trinkets for my troubles, but i also gained a favor from ultraman king, using his power i asked for a complete reset with my memories intact send me all the way back to the beginning, and so i was sent all the way back to the day of the contact experiment in the original timeline, i'd tackle to the rebuild timeline the same way i did the first time around" i said
"so that's why you have been so distant, your planning to go back" i said
"time moves differently between dimensions, it's only been ten years there whereas it's been thirteen here, and i promised i would deal with the angels, you know what my word means to me" i said
"why don't you take me with you" she asked
"it's not your fight, i brought the squad with me back then because i had the resources to build them units that could actually harm the enemy, i don't have those resources now, and if i were to take you but not the squad, they would kill me" i said, she giggled at that, he wasn't wrong
"besides, i have finally found what i was looking for, i don't want to lose it" i said
"what about rei" she asked
"my goal remains the same, i want to make her, her own person able to live on her own two feet, should i succeed, well, i would not mind her returning to my service, if that is her choice, but i cannot be her soul reason for existing, i just can't" i said, ikuno nodded her understanding
"and what happens if you die" she asked, i paused
"ikuno" i started
"stop, you are well aware these things your going to fight can defeat the hyacinth, it was built to fight against them after all, meaning it's likely how it is with our franxx against the klaxosaurs, these enemies can defeat you, i will be devastated if i lost you" i said, not entirely noticing her outrage that resembled asuka's look of outrage quite spectacularly
"you have the squad and there are plenty of fish in the pond" i said
"shut up" she said, tears started to flow down her face
"i can't talk you out of going, i know you better then that, you never run from a fight" she said
"i don't run from a fight anymore, back when i was shinji ikari, all i did was run, even when i fought the angels i was running, when i disowned that name i promised myself i would never run away again" i said
"oh then what do you call this" she asked frustrated
"protecting the girl i love, the girl that somehow loves me back despite how broken i still am" i replied
"you don't act broken" she said
"hah, rei and my servants acted like duct tape, the squad fills a similar role, i need you alive, i need to know your here waiting for me to come back to, if you'll still have me when i return that is another story, i know what i am doing to you is unforgivable, and i'm sorry, but if i lose you then i will like break completely into despair, you are the first girl to treat me with care and love, and treat me as an equal" i said
"your not leaving me behind" ikuno said, i kissed her, but gave her a sad look, that told her i was
"damn it itsukimaru, your being selfish" she said, i laughed
"i am i admit it, but it's kind of in my nature, my apologies milady" i said in an attempt to lighten the mood the glare i received told me i had failed
"why do you have to do this alone" she asked
"because it is the only way, i can guarantee people don't die for me, if i am alone there will be no one who can die for me" i said, she glared at him but gave up, or so i thought
YOU ARE READING
REBUILD: the advent of angels
Fanfictionshinji ikari, has lived a life of perfection, but he was missing one thing now he intends to claim it, by retracing his steps once more, and this time he's come prepared
