Evangelion - Bloodlines Children of Project D Genesis 1:5 Leona Ritsuko was stood to one side trying to figure out what was wrong with her... She wasn't able to hear still... Her sight was still blurred as well... It hadn't been so bad for her since she had the ability to get a computer to aid her in anyway she needed... Scouting was one of the better things it had allowed... " How long has this been like this? " " Since I woke up... " " Well... I hate to tell you this... " " Tell me what? " " You'll never be able to hear or see... " " Why not? " " It seems you have been like this all your life... " " What? That's impossible.... When I was younger I had this sorted... " " Sorted? " " Yeah... Something was done to me to sort out this... I think I had this problem then... " " Hmm... " Ritsuko picked a document and flicked through it " Well? " Leona asked impatiently, she was getting sick of viewing from a third person's perspective when she wanted to see what was going on " Seems that... Ha... No wonder... " " What? " " You where kept in storage for a while to make sure you didn't reawaken... " " So what does that mean? " " Your implants aren't working... " " Implants? " " Yes, didn't they ever tell you? " " No... They didn't tell me about that... " " It says that extremes of certain environmental conditions will... Oh... irreparable damage will be sustained to the implants... Seems that they are still barely... " " I can see and hear at the moment cause they are still functioning on a minimum level? " " Exactly... It looks like we'll need to send you back for a while... Or get the implants delivered and... " Ritsuko smiled, Leona knew that it would hurt either way... " I understand... What would be the best course of action? " " I'll leave that to the commander to decide... " " Oh... Tell me when you know then... " Leona sighed, she felt for a desk to lean against " Thinking about it... " " What? " " We might be able do something to help you... " " You mean like surgery? Transplants? " " Well... " " No... I can't actually allow that... It's not... It isn't right " " I see... Well, I'll see if I can come up with anything else that might help... " " Maybe they made me like this... " Leona sighed " No... From what I read about you all... Some of the things that have happened with your genetic structure are mutations... " Ritsuko smiled " Like what? " " Jonathon wasn't supposed to be so... Tough... Kat wasn't supposed to be evil... Jane was supposed to have something special... " " Why did they get the good things and me and Jane... I mean males tend to get all the shit in the genetic world for having that stupid chromosome... " " Maybe because they had much more pure genes? " " You think? " " They do have purer genes... Jonathon's are the purest out of you all... " " Really... Now why doesn't that surprise me? " " You shouldn't have that kind of attitude... " " Why not? Everyone thinks Jonathon is godlike and they think that we are the scum " " You may feel bitter about all this but... " " I can't take this anymore... I won't say anything about Jonathon cause he's dead and as such I don't think you should remind me of my own shortcomings " Leona walked out of the room angrily, she watched as a person was rushed past on a stretcher... She quickly thought for a second That was Kat... What was he doing on there? Still, she didn't care about anything like that at this point in time, even he was better than her... She still got better results than he did... Leona smiled, Kat may have been better genetically but she was still able to beat him in anything that they tried... Well, almost anything... She wasn't as bad as she thought... She was better than he was and she was inferior... Life was cruel... Still, it was twisted enough to allow things like that so she wasn't going to complain, there had to be people worse off than she was... Misato wandered down the corridor, trailing after the stretcher... She knew where it was destined but still didn't rush to see if he was ok... Maybe he had done something to annoy her? She walked over to Leona, it was obvious that she wanted to talk... " Leona... Feeling better? " " No... " " Your sight returned? " " Never will... " " That's... " " Terrible? No, that's life... Seems I was always like this... " " I'm so... " " Sorry? Don't be... It'll be corrected again soon... They just have to replace the implants that allow me to see and hear... " " You have implants? " " Yes... The only reason I could see and hear before was because they are there... " " You've always had them? " " Yes... I'm fine as long as I can interface with something to allow me to see... " " You can hack with your mind you mean... " " Yes... It really tires me out though... " " Hmm... Then we might have to protect... " Misato trailed off " What did you want? " " I didn't know that Kat could be so selfless... " " Kat did something for someone else? " " Yeah... He saved a group of people... " " There must have been some other reason for him to help... " " What makes you say that? " " When he settles into a place like this... He just gradually acts... Evil... " " That's not that bad... As long as he doesn't carry out things... " " I guess you'll never understand... " Leona sighed, she walked past Misato, toward the lift " Understand what? " " You can't trust any of us... " Leona smiled and shook her head " Gendo wants to see you... " " Oh fuck... " " You kids are pretty foul mouthed you know... " " So? You think we care about your opinion of us? " " Just saying... " Leona shook her head and walked down the corridor... Gendo's office also lay in this direction... It shouldn't take long talking to him... Should it? Leona cautiously walked into the office that until recently had been that of Kim's... The bloodstains of the take over where still visible... " You wanted to see me sir? " Leona wasn't sure how to address him, it was best to fall back on this style when you needed to see if there was any way... They accepted this one most... " Yes... As you may already know two of you children are dead... " " Yes sir... " " And unless we do something to protect you then you two may also die... " " We are supposed to be expendable... After all we are creations... " " There are other people who think like that... " " It's true though, if they created us then they can replace us " " Maybe so, what if there isn't a way to replace you? " " I don't know... We are still expendable though... We shouldn't be alive in the first place " " What do you know about this? " " There's Rei, she is akin to us... A genetic creation... " " Hmm... How do you kids find these things out? If it weren't for the fact we need you I would be forced to take action over all this... " " Don't worry... The one who could do the most damage is dead... " " Maybe you'll be able to pilot for us... " " Maybe? " " One we have the needed implants brought in... " " Brought in? You mean you'll sort me out inside your facility instead of sending me back? " " That is correct... " " Are you sure you have the things you need to help me here? " " Yes... " " So what if an angel attacks? " " There hasn't been any sign of angel activity for a while... " " I see... May I go now? " " Not just yet... There is still the matter of education... " " Education? I have more qualifications that any of the people here... " " That may be true but you are to be sent into a school environment like any other child of your age " Gendo was still as calm as ever... " Sir, what about my disability? " " You will be equipped suitably to cope with this... " Gendo waved his hand to dismiss her " I see... When do I start? " " In the morning... Maya will take care of you for now... " " Maya Ibuki? " " That is correct " " Hmm... Where do I find her? " " That is for you to find out... " Leona sighed and walked out the office Finding one person wasn't too hard when you had the entire surveillance system under control just so you could see or hear... That was, if you knew who it was... Maya watched as a red haired girl wandered down the corridor aimlessly She coughed to get her attention " May I help you? " Maya asked, she looked at the girl closer trying to decide if the hair colour was real or dyed... " I'm, looking for a technician... " " Which one? " " Maya Ibuki " " That's me " Maya smiled " I've been told that you're supposed to be looking after me... Gendo mentioned it... " " Oh yes... You must be Leona... " " Yeah that's me... " " I have a question... Your hair... " " It's dyed... I have auburn hair really... " " You're going to have to wash that out... I guess you'll be going to school... " " Hmm... I suppose... " " Well... I guess since I have to look after you we may as well go through the ground rules... For a start, no staying out late, you have school to attend... " " I know what the rest will be... I have to go by a code of conduct inside the base... " " Hmm... Are you as well behaved as Jonathon was? " " Jonathon was well behaved? " " Yes, he gave me no trouble... He was a little strange though... " " Well, I guess I am... " " Then I don't have to bother with the ground rules... Is there anything I should know about? Anything like allergies? " " I'm blind and deaf... I have implants that allow me to live normally... Only they aren't working at this time... " " That's... " " Don't even bother... I never really think about it... I had this sorted so long ago that I didn't even know that it was a problem... " " I see... " Maya climbed to her feet and started to walk down the corridor " I have to see Gendo again... " " What about? " " I just thought, what am I going to do about school? " " Ok... Can we make this quick then? " A knock on the door and a cold voice greeting them... Gendo wasn't well liked... He did his job and that was all he was needed in this place for it seemed... He beckoned them closer as they covered the immense floor of the office... Two chairs waited for them... Leona walked to the desk but refused to sit... " Sir... I have to ask you about the schooling you mentioned... " Gendo sighed " What do you want to know this time? " " I have to use some form of aid... " " That is correct " " When will this be provided? " " In the morning someone will meet you outside the classroom and provide you with the items in question, anything else you wish to know? " " Yeah... About Maya looking after me... Is this in her own time or will she be paid for it? " " It depends on how much it encroaches on her work time " " I see... So that means that this is pretty much charity? " " You may view it like that... " " So will she be paid to make sure I get to school or what ever else is needed? " " Like I said before... " " Sir... May I ask something? " Maya edged away a little as Gendo turned to face her " What do you want to know? " Gendo was still calm as ever... " If I look after her and it interferes with my work... " " You will have to make the time to look after her " " That isn't fair... " Leona growled " Life isn't fair... You may leave now " Gendo gestured to the door Maya grabbed Leona by the arm and dragged her out, it seemed that looking after her was going to be a challenge... Gendo was determined to make this hard on her... Still, since her shift had just ended... It was time to get Leona settled in... Leona looked at the room that was now supposedly hers... It was obvious that this was the room that Jonathon had used as it still had items of his clothing strewn about... " Sorry about the mess... I got half way through cleaning it and... " Maya trailed off in embarrassment as Leona turned to face her " It doesn't matter... I can tidy this up... " " No... I have to clean this up... I made the mess trying to clean the room ready for you... " " It's not really a problem, I'll do this so you can get back to what ever you normally do " Leona started to clear the mess from the room when there was a knock at the door... " It's for you... " Maya said looking puzzled " Oh... Ok... " Leona walked to the door to see two boys about her age waiting for her " Uh... You must be... " The taller looked a little embarrassed " What do you want? " " We where told to bring you these... " The shorter of the two passed her a small bag with a few items of clothing in... " What are they? " " The school uniform, you did know that you have to weak one, didn't you? " " No... I don't even know if they had me enrolled yet... " " Oh, if the teacher was told to get someone to deliver these to you then you must be coming to class soon... " " What class am I in? " " Well, we could come up here tomorrow and walk with you to class if you want? " The taller one was obviously nervous... " What's your name? " " I'm Toji Suzuhara " " I'm Aida Kensuke " " Why are you so nervous Toji? " " Well, it's just... You might be like Kat... " " Oh him... He'll be off for a while... " " What happened to him? " " He's been shot recently... " " That's... " " I know... Why did your teacher tell you to bring these for me? " " It was just easier... We where heading this way anyhow... " " Oh... I see... " " You seem a little cold to me... " Aida butted in " Cold as in a general lack of thermal energy or cold as in lack of personality? " " Uh... " Aida backed away " Are you as intelligent as Kat is? " " I can't say... It depends on how you view intelligence... " " Oh... Well, it was nice talking to you... " Toji and Aida turned away, Leona closed the door without waiting, she didn't know who they where but... Maya was looking at her funny... " I think Toji and Aida like you... " " Those two are nothing more than clowns " Leona walked back into her room Tidying up was more interesting than talking to them... A distant voice... Telling her to get up... Get washed... Eat... Leona opened her eyes, she was in the middle of the floor... She must have fell asleep tidying the room... It was almost done at least... Maya was stood above her already dressed for work... " It's time to get ready for school " Maya grinned... Trust her to be happy... " At this time? It's only twenty to six... " Leona groaned " Hmm... You ok? " " Fine... Just let me wake up... " " Jonathon was able to get up as soon as you woke him... " " Jonathon was a better soldier than I am... " " Oh... Well, I would hurry if I where you... " " Why? " " Toji and Aida are here for you already... " " Bastards... " " That's no way to talk about them... They must be trying really hard to... " " Just let me sleep... " " You have to go to school... " " Is it sunny outside? " " Normally is... " " Great... What do you think happens when someone with my colour skin goes into the sun? Let's just imagine this shall we? " " You burn badly? " " I wouldn't know... Never been in the sun for long... " " Oh... Well, if you hurry up I'll see what I can do about it... " Leona climbed to her feet unsteadily and staggered past Toji and Aida into the shower room, she picked the school uniform up as she went past them There was no way she was walking about in a towel with them in the area... Toji and Aida watched as Leona walked from the shower room, she was now dressed in the uniform they had brought her the day before... She walked to the table where a mirror and comb lay, she brushed her auburn hair and tied it back with a hair band... She sighed and looked at the watery substance she was supposed to eat from breakfast... " What is that supposed to be? " She asked poking it with a spoon " Cereal, only you left it so long it dissolved " Maya laughed as Leona looked disgusted " I better go now... " Leona sighed " Not going to eat? " " I think I'll skip this one... " " Ok... Your loss... " Maya watched as Leona climbed to her feet and walked out the door followed by Toji and Aida... They had been silent all this time... Leona walked down a road lined with markings, seemed this was a place that Evangelion's were launched from... When an angel attacked that was... Toji was talking with Aida about something... She wished they would speak up a little though... She wasn't able to make out what they where saying... They sometimes made remarks about her that she couldn't make out... They hadn't quite caught onto the fact she wasn't able to hear or see them properly... " Hey Leona, What's wrong? You're being a little quite... " " I can't hear you properly... I don't have good hearing or sight... " Leona sighed " Oh... I didn't know... You looked just like anyone else... " " That's the thing, people always assume that another person is normal cause they look it... " " I guess... " " If you're going to talk about me or too me can you at least make sure I can hear it... " " I suppose that would be ok... " " So what did I miss? " " Well, us saying how you and Asuka have a similar hair colour... " " Tell me a little about Asuka... " " She seems to want to be the centre of attention all the time, she bullies people to get her own way... She's not the kinda person you would get along with... " " Hmm... I guess... Why is Aida always so quite? " " He's a little shy I guess... " " Oh... " Leona walked into the school yard... Seemed that they started early... Too early Toji walked ahead a little and into the main building followed by Aida, Leona sighed and followed them toward her class... As promised a man was waiting there... He walked past Toji and Aida with a small briefcase... " Are you Leona Akagi? " " Leona yes... I don't have a surname... " " You do now... Ritsuko Akagi is your mother... " " Yes... So what do you want? " " These are for you... " The man passed her a pair of glasses " Glasses? " " They contain a special computer display that will allow you to focus like a normal person... There is also a special hearing aid built into them as well... " " Oh... " Leona looked at the glasses, they looked just like any plain silver framed glasses that she had seen before... But... When she put them on... They actually worked... She could see and hear now... " Thank you... " Leona smiled, the man walked away without acknowledging her " That was... Strange... " Toji watched as the man walked away, Aida trailed him asking questions but getting no reply... Children started to flood down the corridor toward their rooms, others pushed past her into the class without taking any notice of her... Toji laughed, Aida was still visible following the man outside " Looks like he won't be back for a while " He walked past Leona and into the class Leona followed him into what she hoped was going to be a well run class... People where sat at their desks... That was a start...The teacher was here as well... He didn't seem to be that concerned about what was going on around him... He grabbed Leona by the wrist as she tried to walk past him " You must be Leona Akagi " He tried to look like he cared but... " Yes... " " Would you mind introducing yourself to the class? " " Yes I would... " " You're not going to? " " Not unless there is a good reason to " " Well, unless you do I'll be forced to make you sit at the front " " You call that a threat? Where I came from they had the right to do capital punishment if you failed to do work to a grade... " The teacher looked shocked " Please, just introduce yourself to the class... " " I guess... " Leona walked to the board and picked up some chalk... No one was paying attention but Toji... She growled but still... No response... The teacher shrugged " Why not try to get their attention? " He suggested " Ok... " Leona placed her nails to the board and scraped them down making everyone in the room stop and look at her " Ok... Introduce yourself " The teacher smiled Leona started by putting her name up, including her new surname " I'm Leona Akagi, from England I'm here cause I was told that I have to work here, I have to come to school cause the same person told me to... Any questions? " Toji put his hand up " What was school like in England? " " Capital punishment for not doing work... Besides, I don't know why I have to do this... " " Why? " " I have the grades already... If it took my fancy I could go and work anywhere I wanted " Leona looked around the class and waited... No one else seemed interested... She walked to the back of the class and sat next to Toji " That's Aida's place... " " Do you think he'll mind? " " Probably not... Wonder where Shinji got to... " " Shinji Ikari? " " Yeah... You know him? " " No... Just from the files I was gave to read... " " You got to read his file? " " Yeah... It was a cut down one though... Just the basics that I needed to know... " Toji paused as the teacher walked around handing out various test sheets Leona laughed at the sheet she was handed " Too hard for you? " Toji asked glancing at his sheet " No... This was pretty much the stuff I started on " Leona laughed " Right... I don't think you could do this easily... " " I'll do it without aid if you want? " " Go ahead... " Toji watched as Leona started on the sheet, she barely read the questions before putting the answer down... Leona passed the sheet over a few minutes later " That was... Impressive... " Toji gasped " Sorry, it took me longer than I though... Still haven't recovered from the sedatives... " " You did this quicker than Kat... " " I found that all pretty easy... " " Hey... Here comes Aida... " Toji said glancing out the window " And that's... " Leona pointed to a girl following Aida " Rei Ayanami " Toji sighed " Who? " " She's rarely here... When she is here she just looks out the window all the time... " " Bit dense? " " Dense? " " You know...Unintelligent? " " I know what you mean, I don't really know the answer to that... " " Oh... So what do you do after finishing the work? " " Nothing... " " That's... A little boring... " Leona shook her head " Trust me, getting more work isn't what you want to do... " " Why not? " " You want to work? " " Yeah, why not? " " You are definitely weird... " Toji shook his head " Sorry I'm late, " Aida walked past the teacher followed by Rei and Shinji... " Hey you two! " Toji waved a hand to Aida and Shinji as they pushed past all the other kids " Hey, what's she doing in my place? " Aida moaned " Leave it, she can do the work faster than Kat " " Really? " " Who is she? " Shinji asked calmly " Leona Akagi " Toji smiled " Ritsuko's daughter? " Shinji looked amazed " Seems that way " " But she... " " Drop it will you... " Leona growled " So what's she like? " Aida asked Toji " 'She' has a voice " Leona snapped " Sorry... I just feel a little nervous asking you... " Aida backed away a little Asuka turned to face them " Will you dorks shut up? And you can as well new girl " Asuka growled " What's your problem Asuka? " Aida asked putting his hands in front of his face in a way that reminded her of Gendo, Aida had never met Gendo either... " Will you stop that? " Asuka was obviously unaware of what he was doing " Doing what? " Aida's glasses glinted as the light caught them " Just stop it and leave me alone... Freak " Asuka turned away and sighed " So... Leona... When did you find out that you where an Akagi? " Shinji asked politely " This morning... Why? " Leona sighed " No reason... " " What's on that work sheet? " Leona asked looking at the sheet on Shinji's desk " Oh... Science... " " Mind if I take a look? " " No... " Shinji passed the work sheet over and watched as Leona started to read it " This is all easy... " " Easy? I found that a little hard... " " Hard? You find this hard? " Leona passed the sheet back " Do you think you could help me with it? " " Sure... It'll give me something to do... " Leona grabbed the sheet back and started to make notes on it, she paused every so often to think before continuing " That was... Amazing... " Leona passed the sheet back to Shinji Leona narrowed her eyes as Asuka turned to face them again " Stop cheating dork " Asuka growled seeing Leona helping him " What's wrong with me helping him? " Leona snapped " It's pretty much cheating " Asuka growled " Cheating? No... I only put enough for him to learn about the subject... " " Really... So if he gets really high test results then its because you helped him? " " Maybe... He might be pretty intelligent already... " " Shinji? Don't make me laugh " Asuka turned away again, Leona didn't like the tone of voice she was taking to her... If she had taken that tone to Kat... That would have been fun to watch... Kat was a psychopath and proud of the fact, he had been known to attack people for much less... Still... She was glad he wasn't here today... He loved to cause trouble... Mainly when she was around or there was another person to impress... Leona flicked her hair back... Toji was staring at her... So was Aida... " What are you two looking at? " She sighed " It's just... You and Kat... " Toji smiled " What about us? " Leona watched as Aida walked to the door " I thought that growing up together would mean that you would have similar personalities " " Maybe there are a few things that we share... Maybe... I wouldn't be that proud to be like him though... There are things about him that I... Hate... " " Oh... I see... " " No... You don't see, you didn't grow up with him, you don't know who he is... There is so much that you don't and will never know... " Leona growled " I only said... " " Drop it Toji, I don't want to talk about this... " " Ok... I'm sorry... " Leona smiled again, she looked up to see the teacher looking at his watch... Seemed it was time for a break... Asuka waited by the door... Leona would be out soon... She didn't care who she was or what she thought she was... There was no way she was going to let her make her look like a fool again... Two pairs of glasses loomed in the darkness of the corridor... The light from outside made it hard for her to make out the features of the people advancing on her... Aida and Leona... Toji was also with them... Shinji too... She darted across the entrance and barred the way with her arms " Asuka move " Shinji shouted, he was getting a little agitated to say the least... " Shut up dork, it's Leona I want " Asuka growled " That's it! Move Asuka! " Shinji shouted " Oh shut up... " Asuka swung for Shinji, another persons arm darted up and stopped her... Leona was fast... She had seen this coming though... Asuka brought her other hand up and slammed it into Leona savagely, forcing her to fall to her knees in pain, Asuka growled and slammed her knee into Leona... Leona lay on the ground holding her face, Asuka had just assaulted her... She couldn't see either... The glasses must have slipped off... Pain racked her body again as she was attacked by what she could only assume was Asuka, in this state she couldn't fight back either... She started to climb to her feet... Why was everything silent? The truth dawned on her... It had finally happened... The implants that allowed her to live a relatively normal life had failed on her... There was nothing that she could do... She was defenceless and there was nothing she could do about it... Asuka obviously wasn't relenting... Pain continued to flare throughout her body as the furious assault continued to upon her... She wasn't going to let her win though... Asuka slammed her fist into Leona one last time and climbed to her feet... Something was wrong... She wasn't fighting back... Or even trying to defend herself... She walked over to the glasses that Leona had worn a few minutes ago and stamped on them, she looked at Toji and Aida... They shook their heads and helped Leona to her feet... " Well done Asuka... I hope you knew she was blind... " " Blind? Right... " " Those glasses allowed her to see... They also allowed her too see... " " Really... " Asuka turned to walk away when... One of the cameras started to follow her... She was being watched by security... There was a gasp as Leona climbed to her feet, she flicked her hair back and punched Leona again, This wasn't right... No matter how badly she was hurt she would still get up... Another effort to climb to her feet was halted as Asuka slammed her knee into Leona She smiled when she noticed tears running down the deathly white cheeks of her opponent... Asuka gasped, she wasn't crying... She was... Sweating... Leona climbed to her feet and looked at Asuka, she smiled as Asuka smashed the camera " You know... That hurt... " Leona smiled, Asuka was beginning to think she was as unhinged as Kat... " You just don't know when to stop... Still, since you won't fight back... " Leona slammed her fist into Asuka's face, she grabbed her by the hair and slammed her knee into Asuka's face... Blood splashed against the hard surface below... Asuka hit the floor unconscious, Leona realised she hadn't held back... If Asuka survived that... It would mean she would be in hospital for at least as long as Kat... Maybe not... Kat had a habit of going walk about when he shouldn't... She would be in there at least as long as Kat was supposed to be... Leona wiped blood from her face and smeared it on her school dress, she staggered back a little and collapsed in Shinji's arms " Are you ok? " Shinji asked, he was obviously worried... " Fine... You should be more worried about Asuka... " Leona looked at Asuka for a second... She would live this... Maybe... She was still breathing after all... At least Asuka would think twice before trying something like this again... Leona watched as NERV security agents ran into the area, seemed that she was more valuable than she thought...