Doctor Who: The Evangelion Error (Book One)

E6 Part 1: --we came in?

Tokyo-3 First Municipal Middle School. Late September 2015.
T-46 Hours

The sound of the starter pistol reverberated over the school grounds. From his position carefully hidden behind a tree, Shinji stared glumly at the distant track as the runners began their circuit.

"Bit weird, wouldn't you say?"

Shinji swung his head to the side. The Doctor was behind him, of course, hands shoved into the pockets of his long brown coat, his brow wrinkled as if he had something distasteful stuck in his teeth.

Shinji briefly considered questioning to what degree the Doctor would be the best judge what was weird and what wasn't. Instead, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, all of this." The Doctor waved a hand impatiently across the girls' PE class in the distance. "Whole school's invaded by aliens, half the faculty and the better part of a class wiped out. You'd expect... Oh, I don't know... grief counselors. Boards of inquiry. Letters to the editor. That sort of thing. Instead, it's all, oh, fine fine, take the week off, back to the schedule on Monday." He wrinkled his nose. "They didn't even bother to plaster up the bullet holes."

Shinji shrugged.

A cool breeze rustled through the tree's branches. Across the field, one of the armed guards walking the school's periphery paused to yawn, then turned back to start another patrol. "So how was the field trip over the weekend?" the Doctor asked after a moment.

Shinji shrugged again. "I survived."

"Take it that's the latest recruit?" The Doctor nodded at the red-headed figure sitting by the track in the distance. "What's she like, then?"

"She's... umm..." Shinji searched his mind for the right word. Eventually, he had no choice but to circle back to the first one that'd popped into his head. "... scary."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Good scary or bad scary?"

"Just... scary." Shinji rubbed the spot on the top of his head where the new pilot had punched him and winced. The bruise still hurt. "Very scary."

"Huh." The clock in the main building chimed. The Doctor sighed. "Anyway - I'd better get back. They're having me cover third-year physics now. But before I go, I really do need to say something to the two up in the tree."

"Crap," Kensuke said from the branches over Shinji's head.

"Dammit, Shinji!" Toji's voice burst out from further up the tree. "You were supposed to watch out for crap like this!"

"Well, what was I supposed to do?!" Shinji snapped. "And I told you this was a bad idea!"

"Is that a camera?" The Doctor stared at the object in Kensuke's hands. "-- oh, never mind. I don't want to know. Just stop it. It's just not right."

"Or what?" Toji challenged. "What are you gonna do? Tell our dads?"

"Nah, too much effort." The Doctor scratched the back of his head. "I'll just tell your class representative once she gets back from hospital. Miss Horaki, wasn't it?..."

The tree was silent for a moment. "You fight dirty, Smith," Toji finally grumbled.

The Doctor grinned. "Oh, I fight to win."

The clock chimed again. Across the field, the girls clumped together and headed inside. As his friends climbed down from the tree - Toji sullenly, Kensuke remorsefully - Shinji felt the Doctor tap him on the shoulder. "One last thing - stop by later if you get a chance. Had an idea."