The sound of rotor blades slapping the air was deafening. A helicopter bearing the UN insignia was headed toward Tokyo-3. Inside the cabin, it was remarkably quiet; aside from Shinji, who sat bolt upright and looked full of energy, the others were dozing off.
Misato Katsuragi clutched her head, looking as if she had just woken up from a massive hangover. Rei Ayanami hadn't left after all; she had listened to Shinji tell his legendary tales, growing more excited the more she heard. As for Asuka, she had been eavesdropping from outside the paper door, and now her eyes were bloodshot.
'Is there sothing wrong with this world? Are there actually "normal" people who spend the entire night telling stories to a pretty girl? And you were just talking the whole ti!'
Asuka, who had wanted to catch them in the act to get revenge for her previous illness, rubbed her eyes. The most infuriating part wasn't that those two were acting crazy—it was why she had ended up listening for the whole night too!
That was correct; she had eavesdropped for the entire night and was forced to admit that Shinji's stories were incredibly compelling, as if he had experienced them himself.
As she thought this, she happened to et Shinji's gaze. She couldn't help but shudder and folded her arms across her chest.
"You—why are you staring at ?"
"It's nothing. I'm just puzzled."
Shinji stroked his chin. He and Rei had tried many ways to enter that dream state, but only that one ti had been successful. Now that he had regained his composure, he began to ponder why it had worked last night.
'Could it be that the firepower of one person wasn't enough? Do I need to add another?'
"Asuka, let's continue the experint tonight."
"Experint with what?"
"What we did last night."
Thump.
Asuka bolted upright on the spot, her head slamming into the ceiling of the cabin. She clutched her head in pain.
"Don't even think about it! This lady has enough patience to do that kind of thing once, and that's it! My whole body hurts today—don't you dare push your luck!"
'Hmm, I guess that's a no.'
Shinji was not influenced by the girl's intense opposition. He looked over at Misato Katsuragi, who was pricking up her ears to listen in.
'What thing? Her whole body hurts? Why is Asuka's reaction so extre? Ugh, if I had known, I wouldn't have drunk so much last night. Just what kind of exciting plot did I miss?'
As she was thinking this, she caught Shinji's gaze and also shivered.
"You don't intend to lay a hand on too, do you?"
"Is that not allowed?"
Misato looked at the expressionless Rei, then at the blushing Asuka. As if infected by their reaction, her own mature face began to flush.
"It's not that it's not allowed, but I'm fourteen years older than you. This... this doesn't seem quite right..."
"Enough!"
Asuka interrupted quickly, taking a side glance at the pilots in the front. Those two pilots were already stunned, casting looks of admiration at the "idiot" Shinji as if they were beholding a god. If this continued, she feared she wouldn't be able to wash her na clean even if she jumped into the Pacific Ocean.
"You didn't hear anything you shouldn't have last night, did you?"
Asuka looked at Shinji. This was what she cared about most. It was all Rei's fault for making her say those things.
"What exactly are you referring to?"
The boy looked completely confused.
"Ugh, never mind."
Asuka didn't dare follow up. She knew Shinji didn't understand German. Upon confirming this, her mood improved instantly.
"By the way, where do you get all this material from? Even improvising on the spot wouldn't be this amazing."
"Because I don't need to make it up."
Shinji shook his head. Every veteran represented a legend—countless battles, assaults, turning defeat into victory. He hadn't even told one percent of the stories yet. And his stories were hardly a lot; if one were to ask the Custodians, they could probably talk for a lifeti without stopping. Well, their stories were as long as their nas.
"Then have you ever thought about writing it into a novel? I think it would be a huge hit!"
"Uh, that's a unique idea."
Shinji couldn't quite keep up with Asuka's erratic train of thought. He scratched his cheek and finally shook his head: "No need. I don't expect mortals to understand these past events, but if you want to listen, I will tell them to you."
"Haha, the way you say that, it's like you're an old man about to kick the bucket."
'An old man? That actually sounds like .'
Shinji still rembered when he first returned; his emotions were truly as stable as an old man's. After all, by his age, he was over 130 or 140 years old. It was only because he had stayed with these noisy people for so long that his ntality had beco active again. He was gradually learning to complain and make jokes.
He looked ahead at the golden sunrise. It was nostalgic, as if the Emperor were revealing a look of gratification.
'Praise the Emperor.'
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The Eighth Angel had been eliminated without even grazing the outskirts of Tokyo-3. The entire process was classified. By the ti Shinji and his team returned to school, their classmates assud they had simply gone on a trip together.
School remained no different from usual. Teenage boys and girls attended classes, played sports, dated, occasionally participated in evacuation drills, and daydread about where to go in high school. At first, an air of panic had perated the place, but after several Angels in a row were intercepted outside the city, children of this age soon stopped caring.
'Angels? They're really nothing special.'
Unlike adults who worried about the future and the extinction of humanity, the children had their minds filled with thoughts of the school festival and the field trip.
"Shinji, Shinji, have you heard? The field trip is going to be in Okinawa! I have to go buy a swimsuit after school today and stun everyone."
As soon as the morning class ended, Asuka hopped over excitedly, intentionally puffing out her chest.
'You were just giving the cold shoulder last night, saying you'd never talk to again.'
Shinji looked at the girl who didn't hold a grudge overnight and said silently: "You don't need to buy one. It's a waste."
"Why? Are you looking down on this lady again, aren't you!"
"You've likely forgotten your status. We can't leave Tokyo-3. If an Angel attacks, what then?"
Asuka's expression stiffened on the spot. She ultimately couldn't bring herself to say anything as shaless as "Leave the Angels to the invincible Shinji-sama, I'll be back in a flash," so she grunted sullenly.
"If we aren't going, we aren't going. I never wanted to play with a bunch of little brats anyway."
Shinji looked at her again, and seeing her dejected appearance, he finally couldn't help but speak: "We can't go on the field trip, but we can look forward to the school festival."
"Is the school festival fun? We don't have that stuff in Germany."
This question stumped Shinji. He searched his mories frantically, but after a long while, he had no impression of such a thing at all.
"Hey, you just participated in the school festival last year, right? Does that really require thinking?"
Indeed, Shinji had been in his first year of junior high last year, but these two periods of mories were separated by over 120 years. Whenever he thought of "festivals," his mind went straight to Khorne rituals with heads and blood covering the ground, or Slaanesh gatherings where people were turned into human-flesh guitars with ribs as strings—things that sent shivers down his spine.
"The school festival is fun! Our band is going to perform, and every class and club will co up with various programs. So will sell snacks, so will turn their classrooms into haunted houses, and others..."
Hikari Horaki bailed Shinji out, imdiately attracting Asuka's attention.
"Then what is our class doing?"
"Didn't we decide by vote last ti? Oh, you three were on a mission and didn't attend the class eting. We're planning to do a maid café."
"What the heck is a maid café?"
Shinji sat upright, listening as the girls explained concepts like "maids" and "poster girls." He watched as Asuka's eyes lit up, her mood instantly soaring.
"I want to be the poster girl! Don't worry, with my beauty, I'll definitely attract all the custors."
"No problem. Let's go find the class president and discuss it."
Hikari nodded gently at Shinji and walked away with Asuka.
If it were the old him, Shinji would have definitely comnted that it was aningless and a waste of ti. But he had figured things out now, and he even turned to look at Kensuke.
"Listening to Hikari's description just now, maid cafés and such seem to be led by the girls. What are we boys doing?"
"Uh, are you interested?"
Shinji paused for a mont before realizing he actually was. He shook his head, imitating Asuka's habitual mannerisms.
"Collective honor is equally important. As a mber of Class 2-A, I should contribute my strength to the collective."
For such a small matter, his reasoning was irrefutable—worthy of a ntor. The boys' expressions turned solemn, and they all bowed their heads to show they had learned their lesson.
"We boys are doing the logistics—running errands, decorating the classroom, that sort of thing."
Toji Suzuhara said grumpily, his hands clasped behind his head. "The class president threw the design work at too. How would I know how to do that?"
"Did she ntion any requirents?"
"She did ntion that. It needs to be attractive and have a unique taste. Aren't there Angels causing trouble lately? So the style shouldn't be too flippant; it's best if it inspires a yearning for beauty and hope for the future. Dammit, I have to go back and ask my old man for help."
Toji's father also worked at NERV and was one of the designers for Tokyo-3.
'Unique taste, attractive, the style shouldn't be flippant—that ans solemn.'
And it had to inspire positive human emotions, a sense of hope in this heavy apocalypse.
Hikari Horaki was talented; she actually realized that beneath the relaxed daily life, there was always the danger of humanity's annihilation.
Shinji cast a look of appreciation, then stared intently at Toji: "Since you don't know how, leave this to ."
"Huh? Shinji, you can do it?"
"I'm good at everything."
Shinji leaned back slightly, the design blueprints already in his mind.
There was no one who knew better than him how to design a room that was uniquely styled, solemn, inspired positive human emotions, and filled people with infinite hope.
"Shinji-kun looked at just now. For so reason, I feel a bit nervous."
Class President Hikari Horaki scratched her cheek. As the class leader, she had been too busy lately; the school festival was in ten days, and the field trip was a week after that.
"Don't mind him. That guy is definitely not interested. He's probably still mocking us in his heart for doing such aningless things."
Asuka waved her hand, full of spirit: "So we need to rehearse tonight and buy clothes tomorrow?"
"Right, but the budget isn't enough. We can't buy the clothes; we have to make them."
Hikari pointed to a delicate-looking boy and said with a smile: "Yono-kun can do it; his family is in that business."
"These boys won't make the clothes too revealing, will they?" Rin Chiharu asked, looking vigilant.
"I have strict requirents. The skirts must be below the knee, and they can't be low-cut. Yono-kun is so introverted, he won't do anything wild."
Hikari wasn't worried. She clapped her hands. "We also have a program for the music club. We're going to Rei's place to rehearse these next few days. Is that okay?"
"Okay."
Rei nodded gently. She didn't know when it started, but she had grown accustod to shopping with these peers, eating sweet cakes, and ssing around at ho. She used to only go underground after school, soaking in LCL liquid while conducting endless experints. Now, she only went to headquarters every other day, to the point where even Misato ridiculed them for becoming "tax thieves."
But, how to put it...
Rei lifted her head, looking at the girls excitedly discussing in front of her, and the boys who were also beaming with smiles around Shinji. She couldn't help but drift into a daze.
"Hey, what are you daydreaming about?"
Asuka waved her hand in front of her eyes, and only then did the red eyes regain their luster.
"Nothing. I just hope these kinds of days last forever."
"Huh? We're discussing the new song, and you're here contemplating the aning of life?"
Asuka found it incomprehensible. She put her hands on her hips and said: "We train hard, fight the Angels while piloting EVA at the risk of death—isn't it all just to prolong these peaceful days?"
Though the Second Child was stubborn, she had always been steadfast.
Rei nodded, a touch of envy in her gaze. Asuka never hid her yearning for a beautiful world. Gradually, a lody seed to take shape in her mind.
'Why not call the new song "Beautiful World"?'
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