EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from Tiga

Chapter 31 Celebration Banquet: Suzuhara Touji's Loyalty Up
I walked into the apartment with Rei Ayanami, but saw Touji Suzuhara, Hikaru Toki, Asuka... and the drowsy Sakura Suzuhara in the corridor.

"what happened?"

"Ah, Sakura ate too much and is very sleepy... Mr. Kaji said it's too dangerous for us to walk back at night, so he agreed to lend us the spare room on the second floor of the apartment. We were planning to take Sakura up there to make the bed and stuff..."

"Why Kaji-san? Where's Misato-san?"

"Misato-sama seems to have drunk too much...she went to the bathroom to vomit. Mr. Kaji is taking care of her."

"This older sister... is really setting a bad example in front of the kids."

Is that so? It’s already bedtime for the kids without you noticing?

Having said that, when Suzuhara Touji spoke... his eyes were always on Ikari Shinji's face.

That's a sign of wanting to say something—absolutely amazing! After Asuka and Ayanami Rei, it's Suzuhara... You need my one-on-one talk therapy tonight, right?

I really don't understand people in this world. If everyone just speaks out their inner thoughts frankly, 90% of misunderstandings can be avoided. Why are they unwilling to do so?

"Ayanami, go help them."

"……Um."

Ayanami also noticed that Shinji Ikari wanted to talk to Touji Suzuhara alone, so she nodded obediently and helped Asuka take the young Sakura Suzuhara's hand and walk towards the second floor.

And Asuka... although she was very unhappy with Rei Ayanami, calling her a spoiled girl and asking her to get in through the back door... but when it really came to cooperation, she still obeyed and stood on each side of Rei Ayanami, holding Suzuhara Sakura's little hand harmoniously.

"…Suzuhara, go out and get some fresh air."

"……Um."

Suzuhara Touji looked at Ikari Shinji with some gratitude, knowing that the other party was deliberately helping him create suitable conditions for conversation since he didn't know how to start the conversation.

The night in Tokyo-3 was colder than expected.

Without the scorching sun of the day that seemed to cover all the haze, an ominous wind blew from the scarlet sea, adding a touch of sadness to the dark night.

Shinji Ikari leaned against the wall of the apartment, casually playing with the Walkman in his hand, waiting for Suzuhara Touji to speak first as usual.

Because he has something to say... but lacks the courage to express his true feelings, so he becomes complacent - whether it's Suzuhara or Asuka... they are all like this.

So don't rush, just wait patiently.

Speaking of which... I found this in my luggage... I don't know when it appeared here...

——Did it exist before but I never paid attention to it?
Or—in that bottomless dream… it appeared when I took the earphones off the former Ikari Shinji's ears and told him to listen to other people's voices more…

Shinji Ikari didn't know this, but he did know that this Walkman was once used by his father Gendo Ikari.

Shinji Ikari, who once closed his heart, used it to block his ears... and no longer listened to the voices of others.

"Um, Ikari... Shinji."

I don’t know how long it took, but Suzuhara Touji finally spoke, and changed the way he addressed himself from his surname to his first name to bring him closer.

"I... really admire you."

At this moment, Suzuhara Touji's face was visibly pale... I don't know what he was thinking... You can even see cold sweat sliding down his forehead.

"That time a few days ago was the first time I was so close to an apostle, face to face... even though we were so far away... the air was filled with the scorching heat of molten steel and the pungent... burnt smell that was like the breath of death.

I… I was really scared… At that time, Sakura and the squad leader were right behind me… I should have stood in front of them like a man and protected them. But I was completely petrified and didn't even realize what I was doing… Until you… drove the EVA in front of us—that momentary sense of relief… made me almost cry right there.

Suzuhara Touji's hands began to tremble. Just thinking back to his brief encounter with the Sixth Angel that day... was enough to plant a bottomless fear deep in his heart.

"Shinji, you should have guessed it already..."

Suzuhara raised his head, his eyes filled with his reliance on Ikari Shinji, eagerly waiting for him to pierce his veil.

"…Suzuhara, someone wants you to be an EVA pilot, right?"

Suzuhara Touji nodded with relief.

"Our family's life is already very tight. Sakura's health needs treatment if she wants to avoid any sequelae. If I become a pilot, I can let her stay in NERV's hospital for free. I'm afraid... I'm afraid of the apostles, afraid of fighting... But if I can give her a good life, I don't mind dying... Ah!!"

In order to shut up the mouth that uttered those cowardly words, a fist that was not big but very solid hit Suzuhara Touji's nose hard.

Shinji Ikari is not so gentle towards this kind of boy who acts like a spoiled child.

"Fool."

Shinji Ikari sighed and looked at Suzuhara Touji, who was covering his nose and bleeding profusely, and spoke solemnly.

"Suzuhara—let me make this clear, whatever decision you make is yours. But...if you're piloting the EVA with the mindset of not caring if you die, I'll beat you back every time you do it. Getting beaten up by me is better than dying at the hands of an apostle, right?"

"S-Shinji…?"

Suzuhara Touji was stunned. He had never imagined that this skinny boy's fist could be so powerful. Even more shocking than his fist was Shinji Ikari's words... each word hammered into Suzuhara Touji's heart.

"Hey, Suzuhara, let me ask you... Sakura-chan... are you the kind of sister who would trade her brother's life for better treatment resources for herself?"

"Eh...that's definitely not the case, but as a brother, shouldn't I... wooooah!"

Another punch, even stronger and more shocking than the last, sent Suzuhara Touji stumbling to the ground. "As a brother, you're sacrificing yourself like that? Turning your own life into a lifelong curse on Sakura-chan, huh? Then you're such a good brother! You bastard!"

At this time, the smile on Shinji Ikari's face had completely disappeared. He walked forward with great seriousness, grabbed the collar of Suzuhara Touji, who was still in a daze, stared into his eyes, and spoke as if to dispel the confusion in his heart with words.

"If you're afraid, don't fight—you can choose a life without battle. Living here with the squad leader and Sakura... As a NERV EVA pilot, I will protect you, the common people, with my life. Just like last time... If I can protect you once, I can protect you a second time, and a third time!

If you need money for Sakura's treatment, you can work part-time. Miss Misato and I can lend you the remaining amount! As long as you work hard and pay it back slowly, and show a positive attitude! Miss Misato is not a monster! So!! Never use the excuse of having no other options to die! I didn't save you to let you die! I protected you so that you could live well!

Their eyes met, and it was the first time that Suzuhara Touji looked directly into Ikari Shinji's eyes at such a close distance... Although he was a peer of his, smaller in height and weight, his eyes burned with the awareness and determination that he would never be able to catch up to him and felt ashamed of his own appearance.

...This is the EVA pilot...?
No, that's not right... Asuka and Ayanami Rei... are also pilots, and have their own strong obsessions... but they don't have Shinji Ikari's radiant and fascinating faith.

"So, Shinji... you mean, I... shouldn't be a pilot...?"

Suzuhara, already stunned by Ikari Shinji's courage, asked blankly.

"What? It's not—"

He let go of his hand with a snap, and all the courage in Shinji Ikari disappeared, letting Suzuhara Touji sit down on the ground with a thud.

At this time, Shinji Ikari has returned to his usual calm and composed appearance.

"I didn't make the decision for you—I meant, don't entrust your life to others. Don't die for Sakura, and don't change your will because of what I said. ...If your answer tonight was that you wanted the power to protect the squad leader and Sakura...or that you wanted revenge on the apostles because they killed my family...I wouldn't stop you. I beat you because you gave up making the decision for your own life."

Reaching out to Suzuhara, he helped him stand up from his crouching position. Shinji Ikari's smile was as gentle and refreshing as ever, his previous domineering aura seemingly non-existent.

"Live for yourself. Even if you die in battle, don't let others bear the burden of your death, because this is the path you chose. It's that simple. Think carefully about what you should do. As long as it's your own choice, as a friend, I will support you."

Suzuhara looked at the young man in front of him with a look that was almost respectful. This young man, his predecessor as a pilot, had fought against the apostles many times...but still managed to maintain such a strong spirit.

How come I hadn't recognized him before? Could it be that this classmate, Shinji Ikari, had such a dazzling way of living?

"Shinji… No! Shinji-san! Can I ask you a question?"

"There are too many complaints... Putting aside the strange title of sir, I won't even look at you."

"what???"

"It's okay, it's okay, just ask."

Shinji Ikari was a little confused when he suddenly saw Ayanami.

"Mr. Shinji...if you were me...what would you do?"

Looking at Suzuhara Touji's face, which showed that he had made some kind of decision, Ikari Shinji chuckled and answered.

"You're asking even though you already know the answer, aren't you?"

“…………Ah, yes.”

At some point, Suzuhara Touji found a smile on the corner of his mouth - why was he smiling?

It is still unknown what happened to Suzuhara Touji at the moment... but he knows... his hands have stopped shaking.

"Okay, that's it. Go back and think about it carefully, or discuss it with the squad leader and Ying. If you don't want to do it, just refuse politely. No one will force you here..."

Shinji Ikari's offer of comfort was rejected by Suzuhara Touji with a smile.

"No. You are no longer needed, Mr. Shinji."

"Ok?"

"I have made my own choice. I want to be the pilot of EVA Unit 03... Not because of Sakura's treatment, but because... I want to be a man like you."

"Is it?"

Shinji Ikari also laughed, because... Suzuhara Touji's expression was quite good right now.

That is an expression with a light shining in the heart.

"Well, do your best, Touji."

[PS: It’s a bit difficult to jump-_-||
It's really easy to overflow in literary drama
It's just a conversation between Ikari Shinji and Suzuhara Touji. If you want to show the inner feelings of the two people in detail, it will easily reach 4,000 words. This is the result of me deleting a lot of details.

These chapters are just pure dialogues, I feel a bit watery

But this is also a necessary part of Shinji Ikari's subtle change of the people around him, allowing them to grow spiritually.
It's like the feeling of playing the second game and then clicking on the portraits of the characters on the map to trigger the character's side quests after the battle part is over (laughs)

But I am afraid that readers will not like to read such long dialogues.
By the way, because the performance of this book is better than I expected, the collection has reached 1000.

There are a lot of comments from everyone. I may not read the comments in time now, but I will still read the book reviews regularly.
I will also learn from everyone's discussion about this book
For example, the fast progress does seem to be a little bit, and I will pay attention to the rhythm later.

If you have read this far, you should be able to feel that the main theme of this book is the influence and change between people, rather than Ultraman's invincible battle in the world.
Therefore, there will be more literary dramas like this where there are dialogues and communications.
Then answer the questions that everyone cares about.
It won't be a single female lead. So far, it seems that there are three female leads in the original work.

Because I hate NTR, I won't break up the CP in the original work.
Ikari Gendo will definitely be beaten. Reconciliation is impossible. Old Deng, who doesn't speak human language, will definitely be beaten. There is no such thing as a deep father-son relationship.
I wrote a lot of nonsense until midnight.

If this book can match the feeling of EVA you like

Please give me a follow-up reading, thank you QAQ]

(End of this chapter)