Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

“But you also need to think about your future. Don’t you want to be a doctor who saves lives? The educational resources over there are better than here,” Shinji Ikari said.

Shinji Ikari, of course, did not tell Sakura Suzuhara the whole story of what happened after Toji Suzuhara piloted Unit-03. But Sakura Suzuhara vaguely sensed that her brother had become a victim of the three counterattacks.

That's why Shinji Ikari readily agreed when Sakura Suzuhara asked him to be the chief mourner. Even the little girl with her head down might hate him deep down.

Despite bearing such a tragic fate, the young girl never shed a single tear. She never uttered a single weak word.

After experiencing countless hardships, the gem named Sakura began to gradually take shape from its raw state. She thought that seeing her beloved brother completely buried would leave a wound on her heart, but unexpectedly, she accepted her brother's death with a forgiving and compassionate heart.

Sakura has acknowledged and accepted her fate, and dares to face it resolutely. Such rare self-respect and self-control are the greatest virtues possessed by the girl named Suzuhara Sakura, and she may even be stronger than Suzuhara Toji.

Shinji Ikari turned to the side and looked at the black sedan parked at the entrance of the cemetery. He patted Sakura Suzuhara's head. "Let's go," Shinji said.

"Let's wait a bit," Suzuhara Sakura said softly, finally raising her head.

Shinji Ikari was a little surprised, staring into Sakura Suzuhara's eyes, but still squatted down.

Just when he thought the girl in front of him would try to punch him like her brother, she gently brought her tender face closer and kissed him on the cheek.

"Alright, let's go." At this moment, the girl took Shinji Ikari's index finger.

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The slightly jarring ringing of the bell did not spoil everyone's good mood. During lunch break, the students and their friends gathered in small groups to eat lunch.

With the defeat of the Seraphim over, a long period of calm has lasted for nearly half a month. Media outlets around the world have been reporting extensively on the protracted battle. This atmosphere has also somewhat affected the students of Tokyo-3 Municipal Junior High School, since most students who can attend this school have some connection to NERV.

Of course, the sudden disappearance of one student from the classroom was also a significant factor. Although Suzuhara Toji was disliked by many, his actual disappearance still left a deep sense of sadness.

"Asuka, didn't you have any appetite at noon today?"

Class monitor Hikaru looked at his friend sitting opposite him with a worried expression. Asuka, on the other hand, was propping her chin up with her hand and watching the boy sitting in the back row being fed by a girl who looked very much like Rei Ayanami.

"Ha, I have absolutely no appetite, you could even say I feel nauseous... At dawn, Tiffany called to say my new gear had arrived at the airport. That guy, really, doesn't he care about time zones at all?"

Hikaru held the lunchbox, looking at Asuka with a wry smile.

As a friend, I know that the Ms. Tiffany that Asuka mentioned is her former mentor in Germany. However, it seems that her real troubles have nothing to do with the phone call, but rather with the boy in the back row.

The world-famous Third Child, Shinji Ikari, sat opposite a smiling girl who was a classmate from the next class, Mana Kirishima, who had also been a transfer student. Hikari was somewhat surprised when she first saw her, because she hadn't expected anyone to look so much like Rei Ayanami.

They're not exactly the same, but they're at least 80% similar. Rei Ayanami's facial features are softer, giving her a ghostly, transparent look. Mana Kirishima, on the other hand, has more masculine, strong features; for example, her nose is very high and straight, which makes her appearance more androgynous.

At that moment, she ran over from the next class and sat down opposite Shinji Ikari with a smile. Although they weren't officially dating, their classmates assumed she was Shinji's new girlfriend.

"Xiangxiang, are you bothered by this?" Dongmu Guang asked softly.

"Huh? How could I possibly care about a playboy like that? His ex-girlfriends combined could probably form a football team." Asuka gave him a look of utter astonishment. "On the contrary, are you really okay?"

"What problem could I possibly have?" Hikaru Tōki gave a helpless smile.

"You like that gorilla Suzuhara Toji, don't you?" Asuka said decisively.

At that moment, Hikaru's smile froze on his face.

"Actually, I wouldn't say I like him, I'd just say I have a bit of a crush on him." Hikaru Toki looked up, chewing on a takoyaki. "Logically speaking, Suzuhara Toji isn't my type either. Clumsy, careless, bullies classmates, provokes teachers, mischievous, and a ringleader in disrupting class discipline."

"But I still developed feelings for him, didn't I?" Asuka scooped a spoonful of rice drizzled with soup into her mouth. "Sometimes, feelings arise without warning and deepen without end."

"It's probably more like lust at first sight," Hikaru chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm fine, just a little sad. Do I look like I have a problem?"

Asuka carefully examined her friend, noticing the girl's unwavering gaze meeting hers without flinching, and nodded slightly. "That's good if there's nothing wrong. If you encounter any difficulties, remember to tell me."

"You're the same, Xiangxiang," Hikaru Tōki comforted her with a smile.

"Hmph, I'm fine too," Asuka said, then glanced at the short-haired girl sitting in the back row out of the corner of her eye.

It wasn't Kirishima's real name, but rather Rei Ayanami's, who sat quietly in her seat, gazing out the window. This girl, whom she often jokingly called "the model student" and "the puppet," was completely oblivious to the playful banter behind her, quietly watching out the window. More accurately, she was watching the birds flying past.

Asuka wouldn't admit that she disliked Mana Kirishima, but she didn't see her as a threat.

Because she knew that Misato Katsuragi wouldn't allow a girl with such a questionable identity to stay by Shinji Ikari's side for long, interfering with his decisions. And that week-long stay in Minato Ward, Second New Tokyo City, might already be the beginning of resentment towards this girl.

Even though Shinji Ikari made the decision, Misato Katsuragi still took her anger out on her. In this respect, Misato Katsuragi is like a parent of a spoiled child, always believing that her child is absolutely without fault. Even if problems arise, she thinks it's just that the neighbor's bad kids led him astray.

Compared to Shinji Ikari, Rei Ayanami has three other qualified pilots from headquarters, while Mana Kirishima, selected as a pilot by the military, is just the troublesome kid next door. Moreover, the relationship between NERV and the Self-Defense Forces is inconsistent.

It won't be long before she transfers to another school. Or perhaps there's no transfer at all, and she'll return directly to the Self-Defense Forces to pilot the so-called new large-scale threat individual combat-specific mobile weapon, AKASIMA.

Ha, it's just a cheap imitation, like the JA mecha. Compared to the invincible Unit-02, they're all worthless dregs, utterly vulnerable.

Hikari was unaware of the power struggles among the higher-ups. She simply finished her lunch quietly, tidied up her and Asuka's lunchboxes, and returned to her seat to prepare for the afternoon's lessons.

After a two-and-a-half-hour lunch break, the middle-aged, bald math teacher was writing furiously on the blackboard, gesturing with his hands while loudly explaining various formulas.

"The sum of two addends is 820. If one of the addends increases by 15 and the other remains the same, the sum is ( ). If one addend remains the same and the other decreases by 15, the sum should be ( )."

Concentrating intently, Hikaru Tōki involuntarily shrank his neck and rubbed his eyes.

Perhaps because he hadn't rested well during his lunch break, Hikaru seemed a little dazed. Also, afternoon math classes were rare, since there were only two classes in the afternoon, and the students were all quite adventurous, so most of the classes were physical education, music, or home economics—subjects that didn't require much mental effort.

But Hikaru Toki dared not let his mind wander, because math class couldn't be skipped. It might only take a moment for you to bend down to pick up your pen, and when you looked up again, you wouldn't recognize the knowledge on the blackboard.

But Hikaru was still somewhat distracted, glancing at Shinji Ikari and Asuka not far away. These two guys, whose average scores were below average, were both recognized as top students in the class.

Shinji Ikari is capricious. His performance of the first movement of the 9th Violin Sonata "Kreutzer" at the Fujiwara Music Festival earned him a high score, even from the most discerning judge, Hiroko Seto, securing him second place. However, he still skipped the exam entirely because he wanted to see the dolphin show, completely disregarding the so-called deviation score.

Asuka cares because she's competitive and strives for the best. However, her grades are terrible; the problem is that she can't understand the questions because she can't even recognize all the kanji.

But there is no doubt that both of them are geniuses.

As for Rei Ayanami, the first Child, she consistently ranked among the top three in her class, though Hikaru Touki didn't consider her a genius. She knew how hard Rei worked; compared to Asuka, who could easily absorb the teacher's explanations, Rei put in at least three times the effort. Therefore, Asuka would jokingly call her an "excellent student," a term tinged with jealousy and a hint of disdain.

However, compared to those two monsters, Rei Ayanami still possesses talent beyond that of ordinary people. For example, someone like herself.

"Dongmu, are you paying attention in class?" The brilliant math teacher pushed up his glasses and noticed that Dongmu Hikaru, who was sitting in the second row, was somewhat distracted.

"Hi!" Hikaru Toki quickly replied.

After school, there are club activities. Hikari is a member of the sculpture club, as is Asuka, but she doesn't come often.

"Are you alright, Hikaru? You don't look too good." A senior from the same club asked with some concern, but Hikaru just smiled and shook his head, then quietly clutched what he was holding.

Suddenly her hand trembled, and the carving knife fell to the ground.

In the instant he bent down to pick up the carving knife, Hikaru suddenly remembered the problem he had been pondering in math class that afternoon. Perhaps in the mere moment he bent down to pick up his pen, he would fall behind the teacher's pace.

Just like now, she looked up at the sky, which was covered with dark clouds.

She felt listless and wanted to shout something, but the sound of her deep breaths already echoed in the empty corridor. Hikari didn't know who she wanted to shout to; it was as if something was weighing on her heart, making her want to say something out loud.

It wasn't that she didn't care; it's just that the sadness suddenly arrived like a rainstorm. Watching her classmates walk away one after another with their umbrellas, she rummaged through her backpack, but found nothing.

"There was a notification in the class group that it would rain today. You were the one who notified us in the group this morning. Did you forget to bring an umbrella, class monitor?"

Hikaru turned his head to look at Shinji Ikari, who was standing next to him, watching the rain. To be precise, he looked at Shinji's hands, which were in his pockets, as if he was trying to decide whether he could take something out of them.

"No need to look, because I didn't bring any with me either," Shinji Ikari said frankly.

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PS1: After checking the information, I realized that I may have written it wrong about the three Tokyos. It's not that there were three Tokyos that existed at the same time after they were destroyed. It seems that there was only the Second New Tokyo and the Third New Tokyo, which served as a fortress city.

The following is history from a textbook (the author declined to include images, and it's in Japanese).

Many countries in the Northern Hemisphere suffered from disasters caused by rising sea levels, plunging them into severe chaos. The meteorite landed two days after September 15, 2000. Conflicts erupted along the border between India and Pakistan, while military conflicts occurred around the world.

On September 20, a new type of bomb (N2 bomb) was dropped in Tokyo, killing approximately 500,000 people.

The following year, on February 14, 2001, a provisional "Valentine's Day Truce" was about to be signed, but conflicts continued around the world before then.

[About the Second New Tokyo Metropolis]

The Japanese provisional government abandoned the reconstruction of Tokyo, which had been destroyed by a new type of bomb, and decided to build a new Tokyo in Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture. Construction of the second new Tokyo officially began in 2001.

The reconstruction lasted ten months, and by early 2003, the second new Tokyo began to fully function as the new capital.

[The second largest capital relocation plan in 15 years was permanently approved by the Diet, and the construction of the third Tokyo city was completed.]

PS2: But the first N2 was still detonated in Japan, which shows that Hideaki's anti-war consciousness was still very firm.

One two one: I want to shout it out loud (Part 2)

It wasn't surprising that Shinji Ikari didn't bring an umbrella, but if he needed one, someone would have brought it to him. Instead, he stood empty-handed, quietly admiring the torrential rain.

Hikaru Toki didn't know if his admiration was genuine or just a facade. But it was clear that middle school girls were totally smitten with him.

"How about we go to Tokyo-2 for a look around?" Shinji Ikari suggested.

Actually, among the three, Shinji Ikari is the most thoughtful. Asuka is too self-centered, and although Rei Ayanami takes the initiative to take care of others, she doesn't really know how to take care of people.

"It seems like everyone's gone now, and there are no cars left." Hikaru Toki gripped the handles of his backpack with both hands, his knuckles turning slightly white.

The cold wind blowing from behind, carrying raindrops, seeped into the gaps of his knitwear, bringing a feeling that didn't belong to this season. Hikaru belatedly shrank his neck, momentarily dazed.

“Then let’s take a taxi,” Shinji Ikari said, but taking a taxi was no big deal for him.

Indeed, even if it's just moving from Tokyo-3 to Tokyo-2, the price of nearly six figures might be a huge sum for an ordinary student, but it's nothing for Shinji Ikari.

He's done even more outrageous things, like renting a helicopter on a whim to see the Tokyo Skytree at night, but getting bored halfway through and turning around to take the subway back to Tokyo Third. On the way, he had a great time playing marbles with the kids on the subway.

The driver flagged down the car and quickly drove onto the highway, much to his surprise. He hadn't expected to receive such a large fare in the rain.

However, judging from the well-dressed young man sitting behind him, he was certain that the other party was a wealthy young master who could afford the fare, so he didn't ask any further questions. But seeing the girl sitting next to him with a mournful expression, he couldn't help but say something more.

"Getting pregnant isn't a big deal. You can go to Shinbashi Fujiwara Hospital in Tokyo, right? Their abortion procedures are very good. My brother accompanied my wife there and he said it was great."

Hikaru looked out the window. As they drove away from Third New Tokyo, the view suddenly opened up, and even the previously dark, iron-like rain curtain disappeared. The sky suddenly cleared, with occasional raindrops falling straight down to the ground from high above. However, the number of vehicles on the road suddenly increased.

As we exited the highway and entered the Second New Tokyo area, the speed slowed down, and we cautiously made our way forward, one car after another. The horns of the cars ahead blared incessantly, like a boiling kettle, and the red light of countless brake lights pierced through the rain, as if there was a traffic jam.

So Shinji Ikari pulled Hikaru Toki off the train. Looking at the crowded road in front of him, Shinji scratched his head in annoyance. "This is a bit of a hassle. I was thinking of going to Kaiketei in Ginza." Kaiketei was just a Michelin one-star restaurant, not worth Shinji's special trip, but his favorite American stand-up comedian, Donald Trump, had dined there not long ago.

However, a light drizzle made the roads congested.

Dongmu Guang stood under the lights, but his gaze was fixed on the hotel in front of him, which was shimmering with pink light. It had an antique style and two pink lanterns hanging at the entrance.

"Shinji, would you like to take a break?" Hikaru Toki turned to look at him.

Perhaps a more reserved guy would say, "Is it okay? We can go to Shinjuku, go to Shibuya. I heard that the underground boxing champion, Gojo Satoru, is currently challenging the former champion, Ryoumen Sukuna." But Shinji Ikari, as a knight, naturally respects the girl's decision.

“Of course.” Shinji Ikari paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow. “I know a really nice spa nearby that’s great for relaxing and relieving fatigue.”