Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

"Okay, I understand." Shinji Ikari, lying on the rooftop, took off his blindfold.

Rei Ayanami's skirt fluttered, revealing her slender, straight, and fair thighs, but Shinji Ikari wasn't looking at that; he was looking at the beige short socks hidden inside her black leather shoes.

Has Rei Ayanami been changing her socks a little too often lately?

—Hakone, Zone 2, Fourth Simulation Experiment.

The three insertion plugs—white, yellow, and red—were partially submerged in an orange-yellow liquid. This time, the main focus was on detecting the diving depth, the pilot's mental state, and the pilot's synchronization.

"The simulated synchronous detection results are normal," Ibuki Maya reported.

"No concentration of mental pollution was detected," Hinata Makoto reported.

"Ugh, this is so boring—"

Asuka's deliberately drawn-out voice came through the radio.

"Is there nothing else to do besides checking things when the apostles aren't around? It's so boring!"

“What’s wrong with that?” Misato Katsuragi said, resting her arms on her office chair. “That’s what we work for every day—a peaceful life without the Angels!”

“We should celebrate this peaceful and ordinary life, day after day. To be honest, we should be grateful,” Ritsuko Akagi said calmly, standing in front of the control panel with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You're all just bootlickers! If you really want to be grateful, you should be grateful to the pilots who risked their lives to fight the Angels. I really don't understand your culture of gratitude!" Asuka angrily shut down the communication channel and stopped talking.

"Check complete, monitors functioning correctly." At this moment, Ibuki Maya looked up and said to Akagi Ritsuko standing beside her.

Ritsuko Akagi looked at the screen, which was all green, indicating that the assignments were complete. She nodded and said, "That's fine. Let's wrap this up for today. Thank you for your cooperation. In three minutes, the LCL will be completely drained from the inlet plug."

Several tens of minutes later, Asuka, dressed casually, slung a brown leather bag over her shoulder and glanced around with slightly furrowed, raised eyebrows.

"Where are those two? Haven't they changed yet?"

“You’re the first one to come out.” Ritsuko Akagi was still standing in front of the control panel, holding a tablet and recording something.

For some reason, Asuka's face broke into a mischievous smile. "Those two wouldn't be having sex in the changing room, would they? They're half-siblings, aren't they? Is that really okay?"

"Don't talk nonsense. You know the relationship between Shinji and the Commander. Besides, Rei Ayanami isn't the Commander-in-Chief's daughter." Ritsuko Akagi finally looked down at Asuka, who had her arms crossed.

"Hehe, who knows?" Asuka pursed her lips, her mouth twitching meaninglessly.

Ritsuko Akagi knew there was no point in dwelling on this topic. "The results of this simulation experiment are in."

"He's in first place again, right? Ah, as expected of Shinji Ikari! Amazing! So amazing! So outstanding! He's an invincible genius pilot, the invincible Shinji Ikari! Now we can relax a bit! Haha!"

“Shinji is indeed number one, but what I want to talk about is your data in this simulation experiment.” Ritsuko Akagi said expressionlessly, pointing to the contents on the tablet, “Regarding the second Child, Asuka Langley Soryu, in this simulation experiment, the deep dive only reached the ‘Lost in The Domain’ layer before triggering the mental pollution red line warning. The measured neurons showed a decrease in synaptic level and a 4.8 decrease in synchronization rate. This is your self-psychological map.”

Ritsuko Akagi, wearing a white lab coat, handed over a tablet, but Asuka didn't even look at it. She knocked it to the ground and then turned and ran quickly toward the elevator shaft.

This time, he didn't shout like usual, and he didn't even say anything harsh about definitely surpassing him.

Ritsuko Akagi quietly picked up the tablet that Asuka had knocked over. There were no signs of damage; she simply dusted it off. She then looked at Misato Katsuragi, who was sitting astride her office chair.

“The Second Child’s mental state has been very abnormal lately; her mental exhaustion is extremely severe,” said Ritsuko Akagi. Even she could see Asuka’s problem.

“Not just recently, but for a long time.” Misato Katsuragi sighed. “She always compares herself to Shinji Ikari, which in itself exacerbates her mental exhaustion. And… it was the two failed battles against the Seraphim that were the real trigger.”

Sometimes she thought that it would be great if Asuka could be as frank as Rei Ayanami and not be influenced by the outside world.

But Asuka is Asuka, not Shinji Ikari, nor Rei Ayanami.

“Let Shinji Ikari take care of it then. It’s better for young people to handle their own affairs,” Ritsuko Akagi suggested.

“That’s all we can do,” Misato Katsuragi said, but she always felt that things might get worse the more she tried to treat it.

Asuka's tsundere personality is like a hedgehog; she craves warmth but always involuntarily attacks anyone who tries to get close. However, she was wrong about one thing: Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami were indeed in the changing room, but nothing like what she had guessed was there.

Since the encounter with the Seraphim, Shinji Ikari had consistently upheld his chivalry. After comforting Hikari, he felt a dull ache in his lower abdomen again. It wasn't until this morning, standing in front of the mirror, that he finally came to his senses.

I've been ruined by wine and women, and I've become so haggard. Ever since parting ways with Hikaru Toki, he's made up his mind—

But a hand gently rested on his shoulder. Shinji Ikari looked up and saw Rei Ayanami sitting on the shelf of the bench behind him, looking down at him.

Under the lamplight, her beauty moved even Shinji Ikari. Rei Ayanami's face was plain and unadorned, but her eyes shone with a watery light when she looked at him. She reached out her hand to Shinji, and Shinji could only hold her hand like an adult. Her hand was long and soft, yet it carried a coldness that made Shinji feel a pang of heartache.

Perhaps we should go ask Akagi what's going on with Rei Ayanami.

He should have asked her a long time ago, but the reason he waited until now was entirely because of her close relationship with Gendo Ikari. Shinji Ikari guessed that she might not tell him the truth.

Rei Ayanami didn't speak, nor did Shinji Ikari. They simply lowered their heads, held the back of their hands, and gently kissed her fingers.

Suddenly, Rei Ayanami felt a sense of floating because Shinji Ikari lifted her ankles from below, and the first thing he did was put her socks on, as if that made her feel complete.

Only then did Shinji Ikari nod slightly, examining the right leg in his hands. Rei Ayanami's thigh seemed as slender and straight as her calf, her beautiful ankle and small feet, encased in short socks, appearing hazy and alluring. Shinji examined it again and again with the serious gaze one would use to look at art, seemingly without end, never tiring.

Soon, Shinji Ikari lifted Rei's other bare foot, which was also unsocked. The delicate, white foot was completely naked, making her toes and the spaces between them even more alluring, revealing Rei's fair skin with a rosy glow. He greedily inhaled the fragrance and the scent of body lotion, while his hand, holding her ankle, stroked it back and forth.

Although the actions might seem somewhat lewd, a glance at Shinji Ikari's expression reveals that he approaches the touch with the seriousness and earnestness of an artist. His white, sensual toes, and the socks carrying the scent of Rei Ayanami. He wasn't unfamiliar with the allure of girls' fragrances, but Rei Ayanami was different to him.

But I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I can always smell a faint scent of blood on Rei Ayanami.

As Shinji Ikari instinctively parted Rei Ayanami's legs, he seemed to remember something and did not take any further action.

Shinji Ikari looked up. Rei Ayanami was sitting quietly on the shelf, just like last time, with the air conditioner vent pointing directly at her neck and back. But this time, she gave Shinji the feeling of a dandelion, as if she might be blown away by the air conditioner.

Despite facing Shinji Ikari, who was of the opposite sex, with the purity of her birth, Rei Ayanami's ethereal face, like that of a snow fairy, showed no shyness whatsoever. Or rather, it was uncertain whether shyness even existed for her.

"Is it ready yet?" Rei Ayanami asked.

Shinji Ikari gently lowered her small feet, letting them dangle in the air. Then he stood up, slipped his hands through Rei Ayanami's arms, and lifted her up in a cat-like embrace. When he returned to his seat on the bench, Rei Ayanami was sitting in his lap.

Rei Ayanami looked up, her nose unconsciously brushing against Shinji Ikari's neck. "Actually, even if we continue..."

"Pull your left leg back," Shinji Ikari interrupted her.

As he's said countless times, Rei Ayanami is special to him. Even if she might not reject any of his ideas, Shinji Ikari probably wouldn't take it any further—or so he thought?

Shinji Ikari, in this strange posture, put on her other sock.

Then he took out the vest, short-sleeved shirt, and black tie that were placed next to the bench, and put them on one by one. This gave him a kind of joy in dressing up a doll. After Shinji Ikari carefully admired them, he put on the skirt and panties last.

"Shall we sleep together tonight?" Rei Ayanami looked up at Shinji Ikari. Although she was no different from usual in the secret room, she became much more intimate with Shinji when they were alone together.

Shinji Ikari knew there was no ambiguity in her saying "sleep together." "You know I won't refuse you," he said, then playfully flicked her nose.

When Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami arrived at the control room, they only saw Ritsuko Akagi and Misato Katsuragi sitting astride an office chair.

"Asuka went out for a walk to clear her head. According to her location, she's currently in Tama, heading south. Shinji, go and comfort her." Misato Katsuragi waved to Shinji as he arrived.

“Actually, it would be better to let her take care of herself,” Shinji Ikari said.

Ritsuko Akagi glanced at Misato Katsuragi and Shinji Ikari, wondering how they could still have a normal conversation even though they didn't know what was going on.

"But I'm a little worried. At least bring her back." Katsuragi Mimi urged anxiously.

“No problem.” Shinji Ikari nodded slightly.

But at that very moment, a piercing system alarm interrupted everyone's actions.

[Unknown life form detected, pattern is orange, no AT field traces detected, unable to determine if the target is an Angel—]

One, two, three: What if dreams and reality both become illusions?

The yellow and blue taxi sped along the road like a stray dog. Asuka sat in the passenger seat, arms crossed, exuding a powerful aura of "I'm cool, I don't need to say a word."

She didn't know where she was going; she just wanted to get out, so she hailed any taxi she could find. She had no hope, nowhere to go, and couldn't even see the road just a step ahead. Despite this, she couldn't stop; she just kept running away.

Even knowing I'll be going back to Hakone, all I want right now is to breathe air where there are no idiots.

Behind her lay the fortified city of Hakone, the starting point of everything, and for her, the end of the world.

For her now, memories of what happened before she arrived in that underground city are meaningless. Because she can only pilot EVAs; piloting EVAs is the meaning of her existence.

But all that remains for her now is the fear of guilt and helplessness. And—the constant internal staring at herself, the image of a rag doll wearing a red hood and sewn with countless tattered pieces.

Asuka, a doll with the same name as herself, is not just a toy that belongs to her in reality. She only appears when she is experiencing inner turmoil.

Was the other person actually there, or just a hallucination born from her own vulnerability? She didn't know, but since she could see them, the answer didn't matter. At least, that's what she thought so far.

Although her memory was already hazy, Asuka seemed to remember that in her dream, over there, the doll friend she met seemed to have said something to her.

The reason she says "seems" is because her memories of the events before and after are hazy and unclear, like Alice in Wonderland. Although she understands it's a wondrous past, trying to recall it carefully gives her a headache.

But at that very moment, a sudden slam on the brakes interrupted Asuka's reverie. If it weren't for the seatbelt, she would have been thrown out by the sudden stop. "Master, what are you doing?!" Asuka's complaint was barely out of her mouth when she saw the other person's face, blank with shock.

Asuka followed his gaze and saw that under the bright sunshine, a blinding black lightning bolt suddenly crashed down, like a black dragon stretching across the city.

A fierce wind howled, and branches danced wildly in the wind. Suddenly, a huge black spherical object appeared before Asuka's eyes.

Even those who witnessed it firsthand could not discern how it appeared; it seemed to materialize abruptly in the sky above the city like a ghost. And it was even slowly expanding.

"Driver, hurry up and drive!" Asuka screamed.

"Little girl, hold on tight!" The driver next to him shifted gears violently, alternating between the accelerator and brake, just like he was driving a race car. In an instant, he turned around in the middle of the road and disappeared at the end of the road in a flash.

At headquarters in Hakone, Misato Katsuragi and the others rushed to the monitoring room, but within just a few minutes, the alarm had already been deactivated.

The reason was that the suddenly appearing, unknown life form also suddenly disappeared. But the staff monitoring the situation were still busy.

"The risk aversion plan has been cancelled, and the warning has been lifted."

"No target shape was observed; the target appears to have disappeared."

"Minister Katsuragi, Minister Ikari, Dr. Akagi." Upon seeing Misato Katsuragi's arrival, Makoto Hyuga quickly stood up and nodded.

“Sit back down. This isn’t the time for pleasantries.” Misato Katsuragi pressed him back into his seat and went straight to the screen to look at the black dot on the map. “I need to see its exact shape. How’s it going? Fuji Radio Observatory.”

“No specific situation was detected. The target seemed to suddenly appear directly above the Tama area. The pattern is orange, and no AT field was observed,” Hinata Makoto replied.

This is the first time we've used an orange mode.

When observing an Angel, the normal mode is blue. This is because it's a program set in MAGI; only when an AT field is observed can the other party be identified as an Angel.

However, the black sphere in front of them showed no AT field reaction whatsoever, simply hovering above the city. At this moment, Makoto Hinata had already pulled up the surveillance video from that time, and saw that the black spherical object with a diameter of over fifty meters had suddenly appeared in the sky above Tama City, attracting countless residents to stop and watch. Only one yellow and blue taxi sped away in the opposite direction.

Then, three minutes later, it disappeared precisely on time.

“How is that possible? Is it a new type of Angel? What did MAGI say?” Katsuragi Misato looked at Ibuki Maya.

“MAGI has reservations about this,” Maya Ibuki replied.

The logic by which MAGI judges whether someone is an Apostle is based on their AT field, but the black sphere in front of them shows no AT field reaction.