Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

But before Asuka could get angry, he pulled out a whole bottle of Cointreau from the side.

"Would you like a drink?" Shinji Ikari asked with a smile.

This time, however, it wasn't orange juice, but orange-flavored liqueur.

Shinji Ikari uncorked the bottle and set it aside. Asuka quietly curled up beside him, their legs shoulder to shoulder. Asuka was only wearing a beige nightgown that night, revealing her shapely calves, but she had tucked her feet underneath. Her shoulders were bare, with only two thin bra straps. Her once-piled orange hair was now loose and casually draped over her shoulders.

This Asuka looked slightly more ladylike, or rather, more like how she looked when they first met in Yokohama. He still had nothing to say, so he simply swirled the golden liquid in his glass, watching the reflections.

"What are you looking at? Why are you, a man, so slow and indecisive!" Asuka glared at her.

"Life needs a sense of ritual."

"What kind of ritual is this! It's just the pretentious affectation of you privileged kids, disgusting!" Asuka grabbed the bottle, poured herself a full glass, and gulped down about half of it. She felt that if she really had to wait for this man next to her to slowly finish pouring, she would have already gotten up and gone back to her room to sleep.

Oh, given her current mental state, she won't be sleeping, but she'll definitely be sulking. Even if she knows Shinji Ikari is deliberately teasing her.

But strangely, she didn't dislike the feeling.

Perhaps it was the effect of the alcohol, or perhaps it was just her inner feeling, but she didn't feel that she disliked this man.

She recalled the night before she arrived in Tokyo, the stars shining brightly. She had thought, with Asuka's abilities, she could easily handle the courses at the University of Pennsylvania, and get full marks on all the experiments at the German branch. Could some damn little island nation in the Far East possibly hold her back? She would become the undisputed number one, she would make all of Hakone chant Asuka's name in unison, and within a week, she would make that renowned Third Child kneel before her and sing "Conquer!"

Unexpectedly, they encountered Shinji Ikari before even reaching Tokyo. Miss Asuka was also surprised that the Far East Island Congress was so treacherous, fearing that she, Miss Asuka, would send such a powerful general at the very beginning to disturb her peace of mind.

What despicable Japanese people, as vile as frog piss.

Asuka took another swig of her drink, exhaling a murky breath. In just a few minutes, she had finished half a bottle by herself. Although it was just a dessert wine, its alcohol content wasn't low. She lay back on the sofa, leaning against Shinji Ikari's shoulder.

"Speaking of which, it feels like we've gone back to that day. Do you remember the arcade in Yokohama? You were wearing a dress, and you looked so beautiful," Shinji Ikari said slowly, lying on the sofa.

"Now you regret it? You should have just called the police and let them arrest you and laugh at you, you idiot." Asuka pouted and poked Shinji's cheek with her finger.

"But you'll also be going in for questioning, and you'll still recognize me then."

"But at least I won't like you... I'll feel good about someone like you, I'll think you're alright, you idiot." Asuka, who was getting tipsy, almost misspoke and had to correct herself several times before she could express what she wanted to say.

"Do you believe in fate?"

"What? You veered off-topic a bit too quickly." Asuka, her face flushed, stared at Shinji Ikari. "We talked about the past, life, destiny, and now, is it time to look at legs?"

Asuka defiantly lifted a corner of her skirt, revealing a hint of mature femininity. Her limbs were long and slender, her chest slightly protruding, her beautiful curves carrying the youthful charm unique to young girls. Her exposed thighs were visually striking, but Shinji Ikari quickly averted his gaze, his expression composed, devoid of any impure thoughts.

“It’s simply fate,” he said softly.

He turned to look at Asuka's face. Although she was complaining about him, her body instinctively leaned towards him. This meant that she actually harbored feelings of affection for him.

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PS: Official data on Unit 7 is not available, but it is speculated that it is the new Third Angel whose core was pierced by Unit 5, piloted by Mari Makinami. This is because, judging from its appearance, the Third Angel has essentially completed the Marduk Project; the insertion bolt in its neck has been installed, and the SEELE symbol is on its head.

Of course, there are many possibilities for Unit 7. For example, not long ago I saw a concept art that I don't know if it was real or not, and that slender white mecha in it was so ugly.

Furthermore, I don't believe that Unit-05 perished together with the Third Angel, because Mari Makinami had already pierced the Angel's core with her knight's lance in the scene. Therefore, the final self-destruction was not actually the Angel's self-destruction, but Unit-05's.

Defeating the Third Angel was merely a side effect; the real objective was to feign energy depletion and then self-destruct to destroy the Bodani base, thereby completely thwarting the plan. The plan was carried out by Mari Makinami and Ryoji Kaji.

Of course, these are all speculations. This vague setup is meant to make it easier for the creators to develop the story further. It's entirely possible that the creators might suddenly decide to bring them back, and creating multiple new mechs capable of firing Specium Rays isn't out of the question.

127: But for Tomorrow

Asuka turned her head to look at Shinji Ikari, but the moment she turned her head, she saw a face approaching.

Their lips touched briefly, then parted. She felt nothing, only the scent of oranges tinged with alcohol enveloped her. Asuka touched her lips, then looked up at Shinji Ikari, who was staring intently at her.

"That's a sneak attack, you idiot."

"What just happened?" Shinji Ikari stared at her with innocent eyes, and Asuka instantly felt a surge of anger, reaching out to tear at his mouth. She hated his ambiguous attitude. Ambiguity was unsettling.

Shinji Ikari turned his head away, thwarting Asuka's plan. She couldn't resist pinching his waist again, determined to get her revenge. While dealing with her, Shinji seemingly accidentally pulled her into his arms. Then he froze, his pale neck, bare shoulders, and large expanses of white skin below exposed.

Because she was lying face down on his chest, the view was only fleeting. But looking down at her back, the artistic curve from her waist to her hips was almost exposed, so Asuka didn't immediately pull down her skirt.

Because at this time when one should be taking action, one's own heart doesn't want to move. Just clinging to that idiot Shinji's chest like this, one actually feels a sense of happiness.

Moreover, one of Shinji Ikari's knees was sandwiched between his legs, and if it moved forward even a centimeter, it would definitely touch the forbidden zone that must never be touched.

Although it lasted only a dozen seconds, it felt like being in an eternal silence, with neither side daring to move.

"You..." Asuka exhaled a long breath, but after sitting up straight again, she put her legs on Shinji Ikari's legs. "What were you going to say before?" she asked coldly, crossing her arms.

“Destiny, fate, simply talking about this topic is a bit abstract. Do you believe in love at first sight?”

Shinji Ikari was now thinking about the scene in his dream: her and himself in the swaying train carriage under the setting sun, and the scene of him holding her neck while she gently stroked his face.

Even Shinji Ikari had a feeling when he first met Asuka—

—I feel like I've seen her before, like Schubert shot me through the heart. Oh, it seems to be Churchill. Shinji Ikari isn't very familiar with Western mythology either.

"Perhaps." Asuka waved her hand, seemingly to express that this matter did not need to be discussed anymore, or perhaps it was a feeling of impatience.

"Why 'perhaps'?" Shinji Kadari, however, was determined to get to the bottom of things.

"Because I felt the same way when I saw you." Perhaps it was the alcohol taking effect, but Asuka felt warmer and less arrogant, becoming unusually frank for once.

Even though Shinji Ikari's hand was inside her clothes, she did not refuse.

Some people hug each other when they are in love, some share their childhood and scars and kiss each other, holding hands tightly... but they did none of that, and even Asuka didn't know what her relationship with him was.

Friend? Comrade-in-arms? Partner? Roommate?

Asuka moved closer to Shinji Ikari and said, "Do you know about the Buddhist concept of dependent origination and emptiness?"

Asuka also has her own set of theoretical ideas regarding this vague feeling.

Shinji Ikari gently hugged Asuka's legs and nodded slightly. "I've heard of the theory of origination."

"Dependent origination and emptiness is a concept in Buddhism. The theory of dependent origination holds that all things in the world do not exist out of thin air, nor can they exist independently. They must rely on various causes and conditions to come together to be established. Once the causes and conditions that make up the world disappear, the things themselves also cease to exist. The law of cause and effect, that all things arise from causes and conditions and that all things cease to exist due to causes and conditions, is called dependent origination," Asuka said.

"If we were to use something as an example, let's say the glass you were holding earlier. From a Buddhist perspective, it has no substantial existence. It is inherently empty, an object without its own nature. Its existence is a miracle formed by the convergence of various causes and conditions, which together create this glass."

So sometimes, Asuka felt that her encounter with him was a matter of fate. Perhaps one day, they would drift apart in different directions… When Asuka was filled with sadness, she would simply hum a soft hum.

Asuka felt a pair of hands climbing up from her lower abdomen. She looked up, about to speak, but Shinji Ikari lowered his head and kissed her lips.

After a long while, Asuka still only hummed softly, reaching out to wrap her arms around his neck. Shinji Ikari's right hand slipped under her knees through her legs, while his other hand rested on her back, gently lifting her up and carrying her towards his room.

Shinji Ikari laid her flat on the bed and began to remove her beige dress from bottom to top. However, Asuka, unusually, offered no resistance, simply turning her head quietly away from him.

And so, with her body as graceful as a winter orchid right in front of him, and fully revealed to his eyes without reservation, Shinji Ikari felt a surge of urgency. Looking at her slender and graceful figure, he wanted to explore which part of her body contained that vigorous vitality.

This woman has a beautiful face and a slender waist, and her shapely female parts are constantly boasting of their existence.

The cherry blossom buds in front are also very endearing. From her slender waist to her rounded hips, she exudes a seductive charm, reminiscent of azaleas blooming in a sun-drenched valley, and one can't help but think of the rich fragrance of honey hidden deep within the flowers.

Shinji Ikari licked his lips. He recalled Asuka's usual sharp tongue, and her proud expression that maintained her tsundere attitude even when she was shy—as well as her alluring expression on the living room sofa just now.

It gave him a surge of urge to completely ravage Asuka and make her submit to him.

The only way to cure her tsundere nature is to turn her into a cream puff.

Shinji Ikari gently kissed Asuka's cheeks, her neck, and her curves, until he reached for the last piece of fabric, only to have his wrist grabbed.

At that moment, he heard a faint voice.

"Can you put the clothes I took off back on for me?"

Shinji Ikari stopped moving, looked up at Asuka, her eyes dark and unfathomable in the darkness. Her gaze seemed to be trying to see into his soul through his eyes, and as their eyes met, she loosened her grip on his wrist.

Even though Shinji Ikari could eliminate the final obstacle in one fell swoop, he still didn't make a move. Instead, Asuka cupped his cheeks, her jewel-like blue eyes fixed on Shinji, and then spoke softly.

"If you can always put my clothes back on, then take them off and do whatever you want."

January 28: Mona Lisa's Smile

Asuka spoke softly, and at such a close distance, Shinji Ikari was surrounded by Asuka's scent, fragrant and warm, making one restless.

At that moment, a huge firework exploded outside the window, its dazzling flames illuminating the room in an instant. The Niigata Festival was approaching, which also meant that summer was drawing to a close. The profiles of the boy and girl were illuminated, and even their entire being was bathed in a fairytale-like glow.

But the girl holding her face pulled her ear slightly, bringing it close to Shinji's ear, "But after today, you'll move into my dorm and break up with all your girlfriends. If you betray me, I'll cut you off..."

Before Asuka could finish speaking, she saw Shinji Ikari lower his head and kiss her eyes.

"Do you think my love is so shallow?" Shinji Ikari touched Asuka's nose with his own, cupped her face in his hands, and questioned her, "Compared to this kind of physical pleasure, I would rather have breakfast with you."

The two, almost naked, lay on the bed in an ambiguous position, their dark brown and sea-blue eyes meeting.

Asuka turned her head away shyly, no longer looking at him. Finally, Shinji Ikari smiled. But the next second, Asuka suddenly leaned down, her forehead slamming into Shinji's, making him see stars. Before he could react, Asuka had her arms around his neck and then bit his shoulder.

Shinji Ikari feigned a pained expression, mainly for Asuka's benefit. However, the girl biting his shoulder blade seemed to be like a dog, showing no sign of letting go, and even forcefully leaving her mark on Shinji's body.

Shinji Ikari, who had initially intended to forcefully push her away, hesitated. The hand that was resting on Asuka's head gently stroked it. At that moment, that soul-connecting feeling he had only experienced with Rei Ayanami also appeared between him and Asuka.

But what he felt was the pain hidden beneath this body. Just as Shinji Ikari felt a pang of pity, Asuka pushed him away by the chest.

Asuka pushed the other person away and stopped looking at him, turning her back to him.

“…Idiot Shinji,” the girl muttered softly.

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Outer world, parallel world, Pacific Ocean latitude 0 location; WLLLE belongs to the sea launch platform.

[Continued from the previous section, Volume 100, page 594. Each person presents their thoughts.]

“Nupoduomanai,yuheduoliuyueer;anliangmashipo,inailuimaoer,anbigongxumazhihu.”

"The lacquer-lacquer-wrapped cloak, the banana-milk-shielding maiden's hair in disarray, the fisherman's boat, the oars, the stalks of the boat, the tip of the boat, the sky soaring in the vast void, going to meet his wife."

Leaning against the deck, Mari held an old-fashioned, thread-bound book in her hands. Above her head was a vast, silvery moon.

The poem she quoted came from the Manyoshu (Collection of Ten Thousand Leaves). The "wife" in it doesn't refer to a wife, but rather to a loved one. If I were the moon streaking across the night sky, I could go to see my beloved.

Below, the massive project is nearing completion.

"The launch platform has been fixed in its designated position at sea, and there are no issues with wind speed or wave height."

"Restart after a 30-minute countdown. Propellant fully loaded."