EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 171 169. Transfer Student Welcome Party
Sunday was a rare cloudy day.

The weather was not too hot. The sky over Tokyo-3 was overcast, but not so heavy that it would rain. It was not too hot to sweat even if you went out. Ikari Shinji took Rei Ayanami out for a rare outing. They were both in casual clothes and walked towards Shin Kichijoji.

"Ikari-kun, what's the welcome party like?" Ayanami Rei looked up and asked him.

"Let's sing some songs and eat some desserts."

Shinji Ikari explained to the girl who lacked common sense. Of course, he was only talking about the welcome party for students in Tokyo. If it were Kassel Academy, there would be alcohol and dancing. Occasionally, there would be explosions from the equipment department to liven up the party.

“Singing, desserts…”

Rei Ayanami seemed to be thinking about something, and no one knew what she understood.

"You should go out and participate in group activities once in a while, otherwise you'll have to cook a dish of the mushrooms growing on your head. We have to go to Matsushiro next week, so let's go out and play together then?" he said.

"Ah."

She nodded quietly and touched her short blue hair, as if she was looking for mushrooms.

The tram arrived at its destination two stops later.

There are occasional pedestrians passing by here, unlike other sparsely populated areas where there is no sign of people at all. It is indeed a shopping mecca in Tokyo.

That karaoke bar is very famous.

After all, it's the only one now, so it's hard to find the wrong place. Shinji Ikari didn't get lost or anything, and found it quickly. On the way, he happened to meet a few familiar classmates from the class, and they walked together. The atmosphere was lively and bustling. Shinji Ikari felt like he hadn't experienced this for a long time.

"Hey, Shinji, Ayanami-san."

They are two friends.

Suzuhara Touji and Aida Kensuke came from behind. They were also wearing casual clothes. Not many students wore school uniforms on Sundays. He greeted them and talked about the festival a few days ago. Ayanami Rei, who was standing next to him, was listening to him and his friends as usual.

"How was your fun?" he asked.

"It's pretty good. The atmosphere of the festival is very strong. It's the first time I've seen so many people since the invasion of the apostles. It feels like everyone in Tokyo is here." Suzuhara Fuji said.

"Yeah, there were fireworks, too. They were really beautiful."

"Fireworks?" Ikari Shinji caught the word, "Is there any place in Tokyo to stock up on fireworks now?"

“I think so…”

Kensuke Aida said uncertainly.

This kind of thing has little to do with them as students, and it is impossible for them to specifically inquire about it. Ikari Shinji changed the subject and soon talked about today's welcome party. This welcome party was originally spontaneously organized by a few girls who were close to Kirishima Mana. They originally just wanted to invite a few more people, but they didn't expect that more and more people would come, and finally most of the class came.

Also because students in this era do not have many means of entertainment, they all cherish this kind of gathering time.

Rather than calling it a welcome party, it would be more accurate to say that this was a gathering of Class 2A.

The journey is not long.

The group of students soon arrived at the reserved karaoke bar. The organizer of the welcome party booked a super large private room, but they still had to find out where it was. Shinji Ikari glanced at the people in the store. There were quite a lot of people here. This was probably the only commercial street in Tokyo that was still alive.

"This way, this way!"

"Everyone in Class 2-A!"

A girl waved hard at the door of the box, so everyone went to that box. The protagonist of the welcome party, Kirishima Mana, had arrived long ago, still wearing a white dress and holding a white sun hat in her hand, and greeted everyone in a gentle tone.

After seeing him, Kirishima Mana was obviously stunned for a moment.

Then the girl showed a very excited smile and came towards him.
"Mr. Ikari, you're here too." Kirishima Mana's eyes sparkled with curiosity. She probably wanted to ask Ikari Shinji why he came to the welcome party. After all, because of pilot training or staying at home, he rarely participated in such group activities in the past. Although he and Rei Ayanami said in a high-sounding manner that he should participate in more group activities, he himself was not a person who liked to go out.

Damn it, Shinji Ikari was embarrassed.

He couldn't say that he was worried that you might harm these students, so he came to take a look. Ikari Shinji could only nod and said "hmm" in a very cold manner.

"I'm very happy that you can come."

Kirishima Mana continued speaking in a cheerful tone. She asked:
"That apostle last time, the super-large sphere in the sky, was defeated by you, Ikari-san, right?"

Shinji Ikari knew she was referring to the twelfth angel, which was actually solved by Unit-01's rampage, and had little to do with him. However, he would not explain this matter to Kirishima Mana, so he just dealt with it by saying:
"I guess so. Everyone contributed a lot."

Hearing his words, the girl's eyes instantly turned into a look of admiration. Any teenage boy who saw such a look from the opposite sex would probably be overwhelmed, right? But Ikari Shinji knew the girl's true identity clearly, and he suddenly became a little curious whether such a look was overly hypocritical or had some truth in it.

“Kirishima-san, someone’s calling you.”

Shinji Ikari kindly reminded.

After all, he was the protagonist of this welcome party. Several girls were looking at this side and whispering. When Kirishima Mana first transferred to the school, she showed obvious affection for Ikari Shinji. Now there is such a thing, it is hard to believe that there is no scandal. If she stayed for a few more minutes, the reputation of the two would be damaged.

At this time, Ayanami Rei beside him should have felt like the wife, but she just stared at him with her red eyes without saying anything - even so, Shinji Ikari felt a little pressured. "I'm so sorry, if you have time, please talk to me about the apostles, the things that are not confidential. I'm very curious."

She blinked.

Ikari Shinji finally managed to escape.

Then he took Rei Ayanami to the corner of the box and became a spectator. The two of them stayed quietly in the corner, and no classmates came to disturb them.

It was Rei Ayanami's first time attending a welcome party, and she had no idea what the process was. When everyone was almost there, Kirishima Mana quickly ordered several songs to warm up the crowd. The entire karaoke bar was filled with her singing, and there was no place where she was out of tune. It sounded pretty good, and it seemed that the rumor that she liked music was not a false setting. Rei Ayanami looked over with her red eyes curiously, staring at the microphone in Kirishima Mana's hand, like a silly deer watching the fun.

Shinji Ikari asked:

"Want to sing?"

She immediately shook her head in confusion.

Shinji Ikari also knew that this question was a bit difficult for her. Although they usually listened to the songs in his Walkman, each with a headset, sitting on the sofa, singing was undoubtedly a big challenge for Ayanami. By the way, should we buy a TV? Otherwise, apart from listening to music, there is nothing to do to kill time.

He added buying a TV to his plan - and maybe a singing device as well.

"Let Ayanami sing for me at home from now on."

The scheming Shinji Ikari has his own little tricks.

While Kirishima Mana was singing, the door of the karaoke box was pushed open again. After all, there are always new students. Ikari Shinji didn't pay much attention to it, but he saw a familiar figure.

It's Asuka.

She was wearing a Milanese dress that Shinji Ikari was very familiar with. The light in the box shone on her skin, emitting a white glow. Perhaps not many of her classmates had seen her in casual clothes, and their impression of her was stuck on her school uniform. So they couldn't help but pause for a moment before they came back to their senses when Kirishima Mana sang... Shinji Ikari thought to himself, will this German girl also come to participate in group activities? She is even less sociable than he is.

"Asuka?"

"Shinji?"

Asuka, who was also sitting in the corner, probably didn't expect Ikari Shinji to come. She was obviously stunned, snorted, and then explained: "Don't get me wrong, I don't have a good relationship with her at all, I just came to see what she wants to do."

"Me too."

Said Shinji Ikari.

He was talking to Asuka, and Ayanami Rei beside him was still staring at the microphone, as if she was very curious about it and had no intention of looking over here. Seeing that the top student didn't look at him, Asuka, who didn't want to pay much attention to Shinji Ikari and even wanted to sit farther away, hesitated for a moment and chose a seat next to him.

"I'm sorry about what happened last time."

Ikari Shinji hesitated and then spoke.

"What?" She looked like she didn't understand why he was apologizing.

"About the German branch."

"I don't blame you. I was going to know it sooner or later anyway. It makes no difference whether you say it or the guy with glasses says it."

Asuka said this with a magnanimous look.

Shinji Ikari breathed a sigh of relief. He knew it was better not to continue talking about this, otherwise it would just be a rehash of wounds. Instead, he quickly changed the subject and talked about Kirishima Mana. He and Asuka both looked at Kirishima Mana, who was singing in the middle of the box.

"I can't tell at all. It's a little hard to believe..."

You can't tell she's a spy. Ikari Shinji didn't finish his words, but he knew Asuka understood what he meant.

"Humph, she is definitely plotting something in secret."

Asuka said solemnly.

So for the next half hour, she kept a close eye on Kirishima Mana's whereabouts, as if she was watching a murderer. She watched when Kirishima Mana was singing, watched when Kirishima Mana was chatting with others, watched when Kirishima Mana went to the bathroom. Soon Asuka's head began to nod, as if she was bored in class but the teacher hadn't finished the get out of class yet.

"Is it okay if you don't have any rest?"

"Hmm..." Asuka said vaguely.

"Take a nap. I'll call you after the welcome party."

She was probably relieved after hearing this, and she lay back and fell asleep carelessly, and it took less than ten seconds to fall asleep. When Tomoki Mitsuru came over, Asuka was still sleeping soundly. Ikari Shinji shushed the squad leader with his index finger, indicating that Asuka was asleep, and then the squad leader sat down next to her quietly.

"Ikari-san..." The class monitor seemed to want to say something.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Dong Mu Guang shook his head and said nothing.

(End of this chapter)