EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 5: I will pilot Unit-4

A giant head made of steel was staring at him!
Shinji Ikari felt as if he was being strangled to death. It was not until he came to his senses that he realized that it was because the steel head was too huge, and its shadow seemed to cover the entire sky, which gave him the illusion that "it was looking at me".

But just a head is more than ten times bigger than a tiny human like me! It is hard to imagine how huge the giant's body is. Its neck and the area below are all buried in an unknown orange-red liquid. It is said that less than one tenth of the volume of the glacier is exposed above the sea, and the body of the Iron Giant must be the same! Even if I use all the adjectives, it is difficult to describe its hugeness. Now, I am standing in a corridor at the same height as its chin, looking at it. If I were at the same level as this giant, I am afraid that I would not be able to see its terrifying head even if I stood on tiptoe and raised my head? !

Humanoid steel face.

A smooth purple-green shape.

The inexplicable fear of the great creation roared into his field of vision. The pressure was hundreds of times greater than the previous glimpse of the apostle. After all, he was just watching the battle from a distance before, but now he was facing the giant head-on - Shinji Ikari even felt that his hybrid blood was boiling and resonating.

"This is the ultimate universal humanoid decisive battle weapon made by humans, the android, Evangelion. This Unit-01 was made in the most confidential circumstances. It is our last trump card against the Angels."

Plan E.

Are you referring to Neon Genesis Evangelion?

"Sure enough, you guys want to slay a dragon here too." Ikari Shinji murmured.

"dragon?"

Akagi Ritsuko was stunned, as if she thought this was a fantasy setting from some game or animation. "No matter how powerful the dragon is, it only exists in fantasy, but our enemies are real..."

He was halfway through his words when Misato Katsuragi next to him interrupted the conversation.

There was a hint of disbelief on her face.

"Hey wait, let him come? I've been wanting to ask this since a while ago, shouldn't the pilot of Unit-00 be in charge?"

"You should also know that she is injured and unable to move."

Ritsuko Akagi answered calmly.

"But you can't let this kid go to the battlefield without training, right? Even Unit-00 had to train for seven months before it had a certain combat capability. He just arrived, there's no way he can be combat-ready."

Don't you deny going to the battlefield?
Hey, it suddenly turned from a family ethics drama into a military war film.

Unit-01, Unit-00, in other words, is there another body of this mechanical giant in front of him? Ikari Shinji looked at Katsuragi Misato for a moment. Compared to the blonde iceberg lady, to be honest, he only had the best relationship with her on the surface.

However, the beautiful female captain subconsciously avoided his gaze.

That's it...

She knew she was going to bring me here to drive this thing, but she just misjudged the driving time. No wonder she was so familiar and dressed so youthfully and beautifully.

In gaming terms.

These are all traps set by adventurers to capture goblins!

He never hesitated to assume the worst of others, even though Katsuragi Misato seemed to be really unaware of the situation. After all, she had been half an hour late with him. If he had known that he was to drive the EVA right now, he wouldn't have been so late, right? Of course, there was still the possibility of one playing the good cop and the other playing the bad cop.

The conversation between the two continued and Shinji Ikari did not interrupt.

"We just need him to sit on it. It's not difficult to ask him to do it."

"But……"

"Repelling the apostles is our top priority now. We must not give up as long as there is a glimmer of hope." The blonde Ritsuko Akagi ended the conversation with a cold face. She stood in a white coat with a hint of scientific research. She cast a very oppressive gaze at Shinji Ikari, "Shinji Ikari, you will drive Unit-01."

how to say.

The organization has decided that it is up to you to save Tokyo.

Judging from the destructive power of the apostle outside, it won’t take too long to destroy the Third New Tokyo City.

But what Ikari Shinji found strange was that, apart from his experiences in the other world, he looked like an ordinary boy now. Why would anyone want to send a boy who knew nothing to the battlefield? He looked like he couldn't even shoot a gun, right? Going to the battlefield? Generally speaking, this was the job of soldiers, right?

He confirmed again: "Do you want me to drive this to fight that monster just now?"

"Yes."

suddenly.

Someone whispered,
"Ikari Shinji, you take the lead."

The voice came from the high platform, and the three of them looked over there.

——That was a man standing on a high place.

A familiar voice, a familiar face. Ikari Shinji recalled some memories.

This is my father——

Ikari Gendo.

Although the father and son had met many times since childhood, he only had a deep impression of one of them.

Shinji Ikari tried hard to pick out those precious memories from his memory.

He was six years old when he met his father that time.

His father was wearing a black coat and brown glasses. He stood behind the glass door and held out his hand to Shinji Ikari. He was a tall figure. Harry Potter had just become popular on TV at that time. Shinji Ikari always suspected that his father was a troll. They both had big bodies, big hands and feet, and looked like mountains.

The father said "Shinji" and then reached out and picked up Shinji Ikari.

The man always smelled like disinfectant and the sweet scent of lily of the valley, the same scent that Shinji Ikari had on his deceased mother. So the six-year-old Shinji Ikari felt relieved, put his chin on his shoulder, and gently patted his back to acknowledge that he was a human being and not a giant monster:
"dad."

However, after so many years, everything is different.

The man standing on the high ground overlooking the scene wore brown glasses, had a thick beard and deep eye sockets. The father named Ikari Gendo looked over. This was the first time the father and son had met in several years. Normally, the two of them should have gone to a big restaurant for dinner, then gone shopping and had some tea, or bought some toys and clothes they liked. But now, there was no joy on his face.

The way he looked at Ikari Shinji was not like he was looking at his son, but rather like he was looking at some insignificant tool.

"Do you want to fly the EVA?" my father asked in a condescending tone.

A completely commanding attitude.

There was no greeting.

"Now? Here?"

"Right now. Right here."

Shinji Ikari sighed, and a kind of rebellious psychology surged in his heart.

This mentality has nothing to do with age.

No matter how old a son is, he will get angry when he encounters his overbearing and unreasonable father. It’s just that adults can control their emotions well and establish good communication. But now, at this age, he has the power to be willful.

"I know that you are the commander-in-chief of NERV, a big leader, with a high position and a good life. You don't need a son like me. But... now you come to me and say: 'Ikari Shinji, you take the pilot'. You have no respect for me at all. What did I do to make you hate me so much that you don't even want to call me your son?"

"Are you blaming me?" The expression of the man on the platform, hidden behind his glasses, never changed, like a cold machine carrying out its mission, "...If you can't do it, get out of here."

I'm really angry.

Middle-aged men may have endocrine disorders.

But Shinji Ikari surprisingly didn't seem angry.

He and this bastard father haven't seen each other for several years, and the important growth period of his life was spent in another world. Although there is an undeniable blood relationship between them, the affection between father and son has been worn away by the passage of time. If the two of them had a good conversation this time, and there was a scene of fatherly love and filial piety, maybe the affection would be deepened a lot, but the tense situation in front of him really made him lose interest.

Compared to this, his instinct urged him to collect information.

The gaze from Unit-01 has not disappeared, the hybrid's blood is rushing rapidly, for a moment he even thought he could hear the sound of blood flowing in his veins. This giant's body is so attractive, Shinji Ikari can only try hard not to cast his gaze on EVA, but to keep his eyes on his father on the podium to prevent himself from exposing his abnormality.

"It's not a question of whether I can do it or not, but I knew nothing before coming to Tokyo. I had never heard of Angels, EVAs, and Unit-01 and Unit-00. Suddenly, I was asked to drive this EVA robot codenamed "Unit-01". Even a death row inmate needs to eat a good meal before being executed. Can't I learn more about it first before considering whether to drive it or not?"

Ikari Gendō on the platform did not answer.

He had no intention of explaining, and instead, Ritsuko Akagi naturally took over the role of clearing up the confusion.

"Time is running out, what do you want to ask?"

Shinji Ikari held up a finger. "I just have one question. Do I have to be the one to drive? You all have military ranks, right? Is there something that says soldiers can't drive? Letting underage teenagers go to the battlefield doesn't seem like something an official organization would do."

Even for Cassel, one can only join after reaching adulthood.

Retract the preface.

Your treatment is much worse than that in Cassel.

"You can't drive it. Only qualified people who have passed the test can drive the EVA. Unfortunately, there are only two qualified people in Japan. Besides you, the other one is seriously injured and has not recovered yet. If you don't plan to drive, you can only let the seriously injured driver go to the battlefield."

As for what will happen to the seriously injured driver on the battlefield.

it goes without saying.

"I am qualified? In other words, is there something special about me that allows me to become a pilot?"

"..."

The three adults were collectively silent.

Not saying anything means tacit agreement. Ikari Shinji understood something and immediately realized that this matter was a bit strange. An ordinary 14-year-old boy received an order from his father to come to a big city one day. Then someone said that he had a talent that was extremely rare in the world. As a result, he had to drive a giant robot to the battlefield, and the driver had to be him. What kind of comic setting is this? There must be some amazing conspiracy behind it.

However, now is not the time to find out the truth. Compared to this, there is another interesting thing that concerns Shinji Ikari. He thinks that revealing this will definitely embarrass that bastard father.

So he asked some seemingly boring questions:
"There are no other pilots in Japan who can act right now, right?"

"Yes."

“The fatality rate for untrained drivers is high, right?”

"Yes."

"It's a life-or-death situation outside, right? If things go wrong, not only the Third New Tokyo, but all of humanity will be wiped out, right?"

"Yes."

Ritsuko Akagi answered them one by one.

It was said that there was only one question, but it turned into many questions. The two seemed to have forgotten that there was an apostle outside, and the tremors around them became more and more obvious. At this time, Commander Ikari on the high platform seemed to have lost patience with this meaningless question and answer. As the commander-in-chief, his lips moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something that sounded condescending.

Shinji Ikari looked at his bastard father on the platform and blocked his words:

"And you told me, 'If it doesn't work, go back'? Is this something you can back out of if you think it's not working? Don't you want me to die on the battlefield? Do you want the whole of Tokyo to be destroyed? Do you want to drive me away? Go back to the countryside and be an ordinary person?"

If we understand it from another distorted perspective.

It sounds like the father doesn't want his son to participate in extremely dangerous work.

As the commander of NERV.

Abandon public service for private reasons.

Once such selfishness is exposed, it immediately becomes a fatal weakness.

"…I just need you now, so I asked you to come to Tokyo. You are just a substitute for the driver…"

Commander Ikari on the podium became more and more silent.

He could deny the accusations against Shinji Ikari by simply saying "I want you to go to the battlefield" or "I don't mean to drive you away". However, even when he spoke to his son in a harsh and aggressive tone, he had no intention of denying it.

At this time.

Both women present realized something was wrong.

Although it was a quarrel between father and son, the tone of the father's words to his son seemed very cold, but the hidden meaning in the words was explained by Ikari Shinji, and then the two of them realized it. Katsuragi Misato was still in a mood to laugh in this situation. She crossed her arms and looked relaxed.

"Really? If you don't want your son to go to the battlefield, just say it directly. Why use such an annoying tone?"

Ritsuko Akagi lowered her eyes slightly.

No one paid attention to Misato Katsuragi's words, and Shinji Ikari didn't think that this was a warning to prevent him from going to the battlefield. The conversation between the father and son continued.

"So, do you want to fly the EVA or not?"

"I have no driving experience."

"I will teach you."

"What if something goes wrong?" Ikari Shinji asked again.

"Then follow the operating instructions."

"Will you win?"

"It will win."

The conversation seemed like a secret code, with the father and son asking and answering each other until they came to the end.

"Then start preparing."

Ikari Shinji nodded.

It seems that this bastard father is more confident about driving the EVA than I am.

Just sit on it...

He remembered the meaningful words that Ritsuko Akagi had said before.

It should be like Cassel's artificial intelligence Norma. After sitting on it, it is driven by something like artificial intelligence, and the driver only plays an auxiliary role. Besides, now he has to drive a mechanical giant several dozen meters high to fight monsters. This is the path his father pointed out to him. What else can he refuse?

"Wait, you're not really planning on flying into battle in the EVA?" Misato Katsuragi couldn't help but speak out.

Too many redundant questions.

No one present looked at the female captain, but Shinji Ikari had a slightly better impression of her.

Shinji Ikari looked at Unit-01 and felt his blood boiling, like an active volcano that was suppressed and ready to erupt. For some reason, from the first time he saw EVA, the mixed-race blood in his body was looking forward to merging with it. It was jumping for joy and cheering. It couldn't wait any longer. If it weren't for the beauty contact lenses covering them, his golden eyes would definitely look very dazzling now.
This inexplicable attraction...

Something is wrong!
Nine out of ten things are wrong, and you can tell there's a pit just by thinking with your heels.

but,

"There is no other choice, right?" he asked, and then stepped forward, "If this is my responsibility..."

"——I will be the pilot of Unit-01."

(End of this chapter)