EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from Tiga

Chapter 129 Commander Ikari... No, Gendo Ikari! You're wrong!

"That idiot!"

Walking side by side on their way home, Asahi, smelling strongly of fragrance, kicked at the cans beside her feet in frustration.

"You finally woke up... and made me worry for so long, and then... and you said you had work with Kenzaki... You guys should go back now! What are you all like, making me so... so stupid! You don't even consider a girl's feelings... you idiot Shinji!!"

With a clatter, she kicked the aluminum can she had been kicking all the way into a roadside trash can. Only then did Asuka speak to Rei Ayanami, who had been listening silently the whole way.

"Hey Ali, say something too! I've been the only one talking, it makes me look stupid!"

"..."

Despite Asuka's complaints, Rei Ayanami remained silent, only looking directly at Asuka's face with gentle eyes and a faint smile.

"Hey, wh...what's wrong? Why do you look at me like that?"

Seeing that she seemed to have frightened Asuka, Reizan Ayanami shook her head slightly.

"No—I'm just happy..."

"Happy?"

"Hmm... Being able to go home with Asuka again... is really wonderful. It makes me even happier than I imagined... I feel a warm feeling in my heart... To use the words from the book that Ikari lent me, it's a feeling of... exhilaration."

"...Woo!"

Being told such simple, clear, and unadorned true feelings by Rei Ayanami in such a plain way... made Asuka feel a little uncomfortable for a moment, and she turned her head away.

"You really have been influenced by that idiot... to be able to say such cheesy lines without batting an eye!"

"Asuka...why did you go into battle first back then?"

"Eh…?"

Rei Ayanami's smile suddenly vanished... This was a question she had always wanted to ask, but never had the chance to.

When facing the Tenth Angel... before Shinji Ikari returned, I was supposed to take the position of first sniper...

However, Asuka's unauthorized attack led to Misato Katsuragi switching the positions of sniper and support... As a result, Asuka suffered the mental pollution of the Tenth Angel in her place.

That beam of light—without any action or warning…as if it were perfectly natural—enveloped the mental attack on Unit 2…

Even Shinji Ikari's Unit-01 couldn't avoid it, and Rei Ayanami knew that even if she went in herself... she would definitely be hit.

So—during the three days Asuka was in quarantine… Rei Ayanami’s heart was filled with this indescribable self-blame and guilt every single day.

"Ah… sorry."

Only then did Asuka realize all this, and she lowered her head towards Rei Ayanami.

"...It's really strange. Even though it was Asuka who got hurt for me... it's you who apologized to me, and I... don't feel that anything is wrong with it."

Rei Ayanami's face turned unusually serious... Asuka couldn't even remember the last time she saw Rei Ayanami—

This doll, who was originally lukewarm and seemingly emotionless, later became a kind-hearted girl with a maternal glow under the influence of Shinji Ikari and Kazeto Harukaze.

When was the last time I so frankly expressed my dissatisfaction and anger?

"It was my fault…"

Asuka knew that if she hadn't stepped forward then... she would have been the one tormented by endless guilt and self-blame for those three days, and could only pray to the unconscious Shinji Ikari.

It was precisely because I didn't want to experience the helplessness of watching someone important get hurt and being unable to do anything that I took the initiative at that time...

It was I who evaded the things I didn't want to face, and without any explanation... I dumped them all on Ali.

"Asuka, thank you."

"Eh…"

But the anger just now seemed like an illusion, vanishing in an instant... Rei Ayanami regained her loving smile... and even her originally calm eyes were now covered with a layer of warm clarity.

“I know… at that time, you stepped forward because you didn’t want to see me get hurt… so even though I was very unhappy, I had already decided… as long as Asuka apologizes frankly, I will thank you.”

“Ali, you… really have changed a lot.”

Looking at the lifelike Rei Ayanami in front of her, radiating the romantic and lively glow of a young girl... Asuka couldn't believe that just six months ago, she was still a doll who was indifferent to everything in the outside world and whose heart was empty.

"Isn't Asuka the same?"

"...Is there? Perhaps..."

Asuka herself knew... that if it were her before she came here, she would never have said "thank you" so easily.

…It's truly amazing. I've only been in Tokyo-3 for half a year…yes, only one-thirtieth of my fifteen-year life, yet it has almost fundamentally…changed me as a person.

…Without a doubt, all of this…is because of meeting that idiot. He taught me that even in this shitty world…I can still choose a way of living that shines like the rising sun at dawn…

Ah, perhaps... it might not be fifteen years.

"Oh, right...! Ali...! I have something to tell you...!"

Seeing Asuka's suddenly serious tone, Rei Ayanami tilted her head in surprise.

"Okay, may I ask...?"

"That—that child we met before, that was your clone…right!"

“…! Hmm… Hmm.” He nodded, somewhat taken aback.

Unexpectedly, Asuka suddenly brought up the matter of the black-clad Rei Ayanami... causing Rei Ayanami's expression to dim slightly.

…She was created, and although Rei Ayanami has accepted this, she hasn't truly come to terms with it.

After all, if his body could be mass-produced in NERV's underground base with the push of a button... then no matter how much Shinji Ikari emphasizes to himself that he is unique...

Deep down, Rei Ayanami still harbors a faint sense of inferiority—especially when it comes to who will end up with that boy, either herself or Asuka.

Manufactured fakes...compared to naturally grown genuine articles, are absolutely self-destructive and shameful.

"Um... I think so too!"

“Eh…!?”

These completely unexpected words left Rei Ayanami speechless, literally.

Asuka said... she seems to... also... what does that mean?
"what!"

Seemingly realizing her abruptness, Asuka quickly added an explanation...

"It was during the attack by the Tenth Angel that some of my past memories resurfaced. Well... how should I put it... I don't think I was officially born by my mother... I'm not entirely sure about the specifics, but... anyway... it seems like, like you... I was also born in an underground base of NERV... I think it was at the Berlin branch... or something like that?"

The facts were so absurd, so ridiculous... I almost laughed out loud.

However, at this moment—Asuka truly felt…the slight growth that idiot had brought her.

If it were my past self, at this moment... I certainly wouldn't be able to calmly and properly express this matter.

"Why…"

Aya Ayanami, who was stunned, took a full five seconds to react before she asked in a daze.

"It seems like they're trying to find out who's the most suitable candidate to become Unit-02... and who's the most suitable person to meet that idiot Shinji... I don't really understand it either... haha..."

"That's not what I was talking about!"

"what…!"

It's unbelievable...

That Rei Ayanami... actually came to my side on her own initiative...

She held my hand with utmost tenderness, and gazed into my eyes with eyes that seemed about to burst into tears.

"Eh……?"

It was only then that Asuka realized... that her hands... were actually trembling.
— Ah, I said so many nice things… and I even thought I had grown up, but in the end… I am still so fragile.

"Why... tell me these things...? It's clearly causing you a lot of pain, isn't it?"

"…Korea."

I sensed the unconcealed care and profound sorrow deep within Rei Ayanami's crimson eyes...

The trembling in my hands stopped.

"Yes—why?...I don't know either."

A smile appeared on her face... This time it was a genuine smile, a smile from someone important who was willing to share her pain.

"Perhaps it's just my own arrogance... It seems, Li... you're also feeling lost because of that dark side of yourself. So... after learning about it, I... had a feeling... I had to tell you. ...Oh dear, what strange things am I saying, haha..."

"...Thank you, Asuka."

There is no longer any need for verbal communication.

The two girls, with just a glance... completed a profound understanding and resonance of each other's inner thoughts.

Commander Ikari...you once told me...that people can't understand each other.

Now, I can draw my own conclusions.

Commander Ikari… no, Gendo Ikari! …You're wrong!
This world has absolutely not degenerated to the point that it needs to rely on things outside of the human mind to be saved!

"Oh...I'm done talking! I feel so refreshed!!"

Asuka finally let go of something that had been weighing on her heart, revealing a serene smile.

"Speaking of which, I've been eating mud in the isolation ward at NERV for the past three days, and I feel like my tongue is going to protest."

"Mud? Synthetic food?"

"Want to grab something to eat together, Li? Hey, it seems like we've never eaten out together before!"

"At this time...?"

"There must still be those ramen stalls! The kind that let good-for-nothing middle-aged men get completely drunk... Let's go!"

As she spoke, Asuka took Rei Ayanami's hand and led her toward a nearby bustling pedestrian street.

That appearance, so far removed from all the sorrow and calamity... exactly like a high school girl singing the praises of youth.

(End of this chapter)