EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from Tiga

Chapter 155 Anyway, Xiaoxiang, you never intended to marry anyone other than Shinji, right?
"In the end, it was still the medical staff who were responsible...sigh..."

A few days later, Asuka's condition improved further... Although she still needed to stay in the inpatient ward for observation, she was basically able to speak normally.

At that moment, she was munching on an apple to replenish her vitamins while complaining rather discontentedly to Hikaru Holoki, who was tidying up the bed.

"...Hey, Hikaru...what does that idiot Suzuhara think of you?"

"Ok?"

Since Suzuhara Toji didn't stay in the ward today, Asuka could take the opportunity to talk about things that were inconvenient to say in front of him.

"What do you mean, how do you view it?"

"I mean, will you... dislike that your breasts are a little small... or something like that..."

"?! ...

Hikaru was so shocked that he almost threw away the bedding that he was about to replace Suzuhara Toji's.

"But didn't you two already do it? Once this kind of thing happens the first time... it'll probably happen quite frequently afterward!"

Since there were only two people inside, Asuka spoke without any restraint, every word she uttered was lewd and inappropriate.

"Because, that idiot... I asked him to help me wipe my body and he did it. Even though I was completely defenseless when I tried to seduce him, he was completely unmoved by such a beautiful woman like me... The only possibility is..."

As she spoke, Asuka glanced resentfully at Hikaru's slightly fuller chest, then looked down at her own flat chest... and let out a long sigh.

"...I think...it shouldn't be like that."

Although this kind of topic was something Hikari was not good at, seeing her best friend so seriously troubled, Hikari could only try her best to help her.

"Because, Shinji is surrounded by...a lot of girls who aren't very well-developed, right? Like Katsuragi-san...and Mari-san..."

"Uh, Misato is already an old lady, so that doesn't count! As for the catgirl with glasses... well, she's not that much different, is she?"

Asuka angrily bit the apple core into pieces, trying hard to recall when she had contact with Mari. That idiot's size... seemed to be a little bigger than hers.

"However, I didn't sense that Shinji had any particular fondness for them. After all, Shinji gives off the impression of being..."

"Yeah, that workaholic idiot. The first thing he did after waking up from his serious injuries was to go and talk to Kensaki about work for hours. Even when he was taking care of me, he was constantly typing away on his laptop... He really doesn't know how to be considerate of the wounded!"

"Xiao Xiang is really not frank. She is very happy that Shinji would rather take the work here than not take care of herself. And... although Shinji did not do anything extreme after you regained consciousness, he was very concerned about you while you were unconscious. He said he was afraid that the medical staff would be bribed by the enemy to do something to you... He even watched over the changing of your urine bag and feces bag and did it himself."

"What?!? I... I didn't know that?!"

"Because Shinji is also shy, naturally he wouldn't tell you these things..."

"Waaaaah—!? That idiot—!!! He'll never get married now!!"

Upon suddenly learning such bombshell news, Asuka was so embarrassed that she wanted to disappear into the ground... She simply wrapped herself in a blanket to escape Hikaru's teasing gaze.

"It doesn't matter, anyway, you didn't intend to marry anyone other than Shinji, right?" "No, no, not necessarily... What if, one day, a prince charming a million times better than that idiot appears beside me..."

"Honestly, Xiao Xiang... saying such dishonest things again."

Asuka's voice trailed off, because she knew perfectly well that there could never be such a person in the world.

Moreover, even if such a miracle were to occur, Asuka would certainly not choose a suspicious man who appeared out of nowhere.

However, being constantly teased by her best friend has made Asuka very unhappy.

"Okay, okay, stop talking about me... Let's talk about you, Suzuhara, that idiot... How's he doing? Why did he go out for a walk alone today?"

Suzuhara Toji's consciousness has naturally returned... but, just as predicted before... Suzuhara Toji can no longer lift either of his arms.

Moreover, it's not just physical damage... After all, the Angel's attack also has a mental impact. If it involves the idealistic soul level, then it's beyond the capabilities of NERV's medical department.

After that, Suzuhara Toji became completely despondent... He would often sit in his hospital room from morning till night, lost in thought, without saying a word. No matter how hard Hikaru tried to ease the tension, he received no response...

Asuka felt sorry for her best friend, but... then she thought, what if the one who suffered a blow and became despondent was the idiot Shinji...

I estimate that I will be the same way... no, I should say that I should pay more than Hikaru Toki.

If Asuka could put herself in Asuka's shoes and think from her perspective, she wouldn't say such nonsensical things as "Don't bother with that idiot, go find other better men."

"Hey, Kaori... didn't you know? Suzuhara-kun was called out by Shinji-kun."

"……what?!"

Asuka was completely bewildered. No wonder that idiot only brought her a basket of apples, peeled them, and left; he actually took Suzuhara Toji with him! But… he didn’t say a word to Suzuhara Toji when he came in??
"...Hikaru, you really don't understand Shinji and Toji. Their communication doesn't even require words... Shinji only needs a glance to make Toji understand his intentions, and then he just follows on his own..."

Hikaru's words were filled with extreme jealousy and envy because... she realized that her influence over Toji Suzuhara was far less than that of Shinji Ikari.

"...If anyone could cheer Toji up, it wouldn't be me—it would be Shinji..."

"Xiao Guang..."

Seeing Hikari Horiki in despair, Asuka couldn't utter a single word of comfort... She could only gently get off the bed and let Hikari Horiki lean against her, giving her a place to lean on.

Meanwhile, the focus of the two girls' conversation—Suzuhara Toji—is...

It's speeding... It's running for its life!

"I'm going to die!? I'm going to die!! I'm really going to die... Mr. Shinji!!!"

"Idiot, you're not going to die that easily. I'm not even going 20 kilometers per hour yet, so struggle for your life!"

The reason for his escape was... behind Suzuhara Toji, Shinji Ikari was driving an off-road jeep, ruthlessly intending to send him to another world.

(End of this chapter)