EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from Tiga

Chapter 161 Let's try to believe in humanity one more time.

Chapter 161 Let's try to believe in humanity one more time.
Looking at Shinji Ikari's face in front of me, it was so similar... yet, it was like heaven and earth.

--only.

Your child is about to embark on a path completely different from what you envisioned.

Would you stop them, or... offer your blessings?

"...Vice Commander Fuyutsuki?"

She noticed Fuyutsuki Kozo's gaze... those eyes staring at her, not seeing her... but rather, trying hard to find her mother's face on her own face.

"Shinji-kun...you want me to betray Ikari...so that I can assist you, right?"

"Oh, Vice Commander Fuyutsuki... If I'm not mistaken, you've never stood with Father... with Gendo Ikari... Isn't that right? Since we weren't meant to be partners from the very beginning, how can there be any talk of betrayal?"

"...!"

This time, it was Fuyutsuki Kōzō's turn to be taken aback... After all, Fuyutsuki's deepest secret... had never been revealed to anyone, and no one could understand it—

He despised Gendo Ikari, loathed Gendo Ikari… He had always followed Gendo Ikari like a lapdog… His real purpose was to be the closest to him… to mock and ridicule Gendo Ikari’s face that had forever lost its happiness.

Because…that man is the man who stole Yui Ikari away—

Therefore, even though Fuyutsuki Kozo had rationally warned himself countless times... he couldn't suppress his resentment towards Gendo Ikari. So, after Yui Ikari was swallowed by Unit-01... and after Gendo Ikari lost all his happiness...

Whenever he saw Gendo Ikari's grief-stricken, numb face, Kozo Fuyutsuki felt his life was fulfilled... until later, Gendo Ikari told him... that he could see Yui again.

"Shinji-kun, you probably already guessed it..."

"What did you guess?"

“Ikari… his goal, from beginning to end, has only been one thing… that is, to bring Yui back to your side, and to bring your mother back to you.”

Having revealed Gendo Ikari's sole purpose, Kozo Fuyutsuki gazed confidently at Shinji Ikari's face, observing Shinji's expression in the face of the possibility that his deceased mother might return.

However, Shinji Ikari did not waver in the slightest... He maintained that calm yet unwavering expression... He sneered at Gendo Ikari's selfishness and foolishness with a rather sarcastic smile.

"Back to us... Vice Commander Fuyutsuki. Are you using the wrong words...? For Gendo Ikari, the blueprint for happiness he painted... didn't include children at all—in that man's eyes, Shinji Ikari's existence only took away the love that his mother originally gave to him alone."

"...!"

Unbeknownst to Kōzō Fuyutsuki, within the dreamlike spiritual world created by the Tenth Angel… Shinji Ikari had already found fragments of the soul, gaining a clear understanding of the events of past reincarnations…

Therefore, he simply could not have imagined that Shinji Ikari could analyze Gendo Ikari's true nature so thoroughly.

"Gendo Ikari is just a despicable person obsessed with a wrong wish, who is willing to trample on the lives of the entire world in order to achieve his own desire. He has brought too much misfortune upon himself."

"You mean...Ikari is wrong, you want to deny...your father? Even if all he wanted was to find your mother..."

"how come……"

Faced with Fuyutsuki's question, Shinji Ikari smiled contentedly and shook his head.

"My father was simply pursuing his own happiness... He couldn't find happiness without my mother. Therefore, from his perspective, even at the cost of the world, he wanted to reunite with her... I have no right to deny him—"

"Then you still..."

"But I will stop him—"

That was a resolute and powerful declaration... without the slightest hesitation or doubt.

Even if... what he craves is only...

“The dead should not return… It is precisely because death is absolute and unique that life is sublime and sacred. The pursuit of the deceased… has caused far too much sorrow… From that moment on, there was no room for reconciliation between me and Gendo Ikari.”

At this moment, Fuyutsuki Kozo truly understood... how noble and pure the boy before him was.

Not bound by the past, nor attached to the future... living purely in the present moment—! Singing praises to the beauty in our hands right now... and loving life... can humans be... so dazzling?! Yes... so dazzling—! For Fuyutsuki Kazusa, who had long since given up on humanity... just looking at the vibrant Shinji Ikari before him, Fuyutsuki could feel his own aging... and his own mistakes.

"Shinji-kun...! May I ask you one more question?"

Shinji Ikari also noticed it—

He noticed that Fuyutsuki Kozo's gaze had changed... He was no longer looking at Yui Ikari... He was no longer desperately searching for his mother's shadow, but... he was gazing at the boy named Shinji Ikari.

"of course can."

"...If, I mean...if—fifteen years ago, when the Second Impact occurred...you discovered that it wasn't a natural disaster but...a man-made catastrophe. What would you have done?"

There was a slight tremor in the sound of Tōgetsu's work... because this was a question that had been troubling him for a long time, one that he could not find a correct answer to.

“…Fuyutsuki Vice Commander, no…Fuyutsuki Teacher.”

"—!"

A face that evokes nostalgia... a name that evokes nostalgia... makes Fuyutsuki Kozo feel as if he has truly returned to fifteen years ago, to that time when he and Ikari Yui were discussing humanity's... bright future.

"I will stop them—"

"...Can't it? They're too powerful...it's simply not something an individual can stop."

Upon hearing Fuyutsuki's question, Shinji Ikari gave him a resolute smile.

"Then, let's try our best to stop them."

"...!"

In that instant, Fuyutsuki saw himself…!
Fifteen years ago, it was realized that SEELE was the culprit that triggered the Second Impact…!
Driven by a burning sense of justice and righteous indignation, I demanded that Gendo Ikari reveal the whole truth, release the Dead Sea Scrolls, and that those who triggered the Second Impact be brought to justice... that was my impetuous youth.

And when...did I become like this...?

Is it because of aging?

Or is it because he wants to see Yui again?
Or perhaps... I was actually... from the very beginning...

"…Shinji-kun."

"Ok?"

"...Tell me, what should I do?"

"!"

"The future of humanity that you described seems more appealing than Ikari."

If it were now, perhaps it would be too late, but...

Let me try to believe in humanity one more time.

"Thank you, Mr. Fuyutsuki."

The winter planting season has been confirmed... and the old flame has been rekindled in those aged and frail eyes.