EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 13 12. Blood Sorrow
Under the scorching sun.

Walking with Rei Ayanami on the way to NERV.

Walking from one end of the street to the other, from the stairs to the empty tram that had just resumed operation, Shinji Ikari looked at the girl beside him. She looked no different from usual, with blue hair and red eyes. She didn't look like a human, and was as plain as an ice sculpture.

The two have been silent for a long time.

"Ayanami, aren't you curious?" Ikari Shinji suddenly said.

"what?"

"What happened just now, bullying, bullying."

Ayanami Rei shook her head.

"Not curious."

Shinji Ikari thought, of course I know you're not curious, after all, Ayanami, you look like that's your personality, you don't care about anything. But if we don't chat along the way, it would be too strange for the two of us to walk in silence, and the weather is too hot, the air conditioning in the train is completely useless, and I feel like I'll faint if I don't do something to kill time.

He took the initiative to bring up the topic.
"It seems like this is a common occurrence on campus. Ayanami, have you ever encountered something like this before?"

The girl shook her head again.

Huh, there isn't one?

He originally thought that a girl with a personality like Rei Ayanami would probably become the target of school bullying.

But that's right.

If this was a school for children of NERV staff, no one would be so blind as to bully her as the pilot of Unit 00. But I don't know what that bad boy Touji was thinking that he would come after him.

"Haven't you encountered that? But life is so long, and you may encounter such things in the future. If someone bullies you, you can't indulge them, you must fight back. When facing bullying, compromise is useless, you must make the other person feel pain."

"Look, like this."

He demonstrated it, slapping the air hard like he was hitting a tennis ball.

"If someone slaps you, just slap them back."

The girl didn't respond.

She just looked at him quietly, with a deep and calm spring in her blood-red eyes. It was unclear whether she heard what he said or not.

"Now I know what you mean," he said helplessly.

"I see."

He answered without any fluctuation in his tone.

Shinji Ikari thought that this tone was quite suitable for her. All men have such a dream in their hearts, to have a beautiful girl who completely obeys your orders and does whatever you ask her to do. You ask her to say "I know", and she will say it obediently and never disobey. The tone is as happy as that of a robot... Is he a masochist?
The thoughts in his mind made him feel like a child who was being perfunctorily bought a toy by an adult.

Ikari Shinji sighed.

This girl is so out of tune with the world.

It was an innate sense of loneliness. He felt that this girl was so similar to him, not in terms of bloodline, but in the sense that she was out of tune with the whole world. Mixed-bloods had no place to stay in this world, and Ayanami was like a handful of quicksand that could not be held.

Shinji Ikari saw a similar look in her.

Blood sorrow?
Mixed-bloods feel that they cannot fit in with ordinary people because of their own uniqueness. This is the loneliness that comes from their bloodline. But why is Ayanami like this?

"Come to think of it, I didn't see you eating at noon, aren't you hungry?"

In Japan, it is customary to bring lunch boxes for lunch.

But most people are used to going to the cafeteria or convenience stores to buy bread. Although Ikari Shinji can cook, he has not been here for too long. He was too tired to buy ingredients last night, so he bought a piece of bread for lunch today.

But the girl didn't move from her seat at noon.

Could it be that she was the type who secretly ate snacks during class... No, this was the only thing that was absolutely impossible. "Eat?"

There was a hint of doubt in Rei Ayanami's voice.

You don't even need to eat? Are you some kind of fairy who doesn't care about worldly things?
I guess I didn't understand the meaning of this word.

"Yes, eating. It is an act of taking in energy from the outside to enable oneself to move. The different tastes of the food will also change your mood."

Do not know why.

Shinji Ikari subconsciously used the words like a robot.

I feel like I'm too close to Rei Ayanami and have been assimilated by her. This source of infection is really terrifying.

"I'm eating at NERV." The girl said softly. It was rare for her to ask a question on her own initiative. "Does the taste change your mood?"

Do you mean we can eat directly in the headquarters?
Yes!

There must be a cafeteria in such a large organization. Needless to say, the dishes must be rich and varied, and dinner can be solved here. If it weren't too far from the school and required taking the train, Ikari Shinji really wanted to eat lunch there.

As for cooking for yourself...

Cooking is not that tiring.

Washing dishes and cleaning up food is tiring.

His body is still in the development stage, and he doesn't want to mistreat his body by eating bread.

However, he couldn't imagine how Rei Ayanami would eat. She would eat in small bites, like a fluffy hamster, with a small head that could be flipped over with just one finger... Shinji Ikari suddenly felt his fingers itching to move.

"Yes, the taste of food varies, so people's moods will also be different when eating. Some people will eat their favorite food every day, but if you keep eating the same taste of food, you will soon get tired of it."

He glanced at the girl next to him.

Ayanami should be one of these "some people". Of course, it is also possible that she treats all food equally and doesn't care whether it tastes good or not.

"Cooking..."

Hear his words.

Ayanami Rei seemed to be troubled by some problem, her beautiful face was pale and cold, she lowered her head, looking at the ground, and I don't know what she was thinking. In an instant, the two of them returned to that state of silence, and she seemed to be trapped in her own world.

Shinji Ikari was somewhat familiar with this situation.

The girl had the same expression when he thanked her before.

Although these things are very simple problems for normal people, for a girl who lacks emotions, it may take a long time to understand them.

As for when she will understand everything...

Shinji Ikari felt that this was a question that was destined to have no answer.

The rest of the journey was uneventful and the two soon arrived at the headquarters.

The underground city still had that spacious and mechanical style. After swiping the ID pass at the gate, Ayanami led the way out of the winding maze.

Shinji Ikari was too lazy to complain about how complicated this place was.

Elevator door.

The head of the technology department of Blonde, Ritsuko Akagi.

She was standing there waiting.

(End of this chapter)