EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 166 164. I want to give Ikari Gendo a hard punch

Kaji Ryoji certainly thought about this question.

Or.

At the very beginning, he thought that the father and son were in the same camp.

It was only after he came to Tokyo-3 and personally met the pilot of Unit-01 that Kaji Ryoji discovered something different. He originally thought that this child who lost his mother at a young age and did not receive the love of his father would develop a character of inferiority, sensitivity, and dependence on his father, but in actual contact, he found that he did not have so many problems at all.

The father and son have completely different personalities.

This is also one of the reasons why he told Shinji Ikari the truth about this apostle in the underground city.

"Would you be, Shinji?"

Kaji Ryoji asked softly.

The two looked at each other, and for a moment, Misato Katsuragi felt a little redundant. Damn it, is this what men call mutual admiration? But one is a slacker all day, and the other is a reliable little adult. Is there any similarity between these two? As expected, the ink around the black is black. Kaji Ryoji is the ink. She is determined to slander this ex-boyfriend, as if this can bury her past immature self.

Shinji Ikari shook his head at this question.

To be honest.

He had long wanted to give his father a good punch - just imagining it, Shinji Ikari thought it would be great, a man who was always so high and mighty, if one day he was knocked to the ground by a fist and looked embarrassed, he might understand what effective communication was. And now there was a fair opportunity in front of him, although the authenticity of the so-called human completion plan was still questionable. But there was indeed something credible in Kaji Ryoji's words.

...At least Shinji Ikari felt that defeating the Angels did not mean the end.

only……

"If I were asked to explore the Human Completion Project with great fanfare and defeat the big devil in the project and act as a pawn, I wouldn't be able to do that."

He said something quite prudent.

Come to think of it, this is a deep pit, like a pirate ship full of holes. If the senior officials from various countries in the headquarters unite, it is estimated that the entire political circle of the earth will be shaken. Who is he, Shinji Ikari? He is an ordinary teenage boy who can only pilot Unit-01. If the power of the headquarters is cut off, Unit-01 will only have five minutes to act - can Unit-01 continue to run away?
That would require something unscientific like infinite energy.

In short.

Shinji Ikari was willing to learn about the plan within his ability, but he hesitated when it came to fighting against the headquarters and high-ranking officials from various countries. Driving the EVA to fight against the Angels was his responsibility.

But how should we deal with the infighting among humans themselves?

If it was when he just came back to this world, he might have been excited to fight against a world united organization! It sounds so cool, maybe he should customize a superhero suit and come up with a more powerful title. But after these days of gentle countryside, Ikari Shinji has long forgotten all his lofty words - maybe after having a family, men have weaknesses.

What a pathetic creature.

"As for the vanguard, we already have one." Kaji Ryoji smiled, "You just need to make a crucial choice at the end of the human completion plan, Shinji."

"Choice? In this plan, do I have the opportunity to choose?"

Ikari Shinji asked in surprise.

Kaji Ryoji continued to answer: "I don't know if there is such a chance, but Unit-01 is a very special existence in this plan."

"special?"

"Commander Ikari and the others think highly of Unit-01."

That's it……?
Of course, Ikari Shinji knows how special Unit-01 is. If anyone's wife's soul and body are dissolved in it, Unit-01 will probably become a special existence in that person's heart. Will this kind of specialness have an impact on the Human Completion Plan? However... As the pilot of Unit-01 and the son of Ikari Gendō, Shinji Ikari himself should also be an important chess piece in this plan.

He understood Kaji Ryoji's idea.

"I understand. If there is such an opportunity..." Ikari Shinji said seriously.

So this long conversation finally came to an end.

It was quite late.

It was not a big deal for the three of them to stay in the reservoir with the huge cross for so long. After all, this was the core area of ​​the headquarters, and there was no guarantee that someone would discover the abnormality here at any time. Kaji Ryoji looked as if he had finished speaking, so the three of them left here, and the white giant nailed to the cross was still hanging high on it. He did not make any noise about the coming and going of the three humans.

It is like a sculpture nailed to the wall, unable to speak, and there is no treasure to tempt humans to release it from its seal.

In the dark corridor, only the security warning lights were emitting a dim glow.

"I'll keep an eye on this."

After leaving these words, Shinji Ikari left.

He still had to go back with Ayanami, and couldn't let the girl wait outside for too long. Moreover, he could see that Miss Misato had a lot to say, but she probably couldn't open her mouth because she was worried about him being around. It must be something that only two adults would know.

Shinji Ikari left, and Misato Katsuragi and Ryoji Kaji were the only ones left in the long corridor. The heavy iron door slowly closed, covering up the biggest secret of the central area of ​​the underground city.

Neither of them spoke first.

After a period of time.

Finally, it was Katsuragi Misato who spoke first. She asked slowly, "...Have you been running around for these things all these years?"

"Yes."

Kaji Ryoji said with a sigh.

Even after several years of traveling back and forth, and even after a man's youth and his life on the tightrope, he still did not get more information about the truth of the second impact. What happened back then, and what did Commander Ikari and his men want to do?
Rule the world?

It is enough to rely on those people above, as they are already at the top of the circle of power.

That's what's so unsettling.

"I really don't know what to say to you..."

Misato Katsuragi gently stroked her wrinkled forehead. She wanted to say something nice to comfort him, such as so many years have passed, why dwell on the past, but she was not qualified to say such words. There were so many words she wanted to say, but she felt they were so pale and powerless.

Human Instrumentality Project...

Could the enemy even have the headquarters where the two of them were standing at this moment? Misato Katsuragi knew clearly how powerful the headquarters was—not just against the apostles, but within the human race. And Ritsuko... this good friend who liked Commander Ikari, how much did she know about the Human Instrumentality Project? Misato Katsuragi looked around and found that there were not many people around her whom she could trust.

The two walked towards the exit of the corridor.

They were clearly in a tense situation before, but now they are chatting like a pair of good friends.

"What's life like as a double agent?" she asked.

"Not so good." Kaji Ryoji responded with a wry smile, "You can only live in fear if you are useful to both sides. I feel relieved to tell you everything."

"everything……"

Katsuragi Misato suddenly asked:
"Is the new transfer student in Shinji's class also a trick of the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"

"What……?"

"A girl named Kirishima Mana has just transferred to Shinji's class and has been trying to get information about EVA."

"You're wronging me. I never knew about this." Kaji Ryoji shook his head and joked, "She's just a girl... Did she use honey traps on Shinji?"

"I heard from Asuka that there was. She seemed very angry when she came back and secretly reported it to me."

"These kids... If the headquarters is willing to use honey traps on me..."

"Dream on you."

At this point, both of them laughed.

No matter how long the corridor was, it finally reached the end. The light here was brighter, and the two could see each other's expressions. Kaji Ryoji waved and turned to leave, but Katsuragi Misato suddenly called him:

"Are you going to be a pawn?"

"Ah."

"You understand how dangerous this is, right? Are you deliberately going to die?"

She still couldn't help asking.

"…I'm not going to die." Kaji Ryoji couldn't help but pause, and he almost whispered, "I just want to confirm whether I am really alive."

His back gradually faded away, just as always.

Didn't even say goodbye.

For some reason, Misato Katsuragi thought of the story when they were dating in college.

It seemed the same when she left without saying goodbye.

She knew clearly that she was a person who was addicted to the past. She had been dating Kaji for so many years because she found the shadow of her father in him. But one day, after she realized that she was still immersed in the shadow of the past, she broke up with him without hesitation and came to NERV to take revenge on the apostles. Until now, Misato Katsuragi found that she had let go of the past.

But Kaji Ryoji... She thought this man was as heartless as he appeared to be, even though in the past, his relatives and friends died in the natural disasters and man-made disasters after the Second Impact...

But now she suddenly realized——

He is the one who is bound by the past.

...Forget it, Misato Katsuragi thought, we should meet soon next time, and then I will teach him a lesson.

Talk about it.

I haven't finished writing my combat report yet...

(End of this chapter)