EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 172 170. Defective companions and giant robots
Handing the microphone to the next girl who wanted to sing, Kirishima Mana glanced in the direction of Ikari Shinji.

The atmosphere over there is really good.

She could never fit into the circle of pilots. Kirishima Mana was well aware of this. Moreover, after such a long time in Tokyo, she still hadn't obtained enough information. She could be called the most unsuccessful spy.

Apostle... Unit-01...

Being able to defeat a monster like that... is really amazing. Kirishima Mana lowered his eyes. At least, the robots developed by the military and driven by young soldiers would never be able to defeat such a powerful enemy.

She stepped back from the center of the box and sat next to a few friends she had just made in the past few days.

"Kirishima-san, are you concerned about Ikari-san?"

A girl asked curiously.

"Hey, why do you ask?"

"When Ikari-san came just now, you seemed very happy, and on the first day you transferred to our school, you were so close to him, so I wanted to ask if you have a crush on Ikari-san..."

Kirishima Mana quickly shook her head.
"I do care about him, but it's not the kind of care that a lover would have. Look, isn't Ikari the pilot of Unit-01? I'm sure everyone would be curious about him, right? Didn't everyone care about Ikari before?"

"I did care about it before." Another girl said with inexplicable regret, "But now he is so close to Ayanami-san, we have to keep our distance."

Mana Kirishima knew that this female classmate was reminding her.

It is best not to get too close to the opposite sex who already has a partner, unless she really wants to be the third party, but Kirishima Mana is not only a student, but also a spy. Even if she can't fit into the driver's circle, she has to get in touch with them, so she just smiled at the girl who kindly reminded her, said I will pay attention to keep a distance, and passed it by.

——It would be nice if the pilot of Unit-01 didn’t have a girlfriend.

Kirishima Mana sighed in her heart.

She knew that she had an outstanding appearance, but she never expected that this would become a burden one day. If a beautiful girl like her approached a boy who had a girlfriend, she would be considered as someone trying to steal his girlfriend's girl.

She is here to do intelligence work, not to have a serious romance!
There will be no progress at this rate.

Do I really have to be the third party?

She has been hesitant about this point recently. Kirishima Mana thinks that with her beauty, it should not be a problem to deal with that cold girl named Ayanami Rei as long as she throws herself a little bit into the arms of Ikari Shinji, and snatch the so-called boyfriend from her - or it should be as easy as pie.

But she was just a young girl after all, and had never experienced such a thing. Just thinking about such a scene made her feel overwhelmed.

She was just a young soldier.

It hasn't been long since I transferred to the military intelligence department.

After being out for so long, she also missed her two companions in the army. Thinking of this, Kirishima Mana couldn't help but feel guilty. While she was still acting as a good student in school, her two companions in the army were suffering in the training of driving giant robots - just like fighter pilots need to go through rigorous training, giant robot drivers also need to go through more rigorous training.

But the three of them were simply unable to withstand such high-intensity training.

Because of a serious problem with Kirishima Mana's internal organs during training, she had to stay in bed for a long time before she recovered.

So when they were first forcibly conscripted by the military, a companion named Keita tried to escape, but failed, and was subsequently bullied in the army.

And according to the training instructor, this rigorous training hell will continue for another six years.

Six years...

It really is a long time. By that day, I should have made a name for myself in the Intelligence Department. I wonder if I can transfer my two companions out by then.

I don’t know how they are doing recently.

It seems that they both have a day off today. They wrote to me before saying that they would meet in Tokyo.

Kirishima Mana recalled that in a blink of an eye, the welcome party was already halfway through, the singing contestants had their turn as boys, and a few girls were discussing the taste of the desserts.

"Kirishima-san, this dessert tastes really good, try it."

"Hey, it's really delicious. Where did you buy this?"

"It's at the pastry shop on the right in front of the station."

…are dessert delicacies that you won’t be able to taste in the military.

After eating two bites, Kirishima Mana's eyes lit up. She silently memorized the name of the store and planned to buy some more to send to her classmates later. After she and these female classmates chatted a few more words about desserts, the singing in the karaoke box stopped.

——The core part of the welcome party is here.

So, as the protagonist of this welcome party, Kirishima Mana stepped forward and took the microphone without any hesitation.

Unlike Asuka's bad reputation, she has made a lot of friends these days. Even if there are boys who confessed to her, she always rejected them with a gentle smile, instead of trampling on love letters like Asuka did. She can definitely be ranked first on the list of the most popular beautiful girls that boys in the third New Tokyo Municipal First Middle School want to date. "Thank you for your care these days." She smiled, revealing two cute dimples. "I was a little scared when I first transferred to this school. I didn't expect that everyone is so nice. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have adapted so quickly. I hope I can continue to get along well with you in the days to come."

Several male students clapped loudly out of respect.

Kirishima Mana smiled over there and recognized them as two friends of Ikari Shinji. Well, this is also something that needs to be maintained. As the saying goes, to conquer a man, you must start with his good brothers.

After she finished her speech and handed the microphone to the classmate who wanted to sing, Kirishima Mana saw the pilots in the corner. A girl named Asuka was sleeping peacefully, and next to her, Ikari Shinji was whispering with Ayanami Rei about something. Occasionally, the boy could be seen smiling when he looked at the girl. It was a very harmonious scene.

The girls next to her were still talking about desserts, and she suddenly felt a little out of place.

A negative emotion inexplicably surged up.

“I’m jealous of them.”

Kirishima Mana knew what was going on with her emotions. She was simply jealous of her peers who lived in the sunshine. Unlike her, she had to remember her intelligence mission at all times. Yesterday, another mission came from above, saying that the American No. 3 aircraft shipped to Matsushiro would be tested for startup to see if some intelligence could be obtained. But she still had nothing to show for the pilots.

The pilot of Unit 2, whose name is Asuka, is already doubting herself.

If I go to Matsushiro next week, this suspicion will definitely deepen, right? Kirishima Mana thought about this and couldn't help but feel a little worried. And Asuka also said that she would report things about herself - such people who tell tales are the most annoying, she thought. But at this time, I can only believe that the identity created for me by the military is perfect enough.

"NERV's intelligence department shouldn't be that powerful." Kirishima Mana thought while eating dessert.

After an hour or two.

The welcome party was over before night fell.

Most of the streets in Tokyo are now paralyzed. Although NERV is responsible for public security, it is best not to walk at night, so most of the students chose to go home at dusk. Kirishima Mana sighed as she watched the three drivers leave together.
"come on!"

After cheering herself on, she chose to go to a meeting with her comrades in the army.

The agreed place with your companions.

It was in a dim sum shop that was still open in a remote area.

To be honest, this is taboo. After all, she is currently on a spy mission, and meeting her military comrades might expose her identity as a spy. If it were a TV series, her behavior alone would be enough to make the audience fill up their mailboxes with comments and emails.

Kirishima Mana knew this, but still chose to follow her heart and go to the appointment.

"Do you have a day off today? Where are Keita and the others? Didn't they come with you?"

Sitting in the reserved seat, the companion in front of him lowered his head for some reason. Kirishima Mana was still a little immersed in the welcome party just now, and asked in a cheerful tone.

Keita was one of her good friends in the military.

She is also one of the pilots of the robot. She has been bullied since her failed escape a few years ago. She and another companion, a boy named Musashi, have been protecting him.

"…He's dead." said Musashi.

For a moment, Kirishima Mana thought she had misheard something. How could a person's life and death be expressed with a simple "he's dead"? But her companion stared at her seriously, with a deep and unresolvable sadness in his eyes, which made her realize that what he had just said was not an illusion.

Kirishima Mana felt a buzzing in her head for a moment, as if she had tinnitus.

"…How could it happen…so suddenly…what on earth happened?"

To the end.

Her lips were already trembling.

"They took Keita away and bullied him while I was away for training..." Musashi recounted the story of her arrival in Tokyo. This companion who never showed any sign of pain during training, now had a sob in her throat, "...then they accidentally beat Keita to death, leaving only a corpse behind."

Hearing this, Kirishima Mana's face turned frighteningly pale.

In the past, she had the best relationship with these two companions. The three of them grew up together and were forcibly conscripted into the army together. Although life was hard, the three of them firmly believed that one day this hellish training life would end.

…I didn’t expect that I’d already lost a companion.

"I can't stand it anymore. If this kind of life continues for another six years..."

It seemed like the last straw.

Musashi, the last companion, clenched his fists and said to her:

"This is NERV's territory. They don't dare to mess around. Mana, let's defect together. I'll drive the robot out. With it, even God can't stop us."

(End of this chapter)