EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 176 174. The End of Kirishima Mana

"You really gave me a difficult problem, Shinji-kun."

Katsuragi Misato said on the other end of the phone. I could imagine her holding her forehead in her hands and being speechless at the headquarters right now, but there was no complaint in her tone:
"Commander Ikari just said that the military should handle it themselves. However, they actually let a child of this age be a spy and take her as a hostage. These people in the military are really... Leave this matter to me. I'll send a car over. Remember to keep in touch. You bring her back first."

As expected of Ms. Misato.

Shinji Ikari gave her a thumbs up in his heart, selectively forgetting her usual unreliability.

"Let's go, find a secluded place, and don't run into the military."

He said to Kirishima Mana.

Less trouble is worse than more trouble. He had agreed to let the headquarters arrest him. If he was intercepted by the military, his big words would be in vain. Wouldn't he have any face? As for how to escape the pursuit, Ikari Shinji, a half-blood, happened to have some little experience.

At this time in the headquarters.

Misato Katsuragi has just arranged for a special car to go there.

Thinking about how to solve this matter, she couldn't help but frown. Although she took the responsibility of this matter because she sympathized with the girl named Kirishima Mana, there was one person she was destined to not be able to avoid, and that was her immediate superior, Commander Ikari.

Should we report this matter to Commander Ikari?

She thought distressedly.

If I explain it in detail, Commander Ikari might hand Kirishima over to the military, which would be troublesome. Katsuragi Misato thought about it and immediately came up with a plan. This matter only needed to be properly embellished. After all, to the high and mighty commander, Kirishima Mana was just a small figure, and he would not even look at her.

So she called the command room.

"Katsuragi, what's going on?"

"Commander Ikari, a spy that the military wanted to capture voluntarily surrendered to us and needs to be detained for a period of time." She said in a reporting tone, "I wanted to inform you."

"Oh, I see."

Ikari Gendo hung up the phone in the command room.

Just as Misato Katsuragi thought, he did not take this little person seriously. Nothing could compare to the importance of Unit-01 and everything related to it.

military……

We've given you a whole day, isn't it over yet?

How come even spies have come to their own territory? Is this the girl mentioned in the last intelligence report? He had turned a blind eye to this kind of spy planting. After all, there have to be spies planted. In comparison, spies whose identities have been exposed and who have not yet obtained valuable intelligence are more suitable to stay.

But if this kind of thing is put on the table...

He looked at Dongyue Gengzao who was standing beside him.

"Hurry them up." Ikari Gendō said calmly, "Let's finish this as soon as possible. NERV's patience is limited."

New Tokyo was originally the headquarters' territory, and there were many secrets hidden here. Letting the military in to hunt down the traitor was already a big compromise, and if it continued, the people at the United Nations would probably intervene.

Besides, our headquarters has been rampant in the local area for so many years.

Ikari Gendō also looked down upon the military.

It's okay to give them some face, but you can't let them ride on your face. As the call from the command room was made, the military's originally hesitant actions immediately began to operate efficiently. Soon after, a fully loaded fighter plane flew in from a distance, flying towards Lake Ashi.

At this time, Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami have returned to the headquarters.

It was not difficult to escape the military's pursuit on the road.

Honestly speaking, after sending Kirishima Mana to the entrance of the headquarters, he should have continued with his original plan and bought a TV to take back to the apartment, instead of coming into the headquarters again for no apparent reason. However, Kirishima Mana's matter was more important than buying a TV, well, just that little bit.

Besides, since he was already here, Shinji Ikari went back to the headquarters to see what was going on.

Of course.

Kirishima Mana cannot enter the headquarters.

She was soon picked up by the intelligence department at the entrance of the headquarters. Two people in black suits who looked like bodyguards nodded to Ikari Shinji after seeing him. It was like a bodyguard meeting the boss's son. With Misato Katsuragi's greeting, Kirishima would be temporarily detained for a few days at most, and then it would depend on the situation whether he would be handed over to the military.

We have captured the person for you, but it will take a few days before we can hand him over to you.

That's pretty much the routine.

"The people in the Intelligence Department look familiar."

Shinji Ikari wondered inexplicably, always feeling as if he had seen them somewhere, but the Intelligence Department had always been elusive, and he had never seen them many times even in the headquarters.

He stepped into the command room.

I thought Miss Misato would be slacking off in the office and joking around with Miss Ritsuko, but I didn't expect that the two of them were still guarding the command room diligently. Only after Shinji Ikari entered the command room did he know why - the screen was refreshing the scenes around Lake Ashi from time to time.

The robot that was dozens of meters tall has disappeared.

"Still monitoring that side?" he asked.

"Well, just in case."

Katsuragi Misato didn't say what this "unforeseen situation" meant, but Ikari Shinji nodded in understanding. It seemed that as the director of the Operations Department, Miss Misato had developed PTSD from such incidents. If this matter was not completely resolved, I guess I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

Akagi Ritsuko was also drinking coffee nearby, and greeted him when she saw him come in. Both directors were working overtime at the same time.

The command room is really lively tonight, Shinji Ikari sighed.

"Shinji-kun, you don't have a crush on that girl, do you?" Ritsuko Akagi suddenly asked.

"Hey, why do you ask?"

The corners of Shinji Ikari's mouth twisted slightly.

No matter how kind you are, people will think you are interested.

When Misato Katsuragi heard the gossip, her eyes, which had been a little dull due to work, immediately brightened up. Her eyes rolled around, but she wisely did not join in the conversation. Instead, she pricked up her ears and eavesdropped. Her eyes looked straight ahead, pretending to stare at the surveillance screen in a daze.

"After all, you pleaded for her specifically. Although Katsuragi felt sorry for her, she wouldn't be so kind if you hadn't called her specifically to say so." The blonde beauty put on a suspicious expression.

"I don't have any feelings for him," Shinji Ikari said after a pause, "I just simply can't stand this kind of hostage-taking behavior."

"Maybe she lied to you on purpose. What other reasons did the military have for arresting her?"

"You reminded me. How about..." He pretended to have just thought of this.

"Just kidding."

Ritsuko Akagi smiled.

Shinji Ikari was speechless for a moment, it turned out that it was just the bored overtime workers who were making fun of him. He waved and said goodbye, and was about to leave when someone else rushed into the command room.

——It’s Asuka.

Her beautiful eyes scanned the command room, and after noticing Shinji Ikari, she simply ignored him. She looked like she had just arrived, and she was still dressed in homely clothes.

"Asuka? Why are you here?"

Asuka shouldn't be here at this time.

Shinji Ikari was a little confused, but fortunately this young lady immediately explained the reason for her visit. She gave him a sharp glance, as if she had just noticed him. Asuka looked gloating, with a slight curve on her lips:
"I just heard that the spy was finally caught, so I came to take a look."

"Then you won't be able to see it." Ikari Shinji shook his head, "Kirishima-san has been detained."

He felt strange as he spoke.

By the way…did something happen between Kirishima Mana and Asuka? Why does it feel like there is a grudge between them? Ikari Shinji thought hard but couldn't come up with an answer. And if he asked Asuka directly, given her personality, it was hard to say whether she would explain this aspect.

This is probably going to be an unsolved case.

"If you can't see it, then you can't see it... Then I'll go back."

Asuka, who was originally full of energy, immediately became listless. She had originally planned to ridicule Kirishima, but in the end, she couldn't even see him. Asuka immediately lost interest.

There must be a grudge.

Ikari Shinji thought.

But just as Asuka was about to leave, she noticed something unusual happening on the large screen in the command room. A bright light replaced the unchanging picture, and the entire command room was illuminated by the light.
"this is……"

Not only her, but everyone in the command room noticed the abnormality in the surveillance footage.

Everyone who was still talking and laughing became serious.

Boom——

First there was a condensed light, then there was a huge explosion. The entire area around Lake Ashi was shaking. Fortunately, it was in the suburbs of Tokyo, there were not many buildings, and the command room could not even feel much vibration. The only confirmed casualty was the robot's driver. The robot was directly destroyed from a physical level, along with the driver inside.

...Doesn't it have a nuclear reactor like the JR robot? That's why the military can just blow it up with a bomb?
Since we can't capture him, just destroy him.

This explosion is nothing to Unit-01, and it is no problem to block it with the AT force field.

——But this robot does not have an AT force field.

However, this time, Kirishima Mana's last companion died so simply, without even a complete body left. I don't know what the girl will do after hearing the news.

"Just destroy everything with bombs..."

Misato Katsuragi was a little dazed.

Although she understood that he was a traitor to the military, no matter what measures were taken, it was a little difficult for her to accept it considering the age of the driver. But the matter ended here, and she didn't have to guard the command room. For a moment, she didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing.

"Is there a driver in there?"

Ikari Shinji sighed.

"--madness."

Someone suddenly said this.

The command room was really lively tonight. Even Commander Ikari showed up quietly. After hearing his sigh, Ikari Gendō looked over. The middle-aged man left a warning: "As long as it is confirmed to be an enemy, what does it matter whether there is a driver inside? That person is a terrorist."

(End of this chapter)