EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 192 190. Wonderful Night (IV)

"What does it mean?"

Asuka asked.

Shinji Ikari could hear the fragility in her voice, the trembling thin ice on which her suppressed emotions were piled. If he continued, she might cry again. But he still gritted his teeth and continued, "Asuka, aren't you curious? EVA machines are not robots, but pure organisms. What drives them?

What is the synchronization ratio between the driver and it?
In fact, they are replicas of the Angels, but they are driven by human souls. Both Unit-01 and Unit-02 were made this way. The so-called synchronization rate is the synchronization rate between the soul of the pilot and the EVA body. If you accept it, the synchronization rate will increase; if you reject it, the synchronization rate will decrease. So Asuka, do you understand now?"

"——Your mother's soul is inside Unit 2."

When Asuka was talking about the replica of the Angel, she didn't have any special reaction. Ikari Shinji knew that she might have guessed some of the truth, but when she talked about the soul, her body trembled involuntarily. The girl's face was as pale as a baby animal that was thrown out of the cave and couldn't find a home. She asked him:
"…You're not lying to me?"

"No."

Asuka listened to his heartbeat.

One moment she felt like she was stuck in a muddy swamp, and the next moment she felt like she was falling in the cloudless sky, and the whistling wind made her heart ache, it hurt so much, as if someone was squeezing it tightly. She had been with Unit 2 since she was a child, living alone in the snowy country of Berlin, Germany, and had continued to live there until now, never thinking that her mother's soul was protecting her all the time.

I don’t need a mother. She wanted to say; even if I knew, what would it matter. She wanted to say.

But Asuka didn't say that, she just asked:

"Then...her mental illness?"

"I don't know why. Maybe something went wrong during the dissolution of her soul. She mistook the doll for you, calling your name to it and never letting it go. Maybe in her crazy mind, you are still the baby. But doesn't this prove that even if she is crazy, she still loves you and wants to protect you, Asuka?"

Shinji Ikari sighed.

Fate is always so fickle.

Sometimes it is so gentle that it puts people who can help each other together and let them meet, and sometimes it is so cruel that you pass by the person who could have changed your life. For the first time in her life, Asuka felt the presence of her mother. The woman who was like a big rag doll was actually always by her side. She suddenly felt that she had become that little girl again and returned to the snowy country in the cold winter.

That's right, that woman once looked at her with beautiful but doubtful eyes.
"...I think I know you, who are you?"

"I am your daughter, mother. I am Soryu Asuka Langley."

There was a look of surprise in the woman's beautiful eyes. She tilted her head to look at the little girl who claimed to be her daughter. She had just given birth to a child and now she had a daughter this big. In that woman's mind, this was a fairy-tale thing, right?
Asuka suddenly felt like crying.

But she couldn't even cry. The previous crying had exhausted all of Asuka's strength. She sobbed, but not many tears came out of her eyes. She just felt like her chest was suffocating. She was so sad, so sad that it felt like it was raining heavily in her heart, and the little stove in her heart was about to go out. But at this moment, her stomach suddenly growled.

After all, I had only drunk two bowls of porridge before.

You have to be full before you cry so that you have the energy to cry.

Shinji Ikari had no choice but to get up from the bed and go to the kitchen to cook some more food with Asuka hanging on him like a koala.

"Are you still not letting go?"

"Don't let it go."

Asuka said angrily.

How could this be! She was still sad, and couldn't cry just now, but at this moment she felt like she was betrayed and wanted to cry. She had very little strength to hang on, and Shinji Ikari could easily pull her down. But he didn't do that after all, instead he held her up with his hands, fearing that Asuka would suddenly lose her strength and fall down and get hurt.

He turned on the lights in the living room of the apartment. After chatting for so long, neither of them was sleepy anymore, so there was no need to go back to the bedroom.

The induction cooker in the kitchen was making a sizzling sound.

Asuka rested her soft chin on his shoulder. The girl's fragrance continued to reach Shinji Ikari's nose. The two sat on the sofa in the living room. She asked another question.
"Shinji, when did you know about this?"

"About two or three months earlier than you?"

"…the period after the Ninth Apostle?"

"Ah."

Ikari Shinji nodded.

Then he realized that this period of time was also quite awkward for the two of them. Fortunately, judging from the expression on Asuka's face, she seemed to have not thought about this aspect, and she should have recovered now. Ikari Shinji felt that his goal for today had been achieved. Just sitting on the sofa in the living room was boring, so he turned on the TV, randomly selected an entertainment program and turned down the volume. Asuka was silent for a while, and then asked:

"Shinji, when you called Unit-01 "Mom", did it really come alive?"

"Ah."

"Where's Unit 2?"

"I don't know," he said.

"You don't know?" "You have to try it yourself. I haven't tried calling Unit-02 "Mom". And even if I did, it wouldn't respond, right?" Shinji Ikari rolled his eyes for once before continuing, "But your mom had an accident during her experiment. I think it's possible that part of her soul dissolved into Unit-02, and part of it remained in the body. It should be different from Unit-01's situation."

"What about the top student Unit-0? Is it the same as us?"

“She’s a little different.”

"……different?"

Ikari Shinji fell silent.

He knew that Asuka would find out the problem sooner or later, but it would be bad not to answer, otherwise what if this guy suspected that he was lying, that would be too unfair. Forget it, Asuka would find out sooner or later anyway. He said softly,

"Ayanami...she's a clone."

"...clones?"

Damn it, are you some kind of curious baby? Shinji Ikari saw her curious look and his head started to hurt.
"Yes, she is a clone. The soul in Unit-0..." Shinji Ikari hesitated. He had dissolved into Unit-0 once before, but he did not find a soul inside. There were only some remaining memories. "... is herself."

At this point, Asuka also vaguely sensed that he didn't want to answer. For a moment, the only sound in the living room was the TV program as the background. The porridge in the kitchen was already cooked. Ikari Shinji took Asuka from the living room to the kitchen, and then from the kitchen back to the living room. After being hungry for a long time, all food smelled good. The fragrant porridge exuded hot steam. He blew on it and prepared to wait for it to cool down a little.

There's no need for him to feed Asuka now, right?

But Asuka didn't pay much attention to the food. She was daydreaming, as if thinking about something she might have overlooked. Then she finally seemed to have thought of something and asked,

"If it's a clone, does it have any physical defects?"

"..."

A question that hits the nail on the head.

"…Well, she has less than a year to live."

Ikari Shinji said with difficulty.

But Asuka's eyes suddenly curved slightly, so that's how it is. She thought to herself, and then she thought of the sweet interactions between the two of them, and became depressed again. However, maybe the issue of the life span of top students is bad news for someone, but it is always good news for her. Ikari Shinji couldn't see the expression on the girl's face at this time, and he thought of Ayanami's life span again, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

The joys and sorrows of people are not the same.

The porridge cooled down a bit and was now warm enough to eat. Ikari Shinji handed the bowl to Asuka, but she looked confused, as if she didn't know why he was handing the bowl to her.

"Don't want to eat?"

"I have no strength. Please feed me, Shinji. You can also take advantage of me."

Do you know what you are talking about? Ikari Shinji was speechless for a moment, but the girl was facing him at the moment, showing an attitude of letting him pick her. Even if he touched her now, Asuka would not resist, right? But this is wrong, there are people waiting for him at home. Maybe in the middle of the night, Ayanami is alone in their small home, looking at the scenery of the night sky outside the window, imagining what her Ikari-kun is doing. She will definitely trust herself... Damn it, maybe she hopes for another development.

In short.

Could he do anything to let Ayanami down?

It was just an emergency measure before, but now Asuka has obviously recovered her spirit, so we should stop indulging this guy, otherwise this young lady will only become more and more demanding.

Shinji Ikari put the bowl into her hands, sighed and said,
"Eat it yourself, don't expect me to feed you."

"What's the matter? This is a good opportunity to feed such a beautiful girl. Shinji, you really don't understand romance." Asuka complained. But she was obviously very hungry, and she quickly succumbed to the aroma of food. She didn't insist on the "weak" setting, and quickly finished the porridge.

Shinji Ikari was bored watching TV programs. After Asuka finished her porridge, he went to the kitchen to wash the dishes and returned to the living room. He wanted to go home directly, but he couldn't take the koala-like Asuka home with him. It seemed that he would have to go to bed very late tonight.

At this moment he suddenly heard Asuka shouting:
"Hey, Shinji."

"Ok?"

"Can I support you?"

"..."

"Is that possible?"

"Support me? What do you want to do?" he asked.

"I haven't decided yet." Asuka said, "Anyway, I'll keep you as my own, then hide you somewhere where no one is around, and do this and that with a girl as beautiful as me, how about that?"

"Sounds like I got a great deal."

He said.

(End of this chapter)