EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 210 208. That’s why I can’t be deeply in love with someone
"Shinji?"

Perhaps it was because he had been silent for too long.

Asuka called his name again, and Shinji Ikari could only answer a little stiffly:

“…I don’t really want to say it.”

This is really strange.

In Asuka's impression, Shinji Ikari always looks at ease, as if there is no problem in the world that can stump him. But now he looks like he is hiding a secret, just like hiding a fluffy ball of yarn in front of a cat, which arouses the cat's curiosity.

There must be ghosts!
Asuka began to ponder.

Could it be that the original cloned by the top student hides a vital secret? Is it like the story she imagined before, but with some details missing? For example, in order to save his seriously ill daughter, the scientist cloned her genes and hid the original in an extremely secret place. And that place is related to the survival of the world? Once exposed, the whole world will be destroyed?
She was guessing in her mind in distress.

Seeing the girl like this, Shinji Ikari tapped her forehead at the speed of light.

"Hmph, forget it if you don't want to talk about it." Asuka covered her forehead pretending to be in pain and said, "Shinji, you dare to hit me... I don't really want to know."

However, her eyes were filled with the desire to "tell me quickly".

Shinji Ikari hesitated, not knowing whether to tell her about this. Although he didn't mind his relationship with Ayanami, it would be shocking news to Asuka. If she knew, she would definitely look at him with a strange look, right?

Ayanami Rei.

A clone of his own mother.

But this beautiful girl didn't have the memories of that woman. The clone and the original didn't share the same memories. They were two completely different people. Ikari Shinji thought to himself that if he had known about the cloning from the beginning, he and Ayanami probably wouldn't have been able to have such an intimate and integrated relationship.

However, if he were faced with something related to Ayanami again, he would still make the same choice.

"What is Ayanami's soul like?"

Suddenly, Shinji Ikari thought of this question.

When Unit-01 went berserk, he was able to see the spiritual world of the creatures around him through the advancement of his Word Spirit. And the humans in this world do have the concept of "soul".

Unit-01 and Unit-02 are the best proof of this.

So, as a clone, does Rei Ayanami have a soul? Even the EVA machine, which is a replica of an Angel, needs to sacrifice a human soul as a control system to start... Clones should also have souls? Rei Ayanami's soul can't be sacrificed by someone, right?

So it was born naturally?

Shinji Ikari pondered this philosophical question.

For some reason, he always felt that he was missing some key clues, just like the time when he didn't know Ayanami was a clone.

He looked like he was in a daze.

This absent-minded state immediately caused Asuka's dissatisfaction. After all, they had agreed not to think about the honor students when they were together. Now Ikari Shinji was obviously thinking about the honor students and things related to the honor students. How could this be? I was clearly in front of him!

Asuka regretted asking that question just now. She shouldn't have mentioned the top student when they were alone.

"Stupid Shinji, stop dreaming about being an honor student!"

She tugged at Shinji Ikari's sleeve and said angrily:
“I want to eat apples.”

She had already eaten the peeled apple in her hand in a few bites.

Shinji Ikari came back to his senses from his thoughts. He knew that Asuka said this just to get him to focus his attention back, or in other words, just focus on her. He took another apple, peeled it carelessly, and handed it to Asuka. She ate it in a few bites. The young lady told him bluntly:
"I want more."

"What should I do if I eat too much dinner?"

Ikari Shinji asked casually.

Although girls have two stomachs, one for sweets and one for dinner, Asuka's two stomachs, one for sweets and the other for sweets. If she eats too much now, she will definitely not be able to eat dinner.

"Hospital food isn't tasty anymore," Asuka said dejectedly.

“…Then I’ll come back in the evening.”

Ikari Shinji thought about it.

What Asuka said made sense. He had been hospitalized before and had eaten hospital meals. In fact, they were not bad, just a little bland and a little small. After all, the health of the patient must be ensured, and it is impossible to customize a meal for the patient.

Asuka rolled her eyes immediately after hearing his words. She asked knowingly, "Shinji, are you going to make dinner for me? Actually, there's no need to trouble you so much, Shinji. I'm not that spoiled. It doesn't matter if the hospital food is a little bit bad. Anyway, I'm only in the hospital for one day."

"Don't refuse something that comes easily to you."

Shinji Ikari said in agreement.

Asuka shook her head, and her eyes curved before her mouth.
"Since you insist on doing this, Shinji, then I can't do anything about it, alas."

"..."

Shinji Ikari couldn't help but pinch her cheek.

Seeing his gentle features, Shinji Ikari took advantage of this moment to relax his guard. He did not reject her gesture, and Asuka came closer and kissed him, with a slightly raised syllable at the end.
"Well, it's an advance payment."

"I gave it to you?" asked Shinji Ikari.

"What?" Asuka immediately put on a shocked expression, as if he didn't know what was good for him. She put her hands on her hips and said,

"I'm so beautiful, Shinji, don't be ungrateful for what you have."

The only shortcoming Asuka couldn't change was her love for herself. She knew she was beautiful and was proud of it. Ikari Shinji held his forehead and thought it was funny. Seeing him trying to hold back his laughter, Asuka immediately got angry and punched him hard several times, although the force was not strong, just like a spoiled child.

But when Asuka learned that Shinji Ikari was going to bring her lunch, she stopped eating the apple.

Apples are delicious, but they cannot be eaten as a meal.

She had no choice before, but now that she had dinner, she didn't have to put up with it. There was nothing fun to do in the ward, not even a book to read. She just sat there in a daze. She said to Shinji Ikari in a bored tone:

"Hey Shinji, show me your hand."

"what happened?"

Although he was confused, Shinji Ikari still reached out his hand.

Asuka naturally grabbed his hand, turned it over and over, and compared the size with her own hand from time to time, five fingers against five fingers, the girl's hand was soft and delicate. Ikari Shinji thought his hand was nothing good, just an ordinary boy's hand, but Asuka looked at it with relish.

The sunlight outside gradually weakened and the temperature was not as high.

Before I knew it, I had been with Asuka for quite some time.

It's almost time.

I think Rei Ayanami is almost done with her training at the headquarters. If he goes back to the headquarters now, he can pick her up and go back to the apartment with her. Otherwise, Rei Ayanami will have to wait for him for a long time. Ikari Shinji stood up slowly. Asuka was still holding his hand tightly. He could only say:
"I'm leaving."

"Oh——" Asuka said in a long voice, but her eyes were dull, which made her look like a pitiful kitten, "Shinji, go away."

She loosened her hand, but couldn't help but secretly glance at him.

"It's not like he won't be coming back." Ikari Shinji couldn't help but say, "Besides, won't he be discharged from the hospital tomorrow?"

"Yes."

Asuka nodded in agreement.

But her eyes were obviously different from her words. Ikari Shinji turned his back and walked towards the door of the ward, but he felt like he was being stared at. He didn't even need the intuition of a mixed-blood to know that Asuka was staring at his back. If he turned back at this time, he would definitely see Asuka's resentful eyes, like a female ghost in a horror movie.

There was a squeak.

After closing the door of the ward, Asuka's resentful look completely disappeared, and Shinji Ikari finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Asuka liked him too much.

Now, Shinji Ikari can't find any legitimate reason to break up. But can he love Asuka half as much as she does? When he thought of this, his heart became heavy. Shinji Ikari recalled how he liked Rei Ayanami at the beginning. It was a feeling of wanting to marry her and be with her for the rest of his life. But now, this wish is no longer achievable.

So, marry Asuka, marry her, and be together for the rest of your life?

Shinji Ikari was a little confused.

Just imagining such a future would be unfair to Ayanami. With such a feeling, he returned to the headquarters. It happened that Ayanami Rei had just finished training. After leaving the headquarters, Ikari Shinji walked side by side with her and returned to the apartment as usual to prepare dinner. The two of them divided the work in the kitchen, but this time it was different. He took out a lot more ingredients from the refrigerator than before, and removed the green peppers that someone hated the most.

It's obviously a serving size for three people.

Rei Ayanami looked at it.

"For Asuka," he said.

Ayanami Rei nodded in understanding. The girl was very calm. For her, simply making dinner for Asuka was not a big deal. But Ikari Shinji looked at her beautiful profile and asked:

"Jealous?"

"..."

The last time Ikari asked her this, she answered no, and her thoughts were discovered. But this time, Rei Ayanami noticed something slightly different in Ikari Shinji's words, and there was a hint of firmness in his tone.

Ayanami Rei remained silent.

"I'm sorry." said Shinji Ikari.

"It's okay, Ikari-kun."

"I'm still sorry for you." He shook his head and said, "But no matter which side I choose, I don't want to give up. I just realized that I might have the talent to be a bad guy."

"Even so, it doesn't matter."

Rei Ayanami gave him a gentle, understanding, and soft smile.

Shinji Ikari held her in his arms.

Perhaps my pericardium has a hard shell, and only a limited number of things can break through it.

Once the shell is broken.

It lives in your heart and can never be lost.

(End of this chapter)