EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 213 211. A short date with Asuka on the weekend

Nine in the morning.

As Asuka said, the temperature today is not high.

The two met in front of the tram stop.

There are more people here on weekends. People these days don't have much entertainment. They either go to arcades to play video games or go to amusement parks to ride roller coasters. Few people stay at home to watch TV. But even so, it is still very rare to see a boy and a girl walking together. I guess in the eyes of the people around them, the two are regarded as a pair of student lovers, which attracts the attention of many passers-by.

Asuka was wearing a short white shirt and short jeans today, and a pair of light-heeled goose yellow sandals, revealing her long white legs.

She looked simple and capable, as if she was going on an adventure somewhere, well, an adventure called shopping. Seeing Shinji approaching slowly, she puffed up her cheeks slightly and snorted in dissatisfaction.

"so slow."

It's Asuka, you came too early.

Shinji Ikari is not a punctual person. For example, if you agree to meet at 9 o'clock, you must arrive at 9 o'clock, one minute earlier or later. This sounds like the experience of office workers. He also came several minutes early, but when he arrived, the young lady seemed to have been waiting for a while, and she didn't even hide her expectant expression.

He didn't say anything in response to Asuka's complaint, but just smiled.

Asuka was slightly happy when she saw that the top student was no longer following Shinji Ikari. However, she soon realized that she was too happy.

"Asuka, let's go shopping until noon and then go back." said Shinji Ikari.

"Won't you spend the whole day walking around?"

"Even if the temperature is not high in the morning, the sun will be very hot in the afternoon, right?" Ikari Shinji looked up at the sun, which was not very hot at the moment, and said, "Asuka, do you still want to continue shopping in such a hot sun?"

"..."

Looking at the sky, Asuka looked hesitant.

Thinking about sweating in the sun, with her tongue sticking out like a pug but unable to cool down, and then having to go shopping with Shinji... she nodded in agreement reluctantly and didn't mention the idea of ​​shopping all day.

Shinji Ikari breathed a sigh of relief.

If he really wanted to hang out with Asuka for the whole day and leave Rei Ayanami in that empty apartment, he would feel bad about it. It would be a bit of a jerk to do so. Asuka didn't want to bask in the sun either, so he could go back to the apartment and enjoy the air conditioning when it was hottest.

After deciding how long they would spend strolling today, the two quickly set off and boarded the train to Shin-Kichijoji.

The tram was still the same as before, with occasional passers-by.

"Shinji, is there anywhere you want to go?"

"Today I'm mainly accompanying you, Asuka, I'll follow you wherever you want to go."

"So cunning!"

She said so, but the corners of her mouth curved up and she said:

"…Then let's go buy a mobile phone first."

The two walked towards the shopping street. Asuka waved her hands happily as she walked. The girl's long legs were strong and agile. Ikari Shinji walked shoulder to shoulder with her. Soon they arrived at the shopping street of Shin Kichijoji. Most of the people who came here to buy things on weekends were office workers. There were not many students like the two of them - most of them had transferred to other schools.

The journey was uneventful until Asuka saw an open ice cream shop.

She stopped walking.

Because her period had just ended, she hadn't eaten any ice cream in the past few days. It shouldn't be a big deal to eat some now, right? Asuka thought to herself that the stomachache would last at least another half a month.

"Do you want to eat?" Ikari Shinji asked at this time.

"Ah."

"Your stomach will hurt, right?"

"..."

Asuka's thin eyebrows suddenly frowned, and a conflicted expression appeared on her delicate little face. She paced back and forth beside the ice cream shop, looking a little pitiful.

"Don't eat anything too cold."

Shinji Ikari went to the street and bought a ball of cotton candy and stuffed it into her hand.

"Eat this."

Asuka looked at the cotton candy in her hand, then looked at the ice cream shop, and had to give up the idea of ​​eating ice cream for the time being. The two of them continued to stroll around, and in a few minutes they arrived at a store selling mobile phones. What was a coincidence, but not a coincidence, was that Shinji Ikari had been to this store before - he had brought Rei Ayanami to buy a mobile phone in this store.

After all, most of the stores in Tokyo are closed, and sometimes when you want to change a store, there are no other options.

The clerk still had some impression of Shinji Ikari.

After all, it was still rare for student couples to come and buy mobile phones. But the last time this boy came, wasn't he with this girl? Did he break up and have a new girlfriend, or did he cheat on his wife? He looked at her strangely, but didn't say anything. He quickly helped her with the formalities. She only needed to choose the color of the phone.

Asuka didn't hesitate and immediately chose the color of the mobile phone.

……red.

It really suits her style.

The young lady fiddled with the mobile phone, which only had one function for making calls. Other functions that Shinji Ikari was familiar with, such as surfing the Internet and playing games, had not yet appeared in this era. After getting familiar with the operation, Asuka put it down with a lack of interest and asked Shinji Ikari excitedly:

"Shinji, what's your number? Tell me."

…As expected. Ikari Shinji knew that this was the reason why she bought the mobile phone, so he was not surprised at all. He told Asuka his phone number without hesitation, otherwise the girl would definitely pester him… Although after telling Asuka her number, she would probably call him every day to harass him… He just wanted to chat with her.

After knowing his phone number, Asuka called him immediately.

"Hey, hey, hey, stupid Shinji, can you hear me?"

"Yeah, I can hear it. Including calling me an idiot, I also heard it."

“…It feels so weird.”

"strangeness?"

"We were talking face to face, but we had to talk on the phone."

Didn't say a few words.

Asuka hung up the phone.

It's not like she hasn't used a phone before, but she used a landline before, and she also experienced a similar feeling with a mobile phone. It's like chatting on the communication channel in the cockpit, but everyone can hear what they say on the communication channel, so they usually talk about business. If they switch to a mobile phone, no one else can hear the content of the conversation, so she can have a private conversation with Shinji.

The advantages are not bad.

she thought.

After buying the mobile phones, the two came out of the store.

The next thing they did was wander around aimlessly. Normally, for a date, they should go to the movies or visit an amusement park, but that was Asuka's sad place, especially when she rode the Ferris wheel last time, Shinji's words of breaking up seemed to be still vivid in her mind, so she subconsciously ruled out this option.

The two walked along the commercial street. The crowds here were not deserted. It seemed as if it was still the same as before the invasion of the apostles. However, there was not much laughter in people's conversations. Instead, they were filled with melancholy about where the future would take them.

"Asuka, are you tired?"

Ikari Shinji suddenly asked.

The girl's eyes kept blinking so frequently that it looked like her eyes were getting tired.

"It's out of the way."

She rubbed her eyes and yawned involuntarily.

Her eyes have been dry recently, probably due to the aftereffects of the Angel's erosion. Apart from the dry eyes, Asuka didn't feel any other changes in her body, so she didn't take it too seriously.

"Let's take a rest."

There are benches for passers-by to rest in the commercial street. There is a telephone pole in the distance. This is a shaded place that will not be exposed to the sun. The two walked over and sat down. At this time, the breeze blowing in the distance made people feel slightly comfortable.

Asuka rested her head on his shoulder.

The girl looked a little sleepy, maybe because she didn't get enough rest last night. Her eyes were fixed on the pole next to the bench. After a moment of vacancy, they focused slightly, as if she saw something interesting and was very serious. Ikari Shinji followed her gaze and saw a dense array of house rental ads, one layer after another.

The rents of the apartments listed above were so low that they were practically free, and some of the houses had been reduced to ruins during the invasion of the apostles and no one had paid attention to them for a long time.

Is Asuka interested in this?

"If I were doing real estate in Tokyo, I would definitely go bankrupt by now."

Ikari Shinji sighed.

Who can stand it if an apostle comes every now and then?

Anyway, the real estate industry in Tokyo is completely finished. I am afraid that it will only be possible to recover after all the apostles are wiped out and the environment becomes safe. Having said that, that will be at least ten years later. At least it has nothing to do with the two people now.

But Asuka seemed to be thinking about something.
"Hey Shinji, I have a good idea."

"Oh?"

"If we buy unwanted houses now at a low price, and then sell them after all the apostles are defeated and the housing prices in Tokyo go up, can we make money without doing anything?"

What a business genius!

Asuka was probably feeling very proud of this plan, and even her eyes were sparkling.

However, although her idea was good, it had a fatal problem.

"When the apostles invade, there is no guarantee that the place you bought will not be destroyed. If the apostles destroy the house you bought, you will lose all your money." Shinji Ikari reminded.

"Too."

Hearing this, Asuka sighed regretfully.

"I can't be fighting while trying to protect these houses. What a shame! I want to be a real estate tycoon in Tokyo."

Her plan to become a real estate tycoon failed before it even began.

As they were talking, the girl's head suddenly began to nod off. It was obvious that the suppressed sleepiness came up. Ikari Shinji slightly supported her body so that Asuka could lean on him in a comfortable position. Asuka, who was about to fall asleep, had lost her usual sharpness and her beautiful eyebrows were full of softness. Ikari Shinji had asked her before what she would do when she stopped driving the EVA one day, but he didn't know if Asuka had an answer now.

"Get some sleep. When you wake up, you might be a real estate tycoon."

"That's impossible."

Asuka mumbled in her sleep.

(End of this chapter)