EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 216 214. The Call from Lilith
Shinji Ikari didn't come back until around three or four in the afternoon.

He first accompanied Asuka to the hospital, and then went to the headquarters, without even having lunch.

When I returned to the apartment, Rei Ayanami was sitting on the sofa in the living room reading a book. She was wearing a blue and white home dress. The sunlight outside shone into the apartment through the glass, making her profile look crystal red, like a red carp swimming under the ice of a frozen lake in winter.

But as soon as she saw Shinji Ikari, she immediately came up to him.

"I'm sorry, Ayanami."

He told Rei Ayanami why he came back so late.

In fact, it is okay not to explain. She never asked about this matter in the past. But now this girl has learned to be jealous. However, even if the girl is not jealous, the honest Ikari Shinji will still explain everything.

"...Apostle erosion."

She repeated it, with a puzzled expression, and then quickly asked with concern:
"Where's Ikari-kun? Is he going to be okay?"

"I'll be fine."

Ikari Shinji shook his head.

His golden eyes were not corrupted by the apostles.

Moreover, rather than saying that Unit-01 was corroding him, it would be better to say that the dragon gene in his body was corroding Unit-01. The purple-green body's golden eyes were the best proof of this. Ikari Shinji sighed in his heart, not knowing whether this result was good or bad for Unit-01.

Terrible.

Unit-01, please don't turn into an 80-meter-tall Deadpool.

Only after hearing his words did Ayanami Rei relax.

She did not doubt Shinji Ikari's confidence in saying that nothing would happen, but quickly brought over the lunch left for Ikari. He came back a little late, three or four hours had passed, and the food was a little cold and had to be reheated.

Clean up after dinner.

Shinji Ikari soon started reading a book with Rei Ayanami in the living room.

The sun was shining brightly outside. If you were walking on the street under the scorching sun, you would definitely sweat. But the two of them were at home, enjoying the air conditioning and reading in the sun. They felt everything was so comfortable. The girl's body temperature in his arms was so warm that he couldn't help but feel sleepy. It was like a leisurely afternoon, sitting on a rocking recliner, with the breeze blowing gently.

Rei Ayanami lay in his arms and read a book for a long time.

"..."

The girl's ears moved.

"........."

It was as if someone was whispering something in her ear, inexplicably. At one point, Rei Ayanami suddenly raised her head, her beautiful face looking around in confusion, as if she was looking for something lost. This action startled Shinji Ikari, who was holding her in his arms.

The girl had never been in this posture before, like a deer that had lost its way.

Shinji Ikari asked her curiously:

"what happened?"

"It seems... someone is calling me." The girl said with a lost tone.

"I didn't hear any sound."

"Maybe I heard it wrong?"

She said a little uneasily.

Shinji Ikari felt strange seeing her like this.

He really didn't hear Rei Ayanami's voice. The hybrid's intuition wouldn't be wrong. So it could only be that the girl was hallucinating. But there must be a reason for hallucination, is it mental or physical? And no matter which reason it is, it's not good news for Rei Ayanami now. Could it be a problem with the clone? His heart sank.

Is there something wrong with Rei Ayanami's body?

The old woman once said that she only had one year left to live, but it was impossible that there would be no signs of life slipping away before that time. Could this be some kind of sign?
"Ayanami, what happened?" he asked softly.

Rei Ayanami shook her head subconsciously.

"Are you going to hide this from me again?"

"No, Ikari-kun..."

The girl lowered her head in embarrassment. It looked like she was hiding something from Ikari-kun, but she herself couldn't explain the feeling of being called. Ikari Shinji had no choice but to continue asking:

"Are you sure someone is calling you?"

"Ah."

She nodded slightly.

Shinji Ikari pondered. He was just a beginner in biology and could only seek help from professionals.

"Let Ms. Ritsuko check you out tomorrow."

"Yes, Ikari-kun."

Ayanami Rei agreed.

This sudden call came and went quickly. She quickly continued to nestle in Shinji Ikari's arms and read a book, not thinking about it. The two of them didn't go to the kitchen to prepare dinner until the sun set all the red charcoal in the sky and realized that it was getting late.

"Are you still calling?" Ikari Shinji asked at the dining table. "No more."

She shook her head.

The boy breathed a sigh of relief, but the worry between his eyebrows did not completely disappear. Ayanami Rei did not want to see Ikari Shinji like this, she sincerely hoped that the boy could always be cheerful.

"Don't worry, Ikari-kun." Rei Ayanami comforted him, "I'm fine."

"Well, I know."

Shinji Ikari said reluctantly.

Late at night, she lay in Ikari Shinji's arms like a quiet little deer, as if she was lying on soft grass, listening to the boy's breathing as he slept. Although she was very tired, she was not very sleepy. She just opened her red eyes and looked at the flickering light of the air conditioner in the bedroom.

"..."

Something is calling me from afar.

It was an inexplicable attraction, like a snail looking for its lost shell. Well, she was that snail. At first, Rei Ayanami thought it was just an illusion. But for some reason, this call has become stronger and stronger recently, and at one moment it seemed to attract her soul away from her current body. Rei Ayanami subconsciously refused and wanted to stay, but the call never stopped.

"..."

He was calling His own name.

She felt the source of the attraction and gradually locked on the direction in the darkness.

That's the central dogma district of the underground city, right?
There was a white apostle with a spear piercing his body and nailed to a cross. Ayanami Rei didn't know that Ikari Shinji had already reached there with the help of Kaji Ryoji and learned about the Human Instrumentality Project there. She just recalled the days after the body swap experiment.

--original.

——The white giant didn’t have a spear on his body.

When Ikari-kun was dissolved by Unit-0 for four days and finally came back from the experimental accident of Unit-0 and lay unconscious on the hospital bed, Commander Ikari gave her an order.

Driving Unit 0, he stabbed the Angel in the underground city with a spear.

This is a rather secret order.

Only the two commanders knew about this.

When Rei Ayanami drove Unit 00 and walked into the central dogma area of ​​the underground city step by step, she saw the white giant in the underground city. She felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity from him, but she had never seen this giant before, so doubts arose in the girl's heart. However, Rei Ayanami was concerned about Ikari-kun who was still lying on the hospital bed at that time. She only wanted to complete the task quickly and then go back to take care of Ikari-kun.

Without hesitation, she thrust her spear forward with all her might.

The white giant offered no resistance.

However, even though the spear pierced his body and nailed him to the tall cross, the white giant still did not react, not even wailing, as if he was an empty shell without a soul, ready to be slaughtered. The seven eyes on his head still stared blankly at the orange-red pool below.

mission completed.

She piloted Unit-00 back to the hangar.

But since then, Rei Ayanami would often dream of the white giant in her sleep. He was nailed to a cross with a spear, and his seven eyes looked at her lifelessly, looking at her, the culprit.

There is no doubt that it is an unknown apostle. Who would have thought that such a thing would be hidden in the underground city.

But Rei Ayanami has never been curious about this kind of thing.

"..."

Could it be Him calling?
Why did He call Himself? What was His purpose?
Was he taking revenge on her for piercing his body with a spear? Was he using such a childish method of calling out to scare her? This was too much! She felt wronged for no reason. Even though Rei Ayanami was the culprit, she still felt wronged. When he called her, Rei Ayanami could not hear the vague call, but she knew it was not her name.

I'm Rei Ayanami, a clone, and the pilot of Unit-00.

No.

I am…I am…

...Who am I? In addition to the identity of Ayanami Rei, do I have any other identity? Ayanami Rei's mind was blank. The only important memory she could recall was everything after she met Ikari-kun. No matter how hard she tried to recall, she couldn't think of any other memories besides this.

My only memory is what happened after I came out of the sink.

Even if you are in a tank, you still need to yearn for the sea. This is what Ikari once said to himself. Fight for beautiful flowers, fight for the cello, fight for the bond with everyone, and fight for Ikari. This is the belief that I have fought for until now. I already have so many things. Isn’t life good now?
There was a familiar feeling about Him.

What's going on again?

She thought about it for a long time, but couldn't come up with an answer.

She moved a little closer to Shinji Ikari's arms to make the position more comfortable. Their skin was in contact without any clothes. After feeling Shinji Ikari's body temperature, Ayanami Rei inexplicably felt a heavy sense of security in her heart, and then she closed her eyes and prepared to sleep.

I'm Rei Ayanami, that's all.

she thought.

It doesn't matter what you are calling for, just cherish the life you have now. In the dark night, she was like a small animal in the snow, huddled in the boy's arms. As if he had sensed her uneasiness in her sleep, Ikari Shinji dazedly hugged the girl tighter, feeling the warmth of his palm against her chest, and Rei Ayanami soon fell asleep peacefully.

The morning light passed through the dark bedroom, gradually illuminating the two people hugging each other.

After this weekend, it will be December.

(End of this chapter)