EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 217 215. Sooner or later I will destroy you
The first day of December.

It is still summer in the Third New Tokyo City, and there is no sign of the temperature dropping.

Classes will resume today.

Yesterday, the last day of the weekend, both girls had tests at the headquarters. But a day later, Shinji Ikari was still worried about the tests the two girls had done yesterday. Asuka was fine, and the same was true for Rei Ayanami. However, the girls' auditory hallucinations could not be fake, but professional Ritsuko Akagi seemed to be confused.

She gave Rei Ayanami a detailed examination and said calmly,

"There's nothing wrong with me physically."

It could only be spiritual.

But what could be wrong with Rei Ayanami's mind? This girl always lived a life of going to and from work, not even going out to play, staying in the apartment every day reading books, like a literary girl who was out of touch with the world. Could she be depressed? Nothing happened recently... No, didn't he and Asuka take their relationship a step further?
Could it be that Ayanami was hallucinating because she was too jealous?

...Is this possible?
Suddenly, the two girls around him seemed to have some problems. And they were all problems he couldn't solve. Ikari Shinji felt a little upset. It's true that misfortunes never come alone. When God closes a door for you, he also closes your window.

After class, on the way to the headquarters, he was still thinking about this matter.

"Are your eyes brighter than they were yesterday?"

"can not tell."

Shinji Ikari answered on the train.

Asuka was holding a small mirror and kept looking at her own eyes in the mirror. Her pretty face was wrinkled like a bun. This young lady has been in this state since she came to school today. She kept looking at her eyes in the mirror, like a complete narcissist.

“I feel like it’s brighter.”

"It's just psychological," he said.

"really?"

"Ah."

Reluctantly believing what Shinji said, she looked at her blue eyes in the mirror again, and sure enough, they hadn't changed. Come to think of it, it was only a day or two, and the erosion of the Angels couldn't be that fast. But, the eyes glowed, wasn't it magical? It was a pity that her eyes were destined to never turn into the color of Shinji's. Blue light matched with blue eyes, didn't it mean that nothing had changed?
With a sigh, Asuka put away the small mirror.

As usual, there were only three of them on the train. The top student was sitting on the other side of Ikari Shinji, reading quietly.

But Asuka couldn't help but grumble in her heart when she thought about the test she did at the headquarters yesterday.

What happened to the top students?
Asuka naturally knew that she had done the test.

If the body is fine, there is no way to do any tests, so there must be something wrong with the top student's body. Could it be related to the identity of the clone? It seems that I have to hurry up, otherwise I will not be able to achieve my previous idea of ​​laughing at her in front of her. However, there is no sad expression on the face of stupid Shinji, only a strong worry. Could it be that I guessed wrong?

Asuka guessed again and again, but couldn't figure it out after keeping it in her mind for a whole day.

It can't be that even the top students have been corrupted by the apostles, right?

"So..." The German lady hesitated before asking in a casual tone, "What about top students?"

How strange.

It's rare for Asuka to take the initiative to care about Ayanami Rei.

Shinji Ikari slightly widened his eyes, indicating his disbelief. But the young lady obviously didn't notice his surprise and was still waiting for his answer. Ayanami Rei beside him also turned around. She was obviously the person involved in this matter right next to her, but she still asked Shinji Ikari to inquire indirectly.

He glanced at Rei Ayanami.

The girl nodded.

Asuka was a little itchy. If she had known, she wouldn't have asked. But now what's going on with these two people exchanging glances?
"Ayanami has been hearing voices these days, as if someone is calling her. So I did a test."

"Audio hallucination?"

"Well, I don't know the exact reason at the moment."

Shinji Ikari said softly.

Ms. Ritsuko also knew that there was a voice calling Ayanami Rei, but she did not give any advice, just gave Ayanami Rei a physical examination, and then went about her own business. It made sense, she was only a doctor in biology, not an expert in psychology.

Asuka felt confused when she heard his answer.

Auditory hallucinations?

What mental problems could there be for an excellent student?
Could it be that something went wrong during the experiment with the EVA machine, just like her mother? For example, she lost a part of her soul and became mentally ill? By the way, Shinji once said that the control system of Unit 0 was controlled by the top student herself. Could this be the reason?
"Could it be the same as the experimental accident of Unit 2?" she asked.

"possible."

This is a completely new idea.

Shinji Ikari was thoughtful.

But we can't be sure about Asuka's thoughts. No accidents have happened recently, and Ayanami Rei's soul should be fine now.

Maybe there really is some invisible thing calling Ayanami Rei, a ghost, a spirit, some invisible thing or something like that. Thinking of this, he actually remembered the scenes in many horror movies, in the dark night, the pale ghost face was peeping outside the window anxiously, dong dong dong, it knocked on the window, calling Ayanami Rei, as long as the girl agreed, she would be dragged into the endless hell.

...I can't think about it anymore.

He stopped imagining the supernatural, put aside his worries for the time being, and participated in the training at the headquarters. The simulation training was as boring as usual. After Shinji Ikari finished it quickly, he waited for the two girls in the lounge. Ryoji Kaji had not been seen in the headquarters since the last time he met him. During this period, he also paid a little attention to the whereabouts of Vice Commander Fuyutsuki and found that the old man was indeed not in the headquarters.

Was he really arrested?
However, Ritsuko Akagi and Misato Katsuragi had no special reaction to the disappearance of the deputy commander.

Do they not know, or do they know but don't care?

After the two girls finished their training and returned to the lounge, their plans for the day were complete, and the rest was free time. The three of them took the train back home. After the train arrived at the station, Asuka went back alone, but she still took out a small mirror from time to time to look at herself. She looked distracted, hoping that she would not fall on the way back. Ikari Shinji and Ayanami Rei went home together.

After dinner.

Ikari Shinji asked the girl:
"Can you still hear the call? Don't lie."

"…able."

Ayanami Rei said hesitantly.

The worry between Shinji Ikari's eyebrows has been so thick that she can't dispel it. Naturally, she doesn't want Ikari to stay like this. But Rei Ayanami doesn't know whether Ikari's worry can be resolved or become more serious if she says that it is the white apostle who is calling her.
She was silent for a moment.

To thrust the spear into the white giant's body was Commander Ikari's secret order.

Can this be told to anyone?

As a pilot, she naturally knew the importance of keeping secrets. But if Ikari-kun kept worrying about this matter, it would not be a solution. She hesitated in her heart, not knowing whether to tell Ikari Shinji the source of the call.

"Ayanami, are you in a bad mood recently?"

"No."

"…Maybe…it's because Asuka and I were too close, so…"

"Wait, Ikari-kun..."

I can't let Ikari-kun misunderstand me any longer.

Ayanami Rei took a deep breath.

The girl's hesitation suddenly became firm. This was not something shameful. Even if it was a secret order, Ikari-kun, as the son of Commander Ikari and the pilot of Unit-01, had enough authority to know about it. She quickly told Shinji Ikari the whole story.

After hearing that the spear on the white giant in the underground city was stabbed by Rei Ayanami driving Unit 0, Shinji Ikari showed a slight surprise expression.

"In other words, it is the apostle in the Central Dogma District who is calling you?"

"Ah."

"Why did I call you?"

"Not sure, maybe it's because I pierced Him with that spear?"

Ayanami Rei said uncertainly.

Do the Angels also have a desire for revenge? For some reason, Shinji Ikari always feels that it is not that simple.

but.

...Apostle?

It was not surprising that the girl was hallucinating. The apostles had many strange methods, and as long as Rei Ayanami was not mentally ill, Shinji Ikari was relieved. But he was still a little confused as to why the apostle called Rei Ayanami. Perhaps there was something hidden under the water that had not surfaced.

Just think of it as revenge.

Shinji Ikari temporarily kept this matter to himself.

But, you're harassing Ayanami, right? Sooner or later, I'll destroy you.

However, this is not something that can be done just by thinking about it in your mind. Even if you know the source of Ayanami's problems in the past few days, there is no good solution.

You can't really drive Unit-01 into the Central Dogma Zone and annihilate that Angel, right?

This is the captured apostle.

You can imagine how important He is to our department.

Although Ikari Shinji was only a beginner in biology, he knew the preciousness of the sample. If he destroyed the Angel, the headquarters might regard him as an enemy. No, not only the headquarters, but the entire biological community would probably criticize him bitterly.

Fortunately, Ayanami Rei had no other discomfort except for the auditory hallucination. The frequency of the apostle calling her did not increase suddenly, so she could still observe for a few days. If it was really serious... well, then he would try to use Unit-01 to pull out the spear and stab it again, which would surely change the target of the apostle's hatred.

If all else fails, we have to annihilate this apostle.

Suddenly.

Shinji Ikari thought of a question.

Should I tell Miss Ritsuko about this? She is an expert in biology and has studied the apostles for many years. She just did a physical examination on Rei Ayanami before. Maybe she didn't know the source of the auditory hallucination, so she couldn't find the cause.

If we knew the source, we might know why the apostle called Rei Ayanami.

(End of this chapter)