EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 220 218. No one answered the call you made
The second day of the first month of December.

Today is also a fairly quiet day.

There was nothing much to say about the courses at school, and Shinji Ikari was still busy with his own things. In the afternoon, he walked from the tram station to the headquarters with the two girls. Ayanami Rei followed him closely, while Asuka was a little distracted by the sun and lagged behind. The three girls in uniform all carried school bags and looked like good students.

"Shinji."

Asuka didn't even bother to take out her small mirror. She just lazily called out Shinji Ikari's name, like a cat acting like a spoiled child. When she saw him looking over, she looked at Shinji Ikari and asked, "How are your eyes today?"

“Still no change.”

"It seems we will have to wait until today's test to find out."

She said weakly.

There is a big blazing sun in the sky.

The three of them walked under the scorching sun. There was no shelter on the street. The two girls' smooth foreheads soon began to sweat slightly, but they were still some distance away from the headquarters. It was also very hard to carry schoolbags on a hot day.

In the past he would help carry the girls' school bags.

"give it to me."

Shinji Ikari held out his hand to the two girls.

They were just two school bags, not heavy, and he hadn't even broken a sweat yet.

Rei Ayanami handed over the schoolbag obediently.

When Asuka saw him reaching out his hand, for some reason, she subconsciously put her hand in his. The girl's hand was small and white, like a white jade dumpling. Although she had trained in Europe for so long, there were not many calluses on her slender fingers. They felt soft to the touch, and her hands were a little wet from sweat.

Shinji Ikari looked at the girl's hand in his palm for a moment, then looked at Asuka who was obviously distracted, then looked at Rei Ayanami who looked calm, and finally looked back at Asuka. He said softly,
"bag."

"…oh oh."

Asuka's cheeks turned pink when she came to her senses. It turned out that he wanted a school bag, not a hand in hand. She slowly handed over the school bag strap, and then quietly punched Shinji Ikari.

Shinji Ikari didn't say anything, he just carried both girls' backpacks.

Terrible.

Do you really think he dares to hold Asuka's hand in front of Ayanami?

In front of the two girls, he couldn't do any intimate actions with anyone. He could only do those things when they were alone. Fortunately, Asuka seemed to be worried about something and didn't hold hands or kiss him in front of Rei Ayanami. Similarly, Rei Ayanami wouldn't do these things in front of her. Today, Asuka was just too distracted. After getting rid of the burden of the schoolbag, Asuka quickly relaxed a lot. She suddenly asked:
"Shinji, do you know what happened to Misato yesterday?"

"Ms. Misato? What happened to her?"

"She drank a lot," Asuka complained. "In the end, I had to help her back to her room. What kind of sadness could she have?"

"Yesterday... nothing happened."

Ikari Shinji shook his head.

What kind of sadness could Miss Misato have? He suddenly thought of Kaji Ryoji and fell silent.

"Were you okay yesterday?" Asuka seemed to have thought of something, beads of sweat appeared on the tip of her fair nose, "... Could it be because of me?"

"You? Asuka, did you do anything?"

"Hmph, I won't tell you."

The eldest lady showed a slightly guilty expression.

This successfully aroused Ikari Shinji's curiosity. What could Asuka do to make Miss Misato sad? Say bad things to her? No, a girl shouldn't do such a thing, and there is no conflict between the two of them. Unfortunately, Asuka stopped talking about this and talked about other things.

"PENPEN might have to be sent away for a while."

"Eh? Why?"

"If the apostles invade, it can't come to the headquarters. I thought of asking Guang to foster it for a while, and if the apostles come, I will take it to the shelter together."

This is understandable.

Shinji Ikari thought, Could this be the reason why Miss Misato is sad?

No... no matter what, you can't just drink to drown your sorrows just because you have to send your pet away for foster care for a while. Obviously, Asuka doesn't think so, otherwise she wouldn't have said this, which makes Shinji Ikari even more curious about what Asuka has done to make her feel guilty.

Chatting and chatting.

The three of them arrived at the headquarters.

After riding the cable car and going deep into the underground city, today's training was similar to the previous ones. Because of what Asuka had just said, Ikari Shinji deliberately observed Katsuragi Misato's expression. He didn't see that she was drowning her sorrows in alcohol as Asuka had said yesterday. Instead, she looked very energetic.

But the girl couldn't possibly lie, so all she could say was that Miss Misato recovered very quickly.

"Sure enough, there is no change."

Asuka breathed a sigh of relief after finishing her eye examination.

Then comes the training of the drivers.

Time flies.

He was the first to complete the training.

Shinji Ikari walked through the pilot's lounge, thinking of buying a drink from the beverage vending machine. When he passed through a long corridor, he stopped because an unexpected person was walking towards him. In the past, when this person was still there, the two would often meet by chance.

"Shinji."

It’s Deputy Commander Dongyue.

I haven't seen him for many days, and the old man seems to have lost some weight.

The old man smiled kindly at him. Fuyutsuki Kozo's behavior was normal, as if the news of his arrest was false and he had just been away for a long time. The two said hello and then parted ways in the corridor. Ikari Shinji did not ask where he had been during his disappearance, whether he had seen Kaji Ryoji, or whether he knew any information about the Human Instrumentality Project. He just acted like a normal junior.

But there is something different after all.

Shinji Ikari bought the drinks in silence and returned to the lounge.

His performance was no different from before, and he was not affected at all by the sudden appearance of Vice Commander Dongyue. After the two girls finished their training, the three of them stayed in the lounge for a while before setting off on their way home.

After parting with Asuka at the train station, Ayanami Rei suddenly asked:
"Ikari-kun?"

"nothing."

Said Shinji Ikari.

Rei Ayanami didn't ask any more questions, and the two returned to the apartment, following the same itinerary as usual. Late at night, he held Rei Ayanami in his arms and lay on the sofa in the living room. The TV was on, but the sound was barely perceptible. The two read quietly, but Shinji Ikari's mind was not on the book, but seemed to be waiting for something.

At this time, the mobile phone rang.

The sudden shrill ringing broke the silence in the apartment. He smiled embarrassedly at Ayanami who was disturbed in his arms, temporarily let go of the girl in his arms, and went to the balcony to answer the phone.

"Hello?"

Shinji Ikari asked.

"..."

There was only a busy tone on the phone.

Not many people know his phone number, but no one answered when he called. Could it be someone playing a prank on him? For example, Asuka, who just knew his number? Ikari Shinji held his breath, and when the phone beeped for the second time, he had a vague answer in his mind.

No one answered the phone.

beep-

The busy tone beeped exactly five times from the beginning to now, and then the call was hung up.

Ikari Shinji's heart sank.

(End of this chapter)