EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from the Dragon Clan

Chapter 251, Section 249: The Disappearance of Little Rei Ayanami (Part 3)
Municipal First Middle School.

As the school bell rang, Shinji Ikari, who had been sitting in the classroom all afternoon, stood up. The students in the class were discussing whether to have bento boxes or bread for lunch. After the Angels were annihilated, people still had to go on with their lives as usual.

He glanced back at the spots where Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu had been, but they were empty.

Neither of the girls came to school.

Moreover, he's probably the only one training at headquarters today.

There's been so much bad news these past few days. Shinji Ikari sighed inwardly and started tidying up his desk. Just then, Touji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida approached. They had received an evacuation notice at school yesterday and learned of the new Angel invasion, so naturally, they were curious about it and wanted to ask about it.

However, the two asked other questions first:

"Strange, Ayanami-san didn't come today."

“She’s in the hospital too,” Shinji Ikari replied.

"..."

Upon hearing Shinji Ikari's words, the two were at a loss for how to comfort him.

My girlfriend is in the hospital...

Shinji must be really unhappy.

It seems the Angels that invaded yesterday were quite powerful. Even Rei Ayanami is in the hospital... This is the first time in months since Shinji Ikari transferred here. Usually, it's either Shinji or that rich girl, Soryu.

"It's really hard work."

"It's a pity we can't help much, we can only take refuge, damn it... If only we could pilot EVAs." These were the words of Kensuke Aida, who seemed quite eager, even his thick glasses couldn't hide it. "Speaking of which, Shinji, if we could pilot EVAs, we could take pictures of them openly, right?"

"I'm afraid that won't work either. But if you really can pilot an EVA, Kensuke, will you still be thinking about taking pictures then?"

"Uh, that seems to be true..."

As the three chatted, the topic veered off course and ended up somewhere else entirely.

The somewhat oppressive atmosphere from before dissipated considerably.

Of course, Shinji Ikari's mood wasn't as gloomy as the two of them thought. As for Kensuke Aida, a military enthusiast, the thought of piloting an EVA himself would probably make him ecstatic. However, only the chosen ones… or rather, the pre-selected pilots, could fly EVAs. Shinji, in fact, wished his friend would never have the chance to pilot one.

After chatting with his two friends for a while and packing his things, Shinji Ikari was ready to head to headquarters.

"Let's go, see you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye-bye."

He said goodbye.

Yesterday's invasion by the Sixteenth Angel didn't cause much damage to the train lines. He came to the platform alone, then sat down alone on the train, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with no one by his side. He was used to Rei Ayanami always being by his side.

A sense of loneliness welled up in my heart.

Shinji Ikari pulled out his long-unused black Walkman from his bag, plugged in the earphones, and started listening to music. The swaying train car, combined with the air conditioning, gave off a drowsy feeling, but he was wide awake and didn't feel sleepy at all. Soon, the train arrived at a station near the underground city.

Cable car.

elevator.

Headquarters was still a hive of activity. After all, the Angel invasion had only happened a day ago, and as usual, this busy scene wouldn't gradually ease up until at least the next day or the day after. Ritsuko Akagi was directing the staff, and all three EVA units had been transported back to the hangar at headquarters after a day. The repair work on Unit-00 was the most demanding and would take a considerable amount of time.

See him coming.

The simulation training began soon.

Shinji Ikari and Ritsuko Akagi didn't exchange many words during their conversation, only a few glances. This had been the case ever since his last conversation with Ritsuko. Yesterday, when he inquired about Rei Ayanami's whereabouts, he only received a lukewarm response.

The harmonious scenes of the past are unlikely to reappear.

The training didn't take long.

Although Unit-01 was unfrozen, the training program wasn't as extensive as before the freeze, and it's unclear what the reasons were. Shinji Ikari easily completed all the training, emerged from the simulator, changed out of his combat suit, and prepared to visit his family in the hospital.

At this point, Ritsuko Akagi had already recorded the training data.

She had no intention of talking to Shinji Ikari.

Instead, she left in a hurry, as if she had something important to attend to. Watching Ritsuko Akagi's departing figure, Shinji Ikari wanted to ask her about Rei Ayanami again, but the blonde beauty was already far away. He thought about it and decided not to chase after her.

Right.

Ritsuko Akagi must be incredibly busy these past few days.

Since she said yesterday that he would see Rei Ayanami at the hospital today, there was no need to ask a second time. Shinji Ikari knew he was being overly concerned. He left headquarters and headed towards the hospital.

The road to the hospital.

Shinji Ikari was quite familiar with this.

He soon saw the hospital's inpatient building. It was deserted. Even though it was a special building for the headquarters and had special reinforcements, many patients who needed hospitalization were worried that the apostles' invasion would damage the place, so those who could afford it had moved to hospitals in other cities. As usual, he asked the nurse for directions.

"Still no hospitalization information for this patient..."

"Could it be that it hasn't been entered yet?"

"possible."

"I see... thank you."

Shinji Ikari thanked the nurse as he stood in the hospital corridor.

still none.

A sense of unease welled up inside him.

Ritsuko Akagi had clearly said she would visit today… Shinji Ikari couldn’t help but feel puzzled, since there was no need to lie about this, which was quite baffling.

He was confused.

Where did Ayanami go?
He turned his gaze towards headquarters… Shinji Ikari prepared to go to headquarters again to inquire about Ritsuko. Perhaps Ayanami's information still hadn't been entered into the hospital's records. After all, in this era, things were still done by hand; entering information into a computer was a fashionable thing, and errors were normal. He comforted himself with this thought and was about to take a step when someone called out to him.

"Ikari-kun."

A familiar voice came from behind him, and he looked in the direction of the sound.

It's Rei Ayanami.

Upon hearing her voice, the unease in his heart vanished. Shinji Ikari looked over and first saw a pair of calm red eyes. Then came her beautiful features: delicate eyebrows, moist lips, and neatly styled blue hair, which made her pointed chin appear somewhat thin.

The girl stood ramrod straight, dressed in a white and blue school uniform, quietly standing in the hospital corridor like a standing doll. The afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window, making her fair skin seem to glow with a rosy hue. For some reason, Shinji felt that Rei Ayanami today was just like when they first met—the girl possessed an inorganic, aloof quality.

There were no visible injuries on her body, unlike what Ritsuko Akagi had described as being quite serious.

“Ayanami…”

Their eyes met.

Shinji Ikari's voice held a hint of surprise as he stepped forward, wanting to close the distance between himself and Rei Ayanami. However, looking at the girl's beautiful face, which remained calm, the unease that had previously disappeared from his heart inexplicably surged back up.

calm.

So peaceful.

Upon seeing him, a girl might smile, or she might seek a hug, but she shouldn't have such a calm expression. Shinji Ikari was quite confident about this.

He suddenly stopped in his tracks, hesitant to approach, and asked in confusion:

“I heard from Ritsuko that your injuries were quite serious, but you seem to be alright now…” Then he realized his words might have another meaning and quickly explained, “Of course, I’m very happy that you’re unharmed, Ayanami, but… don’t you need to stay in the hospital for a while?”

She shook her head.

Shinji Ikari was taken aback.

Doesn't she need to be hospitalized? The horrific injuries on Unit-00 are undeniable, and Rei Ayanami, as the pilot, must have been seriously injured as well. Only a day has passed; she can't possibly be healed so quickly. Yet, Rei Ayanami's face showed no sign of pain; she remained so calm… as calm as an unchanging doll.

"Ayanami, does it hurt?"

She still shook her head.

Today, Rei Ayanami seems to only know how to shake her head. Shinji Ikari unconsciously took a few more steps towards her, and the distance between them finally closed.

A strange, inexplicable feeling suddenly struck him.

Strange. Is the Rei Ayanami before him really Rei Ayanami? Shinji Ikari couldn't help but have this thought. At first, he was surprised by his own idea, but soon he remembered that there were similar examples before. His half-blood intuition was reminding him that something was wrong. His first suspicion was that, like that night when the moonlight-covered figure was inside Rei Ayanami's body, talking to him.

"...Lilith?"

He asked, word by word, with certainty.

However, when faced with Shinji Ikari's question, the girl merely tilted her head, a genuine hint of doubt appearing on her calm face. Over the past few months, he had come to understand the meaning behind Rei Ayanami's various subtle expressions—these small gestures and habits were clearly the Rei Ayanami he knew. Besides, if Lilith had truly possessed her, it should have been that inhuman feeling of wanting to fly to the moon.

If it were the same situation as that night, and something was disguised as Rei Ayanami, he would be able to tell at a glance.

But right now, there's a subtle difference.

It's not Lilith.

It seemed to be Rei Ayanami, but this strange feeling... He fell into deep thought, unable to figure it out, while the girl watched him quietly from the side, seemingly lost in thought.

"It's nothing," Shinji Ikari finally said softly. "Ayanami... let's go back first."

"Ah."

Rei Ayanami nodded slightly.

(End of this chapter)