EVA: Shinji Ikari Returns from Tiga

Chapter 28 It seems that a lot of things will happen tonight

"I'm back--!"

Opening the apartment door, Shinji Ikari said this with great anticipation.

Even though he has lived two lives, he always has a yearning for family deep in his heart.

Whenever you open the door of your home and someone says welcome back... it is a refreshing thing.

"Welcome back."

As if she had been waiting at the door, the moment she heard Shinji Ikari's voice, Rei Ayanami walked out of her room - the one closest to the door in the corridor, and greeted Shinji Ikari home with a calm face.

"...What? You're acting like the mistress of the house, even though you're just a spoiled young lady..."

Looking at Shinji Ikari and Rei Ayanami who were in perfect harmony, Asuka behind them could be heard muttering in a tone of extreme dissatisfaction.

"Ah, Shinji-kun, Asuka, you guys are back... Hey, who is this child?"

A moment later, Misato Katsuragi, wearing only a bra and panties, leisurely walked out of the living room with a half-can of beer. Then, seeing the children, she realized that her dress had an immeasurable negative impact on the children's education, and quickly returned to her room.

"This is Suzuhara Sakura, the younger sister of my friend Suzuhara Touji. Well, she came to say thank you, and she's from our high school. Miss Misato should have some information on her."

"Ah, it's that kid in the shelter in the photo! So you're Suzuhara-san's sister."

Misato Katsuragi quickly changed into her casual clothes, looked at Sakura Suzuhara's face in surprise, and then joked to Shinji Ikari as if she had thought of something.

"Hehe~ It was you, Shinji-kun, who risked your life to protect the entire shelter with Unit-01, but because of a photo that went viral, everyone only remembers that it was the Giant of Light who saved them. Don't you feel a little unbalanced, Shinji-kun?"

"What kind of joke are you telling all of a sudden, Miss Misato?"

Taking Sakura Suzuhara's hand and asking her to sit at the dining table first, Shinji Ikari responded as a matter of course while taking out a drink from the refrigerator.

"What matters is that this child can sit here and drink juice, laugh with his family at night, and go back to school as usual when the sun rises tomorrow. It doesn't matter who saved him."

"Shinji-kun, you...really like saying lines like a traditional manga hero."

"Who made me the pilot of a giant robot? If I didn't say that, wouldn't I be ruining the dreams of young people all over the world?"

Although it sounds silly and childish... but Shinji Ikari's attitude makes Misato Katsuragi feel at ease from the bottom of her heart.

Asuka and Rei Ayanami's spirits are both very unstable in their own senses, but even though Shinji Ikari has struggled back from the brink of life and death several times... his willpower is as solid as a rock.

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Is Sakura here?!"

As Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi were chatting about the proper attitude of a giant robot pilot, Touji Suzuhara's loud voice was heard from outside the door.

"Ah! Brother!"

Suzuhara Sakura smiled and ran towards the door. Her nerves, which had been a little nervous because of being in a strange place, now relaxed a lot... The relationship between this brother and sister is really good.

"Sakura! How could you run around alone? I was so worried... Ah, Ikari... Jun. Are you... are you okay? When I came here before, Misato-san told me that you were in the hospital..."

When he opened the door and saw Suzuhara Sakura's face, Suzuhara Touji, who had been gloomy, instantly smiled and scolded. But when he saw Ikari Shinji standing behind Suzuhara Sakura, Suzuhara Touji's expression became very complicated again.

"It's okay. As an EVA pilot, it's normal to nearly die once or twice. You'll get used to it."

"...As an EVA pilot...is this a common occurrence? Yeah...ha, haha...after all...you have to fight the apostles..."

Shinji Ikari's original intention was to downplay the incident and explain that he often got into trouble so that Touji Suzuhara, who was saved by him, could feel less guilty.

Unexpectedly, the result was counterproductive, making Suzuhara Touji's face even uglier.

Moreover... Shinji Ikari keenly felt that Suzuhara Touji's face was pale, and he could even feel a slight tremor... This was not the guilt or remorse after Shinji Ikari risked his life to save him... but simple fear.

He was filled with pure fear at what he had said about being an EVA pilot, where he would often die and come back to life.

"...Suzuhara..."

For a moment, Shinji Ikari almost wanted to ask, "Are you going to become an EVA pilot?"

After all, this simple fool exposed his inner thoughts too obviously.

But… Ikari Shinji still chose to swallow his doubts. First, due to the obligation of confidentiality, the other party could not give an answer. Secondly, even if he told himself that he wanted to become a qualified person, he could not give him the answer he expected——

The path forward for humanity can only be chosen and forged by humanity itself. This cannot be left to anyone else. Suzuhara Touji must make this choice himself.

"Suzuhara. We're having a barbecue party to celebrate my discharge from the hospital and our move into our new apartment. You and Sakura-chan should stay and join us."

"Eh?"

The sudden proposal left Suzuhara Touji stunned. He didn't expect that Shinji Ikari would change the topic to having barbecue tonight while he was hesitating whether to ask Shinji Ikari to help with the life decision that he couldn't make.

"You want to eat, Sakura-chan?"

Seeing that Suzuhara Touji was still hesitating, Shinji Ikari simply turned to attack Suzuhara Sakura.

Although the still young Sakura Suzuhara could not feel how serious the conversation between her brother and Shinji Ikari was, she was unwilling to refuse Shinji Ikari's invitation...especially since there was barbecue to eat.

"Ok!"

The little head immediately nodded up and down like a chicken pecking at rice. Shinji Ikari did not give Suzuhara a chance to refuse. Without saying a word, he took Suzuhara Sakura's little hand and walked into the apartment.

“…Well, excuse me for disturbing you.”

Seeing this, Suzuhara Touji no longer refused. After all, he himself was undecided and wanted to discuss it with the pilot Shinji Ikari.

"Wow!... What a luxurious apartment, with so many rooms... You're truly worthy of being a high-ranking civil servant saving humanity... To be able to live in such a spacious apartment right in the heart of Tokyo-3... Hey! Shinji!? Why are Ayanami and Shikinami here?!"

"Because we're all EVA pilots, we've all been arranged to live here together to facilitate coordination during the sortie."

"........."

“…Pfft.”

Facing the guests brought in by Shinji Ikari, Ayanami Rei and Asuka responded with their own different attitudes.

He was as cold as ice, his eyes only fixed on Shinji Ikari's face, without even looking at Suzuhara Touji.

The other one didn't try to hide his disgust at all, and simply smacked his lips in welcome.

"Ikari... your two roommates have worse personalities than each other. As expected, when it comes to women, they really are..."

"What are you talking about, you monkey!?"

The atmosphere between the two of them instantly became tense, but Shinji Ikari actually enjoyed this peaceful quarrel.

"Hmph! Misato! Since that idiot Shinji brought a monkey here! I have to call Hikaru over too, otherwise, even the meat will become unpalatable because of those two stupid boys!"

After thinking for a while, Asuka suddenly remembered something, turned around and ran out to make a phone call.

When Suzuhara heard Hikari's name, her expression changed obviously, but she had no ability to dissuade Asuka and could only watch Asuka leave.

"Hey, a few people suddenly joined us, so we might not have enough meat. Sorry, Shinji-kun, I need to go to the supermarket again..."

Misato Katsuragi counted the food in the refrigerator, stood up and was about to go out, but ran into an uninvited guest who walked into the house.

"That's not necessary. I brought plenty of meat and vegetables, enough for you to eat to your heart's content."

"You, you... why are you here! No! How did you get in?!"

Misato Katsuragi pointed at Ryoji Kaji who was carrying a large amount of food into the apartment with a panicked look and questioned angrily.

"Oh, isn't this to celebrate our hero's recovery and discharge from the hospital? As Shinji Ikari's biggest fan, I naturally can't miss it. May I be allowed to sit down, Shinji-kun?"

Although his words were still cynical and frivolous, Shinji Ikari still noticed that when Kaji saw Suzuhara sitting in the seat, his brows frowned slightly and a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

As expected - it can be basically concluded that Suzuhara Touji is the new driver... or at least a backup driver.

"Of course, Mr. Kaji. Since you're here, I certainly won't turn you away. Let's eat together. The more people there are at the celebration party, the merrier."

Shinji Ikari smiled and invited Kaji to join him. It was a good opportunity to have a good chat with him tonight.

Myself, Asuka, Ayanami Rei, Katsuragi Misato, Kaji Ryoji... Suzuhara Touji, Suzuhara Sakura, plus Toriki Hikaru... it's really lively. Looks like a lot of things will happen tonight~
(End of this chapter)