Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

“Okay,” Rei Ayanami said.

Misato Katsuragi hung up the phone. At that moment, the elevator doors opened, and Ritsuko Akagi took out her key from her pocket and opened the door to the room. "Is that Rei and the others? They sound like they had a lot of fun this afternoon," Ritsuko Akagi said, standing at the door and inviting Misato Katsuragi in.

"It's alright. The only one I'm really worried about is Asuka. Her mental state has improved significantly now, so I don't need to worry about the children too much. Shinji Ikari will handle things." Misato Katsuragi skillfully took off her high heels and put them in the shoe cabinet next to her, then took out her pair of slippers.

As soon as she got home, the landline rang. "Wait a moment, I need to take this call." Ritsuko Akagi nodded slightly to Misato Katsuragi. "Hello, is this Grandma?"

Akagi's grandmother? Katsuragi Misato raised an eyebrow. Unlike her talkative friend, Akagi Ritsuko rarely talked about her family. The reason she was with Akagi Ritsuko today was partly because her friend seemed to be in a bad mental state.

"Is that so? The child is missing." Ritsuko Akagi calmly took out a cigarette case from the drawer, lit one, and sat quietly in the chair. "Yes, that's probably it."

“Cats also have a lifespan. When they sense that their life is about to end, they will leave their family,” Ritsuko Akagi said.

Misato Katsuragi sat quietly on the edge of the bed, watching her friend. Although Ritsuko Akagi spoke calmly, her left hand, which wasn't answering the phone, was vigorously rubbing the lit part of a cigarette, her legs shifting back and forth between different positions, before she lit a new cigarette, repeating this cycle over and over.

"Don't cry anymore, Grandma. This is all inevitable."

"Yes, it is like that."

"Me? I'll go back when I have time. Come to think of it, it's been three years since I last visited my mother's grave."

"Who are you talking about? Which man? No, no, no, he's not my father...and certainly not my husband. You've got it wrong. I'll call you next time."

"Well, hung up."

At this moment, Ritsuko Akagi turned around and realized that the room was already filled with mist. She looked at Misato Katsuragi with a slight apology and said, "Sorry, the call took a while."

"It's nothing, did Grandma's cat die?" Misato Katsuragi asked.

“Not Grandma’s, but my child,” Ritsuko Akagi said calmly.

"Your child?!" Misato Katsuragi's eyes widened instantly.

Ritsuko Akagi chuckled. "What are you thinking? I just like to treat that cat like a child. Although it was very irresponsible of me to abandon it to my grandmother as an adopter, I was terrible, wasn't I?"

195: The German Little Dove, ruthless and taciturn.

"Well, there's nothing we can do about it. You're very busy with work, and raising a cat is already very energy-consuming," Misato Katsuragi could only offer this consolation.

"Then why did you choose her in the first place?" Ritsuko Akagi stood up and walked to the refrigerator. "Would you like something to drink?"

It was unclear whether she didn't want to face something or was simply avoiding the topic. Misato Katsuragi nodded and said, "Then let's have some chilled beer."

The two women sat around the small round table in the living room, clinking glasses and chatting about the past: the handsome guys from their school days, the pets they used to have, their childhoods, the lives of their friends who were married or divorced, and themselves now.

Akagi Ritsuko was very talkative tonight, as if she had poured out her heart and was talking non-stop. Katsuragi Misato helped her to the toilet to vomit, and then took out a towel to wipe her face, but Akagi Ritsuko waved her hand and pushed her away, saying, "It's okay, I'm not drunk, I can do it myself."

Misato Katsuragi had no choice but to let go, watching Ritsuko Akagi walk into the bathroom alone. She turned to look at the desk by the window; in the empty corner, only the computer screen glowed faintly. The wallpaper was a picture of Naoko Akagi in a white lab coat when she was young, and Gendo Ikari in a white lab coat as well, while the girl standing on the far right with a childlike face was Ritsuko Akagi in middle school.

Back then, she had short, ear-length hair and looked completely innocent; perhaps she was happy then.

At that moment, a hand turned off the computer from the side, saying, "Go to sleep."

"That's what Ritsuko Akagi said. After a quick and simple ordeal, she changed into her pajamas and, without waiting for Misato Katsuragi's response, lay down on the bed."

“Hmm,” Misato Katsuragi didn’t press for details, but simply nodded quietly.

The lights went out, and Ritsuko Akagi curled up facing the wall, while Misato Katsuragi stared at the unfamiliar ceiling from the outside of the bed.

As a series of sobbing sounds came from next door, Misato Katsuragi pretended to close her eyes.

"I'm sorry to have made you waste your energy on a useless woman like me." Akagi Ritsuko's deep voice sounded from the side.

“No, that’s not true. I’m very happy too. It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a joyful gathering.” Misato Katsuragi opened her eyes.

"A woman like me is useless, isn't she? I can endure any humiliation as long as I think about that man, but I hate myself, I hate my own depravity, and I even hate that child."

"No matter what you do, Ritsuko, you'll always be the best researcher in my heart. You've done a great job," Misato Katsuragi comforted her.

Ritsuko Akagi did not respond further. She simply curled up facing the wall, clutching her pillow and sobbing softly.

This time, Misato Katsuragi truly closed her eyes—

Now that the children's mental health issues have been resolved, is it the adults' turn?

Misato Katsuragi finally realized that she could not save anyone but herself.

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"Oh, is that Misato on the phone?" At that moment, Asuka, wearing a dress, walked into the living room carrying a cup of hot milk.

"Yes, she said she won't be back tonight. She asked me to relay this to you. She told Shinji Ikari not to be too reckless, and not to let you stay up too late. She also told me to drink a glass of warm milk before bed and to clean the house..." Before Rei Ayanami could finish speaking, Asuka impatiently interrupted her.

"...Are you Misato Katsuragi's puppet? That's enough, you don't have to be so obedient. Young people should act like young people!" Asuka turned around, took a bottle of sea salt guava-flavored beer from the refrigerator, and took a big gulp straight from the bottle, her face quickly turning rosy.

"Ha! Is this what it feels like to be without parents? It seems pretty great!"

It was the same night, but the air seemed to be filled with free spirits. Asuka lay on the sofa with a fruit beer in her hand. She didn't know what to do, but she also felt that doing nothing would be wonderful.

Asuka thought for a moment, and realized it was just about playing games. She handed her hot milk to Rei Ayanami, then turned and walked towards her room. She wasn't going to sleep, but to get her controller, snacks, and a blanket.

Without exchanging words, Rei Ayanami tacitly brought over a small round table and a fruit platter, then ran into Shinji Ikari's room like a well-behaved puppy.

Asuka glanced at this scene and couldn't help but pout. "Men all like obedient and docile girls like this, and they only like your little sister, right?" Asuka thought to herself. If she were a man, she would like her too. It's a wonder Shinji Ikari can tolerate someone as capricious and willful as herself. But even if he didn't say it aloud, he was probably thinking to himself, "That German little dove, so ruthless and talkative, able to survive for days without water, that she's a bit of a idiot."

The bathroom door opened, and Shinji Ikari, with a towel wrapped around his waist, walked straight out, drying his hair as he went to Asuka's side and helped her carry half of her things. "What are we doing tonight?" Asuka asked.

“Baldy’s, I want to play the Evil Route online,” Shinji Ikari said.

"Are corpses useful? I heard that summoning the dead can make them rise and speak," Asuka asked.

"I collect them all. When I open the box, I see the corpses of all my opponents, which gives me a great sense of accomplishment."

"It's a pity that the resurrection spell can only be used on opponents, otherwise I could farm experience while carrying the enemy's corpse."

“But it can revive the dead,” Shinji Ikari said.

"The worst part is that you can't kill brats. I met a really awful brat in the Sacred Forest. He stole someone's idol and never repented. He doesn't listen to his parents and acts recklessly because of the system's protection!"

Shinji Ikari thought for a moment and said, "But you can kill the brat's parents and resurrect as a skeleton in front of him."

"You're not some kind of gaming genius, are you?!" Asuka exclaimed in shock.

Their conversation was interrupted by the vibration of the computer screen. Clicking to view the details revealed the mission requirements for tomorrow's mental test, along with a new file about Asuka.

Detailed and clear, leaving no stone unturned. The intelligence department of the special agency is responsible for employee files, and this group is known for its CIA-like meticulousness, making everyone's file look like a dark history. The file that illuminates this one is a photo of Asuka, a selfie taken in Yokohama. Her hair is dyed a golden-orange red by the sunset, she wears a dress, and smiles brightly in the sunset, while Shinji Ikari's profile appears in the background.

"Never mind that, let's play the game first." Asuka switched the game screen.

Later, Asuka recalled that ordinary night. It was a night of freedom without parental constraints, but she didn't do anything outrageous as she had anticipated. Her character in the game was driving the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow, maxing out her affection level and having a silver party. Rei Ayanami was lying in bed reading a book, and the boy she liked was sitting next to her, telling the hellish joke about President Fujiwara Chika, who had been shot in the chest.

Sometimes they discussed the apostles, sometimes they chatted about their classmates, and sometimes they played pillow fights barefoot on the bed. It seemed meaningless, but life is just a series of ordinary things that make up each other.

At midnight, Shinji Ikari turned off the lights.

Asuka woke up in bed to complete darkness outside. Whether intentional or coincidental, Shinji Ikari had just replaced their hard mattress with a large RELYON bed that morning, enough for the three of them to rest in. Asuka glanced at the clock in the moonlight; it was midnight. Tomorrow was the mental test, but she was still in a state of heightened arousal.

"Are you asleep?" Asuka turned around and asked softly.

"Asleep," the person next to me answered with their eyes closed. The blanket was pulled up to their shoulders, and their left hand was not obediently holding their right hand.

"Is she asleep?" Asuka asked again.

"She's asleep," the person next to her continued.

"Then I'm going to sleep too," Asuka said, spouting utterly meaningless drivel.

Asuka is probably nervous about tomorrow's mental health test. It's just that her vulnerable side is only showing now, close to midnight.

Suddenly, the man next to him felt the girl on his left roll into his arms. She didn't do anything out of line; she just used his left arm as a pillow and gently leaned against him.

A few seconds later, Asuka fell asleep.

In the third New Tokyo City, at the Odawara delivery station, there was a tightly sealed package with an orange "Do Not Open" adult label. The deliveryman, working late into the night, had brought it there.

This was the last delivery. After receiving the package, the store pulled down the shutter and prepared to close for the day.

But at that very moment, a sharp screech of brakes came from outside, and before the shopkeeper could react, a shotgun coming from the opposite direction riddled him with bullets.

The man who got off the motorcycle didn't care whether his movements would alert the police officers nearby. He walked straight to the parcel shelf, his target being the adult product.

After roughly tearing open the outer packaging, a sealed aluminum box was revealed inside. The man turned on a dark purple flashlight and shone it on the edge of the box, revealing a reflective label that resembled a banknote's security feature. The man nodded: "If nothing unexpected happens, this is it."

He casually handed the item to his companion, saying, "This is what you wanted. It should contain miniature explosives. If you enter the wrong code, the contents inside will be destroyed."

After his companion took the aluminum sealed box, he looked at him and asked, "What about you? Aren't you coming with us?"

"Having done such a thing, betraying the country, the Emperor, and the organization, they will not let me go," the man said calmly.

The man waved his hand, and his companions stopped trying to persuade him. Each of them mounted their motorcycles, carrying similar sealed aluminum boxes, and sped off in different directions.

The following morning, Shinji Ikari and his friends met Ritsuko Akagi again in Hakone, but Misato Katsuragi was nowhere to be seen.

“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Asuka’s mental health test has been temporarily cancelled,” Ritsuko Akagi said succinctly, having regained her sharp and capable businesswoman demeanor overnight. “One of the executives committed suicide out of guilt, and Misato Katsuragi is on her way to the scene. You’d better go and see for yourself, as it concerns you as well.”

Misato Katsuragi stood at the entrance of the courier shop, and at that moment she couldn't help but reach into her pocket, an instinctive action of wanting to smoke.

"His chest was ripped open, and now he's taking the full force of a shotgun blast at close range. Even if the Underworld Soul-Chasing Doctor had been there, he couldn't have saved him." The forensic doctor handed over a brass bullet. "Magnum shotgun shells are extremely powerful. The user must have accumulated a lot of anger to have chosen to use this type of bullet."

Misato Katsuragi held the bullet in her hand, her eyes fixed on the young man sitting in the courier shop owner's chair. She finally understood why the intelligence department had summoned her. She remembered that pale face; it belonged to the inspector, a close friend of Ryoji Kaji. The forensic doctor zipped up the black body bag, and the stretcher was carried away in front of her.

"How did he die?" Misato Katsuragi asked.

"According to surveillance footage, he sat here smoking after the murder, until people from headquarters arrived, at which point he shot himself in front of them," said an employee of the intelligence department.

“Did he commit suicide out of guilt?” Misato Katsuragi murmured softly. “He was recruited by Ryoji Kaji, or he chose to betray NERV after learning of Ryoji Kaji’s death. The specific reasons for the betrayal are handled by the intelligence department. So what happened to what they stole?”

"It's a sex toy," the employee said.

"What?" Misato Katsuragi's eyes widened, only regaining their sharpness when she saw the sealed aluminum case. Looking at the intelligence officer who had brought her there, she finally understood. She was once again drawn into the events following Ryoji Kaji's death.

But given the precedent set by the head of the intelligence department last time, I shouldn't be locked up in a dark room again. However, the real trouble is with someone else now.

Meanwhile, in the commander's office, Fuyutsuki Yukimasa was also furious.

"We must retrieve this item; they shouldn't have gone far. Order all nearby police forces to mobilize and apprehend them."

"That's not enough. We absolutely cannot let SEELE know about that. The Japanese government must be very anxious right now."

“There’s definitely a mole within NERV. Follow this lead, find out who’s behind it, and bring them to me,” said Yukizo Fuyutsuki. “Whoever betrayed NERV, we can’t let them get away with it.”

The dim red light shone on Fuyutsuki Kosuke's face, which appeared as hard as stone.