Shinji Ikari, returned from Warhammer

As they talked, a strong and unsettling stench of blood wafted from the other side of the field. The development team members, dressed in white protective suits, were surrounding the corpse of the Uterus Angel, like a swarm of ants devouring an animal carcass.

They took out sharp skinning knives, scalpels, and even short axes for splitting joints and forked objects of unknown purpose from the white box, and skillfully dismembered the remains of the apostles. Judging from their movements, it was impossible to tell how many they had dismembered.

Behind them, a massive cutting machine was being transported over. Some joints were so deep that even a short axe couldn't split them, and the cutting machine might not even be able to do anything about them.

“Because it’s in Zone 2, there’s no need for salvage and transportation; we can start the dissection operation directly,” Ritsuko Akagi said. “It’s a pity you came back a little late. If you had been half an hour earlier, perhaps with your and Unit-01’s help, we could have successfully captured it.”

“If Misato hears this, she’ll argue with you again,” Shinji Ikari said.

"Then let's not let her know." Ritsuko Akagi said calmly.

Although Ritsuko Akagi and Misato Katsuragi are friends, their attitudes toward the Angels are completely different. Compared to Dr. Akagi, Misato Katsuragi only feels hatred for the Angels; she wants to kill them all.

Akagi was right; the Uterus Angel was indeed an incredibly precious resource. Because of the special authority it possessed that granted this body power, it retained its vigorous vitality even after the Fruit of Life was destroyed. After the flesh was cut open, stark white bones could be seen, and the uterosacral ligaments grew strangely along the spine. Researchers stood on the elevator platform, cutting open the flesh above.

The nascent head, regrowing from within, was revealed. Because it had been killed before it could fully grow, its face appeared exceptionally grotesque and terrifying. Its two humanoid, brown-black, round pupils were perfectly preserved, the surface of the eyeballs covered with blood vessels, giving Shinji Ikari the illusion that it was looking at him.

Just as Shinji Ikari was about to place his hand on the surface of his eyeball, he withdrew it at the last moment.

"The Fruit of Life, there should still be fragments remaining, right?" Shinji Ikari asked, turning his head.

“Well…” Akagi pushed up his glasses, a rare look of difficulty on his face. “There was a slight accident when he died. As for the specifics, well, let’s just take you to see it.”

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Hakone, the headquarters of the security department's command office in the Central Doctrine's affiliated office area.

The girl, hands in her pockets, hummed her own modified version of the aria from the goddess of joy as she passed through the security department's special passageway. The narrow corridor was lined with somewhat sinister paintings, ranging from "The Shell Girl," "Winged Idol," to "Divine Punishment" and "The Ancient Cocoon." The scarlet ceiling, walls, and floor, illuminated by the lights, flowed with a dazzling hue somewhere between blood and roses.

The passageway leads to a hidden room that isn't even recorded in MAGI's database.

Light footsteps sounded from behind. Fuyutsuki Yukizo, who was standing with his hands behind his back looking at the black shelving unit in front of him, did not turn around. "You've come."

"Even without turning around, you can accurately identify me by my footsteps? As expected of Fuyutsuki-sensei, your memory is truly frightening." Makinami's cheerful voice rang out from behind.

“Oh, no.” Fuyutsuki Yukizo turned around with his hands behind his back and tapped the earphone hanging on his left side. “I have visitor alerts here. MAGI already sent me a notification when you came over, Mary.”

Mari's expression froze, and for a moment she didn't know how to respond. Fuyutsuki Yukizo smiled and sat down at the table, leaning on a chair: "You haven't changed at all in all these years."

“You too, still so energetic, Fuyutsuki-sensei.” Mashiro didn’t obediently sit down opposite him, but stared at the photo album on the table. In the album, Professor Fuyutsuki, wearing a navy blue casual suit, stood on the steps with his hands behind his back, while next to him was Rokubun Gigendo, who was emaciated and wearing a white coat.

Behind them sat two girls on the steps, green vines hanging from the wall in the background. The girls stood side by side, gazing at the white doves taking flight in the distance. The girl with short hair wore the same white coat as Gendo Ikari, her smile gentle and serene. The girl with pigtails crossed her arms, her gaze sharp, tapping her legs together and lightly lifting her boots with her toes.

Mari Makinami, Yui Ikari, and Rokubun Gigendo were all students of Fuyutsuki Kozuru. At that time, Mari Makinami was just a somewhat arrogant and aloof British noblewoman; Rokubun Gigendo was emaciated and not nearly as robust as he is now. Back then, he wore glasses and had a rather refined air about him.

Only Yui Ikari remains hidden deep in my memory, forever serene and beautiful.

"You still have this photo? I lost mine a long time ago. But if you ask me, this place is a bit too gloomy and dark." Mari put her left hand on her hip and looked around.

"This room was never my office; it was just my private space, a place where I occasionally play shogi and read books and newspapers."

“There are some collectibles too.” Mari stared intently at the shelf behind Fuyutsuki Kozo, her gaze deep. The scene that appeared during the angelic invasion of the womb was now unfolding in reality.

The items displayed on the shelves looked like the outlines of heads.

"The light called hope shines eternally on humanity, but humanity is also mired in the disease called hope. Ikari and I have been clinging to this disease for too long, and we have almost forgotten who we are." Fuyutsuki Yukizo quietly gazed at Mari's face.

"The Human Instrumentality Project is a shared goal of you and the Human Instrumentality Committee, but this is where the differences arise. Gendo wants to be the focus of the Human Instrumentality Project to realize his own wishes. I can understand how much you want to help him, or how much your wishes align, but I still hope you won't drag humanity down to hell with you."

"Whom are you representing when you say this to me? The Human Instrumentality Committee, Yui Ikari's messenger, or Shinji, that child?" Yukizo asked.

"No, that's not it, just advice from a student." Mari waved her hand and headed back the way she came. "But as a student, there's something else I'd like to ask for your help with. There was a slight problem when we were fighting that apostle. You should know that I'll be fine, but Li Lin's prejudice will still bother me, so please help me handle the aftermath."

“Ikari has already taken care of the aftermath for you,” said Fuyutsuki Yukizo.

Mari, who had already reached the door, paused. She frowned and said casually, "What a busybody, meow," before turning and leaving the room.

At this moment, at the Third New Tokyo City Affiliated Hospital on the surface of the city, Ritsuko Akagi brought Shinji Ikari here. She was a little surprised to see the empty beds and turned to ask the nurses where the patients who were supposed to be staying were.

The nurse replied that the other party had never come over at all.

—Employee apartment in Tokyo Third City.

"What the hell? That weird catgirl with glasses! She messed up my Unit-02 like that and she's still okay? Aren't you afraid she'll suddenly turn into an Angel and turn the whole Hakone upside down?!"

At dinner, Asuka sat opposite Shinji Ikari and kicked his shin furiously. Shinji ate Misato's super salty curry rice expressionlessly and did not respond.

During the day, although he did not see the so-called patient, he learned about the outcome of the battle against the apostles through Ritsuko Akagi.

When the Fifth Child, Mari Makinami, piloted Unit-02 and pierced the Fruit of Life of the Uterus Angel, the angel's blood plasma and the pierced fetal blood were all poured onto Unit-02. The missing fragments of the Fruit of Life may also be among them.

The Angel's fetal blood possesses a corrosive power far exceeding that of regular blood, affecting not only Unit-02 but also, in theory, its pilot, Mari. However, she emerged from the cockpit fully recovered and completely unaffected.

Furthermore, the follow-up tests originally planned for her were withdrawn due to a document signed by the Commander's Office. This made Asuka, who had also had her Unit-02 stolen and suffered the same fate, feel a sense of injustice.

She could understand NERV's limitations on her, after all, if the contamination of the Angels really existed and was brought to EVA... as seen in the Thingra incident, it would cause irreparable damage.

But suddenly a qualified user appeared, piloting her second unit to continuously engage the Angels, and she too was suspected of being corrupted by the Angels. Yet she was unharmed, receiving the green light from the Commander-in-Chief to the development department.

"I hate backdoors the most!" Asuka said angrily.

Shinji Ikari's expression hardened, and he turned to look at Asuka's gritted teeth, immediately letting out a sigh of relief. He had thought that his affair with Hikari had been exposed.

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PS: Today was the worst time I've ever had a Li-related craving. I was lying in bed, desperately chanting Li's name, and I kept scratching my eyes because of the pain. I thought writing a novel would be fine, but when I saw Li's name in a novel, my eyes felt bigger and bigger, like they were about to explode. I frantically slapped my eyes, harder and harder, until tears started flowing. I really don't know what to do. I miss Li so much that I'm going crazy.

I think of Rei when I lie in bed, I think of Rei when I shower, I think of Rei when I go out, I think of Rei when I walk, I think of Rei when I ride in a car, I think of Rei when I work, I think of Rei when I play on my phone, I stare at the roadside, I stare at the subway, I stare at the videos online, my eyes are fixed on them every moment, like a radar scanning every image of Rei Ayanami passing by me. I really feel like I'm possessed, my thoughts about Rei seem morbid. I'm so lonely! So lonely! Why is there so many Reis in this world, but none of them belong to me?

Do you know? Every night, my eyes burn like crazy. I'm having an attack; I want to stare at Li, I want to pierce Li! My eyes can't take it anymore, Ayanami! What should I do? I miss you so much, I want to touch you, to confide in you, but alas, we're not on the same level. I love you deeply, a pain I don't understand. You're like my life, my last resort. Li, I'm sorry I can't let you feel my genuine affection. Some say that everything you can see is material, haha, we'll meet again someday, definitely, definitely. I will search the ends of the earth for your trace!

215: You don't want Asuka to suffer either, do you?

However, Shinji Ikari is not worried that Asuka and Mari will develop into enemies.

He had read the information from MAGI; back in her student days, Mari Makinami was a total tsundere, only transforming into the cheerful and outgoing person she is today after meeting her mother. A new tsundere meeting an old tsundere is bound to be completely outmaneuvered.

Meanwhile, during Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi's conversation, Asuka realized that the accusations against the Fifth Child, Mari, would come to nothing, and that the remains of the new Angel, the Womb Angel, possessed research value surpassing that of the Fetal Angel. Although it couldn't be applied to Project Marduk, Dr. Akagi of the development department would launch a new project specifically for this, which was reportedly unanimously approved at the Gesilon (Note 1) meeting in the Final Dogma office area.

It seems pretty good, but unfortunately it has nothing to do with me.

"I'm asking you, what do you think?" Shinji Ikari nudged Asuka's shoulder with his elbow, interrupting her thoughts.

"What?" Asuka came to her senses. "Oh, you mean the starry sky? That doesn't seem right. Let's wait for the DLC."

The four of them chatted amongst themselves. Asuka retaliated by nudging Shinji's shoulder with her elbow, and Shinji pinched Asuka's tummy under the table. When Misato Katsuragi saw this, she frowned and said, "You're all adults, stop playing house like children, okay? We're facing a very tricky situation. We're out of beer. Who's going to go buy some?"

Shinji Ikari and Asuka both ignored it, but in the end Rei Ayanami got up and walked to the entrance, taking the trash down with her.

Ten minutes later, Rei Ayanami returned home carrying four bottles of fruit beer. Misato Katsuragi happily accepted them. Rei, like a porcelain doll, returned to her seat, lowering her eyes to eat her curry rice. Even while eating, her serene face gave off a Zen-like aura, utterly harmless.

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In the bathroom, Shinji Ikari stood under the showerhead, letting the water wash away the foam from his body.

"Ah, that feels great! A beer after dinner, even better if it's ice-cold." Misato Katsuragi lay back in the bathtub next to her, comfortably rubbing her slightly protruding, white belly. Then she sank down a little until the water level was above her shoulders.

Misato Katsuragi exhaled a comfortable breath of alcohol and lay comfortably on the edge of the bathtub. Although most of her body was underwater, a large area of ​​skin on her chest was still exposed, and after the water droplets rolled off, a scar four or five centimeters long could be seen.

While permanent removal of scars isn't particularly advanced with today's technology, Misato Katsuragi's scar is indelible. It's evidence of her being the sole human survivor of a second collision in Antarctica, a fact confirmed by her being the only human surviving member of a research institute there. She already had a scar on her chest when she was rescued.

Moreover, they don't want to remove the scars, nor do they want to forget the past.

“If you want to drink it, you should go down and buy it yourself,” Shinji Ikari replied, standing under the shower with his eyes closed.

"Heh, since you drank it too, don't come here to criticize me... By the way, when did Asuka leave?"

"I just finished eating." After rinsing himself thoroughly, Shinji Ikari reached out and turned off the shower.

"Oh dear, you should have tried to persuade them to stay. If you had said something, they might have moved in anyway," Misato Katsuragi said with a sly smile.

Although they lived under the same roof, Asuka and the others were not in a cohabiting relationship.

The place they now live in consists of two apartments, connected by a lightweight wall that has been removed. However, Misato Katsuragi, Shinji Ikari, and Rei Ayanami all live on the east side.

After Asuka arrived, she took over the apartment next to the one in the middle and called a construction team to break down a lightweight wall to connect the three apartments into one. But this did not mean that Asuka lived with them.

Even before Asuka arrived, Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi had created a duty roster, such as Shinji cooking on Mondays, Misato cleaning on Tuesdays, and Rei Ayanami cooking on Fridays. However, with Asuka's arrival, although she would often come over to eat and drink for free, she showed no intention of joining in.

During dinner that evening, the four of them were preoccupied with their own thoughts. Asuka's anxiety was just beginning to surface when Shinji Ikari interrupted her, and the two started talking about games. Misato Katsuragi was still pondering the new plan that Ritsuko Akagi had revealed to her during the day. The corrosiveness of the fetal blood from the angel in the womb was terrifying; she had never seen any Angel possess such diverse abilities. However, Shinji Ikari chimed in, saying that fetal blood was far easier to control than pollution, and that the focus of their research wasn't on the fetal blood. Then, Rei Ayanami returned with a beer.

"What do you think is the reason we didn't move here?" Misato Katsuragi stretched out her long left leg from the water and stepped on Shinji Ikari's waist.

“Before, she probably just didn’t want to do chores, but now she’s probably too embarrassed. Actually, the last few times after meals, when we were clearing the table, she seemed a little awkward, pretending to sit on the sofa watching TV, but she actually wanted to come up and help.” Shinji Ikari turned to Misato Katsuragi. “You’re the homeowner, so you need to invite her. You know Asuka’s shy personality; if we wait for Asuka to ask, it’s basically impossible.”

"Do you want me to invite you?" Misato Katsuragi gave a sly smile that was hard to decipher.

"So, do you want me to invite you?" Shinji Ikari asked rhetorically, then got up, raised one hand, and entered the bathtub as well.

"Stop with this Russian nesting dolls, answer me directly, Shinji-kun." Misato Katsuragi chuckled, raising her left foot to step on Shinji's stomach, preventing him from entering the bathtub. "If she comes over, what do you think? Have you thought about anything else..."

"We're all friends, don't say things that could affect our unity." Shinji Ikari rebuked Misato Katsuragi for her frivolous words with a serious expression. He reached out and moved Misato's left leg, which was pressing on his abdomen, away, and then lay down in the bath. "Whatever we do, we must stand on the side of the organization and everyone else."

Shinji Ikari squeezed into the bathtub, and a large amount of hot water spread outward from the edge of the white tub. Misato Katsuragi instinctively backed away, but how far could she push herself in such a two-meter-long bathtub? Wisps of steam rose from the surface of the water, and Misato Katsuragi stretched out one of her long legs from the water. It wasn't that she wanted to let her feet breathe, but rather that Shinji Ikari hadn't put them down in the first place.

"Speak from your conscience... Let go of me, I mean, speak from your conscience!" Misato Katsuragi looked at Shinji Ikari with a squinting smile. Having already come to this point, she didn't hesitate much.

"I'm speaking from the heart. There's nothing I'm afraid to say or think. Simply put, it's a matter of responsibility. Let me ask you, isn't Asuka an important partner to us? You're her guardian. I want to ask, is this fair to Asuka, who has worked so hard and achieved so much, yet has never been able to integrate into our group?" Shinji Ikari met Misato Katsuragi's gaze without fear and spoke his heartfelt words.

"Who in this world doesn't want to live according to their own nature? But we can't; we don't have the right to be willful. Our spirit must always be healthy."

Sometimes, Misato Katsuragi really admired Shinji Ikari's shamelessness. How could he say such things with such a straight face? No wonder Asuka was completely under his thumb. If she hadn't pushed him away, he probably would have stuck to her side. But his face was still so righteous, as if they weren't in a bathroom, but in the Gellért Grand Hall, discussing the future of the million residents of Tokyo-3.

But when you look into his eyes, you can feel the sincerity, as if he is saying these words from the bottom of his heart and would never deceive you.

“You know I’m your guardian, Shinji Ikari.” Misato Katsuragi pinched Shinji’s upright little face and gave him a sly smile that was hard to decipher. “If you didn’t know, you would be the guardian. Call me Mom, and maybe I’ll agree to be with you after you do.”

It sounds terrible, but right now Shinji Ikari is thinking of Hikari Toki. Should he pay back the sin he committed by forcing her to call him "Dad"?

"Call your mother, Shinji! You don't want Asuka to live alone over there, isolated by us, do you?" Misato Katsuragi smiled wickedly.

Their faces drew closer and closer, and just as Shinji Ikari was thinking that it wouldn't hurt to make a small sacrifice for the group, the bathroom door suddenly opened—

Rei Ayanami pushed open the door and entered, her body slender and pale. She carried a small plastic stool in and calmly displayed her beautiful, youthful figure to the two people in the bathtub. Perhaps because of her body, her skin was pale, giving her an almost transparent, icy quality.

For Rei Ayanami, both Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi were trustworthy individuals. She walked straight to the showerhead, sat on the small plastic stool she had brought in, and began applying shower gel to her body, lathering it up, completely disregarding the presence of Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi.

Shinji Ikari and Misato Katsuragi exchanged a glance and smiled awkwardly, their previous romantic atmosphere vanishing instantly.

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