The Trash Returned from Warhammer

Today, the Katsuragi household was unusually quiet, save for the sound of Misato Katsuragi typing away at her keyboard, looking overwhelmed. Shinji sat on the sofa, a document labeled ”Top Secret” tucked inside the book he was holding.

The sounds of instruments playing and voices singing drifted through the walls, finally becoming too much for Misato to ignore.

”It’s quite lively next door. I don’t think Rei has ever invited friends over before.”

”Yes. Or rather, the word ’friend’ didn’t exist in her dictionary before.” Shinji quietly flipped through the materials, occasionally pausing in thought.

”Ultimately, this is all your doing. Hmph, acting all dismissive with your words, yet you’re thoughtful enough to let everyone enjoy a bit of happiness.” Misato rested her head on her hand, looking content. She truly loved her life right now.

The blood-pumping battles and the peaceful, comfortable daily life existed side-by-side without interference. A young man stood in the center, resolving the former to preserve the latter.

”By the way, you still need to be careful in the future. If you kick the bucket—bah, if an accident happens, this kind of life is over.” She knew better than anyone who deserved the credit. Fighting Angels was extremely dangerous; one could die at any moment or suffer mental contamination, bringing immense pain to the pilot.

If Shinji hadn’t been there like a mountain shielding them from the storm, how could Rei and Asuka be starting a band? One was a doll, the other a glass cannon; without him, they’d fall into despair at the slightest lapse.

”With you here, my sense of guilt has lessened a lot. It turns out saving the world and enjoying life can happen at the same time.”

”Life is life, combat is combat. Even in a dark galaxy, there is time to breathe—it’s just usually not this long,” Shinji said without looking up, tapping his fingers to the beat of the clear voice coming from the other room.

After a few months, he had almost completely adapted. That’s how people are; adapting to the suffocating pace of the 40th millennium was desperate, but after returning, he faced everything with composure.

”What are you looking at so intently?”

”A report.”

”From Ritsuko?”

”In a way.”

Talking to Shinji was indeed a bit dull, so Misato hummed a tune and went back to her overtime work, completely missing the ambiguity in the boy’s words.

.

.

.

.

It was indeed from Ritsuko Akagi, but just like items in the Blood Ravens’ reliquary: once my hand touches it, it’s mine.

’Interesting.’

Shinji propped up his chin. This top-secret report was something he had ”stolen”—no, ”held for safekeeping”—from the Technical Department’s archives. It contained drafts for Project E, including the manufacturing process of the EVAs.

So, the entity sealed in Terminal Dogma is indeed the First Angel, Adam. The EVAs were cultivated from its cells; essentially, they are no different from Angels, except they lack the S² Engine. No wonder NERV considers the EVA manufacturing process a top secret. If word got out, it would cause an uproar.

Simply put, this is humanity controlling Angels to defeat Angels. It made him think of a few things.

A few days ago, the Technical Department conducted an EVA interchange activation test. Shinji immediately used his psychic powers to detect anomalies. Unit-00 has no ”Machine Spirit,” Unit-01 has one, and Unit-02’s spirit is fragmented and incomplete.

A very interesting distinction. This ”Machine Spirit” is completely different from an Angel’s consciousness, so there’s no worry about losing control to them. As his search for secrets entered deeper waters, his expression grew increasingly solemn.

’I still don’t know the origin of the embryo in the box. Could it be the legacy of the Second Angel, Lilith? This Second Angel is hidden even deeper; I can hardly find any data on it.’

The First Angel, Adam, is a secret, and the nature of the EVAs is a secret, but Lilith’s presence is surprisingly low.

’I need to find a way to see Terminal Dogma.’

Shinji had a plan, but execution would be difficult. As NERV’s most core and hidden area, the difficulty of infiltrating it was no less than swiping a relic from a Necron tomb. The key was discretion; if he just barged in, it would be hard to smooth things over.

”The entire headquarters is controlled by the MAGI, which happens to be in my skill’s blind spot. Damn artificial intelligence!”

”What are you muttering over there?” Misato looked up, but before she could ask more, the door was pushed open. She immediately saw the smile on Asuka’s face.

As usual, as soon as Asuka noticed someone looking at her, she stopped smiling and waved her hand as if bored. ”Sigh, finally sent that noisy bunch away.”

’But I just heard you making a date to go shopping in two days with that girl named Ibuki.’

Misato didn’t call her out, asking instead: ”How was rehearsal?”

”So-so. My learning ability left them wide-eyed. I’ll have someone deliver the drum kit later.” Asuka came to the table, took a sip of water, glanced at the report on the notebook, and her eyes suddenly darted around.

”Hey, Shinji, do you know how to play any instruments?”

”I used to play the cello. I don’t know if I’ve forgotten by now,” Shinji said casually. Asuka looked like a puppy as a grin spread across her face.

’Haha, I won!’ She lightly flicked her long hair and raised her chin.

”The school festival is in half a month. Misato, you have to come too. Watch my performance carefully.”

’I recall the lead singer is Rei.’

Shinji glanced at the girl who had followed Asuka in. The latter gave a slight shake of her head, so he didn’t expose the secret, keeping his eyes on Rei Ayanami instead.

He wasn’t sure when it started, but this girl no longer wore her school uniform every day. Her style was becoming increasingly fashionable. Today, she had changed into an oversized T-shirt, revealing delicate collarbones and camisole straps, paired with denim shorts that barely reached her hips. She looked full of youthful energy, with a bit of a rock-and-roll vibe.

”Hmph, I picked this out for her on the way home from school. Who knew? Turns out she’s quite the little rich girl.” Asuka described the scene, waving her hands.

EVA pilots receive a subsidy, and Rei had never used hers; it was all sitting in her bank account. Speaking of which, Rei raised the plastic bag in her hand.

”Today I learned how to spend money. I picked out gifts for everyone, and even got Pen-Pen a new bowl.”

She pulled out several items. She gave Misato a full set of cosmetics, making the latter say ”you shouldn’t have” while quickly accepting them. Shinji raised an eyebrow, looking at the exquisite wristwatch in his hand.

”This looks expensive.”

”Two hundred thousand yen. My money has no other use anyway. Thank you for working hard to cook every day.” Rei’s expression was calm, but very sincere.

”I’m getting the better end of the deal here.” Shinji thought back to the plush doll he gave Rei last time—it only cost a thousand yen. While he was admiring the watch, something was suddenly thrown at him.

He caught it and found it was a light-blue striped shirt.

”I have a lot of things to spend money on, so I didn’t save much. Take this shirt as a gift, and don’t you dare look down on it!” Asuka waved her finger, but was secretly observing the boy’s reaction.

Fortunately, she didn’t see any sign of disdain.

”A gift isn’t about the price, it’s about the sentiment. Thank you.”

”Don’t read into it! It’s just to celebrate the operation’s success.” Asuka immediately turned away to hide the smile at the corner of her mouth, then shouted impatiently, ”If you really want to thank me, hurry up and cook. I’m starving.”

”Fine.”

Shinji tossed the report into the shredder like it was trash. He stood up and headed for the kitchen as usual, but this time his spirits were high, and his steps were light.

Misato Katsuragi was right: the feedback of kindness itself brings a sense of pleasure.

Dinner was served soon after. Perhaps it was an illusion, but it was especially sumptuous today. Asuka popped a piece of curry chicken into her mouth, her eyes widening slightly.

”Delicious! Wait, why does it feel even better than usual?”

Misato didn’t believe her and scooped a spoonful of Mapo Tofu, chewing carefully like a food critic. ”It really is! It’s better than usual. Shinji, you haven’t been using a stopwatch lately; whose secret teachings did you get?”

”I don’t use it anymore. As for why, perhaps Rei knows.” Shinji waved his hand. The others looked at Rei Ayanami, who blushed slightly and quietly rubbed the hem of her shirt.

”How would I know?”

”Because it’s similar to you practicing singing next door. At first, you followed the book exactly—the pitch was good, but it lacked something.” Shinji’s tone was gentle, lacking his usual cold hardness.

Under the warm, cozy lights of the living room, the young man propped his chin up and squinted his eyes comfortably.

”It’s simple. Like you, I added a magic called ’Emotion’.”

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