The Trash Returned from Warhammer

”Whew, we won.”

Seeing Unit-02 pierce the Angel’s core and seeing Matarael retract its limbs like a dead spider, Misato Katsuragi let out a long breath and collapsed to the floor. The air was permeated with a charred, acrid odor—the scent left behind by the highly corrosive liquid. From her perspective, the city looked as if it had endured a catastrophe.

Buildings tilted at awkward angles, the streets were riddled with massive craters, phone booths were crushed into debris, and nearly half a block had been dissolved.

’Are these the monsters the children have to face?’

Misato sniffled. Hiding in the command center and witnessing the scene on the front lines were two different worlds. When she finally regained her senses, she realized her fingers were still trembling. It was a gladiatorial match between giants; steel had proven as fragile as paper. Just watching it made her whole body shake, yet Shinji and the others had to pilot their EVAs to fight these monsters at point-blank range.

”The Angel is silent. We actually won!” Shigeru Aoba rubbed his long hair, showing an expression of disbelief.

”We can’t always rely on Shinji, but you’ve reminded me—Matarael is actually the first Angel we’ve defeated on our own.” Misato finally processed the thought. They were already at the Ninth Angel; it was easy to see just how terrifying that one boy truly was.

”What are you standing around for? Eject Unit-00’s entry plug, notify the medical teams, and tell the Self-Defense Force to hurry up and disperse the onlookers!”

She looked toward the distance. The two EVAs standing atop the Angel’s corpse were like statues. Because the blackout had stalled the city, many citizens hadn’t managed to reach the underground shelters; instead, they had manually opened the nearby shelters, and now they had all run out, crowding around to take photos.

”Honestly, this is top-secret information! How could they let those civilians take pictures!” Misato complained, but she couldn’t help but reveal a smile.

’You’ve played the hero this time, Asuka. You should be happy, right?’

.

-

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Unit-02 knelt on one knee, holding the entry plug of Unit-00. Because the technical department’s automatic ejection system had failed every single time, they had finally developed a manual ejection function on Shinji’s suggestion.

Asuka took the last few seconds to eject Unit-00’s entry plug, then jumped out of her own cockpit. She didn’t care about decorum anymore; she slid down Unit-02’s shoulder and forearm like an acrobat, gritted her teeth, and forcibly pried open the entry plug’s hatch.

As the LCL fluid sprayed out, Asuka peered inside to see Rei Ayanami lying on the seat.

”Hey, you’re not dead. Why didn’t you respond when I called you?”

Rei lay quietly, the pain of the solution still lingering in her nerves. She saw the hatch open, sunlight streaming through the gap, while the orange-haired girl stood there covered in sweat, still catching her breath.

’This is the third time.’

Rei didn’t understand why she was so unlucky, always having someone force open her entry plug. Gendo Ikari, Shinji Ikari, and now Asuka. Every person was different, and the emotions behind every action were different as well.

Gendo Ikari’s actions carried a certain performative quality, but they were also mixed with inexplicable concern, as if instinct drove him to act. Once he realized who was inside, he simply followed through with the act.

Shinji-kun was calm and steady, acting purely out of concern for a companion; his expression was always reassuring.

As for Asuka, she seemed much simpler. Her blue eyes were pure, like, well, like a playmate who saw her friend in danger and ran to help without a second thought.

”Hey, what’s with that look? Don’t tell me your brain got damaged by mental pollution.”

Asuka climbed in and waved a hand in front of her face. That hurried, anxious appearance made Rei find a corresponding character in the books she read. This girl was like the ”big sister” trope in a novel—whenever a friend was bullied, she was always the first to jump out and stand up for them.

’Hmm, a person of true character who puts friendship first.’

”Unit-00 has exhausted its internal power. Only the output function remains.” Rei pointed a finger and whispered, ”What you just did was very dangerous. Even a kneeling EVA is over twenty meters tall. What would have happened if you fell?”

”Uh, didn’t notice.” Asuka looked at the scrape on the back of her hand and scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed. ”Don’t underestimate me! I’ve undergone professional training; nothing would have happened. Hey, hey, hey! I told you not to look at me like that!”

Asuka felt her skin crawl. In truth, Rei’s gaze wasn’t fierce; it was extremely gentle. It was precisely this gentle gaze that made her uncomfortable—she would have preferred the usual coldness.

”Asuka, I envy you.”

”Ha! Of course you should envy me! You know what? This is the first time we’ve solved an Angel without relying on that idiot! I knew we could do it. Let’s see that idiot lecture me now!”

Asuka suddenly grew excited, her long-repressed emotions bursting out completely. That pride and confidence made her more dazzling than the sun.

’I’ve really earned some bragging rights this time. What’s that? Matarael was the weakest Angel? No, no, no! An Angel is an Angel—how can there be any difference in quality?’

Rei looked at the radiant girl and shook her head slightly. She didn’t envy the combat record; she envied Asuka’s straightforward personality and her incredibly passionate emotions.

”Thank you.”

Asuka, who had been busy boasting, paused. Seeing Rei’s sincere look, she instead felt embarrassed. ”We’re friends, aren’t we? Besides, I couldn’t have defeated that Angel without you.”

”Are we friends?”

With the soft question, Asuka’s mouth froze. After a long while, she tilted her head. ”Hmph, I suppose so. Just remember, you owe me a huge favor—don’t make me angry again in the future!”

’Straightforward at times, yet poor at expressing herself at others. What a complex person.’

Rei smiled slightly, suddenly finding Asuka quite interesting. Her smile carried a hint of genuine pleasure.

”I will remember this favor, but...”

”But what?”

”But I won’t let Shinji-kun go to you.”

As the words fell, she saw Asuka’s eyes go wide.

In an instant, her face flushed red, as if she had gone berserk.

”I’ll snatch him myself! Why would I need you to ’let’ me? No, wait—what does that idiot have to do with this?! Fine, I saved your life out of the kindness of my heart, and you dare to tease me!”

She pounced on Rei with claws bared, tickling her until the latter struggled uncontrollably.

”Apologize! Or you’re not getting off easy today.”

”So, so, sorry.”

”I can’t hear you! You want to pilot an EVA with that tiny voice!?”

Laughter echoed through the underground command post via the remaining audio channel. Maya Ibuki and the others who were checking the MAGI functions were amused, covering their mouths and shaking with suppressed laughter.

”Did Asuka forget about the audio output?”

”Haha, don’t look at her usual arrogance. I’ve always thought this kid had the temperament of a comedian.”

”Sigh, she’s only a fourteen-year-old girl, after all. Shouldn’t a girl her age be laughing recklessly? Rei is the surprise—I’ve never heard her laugh like this.”

”You’re not wrong. I don’t know when it started, but Rei has become… normal.”

Ritsuko Akagi held her coffee cup, a faint smile on her face. Hearing her subordinates talk about wanting to keep Asuka’s embarrassing history a secret, she didn’t feel like some evil villainess. Emotionally, seeing Asuka and Rei like this was actually quite comforting.

Yet, amid the comfort, she felt a trace of confusion. Rationally speaking, Asuka and Rei shouldn’t be opening their hearts like this or messing around so recklessly. Becoming a pilot meant having an AT Field far stronger than that of an ordinary person; in a sense, it meant they were psychologically damaged. Rei’s ”doll-like” nature and the trauma hidden deep in Asuka’s heart—she knew the cause of this outcome all too well.

’Is it because of him?’

”Surprising, isn’t it? People who are naturally abnormal become normal, and their AT Fields are slowly broken down by them, one by one.”

A steady voice came from behind. Ritsuko’s hand holding the coffee cup trembled. She turned to see the black-haired boy standing right beside her, hands on the railing, looking at the big screen. He had a handsome face, an immaculate white shirt, and a faint, comforted smile. But if one smelled closely, one could catch the scent of the sea—a heavy, rich scent of blood.

’Shinji Ikari. Why did he only appear now?’

Ritsuko’s pupils trembled. Her instincts told her this boy had done something massive, yet another instinct suppressed her curiosity. The aura radiating from the boy left her feeling dazed—a confidence she had only seen in Gendo Ikari, no, a confidence that far surpassed that man’s, as if everything were under his control.

”It’s because of your existence. You are too strong. When humans have a sense of security, they finally have the opportunity to open their hearts.”

”As expected of a doctor of psychology. You’re right. A sense of security can make people open their hearts. It’s like how derivative needs only arise after the problem of food and clothing is solved.”

Shinji glanced at the woman. He actually disliked playing with ”stream of consciousness” psychology, but he understood one thing clearly. The Dark Galaxy had no concept of an ”AT Field,” but the humans there were no different from those here—none of it was as mystical as the Dead Sea Scrolls claimed.

When it came to mental pollution, trauma, madmen, and the mentally ill, the 40K universe had plenty of them. Humans are humans; individual differences exist naturally. Stop complicating things with such hollow concepts.

’Be born, live, accept shortcomings, and hold onto hope forever.’

That was the realization Shinji had gained from his hundred-plus years of service.

”So, I’m just giving you all an equal opportunity. Don’t overthink things. Problems that can be solved in a physical sense are never truly problems.”

Shinji didn’t say much more. He turned and walked away, not delaying the upcoming cleanup work.

’You all? Does that include me?’

Ritsuko stood frozen for several seconds before regaining her composure. When she looked up, the boy had already reached the exit. Countless secrets and answers swirled in her heart.

”You can solve every problem?!”

The boy didn’t answer. He simply raised his hand above his head, waved lightly, and vanished into the doorway.

Ritsuko Akagi kept staring at that direction, guessing how many secrets Shinji knew, what he had done, and how many answers he had obtained. Why was he not shaken in the slightest?

These questions had no answers. She only knew that the boy had already given his reply.

’He could.’

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