The Trash Returned from Warhammer

The next day, everything returned to normal. The 11th Angel hadn’t even managed to create any public chaos; the entire battle had been resolved within NERV, leaving SEELE with nothing but erroneous reports.

This was perhaps the most inconsequential Angel in terms of public visibility—the outside world had no idea it even existed. Shinji, for his part, hadn’t changed at all due to the events of the past few days.

There was no need for change. Was it not perfectly normal during a mission to save a planet to encounter an alien ”Angel” invasion combined with a conspiracy by local Hive World nobles? It would be a stranger thing if a mission didn’t go sideways.

So, when Rei Ayanami asked him what to do now, Shinji’s answer was simple:

”Go to school. Fight Angels.”

For him, the truly difficult part of the task was how to solve the problem once and for all, purify humanity, and utilize the ”Human Instrumentality Project” to slay a god. Fortunately, with Ritsuko Akagi’s full cooperation, his theories would soon be verified.

In short, there was no reason to change the rhythm of his life.

”Asuka is angry again.”

Rei leaned in quietly, nudging her chin toward a girl walking briskly ahead of them. Rei’s mind was simple: if Shinji said not to worry, she wouldn’t worry. She didn’t even bother to ask for details.

”Is it because I docked her pay for destroying public property?”

”Partially. but she’s mostly angry with herself. Unlike you, Asuka is extremely competitive.”

Shinji used his psychic powers to probe for a moment, then frowned. ”But her emotions have been very unstable lately. Did something happen between you two?”

Shinji frequently monitored the psychological state of his team. While Rei appeared to be an emotionless girl, she was actually quite stable. Asuka, on the other hand, acted fierce but was effectively a ”glass cannon”—easily shattered by external interference.

”It was likely something I said to her during the bonfire night,” Rei replied truthfully. She never hid anything from Shinji and proceeded to explain.

’So that’s it.’

A mix of competitiveness and a fear identical to Ritsuko Akagi’s—no wonder she refused to lose to anyone.

Shinji nodded slightly. Rei was actually far more mature than Asuka; she hadn’t been blinded by the current peace. She realized that only survival could guarantee the continuation of this

lifestyle. In that moment, Asuka had realized she had lost; there was a dimensional gap between their mindsets.

When normal people admit defeat, they either slack off or try to learn. But Asuka was different; her self-esteem was too high, and she feared losing her value due to perceived incompetence.

”Perhaps... you should go talk to her.”

”Are you willing?”

”I am not.”

Rei shook her head with visible conflict, watching the figure ahead. ”But Asuka is my friend too. I want this noisy life to continue.”

She was conflicted to the point of a stomachache. Shinji’s expression didn’t change, nor did he blame Asuka for being ”troublesome.” She was just a fourteen-year-old girl; how mature could one expect her to be?

”With her temperament, direct communication definitely won’t work. We need a specific methodology. Haven’t you noticed she’s been hiding her displeasure?”

”That is true. You can’t see it on the surface at all. ’Acting tough’ suits her well.”

Rei nodded gently. As they met Hikari Horaki and the others on the way to school, Asuka’s enthusiastic laughter while discussing yesterday’s TV show showed no sign of her internal turmoil.

”Leave it to me. For Asuka, we need to ’complement’ her from the source—step by step, finally resolving the deepest nightmare of her heart.”

Using the information he had gleaned from Ritsuko, Shinji began to formulate a plan. He turned his head and said, ”I’ll need your cooperation, Rei.”

’Cooperating with you to develop feelings for Asuka?’

Rei pursed her lips, feeling something was off. She didn’t even understand why she cared so much about Asuka. According to her ”learning materials,” since the latter was competing with her for Ikari-kun, shouldn’t she invite Asuka to the rooftop and draw a pre-concealed cleaver?

”And what about you? Who will complement you?”

Shinji looked at Rei, whose negative emotions had suddenly spiked, and shook his head slightly. He gave a slight nod to Toji Suzuhara and the others who were greeting him.

”Merging with my home world is my complementation.”

.

.

.

”Did you hear? The New Year’s Fireworks Festival is back!”

Boring classes passed, and as lunch break arrived, Chihaya Rin spoke excitedly as Asuka took out her lunchbox.

’New Year’s Festival? Oh, it’s already January 2016. I’ve been in Japan for nearly half a year.’

The passage of time made her feel a bit dazed. This was mainly because the Second Impact had caused global climate anomalies. In Japan, for instance, it was summer all year round. Even though it should have been the season for snow, everyone was still wearing short sleeves.

”What are you spacing out for?” Chihaya Rin waved a hand in front of her eyes.

”Nothing. I saw in a book that Japan used to have snow in winter. But it’s already January and it’s still this hot.”

”That’s ancient history. Our generation has never seen snow. Asuka, have you?”

”Germany has snow for most of the year. I’m sick of seeing it,” Asuka replied instinctively as she opened her lunchbox.

”Must be nice. I found a magazine from 1999 that had skiing and stuff in it. It’s all the Angels’ fault, right? The experts on TV can’t give a straight answer either.”

”Yeah, I often hear people are starving to death in many places. This climate anomaly is a nightmare. I saw online that if this continues, humanity will go extinct sooner or later.”

”Mhm. Many people don’t have enough to eat. I heard there might even be wars.”

”It’s depressing. Whatever, it doesn’t concern us. Luckily, the supply chain in Tokyo-3 is abundant.”

Asuka listened quietly. Girls rarely talked about politics, which made her almost forget the nature of this world. Having been raised by NERV since childhood, Asuka didn’t understand the hardships of the global situation either; she could only speculate from internal documents.

The Second Impact had caused severe consequences—not just the immediate extinction of half the population due to rising sea levels, but the anomalous climate that continuously tortured global agriculture. This wasn’t something she could solve just by piloting an EVA and defeating Angels.

”Because I know everything is built on the premise of survival.”

Rei’s words surfaced in her mind, souring her mood again. Asuka hated naivety and refused to admit she was the most naive one of all.

’So I was the only one who thought everything was so simple. I didn’t even notice how much responsibility that guy was carrying, intentionally avoiding how terrible the world is.’

The chirping chatter of the girls started to irritate her. She raised her hand sharply.

Clap.

With a crisp sound, the chatter stopped. Everyone saw Asuka’s hand had slapped into Shinji’s palm. Her expression was one of complete shock. Shinji never joined the girls’ conversations; she hadn’t expected him to walk over personally.

”When exactly is the New Year’s Fireworks Festival you were talking about?” the boy asked softly. This was even more unexpected.

”Uh, three days from now, over by Lake Ashi. Are you interested, Ikari-kun?” Hikari Horaki answered quietly, adding, ”Actually, I haven’t thanked you yet. You were a huge help during the school festival; it left a deep impression.”

”Contributing my strength to the collective is only what I should do.” Shinji accepted the thanks and looked at Rei, who was buried in her food, and Asuka, who was glaring at him. ”Let’s all go together then. Consider it a way to relax.”

”Huh? What nonsense are you spouting out of nowhere? We’re Pilots. How can we just play all day?” Asuka retorted with a frown, only to see the group staring at her strangely.

’Weren’t you the one who was happiest about it just a second ago? Why the sudden change of heart?’

”Realizing certain problems is a good thing, but don’t overcorrect. Think of it as a reward for fighting the 11th Angel. If you don’t want to go, I’ll just go with Rei.”

”I... I can go, I guess. But only if you invite me.”

”Fine. I’m inviting you, Asuka.”

Shinji’s bluntness threw her off. She glanced at the still-eating Rei and stubbornly lifted her chin.

”I don’t want to be dead weight and trouble ’Master Shinji, the Veteran of Ten Thousand Battles’...”

Before she could finish, a hand cupped her chin, turning her head toward him with dominant authority. His black eyes held nothing but seriousness.

”Your being troubled is what troubles me. Don’t think so much. Don’t try to cater to anyone; just be yourself. In my eyes, those who can maintain their true self are the strong ones.

When I need to share a burden, I will proactively seek help. Your distinct personality is exactly your strength.”

Shinji wasn’t one for traditional comfort. He never found Asuka’s contradictory personality annoying; as long as it didn’t affect combat, she could be stubborn, headstrong, or a tsundere all she wanted.

Asuka was stunned. She had indeed been restless lately—if she didn’t change, she felt like a failure, but she couldn’t bring herself to actually change her face.

’But can’t this idiot be a bit more subtle? Who does a ’direct attack’ like this in front of so many people!’

She saw Chihaya Rin and the others covering their mouths in full gossip-mode. She saw Rei looking dumbfounded, as if asking, ’This is the ”clever method” you mentioned?’ Her cheeks heated up rapidly, and she jerked her head away.

”What are you talking about! When was I ever ’troubled,’ and when did I ever try to cater to you?!”

”Good. It is exactly this stubbornness that proves you believe my words, and your negative emotions have been released.”

”Nonsense! When have I ever been stubborn? You wait right there—explain yourself properly!”

Asuka panted heavily, staring resentfully at the departing boy. This guy just ran over, said some nonsensical things out of nowhere, and then bailed, leaving her to deal with the mess.

But her heart felt instantly lighter, as if a thorn had been pulled out.

’This idiot doesn’t know the first thing about comforting people, but the fact that he noticed what I was thinking and was willing to explain himself to me is enough.’

This was her deepest thought. Often, all a person wants is an attitude. Shinji never lied; his explanation proved her worries were redundant. Which meant—

’Hmph. You really think you’re the ’main wife’ or something, daring to lecture me?

Did you hear that? He likes people with distinct personalities like mine, not ’good wife and mother’ types like you!’

Asuka tilted her chin up, her gaze toward Rei finally carrying the colors of provocation once again.

Germanic ”Win-ology,” reactivated.

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