The Trash Returned from Warhammer

Asuka’s childhood memories were entirely composed of various experiments. Rei Ayanami even had to learn from television what a ”childhood” was supposed to be. Paradoxically, Shinji’s childhood had actually been relatively happy.

But a gap of one hundred and twenty years stood between him and those days, causing him to forget it all. Even Gendo Ikari’s face had seemed like that of a stranger. As for childhood trauma, it had long since been overwritten by far more horrific memories.

The three of them soon bought plenty of trinkets. A bamboo dragonfly landed in Rei’s hand, spinning gently. Asuka bought a few Famicom game cartridges, planning to go home and develop new ”German Winning Points.” Shinji bought some disco cassettes, putting them in his Walkman and nodding slightly to the intense rhythm.

To the three of them, the flea market felt like a way to fill the blank memories of a decade ago, and they quickly found themselves enjoying it.

”Shinji, Shinji! Look at this, it’s a Polaroid. Magazines say they were very popular in the 90s.”

”Asuka, what is this thing?”

”Idiot, you don’t even know this? Uh... Class Rep, what is this again?”

”That’s a handheld console, used for playing Tetris and such.”

”Oh. Then I’ll buy it.”

”Stop buying things! You won’t be able to carry them if you buy more.”

’Who told this idiot to have no gentlemanly grace? He doesn’t even know to carry things for a lady.’

Asuka glanced at Shinji, who was currently savoring his ”Emperor-themed electronic music,” and finally bought the bulky Polaroid. She then spun around and struck a pose.

”Stupid Shinji, look at the lens!”

Click.

A photo with a wide white border slowly spat out from the camera’s mouth. In it was a grinning young girl, a boy looking up instinctively with a somewhat dazed expression, and in the corner, an icy-blue head that had suddenly jumped in, expressionless and a bit blank-faced.

”Rei Ayanami! Look what you did! Why are you ruining my photo with him?”

”Didn’t you already take a photo together at the school festival? Hmm... you wanted to leave me behind and take a photo with Ikari-kun alone.”

Rei’s ice-cold words left Asuka tongue-tied.

”You caught us in the end anyway.”

”So, I caught you.”

Asuka gnashed her teeth. She refused to believe that with a ”god-tier tool” in hand today, she couldn’t complete such a simple mission.

As evening approached, they left the flea market and followed the crowd upward. The road ahead grew wider. If memory served, this area had once been filled with a dense network of cables; Misato’s command center had been set up here back then.

The city council had made good use of the space, turning both sides of the road into a food street. Smoke swirled and aromas filled the air, making anyone who walked in feel instant hunger.

”Let’s get something to eat.”

”Yeah! There’s Chinese food over there, and German grilled sausages, and handmade burgers... and they’re all being sold by foreigners.”

”Could these be UN troops stationed here doing part-time work?”

”Isn’t that great? Usually, we wouldn’t get to eat such authentic international food.”

Asuka chattered away with a blonde-haired, blue-eyed European man for a while and returned with a pile of grilled sausages, saying proudly:

”I asked him; his hometown is Bavaria. These are absolutely authentic.”

Shinji took one and had a bite. The surface of the sausage was coated in a ring of green sauce, tasting sweet and sour. Combined with the juicy meat of the grilled sausage, he squinted his eyes comfortably after two bites.

The thing he was most satisfied with regarding his homeland was the food. A single planet had so much delicious cuisine. In the Imperium, across different star zones, the taste of Corpse-Starch remained the same. When it came to eating, this place was definitely superior.

”The taste is excellent.”

”Ikari-kun, you can have mine too. I don’t like eating meat anyway.”

Rei had just reached out when Asuka glared her back.

”I bought the sausages. If anyone’s giving them to him, it’s me.”

”But you’ve already bitten yours.”

”You were just licking yours!”

”Alright, alright. One is enough. One must not become addicted, even to delicious things.”

Shinji pulled the two apart. Looking around, he saw Kensuke and the others had already taken the opportunity to slip away. He didn’t mind, pointing ahead instead.

”With so much food, let’s try them one by one. There might be even more delicious things.”

His words carried weight. The three moved forward as a group, eating their way through the stalls. They discovered that quite a few UN personnel were indeed moonlighting; apparently, the higher-ups had given them a day off, and they had come to participate in the festival out of boredom.

The war wasn’t particularly brutal at the moment, and the Angels hadn’t caused massive destruction to Tokyo-3, so everyone’s mood was quite good. Furthermore, since Asuka and Rei were famous, many shopkeepers simply gave them food half-off or for free.

Rei held a cotton candy in her left hand, her tongue sticking out to lick it, savoring the sweetness. She then took a gentle bite of a fried banana in her other hand. She had almost forgotten how much she had eaten; many of these things she had only seen in magazines.

Asuka trailed half a step behind, occasionally tossing a french fry drenched in ketchup into her mouth. She looked at Rei, whose mouth hadn’t stopped moving, and felt very puzzled.

’Isn’t this idiot afraid of getting fat?’

For Asuka, this was a road through hell—delicious food on both sides, while she had to worry about her weight. After a while, she simply gritted her teeth.

’Forget it. I’ll just lose the weight when I get back.’

”Boss, ten skewers of grilled squid, extra spicy!”

Rei stopped to wait for her. In a few minutes, she would only need to open her mouth, and a certain grumbling girl would automatically feed her. But when she turned around, Shinji was gone again.

”Where did Ikari-kun go now?”

”Don’t worry about that husky. You let go and he’s gone, but he’s definitely nearby.”

”What is a husky?”

”A kind of stupid dog with a very low IQ.”

”Ikari-kun! Asuka called you a dog...”

Rei opened her mouth to shout, but her mouth was immediately covered. The fiery girl stared at her fiercely.

”Stop shouting! I’ll give you five of my skewers later.”

As the grease sizzled on the iron plate, the scent of spices wafted out, mixing with the food of various regions to form a unique ”bustling life” aroma.

”The air is so sweet,” Rei’s nose twitched. Looking out, she saw a dense sea of people, with fragrant smoke rising from everywhere.

Asuka took a breath as well, but was immediately sent into a coughing fit by the spicy smell in front of her.

”Cough, cough! This is actually pretty stinging. What’s that smell? Hey, what’s that ’stinky tofu’ thing? Let’s try it later.”

”Aren’t you dieting?”

”I wasn’t fat to begin with. Here, open up.”

Asuka took the squid from the vendor and held it out. She watched gleefully as Rei swallowed it, her face turning red instantly.

”So spicy...”

”Hahaha! That’s what you get for waiting to be fed, mmm—”

Before she could finish, a half-eaten fried banana was stuffed into her mouth. The two girls stared at each other, chewing rapidly. Just then, a wave of people passed, and they finally saw Shinji.

The youth was indeed nearby, standing before a stall several meters away, admiring something. He was even conversing with the owner in a language neither of them understood.

”Oh, so you were a professional chef in the Chinese Expeditionary Force?”

”We usually call it being a ’cook’ back home.”

The young man held a wok in one hand; vegetables and rice noodles were tossed in, flying up and down in his hand. The movement was a dizzying blur.

”Professional. Your skill has been tempered through a thousand trials.”

”You flatter me! This is just a minor craft. It can’t compare to your ’Great Cause.’ Thank you for protecting everyone.”

”Oh? You recognize me?”

”I saw you when you dealt with the Fifth Angel. Of course, you wouldn’t remember me. To be honest, being protected by a kid your age makes me feel quite bad.”

The owner performed a perfect scoop, pouring the remaining food from the wok into a box.

”Your stir-fried rice noodles. I won’t take your money this time; consider it a thank-you gift.”

Shinji nodded. He wouldn’t refuse the kindness of others, taking the food box and eating immediately.

”The taste is good. The stir-fry method is also very ornamental—a perfect combination of skill and quality.”

”You kid! Before I enlisted, I was known as the ’Stir-fry King of the South’.”

The owner laughed, wiped his hands on his apron, lit a cigarette, and asked: ”I noticed you’ve been quite fond of Chinese food along the way. You even ate the stinky tofu and spicy hot pot next door. Why? Did you eat it often before?”

Shinji froze. He could swear he had never eaten it, yet among all the delicacies on the street, he had a special fondness for Chinese cuisine. When he ate it, there was a sense of familiarity.

’That’s not right. Did I eat this in my childhood? Food this heavy isn’t suitable for a child. Was it during my service then? Astartes don’t need to eat for pleasure, and the Imperium doesn’t have these flavors.

Then when was it?’

Shinji suddenly fell into deep thought. His vigorous chewing slowed down, and he even activated his psychic powers.

’Confirmed. There is a sense of familiarity. It means I have absolutely eaten similar food before.’

He searched his memory. The only blank was the journey after the Blood Ravens escorted him to Terra. This was even more bizarre. One couldn’t exactly claim that once he reached Terra, the Emperor Himself treated him to stir-fried rice noodles.

”Ah, if you don’t know, don’t worry about it.”

Seeing his expression, the owner thought he had said something wrong or touched on a sad memory. He quickly said: ”Look at this. This is also a specialty from my hometown called ’Sugar Painting.’ I can draw something edible based on your idea.”

’Sugar Painting?’

Shinji’s attention shifted to a spinning wheel on the counter with various patterns drawn on it.

”Rabbit, Dragon, Snake? What are these?”

”Zodiac signs. They mean ’Guardian Spirits’.”

”My guardian spirit is not an animal.”

”What is it then? Give me a rough description. Besides the title of ’Stir-fry King of the South,’ I also hold the title of ’Drawing King of Yushu.’ I can draw even the most complex things for you.”

Shinji looked at the confident young man, tore a page from his notebook, and handed it over.

”Then I’ll leave it to you.”

”Easy, easy.”

The owner took it and looked. The sketch was quite neat, but...

It was a suit of MK.VIII Errant-pattern Power Armor. Exactly the set Shinji used to wear—complete with the laurel, kill-stripes, and even the Purity Seals covering the body. Every line was perfect.

’This is way too complicated!’

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