Ikari Shinji did not pay much attention to Akagi Ritsuko’s advice; at this moment, his attention had already been attracted by another person—
The blue-haired girl wearing a white combat suit was looking at him from afar.
There was a connecting bridge between the two, and they happened to be standing at opposite ends.
Ikari Shinji was at this end, Ayanami Rei was at that end.
He had heard people say that there is a feeling called “a glance lasting ten thousand years”, but Ikari Shinji was not sure if he was currently experiencing such a feeling.
Or perhaps he was too sensitive, which was why he always felt the girl was paying attention to him.
But there was no doubt that whenever Ikari Shinji shifted his gaze over, Ayanami Rei’s gaze would always meet his.
…
A few calm and tranquil days passed, Tokyo-3 First Junior High School.
“Really, humans are truly creatures that cannot stay in the same place for long, otherwise moss will unknowingly grow all over them.”
The classroom was full of boys and girls; a group of young people gathered together could be described as full of youthful vigor.
Only Ginpachi-sensei on the podium was still giving his lecture decadently.
This was originally supposed to be a history class, but Ginpachi-sensei inexplicably started talking about his outlook on life; it was unknown which historical figure’s story had touched him.
Ikari Shinji, however, felt a sense of deja vu.
Whether it was a history teacher or a politics teacher, teaching classes like this seemed to be the norm; as they talked, they would digress to content unrelated to the textbook.
But for Ikari Shinji, he actually liked listening to this kind of class.
After all, having the teacher repeat the textbook content was no different from listening to a tape recorder for him, who had already memorized the textbook thoroughly.
Except for Ginpachi-sensei’s class, Ikari Shinji had absolutely no interest in other teachers’ classes.
Time always passes quickly when listening to life philosophies and spacing out.
In a daze, an entire morning had already passed.
During the lunch break, Ikari Shinji looked at the lunch consisting of dishes of various styles laid out on the table in front of him; the table full of food did not even have a single grain of rice.
Because this meal was shared with him by friendly classmates; they probably thought it was too pitiful to see him either eating bread or going to the cafeteria at school.
“Shinji-sama, is there anything else you want to eat?
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“This is enough.
It is the lunch break now, you guys go rest too.”
“Hai, then we will not disturb Shinji-sama’s meal.
Please call us anytime if you need anything!”
The situation was roughly like this; overall, the current condition was not bad.
Except for a very small number of lost lambs with muddled brains who were suspected of being bewitched by demons, Ikari Shinji was still popular in this school.
This life could be said to be more carefree than being at home, but Ikari Shinji always felt somewhat unsettled in his heart, always feeling as if some important thing was missing.
Ikari Shinji knew the reason; scenes of the fierce battle with the Fourth Angel constantly emerged in his mind.
The pleasure brought by entering Unit-01 for the first time, and the brilliance of the cross-shaped pillar of light illuminating the night sky.
At that time, when he first stepped into Unit-01’s cockpit, his body perfectly merged with the machine, and that unprecedented sense of indulgence surged into his heart.
And when the cross-shaped pillar of light pierced the pitch-black night sky and bloomed with brilliant radiance, it also made him see a sacred sense of beauty!
At that moment, it was as if the whole world brightened because of it; all uneasiness vanished into thin air, replaced by a sense of peace originating from the depths of his heart.
That feeling was simply as wonderful as the soul ascending to heaven!
Such feelings could absolutely not be brought about through dull and tedious simulation tests, or by purifying lost lambs who were bewitched by demons and did not believe in gods.
At this moment, Ikari Shinji thoughtfully cast his gaze towards the direction of NERV Headquarters in the distance.
Today was originally supposed to just be a day of normally missing Unit-01…
Attributing it to coincidence or accident seems too far-fetched; it would be better to say it is more like a predetermined destiny in the unseen world.
Accompanied by a slight rolling sound of a sliding door, Ikari Shinji subconsciously turned his head back, his gaze happening to land at the classroom door.
Sunlight spilled onto the floor through the window, forming patches of mottled light and shadow, and the girl standing there bathed within it, her clear and beautiful face without any impurities.
For some reason, Ikari Shinji seemed to feel something in his heart; he suddenly felt as if he could feel the tremor of the world.
Just as Ikari Shinji stood up, the piercing alarm bell in the classroom rang out abruptly, followed immediately by that already all-too-familiar electronically synthesized voice:
[State of emergency warning.
Elementary and middle school students are to evacuate by class, all citizens gather at designated areas.
The underground shelter of the Seventh Management District is set at…]
Just as Ikari Shinji was hesitating.
“Emergency muster.” Without the youthful and ignorant ambiguous language between green boys and girls, the blue-haired girl gave the answer; she came to find the boy just for this one sentence.
Facing such pale and uninteresting words, a smile nevertheless surfaced on Ikari Shinji’s face.
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
The classmates listening to the holy words surprisingly found that Shinji-sama, who had originally been listless all along, suddenly glowed with health and vigor, and even seemed to be emitting a holy light.
“Dear children of men, I cannot bear to see my cute humans get hurt, so could I trouble you to take my people to the shelter?”
Although she was the class representative, Horaki Hikari, who was currently serving by Ikari Shinji’s side like a nun, suddenly had a shy blush surface on her cheeks.
Because the holy Shinji-sama gently held her hands, as if doing so could give her strength.
Of course, no strength of any kind could be given; Shinji-sama’s divine power had not yet reached such a miraculous level.
He only gave the girl some energy named courage, and then turned around and left.
Ikari Shinji and Ayanami Rei arrived at the helipad of the First Junior High School; a UN heavy fighter jet was already parked there, waiting for them.
…
The atmosphere in the NERV Headquarters combat command room was tense and solemn, and everyone was staring intently at the illusory projection map of Tokyo-3 in front of them.
Densely packed red lines interwoven together, like an intricately complex grid map, outlined the topography of the mountain city of Tokyo-3 and the surrounding mountain forests.
“Capture the moving object with optics.”
“Confirm target E747.”
Hearing the electronic voice and the technician’s report, Akagi Ritsuko stared at the screen in front of her assistant Ibuki Maya, then turned her head to look at Katsuragi Misato.
“The analysis pattern is blue, there is absolutely no mistake, this is the Fifth Angel—Shamshel the Angel of Day!”
Hearing Akagi Ritsuko’s such certain judgment, Katsuragi Misato, wearing a bright red commander uniform, darkened her face.
Katsuragi Misato nodded slightly, looking at the large screen with a serious face.
As the commander, she immediately made a decision: “All personnel, enter battle condition one!”
“Understood, prepare for surface-to-air interception combat.”
“Tokyo-3, transform into battle mode.”
“Central district, commence containment.”