A week after the "earnest meeting", Chu Xuan took the black cat and Ayanami Rei to the seaside near the third new Tokyo city.

But don't be mistaken for thinking that the relationship between Chu Xuan and Ayanami Li has grown by leaps and bounds, in fact, there is nothing special between Chu Xuan and Ayanami Rei, who have concluded a marriage contract - and they are also followers, in short, what was like before that, and what it is after that.

And this time they came to the beach together, as well as Shinji Ikari and his guardian Misato Katsuragi.

Chu Xuan once said to Misato Katsuragi that he could bring Shinji Ikari with her for her, but Misato Katsuragi thought about it seriously and finally decided to come over in person.

Although "that person" is very annoying, the "second qualifier" who came with "that person" is a subordinate of her war chief Misato Katsuragi, and it is possible that she will have to live with her, so it is better for her not to be absent when they first meet.

――Yes, Chu Xuan and Misato Katsuragi didn't come to the beach with three EVA pilots on weekdays, they came to welcome the ace of the European Union Air Force who came all the way from the German branch of NERV to Japan, the EVA No. 2 pilot, who has a quarter of Japanese ancestry, was born and raised in Germany, but whose nationality is actually American? Asuka? Captain Langleigh.

In addition, it is said that the 14-year-old Asuka was also a child prodigy, and received a German university degree as a teenager - not a pheasant university!

"Hey...... Genius EVA driver...... Even though I'm a 'peer', I have a hunch that I probably won't be able to get along with her. ”

Standing on the golden sand, looking at the blue sea, the black cat, who knew the "one" who was about to make his debut, but had to pretend to be very strange, sighed faintly, as if he was feeling under great mental pressure from now on.

"It's all, they're all girls, they should be able to get along, right?"

Shinji Ikari, who was standing next to Black Cat and Rei Ayaba, had a flattering smile on his face, and carefully said a good word for the "new colleague" who had already become famous before he even appeared.

But it's definitely not because he has any thoughts about the red-haired European girl in the photo, he just hopes that after the new colleagues join, everyone can still get along well.

“……”

The black cat stared at Shinji Ikari for a moment with red eyes that glowed with a ghostly glow. Seeing that he was a little hairy in his heart, he said expressionlessly:

"It's because it's the same sex that it's more difficult to get along with each other."

Shinji Ikari shrunk his neck and didn't dare to answer again.

He knew why the black cat had such an exclamation, because Chu Xuan's joke was that on the third day after claiming that the black cat had married him, the black cat's situation in the class became more delicate.

Those boys were better, at most they were crying wolf behind their backs to vent their envy, jealousy and hatred for Chu Xuan, and then turned their attention to the girls who were still famous and ownerless; And the girls, who had already treated the black cat and Ayanami Rei as air, often gossiped in her neighborhood that weren't very good, and looked at her with a strange smile on purpose.

――It is said that Senior Colonel Chu Xuan is extremely popular among the girls in his class. It seems that his support club is about to be announced. And all this is because Kensuke Aida revealed Chu Xuan's ID in "Super Robot Wars". But in the final analysis, it was Shinji Ikari who got carried away in order to show off in front of his new friends and confirmed Kensuke Aida's speculation.

"Speaking of which, Ikati-san, you seem to have a very close relationship with Kirishim-san, lately."

Maybe it's because he's not in a good mood, even if Shinji Ikari keeps his mouth shut in amusement, the black cat doesn't let him go easily. Instead, he covered his mouth with his hands and pretended to be a bored Obasang who liked to get together and talk about gossip, and broke a big story in front of his guardian, Misato Katsuragi.

"Ah, what's going on? Could it be that Shinji has already got a girlfriend? ”

Sure enough, after Misato Katsuragi, who had been silent just now, heard this topic, she immediately asked the black cat "excitedly", but the black cat knew very well that she was pretending, because it was impossible for her not to know Shinji Ikari at school.

――As an important EVA driver, whether it's Shinji Ikari or Rei Ayanami or a black cat. Even in school, they are constantly monitored by NERV's "housekeepers", and everything they experience in school is recorded and secretly sent to the guardian so that the guardian can better "care" and "help" them.

Because the ability of "AT force field" has a lot to do with the driver's mood - that is, mental condition. If the driver's mood is too bad, not only will the AT force field not be deployed, but the EVA may not be activated due to the low synchronization rate.

"It's not boyfriend and girlfriend, but sooner or later it's going to be that kind of relationship-after all, the classmate named Kirishima's real name seems to like him very much."

Women may really be born actors, although the black cat pouted in her heart at Misato Katsuragi, who was making a play, but she still maintained a just right evil smile on the surface, and she made a small report of Shinji Ikari in front of Misato Katsuragi quite badly.

"Ahh~ yes, it seems that Shinji's spring has finally arrived."

Under the rare bright eyes in this rainy season, Misato Katsuragi continued her superb performance without blushing, if it wasn't for the "cheating" to know the truth hidden behind the scenes in advance, the black cat would definitely be deceived by her, this is the terrible thing about a mature woman.

And Shinji Ikari, who is so simple that he can be called stupid, didn't realize that Misato Katsuragi was acting, and he was a little shy and a little proud in front of his guardian and tried his best to clarify:

"No, it's not! Although I had a good conversation with Kirishima-san, it was only because she liked music as much as I did, and she also liked robots. ”

"Oh, Ikati-san, do you like robots? I don't seem to see it at all, though. ”

The black cat squinted his eyes and teased Shinji Ikari twice, and the immature boy, who was already blushing a little, quickly corrected his words.

"No, it's not that Kirishima and I both like robots, we both like music, and Kirishima also likes robots very much, and he has collected a lot of mechs in Super Robot Wars.

When、Of course,I'm now starting to think that maybe it's nice to be able to drive an EVA. ”

Shinji Ikari smiled with a little happiness, and although he had encountered terrible things, dangerous things, and painful things since driving the EVA, he had also encountered many, many good things - more than all the good things he had encountered in the past 14 years of his life combined.

As long as he can continue to live the life he is living like now, even if he encounters more terrible, more dangerous, and more painful things in the future, he will definitely be able to endure it.

- Because there is nothing more unbearable in this world than being abandoned by the whole world.

"Hey...... Since Shinji said so, then I'll believe it.

But I'd like to state in advance that I'm not against you dating the girl you like, but it's a little too early to do it. ”

Misato Katsuragi closed one eye, held her right index finger in front of her, and admonished Shinji Ikari in a half-serious, half-joking tone, perfectly playing the role of "open-minded big friend".

However, unlike Kirishima's real name, an intelligence officer of a military organization who "likes robots very much", Misato Katsuragi's deception is for the good of Shinji Ikari, and her enthusiasm and concern for Shinji Ikari are genuine, completely sincere.

Kirishima Shina is to get all kinds of information about EVA from a certain EVA driver, so she will approach Shinji Ikari who is "the best to start", whether it is her "softness", her "straightforwardness", or her "positivity", from the beginning with an extremely clear purpose.

"Just, I won't do anything h!"

Perhaps because some delusions of puberty had just been righted, the boy's face immediately turned as red as a boiled octopus, and he yelled at his guardian in annoyance.

Well...... If Shinji Ikari never had a chance to discover the truth before it was all over, maybe he would have been happy like this forever.