Chapter 166 198: Lilith-Winning Theory and Germanic Winning Theory.

No, no, no, no.

Early in the morning, Asuka sat bolt upright in bed with a gasp. Seeing the morning sun streaming through the gap in the curtains, she rubbed her messy hair. The bloodshot eyes staring back from the mirror were proof that she hadn't slept a wink all night.

Last night had been a "maggot-like" existence—tossing and turning half the night, recalling the events in the hangar over and over, savoring Shinji's touch. Just as she was about to drift off into a hazy sleep, Asuka suddenly realized something was wrong.

"Wait a minute... that idiot couldn't have predicted I was going to confess, could he? Did he know I like him?

That shouldn't be possible, right? I've always been very careful to keep it hidden, intentionally acting like I can't stand him.

But then how do you explain this?"

She had found a blind spot. Yes, she hadn't said a word yet; how did he end up demanding she engage in a "Duel of Honor"? It didn't make any sense.

Could it be... he knew?

Thump.

Asuka flopped back onto the bed, face-down on her pillow. She began to writhe again. She felt extreme shame at having acted like a clown, and it made her grit her teeth with frustration.

But soon, she grew excited again. According to her definition of a "confession," this counted as winning without a fight, right?

'Yeah, yeah, yeah.'

Confessing is just telling someone how you feel, and since idiot Shinji already figured it out, it was a success.

Her "Germanic Winning Theory" had evolved along with her personality supplementation. It had graduated from a simple "win or lose" binary to levels of "Small Win," "Big Win," and "Super Win." Therefore, last night had been a "Super Win"—she had definitely beaten Rei Ayanami to the punch.

'Okay, so I succeeded in the confession... now what?'

Asuka stopped writhing and stared blankly at the ceiling.

'Right, what happens next?'

A date? They were together every day anyway. Living together? There were only two walls between their rooms. Did she need to...

'Ah! Could that happen? Would Rei actually knife me if I tried?'

'What is this Asuka up to early in the morning?'

In the living room, Shinji read the fluctuating waves of emotion radiating from her—sometimes exuberant, sometimes suspicious, sometimes shy. He couldn't even focus on his files. He had explicitly told her not to stay up late, yet here she was, having spent the night awake, and her emotions were riding a roller coaster at the crack of dawn.

The world had undergone massive upheaval, but it hadn't caused too much of an impact on his daily life. Everything was normal—well, mostly.

He turned his head to look at Rei sitting beside him. Her eyes were just as bloodshot, pairing with her red irises to make her look like a rabbit.

"Didn't sleep well?"

"Mmm. Thinking about some things."

Rei nodded slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Is it really okay this way?"

"Asuka refuses a Duel of Honor with you, so let's leave it at that. The relationship between you two cannot get any more complicated, because outside of me, you are also comrades-in-arms."

Rei pursed her lips. She admitted that she and Asuka were friends who had been through life-and-death situations together, which was why she was hesitant. She had thought, If only that "glass cannon" weren't so fragile, but she hadn't expected the cannon to suddenly become brave—and actually want to steal a march on her.

How could she tolerate that?

"Even if we are friends, there are some things that cannot be yielded. Unless Shinji-kun issues an order."

"My principle is not to harm either of you."

"Then... can you accept us both at the same time?"

Shinji's hand, holding the document, paused. He nodded immediately. "That is not a problem. I do not abide by Earth's laws or morality."

Rei's eyes widened. She didn't find this outrageous statement problematic in the slightest. Her mouth moved slightly, and after a long while, she lowered her head.

"Sorry, I still can't fully convince myself. And Asuka won't either."

"Normal. Human nature is always selfish. I will wait for you to make a decision. Of course, there is a simple method."

"What method?"

"Defeat me. I will obey the will of the strong. The defeated have no right to hold onto principles."

Rei rolled her eyes.

'Simple? That is the most difficult thing in the world.'

Besides, she didn't want to hurt Asuka. She was feeling incredibly stifled, but she realized that since Asuka had stopped being stubborn, the dynamic between the three of them had shifted.

"I don't have the energy to handle these things. Just like with Kaworu Nagisa, I will not arbitrarily change anyone else's will."

Shinji flicked the document in his hand. It wasn't that he thought these things were unimportant, but how to put it? He didn't know how to solve problems that couldn't be fixed with bolters and power swords. But he had to state the ugly truth upfront:

"Regardless, these daily life issues cannot affect the mission."

"I know. What you are doing is very dangerous. Without you, our arguments would lose all meaning."

Rei clenched her fists, making no effort to hide the fear deep in her heart. She knew that the man before her would choose to sacrifice himself without hesitation for the mission, and without Shinji, her existence would have no value.

'Perhaps that's why I'm tolerating Asuka' she thought.

'Even if it's just one extra person to keep him trapped in this world... all this talk of human fate, Negative Universe gods, and the Emperor is irrelevant to me.

As for me, once that thing is built, I'll be ready.'

Rei was more sober than anyone, and more selfish than anyone. Hearing the lock turn, she turned her head to see a messy head of hair poke through. When it made eye contact with her, it instinctively recoiled, but quickly popped back out, looking smug.

Asuka would never admit she was actually afraid of Rei. She walked to the dining table to pour a glass of water, asking nonchalantly, "Where'd Misato run off to?"

"Went for a run. Said she wanted to exercise. She finally realized she needs to put in some effort."

"Weird. How come this salted fish suddenly decided to flip over?"

Asuka was completely confused. She glanced at Rei and tilted her chin up slightly.

'Thinking about it, I'm still the winner. Shinji having precognition counts as a confession, right? Yeah, it should count.'

Rei looked away, really not wanting to deal with this idiot.

'Does she think Shinji-kun is dense? He's as clear-headed as a mirror. Oh wait, you already confessed in German last time.'

In that instant, she felt Asuka did win, because she hadn't expressed her feelings out loud, nor had she met Shinji-kun's mother. But after a moment's reflection, she raised her own head as well.

'A confession is such a sacred thing, how could it be done in such a sloppy way like playing 'Old Maid'? The Class Rep and the others are already helping me draft a plan.

As for Shinji-kun's mother... Heh, before he even came to Tokyo-3, I was the one doing the activation tests for Unit-01.'

The "Lilith-Winning Theory" and the "Germanic Winning Theory" were neck-and-neck. Shinji ignored them both and continued reading his files.

These were the minutes from the SEELE meeting. As Ritsuko had predicted, the old men had scolded Gendo Ikari, warning him to keep himself in check, which had left him furious and anxious.

'If I could control him, would I need you lot to tell me?'

That fourteen-year-old age was too deceptive. Even SEELE thought it was just the arrogance of a teenager; they wouldn't dig deeper—or rather, they felt this was the only logical explanation.

'Can a young man be called young if he isn't arrogant?'

Given that he had such immense power, he should be arrogant. Shinji's performance was already quite restrained.

A boy in his second year of junior high was hard to control, especially when he could truly save—or destroy—the world. They often walked toward extremes due to impulses adults couldn't understand.

"SEELE has accepted a new order: monitor Rei Ayanami and Asuka closely, and use them as hostages when appropriate?"

Shinji nodded slightly. To be honest, these people were quite smart; they knew how to exploit loopholes so quickly.

'Too bad. It's too late now.'

"What are you mumbling about over there?" Asuka walked over with her glass, craning her neck to look at the file.

"A transfer order from the UN. Unit-02 is to be sealed, the Second Child is to be transferred back to the German branch to receive EVA-05, and the vacancy will be filled by a new pilot selected by the Marduk Institute."

Shinji pulled out a document and slid it across the table.

Tap.

Asuka stopped in her tracks. Her face instantly turned pale. Upon picking up the file, she felt dizzy. She had thought Shinji was teasing her, but this was an official order. She suddenly realized she had overlooked something important.

The world didn't revolve around her. Pilots were, at the end of the day, soldiers. All her struggling meant nothing; a single piece of paper could turn her into a "loser."

"I don't want to! Absolutely not!"

Asuka reacted violently, slamming her hands on the table. "I still have so many things left to do! I'm absolutely not going back! I'd rather die than go back!"

"This is an order. Don't forget the first rule of the Pilot Manual: absolute obedience to superior officers." Rei said quietly, adding a knife-twist to the wound: "Didn't you claim to be an adult? You can't be this willful."

"I don't care!"

The current Asuka didn't even bother to pretend anymore. She turned and stormed off. "No! I have to go ask Misato-san for help."

"Don't waste your energy. How is a Major going to influence orders from High Command?"

'Right... Misato is just a useless adult.'

Asuka paused, looking at Rei with a twisted expression. Sure enough, the latter was smiling.

'Fine, she's gloating, is she?'

Her body began to tremble.

"Alright, alright. I've already rejected the order."

Shinji clapped his hands. He knew Rei was just teasing her, but if it continued, the girl was going to bristle and start biting.

"Huh? You rejected it?"

"Do you have a question?"

Shinji sat straight. He didn't need a special posture to be more reliable than Gendo Ikari ever was.

'Right. Even though this non-Earthling often irritates me, he isn't an ordinary person. He frequently flips common sense on its head and ignores authority.'

"Then what was the point of showing me the transfer order?"

Once she recovered, Asuka's face flushed red. Thinking back to her childish reaction earlier, she felt her "persona" had just collapsed.

"I didn't even have a chance to explain before you started bristling. You're going to blame that on me too?"

Shinji spread his hands. Emotionally or rationally, how could he possibly return Asuka to SEELE? His gaze turned angry.

"How many times have I told you: control your emotions! Why are you always in such a rush? If you'd just used your brain for a second, you'd know it was impossible for me to let you go back. And Rei, no interrupting me before I finish explaining next time. Are you really not afraid that Asuka will fight you for real?"

Click.

The door opened and a sweaty Misato Katsuragi bustled inside. She looked up to see the two girls sitting at the dining table, dejected. Oh, and the penguin standing neatly to the side, eating its feed loudly.

The boy was pacing back and forth, lecturing them. This made Misato, who had been worried about an awkward team atmosphere, breathe a sigh of relief.

'Good, good. Everything is just like before. If those two really fought and broke my apartment—which I'm still paying a 20-year mortgage on—what would I do?'

She tiptoed to take off her sneakers, but suddenly shuddered. The boy's cold gaze had already locked onto Misato, beckoning her with a finger.

'You come over and listen to the lecture too.'

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