As soon as the bell rang, Nagisa Kaworu ignored the curious classmates crowding around and walked straight to Shinji's desk.
He leaned down, and the distance between them was somewhat ambiguous.
"Shinji-kun, I have been waiting for you."
Nagisa Kaworu's voice was very pleasant, carrying a certain peculiar rhythm, like some kind of ancient ballad.
"W-wait for me?" Shinji felt his face burning; he wasn't used to this sudden intimacy.
"Yes, because we... are destined to meet."
Just then, a commotion came from the classroom doorway.
The originally noisy corridor instantly fell silent, and an invisible sense of oppression enveloped the entire floor.
Hansen walked in slowly, holding three bottles of iced milk.
He came to deliver snacks to the three little ones—a special divine power concoction to strengthen their bodies.
And to watch the show, while he was at it.
The moment he walked into the classroom, Nagisa Kaworu, who had been smiling at Shinji, suddenly stiffened for an instant.
Nagisa Kaworu slowly turned his head. For the first time, those red eyes lost their composure of controlling everything, replaced by a deep sense of vigilance and confusion.
Their gazes met in the air.
Hansen still looked lazy, a playful smile hanging on the corner of his mouth, as if the one before him wasn't the First Angel, but a child who had just learned to walk.
But what Nagisa Kaworu saw was a bottomless abyss, a terrifying entity that had devoured countless divinities.
"Is this the new transfer student?"
Hansen walked to Shinji's side, casually placed a bottle of milk on Shinji's desk, and placed his other hand on Nagisa Kaworu's shoulder with extreme naturalness.
[Ding! Contact made with copyable target [First Angel · Nagisa Kaworu]!]
[Ability 1: [Child of God (UR)]: Possesses dual traits of human and Angel. When not utilizing Angel abilities, can completely hide Angel reactions as an ordinary human; as an Angel, due to being the soul vessel of Adam, possesses a status closer to god, capable of deploying an [AT Field] of astonishing strength.]
[Ability 2: [Person of Reincarnation (UR)]: Even if the world is destroyed, one's own life form will not truly perish; the soul will be anchored to the [Negative Universe] until the next restart.]
[Ability 3: [Super-Sensory Synchronization (SSR)]: Super perception that surpasses humans, able to control EVA without the aid of an [entry plug], freely control synchronization frequency, and fully release EVA performance.]
[Copying ability in progress...]
[Successfully copied UR-rank abilities: [Child of God] Lv1, [Person of Reincarnation] Lv1!]
[Successfully copied SSR-rank ability: [Super-Sensory Synchronization] Lv1!]
[Current occupied ability slots: 3 / 30.]
[Consuming [origin points]...]
[Ding! Copied abilities [Child of God (UR)], [Person of Reincarnation (UR)], [Super-Sensory Synchronization (SSR)] reached max level, merged into the main body to become inherent abilities, freeing up ability slots!]
[Current occupied ability slots: 0 / 30.]
"Y-yes."
In that instant, Nagisa Kaworu felt a power as vast as a stellar core pressing down on his shoulder, rendering him unable to move.
Even more peculiarly, he vaguely sensed that the other's body hid a trait similar to his own yet far exceeding it, causing this free Angel to instinctively lower his head in submission.
"Not bad, looks like a good kid," Hansen looked at Nagisa Kaworu with a smile, "Classmates should get along well."
Nagisa Kaworu was silent for a moment, then resumed that gentle smile, only this time, there was a hint of deeper meaning in it.
He said softly: "I will, teacher."
"Heh, interesting."
Hansen withdrew his hand and patted Nagisa Kaworu's shoulder, as if brushing off dust.
After saying this, Hansen stood up straight, handed the other two bottles of milk to Asuka, who had just entered the classroom and turned her head subconsciously, and to the quiet Rei Ayanami by the window, then turned and left dashingly.
Watching Hansen's departing figure, Nagisa Kaworu touched the shoulder that had just been patted, the red light in his eyes flickering slightly.
Shinji watched their strange interaction and scratched his head: "Um... Nagisa Kaworu-kun, do you know Teacher Hansen?"
Nagisa Kaworu turned his head, looked at Shinji, the gloom on his face instantly dissipated, and his eyes became incredibly gentle once again.
"I don't, but I have a premonition... we will get along very happily."
Outside the window, dark clouds slowly obscured the sun.
...
Matsushiro, Second Test Site.
The sky was pressed extremely low by thick, leaden-gray clouds, and the continuous overcast rain shrouded the entire world in a cold, damp haze.
Rainwater tapped against unit-03's pitch-black armor, making a dull sound, as if it were some kind of ominous countdown.
Inside the changing room, the air was filled with the scent of disinfectant and a faint, cold fragrance.
Shikinami Asuka Langley was standing in front of a full-length mirror.
Her signature long orange hair was tied up casually, revealing her slender, fair neck.
At this moment, she was already wearing the test plugsuit prepared specifically for the unit-03 test.
Unlike the previous red and black plugsuits, the new plugsuit utilized a large area of orange and red splicing, and the material was thinner and tighter.
It clung to the girl's budding body like a second skin, perfectly outlining her curves, which, though still showing signs of youth, had already begun to take shape.
The slight swell of her chest, and a waist so slender it seemed as though it would break with a snap.
And those beautiful legs, appearing exceptionally long and straight under the wrap of the tight fabric, all declared the proud assets of this genius girl.
Asuka tugged at her collar in front of the mirror, muttering somewhat dissatisfiedly: "To think I'm actually needed for such a trivial matter. Instead of this, I could have practiced a few more rounds of [Breathing Technique]... Hmph."
Although she complained with her mouth, when she thought about how it was a task specifically assigned by Hansen, designating her to complete this test pilot mission.
Generally speaking, only ace pilots were qualified to test new models.
A trace of faint excitement flashed in Asuka's eyes. Sure enough, in that man's judgment...
She was the strongest!
Thinking of this, the corners of Asuka's mouth couldn't help but lift slightly.
"So, so I am actually capable of smiling..."
The next moment, Maya Ibuki's broadcast voice sounded, and LCL liquid rapidly filled the narrow entry plug.
"Pilot in position, [entry plug] flooding."
That familiar fishy-sweet smell surged into her nasal cavity. Asuka took a deep breath, letting the LCL fill her entire lungs, then adjusted her breathing and opened the neural connection fully.
"Synchronization rate, within the safety zone."
"All systems, green."
Accompanying the calm and orderly broadcast, the EVA startup procedure was completed step by step.
However, the moment the startup procedure progress bar reached 99%.
A sudden change occurred.
Hum, hum, hum—!!!
Dull humming sounds rang out, but this sound did not come from the sky, but from inside unit-03!
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