The Trash Returned from Warhammer

[The first time I went to the Louvre]

[I didn’t feel anything special]

[Because my own unique Mona Lisa]

[I had already met]

The strings were plucked, the drums beat, and then the entire hall fell silent.

Truth be told, most of the audience hadn’t held much hope, but when Rei Ayanami sang the first lyric, many people’s eyes widened.

Her voice had a unique, cold clarity with a lingering taste of loneliness—like a solitary person wandering aimlessly through a gargantuan city, feeling strange and guarded toward everything. Yet, because another person existed, she was no longer afraid to touch the world.

[The day I first met you]

[The gears began to turn]

[I couldn’t stop the premonition of what I was about to lose]

The girl took the boy’s hand and began to explore this massive city. The flavor of loneliness gradually dissipated, and her voice became hesitant. Exploration meant danger, even if her request was very simple.

[I couldn’t stop the premonition of what I was about to lose]

[Although it has happened many times before]

[Let’s have one more kiss]

[Can you give me one last kiss?]

Is this ”crying out for love at the center of the world”?

Shinji was immersed in the singing. Rei’s voice wasn’t intense; it was more like she was telling a story, yet the emotions contained within were nearly overflowing.

Rei was thirsting for something she once didn’t understand; Asuka, too, was thirsting for something she had once avoided.

[I’m not good at taking photos]

[But that kind of thing is actually irrelevant]

[Your silhouette is already branded]

[Inside the projector in my heart]

[Well, you see, humans are just like that]

[If someone gets to know the other]

[It only adds more scars]

The lyrics were quite profound. As Rei’s clear voice narrated, it sounded hesitant, a bit sorrowful. If one locks oneself in a cage and refuses to associate with others, one won’t get hurt—but is that still being human?

’Harvesting implies a price’ Shinji thought.

’The Iron Heart tells me never to escape, and I have passed this belief on to them.’

As he mused, the gentle voice suddenly became determined and passionate, like a sharp blade piercing through the mist, making Shinji tense his muscles.

[But I have already understood]

[Even if this world heads toward its end]

[Even if time flows on]

[You are someone I cannot forget]

[Someone I cannot forget]

[I love you more than you imagine]

Yes. Accepting oneself, embracing others, not escaping, moving forward, living—this was the philosophy of survival the Dark Galaxy had taught him; the guidance received from the Emperor during moments of overwhelming terror.

Shinji met those crimson eyes. The world seemed to contain nothing but that searing gaze. He saw Rei raise her hand, and the passionate, determined voice suddenly became ethereal and melodious.

[If it comes to the end]

[Do you still remember, that dazzling afternoon?]

The lights vanished, and the entire auditorium plunged into silence. Shinji stared intensely into the darkness ahead, a vision floating before his eyes.

Searing wind blew into the classroom that afternoon. The boy, just returned, gazed at the bandaged girl by the window. That was their first meeting.

Clap, clap, clap...

Applause roared like thunder. The entire audience stood up to applaud. This song didn’t possess high-end techniques, nor would the echoes linger for three days, but the overflowing emotion infected everyone present.

It was an emotion that was pure, hesitant, determined, and carried a trace of caution.

And the only things capable of producing such complex emotions are humans.

Yes, contradictory and complex emotions are the label of humanity, for chaos represents purity. Humans can be kind to the extreme, loyal to the extreme, yet also degenerate to the extreme and cruel to the extreme. That is why the Ruinous Powers view the human soul as a treasure.

”Congratulations, Rei.”

Shinji straightened his back and applauded continuously.

”It... it seems like a big success?”

As the curtain fell, Horaki Hikari was still feeling a bit incredulous. She had just poured all her emotions into the performance, and she had been caught off guard by the thunderous applause at the end.

”It really seems so.”

”Our band is going to be famous!”

The girls jumped for joy. Only Asuka and Rei Ayanami didn’t react much. The girl with the twin tails bit her lip, staring fixedly at Rei in front of the microphone.

’The spotlight was stolen away. I’m so envious I could bleed from my eyes...’

Asuka was jealous to the point of gnashing her teeth. A moment ago, Rei had been at the center of the spotlight, and that guy had been staring at her without blinking. The whole hall had even resonated in a strange harmony.

But then, she saw a crystalline teardrop fall to the floor. She froze for a moment.

’Huh? She sang herself to tears?’

Her bitten lip slowly loosened. Asuka thought about it for a while, then turned her head away with a huff.

’I have to admit, this blockhead put more emotion into it than I did. It’s no big deal to let her win for once.’

”Am I... crying?”

Rei looked at the teardrop that had shattered on the floor, feeling an unprecedented sense of calm.

She couldn’t hear the cheers of her companions, nor the enduring applause. She placed her hand over her chest. This was the most direct expression of emotion she had ever had—no, it should be called an emotional release. When the song ended, she immediately fell into a strange mood.

Her heart was still, but the tears wouldn’t stop. She felt her heartbeat in her palm, and her red eyes trembled gently.

As a doll, she too had lived in fear. That sponge-like learning had been solely to prove one thing: I am human.

Yes, Rei Ayanami’s persistence was that simple. She wasn’t a doll fabricated by others, rudely stuffed with another soul. That searing emotion just now proved that her long-term learning wasn’t a mirage, nor was it the work of a tool manipulated by others.

”Rei, why are you crying?”

”Yeah, why cry when we’re so happy? We’re going to be in a band for life, after all.”

Her companions surrounded her. Asuka walked over, begrudgingly handing her a handkerchief.

”Wipe it off quickly. If people see you, they’ll think I bullied you.”

Rei looked at the handkerchief, carefully savoring everything—including the irreconcilable conflict between her and Asuka—and her entire being instantly relaxed.

”I am human.”

”Huh? What nonsense are you spouting? If you aren’t human, what are you, a ghost?”

Rei didn’t explain. She just looked at Asuka, making the girl feel unsettled.

”Therefore, I can pursue the friendship and love that humans deserve. Ikari-kun severed the shackles for me; I am free.”

Asuka couldn’t understand her, but the meaning was conveyed. Her eyelid twitched, feeling that after the performance, this Rei Ayanami had awakened something strange.

’Still a dull-witted idiot, yet her eyes are full of light. Wait a minute—could this person be planning to act just like the lyrics? Eh, no, wait... aren’t these lyrics just a confession?’

Asuka finally realized. She had felt something was ”off” about the lyrics during rehearsals.

’Someone I cannot forget, can you give me one last kiss?

Damn it! Isn’t this just a confession?!’

As Rei Ayanami shone with brilliant light, Asuka’s eyes lost their luster. But this girl wasn’t exactly a normal person either, and she quickly shook her head.

’Calm down, Asuka. You’ve never actually expressed that you like that blockhead. Even if Rei’s confession succeeds, you aren’t a ”loser.” Mhm, I’ll just elegantly offer my blessings at their wedding ceremony. Absolutely don’t lose your composure.

Ah! But I’m so frustrated! I don’t want any elegant blessings!’

Her emotions were like a rollercoaster. If Shinji used psychic detection, he would find leaps resembling an ECG. She had already fantasized about a bright hall where the handsome man and beautiful woman received everyone’s blessings, while she could only run to the restroom to cry after offering her congratulations.

’Calm down, Asuka. That blockhead isn’t even an earthling; how could he possibly understand such a subtle confession? Right, right, right. The immediate priority is to destroy her plan to ”strike while the iron is hot.”’

Rei tilted her head, watching Asuka’s face change like a mask—one moment dejected, the next passionate, then frustrated, and in the blink of an eye, it felt like she was about to burst into tears.

”You... are you okay? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”

”Don’t touch me!”

Asuka slapped Rei’s hand away, saying something completely disconnected: ”As long as I am the Disciplinary Committee member, I will stop any impure relationships!”

Hearing this, Rei’s gaze turned cold as well. She didn’t know why this person was always working against her.

’You like Ikari-kun but you won’t admit it... hmm, wait, do I not want her to admit it?’

Rei’s understanding of romance had finally evolved to the level of an upper-elementary schooler. Instinct urged her to compete, while her meager knowledge made her feel the two were unrelated.

”You can try if you like.”

”Huh? Are you declaring war on me?”

”War? You admit it? Then I’ll help you pick a spot to jump from the building. After all, that was the promise you made.”

”You narrow-minded, stinking doll! What part of you is normal?!”

”Oh my, you two stop arguing. Let’s think about how to celebrate.”

Watching the group erupt into chaos and listening to the unending applause, Horaki Hikari watched from the sidelines, revealing a kind, motherly smile.

’Rei, you’ve finally grown up.’

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