The Flute Music began to play, and the sadness and helplessness in its music began to spread through the listeners. Its rising and falling rhythm made that longing feel all the more real.
As it slowly reached its climax, every emotion dissolved into a heavy sense of emptiness and loneliness.
Asuka and the others were already immersed in it. They felt as though time, space, and a thousand years separated them from the people they loved, leaving them unable to draw even a little closer. They could only miss them silently from afar, as if an immense gulf had cut them off from one another.
Shinji froze, his heart and mind already drawn into the music. The image of his mother-Yui-rose in his mind. Scattered fragments of memory flooded back, as though he had remembered something.
Asuka's expression gradually grew downcast. Eventually, she hid her face behind her knees, her shoulders trembling.
She was crying. Like Shinji, she had recalled some painful memories.
Asuka's mother, Soryu Kyoko Zeppelin, had been a scientist in the Germany branch. Something had gone wrong when she took part in the Eva Unit-02 contact experiment. Half her soul had remained in Unit-02, while the other half remained in the real world. The soul within Unit-02 held her deep maternal love for Asuka, while the soul in the real world was like a puppet, treating only Asuka's doll as her child.
As a result, she refused to acknowledge Asuka as her daughter and eventually hanged herself. This became a lasting psychological scar for Asuka.
Asuka later promised herself that she would never again shed tears over failure or weakness. Yet this time, she cried...
Just this once! This isn't failure! It isn't weakness, either! Asuka hurriedly reassured herself.
Note (The previous time she cried, it was out of fear for her companions' lives.)
This behavior became a way of suppressing her emotions. It also warped Asuka's personality, leaving her fragile inside, unable to accept herself, and desperate for others' praise. That was her tragedy, and the tragedy of all Asuka fans.
Yet what even she did not know was that every night, she shed tears in her sleep and softly murmured "Mama." She never showed that vulnerable side to anyone.
Rei Ayanami remained expressionless, though this time a flicker of contemplation passed through her eyes...
As the performance came to an end, Huang Zhetian lowered his flute and opened his eyes. He saw that Asuka's eyes were slightly red, while Shinji had his head lowered, pondering something. He glanced at Rei Ayanami; she looked the same as ever.
"Asuka, didn't you say you wouldn't get sad? Why are your eyes a little red? Were you crying?" Huang Zhetian's true colors came out as he teased her.
"Idiot! My eyes were just a little itchy, and I rubbed them too hard... Who would cry? That performance of yours was really... Forget it. I'm done with you. If you're going swimming, hurry up and go!" Mortified and furious, Asuka gritted her teeth and shot Huang Zhetian a fierce glare before turning and storming off.
Shinji emerged from his thoughts and asked Huang Zhetian in surprise, "Zhetian-kun, who composed that piece? Was it you?"
"Sorry, it wasn't mine. One of your fellow Japanese people composed it. A Japanese person in China wrote it during the Second Impact. I don't know his name, either. Anyway, I didn't compose it," Huang Zhetian explained, mixing truth with lies.
The piece had been composed by the Japanese composer Kaoru Wada in his previous life, as an insert song for the anime Inuyasha.
"Oh, Thoughts Across Time and Space was composed by someone Japanese?! It sounds so beautiful. It really brings longing and love together-I could feel that clearly. Could you give me a copy of the sheet music? I'd like to practice it, Zhetian," Shinji asked, a little excited.
"Sure." Huang Zhetian could not bring himself to claim someone else's work as his own. Besides, the piece had belonged to Japan in the first place.
He wrote out the sheet music and handed it to Shinji, watching him put it away with great care. Huang Zhetian joked, "Are you treating it like a family heirloom? You don't have to go that far. If you lose it, I'll write you another copy."
"Thank you, but I really do treasure it. After all, you wrote this sheet music out for me, Zhetian-kun. If I didn't treasure it, I wouldn't be doing the piece justice," Shinji replied earnestly.
"You're welcome. It belonged to your people in the first place. I'm just returning it to you," Huang Zhetian replied graciously.
After resting for a while, the four of them went to the swimming pool together.
Damn, this... was way too good!!!
I won't say it. You all know what I mean (ಡωಡ)
"Idiot Zhetian, what's with that expression?! Eww, you look so creepy." Seeing Huang Zhetian's expression, Asuka immediately felt uneasy and disgusted.
"Nothing, nothing. Asuka, didn't you say you were going on a school trip before? The swimsuit you prepared? Let's hurry inside and swim... Ah!" Before Huang Zhetian could finish, Asuka knocked him to the ground with a kick.
"Lecher! Unbelievable! Pervert!" Hmph! Idiot Zhetian, make me something tasty when we get back to make up for this! Otherwise, you'll be sorry!" Asuka huffed and walked inside, while Shinji hurried to help him up.
He said to Huang Zhetian helplessly, "Zhetian-kun, listen. Even if you like her, you have to survive long enough to enjoy it. I'm afraid she'll beat you to death before an Angel can kill you."
"Don't tease me. I know you like Rei Ayanami. Right? Huh?" Huang Zhetian shot back, refusing to back down.
You mess with me, I'll mess with you! Don't think you're getting out alive, either. Let's do this!
"Y-you... What nonsense are you talking about? Since when do I like Rei Ayanami? How could I... You're so mean! You deserved that!" Shinji hurriedly glanced over at Rei Ayanami. Seeing that she was still expressionless, he inwardly sighed in relief, then turned back and stammered out his denial.
Rei Ayanami had also heard their conversation from a distance. Ikari? Likes me? she thought.
Watching them enter the swimming pool, still bickering, Rei Ayanami gathered her thoughts and followed them.
Being liked by Ikari... feels so warm.
Before you continue