In the darkness, Shinji Ikari lay on his bed, listening to music through his earphones.
He still could not understand why none of this made sense, from beginning to end.
Rei Ayanami's behavior, in particular, left him bewildered.
Her tone and demeanor were the same as when they first met, but somehow, her memories of the past and the things she said made her seem like an entirely different person.
"Why... how did things end up like this? Right, I saved Ayanami. Wasn't that enough? I saved Miss Misato and the others too. Was none of that enough?"
Shinji Ikari rolled over, put on his jacket, and left his room.
LCL maintenance room
Black Rei was submerged in a Medical Pod filled with LCL.
As she lay with her eyes closed, undergoing cleansing, Black Rei seemed to sense something unusual before her.
Opening her eyes, she saw a girl who looked just like her, dressed in a blue-and-white school uniform.
The girl watched her quietly, neither speaking nor moving.
Black Rei froze in a daze. She opened her mouth, releasing a stream of bubbles.
The rising bubbles obscured her vision. Once they dispersed, the girl was gone.
Bookshelves
Shinji Ikari returned to the place where he had previously laid out the books and looked down at the neat stacks at his feet.
"She's not here again. She hasn't read the books either."
Everything was exactly as he had left it. This was not like Rei Ayanami.
How could she so easily abandon the books she always carried with her? Besides, these were all the kinds of books he had often seen Rei Ayanami reading before.
As he walked down the corridor, Shinji Ikari's expression grew darker. He could not understand why the Rei Ayanami before him and everything that had