In the hospital room, after discussing the Super Beast attack and Shinji's condition with Asuka and the others, Zero finally coaxed them into leaving.
They had originally intended to wait until Shinji woke up, but Zero insisted that Asuka and Rei Ayanami, who were already injured themselves, go back and rest. After all, Shinji wasn't in danger this time.
As for Kaworu Nagisa, Zero persuaded him to leave by saying that Tensei-kun needed looking after.
As he left, Kaworu Nagisa felt that something was very off about Zero, but he didn't dwell on it.
When she reached the door, Asuka suddenly turned around and came back into the room. Little Zero instinctively turned his back at the sight.
Asuka gently kissed Shinji's forehead, then ran off, blushing.
Once he was sure all three had left, little Zero could no longer hold himself up and fell from the glass of water on the bedside table.
"Ah..."
Little Zero lay sprawled out, panting in ragged bursts.
"It hurts so much..."
Even in his tiny, projected form, Zero still felt immense pain.
The wounds on his chest and waist had already hurt so much that they had gone numb, but now a pain that threatened to tear his body apart was ripping at his soul.
He no longer even had the strength to cry out in pain. He could only groan weakly.
"My body feels awful..."
"Why can't I hold on much longer...?"
He felt as though his body might completely fall apart at any moment, as though it could no longer contain the energy within him.
"Even that time with Dan Moroboshi... it wasn't this bad..." Zero struggled to stay conscious.
The battle against the Super Beast and Zero Killer had dealt him terrible injuries, and Shinji had been hurt again along