Asuka had genuinely considered apologizing to Shinji. However, the word "sorry" rolled around in her throat several times, only to be forcefully swallowed back down by her stubborn pride.
The result of her attempted reconciliation—due to her awkward delivery and Shinji's equally poor communication skills—was a small argument. The already strained relationship between the two not only failed to improve but got significantly worse.
The disastrous conversation took place on a Saturday morning.
Asuka had paced the living room for ten minutes, finally waiting for Shinji to stumble out of his room, still bleary-eyed.
She took a deep breath, leaned against the dining table, and spoke in a tone that was deliberately devoid of any hint of an apology: "Hey, idiot Shinji. About the—that last Angel."
Shinji, who was on his way to pour a glass of water, paused and looked at her, confused.
Asuka avoided his gaze, staring at the floor instead: "Even though I took it out clean and quick, the part about—the mess afterward—"
She struggled to find the right word. Terms like "pollution" and "destruction" were on the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to say them.
"—Anyway, it's not like I completely failed to notice."
Shinji's originally calm mood sank at the mention of the Angel and the subsequent ecological damage.
He thought of the dead fish in the ocean and the fatigued expressions of Dr. Osiris and the researchers. His tone couldn't help but carry a hint of sadness: "Oh—is that so."
His simple, flat response, however, made Asuka instantly misinterpret it as coldness and accusation.
Her temper flared immediately. Her voice rose a few pitches: "What is that attitude?! Is there something wrong with destroying an Angel? If I hadn't rushed in, who knows how much worse things would have gotten!"
"I didn't say you were wrong—" Shinji tried to explain, his voice weak. "It's just—the ocean that had finally recovered—"
"The ocean! The ocean! The ocean! Is that all you care about?!" Asuka cut him off. Her wounded pride made her lose control of her tongue. "Destroying the Angel and protecting more people is the most important thing! How could a coward like you, who only shrinks back and worries about these trivial details, ever understand what true combat is?"
"I didn't mean that—" Shinji was pushed back half a step by her aggression. He wanted to argue, but felt that anything he said would sound weak.
He pursed his lips and finally just looked down, quietly murmuring: "—Forget it. You wouldn't understand if I told you."
This phrase, a total surrender of communication, completely infuriated Asuka. "You're right! I don't understand! And I don't want to understand what a chicken like you is thinking!"
She glared fiercely at him, spun around, and slammed her bedroom door shut with a loud bang.
Shinji stood rooted to the spot, staring at the closed door, a wave of frustration washing over him.
He hadn't intended to fight. Why did it always turn out this way?
Behind the door, Asuka slid down the panel, hugging her knees and huffing with annoyance, but she felt even more miserable than before.
She truly hadn't—meant to start a fight.
Now, their relationship was more strained than ever.
The suffocating low pressure in the apartment became unbearable for Asuka.
After much deliberation, she gritted her teeth and sought out Rei Ayanami, the one person she believed wouldn't argue with her and seemed relatively "easy to talk to."
She tried to sound tough, announcing that she wanted to "check out that highly-touted ocean restoration zone." Rei simply looked at her silently for a few seconds. The red eyes betrayed no emotion, but she eventually nodded.
Led by a silent Rei, Asuka stepped into the Ninth Research Institute for the first time.
The scene before her was drastically different from the "clean" high-tech institute she had imagined.
The air was heavy, carrying a faint scent that was a mixture of sea brine and a subtle, unsettling hint of decay.
Although the previously polluted seawater had become clear again thanks to the continuous work of the "Seed of Metatron," the scars of the disaster were still shocking.
Personnel and automated equipment were busy at work, wearing protective gear as they salvaged and cleaned up large quantities of dead marine organisms from the water and the shore.
Basket after basket of dull, belly-up fish were being carried away; large patches of what were once colorful coral reefs had turned into dead, listless gray-white, like underwater gravestones. Some areas where seaweed had accumulated were rotten and black, giving off a foul odor.
In sharp contrast to these zones of death were the few ecological areas that had been emergency-isolated and protected.
The water there was deep blue, fish swam, and the coral retained some color, stubbornly displaying what life should look like.
Asuka stood still, looking at this strange tableau of life and death, listening to the subdued communication of the staff, whose voices were strained by exhaustion and grief. Her normally straight posture stiffened slightly without her realizing it.
When she destroyed the Angel, all she saw was a target vanishing on a tactical screen. She had never considered that the cost of victory would be presented in such a specific, devastating way.
A heavy, unfamiliar feeling weighed on her heart. It wasn't just the frustration of having "messed up," but a genuine sense of guilt that came from confronting the tangible consequences of her actions.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found that any words seemed pale and powerless in the face of the scene before her.
Just as Asuka stared blankly at the cleanup site, filled with complex emotions, a calm voice sounded beside her: "You must be the Unit-02 pilot, Souryuu Asuka Langley, correct?"
Asuka snapped back to attention, seeing a young man in a researcher's white coat with a steady demeanor standing next to her.
She instinctively straightened her back, instantly resuming her proud posture, and raised an eyebrow: "And what if I am? Are you the person in charge here?"
"I am Osiris. I oversee the ecological restoration project here." Osiris ignored her attitude, his gaze sweeping over the cleanup area. His tone was matter-of-fact, betraying no blame, sounding more like he was reading an experimental report: "Data indicates that when the Seventh Angel disintegrated, its LCL contamination core directly blanketed the southeast quadrant of the restoration zone.
Because the kill point you chose did not take this area into account, we lost approximately forty percent of the already purified water and over sixty percent of the cultivated marine life.
Rebuilding these ecological modules is projected to require fifty percent more time and resources than the initial restoration."
Every number felt like a small needle pricking Asuka's conscience.
Her hands, resting at her sides, unconsciously clenched, her nails digging into her palms. Yet, she forced a look of indifference onto her face: "Hmph, you can't think about all that in combat! The priority was, of course, to eliminate the Angel as quickly as possible! This small amount of loss—it's nothing compared to the destruction the Angel could have caused!"
Her voice was louder than usual, as if the volume could mask her inner turmoil.
Osiris listened quietly, neither refuting nor agreeing. However, his penetrating gaze made Asuka feel like her bravado was completely transparent.
"Since you caused the loss," Osiris said, finally speaking again, his tone still perfectly even, "make up for it with action. The Institute is currently short-handed. You can stay and do some work within your capabilities."
Asuka's eyes widened, and she nearly jumped up: "What? You want me to do manual labor here?! I'm—"
"—A superior pilot. I know." Osiris interrupted her, his tone even carrying a hint of gentle, almost soothing finality. "Precisely because of that, skipping one or two routine training sessions won't hurt. I will personally communicate with Lieutenant Colonel Katsuragi to request the necessary assistance work authorization for you."
He spoke with total conviction, making the decision for her without giving her any room to argue.
Asuka's chest heaved, her face a mixture of "displeasure" and "how dare you." Her lips moved, wanting to snap back with something sharp, but her eyes fell on the carcasses of the marine life being cleaned up. The words died in her throat.
She finally just let out a sharp, frustrated "Tch!" and turned her head away, her silence indicating reluctant consent.
Osiris said nothing more, merely signaling to a nearby staff member named Tanaka to assign her some basic tasks.
Asuka followed him, maintaining her sulky expression throughout.
She knew she was truly in the wrong this time, and the way Osiris had handled it, though deeply humiliating to her pride, was the only way she could find peace of mind.