The Collection of The End

——2015.8.15——】

New Tokyo City 3, night.

Civic Square.

Different from the usual modern decoration, the Civic Square at this time was decorated with colorful flags, red paper lanterns were hung everywhere, and many retro-looking stalls were open for business, while half of the pedestrians on the street They all wear kimonos of different styles.

"Oh, is this the Bon Festival in Japan?" Asuka, wearing a red short-sleeved shirt and jeans, was making a fuss at the pedestrians, decorations and stalls on the street: "Ugly lanterns! Stalls selling strange things! And there are It’s such a high stage that you might fall off! Are they wearing kimonos? It looks so weird, hahaha.”

"Please, please keep your voice down." Kirishima Mana, who was wearing a white dress, tried to stop Asuka from talking nonsense.

"Uh, am I a little rude?" Asuka restrained her attitude a little.

Indeed, if it weren’t for the fact that you are a girl and a foreigner, someone would have come over to beat you.

"If it's an ordinary summer festival or fireworks display, it doesn't matter if you yell as much as you want," Shinji Ikari, who was also dressed in casual clothes, explained: "But Bon Festival is a festival to welcome ancestors back to their hometown. If you encounter someone who particularly respects their ancestors, People may be very angry.”

"Eh...Eh?" Asuka's eyes widened: "Isn't Bon Festival a festival of dancing, lighting up lanterns, and burning mountains?"

Although what she said was correct, it still sounded strange. Did she search it on some unreliable website?

"Obon Festival is a festival second only to New Year's Day. The deceased will return to this world from that world to reunite with their relatives. People welcome their ancestors back through the 'Bon Dance'. On the 15th, Tiantong reunites with the ancestors, and then bids farewell to the ancestors by lighting river lanterns or burning 'big' characters on the mountain," Rei Ayanami, still wearing a school uniform skirt, said: "So, it is also called...'Ghost Festival'. "

Combined with her expressionless face and tone of voice, it sounded like a ghost story even though it was a normal introduction.

"Hey...hey?" Asuka's eyes widened, she hugged herself with her arms and looked around: "Then, these stalls..."

He is obviously a talented pilot who has graduated from college, but he is afraid of ghosts?

"Because our ancestors rarely come back once, there is no way to let them sit at home, so we will hold a celebration around the Bon dance venue to have fun with our ancestors," Shinji Ikari began to talk nonsense smoothly: "In this case, even if Ancestors don’t know much about modern society, and they can also understand that their descendants are living a good life by watching their entertainment activities. It is very likely that behind someone who is having a great time, his ancestors are following him, right?”

"Yeah!" Kirishima's real name swooped behind Shinji Ikari, grabbed his sleeve and refused to let go.

……Um? Did I scare the wrong person?

Shinji Ikari looked at the bunny-like Kirishima's real name, and then looked at Asuka who lowered her head after hearing these words.

"Hmph...then what's there to be afraid of?" Asuka suddenly raised her head, her eyes bright: "I protected this city. Their descendants are all protected by me, so they should thank me!"

That's my line! What have you protected?

"It's begun." Rei Ayanami interrupted Asuka's boasting.

Boom, boom, boom!

As the big drum on the high platform hung with lanterns and red cloth was beaten, many men and women wearing large red bloomers and black short-sleeved shirts, carrying colorful pieces of cloth on their backs, gathered around the high platform. They formed a certain formation with each other. Start dancing with movements that are not uniform but have a certain common rhythm. First, jump, spread your hands, shrug, put your hands together, raise them above your head and then open them, pointing to the sky, the ground, left and right, then exchange positions with each other, and start again in different directions. At one time, from time to time, dancers would link arms and make movements different from others, or perform position changes of unknown meaning.

"Hmm... I can't understand it, but it seems very powerful." Asuka commented concisely and concisely.

"Have I just said it and forgotten it? This is to welcome the ancestors from all directions in the southeast, northwest and northwest back to their hometown." Shinji Ikari tried to show off his knowledge from elsewhere.

"That's not right. The Third New Tokyo City was only established after the second impact. Their hometown has probably been flooded, and they will never come back here." Asuka retorted.

What she said was so reasonable that many people in the crowd watching the dance already looked at her angrily.

"Forget it, let's go visit the festival stalls first." In order to prevent any news about the EVA driver beating ordinary citizens, Shinji Ikari decided to take the troublemaker away from the crowd.

"Hmph, it just so happens that I also... wait, hide quickly!" Asuka followed Shinji Ikari and hadn't walked halfway out of the street when she suddenly grabbed him and Rei Ayanami one by one and hid in a side alley.

Kirishima Mana, who was suddenly left behind, was stunned for a moment, and then hurriedly followed.

"What's wrong?" "Shhh - look who that is?"

Several people poked their heads out of the alley, followed Asuka's instructions, and soon saw two familiar and unfamiliar figures.

Ryouji Kaji and Misato Katsuragi in kimono.

Under the illumination of the lights, the two walked hand in hand, chatting and laughing in low voices, appearing to be in perfect harmony, and the two outfits in orange-red and red-black tones also matched perfectly.

"Damn it..." Asuka took out a handkerchief from nowhere and bit it.

I can't tell that she actually treats Mr. Kaji...

"Even if they get married, I won't call you brother!" Asuka said through gritted teeth.

...Do you think guardians are equal to parents?

If you tell your father this, the results will probably be interesting.

"It's lit!" "It's lit!"

At this moment, pedestrians on the street began to exclaim in surprise. When Shinji Ikari looked in the direction they pointed, he discovered that there was a "big" ball made of flames on a low hill in the distance on the outskirts of New Tokyo City. The words are burning.

Click, Ayanami Rei took out the camera and took a picture of this scene.

——2015.8.31——】

Literary Society.

"These photos are mine! No one can steal them!"

After making it clear that everyone could choose as they pleased, Asuka went back on her word and took away all the photos of "sending fire" on the Bon Festival, but her expression looked like she had a toothache.

Because I don’t know whether it was intentional or unintentional, those photos all included Kaji Ryoji and Katsuragi Misato.

She still has the heart to gossip, it seems she is too idle.

"Hey, Ayanami," Shinji Ikari approached Rei Ayanami: "When will the next apostle attack?"

"Do you want the apostles to attack immediately, or let them wait?" Rei Ayanami asked.

"Ah You……"

"cannot."

"Well, I just want to find something for Asuka to do so that she doesn't always care about adults' gossip, but wouldn't it be bad to beat up the apostle right after school starts? Let's talk about it in a few days."

"Um."

——2015.8.12——】

The gathering garden, the swimming pool.

Plop.

Rei Ayanami, who was wearing a dark blue one-piece swimsuit, sank into the water like a weight and did not float for a long time.

When Shinji Ikari hurriedly jumped into the swimming pool to look for her, she climbed ashore along the ladder from the other end of the swimming pool.