Evangelion IF: Shinji Ikari and Mana Kirishima, a World Too Late for Love - The transfer student is an explosive-type heroine.

The classroom before homeroom was as noisy as ever with talk of the cultural festival. "Our class is doing a food stall, right? Let's aim for top sales!" "Who's entering the Mister Contest? I heard the winner gets a confession time." Ikari Shinji listened to his lively classmates' voices while slumped over his desk. (*The cultural festival, huh. Everyone looks like they're having fun.*) Outside the window, the weather was perfectly clear. The sky was almost painfully blue, and it refused to reconcile with the darkness inside his heart. "Hey, Shinji, are you listening?" A boy in the neighboring seat tapped his shoulder, and Shinji slowly lifted his head. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, what were we talking about?" "I said homeroom's about to start. Apparently a transfer student's coming." At the word "transfer student," several people in the class reacted. "Pretty rare, this time of year." "And it's a girl, apparently." A boy who'd overheard grinned slyly. The classroom's atmosphere grew just a little restless. Shinji felt something stirring uneasily deep in his chest. (*A transfer student, huh. To this city? Deliberately?*) The classroom's sliding door rattled open. The homeroom teacher walked in. He stood before the lectern. The classmates stopped their chattering and took their seats. "Okay, settle down. Today I'm introducing a new friend." The teacher said this, then called out toward the hallway. "Come on in." A moment of silence. Then, the crisp sound of footsteps, and the classroom door was flung open with full force. "Excuse me!" Along with a voice bursting with energy, a small figure bounded in. Her brownish-black hair was tied up cheerfully in short twin tails on either side. Perhaps to keep it out of the way during combat, the hair at the back was cut neatly short. Her large brown eyes sparkled, reflecting the light as they swayed. The double tooth that would show when she smiled was now hidden inside the biggest smile in the room. She looked small in stature, but her body carried a momentum and springiness that blew away any impression of delicacy. Around her left wrist, a mysterious bandage was wrapped. The girl's presence repainted the classroom's gloomy atmosphere in an instant. "Um, I'll be in your care starting today! My name is Kirishima Mana! Pleased to meet you!" A voice so startlingly direct. The classroom fell silent for just a moment. But Shinji alone had been frozen since the very first impact. (*...Kirishima Mana.*) He didn't know the name. He'd surely never seen her face before. And yet, somewhere in his heart, he felt as though he knew this girl. A light that was too bright, yet somehow fragile—the kind that carried good news. The homeroom teacher cleared his throat and added: "She's, well, been through a lot. She's covered under the 'Special Ordinance for the Protection of Children' decided by the United Nations." The classroom stirred. "'Children'—you mean, like, former Eva pilot candidates?" "So, from that war..." "Wait, but candidates—did they actually exist? The ones who trained at the V school..." Whispered, gossip-like voices bubbled up immediately. Shinji felt his fingertips growing cold. (*Everyone gets curious like that. But because they don't know that battle, they speak of rumors so easily.*) The classroom's air chilled audibly. But Mana paid the silence no mind. "Yes! That's me, a candidate! So I'm confident in my stamina! If there's a sports festival, I'll lead everyone!" At such a brazen self-declaration, the classmates gaped. A dumbfounded silence, as if to say, *what's with this girl?* In that brief moment, Mana strode into the classroom without hesitation. And without hesitation, she walked straight toward Shinji's seat. Shinji's body went rigid. (*Huh? Why? Why is she coming this way? There are other seats—no, wait, she's not even looking at the empty seats.*) Mana stood before Shinji's desk. Short as she was, she peered up at Shinji's face, her eyes tilting slightly upward. Her large eyes caught Shinji squarely. "I wanted to see you! Shinji-kun!" She thrust out her hand. Shinji, still frozen, looked at that hand. It was small, and the fingertips trembled faintly. The bullet-like charge and the trembling hand—that strange imbalance pierced Shinji's chest. "K-Kenta... no, wait. Um, sorry, but why would someone like me... what could I possibly have to do with you...?" What came out of his mouth was a pathetically unconfident string of words. Mana smiled. Her double tooth peeked out slightly. "Ahaha, what are you talking about! I wanted to see you. That's all. I'm not lying, really." Shinji was bewildered, at a loss for words. "You're just like your photo, Shinji-kun. Cute." "Photo?" "Yeah. I've been looking at it all this time. ...Oh, crap, doesn't that make me sound like a stalker? That's not it! It's the power of love!" She declared it with a beaming smile, and Shinji couldn't say anything. The entire classroom stared at Mana, dumbfounded. (*What on earth is this girl?*) "A-anyway, introductions are done, and your seat—let's see, that one over there is open," the teacher finally intervened. "Okaaay! Shinji-kun, see you later! I have something to look forward to!" Mana held up a finger, then bounced over to the designated seat. Left behind, Shinji still felt as though he were dreaming. (*Kirishima Mana. ...We've probably never met before today. And yet, it's like I've known her for ages.*) Even after class began, Shinji's heart wouldn't settle down at all. *** Lunch break. Shinji opened his lunch bag and was about to take out the cup noodles he'd bought at the convenience store when it happened. "Shinji-kun! Over here! There's room! Let's eat together!" From the window side near the hallway, Mana waved her hand with all her might. Her voice echoed through the classroom. Feeling the eyes of everyone around him, Shinji shrank into himself. (*She's really standing out...*) "Shinji-kun, it looked like you bought lunch, but you don't have to worry starting today! I made some! A portion for you, Shinji-kun!" Mana lifted a slightly large cloth bundle that had been placed beside her desk. "Oh, um, that's too much. You shouldn't go that far for someone like me—" "It's fine! I worked super hard this morning to make it for you!" Mana laughed, a little embarrassed. That expression was so utterly pure. Shinji felt the area around his stomach grow warm for some reason. (*Someone made a handmade lunch... for me. ...How long has it been since that happened?*) "Well then, since you went to the trouble, I'll take it. ...Thank you, Mana-san." "Just Mana is fine! Adding '-san' makes it sound so distant! Here!" He accepted the bundle she held out. It was a warm lunchbox wrapped in a cute floral-patterned cloth. The surrounding classmates began watching the two of them with great interest. In hushed voices, they murmured things like, "That transfer student's really forward," and "Is she totally into Shinji-kun?" Shinji, his ears turning red, placed the cloth bundle on his desk. "Well then, I'll open it." Shinji set the lunchbox down gently on his desk. It was an oval-shaped aluminum lunchbox, slightly nostalgic in form. (*She's a serious girl. The wrapping and the box are both so carefully done.*) He untied the cloth and lifted the lunchbox. Deep in his chest, a small warmth spread. How long had it been since someone had made him a home-cooked meal? (*...I should thank her properly.*) With that thought, Shinji hooked his fingers under the lid to open it. In that instant. "Ah, wait a second! Listen, I might have put in so much love that the flavor got too intense, so don't be surprised! But it won't explode! Probably! Definitely! Ah, wait, actually, Shinji-kun, when you open that lid, do it gently, gently, okay?" Mana waved her fingers about frantically as she explained. But her warning came just a fraction of a second too late for Shinji's fingers. *Pop.* The lid opened halfway— "...Huh?" *WHOOOOSH.* White smoke erupted from the lunchbox with tremendous force. The classroom air was instantly dyed pure white. "WHOA—!" "What the hell!? It got in my eyes!?" "*Cough, cough!* It stinks! What is this smell! Gunpowder!? Or... farts!?" Screams and shouts rose from all over. Classmates scattered like startled spiders, fleeing toward the windows. "Why!? Why did it explode!? I just warmed it in the microwave!? I didn't even use fire!?" Mana's bewildered voice came from the middle of the white world. In the white smoke, Shinji coughed violently—and yet, he laughed. "...Haha." A giggle escaped his lips. *How utterly ridiculous.* Everything was white. He couldn't see a thing. The smell stung his eyes. And yet, he couldn't help laughing. (*Ah, maybe this is the kind of thing I really wanted to laugh about.*) Taking advantage of the fact that no one could see him, Shinji laughed from the bottom of his gut—though his voice stayed quiet. "Shinji-kun!? Are you okay!? Where are you!? Are you alive!?" Pushing through the white smoke, Mana charged toward Shinji's desk. "I'm fine. I'm alive." Did Mana notice the faint echo of laughter lingering in Shinji's voice? "Uu, I'm sorry! I went to all that trouble and it exploded! I really, really wanted you to eat something delicious, Shinji-kun!" Mana's voice turned tearful. The sun-like brightness from earlier wilted, as if hidden behind clouds. In the white smoke, Shinji groped for Mana's wrist. A slender wrist wrapped in bandages. (*Ah, she really was close by.*) "You don't need to apologize. ...Thank you. Thank you for the lunch." His own voice sounded strangely gentle. "But, but the inside is all messed up... I'm really, really hopeless when it comes to cooking—" "It's fine. Really." Shinji smiled. "You woke up early for me, used fire—well, you said you didn't use fire, but still—you thought about it and made it for me, right? That alone is more than enough. ...Thank you." The white smoke gradually thinned. With the windows thrown open, autumn wind flowed into the classroom. As visibility returned, he saw his classmates hiding under the long desks or dusting themselves off in the corners of the room. "H-hey, Shinji. You seriously okay...?" one of the boys said timidly. "Yeah, I'm fine. ...Sorry about that. It was just a little smoke." "That looked like 'a little' to you!? I thought it was a fire! It's a miracle the fire alarm didn't go off!" "...But somehow, it smells like burnt stuff mixed with cherry blossoms." "I made it using a recipe my mom taught me—warm vegetables with sakura shrimp! I thought it would taste like spring!" "Warm vegetables, but you didn't use fire? What kind of logic is that?" "Because I warmed it in the rice cooker! Once it was warm, all I had to do was put it in the lunchbox! Why did it swell up!?" Mana shot back. A tired but somehow bright laughter spread gradually through the classroom. "Ahaha, you know, Shinji-kun and Mana really suit each other!" ""Huh?"" At a classmate's remark, Shinji and Mana both froze simultaneously. Mana's face turned bright red up to her ears. "W-why!? Ah, but, maybe I'm happy... I've been working hard because I wanted people to say I suit Shinji-kun..." "Mana, you don't have to be so honestly happy about that!" Shinji hurriedly moved to cover Mana's mouth, then stopped midway. This time, the whole classroom was wrapped in unreserved laughter. "Shinji, your face is red!" "Huh? Oh, this is—it's because the smoke stung my eyes..." "Yeah, sure. Does smoke make your ears turn red too?" "Sorry, I'm sorry you all had to see someone like me in such a state..." Shinji looked down. He was laughing together with everyone. (*Ah, how long has it been since I've done this?*) The classroom still smelled faintly of something burnt. But for some reason, even that smell wasn't unpleasant today. "...I'm sorry, Shinji-kun. Next

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Episode 2

Name: Evangelion IF: Shinji Ikari and Mana Kirishima, a World Too Late for Love
Author: Novelia

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