" You need to cook to mend the relationship between Gendo and Shinji, but none of the three of you can cook "

Everyone knew that Shinji had a terrible relationship with his father. While Gendo wouldn't even spare Shinji a glance, how could Shinji ever understand or connect with his father? The void left by his father's absence would always remain in his heart, bothering him perhaps for the rest of his life.

But Rei couldn't just turn a blind eye to this situation. Shinji was someone she truly cared about and wanted to see happy; seeing him so sad and broken hurt Rei deeply as well. So, using her closeness with Commander Ikari, she decided to organize a dinner party where everyone could attend. As expected, Gendo didn't refuse Rei's request and agreed to come to dinner. Rei believed she could fix the rift between Gendo and Shinji this way. Unfortunately, Rei had overlooked a major detail.

Rei didn't know how to cook; she had never needed to before. Usually, Shinji was the one who handled the meals for the pilots—Rei, Asuka, and you—so none of you had ever managed to learn how to cook before. At first, Rei tried to cook something light on her own, but she didn't achieve the success she wanted. Her fingers were covered in bandages, and she hadn't made any progress. That was why she invited you and Asuka over to her apartment.

---

"It's really hard to believe Commander Ikari's favorite lives in a place like this," Asuka grumbled, scanning Rei's room. The messiness of the surroundings and the sheer amount of bandages almost unsettled her. "Heh, feels almost as depressing as stupid Shinji's room."

Rei didn't say anything. As the two of you inspected her apartment, she leaned against the kitchen doorway, watching you. Truthfully, she hadn't expected you to come; both of you usually seemed annoyed by Shinji's weakness and depression, but when Rei explained her plan, both of your expressions softened. Even though Asuka played hard to get, you both agreed.

Stepping into the kitchen felt almost like walking into a math exam. You placed all the ingredients you bought on the way onto the counter, and Rei slowly began emptying the bags. The items you and Asuka had bought were so unrelated to each other that Rei hesitated on whether to kick you both out, but since you didn't even know what you were going to cook, how could she expect more from you? Perhaps if you had done this in Misato's kitchen, you might have been luckier with ingredients, but Shinji walking in suddenly and finding out about the surprise early wouldn't have been nice.

Asuka looked at the items she had bought with immense pride, her arms crossed over her chest. "Alright, so what are we doing now?" Asuka asked with a confident voice. It was obvious she already had something in mind. "I think we should make local German dishes. We need to show stupid Shinji what real, filling food tastes like. Even Commander Ikari will definitely love it, and then the two of them can fix their relationship."

"...It might be better to go with lighter, traditional Japanese food," Rei said in a quiet, calm voice. "I don't think Shinji or Commander Ikari are accustomed to German food. We wouldn't want their stomachs hurting by the end of the night."

Asuka let out a deep sigh, then turned to you. "What do you think, Fourth Child? Cool German food, or boring, ordinary Japanese food?"