Disclaimer: Do we really still need to do these? Shouldn't it be self-evident that we don't own the copyrighted source material for stuff we're posting on a fanfiction site?
A/N: Five years is a long time. I didn't feel back then like this chapter was complete—it felt too short. But I think, sometimes, that's fine. So here's Ritsuko, at long last.
It's sad, really. The way our parents define us.
When I was a child, my mother was my hero. A celebrated scientist, a strong, independent woman. Her career meant she had less time for parenting than some mothers, but in a way I appreciate that. It helped me learn to fend for myself, and that's something I've had to do a lot of.
For all that she was an amazing woman in so many ways, though, she wasn't happy. She wanted love. It's something I didn't really understand about her until I was an adult myself, but there was something in her that made her feel she needed a man. And not just any man—Him.
I could always see it-the way she looked at him when his wife wasn't watching. He was handsome, with an understated sense of power and danger that was undeniably exciting. I may have had a bit of a crush myself, even back then. But my mother could never come out ahead of Yui Ikari.
And now here I am. Following in her footsteps, working with her magnum opus. The Magi let me feel a connection with her that we never really managed when she was alive.
But I'm also lonely, in those rare moments when I have the time to stop and feel it.
When I was little, I wanted to be just like my mother. And now I am.
