The night before flashed through Misato's mind as she called for a taxi. She remembered most of the night pretty well, including the tail end of her argument with Kaji, but there were several blank spots that she had trouble remembering. Misato pinched her temples as she tried to piece together the information that was missing.
After a fruitless moment of concentration, Misato gave up and leant against a phone pole. The pressure of standing on her aching feet was killing her, and as she rested she slipped out of her heels. As much as she wanted to get away from Kaji, she wouldn't deny that she would have preferred some more rest before leaving.
Due to dehydration and an awkward sleeping position, her neck and head were throbbing in pain. Her mouth tasted like vomit, and was dry enough to feel like she had been drinking glasses full of sand all night. Her throat was coarse from yelling, and her feet were red and swollen - likely from passing out without taking off her heels.
Putting her phone away, Misato waited for her taxi to arrive. It wasn't too long before it showed up, and she was soon concentrating on how to relieve her headache on the way back to her apartment.
Slowly, small snippets of memory started coming back to her. She remembered drinking at the bar, speaking with Rei... then falling asleep on Kaji's shoulder on the way back home. The beginning of their argument began coming back to her, but it left before Misato could grasp it. A few blocks away from her apartment, she let out a tired sigh.
"Hey, could you drop me off just here? I need to get something."
"Sure thing, ma'am."
Climbing out onto the pavement, she gave the driver a few loose bills. As he drove away, Misato sighed.
"I need a drink."
Yawning, Misato stepped into a small convenience store and bought a soda.
Finding a bench on the street, Misato sat down and sipped on her drink. As she relaxed, she took out her phone and began looking through her messages. Seeing that she hadn't sent any drunk texts, a small feeling of relief washed through her.
After putting her phone away, Misato nursed her soda and thought for a bit. The sun was blotted out by the buildings along the street she was on, leaving the area pleasantly cool.
She thought back on the night before she and Kaji went home. The food was good, she remembered as much - and then she remembered finding the dive bar they ended up at. A bit of the haze clearing from her throbbing head, she remembered how many pitchers of beer they ended up drinking.
The memory of beer sent a nasty taste through her mouth. Cringing, Misato took another sip of her drink.
The amount of beer they'd all drank was surprising - moreso because she hadn't pegged Shinji and Rei as big drinkers. They hadn't drank as much as herself or Kaji, but looking back on the night, they had more than she thought they could handle.
"Man, Shinji even carried Kaji outside for a while. That kid's stronger than he looks."
Musing to herself, Misato tried to remember beyond there - only to once again find a fuzzy gap in her memory. She vaguely remembered being warm and happy, before the few memories of their fight kicked in.
...Oh jeez, did we have sex last night?
Cringing, Misato crossed her legs uncomfortably.
...I don't want to think about that right now.
As much as she wanted to put the thought out of her head, it stayed with her the more she tried to get away from it. Praying for a distraction, she jumped as she felt her phone vibrate.
Grabbing it as quickly as she could, Misato looked for what she assumed had been a text message.
She was soon met by a "low battery" notification.
Though she was thankful for the distraction, Misato frowned regardless. The thought of moving with her aching feet wasn't a pleasant prospect.
Slipping out of her heels again, she downed the rest of her drink and stood up. Binning the empty can, she began walking towards her apartment complex - barefoot, with heels in hand.
Not counting the fight, it was a really good night out. What exactly went wrong...?
Turning a corner, Misato got an eyeful of sunlight as it bounced off the sidewalk. She recoiled as a sharp pain seemed to crack through her skull, and she covered her eyes as she swayed unsteadily.
Taking a few seconds to stabilize herself, Misato looked down at the brightly lit pavement and blinked slowly. Her eyes soon adjusted, and she began walking again.
...Maybe I shouldn't be so proud of drinking those pitchers after all.
The phantom taste of beer stayed in Misato's mouth until she reached her apartment building. As soon as she walked through her front door, she headed for the bathroom to brush her teeth and have a shower.
As she entered the bathroom, she noticed a disheveled pair of Kaji's pants lying in front of the sink.
"...Inconsiderate bastard."
With a bitter frown, she kicked them out of the way.
After showering, Misato went to the kitchen to grab a drink. Opening the door, she came face to face with a shelf full of Yebisu. Looking away as her stomach gurgled painfully, she got a bottle of water from the door.
Rummaging through her handbag, Misato grabbed her phone and took it over to her work-desk to charge. Satisfied as the screen lit up with a "charging" notification, she sat it down and went to make something to eat.
As she prepared a bowl of instant noodles, her mind drifted back to Kaji.
Man, what was up with him last night? Steals my bathroom, doesn't even use the fan... hell, we barely even spoke to each other at dinner. He spent all that time talking about TV with Shinji!
Gritting her teeth, Misato tore open a seasoning packet and dumped the contents into the styrofoam bowl. After putting the rest of the sachets in and putting the water on to boil, she leant back against the kitchen counter.
...Then again, I don't think either of us wanted to talk in the first place. Maybe it was for the best.
It wasn't too long before the water came to a boil, and Misato was soon carrying a steaming bowl of instant noodles out to her living room. Finding a mostly empty spot on her coffee table, she swept some garbage and old paperwork away and sat her noodles down.
Despite keeping a well-maintained workspace at NERV, Misato wasn't a big fan of cleaning - as reflected by her junkyard of an apartment. Beer cans and instant food containers littered her living space, and her coffee table and work-desk were covered in old forms and copied documents.
Taking a seat on her couch, Misato leant forward and let the steam from her noodles float upwards into her face. The warmth from the steam, mixed with the spicy aroma of the seasoning, brought a sense of comfort with it as Misato breathed it in. Matters that were pressing on her mind seemed to float away with the soothing mixture of heat and spice.
With her mind settling, Misato concentrated on her noodles. The previous night seemed to get further away the longer she ate, and the uncomfortable memories were soon far enough away for her to relax. It wasn't long before she reached for the TV remote, choosing to distract herself further with a schlocky low-budget movie from the early 70's.
Shaking off a thin blanket that had been lying next to the couch, Misato threw it over herself and curled up in it. She was on the verge of falling asleep half an hour later as the movie began to reach its climax.
Closing her eyes as the weariness finally took over, a loud synthetic jingle rang out from Misato's phone, shaking her awake.
"Nrgh... phone call..."
Grumbling as she sluggishly kicked off the blanket, she trudged her way over to her work-desk.
Picking up her still-charging phone, Misato saw that the caller was Kaji. The tension that had been buried with comfort food and trashy TV began to come up again, and she hesitated to answer for a moment.
Is this it...?
With her stomach tying itself into a knot, Misato unplugged her phone and hit the answer command.
"Hello? Kaji?"
for a second, all Misato heard was the faint crackle of interference. Eventually she could make out the faint sound of someone breathing on the other end.
"Kaji? You there?"
The low rumble of a passing car came through. The breathing on the other end remained consistent, unflinching. A cold, uncomfortable prickle shot across Misato's skin as the unfamiliar speaker said nothing.
"...Kaji?"
Her voice tinged with uncertainty, Misato jumped as she heard a response - a sharp inhale of air, as if the other person had just realized that they were on the phone. A dry, throaty gulp came next, before even the steady breathing disappeared. Frozen in place, Misato waited for a response.
Finally, the voice spoke.
"...Wrong number."
As the other number disconnected, an intense bolt of dread coursed through Misato's spine and up her arm. There was no doubt that it had been Kaji on the other end of the call, but he sounded years away.
To her, it felt like she had intercepted a phone call from seven years ago.
It was the late afternoon when Misato called Kaji back. After receiving the earlier call, she had sat down on her couch, curled up in her blanket and thought hard about the night before. She had gotten up for a beer sometime during the process, but it sat across from her half-finished.
Eventually, she had pieced together the full gist of their argument - a few memories were still lost, but she had managed to retrieve the start of the argument as well as the more scathing comments herself and Kaji had thrown at each other. Resigning herself to the task at hand, Misato dialed Kaji's number and waited for him to pick up.
Kaji's phone rang on for a while, with Misato gripping her phone tighter with every ring. But eventually, he answered.
"...Hey."
"Hey."
An uncomfortable silence fell as both parties struggled to find something to say. Kaji eventually choked out the first word.
"You feelin' alright?"
"Y-yeah," Misato stammered out. "It took a while to recover, but I'm okay."
"That's good to hear. You were pretty sick last night." A tense sigh escaped from Kaji's mouth.
Misato's hand gripped the phone like a vice.
"I know. I drank way too much and acted like a nuisance. I'm sorry."
The stilted words forced their way out of Misato's mouth, her jaw rigid with shame. Wincing at her tone of voice, Kaji paused for a moment.
"...I am angry about that, but how long have we known each other? These things happen, we both know that."
Trying to defuse the situation with a casual comment, Kaji found his voice hardening at the end. Regardless, it elicted a soft, dry laugh from Misato.
"Yeah, I guess so."
Both Kaji and Misato fell silent again, the tension between them as tight as before. Stewing in shame as her stomach continued to tense up, Misato inhaled deeply and pushed ahead with the reason for her call.
"...I remember the argument, Kaji."
Her mouth twisted into a painful grimace, Misato braced herself.
"...Yeah. So do I."
Judging from his voice, Kaji sounded about as prepared for the topic as Misato. A tiny ounce of tension left Misato's grip with that realization.
"...What are we going to do about it?"
Kaji sighed heavily on the other end.
"...We should talk about it."
With Misato murmuring her agreement, a third tense silence fell between them. The constant clenching of Misato's jaw made her teeth begin to hurt.
With the constant stalling, aching and hesitation, Misato began to develop a headache. As her clenched jaw began to send waves of dull pain through her skull, the knot in her stomach began to pull itself loose - and as the silence dragged on, Misato's patience grew thinner.
After a long silence, Misato heard Kaji inhale like he was going to say something. Seconds passed, with each one stretching for what felt like days.
Deciding not to voice whatever thought had come to him, Kaji shallowly exhaled. A jolt of surprise shook the last of Misato's tension loose as she heard Kaji's strained breath over the phone.
Irritation soon began to outweigh tension in her mind, and she struggled to remain composed. With no other signs of activity coming from Kaji, a surge of blood rushed to her head - and for a moment, Misato saw red.
"...God DAMMIT, I can't STAND this!"
Kaji cried out in pain as Misato yelled into the phone.
"Jeez, Misato, what are you trying to-"
"We can't communicate like this!" Misato yelled. "We've never been good at talking like this, you know that as well as I do!"
Kaji's patience soon ran out as well, his unsteady calmness giving way to a fiery, uneven rage.
"Well, what do we do then, Misato?! How else are we going to sort this out if we can't talk to each other?"
"Y'know what, Kaji?" Misato lowered her voice's volume, speaking directly into the mouthpiece through gritted teeth. "Why don't we do this face to face like adults for once? Actually speak to each other?"
"..."
Kaji fell silent, bristling with rage. Steeling her voice with resolve, Misato repeated herself.
"Let's meet up. Or can't you handle the pressure of breaking up with me in person?"
Struggling to find a rebuttal, Kaji eventually replied in defeat. The frustration in his voice was barely disguised.
"Alright then. LCL, one hour?"
"Sounds good. See you there, then."
With that, both Kaji and Misato hung up.
The wave of adrenaline that had hit Misato stayed with her as she put her phone back on charge and went to the bathroom. It was only after she went to sit back down that she began to falter - her legs giving out as shock took over.
Crashing down onto the couch, Misato clawed for the can of beer sitting on the table in front of her. after gulping it down, she curled up tightly in the blanket she had been using as all the anger she had directed at Kaji turned into anxiety.
We're... talking this out over dinner?
Burying her head deeper into the blanket as the situation began to sink in, a warm wave of catharsis washed through Misato's whole body.
We have a chance to settle this. Properly.
Basking in the feeling for a moment, Misato eventually stretched out and gingerly threw the blanket off. The anger that had filled her minutes before was gone, replaced by an unfamiliar serenity.
We're probably coming to an end again. But we're doing it the right way this time.
Making her way over to the sink, Misato looked up into the mirror and into her own eyes. The tired static that had been broadcasting throughout her head all day had silenced, and both her mind and eyes were clear as day.
For the first time that day, Misato genuinely smiled.
Turning towards the shower, her foot made contact with a disheveled article of clothing. Flailing as her feet were swept out from under her, Misato hit the tiled floor of her bathroom hard.
Smacking her head against the floor, Misato fell silent.
Twenty seconds of silence passed.
Did that... did I just...?
Misato's foot twitched as she processed what had just happened. Lifting her throbbing head to survey her surroundings, she spied the article of clothing that had resulted in her fall.
Kaji's pants.
A rush of dull pain radiated through her skull. Staring at the article of clothing, Misato opened and closed her mouth, unable to find the words she was looking for.
As the pain migrated to the point behind her forehead, however, the words found their way spilling out of her mouth.
"...That thoughtless, inconsiderate, lazy, selfish BASTARD!"
AN: If you're reading this, then A Shared Existence is one year old! I've never stayed on an ongoing writing project for a year before - even with some shortcomings, it's been a good year and I'm proud of what I've done. Maybe I'll make it into next year, too - here's hoping!
A big thanks to The Broken Shogun, who looked over this chapter before it was published. Being without spellcheck at the moment, having another person look over my work was a great relief. Thank you!
More chatter over on the devblog - the link to which is on my profile, as always. What's in store for next chapter? It's a mystery - for all you know, it'll be a detailed description of Shinji eating cereal in his underpants. See you then!