The building seemed alien. Each hall Ritsuko passed through was massive, built for something so much bigger than her. That, and the cold tones of the walls made it a very unwelcoming place to be.
Where am I? She couldn't remember. What am I doing here? Stopping to look up, she found herself gazing out a window. It didn't lead outside, like one would expect. Instead, it opened into a giant room; cavernous, and darker than the hallway she was in.
She moved closer to it. There was the faintest of lights embedded at the very top, and what little illumination trickled down showed off a massive silhouette. Far bigger than anything she had seen before.
It looked almost human. It was bipedal, and as she squinted, she could distinguish the lines of shoulders, a neck, and even a head. But what was it? It matched the size of some apartment buildings, yet it retained the hominid form.
Her body grew colder as she faced it. She wanted to look away, but as hard as she tried, she couldn't. It was too tall. Too imposing. Too demanding of attention. And as she focused on it, she noticed a change. Its eyes seemed to glow, and the silhouette of its mouth unhinged. It grinned at her, showing amalgamations of giant human teeth.
Ritsuko jumped back, screaming. She began sprinting through the foreign hallways, taking turns at random. Each passage seemed identical compared to the next. Every light, door, and wall panel was the same.
After a seeming eternity, she stumbled through a doorway unlike the others. She was now in a new room. It almost seemed familiar. Almost. Just in front of her were two people. The man, she recognized. Gendo Ikari was sat in a chair. On his lap was a woman.
They were kissing passionately. Ritsuko couldn't tell who she was. Within a few seconds though, she pulled away, turning to see what the intrusion was. Her expression was blank as Ritsuko locked eyes with her. She instantly recognized the face. "Mother?"
She awoke, shooting up and gasping for air. The sheets, her tank top, even her hair was drenched in sweat. Again… It wasn't the first time she had dreamt about her mother and Gendo. But the Eva smiling at her made a horrifying new addition to the usual nightmare.
Grabbing the phone off of her nightstand revealed it was just past eleven in the morning. She slept longer than usual; over eight hours was an achievement to be proud of. But she didn't feel particularly rested.
The sheets stuck to her as readjusted in bed. It was a disgusting sensation, but she was too focused on her device's screen to do something about it. Misato had sent her a series of text messages, accessorized by a few missed calls.
6:16 PM: Are you alright? What happened earlier?
6:31 PM: Hey, are you feeling okay?
6:40 PM: Are you getting these?
6:43 PM: 1 missed call.
7:02 PM: Call me when you see these please.
8:32 PM: 2 missed calls.
8:58 PM: Did you turn your phone off?
9:47 PM: 1 missed call.
She grew anxious as she read through. It had slipped her mind that Misato had found her puking the day before, on top of watching her obsessively down a pill. I can't believe I let her see that. I'm so sloppy. Dammit!
Throwing her phone down, she pounded the bed. The spring squeaked a little, and the high-pitched noise attracted her cat. Ritsuko felt a little better as it jumped on her bed, purring. "Oh, hello, darling! Are you hungry?"
It meowed at her, rubbing its face against her hands. Cats relaxed her. Many people found them polarizing; they were stereotyped to be standoffish, loathsome animals that didn't respond to direct affection. But she didn't believe that.
She had always adored them ever since she was a little girl. Perhaps her quiet and reserved nature attracted them. Her kitty, while being a friend she could talk freely to, also served as an outlet for her maternal personality, which seemed to grow as time wore on.
The cat left not long after, and she followed it, grabbing dry food out of the cupboard to fill its bowl. The momentary distraction that caretaking gave her vanished after she put the bag back, with Ritsuko once again remembering she had to deal with the previous evening.
Returning to her bedroom, she grabbed the phone, wondering how to answer Misato. A text would be easy, but she wasn't great at wording them. If she wanted to authentically convince her friend that the incident wasn't severe, she would need to do it with her voice.
So she called her, banking on her ability to talk herself out of most situations. The dial tone beeped at her, before the line was dropped. She called again, and still got no answer. It seemed Misato hadn't woken up yet.
Opting to leave a voicemail, she hoped it would be sufficient to stop her from asking too many questions. "Hey, I wanted to let you know everything's fine. I was a little sick, and went to sleep early. Thank you for checking up on me."
She smiled after hanging up. It seemed convincing enough. After she had settled the matter, she once again became aware of the gross state of her clothes. By then, the air of the room had made the sweat cold. It felt like the exposure you'd get after leaving an outdoor pool during winter.
Moving to the restroom, she stripped the tank top and underwear off, and they peeled like wrappers. Ew. Then she reached into the shower, grabbing the lever and turning the water on. She dropped her sleepwear to the floor unceremoniously, getting into the bathtub and under the showerhead.
It felt amazing. Hot water was really all she needed to calm herself. The nagging presence of the nightmare was quickly washed away, as was the sticky sweat. She grabbed a bar of soap, liberally applying it.
Compared to her relatively modest apartment, her bathroom amenities were one of the things Ritsuko splurged her NERV paycheck on. Maybe she felt it appropriate to clean as thoroughly as possible, given how dirty working at the organization made her feel.
Her soap of choice was a German import, manufactured by a company who's name she couldn't pronounce. About three times as expensive as a brand from a grocery store, it was scented ginger and lime. She adored it; high quality, yet lacking in the stereotypical feminine scents that had always given her headaches.
After washing herself, she spent a good deal of time just idling. Ritsuko laid on the wall opposite the shower head, letting the water run over her feet as she inhaled the steam. Her bathtub was quite possibly the safest place she had.
Nothing ever went wrong when she was showering. Nobody could reach her there. No new problems could be imposed on her. It was akin to stopping time; she could remain in there however long she wanted, with no possible variables existing to stress her.
It had been almost an hour when she got out. She felt better than she had after waking up. She dried herself, her haircut not necessitating any maintenance or wrapping after a pat dry. Removing most of the water from her body, she slipped on the white robe hanging from the back of the door.
Leaving the bathroom, she picked up her phone from where she had left it. Hm, is she still asleep? No new reply from Misato. It was late for her to sleep in, even given her alcoholic tendencies. Whatever. She got my message. Deciding not to worry about it anymore, she walked into her living area.
Her cat had finished its breakfast, and was fast asleep on the top of the couch. She debated making coffee in the kitchen, but saw no reason to because of how long she slept. She sat down close by her pet, grabbing the novel she had been reading off the coffee table.
She was only a few pages into Wuthering Heights. Why she insisted on wrapping her head around tragic love stories, she wasn't sure. She didn't want to admit to herself that it was a template form of escapism; instead, she pretended to be studying the human condition. It was the same excuse she applied to so many vain activities.
A knock on the door interrupted her only a few words in. Who could that possibly be? There had been a 'no soliciting' sticker outside her door for quite some time. Salesmen aside, the only other person that would show up at her home was…
Undoing the locks and opening the door, she was surprised to find Misato smiling at her. The woman held a peace sign out with two fingers. In the other hand was a bag, not descript but obviously filled with items.
"Ritsuko! How are you?! Are you feeling any better?" She blinked. "What are you doing here?" "I got your message, and thought you could use some company!" They looked at each other for a minute. What part of what I said could possibly indicate I want company?
"Beep beep! Coming through." Misato pushed past her without asking permission to come in, placing her bag on the table. Ritsuko was about to complain, to tell her to leave, before she was cut off. "Oh, hello, Mr. Simba! Who's a good kitty? Is it you?"
The cat wasn't too fond of being woken up, but it stretched out, letting the energetic girl pet it. "It's been so long since I've seen you! Are you taking good care of your mom?" Sighing, Ritsuko shut the door, giving in to Misato's visit.
"What's in this bag?" It was opaque. She couldn't tell what was inside, but it seemed heavy. Leaving the cat, Misato moved to intercept her. "Ah-ah! You don't need to worry yourself." She walked Ritsuko over to the couch. "You lie down, now. You need rest. I'll take care of everything."
Oh lord, she thinks I have the flu, doesn't she? "Misato, I'm not…" "No excuses! You are spending the day off your feet. Now, which soup do you want?" "What? Soup?" Out of the bag, she retrieved two thermoses.
"Chicken noodle, or hot and sour shrimp?" She held them in either hand. It was obvious from the containers that she had made themselves, probably right after getting Ritsuko's message. She's awfully sweet.
She was a little hungry, not yet having eaten. Soup wouldn't be her breakfast of choice even if she was ill, but she couldn't ignore the effort her friend and put into cooking for her. "The chicken noodle sounds fine."
Misato smiled. "My mom always said it's the best for colds." She opened the container, taking a plastic spoon out of her bag and bringing it over to Ritsuko, who was lying on the couch. "I have utensils, you know." "But then you have to do dishes! You're not doing any work until you feel better."
"I'm not even that sick!" I'm not sick at all… The other woman took on a frown, staring directly at her. "Not that sick? You were puking your guts out last night! Now eat the damned soup, or I'll make you! Got it?"
The intensity that filled her words seemed out of place. "Y-yes, ma'am." Taking the plastic tool, she sat up, scooping a little bit out of the thermos. She expected it to be terrible, given Misato having a diet that was exclusively instant food.
It was great, though. The broth was clearly homemade. It had too much flavor to be from a store. The chicken was well cooked, the noodles were soft, and the pallet of vegetables perfectly accessorized the meal.
She couldn't get enough, finishing a quarter of it within a minute or two. "Wow, this is great." Misato relaxed, sitting down next to her. "You say that like you're surprised." "Well, whenever I come over, you feed me instant food."
Shrugging, she didn't address her comment directly. "When it matters, I can make excellent meals. Only when it matters. It's how my brain works." "And I suppose this one of those times?"
They made eye contact. "Of course! We can't have Ritsuko Akagi feeling under the weather now, can we?" She laughed. Ritsuko was enjoying her company more than she thought she would. It served as a very welcome distraction.
"So…" Misato stood up again, grabbing more items out of the bag she had brought. They were DVD cases. "What should we watch? Sick girl gets to pick." They were ridiculously cheesy titles, undoubtedly pulled from her personal collection.
The likes of Road House, Sharknado, Howard the Duck, and the entire series of Home Alone was the range she had to choose from. Each one seemed abysmal. She's being so kind. I guess I can humor her. "Alright. We'll watch the Swayze movie."
Misato's face lit up. "YES!" She popped Road House out of its case, running it over to the DVD player. She came back to her seat, grabbing the other soup to snack on. "Hey, Rits?" She looked up. "If you need anything – water, medicine, whatever – just let me know, okay?"