"Shinji! Shinji! Get the hell up!" Misato banging on his door quickly drew the boy awake. "W-w-hat? What time is it?" "Like eleven. You slept long enough! Get some clothes on!"
In just over a minute, he stumbled into the hallway, still rubbing sleep from his eyes. "What's going on? An angel?" She crossed her arms. "No, not an angel. Ritsuko's sick!" "Huh? Dr. Akagi?"
"Mhm." Shinji blinked, confused. "What does that have to do with me?" "She needs our help, idiot!" "S-she does?" He sat down on a stool, still wondering what she was getting at. Misato was scrolling away on a computer. "Do you know how to make soup, Shinji?"
"Sorta? Wait, are asking me to…" Sitting the laptop on the counter, she reached down and grabbed a pot from the cupboard. "You're gonna make chicken noodle soup!" "For Dr. Akagi?" "Mhm. And I'm gonna make this one, but you're gonna walk me through it."
She switched the tab to a different recipe. "Misato, do we even have all the ingredients?" Rolling her eyes, she let out a groan. "I dunno! Check! I'll go and grab what we need." She sat down as Shinji checked the kitchen.
"We need carrots, oregano… oh, and everything for the other one, except the shrimp." "Ugh, okay. Can you get started at least?" He nodded, and Misato got up, grabbing her coat and wallet. "I'll be right back with the stuff. And Shinji, thank you." His smile indicated that, despite being jarred awake, he was happy to help.
Over two hours later, Misato was whispering under her breath as she finished the last spoonful of her food. "Nice kid." Ritsuko perked up, looking away from the movie. "What was that?" Oh, did I say that out loud? "Nothing. Soup good?"
"Delicious. Thank you." She'd almost finished off the chicken noodle by herself, which was an exception given she normally stuck to small portions. "So, you're feeling better, then?" She nodded.
The film had about come to a close; neither of them were paying much attention as Patrick Swayze broke a stool over a nameless man's head. The energy in the room made it obvious their hangout was coming to an end.
"Misato, I appreciate you coming out to check on me." "Of course! I never saw you like how you were last night, so I wanted to make sure you were alright." The blonde leaned in, getting a few inches away from her friend. "Your company means a lot. I'll be fine on my own, though."
The women hugged each other briefly. "Hm. Were you drinking ginger ale?" "What?" "I can smell ginger ale. Oh man, do you have any? I'd love some right now." She laughed, knowing Misato was probably smelling her soap. "No, I don't. Too bad."
"Well, I guess I'll be going, huh?" Ritsuko nodded at her. She stood up, moving over to the entertainment system and ejecting her DVD. "Oh hey, I wanted to ask you something." "What's that?" "Why is Commander Ikari always calling you in?"
She froze up, standing for no real reason beyond feeling panicked. "W-what? What do you mean?" Misato raised an eyebrow. "You two have one-on-ones almost every day. What're they about? Eva stuff?"
Ritsuko didn't say anything. Her mind had began to wander. If Misato was asking questions, did that mean it was obvious? How many others at NERV have seen me going in and out of his office? "Rits? Hello?"
"Oh, s-sorry. Um…" "If it's classified, you can just say so." Thankful for the lifeline, she nodded. "Yeah, erm, yes. Classified. Sorry. She smiled as she packed her DVD in its case. "No problem!"
As the doctor stood awkwardly, she packed up the thermoses. "Have a good day, Ritsuko! If you need anything, just call." "Thank you!" She was out the door quickly, leaving her friend alone in her apartment once more.
Sitting down on the couch, she clutched her head. A migraine had manifested itself after Misato had mentioned Gendo. If she's talking, other people are talking. The pain grew as she processed it. Of course they are! He's been insatiable this past month…
She quickly flashed through memories from various encounters with him. They were all the same: objectifying, bleak, and unsatisfying. It was to the point where they began to blend together. I hate this. I really fucking hate this.
Within a few seconds the headache had shifted into the front of her skull, resembling a vice squeezing her. Ritsuko knew what would come next. She whimpered as the pain rolled down into her throat, before it quickly extended through her stomach.
The nausea she was oh so familiar with took hold, and she found herself moving towards her bathroom without realizing. She spoke out loud, as if talking to someone. "Please, I don't want to today. Not today!"
Her request was cut off as she retched. She threw up the contents of the soup instantaneously. Then she lurched forward again, emptying whatever else was in her stomach into the toilet bowl. "I can't… do this… Anymore…"
When it had ended, she laid back on the bathroom floor. The tiles were cold, but she didn't care. The worst part about the vomiting was how strained her face became. It was hard to breath for a good while after, and her cheeks felt as if they were going to burst.
How did I get here? How far gone am I that the mere thought of that man makes me sick? A single tear had began rolling its way down her cheek. It wasn't because of how she felt. It was because she knew on Monday, she would go right back to him, to be used again.
She didn't keep track of how long she laid on the floor, only being dragged back to reality by her cat. It walked up to her, licking her cheek, likely after the dried tear. Ritsuko wasn't in the mood to engage it, though. She let the raspy tongue clean her face as she remained still.
Misato, meanwhile, was focused on her drive back home. Sometimes, she came off as a ditz. Or just someone that couldn't be bothered. But she always paid attention to the people she cared about, which was why she knew something was wrong with Ritsuko.
Even a deaf person would have been able to notice the shift in her tone after the mention of Gendo. The girl had become quiet and unresponsive. There was something going on with the two them. But what?
Her brain had jumped to the possibility of her being overworked. It seemed logical enough. Ritsuko was the only one qualified to maintain the Magi cluster, and they needed a lot of care, especially given the new frequency of angel attacks.
But she wasn't like that. In all the years Misato knew her, she never succumbed to stress. Not in college, or her personal life, and especially not at NERV. Overworking wasn't the answer. It had to be something else.
It was no coincidence she had found her sick in the bathroom right after her meeting with Gendo. Something he had said or done had pushed her over the edge. What could it be? She punched instinctually, honking her horn and startling the car in front of her out of frustration.
Ritsuko… Even more worrying were the pills she saw her taking. Logically, one would guess they were for her flu. But Misato had never seen that kind of medication in a prescription bottle. She'd pick it up at a grocery store, not a pharmacy. And they definitely wouldn't be pink…
Maybe, she thought, I'm overanalyzing this. I'm not a detective. But she knew, deep down, her concern was justified. "Well, at least I reaffirmed that I'm there to talk to! Whatever that counts towards." Talking out loud really didn't make her feel any better.
It was late in the evening. After her second shower of the day – a necessary measure, to keep herself sane – Ritsuko was feeling better. She hadn't worked up the nerve to eat much beyond a few crackers, but she was doing okay.
Finally making progress on her novel, she was doing her best to avoid thinking about what had triggered her that day. It was a simple exercise for a woman like her to avoid imagining a singular subject. Distractions were key, though.
Which was exactly the reason why she became annoyed as her phone buzzed. She just wanted to read. Nothing more, nothing less. Thinking it would be Misato performing another check-in, she prepared to give an idle reply.
Until she read the contact name. The number was hidden. She hoped so badly that it would be some sort of spam, or even a message mistakenly sent to her, but as she read it became painfully clear she was the intended recipient.
8:01 PM: Make yourself look nice. A car will be picking you up in forty minutes.
That was it. The entire message. Cryptic, cold, and unwavering. Its nature would've given her plausible deniability to ignore it, but she knew she couldn't. She knew she couldn't. He won't even leave me alone on the weekends.
She expected the thought of Gendo to fully manifest her anxiety once more. Maybe she'd be sprawled over the toilet, barfing her guts up, too sick to actually participate in his rendezvous. But that's not what happened.
Her body moved like a zombie. As soon as the words were read into her brain, she got off the couch, throwing her book down without even marking the page. Ritsuko left the living area, moving to her closet.
Opening it, she didn't hesitate whatsoever before grabbing a dress off the rack. It was black, and understated, aside from having the most revealing cut of her entire wardrobe. She knew he would like it.
Tossing it on the bed, she opened a drawer, grabbing stockings and slipping them on after ripping off her comfortable clothes. Then she donned the dress, quickly spinning in her mirror to make sure it was pulled down evenly.
With that, she picked a matching pair of heels, and walked into the bathroom. She spent twenty minutes on makeup; just some foundation, and a little blush for her cheeks. The rest of the time was focused on accentuating her eyes.
She finished quickly. Now fully dressed to impress, she sat on the chair closest to the door, clutching her phone. What am I doing? What the hell am I doing? Ritsuko was perfectly still, waiting like a statue as her internal monologue yelled.
I hate that man! Why the fuck am I going out with him on a weekend? He didn't even give me an hours' notice! She didn't answer her own question. Why would she? Even if she came to some resounding logic, it wouldn't free her.
It was a curse, in effect. Gendo Ikari had her wrapped around his finger. And as much as she wanted to ignore him, to deny him, to leave his advances unanswered, she couldn't. She screamed silently inside her own head. No one else heard her. Not even Misato.