(Indifference)
Things became somewhat more bearable by the second week.
I was deemed fit to walk short distances and eat solid food, so I could at least visit the restroom on my own or idly wander the corridors of the medical ward from time to time.
I would be winded by the time I had made it down the hallway, but I no longer required the oxygen mask and it became feasible to sit up in bed and read, or jot down some notes, for all that it was all rather more complicated with only one hand at my disposal.
The break from the constant agony was certainly not unwelcome, but I can't say that I was happy, since this merely brought me closer to the day when I would fight and bleed again.
But since I was now at least capable of occupying my mind, I settled into an all-new kind of stable, predictable routine, weathering the passage of time as well as I might.
It was around then that I received my first-ever visitor other than Commander Ikari.
There was a noise at the door, at a time when the Commander would have been busy, and my scheduled change of sheets and bandages was still hours away.
I just slightly turned my eyes towards the door with fairly little interest, assuming that Dr. Akagi was come to subject me to yet another kind of procedure – instead, in comes an unusual splash of noise and color thus far unheard of in these parts.
A tall woman comes inside, clumsily balancing a huge bouquet and the several bags that she is carrying. If it wasn't for that token red uniform jacket, I would be wondering if she's even supposed to be here, seeing as she is otherwise wearing light, civilian clothes.
Once she had the chance to place the unfortunate plants down on the nightstand, she exhaled a conspicuous sigh of relief and then turned toward me.
For some reason beyond my understanding, there is a huge, wide smile on her face.
"Good Morning, Soldier~ Pleased to finally make your acqaintance~"
She holds out a hand in greeting before realizing that I am somewhat ill-equipped to take it.
"I'm Captain Misato Katsuragi of the Operations Division, but you may call me Misato if you like.
I just arrived from Europe this morning. I'm going to be your direct commanding officer from now on, so I thought I would pop by for a visit and say Hello!"
...they're bringing the active-duty personnel to headquarters.
That means it might be any moment now.
The promised time is upon us… The days of rage, the end of the world.
Captain Katsuragi here, however, had been told only what she'd strictly need to carry out her role – as had all of us, myself ultimately included.
Though her formal introduction was, by all means, complete, she somehow kept speaking.
"Anyways, I took the liberty of getting you a bunch of flowers to liven up this room!"
Ah. So that's why she was carrying the bouquet.
"Do I have to take it? If it's an order, I will."
...this must have been wrong somehow, again.
The Captain lost some of her bounce right away, though she giggled awkwardly to cover it up.
"Of course, it's not an order. That would be getting ahead of yourself. I just thought you might like them is all."
"I don't."
"Oh- uh, I guess in that case I can take them back with me. I would've brought chocolates, but I wasn't sure if you'd be able to have any, since you're in the hospital and all. Actually, you know what, wait a moment…"
She started digging around in one of her bags, producing miscellaneous sounds of rustling papers.
Soon enough, she retrieved what appeared to be an oblong kind of breadstick.
"I made sure to fill my pockets with these at the airport in Berlin. They're better when they're still hot, but they're delicious even like this – believe it or not, there's a whole sausage hidden in there."
"...I don't eat meat."
"...ah… is that so. Too bad I already ate all the Pretzel Sticks…" She seemed to intend to recoup her earlier buoyancy. "You know what? Next time, I'll make sure to get you some nice, vegan chocolates. Organic, fairtrade, palm-oil free, and all that jazz. I promise!"
"...there is no need."
"Oh."
I don't understand for what purpose she kept talking.
As far as I could tell this conversation ought to be over, yet for some reason, she was showing no sign of leaving – in fact, she was even sitting down now.
"Anyways, I'm pleased to finally meet you in person after years of only knowing you from the little pictures next to your synchro graphs. With Asuka's numbers, you can usually tell whether she had a great week or not, but yours are pretty steady so I can only guess~"
Her affectation of a chuckle did not take long to stall out.
"Soo – tell me about yourself! What's your favorite movie?"
"I don't watch movies."
"Ah, is that so? Are you the type who prefers magazines then? I really like car magazines myself, but those are probably more interesting for grownups. I used to love teen magazines when I was your age, but I'm not sure if the ones from my day are even still around…"
"I wouldn't know. I don't read magazines."
"You collect anything then? Marbles, or trading cards? Do people still like pokemon these days?"
"Excuse me, what is a 'Pokemon'?"
"Oh- uh, never mind."
She made a little wave with the top part of her right hand.
"Ritsuko did warn me that you might be a little tough to get to know. But it's fine, we're not judging here. But you know, Rei – it's alright if I call you 'Rei', yes?"
I didn't see much hope in protesting. She was probably going to do whatever she wanted anyway, just like everybody else.
"I'm sure we'll be getting along swimmingly~"
I wonder what the look on her face would have been if she had been aware that, in effect, her arrival here was equal to the first trumpet of the apocalypse.
Her life as she knew it was right about to end, but to me, the passing of this world would make very little difference.
Stay tuned for the next chapter, in which Rei is surprised.
