"...he made it all the way from Fujioka during Second Impact?" asked Shinji, trying to think about the rough distance in his head. "That's...over a hundred kilometers, isn't it?"
"Like I said, I've got no idea
how. My guess is that he pulled some favors with the military; he was employed by the Japan Metaphysical Research Agency, but had spent a lot of time networking within the Defense Ministry for the sake of his work...but all that matters is that he got me out of Tokyo, right as the JSDF got the authority to break out heavy ordnance." She paused, glancing towards the window, at the city lights.
The Beast smiled knowingly.
"I wonder if she is envisioning a city in flames?"
"...well...I'm glad your father was able to save you."
"You'd think, wouldn't you?" she said, a wry and self-deprecating smile coming to her face. "When I finally snapped to it, I was back in Fujioka, and my father was asking how I felt. Want to know what I told him?" For some reason, the way she phrased it, with such
foreboding...he felt a brief impulse to say 'no'. He nodded nonetheless. "I told him...'
took you long enough, didn't it? Was work too important to get away from to save mom?'" Shinji paled, mouth hanging low with horror. Misato huffed with amusement. "Yeah, talk about being ungrateful, right? Years of bitterness weren't going to go away just because of a tragedy; I wanted him to hurt...I didn't know how to deal with the pain of losing mom, so I took it out on someone I hated. Or
thought I hated, at least. It would take a while before I learned what
real hatred felt like."
"...that's..."
"I know, kind of heavy, ain't it? That's people for you: everyone has things they're ashamed of, that they're not proud of...mistakes they wish they hadn't made...but if they do it right, those will help them become better."
"...so...good things can come from the bad?"
"Absolutely," she answered, bearing a more optimistic smile, one that was familiar. "I
have to believe that, or else this world would feel too shitty otherwise. Apologies for the swear." She briefly chuckled. "Sometimes I forget that I'm supposed to be a parental model for kids, now...but that's just one more thing I have to keep working at until I get better."
"...so...what next...?"
Misato paused, thinking quietly. Finally, she answered by rising out of her chair. "Mind if I take a rain check and continue some other time?"
"Oh," Shinji said with a blink, because of
course Misato would want to take a break from recalling her traumatic past. "Sure...thank you for sharing it, Misato-san." He lightly bowed as best as he could, wincing as the bobbing motion of his head made him feel woozy. (
Man, concussions just SUCK. Toji would have been proud of such blunt verbiage.)
"If you learn at least one thing from my story, Shinji-kun, let it be this: life's too short to waste on being bitter. Even if it feels good at the time." She clicked the nearby lampstand off, casting the room in darkness; the only lights were the pale radiance coming from the hallway outside the room, and the flickering ambience of Tokyo-3's skyline. "Sleep well, kid." And thus she departed, leaving Shinji by himself.
...well. That was something. Sighing, he leaned back, gazing at the ceiling which was at once familiar (because it was so common in these skyscraper environments) and unfamiliar (because he was now used to waking up to the sight of a bunk bed's top half hovering overhead).
His Other stood upon a lonely mountain.
"The suffering of others is never easy to bear."
Walking to an impossible orchard, he gazed down at a seedling.
"And yet the empathy born from it...can bear great fruit."
I wonder...how she managed to grow past it...?
A story for another time, probably.
xxxx
Meanwhile, just outside Shinji's room, Misato leaned against the wall, staring at nothing in particular.
That particular 'nothing' was the illusionary image of a massive swordswoman, staring at her from behind a white mask bearing a blue cross. It was a nifty cognitive sleight of hand, so to speak: some called it a form of meditation, but she had never been fond of that terminology. After all, meditation (in her mind) was all about silence, quiet, achieving inner peace and tranquility, and all that jazz; sometimes, there was
nothing tranquil about conversing with Tokoyo, who was as much of a believer in the School of Hard Knocks as she was (for obvious reasons).
Her Other sighed.
"You are being rather morose."
...it's been awhile since I thought that deeply about the bad old days.
Her Other snorted.
"And you would complain? Sometimes, it is a good thing to revisit your old circumstances, to think about how far you've come."
Keeping me humble, eh?
"Not at all. After all, the growth you needed to endure, to move beyond those days...gave rise to me."
True, Misato admitted to herself. The wretched way she had treated her father in the immediate years after Second Impact...they were practically a
prerequisite for the jarring shock that his death had been. That, and much more, had led to who she was now, as horrible as that was to consider...and, despite all the crap she had to deal with in her current state of life, she actually
liked who she was now: a work-in-progress.
Her Other laughed.
"And aren't we all?"
Aren't we all, she echoed with a smile,
for I am thou...
"...and thou art I."
Satisfied, Misato calmly stepped away from the wall. Tokoyo — no longer present in her mind's eye — faded into the recesses of her cognition, allowing Misato to think about more pressing things: like how Mana-chan was doing.
I hope things are going well...
xxxxx
/Meanwhile, back at Misato's Apartment/
Ryuji, Toji, Kensuke, and even
Pen-Pen stared with utter shock at the lone female. "You've
gotta be cheating!" yelled Suzuhara.
Mana frowned, staring down at the hand she had played. "Don't insult me."
"...do you realize the sheer improbability of getting a
royal flush?" asked Aida.
"No. Should I?"
Ryuji simply leaned back in his chair, shaking his head as he chewed on his slice of pizza. "Sheesh, I'm so glad we're not doing bets...you're pretty lucky at this game, kiddo."
"...hmm. I've never been called lucky before," admitted the child soldier. "I would much rather prefer I be lucky at something worthwhile."
"...
wark," sighed Pen-Pen.
"Yeah, talk about a mood-killer," admitted Ryuji as he gathered the cards up. "Welp, my deal again!"
xxxx
...eh, I'm sure they're fine, Misato assured herself.
xxxx
END OF 7/18/2015
xxxx
/Sun Confidant
//now at Rank 4
