the day has been nothing out of the ordinary -- routinely mundane, almost comfortingly so in that asuka is beginning to settle into this new lifestyle. tokyo - 3 is exceedingly different from anywhere else she has ever been, not only physically, but the personalities she has encountered have been eccentric in their own ways. initially, asuka had wanted to stay with kaji, as she was more accustomed to being around him than any of the other adults when she first arrived. however, misato had interjected and insisted that asuka stay with her. when asuka disagreed ( no way was she rooming with the third child ! ), ritsuko had spoken up.
thus, asuka is on her way to ritsuko’s apartment, light of foot and free of mind. it’s when she hears a cry that she stops in her tracks. she cannot place the noise, but it was quite clearly a sign of distress from some wounded animal. concerned, she steps from the sidewalk into the grass and peers behind the bushes. sure enough, lying there is a small cat. it appears as though it has been in an alley fight, as one of its eyes is squeezed shut and its ear is torn and oozing blood. it gazes up at her pleadingly with one blue eye, and asuka knows that she cannot just leave it here. her heart aches for the little kitten, most likely separated from its mother, and she knows exactly what to do. carefully, she scoops it up into her grasp, settling its back paws into the palm of her hand and allowing its front paws to dangle over her forearm. hopefully it is comfortable for the time being, but ritsuko’s apartment is only a block away.
finally she reaches ritsuko’s apartment. since her hands are full, asuka cannot access her key, so she kicks the door and raises her voice. ❛ open up ! please, it’s an emergency ! ❜
