A gentle breeze brushed the curtains, and warm sunlight bathed the room.
Misato weakly opened her eyes. The first person she saw was Kaji.
Kaji had rushed back before dawn, even asking Huang Zhetian to bring him the rest of the way faster in Special Unit X.
That was how he had made it here to see Misato now.
Seeing the lover she had longed for day and night, Misato let the hurt and exhaustion she had bottled up for so long spill out in tears.
Kaji hurriedly held her hand and gently wiped away her tears with a tissue. "Katsuragi... thank you for everything you've been through."
Those few words soothed the hurt in Misato's heart. She tightly interlaced her fingers with his and whispered, "I thought you weren't coming back..."
Kaji lifted their joined hands and pressed hers to his cheek, saying gently, "How could I not? Ritsuko told me about you a while ago, so I came back early. Besides, we've been apart for half a year, haven't we... You've had such a hard time while I was away."
Misato turned toward the crib beside her. "It's a boy. Give him a name, Kaji."
Kaji approached his sleeping son and cautiously touched his cheek with a fingertip. "Let's give him a nickname first-Densuke. I'll give him a proper name once I've thought of one."
Misato nodded, no longer dwelling on their son's name, and sank back into a deep sleep.
After childbirth, a woman was exhausted and weak, both physically and mentally.
Kaji kissed the mother and child's foreheads, then left the ward and gently closed the door.
Huang Zhetian was resting with his eyes closed in a chair outside. Sensing Kaji come out, he asked, "How was it? How do you feel?"
Kaji looked back at