Evangelion is property of Studio Khara and GAINAX.
Street Fighter and Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist are property of CAPCOM.
NEON GENESIS EVANGELION: SENSHI NO MICHI
"Kodama!" Hikari shrieked, bounding down the fire escape of an office complex sprinkled with red-hot metal and debris. "Kodama!"
The main street she leapt towards was in ruins – the Evangelion's final sprint had all but pulverised the road and sidewalks, shattered windows eight stories up , and the Angel's last desperate attack had scorched most of what remained. The young kunoichi's breath came fast as she leapt down to ground level, the steaming ruin of dust and concrete nearly searing the flesh from her feet as soon as she landed.
Where is she? Where the hell is she?
Immediately, Hikari made a beeline for one of the many piles of rubble on the sidewalk, and began to dig through it, grunting as she shifted chunks of concrete and glass.
"Koda –" Hikari broke off as she choked on dust blown in by the wind, and tugged her mask back up from her neck to cover her mouth. Coughing, she continued to sift through the remains, moving onto another pile to resume her frantic search, all the while screaming her sister's name.
Again and again, she found nothing, save for what remained of one unfortunate soul who hadn't evacuated when he had the chance.
She's dead. My sister's dead, all because of this –
To Hikari's right, a smaller pile of rubble began to shift, before an arm burst through. Covered in scrapes and soot, Kodama pulled herself out, her doji dirty and tattered. Immediately, Hikari dashed towards her, wrapping her arms around her sister's waist and hugging her tightly.
"Calm down, you. I'm not dead yet," Kodama grumbled, unable to restrain a small smile nonetheless. HIkari drew back, eyes red with unshed tears. "You shouldn't have gotten that close," she murmured, trying to compose herself again. .
"Maybe…," Kodama replied, producing a camcorder covered with scrapes and cracks, "but it was worth it."
Hikari's eyes widened, and she drew back. "You're telling me this was all for more video? We're ninja, not a camera crew! And whatever footage you have isn't worth your life –"
"Hikari," Kodama commanded, voice powerful and firm, "this was the mission I was given – the will of the clan."
"The will of whoever's buying the clan," Hikari shot back, frustrated, watching as her sister paid her no mind, casually stripping the damaged camera of its memory card and slipping it into a small pouch on her pants, before tossing the empty camera away.
"How can you do this?" Hikari asked, shrugging helplessly. "How can you keep throwing yourself in harm's way and just not care? You're my sister, not a tool!"
Kodama glanced back at Hikari for a moment, eyes narrowed.
"You don't understand. I don't think you've ever understood," Kodama replied, before turning and heading down the nearby alleyway. "To serve the clan is the greatest honour we can have in our lives. Honour, Hikari – something almost non-existent in today's desperate, dying world."
Hikari scoffed, but Kodama went on regardless.
"We respect the traditions of our ancestors, and even though you may not, Nozomi certainly will."
Suddenly, Hikari bristled, refocusing on her sister. "You can't be serious. All of this...," she gestured around, at the burning ruins, the morbid image of her dragging her younger sister out of rubble flashing through her mind, "for Nozomi? No – I won't let that happen."
"What do you mean, you won't let it happen?" Kodama grunted, rounding on the younger kunoichi. "Nozomi is a Horaki, and she will do the duty her family sets out for her. Just because you insist on playing the stubborn fool at every chance you get, doesn't mean she will be so obtuse."
"She's my sister!" Hikari barked, advancing on Kodama.
"And what about me, Hikari? What am I?" Kodama asked, tensing.
"You're –" Hikari paused, her face falling for a moment. "You're…right now, I don't know what you are."
"Right now, I'm your superior," Kodama said, curt. "Now, come. We must return."
Hikari remained silent, unmoving, her gaze lowered in contemplation. Kodama frowned, and stepped forward, clapping her hand on her sister's shoulder.
"We need to go," Kodama grunted, only for Hikari to shrug her hand off a little too roughly. Hikari murmured something, inaudible.
"What was that?" Kodama asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I said – no," Hikari replied, glancing up again with hard eyes. "I'm done with this," she said, before moving past her sister. Immediately, Kodama grabbed Hikari's arm, gaze burning into hers.
"What's gotten into you? There is no done," Kodama hissed.
"Let me go, Kodama," Hikari murmured.
"No. We're heading back home, and when we get there, we're going to have a talk with Father –"
Immediately, Hikari grabbed the hand clasped around her bicep, and attempted to twist Kodama into a wristlock. However, her sister was quick to retaliate, and in seconds, she'd reversed the technique, forcing a wincing Hikari onto her knees.
"I'm going to pretend you didn't try that," Kodama growled, moments before she was swept off her feet. Snarling, she looked up at her sister, who began to back away in a defensive stance.
"Fine. If that's what it'll take for you to understand…, " Kodama muttered, before rising. She lowered herself into her stance, glaring across the alleyway at Hikari.
Hikari was the first to move, dashing forwards her sister with a quick series of jabs. Kodama blocked all of the attacks with ease, her quick, deft movements knocking Hikari's arms away and opening up the younger girl's centreline. Before Hikari could move backwards, Kodama brought her leg up high, her heel colliding with Hikari's chin from below.
The younger kunoichi stumbled back, holding her jaw for a moment, but moved back into stance regardless of the dark spots blooming on her mask. She pressed forward again, more careful with her punches. Hikari attempted to surprise Kodama with a feint from right to left, but the more experienced fighter saw through it easily, and again, she was knocked back by a powerful gut kick.
Panting lightly, she looked up at her sister, who regarded her silently. Quickly, she fished through her concealed pouches and pockets, before withdrawing three small capsules. She hurled them towards Kodama, and they exploded on the ground in front of the kunoichi, flooding the alleyway with smoke.
Kodama took a deep, measured breath of clean air before the smoke engulfed her, and closed her eyes.
"How much longer are we going to do this for?"
Her question received no reply, the only sounds around her the groaning of metal and the crackling of small fires in the streets beyond the alley. To her left, there was something – the scrape of gravel against skin, against a foot.
Immediately, Kodama whirled around, her elbow connecting with something hard. She heard her would-be attacker stumble to the ground behind her, groaning.
As the smoke cleared, Kodama watched Hikari stagger to her feet, clutching her head. Her gaze was narrowed with pain and frustration, and as she laid eyes on Kodama again, she produced a kunai. Kodama's eye twitched at the audacity of her younger sister.
Holding the small knife with her right hand, in a reverse grip, Hikari charged with a shout, making quick, wild slashes at her sister's arms and chest that were avoided easily. She brought the blade above her head, slashing downwards, but Kodama's right hand clasped her forearm, stopping the attack.
Before Hikari could twist out of the grip, Kodama pressed her fist to the ribs underneath her sister's arm, and lit her fist with bright blue ki.
"Wait," Hikari spluttered, "Don't –"
"Raida!" Kodama bellowed.
The ki exploded outwards in a powerful, bright burst, blowing Hikari back several feet and onto the ground, leaving her in a groaning, crumpled heap. She looked upwards, through the haze of pain, and watched as Kodama stood above her, victorious.
She managed a weak surrender, holding one hand up, voice weak.
"K-Koda –"
Kodama wasted no time in knocking her defeated sister unconscious with a brutal, messy hook.
"Get a medical kit," Misato bellowed, making a beeline for the door of the mobile command centre, "and contact the emergency teams!"
Maya plucked a sizable first aid box from beneath one of the terminals, and followed the Captain out into the night. As the two dashed across grass and dirt, they could barely make out spots of colour moving down the hillside some ways away from them. The vibrant reds and whites could only be the pilots.
"Asuka! Rei!" Misato shouted, and watched as the pilots stopped for a moment, before they began to dash towards her. Behind her, Maya almost stumbled, the uneven ground and the weight of the medical kit threatening to trip her up.
"Misato!" Asuka shouted, holding the unconscious Shinji in her arms. "He's hurt!"
"Lay him down! Quickly!" Misato called, motioning for Maya to come closer as Asuka set down Shinji gently on the grass in front of her.
Kneeling down, Maya opened the kit as Asuka knelt behind Shinji, bringing his head up to rest on her knees as Misato looked him over, her eyes quickly catching the red ribbon tied around his head. Slowly, she undid the ribbon's knot, and pulled it away, wincing at the ugly cut and bruising that it had covered.
"Shit," Misato murmured, before motioning for Maya to pass her a clean white cloth. "Need to apply pressure…," Misato grunted, pressing the cloth firmly to the wound, watching as the pure white stained deep red alarmingly quickly. Shinji winced slightly at the pressure, and Asuka's eyes shone with concern, as she looked from him to Misato and back.
"So...," Misato began, eyes still on Shinji, "Are we going to talk about…whatever the hell that just was?" She indicated Asuka's right hand, the crimson glove of the plugsuit scorched and blackened.
Asuka flinched slightly, glancing at Misato. "Oh. I…I'd prefer to talk about it when Shinji's awake," she murmured.
"Well, it's not a matter of preference – I doubt you'll be given a choice," Misato replied, looking up at the redhead, who looked down at Shinji again, thoughtful.
"And I think," Misato continued, "that you'd prefer talking to me as opposed to someone like the Commander." Asuka nodded slowly, sighing.
She's not wrong there.
"Alright. What do you want to know?" Asuka asked, watching as Misato searched for any more injuries on the unconscious Shinji, silently ordering Maya to hold the cloth in place as she did.
"Whatever you can tell me," Misato replied.
Asuka nodded, mulling her words over for a moment. "It was our sensei – our guardian, the man you picked us up from –"
Any further words were drowned out by the roar of engines as several transports suddenly wheeled out of the darkness, their headlights blinding. Squinting, Misato stood up as personnel began to file out of them.
"One of the pilots is injured," She called out. "Possible head trauma!"
From one of the APCs, a stretcher was produced, Asuka and Maya stepping back to let medics lift Shinji onto it. Asuka looked over at the closest APC, where Misato was.
The Captain seemed to be arguing with one of the soldiers, but Asuka couldn't tell what they were talking about. Suddenly, the redhead was surrounded by a ring of soldiers, barking orders at her. Taken aback, she glanced helplessly at Misato, who only returned her expression.
Someone seized her from behind, and Asuka nearly threw the man over her shoulder before she remembered she was under arrest.
And I don't think beating on these guys will do me any favours, either.
Letting them force her onto her knees, Asuka grimaced as her hands were wrenched behind her back, the unmistakable click of handcuffs securing them. As she was pulled back up onto her feet, the last Asuka saw of Shinji before she was led away was the sight of him being fawned over by five medics, her red ribbon clasped in his hand.
Hikari tried to sit up in bed, and immediately regretted it – her whole body seemed to protest at the action, every muscle aching. She groaned, and flopped back, her throbbing head sinking into the pillow.
What happened? I can barely remember…
Slowly, she tried to move onto her side, to get a better view of the room – hers, she noticed. She then also noticed Kodama, sitting across from the bed with a dark expression on her face.
Oh, yeah. That.
Kodama was still mostly dressed in her ninja doji – but her mask and bandana had been removed, and her top hung open, exposing the black undershirt beneath.
"Nice to see you're up so soon," Kodama said, stiffly, as she stalked over to the bed. Hikari fought the urge to shrink away from her irate, frightening sister, watching as she knelt at her bedside.
"I told Father how you fell," Kodama began.
Fell?
Kodama must have been able to sense Hikari's confusion, because she continued. "From the fire escape. When the Evangelion destroyed the Angel, the force of the blast threw you from your perch. You could have landed worse, but you'll still be out of action for a few days."
Hikari looked at her sister, stunned. "…I…I don't get it. Why would you –"
Kodama quickly cut her off. "Because you're my sister. And as angry as I am at you, I have to believe that there's some way I can get through to you. And I'm willing to cover for you, to give you second chances, whatever – as long as I can see the day you take your place alongside me."
Kodama stood up, and began to head before the door, leaving a somewhat remorseful Hikari to ruminate her words. However, the older Horaki paused at the door, before turning.
"But –"
Hikari glanced up at her sister again.
"If you ever attack me like that again, I'll make sure you regret it. Are we clear?" Kodama warned.
"Crystal," Hikari murmured.
Kodama slid Hikari's bedroom door open, and stepped outside.
"Wait…" Hikari called out, and Kodama groaned, before looking back through the doorway.
"What now?"
"What did you do with the footage?" Hikari asked, curious.
"Father received orders to distribute it publicly as soon as possible, however possible. So I posted it online."
Glossary
-Kodama Horaki
Raida - Thunder Strike
And I'm actually back, after months on inactivity. It feels so good to actually finish and put out a chapter again. And I can safely say - after this episode, things will start to kick into high gear. So, look forward to it!
