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
The three made their way to the elevator on the other side of the room, Shinji and Asuka staying behind Misato in tandem, as was seeming to become the norm. The captain pressed the button to call the elevator, and she took a moment to glance back at the two – they looked back at her, and she offered a small smile.
"Everyone's really impressed with what you two did out there." The captain said. "I mean it – you should have heard the cheers when the Angel was destroyed."
Shinji, who had already brightened up considerably, only seemed to get happier, his smile stretching into a grin. Beside him, Asuka allowed herself a small smirk of her own.
However, the grins vanished as the doors to the elevator slid open – and Gendo Ikari glowered down at Misato and the two children.
Shinji blinked, tensing for a brief moment, while Misato fought the urge to shift uncomfortably on the spot, under the man's intense gaze. Asuka, however, had no such qualms, and with a murmured 'Excuse me, Commander,' moved into the elevator beside him, much to the poorly hidden shock of both the Captain and her other charge, who failed to notice the Commander's widened eyes, or his subsequent pseudo-snarl.
"Well?" Asuka asked expectantly, behind Gendo.
"Oh – yes. Sorry…" Shinji murmured, moving forward with Misato. The boy hesitated as he drew closer to his father, but a small push from Misato, and the Commander stepping aside to make space in the elevator, provided enough encouragement for him to join his friend.
As the doors closed once again, and the elevator whirred to life, Shinji's eyes flicked between Asuka, Misato, and his father's back. The boy stared, some part of him still having difficulty comprehending that the man who had sired him, who had raised him for four years and then abandoned him, was finally only a few steps away.
The elevator trip lasted no more than fifteen seconds – but it felt like a small eternity. When the doors slid open once again, the Commander strode out, but not before speaking.
"Your performances were admirable. I expect more of the same in the future."
Before any of the other occupants in the elevator could respond, the doors had closed again.
Whilst Misato's previous praise had brought a smile to Shinji's face, his father's words only brought confusion, confusion that stayed with him for the rest of the trip home.
As Asuka peeled off the last of her clothing, letting it fall to the tiled floor of Misato's bathroom, she took a moment to examine herself in the mirror – more specifically, the bandages around her shoulder, which had yet to be removed.
Her right hand reached up, tentatively, and Asuka ghosted her fingers over the white cotton, before digging them into the seams of the dressing. With a measured breath, she began to slowly unwind them, and rolls of white joined the discarded shirt, skirt and underwear on the floor.
Nothing. No marks at all.
The girl gave her left shoulder a few prods, and then rolled it, before letting out a sigh and shaking her head.
This whole thing is absolutely insane.
Hoping that a warm shower could refresh her and take her mind off of the events of the last forty-eight hours, she moved over to the shower cubicle, and pulled back the curtain.
"What the shit?"
Misato, hair tied back and dressed in casual attire, glanced up at the shout, still nursing a fresh can of beer. The door to the bathroom was slid open with thunderous speed and force, revealing Asuka, naked as the day she was born.
"There's a thing – a creature, in there!"
The girl pointed back into the bathroom, and then glanced down with widened eyes as the aforementioned creature waddled past her, apathetic.
"Oh, that?" Misato raised an eyebrow, watching as it moved over to the large fridge by the wall. "That's Pen Pen, my pet. He's a hot-springs penguin – not a thing, or a creature, I'll have you know."
The naked redhead locked eyes with the so-called penguin as it pressed a button, opening a door on the lower section of the fridge. It gave a derisive snort, and disappeared inside, the small door sliding shut behind it.
Asuka shrugged in defeat, then flinched as she heard footsteps coming from the corridor.
"Naked." She called out, without much power in her voice.
Shinji's reply was equally blank, as if it was routine.
"Oh. Sorry."
The footsteps stopped, clearly waiting for Asuka to step back inside the bathroom and close the door. She did so, and Misato watched as Shinji strode out into the kitchen area, sparing a glance at the closed bathroom door before turning to the Captain.
"I'm making rice and pork for dinner – is that alright?" The boy asked, moving past her to access the cupboards and stove.
"You can cook?" Misato said, with a small measure of disbelief. Shinji nodded, as he produced a pan from the cupboard.
"Gouken-sensei taught us more than just the martial arts."
The weekend passed in pleasurable slowness – the two children enjoyed the newfound concept of a lazy day, and getting up in the afternoon – after which they would spend the next hour stretching and exercising as best they could in the apartment.
After Misato walked in on the two, who were well into their third twenty-rep set of two finger pushups, she offered to find them a gym.
Finally, the first day of the week came again, and had both Asuka and Shinji looking curiously at clear bags on the kitchen table in front of them.
"Well, this is your first day at Tokyo-3 City First Junior High School!" Misato cheerfully piped, sliding the bags over to the two children. "Ready to model your uniforms?"
Shinji, wearing a button-up short-sleeve shirt and belted black pants, scratched his head as he turned around slowly, craning his neck to see as much of his newly uniformed self as possible.
"It's not much of a uniform…" The boy said, with a small frown. "I was expecting something a little more…"
"Like this?" Came the displeased, tired reply. Asuka walked into the kitchen, clad in the female uniform of the High School. Misato gave an enthusiastic thumbs up as she did so, but the redhead only glowered, picking at the starched white shirt, and narrowing her eyes at the red bow and blue skirt ensemble.
"This is humiliating." The girl growled, but the Captain at the table waved off the comment.
"Come on, Asuka. Just because it's not a tank-top or a gi, doesn't mean you don't look good! Besides, you're not going to be the only person wearing it at school!"
Misato spoke the truth, but it was a hollow comfort – while it wasn't the uniform that drew attention to the redhead, or her companion, everything else did. After they had been greeted at the door of Class 2-A by the Class Representative – a girl named Hikari, with freckles and brown hair in pigtails – they were quickly ushered in.
The room was previously alive with conversation and activity, but as the two new arrivals stepped in, all was silent. Eyes swivelled from every corner of the classroom to examine the new blood, and Asuka couldn't ignore the whispers, catching snatches of them as she moved past, towards a desk and laptop that had been set up for her.
"-look at that hair-"
"-those muscles-"
"-who are they-"
"-army brats, got to be-"
Asuka sat down stiffly in her chair, looking straight ahead. A row away from her, and a few seats down, Shinji had also sat, casting glances over at his friend.
However, he too was not without attention – more than a few girls in the class stared, their eyes lingering on the white shirt drawn tight across his athletic, well-formed figure, but of note was a boy in the back, with a tan and tracksuit to distinguish him from the rest.
Sharp features distorted with curiosity, and a hint of displeasure, but softened again as his friend, a mousy boy with light brown hair, freckles and glasses, muttered to him that class was about to begin.
Despite all the attention that he was receiving, Shinji himself was staring at another in the room.
The girl from the hospital.
Sitting at a table by the window, gaze directed outwards towards the expanse of the playing fields, and of the city beyond, the waifish girl remained oblivious to the boy's sudden attention.
She was still clad in bandages and a cast, Shinji noted – he wondered if the girl had been wounded during the attack of the Angel, or perhaps before, in some kind of accident.
"Stand! Bow! Sit!"
The shrill voice of Hikari Horaki rang out, marshalling the class together, and heralding the arrival of the teacher – an old, frail looking man, who seemed oblivious to the world in front of him. As the teacher began to speak, quickly falling into a tired lecture about the Second Impact and the subsequent trials that humanity faced, the students in front of him instead amused themselves with a chat program on their laptops.
Kensuke A. – Have you heard the rumor?
Naomi S. – About what? The new kids?
Tomoya K. – Did you see the body on that girl? Crazy.
Kensuke A. – The transfer students – people think they might be the pilots of the robots that appeared last week!
Ichika T. – Bullshit.
Kensuke A. – I'm serious!
Fuko M. – Hang on, I'll ask the guy. He seems cute :D
Shinji flinched as his laptop chimed, distracting him from the previous task of fervently copying out notes.
The chat program that he had ended up ignoring in favour of notetaking blinked, signalling a new message, and he opened it, narrowing his eyes as he read the newest line of text.
Fuko M. – Are you and the redhead the pilots of the robots?
The boy swallowed, and glanced around nervously – he caught the eye of a few giggling girls, who waved at him – he blushed, and offered a wave of his own, before looking back at the screen. Another message appeared.
Fuko M. – It's true, isn't it?
Shinji frowned, contemplating his actions.
The Evangelions can't exactly be a secret, can they?
What harm could it do?
The boy slowly typed his reply – a three letter word of confirmation.
Shinji I. – Yes.
The room exploded in a cacophony of noise.
Some time later, after the burst of wild and terrifying attention had passed, Shinji found himself with some degree of solitude once again. Asuka had left to find some place to eat on campus, but not before giving the boy the dirtiest look she could muster – the girl had also been subjected to the merciless questions and attention of the class.
Letting out a small sigh, Shinji leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes, only to open them a few seconds later when he felt someone tap his shoulder. Turning slightly in his seat, he looked up at the other student – a light-haired boy with glasses. Shinji had thought he'd heard the name 'Kensuke' batted around, in the class prior.
"Hey, man, sorry about all of that ruckus back there." The bespectacled boy apologised, smiling sheepishly. Shinji shook his head, holding up a hand.
"It's alright…it's just that me and Asuka aren't used to all that attention."
Kensuke nodded in what appeared to be understanding, before leaning in and whispering. "Hey, no worries. I get you – what was it? Secret Army training camp?"
"Huh?" Shinji's eyebrow raised in confusion.
"Anyway, I have a friend who wants to talk to you – if that's alright." Shinji watched as the boy pointed towards the door, and didn't fail to notice how he seemed to stumble over a few of the words, as if he was uncomfortable saying them.
Despite the oddity, he nodded, affecting a fresh smile, and after rising from his seat, followed the boy out of the classroom.
Kensuke led Shinji to a section behind the school, along a dirt path. The sun beat down hotly upon the two boys, and Shinji found himself wishing for the loose and flowing gi hanging up at his new home, as opposed to this thick, starched shirt.
In front of him, the lighter-haired boy stopped, turning around, and Shinji frowned, looking around.
"Where's your friend? I don't see anyone else here…" The boy mused.
"I'm here."
The new voice rang out from behind him, and Shinji turned – a black-haired boy, with a tan and wearing a dark tracksuit, stood there. His fists were clenched, and even through the sports jacket, Shinji could tell that the boy in front of him was athletic, and well-built for his age.
"You're the pilot of one of those robots, right?"
Shinji nodded, noticing a heavy Kansai accent in the new arrival's words.
"I don't know if you realised this, but while you were jumping around and kicking that monster into buildings, people got hurt." The boy in front of him spat, glowering, and instinctively, Shinji drew back slightly, moving into the beginnings of his stance.
"My sister was crushed by rubble – she survived, but she's in the hospital." The boy continued, and Shinji felt a sudden pang of remorse spark inside of him. However, before he could make any kind of apology, the boy across from him unzipped the jacket of his tracksuit, and after removing it, tossed it over to Kensuke.
Shinji had been right in assuming that the boy was athletic – not as muscular as he was, but definitely in shape. The shirt the boy wore – bright red with a large yellow strip sliding diagonally up to the left shoulder from the right side – was tight against his chest.
"I can't stand seeing you walk about, without knowing that I didn't get a chance to get one for my little sister. I'm Suzuhara – Toji Suzuhara, Second Dan Black Belt of the Rindo-kan Karate School. Ready for your beating?"
Shinji's eyes narrowed, but he remained silent. In front of him, Toji lowered slightly into a standard karate stance, his left fist drawn back to his chest, and his right hand held in front of him, open and fingers straight.
After a terse moment, Shinji moved into his own stance, beginning to bounce on his toes.
A few paces away from the confrontation, Kensuke watched, eyes wide with anticipation.
It was Toji who made the first move, charging in with a shout and a perfectly thrown straight punch. Shinji blocked, but found himself having to weave out of the way of a straight kick, dodging over to his opponent's side.
Toji watched his new enemy with focused eyes, and began to approach slowly, moving back into stance as he did. As soon as he was within punching range, the boy began to deliver a flurry of short, but quick attacks upon Shinji – short jabs, chops and leg kicks.
Whilst many were blocked, parried or evaded, a few found their mark, and the Suzuhara boy was pleased as he began to pressure his opponent back against the nearby wall of the school. Toji noted that his adversary was hesitant – as if he didn't actually want to fight.
There had been a few moments where he was sure a counter attack would occur – and yet Shinji had only retreated, seemingly oblivious to the opening.
Those openings had, so far, been all missed on purpose.
Toji's story about his sister had caught Shinji off guard, distressed his thoughts, and he found himself not wanting to hurt the boy. After all, he was only doing what he thought was right – why should Shinji stop him? However, the boy in front of him was scoring a steadily rising number of hits, and while they weren't doing much damage, he had the feeling something bigger was coming.
He was proven right when, after pushing away a high shin kick, watched as Toji drew back into his stance, and then, without warning, blasted forward, sending dust up in his wake, a punch extended and ready to connect.
Such incredible speed! He too, must use ki somehow -
Shinji let out a noise of pain as the attack connected, sending him staggering back against the wall.
Capitalising on the advantage, Toji renewed his attack, laying upon Shinji brutal chops to the upper body and neck, as well as spinning heel kicks and sharp elbows. Under his relentless barrage, Shinji's previous method of nonviolence began to lose some degree of credibility.
Hands darting forward, Shinji managed to stop one of Toji's punches, and then hooked his arms around Toji's attacking left. Without much effort, he tossed the other boy over his shoulder, sending him hard to the dusty ground. Automatically, Shinji moved to follow up, drawing his hands to his left side to summon hado –
Wait, no! Remember what Asuka said!
Flinching, the boy's hands dropped, and before he could snap back into his stance, Toji had surged forwards with another ki-enhanced punch that collided with stomach, knocking the wind out of him.
Toji let out a shout of triumph, drawing both arms back to his sides.
"It's over!" He roared.
His first punch shot out, colliding with Shinji's stomach. It drew a pained gasp from the other boy.
It was quickly followed up by three more punches, left, right, left, that travelled up the target's torso, before Toji drew his arm back, and then, with a fierce yell, sent a final, powerful punch upwards, towards the sky.
The blow met Shinji's chin, sending him soaring back into the dirt, and Toji grinned, his arm still extended upwards.
"Seichusen Godanzuki!" Toji shouted, drawing back into his stance and watching the collapsed form of his adversary.
After a few seconds without movement from the prone body on the ground, the Suzuhara boy let out a huff, cracking his bloodied knuckles.
"Gotta say, thought a beefcake like you would last longer. Guess those muscles are all for show."
Kensuke grimaced, as he walked over beside Toji.
"Did you really need to go so hard on him? I think you knocked him out –"The bespectacled boy murmured, then let out a sudden gasp.
In front of the two, Shinji rose, clothes dirtied with dust and the odd spot of blood. A stream of blood trickled from his mouth, but he paid it no mind. Without hesitation, he moved back into his stance, calling over to Toji.
"It's going to take more than that to keep me down."
Toji's eyes widened, before his face twisted with anger, as he slid down into his own stance. "Fine! You want more?"
Shinji remained silent, simply bouncing on his toes and waiting to receive the next attack.
With a growl, Toji attacked, his fist soaring to meet Shinji's jaw – and stopped as something smashed into his gut.
Letting out a wheeze, the Suzuhara boy realised that it was his opponent's fist that had hit him, but before he could recover, a fierce hook caught him around the head, sending him back.
Kensuke watched, eyes wide in shock and fear as the previously passive fighter advanced on Toji, blocking and countering everything the boy threw at him.
Desperate, Toji span, hoping to knock Shinji out with a spinning –heel, but the move was slow and easily ducked under – his opponent replied with a spinning back kick, and the attack collided with his stomach, sending him staggering back.
Gasping for air, Toji could barely defend as Shinji leapt forward, spinning with fearsome speed, his left leg outstretched.
"Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!"
The boy's heel caught Toji once, twice around the head, and he collapsed to the dust, barely conscious.
Landing cleanly, Shinji watched as Kensuke dashed over to his floored friend.
Hopefully that move wasn't too outlandish – but I needed to finish the fight quickly, in the way only hado could.
Wiping the blood from his chin, he hesitated, and then moved over to the two. However, Kensuke drew back from Toji as soon as he saw Shinji approach – his eyes fearful and his hands held up in surrender.
The bespectacled boy watched in no small degree of surprise as, after a few moments, Shinji bent down, and began to help the dizzied Toji to his feet.
"Wha…" The Suzuhara boy mumbled.
"You offered a good fight." Shinji supplied, with a small smile on his face. "Your speed is extraordinary." The victorious fighter helped Toji forward for a moment, before pausing.
"Can you stand by yourself?" He asked.
"Yeah – I think so." Toji replied, slowly detaching from Shinji.
As the black-haired boy limped over to his friend, Shinji bowed deeply, and began to speak.
"I am deeply sorry for your sister – I have little other excuse, other than that I and my friend were afraid, on that day." With that, the dirtied, bloodied boy bowed even lower.
Toji swallowed, watching as the boy in front of him offered his sincerest apologies. He opened his mouth to reply, but the words seemed to have difficulty coming out. He wondered if it was remorse, or pain that stopped them.
"Is' alright…" Toji finally managed, leaning on Kensuke for support, and the two watched as Shinji rose to his feet again, and then nodded in gratitude.
It was then that all three realised they had a spectator.
"Ayanami…" Kensuke murmured, looking over at the pale girl.
"Ayanami?" Shinji echoed, also looking at her.
"There has been an emergency call from NERV." Ayanami spoke, tonelessly. "We must go, now."
Glossary
-Toji Suzuhara
Seichusen Godanzuki - Median Line Five-Stage Thrust
-Shinji Ikari
Tatsumaki Senpukyaku - Tornado Whirlwind Leg/Tornado Whirlwind Kick
And there! The first real brawl of this fic! Hopefully it was enjoyable to read - it was enjoyable to write. However, I must apologise to anyone who mains Makoto, if my interpretation of her moveset appears a little clunky and straightforward.
As always, please review - it makes the world turn, and puts a smile on my face. It also gets me typing faster ;)