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
Backing up along the training mats, Shinji brought his hands up, ready to defend as Asuka pressed the offence, sending a flurry of lightning-quick jabs at his face and torso. His hands parrying or blocking the strikes, Shinji pivoted in towards Asuka at the last second, catching the last of his opponent's punches in his left hand whilst he hooked his right arm behind her bicep.
With a grunt, he tossed the girl over his shoulder, and watched as she landed heavily on the training mats, before recovering quickly.
The two were dressed in baggy shorts and tank-tops, both wearing their padded gloves, with Shinji having worn his white headband for the training session.
Early morning's light shone through the tiny windows of the gym – a small, grimy establishment tucked away near the city's center that they'd discovered coming back from school - and cast long shadows against walls lined with newspaper clippings and trophies, metal dulled with age and neglect.
Narrowing her eyes in concentration, Asuka took the briefest of moments to toss her ponytail back behind her shoulder, before making the next move, charging towards Shinji. She lowered herself, testing Shinji with a one-two punch combination, and when both of the blows were evaded, Asuka feinted an uppercut, breaking off just in time to watch Shinji lean back, attempting to evade an absentee attack.
Stepping into a side stance, Asuka turned on the spot and brought her back leg forward in a powerful roundhouse kick, which found its mark, slamming into Shinji's side despite his attempts to evade it. He let out a breath as he recoiled from the force of the attack, but within seconds, he was upon Asuka once more, bringing his left leg up to block another kick aimed at his side.
Across from him, Asuka cursed, and jumped, quickly spinning in the air to deliver a strong back kick, her foot connecting solidly with Shinji's chest. The boy stumbled back, winded, and his redheaded attacker returned to stance.
"You alright? You seem a little sluggish today." Asuka said, narrowing her eyes as she watched her friend move back into his own stance.
"Just didn't get much sleep." Shinji replied, slowly advancing on her once more. "I was up till all hours getting that homework done…"
The redhead rolled her eyes. "I don't know why you bother. We've got other things to focus on."
"Like?"
"Oh, I don't know – piloting giant robots?" Asuka offered, moving forward. "Saving humanity? Training? Tatsumaki!" With that cry, she leapt forward, spinning with one leg outstretched. Instead of moving to avoid the blow, Shinji instead moved into the attack, taking the brunt of it on his forearms. He was stumbled – but only just – and as Asuka landed firmly, he capitalized on the momentary opening before she could guard. With a shout, Shinji stepped forward, and sent a strong side kick into her gut.
Wheezing, the redhead staggered back, moving onto one knee for a moment as Shinji returned to stance, watching her every move.
"Looks like you could use a little more sleep too." Shinji supplied, a small smile of triumph on his face. Asuka smirked in response, and stood up straight.
"We only have ten minutes left…want to cool down?" Shinji asked, lowering his fists, and then watched as his opponent shook her head, ready to fight once more.
"No. I figure one of us has to come out on top – after all, first spar in three weeks." Asuka retorted. Shinji nodded silently, and raised his hands once again.
"Come on, baka. Enough of this strong, silent routine!" The redhead chided, teasing. "This is a fight! We should be having fun!" With that, she dashed forward, and leapt towards her companion with a yell, foot outstretched.
Eight years ago.
"Asuka, that's enough!" Gouken commanded, his voice powerful and gruff.
On the ground, Shinji lay, slightly dazed. A bruise was beginning to blossom on his cheek, and a thin streamer of blood trickled down from the young boy's nose. He struggled to rise to his feet, but only succeeded in falling back on his rear, gazing up at his attacker through dizzied eyes.
Asuka let out slow breaths, her blue eyes shining with triumph and the slightest hint of malice as she looked between her sensei and her training partner. Her hair, previously tied back into a single ponytail, had come loose, and fell across her shoulders like a polished curtain of auburn as the sunlight gleamed along it. She turned to face Gouken, and gave a slight bow, before straightening up again. .
From the steps of the dojo, Gouken stalked down onto the practice area, and across the sandy terrain towards his two charges. He stopped in front of Asuka, his eyes narrowing slightly as he glared down at her, eyes hard and disapproving.
In response, the girl only offered a wide, proud grin, seemingly oblivious to both her sensei's disapproval and Shinji's attempts to stand on shaking legs.
Asuka's expression, however, fell as she watched Gouken move past, dismissive, and instead look over Shinji, kneeling down and placing his hands on the boy's shoulder, inspecting the bruises, the cuts, and gently wiping away what blood he could. The girl frowned as she listened to the two talk, the man offering gentle, kind words and comforts, even as the boy shook his head and insisted, quietly, that he was alright.
Finally, after a minute of this, Asuka had decided that enough was enough. In her clearest, most adult voice, she piped up.
"Gouken-sensei. Gouken-sensei!"
Gouken turned away from Shinji for a moment, more exasperated than anything, before speaking.
"Yes, Asuka?"
"Wasn't I good?" The six-year old questioned, tilting her head in curiosity. "I think my kicks were good -"
The master held his hand out, and the young girl instantly quieted. Slowly, he rose to his feet, moving back over to her. He didn't kneel down, as he had with Shinji - instead, he towered over Asuka, seeming to encompass her entire world, blocking even the sun from view.
"Yes - you did well." Gouken said, voice tired, resigned, before he stepped back, to look at the two children. "Both of you - we've done enough for today. Head back inside - Senzo will bring out your dinner shortly."
Both Shinji and Asuka piped 'Yes, sensei!" in unison, and bowed, before the two of them dashed away into the dojo, Shinji lagging slightly behind his companion. As the door closed behind them, Gouken was left alone on the front porch, staring out at the training ground.
With a sigh, the Ansatsuken master lowered himself until he was sitting on the highest step, and allowed his normally ramrod-straight posture to slump, as he gazed down at the sand in front of him.
This can't keep going on.
What if next time, Shinji walks away with something worse than bruises or cuts? What if he doesn't walk away at all?
Now.
Toeing back into her shoes, Asuka slung the bag containing her training clothes and her gloves over her shoulder, whilst drawing her schoolbag over the other. Now dressed in her school uniform, she stepped out of the female changing rooms, and glanced around for Shinji. Her hair, still damp from the shower, fell loosely down her back, the red ribbon that normally secured it an afterthought in her skirt pocket.
Soon, he emerged from another door, also dressed for school.
Nodding to each other, the pair made their way towards the exit of the gym. They offered small bows to the receptionist – a tiny reed of a man who seemed like he would break in half if a particularly strong breeze came along – and headed out into the thick of Tokyo-3.
Their arrival in the city had been fraught with drama, surprises that seemed to upend and sabotage their expectations – the eighty-meter tall robots kept in an underground military base, for example. However, it was the little things that seemed to be having the greatest effect in retrospect, at least on Shinji – it hadn't escaped Asuka's notice how he often seemed to stumble through the hustle-and-bustle of the morning and evening commutes, struggling to keep up with her through the sea of suits and seifuku.
In this city, he was as much an outsider as Asuka was, she supposed. Whilst she had flowing locks of blazing red, and pale, milky skin as testament to her foreign blood, Shinji's gentle manner and silent strength were also qualities that were seldom found in modern society at large, but were easily nurtured by a childhood spent in the company of a warm, contemplative man, and miles of forest to lose the spare hours in.
However, even though he wasn't accustomed to his surroundings completely as of yet, he had already found himself a few choice friends in the form of Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida. Despite the fact that the former had actively attempted to beat Shinji to a pulp on his first day of school, they seemed to be getting along rather well – something told Asuka it had to do with the fact that both Shinji and Toji were fighters – there was a certain kinship there that was difficult to replicate.
As for Asuka herself – she had drifted along, not really congealing with any group so far. She had found, to her chagrin, that her status as a foreigner – coupled with her somewhat unorthodox body type – isolated her somewhat. However, despite that, it seemed that the Class Representative, Hikari, had taken a liking to her regardless, and already she appreciated the extra company. The girl was pleasant, honest, and the first real female friend she'd ever had.
When the two finally stepped through the door to their classroom, both Hikari and Toji acknowledged them, with a wave and nod respectively. As seemed to be routine now, Shinji moved down to the back to talk eagerly with Toji and Kensuke about whatever came to mind, whilst Asuka stepped beside Hikari, leaning against her desk.
Setting the class register down, the freckled girl looked up at Asuka, smiling. The smile quickly vanished, for reasons unknown to the redhead, before Hikari gestured to her cheek, eyes wide.
"What?" Asuka asked, narrowing her eyes as she pressed a hand to her cheek experimentally – she was rewarded with a dull throbbing.
"Where did that bruise come from?" Hikari squeaked, her voice laced with concern. "What happened?"
"Training." Asuka replied, casually. "It's nothing, don't worry about it."
Hikari frowned, before glancing down at the register again, before speaking. "I don't understand how you managed to do that day in and day out, before." In response, the other girl shrugged, casting a glance across the room, at Shinji.
"You just have to want it." Asuka supplied, voice drifting off slightly at the end. Rolling her eyes at the unhelpful response, Hikari scribbled on the register, marking both Shinji and Asuka present. Meanwhile, the redhead's gaze turned to the elephant in the room – more specifically, the elephant sitting next to the windows, that seemed to perpetually gaze out at the city beyond.
Rei was a mystery in every sense of the word – she rarely spoke, rarely socialized, and when she did, it was so off-key and jarring that it made the situation all the more awkward. If it bothered the albino, she didn't say – she seemed content with her lot in life, but Asuka couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong with her.
Both she and Shinji had tried to strike up conversations with Rei – they figured, that as their fellow EVA pilot, they should get to know each other – but in the three weeks that had passed since they had first come to Tokyo-3, virtually no progress had been made.
"Oh, staring at Ayanami again?" Hikari's voice broke through Asuka's stupor, drawing her attention.
"Yeah…" The redhead sighed, crossing her arms.
Hikari shook her head, before replying. "It's nice that you want to be a friend to her, but you're not the first to try. She's been like that ever since she came here – and she seems happy, in her own little way."
"She seems alone." Asuka murmured.
"Maybe…" Hikari conceded, grabbing the register and rising to her feet. "But some people are just like that. Difficult to get through to, difficult to understand…sometimes they change. Sometimes they don't. And more often than not, those who go about it the wrong way only end up hurt for their troubles."
Eight years ago.
Sighing, Gouken rubbed at his eyes, and sat down on his futon, gazing ahead, his expression creased by contemplation. He had set the children to bed hours ago, but nagging paranoia gnawed at the back of his mind, keeping him very much awake.
He'd been pacing around his room for what seemed like forever, the same thoughts that he'd been dwelling on since the training session that day.
Ever since we heard news of Kyoko's death…ever since her funeral…things have been getting worse and worse.
Peter won't answer my calls, won't listen to me no matter what I tell him – even though it should be obvious that his daughter needs him right now. Without him – I don't know what I'll do.
It's not like I haven't attempted to discipline Asuka – but when I try to teach her that what she's done is wrong…it's like she doesn't even understand me.
The longer this problem persists, the more difficult things will become – the more danger Shinji is in. But I can't just send Asuka away – even if I actually wanted to, I wouldn't trust Gendo Ikari with any child. And even though their friendship is rocky enough, Shinji seems to genuinely care for Asuka – and the reverse seems to be true, sometimes – even if she doesn't show it plainly.
But still…if it's bruises today, what is it tomorrow? Broken bones? Teeth? So much can go wrong in a fight – and I can only pray that the child doesn't hurt Shinji whilst she's dealing with her problems.
Some father I turned out to be.
Gouken was brought out of his contemplation by a sharp, but muffled sound – coming from outside the dojo – a hard impact on wood, slow but rhythmic.
He narrowed his eyes, and rose to his feet, before moving out of his room and towards the front doors. Slowly, he slid them apart, and moved out onto the porch, looking around for the source of the noise.
Again, the sound echoed through the night, much clearer now – the thwack of something hard colliding with wood. Gouken turned, painfully slowly, and somehow he simply knew that it was Asuka before he even saw her.
The girl's hair was messy, loose, and she seemed to have been at it for some time – with every kick she aimed at the wooden training dummy, her crimson gi pants slid up slightly – exposing horribly bruised shins.
"Asuka…" Gouken called out, beginning to walk towards her.
He was ignored, the six-year old continuing to pummel both her shins and the dummy.
"Asuka!" He repeated, sharper now. The girl faltered slightly as her leg dropped back down to the ground, but didn't turn around right away. Her sensei moved closer, tentatively reaching out and placing one hand on her shoulder, gently moving her around the rest of the way. When the low light from the dojo caught Asuka's face, Gouken could make out what appeared to be dried tear-tracks.
Quietly, he knelt down in front of her, but words escaped him when he needed them most.
"Was I good?" The girl's voice came, weak and hoarse. Gouken's face twisted with confusion in response.
"…What do you mean, Asuka?" He asked, keeping his voice as warm and gentle as he could.
"Do you think that was good?" The girl gestured with a movement of her head, back to the training dummy. "I think it was – but you're the teacher. Was it?"
Again, the Ansatsuken master struggled with words, struggled to understand exactly what was going through his young student's mind.
"Asuka…it's…it's close to the middle of the night. You should be in bed, resting."
The reply, however innocent or unintentionally evasive, seemed only to aggravate the girl's condition – she shook slightly, and it was only when tears began to flow down her face once more that it became obvious she was sobbing. Gouken swallowed, and with seemingly no other course of action, drew the girl in for a hug.
Asuka clung to the fabric of his robe tightly, but despite the tears soaking the fabric, she didn't make a sound.
Eventually, when the sobbing seemed to have subsided, Gouken drew back slightly – only to realise that the girl had fallen asleep against him.
Sighing, he picked the girl up with both arms, and stepped back towards the dojo.
This is going to take a lot of work.
I have absolutely no reason for neglecting this story, and my readers at the moment. You have my deepest apologies. But I'm back! Read and review, please!