Within the darkness of his office, Gendo Ikari held a phone to his ear, fingers brushing over a multitude of photographs strewn across his desk.

"It seems I owe you, once again..." Gendo murmured, fingering a particular photo which depicted a large, humanoid robot.

"But you won't repay me, right?" The voice on the other end of the phone chuckled, before continuing. "Speaking of which, regarding the material that was demanded under the Freedom of Information Act, I handled it by giving them some falsified data. The government is proceeding with legal action, but that will be blocked any day now. Speaking of, should I do something about that other project?"

"No," Gendo replied, idly studying the silhouette of the photographed mech. Its torso was top-heavy, tapering down into a thinner waist, and its joints and limbs appeared to be heavily reinforced. "Judging by what you've sent me, no further action is required."

"Then I'll proceed with the plan…by the way, am I to assume I'm being brought in as more than 'Special Inspector' this time?" The voice inquired.

"You possess specialist knowledge and skills that seldom few do. If any further complications are to arise, I will need someone who can make decisions based on experience and understanding," Gendo replied.

"Phenomenon such as this isn't unheard of – but at their age, and at that scale…it's something to behold, isn't it?"

"I trust you're aware that you won't be coming in with the UN fleet?" Gendo asked, letting the other man's question remain unanswered.

"Actually, I only found out a few hours ago. Isn't air travel a little riskier than the alternative?"

"I trust you to conduct yourself with the necessary discretion," Gendo said.

"Of course. I suppose I'll be seeing you soon enough, then."

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 first thing Misato was immediately aware of was the warm, soft mass draped across her stomach. Pen-Pen's heartbeat was slow and steady as he slept, the penguin's breath a gentle wind across her exposed stomach.

She opened her eyes the tiniest fraction – the digital clock across from her futon read 6:30 AM. Allowing herself a small smile, she closed her eyes, idly scratching the back of Pen-Pen's head.

Still got an hour or so.

Within seconds, Misato was already drifting back to sleep, warm and comfortable –

"Hai!"

Misato's eyes snapped open again at the loud cry echoing from the next apartment over, and she sighed in exasperation.

Please, just let me have Monday morning.

The captain desperately sought slumber again, nuzzling her face into her pillow.

"Hadoken!"

If the shouts didn't wake her, the sounds of heavy, reinforced training dummies being blown back against the wall beside her did. Misato shot up in bed, a furious nose clawing out of her throat, her eyes murderous.

"You're not compressing your ki before you throw it, Asuka," Gouken berated, voice powerful. "Again!"

"Yes, sensei…," Asuka grumbled, bringing her hands to her sides and summoning another flaring orb of ki. Her ponytail, now secured with her red A10 clips, was blown back as she sent another blast at the her, Shinji tightened his red headband – formerly Asuka's - before he went through the motions of the Hadoken effortlessly – summoning the ki between his hands, forcibly compacting it into a slightly smaller sphere, and then firing it across the room. The projectile collided with a NERV-issue training dummy, and sent it crashing back into the wall of the expansive room.

Behind the two children, Rei, alabaster skin and pale blue hair stark against her black sleeveless gi and red gloves, went through basic Ansatsuken forms, making no sound save for the occasional intake of breath.

The dojo the group practiced in was, in truth, two apartments made into one. A NERV construction crew had, with great financial encouragement, been able to knock down walls, replace flooring with smooth wood, and install state-of-the-art training equipment, all in the space of a day.

Gouken had to admit, that despite the extraordinary circumstances, the surroundings of a dojo were considerable comfort to him. In the several weeks he had spent without Asuka and Shinji, he found himself feeling inexplicably lost, without direction or purpose. Even his own personal training had begun to suffer – but now, with his school restored to him, he felt at ease.

And now, he had a new student to attend to.

Gouken turned his attention to Rei, watching as the girl moved through her final kata of the morning. Her dark gi hung off her lithe form, sweat plastering her light blue hair to her forehead, and despite having only been his student for little more than a week, her form was perfect.

Dan may have been a mockery of a teacher, but evidently, he was able to nurture Rei's talent to a considerable degree. What little he learned of hado from me, he passed onto her – I can only guess at how well she will take to the true techniques when I teach them to her.

"Alright, Rei – that's enough for now," Gouken commanded, watching as the girl dropped her stance, standing straight and staring at him. "Move onto your stretches."

"Yes," the girl intoned quietly, dropping to her knees and extending one leg in front of her to stretch her hamstring. Gouken frowned, imperceptibly.

But she lacks initiative. She needs to be explicitly told what to do, and when to do it. She can master concepts and techniques with little to no effort, but without an explicit objective, she cannot improve beyond that.

I may need to move her onto sparring with Asuka and Shinji sooner than expected. Perhaps that will simulate her competitive nature.

That is, if she even possesses such a thing.

Abruptly, the doorbell rang out, and Gouken padded across the expanse of the training room to answer it. The door slid back, revealing a dishevelled and displeased Misato, who glared at Gouken with a hatred seldom seen in mortal men.

"Ah, Captain Katsuragi. Good morning," Gouken greeted her, warmly. "I trust you slept well?"

Misato stared at Gouken for several moments, perhaps contemplating on how best to remove his spine, before she nodded, grunting. Gouken turned back to his students, calling out to them.

"Right, everyone – that's enough for now. Go get ready for school!"

All three children responded with "Yes, sensei," bowing to him in unison and filing out beside Misato. As the door slid shut behind them, the pleasant expression on Gouken's face hardened slightly, as his attention returned to the woman in front of him.

"Now," he began, "is there something I can do for you, Captain?" Gouken asked.

"Only that you throw your hadou-kans –"

"Hadokens," Gouken corrected.

" – Hadokens at the opposite wall, if it wouldn't be too much trouble?" Misato asked.

A ghost of an amused smirk passed over Gouken's face, before he nodded, slowly. "I'm sure we can do that. I'd hate for your pet to lose some sleep."

Misato's left eye twitched, but she remained silent, nodding in response. She turned towards the door, before she remembered something, and faced Gouken again.

"If you need to talk to me, I'll be at the high school from eleven AM to two PM. You can get me on my cellphone."

"I'm afraid I haven't bought a mobile phone yet," Gouken replied, before furrowing his brow. "May I ask why you are attending?"

"…It's the parent-teacher interviews today. I was planning to go on behalf of Shinji and Asuka," Misato replied.

Gouken frowned for a moment, thinking. "Then would you mind at all if I accompanied you?" He asked.

"…Not at all," Misato replied, slowly.

"Toast!" Asuka called, plucking two crisped slices of bread out of the toaster and sliding them across Misato's kitchen counter. Shinji was ready and waiting to receive them, catching them deftly on a plate as soon as they slid off the far end. Quickly buttering the two slices, he shoved one into his mouth, and sent the other sliding back across to Asuka.

Behind them, Rei chewed a demure breakfast of tofu eggs, eyes following the nonstop flurry of movement in front of her. Her muscles ached from the rigours of the morning's training, but it wasn't entirely discomforting.

This feeling…is it accomplishment?

In only a week I have progressed far beyond what Hibiki-sensei taught me over several months. But is it because of Gouken-sensei's training, or because of my…friends?

I think friends is the word, yes.

Rei's lips curved upward in the most minute, unnoticeable smile as she speared another clump of eggs with her fork.

But I must make sure. Perhaps I will inquire.

The door to the apartment slid open, and Misato walked in, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and making a beeline for her room. Shinji grabbed a plate of food he'd prepared minutes before, and reached out to Misato with it.

"Breakfast," he said, with a smile on his face.

Misato took the plate with a grunt, before moving over to the fridge and retrieving an ice-cold can of Yebisu beer. With her spoils in hand, she disappeared back into her room, leaving a bemused Shinji in her wake.

"…Is something up with Misato?" Shinji asked, turning back to Asuka.

"Dunno," the redhead replied, wolfing down the last of her breakfast. "Dibs on the shower."

"Wait a second, you had dibs yesterday!" Shinji spluttered.

"And now I have it today. Gotta think ahead, baka! Gotta stay on top," Asuka grinned, vaulting over the kitchen counter, drawing an alarmed squawk from Pen-Pen as she landed only a few centimetres away from him. As the redhead disappeared into the bathroom, Shinji stared after her, before sighing. He took the remainder of his own breakfast, and sat down across from Rei, eating quietly.

"Ikari?"

Shinji looked up from his breakfast, a clump of scrambled eggs still hanging from his mouth. He blinked, and then quickly shoved it back in, before swallowing. "Yes, Rei?"

"I am curious – do you consider me a friend?"

Shinji raised an eyebrow at the albino's question, but nodded quickly nonetheless.

"Yeah."

"Why?" Rei inquired.

"Because," Shinji said, "We…we trust you. We train together, we pilot EVA together, we help each other. How can we not be friends?"

Rei nodded, and resumed eating, in satisfied silence.

An hour later, the trio made their way down the corridor towards Class 2-A. Rei walked ahead of the two, unflinching, but both Asuka and Shinji were hesitant, lingering several steps behind the albino. It was their first day back since the attack of the last Angel, pieces of its shattered form having only been cleared away from the campus and surrounding roads.

"Those clips were all over the internet," Shinji began, glancing at Asuka. "We might be getting more attention than usual…"

"I kind of figured that," Asuka replied with a sigh, "but it can't be that bad. We can deal with it, no sweat."

"I hope so…" Shinji murmured.

Ahead of them, Rei slid open the classroom door, the sounds of activity and chatter silencing as she stepped inside. Shinji and Asuka exchanged wary glances, before they stepped in behind her.

"Shoryuken!"

The shout was so loud, so sudden, that Asuka let out an audible squawk, jumping back in surprise and bumping into Shinji, who had raised his hands in instinctive defence.

All of their classmates were standing up in their seats, their fists raised to the heavens in a poor copy of the Shoryuken. Most if not all of them wore wide grins on their faces, and Asuka and Shinji watched as Toji climbed down from his seat, before dashing over to them.

He grasped Shinji's right wrist and Asuka's left, and brought them up over his head. The two fighters exchanged bemused stares.

"Let's hear it for the heroes of Tokyo-3!" Toji bellowed, and the class broke out into a wave of applause and shouts. Toji released Asuka and Shinji, and turned to face them, grabbing their shoulders firmly.

"You guys were amazing out there!" He enthused, his smile wide. "You have to tell me what the hell NERV's feeding you! Where did you even learn how to do things like that?"

"Uh…" Shinji had the expression of a deer in headlights. "Our sensei?"

Asuka glared at Shinji, to berate him for dragging Gouken into this, but suddenly, she was faced with a dark-skinned, brown-eyed teen, with dark hair shorn down at the sides, the top styled into short dreadlocks.

"And you are?" Asuka sighed.

"Sean Matsuda! Of Matsuda Jiu-Jitsu!" The boy chirped, and immediately sank to his knees, prostrating himself in a low bow. "Please, take me as your student, Sohryu-sensei!"

"Sohryu-sensei?" Shinji echoed, dubious. Asuka glared at him again, and Shinji shrugged. The redhead turned back to Sean, and struggled to find the right words.

"Look, er…Sean? I'm hardly a master, I'm still a student. And I don't think I can teach you my style, at least not –"

"Not to an unworthy student? Of course! I'll prove myself at once!" Sean rose to his feet, and grabbed Toji roughly by the shoulder.

"You!" Sean barked. "Let's go!"

"Wha –" Toji barely had time to speak before Sean's fist came at his face. Barely dodging the strike, Toji kicked out, striking Sean in the stomach and sending him backwards. Toji let out a yell as he charged forward, catching Sean around the waist and tackling him to the ground.

Asuka groaned, running a hand over her face in exasperation. She and Shinji exchanged looks, before shrugging in unison and moving over to their seats, sitting down and watching as Hikari desperately tried to break up the brawl at the front of the classroom, struggling to be heard over the din of the other student's cheers.

"I should have just let the Angel roast me…" Asuka murmured, watching as a snarling Toji was caught from behind by Sean's chokehold.

If there's one thing I've learned, it's that I can't keep deadlines, especially ones that I set for myself. Anyway, onto a new Episode! Please read and review!