A/N: Here is chapter four of Neon Genesis Striker, set after five days after the last battle and two after the last chapter ended. This tells of what happened to Yoshika' after the battle with the Fourth Angel.
Thanks to my pre-reader Makuhari-Fan01
Disclaimer: I don't own Evangelion or Strike Witches
Chapter Four: Hedgehog's Dilemma
In Tokyo-3 the sound of rain filled the city, having started and continued non-stop since the battle against the Angel five days ago.
In her apartment Sakamoto woke up to the sound of her alarm clock. She got up, brushed her teeth and went over to the door of her young ward's room. Displayed prominently was the sign she'd made for it the second day Yoshika was there, "Yoshika's lovely suite".
"Come on Miyafuji." said the annoyed Major as she knocked on the girl's door, "It's been five days, you can't keep avoiding school."
When she got no response, Sakamoto opened the door to find the room as neat and clear as always except one thing, Yoshika. On the desk by her bed were Yoshika's NERV ID card and a goodbye letter to 'Miss Sakamoto'.
"She's ran away!" yelled Sakamoto. She turned to go start searching, but as she opened the front door she found three people there. Barkhorn, Hartmann and Lucchini at the door left speechless by the woman in front of them.
"Wow." said the impressed Lucchini who could take her eyes off Sakamoto's chest.
"Aren't you the classmates who Miyafuji protected against the Angel?" Sakamoto asked Lucchini and Hartmann who were snapped back to reality by Barkhorn clearing her throat.
"Yeah." replied Hartmann, "Yoshika hasn't been to school in five days so we wanted to check on her."
"Miyafuji is at NERV undergoing specialized training." lied Sakamoto through her teeth.
"Well just let her know we're worried about her and wish her the best." said Barkhorn.
"Can do." responded Sakamoto in a fake happy voice before returning inside.
"Did you see her breasts?" asked a re-energized Lucchini happily.
"Yeah she was a total babe." stated Hartmann which combined what Lucchini had said caused Barkhorn to grab both of them by the ear and drag them off muttering to herself about perverts.
Back in the apartment, Sakamoto looked down at her feet with a frown that quickly turned into a scowl.
"Damn Miyafuji!" Sakamoto yelled kicking the door.
Yoshika sat glued to her seat. She was on the train and had been riding it around Tokyo-3 all day just sitting in her seat next to the door listening to her digital music player. At first the train was full, but as the afternoon passed the train the number of people on board slowly decreased. After the evening commute, Yoshika was the only one left. Yoshika stayed on the train until the train stop for the night.
"I've got to go back." Yoshika said sadly, even though she didn't want to see Sakamoto again.
After leaving the train Yoshika walked through the rain back to Sakamoto's apartment but instead stopped at a movie about Second Impact. The theater was empty except for a few people sleeping. Yoshika wasn't even paying attention to the movie and her eyes wandered around the theater falling on a young couple a few rows in front of her. She watched them for a few minuets before they began a furious make out session which caused Yoshika to become queasy look away. Yoshika slept in the dark theater lobby that night on a bench next to the vending machine.
Yoshika left the theater early in the morning and wandered through the city but as she moved she felt the buildings closing in on her. She began to sweat, her heart race increased and her chest felt tight. Starting to panic, she felt like she was going to have a heart attack, and ran until she reached the mountains outside the city.
"So have you heard from Yoshika?" Perrine asked Sakamoto as the doctor ran Sanya through a CAT scan. Perrine sat at computer monitoring Sanya while Sakamoto leaned up against the wall nearby.
Sakamoto didn't answer which was answered Perrine's question.
"It really sucks we have to use kids for this." said Sakamoto.
"You know we have no other option." replied Perrine.
"Yeah." responded Sakamoto still unhappy with it, "It's probably better she doesn't return home anyway."
"Why?" asked Perrine.
"Well..." began Sakamoto's
Flashback to right after the battle against the last Angel
"I ordered you to retreat Miyafuji!" yelled Sakamoto who was chewing out her ward. Yoshika sat on the platform next to Unit-01 while Sakamoto stood in front of her.
"Yes ma'am." responded Yoshika quietly.
"What you did was clear insubordination!" yelled the Major.
"I know." Yoshika responded quietly.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Sakamoto asked angrily.
"We won right?" answered Yoshika, "We obtained victory over the Angel. Even if I were killed that victory was the only thing that was important."
"How pathetic!" snapped Sakamoto, "I don't care what happened to you in the past but you work here now and stupid tactics like that aren't just dangerous to you, they're dangerous to everyone! You need to grow up, and if you don't want to be here then leave!"
As she left Sakamoto stopped and without looking at Yoshika angrily said, "We would be better off without people who hold a defeatist attitude."
End flashback
"I see." said Perrine after Sakamoto had finished her story.
"See ran away because of me." said Sakamoto feeling awful about what had happened, "How could I have been so stupid?"
In the mountains outside Tokyo-3, Yoshika wandered through the mountain sides well the setting sun made the night sky orange. As she passed by Fuso maples she heard a voice from above her.
"Yoshika!" came the voice which Yoshika easily recognized.
"Lucchini?" asked the witch wandering around and looking into the tree branches.
"Up here!" called the Romagna girl allowing Yoshika to follow her voice and find her laying on a tree branch ten feet off the ground.
"What are you doing?" asked Yoshika.
"My dad woke up from my nap and told me to clean my room so I snuck out here to avoid work and keep napping." said the young girl who then asked, "How's the special training?"
"Special training?" asked a confused Yoshika.
"That's what Sakamoto said replied Lucchini.
"I'm not undergoing special training." Yoshika said adverting her eyes, "I quit NERV."
"What happened?" questioned Lucchini as she jumped down from her perch. She and Yoshika sat down and talked.
At NERV, Perrine and Minna stood next to each other as they rode an electric walkway traveling through the vast NERV headquarters well Sanya, still recovering from her injuries, stood behind Minna.
"What will we do about the Third Girl?" asked Perrine.
"She left on her own so she no longer has any value. We will continue with out her." replied Minna coldly.
"What if next the Angel arrives before Sanya is healed ?" asked Perrine.
"According to the Marduk Institute the Fourth Girl hasn't been found, the Third Girl ran away and the Second Girl isn't ready yet nor is she even in this country so Sanya is the only option we have." answered Minna as coldly as always.
"Right." answered Perrine.
"That's kind off sad." said Lucchini after Yoshika finished telling Lucchini what happened and why she left. The sky was now pitch black and the girls sat in front of a camp fire Lucchini had made.
"Yeah." said Yoshika determined never to return. She did have to admit this was the most serious she had ever seen Lucchini, "I'm not going back."
"Personally I think you're lucky." said Lucchini, "You get to live with a hot babe and fight in the Strikers. I would love to just get in one of those."
"You'd shouldn't say that." reprimanded Yoshika, "You're mother would be worried about you."
"It's no problem. My mother is dead." informed Lucchini, "Both Hartmann and Barkhorn feel awful about Barkhorn punching you. When Barkhorn's little sister Chris found out she chewed Trude out."
"It's okay." replied Yoshika quietly.
Yoshika and Lucchini went to sleep that night on the ground and under the stars.
When Lucchini woke up the next morning it was before Yoshika. She then rubbed her eyes and released that two Men in Black standing in front of her. As she wondered what was happening Yoshika woke up and saw them too.
"Yoshika Miyafuji?" asked one of the men.
"Yes." she responded.
"We're with NERV Section 2. We've been summoned to bring you back for desertion."
"Okay." said Yoshika in a defeated voice and she let the the two Men in Black take her away well Lucchini watched helpless.
At NERV, Yoshika sat in a dark detainment cell unaware of her fate. It had been six hours since was picked up by Section 2 and after she was returned to NERV she was dragged to this cell where she has sat in isolation since. The only human interaction she had was when she was bought a tray of food which she barely touched. Now she was lying on her side facing the wall.
"You're back."came a familiar voice which cause Yoshika to look up and see Sakamoto staring back at her.
" Major." Yoshika responded as if still her subordinate.
"The only reason you're back is because you ran away. Luckily it looks like Commander Minna is just going to let you go." she said, "Look Miyafuji, I understand you've had a rough life but you have to obey my orders."
Yoshika didn't answer and Sakamoto just walked away.
"So that's what happened." finished Lucchini who had just told Hartmann and Barkhorn about her encounter that morning with NERV Section 2 well the three girls ate lunch in the classroom.
"You just let her go?" asked Hartmann who was shocked Lucchini didn't try to defend Yoshika.
"Only an idiot fights when they know they can't win. What Lucchini did was smart." interjected Barkhorn, "After school you two just come with me. Trust me on this."
After three mores hours in NERV detainment, Yoshika was told Commander Minna had decided to just relieve her of her rank and let Yoshika go back to live with her uncle. The same two Section 2 agents from earlier escorted Yoshika into a black NERV van and drove her to the train station.
Once they got to the train station Yoshika got out of van and heard someone call her name. Looking over, Yoshika saw Lucchini, who had called her name, along with Hartmann and Barkhorn who had been sitting on a bench waiting for the girl.
"Hi." Yoshika said surprised before asking "How did you know I would be here?"
"Ever since the battle with the Angel when you first arrived here this has happened a lot." replied Barkhorn.
Yoshika turned to the Section 2 agents asked, "Can I talk to them please?"
"Make it quick." responded on of the agents.
"Yoshika." began Hartmann clearly speaking from the heart, "Me and Barkhorn are very sorry about you getting beat up."
"It's okay." replied Yoshika with a weak smile.
"Yoshika, I want you to punch me." said Barkhorn feeling this was the only method, "I won't feel right until you do. Don't hold back."
Yoshika clenched up her fist and punched Barkhorn in her face sending her teetering back a few steps.
"Thank you." said Barkhorn with a weight off her shoulders.
"You're time is up." said the Section 2 agent and he and his partner began escorting Yoshika to the train platform. As they did Yoshika turned back to the trio behind her and called out to them.
"It's me who should be hit. I'm a scoundrel, a coward, dishonest and weak."
The three girls then walked over to the bench and waited for the train carrying Yoshika to leave.
At, NERV Sakamoto was sitting in her office thinking about Yoshika. She felt horrible about what was happening.
"Yoshika." she said as she stared down at her desk. Sakamoto knew Yoshika should have obeyed her orders but still felt bad.
"I was too rough with her." she said as she pounded down her seventh cup of coffee.
As she sat at her desk, Sakamoto remember Perrine's talk about the hedgehog's dilemma and thinking about it suddenly everything made sense.
"That's it!" she yelled Sakamoto as the epiphany hit her, "How could I have been so blind?".
Sakamoto quickly ran down the hallway bolting to her car so fast she could beat the Flash in a footrace. As the Major ran she encountered Perrine.
"Where are you going?" asked the Gallian.
"I finally figured it out!" Sakamoto yelled back as she kept running, "Miyafuji is a hedgehog, she is afraid to get close to anyone for fear of hurting them like you said. The only reason she moved in with me is because she wanted a family. I've got to stop her from leaving."
As Sakamoto left Perrine observed, "Maybe she's not as dense as I thought."
Sakamoto jumped into her car and raced through Tokyo-3 arriving at the station as the train of people left.
"I'm too late." she said sadly and turned her back to station and rested on her car as she looked down feeling terrible for driving Yoshika off.
As Sakamoto turned around to re-enter the car she saw someone at the train station, it was Yoshika Miyafuji.
Yoshika was getting ready to board the train when she saw Sakamoto's car. The two stared at each other for a minute.
"I'm home." said Yoshika with a smile on her face.
"Welcome home." replied Sakamoto smiling at her.
A/N: There is chapter four and yes Yoshika has rejoined NERV. Hartmann might have seemed more in character here and she will be more in character later on. Don't expect happy endings like this too much in this story. This chapter mentioned two other withes, the Second Girl and the Fourth Girl, who along with the fifth girl will appear later on. Next chapter Yoshika will try to figure out the enigma known as Sanya V. Litvyak. Meanwhile Sanya and Unit-00 have fully recovered just in time for the Fifth Angel to arrive. They'll be fan-service! Please review!