It was a rainy day in the city. Sakura was caught up in the masses of crowds who were swarming through the streets, making commuting slow, and her revealing get up made it all the more difficult to bare. Still, with determination in her heart and a will to carry on, she kept on bulldozing her way through and through to her destination, which was a road on the city limits where an old friend was going to be there to pick her up. Slowly, Sakura's stamina wore out. The crowds kept on coming and they were in no hurry to disperse either. Sakura gradually got weary of the streets; the rain did not help either, causing her to get cold.
"At this rate, I'm going to get hypothermia… I'll die if this goes on…" she grunted, trying to shield herself from the rain, and at the same time cover herself. A short cut uniform and skirt wasn't the best of cover anyway. She came across a back alley, laid with garbage cans and litter, but it was underneath a poorly made roof made of scrap metal. She didn't care, any cover was good cover and she sprinted towards it. Her mind, once under the shelter, concentrated on what was ahead. Was it safe to go forward? She was in a hurry, which meant she did not think ahead so she strode onwards through the back alley, away from the noise.
The back alley was going in the same direction as where she wanted to go, so she didn't think twice about heading back and following her usual route home. She carried on, but came to a screeching halt.
"Well, what do we have here…" a man with a raspy voice called out, walking in front of Sakura. Sakura immediately turned backwards, but almost ran head first into two burly men who blocked her only exit out. She was trapped in between some of the scruffiest looking men in the whole city, but they weren't exactly the weakest either. Sakura, switching to her fighting instincts, blasted the raspy voiced man away with a Hadouken and leapt over him like a gazelle. She was only to be tackled by a man who came literally out of nowhere, but was obviously scruffy enough to be a part of the gang that had confronted her before. The two burly men who had blocked Sakura's path before caught up where she was tackled and propped her up. The raspy voiced man had been knocked out, so he did not follow. The man who tackled her stared at her and brandished a shining steel knife.
"I'm gonna enjoy this…" the man with the knife laughed. He gripped it tightly, ready to drive it into Sakura who winced in fear, too shocked to comprehend what was going on and too dazed from the tackle. The knife hand raised… but did not come down. It was being held back by something. Actually, it was someone else.
"Hands off, you dastardly crooks!" cried a voice, heavy with an accent. The mystery man pulled the arm of the knife wielding man and threw it over his shoulder. The two other thugs dropped Sakura, who fell to her knees, and attacked the mystery man. The man stood there as the two charged at him, then he extended his arms like a cross and took down the two men with his arms like they were caught on a clothesline. The mystery man ran towards Sakura and picked her up, holding her in a fireman's carry and ran away from the men. The man ran out of the back alley and into a park with Sakura on his shoulder, back in public. The rain had cleared up, but it was still overcast. The man sat Sakura down on a bench and caught his breath. Sakura was in awe of him; he was so muscular and donned a mask like a Superhero. He was also wearing wrestling tights and chunky boots.
"W-whoa…" Sakura tried to muster up the power to speak. Still in a state of shock, as the event had blown over so quickly.
Her hero finally stood straight, and as if he had just suddenly regained his energy he cried out "Next time, compadre, if you think going into an alley full of angry men is a good idea, you'll know what'll hit you!"
"Um… thanks?" Sakura said, she couldn't help but laugh. Behind the confusion still lay a happy-go-lucky schoolgirl. "Please, I must know your name".
"Certainly, Senorita! I am known by many names, but you may know me as the Hurricane of the Gulf of Mexico, El Fuerte!" the man stood proudly, posing. Sakura stared, and then suddenly burst out laughing. "…what is so funny? You're a strange little lady…"
"Well, let's just say I wasn't expecting that…" Sakura tried to say through laughing, "I mean, I was expecting something like 'Carl' or 'Burt' but… who am I kidding, that was the best thing ever!" Sakura said, standing up and clapping. El Fuerte scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, but went with it, mock bowing to her.
"I could have had them y'know, I was just outnumbered…" Sakura said, trying to gain some of her pride back.
"I do not underestimate anyone, my dear, just what is inside their stomachs." El Fuerte said wisely.
"Inside their stomachs? Don't you mean 'inside their heart'?"
"No, I meant stomach, I am a Master Chef, didn't you know?" El Fuerte said, grabbing a piece of white fabric from his pants. He shook it once and it poofed out like an airbag. He put it on his head and it was a white chef's hat. Sakura looked up, and burst out in hysterics again.
"You can't write this! This is too damn funny!" Sakura continued laughing.
"There is strange, then there is just plain rudeness" El Fuerte said, un-donning his chefs hat and compacting it.
"Oh no! No no no sir, please, don't think of me as rude… it was just… unexpected?" Sakura said, trying to make it up to him.
"…alright, but next time you're rude I'll squirt so much Habanero juice in your eye you'll blink out fire!" El Fuerte said rather menacingly. Sakura stared rather afraid, but his look turned into a warm grin. "Just kidding! You seem like a nice girl, I wouldn't do that… even to my enemies… have you HAD chilli in your eye? It stings like lava!" El Fuerte made wild hand gestures as he told his story. Sakura giggled and stook out her hand for a handshake.
"My name is Sakura. Pleased to meet you!" she chirped happily. She didn't expect El Fuerte to get down on one knee and kiss her hand instead of shake it.
"The pleasure is all mine" El Fuerte said, getting up. "Now, where were you going anyway?"
"Just a place where my friend is going to pick me up… actually, it's right over there!" Sakura pointed excitedly at her destination, in the distance behind some trees. "Yes, he's not here yet! I made it in time!"
"Just our luck, eh?" El Fuerte said. "Want me to wait with you or am I intruding?"
"Hehe… I could use the company…" Sakura giggled to herself. They both walked to where the meeting place was and looked up the road.
"Um… is that weird rusty looking thing your friend?" El Fuerte said, pointing to a very slow moving hatchback car. It was white but incredibly rusty, its engine making dangerous sounding revving noises.
"Yeah… that's him." Sakura sighed. The car pulled up next to Sakura, but the man inside shot out of the car and headed straight to El Fuerte, rather angrily.
"Hey, who do you think you are? Are you here to take advantage of Sakura? How dare you! I challenge you to a fight! What, you chicken? Hey, I'm speaking to you!" the man said, almost on the verge of what seamed like tears, he didn't even take time to pause in between his questions, his questions firing out like darts. The man was hysterical. He was dressed in pink training garb and had a long brown ponytail.
"Whoa! Calm down, amigo, don't get your pink all red!" El Fuerte retaliated. "I actually helped Sakura I'll have you know, and…"
"Oh my god I can't believe this, you raped her didn't you? Are you hurt Sakura? Did the mean man hurt my prize student? How did you know her name anyway? Who do you think you are? I'm a Saikyo Master! I'll hurt you with my sheer awesome!" the man in pink continued rambling.
"Hibiki-san, please!" Sakura tried to calm her friend down, "He helped me today, he's my friend…"
"He's not your friend, he wears a mask! People who wear masks are evil! What are you hiding under there, masked fiend? A map to the lost world? Your liiiiiiiies!" the man in pink carried on.
"El Fuerte, please, do something!" Sakura cried out, "I've never seen him this worked up!"
The man in pink continued rambling non stop until El Fuerte turned him around and grasped him from behind. El Fuerte's right arm went over the mans head and gripped him tightly, bending him backwards.
"El Fuerte! What are you…" Sakura said, but she noticed the effects it took on her friend.
"Get him off! Get him off! Please! I was only joking! Aah! Help me! I'll sue you! I'll kick your head off… I'll… I'll…" the man in pinks efforts to get out of the hold weakened and weakened. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep, passing out.
"Dragon sleeper. Knocks opponents out for a while… can you drive him home, Sakura?"
"Yeah, Hibiki-san taught me how to drive this thing so I'm sure I can manage…" Sakura said, opening the back seat door and picking up the mans body so she could throw it in.
"Safe travels, Sakura!" El Fuerte waved to her.
"Do you want a ride home, sir?" Sakura asked.
"You are very kind, but I can manage on my own." El Fuerte said happily.
"Oh…" Sakura said, sounding kind of defeated. She hoped that El Fuerte would stay with her longer.
"Sayonara, little chilli pepper!" El Fuerte said. Sakura turned to get in her friends drivers seat, and then turned back. El Fuerte was nothing but a little spot, dashing off into nothingness when she did. She sighed, kind of sad, and drove off.
"Nng… stupid masked man… nnng… get off my property… nnng… no father, I don't wanna eat chicken noodle soup…" the man in pink grunted in the back seat.