Street Fighter: The Hadou Circle

Prologue

There was a loud crunch and Akuma's body flew through the air, spiraling like a top, and his face landed hard on the dark African Serengeti. Once his head had stopped pounding, he quickly turned around and looked with hatred at his opponent, who limped toward him slowly. Akuma, with bruised arms and a fractured rib, slowly stood up and clutched his chest, forcing himself to breathe normally. His opponent was in much pain too, he could tell; it had been one hell of a fight. He always knew that Ryu was to be the one to defeat him, but he always believed that Ryu was to defeat him using the Dark Hadou, which didn't exist anywhere in his opponent's ki registers. He had tried toying with Ryu, telling him that it was his own fault that his master, Akuma's brother Gouken, had died, but Ryu's emotional and mental states remained clear, as if Akuma hadn't said anything at all. Ryu had made him out to be a fool. He had proven that traditional Hadou did have the potential to defeat Dark Hadou in the right hands, and all of Akuma's training and dedication, his pledge of allegiance to the most powerful and undefeatable form of martial arts known to man or demon, had been for nothing. He despised Ryu for that, and was to dedicate the rest of his life to destroying him and everything he held dear.

Ryu was not much better off physically than his opponent. He had many bruises and abrations on his face and he could only see out of one eye, his right arm socket had been dislocated and he had to painfully shove it back into its proper place during the course of the fight, and he had sustained a mild concussion; Akuma had punched him so high and so far away, that it gave Ryu time to regain consciousness. But over the course of the battle Ryu had gained the upper hand. He had learned to dodge the Shun Goku Satsu, the Instant Hell Murder and Akuma's ultimate attack, which Akuma began using more frequently as the fight raged on. But the attack had used up too much of Akuma's ki, and now he was at the mercy of his opponent. With one eye opened fiercely, Ryu gave a smile that Akuma was too far away to see. He hadn't even shown Akuma his latest, most devastating technique, mainly because he wanted to get Akuma's ki low enough so that he would not be able to dodge or teleport out of it. But now was the time. Ryu concentrated all of his remaining ki into his right fist.

Akuma knew he was doomed. When he realized that there was a chance that he could lose the fight, he regained confidence in the fact that Ryu was such a person that killing his opponent was simply out of the question. But now, he gazed in horror as Ryu began building up ki for a final attack. Bright flashes of white energy had fallen from the heavens and gathered at Ryu's fist, as if the gods had collaborated with the warrior to destroy this container of evil. It was more than enough to snuff Akuma's life, he knew that. He had no final attack, nor the energy to deliver such an attack. All he could do was wait as Ryu got closer.

"This is the end for you Akuma. Do you have any last words?" called out Ryu from many yards away.

"You have not seen the end of me boy," called out Akuma, in a voice that was barely audible because it was so deep and booming. "I swear to you I will return ten times stronger than now, and destroy you and your family."

"And I swear," said Ryu as he brought his now ignited fist across his face in an attack position, "that I will not allow that to happen again.. This is Master Gouken's revenge!"

In a battle cry that could be heard miles away, Ryu charged at Akuma, who maintained a battle stance of his own, placing his hands at his side and preparing to launch an incredibly weak Messatsu Gou Hado at his opponent. It would not win him the fight, however…

When Ryu was not more than ten yards away, Akuma launched his attack, which sent a large stream of black and purple energy directly at his opponent, illuminating the Serengeti for as far as the eye can see. Ryu did not slow in his charge, nor did he try and evade the attack. His entire body had been so absorbed with Hadou energy that he ran straight through Akuma's attack. Akuma was now defenseless, and watched in horror as Ryu came up so close to him that he could feel the Hadou energy irradiating off of his opponent. Ryu reared his ignited right fist behind him and sunk it excrutiatingly into Akuma's gut.

"Shin—"

Akuma watched, barely breathing, as the Hadou energy traveled from Ryu's right fist, through his chest, and into his left fist, which Ryu smashed into his jaw.

"Shoryu—"

Akuma was knocked into the air, jaw broken and for the most part unconscious. But Ryu hadn't finished yet. The Japanese warrior leapt into the air, his left fist still ignited, and smashed it once again into Akuma's face.

"Ken!"

Akuma fell limp through the air, as if he'd just been dropped from the sky, and his crippled body landed on a large rock jutting out of the Serengeti landscape with a very loud snapping of bones.

Ryu twirled in the air majestically, finishing off the formation of the attack, and landed on the Serengeti floor on his back. His body was so numb that he had barely felt the impact, and he breathed heavily for many moments lying down in the cool grass, and after a while the breathing became laughter. He had finally done it. He had finally defeated the Supreme Master of the Fist using the traditional Hadou style his master had taught him and his best friend Ken. He had not succumbed to the dark side of Hadou like Akuma told him he would have to if he wanted to defeat him. Ryu could not remember the last time he had been so pleased with himself. And that was the last thought he had before he lost consciousness.

"Ryu…" called a voice.

Ryu opened up his eyes brightly into a world of pure light. He quickly got to his feet, standing on nothingness; his body did not appear battered. He turned around and he saw, just a short distance away, the pleasant sight of his deceased Master Gouken, whom he had finally avenged.

"Ryu…" repeated Gouken, who had a warm smile on his face.

"Master," started Ryu. "I finally did it. I have defeated Akuma using the techniques you taught me. I did not succumb to the Dark Hadou. I have avenged you." A large smile appeared on Ryu's face.

"I am very, very proud of you my pupil. However, I am a bit worried."

Ryu's smile disappeared. "You're worried? Do you think Akuma will return to full strength?"

"It's not that Ryu." The spirit of Gouken traveled a short distance until his face was only mere inches from Ryu's.

"Ryu, now that Akuma has been defeated, what are you going to do now?"

The Japanese warrior looked blankly at his master for several seconds before he replied. "I…um…don't know what you mean master."

Gouken smiled brightly and placed a warm hand on Ryu's head, like he used to do back when Ryu was a boy.

"Remember Ryu, the fight is not all…"

Ryu awoke, still on his back. He launched himself to his feet and looked a few yards ahead of him, and Akuma was still right where he had left him, unmoving. The warrior breathed out a huge sigh of relief, and winced loudly as he realized his body hadn't even begun to feel healed. He walked carefully to Akuma's resting spot, and gazed upon his crippled body. Bone had protruded from his leg caused from the fall onto the rock, and his jaw was slanted in a position that would not be humanly possible if it hadn't been broken in about five or six places.

Ryu stared out into the horizon, which was now a splendid orange color. The sun was beginning to creep through the darkness and the day was about to begin. He bowed honorably at Akuma's body, respecting him as a worthy opponent. He then gathered his white duffle bag which was a short distance away, and then began his very long journey to America.

In the distance, beyond Ryu's capacity of hearing, someone was laughing…