REFLECTING SAIKYO

by Dune7

Set a year or so after the events of the classic SAIKYOKUNGERYU fanfic! Dan Hibiki reflects upon his origins,his pains,his joys in life and even his own father-Gou Hibiki. ONE SHOT!

REFLECTING SAIKYO! (Note and intro:This story is set after the events of my recent Dan story SAIKYOKUGENRYU. It's recommended that you first read it from beginning to end to further understand it's setting and some of it's added characters. Also,complete credit goes to my fellow fanfic writer and chat friend Strider Tahj,thanks to him a new sequel to one of my old fics is made. Way to go man! Now-on with the show!)

Tokyo Japan. Bunkyo Civic Center. 6:00 PM Saturday evening.

The 15th annual Karate Dojo karate tournament was being held and Tokyo's best and brightest met with both masters and students to fight for the title to be strongest in all of Tokyo!

Many students coached by their masters all fought it down through many hours of exhausting matches. Till at last it come down to the final two.

One karate fighter went by the name of Yusuke Fudo,a tough as nails karate fighter who trained under the local karate master known as Mamo Kaida,the steel fist of Tokyo. The other karate fighter was known as Asuto Keichi,a local high school student now turned karate fighter,and his master at this time was none other than the recently improved Dan Hibiki-master of the Shin Saikyo style!

Asuto and Yusuke approached each other across the large purple mat,while both of their senseis watched from afar. The referee,a skinny japanese man wearing glasses than stepped up to the mat and adressed them.

"Alright,final match now."he said. "Keep it clean and good. Now,face me bow. Face each other bow-FIGHT!" The two youths took up their fight stances and the match began.

Asuto made the first move as he thrust his whole body forward and did a flying spin kick at Asuto.

Dan's student dodged and swung around to meet the fighter head on just as Yusuke landed on his feet.

Asuto then thrust his left hand forward and slammed Yusuke in the chest with a hard Gadouken fireball. "ERRK!"cried Yusuke as he was hit backwards by the projectile. Yusuke shook it off quickly and then thrust forward again.

He lunged both fists forward and slammed Asuto in the chest all at once. Asuto kept on his feet,ready for more.

"Come on Asuto!"thought Dan as he watched. "Use what I taught you to good use." "You will win this one for me student."thought Mamoru,a tall and large man with spiky black hair. "You will make the dojo of Iron Fist proud."

The fight raged on for several minutes,the two fighters traded blows off of each other. Asuto did a flail kick at Mamorou,but the punk simply blocked it off and then rushed in with a palm strike to Atsuto's chest.

Dan's disciple was knocked backwards and nearly had the wind knocked out of him. But he wasn't going to give up,no matter what.

He then suddenly saw Mamorou charge at him with a flying kick. Asuto ducked it and saw an opening. He unleashed a hard Kyoryuken that sent his opponent flying and crashing to the floor.

Mamorou was down and out. Asuto was declared the winner and the crowd went wild. "He did it sensei!"cried Miyuku who was with Dan as well. "He did it!" "That he did at that."said Dan as he smiled proudly. Miyuku was not only Dan's second star student,but also steady girlfriend to Asuto himself.

Minutes later,at the award ceremony Asuto was awared first place and given a gold plated trophy while Yusuke was awared with a very close second place trophy.

After that,Dan and his two students met at the entrance of the center. "You fought well Asuto."said Dan. "Hai,thanks to you oh great master."said Asuto as he bowed to Dan. "No,no..I can't truly take all the credit."said Dan. "We have the power of Shin Saikyo-Ryu and the spirit of my father to thank."

"You are far too humble these days,sensei."said Miyuku. "Well i've learned quite a bit myself these days."said Dan. "Pride can be too much of something to go to one's head. Now,you both head home and get some rest. I've got some business to attend back at my place and the dojo."

The two students bowed to their master. "Sure thing sensei."said Asuto. "Me and Miyuku have got a movie to catch." "Yeah,see you later this week sensei."said Miyuku.

The two students then left hand in hand with each other. Dan smirked at the appearance of what was going on with those two. "Heh."he thought. "Young love or so it seems. Man,I just hope i'm as lucky as he is when I find an honest gal."

Dan then hopped the nearest bus and took off down Chuo-ku street and after a few minutes arrived in the suburban area of Tokyo. He then got off the bus and walked up through Kyoto street and there on Shichijo" avenue was Dan's newly established martial arts dojo.

It was a small but sturdy two story building made of wood,concrete,steel and even paper rice windows all molded into an admirable building. There was even a small japanese garden courtyard and pond that went with it. All this was thanks to the efforts of a recent underground fighting tournament that Dan himself had fought in.

Dan smiled warmly at his efforts and then went up to the front door to unlock it. He then opened the door,got inside and took off his wooden sandals and then locked the door.

After that,Dan went into his small study. Inside were various books,on a a few shelves and a study desk with a swivel chair in front of it.

A couple of small bean bag chairs were seated in front of it.

He then sat down and looked through his schedule papers. "Hmmmm..."he thought. "..i've got some new applicants coming in next week,need to look them over. My first star pupil Asuto won the tournament,but I know i'll be hearing from that big bastard Mamoru later on-I just know it."

Dan then took out his schedule book and started to look through the various events and appointments he had to keep and take later on. "Let's see..."he thought as he took out his pen and marked down what he wrote in it. "Monday-take in the twins of the Daisuke household as students and train them."he thought. "Their parents are paying me a hefty sum to make fighters out of them. Tuesday,take karate gis to dry cleaners. Wendesday,go to...dentists appointment-ugh!"

While Dan was going through the schedule,he then noticed a portrait of his own father-the late Go Hibiki. The photo of him was a middle aged man with greying hair in a hairstyle that was similar to Dan's and he had a thick black moustace above his lips.

He was not only Dan's father,but was his ultimate mentor and role model-right up to the day he was killed.

Dan put the pen down and picked up the photo of his father. "Oh,father."he thought. "How proud you and mother must be of me by now. I wish you were here to see what i've accomplished."

Dan than placed the portrait down as well as his pen and then looked up at the ceiling...and started to reflect. Reflect on the origins of himself,his family and how far he had gotten at last.

FLASHBACK.

"My father,Gou Hibiki."thought Dan. "Was at first just another wild child from a poor as poor family got in the rougher parts of Osaka Japan. "After his dad was kicked out by his mom and his mom passed away due to a sudden illness,he himself struck out on his own. Along his travels,he witnessed an all out martial arts karate battle at an underground fight club. He was inspired to become..a fighter himself.

So,he travelled,not just around and through Japan,but throughout the world,stopping and learning from the fighters of India,China,Hong Kong,Russia,even the USA. He learned and fought many opponents in his lifetime,gaining strength,skill and experience altogether.

He even came back momentarily to Japan and met a great shotokan karate master named Goutetsu. Goutetsu was impressed by Gou's fighting abilities,and trained him in the ways of the Shotokan fighting arts.

Within a year,Gou had learned the great ways of the dragon punch and many other attacks concering kicks and punches and the inner strength of the fighter's ki as well as deep meditation.

However,after a year of the master's teachings,Gou respectfully declined Goutetsu's further teachings. He informed the master that he wanted to become a warrior of many styles,not just karate.

Goutetsu nodded in approval and gave Gou his blessings and my father was off again in search of fighter's perfection.

Within the next few years,Gou fought and won many tournaments,he gained fame,experience,and respect from many fans and fellow fighters worldwide. He at last reached the master status of an MMA and fought in even greater and more dangerous matches.

He then settled upon a residence in Hong Kong and opened up a dojo of his own,training and teaching many fighters from around the city and others from different countries.

But,for all his accomplishments,my father felt something was missing from his life. He felt..a certain lonliness. He longed for a companion,a female one at that.

Later that week and that one destined night,my father found his soulmate. While he still lived in Hong Kong,he was invited to a lavish celebrities only party at a local industry fatcat's mansion. My dad Gou was naturally invited,and..not finding any new challenges for right now,he put on his best tux and attended.

Once there,he found various other fighters,movie stars and even political bigwigs. He then saw a family of three who were attending.

They were known as the Tanakas and their daughter Kiyoko was with them. Their daughter was just fresh out of high school and didn't really had much in terms of plans to do with her life,so she just tagged along with her parents whenever she could, just to see the rest of the world.

Gou and Kiyoko met at the bar and traded compliments to each other,and..well..it just led from one thing to another and they started talking. Later that evening,she gave Gou her adress to see her again,and that's what he did. He eventually left Hong Kong and returned to the country of Japan.

They met again at her parent's place of residence and within one night of a romantic encounter,she decided to leave her parents and elope,much to her parent's rage and displeasure.

Years went by,after they were married,Dan re-opened his dojo to better support them as an upcoming family. Kiyoko gave herself all to his needs as his loving wife,and after a year of eh-careful planning,their baby boy was born at last.

Dan Hibiki was born.

However..three years after my birth,my mother eventually became very ill from a mysterious sickness and no doctor on earth could save her. She was eventually laid to rest in the local cemetery and both father and myself as well as some of my father's colleagues held the service for her.

He was heartbroken,as was I later on life,I would never really knew my mother. But..my father was determined as always to carry on the good name of Hibiki.

For the next dozen or so years,Gou raised me the best way ever. He taught how to live and enjoy life and began to teach me in the ways of his fighting style.

I came to really love and idolize my father,he was my all in life and he vowed that I would become a great a fighter as he was.

Unfortunately,even Gou's legacy would come to an end,as I eventually learned and regrettably so. One evening after dinner,a letter arrived at our doorstep.

My father opened it and inside it's white envelope revealed an invitation to a fighting tournament held in Thailand entitled THE KING OF MUAY THAI! I was so excited for my father to be invited to such a grand contest,but he was a little skeptical and reluctant to enter.

He informed me that he had already won many titles in his lifetime,and gained enough experience,but I convinced him that this would be his retirement battle,one to remember him for. So he agreed and the two of us took the nearest plane to Thailand for my father to compete.

The tournament was held in bangkok at a large dome shaped building called the battldome. When he entered and fought,he mopped the very floor with all the competition,striking down many opponents as he did in his younger days. He then at last made it to the final match. But unfortunately,so did another competitor.

The other finalist was a local Thai man,he was tall,very well built and his limbs were strong enough to shatter any opponents body. His name was Sagat,and my father's first encounter with him would be his last.

When the bell sounded,the two titans squared off against each other in the ring,it was my father's fighting skill against his. In the end,it looked as if Sagat would overpower him,but in the end my father did one final flying kick and landed it right in the giant's very right eye. Blood spurted out largely from his eye and the Thai fighter collapsed backwards and against one of the ring poles.

He then cried out in pain and clutched his eye as more blood oozed from it. Gou landed on his feet,he was out of breath and was pretty suprised himself by what he had done.

It almost looked as if he had won,but we were both wrong-dead wrong!

Sagat than suddenly snapped back to his senses and gazed upon his opponent with his still good eye. A wild sense of anger and rage overcame Sagat and before we knew it,he then rushed at Gou and did a flying Tiger Knee into his very chest.

The very wind got knocked out of him as Sagat continued with a wild Tiger Genocide attack. "FATHER!"I cried from the stands as I saw my very father being beated to death by the savage warrior.

Sagat's last punch thrust was so hard it broke Gou's very neck,killing him on the spot.

Gou landed to the floor of the ring as I ran out of the bleechers and into the ring to his side. I was too late,my father was dead,killed on impact by the evil warrior who stood before me.

I then turned to Sagat and was still in a blind rage myself. Without thinking I lunged at the very bald bastard himself. But before I knew it,Sagat simply did a hard high kick that sent me falling backwards and onto the ring floor. I lost consciousness.

What seemed like an eternity,I awoke outside,my father's still deceased body next to my own. One of the security guards who stood outside saw that I was awake and approached me.

"Hey,kid.."he said. ...you okay?" "Ughhh..."I groaned. ...what the hell hit me?" "What do ya think man?"he said. "That bastard Sagat did when you tried to attack him. I just wanted to tell you were out for quite awhile. So..the joint's owner decided to have us place you and your eh-dad there outside."

I turned back to my father,a single blue blanket was draped over his still silent body. "He..he's dead kid."said the guard. "I know it's not much,but i'm really sorry..and I didn't want to have to tell you this..but you're not allowed to go back in there either. As for Sagat,he won the contest,and last time I saw him,he was heading for the local hospital to get his eye treated."

"Father..!"I said as I clutched his form in my forms. "If I was you-i'd head home."said the guard. "Yeah,yeah..i'll do that."I said.

With all my strength,I lifted my father's body over my left shoulder and with a heavy heart carried him away from the battldome. "Poor kid."said the guard as he watched Dan walk off into the distance. "Tough luck that's what."

A day later,I took a plane back to Japan and using my father's remaining funds from his dojo and recent fights,I held a funeral for him. He was buried in the local Tokyo cemetary. Some of my friends and his own recent colleagues attended,and it was quite a sad service at that,it even rained that particular day.

When it was over,I slept through the entire day in the back bedroom of my father's dojo. The next few days were of a depressing time for me,I could barely eat,sleep or do anything due to my father's death.

What was worse,the rent lease date was up for my father's dojo since his death,and I had to move lock,stock and barrel to another location in Tokyo.

I took the rest of my father's account and moved into a small apartment block. After that,I decided to shake off my depression by going out into the city for awhile.

I started to wander for hours without end,I didn't know where I was going,I felt like I wanted to die for what happened. And before I know it,I found myself in the seedier area of Shinjuku and accidentally ran smack into a gang of rough tough hoodlums.

The lead hooldums punched me down and demanded I give him my money. I then snapped out of my funk and saw i was being attacked. I should've fought back,but it was no use,I was too weak and tired from all that happened before. The lead punk then pulled out a switchblade and was about to do some irreparable harm to me.

"H-HELP!"I cried. But just before it looked as I was gonna be a goner,something happened.

Or rather someone. A sudden howl from a nearby rooftop was heard and a sudden blur jumped down from it. "NANI?"said the lead punk as he turned to see what the fuss was about.

The blur then came at him and knocked the thug right off his feet.

The punk then crashed to the ground. After that,the same blur took humanoid form and then grabbed and lifted him up by the shirt top.

The other punks were about to come rushing in,but the creature simply threw the boss punk at them,literally knocking them all down to the ground. I couldn't make out clearly who or what the creature was,but it was dressed in a trenchcoat and hat and was in a sort of hulking form.

The creature then howled again and started to beat it's chest at the still dazed punks. "LEAVE!"it shouted. The team of hoodlums all got up and did so and were gone.

The creature then turned to me and offered a hand to help me up. "Hey-you okay man?"it said in a hoarse sounding manner.

I was hesitant at first,but then took the stranger's hand and was lifted back to my feet. "Uh-yeah..arrigoto for that man,I owe ya one!"I said.

"Well..if you wanna pay me back."said the stranger. "How about giving a weary traveller like me a place to stay for the night?" "Uh..sure okay no problem."I said.

We both went back to my apartment and I let him in.

There was at least five rooms in it. One was a living room,one was a bathroom,one was a dining room and there were at least two bedrooms with them. "Nice place so far."said the stranger. "Ah,i've lived in better back then myself."I said. "Make yourself at home."

"Thanks,i'll do that."said the stranger.

The man then sat down in one of the large bean bags and let out a sigh of relief. "Whoo-man..I needed a rest after all I went through."he said. I sat down in the bean bag across from it. "So..."I began."..are you a traveller of some kind?"

"Yeah,of some kind is right."said the man. "I'm..searching for my mother. I haven't seen her in ages since I left my homeland of Brazil." "Ah,you're from South America eh?"I said. "Sounds interesting." "Yeah,if you're into living in jungles all the time like me."said the creature.

"Jungles?"said Dan. "Are..are you a hermit as well?" "Yeah...pretty much."said the creature. "However..if I told or showed you anything else of me..you might re-think letting me stay here for the night." "Aw,c'mon man."said Dan. "I'm not one to judge people's appearances,I learned that much from my dad. In fact,if I saw what you looked like and your name even,we might get to know each other a little better."

The creature gave off a deep sigh. "Okay then."he said. "But remember,you asked for it."

The man stood up and removed his hat,revealling..a rather unexpected sight.

His face was that of a feral appearance,green skin,wild looking eyes and a long mane of bright orange hair.

My mouth hung wide open and my eyes did the same all at once. "A-A MONSTER!"cried Dan as he leapt up from his bean bag and ran off into the next room. The creature snorted in disgust at what he saw Dan do.

"Hey-I thought you didn't judge people by appearance!"he said. Dan's head popped around a corner. "Oh-oh yeah-sorry about that."he said. "It's just that..I-I didn't know what to expect."

The creature smiled. "Yeah..yeah I get that a lot."he said. "Anyways,my name's Blanka,Jimmy Blanka."

Dan then approached Blanka and bowed to him. "Dan-Dan Hibiki."he said. "Well,Jimmy-welcome to the neighborhood."

The next couple of days,Dan showed Blanka around town and the two then ate lunch at the local Mcdonalds as well. "So..what do you do for a living anyways Dan?"said Blanka as he ate his big mac. "I saw some of those karate gis and training equipment in your closet the other day. You a fighter of some kind?"

"I..I was supposed to."said Dan as he looked down at his lunch glumly. "Oh..a sensitive topic we're on eh?"said Blanka. "Well..if it's something you don't wanna talk about." Dan then perked right back up. "No-no..i've been in a slump enough for the past week. Here's how it went..."

Dan then went on to tell his newfound friend about all that happened with his father and Sagat. "Oh man.."said Blanka. "..i'm real sorry about what happened to your father,Dan. He must've been quite a man." "He was."said Dan. "He was my life,my everything,I was to be a great a fighter as he was. Till..till Sagat that is!"

Blanka nodded. "I've heard about this..Sagat. He was the most brutal Muay Thai fighter there ever was. I also heard there hasn't been a man alive who ever beat him..yet that is."

"I was going to learn all my father knew."said Dan. "I was to be the greatest fighter in the world. Now-now he's gone..and there's no way I can ever be one!"

"Well..I wouldn't say that now."said Blanka. "First off,if you loved your father that much..than you should honor his memory and train to become a great as a fighter as he was."

"You..you think I should,Jimmy?"said Dan. "Sure!"said Blanka. "I was mostly self taught in my fighter's moves,but..I think maybe you should at least find a master of some kind before you do any of that. Just remember..it's your life-just live it well. I'm sure that's what your father would've wanted."

Dan and Blanka then returned to his apartment. "I also didn't want to have to tell ya this,Dan."said Blanka. "But now that I know my way around Tokyo,I have to be leaving now." "Aw,so soon?"said Dan. "I'm afraid so."said Blanka. "I've still gotta find my mother. But no worries,i'll still come by and visit whenever I can. You just take care now-and remember what I said. Every man has his destiny..I just hope you find yours."

Dan nodded and then he watched Blanka jump to the rooftops and was gone. "He's..he's absolutely right!"I said as I found a new sense of direction. "My father was a great champion..and I know I can become one like him. I'll train as hard as I ever trained before. I'll also find Sagat and defeat him as well. Today-the legacy of my father continues. Today-DAN HIBIKI SHALL BECOME A WORLD CHAMPION-OOYAJIII!"

"Man,but if only was as easy as I had hoped it would be."thought Dan. "For the next few days,I trained in the local gym,bulding proper muscles to my body. And after that..I had to find..a suitable master. But where? I than remembered..my father once trained under a teacher named Goutetsu. Yeah-I could train under him!"

Minutes later,I took a cab that would take me to the outskirts of the city and headed off into the same countryside that his father Gou described to him. And to the same dojo where Gou had trained with master Goutetsu.

However,Dan found a different master to his suprise. "So..you're uh-saying that your sensei is dead?"said Dan as he stood rather dumbfounded before the man. "I just described that to you didn't I?"said the large,muscled and yet elderly man. "I..am Master Gouken,successor of my late beloved master. And you are?"

"Oh,uh-yeah!"said Dan as he bowed politely. "I am Dan Hibiki-son of the late great Gou Hibiki! I..I wish to train under you,master Gouken!"

"Gou Hibiki you say?"said Gouken as he stroked his beard. "Yes..my sensei once told me of the time when he trained him briefly,and I had heard much of the great warrior in my younger years. How..is he?"

Dan looked down at the ground with a sad reflection in his eyes. Gouken then figured it out by the look of his faciual features. "Oh..I am truly sorry, ."said Gouken. "My sensei also told me he was a fine fighter when he first met him." "I-I know."said Dan. "Anyways,I wish to carry on my father's legacy,I want you to train me the same way you trained him."

Gouken than approached Dan and eyed him from top to bottom. "Hmmmm..."he replied. "...you may resemble your father I imagine. But..perhaps you have the same fire within him. Very well..for the sake of my sensei and your father,I shall do so. But...you must do everything that I tell and teach you,is that clear?" "Yes,yes quite clear."said Dan. "Very well."said Gouken. "Come inside and we'll go over where we'll begin with your teachings." "YES!"said Dan as he pumped an arm in the air. "Father-I shall make you proud!"

Within the next few days,Dan started to learn the basics of Shotokan Karate and defenses as well. He learned the art of the dragon punch and several punch and kick attacks. However,when it came down to the more advanced techniques,he had such a hard time mastering them.

He couldn't get the Hadouken to fly farther beyond his hands and he couldn't get a handle on the hurricane kick as well. Gouken scratched his head. "Hmmmm.."he replied. "..this might be harder than I thought."

The next few days,Dan and Gouken meditated in the nearby river and waterfall. Gouken naturally handled it underneath the intensely cold water,but Dan felt his entire body shiver as the waters flowed down on him. "D-Dammit!"he thought in frustration. "Th-this is getting ridiculous! I want Gouekn to teach me more powerful moves than what we're doing-and we're not getting anywhere with this waterfall crap!"

Minutes later,they were back at the dojo. Dan and Gouken than sat meditating in the main hall. "Uh-sensei?"said Dan as he opened an eye whilst in the cross legged position. "Mmm?"replied Gouken. "Is..is this really necessary?"said Dan.

"Absolutely."said Gouken. "I sense that you have an intense rage within you that somehowe keeps you from learning the further techniques of the Shotokan. By dispersing this rage,you will be able to learn further. Just take it calmly,think pure thoughts and let go of the anger and fury."

"Huh,easy for baldy there to say that."thought Dan. "After this is over-i've got to find the truth to the much more powerful arts that this guy holds. He must have a notebook or something in his study."

Later that night,when Gouken was asleep,Dan quietly snuch into the master's study. He then started to rifle through his file cabinet and found various notes and pencil sketches of the fighting art he wrote down for future reference for other students. And there..within one piece of paper,he found the japanse writings of something called the Shun Go Satsu.

"Ah-ha-bingo!"thought Dan. He then took out a small notepad of his own and started to write down some of the techniques of the move to his note pad. "Okay-got it."he thought and then he quietly closed the file cabinet and was about to sneak back out. When suddenly..

..there master Gouken stood before him. "Uh-sensei!"cried Dan in suprise. And the master did not look happy at all. "And what exactly do you think you're doing,young Dan?"he said in a stern manner.

"Uh-uh-well I er-"said Dan. "Be honest about this Dan."said Gouken. "Erkk-okay,okay..!"said Dan. "Sensei,I was searching for some of your more-powerful and lethal moves."

"What?"said Gouken. "Why would you do such a thing when we are still in the first stages of teaching you? Wait a moment-of course-Sagat! You wish to learn a killing move on Sagat-the one who killed your father!"

"Well...yes,yes that is true sensei."said Dan. "I wish to avenge my master,only by defeating and killing that bastard will my father's death be avenged and I shall become a great a master as he was!"

Gouken shook his head at Dan. "No,Dan."he said. "That is wrong for you to do such a thing." "What?"said Dan. "But sensei,surely you understand what this means to me-my father was a great man-I want to be as great as he was!"

"I understand and sympathise with your loss,Dan."said Gouken. "My master was killed as well-by a rather gargantuan foe. But..I also learned from him before his death that rage and irrepressible pride have no place in a warrior's life. If you wish to continue to learn,you must do the teachings I give you."

"NO!"said Dan. "I can learn nothing from these paltry teachings if we keep doing stupid meditations-I demand you teach me the greater techniques of the Shotokan karate!"

Gouken frowned. "Than you no longer have a place here."he said. "I am sorry,but you are expelled,leave here at once."

Dan's face went into shock and than went into that of furious anger. "Now see here you bald old fart!"he said. "I've-"

Dan's protest was cut short as he was thrown literally out of the front doors of the dojo. "WAAAAAH!"cried Dan as he sailed through the air and landed on his face into a nearby mud puddle. He then felt something conk him on the head and land in front of him. It was his suitcase.

"And-stay out!"shouted Gouken. "Never return here!"

Dan wiped the mud from his face and stood back up. He then glared angrilly at Gouken and then picked up his suitcase. "Fine with me!"said Dan. "I'll show you,ya old bastard-i'll become such a great master you'll be sorry you ever threw me out!"

Dan than ran off down the dirt and grass laiden path and was gone.

Days later,the struggling fighter looked around for other masters to learn from. He tried Master Gen,but he was taken down in at least one fight. He then tried master Zeku,but his Bushin techniques were too much for Dan to learn.

He even approached an old warrior monk who was a friend of Gouken's named Retsu and convinced him to spar with him just to learn something. Retsu agreed and the two sparred for a few minutes,until Dan was hit right in the face by one of the old monk's hard lunge punches.

"Ughhh."replied Retsu as he looked down at Dan. "Sorry sonny."he said. "But you're pretty weak,you'd better do some real training."

"Dammit all!"replied Dan as he clutched his blood stained nose.

He then returned home and rested in bed whilst his very nose healed. "Why?"he thought. "Why can't I do it the way my father did? Did he have something I didn't?"

He then took out the notepad with the written notes of the Shotokan arts that he stole from Gouken. Right than and there,he made a new vow. If he couldn't learn from any stuffy old master,he would learn on his own. He would make his own style.

He would create the strongest fight style there ever was.

Days later,after his nose healed. He than sat up a small training ground on the rooftop of the apartment building. He had a brown training dummy hung down from a manmade pole against the wall of the entrance.

Dan then took out the notes he had and started to study them very carefully.

After a few minutes of studying,he came to a conclusion. Dan then went up to the training dummy and started to land a few punches,then some kicks and then some hard chops to it.

He also remembered some of the Muay Thai and karate style moves that his father used to do and added them to his own. Dan then started to do some sprint kicks at the dummy. Kicks that allowed him to swing his body in a spinning manner in a sort of flail kick.

He started to do a double flail kick and then a three hard flail kick. After that,he slammed a leaping knee bash into the dummy's head.

"YEAH!"replied Dan. "I've developed my own kicks!" After that,Dan started to do some hard punch combo attacks on the dummy.

On one punch he accidentally let loose some inner ki power that slammed the dummy in the face and white hot sparks flew from his very hand. "WHAT-THE HELL?"he said as he looked at his hand. "Hmmm..it must be some of that Hadouken stuff that Gouken tried to teach me."he thought. "I'll try again."

Dan then stood at a distance and then threw out his right hand again and a single flash of ki enrgy popped from it. "Huh?"said Dan as he looked at his hand. He tried again,and again,but the fireball would go no further. "Well,how do you like that?"he said.

He then went back up to the dummy and then slammed the palm blast at it again. "I..I guess it only works when you're up close and personal."he said. "Well,i'll figure it out soon enough."

Days went by and Dan practiced more and more with his newly discovered moves,he than perfected a shadow style Dragon punch and then he harnessed more power into his fireball and delivered more of an impact with it.

"YEAH!"he said. "NOW THAT'S THE STUFF!"

Dan than looked at one final set of moves he wrote down. He studied the various punches and kicks he found and applied them to his own.

Dan then stood in front of the dummy once again,took a deep breath and then-literally cut loose! He did various punches and kicks at the dummy several times in a mad attack fashion and then he finished it with another rising Dragon Punch.

The last blow literally split the dummy in two from the blow. Dan landed happily on his feet and started to catch his breath.

"I-I DID IT!"he shouted. "I've learned my very own fighting style!"

Dan then started to frantically write down everything he learned in his notebook. He called his flail kick the Dankuu Kyaku. His fireball the Gadouken. His dragon punch the Kyoryuken and his final finishing move he called the Hisshou Biraiken.

"YES-YES!"said Dan as he leapt wildly about on the rooftop. He was so excited he started to do rollerballs with his body on the rooftop. They were the same kind of rollerballs that his friend Jimmy showed him whilst he was in town.

His last rollerball then accidentally caused him to crash into a nearby wall. "OOF!"he cried as he fell backwards and onto his back from the impact. "Man-I gotta watch where i'm going there!"he said. "Hmmm..I was even rollerballing like Jimmy did. I'd better add that to my list of moves and learn how to do it properly in the future.

I'd also better give this a name of my own. But what'll I call it?"

Dan thought really hard for a few minutes and then came up with a name of his own. "I hereby call this style-the Saikyo-ryu Style-the strongest style! At last long last-my legacy from my father starts now! Father-I shall make you so proud! OYYAJII!"

"Hey baka-ass!"shouted a neighbor nearby. "SHUT THE HELL UP WILL YA? I'M TRYIN'TO GET SOME DAMN SLEEP HERE!" "Ah,screw you ya old fart!"Dan shot back.

After that,Dan went off to test his style. He then changed his white gi into a gi he always wanted to wear,a dark pink gi with wooden sandals.

"Alrighty then!"said Dan. "It's time I showed the locals around here that I am clearly no pushover! And I know exactly where to start!"

Dan left his apartment and went back down to the same alley in Shinjuku and found the same street gang that threatened him a few days ago. "Well..look who's back!"said the same thug leader. "And look what he's wearing..his sister's gi-HAHAHA!"

"You punks are gonna be sorry this time!"said Dan as he sprinted at them. Dan did his flail kick and knocked the big stupid bully down to the ground.

After that,he did his attacks on the rest of the punks and they were all down for the count. "Oh yeah!"said Dan. "Boy,did that feel good!"

After that,Dan started to enter and fight various local fighter contests and racked up quite a body count against various grunts.

He then earned enough fight money to move out of the apartment and move into an old abandoned convenience store building and start his own dojo. Dan placed up a sign he made himself that said "SAIKYO-RYU DOJO."

"Alright!"said Dan. "Now i'll just take in anyone who wants to learn and earn some money while i'm at it."

But to his frustation,hardly anyone came by and he couldn't get a single student in. "I don't believe this!"he thought in frustration. "Not a single applicant-what am I doing wrong now?"

He then opened up the daily paper and found a flyer for what was to be called the STREET FIGHTER'S WORLD WARRIOR TOURNAMENT! Dan's eyes bugged out when he saw who was the main champion in it. It was Sagat.

"SAGAT!"said Dan. "He's the tourney host eh? And...it says there'll be a major amount of prize money in it as well! Well good! I can at last fight and defeat Sagat-win the money and earn a new reputation for myself!"

Dan learned of the date and did some last minute training till the event arrived. The contest was to be held in Sagat's homeland of Thailand.

Dan and a whole legion of other fighters entered. And for a good while,it looked like he was wading through the competition. Until at last,he was defeated by another Shotokan fighter named Ken Masters.

Dan did a flying kick at him,but Ken simply ducked it and unleashed a fiery Shoryuken that sent Dan flying out of the ring. Once again,the promising Dan was defeated. He even learned that Ken and another fighter named Ryu were both students from Gouken himself.

"I should've known.."thought Dan. "...so the old man gets his revenge on me by sending his two pups in the contest? Well..i'm not through yet-once Sagat is defeated by whoever defeats him,i'll challenge that bastard myself!"

So Dan waited patiently outside the arena till the tournament was over. And by the next day it was,Ryu defeated Sagat and won the contest.

After that,Dan silently followed after the Thai giant till he found him near the ruins of Wat Chaiwatthanaram,an abandoned city.

Sagat stood silently near a wall and was reflecting upon his defeat,not to mention the scar that he was inflicted upon his very chest.

"SAGAT!"said Dan as he approached the fighter. "Eh?"said Sagat as he turned to see who it was.

"Nice eye,Sagat."Dan said tauntingly. "Would you like the other one to match?" Sagat sneered at Dan. "The man who took my eye paid with his life." "That was my father-you murderer!"said Dan. "And i'm here to make you pay!"

Sagat looked upon the youngster with a confused expression,but he then remembered. "Ah,so it's you again eh?"he said. "Well,unless you want to join him-you'd best get lost now!" "I got a better idea-GET DEAD!"said Dan as he leapt at Sagat and did his flail kick.

Sagat simply fired a tiger shot at Dan,knocking him out of the air. Dan crashed to the ground,but managed to flip back to his feet. "Lucky shot that time!"said Dan. "But I got something better!"

Dan then leapt to the ground and rollerballed right between Sagat's legs and was directly behind him. Sagat than swung around just in time to get slammed right in the chest by Dan's Shinku Gadouken.

The impact sent the giant reeling backwards,allowing Dan to move in and slam him in the chest and abdomen several times with his flail kick.

Sagat was knocked so hard that he lost his footing and fell on his very back. "Get back up,monster!"said Dan. "We're not through yet!"

Sagat got back to his feet and dusted himself off. "You-will die!"he said.

Sagat then rushed in with a Tiger Knee that sent Dan sliding backwards. Dan kept on his feet,ready for more. Sagat than fired off his tiger shot several times at Dan,hitting him in the face and then the legs with it.

Dan then leapt into the air and over the last shot and attempted to land another flail kick into Sagat's head. But the kickboxer saw it coming and retaliated with his Tiger Uppercut that sent Dan crashing to the ground once more.

Dan than rollerballed backwards and was back on his feet again. "I'll defeat you or die trying!"he said.

"I say you'll die,you son of a loser!"said Sagat as he rushed at Dan again. He then swung out his left leg and slammed Dan with a Tiger Raid.

Dan was slammed several times by Sagat's kick barrage so hard that it sent him crashing into a nearby wall of the ruins. Sagat at last had him where he wanted him. "Now-you die."said Sagat as he towered over his intended victim.

"NO!"said Dan as he lunged at Sagat and did his final attack move. He unleashed his Hisshou Biraiken and pummeled Sagat with a flurry of punches and kicks. The final Dragon Punch sent Sagat flying into the air and he landed with one final crash.

It was over,Dan had won. "I-I DID IT!"shouted Dan. "I BEAT SAGAT! ONE FOR YOU FATHER-ONE FOR YOU!"

Dan then went back to the airport and headed home once again for a well deserved rest. He thought for certain he would get some students or respect of some kind after beating Sagat. But once again,no dice.

Until one day,a young girl wearing a school girl uniform and a white headband entered the dojo. "Hey-is there anyone here?"she called.

Dan then emerged from his makeshift study room and approached her. "AT LAST!"he said. "A student! Are you here to learn from the ways of the Saikyo?" "Uh-no no thanks,Mister."she said. "I'm searching for a fighter named Ryu-I heard he came through Tokyo-have you seen him? He wears a headband like the one i'm wearing."

Dan suddenly made a wicked sneer in response to the girl's inquiries. "Ryu?"he said. "Why on earth would you want to learn from that-that reprobate?" "Hey,first off-the guy is a great warrior!"said Sakura. "He beat Sagat in the recent contest!" "No way,I beat Sagat after that!"said Dan. "I have the bruises to prove it!"

"If you did,how come I never heard of you,huh?"said Sakura. "Listen kid."said Dan. "Sakura's my name."said Sakura. "Right,right."said Dan. "If you want to learn to be a great fighter yourself-stick with me-I know all sorts of moves that loser doesn't!"

"You have no right to call the great Ryu Hoshi a loser!"said Sakura. She then took up her fight stance. "On your guard!"

Dan then shook his head humorously. "Alright then!"he said. "I'll make this quick and painless for ya kiddo!"

Dan then attempted to do a flying punch at Sakura. But to his suprise,the schoolgirl ducked it and slammed Hibiki with her own variation of the Shoryuken.

The blow was so hard it knocked Dan down to the rotted wodden floor and he was out like a light. Sakura grunted in annoyance. "Loser that,pinky!"she said and then took off.

Minutes later,Dan awoke. He couldn't believe what had happened. He let himself get beaten up by a kid,a girl for that matter. "Damn-she can punch!"he said as he got back up. "I've got to find a way to make her my student! But first-I think i'd better practice again."

And practice he did for several weeks,till he managed to better perfect his Saikyo style and then enter another tournament. It was another underground contest held by a slimy drug lord,but Dan managed to defeat his competition and win another hefty amount of prize money. He then re-built his dojo and started to attract more students by the dozen.

And thanks to a recent adventure he had with another karate fighter named Ryo Sakazaki he had at last attained perfection. It was quite an adventure at that,the pair of them learned something about their heritage,their origins,not to mention they're very own fighting styles.

After defeating an old enemy of Ryo's they both challenged each other to a one one street fighter battle in the Sakazaki's own family dojo. In the end,even though Dan put up quite a good fight,Ryo eventually defeated him in turn.

However,in the next few days after that,Dan was a changed man,a sort of improved man. He used the knowledge of Ryo's Kyokugenryu fighting arts and applied some of it to his own. He even changed to a better karate gi that was of an off white and black color.

After that,he uses his newfound style to challenge and defeat many more opponents around Japan,and won even more great national and underground tournaments. He was at last gaining fame,wealth and respect throughout the city and the rest of the country almost as much as Ryu did.

Later on,over a dozen students from the local high school students enrolled and applied for his art at his newly remodelled school.

He even managed to at last earn some respect from Sakura,but he finally understand that the girl wanted to be trained who she wished to-namely Ryu.

Dan finished his reflecting and took one last look at his father's photo. "I know you must be smiling upon me father."thought Dan. "Wherever you are,please send mother my love." After that,Dan took care of his appointments,he took the students gis and his own to the dry cleaners,and then at last went to the dentist. He had a tooth removed,but vowed to become the wiser after brushing one's teeth after every meal.

"Errgh-OUCH!"he cried whilst clutching his left cheek. After that,by the coming weekend,Dan gathered his star students and the whole group and made an announcment. "My loyal students!"he declared. "After witnessing Atsuto's just recent victory over our despised rivals of the Iron Fist dojo- I have taken it upon myself to take us all out for dinner-at the Tokyo Family fun center and restaurant."

"Oh,sensei-do you mean it?"said Mizuki. "Hey,would these eyes lie,Mizuki?"said Dan. "It's on me-change your clothes kiddies,we're heading they're now!" "ALRIGHT-HOORAY-MANY CHEERS FOR OUR SENSEI DAN HIBIKI!"many students shouted. "YAHOO-HIP HIP HORRAY!"

Minutes later,Dan and his troupe all boarded a bus that would take them back into the middle of Tokyo Japan and there across Nippon avenue and on 5th Hidoshi street was the Tokyo Family Fun Center and restuarant.

Dan and his students were inside having fun,eating their grub,playing video games,jamming on the dance floor and singing karaoke,which Dan himself did with an embarrassing show for his students.

Both Atsuto and Mizuki had to drag him off the platform before someone threw a shoe or something at him.

Later on,Dan was seated at a booth with his same star students. "We appreciate you very greatly for what you've done for us,sensei."said Atsuto. "Hai,we could never become as strong as you ever were without you."said Mizuku.

"Oh,it was nothing."said Dan. "Who we really have to thank besides me are the following,my own late great father Gou Hibiki, my old friend Jimmy Blanka,and...yes..even another great karate fighter and his friends which i'll for now leave as a mystery."

"Hmmm...I wonder if he means Ryu and Ken from the World Warrior circuits?"thought Atsuto.

Dan then took out a single envelope from his cargo pants pocket and looked upon it. "Hey,what's that you've got there,sensei?"said Atsuto. "Well...it was a final letter from my daily mail."said Dan. "But I haven't looked it in yet. What it says on there is the word VITAL marked across it."

"Hmmm..it might be a prank or something,you never know."said Mizuku. "That may very well be."said Dan. "But you never know till you take the chance right?"

Dan than took a deep breath and ripped open the envelope. Inside it were the contents of a map and a single blue ticket and a note typed out specifically for him and him alone.

Dan than started to read what it said. "I..I don't believe it!"he said. "What-what is it?"said Atsuto.

"I've just been invited..to a major new martial arts tournament!"said Dan excitedly. "Oh,that's wonderful sensei!"said Mizuku. "You're gonna compete in it right?" "You bet I am sweetie!"said Dan. "When Dan the man is challenged-he takes the challenge! And I am gonna win this one no matter what! OSHAA!"

"Okay,okay-please settle down sensei."said Atsuto in an annoyed manner. "You don't wanna get us thrown outta here before the end do you?" Dan wasn't listening of course,he still had his eyes on the envelopes contents. He vowed that he would compete in this new tournament and hopefully win big no matter what. But he also knew,that no matter what challenge or battle awaited him...he would face it proudly as an Hibiki should.

FOR HE WAS DAN-MASTER OF THE SHIN SAIKYO!

THE END-FOR NOW.