Disclaimer: I don't own Harvest Moon…or the Street Fighter Series. Please bare with me.
One stormy night, at a dojo in the wilderness of Japan, a stalwart old man was meditating all by himself.
He was a balding man with tufts of white hair at the side, and a thick beard covered his chin. His narrow, squinty eyes were in deep focus. He wore a maroon headband around his shiny head, and a matching sleeveless martial arts gi that revealed rippling muscles.
Miraculously, the old man retained his meditative position as the fearsome thunder continued crashing from outside. It was only until he sensed an incoming presence that he finally ceased.
The entryway slowly creaked open, and the old man became fully aware of his surroundings.
"So, after all this time you've finally returned… Gotz." the old man uttered solemnly.
From the entrance, a rugged man stepped into the dojo with a vicious expression.
The visitor had a head full of messy black hair, a pair of thick black eyebrows, and a matching beard as well. He wore a sleeveless black gi of similar design, along with a bracelet of large, round brown beads around his neck. His most disturbing feature, however, were his beady eyes that glow a demonic red.
"Woody, my brother. I've come to avenge my humiliating loss against you from last time." Gotz proclaimed.
"Humiliating?" Woody repeated. "Do you think of it as such because you've never been one to accept defeat, or is it because I refused to hand you a "Warrior's Death" that you believed was necessary?"
"By refusing to finish me off, you've defiled the code of our Martial Art by refusing to embrace it! You are a disgrace to Ansatsuken, and therefore must be punished accordingly!" Gotz snarled.
"Surely, Gotz… you cannot honestly believe in upholding such savage traditions like murder in an honorable fight, do you? Is it not our duty to refine our Martial Art for the better for future generations? Even now, I've taught my students the ways of my refined Ansatsuken, and I've seen no hindrance in their training without the ways of bloodshed. Quite the contrary! I've seen their prowess improve dramatic… perhaps they may even grow to surpass us one day!"
"You must be kidding… I pity your students for having such a delusional teacher." Gotz scoffed.
Immediately, Woody lifted himself off the floor.
"You're merely trying to provoke me so that we may finally have that rematch, right? Very well, I will honor your decision… but without hostility." He replied.
Gotz suddenly flashed a devious smile.
"Perfect… show me just how much you THINK you've gained after our time apart." He proclaimed.
Afterwards, the two young men prepared to do battle. Both men were confident, but Woody still held the memory of his former victory in mind.
"I see Gotz is still as hotheaded and eager as usual. No matter. This time I will make sure he sees reason." Woody thought to himself.
Just as they got into their fighting stances, Woody sensed a violent aura coming from his opponent.
"No… this should not be… my brother! You've… you've embraced the Murderous Intent!" Woody choked.
Gotz chuckled maniacally.
"But of course! You did not think I would approach you again without something new to use, would I?" Gotz smirked.
"No… this is insanity! This is Madness!" Woody cried.
"Madness? My foolish brother, this is way of a true warrior!" Gotz answered.
"No… this dark path... you should never have embraced it!"
"Yes! You will soon learn that I am now the true master of Ansatsuken! And you will soon experience our Great Art's Ultimate Technique: THE RAGING DEMON!!" he growled.
"W…wait a minute? "Raging Demon"? But I am certain our school's Ultimate Technique is known as the "Instant Hell Kill." Woody questioned.
"Yes… that is what you and our Master may call it, but my Supreme Version of it shall be feared by warriors across the land as the RAGING DEMON!! Besides, it sounds much tougher than something as unfittingly wordy "Instant Hell Kill". Think, my brother… can you really expect much of a threat from an "Instant" Hell?" Gotz questioned.
Woody pondered this for a moment.
"Hm, well… no, but--"
"Then face not the power of "Instant Hell", but fear the might of the RAGING DEMON!!" Gotz shouted.
Woody prepared himself as Gotz went in on the offensive; however, he was not prepared to face the onslaught of his brother's perfected technique.
The thunder outside intensified as the very might of hell itself began tearing through his body in all-consuming twilight.
Finally, when light returned to the dojo, Gotz was left standing triumphantly over his brother's half-dead body.
"Now do you understand, Brother? It is I who is the True Master of the Fist…. As it is I who embraced the full extent of Ansatsuken! Now wallow in your shame as you spend your last breaths. I must find myself worthy opponents to test my new strength. Perhaps if you have spoken truthfully, I may find a challenge in your pupils." Gotz taunted.
"My…Brother… You must…. Turn back… from your violent path!" Woody choked, however, by the time he finally found his words, the demonic Gotz had already left.
"My…Brother…" Woody cried with tears of regret in his eyes.
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Harvest Fighter: Warrior's Dream
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The following morning, a lively figure approached the dojo, noticing the entrance already open.
"Hey, neat! Guess my old Teacher knew I'd be coming over, so he already prepared a warm welcome! Well, it would be rude to keep him waiting, wouldn't it?" A woman's voice said aloud.
"Yo, Shishou! I came back with some great news! I won my first U.S. Martial Arts Tournament a few days ago, and I wanted to show off the shiny new trophy I got! This isn't some stupid forgery I bought, honest!" The voice cried.
The young woman appeared to be in her late teens. She had had long, flowing blonde hair with two thick bangs at the side. She had a pair of bright, emerald eyes and bright, inspiring smile. Her considerably healthy form was clothed in a deep violet blazer with matching skirt over a clean white dress shirt. Oddly enough, her particular ensemble was completed with a pair of deep violet hiking shoes.
"You wouldn't believe it! In the final round, I had to fight this muscular broomy-brown head guy from the Air Force named Zack! He kept shouting "Sonic Boom! Sonic Boom!" And these bizzaro flashing discs shot out of his thrusting arm! Luckily, I remembered the Hadouken technique you taught me and countered appropriately. But after that, it was one hell of a fight! I managed to bring out every ounce of strength in me and totally creamed the guy! Ha, to think of the shock that occurred once people learned I happened to be the first "girl" to win the whole thing, too!" she bragged.
Sadly, the young woman was greeted with silence.
"Hey, Shishou! Shishou? Shishou!!" The young woman continued to cried.
Still, there was no response.
Suddenly, the young woman rushed into the dojo in a panic. Inside, she found Woody with his life slowly fading.
"Shishou!!" The young woman cried again as she went to her teacher's side.
The beaten Martial Arts Master slowly lifted his head as he squinted at his new visitor.
"Karen… Masters? Is that you?" he uttered.
"Shishou…" the young woman uttered back with a shaky voice.
"Ah… then I am glad. I see you have grown into a fine young woman… my dear pupil." Woody coughed.
Karen nodded, although her body started to tremble uncontrolled.
"I've done more than "grow" in these past few years, Shishou. See this? It's my U.S. Martial Arts Trophy! The real thing!" she said as she displayed the golden cup in uneasy pride.
"I see… yes, then you have done very well… I hear that this America happens to hold some of the roughest fighters out there…" he replied.
Suddenly, he banged his head hard upon the floor. He no longer had the strength to lift it.
"Shishou!" Karen cried again. "Shishou… are you alright?"
A brief moment of silence took place between Student and Teacher.
"Truthfully, I'm afraid not. I should be thankful… that I even managed to last up this point…" Woody admitted reluctantly.
"N-no… come on… you can't be serious! You're Shishou! You're the Master of Ansatsuken that trained me and my Farm Boy of a training partner! There's no way you would be dying right now! Even if you are an old man! You're practically invincible!" Karen cried.
"Sadly, you must accept that even I… your Master… am Mortal…" Woody stated.
At that moment, Karen's eyes watered with loose tears. In her growing grief, she noticed the various wounds her Master suffered last night.
"Shishou… WHO DID THIS TO YOU?!" she demanded to know.
The dying Master merely let out a cough.
"TELL ME, DAMN IT!!" Karen shouted again.
But Woody remained silent again.
For a long time, the two stared into each other's eyes stubbornly, waiting for one to cave in. Finally, the weakened Woody could no longer keep to himself.
"…If you must hear the truth, then know this… the one who killed me embraced a path of darkness… a path of violence. You must not allow yourself to give into vengeance, or you will end up just like my murderer…" he warned.
"Wh…what?! But Shishou! I can't just stand back and let some madman get away with this!!" Karen argued.
"Karen… please take my last words to heart… First Find Dan… you may learn much from him about this sad turn of events…" Woody instructed.
"Dan?" Karen repeated. "Is he… IS HE YOUR MURDERER?!"
"N…no… but he will be vital in furthering your training..." Woody answered.
"Training?! Are you serious?" Karen cried.
"….Karen….Right now, neither you nor Mitchel can face this man by yourselves… he far surpasses both, for he has embraced the Murderous Intent…" Woody uttered.
"…The Murderous Intent?" Karen thought.
A chill shivered down her spine as she registered this bit of news in her mind.
"…Karen… at all costs, you must avoid the dark ways of the Murderous Intent… you must stay true to your own path… or you will loose yourself… your humanity… you must pass on these words to Mitchel as well… for even though Gotz has gained great power… he has become… a demon…" Woody's fading voice proclaimed.
Karen stared in horror at her Master's Unconscious body.
"Gotz? You're Murderer's name is Gotz?!" Karen cried. "Shishou… Shishou! Answer me! Shishou!!"
Try as she might, Woody could not respond to nor hear her desperate cries. This time, his very life was gone…
With all hope lost, Karen mourned over the loss of her precious Master. Her desperate mind recalled his remaining words, along with the name of the man responsible for her pain.She was suddenly filled with a vicious aura.
"GOTZ!!"