Chapter One

Three weeks later...

The Ansatsuken School was formerly a two-story Shinto temple located at the base of the mountain fortress known as Suzaku Castle which was located in the small tourist town of Kuwata, 10 miles south of Tokyo. The temple was abandoned until Goutetsu came across it, renovated it and rechristened it as the Ansatsuken Dojo. When Goutetsu died, ownership passed onto both Gouken and Gouki, his two pupils.

At the moment, Chun Li was seated in the dojo's porch as she watched Ryu. In the three weeks following their match, both fighters had recovered from their injuries, although Chun Li was walking with a slight limp. The limp would be gone in several days, but Chun Li was playing it safe as she watched Ryu perform a kata with nothing but a Japanese sword.

As Chun Li later found out, Ryu was also an expert in Japanese sword fighting, mainly the style known as Ansatsuken Shinjutsu. Based on the Ansatsuken philosophy of 'one strike, one kill,' Ansatsuken Shinjutsu was a required study to whoever practiced the Ansatsuken fighting style. Chun Li watched as Ryu went through his kata. The sword he wielded was a Masamune, the cobalt-blue blade slightly longer, making people mistaken it as a O-katana.

The Masamune, which was given to Ryu once he had made Shihan rank shortly after Chun Li's arrival, was one of the priceless heirlooms in the Ansatsuken School. As Chun Li remembered the ceremony in which Ryu was presented the Masamune, it was one of the high points of her stay.

Flashback

In order for Ryu to gain Shihan status, he had to defeat the current grandmaster of Ansatsuken Shinjutsu, which was Gouki. The battle was indeed brutal. Armed with nothing but steel-lined bokkens, teacher and student tore into each other as Ken, Gouken, Chun Li and Sakura watched. Also watching the battle as a witness was Guy.

As Chun Li found out, Guy was the head of the Bushinryuu Ninja Clan. Both Ryu and Guy were longtime friends, as well as rivals. Chun Li found out that Guy had trained Ryu in Bushinryuu speed techniques (which explained how Ryu was able to parry over three hundred kicks from her Hykaretsu Kyaku without breaking a sweat), while Ryu taught Guy the Hurricane Kick. Guy went on to modify the technique to meet his standards.

The fight had taken both Ryu and Gouki all over the grounds of the Ansatsuken School, but in the end, Ryu was the victor, having disarmed Gouki of his weapon and was holding it in his own hand, having crisscrossed the blades against Akuma's throat.

After a moment, Akuma conceded defeat. Ryu was now the Shihan of Ansatsuken-ryu Shinjutsu, second only to Gouken and Akuma.

The ceremony soon followed inside the training hall. Clad in a formal hakama, a bandaged Ryu knelt before Gouken and an equally battered Akuma. Both grandmasters were still in their respective gis, Gouken holding a slender bundle wrapped in cloth. The look on both men's faces was that of great pride.

Akuma stepped forward and placed one hand on Ryu's shoulder. "Be without fear in the face of your enemies," the dark master began. "Be brave and upright so the gods above may favor and love you. Always speak the truth, even in the face of death. Protect the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath. Do you accept?"

"I accept," Ryu replied.

Chun Li and Sakura winced slightly as Akuma backhanded Ryu, the latter merely shrugging off the blow.

"And that is so you remember it," Akuma added. Turning to his brother, he received the bundle and ordered Ryu to rise to his feet. "Money cannot buy the honor which you have earned tonight. You make us all proud."

Akuma handed the bundle over to Ryu, who accepted it with a bow. Akuma responded with a nod. Turning Ryu to face the audience, he announced, "I present to you Houshi Ryu, Shihan of Ansatsuken Shinjutsu."

End Flashback

That was a week ago. Since then, Ryu had been training Not anything heavy, since he was still recovering from his fight with Akuma, but menial exercises.

Then he went and got his sword.

Chun Li watched as Ryu went through his kata. There was no wasted movement, no flaws in his skill. As Chun Li knew, Ryu lived and breathed Ansatsuken when it came down to a fight. They had also been getting along better as well. Chun Li had asked for his forgiveness following her actions back in Hong Kong, but Ryu shrugged her off, saying that there was nothing to forgive. After all, she was angry and even he knew she didn't mean what she had said.

On the bright side, she had received a call from her superiors back in Hong Kong. Turns out that she was cleared of any wrongdoing, following the investigation. Things, however, were still too hot, given the fact that during the investigation against herself, Chun Li had faxed a list of names of those crooked agents formerly on Shadowlaw's payroll. So Chun Li was on extended leave with pay, for her own safety.

She continued to watch Ryu as he continued his kata with the sword. After several minutes, Ryu finishes and sheathes the weapon.

"Never figured you would fight with a weapon," Chun Li said as she approached Ryu.

"Most of the time, I don't," Ryu replied. "But I like to keep in practice."

Chun Li extended her hand. "May I?"

Ryu nodded and handed the sword over to Chun Li, who unsheathes it and inspects it with a martial artist's eye. "This is beautiful. Muramasa?"

Ryu shook his head. "Masamune, slightly modified. Ever heard of the story about the contest between Muramasa and Masamune?"

Chun Li shook her head.

"In actuality, both Muramasa and Masamune lived in different periods in Japanese history," Ryu explained, "but the legend is one that we Japanese tend to cherish. The legend states that Muramasa challenged Masamune to see who could make the better sword. After working tirelessly and endlessly, the swords were finished and they decided to test the results. Muramasa's sword was called the Juuchi Fuyu, or Ten Thousand Winters, while Masamune's sword was named the Yawaraka-Te, or Tender Hands.

"The two masters suspended the blades into a stream, with the bladed ends facing the current. Now, the contest is told differently, one version states that the Juuchi Fuyu sliced anything in its path from leaves to fish, even the air, but not one leaf nor fish was disturbed by the Yawaraka-Te. Another version states that both blades sliced the leaves clean butt stuck to the Juuchi Fuyu's blade while the leaves that were cut from the Yawaraka-Te reformed downstream.

"Muramasa thought he had won the contest and was ridiculing his master for his apparent lack of skill in the making of his sword, while Masamune simply recovered his sword and sheathed it, smiling to himself. A Buddhist monk who witnessed the contest explained what he had seen to the two sword masters. He said that the Juuchi Fuyu was indeed a fine sword, but the blade was bloodthirsty, since it sliced through anything put in its path. The Yawaraka-Te was the finer of the two, since it doesn't needlessly cut anything that is innocent and undeserving. Since then, the Muramasa has gained a reputation for being such a dark weapon, while the Masamune was the exact opposite – something holy."

"And this sword here?" Chun Li asked.

"It's been in the Ansatsuken School since its creation. The blade was made from a rare metal in the northern regions of Hokkaido, hence its cobalt color. The blade is indestructible, having been forged from inside a Shinto temple. So in effect, it's considered a holy weapon."

"It's beautiful," Chun Li said. "The blade is perfectly balanced. The weight is light. This is truly a work of art," she said as she sheathed the sword. "You doing anything today?"

"Edmond Honda's given me tickets for his sumo match. After that, Akuma's sending me to run an errand for him. He has his eyes set on a Muramasa down in some antiques shop down in Azuban-Juuban. Why?"

Chun Li shrugged her shoulders. "Now that Interpol's cleared me, I feel like going out somewhere and celebrate."

"Sure. I could use the company. Let me change clothes first."

Following the sumo tournament (in which Honda defended his title with some difficulty), Ryu treated Chun Li to lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Tokyo's Chinatown. Both were dressed in casual attire; Chun Li in a sleeveless white Chinese-style shirt and denim jeans, her hair in her trademark 'ox-horns' and secured with several ribbons, her handgun tucked behind her back, while Ryu was dressed in something more practical: a T-shirt with the words 'TITANIC 1912 SWIM TEAM' on the front, cargo pants and a pair of hiking boots. What surprised Chun Li was the fact that he went without his hakimachi.

The two martial artists were seated at a booth, Chun Li watching in amusement as Ryu was on his third bowl of ramen. "I'm surprised you're not as big as Honda. You got one hell of an appetite."

Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "Well...given my training regimen, I stay in shape. That and according to the doctors, I burn my metabolism faster. Of course, Honda and I both had our share of eating contests back when we were younger. He would win most of them," he added with a wry grin.

"This is the first time I've seen you without your student," Chun Li noted. "Last time I saw her was two years ago back in the Zero tournaments."

Ryu nodded. "She was fifteen the first time I met her. She wanted me to train her in Ansatsuken. I refused, but before the last tournament, I conceded and took her on as my student. Kasugano is a bit hot-headed at times, but she is a good kid."

"Never thought I would see you take on a apprentice."

"I thought the same as well. But after coming back from my world tour, I wanted to do something else. Sakura's family moved to Okayama and since she didn't want to leave her school and friends, I talked with her parents and with their permission, I became her de facto guardian, as well as her sempai in the martial arts."

"Speaking of tournaments, why was Sagat pissed at you?"

"You noticed the big scar on his chest?" Ryu asked.

Chun Li nodded. "Yeah. It's kinda hard to miss." Off Ryu's expression, Chun Li put two and two together. "Wait...you gave him that scar?"

Ryu mock-clapped. "Excellent detective work, Inspector Xiang. You deserve a cookie," he said sarcastically. "It's true. The scar on his chest was my fault. I won the first World Warrior tournament by a fluke, and I ended up scarring Sagat for life. Not one of my best moments."

As Ryu said this, he thought back on that fateful day in Thailand when he scarred the one-eyed giant with a Dark Hadou-powered Shoryuken. Sagat had nearly died from the blow and upon his recovery, had joined Shadowlaw.

"We managed to make a truce of sorts," Ryu continued. "I had found out that Sagat was in the hospital in Bangkok and I found him there. This was before I fought you in Hong Kong. We never had a chance to fight once again, since there was some outside interference from a Musk scouting party." He leaned back in his seat, catching Chun Li's slightly stunned expression upon hearing the word 'Musk.' "Enough about me. This conversation is becoming one-sided. What about you?"

"As you already know, my father was a Hong Kong police detective," Chun Li replied, recovering from her shock. "My mother was a nurse. I also have a grandmother, who lives in western China, near the Bayankala Mountains. Both my parents and my grandmother are martial artists, so I learned several styles growing up. My mom died when I was twelve, and you know what happened to my father. I guess because of him I wanted to become a law enforcement officer. So I went to college, majored in both Physical Education and Criminology. What about you? You went to school?"

"I did," Ryu replied. "I graduated from Waseda University, then continued my education at Tokyo University."

Chun Li frowned. "You must be some kind of prodigy, right?"

"Nope. Genius."

The Chinese woman's eyes blinked audibly. "You? A genius? You're joking, right? You, Mr. 'The-fight-is-all,' a genius?"

Ryu grinned as he finished off an eggroll. "Shocking, I know. Most people doesn't know about that piece of info about me. Only Ken and his family, as well as Gouken, Gouki and Sakura know. I got a degree in Physical Education from Waseda, and a History degree from Toudai. All before I turned fourteen. I graduated from two of Japan's most respectable universities with an IQ of 197."

Chun Li did a perfect impression of a fish, her mouth opening, then closing until she finally got control over herself. "But...if you're so smart, then why aren't you working for some big Japanese zaibatsu?"

"No one was interested in hiring a whiz kid, and I wanted more out of life than to be a stiff-necked executive or salaryman. Martial arts is my passion, and I want to open up a dojo, but no parent would send their children to a school whose name translates into Assassin's Fist."

"So what is Ansatsuken?" Chun Li asked.

"An original style created by Sheng Long, the founder of the school based on the principles of five fighting styles: Taekwondo, Judo, Akido, Kyokushin and Shotokan Karate. Ken and I took the time to study the five styles to get a better understanding of the style, not to mention enhancing what we already know. Kinda like a sculptor who doesn't keep adding clay to a statue, but removes the inessentials until the truth is revealed."

"So instead of being a smart-ass prodigy," Chun Li concluded, "you became a martial arts prodigy."

Ryu nodded. "Yup. A martial arts prodigy with more rivals and enemies to fill a phone book with," he added with a grin.

Chun Li couldn't help but to laugh at that. In most cases, Ryu was right.

It should have been easy enough. Go to the antiques store, pick up the Muramasa for Akuma, then go back home.

The first two tasks were done with no problem.

As Ryu and Chun Li were on their way back to the train station...

Pandemonium reigned supreme as the populace of Azuban-Juuban fled in terror of the rampaging youma. Most were behind locked doors, praying that the monster would not break in and kill them all.

Chun Li looks at the...thing that was rampaging through the town. Fortunately, everyone was behind locked doors, so as long as they were inside, they were safe. The...thing was humanoid, standing over six feet tall, looking like a freaky combination of a Greek satyr and a lizardman..and completely homicidal to boot.

Gripping the handle of her Beretta M92F custom handgun tightly in her hands, she turned to Ryu. "What the hell is that thing?"

"That is a youma," Ryu replied casually. "They are quite frequent in Juuban, for some odd reason." He looked at the gun that Chun Li was holding. "That peashooter will just..."

Ryu was cut off as Chun Li aimed her gun and fired, emptying the entire clip into the youma, who just bellowed in rage as the bullets tore through him with no effect.

"...piss him off," Ryu finished, just as he watched the youma strong-arm a car with one hand.

"No...no way!" Chun Li said as she ejected the clip and slapped another one in. "Those shots were at vital points! How could—WHOA!"

She was cut off as Ryu tackled her to the ground, just as the tossed car sailed past where they both were standing moments earlier, crashing through the display window of a clothes store.

"Wait here," Ryu commanded, shoving the Muramasa in Chun Li's hands. "I'll deal with him." When it looked like Chun Li was going to object, Ryu added, "Trust me on this."

Ryu stood up and faced the monster. The youma roared at him and started to advance on him, intent on making Ryu his meal.

One hand balled into a fist, Ryu waited until the youma was five feet away. Then, as Chun Li watched, Ryu punched the ground, hard.

KA-BOOM!

The street underneath the youma exploded with the force of a Claymore landmine, sending the beast, as well as jagged chunks of asphalt and metal pipe into the air.

The youma landed on the hood of another parked car, before falling to the ground...missing both legs and a arm, bleeding profusely from numerous deep cuts. The youma bellowed pitifully as it tried to use its remaining limb to get away.

Only Ryu didn't let it go. Ryu took the Muramasa from Chun Li and drew the blade out. In one deft move, Ryu decapitated the youma, putting it out of its misery. The Japanese warrior wiped the blade off and resheathed the weapon before walking back to a shocked Chun Li. The dead youma, in the meantime, turned to nothing but a pile of dust.

As Ryu beheaded the youma, Chun Li's mind was racing. 'That move...I saw Grandmother perform it...or something like that. It can't be...'

"You okay?"

Ryu's voice snapped Chun Li out of her line of thought. "Yeah. I'm fine. That move you did...what the hell was that?"

"One of the few sealed moves of the Ansatsuken School," Ryu explained. "If Gouken and Gouki found out that I used it, much less mastered it, then I would never hear the end of it."

"So what is it?" Chun Li demanded, praying that the move was something else.

"It's called the Breaking Point Technique – The Bakusai Tenketsu," Ryu replied, looking around. "That youma is not alone. If what Gouki told me about youma is true, then its friends will be showing up soon."

Chun Li didn't hear the second part of what Ryu had told her. Her mind was on what Ryu had told her. Needless to say she was shocked as to what Ryu had told her. 'THAT'S the Bakusai Tenketsu?! Impossible!'

Her chain of thought was interrupted as her enhanced hearing picked up the unmistakable sound of firearms being armed.

"MOVE!" Chun Li screamed as she tackled Ryu, sending them both across the hood of a parked car and onto the other side, just as gunfire erupted, riddling the car with bullets.

Once the gunfire stopped, Ryu and Chun Li peeked out. Standing on the other side of the street, were four men and one woman. One of the men and the woman was dressed in police uniforms, whereas the other three men were dressed in suits. At least, that's what it looked like, since their clothes were shredded in various places.

Their skin was pale and bloodied, their faces in an eternal mask of hatred, the eyes crying tears of blood, not to mention the missing chunks of flesh from their bodies, as if something had eaten them.

Ryu and Chun Li ducked as the gunfire resumed. "Great," Ryu muttered. "Shibito."

Chun Li looked at him. "What?"

"Shibito," Ryu repeated. "'Walking corpse.' Ever seen those American movies about the walking dead? Shibito are the Japanese version of a zombie. Most Shibito have a tiny portion of intelligence which allows them to perform certain tasks. If they are disturbed, then they will have the urge to kill. If any of the Shibito have firearms, then they are more dangerous." He motioned to the Shibito firing squad. "Those must be the missing Yakuza and the police officers we've heard about in the news. Looks like they had a run-in with that youma."

Chun Li peeked out from behind the car for a moment before ducking back. ".38 Police Specials and Beretta 93s. Nasty. Any ideas?"

"You can shoot them, but that will stop them temporary," Ryu explained."Only way to stop a youma-spawned Shibito is by using a blade." Ryu unsheathed the Muramasa once again. "How good are you with the gun?"

"Crackshot, ranked fourth in international competition."

"Disarm the Shibito," Ryu ordered. "I'll do the rest."

Chun Li nodded. Once the Shibito were reloading their weapons, Chun Li aimed and fired five times, each time knocking the Shibito's firearm out of their hands.

Before they could rush Chun Li and tear her limb from limb, Ryu was there. Sword at the ready, Ryu charged headlong into the Shibito.

"Ansatsuken Shinjutsu final attack...Zantetsuken!!"

Five flashes. That was all that Chun Li had seen. Ryu had moved too fast for the eye to follow. The Shibito were frozen in place as Ryu slashed through them. Looking at the stunned Shibito, Ryu flung the coagulated blood off the blade and in one smooth move, sheathed the Muramasa. Upon hearing the clicking noise, the Shibito was reduced to bloody chunks of rotting flesh and bone.

It was finally over.

Ryu had not gotten through the battle unscathed. One of the bullets have grazed his arm, leaving a light wound. Aside from that, Ryu was alive. Chun Li swallowed visibly. She had no idea that Ryu was that skilled with a sword. But more importantly, Chun Li had discovered that he knew a technique that only certain people knew.

This was far from over.

"You are not off the hook yet, Ryu Houshi."

"Damn it, Li, I told you the truth about that technique."

The argument attracted the attention of Gouki, Gouken and Sakura, who were inside the dojo. When the elder Ansatsuken warriors and Ryu's apprentice exited the dojo, they saw a battered Ryu, followed by a slightly peeved Chun Li walk across the courtyard.

Chun Li stepped in front of him, blocking his path. "You still haven't told me where you have learned the Bakusai Tenketsu."

"I told you that the technique was in the Ansatsuken School for over four hundred years. Sheng Long himself created the move. What I did was the non-lethal version, which Sheng Long taught to several Chinese and Korean road workers in order to clear pathways."

"Ryu..."

Ryu slightly winced at the tone in Gouken's voice. The Ansatsuken grandmaster stood on the dojo's walkway, arms folded, irritation evident on his face. The look on Ryu's face read 'Oh, crap,' as he turned to face his peeved master. Gouki, was curious as to how Ryu managed to learn the Breaking Point.

"Am I hearing Chun Li right?" Gouken demanded. "You have learned one of the sealed moves of our school? The Bakusai Tenketsu was sealed for a reason."

"It was Ken's idea," Ryu defended. "He came across the scrolls soon after we came back from the first World Warrior tournament. If it mens anything, I rarely use the technique."

Gouken turned to Chun Li. "And how do you know about the Breaking Point?"

"The Breaking Point has been part of the Joketsuzoku for over three hundred years, Master Gouken," Chun Li replied. Beating anyone else to the punch, Chun Li continued on. "My grandmother is one of the tribe's matriarchs. My departed mother was also part of the tribe..."

She then turned to Ryu. "...as am I."