Chapter Eight
Ansatsuken Dojo, several days later.
Following their trip to China, Ryu and Chun Li returned to Japan.
Upon their arrival at the Ansatsuken Dojo, they entered the dojo and found Gouken and Gouki inside. Also inside was Ken, as well as Sakura. At the moment, Sakura was in the middle of a sparring session with someone Ryu nor Chun Li haven't seen before.
Sakura was in the middle of a sparring session with a boy around her age. From the look of things, given the boy's complexion, he was South American, dressed in a tattered yellow karate gi. Ryu noticed that the boy was fighting with Ansatsuken techniques – the kind that Ken would normally use.
Ryu watched as the sparring session progressed. From the look of things, Sakura had kept up with her training, thanks to Gouken and Gouki. But the newcomer wasn't no slouch either.
"Stop!" Gouken ordered.
Almost immediately, Sakura and the boy ceased their fighting and took a step back. The two teenagers bowed to each other before bowing to the two Ansatsuken grandmasters.
Ken was grinning. "So what do you think, Sensei?"
Gouken nodded approvingly. "I'm impressed. You've trained him well."
Ken turned to Ryu. "Hey, buddy. How was China?" he asked as he and Ryu tapped fists in their usual greeting.
"I'll tell you about it later," Ryu replied. "It was interesting this time around." He looked over at the new kid, who was chatting with Sakura. "Who's the kid?"
Ken beamed. "He's my pupil. I've been training him for a while now, about as long as you've been training Sakura. Hey, Sean!"
Immediately, the kid walked over to Ryu and Ken. "Yes, Master Ken?" he asked in English.
"Ryu, this is my student, Sean Matsuda. Sean, this is my friend and rival, Ryu Houshi."
Sean bowed. "Pleasure to meet you, Master Ryu," Sean said.
Ryu noticed that he was speaking Brazilian Portuguese. "And you, Matsuda," Ryu replied, also in the same language. "You're Brazilian."
Sean nodded. "Yup," he replied, this time in surprisingly fluent English. "Born and raised in Sao Paulo. That was where Master Ken found me. He offered to train me in Ansatsuken, and I agreed. I already got a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, so martial arts training is no problem for me."
Ryu nodded. "That I noticed. You incorporated several moves into Ansatsuken."
Ken nodded. "I brought him here to meet Gouken and Gouki. They both approve of him."
Ryu scoffed. "Ken Masters finally takes on a pupil. May the Gods help us all."
"Hey! I'm not that bad of a teacher!" Ken objected. "At least I'm not like Dan. He thinks he can stop a semi with his pinky."
"I heard it was his index finger," Ryu rebutted. "Regardless, I'm taking Chun Li and Sakura out for lunch. Want to come? You could bring your student with you."
"Sure," Ken replied. He then turned to Gouken and Gouki. "Want to come along?"
"The offer is tempting," Gouken replied, "but I must decline."
"As should I," Gouki replied. "Gouken and I plan on training."
Ryu nodded. "Okay." He then turned to Sean and Sakura. "Matsuda, Kasugano, clean yourselves up and change clothes."
The two teenagers nodded and rushed off into the main house.
While they were having lunch inside a restaurant which specialized in Asian cuisine, near Hamarikyu Gardens, the two Ansatsuken masters and their trainees, along with Chun Li, ran into Cammy. Apparently, her Delta Red unit was doing a two-month stint in Japan, working at the British Embassy. Chun Li had invited her to lunch.
It was over lunch that with Ryu listening, Chun Li told Cammy, Ken, Sakura and Sean about her and Ryu's trip to China, which concluded with the run-in with Vega at Jusenkyou and at the Joketsuzoku village.
"You're serious?" Ken asked. "Vega has a Jusenkyou curse now?"
Ryu nodded. "Yup. He ambushed Chun Li when we were both resting at Jusenkyou and Chun Li took the battle to the bamboo poles. I've been teaching Chun Li the Ansatsuken techniques of aerial combat for a while and she used it on Vega, knocking him into one of the pools."
"My old sensei back in Sao Paulo told me about traveling to a place where you could get cursed by falling into one of the pools," Sean said. "I thought he was joking."
Cammy shook her head. "No. Those pools actually existed. Bison took a fancy to them. He wanted a sample of the one with the Yeti and the Ox – which one was that again?"
"Spring of Drowned Yeti-riding-Bull-carrying-Crane-and-Eel," Ryu and Chun Li said at the same time.
"So which of the pools you knocked Vega into?" Ken asked.
"Nyannichuan," Chun Li replied. "Spring of Drowned Girl."
"Spring of Drowned Girl?" Cammy repeated. "Are you serious? Vega turns into a girl now?" She broke out into laughter. "That's bloody rich!"
"There's more to the story," Ryu said, continuing where Chun Li left off. "You can also lock the curse with a relic known as the Chisuton – the Preservation Ladle. If a cursed person or animal is splashed with cold water from the ladle while in cursed form, then they are locked in their curse. The only way to break it is by using the Kaisufuu – the Liberation Kettle. However, the kettle only unlocks the curse, it doesn't cure it completely."
"Unfortunately," Chun Li added, "Vega doesn't know about that little piece of info. And unfortunately, no one knows where the kettle is, since it's been lost for many years. As for the cursed Spanish Ninja, he is currently a guest in a Chinese prison labor camp."
Cammy then turned to Ryu. "There's something I've been hearing about you, Ryu. Is it true? You're a genius?"
"It's that surprising to you?" Ryu said, enjoying the look on the blond Englishwoman's face.
"Very."
"The rumors are true, Cammy. I am a genius," Ryu admitted. "I graduated college before I turned fifteen. Up until the first World Warrior and the Zero tournaments, I've been training in various styles of martial arts that Ansatsuken was based off of to get a better understanding of my own. There is an ulterior motive in why I traveled so much. I was raising the school's credibility so when the time came, I would open up my own martial arts school. I don't plan on fighting forever. I also enjoy teaching as well."
Ken nodded. "It's true. It has been a dream of Ryu's to open up a dojo. And with Ryu's reputation he commands a great deal of admiration and respect from both friend and enemies."
This captures Chun Li's interest. "You never told me that, Ryu."
Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "You didn't ask," he replied.
"Well, in that case, how would you like to go into business with me?" Chun Li suggested. "I always wanted to open a martial arts school as well. We can join forces."
"That's not a bad idea," Ryu said. "We just got to either buy some property and build the dojo, or look around and find some property big enough to hold two disciplines under one roof. And money's not a problem for me, since Ken's been looking after my finances while I was abroad."
Ken nodded. "Ryu's got some stocks in the Masters Foundation, as well as some stocks in the American and Japanese stock markets. I've been keeping a close eye on them. Even have the cash hidden inside a Swiss bank account. He's not filthy rich like my family, but he is well off."
Cammy looked at Ryu. "Bloody Hell. Chun Li, I think I may end up stealing your boyfriend."
"Sorry, Cammy, but he's mine," Chun Li replied. "Besides, I just love him for being him. I'm willing to relocate from China to live here just to be with him. Taking him back to the village would be unfair to him, given his student and his dreams. Plus, he would never forgive me for doing that to him."
"So what about your tribe's laws?" Ken asked. "You're not going to give him the Kiss of Marriage?"
Chun Li shook her head. "Of course not. That would be unfair to Ryu and he would resent me for it. Besides, he has to train Sakura for the Tokyo Regionals that's coming up in a week."
"And you can guarantee that I'll be there," a voice said.
Everyone turned to the newcomer. One which Sakura recognized immediately. A Japanese girl, around her age, with curly blonde hair held back by a bow. She was dressed in her usual red sailor fuku with black tights showing underneath her skirt.
Sakura looked up. "What do you want, Karin? Another match?"
Karin Kanzuki, heiress to the Kanzuki family fortune scoffed. "And embarrass you in front of your master and his friends? The idea is very tempting."
Sakura placed one finger to her chin in mock thought. "If memory serves, Kanzuki, you lost to me. Twice."
Karin fumed. Sakura had her dead to rights. Ever since Sakura had become Ryu's apprentice in the martial arts, Sakura's skill level had improved drastically. Sure Karin had been training harder, especially with her father teaching her some of the more advanced techniques in the Kanzuki style of fighting, but it wasn't enough. Time and time again, Sakura ended as the winner.
Karin quickly reigned in her temper. "Bah. You merely caught me on my worst days. Make no mistake, Kasugano. We will fight at the Regionals. And this time, you will not get out of losing to such greatness that is Karin Kanzuki."
While the two girls continued to argue, someone caught sight of the two girls. Actually, his eyes were on Sakura.
Flashback
On his way back to the Tendou Dojo, Ryouga was blindsighted by the old lady splashing water on her sidewalk, triggering his curse.
Once he managed to secure his belongings in the alley behind the Tendou Dojo, he managed to get inside...after getting lost going around the block.
Ryouga's first stop was the dojo itself. He saw Kasumi and onna-Ranma sparring. 'Kasumi is a martial artist?' Ryouga wondered before trotting off to find Akane.
After a brief search of the house, he found Akane in her room. She was seated at her desk, looking over a picture of Sakura she had pilfered from Nabiki's personal file.
Ever since her match against the Ansatsuken trainee, Akane had been itching for a rematch. She knew which school Sakura was attending, but her father had forbid her to look for her. So Akane simply bide her time, training for the day when she will face her at the tournament.
"Bwee! Bwee!"
Akane looked down. "P-Chan!" she cried as she picked up the pig and place it on her desk. "Where have you been, baby? Mommy missed you."
P-Chan trotted around the desk. Looking down on the picture of Sakura, the cursed Lost Boy sniffed at it and snorted at it with his snout.
"Oh, her?" Akane said, anger in her voice. "That's Sakura Kasugano. She beat me in a match of honor, P-Chan! She cheated in our match! When I see her again, I'm gonna kick her ass!"
That was all she managed to get out before P-Chan got off the desk and ran out of the room.
"P-Chan? P-chan, wait!" Akane shouted.
Too late. P-Chan was long gone.
End Flashback
Ryouga had managed not to get himself lost as he left the Tendou home. Ryouga knew that he could not be useful to Akane as long as he was at the Tendou home. He decided on a course of action. Ranma was put on the backburner for the moment, as he found his way to the public baths and used the hot water to change back into his true form. The Lost Boy then found his stash of clothes he had left inside the bathhouse, as well as his bamboo umbrella.
His mission was clear.
Sakura Kasugano must die for making Akane mad...as well as cheating in her match.
The lunch continued between the small group of fighters. Ryu was entertaining Chun Li and the others with a story of his travels when Ryouga entered the small restaurant, having gotten lost.
It was at that moment, that he saw the cause of his ire, seated along with four other people. He drew out his heavy umbrella.
"SAKURA KASUGANO, PREPARE TO DIE!"
From her seat, Sakura turned to the source of the voice. "Now wha - WHOA!"
She was cut off just as Ryu, who was seated next to her, kicked her chair, with her still in it, sending it skidding across the floor, just as Ryouga's umbrella came crashing down where Sakura had been seconds earlier, the heavy weapon crashing through the table, destroying it as well as the assembled dishes.
Sakura fell back from her chair, rolling to her feet, just in time to see the Lost Boy heading in her direction. Kicking the chair into the air, Sakura punted the piece of furniture at Ryouga, who swatted it to the side with his umbrella.
"Why are you attacking me?!" Sakura demanded as she hopped back from another umbrella swing. "I don't even know you!"
"You insulted Akane!" Ryouga retorted. "You fought her and cheated to win in your match against her! You crossed the line, Kasugano. For that, you will die!"
Sakura kicked him in the gut, hoping that the blow would stun him. Much to her shock, the blow did nothing. Sakura dodged another umbrella swing as realization had hit her.
"Wait a second...Akane? As in Akane Tendou?" Sakura replied. "I don't know if you were there or not, but she tried to use a mallet in our match. She even tried to attack me from behind. Oh, and she sucks as a martial artist!"
"Shut up!" Ryouga shouted. "I won't let you insult Akane like that! Now die!"
Ryouga reached up and pulled several bandannas from his head. Spinning them with his free hand, he flung them at Sakura. Thinking just as quickly, the young Ansatsuken apprentice flipped over a table, turning it on its side and flipping over, using the heavy wooden table as a shield, just as Ryouga's bandannas embedded themselves into the wood.
Ryu, in the meantime, has seen enough. His student was in danger from some nutjob and he decided to step in.
Sakura saw him coming and breathed a sigh of relief. She pointed to her irate mentor, who was standing behind Ryouga. "If you want me so bad, then you'll have to speak with my sensei. He's right behind you."
Ryouga spun around, bringing the umbrella to bear. Ryu dodged the first swing effortlessly, then kicked the umbrella out of Ryouga's hand, where it landed with a THUD in front of Chun Li and the others, before kicking Ryouga in the chest, sending him back several steps.
While Ryu was fighting Ryouga, Sakura had made her way back to Chun Li and the others. Sean, in the meantime was inspecting the red bamboo umbrella. When he tried to pick it up, he found that it was incredibly heavy. Cammy managed to budge it, while Ken didn't even try to lift it. Only when Chun Li managed to heft the weapon with both hands, a realization coming to her.
"Whoever this guy is," Chun Li noted, "he is strong...very strong." She looked at Sakura. "Had not Ryu reacted the way he did, this guy could probably had killed you with one swing."
Sakura paled. 'This psycho nearly killed me?'
Ryu was already finding out about Ryouga's brute strength. What nearly caught Ryu off guard was when Ryouga jammed one finger into the ground, screaming out, "Bakusai Tenketsu!"
Ryu barely managed to avoid the explosion of debris. 'So he's learned the Joketsuzoku version of the Ansatsuken school's technique. The abridged version, that is. This is going to be very interesting. '
The older man sidestepped Ryouga's punch, which went through the wall. In the space of a single second, Ryu landed a barrage of 20 brutal punches into Ryouga's midsection, followed by a vicious right cross across the face, sending blood flying out of Ryouga's mouth, before kicking him out of the restaurant's front door.
As Ryu went after him, Ken apologized to the owner and promised that the Masters Foundation will compensate him for the damages. Chun Li, Sakura, Cammy and Sean rushed outside to watch the battle.
Ryouga got back to his feet, grunting in pain. 'This guy is strong!' he thought. 'and he's got some serious speed! It would take over three hundred punches from Ranma to slow me down! He did it in only twenty blows!'
Ryu reached into his back pocket and pulled out his pair of gloves. Slipping them on, Ryu watched as Ryouga pulled off several of his bandannas from his head. Spinning them in one hand, he let them fly at his opponent. Ryu rolled out of the way, just as the bandannas whizzed past him, embedding themselves into the trunk of a tree.
"Neat trick," Ryu muttered, looking at the projectiles stuck inside the tree. "But I've seen better."
That said, Ryu moved in on the offensive. Moving into his Ansatsuken stance, Ryu ducked under Ryouga's wild swing, which was followed by him parrying several of Ryouga's punches and kicks.
"Care to explain as to why you attacked my student?" Ryu asked as he caught Ryouga's wrist in an iron grip.
"Because of her," Ryouga replied as he tried to pry his fist free, "Akane has seen hell! Sakura cheated in her match! You won't stop my vengeance. Sakura will pay, for Akane's sake!"
Ryu's eyes narrowed. "You got some gall to attack my student," he drawled. "I myself have seen the video of the match, and Kasugano acted honorably. The Tendou girl tried to attack my student from behind once the match was over. You attacked my student, as well as nearly injuring my girlfriend and my friends. That I can't forgive. For crimes against my friends and against the Ansatsuken School of Martial Arts, you will pay."
Ryu's free hand slammed into Ryouga's gut, followed by an elbow, knocking the air out of the Lost Boy, which was followed by another elbow to the jaw, sending the Hibiki youth into the air. Ryu then launched a spinning back kick right into the teenager's midsection, sending him flying into the side of a tree, bouncing off the sturdy trunk before falling to the ground.
'Im...impossible!' Ryouga's mind was screaming at him. 'I should be absorbing his blows! The Bakusai Tenketsu training that old hag put me through has no effect on him!'
Ryu meanly smiled. "Wondering why you're not absorbing the blows? Simple. You learned the incomplete version of the Bakusai Tenketsu from the Joketsuzoku. The Chinese Amazons learned it from my school hundreds of years ago. You can't win against me. Yield now and save me the trouble of sending you to the hospital."
"NEVER!" Ryouga screamed back as his green aura surrounded him.
"Suit yourself," Ryu replied, taking notice of the emotional aura surrounding his opponent. 'Green ki...he is using emotion ki. Too bad for him.'
Sure enough, Ryouga unleashed his own ki attack on Ryu. "Shishi Hokoudan!" he cried out, releasing a ball of depressing green ki.
Ryu quickly countered with his own ki attack. "Hadouken!" he responded in kind, unleashing a smaller bolt of white-and-blue ki energy.
The Shishi Hokoudan, or Lion's Roar Blast, met Ryu's Hadouken, or Surge Fist head-on. As everyone watched, the bluish-white bolt of ki smashed through Ryouga's own ki attack, causing it to dissipate harmlessly, before continuing on to the shocked Lost Boy.
Ryouga couldn't react in time. The blow caught him square in the chest and sent the Lost Boy flying. Ryouga slammed into a tree trunk before falling to the ground.
From the sidelines, Cammy, Chun Li, Ken, Sakura and Sean watched the fight unfold. They also saw how Ryu's ki blast had easily destroyed Ryouga's own ki attack with ease.
Ken nodded in understanding. "The kid is using emotional ki. I should have guessed by the green aura. Emotional ki is no match against pure, raw ki energy."
"What's the difference between using emotional ki and pure ki?" Sakura asked.
Chun Li answered for Ken. "Simple. Emotional ki drains the user. In some cases, using too much of it can easily destroy the person using it. The best way to use ki energy is not to draw on you own emotions, but use the energy surrounding you. Ryu uses raw ki, which is much more powerful than emotional ki, as does myself and Ken. If a martial artist is truly skilled in using ki energy, they can draw on the energies of mother earth herself."
"And the Ansatsuken School is very skilled in using raw ki," Ken continued. "The school specializes in using ki attacks that are elemental-based."
Chun Li and Cammy knew that Ken was right. Several of the school's signature moves indeed were elemental-based. The Surge Fist and the Hurricane Gale Kick uses the power of the winds (the exception was that Ryu's Shakunetsu Hadouken uses the power of fire) and Ken's Rising Dragon Punch used the power of fire.
Ryu was going to take it one step further.
As Ryouga stumbled to a vertical base, Ryu was thinking, 'This could be the perfect time to give my new technique its test run.'
Ryu remained in his stance. Blue lightning began to appear as he slowly drew his hands back, allowing the energies to gather, the Japanese Ansatsuken warrior focusing on his target. Chun Li and the others felt the raw ki combine with the static electricity around them.
From the sidelines, Ken watched with great interest. "This is new," he said. "He's learned a new trick. I thought he was joking when he told me that he was working on a electrical-based ki attack."
It was at that moment, Ryu unleashed his final attack on Ryouga.
"Denjin...HADOUKEN!"
The Electric Surge Fist met its mark. Ryouga screamed as his body was ravaged with thousands of volts of electricity, giving Ryu and the spectators a good view of what his skeleton looked like before the blast sent him into low-earth-orbit, heading in the general direction of Nerima.
The fight was over, as Ryouga Hibiki vanished from sight.
Nerima Ward.
Ranma had accompanied Kasumi to the marketplace. So far, it had been an uneventful Saturday afternoon, even for the aqua-transsexual martial artist. No rivals coming to kill him. No fiancees blindsighting him. In one week, Kasumi and Akane would be competing in the Tokyo Regional Martial Arts Tournament. Unfortunately, Ranma himself would not be competing, since he did not receive an invitation. He would only be going to the tournament to make sure that both of Soun's daughters were safe...and that Akane didn't do anything stupid.
On their way back to the Tendou home, the pair had ran into Nabiki, who had just finished up a business meeting with several of her henchwomen. Akane was at a friend's house and would meet them at the family home.
Or, at least that was the plan, until Ranma and Kasumi's ki-enhanced senses caught something heading in their general direction.
And from the person's trajectory, they would crash into Nabiki, who was several steps ahead of them.
Nabiki felt two hands grab each of her shoulders. "What the – HEY!" she managed to say as both Ranma and Kasumi yanked her back, just as Ryouga's body crashed facedown into where Nabiki had stood moments earlier, creating a divot upon landing. Blue electricity arched throughout his body before fading.
"Is that Ryouga?" Nabiki blinked, her usual cool demeanor now a look of complete shock as to the condition of the Lost Boy.
Ranma looked at the twitching body. "Yup. That's Pig-boy alright. Someone's worked him over pretty good."
"Ranma-kun, whatever you do, don't touch him," Kasumi warned. "Whoever did this to Ryouga is a master of using raw ki. This is th first time that I've seen someone using elemental-laced ki energy on an opponent."
Nabiki poked at him with a stick. "Is he going to be alright?" she asked.
Ranma nodded. "He's been through worse," he admitted.
It was at that moment, Akane appeared. Seeing Ryouga on the ground, she immediately jumped to the conclusion that Ranma had beaten Ryouga to the ground.
"I told you to stop picking on Ryouga, Ranma!" Akane shouted as she drew out her mallet.
It was Kasumi that made the save before her hyper-tempered sister could mallet Ranma into the ground. Kasumi stopped the overhead swing by kicking the mallet out of Akane's hands, sending it into the canal.
"Ranma did not do this to Ryouga," Kasumi said. "You really need to work on that temper of yours, Akane."
"Why are you defending him?" Akane demanded. "You know how he likes to pick on Ryouga!"
"Actually, sis," Nabiki butted in, "Ranma had nothing to do with this. Ranma and Kasumi saved me when Ryouga came flying in from Tokyo. And since when did Ranma picks on Ryouga. Mostly, it's the other way around."
Kasumi nodded. "After all, it's always Ryouga screaming out, 'Ranma, prepare to die,' most of the time, right?"
"Whatever," Akane scoffed as she crouched over Ryouga.
"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Ranma, Nabiki and Kasumi shouted in unison, realizing what Akane was intending to do.
Too late.
CRACKLE!
"YEARGH!"
Akane let out a small scream as she touch Ryouga's shoulder in an attempt to rouse him back to consciousness. Instead, she received a small electric shock for her efforts. The shock itself stung, but it did frazzled Akane's hair, making it stand on its end.
"Never mind," Nabiki said, chuckling to herself.
Ranma and Kasumi also broke out in laughter. Embarrassed, Akane turned on her heels and stormed back to the house.
Ken's Chiyoda flat, later on.
Ryu had gotten through the match nearly unscathed. He suffered several bruises, but nothing serious. Chun Li was busy tending to his in injuries while the Ansatuken master was seated in a chair. Ken and Cammy was busy grilling his friend about his new technique that sent the Lost Boy flying.
"You combined your personal bio-electric energy with your ki?" Cammy asked. "That's blood impressive, Ryu."
Ryu nodded. "It was Blanka who taught me the secrets of bio-electricity. Back when I was training in Brazil before the last tournament, I ran into him. He used it as a self-defense mechanism. I got to admit, the wild man was onto something so I began to modify it as an offensive weapon. That was the first time that I actually used it in combat today."
"It worked," Chun Li said. "Who in the hell was that kid, anyway?"
Ryu shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno, Li. He shows up out of nowhere and tries to bash my student's head in with that umbrella of his. He has ties to your tribe."
"I noticed," Chun Li replied dryly. "He knows the Breaking Point. But he is definitely not Joketsuzoku. We got some foreign members of the tribe, mostly through marriage and the resulting offspring of their parents, some are honorary members like Cammy here, with all the honors of a Chinese Amazon without the complications."
"When did this happen?" Ryu asked.
"Back during the tournament," Cammy replied. "Li's grandmother found out about me helping her granddaughter during the Shadowlaw Incident and offered me a place within the tribe, complete with honors. Pretty handy when it comes to avoiding a Kiss of Death or three."
"I'll bet," Ken remarked. "Makes me glad that I wasn't with Ryu when he visited the village. Otherwise I would had a Joketsuzoku chasing after me and trying to kill Eliza."
"One thing is for sure," Ryu replied as Chun Li finished working on him, "this is far from over. That kid will show up again. And if he attacks Sakura again, then I'll send him to the hospital on a stretcher."
