Setting #9: Museum

Timeline: Year 9 of Ken's Training – Summer

Ryu and Ken arrived back at the temple a few hours later having traveled the entire distance on foot. The storm had picked up and the two were completely soaked as they arrived; but the driving factor that pushed them on towards their destination was an eerie ki that they both felt. They both recognized it, but never quite like this, and never from anything besides Ryu…

Looking about the temple, they were both astonished by the level of destruction that had taken place. One of the walls had partially collapsed, any windows made of glass instead of the usual paper were broken, scorch marks could be seen all over the ground, and the number of bodies that lay scattered about was disturbing. When they arrived, some of the monk's were moving about helping others while a number of others were not so fortunate. The two approached the first person they found that was conscious.

"What happened here?" Ken asked; Ryu seemed distracted.

"A man attacked" The young man, just a little older than Ken started, "He fought like us, but he was merciless, and could manifest his ki. He and the master fought in the training field. The master is there now." Ryu and Ken looked to each other and nodded; they needed to find their master.

They made their way through the temple, bodies were lying about and while both of them wanted to help, they knew that the person responsible for this might still be around. What concerned them more about this attack is that no standard weapons were used and that this person fought like them; these injuries were done with bare hands or some sort of energy. Something similar to… the Hadoken.

They made their way to the main training field. The rain continued to fall as they arrived and in the center they saw their Master lying on the ground surrounded by a small group of monks. The oldest monk of them temple was knelt over the Master holding his large hand. He looked up at Ryu and Ken and met their gaze, and Ryu and Ken knew their master was not long for this world. The old monk then gestured for them to come over as the other monks backed away allowing the two to come forward.

His large body laid there, his outfit torn all over similar to several of the other monk's, but with burn marks visible on his body. Upon closer inspection of his body, realized that he was in critical condition; it was amazing he was still alive. His eyes fluttered opened as the two reached him, and hand reached out and grabbed a hold of Ryu's uniform collar.

"Ryu… Ken…" He spoke in a very weak voice and gasped for air as he did. "He attacked, came for the forbidden… knowledge…" The master pulled Ryu close to his face; so close that Ryu could smell his breath as he spoke. "You must control yourself. Never… Never become like him…"

"Like who Master?" Ryu asked.

"A…kum…a…" The master lost his grip and slumped back to the ground as his eyes stared at Ryu and budged slight out of their sockets. Ryu looked at his master as the rain dripped down his face. He moved his hand up to his master face and shut his eyes one final time.

"Ryu…" Ken said as he watched the whole display. Ryu sat there for a moment, crouched over his master, and Ken could feel something again building inside of Ryu. That master, he was like a father to Ryu… and to Ken. Perhaps he was the closest thing to a father that Ryu ever had, and with that loss he could feel pain, sadness, and anger building in Ryu.

"Ryu, Ken…" The voice came from the old monk. He was very old, older than the master and had watched over Ryu and Ken ever since they were children. He was leaning on a walking stick, and his bamboo hat was damaged allow the rain to run down his face washing away some of the blood that covered it.

"Please, tell us what happened." Ken asked the old one, and there was again another long moment as the old man looked down to his now dead master.

"Goki… Akuma came here searching for the master. He was a student from long before you time, easily twenty years ago. He was obsessed, driven, and seduced by the power of the dark hado. He showed up a few hours ago shortly after sunset, and demanded to see the master. He attacked anybody who stood in his way; his level of mastery of the arts overwhelmed the students, and he openly manifested his Ki which was corrupted by the dark hado." Ryu and Ken looked at each other, and then Ryu looked at his own hands.

"The master met Akuma here. The storm grew violent as the Master began to embrace his ki, and the two fought. The fight lasted a while, and during that time Akuma kept demanding access to his final technique. The master refused and finally fell at the hands of Akuma. After that he tore about the temple and eventually found the scroll that had the forbidden knowledge on it. Before he left, he called out so anybody could hear, 'I'll be waiting at the cave three miles from here north. If any of you want to avenge your pitiful master, then meet me there at dawn." Dawn was in about six hours, and it was likely that Akuma was three hours ahead of them.

For the next hour, Ken and Ryu helped carry the wounded monks to a safe and dry place. Many of them were suffering from broken bones and severe internal bleeding. About one forth of the monks had died and among them was their master. Once Ryu and Ken managed to get them into the central part of the temple for medical treatment, the old monk who was in better shape than most of the other monks, spoke to them once more.

"I have something to show you two, the Master was going to show you after your training, but you need to know it now." The monk didn't wait for a response, but merely gestured to them to follow and began to walk away. Ryu and Ken, who had been mostly silent for some time now, looked at each other, and then followed.

The old monk took them to their Master's chambers, and to Ryu's and Ken's surprise, the place was torn apart and hidden beneath the bed was a open door that opened up into a staircase going down. The old monk lit a torch and the three of them descended below. The walls were covered with murals and paintings, all of martial artist with dates going back as far as 1400 C.E. This place was almost like a museum; a recoding of the past of their school and style. The names were written all in Kanji, some of which were outdated and no longer used in the common day, and so Ken had a harder time reading the names.

"As you two know, each person is different and their ki reflects their inner personality. Our style pulls out that inner self as all Martial Arts do, and builds us up to our full potential. While the beginning steps are the same, as each one moves past their basic training they advance in their own unique way." He pointed to the first image on the walls, "The first to master our style could make his hands move so fast, he could create blades of wind powerful enough to rip his opponents apart." He pointed to another, "This one was able to manifest the cold pain he felt from his slain family, and by channeling that bitterness, and so he could manifest cold in the air freezing the moisture in it." He continued walking. "There are many more, but each of these are the men who have mastered out fighting style." The old monk said plainly, "And with each of them came a terrible price for that power. Consumed with a life of fighting, they lived only to kill constantly searching for the next worthy opponent."

"Our fighting style was originally used for killing, and tournament in the old days were lethal. The power of our style along with many other schools was feared by those far and wide, and so even the governments left the schools alone and sent their samurai to us for training. But we are not alone." The old man stared hard, his gaze meeting Ryu and Ken's, "There are others all over the world who have made this type of progress. The Chinese, Koreans, Indians, they too have their own school where their students have learned to harness their ki in just as powerful ways. As you advance yourself, you must be aware that there are those out there who would seek to fight you also; consumed by the obsession of fighting for a challenge… men like Akuma." The old man continued walking, and the three passed by many more murals.

"You must also be aware, must know that there are others who would want to use you for their own means. You must never submit to them and stay pure to your training."

Ryu and Ken continued to look at the images as they past them. Some of the people in the pictures looked completely normal, some had a spirit animal over them, and others looked different… perhaps even monstrous.

"The man who came here tonight, he was like these men; completely driven for power. The master saw this in his training, and when Akuma was about your age, the master expelled him from the temple. Akuma had not been heard from since, until tonight." The old man reached the end of the passage, and sitting there was an open wooden chest with a few scrolls scattered about.

"Each person must develop their own skills and find their own path through the martial arts, and since I saw Akuma last, he too has done this. But tonight he came here looking for the final piece of his style, for each of these scrolls contains a forbidden technique developed by one of the ancient masters." The old monk looked through the scrolls while Ryu and Ken took in the scene.

As they looked one of the murals caught Ryu's eye, something that almost called to him. The image was of a man, his bare back showed a glowing symbol… a glowing kanji that Ryu knew as "Ten" which translates to Heven. A dark aura surrounded the individual, and the eyes of the person were red with a broken bloody body at his feet. Ryu starred at the broken face, and even with the simplistic art style of the ancient mural, it captured a look on terror and pain… one Ryu recognized all to well, for each time he fantasized about Ken and letting himself go, he could see that look on Ken's face. The old man and Ken joined Ryu by the mural.

"This is the scroll he took, the one for the skill known as the Shun Goku Satsu." The old man said, and Ryu and Ken looked at each other.

"Shun Goku Satsu…" Ryu repeated. Ken thought about the words, and quickly realized that the name of that attack would roughly translate as "Instant Hell Murder". The old man continued.

"The Shun Goku Satsu is a terrible and powerful technique that uses the Dark Hado. It turns the sins of the victim on the user, and in turn makes them pain in an instant for all the miss deeds they have performed in life. It is believed that this attack utilizes a person Karma and that if it was used against a pure person, would have no affect. That has never been proven though." There was silence in the room for a long minute.

"The master wanted you two to see this room, for he said now was the time for you two to branch off into your own individual and distinct style. You may follow one of these masters recorded in this room, or you may even develop your own style. That is for you to decide."

"What is the dark hado?" Ryu finally asked as he looked over to Ken. Ken nodded in understanding.

"The dark hado is the obsession and darkness in ones heart. The desire to be cruel and absolute, and to destroy anything in your path. It often appears shortly after puberty in a child and is usually mixed with the desire for physical dominance over others. A person who embraces the dark hado gives themselves over to their animal instincts and becomes a self centered creature only caring about its self. This is what Akuma has become, a man who is searching for his hearts desire… a worthy opponent."

Ryu took a deep breath.

"He killed the master; I have to go after him."

"No," The old man objected, "You are still just a novice, compared to him you are but an insect. He is a master of the style and has embraced the dark hado. He would torture you and use you to learn the Shun Goku Satsu."

"I can't let him get away with this, the master was the closest thing to a father I have ever had." Ryu replied.

"I see." The old man replied, "Then you must also follow your heart."

"I'm going to." Ken announced, and both the old monk and Ryu looked at him.

"Like Ryu said, he killed our master; and I could never let Ryu go by himself." Ken put his arm on Ryu's shoulder. The two looked each other in the eye.

"I'll never abandon you." Ken said, and Ryu nodded. With out any further words, the two turned and walked back down the corridor. The old monk looked on as they left, and hoped all would work out for the best.