Rush

Every mouth in the room started talking at once. Guile shouted for attention and got it.

Guile looked around. "Does anybody here know Akuma, can feel him?

Gen said something at length. Dan translated, "I know Akuma's fighting spirit, but I cannot sense outside this room. There are too many others here. It is like trying to stare past a searchlight."

"Anybody else here ki sensitive?" Guile asked.

"I am."

Guile stared at Dan. "You're a hunter?"

"Not really. I have a range of about fifty meters. It's really accurate, but-"

Guile rolled his eyes. "But at that range, it's nearly worthless. Alright, everybody! Our distinguished visitor says we have multiple-" Guile broke off and looked at Oro. "There are multiple persons of fighting ability coming here, right?"

Oro nodded, slowly. "I did not… say they were… coming… here. I said… they… may… come here." Guile set his face in an extremely neutral expression. The bald, diaper-clad, old, old, old man's speech was driving him crazy. "And they are… exceptional… Very strong."

"How many?" Guile kept his question short and to the point, waiting for the next reply.

"At least… three. Two come…" Guile wondered if it was possible for someone's head to explode from frustration. "…swiftly."

"Ok! We got three people coming here-"

"I can sense… more… warriors… in this… city… besides the three… focused on… where we… are."

"Are they coming here? How many?" Guile regretted asking two questions, but beating the old man didn't guarantee that he'd talk faster, and besides, he wasn't sure he could.

"Two. Also very… strong. But they are… not traveling… towards… any goal… Perhaps they are… lost?"

Guile wanted the last two minutes of his life back. "Great. Ok, we have some others coming, remember not everybody's here yet, the tournament hasn't even started, so don't get too excited. Now, remember-" Every face he could see looked over his shoulder with wide eyes.

Guile whirled, his hands coming up in reflex.

Akuma stood twenty feet behind him, his heavily muscled arms crossed across his chest. His eyes were a solid yellow, seeming to glow.

Guile blinked, trying to think of something to say. A yell startled him. Sean ran past him, still yelling something. Guile's grab came too late, missing Sean's shirt.

Sean stretched out his arms, reaching for Akuma. Akuma weaved back out of his grasp and broke Sean's shin with a kick. Sean screamed in pain, freezing the watching fighters. Guile was knocked to the side by a massive man, and realized then Sagat was not frozen by the violence. He was, in fact, throwing Sean. With one hand. Backwards. Right at Guile, and in the air the entire way. Guile caught the young Brazilian, attempting to keep damage to the broken leg at a minimum.

Guile looked up in time to see Akuma smile viciously at Sagat and half-turn, cupping his hands at his side. The fireball never materialized, Sagat's brutal shin kick slammed against Akuma's head, sending him tumbling over the concrete. Akuma rolled to his feet a full ten feet from where he'd been standing, a scowl carving deep lines in his face and stood, staring at the monolithic Muay Thai kickboxer. Sagat straightened from his fighting stance and stared back at Akuma with his good eye.

Guile yelled, "Hold it! Sagat, you're outta the tournament."

Sagat didn't move, and Guile lay Sean gently on the floor, yelling over his shoulder, "Dan, need translation!"

Without turning away from staring at Akuma, Sagat said, "I heard you." He snorted, then turned and walked towards Guile, completely ignoring Akuma. Instinctively, Guile glanced at Akuma. Akuma didn't take the bait, so Guile looked up as Sagat came to a halt uncomfortably close, looming over Guile. Rather than step back, Guile craned his neck up.

"Why am I out of the tournament?"

"You can't interfere with a fight, that's why! If it takes all of us, we'll stop you from interfering with a fight."

The two fighters stared at each other as Sean was loaded on a stretcher and carted off.

Sagat lowered his voice until only Guile could hear. "That was not a fight. That was about to be a murder." Sagat's face didn't change, but something did, and Guile resisted an urge to back out of Sagat's reach. "That was how Akuma murdered Adon. Adon was crippled, and Akuma murdered him anyway."

Guile made sure his voice didn't carry. "Not everybody here thinks Akuma is a danger. If enough of them leave, Akuma might go hunt them down instead of sticking around here. If you don't get disqualified, this tournament loses its credibility."

"Except for the way he appeared, I would say we should all attack him now."

"You can still help. You can keep Akuma away from the field hospital we got setup. Right now the former Dolls are guarding it. Cammy and Hawk's there too, but he's got a broken jaw and she's got some busted ribs. There's a lot of Dolls, and they're good, but…" Guile let the rest remain unsaid.

Sagat said, "Where is this medical place?"

"Out the main doors, turn right, three buildings down on the opposite side of the street. Has a blue passenger van out front. Knock once."

Sagat roared "Fine!" and threw his arms in the air, then turned and walked away. Guile watched him go. Taunting Akuma with his back, playacting being upset about the disqualification for the audience... that man is way too smart. Glad he wants to help though. But now what do I do?

As Sagat neared the doors, they opened and Ryu walked through. Ryu stopped upon seeing Sagat stalking towards him. Sagat never hesitated. He stepped right around Ryu and through the door before it closed.

Ryu looked back at the closed door then continued into the warehouse. His gi was in dire need of cleaning. Over his shoulder was his ever-present traveling rucksack. It needed cleaning too. He needed a haircut. He stopped halfway between Guile and Akuma.

"Hey Guile." Ryu's English was smooth and flawless, the product of Ken and Eliza Masters' long-term friendship.

"Hey Ryu."

"Hear you're having a tournament."

Guile nodded. "Yeah."

"Started yet?"

"Three days and it'll start."

Ryu paused, obviously thinking. "Do you have the rankings set?"

"Nope. Was about to start that."

"Mind if I open things up?"

"What did you have in mind?"

Ryu pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Akuma. "I always did like a challenge, and besides, he looks more prepared then anybody else."

Guile shrugged. "Any objections, Akuma?"

A moment passed. Five. Ten. Guile looked at Ryu and shrugged again. "I don't have any if he doesn't."

Ryu dropped his bag and knelt to open the top. He pulled out a pair of red guards and dropped them next to the bag, then started rummaging around deeper in the bag until he pulled out a slim wooden case. He opened it and pulled out a long strip of cloth. It was stained, frayed and had lost much of its original color. Ryu placed the case back in the bag and pulled the drawstring shut. Then he tied the cloth around his head, pulling his hair back out of his eyes and pulled on the guards.

Guile stared and both fighters then said, "Go."

As the two fighters circled, Gen and Dan stepped up next to Guile. Dan spoke over the yells of the watching fighters. "Gen says he has fought Akuma before and that's not him."

Guile looked sideways at Gen, then back out to the fight. "How so?"

Dan translated Gen's reply. "It's not Akuma's spirit, more like his Raging Demon. All the time."

"So this is the embodiment of one of Akuma's moves fighting," Guile winced, "and beating Ryu out there?"

Gen and Dan talked at length in Chinese while Guile watched the fight continue to tilt in Akuma's favor.

Dan spoke up. "Gen says that the Shun Goku Satsu is less a fighting move like a punch or kick and more of a technique to open a portal to hell for a split second. A forbidden technique because it usually kills both user and target. The portal is not open but something other than Akuma is in charge."

Guile's face was grim. "And now it's trying to kill everybody it fights. Do you know how we can stop it?"

After Dan's translation to Gen there was a pause that told Guile everything he needed to know.

Gen spoke at last, and Dan said, "He doesn't know how to stop it. But he thinks Akuma coming back to life is tied to the Murderous Intent taking over."

Guile looked over to the fight in time to see Ryu take an uppercut square on the jaw. Ryu's limp form was airborne. Well, that's that, Guile thought. Then the landing revived Ryu a bit, and he staggered to his feet. Guile felt the blood drain out of his face as Ryu reeled, punch drunk and vulnerable.

"Ryu! No! Stay down!"

There was an unmistakable flash of ki, and Akuma slid forward with one knee raised, blue afterimages trailing behind him.