If Ryu had to choose a place that he would have called "home" during his world tour seeking enlightenment, it would have to have been Suzaku Castle. This majestic structure, the pinnacle of classical Japanese architecture, was where Ryu spent the days of his childhood being raised by his Master Gouken. The man who would become known as the "World Warrior" knew nothing about his birth parents, having been adopted by Master Gouken. As far as Ryu was concerned, Suzaku Castle wasn't just his dojo, but the house in which he grew up in.

Every few months, Ryu would return to Suzaku Castle to reflect on what he had learned throughout his journey across the world. This was the place where Ryu learned his martial art of modified Ansatsuken, and it was here that he met his best friend Ken, who as far as he was concerned was as close to a brother as one could get without being related by blood. Sometimes, a fellow Street Fighter would track Ryu down to Suzaku Castle and challenge him to a match, and so Ryu would be put in a rare situation where he was on his "home turf." With the spirits of those who trained before him in the castle watching over him, Ryu would fight as hard as he could so as not to disgrace their name.

Stepping into the entrance of Suzaku Castle for the umpteenth time, Ryu opened its door and took a look around. There were no locks in Suzaku Castle, as Master Gouken believed that anyone was welcome into the dojo and observe, so long as their intentions were pure of heart. While that line of thinking would have made it easy for thieves to come in and take whatever they deemed valuable, there wasn't really anything to steal that was of any monetary value. All Suzaku Castle had were memories of the past, where Ryu and Ken learned from Master Gouken's teachings.

Besides, very few people even know that people live here, so it's not like thieves would know there's anything to take, Ryu thought as he sat down on the hardwood floor and looked down at the dust. Most people just see this place as an old castle that's long since been abandoned. Ever since Master Gouken was killed, there've been rumors that this place is haunted by his presense, and that keeps most people away. Ryu chuckled as the thought sprang to his mind. If I'm not careful, I might be haunting the place right along with him.

Ryu didn't come to Suzaku Castle to reflect on past experiences this time. He came here to prepare for the greatest battle of his martial arts career, where he would confront his master's killer in fearsome combat. Even though Ryu and Akuma had fought in the past, there had never been a clear-cut winner. This time, there would be no lingering questions as to who was the more complete martial artist. Either Ryu would defeat Akuma and avenge Gouken's death…or Ryu would fall at Akuma's hands and become just one of his many victims.

That's not going to happen, Ryu told himself as he close his eyes to begin his meditation. A month ago, I would have accepted the outcome of possibly falling at Akuma's hands, for it would have been a fair death as a martial artist. But now, I have more riding on this fight than my pride as a warrior: there is someone waiting for me to return alive, and I made a promise that I would come back to her.

As Ryu focused his thoughts in preparation for the daunting task that lie before him, the wandering warrior had difficulty thinking about his past fights, which he needed to focus on as it was those experiences that propelled him this far. Instead, whenever he closed his eyes, all he could think about was the breathtakingly beautiful Chun-Li, whether it was talking with her in her kitchen, comforting her after Master Gen's passing, sparring with her in the park…or passionately kissing her in bed. Chun-Li, the warrior's heartbeat started to pick up speed as the woman he loved plagued his thoughts. I miss you…and I'm worried that I might never get a chance to tell you how I really feel…

Pounding his fist on the ground, Ryu let out a grunt of frustration and opened his eyes. "Looking like meditating isn't going to help me this time," the wandering warrior said to no one in particular as he stood back up and tucked his fists inward. "Maybe I just need to get my body loosened up a bit. HYAH!" Throwing out his left fist directly in front of him, Ryu just as suddenly tucked it back to his hip and threw his right fist out, alternating with each passing second and letting out a yell each time.

How many people have I defeated with these punches?, Ryu asked himself as he continued his exercises, already feeling the sweat bead up on his face. How many warriors have been on the receiving end of these fists that have guided me every step of the way? How many more fighters will these fists come in contact with before I can finally say, "I made it. I am now a true martial artist."

After the one-hundredth punch, Ryu relaxed his stance and looked down at his gloved hands. Punching wasn't the only thing his hands were good for: it was with those same hands that he held Chun-Li in his arms, comforting her when she needed it most. Master Gouken asked him many years ago, "What do you see beyond your fist?," and for the longest time, Ryu only saw another challenger. By spending time in Hong Kong, however, Ryu saw something quite different beyond his fist.

By opening his fist and forming a hand, he saw a gorgeous woman that was waiting for him to complete his journey so that he could go back to the life that they enjoyed together.

…someone's coming.

Looking up from his hands, Ryu sensed someone approaching. Was it Akuma, showing up earlier than Ryu had anticipated? No…this ki signature is powerful, but it's not quite that powerful, the wandering warrior observed as he stood ready for whoever was coming. Maybe it's another challenger, who's come to seek me out just as I have sought out challenges in other places. As the ki signature became clearer and stronger, the wandering warrior allowed himself a smile as he realized that it was a ki signature that he recognized.

A few seconds later, the source of the ki signature stepped into the room and made himself known to Ryu. The man was thickly muscled, with the kind of muscle mass that would be found in bodybuilders or pro wrestlers, wearing a black wifebeater shirt an baggy green pants with brown combat boots. His long blonde hair was held back in a ponytail, and a red bandana was wrapped around the forehead of his youthful face. "Well…this must be my lucky day," the big man said with a smile as he outstretched his green-gloved hand and waved hello. "Someone told me that if I wanted to look for you, I should start here…and when I finally find this place, you're right here waiting!"

"Sometimes fate can work in your favor, Alex," Ryu said as he returned the wave before bowing his head. Where Ryu had failed in winning the third Street Fighter tournament, Alex had succeeded by defeating the mighty Gill and avenging the defeat of his friend Tom. However, while Alex was the reigning champion, he wasn't necessarily the stronger fighter, as Ryu was able to defeat Alex in an un-official contest. If Alex was seeking Ryu out, the wandering warrior had a good feeling that it wasn't because he was making a social visit. "How have you been? Have you been practicing?"

"Every single day, brother," Alex replied with a smile as he flexed his right bicep, with which was almost as big as Ryu's head. "Ever since you kicked my ass six ways to Sunday a few months ago, I haven't been able to stop thinking about when we'll meet again. It's hard to describe…but…" The big man looked down at his gloved hand and clenched his fist. "When you beat me, I felt the urge to follow in your footsteps, traveling world so I could hone my skills and make it so that our next fight wouldn't be a repeat. It's weird, because before I was content just hanging around New York and never going any place else…"

"Sounds like you've contracted 'the sickness,'" Ryu replied with a smile.

"What the blue hell's 'the sickness?'" Alex asked, having never heard the term before.

"It's something that every street fighter must come to grips with," Ryu explained as walked over to a world map on the wall of the room they were in. Motioning for Alex to come over, the wandering warrior waited for his guest to get closer until he saw what Ryu was interested in: the lines upon lines drawn on the map indicating where Ryu had been on his travels. "Street fighting is a very powerful addiction: once you get your first taste, all you can think about is getting your next fix, seeking out more powerful opponents to test yourself against."

"Look at all these lines and scribbles," Alex said as he folded his massive arms and leaned in his tall body to get a closer look, being that he stood a few inches higher than where the map was posted against the wall. "Is all of this chicken scratch supposed to indicate where you've been on your travels, brother?"

"That's right," Ryu nodded his head as he pointed to a circle drawn on the North American continent. "This circle right here is where I first met you, somewhere in Brooklyn, New York. Being that I was taken out of the third tournament earlier than I would have liked, I was looking forward to seeing who won in my absence. When I learned that it was you, I saw that your fist hadn't yet gained the experience that I had…and after I defeated you, I told myself, 'I can't wait what this guy is going to be like with some more battles under his belt…'"

"Yeah…you beat the crap out of me back then," Alex replied with a slightly embarrassed smile. "You told me to keep getting stronger and seek out stronger fighters, and that's what I did. And you know what…I've really enjoyed that kind of life! The violence, the adrenaline rush, the unspoken communication that can only be done by beating the tar out of each other…as barbaric as it is, I feel like this is where I belong. It's gotten to a point where some of the people I face tell me that I remind them of you!"

"…would you care to spar, Alex?" Ryu said after a pause, motioning to the open space of the hardwood floor. "I'm planning on making this my final trip to Suzaku Castle, so what better way to celebrate it then by having one last battle inside with a worthy opponent?"

"Now you're speaking my language, brother," Alex replied with a smirk as he and Ryu walked to opposite sides of the dojo, doing their respective stretches once they decided they had put enough distance between them. I can already feel the difference between what Alex was back when I first fought him and what he's like now, Ryu thought as Alex gripped his shirt and forcefully shredded it off of him as if it were nothing more than plastic wrap. Maybe this is what I really need in order to clear my head: a friendly bout with a worthy opponent.

No sooner had Ryu entered his fighting stance, Alex suddenly lunged forward with his left elbow glowing with energy. Surprised by the sudden act of aggressiveness, Ryu barely had time to lift his arms up to block the Slash Elbow. Even though Alex stood at well over six feet tall and weighed in at nearly three hundred pounds, he was capable of considerable acts of agility that Ryu had only seen previously from Sagat. It was a testament to how much potential Alex had as a street fighter: with time and experience, he could become every bit as legendary as the Muay Thai Emperor.

Unfortunately for Ryu, he forgot that unlike Sagat, who specialized in crushing strikes, Alex's fighting style was rooted in wrestling, and now he was in range to grapple Ryu. Reaching out with his left arm, Alex wrapped his hand around Ryu's head and pulled him closer. The big man from New York then reared back and delivered a stiff headbutt directly to Ryu's forehead, sending the wandering warrior stumbling backwards and rubbing where he had been hit.

Realizing that he had the early advantage, Alex once again lunged forward with his elbow glowing with his yellow ki. However, Ryu wasn't the type of warrior to fall for the same trick twice, and he countered the Slash Elbow with a powerful Shoryuken that launched both of them upwards into the air, with Alex bouncing off the ceiling of the room and falling down onto the hardwood floor with a thud while Ryu landed gracefully on his feet.

"Ugh…not bad," Alex said with a groan as he rubbed his chin where he had been struck. "I always get jumpy when I realize I'm winning: guess that's what I get for jumping the gun."

"Heh…who said that you were winning?" Ryu replied with a smirk as Alex stood back up and entered his own ready stance. "Don't count victories that haven't been won yet, Alex! That's the first step to losing!" Realizing that being on the defensive against someone like Alex was a bad idea, Ryu took off towards the grappler at a full run before leaping into the air and spinning his leg around in a propeller motion as he came down for a falling Tatsumaki Senpukyaku.

Surprised by the direction of the attack that had confounded him in the past while on the ground, Alex could only throw his arms up in a block in order to protect himself from the considerable power of the Hurricane Kick. As soon as Ryu landed, however, Alex outstretched his arms and attempted to put the wandering warrior in a crushing embrace to set up for one of his more powerful throws. What Alex got instead was a powerful punch to the gut, with Ryu plunging his fist deeper upon impact to add extra damage to the attack.

As Alex stumbled backwards gripping his stomach, Ryu lifted his leg once again and spun around for another Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, this time rushing towards Alex like a car spiraling out of control. "…sucker," Alex whispered with a smirk before intercepting Ryu with a jumping knee. Keeping his knee lodged into the warrior's stomach, Alex and Ryu soared higher into the air before the two came crashing back down, with Alex's knee firmly entrenched into Ryu's ribcage.

Alex lifted his body so that he could stand back up…but suddenly Ryu grabbed onto his shoulders and pulled him back down! Surprised by how Ryu could recover so quickly from his Air Knee Smash, Alex could do nothing but go along for the ride as the two of them rolled on the ground like a wild tire before Ryu suddenly launched Alex into the wall of the dojo with a grounded throw. Unable to stand up to Alex's massive weight, the wall splintered upon impact, leaving an unsightly gash in the wall.

"Hadoken!"

As Alex stumbled back to his feet, Ryu continued pressing the offense by firing off a blue Hadoken in Alex's direction. Even if Ryu couldn't match Alex for sheer brute strength, he still had a reach advantage thanks his ability to fire ki from his hands. The Hadoken rushed towards Alex like a baseball…but the New Yorker was willing to step up to the plate and hit a home run by charging his yellow ki into his right hand…and then forcefully swatting the Hadoken with a horizontal Flash Chop.

"Nice try, brother," Alex said before lunging forward again for another Slash Elbow. This time, Ryu jumped over Alex's head as he delivered the elbow, landing behind the big man and grabbing onto the back of his neck. Using all of his mighty strength, Ryu lifted Alex off of his feet and drove him face-first into the ground with a reverse neck throw. Due to how much power Ryu put behind the attack, as well as how heavy Alex was, the attack damaged the dojo even further and Alex's body left a visible mark in the hardwood floor.

Lifting his fist as Alex pushed himself off the ground, Ryu delivered a hammer-like blow to the top of the wrestler's head…but the wandering warrior underestimated Alex's resiliency, especially when it came to blows to his head. The New Yorker completely no-sold Ryu's punch and instead drove his shoulder into Ryu's jaw as he rose back up, launching the Japanese warrior into the air and leaving him vulnerable to another one of Alex's jumping knees.

Fortunately for Ryu, he had been in much worse scrapes than the one he was currently in, and he surprised Alex but delivering a sharp kick to his jaw as the big man jumped after him. Both fighters landed on their feet, but Ryu was the first to recover enough to deliver the next attack: a Shakenetsu Hadoken that knocked Alex down like a domino and bringing his back down upon the hard floor with a thud. "How are you feeling, Alex?" Ryu asked as Alex quickly rose back up and resumed his fighting stance.

"How do I feel?" Alex repeated as a smile came over his face before he jumped into the air and crashed down onto Ryu's body with a flying tackle. "I feel…alive!" Pulling Ryu off the ground as he stood back up, Alex received a swift punch to the face from the wandering warrior that rattled his teeth…and only widened his smile. Altering his hold on Ryu so that had his hands wrapped around his waist, Alex bent over backwards and drove Ryu's neck and shoulders into the ground with a German Suplex.

When Ryu stood back up almost immediately looking only slightly shaken up, the New Yorker continued speaking even as Ryu delivered a standing kick to the side of his neck. "Before I met you, Ryu, I was just some two-bit thug who was too busy worrying about making a decent living and cleaning up the scum off the streets. I just saw fighting as a way to beat up people that ticked me off," Alex said as he lifted his arm and walloped Ryu with a big haymaker that sent Ryu stumbling backwards. "I couldn't appreciate the fight for what it really was!"

"And…what do you think that fight is now, Alex?" Ryu asked as he ducked under Alex's high boot and rose up back to deliver a sharp uppercut to the big man's chest before firing off a close-range Hadoken that toppled Alex over onto his buttocks. "All my life, I've searched for the true meaning of the fight…and it wasn't until recently that I finally got a grip on what meant to me. What does it mean to you, Alex?"

"When you're fighting, nothing else in the world matters..." Alex began as he stood back up and lifted his hand just in time to block a right hook from Ryu. Striking Ryu in the head once again with a big headbutt, the New Yorker watched his Eastern rival stumble backwards before lunging forward and delivering a sharp Slash elbow to Ryu's head. "It's like, no matter where you are or how many people are watching you, the only people that exist in the world are yourself and your opponent! It's the one place where you can get to know someone without having to worry about someone else eavesdropping!"

"SEI-YAH!"

Catching Alex in the sternum with his Joudan Sokutou Geri – the Sword Kick – Ryu watched Alex ricochet off the splintered wall once again and bounce towards him, allowing Ryu to strike him a second time with his mighty Shoryuken. "So fighting is the best way to talk to get to know someone you're not familiar with," Ryu said as he watched Alex crash back down to the ground only to kick his legs into the air and kip back to his feet, ready for more as Ryu landed gracefully onto the floor. With both fighters resuming their fighting stance, the wandering warrior asked another question. "What do you think your fists are telling me right now?"

"My fists are telling you that I want to learn more about this world we live in," Alex lunged towards Ryu once again, and Ryu lifted his arms to block the attack accordingly. However, instead of delivering another Slash Elbow, Alex instead grabbed onto Ryu and using his forward momentum to swing around his body before driving his head into the ground with a Spiral DDT. "When you beat me, you left me without hate, anger, or any of the things I used to feel when I fight. You completely changed the way I looked at street fighting!"

Wrapping his arms around the fallen Ryu, Alex used all of his power to dead lift Ryu off of the ground and power his neck and shoulders into the floor with a German Suplex. Keeping his fingers locked around Ryu's waist, Alex lifted Ryu off of the floor once again only to plant him with yet another Suplex. "I have to know more about what makes street fighting such an amazing thing," Alex shouted as he lifted Ryu up onto his shoulders and jumped high into the air with the warrior still in tow. "I have to know what it really means to be strong fighter!"

Crashing back down into the ground, Alex powered Ryu down onto his back so hard that the floor gave way and imploded from the impact of the New Yorker's feared Hyper Bomb that won him so many battles in the third tournament. "You're a legend, Ryu," Alex said as he watched Ryu groan in the hole that his body had created. "Everyone I talk to says that you're the greatest street fighter that ever lived. I have to know…what makes you so strong?"

"…I'm not that strong."

"Wha-"

"SHORYUKEN!"

Launching himself out the crater, Ryu struck the big man with another high-arcing Shoryuken as he leaned over to see if he had won. The suddenness of the attack made it so that Alex had no way to roll with the blow, and as such he received the full power of the Shoryuken was launched into the air once again. "I'm not that tough, Alex," Ryu said as Alex crashed down onto the floor stomach-first. "I'm no tougher than you are…but what separates me from the others is the pursuit of that same question you're asking."

Alex slowly pushed himself off the ground and lifted his hands to resume his fighting stance…but was just as quickly sent back down onto his face as Ryu's Hurricane Kick collided with his jaw and sent him spiraling away. "What is my opponent fighting for?" Ryu said as he watched Alex groggily return to his feet, clearly a little bit dizzy from so many hits to head (some of which he contributed to with his headbutts). "What makes me any more deserving than my opponent to win this fight? Have you asked yourself these questions when you fight, Alex?"

Gathering his blue ki into his hands, Ryu reared back for another Hadoken as Alex slapped himself hard in the face to try and get his senses back. "For the longest time, I thought the purpose of fighting was to beat the other guy up," Alex said as he charged his own ki in preparation to swat Ryu's Hadoken away. "My friend Tom told me that fighting is no good unless you win! So why…why is it that when you defeated me, I actually felt better about myself than losing!"

"Shinku…Hadoken!"

Rather than unleash a ball of ki, Ryu instead fired off a focused beam of energy almost as wide as his own body. Though Alex attempted to swat it anyway with his Flash Chop, he could do little except take the full brunt of the beam and collide with the wall that had already taken so much punishment during their fight, completely breaking it down and having him crash down into the next room. "To live is to fight…and to fight is to live," Ryu said as Alex tried to push himself off the ground, only to fall back onto his face and feel himself losing consciousness. Before the New Yorker blacked out, however, he heard Ryu say this.

"You don't have to win to get the most of the fight…you have to make sure you don't lose…"

"Oyyyy…"

Alex groaned as he awoken from his knockout slumber. The last thing he remembered was going through the wall of the dojo, and then blacking out when Ryu was telling him something about not worrying about winning, but rather not losing, whatever the hell that meant. With the smell of smoke entering his nostrils, Alex's eyes shot open as he sat up. "There's a fire somewhere," he blurted out as he stood up and realized that he was now outside the dojo. Turning his head towards the familiar hot sensation of a nearby fire, Alex drew his attention to Suzaku Castle, which was now engulfed in flame. "How the hell did THAT happen!"

"It's a signal fire," the familiar voice of Ryu said, causing Alex to turn around to see that Ryu was holding a lit torch in his hand. "I told you that this would be the last time I'd come to Suzaku Castle, and now I'm making sure of it."

"But…but isn't that where you trained when you were a kid?" Alex asked, completely confused as to Ryu's actions. "I mean, I know we were making a mess in there, but I could have helped you pay the bill to fix the damage. You didn't have to go and burn the place down!"

"I'm sending a message," Ryu explained as he walked over to the edge of the nearby river and put the torch out. "I came back to Japan this time because I intend to this to be my final battle as a vagabond." Turning back to Alex and pointing at the bandana around his forehead, Ryu continued. "You told me that other fighters were saying that you reminded them of me…well, I'm burning down Suzaku Castle because I'm sending a message to someone that I've completed my training as a street fighter and am ready to face them for the final time."

"You mean…you're retiring from street fighting?" Alex asked, to which Ryu nodded his head once. "What made you decide to quit?"

"It's not so much that I'm quitting," Ryu responded as he pointed to the white dragon shirt he was wearing underneath his gi, to which Alex raised an eyebrow in curiosity having finally noticed something different. "It's just that I've finally discovered something to fight for apart from myself. There's someone waiting for me to return to her…and I promised her that I would come back as soon as I finished this one final challenge."

"Let me guess," Alex said with a smile. "She gave you that t-shirt, and you gave her your red headband." Seeing Ryu nod his head once again, the New Yorker rubbed the back of his head and smiled. "Well, if it's something natural like that, then I won't call you a quitter, brother. You be sure to treat her right, whoever she is, or I'll give you another Power Bomb! I'm not gonna settle for my rival being a lady beater!" Turning back to the burning castle, Alex's smiled faded as he folded his arms. "So, who's the guy you're sending the message to?"

No sooner as Alex finished asking that question, the roof of the burning Suzaku Castle was literally blown off like someone had just set off dynamite within. The big man jumped back in surprise, letting out a loud "WHOA" as the debris from the roof came falling down to the ground. However, upon a bit of reflection, as well as how the top story of the castle compressed, both fighters realized that something didn't explode from within, but from the outside: someone or something had crashed down on it hard.

"When we first met, you told me that you entered the third tournament to face Gill, the man who injured your friend," Ryu finally answered Alex's question as the big man followed Ryu's gaze up to the top of the roof to see that there was a man standing there, though he was too high up and far away to really tell where he was. "Well, that man up there…he's my 'Gill.' He's my master Gouken's killer, and the man that I've been trying to catch up to for years and years."

"…I can feel it," Alex whispered as a chill ran down his spine. "I'm not into that voodoo power-sensing stuff, but I can actually feel the energy coming off from that guy up there. I can't explain it…but he just makes me want to run away."

"You should get out of here, Alex," Ryu said as the man on top of the burning castle suddenly disappeared. "Find a safe distance and watch our battle. I think you can appreciate the type of battle I'm about to get involved in, where you're fighting to avenge the pride of someone close to you…"

"You sure you want to go it alone, brother?" Alex asked, placing a comforting hand on Ryu's shoulder. "Just say the word and I'll fight alongside you anyway I can."

"I appreciate that, but this is something I have to do alone," Ryu answered without turning his gaze away from the castle. "I'll see you around, Alex…I hope."

Hearing Alex's rapid footsteps becoming more and more distant, Ryu focused his attention entirely on the man that jumped from the top of Suzaku Castle and landed hard on his feet several meters away from him, kicking up violent winds upon impact. The man that stood back up sported a deep tan and blood-red hair tied up in a topknot, wearing a black karate gi tied together with a piece of rope and wooden sandals covering his feet. Opening his fiery red eyes for Ryu to see, the wandering warrior gulped as the man stomped his foot on the ground and entered a horse stance while his evil ki visibly radiated from his body.

"I am Akuma, Master of the Fist," the man growled as he turned his attention to Ryu. "Show me your strength, or die trying!"