Disclaimer: Yeah, I know I don't have to say it now. I do not own Street Fighter.

SF chap. 7

 
Gwooooooooooooo!! Is this...my true nature? The power is building within. It wants me to destroy everything! The evil energy Akuma mentioned.... Bison...is...the...answer.... Can it be the same...?!
 
Sagat I welcome your challenge anytime you so desire a match!
 
Rose Keep that in mind...even when you confront that man!
 
Chun-Li You will be stronger when I see you next.... Won't you?
 
Sakura Would you give me the honor of another match? Please?
 
Akuma Show me...your true power!
 
Ken One more round! Let's go, Ryu!
 
...!! Wooooooooooooooohhh!!
 
Why...? You have the power.... Power that is evil itself! Yet, you refuse my command! I don't believe it...... This is impossible.......! THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE......!!
 
SHORYUKEN!!!!!
 
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
               
Two days later....
 
Are you leaving, Ryu?
 
I owe you more than I could ever repay you this time, my friend....
 
Oh.... Forget about it!
 
I've found a new awareness! I thought I was finished.... But there are so many things I had never thought possible. The more we study martial arts, the more fearful it becomes.... But it is so magnificent in its unlimited vastness!
 
Ha! Ha! That's you alright.... Old pal! Ryu.... Just remember next time, I still owe you!

The next day, Ryu woke up early in the mourning. He quietly made his way downstairs and outside into the backyard to practice his katas. He moved slowly, eyes closed, gracefully going through the motions of his art. As he did, his mind began to think about the recent events. His trip to the mall, his encounter there, his fight with Honda. Strange, he began to think, it's only been one day and I've already seen nine fighters I know. I don't usually see this many at once, even during tournaments. Ken, E. Honda, Yun, Yang, Sean, Elena, Karin, Sakura and...Chun-Li. His thoughts began to wander and focus on the night before. She was going to say something, but what?  Was she truly going to say what he thought? What he hoped? What he...feared? That thought disturbed him. He feared that if that were to happen, then his goal of becoming a true warrior would be lost. He could possibly loose the one thing that he had been brought up in. His entire life was devoted to the fight. But...he did care for Chun-Li. He felt as though he was torn between two great forces. But as the thoughts continued, a voice came up,

"Deep in thought, huh?"

He opened his eyes to find Ken standing a foot away from him, wearing his signature red gi. Ryu stopped his motions and faced him.

"Yes."

"About what?"

Ryu looked down, "I was wondering. Ken, you trained with Master Gouken with me. You are just as strong a fighter as I am. Yet, you also have a family to be with. Why is that?"

Ken walked toward him, "Ryu, when we were with sensei, he always asked one question, over and over. What do you see beyond your fist? We have our own answers. At first, mine was victory."

Ryu nodded and Ken went on, "But, as time went on, I began to see that mere victory after a fight was hollow. But then I got married, and that changed. I still seek victory, but not for myself. For her and Mel. That is what I see."

Ryu spoke up, "Ever since I learned martial arts, I always saw accomplishment. The opportunity to better myself and become stronger. To walk the path of a true warrior."

Ken leaned back on a tree, "It's because of that that you are so strong, Ryu. You take a path very few take. But I'm going to let you on in a little secret. I've learned that the path may start with one, but ultimately the goal becomes many, fluid. The choices you will make in life will not change the fact that you are a warrior. A truer one than even me."

Ryu quietly absorbed Ken's words, A fluid goal? Choices of life? A true warrior? This was a lot to think about.

Ken broke into his thoughts though and his usual grin came up, "Since it's still early, how about a little sparring match? We haven't had one of those for a long time."

Ryu smiled, "Alright. But I'm not going to hold back."

Ken put his hands up, "Take it easy. Everyone is still asleep, and I don't Mel and Sean seeing me tired when I train them."

"Okay. How about this? No special techniques. That way, you won't lose too much energy."

"Deal. En garde."

An hour later, the two were still fighting. They had lost track of time and they also broke their deal and using special techniques. In fact, it was both their yells of Hadoken that awoke everyone, starting with Eliza.

"Hey, keep it down. People are trying to sleep here."

Ken snapped his attention to her, unaware that Ryu had not heard her and had fired another Hadoken.

"Oh, I'm sor...Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!"

The surge fist slammed into him and floored him. At this, Eliza laughed hysterically. Also laughter could be heard in the back.

"Mel, what are you doing up?"

The little boy came out, "I was going downstairs to watch some cartoons, but I heard you guys outside."

"Is Sean awake too?"

"Yep. He woke up the same time as I did."

"Good. Then your lessons can start early."

"WHAT?!"

Ken smiled evilly, "That's right. Since you two are already awake, I won't have to wake. Tell Sean to be ready in ten minutes."

"…All right." The child sulked back inside and Eliza followed. Ryu smiled a bit.

"What is it?"

"I was just thinking. Like father, like son."

Ken's smirk was replaced with a frown, "What's that suppose to mean?"

"You were just like him when you trained. Right down to the sulking walk."

Ken grabbed him in a headlock, "Is that so? Well then you'll remember this too. Noogie!"

Ken rubbed his fist into Ryu's head. In return, Ryu tossed him aside and Ken landed on his feet.

"Ah. You know I hate it when you do that. Oh and another thing. When we fought, you seemed a little tired."

 "Well…I was busy late last night."

"Doing what?"

Ken laughed, "I'll let you know when you grow up."

Ryu stood confused, again.

______

Two hours later, the two boys have finished their training exercises and it was time for them to spar. Since Sean was older and at an even higher level than Mel, Sean was to stay purely defensive, learning to block a parry Mel's attacks. As Ryu watched the two, he could help, but be impressed by the two. Sean was young and already is a worthy fighter. And even though Mel was practically a kid, he knew how and when to attack. Even though they weren't his child or student, Ryu felt a sense of pride in the two youngsters. It was then that the butler came to see them.

"Sir, a Miss Makoto and Miss Elena are here to see you."

On hearing Elena's name, Sean suddenly froze, allowing Mel to hit him in the gut. Hard.

"Ugghhh!"

"Oh, sorry Sean."

Ken strode forward, "Why did drop your guard?"

Sean wobbly stood up. Again Ryu was impressed by Mel's strength, but too wondered why Sean dropped his guard.

"I'm sorry, sensei. I got distracted. May I take a break for awhile?"

Ken sighed before nodding, "Yeah, I guess that'll be enough for now. Go inside and get washed." Turning to the butler, "Oh, and you can tell the young ladies to wait. I'll be there shortly."

"Yes, sir."

The two boys bowed before leaving, leaving Ken and Ryu alone. Strangely though, Sean took the long way around.

"I wonder what distracted him."

Ken smiled, "You didn't notice? Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting who I'm talking to."

"Funny, Ken. Notice what?"

"Sean has a slight crush on Elena. He won't admit it, but he does. I've noticed the way he is when her name is even mentioned. In fact, she was registered to fight him and he froze up. It was fortunate that the judge declared it a draw. Any longer and he would have disqualified himself."

Ryu only nodded, but Ken wasn't done, "Speaking of which, Chun-Li will be back here this afternoon. She didn't say why though. DO YOU KNOW WHY, RYU?"

"…..."

"Come on. Let's go inside."

Inside, the two girls sat waiting. Elena said a friendly hello, but Makoto remained quiet and bowed.

"So what bring you ladies here?"

Elena smiled, "Yesterday, Eliza called us to help with a project she said she was working on."

Ken thought for awhile, "A project? Oh, yeah, of course. I almost forgot."

Ryu asked, "What kind of project?"

Ken answered, "Oh, it's nothing. Just some plans for later on today."

"Plans?"

"Don't worry about it." Turning to the girls, "I'll go upstairs and get her."

Ken bolted up the stairs and Makoto stood up, "This may be a little sudden, but…"

"What is it?"

"Could you spar with me for awhile?"

Elena chimed in, "You're hopeless." Turning to Ryu, "I'm sorry, but it was the only way I could bring her. Karin, Sakura, and Ibuki were busy doing stuff and I didn't want to go alone, so I asked her since she wasn't doing anything. She refused at first, but then I told her that you'd be here and she thought it would be a good time to test her skills. She's still a little sore from her loss at the tournament."

"I am not!" Makoto yelled, "If that boy hadn't made me slip, then I would have beaten him."

Elena smiled, "Now that sounds awfully familiar."

Makoto was about to yell again when Ryu intervened, "Sure. Okay. I'll spar with you."

That caught Makoto's attention, "Arigato, Ryu."

The three of them walked outside into the yard and Makoto went through her warm-ups. The two squared off and Makoto jumped in for a chop. Ryu easily avoided the blow and hopped away. Makoto repeated the action and Ryu did the same. But this time while he was just landing, Makoto suddenly zoomed toward him in a blur and landed a hard straight punch on Ryu just as he landed. Ryu fell and rolled back, amazed by the girl's strength and speed. This generation is getting stronger. That's good to know. Makoto flashed again, but this time, Ryu sidestepped it, grabbed her and flipped her with his foot and she landed with a thud. Makoto then jumped back up and they faced off again.

"You combine speed and strength well. But you have to work on your technique's recovery time."

Makoto smiled, "Okay."

"So you're training her?"

Everyone turned to see Sakura standing behind them.

"Oh Ryu, how could you? What makes her better than me for you to teach her?"

"No, that not..."

Sakura began to giggle, "Don't worry, Ryu. I was only joking."

Ryu sighed, "What brings you here, Sakura?"

Sakura smiled, "I was just dropping by." She then saw Elena. "What are you guys doing here?"

Elena broke in, "Eliza invited us to help in some project she's working on. I wish I knew what it was."

Makoto faced her, "You mean you don't know?"

"Nope."

Makoto started to get a little angry, "You mean you brought me here and you don't know why?"

"Wait, wait. Just calm down a bit."

"I'm just going to get my basket...ball."

Sean had just come down the stairs and he saw Elena. His mind froze and his body along with it.

Elena didn't seem to notice, "Oh, hello Sean. Long time, no see."

"H...hello."

Elena dashed toward him, "So how have you been?"

"Okay."

"Hey, Sean. Here."

Ryu tossed him his basketball. Sean caught it.

"Oh, thanks Ryu. Thanks a lot." He started to bolt up the stairs, but he saw Elena's face. Despite the smile, she seemed a little disappointed. He stopped mid-way.

"Do you...?"

"Huh?"

"Do you play...basketball?"

The disappointment faded, "A little. Back home, my brothers learned about the game and made up their own."

"Good. Then I can teach you the rest."

"Sounds great! Let's go."

The two began to go outside, but Makoto stopped them.

"You!"

"Makoto. Hello."

She began to stomp forward, "You're the one who beat me at the tournament! I want a rematch!"

Sean scratched his head, "A rematch? I…well…umm."

Elena decided to intervene again, "You'll have to wait. He promised me a basketball game. Right?"

Sean looked back at Elena, "Uhh, yeah, right. If you want you can join us."

"Hmph."

Elena laughed as they went out, "Alright, suit yourself.

Elena and Sean went around the corner and after pouting for awhile, Mikoto followed, leaving Ryu by himself.

I keep forgetting that they are children. The doorbell rang and Ryu went to get it. Who else could be coming? The door opened and this time, it was Ryu who was frozen.

"Hello, Chun-Li."

_______________________________

This is probably the longest chapter I've worked on. Sorry to keep you waiting, but I kind of got stuck with a bit of writers block. Also, I'll try to work as best as I can to be more descriptive in my fics.