Disclaimer: You already know.

Chap. 11

Ryu… I have something to tell you. You were almost destroyed. You are not a master yet. I've trained to defeat you, but you are not ready yet, are you?

Right…but if there is weakness in me, I must overcome it. I've chosen my destiny…I have no regrets…I won't turn back…Wait for me Sagat, until the day I'm worthy to be a master.

Two days had passed. Everyone was still at the hospital. Eliza and Mel went in to see Ken again, who was feeling better after further medical care. Chun-Li stayed with them for support and Mikoto stayed with her. Ryu, however was no where to be found. Although he said he wasn't leaving yet, no one knew where he was. Sakura went out to search for him, but so far she wasn't having much luck. Then she got an idea and went to the most deserted place around. It was a small field just on the outskirts of the city. And sure enough, she found him.

"I should have known you'd be here."

Ryu didn't respond. He was in his meditative stance with his eyes closed. Sakura was about to steak again when suddenly, Ryu changed. His white gi turned dark and dark energy began to emit from him. Sakura stepped back a bit and Ryu changed back to normal. It was there that Sakura decided to speak again.

"Stop it Ryu."

Ryu's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at Sakura. "Sorry to scare you like that."

Sakura put her hand on her hip, "What do you think you doing? Trying to become evil?"

Ryu looked back down, "I may not like it, but if worse comes to worse. I must be ready to use Satsu No Hado. It may be my only chance of stopping him once and for all."

"But if you do that, then you'll become evil like him."

"Not completely. I can control it to a certain extent. But...if I use the Shun Goku Satsu while I'm like that, then..."

"Is it really worth the risk? I know that you've had this feud with Akuma ever since your master died and after what he did to Ken, you feel you must do something, but..."

"No. This isn't about them. Not anymore."

"Huh? Then what?"

"Before the tournament, I asked Chun-Li why she fought. Bison no longer existed, so there seemed to be no further reason to fight. But she told me about the girl and said that she was through fighting in the past. Now she fights for the future. To fight to protect the ones she cares about. That's what I'm doing. I can't allow Akuma to harm anymore of my friends. If he continues, then I would be no different from him. It…is the way."

Ryu remained quiet hearing his own words. Now I understand. This is way of the warrior.  And it was right before me the whole time.

Sakura helped him up, "You should get up. Ken is feeling better, so you can see him now."

Ryu nodded, "I will. Thank you Sakura. I may have found what I was looking for here."

Ryu and Sakura walked off. As they did, Sakura thought to herself, He fights for the future. No, for her. For Chun-Li. She is his future. He really does love her.

Outside, Sean was vigorously training himself. He had been doing so ever since Ken was hospitalized. He hasn't eaten since that time and fatigue was evident on his face. But he continued on, pushing himself further. Thoughts of Ken getting hurt by Akuma drove him on.  If only I had been stronger...... If only I had been stronger. These thoughts repeated themselves in his mind and he drove himself, despite the weariness he felt. I will not fail him again. I won't.

"Sean?"

The voice came from behind him. He recognized it as Elena, but he didn't stop.

"Sean, I know this must be hard for you. I'm sorry about what happened to Ken."

"..........."

She moved closer, "I know you're hurt, but you shouldn't push yourself like this."

Sean suddenly snapped, "I have to! I won't fail him again!"

Elena was shocked by the outburst, but she kept firm, "You really care for him, don't you?"

Sean heard her, heard the sincerity in her voice. And compassion, she was showing compassion.

For a while, Sean kept going and Elena thought that he was ignoring her. Sadly, she began to turn to leave when Sean called out.

"I'm sorry, Elena."

She turned to him as he stopped to face her, "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

Elena gave a small smile, "It's okay. It's hard to see your mentor in the hospital."

"Still, It wasn't right for me to.....uggghhhh." The fatigue had reached Sean and he began to fall over. He expected to hit the hard ground, but he didn't. A pair of slender, yet strong hands prevented him from falling. Looking up, he saw that Elena had caught him. He gave her a weak smile before blacking out completely.

As she helped him up, a shadowy figure was watching them from above. A smile crept on the figure's face.

"It sure took her long enough."

The figure then disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a raccoon that started to climb down the tree. But as it did, Elena heard a rustle and saw it disappear behind a bush. Now it was her turn to smile.

"How does she do that?"

Ryu went in to see Ken again at the hospital. Currently, he was being fed by Eliza, much to his dismay.

"I hate hospital food. Can't you pick up a Big Mac or something?"

"Aw. Are you going to complain now? You heard the doctor. You can only eat this until tonight. So your Big Mac will have to wait."

Ken moaned and then looked up, "Hey Ryu."

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah. Doc says I can be released today."

"That's good to know. Soon you'll be back to your usually arrogant self."

Ken gave a thumps-up, "You better believe it." Looking behind him, he questioned him, "Where's Sakura? Did she find you?"

Ryu nodded, "Yes. But on the way here, she said she had something to do. It was strange. She was quiet the entire trip."

Ken agreed, "Yeah, you're right. That is strange."

Elena then came in on the two. Ryu turned to greet her, but the look on her face told them that something was wrong.

"Elena, what is it?"

"It's Sakura."

"What happened?"

__________

The island.

On this deserted island, a dark cloud hovers over it giving off a feeling of dread. The dark winds blow through the fields like a banshee. And standing in the center was the demon. His head bent upward toward the storm, unafraid. He was waiting. Waiting for his promised fight. But at the same time, he was impatient. He wants this fight. He wanted it ever since he first fought him. He knew the boy would give him the battle of his life, that he would truly challenge his power. Akuma would finally see what he was truly capable of. He was willing to wait for Ryu to reach his full potential, but as time went on, he grew impatient. If Ryu wasn't ready now, then so be it. He will die a warrior's death. As a warrior, that is the least he would do for him. As he stood there, a shadow moved behind him. A headband was on the figure's head and it flapped in the wind.

"You are not who I seek. Leave or die."

The figure stepped forward, "I will not allow you to harm them. Especially Ryu."

"You think you can stop me, child?"

The figure stepped out of the shadows, revealing a female figure wearing a familiar sailor suit and fighting gloves.

Sakura boldly declared, "Yes. I will stop you."