"That'll be a thousand yen deposit for the registration fee." Sakura half-heartedly slipped out the fifty thousand yen bill from her pocket, her mind racing with adrenaline. This was stupid and she knew it. She was registering to be a fighter for the upcoming street fighter tournament – and she didn't even know how to fight properly! Come on girl, this is stupid! What the hell do you think you're doing? Her conscience screamed at her to stop, but her body wouldn't listen. "May I have your name please?"
You're going to meet Ryu if you do this! Her heart told her. And that was right. Just the thought of being face to face with the Street Fighter champion made her body numb, and there was no price that could be attached to that. Sakura had been told she was an instinctive girl before, but she never believed it until now. Come on! Just hand the bill to the secretary. That it, just a little closer and it'll be all over.
"Miss? I said, may I have your name please?"
"Oh!" Sakura snapped out of her daze. "I'm sorry." She bowed her head deeply. "Kasugano, Sakura."
The lady scribbled some notes onto a piece of paper. "That'll one thousand yen please." Instead of the young school girl handing the money over, the secretary practically snatched the crisp bill out of her hand. "Thank you for registering with the Street Fighter Tournament. I'll be back in a moment with your change." Without another word, the lady had disappeared somewhere into the back room and Sakura was left standing by herself at the receptionist desk.
Sakura listened to the echoes of her voice, bouncing off the neatly polished marble that decorated the Dome's halls. At this time of night, the reception desk was about to close. She hadn't planned on signing up for the tournament, but after looking at the posters that adorned the Dome's grounds, the fact that today was the last day for sign ups ground itself into her head.
She wanted to hit herself for being so stupid. She knew by now, her parents were at home wondering where she was at this time of the night. She thought about calling home with the loose change in her pockets from the train ride over, which took all afternoon. "Hey mom, I just called to let you know I joined a world famous tournament in which people beat the shit out of each other. Don't wait up for me!" Sakura rolled her eyes. She'd rather take her chances with giant Russian wrestlers than her own mother.
"Alright," the secretary said, appearing out of the back room with her hand full of money. "Thanks for your patience. "We've overbooked the four star hotel across the street so you're going to have to do with a motel suite about three blocks east from here. I've written down the address for you. You might want to get as much rest as you can. The registered warriors need to be here by eight in the morning tomorrow where they will pay for the rest of their registration fee. All warriors need to be in the change rooms by nine o'clock sharp. Any question?"
"Um, just one," Sakura said, rubbing the back of her head. The secretary tapped her foot. "I'm looking for a man named Ryu. Do you know if he's registered this year?" She already knew what the answer was, but she just wanted confirmation.
"Without a doubt," the secretary replied. "The man is our main money maker. Fans from all over the world flock here to see him. You're the first one who's got the guts to actually sign up for the tournament to see him."
"What? How do you know I'm a fan of his?"
"Your headband tells all, dear. Not a lot of people walk around with one of those, except maybe during the Matsuri festivals. But its winter, and the festivals are half a year away."
Sakura lowered her head slightly in shame. She grabbed the slip of written information away from the secretary, and after thanking her under her breath, walked out the door into the cold winter night.
* * *
"Twenty, thirty, forty thousand yen," Kenny mumbled under his breath, noticing the stream of hot vapor that escaped from his mouth. He breathed onto his numbed hands, smiling at the temporary warmth he'd provided for them. Pick-pocketing tonight had been easy enough. Cranky had taught him some useful methods of sneaking wallets out of unsuspecting victim's bags. He made sure to only take money from the middle-aged old ladies though. Any other kind of victim was a potential death wish, especially for Kenny who was a mere six year old boy.
He grasped the edges of his toque that hugged his head, pulling them down so they covered his ears. He slipped the crumpled bills into the pockets of his jeans as he continued searching the streets for potential victims. His conscience tugged at the back of his mind, trying to stop him from stealing - something his mother always told him was wrong. But mother was dead now. She wasn't there for him, and Kenny needed to find a way to survive on his own. Nobody would ever voluntarily give someone their money. So it was up to him to take it.
And speaking of taking money, there was a blonde woman just a few feet away, with a fifty thousand yen bill sticking out of her back pocket. His mouth began to water. Kenny couldn't see her face because her back was turned to him, but he noticed she was rather tall, especially for a lady. She wore a thick jacket, thick enough that she probably wouldn't feel his tiny hands slipping the bill from the pocket of her jeans. Kenny approached the lady with caution, moving slowly and patiently among the crowd. The money was almost within reach. Just a few more inches and it'd be his. He reached out with his trembling hands, once again numbed by the crisp night air and pulled it out effortlessly.
His heart racing in his head in excitement, Kenny spun around and sprinted in the opposite direction. At least, that was what he thought until he felt a firm hand grasp his shoulder tightly, making him cry out in surprise.
"Where the hell do you think you're going, boy?!" a deep, threatening voice said. It didn't sound like the voice of a woman. He turned around to face his latest victim, looking at her straight in the eye. It wasn't a woman - it was a man! A very angry looking man!
* * *
Ken knew something was up when he felt something against his back pocket get yanked with great speed. My money's in there! With trained reflexes, he spun around to face nobody. But it was when he looked down when he saw a mere child trying to escape. He was having a tough time getting through the crowd though. Before the kid could get anywhere, Ken's arm darted out and seized him by his shoulders.
In his angriest, scariest voice, Ken said, "Where the hell do you think you're going, boy?" The child turned around and looked at him with the widest eyes, filled with terror. Ken took a split second to congratulate himself. Unfortunately, it was a split second too long as the kid let out a small whimper and yanked himself free from the martial arts master's grip. "Hey! Come back here!" But it was too late, the child had disappeared somewhere within the flocking mass of people.
* * *
Tap, tap, tap … Kenny could feel his feet pound the floor mercilessly as he ran and ran. The scary man woman was probably chasing him. He thought he heard his pursuer just a few feet behind him, but if he was being chased, he would've been caught by now. Maybe the footsteps he heard following him were really his own. Kenny shot a quick glance backward, only to find that he'd carved his own path through the mass of people, running and ducking underneath their forest of legs.
He bent his knees and rested his hands on them, breathing out a huge sigh of relief. He looked in his hands, and there was the fifty thousand yen bill, sitting there. It was slightly crumpled, but unharmed otherwise. Kenny continued breathing heavily for a few moments, savoring his victory at the same time. He was becoming a professional pick-pocketer. He smiled upon realizing this. Maybe life on the streets wasn't so bad after all. You just had to be good at surviving.
Kenny's stomach growled. It wasn't a timid, internal growl. It was more like the cry of an angry animal. Nobody would've guessed a child that small would've been capable of producing such a demonic sound. He wasn't surprised, though. Since leaving Cranky back at the alley earlier this morning, he'd been running around downtown Osaka, taking from the fine people that have traveled from all corners of the globe to see this spectacular street fighting event. At least, that's what he guessed from the posters that were hung everywhere. He couldn't wait to return to the alley to tell Cranky. Maybe if they stole enough money, they could afford to buy some tickets to see the event.
Kenny started walking again, against his leg's painful protest cries of aches, realizing that before he could find the energy to get back to the alley, he'd need to find some food first. He walked amongst the crowd, looking high up for any attractive restaurant signs. Hell, he was looking for any sign with the word "food" on it. If people weren't so damn tall, maybe he could actually see the lights from the signs. Maybe if he headed back to one of the back alleys, he could stand on one of the garbage bins and try and find a decent restaurant or food stand.
While he was heading towards one of the alleys where the light wasn't so bright, Kenny could've sworn he ran into a brick wall. He hit his forehead with considerable force and was sent stumbling backwards onto the cold, dirty pavement. He saw stars for a moment, while he tried waiting for his vision to adjust. In front of his stood a massive figure of a dark man with folded arms. Kenny couldn't see the figure very well, but was definitely huge, and although he couldn't see its eyes, he felt it's cold gaze staring down at him.
"You shouldn't take money that isn't yours," the man said. Surprisingly, his voice wasn't as threatening as Kenny thought it would be. The man spoke with a firm, but gentle tone, as if to try and comfort him. It was as though it sensed his fear... The figure bent down to face him, as the fading light from the street lamps lit his face. He was a young man with dark brown hair. He wore a red headband around his forehead. Other than that peculiar article of clothing, he had a normal looking jacket worn over a white T-shirt and blue jeans. The man was powerfully built, but Kenny could sense the gentleness and kindness in his aura. He wasn't afraid. The man held out his hand. "May I have that money back, please?"
"I…" Kenny stuttered. Mother had always told him to do what people said, especially when they said please. But he needed this money. He wasn't sure what he should do. The man continued to look Kenny straight in the eye. The boy could sense the authoritative nature of the man, but he didn't want to give up the prize he worked so hard for. "I need this," Kenny tried to explain. "I haven't eaten my dinner yet."
The man smiled. Another form appeared behind him that Kenny recognized. It was the man woman he tried to steal from just now! The two of them - were they friends? The man saw the reaction appear on Kenny's face and put his hands out palms facing him, to try and calm the frightened boy. "Don't be scared," he said. "This is my friend. His name is Ken. The money you took belonged to him."
"Yeah," Ken began to say, "and don't even think for one second that I'm going to let you keep it!" The nice man extended his arm in front of the man woman, as if to stop him from coming any closer to Kenny. He then pointed to himself. "My name is Ryu. Don't worry; we're not going to hurt you."
The other man's name was Ken, almost the same as his own. There was no way somebody with the same name as him could've been a bad guy. But mother had always warned about strangers. But these two… they seemed almost sincere.
"Why haven't you eaten dinner yet?" Ryu asked. "Where are your mom and dad?"
"I don't know," Kenny replied honestly. "A little while ago, something bad happened to mom and dad. I don't remember what happened, but Cranky said when he found me, I was really hurt. He said I hit my head really bad and that's why I don't remember anything that happened."
"Cranky?"
"He's my friend."
"And is he the one who's been telling you to steal from people?" Ryu asked.
"He says we don't have any other way to survive."
* * *
Ryu smiled at the boy. He was being led down the wrong path, but he was still able to retain the innocence that came with childhood. Ryu extended his hand and ruffled the child's black hair, still silky and not coarse like his own.
"Why don't you come with us?" he offered. "It's dangerous out here, especially for someone like you." The boy looked down at the ground, thinking hard about whether it was a good move to follow him or not. Ryu didn't blame him. He didn't know how long he'd been living on the streets or how well he'd learned how to trust people. But life on one's own was tough and Ryu, as a lone traveler, understood all too well. And he was an adult by now. He couldn't imagine what it was like for a child to go through the same thing. "What's your name?" Ryu asked, hoping to break the ice between them.
"Kenny," the boy replied without hesitation, relieved to be changing the subject. Ryu glanced at Ken and smiled at him, who returned with a "so what" look. He turned back to Kenny. "Well, Kenny, what do you say we go and get some food for that stomach of yours? If you give me back the money you took from Ken, I'll buy enough food for you and Cranky. What do you say?"
The boy smiled. "Okay!" he said cheerfully.
"Alright," Ryu said, "what do you feel like having?"
"You mean I can have anything?"
"Just name it."
"Well," Kenny thought hard, rubbing his chin with his knuckle. "I want McDonald's. Dad used to take me there a lot."
"Alright, McDonald's it is then."
"But then Mom always liked rice bowls at the Yoshinori restaurants. She says they're really cheap and I haven't had any for awhile."
"Yoshinori is a good place to go-"
"Oh but I hear in Osaka, they have those octopus balls that taste really good! Maybe we can go have some after we're done with dinner!"
"Which we'll be having … where exactly?" Ryu began rubbing the back of his head. If this was a manga, he could just picture a large sweat drop appearing beside his head.
"We'll have dinner at the five star Chinese restaurant just a few blocks south from here! Cranky tells me it's really good and I've always wanted to eat there! But Yoshinori and McDonald's sound just as good … I know! We can go to all three! Whaddaya say, Ryu? Does it sound like a good idea?!"