Ken pulled the door to his hotel room open with force. Whoever was making that racket was going to pay for ruining his peaceful rest. Ken could feel his long blond hair sticking up in weird collaborations all over his head, but he could care less at this point. His anger getting the better of him, whoever was thumping on his door, the guy's arms would be broken.
"What the FU …" He trailed off when he saw who had been standing there in the doorway, "I mean, um, who the FISH is standing there, hehe." He rubbed the back of his head nervously.
Kenny, his namesake, was standing looking panicked to the point where he didn't even have an expression. His face was red, but his eyes were redder. Tears were streaking down the boy's face in little rivulets. His hair was just as unkempt as Ken's. Again, neither of them cared either.
"Uncle Ken…"
"What's going on there, kid?" Ken asked. He squatted down to face the boy at eye level. "Where's Ryu?"
Kenny stood there, his eyes reflecting the effort he used in trying to translate his thoughts into words. "Something happened," he said, biting his lower lip.
Something bad? But this was Ryu they were talking about. He was a world champion street fighter, how could anyone take him down? Unless they had a gun… "Is he hurt?"
Kenny shook his head. "It's not Ryu," he replied. "It's this girl I met. She's hurt."
Ken breathed a sigh of relief. So it wasn't Ryu. "Geez, you had me all scared for a second. But, hey, you found a girl. Not bad for a guy your age." Punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"No, it's not like that either," Kenny said, rubbing his arm. "She's hurt. I thought Ryu was going to kill her, but he seemed to stop halfway. I don't know how badly she's hurt but..."
"Whoa, hold on a second!" Ken said, holding his hand up for Kenny to stop. "Did you say Ryu tried to kill this girl?"
"We were attacked before we met her," the boy explained. "I don't know by what, but Ryu wasn't moving so we took him to a hospital. I hadn't eaten yet so she took me to have some McDonald's. But when we got back, Ryu was different. He was acting strange, almost like a bad guy I saw in a movie once. And then …" He started crying. The streams of dried tears on his face came to life again.
"Here, come on," Ken said, feeling a strange kind of paternal instinct kick in. "Where's the girl now?"
"I … I couldn't carry her over here so I left her for awhile so I could find some help."
"I'm gonna go get her," Ken said. He motioned for Kenny to come inside. "You come in, and I want you to stay here. What's her name?"
"Maybe I should come with you. I know what she looks like."
"Tell me her name," Ken repeated, more sternly this time.
"Sakura."
"Where is she?"
"About one block from the hospital, three blocks from McDonald's. I dragged her into an alley and covered her with newspapers to keep her warm."
"Take your shoes off and go take a rest on the sofa." Ken grabbed his coat off the hook on the wall, not even considering how cold it would be outside. "There's water in the fridge. If you want anything else, just call room service. I'll be back soon."
"But-"
The door slammed shut, leaving Kenny in mid protest.
* * *
The bitter wind bit hard at Ken's nose as he jogged through the street. He turned his head in every direction; scanning his surroundings for any alley he could see, blinking occasionally from the hot steam from his mouth that evaporated into the sub-temperature night air.
He'd only been outside for at least five minutes and already his fingers and toes were so cold it hurt. He was tempted to give up, but he knew he couldn't let himself, especially if there was someone out here that needed his help.
He wondered if what Kenny said was true, if Ryu really did try to kill someone. Ryu was always the patient one, out of the pair of best friends. He was always the one telling Ken to control his temper, and would hardly use his skills on another unless provoked. It wasn't hard to understand Ken's confusion at this point, especially after hearing his "calm and patient" friend just tried murdering someone. And not just anyone, but a girl! That was something that disgusted Ken, who had an appreciation for women that was stronger than that of most men.
"The kid has to be wrong," he whispered silently to himself. "Maybe he saw someone else, a Ryu wannabe maybe. I don't know what the hell he saw, but there's there is just no way Ryu could …"
And then he saw it. A pair of bare, young, shapely legs sticking out from a pile of boxes and newspapers just around the corners of a pool of light from a lamp. They had red sneakers. Apparently the Japanese women had an exotic fashion trend – when it came to shoes, anyway.
He dashed over as quickly as his legs would allow as if every second counted. And in this temperature, it probably did. He reached the pile of boxes and week old newspapers, ripping them apart until he reached the bottom of the pile. There, lying as if she were peacefully asleep was the girl Kenny had told him about. She had dark brown hair, about as long as a boy's. She wore a white headband around her head, looking just like a feminine version Ryu. Her head rested on a comfortable looking pillow made out of a condensed newspaper ball. Her body was covered in a thick pile of flyers. The glossy sheets of paper didn't protect well against the cold, but Ken had to smile at Kenny's childish innovations. It was no wonder he was able to survive the streets, especially with his expert thievery. Well, it wasn't as good as he thought. Ken was able to catch the boy after all.
His attention was focused back to the girl lying in front of him. He moved the flyers out of the way with a brushing motion of his arm, surprised to discover her dressed in a sailor style school uniform. All the schoolgirls wore these and she didn't look much different from them, save for the headband and wicked looking wrist guards. And they looked just like the ones that belonged to Ken and Ryu. Who was this girl? The way she was dressed, it was like she wanted to imitate Ryu.
Ken shoved his forearm under her knees, feeling their warmth. He was relieved to find them warm. She was alive. Maybe Kenny's makeshift blanket worked after all. He let her head rest in the palm of his other hand and picked the girl up with the other arm locked around her knees. She had to be taken to a hospital.
* * *
Kenny found himself again, staring blankly at the elaborate carpet design. He had zoned out for the zillionth time tonight. He couldn't sleep, read a book, or even watch T.V. He was too worried about Sakura … or was it Ryu? He didn't know who to worry more for, so his consciousness settled on both, intensifying his suffering. Ken was taking an awfully long time. Kenny tightened his jaw. Maybe he should've gone with Ken to direct him better.
He was beginning to let his guilt get the better of himself when he heard the door click. But to his ears, it was the bells of heaven. His heart instantly leapt into his throat. Did Ken find Sakura? He jumped off the sofa bed and dashed for the door flew open suddenly, nearly hitting him in the head. But Kenny didn't care.
Lying in Ken's arms was Sakura. She looked all right except for a few bruises on her arms. She looked like she was sleeping. "Is she okay?" Kenny asked. "What took you so long?"
"Yeah, she's fine," Ken said, laying her gently down onto Ryu's bed, that was still made. "I tried taking her to the hospital but they shut off the emergency ward. There's a huge fire there and they had to evacuate the building. I'm starting to get worried about Ryu. You said you left him in there before going off with Sakura?"
Kenny shook his head. "No, Ryu attacked her after and we were about a block from the hospital. I don't think he's in there anymore."
Ken nodded, rubbing his chin in thought. "Funny how the day Ryu gets admitted to the hospital, it catches on fire right before he leaves. Could someone be trying to kill him?"
"I think … um …" Kenny searched for an easier way to say it. "I think Ryu made the fire. And the way he was acting after when he attacked Sakura, it could be."
Ken looked at the boy with a demeaning gaze. Kenny felt uneasy, as if Ken was looking down on him and he didn't like it.
"I think you need to get some sleep," the older man said, brushing the boy's comments off. "You're starting to say stupid things."
"But I'm telling the truth!" Kenny insisted. The tone of his voice rose to almost a whine. The look on Ken's face indicated that he didn't appreciate whining.
"Just go to sleep," he ordered. "I've got a big day tomorrow and I don't need you keeping me up all night."
"But what about Ryu?"
"He can take care of himself. He's a champion warrior you know."
"And Sakura?"
"I checked her out. Doesn't look like she's got any broken bones. Her pulse is fine and she's breathing. Now stop worrying and go to sleep." Ken headed for the bed, scratching the back of his head and yawning as he went.
Kenny jumped onto the sofa bed and pulled the thick covers over his body. They definitely felt more comfortable than newspapers. Then, he remembered his own bed in his old house. The feeling was so strong, like he was remembering something. But his thoughts drifted over to Ryu, who was probably wandering the streets of Osaka right now. He probably didn't have any jackets to keep him warm. Kenny tried to shrug the thought off and fall asleep, but his conscience wouldn't let him. It would make him feel a lot better if he actually tried to find Ryu and hand him a jacket. Kenny knew how cold the nights were in winter out in the open air. It was sometimes almost impossible to sleep. He rolled himself off the sofa bed and onto the floor, tiptoeing quietly to the door. He reached up and grabbed Ken's jacket off the hook and opened the door quietly, hoping not to wake the grumpy martial artist up. He closed the door quietly with the jacket in hand, and headed down the elegantly decorated hotel hallway for the elevator.
* * *
Ken opened his eyes for no apparent reason that he could recall. One minute, he was asleep and the next thing he knew, the ceiling of his suite was staring back at him. The first thought that seemed to lock onto his mind was Kenny. Ken remembered how he treated the boy earlier, just before going to bed. He thought perhaps he'd gone to hard on Kenny. After all, the kid was just that – a kid. And sure, his accusations on Ryu sounded absurd, but he wasn't stupid. If he'd learned in just under a week how to survive on the streets, Ken knew he must've had some mental capability in there. What if he was right? What if Ryu really did try to kill that girl?
Ken sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. He'd made up his mind. He was going to apologize to Kenny. Tomorrow, Ryu would most likely be at the tournament arena and they'd be able to talk to him about what really happened. Ken didn't know if the boy was mad at him, but at least he would apologize and have that much to say to make it better.
Ken walked over to the sofa bed where Kenny lay and nearly had a heart attack. The boy was gone. His sheets weren't made. He looked over to the door to see if Kenny's shoes were there but they weren't. And Ken's own jacket was missing from the hook.
"Maybe he did get pissed off at me," Ken thought, biting his lip. "I probably chased him off back into the streets… Ah whatever. He's a street kid anyway. Probably needs that jacket more than I do."
He headed back for his bed. Although it looked warm and inviting, Ken started to stare out the window, remembering how cold it was when he went to look for Sakura. "No," he told himself. "He knows how to survive out there. Who cares about some street kid anyway? There's plenty more where they came from." He repeated the thought in his head, trying to convince himself that he didn't care. But nobody had ever called him 'Uncle Ken' before.
"Damn it," he cursed, feeling those strange paternal instincts kick in again. He moaned in protest against his conscience and dug into the duffel bag sitting in the corner of the room and pulled out a hooded sweater. He took a glance at the girl lying on Ryu's bed, looking peacefully asleep. Ken envied her solitude. His conscience driving him, Ken shoved his feet into a pair of his well worn sneakers and slipped quietly out the door.
* * *
Half an hour of running and searching, yet there was no luck in finding the elusive Ryu. Kenny had searched the hospital, but all he saw was burning wreckage. He checked the grounds of the Osaka Dome, but they were silent. It was very chilly and to free his arms, Kenny decided to put on the jacket. At least it would provide some temporary warmth. The jacket was far too big for the boy, enveloping him in its size, but he didn't care. It was warm and that was all that mattered.
Not knowing where else to search, Kenny collapsed onto the pavement, taking deep, heavy breaths. He watched his breath escape from his in a vertical path towards the sky and smiled.
"That's pretty cool looking," he thought. He glanced at the watch he found in the pocket of Ken's jacket. It was almost two in the morning. Kenny couldn't remember the last time he'd gone this long without
Something flickered in an alley across the street. It caught the boy's attention as he turned his head to see if the light would come again. But now, he could hear some heavy breathing. From such a distance, it was soft, but very noticeable. Kenny got up cautiously, never his taking his eyes off the alley. He walked slowly, crossing the street without looking both ways and crossed the empty road in slow careful steps. His heart was thumping harder and harder. Something screamed at him to stop, but something else told him to check it out. What if it was Ryu?
Kenny approached the alley, keeping his back pressed against the wall around the corner. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be noticed just yet. He stretched his neck out as far as it would go, turning his head so he could peak around the corner and see what was there.
Something grabbed onto his shoulder with a firm grip. "AH!" he screamed, nearly jumping out of his skin. He turned to look at whom it was. Instantly, he knew he wasn't looking into the face of a man. Had glowing red eyes, a mat of ruffled black hair, sunken eyes, and small fangs in his upper row of teeth. Kenny didn't know if it was the white headband flowing in some unfelt wind or if it was his face but he knew – it was Ryu, the same one that tried to murder Sakura. Only now, it was Kenny's turn and this time, he might actually go through with it. He could feel the chi level in Ryu rise considerably and he knew it was preparing to attack. Kenny was at the mercy of a demon.