Author's Replies to Reviews:
Vammy: Well Ken is only human and Kenny's far ahead of him. Will Ken get there in time? Read on and see ;)
Kikoken: Thanks for your compliments! As for you Onimusha storyline, I'm aware that it strays from the original. No big deal, as long as you got an interesting story going on. And from what I've read sofar, you do!
Edgar: Thank you! I was hoping the chapter wasn't too boring actually. I thought it was filled with too much dialogue and not enough action. But I'm trying to get some real action scenes in here in the following chapters. Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Rbl-M1A2Tanker: Yup, Akuma's definitely gonna make another appearance. He's not the main bad guy. Actually, I intended for the main antagonist and protagonist to be Ryu himself, struggling with his two sides - with his friends suffering the consequences, hehe.
Jami: Thanks for your support, Jami! I'll be keeping the chapters flowing as fast as I can, now that school and exams are over - temporarily anyway. On the same note, keep writing "Hero of Metro City" and update more often. It's the only Final Fight fanfic I've seen on FF.net!
XZanayu: We'll see if Ken gets there in time! Even if he does, will it be too late for Kenny? If Ryu hadn't killed Sakura, maybe Kenny will stand a chance. Continue reading to find out!
Oh god, where could that boy be? Ken dashed through the streets surrounding the hotel building desperately searching for Kenny. If anything happened to the kid, it would all be his fault. If he hadn't been so mean, maybe he would've stayed in the hotel. And with a psycho Ryu roaming the streets, if what Kenny had said was right, he was in no position to be out this late, street kid or not.
"No," Ken said, trying to convince himself. "It's not your fault if anything happens. You had no idea Kenny would do this in the middle of the night. And since when did you claim any responsibility for him?" It was logical, but for some reason, a gut feeling told him that he'd never forgive himself if anything happened to the boy or Ryu.
Ken had reached the grounds of the Osaka Dome. It was dead as night, cold as ice. Kenny wasn't here either. Ken swallowed the lump in throat. Frustration had nearly consumed the martial artist, who was almost ready to start crying in protest. But the idea embarrassed him. He was above that at the age of twenty.
A scraping noise behind Ken forced him to turn around in attention, fists up, ready for whatever might try to sneak up on him. He immediately recognized the tails of the headband whipping in the wind as the familiar figure of Ryu approached him. There was a look of remorse in his friend's eyes. Ken didn't know why at first, but then it registered that Ryu was carrying a body over his shoulder. It looked like the body of a boy, much smaller than his. Ken's heart sank. What if it was Kenny?
"Ryu…" Ken said, trailing off, not knowing what else to say. "Where've you been? What happened to Kenny?"
"I don't know," Ryu replied. His voice was blank, emotionless. "I…I did something; something terrible." His tone wavered, revealing regret. "At the hospital … to the girl … and Kenny…"
"Hold on, man!" Ken said, approaching his friend. "Start from the beginning. What's going on here? Is that kid …"
"It's Kenny. When I found him, he was lying on the ground, face down. I don't know if I did something to him or not. Oh god." Ryu ran a hand through his brown hair and rubbed nervously at the back of his neck. "What if I …"
"No," Ken said. "You would never do that. We both know that. Just calm down and we'll get some help. How is the kid?"
"Barely alive."
"Does he need any medical attention?"
"No, his chi level is fine and there are no broken bones."
"Just like the girl," Ken said, rubbing his chin.
"You found her?" Ryu asked.
"Yeah. Kenny said she was unconscious, but it doesn't look like she's hurt other than that."
"Oh."
"He also said it was you who did it." Ken saw how the concept worried Ryu, as the world warrior started looking nervously at the ground, as if trying to hide his face in shame. "Don't worry. I know you didn't do it. We'll find whoever did and-"
"I think I may have," Ryu said, cutting his friend off. "I was with Kenny earlier but then I blacked out and found myself in the hospital. I wanted to get out, but the doctors wouldn't let me. All of a sudden, this wave of anger just … it just washed right over me and before I knew it, I was doing things I would never do."
"Like what?"
"Like … killing people. And the sick part is I remember every detail of it. I don't know why I would do such a thing but I just, I don't know."
"So then the fire at the hospital was caused by you?"
Ryu nodded in response. "I fear the worst, Ken. I think this can be explained."
"Then tell me," Ken said, not knowing what else to say. "I don't understand what could drive you to do this."
"Satsui no Hadou." Ken didn't know why, but the words brought a chill to his spine. "Remember when Gouken sensei told us about it? He said there was a dark side to the Shotokan art. There were skills from the art that had been forbidden and that we'd never be taught them, let alone use them."
"But why do you think it's the Dark Arts responsible for this? You don't know any of the techniques."
"No," Ryu replied. "But somehow, every stroke I performed was lethal. I killed people in less than a second. I swear, Ken, I've never learned these techniques before. I didn't even know I had this kind of potential in me."
"You said you blacked out before waking up in the hospital, right?" Ken asked, trying to piece the puzzle together. "Kenny told me you were attacked while walking down the street. But he doesn't know what it was that did it. And when he found you, you were out cold so he took you to the hospital with Sakura."
"So that's the girl's name?"
"You remember attacking her?"
"Yeah." The warrior nodded grimly. "I remember the look of fear on her face. I remember almost dealing the blows but then, I stopped. It was as if my intentions had stopped my body from doing what I didn't want it to do. And for Kenny, I think the same thing happened. I guess I was just so terrified by what I was doing, I just had to stop. Oh god, I don't know anymore. All I know is the evil energy inside me has subsided. I don't know for how long, but it's still in there. I can feel it."
"Shit, Kenny was right," Ken said, realizing the truth. And the boy probably left the suite to go look for Ryu, maybe to prove his point. But no, he wasn't that stupid!
"And you didn't believe him?"
"No. I just didn't think you could do what he was saying."
"I don't blame you, Ken. I didn't even think I could do it myself. Not that I'm trying to shift any of the blame, but I honestly believe it's the Satsui no Hadou. Before this, I didn't have any reason to kill anyone. I don't use my skills unnecessarily, let alone using skills I don't know against innocent people. And the anger and corruption I felt … it wasn't familiar to me at all." Ryu shook his head. "That's the only answer I can think of right now. But I guess we'll have to see if it really is the Satsui no Hadou, if it comes out later. And I'm sure it will. Just promise me, Ken. If it surfaces again, and it really is the Satsui no Hadou, I want you to …" Ryu trailed off.
"Want me to what?" Ken asked.
"Kill me."
The words were like a bullet, shooting straight into his heart. Did Ryu just tell Ken to kill him? Ken wasn't sure if he was hearing right. "Kill you?" Ryu looked at Ken with an unwavering gaze. Ken knew what that meant. His friend was serious. But he wouldn't hear it. "Don't be ridiculous," he said. "There's no way I'm doing that."
Ryu grasped Ken's wrist tightly, almost in desperation. "You have to," he said. "Ken, I'm being dead serious. I don't know how much damage I've done already, but I know that I don't want anymore of it. If I'm too weak to control whatever is inside me, I want you to kill me."
* * *
"Guy! Where do you think you're going?" Guy was heading for the door of his suite, grabbing the jacket off the wall in one swift motion as he moved quickly. He didn't respond to Maki, running at his heels, demanding incessantly like a dog for a response. "If you think I'm gonna let you leave without an answer, you're crazy!" He continued to ignore the girl.
Having had enough, Maki seized his arm with a surprisingly iron grip and refused to let go. "Let me go," he said calmly, controlling the volume in his voice.
"Not until you tell me where you're going," Maki replied.
"You told me earlier that you can sense that evil energy," Guy said. "Well if you were as developed of a Bushin fighter as you say you are, then you would have sensed it at least three more times in the last three hours. Apparently, you haven't. And that proves that it's too dangerous for you to follow me."
"Follow you where?"
"I'm going to find out what's going on. I just sensed it again and I'm worried."
Maki shook her head. "I don't care whether you think I should follow you or not. I came all the way from Metro City to fight alongside you. I'm not just going to sit by and watch you tackle this yourself."
"No, it's too dangerous."
"For God's sake, I'm not a defenseless weakling. In case you didn't notice, when the Mad Gear gang kidnapped your girlfriend, I was the one who helped fight to save her while you were too occupied in Japan with your training."
"Don't say that," Guy said, shaking his head, "you know I love your sister. She's the only girl to ever win my heart."
"I'm not blaming you," Maki said, regretting her harshness. "I just want you to know that I am a fighter. I might not be as good as you, but I can handle myself in a fight and I'm here to help you as a friend. Don't throw that away, Guy, please."
Guy rolled his eyes, feeling his emotions give in to the girl. "Fine, then why don't you wake Cody up and tell him to come too?" There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice that Maki didn't like.
"No, he's sleeping. Let's just go check this out and we'll be back before he wakes up."
* * *
Ken grunted with the amount of strain Kenny's weight over his shoulder. The boy was still unconscious and it was hard to tell when he'd wake up. Ryu walked alongside Ken, with his head hanging down in shame. His brown bangs fell over his eyes, covering any emotion they may have revealed. Ken spirits weren't too high either. He was still struggling with the shock he experienced when Ryu told Ken to kill him. Ken didn't know how he could ever bring himself to kill his friend, although he promised Ryu earlier that he would. He kept his fingers crossed, hoping he'd never be brought to that point.
"Ken," Ryu began. But when Ken gave him his attention, Ryu shrugged it off, claiming it was nothing. He knew there was a lot Ryu wanted to say, but he didn't know how. The two of them continued back towards the hotel, neither one saying anything. The mood was solemn, to the point where the biting cold air wasn't a factor anymore. The emotional stress was far greater.
"Stop right there," an authoritative voice said from behind them.
The pair of them turned around to face two people. The first was a taller man, muscular in build but smaller when compared to Ryu. He had dark hair and a tanned complexion. Ken recognized the bright colored pants being the uniform of some kind of ninja based martial art. The material looked like, allowing for maximum movement. It was impossible to tell for sure if it was a ninja uniform for sure from the shirt, because the mysterious man wore a heavy coat.
The second was a young, pretty girl, who looked slightly younger than Ken. He would've guessed about eighteen or nineteen. She had blonde hair tied into a pony tail with a red hair tie at the back of her head. She wore a long dress coat that dropped to her knees and firm fitting jeans under that. The curves of her long, shapely legs showed from underneath. Ken's mouth began to water as soon as he laid eyes on her, but then, he remembered Eliza…
"Who are you?" the girl asked authoritatively, contrasting her petite size.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing," Ken replied.
"Where do you think you're taking that boy?" Guy asked, nodding his head at Kenny's general direction.
"He's hurt," Ryu replied in an aggressive tone, suggesting these two strangers would be better off minding their own business. "We're helping him."
"I'm surprised you'd be helping someone, especially with that kind of energy coursing through your veins," the man said. Although what he was saying sounded harsh, the man spoke calmly, almost sympathetically. "Something isn't right with you, Ryu."
"Hey, lay off!" Ken ordered, stepping in front of Ryu. "Who do you guys think you are? And how do you know Ryu's name?"
"How could I not know the name of the world warrior champion, Ryu? Especially when one participates in the Street Fighter tournament, you're bound to hear the name once in awhile."
Ken raised an eyebrow. He's from the Street Fighter tournament. And then he knew why this man seemed so familiar. He participated in the first Alpha tournament. "Guy," he said with a voice of recognition. "I knew I recognized your Bushin gi from somewhere."
"Guy?" Ryu asked in surprise. "You're the well known hero of Metro City from the Alpha Tournaments."
The man smiled. "Yes," he said. "I'm glad we remember each other." He motioned over to the girl standing beside him. "This is Maki, my junior in the Bushin arts." The girl made a face at him, as if she didn't appreciate the title. "I'm sorry, but I have no time for small talk. Since arriving here, I've sensed a strong, evil presence. Maki has been sensing it too and we're out here now to find out what it is."
Ken looked at Ryu, who didn't return the eye contact. They both knew what Guy was talking about, and judging from Guy's tone, so did he.
"I sense it inside you, Ryu," he said, folding his arms. "And when the both of you're carrying an unconscious child, it makes me wonder what you're up to."
Ken put his hand up to ward off the oncoming aggressiveness to Guy's words. "It's not what it looks like, we're not bad guys," he said. "We know about the Satsui no Hadou too." The Maki and Guy made eye contact. She was right about what they'd discussed earlier and neither of them looked comfortable about it. It was the Satsui no Hadou. Ken continued. "But we're not gonna let that affect Ryu. Guy, you've met Ryu before. We all know he's not evil."
"No," Guy said, "but I'm not sure if he's strong enough to control it. He may be a champion street fighter, but again, he's also a mortal. And the Satsui no Hadou…"
"It's a lot more than a mere mortal can handle," Maki said, continuing where Guy left off. "He can be the strongest man on earth for all we know, but then again, that isn't saying much when it comes to such demonic powers."
"How the hell would you know?" Ken asked her. "You're a disciple of the Bushin arts. You'd know nothing of the Shotokan arts."
"I've done my homework," Maki replied sharply. "If you are to be a true warrior, you must understand those who fight you, no matter the style of fighting."
Ryu smirked at Ken. He knew what Ryu was trying to tell him; that Ken had been outsmarted by a girl younger than him. "The point is Ryu can control the Satsui no Hadou!" Ken retorted.
"Ken, just forget about it," Ryu said. "Let these two think what they want to." Ryu turned his attention to them. "What is it the both of you want from us?"
"We want to know what you're doing with that kid," Maki said. Guy frowned at her, apparently not appreciative of her smart mouth in contrast to his conservative demeanor.
"Like I said," Ken started, sounding frustrated, "we're getting help for him."
"Never mind her," Guy said. "I just want to make sure that everything is okay. And I'm hoping that Ryu will be able to control the Satsui no Hadou. If he can't, we have no choice but to step into the picture."
"You said yourself that no mere mortal can handle it," Ken said.
"No mortal can handle being under its control," Maki replied. "But anyone skillful enough will be able to stop whoever it controls. Killing the physical host of the Satsui no Hadou will also put a stop to its evil power, although that too will be a difficult task."
"Whatever," Ken said, brushing the girl off. "Ryu over here will be able to handle it."
"We'll see about that," a deep, growling voice said.
The four of them looked towards where the evil sounding voice came from, surprised to see a dark figure approach them from several meters away. It was hard to see any of its features except for the dark, red glowing eyes. As it stepped into a pool of light from a street lamp, his facial features lit up. His hair was a deep scarlet red, waving upwards on his head like ferocious flames. His nose was flat and under it, his lips curled into a demonic grin with fangs protruding from his top teeth. Around his neck, he wore a giant necklace of beads, each one the side of a grapefruit.
Ken swore he'd seen this figure before, a long time ago. It had been standing over a dead body with blood dripping from his hands and teeth. It was ... this was the demon that had killed Ken and Ryu's master all those years ago. Ken remembered running through the dark forest after he'd woken up from a deep sleep suddenly, only to find Gouken sensei and Ryu gone from the dojo. He remembered hearing a blood curdling scream from somewhere in the forest. And when he'd gotten to where the sound emanated from, he found Ryu staring in complete shock, silenced by something not yet visible to Ken. Sure enough, it was Gouken sensei, lying lifelessly on the ground with a pool of blood beneath him. And standing over his corpse in victory, was the demon Akuma.
Akuma was the younger brother of Gouken sensei. Back when he was human, he had been called Gouki but it was no surprise that he went by the title of Akuma - meaning demon. And he was a demon who had absorbed and even embraced the Satsui no Hadou. Whatever Guy had been saying about any mortal not being able to control the power was right. Akuma had been human but after inheriting the power, he turned into this demon that stood before them now. And immediately, Ken knew. He was the one who had put the Satsui no Hadou in Ryu. Ken had pronounced his absolute hatred from Akuma for killing their sensei, and he hated him even more now for doing this to Ryu.
"Ryu will surrender to the power of the Satsui no Hadou," Akuma said in a deep, inhuman voice. "He is the successor to its power. It is something he should be proud of."
"Shut up!" Ken spat. "I'll kill you before you can pass that sick power to anyone else!" Guy grabbed Ken by the upper arm, holding him back from lunging head first into battle with this demon. Maki took hold of Kenny's unconscious body before Ken could accidentally hurt him.
"Don't do this, Ken," Guy said. "The four of us are in no shape to face him right now."
"You are too impulsive to stand a chance against the likes of me," Akuma replied. "If you want a fight, then the four of you have something coming."
Akuma reeled back and stomped his foot into a ground, cracking the cement. "Shoshi!" he growled. A flaming red aura rose from his body. He brought his palms in front of his body with blinding speed and shot an energy beam at the group. Ken and Ryu dove out of the way, rolling as they landed to soften the impact. Guy jumped up and bounced off a brick wall, landed silently on his feet. Maki had tripped. With her arms wrapped around Kenny's small body, she found it hard to maneuver herself with his added weight. She dropped to the ground, hitting her shoulder as she went but keeping Kenny safe in her arms at the same time.
"The four of you will now suffer the wrath of the Satsui no Hadou," Akuma declared. "MESSATSU!!"