The Burning Blossom
On that same vacation with Darrell we went to visit Ken in America. It had been a while since we both seen him. It was also about a month and a half after Darrell's defeat at the hands of Fei-Long. Because of his tendency to recover quicker than any doctor's diagnosis he was now sparring with me on a regular basis like we normally do. To anyone else it would be hard to believe that this was the same fighter who was howling in pain in Hong Kong; that this was the same teenager who had been cooled off several degrees by a movie star/street fighter. Personally, that fight reminded me that no matter how good Darrell was he still was a street fighter and could still lose. I kept that in mind as I stretched inside Ken's private gym, getting ready to have a real street fight with one of my closest friends.
Now for those wondering, there is a difference between sparring and street fighting. Sparring is... hmm... how do I explain...? Oh! It's when you and your opponent sorta train together and test yourselves to see if you're up to speed and where you can improve. There is nothing really serious in it and it has a bit of a 'no hard feelings' thing at the end. A street fight, on the other hand, is when you fight for real. It's when you really have to prove yourself to your opponent by beating them at their own game. You can't take it lightly, because if you go then you're going to get hurt. You can get hurt even if you win. Pain comes with the territory. I learned that the hard way when I first started street fighting... and it seemed as if I had to re-teach myself all that when this fight ended.
That day it was raining, and by raining I mean pouring. It was a rainstorm that wouldn't stop for a LONG while, so as I warmed up in Ken's gym I found myself looking outside through the huge window that was at the other side of the room. It reminded me of Haru Ichiban (no, not the name of my super attack, but rather the actual meaning; the first storm of spring). It seemed to be just like that in Japan; coming down hard... Couldn't go outside to play... The rain clouds would always make it seem like it was going to be the end of the day. I sighed. What I wouldn't do for some sunlight...
I turned my head to my boyfriend, who was busy talking to Ken's student, Sean, just before they were going to fight. My mind then wondered how Darrell was feeling. This was his first match in over a month so he must be feeling a bit rusty but happy to be back in action. If I was him I would have went nuts having to not do any extensive movements on my good arm for a month an a half...
"Hey, Sakura..."
My mind instantly woke up from daydreaming and noticed that the voice came from behind me. In a blur I turned around and came face to face with Ken, who had left to go change into his red gi. He was smirking... and I felt my cheeks go red. Why was that? Before he came in I was using the wall in front of the entrance of the gym to help me stretch my legs and to make sure I was doing it right I had to pull my skirt up. Yeah, that's right... I had on my school fuku for this fight. Whenever I was in a real street fight I'd wear it since I felt I could get more maneuverability out of it than a formal fighting uniform. It had its advantages... and disadvantages...
"Was that a new exercise you made up?" the Pan American Champion asked me in a sly voice, making my blush grow.
"Why would you want to know, hentai?" I shot back in an embarrassed voice. "Better yet, how long were you there?"
Ken's eyes shifted towards Darrell, who was busy in his fight with Sean, then back to me.
"Well... enough to tell the name brand of your panties, how many times it's been washed, and a few other details that I won't tell in fear of getting slapped."
My eyes narrowed and my blush grew even more at that comment. "Hentai..."
"Ok, ok..." he defended himself, putting his hands up as if to push me away. "Don't get so worked up by that. It's not my fault that you chose to wear a skirt to a fight. You can only expect something like that to happen."
In response I rolled my eyes. "What would Eliza think, huh?" I asked. Ken just shrugged.
"Hmm... what would Darrell think when he finds out that you like other people to see your ass like that...?"
I immediately sweatdropped. I already knew the answer to that... It's a secret... Don't tell anyone... Darrell's a hentai... so he really doesn't have a problem with me doing that... As long as it's nothing else. That I can live with... but I made him promise that every once and a while he'd wear some... rather good-looking clothes himself. Hey, a girl can be a hentai, too...
"Whatever, Ken," I said as I stretched my arms over my head. "So, are you ready to lose?"
Ken's smirk, which never left his face, turned into a smile. "That's very funny, girl." He then closed the gym door behind him and as he turned around, taunted me by pointing at me... then provoking me to come at him. "Come on."
It was time to start this off. Giving Ken a look of determination I got my footing on the floor...
"OK! Here... I... COME!!!"
I opened up things by side-stepping to my left (since the wall was right to my right), and dashed forward right at Ken with my fist at my side.
"SHOUOKEN!!"
He couldn't dodge since he was in the corner of the room so I at least expected him to block my special move. Instead he ducked down a bit and jumped over me. At that time I went up to finish my Shouoken, hoping to pluck him out of the air. I missed him just by a thread and as I spun around in the air I saw that Ken had already landed. Damn. He had a clear shot at my back...
"Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku!!"
I heard him call out his hurricane kick and tried to duck as I landed. Ken was too fast for that; he hit me just as my sneakers touched the ground. He kicked my in the back of my head 4 times and I'll admit that they packed a wallop. They weren't as powerful as Ryu's, but the last kick made up for it. Ken had alternated his Tatsumaki and ended it with a mid-air axe-kick that sent me head-first into the door of the gym, causing a loud thud to ring through the air. Pain racked through my forehead and I let out a yell, stumbling away from both the door and Ken as he came down.
I immediately felt my forehead to see if I had a bruise or something of the like, so I didn't notice that Ken had quickly gotten close to me... until I removed my hand and saw him face-to-face.
I then did something that I knew I wasn't supposed to; I hesitated, letting out a gasp while taking a step back. I was too shocked to put up a defense and as a result my stomach (which due to my shirt being a bit short and exposing that area) felt the full force of Ken's knee. A groan escaped my vocal chords as I winced from the pain but Ken wasn't done assaulting my belly...
"SHORYUKEN!"
I met his dragon punch right in that same spot and I instantly felt the air get knocked out of me. Luckily his fist wasn't on fire but the blow still hurt. I felt myself go all the way across the room and landed next to the center, instantly rolling over to my knees and holding my stomach in pain.
(Oh, man...) I thought as I struggled to breathe right. I almost felt myself loose my lunch on that. I wasn't hit like that in a long while...
"Sakura... I might not be able to see London or France, but I can sure see your underpants..."
My eyes widened instantly. I slowly looked over my shoulder and saw Ken looking right up my skirt... That did it.
"STOP THAT, YOU HENTAI!!!"
That had to be the fastest time that I recovered from a stun and pulled a Midare Zakura on someone in my life... and that was the first time I touched Ken during our fight. I knew as I finished it with my Shouoken that he got the message: don't look under my skirt during a fight...
It took Ken a moment or two to realize what had happened and a bit longer to get up and face me. I was blushing madly but with a very ticked off look on my face. Now that I look back at it I must have looked rather ridiculous...
"Ok..." he muttered out loud, "I think playtime's over."
"Yeah..." I panted, just now noticing that I was breathing rather hard, so I stopped and spoke again. "Yeah, I think so."
Ken didn't reply in response, but he came at me by turning around and giving me a rather strong sidekick. I blocked it and stayed defensive a bit, letting Ken attack me with a few random kicks at my body. When he let up I tried my hand at an attack by giving my own kick to his body. He ducked it and kicked at my supporting leg, making me slip and unintentionally do a split.
I had no time to react to that. Ken then came with a fast roundhouse kick that could have taken my head off if I didn't lower it towards the floor and use my leg that was stopped in its previous attack to sweep Ken while he was vulnerable. Good. At least I got an advantage.
As I sprung up to my feet I kept my eyes on Ken. I wasn't going to let him catch me off-guard this time. As a matter of fact I was going to get him as soon as he got up. I turned my body around and lifted a leg... then brought it down to hit Ken while he was down. Unfortunately for me he was nowhere near it. He had rolled backwards and waited for my Flower Kick to miss, then as I spun around...
"HAH!"
Boom. His fist slammed into the side of my head, making me reel sideways from the force...
"Hadouken!"
...and fall to his follow-up energy attack. It caught me in the side at next to point-blank range and like all Hadoukens... which hurt more when at close range... this one was pretty painful indeed. I cried out as I tripped over my sneakers and met the floor. That was so rookie-like... Never turn your back to Ken Masters...
I kept my left arm resting on the area that screamed in pain from Ken's Hadouken as I slowly got up, letting out a growl. Ken was waiting for me. I could see it in his eyes when I made eye-contact with him... and in response I frowned; not to him, but to myself. I should be better than this...
"Hmm... I can see it in your eyes..." he said to me. "You feel the same way I'm feeling towards your performance... So... what are you going to do about it?"
I brushed my brown hair out from over my face, which fell over as in the moment... and when I finished, I clenched my fist... gave him a glare... and swung...
"What the?!"
Ken barely caught my fist before I caught him in the stomach. I looked up into his face to see him wide-eyed... and smirked. I got him, now...
"HAH!"
I used my left hand, which was free, and swung again. This one was also blocked... Ken now had me locked within his grasp... or so he thought. I took the time to use my right knee and bash it right into his stomach, making him loose him grasp on my and fall back, stunned. I knew that one hurt... and I wasn't done.
"SHUNPUKYAKU!"
I then jumped forward and did my version of the Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku, the first kick missing but the second and third catching Ken in the head. He hit the ground on his side, this time a bit slow to get up. I then got ready for his counter-attack, charging up my energy into my hands as I leaned back...
"Shinku..."
It now got to a solid form... and as the aura around it got bigger, I could swear that I saw lightning flash through the room...
"HADOUKEN!!!"
...and I fired. There was no way Ken was going to move away from that. I kept my eyes on my Hadouken as it went forward... and started to shrink. Man I hated when my Hadoukens fizzle out like that... Luckily it didn't shrink too much when it reached Ken, and this is when I kept my eyes peeled. Moments seem to pass by rather slowly...
"Come on... Come on..." I chanted under my breath. Now I grew aware of the situation. Ken must be blocking my Hadouken for it to not be either moving forward or exploding. I pouted slightly and then in a moment it did finally blow up. It didn't take long for me to find out that I was right. Ken blocked in the nick of time. I took a deep breath.
(There's got to be something that I can do that can get him good...)
Ken then looked at me... and I knew that he saw that I was totally serious about this fight. I wasn't going to make any more mistakes like I did earlier... His eyebrows furred up.
"Am I giving you a hard time yet?" I asked while putting my hands on my hips. Ken only smirked.
"Maybe... Can you keep it up?"
Can I keep it up? Of course I could. I had the advantage here. I'm going to win this fight. I clenched my fists and took Ken up on his challenge. I was going to show him that I could do more than keep it up. I was going to finish it.
"Get ready!!!" I warned while dashing in towards Ken, keeping my momentum going with a flurry of attacks of all types. Somehow Ken managed to block them all. I paused for a bit to see if he'd counter-attack, but he didn't, so I flowed in again with another string of attacks. Once again he blocked them all, even those that went low. As I kept it up Ken said something to me...
"Hey... Hey...! Don't you get it yet, Sakura?"
"What's... there to get...?" I quickly responded, not noticing that I was growing out of breath. My only focus was to just get one hit in... then I'd get him.
"You don't realize why I'm not attacking you?"
Once again, due to my single-mindedness I didn't catch the reasoning on what he was trying to do. I then pushed him back with my shoulder, something that actually caught him off-guard, and took my chance. I managed to get him with a few hard blows to his stomach and sides... then to his head... and prepared to give him a finishing roundhouse kick.
"HIIYA!!!"
I let loose all I could into that leg and aimed it right at his shin... It connected... but my leg wouldn't move once it hit Ken. I gasped, now finding myself hopping on my one leg and found out that Ken caught my bare leg in mid-performance.
"What the heck?!" I gasped in marvel. I didn't understand how he did that. I had him reeling...
"Found out yet, Sakura?" Ken asked me again. This time it registered. The whole time Ken was holding back, letting me tire myself out to a point where he could really let loose. He took a page out of Ryu's book with that...
I was shocked. So shocked that I couldn't move or even say anything. At this moment Ken could do whatever he wished against me and I couldn't do much about it. When I was attacking I didn't feel tired, but now that I stopped I realized what I did...
I weakened my own self.
I found myself breathless, just staring at Ken as he held my red sneaker between his side and arm. There was only one thing that I could think of at the moment... and I said it out loud...
"Ken...?" I asked in a tiny voice.
"What is it?" he asked, his eyes still horribly hiding my fate. I gulped... finding myself sweating a lot... and continued.
"What... are you going to do now...?"
...and that's when I realize what he was going to do. He gave me a smirk... and said in a tone so low I could barely hear it... but still send a chill through me.
"Sakura... I'm going to win. Get ready..."
As soon as that sentence ended he let go of my sneaker and I quickly scrambled to put up a defense. First he threw a punch to my stomach. I was lucky enough to block. Next was a powerful roundhouse kick. I let out a gasp as I guarded that, realizing that my arms were already giving out on me.I think Ken felt it, too. I barely saw him duck down and i followed suit, blocking a strong kick that was aimed at my legs...
"Aaah!"
...and instantly felt a sharp jolt of pain run through my arms. That kick was the turning point of the fight. Ken's attack temporarily made my arms give out, breaking my guard and leaving them paralized to my sides. Try as I might, I couldn't move them... I couldn't move at all. The paralysis went through my entire body. I was in trouble...
"Moratta!"
Make that BIG trouble...
"Shippu..."
A crushing kick found it's way to my shin... then another fast one to my ribs immediately after that. My mouth was about to let out a scream but another hard kick to my other side of my body shut me up. I couldn't find a way to excape Ken's devistating kicks as another one, an overhead axe kick, nailed me in the stomach, making me drop my head. I felt hot pain again in that area as it caved in and I instantly wrapped both my arms around my swelling stomach. My eyes were closed from the pain that I was enduring... and when I opened them up I was gretted with the sight of Ken's leg once again.
"JINRAI KYAKU!!!"
Ken finally ended his super attack with a Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku that took both of us into the air. It was a full 12-hit powerhouse... It seemed like forever until my back slammed onto the floor. I groaned as my sides, chest, and especially my stomach shot out signals of pain that made my whole body ache. As I lay there I stared at the ceiling... It had gotten darker... Was it because the storm outside was getting worse... or was it because I was starting to pass out from the pain...? I didn't want to find out.
Slowly I forced myself to roll to my belly (this also hurt in more ways than one) and slowly planted my hands and knees onto the floor. i took a few moments to gather some more of my strength and pushed off the ground into a standing position, holding my side and stomach with my left arm. At the moment I didn't have a plan. The only thing that ran through my mind was to keep going... I wasn't going to give up.
Five seconds later I turned aronund to face Ken, who was stretching his torso and legs. He immediately looked at me and grew a little wide-eyed.
"You're still up?" he asked in mild surprise, his expression then turning into a smirk. "Impressive. I could have swore that you'd be down for good after that."
For some odd reason I found the strength to laugh a bit... Maybe it was a hysterical one...
"Shows... how much... you know..." I panted, wincing in pain every time a word came out of my mouth. Then Ken put a hand on his side and asked the a ver important question.
"Let me guess... You intend to keep trying battered up like that?"
If I knew what was going to happen next then I would have quit right then and there but I didn't. I couldn't predict the future. I let Ken know I was ready for him by getting back into my fighting stance. Ken gave a quick smug look and then dashed at me. He came with a few jabs that i backed away from. I was about to counter but my body reacted too slow, making me abandon that tactic and block an elbow aimed at my chest. I then reminded myself that I couldn't block too much or I'd get guard crushed again, so I saw Ken's next attack coming and pushed my body into that direction to take another swift kick to my right rib. Luckily my little plan worked. It threw Ken off his momentum and made him vulnerable for a second. That's the break I needed.
"Shouoken!"
I used my left fist while spinning to hit Ken into the air with the shortened version of my uppercut special. Ken was hit back a bit but recovered, going defensive as I ducked in. I used my left arm to swing at him... but Ken soon found out that it was a fake. I grabbed hold to his neck and arms, swung my body around to his back, and squeezed like my life depended on it. It was my Sakura Jime throw, and I made each of those 9 squeezes last long. I took a moment to gather myself and raised my right elbow to finish the job, but suddenly I found Ken's arm shoot out and grab it as soon as I was about to make it crash onto his skull. I let out a surprised yelp and then found myself being thrown over his shoulder and to the floor.
I hated being on the floor. It made me aware of how damaged my body was... but I didn't find myself there for long. I saw Ken's foot come down to add an exclaimation point to his counter and I quickly rolled forward and hopped in that same direction to my feet. However Ken still had the speed advantage. I saw him as soon as I spun around and barely blocked a fierce fist aimed at my head. I knew then and there he was going to end the fight between us.
Ken kept coming at me and all I could do at the moment was try to hold on. I now realized that he was conserving his energy for this moment. It was a dirty tactic... but this was a street fight. I should have paid attention to his tactics, but nooooooooo...
Then it happened. I thought he was going to hit me with a standing sweep kick and I blocked low accordingly. Bad move. It was one of his fakes. It wound up going up high above me... and I looked up. There was no way I was going to block that...
"OH, NO!"
I remember yelling that out specifically. Ken's heel came down fast, and I FAST. As soon as I tried to back away it slammed into the top of my skull with tremendous force. My vision blurred instantly as I felt my head get shoved in-between my legs. My arms fell limply to my sides as I slowly reeled back.
Ken got me completely off guard and I didn't have the energy to raise my head up. All I could to was look at the fuzzy floor below me and listen to the moans that escaped my vocal chords. A few moments passed... and I suddenly noticed that my sneakers weren't planted on the floor. I was slowly slipping... My right leg somehow managed to find its way backwards to support my weak body from meeting the floor, probably sensing the urgency that the situation was giving. I let out another moan, blinking rapidly to try to snap out of my dizziness, at found some success. My eyes seemed to have cleared up a bit as I could see the laces on my sneakers a bit more clearly than before. However I didn't get to get much more progress.
"Sakura?"
"...h... h... uh...?"
"You see what I mean? Do you realize what happened?"
I took a moment to quickly reflect on my fight and then raised my eyes from my sneakers to the bottom of Ken's red gi pants.
"Y...yes..." I responded weakly.
"I knew you'd find out sooner or later... I guess it's clear that I've won this fight, right, Sakura?"
That's what I hated to hear. He already knew it personally. He's asking if I know that there's nothing that I could do to come back and win. I let out a sigh and blinked one final time, letting my eyes close for this one. I knew when I was beat.
"Yes, Ken... You win..."
And then I found out that I couldn't open my eyes. They were just so heavy... The same heavy feeling seemed to sweep to my head... then my shoulders... then my arms. . . then my legs just seemed to evaporate from under me. I felt myself lean forward... forward into darkness... and then stop somewhere in-between where I stood and the abyss. What happened?
"Hmm... You look so cute when you're unconscious..."
I then counted. I don't know my mind managed to program that but it did... Very slowly...
(1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7. . . 8. . . 9. . . 10. . . 11. . . .)
----
"Sakuuuuuuuura..."
I suddenly heard a soft voice. It was dark... Pitch black... and then I noticed that I had my eyes closed. I also noticed that I felt something damp on my forehead and that I was on my back. Without looking I directed a hand to go up and grab that wet thing and take it off. It felt like a cloth or something like that.
"Sakuuuuuuuuuuuuuuura..."
Slowly I opened my eyes. A bright light was the first thing that I noticed. As the seconds passed I notice that something was blocking the light. I blinked a bit, gradually focusing my eyes on the obstruction... and found it to be a body. A few more seconds... and I knew who it was.
"D... Darrell..."
He nodded slightly and then put something in my eyes.
"How many fingers do you see?"
"Uh... um... 12?"
A pause, then...
"Meh... Close enough."
A hand then reached out from the air and I grabbed it, using a combination of that and my own will to get up to my feet. Darrell was right there to welcome me with a loving hug and kiss. It was then when I noticed that over his shoulder were Ken and a beaten up Sean, both still in their fighting gear and giving me a warm smile.
"You ok?" Ken asked me. I gave a soft nod to respond.
"That's good. Hey, I hope you've learned well from our battle."
I just stared at him for a while, trying to collect my thoughts... and twisted my mouth.
"Who... do you think you are? Ryu?"
Ken only laughed. "Well, no, but I might as well fill in for him. I beat you like he would have and trust me, I can't stand doing that. I'd rather be fighting head to head, but I guess you got the message."
"Yeah... I sure did..."
I fell quiet for a second. I did feel a bit disappointed about not winning the fight... but I knew that if I could fix what caused me to lose...
"Hey, Ken..."
"Yeah, Sakura?"
"Listen... I hope you don't let this win go to your head. I'm gonna win the next time we fight."
Ken replied with a wink and a thumbs up.
"At least you're determined! I like that in a woman! You just keep it up and I'll be happy to take you on again!"
I smiled. "I thought so..."
"So... why don't we get you guys something to eat... and a certain someone some first aid?"
Immediately Darrell covered his mouth and started to laugh... I looked over to Sean... and found that he twisted his face.
"Darrell...?" I called.
"Yes, Sakura?" he answered through suppressed laughs.
"You mind telling me why you're laughing?" I said while the four of us walked out of the gym.
"Well... let's keep it like this... Sean might have gotten me at the start, but he couldn't take me once I warmed up..."
I then started laughing myself... I guess it was because it was funny to think that... Either that or Ken knocked a screw loose in my head... All I knew was that I was going to be sore tomorrow morning....
On that same vacation with Darrell we went to visit Ken in America. It had been a while since we both seen him. It was also about a month and a half after Darrell's defeat at the hands of Fei-Long. Because of his tendency to recover quicker than any doctor's diagnosis he was now sparring with me on a regular basis like we normally do. To anyone else it would be hard to believe that this was the same fighter who was howling in pain in Hong Kong; that this was the same teenager who had been cooled off several degrees by a movie star/street fighter. Personally, that fight reminded me that no matter how good Darrell was he still was a street fighter and could still lose. I kept that in mind as I stretched inside Ken's private gym, getting ready to have a real street fight with one of my closest friends.
Now for those wondering, there is a difference between sparring and street fighting. Sparring is... hmm... how do I explain...? Oh! It's when you and your opponent sorta train together and test yourselves to see if you're up to speed and where you can improve. There is nothing really serious in it and it has a bit of a 'no hard feelings' thing at the end. A street fight, on the other hand, is when you fight for real. It's when you really have to prove yourself to your opponent by beating them at their own game. You can't take it lightly, because if you go then you're going to get hurt. You can get hurt even if you win. Pain comes with the territory. I learned that the hard way when I first started street fighting... and it seemed as if I had to re-teach myself all that when this fight ended.
That day it was raining, and by raining I mean pouring. It was a rainstorm that wouldn't stop for a LONG while, so as I warmed up in Ken's gym I found myself looking outside through the huge window that was at the other side of the room. It reminded me of Haru Ichiban (no, not the name of my super attack, but rather the actual meaning; the first storm of spring). It seemed to be just like that in Japan; coming down hard... Couldn't go outside to play... The rain clouds would always make it seem like it was going to be the end of the day. I sighed. What I wouldn't do for some sunlight...
I turned my head to my boyfriend, who was busy talking to Ken's student, Sean, just before they were going to fight. My mind then wondered how Darrell was feeling. This was his first match in over a month so he must be feeling a bit rusty but happy to be back in action. If I was him I would have went nuts having to not do any extensive movements on my good arm for a month an a half...
"Hey, Sakura..."
My mind instantly woke up from daydreaming and noticed that the voice came from behind me. In a blur I turned around and came face to face with Ken, who had left to go change into his red gi. He was smirking... and I felt my cheeks go red. Why was that? Before he came in I was using the wall in front of the entrance of the gym to help me stretch my legs and to make sure I was doing it right I had to pull my skirt up. Yeah, that's right... I had on my school fuku for this fight. Whenever I was in a real street fight I'd wear it since I felt I could get more maneuverability out of it than a formal fighting uniform. It had its advantages... and disadvantages...
"Was that a new exercise you made up?" the Pan American Champion asked me in a sly voice, making my blush grow.
"Why would you want to know, hentai?" I shot back in an embarrassed voice. "Better yet, how long were you there?"
Ken's eyes shifted towards Darrell, who was busy in his fight with Sean, then back to me.
"Well... enough to tell the name brand of your panties, how many times it's been washed, and a few other details that I won't tell in fear of getting slapped."
My eyes narrowed and my blush grew even more at that comment. "Hentai..."
"Ok, ok..." he defended himself, putting his hands up as if to push me away. "Don't get so worked up by that. It's not my fault that you chose to wear a skirt to a fight. You can only expect something like that to happen."
In response I rolled my eyes. "What would Eliza think, huh?" I asked. Ken just shrugged.
"Hmm... what would Darrell think when he finds out that you like other people to see your ass like that...?"
I immediately sweatdropped. I already knew the answer to that... It's a secret... Don't tell anyone... Darrell's a hentai... so he really doesn't have a problem with me doing that... As long as it's nothing else. That I can live with... but I made him promise that every once and a while he'd wear some... rather good-looking clothes himself. Hey, a girl can be a hentai, too...
"Whatever, Ken," I said as I stretched my arms over my head. "So, are you ready to lose?"
Ken's smirk, which never left his face, turned into a smile. "That's very funny, girl." He then closed the gym door behind him and as he turned around, taunted me by pointing at me... then provoking me to come at him. "Come on."
It was time to start this off. Giving Ken a look of determination I got my footing on the floor...
"OK! Here... I... COME!!!"
I opened up things by side-stepping to my left (since the wall was right to my right), and dashed forward right at Ken with my fist at my side.
"SHOUOKEN!!"
He couldn't dodge since he was in the corner of the room so I at least expected him to block my special move. Instead he ducked down a bit and jumped over me. At that time I went up to finish my Shouoken, hoping to pluck him out of the air. I missed him just by a thread and as I spun around in the air I saw that Ken had already landed. Damn. He had a clear shot at my back...
"Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku!!"
I heard him call out his hurricane kick and tried to duck as I landed. Ken was too fast for that; he hit me just as my sneakers touched the ground. He kicked my in the back of my head 4 times and I'll admit that they packed a wallop. They weren't as powerful as Ryu's, but the last kick made up for it. Ken had alternated his Tatsumaki and ended it with a mid-air axe-kick that sent me head-first into the door of the gym, causing a loud thud to ring through the air. Pain racked through my forehead and I let out a yell, stumbling away from both the door and Ken as he came down.
I immediately felt my forehead to see if I had a bruise or something of the like, so I didn't notice that Ken had quickly gotten close to me... until I removed my hand and saw him face-to-face.
I then did something that I knew I wasn't supposed to; I hesitated, letting out a gasp while taking a step back. I was too shocked to put up a defense and as a result my stomach (which due to my shirt being a bit short and exposing that area) felt the full force of Ken's knee. A groan escaped my vocal chords as I winced from the pain but Ken wasn't done assaulting my belly...
"SHORYUKEN!"
I met his dragon punch right in that same spot and I instantly felt the air get knocked out of me. Luckily his fist wasn't on fire but the blow still hurt. I felt myself go all the way across the room and landed next to the center, instantly rolling over to my knees and holding my stomach in pain.
(Oh, man...) I thought as I struggled to breathe right. I almost felt myself loose my lunch on that. I wasn't hit like that in a long while...
"Sakura... I might not be able to see London or France, but I can sure see your underpants..."
My eyes widened instantly. I slowly looked over my shoulder and saw Ken looking right up my skirt... That did it.
"STOP THAT, YOU HENTAI!!!"
That had to be the fastest time that I recovered from a stun and pulled a Midare Zakura on someone in my life... and that was the first time I touched Ken during our fight. I knew as I finished it with my Shouoken that he got the message: don't look under my skirt during a fight...
It took Ken a moment or two to realize what had happened and a bit longer to get up and face me. I was blushing madly but with a very ticked off look on my face. Now that I look back at it I must have looked rather ridiculous...
"Ok..." he muttered out loud, "I think playtime's over."
"Yeah..." I panted, just now noticing that I was breathing rather hard, so I stopped and spoke again. "Yeah, I think so."
Ken didn't reply in response, but he came at me by turning around and giving me a rather strong sidekick. I blocked it and stayed defensive a bit, letting Ken attack me with a few random kicks at my body. When he let up I tried my hand at an attack by giving my own kick to his body. He ducked it and kicked at my supporting leg, making me slip and unintentionally do a split.
I had no time to react to that. Ken then came with a fast roundhouse kick that could have taken my head off if I didn't lower it towards the floor and use my leg that was stopped in its previous attack to sweep Ken while he was vulnerable. Good. At least I got an advantage.
As I sprung up to my feet I kept my eyes on Ken. I wasn't going to let him catch me off-guard this time. As a matter of fact I was going to get him as soon as he got up. I turned my body around and lifted a leg... then brought it down to hit Ken while he was down. Unfortunately for me he was nowhere near it. He had rolled backwards and waited for my Flower Kick to miss, then as I spun around...
"HAH!"
Boom. His fist slammed into the side of my head, making me reel sideways from the force...
"Hadouken!"
...and fall to his follow-up energy attack. It caught me in the side at next to point-blank range and like all Hadoukens... which hurt more when at close range... this one was pretty painful indeed. I cried out as I tripped over my sneakers and met the floor. That was so rookie-like... Never turn your back to Ken Masters...
I kept my left arm resting on the area that screamed in pain from Ken's Hadouken as I slowly got up, letting out a growl. Ken was waiting for me. I could see it in his eyes when I made eye-contact with him... and in response I frowned; not to him, but to myself. I should be better than this...
"Hmm... I can see it in your eyes..." he said to me. "You feel the same way I'm feeling towards your performance... So... what are you going to do about it?"
I brushed my brown hair out from over my face, which fell over as in the moment... and when I finished, I clenched my fist... gave him a glare... and swung...
"What the?!"
Ken barely caught my fist before I caught him in the stomach. I looked up into his face to see him wide-eyed... and smirked. I got him, now...
"HAH!"
I used my left hand, which was free, and swung again. This one was also blocked... Ken now had me locked within his grasp... or so he thought. I took the time to use my right knee and bash it right into his stomach, making him loose him grasp on my and fall back, stunned. I knew that one hurt... and I wasn't done.
"SHUNPUKYAKU!"
I then jumped forward and did my version of the Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku, the first kick missing but the second and third catching Ken in the head. He hit the ground on his side, this time a bit slow to get up. I then got ready for his counter-attack, charging up my energy into my hands as I leaned back...
"Shinku..."
It now got to a solid form... and as the aura around it got bigger, I could swear that I saw lightning flash through the room...
"HADOUKEN!!!"
...and I fired. There was no way Ken was going to move away from that. I kept my eyes on my Hadouken as it went forward... and started to shrink. Man I hated when my Hadoukens fizzle out like that... Luckily it didn't shrink too much when it reached Ken, and this is when I kept my eyes peeled. Moments seem to pass by rather slowly...
"Come on... Come on..." I chanted under my breath. Now I grew aware of the situation. Ken must be blocking my Hadouken for it to not be either moving forward or exploding. I pouted slightly and then in a moment it did finally blow up. It didn't take long for me to find out that I was right. Ken blocked in the nick of time. I took a deep breath.
(There's got to be something that I can do that can get him good...)
Ken then looked at me... and I knew that he saw that I was totally serious about this fight. I wasn't going to make any more mistakes like I did earlier... His eyebrows furred up.
"Am I giving you a hard time yet?" I asked while putting my hands on my hips. Ken only smirked.
"Maybe... Can you keep it up?"
Can I keep it up? Of course I could. I had the advantage here. I'm going to win this fight. I clenched my fists and took Ken up on his challenge. I was going to show him that I could do more than keep it up. I was going to finish it.
"Get ready!!!" I warned while dashing in towards Ken, keeping my momentum going with a flurry of attacks of all types. Somehow Ken managed to block them all. I paused for a bit to see if he'd counter-attack, but he didn't, so I flowed in again with another string of attacks. Once again he blocked them all, even those that went low. As I kept it up Ken said something to me...
"Hey... Hey...! Don't you get it yet, Sakura?"
"What's... there to get...?" I quickly responded, not noticing that I was growing out of breath. My only focus was to just get one hit in... then I'd get him.
"You don't realize why I'm not attacking you?"
Once again, due to my single-mindedness I didn't catch the reasoning on what he was trying to do. I then pushed him back with my shoulder, something that actually caught him off-guard, and took my chance. I managed to get him with a few hard blows to his stomach and sides... then to his head... and prepared to give him a finishing roundhouse kick.
"HIIYA!!!"
I let loose all I could into that leg and aimed it right at his shin... It connected... but my leg wouldn't move once it hit Ken. I gasped, now finding myself hopping on my one leg and found out that Ken caught my bare leg in mid-performance.
"What the heck?!" I gasped in marvel. I didn't understand how he did that. I had him reeling...
"Found out yet, Sakura?" Ken asked me again. This time it registered. The whole time Ken was holding back, letting me tire myself out to a point where he could really let loose. He took a page out of Ryu's book with that...
I was shocked. So shocked that I couldn't move or even say anything. At this moment Ken could do whatever he wished against me and I couldn't do much about it. When I was attacking I didn't feel tired, but now that I stopped I realized what I did...
I weakened my own self.
I found myself breathless, just staring at Ken as he held my red sneaker between his side and arm. There was only one thing that I could think of at the moment... and I said it out loud...
"Ken...?" I asked in a tiny voice.
"What is it?" he asked, his eyes still horribly hiding my fate. I gulped... finding myself sweating a lot... and continued.
"What... are you going to do now...?"
...and that's when I realize what he was going to do. He gave me a smirk... and said in a tone so low I could barely hear it... but still send a chill through me.
"Sakura... I'm going to win. Get ready..."
As soon as that sentence ended he let go of my sneaker and I quickly scrambled to put up a defense. First he threw a punch to my stomach. I was lucky enough to block. Next was a powerful roundhouse kick. I let out a gasp as I guarded that, realizing that my arms were already giving out on me.I think Ken felt it, too. I barely saw him duck down and i followed suit, blocking a strong kick that was aimed at my legs...
"Aaah!"
...and instantly felt a sharp jolt of pain run through my arms. That kick was the turning point of the fight. Ken's attack temporarily made my arms give out, breaking my guard and leaving them paralized to my sides. Try as I might, I couldn't move them... I couldn't move at all. The paralysis went through my entire body. I was in trouble...
"Moratta!"
Make that BIG trouble...
"Shippu..."
A crushing kick found it's way to my shin... then another fast one to my ribs immediately after that. My mouth was about to let out a scream but another hard kick to my other side of my body shut me up. I couldn't find a way to excape Ken's devistating kicks as another one, an overhead axe kick, nailed me in the stomach, making me drop my head. I felt hot pain again in that area as it caved in and I instantly wrapped both my arms around my swelling stomach. My eyes were closed from the pain that I was enduring... and when I opened them up I was gretted with the sight of Ken's leg once again.
"JINRAI KYAKU!!!"
Ken finally ended his super attack with a Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku that took both of us into the air. It was a full 12-hit powerhouse... It seemed like forever until my back slammed onto the floor. I groaned as my sides, chest, and especially my stomach shot out signals of pain that made my whole body ache. As I lay there I stared at the ceiling... It had gotten darker... Was it because the storm outside was getting worse... or was it because I was starting to pass out from the pain...? I didn't want to find out.
Slowly I forced myself to roll to my belly (this also hurt in more ways than one) and slowly planted my hands and knees onto the floor. i took a few moments to gather some more of my strength and pushed off the ground into a standing position, holding my side and stomach with my left arm. At the moment I didn't have a plan. The only thing that ran through my mind was to keep going... I wasn't going to give up.
Five seconds later I turned aronund to face Ken, who was stretching his torso and legs. He immediately looked at me and grew a little wide-eyed.
"You're still up?" he asked in mild surprise, his expression then turning into a smirk. "Impressive. I could have swore that you'd be down for good after that."
For some odd reason I found the strength to laugh a bit... Maybe it was a hysterical one...
"Shows... how much... you know..." I panted, wincing in pain every time a word came out of my mouth. Then Ken put a hand on his side and asked the a ver important question.
"Let me guess... You intend to keep trying battered up like that?"
If I knew what was going to happen next then I would have quit right then and there but I didn't. I couldn't predict the future. I let Ken know I was ready for him by getting back into my fighting stance. Ken gave a quick smug look and then dashed at me. He came with a few jabs that i backed away from. I was about to counter but my body reacted too slow, making me abandon that tactic and block an elbow aimed at my chest. I then reminded myself that I couldn't block too much or I'd get guard crushed again, so I saw Ken's next attack coming and pushed my body into that direction to take another swift kick to my right rib. Luckily my little plan worked. It threw Ken off his momentum and made him vulnerable for a second. That's the break I needed.
"Shouoken!"
I used my left fist while spinning to hit Ken into the air with the shortened version of my uppercut special. Ken was hit back a bit but recovered, going defensive as I ducked in. I used my left arm to swing at him... but Ken soon found out that it was a fake. I grabbed hold to his neck and arms, swung my body around to his back, and squeezed like my life depended on it. It was my Sakura Jime throw, and I made each of those 9 squeezes last long. I took a moment to gather myself and raised my right elbow to finish the job, but suddenly I found Ken's arm shoot out and grab it as soon as I was about to make it crash onto his skull. I let out a surprised yelp and then found myself being thrown over his shoulder and to the floor.
I hated being on the floor. It made me aware of how damaged my body was... but I didn't find myself there for long. I saw Ken's foot come down to add an exclaimation point to his counter and I quickly rolled forward and hopped in that same direction to my feet. However Ken still had the speed advantage. I saw him as soon as I spun around and barely blocked a fierce fist aimed at my head. I knew then and there he was going to end the fight between us.
Ken kept coming at me and all I could do at the moment was try to hold on. I now realized that he was conserving his energy for this moment. It was a dirty tactic... but this was a street fight. I should have paid attention to his tactics, but nooooooooo...
Then it happened. I thought he was going to hit me with a standing sweep kick and I blocked low accordingly. Bad move. It was one of his fakes. It wound up going up high above me... and I looked up. There was no way I was going to block that...
"OH, NO!"
I remember yelling that out specifically. Ken's heel came down fast, and I FAST. As soon as I tried to back away it slammed into the top of my skull with tremendous force. My vision blurred instantly as I felt my head get shoved in-between my legs. My arms fell limply to my sides as I slowly reeled back.
Ken got me completely off guard and I didn't have the energy to raise my head up. All I could to was look at the fuzzy floor below me and listen to the moans that escaped my vocal chords. A few moments passed... and I suddenly noticed that my sneakers weren't planted on the floor. I was slowly slipping... My right leg somehow managed to find its way backwards to support my weak body from meeting the floor, probably sensing the urgency that the situation was giving. I let out another moan, blinking rapidly to try to snap out of my dizziness, at found some success. My eyes seemed to have cleared up a bit as I could see the laces on my sneakers a bit more clearly than before. However I didn't get to get much more progress.
"Sakura?"
"...h... h... uh...?"
"You see what I mean? Do you realize what happened?"
I took a moment to quickly reflect on my fight and then raised my eyes from my sneakers to the bottom of Ken's red gi pants.
"Y...yes..." I responded weakly.
"I knew you'd find out sooner or later... I guess it's clear that I've won this fight, right, Sakura?"
That's what I hated to hear. He already knew it personally. He's asking if I know that there's nothing that I could do to come back and win. I let out a sigh and blinked one final time, letting my eyes close for this one. I knew when I was beat.
"Yes, Ken... You win..."
And then I found out that I couldn't open my eyes. They were just so heavy... The same heavy feeling seemed to sweep to my head... then my shoulders... then my arms. . . then my legs just seemed to evaporate from under me. I felt myself lean forward... forward into darkness... and then stop somewhere in-between where I stood and the abyss. What happened?
"Hmm... You look so cute when you're unconscious..."
I then counted. I don't know my mind managed to program that but it did... Very slowly...
(1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6... 7. . . 8. . . 9. . . 10. . . 11. . . .)
----
"Sakuuuuuuuura..."
I suddenly heard a soft voice. It was dark... Pitch black... and then I noticed that I had my eyes closed. I also noticed that I felt something damp on my forehead and that I was on my back. Without looking I directed a hand to go up and grab that wet thing and take it off. It felt like a cloth or something like that.
"Sakuuuuuuuuuuuuuuura..."
Slowly I opened my eyes. A bright light was the first thing that I noticed. As the seconds passed I notice that something was blocking the light. I blinked a bit, gradually focusing my eyes on the obstruction... and found it to be a body. A few more seconds... and I knew who it was.
"D... Darrell..."
He nodded slightly and then put something in my eyes.
"How many fingers do you see?"
"Uh... um... 12?"
A pause, then...
"Meh... Close enough."
A hand then reached out from the air and I grabbed it, using a combination of that and my own will to get up to my feet. Darrell was right there to welcome me with a loving hug and kiss. It was then when I noticed that over his shoulder were Ken and a beaten up Sean, both still in their fighting gear and giving me a warm smile.
"You ok?" Ken asked me. I gave a soft nod to respond.
"That's good. Hey, I hope you've learned well from our battle."
I just stared at him for a while, trying to collect my thoughts... and twisted my mouth.
"Who... do you think you are? Ryu?"
Ken only laughed. "Well, no, but I might as well fill in for him. I beat you like he would have and trust me, I can't stand doing that. I'd rather be fighting head to head, but I guess you got the message."
"Yeah... I sure did..."
I fell quiet for a second. I did feel a bit disappointed about not winning the fight... but I knew that if I could fix what caused me to lose...
"Hey, Ken..."
"Yeah, Sakura?"
"Listen... I hope you don't let this win go to your head. I'm gonna win the next time we fight."
Ken replied with a wink and a thumbs up.
"At least you're determined! I like that in a woman! You just keep it up and I'll be happy to take you on again!"
I smiled. "I thought so..."
"So... why don't we get you guys something to eat... and a certain someone some first aid?"
Immediately Darrell covered his mouth and started to laugh... I looked over to Sean... and found that he twisted his face.
"Darrell...?" I called.
"Yes, Sakura?" he answered through suppressed laughs.
"You mind telling me why you're laughing?" I said while the four of us walked out of the gym.
"Well... let's keep it like this... Sean might have gotten me at the start, but he couldn't take me once I warmed up..."
I then started laughing myself... I guess it was because it was funny to think that... Either that or Ken knocked a screw loose in my head... All I knew was that I was going to be sore tomorrow morning....