The Tiger and the Dragon: One Shots

A Street Fighter Fanfiction

By The Headcrook

The Man In Red

- Somewhere in northern Singapore, six months before the Second Street Fighter Tournament...-

Someone was following Ryu. He felt it ever since leaving Singapore City three days earlier. He was in the forest, near a mountain village, where he decided to train and meditate. Dressed in his usual gi and red hachimaki, he looked around the forest. Someone was watching him. He suspected that it was the new criminal syndicate Shadowlaw. He had heard of them while recovering from his match against Akuma and learning to control his Dark Hadou while in Calcutta. His senses, enhanced with the dark energies of Ansatsuken were alert. Whoever it was, they were giving out a dark aura powerful enough to make his hair stand on end.

Ryu walked into a small clearing. Storm clouds were gathering in the distance, thunder announcing the arrival of rain. 'I know I'm not alone,' he thought. 'Who the hell is trailing me?'

"I know you're there!" he shouted. "Show yourself!"

"You are very quick," a deep voice said from behind him.

Ryu spun around. He found himself face-to-face with a man. The man was massively built, his muscles showing through the red military uniform he wore. On his shoulders were a pair of shoulder harnesses and on his forearms and lower legs were shin guards. Spit-shined boots adorned the man's feet. A black cape was covering one shoulder, leaving the other bare. The Japanese fighter looked at the newcomer's face. His eyes were solid white, the massive jaw prominent as a sadistic grin spread across his face. A red cap covered his short black hair. Ryu took notice of the winged skull insignia on it.

'That insignia...,' Ryu thought, his mind going a mile a minute. 'I've seen it before...'

"We meet at last, Ryu Hoshi," the man said as he floated in the air, arms folded across his chest. He then lowered himself to the ground. "I have been wathcing you for quite sometime now."

"And who the hell are you?" Ryu shot back.

"I am Bison, Commander of Shadowlaw," he introduced himself. "But you can call me Master."

'Shadowlaw...so he's the big boss,' Ryu thought. "And what makes you think I will call you Master?" Ryu questioned.

"When I beat you senseless," Bison replied cooly. "When I have broken you, I will rebuild you into one of my soldiers. You may become my right-hand man, given your skills." He landed on the ground. "Resistance is futile, Ryu. No one has ever bested me in combat."

Having enough of Bison's speech, Ryu aimed a roundhouse kick to Bison's head...

...only to hit nothing but air. Ryu blinked. "What the...!"

Ryu spun around, just in time to see Bison materialize before him. He was then knocked to the ground as Bison flipped forward, feet first, striking Ryu. Ryu flipped back to his feet and went into his stance. Bison had disappeared again.

"Dammit! Fight like a man!" Ryu shouted.

Instinct told him to move. When he did, Bison's foot missed the area where his head would have been. Reacting quickly, Ryu leapt into the air spinning, one leg outstretched. "Tatsumaki--"

He was surprised when Bison blocked the move and landed a solid straight punch to his breastplate, the fist glowing in greenish-blue flames. Ryu fell on his back. Bison threw his cape back as he looked down on Ryu.

"Foolish boy," he said. "You are no match for my Psycho Power. Surrender now and I will spare your life in exchange for a lifetime of servitude. Oppose me and you will be destroyed."

Ryu got to his feet. "I'll gladly take death over slavery anyday!" he said defiantly.

Bison inclined his head. "Such is the audacity of youth." As he moved in, Ryu threw another roundhouse at Bison's head. When he vanished, Bison taunted, "Have you learned anything new?"

As Bison appeared, Ryu quickly spun around and thrusted his hands forward, releasing a Hadouken. Bison wasn't expecting that and the ki blast caught him in the chest, forcing him back several steps.

"How about that?" Ryu shot back. 'This guy is as powerful as Sagat,' he thought. 'Maybe even more powerful that him...or Akuma.'

Bison was shocked that Ryu had actually caught him. In truth, it actually made him mad that Ryu had successfully attacked him. Not even the American commando Charlie Nash nor the Interpol agent Dourai Xiang were successful in landing a hit. One hand reached for his cape, which he threw off. He then slid towards Ryu, knocking his feet out from under him. When Ryu landed on his back, Bison raised one leg and brought it down, only to miss when Ryu rolled out of the way.

When Ryu got back to his feet, Bison slammed his elbow into the side of his face. Then he landed a hard kick to the side of Ryu's head. Ryu spun as the kick connected, his own leg outstretched in his own roundhouse kick, catching Bison squarely in the jaw. Again, Bison staggered back, but did not fall.


Meanwhile, the fight was being montored. Inside Bison's personal jet, a VTOL, several scientists were watching the fight between their commander and his intended target, Bison getting the majority of the blows in, Ryu using near-crippling moves, but couldn't stop Bison for a moment.

The scientists had a system for ranking martial artists in the world, which they called the Class System. There were five classes in total, one being the lowest while five is the highest. Most of the top-ranking martial artists were either Class 3 and 4, whereas Bison was Class 5. Ryu, according to them was a top-tier Class 4, due to his martial arts ability, which explained Bison's interest in him.

Also watching this battle was Juni, the new commander of the Shadowlaw Elite Squad. Following Juli's defeat and expulsion, she was promoted. However, Juni watched with satisfaction as Bison was beating Ryu with little difficulty. Also there were the French Doll Fevrier, her guns resting nearby, and the Italian Doll Aprile, ready to give the would-be-newest member of the Shadowlaw organization much needed medical attention once the battle is over.


Meanwhile, Ryu was still fighitng for his life. Bison was bruised from several vicious attacks, but Ryu felt several of his ribs being broken when Bison spiralled into him, executing his Psycho Crusher with deadly precision, sending Ryu crashing into the side of a tree. In Bison's eyes, the match was over.

Bison warped over to the fallen warrior. Grabbing a handful of his gi, the Shadowlaw warlord lifted him into the air. "You really think you could win against me?" he spat out. "No one can best my Psycho Power." A sadistic smile crept across his lips. "But you have a lot of spirit in you. You will make a fine addition to my army."


Back at the VTOL, the sensors were starting to through the roof as they measured Ryu's power levels. "What is happening!" one of the female scientists asked as the equipment went bonkers.

The head scientist looked at the monitor. "I don't know...something's wrong..."


Ryu's head was slumped forward as Bison had him helplessly in the air. "It is finished," he said, grinning. "When you come to, you will be the newest addition to Shadowlaw." He raised his other hand to knock Ryu completely out.

Then something unexpected happened. In Ryu's mind, he wasn't looking at Bison. The image shifted to that of Akuma.

Bison's fist sailed through the air, it's target being Ryu's temple...

...Ryu's hand snapped up, catching Bison's fist in a vice grip. Bison was not expecting this happening.

Then Ryu raised his head, eyes open so that he could look at Bison in the face. Instead of his brown eyes, Bison saw that they were blood red; the whites, pupils, irises, everything. The Dark Hadou, in a purely instinctal move, had posessed Ryu, unleashing his dark half. Bison's head then snapped back as Ryu slammed his knee into his jaw with vicious force, forcing him to release Ryu. As Bison gathered himself from the surprise attack, he watched as Ryu casually cracked his neck muscles as he advanced on Bison.

Then he vanished before Bison's eyes...and reappeared directly in front of Bison. Bion's eyes bulged as he took two punches to the torso, followed by another cross to the face. Ryu then leapt into the air and performed his Hurricane Gale Kick. Bison's head was rocked to the side as Ryu connected three times, the final blow knocking Bison to the ground. Shocked was an understatement. This was the first time ever that someone had knocked him flat on his back. He was also shocked at the amount of power that Ryu was exercising.

Bison got to his feet. "What power! It will be mine!" he seethed.

He lunged forward, throwing punch after punch at the dark Ansatsuken fighter. Ryu merely parried and knocked Bison's fists aside as if they weren't even worth the effort. Then Ryu's hand shot out, grabbing Bison by the throat in an inhuman grip. Bison was no stranger in putting people in chokeholds, but he was getting a taste of his own medicine by a man whom he originally thought was not a threat.

Bison the felt his feet leave the ground as Ryu slowly hoisted him into the air. With inhuman strength, Ryu tossed him into the side of a tree. When Bison looked up, he saw that Ryu had fired off a purple fireball. Bison rolled out of the way as the fireball crashed and destroyed the tree behind him.

"I couldn't let you off that easily, now can I?" Satsui no Hadou ni Mezameta Ryu, or Evil Ryu for short said. "You thought you won?" At the word 'won,' Evil Ryu punted Bison into another tree.

As Bison slowly staggered to his feet, Evil Ryu continued to advance. Bison's mind was reeling. This had NEVER happened to him before. Being on the receiving end of a beating was clearly new to him. Bison's head snapped back, as a result of Ryu's fist impacting with the side of his face. Then it rocked left and right from the repeated assault of Ryu's fists and feet.


Inside the VTOL, the Shadowlaw technicians and the Dolls watched as their boss was on the receiving end of Ryu's attacks. Almost immediately, Juli and Fevrier rushed to the nearest exit, the French doll grabbing and loading a French-made FA-MAS assault rifle, while Juni armed herself with a black Desert Eagle magnum.


Meanwhile Evil Ryu was in full control of the fight.

He tossed Bison into another tree, this time, Bison went through it, the tree exploding on impact.

The Shadowlaw warlord was a mess. His face had several cuts on them and was bruised. One eye was swollen, his lip was bleeding and he could feel several of his ribs cracked. If he was tossed through another tree, then they would most definitely be broken. His right arm was dislocated from the onslaught of the posessed Ryu.

"You will never win," Evil Ryu deadpanned.

One hand shot out, grabbing a handful of Bison's uniform. He then lifted Bison cleanly off the ground so that there was a foot of space between the Shadowlaw warlord and the soil. The match was now over. With his one good eye, Bison looked at Ryu. He saw that his free hand was balled into a fist, the veins throbbing in his biceps. Bison knew that the final blow would end this contest...and would probably kill him.

But, fortunately for Bison, it was not meant to be.

A gunshot was heard, the bullet whizzing by Ryu. The bullet from a Desert Eagle smashed into a nearby tree. Machine gun fire erupted as both Fevier and Juni emerged, guns blazing. Rather than to get riddled with bullets, Evil Ryu tossed Bison to the ground and leapt back, firing off two Zankuu Hadoukens from midair to cover his retreat. The dual ki blasts left a small crater each, seperating himself from Bison and his Dolls. As Juni fired into the woods, Fevier shouldered her FA-MAS, and struggled to get Bison to his feet.

"I got him!" the French doll shouted. "Let's get out of here!"

Juli holstered her sidearm and grabbed Bison. If Bison wasn't happy to see his Dolls, he was now. The trio then made a hasty retreat. Once Evil Ryu was certain that no more bullets would fly in his direction, He emerged from the woods, just in time to see Bison's VTOL rise from the other side of the woods.

Seeing that his quarry was trying to escape, Evil Ryu drew his hands back, then fired off a Messatsu Gouhadou. The ball of dark ki smashed into one of the engines, damaging it, but the aircraft remained mobile. With smoke coming form its engine, the aircraft departed back to its main base.

That was the last thing that Evil Ryu saw before losing consciousness.


-Several days later...-

Ryu woke up. He wasn't outside in the field, he was inside what appeared to be a hospital bed. His ribs were bandaged and all of his cuts and bruises were bandaged. He looked around at the establishment. The room was small, reminding him of his old bedroom back in Sora.

Then the door opened and the doctor walked in. Ryu saw that he was Chinese, only more rugged.

"You're finally awake, I see," the doctor said. "I am Dr. Chow, the village doctor."

"Where am I?"

"You're in a hospital...sort of," Chow explained. "Actually, this place is more like a clinic. We're inside a mountain village. You've been unconscious for three days."

"Three...days?" Ryu repeated. He remembered the confrontation with Bison, and that his Dark Hadou had taken over.

"Yes. My assistant found you passed out in the middle of a field and brought you in. You had three of your ribs broken, a fourth was fractured and you got a concussion. Looks like were worked over pretty good."

'You should see the other guy,' Ryu thought darkly. "I've had worse," he said. "Thanks."

"You should get some rest," Chow said. "I'll have the nurse bring you something to eat."


-Meanwhile, at Shadowlaw Headquarters, Miriganka Island, Thailand...-

Bison dropped the offending soldier's body, the officer's head twisted at an unnatural angle. He had just came out of the Psycho Drive, refreshed, but feeling incredibly sore form his fight with Ryu. Worse yet, his ego was far more hurt than his body. Simply put, he was livid. Even his three top lieutenants, Balrog, Vega and Victor Sagat steered clear from the mad general's warpath.

Sagat, however, knew firsthand of Ryu's power. The scar on his chest was evidence enough of that.

"The little maggot!" Bison ranted. "No one has ever toppled me before!" His solid white eyes narrowed. "I clearly underestimated this man."

At that moment, one of the scientists who was present at the fight days earlier approached Bison, holding a manila folder in one hand. "Lord Bison...we have the results from the fighting data. We have made a mistake in the original numbers on Ryu Hoshi's fighting ability."

Bison turned to the scientist, who backed away slightly. "What?"

The scientist gulped. "Our original estimates were that Ryu was a Class 4 fighter. But...after that night in Singapore...we ran the data every way possible but--"

Bison cut him off. "Get on with it."

The scientist handed him the folder. "It should be best you see this for yourself, sir."

Bison took the folder and scanned the contents. He looked at the scientist. "Are you sure you checked the data?" he aksed with anger rising in his voice.

"I personally checked it three times over, my lord," the scientist replied. "But the numbers don't lie. Ryu Hoshi is a Class 5 fighter."

Bison remembered the power that Ryu used on him that day. He thought about killing the scientist, but relented. He incinerated the file, turned on his heel and walked off down the corridor.

The thought that was going through his mind was, 'You were lucky, little man. We will meet again. And the results will be different."