Facing the American Champ!
Soul Society…
The talk with Central 46 was surprisingly short and sweet. It ended in favor of Head Captain Kyoraku, who was waiting for the Kido Corps to open the Senkaimon for Toshiro and Rangiku to go through to the World of the Living. Nemu and Momo each gave them something to give to Logan when they found him. They knew it wouldn't be easy, given that he could hide his Spiritual Pressure much better than Ichigo, despite the growing similarities between the two. "Okay, you two, you know the drill: find Logan and assist him. Also, at the request of Lieutenants Hinamori and Kurotsuchi, give those items to him. Is that clear?" the Head Captain asked.
"Understood," the two answered at the same time. They saw that Soifon was the only one not there, indicating to Yoruichi that something was wrong with her. She decided to sneak off and check on her. "The last Lady Shihoin checked he was in Chicago observing their other three teammates Cammy, Abel, and Guile. If my calculations are correct they should still be there," Toshiro pointed out.
"Then let's get going. These items aren't going to give themselves to him," Rangiku said as the Senkaimon opened up. "Plus, I want to see how tough these participants are."
"Remember, Rangiku, that unless they have a weapon, we're not to use our Zanpakutos. And even if that were the case, they have to be in their sealed state."
Meanwhile, Yoruichi went to the Squad Two Barracks and saw a Hell Butterfly floating out the window. She took a good look at it and saw that the patterns on its wings were of a unique design: the Assassin's Guild insignia with the Squad Two kanji on the inside. She knew this was Soifon's way of communicating with Logan. She opened the door to her office and saw Soifon curled up on the floor with the old jacket in her arms. "Soifon, what's wrong?" the Flash Goddess asked.
"Lady Yoruichi, I don't know why I didn't volunteer to go with them to see Logan. I would love nothing more than to at least be around him one more time," answered Soifon. Yoruichi saw that she was still crying her heart out.
"As much as I'd love to take you through my clan's Senkaimon, I'm afraid that those bastards at Central would notice that you're gone. Even with the influence we have among them, they're not going to let you through. This is why I sneak off into the World of the Living by myself. Well, that and to find Ichigo and Rukia. Soifon, Logan still misses you. I informed him about that blasted arranged marriage that's coming up. You are something that he hasn't mentioned to Chun-Li, but being an agent of Interpol, she's figuring it out piece by piece."
"You mean she doesn't know about me?"
"No. All she knows is that Logan was depressed and that he has a broken heart. She still doesn't know the full details as to why as Logan himself is pretty stubborn about it. She's angry about this and his niece won't be too happy to hear about the breakup either."
"Oh no, I forgot completely about Addison," Soifon said while face-palming herself. "It's okay; she can have Chun-Li as a new aunt. I don't deserve that right." Yoruichi wrinkled her nose in anger and smacked Soifon in the back of the head. "OW! Lady Yoruichi, what did you do that for?"
"How many times are you going to wallow in your own self-pity? I've already told you that Logan misses you!" She took the jacket from Soifon's arms and found that her Spirit Energy hasn't interfered with the Assassin's. "Let's see how he's doing." She formed the viewing Kido and saw that Logan was still in Chicago meeting a blond-haired martial artist. "I think he just met his next opponent."
World of the Living…
Logan was stunned. He was standing face-to-face with Ken Masters, who is the American Martial Arts Champion. Soon, after a few moments, he turned to Guile in shock. "Guile, you never said anything about your brother-in-law being Ken Masters. Don't tell me one of us has to fight him," he said. Being a big fan of Ken, the Assassin knew on the inside that it would be an honor and a privilege to spar with him and an even bigger honor to just be in the presence of his buddy Ryu. He wouldn't let that show in his emotional state, though.
"I don't see what the big deal is, Logan," Guile responded. "Don't tell me you're a fan of this spoiled brat."
"Spoiled brat?" Ken asked.
"Yeah, Ken, spoiled brat. You're family runs the Masters Corporation after all. I wouldn't be surprised if you drove it into the ground financially. Maybe I can give you some tips on managing your funds."
"Hey, I don't recall asking the Air Force for financial advice. In the case I do want it my dad's got his own financial advisers, thank you very much. I'm not going to ask anyone with a flattop and dog tags for it either." This ticked off Guile big time, but Cammy got in between the two men.
"Now, now, let's not be too hasty, Guile. If anyone should fight Ken, it should be Logan. After all, Chun-Li is the only one who's seen him in action," she said. She gave the Assassin an affectionate look. "I bet he's a natural on the battlefield."
"Actually, Cammy, he was ruthless against Adon back in St. Louis. Then again, this was because Adon was being ruthless against a girl named Makoto, who has taken up the role of Logan's 'little sister' in martial arts," Chun-Li explained.
"Is that right?" asked Ken. "What style does she use?"
"Makoto uses the Rindo-Kan Karate style."
"And I guess you use a form of Karate as well?" he asked Logan.
"I use Shorin-Ryu Karate combined with Tae-Kwon-Do, Ninjutsu, and Spirit Energy manipulation," Logan answered as he and Ken got in their stances.
"Then this should be fun." Just as Ken said that, a Senkaimon opened and Toshiro and Rangiku stepped out. They immediately saw the team.
"Yoo-hoo! Logan! Over here!" Rangiku exclaimed, causing Logan to face-palm. Toshiro had the same expression. The busty strawberry blond ran towards her ally not knowing he was about to fight. Guile and Abel stepped in the way. "Hey, what gives? I was just going to give him something."
"Sorry, Miss, but I'm afraid you can't get anywhere near him at the present moment," Abel said, confusing Rangiku.
"He's right, Rangiku. Logan's about to fight that person over there," Toshiro said while pointing at Ken, who quirked an eyebrow.
"Uh, I'm guessing that you guys aren't from around here," said the martial arts champ.
"It's a long story. I say we get to this fight right now," Logan said back. None of them saw the Hell Butterfly that was floating above them. The fighters got back in their stances as the others were joined by Dan and his crew. Dan immediately started to hit on Rangiku, but she shoved him towards a tree. She smirked when she heard Blanka and Sakura laughing.
Logan went ahead and took the first move, going for a head-on strike. Ken smirked and dodged. He grabbed his arm and tossed him back to his starting point. The Assassin got back on his feet and made like he was going to try that again. Ken got ready to counter, but Logan jumped in the air, grabbed his arm and tossed him towards a wall. The champion got up and shook the impact off. Once his vision cleared he saw Logan standing and waiting for him. 'So he's a sportsman, huh? That's good,' he thought. 'That means that he'll get to see this.'
Ken put both of his hands together and gathered some chi within them. 'If he can counter this, he stands a good chance against Ryu.' The chi formed into an energy ball with much more power than Chun-Li's Kikoken. All the while, Logan gathered up his Spirit Energy for Chidori. "Hadoken!" the martial artist exclaimed. Ken's Hadoken was much faster than Sakura's, but Logan could tell that he could simply cut right through it. He charged towards it and did just that, also knocking the champion down in the process. Ken got back up and saw that Logan still had his energy charged up. He immediately figured out what it was. "Chidori," he said. "Go figure. You're the 'Lightning Striker' I've heard about."
This caught Logan off guard. He and Chun-Li had only just entered the tournament this morning with his fight against Adon, so he figured that someone must've spotted him. "Lightning Striker?" he asked.
"Yeah, a friend of mine from Jamaica told me about that fight you had against Adon. His name's Dee Jay and he told me that you had an 'electric rhythm'. I'm telling you, he likes to compare everything to a certain rhythm. He even looks forward to fighting you. Too bad for him, I got to fight you first between me and him."
"Well then, it looks like I'll have to look forward to fighting Dee Jay whenever I see him." The two fighters resumed their battle, trading blow for blow, with Ken even doing his signature Shoryuken, which turned out to be more powerful than his Hadoken by far. Ken got in the air and did the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, which Logan was able to take advantage of. The Assassin jumped off of Ken's head and into the air, putting the girls and Blanka in a state of wonder while Guile, Abel, Dan, and Toshiro were surprised. Logan went high into the clouds while Ken was starting to get up. They saw Logan skyrocket down towards his opponent, ringing a bell in the heads of the Soul Reapers. "Skydive Assault!" Logan shouted.
The attack hit Ken before he could retaliate. Once the dust cleared, they saw a huge crater in the ground. Ken, however, was still very much conscious, ready to get even. "Not bad, Logan, but you'll have to do better than that to beat me," he said. He assaulted the Assassin with a barrage of attacks before doing a Shoryuken-based move. "Shinryuken!" he shouted, setting Logan ablaze and into the air. When he landed, they saw that he was down for the count, but still conscious. "Whew! That was a workout. You'd even give Ryu a run for his money," Ken said, helping Logan up.
It didn't take much to figure out that Cammy, Chun-Li, and Rangiku were sad about Logan losing. Logan saw their expressions that indicated this. "Meh, you win some, you lose some. This is only going to make me stronger. Thanks for the fight, Ken," Logan said.
"Well had I known he was going to be that easy to beat, I would've fought him instead of Abel," said Dan.
"And you still would've gotten your ass kicked," Guile pointed out. "I hate to say it, but it's hard to keep up with Ken, given that he's the American Martial Arts Champion." This statement surprised both Toshiro and Rangiku. The former sensed Dan's Spiritual Pressure and found it to be a bit on the weak side.
"I took an analysis of your techniques and I figured that you could use a new punching attack. Tae-Kwon-Do focuses on slightly more kicks and punches while Karate and Ninjutsu are well balanced in both. I think the Shoryuken ought to do. What do you say?" Ken asked. Needless to say, Logan took him up on the offer.
The training took place at Ken's home. As usual, Logan proved to be a fast learner. He got the basic concept of the Shoryuken down quickly. He was just practicing to make it stronger. Ken could also tell that he was also trying to develop a new technique. He just needed the right amount of power behind the Shoryuken to perfect it…or at least, that's all he thought he needed. "Well, Logan, you've got plenty of power behind your attack. You should be able to develop that new move in no time. How about giving me a demonstration?" asked Ken.
Logan nodded his head and moved back a good distance. Once he got to a certain spot, he charged up his Spirit Energy in his right hand until it was at the right amount of power. "Chidori…Shoryuken!" the Assassin exclaimed. He did the same motions as the Shoryuken, but he noticed that there was a lack of power behind it. Once he landed on the ground, he heard applause coming from Ken. It stopped when he noticed Logan looking at his hand. "I don't get it. I had Chidori at full charge, I'm sure of it."
"I honestly couldn't find anything wrong with your technique. You might just need to practice some more."
"That's just it, Ken. I've used Chidori since I was in High School. Creating a new variant, even if it's a combination of two techniques, shouldn't be hard for me to master. I think Captain Hitsugaya had the same conclusion. He was a prodigy after all, so I wouldn't be too surprised if he did."
"Well, try not to strain yourself in your training, man. Get some rest," Ken said, patting Logan on the shoulder. When the champ went inside, the Hell Butterfly appeared in front of Logan. He cringed once he saw the pattern on the wings.
"If you're sending this to berate me even more, Soifon, don't even bother," he said. The Hell Butterfly wouldn't leave, though. Finally, Logan gave up on getting it away. "Open."
The Hell Butterfly began to give Logan its message in Soifon's voice, which was one he thought he'd never hear again. "Logan, if this reaches you, then you know that I miss you. I've seen the fights you and your team have participated in and I've got to say, you all are pretty good, especially you and Chun-Li. Lady Yoruichi told me about her and when I saw her fighting that horrible chef, I discovered that you could have a new companion in her. You didn't make any mistakes in our relationship. I did, though. When I called you a reckless fool, I had forgotten that I had that flaw in me as well. I was reckless for breaking us up. I left you heartbroken and passionless. I put out your fiery spirit with the raging waters of anger. All of this was because I was the reckless fool who destroyed us and wiped the smile off of your face.
"Chun-Li, though, put that smile back on. She likes more of the same stuff you do than I ever did, including your favorite diner. I believe she even likes the recklessness you've shown against Adon, I don't know. I know that you've been overthinking things about our former relationship and how you would go back in time to change things. That's not the Logan Washburn I want to see. I want to see the one that fights on instinct. I want to see the one who doesn't think twice. I want the one that I knew and loved back then. I can guarantee you that if you let Chun-Li into your heart, you won't regret it. She can help put the pieces of the heart I've broken back together and make you smile again, make you the old Logan again. Please, do this favor for both of us. And if we see each other again, I promise to make it as pleasant as possible.
With all of my heart and soul,
Shaolin Feng."
After the message was delivered, the Hell Butterfly flew off and vanished in the night sky, leaving Logan in tears. He decided to try the Chidori Shoryuken again, starting with bringing the Chidori to full charge, then doing the move itself. He noticed that it was much more powerful, having realized that Soifon had somewhat restored their broken bond. He discovered that this was what the new move was missing. Chun-Li saw the sight and was amazed by the newfound power that was put in it. When the Assassin landed, he dropped to his hands and knees and started crying.
"Logan?" Chun-Li asked in concern. Logan whipped right around and hugged her tightly. She was taken aback by this, but hugged back. She hated to see a grown adult cry, especially when she decided to stop crying after her father was killed. "That came out of nowhere. Do you want to tell me what's wrong? I think I've got a general idea, but I need specifics. You don't have to if you don't want to."
After a moment, Logan stopped crying and broke apart from the Interpol officer. "Okay, but it's a long story."
CHAPTER 4 END
Man that was an emotional moment. Eventually, I'll have to have Logan make a trip to Soul Society to stop Soifon's wedding, especially since the groom is someone that they both hate to no end. There's only one Soul Reaper who can help with that, and it isn't Yoruichi. The full mystery will be revealed next chapter. Please read and review.