The True King of Muay Thai! Sagat Returns!
The team made their way back to Dhalsim's village while mourning Balrog's death at the hands of Decapre. They decided to let Cammy know about this since she was one of her 'sisters'. Because she and Logan were so close, they decided that he should be the one to tell her. Thunder Hawk and Dhalsim saw that he was in grief despite his own job and the fact that Balrog was one of their enemies. "A penny for your thoughts?" asked Thunder Hawk.
"Sorry. It's just that it's still hard to believe someone as stubborn as Balrog could die so easily. I'm not sure why, but for some reason, Vega asked me to help Decapre. How am I supposed to do that if she keeps killing someone? I know I sound like a hypocrite, but I don't think that should happen," Logan answered.
"Then I guess you're a reluctant Assassin. You must've been drafted." Logan responded with a nod. "You aren't the only one whose senses are attuned to the spirits. I believe that something must be up. For some reason, I can still sense Balrog in this world. What about you, Dhalsim?"
Dhalsim took some time to meditate on it, but figured out that he sensed the same thing Thunder Hawk did. All three of them looked at each other and decided to head back to check Balrog's grave while leaving the others (sans Yoruichi and Ryu) confused.
They got back to the gravesite and found a hole in there. When they saw no sign of him, Logan upped his Spirit Sense for a technique he normally uses on murder cases (A/N: Think about the Detective Vision from the Batman Arkham series). He looked around and saw a couple of hand prints made by the boxing gloves. He saw that Balrog got out and walked over to the edge. Then the next thing that the Assassin saw was surprising: Balrog floating in the air. He then realized that a helicopter belonging to Shadaloo picked him up. He switched back to normal vision and held his head drawing concerned looks from the others as it was the clearest sign of a headache. "He's alive alright. Shadaloo must've picked him up and took him back to the base," he said.
"Which must mean that Decapre stopped his pulse to fool us," Guile concluded, getting a nod from Logan. "You know that we'll still have to tell Cammy, right?"
"Yeah I know. My gut instinct tells me that we'll be running into them again pretty soon."
"If we do, it will be a tournament fight again," said Chun-Li. "Balrog himself lost two fights already. If he loses three more, he won't be able to represent Shadaloo in the finals. You and Ryu each beat him, so if he suffers three more losses, then the representative title will have to fall to Bison, Decapre, or Vega. And I know how much you want to face Vega."
"You got that right. Let's go pick up Cammy."
After they got everything packed up, Logan figured out that Cammy was still a little weak, so he decided to carry her. Humorously, she fell right back to sleep on his back. Yoruichi got a laugh while Chun-Li was a little irate about it, knowing the Brit did that on purpose. All the while, Logan was blushing like a furnace, mainly because Cammy was nuzzling in and kissing his neck and squeezing tight. They said their goodbyes to Thunder Hawk and Dhalsim and went on their way. Afterwards, they went on another flight, this time, at Chun-Li's request, to Hong Kong. She figured Logan to be a fan of Martial Arts movies and wanted to introduce him to Fei Long. "How are you feeling, Cammy?" she asked.
"I feel much better now that I got that rest. Thunder Hawk can certainly give someone a run for their money." Logan and Chun-LI smiled before he got a familiar look on his face. "What's going on? Do you sense someone?" asked Cammy.
"Yeah," he said. "Captain Hitsugaya and Rangiku are going to be there. I'm also sensing Ken as well."
"Well that's good," said Ryu. "I've been checking the stats and found out that Ken hasn't lost yet."
"You guys might be the only undefeated team in the tournament, Ryu. Sooner or later, someone's going to have to put that to an end."
"You forget, Logan," said Abel. "You lost against Ken the last time you fought him."
"Yeah, but I think I made up for it when we fought Guy and Ibuki."
After they landed and got their luggage, they went to look for Ken, Toshiro, and Rangiku in the city, relying on Logan's sense of direction. It failed them not as they found the three of them at a park, Toshiro in a fight against a face that was familiar to Logan and Chun-Li: Makoto. Needless to say, Logan was impressed with Makoto's power, even if Toshiro had a limiter placed on him. The group was interested to see how this went, given that both of them were prodigies in their fields. Makoto went for a punch, but Toshiro grabbed her fist and put her in an arm-lock, rendering her defeated.
After the fight, the four of them saw the group, including Ryu and Yoruichi. Toshiro helped Makoto up off the ground as they approached. "It's good to see you again, my friends. Who's this with you?" asked the Squad 10 Captain, getting a smirk from Logan.
"This, Hitsugaya, is the wandering warrior himself. Toshiro Hitsugaya, Rangiku Matsumoto, Makoto, meet Ryu," said the Assassin. He noted that Makoto was in awe at the sight of the wandering legend. "Makoto, I'd also like you to meet Cammy White, William F. Guile, Abel, and Yoruichi Shihoin."
"It's an honor," Makoto said, bowing to Ryu. Rangiku just now noticed a similarity between Ken and Ryu, as they were the same height, wore similar outfits, and even had similar sparring gloves, even if Ryu's gi was a little torn.
"There's no need to bow, young one. I'm still human, you know," Ryu said humbly, while smiling at the young girl. Makoto smiled back before refocusing on Logan and Chun-Li. She smiled at them before pulling them into a hug. "It seems that she's a little sister to you after all."
"The grip isn't so little, Ryu," Logan remarked.
"So how did you come across Ryu?" Ken asked.
"It was a tag match. I had to take a little trip to Soul Society to get my ex-girlfriend out of a jam. After that, Ryu and I teamed up against these brothers who practice Kung-Fu. We were in Karakura Town, so we met up with Ichigo Kurosaki's friends Sado Yasutora and Uryu Ishida after the fight."
"And what brings you to Hong Kong?"
"Chun-Li," Guile said, pointing at the Interpol Officer. "After having Ichigo and Rukia rescued and a couple of sparring matches between Abel and a ninja girl named Ibuki, and Logan and Guy, we went to India to pay a visit to Dhalsim. Cammy fought and won against Thunder Hawk, who happened to be visiting, and Logan gave Balrog his second loss in the tournament. Then, at Chun-Li's behest, we decided to come here so Logan can meet Fei Long."
"You mean the martial arts movie star? Dude, that would be rad!" Makoto had another thought on her mind that ticked her off.
"You mean to tell me that you met 'Boy-Crazy' Ibuki? She's nuts, Logan! It's a good thing you fought Guy since you wouldn't get much of a fight out of her!"
"Can you keep it down, Makoto? Ibuki actually beat Abel, but she was worn down in the end. Since Cammy had previously beaten Cody Travers in Italy, my match against Guy was the tiebreaker," Logan explained. The group was enjoying themselves with Guile and Cammy agreeing with Toshiro and Rangiku that they'll have their matches when they're fully rested from the flight. Logan got a familiar feeling on him, so he looked behind his back and saw a very tall fighter standing a good few feet away from them. "Don't look now, guys, but we've got company."
Once they had a good look at the figure, Ryu got a scowl on his face. "Sagat," he said.
"I'm not here to fight you, Ryu," said the Muay Thai King. Ryu's scowl intensified. "I'm here to fight the Assassin." They looked at Logan before Cammy, Guile, and Abel jumped in front of him to protect him. "Do you really think getting in between me and him will protect him? You're only putting yourselves in danger. Stand down or I WILL hurt you." The three of them held their ground, but Logan walked past them to fight Sagat. "So you accept my challenge?"
"If it means that you'll leave us the hell alone, then yeah. I accept," he said. The two of them got in their fighting stances ready for the brawl. Logan knew that fighting Sagat would be much different from fighting Adon, especially since Sagat was the master. He started the fight running towards him, which Sagat thought to be an amateur move until he slid under him and tripped him up. The Muay Thai King responded by spinning and kicking the Assassin a ways back before bringing his arms back and bending his elbows. "Uh-oh," said Logan.
"Tiger Shot!" The blast was heading towards Logan, but he jumped into the air to dodge it. He got hit by another 'Tiger Shot' since he couldn't move very well off the ground. Logan decided to stop fooling around and counterattack. He charged up 'Chidori' and rushed towards him. Sagat thought he was going to do the same foolhardy move, but when he was about three feet away from him, the speed demon jumped up, flipped over him, and fired a 'Chidori Blast', hitting him square on the chest. "You're unorthodox, I'll give you that."
"You've got my fight against Ken to thank for that." Sagat just snorted and fired off a few more 'Tiger Shots'. Logan knew that he had more tricks up his sleeve, but he wasn't exactly willing to show them until the right moment. The younger fighter got close to the older one. "Shoryuken!" he shouted, surprising Sagat. It also took Makoto by surprise since she was the only one in the group who didn't see him learn that move. Sagat, however, was also prepared for this move.
"Tiger Knee!" exclaimed the Muay Thai user. He hit Logan in the stomach and cut off his 'Shoryuken'. Naturally, Ken and Ryu figured that that shouldn't have happened while the others were worried about their friend, especially Rangiku, Cammy, and Chun-Li. Yoruichi was anticipating Logan's more well-known move, which he decided to do next. "Had enough?"
"Actually, Sagat, I'm just getting warmed up!" He jumped off of Sagat's head and got high into the air. "Skydive Assault!" He plummeted down and was ready to knock Sagat down like he did Ken and Rufus, but it didn't work like he planned.
"Tiger Uppercut!" Sagat's fist punched Logan's palm on the latter's way down. This has sent a shock through his body and threw him off balance. "I've had enough fooling around, boy! Tiger Genocide!" he exclaimed. The move started with a 'Tiger Knee' to Logan's face, followed by a Tiger Uppercut that was a little higher than usual. Because of the shock from the impact of the first 'Tiger Uppercut', Logan was struggling to get up after Sagat had finished. The Assassin passed out and fell down as a result. "I will admit, he was an okay fighter. But I'm afraid that's all he gets from me if he doesn't improve. You'll get your match against me tomorrow, Ryu. For now, you must tend to the kid." After Sagat left, the others looked at Logan, who was obviously hurt from the 'Tiger Genocide'. Guile and Abel picked him up while Yoruichi and the others were saddened by the loss. Luckily, since she knew his fights against Vega and Byakuya never counted, this was only his second loss.
Ryu looked back to where Sagat left, more determined than ever now to pay him back.
(Soul Society…)
Soifon saw the fight through the Viewing Kido and was twice as distraught as Yoruichi. This was a man who was at least 7' tall, making him one of the tallest along the likes of Hugo and Thunder Hawk. She also knew that Sagat was also the most focused of those three. She dislikes it when Logan loses and this one was no doubt the one that would shake him up the most due to Sagat's bluntness. At the same time, though, she had to take into account the fact that she felt responsible for his loss against Vega, which also started the rivalry between both Assassins. She knew he quickly recovered from his loss against Ken and learned something new with it.
Momo was also watching and hated it when bad things happened to her friends. This was due to her own innocence causing her to believe that there was still good in Aizen when there were clear malevolent intentions upon the latter's first interaction with Ichigo. "Captain Soifon, doesn't Logan usually put his opponents in a crater when he uses his 'Skydive Assault' move?" she asked. She got no response from her heartbroken mentor. "Captain?"
"Yes, Momo, that does usually happened. Apparently, someone that Logan had interacted with previously has tipped off this 'Sagat' person about that move as well as the fact that he knows how to use the 'Shoryuken'. The only one I could possibly think of that has interacted with both Logan and Sagat is Vega."
"But that's impossible. Logan's never used either one against Vega. If he did, he wouldn't have lost so easily, Vega would've been in jail, and the Sash of Eden would've still been in the museum where it belongs."
"Yes, but Logan would've still been in his depressed state and that would've been my fault," Soifon stated. "I don't know about you, Momo, but I hate seeing him like that…or this." She gestured over to the Viewing Kido where Guile and Abel laid Logan down onto a bed. "I also saw a look of determination from Ryu. Apparently, he and Sagat have been rivals for a long time. No doubt Ryu's looking to get some kind of payback. I have to check on Rukia and see how her training's coming along. Do you mind seeing about Ryu's fighting, Momo?"
"You got it, Captain."
Soifon got to the Kuchiki Compound and rang the bell at the front gate. Once the butler let her in and led her to the training field, she saw that it was covered with ice. No doubt Rukia's Bankai was as strong as ever, which meant that she was back to perfect health. The Squad 13 Lieutenant was now practicing on how to slowly revert back to Shikai while in combat, her sparring partner being Byakuya. Soifon looked and saw Ichigo sitting on the bench in perfect health. With him were Isshin, who was in bandages, and Renji, who was covered in frost. "It looks like Rukia's training is still paying off. She's dodging those moves as gracefully as ever," she said.
"Yeah," said the Substitute. "Her progress with her Bankai is getting better all the time. Earlier, she put Renji on ice."
"Am I to assume you did that number to your dad, Kurosaki?"
"Well as usual, he and Hat-n-Clogs were each being a pain in my ass. I put the latter in a body cast for about 3 weeks." This statement elicited a snicker from Soifon, which got a smile from Ichigo in turn. "How goes Logan's progress in the tournament?"
"That's a question I didn't want to hear at this moment. He lost against Sagat, the King of Muay Thai."
"Are you serious?"
"I'm dead serious, Ichigo. Sagat's about 7' tall and is one of the most focused fighters in the tournament. Someone must've revealed his moves to him, most notably that 'Skydive Assault' he uses, and I think that someone is Logan's archenemy Vega. He must've spied on a few of his fights to gain that knowledge because Logan didn't use that or 'Shoryuken' when he fought him. He's used them against Sagat and Sagat won. Ryu's looking to face him for payback, though."
"I think it's more than payback, Soifon," Ichigo said. "That's a rivalry that started with Ryu and Ken's first tournament. When Ryu got to the finals and faced Sagat, he used a move called the 'Metsu Shoryuken', which left a scar on Sagat's chest and gave Ryu the win. Since then, Sagat has been waiting for the perfect opportunity for a rematch between the two of them. My guess is that since Sagat doesn't work for Shadaloo anymore, Bison bribed him with a threat. I can't imagine what kind, though, but it also gave him an opportunity for a rematch against Ryu."
(World of the Living…)
Logan was just starting to stir when he saw that he was in a small room. He saw pictures of what looked like a little girl with her father. What really got him was the fact that the girl looked like Chun-Li. He also saw a teddy bear that looked like a panda in the window. He sat up very slowly, taking care not to strain himself as he did. "Oh, you're awake," a voice greeted. He knew it was Chun-Li since that was how they always greeted one another. "Try not to strain yourself too much. Sagat's 'Tiger Genocide' did a lot more damage than we originally thought. Combine that with the fact that he was able to stop your most powerful technique with a simple 'Tiger Uppercut' and you've got yourself a few shocked nerves."
"Thanks for the advice. Where are the others?" asked Logan.
"Cammy's in the living room pacing the floor while Captain Hitsugaya is meditating," the Interpol officer answered. "Guile and Abel are sparring, Makoto is shopping with Rangiku, and Ryu's practicing for his rematch against Sagat. Those two have a strong rivalry, you know."
"What about Ken?"
"He's training with Ryu and helping him prepare. Those two are as close as brothers, mainly because they learned under Gouken for so many years. Since I've been at your temporary headquarters, I figured I'd show you my own. This is my apartment. We're in my bedroom at this moment. As you can see, I've been tracking down my father's murderer for a few years now, even before I became a cop. So far, Bison's continued to evade me."
"Well it looks like you got your looks from your mother and your brains from your dad." Chun-Li blushed at the compliment. "Bison's still evading me as well. Because of his high degree of Psycho Power, I can't track him like I can Decapre. Vega and Balrog, on the other hand, I can track. The same goes with Sagat. Speaking of which, that particular fight isn't sitting well with me. It's not as bad as the argument I had with Soifon, but it'll affect me one way or another."
"Try not to think about it. Sagat's always been one of the toughest competitors in martial arts, so you would've had a hard time whether you won or not. At least you had a chance, though." She kissed him on the cheek, which caused his eyes to widen and his cheeks to turn red. She then switched it to kissing his lips, which he melded into.
When they broke apart, they smiled at each other lovingly. "Next time I face someone like him or Hugo, I'm going to have to make better use of my speed."
At the park, Ryu had insisted that the only one that would watch this fight would be Ken since he knew specifically how intense the rivalry between him and Sagat was. Even his self-imposed apprentice Sakura or Dan, the clown of martial arts, couldn't understand the rivalry like someone who trained alongside him since they were kids. He recalled the lessons he learned from Gouken, including learning to rely on your friends. Since he saw a strong bond between Logan and his teammates and Ken could easily bring him out of his Satsui no Hado state on his own, he brought his best friend for that very reason.
As he was getting ready for his match, he saw Sagat approaching, obviously ready for the fight as well. "Are you ready, Sagat?" Ryu asked, as friendly as possible.
"A promise is a promise," responded Sagat, who pointed at the scar on his chest. "Try and keep your dark side under control. Can you manage that?" Ryu nodded while Ken was already anticipating the fight and waiting for the Satsui no Hado to act up. With Ryu's rivalry against Sagat, that was a likely case. "Tiger Shot!"
"Hadoken!" The two projectiles collided and stirred up some dust. As Sagat narrowed his eye, Ryu emerged from the dust with a 'Tatsumaki Senpukyaku'. The Muay Thai King blocked it and performed a 'Tiger Uppercut' to counter it. This knocked Ryu to the ground. As Sagat looked down on him, the World Warrior took him by surprise. "Shoryuken!" Ryu shouted. The attack connected with Sagat's chin. It was clear on his expression that out of all of Ryu's moves, this was the Thai's least favorite. They both charged up a punch and slammed the other's fist with it. The force of the simultaneous attacks was enough to send them back. This time, Sagat charged towards Ryu, who was charging Chi energy in both of his hands. "Shinku…Hadoken!"
The power of Ryu's Super attack was enough to knock Sagat down, but he wouldn't stay down for long. "Tiger Genocide!" he shouted. Ryu did all he needed to do and that was to roll out of the way of the 'Tiger Knee' portion of the attack. This wasn't much of a surprise since he and Sagat knew each other's moves. As they traded attacks, Ryu kept feeling the dark pulse of the Satsui no Hado build up. He knew that he had to finish this as quickly as possible, lest he becomes overwhelmed by it. Sagat had no idea yet, so he wasn't exactly going to let him win so easily. "Tiger Destruction!" shouted the Muay Thai fighter.
The attack was one of Sagat's Ultra moves, which consisted of a 'Tiger Knee', like the 'Tiger Genocide' he used on Logan, followed by two uppercuts, one of which was a short one while the other was higher, with the opposite fist, and flaming. However, the attack didn't scorch Ryu. Once the attack hit, Sagat was surprised to find that Ryu got back up with the familiar dark red aura around him. He could tell that his rival was fighting it." C'mon, Ryu! Don't let the Satsui no Hado take you over! Think about your friends! Think about your way of fighting! Think about your master! Do you really think he'll want to see you like this?"
"Sagat's right, Ryu!" shouted Ken. "You have to fight it!" The Satsui no Hado tempted Ryu to use his most powerful Ultra move, but Ken and Sagat's voices managed to reach him enough for him to pull the one Ultra that was shared between him and his dark side.
He charged up purple aura, showing that he was near possession. "Consider this a parting gift from the good Ryu! Metsu…Hadoken!" shouted the dark force. They could tell that after he charged it up, the Satsui no Hado had consumed him. After Sagat was hit, which knocked him out, a bright red light was shown from the site of the battle. When the light faded, Ryu was standing in a torn blue gi and a yellow headband and gloves. His eyes were now red, as was his hair. The only part of his gi top left on him was the left side, showing a crater in his chest with red-and-yellow energy showing. Ken was scared because this was Ryu's dark side: Evil Ryu.
CHAPTER END
I know. It's been a while since I last updated this one. I decided to retcon the whole 'Decapre killing Balrog' thing because I figured that he might come back in Street Fighter V like Charlie Nash and Bison did, although Charlie does look like he came out of Frankenstein's lab now. Too bad that game is only going to be released for the PS4 and PC…oh wait! I have a PC! I just need to get a controller for it. Just so you know, Charlie is his name in the American versions while in Japan, his name is Nash. Due to that, his popular name is a combination of both of these.
So after leaving Dhalsim's village, the group, Yoruichi, and Ryu meet back up with Ken, Toshiro, Rangiku, and Makoto, while Soifon is checking up on Ichigo and Rukia's progress. The group encounter Sagat, who subsequently beats Logan in a fight, but then loses to Ryu, who is possessed by the Satsui no Hado as a result of the intensity of the battle. What will happen next?