"I'm actually going through with this," Mika said to herself, sounding genuinely surprised.

Dan Hibiki was right about one thing: he had built himself a solid reputation in the world of street fighting. However, the reputation was as a showboating buffoon who will crumple into the dirt at the first punch, a man whom losing to is the ultimate insult. Hardly the type one wanted to emulate.

Then again, Mika thought, what about that Sakura girl? She's way stronger than her looks belie, and didn't Dan train her in the first place? Maybe he's a better teacher than a fighter, or something... and besides, didn't he beat Sagat that one time? Sure, everyone's bound to have a bad day, but you have to be tough as nails to get as much as a fluke victory over someone like Sagat. Unless he threw the fight or something, but why the hell would he ever do that, and to Dan of all people?

Maybe Dan just gets lucky sometimes. And sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

If one positive thing could be said about the Saikyo dojo, it was at least spacious. Of course, that spaciousness probably had something to do with how there didn't seem to be anyone in it. Mika looked around, confused, wondering if she somehow managed to get the wrong address.

"Hello?" she called out. "Is anyone here?"

Dan sprung to life, emerging from his nap in the back office, all smiles, and why not? Someone came in! He has a student! The first step into becoming a respectable... wait a minute.

Dan knew this young woman looked familiar, but he couldn't but his finger on it. Crazy blonde pigtails, inexplicable mask... he knew he had seen her... somewhere... oh well. Not like it made a difference. Even if she was a fighter she was clearly here to abandon her old style and learn Saikyo, and good on her for it! More people should get over their arrogance and realize that Saikyo is truly the strongest of styles, Dan thought.

"Hey there! Come in, come in!" Dan said happily. "So you're here to learn Saikyo, are you? Well, that's great! What's your name?"

Mika was somewhat pleasantly surprised that Dan didn't seem to know who she was, though that might soon change. "Mika, but I'm more commonly known as Rain-"

"Mika, huh? It's an alright name for a fighter, I guess. Could be better, could be worse. I'd introduce myself, but of course you already know who I am! I'm Dan Hibiki, grandmaster of Saikyo style!"

"Right, of course-"

"So how about you? You might not hold a candle to me, but you look like you've done some fighting before. What's your style? Some sort of kung fu, some kickboxing, maybe a little judo?"

"Well actually, I'm a professional wrestler. I'm Rainbow Mika."

"Pro wrestler?" Dan began to laugh. "You mean you get in that ring and have some of those fake fights?"

Mika looked at him sternly. "If you want to put it that way."

"Well then, it looks like I'm going to have a lot to teach you. But that's okay! Anyone can become a student of Saikyo with practice and determination! So let's see what you can do!"

Dan took a few steps back and stood firmly, hands on his hips.

"Hit me."

"Excuse me?" Mika asked. He wasn't serious, was he?

"Go ahead, hit me as hard as you can. I can take it! I don't want you throwing any of those fake wrestling punches either. I won't even try to block! Just one hard shot."

"Well... if you say so."

Mika steadied herself, reared back and slammed a right hook into Dan's stomach. At first he didn't seem to have any reaction at all. Maybe she really wasn't that strong. But then... wait... is he... crying?

"That wasn't... too bad there Mika, for a rookie anyway," Dan said, the speech coming out in short, stilted bursts as he dropped to one knee. "Don't mind me, I'm just... a bit tired today... was training until the late hours last night, of course... so I didn't get much sleep. But I would certainly say that you have the talent necessary to become a master of Saikyo. But it's still... not going to be... easy..."

"Are you okay?"

"What? Bah, of course I'm... fine... I'm just tired, and maybe a little ill... that fish I ate last night probably didn't agree with me..."

"You sure? You told me to hit as hard as I could-"

"Ha! If that was as hard as you could, then... you wouldn't last a minute in a real street fight!"

"You know, I have been in street fights before..."

"Sure you have. So has everyone, right? Well you're wrong. You don't know what a street fight is like until you go face to face, look them straight in the eyes, and taunt to the crowd!"

"I think I know how that feels- wait, what? Taunting to the crowd is the most important thing?"

"Absolutely! Street fighting isn't just for muscleheads, you know. You have to make good use of your brain as well as your brawn if you want even a prayer of standing a chance. And the best way to demoralize the mind is psychological warfare!"

"So... you taunt them?"

"Of course! Get under their skin, let them know that you don't think anything of them! Make them make a mistake. It's the best way to win. For some of us, the only way to win."

"I see. You know, it sounds silly at first, but actually that makes a lot of sense."

"Well, of course it does! I said it, didn't I? So let me see what you got. Give me your best taunt."

"Alright... promise I won't hit you this time-"

"I told you, stomach sickness! Maybe some sort of enzyme problem. Anyway, taunt me!"

"Alright..." Mika took a few deep breaths before pantomiming a microphone in her left hand. "Listen here, Dan! You're say you're tough enough to face me?" Mika yelled, walking closer, approaching Dan's face until the two were nose to nose. "To pin me? To beat me? You've been saying this for weeks now, months! But that's all you do is talk. You won't fight me, yet you know you're better than me 'cause that's all you'll ever say! Well, guess what? I say I'm sick and tired of your posturing, and if you have half as much guts as you do words you'll prove yourself once and for all by taking me on, in the ring, tonight!"

Dan looked on, stunned as well as a bit afraid, not like he'd admit it. Mika backed away slowly, setting her imaginary microphone down on an imaginary table in the process. "So... how was that? Was that alright?" she asked, a bit of a blush beginning to emerge on her face.

"Well... yes! Of course!" Dan said, partially out of not wanting to anger her. "It's a bit long, and we're going to have to work on that, but certainly good for a beginner! I'm very confident in your abilities, Mika! You're going to make me famous!"

"The grandmaster of Saikyo style isn't already famous?" Mika said with a chuckle.

"Absolutely! But not as famous as I could be, of course! There are a lot of street fighters in this world, you know. Even some of the strongest in all the world are bound to be overlooked by the biased press!"

"Or the booking team."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing... go on."

As Dan rambled on Mika couldn't help but smile. Sure, this seemed like the dumbest idea in the world at first, but it was starting to make more and more sense. While it was likely she had more raw ability than her master, it was just that, raw, and needed to be refined. And Dan Hibiki of all people would be the one to refine it.

Somewhere along the line, the plan went from crazy to just crazy enough to work.