Elena started off first. She rushed in, a kick slashing the air in front of Akuma with surprising speed. The black-clad warrior simply dodged back, seemingly amused.
Elena continued her assault, snapping her right leg towards Akuma's head. Akuma raised his arm to block, but the attack never came. Elena shifted her weight quickly, her other leg coming around in a sweep kick.
Akuma barely had enough time to dodge. He hopped over the attack, and thrust a fist towards the girl's face. She parried the blow, bringing her right leg up in a flipping motion, her Scratch Wheel technique.
Akuma vanished, teleporting behind her. Elena landed from the move, and looked around, confused. Akuma laughed, and thrust his hands forward, forming and throwing a GouHado at her back. Elena staggered, but recovered quickly. Leaning forward and balancing on one hand, she whirled, slashing once, twice, three times with her legs, striking Akuma in the stomach.
He staggered, winding by the blows, and Elena knew this was her once chance. Her eyes glowed, and she lunged forward, striking Akuma in the face with her knee, and landed, beginning one of her most powerful techniques, the Brave Dance.
Kicks literally rained down on Akuma, rocking his body from side to side, finally sending him flying up and away with a spin kick to the jaw. He landed hard, cracking the pavement when he landed.
Elena backflipped away and began her jenga again, waiting to see if she had won.
Akuma staggered to his feet. Bruises were forming on his arms and chest where she had had struck him. Blood was streaming from his jaws. And yet, he just looked disappointed.
"That was it? That was your best move?" he said, glaring at her.
Elena went wide eyed, and started to back away. Akuma shook his head, disgusted. An aura of flames manifested itself around him.
"Your kicks have no force! YOU DON'T DESERVE TO BE CALLED A WARRIOR!!" he bellowed.
Akuma vanished. Elena whirled, slashing the air behind her with a roundhouse kick.
She missed completely.
Akuma reappeared behind her, still blazing with that firey aura. He gathered it in his hands and threw it in the form of a Shakunetsu Hadoken.
Elena screamed in agony, falling to her knees as her body burst into flames. Akuma didn't stop, though. He grabbed her and spun her around, striking her in the chest with a kick, her ribs cracking loudly. He followed through on the motion, raising his other leg and spinning into the air, striking her in the jaw three times over with his GouTatsumaki technique.
The young woman spun off to the side, slamming hard into a lamppole, causing onlookers to scatter as she fell.
Elena whimpered, wishing she could just curl up into a fetal position and stay that way. But she didn't dare. She knew, thanks to her father, a physician, what had happened to her. Several bones had cracked in her chest, and most likely her jaw was dislocated, if not broken. Her flesh was seared from the fireball, and it was a miracle that her back hadn't been broken. But what she didn't understand Akuma's motivations.
"W-Why are you d-doing this to me? I j-just wanted..." Elena started, slowly getting to her feet.
Akuma snarled, interrupting her, "You wanted to make friends with me, yes? Little girl, your naivete disgusts me. You proclaim to be a fighter and yet you seek friendship, kinship with those you do battle with? You're a fool. And a hypocrite."
Elena shook her head, the motion sending a wave of pain through her. "No. I-It's not like that at all..."
Akuma sighed weakly. His aura flared up again, only this time the flames were black. "You are a fool, Elena. So you will be judged by my ultimate technique, the Shun Goku Satsu."
Akuma vanished again. Elena looked around furitively for him, unable to make a move to defend herself. She then felt his hands close around her neck.
And then everything went blank.
To the onlookers, it seemed as if they were enclosed in a dome of light. Elena's screaming along with the sounds of a brutal beating came from inside the light. It vanished, and the two fighters were revealed. Akuma was standing over Elena's body, flames dancing around him, the kanji for 'TEN' glowing on his back. They all stared in horror, fearing the girl had been killed.
A sigh of relief went up when Elena stirred, moaning weakly. She rolled to her side, trying to get to her feet.
Akuma looked down on her with something akin to pity, his aura still ablaze. "Your heart is pure, Elena. Too pure to be fully affected by my attack. You survived the Shun Goku, and this proves that you are not worthy of being a warrior."
Elena gripped the leg of Akuma's gi, staring up at him with a mix of hatred and fear.
Akuma smiled, noticing this expression, continuing. "Yet there is a small measure of hope for you. It seems my beating has taught you to hate. Perhaps..."
He thought for a moment, and smiled. He reached down and gripped Elena's hair, dragging her roughly to her feet. She whimpered, trying to pry his hand loose.
"Once there was a great warrior called Sagat. Because of the scars inflicted on him by two young warriors, he became hateful. Vengeful." Akuma's smile widened. "Powerful. It was beautiful. He sold his soul to M.Bison just so he could get revenge on the one who scarred his chest. And when he lost his eye before that, he killed that fighter outright! It was one of the greatest displays of true power that I had ever heard of. And yet he threw it all away for something as pathetic and meaningless as honor."
Elena just stared at him, tears streaming down her face. "W-what are you going to do to me?"
Akuma raised his other hand, clenching it into a fist and extending two fingers. "I will do to you what Go Hibiki and Ryu did to Sagat. It is my hope then that you will grow from this experience, and come challenge me again."
Before Elena could protest, he thrust his hand forward, jabbing into her right eye. Elena screamed, her eye bursting under the thrust. Blood oozed down her face as she squirmed helplessly in Akuma's grasp.
Akuma wiped his fingers clean nonchalantly on his pantsleg, and gathered the flames of his aura again, this time wrapping the fire around his forearm. He let go of her, but lunged, thrusting his arm skyward as he flew up into his GouShoryu. He struck her just above her waist as she fell, his fist slashing her from her hip to her shoulder, the skin igniting where it was touched by the technique.
She screamed, flying back over the heads of the crowd watching the fight, and landing hard on the pavement. Akuma just chuckled, teleporting to her side.
Elena stared back at him through her remaining eye, moaning weakly. Tears washed some of the blood on her face away as she tried to look him in the eyes, trying to find some reason behind his actions.
Akuma just snorted, and said, "Come find me when you are ready, Elena. Come find me when you have embraced your hatred, and given in to the Murderous Intent. For only when you are ready to kill will you be a true warrior."
He kneeled, putting her face as close to his as he could get. He grinned wickedly, in an uncanny impression of M.Bison's trademark smile. "When you are ready to kill me, that is when you will become worthy of my attention."
Akuma vanished without another word, his words echoing in Elena's ears, as some of the spectators finally recovered from the shock of the battle, getting out their cell phones and calling an ambulance...