The Bird of Darkness

by DeNice

With the dawning of another Shadowloo movement, fighters from all over race to get to the bottom of strange events that plauge the world. Little do they know how deep the rabbit hole really goes. CH.15 up: Another night is fully alive...

2. The Plans Are Unfolding

CHAPTER 2: THE PLANS ARE UNFOLDING

Side note Lee Chaolin and Combot belong to Namco.

Southtown, USA: 4:15 P.M.

If anyone didn't recognize the man in the white karate gi, long headband, short, dark brown hair, and white duffel bag that rested on his shoulder by now, they must have been living under a rock for the past 2 decades. Although he was a bit out of place in this rather robust urban city, full of rustle and bustle, wearing what he had on, it wouldn't make a difference in a few minutes considering where he was going. This city, called Southtown, was like another New York City considering the fact that it was so huge it needed to be broken up into different sectors. Like New York has Chinatown, Southtown had the Eastbound, or their version of a mini-far East; Japan, China, Indonesia, and Korea all rolled into one. As this experienced martial artist walked down the hill of the narrow street, bordered by mixtures of buildings and houses near the heart of the Eastbound, he could steadily see his destination ahead of him.

It was a martial arts dojo, located on the corner of the street which he walked on. As he stopped in front of the first large window of the dojo, he put his white duffel bag down and opened it. After rummaging through his few yet very valuable belongings, he took out a sheet of paper; an invite of sorts.

"Mmm... Tae Kwon Do for the Ages," he read the directions out loud. "72 South 3rd Street... Lead instructor: Kim Kaphawn. "He put the paper back in his bag and stood up "This is the place."

"Yes, it is, and I'd like to be the first to welcome you to it."

The voice belonged to another man, roughly the same height as the first, wearing a Tae Kwon Do uniform himself. He sported brown hair that shined in the afternoon sunlight, sparkling brown eyes, and a smile that didn't need sunlight to shine. The initial martial artist smirked and then walked up towards the door where the second stood.

"Kim Kaphawn, I presume," he said while extending his hand for a shake. "The world's #1 Tae Kwon Do fighter and the sole symbol of justice. It's an honor."

"No, the honor is mine, Ryu," Kim reassured, completing the handshake firmly. "The legendary Street Fighter himself. User of the ancient Ansatsuken style. I'm surprised you came as early as this. I sent that invite a week ago. I never thought you'd get to see it considering that you're always on the move, let along make it here."

"Well, I have my ways," Ryu answered back, pulling away from Kim's hand and hoisting his bag onto his shoulder again. "Well, then... how about we get to business. There's some things I think we need to discuss."

Kim nodded. "Indeed, but you know what comes first."

"Yeah..."

"Let me get the rest of my students out here. We can exhibition in the plaza right here. Come."

And with that Kim stepped inside his dojo, Ryu closely behind. For the first time the lone warrior got to see the insides of the dojo. It was how he expected it to be like; full of the friendly yet competitive atmosphere of the young and elder sparring each other or helping lower class fighters to gain experience. There were a few small spars being conducted in random areas of the gym, but the main attraction was a class being held near the middle. A young man in a green striped gi and dark-blueish hair was leading that class by practicing kanta drills with the lower classes, breaking it down step by step by himself as they watched. He resembled Kim a bit in a number of ways, from his rock-hard determination to the sparkling smile he wore as he enjoyed his role. As the two men stopped right next to him, letting him finish his current procedure, the young man did just that.

"...and hah! 27th position," he called, stomping his foot down while facing Kim and Ryu and going into a striking position. Everyone could plainly see the flames that erupted from under his foot and they certainly felt the floor shake with authority. The instructor's eyes, which were down towards the floor, relocated to see Kim's face, causing him to stand straight up.

"Dad?" he asked.

"You know, you're becoming better and better at this every day," Kim congratulated with a warm smile, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I wish your brother could put as much effort into this as you do, but... oh! Ryu, this is Jae Hoon, my youngest of two. Just as hardworking a his old man, huh?"

"Yes, he is," Ryu acknowledged, shaking Kim's son's hand. "How long had he been in martial arts?"

"About... from the time he was 7," Kim said, "and he's been open-minded about the whole concept. He works just like a true, dedicated fighter should. It's going to get him far in the circuit..." After a pause, Kim remembered a vital piece of information. "Ryu, have you heard of the news concerning the circuit as of late?"

"Of course. The Street Fighter and King of Fighters circuits are merging again... This time permanent. It proves that things are best viewed as a whole, I see... It should be interesting. A lot of young talent is sprouting up all over the place as well."

"You can say that again. I caught the complete coverage of the Street Fighter 4 tournament 3 years ago. It was quite refreshing." Kim then gave Ryu a smirk. "Especially the person who actually won that tournament..."

Ryu immediately recalled the final battle... The battle that practically demolished a good chunk of the Tokyo Dome where it was hosted at. Never before had he seen a battle with so much magnitude since he faced off with Akuma a good decade ago... or Gill 4 years ago. The surprising thing was who actually took place within the final bout. One was that devil fighter, Kairi... The other was the grown-up school girl who used to look up to him as an idol years ago; the girl that once asked him to be her sensei...

"It isn't exactly ironic..." Ryu responded. "The last time I talked to Sakura when she was young I told her that she would grow up to be a great fighter... although... I will admit that battle was rather epic. However the better fighter won, and that just happened to be her since Kairi was mad in his power near the conclusion of it. All I'm wondering is how she will fare with the horizon spreading out as it is now... She's the current Street Fighter champion and Terry Bogard is the current King of Fighters. The way I see it, there can only be one undisputed champion in the world."

"Right," Kim agreed, "and although the circuit doesn't start again for another 7 months or so, I already received a notice showing who's already joining in." Kim paused for a bit... then looked at Jae Hoon. "Son, can you get the flyer?"

"Sure, dad," Jae Hoon answered, quickly running off to find the notice. Both remaining fighters waited, listening to the class's low, random chatter to their left. After a while, Jae Hoon returned with a flyer, handing it over to his father, who, in turn, showed it to Ryu.

"See?" he said, pointing out the combatants already participating in the as-of-now unnamed circuit. "Terry Bogard, Kyo Kusanagi, Joe Higashi, Rock Howard, Ken Masters, Mel Masters, Yun, Yang, and Yin Lee, Makoto, Allen Shnider, Ryu and Yuri Sakazaki, Robert Garcia, Iori Yagami, Dan Hibiki, Athena Asamiya, Sie Kenshou, Hinata Wakaba, Hugo, Roy Bromwell, Tiffany Rose, Edmond Honda, Gan, Guy, Maki, Mai Shiranui, King, Batsu Ichimonji, Elena, Ibuki, Karin Kanzuki, Tizoc, Zangief, Alex, Dudley, and a heck of a lot more to come. I expect Sakura to definitely enter as well if she can make time considering her line of work. She always does, you know. Her husband has it worse, but knowing how good he's been pulling that new software company, he shouldn't have any problems... Now that I think about it, I expect a lot of new talent to show up. You seen the exhibition fights?"

Ryu nodded. "A bunch. I have my eyes on almost everyone. This is surely going to be one to attend. I heard this is another combination of the Master Foundation and the Garcia Comp, isn't it?"

"It is."

"I expected Ken to do something like this again... Now, then... how about we see how we are coming along. We can talk later tonight."

Kim smiled. "I was waiting for you to say something like that. Jae Hoon? Assemble everyone. We're going to have us an exhibition spar outside."

Shanghai, China: 9:31 A.M.

"Please show your identification card... not like you need it, Ms. Xiang."

The Chinese Interpol officer smiled as she reached into her polo shirt and flashed her I.D. card to the security guard at the front door. Once she got confirmation, Chun-Li stepped inside the revamped innards of the main Interpol base. The building itself was brand-new; built up from scratch since the old base was blown up by a surprise Shadowloo attack 3 years ago. However, that wasn't going to happen again for two reasons. Once, the building was now twice as secure as before, down to the sensors that can detect anything suspicious within a 10 mile radius of the base and two, Shadowloo, the main threat to peace and tranquility in the world, was destroyed once and for all. She even saw the man in charge of all that suffering die right in front of her very eyes. That was enough reassurance to her after what he did to her father so many years ago...

However soon she might just put it all away and behind her. In two weeks she was going to retire her position and settle down for a nice, quiet life. It was about that time, anyway. She committed a lot of her life to serve a long run for Interpol and now it was all going to pay off. Chun-Li even had some activities planned once she retired: a nice cruise... find a new place to live... and maybe even enter the new martial arts circuit again for old time's sake... Until then, thought, she still needed to do some business.

From the front lobby, Chun-Li went right slightly and approached a set of elevators. She pressed the Up button and patiently waited, brushing off her blue jeans. A sew moments later the elevator in front of her opened up.

"Good morning," the guy who was on it greeted while coming out, going his own way. Chun-Li nodded in response and then stepped inside, letting the doors close behind her. Pressing the number 3, she then ran her hands through her long brown hair, which wasn't hidden by the usual buns that she normally wore, her tongue slightly slipping through the side of her mouth as she did so. She stopped when the elevator slowed to a stop and opened up, exposing several other people who were waiting to board.

"Excuse me," the officer said as she moved past them and down the hallway. It was somewhat narrow since it was a catwalk connecting the first building to a second that lie behind it, but even from only the third floor of a 35 story building, the view of Shanghai through the large windows was outstanding. Chun-Li took notice and sighed. She was going to miss that view is she doesn't visit every now and then...

The windows soon gave way to doors and Chun-Li kept going, now searching for her office. The sound of business went thought the air as she went deeper in the hallway, her eyes locked on the glass wall at the end of the hall.

Here we go again... she told herself as she slipped inside the open doorway, the door marked "Criminal Investigations Ward." The office was pretty noisy in it own right, considering the sound of electronics flaring and people conducting business on the phone and with each other. The woman who sat at the first desk was on the phone, but that didn't stop her from waving at Chun-LI, who smiled back while passing her. The moment she started to head to her position, a voice rang out.

"Agent Xiang? Good morning."

It came from her left, where a short-haired man in a nice black suit was sitting at his desk, facing her. Unlike a majority of the people on this floor who were of Asian ethnicity, this man was American born, about ½ inch shorter than Chun, but just as good looking.

"Morning, Ace," Chun-Li said brightly. "How're things this morning?"

"Things are good, Ms. Xiang. Just wrapping up our latest report on the thugs we busted 3 days ago. You?"

"Well, I thought that I was going to wrap up that report, but its nice to see you looking out on time. Maybe we can get a few more assignments to do together before the end of next week."

"Aww... Yes. That's right. You're retiring next Friday. I'll be the first to say this, so I'll say it now. You enjoy yourself in retirement. We're going to miss your efforts."

Chun-Li's face brightened more. "Thanks, Ace. I can trust you can handle things while I'm gone, so I can rest easy. Besides, if anything big happens while I'm out, I'll come to assist, ne?"

"That's fine by me... Let's just hope something like that doesn't happen."

"Yeah. Let's. So, Ace, you need any help with that report?"

Ace shook his head. "No. I'm doing just dine. Why don't you get situated and when I finish we see if there is any open cases we can take."

"That you two don't need to worry about. I've got a case that's so big it's shocking..."

Both Ace and Chun-Li turned to see another well dressed officer, wearing gray all over, and... by the looks of his face, worried beyond belief.

"What is it, Ti?" Chun-Li asked. "You really do look spooked."

"Yeah, well... its really like some sort of Ghostly problem," Ti reassured. "Xiang. Willows. Come with me."

Wordlessly, Ace stood up and followed Ti along with his partner, moving towards the back of the office. Ti slipped into the last door at the back of the office and into a smaller room, heading towards his desk. As Chun-Li and Ace came in he instructed, "Close that door and lock it."

"Sure, sir," Ace responded and did so, the blinds shaking a bit as the door closed with a slight bang.

"Kill the lights and have a seat."

Ace did that as well so that only light that was in the room came from the computer that was on Ti's desk. A few moment's later, a projection shot onto the wall behind Ti, showcasing some guys receiving illegal drugs from some dealers on the streets.

"This photo was taken by a patrol officer 2 days ago just before a bust," Ti started. "At first it seemed as if it was just some small-time deal, but look closely at the dealer..."

On cue the picture zoomed in on the dealer, growing a bit pixilated as it only showed the dealer. Chun-Li squinted her eyes, trying to see anything suspicious... then twisted her mouth.

"I'm... not following you, sir," she admitted.

"That's ok, Xiang. I didn't get it either... Now look at his shirt... at 4 times magnification."

The pic zoomed again, showing his upper chest very closely... and Chun-Li detected some sort of metal object lodged in the fabric of his shirt.

"What is that?" she asked. "It looks like..."

"...a detector. The moment we took the guy into custody it shut off. We suspect that it lead back to the guy pulling the strings and he doesn't want us to trace him back. The device is now undergoing analysis but so far there's no identification on it or any leads that say where it came from. Now... Here's where things turn ugly."

The picture changed completely, this time showing a woman sprawled out on the ground. The weird thing was that she was surrounded by a faint black aura and blood was all over her hands and body... and her eyes were open... Completely red.

"What the...?" the woman officer let out, growing a bit wide-eyed.

"This photo was taken at a homicide investigation where we found this woman, the murderer. Luckily we had patrols in the area and also lucky that her child wasn't home. She killed her neighbors and husbands with her bare hands. Witnesses say that she used some sort of martial art while doing so..."

"But how is that possible?" Ace asked. "It's clear that she has no warrior's experience at all. The only for of tone I can make out is aerobics."

Ti's eyes hardened. "Exactly. This was a normal housewife that somehow got caught under the influence. At first we were completely stumped on how this managed to happen... until we ran blood tests. There was a drug found in her system... and that drug was present was the exact same type as that that we analyzed from the hit in the last picture."

"...so... this is linked..." Chun-Li muttered. "Any idea who might be behind this?"

"No," Ti sighed, "But whoever it is must have some sort of knowledge of the marital arts and have the technology to cup a deadly martial art into a simple drug. The only clue we got was that when we took this woman down, she used an energy source very similar to what is known as 'Satsu no Hadou'..."

Something clicked within Chun-Li's brain. "Satsu... no..." she started to repeat... then her eyes grew wide... Severely wide. "You can't be serious! You mean...?"

flashback

"I will NOT tolerate this! I will NOT--!"

"Chun-Li! Charlie! He's here! Bison's right over here!"

"Ok! I'm coming! Keep your voice down so that he doesn't detect us."

I was with Charlie at the time... Charlie and Ken. We were in the middle of a huge sting on Shadowloo's recovery base, accompanied by the legendary fighter, Ryu, his fan, Sakura, her husband, Darrell, and a few of his friends. It was supposed to be a clever sneak attack to destroy Bison for good... but it quickly backfired. We were swarmed by wave after wave of Shadowloo dolls left and right... I personally thought we were done for, but we fought hard and we got to the heart of the base where we suspected the others were at. As Charlie, Ken and I looked into the threshold, I couldn't help but be in shock at what I saw. I caught glimpses of Ryu, Sakura, and the other girls on the ground, unconscious, but the main focus of my attention was the young, African American man who was beating the tar out of my #1 adversary. Bison had his back to the wall, looking spent. Darrell himself was just looking at him with true disgust as he stood firm in his fighting stance. A black ki aura surrounded his body and the thing that freaked me out was that his eyes were completely red. I thought he was possessed with his hatred...

"I knew it," Ken whispered. "This is the same vigor my master warned me and Ryu about. Satsu no Hadou: the evil energy behind Ansatsuken. That kid must have gone completely loco to actually channel that..."

"What are you saying, Ken?" I asked. "Are you saying that—"

"Oh, SHUT UP!" the kid yelled, slowly sliding his body in some sort of strange fighting stance. "I'm so sick and tired of bad guys giving their long-ass speeches before they die. It sickens me..."

Before I could blink, the kid warped over to Bison's face... FAST. Bison's eyes widened in shock, not only because of the young fighter's speed, but also because of the huge purple flame sword that Darrell impaled in his stomach. I let out a gasp right there. I just realized that this was exactly what I wanted to see. I wanted to see Bison pay for his sins. I wanted to see his empire crumble... and I wanted to see him pay for killing my father with his life. This was the moment I've been waiting for...

"...and frankly..." Darrell whispered, looking Bison straight into the eyes with the intent of murder on his mind, "I'm just tired of seeing your face. I hope they have a nice place reserved for you in hell..."

Then everything turned black as sounds of blows exploded in my ears. I managed to count 18... and the next thing I knew Bison was on the ground, dead and Darrell had his back to us... a kanji letter imprinted onto his Shadowloo uniform.

REVENGE...

"Shungokusatsu," Ken called. "I don't believe this. That kid's going to turn into the next Akuma..."

"He's gonna WHAT?" I almost yelled out, but as I said that, his body completely hid behind his black aura... and when it faded there were two of him.

"Ken..." Charlie started, "Just what the hell is going on here?"

Ken just shook his head. "Here... I just don't know..."

The next few minutes we saw and heard the two Darells, one dark and one darker, exchange words... then blow up the huge contraption that was the Psycho Drive. At that moment, I heaved a sigh of relief.

"That's it," I said to myself, "No more Bison..."

end flashback

"So... you're trying to tell me that whoever this is knows Satsu no Hadou so well they could bottle it up in drug!" Chun-Li demanded.

Ti's only response was a solemn shake of the head. "It's a really good imitation if you ask me, but considering the files that we got on existing Satsu no Hadou beings like Darrell and Sakura Satsu, this 'fake' Satsu no Hadou is made up of only the negative energy... Now that I think about it... those reports you did on those two... How do you say they reacted?"

Chun-Li searched her mind a bit to relocate that 3-year-old report in her mind... then responded. "Sakura and Darrell S. both acted rather normal... Like regular human beings. However we did have some technicalities with Satsu no Hadou before concerning Ryu... but he expelled that from his body long ago.

"I understand... but that's enough wasting time. It's about time I showed you how urgent this situation is..."

The final clip on the projector showed a map of the world... with numerous markings in various locations of the world. The odd thing is that the moment she laid eyes on the symbols, she felt her heart drop severely.

"N... no... You're kidding..." she stuttered. "You're saying that...?"

Ti nodded. "Shadowloo's back... and by the looks of it, getting stronger by the day. We did have their backs pinned to the wall the past 3 years, but if they managed to bloom like this in such a short period of time, then we can only suspect the worst..."

"...that somehow... Bison has returned..."

After a hush silence claimed the room, Ti looked at both Ace and Chun-Li with great compassion.

"You both do understand where this leads, right?"

"Yes," both responded at the same time. Ti fell back in his chair and pulled an information portfolio from his desk. "Chun-Li, a majority of Interpol's energies have been directed into stopping Shadowloo once again... but we all know only you have the experience and know-how to get the job done. We trust you can put retirement on hold for just a little while longer until this is finished?"

Chun-Li gave a firm nod. "You can count on it."

"I know I can... Now, good luck. Ace? You'll be partnering up with her."

Ace gave a nod as well. "Yes, sir."

Just before the two Interpol investigators started to leave, Ti gave them one more piece of info.

"Guys! The most recent shipment of this drug was released in Tokyo, Japan yesterday. Make sure you start there."

"Don't worry, Ti," Chun-Li reassured. "We're on the case. Thanks for the info, though."

Tokyo, Japan: 4:37 P.M.

"Hey, kid? If you can still hear me, listen. You've got a lot of spunk and talent, I'll give you that, but you really need to work on your defense. I can Shouoken you to death without even trying."

"Uuuuuuuughh..."

The wind swept cherry blossoms all over the Tokyo street and all around the huge crowd that surrounded the two individuals. One was a young man, probably 19 or 20, in some athletic clothes, his short black hair a mess from the beating he received. He had several bruises on his skin but he wasn't seriously hurt... The other person was a beautiful, dark brown-haired woman, sporting a rather fashionable gray shirt with shorts to match. Her hair, which normally was kept short, now reached down to her shoulders. Her somewhat small body was really toned up by the effect of numerous battles over the many ears she experienced as a Street Fighter. A few years ago, only a select few would know her for who she really was besides the #1 fan of the legendary warrior, Ryu. Now, almost everyone in the world know her as Sakura Kasugano; the new World Warrior champion.

It had been 3 years after the Street Fighter 4 tournament was held in this city courtesy of Ken Masters and 3 years after Sakura defeated the demon fighter Kairi to win the tournament and become Street Fighter champion. It was a huge shock to all to hear that this 'wanna-be' actually won the big one but no one was under greater shock than Sakura. For the next 3 years she had a new look on things and she grew to become a rather cheerful yet respected 26-year-old champion. Very frequently she'd be challenged by fighters from far and wide, wanting to take on the new strongest woman in the world and despite her busy schedule as a high school teacher, Sakura managed to fight... and showcase her new arsenal of elegant yet effective techniques. She could no longer be called a follower.

Today was like any typical after school day. Sakura, on Thursdays, always held open challenges to anyone willing to take her on. The teenager on the ground in front of her was the 6th opponent she defeated today, and miraculously, she wasn't even breathing hard. The crowd of spectators looked on as she searched the crowd, some even taking pictures.

"Okay, is anyone else willing to fight me?" she asked kindly out loud as she bent down and did some leg stretches. There was a large mumbling from the crowd that didn't produce another opponent for the cherry blossom to tackle. Sakura jumped up from her crouching position and sighed.

It always gets like this once I get warmed up with a few fights... she thought. Looks like I'm done he—

"Mrs. Kaaaaasuganoooooooo!"

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted abruptly by the sudden voice that shot out over the crowd's commotion. In front of her the people made way for a youthful 16-year old girl, sporting a Tamagawa Minami pink sailor fuku, red sparring gloves, and pink sneakers. She had her blond hair set back into a ponytail and her lime green eyes screamed anxiety. For Sakura, this day just got a lot better. This particular girl she knew personally; she was a bright young girl who was inspired by her win 3 years ago to take up martial arts. Yes, this day was just getting started.

"Well, hello there, Ms. Saya Hashimoto," Sakura opened up, giving the girl a warm smile. "I see you finally made it, huh?"

Saya flashed a wide smile. "You're kidding? I'll never miss a Thursday afternoon and not fight you, Mrs. Kasugano. You know that."

Sakura nodded. "Yes. You're right about that... So then, I take it you're here for the usual lesson, aren't you?"

Saya nodded eagerly. Everyone could see just how anxious she was in once again going toe-to-toe with her mentor once again. Sakura, in response, adjusted her fighting gloves.

"I thought so. Well, then... Shall we get started?"

Saya smiled and then entered her fighting stance. "You're going to be surprised this time."

Sakura then dropped into her fighting stance, opened her hand facing her student, and beckoned her to make the first move. Saya did. The blonde lunged in with a fist to the face. Sakura simple backed away a step to avoid it. The Tamagawa student quickly followed up with a back knuckle with that same right hand which really wasn't meant to hit. Sakura then backed up a bit and opened big, her opponent barely able to block the strong roundhouse kick aimed for her side. Sakura kept spinning with her attack and on her way back around to face Saya she crouched low with a sweep kick. Just as the blossom predicted, the sweep hit, sending Saya reeling back. Still keeping momentum Sakura rose up and off the ground, delivering two hard hitting kicks that resembled her now old Shunpukyaku, only her body was more outstretched while doing the technique.

"Yaezakura!" she called as she came down and finished the 3th hit of her combination attack with a final roundhouse kick, knocking her student down on her side. Saya proved to be no slouch. As soon as she touched the ground she rolled on her arm and jumped up to her feet, whipping her right hind across her body and, almost within half a second, channeled a bit of her ki energy onto her hand.

"Hah!" Saya shouted as she shot her arm forward, a yellow energy streak flying off her hand and right at her teacher. Sakura, who had just finished recovering from her attack, tried to react to Saya's attack. If anyone watched Sakura and Saya's matches together, they could plainly see that Saya's Ray of Light had became faster and faster in every battle. Sakura grew aware of that the hard way as the energy attack nailed her right on her shoulder. The actual damage wasn't great but the speed powered up its force, throwing Sakura off balance and falling towards the ground. She stopped her fall by planting her hand in front of her, but as soon as she started to get up Saya 'helped' her out, taking this rather rare opportunity to give her teacher a swift kick to her stomach.

Surprised by the power behind it, Sakura found herself gasping for air, the air that used to be in her lungs knocked out of her, as she slowly got up to her feet. As soon as she spotted Saya she had to duck, for a fist would've surely knocked her back to the ground if she didn't. Saya, who thought she had connected, soon found out otherwise as Sakura rose up in front of her, planted her shoulder just under Saya's chin, grabbed her arm in one swift motion and slammed her over her head and to the ground.

Saya let out a yell as she hit the pavement. She noticed that if Sakura wanted she could be just as quick as she could... and knew for a fact that her teacher could have ended this fight by now. Realizing that, Saya rolled forward and to her feet, finding Sakura waiting on her. Heaving a sigh to perk p again, the Tamagawa sophomore got ready once again and then attacked with a few random punches and kicks. Sakura backpedaled, evading all the attacks if not blocking them.

Hmm... Looks like someone's been training...

"Come on, Saya!" Sakura encouraged. "Stop trying to hit me and hit me!"

At that moment Saya responded with a really fast slash kick that Sakura barely blocked in time. Saya smirked.

Gotcha...

She then actually caught her teacher off guard as she spun again, somewhat copying Sakura previous special move and delivered a swift kick to the legs. Sakura lost balance again, dropping down to one knee, and it cost her. Saya kept her momentum going and came back with a strong backhand punch. It hit and the next thing anyone knew Sakura was floored, shaking the cobwebs out of her head.

Saya blinked. Normally Sakura would be on top of things when she fights. She couldn't quite get why she wasn't being the exact same Storming Blossom that she was known for. Perhaps she was having an off day...

"Mrs. Kasugano? You ok?"

Sakura groaned a bit while shaking her head clear, then stood up. "Hai... I'm ok..."

"Are you sure? You don't seem yourself today..."

"I guess I'm a little off ..." Sakura admitted, brushing her shirt off," but it could be a lot worse. You're getting better though. I like that, especially since you caught me off guard twice. You still want to keep going?"

Saya seemed to hesitate a bit before smiling. "Sure!... That is if you're up to it..."

"Then lets not waste anymore time." The blossom once again got ready. "You might've gotten the advantage over me before, but now I'm going to give you a sample of my real skill."

One more gesture from the teacher to the student and...

"You think you can handle this wild cherry blossom?"

Saya smiled... and dashed in towards Sakura. "You just watch me!"

This time Sakura's focus was hardened. Just as Saya came out with another attack Sakura ducked it and instantly came up with a powerful punched to the stomach, almost knocking the air straight out of her. Pain racked through her body two-fold as that fist went up into an uppercut to the chin.

"Shouoken!" Sakura called out, leaping into the air and popping Saya right along with her. However, Saya air recovered and drove her sneaker right into the back of her teacher's head as she spun around. Sakura let out a yelp as her body fell face first towards the pavement. A split second before she collapsed Sakura put out her hands to plant them on the ground, then flipped up to a standing position. Her pupil was all over her, opting to connect a high kick to the chest. Sakura saw it coming and ducked, sweeping Saya off her feet. After a few moments on the ground Saya stood up and stood her ground, blocking Sakura's counter assault. As time wore on Saya began to realize that Sakura was back in full force and once that happens its hard to stop. She expected this to happen soon... This is normally where she starts getting the bad side of the fight... only this time, she was going to shut it up.

I'm getting tired again... Saya thought as she once again backed away from her teacher, trying to distance herself to get her plan to work. I'd better watch my steps...

Sakura on the other hand, was panting herself as she eyed her student.

Wow... She's really doing better today... I better end this fight quickly. I've got things to do once I get home...

"Get ready, Saya!" Sakura announced, rushing in faster than ever. "Yaru..."

Here she comes...

"Not this time, Mrs. Kasugano!" Saya yelled, holding her hands out to her sides, bracing herself, and her ki energy exploded out her hands. Sakura's eyes widened a bit in interest.

Mmm... New move...

"Shower of Light!" Saya yelled out, spinning in place while throwing her energy around herself in a wild, storm-like vigor attack. The crowd around the two women gasped in awe as the whirlwind expanded its range a few inches until the attack ended a few seconds later, Saya facing the way she started, wearing a smirk.

Mrs. Kasugano's Yaru Zakura can't go through projectiles. She's gotta be down here somewhere...

A few moments passed, in which time Saya... and everyone watching for that matter, looked around to see where Sakura disappeared to. It was weird... It was like she just vanished...

"Mrs. Kasugano?' the sophomore asked uneasily. Considering her experience in fighting, Saya knew that leaving Sakura out of sight could only spell P-A-I-N.

"Uh!"

Something flew off in Saya's senses and it was big. Looking up to the skies, Saya eventually spotted where her teacher was... and stared wide-eyed. Sakura was a good 15 feet above the ground, just floating in air... her hands cupped to her sides...

"Ryuusei..."

Sensing a large surge from her teacher, Saya braced herself, planting her sneakers into the concrete, not letting her eyes come off Sakura... A large purple orb of energy formed in the blossom's hands...

"HADOUKEN!"

Sakura shot her hands forwards and let loose a huge blast of energy towards Saya. It was almost too fast to react to; it covered the gap between the two in less than a second. Luckily, as soon as Sakura fired, Saya charged up her hands with her ki again and dove backwards, aiming her hands upwards...

"LIGHT RAIN! IKE!"

As soon as Saya's back hit the ground she countered her teacher by shooting off 4 beams of energy off her fingers. These thicker beams spread out as Sakura's Hadouken exploded right into the ground at Saya's feet, blinding Saya of her own energy. Several seconds went by as the sophomore stayed down, her eyes still up at the sky... and when the Hadou bits cleared another explosion of energy followed, this time her own. The beams she fired locked onto Sakura's position in the air and once they reached there they collided and exploded. Saya kept her eyes in the air, trying not to lose focus... but once the smoke cleared there wasn't a trace of her teacher... again!

The pupil gasped as she shot up to her feet.

Where did she go this time? It's like she can teleport or something!

"Er... Looking for me, Ms Hashimoto?"

"Ugh!"

Saya's eyes grew wide and her body froze.

She's FAST... Aaaahh!

An arm grabbed Saya's from the same place that the voice came from... from behind. Before the young fighter could figure out what was happening she found her legs get kicked out from under her, causing her to fall on her rear end. Another arm wrapped around her neck, completing the headlock Sakura was performing. For a while Saya started to struggle, grasping her teacher's arms and tried to pry them off, but that only made it tighter. Saya groaned as the pressure grew with each second.

"Saya..." Sakura whispered, mostly to herself rather to the actual person, "Come on... This is elementary. Anyone could break this up. You're losing focus..."

Unfortunately she didn't get the memo. After a bit more time Saya felt herself start to feel lightheaded. She stopped moving instantly, now noticing just how bad she was holding up. She started to gather some more of her ki in her right hand... and it started to glow yellow again...

"Sakuuuuuuuura..."

As if the word signaled the end of the battle, both fighters looked up from their positions and to the left, spotting a man of brown skin and African decent. He was a bit short for his age and despite standing out in the crowd of Japanese folk he didn't seem to mind at all. After all, he'd been living in Japan for over a decade. The teacher casually unwrapped her arms from her student's neck and stood up, facing the young man in the rather spiffy suit. The crowd surrounding them knew the relationship between those two...

After a quick moment of peace Sakura walked up to his face, smiled and brought her face close to his as if to peck a kiss on his lips... only once she did she slammed her fist right into his stomach. On contact his head jerked from her lips and onto her shoulder, gasping for air as his body grew stunned by the sudden attack. A majority of the crowd was in shock...

"Darrell... Sweetheart..." Sakura whispered in his ear, "What did I tell you to do when I'm in front of a student...?"

"Uuuugh... Damn..." was his only response, looking down at the asphalt below. Taking in deep breaths to recover his air that escaped his lungs, he closed his eyes... and swiftly returned the favor to the cherry blossom, taking his right fist and giving her just as much force as he received. Sure enough she didn't expect that to happen and her stomach responded by instantly swelling in pain. The crowd was totally confused. What the heck was happening?

"A... and what... did we say... about going off and... abusing your students, Sa... er... Mrs. Kasugano?" Darrell gasped, somewhat joking, "Better yet... what did we say about sneaking each other like this...?"

"Ooooooohhhhh... Good... point..."

"Well... nice to see you, too, my big cherry blossom..."

"How was work?"

"...I guess we can talk about that later..."

And with that Darrell pushed off his wife's body slowly while leaving a kiss on her cheek. He then looked over to the blond that was brushing her skirt off and said, "...but now I think you better wrap this up with her over there."

"Sure."

Sakura turned around to Saya and called her over, which the girl casually did. As she got close, Sakura could sense she was a bit disappointed...

"Ms. Hashimoto, I—"

"Tough love, huh? Saya unconsciously said just as Sakura started, causing the teacher to blink.

"Excuse me?"

Probably noticing a very rare opportunity, Saya smiled and simply pointed to her teacher's stomach and then to Darrell.

"I mean you and your husband..." she clarified. "Do you always show each other your love like that?"

"What? N-no! I—er... It's just—um-- It's just a little something that we do between us..."

Saya's smile grew wider. "If it's so little how come your blush doesn't say so? You're turning as ripe as a strawberry, you know..."

That was true. Despite the fact that Sakura and Darrell were together for 9 years, if anyone teased either spouse about their relationship they'd blush severely. How they could be so embarrassed about it was beyond even their understanding... Sakura just held a hand over one cheek and tried to change subject.

"Well... it's a bit odd that you didn't break out of that hold I put you in. It was rather weak, too."

"I guess I wasn't thinking..." Saya admitted, "but I was going to break it before Mr. Markis showed up." She glanced at her right hand, which the glowing calmly went down, and continued. "What I wasn't to know is how you managed to move so fast."

Taking a pause to remember what happened a while back, Sakura finally responded.

"I didn't really move that fast. You just had you focus up in the air. That's why you think I moved rather fast."

The Tamagawa student looked away for a bit. "Yeah... I guess..."

"Well, look at it this way. You really were impressive today. Whatever you're doing at home, you keep doing it."

Saya smiled at that, feeling a bit better. "You bet I will! I guess you're going to go home, right?"

"...something like that."

"Ok. Sayonara."

"Sayonara."

As Saya picked up her book bag that rested nearby and ran down the street, the crowd started to disperse. Sakura turned to Darrell, who was patiently waiting in front of the school's courtyard, running a hand through his wild, yet short black hair.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"Hai. I'm tired... It's been a long day and I can't wait to get going for this thing."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Really? What happened?"

Darrell put an arm over his wife's shoulder and walked off towards the Mitsubishi Galant that they bought together. "Well, it started when big-time businessman, Lee Chaolin, stopped by Metrosphere and asked for some funds for his Combot project..."

Meanwhile...

"Did you get any new techniques this time, Saya?"

"No, brother... Well... nothing that's of a big surprise. However, I seem to be getting to her more and more each week. These combat skills are starting to pay off. I was getting tired of getting my butt handed to me every Thursday."

"Well, that's nice and all, but we gotta report to base ASAP. She still doesn't suspect a thing, does she?"

"No, Me... er... Vexx..."

"Nice, little sis. Come on. It's your turn to report in since you're so familiar with her."

Saya looked up at a young man, wearing a navy blue military uniform of sorts over his urban clothes, along with a black ponytail that shot down his back. He was a good few inches taller than her and definitely older and bigger... He definitely looked like he'd been lifting weights throughout most his life. Behind him was a teenager. This one was about the same height as her and slightly older, wearing what Vexx had on and thin glasses and dark brown hair that reached to his shoulders. Definitely he appeared to be the brains behind the group, as he carried a backpack along with him that Saya knew contained a bunch of devices...

Vexx turned around to the other kid, who had his back turned to both him and Saya, busy fine-tuning one of the machines that he carried, and responded with, "Kai! Come on. Let's go before someone sees us."

"Alright, Vexx..." he sighed as he slipped the small item into his pocket and stood up. "We gotta get out of these duds and into our normal clothes before we get suspicious looks."

Vexx gave a slight smirk and jerked a thumb at his little sister. "You know what to do, little sis..."

"Sure," Saya responded, her right hand glowing with yellow energy again. She calmly looked around to see if anyone was around on the city street they stood on and then aimed her ki energy over her brothers. An instant later a column of light hid the men out of sight to everyone except Saya... who, in turn, looked away to play her role as just appearing to be training on her ki usage. As the minutes went by, only a few people passed by as she calmly kept watch, taking out a cell phone and messing with it with her left hand and holding the shade with her right. After 5 minutes, Kai's voice sounded out.

"Ok. Let's blow this place."

As she put the cell phone away and lifted the shade, the two showcased normal clothes suitable for walking the streets; their old clothes in Kai's bag. Without saying another word, the three took off down the street, heading to their next destination.