CHAPTER 7: THE MASTER OF FISTS RETURNS
Tokyo, Japan: 7:49 A.M.
"...so, yeah. I called Joe last night."
"What did he say? Come on and spill it!"
"Well, he told me that he was just relaxing but that's not what I wanted to talk about."
"Please tell me he..."
"Uh-huh."
"Ah! That's wonderful! Don't you think so, Saya? Saya...? Hello! Earth to Saya! Come in, please!"
Saya blinked. "Gomen na sai. What was that, again?"
"Wow, that's the fourth time, Saya. You sure you're ok? Maybe you should take a break from fighting Mrs. Kasugano, eh?"
"No, no. I'm fine. I'm just... thinking. Don't worry about me, Nasi."
Saya flashed a feeble smile to her friend, a short, green-haired girl with big, emerald eyes. To her right was another girl, this one a bit taller than herself and sporting long black hair along with a headband. This one went by the name of Hazel and she was the one who snapped her out of her daze to begin with. She just gave Saya a questioning look as the three of them started to cross an intersection, obviously on their way to school.
"Ok, whatever you say..." Nasi said, then grew a smile. "Anyways, Joe asked me out on a date this Saturday! Can you believe it?"
"Yeah, that's pretty awesome," Saya replied, trying to get into the conversation herself. "Where are you two going?"
"He said the movies then a romantic dinner near the West Riverbank. Who knows...? Maybe I'll finally get my first kiss."
"Ah... Still in search of that first kiss, huh, Nasi?" Hazel asked. "I already had mine last year. I tell you, no kiss is like the first, right, Saya?"
That question made the blond blush. Instantly she looked away from Hazel and to the ground, trying not to make eye contact, holding her book bag straps tightly. Hazel blinked a few times then gasped.
"No... way!" she exclaimed. "Don't tell me you didn't have your first kiss yet!"
"Well... um..." Saya weakly replied, wishing that the subject never came her way, "I... I never even had a boyfriend..."
Hazel and Nasi stopped on a dime and looked at Saya, who continued to look at the ground as she started to get onto Tamagawa property. They then exchanged shocked glances for a second then ran up to catch up.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Saya," Nasi said while grabbing her friend by the shoulders and pulling her to the side. "Are you serious? You NEVER had a boyfriend before?"
Saya just shook her head, her eyes heavy in sadness.
"Aww... Saya...! You don't know what you're missing? There's nothing better that to have someone to be around who you can... um... fool around with. Don't you like boys?"
Saya twisted her mouth while giving her friend a look. As much as she knew what a typical teenage schoolgirl would answer with, she reminded herself of one little detail: she wasn't typical.
"Come on," Hazel followed while bringing up the read, "I know there has to be someone in our class that you at least daydream about."
After a while Saya merely shook her head once again.
"Wow, Saya..." Nasi trailed off. "I think what you need to do is to get out of the role of being Mrs. Kasugano's prodigy and start acting like a normal schoolgirl for a change. I know a dosen or so cute boys that you would like."
"No... I couldn't..."
"Saya, listen to me. No disrespect to our teacher, but think about it. You're a girl. You let yourself get caught up in fighting like this all the time and you're going to miss out on a lot of cool stuff in life. As far as I know, you only live once. I could be wrong about that, but my point is that aside from bashing people's heads in, you need to get in touch with your feminine side. Learn to live a little. Go out and enjoy yourself and explore new things... and most of all, be social! I swear. At times you're so introverted, and you completely ignore all the looks you get from even the upperclassmen! I'd kill to be in your shoes, Saya, you see? You have so many opportunities! You understand?"
(I wish it was so easy as to shed my armor, Nasi...) Saya thought, (but you don't know the truth. You don't know the real me. The truth is that I work for Shadowloo. I live a life of crime. I didn't ask for this. It was brought upon my brothers and me and I had nowhere else to go. I wish I could get away and tell you so I could get help, but I can't. I can't let anyone know who I really am...)
"Yes, I'm listening."
"Alright. At lunch I'll get you started. You're got a lot to learn, Saya, but for now, let's get to school."
Saya closed her eyes and nodded. "Ok. I guess I don't have much of a choice about it..."
Hazel put a warm hand on Saya's back as the three friends started to approach the front courtyard where the students were to be at prior to the opening of school. "Cheer up! Stop being so gloomy. That's lesson number one. You should show the same enthusiasm during this that you do whenever you fight our teacher. Besides, I'm sure Nasi will hook you up with the best boyfriend for y—"
Hazel's speech was interrupted the moment the three girls reached the front gate. A sudden gust of wind swept through, making the three of them hide behind the brick wall to their right. At almost the same time, Saya's senses picked up an enormous level of dark ki right over yonder. She never felt anything like it before, and she quickly found her heart pounding out of the moment.
"What in the world was that?" Nasi asked, totally bewildered. A millisecond later, screams of horror claimed the skies and almost riot-like, the student of Tamagawa spewed from the courtyard from the courtyard and to the streets, almost as if the building exploded and were running for their lives.
"Come on!" Nasi yelled. "We've got to see what's going on!"
"Hey, are you nuts?" Hazel shrieked. "Something like this is bound to be-"
"Nasi's right," Saya yelled over the crowd's noise. "We've got to see what's wrong. I don't have a good feeling about this, either, but it's our school! Come on!"
Hazel was startled to see Saya's hand grab her hand and, along with Nasi, fought her way through the crazed wave of students running from their destination. As they once again reached the gate they noticed some of the other students not running, but watching from the gate in total shock. Saya managed to get the first glimpse of the courtyard... and gasped.
"Hey, isn't that... that the guy Mrs. Kasugano beat at the tournament 4 years ago?" a boy asked.
"Iie..." another boy, this one a class above the previous, declined. "He's shorter... and he's different looking..."
(Who in the world is that?) Saya asked. The person was on the school steps, wearing a black karate gi but with a rope in place of the typical black belt. He had dark skin and his hair was practically on fire. The bigger shock was that to her left Saya could see her physical education teacher along with her husband, along with a woman of Chinese decent wearing a formal dress. Before she could do anything in response to all this, something beeped off in her skirt...
(No... Not now...!)
"I... I'll be right back!" Saya yelled, startling her two friends. By the time they turned to rind her, she was out of eyesight...
At the other side of the street, Saya ducked behind a parked car and reached into her blue skirt pocket, pulling out a black communicator. She looked behind her to see if anyone was watching or around, then brought it to her mouth.
"Saya here. What's the problem...?"
"(cough) Saya... It's... its Kai..."
Saya's eyes flew open. "Kai! What's the matter with you?"
"Listen... Y... you've got to get away from... from Tamagawa... Get away from it as fast as you can... The package... It's... loose... and heading that way... Black martial arts gi... red hair... Insanely powerful... Whatever you do... Don't get in his way..."
"Kai, you're hurt. I can tell. Where are you? I'm coming there now!"
"...I'm on... AI-302... it's a good 5 miles from there..."
"I'm coming. You guys just hold on. Where's Vexx?"
"Don't worry... about him. He's fine... Just get moving..."
"Alright. Over and out."
Saya ended the conversation and quickly grabbed her bag before running to her right and out of sight in an alleyway.
Meanwhile...
(It can't be! It just can't! We did away with Akuma years ago! How is he still alive!)
That question ran through Darrell's mind again and again, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get an answer. The worst thing was, why now? Why when they had a huge Shadowloo problem to deal with did they had to deal with an enemy like this? The shock was overwhelmed, and no words could explain what he could respond with. He could feel his heart pound and his pulse quicken. His breathing accelerated as well. All because he knew what happened years ago as he literally saw his life flash before his eyes. It was then he met a feeling he thought he'd never feel again.
He felt fear.
"A... Ace...!" Chun-Li whispered. She wanted to yell it out but she couldn't get it out. Her vocal chords wouldn't let her. The attack came so swiftly her eyes only caught a blur. She barely noticed the fact that thankfully, Ace wasn't bleeding.
"And by the way..." Akuma muttered, "That was only 20 percent of my power..."
As soon as the words hit their ears the three world warriors gasped in utter disbelief.
(Only 20 percent?) Sakura screamed in her head. (That's insane! When he did that move on Darrell and me, he practically used all his strength and it didn't' do nearly as much damage as that!)
"You two... seemed shocked to see me again..."
"Well, duh!" Sakura unintentionally blurted out. "It's always a surprise to see someone who was killed a decade ago come back and meet you like this!"
Despite Sakura's response, Akuma kept is original, emotionless expression.
"W... what do you want...?" Darrell asked, trying his best to keep calm.
Akuma stayed mute for a while but eventually graced the group with an answer.
"I see that you two have... made some... improvement from the last time we met... Mildly amusing... but compared to my progress it pales in comparison horribly..."
(How the hell did he get so strong?) Darrell's mind ran. (He's been dead for 10 years! TEN! How did he get stronger? It just doesn't make any sense!)
"The last time we met, it was truly a death match... I will admit that much... However, it seems as if fate has served me a new life... and with that, new abilities... The reason I'm here is for a simple matter... of compare and contrast..."
"In other words..." Darrell started, "you want—"
'Yes. I want to challenge the two kids who managed to defeat me a decade ago... with the same magnitude of which our last battle showcased... No. I stand corrected. An even bigger magnitude... and as you have seen... the matter of life and death rests on your fists."
On instinct Sakura protested.
"No!" she strongly answered, holding up a hand towards the demon. "I won't go down that path again! Not even you can make me, Akuma! I don't care what you do... but I won't fight you again!"
"Hmph... Pathetic... Weak dogs always bark the loudest... but this is preposterous. Just look at you. I can sense the fear in your eyes and soul already... and to think that YOU, of all people, was dubbed the strongest woman in the world... Utterly pathetic."
"Watch it..." Darrell backed up, his fists clenching at his sides. The fear he experienced still rode inside him, but the need to protect his wife overrode it. "You might have been brought back to life but we can put you back into the dirt—"
"Oh, can you?... or are you just saying that to raise your own confidence? Don't be a fool and start kidding yourself. I could slaughter you and this whole city in one strike if I so desired. Even that little display that I just showed you brought to light your true emotions... but if you seriously think you can do the impossible, then come at me."
As much as he wanted to, Darrell couldn't move from his position. Akuma's intimidation factor was much higher than ten years ago. Once Akuma was convinced that he wasn't moving, he continued.
"You see what happens when you forsake the darkness within your heart and soul? You grow weak. You don't have what it takes to be true warriors... at least... not without Satsu no Hadou powering your every move..."
"That's not true," Sakura answered back. "We don't need our other sides to beat the likes of you."
"Then why don't you show me, woman?" Akuma demanded, his eyes seemingly growing even more intense as his voice raised. "You're wasting your life..."
Sakura clenched her right fist to her side, her face growing in distaste. Was there another way...?
"You know? For once I agree with you..."
The blossom gasped, looking cluelessly at Darrell. His eyes no longer showed any fear, but now determination... and understanding...
"What are you saying?"
"Think about what he said for a second... He's totally right."
Sakura was in shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing from her husband. "You can't be serious...!"
"Oh, but I am... We are wasting our lives just talking. Being a Street Fighter means a lot more than words. You should know that more than anything, Sakura."
He then took a few steps towards Akuma so that they were a few feet away from one another. With a slight pause, Darrell unbuttoned the buttons to his sleeves and rolled them back to his elbows.
"To talk to a person of Akuma's caliber..." he finished, "...you have to bone up and let your fist speak for you."
A slight smirk appeared on Akuma's face, but it quickly disappeared as he positioned himself into his stance. Behind Darrell, Sakura felt her pulse quicken as she took his words to heart. Flicking at her hair as she came to a decision, she threw her worries aside and took a step forward... then found herself side by side with her life partner, staring down the Master of Fists. She could feel his energy all the way from here. He was definitely in his best form. She then looked at Darrell, who nodded at her while looking at her through the corner of his eyes. Sakura then returned the nod and faced her next opponent, ready to go...
However, she wasn't alone, as Chun-Li found her way to Sakura's right, donning her own kung-fu fighting stance. Sakura blinked as she looked at the taller woman...
"Chun-Li?"
"This is for Ace..."
"...is he...?"
"No, he's not. Just knocked out, but I can't let this man get away with what he has done."
"...ok... Together, then."
"Enough of this stalling," Akuma announced. "It's time for this duel to start..."
"I agree," Sakura shot back boldly. "Come on!"
"Nnnn!"
The demon fighter started the battle, quickly launching his body up into a somersault flip towards the group. The three stood their ground, not sure who Akuma's focus was on. At the peak of his jump, Akuma stopped and came down sharply, his foot outstretched and aiming towards Darrell. The dark-skinned fighter on instinct doubled back and the other two moved out of the way as Akuma landed. Darrell blocked a few blows from his old adversary then a quick Tatsumaki Zanku Kyaku. As Akuma landed Darrell hoped to return with a punch to the side but Akuma countered with a low kick to the knees, then another Tatsumaki Zanku Kyaku, popping him into the air for the following Gou-Shouryuken uppercut.
(Man... I remember that trick...) Darrell thought as he air recovered and landed, managing to catch Sakura try her hand at him. From the side she threw a mid-level punch that Akuma dashed to the side to avoid. As he moves, Sakura quickly brought her hands to her side, forming a ki ball, and with a shout of the name of the attack, threw a Hadouken at him. It was quick and a moderate size, yet not quick enough as Akuma merely parried it. Just as the thought of returning to a defensive posture entered her mind, she was shocked to instantly see the demon in her face, giving a strong uppercut to her chin, then as she reeled, threw his own strong blast of Hadou energy in his Gou-Hadouken. The force was so powerful at point blank range that it knocked the World Warrior champ on her back, but it wasn't long before she rolled backwards to her feet... and barely blocked a hard fist to the head. Luckily she broke her guard, a technique known to Rival Schoolers as the Tardy Counter, and spun around, managing to catch Akuma off guard with a hard back kick to the stomach.
The Master of Fists doubled back from the attack but he didn't' get far. The Interpol agent flipped through the air and slammed her leg down along Akuma's backside for her Seieishuu. Akuma didn't telegraph it, fell forward, right into Sakura's hard-hitting Shouoken, and hit the skies. However, the moment Akuma hit the air he air recovered and threw a solid fist to the side of the blossom's head. Sakura, who was still recovering from her attack, found herself grounded from the sudden blow, a bit dazed. Akuma didn't take advantage, however, for his focus found its way to the Chinese woman behind him.
Chun-Li used her instincts to back away a bit to think of her next move. As Akuma turned to face her, however, he was disrupted by Darrell shouting as he flew forward with a strong flaming kick, his Hiya. Akuma blocked the attack in addition to the follow up kick with the other leg, but that gave Darrell the room to recover safely. He looked up to see Akuma move up to the air and took the initiative, quickly whipping his right arm across his body to generate a flame on his fingertips.
"Youkoroken!" he called as he pitched the fire blast upwards to intercept Akuma, but one parry nullified it and left him open to a hard kick to the head, following with a quick jab to another hard uppercut. Before Akuma could add on to it, Chun-Li once again interfered, grabbing Akuma from behind and threw him to the ground with her arm. As Darrell captured his senses and tried another follow up, Chun-Li blocked his path, keeping her eyes on Akuma as he swiftly got to his feet.
"Huh?"
"Let me take this from here," the agent replied strongly. "I'll make this quick."
"Sure..."
Sakura just looked on as she watched Chun-Li rush in to try her hand solo while she herself made her way next to Darrell.
"Is it just me... or does he REALLY have it out for the two of us?" she asked. Darrell merely shrugged while rubbing the back of his hand against his cheek. Meanwhile, the Interpol officer and the Master of Fists squared off in the middle of the Tamagawa courtyard. Chun-Li kept on Akuma, making sure he didn't get any breathing room as she attacked with a flurry of kicks. As a high one was blocked Akuma backed off and Chun-Li responded by bringing her hands to her center and then arched her body back...
"Kikouken!" she cried out as she shot a palm forward, unleashing her own blue energy attack. As predicted, Akuma parried, but not predicted was him seemingly warping in the blink of an eyes towards Chun-Li as she tried to return to her neutral stance. She gasped in surprise as Akuma grabbed her dress and rolled back, grunting as he used his leg to throw her over him and to the ground. The moment Chun-Li's back hit the ground Akuma entered a stance, a blood red evil aura covering him and multiple images of him warped towards Chun-Li, who just got to her feet. On instinct she blocked, but was shocked again to find out that Akuma went THROUGH her to her backside...
"MESSATSU..."
...and shouted out in pain as Akuma planted his fist into her backside, igniting her clothes with purple flames. As Akuma moved forward he hit with one more Gou-Shoryuken before ending with the last, the one so powerful it stunned Chun-Li as the first hit plowed its way to her spine, then the second to the back of her neck, then finally the last hit to the head, making her fly and collapse on the dirt face first...
"Whoa..." Sakura whispered in astonishment. "That... was... fast..."
"Come on!" Darrell responded. "We're helping her out, now!"
Without another word Darrell dashed in as Akuma landed from his Messatsu Gou-Shoryu super art. Before Akuma could realize it, Darrell stepped right where Chun-Li lay at, channeled his ki while reaching to his side, then lashed out with a wide spread of flames to make up his Shakunetsu Ittou. Akuma's recovery time was good, but not perfect. He ate the attack on his side, falling shoulder first into a bench right next to him. As Akuma started to stir the flame wielder jumped over Chun-Li's downed body and prepared to come down himself, however, as he landed where Akuma occupied, his body practically disappeared... leaving him landing on the bench himself, missing a follow-up attack.
"What the?"
"Nnn!"
"YAH!"
A strong fist plowed into Darrell's backside with the force of a speeding car. Within a half second his body collapsed on the grass behind the bench, rolling a few feet before stopping. Darrell commanded his body to roll away from Akuma but halfway through it hesitated, leaving him on his back and looking straight at Akuma, who wasted no time at all to take advantage this time.
Even though he was in a bad position, Darrell had no choice but to put his hands up to try to block. Luckily it worked against Akuma's overhead hand hop. Before Akuma could plant on a heel to the downed fighter, Darrell managed to lift his legs and block this attack as well with his feet. The Master of Fists let out a surprised grunt as Darrell smirked at him, then planted his hands in position near his head and pushed Akuma off balance while flipping into a standing position. The flamethrower then dashed in, his right arm bursting into flame.
"Shakunetsuken!"
A solid fist managed to land on Akuma's head...
"Hah!"
...followed by a backhand strike with the same fist...
"Tyah!"
...then a cross with the left...
"Kashou! (Burn!)"
...and finally ended with a strong backhand strike, sending Akuma falling back to the ground. As Darrell started to dash again to follow up his Shakunetsuken, Akuma touched off the ground and went airborne, throwing off a Zanku Hadouken to keep Darrell at bay. The younger fighter easily avoided getting hit by stopping on a dime and letting the Hadouken fall to the ground, leaving a small crater as it exploded, but it distracted him from noticing Akuma's presence behind him...
"AAAH!" Darrell yelped again as a heel slammed into the back of his head, making him stumble forward while holding it in pain. Akuma didn't let him get away. Almost in a blink of an eye he tele-dashed to his opponent's backside and kick at his legs. Darrell was sent to the ground on his knees, unable to keep up at all...
"Shinidoki! (Time to die!)" Akuma roared, bracing his fist to the final strike...
"Hey, ugly!"
"What?" Akuma responded, turning his head to his side and in the direction of the voice. There, a few meters away, stood Sakura, already in Hadouken stance, her hands quickly forming a pink surge ball which aura seemed to surround her entire body... It was clear in her eyes who her focus was on...
"NEKKETSU HADOUKEN!"
On cue the blossom fired her attack, the ki taking form into a massive blast of surge energy. Akuma's eyes grew in size as it rocketed towards him...
(That move...!)
Little did he notice Darrell pulling himself off the ground and out of harms way, turning around just as his wife's Hadouken hit home. The Nekketsu Hadouken clearly blew past where Akuma stood, not stopping until it exploded with authority against the far wall of the Tamagawa gate.
(Yes!) Sakura cheered inside her mind. (Got him! Direct hit!)
From his viewpoint, Darrell just looked on at the attack as it started to dissipate.
(I know you're still here, Akuma... I can still sense you. You're not running this time... Where are you...?)
Little to Darrell's surprise, but much to Sakura's, once the Hadouken fully vanished, there was no sign of the Master of Fists anywhere near the wall. Sakura frowned while bracing herself once again.
(Damn!) she cursed. (Where'd he go?)
Quiet claimed the area due to the break of action, but this only served to get the duo's senses more riled up. Despite that, the two knew that they needed to remain focused. Any false moves and it could be their last. After a few more moments, Darrell slowly stepped backwards, his eyes ever changing direction to keep a look out for any attacks. Sakura saw her partner move towards her and followed suit, turning around to look the other way. As their backs pressed against one another Darrell spoke.
"You know... He could be anywhere..."
"I know that just as well as you do. What I'm stumped on... is how he got so fast if he was dead for a decade..."
"I... honestly don't know... It doesn't add up at all. However, let's keep our eyes sharp. He's just waiting on us to let our guard down..."
"Yeah... Sure..."
Sakura's eyes then went back to where Chun-Li lay and sighed in relief to see the Interpol officer raise her head and sit up, holding the back of her head.
"Are you ok, Chun-Li?" she asked.
A little bewildered, Chun-Li looked at the blossom and nodded.
"I... I'll be fine..."
Her eyes then looked up above their heads... and her face grew pale in shock...
"You two!" she screamed, "Move! NOW!"
"Uh?" both young fighters gasped as their attention shot up to the skies... and barely caught a glimpse of a hailstorm of massive Zankuu Hadoukens raining down from out of nowhere. On instinct the two dodged to the right to get out of the target range of the first one, then doubled back for the next. By this time the area was under heavy assault, each Hadouken that came near them getting closer and closer to actually hitting. Sakura, just rolling under another that almost caught her in the head, heaved, "Just where... is he throwing these from...?"
"I—AH! – I wish I knew that myself!" Darrell shouted back, having to parry one before it reached him. In the midst of all the commotion, Sakura and Darrell had to break away from one another to not bump into one another by accident, but as they kept moving, not able to pick off Akuma's location, they started to draw closer to one another. As two more Hadoukens approached, practically coming from two opposite directions, the two both jumped backwards, letting the projectiles to leave more craters into the ground.
"Hah... haha... I... I think that was the last of them," Darrell panted, "But just where—"
"LOOK OUT!" Sakura screamed, instantly startling her husband who stood behind her. Not only that, but both their sense picked up a massive ki signal rocketing towards them. The two looked up and grew wide eyes by the sight of a Gou Hadouken 5 times bigger than the last, careening its way directly towards them. Not able to dodge it, the two did the next best thing: block.
The Zanku Hadouken crashed into the two at once, the force tearing at their defensive arms. The two groaned as they struggled to hold it off until it exploded... but as the heat started to build on them, that quickly turned into yells of desperation...
(It... it's too strong...!) Sakura realized. (We're... not going to make it...!)
(Come on, dammit! Come on...!) Darrell's mind shouted. (Wear out already... AH!)
As Lady Luck had it, the Hadouken finally lost power and dissipated and not a moment too soon; another few seconds and it would have surely broke through their guard. Heaving relieved sighs, they both dropped their arms and tried to recuperate, but yet another strong shot of ki canceled that action quick.
"Oseru!" came Akuma's voice as he dropped from above, arm above his head and his Satsu aura standing strong around him. Darrell and Sakura barely had the chance to jump away for less than a half second later Akuma landed with his Misougi, this one much more powerful than before. His impact on the ground caused his energy to shoot out like a colliding comet accompanied by a blast of wind, which unfortunately hit the two fighters before they could even touch the ground. The Misougi's after affects blasted their bodies away like debris from a car accident. After a short while tumbling, the couple finally stopped on the walkway of the courtyard, winded...
Breathing started to become a daunting task for Sakura. Her body began to ache from Akuma's attacks since now that she was down, the adrenaline she ran on lowered. After spending a few seconds to get just the bare minimum of her strength, the blossom slowly planted her hands into the ground and brought a knee in to support herself. She paused here, closing her eyes while willing her body to try to fully get up, but Darrell's voice made her stop.
"H... he's... coming..."
Sakura lifted her head... and the sight to her eyes made her heart start to pound. Akuma slowly took his time approaching them, the blood red aura of Satsu surrounding him in a wild blaze. His red eyes showed no remorse or mercy... It was enough to convince Sakura of one fact clear as day...
(He's really... out to kill us...)
Each step the Master took towards the spent duo, the more Sakura's heart thumped. Its beat became louder and louder and her pulse quickened... As he finally stopped just outside of the pathway, Sakura felt a majority of feelings she hadn't felt in over 4 years...
Bewilderment...
Helplessness... and most of all...
Fear...
"When we first began... I told you that you held your survival in your fists... but it seems... as if your fists failed you..."
Akuma then spared them a speech, but instead stomped on the ground, entering the horse stance he used all so often before... The moment his ki skyrocketed, Sakura's eyes twitched... This signal brought back bad memories...
"MESSATSU...!"
"SHAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"
Before Akuma could even fully charge the killing blow known as the Messatsu Gou Hadou, a steak of light rocketed along the ground of the courtyard and struck the demon on the side. Akuma gargled out a weird sound as he flew, crashing into the wall of the school. Meanwhile, the comet stopped on impact, swindling from the tail up, quickly showing someone inside. This individual sported denim jeans and jacket, open to expose the white t-shirt inside. His black hair was short and wild and his face wore a really intense tone to accompany the scar on the left of his forehead. Any other time Darrell wouldn't necessarily by ecstatic to see this person... but today he couldn't be more relieved.
Batsu Ichimonji just saved their asses.
"B... Batsu..." Sakura sighed in a mixture of shock and relief, eyeing him from her kneeling position. Batsu just kept his focus on Akuma, who had touched down on one knee and looked up to trade glances.
"It's a good thing that I ran here the moment I caught that first sign of energy," the Taiyo High graduate responded. "Any second later and I would've had been too late to matter much..."
"Yeah... You're a lifesaver for sure," Darrell admitted, standing up while holding his side with the opposite arm. "I owe you big for this..."
"Save it, Darrell. Right now, my focus is on this ugly looking guy right here..."
"...If I didn't know any better... I'd say you're going to take your shot at him as well..."
Batsu simply nodded.
"If you want, you can rest this out," he said, "but if you think you can still do something... then by all means..."
Darrell stared at his rival for a while, catching his breath. Sakura, in turn, stood up fully.
"I might be tired," she said, her voice building up confidence once again, "but I'm not going to let you fight Akuma by yourself. I'm not going to let you get killed."
"Akuma, is it...?" Batsu then looked at Darrell. "What about you? Surely you're going to..."
"Just buy me time..." Darrell interrupted. The two looked at him for a while, a bit thrown off... but then nodded in acceptance.
"You better find the vigor for that really fast. Even though I'm at full strength this guy's a powerhouse. I don't know how long Sakura and I can hold him off."
Darrell just lowered his head so that he could look at Batsu from the top of his eyes. It was then that Batsu began to see the flames burning in his pupils...
"Just... a few minutes, Batsu..." he reassured. "That's all I'm going to need..."
The meeting unfortunately, was interrupted by Akuma, who launched off the ground and in a leap towards the three. Batsu, Sakura, and Darrell all braced themselves, waiting for the attack...
"YAAAAAAH!"
A shout from their side caught the youngsters attention as in a blue Chun-Li dashed by them all and intercepted the demon with a blaze of lightning fast kicks to all points of the body with just one leg. Akuma barely had time to pick her up on his sights and ate every single last one. Chun-Li shouted as she then switched her position and let out another flurry with the right leg before sending Akuma back to sender with the last kick to the chin, completing her Hoyokusen super art.
Without looking back, the Interpol officer raced off, not letting her sights off her opponent. Batsu then gave his rival a final look and a hard glare at once.
"You want time? You got it! Just hurry it up!"
Darrell nodded and with the signal Batsu and Sakura ran off to join Chun-Li. As he watched his companions, Darrell closed his eyes and calmed his breathing. For a few seconds he just stood there, trying to push out the threat in front of him named Akuma and focused on his ki. As he did, the muscles around his body slowly began to ache in protest as they tensed up...
(I know... I know my energy is low, but please... I need this... Now's the time for the big guns...)
As he did this, the battle against the master of fists continued. Akuma kept up his defenses as Chun-Li threw quick hand strikes. After a swift hand stab, the officer then brought both her hands close and pitched them forward while leaning in. Akuma merely swatted the arm away while moving to her left. However, he couldn't strike. Chun-Li managed to stuff him with a backwards fist, his head jolting up from the quickness. As Chun-Li backed away Akuma kept his position. She might've been out of range but she wasn't the only opponent he had to worry about.
"Shooting Star Kick!"
The demon warped away just in time to avoid Batsu's streaking kick from above. The moment he touched down he tracked down his position, Batsu ran in that direction...
(No escape, you!)
Batsu reared back and threw his elbow right into Akuma's... blocking arms. However, this didn't stop him from turning around and throwing a kick, once again blocked... Just when Batsu did this his leg went up and into the air, almost like a Ken Masters maneuver, and came down for an overhead attack. Batsu just kept chaining his moves with little breaks in-between, and Akuma stayed on guard...
(Doesn't this fool know it's useless to attack me...?)
"Hah!" the Taiyo graduate shouted, rising with a flaming uppercut of his own. Fatal mistake. Akuma broke his guard, ready to punish the cooldown of the Guts Upper. His knee hit... but not Batsu, on closer inspection. Akuma grew aware that Batsu maneuvered his body out of the way... and into Sakura's...
(What?) Akuma thought. (A counter stance?)
With a smirk the blossom took Akuma's full leg and spun him in place. Just before Akuma could even make two relations from Sakura's Jareru Arashi, she reared back a fist and plowed it into his face... then chained, a sudden build in ki from her body...
"Here it comes!" she yelled as she spun and threw a hand back kick to the chin, sending Akuma starboard. Sakura wasn't finished; she jumped up and followed up with an upwards Yaezakura... one after another. After 14 kicks, Sakura then spun once more, almost flipping while shooting off the last kick before she smashed him back to earth with a sledgehammer blow.
(And that's my Nihaku Hatsuka!) she thought, preparing for landing. The Master of Fists, however, was moving too fast to air recover. With a boom his body crashed into the ground. For about the first time in the whole altercation, Akuma actually stayed down this time...
Sakura's feet met the ground gracefully as her active teammates caught up with her.
"Keep your distance, you two..." Chun-Li instructed. Batsu murmured in agreement and Sakura carefully looked at the fallen body in front of her.
(Stand up...) she silently thought. (There's no way you're down and out after that...)
Not surprisingly, it wasn't too long until Akuma jumped backwards and to his feet... much to Sakura's relief...
(Great. We seem to be wearing him down... He's starting to breathe harder now and he's giving up more openings...)
"Hmph... Preposterous..." Akuma muttered. "Utterly preposterous... but..."
The more Sakura looked at Akuma's face... the more tense her body got. She could sense even more vigor within him than before...
(Wh... what the...?)
"It seems as though... I'm going to have to dig in to my strength a little bit more to beat the likes of you... Half should do it..."
As Akuma ended, his Ashura aura surrounded his body. The sudden burst of energy was unreal, and it made all three opposing fighters draw back a bit. Akuma's energy seemed to make the area around him turn into a blood red haze...
(All of those attacks and it wasn't even half his strength...) Chun-Li thought, her mind starting to worry. (Just what is driving this man...? He's inhuman...)
"Nnnnnnnnnnnn..."
Akuma's ki then seemed to stop growing, but at its current level it was overwhelming. Sakura was convinced. The devil himself had to be responsible for this version of Akuma...
The demon's eyes now rested on the three fighters in front of him. Slowly and stealthfully, he readied himself in his fighting stance. It was only a matter of time until he'd strike...
However, the attack never came. Suddenly, Sakura, Batsu, and Chun-Li sensed a huge build-up of ki... behind them. Akuma also sensed it... and it was enough for him to look for himself... His focus lay on Darrell, his hands wrapped around his body and his head down towards the ground...
(His ki...) Chun-Li thought.
(It's about time) Batsu said within his mind.
The dark-skinned fighter's body began to grow enclosed by a red aura... but not like Satsu no Hadou.
"On..."
Darrell's arms then went to his sides, his fists clenched and his ki forming into red hot flames...
"Hai..."
Then his head jerked up skyward and his eyes opened.
"SUUUUIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
On his command, the flames around him literally flew out in a burst before wrapping around his body in a dome like structure. A second later, they then clung to his body, almost as if he was going to perform his version of Kyo Kusanagi's Shin Ura 108 Shiki Orochi Nagi... only he didn't let them go from his body. As he looked over to the group, Chun-Li just looked on in awe.
(Impressive...! That kid managed to control his flames that well? He's came a long way since that last altercation with Bison...)
Suddenly, a rush past by the three fighters, startling them. At first it appeared Akuma tried a sneak attack, but a few seconds later, they found that the demon warped past them, quicker than normal, to make his way to the fourth fighter in the fight that he left alone. As soon as Akuma came in range, Darrell put himself into his fighting stance.
"No more games, Akuma," he said, confidence high in his voice. "We'll end this here!"
Akuma showed no signs of wavering from Darrell's words. He merely took his position... and waited on the first sign of movement...
(I don't have long...) Darrell reminded himself. (The Onhaisui only lasts a few minutes... I hope I can make the most of it...)
Not wanting to waste any time, that same fighter shot forward, his flames leaving a trail behind him, and threw his right fist forward. Akuma merely avoided the attack, but the blaze that followed from the punch blinded him from picking up Darrell's follow up roundhouse kick. The kick hit hard in the gut and it forced Akuma back a few steps. The living flame was quick to recover from his attack and dove forward with an overhead punch, then, as it connected threw a left uppercut to the jaw, finally ending the quick assault with a Youkoroken. Each attack scorched Akuma's body, the final special attack knocking him to the pavement. Akuma was fast to stand back up and managed to defend against the next attack to the head.
Darrell kept the pressure on, showing no fear in the heat of battle against the demon. After a few random attacks, Akuma eventually grew tired of guarding and broke his guard to counter attack. A one-hit Gou-Shoryuken found its mark in the young fighter's stomach and it knocked him back through the air, but even so, the Onhaisui still had a nasty surprise. The moment Akuma made contact, Darrell's flames burned his fist. If Akuma had not worn that glove on his fist, most likely it could've left a nasty burn.
Darrell hit the ground on his back and it took him a moment to roll backwards to his feet. However, this enabled Akuma to go on the offensive. The demon jumped forward and came down quickly with a shark dive kick. Darrell blocked it and the follow-up uppercut. Akuma then quickly dashed in and went low with a kick to the ankles that went by cleanly, breaking the opposition's guard...
"MESSATSU...!"
(Oh, no...!) Darrell's mind screamed as he saw Akuma quickly dig into his ki, his Ashura aura powering up and giving Akuma the strength he needed to unleash his Messatsu Gou-Hadou at point blank range.
Unlike the previous time, it went uninterrupted. The purple surge attack hit only 8 times, but it dealt the damage big time. Despite getting hit by a super art, Darrell didn't cry out once; he kept his peace as he once again grew grounded. At any other time, concern would've grown in a person's heart after seeing someone get hit so hard... but Sakura took the still ongoing Onhaisui as a note. The fight was far from over, as long as those flames kept burning...
After the attack ended, Akuma merely looked at his opponent, his eyes still resting on the flames that surrounded him. After about 10 seconds or so, Darrell flipped over to his hands and knees, keeping one hand on his chest to try to calm his heart from the heavy breathing. By now his shirt was beginning to tear, but right now his focus was on his own personal health.
(Damn... Bad move...) his brain said. (He... must be... warning me... He could've just as well killed me right there and then...)
As Darrell stood up fully, his back to Akuma, his eyes closed to blink. When they opened again, that situation quickly changed... The first thing Darrell saw was Akuma's leg lifting from the ground and at its speed there was no way he could guard against it. A sick gargling noise rose from Darrell's throat as he spun in recoil from the surprise attack. A sharp elbow then found its way into his backside, then a hard fist to the back of the head. The last attack was enough to make Darrell crumple to a knee once again, quickly becoming spent...
"H... he's not going to make it..." Chun-Li quickly noticed. "Even with that Onhaisui technique Akuma's still too fast and powerful..."
"I can't believe this..." Batsu muttered under his breath. "This freak's really THIS good?"
Batsu's eyes then went to Sakura's... and he took immediate attention. That worry that was absent in Sakura's eyes moments before suddenly increased dramatically...
"Darrell..." she whispered. She felt it in her heart. This Akuma was in a different ballgame from the Akuma of 10 years ago...
(He... he can't do this... Not on his own he can't...)
Once her eyes witnessed Akuma approach her husband, she had enough.
"Don't worry! I'm coming!" she yelled and before her two partners could pick it up, she broke into a run and steadily approached the Master of Fists...
"SAKURA! What are you DOING?" Batsu screamed. "You're going to get KILLED!"
The yell snapped into Darrell's eardrums and his head whirled around, seeing Sakura rush straight at their assailant...
"S... sa... kura...!" he started to say, but it was too late. Akuma, in turn, fixed his focus to the "Wild Cherry Blossom" and readied himself...
"Take this you freak!" her mouth warned, her voice seeming to echo all over the courtyard. Her ki started to build and her running speed increased... her right fist locked at her side... "YARU ZAKURA!"
Sakura got into range and threw a steady barrage of attacks at a constant pace. However, Akuma was ready. After the first two punches, the following hard kick to the chin was suddenly parried... then the following punch after that... and the small Yaezakura afterwards... then roundhouse kick... Unable to abort the super art, it wasn't until Sakura attempted to finish with her Shouoken that she realized that Akuma was steadily parrying every attack she threw at him...
"Enough!"
A fist suddenly rocketed towards her... and Sakura's eyes grew wide in shock... Darrell stared in horror as Akuma's fist found its way into her stomach, rudely interrupting the Yaru Zakura...
"Gaaack...!"
Sakura's mouth hung open as her body shuddered upon the impact. The wind was knocked out of her instantly, almost as if she was hit by a minibus at 80 miles per hour. Akuma then withdrew his fist, letting Sakura take a wobbling step backwards. Her eyes then closed from the immense pain that came from the blow... then, just as she felt her body begin to collapse and fall to the ground, Akuma added one final punch to her chest. Just like that, Sakura, the current Street Fighter champion, hit the ground, K. O. ed.
"N... no..." Darrell uttered in disbelief. He couldn't believe what just happened. His eyes kept their focus on his wife's fallen body, and every second that he stared at it, the more he felt heartache.
(W... why... whyyyyyyyyyy...!)
From the side, Chun-Li could see it loud and clear. The young fighters emotions were beginning to get the best of him...
"Stand down, Darrell! Don't do anything stupid! Just stay there!"
The words never computed in Darrell's mind. In an instant he stood up fully, caught one look at Akuma, and clenched both of his fists. His eyes were wild with a sudden fury that he couldn't contain no matter how much he tried...
"Dammit, Akuma! You're gonna pay!"
Suddenly, without warning his flames seemed to vanish, his Onhaisui ending unexpectedly in favor of a new attack. All his ki drew its way into his right fist, which he held above his head. In a matter of seconds he was ready... His aims locked on Akuma's body...
"I PUT ALL I HAVE INTO THIS FLARE!" he roared, his huge flame following its hand as is swept down and across his opposite shoulder. "MANATSUNOATSUSA! YYAAAAAAAHHHH!"
With the final yell Darrell sprayed his crimson flames in front of him in a wide sea hugging the ground, his new super art speeding its way towards the Master of Fists. Akuma braced himself as he prepared to guard against the sea of flames... but as they reached him, he suddenly warped through them... right towards Darrell...
Quickly realizing that his attack didn't have any affect, Darrell gasped as he tried to recoil his hand to enter a defensive stance... It never happened...
"Shoshi! (Pathetic!)"
Another fierce punch caught Darrell the exact same way it caught Sakura, and it had the same devastating effect. The younger fighter could almost feel his insides cave in as his body literally jolted off the ground from the sudden body blow...
"NOOO!" Batsu's shocked cry ran through the air...
"Nn!"
A quick Gou-Shoryuken quickly followed in that same vulnerable spot, lifting the hapless victim more so off the ground and into the air... setting up...
"MESSATSU...! YAAAAH!"
Akuma canceled, his body quickly gathering more ki energy, then suddenly his body whirled upwards, his leg outstretched in a much stronger Tatsumaki Zanku Kyaku, powered by electricity. After 12 kicks and reaching the height of the school's roof, Akuma delivered the final hard kick... and Darrell's body began its decent to the ground far below... Two seconds later, it crashed into the unforgiving canvas before resting conveniently a few feet away from his already unconscious wife on its side.
As Akuma landed from his Messatsu Gou Rasen, sudden cries of utter shock and fear ran from the few remaining student watching the aftermath of the battle. It didn't take a fighter to realize that neither Darrell nor Sakura was going to get back up...
"..."
The Master of the Fist just stood where he landed, staring at the two fighters he just laid out with no remorse whatsoever in his eyes...
(So this is what a decade does to the two kids who managed to defeat me...)
Quiet claimed the air... then a phrase escaped Akuma's vocal chords...
"Haji to shirei... (A disgrace...)"
A few seconds later, Batsu walked forward to the site of the catastrophe that had just occurred in a matter of moments. He said nothing upon reaching the walkway, keeping his eyes on Akuma as he walked over to his friends. His fists were clenched, but even he knew. No matter how hard he fought, Akuma was no Mugen Imawano...
"...I won't let you kill them..." he started as he stood in front of his friends, ready to protect them.
"I don't intend to. These two are utter disappointments. I wouldn't waste my time or energy paying them back for taking my life 10 years ago. I have much better things to do..."
At first a bit thrown off at that quote, Batsu still kept his awareness up. Who knows what this man could do...
"Pray that we don't cross paths again... If there is a next time... survival will not be a guarantee..."
And with that, Akuma turned his back to Batsu. From this position, Batsu could clearly see a kanji imprinted on Akuma's back that wasn't there before...
"TEN"
However... Akuma's focus no longer lay on the four fighters behind him... It lay on the three standing just in front of the gate.
"W... what in the world...? This... is what I've been sensing..."
It took almost forever for Kaoru, Yui, and Karin to get through the Tokyo traffic and to the source of the strong power that made its presence known a little over a half hour ago. As they got closer and closer to their destination, Kaoru could feel it in her heart that something was horribly wrong about this whole event. If it could trigger this strange headache within Yui, then it must be huge...
...but nothing in her life could really prepare her for what she was staring at right now. The moment they reached the school she was heavily concerned. This was where her "sister" worked at; the one who took her under her wing and care when she had no where else to go. The one who made sure she finished her education in a good school...
The same sister that time and time again always had to deal with corrupted people no matter where she seemed to go...
But this man... having blood red eyes... and a black karate gi... could easily give Kairi a run for his money...
"Who are you?" Karin demanded. "Why are you here?"
Akuma barely paid her any attention at all. Kaoru knew who his attention was on...
(He's staring right at me...)
Even though Akuma said no words at all, Kaoru was unmistaken. That glare... was solely on her...
(Those eyes... That... that glare... It's like I'm... staring into the face of death...)
That realization made Kaoru's body grow tense. The deadly aura that she could sense around him reminded her so much of her own power... only this one was much more powerful... Much more evil...
"Y... you..."
Kaoru's eyes suddenly rose up to Yui's face...
"You... I... I..."
Yui's expression was frozen in a weird expression, almost as if he was in a state of shock, yet trying desperately to remember something...
"I... I think I... I... AAARRRGH!"
Suddenly, his eyes closed and he gripped his head tightly, as if in pain...
"Yui!" Kaoru cried out as she turned her full attention to her husband, trying to figure out what was wrong. Even if he could, Yui couldn't reply to her. His head felt as if it was going to split in two... He kneeled down to the ground... his mind suddenly flashing briefly an image of something...
A man... with hair like fire...
"YUI!"
Just as quickly as the headache came, it left, and Yui gasped for air. Kaoru's hand instantly found its way to her husband's temple, which she could feel steadily going down in its pulse...
"It's ok..." she whispered. "You're going to be alright..."
Right afterwards, Kaoru's senses suddenly relaxed... She could feel it. That man's aura seemed to just vanish into thin air...
"He... he's gone..." Karin said. "Just disappeared without a tra... OH, MY GOD! SAKURA! DARRELL!"
"Ugh? Nani?" Kaoru gasped suddenly, her eyes whirling to the center of the courtyard. Instantly she felt her heart drop heavily as if it was lead. On the ground laid the tattered bodies of the two who adopted her, Sakura Kasugano and Darrell Markis, with Batsu Ichimonji right next to them, checking to see if they were even breathing. A few meters upwards, on the school steps, lay another man in a business suit... his shirt ripped in the front to show a jagged scar across the chest. As she saw Chun-Li come over to him, she could see that his wound was very fresh as well... just like the numerous ones that enveloped her brother and sister's bodies...
"I... don't believe this..." was all she could mutter, her eyes now taking a glance around to see the debris that lay around the courtyard of Tamagawa Minami. The grass on the left of the path was scorched by flames, the right tattered like a hurricane just flew by. In the distance a massive dent lay in the wall... The only thing that was left unshaved was the school itself.
"Kaoru..." came Yui's now calm voice. "Come on... We gotta see if they're alright."
"Yui... Are you..."
"I'll be just fine... but they won't if we just stay here..."
Kaoru hesitated. Just a few seconds ago Yui seemed to be on the verge of having his head explode... and all of a sudden he was normal...
"Are you sure you're...?"
"Kaoru, do you have those herbs that you carry around with you all the time? The ones that Rose gave to you years ago?"
Kaoru blinked then reached into her travel bag.
"Yeah..." she replied, quickly taking out a bottle of medicine that she always carried around with her.
"Great. Let's go."
Both Kaoru and Yui ran into the post-battlefield, making their first stop to Sakura and Darrell's motionless bodies. As they got close, both Karin, who already ran over to her rival and friends, and Batsu both looked at them.
"Stand clear," Kaoru ordered as she kneeled down and began to open the canister. "They're going to need some space."
"Hey... You're..." Batsu began.
"Yeah. Sakura's 'little sister', but right now the introductions can wait. I just hope I'm not too late and that their bodies aren't too injured..."
As Kaoru began to work on her task, Karin suddenly spun around to the sound of tires screeching just outside the school gates... Once she picked up the symbol of the trucks, she frowned.
"News Combo 7..." she muttered under her breath. She then looked at her two friends, then the Interpol agents up on the school steps. "You guys, get in my limo, pronto! We got to get out of here fast before we're overrun with reporters! I'll take you back to my Complex. Just get a move on!"
"Reporters...?" Chun-Li repeated. She instantly swore in fluid Chinese.
(This is exactly what I wanted to prevent!)
Without thinking much, she stood up and grabbed Ace's arm, hoisting it over her shoulders so that she could drag him down the steps.
"You heard Karin! Let's get out of here NOW!"
Kaoru reluctantly closed the bottle back up and put it in her pocket.
"I'm not done applying the medicine," she said harshly. "I'm going to have to do it in the limo..."
As she, along with Karin grabbed Sakura's unconscious body while Batsu got Darrell and began to make their way out of the school's courtyard, Kaoru still couldn't get one thing...
"Just who was that guy...?"