Chapter 12: Meetings
London, England: 11:15 A.M.
A somewhat elderly yet physically built man marched his way through the corridors of Delta Red; his dark green uniform riddled with numerous medals he had received from over the years. His black eyes; dull yet sharp, kept on the watch as he found his way in this section of the base. On both sides of the corridor were various areas that were designed to train the operatives in the vicinity. The man wasn't here for mere observation, however. He was called here by section T-5; who were convinced they found the people he needed to look into Shadowloo.
Yes, today he'd have a personal look at them...
The man, a high-rank general, finally stopped his trek at a room near the end of the current corridor. The glass that made up the room was transparent enough for him to make out some individuals in the room.
"Let's have a look..." he said to no one in particular. And with that he stepped inside... The room he emerged in was relatively large. Where the entrance was convenient enough and seemed to be a waiting room-like vicinity, just beyond that lay another interior area that was, at the moment, barren.
"James. Rachel. Jeice. Morris. Attention."
The four members of the T-5 section were definitely in the room; all of them stopping their current procedures and turning around to acknowledge the superior in the room.
"It's a pleasure for you to join us, General Taylor," welcomed Rachel, who was now stationed at a computer monitor connected to the secondary room.
"I've gotten word that you recruited two new members to your young division to tackle the Shadowloo issue, am I right?"
"Yes. That is why we called for you. We wanted you to see them at work. I'm pretty sure they will surprise you just like they did us."
"Hmm..." the man replied while rubbing his chin. "You seem very confident about their abilities being that they have only been here for two days."
"Hey, you said to give us 48 hours," James reminded with a smirk on his face, "and we got the job done."
"Well, then. Let's see what you got then. Where are they?"
"They're coming right now..." Jeice mumbled. Although still he couldn't get over what was happening lately, he still couldn't hide the fact that he was at least a little impressed himself. "Drake! Noel! Showtime! Come meet one of our main superiors."
All attention turned over to the side room towards the right... and it didn't take long for the General to grow wide-eyed at what he was seeing. Of all the things he could have expected, seeing this was definitely not one of them. In standard Delta Red uniforms were two teenagers, both blond and very identical in looks outside of the fact that they were opposite genders. In fact, they seemed under the Delta Red age limit by about 2 years or so. Despite that, they didn't act the part; the two of them being respectful to their commander by approaching them and saluting.
"Drake White..." the boy started, looking up at Taylor with a serious tone.
"...and Noel White," the girl ended. "Both prepared for duty."
Taylor at first merely returned the gesture, then gave the rest of the section a look as if to say, "What's the explanation for this?" Rachel only nodded her head once and answered, "These two young kids are the offspring of legendary Delta Red operative, Cammy White, who has been reported captured by Shadowloo. They managed to sneak by our defenses by off basic instinct two days ago around the time of our meeting and they wish to not only rescue their mother but as well as bring down Shadowloo as well. Don't be fooled by their looks, General. Their capabilities and skills far exceed their age."
"Well... I think that it'll be best that we see what they have to offer," Taylor advised. "Since we are in one of our better training rooms, I think I'll test them."
On instinct both White twins accepted the test, giving their superior a confirming nod before turning to Rachel, the one in charge of the technical support of the T-5 section, and said, "Ready."
"You two know what to do."
It didn't take them long for them to step into the secondary section of the training room, where Rachel was commencing operations to begin. Once she was done with the preparations, she turned to the communicator and spoke to the twins, who were now turning on the small headset-like communicators in their ears.
"Alright. This is mission #37. Find your way through the course by any means and defeat the boss up ahead. Use whatever you have in your disposal to accomplish the goal. You will not be penalized on time, but please accomplish it in under 10 minutes. If you cannot, the simulation will shut down. Let me know when you are ready to start."
"We're always ready," Drake responded back, getting ready to start along with his sister; their eyes square on the long obstacle track ahead of them. The rest of the people in the area looked on as Rachel initiated the operation... then her voice shouted in their communicators.
"Begin!"
No sooner did her voice come did the surroundings around the White twins begin to change. Parts of the walls began to give way and transform to military firearms, none of them wasting time in giving off a heavy assault of bullets. On instinct Noel and Drake shot forwards, the hailstorm just missing their boots. As the two dodged and weaved through the barrage, Taylor had a firm look on his face.
"Their speed is amazing... I haven't seen anything like that since Cammy was with Delta Red..."
Just as the duo avoided the last of the cannon fire, another obstacle was right in front of them. In the area beyond them (which was now beginning to escape the confines of the room and stretch towards the outside of the base, alongside a vehicle entrance to the base) rested about 6 bulls eye targets, all guarded by member of Delta Red. General Taylor recalled them as being members of the elite section who would volunteer on such escapades...
"We're splitting up," Noel informed Rachel, and with that the siblings broke off, Drake going left and Noel going right, beginning to engage in conflict with the Delta Red elites. It was here that Taylor definitely kept a sharp eye out on their skills...
"Hey, pal!" Drake shouted, approaching his first target and guard, wearing a smirk on his face. "I bet you never saw THIS, have you?"
Just as he got close, the guard began to grab him, as if this was a simple matter. However, Drake ducked down and slid under his legs, getting up as quickly as he could, clenching his right fist and preparing to strike.
"ShotGUN!" he called, and then threw his right fist ahead, the attack bursting into purple flames as it collided with his opponent's back, making the guard stumble a little forwards before he fell on his face. He turned back around just in time to see Drake yank down the bull's eye and give him a joking salute before he raced out of his sight. On the other side, Noel was still rushing towards her target, which was suspended on a crane quite a bit high into the air. Her guard was stationed just below it, armed with a fire rifle, and on sight the woman ducked down and set her sights on Noel. However, the moment she fired thrice, Noel dodged to the left, then to the right, and finally jumped, landed on the woman's shoulders, totally surprising her, and used her for leverage, leaping as high as she could so she could nab the second target and keep going. Her second target was just in front of here, hidden behind a small barricade of tanks. Although no one was manning them, three members of the elite force stood in front of her, prepared to stop her. Noel noticed this a second before she went into the area, and sprinted again. This time, the moment she stepped forward a blinding flash spread across the area, the guards unable to pick off Noel's location. By the time the quick flash went away, the White girl was behind them, quickly grabbing the third target and kept her pace.
As Noel was doing this, Drake found himself at the fourth target, resting right on the guard's chest, literally. Pausing a bit to think, Drake let the guard lunge at him to try to immobilize him with his weapon; a stun-gun/tazer.
"Come on," the kid began, "You're making this too easy on me!"
As the guard shot his weapon forward, Drake moved to the left, swatted the attack away, and opted to just grab the target from the man's chest. However, this was cancelled as the guard attacked again with his free hand. At an awkward position, Drake had no choice but to block it, pushing himself away from his target. The moment he recovered his assailant lunged at him with a kick.
Drake let out a "Tch!" and slid forward once again, this time letting his leg trip the attacker as well as grab the target from his chest, and in similar fashion as the other one, he bid him adieu, still racing forwards. At this moment the two separate paths joined up again and the Whites wordlessly conjoined again. By this time General Taylor was more or less impressed by the skill being displayed... but there was still one more little obstacle for them to overtake...
"Noel! Drake!" Rachel's voice said over their headsets. "Be careful. Your last two targets are being guarded by the boss. Proceed with necessary caution."
"Gotcha," Noel responded, the two of them stopping just as they found themselves far into the outside area of the base. The blue sky above them was just a nice surrounding along with the rest of the area, the ground a hard concrete. This area was normally used to deploy vehicles in and out of the base, but for now... it was being occupied by only one thing besides the twins... Before them stood somewhat of a large robot, or most specifically a cyborg. This "thing", which resembled something like that of a science fiction movie, was one of the newest innovations to Delta Red technology due to some stolen ideas from Shaodwloo not too long ago, and was now being used as practice.
"The two targets lie within his chest," Rachel replied. "You'll have to figure out a way to retrieve them."
The two twins looked at each other for a moment and then the cyborg, then Noel spoke into the communicator. "Requesting permission to terminate the cyborg."
"Permission granted. Remember the objective. Accomplish it by any means."
"Roger that," Drake ended enthusiastically. He then turned to his sister and continued with, "You heard the lady, sis."
Noel smirked. "Let's give it to this bucket of bolts."
The two then turned their attention to their target and then shot forwards, the cyborg responding by pointing out its right arm and pelting out gunfire, aiming at Noel. As skillfully as she could, the girl twin kept her pace, the trail of bullets bouncing off the ground. This distracted the robot from Drake, who was now in close. He then quickly spun around and gave the chest a hard kick to the stomach, expecting it to shatter completely. Instead it cracked just a little. He then had to roll away before he could add another since his target swung at him with its opposite arm.
"His hide's tough..." he commented in the headset.
"But not tough enough," Rachel reminded him. "That metal won't withstand too much pressure. Keep aiming at his chest."
"No problem. Noel! Keep him distracted! I'll attack it!"
"Don't worry about me! I got my end under control! WHOA!"
Noel's heart almost skipped a beat as the cyborg's back emitted a lighting current right in front of her, and she had to roll towards her right to avoid that as well as the seemingly endless amount of gunfire from its cannon.
"TOO close for comfort..." she sighed, now retaining her pace. "Drake, I'm adding in the assault. The sooner we shut this thing down the least likely I'm going to come out fried!"
Drake didn't respond, this time avoiding the melee attacks the stationary cyborg was giving while also trying to attack it. Just as he avoided an attack to his head, he dashed forward, his elbow out...
"Needle Spike!"
...and stuck the damaged chest of the robot with it, ending the attack with a spinning somersault kick. The flames that aided his attack had an odd effect on the target, rendering it immobile... Noel noticed this quickly and eased up a little at the ceasing of gunfire.
"Alright, Drake!" she congratulated. "Let's finish it off!"
"No problem," her brother smirked, gathering up his energy to complete his next attack. "Hope you're ready for this!"
"Let's go! SPIN DRIVE SMASHER!"
"SPIKE BLITZ!"
At the call, both twins shot forward, each one covered in a purple blaze, attacking the cyborg with a Cannon Drill from Noel and a Needle Spike from Drake, ending with rising kicks from both of them. As the two bounced off, the cyborg began to short circuit from the flames, and suddenly it gave off an explosion, the two twins only watching on...
"Such power for young kids..." the General said in awe. The others in the sector just looked on in accomplishment as the twins looked on at the gap in the robot's chest. Resting inside were the last of the targets... which they grabbed joyously and held in their hands.
"Sweet. Now that's what I call a workout!" Drake commented.
"Says you," Noel replied. "I hardly broke a sweat."
"Ha! Are you kidding? You almost wet yourself when the robot shot that electric current out!"
"Hey, you're lucky your head wasn't knocked clean off your shoulders! Not that it could, you being such a blockhead and all."
Drake could've kept up the sibling squabbling, but instead he paused and smirked at his sister, Noel doing the same. The two then flashed out of sight, thanks to Noel's White Snow, and in an instant they found themselves back where the others were...
"Excellent show, you two," James congratulated. "Even when we spiced things up with that robot at the end and the elite force, you two still got the record time on that exercise."
"Really?" Drake asked. Jeice and Morris both nodded and Rachel only smiled at them.
"Indeed," she said. "All of that was done in a course of 4 minutes and 10 seconds. You beat out the original record by a good 2 minutes."
"Yes!" the "older" twin yelled out, getting psyched. "Now that's what I call cool!"
"Whites," General Taylor interrupted, causing both twins to turn their attention to him. "Despite your age, Rachel was right about you. You did surprise me by how well you handled the exercise. Blowing through those members of the elite squad was also quite impressive. I will personally overrule the age clause of Delta Red so that you can stay under the wing of sector T-5. T-5, you're responsible for uncovering the intensions of Shadowloo. Further details shall come to you when the need arises. Until then, there is a Shadowloo operation nearby in Manchester that needs to be discovered and brought down. I entrust that you will be able to do that?"
"Yes, sir!" Noel said confidently. "You don't have to worry about a thing. We're going to make sure to it that this Shadowloo will pay for taking our mother away from us. You'll just see."
General Taylor then saluted to the others in the room before making his exit. The way things seemed, he was sure that they'll be able to get the job done.
Saebe, Japan: 12 Noon
Meanwhile, about half across the globe, the blue skies over Saebe were being flown by a large silver aircraft, the ship in which the Shadow Breakers were aboard. Inside, Chun-Li was busy looking at the latest Interpol update on Shadowloo along with Ace, via the computer device that was built into Ace's jacket arm.
"Hmm... It seems that this once Karin's Zaibatsu wasn't accurate," Ace commented. "There weren't any readings of activity in Saebe. So far everything looks very decent over the entire country."
"I highly doubt that..." Chun-Li replied. "The report we're reading hasn't been updated for today. It shows that another report should be coming within the hour, so keen an eye out."
"Yes..."
"Any luck yet?"
The two Interpol agents looked up from their focus to catch Karin approach them from the front of the ship. Ever since she woke up today everyone noticed the hint of disappointment that resulted from the wild goose chase the Kanzuki Zaibatsu put her on. She spent the last hour and a half in direct contact with the people in charge of it, and just recently put everything within it under control. However, she hasn't spoken to anyone on board until now, and her expression was just as serious as the one on Chun-Li's face.
"We're waiting on the latest news from Interpol," the Chinese agent reported to Karin. "We're just looking over the last report for any nearby sightings. The next batch of information should be coming before 1."
"Fine," came the Kanzuki woman's abet stern reply. "I want to make sure we don't go astray anymore. I'm still not quite sure what is going on with the Zaibatsu. This isn't the first time it malfunctioned lately..."
"Don't worry yourself too much over it," Ace suggested. "Incidents like this happen."
"Yes, I know this," Karin replied, now sitting along with the agents onboard. "My point is that the Zaibatsu hasn't had this many frequent errors in its readings. I mean, just recently the database went a little out of operation, then it misreads the Shadowloo activity point. It has never been like this, and the ones running it back at the complex claim that they're doing as well as they can like always on it. Its state of the art technology, but it sure hasn't been acting like it."
"Hmm... Well, Karin, all you really can is rely on the people in charge of the Zaibatsu," Chun-Li said, her voice now trying to soothe Karin. "They're the best your money has to offer; you know that much."
"Yes, you're right about that..." Karin sighed while nodding. "I just need to relax; that's all..."
Both Chun-Li and Ace nodded, just as a slight beeping noise arose from Ace's high tech jacket. All three gazed upon the monitor, read the first lines of the report... and their eyes narrowed.
"Or not," the owner of the plane muttered. "Looks like we found our real hotspot..."
Meanwhile...
"Haiiiiiiiiiiii...YAAAAAAHH!"
thud
A fist rocketed forwards and found its way into an awaiting hand opposite of its direction.
"That's good, but you're forcing it too much," came the voice of the current World Warrior champion, Sakura. "Let your attack flow out freely and don't focus on just hitting as hard as you can."
"Ok, Sakura," came the attacker, Jan's, reply. The young girl wore a mere sleeveless tee-shirt along with a pair of shorts along with her white sneakers and gloves. Sakura, on the other hand, wore sweatpants in conjunction to her red sneakers and tank top. The two were in a rather large area towards the back of the aircraft, built for battles, training practices, and other related activities. As of now, they were the only two in the steel incased room, the sunlight beeming through the large windows on both sides of the plane.
The two had spent the last 5 minutes or so training, and 10 minutes before that stretching. Although they've only been at this for about that long, Jan was already developing a light sweat while Sakura was 100 percent. The younger of the two then brought her fist back and entered her fighting stance again. Sakura then braced herself, a hand out to catch Jan's attack. A second later, Jan shouted again, throwing her fist out against to attack Sakura's hand. As it landed, Sakura let out a small breath through her nose.
"Better," she congratulated. "That's the way. The secret to fighting is to let your soul go along with your attacks and movements. If you think about dealing damage or dodging too much, then you'll lose your edge. You don't want that, especially against guys like you ran into last night."
Jan only nodded, once again settling herself and preparing to let out another attack.
I'll show her... she thought silently to herself. If I'm being trained by Sakura, I just know that I'll beat her.
"Haaa...!" the black haired girl then brought out her fist again, her sights on Sakura's palm, and prepared to attack again, only before she could, Sakura stopped her.
"Just a second..."
"Huh?" Jan blinked, stopping herself. Sakura then stood up straight, relaxed, and spoke again.
"I don't want to seem to rush... but... if you're like me, I most certainly think that you can do this. Since you've learned that powerful move you used last night at such a young age... then I'd like to pass this move down to you."
Sakura then smirked and got as close to Jan as she could, standing by her side...
"Watch me... Abet, I only used this attack once... when I first fought Darrell... but for someone like you... I think you can find use for it..."
Jan's eyes then began to light up at what she was hearing and seeing. "You're teaching me a new move...?"
The Cherry Blossom fighter nodded, now smiling at Jan. She then closed her eyes and focused on her ki. As she did so, her hands came from her sides to her front of her face, crossing one another. Jan could quickly sense her teacher's ki start to build as she talked back to her.
"For this... you have to concentrate your energy on your fists... Make it become one with them... Don't forget about what I said about channeling your spirit and soul..."
Now Sakura's gloved hands began to glow a white tint, making Jan's eyes grow sparkles in her pupils...
"And once it's ready... and you can feel when it's ready..."
Sakura then brought her arms up above her head, her fists now glowing a bright white/blue...
"HA!"
...and then swooped them down and to her sides again. Jan grew amazed at the fact that Sakura's fists now were a steady white/blue, almost in the form of small blazes. As the World Warrior champion relaxed once again, Jan just had to know.
"Whoa...! I never seen this move before! Since when did you learn that?"
"I modeled this move after my husband's Shakunetsuken," Sakura replied. "I only used this move once, and I called it the Ougi Hadouken. However... I want to pass this technique down to you. I'd like you to call it whatever you'd like it... but first, you must do what I did. If you can do your Hurricanna, then this should be a piece of cake to you."
"Ok. Sure, no problem."
As Sakura instructed, Jan sighed while closing her eyes, calming her nerves while concentrating her ki into her fists. Sakura only looked on, her fists still powered by her ki, as Jan dropped her head a little and brought her hands above her head. Although the stance was different from Sakura's, the effect was the same, Jan's hands now slowly starting to glow a solid blue...
"I can feel it..." she whispered as her glowing hands began to intensify. "My hands... They're warm..."
Sakura kept her silence, looking on with delight as Jan let her spirit guide her actions. Her hands came down from their post and began to move around in front of her, the trail of blue ki sticking in the air as she stroked a kanji symbol in front of her...
"I call this move of mine... 'Umi... Enpawaamento'..."
Jan's eyes then opened to see the vision of her words spelled out by her hands. She then smiled, just as the words vanished in front of her eyes, and then gazed at her hands, laughing as she did so.
"Wow... This is so cool...! Thanks, Sakura..."
"Don't mention it, Jan," Sakura smiled back. A good half-second later, a sudden burst of wind swept through the room, catching Jan completely off guard.
"Hey...! There're no windows open here!" she yelled while covering her eyes with her hand. "What's going on...!"
"Don't worry about that..." she managed to hear from Sakura. "That's just my 'sister'..."
"Your what...?"
Jan then managed to open her eyes, and as if it were magic, realized that three more individuals in the room just a few feet away from her...
"'Sis'..." the black-haired Japanese woman, the one in the middle, welcomed. Jan then looked up to her teacher to see her put her hands on her hips and give her attention to the visitor.
"Hey, Kaoru! I knew you'd make it back here soon enough. It's nice to see you two, as well, Yui and Mitsumi."
Yui, the silver-haired young man and the tallest out of the group, waved once while Mitsumi, the long-braided Chinese girl smiled while giving Sakura a mere gesture. Kaoru, on the other hand, was the least bit happy, her face a dark, serious tone. In Jan's eyes, it was hard to believe just to think that Kaoru and Sakura was the least bit related. However, she could only take Sakura's word for it.
Sakura noticed the expression on her little 'sister's' face, and it made her frown. "Kaoru...? Is something the matter...?"
Kaoru kept quiet a little, approaching Sakura, and once she was close, she spoke.
"We've... ran into some... critical problems the other night..." she said, her voice low. Before she kept going, she then noticed Jan, and let her eyes lay on the young girl below her. This made Jan stiffen a bit, not able to make out what was going through the older woman's mind as she stared at her. Kaoru then looked back at Sakura and asked, "Who is she?"
"Her name's Jan, Kaoru," Sakura answered proudly. "She's my '#1 fan', as we say it, and we met the other night, taking out a small mob. For a little girl, she's not that bad as a fighter. I was training her before you came about."
"Oh... I see it, then..." Kaoru paused again, thinking of what to say, and then found it. "Sakura... Do you think its smart taking her with us...? You know what we'll eventually be doing once we get the chance..."
"Yes, I know that," the older of the two answered back. "This is why I'm teaching her some techniques and skills. The more she knows, the better she can help us out."
Kaoru looked at Jan one more time, this time her eyes softening quite a bit. In a chain reaction the youngest of the group sighed a little and relaxed. After a few moments, Kaoru once again returned to her older 'sister'.
"Yeah, I can feel it, too... She's quite gifted... but enough about that now. I have some news that I don't think you're going to like."
That quote alone made Sakura's eyes turn hard. "What happened to you last night...? You know I can sense that you're not quite 100 there."
"I got ambushed by a Shadowloo assassin that night," the traveler muttered. "He got me pretty good, but I'll be fine..."
"An assassin...?"
"Yeah... That cheap-ass Spanish matador..."
Sakura didn't speak again, and it didn't take a genius to know why. Kaoru then sighed and continued.
"Obviously Shadowloo's starting to really heat up, now. They know that we're coming after them. If they assigned Vega to come after me, then you know that you guys aren't going to have it any better. Whoever's behind this is really serious."
"Wait a second..." the cherry blossom cut her 'sister' off. "What do you mean by 'whoever's behind this'...?"
"Sakura..." Kaoru muttered, her voice a little low as she thought about what Vega said to her, and she still can't believe what she was about to say. "Bison... is... not behind this..."
"Nani...!" Sakura shot back. The words barely made sense to her, and what came next was no better.
"In fact... he's dead," the younger of the two talking broadened the subject. "There's a woman behind this... I don't know any more besides that, but it's pretty obvious that Bison isn't a woman... unless he turned into a bitch or something..."
"Kaoru, if you're telling me that... then..."
However, before Sakura could finish, a voice shot over the plane's PA system. On closer observation, everyone identified it as Karin's.
"Everyone on-board, listen up. We got our first solid bit of information. We're stopping at Kyoto. We're positive that this is what we're looking for. We should be there in a few hours. This time we're not going to leave until we find something, so prepare to stay there a little. That's all for now."
Once the message was done, Sakura and Kaoru exchanged glances once again...
"This is it, then..." Sakura said quietly. Kaoru only nodded.
"I'm going to find the others and let them know the news," the 'younger' sister said. "We should probably make sure everyone else is really up to speed in case things get messy. As you can see..."
Kaoru then turned her back to both Sakura and Jan and lifted her shirt up... warranting a "Geez!" shout from the younger girl as she noticed the numerous healing scars riddled across her back.
"...they're most certainly not pulling anything back this time."
Tokyo, Japan: 1: 30 P.M
"You're kidding me! You'd think that after traveling all the way here, we'd find at least one of them, but instead, nothing! What a bummer."
"You see, Yun? You need to at least call someone before you decide to drop by and visit."
"Don't start with me now, Hoimei..."
"What did you say, Yun?"
"Hey, you two, get a grip. We have more important things to worry about. We need to either find a new lead or find out where Sakura and the others went."
"Where could they have went, Yin? You saw the news yourself. Sakura and Darrell should be nursing their injuries. Where the heck could they have went hurt like that?"
As Yin only shrugged her shoulders, Yang and Shaomei only stood by and watched. The Lee Dragons were currently in Sakura's home town, Tokyo, now located in the crowded areas downtown. The day was a Saturday, which meant that loads of people were going to be shopping and enjoying themselves. However, the group was here for more reasons than that. Sure Hoimei convinced the others to let them relax and buy some clothes and such for her to wear for the season, but still, Yun, Yang, and Yin were on a search for the current Street Fighter champion and any one of her companions and family members, but unfortunately there seemed to be absolutely no trace of them. They stopped at her house as well as the Kanzuki Complex, but instead all they were able to come away with was that they had left on their own search for the people responsible for this mess...
"We're at a dead end, here..." Yang reported, the group stopping at a busy intersection. "We need a new lead."
"Maybe we should've asked that guy at the Complex where exactly they went," Yin suggested.
"We did that, remember?" Yun muttered. "All he told us was that they went south. Not much to work with there..." He then looked around and sighed. "There's no need for us sticking around here. We need to split. The longer we waste time just standing around, the more time those guys get away with."
Not necessarily waiting for a reply from the others, the oldest Dragon then turned sharp right on the intersection and started to walk... ill-advisedly with his cap over his head. He didn't take two steps before bumping forcibly into someone...
"Hey!" he shouted, back-pedaling a step to see who he walked into. His eyes found their target; a young woman around Yin's age and size only even thinner, sprouting an unusual blond-esque hair color worn short and shabby, and in normal street clothes. She didn't seem startled by the contact; she merely looked at Yun from the corner of her eye, her face reading off a bit of an intimidating look. She didn't say anything at first, so that gave Yun ample time to so do himself. Fortunately, it didn't take long...
"You mind watching out for other people? Geez... talk about being sour..."
The woman didn't respond for a moment, keeping her position. After about three seconds she did.
"And I suppose walking around with a cap over your head like you're Johnny from Guilty Gear is a bright idea in a thick crowd like this, is it, Einstein?"
Her comment made Yun double take. "Tch! If you're implying that I go around copying things I see on TV then you're mistaken heavily. I'm about as original as they come, girl!"
The woman's hair whisked in a slight breeze and her eyes broadened a bit. "You must be joking... You could've very well bought that fake kung-fu getup from that clothing store down the street. Give me a break. And you got your siblings following after you? Ha!"
She then turned towards them, brought her hand up to her forehead, and made an "L" with her thumb and pointer finger.
"Losers!" she ended mockingly, making Yin start to bubble over herself.
"Hey, just who do you think you are?" she demanded, stepping forward beside Yun. Little did she know that they were drawing a crowd. "No one goes off on our attire! This is a family heirloom!"
"Yeah, I can see that much," the blond woman said devil-may-care-like, "and I suppose that you guys 'pretend' to fight, too, huh?"
With that Yun's eyes began to sparkle, a look Yang was all too familiar with. "Oh, so you're calling out the Triple Dragons by yourself? That's quite some lip you're giving us. If that's what you want, then I'll be happy to oblige!"
"Brother... Sister... We didn't come here to start an altercation..." the middle Lee reminded. "We came here to find Sakura. There's no reason for us to fight this wo—"
"Wait..." the stranger replied, making the Triple Dragons pause. It seemed the mention of the word "Sakura" struck a tone for her, for she stopped goofing around and put on a serious look. "Sakura...? As in Sakura Kasugano?"
"Yeah... What's that to you...?" Yin asked, crossing her arms.
"Sakura's my cousin... I'm Kyone Kasugano... and I'm looking for her..."
"Yeah, well... so are we, and you'll be surprised to know that she ain't here," the oldest sibling pouted. "She and the rest of her group traveled south of here."
"South, huh...?"
Kyone took a pause to think for a bit, then she smirked. "That's nice... Thanks for the info. Unfortunately for you, only I'm going to be seeing her, so why don't you do yourself a favor and head back to Hong Kong, losers? It'll save you the trouble of me having to take you out now."
"Tch! You just won't stop flapping your gums at us, will you...?" Yin shot back, now stepping forward and getting into her Kenpo fighting style. "I think it's about time I showed you that you should watch your manners!"
"Ha! You're much too weak to beat me, you little twit!" Kyone returned while getting into her own fighting stance. "You and your two brothers are finished! Right here and now!"
On the side, Hoimei only sighed as Yang looked back at her and Shaomei and frowned. Of course, they all knew now that there was no backing down from a street fight now, especially due to the huge crowd around them.
"Its three on one," the older of the two sisters muttered. "Just try to finish this as fast as you can, Yang."
Yang only nodded. "Sure." He then turned his full attention on Kyone, who was now starting the battle against his sister, Yin, first. Yun had already backed down and stood on standby and Yang joined him, watching on as Yin and Kyone circled around each other, getting a feel of the other...
If she's a relative of Sakura... she should fight a little similar to her... the youngest Lee thought carefully. For my sake I hope so...
"You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into, Yin Lee," Kyone taunted with a smirk on her face. "I'm going to enjoy beating you up."
With that Yin's forehead twitched. "That's it!" She then brought her leg up and kicked out hard to Kyone's chest, who merely knocked it away. She then retaliated with a hard fist to the body, almost like something a boxer would do, and it almost caught Yin off guard. The youngest Dragon had to bend her torso away to narrowly avoid it. As Yin tried to maintain her focus, Kyone was hot on her, sending her leg up for a hard kick to the head that Yin dodged by arching her back and letting it sail above her. Yin then took this position to drop down to the ground...
"Ha!"
...and come up with her Senkyutai. Unfortunately, Kyone ducked herself after missing, her back to Yin, so the attack missed rather badly...
"HAHA!" came a really good laugh from Kyone; the moment she turned back around to face Yin, who already knew she made a crucial mistake, the shabby Japanese blond jumped up after her and as the two landed, she instantly whammed her fist into Yin's face. The force of the Kasugano's fist was surprisingly powerful, instantly dropping the other girl to the canvass, gasping from the pain.
"How'd you like that?" Kyone taunted, watching as Yin nursed her cheek. "Come on and stand up! I'm not through with you for a second!"
"Yin!" Yun shouted out, watching on as his sister slowly stood up from the ground. The girl Dragon had a very shocked expression on her face, directed all the way at Kyone.
"N... not even... Sakura hits that hard..." she whispered, bewildered. "How...? I felt as if I got hit by one of Ryu's Shoryukens..."
This made Kyone laugh once again. "Ah, I appreciate the compliment. I take it you liked my Ishi Kujikuken... I told you. The three of you aren't going to be able to take me if you get trashed after just one special attack."
"Ugh...!" Yin groaned out, frustrated already. "I'm having enough of this...!"
At the end of her sentence, Yin's body blurred out of Kyone's sight, who instantly went on the defensive. A half-second later, Yin reappeared... in her face, and before Kyone could react, she grabbed onto Kyone's shoulders, brought her close, and started to knee her in her stomach as hard as she could. Each one made the blond gasp. After 5, Yin gave a final one, making Kyone stumble back a bit to try to recover. Just then Yin shouted again, throwing out her arm to strike at her opponent once again in an upside-down spear hand... However...
"What the...?" Yin gasped, noticing that Kyone managed to grab her hand before it hit her face, and instantly pull her forward. Unable to stop, Yin cried out in pain once Kyone's knee came up to meet her body, or most specifically, her chin... As the youngest Dragon fell backwards, stunned, Sakura's cousin brought her right arm backwards, forming a black ball of ki in her hands...
"Mei... Hadouken!"
...and then shot it out forcibly, the black ball forming a surge attack that hit the unsuspecting Yin in almost no time flat. The Hadouken blew Yin off her feet and to the pavement, sliding back until Yun caught her.
"Yin!" he shouted, "Are you alright?"
"Oooooohhhhh..." was the girl's only response, her eyes very close to being shut completely. "She's... powerful..."
"Save your energy, Yin," the oldest of the Dragons said quietly, his eyes not turning to Kyone, who, in turn, was tapping her sneaker on the pavement, waiting.
"So I suppose I'll be taking you on, as well, huh, cap-boy?"
Yun didn't respond to that, his brain trying to figure out a way to bring her down. The moment he began to stand up, Hoimei instantly ran up to him, holding him off.
"Don't you dare do anything reckless!" she shouted at him. "You saw what she just did to your sister! She needs to be attended to!"
"Then you do that, then," Yun replied. "I'm not going to sit here and let her make fun of the Dragons."
"And I'm not going to sit here and let you wind up like Yin! You sit tight right here, mister!"
"Hey!" Yun instantly shouted out, wincing as Hoimei grabbed onto his ear and twisted it in a very unpleasant way. Kyone was watching it all, and she couldn't help but laugh to her heart's content.
"Oh...! This is priceless! Talk about a joke! And you guys call yourselves street fighters? You're pathetic!"
"That's enough..."
Kyone blinked as her focus went off to the person who said it, Yang. The middle Dragon was now just a little ahead of her, fixing his yellow glove. He then brought his hands together and bowed at Kyone before going into his fighting stance.
"Kimeru... (I'll end this...)" was all he said in a warning. Kyone noticed all of this and then turned her face to a more competitive look.
"This might get interesting after all... Ikuzo! Yah!"
Quick on the attack, Kyone lunged forward with a hard fist to the face that Yang moved away from.
"Hai!" he shouted, retaliating with one swipe of his Tourozan. It landed right on her side, and it slowed her down a little. Still, it didn't stop her from dropping down to the ground and kicking at Yang's legs. Yang parried and countered with an elbow to the face, but Kyone also parried this...
"SHOUOKEN!"
Although she shouted out Sakura's famous version of the Dragon Punch, Kyone did it even more differently, her fist rocketing into Yang's stomach once and stopping him in his tracks before she went up with the jumping uppercut to his chin. Yang fell on his back on the pavement but instantly sat up, nursing his chest, just in time to see Kyone jump towards him to plant a sneaker in his face. Luckily, Yang was able to predict how she'd land, and started to roll forward under her leg, and connect with his version of the Senkyutai Yin missed with earlier. Kyone found herself being popped into the air, but unfortunately for her, Yang landed first... and wasn't done with her... He quickly braced himself, getting into a special stance...
"RAISHIN MAHHAKEN!"
Just before the Kasugano could safely hit the floor, Yang shot his right arm out, stunning her right in mid-air. He then threw his arm up from its spot, brought it back, and attacked again, his body splitting into a silhouette as he tore his way through Kyone's body, the end of the attack making her spin to the ground below. Right after her was done Yang flipped away from Kyone, watching cautiously as she began to roll to the side, giving Yang a hard look as she started to lightly pant.
"Why you little..." she muttered, picking herself off the ground and standing up straight, her eyes on Yang with a very dark intension on her expression... She clenched her fists tightly as she hardened herself, ready to attack any moment. Before either Yang or Kyone could do anything, however, another voice shot through the air...
"Kyone! Cut this out!"
Kyone gasped as she instantly turned over to the side, where another young woman was emerging from the crowd. Yang, as well as the rest of the Dragons, looked at this girl, who was also a bit of a brown/blond-hair only her hair was done in a ponytail. She was only an inch taller than Kyone, but her expression was pretty much serious, yet not angry.
"Ayane..." Kyone said lightly, her full attention on this new woman.
"It figures you can never wait on me to finish my little shopping rounds, my little sister," Ayane muttered. "You really need to pick your fights more wisely."
"You're one to talk, sourpuss," Kyone retaliated. "You never let me have any fun. Besides you take forever shopping. You know why we're here, anyways. Why don't we get some practice in before we meet Sakura?"
Ayane simply looked at the Triple Dragons group for about 3 seconds before she took a deep breath and returned to her sister.
"Come on. Let's get out of here."
Kyone also looked on at Yang before she replied, "Yeah..."
She then brought a hand up to her forehead and gave the Dragons a taunting good-bye.
"Later, much! It was a real... gas!"
Just before Kyone turned away from the fight for good, she gave Yang a really good look, and said in a low tone only he could hear...
"And I look forward to seeing you again... I got a feeling that I'm going to really enjoy fighting you while not holding back, pal..."
Yang merely stood up straight, watching as the two Kasugano sisters met up with each other and walked away from him. He didn't move for quite a bit, instead listening as Shaomei talked to him from behind.
"Are you ok, Yang?"
"Yes, I'm fine, Shaomei..."
"...those two seem... different..."
"You're right about that... There's... more to them than what they lead on. I can feel it. That... 'Mei Hadouken' she used on Yin... That was no ordinary attack."
"Yang!" Yun's voice rang in his ear. "Let's get out of here. Yin seems to be coming around. Let's bail out of here."
The middle Dragon sighed in relief then turned around to regroup with the others. Yin was still on the ground in Yun's arms, but she was now only sighing, her eyes looking up into her brothers'.
"Sister..." Yang said quietly, coming down to Yin's level. "How are you feeling."
"Geez..." she muttered. "I... wonder why Sakura never told us about her cousins...?"
Both Yun and Yang took a pause, thinking about that themselves, and then Yang answered the best way he could.
"I don't know..."
"All I know is that she's going to have to answer to this one pretty well," Yun finished. "Things just don't add up, and I'm going to get me some answers, pronto."
Kyoto, Japan: 3:20 P.M.
"Mr. Gentsai, you and your party have some visitors."
"Aye... visitors...? They must be here to see Athena. Fans, aren't they...?"
"On the contrary. Mr. Kim Kaphwan from the KOF circuit is here to see you, and he has a small party with him."
A toothless grin shaped onto the short, old man's face. "Ah. Kim, is it... Tell him to come right up."
"Right away, Mr. Gentsai."
In the 10th floor of one of Kyoto's many tall buildings, a certain Chinese elder known by the name of Chin Gentsai sat back on the couch in the provided room he was staying in, sake bottle in hand. His eyes were hidden by his massive, grayed eyebrows and Chinese hat, and at the moment he was enjoying the silence of the hotel that he was staying in at the moment. However, that was disturbed by the sudden call from the hotel lobby, and apparently things were going to get livened up...
...and what better why to enjoy that then by having another swing of his favorite beverage?
"It's about time he decided to visit..." the old man said to no one in particular, bringing the circular mug to his mouth and taking a long drink of sake... and didn't stop until the door beside him was being knocked on... 4 minutes later.
"The door's... open..." he slurred, and on command, the 'guests' revealed themselves.
"Chin Gentsai," came the voice of Kim Kaphwan as he stepped inside. "It's nice to see... you again..."
It was then that Kim gave a sweatdrop. The moment he laid eyes on Chin he noticed that the old man was sprawled out on the couch, his sake bottle safely on the table in front of him.
"That stuff can't be good for him..." May Lee chimed afterwards, she, Terry, and Ryu bringing up the rear. As Ryu started to find a place to settle down at, Terry held out a hand, stopping him.
"You might not want to get comfortable. You may have heard about him on your travels, but I practically know him over the years at KOF. When he's like this, you... can make an usual conversation with him turn into a two minute interrogation."
Ryu wordlessly looked at Terry with a look as if to say, "You're joking". Terry only smirked and jerked a thumb at Kim as he approached Chin.
"Just watch. Kim'll show you how it's done."
"Chin... I'll be brief," the Korean champion opened up while standing over Chin's lounging body. "You and the Psycho Soldiers have been in Japan for the last 6 months on tour."
"Tour... What tour...? Oh...! That tour... Yeah... Those kids can sing, can't they? Makes me proud that... they're like that..."
May Lee twisted her mouth at Chin's drunken response. Only one of them sings, you know...
"Why I came here was that people worldwide know about the strange events happening around the globe, and we all know how your students are when things like this come about..."
"Yeah, you don't think I know that...? Yes... Kensou and... and what's her name...? Athena... Yeah... Those two always going out and... trying to figure out what the heck's going on around here in this twisted country... I... I think they actually succeeded once... somewhere around here... If you're looking for evil, this sure is the place... That's for sure... hic"
Kim's eyebrow furred up a little at that. "When was the last time they had that altercation?"
"...hic..."
A weird silence filled the area as all eyes went on Chin...
"Ask him again," the Lone Wolf suggested. Kim nodded and complied.
"That's success... When was that, Chin?"
"...oh! Oh, that's hic right. Two days ago... Her... Those two and... the kid with the... the hat and... the other one with the weapons coming out of her bu—"
"Bao and Malin," May Lee quickly interrupted for Chin, her mind not wishing for him to complete that word.
"Yes...! Them. They hic broke up some... some smuggling... for some drug... Fought them off good... or so I heard... I told them they... might come back... tis why... they're not here at the moment..."
"Well, that explains why it's so quiet in here," Terry said under his breath. Ryu only looked on with his arms crossed, and May Lee was pretty much mute. Kim noticed the pause in Chin's speech and looked closer, only to find out that the old man's mouth started to emit snores...
"Look's like he's spent..." he sighed. "Honestly one day I'm going to have to teach him the evil's of drunkenness..."
"For another time," Terry called, now turning back out the hotel room. "We'd better check into our own rooms ourselves if we're going to be staying here."
"Good idea," Kim answered. "If anything else should show up, I know where to ask for answers."
At the three older fighters began to exit, May Lee turned around and eyed the drunkard, who's head shifted over towards the door in which she was next to, and let out a burp from the sake... followed by a big, toothless smile. The Korean superheroine just sighed and closed the door after her, catching up to the others.
Pervert...
Toyota City, Japan: 7:22 P.M.
"You know, Hokuto, things would run a bit more smoothly if we had something like a road map... We don't have a clue at where we're going."
The oldest of the four women didn't reply to the ninja girl, instead focusing on the area around her, a park-like area in the city of Toyota. Hokuto, Nanase, Ibuki, and Makoto had been traveling for roughly 4 days, and ever since they had left, they had been following a weak trail of Kairi's power. However, now it seemed as if Hokuto was losing the trail. She could barely keep her second sense up for him... not to mention...
"Not only that, but I haven't eaten anything half-decent in like, forever!" Ibuki moaned from behind the others who were walking the path in the middle of the park. "Are you sure you can't give up some yen so that we can have something better to eat for dinner than sushi like we had the last three nights?"
"Are you kidding?" Makoto asked, scoffing at the thought. "In case you haven't noticed, we don't have a lot of money due to all the income we wind up spending from the students to keep my dojo running, not to mention our necessities. It would've been nice if you had went on and got you a little job yourself if you wanted to eat so nice."
Ibuki was just about to shoot back at that, but Hokuto cut both younger girls off.
"That's quite enough from the both of you. Simply put, we're low on funds, and we can't afford that sort of luxury. And as far as where we're going, don't worry about that. I can still sense Kairi, so we aren't lost. Just be patient. I never knew a time where the past two times it took me less than 6 months to track him down..."
"Six months?" Ibuki shrieked. Hokuto only turned her focus back to her front, re-concentrating her energies towards tracking down her brother...
...yet something else interrupted her.
"Well, look at this. Four lovely ladies and no male escourt?"
The voice, which the group quickly recognized, came from their right side, where two individuals, both blond, stood at. One was quite a bit older than the one beside him, his hair short cut and wearing casual clothing. His face was unmistakable, as was his dialogue.
"Ken Masters...?" came Nanase's puzzled voice.
"And... Mel...?" Makoto's followed behind. Sure enough the young teen next to Ken, sprouting longer hair and street clothes was the three-time Pan American champion's son, and both of them were smiling.
"Hi, Makoto!" Mel yelled while waving at the female group a few meters from him. "It's nice to see you guys again! What's the occasion for being here?"
"The same could be said to you," Hokuto said in a calm voice.
"Well, little Mel, here," Ken started, rubbing his hand into Mel's hair playfully, "is on his first World Tour, and I'm here guiding him. We've been at this get-up for about 2 months now. Trust me, the tyke's been getting better than ever in each battle he's been in."
"I don't know..." Nanase said lightly. "With all that has been going on in the world lately, I'm not sure its safe for something like that..."
Ken's face instantly lit up into a smirk. "That's no problem. Mel and I can really handle ourselves. I think the offer should go back to you. The four of you had been walking ever since I've laid eyes on you not too long ago. Tell me... what's your reason for being away from home?"
Makoto, Hokuto, and Nanase all went rather silent at the question, not intending on letting Ken know about their little mission. However, Ibuki saw it differently...
"We're on the lookout for someone," she said loudly, "and we're starving! We've been walking ever since we left home and it's driving me nuts! You think we can get a ri—"
"IBUKI!" Makoto shouted, instantly shutting her friend's mouth with her hands. Hokuto, in turn, spun around and gave the ninja girl a hot stare, and Ibuki merely responded with a nervous laugh, sweating nervously. However, she already let too much out, and both of the Masters got the message.
"Need a lift, huh?" Ken said, his sparkling smirk upgrading to a smile. "That's no problem. We got enough room to allow you lovely girls to tag along."
"Yeah," Mel followed up. "Should be a blast."
"That's quite alright," the oldest of the women group reassured. "There's no need for you to—"
"Are you kidding?" Ibuki yelled, breaking away from Makoto. "I need a decent bath! Food! The works! I don't want to rough it! I thought this was the 21st century! We've evolved, Hokuto. It's times when you just have to ask for the help. Heck, we can find you-know-who a lot more quickly if we're tagging with Ken!"
Hokuto made a doubtful face while staring at Ken. She then faced Ibuki again and sighed.
"Why do I let you talk me into these things...?" she muttered while putting a hand on her head and shaking it.
"Alright!" the youngest cheered. In no time flat she started to run towards the two blonds to her right. The others followed suit not too much later, Hokuto bringing up the rear. Just as she passed Ken, she stopped and turned her head to him.
"I don't want any funny business, ok...?" she warned. "I know your style from over the years... You're married, remember?"
"What...?" Ken immediately defended himself, sounding as innocent as he could muster. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Hokuto just gave him a smirk and passed him by, wordlessly accepting her offer. Just afterwards, Mel approached his father, a puzzled look on his face.
"Dad... just what did Hokuto mean by...?"
"You'll find out a little later, Mel," was all Ken responded with, putting a hand on his son's back as he lead him back to their method of transportation. "But for now, let's make these young women feel right at home."
"Sure. Whatever you say, dad..."