This may all come off as a surprise to you, but i'm actually a Street Fighter fan too! And i suddenly remembered that several days ago while coming across some fanart XD so i thought "Why not make a Street Fighter story too?" and here we are.
I hope you enjoy the first chapter of the story. By the way, this takes place after Street Fighter 4 following Bison's arcade ending.
I don't own Street Fighter or its characters, they are owned by Capcom.
Chapter 1: The Need to be Strong
S.I.N. the weapons division of the criminal organisation Shadaloo had fallen and the BLECE bio-weapon had been destroyed. It's leader, Seth, the 15th of 26 androids created not only as potential replacement bodies for the diabolical leader of the organisation, , but also for the purpose of collecting data from warriors all around the globe in order to develop a never before seen deadly style of mixed martial arts that would have aided S.I.N. in its quest for world domination and in the rebellion against Shadaloo, now laid on the ground defeated, broken, devoid of life. His executioner? None other than Bison himself, who had in fact planned it all from the very beginning. After being defeated in the wilderness of Thailand by Ryu, Ken and their friends, he was presumed dead, having apparently committed suicide by unleashing all of his Psycho Power in a massive explosion, in his refusal to surrender. Umberknownst by them, his soul, one with the Psycho Power he wielded had survived, along with the remnants of Shadaloo.
Seth and his brethren had been created as potential replacements for his lost body. Having developed a much higher level of intelligence than the others, Seth took control of the remnants of the organization as intended but ultimately, after Bison's supposed death and out of a desire not to be a slave to a man who had already failed in his goals, he conspired to fully take over the organization and use it to personally further his own goals. But in the end, he had been nothing more than a mere gear in the machine that was Bison's ultimate ambition. The Leader of Shadalooo willingly left him at his own devices as long as he was useful to him but even he could not foresee his betrayal. And as many had gruesomely found out the harsh way over the years, was that the one thing Bison despised the most, was treachery. And thus, after his defeat in the same tournament he had hosted to further his own goals, Bison came for Seth's head in the ruins of S.I.N.'s headquarters and, in his weakened state, the android was helpless against Bison's overwhelming, albeit slightly diminished, power, since the body he now inhabited wasn't quite as strong as his previous one.
As always, clad in his red military uniform with large silver shoulder plates, wrist bands and shin guards, dark blue boots and cape and red hat with the skull insignia of the organisation he led, Bison walked towards the lifeless grey android once known as Seth and as he grabbed him by the head and lifted him up with just his right hand he spoke, mockingly "You won't be needing this anymore. A shame really, you were indeed quite useful for some time, but you just had to forget your place and delude yourself into thinking you could rule this world better than-" as he prepared to tear out the Tanden Engine in his chest, the source of his power…..
He stopped upon sensing someone else behind him which caused his face to fill with surprise. Whoever it was, it was someone powerful, of a level far above that of the average fighter. Then a feminine voice came, as sensual and provocative as it was full of nonchalance and arrogance "Ah….I didn't realize he was actually that weak. He sure talked like he was a tough guy." mocking the very same being she once served but who, in reality, had always used for her own goals, hoping he would be strong enough to put Bison down.
The leader of Shadaloo grinned maniacally as he turned towards the owner of the voice, a tall and beautiful young woman with light purple eyes, long black hair stylised in two horns held together by two pairs of pink ribbons and with two long bands descending along both sides of her face. She wore a black and purple dudou bra-like top that only covered the front of her breasts, leaving much of the sides exposed, supported by eight straps that met on her back, creating a spider pattern. She also wore white long and baggy sweatpants, purple tights, pink fingerless gloves, long purple armbands, a black and purple belt around her waist and hips that supported those pants and black foot wraps around her otherwise bare feet, which gave away, along with her wide pants that she was a Taekwondo practioner. Her black, purple and white attire not only matched both the color of her eyes, fingernails and toenails but pretty much gave away her personality as a powerful and sadistic femme fatale.
"Ah… You're the woman 15 recruited. And your eye….It was built by him wasn't it?" Bison inquired, recognising the woman as Juri Han, the one which went through the surgery operation to replace her left eye when she joined S.I.N. with the Feng Shui Engine, a miniaturized version of the Tanden Engine Seth used. Unlike the latter, which could even copy and translate data from other fighters, thus allowing the android to mimic their tecniques, the Feng Shui Engine could only grant its user extremely powerful Ki energy. And that alone, put her on a much, MUCH higher level than some of the most skilled fighters around the globe.
In response, Juri closed her eyes before straightening her head and snapping them open again, grinning wickedly as her left eye suddenly glowed a blinding pink "Dunno why you're so worried about where it came from. If i were you, i'd be a hell of a lot more concerned about what i'm gonna do to you with it." unfazed by her threat, Bison simply tossed Seth's lifeless body away as his red and purple malicious aura of Psycho Power surrounded him, turning his ghastly white eyes red.
"Hehehehe… On the contrary, my dear, it is you who should be worried. For that device, however powerful, is derived from the Tanden Engine which in turn was derived from my Psycho Power. 15 and his brethren were always intended to be duplicates of my body, each meant to collect data with their engines which i then would have added to MY own powers, once i would finally take hold of my new body." Bison nefariously stated before spreading his arms and opening his hands, dark purple energy appearing on his palms "In short, it was always meant to be an inferior copy. IT CANNOT COMPARE WITH MY GOD-LIKE POWER!" he roared before he swung his left arm, shooting a projectile of Psycho Energy towards Juri, who immediately activated her own Feng Shui Engine in response. As soon as her aura of purple energy surrounded her body, she spun around and with a roundhouse kick empowered by her energy, cut Bison's projectile in half, allowing both severed halves to pass behind her and explode harmlessly agains the walls. The warlord could only look upon in surprise, impressed that she had managed to counter his attack effortlessly, something not many could claim to have done.
(OST: "Theme of Juri" = Super Street Fighter IV Soundtrack)
"You done yapping, old man?" she taunted, licking her lips in anticipation for the agony she was about to bring down upon him "Then now it's my turn. And once i'm done with you…." she then crouched down before suddenly launching herself in the air with frightening speed, spinning around and backfliping in mid-air before eventually coming down towards the warlord with a roundhouse kick, roaring "NOT EVEN YOUR BONES WILL BE LEFT!" as she did so.
All Bison had to do to block the kick was raise his left arm in front of him, but to his surprise, it packed a lot more power than what he had expecting. It actually put so much pressure, the ground beneath him cracked. Undeterred, he attacked Juri with his right fist but the woman, empowered by the Feng Shui Engine, simply used the warlord's arm to backflip gracefully backwards before launching herself towards her despised enemy again with a speed so high, most people would have seen a purple mirage.
This time an endless barrage of roundhouse kicks with the occasional punch assaulted Bison, who replied with his own punches and kicks and for a while the two seemed evenly matched, the clash of their energies actually making the ruins of the S.I.N. Headquarters shake.
"How interesting. Very few have managed to push me on the defensive single-handledly. A pity that this woman has to die today, she would have made for quite the valuable asset to my plans." Bison remarked to himself, impressed. However, he quickly figured out that while fast and extremely aggressive, the woman's fighting style was quite predictable, so it wasn't hard for him to eventually seize her by the arm as she attempted to backhand him.
"Gotcha." Juri grinned, taking the warlord clad in red aback. He had fallen right into her trap "FUHAJIN!" she roared as she threw another Feng-Shui empowered kick, which not only hit him, but also shot a purple crescent moon shaped projectile at point-blank range aimed at his face. Bison could only gasp in shock and gather as much energy as he could in the split-second it took the projectile to detonate, sending him flying back through several pillars of concrete, destroying them and causing part of the facility to collapse on top of him.
Satisfied, Juri immediately headed over to were he had been sent flying, to where once stood a portion of the building, now a little more than a pile of rubble under the night sky and full moon. He was nowhere to be seen. Putting her left hand on her hip, Juri mockingly spoke "My, my, dead already? What a shame. I thought this was gonna last a lot more." before sighing and turning around, somewhat dissappointed of how easy it was to fulfill her vengeance…..
Only for the ground below to shake, sending vibrations all over the rest of the ruined building. All at once, the rubble down was blown in all directions and a very much alive and mostly unscathed Bison emerged, surrounded by his Psycho Power aura and with his arms crossed over his chest, maniacal grin still on his lips. Mostly unscathed…..
Aside from his bruised left face and with blood trickling down the left corner of his mouth.
Juri grinned once more and turned back just in time to see him, hovering just in front of the full moon, looking almost like a vampire with his blood red eyes, glowing with his dark power, and his cape blowing frighteningly behind him in the wind "The only thing that will last, Juri Han, will be your suffering. Even so, i must commend you, you're only the second person who has ever had the privilege of making me bleed." he diabolically proclaimed.
Juri merely licked her lips in response, her face matching Bison in terms of sadism "Good, cause THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING!" as she activated the full power of her Feng Shui eye, causing her purple aura of energy to surround her body again, shining with much more intensity than it did before. Then she launched herself in the air and after spinning and back-flipping twice in mid-air, she proceeded to drop an axe kick on the monstrous leader of Shadaloo….
Only for Bison to grin even more maniacally as his whole body became engulfed in a similarly colored purple aura before vanishing from sight in a flash. He had just teleported away and thus Juri now found herself falling down towards where the rubble once was, but before she could even prepare herself to land without suffering any injuries, Bison suddenly reappeared in front of her, snatched her by the face and proceeded to fly back into the ruined headquarters, slamming the black-haired Taekwondo practitioner on the floor, dragging and grinding her body on it and releasing his Psycho Power as he did so to inflict as much damage as he could…..
Before being suddenly receiving a kick in the chin that caused him to let go of Juri, allowing her to backflip backwards before launching herself towards her hated enemy with renowned fury, her glowing Feng Shui eye leaving a trail of purple energy behind as she did do.
"I've bided my time working for that empty body suit for an eternity, waiting and dreaming of the pain i'd inflict upon you the moment i'd find you after that day, 10 years ago…." she began to speak as she delivered an energy empowered kick to Bison's abdomen, sending him flying forward, through a pillar of concrete.
"….Ever bothered to count the lives you've broken? The people you've scarred?" she demanded as she charged towards him as soon as he stopped his body from flying even further. Angered by her insolence, Bison attempted to throw a kick towards her, only for Juri to intercept it with her heel, stopping it in her tracks "Of course you haven't. After all, it was such a trivial matter for you, the same as stepping on an ant, wasn't it?" she continued before spinning around and kicking him in the stomach, shaking his internal organs.
Finally she spun around once more and kicked him in the chin, making him spit blood and knocking a tooth from his mouth "Just another Tuesday, right? Well not for me. That day you took everything away from me." her visage then shifted into one of sheer hatred as she saw his body double over, apparently stunned. She then leapt backwards and her Feng Shui eye flared up even more energy gathering around her left fist as she prepared to finish him off "THIS IS FOR MY PARENTS, YOU WRETCHED PIECE OF SHIT!" she roared with utter venom and disgust as she launched herself towards him, seeking to smash his skull to bits…..
Only for Bison's hand to suddenly snatch Juri's wrist, only inches apart from his face, making her gasp in complete disbelief, her purple eyes widening. And just like that, the spider had fallen into her own web.
(Soundtrack ends)
Lifting his head abover her, the massive man in red, flashed his unhinged grin towards her as his red aura surrounded his body again "Ah….. Now i remember. You're that korean lawyer's daughter, am i right?" Bison's words struck deeper than any of his blows could have and thus, an enraged Juri struck him in his left cheek with a right roundhouse kick but this time, the warlord didn't even flinch. He merely let her go, flipped over and, with a reverse somersault kick, slammed his right heel on the back of Juri's head, causing her to gasp in pain as she struck the concrete down hard, her face burying on it.
Folding his arms over his chest once more, Bison proceeded to strike another nerve "Junseo Han, if i'm not mistaken. Many of my men were arrested because of him. He had been a thorn in my organisation's side for far too long so, regrettably, he had to be dealt with." his words had just the effect he thought they would be, for Juri let out another guttural scream of pure rage and hatred as her energy surrounded her again before swiftly launching herself in the air, before spinning around and attempting to bring down another axe kick onto him "I'M GONNA FUCKING MURDER YOU, YOU BASTAAAARRRDDDDDD!" she roared as she attacked him, to no avail, as he teleported once more, this time behind her.
Juri only had enough time to gasp in shock and horror as the diabolical warlord charged his right hand with Psycho Power and surrounded himself in his energy before spiraling himself in the air with frightening speed towards her, akin to a torpedo "PSYCHO CRUSHER!" he triumphantly proclaimed as he moved faster than the normal eye could track and before Juri could even react, he slammed his hand into her toned abdomen before spiraling upwards, driving her body through several concrete upper floors and eventually emerging onto the ruined roof of the building. He then let her body go and allowed her to fall back on the concrete before crossing his arms over his chest and plummeting down feet-first on her chest and abdomen, like a hammer on its anvil. Juri coughed up blood and felt some of her ribs crack and some of her organs shake at the monstrous force of the blow she had received, so monstrously powerful that the entire roof, cracked before coming apart, causing Jun to plummet down a good 4 meters below while Bison calmly reached her slowly with levitation. Her teeth bared in fury and bitterness, Juri once again, in her much weakened state, attempted to strike him….
(OST: "The One who is Torn Apart" = Xenogears Soundtrack)
But his large hand was quicker and seized her by the throat. Lifting her up from the ground and holding her off an edge, where a balcony once stood and where now was a 10 meter drop, he procedeed to recount the last moments of her father, but from his perspective while Juri tried, futely, to free herself by grabbing the arm that held her by the throat, to no avail as he tightened his grip, weakening her breathing "And you know what truly is ironic? Your father too, talked like he was a tough guy, just like 15 did. He deluded himself with all those pathetic beliefs of justice and righeousness into thinking he could do however he pleased thanks to his position and wealth and believing his country would have protected him." his words making Juri's purple eyes shake, all the trauma of that haunting day coming back with full force.
"And do you know what he did as i tore his heart out in front of all the eyes of his country, after we captured him and the South Korean goverment, whom he put such blinding trust into, refused to pay the three hundred billion Won we asked in return for his release?" Bison chuckled as he continued to retell his memory of that day "He screamed. Like the pathetic and worthless insect he was. Because no matter, how wealthy or skilled, a bug remains a bug, nothing more. You should blame him for what happened 10 years ago, for forgetting his place, just like 15 did."
By the time Bison was done monologuing, the once charismatic, provocative and ruthless Juri Han was reduced to the same broken girl she was on the day everything was taken away from her and the days that followed. For the first time in 10 years, she cried and sobbed as all that trauma repressed by the fury, the hatred and the desire for vengeance came back with full force "Y-Y-You B-Bastard….." she weakly managed to utter, her face soaked in sorrowful tears.
But then, with his grin widening, as if it coudn't get any more unhinged, Bison reached out for her face with his other hand "I'll take this. You won't be needing it anymore and it will be much more useful to me than 15's Tanden Engine." gasping in horror upon realising what he was about to do, Juri frantically attempted to free herself from the grip around his throat, kicking Bison's chest and abdomen with her feet and punching his arm….
To no avail as the warlord's white eyes narrowed before he plunged his left thumb and index finger into the socket of her Feng Shui eye.
"GUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! NOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Juri cried out in unspeakable agony, spasming uncontrollably as Bison took hold of the source of her power and with one swift move, tore it off, leaving now an empty eye socket and an exposed optical nerve. A geyser of blood soon erupted out of where the Feng Shui Eye used to be, much of it ending up on Bison's face. He licked it off savagely before looking at the device he had just forcefully removed from Juri's eye in intrigue "To think that he was able to create something so small that can harness my power…. So you were useful to some extent after all, 15."
One last act of defiance pulled the leader of Shadaloo out of his thoughts "F-Fuck…..Y-You….." Juri faintly let out, face drenched in crimson blood, the power that she once revelled in, that made her feel so good, now gone. Putting the Feng Shui away in his pocket, Bison grinned towards her one last time before telling her "Oh, don't you worry, my dear. Your Feng Shui will serve me well. I will mass produce it and use it to empower my soldiers. And with it, Shadaloo will become the strongest army in the history of the world! And as for you….." he paused, extending his left bloodied hand backwards and spreading it as Psycho Power engulfed it "It's time for you to rest. Forever in peace."
Juri's remaining eye could only watch as Bison coldly proclaimed "Psycho Punisher." before uppercutting Juri in the abdomen and unleashing a beam of Psycho Power that travelled through her body before erupting from her back. It travelled forward, piercing the clouds for a moment before vanishing. Most people would have been incinerated instantly by that attack. However, Juri wished she was one of those people. It felt like she was being burned from the inside-out. She could only let out some feeble gasps as her body went limp and plummeted down, 10 meters down. With this annoying pest out of the way Bison turned around, waving his cape before taking his leave, intending to resume his quest for world-domination, now with a new trump card up his sleeve.
Little did he know, that he should have been more thorough in his riddance and that hatred, something he had never truly felt, was a force stronger than any type of pain, no matter how intense or agonizing.
Juri didn't even know why or how she was still alive and even then, she didn't care. Coughing up blood from her mouth, she somehow managed to drag her broken body through the floor with her elbows and hands, not even caring how much pain she was in right now. The only thing she could feel right now was hatred, pure, burning, unbridled hatred. That piece of shit had even dared to mock her father's death in her face and the worst thing was, he had fully gotten away with it.
"You bastard…. You won't get away that easily…. You should have crushed my fucking head to a pulp when you had the chance." she seethed, her teeth clenched in fury as she kept dragging herself through the underground corridors of the ruins of the weapons division of Shadaloo. Not even the excruciating pain of her now empty left eye-socket and exposed optic nerve could eclipse the amount of anger, hatred and trauma she felt, the result of 10 years of repression. She could still remember that day as if it happened yesterday.
On that day a then 15 year old Juri, her father and her mother were being driven to the airport by their butler in their personal limousine. Junseo came from a wealthy lineage of the upper class in the South Korean Society. But despite his privileged position, he was a good man that dedicated his life to law and justice, aiming to leave his mark and make his country a better place to live, in Juri's own words "to wield justice like a blade, slaying evildoers left and right". For years, he worked with Interpool, to bring many members of Shadaloo to justice. Recently, however, new evidence about them had been acquired and Junseo had agreed to testify against them with it, in the hope that it would finally bring the crime organization to its knees.
But on that day he payed all those efforts with his life, along with his wife and, as he believed when Bison's henchmen kidnapped him, his daughter.
And Juri still remembered it all, down to the last detail.
"How strange. There seems to be another vehicle blocking the way. I'll just move around and…..hmmm?" she remembered how her family butler, spoke with a confusion that soon turned into concern as a black car came to a halt in front of their limousine, driven by him while Junseo, Juri and her mother were seated in the back. How three men exited from the black car, all wearing black trenchcoats and fedoras, which hid their features as they began to pull something out of their coats. Junseo, having immediately realized what was going to happen, reached for his gun in the pocket of his coat.
"What is the meaning of this?! Mister Han, do not trouble yourself. I shall-"
RATATATATATATATATATATATATA
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Juri still remembered how the gunfire cut the butler's words off and he was soon riddled by dozens of bullet holes, killing him instantly, while a stray machine gun bullet flew through the driver's seat and found its mark on the left leg of Juri's mother.
"AGHHH! JUNSEO, THE GUN! PROTECT JURI-"
RATATATATATATATATATATTATATA
She didn't even have time to finish speaking as another hail of bullets shredded her body with one last bullet piercing her forehead, killing her.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Juri still remembered the way she screamed in pure terror and grief , tears falling uncontrollably from her eyes as she reached out to her mother's corpse, bleeding out and with its eyes open.
"DAMN THEM…. GET DOWN, JURI!" he ordered her as he dove down to cover her while returning fire as best as he could. A few bullets found their mark on his arm…
Before a single one struck Juri. Right into her left eye.
Which immediately caused her to black out.
Juri had no idea how she managed to survive that and she would only learn in the following days through the news on the TV that her father was taken hostage by Shadaloo and that he had been executed after the South Korean goverment refused to pay the three triillion Won they asked in return for his release. It was on that day that her burning hatred towards the criminal organization began in its fullest.
"D-Damn t-them….. I'll never forgive them…. I'll not rest until i've broken the neck of every single one of those fuckers…." she thought as she finally, somehow, defying the physics of the human body, managed to stand up, despite having most of her internal organs damaged and blood still coming down her empty eye socket "Dammit…. I won't be able to do jack-shit like this…. I need more power….. More…." her remaining eye suddenly widened in realization as she remembered one thing, one very crucial thing.
"That's right! He was working on an improved version of it! The Feng Shui Alpha! Then all i have to do is get my hands on it-" she suddenly coughed up blood from her mouth while in the midst of her thoughts "And hope that he just so happened to have developed it in this place…."
(Soundtrack ends)
As luck would have it, the improved version of the source of her power was indeed within the ruins of the S.I.N. headquarters. To Juri's unluck, by the time she found it, she was barely alive, having lost an enormous amount of blood. When she finally saw the device, encased in a glass cover, on a stand, she suddenly fell on her front "C'mon…. Just a little further…." eventually, she managed to crawl within reach of the eye-sized engine but by the time she took hold of it, she was, quite literally at death's door, her vision beginning to fade and her body beginning to grow limp "This is it…. All…. Or nothing…."
Then, without hesitation, she forcefully connected it to her optical nerve and forcefully plunged it into her left eye socket, completely uncaring of the pain she felt as she did so. The effort she took in doing so took the last bit of strength and thus, she collapsed on the ground, apparently dead.
But then….
Suddenly the Feng Shui Alpha sprang to life, glowing with a purple light even brighter than her previous Engine. Juri suddenly screamed as she was suddenly lifted off the ground, purple energy covering and flaring from her whole body in all directions, engulfing the entire room she was in. For the first seconds she felt pain….
And then, pleasure.
"Oooooaaaahhhhhh…..Yeeeeeeeeessssssss…..It's working….." Juri moaned in ecstasy, licking her lips not only as all of her wounds healed but also as overwhelming, raw, intoxicating power, dwarfing even that she had earlier, filled her body from top to bottom. As the purple energy dwindled, Juri found herself on the ground again, this time on her feet, as if nothing had happened just minutes ago. She could only look at in awe and satisfaction at the purple aura surrounding her body. She then raised her left hand and after gazing at it for a few seconds, clenched it, "Mmmmmm….. Not even before did i feel this good. This power….. It's exquisite!" she moaned once more, so turned on, that she ran her right hand on her chest before grabbing her right breast with it, closing her eyes and licking her lips once more as she flexed her left arm, feeling all the intoxicating power, the improved version of the Feng Shui had given her
"That stupid old man…. He will regret not tearing my head off when he had the chance." she remarked before snapping her purple eyes open and spreading her arms, allowing her purple energy to surround her body and flare in all directions once more "Mark my words….." she finally proclaimed before raising her right hand up, clenching it into a fist "I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN LIKE THE VERMIN YOU ARE!" before lowering it and adding calmly "I will have my revenge."
Juri's initial euphoria however, quickly turned into irritation upon realising that with Bison gone only God knows where and with Seth and S.I.N. gone, she didn't have any trail to follow to track him down. And thus, there she was, at a dead end, before she could even begin to resume her quest.
"Oh well, i might just start by finding someone to test this new Engine of mine on. That'll show me if i do have what it takes to beat that white-eyed son of a bitch, when i'll finally get my hands on him again." she told herself, knowing just where to look for whoever she will break next.
The laboratory underneath the ruined S.I.N. Headquarters, where the data of all the fighters the weapons division had studied, was stored.
Thus, Juri spent the next hour looking at all the fighters recorded, in order to decide which one would give her the most satisfying fight possible. Obviously there were also many men and women she had fought in the past, such as the Interpool Officer dressed in blue, brown and white, the well-muscled and moderately-dressed female MI6 operative or even that US Sergeant with that weird flattop hairdo that almost looked like a flower. Those three were no match against her, even with her weaker Feng Shui so they would have only wasted her time. Thus, she searched for more interesting opponents.
"Nah, i don't like fighting schoolgirls." she scoffed upon seeing, what looked like no more than a japanese schoolgirl who nonetheless, seemed to be quite capable in martial arts.
"And i don't like anybody who's got a bigger mouth than mine." she ridiculed a well-built and lean Muay Thai fighter with orange hair apparently known for being quite arrogant and boastful.
"Urgh…. Geez, what did this guy even do to himself?." she felt somewhat disgusted upon seeing a massive red-skinned man with white eyes and turquoise hair in circular curls and a moustache, apparently a turkish wrestler. Which quite frankly she found it hard to believe was an actual human being since he looked more like a statue due to how….clean and shiny his already weirdly colored skin looked.
She continued her search, in utter boredom before eventually she found someone who actually intrigued her. A martial artist that wore a white karate gi with torn off sleeves, tied at his waist with a black belt, red gloves bearing stylized writing, no footwear at all and, most distinctively, a long red headband, tied on his forehead. He looked like a youthful yet at the same time mature and handsome man with medium-lenght black hair, brown eyes and a muscular, fit phisique. And the moment she saw the footage of him fighting against none other than Seth himself, in what looked to be a theatre with what looked to be the Roman Coliseum in the background of the stage, she immediately remember who he was.
"Oh, i remember this guy! He's that renowned japanese martial artist that Tin Man always talked so much about, the so called "World Warrior" himself….. Ryu…." she spoke, remembering how for a while, his name was known among all those in S.I.N. and that word was, he also possessed a legendary dark power of whom he himself struggled to control…..
And that he had also been the one to defeat not only Seth but also none other than Bison himself in the past.
And yet from the footage she was seeing, he was completely hopeless against Seth, his attacks doing virtually no damage to the android's body while he took a beating that would have left a normal human dead. Yet, Ryu kept fighting, eventually striking Seth in the face with a Shoryuken uppercut….
Which didn't even faze the android.
"Still, some questions must be asked, some situations faced head on…." Seth began to speak in a flat tone full of dissappointment as he slowly took hold of Ryu's wrist and began to crush it, immediately bringing the martial artist on his eyes, his eyes shut and his teeth clenched to deal with the pain "Surely you, who are most at home in the ring, find this power inside to be a great temptation!" he remarked as he twisted Ryu's right arm backwards, nearly breaking it and making him fall on the floor with his face.
"And yet, you struggle in vain against it even as it seeks to control you utterly." the voice of Seth quickly began to fill itself with anger and outrage as he lifted Ryu up by his headband "Why do you fight it? WHY?!" he demanded in fury as he tossed the World Warrior upwards, hurling him straight towards the lighting truss of the stage, his head lodging right in between the bars and his body going limp. Seth wasted no time jumping in the air before proceeding to mercilessly pummel Ryu's body with powerful punches and kicks all the while berating "Keep it inside and you will die! Your death will avail to nothing, it will be without meaning!"
Watching the footage, Juri coudn't help but sigh in dissappointment "How the hell did that blasted robot, or for that matter, Bison, lose to that guy is beyond me. Look at him, hung over like a hanged man in between those bars. Or maybe it's really me who was so much stronger than most of the trash around the globe." figuring out that while Seth was surprisingly weaker than she had anticipated, the standard all around the world probably wasn't all that high either.
She then watched as Seth, in a moment of pride and hubris, proceeded to monologue about his beliefs, assured that Ryu could no longer fight back "Power only has meaning if it's put into action…. It defines you. Power like that is what rules the world. Everyone seeks power, seeks to grow in strength! But this goal is out of reach for ordinary men. The poor seek riches, the ugly beauty. We compare ourselves to others and seek to cover our own inadequacies to find peace of mind. The mere existence of those who are better than us becomes intolerable! WE FIGHT IN RETALIATION! If beauty is not enough, we use money! If money does not work, we resort to violence! This energy is what powers the world! IT IS ESSENTIAL! All i seek is to help this natural process along, this destructive force begotten from conflict! This power that everybody lusts for, i will spread all over the world with but a touch! It is like a well that can never run dry, a precious mineral…. Flowing from an exhaustible mind!" finally, as Ryu's body fell from the bars of the truss, Seth triumphantly declared "That power will be mine." before delivering a kick so powerful it made a loud crack, almost snapping Ryu's neck and hurling him against the background of the stage. He fell from it onto the floor, unmoving, his eyes wide open "Stubborn mule. You avert your eyes from the power within and refuse to fight. That may offer you a modicum of empty solace when faced with your pitiful frailty, but nothing more. How utterly pathetic, that in spite of the power you possess, you will become a disposable test subject no different from the others." Seth mocked him as he stood triumphant with his back turned towards him.
"Heh, he sure liked to run off that big mouth of his, but credit where its due, good 'ol Tin Man was damn right about that. Much as i hate to agree with him, that's exactly how the world works." Juri mused to herself, amused that despite having manipulated him from the very beginning the moment she joined S.I.N. and underwent the procedure to install her first Feng Shui Engine, she'd still agree with Seth's beliefs.
She was pulled out of her thoughts upon seeing Seth, in the footage suddenly turn back towards Ryu's unmoving body in surprise. Then the World Warrior's voice came, devoid of fear and filled with nothing but courage and conviction "I'm not through fighting and i do not run from the power i hold within. I too, seek strength. That's what has driven me all this way." before, to the shock of both Seth in the footage and Juri who was watching it, he slowly managed to get back on his feet despite the beating he had taken earlier "And yet i never truly understood just what power is or what it means to be strong. But your words did help me understand one thing. The power i seek is nothing like what you describe." he declared as he slowly got back in his stance, right fist clenched "The power humans possess, that is the source of and destination for all of life. The power you're after is the opposite of all of this: it can only destroy that which is good. To seek it invites your own demise. That is why i fight! I fight to rid the world of such diabolical power! I'll show you what true strength is! It is the courage to stand up in the face of evil and emerge victorious!"
Seth merely laughed in amusement "NYHAHAHAHA! What nonsense is this?" before proceeding to punch Ryu twice in the face "Power is power! THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE!"
However, his black and grey eyes widened as Ryu effortlessly caught his right wrist, stopping his third attack "Here's your answer." he calmly spoke as his eyes suddenly glowed blue and a matching blue aura surrounded his body. Juri could only watch the footage in awe as he crushed Seth's wrist, making him wince "LET GO!" the android snapped before breaking free of Ryu's hold. After seeing the extent of the damage his wrist had sustained and with fury and outrage beginning to build up inside of him, Seth could only demand "What have you done?!" before charging towards him with an enraged roar.
Ryu likewise cried out with all of his might as his blue aura flared in all direction before cupping both of his hands together, drawing them to his right side as a blue and purple sphere of energy formed in between them "Metsu…." he recited just as Seth was microseconds away from striking him yet again, before finally roaring "HADOKEEENNNNN!" he then thrust his arms and hands forward and a streaming beam of energy erupted from them at what basically was point-blank range, striking Seth right in the Tanden Engine. The android grunted in pain as he was struck but still attempted to withstand the attack….
To no avail as Ryu continued to push forward, roaring as he did so, slowly but surely overwhelming the leader of S.I.N. "No….What is…..This…..POWEEEEERRRRR!" was all Seth could cry out in utter disbelief as the beam propelled him forward through the whole theatre until he struck the wall above, near the ceiling and the energy detonated in a medium-sized explosion. Ryu watched while the energy around his hands faded away, as Seth's body, buried into the wall, could only twitch itself, his eyes and mouth wide open "H-How….. How could this happen…. You actually hurt me…. M-My body….." he weakly spoke, refusing to believe how it took just one attack to defeat him before he fell from the wall to the ground, spasming in pain.
And by the time the footage came to an end, Juri's eyes were now filled with the utmost passion and excitement "Mmmmmm…. How dare he keep such a wonderful opponent away from me all this time. Not only does he look utterly delicious but he even beat that bolt brain with a single attack….." she hummed sensually as she licked her lips, aroused at the prospect of fighting him and seeing that incredible power he showcased "Ryu, huh? Just my kind of guy…. Oh, how i will enjoy breaking him….. Provided that he'll at least put up a better fight than the officer, the kitten and the sergeant, that is….." she giggled as she typed on one of the computers to pinpoint his location which as it turned out, was in Japan, in the forests of Hokkaido.
"There you are. See you soon then, handsome." Juri giggled, left eye glowing as she set off to her destination, which wasn't too far away due to S.I.N.'s headquarters being located in an island in the Pacific Ocean. It would have only taken her a day or two but it would have been worth it.
For no one had ever earned Juri Han's interest more than the Wandering Warrior himself, Ryu.
