The Darkness Comes: Chapter 5

The following fanfic is just that. A fanfic. The following characters used in this fanfic are the property of CAPCOM, and do not belong to me. If I did, then life would be just dandy… yeah…

--The Darkness Comes: Chapter 5--

The bar was going insane with the ruckus going on thanks to the three martial artists on a mission. Those who had bet against them were banging their heads against tables, arguing that the fights were fixed, and drinking themselves nearly to death because of the amounts of money they lost. Those who were foolish enough to bet on the three, however, couldn’t be happier. Their wallets were now lined with more money than they could earn in a month, and life seemed that much brighter. Ken, celebrating their complete victory a little early, was drunk at the bar, waving an empty bottle in the air. Sean sat nervously next to him with a glass of coke in one hand, and a plate in the other to block Ken’s alcohol, which was spilling all over. Kentaro, the loser of the match between himself and Ken, was at Ken’s knees, begging him to teach him the ways of Shotokan-ryuu. Ken, in his drunken state, quickly promised him that he would. Sean, however casted Ken’s blind promises aside as fast as Ken made them. Their leader, Ryu, was nowhere to be seen on the floor.

In the men’s room, Ryu stood silently, breathing deeply as he gathered his thoughts and energies for the upcoming match. Clutching his headband tightly in his hands, he quietly asked himself a question he always asked before a match that required his full attention: “… Am I worthy of this fight…?” Without so much as a warning, there was a drunken response from the entrance of the men’s room. “Has there evah been one dat you weren’t, ya big softie?” Ryu could only grin after matching the voice to his sparring partner for life, Ken, who was still clutching the same bottle he was swinging around at the bar table. “You never were that much of a drinker, Ken… That still your first bottle?”

“You know… you should…. You should give yourself a lot more hic… credit than you usually do,” Ken continued, ignoring Ryu’s comment. “I mean…you only lost like… what…? One, two…” He started counting with his free hand before finishing his question, and when he was done, he held up three fingers. “… two fights, am I rite? So why’re you pussyfootin’ around for!? I mean…” He takes another swig, realizes it’s empty, and starts straggling towards Ryu. “There’s not a street fighter in the whole WORLD… that doesn’t know the name… uh… what was your name again, Ryu? RYU! Ryu…”

“… Hoshi?”

“Yeah, that’s it! Ryu Hoshi! That’s what your name was…” Ken puts his arm around Ryu’s shoulder, nearly toppling the two over. “Lissen ere’, Ryu… I wanna… lemme, lemme… can I tell you somethin’? C-can I tell you somethin’? I… LOVE you, man!”

“Ken, you--”

“NO, no! Lemme hic lemme finish this! I love you… like a brother! In fact, you… are… the brother I’ve never had… And I… uh… wait a sec… Because you’re my brother… I believe—NO…! I KNOW that you are gonna win, so just… just… just go with it, man! I mean, these guys were nothin’ but a bunch of-- …!” Ken’s “inspirational” speech was cut short when he made a quick dash for the nearest empty stall. Ryu, somehow sensing his friend’s good intentions and best wishes, smiled, tightened his headband around his forehead, and left the men’s room, not before asking a random person if he could watch over Ken for him, and to grab a mop. With his confidence steeled, Ryu made his way back into the screaming crowd of spectators. It was time to determine if he was indeed worthy of this fight.

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Meanwhile at a ranch somewhere in the U. S., a lone man was typing away on a keyboard in an empty room at the speed of a snail. With his stubby fingers and lack of dexterity from years of combat training and military service, retired general Guile was only frustrating himself even further as he tried to make the computer do what he wanted. “Damned piece of crap…! I should’ve just let Chun-li take care of this… I can’t type nearly as fast as she can… I’m getting too old for this…” After an hour or more of keystrokes later, Guile was able to bring up the information that he was finally looking for. “About time… I have no idea why I invested in this thing in the first place,” he sighed as he picked up the telephone and dialed a number.

“… Yeah, it’s me…. Yeah… it took me forever, but I finally located him… yeah, Malay Island, or at least that was where he was last spotted before he destroyed the surveillance satellite… I don’t know why you’d wanna track down this monster in the first place… A favor to “him”, huh? Yeah, I know… I’ll see about what we’re gonna do about Christmas this year… Uh-huh… you to… Nah, its’ fine. I wasn’t really doing anything at the moment anyway. Retirement’s kinda boring now that I’m actually living it… Yeah, I’ll tell her you said hello. Oh, and by the way, Miss Li, next time, why don’t you use Interpol’s computers to help out your boyfriend for a change, huh? Yeah, whatever…. Heh heh… Talk to you later… bye.” Guile hung up the phone and powered down his computer before walking towards the living room. There, he was greeted by his daughter Amy, who, like her father, was garbed in fatigues as well.

“Hey, Dad!”

“Amy! What can your old man do for ya?”

“You feel like going to the rifle range out back? I got a feeling that I can beat your score this time. I can feel it!”

“You get the ammo, I’ll bring the rifles.”

And the two went off to go spend some Father-daughter quality time.

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Back at the fight club, Ryu stood in the middle of the ring, waiting for his opponent to appear before him. But the one thing he couldn’t shake from his mind, was what the random messenger said to him earlier. Apparently this guy was a student of someone who fought Ryu in the past, but who exactly…? The myriad of fights Ryu had fought swirled around in his mind, but he kept his focus. He wasn’t going to let his thoughts throw him off. After a few more minutes of waiting, the lights around the bar went out, only to leave the spotlight in the middle of the ring as the only source of light. It was about to start. From outside of the ring this time, the announcer announced the fighters of the last match.

“In this corner, representing the Shotokan-ryuu school of karate. A man who’s truly known the distance of the world by fighting every man on every corner. A warrior in training, seeking enlightenment and strength. The man who took down Sagat, the ex-Muay Thai champ: Ryu Hoshi!!!” The crowd was a mix of its usual cheers and boos as Ryu was announced into the ring. Not letting either bother him, Ryu only opened his eyes when the announcer spoke up once more. “And in this corner, the man who made this bar possible. Owner of the Seiryu School of Thai Kickboxing, and sole disciple of Muay Thai legend, Sagat. The one, the only, Makoto Maebara!” The crowd went immediately silent, and began to part as the owner and bartender of the club made his way to the ring. Still in his bartending outfit, Makoto cracked his knuckles loudly and said, “I’ve got a message from my sensei… Come closer so that I can tell it to ya.”

“Your sensei was a man filled with pride, and it was because of that, that he lost his title as Muay Thai champion.” A low “ooooooh” came from the crowd as Ryu tried to play a head-game with Makoto, who did not take the insult well. “… Looks like the door isn’t the only thing that’s gonna need fixing today…” And with that, the fight was on. Ryu entered his stance and waited for his first move, but Makoto wasn’t stupid. Usually the first move tended to be the worst one. So far, the fight was reduced to nothing but a staring contest. This wasn’t faring well with the spectators, who all yelled in disapproval. “Hey! What the hell’s this, huh!?”

“Yeah! What is this, a dance or a fight!?”

“I didn’t pay to see two guys about to kiss each other, I paid to see someone get their ass kicked!” some men yelled. But it didn’t matter with either of the fighters. Neither was willing to move an inch in an effort to make a mistake. It wasn’t until someone had taken broken bottle and threw it at Ryu did either of them make a move. Ryu dodged the thrown bottle, which forced him to loose his footing. Makoto found an opening in Ryu’s defenses, rushed towards him and planted a hard knee on Ryu’s face. When the two fighter’s connected, everyone cheered in approval. But soon after Makoto landed from the knee attack, Ryu followed up with a sweep kick that knocked Makoto flat on his back. Afterwards, Ryu hopped in the air, and drove his fist towards where Makoto’s face was. Makoto rolled out of the way, and retreated back into his stance.

Ryu stood up just in time to find Makoto with his palms at his chest, facing each other. “This move look familiar!?” Makoto yelled, before thrusting both hands forward, releasing an orange wave of energy that flew swiftly towards Ryu. Not wanting any bystanders hurt by the attacks, Ryu countered the move by performing his Hadouken technique, effectively canceling each other out while leaving behind a cloud of dust and small remnants of energy. With all of the dust in the way, it made it hard for anyone to see who was where. Makoto couldn’t pinpoint Ryu’s location through the dust cloud, but his visibility would soon be restored. “Shinku… TatsumakiSenpuukyaku!!” came Ryu’s voice from within the dust cloud. And no sooner had he yelled the attack, did a sudden gust of wind start building up from within the middle of the ring. The dust immediately blew out of the ring and into the spectators, revealing Ryu, who was spinning like a top with one leg extended while he was in mid air. Everyone wouldn’t have too long to stare in amazement at Ryu’s technique, because Ryu then increased his rotation speed and slowly began drawing in everything and anything that was close enough to him. Those who were close enough to the ring, suddenly found themselves glued to the sides of the cage, while those who were far away enough had ducked behind the bar for cover. Makoto, who was the least fortunate, eagerly grabbed the gate of the ring, and held on for dear life as the pulling force of Ryu’s Hurricane Kick grew stronger and stronger. Then, after surveying the situation a bit more, Makoto suddenly let go, and flew feet first towards Ryu’s abdomen. Ryu, unable to stop the spinning in time, felt the full force of Makoto’s counter in his chest, and he and everything else that was drawn to the ring, finally fell to the ground.

Ryu doubled over, pain shooting all through his chest. He grabbed his sides and moved his fingers around his stomach. “….Nngh!” A broken rib. “Augh..!” Make that two. His technique countered, and a couple of his ribs broken, Ryu was at a disadvantage he couldn’t afford. Makoto, after getting to his feet, grinned at Ryu’s condition, but made no effort to move in and finish Ryu off. He learned his lesson from his master who tried to do the same thing. “He was careless to try and finish off a wounded animal whose been cornered. Get up so we can finish this.” Makoto said, from the other side of the ring. The audience cheered in approval, some began chanting ‘Makoto the Merciful’, even. Sean and Ken tried their best to cheer Ryu on, but their cries were overshadowed by that of the crowd. Ken, who was still a little drunk, began to start a fight with some of the guys at the bar for not cheering on Ryu. Sean, making sure that he wasn’t in any danger himself, tried his best to restrain his master. Ryu, seeing his comrades support him, tried his best to grin through the pain in his chest and get to his feet. After a while, Ryu was finally able to stand, though he held one hand for support against the cage of the ring.

“You’re right… we can’t let this draw out any further… What say we end this last one in one final shot?” Ryu proposed. Makoto, a little shocked that he was still willing to fight, agreed with a simple nod. Ryu also added, “I’ll even… let you gather your ki… so that we can go out with… with a bang.”

“Wait a sec… you’ll LET me gather my ki? You’re either the greatest warrior I’ve fought so far, or the most suicidal. Fine… but I’m not responsible for your rehabilitation.” Makoto assumed his stance and began to channel his energies into his body. Ryu, on the other hand, stabilized his body, stood with his legs apart in the ‘horse’ position, and closed his eyes as he released his built up ki into the earth. Ken, who had been slightly paying attention to the match, despite his drunkenness, recognized the position, and knew what was going to happen; but there were even more pressing matters to attend to. “Kentaro! Another bottle!”

“Yes, sensei!”

“Just so you know, I won’t kill you with this next move, cuz I’m gonna need you alive if you’re gonna pay for my door…!” Makoto jeered at Ryu, who was still in his horse stance with his eyes closed. “For those of you who still have their eyes open, you won’t want to miss this…! This is my ultimate attack, SeiryuOugi! Kou-OuBakurtetsuKen!” In the blink of an eye, Makoto launched himself across the ring where Ryu stood, his fist aglow with golden energy. Stopping just before collided into Ryu, Makoto swung his fist low and aimed an uppercut to Ryu’s chin, but he only hit air. “What the--!? Where’d he-- Gauuuugh!” His question was cut off quick when he felt a sharp pain hit him squarely in his lower back. The attack came from Ryu, who performed a powerful side kick to Makoto’s back, which slammed him hard into the iron gates of the ring. Completely paralyzed with pain, Makoto rolled to his stomach, cupping his lower back with his right hand.

The crowd fell completely silent. Nobody said a word, except for Ken, who was singing an Irish drinking song his dad taught him when he first returned to the states. After everyone, including the announcer had finally realized the situation, the announcer chimed in, “The winner is, Ryu Hoshi of the Shotokan-ryuu school!” The crowd immediately filled with its usual amount of jeers and cheers, and the lights were back on. With the fight over, a few of Makoto’s supporters ran to his side, and helped him out of the ring. Ryu sighed with relief, and limped over towards the bar, where he was congratulated by Ken, Sean, and strangely enough, Kentaro. Kentaro, the most surprised of the group asked, “What was that technique you used!? It took him down in one shot!”

“That was a move I created a few years ago… it’s called the Shinryu Mori, or True Dragon Lance. It allows me to feint an opening for my opponent so I can quickly draw up ki to my legs… and counter attack from behind.” Ryu explained, in between deep breaths. Though he had won the fight, he was still hurting from his broken ribs, and that could be a problem for the team in the future. To try and alleviate the pain a bit, Ryu asked for something he might not do for a long time. “… Give me a bottle of your strongest sake, please.”

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It wasn’t until a few hours later, after everyone started to leave the fight club and feeling sober again, did the trio actually get the answer to their question. “If you’re looking for The Dark One, she’s already left the country. In fact, this was her last stop before she left Japan for the Malay Islands.” They were too late. She got the cash she needed, and was on her way to meet ‘him’. However, at least they knew where she was going. “You know… you guys could’ve just asked one of us, and we would’ve told you,” said Makoto from a reclining chair in the corner of the club. “You know how hard it is to find doors with the little sliding compartments on them? It’s not, OW…! … easy.”

“We apologize…” the trio said before leaving, but just before they left, Makoto called out to Ryu and said, “It was a good match… now I see why my sensei holds no more resentment for you.”

“Your sensei was… IS and incredible fighter… if you see him again, tell him I miss the feeling of his fists.” Ryu said before they left the club. Now, their leader injured, the three warriors made their way back to Ryu’s home before they left for the Malay Archipelagos. They may have missed Sakura before she left Japan, but they might catch her before Akuma turned her into a killer.

-End-