Shin Dan Ch.16
By Dan

Dan didn't really see an immediate chance to simply attack Akuma, because after Dan hit him with the Gadouken, it infuriated Akuma in such a way that Akuma was now ruthless in his attacking.

"DIE, HIBIKI!" Akuma yelled, hurling a red fireball (Shakunetsu Hadoken) at Dan. Dan singed his arm trying to deflect the projectile. Akuma quickly warped behind Dan, and before Dan could attack or counter, Akuma quickly warped again, this time DIRECTLY in front of a dumbfounded Dan as he sent Dan crashing to the floor with another red Hadoken. Man, he just keeps getting stronger!, Dan thought shakily. Akuma easily read his mind.

"That's not all. When I slaughter your pitiful body, my killing power will increase a THOUSANDFOLD!!!" And with that said, Akuma leapt high into the air, seemingly mixing with the dawning sun. Dan heard a crackle of electricity, then a roar. Dan barely dodged the huge fireball. Akuma warped directly to the ground, and kicked Dan from behind in the head, causing Dan to fall flat on his face. Akuma reached to throw Dan, but Dan rolled away...

....and taunted him. "JORDEN JA NE ZO!!!" Dan said on one knee. Akuma was beginning to slip away from his small piece of normality. "A joke? YOU...THINK...THIS...IS A JOKE!", Akuma said, red fire surging on his strong shoulders. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH! WITNESS THE SUNSET, HIBIKI. IT'LL BE THE LAST YOU EVER SEE!!!!!!!!" Akuma warped to Dan, and Dan Koryuken-ed him into the air. Akuma mid-flipped in the attack, and instantly socked Dan AGAIN with a Air Fireball.

(Downtown Tokyo)

Chun-Li, Guy, Ken and Ryu all came back to the place they split up at. "Anything?", Ken asked the three. Guy slapped his palm into his fist. "Not so much as one pink thread or 'Oshaa'". Chun-Li directed the three to a bench. "I don't understand how Dan could've gotten away from us so fast." Ryu nodded. "I could've sworn that we were practically right behind him." Ken snapped his fingers, overcome with an idea. " The waterfront! We haven't chacked there. Maybe Dan is fighting Akuma at Akuma's island." "Maybe." Ryu said. Guy shook his head. "Friends, to the waterfront." They all began their new search for Dan.

Dan was beginning to land more attacks on the evil-fueled Akuma. He hit the 'raging demon' with a multitude of kicks and punches, which he named Hisshou-Buraiken. When Akuma finally hit the floor, he got up, instantly, a familiar murderous glint radiating from his pupils. " Not enough, Hibiki." Akuma with a "HMPH!", tossed a Hadoken at Dan. Dan jumped over and surprised Akuma by saying "DA!" and came down hard on Shin-Akuma's forehead. "ARG!" Akuma grunted, holding his face temporarily (as in four seconds). Akuma punched Dan in the face, drawing blood from Dan's face. Dan spit the blood into Akuma's face. "You'll pay for that insult." Akuma said quietly. Akuma warped behind him, and took his knee under Dan's back, took Dan's head, and pulled both parts down to his knee as if performing a backcreaker. Dan screamed a long wail of pain. "EEEEYYYYYYAAAAAUUUGGGHHH!!!!" Akuma smiled at Dan's misfortune. "WHERE ARE YOUR...'POWERS' NOW?" Dan weakly tried to get up, but couldn't. Akuma grunted in disgust. "You are permanently crippled, Hibiki! ACCEPT YOUR DEFEAT!" "N...never...", came Dan's weak reply. Akuma's eyes glowered. " Then you leave me NO CHOICE..."

It was odd, but Ryu and the others were seemingly on the right track. They asked for a direction to the seas from an old man with two grandsons, and they directed them in the area. They saw footprints, not freshly made, but not too long ago... "Hey!", Ryu said pointing. "I DO believe that that's a clearing up ahead." Chun-Li smiled. "Good job, Ryu! C'mon, pick up the pace! Dan is in trouble!" All four ran to the clearing, and promptly did what Dan did-fall. But what they saw was Dan about to get ShunGokuSatsu-ed by Shin-Akuma!!!

Ryu quickly said "Shinkuu-Hadoken!!!" , and before Akuma could turn to pay attention, Ryu's firebal hit it's target. Akuma whirled around to face the four street fighters. " All of you? GOOD. MORE THE MERRIER! HAHA!" Ryu adjusted his sash around his waist. " I don't care, Shin-Akuma. We still can beat you, no matter HOW strong you get!" Chun-Li said bravely. "Heh. Such spirit for one so STUPID." Akuma wasn't paying attention to the fact that he had left Dan neglected. Dan got to one knee and yelled, "Shinkuu-Gadouken!" Akuma was hit in the back. When Akuma turned his back, Ryu and Chun-Li both threw their fireballs, the 'Hadoken' and 'Kikoken'. Chun-Li's and Ryu's fireball hit Akuma. Now Akuma had gotten mad!

" I'll kill you all, you pitiful fighters! One by one..." "Then DO IT!", Ken said. Akuma growled, showing his inhuman fangs. "As...you...wish." Akuma warped frightingly fast at Ken and did what Shin-Akuma would call a 'weak version' of the ShunGokuSatsu. "Ken!", Ryu said. Akuma laughed as a weakened Ken fell to his knees. No one seemed to notice their melee was being watched by someone...Ken tried to get up on one knee, but winced in pain. Chun-Li tried Sesenshu attack which failed miserably on Akuma as he turned her world upside-down and back as she was hit 9 times by a lunging, spinning, whirling Messatsu-Gou-Shoryu attck from Akuma. "Ack!" Chun-Li hit the ground hard. "Tatsumakisenpukyaku!!!" Ryu said spinning in hurricne kick. Akuma blocked it mid-way, then reversed it into a Go-Shoryuken.

" You won't kill Dan, Shin-Akuma. Not while we're here to fight by his side.". Ryu said, tensing up to try and prepare for Shin-Akuma's next attack. Akuma didn't want to hear it. " You will fight by his side, and in turn, you'll DIE by his side!" Akuma and Ryu both jumped into the air. Ryu avoided a air hadoken, and threw Akuma into the floor in mid-air. Ken finally sought the strength to get up. Chun-Li was already up, and quickly approaching the felled dark warrior.

Akuma realized the danger. He also noticed that the four warriors (excluding Dan) had strategically place themselves on either side of him. Akuma laughed. "Oh, yess, that's really going to improve your chances..." Akuma did a back-flip, turning invisible in the air. He reappeared in front of Chun-Li who was charging up..."CHOU...KIKOSHO!!!!" Akuma fell back, staggered. Ken shouted, "Now!" Before Akuma could regain his composure, he saw a multitude of spinning feet. "Shippu-JENRAIKYAKU!!!!" Ken hit Shin-Akuma eleven times with a barrage of hurricane kicks. Before Akuma could hit the floor, Guy launched himself into the air. "This is for nearly breakin' my ankle! YEAH-YEA-YEA-YAH-YA...HIYYYAAHHH!!!! He pummled Shin-Akuma with a barrage of fists in his Bushin-Hassoken attack! Now Ryu. Akuma was sent flying in his direction. "Metsu...SHORYUKEN!!!!!" Ryu hit Akuma with a weaker version of the Shoryu-Reppa attack Ken uses. Shin-Akuma finally hit the floor, and didn't get up. "YES!", All four fighters exclaimed in unison. "Where's Dan?" Ken said looking around.

"I'm right here on the ground where you left me, hehe.", Dan said. Ken offered him a hand to help him up. C'mon, we'd better get outta' here before..."

A loud scream of rage tore through the air. Akuma was back on his feet! "NO WAY!!!!" Ken said, his mouth agape. All Ryu could come up with is, "My God...Is it even possible?" Akuma shook off the dust and sand from his torn fighting gi. He took deliberately slow steps towards them. All five prepared themselves in their respective stances to battle Akuma once more, if neccessary. Every one of them was battered and bruised from this ordeal. Akuma finally spoke. "It is time for DAN TO DIE!!! NO ONE DEFEATS ME LIVES!!!! YOU ALL SHALL SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!!!" Akuma's eyes looked ready to pop out their sockets. The vein on his neck surged. He was replenishing energy! But then, something strange happened to Akuma. "ARGH! THE POWER! SATSUI NO HADO!!! WHAT'S...HAPPENING!?!" Akuma looked as if he were ready to burst with natural energy!!! "YOU ALL SHALL SUFFER!" Akuma suddenly started throwing out massive fireballs, one by one by one! Dan, Guy, Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li, all rolled and dodged. But Akuma wouldn't stop. One by one, fireball after fireball. Ryu called out over the roar of Akuma's voice and the sounds of supernatural energy being exploded at them, "Akuma's gone off the deep end!"

"Why doesn't he stop?" Ken called out. He flipped, just barely escaping a double fireball ten times bigger than his. "He won't stop because HE CAN'T! His body can't contain all the power he previously summoned along with the power he has now! He's practically going to blow!" Ryu said. Chun-Li looked around. Dan was missing again. He wouldn't , Chun-Li thought in horror. Sure enough, Dan wanted to be the hero. He was crouching right behind Akuma by a few meters.

Dan was kneeling, focusing his energy into one spot. "I can do this!", Dan said quietly. He felt something within him, something powerful! THAT'S IT! Dan started to slowly surge behind the unknowing Akuma! He had a pink aura around him. "This is MY true power! Look at me father! I truly am the strongest!!!!!" Dan thought. Akuma, although shooting out various fireballs like an insanity-crazed lunatic, still could sense Dan. Dan didn't notice Shin-Akuma stopped throwing fireballs. "Dan!!!!" Ken yelled. "Get your ass outta' there! Ryu? What the hell is Dan tryin' to do?"

"Either kill himself, or perform the ShunGokuSatsu...."

Akuma looked at Dan. "You! You're the one who started all this. I'll KILL YOU NOW! Akuma put his hands down by his hips, drawing any energy still untapped. Suddenly a bolt of lightning streaked through the sky and into Akuma! "AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! TRUE ENERGY!" Akuma bellowed. Akuma's hair turned white from the sudden jolt. He then, with lightning and fire trailing off his back shot a Hadoken into the ground that put up a wall of flame that enclosed around himself and Dan. "AHAHAHA!" Dan snapped back into reality, realizing Akuma's energyu shot up. "WHOA! You...", Dan said sputtering.

Akuma didn't say a word. Just one: "Ikuzo!" Dan narrowed his eyes. "I can do this...I must...Akuma's too strong now, unstable. His powers WILL give out on him. I can feel it! If I can just-"

"FIGHT MEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!"" Akuma bellowed. He threw a huge ball of Hadoken fire at Dan. Dan actually blocked it with his normal Gadouken! Akuma was shocked. "WHAT? ARRRGGGHHH! MESSATSU-GO-HADOU!!!" Another ball of energy, bigger than the previous, roared at Dan. Dan blocked it and with a new move called the Saikyo Reverse*, he sent it back at him! BOOM! Shin-Akuma fell to the ground, blasted by his own fireball. Akuma was down. Even HE couldn't withstand his own energy. "That's the weakness!!!!" Dan said out loud with an upraised fist. He looked at Akuma, who had dark red blood running slowly at his lip. "You're tapped out Akuma! And now, with my newly-dicovered powers, you're gone for good!" he slowly slid towards Akuma. To his surprise, Akuma didn't move an inch, didn't even try to attack...

"What's he doin'?" Dan thought. Oh well, that must mean he knows what's coming to him! Dan was only twenty-four inches away from Akuma, when Akuma started to laugh.

"What's that sound?", Guy asked. Ryu knew. "It's Akuma...and he's laughing."

"Oh, no, don't tell me..." Ken began. Ryu shook his head. "Yes. I do believe he has killed Dan."

Chun-Li gasped in disbelief. "Look, the firewall is coming down!" They saw Akuma simply standing there and Dan sliding towards him! "Dan, don't!" Chun-Li yelled to Dan. Guy shush-ed her. "You crazy? He can rid the world of Akuma...forever!" Ryu shook his head. "To not give Akuma a fair chance to fight back isn't honorable...even if Akuma seemingly doesn't want the chance...." Dan latched onto Akuma. he began. One, two, three, four, five..."Guys, aren't you going to stop him?" Chun-Li asked. Ken and Guy shook their heads no. "Ryu?" She was shocked when Ryu shook his head signaling no also.

Dan was up to the tenth hit. Eleven, twelve...Dan thought happily "Finally, the world will be rid of Akuma in three hits, two hits one hit..." Suddenly a fireball, knoked his hand away from Akuma's heart, the last place he needed to attack to kill him! "What HAVE you done?", Ken said, gaping at Chun-Li. Chun-Li glared back at him. "I stopped Dan from making a big mistake..."

She ran over to Dan, just as Dan was looking around, trying to figure out who stopped him. Akuma fell weakly to the floor and let out a meek groan. "Why'd you stop me, Chun-Li? I could've been a hero!" Chun-Li said flatly, "Hero don't kill people, Dan, unless it is neccessary."

"It IS neccessary! This is Akuma we're talking about here!" "Dan, if I didn't stop you, you would've made a grave mistake. If you did kill Akuma, it would make you no better than he is." "How?" Dan was really dumbfounded now. Chun-Li continued. "Akuma kills cold-blooded. You were about to do the same. Sure, you might get a rise out of killing the scumbag for a week or two, months, even years. But you're giving him the satisfaction. If you let him live, he'll have to deal with the fact you humiliated him for the rest of his life!" Dan frowned. "I'd rather kill him. But, you are right. Let's get the heck outta' here..." Dan suddenly collapsed. "Whoa!" Ken said. "Guy, help me with this lug."

"Oof! Dan needs to lay off the Nabe!", Guy said, straining to lift Dan. The four left Akuma right where he laid, in the sand, a symbol of ten blackening the sand underneath him...It was then the person who watched the fight decided to reveal himself. A man, with a long flowing cape... "Hm. He's not dead. That's good. If I can infuse him with psycho power..."

(Three Weeks Later, in San Francisco)

The five fighters were all giving Dan encouragements. "Dan, I couldn't believe my eyes! You...defeating Akuma. Woo-nellie!" Ken said, imitating a cowboy. "Totally cool, bro'.", Guy said, slapping Dan a high-five. "Excellent job Dan. You kicked some ass.", Chun-Li said.

"I have to say, Dan, your attacks were indubately..." Ryu began. He noticed all of them looking at him. "Um...gnarly?" Ken roared his laughter. "Gnarly? gnarly? AhHAHAHAHA!!!!" They all shared a good laugh. But Dan couldn't help but to wonder what the future would hold for him. Will he still be as strong as he was when he defeated Akuma? Will Akuma come back, seeking revenge? He didn't care. he was with his friends, his REAL friends. he didn't have a care in the world. "This is the way I always thought it would be guys." Dan said, a small tear coming from his eye. "Awww, Dan...."Ken said mockingly. Ryu tapped the table where they were sitting at. "Hey? How about a toast to Dan, huh? May he always be as saikyo-strong and happy as he is now." Guy poured some champaigne. "Hey, I'll drink to that." They all clinked their glasses, and yelled out "OSHAA!!!" Then all five laughed hysterically.