Shin-Dan Ch.5 It's Over...Or Has it Just Begun?
By Dan

Ryu and Ken ran to Chun-Li's aid just as Dan finished the move. They were both shocked to see the sight before them...

..." Ohhhhh, what...happened?" Chun-Li was alive and well! It was Dan who didn't look so good. He was battered, his gi ripped in shreds, and blood dribbling down his lip. Akuma was upset by this, and quickly warped to Dan's aid. " THIS ISN'T OVER YET, Ryu..." Akuma then dissapeared with Dan in his grasp, leaving only the feeling of his evil presence...

( About an hour later. The three are at Ken's estate.)

Ryu was massaging Chun-Li's back, trying to soothe some of the injury she recieved while fighting Shin-Dan. " Is this better, Chun-Li?" Ryu said soothingly. " Very much, Ryu." Ken looked at the two and shook his head. All these years, and Ryu STILL doesn't get the message?? Ryu wanted to know why the Shun Goku Satsu didn't really injure Chun-Li, so he asked, " Chun-Li? Dan could've killed you with the Shun Goku Satsu, yet he was the one on the ground...Why?" Chun-Li shook her head. " Hell, Ryu, I don't even understand how it happened... He slid towards me, and began to hit all the appropriate areas..." Ken thought to himself. " Oh yeah, THAT was an obvious flirt right there..." "... But he suddenly slowed the pace, and I wondered, what's happening? Even he looked dumbfounded." Ryu nodded. " Yes, it seems that only Akuma can perform it the right way...Either that, or Dan wasn't thinking about the task at hand..." " I wonder why?" Ken said. He waved to a butler to prepare some herbal tea for Chun-Li. Chun-Li thought to herself for a while in silence. WHy would he not finish attacking me? There's GOT to be a reason..." Oh my God...I know why Dan couldn't finish the Shun Goku Satsu!" Ryu and Ken both asked at the same time " Why?" " Now, listen. I may not have all the facts straight, but it might be this. Dan couldn't kill me because..."

"...YOU LOVE HER don't you?" Akuma roared at Dan. Dan acted like he didn't understand, which REALLY got Akuma enraged! " I EXPECT YOU TO ANSWER ME WHEN I SPEAK TO YOU!!!!" Akuma's kanji flashed the brightest red and his shoulders glowed that evil aura. Dan was now mad also. " Does it matter? I couldn't bring myself to do it! I didn't give her a fair chance-"

" THERE ARE NO FAIR CHANCES!!!" Akuma picked Dan up off his feet by his throat. " Sensei, please! I didn't mean to..." Akuma held him even tighter around the throat, nearly strangling Dan. " You still love her, am I right?" Akuma said to Dan in a calm voice. All Dan could manage is a strangled " Yes."

" I thought so." Akuma began to squeeze tighter on Dan's neck. Dan could've swore he felt the bones in his neck slightly begin to break. He prayed to God that Akuma would let him go. Akuma suddenly let him go. Dan dropped the ground in a heap, gasping for air, as Akuma watched him struggle for his breathing. " Dan, do you know what COULD'VE happened if you didn't finish the technique?" Dan was still struggling for breath, his chest heaving. Akuma continued. " You could've died! WHEN you perform the Shun Goku Satsu, your mind must be focused at the task at hand...to kill your opponent, mercilessly, and without hesitation. You FAILED to do so. I thought that I was able to rid you of your feelings, to replace them with your fear, anxiety, anger, and hatred. I see that it hasn't been done."

" What do you want me to do about it?" Dan said. Akuma thought for nearly a second, and the idea came to him. " We'll finish our unsettled business with Ryu, Ken and Chun-Li later. What I want you to do is prove your ability to kill without hesitation to me." Dan was ready for anything. " Who do you want me to kill?" Akuma realized that Dan's telepathic powers were coming into play. " Good, my student. NOW, read this..." Dan thought hard. He gasped, and some of his fear returned.

" You want me to kill...Sagat???" Akuma smiled evilly, his eyes taking on that familiar glow. " Remember, fear is an illusion now...There should be no fear within you... YOU are Shin-Dan now."

" I am Shin-Dan now..."

" YOU can kill Sagat, mercilessly and WITHOUT hesitation..."

" Without hesitation..."

" Now, go my pupil." Akuma said, pointing toward the mouth of the cave. I will be watching your every move as you fight your foe. BE WARNED. If you do not win... I will be VERY UPSET..." Dan dismissed the idea of losing. " Be READY Sagat", Dan thought evilly, his eyes turning reddish-pink thinking of confronting Sagat." Now that I'm Shin-Dan, your death is on the horizon..."