Blast to The Past Ch. 1
By Ryu Dragon

It's been quite a long time since Ryu Dragon began his journey, the journey to find his evil side that was separated from him when he and some of his fighter friends joined forces with some top agents from Interpol and S.T.A.R.S. to destroyed a secret base in USA. Right now, he is in Tokyo, Japan. He walked slowly passing through the town. His eyes were downcast as he fondly reminisces over his lost friends. The friends who lived through h*ll with him, the ones who made him feel like he was in paradise. He heard the laughter of children and sighed deeply, knowing the same joy will never come back to him.

"There's no way I'd ever marry an uncute girl like you !"

Ryu Dragon slowly turned his head, confused by this sudden outburst.

"It's not like I'd want to marry an insensitive jerk like you !"

He walked toward the sound, which seems to be coming from around the next corner. He saw two teenagers shouting at each other loudly. One was a boy with his hair pulled back into a ponytail, wearing Japanese schoolboy clothes. He had that boyish face, beginning to hit puberty and his body is well toned. He was quite short at 4'9" in addition to being quite skinny. The other was a girl with long black hair that reaches down to her waist, with bangs falling down the side of her face and she was wearing the Japanese schoolgirl uniform. She had a pretty face that is marred by her annoyed countenance.

"Uncute fatso! I was trying to be nice, you know !" – Boy

"When were you nice ?! You call jumping through my room trying to see me get dressed is nice !? – Girl

"THAT !? That was my dad's fault! He kicked me while we were sparring ! Besides, who would want to see an ugly girl like you anyway !?" – Boy

*SMACK !!!!*

"Claude ! You're in no position to be picky !" – A weird old man smacked the boy on the back of the head.

"Oooowww ! What was that for, dad ?!" – Boy, as he rubbed his head.

"What good are these hands if they cannot teach my own son discipline ? What good are…"

"Aah, shut up, old man !" – Claude, as he hit him, sending him flying, leaving only a small flare in the sky.

Ryu Dragon shook his head as he began to chuckle to himself a little. The bickering between the two teenagers reminds him when he and Rogue were having 'lovers fight'. The thought of Rogue made his smile fades, and his expression changes to sad again. He left the scene as he realized that the sun is about to set. He needed to find some place to stay overnight.

***

The rain was pouring hard, it was an unexpected one, since there was no indication that it was about to rain. In this weather, only insane people who will stay outside in the rain – excluding the unfortunate sane people that don't have place to stay away from rain or have to go outside urgently. One of the unfortunate and sane people was Ryu Dragon. He walked silently in the rain, still trying to find a place to stay overnight.

'What a day.' - he thought. First, he was rejected in every motel that he went into, thinking that he is not a good guy or won't be able to pay the rent. Then, he was also being sent away in all grocery shops, all because his clothes was dirty and he – well, he has to admit – looks like a beggar trying to steal or something. Then the rain came suddenly without warning, not that he complained the rain or the cold – although he hates cold. He had experienced worst than this in his long journey. Cold is nothing for him since he had a great amount of inner power or chi that can protect him from the cold, and not to mention the magical power from Fire gem that he possessed. But its still better for him to at least has a place to stay away from rain and gets some rest.

'And probably to wash my clothes too.' – he chuckles silently to himself.

After walking for another miserable ten minutes – and the rain still won't let up – he found an old deserted building. The building was quite tall, about four stories, but its not too wide. The brick and paint were chipped in some places, and it looked like about to fall anytime soon. The building was surrounded with an eight feet red brick fence, but the gate is made of wire. 'Probably to cut the cost.' – Ryu Dragon thought. He jumped easily over the fence after looking around to make sure that nobody sees him trespassing. He walked into the building and found that despite the old, dirty, and almost-crumble appearance from the outside, this building still can hold on for probably a good ten years.

He wandered around the first level to find a spot that is good enough for rest and – hopefully – could protect him from the cold wind from outside. He found a spot and settled his backpack on the dusty floor. Rummaging through his backpack, he hardly found any clothes that were not wet or damp. He settled for a damp sleeping T-shirt and a – a bit wet on the legs – blue jeans. He quickly changes his clothes and hangs the wet clothes on a plastic rope that he brought and tied on two pillars. He spread his wet sleeping bag and channel his chi combined with Fire elemental power to dry it – after he dried himself – then he went for rest. 'I'm gonna stink like a skunk tomorrow.' – he thought to himself then fall asleep in less than a minute.

***

He woke up early just before the sun is up. After a little bit practice and breakfast (instant noodle, a wandering warrior main meal ^-^), he checked his clothes and dried some that hadn't dried yet using his power, he tried to sniff his clothes and quickly turned away, almost sneezing from the smell. 'Now I know that I won't be able to find any accommodation tonight. Ah well, at least the clothes are dry, I'll find a Laundromat to wash them.' – then he chuckled. 'That's if they are willing to risk their washing machines to wash my who-knows-what-kind-of-smell-is-that clothes.' He packed his things slowly then got ready to continue his journey.