The Path of the True Warrior Ch. 10
By Ryu-san

The next day…

“Ryu…Ryu! Ryu!! RYU! Wake up!” Chun-li yells.

“Uh…too tired from yesterday, five more minutes…” Ryu mumbles as he rolls back under his covers.

“ATTENTION! ALL STREET FIGHTERS REPORT TO THE DINING HALL! AFTER BREAKFAST, WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE ORDER OF THE FIGHTERS!” a voice announces over the PA system.

“FOOD!” with that, Ryu throws off the blankets, jumps out of bed, runs through the door and into the mess hall.

“……” A bead of sweat drops from Chun-li as she stares at the hole that Ryu made running THROUGH the door.

In the cafeteria

“Ken! Where’s the food!” Ryu asks him as he runs right next to him.

“It’s right where that line is…” Ken tells him. The line stretches out from one end of the table to right where Ken is standing.

“Well, looks like you’re already in line, eh buddy?” Ken asks him. Ryu falls flat on his face.

“RYU! Look at the hole you made! What are you thinking you idiot!” Chun-li yells as she runs next to him and picks up the door that she threw at him.

“Gomen, Li-Chun san. But, ouch, did you have to throw that at me?” Ryu asks, as he rubs the back of his head.

“Hey, you’re here early, Chun-li. You must enjoy eating as much as Ryu here. How much do weigh anyway?” Ken asks her.

*BONK!!*

Ken is lying on the ground with a large bump on his head.

*STOMP!* *STOMP!* *STOMP!*

“YOU DIE! You’re not supposed to ask a woman that question!” she tells him as she stomps on Ken.

“Ouch! Wait a minute, stop hurting Ken. Anyway, what’s to worry about? You don’t look over 140 pounds…” Ryu says.

“WHAT!” Chun-li turns her attention to Ryu.

“GULP! Did I say 140, I meant, uh, 130, there we go!”

Chun-li’s battle aura starts to burn Ryu’s gi. Beads of sweat drop from Ken as he watches her pummel Ryu to oblivion. He sneaks past them and continues to wait in line. After five minutes, he is almost at the front of the line. He turns around and Chun-li is still beating on Ryu.

“Um…hate to interrupt you, but the food’s”

Ryu runs out from under Chun-li’s foot and right next to Ken.

“gonna get cold…?” Ken finishes. They all get their food and get a table.

Chun-li watches in disbelief as Ryu grabs three times the amount of her food, all of which is piled up high on his plate. Then her eyes pop out of her head as he finishes all of it in less than five minutes.

“CRrr Rygh, rf ryuhg ghrm mrmr rurgkm rkjrg, mrmrm grrkr ruurll djkr rght (Chun-li, if you don’t want your food, can I have it?” Ryu asks as he finishes his last bite.

“Ugh…I’ve lost my appetite…”

“Can I have it then?”

“Go ahead…blech! You’ve got the manners of a pig!”

“Yea, Ryu’s always like that if he’s starving. No matter how many times I see it…” Ken says.

“Oh, Ken, where’s Fei?” Chun-li asks.

“He asked me to bring him his food after I’m done. He’s meditating or something,” Ken replies as he finishes his food almost as quickly as Ryu.

“………this has got to be a nightmare…” Chun-li replies with her head between her arms.

“ANNOUNCEMENT! THE FIGHTERS ARE LISTED IN FRONT OF THE ARENA!”

“Let’s go and check it out,” Ryu says.

They walk to the front of the Arena.

Round 1

Adon vs. Sodom

E. Honda vs. DeeJay

Fei-Long vs. Cammy

Sakura vs. Charlie

Guy vs. T. Hawk

Blanka vs. Zangief

Dan vs. R. Mika

Balrog vs. Ryu

Ken vs. Birdie

Chun-li vs. Rolento

Vega vs. Karin

Sagat vs. Dhalsim

Rose vs. Akuma

“Looks like I’m against a girl named Cammy,” Fei says.

“Fei! Sorry we missed you at breakfast,” Ryu tells him.

“…I’d better get ready, my fight should be soon…” Fei says as he walks away.

“Fei? What’s the matter?” Chun-li asks him.

“Nothing,” Fei replies. *I WILL make sifu proud of me and become the strongest…*

Fei walks away.

“He just needs time to work out his feelings, I know what it’s like to lose a man that is like a father to me too,” Ryu tells them.

Chun-li’s eyes open in surprise but she quickly hides it.

“Let’s hurry up! The next fight is coming up,” she says.

“Ryu, are you ok?” Ken asks.

“Yea, just thinking of Master Gouken…” Ryu replies.

“Yea, I remember that day like it was yesterday,” Ken says.

Years ago in Japan…

“Hya!”

*CRACKLE!* Lightning rends the sky apart as the rain falls on the two warriors that dark day.

“Hmmp!” the man grunts as he throws a fireball at the warrior.

“AHHH! Ugh…” the young warrior struggles to get up. *He’s a monster…*

“Well? Why do you not release it! Submit! Messatsu!” the red-haired man in the charcoal colored gi demands as he throws the young warrior against a tree.

“I’m sorry I failed you…sensei…” the young warrior in the bloodstained white gi talks to himself as he gets on one knee, trying to rise.

“You don’t deserve fists to fight with! If you will not submit, then die!” Akuma speaks as he charges up his chi in one hand. He jumps into the air and releases his Tenma Gou Zanku.

“Deijin Hadoken!” a man yells.

“Nan da kore wa (what the h*ll)!?” the red-haired man yells. The electrified projectile cancels out and overwhelms the Tenma Gou Zanku. The man falls and rises immediately.

“Gouki! This fight is between you and me! Leave Ryu out of this!” the man challenges.

“Hmph! My brother, I have been waiting for this fight ever since you and sensei drove me out…Now! I have mastered the entirety of the dark arts of Shotokan! Observe!” Akuma yells as he projects his Messatsu Gou Hado.

“Shinkuu Hadoken!” the two projectiles dissipate. Gouki narrows his eyes.

“HRRRRRAAAAH!” Gouki yells as a red aura surrounds himself. His gi is burned off and a new purple one takes its place and the kanji of “ten (heaven)” shines in the darkness of the night.

“HRAAAAAAAH!” the man yells as a blue aura surrounds himself. His tan gi is replaced with a snow-white gi and a symbol of “chu (judgment)” burns itself into his back.

“Let the battle be finished here, demon! You are no longer my brother!”

“That is fine with me! You will fall before the supreme master of the fist!”

“Sensei…” Ryu says as he tries to rise.

Akuma begins slowly teleporting towards Gouken. Gouken opens his eyes in surprise.

“Shun Goku Satsu!? Akuma, you have mastered that!? Once you use that, then your fate is sealed! I have no choice…hya!” Gouken thrusts his elbow at Akuma.

A bright light, lightning flashes and thunder claps. Ryu can hear a barely audible sound…

“Shin!”

“Messatsu!”

He runs over to the fight and he sees Akuma standing with the symbol of Messatsu written in blood in Gouken’s gi.

“Hmph! I hope that you will not be as disappointing, young dragon,” Akuma says, his eyes glowing red as he teleports away.

“Sensei!!!!!!!!!!!”

“Ryu…”

“Ryu.”

“Ryu!”

“Wake up!”

“Huh?” Ryu opens his eyes and looks around.

“The first fight is about to start,” Chun-li tells him.

“Oh, yea…” Ryu says as he turns his head towards the match.

“What were you thinking about?” She asks him.

“Nothing…let’s watch the match…” Ryu says, soberly.