"Volpe!"
"Go 'way, I'm busy."

"You were sleeping seconds ago," was the flat reply.

"Hey, hey, 'tis your government taxes hard at work," the man, now identified as Volpe, stretched and grinned, eyes still closed.

"Is that a sign that you're now among the living?" said the hopeful attendant.

"Hell no. I'm getting ready for some more sleep."

The attendant palmed his forehead and cursed, walking briskly away.

"Much better." Volpe chuckled once, softly so not to be heard, and cracked open one eyelid, viewing the contents of his office. Or what one would call an office, except for the fact that it was in such a sad state of disarray that any living thing would be hard pressed to find their next of kin within these four walls. Massive columns of reports and notes were stacked atop each other in haphazard fashion, swaying dangerously from the gentle breeze the air conditioning provided. Secure information and heavily penciled artwork alike adorned every accessible surface the eye could note. A fantasy calendar was hung on the far wall, along with several notes with nearly illegible scrawl upon them. Almost an entire cases worth of soda cans were carefully placed atop an outdated PC in the corner. About the only place in the room untouched by Volpe's belongings were his worn chair, and the left corner of his desk, which at this very moment had his shoes on it. Easing back into his chair Volpe gave a wry grin and a satisfied nod.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself," breathed a female voice.

Volpe craned his neck around to view his new guest. This revealed an athletic, young, full-bodied Chinese woman in an ornate blue and gold outfit. Long, slender legs gave way tender thighs teasingly concealed by a royal blue cloth draped downwards from her middle. Her hair was bound in a traditional bun, much to his growing amusement. The only feature that marred her seemingly flawless features was the almost hidden lines of tension and anger, which Volpe noted but failed to remark on. Full, inquisitive eyes and full lips gazed in his direction. He mentally doused himself in a cold shower before continuing.

"Ah, the fair maiden Chun-Li visits my not so humble office." He smiled, looking her over and enjoying every moment of it. "Prithee, what can I do for the strongest woman in the world?"

Chun-Li smirked. "Stow it private, I'm immune." She motioned to the box she was holding. "I come baring gifts."

Both eyes were open now. "Ah, what gift would my lovely bestow upon me?"

Slender hands removed the outer trappings of the box. "Doughnuts," she replied.

Volpe released an excited squeak not unlike that of a cheerleader and leapt off the chair with seemingly inhuman grace. Gently grasping one of the pastries he glanced at it with a practiced eye. "Hmm.. Glazed, soft, the chocolate fails to be melted or runny, a nice, full feel.. and .. Custard filled! Horah!" The man laughed and fell heavily into the chair behind him. "You have appeased Aaron, milady. State thy claim."

The female street fighter flashed a rare grin, glanced at his office, then frowned.

"How are the visions?"

"Better than the entire Hollywood budget combined."

"Hmm.. You do know you are leaving tomorrow, right?"

"Yep."

"Shouldn't of you packed your things up by now?" she motioned towards the mess with her free hand.

"Nah," Volpe rapped the knuckles of his right hand off the top of his head. "Everything I need is right here," he grinned, "'Sides, it'll all be here when I get back. Nobody's willing to risk their life in the futile effort of cleaning it."

"Volpe..." Chun trailed off, her eyes cold and serious.

He smiled and gestured with the doughnut. "I know, I know." He winked as he demolished what was left of the sugary snack. "Now, what do you have for me?"

***

Absently fingering his staff the man nodded and thanked the small child for directions. Finding anything in China was nearly impossible to an outlander, and he was no exception to the rule. Noting the many looks of curiosity, caution, distrust and other various emotions the man ruefully glanced at his reflection in a nearby puddle.

"Well, hell," he muttered darkly. Gazing back at him was a figure in a rugged leather jacket that looked shopworn. His pants were tattered and the knees had begun wear. His unkempt hair fell in several unwashed clumps, sparing his vision only because of a black headband wound tightly atop the forehead. Only his black shirt and his leather gloves seemed to have escaped the hazards of the elements without noticeable wear and tear. Combined with the dark look on his face and the equally bleak long, hexagonal quarterstaff he was grasping, he that looked damn impressive but not the nearest bit friendly. He softened his scowl into a slight smile, and that helped a little.

"And here we are," said he, glancing at the massive dojo in front of him. He breathed deeply a few times and tried to relax. Then he entered the building, hefting the staff, his jacket creaking gently in protest.

"Ah! Students, we have a visitor!" cried a deep but relaxed voice. Easily twenty young men and women in variously colored training gi's, ranging from neon green, a colored blue, bright yellow, and bubblegum pink turned from their instructor to the man in the entranceway. They stared. He stared back. Their Sensei grinned.

"Students, show this man, who obviously is a fighter, the honorable and most mighty greeting between warriors!"

"Hai, sensei!" intoned the students. Each studied the features of the man with the large staff and the now uneasy expression. They slowly raised one of their arms in the general direction of him.

He blinked.

Their forearms snapped up, bulging with young muscles.

Again, he blinked.

'OOOSSSSHHHHHAAAA!!!!" Screamed twenty young voices in unison, cracking not only their voices but any nearby windows and glass fixtures as well, the excess noise unfortunately sending the man sprawling back outside the entrance in an undignified heap. Gasping for breath the students beamed in pride at their Sensei's applause and affection.

"Well done, my students!" cried their elated teacher. "You have proven without fail that you are, indeed, worthy successors to the knowledge of the mighty Saikyo-Ryuu style!" He paused for a second, then added for good measure "Yahhooie!"

This was not lost on the students, who took time to wipe the welling tears of happiness from their faces. A massive group hug ensued. Aside from the different colored fighting gi's making this look like a drunken man's view of a kaleidoscope, this was, indeed, a Kodak moment.

The man with the staff sat up and sighed deeply. "So, you are him."

"Eh? Him who?" The sensei motioned for his students to disperse and continue sparring.

"You are the street fighter known as Dan Hibiki, are you not?"

"Guilty as charged," Dan flexed. "You wanna autograph or something?"

The man shook his head from side to side. "No, what I want is-" And then gazed in shock as Dan had whipped out a photograph of himself, posed with it, signed it, and tossed it lightly in the Jacketed man's direction, all within the time allotment of three seconds.

"How-" he began.

"Did he do that?" interrupted a feminine voice, amused. "I have no idea, but when comes to showing off, Hibiki-san is a master."

"Ah! Sakura-chan!" Dan smiled at someone directly behind the guy with the stick. "Once more you grace my dojo with your presence!" He flipped his long ponytail backwards and grinned. "Have you decided to finally admit to being my student and pay homage to the REAL king of fighters?"

"For the last time, I am NOT your student," was the tired response. The man with the staff turned to face the newcomer. The girl, no, young woman was of lithe and muscular build, dressed in a brightly colored high school uniform from Japan and wearing a white headband. Her eyes were brown, full and innocent, and a mocking smile was set upon her lips. Her hair was cut at neck level, and was also brown in coloration.

"Ah, so your desire to see the master of fabled Saikyo-Ryuu style has transcended even the boundaries of master and student," Dan smiled, smoothing his pink gi. "Wanna go steady?"

"I will NOT hit you." But she smiled back. Nodding to the only person in the room worth mentioning without a name, "Who's he?" Hands on her hips she peered intently at the man with the staff. "Looks like a shopworn Ryu gone streetwise. Not that that's a bad thing, mind you," said Sakura, winking.

"Child, must you do that in front of the other students?" complained Dan. "It's distracting!"

Sakura grinned, palming her fist. "Not my fault you can't resist my charms, Danny boy. And who's a child?!" demanded Sakura. "Your only two years older than I am!"

Dan nodded, smiling once more. "You are, child. And don't call me Danny boy."

"Then don't call me a child, Danny Boy!" Sakura pulled her left eyelid and stuck out her tongue.

"Hey, you're the one that's always acting like a kid."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

Dan's students continued sparring; their actions revealing no concern whatsoever about the argument. Obviously, the man with the staff decided, they were accustomed these outbursts on a regular basis. Idly he wondered how long this had been going on. But that mattered little. Squaring his shoulders with resolution he turned towards Hibiki, grasping his staff tightly.

"Hibiki!" he spoke in a firm but neutral tone of voice.

"Are t-huh?" Dan broke of his sophisticated conversation to spare the man a glance. "Oh, yeah, you're still here. Sorry about ignoring you like that." Dan smiled apologetically. "Some people are more annoying than others and therefore require more attention," he hoisted a thumb in the direction of Sakura. Shortly after he was yelping in pain and hopping on one leg due to a wicked shin kick..

"Anyway, you know my name, but I don't know yours," intoned Dan, still hopping on one leg, glaring at the female streetfighter. Sakura smiled sweetly.

"You may call me Shockwave," was his easy reply.

"Hmm.. Streetfighter name, huh? Got something to hide?"

Shockwave shook his head with a twisted grin. "According to rumors out on the street you're about due for the admission of another Street Fighter tournament. Is this true?"

The pink-clad martial artist nodded once with a smile. "Look, not to be rude or anything, what business is it of yours? Do you have something to do with it?" He spared the girl a glance, "You know this guy, Sak?"

"Nope."

Shockwave stretched his legs a bit and swung his staff into an easy fighting stance. "On the contrary, Mr. Hibiki, it has everything to do with me." Dan raised both his eyebrows, still smiling. Sakura backed up a few steps eyeing the shiny whacking stick distastefully.

"How?"

"Hibiki, I need that invitation to the tournament. Now. Do you have it?"

Dan paused in thought for a moment. "Hmm... I think I got something like that in the mail, it's probably over there in one of those stacks." He pointed, revealing two large stacks of letters and envelopes, one labeled FAN MAIL, and the other BILLS. It was a toss up as to which one of the two was larger.
"Good." The Shockwave intoned, resting on his staff. "Be so good as to fetch it for me would you?"
Dan turned half a step, stopped, and faced the worn fighter, searching the others eyes. After a brief moment Dan nodded, grinning.

Shockwave relaxed a fraction of an inch.

"Nope." Dan declared cheerfully, brawny arms crossed. "Not going to do it."

"Look." Began an irate Shockwave. "See this stick? It hurts an awful lot when you get you get hit with it." He gave a dark smile, revealing full white teeth. "I'm really good at what I do, which mostly involves hurting things." He tapped the staff idly. "You, on the other hand..."

"What about me?"

"You are regarded as a joke fighter. A Shokotan wannabe. Useless in a fight." His free hand flexed menacingly. "In other words, a loser."

"Yep. That's me, the loser." The smile never faded from Dan's face. "However, I still can't just give you what you want. I worked hard to get that invitation, you know." He shrugged. "It's got sentimental value."

"Then I guess I'll just have to pluck it from your unconscious fingers, yes?" Shockwave grinned. "Normally I have a rule against beating the elderly, incapable, or the stupid, but I guess in your case I can make an exception or three. Prepare yourself Dan Hi-ACK!!"

Now the reader at this point might inquire as to the reasons for such a roguish, darkly handsome man such as Shockwave to go 'Ack' in the middle of an overly dramatic but witty sentence. So, just between you and the narrator seeing twenty such youths in the prime of their lives looking like they would enjoy nothing more than beating the living crap out of you can make even the most steadfast of demons consider soiling themselves. After all gentle readers, Shockwave is dedicated, not stupid.
"Umm.." began the said fighter, eyeing the many hostiles. He backed up a step, make that several steps. But then he ceased his withdrawal, brandishing his staff in an equally unfriendly manner. He softly cursed to himself, then looked directly at Dan.

"Hibiki, I challenge you!" he roared, pointing with his free hand. "If you are a true warrior then you have no choice but to accept the battle and listen to my terms!" A shaky smile crossed Shockwave's features.

Dan grinned and looked at the ceiling of his dojo. "Hmm.. Dunno, there wouldn't be much honor in beating up a wimpy loser like myself, would there?" He mused to himself as his students slowly converged on the lone fighter.

Shockwave let loose a small squeal. "Hey, did I say loser? I meant a mighty warrior! A ripped martial artist! Um.. An angry postal worker?" He eyed the advancing horde. "Oh, hell..."

"Daaaaaannnnn."

"I know, Sakura, I know." Dan sighed. "Jeez, try and have a little fun...." He snapped his fingers, gaining the attention his students. "That's enough for today."

"Awwwww," complained the twenty young voices.

"You guys can watch if you want," replied Dan.

"SENSEI!" cried several feminine voices.

"And the girls as well." He grimaced. "For students of Saikyo-Ryuu your taking things way to seriously, you know that?" He waved them off. "Go and change, we'll still be here. Promise."

"Hai, sensei!" the students bowed, then retreated to the locker room.

Dan turned to Shockwave, who was just regaining his composure.

"My, wasn't that fun," said Dan in a cheery tone of voice.

Shockwave just glared.

"Despite my better judgement, I like you." Dan blew a stray lock of hair away from his field of vision. "I accept your challenge. Defeat me and the invitation is yours, as all followers of Saikyo-Ryuu are honorable men and women." He waved to the vending machine. "Hey, Sak, you mind being ref for this one?"

Sakura smiled and took a deep bite of her anonymous chocolate bar. "Nah, I like seeing you get the snot beaten out of you. It's good for my ego." She shrugged, then winked at Dan. "Sure I'll do it."
"That's my number one student!" exclaimed Dan, dodging the rest of her now flung chocolate bar. "Hey, it's bad to waste food like that!" He paused in thought. "Though I suppose with you, every pound helps, right?"

"Keep that up Hibiki, and the next thing you try dodging is a chi blast twice your size."

"Heh." Eyeing Shockwave the pink fighter flexed a little to limber up. "We'll start when my students are done changing. Standard rules, you know the drill, don't you?"

The darkly dressed man nodded. Frowning for a moment he looked Dan straight in the eye, grasping his staff tightly. "Hibiki, do your best, though I doubt it will be enough. I will not, can not, and shall not lose this fight." He smiled darkly. "Too much hands in the balance, I'm afraid. But I do want to know that you gave it your all, understand?"

"Hai," Dan yawned.

***

"Before I tell you anything," The oriental detective began, "Would you mind answering a few questions first?"

Volpe reclined in his chair, hands loosely clasped behind his thick neck. "Shoot." He eyed Chun-Li speculatively. "Just don't take that literally."

"Cute."

Volpe grinned. "I thought so." He paused for a moment. "Hey, where do you keep your piece anyway?"

"What?"

"Well, all Interpol agents assigned to this case are supposed to have at least simple firearm for their protection right?" He released a broad smile. "Not that you need it, mind you, but where exactly do you keep such a device?" He motioned towards her outfit, which left very, very little to the imagination. Sometimes Volpe wished these heroine types would wear more clothing. He spared her another glance. But only rarely.

Her answer was to simply raise two fine eyebrows of her own.

"Never mind." He closed his eyes. "I'm not sure I want to know. What did you want to ask me?"

"Your file," she began, "Is.. well, to be frank, quite odd."

"Hello Frank, I'll be Fabio," he intoned with a heavy accent, brushing back his hair. "Would you like to touch my monkey?" Noting her scathing look he proffered both palms in her direction. "Kidding, kidding. Sheesh."

"ANYWAY, there is a great deal of conflicting information concerning you." She shook her head, ribbons swaying. "I can't make heads or tails of it. Some refer to you as a genuine saint, others say you are the horned one in disguise." Chun-Li looked him straight in the eye. "Suppose you help me understand?"

"Gladly." Volpe cleared his throat and nodded past his open door to the reception hall. "You see that man right there?"

"Isn't that the orderly you snubbed earlier? He's really upset at you."

"One and the same." A fey grin was plastered on Volpe's face. "Watch and observe, if you would, the actions of the said government employee."

Chun-Li watched as the man eased forward, setting his coffee down next to a young woman. He thereby began to hit on the pleasant looking receptionist, and noting her expression, probably for the fourth or so time today. Chun-Li frowned.

"That man is abusive in the tongue, violent, and never takes no for an answer." Volpe spoke with obvious distaste. "For lack of better words, a jerk." He reached downwards and opened the left drawer of his desk, revealing about thirty eraser stubs that had been chewed off.

"What the-"

"Watch and observe, my lovely Interpol detective." Wordlessly, he reflected the light from the fixtures above into the eyes of the lovely receptionist utilizing one of his dog tags. The woman glanced slightly in his direction. Volpe nodded.

"Sir, could you take a look at this.." she began.

"Sure, if that's not all that you show me," said the orderly, turning with a lecherous smile.

Volpe hefted three eraser stubs in his hand, testing the weight. With a wink at the detective he effortlessly hurled them through his door of his office, off the wall, bouncing soundly off the receptionist's computer monitor, and finally into the orderly's steaming cup of coffee without so much as a 'Plink!' to be heard.

"He's going to find that choice flavor boost in a little while, methinks." Volpe grinned. "A fitting punishment to such horrendous acts."

Chun-Li attempted so suppress her oncoming laughter, and composed herself once more after several fits of giggles.

"And now for the coup de grace" said Volpe, flourishing a hand in an extravagant gesture. Cupping his hands, he bellowed, "Oh. Mr. McVickers, I got a problem over here..."

"Coming, Sir," muttered the man, walking towards Volpe's office, releasing his hold on the woman's shoulder. "What seems to be the problem, Sir?"

"Well, you see, it's these damn pencils." Volpe motioned towards a collection of mauled pencils on his desk. "Somebody or something bit the bloody heads off, AGAIN." He slammed his fist down on his desk, making everything nearby wobble dangerously. "I tell you, this is intolerable!! I can't very well write things without the ability to erase, now can I? CAN I?" his tone of voice raised dangerously.

"No, Sir, I suppose not," was the disenheartend reply.

'Be a good chap and head down into the basement storage unit and get me another package of those pencils I like so much, now will you?"

"Yes, Sir."

"That's a good lad. Off with you now." Volpe smiled in a friendly manner, escorting the man out of his office. Once the man had retreated out of view Volpe gave a jaunty wave towards the receptionist, who blew a kiss back in response.

Chun-Li just stared at him in shock. "How long have you been doing this?"

"Two weeks, four days, seven hours and twenty-six minutes," called out the lovely receptionist.

"That's.... Amazing" murmured Chun-Li.

"Nah." Volpe released a hearty laugh. "What's amazing is his expression when he realizes that the elevators are still under repair and the storeroom is about 10 stories straight down."

***

Dan's students were properly equipped with popcorn, soda, and other assorted snacks. Sakura was absently dancing and Dan was giggling to himself. Shockwave readied his staff, gripping it tightly with both hands at the middle. All was ready.

"Hibiki, prepare yourself!"

"OOSHA!" cried the pink clad fighter. "Let's see if you're half as good as your dialogue!" Dan flexed a beefy arm.

Shockwave advanced, deftly swinging across Dan's middle, which he blocked with obvious discomfort.
"Ouchie! That hurt!" Dan complained while rubbing his arm.

"It's a mix of carbon and titanium, it ought to." Replied Shockwave as he swung at Dan's head, which he rolled under.

Both fighters darted forward, looking for openings, but ended up countering each other. Dan ended got slammed in the side, and Shockwave received a brutal chop to the side of the neck, sending them both flying.

"Who's got the Cheeto's?" asked a student.

"Eat THIS," intoned Shockwave, recovering quicker than his opponent. "QUARTET...," he leveled his staff towards Dan, his eyes closed. "..WAVE!!" A blast of chi energy struck Dan, who, failing to block or dodge, got blasted back several feet.

"Oooo, that looked like it hurt, Dan," said Sakura. Then, in a mocking little voice "You wanna to throw in the towel right now and save time?"

Dan got back up, grinning. Then he dashed forward, his ponytail streaming behind him, leaping over a brutal swing at the legs, and landing behind Shockwave. "You know, the whole point of that thing is to HIT me with it," he taunted. Shockwave snarled, lashing from left to right with his staff, both of which Dan sidestepped. He attempted to poke Dan in the stomach but that got batted aside. He swept the heavy staff overhead, bringing it down in blurring arc, only to strike ground, Dan smiling beside it. So Shockwave just decked him, sending the master of Saikyo-Ryuu rolling.

Shockwave grunted in exasperation. "Your more irritating than I thought you'd be." He flicked his staff upwards, and it burst into a yellowish glow in response.

The female population of the students clapped for the flashy effects.

"Oooo, pretty." Dan rushed forward, only to meet a brutal chi blast in the knee, causing him to stumble, and then received a painful strike to the abdomen; which Shockwave then followed up with blows to the other leg, the chest, the right arm and then a upwards strike, sending Dan almost flying horizontally in the air. "At least it can't get much worse," he called out.

"QUARTET WAVE!!!"

Dan found himself flattened against the wall of his dojo. He stood up once more. "Okay, so I was wrong." He flexed and grinned, rushing his jacketed opponent. "Ready or not, here I come!" He paused, "Again!" and continued his initial charge. Shockwave thrust his staff deeply into the space Dan's head was at but moments ago.

"Damn you!" cried Shockwave, twisting out of the way of a twisting roundhouse kick. He struck back and failed to connect. "Realize that you have met your better!" Dan clipped his shoulder with a fist. "Don't make me hurt you, Hibiki!" He swung in a wide arc at Dan's middle, which would have contacted if the pink one hadn't rolled underneath it and taunted.

"Pass the bon-bon's," one student murmured to another.

"That's the spirit!" He grinned and flexed his arm. "This wouldn't be any fun if it was easy! AACK!" He nearly went cross-eyed as the staff he blocked barely missed the bridge of his nose. In a burst of speed Dan slammed his fist in Shockwave's stomach, doubling him over. "Hey, Sak, this is how it's SUPPOSED to be done!" he called. With blinding speed Dan launched himself in the air, his arm at a tight angle. "KORYUKEN!" sending the other man sprawling very high into the air indeed, landing with an unpleasant thud.

His students cheered.

"Bite me, Hibiki," muttered Sakura crossly.

Dan gave a thumbs up to the ref, and turned at a very annoyed Shockwave. "What was that about hurting me again?" He flexed, then slowly advanced, grinning.

***

Unbelievably far to the north is a land utterly and completely covered by massive blankets of snow, with chill winds whipping around fast enough to send a healthy horse sprawling even if his hooves were constructed entirely of cement. This high in the mountains an experienced guide would find difficulty even breathing in these brutal circumstances. Any normal human would be chilled to the bone within seconds of arriving. That is, if you were normal.

A large Japanese man in a white fighting gi set his only personal belonging, a tattered white duffel bag, softly down. He lifted his head to view the awesome sight of the tireless peaks piercing the clouds and continuing into the unseen beyond. He glanced at the avalanche of snow a reasonably unsafe distance away. He nodded once, his red headband spastically weaving and wrenching in the intense wind. Adjusting his worn wrist guards, he breathed smoothly and slowly several times.

Then... a slow, warm smile. "This," he spoke, possibly the first time in several weeks, "Will be an excellent place to train." And with that he began climbing the mountain with his bare hands.

***

The students applauded. The students cheered. The students blanched in pain. They also showed curiosity, anger, fear, and amusement. But mostly, they just snacked. Things had grown intense in the fight, Dan's breathing now ragged, Shockwave's moreso. For the most part they just exchanged brutal looking hits. Shockwave had the advantage of range, whereas Dan never seemed to run out of energy to show off. Speaking of which, he picked himself off the floor again.

"How the hell do you keep on standing?!" asked an incredulous Shockwave, launching a ball of energy at Dan, who dodged by dashing quickly to the side. The blast left a smoking hole in the wall of his dojo.
"You are supposed to suck!" roared Shockwave, poking Dan in the breadbasket.

"Clean living" replied Dan as he struck Shockwave square on the headband. He paused in thought, and received a kick in the side for his efforts. "Hmm.."

"What's on your mind?" asked Shockwave while swinging at Dan's head, who barely managed to duck in time. Dan slapped him, then gave him a poke in the nose.

Dan smiled. "Well, I was just thinking.." he frantically parried Shockwave's strikes, getting swept underfoot. Dan twisted his head to the side and watched in horror as a three foot hole appeared straight down in his dojo's floor, due to the overly friendly beating stick. "Crap, that's going to be expensive." Grabbing Shockwave by his jacket Dan hurled the man into the opposing corner, impacting against the wall, then tossed the staff lightly after him. "Part of the reason I am so mighty (he flexed at this, and the students smiled) is because I have endured the legendary Ryu and Ken's mortal punches almost everyday when I was training with Gouken, bless his geezerly heart."

Shockwave began softly incanting some mantra.

"After I defeated Sagat in the last tournament for the honor of my oyaji," Dan motioned to the picture on the left wall, depicting a built old man wearing a tengu mask. "My fighting style ended up getting kinda famous."

Shockwave's jacket shirt and headband began to shake wildly from wind without any obvious origin. The students began to slowly edge towards the exit, snacks in hand.

Dan obliviously continued, "Along with the prize money from third place and my new reputation I actually started attracting students, which I thought was pretty cool. And now that they're around, I actually end up training everyday!" He grinned. "I learn as much from them as they do from me, right guys and gals?" he turned only to find them missing. "Huh?"

"Umm.. Dan?" asked Sakura, who was outside of the dojo.

"Yeah?"

"Remember your opponent, the guy with the shiny stick?"

"Oh, yes! Thanks for reminding me! What about him?"

"He's...umm.. Glowing."

Dan turned around only to release a squeal of horror. Glowing was an understatement, Shockwave was a Christmas tree's nightmare come to life. Chi energy cracked and popped not unlike a popular brand of cereal, the intense energy swirling round and round the fighter gaining in speed every recursive movement. The fighter cried out in pain due to the immense forces within him pulsing nearly uncontrollably.

"Dan Hibiki," screamed Shockwave through clenched teeth. "You turn your back to me once more in the middle of a fight, though it is not intentional, I cannot allow this to go unpunished." A pillar of yellow energy erupted directly around the man, shifting around at almost inhuman speed, and incidentally demolishing part of the roof of Dan' dojo.. "This is a battle I cannot afford to lose. For the sake of my brother.." he grabbed his staff directly at the middle, eyes flaring. "QUARTET REVOLUTION ASSAULT!!!"

"Brother..?" was about as far as Dan got, before attempting to shield himself from the blazing cyclone of chi rushing towards him, surrounding Shockwave. The master of Saikyo-Ryuu screamed out in pain as his body attempted to absorb the impact of the glowing furnace of internal power. He felt as if he was taking a nap on burning coals. His body screamed in pain as if he was meditating on a mountain of needles. Hi senses reeled in shock, this was worse than listening to a 24 hour Barney marathon! Every fiber of his being felt as if it was being shredded, reconstructed, then shredded again for the sheer hell of it. Even hell might seem chilly in comparison, Dan mused.

Dan screamed as the ground underneath him disappeared, the blazing rush of chi flinging the fighter through the wall of his dojo, high up into the air and then landing in a smoking heap with a nasty crunching sound, his arms still crossed, some distance away from his students and Sakura.
"DAN!!" The source of the high pitched wail was none other than Sakura, who dashed towards the fallen fighter. A heavy foot accompanied by a large staff blocked her way, still smoldering. The students looked on in shock as Dan's body twitched a couple times.

"Out of my way!" demanded Sakura, balling up her fists.

"Not yet." Shockwave shook his head, wincing in pain. "Hibiki deemed you an honorable referee. Announce the winner." His staff glowed dangerously.

"Kami help me, I don't care about that!" Sakura snapped. Shockwave stood, his jacket smoking, immobile. "Fine! The winner is-"

"Don't do anything I'll regret, little girl."

"DAN!"

"The one and only," croaked he, coughing up blood. His manly pink gi was torn and ripped, his black muscle shirt nearly split in half. Even his ponytail was in a horrible state of disarray. He struggled to remain upright. "Come on, stick boy, let's finish this." Dan attempted to flex, winced in pain, and dropped his arm.

Shockwave looked at the bloody fighter in complete amazement. "You can't beat me in your sorry shape, Hibiki." He advanced, palming his staff. "Think, dammit!"

Dan grinned. He smiled to Sakura, and managed to pose. "You want a piece of the mighty Dan Hibiki, come and get it!"

Shockwave's answer was to pop Dan in the head with his fist, sending blood flying in a rather disgusting manner. His staff impacted soundly across Dan's left arm, causing him to cry out in pain. He followed up with a kick in to the knee, which Dan managed to twist to the side to dodge.

"Time for you to feel the true might...that..is...DAN!!!" cried you-know-who, leaping towards Shockwave, slamming his knee in the opponents sternum, "DA!" flipping around in the air and release a flying kick to the chest, "TSA!" then whipping around once more to lash a kick out to Shockwave's temple. "TAYAA!" knocking the streetwise one some distance away. Dan struggled to remain upright as Shockwave rose once more, whipping the sweat and Hibiki's blood from his brow.

Sakura and his students watched wordlessly, which worked out quite well for the narrator.

"Ouch," he said, limping and grinning at the same time. "I applaud your efforts, but realize there is no way you can win." He gestured towards Dan. "Look at you, you can barely stand upright! Use your head, Hibiki! Concede defeat!" The man grimaced. "I don't WANT to hurt you anymore than I have too."

Dan gave his students a thumbs up, "A true follower of Saikyo-Ryuu doesn't know the meaning of defeat!" He paused. "Well, we do, we're not stupid or anything, just not in this context.." Dan glanced to Shockwave. "Anyway, you get the point. SAIKYO!" shouted he, sagging to one knee from the vocal strain.
 

"Yep, I do." He wound his staff backwards. "Goodnight, Hibiki." Dan was struck directly across the middle by a massive sideways golf swing, folding the unfortunate fighter over nearly in the middle. Bent over Shockwave's staff from the punishing blow, Dan ceased to move.

His students hung their heads in sorrow, and Sakura's fist clenched white knuckle tight.
"And that would be that, it seems." Shockwave sighed heavily. "Now, Sakura, was it?" He smiled broadly. "After I pick my staff up here do be a doll and get me that invitation, would you?" He tugged at his staff. It didn't budge a fraction of an inch. "What the hell?" He pulled even tighter, with no obvious effect. "I hope I didn't puncture anything," he murmured. Dan's students began to look sick.

Sakura glanced at Dan's dojo, or what was left of it. A good portion of the roof was missing, as was most of the front entrance and the entire rightmost wall. She ordered the apprentices of Saikyo-Ryuu to go put out the flames. She turned once more to Shockwave, but that was about as far as she got.

Suddenly Shockwave lurched forward, completely off balance, falling next to the prone for of Dan. But it didn't make any sense, as Dan's arms were currently off to the sides at funny angles. He began to pick himself up again, yanking on the staff, which still refused to give way. Shockwave glanced at Dan's face that had been previously obscured from view. "OH, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING.."

Sakura and Co. turned to find Dan's face upright and looking rather intensely aware, staring directly into Shockwave's eyes. At this point the pink warrior might have taunted, except for the small fact that his mighty teeth were firmly fastened along the middle of the staff Shockwave was holding.

"Look, this is getting just plain stupid," he complained. "Leggo of my staff, you damn lovechild of a dentist and a cement truck!" Once more he pulled, to no avail. Then he saw the soft blue/green light gathering in Dan's hands. "Aw, shi-"

"fhinshu....GOEDWHFEN!!" Was Dan's muffled cry , blasting a very confused Shockwave with an immense ball of light at point blank range (like there's any other?), sending the man whistling through the air at a high arc; firmly pasting the man against the only other undamaged wall of Dan Hibiki's Saikyo-Ryuu dojo.

Dan immediately unfastened his teeth from the metallic stick, grimacing at the unpleasant taste. "And THAT," Dan said, smiling at his students, "Is why it is always important of a follower of Saikyo-Ryuu to brush and floss everyday." He set the staff gently down next to the unconscious form of Shockwave, then glanced back to his students. "You got that?"

"HAI, SENSEI!" they chorused.

***

Volpe thumbed the Polaroid's of two young women, both quite Chinese, short, and beautiful. One depicted a young woman wearing a heavy trenchcoat, with equally dark, long black hair reaching the waist and firmly knotted there. Some Chinese symbols adorned the back. Her boots were black, as were what he guessed to be her snake skin gloves. She liked black. More importantly, she looked good in black. Also, slim, black rimmed glasses hung along the bridge of her nose. She was playing with a golden retriever with a delighted expression on her face. Volpe smiled warmly, and then examined the second picture.

This young woman was tanner than the first, with shoulder length hair split down the middle, almost in a bobbed style. She wore a simple blue headband, more than likely to keep the hair out of her eyes. Black track pants, a dark blue shirt underneath a black vest with more Chinese characters, and high cut sneakers completed the odd but not unlikable outfit. What were most remarkable were her eyes, though. Despite her flat expression the eyes seemed to make her face undeniably expressive. It was a piercing, searching look, seeming to search out for everything and nothing at once. Volpe was under the impression that a lesser man's step would falter under her intense gaze. He smiled once more. He liked her.

Turning to Chun-Li, "The second one I recognize, just barely. She's Iwa Hoshi, I do believe. Same last name as the silent one?" He struck a silent pose, arms crossed, letting the wind from the air conditioner whip his hair around.

"He sort of unofficially adopted her after..."

"Ah." He sat back down, then glanced at the first photo again. "Her I don't remember, though I wouldn't mind getting to know her better..."

Chun-Li gave him a flat look. Volpe sighed.

"Just kidding. Jeez, what a hardass ye are." He perked up. "But, speaking of a-"

"Don't even bother."

"Nuts. Anyway, who's she?"

"That would be Kumori, Iwa's best friend," Chun-Li explained, "Nowadays they seem to be almost inseparable."

Volpe raised an eyebrow. "Both of them are joining the tournament? As I recall Iwa has some downright fearsome skill, due to, well, you know." He gestured helplessly with his hands.
Her face hardened, lips drawn in a tight line. "I know."

"But our trenchcoated lady over here, what skills does she deem suitable for the tournament?" He sighed. "She's cute, but I'd hate to see her get hurt."

Chun-Li crossed her legs. "Me too." She grinned. "Believe it or not, she uses magic."

"Cool!" A pause. "Really?"

"Well, pretty much. It looks real enough to Iwa, and that's good enough for me." She wrung her hands for a brief moment, then looked Volpe straight in the eye. "This is hard. You do understand what I'm asking you, right?" Her voice seemed a great deal less sure of itself.

Volpe noticed this and smiled a little sadly. "Of course I do, but are you sure this is the wisest course of action?" He grinned again. "After all, I AM the target, love."

She nodded. "I know. But I believe there's a leak, and he may go after her again. Guile is off hunting down Bison and Charlie is prepping for the tournament. Who knows where Ryu may be off to right now, training no doubt." She smiled slightly at that. "And Ken has his friends to protect. You're all I got, soldier."

"Ouch."

"Hell. That's not what I meant," Chun grimaced. "According to your file and others observations you are competent, skilled, an incurable romantic, relentless and most importantly, brutally honest." She smiled. "You may be a flirt and a total flake, but you can be relied on and the devil's own luck seems to possess you. That's important. I've come to you and only you. Now, will you help me or not?"
Volpe applauded, laughing. "Well done, my fair maiden Li. You sway me with your nectar-sweet words, and I am helpless to resist." He mocked a swoon, chuckling. "Detective Chun-Li." He saluted.
"Investigator Volpe"

His handsome features grew hard for a moment. "I know how much she means to you." Volpe planted his feet on the corner of his desk again. "I pledge, here and now, that I shall defend these two, the young buxom maidens Iwa and Kumori," he motioned to the Polaroid's, "with my life, if need be." He smiled again. "Though if you trained them, I seriously doubt they're going to need it."

Chun-Li visibly relaxed, and released a heavy sigh. "This means a lot, Volpe. I won't forget this."
He waved her off. "Think nothing of it. When all this is over, you treat me to another one of these amazing doughnuts, and we'll call it even, yes?"

Chun-Li regarded him with an unreadable expression. "How can you be so relaxed at a time like this? The chances of you surviving this are-"

"More than enough," he interrupted smoothly. "Worry not lady, and go find your Ryu Hoshi." He thought he detected her faintly blushing, but he could have been wrong. "Ken Masters still attempting to hunt him down?"

She nodded one last time, this time smiling.

"I'll have my friend Crimson pick the ladies up and we'll meet at the airport." He laughed evilly. "I bet his girlfriend will be thrilled."

"Thank you."

He pocketed the pictures, and gazed at the ceiling. "I'll tell you what, let's ask the lovely fates in their alluring strapless dresses my fortune." He proffered a quarter from his left front pocket. Chun-Li just blinked. "What about it, ladies? Do I heroically save the day, bring happiness to one and all, managing to survive? Or do I die a horribly depressing but sizeable manly death? Heads or tails, my fickle mistresses, as simple as that!" And with that he tossed the coin onto the floor.
Both man and women watched the metallic disk spin around like a drunken ballerina, happily dancing away in the only portion of Volpe's office not covered with junk. Finally, it gradually ceased its speed, finally resting on...

"It's side." Both blinked in unison.

"Umm.. You probably should ignore that," Volpe snatched the coin and pocketed it quickly. "Chun-Li, as much as I enjoy the lovely sight of you I must request that you get going. Time waits for no lovely goddess, though he may sneak a peak or two." He grinned, offering his hand. "Good luck."

She shook it solemnly. "To you as well."

He escorted her out of the office; "Off with you now, I've get erasers to chew." She laughed and walked off to appear in another chapter. Volpe walked back to his beaten chair, oddly silent. He flipped the coin twice. Tails. Then heads. Off in the distance some he heard some unearthly musical laughter. Volpe cursed quietly.

***

Shockwave awoke with a start and not a little pain. The first thing his panicked eyes met were those of Sakura, who scowled at him immediately.

"Dan, he's up," she called. Then she briskly walked to the opposite corner of the room, studying anything that interested her.

Shockwave studied his alien surroundings. "Where am I?"

"My home" said Dan, releasing a broad smile. "Oh, and your welcome."

"Huh?" He noticed Dan motioned towards his chest, and found himself bandaged, clothed simply and cleaned. "Thanks." Then he went white in horror. "Wait.. who changed my clothes?"

Dan and Sakura broke out in a fit of giggles, but said nothing more.

"Also, how come I'm bedridden and you're still standing?" asked an exasperated Shockwave. "You were in worse shape than I was, Hibiki!" He relaxed for a short moment, reflecting back on the fight. The fight? Wait a minute... "Oh, SHIT!"

"Eh?"

Shockwave struggled to get up. "Hibiki, I need that invitation, NOW! I can't explain, but I need-"
"To get some rest," Dan said flatly, pushing him gently but firmly down. "Before you start threatening to whack me in the head with my lamp, take a look at this."

"Eh?" Shockwave glanced at the parchment. "This is an invitation to the Street Fighter Tournament!" He read further down. "But this isn't yours!"

"Of course not," Dan chided, laughing heartily. "You didn't win the fight, did you?" Shockwave turned to Sakura. "Nope, not hers either. She has to go see her dreamboat Ryu" He clasped his hands together and batted his eyes at her.

"What was that Dan?" She elbowed him in the ribs, causing Dan to yelp in pain.

"Hey, take it easy! You would hurt a wounded man?"

"Then don't provoke me, Danny Boy."

"Little girl, I'm going to ignore that for the sake of the sanity of our friend here." Dan gestured to Shockwave, grinning. Seconds later he was clutching his side again.

Shockwave sighed.

Dan poked the letter in the short-term patients hand. That's from my good friend Jimmy. Seems he's going to visit some friends in Brazil, so he won't be needing this." He stretched. "He told me if I found somebody else worthy I could name him in Jimmy's place. You show promise. I don't know what your deal is, but you seem to be a nice enough guy." Dan gave him a thumbs up. "So, you're in."

"I....don't know what to say," Shockwave began.

"Don't say anything. Get some sleep. You'll need it." Sakura waved and left the room.

Dan winked. "And don't worry about your clothes, I'll have them taken care off." He began to exit the room.

"Hibiki?"

"Yeah?"

"...thanks."

Dan grinned and closed the door softly behind him.

Shockwave glanced at his staff lying in adjacent corner, bite marks and all. "How the hell.."

***

"I hear your going to be departing soon."

"That's the plan, lieutenant." Volpe motioned towards the massive bag he had strapped over his shoulder. "Everything's present and accounted for. All I have to do now is meet uh..." He examined the list in his right hand. "Victoria Enid, Crista Smith, and one Lilly Yin in a few hours and tell them what they should expect from this tournament." He grinned. "Sadly, all of them are quite astonishingly beautiful." He raised his hand to his chest. "I don't know if my heart can take much more of this."

"How you must suffer," was the amused reply. "Why do you have to meet them again?"

"Other than their obvious charms, they are all talented fighters. I wanted to warn as many new entries as possible about some of the danger involved. Alas, these are the only beauties willing to respond to my calls. Oddly enough, I couldn't get any of the new entries other than Crimson, who will meet up with me later. Said he had some business to attend to."

"Ah. Some of the danger?"

"This whole thing is supposed to be top secret." Volpe shrugged. "Chun-Li just confirmed my beliefs, 'tis a leak somewhere in the system. Everybody has their own reasons for fighting within this tournament, but the fewer people getting involved with Bison, the better. Alas, the only people that know what he looks like is Major Guile, Detective Chun-Li, Ryu Hoshi, Ken Masters, and myself. Charlie is being briefed on him now, methinks."

"How bad is this guy? What's the worst scenario?"

Volpe groaned. "The end of the world as we know it. I KNEW this would cut into my vacation time."
"In that case, you're going to need this." A six pack of Jell-O brand pudding was set in front of our intrepid hero.

"Jell-O?"

"An essential part of any fighters diet. When you come back, we'll split another case or three."
"You know what, Gaiden?" Volpe picked up the pack of Jell-O. "You're all right." He nodded abruptly, turned and saluted. "Later."

"Later."

***

"Are you nuts?!" hissed Sakura. "That guy almost killed you!"

"But he didn't." Dan, with an icepack on his forehead, smiled. "If there's anything I know how to do well, it's take a beating." He smiled absently. "I suppose you wouldn't of learned this from watching Ryu. Remember him mentioning an old man named Gouken?"

"His teacher?"

"Yeah, that's the one." Dan tossed the pack away, removed the tattered remains of his gi top and shirt, revealing a washboard stomach and seemingly iron-wrought muscles. "I wasn't around for long, due to my fathers death." Sakura gave an appreciative glance up an down when he wasn't looking. "But one of the most important skills he ever taught me was how to judge people."

"What do you mean?" she grinned.

Dan frowned. "It's almost like you center in on your opponents chi, but instead of attempting to interpret strength, you try to understand their intent." He raked a hand through his long brown hair, unused to such long, developed intellectual conversations. "That's how I knew he doesn't mean to hurt people. He's after something, but near as I can tell it's a noble goal. A good thing."

Sakura studied him with half closed eyes. "And do you sense any evil intent in me?"

"Ah, as a master of Saikyo-Ryuu," Dan smiled, "I can determine that you are a good person, honest, strong-willed, and a good study."

Sakura smirked. "You can sense all that from that trick, huh?"

Dan locked his eyes with hers, flashing white teeth. "I never said I used it on you, Sak."

She stared at Dan.

Dan stared back.

Both quickly realized their proximity and the current state of Dan's undress. Dan dove towards his closet for a pink gi top, and Sakura studied the wall intently.

"So, why are you here, Sakura?"

".... I need a ride to the airport." Her brow furrowed. "I can't drive."

"You could have asked Karin." Dan replied. Both thought about this for a second and shuddered in perfect synchronization.

"Say no more, Little-"

"Say 'Little Girl' and I kick you in the left testicle."

"Umm.. I'd be glad to drive you down."

"Better." Sakura blinked. "How are you going to take care of his clothes? There isn't a tailor within hundreds of miles from here!"

Dan tossed her something glinting in the light.

She opened her hand, revealing... a needle and thread. "Oh, no..."

Dan Hibiki, master of the Saikyo-Ryuu fighting style and dojo, expertly threaded his needle and began to work in sure, practiced strokes, grinning wickedly the entire time.