What do you want Akuma?!” Crista nearly spat the words, her fine eyes narrowing in a decidedly unfriendly manner. Quickly she shifted into a defensive stance. Wai Lim, eyeing his now smoking garden, muttered a soft curse and walked without hesitation to his friends side, intently watching the immobile fighter.

Akuma was about as lively as an insurance salesman thankfully run over by a cement truck. Which is to say, not very. He stared at them.They stared back. he flower garden continued to crackle and pop merrily, utterly consumed by flames. The staring contest continued. A chill wind passed by for dramatic effect, animating the many fighting gis and hairstyles alike, but sadly did little to save Wai Lim’s pansies. Somewhere in the distance birds chirped and a midget hijacked a concrete donkey, none of which being useful to the plot, but entertaining nonetheless to the narrator.

The bronzed fighter turned his head a fraction of an inch, his dark features shifting into a scowl.
“Girl.” He spoke in a deep resounding tone, short and curt. “You will listen well to what I have to say.”
Crista stared on in undisguised hatred, unblinking. Wai Lim glanced at both fighters uneasily.
Akuma’s eyes sought the burning wreckage of the plants.

“You are working towards my demise.”
“Of course.” Replied she with clenched teeth.
“This is your one and only warning.” Akuma flexed a heavy fist. “You are not the one I seek.” He paused.
“I am the supreme master…… of the fist. Make no mistake little girl. Challenge me and you will die.” With that he calmly began to walk of into the distance, making nearby flowers and plants wilt simply from the air of his malevolence.

Flames cackled dangerously around Crista’s balled up fists, somehow failing to set her outfit on fire. A single tear slid down her cheek. Slowly she brought both of her arms upwards, palms facing towards the dark one.
The receding form of Akuma ceased moving forwards for a fraction of a second.
Wai Lim spoke softly.
“Whatever you decide, I’m here.”

Crista nodded, her hands still trained in the direction of the bronzed warrior. Fine eyelashes lowered gently, blocking out all imagery from the outside world as she breathed in deeply. The air around her palms pulsed with oddly animated flames.
Time managed somehow to cease for an instant. Again.
Crista softly exhaled, her forearm guards dropping in one swift motion, all traces of heat and flames dissipating instantly.
Akuma wordlessly resumed his departure, fading from view.
Wai Lim released a heavy breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

“Um.. Who was that?”
“His name is Akuma,” Crista replied, her eyes still closed. “Or Gouki, if you prefer. He killed my sensei, Grand Master Kim Soo.”
Wai Lim looked at her with a mixture of compassion and sorrow. “Crista…”

“Forget it Night.” Her eyes violently snapped open and she attempted to still the oncoming tide of tears.
“When we meet again, he and I…” softly she patted her right arm band, as if to reassure herself of it’s existence. “I will defeat him. Totally. Utterly. Completely.” Her face lit up in a fierce grin.
“Come the tournament, in the full view of the rest of the world, I will avenge Master Kim’s death and bring back honor to his teachings.” She turned from his sympathetic gaze.
“I’m going to pack my things.” With that she turned towards Wai Lim’s makeshift shelter.
Wai Lim stared at her retreating back in wonder. “Such determination…even when facing death itself…”

He stamped out the remaining flames atop what used to be his garden (which now resembled a neat looking pile of ash) and set off towards the fleeting form of Crista Smith.

Rose tinted lips slowly parted from the mouthpiece of an ornate flute. Shoulder length black haired danced wildly in the equally volatile wind, as Lilly’s eyes swiftly sought the clouds above. Her slight frame breathed evenly in and out, a satisfied smile crossing her oriental features.

Were the reader around moments before they would have borne witness to some of the most exquisite, heartfelt music ever played on the face of the earth. Her notes soared with the heavens themselves, roaring and tumbling with the force of a bull square dancing in a china shop. The passionate melody expressed unexplainable words, undefineable emotions, pulling on the heart and releasing tears of contentment freely from the eyes. The narrator bonked his head on his desk repeatedly whilst grasping for some anonymous caffeine related beverage due to the aggravation of not being able too properly explain it. The music was just that good.

Spontaneous applause broke out behind Lilly Yin, who turned to reveal an elated Kumori clapping madly and jumping up and down like a chipmunk on speed; causing her massive black trenchcoat to sway in a bizarre fashion.
“That…was amazing.” She flashed full teeth in a broad smile. “Easily the best music I’ve ever heard. What do ya think, Iwa?”

Lilly turned once more and faced a massive oak, finding none other than Iwa Hoshi dangling easily on one of the lowermost branches, her wolf napping quietly below her and the squirrel resting against it’s furred belly.
Iwa nodded curtly with a soft grin that vanished entirely too quickly.
“Your good, you know that?” Kumori squealed with delight. “You should go public with talent like that! You’d be a living legend!”
Lilly smiled sadly.
“A living legend, huh?” She glanced at the masterly crafted flute in her delicate hands. “I-“

“AAAAAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!”
The trio of women jerked their heads towards the sound revealing a man in a military field jacket falling at breakneck speed down Iwa’s massive tree, much to his displeasure. This wouldn’t be all that bad except for the small fact that he was several stories upwards in height at the time of departure..

CRUNCH! There went one branch.
CRUNCH! And there went another…
CRUNCH! All three women winced in pain at once.
CRUNCH! Still going…
CRUNCH! Aren’t these things supposed to break your fall or something?
WHUP! …..nevermind…

“Ye gods the pain….” Murmured Volpe through his jacket within the confines of his dirt crater created upon impact.
“Everything seems to working, at least.” He glanced at the squirrel that tittered in amusement next to his head. “Same to thou, ye nilly clap dragon.”
Lilly gazed at the crumpled form of the Investigator.
“What were you doing up there?”

With Lilly’s aide Volpe began to pick himself up, albeit slowly.
“Well, I found out two things.” He grinned.
“One, I am getting way to heavy to play on small branches like those since I was a kid.” He dusted himself off, removing stray bits of grass from his teeth.
“And two, never get lulled to sleep by the music of a beautiful woman when atop the previously mentioned branches.”

“When did you get up there?” Iwa demanded. “I never even heard a rustle of leaves!” Kumori and Iwa exchanged uneasy glances.
“Nice job, you two. Feel like warning me about him next time?” Wolf and squirrel sulked.
Volpe grinned and spun in place on one foot several times, stopping suddenly in one violent motion, causing Kumori and Lilly to blink. He bowed deeply, then proffered an odd assortment of flowers towards the amused Lilly Yin.

“Though no flower could hope to smell sweeter than the music you just preformed, please accept these in the spirit of a novice paying homage to a master.”
Lilly stifled a laugh and took the flowers in her free hand.
“Only her, huh?” Kumori sniffed, her arms crossed. “You sure know how to make a lady feel loved.”
Volpe pointed.
“Look behind you, lady.”
Kumori spun around to encounter a gorgeous collection of orchids and Lilly’s bound together before her feet. “Pretty….” She giggled. Then she glanced at Iwa with a knowing expression.
“Oh no…”
Volpe smirked. “Yup.”
Iwa turned to the base of the branch she was hanging on to find a set of roses carefully arranged, with a smiley-face pin set neatly in the center. She glanced at Volpe in irritation.

“Why?”
He shrugged. “You’re both cute.”
Kumori grinned, tucking the flowers into one of the many pockets of her voluminous trenchcoat. “When did you find time to get these?”
Volpe smiled. “I had to do something while I was recovering. You’d be amazed the different sources of flora and fauna one can discover around here.”

Iwa groaned. “Why not do some training, or something useful?”
He shrugged, grinning.
“It caused two beautiful women to smile, and another to get annoyed? Seemed pretty darn useful to me.” Then he struck a heroic pose, his finger pointed skyward.
"It’s almost that time, ladies. Crimson and Guy already headed off to meet Cody and set off for the tournament.” He smiled. “T'would be best if we followed their course of action, methinks. So get ready, if you would.”
Iwa nodded curtly and set off.

Kumori happily floated (literally) after the small form of her friend with the wolf and squirrel chasing her heels in delight.
Lilly began to turn, hesitated, and glanced back at the grinning face of Volpe.

“How are we getting there?”
“The airport. I dropped my jeep by the old dojo last week and hid it in the brush for transportation later. No worries lady, for now all is well.” He waved her off, smiling.
“Go get your things together, lady. Despite thy ravishing appearance ye would be ill disposed to fight in the tournament with but one change of clothes.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
“What all real men do after they do something undeniably stupid.” He winked, laughing. “I’m off to take a shower.” With that he set off skipping to the west.
Lilly tapped her flute against her side, glancing at the flowers with an enticing grin. “But there’s no plumbing here…”

“Yo Hibiki, you around?” The darkly dressed fighter pushed his way through the newly repaired entrance to Dan Hibiki’s Saikyo-Ryuu dojo, tapping his staff softly against his thigh.
“If we’re going to make the tournament we need to get going….” A precursory gaze around the room revealed nobody whatsoever. Shockwave groaned.
“Aw, cripes.. How hard can it be to find somebody running around in a bright PINK gi?” Quickly he scanned the other nearby rooms. He smiled. “What’s he going to do, disguise himself as a stick of bubblegum?”
“SAIKYO!”
“Eh?”
“Doshita-doshita!”

The streetwise fighter turned and attempted to pinpoint the direction of the voice. The dojo was just that big.
“ORAORAORAORAORA!” Resounded from beyond the far southernmost wall of Dan’s dojo.
Shockwave strolled outside to the back, gazing at the lush green trees, the freshly cut grass, and the crystal clear brook that stretched across his field of vision.

“Well.” And smack dab in the middle of the ankle-deep icy water was none other than Dan Hibiki, doing one handed pushups and randomly calling out taunts as he exhaled. Shockwave grinned.
“How long have you been doing this, Hibiki?”

Dan waved with his free hand, swiftly standing up, then falling back down due to an insane rush of blood to the head.
“Dunno….” He laughed and attempted to free himself from the brook once more.
“Since it got dark, I think.”
Shockwave gave him an incredulous look,
“That was five hours ago!” He shook his head and tapped the watch on his wrist. “Anyway, we need to get going, Hibiki. Tourney and all. Why aren’t you in the dojo?”
Dan smiled and shrugged apologetically.
“Well, I would have been, for the last touches of my workout.” He cupped his hands and bellowed off to the right. “But SOMEONE decided she just HAD to practice her chi blasts on my training dummies, DIDN’T SHE?.”

Dan dodged a large rock, grinning all the while.
“Aww, little girl, how do you expect to impress Ryu with that horrid aim?” He stuck out his tongue and wiggled his fingers behind his ears.
“But I guess that just comes naturally to all flat-chested kids with bad haircuts, huh?”
“SHINKU HADOKEN!!!”
Dan flattened himself against ground and watched the immense ball of blazing azure chi whirred overhead, ripping apart a massive tree spraying bark and wood in every direction.
Shockwave released a low whistle.
Dan surveyed the damage, then nodded. He turned past the darkly dressed fighter and waved off into the distance, grinning
 “Much better, Sakura-Chan!”

~~~~~~~
 

“We got him!” Declared an excited man, tousling his long blond hair.
“Are you sure?”
“Yep,” he smiled revealing full white teeth. “If there’s anything I know better than fighting, Chun, it’s Ryu Hoshi.”
Interpol Detective Chun-Li grinned around her coffee.
“But how do you know that it’s him?”
“Well, I was talking this over with Eliza and-“
“Eliza?” Chun-Li set down her coffee. “The young model whose father owns nearly one of the largest corporations known to man or woman?”

“Yep. I met her after wailing on some jerk named Allen at the last karate tournament.”
Chun-Li sighed. “I don’t know how you manage to do these things, Ken.”
“Clean living.” Ken Masters chuckled softly. “Anyway, I was talking to her about how difficult a guy he is to track down, always going off to train and such.”
“Yeah?”

“Well, she mentioned being puzzled how he could eat when he keeps running off into the unknown.” Ken patted the bag he was holding gently.
“So after a few inquiries we found the chief, and almost only, purchaser of a lesser known food known as “Meals-Ready-To-Eat”. This guy would buy a three-months supply or more at one given time.”

“What does that prove?” Chun-Li frowned.“And wouldn’t the food go bad by then?”
“Any normal food would.” He grinned. “Have a look at this, Chun.”
With that he dumped the contents of the bag on the table in front of him.

Chun-Li picked up one of the grayish, rectangular shaped boxes and examined it closely.
“Sort-of-Steak.” She leafed through the different boxes with a thoughtful expression.
“Possibly-Pork….. Might-be-Meatloaf….. Hardly-Hamburger… Could-be-Chicken…”
Ken pointed towards a box with a smirk.

“Check the ingredients.”
Chun-Li did so, then her fine features turned a unique shade of green.
“GAH!” Quickly she flung the box as far away from her as possible, imbedding it neatly in the wall. “These things could outlast a third world war!”

Ken nodded. “Near as I can tell it’s the most disgusting, bland, downright nauseating food ever constructed.”
Chun-Li began wiping her hands off frantically, her eyes wild.
“However, it has all the vitamins and nutrition a growing Street Fighter needs.”

“…Still….unclean…”
“Sound like anybody you know?” He grinned. “I have his last location marked on the map. Wanna see?”
Chun-Li nodded.
“In one second.” Then she dashed off to the restroom.
 

“Volpe.”
The soft feminine voice caused him not only to cease prancing for a moment, but turn around with might be described as a serious expression, at least from him.

“Ah, hello Lilly.” He bowed, grinning all the while. “What can I do for you, my lovely lass?”
She frowned, but her fine features looked nonetheless pleasant. “How about answering some questions.”
Volpe hoisted an eyebrow and flung himself at the ground, rolling into a relaxed position next to a tree.

“Beautiful women and questions seem to run hand in hand these days.” He grinned. “Say thy piece.”
“First of all, why did you attempt to save that woman?” She gave him a searching look. “You knew there was no way you could win against that man, didn’t you?”
Volpe grinned, then chuckled, then broke out into full laughter.

“What’s so funny?”
The investigator attempted to control a fit of the giggles, looking Lilly straight in the eye. “Earth and air, lady Yin, why is the sky blue, or do men and women have to breathe?”
“I don’t understand..” she murmured.
Volpe grasped a nearby rock, and held it in front of her eyes.

“Your not going to throw that at me, are you?” She grinned, tapping her flute.
“Perish the thought. ‘Sides, ye’d kick my ass.” He chuckled, shaking the large rock and enclosing it in his fist. “Observe, if thou would.”
“I’m looking.”
Volpe took a pained expression, as his fist shook from extreme tension alone, within a minute blood was freely dripping from an unseen cut on his palm. He smiled, releasing the blood stained rock and shook his wounded had with distaste, then proffered it towards her.
“What t-”

He smiled broadly, his glasses turning nearly opaque in the sunlight. “Despite my most intensive efforts I cannot reduce that simple rock into any oddly colored putty.” He flexed his wounded hand. “The rock is one of the simplest things one would ever find on this vast, green earth, and yet I am powerless to change its form by strength alone. If that makes me a wimp, so be it.” His smile slipped into a lopsided grin.

“My character, my beliefs are as simple as that rock there. I do not bend for any outside factor, though given time…”
She blinked. “Given time?”

Volpe’s fist visibly blurred as it smashed into the inert form of the rock, sending fragments flying.
“…I will shatter.” He shrugged. “I believe in goodness, I believe in virtue and purity of the spirit. I believe that one day the evil will somehow fall to the good due to intention or otherworldly plot device.” He stood up now, smiling, his eyes searching the clouds.
“I believe in justice, and of course, I believe above all else in love.”
Lilly smiled. “Love, huh?”
“Yup. Have I sufficiently answered thy question?”
“The first one, anyway.”

Volpe grinned and waited expectantly.
“You mentioned telling me some details about this tournament. I’d like to know them.”
He smiled. “If I tell you will you play again for me?”
The corner of her mouth twitched into a smirk. “Sure, why not.”
Volpe nodded. “Well enough. Come, look at this.” He patted to the left of his side.
“Are you going to keep your hands to yourself?”
“Oh ye of little faith.”
 

With a nearby branch he sketched the large form of an island in the dirt. “This is where the tournament is being held, this time, which is very, very odd indeed.”
“Why is it odd?”
“Well, the last two tournaments had occurred all across the world, in different locations mostly only known in secret for the most part. This year however…”
She motioned for him to go on.

“This year it is backed by some massive corporations, and is being televised in major areas such as the US, China, Japan, the now-fractured USSR, you get the idea.”
She nodded.
“The island is under American jurisdiction for now, and for all intents and purposes it seems legitimate. There is to be no killing, the matches are televised, and the sponsors check out. Even satellite photo’s show no danger.”
“Why is a big, tough investigator like you so paranoid?”
“Ah.” He brought a gloved hand to his chest. “To the heart of the matter, then. What I tell you now remains a secret, understand?”

“Of course. But what about Iwa and Kumori?”
Volpe pointed off to the far distance, grinning. “I expect they shall know as well.”

Lilly turned her head to find Iwa off in the distance, once more perched on a massive oak. Kumori levitated noiselessly beside her, waving.
“I really want to know how they keep sneaking around like that.” Lilly grinned and waved back, then turned back to the expectant investigator.
“Okay, it’s a secret. Now gimmie the good stuff.”
“All in good time, my lady.” He frowned. “Do you recall anything about a man named Bison?”
“Hmm… I’ve heard his name before. Isn’t he supposed to be a nasty villain or something?”

Volpe closed his eyes. “Yes, I suppose ‘Nasty Villain’ would cover it, if spread thin. The man is responsible for countless deaths around the globe. He slaughters villages to test out the properties of his newest experiments. He steals, kills, rapes, blackmails or does anything else it might take to further his goals. If there were a real live devil in this world, it would be him. He slew Chun-Li’s father in front of her very eyes, and later kidnapped her along with the one and only Ryu Hoshi, to experiment on. William Guile and Ken Masters barely got there in time…” Volpe removed his glasses, revealing brilliant greenish silver hazel eyes. “Also, it is where I found the young Iwa over there.”

“Iwa?” Lilly turned to look at the woman, only to find her and Kumori gone without a trace.
“The very same. Bison was using her to attempt to combine the full power of Satsu no Hado.. umm.. ‘Evil Intent’ I think it was, and the internal chi powers of the lady Chun-Li.” His eyes seemed to shift in color slightly. “While the other two set off to rescue them, I stayed back to guard our departure. By sheer chance his flunkies were escorting the broken and bruised body of Iwa, bare as the day nature created her, to a nearby chopper.” He put set his glasses atop his nose once more.

“At the very same time an assault team attempted to destroy our means of escape.”
Lilly’s grip tightened around her ornate flute. “What did you do?”
Volpe sighed, putting his hands in his pockets. “I killed them. All of them. To rescue the girl.”
Lilly looked at this man in silence.
“17 men and woman, all employed in Bison’s service. I never understood why they followed his orders, whether it was by promises of fortune, or hypnosis, or what.” He sighed. “I never found out either.” He turned to Lilly with a lopsided grin. “Hence I don’t tote a firearm around any longer.”

Lilly’s slender hand rested on the investigators wide shoulders.
“What about the others?”
He smiled to her.
“Guile and Ken never spoke of what they endured in there, but I am quite content with my private nightmare. All I know is Guile rescued Chun-Li, and Ken saved his friend Ryu. Bison escaped Guile, and shortly after the entire base went up in smoke due to Charles Nash’s air strike squad. We barely escaped.” He smiled darkly.

“Iwa was unconscious, but that doesn’t mean she cannot remember the torture she endured. Bison is one malevolent, evil bastard.” He spun the stick in his hand lightly.
“Hence we are on the lookout for the jerk.”
Lilly walked slowly to the left, examining a tree. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing at the tournament?”
Volpe grinned. “That one’s easy. I’m to actively search out Bison’s whereabouts, making myself a walking target.”

“You’re BAIT?” the look she gave him was incredulous.
“Yup. Charlie is in the background following his own leads while I distract Shadowloo from him or any other street fighters presence. Remember, Bison has never seen Charlie before, and for now he simply is another street fighter. Guile isn’t in the tournament, which I ‘m very glad for due to the fact he’s a one man wrecking crew, but he’s standing by with Intel and for support should Charlie need it. Chun-Li has her own methods of course, and is tracking down Ryu as we speak.”

She shook her head, long hair whisking gently around. “That leaves you with the short end of the stick, you know.”
“Alas, ‘tis little I can do about that.” He smiled warmly. “But if that madman can somehow be stopped, then I’m all for it.” He winked at the young woman in pink and gold. “Now, about that music…”
She sighed, then winked back, raising the flute to tasty, moist lips, at least in Volpe’s opinion. Then she lowered is abruptly.
“Something wrong?” he asked.
Her eyes twinkled as she released a massive smile. “How about…. Something else instead?”
Volpe raised an eyebrow. “Like what, perchance?”
Her expression was a mixture of excitement and that of a coy expression. “There’s something I want to do once before I leave this world…” She laughed, then looked Volpe straight in the eye. “And I can’t do it alone…..” She stretched like a cat.
“Woooooo!”

Rusty hinges groaned as they were forced into labor after so many days of slumber, causing Shockwave to grit his teeth. “That door doesn’t improve with age, now does it?”
Dan continued his attempt to open the garage door. “Near as I can tell, nope.” The pink clad fighters mighty muscles bulged as the door began to continue once more it’s accent, creating a sound not unlike finely honed nails ripping across a chalkboard.

“Danny-boy, quit it! My ears are bleeding already!” whined the young Shokotan (sort of) practitioner, Sakura.
“Eh?” Dan pushed forward just slightly, once again causing a horrendous racket. “My mighty ears, trained of Saikyo-Ryuu style seem to be failing me, Sak.” He repeated the motion, grinning despite the noise making his ponytail stand on end.
Shockwave, meanwhile, was rolling around on the ground holding his ears praying that the pain would somehow stop.

Sakura’s action was far more practical: she kicked Dan in the shin.
“Owwie!” cried he, hopping madly on one foot. “Bad Sakura, bad! No treat for you!” Nimbly sidestepping Sakura’s follow up strike he booted the massive door, rocketing it upwards and out of the way of the trio.
Sakura handed Shockwave his staff, who snatched it abruptly and pretended the previous never happened. “This would have been a lot easier if you actually drove around once in a while Dan.”
Shockwave blinked. “He doesn’t drive normally?”

“Nah.” Sakura blew a raspberry at Dan. “He just goes by foot most of the time.”
He turned towards Dan, who was currently attempting to locate the light switch with limited success. “What do you do when you need groceries? Condiments? Things you need to survive by?”
Dan grinned and flipped on the lights. “I run.”
Shockwave attempted to imagine Dan Hibiki running with two bags of groceries in either hand, barefoot, in a PINK fighting gi, going through town without getting arrested by the local authorities, and failed.
“Here it is.” Dan gestured towards the car shaped form in front of them, covered by a simple dark tarp. He grinned, gesturing towards the darkly dressed fighter.

“You wanna do the honors?”
Shockwave smirked, “Sure, why not?” In one fluid motion he ripped off the tarp cover, tossing it lightly in a far off corner, and gazed towards the vehicle, revealing…
“A beaten up pinto?” both he and Sakura echoed.
Indeed, it was one horrid looking excuse for a car. The frame was beaten and dented, the bumpers twisted at odd ankles, the paint job long since given way to rust. One wheel looked like it had been superglued back on. Shockwave palmed his forehead, dropping his staff on his toe and causing him to yelp in pain.
Sakura put Dan in a brutal looking choke hold, grabbing him from behind and grasping around his thick muscled neck, her young eyes afire.

“ THIS is your car?” She tightened her grip, making Dan squeak. “We’d be lucky if we could get this thing moving THROWING it downhill!”
“Grelumph!” Said Dan, turning slightly and pointed off into the distance. Naturally Sakura looked, and Dan took this time to fling her as far away as possible in one quick over the shoulder throw.
Sakura jackknifed in the air, landing heavily on her feet, frowning. “I’m serious Dan, I doubt that think would even work.” She gave a tired sigh. “Let alone the damage it’ll do to my public image showing up in that thing.”
Dan just smiled and tossed the keys to Shockwave, who grudgingly brought them to the locked driver’s side.
“Umm… Hibiki?” Shockwave’s voice was dangerously neutral.
“Yeah?”
“These keys don’t fit.”
“Oh,” Dan grinned and waved him off; “I knew that.”
Shockwave clenched a gloved fist.

“Then why…” He shook his head, the strands from his headband twisting every which way. “Never mind, I’m not sure I want to know.” He grasped his staff tightly. “Look, most of the time a nice, patient kind of guy. But this is getting just plain annoying, leaving me with the barely controllable urge to hurt something or someone awfully bad. Can we get moving please?”

Dan edged away from Sakura, who looked prone to start knawing on his leg at any given moment. “Aww, you guys aren’t any fun.” He pointed a mighty finger to the right. “Fine, try over there.”
“Oh no you don’t,” Sakura grinned, “I’m not falling for that one again!”
“Nuts.” Dan pouted for a moment, the looked directly in Sakura’s eyes, grinning. “But I have a great view since you ripped your skirt in that neat looking backflip you did a while back.
“Eep!” Sakura flushed crimson, quickly turning around to assay the damage in more or less private.
Meanwhile Shockwave encountered the eerily familiar form of a vehicle, complete with a neon green tarp covering it.

“If this is a go-kart, I am going to be very upset.” With that once more he ripped of the cover tarp in a flashy show of style.
“There’s nothing wrong with my skirt!” Sakura paused from beating Dan with a double fisted strike to glance at the glistening form below. She gasped.
Dan smiled, adjusting his ponytail.
Shockwave just stared, tapping his staff idly.
“A chrome…pink…Lamborghini? They asked.
“Yep. Ain’t it amazing?”
Shockwave continued to stare at the massive sports vehicle. “It…is that…”

Dan idly thumbed the handled to the driver’s side, then smiled. “I had my good friend Ken Masters get me this one on discount.” He winked at Sakura.
“Would you believe nobody was willing to buy this glorious machine?”

Sakura stood up and grinned intensely, gazing at the gleaming, polished surface that reflecting pink no matter where her look was trained.
“At least when you do something Dan, you go all-out.” She smiled brilliantly.
The car doors snapped open, revealing a lush and sport interior.
“Nothing less would do for a mighty warrior of the Saikyo-Ryuu fighting style!”

Sakura plopped down in the passenger side, all smiles.
Shockwave just hunched down as far as he could in the back, away from the prying eyes of anybody with a sense of taste.

The ignition was started, and the motor purred like a horribly oversized kitten. “OOSHAA!” cried the pink master, testing the throttle with a bare foot. “Now to emerge at the airport in STYLE, as TRUE warriors should!” With that the car ripped through the passageway of the garage, and off into the unknown, the war cries of Dan Hibiki and co. receding in the distance.
“OOOYYYYAAAAAJJJJJJIIIIIIIII………!”

Zero1 grimaced. “Look, I didn’t agree to be your cabby, Victoria.”
“We’re both going to the tournament, so you get to be blessed with my wondrous self just a bit longer. Rejoice and sing, murderer.”
Zero1 snarled and gave Victoria a venomous look. “I had my reasons.”
Victoria smiled sweetly, adjusting the last of her makeup. “Then by all means, tell me about them. It’s a long ride.”
Zero1 glanced studied her through half-lidded eyes.
She stared back, unflinching.
He sighed, softly. “What the hell….”

Volpe was breathing heavily, Lilly doing the same.
He grinned wickedly. “I can’t believe you want to do this right now.”
She grinned back. “I thought you’d always be UP for an adventure.”
“Ouch.” He clutched an invisible wound. “That joke was in poor taste, lady.”
She smiled.

“You know, this is moving way to fast for me.” He glanced at her, his grin softening. “This is probably going to hurt.…. You haven’t done this before, yes?”
She shook her head. “No. And if it does, it will only at the beginning. Think of all the fun that comes afterward..”
Volpe saluted. “Aye, milady.” He winked. “Well, who goes first?”
“You’re the one with the long lifespan.”
“Ah, but I lack thy limitless eyes, the compact yet shapely contour of thy body, the soft, silky hair, the sleek design of such tempting thighs..”
Lilly blinked at this for a second. She turned to whack him upside the head.

“WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!”

Only to find that he had already jumped of the top of the massive waterfall, his smiley-faced boxer shorts blurring in a yellow arc, causing a miniature tsunami from his cannonball connecting with the surface. Quickly he recovered and glanced upwards to the slight figure of Lilly Yin, clad only in some borrowed shorts and a halter top, enjoying every minute of it.
She grimaced. “Put you tongue back in your mouth, hentai!”

He shrugged. “But it’s only natural to admire all things of beauty.”
She grinned. “Catch.” With that she tossed her flute downwards, which Volpe caught neatly with one hand. With that she leapt in the air, flipping backwards not one, not two, but three times and easily switched into a diving stance as soon as the water neared her head, leaving no more of a splash in her wake than a swan would.
Volpe raised both eyebrows, then eyed the ornate flute in his hand. He wasn’t sure if he should be more impressed with her dive or the fact that he held her only object of value in his hand. He grinned, then handed the instrument back to its owner.

“Utterly amazing.”
“What, the dive, the flute or myself?” She laughed, spinning majestically within the lake.
He shrugged. “Easily goes for all three, pretty lady.” He tapped his waterproof watch softly, treading water. “We only have a few hours before our flight, ‘tis best we get moving.”
“Awww…” Lilly sulked.
“We can always come back after the tournament, you know.” He grinned.

Her expression turned dire and sad. “When….I come back… huh?”
Volpe palmed his fist and swam quickly to the woman’s side, poking her in the forehead.
“Oww,” she complained, rubbing the spot he poked. “What was that for?”
He smirked. “Now that I have you attention, listen closely.” He jabbed a righteous finger her direction. “You WILL make it back from the tournament, Leukemia or no. You WILL have a good time and you WILL continue being the same loveable, lighthearted person you are, or I’ll have to do something quite horrible.” His smile turned vicious.

She gasped in mock horror, laughing. “And what in the world could you possibly do to the likes of myself?”
“This.” And with that he dunked her head, spraying water every which way.
She returned to the surface, sputtering. “You….”
Volpe just grinned. “But since I’m a nice guy and you’re a wondrous beauty, I won’t have to do that, now will I?” Grinning, he set off to the closest bank of dry land to collect his discarded articles of clothing.
“Jerk.” But she smiled fiendishly. “I’ll get him back, though.” Then she too set off to collect her belongings.
Off in the distance Kumori giggled almost to the point of losing control on her levitation spell.