Tokyo, Japan

No matter what time of day it was in the capitol of one of the most prolific countries in the world, Tokyo was always full of life. Whether it be morning, afternoon or evening, people were always out and about. And at this particular evening, one man, for once, not having a care in the world, stretched his arms out, yawning in contentment. It was only every so often that he would go to the city, away from his snowy home in the mountain areas, and tonight, he was going to forget about his usual routines for once and just relax. Hefting his duffel bag, filled with the food items he came to buy, he continued on his way, walking in no direction in particular, just looking at his surroundings.

Most of what surrounded him, he would never see back at home. There were just too many people walking along the street to even count, and the man could tell from the moon that it was at least midnight. < Ah, Tokyo was always one of the safest cities in the world… > Lights were illuminating from nearly every inanimate object at all corners as well. Every building was open, usually with a person outside clapping their hands encouraging people passing by to enter. From a farther distance, he could even see the business district with its extremely tall, well-built, beautiful buildings. He could even recognize one of the buildings was the infamous Mishima Zaibatsu… < Hmmm… it appears Heihachi-san is doing quite well. He would even put good old Ken to shame if he were to hold business in the States… >

“Hey! Ryu! Ryu!” called out a voice.

“Mm?” the man turned his head at the sound of his name.

“Ah! He red headband, the duffel bag, the karate uniform… I was not mistaken! Ryu, how are you my good brother?” The man who had approached Ryu from behind was easily many times his size, especially at the waist…

“Ah… Honda. I am fine. What about you?”

“Ee… bad night tonight, my friend. I tried to make a little bit of money tonight, but lost most of it in bets. But now that I recognized you, I think this night could end well, ha ha ha!”

“Is that so… do you need money from me?”

“Eh? Ie! I didn’t mean it like, ha ha ha!” Honda was always the jolly type. “When I saw you, it was like seeing my trump card fall out of my sleeve!”

“…” Ryu didn’t quite understand what his enormous friend was saying, and just decided to let him go on.

“Ha ha!” Putting his large palm on Ryu’s shoulder, he continued, “Just like you to be dense about these things… I’m talking about street fighting, my boy!”

“Street fighting…?” Those words were DEFINITELY familiar to him. “You wish for me to fight?”

“Why of course! Don’t tell me you haven’t trained in a while!”

“Oh… it’s not that…”

“Heh heh heh, so you’re still strong as always! And when was the last time you had a no holding back, hand to hand fight? Not for a while, right?”

“Ah, you are correct about that…” Ryu knew he was getting pressured into this, but a part of him had let himself give in. Besides, Honda WAS right.

“Alright, so how about making a few bucks, huh? This guy here is a real hardass, likes to play high stakes and thinks he’s everything! I need my main man, to give him a little lesson!”

“Sounds like an arrogant one…” Arrogance is what Ryu knew almost too well. Now that part of him really wanted to get a piece of action tonight. “Very well, take me to him!”

“Yosh! It’s decided! It’s this way!” Guiding him with a hand on the shoulder, Honda led his companion to the back street area.

A shapely silhouette sat atop many of the tall buildings… “Mmmm… my first one… such a cutie…” Watching the two Japanese men from above, the figure giggled. “Looks so strong… so tasty… but eee… must wait… and watch…”

“Kurae!!!” The sound of bone hitting flesh could be heard, followed by a growl of pain and the sound of the body hitting the ground soon after.

“And we have our winner once again!!!”

“Oshaaaaaaaaaa!!!”

The back street area of Tokyo had a much more dangerous atmosphere to it as opposed to the city, but the people who frequented it did not mind anyway. It was a way of life. Here, it was all about money through fighting. A huge cheering and grumbling crowd formed a circle around a simple fighting ring, where there was one clear winner standing and cheering, and one clear loser laying on the ground, evidently knocked out. The people here did this either for sport, entertainment, fame, or just to risk their money to try and make ends meat. But for people like Ryu, for him, it was just for the fight. And right now, Ryu and Honda had turned the corner just in time to hear the announcer of the street fight start his spiel …

“Well well well,” the announcer started, “looks like our champion tonight has yet to meet a competent opponent!!!”

“Man, what’s up with all these guys? They friggin’ suck! I’m getting bored here man!” The winner of the match smiled, punching his tapered fist into his other open hand, taunting the crowd, wanting the next opponent. He easily gave off a wild, energetic personality. He was only wearing shorts, a sign that he was a kick boxer. His hair was wild and spiky, sticking straight up, probably another reflection on his personality. And on his head, he wore a headband with the red sun of Japan in the middle, showing he’s of Japanese decent.

“For those of you who are just joining us,” the announcer continued, “we have here tonight Joe Higashi, the self proclaimed god of muay thai! He is said to be undefeated in the world of kick boxing, winning tournament after tournament in Thailand! It’s said that even the mighty Emperor Sagat fears him!”

“Heh…” Ryu chuckled to himself. He knew there was no way this guy could even get the great Sagat’s ATTENTION.

“And so far, he’s proven himself by being undefeated here! If there is anyone here who’s brave enough to prove him otherwise, step right up! A bet for 10,000 yen! Anyone up for this, raise their hand!”

“Alright, my boy!” Honda patted Ryu on the shoulder, “That’s your cue!”

Nodding and facing the announcer, he held up his hand, almost getting too anxious to put his fists through the exercise he loves the most. “I’ll do it.”

At the sound of someone challenging, the crowd roared in excitement. Another chance to make some money and seeing some blood… that was the way of street fighting. The announcer grinned at the sound of a new challenger… but that grin soon was wiped off his face when he saw who it was… “Eh…? N-n-not you again!!!”

“Hmmm?” That got the kick boxer’s attention, “Who’s this guy?”

“Joe, my boy… I don’t know if you want to…”

“Tell me already!” Joe was getting impatient already.

“O-okay…!!!” the announcer raised his voice once again for the crowd, “Folks, we have a new challenger tonight! Step right on up… RYUUUUUU!!!!”

“Ryu…? I’ve heard of him… not too much though.”

Ryu ignored whatever Joe was saying, stepping into the center of the ring, wishing Joe would just shut the hell up so they could get down to business.

“Here we have one hell of a brawler! The one who defeated the mighty Emperor Sagat in the very first Street Fighter World tournament! His legacy then continued as he continued on to defeat the dreaded Bison in the second tournament… and fate had once again allowed him to win the third tournament, toppling over the omnipotent Gill!!! Tonight everyone, I present to you, the world warrior… RYUUUUUUU!!!”

“Heh…” Joe just laughed. “Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me. I’ve heard about you beating up on Sagat. But Sagat’s just a old geezer anyway. His muay thai doesn’t hold a candle to mine. You’re story is just all smack.”

“As I am sure your story holds anything concrete…” Ryu replied. This guy was definitely full of himself. A hot-headed blow hard. And of course, that was his main weakness. It almost reminded Ryu of one of his very close friends…

“Ohhhh… pretty confident aren’t you? I’m gonna enjoy this one. This is just what I needed tonight. And hey, why don’t we take it up a notch? 50,000.”

Ryu just shrugged. “Very well.”

“Ahhh!!!” the announcer called out with glee along with the roar from the crowd, “It’s official! All bets are up by five times!!!”

“Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh…!!!” Honda was probably going to almost pass out from the laughing as he approached the announcer with his money and the widest grin on his face that split it in two, “Here’s my bet all on my boy, Ryu! Wahahahahahaha…!!!”

“Okay! All bets are closed!!! Fighters, take your places!”

The Japanese kick boxer finished applying his tape to his hands, tightening them, and cracking his knuckles and pointed at Ryu, who had finished tightening his own headband. “Ora oraaaa!!!”

Ryu simply muttered, “Ikuzo…” in response as he held his hands into his comfortable fighting position.

“LEDIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII………”

Joe cracked a smile while Ryu just remained calm, studying his opponent…

“…FAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITO!!!!!!” (sorry, had to say it like that hahaha…)

Higashi was always the type of fighter who liked to rush… so naturally, he took the initiative. Ryu, being the defensive one, held his place, waiting to see an opening for a counter-attack as Joe charged in…

“Kurae (eat this)!” Lifting his back foot from the ground, the kick boxer raised his knee upward, aimed for Ryu’s midsection.

“Ahhhh…MAI! (WEAK!)” Ryu responded, parrying the knee away easily, although he had to admit, the guy definitely puts lots of force into it. He knew now how much power he used and how to get used to it…

Although his knee was blocked, Joe knew Ryu could feel the impact and pressed on with a series of jabs, not giving him any room to breath. But Ryu knew better… he could see where the jabs were headed and safely blocked them with his forearms, waiting for the opening to present itself. When Joe aimed high for a right cross, Ryu ducked low and pressed himself forward, shoving the kick boxer off him at distance. Now it was his turn.

Instead of coming off aggressive, Ryu made it plain and simple. As Joe was recovering his balance from the shove, Ryu rushed forward with a one-two punch that Joe was forced to block. Immediately after he felt his right punch get blocked, the Shotokan warrior raised his left foot, chopping it down with an inner axe. Joe was forced to raise his arms high to block the incoming kick, and the downward force of Ryu’s leg caused his arms to give way…

“You’re open!” Ryu took the opening, and did another one-two punch that connected on his face, then his chest followed by a spinning hook kick, taking the kick boxer down. Many cheers and groans from the crowd soon followed. Joe, having already taken a fall, gritted his teeth in anger, slamming his fist against the ground before getting back up. To be taken down by such simplicity was an insult to Joe’s style. It was time to take this guy down.

Ryu stayed in position as Joe distanced himself, swinging one arm upwards into an uppercut, followed the other. “Hurricane upper!” Two gusts of whirlwinds was sent in Ryu’s direction to his surprise, and he quickly tumbled to his left to avoid them. Joe didn’t seem to mind, since he was prepared for any type of avoidance, and closed the distance between the two.

“Oriyaaaa!” Leaping forward, Joe cut through the air while Ryu was recovering, crushing down upon him with his heel. Ryu did not groan out in pain, but he could sure feel it. A follow up attack soon came, which was a knee headed for the head. Ryu was quick enough to swat the knee away, and tumble over to his right, giving himself the time he needed to get back on his feet.

Joe on the other hand didn’t want to give him any time, and he decided to close the distance again, launching himself in the air, spiraling down with his heel, using the same move as before. “Oriyaaaaa!”

Having seen the technique already done once, Ryu now knew where his leg was targeting, and when Joe came close enough, he grabbed the leg, and tossed him backwards, using the already present momentum to throw him a far distance.

“Ohhhhwaaaaa…” Joe couldn’t believe it. He was on the ground again!

“Try that again,” Ryu said.

Getting back to his feet, now even more pissed off, Joe dashed forward to close in once again, but this time with a blazing fury of punches aimed at various targets and swung in various directions. Ryu was able to block each punch, but Joe was relentless, and kept on hammering down at him, not showing any signs of letting up. Joe knew that with his specialty technique, no matter how tough the opponent was, no one could ever hold out forever against a series of punches that varied this much…

But Ryu had realized that as he was blocked, that each punch had aimed for a spot in sequence. After one series of punches, the next series would strike at the exact same places in the exact same sequences… < So predictable… >

“Shi-neeee!!!!” Joe was confident that Ryu would not hold out much longer…

“I can see your move…” As a punch was aimed for the face, Ryu grabbed Joe’s wrist, and used the momentum to pull him forward, kicking out with his own leg, flipping Joe over on his back. Before Higashi could even realize what happened, Ryu jumped into the air, dropping down on the kick boxer’s chest with an elbow.

The crowd roared, seeing such style being completely dismantled by nonchalant, to-the-point moves.

Ryu stood up, stepping away from the grounded Joe. Holding his chest in pain, he was able to get back to his feet, breathing heavily. “I’m… not giving up like this!!!”

“Hmph…”

Ignoring the pain, Joe planted a foot on the ground to propel himself with his other leg outstretched, “Slash kick!”

Ryu shook his head. He was just way too predictable… and when he had gotten close enough, Ryu grabbed his outstretched leg and turned his whole body around, slamming Joe back into the ground, where he should belong.

Ryu stood over him. “Give it up already. There’s no way you can win this. Sagat’s downfall is the same result as yours. Too overconfident. Too much anger. You are your own worst enemy. You have brought defeat upon yourself more than I have.”

This was like a lecture. And Joe hated lectures. How could this happen? A whole night of cleaning everyone out, to be cleaned out by this one person? He would rather be knocked unconscious rather than take a loss like this. He stood up once more, back on his feet, but held his stance wearily, the fatigue overtaking him.

Ryu said nothing more. He was already tired of this sore loser. < If he wants to end it like this, very well. > Stepping forward, Ryu pulled another one-two punch, that Joe could barely block. Watching Ryu’s left leg lift up a little, Joe prepared to block high, expecting another incoming inner axe, but it did not come this time. Instead, Ryu planted his left leg back down and used his right leg to kick at Joe’s bent knee, causing him to crumple over… and Ryu brought his fist back for a moment before launching himself off the ground like a dragon rising from earth into the heavens… “SHORYUKEN!”

Joe was sent flying high in the air, crashing back down on his back a moment later. He did not move.

“Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinaaaaaaah iiiiiiiis… RYUUUUUUU!!!!” Most of the crowd cheered while some others growled in disappointment, evidently having bet against Ryu. Ryu paid no attention and stepped off the stage, receiving pats on the back from the various spectators.

“Hey hey, Ryu! Here’s your money!”

Ryu turned his head, not really caring about the money in the first place. But since he had won it, he opened his hand and accepted the 50,000 yen as promised. Without saying a word, he grabbed his duffel bag and continued on his way.

“Wait, wait, my friend!” Honda had approached Ryu with a big wad of cash in his hands. “How about a drink? On me, eh?”

Ryu smiled, but waved off the offer, “No, that’s okay, thank you. No need for you to treat me to anything.”

“Ahhh, but we’re brothers! I cashed out ahead because of you! I must honor you in some way!”

“Ah, but you’ve already guided me to something I haven’t done in a while. That is all I require. No need for anything more, my friend. Maybe another time.”

“I see you never change! Well then, I’ll hold you to that next time! Just tell me when you’re going to be in the city again!”

“Ah. Very well then.”

“Hope to see you again soon then! Take care, old friend.”

”You too. Sayonara.”

And so, the two Japanese martial artists split off, walking in their own directions, Honda counting his money, and probably going to spend it immediately, while Ryu walked back to the city so he could reach the outskirts and walk back home.

“Hee hee…” From atop a building nearby the fighting area, a dark silhouette giggled once more. “So strong… so gentle… so considerate… Why, it’s no wonder I chose you… and tonight… my sweet, sweet Ryu… it all begins…”

Back at the city, it was late, being way past midnight. There were still people about, but it was definitely less populated as before. Since it was late, Ryu decided to just walk back home from here, taking his time.

There were still quite a bit of bars open that he passed by, but he paid no attention to them, and just went straight ahead…

“Hey there…” came a female voice.

“Mm?” Ryu turned his head to see a completely captivating woman from the front of one bar entrance walking towards him. She was dressed in a red spaghetti strap tank top and red mini skirt which matched her red lips and the red streaks in her long, black hair.

“How about a date? I like big boys…”

Ryu continued to walk, smiling back at her nervously, but responded, “N-no thank you,” as politely as he could.

“Awwww…” The girl moaned dejectedly, but smiled back, returning to stand by the entrance.

The Japanese warrior looked ahead again and continued on, trying not to feel bad about saying no.

< Awwwwww… Ryu… She just wanted someone to have a lil fun with! You’re no fun! >

Ryu stopped in his tracks. He felt something… different. He looked at both sides of him, and look behind. He saw nothing out of the ordinary. The same girl that had asked him for a date was still standing in the same place but not looking at him. Perhaps it was nothing. Ryu walked on.

< Hee hee… that’s cute. Getting all frustrated like that. >

He felt it again. He just wasn’t sure what it was. Was something there? Ryu continued to walk in his intended direction, but looked from side to side every so often. Perhaps he was just tired. But it definitely felt like he was being watched by someone… but how come only now he thinks feels it? < Mm… it’s nothing. Sleepiness always creates illusions in the mind… >

< Getting more confused… that’s soooo adorable… my little prey. Tee hee… hurry on home, my little prey, where I will be waiting for you… >

The silhouette that was watching the wandering warrior from in between the alleyway of the bars smiled, disappearing into darkness… while the unaware Ryu continued his trek to his home back at the mountains.