Deviation Actions
Literature Text
Suzaku Castle was burning.
In the past, these four words would have elicited nothing short of abject horror from Ryu. Suzaku Castle was not only the dojo where he learned martial arts from Master Gouken, but the place that he spent his childhood in alongside his friend Ken. It held so many memories, both good and bad, that had shaped Ryu and defined him as the person that he was today. If this was any other situation, Ryu would have entered a panic and done everything he could to try and quench the fire.
In this situation, however, it was Ryu who purposefully started the fire that had now engulfed the once-majestic structure. This wasn't an act of petty arson, or because of any type of malice Ryu had towards Suzaku Castle: in fact, it was just the opposite. Ryu had set fire to his home because he needed to send a message to the man that stained Suzaku Castle with the blood of his own brother, as proof that Ryu had completed his training as a street fighter and he was casting aside the one place that he could call safe refuge in his endless search for a worthy opponent.
Minutes ago, Suzaku Castle saw its last battle between Ryu, the man who currently held the title of "World Warrior," and Alex, the man who could very well claim that title as his own. It was a worthy send-off for the castle that had spawned the question that Ryu had pursued since the days of his childhood: "What does it really mean to be strong?" That battle, combined with the burning of the castle, made sure that Ryu's message to his master's killer rang loud and true that the time for training had ended.
It was now time to finally put down the Master of the Fists, Akuma, or go down trying.
"Akuma," Ryu finally said after a long silence between the two Ansatsuken warriors, representing two very different schools of thought on what the purpose of martial arts was about. For Ryu, the martial arts were about self-discipline, self-improvement, and understanding between individuals. The different martial arts around the world were as real of a language as anything that could be spoken with words. For Akuma, the martial arts represented the endless pursuit of strength that all humans sought. The stronger martial artists would prevail over the weaker ones, and their defeat would add to the power of the strong. It was a Darwinian code that had earn Akuma countless enemies, but the respect and fear of everyone who knew his name.
"…at last," Akuma growled as he assumed his fighting stance, the murderous intent radiating from his body to make it appear as if his own ki was consuming just as the flames were consuming Suzaku. "You have finally decided to stop running away and face me in battle. Now I can see just for myself how much you've embraced our martial art's true nature."
"Don't get your hopes up, demon," Ryu replied sternly, his eyes narrowed as he assumed his own fighting stance. "I'm not going to sell my soul just so I could defeat a monster like you. All that would do is turn me into you…and I'd rather die than allow that to happen to myself."
"Hmph," Akuma scoffed before running towards Ryu with his lust for violence making his red eyes burn even deeper. As soon as he was within striking distance, Akuma lifted his leg and delivered a high kick to Ryu's head, which was effortlessly parried by the skill warrior. However, Ryu only parried the first half of the attack, as Akuma spun around for a second kick that struck Ryu on the opposite side, causing him to clench his teeth in pain. "What would be so wrong about becoming like me? Am I not the Master of Fists that have struck down countless enemies?"
Recovering just in time to see Akuma crouch down, Ryu narrowly hopped over Akuma's attempted foot sweep and struck the renegade warrior in the side of his own head with a spinning hop kick. "There's no honor in those victories because you fight to kill," Ryu said as he lifted his fist and attempted to bring it down on Akuma's head like a hammer going onto a nail. "By taking the lives of those warriors, you deny them the chance to learn from the fight! No one who calls themselves a martial artist should commit a crime as horrible as that!"
"Our martial art is supposed to be the ultimate in assassination," Akuma retorted as he rose back up with an uppercut that struck Ryu under his chin and ended whatever type of follow-up attack he had planned before it could even begin. "It is an ancient rule that anyone who witnesses are techniques must not be allowed to live! I am merely following the one true code that was set in motion by the old master Goutetsu. When I stained my hands with his blood, he beamed with pride knowing that I had become what he could not: the true master of the fists that conquered any foe that stood before him!"
Keeping his fist lodged in Ryu's chin, Akuma clenched his opposite hand and ignited it with his fiery purple ki before plunging it into Ryu's gut, delivering the attack with such force that it lifted Ryu off of his feet. With Ryu still stuck on his fist, Akuma jumped into the air and ran his ki-infused fist up Ryu's torso and to his throat, delivering the forbidden "Go Shoryuken" that had belonged to the older, more brutal variation of their martial art. It was this very technique that caused Ryu's master Gouken to forbid use of the Shoryuken, in fear that it would eventually devolve into this violent attack.
Despite the devastating power of the attack, Ryu landed on his feet and charged Akuma even as he was still floating back down to the ground. Before the renegade warrior could properly resume his fighting stance and defend himself, Ryu thrusted his leg forward for a Sword Kick and struck the demonic Master of Fists in his chest, sending him flying away into the grass. "And what about your brother, Akuma," Ryu shouted back as he resumed his fighting stance and watched Akuma kip back to his feet. "Did he beam with his pride, as well, as his younger brother brutally murdered him?"
"It was not murder," Akuma spat back before charging his energy and delivering a purple Go Hadoken that sped towards Ryu like a cannonball. "Your master and I were engaged in a battle that would determine which was more powerful: the true nature of Ansatsuken, or the softer, sport-friendly version of Ansatsuken. My Satsui no Hadou emerged victorious, and Gouken paid the price for losing to it. How could you call something as natural and pure as that murder!"
"SHAKENETSU!"
Rather than counter the attack with his usual blue Hadoken, Ryu instead sent his red, more powerful Shakenetsu Hadoken to met with Akuma's fireball. Somehow, Ryu's Hadoken completely obliterated Akuma's Go Hadoken as it continued to speed towards the renegade warrior. Seeing that he had surprised his nemesis, Ryu ran after his own attack as Akuma readied himself for the wandering warrior's two-pronged assault. "There is nothing pure about a fight to the death," Ryu shouted as he jumped into the air just as Akuma swatted away his Hadoken and delivered a sharp jumping kick to his head. "Animals kill other animals because they need to survive. Humans have no need to kill other humans! What you're doing is wrong!"
"Don't you dare preach to me, whelp," Akuma roared as he shook his head from dizziness and countered with a long-reaching palm thrust to Ryu's sternum that sent the younger fighter sprawling. "You have tasted for yourself the power that the Satsui no Hadou grants you: if not for that power, you would have fallen in the first Street Fighter tournament to that behemoth Sagat! If you had continued to embrace that power, you would have emerged victorious in every other tournament you competed in…and yet in the last tournament, you fell at the hands of that senile old fool Oro! Because of your refusal to accept the true nature of our arts, you have become a FAILURE!"
"NO," Ryu shouted as he landed on his hands and flipped back to his feet to see Akuma take to the air in a forward somersault in preparation for his deceptive Demon Flip. Rather than let Akuma try and confuse him with the myriad of attacks he could do from the position, Ryu instead jumped into the air and knocked him out of the sky with a Shoryuken. Even though Ryu's Shoryuken lacked the killing intent that Akuma's Shoryuken possessed, it was still powerful enough to stun the demon and cause him to fall back to the ground on his back.
"What you fail to realize, Akuma, is that there is no shame in losing a fight," Ryu said lowly as the fires of Suzaku Castle reached their peak, engulfing the building like it had just been plunged into the burning inferno of Hell. Watching Akuma rise back up and wipe some saliva from his mouth with his gloved hand, Ryu slowly resumed his fighting stance and waited for whatever would come next. "Without tasting defeat, we cannot grow and improve. I wouldn't have gotten to this point if I had won every single battle I've been in."
"…heh," Akuma smirked, much to Ryu's surprise. As if the renegade's stone-like face wasn't unnerving enough, the smile of the Master of Fists was downright terrifying, as it revealed the canine-like teeth that demonstrated how Akuma had become more of a demon than a man. "It is easy for you to preach about the wonders of losing a fight…but if that is the case, why have you challenged me when you know that doing so is feeding your soul into the jaws of death?"
"…because you are the only thing that is keeping me from reaching the end of this journey of ours," Ryu replied after a pause, looking down at the shirt that he was wearing underneath his gi. "For years I have searched endlessly for the answer on what it means to be a true martial artist…and I finally have an answer. While we train to strengthen our body and mind, we cannot find true strength unless we cultivate the soul, as well. Until we find something or someone worth fighting for…until we find something that is so precious to us that we'd become stronger to protect it, then we have done nothing to gain true strength."
"…and you think that fighting to protect someone, your training is somehow more complete than my own," Akuma said with an amused grin as Ryu lifted his leg and spun towards the renegade warrior with his Tatsumaki Senpukyaku. Rather than defend himself, Akuma instead jumped towards the spinning Ryu and fired off an aerial Zanku Hadoken as soon as he was just above Ryu's head. The ki attack hit its mark, and Ryu was forcefully slammed into the ground while Akuma landed a few feet behind him. "What utter nonsense! It's the same kind of drabble that my foolish brother Gouken would spout out."
"There's nothing foolish about it, Akuma," Ryu growled as he rolled over into his belly and pushed himself off the ground, resuming his fighting stance as the demonic warrior turned around to t face him. "I'm going to prove the value of my words to you, by finally defeating you and avenging my master's murder." Gathering his blue ki into this hands, Ryu's eyes narrowed as Akuma's murderous intent continued to radiate from his body. "Prepare yourself, monster!"
Before Ryu could fire off once his Hadokens, however, Akuma suddenly spiraled towards him like a cyclone, his foot crackling with dark energy. The original scriptures of the Tatsumaki Senpukyaku described the Hurricane Kick as an attack that could clear forests, cutting down every tree in its path. The ideology of this attack was quite evident with Akuma's Zanku Senpuukyaku, which would have certainly rended Ryu asunder if he didn't figure out a way to defend himself.
With many other people, confronting a murderous attack like this one would evoke images of the past, likely a result of the "life flashing before the eyes" phenomenon. However, upon seeing Akuma spiral towards him, the unlikely thought of Dan Hibiki using his Koryuken came to mind. If there was ever a chance to see if what Dan did wasn't just a fluke, Ryu thought as he crouched down for his Shoryuken as Akuma continued speeding towards him, it's a do-or-die situation like this!
"SHORYUKEN!"
Throwing a prayer into the wind, Ryu went for broke and unleashed his Shoryuken just as Akuma was about to crash into him. To both combatant's astonishment, the Shoryuken connected with Akuma's knee and broke him out of his spiral, causing the warrior to be sent careening backwards while doing somersaults in the air. "…you probably can't hear me right now," Ryu said out loud as he landed of his feet while Akuma landed flat on his stomach, "but I owe you big time, Dan."
"Impressive," Akuma growled as he once again kicked his legs into the air and flipped back to his feet before wincing on his damaged leg. Flexing it once and realizing was was wrong, Akuma lifted his damaged leg and stomped it on the ground, eliciting a sickening popping sound a shout of pain. "AGH! Whatever your ideology, you have clearly become much stronger than the last time we met. Imagine how much stronger you could be if you just embraced the-"
"Shove it, Akuma," Ryu snapped back. "I already told you: I have no interest in selling my soul just to become a little bit stronger! If having my fights be a little bit harder is the price I have to pay for doing that…then it's gladly a price I'll settle for!"
"…then it appears that I have no choice," Akuma growled as he lifted his large prayer beads off of his neck and tossed them to the side. "Out of respect for my brother, I have refrained for killing you and your classmate all of these years. By tossing aside his prayer beads, I am also tossing aside that hesitation!" With his murderous intent now burning off of him like the inferno that was eating away at Suzaku Castle, the feared "Ten" symbol branded itself on Akuma's back as he focused his purple ki into both of his hands. "If ripping you to pieces is what it will take for you to unleash your true power…then so be it!"
I know this attack, Ryu thought as the demon's eyes and hands shone brighter than stars in preparation for one of his many, many killing techniques that had slain so many before him. This is the Messatsu Gou Hadou, the lethal variation of the Shinku Hadoken. It was this attack that forced me to alter my own Shinku Hadoken into a beam attack, so I could overcome it. Taking a deep breath and putting his hands to his left side, Ryu gathered his blue ki and prepared for the worst. I don't know how well it'll do that that this is the real battle…but I have to try!
"SHINKU…HADOKEN," Ryu roared as his power reached its zenith and he unleashed it in the form of a thick beam of blue ki that sped towards Akuma like a freight train. The wandering warrior poured every ounce of his energy in the attack, hoping to completely nullify the Messatsu Gou Hadou and barge through Akuma's body like a linebacker…but to his confusion, Ryu felt absolutely no resistance to his attack. It was like he had missed completely and was shooting nothing but air.
Lowering his hands and cutting off the flow of ki so as not to waste precious energy, Ryu noticed that there was no one standing in front of him. He disappeared, Ryu thought in confusion. Where could he have gone?
"MESSATSU!"
Startled by Akuma's roaring voice so close behind him, Ryu darted around with his eyes widening in shock. Somehow, Akuma had teleported directly behind him while still charging for the attack! Unable to counter the attack due to a combination of expending most of his energy in the Shinku Hadoken and just being plain shocked by Akuma teleporting behind him, Ryu could do nothing but throw his arms up in a block and the renegade warrior unleashed a rushing stream of purple k at him. Originally, the Messatsu Go Hadou was a concentrated bolt of energy that Akuma hurled at the victim, hence Ryu modifying his Shinku Hadoken to form a beam. This time, Akuma fired off a thick beam of energy at Ryu just as the wandering warrior had tried to do to him.
"AGH," Ryu roared in pain as he was bathed in the untamed energy of Akuma's attack. Though he didn't think it was possible before, Akuma managed to make one of his many killing arts even more lethal than it had been originally. It hurts so much, Ryu thought through the storm of energy as he did his best to keep from screaming out in agony. It's like he's projecting the fires of hell out at me! And this is just the first of his killing techniques!
To Ryu's own surprise, the wandering warrior managed to take the full brunt of the Messatsu Gou Hadou and still have the strength to continue standing. Lowering his hands and realizing that the attack had taken its toll on Akuma as well, needing a moment to catch his breath. Unwilling to let such an opportunity be squandered, Ryu lifted his fists and began punching Akuma with rapid fists: two jabs, followed by a gut punch, followed by another two jabs and gut punch until the pattern started to become endless. After the fourth repetition, Ryu kept his fist lodged into Akuma's stomach until it flashed with his blue ki...prompting Ryu to complete the Reppu Jinrai Shou with a ki-infused Shoryuken that knocked Akuma into the air.
Ryu landed on his feet and looked up to see Akuma still airborne…and fully recovered with his hands glowing with ki. "TENMA," Akuma roared as he unleashed another killing technique upon Ryu: a hailstorm of lethal purple ki bolts that he dubbed the "Tenma Gou Zankuu." This was one of the attacks Ryu dreamed about in the nightmare that forced him to leave Chun-Li's side, after imagining the attack completely devastating Chun-Li's school of martial arts.
The good news: Akuma wasn't using the technique on Chun-Li's school like Ryu had dreamt.
The bad news: he was using it on Ryu, instead!
Unable to do much of anything to counter the attack, Ryu swallowed his pride and instead ran for cover as the shower of ki bolts came down, leaving small craters wherever they hit. I just need to keep running until Akuma runs out of energy and has to recharge, Ryu told himself as he used all of his conditioning to run away from the hail storm that was quickly gaining on him. Problem is, I don't know how long I can keep this up: Akuma's energy seems almost limitless. He could probably do this all day if he put his mind to it!
Fortunately for Ryu, the sounds of explosions subsided before Ryu could tire himself out, and as soon as the hailstorm quieted, Ryu screeched to a halt and turned back around to fire off another Shinku Hadoken at the still-airborne Akuma…only to see that he had once again disappeared from view. Keeping his ki primed, Ryu turned around and expected to see another sneak attack from the renegade warrior…only to notice that he wasn't behind him either. "Stop hiding, Akuma," Ryu shouted as he put up his fists and carefully monitored his surrounding. "Show yourself and face me head-on!"
"…it's your funeral, boy."
Turning back around, Ryu blocked Akuma's high punch just in time…but when he felt the heat of Akuma's fiery purple ki near his waist, the wandering warrior realized that he had once again fallen into the Master of Fists' trap. "MESSATSU," Akuma bellowed once again as his burning fist struck Ryu's body with a lethal Shoryuken…followed by another one…and yet another Shoryuken that had both fighters soaring high through the air. The Messatsu Gou Shoryu was an attack that Ryu had seen before, and Ken even modeled his Shoryu-Reppa after it. The big difference was that Ken's Shoryu-Reppa was used to knock people out. Akuma's Messatsu Gou Shoryu was used to make people dead.
Perhaps the only reason that Ryu survived the attack was because of the intense training that he'd gone through over the years, specifically to withstand attacks such as these. If Akuma had hit me with this attack years ago, there's no way I would still be conscious, Ryu thought as he landed on his feet and gripped where the attacks had struck him. I guess adding all of that muscule like Guile suggested helped more than I thought it would…doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt, though!
Seeing Akuma rush towards him once again, Ryu focused his gathered ki into his leg for an attack that he created specifically for fighting Akuma. "Boufuuuu…." Ryu growled as Akuma leapt into the air and dived down foot-first towards Ryu with his foot glowing with his ki. "….TATSUMAKI SENPUKYAKU!"
As a result of Ryu spinning around at cyclonic speeds with his ki-infused foot spiraling around like the blades of a blender, Akuma was sucked into the man-made tornado and bombarded with rapid kicks. Unlike many of Ryu's attacks, this particular move could do serious and possibly permanent damage to whoever was unfortunate enough to get caught in it, to a point where Ryu completely omitted it from his arsenal when it came to the tournaments.
For Akuma, however, Ryu was more than willingly to reveal this attack, comparing it to the overwhelming spiraling force of a tornado. Ryu put so much force into the attack that the winds around him were picking up the ashes of Suzaku Castle and swirling around him to a point where it actually DID seem like had formed a tornado. After the devastating 26th revolution, Akuma was sent spiraling away as Ryu landed on his feet and resumed his fighting stance, hoping on hope that he had done some damage.
It took a moment to realize that when Akuma didn't stop spinning, it wasn't because he was still sailing from Ryu's attack. Rather, it was because Akuma was spinning TOWARDS him, moving faster than a bullet train with just as much lethal rushing force. What in the world is THAT!, Ryu thought as a cold sweat ran down his forehead, keeping his ground as Akuma continued rushing towards him spinning like a top. I've never seen an attack like that before!
By the time Ryu realized that it wasn't the type of attack that he could block, it was too late. Rushing through Ryu as easily as a speeding car would brush past a piece of paper, Akuma delivered a crushing spinning kick to Ryu's kick that shredded his white gi like pache mache, with the point of impact shooting off a massive burst of crimson ki that took the shape of the same "ten" symbol that was branded on his back. "TENSHOU KAIREKI JIN," Akuma roared as he gave voice to his attack and screeched to a halt on the ground while Ryu remained motionless.
After a full ten seconds of nothing happening, Ryu let out a pained whimper as he rolled over onto his stomach and very, very slowly pushed himself off the ground. "…impossible," Akuma growled as Ryu coughed up dark red blood before lifting his fists back up. "That is the latest of my destructive killing techniques: it completely obliterated a war submarine the last time I used it." Walking over to Ryu and easily dodging the very slow punch the wandering warrior tried to fend him off with, Akuma grabbed Ryu by his hair and lifted him off of his feet. "How can your mortal flesh and bone survive it!"
"…I do it to spite you, Akuma," Ryu said as he weakly put both his hands on Akuma's chest before coughing up more blood. "HCK…I do it IN spite of you…because I'll never let you win!" Focusing his ki into his hands, Ryu allowed himself a smirk as Akuma looked down in surprise. "SHINKU HADOKEN!"
This time, Ryu definitely felt Akuma's body collide against his beam, forcing Akuma to let go of him as he was sent sailing backwards like he was a bug that had just splat against the windshield of a race car. Finally got him, Ryu thought as Akuma roared in pain, even though Ryu felt like doing the same with how much strain he was putting on his damaged body. This attack probably won't hold him down for long…but at least I've shaken up his faith in his techniques!
Making the wise decision not to waste precious energy on an attack that he wasn't sure would achieve victory, Ryu lowered his fists and looked into the distance to see that Akuma was now stumbling onto one knee. Normally, Ryu would chase after him and press the attack, but the purpose of the Shinku Hadoken was to give him some much needed breathing time. Akuma had been unleashing killing technique after killing technique on him, and that had to have expended a lot of his energy. Still, being that Ryu's ribcage felt like it had crumbled into a million pieces, the wandering warrior needed the breather much more than Akuma did.
It's not just my ribcage, Ryu thought as his eyes started to water up from the immense agony he was in. It feels like every part of my body has suffered from some kind of horrible injury. Even I'm surprised that I can still stand. Looking up to see Akuma once again teleport out of sight, Ryu slowly lifted his fists for his fighting stance and clenched his teeth as the pain shot up through his body. But I can't fall down, no matter how much I want to. I made a promise that I would emerge victorious and come back in one piece…
"It would be child's play to put you out of your misery," the voice of Akuma rumbled, causing Ryu to turn around to see the renegade warrior with his arms folded. "Even if my attacks haven't killed you by now, it wouldn't take much more effort for me to finish this battle and send your soul to the afterlife, joining the legions upon legions of warriors that have fallen to my fist."
"Don't count victories that haven't been won, Akuma," Ryu retorted as he waited for Akuma to make a move, aware that his body was approaching its limit and that any wasteful movement would prove fatal at this point. "Why don't you attack and see for yourself whether or not I'm child's play."
"Even in the face of death, you still stand defiant," Akuma stated as he noticed Ryu's body glowing softly with a light blue aura. "It should have not have been possible for you to last this long against me without giving into the Satsui no Hadou. In addition to that, you've made it a point not to use any techniques that would guarantee victory."
"You mean attacks that would kill," Ryu growled.
"Indeed," Akuma nodded his head. "By all accounts, you should be dead by now…hmph!" The renegade warrior once again smirked at Ryu's defiant glare. "Very interesting! The last person to hold up this well against my Satsui no Hadou without giving in to the killing intent was my brother Gouken. It's very possible that you have surpassed your master with your resolve."
What's going on, Ryu thought as Akuma unfolded his arms and assumed a new fighting pose, eliciting memories of the war-like Buddha statues that Ryu would see on his travels across his homeland. Is Akuma…complimenting me?
"The Shun Goku Satsu is the most powerful killing technique in our martial art," Akuma began as the evil aura around him intensified. "Though seldom have survived it, no one has broken through it! It is the ultimate embodiment of the 'final strike' that all martial artists seek to create." With his glowing eyes narrowing, the renegade warrior continued. "You have just enough energy for one more effective strike before your body gives out and you are no longer a challenge. If you can prove to me the effectiveness of your so-called 'better way' and break through the Shun Goku Satsu…then even the Satsui no Hadou will be naught but a minor art!"
The Shun Goku Satsu, Ryu repeated in his mind as Akuma continued charging his energy for the most fearsome and fatal of all its attacks. This is the attack that killed Master Gouken, Bison, and so many other powerful warriors. I know it's possible to survive it…but I need to do more than that. I have to endure it all long enough to deliver the finishing blow! How can I do-huh?
Even in the face of Akuma's overwhelming aura, Ryu could feel someone else approaching him: a ki signature that was quite familiar to him. It can't be, the wandering warrior thought as he turned his head to the direction of the ki signature. All of the pain I'm in must be playing with my head…there's no way she'd come all the way out-
"Ryu!"
With that beautiful voice calling out to him, Ryu's eyes widened to see the familiar figure of Chun-Li coming at him at a full run, wearing the blue qipao that she had worn to so many fights. However, was something different about her: her long brown hair, which she normally kept in buns, was now flowing in the wind, tied together with…his headband. Chun-Li, Ryu thought as the pain in his body seemed to wash up. She came for me…all the way out here!
"HERE I COME," Akuma roared as he levitated towards Ryu, causing the wandering warrior to turn back to the challenge at hand just as Akuma latched onto Ryu's clothes. "WITH ENOUGH POWER TO REND MOUNTAINS AND ENOUGH AGONY TO DISRUPT THE AFTERLIFE ITSELF…DIE ONE THOUSAND DEATHS IN THE SHUN GOKU SATSU!"
The Shun Goku Satsu was an attack that was nothing short of the stuff of nightmares. Even though it was possible to survive the attack, the likelihood of it happening was astronomical. It went beyond the mere physics of human anatomy, as was more akin to a supernatural curse. It targeted the sin within a victim's soul, then amplified it one-hundred fold in the form of destructive energy. The result was an attack had sent innumerous warriors to an early grave, adding their souls to the legion of howling ghosts that surrounded the Satsui no Hadou.
But as soon as Akuma delivered the first strike of the barrage, Ryu remembered something that Gen told him while the old master was on his death bed.
"If you don't want your time to come before you're ready, then you must clear your soul of doubt and embrace what's important to you."
…I can see them, Ryu thought as he took the old man's advice and focused on the very thing that drove him to finally face Akuma on this early evening. By clearing my soul and focusing only on the woman who makes me feel pure…I can see each of the devastating strikes of the Shun Goku Satsu. It's as if Akuma is moving in slow-motion! As Akuma's attacks continued to tear into him, Ryu didn't break his concentration, still thinking about the woman that had been so kind to him and was now watching his battle with the Master of Fists.
He could hear Chun-Li calling out his name, obviously quite concerned that Ryu wouldn't get out of the Shun Goku Satsu alive…but the wandering warrior refused to let doubt enter his heart. As long as she was there with him…there was no way he could lose to the Shun Goku Satsu. That's why when it came time for Akuma to deliver the fatal fifteenth blow of the barrage that would have sealed Ryu's fate…
…the wandering warrior caught the fist mere inches away from his heart, causing Akuma's eyes to widen in shock. "I…impossible," Akuma stammered as Ryu opened his eyes and glared at Akuma as his focused his ki into his opposite hand. "How…how is this possi-BLAGH!"
The warrior's astonishment was cut short as Ryu plunged his glowing fist deep into Akuma's stomach, lifting him off of his feet and into the air. "SHIN…" Ryu roared as he focused the very last reserves of his energy into the most powerful of his attacks. With Akuma still suspended into the air, Ryu charged the rest of his energy into his now free hand and drove it straight into Akuma's sternum before both of them rocketed into the air and the shimmering fist was driven into Akuma's chin and launched the Master of Fists into the sky. "…SHORYUKEN!"
Even as Ryu floated back down to the ground, he could hear the sounds of footsteps rapidly approaching him. Slowly turning around with a smile on his face, the wandering warrior outstretches his arms and embraced the beautiful woman that had come all the way out to see him…and perhaps saved his life in the feared Shun Goku Satsu. "Chun-Li," Ryu managed to say, the overwhelming joy he felt being in her arms again overriding how much pain his body was in. "What are you doing here?"
"I decided I couldn't wait for you," Chun-Li said with her face buried into Ryu's strong chest. "After all of the horror stories I've heard about Akuma, I just couldn't bear to let you do this alone. I used some of my old Interpol connections to get flown in to Japan from a jet, and then I used some contacts to tell me where Suzaku Castle was. Then I saw the smoke coming from the forest and I ran as fast I could…thank God I came here."
"…don't worry, Chun-Li," Ryu whispered as he held Chun-Li close. "There's no way I'll ever leave your side again…because I l-"
*THOOM*
Hearing Akuma crash down hard against the ground, Ryu turned his head to where the Master of Fists had landed, with his eyes widening in surprise when the renegade warrior somehow stood back up. Gently pushing Chun-Li away, Ryu prepared himself for the worst…but let out a sigh of relief when Akuma tipped over and fell down onto his hands and knees. Somehow, through force of will, Ryu had defeated Akuma and avenged Master Gouken's death.
"….gooooo," Akuma groaned as slowly lifted his head to see Ryu walking towards him. "A very long time ago…my brother used that technique against me…and it defeated me that time, as well. It was a testament to his ideology of favoring the fist that achieves victory over the fist that destroys everything. When I killed him, I thought that the two fists were the same…but after tasting your Shin Shoryuken, I can see that I was mistaken…"
"Akuma…," Ryu said softly as he stood over the defeated demon.
"Your master Gouken told this to me: 'The fist is only one shape our hand can take. We were given fingers so that we could either smash with a fist…or nurture with an open hand.'" Standing on one knee and very, very slowly standing back up, the renegade warrior lowered his head in shame. "Ryu…you have embraced both sides of the hand, and as such evolved past my fist. You are now the 'true martial artist!'"
Once he was fully upright, Akuma outstretched his hand, as if to give Ryu a handshake…but as soon as Ryu considered taking the hand, the renegade warrior suddenly slammed it against his chest. "Akuma," Ryu repeated louder as the hand pressed against Akuma's chest glowed with purple energy. "What do you think you're doing! If you do that, you're-"
"This was a fight to the finish," Akuma interjected as his hand continued to glow. "To those who follow the path of the Satsui no Hadou, every battle is a life or death situation: you either kill your opponent, or be killed trying. Now that my Satsui no Hadou has been surpassed, my purpose in this world is complete!" Taking note of the shock on Ryu's face, Akuma smirked one last time as he prepared to say farewell. "Goodbye, Ryu…the true martial-HURK!"
Before Akuma could take his own life with one of his own lethal attacks, the glow of his hand suddenly disappeared as face suddenly became racked with pain. When Akuma suddenly vomited blood and went limp on his feet, the understandably concerned Ryu stepped closer and watched the eerie glow of Akuma's eyes slowly fade into they had closed completely. "…Akuma?"
BLURCH!
Suddenly, a glowing purple hand exploded out of Akuma's chest like a jack-in-the-box and wrapped around Ryu's neck. An instant later, Ryu was roaring in pain as purple electricity crackled around his body, threatening to fry him like he had been put in an executioner's chair. "RYU," Chun-Li screamed as she ran over to her lover, who was now convulsing uncontrollably as the hand jutting out of Akuma's chest tightened his death grip.
Seconds later, the hand let go of Ryu and allowed the warrior to fall back into Chun-Li, breathing heavily as his eyes closed in unconsciousness. Checking Ryu's pulse and letting out a sigh of relief to see that he was still alive, Chun-Li turned to Akuma and watched the hand pull itself free from the demon's body, leaving a bloody hole in its wake while his victim fell flat onto the ground lifeless. With the source of the hand now in plain sight, Chun-Li recognized him as the young fortune-teller who told him to follow Ryu to Japan.
"Xaeraph?" Chun-Li said as the fortune teller's glowing hand dripped with Akuma's blood. "What are you doing here? Why did you just-"
"You disappoint me, Miss Li," the fortune teller said with a sick grin as he lifted his head to reveal milky white eyes crackling with purple energy. "We've been through so much together, I thought you'd be able to recognize me even when I'm in a different body." Holding his dripping hand out in front of him, the young man's grin widened to Cheshire levels. "After all…wasn't it you who annihilated my illustrious Shadaloo to satisfy your need for revenge? Isn't it fair that I do the same to those who wronged me?"
Chun-Li's confusion turned to abject horror as she realized what the young man was talking about. Though his body was different, that cruel, mocking voice and familiar tinge of Psycho Power was enough to make her realize Xaeraph's true identity…no matter how much she didn't want to believe it. "Oh God," she whispered in disbelief as the young man folded his arms. "…it's you…Bison!"
