Pheonix Wings Ch. 5 - On Interludes
By Elaine

"So you are the one they call Ryu..."

Ryu bowed in respect and smiled at the young woman sitting before him in the beautiful golden kimono. It shone in the wisps of light available from randomly scattered candles. "Rose told me to find you...she said you'd tell me more about the seven,"

"Ah yes," The woman bowed in return. "She has been ever faithful to the cause...make yourself comfortable, Ryu,"

The weathered warrior nodded and removed a beaten duffle bag from his shoulder, setting it down on the cold, hard ground of the cave. The place was exactly how he had dreamed, and wherever he looked, there was an almost uneasy feeling of dejavu. The cave was cold and bleak, yet so full of life at the same time. On various ridges in the stone walls, there were white candles and sticks of incensce giving off their sweet, lethargic scents. In the middle of the cave was a pavilion carved completely out of quartz rock and painted with the firey royal colors of red and yellow. In a shining mosiac in front of the pavillion was the picture of a magnificant pheonix, it's wing's spread out, tips parralel to the steps of the pavillion. The lady in the gold kimono beckoned him to come to her seat in the middle of the floor, right on the bright pheonix's back. He crossed over and started as the ground beneath him's warmth seem to spread through his body.

She laughed merrily. "Surprised Ryu-san? We are on the heart of the noble pheonix herself. She is still sleeping..." she gently stroked the head of the mosiac. "She will sleep till all seven are ready for her..."

"Ready for her?"

She nodded and sighed. "I hope it will be soon. We are still missing in two..." An unreadable look crossed her face for a moment. It passed instantly, almost not long enough for Ryu to catch it. "But happily enough, the two Children arrived just yesterday..."

"Two...children?"

"Yes, I trust you know both of them. One seems to be quite your fan,"

"S-sakura?" He gulped nervously.

"Why yes...here she comes now!"

"Ryu?"

Ryu inwardly groaned and braced himself for the oncoming rush of affectionate fandom. Nothing. He straitened slightly in surprise.

"Um, hi...it's been a while..." She smiled up at him and waved. "...How's life?"

"er...hello Sakura-chan," College had changed her. She seemed so much more quiet, more downcast, and her arm was in a sling. "Did you hurt yourself?"

She chuckled softly. "Yeah, some people attacked me in my dorm...oh well. At least I'm skipping exams,"

"Really?"

"Mm hmm, it's not like I can go back to college now...not like I want to go back. I just hope they don't charge the damage payments to my mom, she'd get really mad,"

"Have you kept up with your fighting?"

She sighed and looked at the ground. "My mom forbid me to. Said it was going to hurt me and my grades. They sent me to an all girls boarding school and...well...they wouldn't even let me join any sports teams,"

"Oh," What else could he say? She looked so sad and a little part of him wanted to reach out to her, to comfort her...and to thank Gouken for never sending him to proper schooling.

"Well, I gotta go rest now, my arm hurts a bit and I want to heal as quickly as I can,"

"Get well soon," They bowed to each other and she quickly hurried away.

Lady Takashi walked up to stand beside him. "Don't worry about her. I believe she's still suffering from the shock of these previous situations,"

"No," Ryu shook his head. "I knew her from before...I think it runs deeper than that,"

"Hmmm," She smiled indulgently and faced him. "Perhaps we will find out more later. For now though...we have other things we need to discuss,"

Ryu nodded. "Perhaps later..." And the two of them walked off.

*~*~

"Kairi, did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Kairi asked sleepily.

"That..." an ominent whooshing of wind slipped through the room.

"Mmm," Kairi turned over to go to sleep.

"Kairi!" The whisper was slightly more urgent. "Someone's in the room with us.

"Hokuto, go back to sl-"

"SHHH!" She motioned for him to shut up. It was then that he heard what she had been talking about. A small, sickening scratching sound, too corrupted to be that of any animal.

"What was that?" He quietly, nimbly hopped over onto her bunk.

"I-I dunno Kairi," she had her fans, her weapons of choice out, waiting for the next sound to give whatever it was away. "I-I don't think it's friendly though,"

He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. And then, without warning, the room brightened considerably, causing the two to cover their eyes and cry out in pain.

"The twins?" A voice, vicious and dripping asked.

"Hai, Aigeru. The twins,"

"Wh-what do you want?" Kairi growled, trying to catch a glimspe of the intruders through the blinding light.

"To the point," The dripping voice chuckled wetly.

"All we want is you," said the other, reaching out a hand to them. "You are to fulfil your destiny..."

"What are they talking about, Kairi?" Hokuto asked, clutching her brother tighter.

"Please, we mean you no harm," the voice said, soothing and honeyed sweet. "You two were born to be leaders...to help us..."

"Leaders?" Kairi whispered the word, and almost took a step forward. His sister stopped him.

"W-we belong here with Guy-sensei," she reprimanded him, tightening her grip on his arm.

The woman with the honey sweet voice stepped out into the light. Dark black tresses framed her face, setting off her deep blue eyes and pale white skin. She was wearing an ornamental silver garb that had been cut to allow maximum flexibility. The light played on her features, making her profile seem to shimmer. She laughed quietly and held out one, beautiful hand. "My dear, are you to say you don't even have the faintest memory of me?"

A woman in a silver ninja suit. Hokuto shook her head. But something nagged at her in the back of her mind.

"I do..." Kairi murmured, staring at the shining woman. "I-I think I do..." He closed his eyes, trying hard to find the name that matched that all too familiar face.

"You have to remember me," The woman sighed. She knelt down in front of them. "It has been so long since We last saw each other but... I know..."

"It's been 15 years, Regin...," The cold, wet voice said from the shadows. "15 years, and they were so young,"

"15 years?" That would have meant that she and her brother were only 2 at the time.

"Yes, that's right" Regin nodded gently. "15 years since Guy took you from your rightful home in Japan and brought you to America," She reached out and traced her finger along Hokuto's cheek. Hokuto didn't resist. "15 years, I have been looking. For the predestined leaders of the Akadela Clan...my masters..."

"N-no," Kairi protested feebly. "Guy would have told us if we were stolen..." Even as he said it, he realised how stupid it sounded.

"Your sensei did not understand us. He believed us to be wrong in our views of our world, so he took you away," The shadowed voice replied. "He tried to stop Fate...He was a fool..."

The beautiful woman named Regin turned to Kairi. "You know you remember me. Deep in your mind is a memory of how it used to be..." She placed her lips on his forehead, kissing him in reverence. "Look into my eyes, Kairi...and you'll find answers..."

"Into your eyes..." Kairi breathed. His past? There was more to his childhood than this American dojo? The tiny tuggings of curiousity were amplified. And the woman was so beautiful.

"Into my eyes," The woman repeated. "Here are the answers," She carefully took his chin in her hands and and lowered her face to meet his. "Take a look, Kairi..."

Hokuto frowned, the smallest prick of her concience telling her something was wrong. She still remembered the sick scratching preceding the stranger's arrival. The pretty woman would have needed to bypass Guy to get to them...and there had been a momentary sense of...she wasn't sure what it was...a sense of unorder when the woman had touched her. She reached up and felt her cheek. It was incredibly hot. Now the woman wanted Kairi's gaze. Almost desperately.

"N-no, Kairi...It might be a trick!" But Hokuto was too late. Kairi had glanced into those deep, deep pools. And as his own eyes lost their brightness, he could only sigh out one word.

"Mother..."

~*~*

Syren grinned wildly as she finally found what she was looking for. The Shotokan Demon. The Evil Wanderer. The Embodiment of Corrupted Souls.

"Akuma,"

Akuma grunted and turned around to face her, white pupiless eyes flashing in a mixture of surprise and indignation. "What do you want..."

She bowed respectfully. "I am here with an offer, Akuma. I can make you powerful,"

He grinned, showing off his filed teeth. He could feel the dark energies flowing through her. Evil recognises evil. Demons know Demons. "I am already powerful,"

She shook her head, slowly reverting to her normal gruesome form. She did not have to pretend with this one. "Not as powerful as you can be, Akuma. My master wants to have you,"

"No one can have me. I am my own master,"

"You have not realized your full potential yet, Akuma. You have gone as far as you can with the Dark Arts of the Shotokan," She took a step forward. "Now give your soul to my master and you shall become truly invincible,"

"I will not give my soul to anyone,"

"Oh Gouki," She laughed as his face twisted at the name. "You already have. You are a slave to the Shotokan..."

"My name is Akuma,"

"And I am Syren," She shrugged. "Does it matter in the end? Our names change with the masters we serve. When you served yourself, you were called Gouki,"

"I still serve myself," Akuma growled.

Syren shook her head. "No, Akuma. Don't you understand? You are still restricted. We all are. Only yours is a lesser evil...the one I offer you is so much stronger,"

"You are wrong," Akuma glared at her. "I am and always will be a Dark Shotokan warrior. It is the most powerful I will ever be,"

"No, again. I give you the will to control pure chaos..."

"I do not believe you," Akuma chuckled. "I suppose you shall have to prove it first,"

Syrena sighed and shook her head. "You fighters, always doing things the hard way. Fine then, we fight..." She threw off her robe and quickly concluded her transformation. How good it felt to be in her normal form, free of the fragile skin of humanity. No, no one could mistake her for a pretty girl now. Now she was what she was made to be.

Demons know demons. Akuma grinned and prepared for the onrush of the wolf-oni.

*~*~

He still remembered it. As if there had been enough time for him to forget. The crisp, dry scream cutting through the dense night air, reaching him from beyond space and time, taking over his mind till all he could hear was that one, clear note. He sighed and clutched at his head. Oh how it ached. How he wished the pain would go away so that he could think clearly for once. What had he done?

Nothing. That was the answer. He had done nothing. Even as he had rushed toward the sound, he had been preparing to do nothing. What could he do? The note still reverbrated in his skull, the terrified look on her face as she and her brother were dragged away seared into his eyes. And he had done nothing. He glared guiltily at his hands, which were so clean when they should have been bloody.

That is where you are wrong, young master.

He looked up. Away from his hands. Who would dare disturb him at such an hour?

There was nothing you could do. And there was nothing to be done by soiling those hands of yours.

It was soothing. Not a voice, more a single thought that permeated his mind and soul. He stood up to welcome it, the beautiful thought, the momentary sweetness of being comforted. But he caught himself before he could. He did not want to be comforted. He did not deserve it.

Stop that. There is no blame on you. You were not yet ready and you knew it. There should be no punishment for what was right.

"Then why does it hurt so?" He whispered back. "Why does this scene replay over and over again in my head?" He went back to staring at those useless hands of his. Was he going crazy?

Because you let it.

He sighed. He supposed that was true. If he wanted to forget he could...but he couldn't. Wasn't it against every code he'd ever learned? When people robbed your house of your children, weren't you supposed to give chase?

Oh you will, young master. But you have not been made ready. We will make you ready.

"When?"

When it is your time. When we have prepared you.

"Who are you?"

The air around him laughed, as if the query had been one so irrelevant it was a joke. And he found himself wondering if it really mattered. No, it didn't.

Go back to your bed, young master. Sleep well tonight. There is much you need to do...

And as if drawn by some irrevocable force, the Bushinryuu master Guy walked slowly back to his bed and fell into a dreamless sleep.