The Path of the True Warrior Ch. 16
By Ryu-san
A few hours later…
"Well, you two are free to go," Charlie says.
"Huh? Why's that?" Ryu wonders.
"Let's just say that I discovered conclusive evidence that proves your
innocence," Charlie tells him.
"Ryu! Let's go!" Chun-li tells him.
"Oh yes, you have a match today. I'll be right behind you! Go ahead and
I'll be right behind you!" Ryu tells her.
She runs off and then Ryu follows.
At the arena…
"The first battle is between Ken and Birdie!"
Birdie licks his chain and then brushes his hair with his knife. He then
crosses his arms and taps his feet.
"If Mr. Masters does not show in five minutes, then the match will go
to Birdie by default," the announcer tells the crowd.
"Ken…where is he!?" Guy wonders.
"It appears that Birdie"
"Will never win against me!" Ken yells as he runs inside the
arena.
"Huff, puff, whew. Those sewers were far away," Ken talks to
himself.
"Uh…where the heck have you been?" Birdie asks Ken as he notices
Ken's shabby appearance. Ken is covered with sewage filth, his red gi is
stained green and his hair has tinges of brown.
"Well, it doesn't matter. Here I come!" Birdie yells as he leaps
toward Ken. Ken still appears tired as he catches his breath. Birdie reaches
out with his chain and throws it at Ken, using his bull revenger. The chain
grabs Ken but Ken immediately twists out of it and runs up to Birdie.
"Shoryureppa!" Ken yells as he completely brutalizes Birdie,
hitting the large man with one, two, three shoryukens in quick succession.
Birdie pulls his head back and smashes into Ken's chest with a well-timed head
butt. Ken jumps up and throws a flying kick at Birdie but he interlaces his fists
and knocks Ken out of the air. Ken, still tired from his previous battle, leaps
backward and throws a hadoken at Birdie. Birdie jumps over it and Ken attempts
to jump in the air to join him. Birdie aims his huge fist to hit Ken but Ken
ducks under it and still in midair, spins around.
"Tatsumaki Senpuukyaku!" Ken yells as Birdie's head gets knocked
between the blows. Birdie falls on his face and Ken lands on his feet. Ken then
rushes at Birdie. Birdie lies still on the floor and Ken hesitates. Birdie takes
advantage by grabbing Ken's leg with his chain and flinging Ken around before
throwing him across the arena.
"I'm number one!" Birdie taunts as he licks his chain.
Ken stands up, brushes himself off and then reverts to a defensive stance,
motioning Birdie to come. Birdie takes the taunt seriously and charges at Ken
with his head again. Ken waits till the last possible second and then the
muscles in his arms tense as he pours out his chi into his right arm.
"Shinryuken!" Ken yells as his fist contacts with Birdie's
abdomen. Ken continually rises and spins around while hitting Birdie for a
total of 23 hits.
"Oof. That hurt…" Birdie says as he loses consciousness.
"Yattaze!" Ken yells as he brushes his hair with his hand and then
gives a thumbs-up.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, KEN MASTERS WINS!"
"Great job Ken!" Ryu says as he runs inside the stadium.
"Ryu!" Ken says as he turns around.
"The next contestants are Chun-li and Rolento!"
Ken and Ryu go up and sit together with the audience while Chun-li runs in
the arena. She bows at Rolento while Rolento jumps into the arena.
"Nobody shall stop my goals!" Rolento declares.
"Nobody gets in the way of my revenge!" Chun-li retorts. Rolento
scoffs and jumps into the air. He flips over and throws a knife at Chun-li.
Chun-li catches the knife and throws it aside. Rolento immediately hits the
ground and rolls backward. Chun-li wonders at his actions but Rolento then
springs forward striking her on the shoulder. Chun-li staggers back and Rolento
presses his attack, but spinning his staff hitting Chun-li twelve times. He
trips her and prepares to throw a barrage of grenades. Chun-li jumps and
rebounds off the wall, as Rolento misses his target. She then jumps downward,
stomping on his head four times. She then jabs him in his face, kicks him in
his stomach, causing him to double over and then launching into the air.
"Hazan…Tenshokyaku!" Chun-li yells as she spins into the air
kicking Rolento higher and higher into the air until she finally lands on both
feet on the ground. Rolento falls on his back but immediately rolls forward,
attempting to hit her again. Chun-li, ready this time, blocks the staff with
her hand and catches it. She then uses it to pull Rolento forward and kicks him
six times with her Hyakuretsu-Kyaku. Rolento stagger backward.
"Gr…Hmph!" Rolento says. He throws aside his staff and throws
something at Chun-li. Chun-li's neck is stuck on the string as Rolento's
henchmen prepare the hook. Chun-li slowly starts to choke as she hangs from the
hook.
"Chun-li! Hey, that's illegal!" Ken yells. Ryu says nothing but
his body tenses, preparing to leap forward if Chun-li does not escape soon.
Chun-li, determined not to show weakness, flips her entire body and holds on
to the hook. She takes off the string and rips it off her neck. She jumps
toward Rolento, who having no staff, prepares to block. She delivers a drop
kick to his face and three rapid hard kicks to the head. Rolento lurches
unsteadily, wobbling back and forth, and Chun-li runs forward, places her hands
on his chest and then summons her chi.
"Kikou-shou!" Chun-li screams as she hits Rolento full on. Rolento
flies backwards and hits his head directly on the wall of the arena, not
stirring at all.
"CHUN-LI IS THE WINNER!"
Ryu jumps over and runs next to Chun-li.
"Are you ok?" he asks.
"Hmph! I'm fine, after all, I'm the strongest woman in the world!"
she declares.
"That's good, let's get you to the infirmary to check out that neck
though," Ryu tells her.
"Next up, Vega vs. Karin!"
Karin looks at Vega and laughs very loudly. Vega raises his knee and arm in
mock defense as a flower falls from the sky and hits Vega, causing the petals
to scatter. Vega runs leaps into the air and bounces off the wall, leap kicking
Karin in the shoulder. He then slides very quickly, tripping Karin. He jumps
off the wall with a yell and he grabs her in midair, slamming her to the
ground. Karin quickly rises and rushes forward, punching Vega with a fist, then
jamming an elbow to his gut, and finally kicking upward, one foot after
another. Vega rises and flips forward, flips forward again, and finally flips
forward into the air, hitting Karin each time. He then slashes at her with his
claw, forcing Karin to back away. Vega feints again and then slashes, as he
does that, he leaps against the wall and pushes off from the wall straight
toward her, aiming her claw at her. Karin prepared for this attack, raises her
hands in defense and sidesteps while grabbing Vega's arm, smashing him into the
ground. Vega rises up and trips her but before she can hit the ground, Vega
kicks her up high in the air, leaps high into the air and slams her down.
"VEGA WINS!" the announcer yells.
"The next fight is between Dhalsim and Sagat!"
"Namakeh…" Dhalsim mutters as he takes off the turban covering his
head. Sagat merely chuckles to himself as he goes into his Muy Thai stance.
"Hm…you dare to capture me and then force me to fight here by holding
my village captive!? That I cannot forgive…Yoga Fire!" Dhalsim yells as he
spews forth a fireball from the depths of his stomach.
"Tiger!" Sagat says as his chi attack quickly counters Dhalsim's.
Sagat runs forward very quickly, dodging Dhalsim's extending arms and legs,
getting close enough to kick Dhalsim. He initiates the barrage of kicks with a
side kick that breaks Dhalsim's ribs, another that dislocates his knee, another
breaking the femur, and one last kick to the chest.
"Yoga…" Dhalsim mutters as he teleports far away. Sagat chases
after him while Dhalsim jumps into the air, spinning his body toward Sagat.
Sagat blocks the attack and trips Dhalsim. Dhalsim teleports up but Sagat
charges up for the finishing blow.
"Tiger…Knee!" Sagat yells as he kicks Dhalsim squarely in the
chin, lightly kicks him in the shin and then twists his body around to gain
more momentum and charges at him, with his outstretched leg striking Dhalsim
three times. Sagat faces Dhalsim's unconscious form and laughs.
"THE WINNER…SAGAT!" the announcer says.
"The final battle is between Rose and Akuma!"
The audience waits anxiously for the two fighters…
Ten minutes pass…
"If neither fighter is present, they are both disqualified!" the
announcer declares.
The audience boos and is upset over this development.
"The semi-finals begin next week! Please report to the dining hall for
further instructions," the announcer broadcasts.
Guy, Ken, Gen, Ryu, Chun-li, and Dan all meet up.
"Well, Fei-Long, Sakura and Blanka aren't here," Dan comments.
"We'll meet up with them later. Let's check out the instructions,"
Ken suggests. The crew walks over and reads the new post.
RULES:
According to the rules of the semi-finals, the street fighters must now be
flown to another battle area of a randomly selected fighter's choosing. The new
contestants…
Adon vs. Sagat
Fei-Long vs. Ryu
Vega vs. Blanka
Guy vs. Ken
E. Honda vs. Dan
Charlie vs. Chun-li
All fighters on the left may choose their arena.
"Hm…it looks as if I must face the unavoidable…perhaps he will have
less animosity towards me after the battle…" Ryu mutters to himself.
"It appears as if we must fight against each other…meet me next week in
Metro City…" Guy informs Ken.
"Alright! Prepare to lose!" Ken says confidently.
"We will see," Guy simply responds.
"Well, let's all meet again after the tournament! Until then, good
luck!" Ken says as they all part their separate ways.