The Path of the True Warrior Ch. 18
By Ryu-san
Somewhere in Japan.
"Oshaaaa!" Dan yells as he shakes his arm at E. Honda.
"Dosukoi!" E. Honda says, as he stomps his foot down and throws
salt on the earth.
"I'm here! Prepare to lose!" Dan yells.
"I will show the world that sumo is the greatest!" Honda declares.
He leans backward and then hurls his body forward, aiming his head at Dan. Dan
sidesteps the attack and hits Honda with a gadouken in the head.
"Rakoushu!" Dan says as he rolls on the ground. Honda then runs
forward and charges at Dan. Dan uses his Dankukyaku but Honda grabs Dan's leg
and flings him down. He then grabs him by his shirt and hits him very rapidly
with his palms. Dan rolls backward and slowly rises. E. Honda jumps into the
air, hoping to smash Dan underneath his weight, but Dan sees it coming.
"Koryuken!" Dan yells as he nails Honda squarely in the chest.
Honda flies backward but lands on his feet.
"Wow, you're more agile than you look…" Dan compliments in
surprise as he runs toward him. He dodges Honda's palm strikes and kicks him
squarely in the nose.
"But…as I thought, you're still much slower than myself," Dan
finishes. Honda says nothing but he sweeps Dan as he rises. He then jumps up.
*Must get out of the way!* Dan mentally yells. As Honda's posterior is about
to strike him, Dan rolls out of the way. Before Honda can recover, Dan charges
at him.
"Koryu Reppa!" Dan yell as he uses two Koryukens on E. Honda.
Honda does not rise.
"Doshita doshita!" Dan taunts. He uses his arm to wipe the sweat
off his brow. "Whew…that was harder than it looked…"
Dan crumples on the ground next to Honda.
*CRASH!*
The fence crashes down onto the floor as Vega puts on his mask.
"Muere, monstruo feo! (Die, ugly monster!)" Vega yells as he
attaches his claw. He jumps onto the metallic fence and climbs as high as he
can. He then jumps off and slashes at Blanka. Blanka staggers back and grasps
at his wound. His vision turns blurry and he cannot concentrate well.
"Uwow! Urrrow! (You used poison! You cheater!)" Blanka yells in
outrage. He rolls toward Vega. Vega slides underneath and kicks him. He rolls
on the ground, striking Blanka with his outstretched claw. Blanka, already
tired from the effects of the poison, can only receive the blows.
"Morirás! Es el tiempo de su muerto…(You will die! It is time for your
final death…)" Vega says as he jumps on the wall again. Blanka has an
idea. He jumps on the wall as well.
"Qué es eso!? (What is this?)" Vega wonders. Blanka charges up and
electrifies the whole fence.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Vega yells as he falls to the ground shocked. He
slowly rises from the floor, his face contorted with anger underneath his mask.
"Tú me lastimas! Prepara a conocer él que te hace… (You hurt me!
Prepare to meet your maker…)" Vega yells. He lunges at Blanka with his
claw and he strikes him squarely in the stomach. He thrusts upward, flinging
him into the air, and strikes Blanka as he falls down with his claw again;
blood stains the floor…
In Chun-li's apartment…
"We're finally here! Ok, Ryu, put our stuff down here!" Chun-li
tells him as she jumps onto her bed. Ryu, on the other hand, staggers into the
room, gratefully unloads the baggage, and falls down on the floor.
"Wow, this is where you live, Chun?" Cammy asks as she enters the
room.
"Yup! It's not much, but it's mine!" Chun-li says as she relaxes
on the bed.
Ryu slowly gets up and to avoid notice, meditates in a secluded corner. He
can hear Chun-li and Cammy's conversation despite his attempts at
concentration.
"So anyway, did blah blah?"
"Blah blah blah!"
"Blah blah!?"
"Blah!"
Ryu realizes that whatever they talk about, he doesn't care about it. He
instantly tunes out but he falls asleep in the middle of his meditation.
*DREAM SEQUENCE*
"Ryu…"
Ryu is in a field full of flowers. He sees a single child grasping a
dandelion in her hand. She holds the dandelion in both hands and a gentle
breeze scatters the seeds of the dandelion.
"Please help me, Ryu…"
"Who are you? How do you know my name? How can I help you?"
She holds the dandelion in both hands and a gentle breeze scatters the seeds
of the dandelion. Her bright, tear-filled eyes wrench at Ryu's heart. Her brown
hair sways and moves with the breeze and Ryu runs toward her. The child fades
away as Ryu jumps toward her. He falls to the ground but he notices a single
object. He picks it up and he sees a map of Asia; more specifically, he sees a
secluded village in India.
"Is this where you are!? Where did you go!?" Ryu runs around in
his mind, panicking.
"She's not here…"
Ryu turns around and he all turns pitch black. A single blue flame shines
through the darkness as Ryu approaches it.
"Ryu…you must go and help her…help now!" the oddly feminine voice
orders as lightning crashes and thunder sounds.
*THUD!*
Ryu awakens with a start, with sweat covering his entire body. He resolutely
writes a short note for Chun-li and heads toward India…
*Sigh…I hope she doesn't worry for me…and I hope that little girl will be ok…*
Ryu runs as fast as his legs will carry him and he runs non-stop for two
days; no food and no drink. *I must not fail…* Ryu collapses and does not rise.
"Chikusho…" Ryu mutters as he falls down from exhaustion.
Dream…
"Ryu…you must hurry, there's not much time left…" Ryu looks around
to see the same blue flame.
"Here, I will rejuvenate you from within…Now GO!" the blue flame
says as it increases in size, filling the entirety of Ryu's mind.
Ryu wakes up and stands. He runs as fast as he can, this time, covered with
a mysterious blue aura that slowly fades.
A few days later…
"I've…finally…made it…" Ryu says.
He slowly stops at the edge of a small village. His entire body feels that
this is the right spot. *I wonder…now what?*
"HELP!!" Ryu turns around to hear a Japanese woman scream. *Why is
a Japanese woman here?*
Ryu runs over.
"Doshita de gozaru ka, onna-dono?" Ryu asks. "Daijobu?"
The woman faints but as she falls, Ryu catches her. Her hand points inside a
large temple and Ryu hurries inside after he sets the woman down. He hears a
high-pitched scream of a little girl. *That's her!* Ryu thinks.
Ryu then notices that there are several men with guns pointed at her. Ryu,
not even thinking, jumps and kicks one of the men.
"What the!? Shoot 'em!" one of the men yells. Too late, for Ryu
already knocked the last remaining man unconscious. The last man aims his gun
and shoots. Ryu's arm is lanced with bullets but Ryu charges, undaunted. He
runs and kicks the man right in the face. He then turns around and the young
girl is lying down on the ground, breathing fast.
"Chikusho! Shikarishite!" Ryu yells. He runs over and carries the
young girl and runs out of the temple. He is unexpectedly swarmed by the
villagers. He does not speak Indian and the Japanese woman is nowhere in sight.
Ryu is helplessly beaten as the villagers wrest the girl from Ryu's arms. They
rush off into the village and Ryu falls down. He quickly rises but then, the
same Japanese woman stops him.
"Nani de gozaru ka?!" Ryu asks. The woman says nothing in
response.
"Hm…do you understand English?" Ryu asks, hoping for a response.
"I understand both English and Japanese, it's just that…I can't
understand you…" the woman tells him.
"Who are you?" Ryu asks.
"I'm the joint-leader of this village. However, I have had to resign
because of the illness my daughter is facing," she tells him.
"Illness? Your daughter was the one in the temple, right? How can I
help?"
"Yes, that was my…!? You want to help? But you don't even know her…"
"I feel as if I do…and well, there's something else that you won't
understand…Please, what do I need to do to help her?"
"Well, I feel bad for asking but…can you get an herb that only survives
at the top of those mountains?" she asks, pointing to mountains so high
that the peak is impossible to see from the base of the mountain.
"Hm…what herb…?" Ryu asks as he estimates the problems he may face
while climbing.
"It is the only plant that exists on the top of those mountains.
Identifying the plant won't be a problem but…there are many dangerous creatures
up there in addition to the cold and poisonous plants…"
"That won't be a problem…" Ryu replies as he grabs his bag.
"Wait! Let me give you some supplies…! And that shoulder! We've got to
take care of that too!" she says and they walk to a hut a few miles inside
the village.
A few days later…
"Ok, I'm ready now…" Ryu tells the woman. He goes to the base of
the mountain and begins to walk up the path. He travels up the path for a day,
encountering nothing.
"Rocks, rocks, and more rocks…Is this whole mountain devoid of
life?" Ryu wonders. He pitches a tent and eats some dinner, carefully
conserving his limited supply. He then rests.
*Shuffle…*
A dozen pair of red eyes shine brightly through the darkness.
*Shuffle…*
*SNAP!*
A twig breaks and the creatures instantly run towards the tent. They close
in on the tent and in seconds, shred it to pieces.