SFU's Fan Fic Archive

�This is serious, Ken,� Ryu said as Ken took off his shirt and examined his ribs. At least three were busted, and he was lucky they didn�t puncture his lung.

�Yeah,� Ken said. �These guys are tougher than we thought.�

�Maybe we should quit,� Ryu said.

�Are you kidding me?!� Ken exclaimed. �This is what Master Gouken wants us to do! Don�t you want to honor our dead master�s wish, Ryu?�

�There�s a difference between honoring your master and getting yourself killed!� Ryu shouted, standing up from his chair.

�Well, I�m staying,� Ken said, taking a bite out of the horrible hospital food. �You can do whatever the hell you want. Frankly, I don�t give a damn.�

Ryu stormed out of the hospital, leaving Ken. He didn�t really know what to do, and wandered aimlessly around the small city for hours, watching the people and thinking. Thinking about Master Gouken...

The mountains of Japan, not long ago...

�Heeyah!� Ken roared, swinging his foot at Ryu, who pivoted and swung his foot at Ken, easily hitting him in the face. Ken started to fall, but grabbed onto Ryu�s shirt and threw him over the cliff.

�(Aaah!)� Ryu cried, grabbing onto a hand hold and pulling himself up. �(Hey! You could�ve killed me! What the are you trying to do!?)�

�(Excellent,)� Gouken said, clapping his huge hands. �(Though I at first did not want you boys to come, I am glad you did.)�

�(Thank you, master,)� Ryu and Ken said together, bowing.

�Ryu,� Gouken said. �(I would like to talk to you about something.)�

Ken left, and Ryu followed his master farther up the mountain, all the way to the top.

�(Ryu, why did you shout at Ken?)� Gouken asked, watching the sun set.

�(Because he could�ve killed me!)� Ryu said, thinking that the answer was obvious. Gouken suddenly turned his attention to Ryu, and gave him a wap, knocking Ryu off his balance and nearly throwing him down the mountain to his death.

�Sensei!� Ryu exclaimed, climbing back up. �(Why did you do that?)�

�(You want to be a great fighter, right?)� Gouken said. �(Then start acting like one! When you entering the domain of fighting, the stakes are very high. Most likely you put yourself at risk everyday. Now if you�re going to complain about it maybe you should become an accountant or something of the sort. But if you do wish to learn Shotokan karate, then do not complain if someone trys to kill you. Dying is part of martial arts, and if you can�t accept that, then you will never become a true fighter....)�

Ken stepped up to the woman and gave her his plane ticket. He started to leave when he heard a familiar voice.

�Got a plane ticket for me?�

�Ryu!� Ken exclaimed. �I thought you said you quit!�

�A true martial artist puts his life at risk everday,� Ryu said. �If I�m not willing to accept the risks, then I�m not willing to accept the martial arts.�

�All right, bud!� Ken said, him and Ryu banging their fists together.

�So,� Ryu said, �where�s my ticket?�

�Uhm...� Ken hesitated. �Ryu, you don�t mind walking to Kyoto, do you?�

�You�re kidding, right?� Ryu asked. Before Ken could continue the conversation, the two were greeted by a familiar face.

�Retsu!� Ken exclaimed. �(Don�t tell me that you want a rematch, because my ribs and I aren�t in the mood for it.)�

�(At the beginning of the fight I promised you I would tell you of the other Shotokan fighter I fought,)� Retsu said. �(I am here to fulfill that promise.)�

�(Well maybe we�re not in the mood to listen,)� Ken said. �(We�ve got a plane to catch.)�

�Wait Ken,� Ryu said, sitting down in a chair in the lobby, Retsu doing the same. �Let�s here him out. (Who is this other Shotokan, Retsu?)�

Ken soon followed the two and slumped down in a chair beside Ryu, then listened.

�(His name was Dan Hibiki,)� Retsu said. �(He was traveling through the mountains and came upon us training one day. He gloated that he could defeat us, just as he would a man by the name of Sagat...)�

�Sagat?� Ryu said.

�(The champion of the Street Fighter tournament!)� Ken said. Retsu nodded.

�(He challenged me to a battle,>� Retsu said. ��(Thank you Retsu,)� Ryu said, bowing. And with that, Retsu left the airport.

Ryu and Ken then boarded the plane, Ken fixing up the mix-up with Ryu not having a ticket with a simple phone call to his father. The two got on the plane, and then headed for the small remote village of Toyko.

�Hey Ryu,� Ken said. �I was thinking, and remember how reluctant Gouken was to teach us, saying he�d made the same mistake once, and he wasn�t going to do it again?�

�Yeah.�

�Well, maybe Dan was his mistake,� Ken said.

�From the sound of it he sounds even cockier than you Ken,� Ryu said. �I didn�t think that was possible.�