A.N: Some of you might be confused about the timeline, so here it is. This story takes place somewhere after Street Fighter 3. In the first three chapters however, the versions of Ryu and Sakura that I have put in are from the Alpha series. This chapter will hopefully be the last of the dream sequences. Without further interruptions, here is Chapter 6.



"Ryu! Ken! Come here!"

"Yes Sensei!"

Ryu and Ken, Gouken's best students of Shotokan, ran to their master as quickly as they could. There was a sense of urgency in Gouken's voice, so something had to be wrong...

"We're here, Master. Tell us, what is wrong?"

"Sit down you two, and then I will explain..."

Ryu and Ken sat down on the grass.

"When I was a pupil like you, my brother Gouki and I learned Shotokan karate from our master Goutetsu. He taught us everything about Shotokan except for one part. The dark part of Shotokan. Our master warned us to never try to learn this part of Shotokan, for it would destroy our soul. My brother Gouki was determined to become the strongest fighter ever, so he set out in such of the scrolls that taught the dark part of Shotokan karate, despite our masters wishes. Gouki learned how to perform the most dangerous move of Shotokan, the Shungokusatsu or Instant Hell Murder. When Gouki had perfected that forbidden move, he needed a victim to test it on. He sought out our master Goutetsu, and used it. The instant he did this, his soul was lost forever, and replaced with darkness. On that day, my brother Gouki died and was now known as Akuma. Dont attempt to try and learn this move, for it will cost you your soul, and your humanity. This power is known as the dark hadou. It can be released in many different ways. If the heart is too focused on a specific task and jealousy and rage starts to enter the heart, the Dark Hadou can also awaken. Fortunately, the dark hadou is only present in warriors who have practiced Shotokan and in the offspring of Shotokan warriors...

Ryu and Ken were puzzled to the knowledge that they had just learned. But they figured that master knew best...

"As you wish, Master Gouken."

"Yeah. We wont allow ourselves to fall to the dark hadou."

"There is one more thing that I require of you two however..."

Before Gouken could finish his sentence, a fist went right through his chest, killing him instantly.

Ryu could only watch in horror, as his master was just put to death. But who was the cause of it?

The murderer removed his fist, allowing Gouken's limp body to fall to the ground. The murderer's eyes glowed blood red.

"Akuma..."

Ryu suddenly felt a lot of energy building up inside of him. This energy felt powerful, yet uncontrollable...

"Yes...give in to that power, Ryu. Hate me with all your might!"

"No Ryu! Dont give in to that power! If you do, you will become like him!"

"I'm trying Ken..."

"Insolent fool! You shall die!"

Akuma got into a fighting stance and charged Ken. Ken blocked the attacks that Akuma threw at him.

Ryu could only watch the scene. The energy building up inside of him prevented him from helping his buddy Ken.

Ken continued to block the attacks before counter-attacking with a Dragon Punch.

"Sho-ryu-ken!"

For a moment, it looked like Ken had won the match. But Akuma just landed on his feet as he landed from the ground.

"Damn! This will do it!"

"Tatsu-maki-senpu-kyaku!"

Ken ran towards Akuma before releasing his Hurricane Kick. Unfortunately for Ken, Akuma teleported through the attack.

"Oh no! Ken! Look behind you!"

Ken heard Ryu, but he was too late to come up with a defense. Akuma started to glow a blood red before grabbing Ken. Akuma threw 14 punches and kicks at Ken before finally releasing one last punch, straight through Ken's heart...

"Shungokusatsu!"

Kens now lifeless body fell to the floor.

"Noooo!!!"

The energy building up inside of Ryu increased until Ryu could hold it in no longer. Ryu's eyes started to shift color. When he blinked his eyes, they were blood red.

Ryu threw a beam of energy at Akuma that destroyed him instantly. Ryu allowed himself to calm down a little as his eyes returned to normal.

"Very good..."

Ryu heard a very familiar voice. When he turned around, he saw a warrior wearing a black gi. But he also had on a black headband. It was then that Ryu knew who this person was...

It was a reflection of himself.

"No! I wont allow myself to become you!"

"Give up the fight. You know that you can't hold your anger in any longer. Besides, you have a follower that needs your guidance..."

"What do you mean?"

Ryu's question was answered as Evil Ryu stepped to the side, revealing a female figure smaller than him. This figure had on a Japanese schoolgirl outfit, as well as a black headband. But this female figure's skin tone was also slightly darker than usual...

"Sakura..."

"That's Dark Sakura. Ryu don't try to resist...you know you want me. And besides, this power has it's advantages..."

"Sakura! you can't give in to the evil intent! The power is destructive! I will never accept this curse!"

"Well then that's a shame...Cause now I'm going to have to kill you..."

Dark Sakura teleported in front of Ryu and delivered 14 punches and kicks. Ryu couldnt come up with a defense as Dark Sakura held her fist back, preparing for the final blow...

"Shun-goku..."

"Time to die, Ryu my love..."

"Satsu!"

Dark Sakura drove her fist straight into Ryu's heart. Everything started to go black...

*****

Ryu woke up gasping for air. Sweat was all over his forehead. That dream had been a nightmare. For a brief moment, he was experiencing the death of Gouken all over again. But then his dream started to become distorted.

"(Why do things always have to be so confusing?)"

Ryu tried to think about his dream. Some of the stuff in it was starting to make a little bit of sense...

"(Wait a second! Gouken said that the evil intent could be awakened in many different ways. It awakened inside Akuma because of his desire to become the strongest fighter alive at any cost. It awakened inside me because of my desire to avenge Gouken's death. But sometimes rage got in the way when I would think of destroying Akuma. Thats why I possess the potential to become a dark fighter like Akuma. But I still dont understand Sakura. Why does she possess the same potential as well? She doesn't wish to be the strongest thing alive. She's not as dedicated as I am. And she isn't trying to avenge anyone, last time I checked. Most of the time, she trains just to be like...)"

"(Me...)"

The answer hit Ryu harder than a ton of bricks. Somehow, Ryu was connected as to why Sakura was starting to possess dark hadou. But what was the connection? Did it have something to do with the dreams that Ryu had a few nights ago?

"(Those answers can wait until tomorrow afternoon...)"

Ryu looked at Sakura. She was still asleep. Her arms were still wrapped tightly around him. She also had a big smile on her face.

A slight smile came to Ryu's face as he allowed himself to fall back to sleep. Somehow, he had just figured out a piece of the entire puzzle...



Sakura woke up about 6:00 a.m. For some strange reason, she felt wide-awake. Maybe it was the new power growing inside of her that had something to do with it. Sakura got some clothes out of her drawer and took them with her in the bathroom. She would dress there, since Ryu was currently asleep in her room. She didn't want Ryu to see her nude. At least, not yet...

After a shower, Sakura dressed and wrote a note. She left it on Ryu's door, before grabbing her keys and heading out the front door.

Sakura decided that since she had so much time to kill before work, she would stop at one of the restaurants in downtown Tokyo for breakfast before doing a bit of window-shopping.

Ryu woke up about 8:00. He noticed that Sakura was gone.

"Sakura?"

Ryu called for Sakura a couple of times before going back to his room. It was there that he saw the note Sakura had left for him

Ryu...

Had to go to work.
Help yourself to whatever's in the fridge.
Meet me at the Dragon sushi restaurant at 4:00.
We'll talk then.
Here is a little gift for you.
I know you'll like it.
Until then...

Sakura

"Very well..."

Ryu went into his room and searched through his duffel bag. He found a watch.

"So that's the gift that Sakura was talking about..."

Ryu took out a pair of clothes before heading into the bathroom to shower and dress. After he was done, Ryu went to the kitchen to see what was in the refrigerator.

Inside the fridge was a lot of junk food. But Sakura had also left some fruit inside.

"(It's amazing how Sakura can eat all this junk and still stay in shape...)"

Ryu liked junk food every now and then, but not at the extension that Sakura did. Sakura was a junk food-a holic.

Ryu closed the refrigerator and looked around the kitchen again. He managed to see some rice.

Although Ryu was no gourmet chef, he knew the basics of cooking well enough so that he could fix himself something whenever necessary.

Ryu set a pot of water on the stove before turning on the stove. As the water started to boil, Ryu put in some rice and allowed it to cook.

Ryu also set a kettle of water on the stove. He would have some green tea with his rice.

While his food was cooking, Ryu decided to do a couple of push-ups. When Ryu was done with his hundredth one, his food was ready.

Ryu placed his food on the table before sitting down himself.

"Maybe I should explore downtown Tokyo some more. There might be something nice that I can find for Sakura..."
*****

Sakura was looking inside a store that specialized in just about everything Chinese. There were fireworks, candles, and little souvenirs. Sakura managed to find what she was looking for. A little white dragon pendant. On the back were some words inscribed into the dragon pendant.

Connect me with someone of a similar nature,
Then two hearts shall become one...

Sakura liked what the message said. And the dragon was just too adorable for words. So she went up to the cash register and paid for it. Sakura then looked at her watch.

"Gotta get to work!"

Sakura put the dragon pendant inside her purse before heading to the dragon sushi restaurant to report for work.

It was about 3:30 in the afternoon when Ryu found himself in the same Chinese antique store that Sakura had been in earlier.

"(Hm...what to get...")

Ryu happened to glance upon little dragon pendants, the same ones that Sakura had been looking at earlier. He picked out a red one, before paying for it and leaving the store to meet Sakura at the sushi restaurant. The cash registrar spoke to one of his employees.

"Hey Chow! That woman who bought the white dragon pendant earlier...she said it was for a friend, right?"

"Yeah. That guy who just bought the red dragon pendant also said that it was for a friend..."

"Chow...I think those two are planning on giving the dragon pendants to each other. But they don't realize it. They must have a special bond to be getting those. Only people who have really cared or loved someone have bought these dragon pendants. I wish those two the best of luck..."

4:00 soon arrived. Ryu found himself back at the Dragon sushi restaurant, the one that he had saved from the Cobra gang the day before. The owner was more than pleased to see Ryu.

"Welcome back, kind stranger! What brings you here?"

"I'm here to see a friend."

"Would you like to sit down at a table while you wait for um..."

"Her. And no, that's all right. I'll just stand and wait here."

"As you wish."

Just then, Sakura was exiting the kitchen, preparing to leave. She saw Ryu waiting at the doorway.

"Ryu!"

Something came over her. Seeing Ryu brought butterflies to Sakura's stomach. She ran towards Ryu before engulfing him in an embrace...

A wicked smile came upon the face of the restaurant owner.

"I had no idea that you two were involved in a relationship..."

Sakura quickly removed her arms from Ryu. Her entire body was blushing bright red.

"It's not like that! Ryu is a friend!"

"What kind of friend? The way you held him symbolizes more..."

Sakura started to blush again before managing to control herself.

"This is Ryu. The one who inspired me to fight."

"So you're the famous Ryu that I've heard so much about. Sakura talks about you all the time..."

"Hey!"

Sakura punched the owner's arm.

"Lets go, Ryu..."

"Have fun you two!"

Sakura glanced an angry look at the owner before she and Ryu left the restaurant.

"You never told me you worked there."

"You never asked."

Ryu and Sakura both laughed slightly.

"You'll have to forgive my boss. He can sometimes be a bit of a pervert. He looks at porno and hentai magazines on a daily basis."

"No problem."


Sakuras eyes started to water up a little bit as she prepared herself for what she was about to say...

"Ryu...I'm sorry for how I was holding you earlier..."


Ryu saw the look of hurt in her eyes. It was then that Ryu finally understood something about Sakura. She loved him. At first, Ryu thought that it was just obsession that Sakura had for him, but as they got older, Sakura started sacrificing herself more for Ryu. And the way that she acted towards him yesterday was anything but simply friendship. Sakura wanted Ryu to stay in the room with her because she felt that Ryu would protect her. She wrapped her arms around him to be warm and close to him. But it was the last act that Sakura did that made everything start to make sense. The kiss on the cheek. Sakura didn't do it out of kindness. She did it out of love. Love for him...

Although Ryu had figured out the answer, he didn't want to let Sakura know that he knew, or else she might be emotionally hurt. Instead, Ryu decided to tell Sakura when the time was right...

"Don't be sorry Sakura. There was nothing wrong with what you did. In fact, it was quite nice."

Sakura immediately started blushing after hearing Ryu's comment. She was hoping that Ryu felt the same way about her as she did for him, but that would have to wait for now. There were more important things to deal with at the moment...

Ryu and Sakura finally reached Sakura's apartment. Before they went inside, Sakura reached into her purse.

"What is it?"

"I have something that I want to give you..."

Sakura reached into her purse some more before finally pulling something out. What she was giving to Ryu meant a lot to her...

Sakura pulled out a key and put it inside Ryu's hand.

"This is my spare key. If you ever want to go out and I'm not home, you'll be able to come back inside with this key."

"Thanks."

Sakura then got out her key and unlocked the apartment door. When they got inside, Ryu told Sakura to change into a pair of clothes to spar in.

When both of them had changed, Ryu took Sakura to a nice peaceful part of Tokyo. Ryu had taken Sakura to an area that wasn't surrounded by technology and was also close to Sakuras apartment. There was just grass where they were.

"Pretty peaceful out here, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"This will be perfect for training."

Ryu tightened his red bandanna before getting into a defensive stance.

"Okay...attack me..."

Sakura obeyed. She ran at Ryu and threw various punches and kicks. Ryu easily blocked all of them before using a foot sweep to take Sakura down to the ground.

Sakura got back off the ground. Ryu was in a more offensive stance now. Sakura got into a defensive stance and managed to block all of Ryu's attacks before going offensive herself.

It was hard to say who was on the offense and who was on the defense. Both warriors would block and return the attack given.

Sakura then ran towards Ryu.

"Sho-ou-ken!"

Sakura attempted a Shoouken attack, a modified version of the Shoryuken. But since she was running before execution, Ryu saw the attack coming a mile away and was ready to counter- attack it...with a Shoryuken...

Ryu sent Sakura into the air with his version of the Dragon punch. As Ryu landed on his feet, Sakura landed on her back.

"That's a nice variation of the Dragon Punch, but let me teach you how to perform the normal version."

Sakura felt butterflies in her stomach. What Ryu was about to do for her was a dream come true. Sakura had wanted Ryu to train her ever since she first laid eyes on him. And now, he was going to do it. He had kept his promise.

As Ryu was performing one, energy started to build up in both of them. While Ryu was in the air, energy started to build within Sakura's fist. When Ryu landed, Sakura did a Dragon Punch, this time, looking identical to Ryu's.

"Very good."

After Sakura landed however, black ki started to surround the two of them.

"What's going on, Ryu?"

"I wish I knew..."

The black ki continued to get stronger before it formed a beam of energy and just disappeared into the sky.

"Maybe we should get some sleep. We are probably both tired."

"Good idea."

As Ryu and Sakura walked back to her apartment, two black shadows were watching the two. It turned out that these two shadows were no other than Evil Ryu and Dark Sakura.

Evil Ryu: (So they seem to be getting closer and stronger. But no worry. When the time is right, Dark Sakura and I shall make ourselves present to those two. They will have to fight for a much deeper fight than usual. The fight for their souls...)

Dark Sakura: (So she thinks that she can forget about me? I will make her lose the bond of friendship that she is starting to form with Ryu. I will hurt Ryu not only physically, but spiritually)

Both: Sleep well Ryu. Sleep well Sakura. The time shall come when you will have to face us...

Both teleported away...