"Sakura..."


"Sakura..."


"Wake up..."

Sakura's eyes blinked twice before finally opening up. But what she saw was unexpected...

"You're finally awake. Now listen up, because what I'm about to tell you is very important..."

Sakura had to blink her eyes again to make sure that what she was seeing was true. Standing across from her was a shadowy figure in a sailor senshi outfit. But she also had on a black headband.

"Dark Sakura? It can't be..."

*****

"(Is this my true nature? To be like him?)"

While Ryu physically fought with Akuma for the infamous title Master of the Fists, his mind was currently in a battle with his dark side that had returned after Akuma had supposedly killed off Sakura.

"(Why do you resist the power I give you? Accept it, and we can destroy Akuma for good!)"

"(Your power comes at a price. You would make me hurt the people that I care about...)"

"(If you dont do anything, Akuma will kill you. Are you going to let him survive after all the pain that he's caused you? First, he took your teacher Gouken away from you when you were younger. Now, he has taken the life of the one you love. Sakura loved you. You were her life. Are you going to allow Akuma to continuously hurt the innocent?)"

Ryu didn't have an answer for this. His dark side brought up some very valid points. Akuma was nothing more than a murderer. He killed his own master. He killed Gouken. He killed Sakura. And who knows how many more people he could kill if given the chance.

Ryu held his hands to his head in agony. The internal battle for his soul was starting to become more important than the physical one with Akuma. Akuma however, was not one to be ignored.

"I am losing my patience! Shall I destroy you now, or will you put up more of a fight? Maybe I'll destroy Ken as well and send him to Gouken!"

That triggered an emotion inside of Ryu. His good side was gone. Now, only Evil Ryu remained...

"Akuma! I swear that I will kill you!"

Ryu, now as Evil Ryu, charged towards Akuma in a flurry of attacks, determined to destroy his target...

*****

"(Where are we?)"

"(Inside your mind Sakura.)"

"(Am I still alive?)"

"(Yes, but barely.)"

"(What's happened to me? Whats going on?)"

Sakura was confused. Not only was she looking at her dark reflection, but she could also see her body lying unconscious. It seemed that Akuma's handiwork was a reflection of his soul, because Sakura looked like a mess. Her chest was burst open from where Akuma's final punch had struck. Her clothes were ripped. Her face was covered in dried blood. Her arms and legs were in positions that would make Dhalsim jealous. But to top it all off, Sakura's body was lying in a pool of blood...her own...

Sakura was shocked at what she saw. Dark Sakura put her hand on her shoulder and tried to explain everything that happened.

"(Normally, the Shungokusatsu would have instantly killed a person. But because your body possesses a bit of dark energy, it was able to keep you from dieing immediately. But it is of no use. You will still die. Unless...)"

"(Unless what?)"

Dark Sakura smirked as she prepared to answer Sakuras question.

"(Unless...I merge with you...)"

"(What! You're crazy if you think I would agree to that!)"

"(I don't think you understand, Sakura. You are going to die unless I save you! I can feed off of the energy from the Shungokusatsu and keep you from dieing! But you will have to accept the Evil Intent!)"

"(I still don't know...)"

"(Sakura... Is this the way that you want to leave this world? Alone? A virgin? Without ever experiencing love? What about Ryu? Do you want to die without ever tasting his sweet lips? Do you want to die without knowing what it feels like to have him inside of you? And do you want to die without hearing those 3 words that you have waited a lifetime to hear? I love you? As much as you try to deny the truth Sakura, you desire Ryu. You want to taste him and feel him. And you want Ryu to have the honor of making you a full woman. And you want the honor of becoming his wife...and the mother of his children. Do you want to die knowing that you havent fulfilled your innermost desires? Or some of his?)"

*****

The fight between Evil Ryu and Shin Akuma escalated into an all out world war. Both attacks clashed into each other and created lightning in the sky. Punches and kicks were countered, while throws were reversed.

Both Evil Ryu and Shin Akuma charged up some energy before simultaneously releasing a fireball. But just like their physical attacks, the fireballs clashed with each other before finally canceling each other out.

Evil Ryu threw another fireball at Shin Akuma. But just as the fireball was about to connect, Shin Akuma teleported right through the fireball as well as Evil Ryu.

Knowing Akuma's fighting tactics well, Evil Ryu threw a back kick and managed to connect with Shin Akuma's abdomen just as he was materializing. Shin Akuma was forced to spit out blood.

Evil Ryu decided to follow up the attack with a Hurricane kick. Unfortunately, Shin Akuma recovered from the previous attack and countered with a Dragon Punch. Evil Ryu hit the ground hard.

Shin Akuma used an air diving kick, but only felt the ground, since Evil Ryu leaped extremely high into the air. Shin Akuma leaped up into the air after Evil Ryu, and the assault continued.

*****

"(Sakura. Unless you accept me, you are going to die! Time is running out! Your life force is weakening as we speak! But I can save you! Look, we both share a common interest. We both don't like Akuma.)"

"(But what about the destruction and killing everybody and stuff like that?)"

"(It seems that you don't fully understand the evil intent, so I shall explain it to you. The Evil Intent creates a dark copy of the persons innermost desires. Akuma wanted to become the strongest at any cost. Thats why he is the way he is now. Ryu isn't evil like Akuma, but his passion is for fighting. His life is the fight. Thats why the Evil Intent came to Ryu so easily. You on the other hand, are different. Although you love to fight, there is something that you desire more...)"

Sakura blushed.

"(That's right. Ryu. He has always been first in your heart. Thats why my main purpose is to seduce Ryu. Since fighting is second in your life, it isn't the main priority with me. I will fight if I have to, but Ryu is always number one.)"

"(That explains a few things. But why isn't Ken possessed by the Evil Intent?)"

"(Simple. He isnt angry enough. For the Evil Intent to enter your body, you have to be filled with jealousy, rage and anger. Ryu told you how Akuma was so determined to learn everything about Shotokan karate. When his master Goutessu held certain things back, Akuma started to become angry. Ryu also told you how he felt when Akuma killed Gouken. Ryu felt like he was going to lose his sanity. Ken hasn't been angry enough to unleash the Evil Intent. That's why he is not affected by it. At least not yet. See, the Evil Intent is known to be dangerous because most fighters who receive it are very passionate about fighting. Usually more than anything else in life. You love to fight, but since you love Ryu more, I am a darker image of your desire for him.)"

"(I think I'm starting to understand...)"

Just then, cracks of thunder could be heard. Both Sakura's looked towards the direction of it and saw Evil Ryu and Shin Akuma duking it out in the air.

"(Sakura! Even though Ryu has accepted the Evil Intent, he is still losing to Shin Akuma. If you don't make a decision now, Ryu will die!)"

"(I've got to do...something...)"

Inside her mind, Sakura's spiritual body was starting to fade.

"(What's happening to me?)"

"(Your life force is fading away! Unless I enter your body now, you will die! Last chance! Yes or No?)"

"(Yes! I won't let Akuma destroy my Ryu! But whats in it for you?)"

"(We'll discuss my payment after Akuma is destroyed...")

Sakura's body started to glow a black aura. Moments later, the hole that was in Sakura's chest was healed. And Sakura's eyes glowed blood red briefly before returning to normal.

*****

Meanwhile, the fight between Ryu and Akuma was looking bad for Ryu. Although Ryu had reached a new level of power, so did Akuma. Shin Akuma moved twice as fast and hit twice as hard as regular Akuma, so it was only a matter of time before Ryu wouldn't be able to keep up.

"Now I shall show you my true power!"

While still in midair, Shin Akuma brought his hands above his head and started to charge up energy.

"Shoshi..."

Evil Ryu was about to punch Shin Akuma, but it was too late. Shin Akuma released his collected energy into Ryu, sending his body plummeting towards the ground.

While Evil Ryu's body was falling, Shin Akuma connected with an air diving kick to cause more damage.

Although Evil Ryu's body hit the ground, Shin Akuma was still in the air and charged up some more energy before sending down a storm of fireballs.

Evil Ryu was barely able to move out of the way just in time to avoid the firestorm that Akuma sent down.

Just then, Evil Ryu got an idea.

Evil Ryu brought his hands to his chest and charged up some energy.

"Shinkuu..."

Shin Akuma finally returned to the ground. He looked disappointed however...

"I shall make you pay for your predictability!"

Shin Akuma dashed towards Evil Ryu in an attempt to knock him out of his Hadou-ken stance. But that is what Evil Ryu wanted...

Shin Akuma went for a foot sweep, but Evil Ryu teleported behind him.

Shin Akuma didn't realize his mistake until it was too late.

"Hadou-ken!"

Evil Ryu released his collected energy right into the back of Shin Akuma. Shin Akuma was sent to the ground.

"Now...we finish this..."

As Shin Akuma was getting up, Evil Ryu teleported in front of him and delivered several punches to the gut.

While Evil Ryu was punching, he was also gathering energy for his next attack. And just when it looked like Shin Akuma was going to fall on his face, Evil Ryu let his next attack become known.

"Metsu...Shoryuken!"

Shin Akuma was hit with several Dragon Punches. But it didn't end there...

"Shinkuu..."

While still performing Dragon Punches, Evil Ryu let out a second attack...

"Tatsumakisenpukyaku!"

Shin Akuma was finally swept into a vortex of what felt like a hundred kicks.

After the last kick had connected, Shin Akuma couldn't get up off the ground. Evil Ryu picked him up however, by the neck.

"Now...you will die for all of the innocent people you have killed..."

"Goutessu..."

Evil Ryu continued to hold Shin Akuma up by the neck.

"Gouken..."

Evil Ryu's grip on Shin Akuma tightened.

"You killed your own flesh and blood! Your brother! But you also killed my teacher...and my adopted father...the only family I have ever had..."

Evil Ryu's grip tightened even more.

"Sakura..."

Even tig tightening around the neck...

"I loved her more than life itself. She gave me something else to look forward to besides the fight. And you took her away from me!"

The neck tightening continued even more, while Evil Ryu's blood red eyes burned and his body was surrounded by a black aura.

"Now...you shall die a million deaths in an instant!"

Evil Ryu delivered another punch to Shin Akumas gut, followed by an elbow attack to the face.

Evil Ryu stomped the ground with his back foot before lifting his front leg off the ground and raising an arm slightly above his neck.

A red aura formed around Evil Ryu as he prepared to execute the most forbidden move in Shotokan karate...

"Shun..."

Evil Ryu slid towards Shin Akuma in an effort to destroy his evil forever. He hit Shin Akuma with everything he had.

"Ryu! Don't do it!"

Evil Ryu had already struck Shin Akuma in the 14 vital ki points. Only the last hit through the heart remained to end the terror of Shin Akuma forever. But something had stopped Evil Ryu in his tracks. Something that sounded like...

"Sakura?"

Although Ryu was Evil Ryu now, a small part of his good side still remained deep in the depths of his soul.

"Ryu...don't do it...don't finish Akuma off that way or else your soul will be lost forever..."

"He...he killed Gouken...and he tried to kill you...he must pay...for his sins..."

"And he will pay. Just don't do it like this. Or else you'll be no better than Akuma himself..."

Evil Ryu's blood red eyes briefly flashed brown before reverting back to red.

"Yes! Thats it! Come back to me Ryu. Be the man again that I know...and the man that I love..."

Hearing Sakura say love triggered another emotion inside of Evil Ryu. His eyes flashed brown again, this time staying brown. Once Evil Ryu's eyes changed brown, his black gi and headband reverted back to their original colors.

Sakura's eyes got watery.

"Ryu! You're back!"

"Yeah...thanks to you..."

"You should have finished me when you had the chance, Ryu. Now, your compassion will be your downfall!"

"Akuma..."

Without the 15 blow through my heart, the previous 14 attacks do nothing. But I won't make that same mistake!"

Shin Akuma punched Ryu in his stomach, forcing him to kneel over in pain.

"You put up a good fight. But in the end, you only proved that you are too weak to inherit the title Master of Fists. Now I shall show you why I am the only one worthy enough!"

A large amount of ki formed in Shin Akumas fist. Shin Akuma then brought his fist back and prepared to strike.

"Now, you die!"

Shin Akuma was about to hit Ryu with his charged fist, but there seemed to be some interference...

"No! I won't let you hurt my Ryu!"

Sakura had jumped on Akuma's back and held both of his arms back to prevent Shin Akuma any use of his upper body.

"Stupid woman! You shall die!"

Shin Akuma tried to break free, but it was no use. Sakura's grip was too much for Akuma.

"Ryu now!"

While Sakura was holding Shin Akuma in place, Ryu delivered several punches and kicks to the unguarded Shin Akuma. Sakura then delivered a foot spring kick off of Shin Akuma's back and sent him into the air, setting him up for Ryu and Sakuras final tag-team move.

While Shin Akuma's body was rising in the air, Ryu and Sakura both brought their hands to their waist and charged up energy. As Shin Akuma's body started to return to the ground, Ryu and Sakura prepared for their final attack.

"Now Sakura!"

"Hadou-ken!"

Ryu and Sakura released their fireballs simultaneously, hitting Shin Akuma on both sides. All this energy was too much for Shin Akumas body to take, so it exploded, leaving nothing behind but dust...

(A.N: btw, this is an actual tag-team move for Ryu and Sakura in Street Fighter EX3.  Once both characters Super meters are at level 2, have Sakura out, your tag gauge full, and press Jab, Jab, <, Short, Fierce, and the attack will come out)

Ryu fell down to one knee, his body spent from fighting so much that night.  Sakura ran over to Ryu and wrapped her arms around him to keep him from falling to the ground completely.

“Ryu!  You did it!  You beat Akuma!”

“Wrong Sakura…We did it…”

Both smiled slightly.

Sakura suddenly felt herself becoming very hot.  She helped Ryu up to his feet before wrapping her arms around Ryu’s neck and looking deep into his eyes.

“Ryu…you’re cute when you smile like that…”

“Wha—“

Before Ryu could say anything, Sakura placed a finger on his lips to silence him.

“Shh…”

Sakura had that look of desire in her eyes again.  Ryu started to feel a little hot when he saw Sakura this way.  It really turned him on.

Sakura held Ryu’s cheeks with her hands.

“This time…nothing will stand in our way…”

Sakura leaned her head in as hot breath blew on Ryu’s face…

Her eyes started to close until she was certain that she had reached her target…

Finally, Sakura puckered her lips and kept leaning her head towards Ryu…until her lips had finally brushed with his…

Ryu was put in a trance.  Although he had heard about it, he was not familiar with expressing love…through a kiss…

Acting on instinct, Ryu let his eyes close and wrapped his arms around Sakura’s back, unknowingly sending a spark throughout her body.

“Mmmm…”

Whatever Ryu was doing, he was sure doing a good job, for it was arousing Sakura.  She opened her mouth slightly and tried to enter Ryu’s lips with her tongue.

Ryu felt Sakura’s tongue trying to enter his mouth.  Still not completely aware of his actions, Ryu opened his mouth slightly, allowing Sakura’s tongue access inside his mouth.

“Ryuuu…”

Sakura’s hands moved from Ryu’s hands and moved towards the back of his head and pulled him closer to her.

Acting on instinct again, Ryu’s tongue finally met Sakura’s and danced with hers slightly.

Finally, after what had felt like an eternity of being held together, Sakura removed her tongue from Ryu’s mouth and pulled away from his lips.

Both opened their eyes.

No words were exchanged for none could express their feelings for each other as well as displaying them physically…

Ryu and Sakura just looked deep into each other’s eyes.  Ryu moved his left hand towards Sakura’s right hand and held it gently.  Sakura intertwined Ryu’s fingers with hers and held it tightly.

Just then, both Ryu and Sakura started to glow.  The first changes of note were their clothes.  Ryu and Sakura’s clothes reverted back to what they wore on their night out.  Then, their dragon pendants that they had given to each other as gifts came off of their neck and rose slightly up in the air.

The dragon pendants moved around in a circle briefly before connecting together and forming a whole pendant.  Both the red and white dragon looked like Yin and Yang.  Finally, the now whole dragon pendant floated towards Ryu and Sakura and stayed whole briefly before becoming two pieces again and going back to the necks of the owners.  Sakura suddenly remembered the phrase encrypted on the back of the pendants and began to recite it.

“Connect me with someone of a similar nature…”

“And two hearts shall become one.”

“Just like us.”

“Hai.”

Sakura kissed Ryu’s lips once more before breaking away and resting her head in his chest.  She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him.  Ryu smiled and wrapped his arms around her back while pulling Sakura closer towards him.  All he could do was think of the happiness that she had brought him.  He remembered his catch phrase and changed it slightly.

 

 

The fight isn’t all…