As he read the paper, Ryu felt his throat catch with a shock that made him speechless. His eyes glazed over the article again, this time concentrating profoundly on the picture in the paper, as if he was on the edge of something profound. He was, and considering this discovery, it was incredible how calm his mind was. Without expression, he considered Ken, who stared at him.
“Yes or no?” Ken said in a serious tone.
“Yes. That’s definitely her,” Ryu confirmed quietly. His voice sounded strange. “It has to be.”
“You’ve hit the jackpot,” Ken said, shaking Ryu with vigor. His big eyes and wide grin made Ryu grimace. He hated how quickly Ken’s expression could change. He shook his head, not understanding the remark.
“What? You’re kidding, right?” Ken’s smile dropped, then he slapped his fingers against the picture. “A movie superstar, Tawnya Blaze, Fei Long’s side-kick...she’s your mystery lady. C’mon, dude, you got lucky. Guys would kill to have a woman like that stalk them. Least you know who she is, right?”
Ryu looked down at the newspaper article, confused that a movie star could have any connections to the Dark Hadou. He felt uncomfortable about her relationship with Fei Long. Ryu sighed, not knowing what to make of this story, but he knew he had to take it one step at a time. Her celebrity status would make tracking her easy, but revealing her true intentions would be his great challenge.
“You wouldn’t have thought little Sakura to have written this, though. She’s come a long way,” Ken commented.
“What did you say?” Ryu shot back. His voice trembled in alarm.
“Sakura, your former student. She wrote the article. You haven’t forgotten her already, have you? Hmm, must have been a warning or something.”
“Sakura?”
“Makes me think,” Ken continued, oblivious to Ryu’s tone, “...I would’ve never suspected Sakura would work in the media, but I guess that suits her energetic personality. She must have missed you. Look, she even salutes you as ‘Mister’.” Ken laughed.
Ryu felt the terrible pressure of responsibility grip him in weakness. He stuttered her name, then ran.
“Hey, where’re you going?” Ken said, alarmed with Ryu for pushing him out of the way. A sick wrenching notion forced him into action.
“Sakura!” Ryu yelled, running through the corridor with the article clutched in his fist. “She’s in danger,” his voice echoed.