“Move over a little, my hair’s getting wet.”
Rena snuggled closer to Guy, trying to catch as much of the tree’s shelter as possible. She rubbed her wet hands over her bare arms, sighing disapprovingly that her lavender printed blouse was drenched, but she knew from experience that the rain would only last a few minutes. She was hoping that her fiancé would warm her up with his gentle touch, but Guy was clearly distracted.
He stood rigid against the tree, keeping a watch over the crowd in case he missed seeing Ryu. It had been an hour now. Guy doubted whether Ken had informed Ryu of their meeting when they spoke on the phone.
Rena threw her arms around Guy’s shoulders, feeling left out by his silent thoughts.
“Something more important than me, husband?” she said, frowning.
When he heard the word ‘husband’ escape her, uncomfortable shivers ran through him. It felt nice when he could forget for a moment of his promise to marry her. His relationship with Rena had died the moment he realized their marriage was pre-determined. But as her father Genryusai had stressed, it was an honor he had to commit.
Guy forced himself to look at her. Her smiling face looked back searchingly. He could feel her fingers stroke his wet nape, and her legs advancing closer to his.
“Actually, babe,” he struggled to say, unwrapping her arms from around him. “I brought you here because I have something to tell you.”
“Yes?” she said in an effort to encourage him, and her eyes failed to conceal her hunger. This was it, she thought. This was the moment she had been waiting for, for over seven years. The announcement of the date.
Guy looked away, her genuine smile of happiness stinging him. He felt her hand on his face now.
“Do you know how sweet you look in the rain?” he finally whimpered, miserably ashamed of his cowardice. He pulled her towards him, hiding his face, disgraced. He knew that the wedding was planned in Rena’s head, and that she had begun to adopt his surname. He knew he didn’t have the courage to break her heart.
Rena’s gaze dropped.
“No, Rena, I...can’t.”
His lips quivered as he tried to find the strength to quickly divulge what he was really thinking about.
The rain increased with intensity. Huge droplets pounded through the large maple tree leaves, splashing onto them.
Sakura jostled the couple’s rigid embrace as she ran under there for shelter.
“Sorry,” she said, having clearly flustered Rena.
“You can’t what?” Rena redirected Guy, but was unable to stop glaring at Sakura, who stared back just as harshly.
“I can’t see him,” Guy mumbled in English, searching the park with his eyes.
He couldn’t believe how unlucky he was. He politely half-smiled at Sakura, who watched them with great curiosity. He couldn’t break up with Rena with someone overhearing them. That would be humiliating.
“I didn’t think you were serious about seeing him,” Rena said biting her lip, unhappy about Guy’s abrupt statement.
“Well, if it wasn’t for you showing me the article, I wouldn’t have known he was here.”
“I mean I don’t understand why you want to see him.”
“I’ve already explained. I won’t tell you again. Anyway, you said it yourself, it’s been too long.”
“I shouldn’t have shown you that damned thing,” Rena retorted, unable to release him from her embrace.
“Don’t talk like that, Rena. It doesn’t suit you,” Guy frowned, holding her tighter against him. He couldn’t bear to see that look of disappointment.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
From the corner her eye, Sakura watched the couple kiss and resume their embrace. She felt almost jealous of their show of affection for each other. Sakura was in America, in a dead-end job, and living alone in a noisy apartment complex that she was paying far too much for.
“Life sucks,” she said to herself, kicking the muddy grass with her toe.
Suddenly, she felt herself being yanked backward. Her bag flew out of her arm as she skidded across the muddy grass. A soggy newspaper rustled in her face, and she felt constricted by an awkward sick sensation that welled in her chest. Her eyes were widened by the sudden perception of a large crowd encircling her.
“You’re not getting away that easily, Kasugano,” a woman shouted over the spattering rain.
Sakura rubbed her eyes, hard, trying to gain a clearer picture of who was towering over her. The woman tossed the paper at her before ripping the hood away from her face. Her angry eyes looked down at Sakura with gloved hands gripped into fists.
“Holy crap,” she gulped, surprised to see Tawnya Blaze standing an inch from her. She clutched at the newspaper, glancing over the familiar story, the ugly reminder of something she dearly wanted to forget.
“Oh shit,” she murmured, feeling hot in the face. She hadn’t expected Tawnya to hunt her down for this, certainly not in person.
“I can explain,” Sakura stuttered. Her voice was shaky.
“There is nothing for you to explain,” Tawnya said tight-mouthed. There was a look of madness in her eyes.
Sakura tried to stand, but was pushed down with a kick. She held her stomach for a few short seconds, then suddenly felt a strong rage. This woman was starting a fight with her! She took a deep breath, let it out, then smiled crookedly.
A real street fight! Sakura thought, gleaming, and cocked her head to the side. It had been a while, but this fight would be a piece of cake, she thought excitedly.
A few drunken men bellowed “Fight, fight, fight,” as they consumed alcohol in the pouring rain from concealed paper bags. Despite their singing and Sakura standing a few feet away, Tawnya’s mind was elsewhere.
“Get rid of her,” she heard him command.
Tawnya flexed her neck, but helplessly nodded at the buzz of instruction in her mind.
Instantly, she swung a fist, but the punch was easy for Sakura to duck.
As she heard Tawnya roar and try to scratch with her claws, Sakura wanted to laugh. She ducked and dived Tawnya’s unruly attacks as quick shots of adrenaline pumped through her.
“This fight is a breeze,” Sakura laughed confidently.
She bounced from foot to foot and tensed her forearm to block. She was fighting automatically with no command necessary.
Then she staggered back, her face stinging.
Sakura touched her face, gasping, “No way.” With a growl she lunged forward, driving a fist into Tawnya’s carelessly exposed left shoulder. As Tawnya stumbled, Sakura hurried onward, stabbing into her shoulder with triple punches before retreating with a low roundhouse kick. Quickly, she grabbed Tawnya’s neck, squeezing hard to choke her from behind.
Tawnya gagged, trying to wriggle free, but the more she wrenched, the harder it was to breathe. Her sight blurred.
“You weak fool. Fight,” the voice screamed at her.
“YES!” Tawnya yelled with a mysterious new strength, and with a mighty roar hurled Sakura over her shoulder. Her eyes glowed eerily.
Sakura could feel her ragged breath on her face, and her heart pounded harshly as she felt her face sting with slaps, one after another.
“You can’t win, reporter.”
“Oh-yes-I-can,” Sakura snarled back.
As far as Sakura was concerned, this was just another high school brawl, and Tawnya was just another piece of meat. She was the Street Fighter, not this wannabe actress.
Sakura rolled left, barely missing the fist that smashed into the grass. Quickly, she forced her knee into Tawnya’s face, once, twice, then pummeled her fist into her stomach with one hard blow. Sweat leaked from her short brown hair. Her hands snapped with a violence that frightened even her.
Tawnya held herself from the pain, breathing erratically.
“Do not fail me...”
Tawnya pulled herself back on her feet but was distracted by a harsh thunder clap. Sakura sprinted at her w
ith small grazing uppercuts, and then flew into the air with a mimicked version of Ryu’s “dragon punch”.
“SHOOOOOOU-KEN.”
Ryu smiled at her with his hands outstretched to her in a vision.
“You’re doing well, Sakura,” he said sympathetically. “But I’ve noticed you have a tendency to run at me with a punch.”
“I don’t have great range just standing,” Sakura moaned, her face long. “When I run, I feel I’m able to jump into the air higher.”
“Why do you have to jump at all? By moving as much as you do, you will only tire yourself out. Think of a weeping willow. The bark of the tree is its body, while the branches are its extensions. You need to learn to develop your reach by strengthening the tips of your branch.”
Sakura stared at him confused, then swung her arms from side to side with her legs wide apart. Ryu shook his head, placing his hand on her hip.
“This is your core,” he said, gently squeezing her hip, “...along with this,” he said hovering his hand over her stomach. “Keep your core strong, tense it, now punch.”
Sakura did as she was told, hearing a short snapping sound at the end of her punch. She beamed, surprised at her own strength.
“That is your reach,” Ryu concluded. His mouth twitched. “...To use the inner strength of your body to expel outer force.”
“Reach,” Sakura reminded herself, flicking a solid kick as Tawnya fell. She heard a soft pound as the kick connected with muscled tissue. Sakura smiled, pleased.
“So, what’s Plan B, Ryu-san?” but no flashbacks came to her mind. “Damn it, I guess I’m on my own then.”
Tawnya felt helpless for a moment, squirming on the ground because of the pain that rippled through her. In her mind she heard the scornful words, “Weakling. You cannot lose to a mere girl. Pathetic.”
She bowed to the grass, digging her fingers into the soft roots until she was able to grab dirt. Never in her life had she felt her body bruise and hurt like this. The sensation to vomit upon seeing her blood nearly overwhelmed her. Tawnya scrunched further into a ball, pulling her knees to her chest.
“Incompetent feeble being.”
Her muscles ached. Tawnya wanted to scream from the harsh pains that throbbed violently across her body. But all she could really do was whimper like a wounded dog.
“Stop, please stop it,” Tawnya begged the voice inside her. She was half-sobbing in panic.
“You are losing. You must win.”
The voice was a distraction from her deep physical pain, but she didn’t want this fight. She had meant no real harm to the girl. She wanted to escape.
“You are me.”
The thunder drummed with greater strength, echoing into the distance. The words “Fight, fight,” continued louder and louder in unison by the drunk spectators.
“GET AWAY FROM ME!” Tawnya screamed above the noise, thrusting her half-opened fist at Sakura, who looked like one big gray smudge to her. “DON’T YOU DARE COME ANY CLOSER!”
“Good, good.”
“Shut the hell up,” Tawnya yelled, glaring at the grass. Blood dripped from her nose.
“She will be no more.”
Possessed, Tawnya launched with two spin kicks so quick that Sakura barely had time to react.
“Harder, one more push.”
From the corner of her eye, Tawnya saw a shadow creep up at her. She jumped in mid-air, kicking in a rotating motion that caught Sakura in its vortex.
“Tatsumaki-Zankukyaku.”
She scrambled backwards, slipping and sliding as she landed sloppily on her feet. “I said, SHUT...UP!”
Then, as if that energy had completely left her body, Tawnya collapsed to the ground, shakily crying into her hand, confused by the voice that stabbed repeatedly at her.
“Why do you keep talking?” she whimpered, gripping onto her sleeves tightly. “Why don’t you ever shut up and leave me alone?”
Sakura rolled onto her stomach, spluttering and licking at her lips. Crazy bitch, she thought angrily, looking at her surroundings with her one open eye. She saw legs, many legs idly standing, some thicker looking than others. But suddenly her throat felt tight. The sudden sight of him shook her. She knew it was Ryu, far back in the rain-soaked crowd. That tattered gi was unmistakable. He seemed to be wavering, torn by some internal dilemma, but Sakura didn’t notice. She wanted to run up to him with a hug, and tear him away from the park, as far away from Tawnya as possible. Her heart shook. She suddenly felt self-conscious. This stupid woman couldn’t show her up, not in front of him. Ever.
“True victory is to give all of yourself, without regret,” Ryu once explained to her. Sakura groaned. Her energy was drained, but the bitch was behind her. She could hear Tawnya’s vulgar voice muttering something.
“I have to beat her,” Sakura mumbled to herself. “I remember what you said, Ryu-san...‘One fight, one more step on the path to becoming a true warrior’. I’ll do it.”
Smiling, she jumped into a surfing position. She kept her hands beside her waist, using all her mental and physical capacity to summon the last of her energy; this was an important technique learned and adapted from Ryu. Sakura’s eyes flashed brightly, and she trembled as the flow of energy drove into her hands.
Tawnya twisted her body unnaturally, holding her ears tight, wanting to scream. There was a flashing light and howling screams, all terrorizing in her mind. She knew she couldn’t escape his commands.
“Fool. I was wrong to take your body as mine.”
She saw a faint face appear from her darkness, a demonic man looking at her. He was murmuring words that brought out a sadistic spray of energy in her.
“Power is truth.”
Her mouth displayed an evil smile, and her hazel eyes were tinged red within her dilated pupils. This was a weak body with a dark desire to get what she wanted. The he in her felt that. This would be the perfect way to transmit his message to the real fighters within the crowd.
“Now I shall take over.”
Sakura ignored Tawnya’s suddenly inhumane face. Her body shook with the concentration of blue electrical energy emitting from her hands. “SHINKU-HADOOOOOOOOO-KEN!” she screamed, releasing the fireball towards Tawnya.
From his close view under the tree, Guy’s eyes shone with a sudden realization. The power that escaped from Sakura’s hands was the very same technique he had witnessed in Japan.
“It can’t be her,” he muttered, stunned. Then a sudden heat singed him.
“Guy, what are you doing?” Rena yelled, helplessly watching as Guy was swallowed by a mass of people. He pushed himself through the crowd toward the young Japanese girl, screaming, “What did you do?”
Tawnya’s eyes gleamed as the fireball approached.
“Never use an amateur to do a master’s work.”
With a great and mysterious control, Tawnya one-handedly caught the blue ball. Upon her touch, the fireball instantly turned into hell red, crackling for two seconds before reversing it with one powerful thrust of an arm.
“GOU-HADOU-KEN!” a merciless male voice escaped from Tawnya’s mouth. Then she crashed to the ground.
The red burst of energy bounced heavily off Sakura. She released an antagonized scream. She fell onto Guy like a heavy log. Her body twitched from the electrical shock until finally she stopped moving. Guy gripped her shoulders, livid. Her palms were smoked, and her pupils were dilated.
“WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?” Guy shook her, but Sakura couldn’t respond. His eyes glistened as he held her body, unable to comprehend the action that took place seconds before. “WAKE UP!” he screamed, scared by her lack of reaction. “WAKE UP!”
*****
Chapter 17:
CONDITION