Ryu’s pain-filled eyes peered into Tawnya Blaze’s emotionless face. Her once-hazel eyes were a misty gray, as if there was no life left in her. The lower contours of her eyes were dark and a red of shade ringed her pupils. Her nose was freckled dark brown and her lips looked as though it were carved in stone.
She was lost and Ryu knew why. He had to overcome the Dark Hadou by breaking her free, even if it meant he would have no energy to breathe in the end. With her slight touch, Ryu shook. He felt hot, and his muscles were aching from his best efforts to control the boiling power within him.
“Ryu Sensei, where’d you go?” Sakura’s voice echoed.
He opened his eyes in panic, hearing her from afar, but the darkness made him feel confused.
“I can’t see you anywhere,” she moaned.
He wanted to yell, to call out for her, but he moaned from the terrible pressure building in his chest.
Tawnya grabbed the satin yellow scarf that wrapped tightly around her neck. Her fingernails were filled with mud and dirt.
“I thought I’d save you the trouble and come to you instead,” she whispered, her voice sounding a little deeper than normal. Her grip on his face was soft, but her fingers felt like steel. Gazing at him she said, “There is something strong between us. I know you feel it. That connection...I can see it in your eyes.”
Ryu clutched at the ground with the palm of his hands in an effort to look away, but the nails that dug into his cheek forced his head to jerk up. He had seen this look of deprivation before, he had experienced it prior to his unprecedented will to follow in the path of the warrior.
“The true intent,” Tawnya paused, “...will show itself, and I want you to show yourself to me, all of you, including the deep powers that you so evidently like to hide.”
“I have no power,” Ryu wheezed. “I have no reason to show you anything.”
“Ryu Sensei...where the hell are you?” Sakura’s voice broke in frustration. He grimaced. The constant drapes of darkness blacked out his peripheral sight.
“The girl,” Tawnya said. Her cheeks lifted to imitate a smile. “For your sake, I hope she means nothing to you. Emotions only weaken you.”
He looked over his shoulder but felt the stabbing pain of evil slice his spine.
“Grrrr,” he gargled, stumbling forward. Tawnya caught him.
“This is what happens when you foolishly try to fight your powers,” she said, her pupils still ringed in red. He felt everything inside him scald with intense pain.
“You need to stop controlling the power of the Dark Hadou. Feel its supremacy,” she said, backhanding his face sharply. Then she stood back tall and ready, waiting for him to move. “You owe it. Let it completely rule you.”
“Leave her, Akuma,” he yelled, feeling sick at the sight of Tawnya’s face changing into his adversary.
“NO!” she yelled, jabbing a knife into Ryu’s thigh. He gasped, feeling his thigh muscles tighten with shock. Brilliant red gushed through his white gi. He heard an uncanny laugh leave Tawnya’s mouth, shoving her heel into Ryu’s open knife wound. He pushed her off, then blocked her incoming kick with his forearm as she lurched back into the attack. His head snapped up uncomfortable to the disturbing sight off Tawnya smiling crookedly. She once again stood tall, tracing a finger over the knife. Blood dripped as she scored open the tip of her finger.
“I’m sure many before me have been keen to experience the frenzy of your power,” she said with no feeling in her voice.
Ryu shuddered, attempting to shoulder into Tawnya but his confused double vision made it difficult for him to focus. His shoulder was slow. His movements were awkward. He felt sick beyond compulsion but he had to try to resist the dark powers if he was to finally unveil Tawnya’s true shadow. The tattoo on her wrist was almost possessing him, glowing in the absence of light. He knew he had to shake out of this strange stupor that the Dark Hadou was sucking him into. He had to. He simply had to.
Tawnya watched her hand shake from the bleeding pain, but nevertheless swung her fist at Ryu, who was kneeling on the ground. He barely moved, showing no signs of pain other than the sensation brought upon by the Dark Hadou. She had no idea how she was able to move so swiftly, spinning backwards and forwards with ever harsher strikes, but felt herself grow frustrated with Ryu’s lack of reaction.
“Show me your power,” the voice rang in her head.
“Show me your power,” Tawnya growled, leaping with incredible grace to dig her nails into his face. He didn’t flinch.
Instead, Ryu took deep breaths, exhaling noisily, and repeated the process until he was able to stand again.
“I’ve known all my life...” he finally said, straightening up, “...that the road would one day end. I would reach my limit and have no place to go. I ended that path a long time ago and have been waiting for the time when you would finally show up.”
His small smile instantly made Tawnya feel uneasy.
“What does that mean?” she retorted defensively, winding the tail of the scarf around her wrist.
“I finished you a long time ago, and you return in this form.” He gritted his teeth, advancing on her. “Let her go, Akuma. LET IT GO!”
In a hurl, Ryu pressed his fingers into Tawnya’s shoulder, desperately wanting her to connect with her own essence. Her deep subconscious was manipulated. Her unblinking eyes told him that she was fully controlled by something other than herself: the foundation of the true Dark Hadou.
“Don’t let it beat you the way it beat me. Fight it, Tawnya, fight the mind control,” he said with determination, looking into her hazy eyes.
“What?” she gasped softly, in her true voice, shaking. She moaned loudly, feeling something leave her.
“Don’t let it control you, the influence of the Dark Hadou, don’t succumb to it,” Ryu repeated, keeping a firm hold on her.
The “ten” tattoo on her wrist flashed luridly, then dimmed, bringing them both to their knees. Ryu shook his head, breaking the double vision of her.
“This isn’t you, Tawnya. Shake out of his control.”
The corners of her mouth sagged a little, and she blinked her eyes briefly. Despite the pressure Ryu placed on her shoulder, her eerie half-smile returned.
“Tell me if you feel nothing,” she suddenly snarled, mocking his good intentions.
In a flash, she opened her mouth softly over his. Ryu froze. The scorching pain tore at his chest, nearly combusting him, but then the sensation rapidly cooled as Tawnya pulled away.
He stood rigid. He had seen something clearly in the short moment of her kiss. Upon closing his eyes, Ryu had sensed a shadow grasping the yellow scarf as if it were Tawnya’s leash.
Her lips pressed together into a hard line, then relaxed into a half-smile. “Isn’t that something I would do?”
“Tawnya,” Ryu said in almost a whisper, feeling some relief.
The “ten” tattoo flickered, then faded away, to reveal her pale beige skin. There was no trace of ink, no outline of the kanji, no mark on her skin whatsoever.
“An illusion,” he concluded. He grabbed his head suddenly, feeling enlightened. He took short breaths. The Dark Hadou: he no longer felt it. The pain in his chest was nothing but the harsh judder of his heart thumping fast. He looked up with a sense of serenity, but felt perplexed when he saw that Tawnya’s face was still marked by the Dark Hadou.
“You’re not him. His soul cannot be embedded in you when you’re in control,” Ryu said, his voice firm. “You’re in control. Tawnya, think. Just think about that.”
Tawnya tilted her head to one side, trying to ignore the screams of her mind. She looked at Ryu, calling and yelling, unable to hear his voice at all.
“Show yourself...” Ryu demanded, watching something in Tawnya’s eyes change, “...your true self.”
Feeling her ears ring, Tawnya touched her face, taking the time to trace over her lips and cheeks, ignoring the streaks of blood from her finger that were markin
g up her skin. She felt her forehead, her eyebrows, and her eyelids with a sudden clarity.
She knew who she was.
Her ears still rang with his voice alone, but she didn’t want to cower to it anymore.
“Fool, you led him the wrong way.” The voice yelled at her so powerfully that it forced her knees to tremble, but for once she remained standing, slowing responding to Ryu’s commands.
“Gain some control over yourself,” she heard his strained voice say. His face was contorted with concentration. She was his total focus. “Good intentions harness positive potentials. Think of what that means to you.”
Feeling confused, Tawnya looked up at him, with tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked at her hands, watching the scarf slip through her fingers.
“Where am I?” she asked dubiously. Her voice was shaky. She blinked several times, feeling strangely familiar with the layout of the quiet street and the surrounding concrete white buildings.
“My God, Sensei, there you are,” Sakura cried out with relief, and ran to him from across the street. “Whoa, what the hell is happening here?”
“SAKURA, NO!” Ryu broke out into a sprint to reach her, but to his dismay Tawnya had beat him. She had been surprisingly fast, cornering Sakura.
“I’ve been looking for you,” Tawnya smiled at her, almost motherly. Her eyes turned serious. “Now, run.”
Sakura hesitated, guarding her face with her fists.
“RUN, DAMN IT, RUN!” Tawnya shouted in a panic, shoving Sakura away. “PLEASE, JUST DO IT! SHE’S AFTER YOU!” she pleaded.
Sakura laughed. “Pfft, I’m not gonna fall for your tricks,” she said, tripping Tawnya to the ground with a solid low sweep.
With a sharp snap to the knee, Sakura kicked out, only to have her foot piercing the air. Tawnya was gone. She heard someone screaming beside her. A strong grasp clutched her hair. Sakura turned her face toward bright green eyes staring back.
She froze, her wrist caught by the yellow scarf which entangled her like a live liana. She gripped her arm, struggling to release the material, but the more she struggled the tighter it squeezed her wrist, cutting off circulation.
“ILLUSION SPARK!” Rose yelled, her arm releasing power through the scarf, and into her young prey.
A short fuse of electricity bolted through Sakura in short spasms. Her hair stuck up on its ends, and with every seizure she screamed. Her mouth foamed with mucus-like saliva. Her body was immobilized.
“SAKURA...NOOO!” Ryu roared upon seeing his student trapped.
Rose’s eyes pierced him with a look of total satisfaction.
Ignoring the powerful energy that expelled from Rose’s body, Ryu ripped the scarf away with one mighty pull. Sakura dropped to the ground shaking with shock, her eyes half-closed, muttering her sensei’s name.
Rose smiled, her eyes crazed, as Ryu’s fist blurred in front of her. He caught her powerfully in the stomach, swapped an uppercut with his left fist before launching into the air at her.
“...SHOOOO-RYU-KEN.”
Landing on his feet, he heard hands clapping slowly and loudly behind him. Ryu looked around, the adrenaline of protecting Sakura still raging through him.
“Excellent showmanship,” Rose said, her hands slamming together. Her smile hinted pleasure. The yellow scarf had returned to cover her bare shoulders.
“Mystic Rose?” he gasped, wide-eyed, expecting her to be on the ground. He turned around again, then felt his heart grow weak.
Tawnya’s arm rested carelessly over her head. Her arm was empty, apart from the cream scar that bore his name. His eyes filled, swallowing down a lump. He struggled for breath, fighting back the suffocating emotion behind his moistening eyes.
“No,” he uttered, falling to his knees. His combat mitts dripped red.
*****
Chapter 35:
SYMBOL OF ROSE